Hi, I'm Sekaira and this is my first Gakuen Alice fic! I've actually had this ready for months but I had it written down instead of typed on my computer and I just couldn't be bothered to type it up - Do you get that too?
But besides that this is my story intertwined paths (the title will make much more sense later I promise you) It's an AU story that focuses around Mikan, and of course it's a MikanxNatsume fic because really is there any couple more perfect for each other? There will also be some MisakixTsubasa and some HotoruxRuka. If there are any other pairings that you'd like me to include then please just PM me or leave it in a review.
Now IMPORTANT stuff - I am rating this story a T because that's what I believe it is, BUT I am going to issue a WARNING, this story is going to deal with some really dark and controversial topics like: prostitution, drugs, gangs, self harm and some strong language. HOWEVER none of these are going to be particularly explicit at all - mostly because I know very little about such things, they are merely there to help with the plot. This story should be fine for a T rated story but I wanted to warn anyone who didn't want to read a dark fic or doesn't like such things because I don't really want any hates or flames in the reviews.
Phew... Now that that's over with, here's the story and don't forget to Rate and Review!
Chapter 1 – An Introduction to my Life
Mikan P.O.V
I roll out of bed at a really early time in the morning. It's 3:30am, that's ridiculous if you're a normal person but… well, I'm not exactly a normal person.
Quickly I scoop my clothes off the floor where they lie in a crumpled heap. I assess myself quickly in the mirror, I'm wearing a gold coloured dress which is very short and rather low cut. With it I am wearing gold heels that match my toffee coloured hair which falls in ringlets down my back. I look like a prostitute. That's not really surprising though, because that's what I am. Yep, me, Mikan Yukihara, a prostitute, it's definitely not the job I was dreaming of when I was a little kid.
Behind me a rather fat man, with a beard, who reeks of alcohol rolls over in bed. I shudder involuntary. I hate my job. I grab my cash and stuff it in my handbag before making a hasty escape.
Now you may think that a young 17 year old girl walking through the streets at 3 in the morning wearing… wearing what I'm wearing, is likely to be preyed on, but no one comes close to me. They know who I am. My gang leader is big time in this small town. He's not even the real leader of the gang 'black sun', he's just the lackey of a real big-time gang leader. He pleased the gang leader somehow so he got put in charge of this place. I don't even want to think about what he did to please the gang leader.
I start trudging wearily up the steps that lead to my apartment, thinking longingly of my bed and sleep. I'm exhausted. As soon as I open the door though, Kuonji, my step-dad, comes out to greet me.
"You're late" he sneers, he holds out his hands, "Money" he states.
Yeah, as well as being my step-father, he's also the gang leader of this area, so now you can see how I got into this mess. I open my handbag and hand him a wad of cash, carefully hiding some of the money from his view.
"Not enough" he slurs, leaning closer so that I can smell the alcohol in his breath.
He drunkenly swings a punch at me and I dodge out of the way. If I'm lucky he'll leave me alone now, if not, well… you can probably guess. He backs away into the kitchen and I think I've gotten lucky but he stumbles back and thrusts a parcel at me.
"Delivery" he mumbles, "hurry and get changed."
I sigh inwardly, sleeping is going to have to wait. I grab the parcel and disappear through a door to the left which leads to mine and my brother's bedroom.
The apartment we live in is only a one bedroom apartment and kuonji has the bedroom which leaves me fairly certain that this room is supposed to be a cupboard. Certainty there is only just enough room for one bed, a titchy bit of floor space and a few shelves above the bed where we keep our few belongings and clothes.
I never used to mind how small my room was, when I was little I used to pretend I was a fairy in a little glen, which explains the fairy lights hung above the head of the bed. They come back from the happy moments in my childhood whe- Ow.
I hiss quietly through my teeth to absorb the pain in my elbow, where I hit it against the door frame. I could really use a slightly bigger room now. I crouch down to check that youichi is still asleep. He's tucked up in the bed that we share and is, thankfully, still asleep. A fond smile tugs at my face, seeing youichi always makes me happy, that I can have someone to love.
Love hurts. I know that all too well. The ones you love leave you. First dad died, then mum. The friends I loved left, even kuonji, who I used to love back when he hid his true self from me. So I don't let myself love anymore, I can't deal with the pain it brings to my heart, as if it is getting continually ripped from my body and torn apart, leaving me to salvage the remains. The only person I let myself love is Youichi. I'm sure that Youichi won't leave me. What scares me is that I might have to leave him. I don't ever want that.
I ruffle his soft black, almost silver hair lovingly and in the soft light I check the large purple bruise on his forehead. He didn't trip or walk into anything – he's not a klutz like me. So how did he get his bruise? Kuonji hit him. Yeah, you heard right, Kuonji's a sick bastard who doesn't think twice about beating up a little four year old.
"Hurry up" comes the yell. Crap Kuonji's angry. I tug my black hoodie over my head to match my black jeans and top. I grab my diary and a pen and hurriedly mark a tally on a page covered in marks. Then I bend down and swiftly kiss Youchi's forehead before edging out of our cupboard.
Kuonji's eyeing me as I come out. "I'll be going now," I say, forcing a smile on my face as I grab the parcel and for the second time today, make a hasty escape.
It's fairly warm outside and I can see the suns rays peeking through the buildings. Unfortunately that's not a good sign. Few people know I'm a gang member outside of the gang and I'd prefer to keep it that way.
I walk hurriedly up the path to a nice detached house with flowers and plants in a flowerbed next to a neat lawn. It's defiantly not the sort of place you'd expect someone like me to be visiting. But, as they say, you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover.
Now you may be wondering what this parcel I'm carrying is. I'll give you a clue. It's something I could go to prison for having on me.
I reach forward to ring the doorbell once I reach the door. The bell is awkwardly placed to the right of the front door, almost hidden beneath some of the trellising ivy that covers the house.
A tall figure comes forward, he notices who I am and opens the door eagerly. He's high. I recognise the signs, I've seen them in Kuonji, in his countless customers, in my mum and… in myself.
I'm suddenly filled with a strong sense of want, no need. I need the rush, the feeling of calmness, that nobody can hurt me, that feeling of bliss… an image of Youchi slams to the front to the front of my mind. No, it's not a need, it's a want and I won't do it. I gave drugs up years ago and I'm never going back.
I shove the parcel forward, wanting to get out of here as fast as I can. He grabs the money and thrusts it at me, one hand already on the parcel. I take the money and stuff it in my bag, letting go of the parcel. He takes it in both hands and is looking at it as if Christmas has come early.
"Thanks" he says gruffly.
As I do the latch on my bag I can't help but yawn. I eye him warily before making up my mind. "I'm not coming to school today." I tell him. He glances up at me and I can see his brow furrow slightly.
"Right, I'll sort that out. Somehow."
I nod and turn as he starts closing the door. I'm walking down the crazy paving pathway when he calls after me.
"wait!"
I turn around.
He's back at the door and he's waving a letter in his hand. My heart leaps as I recognise Misaki-nee's handwriting. I hurry forward and grab the letter.
"Don't tell anyone." I say glancing up at him.
He nods. "So long as you don't either."
I smile guiltily as he pats me on the back as I start walking back to the apartment. I've done a lot of bad in my life but blackmailing was still pretty new to me. After Misaki-nee and Tsubasa-nii moved away Kuonji forbade me from contacting them. So I found a way that meant Kuonji would never know. We sent letters through him instead. He never told anyone. Afterall, what would happen if it turned out that the headmaster of the school was a heroin addict?
I still felt a bit bad though because he'd always been nice to me. He may be an addict but I've never seen him turn to violence. The blackmailing did come in handy though. I got to contact Misaki-nee and Tsubasa-nii and it got me out of school on days like today.
It's silent at the apartment when I get back. I tiptoe in, hoping that Kuonji is asleep. I place my bag on the kitchen counter, tug my jumper off and bend down to open the cupboard for something to eat.
I cry out as a sharp tug on my hair forces me upright. Kuonji is stood there in front of me with a cruel sneer on his face. "You're a theif" he says lowly, his mouth is right by my ear so I can hear him grinding his teeth in anger.
Well, I technically am a thief. From petty theft like food because Kuonji had forgotten to feed us to full on burglary because I was too scared of Kuonji to say 'no' to his orders.
But looking at him now, I don't think that he was implying to either of those situations.
"I called, and he said that he paid more than you've given me" he yells out; starting to kick me and punch me between each word.
I try to dodge but I already know that it's a futile effort. The kitchen counter behind me, Kuonji in front. In short, I'm trapped.
"How do you know he's not lying or too drunk to remember?" I ask, wondering if I can talk my way out of this. My arm is already stinging from the force of his punches.
"With what I threatened him with, he wouldn't dare lie or forget" Kuonji whispered, a dangerous note to his voice.
I gulp. I know quite well what Kuonji is capable of, I've seen him kill, enemy or own he didn't mind, nothing stood in his way. I reckoned that the only reason that I was still around was that I was too useful and I'd threatened the police if he killed Youchi.
"So what did you do with the money?!" His voice raises with each word as he sounded them out carefully, each syllable individually to make sure I got the message.
Oh, I got the message alright. I just wasn't going to talk.
"I don't know you mean!" I cry out, as he aims another punch, Kuonji's quite hefty so he can put a lot of weight behind his punches. He practiced boxing too. "Maybe I didn't pick it all up!" I duck as he aims a punch to my face, but end up with a kick to the gut instead.
I sink to the floor and wrap my arms around my legs so that I'm a curled lump on the floor. I'm refusing to cry. My back is stinging from where he's kicking me with his steel tipped boots and the floor feels cold beneath my cheek.
Vaguely I become aware that he's stopped kicking me, however I can still hear his heavy footfalls and the curses his muttering under his breath. I hear several thuds and I realize that he's emptying the contents of my bag, as I peek upwards cautiously I notice that my letter from Misaki-nee has fallen right infront of my nose. Crap, it was in the bag. I glance upwards again towards Kuonji wondering whether he's noticed it, it doesn't seem like it, he's too busy counting the money. I debate mentally on what would be best to do. Do I grab the letter and therefore bring attention to it? Or do I leave it in the hope he doesn't notice it?
Another yank at my hair brings me out of my thoughts, I stumble to my feet and stand on the letter, kicking it slightly so that it slides under the fridge. I'll have to see if I can get to it later.
Kuonji is dragging me, by my hair, towards my cupboard. He yanks the door open harshly so that light streams into the room. I watch as Youchi stirs slightly as the morning light falls on his face. His peaceful sleep is rudely interrupted though when Kuonji reaches out and grabs him by the arm and jerks him upright, waking Youchi up instantly. "Wha-" Youchi cuts off when he notices Kuonji's expression and terrified expression crosses his own face, when he notices me he turns an odd colour of grey, as if all the colour had been drained out of him, completely ashen. No doubt that I look like a train just hit me. My bruises hurt.
Kuonji turned to me with such a fierce gaze that I can feel the hairs at the back of my neck stand on end and my left foot shuffles backwards a centimetre. I'm terrified.
"What else have you stolen?" Kuonji growled at me, tossing Youchi to one side. Youchi hits the wall and lets out a small yelp before slumping to the floor. Kuonji releases my hair and starts searching the room.
I hurry over to Youchi who has sat up and is rubbing the back of his head where it hit the wall. "Are you ok?" Stupid question I know. He obviously wasn't ok.
"I'll be fine" he replied. I place him on my lap and the two of us watch as Kuonji tears our room apart. I flinch as he throws my fairy lights to the floor but I make no move to go and get them. Unknown to Kuonji I had shifted slightly so that Youchi and I were sat by the door on the wooden floor. More specifically on top of the loose floorboard where the money I had stolen and saved was hidden. There was no way I was letting Kuonji know about this stash.
After about an hour of searching and finding nothing in this tiny cupboard that has now been turned upside-down you'd have expected Kuonji to have calmed down. But nope, there Kuonji stood, panting and red in the face – probably from pure rage, madder than ever. He turns towards me, "Where have you hidden it!" He yells grabbing me by the neck of my t-shirt forcing me stand upright, and for Youchi to fall out of my lap.
"I haven't hidden anything!" I lie.
That look of pure and utter disgust he gives me just then, shakes me to my very core. It's worse than any other before. I don't think I ever truly realised just how much he hated me until this point. I think that I really am lucky to still be alive.
He's strong too. I may be small and thin but I'm still 17 and he's lifted me off the ground, leaving me hanging by my t-shirt with ease. With a sudden ferocious movement he throws me backwards with such force that all of the air is knocked out of my lungs. I hear a sickening crack and I wonder absently what I've hit. The back of my head throbs painfully but I can't seem to move my arms, my visions blurry and it's getting darker. I can taste an almost coppery taste in my mouth and my body feels so… light. The last thing I see before I black out is a small figure crouching over me, a panicked expression on his face.
Chapter 1 finished! I hope you liked it! Again please Rate and Review because it would mean a lot to me if you did so.
Sorry that there's no Natsume in this chapter, he will be introduced in Chapter 3 I promise you!
As a side note Kuonji is the ESP's name, I wasn't sure if anyone would know because I had to look it up for myself.