LAST CHRISTMAS

Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice is not mine.

A/N I'd hate to make some people sad during Christmas, but my Secret Baby wanted tragedy and angst mixed with romance, and this is the best I could come up with. So, Happy Christmas Marilee! :)

It was her second Christmas without them.

Or, at least, as far as she could remember.

That was the thing about being found out when you're still young. You're forced to leave your home and enter the enormous elegant gates of Alice Academy, forced to fit in with these new people you're to treat as family whether you like it because you don't have a choice anyway. And even after you've graduated, you're still not done. When they need you, you get called. When you get called, you answer. When you answer, you have no escape.

All that stuff you think they command only to the Dangerous Ability Class? That's not entirely all to them. Sometimes, some people get called too, because most of the time, people die, and these people die protecting people they don't even like.

Sometimes, these people are your friends.

First there was Natsume Hyuuga. Oh, how she worshipped him when they were in elementary, but eventually the infatuation turned into admiration that led to their friendship. She stopped kissing wherever his footsteps landed, and he stopped setting her hair on fire. Later on, she even helped him hide whenever stalkers and fan-girls were after him. Often, she'd call him 'sweetheart', just to piss him off, but then one day, this guy learned to smile, really smile for the first time, and would usually tease her back. And even when they were out of school, she would always admire that nice little smile.

In fact, Natsume died with that smile on his face.

Then there was Mikan Sakura, the girl who was adamant to make Natsume smile. She remembered how much she hated that smile. Mikan loved being noticed and absolutely hated being ignored. But most of all, Mikan hated seeing someone so down. There was that time when they were elementary (and boy, did she really go through all costs just to prove how much she hated the new girl), and Mikan seemed to have forgotten everything her new classmates had done to her and went on to helping even her, the one who had caused her so much distress. That was the thing about Mikan. She was always ready to lend a hand to anyone in need, even at her own expense.

In fact, Mikan died helping other people.

And who would forget Hotaru Imai? The girl was pure genius. She was barely a teenager when she created her first robot. Her hands worked like magic, it could make anything into something big and useful, even a spoon. Hotaru would always push everyone away, which she later admitted would be because she was sad or busy or both. But whatever her state of mind, Hotaru never failed to produce something so ground-breaking and life-changing. Everyone else was convinced she'd even surpass the works of Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton and all those scientists written on history books.

In fact, Hotaru died publishing her first and last book.

Oh, and Tsubasa Andou, why would he be forgotten? He was the older, kinder and immature version of Natsume Hyuuga. Everyone else thought he was tough and rough until Mikan came and introduced him. Tsubasa went on being this big brother to all of them even after he graduated, although technically he was still so much in the Academy, they never felt he was gone. Tsubasa did missions for the Academy, almost those at the same level of most Dangerous Ability Alices because of his swiftness and skills in fighting.

In fact, Tsubasa died in a bloody fist fight.

And how Misaki Harada wept over his best friend's corpse once she brought it back to the Academy. That was why some Alices don't go to battle on their own. They should never get found. Misaki was who Tsubasa was with the night he died. Misaki cried more because she couldn't interfere with the mission; otherwise, she dies.

In fact, Misaki died protecting Sumire in her mission.

There were so many people who had to die for a sake they don't even know. Sometimes they die protecting people they shouldn't. Sometimes they die dying for something not even worth fighting for.

One by one, Sumire lit the lanterns and sent them into the heavens. Five had the names of the five she thought of, and more for the unknown soldiers who died protecting stronger Alices. She used to celebrate Christmas with those five special people, but eventually everyone else stopped coming together. They would sent the usual Christmas cards and presents, meet up for coffee or dinner every now and then, but things would never be the same after those people sacrificed their lives for people who are completely too selfish.

Ruka Nogi was nowhere to be found, although he'd give one of them a call, and once the call has been traced, he'd vanish again. Anna Unemoniya used to work in this hot-shot hotel and restaurant in Europe, but after Nonoko Osagawara was confirmed to be missing after a mission in America, Anna went back to Japan with her grandfather in the farm. Yuu Tobita worked for the government as a puppet for the Academy, and as much as he would like to lay low like most of his friends, it's their heads on the platter if he even dared.

Sumire called up some people over the phone to wish them to have a good holiday. Mochu was staying in the country for a few days before going back to Africa for the two-year task set for him by the Academy. Wakako wanted to come up to celebrate a quiet dinner with Sumire, but she was still too wounded after China. Yuri couldn't even talk properly because some officials maimed her when she attempted to boycott her mission with two others. Mr. Narumi wished her a good and quiet Christmas, but that was all he could say because he was currently being monitored. Mr. Misaki said only quick greetings because he, too, was under surveillance.

"Hey," a voice came up from behind her as she lit the last lantern.

Sumire turned around. It was Koko. "I thought you were in Australia?"

"Ruka called me after you. He said you were quite lonely and how you bawled over how you hated last Christmas and no one could spend it with you, and how it's happening again."

Her cheeks burned. It was true. Ruka was actually the reason why she really went all out to calling everyone. "It was like having Christmas with a dead person," she added then in a whisper, "Except there were more."

She fell down into one of the steps and Koko took a seat beside her.

"I know it's not fair to be complaining, I mean, some of us aren't even alive to have Christmas, but it's just so hard, you know?" Her scowled eyes seemed so much like when she was being bossy back when they were kids. "Why do they have to be the ones who had to die?"

"You know, someone with this really cool Alice helped me up," Koko said. "He went to school with us. He told me that a certain someone somewhere wanted me to go here and…" his voice trailed.

"What?" Sumire muttered.

"Happy Christmas," Koko said in a quiet voice, offering a handkerchief.

She took it and cried.

Rest assured, it was her last Christmas alone.