But why me?? Why me?? Because.. I love you..

I DO NOT OWN GAKUEN ALICE BUT I WISH I DID.. ehehe

Mikan didn't understand what was happening. Her mother told her that they were coming to move them somewhere. She didn't know what to do. Her family had been separated and now she was alone in a train wagon full of people she didn't know. It stunk of piss and sweat. Somewhere a baby was crying. Mikan was scared and wished she could find her sister, Hotaru. Hotaru was only 9, and must be all alone and terrified. The train had been going on for hours and hours. Mikan wondered where she was headed and what was in store for her. Suddenly, the train stopped. Out of a hole in the wooden wall, she saw a high wire gate under a gray sky. The buildings behind the wire looked dark and sinister. There were figures in the mist that were moving slowly form one building to another.

The very air was saturated with the stench of rotting corpses. After a while, a tall German soldier opened the train car's door. He started pulling people out and throwing them on the floor. Before Mikan knew what was happening, she fell and opened her eyes to see gravel at the tip of her nose. All she heard around her were the cries and screams of the other women mixed with the pounding of her own heart. As she got up, there were gunshots off in the distance. More German soldiers arrived and ordered all the women into a line. They marched them through an iron gate which clanged behind them. As Mikan entered, she looked around; the bleak emptiness of the camp filled her with a cold feeling and dread. There was a soldier going down the line of people and ripping their clothes off. When it was Mikan's turn, she shrunk away from the man, but ended up naked with her ripped and soiled clothes in a bundle by her feet. As she stared at her feet, embarrassed of being naked in public, somebody pushed her from behind and she fell into the mud. Mikan laid there and cried. What was happening? Why me, why us? What did I do to deserve this?

She got up and went into a tin shack with the rest of the women. Cold water poured out of showers in the ceiling and landed in dirty puddles on the floor. The women around her shivered as they looked for a familiar face. Slowly, they filed out of the building. When they reached the door, soldiers gave them old gray dresses to put on. Mikan's dress was huge on her and stunk like rotten wood. Then the Germans made all of them stand together. A general, she assumed, started to yell harshly in German. Nobody understood anything, then an old lady explained what he had said. At the camp, they would work and have only one meal a day. Anybody who tried to escape would be executed. Somebody from the back of the group asked why they were there. The old lady replied that they would live there until it was their time.

The Nazis separated them into groups and herded them into small tin shacks. There was no furniture, only a little bit of damp hay strewn around the floor. The small room was way too crowded with all the women and girls. Somewhere, a baby cried. There was the sound of somebody locking the door from the outside. Slowly, people began laying down and attempting to sleep. After what seemed like hours, Mikan decided to lay down and she slowly fell asleep to the sound of women crying.

A trumpet blared loudly through the whole camp. Mikan woke up and noticed that the sun hadn't risen yet. A soldier stood at the door watching them file out. Mikan was one of the last ones out. She glanced back and saw that an old woman had yet to get up. She went over and shook her cold, stiff shoulder. Then, she realized that the woman was dead. Something in German was shouted at her, so she got up and walked out, leaving the first victim of her group behind her.

All the women stood in a line as if waiting for something. At the front there was a man holding a strange object in his hands. As Mikan got closer, she observed as the man imprinted a series of numbers on the people's left inner forearms. When it was her turn, she looked away as she felt the needle pierce her arm. When it was done, Mikan looked down and saw her number tattooed in her flesh: J394162… the numbers she would carry with her until the very end. The next man shaved her head. She couldn't cry any longer. Not one tear came to her as she looked at all the locks of hair strewn about the floor. The women's faces were no longer recognizable, all of them had the same blank look of despair on their faces. The girl next to Mikan sung a prayer song under her breath. In silence, she hoped, as did everyone else, that God would help them; that God would save them.

The rest of the day, the Nazis made them work by carrying rocks, carrying wood for fire, digging holes and washing dishes. The stench that was overly present in the camp was unbearable. There were some people at the camp that looked as if they had been working there for a long time. Their clothes were torn and ripped, their hair had begun to grow long and there were ugly scars all over their arms and legs. The poor women were so thin, they looked as if they could be blown away with the slightest breeze. Their faces were empty of all emotion; they showed no pain, fear or even hope. At around midday they were served the only meal of the day, which consisted of a tasteless broth and stale bread. Many people couldn't stomach it and threw up. Mikan lost her appetite and gave up her meal to a girl about 5 or 6 years old. The girl ate the food up quickly and gave Mikan a small smile. She was so miserable that she couldn't bring herself to return the smile.

Long weary days past. Mikan became so hungry that even after the meal her stomach continued to grumble. The sound of screams and gunshots often punctured the abysmal silence of the camp. Soldiers carried the dead bodies and dumped them into a huge pit behind the shacks. From time to time they would burn them and a cloud of gray smoke would blanket the camp for hours. Mikan also saw many people go into a building with no windows and be brought out dead; but it was a mystery to her as what happened inside. Rumors floated around the camp trying to give a reason for why they were there. Some people said it was for their benefit, others said it was because of some disease, and others said it was extermination. Mikan didn't know what to believe, but all the people in the camp were either Jewish, homosexual, or of some other religious group that she couldn't recognize. Each had their own versions of the happenings, their own ways of praying to God.

One day, Mikan was carrying rocks to a mound far across the camp. The task was useless, and she became tired after a few trips. Once she started to slow down, and a soldier came over and started pushing her and shouting. Mikan speeded up and kept a steady pace, but the weight and exhaustion slowed her down after a while. She watched the Nazi get closer and heard his angry words, but she couldn't go on. She tumbled and suddenly felt a sharp pain spread across her back. More pain, this time on her arm. As Mikan stared at the flaming red welts on her arm, something snapped. She got up and ran; between buildings, around poles. The soldiers started a pursuit. Angry shouts and gunshots were all over the camp. As she ran, Mikan looked over her shoulder… and suddenly, she fell into a pit. At first, she was in shock; then she opened her eyes and was forced to close them. She couldn't believe it… Mikan felt a deep hole being plunged into her heart. She finally worked up the courage to open her eyes and look at the cold, stiff corpse beneath her. The little girl was covered in dry blood from the many bullet-holes all over her body and she didn't have any hair. But there was no mistaking that face. Mikan stared into her sister's big, purple, lifeless eyes and felt her soul break. The starlight was reflected in Hotaru's eyes and said a silent prayer and hoped desperately that her little sister was in a better place. Then she wept. Mikan cried for hours and hours laying out in the moonlight on the mound of dead bodies. Why? Why were WE the chosen people?

"Do not cry, fraülein," said a man's voice from above her. Mikan looked up slowly. "The dead are dead and there is nothing you can do about it." The man held down his hand to help her out. She hesitated, should I trust him? Anyways, she needed to get out of the pit. Mikan took his hand and allowed herself to be helped. He gently sat her down against the nearest building. The man took a handkerchief out of his pocket and began to wipe away her tears. Finally, Mikan gathered the courage to ask, "Why are you doing this?" He looked at her and said, "Is it a crime to want to help people?" Mikan lowered her gaze. "No."

"Well, I want to help people."

"Why me?"

"Because you look like you could use some."

Then he saw the wounds on her arms and got up and walked away. Mikan didn't know what to do. Should she trust him? He was a German soldier, but somehow different. Footsteps came around the corner. He was back with a First Aid Medical kit. He gently began to clean and bandage her wounds. She wondered aloud, "What is your name?" He laughed. "Are questions the only thing you know how to say?" Mikan became embarrassed. "My name is Natsume. What is yours?" "Mikan."

Natsume got up. "Well it was nice meeting you, but you have to get back to your block. Be careful." Then he turned around and started to walk away. "Thank You." Mikan said and he paused for a moment, and then continued.

The next few days went by as always. It was comforting to Mikan to see a friendly face around the camp once in a while. She wanted to know more about this man; why was he different? But she didn't have time to think about Natsume. The soldiers were picking people to "terminate" more and more often. If you didn't work hard, they picked you; if you had too many friends, caused too much trouble, or simply looked suspicious they picked you.

One day, while Mikan was washing dishes, Natsume came running into the kitchen. "Run, run! They're coming! Hide!!" he shouted at her. She didn't understand what was happening. "What's wrong?" He pulled her outside and started to run. Mikan ran after him even though she didn't understand the reason why. "Why are we running? Where are we going?" she kept asking. Natsume told her to be quiet as he took her to the laundry shack and went in. She followed him and let him hide her underneath a pile of dirty rags. As he helped her hide, Natsume explained to her what was happening.

"They're picking again."

"Oh. I haven't done anything, why do I have to hide?."

"The thing is, you people have become smarter and haven't given them a reason for your picking. They must keep exterminating…."

"Oh. I understand."

They stayed quiet as footsteps walked past and voices shouted. After a while, Mikan came out of the pile. Natsume was sitting on an upturned bucket. She looked for a place to sit and ended up on the floor. For the first time, Mikan looked Natsume in the eye.

"Why me?"

"Why you what?"

"Why did you choose to help me out of all the people in this place?"

"Because I see you here, and I wonder how it would be to be in your place. I would want somebody to help me. There is no reason for the cruelty here. You shouldn't have to suffer. Besides, I never wanted to come here. My parents forced me. I do not approve of Jinno's ideas."

Mikan blinked. "Your parents? How old are you?"

"Seventeen. You?"

"Sixteen."

Mikan's stomach grumbled loudly. Natsume smirked and said, "Stay here." He left and she wondered about him. Where did he come from? Why was he here? Natsume seemed to have a good heart, good intentions, so she decided to trust him. As she sat there, waiting, she heard gunshots sound from across the camp. Suddenly, she realized that she did not want to die. Mikan wanted the war to end and to be free once again.

Natsume returned half an hour later bringing biscuits, cheese, and an apple. She devoured these fast and marveled on how good everything tasted and felt. After Mikan ate, Natsume asked her to tell him about her life. She told him about her mother, father, sister, and their farm. She also told him how she was captured and separated from her family. He was very understanding and told her about his own family. His parents were members of the Nazi party and supported Jinno. He was a calm, passive person and did not think that which was going on was morally right, so his parents sent him to serve him to in the army. For hours, they talked about their family until nighttime arrived. Natsume helped Mikan sneak back to her shack. She desperately hoped that at last, she had finally found a friend.

So, how was it?? I hope you guys like it.. If so, move on to the next chapter

Natsume: Don't push your luck

Natsumeflaming Catastrophe : Don't forget that my name is also natsume.. Grins

Natsume: Tch, whatever

Mikan: Hey Natsume, Natsumeflaming Catastrophe has a point..

Natsumeflaming Catastrophe : Mind your manners or i won't let you kiss Mikan in the next chapter

Natsume: hn..

Natsumeflaming Catastrophe: Wakakaka, i won.. so, guys, send me reviews ok!

Mikan: Pretty please..