Finally, I am done with this chapter. Sorry for not uploading it earlier. I had my end-year exams and also I wasn't allowed to the computer. Littledoggy and sistahs-2005 should know about this. I will TRY to update faster. But I am not promising anything. Anyway, enjoy…
DISCLAIMER: I do not own either Gakuen Alice or CCS.
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4. Memories of the past and loads of flashbacks
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Break time
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"Ne, ne, Ruka-pyon, why didn't Natsume hentai didn't attend today's class?"
Mikan asked. "I didn't even bump into him this morning."
"Yeah, Li-kun too."
Sakura said.
"Has that Hentai gone back into his habits in skipping classes again?"
Mikan asked. Ruka was about to answer her but was too late. "I knew it. That is so typical of him."
"Hmm…not for Syaoran."
Sakura said, putting her chin on her finger in deep thought. "Syaoran never skips class when we were in still in Tomoeda. That is not like him."
The two girls turned to face the animal pheromone user.
"Why?"
They asked in unison.
"Umm…it is because …"
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Flashback
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Ruka, Syaoran and Natsume just had their dinner and are walking back to their dormitory. They reached their room and opened to door. As soon as the door swung opened,
"WAAAAH"
A scream. (More like two)
In front of them was Eriol. He was beside the four poster bed that had been empty for the past few days. Natsume and Syaoran were petrified. However Natsume managed to cover up his shock perfectly but Syaoran went backwards till he hit the wall and pointed at Eriol.
"You, what are you doing here? Go back to where you came from. Shoo, shoo."
Syaoran waved his hands, gesturing him to get out.
"Hey, that's no way to treat your new roommate."
Eriol replied with a smile.
"Roommate?"
Syaoran and Natsume asked, blinking.
"Hai. Roommate."
Eriol repeated. Then, there was silence as Syaoran and Natsume slowly took in Eriol's words. Then…
"NANI?!"
Once again the air is filled with screams.
"Didn't Ruka-kun tell you?"
"Ruka?"
The two boys eyed Ruka. Ruka sweatdropped.
"So, Ruka is there something you didn't or FORGOT to tell us?"
Ruka laughed nervously. He totally forgot about telling them.
"Umm…err…SURPRISE!"
Syaoran and Natsume sighed, then, averted their attention from him and back to Eriol. They started staring daggers at him, again.
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End of flashback
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"…They must have gone to see Narumi-sensei about their new roommate."
Question marks formed above the two clueless girls' heads.
"Then, who is your new roommate?"
Sakura asked.
"Hiiragizawa-kun"
"Oh…then the four of you must be having a really good time staying together."
Ruka sweatdropped.
"Uh, not quite."
The memory of being shot dead by glares of his best friend and his partner still lingers in his mind. He also cannot forget all the shouting they had had in choosing who is going to sleep on which bed. (The empty bed is between Syaoran's and Natsume's bed.) He didn't really get much sleep last night.
Just then, the door to the cafeteria swung open. Syaoran and Natsume walked boldly in.
"Oh, here they are."
Mikan said. Sakura nodded in agreement. Then, she and Mikan shouted to the two boys.
"Natsume/ Li-kun! Over here!"
The two boys perked up. They spotted the two girls who were waving at them. Upon seeing this, Syaoran begin to blush whereas Natsume closed his eyes. He had an irritated face on. They made their way to the girls and took their seats.
"So, how did it go?"
Ruka asked.
"That bastard Narumi said that it would be nice for us to have Hiiragizawa as company as he and Narumi have a lot in common and that Hiiragizawa would remind us of himself, as if. At least he got the part about Hiiragizawa and himself are alike right-they are complete idiots."
Natsume said gruffly, folding his arms.
Again there were question marks above Mikan and Sakura's heads. Ruka stood up and excused himself.
"Gomen. The animals are calling. I have to go see them."
His four friends nodded and Ruka walked out of the canteen.
Just then, the mail robot barged into the door.
"Mail has arrived! Mail has arrived!"
It said it its robotic voice. It started to call the names of the students who had mails sent to them.
"Takagi-kun, Tanaka-chan, Ueno-chan, Sato-kun…"
Mikan crossed her fingers.
"Please let me get jii-chan's letter, please let me get jii-chan's letter!"
She prayed softly.
"Sakura-chan."
The robot called out.
Mikan, who was too engrossed in her prayers, did not hear her name being called. Natsume, however, felt irritated at this and kicked her chair.
Mikan fell from her chair from the intense force that Natsume has inflicted at her chair.
"What's wrong with you?"
Mikan stared angrily at him, rubbing her sides.
"Oi, polka-dots, your name is being called."
"Huh?"
She got up and quickly ran to the robot to receive her letter and ran back, tears in her eyes. She stared at the letter unbelievingly.
'Jii-chan wrote a letter to me?'
"Mikan-chan, daijoubu?"
Sakura waved her hand in front of her friend. Mikan snapped out.
"Emm…daijoubu."
"Who is it from?"
"My jii-chan."
"Oh…"
Sakura looked at the address of the letter.
"Where does he live?"
"In a small village near Kyoto."
Sakura's eyes sparkled.
"Hoe! I used to live somewhere there too!"
"Really?"
'Maybe Sakura-chan also lived in the same village as me before.'
Mikan thought hopefully.
"Emm…my father told me that my mother loved the countryside very much and asked to live there and since my mother is from Kyoto, we moved to a village near her hometown. That was before she died."
Sakura looked down.
"Oh, I am sorry."
"Iie. Daijoubu."
"So, what is the name of your village?"
"I don't know. I was very young that time, about three or four. When my mother died, we moved to another place as Dad found a job there."
"Oh, I see."
Her voice was filled with disappointment. She had really hoped that Sakura also originated from the same village as her.
Natsume had his nose behind his manga but was listening to their conversation the whole time.
'A village near Kyoto?'
He thought.
'It sounds familiar. Have I been there before?'
"Although I don't remember the village name, but I still remember a few things there. I remember that it is very peaceful there. It is like a paradise of lush greenery. So serene and quiet."
Sakura said. She closed her eyes as she tried to picture the scene. She opened her eyes and looked at Syaoran. Syaoran blushed red.
"Ne, Li-kun, have you ever been to the countryside before?"
"A-Ah…yes."
He looked away from here.
"I was very young at that time. My family wanted a vacation to run away from the busy life of the city. They wanted to go to a countryside and since my family has not been to Japan before, so they chose a place somewhere in Japan."
"So, this wasn't your first time here in Japan. You have been here before.
Sakura looked at him and smiled.
"H-Hai."
He stammered. He blushed harder.
"So, Sakura-chan, what else do you remember about the village?"
Mikan asked. She was very desperate to find more clues about Sakura's village.
"Emm…"
She put her chin on her finger.
"Not much though."
"Ohh…"
"But I do remember this particular incident."
"Hmm?"
Mikan put her elbows on the table and her chin cupped in her hands and looked at Sakura, ready to hear her story.
"It was a long time ago. I think I was three at that time. My house is near the forest and in this forest there is a field filled with beautiful flowers. I loved to go there to pick flowers. It started one day…
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Sakura's Flashback
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"Ne, oto-san."
"Nani, Sakura-chan?"
Oto-san asked.
"Today's oka-san's birthday isn't it?"
"Hai."
"What are we going to give her?"
Oto-san bent down and smiled at me.
"I don't know. Does Sakura-chan have any good suggestions?"
I put my chin on my finger and started to think, really hard.
"Emm…"
Then, something hit me.
"Ne, Oto-san, does oka-san like flowers?"
"Iie…"
"Ohh…"
I was disappointed.
"..she loves them."
Oto-san said.
My face brightened again.
"Then, can I go to pick flowers for oka-san in the field?"
"Sure. But make sure that you don't wander off too far and come back early, okay."
"Hai!"
I nod my head and ran to the field. To my surprise, there was a girl in the middle of the field. She had brown hair and her hair was tied up in two ponytails at each side of her head. I approached her and tapped on her back. She jumped with a start. I smiled at her.
"Hello. Are you picking flowers too?"
"H-hai."
She stammered.
I bent down beside her and pick a few flowers.
"The flowers here are beautiful, aren't they?"
"Emm…"
She replied.
I turned to her.
"What's your name?"
"Me? People call me by different names. Sometimes they would say my name with a 'san' at the back and other times a 'chan'. I wonder why."
I made a face.
"Then, what do most people call you?"
"Sakura-chan."
"Hontoni? That's my name too!"
"Really?"
"Hai."
We continued talking and picking the flowers of our choice.
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End of Flashback
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"The girl I met said that most people called her 'Sakura-chan' but I am not sure if it is her first name or surname."
Mikan's eyes widened. 'Why does this sounds so familiar to me?'
Sakura continued her story…
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Sakura's Flashback
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"Ne, Sakura-chan."
"Nani, Sakura-chan?"
We giggled.
"It's so strange to call other people who have the same name as yourself."
Mikan said.
"Emm…it's like we are calling ourselves."
Then, my stomach started to growl. I blush in embarrassment. Sakura-chan looked at me.
"Are you hungry?"
I nodded. She put her hand in her pocket and pulled out a big candy bar.
"Here, have it."
"Iie!"
I shock my head vigorously.
"I can't take it. That is your food for later, right? If I take it then what about you?"
"Daijoubu. I want you to have it."
She said and pushed the candy bar into my hands. I couldn't help but feel guilty. Then, I had an idea.
"I know. Let's share it, then."
She looked at me then smiled.
"Okay."
I broke the bar into half and gave one to Sakura-chan. She accepted it happily. I bit my bar little by little, not wanting to finish all in one bite. Sakura-chan looked at me and smiled.
"Don't worry. I have plenty more."
She patted her pockets which were bulging. I could tell that she loved candy bars a lot. Either that or she had sneaked them away. I smiled.
Suddenly, there was a loud roar. Birds flew away from the treetops. We turned to the direction of the roar. Somewhere beneath those trees, we saw a blur shadowy figure. Slowly, it became bigger and bigger.
Finally, it was out under the sunshine and we can see its features more clearly. It was a big brown bear! It started coming towards us. We were both petrified and did not dare move. Our legs were shaking more at every step the bear took to reach us. I got to my senses and held Sakura-chan's wrist.
"RUN!"
I shouted.
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Flashback interrupted
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"I remember now!"
Mikan stood up, excited.
"The girl you met in the woods, Sakura-chan is…ME!"
All eyes were on her. Mikan blushed and sat down.
"I remember seeing that bear. I remembered that you held my hand and told me to run…"
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Mikan's Flashback
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We ran into the forest, the bear hot on our tail. We didn't know where to go. We only want to get away from the bear. We ran till we reached a cliff. We looked down. It was a 10 metre drop to the ground. The bear finally reached us. We were trapped! I hugged Sakura-chan. We trembled.
Suddenly, out of the blues, two boys stood in front of us. From the size of them, I can safely say that they were also at the same age as us. One had chestnut coloured hair and had features of a Chinese. The other had astonishing purple hair. They stood protectively in front of us.
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End of Flashback
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Natsume and Syaoran eyes widen.
'That incident, I was there!'
Syaoran thought and started thinking back to his younger childhood days.
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Syaoran's Flashback
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"Wei, do I still need to do my training here?"
"Hai, Syaoran-sama. That is your mother's orders."
I sighed.
"Then, I will be in the forest training."
"Do you need me to follow you?"
"Daijoubu. I want to try training on my own. Besides, there are no fierce animals in this forest. That's what mother said and mother has come to this forest many times before. After all, I do know how to defend myself from animals. So don't worry."
"Alright then. But be careful."
Wei said. He still had a worried face.
"Hai."
I said and walked into the forest. In the forest, I was searching for a clearing so that I can train my martial arts skills, when something bumped into me.
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End of Flashback
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'I remember now. My village is near Kyoto. I and another boy were the ones that protected polka dots and Kinomoto. How can I forget?'
Natsume slapped himself mentally.
This incident happened so long ago that its memory would have been wiped out from his head if the girls hadn't brought the thing up. At that time, he was so young, so naïve, so innocent, so…happy. It was before his whole village was wiped out, before he found out of his valuable power… before he shut himself from the whole world.
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Natsume's Flashback
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"Natsume-kun, where are you going?"
Oka-san asked.
"Can I take a walk in the forest for a while, Oka-san?"
"Hmm…"
Oka-san closed her eyes, deep in thought.
"Please….?"
I made those puppy eyes that Oka-san is vulnerable towards. She can never resist it which gives me the advantage whenever I want. Oka-san looked at my face, eyes glistering as if admiring how cute I was and sighed.
"Fine. But don't go to far, ya?"
"Yatta!"
I jumped and put my fist in the air.
"Then, can I bring little sis, too?"
"That, I won't let. You know well enough that she isn't old enough to go into the forest let alone with only you as her guardian. I will absolutely not allow it."
I looked down in shame.
"Hai."
I replied softly.
"Well, off you go now. And remember to never go in too deep into the forest, okay?"
My face brightened.
"Hai!"
I went into the forest, searching for something interesting to do. I had my eyes glued to the ground as Oka-san told me to stay on the path and not wonder away. Suddenly, I bumped into something, or rather someone.
"Ow!"
We said. I rubbed my nose, he however rubbed his back.
"Gomenasai. I wasn't looking at where I was going."
"It's okay."
That person replied. I looked at him. He had chestnut brown hair and the same goes for his eyes. He is about the same age as me but he doesn't look like people around here.
"What were you doing walking with your eyes shut? You might get hurt."
"I wasn't walking with my eyes closed!"
I argue back when suddenly a high pitched scream filled the air.
We looked around.
"It sounded like it came from that direction."
I said. I turned and ran. He followed. We followed the scream till we reached a cliff. At the very edge of the cliff, are two girls. Both are terrified and were hugging each other, trembling. In front of them, was a big bear. It was moving towards them. Without wasting any time I lunged in front of the girls. The other boy did the same.
"Run!"
I said to them.
The girls nodded and sprinted.
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Flashback interrupted
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"Natsume? Natsume?"
Mikan shook him. Natsume snapped out of his day dream.
"Nani?"
Natsume replied coldly.
"Hey, what's with that attitude? I was just asking if you are okay or not. You practically shouted 'RUN!' to the entire canteen!"
She turned away, dejected.
Natsume went stiff when he heard this.
'I-I did?'
He thought and looked around. Everyone was staring at him. But being the Natsume he is, he remained his composure and glared at everyone with the 'what-are-you-looking-at' look. Everyone quickly removed their gaze from him and returned to what they were doing, terrified.
Mikan ignored Natsume's glare and turned to Sakura.
"Hey remember how we got away from that big, scary bear?"
"Emm…"
Sakura nodded.
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Sakura's Flashback
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We followed what the auburn haired boy told us to and ran. For some reason the bear ignored the boys and started chasing us. I tripped and fell. The candy bar in my hands slipped. Sakura-chan quickly helped me to my feet and we continued to run. But after a few feet, we looked back. The bear stopped chasing us and is sniffing at the candy bar I dropped. Then, it munched down the bar.
The bear then stood up and slowly crawled towards us, sniffing the air. I put two and two together and ask Sakura-chan for more candy. Sakura-chan took out a candy bar from her pocket and gave it to me. I threw the candy bar to the bear. It caught the bar and happily ate it. Sakura-chan saw what I was doing and neared the bear.
"Matte, Sakura-chan!"
"Daijoubu."
Sakura-chan assured me and took out a candy bar from her pocket. The bear sniffed the bar eagerly. Sakura-chan held the bar high in the air. The bear followed. As soon as it is going to bite it, Sakura-chan quickly swayed her hand to another side and the bear would follow the bar. It was as though the bear is hypnotised by the bar. Left then right then up again. I sweatdropped at this.
Just then, the two boys that had protected us just now came running to us. They too sweatdropped at the awkward scene that Sakura-chan is making. Soon, Sakura-chan gave all her bars to the bear until she was left with only one candy bar to 'hypnotise' the bear. She threw it to the bear. Unfortunately, she threw it with such immense force that it went flying into the deep forest. The bear followed it like a dog chasing a bone.
Sakura-chan put her hands in her pocket and gasped. Then, she pulled out the inside of her pocket and cried.
"I have no more candy left! And I am hungry."
She sobbed. I walked up to her and put my hands on her shoulders.
"Daijoubu."
Just then, the purple haired boy walked up to us. He pulled out a chocolate from his pocket.
"Here, take it. Please stop crying. You look better when you are smiling."
That stopped Sakura-chan from crying and she cheered up.
The other boy came up to me.
"Daijoubu?"
"Emm."
I nodded and smiled at him.
"Yokata."
He smiled. I gasped. His smile is so…so charming. I didn't get the chance to see him smile when we were dealing with that bear just now, but now, seeing him smile soothes my heart. I shook my head to get rid of the thoughts. I invited Sakura-chan, the purple haired boy and this boy back to the field to play. We had such a great time playing that I almost forgot to check the time. It was late and also time for me to go back. I said my goodbyes to my new found friends and went back home. But I never saw any of them ever again.
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Flashback interrupted
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"I remember that you cried because you used up all of your candy. I tried to calm you down but I couldn't. Until that purple haired boy had to help."
Sakura said. Mikan blushed.
"I-I was young at that time. I didn't even know what was happening. I was barely five! You can't blame me for crying."
She defended herself.
"You are an idiot at young age and you still are."
Natsume said.
"NANI?"
"Ne, Mikan-chan, at that time we had such a good time playing that we forgot to ask for the boys' names. I wonder who they were."
"Well, it's certainly NOT Natsume."
Mikan huffed angrily.
"That boy is much, much nicer than this Hentai here."
Natsume twitched an eyebrow.
Just then, the academy bell rang, signalling the start of another period of studying.
"Hoe! Break time's over already? But I haven't finished my food yet. Come to think of it I haven't even touched my food yet! HOE!"
Sakura cupped her cheeks and looked at her food.
"Me too!"
Mikan replied.
"That's what you get for telling stupid stories about your past during break time."
Natsume said, coldly. He wanted to get her for what she had said just now.
"Humph."
Was all Mikan can say as she turned away from him.
Sakura quickly munch down her food and drank her milk (Remember that Sakura has this thing for eating fast? Yeah she still has it). Her mouth was full of food.
"Mi'm dome." (I'm done.)
She said.
Syaoran looked at her.
"Here drink more water."
He handed her a glass of water. She gulped it down.
"Ahh…Arigato Li-kun."
She smiled at him. He blushed.
Touya was standing behind her.
"Oh, I see that you are still a Kaijou, eating so many things at once. I wonder how many people you have eaten."
Sakura turned to him.
"NANI!"
And stomped his feet, again she missed and was enduring the pain. Touya looked at Syaoran and both of them exchanged glares.
"Touya!"
Yukito called from the crowd of people walking out of the canteen.
"Ikuyo!"
Touya nodded and walked towards Yukito but not before giving Syaoran one more glare.
Soon, the canteen was left empty save for the robot that monitors the canteen.
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Hotaru's lab
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"So, the four of them have met before."
Hotaru said in her usual monotone voice.
"Emm…it seems so."
Tomoyo agreed. They were standing in front of a huge screen. The screen was divided into four and each of them is showing either Syaoran, Sakura, Natsume or Mikan. Hotaru turned into her professor form.
"Invention no. xxxx. Comes with a screen and stickers. Stick the stickers in the person's ear and forehead. The forehead stickers have the ability to record voices and videos. The ear stickers when stuck in a person's ear can transmit memories and thoughts of that person into the screen. Very handy as the stickers are transparent, making it hard for anyone from one feet away to detect it. Get your own set at a discount of 5 of its original prize of 2000 rabbits."
"This invention of yours is great."
Tomoyo said.
"But how did you stick the stickers onto Li-kun and Hyuuga-kun?"
"I've got Hiiragizawa-kun to help."
"Oh, Hiiragizawa-kun."
She blushed.
"With this video and recording, we could make hundreds maybe millions out of it."
Hotaru continued. Her eyes became the shape of money signs.
"Yes. And I would be able to edit and watch it everyday."
Tomoyo said, her eyes glistening.
Then, the two girls laughed, or maybe just Tomoyo.
"Ohohohohoho…."
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I made up the place where Mikan and her grandfather lives. If anyone knows the exact location please tell me so that I can make changes to the story. Thanks. Please R&R.