This is my first fanfic. Please don't flame me if you don't like it, okay?

Gakuen Alice's not mine, it's Tachibana Higuchi's.

Please read and review, thanks!

"N-no way! I'm so going to get scolded by Jinno-sensei!!!" A girl rushed towards her table to eat a toast and a glass of milk prepared by an elderly man with an apron in the kitchen. "Ne, daddy? I'll be quite late for today's part-time job. And, don't be late for work!!"

The blonde man turned his body to face Mikan Sakura, his only daughter. "Well, I understand. Go on, Mikan." She gave a quick kiss on his cheek and ran outside towards Nagoya High. "Hm… she's the same, right Yuka?" He gazed at a photograph. "Same just like you… But, I really have to explain those things…"

Mikan Sakura, sixteen years old, who is a naïve girl, loving, friendly and thinks positive at any situation, attended the Nagoya High class 2-B. She tied her hair in a pony-tail, thinking that a pig-tail might be just too childish at her age. Mikan has a good body figure at her age. She ran upstairs with all her might and forced the sliding door to open. "I'm LATE!!!" She found her Additional Mathematics teacher, Jinno-sensei standing furiously with his marker on his right hand while facing the white board. "G-gomen nasai!!"

He gave a sigh and boomed out, "How many times do I have to say this, Mikan Sakura!? This will be your last chance, or else, you'll be cleaning the whole class for a week." He pointed to an empty seat. "Go back to your seat!" She meekly bowed and resumed back to her seat. She was humiliated in front of her class again. That's the 3rd time this week.

Chapter 1: Unbelievable News.

Mikan was doing her Home-Economics study with Yamada Serina-sensei until someone poked a pencil on her back. She turned back and saw Kitsuneme smiling at her, giving her a thumb up. "Mikan, remember the deal after your part-time, all right?" He whispered silently.

She nodded and winked as a sign of a yes. Soon after the school bell rang, she packed her things in the bag and walked along with Kitsuneme and Kokoro Yome. "Hey, I heard the manager's going to give us the salary today…"

Kokoro wondered for a while and said, "Really? That'll be kind of cool, right?" Kitsuneme nodded. "Ah, I'll be having a date with Nonoko after this…"

"Ahh??" Both of them whined simultaneously. "You're not going to work and the new mall with us?"

Kokoro gave a 'no' look at his face. "Sorry, Nono-chan just requested me this morning. I can't reject her offer, can I? Besides, I've talked to the manager…"

"Yeah, yeah…" Mikan patted his back. "I understand. Go on. Kitsuneme and I could manage on our own." Kokoro gave a sorry bow and left them. "Didn't expect him to be with Nonoko, right?"

Kitsuneme sniggered and nodded. Both of them arrived to the music store and changed their uniforms to get on with their daily work-- arranging the CDs according to the title. "I just hate this job…" He said while placing the CD from the shelves and replaced with another one. "These customers don't know how to replace it well, do they?"

"Shh! Kitsu, you'll be in a deep trouble if the manager heard us…!" Mikan said who was doing the same thing beside him. "Anyway, this is way better than to service people in the cake shop like what Makino did…"

Kitsuneme sweat dropped. "Yeah, you're so right…" As they were busy shuffling the CDs here and there, Mikan's dad namely Narumi Sakura arrived to the store with a worried expression on his face. "Eh… d-dad?!"

Narumi was startled for a while and then patted on Mikan's shoulder. "I see that you're having a nice time here…" He waved back to Kitsuneme, who just gave a bow. "Anyway, Mikan? I have things to discuss…"

"D-dad? What about the office? They'll be missing the main role of the company, dad. You're the Chair Executive Officer…" Mikan reminded him. He gave a dry smile.

"Well, it concerns that issue too." Narumi sat down on a sofa. "I talked to your manager. He agreed to let you off."

"L-let me off? For what? I liked working even though we could afford to--"

"No, it's not that, honey…"

Mikan loved to work. Even though her dad forced her not to, she insisted on working. She was curious on how working feels like. "What's wrong? Dad, your face's pale…"

"We're bankrupt."

Mikan's face fell. His dad's company had just… bankrupted? Dad had always been diligent to his work, how could he… fail? "W-what? D-dad, are you serious?" Narumi nodded. "W-what has these things got to do with quitting my job here? I believe that I have to work harder than now, right?"

"I'm coming to that, Mikan…" Narumi said slowly. "The house and my properties might get auctioned next week, so we have to move somewhere else. It happened when one of my men embezzled the money of my company… Well, unlucky me. I forgot to read the paper when I was asked to sign." Mikan comforted her dad, who was looking awfully depressed.

"Dad, I'm sorry…" She embraced him tightly. "But, all the hard work you did to make this happen… was wasted! Damn that guy, I curse him wherever he is right now!!"

"And… well, I've just saved an account under your name, so it won't get affected. It's a little sum, but it's enough for us to move to Tokyo."

"T-Tokyo?!" Mikan screeched. "W-what for? It's so far from Nagoya!" She apologized to her dad from accidentally screeching at his ears. "T-that means, I have to say goodbye to my friends?"

Narumi nodded. "I'm sorry, Mikan. I have to. My best friend told me to stay at Tokyo for a while. Until I could get a decent job and enough money, we could return back here if you want to."

"Oh yes! Return back to Nagoya, all right?" Mikan cheered. "Don't worry, dad. I'll always stay by your side." She kissed his cheek and hugged him tighter. Narumi felt happy that he had a daughter who could share his pain and joy.

X

For the whole week, Mikan and Narumi was too occupied with bringing only required things to Tokyo, like clothing, toothbrush, mirror, etc. All the furniture from the house was completely auctioned.

Mikan, however, gave the quitting school letter to Jinno-sensei, her homeroom teacher. He was shocked, and his eyes showed sympathy for Mikan's awful fate. He accepted the letter and wished her to live a life in Tokyo. When she returned to her class, they were pretty sad about her leaving. The class won't be that cheerful anymore, if she goes back to Tokyo.

"Man, why suddenly those things occurred?" Anna cried on her shoulder. "We'll miss you!!"

"Yeah, I will definitely miss you guys too!" Mikan received a book which consists of all the contacts of the students in this class. "What's this…?"

Kitsuneme chuckled. "We thought you might know when you read it, but, never mind. It's a contact book. Call us whenever you feel free or sad. We're here for you, Mikan."

Mikan's eyes were lining in tears. She is definitely going to miss everybody in her class. Her friends gave a group hug and wished that her life in Tokyo might be a lot better. "Well, my dad promised me one thing. To return to Nagoya after we stabilised our income. I'll return here as soon as possible!"

Nonoko smiled. "Yeah, we'll wait for your arrival. Hope you remember us, okay? Don't be so vain after coming back from Tokyo. I heard those people are snobbish! Especially towards a Kansai person."

Mikan nodded. "All right. I'll have to go now, guys. My dad's waiting outside. Everybody wished her luck and then, she ran outside and entered a taxi. Her dad's inside. "Dad, thanks for waiting."

"No problem. It's your farewell moments; I'm not spoiling it…" He comforted Mikan while wrapping his right arm on her shoulder. "Don't cry, we'll come back…"

She cried uncontrollably on his chest. The memories of her high school were too precious to remember. "Yeah, I will return back..."

X

Standing right in front of Hyuuga's mansion at Shibuya, Tokyo, made Mikan felt nervous. It looked like a mansion from the Renaissance period. The gate must have been 12 feet tall and there was a guard house outside the mansion! To think that this mansion might be 17 times bigger than any ordinary bungalow like Mikan's.

"D-dad…" She said while tugging onto Narumi's winter cloak. "Is your friend a Prime Minister?"

Narumi gave a small laughter. "No, but she worked for him once. And, she's a widow."

"S-she?!" Mikan raised her voice. "I thought it was a 'he'?! Does she have kids, daddy?"

He gave a long thought and it strikes his mind. "Oh yes. 2 sons… one of them's about your age and another one's an elementary. Mind you, Mikan. You'll be studying in Shibuya High, all right?"

Mikan meticulously nodded. "Um…" She pointed to a guard who just came out from his guard house, heading towards Narumi. "Dad, it's the guard."

"Sorry for interrupting but…" The guard gave a slight nod. "May I know your intentions to the Hyuuga's residence?"

Narumi flashed a smile. "Yes, I'm Narumi Sakura. I'm here to see Mrs. Reiko Hyuuga. I had an appointment with her."

The guard immediately bowed, "Oh, Mr. Narumi! The Lady was expecting you. Please, come in!" He returned to his guardroom and called someone. The gate suddenly moved its way. Narumi entered the mansion's park followed by Mikan, who was in awe.

The garden was amazingly huge. There might have been 10 gardeners who were busy trimming the trees and planting seeds. Mikan bowed to them. The gardeners felt shocked that someone her age would bow to them. They smiled and gave a slight bow. "Daddy… she's really rich, huh? The house's huuuuge! I could get lost, daddy…"

Narumi laughed and grabbed Mikan's tiny hand into his pocket. "Yeah, I could get lost too. Hey, your hand's very cold!"

"I'm nervous, dad…" Mikan started to shiver. "How long have you met her?"

He gave a long pause and then, he spoke. "Um, let's just say… I've met her since my schooling times. I've known her for about 17 years…"

Mikan gave a loud gasp. "You didn't mention any of these things to me. She's that close and I don't even get to meet her before?"

Narumi did not answer that question. Instead, he walked faster towards the door. He rung the bell and the door opened. It was a maid. She greeted us in with grace and led us to the living room. On the way there, Mikan detected a lady about her dad's age sipping on a cup. She looked so beautiful for her age. "Rei… long time no see…"

The woman named Reiko almost choked on her tea. She coughed for a while and looked up. Narumi and his daughter! To the flesh! Whoa, she's so cute!! Reiko stood up and walked towards them. "Hello there, Narumi. Sit down please." When he sat on the sofa, Reiko approached Mikan. "Is this… your daughter??"

Narumi nodded, with an awkward expression on his face. "Yes. My precious one. Mikan, this is Reiko Hyuuga."

Mikan gave a bow and faced her. "Good morning, Reiko-san. I'm Mikan Sakura."

Reiko squealed and hugged Mikan tight. "Oh my!! She's so adorable!!!" Mikan gave an obvious blush which made Narumi laughed. She let her off and stared her face. "My, my… She looked exactly like Yuka, Narumi. It's like her clone!"

Mikan's eyes widened. S-she knew about mom! I haven't got to know about my mom since she died giving birth to me. Dad only tells stories about her character and how he proposed to her. "Y-you knew about my mom, Reiko-san?"

"Yes, me, Narumi and Yuka used to be best friends for life!" She replied as she patted on Mikan's head. "It was a long time, though. Hm… I'm feeling a bit sad for having 2 sons without a daughter. Narumi, I wouldn't mind you two staying here forever. I'm feeling awfully lonely in this house. Luckily you have a daughter. She might get along well with me."

Narumi nodded. "Yeah. She's a nice girl. Maybe a little bit clumsy, though…"

"Dad!" Mikan blushed at his remarks. Seconds later, a light steps were heard from the stairs. It was coming to Mikan's right hand side. She turned to see a young lad with a jet-black hair coming down the stairs. He had such piercing eyes, which was facing down and owned a pair of earrings on both sides. He was really a good looking boy with a frightening aura.

"Natsu-chan?" Reiko called timidly. "Come here for a while, honey."

Without even looking at his mother, he snapped, "No, I'm busy. I'm going out to meet my friends… It's a whole lot better than looking at you." He continued walking towards the main door. Reiko looked away, feeling hurt with her son's behaviour.

Mikan saw Reiko's expression, so she dashed to the main door and blocked the way where Natsume was heading at. "How could you be so rude in front of your mother? She's so hurt!" Reiko and Narumi looked at those two teenagers.

Natsume stopped walking and found a stranger blocking his path. "So what? Get off the way, weirdo. I'm meeting up with my friends!" Reiko felt touched with Mikan's actions but was pain stricken with her son's words.

Mikan frowned and sputtered, "What did you say? 'So what?' Man, you've got nerves! Don't you think it's great having her as your mom?"

Natsume moved closer to Mikan and grabbed her shoulders. "Get. Out. Of. My. Way. Idiot." Facing a boy, who is about her age, at this close range made her blush. She immediately removed his hands from her shoulder and retreated to the left, making a way for him. "Such a loser… You're really vulnerable to my looks, huh? So typical…" He opened the door.

"Y-you… TAKE THAT BACK!!!!" Mikan blushed and screamed while pointing to Natsume. He gave an evil grin and shrugged. Natsume walked outside and slammed the door shut. "W-what a nerve!!"

Reiko walked towards Mikan. "Don't worry, Mikan. He's been that way since he was small. I tried talking to him, but he just…" She covered her expression by her bangs. "I'd wish if he could talk to me, even for a minute…" Mikan felt so sorry for Reiko, so she hugged her. "M-Mikan?"

"It felt so good to have a mother. I wonder why he doesn't like it." Mikan said. Narumi only stared at those two getting along well so fast. Reiko led them to their bedrooms. It was situated on the third floor. Narumi's bedroom was next to Mikan's. The room was humongous. A plasma television on the walls, with a king sized bed. There is a laptop on the study table and a journal next to it. The wardrobe was filled with clothes which are about Mikan's size. "R-Reiko-san… I… don't…deserve this… It's…"

"Ah, never mind!" Reiko patted her head. "I wanted to feel how it is to have a daughter. Just try to act as my temporary daughter, all right?" Mikan bowed several times to Reiko to thank her. "No! Don't bow to me, Mikan. Hehehe, it is fine. It's my pleasure to treat you." Reiko whispered to Narumi. His eyes widened and said 'NO!!' but Reiko gave a glare to him. He only nodded. "Your dad and I need to go out for a walk. Business matters. I hope it's all right for you?"

Mikan gave a hand gesture. "Yes, yes! I'm fine. It's an important thing to talk about work, right? Go ahead, I'll be fine!" Reiko kissed her forehead and left with Narumi. Mikan felt her forehead and smiled. "I wished my mom could do that to me…"

She placed her baggage on the bed and started unpacking. Her clothes were hung inside the wardrobe, but she noticed all the dresses that Reiko bought for her. It was pretty. She had never seen this type of clothes back in Nagoya. So, she tried it on. It's a white blouse top with some embroidery at the end corner, forming a sakura petal. A black pleated mini-skirt matching with the top. She heard someone talking from outside, but she did not care. She was changing her clothes, until; the door of her room was opened.

"Yeah, you bet. Sumire was…" A blond haired boy turned to see a pretty girl standing right in front of him. Next to the blond was Natsume, the one who turned the door open.

"G-G-GET OUT OF HERE!!!!" Mikan, who was only wearing a camisole and panty, threw pillows at the boys. They immediately retreated and shut the door. "O-Oh s-shoot!!!" She reddened with a million shades of red. "Why does it have to be that guy!?? I thought he left?!!"

Back outside the room, the blonde boy was obviously blushing too. He had never seen a girl changing at Natsume's house. "N-Natsume! You should've told me someone's there!!!!"

"Huh?" He said monotonously, as if he did not see her in that state. "I don't know myself either… Mom just brought that girl in with her dad. How am I supposed to know where she stays in? There are 25 bedrooms here, Ruka. Besides, you used to stay here, in this room. I have no idea why mom chose this room to be hers…"

Ruka blinked and nodded. He used to stay here every time he thinks of having a sleepover. "Natsume… how are we going to face that girl…?" Suddenly he heard the girl in the room sobbing. "Oh no, she's crying…!"

"Should I care? No." He wanted to walk away but he heard Ruka knocking the door. And a soft reply 'C-come i-in.' was heard. Natsume gave a sigh and followed behind Ruka.

Ruka saw Mikan, fully dressed, that is, was crying on the floor. He rushed towards her and comforted her. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that someone was here. This used to be my room before…"

Mikan immediately stopped when she heard the explanation from the blonde boy. "R-really?! Oh no, I shouldn't have stayed here!!" She calmed down when her eyes met his.

"No, never mind. It's okay. I could choose another place. Besides…" He looked at her baggage, which was on her bed. "I'm sure you've unpacked your things. Sorry about that incident…"

He's so kind and angelic… I can't believe that Natsume's friend is him… Wait… Natsume! He didn't apologize!! Mikan rubbed her eyes while nodding to what Ruka said earlier. She pointed to Natsume, who was leaning on the wall, while reading a book. "Y-you! Apologize to me and say sorry for what you've said to your mom!!"

He continued reading the book he saw which was on the floor. "Em… what's this? 'From: Kokoro. Hey, Mi-chan? This is my number. Call me if you feel happy or sad back in Tokyo. I'm always here by your side.' Aha… Another one… 'From: Kitsuneme. You're best pal in the whole universe! Mind calling me, all right? I would call you too, but send me an e-mail, Mikan. We'll--'"

"Hey!!" Mikan stood up after she had just noticed that he was reading her contact book. "G-give me that back, Hyuuga-san!"

"Huh? Hyuuga… san?" Natsume blinked many times. He dodged from every punch she threw at him. "Girls like you have a boyfriend? How pathetic…"

She felt angry with his words. Ruka only watched from behind, worried that a fight might break out. "He's not my boyfriend, idiot!! He's my best friend! Please, give it to me…" She stopped and begged him. It was her most precious item in her life. "It's really important to me…"

The look in her eyes made him throwing the book back at her. "I don't fancy those things… Let's go, Ruka. I'm sure you're done with the apologizing…" He walked back outside, waiting for Ruka.

She fell down to her knees and held the book tightly. Ruka walked up to her and patted her back, saying, "I'm sorry. He's actually a nice guy. I hope you won't misunderstand him…" He gave a warm smile to Mikan and closed the door after he left. "Natsume, that was mean. I'm sure she's from Nagoya, since her accent was Kansai dialect. Don't bully her next time."

Natsume stared at Ruka for a while and gave a nod. "All right. Only if she didn't start first. Once she does, you know what I will do…" Ruka had a sweat drop. "Come, I'll show you to your room…"

Back in her room, she was grateful enough that blonde guy gave a warm smile to her. She felt much better, even though her heart was torn apart due to Natsume's rude behaviour. Mikan climbed to her bed and slept after brushing her teeth. Reiko and Narumi arrived home an hour later, to show Mikan her high school serafuku that was bought from Shibuya High. But they decided to do the next day.

So, how was it? If you don't like it, please don't review. Thanks.