Our Future

A one-shot dedicated to Gakuen Alice

MindyMesmerized

She didn't want this. Not this.

Her head was spinning, overloaded with all the things that had happened in one day.

She willed her numb legs to run forward with all her might, towards the door that led her to her new future with her mother, Yuka.

Or did she actually want it?

She couldn't choose. Her heart was already thrown into an emotional turmoil, threatening to shatter into a thousand pieces. She wasn't that strong, really – she was just an eleven year-old girl.

How could she possibly choose between her friends and her mother?

How could she possibly leave all the people she loved in this school, to fend for themselves while she escaped with her mother?

Hotaru, Ruka, Perm, Megane, Kokoro, Narumi Sensei and…

Natsume.

If she had to give these people up, was there even a point in having this future anymore?

She glanced at the glowing moon and asked, aloud this time, "Is there a point in having this future?"

"Mikan… Mikan what's wrong?" Ruka said urgently, tugging on her hand.

She came to an abrupt stop, despite the situation, and closed her eyes. "Ruka-pyon, everything's wrong." She whispered, tears threatening to overflow.

But the strangest thing had happened when her eyelids flittered up once again. The running, the screaming, the fighting – all of them had disappeared.

What on earth was happening?

She glanced around, looking at the unfamiliar premises around her. She was in the most ironic context she could possibly be in now.

The apartment smelled of fresh, new paint, the furniture modern and new. Paintings were hung all over, adorning the pretty pastel blue walls. The magenta light from the sunset shone through the glass windows, onto the marble floor.

She blinked again, trying to make sure that this wasn't a dream.

Bags of groceries were slumped on the floor beside her. Someone had just come home.

She quietly, carefully treaded through the apartment. The glass dining table was clear and polished, six chairs neatly pushed in. Were they many people who stayed here?

In the hall, a comfortable-looking, cream sofa was placed behind the long, wooden coffee table, an open newspaper and a half-full cup of coffee still lying on it, unattended to. The television was still playing the news, showing something about a new elementary school being set-up. Someone was here not long ago.

She walked down the broad hallway that led to the individual rooms, and stared at the last door right at the end. The bold letters "N" and "M" were drawn and designed on a hanging board, a big pink heart in the middle of them. It had a strange background of polka dots, and she blushed as she remembered that incident. "Stupid Natsume." She muttered. What did those letters stand for anyway?

Finally gathering enough courage, Mikan peered through the slit of the door into the room and slowly opened it.

A large, king-sized bed lay right in the middle of the room, blankets and two sets of pillows laid on it. Oh, the master bedroom.

She shifted her attention towards the dressing table at the corner of the room, where colorful bottles of nail polish had toppled over. A messy scrawl on a post-it was hastily stuck onto the mirror.

Baka, I've went to the school. Don't miss me.

Then something else caught her eye.

Eh? She picked up the cold, shimmering stones that lay before her. Alice stones. Two of them, hung as pendants on a thin silver chain. The people who live here are Alices?

Anxious to find out more about these people, she opened the drawer a tad too quickly, and the contents came flying out, littering the floor. Well, it was typical of the clumsy Mikan, actually.

She groaned at began to pick up the sheets of paper on the ground.

"To My Dearest Daughter" were the words that were printed on the envelope, the word "daughter" strangely italicized. She felt the temptation to open the letter, her fingers unwilling to leave it. Just a little bit, just a little tiny bit would be fine, wouldn't it? She nodded as she proceeded to read it.

My Dearest Daughter,

How have you been recently? I'm still unused to calling you that, you know. Up till now I still can remember those fond memories where you called me "Otou-san!"

Well, anyway, I'm sure you've been enjoying life recently with your husband. *grin* Has he been bullying you recently? I hope not, because sadly, even then I won't be able to help you. I don't want to be burned alive.

Your mother and I are currently still continuing our travel around the world. We ran into your favourite inventor in the United States too! She looks very happy and she's already well known in that area. She wanted me to pass you a message: "Hey, you baka. Don't go around boasting that you're my friend. You might cause me to lose my customers."

Your mother is quite angry at me because I've been attracting girls all over the place. But I can't help it! It's all because of my Alice. *grin*

We'll be coming to visit you soon. I've gotten really impatient of listening to your mother complain and complain about missing you. *laughs*

I'll be looking forward to your reply, and see you soon!

Lots of love from,

Your Father

A wide smile was worn on her face as she returned the letter to its original position. The tone of the letter was strangely familiar, and somehow, it touched her heart.

She continued organizing the rest of the papers until she uncovered a stack of photos hidden under them. She picked them up and studied them closely.

They were mostly of a man and a woman. The man's styled, midnight blue hair traced the contours of his sharp face perfectly, his crimson red eyes mostly bore a nonchalant, but gentle look in the photos. The woman's light brown, hazel-coloured eyes were mostly lit up in a cheerful manner as her honey brown curls lay lazily over her shoulders.

Strangely familiar, yes.

In one photo, the man was mischievously lifting her brown tresses up with a triumphant smirk on his face while the brown-haired woman, with a scowl on her face, blushed at the camera.

In another, It was winter. The two were wearing matching scarves and caps. How cute. She giggled. The man was rolling his eyes, an annoyed expression worn on his face, while the woman was smiling widely at the camera. Still, despite the apparent uncaring façade, his hands were firmly entwined with hers as they lifted it up, showing off the shimmering rings on their fingers.

"Oh." Was all she could utter when realization dawned on her.

Father. Mother. Alice. Visiting. Mother and Narumi-sensei.

Favourite inventor. United States. Hotaru-chan.

Blue hair. Brown eyes. Fire. N and M. Polka dots. Husband. Natsume.

"Your hair looks better when it's down." So she did let it down.

"I'll protect you with all my life." "You did."

"You're the most important person in my life." "You are." She whispered, tears gathering in her eyes, threatening to overflow now.

Those sweet words came flooding into her mind, every precious memory that they had shared was replaying. Tears were streaming down the corners of her face now, as she allowed herself to let out all the frustration and sadness that she had been bottling up, at least for now.

"Polka dots?" His voice. Footsteps closing in.

She looked up, but all she saw was a flash of blue before she was warped back to her own world, the world that she belonged in.

It was then that the question echoed again.

Is there a point in having this future?

So she replied, "Yes."

Authoresses' Note.

(EDIT: Sorry I got Natsume's eye color wrong, editted it (: I never watched the anime so I'm not sure about the exact color. Google gave me brown =w= Anyway, it's all fine now :D)

Yay I'm done with my first Gakuen Alice fanfiction! The idea that she would be warped into the future just suddenly came to me one night before I was going to sleep.

So… because the first part is supposed to be kinda angsty and the part where she's warped into the future is supposed to be sort of cheerful, it ended up being somewhere in between. I wonder if I portrayed her to be too mature. Sigh.

The manga is getting so depressing right now. In this fanfiction, Yuka never died. I think her death was so unnecessary D: she was such a nice person and I bet the author could've done continued the story even without poor Yuka dying.

Yup so please read & review! Because you have no idea how just 1 simple review will brighten up my day and motivate me so much I can jump 10 stories high. Okay maybe not, but really, I APPRECIATE REVIEWS! (:

I might be contemplating to write another Natsume/Mikan oneshot, which will definitely be more romancey than angsty like this one. (:

Thanks, & remember to R&R!