Disclaimer: I do not, repeat do not, own Gakuen Alice… I wish I did though… Oh yeah, Demon and Angel are not Gakuen Alice characters; they're mine…

Summary: The academy's finally getting serious about dealing with Mikan's alices, and the Dangerous Ability Class is getting a new teacher in the bargain. What's going to happen next?

Chapter 24

Mikan hung on tightly to the motorbike's backrest as the Harley sharply hugged the corner. She knows Demon's an expert at handling the machine, but her survival instincts still insist that she ensures her safety. Her onii-chan hasn't exactly informed her where they were going either. They had just visited Ji-chan the other day, so they can't be going back for a visit again. Even Angel had acted strangely today telling them to go ahead, and she'll catch up later.

Her curiosity about they're destination deepened when Demon took a turn towards the seedier part of town, and it rocketed off the scale when he parked the bike and got off outside a disreputable-looking pub with a rundown sign that read "The Underground".

She followed Demon to the entrance. The bouncer didn't even react, considering that a fourteen-year-old girl was going inside the establishment. As soon as they stepped inside, the patrons turned to glance at the newcomers. She can feel beady eyes boring a whole through her back as she walked behind Demon.

Demon headed to the side of the bar, for a corner cubicle shrouded deep in the shadows. He sat down in the corner couch, his back to the wall, clearly not wanting his back exposed to the present clientele. Maintaining a blank expression, he kept an eye out for any trouble coming their way.

Uncomfortably settled adjacent to him, Mikan started squirming. She really didn't like the way some of the men were looking at her. It made her hackles rise. Not to mention that all the barely-clothed male and female servers running around the place were bound to turn her blind. "What are we doing here, Nii-chan?" she asked in a low voice so that no one else can hear.

"You'll see," was his only reply before he flagged a server for a bottle of whiskey and two glasses.

Mikan slowly sipped the liquor. She can feel trouble brewing in her gut, and she doesn't want to be drunk and vulnerable when it comes. Just as she finished taking a sip, a despicable-looking guy in his late teens came inside the pub and headed for them, undoubtedly looking for a fight.

The guy stopped in front of them and started shouting at them. "That seat is reserved! Leave now!"

Mikan shot a glance at Demon, who just shrugged and continue drinking his whiskey. He's definitely not planning to budge from his current position, so she also stayed in hers. The guy who told them to leave was seething now. He certainly expected them to abandon the cubicle without question, not ignore him as if he was noting. She saw the customers near them standing up and moving to a different, farther location, not wishing to be included in the trouble.

"Don't you know who I am? I'm a member of the Kimura gang!" the guy arrogantly stated, trying to intimidate Demon.

"So?" Demon asked annoyingly before tossing back his drink.

The punk bristled in anger and embarrassment, but calmed down when he heard more people entering the pub. "You're going to get it now," he smirked triumphantly. "Hey, Boss!" he yelled at the newcomers who just entered. "There's someone here occupying your place and don't want to leave."

The group advanced at them. Mikan tensed seeing the three men that led the group. Their faces hid any trace of emotion, and they were unmistakably strong.

"What the problem here?" the one in the middle, the leader, questioned.

"They're the problem, Boss," the punk pointed at them, the sneer still on his face. The boss and his two brothers were known in all the gangs as the best fighters. When the three of them fight together, they're nearly invincible. They'll teach that guy who humiliated him. But the smirk he had on his face was wiped off his face when Demon spoke.

"You're late," Demon growled at the three men.

The punk paled when his boss slightly bowed his head to Demon and sighed. "Sorry, but you know how it is with these two," the blond leader gestured to the two men behind him. His brothers behind him just grinned before sitting themselves beside Mikan.

"Hey, is she our new imoto?" the redhead on her right asked, his cobalt blue eyes sparkle impishly while mussing the top her hair.

The gray-eyed guy on her left examined every inch of her face. "You sure know how to pick someone to be our little sister. She sure is cute." He pinched Mikan's cheeks playfully as his said that.

Mikan batted their hands away and glared at them. "Hey! Stop that!"

The brothers' mischievous grin widened. "She can imitate your glare!" They started hassling Mikan again.

Demon ignored them. "That guy new?" his pointed his thumb at the punk who bothered them. "He's been quite a disrespectful nuisance."

The leader frowned at the guy. "Don't you know how to respect one of my family members?" he asked before snapping his fingers, motioning for some of the gang members to take him out and teach him a lesson in respect. After the punk was dragged out of the pub, he turned back to the two wayward brothers. "Stop it you two! You'll traumatize her for life." The two stopped and looked up from the couch where they'd been playing Mikan as if she was their newly-adopted little pet kitten.

"Aww… We were just playing with her," they said in unison.

The blond shook his head, gave a long-suffering sigh and sat down. "Introductions please, Demon."

"Fine." Demon put down his glass of whiskey. "Squirt, meet Duncan. He owns this pub," he nodded to the emerald-eyed man with white-blond hair, "Dare," he pointed to the blue-eyed redhead, then the guy with dark brown hair and gray eyes, "and Duke." He picked up his drink again. "They're my brothers. Introduce yourself to them."

"Ah… Yes." She began once she got over the shock of grasping the idea of Demon having brothers. "I'm Mikan," bowing her head to Duncan. "Please to meet you." Before Duncan could greet her back, Dare and Duke started pestering Mikan again.

"You're Mikan, huh," Dare said while ruffling her hair. "Let's give her an alternate name. How does Mimi sound?" he looked questioningly at Duke.

Duke gagged. "Where in hell did you come up with that name? It's disgusting. You have a horrible taste in names. I'm not allowing our cute imoto be called by such a revolting name as that!" he protested.

"As if you could think of a better fucking name," Dare scoffed.

The fight broke between the two, with Mikan still seated in between them. Duncan caught her attention and mutely patted the cushion between him and Demon, indicating the she should move away from the two. Mikan smiled at him and gingerly crept away from the fighting siblings.

"So, what do you think of this dysfunctional family you got adopted into?" Demon asked her once she'd settled down again.

She stared at the brothers wrestling each other across them before grinning. "I think it's just great."

Duncan rolled his eyes. "I'm really sorry about those two acting like children even though they are already a-score-and-five. But they're right though, the name Mikan's not going to cut it in this parts. Will have to think up an alternate name," he tapped his chin. "How about Kana? It's derived from the second syllable of your name."

"Kana's fine," Mikan replied, not getting why they're giving her an alternate name.

Duncan observed her then glared at Demon. "You haven't told her," he accused. "Then tell her yourself," was Demon's carelessly muttered reply to his accusation.

"I'm the eldest in this family," Duncan mumbled to the ceiling as if asking the Gods to intervene. "Can't these people respect the elderly?" he asked even though he's only twenty-eight. "You see Mikan. The real purpose why Demon brought you here is for you to be formally initiated into the family."

"You mean the gang?" she motioned to the group of young gangsters that came in with the brothers.

"No, no. Not the gang." Duncan shook his head. "That'll come in later, though. You'll be initiated to our immediate family which is composed of me, Dare, Duke, Demon, and…" The sound of a body being thrown against the wall interrupted him. Everyone, except Demon, went on alert. They all turned to see who cause the racket, but returned to their business when they saw who it is. It seems that drunken men being banged against the wall was a common occurrence when this person came to this place.

Duncan heaved another long suffering sigh. "Someone must have had a little too much drink and pissed her off again." He signaled for two gang members to approach him. "Take the guy outside." The two nodded and hurriedly picked up the drunk, escorting-slash-dragging him outside.

Angel calmly headed toward them with a grin, as if she hadn't just send a guy more than twice her size flying with a single hit. Dare and Duke, who'd gotten up from their seats, were currently bouncing around her like two eager puppies greeting their master. "How are things progressing here?" she asked as she sat down beside Demon.

"I'm still explaining things to her," Duncan grumbled, running a frustrated hand through his white-blond hair. "And the rest of this family isn't helping me clear things up," he complained. "As I was saying, Kana," he said using Mikan's alternate name, "the immediate family is composed of the four of us and her," he nodded toward Angel's direction. "The Kimura clan was originally made up of just the four of us guys, but we couldn't help adopting Angel when Demon introduced her to us when they were nine. So, we initiated her into the family. Only members of the clan can instigate the initiation process." He paused for a moment. "As you've noticed, this family may not be related by blood. But, it's governed by the same principles: trust and loyalty. The choice to enter this family is yours, but you'll have to pass through the same initiation Angel did. Do you wish to continue?" Mikan nodded. She'd always want to know how it feels like to be part of a big family. "Choose two of us to challenge then."

She thought for awhile. If she was going to go up against who she chose, picking either Demon or Angel won't be a good idea. Knowing the two of them, they can easily beat her in anything. So, that leaves her with three choices. She studied Duncan closely. He might act like a pushover older brother, but she can see that the others respect him in their own way. Being the eldest of the family, he had to be strong in order to carry the burden of that responsibility. Beneath that façade of his, she can sense the strong, stable aura that emanates from him.

"I'll take the two of them then," she said pointing to the two twenty-five-year-olds, making Demon smirk, and Duncan and Angel laugh at her choice. Dare and Duke looked disgruntled. "Good choice," they mumbled under their breath in unison.

Duncan ordered a few bottles of liquor. "Alright, you'll just have to out-drink the two of them and you're done," he said with a smile. "Oh, and have we mentioned that those two can't hold their liquor?"

After three shots of tequila, Dare and Duke entered into a stupor. Mikan serenely finished her third glass and asked for a refill. She gulped down her fourth shot glass, ensuring her clear victory.

The three sober adults applauded her. "Well done, Kana!" Duncan exclaimed. "You undoubtedly beat the crap out of them. I was worried that this might end up like Angel's initiation."

"What happened with Nee-chan's, Onii-san?" Mikan asked curiously and happily. She finally has someone to call onii-san. She had tried calling Demon onii-san before, of course. She really did try her best. But much to Demon's annoyance, she and Angel vehemently agreed that it just didn't suit him as much as being called onii-chan did.

"It ended in a draw. She challenged Demon and me," Duncan grimaced just thinking about that event. "I got knocked out in the middle of it. When I came to again with the most gruesome hangover ever," he glared Demon and Angel, "the two of them were still going at it. They passed out at the exact same time after they guzzled down a whole case of the stuff. Stubborn idiots the pair of them," he groused and sighed. "Well, anyway wake those two up. We have to make a toast to the newest member of the clan."

Duke and Dare grumbled grouchily as they were awakened. They both ordered strong, black coffee for the toast, instead of imbibing more liquor. Coffee was the best choice for them. Not only won't they get inebriated guzzling gallons of it, but the caffeine also helps ease the agony of their hangovers.

After the toast, Duncan reintroduced her new brothers to her and their alices. "Dare has the ability to travel from one place to another using the shadows, and Duke has the ability to change matter to create different objects out of them."

"What about you, Nii-san?"

"He had the premonition alice," Demon answered for him. "I stole it from him a long time ago, and he wouldn't take the damn alice back."

"That's because you handle that thing better than I do," Duncan stated. "And before I forget, we'll have to think up a clan name for Kana, but that can be left for later."

"I thought I'll be having Kana as my name?" Mikan questioned, still a little confused.

"That's the name you'll have around this parts and the gang, since being named after a citrus fruit makes you sound too girly for comfort. You'll still need to be christened with a name inside the family. It's been a tradition for the clan name to start with the letter 'D'," Dare explained. "And our names have a connection to our personality. Take Duke and me for example, we're named for our recklessness. Duke as in the duke of hazards and the name dare explains it enough. Only Duncan's name is ironic among the five of us."

Mikan scowled. "Nee-chan's name doesn't start with a 'D'."

"That's because Angel isn't her clan name," Duke grinned in reply.

Mikan tilted her head. "Then what's her clan name?" Just as she finished her question the pub's door burst in. They can see the bouncer laid unconscious by the doorway. The drunk who'd tried to hassle Angel earlier had came back with about a dozen reinforcements. The three males in her newly acquired family were about to stand and intercept them, only to be waved back down by Angel.

"You guys just seat back and relax. These guys are my problem anyway," she said.

Demon grabbed her wrist as she stood up. He shot her a look that mutely asks, "Are you sure you don't need help?" Angel's smirk was her wordless reply. Demon released her wrist. He knows the Angel will ask for help if she doesn't think she can handle it alone. For now, he'll just keep an eye on the fight and watch her back, ensuring the other side doesn't pull any dirty tricks she isn't expecting.

Duncan signaled the gang members who were in the bar not to interfere with the fight. Every last one of the pub's clientele moved to the sides of the room, leaving an empty area in the middle. The men formed a tight circle around Angel. The fight broke out when one of them took the first swing. Angel caught the fist and crushed every bone in the man's hand. She then simultaneously creamed another man's face with a kick and smashed another's arm. After only a few minutes, Angel stood alone in the middle, bloodied and broken bodies surrounding her. She was walking back to their cubicle, when one of the men she'd beaten up pulled out a gun and aimed for her back. Before anyone could blink, the man had burst into flames. The people who came in with him, who were still conscious, watched in horror as their comrade turned into a pile of ashes within seconds.

Angel gave them a cold, hollow-eyed glance over her shoulder. "Don't ever come back here again," she uttered menacingly and walked away, leaving them to drag their insensible companions out the pub.

Duncan and Demon had identical smirks on, while Dare was laughing uncontrollably. Duke rested a hand on Mikan's shoulder. "That my cute imoto-chan," he gestured with his head to Angel, who was walking back towards them, "is Death."

CHAPTER END

A/N: Here's a little peek into Demon's background. This one's dedicated to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Thanks for everyone's reviews. And you know me usual ending: Read and review. Explicitly NO FLAMES. CONSTRUCTIVE criticism and suggestions are, of course, allowed.