DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GAKUEN ALICE... ALL RIGHTS RESERVED TO HIGUCHI TACHIBANA
CHAPTER 1:
/NATSUME'S P.O.V/
I saw what little light there could possibly be, in this dark with no windows and no doors, it's like a never ending abyss, but there is light, I have no idea where it came from.
I walked towards the light, and as I went nearer, the light went brighter, I covered my eyes because of it's brightness, and when I opened my eyes once more, I saw the most beautiful garden I have ever been to, but besides that wonderful garden was a girl, a girl that I have been with for five years, It was a heavenly scene in front of me, I walked towards her and helplessly tried to reach her. She looked up to me and smiled; she picked a flower from the garden and handed it to me.
I took the flower and watched it carefully, it was a red rose, and it looked beautiful, enticingly beautiful… I looked at her again and stared at her, she smiled at me once more, her brunette hair looked marvelous, her auburn eyes looked serene, pure; however, I didn't miss the flick of sadness in her eyes.
She turned around and started to walk away from me, I desperately tried to reach out, but as I went nearer she went farther and farther away from me, I was being pulled away from her, she turned around one last time and mouthed the words I never wished to hear. 'Sayonara'
I watched her figure fade, and looked at the flower she gave me, it was starting to wither away, it was dying, until it turned into ashes, the garden faded, and once again I was back in the never ending abyss.
I woke up with a start, I looked at the clock on my bedside… it was 5 A.M. too early, but nonetheless, I took a bath and went to the classroom. I was expecting no one in particular because it was about 6 in the morning and classes start at 8. I thought I'd just sleep in class or something.
I entered the classroom but the classroom wasn't empty, drowsiness left me as I stared at the girl beside my desk sleeping peacefully. I walked up to my desk and sat there, I felt the urge to brush off the strands of hair on her face, but then, she started stirring, she screamed, I didn't know what to do so I shook her until her eyes shot open.
"Nat-sume?" Auburn eyes met mine.
3,2,1
"KYAAAA!"
/MIKAN'S P.O.V/
'Huh? Where am I?' each moment I fall asleep, I always dream and end up in this beautiful garden, I take care of it every now and then, and it feels so real. I would have wanted to stay in this garden, so peaceful, so quiet, it almost feels like magic.
"Little Kitty" someone called me from behind.
I have recently learned that I am related to Persona-nii. He's actually my brother, the last time we met, I thought he was the bad guy but it ended up him being the good guy and trying to save me.
I ran up to hug him and greet him
"Serio-nii, what are you doing here?"
"I came here to see you"
We sat on a green patch above the hill and started to talk about nonsense things. Eventually, Serio-nii had to go, I didn't know what happened but when he went down the hill, he just vanished into thin air.
I admired the plants in my garden, I feel so peaceful here, but I'd have to leave, I looked up and was shocked to see Natsume up ahead, we didn't really talk. I picked up a red rose and handed it to him, and he accepted it reluctantly, which I didn't expect.
He didn't have any emotions on his face; he's really hard for me to read. He looked up to me and I smiled at him, although I had a little tinge of sadness. I felt a tugging feeling at the pit of my stomach, I couldn't really tell if he was scowling but I guessed that he didn't want to see me so I turned my back and walked away. I turned around to give him one last smile and then I left my little garden of paradise.
I woke up almost immediately, everything felt so real, I had the strange feeling at the pit of my stomach, everything ached, my body ached, and I couldn't tell if I was just tired or something, but I knew my heart ached, and ii had the feeling of leaving, I felt like I wouldn't be able to see them for a long time.
Eventually, I took a quick bath and walked to the classroom, and as expected nobody was there yet, I watched by the window as the sun rose but I still felt sleepy so sat on my desk and slept there.
I was at my garden again, I tended the flowers and was happily prancing around. Something caught my attention, so reached out to pick it up, It was a red stone, shaped in the form of a flame azalea. It felt like I knew the emblem, like I knew the person who owned it, like it had some sort of connection with me. The moment I picked up the stone, the ground started to shake, a crack formed beneath my feet.
More Shaking; I opened my eyes and saw blood red eyes. I was captivated by those red pools trying to decipher whatever emotion I could possibly see through, it was almost empty except for the strange flint of worry.
As dense as I was, I was completely oblivious to the fact that our faces were centimeters apart that our noses almost met, and then after a few seconds…
"KYAAA!"
I felt really flushed but nonetheless I shifted my position and sat up straight. Natsume sat on his desk and covered a manga on his face as if nothing happened. 30 minutes later, I heard footsteps outside and students started to come inside the classroom. I greeted them and went over to my best friend.
Ruka arrived and took the seat on my left, I approached him and greeted.
"Ohayo Ruka-pyon"
"O-Ohayo Sakura-san"
"Ne, Ruka-pyon, you look red, are you sick?"
I placed my hand on his cheek and I saw him flush bright red.
The temperature got really hot, but eventually it cooled down.
JInno-sensei barged inside the classroom, panting, which was really odd, because even his frog looked tired too. As far as I'm aware of, Math isn't our first subject, but before I could ask. Jinno-sensei called me.
"Ms. Sakura please come with me immediately"
I didn't want to argue so I just followed him, while we were walking, I thought of all the possible reasons why they could've called me, I knew and felt that something was wrong and whatever it was, I had a very bad feeling about it. The moment we arrived at our destinatio, it struck me like lightning, as soon as I surveyed the room everything was clear, I didn't expect them to know sooner but they knew it and I couldn't hide it anymore.
"I presume that you already know?" I tried to sound stern as much as possible while gazing at the faculties eyes.
"Yes Mikan-Sama" They chorused
"And you know of this because?"
"Persona-sama, and he specifically told us to respect you at all times, he also wished for the school to be informed of this"
"No need to get all formal with me sensei's, we've been all accustomed with each other for five years, I would hate to think that you're obliged to be nice to me because of my current status, someone probably knows already since the moment you spoke of it, You are aware of the bugs that my ecstatic best friend installed here are you not?"
"Ofcourse not Mikan-Sama"
"I thought so, and I also presume that my beloved brother has made preparations for this announcement, correct?"
They nodded in unison
"Then I trust you that no more of this topic shall be spoken of until the said day"
"Yes Yukihara-sama"
I waved dismissively and flashed them my brightest smile before I left the room.
/MIKAN'S P.O.V/
I left the room with a sigh, I glanced around and saw no one around which was a relief because I didn't really want to see anyone as of the moment.
I wandered around the campus and stopped shortly when I arrived at the Sakura tree. I stared at how marvelously enticing it looked while settling myself at the ground and leaning against it's trunk, reminiscing about the memories I had here and felt oddly uncomfortable .. I had a strange feeling that something bad was about to happen, but I shrugged the thought off and let my mind wander until I fell asleep under the shade of my favorite Sakura tree.
I assumed that I'm in a dream again, but this one was different, everything was white and my voice echoed throught the room, I could not pinpint as to how large the room was because there were no ceilings, no walls, no doors, and no windows, I tried to call out for someone but I knew it was futile. I waited and the next thing I knew I was at a different place, it was snowing but I didn't feel the chill when the snow touched my skin, which is why I assumed that I was still in my dream.
I can see the younger me playing, with the usual smile plastered on my face, I saw myself talk to a boy, about the same age, the whole time my younger self and the boy talked I never got to see the boy's face, at any angle I tried to view, the boy's back was always facing me, I noticed the boy's raven locks and a vague mark on the back of his neck, I found the mark familiar, like I have seen it somewhere before but I couldn't bring myself to remember what and where it was.
The next picture was a blur and a bit confusing, I vaguely remembered things like being happy,a mark, seeing myself dumbfounded, crying, locking myself away in my room, shattering, death, white light, and screaming before everything went pitch black.
It felt like I was falling and all I could do was cry and scream.
"Mikan, Mikan" a voice called out while I was frantically screaming my lungs out. The voice got louder and louder.
"Mikan! Mikan!" I woke up with a start my throat felt sore, and my face felt wet. "Calm down Polka Dots" someone said before auburn met crimson eyes. It took time for me to register that Natsume was the one who shook me awake.
"What the hell happened?" Natsume angrily said. I wasn't quite sure of what to say and how to react but I practically knew that I was dumbfounded and too shocked to respond.
"You were screaming and crying" He eventually informed me which explained my sore throat and my wet face. I stood up almost immediately when I felt a sudden pang of pain. The back part of my neck felt like burning, I excused myself from Natsume but was pinned down when he grabbed my wrist and spun me around. I felt too dumbfounded to react or even say a word, but I had to think fast, I had to leave before he sees. I pushed him away as hard as I could, it didn't push him too far but it gave me enough space to run.
/NATSUME'S P.O.V/
"Let me go" Mikan said, and I could see the fear in her eyes, I have never seen her like this before. I got out of my trance when she pushed me and ran, but not before seeing something that left me speechless. It's her, it has been her all along, does she remember?
The mark on the back of her neck, I wonder if she remembers…
"Natsume-kun!" a brunette haired girl ran towards me, I couldn't help but feel delighted, but I could never tell her that.
"Hn" was all I said. She pouted at me and I thought she actually looked cute.
"Ne, Ne, Natsume" She sounded serious so I looked at her.
"What is it?"
"Iie. Nandemonai"
This day was supposed to be one of the normal days, however, one mistake changes everything.
/SAKURA TREE/
It was only a month away before their festival, and everyone started preparing for the said event. Everyone was required to participate, which includes the dangerous abilities class.
Our brunette-haired heroine ran around the campus looking for the infamous Black Cat whose been ditching his chores, after about half an hour, she finally found the boy sitting next to his favorite Sakura tree with a manga over his face.
"Ne, Natsume! Why are you slacking around AGAIN! As far as I can remember EVERYONE was REQUIRED to participate, which includes you!"
"hn"
… 3,2,1
"NATSUME HYUUGA! GET YOUR LAZY BUTT THERE AND START HELPING!"
"Geez, Polka, stop yelling, I'm not deaf you know?" Natsume looked really pissed.
"Well, you're not deaf but you're pretending to be deaf! Geez, at least some of the dangerous abilities class students bother helping you know?, and besides IM NOT WEARING POLKADOTS TODAY!" Mikan blurted out those words out of sheer anger, and whatever was on her mind was what she said, except for the fact about her underwear, which was totally inappropriate.
Natsume was really amused, and decided to pick on her a little bit more, but the little thing came out to be a big problem.
"Do you like me, polka?"
The question caught her offguard.
"My feelings are none of your business"
"Hn. Why do you even bother helping? They don't need you, you're just making things worse, now please leave, 'cause you're getting on my nerves." Natsume wondered if it was a little too harsh and slapped himself mentally.
Natsume was expecting an outburst but nothing came. When he looked up from his manga, he was shocked at the scene before him.
"You're right, even if you get hurt during missions, it doesn't matter if you like someone, I don't… like you anymore" Mikan flashed him a bright smile and left before He could say anything.
It was all too fast and he didn't have time to decipher the words she said before she left. She was just being hysterical. That was what he thought, but deep inside…he felt a strange feeling.
He mentally slapped himself and regretted his rash acts, He wanted to say sorry, but his pride ate him. It felt like déjà vu from his dreams, when she left, he returned to his dark side again.
"Mikan" please, don't leave.
Arigatou Minna-san for reading my story. Btw this story was originally named "Happy Ending" but since I tweaked the story a bit, okay not a bit, but I really tweaked the story so uh, yeah haha the title changed too. Hope you continue reading it.
Remember! More reviews+Inspiration=More Chapters :"
Misa-chan: Over and Out Ja ne!