Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice.

Warning: OOC (Out of Character) & AU (Alternate Universe): no complaints on how Natsume isn't like this or Mikan isn't like this or that because I already said that this story is OOC: because it's just fan fiction anyway.

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"A forbidden kiss burns hotter than fire."
-Anonymous

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A truce was formed between Heaven and Hell to keep peace between the two forces. It was agreed that when the daughter of the Heavens above was born, she was to be married to the son of the fiery inferno below the earth when the he turned eighteen in human years. It was soon prophesied that this agreement is what would become the down fall of both the gods of Heaven and of Hell. But both the gods of Heaven and Hell just laughed at the prophecy and mocked it saying, "How could such a thing happen?" And they continued their merry ways, drinking and enjoying themselves day by day, night by night.

It was foolish of them not to have heeded the warning that they were given, but they found out when it was too late. Seventeen years have passed and the Prince of Hell stood all powerful and mighty. His mesmerizing beauty was almost at its peak, and his powers were second to none. The gods of Hell were proud, knowing that the prince would soon take over the throne and become a great ruler, exceeding those before him. This prince was Hyuuga Natsume.

But one thing had gone terribly wrong. No god knew about it; not the gods of Hell nor the gods of Heaven—no one knew about his love for a nymph on Earth. She was a nymph of a cherry blossom tree: the largest and oldest cherry blossom tree which sat in the midst of others near a river. The nymph was called Sakura Mikan. She was well-known for her beauty: her long brown hair which smelled of a sweet fragrance, her smooth porcelain skin, and her face which was beautiful beyond compare. But she was more so known for her gentle and kind nature, and how she easily made others happy by merely smiling.

It was at that nearby river, when she was bathing one day, that Natsume saw her. He immediately became captive of her beauty. She fell for him the instant that she saw him as well. But it was only after they really got to know each other and after a lot of arguing that they really fell for each other. There was only one problem: their love was forbidden; Natsume was well aware, but he couldn't help falling deeper and deeper in love with the nymph. He thought: why he should marry a daughter of the Heavens who he hasn't even met or seen once? He decided to do what he wanted, not knowing that their love would also be ill-fated. Despite his cold attitude toward everyone, he couldn't help being at least a little nice to her; she seemed so fragile, as if she would break because of the smallest things.

Today, he came to visit Mikan once again. When he arrived, she was sitting under a tree, waiting patiently for him. It was twilight, and she looked as beautiful as ever.

"Mikan," Natsume whispered, approaching her from behind and hugging her.

"Good evening, Natsume," she laughed softly. "How has the prince been today so far?"

"Don't even ask. Everyone keeps trying to suck up to me because I'm the prince. I want to burn them all. Hear their cries of agony, pleading to be saved. They're all so fake. It's annoying."

Mikan sighed. "Natsume. . . I need to talk to you. Seriously."

"What happened? Did another one of those humans try to take you away?" Natsume thundered. He didn't want anyone to touch his beloved Mikan.

She shook her head, her brown locks swaying in the same motion. "No, it's not that. . . It's something else." She looked at him and tried to smile, but her attempt was futile. Her countenance had a sad expression and her eyes showed sorrow. "Time is almost up. . . You're going to turn eighteen in a few months. . . The agreement between Heaven and Hell. . . You have to get married to the daughter of the Heavens or else. . . War will be waged between the two and it'll be all my fault for stealing the heart of Hell's Prince."

"No," he said in a straight forward manner. "I won't let those idiots decide how my life is going to be."

"But, Natsume—"

He cut her off and said, "Let's run away together, alright? To the Land of Alices. They can't deny our love there. No power can defy that of the Alices."

She looked at him, bewildered. "Are you serious?" Her mouth was hanging partially open. She couldn't believe that Natsume wanted to go there. It was almost impossible to get there. Everyone knew that, and she, being a nymph, knew more than anyone else how hard it was to get to the land of Alice.

Humans have tried to get there, but none succeeded. Even the gods found it difficult to get there, so they gave up. Why would the gods try to get there, you ask? Because they were greedy and hungered for more power. But most importantly, there was a well-known gate that blocked the path to the Land of Alices. It would ask for something important for one to be able to pass; not something important but rather, the most important thing to the one who wished to pass, whether it was something tangible or intangible—or even if it was a person. Everyone was too greedy to give up what they treasured the most; the earth that she walked on told her how the gates requested the person who was most beloved to cold-hearted people, but even though those people would easily kill anyone, they weren't able to complete their task because they didn't care about anyone enough. The earth could "talk" to Mikan because it was associated with nature, and she was, after all, a nymph.

"Of course I'm serious. Tonight."

"O-Okay..."

"Don't worry, it'll be alright." He smiled and kissed her forehead, then disappeared, returning to the Underworld.

Mikan's forehead creased with worry. She was still overwhelmed by the fact that she was going to run away with the the prince of the world beneath her. Of course, she was scared. everybody would finally know about their forbidden love. If the gods caught her, then it would all be over. As for Natsume. . . She shrugged, not wanting to think about what punishments they would give to her beloved. She was determined to get to the Land of Alices. She didn't want to be less determined than Natsume when he was giving it his all. He was going to give up everything for her, so she should try her best, too. After all, he was a prince and she was just a nymph.

Natsume sprinkled sleeping dust on all the inhabitants of the Underworld, leaving them all fast asleep. No one knows how, but he managed to do the same to the inhabitants of the world above. He took his sword which was made especially for him by the best blacksmiths that there ever were, but didn't bring a shield for protection. He thought that he would kill all his enemies before they even had a chance to attack.

He went to meet Mikan again, in the darkness of the night.

"The stars and the moon are our only witnesses," he told the brunette upon meeting her.

She nodded and smiled. "Let's get going. We can't afford to waste time."

And their journey began.

Author's Note: I was planning on making this story a one shot, but I don't know. Should I delete this and then re-post the whole story as just one chapter? I don't think that it'll be long anyway. This chapter was short but I hope you guys enjoyed it anyway. I also got a new pen name. :) ...Again.

Ja,

-Aimee