Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice.
Claimer: This fan fiction and the OCs are mine.
This story follows only the anime, and takes place five years before its timeline. The interpretation of Misaki presented in this fic is my own, and has been drawn up based entirely on the anime. I don't read the manga, so please overlook any inconsistencies with it that will undoubtedly turn up.
The Garden of Wishes
Misaki was brilliant, and quite perfect – a genius beyond his years.
And yet even he wasn't sure how to deal with this one.
"I'll sleep in your room tonight, Misaki-sensei."
Lesson One
The Young Genius
"Coffee?"
Misaki looked up from the papers he had been checking, an easy smile falling on his face when he saw Serina Yamada. She was holding two cups of the hot beverage, handing one over to him. "Thank you, Serina," he said, grateful for the interruption. "I really need this one."
Serina took her place behind her desk. "No doubt you do. You've been on those papers since I left."
"I'm checking their essays," he said lightly, putting away his pen before taking a sip of his coffee. He had been working alone in the faculty room for nearly three hours now, and his back was aching from his slouch. "Remind me not to give this type of quiz again."
The other teacher raised an eyebrow at him. "You've already given a quiz? It's only been a week back."
"I give a quiz the day after we finish a topic," he said, getting to his feet as he decided on a brief breather. Ten minutes. He flinched, feeling the sudden twinge on his legs; he'd been seated so long it must have numbed his muscles. "Ow."
"Why do I have a feeling they're going to hate you for that?" Serina asked with a chuckle, watching him stretch and walk awkwardly to the window next to her desk.
"Probably. But I think it's a better arrangement; it keeps what they learned in check while reiterating the details they missed," he said, taking another sip of his drink. "Don't worry; everything's fine. I'm still having fun."
She seemed amused by this remark. "You have a feeling you won't be having fun for too long?"
He almost laughed. He had spent enough time in the Academy to know by heart how exactly things worked inside the school. "I'm teaching alices, and I've seen how our classmates tortured our teachers back then. I'm getting along well with my elementary students, but I'm ready for the worst."
Serina could only nod, apparently having remembered their elementary days together. Their class had the best (or worst, depending on who looked at it) record of causing teacher transfer, if not resignation. "What about your high school class?"
"It's better than I had expected," he admitted. "Class A knows their stuff well, and they're very involved during discussions. I had to make changes to the syllabus and slow down the lessons, though. Leaving it as it was would have cramped their schedule with lab activities."
Serina looked impressed. "It's hard to believe you're only supposed to be teaching elementary general science." She smiled, seeming to have remembered something. "I heard they like you better than Ryuuki-sensei," she said, referring to the high school Biology teacher he was substituting for.
Misaki only smiled, feeling mildly embarrassed.
It had only been a week since he started in Alice Academy, as a general science teacher of elementary school students. He had been assigned to teach two elementary classes - a perfectly reasonable load for a beginner like himself, although inwardly Misaki would have liked to handle at least three in his first semester.
He never would have thought he'd actually get what he wanted.
Three days after the resumption of classes, the biology teacher Ryuuki Seijirou had called up, apologizing for his absence and saying he wouldn't be back for an indefinite period. It had been most unexpected, leaving the faculty briefly unsure who to replace him with. The schedule for the semester had already been arranged, and Ryuuki-sensei's nonappearance caused quite a holdup, especially to the classes he had been teaching before the summer vacation.
It was the principal of the high school division who provided a solution to the problem: He suggested that Misaki substitute for high school Class A's teacher and hold the biology classes himself.
The proposal had left Misaki stumped, knowing that a suggestion of any principal was tantamount to a directive that should be followed. When he finally gathered himself he nearly snapped at the student, quite certain that the younger man did not know what the hell he was talking about.
But of course the principal did. Without pausing to hear out any protests, the student proceeded to highlight Misaki's accomplishments – something that no one could dispute.
Misaki was only twenty-two years old, and yet he was arguably far more accomplished than any of his peers. He had finished high school at eighteen, after which he took up an education course in college. Through extra credits and taking up more units than required during the semesters, he finished in only three years what should have been a four-year course, graduating top of his class at age twenty-one.
On the same year of his graduation, Misaki decided to take the qualifying examination for teachers. It was six months later, while he was presenting a proposal to the family business' board of directors, that he was interrupted and informed that he topped the exam. On the evening of the same day, his guests included two representatives of Alice Academy, carrying with them an invitation for him to join the school's teaching faculty.
At the age of twenty-two, Misaki had the record of being the youngest teacher to be admitted in the Academy.
Misaki frowned, remembering how the rest of the meeting with the High School Principal went. The younger man had been imperious and smug, and he did exactly what Misaki hated the most: He talked about Misaki's achievement.
Talking about himself was one thing Misaki never bested; he always tried to avoid it if he could. He was proud of himself, yes, but he had never been keen on discussing his accomplishments with other teachers, much less naming each and every one of them. It always left him more embarrassed than anything else, feeling slightly estranged from everyone around him.
"Oh, come on, Misaki," Serina said, disrupting his musings. "It's fulfilling to receive compliments from your students, isn't it?"
At this he broke into a guilty grin. Hell, but he couldn't agree more: It was indeed fulfilling. When he chose his profession, he never imagined that what his students had to say could mean so much to him, but now he knew that it did. There was something oddly exhilarating about it, knowing that he was doing his work well and that his students appreciated the effort he put into it.
"I won't lie: It really is."
He was so sure he meant it more than anything else he'd ever said in his life.
x ~ x ~ x
The seventeen-year-old Madoka Katashiro threw herself onto the bed, landing on her stomach in a heap. "I'm so tired," she groaned, burying her face in the pillows. For a few moments she only lay there, catching her breath, until at last she rolled over onto her side to stare at the familiar wallpaper of her room.
"I'm here," she said, assuring herself that she was finally back in the Academy.
It had been on the last week of vacation that the Academy called for her, just after she arrived from an assignment outside the school. The anonymous administrator she usually spoke to had then granted her a two-week vacation outside the Academy, even allowing for an additional one week if two wasn't enough.
"You're sending me out of the Academy?" she asked. "What is this about?"
She had been furious, and confused: The Academy very rarely let students leave its premises, and that it was even allowing her a one-week extension was simply too much. At the time, there was only seven days left of the official school break, which meant going away would make her miss the first week of classes.
The school administrator later explicated that her guardian had stipulated her little holiday, reasoning that there was a certain family matter that necessitated her attendance.
"You haven't been using your one-week vacation since you were eleven, so we decided to consent to your guardian's demands."
"But what about my consent?" she said, trying to contain the sudden anger that came over her. "You didn't even ask me if I wanted to go."
"It wouldn't have made a difference," the administrator said. "Until you're eighteen, you're still under the strict supervision of your guardian, and the Academy cannot go against his wishes." There was a brief pause, and then quietly, "Pack your things immediately. You're leaving tonight."
Madoka closed her eyes, remembering how a few days after that, she was back outside the Academy, in the house she hadn't seen for six years. She wasn't surprised to find that she felt no regret she spent her vacations inside the school. The mansion was the same as she had left it: big and grand and empty.
With a lazy yawn, Madoka got up, dismissing the memories of her trip to the back of her mind. The whole thing was a mistake, but it was inevitable; it had been decided too far back in time – so far back it surprised even her that she remembered agreeing to it.
She shook her head, stifling another yawn. I'll sleep later, she thought, having decided to attend the classes for the day. She had a lot of things to deal with, but at the moment, her studies and the Academy were the most important. She had even traveled during the night so she could arrive early today, knowing she'd have to catch up on a lot of lessons.
She reached for her schedule on the bedside table, pausing when she caught sight of a beautiful blue rose next to it. Kaiten, she thought, picking up the flower instead. Attached to it was a small card, the greeting printed on it prompting a smile on her face.
Welcome home.
"That's right," she whispered, raising her eyes to the vast expanse of Alice Academy outside her window. "I'm home."
x ~ x ~ x
Misaki had arrived from his brunch only to find his co-faculty browsing through his desk. He frowned, feeling slightly irritated. "Shibuya-sensei?" he called out, his tone coming out sharper than he had intended. If there was anything he didn't like, it was anyone poking around his stuff without his permission, no matter who it was.
Thirty-year-old Shibuya Nagase looked up, appearing very surprised to find Misaki behind him. "Misaki!" he exclaimed, forcing a smile in an obvious attempt to hide his unease. "I heard you changed the syllabus, so I thought I'd give it a look." He gestured to the several spare copies of the high school biology syllabus, the one Misaki had previously told Serina about.
The young man glanced over to the papers. "I did," he admitted, taking a seat on his swivel chair. "Is there a problem?"
"Oh, it's nothing," Shibuya said, although his tone seemed to imply otherwise. He walked to his own desk, shrugging casually. "I was just wondering why you found it necessary to change it."
Misaki gave a slight smile. "I made some alterations to it," he said, "since the old one would have cramped Class A's schedule with lab activities in the latter part of the semester."
Shibuya snorted, evidently not liking what he learned. "But Ryuuki-sensei has been using it for the last two semesters."
Misaki nodded, knowing this fact all too well. "Which was why I consulted the administration before making those changes. I explained my perspective regarding the matter, and they approved of it."
The older teacher was wordless at this. It was then that the bell rang, saving him from the embarrassment that was beginning to show in his flustered face. "I didn't know that the administration was consulted about this." He shook his head. "Anyway, I have a class," he said, and without another word, practically scurried out of the room.
From behind his desk, Misaki could only shake his head in confusion, silently wondering what that was all about.
x ~ x ~ x
The young man of seventeen was seated at the far end of the classroom, imposing and authoritative even in his casual slouch. His hair was black, and naturally unruly; he had long given up on taming it. He had the most striking pair of blue eyes, just about obscured by the dark bangs that reached well past his eyebrows. At the moment he was looking carefully at what seemed to be a map, his eyebrows drawn down in concentration.
Madoka walked over to him, suppressing a laugh when she realized that he had probably been staring at the paper for a long time. Even she could see that a number of their female classmates were ready to mob him as soon as he was finished with what he was doing. "Is that what I think it is?" she asked, taking a seat on the desk so that she was facing him and doing what she did best, as his best friend: shielding him from the rest of the female population.
In that characteristic arrogant manner of his, Kaiten Ikazuchi looked up, greeting her with a smirk. "Uh-huh."
She stepped on the empty seat next to him, claiming it as her own. Leaning over to him, she looked closely at the paper in his hands. It was a map, showing an area near a woodland that was bordered on all sides by bodies of water. "Will it be tonight?"
"Yes. But you're not coming," he said, shooting her a warning glance before she could protest. "You've only arrived, Madoka. I'm not letting you go with us when I know you're tired from traveling."
She shrugged, choosing not to argue. Kaiten had a point, and she knew it as much as he did. She'd been to enough number of missions to know when she should go, and when she shouldn't. "Who are you working with?" she asked instead. The two of them had been mission partners ever since either of them could remember, and there was hardly any assignment that they didn't work on together.
"We're only making observations, so I'm going alone."
This time she raised an eyebrow at him, amused. Kaiten had always insisted on being by himself if she couldn't go with him, and she liked to flatter herself by thinking he wouldn't be on a mission with anyone else but herself. It was probably true, anyway. "Oh. What time are you leaving?"
"We'll leave at six-thirty, after the briefing and preparation at six," he said, folding the paper and tucking it inside his pocket. "That aside," he started, staring up at her, "I have something to tell you."
She jumped down from the desk, intrigued by his serious tone. Kaiten held one of the highest positions in the Academy, but he was more often contemptuous than serious, the latter characteristic one of the things he had never been fond of. She took her place beside him, just as the bell rang, signaling the start of their next class. "I'm listening," she said, thoughtfully placing her hands on top of the desk.
Kaiten was quiet for a bit, and when Madoka turned she saw him staring at the array of dark, elaborately-fashioned rings on her fingers. She had one on her right index, and another one on either middle finger. "You're still wearing the third one I gave you?" he asked, sounding confused.
She nodded, keeping her gaze on her alice control devices. "It's a long story," she said, smirking when she noticed his silence. She very rarely wore a third ring to control her alice. "You were going to tell me something?"
With a final, fleeting glance at her alice inhibiters, Kaiten's only response was a half-smile, dark and playful. "I think I'll let you see for yourself," he simply said.
x ~ x ~ x
Misaki was gathering his things when Jinno stepped into the faculty room.
"Good morning, Jinno-sensei," the younger man said politely, remembering how the same teacher had tortured him and the rest of his class during Math period. He didn't take it against Jinno (but then again, he was one of the few who were interested and actually understood what they were discussing), and he probably never would, now that he was a teacher himself.
Jinno handed a piece of paper to him. "There have been a few changes to the high school classes," he said. "There's an addition to your students in Class A, and that's the updated list."
"I see. Thank you, Jinno-sensei," Misaki nodded, giving the paper only a fleeting glance before he shoved it together with his other stuff. He had been too caught up in his work that he almost didn't realize it was already time for his next class. "If you'll excuse me," he said, with a polite bow, "I've a class."
x ~ x ~ x
Madoka watched as Kaiten shifted his gaze ahead, obviously preferring to keep to himself what he had originally meant to tell her. She quirked an eyebrow in puzzlement, and would have ventured a query if she didn't notice the rest of the class rushing to their seats. It took only a few moments before everyone was settled, waiting for their teacher like the perfect students – which they weren't.
"Is Class A pulling a prank today?" she whispered, wondering if her classmates finally planned to get rid of their biology teacher. Ryuuki Seijirou was a man to reckon with, but then again they were Class A, and they had the best reputation when it came to teacher terrorism.
It didn't take long before their teacher stepped into the room, prompting everyone to stand up in greeting. It was a young man who looked only a few years older than they were, and would have easily been mistaken for a student if not for his air of maturity and strictness. He was dressed modestly in his dark slacks and white polo shirt, his dark brown hair cropped short in a manner that seemed to underscore the respect he commanded so effortlessly.
"Good morning, everyone. Please take your seat," he greeted, his voice sounding formal but strangely kind at the same time.
Madoka blinked, swearing she missed a heartbeat the moment she realized who it was. "M-Misaki…" she murmured, feeling a sudden coldness creep over her.
What are you doing here?
"That's Misaki-sensei," Kaiten said, making Madoka turn to him in surprise. "He's teaching our biology class in place of Ryuuki-sensei." He cracked a smirk. "Isn't it amusing?"
Madoka inhaled, barely hearing her friend amidst the rapid thudding of her heart. Instead she returned her gaze to where her biology teacher stood, staring at him in silent bewilderment. It wasn't long until a wry smile fell on her lips, just as she acknowledged the irony of it all.
"Misaki you bastard."
…to be continued…
I never planned to write a Misaki-centric fan fiction. Which was why when Laika suggested for me to write one, I immediately said no. It's not that I don't like Misaki; I just find him boring, and he lacks a back story from which I can think up a plot.
It turned out I didn't need a back story. The idea for this was a flash of genius, and it was so different and so outrageous that I knew I needed to write it. I meant to explain everything in this chapter, but it got so long I had to split it in two. It doesn't hurt to keep you on the edge of your seats with a little cliffhanger, anyway.
Anyone up to guessing what exactly is happening here? Keep it outrageous, because it is. ;)
Hilaire
11.15.10
