Okay, you guys might be wondering why the crap I'm posting up another story. Well, it's because I feel a great pleasure in continuing a story that was on the verge of being gone. It's a great story and I really do hope many of you would take your time in reading this. You'll see why I began to love it!

The original author of this story goes to Aileria. Everything plot-wise and anything else necessary goes to her.

Gakuen Alice owned by Higuchi Tachibana

Summer Madness

Chapter 1: What's Your Name?

A sudden gush of air danced its way through her auburn locks. With her pale fingers wrapped around a black handle, the female used her free hand to brush her bangs out of her chocolate colored eyes. A large, bubbly smile was plastered on her face and her fingers were tapping eagerly on her suitcase handle. As the sun welcomed itself from over the horizon, the brunette cringed slightly at the sun's sharp rays. Being extremely prepared for her upcoming trip, she swiftly pulled out a pair of spiffy looking sunglasses from her jacket pocket.

Releasing her grip from her luggage for a second, she used both of her hands to place the sunglasses on the bridge of her nose. Shielding her chocolate colored eyes from the sun's sharp rays, the brunette had the desire to wrap her fingers around the jet-black handle. However, to her dismay, instead of clutching her suitcase like she planned, she felt a hard touch feeling her bottom thoroughly. Her eyes widened to the size of diner plates as she swiftly turned herself around to face the disgusting individual that molested her in public.

"You!" The brunette shouted loudly, her face feeling hot. She was rather expecting the "criminal" to be somewhat older. However, she was facing an individual that seemed to be around her age with tousled azure colored hair. "Did you just-"

"Wait! Before you-"The boy started, eager to defend himself for his ruthless actions.

Before the boy could even splutter out his argument, a loud smack echoed down the train platform. "There is no excuse for molesting someone in public! That is a violation!" The brunette huffed, feeling extremely embarrassed.

Suddenly, a series of laughter could be heard coming from the opposite side of the platform. The brunette and the boy turned their attention towards a group of high school kids clutching their stomachs. "You got owned!" A boy shouted from the group as he tried suppressing his laughter.

"Wow, I never saw that one coming," another added through his giggles.

Feeling extremely infuriated, the brunette stomped over with her suitcase in hand. "What are you guys laughing at?" She huffed.

"If you must know old lady-"One boy started.

"Old? Who are you calling old? I'm only twenty one!" The brunette scowled, feeling even more embarrassed than she already was.

"We dared him to touch your ass," the boy finished. "Never knew he would get slapped so hard though."

The flustered looking boy rubbed his still aching cheek. Even he didn't see it coming. "Don't you know that is impolite and a violation to a girl's body?" the brunette informed, trying to stay as calm as possible.

"And your point is?" A boy with light blonde hair rolled his eyes.

Feeling more superior, the brunette turned on her heel and strolled towards the flushing looking boy. "You shouldn't hang out with a group like that. They will be a bad influence on you," she explained, patting the boy's shoulder in the process.

"S-Sorry." The boy apologized in a rush. As he hurried along back towards his group of friends, the brunette shot them an angry glance.

"You're lucky we dared him to touch you, no one would touch an old lady like you," a boy muttered under his breath.

If you look closely, you could be able to see faint puffs of smoke emerging from the brunette's head. This time they crossed the line. Before the furious female could yell anything at the disrespectful high school students, the sudden gush of wind from the bullet train managed to sooth her agitated spirits. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that the students had already fled but this time she had a sea full of stares glancing right at her. The show that she put on earlier must had been entertaining.

The group of high school students came to a sudden halt as they reached the top of the stairs. "I am never doing that again," the boy sighed, glancing slightly at the hand print on his face.

"Damn. That lady was scary," the other huffed.

"Still, she wasn't that bad looking, right? For an old lady that is," the blonde smirked.

"Oh, are you interested in older women now?" A brunet beside him commented.

"Ew, gross," the blonde retorted. "I'm just saying, okay?"

"Did you catch her name on her suitcase?" the brunet asked as he shifted his gaze towards his slapped friend.

The boy scratched his head, "If I remember correctly, I think it was: Sakura… Mikan."

A heavy sigh escaped the brunette's lips as she stepped onto the train with her luggage firmly in her hand. She pulled down her shades to let her chocolate colored eyes scan the area for an empty seat.

"Excuse me, miss. The train will be departing soon. Please find a seat quickly," a man dressed in a neat suit came strolling down the train corridor, extending his arm, signaling the anxious brunette to take a seat.

Mikan nodded and hurriedly plopped her bottom onto a nearby seat. The man swiftly lifted her luggage upwards to store into a compartment above. Mikan's hazel eyes drifted towards the scenery outside. The rushing people outside reminded the brunette of the busy streets of Tokyo. A surge of excitement embraced the brunette. She couldn't wait to return to see her best friend: Imai Hotaru. It's been years since they actually saw each other. As Mikan sunk lower into her seat, she noticed a boy who looked around the same age anxiously looking around for a spot.

"There's a seat over here," the brunette called, waving towards the blonde.

A small smile crawled upon his lips as he noticed the brunette's wavering hand. As the boy pardoned himself here and here, Mikan noticed the boy's distinct features. He had tousled, fluffy blonde hair and lively azure eyes. He didn't look fully Japanese because of the unusual features he had. When the boy finally got to Mikan's seat, the brunette signaled the blonde to sit down on the opposite side.

"Thanks a lot," the blonde smiled.

"It's quite a crowded train," Mikan chuckled lightly.

"Yeah, you can say that again."

The boy opened the compartment above and hauled his luggage upwards. When the brunette heard the click, the boy hurriedly sat himself down and shifted comfortably in his seat.

"So, are you heading back to Tokyo to visit relatives?" the blonde asked.

Mikan shook her head, "Heading back to visit a friend." She smiled, "What about you?"

"Relatives and a few friends," he chuckled back. "Staying long or is it just for the summer?"

The brunette leaned her elbow against the arm rest, "I wish I could stay longer. Sadly, I'm only staying for the summer."

Feeling slightly interested, the blonde chuckled, "Same, I'm so used to living in Tokyo. Osaka is such a big change for me."

"Tokyo is so lively at night! But, I find Osaka interesting. It's a nice sort of shift, I guess you could say," Mikan added. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you move to Osaka?"

"I don't mind. I moved here because I found a better job. But, I did graduate from Tokyo University," the blonde smiled.

The brunette let out a small gasp. "You must have worked really hard! I admire you for your efforts."

The blonde gave a small shrug, "Depends, really. If you have money, you can achieve practically anything."

A young looking girl came strolling down the corridor, her fingers wrapped around the handle of a cart full of goodies. Mikan's eyes widened as soon as she saw a piece of delicious looking strawberry cheesecake sitting provokingly on a small white plate. Strawberries had been her favorite ever since she was young.

"Anything from the cart?" The girl called, glancing this way and that.

"Excuse me!" The blonde shouted before Mikan could even utter a word. The girl's crimson colored eyes shifted upwards and pushed the heavy cart towards the blonde's seat. "Can I get a glass of water and a plate of pudding please?"

Pudding? The brunette couldn't help but smile at the blonde's choice of food. Of course, Mikan herself loved pudding but it seemed more for children than for adults. The girl handed the blonde his order and shifted her eyes towards the brunette.

"Anything for you dear?" The girl smiled.

"Can I get a piece of strawberry cheesecake?" Mikan ordered.

"Anything to drink?" The girl asked while picking up the brunette's order.

"No thanks," the brunette replied as she tilted her head down slightly to thank the waitress.

"Strawberry cheesecake? That's a unique choice." The blonde laughed while stabbing his pudding with a small plastic spoon.

"I love anything with strawberries." Mikan flashed him a small smile. As the brunette took a small bite out of her cheesecake, she completely missed the fact that the train had already started making its way towards Tokyo.

"I haven't even gotten your name yet," the blonde pointed out.

"Oh! Sakura Mikan. You?" Mikan asked, swallowing the cheesecake.

"Mikan? Strange how your name means mandarin oranges but yet you love strawberries," the blonde chuckled. "I'm Nogi Ruka."

Mikan scratched her head with a small chuckle. "I might as well be named Ichigo," she teased. "Ruka, that's a unique name. I feel like I heard it before…" Mikan's voice started to drift as she fished through her mind trying to think of where she heard this familiar name before.

"You might have heard my name on various magazines," Ruka informed.

"Ah! I remember now! You're that veterinarian that got interviewed for Pet's Magazine," Mikan nodded.

Ruka couldn't help but laugh at the brunette's childishness. "Yeah, you know that magazine?"

"Actually, I just happened to read through it a couple days ago while waiting for the bus," Mikan admitted. "Still, I never thought I would be meeting you, especially during a time like this."

"Life has unexpected turns?" Ruka chuckled.

The two individuals found themselves laughing and talking easily with one another as the train ride progressed. Ruka found Mikan easy to talk too and she was quite a chatterbox as well. Mikan saw Ruka as an intelligent person with a few childish features here and there.

"So, who is this friend that you're going to visit?" Ruka asked.

"I'm sure you heard of her before, Imai Hotaru!" Mikan announced proudly. Instead of seeing Ruka's shocked and excited expression, she was greeted by a blank, lifeless stare that found its way into Ruka's azure orbs. "I-Is something wrong?"

The blonde shook his head slightly, "O-Oh, no, not at all. I was just shocked, that's all. Imai Hotaru, eh? I heard she's quite the inventor."

Mikan chuckled, "Yes! I'm so excited to see her!"

Instead of the conversation taking a turn for the better, Ruka went strangely quiet from hearing Hotaru's name. Thinking that she said something she shouldn't have, Mikan hurriedly changed the subject.

"W-Who are some of your friends that you're planning to see?" The brunette asked.

Ruka shrugged, "Just a few friends from high school. I haven't seen them for quite a while either."

"Reunion? That's awesome. I wish I could have a big reunion with all my elementary friends," Mikan sighed.

The blonde raised a brow, "Elementary? Not high school?"

The brunette sunk lower into her seat, "I never had many friends at school as depressing as that sounds. Hotaru was the one that I was really close too. Other than that, I just had a few friends here and there."

Mikan's comment surprised Ruka by a long shot. How could this talkative, cheerful girl have only one close friend? As much as Ruka wanted to ask, he knew better than to nose himself into other people's personal affairs.

"I can relate to you there. I have only one close friend too," Ruka chuckled.

"Really? What's he like?" Mikan asked, slightly curious.

An image of a boy with disheveled raven colored hair and extremely dark hazel eyes flashed for a brief second In Ruka's mind. His skin was nicely tanned and his hands were tightly stuffed inside his pockets.

"He's… an interesting guy," Ruka replied, not wanting to give out too much information.

"Ehh, I wonder if he knows Hotaru? She's pretty much famous in Tokyo," Mikan pondered.

Ruka bit his bottom lip, "Maybe."

Time went by too quickly for Mikan's liking. When they had finally arrived at their destination, Ruka had to suppress his laughter. Mikan's hair had gotten quite frizzy and looking quite unattractive. Some ends poked out of random places and her hair looked like she just rolled out of bed. The brunette had ruffled her hair one too many times and was quite bothered by the fact she didn't bring any hair ties along with her.

"What's so funny?" Mikan asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Y-Your-um-" Ruka started, pointing slightly at her hair.

The brunette shifted her gaze slightly and faintly saw some ends poking out from her head. Feeling extremely dissatisfied, she started running her fingers through her hair.

"I knew I should have brought a hair-tie," Mikan sighed.

"I would give one to you but sadly, I don't carry those," Ruka laughed.

"Hey! No laughing!" The brunette huffed, clamping her hair between her palms.

"Tokyo, Tokyo," a robotic voice echoed throughout the train's intercom, signaling the passengers that they have finally arrived. Excited chatter filled the area as everyone started to grab their luggage.

Ruka stood up and arched his back to avoid getting run over by the rushing passengers. He clicked the compartment and first hauled down Mikan's suitcase. The brunette frowned as she realized that her hair wasn't getting any better. Well, at least Hotaru's "smiling" face will make up for it. Ruka hauled his suitcase down and pulled the black handle upwards.

"Are you coming? Or, are you going to waste six hours heading back to Osaka to fix your hair?" Ruka teased.

"Oh, be quiet," Mikan huffed as she grabbed onto her suitcase. "Thanks for helping with my luggage."

"Not a problem," Ruka chuckled.

As the two stepped off the train, the brunette inhaled the fresh Tokyo air. It was good to be back home. Mikan released her luggage and raised her hands in the air for a good, long stretch. Ruka's blue eyes shifted to his left and then to his right, trying to catch a familiar face in the sea of wandering people. However, instead of seeing his mother or his childhood friend, he caught sight of a girl with dark raven colored hair and glistening amethyst eyes. Her skin was quite pale and her lips were formed in a neat line. The blonde's heart stopped for a brief moment; his eyes quickly directed towards the brunette.

"Ah, it feels good to stand after six hours of sitting," Mikan laughed as she started jogging on the spot. If there was one thing Mikan hated was sitting on her butt for long periods of time. She needed to be active.

"Well, I'm going to see if I can find my mother," Ruka stated. "It was nice meeting you, Sakura."

Mikan had to admit, she felt somewhat depressed that Ruka would be leaving. Would they ever see each other again?

"Wait!" Mikan called. "We should keep in touch," she smiled.

The blonde bit his bottom lip. "Mikan, don't you know it's dangerous to talk to strangers?"

The two individuals glanced at the speaker and the brunette was absolutely thrilled to see the girl that Ruka was desperately trying to avoid. Her hair was extremely neat and she had an intelligent vibe illuminating off of her.

"Hotaru!" Mikan screamed loudly.

The brunette sprinted up towards her best friend and wrapped her arms around her, nearly suffocating the poor girl. However Hotaru still kept her blank expression despite her circulation being cut off.

"I missed you! Did you miss me?" Mikan exclaimed as she released her grip.

A small sigh escaped from Hotaru's lips. "Sure," she replied.

"Oh! I have to introduce you to someone! I met him on the train-" As the brunette turned herself around, her eyes widened by the appearance of a young woman with long blonde locks and immerse opalescent eyes. Her skin looked milky and her figure was quite thin. In a nutshell, she resembled the young veterinarian, but a female version. The surprising factor was: the two blondes were speaking a language completely unknown to the brunette. Question marks started to float around in Mikan's mind.

Ruka turned himself around, "Sorry, I have to get going. I'll see you around, Sakura."

"W-Wait!" Mikan shouted, trying to get the blonde's attention. However, the two had already escaped up the grand stairway.

"Was that the person you wanted me to meet?" Hotaru asked her tone more timid than usual.

The brunette nodded. "His name is Nogi Ruka, have you heard of him?" Mikan asked.

A small smirk crawled on Hotaru's lips, "Never heard of him."

"Eh? Really? I heard he's quite famous too. Oh well, what are we going to do today?" Mikan asked eagerly.

Hotaru shrugged, "I don't know."

When the two girls arrived at the stairway, Hotaru lightly patted Mikan's hair. "What happened to your hair? Bedhead?"

Mikan pouted slightly, "I don't know. It suddenly got all frizzy."

"Hey, it looks good on you." Hotaru smirked, obviously being sarcastic.

The brunette glanced towards her left and to her dismay, the escalator was currently out of order and there wasn't an elevator in sight. Now usually, your friend would help you carry your heavy suitcase up the stairs. However, Hotaru was eagerly showing her kindness by strolling casually up the long stairway without a care in the world of Mikan's heavy suitcase. Being the hard-working brunette she was, Mikan clutched her suitcase with both hands and hauled it up one stair.

"Hotaru! I could use some help," Mikan called, hoping her "heartless" friend will have the heart to help her.

"Five dollars per stair," Hotaru smirked while shifting her head slightly to look at her best friend.

A large frown made its way onto Mikan's lips. "NEVER MIND," The brunette huffed. She should have known that all Hotaru really cared about was money pouring into her pockets.

Hotaru made her way up the stairs with ease while passer-bys watched anxiously at the struggling brunette. Mikan wasn't even half way before her muscles started to ache. Hotaru watched with an amused look on her face at her friend's hardship. When Mikan finally made it up the stairs, Hotaru came back munching on her favorite fruit: Peach.

"Do you have any idea how hard that was?" Mikan glared.

"You're still alive, aren't you?" Hotaru chuckled.

Pulling up the handle, Mikan tiredly dragged her heavy suitcase towards Hotaru's pure white Lexus. The brunette wasn't surprised as she stared in awe at Hotaru's flashy car. What would you expect from a young prodigy inventor? As the brunette opened the passenger door, Mikan noticed a large amount of inventions stacked up in Hotaru's back seats.

"What are you doing with those?" Mikan asked as she strapped on her seat belt.

"I'm taking them to the company; they're going to put them on the market," Hotaru explained.

Hotaru stabbed the key into the ignition and shifted the gears. Mikan leaned her elbow against the window and let her eyes drift over various cars parked in the parking lot. As Hotaru backed out of the narrow space, Mikan's lips curved into a small smile, completely oblivious to the horrid events that have yet to occur.

You see why I love this? The first chapter capture me instantly :D