Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice.

A/N: Really sorry for the late update, guys. I was low on inspiration and school sucks. I have like ten quizzes this week and I haven't studied for any of them. If there happens to be a number of grammatical errors in this chapter, please do inform me so that I could edit it. I wasn't able to, because I was eager to post this chapter already, and I'm proud that I was able to finish this after a long period of time. I'm sorry again, guys.

This chapter is focused on Mikan's struggles in the academy. The next chapter will be Natsume-centric, so stay tuned.

Chapter Four
Tangerine

News about Natsume being kicked in the balls spread like wildfire around campus, even reaching Class C, and that only added more fuel to the fire. Obviously, they weren't pleased with what they've heard, based from the glares that they've been throwing my way the moment I set foot inside the classroom, while some of them voiced out their thoughts to taunt me. Throughout the test, I couldn't help but feel restless that one of them might unleash his Alice at me, like what happened with me and Mochiage.

However, Physics ended rather smoothly. Perhaps it was because everyone wanted to pass the test, and I have to admit that the test was quite difficult despite having studied it for a few days now. Fortunately, Natsume wasn't present during the test.

Physical Education was next, and I couldn't be happier upon realizing so. Back in my old school, I excelled in P.E., and I would prefer playing sports than dealing with complex equations and memorizing terms. Nothing but a little P.E. to lighten up my mood for the day after being ostracized by my classmates (of course, with the exception of Yuu and Koko).

I rushed to the dormitory and changed into my PE attire: gray sweatshirt with the school seal of the academy—a star—by the left side of my chest, and gray jogging pants with a back pocket. As I looked at myself at the mirror inside the bathroom, there was one thought that I couldn't manage to set aside in spite of how many times I have convinced myself that they appear nonexistent.

My attention has been directed to my imperceptible breasts. I turn sideways, checking if they bulge, though one can say that I've completely lost it due to the fact that my sweatshirt is a size larger than my actual size. Next, I jumped up and down in my place to see if they ever surface, and to my relief, they don't.

Congratulations, Mikan Sakura. Paranoia has engulfed you in your already pitiful state.

After another attempt of turning sideways and jumping, I depart my room with a duffel bag hanging by my shoulder and headed to the open field for PE class. Upon my arrival, I noticed that most of my male classmates are present. Apparently, the man who has been turning my life into a horror movie is once again absent. My life is spared once more.

Seeing my male classmates made me shudder. Not because of what they are, but because of the situation that I'm in. Fear was holding me back from going to P.E. class even though it's the only one that I've ever found interesting in this academy so far: the fear of being judged, the fear that every one of them has considered me an enemy, the fear of getting hurt in their hands, the fear of having my secret revealed to the entire academy, the fear of having to work for the yakuza if I'm not able to keep my pact with the boss.

I was the oddball. I stood out like a sore thumb on my first day of school because I looked so feminine that it bothers the gay community to this day, but that's not the only reason why. It's because I'm different—my way of thinking is different than theirs', but even more so, most of them have been raised in this kind of environment since their childhood. I didn't know that I had an Alice until now, and my main objective in enrolling in this school was to settle the debts that my father had with the godfather. I've seen the world with my own two eyes, while they've only seen whatever is inside the walls of the academy. This is their world, and the way it works is different from what I was used to outside.

Thinking about it makes me feel sorry for these guys.

If they don't want to give me the chance to feel like an Alice, then I might as well let them know how it feels to be human.

I went down the bleachers before reaching the open field, bearing the optimism that I almost lost upon entering the academy. Their conversations filled with laughter have been put to a stop when they noticed my arrival, but strangely for them, I responded with a smile. It took them by surprise, I suppose, since they were babbling about it on my way to Yuu and Koko, who were standing near the boys' locker room, which was at the right side of the field.

I haven't even reached both of them, but Yuu was able to detect my presence, probably through the corner of his eye, and immediately turned to me with a face that radiated happiness. Soon enough, Koko had followed Yuu's trail of sight and flashed his Cheshire cat grin at me. Truly, they've made my stay in the academy tolerable yet worthwhile.

Just when I was about to close my distance between them, the grin on Koko's face had vanished.

"Jin, watch out!"

Koko's warning didn't sink in at once. Puzzled, I ceased my steps as I looked at him with my eyebrows creased. Eventually, he looked like he was shooing me based from the way he gestured his hands, and it didn't occur to me that I was in trouble until I felt the cold water hit my body from my right. I turned my head towards its direction and noticed that the water was coming from the hose by the locker room with two boys holding it, a look of mischief across their faces.

I shielded my face with my hands, and although the gush of water dominated in my ears, the amusement of my classmates at the expense of my humiliation stood out even more.

"More water, Tsuchiya."

And with that, I felt like an entire pool's worth of water came splashing at me in one go. My knees have dropped on the ground. A few drops have found their way in my ears, my nose, and in my throat, making me cough as I struggled to breathe. My head began to ache as well.

"Stop it, guys! I won't tolerate this act of yours!"

Yuu's words were of no use.

"This is low, you guys. Tsuchiya, you're not supposed to use your Water Alice to bully others!" Koko remarked.

I had to stand up if I still wanted to live. Being hosed by the students didn't seem like a noble way to die. The big boss may find it unacceptable and would probably chop every body part of mine while selling my organs to the black market for being unable to pay the debts of my parents. However, the moment they see me on my two feet, the more water springs out of the hose, and my knees aren't at par with the pressure coming from it.

"What's going on!?"

At that very second, as if by divine intervention, water has stopped gushing forth from the hose. I inhaled as much oxygen as I could in one breath, followed by constant coughing and sniffles. This has gone on for a minute—inhale, exhale, cough, inhale, exhale, cough.

A man has come into view. He may be our P.E. teacher since the students were greeting him and offering their respects. Rather peculiar, he has a mark under his left eye in the form of a star, and he was wearing a black bonnet that complemented his dark blue hair and his eyes of a lighter shade of the same color, gazing into mine with his back bending forward in order to get a closer look at me.

"You're the new student, perhaps?"

I blinked my eyes at him, having no idea of how to respond to his question even though it was painfully obvious that I am the new student in the year, until I realized that I was soaking wet in my clothes. Immediately, I glanced at my chest to see if the clothes would reveal them, and I could swear that a shape was already forming under this gray sweatshirt.

My cheeks start to heat up, and before I knew it, they became even warmer when the man said with cordial confidence, "I'm not the P.E. teacher, if you're wondering. I just noticed that you're cornered and wanted to help. You are, indeed, part of the special-ability class."

And as if my body had a mind of its own, I find myself running away from the field and back to the dorms. On my way to the room, the robot who was in charge of the dorm started reprimanding me for dirtying her carpet due to my soaking state, but the only thing that I wanted at that time was to cloister myself in that room that's somewhat like an attic, lock the door, close the windows shut and be one with darkness.

No one must see me in my most vulnerable state.

-xxx-

A few hours had probably passed. By then, I had clothed myself with my school uniform and went on to washing the wet gray sweatshirt and pants. The room was still engulfed with darkness, but not to the point wherein I was unable to see. This worn out attic had become my sanctuary since my arrival at the academy, and I couldn't think of a more comforting place than here.

There was a point wherein I heard Yuu and Koko's voices over the door, but I didn't bother to open it for them. I find it odd because I've always enjoyed company, but I truly wished to be alone back then.

The room had started to feel stuffy later on, so I thought of walking around the forest with a map in my hand, in case I ever get lost. I start wandering through the dense forest with no particular destination in mind, relying on wherever my feet take me. The clouds in the sky had a tint of orange by the feathery edges, and the sun's glare wasn't as scorching as it was in the morning. The wind would constantly blow towards my right, and the fallen leaves from their respective trees follow its direction. It was a nice kind of silent that I needed.

Eventually, I pass by a barn and my eyes come across a bench on my right with a nice view of the barn that was a couple of steps away from where I was standing. I approached it and sat down to rest while admiring the picturesque scene before me that lightened up my mood.

Hugging my knees against my chest, I watched the sun sink deep into the sky, and the way its rays reflected against the barn, showing various shades of orange, which somehow calmed the turbulence that raged within my chest.

"You okay?"

Startled, I let out a small scream as I looked to my right, where the sound was coming from. At the back of my head, I knew it was someone whom I'm familiar with, and indeed, it was no other than Ruka. However, compared to the past few days I've seen him, where his cold and uncaring attitude was the norm, Ruka looked genuinely worried, and the way he spoke undoubtedly matched the expression on his face.

Relieved that it was only him, I place my hand on my chest. "Thank goodness, it was only you. I thought it was a ghost."

He smirks all of the sudden, his blue orbs carrying a playful look in them. "More like, you thought it was Natsume."

A nervous chuckle escaped my lips. "What's the difference?"

Ruka smiled. His presence graced what is already magnificent to the eyes, making everything appear even more cinematic than the movies being shown in the silver screen. One of his hands gestures towards the empty seat next to me, and I nodded my head, allowing him to sit down.

Upon sitting, Ruka reacted in awe at the barn. "This is breathtaking."

"I agree." I replied before facing it once more, appreciating the surroundings even more.

"Want some milk?"

I quickly turned my head towards him, baffled at what he had uttered just now until he puts his other hand in view, showing the bottle of milk that he was holding. My lips form a smile, inwardly laughing at his attempt in keeping the conversation going rather than be imbedded in silence. I received his gift with both of my hands and expressed my gratitude before opening the cap and drinking the bottle's contents.

"Rough day, huh?"

Moving the bottle away from my mouth, I catch a glimpse of him before staring at the loam beneath my feet as I heaved a sigh to myself, my shoulders shrugging in the process.

He then proceeds to speaking once more.

"I know what you're feeling right now. In fact, I know it too well." Ruka revealed, his eyes carrying a somewhat nostalgic yet painful look in them. "Being a new student in the third grade with the Animal Pheromone Alice, everyone wasn't keen on befriending me. Most of my days were spent on eating lunch by myself or watching my classmates interact with one another. At times, I'd hear them comment on how pathetic my Alice was, which caused me to hate it."

"That was when I met Natsume," his face began to brighten up just by recalling that certain moment in which he had met a companion with whom he hangs out with to this day. "Natsume was also new, and wherever you go back then, you would always hear rumors about him—about his tragic past or how he managed to burn down his neighborhood. You wouldn't know if people hated him or liked him for who he truly was, so he prefers to keep everything to himself. Whenever I'd come across him, Natsume was often alone. It was only when I approached him under that Sakura tree, where he's been hanging out for a while now, and it felt like his misery has been emanating through the frown that's drawn upon his face. I sat on the other side of the tree, my back leaning against the tree trunk, and for the first time in this academy, I felt like I wasn't alone not only because he was there, but he shared my sentiments."

One can quickly observe at first glance the admiration that Ruka has for Natsume, although I'm not absolutely certain of trusting the latter, but if I had not met Natsume, I would think that he was a great man who makes Ruka's eyes sparkle whenever he'd talk about him.

"I wouldn't be here if it weren't for Natsume."

Hearing Ruka talk about Natsume in that manner made me wonder what he truly was. Perhaps he only shows this one side of himself to others compared to Ruka, whom he considers his most trusted ally.

I pouted. "I was only asking for an apology for what transpired that night."

"Regarding that matter," he faces me, though his eyes shifted above for a moment, as if he were trying to remember something that has been in his mind for a while now and was somehow recorded in the sky or something. "I know Natsume isn't the type of person who'd do something out of spite. He'd always put others first before himself, and that trait of his worries me the most."

Before I realized it, I have been staring at Ruka all this time. Sakura Mikan, this is no time for you to act like a lady. With flushed cheeks, I directed my gaze towards the barn, letting my ears take in the moos, oinks and woofs that echo from its wooden walls which were painted red.

"W-well, when I first saw you with Natsume, I thought that you two were very similar… in terms of being cold and—,"

Ruka cuts before I was able to finish what I was saying. "I don't expect you to comprehend Natsume, given the situation that you find yourselves in, but in the end, you're not the one who's suffering."

Noticing that his tone had become serious upon hearing his response just now, I faced him in bewilderment, curious as to what those words meant—if they were used to attack me or to explain what is going on between us, I had no idea. "I'm sure if you'd enlighten me further, my judgment would…"

He stands up with his back facing me. Just then, I felt something tug within my chest, and I don't think there should be a reason to feel empty as I watch him walk away from the bench, but strangely, I'm concerned over what kind of person he perceives me as.

But then again, why do I find myself thinking of such things?

Since I didn't attend most of my classes today, perhaps I should go to that Alice 101 class.

-xxx-

There are moments wherein it feels like the gods love to play with me, and this is one of those.

I know that leaving your mouth wide open in shock or surprise is considered to be impolite, most especially to those who are older than you are. But no matter how much I convince myself to gain composure in front of him, I still have my mouth agape at the man who happened to rescue me in my pitiful state back in P.E. class, and how I wish that the ground would swallow me whole whenever I'd recall that untimely incident when his face was close to mine, eying my form from head to toe while my breasts were already protruding through my wet, gray sweatshirt.

How much am I going to suffer in this academy, oh heavenly deities?

Despite the appalled look on my face, the man wasn't fazed by it. No signs of awkwardness were coming from him, unlike me. Rather, he seems like he's looking forward to this one on one class of his.

"Hey, don't be like that." He waves his fist in the air, leaning back onto the teacher's table before smiling lopsidedly. "By the way, my name is Tsubasa Andou. I'll be teaching you the basics on Alices and how to make Alice stones, or further enlighten you if you're still confused over Alices and all. It's nice to meet you."

He grabs a book that he laid on the table just now, when he removed it from his backpack, and hands it over to me while he discusses about the necessary things that I needed to know about Alices, like the types and the forms. In the middle of his lecture, Tsubasa-sensei would insert some highlights of his life when he used to study in the academy, relating it to the lesson. They were entertaining, I suppose, and it gradually lessened the shock that I had when I first found out that he was my teacher in this class. He even showed me his Alice, which was called the Shadow Manipulation Alice, wherein he could control other people through shadows, though he's doomed when there's no light.

When the clock had struck at 7, Tsubasa-sensei called it a day and dismissed class. Before ending it, he even mentioned that he'll be teaching me how to make Alice stones during our next meeting, which will be held tomorrow at 5 since we weren't able to meet last Monday, so he instructed me to read on it in the book that he had given me. On my way to the dorm, I was curious as to what Alice stones were, so I opened the book, flipping the pages until I find the lesson on making Alice stones.

Arriving at the doorstep to my room, my foot had stepped on something soft. At first, I was taken aback by how cold and soft it was, and I instantly thought that it was a huge, genetically modified worm that my classmates have formed to scare me, but when I had lowered my head and saw what it actually was, I was relieved to find out that they were medical plasters with faces on the cover that showed how relaxing they are. On top of the light blue plasters was a message written on a torn piece of paper.

"It's been a rough day for you. I was hoping that these would calm you down. Jin, fight!"

-Yuu.

Bending forward, I held the medical plasters in my hands along with the note as a smile made its way to my lips before entering my room.

-xxx-

A/N: Since I've made you guys wait for a really long time, here's a preview of what to expect in the next chapter. (Note: Natsume's POV).

"So that person actually has an Alice. It really is her child."

"Apologies, Reo-san. At least you could tell me why you had to send that person in the academy."

"All I can tell you right now is that she's our key to overthrowing the masterminds behind the two academies. Sit still and just watch everything unfold. Before you know it, we'll get our chance, especially with her Alice. She'll be the reason for our success."

What could they mean?

"Let me go!"

"We haven't tested it yet. I might as well seize the opportunity that's given to me. This is going to hurt a bit, Natsume."

…anyway, that's it for now. I apologize once again, and thank you for the subscriptions, faves and reviews! I do appreciate them.

-My-violinprince.