Hi! This is the first story I've written, so my apologies if it is not good. I hope you will Review and give some constructive criticism? So before we get to the story, here's the disclaimer.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice. I only own this story line

Chapter 1: Forest of Alice

The wind rushed past my face as I climbed up a tree in the forest at the border of my village. Alys. The place where I have suffered at for thirteen years. I looked at the village house where I live with my family. Laughing, I hopped from branch to branch, making my way into the forest.

"Don't play in the forest! It is dangerous!" I mimicked my mother in our Alysian accent, which was a mix of an Irish accent and Russian accent. Her words, said with her thick accent, rang in my head.

I laughed again, while my tiny and petite body flew through the forest. My name is Sakura A. Mikan, and my friends and family used to call me Mi-chi. The reason why I said 'used to' is because my friends and family had disappeared one by one. The last disappearance has been for ages now, but the walls that had been built then would not crumble.

Though I was heartbroken, I tried to stay strong. I maintained my cheerful personality, but I didn't make any friends. I made sure nobody got too close to me, for I feared that I might lose someone dear to me again. Now, known as a cold person, some sympathized with me, and some couldn't stand me. I couldn't care less.

On the bright side, I had just turned 13 yesterday! Mother threw me a big party and invited many. I did pretend to laugh and smile, but I didn't enjoy it. Halfway through, I wandered off, sure that nobody would notice that my presence was gone.

My mother said I was a troublesome child. Many adults often say that I have a 'fluffy' mind. That was Alysian slang for a mind filled with nonsense. The adults in Alysian were arrogant and they liked to look down on us children. My mind was definitely not 'fluffy', and I definitely am not weird. I just like to imagine and be free.

The old tradition, however, pulled me down. The stupid tradition that females had to stay at home and do house work while males went out to study. I had to stay at home all day. Of course, I begged mother to let me go to school, and she did. Because of the lack of females studying, I only had four female friends, and one senior that was like an older sister to me. Hotaru, Anna, Nonoko and Misaki were great friends. We all got along very well. The rest of my friends were boys. We had been the stars everybody's eyes in school, even though we were worlds apart, that together with our backgrounds created a mystical aura around us. That was until they started disappearing. When all of them were gone, I hid myself in a cage, with countless of locks. Nobody approached me, and I skipped school from then on.

The deafening silence brought me back from my mental hurricane. Not a single soul was in the Forbidden Forest. As you can guess from its nickname, it was 'forbidden!' . Nobody was allowed to enter the forest because there were guards lining the outside of the forest. This came about because the villagers of Alys believed that the people who had disappeared went through the forest.

I didn't care about that silly old tale so I often went to the forest when I started skipping school. I have entered the Forest of Alice thousands of times, and haven't disappeared once.

"Stupid old tale," I muttered under my breath.

I looked around, taking in the beautiful sights of the forest. It quickly over powered the messy hurricane of thoughts in my mind, effectively wiping them out. Many types of flowers and animals lived in this forest, and I've taken a liking to them. I even made friends with a few animals, and now they would not run away when I come near as they previously would. The Forest of Alice was not just a place with many trees; the trees were all Sakura trees, which gave the whole forest a pinkish glow. The nice scent of the Sakura filled the entire forest. I loved it, because somehow, the smell and the pinkish glow comforted me, and made me feel at home. The aroma of Sakura would drive all my worries away, and it felt as if it returned me to perfect health.

It was simple to sneak past the guards who 'guarded' the forest. They were just for show, to scare people away. My concentration directed from the branches to the fireflies flying around. They were one of the many friends I had. They danced around me happily, tickling my sides, as if to say that they had missed me and were waiting for me.

A sudden orange light appeared, engulfing the entire forest. I closed my eyes, using my arms to shield my eyes from the blinding orange light. It didn't seem to work, because even through my closed eyelids and two thick arms, the bright light was still there. My eyes opened, noticing that the fireflies were flying away. I smiled and found the source of the bright orange light. It was from a sunset.

For a while, time seemed to slow down.

That was until I looked down and saw the sudden absence of a firm wooden branch below my feet. In its place, was darkness, and I couldn't find the bottom of it. I looked around me, and confirmed that I was definitely falling. My soft brown hair whipped around in the mist that surrounded me. The glaring sunlight had changed into a softer orange light.

Is this the end?

Will I find my friends on the other side?

Do I want it?

I do.

I flipped my body around in the air and saw the branch I had leapt off, still quivering from my jumping off it. I knew I was falling, but this time, the truth hit be like a brick.

I was falling.

I closed my eyes. Feeling my consciousness fade away. When I wake up, will I see Hotaru? Anna and Nonoko? Misaki? If I wake up, maybe it will prove to all be a nightmare. I blacked out.

Thanks for reading, don't forget to add in a Review to help me out with my problems.

I'm not going to be evil and trick you with a cookie.

But, I am going to leave this wonderful fridge here filled with Howalon, so you might want to rethink that review.

~Akame Taki

Note: I edited this chapter. Everything is easier to spot when you read it after some time, haha. I also made some things fit in with each other more, so hooray. I hope it'll run more smoothly now.