Author's Note: It will be like I, the author, is telling you all a story. Even if this is a combination of the other Disney fairytales, it won't really be exactly like the stories' plot. I just got some ideas and put them all into this story. I assure you all that this is unique from all the others (well, just as far as I know). Anyway, if you're interested, then I really hope that you'll enjoy this story of mine.

Pairings: A love square between Ruka, Hotaru, Mikan, and Natsume.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice. Higuchi Tachibana owns it.

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Let's get on with it, shall we? Get some pillows and popcorn and I will be your storyteller for the day.

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A Love Story Between Us

written by erinhathaway

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Chapter One — About Mikan

Hello, readers. Today, I will tell you a story about four people who, at first, didn't really pay much attention to love. But when they met each other...

Things began to change.

Once upon a time, there lived a girl named Mikan Sakura. She was petite and average in height, had big brown eyes and a heart-shaped face with a small nose. She usually sported her long brown locks in two pig tails, with the tips curling naturally, although she changed this from time to time, often to match with the occasion at present. Her father passed away when she was only eight. But, Mikan wasn't left nothing at all. Her father, after the death of her mother years ago, had remarried to a snobby, rich lady with two pampered daughters. Her stepmother was known as Luna Koizumi, a woman with strawberry-blonde hair that almost reached her shoulders, thick lips, and cold blue eyes. Sumire, Mikan's stepsister, was a girl with an elitist, controlling, and overall disagreeable attitude. She had short dark green hair with several distinctive curly, long strands at the front. Her bangs were cut straight across, reaching the top of her eyebrows. Her eyes were a dark green color.

Mikan's other stepsister, Hotaru, was noticeably different from Sumire. Where Sumire was loud, Hotaru was quiet. Where Sumire was hot-headed, Hotaru was mellow-headed. Hotaru was also sometimes prone to be annoyed, especially with Mikan. The two played together when they first met each other (when they were eight years old). Or, rather, Mikan played with Hotaru. They shared an indescribable bond, though Hotaru didn't show much affection or even made Mikan feel that they were friends at all.

Hotaru was intelligent, logical, extremely rational, and had a foul mouth. She could also come across as rather detached and downright threatening when she wanted to. She was rather rude, and, though she appeared civil, she was actually a very lazy person. She seemed always calm and apathetic towards other people, even when she was conflicted, and was seldom surprised. She also bordered a certain level of arrogance, which other people she knew found annoying about her. Although generally serious, Hotaru also had a comedic side. She was a gourmand, who takes pleasure in food. She often ordered Mikan to make more food, resulting in the latter silently calling her a pig (in an affectionate manner, of course). She had short dark hair, violet eyes, and a rather pretty face.

Mikan's two stepsisters didn't get along well since they had no relation to one another. Luna sheltered Sumire and Hotaru because their parents were currently busy with their work. Ennosuke Shouda and Subaru Imai, the two's older brothers respectively, were also busy managing the biggest company in Alice City. At first, Luna didn't like them much and only provided their needs, feeling that it was her obligation to do so. But when time passed, she learned to care for them and gave them the best treatment possible, thus resulting in Sumire's spoiled attitude and Hotaru's greed for both money and food.

When Mikan's father, Izumi Yukihira, died, Luna's personality changed drastically. She became violent and abusive, causing her to change her last name back to Koizumi. She blamed Izumi's death on his daughter, Mikan, and forced her to do all the household chores in order to compensate for it. Mikan, only eight years old at that time, innocently agreed with a bright smile plastered on her face. Luna, still in a depressed state at that time, slapped her hard, causing Mikan to lose all sense of justice and just did whatever Luna ordered her to in fear.

And so, Mikan had been serving her 'family' for eight long years, unmindful of all the things happening in the city. But when March 16, 2012 came, which was the date of the 16th birthday of the most influential family in Alice City's son, an unexpected thing happened.

It came out in the news on TV. All the people in the city were invited to go to the party. Everyone wasn't given an option. They just had to go.

But Luna forbade Mikan to go for she thought that Mikan going to the party would disgrace her whole family and relatives. She even kept Mikan's real identity and made it look like she sheltered her out of sympathy, causing her to gain positive reviews from the people. Mikan, of course, was frustrated, but she knew that there was nothing she could do about it.

And so, regarding the party, Mikan, feeling deprived of her right to attend, tried her best to persuade Luna into coming to the occasion, too.

"Please, mother," she begged. "I promise that my chores will be finished before 5:30 p.m. Dinner will be ready, and your dress will be ironed. I'll also help you with your makeup, if you wish."

Luna arched an eyebrow. "Oh? So if you do all that, you want me to let you attend the party?"

Mikan nodded. "Yes. I will sew my own dress and fix my face. I will do anything you say, so please, mother…"

Luna looked thoughtful for a moment, then she nodded. "All right, it's settled. As long as you do your chores properly and also make yourself look appropriate for the party, then I will agree."

Sumire's eyes widened. "Huh?!" she exclaimed. "But mother!"

Luna looked at her. "What's wrong, Sumire? Don't you think it's a fair trade? After all, I'm sure that she couldn't even finish all her chores in just four hours. She still has to make lunch, clean the bathrooms, make the beds, water the plants, and many more." Her voice was loud enough for Mikan to hear.

Mikan didn't say anything and just went to the kitchen to cook something for lunch. Hotaru glanced at her and sighed.

"What an idiot…" she muttered, going up to her room.

***—

Before 6:00pm, Mikan managed to finish all of her chores. She skipped happily towards her stepmother's room and knocked on her door.

"Excuse me, mother," Mikan said. "It's me, Mikan. I just want to tell you that I have already finished all my—"

"Have you found a suitable dress yet?" Luna interrupted.

Mikan brightened. "Yes, I have. In fact, it's—"

"Give it to Hotaru. She doesn't have any dresses in her closet."

"Eh? But, mother—…"

"You can't go to the party. My decision is final."

***—

Mikan knocked on Hotaru's door.

"Who's there?" Hotaru called out flatly.

"Um, Hotaru? It's Mikan…"

Hotaru slowly opened the door, her expression clearly that of annoyance. "Come in," she said.

Mikan went inside and gave Hotaru her dress. It was a cute blue cocktail dress with layers of polyester chiffon, cut on the bias pleated bodice and over size straps. It was side zipped and fully lined.

Hotaru stared at her. "Did you make this all by yourself?"

Mikan nodded sadly. "Yeah… I just found some polyester fabrics from the attic and washed it thoroughly. I even found some gems and laces in the old boxes in the basement…"

Hotaru stared at the gown. It was hurriedly sewn; there were loose threads at the sides and there were also a few flaws in the upper part. But other than those, it was flawlessly done.

I didn't know that you were this good. "Mother can be a bit harsh, but…" Hotaru gave Mikan back her dress. "Here. I don't need it."

Mikan stared at her, dumbfounded. "Eh…? But—"

"I won't go to the party," Hotaru said, noticing the confused expression on Mikan's face.

It took a few more seconds for her words to process inside Mikan's brain. "WHAT?!" Mikan exclaimed. "Why not?"

"Because I'm already content in staying here and reading a book."

"But…" Mikan looked at the dress in her hands. "What should I do with this?"

"Go cook dinner," Hotaru said. "After that, I'll tell you what you should do with it."

***—

It was nearly 6:30pm when Mikan went to the woods to pick some berries for the cake she was going to bake as a dessert for dinner. At first, she debated whether to just buy it in the supermarket or borrow some from her neighbor. In the end, she decided that she preferred getting it the natural way. Besides, it would even save money.

As she walked towards the bushes full of berries, a rabbit suddenly hopped over to her. Mikan stared at it, surprised and awed at the same time.

"Aaw, what a cute little bunny!" she exclaimed, picking the rabbit up and cuddling it.

At that moment, a boy with dark unruly hair and crimson red eyes appeared from behind a tree. He was wearing crooked glasses and dorky braces, giving him a geeky look. He appeared to be sweating. His skin was brown like he just had an excess tan and his clothes were ragged.

In other words, he looked like one of those persons who are sleeping on the streets, the kind who doesn't care about their appearance at all.

Mikan dropped the rabbit and her basket in surprise. She then instinctively stepped back, not because she thought he was ugly but because Luna always warned her not to talk to strangers (the real reason for this is because Luna doesn't want her to blab about her being the daughter of Luna's deceased husband).

"Who are you?" the boy demanded, his crimson eyes burning into hers.

Mikan blinked at him, unsure of what to do.

The boy made a pokerface. "Oi, if someone asks you a question, the least you could do is answer them, not back away in fear," he said flatly.

Mikan gulped inaudibly. When she spoke, her voice was tinged with uncertainty. "You… You are a stranger, am I right?"

"…" He stared at her as if she were crazy.

Mikan went on, not noticing his look. "My mother warned me never to talk to strangers."

The boy let out a sigh. His eyes studied her intently before he spoke. "Natsume Hyuuga."

Mikan looked confused. "What's that?"

This girl is an idiot… he thought. He forced himself to stay calm.

"It's my name," he said. "So I'm not a stranger anymore, right? Now tell me who you are."

Mikan thought about it for a moment, then nodded. It seems that he really isn't a bad guy…

"Hi," she said cheerfully, a bright smile lighting up her features. "My name is Mikan Sakura. Pleased to meet you, Natsume."

Natsume eyed her suspiciously. "You're going to the party, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not," she said. "My mother forbade me to go."

Natsume concealed his surprise. "All the people in this city are requested to go."

"Yeah, but when I think about it, maybe it would be better if I would just stay home. Besides, with the house left unattended, stray cats would go inside and—"

"So you'd rather not attend Ruka Nogi's birthday?" Natsume interrupted.

"That's the name of the Nogi family's son?" Mikan said, surprised. She started to say something, but decided against it. Instead, she asked, "How about you? Are you going to attend the party?"

Natsume nodded. "Yeah. He's a friend of mine."

Mikan blinked, staring at him. "Oh… Uh… Really?" Her gaze was fixed on his ragged clothes.

"You think that I can't be his friend because of my looks, am I right?"

"Eh? Oh, of course not!" Mikan denied, blushing in embarrassment. "Why would I think that?"

Natsume sighed. "I should go. The party's about to start."

"Okay!" Mikan said, smiling. "Take care."

***—

Hotaru declared in the middle of dinner that she wouldn't go to the party. Luna was shocked and tried to persuade her to reconsider. However, all of her efforts were futile. Hotaru had already made up her mind.

When Luna and Sumire left, Hotaru grabbed Mikan's arm and led her upstairs. In Hotaru's room, Mikan saw heaps of dresses sprawled on her bed. All of them were a combination of the words fantastic, elegant, lovely, and beautiful.

"Whoa!" Mikan exclaimed, marveling at the wonderful sight before her eyes. "Where did you get all these?"

"When you picked some berries in the forest, I went shopping," Hotaru said.

Mikan stared at her. "Hotaru, can I ask you something?" she said timidly.

"What is it?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"I'm doing this because I am dead tired of your idiocy," Hotaru snapped. A shocked expression crossed Mikan's face. "In life, we all have our own rights," Hotaru continued on. "There are always those unfortunate times in life which we don't deserve. We should fight back when that is the case." She glared at Mikan, who flinched in response. "There also times when it's necessary not to snap, and there are also times when it's necessary to bite back. That is the only way to survive in this kind of life. Therefore, you, Mikan Sakura, are a coward."

"M-Me?" Mikan said. "A-A coward…?"

"You're not only a coward, but an idiot, too," Hotaru remarked. "You don't deserve being treated like that by your stepmother. I often thought that you would fight back, but when eight years passed by, you did nothing. Nothing at all. So now it's time for me to snap some sense into you." She grabbed Mikan and sat her on a chair facing the dresser mirror. In Hotaru's hands were a mascara and a lipstick. Mikan froze.

Hotaru had a glint in her eye. "Let the transformation begin."

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This marks the end of chapter one.

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Author's Note

Um, excuse me. I just want to say that, if this doesn't get at least 20 reviews, then I won't continue this story. The reason is merely because I don't really feel confident about this and I don't know if what I wrote satisfies you guys. I personally think it's a little plain and uninteresting. So, if I can get at least 20 reviews or more, then I will feel that I made a story that can at least hold your interest. I am so sorry for making such a selfish request. :'(

Have a nice day, guys.