Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice

Chapter 1: Intro

It was a normal friday, and I had just gotten off work. Deciding to go to the cafe near my apartment, I headed down the small side street. Being alone got me thinking about the world which I live in, and how the hierarchy which is imposed on us is...well...I looked at my chilly hands and thought back to history classes back at the academy.

Long ago, there was a single family who ruled the world. They were the Hyuugas, and they were rescpected immensely by the people. They had strong and dangerous Alices, so powerful that many became afriad.

In this world, we had rankings. One must respect another of higher ranking without question, and anyone who denied the order would be severely punished. The rankings went like this:

Royalty - Legend - VIP - Rookie - Non - Slave - Escaped Slaves - Criminals

It mostly depends on your family lineage, or your hard work; though very rarely do people move up in the spectrum. No one truly knows how many people there are in Royalty, but only few have the rank of Legend, VIP, or Rookie; they boast their ranking by having a stamp in their palms. Slaves of all kinds and Criminals have stamps on their foreheads as warnings to others, and Nons have stamps placed on their shoulders.

Your ranking is based on your power, and admired by all are the Royals whp have so much it can destroy the planet.

A few centuries ago, the Royals split up into groups and fought a tragic war. The Hyuugas then divided into the Imais, the Nogis, the Koizumis, the Andōs, the Haradas, and the Shōdas. These groups finally came to peace under the rule of the main Hyuuga group, but power was more spread over, and specific traits popped up in the separated groups.

I am a non. One of the many. I know quite a lot about the Royals because of my best friend, Hotaru Imai. After the split up between the Royals, the Imais remained the closest to the main Hyuuga group. Rumours state that the Imais and Hyuugas are arranging to become one group again, and they are true. The two families are having a get-together next week in one of the many Hyuuga palaces to decide once and for all. Hotaru invited me to go with her, and I excitedly agreed. Just for the occasion, I saved up my money and bought a nice dress from a small boutique. The dress covered the stamp on my shoulder, just in case I wouldn't be let in due to my rank.

Hotaru didn't say it, but I bet she is also going to find a new dress to impress her fiancé, Ruka Nogi, of the Nogi group. They aren't as keen to merging as the Imais and Hyuugas, but they are still quite close and friendly with each other.

I broke out of my thoughts as I came across a field of flowers. Their petals danced in the breeze and glowed when the moonlight touched them. I let out a small gasp of disbelief and smile as I gently caress the stem of a flower.

Beautiful.

I had spent more time than I expected to pick the blossoms. The neighbourhood children had come by and we ended up goofing around for a while; but when the night had become late, their parents came to get them. Though they were very enjoyable to be around, I knew I also had to hurry to the cafe and then home because I needed a good night's sleep for tomorrow. I must wake up early and meet Hotaru or else she would be pissed and...oh goodness I would have to pay the fee.

"Aww...But Ma! I want to play with big sister more!" Calls out the kids. I felt really bad for them, and I took out the flowers from my book-bag and gave each kid a flower.

"You know what guys? How about I give a flower to all of you guys each and every day? That way, you can admire it, and be reminded of me. I'm not going anywhere after all. But you should all go home now. The sun has already set. You all need to sleep."

They looked at the flowers, and then back at me, as if making up their minds. In the end, they each gave me a bright smile and ran back to their homes. I gave a sigh of relief and ran down the street towards my destination. Seeing the cafe a few blocks down, I hurried over and pushed the door open with a ding.

"Hey there!" I exclaim as I walked in. The owner pokes his head out from the back room at gives me a smile. "Hi kiddo! Nice to see you! I'll get Anna to take your order in one sec, okay?" I give him two thumbs up as I find my table at the front. I look up as Anna appears from the staff room, wiping her hands on her apron and pulling out a notebook.

"So, Mikan? What will you have?" My she asks. Anna has the Alice of cooking and makes the most delicious meals and even pastries in town. We became friends after she one day saw me scarf down a large chocolate cake all by myself; she told be it made her happy to see someone enjoy the food she made so much. I loved her instantly that day, since it had been so long since someone didn't judge my appetite.

"I'll have a hot chocolate with extra marshmallows, three slices of cheesecake, ummm...five slices of vanilla-crème cake, two slices of chocolate cake, and three slices of your cake-of-the-day." I say in one go, and without hesitation.

Anna smiles sweetly while saying, "I'll get you it right now". I just give her a huge toothy grin and ready my wallet.

She brings over my cakes and I swallow them as quickly as I humanly can. I rush as I give Anna the money and almost knock the chair over as I stand up. "Mikan-chan, aren't you going to stay a little bit longer?" Anna asks.

"You know how Hotaru is if I'm late." I answer. For a second, she looks confused by my words, but then she remembers Hotaru's personality. Chuckling, she waves as I step out the door, "I forgot, silly me. Don't oversleep and have a great time Mikan!"

"Hopefully," I shyly say while waving.

Running home, I change into pajamas and brush my teeth with record time.

Setting my alarm clock, I fall into a deep sleep...Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

SS99