Incognito

Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice...T.T

Hope you enjoy it

Chapter 1: The Past Isn't Always Pretty

They say you should live your life to the fullest and that you can only learn from the mistakes that you've made. How could that be true? How can someone not regret something that haunts their soul every step of the day? You can't just move on when you know that one simple decision changed your life forever. People dwell on their mistakes. Some say it's human nature. It's theoretically impossible to overlook an incident so rapidly. And Hotaru found this to be true as well. She began to contemplate whether she could build a time machine to change what she had done in the past. Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted by a rather high pitched voice chirping, "Ohayou, Hotaru!"

Without turning around, Hotaru fired a rather lethal looking gun at the brunette leaping towards her.

BAKA! BAKA! BAKA!

"Baka, how many times do you have to get hit before you realize not to hug me? After all of this time you think you could remember something as simple as that" replied an expressionless raven haired 16 year old.

"You're so mean Hotaru! I haven't seen you for 5 years and this is how you treat me! " Mikan whined. "You're still the same old Hotaru I see..."

All conversations in the classroom abruptly stopped as they turned to see who was in the door way. It was none other than,

"MIKAN!!" The screams from her classmates resembled the noise of a foghorn.

"Oi, oi, shut up, I still need to be able to use my ears after this."

Everyone's mouths were agape as they stopped mid-scream; behind Mikan stood the infamous Black Cat.

Ruka just stood there, completely numb with relief that his two friends returned safely. He clutched Hotaru's shirt.

Sumire, representing Natsume's fan club, spoke on behalf of all the club's members by shrieking, although the sound came out being more horrendous than nails scratching against a chalk board.

"Urusai!" Everyone shouted. The shrieking promptly stopped. And a rather embarrassed Permy sat down.

"Hn." Natsume retorted as he entered the classroom, heading towards the distraught Ruka.

"Wait. Why are you here? You were supposed to run off with Yuka and Narumi. Why did you return to the academy?" questioned a very solemn Hotaru. She knew right away that something was wrong. (A/N: Refer to Chapter 99)

"Well, erm, I wasn't planning on telling you guys until later, but I guess right now is as good as time as any." Mikan's once cheery voice became full of sorrow and grief.

She started to recall the tragic events that had happened over the past 5 years.

"Well I guess I better start from the beginning". And with a deep breath, she began.

Flashback (PoV of Mikan):

"Remember when Natsume and I tried to escape from the elementary principal? And you guys saved us?" (A/N: Read the latest chapters of GA, 97+)

Everyone nodded.

"Well, after that, we went to the Hanahime shrine; Narumi was already there and he was waiting for us. He said he wanted to show us something. It turned out that Yuka and Shiko were waiting there and that they were the surprise. Yuka said that she didn't want me to end up in her footsteps and that we needed to leave the academy immediately. She said she couldn't bear watching me from the sidelines and not do anything when she knew my life was in jeopardy. I remember being paralyzed at the thought of leaving you guys and I can't explain the pain that it brought me. I begged Yuka with my all of my heart to at least let Natsume and Narumi come with us. She finally agreed, but only because we knew they were coming to get us and that we needed to leave. Although Yuka warned me that Persona would have an even bigger grudge against us now because we were taking away his precious toy, Natsume. And boy, was she right. The adventures began soon afterwards. We were constantly moving in attempt to outrun the academy. Yuka was still working with AAO at the time, even though I knew all of her deeds were eating away at her heart. During that time, Yuka taught me how to master my SEC and Nullification alice, and said we had to be strong in order to protect everyone."

The class then noticed the number of alice limiters she was wearing, probably around 25, ranging from tattoos to ankle bracelets. She could probably eliminate everyone and destroy the school without even breaking a sweat. The class shuddered at the thought of someone being so powerful, especially their innocent little Mikan.

"I'm just going to get give you the brief outline. It hurts too much remember the details. Well, two weeks ago, while Natsume and I were out, an assassin snuck into our house. The academy must have figured out our location somehow. Anyways, the killer was masked and tried to shoot Yuka, but Narumi jumped in front of her and took the bullet. It hit him in the stomach; he probably could have survived if the bullet hadn't been poisoned."

Mikan could feel her cool facade melting away as she mentioned that part, but she continued anyways.

"Yuka, still in complete shock, tried to fight the assassin with the little strength she had left. She lost the struggle and the assailant shot her in the chest. Thankfully, she didn't suffer much. But, it's all my fault! If I would have been there I could have prevented this from happening."

At this point, silent tears were rolling down Mikan's face and the tears began to turn into sobs..

"When we arrived at the scene, Narumi was lying there, clutching Yuka in his arms and told me what had happened. He said that he tried to use his Pheromones against the masked assassin but to no avail. I was in complete disarray, he told me to return to Alice Academy. His exact words were, 'protect your friends from the academy, they're in danger and will receive no mercy. …heavy breathing…I love you…..your father would be proud.' Those were his last words and he died shortly after that. I knew that the academy wouldn't rest until they caught us and made our lives miserable. So from that day on, I swore to protect you guys and avenge their deaths, no matter what it costs."

End of Flashback/PoV:

Mikan's eyes no longer showed compassion or pain, but seething rage that could have shredded someone's heart into pieces.

An unspoken silence penetrated the classroom; letting the news seep in. Everyone looked at the heart wrenched Mikan with sympathy and compassion. Of all people, Mikan did not deserve this. They all knew that Narumi was like a father to them.

Surprisingly, Hotaru was the first to make a move. She treaded towards Mikan and hugged her like there was no tomorrow. Then, Hotaru told Mikan, only loud enough for them to hear, "I'm sorry. I truly am. And it's not your fault, if you were there you probably would have been eliminated too," The words had a double meaning, it's just that Mikan didn't realize it yet.

Natsume stood by Mikan's side, providing the moral support he knew she needed. Over the years, Natsume and Mikan had grown closer, although they still constantly bickered like a married couple. It was like there was an unspoken bond between them and both of them felt comforted in each other's presence.

At this particular moment, the home room teacher for Class-B strolled into the room. The students looked intently at the teacher who would be replacing Narumi. He was such a contrast to what Narumi was, Koko would have burst out laughing if it wasn't for the sombre atmosphere. The girls swooned over his magnetic presence. He was rather handsome, with a buzz cut, piercing green eyes and was complete in a military uniform that showcased his muscles perfectly. He emitted a deadly aura and if looks could, you would already be 6 feet under. None the less, the girls still thought that this just added to his 'charm' and made him even more alluring. (Sheesh they all love bad boys I guess…)

"Hurry up and take your seats," commanded a gruff voice. He introduced himself as Takamuku Ogai and stated, "I clearly don't want to be here, mess with me, you'll be dead, and believe me, I don't want to do that. It's rather time consuming trying to wipe the blood off of my sword blade. (Clears throat) Anyways, today we'll begin with what Japanese literature you have read over the summer."

Everyone in the class was downright scared and Yuu even felt a liquid escaping his pants. (Ahem…moving on) A hushed silence fell over the class. Anna broke the stillness by stuttering, "Um-m-m-m-mm…I've r-r-read th-h-h-he Ender's Ga-a-a-a-ame and the Cit-y-y-yy of Ember over the summer." (I know it's not Japanese literature but Takamuku is supposed to teach that subject so bear with me xD)

With that, Ogai began a lecture on the genres of novels, and the different authors out there. The time passed by agonizingly slow, but no one dared to fall asleep in his class. Natsume of course just read his manga, and remained undisturbed by Ogai Sensei.

Even Hotaru's thoughts drifted from the lesson and pondered about the thing that was gnawing away at her. Her thoughts began to wonder. 'The worst part of it all is that I have to pretend as if everything is alright, even though I know it is far from it. And when 'it' happens, I will be spared no sympathy and have no shoulder to cry on. Not even Mikan will forgive me. The thought is scarier than what haunts my dreams at night. I'm literally living a nightmare… It's just that no one has realized it yet.'

If a common passersby saw Hotaru while she was thinking, they would have thought she was undoubtedly bored because her face remained as cold and expressionless as ever. As if she was wearing a mask so no emotions could escape her.

She had asked herself this question a million times before, 'why, oh why, did greed take over my common sense and turn me into a monster?'

Ok this chappie went a little off topic and hopefully it'll get a bit more hardcore in the next chapters. I want to reaveal all the evil plots...-evil grin-xD Please review. All feedback is appreciated, and I love constructive critisicm. Thank you and have a good day.

x3,

Falling Star