Author Notes

Before you start reading:

~I made up this story out of stress for the most recent chapters. If you haven't read them then I suggest you go and read them first as to not be spoiled.
~This is my first story. Reviews are greatly appreciated to help decide if I should continue this story or not.

Gakuen Alice and its characters belong to Tachibana Higuchi

Enjoy!

Remember Me

"Natsume, just leave it. There was nothing we could do."

"The hell there wasn't!"

"Calm down! Listen to me - hey, where are you going? Natsume!"

Luca called out after Natsume, but Natsume just kept walking, ignoring him.

Months had passed since the incident with the Elementary School Principal, and everything had more or less returned to normal. It had taken weeks for Natsume to wake up, and all of his friends had been ecstatic. However, for Natsume it was too late. The bad news had came to him just now, as he was getting ready to leave the hospital.

Natsume had been asking about Mikan since the moment he woke up, but everyone brushed him off, telling him not to worry and that he should rest. When he finally got Luca tell him about Mikan, he got enraged and walked out of the room.

Luca kept calling after him, trying to keep up, but Natsume already couldn't listen to him. He was too far ahead, and his mind was running wild.

Why did they let this happen? Did nobody do anything to try and stop them?

And here he was all this time, uselessly passed out while this all happened.

Natsume started walking faster, as fast as his body allowed him to. Where he got all this energy after waking up just a few days before he didn't know, but he couldn't afford to stop and think about it.

He walked through the familiar hallways in the Elementary Division building until he reached the Principal's office. When he opened the door, he saw exactly what he was expecting.

"Naru," he said slowly through gritting teeth.

There he was, sitting on his new big chair behind his new desk. He seemed comfortable enough in his new office. It hadn't been at first, when he was first offered the position, but Narumi had decorated the room with bows and ruffles and that seemed to work for him. It looked like a horrible cat lady place, Natsume thought.

"My my, Natsume-kun, I heard you were finally allowed out of the hospital. Congratulations!" he started clapping with that stupid grin on his face he always wore. When he saw Natsume glaring at him, he stopped. "You don't look too happy, though."

"Cut out the dumb act. Why did you let her leave?" said Natsume. Narumi's smile faded.

"You better sit down."

"Answer me," said Natsume, as he walked closer until he was standing right before his desk. "You let this happen. Why would you do that?"

"It was for the best, trust me-"

BAM. Natsume banged his fist on his desk. "Trust you?" he said, incredulous. "SHE trusted you! And you kicked her out! She saved this place! If it wasn't for her, you wouldn't be sitting on that damn chair! None of us would even be here! And you repay her by making her leave the academy? Are you out of your damn mind?"

Natsume could barely contain his anger. He wanted to strangle him. Mikan had sacrificed her alice and saved everyone, and they had made her leave. Natsume couldn't believe it.

"This wasn't my decision," Narumi began explaining, "this is what we do with everyone who loses their alice. It's not right to keep them here. They need to be out there where they belong."

Natsume didn't want to listen to his explanation. He still couldn't accept it, but the deed was done. Mikan was already somewhere else, away from here. From him.

He wanted to see her so badly.

"Here is where she belongs," said Natsume, almost as low as a whisper. He couldn't meet Narumi's eyes. "This is her home, you can't just kick her out."

"She has another home."

"Right," Natsume clenched his fist that was still on the desk, "and I'm going to go see her," he said, and turned to the door.

"I can't let you do that, Natsume-kun," said Narumi quickly, a bit alarmed.

"And why the hell not?"

Narumi looked him straight in the eyes.

"Because she doesn't know who you are."

"Natsume, are you there?" Said Luca softly from the other side of the door to Natsume's room. He had lost Natsume when he ran off, and somebody told him afterwards that he had been taken to his room. Luca stood outside as he waitied for an answer, but he didn't get one. He tried on the door knob, and it wasn't locked, so he went in.

He found Natsume sitting on his bed, staring into nothingness. "Brought your stuff from the hospital," said Luca. Natsume briefly looked up at him, but dropped his gaze as quickly, muttering a thanks. Luca walked towards him.

"You okay?"

Natsume hesitatingly shook his head. After a moment, he said "I need to go see her."

"You can't," said Luca. "At least not yet."

Natsume turned to look at him. His eyes were hollow but for a second they glinted with something like recognition.

"No," Natsume dropped his gaze again. "You wouldn't know," he said, as if talking to himself.

"Is it about Sakura?" said Luca, trying to make Natsume talk to him. "I'm really sorry we kept it from you. We thought it was best to wait until you got better."

"I feel like this is partly my fault," said Natsume.

"How can this be your fault?"

"I was passed out while this all happened. Maybe I could have done something."

"You were fighting for your life, Natsume. Come on, don't be hard on yourself. There was really nothing we could do."

"Nevermind. You wouldn't understand." Natsume sighed.

Oh, but he did understand. "Are you looking down on me?" said Luca jokingly, nudging Natsume with his arm as he sat next to him. "You don't think I want to see her, too?"

"...Sorry."

"I get it. You don't have to push yourself, Natsume," said Luca, trying to cheer him up. "She waited for you, you know? I'm sure she wants to see you as well." Luca didn't see it, but that just made Natsume grimace. He went on. "Maybe they'll let you out and you could go see her."

"I'm planning on doing that either way," said Natsume.

"Yeah, but for now you should concentrate on getting better. Sakura wasn't the only one who was worried about you, you know?" The look on Natsume's face made Luca think it'd be best if he stopped mentioning Mikan for now. "Everyone else was worried as well. So rest up, you owe us that much."

"Yeah," said Natsume. Then, he said "thanks, Luca."

"No problem," Luca said, relieved that at least Natsume had talked to him. He got up from the bed "I'll leave your stuff over here, then. Tell me if you need anything else," he said. Natsume nodded. "See you later," said Luca as he left Natsume's room, closing the door behind him.

When Luca left his room, Natsume leaned back into the bed, closed his eyes, and took deep breaths. Talking to Luca could calm him down only so much, and he was still shaky from the conversation with Narumi.

If he wanted to strangle him before, after being told they had erased Mikan's memories of the academy, he'd wanted to murder him on the spot.

He actually charged at him, demanding to know what exactly did he mean by that. Narumi had to call for someone to take Natsume away, as if he actually believed he would be killed.

"You took everything away from her, then?! The memories of the school, her friends, her parents?!" It was like taking his own memories of her as well. The time she went to save him from kidnappers, the party she and his other friends threw for his birthday, the kiss they shared on Christmas, when they promised they'd be together... She would remember none of that, and it felt like a part of him had been taken away.

Narumi's explanation had been futile. He'd told him it was for her own safety. People would come looking for her in hopes of getting information on the academy. She would be unprotected. She'd certainly be in danger. It was the best for her and for everyone.

"So it's all for your own convenience, then!" Natsume never thought he could hate the academy even more than he did before. He couldn't believe what Narumi was telling him. Mikan had her memories from the academy erased. Everything, from the moment she met Naru and him outside the entrance to her very last day of school. Her classmates, teachers, upperclassmen, those damn candies she loved, all of their friends, what she'd learned about her parent's past, her weird best friend, who was the reason why she came to the academy in the first place, everything. All the meaningful things in her life, gone. Just like that.

"She knew what would happen and she accepted it. We all made sure she had an enjoyable time during her last days," Narumi had said.

But that only made Natsume want to punch him in the face. What's the point of giving her happy memories if they would take them away?

'She waited for you, you know?' Luca had said. Natsume then felt very helpless and pathetic. He suddenly hated himself. He suddenly hated everything and everyone. Why did his body have to be so weak? Why couldn't he be by her side all that time? He wouldn't have let anyone lay a finger on her, that's for sure.

He could hate himself all he wanted, though. He could blame his body all he wanted as well, but that wouldn't fix a thing.

And he suddenly knew what to do.

"He didn't take it well, huh?"

Narumi was adjusting his clothes from the time he was charged at by Natsume. Thankfully, Misaki-sensei had come just in time to take the savage Natsume away.

"It was to be expected," Narumi said. "I would've been surprised if he reacted otherwise."

"The way you told him wasn't precisely gentle, though," said Misaki.

"It was a moment of desperation."

"You should be careful with that. These are children we're dealing with. They are fragile but they can be really reckless if provoked."

"I know children, Misaki-sensei." Narumi smiled, and put the stuff from his desk back in place. Misaki just watched him.

"It was a hard decision for everyone," said Misaki.

"It was specially hard since it was Mikan-chan."

"I don't think he really blames you, though."

"If anything, Natsume-kun probably blames himself more." Narumi sighed.

Misaki raised an eyebrow at Narumi. "I'm surprised you didn't use your alice on Natsume this time."

"Oh, it wouldn't be fair to him, since he only wanted to discharge his anger," said Narumi.

'Narumi being considerate?' thought Misaki, incredulous. "So you were actually being kind to him? In your own way."

"You're so funny, Misaki-sensei. I am always kind! Now, don't you have some plants to check up on?" said Narumi, clearly dismissing him.

Misaki glared at him. "Just because you're principal now doesn't mean you can boss me around."

"Oh, but that's precisely what it means!" said Naru, smiling. "Besides, you clearly rejected the post yourself, did you not?

"You know I don't have time to do principal work while I need to take care of gardening. I've got my hands full with that already. You want to switch?" said Misaki sarcastically.

"Sorry, I don't like getting dirt on my hands. Now off you go!"

"All right, fine, fine," said Misaki as he left.

Narumi sat on his chair again and looked out the window of his new office.

'I'm not kind at all, Misaki-sensei,' he thought, as he looked at his students outside.

'I guess it's redemption? He might not blame me but I sure blame myself.'

Years passed and Natsume gradually became better. Everyone graduated from the Elementary Division and entered the Junior Division. All the fuss about Mikan died down, and everyone moved on with their lives. Of course, there were a few who couldn't forget about her and still brought her up from time to time. It was painful for Natsume but he knew he shouldn't tell anyone about Mikan getting her memories erased. He didn't want to destroy everyone's hopes and, besides, he had a plan.

For the past few years, Natsume had been studying all about memory alices, and for a way to revert their effect. It turns out they are more powerful on alice-less people, and not as strong on people with alices. He didn't know how effective they are on people who used to have alices, but he'd have to take the risk. He hoped there would be a way to bring Mikan's memories back, and he was determined to find out.

It took long to put the plan into motion though, considering he couldn't leave the academy, and his body wasn't that stable yet. But recently he'd been feeling pretty great, and he certainly didn't think it would be Naru the one who would help him get his plan started.

One day, he was called by Shiki, the principal of the Junior Division. What he said to Natsume was something he was not expecting at all.

"Mikan's grandfather passed away last week."

Natsume was dumbfounded. Mikan's grandpa was dead? Wasn't he her only other family member left? Besides her secret uncle, that is. Did that mean she was all alone? And she has been for a week?

Before he asked any more questions, and worried himself even more, Shiki explained how he knew this information.

"We talked to her grandfather beforehand. Explained that she wouldn't remember anything about the academy. He passed information onto us from time to time, to see how she's doing."

"How is she supporting herself now?"

"The Senior Division principal, being her legitimate uncle, has been supporting her and her grandfather economically when needed. He's willing to take care of all of Mikan's expenses."

"Doesn't she wonder where all that money came from?"

"Her grandfather told her it was inheritance from her late parents."

A flash of the faces of Yuka Azumi and Izumi Yukihira, Mikan's parents, appeared on Natsume's mind.

"... so why are you telling me this now?" Natsume asked cautelously.

"All this time we just couldn't ignore her for various reasons, but mostly because she's her, and she means a lot to some of us," Shiki cleared his throat shyly. "Since there's no one to pass information onto us now, we were thinking of sending someone from the inside of the adademy to watch out for her."

Natsume waited, trying to not get his hopes up.

"Narumi recommended you."

Natsume's eyes widened. Naru had? That weird, creepy, effeminate teacher whom Natsume had a fight with and have not talked to ever since had?

"Are you serious?" Natsume almost felt guilty for all those years he had ignored Naru, when all this time he had probably planned on helping him.

"That's only if you're willing, and it will be temporary. Of course you will be forbidden of talking to her about the academy at all or telling her who you are. You may interact with her but only if necessary. What do you think?"

Was this a joke? "I'm in," he said. He totally was. This was his chance.

"You can't let anyone know about this," warned Shiki.

"And how am I going to explain where I've been?"

"We'll take care of that."

It was too good to be true. He had waited for an opportunity to escape from the academy, but they had opened the gates for him themselves. It almost seemed too perfect, too convenient, like they had a plan of their own, but Natsume didn't care about that. He could go and see Mikan, and that was all that mattered.

Still...

"Why me?" asked Natsume. It had bothered him from the start. Why him? Why not someone else who is most likely to follow their stupid rules? Didn't it occur to them that Natsume would try to bring Mikan's memories back? Or were they aware of that? Were they doing him a favor?

"We have trust in you, Natsume," said Shiki. "We're positive that you will be able to protect her as required."

That didn't explain much, but Natsume didn't dare to ask any more, in case they changed their opinion.

"We'll be making preparations for your leave, so please wait for further instructions," said Shiki, and Natsume nodded and left the room.

He found himself walking towards the Elementary Division building.

Narumi was in his office, looking at papers that he really didn't feel like working on. Suddenly his door opened, and he smiled at the surprise.

"Oh, Natsume-kun. I see you still don't knock on doors," he said, grinning.

Natsume was standing on his doorway, reclutant to come inside. He wasn't glaring at him, for once, but he was looking at him carefully.

Narumi noticed him hesitating, before Natsume said, ever so lowly, "Thanks." Narumi smiled at him knowingly, and Natsume left the room without any other words.

He then started laughing by himself. 'What kind of thanks was that?' he thought. But he knew how grateful he actually was, and how much it costed him to say thanks.

What Narumi had done took a lot of persuading, but he wasn't doing it for Natsume. He just thought it felt right to send Natsume instead of somebody else.

It was during a meeting with all the principals and other teachers who also were aware about Mikan's situation. Learning about Mikan's grandfather had shocked Narumi a lot.

"Someone should take care of her, then. We can't just let her be all by herself."

"It's not that simple, there are many things to take into account. We have to be careful not to put her in any danger."

"We just have to make sure not to talk to her about the academy."

"You think it's that easy?"

"She should be able to take care of herself. Isn't she 15 already?"

"Living alone is hard enough, even more for a young girl."

"The point isn't that she lives alone, but that she's all by herself now. Now that her grandfather is gone, she is our responsibility."

The discussion was heated, and they were getting nowhere. Narumi then proposed they sent someone from the academy to watch over Mikan.

"It's the best way," he said. "We send someone from the academy to live close to Mikan, have them go to her school, and they can report everything to us." There was a silence while everyone considered his proposal.

"Did you have anyone in mind?" asked Shiki.

Narumi hadn't thought that far, but a name came naturally to him, "Natsume Hyuuga."

The whole room then erupted with complaints.

"That boy?"

"He won't listen to a think we say!"

"He won't be able to hold back. It's too dangerous."

"You think he won't try to take her back to the academy?"

Everyone was talking at the same time, until Kazumi Yukihira, the Senior Division principal, banged his hand on the table. Everyone went silent then.

"Be quiet. Narumi, why don't you tell us why you think sending Natsume Hyuuga is the best option?"

"Natsume-kun cares about Mikan-chan the most," Narumi began. There were some whispers, but Kazumi shushed them. "If anyone can protect her, is him. Natsume-kun is a smart boy. He understands what happened to Mikan-chan was for the best, and he certainly woulnd't put her in any danger, regardless of his own desires."

"Are you certain about that?" exclaimed Jinno.

"This is a dangerous gamble, Narumi," said Shiki. "It's true that Natsume might be able to protect Mikan, but it's still very risky."

"Are you prepared to take responsibility if anything were to go wrong?" said Kazumi slowly. Everyone turned to Narumi.

"Certainly," said Narumi, hoping the other teachers wouldn't hear the shakiness in his voice. "Don't worry. We can trust Natsume-kun," he tried to reassure himself.

It seemed to work. The other teachers were considering this. Narumi was really taking a dangerous gamble, but he was sure it was for the best.

"Fine. We'll do as you suggest," said Kazumi. Nobody seemed to oppose him. He turned to Shiki. "Since you're in charge of his division, you'll be the one to tell Natsume." Shiki nodded in response. "Everyone, dismissed."

The teachers all left the room, passing by Narumi and throwing glances at him. Narumi pretended not to notice. He stayed until everyone else was gone, except for Kazumi. He looked directly at Narumi.

"I hope you know what you're doing," he said. Narumi just smiled.

He appeared confident, but he hoped, too.

After Natsume left his office, he thought about Mikan.

"You were long for a pretty long time. What did Shiki-san want?"

When Natsume came back to the classroom, Luca was waiting for him. They were together when Natsume was called to the office.

"It was nothing. Don't worry about it," said Natsume. But the look on his face said otherwise. Luca decided not to push it.

When Natsume was discharged from the hospital a few years back, he always distant. Even when they were together with their friends, his mind was elswhere, probably thinking about Mikan. Luca knew it must've been hard for him. It was hard for everyone, in fact. But sulking wouldn't fix anything, and he was sure Mikan wouldn't want them to feel sad about her absence, so they tried to live normally. Eventually Natsume started talking more with his friends, but Luca was sure he still thought about her.

Luca was aware that Natsume wanted to leave the academy to go see Mikan. Everyone wanted to, but it wasn't that easy, and the teachers would never let them. They always told them she needed time to get used to her new life, and if she were to see them, it would be harder on her.

Luca understood that it was the best for Mikan. He knew that he had to wait and give her time. A few years more and after graduating, he will be out of the academy and he could go and see her. However, for Natsume it was entirely different.

He didn't know how different it was until later that night, when Natsume told him the whole truth.

Shiki had warned him about not telling anyone about him leaving the academy, but Natsume couldn't just leave Luca out of it. He was his best friend, and he needed him on his side if anything were to happen.

When Luca asked him what happened, Natsume told him not to worry. But for the rest of the day, he pondered about telling him the truth. It would definitely hurt him, but it was the right thing to do.

So after class that day, when Natsume and Luca were hanging out in his room, Natsume told him everything. He used the same sentence Shiki had told him.

"Mikan's grandpa died."

"What?"

Watching Luca's expression change as he told him everything he knew was almost unbearable to Natsume. When he told him about Mikan's memories, it only made it more real and he wanted to crawl somewhere and pretend it was all a deam, that he would wake up and Mikan would be there with him, and everything would be like before.

But it wasn't a dream.

"God, that's terrible," Luca struggled to find his voice. "H-how long have you known?"

"When I got discharged from the hospital," said Natsume. "I went to confront Naru and he told me."

Luca nodded slowly, as if remembering something was wrong that time. "You were acting strange. And you just kept it to youself all this time?" said Luca in a worried tone.

Natsume didn't say anything. He waited for Luca to let everything sink in. Then he continued telling him about what Shiki had told him. He felt bad for being the only one allowed to go and see her, but it seemed like Luca didn't mind.

"You can do it. You can help her and," Luca paused. "And you could bring her memories back," he finished.

"I've thought about that. It's not that simple, though. It's not like having amnesia. Since it's the work of an alice, it might be impossible. The memories might be gone forever."

There was a tension in the air after Natsume finished talking. He didn't want to admit it, but her memories being gone forever was a possibility. It disheartened him.

"You have to try anyway," said Luca. "It's our only chance."

Natsume was glad that he was on his side. They were in this together now. And Luca was right, he couldn't just give up. He'd had to try.

"Thanks, Luca," he said, giving him a side fist bump. Luca returned it, but didn't say anything. They were both serious now.

Luca believed in Natsume. He had to do this. For him, for Mikan, for himself.

'Bring it on,' he thought.