Partners
(Tsubasa x Misaki)

Disclaimer: I don't, and never will I, own Gakuen Alice.

Author's Note: Hello! This is Lady Counterpart of Natsume and I am back with a new TsubaSaki fic. I promise you this is the last long AN that will greet you once you open this fic, everything else will be after the chapter. There are a few things I must say before you go on reading this fic. 1.) I have planned this to be my last GA fanfic. I decided it was time I moved on to a new fandom though I am not sure where do I move to. It doesn't mean I will never ever write for GA again, just that this is the last official fic I have planned. If ever I suddenly come up with a new plot for GA, then I'll write it and publish it, but there is no definite plan that I will come up with a new one. 2.) This plot is a personal challenge for myself. I really don't know how friends would eventually realize their feelings for each other, but I want to try writing that, with personalities that Misaki and Tsubasa have. Aside from romance, I wanted to write more about friendship, which is why you should expect that there will be a lot of cliche plot elements in here. I want to challenge myself to write those elements without making them cliche. I don't know if I succeeded in this fic, but maybe you the reader can help me improve on that. 3.) This story has lots of details that are related to me in real life. It may be a personality of a character, a situation, a detail, but that's how I always write anyway. I get lots of things from personal experience, give it more details until it turns into something else entirely. I don't know if my friends who know me in real life will know that I published this, but if they did, hi guys, yeah, you might recognize some stuff in here, thanks for the inspiration :) 4.) I am no Architecture major. I only know that they draw plans for houses. But I'm doing my best to research some stuff before I include them. And this story I patterned to what I heard about the College of Architecture in my university. Well, there you have it, I hope you like this story :)

Prologue

"Okay, has everybody submitted their final outputs?" a pink-haired woman in her mid-thirties stood on stage inside a large lecture hall. She was wearing a black office blazer on top of a semi-formal a-line dress and nude-toned high heels.

She scanned her audience, about 80 sophomore Architecture majors. No one was raising his hand. She looked at the student assistant who was beside the teacher's table in the middle of the stage. He was counting a stack of tracing papers containing the architectural drawings of each student as their final requirement in her class. She nodded at him and he gathered the stack and took it to her office.

She turned off the projector through the remote in her hand. She also shut down her laptop and then went in front of the table, and, to the surprise of the students, she sat on the table casually.

She is Misaki, a licensed architect but stopped doing professional work after her first child turned 3 years old. She then went back to her alma mater, this university itself, and decided to teach under the department of her own course. She teaches only two classes though, Architecture 101 in the first semester and this, Architecture 102, in the second semester.

To her students, she was a nice yet formal professor. So it was a surprise to them when she sat down casually in front of the desk, wearing a dress and all.

"We have 45 minutes left. You must be wondering, why my lecture for today was short, yet I haven't dismissed you, I already collected your final outputs and all," it was the last day for the second semester, also the last day for the school year. "This is the second part of today's lecture, but it won't be about Architecture 102 anymore, or Architecture as a subject for that matter. What I want to talk about with you guys right now, is Architecture as a course."

Her students looked at her confused. She knew what was going on in their minds, what was the difference.

"Well, most of you guys probably know about this, but this university is also where I graduated from. I'll be telling you guys a story so you can just chill and I do hope you listen to this. Don't worry, I'll dismiss you early since I know you'd all like to have a break already, so do I," she laughed. "Well, here it goes. You see, around a 'few' years ago, I was also seated on your place. This room had also been my classroom for both Architecture 101 and 102. I do know that some of you had been my student last semester in 101, by the way. So yeah, this room holds precious memories and that is the reason why I always choose this room for my class. And it's near the comfort rooms, convenient isn't it?"

The class laughed.

Chapter 1

Young Misaki looked up from the piece of paper she was holding. "Lecture Hall 201, yep this is it," she said to herself as she read the name written on the bronze plate at the right side of the double doors. She went inside and saw that a few people were there already. Probably just early like her or their first class ended early.

She wasn't sure about the exact number but she could guess that the class would be a large one given the classroom size. Not surprising since there must be more than two hundred students in each year level in the College of Architecture. After all, this university is known for graduating the best architects in the country. The door led exactly to the middle aisle, parting seven rows to two, all the way to the foot of the stage upfront. The tiered seats were a bit bowed, with each row having a long wooden tabletop and multiple chairs behind it. Since there were only a few people, she was able to choose carefully where she wanted to sit. She chose to sit one seat away from the aisle, on the fourth left row.

She placed her bag on her side and took out her pen and notebook. She was excited. It was her first Architecture class. All freshmen took general subjects and only in second year do they start taking their majors.

Ten minutes later, students started coming in. Some of them took their seats in groups. 'Looks like some of them know each other already, huh,' she thought. Some of them were also introducing themselves to each other. She also heard some of them recognize each other as classmates in a gen ed subject from last year, not realizing they have the same course. She sighed. Surprisingly, despite there being two semesters and the College of Architecture being one of the largest colleges in campus, she didn't have architecture majors as classmates in her gen ed subjects. Or if she did, she probably didn't get the chance to talk to them for she didn't really socialize last year. She did, but she wasn't someone who was loud enough to suddenly approach random people and say, 'Hi, I'm Misaki, what's your course? Want to be friends?'

"Hey, it's you, from Biology class! Is this seat taken? Can I sit here?" she looked up to her left and saw a tall guy with dark blue hair smiling at her. He was pointing at the chair beside her, the one next to the aisle. She nodded. She recognized him as the guy who sat across the row from her in Biology class. He was always late. "Didn't know you're also an architecture major. I'm Tsubasa, by the way. Andou Tsubasa."

"It was his idea to get this schedule," Tsubasa scratched his head while looking at his schedule. "Damn, that Kaname, going for an almost night schedule just for a girl. Ahh, I'm going to be late!"

He started running while fixing the buttons of his shirt. He woke up late because he forgot to set his own alarm clock. He was expecting his roommate, Kaname, was going to wake him up but forgot that his classes don't start 'til afternoon. They are both architecture majors who met each other in the dorm. Most architecture majors choose the East Boys Dorm since it's the nearest to the architecture building. And they were also going to take this schedule since it was the best among the three available set of schedules but Kaname decided to change and choose the night schedule because he found out the girl he had a crush on last term got that.

He found the lecture hall just a few minutes before 10 am, the start of the class. He went inside and since he was one of the latest to arrive, free seats were scattered. He'll have to sit beside someone. He scanned the room to see if he knew anyone, a dormmate or a friend from last year. There was no one. He ran his gaze back until it stopped on the back of a familiar pink haired head.

'It's her, from Biology class, across me,' he thought. They were both seated beside the aisle, and he remembered her always looking at him whenever he came late, as if she was suddenly disturbed while being absorbed in listening to the lecture. Since that class consisted only of lectures, they didn't really had the chance to get to know their classmates, and that was in the first semester, so he didn't really think much about her.

The seat beside her was empty so he decided to approach her.

"Hey, it's you, from Biology class! Is this seat taken? Can I sit here?" it was her, indeed. He must have gotten her surprised since she looked up to him with a jolt. He saw recognition in her eyes and then she nodded. He pulled the chair and sat down, placing his bag underneath the desk. "Didn't know you're also an architecture major. I'm Tsubasa, by the way. Andou Tsubasa."

"I'm Misaki, Harada Misaki," she took his hand. He smiled again.

"Oh yeah, I remember, you have the same name as our professor," he remembered. "Sensei always said it felt weird saying your name during roll call."

She laughed with him. Just then, the professor's door at the side of the stage opened and as the professor came in, the class fell silent. The professor had shoulder length blond hair. Half-French, maybe. He was wearing a trenchcoat that reached his knees. He looked handsome, but he looked a bit feminine.

He tried to stifle a laugh and looked at Misaki. Wrong move. She was trying to do the same and they both had to look away to avoid laughing. They were thinking the same thing.

"Okay, why's it warm in here and cold outside?" the professor said. He took off his trenchcoat and hung it on the teacher's chair.

Last straw. Misaki turned her face sideways and hid her face with her handkerchief before laughing silently while he placed his head face flat on the desk. The professor was wearing a white long sleeved top that had frills on the bottom hemline. When they both recovered, he mouthed to her, "Confirmed."

"Good morning, class. It's a bit chilly outside, huh," he greeted merrily. "So let me introduce myself. I am Narumi L. Anju, I prefer the Western order because I love my mom, and yes, I am half-French. As you know, I am teaching your first architecture class, Architecture 101, which is also called Basic Architecture. I prefer to call it the Foundations. Foundations as in the base of a house and as in the base of make up."

Everyone laughed.

"I am not someone who likes taking attendance, especially since there's a lot of you, but class, this is a very important subject for all of you, and I suggest you try not to be absent in this class," he went behind the table and opened his laptop. He connected it to the projector cable and clicked on a remote. The projector screen came down and flashed a presentation. "Okay, let's go to the boring stuff."

Narumi discussed the house rules, the syllabus, the materials they are required to bring and whatnots. "So yeah, as I was saying, this is foundations. I will be teaching you what you need to know before you actually start drawing house plans, how to use those materials I asked you to bring, how to draw the proper lines, et cetera. Background, history, and those boring theoretical stuff, I'll leave it to that old man, Kazu, which you probably have either later or tomorrow," Misaki checked her schedule, that must be Architecture 121, another architecture major they were taking this semester. "Okay, as I know this is your first architecture class, and most of you probably saw each other only now, self-introductions are supposed to be done in this class. Very important since you'll be working together from here on until you graduate. But I don't really want to make you stand up one by one and say boring stuff like I am blah blah."

He took a long dramatic pause and scanned the students. "Which is why we'll do this architecture style!" He twirled while clicking the remote. 'I told you,' he mouthed to Misaki again. The screen showed a cartoon house. "What I want you guys to do right now is to think of your dream house. Describe it in words. Doesn't have to be concrete, just what you want it to have. Like if you want a large garden or a recreation room or pink walls, but try to be as detailed as possible. Get a sheet of paper and start working! When you're done, you can pass it to me and you may go. We'll discuss what you wrote here next meeting. And no peeking at your classmate's paper."

Everyone took out a sheet of paper while Narumi turned off his laptop and started keeping his things. After a few minutes, some people started standing up and passing their paper to Narumi. He also stood up and tapped her.

She was absorbed in writing down her dream house when she felt Tsubasa tap her and motion that he's going ahead. She just nodded but she thought, 'that was quick'.

Misaki was a girl who took most things seriously. Once she gets herself to do something, she gives her all. When she decided that she was satisfied with her work and has written everything she wanted to, she was among the last one-fourth of the class who submitted their work. She passed her paper to Narumi and then went outside.

"Took you a while," Tsubasa was leaning on the wall beside the doors. He removed the earphones from his ears and they started walking.

"You waited for me?" she was surprised. She definitely didn't ask him to wait for her nor did he say he would.

"We're blocked, right? So we must have the same schedule," he said. She nodded. "We only got 30 minutes for lunch, want to eat together at the cafeteria? It's sad to eat alone, you know."

It was true that she'll be eating alone since she really didn't know anyone else in the building. She agreed and so they went to the cafeteria, which was bustling with architecture majors from all year levels.

"Woah, is that tonkatsu I smell?" Tsubasa exclaimed as they went in. They fell in line to see the choices. "What are you gonna eat?"

"Hmnn, I think I'll have fish fillet," she said as she leaned over to check what was available.

Even though it was lunch time for most students, the two were still able to get a table immediately, and it was on the side of the cafeteria, full length glass windows beside them giving a clear view of the lawn area of the building.

"It was a good decision to eat here rather than go back to the dorm," Tsubasa said as he split his chopsticks. "Itadakimasu!"

"You live in a dorm?" she asked as they started eating.

"Yeah, the one near here, East Boys Dorm," he answered. "I'm from Shimoda in Shizuoka, can't really commute from there. What about you? Do you live here in the city?"

"I'm from Shizuoka too," her eyes lit up. "I'm from Hamamatsu, though. I live in an apartment, it's near here. Do you go back every weekend too?"

"Yeah, I don't really like the food at the dorms," he laughed. "I want dessert. There's sundae, you want me to get you one?"

She nodded. It was easy to be comfortable around Tsubasa. She found herself laughing at every story he told her, especially those about the boys dorm. It was only a short time but they already talked about a lot.

Since they were in a block, they had the same classes except for PE. They had different PE classes but at the same time slot. Hence, they were together for the whole day.

"See you tomorrow," he said to her when they got out of the Physics building, where their last subject for the day was.

"Hey, class starts at 10 tomorrow, too, set up your alarm clock, sleepyhead," she joked.

"We're with Kaname, the roommate I told you about, for 121 tomorrow, I'll get there in time," he laughed. He waved as he jogged to the other way, going back to his dorm, while she started walking towards the university entrance.

True enough, Tsubasa came to class the following day around 15 minutes before the time, together with a blond guy. Tsubasa saw her and immediately went to her.

"Misaki, this is my roommate, Sono Kaname," Tsubasa introduced the guy. Had Tsubasa not told her how the guy decided to take the other schedule due to crushing on a girl who passed by them during enrolment, she would have developed a crush on him immediately. Kaname was handsome, prince-like, actually. "Kaname, this is Harada Misaki, she saved me when you left me."

Kaname laid out his hand which she accepted. For a moment, she thought he would kiss her hand. Even the way he shook their hands was regal, as if he was politician who always did this during parties. "Glad to meet you, Misaki-san."

"I already told her about you so don't even try," Tsubasa tapped Kaname's outstretched arm and took the seat beside her. Kaname took the seat beside Tsubasa.

They chatted happily until the professor came. Because of Narumi's words yesterday, she and Tsubasa expected their professor to be old, having white hair, and possibly wear a bit old-fashioned clothes. But the man who came inside was tall, had light blond hair, and, though not a fashionista, wore clothes that weren't old-fashioned. He was handsome and actually looked like a rich man, and he looked like he was about Narumi's age. He also had a stern look on his face.

"This will surely be a boring subject," Kaname said as Kazu introduced himself. He started the lesson immediately, and even for diligent Misaki, most students found themselves yawning but were afraid to show it because of Kazu's tantalizing but scary eyes.

She took down notes to keep herself awake while Tsubasa just toyed with the edges of her notebook. "Aren't you taking down notes?" she asked him.

"I'll just copy them from you or something, I'd just be writing down random stuff he's saying if I try," he said, still playing with the edge of the sheet she was writing on. "Besides, I've got a feeling everything he's saying is in that reference book."

"Hey, let's go buy the books later," Kaname said. There was a bookstore in town that was selling most college reference books.

"We're only 'til 3, dude, you want us to wait for you for an hour and a half?" Kaname made face as he remembered that unlike him, they only had two classes today while he had three. She laughed but Kazu was starting to notice them so she immediately turned serious and nudged at Tsubasa to look in front.

After a while, Kazu directed his attention at other students, she took this chance to whisper to the boys, "I live near 11th street, why don't we just meet up at the bookstore after Kaname-kun's class? Tsubasa can go back to the dorms and rest, I'll go home too. We haven't got any homeworks, anyway."

The two boys agreed. The class ended and they had lunch together at the cafeteria. Kaname had Physics next and left early because Physics was on the other side of the campus. The two stayed at the cafeteria until their next class. On their way to their next class, they passed by upperclassmen setting up booths in the activity area. A fair for the student clubs will be set up by tomorrow.

They went their separate ways after class. She went home to rest for a while and took a quick shower before meeting up with the two along 11th Street, a street lined with cafés and other shops, a usual place for college students' hang out. They bought the textbooks they will be using for this semester then went to hang out in one of the cafés.

The following day had the same schedule as the first day. First class was 101 with Narumi. Tsubasa, as expected, got in time just before Narumi came. He was just getting to his seat when Narumi spoke.

"Class, I read through all your papers from last meeting, and I might say, I already have a peek of who you all are," Narumi then waved two pieces of paper. "But out of everything, there were 2 pieces of paper that were really interesting. Andou Tsubasa. Harada Misaki. Please stand."

Tsubasa had just pulled his chair. They looked at each other wide-eyed and back to Narumi.

Just some author's notes: Shimoda and Hamamatsu are both cities from the Shizuoka prefecture in Japan. Not really important to the story but it matters to me haha. I wanted Tsubasa to be a countryside guy but near the beach, but I wanted them to live in provinces near each other. But then, I still can't understand Japan's prefecture system so I had to settle with having them in the same prefecture but in distanced cities. Shimoda is a famous beach spot but I think it's a bit too industrialized for the image I had for Tsubasa's province, but I had to settle. And also, I don't know how college works in other countries. I simply patterned it to how it is in my university, hence the 5-6 subjects + PE load. If you have read my other works, you would notice I'm too picky with details, please bear with me, I really can't focus on writing if even the slightest detail conflicts.