Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice. [:

The Bloodstained Canvas
by Ridley Silverlake

She was ten and she loved coloring. She made sketches and colored them in with crayons, markers and paint.

That year she'd followed her best friend to a new school; a new environment, new friends, new adventures. She was happy, no doubt about that.

Her drawings were bright and innocent; they drew smiles on people's faces just as often as she did herself.

Hotaru loved her. Ruka did, too. Natsume cared for her, while Sumire declared rivalry. Anna and Nonoko were the sweetest pair of friends. Tsubasa was her favorite senpai, and Misaki alongside him. Narumi acted like a father, while Yuu could've been the brother she never had.

She grew up. She was thirteen. Puberty struck and she started to act more mature. She owned a sketchbook, created works of art about her perspective of life. Everyone admired her work.

Hotaru was now with Ruka. Natsume loved her as she did him. Sumire had moved on and learned to treat her more nicely. Anna and Nonoko had grown up as they'd met new people. Tsubasa's feelings grew and realized Misaki had been the love of his life. Narumi had treated her more like an adult. And Yuu figured she didn't need all the help she did three years before.

Life was beautiful and she'd learned to appreciate every bit of it, as expressed through her works.

Years later she hit the age of sixteen. Sweet sixteen? Maybe. She started painting on canvas and it felt great. She'd started to wonder if people admired her as much as they did her artworks.

Hotaru and Ruka were happy. She'd just told Natsume she wasn't ready for what he wanted. Sumire had denied her request for friendship and started discovering new things with new boys. Anna and Nonoko were as inseparable as ever, though her friendship with them had began to fade. Tsubasa and Misaki had a year to go, they'd spend time together, but the lovers spent most of it alone. Narumi saw a woman in her, he'd been satisfied and was certain he needn't give her the same fatherly love she once gained from him. And Yuu had been a good friend, though the distance started to grow.

The legal age of eighteen—she'd hit that very age when the easel introduced itself to her. Now she realized her paintings were more admirable than she was.

Hotaru and Ruka had distanced themselves as they feared that the latter's feelings for her might have returned. Natsume had left her for she denied him that one thing he asked for. Sumire had been labeled the campus slut—something she thought she couldn't be around. Anna and Nonoko had matured a lot more than most of them had, they went to parties and got drunk—something she thought they would never have done. Tsubasa and Misaki had graduated, no more senpais to lead her—as if they'd done so while they were around, at all. Narumi had found new children to give the fatherly feeling to, leaving her with no parents, or any substitute for them at all. And Yuu had finally found someone right for him—someone she knew would take away the only friend she had left.

Eighteen years. She thought she'd make it farther than that. With the optimism she used to have and all the smiles she used to give out, never did she think as a child that eighteen years would've been it.

The bloody canvas sat there on its easel. With an attempt of creating the image of a beautiful flower wilting, she struggled. With her blood used as the most agonizing medium of art, she gave herself one last slash on the wrist and, with the last ounce of strength she had left, signed her name and a final word at the bottom of her last work of art.

Goodbye.

-Mikan Sakura

With a final stroke, she fell to the carpet. Before drawing her last breath, she'd thought of everyone.

Now Hotaru and Ruka could be happy. Natsume could be happy with someone else without her heart aching at the sight of it. Sumire could have Natsume and wouldn't have to give herself to the campus jocks out of depression. Anna and Nonoko could party all night without her having to tell them to get back to the dorm early, or not to get too drunk as they might get taken advantage of. Tsubasa and Misaki could be the happy couple they'd always wanted to be, without that annoying kouhai wanting to spend all the time with them. Narumi could continue being that father the grade-schoolers need, without having to worry about a young woman needing embarrassing fatherly advice. And Yuu would never have to be too nice to put up with the likes of her anymore.

Everything would be well with that last piece of art.

Author's Notes: Inspired by the poem Absolutely Nothing from the book Perks of Being A Wallflower. I know it's really shallow for her to do that, but let's face it, that's how I see her. Haters will hate. XD

Update (04102013): Just minor changes concerning punctuation and grammar. Other than that, the story is the same as ever. :)