Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice doesn't belong to me. It is owned by the great mangaka Higuchi Tachibana.

A/N: Tell me if I should continue this or not, alright? Read and review, please! Thanks!

Chapter 4: Strike!

It was another bright day for a certain russet-haired girl. She pranced around the academy, ooh-ing and aah-ing at every tree, flower and bird she saw. It was supposed to be a great day for her when she tripped, yet again.

And guess who was at the scene? A certain raven-haired boy of course!

The boy, unable to resist, called out, "Pineapples today, huh? What's the theme this week? Hawaiian?", he smirked at her.

The girl stood there, red in the face and quaking in anger. "NA---TSU---ME!" And a distant volcano exploded. Animals in the Northern Forest fled and birds took flight in terror. She began throwing things at him but he ducked and dodged every blow.

"You're such a pervert! Pervert pervert pervert!", she screamed at him, outraged.

The boy's eyebrows shot up and said, "Geez. It's just your underwear".

Instead of calming down the girl, he just successfully infuriated her more than ever. She stared daggers at him and went away in a huff.

He was still smirking, when he suddenly realized something.

Oh no.., he thought, faltering. He sat down under his favorite sakura tree and buried his face into his hands. Be nice to her, huh? Well, that's what exactly I did today, he thought sarcastically. He rolled over and groaned out loud.

OOO

That Natsume, Mikan thought furiously. I hate hate haaaate him! She continued on her way to Hotaru's room when someone came up behind her.

The stranger tried to hug her but she was such in a foul mood that she had better ideas for him. Without looking at him, she grabbed his upper arm and flipped him over her shoulder. He landed on the floor with a loud thud.

"Ouch!", Natsume moaned out loud. "What's the big idea?"

Mikan's look of surprise was soon replaced with one of contempt. "Serves you right, pervert!", she yelled. And with that, she hurriedly opened Hotaru's room and banged it shut.

Oh man, Natsume groaned inwardly. He pounded the floor with his fist. Talk about a strike out! I guess I have to come up with better ideas, he thought weakly. The power of a pissed-off girl never ceases to amaze me.

OOO

Natsume was about to doze off in his seat when the door opened. Mikan.

She went over to greet Hotaru and the usual happened. She never learns, huh, he mused, a smile threatening to appear on his lips.

"Morning, Ruka-pyon!", she gave him a bright smile. Natsume felt his stomach turn and jealousy gnawed at the pit of his stomach.

"Good morning, Sakura-san", Ruka greeted her, smiling.

Don't I get a greeting, too, he found himself thinking. H-Huh? Where did that come from, he thought, furiously. It doesn't matter, anyway. It's not that I care or anything.., he thought, roughly.

Yeah, right, Natsume--chan, a voice guffawed in his head.

"...orning, Natsume-kun", a voice broke into his thoughts.

"W-What?", he looked sort of fazed.

"I said good morning!", she said, rolling her eyes but laughing. "You looked out of this world, Natsume-kun. Where were you?", she giggled.

Natsume felt his face going hot but he managed to say, "Nowhere". He tried to focus on the shounen manga he was reading, as to not embarrass himself further.

Mikan shrugged and went back to her seat.

Words magically appeared on the blackboard and it read:

Answer pages 765-767 of your history book.

If caught not doing it, detention with me for a whole week.

Jinno-sensei

"U-waaaa!", Mikan wailed out loud. "Detention with Jinno-sensei for a whole week? You gotta be kidding me!" She went to Hotaru, looking frantic. "Oh Hotaru, please help me! I don't understand our lesson at all!", she cried out.

Hotaru said coldly, "Do it yourself. How would you learn?"

Her cries were heard around the classroom but nobody paid attention to her, as they were all used to it already.

Should I help her now, Natsume asked himself.

Alright.

Now.

He was about to speak out when someone beat him to it.

"I'll help you if you want, Sakura-san", Ruka said gently.

Mikan rushed to his side and hugged his right arm tightly. She looked at him gratefully and said, "Thank you very much, Ruka-pyon! That's so nice of you", her eyes sparkling.

Ruka blushed at this, but luckily, Natsume didn't see him.

Natsume was watching all this and he resisted the urge to groan out loud and burn Sumire's hair, which was in his peripheral vision. He almost ripped his manga into pieces because of frustration.

Am I the unluckiest guy or what? Strike two again, he thought, halfheartedly.

OOO

Mikan was somewhere in the academy grounds with Hotaru and Yuu-chan, trying hard to improve her alice. Since Mr. Nouda was nowhere to be seen again, she was forced to train by herself. (Hotaru and Yuu-chan weren't much help XP)

Hotaru sighs and Yuu-chan sweat drops as Mikan failed for the nth time.

"Now.. nullify!", Mikan yelled.

Silence.

"Nullify!", she yelled, yet again.

Hotaru and Yuu-chan glanced at each other and sighed. This is gonna be a long afternoon.

OOO

A certain boy happened to pass by and saw her training and trying really hard to improve her alice.

He took a deep breath and thought, Now, I really am gonna help her. No strings attached. He was about to make his way to her when he froze.

Wait a minute.. W-Wha..? He couldn't move. He was rooted to the spot. Hey.. I know this feeling.. Andou! He whipped around angrily and saw him smirking at him.

"Well, well, Natsume. Planning something, are we?", he wiggled his eyebrows at him.

Natsume glared at him with pure hatred in his eyes but Tsubasa simply stared back at him.

"If you're planning to tease Mikan or make her cry or both, this isn't your lucky day". And with that, he left him standing there, with Natsume resisting the temptation to burn his jacket.

He heard him greet Mikan and get a squeal of delight in return. "Tsubasa-senpai!", her eyes sparkling and she jumped up and down happily.

"What's up with you today, Mikan?", he asked her, looking quizzically at her costume, which was a kimono for karate (I think it IS called a kimono I took up karate for a year as an extracurricular activity ).

"Well.. I was trying desperately hard to finally be able to control my alice properly. Since Mr. Nouda is nowhere to be seen again, I'm training by myself"".

"I see..", Tsubasa said, looking thoughtful. He then smiled and said, "Why don't you come with me? Harada-san and I would be happy to help".

"Really? You'd do that for me, Tsubasa-senpai?", her eyes shining gratefully.

Tsubasa sweatdrops at her overeager voice and takes a step back. "Well.. We will try", giving her a reassuring smile.

"Yay! Thank you so much!"

They left together without Mikan noticing Natsume standing there. Natsume was still frozen to the spot before he finally decided to stay under that sakura tree.

I never win. Why is that, he thought grumpily. Damn that Andou guy.

A/N: To those people who are wondering why Natsume's name is divided like this: Na-tsu-me. As far as I know, that is correct. Kind of like Tokyo. It should be like this: To-kyo, not To-kyo.

Anyway, please review! Tell me if it sucked alright? But please, go easy on me! XD