She Could Be

"She could be all I'm ever gonna need…"

Disclaimer: The writer lawfully respects the prodigious work of Tachibana Higuchi.

Author's Note: This is slightly diverse from my first three stories, since I used English and Western (but not as chaste), though the setting is still in Japan. Takes place when Tsubasa Andou was nine years old, six years subsequent to his arrival in Alice Academy.

Précis: Through the guise of a once-in-a-blue-moon mixed class report by a Narumi-inspired Nodacchi, scalawag Tsubasa and brisk Misaki try to settle their differences and act their ages.

"Mr. Andou!"

"What now?!"

Tsubasa Andou glared irritatingly at Mr. Jinno, pushing his cap upwards. He saw his Math teacher twitch, his frog croaking on his shoulder. How he hates that frog, which always seems to goad and mock him every time they meet.

"No one sleeps in my class!" Jinno growled as his stick snapped in half. The notion wasn't missed by anyone except the dark-haired dude, who was still looking offhand.

"Guess it's an honor being the first one to."

"Detention, Mr. Andou!"

"Yeah, yeah. It's not like I even go."

Mr. Jinno jerked his attention away from his troublesome student. Why does he always have to get them?

Kaname Sono glanced at his teacher before whispering towards his best friend, "You really shouldn't have done that."

"Oh, come on, he's a sissy." Tsubasa snorted, just in time for the bell to ring. Kaname felt glad his best friend won't be dragging more problems. He was such a trouble maker ever since he knew him, and the times he threw a fit when he was younger… he can't even bear thinking of it.

Yawning, Tsubasa stood up and started towards the door, only to be hit on the head by a female's fist.

"Tsubasa!" the girl who punched him yelled, "Stop skipping!"

"What's your problem, you mad woman?!" Tsubasa screamed at her ear, rubbing his terribly aching head.

"Stop yelling!"

"I'm not the one yelling, so shut up!"

"You're yelling!"

"I told you I'm not! Hey, stop hitting me!"

"I can hit anyone I want!" Misaki replied smugly, crossing her arms as if challenging him to retort back.

"This isn't fair!" he wailed as three pink-haired clones charged towards him, "It's three against one!"

"Then use your Alice, idiot!"

Typical.

"You should've known better than to fight with Misaki." Kaname grinned as he watched his best friend slump a wet ice bag on his head, which was hit ten times by each of Misaki's sixteen clones, and that still doesn't include those who kicked him behind.

"She's a coward." Tsubasa growled, "That's why she keeps using her Alice."

Kaname rolled his eyes at his lame excuse, "She always uses her Alice. You do, too."

"I manipulate shadows. She makes clones. Together, we're the Unbeatable Duo. Separated, we're the Academy's Nightmare."

"Why did 'together' even made an entrance in this conversation anyway?" Kaname teased him, a smile playing within his lips.

"You know, you don't really sound like nine years old." Nodacchi commented as he entered the Special Abilities' Classroom. He smiled at Kaname, "Hello Mr. Sono, what are you doing here?"

"Like you don't know…" Tsubasa muttered as he rubbed one side of his bump.

"My moderator was out sick." Kaname replied as he tried to hold his laughter from the sight of his suffering felonious friend. "So I thought of spending time here."

"Ah, that's good then." Noda said as his smile emitted a mysterious shadow, "We're having an activity."

"We are?" Megane asked as he pushed his glasses upwards, "But we never have classes. Well, we do, but we don't do anything."

"Once every three weeks." a boy under a table prompted, busy carving out who-knows-what. The rest of the class vigorously nodded.

"Why do I have the feeling that you just don't want to do anything?" Noda smiled as his students started whistling and averted his gaze. He clapped his hands together, "I guess it's decided then. We're having a project."

"This is sick." Tsubasa declared, "We can't do a project. We don't do projects."

"You're the only one who doesn't do them!" he heard one say.

Tsubasa groaned at the voice. 'Great, it's her again.'

"Kaname!" Tsubasa pleaded as he hugged his best friend's legs, "Stay! Please! I'll be dead when you leave!"

Kaname dragged his own feet out from Tsubasa's grasps, "Tsubasa, let go!"

"No!" Tsubasa cried as he was dragged along Kaname's legs, "She's a monster!"

"Hey, it's not my fault you ended up with her!"

"But she behaves when you're around!"

"No, she doesn't."

"I swore she does!" Tsubasa fibbed, trying to make Kaname stay.

"Blame it on Noda!" Kaname sighed, "Now let go, alright? I have… I have to go to… to my math club! Yeah! That! See you later!" He ran out the door, leaving Tsubasa who was yelling irately,

"There's no math club, you idiot!"

"Says who?" Kaname shouted as he rounded the corner. He really doesn't want to be the one to see his best friend's suffering. "Sorry, Tsubasa."

"You prat, and you call yourself a friend!"

"Believe me," Kaname muttered as he panted, "This is a friendly favor."

"How are we going to show how our Alices are useful?" Tsubasa growled as he climbed a tree, "All we cause is destruction, damage, and more damages."

"You're the one who's dangerous here." Misaki scoffed as she watched her classmate needlessly move.

"Me? Please. I'm not some ass-kicking pixie."

"I am not a pixie! Oh, you wait till I go up there!"

"Ha. Try it, then."

He heard her struggle, and he had to sneer, "You're a girl. Give it up."

"Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I can't climb a stupid tree!"

"Don't call my tree stupid, stupid."

"Look, I still have to do my Science essay."

"Good. Too bad I don't care."

"Tsubasa, just once for your life, can you please just act your age?"

"I am acting my age. I'm nine."

"And so am I, but right now, we're acting like we're three."

"You mean you're acting like you're three."

"That works too. Right now, you're two." Pause. "I'll help you with your Science."

"You just said you have to do that."

"Can you please just come down?"

Sighing once, Tsubasa jumped off the tree and faced his classmate since he was three, his small arms crossed like someone with authority. "What now?"

"We just have to show how our Alices are useful."

"I've already told you! Our Alices aren't useful. End of report."

"Nodacchi's not going to pass us with that."

"Well, then he should."

She started heating up. "I want the grade, Andou."

"You don't need the grade, Harada." He mocked her, much to her annoyance.

"Look," Misaki started, already exasperated, "Why don't we just do this…"

"Hearing anything?" Narumi asked as he leaned behind a tree, out of view from the two nine-year-olds. He nudged his partner to answer his question.

Noda leaned in closer to get a better view. "No, but I know what they're planning."

"What?"

"They're going to act their ages."

Everyone was a bit nervous that day. Not for the report, nope, never. Doing a report infront of Noda is as simple as talking to a comrade about your puppy Spot. No, there's something scarier— even scarier than Jinno and his croaking frog.

Today was the day that mixed classes are supposed to meet. Everyone who was very well associated knew what it meant— the Special Ability Report.

Noda's classroom was awfully quiet that afternoon; everyone was perky and no one dared to move a muscle. They were expecting a pretty much beaten up Tsubasa and a hotheaded Misaki, followed by a petrified-looking Noda.

The doors opened, and they received the shock of their lives. Tsubasa walked in with Misaki— no trace of animosity found. Noda followed in next, looking blissful and bruise-free.

Weird.

"Alright, then." The smiling teacher exclaimed as he clapped his hands once. "Ready?" No one replied, so he continued, "Well then, Megane, Akira, you two are up."

"I swear, if this crushes my reputation, it'll be best for you to hide." Tsubasa hissed.

"I swear, if this crushes my grades, it'll be best for you to commit suicide." Misaki replied in the same tone.

Tsubasa ignored her as he focused his eyes back in front— a rather unusual attitude. Hiroshi and Jirou were both discussing how they can help parties become more joyful and bright, parallel to their Alices. Misaki plopped her elbows on the desk. Why, oh why did she have to sit next to her project partner? As if working with him wasn't bad enough.

"Children will be happy!" Hiroshi exclaimed as he sprinkled the class with glitters, leaving Jirou to read more from their essay.

His partner nodded, "And they'll think we're magicians!"

"Cool!" Hiroshi added as if he didn't write that line.

Tsubasa clicked his tongue in disapproval at the two middle-school students. "Aren't they twelve?"

"They just turned twelve." Misaki corrected him with an air of superiority. "You can't beat the kid out of you that easily."

"You mean like you?"

"No, like you. You're nine and you act like you're five."

"I grow that fast, don't I?"

Misaki groaned. "You're hopeless."

Noda smiled at hearing his two students bicker quietly. As soon s Hiroshi and Jirou were done with their report, he smiled and clapped along the rest. "A spectacular essay, I must say."

"For three-year-olds." Tsubasa scoffed as he tried hiding it with a cough. Misaki pinched him in the arm from under the table.

The gesture wasn't missed by the teacher. He ticked off his class record, pretending to scan for the last pair who'll be reading their report. Every student, from Elementary to High School, was gripping the edges of their seats in anxiety.

"Tsubasa? Misaki?" He said as he looked up from his records with a small smile. "I'd love to hear your reports next."

"Like you have any choice." Tsubasa muttered as he stood up from his chair, yawning and stretching as he made his way in front where Misaki tapped her foot impatiently.

"Ready?" Noda asked as he leaned next to their abandoned seats. Tsubasa groaned as Misaki sighed. They glanced at each other once and came to an unspoken agreement.

"They say we're weirdoes." Misaki started as she read off from her smooth copy. "Just because we don't fit in any of the other classes, they call us good-for-nothing losers."

"And believe me, they're not kidding." Tsubasa commented as he pointed at Misaki, who gave him a glare.

She cleared her throat and continued, "My Alice and this jerk's haven't been in the best state. We use our Alices when we argue so we haven't really found how we can really make it useful."

Tsubasa scratched his head when he realized that Misaki was already done with her part, so he pulled out his battered copy of their essay from his jacket pocket and unfolded it. He read loudly with a grumble escaping every now and then, "Since we're just nine," he spat the word with stress, "Shadow Manipulating and Cloning doesn't really have a definite use for us— yet. So we came up with an idea. If we can't make it useful now, we're going to make it useful in the future, since in…" He trailed off, and started counting with his fingers. Misaki raised an inquiring eyebrow. Why is he even counting? Everything was laid down; all he'll do is read.

He nodded once and said proudly; as if he just solved a problem Einstein failed to solve, "Five more years to go before we officially become middle school students," Hiroshi and Jirou eyed him disdainfully. "By then, we'll have juniors who'll be the same age or maybe even older than us now, and when someone beats them up, we'll both do the pleasure of beating them up back."

Misaki groaned and slapped her forehead and proceeded to correcting Tsubasa's misinterpretation, "He meant to say is that when one of the juniors feels bad, we'll try and make them smile with our Alices, whatever tactic we'll use."

"Yeah, like she said, and by then, I've already beaten her a million times."

"You wish."

"Oh, just keep bringing it."

Nodacchi smiled. Narumi's starting to rub off him.

Kaname was shocked. Shock is even an understatement. He was staring disbelievingly at his two classmates, his jaw reaching to the floor. No, this must be a nightmare.

"Somebody pinch me." he muttered. Tsubasa, misreading him, pinched him hard on the arm. "What the—?!"

His friend shrugged, "You asked for it."

Misaki rolled her eyes, "He wasn't literally speaking, dumbo."

Tsubasa huffed and said in an obviously annoyed manner, "I knew that, pinky."

"I give up." Misaki sighed as she threw her arms in the air for emphasis, "You're the worst."

Kaname shook his head. Really, though, Misaki was right. His best friend was being ungrateful, after all the hard work she placed on their report. All he had to do was read; no more, no less.

He shook his head at Tsubasa. "What's with you?"

"Oh, c'mon, don't tell me you're taking her side?"

He raised his hands in defeat, "Hey, go easy on me, I'm siding nobody." Then, he added after a few moments of silence, "Wanna know something, Tsubasa?"

"Hm?" his friend merely replied as he leaned his back on his chair.

Kaname smiled. "She could be all you're ever going to need."

He scoffed. "Shut up."