I don't own Gakuen alice

Chapter 1:

Now I have a predicament.

How would you convince a boy who has been screwed by fate: his family burned down, his identity shadowed, his friends threatened to be killed, his alice coaxed to destroy, his innocence disregarded- to love?

Yes, love. It may seem absurd for him to be aware that such a word exists considering all that I said.

So how will he be taught to love?

Is life all too dim for him now that the light of affection and care would appear a mere scrap to him? Let's face it, it's hard enough to love when you can, how much more when you can't, or you're not allowed to? Like I said, his friends were being threatened to be killed, if the demands of those who try to control him are not met. And so how does he solve this? By simply not having friends at all.

Sounds simple enough, but no, I goes way beyond that.

Seeing as they've somehow lost a form of hostage to manipulate their victim, the said jerks resorted to a more general means.

If the boy does not comply accordingly, those around him- friend and stranger alike- will be the one to suffer the consequence.

Now, it may seem unnecessary to protect those whom you don't even know. That is, if you're a cold-hearted person.

But the boy is no cold-hearted person.

Deep inside, he's bursting with a desire to protect, and unfortunately, the jerks are aware of this. They know that the boy would not want anything to happen to anyone. They know that he cannot stand the see those around him to suffer the same fate as he does.

So, he's cornered once again.

With his will to resist broken and with the fear of lost haunting him every moment, he goes on in life. Such life now he spends in coldness, in the dark, in the unreachable channels of his soul. He shut himself from the world. The real him is best hidden where it would not get hurt, or be able to hurt anyone by his kindness.

Instead of risking to lose them by trying to protect them, he submitted, and hurt those around him himself. At least for him, the knowledge of their presence and their hope-filled life still exist. Life goes on for them, even without him.

Such a tragic fate he thread.

Again, how will you teach this boy to love?

In the words of Yoda, 'Ridiculous, it looks.'

And I would have to agree, but hopeless, definitely not. Hope exists where life still takes its breath. And be it his intention of letting others live their life, he must not let go of that hope to regain his own.

Ah, but the roads of man is not all cruel.

In the twisting strands of destiny, he comes across with a certain girl, who, by her sweetness and energy, showed him an abstract power he has never imagined.

It was the power to push, without controlling.

It was the power to touch, without hurting.

It was the power to embrace, without choking.

And it was the power to hold, without causing any fear or suffering.

In this girl was the only hope left for the boy.

With her push, he will be motivated to fight on in life. With her touch, he will feel the gentleness and affection he most rightly deserves. With her embrace, he will feel the warmth and security that will protect him from all his fears. And with her hold, he shall endure, he shall be confident of her continued presence, and he shall learn to trust others.

But that is all in the near future.

For now, let us see how he reacts to her.

We find our boy under the tree of definitive value- a napping area.

But lately, he has done more than take a nap here. This place now holds memories that are dear to him.

Anyway, on to our character.

"…"

"Natsume?" the girl I talked about is beside him, poking his seemingly sleeping form.

"…" he stirred, but didn't bother removing the manga from his face.

"Hey, Natsume? Please wake up."

"…" still nothing.

"Natsume, this is important." She continued poking him with her point finger. Trust me, you yourself will be annoyed if you imagine this scene perfectly.

"Natsume…"

"What is wrong with you, woman? Can't you recognize peace and quite when you hear it?" he finally reacted, obviously weak against the ability of this girl to annoy people.

"Hmm... What does peace and quite sound like, huh?" she asked so innocently, so sweetly and so cutely the author pinched her cheeks. Anyway, the boy gave a sigh. This is one of their highly technical conversations that end up with her having more questions than the answers he has given.

"Hush, listen…" he said, pointing to the wind and with his content, making the girl still for a while.

"I don't hear anything." She said

"Exactly! That's what peace and quite is! Now shut up and let me get some sleep!" mean, ain't he? But he has a good reason. If the girl talks, she'll talk a lot and after she gets tired, she goes away and eats. But if she doesn't talk, she'll just sit down with him for as long as he's asleep. At that, he'll just enjoy her presence. This is the real peace and quite he's referring to.

He leaned back against the tree.

"Hmp, just because it's quite doesn't mean it's peaceful! Beh!" the girl stated, then stuck out her tongue. Nevertheless, she settled down and no longer bothered the boy. Much to his delight, moreover, she just sat that, not motioning to leave. He secretly looks at her. She's so pretty, he thought, and the author thought too. But the pout on her face insults that. He felt a bit guilty. Perhaps he shouldn't always disregard her like what he did.

"You it's something important." He began, "You have 3 minutes to explain."

With her face still pouting, she looked at him, then scooted closer. The gesture surprised the boy, but didn't show it.

"Natsume,"

"What?"

She scooted even closer. Now their face to face. His heart was racing, his face burning, and his will not to do anything nasty was slipping away.

"Natsume, do you love me?"

And that question simply worsened the situation. His eyes turned as big as a plate, and his hand, usually relaxed, now grips soil and grass from the floor.

"Mikan, I…"

"Do you love me, Natsume?"

She repeated, though wasn't needed, because the boy got the message perfectly. He didn't know how or what to answer, however. Was the girl more mature than he thought her to be?

"Mikan," he finally began after starring to those lovely sparkling orbs of her, "Mikan, why, why are you asking me this?"

For a moment there, he regretted answering the question with another question, but it was the only way he could divulge the girl's real mind-set on the question.

But then the girl smiled, a very beautiful smile at that, and with as much energy as she would have on a bright sunny day…

"I'm asking because I don't know what love is!"

Enter strong dessert wind and at their back flew a giant dust ball.

Natsume felt like being flushed down the toilet. Like a fool he thought Mikan was having feelings for her.

"You idiot! You should've asked me what love is then!!" he said sharply, after recovering from his blushes.

"Well, I thought if you say that you love me, then I would know what love is."

Presto, the blushes are back again. Way to go, girl!

Natsume turned away his face, praying that this girl would be sooo thick that the earth would worship her.

"And how would that help you define what love is, huh polka dots?"

"Don't call me that! If you say that you love me, then love would have to be teasing, being mean, pepping under my skirt, pushing me around, and not listening to me."

The stung it gave him hurt badly. He resisted the urge to grab his chest to make sure his heart is still intact.

"But Mikan, those are…" he tried to explain, and even attempted to apologize, but he was immediately cut off.

"But love would also be the hidden kindness, the Mr. 'Im-so-cool-you-look-like-dirt' look that scares bullies, the smartness in school, the warm hug, the protection, the feeling of security, the boost on confidence…"

"Wait a minute! And when did I hug you?"

"Oh just the other night, when we were watching the fireworks. I said I was cold, and you surprised me when you suddenly placed you arms around my waist. It felt nice, thanks a lot!"

That did it. He know he'll lose his blood in his legs, because apparently, all of it were on his face.

"Anyway," she continued, "I'm right, aren't I? that would have to be love. That is, if you Do love me."

He wanted to say yes, I do love you, but that would be suicidal for his reputation. At least for now, he would have to set his emotions right.

"Mikan, love is an abstract term. You don't look at it in one way. You see it in different angles."

"So, love is not in what I said?"

"Maybe it is," he tried to divert from the fact that all that she mentioned was indeed done with his love for her, "but we can't be sure now, can we?"

A moment of silence. She just sat there, with an unusual light of thinking in her pretty eyes. Then she sparked up again.

"Hey, Natsume, will you find out what love is for me?"

"And why the heck would I do that if you could do it yourself?"

"Oh, I'd be finding it out, too. That way, we'll have different angles to look at, like what you just said."

"Mikan, that's…"

"Thanks Natsume, you're the greatest. Muah!"

Before he could even protest, she gave him a quick, yet hear-felt peck on his cheek, then ran off. This left him dumb-struck. He reached towards that touched cheek. He couldn't believe what just happened. The small figure of the girl was soon lost in the vastness of the academy, and he was left to himself.

"Darn that ugly, stupid, idiotic, polka-dot panty girl!"

No matter how many insults he threw, he couldn't let it ruin the warmth of his feelings. All he could do was lie back on the tree, and swim in the pool of happiness from what Mikan did.

Then a thought came to him. He opened his eyes and stared at the leaves of the tree.

"So what do you mean by love, anyway?"

End of chapter one

I hope you enjoy this!

I'd appreciate some points of correction, or information

Many thanks!!!