No, unfortunately I don't own Gakuen Alice. (Must I say this every time?)

She walked alongside her mother, a reusable bag slung over her shoulder, full of fruits and vegetables

She walked alongside her mother, a reusable bag slung over her shoulder, full of fruits and vegetables. Her mother carried another bag identical to hers, and the food that filled them both was to feed them for the next month.

They were just on their way home, heading towards the rundown apartment building they lived in. It really needed some fixing up, and she would have done that if she had the money to get supplies.

The truth was that her and her mother were poor, at the bottom of the hierarchy.

"Sweetie, do you have any extra change?" Her mom, Aiko, said softly. "You need some new clothes." She scanned her daughter's ragged skirt and casual T-shirt. "You look like you just rolled in some mud."

Mikan sighed. "I can live, mom," she said.

Aiko gave her a sidelong glance. "Yes, but not necessarily well."

"I'm living a great-" She was cut off in mid sentence when someone's thick fingers wrapped around the strap of her bag. Her dying words turned into a yelp and she staggered back, and bag flying from her grasp.

Aiko gasped and steadied her. "Just let him go, darling."

Mikan narrowed her eyes angrily as she watched the bulk figure take off, and she was close behind. Her long legs pumped fast, her arms swinging to steady her stride. She tore across the sidewalk, gaining ground fast. Unfortunately, as her mix of bad luck and good luck had it, there was a boy on a bike coming up the sidewalk.

Cursing, she looked around for an escape, but saw that there was a steep hill on one side and a high metal bar on the other. Deciding that diving down the hill may be deadly and she might not live to tell the story, she reached forward and grabbed the strap of the bag, as the man was within arms reach, and pulled, jumping as she did so. She turned in the air, flew over the bar, and landed on the grass on the other side on her back.

Groaning, she sat up, smiling triumphantly when she saw that all of her fruit were intact, and that the man was gone.

"Mikan! Mikan!" Her mom came running through the crowd, weaving her way around people, her face marred with worry. She gasped in relief when she saw that, besides being slightly dazed and maybe a little bit out of breath, her daughter was fine.

"I told you to leave him," she scolded, hopping over the bar.

Mikan shot to her feet. "I just owned him!"

"Yes, yes, now come along."

Mikan nibbled on the slice of apple, staring into space. She didn't realize that she had zoned out until a knock on the door disturbed her thoughts.

Her mother was out.

Sighing, she got to her feet and walked to the door. She opened it a crack, peering outside into the dark night. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the tall, well-built figure of a man, but she panic died when she saw his face.

Though his glare was menacing, his ruby eyes narrowed angrily, and though his raven locks were tousled and messy, he didn't strike her as threatening. He did, however, strike her as positively handsome.

She opened the door the rest of the way.

"Yes?" Her eyes narrowed instantly in suspicion.

"I saw you in the park today." Apparently, he liked to get right to the point.

Her hip bulged to one side and her hand found a place to rest on it. "So?"

"You can run, and you can jump," he went on. "I was wondering how old you were."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't tell my age to strangers."

"Would you tell me if I said that me and my assistant trainer would like to train you for the Olympics this year? I've seen your skill in both sprinting and jumping, as in high jump. Are you interested?"

Her eyes narrowed again. "I'm only seventeen."

"I'm only nineteen."

She scanned him briefly. "Really?"

"Enough questions. Are you interested or not?"

"Do you honestly think I'm in any shape to sprint?" Now all she was doing was making excuses.

"We'll feed you and your mother. All you have to do is let us train you."

"What's your name?" She could barely hide the smirk tugging at the corners of her lips.

"Natsume Hyuuga."

"Well, Natsume, I'll talk to my mother about it. Is there any place you'd like me to meet you tomorrow, when I've come to my decision?"

"The park bench. 9:00 AM. Don't be late." Without another word, he turned and walked down the hallway, heading for a fancy car parked on the street.

She watched him until he was gone, speeding away in his shiny car, and then she closed the door and locked it.

What was that all about? She wondered. Training for Olympics? How did a small town girl like me manage something like that?

Shrugging it off, she turned and went back to the kitchen table.

A/N: Yes, this is my idea. Lol. Must have expected it from someone so madly in love with sports. Yeah, I'll keep dreaming. :)

Anyway, this chapter is short because it's the prologue. This took, like, ten minutes to write. Hehe. I'll update as soon as I can, for those of you interested.

xoxo
Ducky-san