DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GAKUEN ALICE.

The Isolated Maiden

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Chapter One

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Natsume Hyuuga stomped as he walked in the hallways of his school. He was beyond pissed. He was downright, ridiculously mad. He clenched his fist as he remembered the scene he had just witnessed a while ago. He found out that his girlfriend of four months had been cheating on him. She had been going out with random guys behind his back, making out with them or sometimes doing beyond that.

He couldn't believe it. She was sweet to him, very sweet. But behind that mask was her manipulative part. She was just using his popularity, his looks and of course his money. Why not? He was the heir of the Hyuuga multi-corporation. Anything she'd ask, he could give. He was sick up to the pits of his stomach. After seriously loving a girl, she just threw him away like garbage.

"Natsume-kun!" Rika Katsunogi, his girlfriend called out to him. He ignored her, walking faster towards the front fate. "I'm sorry Natsume-kun." She was now crying. "I will not do that again. Please don't break up with me." She managed to outrun him and hugged him from behind.

"Let go of me." He hissed. But the she paid no heed and hugged him tighter. He forcefully let himself out of her hugged and turned around, glaring murderously at her. "Don't come near me again or you're seriously going to regret it." He raised his hand to touch her cheek. "You might not recognize your face once I'm through with you." He let go of her cheek and turned around.

"That's cruel!" she hollered. "Threatening me like that." Tears didn't stop from flowing down her cheeks. "That's exactly why I cheated on you Natsume. You're so cruel. You're possessive, overprotective, cunning, arrogant..."

"Stop!" He raised his voice. He steered his body, face contorted with pain. "I seriously loved you. I'm possessive because I treasure you very much. I'm like this because I like you a lot!" He grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him. He hugged her tight and said, "But you destroyed my trust and our relationship. I'm sorry. I'm breaking up with you."

He let her go and walked away.

She was left all alone, crying her eyes out that he let go of a man who loved her so much.

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"Are you sure you don't need Ruka to go with you Natsume?" Kaoru Hyuuga asked. "The mountains are dangerous. You needed at least one companion with you."

"I'm going to be alright mom. I'm not a child," Natsume retorted. "And besides I needed some time alone." He sighed while playing with the uneaten steak in his plate. He was a little down after his breakup with his girlfriend so he decided to do some mountain hiking over the weekends.

And weekends starts tomorrow.

And he decided to go alone, without Ruka, without his father, without any of his friends, just him.

Kaoru stood up from her seat and offered her son a hug. She kissed his forehead and said, "I'm still worried about your wellbeing. I'm your mother after all. But I know you needed this. Just promise me when you get back, you're going to set your life on track again and love once more."

"You're so cheesy Mom." Natsume rolled his eyes. He propped up his head on his palm and heaved a long sigh. "I promised to be alright but I'm not promising to find another love soon. Women are so much trouble. They're users."

"Not all are like that Natsume," Kaoru patted his head. "Someday, you're going to find a woman who would care for you not because your rich, who would think of you every time not because your popular, and who would love you because you're you."

Natsume looked at his mom and smiled a bit, just a little bit, but in someone's point of view, he might be growling. He crossed his arms around his chest and stared at his mother suspiciously, "Mom, you're not watching sappy, romantic movies again, are you?"

Kaoru just grinned and said, "Aw. You got me."

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It was a sunny Saturday morning. After he said his farewells to his loved ones, Natsume packed his bag and went to the mountains. The early hours of his trekking had been smooth, until it rained. There had been substantial downpour for minutes, then it turn to hours, and after that, it stopped momentarily. The land was glistening with the rain water. The trees on the way were green and alive with birds.

And that's when Natsume had found out that he couldn't tell which direction he was heading anymore. He missed the nature's show as he focused on putting himself back on the track. Suddenly, a deer shot out of the bush, bounding inches in front of him. Reflexively, he stopped and jerked backwards, falling in his butt. He groaned and cursed under his breath. He stood up and continued walking.

He sauntered forward, promptly stepped ankle-deep in the mud. He scowled as he lifted his foot and looked at the now-unrecognizable handmade shoe. Shaking what could be shaken off, he started walking again.

Dusk came and he was still strolling aimlessly in the mountains. As comfortable his shoes were, they were not really made for rocks and roots in his path. His jacket that was once creaseless, was now dotted with water spots. His shirt was wilted from the heat and moisture of the foliage. He already consumed his food and drank his water, so now he was hungry, and already positive he had a blister on his wet foot.

The sudden clearing of the forest lining the trees almost passed unnoticed. Then he saw a house. He stopped, stunned at the beauty of the gray walls rising out of the greenery. The glossy lines were watery, designed to move with the land, not against it. The glass was tinted. The only raucous note was the high wall at the base. The iron gates were works of art, but he didn't appreciate it since he was so hungry and tired. Now he only hoped that the people inside the house would be kind enough to let him in and instruct him how to get down from the mountains.

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"Alright, Lunar, where did I leave my glasses now?" Mikan Sakura asked. She was standing in the middle of an empty hall, looking around vaguely as she spoke in silence. She was a slender woman with brunette hair. Her eyes were hazel and her skin was slightly pale.

"In the living room, on the table, five inches from the center on the southeast corner," Lunar's voice was a duplicate of her husky, sexy voice and softly accented. It was a voice to calm a baby to sleep or a man to forget all his reticence. Lunar was Mikan's invention, her personal technology, computer and her only companion on the luxuriant estate on the mountains.

Mikan wandered down the hall, ignoring the lustrous lines of the home she constructed with the help of Lunar three years ago. Every angle and curve was particularly drawn to support the rare idea of a totally computerized environment, a technology that has no equal in the country. Her security-enclosed estate was contributed by her genius, but she didn't quite appreciate it because it was made for her convenience. Her needs were all taken care by Lunar.

A bell sounded, signalling the arrival of a mail. She ignored it, poking her glasses on the end of her nose. "Lunar, delete the last step of the input data operation," she commanded. She walked quickly to the back of the house where the winding stairs was located. She went on the third floor that was only one huge room.

"Deletion complete," Lunar responded.

"Screen up to the third input."

"Screen up."

Mikan scanned the figures rolling across the blue display. The codes, punctuations, and numbers were foreign to most but to her it was crystal clear. "There, line thirty-five, stop scroll."

Lunar complied. "Stopped."

Mikan sat down, fingers flying on the keys and corrected the small error. She smiled gently. "I think we've got it Lunar." She was delighted that the problem had begun to unravel. The hours winged by as she worked and the skies darkened, signalling the end of the day.

The bell sounded for dinner and she said absently, "Keep the dinner warm for me Lunar. Just two more minutes."

"No, physical needs are a lot more important."

She scowled. "You are the computer and I give the orders here."

"You programmed me to remind you to eat."

Mikan swore, punching out some of the keys angrily. Knowing herself well, she even programmed Lunar to answer any argument she would make.

"I'm immune to human anger."

"I know, you idiotic computer freak. I wrote that in your program too."

"I'm not an idiotic computer freak. I'm a –"

Mikan interrupted before she would get treated for some detailed expression about her computer. "I wish I never put all this verbal interfacing in your memory."

A moment of silence for a few minutes and Lunar queried, "Do you wish me off line the whole evening?"

Feeling guilty, Mikan shook her head, knowing that the security cameras would pick up the gesture and processed it to Lunar's mind. "Ignore me. Temper."

Suddenly an alien sound, the buzzer on the outside gate disturbed her. Mikan overrode Lunar's programmed response and pressed a button on a remote control beside her. The picture across the room slid on one side to reveal a small television screen. A handsome man was muddy, probably the first time in his life. He looked irritated and impatient. She touched the other button signalling Lunar to answer the call.

The man looked like he would blow out any time. So she wasn't surprised when he punched the buzzer edgily.

"I assume someone in this place can hear me. I'm tired and hungry and I'm not in the mood to be interrogated. I know I might be unwelcome, but it's the least of my problems right now. I'm not going away so unless you want a corpse at your gates, you'd better let me in."

Mikan stared at the console, lips twitching in amusement.

"I guess we better let him in. I don't want to explain a body like this to the police," she said aloud to Lunar.

"You wish the gates open?"

"Yes please, Lunar. Have Lunar two bring the first aid kit to the study," she said as she watched the man limp up her drive. "Then draw out a bath for our visitor."

"Defaults given."

Mikan moved down the stairs to the hall as Lunar three opened the door. "Someone in town should warn you about the typhoon," she told him blandly.

He stopped in his tracks, looking up, following the voice of the woman standing at the foot of the stairs. "I don't know," he said absentmindedly. He couldn't believe his eyes. The woman in front of him was so beautiful. She was just wearing a big, white t-shirt and shorts and she would give a top model tough competition.

Desire seeped into his soul. The reaction was so swift. He didn't even have time to be irritated by his stupid response. The remorse and pain he got from his ex-girlfriend were slowly forgotten and faded. He could only stand and gaze his fill of the woman watching him with cold, dispassionate eyes.

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Author's Notes: Another inspiration from a book I've read. This story would probably have ten chapters or so. Thanks for reading the story. Please leave a review and tell me what you think. Crazy Love Affair is nearing its end. Continue your support for it. See you on my other stories.