Summary: A man appeared before my parents who were desperate. He couldn't have been more happier with such easy prey. Offering a request that you'd think so small, when he requests for something more. A request that my parents couldn't resist granting. Not knowing that, they signed me off, incipient forgetting to ask for his price. Now my heart belongs to him. Yes, he is the devil...

Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice or its characters.

~Chapter One~

An Irrefutable Deal With The Devil

"The Devil is easy to identify. He appears when you are terribly tired and makes a very reasonable request which you know you shouldn't grant." - Fiorello La Guardia

~Seven Years Ago~

~ Yuka ~

Its warm, but now I feel as cold as ice. For the first time in years, now, I'm scared. When the man standing in front of me said those words to me, I just couldn't stay calm, even in knowing that in this type of situation, I'm suppose to keep my composure, but its impossible to do something that feels so distant from my mind at this very moment. I can't breathe, and I'm trying my hardest to find some sort of comfort.

The hospital room is spinning now, and I can't seem to steady myself now. I'm scared but I can feel my voice beginning to come out and involuntary I'm asking something that I know I shouldn't "What did you just say?" I asked the doctor standing in front of me, reading the clipboard in his hands, desperately trying to avoid eye contact with me, as if he'll feel guilty for what he's about to tell me. "She's in the last stages of cancer, I'm sorry, there's nothing we can do for her," the doctor told me in a quiet voice. "I brought her in for a normal check up, she just had a cough and a slight fever, what do you mean that she's in the last stages of cancer?" I screamed at the doctor. Right now all I can see is red, I'm outraged "Answer me god dammit," I gained momentum towards him.

I felt muscular hands wrap around my arms. "Yuka calm down," I was trembling, not from sadness, not from anger, but from confusion. Izumi pulled me back into his embrace, stopping my advance towards the doctor standing in front of the both of us. But his hold on me, did not help to ease my confusion, nor my anger. "Are you sure there's nothing?" Izumi asked.

There was silence for a moment while the nurse and doctor shared eye contact, perhaps trying to find a modest way of breaking some bad news and then the nurse hesitantly spoke "There are few treatments for the type of cancer that your daughter is suffering from, and even if we were to put her in chemotherapy it would probably worsen her condition," she explained to me.

I watched as the nurse looked at me, her eyes sincerely trying to force me to accept the truth. I wanted to look away, to deny everything that I had just heard, but those eyes. I had wanted to know what was going on, and she simply told me. But Mikan is the only child that I have, and I can't accept this ugly truth.

Yes, that was what this was, the ugly truth, it hurt, and it felt deadly painful. "All I can hear are excuses, you aren't trying to help her, you're trying to find an exit by feeding me lies" I said. I felt Izumi tighten his grip on my shoulders "Yuka, I know your frustrated but you shouldn't take this out on the doctor, he's just explaining the gravity of the situation to us, and how we should proceed with Mikan's care" Izumi told me. What was this, I thought with a pause, my hair flopping over my face casting a depressing shadow.

I shifted my gaze slightly upwards. "Really now, you're standing up for them… I just don't understand you," I said laughing to myself. "Yuka, what are you talking about?" Izumi asked me. "I mean, here they claim that there's nothing they can do to help my daughter, telling me that I should just give up hope, and you defend them as if my feelings mean nothing to you" I informed Izumi. I pulled myself from out of Izumi's embrace "I can't even look at you," I said softly.

Just as I was about to walk away, Izumi stopped me, not physically, not mentally, but emotionally "Yuka, how can you be so selfish?" Izumi questioned me. I turned back and looked at him "I'm selfish?" I asked him. The look on Izumi's face was serious "Are you serious?" I asked him "I'm the selfish one… Izumi don't start with me," I said. "Yuka, she's my daughter too!" Izumi yelled at me. "So?! If I remember correctly when I first found out that I was pregnant with Mikan, you told me to have an abortion!" I yelled back at Izumi, except my voice was higher in volume.

The look on Izumi's face when I said that, I couldn't help but wish I could take back what I had said. "Yuka," Izumi started. I placed my hand over my mouth slowly, and looked away from Izumi "I'm going to go and check Mikan," I said taking my leave. Afraid that if I looked back I was going to hear Izumi say something that at the moment I couldn't bear, something that even my pride would not allow me to bear.

~Mikan~

There was a soft click, and the door opened, casting a shadow on everything that the light didn't touch and bypassed. I may have been turned away from the door, laying down on the hospital bed facing the window , but I had a feeling of who it was. There was only one person who opened the door that way, and that was my mother. She always took care in how she entered and approached a room. Her feelings always showed through her actions and movements.

The door closed with a soft thud, and I felt an extra amount weight being added to the bed. "Mikan, honey are you sleeping?" my mother asked me. Instead of me flipping over, I shifted my head, so that I briefly looked back at her. "I'm awake," I told her while flipping my head back to its originally place. Then there was silence. Nothing, neither one of us was willing to say anything, not that we had anything to say at the moment anyway. "Hey mom, did you and dad fight?" I asked her.

Silence. My mother didn't say anything, but I could feel her eyes on me. Those eyes that my own reflected, even without looking at them, I could tell that they conveyed very painful emotion. I felt the bed move, I suppose she shifted her weight. "Mikan," my mother started, but I flipped over, the sheets rustling underneath me, sitting up on my elbow with half of my weight-bearing down on my arm "You fought, didn't you?" I asked, though it sounded more like a statement than I had wanted it too. "Let's not talk about your father and I, besides there are plenty of other things that we can talk about," my mother said to me, smiling. A smile that didn't reach her eyes, when she pretends to be happy I always end up with a 'happy headache' trying not to focus on the faulty smile. I turned away from my mother, not wanting to look at a distasteful smile, trying not to imprint it into my memory.

Adults, all they every do is lie, I mean yeah lying makes life more tolerable, but for once all I want is the truth. I shifted my gaze back onto my mother. That smile, I thought with a pause. I hate that smile, because I know you aren't conveying your true feelings to me, I thought placing my hands on my knee chaps rubbing them in the process. Even if we changed the subject, It'll only confirm my suspicions. You don't have to lie to me, even if you didn't say anything and continued to lie, I'll always know, because lately all the two of you seem to do is fight with each other, I thought with a pause. And my current situation wasn't making things any better, for none of us, my thought continued as the room continued to be filled with silence. I sat up completely "Okay," I compromised with her. "Hey mom… how sick am I?" I asked my mother softly. "Mikan, why would you say your sick?" my mother answered my question with another question.

Another lie. Is it because I'm just a child that all I ever receive are lies. But even I know what the difference between truth and false is, I am not a naïve person, who is incapable of knowledge. What can I say to prove that to an adult? I asked myself. I shifted my weight again on the bed, suddenly feeling sharp pain without any warning run up my torso, I held back my wince, hoping that my mother would not take notice.

For a moment I held my breath and heaved a sigh breathing slowly out of my nose, trying to subside the pain in my upper torso "Because I know that I'm sick," I simply told her, my statement breaking the silence. The truth was, that for several weeks I knew... I had known that I was sick from the beginning, and lately my mother and father seemed to argue more than usual. I didn't want to cause any trouble for them, so when I fainted from the pain in my lower abdomen and I had awoken staring into they're worried faces.

I had known that I had caused more trouble than I had planned for. "Am I going to die?" I asked aloud, truthfully a thought that I meant to keep to myself. "Mikan, stop talking about death so casually," my mother scolded me. "But, I really do feel like I'm going to die," I said shaking my head, staring off into a different direction. "Mikan don't be so morbid, the doctors are going to run a few more tests on you and then you'll be fine, and you can come home with your father and I," my mother told me sternly. Lair... even if you say I'll be fine, this pain that I feel, this pain is telling me otherwise, I thought.

I was trapped in thought when I felt another sharp pain shoot up in my torso. I winced and doubled-over, my mother being who she is, didn't let it pass her attention. "Mikan are you in pain again? I'll get the doctor-" I cut her off "No I'm fine, just sit with me a little longer," I said softly. The look on my mothers face, I could read her clearly, a look that only a parent can show. "Please?" I begged, using my signature puppy dog eyes, and pouting my bottom lip. "Fine, but if you start to feel like you're in pain again, just tell me, okay?" my mother explained to me. I nodded my head. Sorry, I'm always causing trouble, doing things that I shouldn't, I thought. I placed my hand back against my upper torso, the pain was gone, but I felt very exasperated instead "Mikan?" my mother started. I shook my head "No, I'm fine... it's just I feel tired," I told her. "Lie down," my mother commanded. I did as she told me. "Mom when I wake up, I think I'll feel better," I said while my mother continued to tuck me under the covers. "Really, lets hope so," my mother replied kissing me on the forehead.

~Yuka~

I watched Mikan's sleeping figure, as her chest rose up and down, showing me that she was breathing, that she was alive. I thought back to earlier when the two of us had talked. I placed my hand over Mikan's head and ruffled her hair softly. This child, when did she become so intelligent? I asked myself, staring at her peaceful face. I folded my arms and laid my head on them while I watched Mikan sleep.

After a few minutes the door to Mikan's room opened with a soft click. The light from the hallway illuminating the dark hospital room. I could tell that Izumi had peeked into the room, but remained outside with the doctor and continued to carry on they're conversation. "Are you sure there's nothing?" Izumi asked the doctor in a small voice. "No I'm afraid that they're isn't much, all we can do now is make things more comfortable for her until..." the doctor's voice trailed off. "Thank you for explaining the situation doctor and I'm sorry for wasting your time," Izumi said after breaking the long silence. Wasting his time? How is Mikan's health a waste of time? I asked myself, my anger starting to boil again. "No, and I'm very sorry," I shoved my face deeper into my arms.

The sound of footsteps echoing down the hallway, I suppose that was the doctor quickly making his getaway. Izumi walked into the room "Yuka," Izumi started "Lets go home its late," Izumi prompted. I lifted my head and met Izumi's gaze "I'm not leaving Mikan, so you should go by yourself Izumi," I said in a wary voice. "Yuka," Izumi started again. "Izumi, can I ask you something?" I asked Izumi with a pause. Izumi looked at me and said nothing but in his way he was telling me 'Yes' that I knew for sure. "Do you love Mikan?" I asked him seriously. "Of course I do, she's my only daughter," Izumi told me. "If that's the case, why?" I commented "Why?" Izumi repeated. "Why are you giving up so easily?" I questioned him. I watched as Izumi tightened his hold on his coat. "You can't answer me can you?" I asked him softly. "Then I think you should go, it seems that you're so called love for your family is short-lived," I said resuming my earlier position.

I heard the door open with a soft click "Yuka," I lifted my head. "I've wanted to say this for a long time, I think right now seems like a good time... when all of this is over, we should consider getting a divorce," Izumi said with a pause "Would you be willing to?" Izumi asked me. I remained silent. I shifted my gaze to Mikan's sleeping face, and closed my eyes and took a deep breathe. All I need is Mikan and all Mikan needs is me, I thought with a pause while opening my eyes, all she needs is one caring parent, I thought. "Yes, I would... it was obvious from the beginning that we were never compatible," I said firmly. For a moment I could barely see Izumi twitch when I said that. "I'll be going now," Izumi said heading out the door. "Goodbye Izumi," I said as the door closed behind him. After a few moment I heaved a sigh that I didn't even know that I was holding back. I don't know why... but I'm suddenly feeling extremely exhausted. I placed my head back down and watched Mikan until I feel asleep.

The room felt cold, like a window had been opened, and there was a strong draft coming into the room. I lifted my head, and looked around. Where was that draft coming from? I asked. I glanced over at the hospital digital alarm clock, it was only eleven thirty. I shivered the draft was stronger now "Hey Woman," a unfamiliar muscular voice called out. I turned around and saw man who looked at least thirteen years younger than me sitting down on the window seat.

He had raven black hair that was tousled, but in a way made him look very handsome instead of being messy, and blood red crimson eyes. "Who are you?" I asked him suddenly filled with panic. Those eyes... something about those eyes terrifies me, I thought. "That's simple I'm the devil," he told me nonchalantly. The devil... why would the devil... I shifted my gaze to Mikan's sleeping face... it can't be she's still innocent... "Why are you here?" I questioned him. "I'm not here to take the soul of your daughter," he assured me. "Then why?" I pressed on. "This human, won't live no more than two days," he told me. "What? You lie," I said. "No, what would I gain by being frivolous," he said to me seriously with a pause "But I don't appear where I'm not wanted," he explained to me. "What do you want from me?" I asked him. "Not what I want from you, but what you want from me," he said to me. "I'll shall grant you a wish. Anything you desire. But in return... you must give me your most prized possession." he informed me. "You can grant me anything I desire? If I give you my most prized possession?" I asked him. "You can have anything you want," he told me.

Anything I want, I glanced back over at Mikan's sleeping face. What I want desire most is... "Longer life span... for my daughter to have a longer life span," I informed him. "Is that truly what you wish for?" he asked me. I nodded "Before... I'd like to ask, what is my most prized possession?" I asked him. There was silence and then he spoke "When your wish is granted, then you'll know, just what your most prized possession is," he told me with a pause "At exactly twelve o' clock tonight your wish will be granted," I turned around and looked at the alarm clock. It was eleven fifty-seven. "How will I know that my wish has been-" I turned around to question him, but to my surprise that he was already gone. I looked back at Mikan, and grabbed a hold of her hand. At that moment, I was truly happy, I'd just saved my daughters life... but I was vaguely aware of what I had just done... still I didn't care, as long as I had Mikan, I knew that I would be happy. Perhaps Izumi was right, maybe I truly am the selfish one, I thought to myself.

~Natsume~

I shifted my weight against the tree that I was leaning against. "Hyuuga-sama," I turned to the owner of the effeminate voice "Shikoku, what is it?" I questioned. "Hyuuga-sama, the wish has been granted," Shikoku informed me. I briefly looked at Shikoku "It seems I received something more troublesome than granting that woman's wish," I said placing my fingers on the bridge of my nose, hinting that I was beginning to have a headache. "The prized possession?" Shikoku asked me.

I heaved a sigh "Human's are such foolish and incompetent creatures," I said with a pause "The woman's prized possession is her daughter's life," I continued. Shikoku looked at me "A life to be claimed, shall I fetch it for you?" Shikoku asked me. I shook my head "Let us see what will happen, besides, I have already seen that human's death, she shall be returned to me, sooner than her mother thinks," I said. I looked up at the sky "To interfere with the existence of god, and restore a human's lifespan, I've used up most of my energy, lets return to the headlands," I said with a wary voice.

I turned back and looked in the direction of the hospital. Yes, I have foreseen it, I thought. When you make a deal with me, you think the request so small. Your most prized possession in return for something you desire most. Foolish is what human's are. They have yet to weight the consequences of a deal with the devil. In ten years time, what I have given today will be returned back into my possession. Until then, I'll make sure to keep an eye on what belongs to me.

To Be Continued...