Part One

One week after Sakura Mikan had left, the mood in the air was still gloomy. It didn't help that Hyuuga Natsume was still in the hospital and hadn't woken up yet, and no one wanted to have the painful job of telling him that Mikan was gone. Also, no one knew where Imai Hotaru was, which made matters worse. Even Narumi looked sad and lost.

"Sensei, where is Hotaru-chan?" Nonoko asked.

"No one knows for sure. She and her brother are somewhere lost in time and space."

Iinchou made his way up to the front of the class. "Well, if Imai-san was here she would pull out her baka gun and start firing at us, because we're so out of it. And if… Mikan… were here she'd…" Everyone knew what he meant. If Mikan had been here, she would find a way to change the atmosphere. But she wasn't here.

He looked at the class. Sumire was trying to look nonchalant, but was failing. Ruka was sadly stroking his bunny's fur. Nonoko and Anna were lost in thought. Even Kokoroyomi looked dull. Iinchou sighed. Apparently he would have to take initiative. "Okay," he decided. "Today we are going to check up on Hyuuga-san, and see when he'll wake up." The rest of his classmates nodded silently, and he thought, How is it that you don't appreciate the brightness of your candle until the flame is put out?

…

At the Alice Academy Hospital, the nurses told Class B that they unfortunately did not know when Natsume would recover. One of the nurses reassured them. "Don't worry, I'm sure it will be any day now."

Ruka regarded his best friend with concerned eyes and prayed for him. "Natsume… wake up soon, 'kay?" he said, his voice cracking on 'kay. For a second, nothing happened. Then what sounded like a moan escaped from his lips, barely audible. Then it came again, louder this time.

"Mikan."

Natsume shot up, panting as if he had woken up from a horrible nightmare. "Ruka," he acknowledged. And then, to wide-eyed Sumire and Iinchou he said, "Permy. Class Rep." He frowned as if remembering something. "Where's Mikan?" he asked. The room fell silent. "Where's Mikan?" he asked again, more angry and forceful this time. Ruka had taken up the job of breaking the news.

"Natsume," he started gently, "when Mikan saved you, she used up the last bit of her alice. She didn't have an alice anymore so…" Even Natsume's best friend didn't know how to say the next part. But he swallowed and kept on going. "Since Sakura lost her alice, she was forced to leave the school. However, since she had strong ties with the Academy, she was forced to lose her memories of this place as well." Ruka stood back and waited for it to sink in. It was a good thing too, because just a few seconds later Natsume's bed and table burst into flames. "No," he whispered, over and over. So Natsume decided from that point on, that even if it took years, he would do whatever it took to get Sakura Mikan back.

Part Two

A few months later, a new student came to Class B. Her name was Yamamoto Chikako, and was there to replace Mikan. Everyone regarded Chikako with cold eyes, except Iinchou. He just looked sad. Chikako was a very pretty girl with shoulder-length dark brown hair. Her eyes were curious as she took in her surroundings, but heartless and deceiving, as if she knew that she was far better than everyone else and there was nothing they could do about it. But those eyes instantly lit up as the fell upon Hyuuga Natsume and Nogi Ruka, the two best-looking boys in the grade. Whoa, those guys are hot!, she thought. She became even happier when she saw that the seat next to the black-haired one was open. She sidled up to the teacher. "Sensei, may I sit in that seat?" she asked prettily. "If you must," Narumi replied wearily.

All eyes were on Chikako as she walked up to Mikan's old seat. "Narumi-sensei, are you just going to give up Mikan-chan's old seat?" Anna said. Natsume, who hadn't been listening, looked up sharply when he heard the name 'Mikan', and finally noticed Chikako walking down the aisleway. She plopped down in her seat and flashed a dazzling smile. "Hi, I'm Chikako. Nice to meet you." Ruka glanced at her and nodded; Natsume glared at her and grunted. Chikako winced inwardly and her smile faltered. The whole class was glaring and frowning at her now. Sumire especially looked like she was going to punch somebody in the face. Whispers flew across the room.

"Who does that girl think she is?"

"Honestly! The nerve!"

"Someone should really inform her about Mikan… there's no way he'll fall for her…"

"You know, she'll have to be Natsume's partner now…"

The mutters went on and on. Chikako tried to look proud and unaffected, but that was kind of hard when the whole class was talking about you in a not-so-good way. Well, at least I know someone at this freak school, she thought, while remembering her friends Yuka and Sayuki.

She met Yuka and Sayuki at lunch. Both were half Japanese and half French. Takashima Sayuki had waist-length wavy blonde hair and was loud and obnoxious. So she was basically the perfect friend for Chikako. Sasaki Yuka had short blonde hair (like Hotaru's, except blonde) and grey-blue eyes. She was a softspoken girl, but was kind of a personal gossip column. She knew about almost everything that happened at Alice Academy.

"So Yuka, who is this Mikan-chan that everybody's talking about?" Chikako asked.

"Oh Chi-chan, she's like the best!" Yuka said enthusiastically. "From what I've heard," she added sheepishly because Chikako was staring at her.

"Ooookaaaayy… Was she smart?" Chikako asked. Yuka laughed.

"Not at all! She was probably the dumbest person you could ever meet!"

"Then was she pretty?" Yuka thought about it.

"Not particularly. I guess."

A bell rang. Lunch was over. The trio said their goodbyes and went to their respective classrooms. Chikako was still wondering why anybody would like Mikan by the time she sat down in class.

This time people were glaring at her again and talking about how if Mikan were here, everything would be so much nicer and that Mikan was far better than this Chikako girl. With each whisper and murmur Chikako felt an emotion burn up inside of her. But it wasn't shame or sadness. No, this time Chikako had had enough.

She raised her voice to be heard over her classmates. "Honestly, this Mikan that everyone's talking about, why does anyone like her?" she asked to nobody in particular. The room became silent. "Yeah, she doesn't sound like a big deal; she's dumb and ugly." Chikako then realized that everyone in the room was staring daggers at her and looked like they were going to murder her that instant. But what Chikako didn't know was that the worst was yet to come.

Ruka's sadness had been replaced with a kind of cold fury. Natsume - oh, Natsume - had slowly gotten up from his chair. Everyone in the class instinctively got up from their chairs and stepped back. As if Natsume was waiting for the all-clear, every single table in the room burst into flames. Fire licked Natsume's hands as he made his way towards Chikako. "Don't you dare," Natsume said in a low, threatening voice. "Don't you dare say-" Natsume's voice cracked. After all, he was going to say a name that he hadn't said in 3 months and 16 days. "-say such things about Mikan." He stepped closer to Chikako, so that she could see the orange flecks in his deep red eyes. "If you say one more word about her, I will personally see to it that you won't be in this classroom for a while."

Chikako was pretty sure he didn't mean that he would force her to switch classes. Although Chikako was trembling in fear on the inside, she responded in a cool, detatched voice. "Fine."

She stayed calm druing class and even denied anything when Narumi noticed something was wrong. Ruka kept glancing at her, while Natsume was glaring at her without even looking at her.

Oh what had she done now?

Chikako's mother had always warned her about her big mouth. Chikako would go off and say something she didn't mean, and everyone would hate her afterwards for it. It wasn't her fault that she was an impulsive speaker. All of Chikako's friends knew this, so they knew that while she may seem bratty and cold, she wasn't always like that. At least she tried not to be.

After class, Chikako walked right out of the classroom, not caring what her friends would do if she didn't show up at their meeting spot. She was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion, so she broke into a sprint and ran until she stopped under a tree. It just so happened that it was the Sakura Tree.

As soon and she reached her destination, Chikako burst into tears. What kind of mess did I get myself into? Natsume and Ruka are never going to even look at me now. Nor will the rest of the class...

"I just want to go home!" Chikako wailed, now full-on sobbing. She stayed like that for a little while, before resting her head on her arms, and pulling her knees up.

"That's not the kind of thinking they'd be wanting you to do here." Chikako's head shot up, and so did her guard.

Ruka.

"W-what do you want?" she mumbled, facing away from Ruka so she could hastily wipe away any remaining tears. Instead of being ruffled at her heartless attitude, Ruka plopped down right next to her.

"Listen," he started. His eyes were serious and no-nonsense now. "I'm really sorry about Natsume. He's..." Ruka hesitated. "He's been through a lot. I hope you can forgive him." Chikako wanted to scream, What about you, huh? You didn't do anything! You let him embarrass me in front of everyone! As if reading her mind, he began again, "I know it's partly my fault too. Actually, it's partly everyone's fault. But you didn't have to go and say those things about Mikan."

There was that word again. Chikako was starting to believe that Mikan would haunt her in her grave.

"But! But everyone was comparing me to that-that girl whom I don't even know! Saying how Mikan was so much better and that I didn't deserve to sit next to Natsume, and I-I didn't even do anything!" she yelled. Ruka looked a bit taken aback, but reserved himself back to his quiet demeanor.

"You're right. But we're both wrong." Ruka faced her again with a sudden dose of courage. "What if I told you that Mikan completely changed the lives of everyone in that class in just two years. What if I told you that the way Natsume just acted to you was close to the same way Natsume would have acted to me 3 years ago? His own best friend?" Her mouth was hanging open by now. Although she had initially thought Alice Academy was a school for freaks, she had learned more than she learned at any other school here.

Besides, Natsume sounded... Chikako almost wanted to pity him. Ruka glanced upwards quickly, but she kept her eyes on him. Not backing down, Chikako started, "...I want to help him."

That got him listening.

I carried on. "Natsume... he reminds me of my brother. My brother used to be exactly like him, personality-wise." Ruka didn't question the used to be. Chikako thought that he must have already had a used to be. Maybe even more than one.

Chikako's brother had died in a car crash. Chikako didn't like to talk about it, because it was her fault.

"...Okay." Chikako almost didn't hear Ruka's response. "But if you want to do that, you'll have to involve yourself with Mikan." Chikako turned a questioning gaze upon him, but readily agreed.

"And I'm sorry for saying those things about her. I know it was wrong, but I couldn't help feeling unfairly compared." Ruka nodded at that.

"I'm sorry too, on Natsume's behalf and my own. It wasn't right to put the pressure of living up to Mikan on you. I guess we just still couldn't deal with her being gone, especially Natsume."

"What happened to Mikan anyways? Is it something really bad?" Chikako asked. Ruka opened his mouth to reply when-

Whoosh!

Chikako gasped, but Ruka didn't look too surprised. Something had fallen out of the tree.

Holding his trusty manga, Natsume walked away in front of them, not once looking back.