Red Riding Hood

Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice.

A scarlet-cloaked figure strode across the wooded trail. The looming trees shaded the trail, making it even darker it the fading light. The air was becoming chillier, nipping at the skin. The figure drew their cloak closer around themselves to keep out the cold. In one hand was a basket, wicker and well-woven. Inside was an herbal concoction, created to cure the mild illness of the elderly couple who lived a day or so's walk away.

Their boots crunched over the dry leaves left under the shedding trees, and gurgled in the mud. They stomped on, careful not to slip on the damp soil.

In the distance, a branch snapped. The figure paused and looked in the direction the suspicious sound had come from. In order to decrease any blind spots, they pulled back the hood of the cloak…

And revealed the face of a handsome young man. He had well-cut features, midnight hair, and gorgeous crimson eyes. Under the cloak, his lean muscled body tensed, the tight long-sleeved shirt and brown trousers hiding the several knifes he kept on his person. If he needed to defend himself, he could.

His village was a very fearful one, surrounded by a large wooden fence. The fence was supposed to keep out the various monsters that lived in the wild, but some suspected it was truly to keep the more adventurous trapped. A few had decided the village was not for them, and created homes in the distant hills, despite the dangers.

When a disease had spread through these secluded homes, it had not seemed too terrible. The illness was not fatal, so long as it was treated. But the medicine needed to treat it could only be created in the village apothecary, and none would take the journey through the forest. The first family died, and then the second.

Natsume could not take it anymore, so he'd gone to the village leader, despite his family's protests, and demanded to take the medicine to the remaining infected home. The leader had not wanted to at first, not wanting to lose the talented hunter, but eventually gave in to his stubborn demand.

That was what led to him being alone on this trail, the red cloak his mother had made him trailing off his shoulders, listening for any signs of deadly creatures; vampires, werewolves, witches, trolls, goblins, and many other nasty beasts known to attack traveling humans.

He was about to move on when another branch snapped, closer this time. His head whipped around, and he thought he glimpsed something move between the trees. To the side, leaves crunched, but nothing was seen. He was about to investigate the brush, when a growl sounded behind him.

He turned to be met with gnashing teeth coming just short of his nose. He reeled back, and took in the beast attempting to relieve him of some body parts.

Light brown fur, pointed ears laid back, strong body, four slim legs, large paws, sharp curved claws, green-brown eyes, long tail, teeth revealed by a snarl; a large wolf.

It jumped at him, and he ducked out of the way just in time. He dropped the basket on a patch of dried moss, leaving him empty handed, and more ready to defend himself. He sliced on arm through the air with enough force to cause the knife he had hidden in his sleeve to slide into his hand, handle first. He flipped it around, the blade flashing.

The canine leapt at him again, flipping around to avoid the swinging knife and to clip his shoulder with its claws. Four lines ripped through his shirt and into his skin dripped blood onto the forest floor. He switched the knife over into his other the hand, the one that was attached to the bloodied arm, and used the newly freed one to place pressure on the wound with a groan. He was ambidextrous, and could fight with one hand just as well as the other.

The wolf took the brief moment he spared to his injury to lunge at his legs. He kicked out to keep away its deadly jaws away, but fell to the ground. The wolf attempted to jump on top of him, leaving him defenseless, but he slashed out with the knife, causing a shallow cut across its chest and a stab into its upper leg. It yelped, and snapped towards his face. He tried lifting his scarlet-stained blade, but a frustrated swipe from a paw sent it flying off into the brush. He had other knives, but the way he was penned left him unable to reach them.

Instead, he turned the tables. When the wolf once again tried to bite him, he gripped its jaws closed in one hand, wrapped his free arm around its furred body, and rolled. It was a daring move; a stupid move. But it worked. He got lucky, and received only a small scratch near his neck from the canine's claw.

Now he had the writhing animal penned. He straddled its stomach, kept his ankles pressed down on its legs, held both of its front legs to one side in one hand, and kept his other hand clamped down on its snout. Holding it down this way took a lot of strength, but he had a lot of adrenaline.

Cautiously, he leaned back from its head, and released its jaws. He pulled his hand away just before the sharp teeth snapped shut where the appendage had just been. Keeping his gaze on the snarling wolf's head, he reached into his boot for another knife.

Noticing this, the wolf stopped growling, and looked him in the eye. Then it did something sent him into awe.

It shifted. The light brown fur pulled back onto it head, lengthening. The claws were covered with flesh. The tail contracted as the ears morphed and slid down. The bones stretched and shrunk.

When this was finished, in the wolf's place was a girl. Her long hair was the same color as the fur, and her eyes were exactly the same, and glaring at him, almost pouting. Her skin was lightly tanned, her features soft. There was a gash across her chest, blooming blood.

She struggled in his hold, making small sounds of frustration and exertion. He now straddled her waist and held her wrists.

It took him a moment to realize that she wore no clothing. Once this did register, he threw away her wrists and rolled off of her, cursing the slight blush he felt warming his cheeks. He clutched the knife closely, in case she shifted back and attacked him. He watched her movements out of the corner of his eye, but would not look directly at her. She sat up and watched him for a moment.

He reached towards his neck and untied his cloak. He threw the garment at her, successfully covering her head and body before she pulled it down.

"Cover yourself, idiot," he hissed. She cocked her head to the side before she gave a wolfish grin and giggled. She stood and walked casually over to him, the cloak grasped in her hands behind her back. He took a step back, but she leaned towards him, not minding his darting eyes. Or seeming to care about her wound.

"I nearly forgot about the taboos some creatures have about nudity," she said sweetly, smugly. Since he still refused to look directly at her. She rolled her eyes, but indulged him; she tied the cloak into place and pulled it around her, hiding her body.

"So, why is such an embarrass-able hunter strolling through my territory?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as Natsume finally looked at her. He kept the knife pointed at her.

"I'm delivering medicine," he replied shortly, mind reeling with the strange girl before him. At his words, the girl's grin fell, and she looked away guiltily.

"S-Sorry. I thought you were one of those stupid hunters who ignored treaties and took prey from werewolf land," she apologized. She walked over to where he'd dropped the basket, picking it up and rummaging through its contents.

"Stop that!" Natsume yelled at her. She ignored him, lifting out one bottle and sniffing at it; her nose wrinkled in disgust. She dug through the container some more and pulled out a loaf of nut bread. She smiled and took a small bite out of the partially cloth-covered treat. While she was chewing, the basket was snatched away from her by a scowling Natsume.

She smiled more at his expression and then sighed.

"Tell you what," she mused. "Since I mistakenly attacked you, and stole some of your food, I'll give you one wish. Ask for anything, and if it's within my power, I'll give it to you."

"Anything?" he asked, suspicious.

"Anything," she confirmed with a smirk.

He thought about it. If he asked for the wrong thing, she might make him regret it. He thought about all the stories of tricky monsters the elders of the village had told him; vampires that made you answer riddles to avoid being bitten, witches that cursed you into loving an ogre, and werewolves that made you tell them which body part to bite off first. Another story about monsters suddenly popped into his mind.

He smirked.

Natsume leaned towards her. He placed a hand beside either side of her head on the tree behind her, pinning her.

"And if I asked for something," he eyed her body beneath the cloak. "a little more personal?"

She glared at him, and he chuckled. He gripped her chin softly.

"I'm kidding. There is something I want that's even better."

"And what's that?" she asked curiously.

"Your name."

An animalistic growl came from her throat, and she snarled, revealing teeth that lengthened into wolf fangs. But she didn't attack.

Any monster who gave their true name to a human was, in effect, that human's property. It was an old tale, and many believed it to be nothing but a myth. Her reaction, however, was proof enough for Natsume.

"That's what I wish for, and you said anything," he stated. She glared.

"You can call me Sakura."

"No, I want your real name, not the one you tell others regularly."

"I'll kill you if I get the chance."

"Then I won't give you a chance."

"Mikan Yukihara," she growled. He smirked at her.

"Well, Mikan," he said her name slowly, enjoying her angry expression. "Let's go deliver this medicine. I wonder if Mother will let me keep a pet."

Author's Notes:

Okay. All of these are just going to be drabbles and/or aspects of Gakuen Alice I feel haven't been covered much in fan fictions. For instance, it occurred to me I haven't seen one yet that had Natsume as Red Riding Hood, because of his eyes, and Mikan as the Big Bad Wolf.

P.S. If anyone wants to take one of these and turn it into a real story, I won't care. Go ahead, if you like.