Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice. They belong to the rightful owner: Tachibana Higuchi. Thank you for your time.

Summary: Eight year old Mikan Sakura wanted nothing more than to enjoy her years of elementary school. She was popular, made friends easily, and was happy all the time. How will her life change when Hotaru Imai, a mysterious transfer student, appears into her life?

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"I didn't want to have to stay away from my parents but it was something that had to happen. Natsume and Aoi were the only ones I could turn to."

-Ruka

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Chapter Three:

Alices?

Halloween ended and the Christmas spirit was within each of the fourth graders. Everyone was excited for December 25th to come, but there was one who was indifferent. That person was none other than Hotaru Imai. She was reading at her own pace, while the other students were happily chatting away about what was about to come. Mikan just happened to be one of those people.

"So, the teacher hasn't come in yet… does that mean we don't have school?" A girl named Maki asked a classmate of her.

"No, we have class." The class rep Kobe replied. "The teacher said that we're receiving three new students, one will be in third and two will be in our grade." The buzzing about Christmas shortly died down once they heard of a possible transfer again. Earlier that year they received Hotaru and she was a blessing to have.

"Do you know if they're boys, or if they're girls?" Erika asked Kobe who just shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know. All I was told was to pull two more desks out for our class and one more for the third grade class below us."

Mikan whistled to herself as she walked over to where Hotaru was reading. She didn't seem perplexed about what was happening, but the brunette found it odd. New transfers just like Hotaru. It was the middle of the year already so it wasn't an ideal time to come into a new school, but that was as far as that thought got before Mikan peered over her friends shoulder. The book she was reading was one of those that looked gibberish to her, and in fact, it made her head hurt.

"Nah, maybe I'm just over thinking it." Mikan thought out loud to herself. "Hotaru's weird so obviously she could withstand going into a new school." Hotaru caught this and whacked Mikan across the room with her swatter. A sign in the back had two columns, one with a large quantity of numbers and a big fat zero on the other. Kobe maneuvered his way to it and pulled a number down making the 37 into a 38.

"What was that idiot?" She shut her book with a deft sound, getting up to retrieve the sprawled girl on the ground.

"What did you do that for Hotaru?" Mikan cried out clutching her antagonized cheek. It was slowly turning back to its normal color instead of the bright red upon impact color.

"For being stupid obviously; get back to your seat before you look like a fool even more."

After Hotaru's birthday the girl had began to act differently. She treated Mikan as if she were annoying as flies sometimes and though there were times where they'd laugh Hotaru would always go back to the icy exterior.

Mikan mumbled her curses underneath her breath, but immediately stopped when the class door was opened by the teacher. Behind her two boys walked in. One had blonde hair, blue eyes, and had a small frown on his face. It was a similar story with the other boy except he had raven hair (just like Hotaru) and crimson eyes. His hands were placed inside the pocket of his shorts as he stared with bored fascination at the wall in back.

"Class, please welcome our two new classmates." She was writing the first name down as she was stating this. "Ruka Nogi, would you like to introduce yourself to the class?" She stopped after writing his name leaving the other boy's a mystery still. Everyone was wondering which one Ruka was while also being curious about the other name.

Shortly afterwards the blonde boy stepped forward with a curt smile. It had seemed like it was a forced smile but no one would have noticed it besides Hotaru. "Ruka Nogi."

Some of the girls in back giggled while goggling at the two new boys but Mikan immediately shut them up by throwing a glare. She didn't want any bullying going on, even though it wasn't bullying. Since Hotaru transferred in many of the boys in back teased her, but were immediately shut up. Just like that they stopped their giggles before anyone could be the miser.

The teacher oblivious to the commotion in back finally started to write the other boys name.

"And this is Natsume Hyuuga; he has a younger sister just below our level. Please be good to them since they are new to the area. Would you like to introduce yourself Natsume?"

The boy merely shrugged at the question before looking at his peers. Mikan hadn't noticed it before but his eyes gave her a chill. Something about them felt just like Hotaru; mysterious. The same could be said about Ruka Nogi as well. There was something different about these new transfers.

"Natsume Hyuuga." His voice wasn't as soft as the blonde boy, and everyone was in awe. His presence was enough to fill a room up.

Clapping her hands the teacher began to erase their names off the board, but not before adding if the class wanted to ask any questions. Immediately voices picked up.

"Are you two friends?"

"How old are you?"

"What's your sister's name Hyuuga?"

Mikan leaned back in her chair with a pencil balanced on her upper lip. It was odd that these two possessed the same mysterious aura that Hotaru did… and would that mean they'd be good friends? Closing her eyes she sighed out. Everything about this screamed that something more was coming, and it wasn't a good one.

Taking a quick glance at her friend, Mikan saw that Hotaru had straightened in her seat. Her hands were clenched at the sides and her book long forgotten. Her eyes were sizing up the two boys, but unlike the brunette, she knew something.

"Now, now children," The teacher scolded while wiping her hands. "You have plenty of time to chat later. Today we're learning to divide and I've already used up a lot of our time in Math session. Ruka, Natsume why don't you sit in the two seats behind Sakura and we'll begin."

It had taken Ruka a couple of seconds to realize where the seats were but Natsume had already made his way up the aisle. He didn't bother looking at the other students but he did happen to catch the eye of a certain person.

Ruka slightly tapped Natsume on his shoulder to remind him to walk once again, but Mikan didn't miss the glare the boy gave. The glare was directed completely straight at Hotaru and she in turn returned it.

The two sat behind her seat shortly after and the teacher started her lecture on dividing.

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Once class had ended Mikan immediately jumped up from her spot to go by Hotaru. To say that she was concerned was the least of her worries as the girl ignored her. The amethyst eyed beauty was slowly packing her books back into her backpack before she gave notice to Mikan.

"Hotaru, want to walk home today?" Giving a quick side glance over her shoulder, she verified that the boys hadn't moved from their spots yet.

"Not today." She replied automatically. Then with precision she pulled on her bag and walked away from her to the two boys. She was determined about something and that was all Mikan got.

Watching her friend walk out of the classroom Mikan angrily shot a look at the two boys, hoping that they'd flinch in turn, but they didn't. Ruka was speaking in whispers to Natsume, and he was just staring outside.

"Ru-chan! Natsume!" Jumping up from the new voice Mikan turned to see a miniature version of Natsume at the classroom door. She had cropped black hair that reached her shoulders and bangs that extended even further. Her eyes were also that pretty crimson color that Natsume had. The only thing that was different about these two siblings was that she was smiling and he was frowning.

"Aoi."

"Hey Aoi." Ruka greeted before realizing that Mikan was still in the classroom. He nervously looked back at Natsume before sighing.

"Hey, guess what! We're learning how to multiple simple numbers and adding fractions! What are you guys learning?" Obviously she must not have cared if Mikan was there or not since she just smiled at the brunette before running over to their desks.

Then taking this chance Mikan escaped out the door before she could hear another word. She had just confirmed the worst of her suspicions, and that was that the younger sibling had the same aura that the two boys did… albeit she was excited. Nothing seemed to make sense, but then again, when Hotaru came into the picture nothing ever did.

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The week passed without much melodrama as Mikan predicted there would be. Hotaru was her usual self, though a bit frosty around the edges, and the transfers kept to themselves. Some of the miscreants of the class gravitated towards Natsume, and he in turn just ignored them like he did everyone else. The only contact she had with them was basically their seating arrangement.

Some of the girls though, were annoyed that Mikan was seating in front of two of the hottest boys in their class. It had finally taken its toll on the girls, and so a week later they confronted her about it.

"How come you get to sit in front of Natsume and Ruka? And not only that you don't have a seating partner!" They huffed in annoyance but so did Mikan. She had been getting a weird feeling for a while now, and she supposed this was what it was.

She had become the schools idol to the schools miser in less than a week and by jealous girls none the less.

It was lunch time when they had found her sitting alone on the roof. Mikan was poking at her rice when the door slammed open to reveal the groupies and angry mob. Normally Hotaru dealt with idiots like those but now she was giving her the cold shoulder.

"I'm sorry?" Mikan questioned while taking another bite. "I can't help it that the teacher hasn't assigned anyone to sit next to me. It's not my fault the desk next to mine is broken and the chair is missing." She had a sinking feeling that she was being watched, but she ignored the feeling to take another bite. It was most likely the girls anyway.

"Just because Imai is your best friend doesn't mean that you can do whatever you like!" Sarah, the boisterous of the group complained, and Erika nodded. "So we have a proposition for you: Stay away from the transfers and we'll be good."

Mikan didn't answer, she wasn't going to bend her will to these girls (who were once her friends), and with that she shrugged her shoulders. Her brunette hair was in its usual pigtails, and that made it easier for people to grab. Unfortunately for Mikan, Sarah made a quick decision over her next course of action.

Sarah was annoyed by the lack of response and that lead to Mikan's lunch being spilled over the roof and her hair pulled at the side. "Ouch!" She cried out before reaching out to grab hold of Sarah. If they wanted a fight, they got one. Taking a handful of her shirt Mikan was about to shove her away but Erika yanked on Mikan's other pigtail.

"Sarah, Erika!" The third girl of the group gasped out but didn't do anything to stop the fight. Mikan on the other hand was scratching, kicking, and grabbing whatever was in her reach before she was shoved off to the side. The girls were done harassing the poor brunette.

"If you don't want a continuation of that you better stay away!" Sarah huffed out, fixing her messed up blonde hair with her hands. Then once she deemed it in good condition she and her group walked away from the girl to the roof access door. The slamming of the door was a wide awakening for Mikan as she stayed situated where she was. How had that happened to her? Why did they do that?

Her stomach began to grumble, but she already knew it was too late to satiate it. Her lunch was wasted once it had fallen off the building.

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Mikan had walked to the Nurse's office once she had found the strength to pick herself off the floor. She didn't cry but the scratches on her arm and the tiny cut on her cheek made it a bit unbearable to stand. Making her way to the door, she saw that it was open a crack, and voices could be heard. One she recognized immediately for it had been Hotaru. She was talking to someone, but the voice was hard to pin point. It was soft, but definitely a guys. Was it that new student…? What's his name...? Ruka!

Leaning in she heard his shaky breath, and Hotaru began with a new question.

"Are you an Alice or aren't you?" There was something about this statement that Mikan didn't like. It only confirmed her fears when the boy reluctantly nodded. Mikan could hear the irritation rolling off of Hotaru as the boy squirmed under her stare.

"The same could be said about you Imai." A new voice appeared right behind Mikan and she jumped up and away from it; right into the conversation. The Nurse's door (which Mikan had taken refuge behind) had crashed opened as Mikan fell through, leaving a speechless Ruka and a surprised Hotaru.

"Mikan?" Hotaru asked without further notice. It didn't take a genius to know that she heard some of the details, but what worried her was that Natsume (another boy and Alice user) was with her. The bruises and scratches on Mikan made Hotaru's eyes flare open just as surprised as they were when she had fallen in. Someone had actually hurt Mikan.

"Natsume… how long have you been there?" The blonde boy asked while Natsume stared evenly at Hotaru.

"…Just as soon as polka dots arrived." He shrugged his shoulders before placing his hands in his pockets. Hotaru raised an eyebrow at Natsume's strange nickname, while Mikan climbed back to a standing position. She was rubbing her head to make sure she didn't hit it too hard and then she remembered something.

"Polka dots?" She asked just as confused as Hotaru was. First she'd deal with the nickname and then ask about what the hell these Alices were. Staring at the messy black haired boy she saw the smirk appear on his face as he turned back to her. Ruka knew the smirk immediately and before he could do anything about it Natsume opened his mouth.

"If you're going to wear a short skirt you should buy a decent pair of underwear. Those childish prints won't get you anyway, polka dots."

Everyone had remained speechless after this. Hotaru was too dumbfounded to actually think of something to say, while Ruka just coughed in embarrassment. Natsume was the only one moving comfortably around the office prodding through the cotton swabs.

Mikan on the other hand was on the verge of explosion. Her hands were clenched so tight that it drew blood in her right hand.

"What did you say…!"

"Natsume, Ru-chan? Are you two in there?" A new voice popped up just as Mikan's rant of death and destruction began. Only it was short-lived when the younger Hyuuga sibling appeared in the Nurse's office. She was cupping her hand up as if cradling a wound and all at once Natsume was in front of her.

"What did you do now idiot." He muttered underneath his breath but Ruka chuckled at the tone. Hotaru and Mikan could hear the concern in his voice even though he had just insulted her… and though he looked neutral there was something more underneath the icy exterior. It was like Hotaru.

"I cut my hand with a pair of scissors. I didn't realize they were opened until I grabbed them." She giggled at her mistake but Natsume just dragged her over to the counter. He was rummaging through things, even muttering: Where the hell is the nurse. Crappy school.

"Ruka." Natsume called out from his search. "Clean her cut with soap and water while I find the bandages." Ruka did as he was told and the two girls stood where they were before. The complete change of character was kind of strange to handle seeing as how the discussion they had had been a serious one. Now it seemed to have lightened thanks to Aoi.

"What the hell are you two standing for?" Natsume growled out at Mikan and Hotaru finally. He was pulling open a drawer to his right. He had found some bandages but they weren't the right size.

Hotaru took this instant to walk over to the other desk and pull out a new box of unopened big bandages. Next she tossed it to Mikan, who in turn, walked over to Ruka and Aoi. Ruka had finished putting water and soap on it and Natsume came up with a towel.

"I feel pampered!" Aoi giggled, Ruka smiled a bit at the girl while Natsume patted down her cut with the towel.

"Don't expect it too much you overly happy girl." Mikan didn't know if he was teasing her with an insult or if he couldn't think of anything himself. Contenting herself to popping open the seal to the bandages Mikan pulled out the biggest one she could find and peeled the paper away.

"I remember you!" Aoi exclaimed happily while Mikan carefully placed the bandage on her hand. The brunette only nodded in response while the younger girl chatted on. "I saw you in the classroom with Natsume and Ru-chan! They were surprised by how small the schools were here, but it's perfect for us since we don't like a lot of people knowing our secret!"

"Aoi." Natsume reprimanded while Ruka sighed out. "Obviously when it's a secret you're supposed to not tell anyone. Did you?" The crimson eyed boy seemed annoyed at this point and Hotaru was watching the exchange from afar.

"Whoops!" She chuckled, "I didn't say anything to anyone else. It was a slip of the tongue, honestly big brother."

Ruka relaxed while Hotaru stiffened. "Excuse me," She briefly spoke, "but I want to know why three Alice's are here. I've taken pre-cautions to avoid being taken to that place, and I don't want to have to move… again." She was annoyed, Mikan could tell as much, but she was confused. Where would she be taken to? Why did it matter? What were Alice's?

Hotaru took a brief glance at Mikan before turning to face Natsume. "And you've also made me have to share information to my idiot over here that she didn't need to know. Not only have you endangered yourselves by travelling in a huge clump of Alice's, you've also brought trouble here." The inventor sighed once; the atmosphere was sour once again thanks to her comment.

"It's not like we want to run." Ruka exclaimed out. Mikan could tell from his expression that he was just as mad as Hotaru. "I didn't want to have to stay away from my parents but it was something that had to happen. Natsume and Aoi were the only ones I could turn to." Mikan's head was swirling by the end of the sentence and she took the chance to sit down at the stool next to the nurse's desk.

"Ruka." Aoi quietly whispered to the blonde boy, but Natsume started up. His hands were in his pockets while he scoffed at the inventor and then tossed a glare to Mikan. He apparently didn't like either of them.

"If I had known there was an Alice here I would have steered clear, but since this happened we'll just have to be extra careful. Does anyone else know you're an Alice Imai?" The title he gave her was a chilling one, and it wasn't well received. Hotaru would surely react just as coldly.

"No Hyuuga. I know how to conceal my movements unlike some fools." She tossed a glance to Ruka at this, and he in turn muttered something about some bunny. Aoi chuckled when she heard Ruka's muttering.

"But now I have an idiot, whom is not an Alice, who knows what we are." Hotaru concluded looking at the brunette with two pigtails. She was not happy, but she wasn't sad either. She just seemed a bit frustrated.

"What do you mean idiot," Mikan started with just as much flare as Hotaru had. "Look, I don't care what it is you're talking about, but if it's a secret I can keep it. I won't tell anyone." The four of them went into a lapse of silence once Mikan was done speaking. For eight year olds the conversation was pretty serious.

"That's fine with me." Aoi replied happily at last. "Plus I have the feeling me and… I'm sorry but what is your name again?" Mikan smiled to the girl, glad to have one person with her.

"Mikan Sakura."

"That's a cute name! Can I call you Mikan then?"

"Of course." The brunette nodded.

"Like I was saying, I have the feeling Mikan and I will have an easy time getting to know each other!"

Ruka gave a small smile despite the lack of happiness in their conversation. At least Aoi was making friends. Natsume on the other hand was not pleased. Neither was Hotaru, but there was nothing to do done now. The cat was out of the bag so to speak.

"Idiots of a feather flock together." Hotaru muttered out. Natsume caught this and went to correct it.

"Don't compare my sister to an idiot." He narrowed his crimson eyes to Hotaru but she just shrugged.

"I was speaking as a whole…" She muttered out before exhaling. "Mikan." This brought the pigtailed girl's attention back to Hotaru. Within her grasp were a couple bandages and a can of anti-bacteria spray. "What happened to you?" Mikan revealed her forgotten scratches to the group before sighing.

"…I fell!" Laughing at herself, she waved it off with no concern. "Don't worry about it too much, I'll be fine!" Jumping up from her spot she hopped up and down on her feet to prove that she was a-okay. There was a skeptical look from Hotaru but nothing else came from it.

"…You're too clumsy for your own good, idiot." The girls started putting away the materials they had dragged out and the boys talked amongst each other. They were keeping secrets, but as long as they didn't do anything, everything would be alright. At least Mikan hoped it to be that way.

Once the cleaning was done the group of children left the nurses office and stood in the hall. Lunch period was over about an hour ago and their literature session was about finished. After that class was Math and then school would let out.

"Oi Imai, Polka dots." Mikan had turned to face him just as he called her by her new nickname, and the flames of vengeance broiled off of her.

"What was that you pervert?" If he was going to go calling her names, she would do the same. After all she was pretty immature… and she was eight.

"I'm not a pervert." He curtly responded with a bit of venom on his tongue, but he continued on despite her jump to correct him. "We discussed about you knowing about our Alice moron." Natsume started with a dangerous glint in his crimson eyes. Ruka's azure eyes glistened with concern but there was nothing else Mikan could detect from the boys. "I don't think we can completely trust you so I'm warning you. Stay the hell away from us, and we'll stay away from you. That's the deal we have." Ruka shuffled uncomfortably on his toes and Aoi puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.

"I'm not following that big brother; I want to be friends with Mikan and Hotaru! They seem nice!" She complained to her brother and pulled on his long sleeve blue jacket. He just waved her off and continued.

"Fine, let me rephrase; Stay away from Ruka and I and we're golden. I don't want to be around an idiot anymore than I have to."

Hotaru merely nodded at the request, but she had her own thing to say. "Then I request that you two not use your Alice whenever you please… especially Bunny boy over here." She jerked an accusing finger at the blonde boy; Natsume just shrugged at this and moved on.

"Good," Mikan finally stated, she was happy that she didn't have to deal with the two new guys. "I don't want to have to deal with jerks anyways."

"Then we have a deal." Crimson eyes dared Mikan to flare up but she kept her mouth shut. She didn't like being called named but she wasn't going to fall for his little traps.

"We're going Ruka. Aoi, go back to class." Turning on his haunches the raven haired boy lead the way back to the fourth grade class and the others were forced to follow suit. What the group didn't know was that fate was slowly ticking away what little freedom they had left, and more ordeals besides the ones they just dealt with would slowly pop up.

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T.K.: Chapter Three is done! I hope you enjoyed that chapter. This is where the subtle differences begin. It's like an alternate version of Gakuen Alice, but I wanted to see what would happen if Ruka/Natsume/Aoi were put into a different situation. What if the fire didn't break out in Ruka's hometown? What if they moved like Hotaru's family and somehow wound up in Mikan's? If you were wondering about my prompt for this, those questions started it. :D Well, I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!

Reviews?

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Completed:

October 8th, 2010; 9:02 a.m.