Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice is owned by Tachibana Higuchi.

A/N: i'm so sorry for the wait! i just, i just like to think about circumstances sometimes involving fictional people and maybe sometimes start a fanfiction with multiple chapters oh gosh what was i thinking

A/N 2: also, thank you to everyone who reviewed/followed/favorited, and to everyone who's read this far.

Chapter 3: Motion

"There is another alphabet, whispering from every leaf, singing from every river, shimmering from every sky." ― Dejan Stojanovic

Mikan froze and stared for two, stretching secods after the boys took off. "H-Hey, wait!" she cried, running after them.

"Quiet!" one of them bit over his shoulder.

"But―"

A glare from the one with black hair made Mikan shut her mouth and run faster. But, why were they running? Wild dogs weren't that scary, were they? Although... Mikan had never heard howls quite like those she was hearing now. They were... cold, somehow, in a way the howls she was familiar with were not. More restrained, more controlled. Less feral than wild dog.

It was a pack that was making those noises, she could tell, but what about those sharp, whistling noises that pierced the air exactly three seconds before the howls?

With a slow-growing tendril of fear curling and twining inside of her chest, Mikan watched the pair of boys who ducked and skidded between outstretched tree limbs and condensed fauna as if their lives depended on it.

What have I gotten into? The thought came unbidden, the foreboding feeling that came with it unwelcome. A shudder going through her, Mikan ducked her head and voiced no more words.

Soon later, when the howls had faded away and Mikan had firmly packed her fear deep, deep down, they began to go through the thick part of the forest. Mikan found it hard to keep going, even though now they were only speed walking.

Part of it was because her legs ached like they never had before, smarting with every step she took, and because her lungs burned with the sharp, warm air she wished she didn't need, but another part. Another part was because Mikan wanted to stop right there and stare forever, for eternity, at the beautiful, beautiful world that was rapidly opening in front of her.

From the bright, colorful spring blossoms that swayed in the breeze, to the sky that was a swirl of royal blue and molten gold, she noticed it all. Never in her life had she imagined to see such an array of colors outside of her pastel box. Never had she realized that the sky had always been so large. She had known, she had always known, but that didn't mean the same thing as understanding, and experiencing for herself.

Mikan wanted to fall to the ground and slide her hands on the earth, to feel the dirt get into the tiny crevices in her fingers, to imprint soil and clay and dust into her skin like constellations. She wanted to smell the flowers, rainbows turned touchable, silky, living, and she wanted to swing her hands through the ferns like the wind and hear them sing again and again and again.

The yearning Mikan felt as she went was overwhelming; it was a louder, more prominent repetition of the dull, hazy want for something more that she had experienced behind her walls. Yet now, Mikan knew what she wanted, and she knew she had the option to do what she wanted ― at least, when she knew it was safe to stop.

And she owed it all to the boys in front of her, for destroying her home, her belongings, for possibly dragging her into something dangerous, for setting her free.

"Y-You know," Mikan started hesitantly between breaths, determining that at least now it was safe to talk. Her throat was parched, but she hadn't seen them drinking, so she didn't ask. "I didn't... catch your names."

"My name..." The boy with blond hair looked back. "It's Ruka."

"Thanks!" A bunch of leaves slapped Mikan's face, making her squeak. She rubbed her face in happy wonder, even though that had happened many times already. She turned her gaze back at them and waited for the other boy to introduce herself.

He stayed silent.

"Ruka... What's his name?" Mikan asked, pointing a finger at said person.

"He's Natsume," Ruka said. He paused, then: "Watch your step, there's a big root."

Mikan paused in step and looked at the nonexistent path. She let out a soft, heavy breath, which was grateful, tired.

There was the root; Mikan had been close to tripping. She had tripped many times at the beginning of their run, but had gotten the hang of it after her seventh or ninth fall ― she'd actually tried to keep count so as to rein in her fright, but after her fear subsided, she had started to notice her surroundings, and that was that.

"I didn't see it," Mikan said, "It's almost night."

"It is getting dark," Ruka said, looking at the dying hues of yellow and orange in the sky. "Natsume, we should stop. We don't want to get lost."

Natsume stopped on command, coolly scanning the place. "Fine. Let's go there." He cocked his head towards a small cleared patch of grass a few ways off. "We'll spend the night, and then leave early."

"We're going to sleep now?" Mikan asked, thankfully stopping. "There?"

Natsume made an affirming noise. "Although we could have reached a town by now, if you hadn't been so slow."

The words were meant to be sharp, were meant to hurt... But they were also true. Mikan flushed and squeezed her eyes shut.

She erked her head down in a sudden bow, still red in the face. "But I'm very thankful!" The girl swallowed her still-dry throat, and opened her eyes. "I would never, ever have gotten out... if it hadn't been for you both."

Ruka glanced at Natsume, whose expression was as hard as ever, except for his eyes. They were slightly narrowed. Ruka cleared his throat, turned to the patch. "Well, we should get some sleep if we're leaving early."

Mikan nodded. "Okay."

As soon as they sat down on the small patch, Mikan leaned back on a tree and stretched her limbs. "Ahh... I knew I was tired, but I didn't know I was this tired!" She closed her eyes and sighed.

Ruka sat cross-legged on Mikan's right, absently stroking a rabbit he had somehow acquired while walking to the patch. On his right, Natsume sat with his arms folded and his legs outstretched, staring at nothing.

Mikan sighed again.

It had been breezy all day, a welcome aspect as they pounded through the trees, but now, as the moon climbed higher in the sky and the temperature crept lower, the wind soon had them rubbing their arms for warmth.

"...I'll make a fire," Natsume murmured, fixing his gaze on the center of the place.

Mikan opened her eyes as soon as she heard a crackling.

A small fire was flickering in front of the trio. Natsume sat on his haunches in front of it, and somehow the quickly shifting light casting shadows on his face didn't seem out of place at all.

Kind of creepy, Mikan thought with a faint smile. She shifted closer and held her hands out, trying to take in some of the warmth.

Ruka let go of the rabbit and moved nearer. "Thank you," he said to Natsume, carefully, but there was a ghost of a frown on his face.

Natsume met his gaze, unmovable as stone.

Ruka tried to hold his stare, but then let out a tired breath, and looked away with a slight shake of his head.

Mikan, meanwhile, stared at the flames in bewilderment, moving her head from side to side. She looked in puzzlement at the fire, and then looked at the other two. She flapped a hand at it.

Natsume looked from Mikan to the fire, and sat up, starting to speak before she could ruin everything.

The question came out of her mouth, too quickly: "Isn't there supposed to be smoke?"

Silence.

Ruka's hand twitched.

Natsume leaned back, breathed in silently. "I guess not," he said, voice flat. He flicked his gaze at her. "You should remember you're not wearing pants, polka."

"What are you..." Mikan realized she had been sitting on her haunches too, unconsciously mimicking Natsume... in a dress. She let out a screech and sat down as quickly as she could, her face turning red from embarrassment. "P-Pervert!"

"You'll get us found, be quiet," Ruka said, desperately trying not to let his mortification show. He hadn't noticed until Natsume had pointed it out... But he also wanted to laugh at his best friend's way of changing topics. Ruka covered his face with a hand to hide a hopeless snicker.

Natsume looked at Mikan, clearly unimpressed. "It's not like I suddenly want to... deflower you now." That was what girls called it, wasn't it?

"Pervert!" Mikan wailed again, and Ruka burst out in laughter.

Hours later, Mikan blearily opened her eyes. "Mmh." She rolled to her back, and squinted past the thin canopy of leaves. The moon had moved only a finger's breadth from the last time Mikan had looked, so she hadn't slept for too long. She yawned, and sat up.

Ruka was sleeping peacefully, with his head on pulled-up knees, the rabbit from before near his feet. It seemed to be sleeping as well. Mikan smiled at it.

Natsume was leaning on a tree again, sitting cross-legged.

Is he still awake? Mikan squinted.

His eyes were open, though half-lidded.

"Na... Natsume!" Mikan called in a whisper, saying his name for the first time. He didn't move. "Natsume!" she said louder.

Natsume didn't turn to look at her. "What?"

"Why are you still awake?" Mikan asked, confused. "It's unhealthy... Right?"

"Someone needs to be on guard," Natsume said. "So. Shut up and go to sleep."

Mikan frowned in worry. "I can do it. You must be tired... I've slept already. Then I'll wake up Ruka after a while. We can, we can take turns, you know?"

"No," Natsume said, sharp. "Don't bother Ruka. Just go to sleep, polka."

Mikan felt her face warm. "Will you drop that!" she cried in frustration.

"It wasn't my fault you decided to show―"

"Ah, no, stop! I'm going to sleep, I'm going!"

"Whatever. Idiot." Natsume turned his head to her, his expression indifferent yet somehow really, really irritating.

Mikan growled to herself as she settled on the ground. She spent her remaining waking minutes glaring holes at him.

The rabbit rubbed its furry face on Ruka. Ruka woke up, yawning loudly. The early morning sun was low in the sky, closer to the horizon than overhead, so the light was angled in a way that made Ruka wonder. He sat up and blinked, mildly surprised to see that Mikan was already awake.

In front of him, Mikan was examining a long leaf of a fern, running her fingers over its roughly textured surface. She looked up. "Oh, you're awake! Natsume was gone when I woke up, so..."

Ruka froze, then quickly sat up. "Not... here?"

"No," Mikan said, placing the leaf down on the ground next to her. "But I don't think he left us. Even though he's terrible and evil and, aside from you, probably has no friends―"

"Shut up," Ruka said.

Mikan blinked rapidly. "Wha―"

"Don't talk about him like that," Ruka said with a glare, "Ugly."

"I― Hey, where are you going?" Mikan cried as Ruka stood up and disappeared into the fauna. "Ruka!"

"I'm going to look for him, idiot," Ruka's faint voice came to Mikan's ears, already distant, impossible to pinpoint.

Mikan stared at where he had vanished, her mouth hanging open.

The leaves rustled on Mikan's opposite, making her jump. Natsume stepped past the trees, and stopped in his tracks when he noticed that there was only one person present ― the one he couldn't care less about even if he tried. "Where's Ruka?" he demanded, distrust written all over his features.

Mikan opened her mouth. Then she closed it and turned away, crossing her arms. "He went somewhere," she said haughtily. Like I'm talking to you, pervert! She took a peek at Natsume's direction, and then regretted it immediately.

Natsume had covered the distance between them, his eyes flaming in anger. "I said, where the hell is he?"

Mikan's stubbornness got the best of her, over her fright. "N-Nowhere that concerns me?"

A/N 3: haha, oh mikan. you had to clash with the boys somehow. again, everyone, sorry for taking so long to update! i got stuck near the end, actually, though the descriptions of the forest and things in the middle(?) were quite fun to write.