Summary: "Your mother was powerful. Of course the Academy kept tabs on her. Power like that never goes unchecked." In which Mikan is taken from her Grandfather at an early age and trained accordingly. The universe rearranges itself, and nothing remains the same. Kick-Ass!Mikan
A/N.
Diverges from Cannon in a very significant way. And marked complete because I can't commit to how long I want this to be. I wrote this because I got frustrated with the lack of good Adventure stories in the Gakuen Alice fandom. So, if anyone out there cooks up a very good, Kick-Ass!Gakuen Alice story, I'd be happy to read it.
Also, I never read the manga. I only know about Mikan's mom, Dad, and Uncle because Google knows everything. The anime, though, is something precious to me. I recently watched Gakuen Alice all over again and it lead to this… whatever this is. So. Enjoy.
. .ble. Adj. Incapable of being subdued.
Timeline: Mikan is 11 months old.
Nawato was a small town 4 hours away from Tokyo. It was tiny, really, and not at all on any tourist map. It was located next to a long stretch of beach with black sand – more of a fishing town than a tourist one, and its town center was just a collection of basic stores and government buildings along the national road. This suited her perfectly.
Because what she needed right now was anonymity.
Still, the town was beautiful, if a little slow on the times. The streets she saw that weren't snowed in were paved with ancient cobblestones, and the buildings were built with old-fashioned wood instead of the more common cement. An abandoned, yet still resplendent temple towered in the distance.
It was a beautiful town to raise a child, she saw.
The harsh wind blew against her frame and she shivered violently, taking her wool hat along with it. She turned sharply to try and catch it, but her precious bundle prevented her from reaching for her hat.
"Oh! Here," a man with light hair said, jogging to catch up to her. He had caught her hat. She swore she had never seen him before – but she knew he was an Alice.
What else could he be? When she had already passed where he was standing and didn't see a soul? He was also wearing clothes unfit for winter. If she had to guess, he was either a Teleportation Alice who landed way off his mark or – more likely, an Alice with Time Travel.
The more important thing was – was he dangerous?
"Good thing I caught it for you," the man said, gently placing her wool hat back on her head.
Practiced at playing calm, she nodded her thanks, turned her back on him, and walked away.
She dared not try anything to defend herself or show who she really was. It was possible he had just accidentally stumbled onto her, anyway. Besides, she had a much more important task to do.
Azumi Yuka hugged her tiny bundle closer to her chest.
Yes. A much more important task indeed.
A few more minutes of walking and she finally reached the address she had been heading to. The house was old-fashioned, certainly, and a little far from the center, but everything seemed well-preserved.
She hesitated on the entrance, but the restless movement from her cargo reminded her of her purpose.
Yuka knocked gently on the door and waited for someone to answer.
The sliding door slid aside to reveal an old man in his late fifties. Yuka hesitated just once more before she asked, "Are you Sakura Kobayashi-san?"
The old man looked her in the eye and slid the door further open for her. She slipped inside on silent feet and was lead to a low, traditional table. Yuka sat down gingerly and made herself comfortable, shifting her precious burden subtly.
Both of them sat in silence for long moments. Yuka, because she was thinking; the old man, because he was observing the young woman before him.
Yuka knew – oh, how she knew, that she was young. She was barely eighteen. But she didn't feel it. She didn't look it, too. Months upon months of sleepless nights plagued her – first, because of the tragic death of the only person she thought she could ever love, and then because of the birth of her daughter.
The little bundle of joy in her arms – her daughter, Yukihara Mikan.
She was the first to break the silence, "You'll take care of her, won't you?"
Sakura Kobayashi sat observing her for a few more moments. He was a man she had never met. He was her mother's Uncle – considered a pariah in her mother's family, cut off from her mother's noble line because he was "an eccentric" and "a public disgrace". He had never married, and he never had an heir.
He was also Yuka's only hope. One night, delirious with fever and cut off from taking care of her daughter, Yuka remembered him. She remembered her mother mentioning him just once – about how he used to make her mother laugh before their family cut all ties with him.
Yuka didn't know why she remembered him, then. Maybe because she wanted, desperately, to smile again.
"You will, won't you?" she repeated with a little break in her voice that signaled she was dangerously close to crying.
"I will," the old man said, "But you never mentioned why I needed to take care of your daughter, Yuka-san. You never really explained in your letters."
"Take her," Yuka said, standing shakily and handing her daughter over to her estranged grand-uncle, "Take care of her, please," she pleaded.
"Teach her to be strong, always," she said, instead of explaining. Her grand-uncle was looking away from her now, utterly charmed by the little yawn her daughter made.
A visceral ache in her heart made her question everything.
But no. She was far too late to change her mind now.
"Teach her to fight for what's right. Teach her, okay?" she said, crying hard now when she had told herself that she would stop – but oh, her baby, she was giving her baby away, "You tell her to always stand firm, do you hear me?! Tell her to… to always, always smile!"
Because she knew she no longer had anything to do, and everything she wanted to say would never be spoken to the little girl she wanted to say them to, anyway; Yuka stood.
"And tell her…" she said, backing away from the sight of her daughter tucked protectively in the arms of a virtual stranger, "Tell her to never, ever… grow up to be like me."
Yuka glanced, once more, at the bundle in her grand-uncle's arms – her cheeks still rosy pink from her brief exposure to the weather outside, and fled.
She slammed the sliding door closed on the way out, and collapsed on the snow-covered walkway.
"Yuka," a voice said.
Yuka snapped her head up and hastily stood, trying to spot the person who had just called her name.
Yukihara Kazumi was standing not too far from her.
"Kazumi-nii!" she gasped in surprise.
She watched as he walked closer to her, unable to say anything to her lover's older brother.
She slowly released the breath she was holding, sure that he wasn't an enemy, "What are you doing here?" she asked, growing weary all over again, wondering what it was the Academy wanted.
Had they not ruined her already? Had they not already made sure she was powerless?
"Yuka," Kazumi said, light blue eyes regarding her seriously, "I come bearing ill news."
"What?" she asked, hysteria starting to cloud her voice, "What is it now?! Have I not been slayed? Am I not yet broken enough for them?!"
Kazumi sighed – a tortured sound, and placed a hand on her shoulder, "I need to speak with you. Inside," he motioned towards the entrance of the house, where Yuka saw that Kobayashi-ojii-san was peaking at them warily.
Yuka hesitated, her heart torn. She had already made her decision to leave Mikan behind, disappear for a while and just… start anew. She needed time to heal, mourn her lover properly, and let go of the past and all the toxic bitterness within her.
But she knew, deep down, that when they had told her she could leave the Academy… they were lying.
She had always known that she could never be free.
"Please, Yuka," Kazumi said, reaching to touch her elbow, "Let us talk. It… concerns your daughter. The Academy… the higher ups know about her."
And suddenly, it became too much.
No. No, no, no.
She wanted –
She needed –
Izumi!
"Kazumi-nii," Yuka said, slowly shaking herself free from his light grip, "I… don't… Please –"
Blindly, Yuka reached for one of the Alice stones in her pocket and teleported away the next instant, certain that she had doomed her daughter to an awful fate – but too broken to care.
"I… don't… care right now. Please – leave me alone."
"I'm sorry for barging in like this, Sakura-san," Yukihara Kazumi said, watching the elderly man as he gently placed the baby inside a worn-looking crib.
With his Alice, Kazumi could see the different-colored lights that danced around the infant, and his brows furrowed in concern.
There were four lights glowing around the little girl.
Four.
It was unprecedented.
Had the child been just a regular Alice, with a single power – even a relatively strong one, she'd have stayed under the radar.
And yet…
Barely a year old, and Yukihara Mikan was already garnering notice from the higher ups due to her tremendous power. Looking at her, Kazumi could see why.
She had three extremely rare Alices, and another one that was unrecorded.
With his experience in detecting other people's Alices, Kazumi knew that Mikan possessed both her Parent's Alices: The Stealing Alice, the Inserting Alice, and the Nullification Alice. But she also had an Alice that he had not yet encountered.
Which meant it was a new one – an Alice that emerged in Yukihara Mikan's genetic structure as a result of Azuma Yuka and Yukihara Izumi's union.
The most peculiar thing, though, was that Mikan was already registering in the Academy's sensors. The little girl who was barely a year old was being noticed by Alice Academy's Alice Sensors because she was already using her Alices at a noticeable amount.
Which, for an infant, was nothing short of amazing.
The Academy's sensors can only "feel" an Alice if it is being used constantly or at a high enough amount to warrant attention, which is why some Alices can go undetected for years – because they never use enough of their Alices to be perceptible.
Kazumi felt an almost unbearable tightness in his chest at the thought of the Academy taking an interest in his niece. Mikan was his last remaining relative.
More importantly, she was the daughter of his most precious brother.
His niece.
"Can you please tell me what's going on, Yukihara-san?" asked Sakura Kobayashi, grey eyebrows furrowed, "Yuka-san… Perhaps my old eyes were just playing tricks on me, but she just vanished…"
Kazumi sighed at the reminder of Yuka's cowardly retreat and felt resentment grow in his heart, "I do not know how much she told you, Sakura-san, so can you please tell me what you know and I'll try to fill the gaps?"
"All right," the old man said, "Oh! How silly of me. Forgive this old man, but I forgot to serve you some tea," with that said, he stood from the table and started to bustle around for some tea.
Kazumi watched him with ill-disguised incredulity. The old man seemed utterly set in preparing him tea, uncaring of the grave discussion that they were in the middle of.
Unbidden, a small smile formed on his lips at the eccentricity of the old man, and let him be. Once the tea was set on the table, Kazumi began to speak, "I know Yuka from the Academy. Alice Academy. She was a student there. The Academy is a place where 'gifted' people go – people who, to you, would seem to have 'special powers'. Around 18 months ago, she was expelled from the Academy."
The old man nodded and took a sip of his tea, "You are friends with Yuka-san?"
Kazumi paused and frowned, "I didn't really talk to her much. She was a student, and I… I am one of the principals in the school, you see. But I was… close… to the man who sired her child," he swallowed the scalding tea in his cup after finding trouble speaking. The wound was still so fresh.
"Yuka's lover… Yukihara Izumi. He was my younger brother," he said, "I am Mikan-chan's Uncle."
The old man looked at him with a weighty gaze that said everything and nothing at all, neither judging nor asking any questions, "I see. You are here to take little Mikan-chan, then?"
Kazumi hesitated, "No… at least, not yet, Sakura-san."
Silence reigned for a while between both men.
"The Academy is where I live. I sleep there, I eat there, I work there – and I take my duties very seriously. The Academy is no place to raise a child, Sakura-san," he said gravely, "And I am not fit to raise a child myself because I never learned to be one. I grew up in the Academy and… I can honestly say it was not the best experience."
"I see…" the old man said, reaching for the pot of tea and pouring him another cup, "So, Mikan-chan will stay here?"
Kazumi sighed, "For as long as I can hide her from the sensors, yes. Though young, Mikan-chan already shows much power. The sensors have already alerted us of her presence. She garnered some curiosity – but thankfully, they decided to leave her alone until she at least learns to be potty-trained."
Kazumi frowned gravely at the old man who he would be leaving his niece to, "Sakura-san, please understand. There are some people who would use Mikan-chan for ill gain. Because of her power, she will be sought and hunted – what happiness and joy she could have had will be denied her because she is a rare and powerful Alice."
"She is my niece," Kazumi said, his expression broken, "My last remaining family. Please – Please help me hide her. In time, I will return for her to help train her – but in the mean time I beg you:
"Help me hide Mikan-chan. Help me raise her right."
Sakura Kobayashi put the cooling cup of tea down on its saucer, dusted off his aging, spotted hands and said, "Well. I think it was high time I started a new adventure again, anyway."
Smiling, the wrinkled, old man looked years younger as he slowly stood and stretched, "Sign me up!"
Timeline: 11 years later.
The Sixth Grade class of Section B in the Elementary School Division was abuzz with rumor.
"I overheard it! A new student has just been enrolled in our class!"
Students flocked around Dai, the kid with the Extrasensory Type Alice – an eavesdropper without really meaning to. He couldn't help it. His ears just automatically picked up interesting things. That these 'interesting things' were usually said near the faculty room was a happy coincidence.
"No way! Here? Are they a boy or a girl? They better not make googly eyes at our Natsume-kun!"
"Really? Do you know what Alice they have?"
"What are they saying?"
"Hush!" Dai said, a necessary word in his vocabulary, "Stop talking! I'm trying to hear –"
The class quieted down immediately, and several other kids also tried to reach out with their own Alices about the most recent curiosity. Their latest addition had been Imai Hotaru, after all, and she had been among the class for around two years. Fresh meat was overdue.
Especially when Imai proved to be a very tough nut to crack. She had been no fun at all.
"Ah! Her name's Sakura Mikan. She's talking with Narumi-sensei right now… He's saying welcome to Alice Academy, yadda yadda yadda… Oh! The new girl's just been introduced to Imai and Iinchou (so that's why those two goody-two-shoes went) … They're all headed here!"
Shouda Sumire smirked in a decidedly catty fashion as she turned to the members of the Natsume and Ruka Fan Club, "Hear that, girls? There's fresh meat on the way!"
"Oi, don't be so hasty! What if she has a dangerous Alice?" asked Mochiage, ridiculing the idea of Shouda acting high-and-mighty at a Dangerous Type.
"Natsume-kun will protect me, won't you, Natsume-kun?" Sumire asked bashfully, batting her large, olive green eyes at a boy seated in the back row of the class.
Hyuuga Natsume didn't even deign to acknowledge her, busy as he was with the engrossing text in his manga, his deep, ruby-colored eyes never once lifting from the pages of his literature.
Mochiage observed the exchange and scoffed. Sumire glared daggers at him, daring him to say anything more demeaning or even lifting her with his Levitation Alice.
"Anyway," Mochiage said, looking back at Dai, "Did you hear what her Alice was?"
"No, sorry, Mochi," Dai said with a frown, "At any rate, we'll find out soon for sure. They're outside the building already."
At this, most of the students made their way to the window that overlooked the entrance, their curiosities getting the better of them.
Narumi-sensei, along with the class representatives Tobita Yuu and Imai Hotaru, were standing around a girl their age with thick, long brown hair and a kind, smiling face.
"Meh, she looks nothing special," Sumire commented, letting go of a small, relieved breath.
"Oi, Koko, can you read them for me?" Mochi asked eagerly, "Try to find out what her Alice is!"
At that moment, though, Narumi-sensei lead the new student inside the building.
"Places, everyone! Narumi-sensei and the new kid are entering soon!" yelled Sumire as everyone scrambled for their seats.
A few moments later, the door opened, and Narumi-sensei walked in trailed by Imai, the Iinchou, and the new enrollee.
Everyone pretended to be disinterested as Narumi-sensei called for their attention, "All right, everyone! Settle down now! I'm sure you're all excited to meet our newest classmate. Go ahead, Mikan-chan," he said to the newbie, "Introduce yourself."
Wide, guileless, chocolate brown eyes stared at the class curiously. A warm, excited smile – the very picture of normalcy, "Hello, everyone. I'm Sakura Mikan. Nice to meet you," she gave a short, polite bow and smiled once more at the class.
"Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!"
End.