A/N: Hello world and all who inhabit it (Sounds familiar?). An attempt to get back to writing once more.

Disclaimer: If Gakuen Alice were mine, Ruka would have a pair of white bunny ears for a control device and Natsume a pair of black cat ears. Unfortunately, that isn't the case.

If That were the Case

Story 1

There's an empty space beside him, and yet he finds it hard to breathe.

Natsume cracked open his eyes for the umpteenth time of the night, unable to catch onto sleep. He turned on his side, his left cheek pressed onto the pillow underneath his head, his mind drifting aloft to some unknown realm. He couldn't remember the last time he spent the night alone—his days at the academy seemed to be nothing but a horrible nightmare to him now. Yes, after countless, countless obstacles that stood in their way—from fighting off the higher ups of the academy, being separated, wrestling with their problems as individuals, searching for the part of themselves they've lost, to finding each other after so many years—they're finally together.

His hand combed his raven hair, in act of soothing the ache that threatened to come.

I've lost her, he thought as he eyed his hand in the moonlight that leaked through his window.

His hand felt balmy as he held hers, as tightly as he could, his legs trying to muster all their strength to run as fast as possible. "Keep up, we're almost there!" He glanced at her, panting as they dashed to the exit.

It was so close, they merely had to ran the length of the hall. And then he had to stop abruptly, as a man clad in black stood in his way, blocking their escape from view and reach. The hand he had been holding ever so tightly slipped away from his grasp without warning, and the man who obstructed his way was punched in the gut. Natsume spun and gave him a kick at the side of his head.

"Natsume, go." His mind went blank, but when she turned to him, brown eyes still determined amid the fear that dwelt in them, her smile still bright despite the patches of dirt on her face, he felt the rush of adrenaline once more. "I'll hold them off as long as I can."

He just looked at her, his eyes searching for an explanation in her face. "No." A small growl was in his throat as he made a grab for wrist, turning on his heel, trying to force her to come. But she resisted and took her hand from him, giving him yet again another reassuring grin.

Sweat trickled down her cheek as she fought off the men that came at them, as more of them came gushing from left and right. "Then what the hell did I come here for if I can't take you back with me?"

"Natsume, just hurry up! If you don't go they'll catch us both!"

His mind tried to win over his temper. He looked to the exit down the hall. More men were coming.

His hands balled at his sides, his knuckles turning white as they did. He gritted his teeth, then turned to her for one last glimpse of her. "I'll come back for you, I promise, Mikan."

The sound of his voice, sincere and honest, gave her all the reassurance she needed. He'll come back for her, that went without saying. "I know."

I shouldn't have left her there, we could've made it out if we ran fast enough!

He blocked his eyes with the length of his arm, biting his lower lip in anger and frustration. Natsume couldn't take it anymore.

He sat up on his bed, his hand searched for the cell phone on his bed side table. Natsume dialed Ruka's number as quickly as he could, then placed the device next to his ear. A whirring sound filled his hearing, then finally, a yawn came, and Ruka drawled out a sleepy, "Hello?"

"We have to go back there. Now." Natsume demanded, switching the lights on. There was a pause on Ruka's end as Natsume muttered things the blond couldn't comprehend. "Are you listening to me Ruka?" Natsume rummaged for a decent change of clothes in his walk-in closet, then tossed a pair of jeans he found on his messy bed and then a black long-sleeved shirt followed suit.

"Dude, it's three in the morning. Go to bed."

"I can't," Natsume said as he began shredding his clothes, the phone still stuck to his ear. "Not when I know she's trapped inside her room, alone with that beastly creature."

"You mean her mother."

"Same thing."

Ruka gave another weary yawn, before answering: "Yuka shooting you down got to you?"

"Shut up, Ruka. She did not shoot me down. It's just hard for her to understand all this." Natsume held the phone between his shoulder and ear, as he pulled his pants up and zipped them closed.

"I'm not sure if it's alcohol or drugs, but it seems to me you don't remember telling her you were going to marry Mikan next week—"

"—Ruka"

"—and that you've already planned out the conception of a soccer team in advance so she doesn't have to worry about growing old without any grandkids. You practically told her you're going to be at it like rabbits even before the marriage." Ruka waited for Natsume's answer, his sleep catching onto him as his wall clock ticked.

"I'm bringing chocolates to appease her," he said out of the blue, buttoning the last of his shirt's buttons, ignoring the last bit Ruka said.

"…"

"Goodnight, Natsume. The go-to-sleep-before-mommy-Yuka-bites-your-head-off suggestion remains ignored by the way."

"…"

Beep.

—End

A/N: I don't know what happened.