The Other Side

Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice, and I forgot to mention this in chapter 2, but I don't own Kuroko who is in Kuroko no Basuke.

Deleting chapters and replacing with edited versions, no need to reread chapters, but rereading chapter 2 may be necessary.

"Ren! Come sit and eat with us today, we need to talk about basketball!" Tsubasa called while waving his arm up and down, indicating the empty spot beside him.

"I have to ask Haruto first, oh wait, he's at baseball practice. Ok, I'm coming!" Mikan yelled back and jogged to the table where her basketball teammates sat. Mikan then pulled the chair out and sat down.

"You've probably been wondering why there is only the exact amount of members needed for a basketball game in our team, right?" Tsubasa asked and opened the plastic covering of his lunch.

"Um…yea…" Mikan lied, she never thought of anything.

"I thought so. Basically, every year, our coach recruits the exact same number of basketball players as the number who left. There were three 3rd years last year, therefore three 1st years were recruited this year, you, Kajo and Shinji. Understood so far?" Mikan nodded. "That's good, now onto introductions. As I've said before, I'm Tsubasa am a regular. Natsume over to the left of you is the captain and obviously a regular. Hideaki is also a reg. Then there's Sora, Youichi, Satoshi, Kei and Ryota, they're all on sub. However, there are currently two positions available for regular so these positions may change." Tsubasa took a bite of his sushi and grinned. "That's it then. Good luck for the match today, show Coach what you've got!"

Mikan grinned nervously and resumed eating. Suddenly, a question popped into her head.

"Hey, how come no one calls their senpai, senpai in our basketball team?" Mikan asked and almost felt proud to ask a quetstion.

Hearing this, Ryota looked up. "I was wondering when someone would ask. It's because saying like Tsubasa-senpai is too long so they aren't preferable in matches. That's why, in the basketball club, no one says senpai," Ryota explained while pushing back his light brown hair. His green eyes sparkled mischievously and a half-smile seemed to always be on his face. Mikan noticed for the first time, that Ryota definitely had the looks. She openly gaped at him, however stopped when she heard Natsume supress a laugh beside her.

"W-What?" Mikan asked, a blush creeping onto her cheeks. Natsume shook his head in amusement and looked away. At that moment, the bell decided the ring.

"Last class, sports. That's great isn't it?" Tsubasa commented without realising that no one was listening. Mikan chucked her wrapper into the bin and tried to calm the butterflies in her stomach about the upcoming decisive match.

Mikan positioned herself and scanned her team which consisted of Kajo, Satoshi, Kei and Sora. Suddenly, the whistle blew and the game started with a jump ball. Kajo leapt up to tip the ball, however the other player, Tsubasa was quicker, smacking the ball to Ryota who broke into a quick dribble. Dribbling wasn't Ryota's forte, so as soon as he saw the defenders closing on him, he sent a pass that cut cleanly through the air to Youichi. Youichi caught it deftly and dribbled a few steps before he saw his marker, Satoshi, closing in on him.

"Koko!" Youichi shouted and bounce passed the ball. Suddenly, there was a flash of blue, the ball stopped in its path to reach Koko and instead landed in Kajo's surprised hands.

"What?" a stunned Kajo asked himself, however took no time in passing the ball to Mikan who sped forwards in a low dribble.

"That happens to everyone who sees Hideaki play!" Tsubasa called.

Mikan tried to outrun Ryota, however he was fast, keeping up with her. She and Ryota stood facing each other for a few moments before Mikan decided that she would make the first move. She made a sudden jerk to her left, causing Ryota to lean that way too, ready to block her. However, it was a trick, and Ryota realised it too late. Mikan spun quickly and broke free of Ryota. Grinning, Mikan dribbled some further before raising the ball and pushing it out of her hands. It sailed gracefully the air and landed in the hoop, earning three points.

"Hmm…it's not bad, I'll have to get serious now," Ryota said and pushed his hair out of his eyes, revealing a glint in his eye.

Mikan felt the ball bouncing under her fingers as Ryota stood in front of her, his eyes trained on her. The intensity of his gaze represented his concentration, and that threw Mikan slightly off track.

"Don't look at the ball, don't look at the ball," Mikan told herself quietly, however her habit took over. As soon as Mikan glanced at the ball, Ryota darted in and swiped the ball away with a smooth yet strong flick of his wrist. The ball was in his possession now. Mikan gritted her teeth and darted after him, however Ryota had already passed the ball to Hideaki, who dribbled a few steps before passing to Shinji. From there, Shinji shot a three pointer while yelling something that sounded like sorry.

The game continued in a similar manner, every time anyone got the ball and started a dribble, Ryota would manage to knock the ball away and send it to the other side. Then, the other side would score a three-pointer with Shinji, and he never missed. Their team was crushing Mikan's.

Soon, the match ended with Ryota's team winning by ten goals. They got to rest a while before Coach called them together to announce the names of the two people who were chosen as regulars. The two new regulars were Ryota and Shinji. It wasn't surprising as Mikan had played badly in that match, but she still felt tears prickling in her eyes. Mikan had never realised that her one weakness could have caused this downfall. She had never played such strong opponents before, no, it was that she wasn't good enough. Mikan hurriedly grabbed her bag and ran out of the gym, unaware of Natsume's gaze.

"Do you think Ren-kun will be alright?" Shinji worriedly asked.

"There's something strange here, I'm sure Yukihara Ren wasn't like this in the acceptance test," Natsume muttered to himself, ignoring Shinji's concern.

Mikan banged on her brother's dorm door continuously.

"What's with this racket?" Kazuya asked and opened the door to find Mikan outside his door.

"Can I come in?" she asked, her bangs covering her face.

"Seriously? That banging doesn't imply that, so it seems I have no choice."

Mikan burst in and dropped into a nearby armchair. Kazuya flopped onto his bed.

"So, it seems you've finally remembered your brother. I was wondering if you had forgotten me within your first days of entering Alice Academy. Anyways, have you heard? My friends think that this girl is going to ask me out! Man, I'm excited; no one's ever done that to me before! Oh yeah, I heard this shop has sports shoes arrivals, I have to go see."

All of a sudden, Mikan realised what her brother was doing. He had noticed that something was wrong and purposely engaged in some silly chatter to help cheer her up. It seemed that her brother wasn't as stupid as she thought.

"Thanks," Mikan whispered in a raspy voice.

"What was that? I didn't quite hear as I was too busy talking, sorry."

"Hmph, you didn't hear, that's your fault, I'm not repeating."

Kazuya stuck out his bottom lip, like a kid, however recovered soon and began rambling on about the new arrivals again.

"Hey, onii-chan, I shouldn't' actually be here right?" Mikan asked and pulled a strand of hair back.

"What? Yes, you've finally realised, you're not supposed to be in my room."

"No, I meant that I shouldn't be here at Alice Academy."

"You passed the entrance test."

"Don't play dumb, you know what happened."

Kazuya lowered his eyes; his sister was right, he did know what his sister was talking about. Mikan seemed to have something that resembled a split-personality. Whenever she received a physical blow or her stress-level soared dangerously high, the other side of Mikan, or so she liked to call it, would come out. He'd seen Mikan play basketball in that mode once, and it had been an unforgettable event. She had crushed her opponent with that speed and agility. On the day of the trials, Mikan was so nervous that she kept on babbling non-stop and Hotaru's usual reaction was three hits to the head using her invention, the baka gun. Along with the mild physical impact and Mikan's stress, it had conveniently caused her change of mode. With the amazing level of play, Mikan had earned a place in the Alice Academy in a heartbeat.

However, Mikan never acknowledged that side of herself as herself. She rendered it impossible, therefore thinking anything that that side of her did wasn't her.

"I played against some of my teammates today, and the difference in strength was obvious. Then, I truly realised that it was as if I had cheated to get into the Alice Academy," Mikan explained.

"That's not true; you didn't choose to switch into that mode during the acceptance test."

"I didn't choose to, but there was a time where I wanted to. I really should drop out; I'm not worth it here." After saying that, Mikan abruptly stood up, grabbed her bag and made her way to the door.

"Wait! That's not true, you have potential, stop Mika-"

Mikan closed the door and ran down the long empty corridor.

She knocked on the office door with trembling hands. Questions ran through her mind. Was this the right decision? A chance to study in Tokyo's best sports school would never come again, but Mikan shut her eyes tightly and shook her head, as if to shake the doubts out of her head.

"Come in."

Mikan took a deep breath and pushed the door open to reveal a messy office, with Coach sitting at the table and Natsume standing beside it. She internally groaned before shutting the door.

"What's the matter Yukihara?" Coach asked.

"U-Um…" Mikan glanced Natsume's way, hoping Coach would understand what she meant. It seems that he did.

"Is it personal, your issue? Because if it isn't, then Natsume has to stay here, I have urgent business with him."

"Oh…Ok..." Mikan took a deep breath before continuing. "I-I want to drop out of Alice Academy and the basketball club!"

There was a silence and Mikan shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Coach eyed her.

"Why?"

Mikan rubbed her sweaty palms against her shirt and told her story.

"And that's why I feel that I don't deserve to be here," Mikan finished and let out the breath that she hadn't known she was holding. She stared down at her shoes, unwilling to meet the gazes of Coach and Natsume. She guessed they were probably thinking what a cheater she was.

"That's stupid," Natsume's velvet voice cut through the silence. Mikan let out a soft gasp and looked up to see Natsume's crimson eyes on her.

"That's stupid," he repeated, his gaze soft. "I believe that it is also part of you, as you said, it is the other side of you."

"I agree with Captain, I do not believe that the Yukihara Ren who surprised everyone on the day of the acceptance test with his high level of basketball was another person," Coach said and crossed his arms.

"But, I'm no use when I'm not in that mode," Mikan admitted, ashamed of her incompetence.

"Well, we'll train you then. I can see raw talent residing in both you and your other self. Only hard work is required. Oh actually, I have an idea. Captain, can you help Yukihara train?" Coach asked and looked expectedly at him. It seemed that Natsume didn't have much of a choice.

"I understand Coach," he said stiffly.

"So to conclude, Yukihara, you are not to leave," Coach finished and looked smug with his decision. "If that's it, then you two can both leave."

"What about what you called me for?" Natsume asked.

"Oh, I was going to call you to ask you to train Yukihara, but then you both came at the same time. Now if there's nothing else you want, I need to handle these papers now." Coach ushered them out of his office and closed the door with a thud.

Outside the office, Mikan and Natsume stood awkwardly beside each other for a few moments.

"Um…where are you going now?" Mikan asked trying to break the silence.

"Where else? My room."

"Since we're going to the same place, let's go together then!"

Natsume grunted however said nothing about declining. So they walked in silence for a while. Mikan never knew it was so hard walking with someone before, the silence was deafening. However, the silence stopped after they passed the school gates, however the alternative was a little too noisy for Mikan's liking.

"Ah! There he is! Natsume-kun!" a girl's high voice squealed. Mikan looked around for the source of the voice, and she found it soon enough. There was a cluster no, a crowd, of girls in the same school uniform waiting near the school gates.

"How come girls are here?" Mikan cluelessly asked.

"There's a private girls school next door, if you haven't noticed, they come visit sometimes," Natsume answered curtly as the girls began to crowd around him.

"Hey hey Natsume-kun, Alice Academy students are allowed to go out on weekends aren't they?" a girl asked.

"Yea, so what?" Natsume said and shifted his bag to his other shoulder. He looked bored.

"Then come shopping with us!"

"Come on, Natsume-kun!"

"You have to come! Movies too, let's go on a date!"

Suddenly, Mikan spotted one girl walked through the crowd, who parted in her presence, and directly to Natsume.

"Come on you girls, leave Natsume alone," she laughed. She had emerald green eyes that sparkled in the light and soft brown wavy hair that was tied into a low side ponytail. She was beautiful and Mikan couldn't help but stare with her mouth slightly ajar.

"Natsume's with me this weekend," she said in an authoritative tone. "Right, Natsume?" She smiled sweetly and Natsume slowly nodded. "Now scatter girls, otherwise you'll be hearing from the Student Council at school."

There was a series of moans and groans, however after a few minutes; all of the girls had left.

"Thanks," Natsume said.

"No probs, we're childhood friends after all!" the beautiful girl who seemed to be part of the Student Council remarked. "And you are?" It took a moment for Mikan to realise that she was talking to her.

"O-Oh, oh! I'm Yukihara Ren, nice to meet you," Mikan said, flustered that the beautiful girl was talking to her, it had never happened to her in her life before. The popular and pretty girls had never paid any attention to a normal girl like Mikan, so the attention was slightly uncomfortable for her.

"I'm Minobe Natsuki, call me Natsuki." Natsuki flahsed a smile at Mikan before facing Natsume. "So, are you free this weekend?"

Natsume placed his hand on Mikan's head. "Sorry, but I've got this guy to take care of. He's such a pain. And I have to go now, see you later, Natsuki." He walked off in the direction of the dorms, half-dragging Mikan with him. As Natsuki watched them fade into the distance, she narrowed her green eyes and she stretched her mouth into a thin smile.

"Hmm…it seems Natsume's found someone interesting. But I shall support his love because gender is a minor obstacle when it comes to true love!" Natsuki's eyes sparkled as she began quoting some more phrases from the books she read.

"After you," Natsume said and held the door for her to enter. Mikan felt a blush rising to her cheeks; it seemed that Natsume could be decent sometimes.

"Th-Thanks," Mikan managed squeeze out before dashing in. He smirked and closed the door.

"If you haven't noticed, you're still in your sports gear. Go shower first," he added before taking out a manga.

"I don't need you to tell me that!" Mikan retorted while gathering what she needed to shower. Her hand hovered over her underwear and stopped.

"Close your eyes and turn the other way," she snapped.

"What's with that tone? And why should I?" Natsume glanced over her way and saw the edge of what she was going to drag out of the drawer. He sighed and placed the manga over his face. "Happy now?" he asked.

Natsume vaguely heard a yes, some shuffling and then a door shutting.

Mikan stepped out and into a sea of white. This always happened after she took a long shower. Shaking her hair free of the droplets of water, Mikan slipped into her casual clothes. She then opened the door and stepped into the room.

"Ah, that was refreshing! You can go in now, Natsume, and just so you know, it's a little misty in there."

Natsume's crimson eyes flicked up from his manga and seemed to widen at the sight of Mikan.

"What's wrong, Natsume?" Mikan asked, confused. As soon as she said it, Natsume regained his composure and he put on his usual smirk.

"So you're a girl huh?"

-Mystical Ace

lol, thank you for the anonymous reviewer who pointed out my mistake in making Coach say Mikan instead of Yukihara. I've changed it to Yukihara now, sorry for the confusion. =)