Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice does not belong to me, period.

The Will To Live

"If you love someone, let them go. If they return to you, it was meant to be. If they don't their love was never yours to begin with."

Chapter Two: The Alternate Reality

This picture was wrong. What was happening could only be considered a mere illusion.

She did die...didn't she?

Mikan looked around the room warily. Sure, she had always believed in life after death. It was what saved her from "dying" when she was living...Having no hope would have most assuredly killed her on the inside.

How could someone go on without believing? How could someone go on without hoping? Hoping that there was something after death...it was only natural. Only, where was she exactly?

The room was white and devoid of any furniture. It was simply, white. The walls which caged her in were white...the door which held her here was white...the floor which she was sprawled on was white...the ceiling which hung over her was white... Everything in the room was white.

Mikan groaned and shut her eyes angrily. She couldn't hear anything and all she could see was white. Maybe it would have been better if she had just died normally. Normally, as in, without the whole white room afterlife. Surely this was worse than dying? She had to have been here for hours, and if she was here for hours, then it meant that she had been dead for hours...or days, or weeks...or months, or even years at least. That made sense...didn't it?

Yet...maybe, just maybe...she didn't die. Maybe she was still alive! Mikan's heart started beating frantically at the thought. For if she was alive, then that meant that somehow...she made it. That for some strange reason Persona had not succeeded in killing her and that...she could be with Natsume forever.

She had to be alive...she just had to be. Was it even humanly possible to live in a world without Natsume? Without Hotaru? Without Ruka? Without any of her precious friends? There was no way.

Mikan's eyes widened in shock. Although the sound was small, there was definitely a sound. A small, distinct click to be exact. The sound of a door being unlocked. Arising from her position on the floor, Mikan rushed to the door and twisted the knob. A small triumphant smile lit her features when it successfully twisted all the way. Opening the door, Mikan hastily walked out of the room and took in her surroundings.

She was in a hallway, but all the way at the end was another door. Maybe it would take her out of this place...? Without any thoughts of hesitation, Mikan began running to the door in the distance. Maybe this was the door that would take her back to reality. The more and more she thought about it, the more it made sense. She just couldn't be dead. She had to be alive. So if she was alive...then that would mean that right now she was merely sleeping.

What a bizarre dream to be having. A bizarre and scary dream. More like a nightmare, actually. Well, when one sleeps, one must wake up. The most likely place to "awaken" would be in a room...A hospital room would make the most sense.

Persona didn't kill her. He didn't. So then...why did her death seem so vivid...why did the conversation she had with Natsume before she "died" felt so real? It couldn't have happened because if it did then that would make her dead. And dying just wasn't possible. Not when she still had so much she wanted to do.

Mikan stopped in front of the door and quickly twisted the doorknob. It turned easily and she bolted into the room, crying out eagerly, "Natsume?"

As soon as the name flew from her lips, her eyes widened. She was supposed to wake up, wasn't she? Yet, the room was awfully familiar. Suddenly, the cold, harsh reality constricted her. Mikan fell to her knees and ignored the sharp pang of pain that followed. Her reality slowly shifted from the hospital room to where she was now. The reality that she desperately wanted to believe in collapsed.

The room was white. She was back where she started.

Soft, warm colors were swirling around Mikan. It felt warm and caring, and they were all blending together to form familiar images. Images of her friends, family, and life.

Was she dreaming? It kind of felt like she was awake, but dreaming at the same time. Well, whatever was going on, it felt good.

"Hey, you. Wake up."

Mikan groaned softly. She had finally managed to fall asleep again and there was no way she was going to wake up now. Besides, was it even possible for there to be someone else other than herself in this room? If she woke up and she was alone then that would be more than she could possibly stand to bear.

As if to answer her train of thought, the demanding voice resonated throughout the room even louder than it had the first time. "I said wake up, woman."

Mikan's heart felt as if it would burst in relief at the sound of the voice. She wasn't alone. Mikan's eyes flew open, her cheeks immediately turning into a light hue of pink. The man who had spoken was mere inches away from her face.

She saw gold. An enchanting, ethereal golden color. The color was like the color of the golden grain that swayed to the orchestrated rhythm of the passing zephyrs on an ephemeral afternoon day. The color of a timeless, eternal liquid gold.

Was it possible to have eyes this beautiful?

Eyes with so much depth...it reminded her of Natsume's eyes in a way, but...

Somehow this was different.

Mikan's eyes widened slightly at the look of shock that seemed to enter his eyes. Then he was gone, disappearing as if he was a mere figment of her hyperactive imagination.

Mikan blinked in confusion. Where did he...go?

"Behind you."

Mikan spun around quickly and couldn't help the incredulous look that plastered itself onto her face. The incredulous look as she really took in the sight of him.

He was quite taller than her, which was to be expected since she wasn't the tallest of people anyways. He had the physique of one of those incredibly successful supermodels. The people who, by the will of Providence, happened to be born without any sort of physical blemish whatsoever. People who were born naturally beautiful.

He had an ambiguous disposition about him so she couldn't exactly pinpoint his true demeanor... His sleek hair reached his chin and it was tousled about a bit, giving him a sort of devilish look. His hair was the gorgeous shade of dark blue that appeared after the lighter colors of the sky vanished as the sunset melted.

He was wearing a black school uniform that accentuated his slender build. The top part of his uniform was a long sleeved, buttoned black coat with a collar. The side of the collar had an intricately sewn design of a cross in a warm golden color. Two strips of flowing gold that began from the top of his collar ran all the way down to the bottom of the shirt. Simple, yet elegant black pants completed the image.

Only, his perfection wasn't as shocking as the large white snowy wings behind him.

Those couldn't be real...could they? Yet, considering the fact that at the moment she was in some sort of strange alternate reality... "Are those...?" Mikan spoke so softly that she was almost sure the strange man wouldn't have been able to hear her.

The man smirked, to Mikan's dismay. He definitely heard her. "If you are referring to my wings, then yes, they are real. I promise you that."

Mikan laughed nervously at the sheer impossibility of what was transpiring. She was clearly losing her mind. Maybe she was in an asylum...It made sense. Somewhat.

"So what are you, an angel or something?"

The man sighed dramatically, but a bright smile was in place as he answered, "I really don't understand why you humans constantly think of angels when you see white wings..."

"You mean...you aren't an angel?" Mikan said slowly, each word dripping with heavy, concentrated skepticism. How could he not be an angel? He definitely resembled an angel with those wings of his.

"Actually, I'm anything but."

Her eyebrows raised inquisitively as he presented her with a mocking bow. Keeping his elegant posture intact, he only lifted his head to lock his golden eyes with Mikan's honey brown orbs. Flashing her a dazzling smile, he said in a nonchalant tone, "I'm a demon of course."

To say Mikan was shocked would be an understatement. She was completely and utterly flabbergasted. How could he be a demon? Weren't white wings normally associated with purity?

Standing straight once more, the demon walked up to her and took her by the hand as he dragged her towards the door.

"Wait a second, where are you taking me?" Mikan spat out angrily as she struggled against his iron like grip. She hated how flustered she was getting around this...demon. Instead of answering, he opened the door and pulled her along. Mikan raised her eyebrows in disbelief. This was definitely not the plain, white hallway that she encountered earlier.

This time she was in a huge lobby and it was definitely the epitome of splendor. On the ceiling were different colors of glass flowers overlapping each other and some jutting out in a precarious manner, creating a stunning, quintessential work of art.

They were akin to sunflowers on a bright summer day, turning their heads to the glimmering sun high up in a canvas of pure, infinite blue. Brilliant light shone from beneath the impressive spectacle, casting beautiful, colored shadows onto the smooth, tiled floors.

Large, glass windows surrounded the perimeter of the entire lobby, as if proudly displaying the eerily gorgeous, yet sinister expanse of the perpetual crimson sky. This place was actually more like a palace than anything else. People were walking around and attending to their own business whether it was cleaning the already spotless tile floors or walking in and out of rooms.

Of course, it would have been a bit more normal if the people weren't sporting large wings in either black or white as a separate appendage.

Sighing in aggravation, she faltered a bit when they abruptly stopped. They had stopped in front of a desk which Mikan assumed to be a reception desk. The female receptionist behind the desk had a look of complete boredom on her face as she typed away on her laptop.

"Excuse me, but I have an appointment with the Boss."

The woman looked startled at the sound of the voice for she hastily jumped out of her seat. "Ah yes, yes of course! Please, follow me." She hurriedly went on ahead as the demon and Mikan followed suit.

The pair brushed pass some of the people in the way, but not without sympathetic glances being sent towards the pair. It seemed as if the people in the lobby were cognizant of something that Mikan was not aware of. It was certainly disconcerting, to say the least.

"Here you are. Please hurry, you know the Boss is an advocate for punctuality," the frazzled woman said in a worried voice as she stole quick glances at Mikan.

The demon simply walked past her and into the elevator, his hand still tightly grasping on to Mikan's hand. When the elevator doors shut and began to travel upwards, Mikan sighed in relief. Although the place was beautiful, the atmosphere felt somewhat awkward in a way. Perhaps that was due to the fact that she was the only one lacking wings.

If only she knew exactly what was going on it would make the situation a lot easier to understand...

"And here I thought that you would be asking me tons of questions...What are you thinking about, Mikan?" The demon asked his companion calmly.

"About everything I suppose. I don't exactly understand what is going on you know, " Mikan said softly. This whole situation was kind of creeping her out...

"Well, ask away."

With that sentence, she realized that this demon...was for some inexplicable reason on her side. For now, at least he could help her. Smiling gratefully, Mikan grasped onto his hand tighter. At least she had someone in this new place.

"What was I doing in that white room? I thought I was dreaming at first and I was going crazy in there...No sound and no time," Mikan paused hesitantly before continuing, "it was as if I was simply...existing, but nothing else. I thought that I almost escaped but..."

The demon sighed and shook his head in what seemed to be disgust. "I honestly don't know why he insists on doing it that way...Well, I suppose its for his entertainment, but...there is really no reason to resort to torture."

Mikan stared up at him confusedly as she attempted to look him in the eyes, but his gaze was concentrated elsewhere. "So that was torture?"

A crooked smile of resent touched his lips at the innocent question. "It felt like torture, didn't it? Being led to believe that you might still be alive. Being forced to have false hope when in reality, someone was playing with your emotions as if you were merely a helpless puppet on strings."

Mikan looked down at her shoes at his callous and biting voice. Perhaps he went through it as well...? Mikan's eyes widened as she felt her self being pulled out of the elevator. The elevator had finally stopped without her realizing.

As they were walking through the hallway that the elevator had opened up to, it suddenly occurred to her that he knew what her name was, but she didn't know his.

"What's your name?" Sighing, she silently berated herself. What a breach in decorum on her part...

"Its Chikara."

Mikan smiled brightly, her previous thoughts vanishing. "Chikara-kun, thank you for helping me out."

At the end of the hallway was a large door, apparently leading to the final destination. Chikara swiftly released his hold on her hand and without bothering to knock, opened the door and briskly walked inside with Mikan following close behind.

The room, was almost an exact replica of the lobby except it was a bit smaller. Glass windows showed the red sky and an elaborate ceiling design was above her. Black leather couches were placed in the room for ones own comfort, no doubt for guests. Directly in her line of vision was a desk made out of glass, most likely to fit the elegance of the room. A tall black chair with its back turned was behind the desk. Suddenly, the chair swiveled around to face her and in it was a young boy.

At that moment, Mikan knew nothing was going to catch her off guard ever again. Not after this. The boy was most likely a ten year old at best, but Mikan did not doubt at all that this was the leader. He had a deadly, ostensible aura of malice and blood lust that was absolutely suffocating.

Mikan, for the first time since she arrived, felt pure fear. Adrenalin began pumping in her veins as her survival instincts automatically kicked in at the sense of danger. This boy was...absolutely terrifying. She was paralyzed with fear like she was a deer caught in blinding headlights.

His eyes were a crystalline blue and he was staring at Mikan with amusement. He had short black hair and was wearing almost the same uniform as Chikara's, but his was white with the design of a red cross on his collar. Mikan winced at the feral grin that appeared on his face.

"Welcome to Hell, Sakura Mikan."

Mikan gave a curt nod. How nice...it turns out that she was in Hell all along. Only, she did not want to talk to this...creature at all.

The boy sighed tiredly and motioned for Mikan to come closer. Mikan stood still, not bothering to budge an inch. She was almost one hundred percent sure that she would break out into a run if she even attempted to take one step forward. Her eye's widened slightly when she felt a gentle tug on her arm. Looking up, she saw Chikara give her a small nod as he led her to the front of the desk.

The little boy smiled happily as if he found out Christmas had come five months earlier than expected. "Well, this is a lot better, isn't it Mikan-chan?"

Mikan nodded slowly. She hated his voice. It sounded way too light and happy in comparison to his deadly demeanor. "Who are you?"

The boy laughed, similar to the tinkling chime of bells. A child's laugh that did not match him no more than his voice had. "I go by many names, but you may call me by my most common, Satan."

"Satan," Mikan's voice came out in a whisper as the name rolled easily off her tongue. So this was the Devil she had heard so much about back on Earth. She didn't think he would be a child though...

"I have a proposition for you, Sakura Mikan."

Mikan's eyes narrowed. A proposition made by the devil himself? What sane person would even consider something so stupid?

"You see," he continued, ignoring the waves of caution emanating from the girl, "I would like to give you a second chance at life."

He smiled at the look of shock and hope that crossed the girl's features.

Hope. Mortals were so sickeningly simple.

He was going to win this one.

"A second chance at life? Is that even possible?"

"Of course its possible. However, I can't simply give you life and let you live it...that would be too easy, you see."

Despite her better judgement, Mikan was completely amazed. She could live again. She would be able to go back and finish everything she wanted to. However...

"Why me?"

Although the bargain was indeed tempting...was she so special that she would be given this kind of opportunity?

"Because I'm bored," Satan candidly replied while twisting a lock of his dark, raven hair.

Warning flags began waving furiously in Mikan's mind, but she ignored it. This opportunity...was unlike any other. This was her chance. "What are your conditions?"

"You can go back to Earth six years from now, but you will lose all of your memories of your friends. You may or may not live a slightly different life from what you had in the past...Oh, and Chikara will be your guardian during your tarry."

Mikan could practically feel the acidic bile rising up into her throat.

Not going back to Earth until six years have passed? She would be seventeen by then, her senior year in the Academy. According to what Satan said, she might not even be in the Academy.

Memory loss seemed a bit too extreme though.

"Lose all of my memories? Then what is the point of going back?"

"This is a game, Mikan. We wouldn't be playing if there weren't any...benefits. If you manage to regain your memories within two months, then I will let you live on Earth."

What the...

How could she play a game with impossible rules?

"Satan, it would be impossible for me to regain my memories in the span of merely two months."

Satan let out a sigh of impatience, his blue eyes showing obvious annoyance. "This isn't some ordinary deal. This benefits you as well as me, so it is possible for any of us to...win."

Mikan raised her eyebrows at that. "Win? I get to keep my life if I win, but what could you possibly want from me?"

"Your afterlife."

Wait a second...what could he possibly want with her...? "My afterlife...?"

Then, it clicked.

Ah. Her afterlife. Meaning that she would have to go straight to hell, without a chance at heaven...

Satan smiled as understanding reached Mikan's eyes. "You go to Earth, Chikara will look after you...Ah, don't worry about that," the young boy said as he noticed a hint of confusion in the girl's chocolate orbs, "You won't forget about Chikara. As for everything else...you will have to forget all of that."

Mikan frowned as the information was processed in her mind. How would she be able to remember Chikara, but not remember what happened here...? Well, everything would probably work itself out... This would be a bit more challenging then she originally thought...

"It is possible for me to win, right?"

"Of course it is. You will simply have to make valuable use of your time...The only thing you will remember besides Chikara is that you have something you want to accomplish. That is all. Do you accept?"

Mikan hesitated, looking up at Chikara. She frowned when she noticed he was looking outside the window, his expression indecipherable. Apparently this was a decision she would have to make on her own. Well, the rules seemed fair enough...She was guaranteed a chance to win as well, so it should be fair...

With determination resounding in her voice, Mikan said clearly, "I'll do it."

"I thought you would. Now come here," the young boy said with a smile, patting the air next to him.

Mikan's eyes widened when a chair suddenly appeared next to the boy. Magic in Hell? She definitely did not hear anything about that back on Earth. Well, its not like anyone would know exactly without experiencing it. She walked up to the chair and sat in it, still trying to maintain some distance between her and the Devil.

Before her eyes, a contract suddenly appeared onto the desk along with a quill pen. "Sign away," Satan said breezily.

Mikan looked around in confusion. Where was the ink? "Umm...What am I supposed to sign this with?"

Satan laughed, his eyes mischievous and light. "With your blood, Mikan."

She gulped audibly, not liking the idea of pricking herself with a quill pen just to sign with her blood. Her hand shaking, Mikan held up the quill pen as she examined it. The tip was razor sharp like it was meant for the sole purpose of a deal such as this.

Wincing, Mikan brought the pen up to tip of her finger and stabbed herself, watching as beads of ruby red blood were released from the wound. With the tip of the pen covered lightly in her incarnadine blood, she precariously signed her name onto the parchment on the desk.

Suddenly, Mikan inhaled a sharp gasp as an unexplainable pain gripped her. Tears leaked out of her eyes as she slipped from the chair and collapsed onto the ground.

What was happening to her? Was this supposed to happen? Why did she feel so weak?

Turning to Satan for some sort of explanation, her eyes grew large at the wide, manic grin that was pasted onto his face.

Then, all was dark.

A/N:

So, how was that? Yes, I am cognizant of the fact that I haven't updated in what seems to be like an eternity. I truly had no inspiration for this story, so I was waiting until something hit me. Hopefully this wasn't boring or anything and I hope that everyone enjoyed this.

I'm also sorry for not updating Deadly Captivation of My Slice of Heaven before this, but I had the inspiration for this story. My Slice of Heaven should be next, so I hope the fans of that story will deal with me a bit longer. As for Deadly Captivation, I can only reiterate. Please bear with me!

Well, please leave your thoughts, comments, and rants in a review. You can even say how much you hate me for not updating. I honestly deserve the hatred.

Thanks again.

-anatsumi