Hi! New story, this one in the Gakuen Alice fandom. Newbie at this fandom, but I really wanted to try one out! I hope you like it.
Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice doesn't belong to me. Go figure.
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Chapter One
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A petite brunette teenager with dark amber eyes shining through a white neko mask stood at the entrance of the supposed elite Gakuen Alice, the school for geniuses. She walked quietly to the guard at the gate, and wordlessly gave verification of her identity. The guard at the gate nodded briskly, and the teen was let in. Seconds after breaching the tall gates, a man walked equally silently up to her.
"Mission complete, Persona," she reported quietly, the odd pair walking together towards the school buildings.
Persona stopped, gently pulling of her mask to reveal a heart shaped face and delicate features. Sakura Mikan looked up at the man she had come to know as an older brother and mentor, albeit being dark and harsh to many. "Thank you, Mikan-chan."
The teen let a half smile spill from her normally stoic lips, and the two of them made their way to the DA classroom. "You haven't been on campus since you left years ago, right Mikan-chan?"
"I haven't," confirmed Mikan. "You've always been the one coming to meet me...I can't believe that the academy is making me take a long term mission here of all places." The last part was muttered rather angrily under her breath. "What is the mission anyways? Why would I be called here of all places when I could be put to more use elsewhere?"
Persona sighed, rather guilty at her choice of words. The Sakura Mikan that he met when he was first ordered to train and mentor her into the perfect weapon was much more carefree, less bitter, happier. This was one of the things that he would always regret the most, the serious and grim expression that always graced his pupil's face now.
"You won't like this mission," Persona said straightforwardly. There was no way she would take the news of this mission well.
"How bad could it be?" Mikan replied, remembering others that she had done before.
Opening the door to the DA classroom, Persona hesitated before stating the mission bluntly. "You're asked to look over Kuro Neko for an undetermined amount of time. Apparently he has been performing actions that are making the superiors suspicious, though I'm not informed what. You are also expected to keep up your current out-of-academy missions, as well as keep all this a secret from Kuro Neko and your peers."
Silence rang loudly throughout the seemingly large room, before Mikan broke it. Loudly. "WHAT?"
Persona sighed, and whispered, "Please don't make me say all that again."
"Ah, sorry," Mikan muttered, waving off a repeat of the objective of her mission. "Wait. So you're basically saying that I have to stalk Natsume and keep him out of trouble while performing my current missions and making sure that Hotaru and the others don't suspect anything?"
Persona coughed, and replied quietly, "Yes."
"When do we get started?" Mikan asked, beaming.
Persona backed away from the insane girl, and answered, "You'll have the rest of the day to get settled in. Afterwards, you'll be placed in middle school the next morning. Someone will pick you up and you'll become a middle school student until further instructions. I'll contact you if there's any need."
"Okay, then," Mikan smiled.
Seeing the slight gleam that returned to her dark amber eyes, Persona couldn't help but smile with her. However, the man couldn't help but worry whether this particular mission would help her, or finally shatter the remains of her heart. Persona dearly hoped that it was the former.
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MIkan lay sprawled on her bed, in her new room. She was clad in black pajamas and ready for a night of sleep. She wasn't sure she was going to get it, but she was going to try. Her amber eyes had searched the room upon entry, and noticed that it was much better than the one she had originally received. Though how the superiors of the academy expected Mikan to keep her secret when she suddenly appeared out of nowhere after five years, and was now a special star and in the Dangerous Abilities class.
Especially since the DA class didn't have that many students left anyways. Upon her forced entry into the academy's secret 'squadron' of sorts, Mikan had only two requests. One was that her mother, Azumi Yuka, would not be involved in the fight between Gakuen Alice and the AAO anymore. The second was that Natsume, Youichi (who was soon of age for 'training sessions'), and the others would not be given anymore missions, and would be taken out of the DA class. Sure, that increased her workload by quite a bit, but Mikan was sure it was quite worth it.
Absentmindedly, she wondered if she could actually keep her secret. Hotaru was always sharp, and knew Mikan like the back of the genius' own palm, despite the fact that she was usually emotionless and didn't show their friendship in the average way. In fact, Mikan doubted that she could keep her secret from any member from their original class. They had gotten closer as the days passed one by one, and when she had finally run away with Yuka the class was like a closely knit family.
Though all this aside, Mikan was sure that her biggest problem would be one Hyuuga Natsume. Sure, he could be quite cold at times, she had parted quite sadly with Natsume when Mikan escaped with Yuka. Besides, Natsume himself had been on these missions, having to hide them from his peers, not that the task was that difficult, with his aloof and emotionless façade.
But Mikan would have to do it. It was for her friends, and her only remaining blood-related family. If a bit of suffering and pain was all it took to keep her precious people safe, then Mikan would gladly go through it. After all, she deserved it.
With a small sigh, Mikan nestled her head into her arms. There was quite an epic task ahead of her when morning came, and the brunette wanted to be as well prepared for it as she could be. Not that any amount of preparation could possibly prepare her for the chaos of her old classmates...
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Bright and early the next morning, Mikan dressed quickly in a white sweat pants and a matching shirt. She walked into the Northern Woods until she found a clearing. Checking to make sure that no one was there, Mikan began running through some basic stretches. When she was thoroughly warmed up, the brunette began jogging, weaving through the trees and various inhabitants of the woods. After all, it would do Mikan good if she was out of shape. The missions she was sent on were usually...unsafe. That being the biggest understatement of the century.
Two hours after she began her workout, Mikan returned to her room. Feeling hungry, she started looking for options. One, the teen could head to the cafeteria and eat her breakfast there. Yeah, right. Like she could just stroll in there and sit down to eat. Second option, Mikan could request that the robot-matron of her dorms get her something. Possible. Mikan finally decided upon her last option. The special star rooms were all separated into small sections, almost like a little house. There was the bedroom, and the adjoining bathroom. In addition, there was a small sitting room with lavish furnishings. Lastly, a kitchen and table finished off the overly elegant dorm room.
Mikan personally thought that it was quite unfair why the star rankings were done like this, with the special stars receiving this many privileges and treated so differently from the other stars. After all, Mikan wasn't even given a normal room when she was first admitted as a no-star.
That aside, Mikan's growling stomach quickly reminded her of her original task. She quickly whipped up a breakfast, and downed it. Clearing up the meager dishes that she used, and changing into her uniform, Mikan decided to read. With the various missions she had been sent on, her hobbies and free time were abolished. If there was one good thing about this 'extended mission' was that Mikan could do basically whatever she wanted during the times she weren't on duty.
Persona had said that someone would be here to pick Mikan up and show her to her class for the year, so she had free time to kill until the mysterious person appeared. Flipping through a novel, Mikan's mind kept wandering. Who would be in her class? Would everyone still be there? Would they even remember her?
A soft knock came at the door, interrupting her thought. "Coming!" Mikan called out, setting down her book and walking to the door. As she opened it, the brunette came across a familiar sight. "Eh...flashy clothes, Narumi-sensei."
"Mikan-chan!" said aforementioned teacher was dressed in his usual frilly clothes, which he could surprisingly pull off. Mikan put on a glowing smile, and Narumi hugged her. With an unnoticeable grimace at the contact, which she hadn't received in some time, MIkan gently hugged back.
More seriously, Narumi asked, "Why exactly are you back here?" Lowering his voice, he continued, "Where's Yuka?"
"Mom's fine..." Mikan trailed off, scanning her brain for some way of deflecting the first question. When she came up blank, the brunette decided to go with her last line of reprieve. "How's everyone?"
Narumi raised an eyebrow at her statement, but let it go nonetheless, albeit hesitantly. "They're all fine. Well, as fine as they could be without your presence. Especially Hotaru and Natsume."
"Natsume?" Mikan echoed, slightly skeptic. She was sure that the Hyuuga must hold some level of affection for her, but the brunette was also sure that the ever stoic Natsume would be fine, and wouldn't spend the any time pining for her of all things.
"Natsume," Narumi grinned, ever the happy person. After all, the sweet and bubbly Mikan had mellowed out the harsh and angry Natsume in a matter of the months that they had spent together. "See for yourself." Narumi held open the door for her. "By the way, I'm your home room teacher. The principals came up with the idea that the teachers travel with the students, so you'll have all the same teachers."
"Ah, thank you...wait...WHAT?" Mikan yelled, as she was pushed into the room by a beaming blond teacher. As her mind processed the information she had been given, it finally got to her.
"Good morning, class!" Narumi cooed from behind her. Cooed. Mikan started edging back towards the door. Sure, she had taken down dictators of small countries, assassinated and infiltrated the homes of large company heads, and many other ridiculously dangerous things, but Mikan didn't think there could be anything more dangerous than facing her old class. After all, Class B was full of little monsters at the age of ten...
Mikan noticed the substitute cowering under his desk and felt a small flash of sympathy. She bet that he wasn't happy at the fact that he had to teach Class B until they graduated.
Narumi was mostly ignored, the students continuing their original tasks without much notice. A few polite voices replied a quiet, "Good morning."
The blond frowned at his class, peering at the group of sullen teenagers. "Guys, be more enthusiastic! Meet your new classmate!" No response was given, half the class sleeping away and the other half of the class doing independent studies. Narumi sighed, and slammed the door closed, interrupting Mikan's quiet escape out of the room.
"Fine! Be that way! Class B, meet Sakura Mikan-chan. Sakura Mikan-chan, likewise. Mikan, go sit by Natsume. Fukutan, continue whatever you're doing." Narumi pouted, storming out of the room in a child-like display of anger.
Mikan gulped, and looked around for reactions. When none came, she quickly and quietly made her way to her old seat. It seems that not much had changed in the days she were gone. In fact, even the seating arrangement was the same! Sitting herself down gingerly, Mikan hoped that no one would register the words that Narumi had spoken until the class was over. Cautiously, she peered over at the person sitting next to her. A raven with his face in a manga, and most likely asleep. Mikan smiled, and continued her observation.
Hm...it seemed that everyone was there...except Ruka-pyon and Hotaru. That's peculiar, Mikan thought to herself, sitting there. There was always the possibility that they had something to do. Speaking of which Iinchou wasn't in the classroom either. Where could they be? Mikan asked herself.
All of a sudden, the door opened. "We can't find the new student, sensei," Tobita Yuu told the substitute.
"Ah, Narumi-sensei brought her here a few minutes ago," the substitute timidly replied. "You didn't know?"
"We were sent to get her, by Jinno-sensei," answered Hotaru abruptly. "If she's already here, then fine." The stoic girl walked to her seat, not skimming the room for the new student. Not that she really would've noticed a certain brunette, who was hiding under the desk.
"A-Alright, please be seated. Sorry for the bother, Tobita-san, Imai-san, Nogi-san." It seemed to Mikan that the poor substitute/teacher that was always there because Narumi kept leaving had been badly traumatized by the huge amount of time he was forced to spend with Class B. Not that anyone wouldn't be traumatized.
Shuffling of feet were heard, and Mikan was just starting to think that she might be able to get away with no one noticing her, as unlikely as she had thought it would be. Think again.
The brunette felt a slight shuffle at her side, and years of training with Persona struck harshly all at once. Mikan grabbed whatever nudged her, and threw it. Hard.
A huge crash at the other side of the room finally caught the attention of the students of Class B. The class was left blinking in shock as an angry Natsume was set upon them.
"Who. Was. That." Fiery crimson eyes scouted the room for the person who had dared to throw Hyuuga Natsume. And succeeded. Let alone halfway across the room, along with the desk that he had been using.
Mikan cursed quietly under her breath. Now where was she supposed to hide? Edging behind the nearest person, which happened to be a dazed Ruka, she was stopped by a furious voice.
"You." Mikan could literally feel the finger that was pointing at her, and it had nothing to do with any of her Alices. Taking a deep breath, she decided to continue with the course of plan that always seemed to suit her best, both on missions and while dealing with day to day issues.
Spinning on her heel and moving out from behind a surprised Ruka, Mikan smiled at Natsume and the shell-shocked class. "Hi guys!" Oh, dear.
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Hyuuga Natsume was sleeping peacefully, for the first time in quite awhile. Never mind the fact that he was in class, surrounded by a lot of other teens all doing their own tasks. After Mikan had escaped, Ruka had commented that the raven had spent a lot of time brooding over her absence. Ruka's theory was promptly dismissed by a irritated Natsume, and Ruka had just smiled tolerantly.
Unbeknownst to Ruka and the surprisingly warmer (at least to him) Hotaru, Natsume hadn't been sleeping well. Dreams of a certain brunette, walking quickly away from him, always eluding his grasp haunted him. And so, one Hyuuga was definitely happy, in his not-showing-it way, that he got a couple minutes of shuteye.
So, merely minutes after Natsume had drifted into Morpheus' realm, he was very rudely awakened. Unless, of course, you didn't consider being thrown across the room and trapped under a desk by a random person rude.
Naturally, Natsume was furious. He even used his Alice, causing the desk to spontaneously combust. In lots of bright red flames that completely freaked out the sub. That was, until he met the dark amber eyes of one polka dot wearing idiot of a brunette. One whom, despite his deepest hopes otherwise, Natsume was sure that he would never see again. Overwhelmed by the various emotions that ran through him, Natsume did the one thing he knew how to in these situations.
"Are you still wearing polka dots, Polka? Or perhaps some other childish print..." Natsume teased.
Mikan tilted her head to the side for a fraction of a second before she threw herself across the room, screeching, "Pervert!"
As if by magic, the tense atmosphere that had surrounded the room disappeared at the familiar sight of one Hyuuga Natsume teasing one Sakura Mikan, and Mikan blowing up and calling him a pervert.
BAKA-BAKA-BAKA sounded loudly through the room. Though Mikan could've dodged the blast easily, she was entirely focused on tackling one fire casting genius, and therefore very distracted. Persona had always said that distraction was a bad, bad thing that could get you killed out in the field, which Mikan remembered as she was thrown headfirst into a wall.
Mikan was a lot less emotional than when she had run away with Yuka, before all those missions had changed her. So, reminding herself or Persona's words, she blinked her eyes until they watered slightly. Then, under the control of genuine emotions instead of faked, Mikan launched herself in the direction of the blasts. Now, normally, that would be the stupidest thing you could do, but then again, Hotaru was on the other side.
Said amethyst-eyed invention genius hugged back, surprisingly, and the two girls embraced each other warmly. Albeit briefly. BAKA-BAKA-BAKA!
"Why in the world are you back here, Mikan?" Hotaru asked, glaring at anyone who dared to make the slightest movement to interrupt their little 'heart-to-heart' chat.
"Eh...heh..." Mikan trailed off wordlessly. "Um...how should I put this?...um..." she stammered. Well, outwardly stammered. Inwardly, she was cursing the superiors of Gakuen Alice for putting her in this ridiculously hard to deal with position. "Well...I'm here because...because..."
"Yes?" Hotaru asked. "Spit it out!"
"Ano..." Before Mikan could say anything further, the bell rang, signaling the time to move on to their next class. Mikan was out the door in a flash, before anyone even saw her moving a millimeter.
Class B was left in shocked disorder, and the day had barely begun.
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So...here's chapter one. It's relatively short for my chapters, but since it's the first, I want to get the feel of the story. Hoped you liked it, please review!