Hello everyone! This is my very first fanfic, so I apologize if it isn't at its best.

It's also kinda long, huh? Sorry! I didn't know where to cut it! :)

This fanfic follows the storyline of the Gakuen Alice manga a few years after.

It will probably be different after chapter 127 or so, because that's about when I started writing it.

Oh, and I'll try to post the next chapters as soon as possible!

Enjoy!

Is that… her?

With his head rested against the trunk, the boy closed his crimson eyes and tried to rest. Maybe he was like a cat since, at the moment, he was up twenty feet in the air, laying in a tree. That's what everyone seemed to know him as. Well, not being specific on what type of cat.

Only a few scratches remained from his last mission. Most were healed, hardly any scars visible. It seemed so long ago. They usually sent him on more, but lately, it had been pretty quiet. Much more quiet than it should've been. Of course, he knew the reason why, and he was relieved, but he just wished everything didn't have to change.

He just wished she didn't have to go.

Dammit, he swore in his head. He usually kept his emotions bottled up and hidden from everyone, even his best friend, but it had been harder lately. It's not like he'd ever admit it, but he missed her noisy voice, her annoying presence, her beautiful smile. When she left, she had cried and cried, which was so like her. But the goodbyes were tough, and everyone else missed her a lot.

All the others in their class felt a little gloomy still, even almost two years later. Even her old senpais were missing her and her stubborn, annoying, troublesome self. That girl had brought a lot of joy to the academy, for students and teachers alike—and in the end, she brought peace. The elementary principal was now defeated, Persona cooled down and forgave himself, and the dangerous abilities class was terminated. No more students had to go on missions, and being at the academy was finally enjoyable. All thanks to the girl who was gone.

She wasn't dead. She was still very, very much alive. But right after the final battle (the dangerous, all out Alice brawl), just as she promised, the girl left with her mother, not to escape from danger (since it was done, anyway), but to build a bond with her mom. The one she had never known; the one who left her with her Jii-chan and left because she was trying to protect her. The one who helped them save everyone.

The boy in the tree sat up, raven hair falling back into his eyes. He wouldn't think about her. He wouldn't worry about her. He knew she would come back, just like she promised. He knew she wasn't one to break them.

Ding, dong, dong, ding.

A bell sounded, signaling the start of classes. Underneath, the current of people was already thinned, the students coming from the dorms to the middle school building were already inside. Not caring if he was late, the boy didn't get up. Instead, he closed his eyes again and rested back into position. Narumi was no longer their teacher since they moved to seventh grade, now to eighth, but that didn't mean the boy still couldn't get away with being late. All of the teachers knew how irritable he'd become after she left. Even now, no one would dare mess with him.

Time passed slowly both in and out of class. The students were still wondering what the crimson eyed boy was doing. They knew how much he missed her, and that his recent bad behavior was just trying to release some of his pain. Out on the tree, the boy grumbled in his restless sleep. As much as he told himself he didn't like it, the memories of the girl warmed his heart.

She with her chocolate-colored hair, always in its pig tails, smiled. At first, everyone rejected her for some reason they didn't really know themselves. Even he himself felt something weird about her. The only people who stood by the girl in the very beginning was the class rep, Yuu, who everyone called Iinchou, and a cold-hearted, purple eyed girl who she knew before (and the reason she came to the academy), Hotaru.

Soon, though, everyone was drawn to the girl. Her smile and positive attitude was bright, and she would never give up without trying (even if it ended in failure). Always helping people, always cheering them up, nobody could reject the girl anymore. Even the boy.

"Natsume, you jerk!" she would always yell at him, because he always made fun of her, was mean to her, and always had insults to throw at her. He was never one to call a girl by her name, and even those guys he didn't like— *cough* Tsubasa *cough* — he would call insulting things. It was just one of the things he did that always made her madder.

The girl would always help people, even if they didn't want it at first. In return, everyone couldn't help but help her. She was loud, annoying, stupid and oblivious, but no one could really hate the girl. Her name was on everyone's lips, and that's what annoyed the boy most of all.

"Mikan-chan!"

"Sakura!"

"Mikan!"

"Sakura-san!"

"Polka dots," he said. That's what he always called her since he saw the print on her underwear when they first met. It annoyed the heck out of her, but he still called her what he wanted.

The academy used to be hell for students like Natsume. Being a dangerous ability student was only a cover for the elementary school principal's pawns; for the students required to complete dangerous missions with their strong Alices. They'd come back injured, sometimes fatally, but they still had to go. No mercy was given.

Until she came.

So many things happened. The festival, the kidnapping, the rescue escape. The games, the dances, the friends. The kisses, the love, the jealousy. The fighting, the enemies, the pain. The secrets, the transfer students, the trouble. So much over the course of many months. All in one school called Alice Academy (Gakuen Alice).

Alices. Still, even now, no one really knew what they were, and why only a select bunch had them. People on the outside knew them as geniuses (which was totally lost on Mikan). But inside, they were known as natural born powers. Most only had one. Some had more. Hardly any had more than three, though, at least naturally.

The boy in the tree sighed. He knew at once that he wasn't sleeping. But instead of getting up and going to class like a good boy, he stayed where he was like himself. After a few moments, he got bored and decided to go looking for trouble. So he swung his legs over the branch and got ready to jump.

Then he heard footsteps.

Sometimes there were teachers who walked through there around that time, to go from one class to another. Usually, during class time, students wouldn't dare be out in public to be seen skipping. It was only Natsume. He paused, not wanting to get caught that day, and stayed in the tree, knowing it wouldn't be another like him.

"Here we are! The middle school building. You remember it from before, right?" This voice was Narumi's, their homeroom teacher from elementary school. The boy would know that peppy tone anywhere. He was a weirdly happy teacher, but everyone liked him enough. The mystery was who he was talking to. Tree branches hid them, so he couldn't be sure. Probably a new student. But…

"Wowie! It's so much bigger than I remembered!"

The boy froze. He knew that voice. He knew it better than anyone, and he was positive who it was. That person's voice hadn't changed one bit, even the amazement tone was just the same. Wind brushed by and blew cherry blossoms dancing across the pavement below him as two people walked into view. One was Narumi. The second was, as he suspected…

"It's so biiiiiiggg!" Mikan gushed wish a huge smile.

Her.

It was her. He wasn't dreaming. She was really here. He wanted to throw his arms around her. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to tell her how much he missed her, but instead, he jumped down, landing right behind them on both feet and said, "Yo, Polka."

Spinning around, the girl in the pigtails stared in surprise at the crimson eyed boy who stood before her. She didn't look much different. Her chocolate colored hair was a little longer, her eyes still just as big. A smile played on her lips, but anyone could have expected that. "Natsume!" she exclaimed. What the boy wasn't expecting was a jump.

Mikan threw her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her. He was actually a little surprised in her actions. Maybe a slap or a punch would be normal, but the girl just gave him the biggest hug and cried out of joy. "Hey…" he said.

Narumi sighed. "Skipping class again, Natsume-kun? Honestly, sooner or later, those teachers are going to lose sympathy for you and start tying you to the chairs in the classroom." The boy just stared daggers at him, cursing the teacher for being there the moment he first sees the girl he loves again.

"Natsume, you shouldn't be skipping class." Mikan told him, letting go (much to his hidden dismay).

He just rolled his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

Mikan threw her hands up and twirled, showing off her uniform. "What does it look like? I'm transferring in to the middle school!"

The boy looked at her. "What about your mom?"

Smiling another one of her big smiles, she said, "That's what's great about this. After Mom and I traveled a lot, we ran into Misaki-sensei and he offered her to work here!"

She took his raised eyebrows as a "Really?"

"Yep! So she accepted and now—" The girl smiled. "—here I am!"

"And if you may excuse us, Natsume-kun," Narumi said, "I have to take Mikan-chan to her new class."

But instead of doing what he was told, Natsume grabbed the girl's hand and said, "I'll take her. She's in my class anyway, right?"

Narumi smiled, not really surprised which just pissed Natsume off that he was predictable. Beside him, the girl was a different story. Her face flushed and was filled with surprise, but she didn't pull away as the boy dragged her along and said, "Come on, idiot."

When Natsume and Mikan walked around the corner, Narumi's face fell from its fake smile. A voice said in his head, Naru. Everything's alright now. Leave it to me and the flower, and he couldn't help but sigh. He didn't want to lie to anybody, but this was for her. This was for Yuka. Narumi sighed and went straight to the hospital.

As they walked down the hallway, hand in hand, silence surrounded them. Mikan seemed to be embarrassed, and Natsume was just being himself. Still, he wondered what was wrong because usually that girl was always talking so much it gave him a headache. "Hey, Polka."

That snapped her out of it. "Hey! I'm not wearing polka dots today!'

He smirked. "The class is just this way," was all he said.

"Natsume, how's the academy now? Since I left?" Mikan asked, wondering how all her friends were doing.

"Fine."

"Hotaru?" She thought of her best friend, the cold-hearted, mean, weapon wielding, somewhat kind girl. Hotaru went on a seven month business trip with a client after the final battle, and should've been back already.

"Fine."

"Ruka-pyon?" She thought of his best friend, and the boy who had used to love her, but in the end decided to give her up to Natsume.

"Fine."

"Iinchou?" She thought of the class rep, the first person who was nice to her when she came.

"Fine."

"Permy and Koko?" She thought of the annoying girl who was the leader of the Natsume/Ruka fan club whom she later became good friends with, and the guy with the mind-reading Alice.

"Anna and Nonoko?" She thought of the two girls who were really kind and liked her from the start.

"Fine."

"Tono-senpai?" She thought of the perverted upperclassman who loved her a lot.

"Fine."

"Misaki-senpai?" She thought of her pink haired upperclassman who had a tough attitude but always looked after her.

"Fine."

"Tsubasa-senpai?" She thought of her playful and caring upperclassman who she loved a lot, and had had a little schoolgirl crush on him before, which is what made Natsume not like him in the beginning.

"Dead."

"What?" Mikan cried, stopping in her tracks.

"Kidding. He's alive," Natsume said without emotion.

"Natsume! Can you at least answer me seriously instead of just saying one worded answers?" She gave an exasperated sigh.

In an instant, the boy spun on her, pinning her to the wall beside them. She gasped but he just looked her in the eye and said, "All you've been doing was asking how everybody else was doing, when you didn't even bother to ask about me."

The girl didn't know what to say. They both stood like that for a moment, but then Natsume let her go. He was a little disappointed but he didn't let it show. He also noticed a small scar-like thing that ran across the edge of her collar bone… "Here's our classroom." Beside them were the double doors which all classrooms at the academy had, and a sign above it which read 'Class 3A.'

But before he could open the door to go in, Mikan said, "Natsume," which made him turn to look at her. She didn't scream at him, or yell, or attempt to hit him. Instead, she tiptoed up and kissed him on the cheek, saying, "I missed you the most, you know." Not waiting for an answer, she opened up the door and stepped in.

And she said, "Hi, everyone!"

Which turned every head. All the students of Class 3A stared at the pigtailed girl who stood in the doorway in shock. None of them had seen her in such a long time, so it was hard to believe she was actually there. "Mikan!"

Without any further delay, everyone jumped out of their seats to greet her. "Mikan-chan!"

"When did you get back?"

"What's with that uniform?"

"Are you transferring in?"

"How's Yuka-san?"

"Why are you here?"

"We missed you!"

Smiling big, Mikan said, "I missed you guys so much, too!"

Behind her, the boy leaned against the door frame, recovered from the shock of her kiss, and said nothing. He stood by, watching her shine with excitement. Something was stirring in him, but he just left it alone this time. She was here, and that was all that mattered now.

"Natsume." A boy with blond hair and a bunny in his arms came walking towards him.

"Ruka," Natsume acknowledged.

His best friend looked towards Mikan and her welcoming crowd. "Aren't you happy that Sakura's back?" When Natsume didn't answer, Ruka just smiled.

"Ruka-pyon!" The girl in subject bounced over and gave him a hug. She was able to be much more comfortable around him since he decided to leave his crush on her so she could be with Natsume.

"Sakura!" He returned her smile. It's been a while since anyone in their class had really been happy since she left, so it felt nice. Mikan was the type to bring the sunshine wherever she goes. That also meant it followed her away.

"Ooh! It's Usagi-chan!" Mikan grinned, holding her arms out for the white-haired bunny Ruka was holding to jump at her. Usagi was a picky bunny to who held him, only letting those with pure hearts to do so. That's what made the bunny like Mikan, Ruka, and even Natsume, surprisingly.

"Usagi missed you, too, Sakura," he said with a smile. Another crimson-eyed boy watched the girl he loved chat away excitedly, and even though he knew his best friend had given up, he was still a little jealous—which he wouldn't dare admit—to see her talk to other guys after all that time she'd been away.

So without waiting another moment, he grabbed her arm and started to drag her to the back of the room. "Hey! Natsume, what are you doing?" Mikan protested.

But he just kept pulling her and said, "Shut up, strawberry print. You're disturbing the class."

The teacher nodded, happy to finally get the students to get back to their seats. Mikan just blushed furiously, saying, "You peeked again, you pervert!" but the boy just said nothing, although he was happy that she was the same old girl he used to know—and love.

Once they got to the back, Natsume sat down in the middle of the three person bench, dragging Mikan to sit beside him. Ruka took the seat on the other side. The girl couldn't help but smile a little. "Just like old times," she murmured. The other two boys heard her, but decided not to acknowledge it.

Then she noticed something. "Hey, hey. Where's Hotaru?" Her best friend should've been back already.

"Um," Ruka said, looking around Natsume to Mikan. "Imai came back after the promised seven months, but soon after, she was called for another business trip. She should be back in about one month."

"Oh," she said, a little disappointed. She was looking forward to her seeing her best friend, even though she knew that the first thing she would've made contact with would have been the hit of her baka gun. The inventor was harsh and cold on the outside, but Mikan knew that violent actions were the ways she expressed her feelings.

The teacher continued chatting away for the rest of the period, and Mikan just kept her chin on her hand, a lost gaze pointed towards the window. She wasn't aware of anything else around her, especially not the stares of the two boys who sat beside her.

When it was time for lunch, Anna and Nonoko, the non-biological twins, had to shake Mikan to get her to snap out of her trance. Nobody knew what she had been thinking about, but when they asked, all she would do was smile and say, "Nothing."

What they didn't know was that she'd had a slightly sad look during class. Even Koko, the mind reader, didn't notice anything. He couldn't read her mind, but he just thought that it was because of her nullification Alice which was her very first one, not knowing she had more. The only person who noticed something was the one who was too stubborn to show his feelings.

"Come on, Mikan-chan," Nonoko urged her friend, starting to head out the door.

"Lunch today is gonna be delicious!" Anna sang.

"Says the girl with the cooking Alice," Nonoko laughed. "It must be yummy then."

While the two of the girls laughed, Mikan picked up her books and said, "I have to do something first."

The girls nodded. "Okay. We'll catch up with you later."

Everyone left, and soon the only person in the room was a certain crimson eyed boy. He wondered what it was that Mikan had to do (because she was usually a big pig when it came to food), and why she had such a sad look on her face. And more than anything, the small scar on her neck. Before he knew it, he was out of his seat, following where she went.

Dammit, what's wrong with me? He silently cursed himself for acting like a stalker, but he knew he had to. He was—not that he would admit it—worried about her.

Now he was positive something was wrong with him.

-x-

Once she turned the corner, the smile slid from her lips. Fatigue washed over her, but she knew that her training was far from over. If she really cared about the people here, especially him, she would have to do this. Protecting the academy was her main concern.

Sighing, she was about to pull the bows out of her hair that held it in pigtails when a voice rang in her head, He's there.

Tensed, she made herself relax. She put a slight smile on her face and spun around in the falling cherry blossoms, racking her brain for ideas; excuses. Is he still here? she asked telepathically.

She felt a silent nod. Then something came to her and she smiled brighter, stopped spinning, and started to run off to another building. The breeze was light around her, capturing her in the smell of spring. That's something she missed so much, and after the last fiery rescue, fresh air was something she would never take for granted again.

When she reached the high school building, she grinned and realized how much she actually wanted to do this. Then she ran all the way through the halls (ignoring the stares of the independents) to that one room she knew he would be in. It was lunch time there too, anyways, and that meant he would be…

"Tsubasa-senpai!" she screamed with a smile as soon as she walked into the meeting room.

The boy with the star tattoo under his eye turned towards her, shocked, then a playful grin spread across his face. "Mikan!" Running faster than the wind, she jumped up into her favorite upperclassman's arms. He swung her around a bit and the rest of the club watched. "Mikan, what are you doing here?" he asked her.

"Why is everyone asking me that question?" she teased. "I'm transferring in, of course!"

His eyes widened. "That's great! But what about your mom?"

"Ah, she was offered a job here," Mikan told him. "Mom really loves kids, you know."

"Yeah." He nodded. Tsubasa knew because he had once been saved by her when she didn't even know him. "So how'd you find me? Stalking me already?"

Giving him a little push on the shoulder from where she sat on his lap, she said, "Someone told me you were in the soccer club. And Mom said that they meet every other day during lunch."

"A sport is a fun time passer."

"A good one." Better than mine, she added silently.

"Well, you should meet everyone," he suggested. Mikan gave an enthusiastic nod. "Mikan, meet…"

As Tsubasa introduced the entire soccer team to his kohai, a boy watched from around the corner. So this is where she was running off too… he thought to himself. Jealousy rose in his throat, but he held his tongue and said nothing, just slipped away back to where he came.

In her head, she felt his presence wane, then disappear completely off the radar. Just to be sure, she sent a mental message to her trainer saying, Is he gone? A nod answered her.

She felt relief, but at the same time, something unrecognizable. Fear. Pain. Worry. Regret. A lot of emotions that were just completely opposite from what she should've felt. Her trainer would surely call her soon, so she would have to leave the comfort of her senpai and his friends. Maybe they wouldn't even train today. She was strong enough now, with all the Alices she had and kept hidden, that maybe he would just send her out again. The only thing she really resented was that sometimes, she had to hurt others.

Soon, too soon, he called. The message he sent her was vague and brief, just like every other time. But she still knew that he was more soft around her than anyone else, not just because of who her father was. They had a bond, not a lovers' bond, but the kind that close siblings had. He genuinely cared about her, which was why he was always worried when she was away but tried to push her so she could defend herself because he knew she wouldn't leave. And Mikan knew that she really cared about him.

When she met him in the middle of the forest, her hair now tied in a high pony instead of her usual pigtails and a white butterfly mask covering half her face—her disguise for missions—she said, "Hi, Rei. Sorry I'm late."

He just gave a slight nod though a smile played behind his mask.

Author's Note

So how was it? If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to message me!

-Starlight Curse