Author's Note: Hiya! Please read my story and tell me what you think. All kinds of reviews are welcome! This is my first fanfic, and it was originally written with much less detail and worse, grammar so I decided to fix it. This story was originally called United but I decided to change the title. The title was changed before I revised the story. I hope you enjoy the revised version!
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Gakuen Alice as well as some scenes I used from Kodocha by Miho Obana.
Title: True Love
Chapter One: A New Goal
It was 7:50 in the morning and the alarm clock was going off for the pass thirty minutes. The sleeping brunette rolled over on her bed to look at the alarm clock, finally noticing that it was ringing. When her eyes saw the time, she rubbed her eyes to make sure she saw it correctly. Her eyes widened in panic and she screamed loudly, "AHH!! I'm going to be late!!" A thirteen-year-old Mikan jumped out of her bed and rushed into the bathroom, doing her daily chores. She hurried to get dressed moving like lightening. Since she was practically late, she skipped breakfast to at least try to get to class a few seconds before the teacher would walk in. She was running so fast to get to school, she couldn't stop before she ran into a certain boy she just couldn't stand. Namely, Natsume.
"Watch where you're going, idiot!" Natsume shouted irritated. He got off the floor and dusted himself before looking back and the clumsy girl who was freaking out due to her tardiness.
Mikan ignored him and continued to run to class while wailing, " I'm gonna be late! I'm gonna be late!!" She hadn't even apologized to Natsume, even though she did hate him. Natsume stared after her grumbling something along the lines of, "Idiotic girl..."
Mikan made it to class, just when Narumi was about to enter. She breathed a sigh of relief as she walked to her seat as she tried to catch her breath. She hadn't even the time to greet her classmates, since she was only a few seconds from being late. She spent the rest of class, trying to pay attention while dozing off every now and then.
When class ended, Mikan headed towards her favorite tree; the Sakura tree. She needed to relax and that was just the place to do so, but as she was going there, she heard some noises coming from behind the school. Curious, she went to check it out. There, she saw Natsume and the boys wrecking one of her dear friend, Hotaru's inventions. The sight made Mikan blow with anger. She furiously stomped over to them and demanded, "What do you idiots think you're doing with Hotaru's new invention, huh?!"
A boy turned around to glare at her and smirked, "What do you think, moron!?"
Mikan grew angrier by the second. She grabbed hold of one of the craziest boys in the group and cried, "Stop it! STOP IT!!" She desperately tried to tear the boys away from the mobile, but the boys shoved her away as she landed on her behind.
"What on Earth? What the hell do you think you're doing, hag?!" one of the boys shouted as he let go of the mobile and started using his Alice.
Luckily for Mikan, she was now a Two-star and was able to control her Alice much better than three years ago. Even though she was not a Three-star, many recognized her as one with great power. Even those who detested her three years ago did not shun her. Since two and half a year ago, she has been accepted by many. Quickly, Mikan nullified the boy's Alice and frowned. "That was cheap! You shouldn't use your Alice on someone, when you're wrong here!" she declared.
Suddenly, Natsume ran towards Mikan, grabbed her neck, and pinned her onto the wall. He glared at her with his dark crimson eyes, whispering in a cold tone, "Don't get too high on yourself, ugly."
Stiff from fear, Mikan simply stared deep into Natsume's fiery eyes. She felt Natsume cold hands threatening to snap her neck, but she did not apologize. Natsume's grip around her throat started to tighten as his glare grew more dangerous. Fearing for Mikan's life, Natsume's best friend stepped in, saying, "You should stop Natsume. She's going to die if you don't."
Taking Ruka's advice, Natsume let go of Mikan and growled, "Stay away from me, hag." Then, he turned to leave with the rest of his followers.
When Natsume let go, Mikan fell to the ground as she breathed heavily from shock and fright. She slowly brought her hand to touch the spot on her throat where Natsume had touched. 'He's crazy...' she thought at last. Then, she remembered Hotaru's invention. It lay there on the ground, torn and broken. There was no hope for it. Mikan felt pity for it and couldn't help but cry at the thought of her best friend wasting all her time on an invention that just became garbage in the end.
The next day, Mikan came to class on time. "Ohayou, minna!' she greeted the class happily. She looked around and spotted her best friend. With a delighted smile pasted on her lips, she ran over to Hotaru with her arms wide open, ready to give her a big bear hug. "Ohayou, Hotaru!!" she exclaimed happily.
BAKA BAKA BAKA
"Ow... Hotaru!!" Mikan sniffed, rubbing her forehead.
Hotaru stared at her idiotic best friend. She then put her Baka Gun back from where it came from and said emotionless, "Dummy... don't hug me." With that, Hotaru went back to working on another small invention.
"Aww..." Mikan whined as she frowned. Changing the subject, she asked Hotaru, "Want to go to Central town with me later?" Mikan knew the most likely answer that was going to be was "no", but even so, she wanted to hang out with her best friend.
"No. I'm busy." replied Hotaru without even so much as a look or hesitation. She didn't even think before she answered Mikan's question.
"Oh. Okay then..." Mikan mumbled as she walked back to her seat, saddened. When she sat down, she continued to frown and sighed, wanting to spend some time with her friend, even if it was only for an hour.
Just then, Narumi came in and announced to the class that they would have a self-study period, which meant they could do whatever they felt like doing. So long as they didn't disrupt the other classes. Everyone cheered, bringing their arms into the air happily. "Well then, have fun!" Narumi exclaimed cheerfully as he waved to the class before he exited.
Mikan popped out of her seat and smiled brightly. "Does anyone feel like going to Central Town with me tomorrow?" she asked, hopefully. Everyone looked up at her but didn't say they wanted to go.
Most of the boys already had plans the next day, so they couldn't go even if they desperately wanted to join Mikan, since she had gotten very cute. Most of Mikan's friends were busy as well, but soon, one hand shot up. "I'll go with you, Mikan-chan." Ruka mumbled, embarrassed.
"Really? Thanks!" Mikan chirped happily, smiling joyously as Ruka returned the smile.
Mikan who was still very bubbly said, "Well then, Ruka-pyon, see you tomorrow!" Then, she diverted her attention to Hotaru, who was sitting silently at her desk, still working on the new invention. "Hotaru, I'm going to go now. Bye bye!"
"Bye..." Hotaru replied, without looking at Mikan.
As Mikan walked to the Sakura tree, she noticed two shadowy figures speaking near the Sakura tree. To her surprise, it was Persona and Natsume! Being curious as she was, she decided to hide behind he bushes and listen. She didn't mean to eavesdrop, it just so happened that she was passing by and became curious in their conversation.
"You WILL obey me, Natsume." Persona insisted, sneering at his so-called 'favorite' student.
"I will not." Natsume retorted coldly. "I obey my own wishes and you cannot control my every action." Natsume glared at Persona and started to turn around to walk away bravely until he heard Persona speak again.
"You realize that your best friend is going to die if you continue this nonsense, Natsume." Persona smiled a threatening smile. He knew Natsume's weak points and wouldn't hesitate to use them against Natsume. A devil, that's what he was. A cold hearted man who used his students as toys, forcing them to complete missions unthinkable for children.
Natsume turned around to face Persona again, a frightening expression on his face, full of anger and hatred. "Don't you dare go near him, Persona." he growled, glaring at Persona with his fierce crimson eyes. If looks could kill, Persona would have been lying on the floor in less than a second!
"Well then, Natsume. I trust you know what to do." Persona smiled, patient with Natsume's retorts.
Natsume growled angrily and went to complete his mission as he turned around and disappeared in the distant within a few seconds. Persona smirked and left the scene, taking his time to walk back to his dreary room.
Meanwhile, Mikan, who had been watching the whole thing had her mouth hung open. Many questions arose and she didn't have the answers to them. 'Natsume's being forced to do dirty work?' she thought, incredibly shocked. 'Is that why he's always angry and has never smiled? Could that be the reason why he's so mean?' All of a sudden, her head was filled with questions. 'Natsume seems so far away...' Mikan continued to think. 'I'm sure Natsume knows how to smile. I will definitely bring it out!' she thought determined.
The next day, Mikan was in a cheerful mood. She walked right into class with a bright smile pasted on her face. "Ruka-pyon!" she called out to Ruka as she ran up to him. "Wanna go now?"
"Sure." Ruka replied.
Mikan smiled as she turned to Natsume and asked him, "Ne, Natsume, do you want to come with us?" She looked at his face smiling with all her might, hoping that if she smiled at him, he might return a smile.
Ruka nodded and agreed. "Yeah, Natsume. Why don't you come along? You don't have anything to do today, do you?" Ruka stood in front of Natsume and stared at him worriedly.
"What the hell is wrong with you, hag?" Natsume demanded. "Did you not hear me correctly yesterday? I told you to stay away from me." He then looked at Ruka before going back to whatever it was he was doing.
"But I just wanted you to have fun." Mikan mumbled. "Don't you think that you're always so isolated? Have some fun! If you want, think of it as escorting Ruka-pyon!"
Natsume thought about it for a while before answering. "Whatever."
"Great!" Mikan exclaimed excitedly, clapping her hands together. 'Maybe he'll smile today...' she thought hopefully.
'Great? What's wrong with her? She's so different today.' Natsume thought, a bit annoyed with the cheery personality of Mikan. Either way, he got up out of his seat and walked with Ruka and Mikan to the bus that led to Central Town.
The first thing that Mikan saw and bought when they arrived at Central town was Howalon. She quickly opened the box and took one out. Looking at it joyously, she popped it into her mouth and savored the sweet taste. She instantly grew even happier than before.
"I love Howalon!!" she declared as she smiled joyfully, licking her lips before remembering her manners. She looked over at her two companions and offered them some Howalon. "Do you want, Ruka-pyon, Natsume?" she asked them, sticking the box in front of their faces.
"Sure." Ruka accepted as he reached his hand in the Howalon box, taking one out and putting it in his mouth. "Thanks, Mikan-chan."
"No." Natsume told her coldly, not bothering to look at her when he rejected the offer.
"Oh... okay then." Mikan sighed, taking another Howalon and stuffing it in her mouth. "Do you guys need to buy anything?" she asked, looking at them.
Ruka nodded while he sighed at the same time. Mikan looked at him worriedly, wondering why he had sighed. "Yeah. I wanted to buy a toy for my rabbit." Ruka told her, thinking of his rabbit with a worried face.
"Oh... what kind of toy?" Mikan asked curiously. Mikan didn't know that rabbits needed toys. Heck, she thought that animals wouldn't need a toy and only required food, water and a home. She grew excited as she pondered on what kind of a toy a rabbit would like.
"That's the problem. I don't know what." Ruka replied sadly as he sighed once again. "For some reason, my rabbit hasn't been feeling very well. It looks kind of sad."
Mikan took a step back, surprised. "Really? I thought it would always be happy, as long as you were with it." Mikan said, confused.
"No, not really." Ruka told her. "Animals may like me but they're not overly obsessed." Then, he turned to look at his raven-haired friend who had been silent for quite some time. "What do you think, Natsume?"
Surprisingly, Natsume decided to answer. "Company." he suggested. "Perhaps your rabbit wants a mate. I mean you're a human and it's a rabbit." Normally, Natsume wouldn't have answered, seeing as another person was with them; Mikan.
After thinking about it, Ruka looked up and smiled at his best friend gratefully. "Thanks, Natsume!" he exclaimed, relieved that he was finally able to do something for his rabbit, now that he knew what it wanted.
"Are you going to buy another rabbit?" Mikan asked him.
"Yeah, after all, I don't know what else could be wrong with my rabbit. Besides, I don't think the rabbit will want another species to be its mate." Ruka told her until another question occurred to him. "What kind of rabbit?" he asked.
"Oh! I know!" Mikan chirped cheerfully. "How about one that is a girl, white, fluffy, and cute? She can have long ears, beautiful orbs and soft fur! Make sure that she's nice of course. I mean, you wouldn't your rabbit to be tortured or beaten by the future-mate, do you?"
Ruka smiled. " Sure, I guess I'll buy one that fits your description. Although, it might not be exactly the same as the one you want. After all, I know more about my rabbit than you."
'How pathetic...' Natsume thought, yet keeping his mouth shut. No matter how lame he thought the description was, he decided not to shatter his best friend's hopes. Sighing, he and the other two headed towards the pet shop. Ruka peered through the window first, making sure the rabbits weren't abnormal. Also, he had to check if they even sold rabbits! Finally, after about half an hour, Ruka picked out a rabbit and bought it.
End of Chapter
