AUTHOR'S NOTE AND DISCLAIMER: After such a long time, I finally had the time to update! Here's chappie 6, and I hope you'll like it. Please read and review. I DON'T OWN GAKUEN ALICE!

Chapter 6

A drunken Ruka Nogi banged heavily on a large wooden door, slurring out a long monologue that was too hard to comprehend. His vision was blurry and the world spun around him, and as he stared at the metal plaque engraved on the door, he was only able to make out two words.

Imai Hotaru.

"IMAI! I have to talk to you!"

--

The door opened slightly, revealing a pair of cold, unemotional amethysts. Hotaru Imai peered at the blonde miser who disturbed her from her late night inventing sprees, despising the bloody nerve of the boy.

The disgusting little drunk.

Scrutinizing the mess staring back at her, Hotaru felt a slight twinge in her heart, the familiar sensation of pity making itself known to her. Stepping out to support the unsteady Ruka to his feet, she dragged him inside her room, making him sit up on the couch. Fetching a washcloth and a basin of cold water, she started to clean him up, holding her breath to avoid the stench of alcohol wafting up her nostrils.

What have you done to yourself?

Hotaru thought about the powerful things that grief can do to a person, how it can suck a person's life slowly, draining the being of its will to live. She was sadly watching it happen to two important people in her life, and she was trying to figure out which was the worse case of the two.

Mikan's grief was severe, eating her slowly from the inside, while the exterior slowly got wasted away as well. Hotaru knew her best friend was losing weight quickly, caused by sleepless nights and loss of appetite. Though the brunette smiled and tried to hide her true emotions, Hotaru knew that the girl was hurting and it wouldn't take long before her friend lost her mind.

Ruka, on the other hand, was extremely letting himself go. The boy drank heavily almost every single night, and being sober was already a strange concept for him. Hotaru was always there for him, attending to him even if he smelled like stale bile, cleaning him up when he was covered in filth. She never failed to see the blue bruises on his forearms, and discovering a syringe in his room confirmed her suspicions. Ruka was immersing himself in the life of drugs and booze, making them his sole companions.

Hotaru frowned as her thoughts drifted to the person who was the root of all the sadness and tears, the person who was currently at the top of her "Baka Gun Hitlist".

Natsume Hyuuga.

Surprisingly, the terrifying fire caster's death had an enormous effect on the people around her, despite the deadly aura he projected and the traumatic burns he inflicted.

You never cease to amaze me Hyuuga. Your absence is definitely worse than your presence.

Ruka's grunt startled her, and she realized that he had fallen asleep. He muttered slightly every now and then, tossing and turning uneasily in his slumber.

Standing up, Hotaru stared at the basin she was carrying, a humorless smile gracing her features.

And the worst thing is, I've turned into everyone's caregiver. Damn.

--

Luna Koizumi stared at the nameless boy's pristine face. It's been three days since she found him, and quite frankly, she was getting impatient, frustrated at the stranger's inactivity. There was still no romance ensuing, no passionate situations, no toying around.

Dammit. Move! Wake up or something!

Ojii-san advised her to discontinue waiting for the youth to wake up, and told her to do something else, but as usual, she didn't listen.

"Aah!"

Throwing her hands up in annoyance, she turned to leave the room.

Stupid bastard. Can't even wake up.

However, a flutter of eyelids caught her attention.

Finally!

Rushing to the lad's bedside, she gazed at his face expectantly. Resting her palm on his cheek, she suddenly became aware of how she looked.

Oh god, I must look terrible.

Straightening her dress, she put on the best innocent face a village whore like her can muster, and tried her best to smile kindly.

Suddenly, ruby red eyes met her own, their sheer intensity taking her aback.

"Who the fuck are you?"

--

"MISS SAKURA! STAND UP!"

Jinno-sensei's familiar roar filled the classroom, making his unfortunate students flinch uncomfortably. The object of anger, however, stood up, seemingly unaffected. This was routine for her, she always got in trouble for daydreaming, but unlike her usual "Gomenasai, Jinno-sensei! I'll pay attention now!", she simply stared back at the teacher.

"WELL, MISS SAKURA? CARE TO EXPLAIN WHY YOUR HEAD WAS IN THE CLOUDS ONCE AGAIN?"

"…"

"I ASKED YOU A QUESTION, GIRL. I EXPECT YOU TO ANSWER-"

"How could you act like this, Jinno-sensei?," the girl's question popped up suddenly, slicing through the beginning of the math teacher's rant.

"Excuse me, Miss Sakura?," the man asked, his eyes narrowing to slits.

"How could you go on like this, acting normally when everyone around you is clearly mourning for his loss?," she went on.

"I-"

"The problem with you, Jinno-sensei, is that you try too hard to seem unaffected and professional, and because of that, you just show how heartless and inhumane you can be!," she stated, running out of the classroom and bursting into tears.

The shocked man stared at his student's disappearing silhouette, taken aback by her outburst. He felt wounded, like he was shot through the heart with a piercing cold bullet.

Whoever said that the truth hurts was damn right.

After all his years of teaching without resting on a seat even once, he sat down on a chair for the first time, and rested his head on his hands. His students stared at him, puzzled by their teacher's first visible streak of vulnerability.

An awkward silence began to fill the classroom, and students started nudging each other, each one encouraging their seatmate to ask the first question. Finally, Sumire Shouda gained the courage to ask.

"Erm, Jinno-sensei? The bell just-"

"Class dismissed," he curtly said, still unable to look at his students in the eye. Thinking that all of them left the room, he lifted his head from his hands, unexpectedly meeting the gaze of Imai Hotaru. Clearing his throat, he looked at her questionably.

"Yes, Miss Imai?"

The inventor simply stared at him stoically, her eyes boring holes back into his.

"You know Jinno-sensei, Mikan may seem stupid to you, but compared to an unfeeling beast like yourself, she always will be the better person."

Gritting his teeth, he did his best and tried to look straight back at her.

"Anything else you might want to add to that, Miss Imai?"

"Yes. I always thought you were an asshole, Jinno, but this time, you've just gone too far."

--

Meanwhile, on a village not too far from the academy, Luna Koizumi ran out into the yard, screaming for her grandfather.

"JII-CHAN!!! HE'S AWAKE! HE'S FINALLY AWAKE!"

--

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ta da! And there you have it! LOL. Everything's so intense, that after I wrote this, I felt all moody and dramatic. Don't forget to leave a review, 'keiz? =)