Arigato! I did much better in the review section than i thought i would...so anyway. even though this chapter is short, it carries a lot of information concerning somethings. if you don't pick up on it, i'll brush up on some things in the end.

love,

baby

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Chapter Three:

A man, tall and well build leaned against a tree as he waited. His face was expressionless, and a mask covered his eyes. The man's name was Persona, if you even considered calling him a man. Most called him the Spawn of Satan… if they could get away with it.

His senses sharpened when a figure approached him, a large folder in hand. "Persona-sensei." His student greeted, pulling the mask off of their face. "Mission accomplished."

Persona snatched the folder from the student's hand and began ripping through it, nodding here and there, and then frowning. "Dismissed…Kuro Neko." He said suddenly before taking off into a sprint. He was headed towards the headmaster's office.

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Natsume looked anxiously from the clock on the wall to his Math teacher, who was rambling on about degrees and formulas. Things that Natsume already knew. As soon as one minute passed, Natsume could be up from his seat and on the way to pick Yoichi up from the elementary branch along side Mikan. Then, he, Mikan, and Yoichi could walk home together, with no interruptions. They both where free of sports practices, due to the fact that there was a game the previous day, and the Cheerleaders had performed earlier today at the Pep Assembly.

He would get to spend more time with Mikan. Well, Yoichi would be there too, but granted, it would be more time with his love. He smiled when the school bell rang, jumping up from his seat and scurrying towards the door. He stopped short when he heard his Math teacher's call. Frowning, he backtracked, sending a look toward Mikan to go on. "Yes Ma'am?" He questioned, and the teacher smiled nervously.

"Now Nathanial, I'm asking you to do me a favor. If you do this, I'll add on some extra credit points onto your final grade." She proposed, and Natsume raised an eyebrow. His grades where near perfect. In fact, in Math, he was just two points short of a perfect score. These extra points would do it. He needed those points, because He, Mikan, and Yoichi where in Abbot Academy on a scholarship. They had decided early on that it would be wise not to use Mikan's alices very much, considering that there was an Alice Academy in the USA.

"Sure. What do you need?" He asked, and the teacher sighed with relief.

"I need you to tutor a student everyday after school and on Saturday's until the end of November." The teacher said, looking delighted, Natsume's eyes widened slightly.

"But…why? It's just barely October, surely someone isn't that far behind?"

"Oh, but I afraid that this student has…difficulty with Math. Please say that you'll tutor them?"

"I…I have sports after school." Natsume said, and the teacher smiled, gently.

"So does she. You will go to her house everyday after practice for exactly two hours. Is that okay?"
"I…OK." Natsume said, giving in. The woman smiled and pushed a piece of paper at him, Natsume took it, briefly glancing at the address.

"You start tomorrow. Now hurry along," She said, pushing him out of the door. Natsume nodded and began walking towards the Elementary Section. It was only when he was halfway home with his "family" that he stopped short, a look of horror on his face.

"Wait…her?" He questioned.

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Ruka Nogi felt lonely. Even when he was surrounded by all of his classmates, his friends, Ruka Nogi still felt lonely. Almost three years ago, he lost two of his closest best friends. He no idea where they where, but Ruka knew that he wouldn't be seeing them for a long time. They left him completely alone…almost. Then, he still had Hotaru Imai.

The Hotaru whom he had pledged his love to and which she eventually confessed the same feelings back. She was the only thing that had kept him sane. Her kisses, her touches, her subtle glances. They made him smile. She had opened her heart to him, and he likewise. Everyday he would wake up early to walk her to and from classes, and stay in her lab, watching her work on a new invention. And sometimes, she would let him escort her to Central town. And if she was in a really good mood, they would take turns feeding Fluff Puffs to one another.

They never talked about Natsume and Mikan. Except for that one time.

Flashback

"Ne…Hotaru?"

"Hai, Ruka." Hotaru said, fiddling with her invention.

"Do you know where Natsume, Mikan, and Yoichi are?"

Hotaru paused and dropped her screw driver. "Iie Ruka. But I do know that they are safe and away from the stress of the AAO and Gakuen Alice. And one day, they'll all return, safe and sound. When they are done running from life, they'll return." After a long silence, Hotaru picked her tool up again and began to work.

"Ano, how do-"

"Because…Mikan promised. And she doesn't break her promises." Hotaru turned towards him, and Ruka breathed in sharply when he noticed tears in her eyes. It was obviously painful for Hotaru to talk about Mikan.

"Gomen, I shouldn't have pried." He apologized. Hotaru grabbed her baka gun and tapped his forehead with it.

"You're too much of a baka not to." She told him matter of factly. Before shooting.

BAKA BAKA BAKA

End of Flashback

Ruka really missed that baka gun. But not more than he missed Hotaru. Ruka loves Hotaru. Ruka hates Gakuen Alice. Gakuen Alice took Hotaru Imai away from him.

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The headmaster looked up at Persona skeptically. "I don't understand why you must send some of our students to America." He said, and Persona clenched his fists together.

"Headmaster-sama. Kuro Neko found some valuable information last night. We learned that Natsume, Yoichi, and Mikan indeed escaped from our grasps, not the AAO's. But the AAO is on to them, they are gaining on quickly, searching the largest cities possible. That woman was here during the attack on our school and overheard Mikan and Natsume talking about going somewhere crowded."

"What makes you so sure Persona, that those brats picked somewhere in America?" He asked, and Persona rolled his eyes.

"Because this school teaches English as a second language." Persona told the headmaster, but he still shook his head.

"But Alice Academy…"

"We gave them two years and they've only covered three states!" Persona boomed. "We send our top agent along with some of our guards, we can find those kids."

The headmaster was silent, his back facing Persona. "I give you three months to prepare."

"Thank you, headmaster-sama." Persona said, bowing slightly before slipping from the office. "Thank you."

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Natsume stood nervously in the doorway, watching as Mikan and Yoichi made spaghetti for their dinner. Mikan was humming softly and Yoichi was babbling on about his day.

"If you want me to know, you should just go ahead and say it Nat-kun before I read your mind." Mikan spoke suddenly, silencing Yoichi and causing Natsume to jump up in surprise.

"Gomen," He apologized before taking a deep breath. "I was asked to tutor someone, almost everyday for two months, and I agreed." He announced, and Mikan stayed quiet. "It's a girl." He added. "I'm tutoring her every Saturday and weekday after sports practices for two hours at her house." After a moment of silence, Mikan

"Yoichi set the table for me, okay?" Mikan asked suddenly. Yoichi nodded and ran from the room. Mikan sighed and began pouring the pasta on a plate to bring to the next room.

"…Mikan?" Natsume asked.

"What do you want me to say Nat-kun? Congratulations. Sure, it's fantastic that you're tutoring someone. It's not like you need my consent." Mikan snapped.

"I just wanted to…" Natsume began.

"Will you be eating dinner over there or will I have to hold off our dinner by an hour or two?" Mikan asked.

"Mikan, please." Natsume pleaded, Mikan spun around, staring at him emotionlessly.

"Iie? Hai? It's a yes or no question, Nat-kun." Mikan told blankly.

"I'll… I'll check and see if I can eat dinner over there. There's no sense in inconveniencing you, Mikan." Natsume said. Mikan blinked before grabbing a pop bottle from the fridge.

"Arigato, now let's eat, ne?"

"Hai, let's eat." Natsume said running a hand through his hair. He wasn't quite sure, but he thought that he just started a fight with Mikan.

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the end of this chapter!!

important stuff

Persona has a student named Kuro Neko...Natsume's old alias. just who is this Kuro Neko?

Natsume, once a smartie, always a smartie. however, he, mikan, and Yoichi are in Abbot Academy on a scholarship, because using alices too much to produce money out of the middle of nowhere isn't too smart. so, he needs as many good grades as possible, so he jumped for the chance.

Natsume is tutoring a girl. But whom?

Hotaru Imai is gone. We don't know where, or even if she's dead, but she's gone and it's Gakuen Alice's fault.

On the good side, Ruka's up and kicking, even if he's semi-depressed.

Gakuen Alice is sending out the troops to look for our favortie trio in America. Spells danger much?

Natsume's not going to be spending as much time with Mikan and Yoichi as he usually does. If you where confused about the dinner thing let me clarify. Mikan, Yoichi, and Natsume have dinner at 6. sports gets out at 5, so when Natsume goes to tutor, he would be some by 7. So...that's why Mikan asked him if he wanted to wait.

by the way, Mikan does seem kind off pissed at Natsume... right?

read & review

Love,

Baby