Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice and any of it's original charaters...I just own Najiko...she's my character... :)


Chapter 7: Mind games

"*Yawn*, hhhhhhhmmmmmmmm...what a lovely sunny day!", Mikan said to herself as she stretched her arms like what she usually do when she wakes up in the morning. As she walks to the small balcony of her room to admire the fascinating creatures...she said, "I wake up quite early today...I feel there's something special today but I just can't remember it...Oh well..."

She smelled the fresh morning breeze then, "Good morning plants! Good morning birds! Good morning Mr. Sun! And good morning to me...", then she smiled. Afterwards she strides into her room. After that, she glances at the digital clock on her desk. It displays the time, which is six in the morning, the date and some reminders for the day. Suddenly,

"NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!", she shrieked at the top of her lungs. "NOT AGAIN!!!!"......(Hai....poooooooooor Mikan(-.-') )...

So she started running back and forth...here and there...to the north, then to the south...from the east to the west...doing her daily routine...collecting this and packing that...And other loads of stuff needed for this very important day.

There! She's done in her room and her things-to-bring. She was dressed in a black tube tops with white tribal prints and a pink bolero, and she has put on a white mini skirt. (How cute!)

She quickly proceed to the cafeteria to eat, "There's already a lot of people around here already!", she whispered. Her sight then caught her friends eating there. So, she run towards them...

"Hi Hotaru! Hi Yuu! Hi Ruka! Hi Natsume! Hi every one!", she greeted really fast, "Uhm, Yuu, can I have this?", she asks as she get a toast from her friend's plate,

"Ye-"

"Thanks!", she put a corner of the bread to her mouth even before he completed his sentence. "Bye!". Then she run away, leaving the others watching her back fading away in the crowd.

"What's wrong with her?", Natsume finally said.

"I dunno...", was Koko's answer, "Stop getting worried."

"What worried?", Natsume asked.

"You worry if Mikan is just fine and if she needs help...from...you...", Koko answered again.

"Shut up!"

"But that's what you're thi-"

"I said shut up and stop reading my mind!"

"So, you do think and care about that idiot?", Hotaru asked mockingly.

"Hell no!", he shouted at the same time as he stood up and banged a hand on the table, causing the noisy crowd to be silent for a while, gazing at Natsume.

"N-Natsume... Calm down..." Ruka said.

However, he just walked away. As usual, all eyes are focused on him.

Back to Mikan...

After running for several minutes, in spite of all, she arrived at their venue.

"Misaki! I'm sorry I'm late and all other offences that I cannot name.", Mikan said as soon as she get in, panting.

"Oh migosh Mikan!", one of Misaki's clone, or maybe she, herself, immediately attend to her, "I told you to come here early! Now we have some more work to do here and to fix yourself, in more or less than hour", she said as she massage her temples... "Come follow me", and she headed to the dressing room.

"Okay...", she replied.

They finished everything just in time. Well, thanks to Misaki, Najiko, and their clones.

"By eight am we will start!", Tsubasa informed everyone.

"Yes!", they all answered.

"Now, for the mean time you can come out and smell some fresh air.", he continued, "If a costumer turn up, then we'll start. Okay?"

"Okay!", they chorused.

"Now you may go... but just new this area.", then he also left.

As Mikan was sitting under a nearby tree, her friends came over.

"Hi guys!", she greeted as she wave a hand to them.

"Is that you Mikan?", Anna asked in some state of shock.

"Well... yes... uhm...do I look bad?"

"No, no... You're gorgeous!", Yuu countered.

She wears a halter-topped gown. It was in a specific shade of coral(pomelo pink). Her waist is accented with beads that cover the lot of it like a wide belt. In addition, her skirt was designed with ribbon-like ruffles with flower beads on the center of each one of them. She also has a natural make-up and her hair was curled at the end. She plays the part of a princess so she has a tiara with swirled patterns, a crystal flower at the center, and several more gemstones around. Making her like a real life princess.

Ruka was blushing really mad. While Natsume just watch her smile and talk, admiring her entirely but secretly. They chit-chat for some time then,

"Mikan, oh I mean, My Princess...*giggles*... we have to go...", Najiko called.

"Just a sec.!", she responded back.

Najiko walked to them, she was dressed in a brown strapless gown. A complimenting color of beaded flowers lies from the lower right hip across to the left and up the left chest of her gown. The skirt was layered down to her ankles at the front and a longer part of it at the back. And the base of her tiara was lined with crystals, it also have smaller swirls and silver flower accents.

"Princess Mi-", Najiko stopped after seeing Natsume, "Hi Natsume! I miss you!", and she moved closer to him.

"Go away...", he said unemotionally.

"If I know...You just want to be with your 'Princess', hhhmmm?", she whispered near him which made him blush a little. And she laughed softly.

"Hmph! She's flirting with Natsume again! That bi- ahhh!", Mikan thought, in tandem, she pouts her lips like a little girl.

"Baka,", Hotaru called her.

"Who? Me?", Mikan asked innocently.

"No other...", her 'best friend' answered.

"Ooooooohhhhhhhhhh, Hotaru, you're so mean!"

"Yah, yah...You should go back now, look, it's about to start.", she then points at the location where the Special Ability Types should be.

"I almost forgot! Thanks Hotaru!", she walked away, but get back again to pull Najiko away. They both waved goodbye to the others, then head off.

5 minutes later...

"This is it, people!", Tsubasa begun, "Just follow what we have agreed in the meeting, and I assure you, everything will follow smoothly."

They all cheered. It was like a scene in some fairytale where kings, queens, princes and princesses gather for a very special reason. They are all dressed in beautiful elegant costumes. They walk in the castle doors and into their rooms. The fortress was a big maze for all the challengers , each room is connected to another one, followed by the four towers and the largest obelisk ends their quest. Nothing will be easy for them, and it will all start now...

The first challenger entered .................................................................................................................... Unfortunately, he failed.... And so did the second... third... fourth... fifth... sixth... and the rest who tried to do it. No one can surpass the four final trials and most can't even advance to the next few dares.

Evidently, it won't be fun if Natsume and the others don't try it. When they arrived at the 'palace', a new 'princess' explained the mechanics. "Each door has a challenge behind it. To win the game, you should accomplish every obstacle that you will encounter up to the main tower. If you do, you'll pick a gem and see whose name is under it, and then choose a gift box to see the dare for him/her. You have to enter one by one. AND you CANNOT USE your Alice to HARM and student. Got it?", she finished.

"Yeah.", they answered.

"I'll be the first!", Koko said, almost shouting.

He entered the front doors of the palace. After about an hour...he came out, breathless.

"What happened in there?", one of them asked.

"It's kinda hard, you know.", he replied, scratching his head.

Then they stared at Hotaru...

"I don't want to try.", Hotaru told them and she pulled her Baka Gun out...

"GO NATSUME!", all of them decided (except Hotaru and Ruka). So they pushed him at the façade and he walked in. He looked around and saw a door nearby, he entered it and it was raining inside the room...then,

"First challenge: Cross the room with out getting wet...", a fat boy sitting on top of quite a lot of boxes said.

"Easy...", Natsume whispered. He just cross it easily. The droplets evaporated before touching him...too hot! He had got in the next room with a long table.

"Second challenge: catch me before the time runs out.", a girl sitting on the table with many things on it said. Then she became very very teeny and started to run around. However, before she could reach an apple there, he already burned everything...

"No where to hide... I win.", he said without any expression at all...(-.-)

More doors followed. He climbed a lot of stairs and did a lot more of challenges. He finally reach the last four stations.

"This challenge is simple, you just have to find, in which hand, this silver ball is.", Misaki instructed. "But for a better game, I'll have to…", and she became multiple.

"No problem.", Natsume replied with a smirk. He lit a small fire ball on his palm and the room became hotter each second.

"OOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!", one of the Misaki's shouted, raising her right hand in the air and waving it.

Natsume approached her and snatched the ball off her hand.

"Gocha!"

"Ow! Okay, you can pass."

Waiting for the next door was Najiko, in an ice-coated room.

"For this time, we won't be friends, Natsume. . . The rule is simple, break, melt, destroy, devastate, dissolve, evaporate or what ever you want to do with all those ice that you can see, just make them disappear. And you can pass!"

"Simple! Is that how weak you think of me, sister?"

"Just wait and see, brother!"

Natsume threw fire balls around the room, melting the ice. But his attention was glued on melting it, he didn't notice what Najiko is doing.

"Is that all? And you call that a challenge?", he said.

"I don't think so…" Just then, the water on the floor started to freeze again. It freezes not only the room, but also him! He tried to melt the ice coating his feet.

"No you don't!", he shot a fire ball on the ice but nothing happened at all.

"So, you were saying?", Najiko asked with an evil smile pasted on her face. Her eyes were blazing with power.

The water froze him so fast, turning him into a living ice statute. Najiko walked to him and wrapped her arms around him, from his back…

"You can never defeat me…", then she laughed.

A minute passed and the ice on his hands begun to water, slowly the other parts followed.

"How did you-", she began, surprised.

"None of your business.", he walked to the next door and disappeared behind it.

"As I have expected… You made it this far." It was Tsubasa. He paced near Natsume.

The room was big. The door was far from where Natsume had entered. But there was something very different in that room, there was a big window above the exit door.

"If you can defeat them, well… not me.", he added.

"Are there any rules here?", Natsume asked. It seems like he didn't even paid a little attention to him.

"You're still full of air, little fire-caster."

"Stop calling me little!"

"As you wish… There is just one rule, go pass me."

"Fine!"

Tsubasa walked a few steps backward and the game begun. Natsume run towards, the door but before he could reach Tsubasa, he cannot move. His feet seems like fastened on the floor.

"What the-", he looked down and noticed his shadow was connected to Tsubasa's.

"What will you do now little boy?"

"Shut up!" After a while, he lit several fire balls in between them.

"You can't hurt me."

"Who said that I'll hurt you? But if I was allowed, why not?", then his lips curled into a sarcastic smile.

Just then he noticed his shadow shortened, that it can't reach Natsume anymore.

"Bye, Andou.", Natsume said and walked away.

He entered another room. He felt strange when he looked around and saw a bed. Then a thought flashed in his mind, "MIKAN". His heartbeat became faster, and it was unexplainable to him. He move closer to the bed and found a letter on the bedside table.

It says:

"In sleeping beauty, you should awaken the princess... How? Well it's up to you just don't hurt her. Reminder, she wont wake up if you do the simple things like shaking...U-ah! It won't work at all. And get the key from her to open the door out. Good luck!"

"Damn! How could I ever do that?!", he said under his breath.

But there is more from the letter… he continued..

"P.S. If you do know the story, better try how the prince brought his princess to life…"

No choices left for him to choose from. Natsume leaned closer to Mikan... Their lips were about a few mm apart... His lips were about to touch hers., when...

"Mikan… Mikan... Wake up..."

To be Continued...

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.,Well… how was it? i tried to pit pictures of their gowns and tiaras so you won't have a hard time to imagine...but they won't show up...so...sorry for that... Uhm… I'm sorry for zero update this past months… and months… and months… I'll just pay for that… XD

.,thanks for those who waited for this chapie...i've been busy this past months and i can't update...sorry!(from the bottom of my heart) 3 thanks also for the support and everything...i do hope that you like this chapie...even if i left it hanging...again... XP... this is chapter 7...so there are only 3 more chapters to go...uh...can i do that...i plan to end it at chapter ten...will that be fine?

., any ways… I'll be inspired if you will review… XP… but anything will be appreciated, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, much appreciated… even flames! I mean, yeah…anything… I'll be waiting for them… and oh! What do you think will happen next? mmmm?