Title: Catch Me

Summary: Transmigrated into the body of a runaway concubine, one Mikan Sakura tries her best to go back home. Its a bit tricky however, when the Crown Prince's people are hot on her heels, trying to catch her. AU, Unbeta-ed

Pairing: Natsume Hyuuga x Mikan Sakura

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: T

A.N. :

You know, when you've read one-too-many transmigration/reincarnation stories out there, it makes you want to write one too.

Like all my fics, this is very self indulgent. I will write whatever I want here, so, do be warned!

And also, its been years since I've posted what I've written so, this will be reliving my past experiences again. I've gone very rusty ;;A;; Updates will also be veeeeeery inconsistent. Hopefully this one will not turn into an unfinished monster like the other two （；^ω^）

Should there be any sensitive trigger warnings/content warnings, I will put them in the beginning of each chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice, nor will I ever own it. The only thing I own in this story, is the plot and my OCs lmao.

Chapter 1

Mikan stared at the unknown wooden ceiling, her eyes slowly blinking as her sight tried to adjust in the quiet darkness of the room she was in. She sat up, and looked down at her lap, taking in the puffy sleeves and the tiny symbol of a blood red phoenix on her left inner wrist.

There was a window to her left, and she slightly opened it. Beyond the windows were buildings made of wood and stone, the architecture so very different than the chrome, glass and steel that she was so used to seeing every night before she went to bed in her cozy apartment. She could see the sun's gentle rays slightly peeking through the horizon, painting the skies and clouds in hues of orange and pink.

"What?" she whispered to herself, as though afraid that if she made any loud noises, the world around her will fall apart.

'How did I get here?' she thought. 'I swear I fell asleep in my bedroom last night!'

Mikan Sakura was in every way a very normal Japanese office lady. She was born in a small village in Kansai, and was raised by her loving but very eccentric grandfather. After she graduated with average grades, she moved to Kyoto and worked there in a small IT company. She would call her grandfather who still lived in the village every night, and cooked food for herself in her small kitchen every day. During the weekends she'd spend her days watching TV shows and scroll through social media, liking cat pictures and fawning over pretty male idols. She sometimes splurged on sweets, particularly howalons.

She had friends, who were also as normal and unremarkable as her. She had no special abilities. The schools she went to were also very normal. She didn't even have a chuuni phase as she grew up.

So how did she arrive here?! Why did this scenario looked so much like those cheap isekai manga she'd read while on the train?!

There were absolutely no warning! This was not scientific at all!

Mikan took deep breaths, and slowly tried to calm her heart into a more acceptable rate. "Okay," she said to herself, voice shaky with nerves. "Okay, Mikan, this is just a weird dream. You can wake up if you try hitting yourself or stare at a mirror. This is nothing serious."

She slapped her cheeks harshly with both hands, and the pain from the harsh impact made her flinch. Unwilling to admit that this may not be a dream, she stood up and walked around the room, trying to find a mirror.

The room was rather spartan. The wooden walls and ceiling looked sturdy. The floor was made out gray stone. There were two windows; one that showed the buildings outside and another that showed a brick plaza with a white fountain. There were also two doors. Beside her bed was a small basin filled with clean water, and underneath it were cloths that almost looked like it was used way too many times. There was a small wardrobe, and when she opened it, there were only three sets of clothes hanging on a wood pole. Underneath the clothes was a large mahogany box locked with a metal padlock.

Undeterred, she went to one of the doors and opened it. Inside, there was metal tap and a slightly larger basin closed with a wood lid, and when she lifted the lid, the basin was also filled with cold water. She stared at her hazy reflection in the water, and saw that her face was still the same as always. Her cheeks were slightly swollen and red. She touched her left cheek, and saw her reflection do the same.

Gulping, she touched the water and wet coldness slightly covered her fingertips. At the cold sensation, she can no longer deny it.

"Hahahaha," she laughed, slightly hysterical. "I'm in a different place away from the city, alone and in a room that I don't know. What is this?"

She continued to laugh while her hands gently swirled the waters. When she stopped, she whispered, "What is happening to me?"

After she calmed down, she decided to explore the room for a bit to try and understand what situation she was in. The only thing worth of note was the mahogany box with the padlock in the wardrobe. She tried looking for a key, but there were no keys lying around in the room.

Feeling frustrated, she slumped to the ground and hit the box, slightly regretting it when her knuckles ached from the impact. Sighing, she touched around the surface of the box to see if there are any other openings or hints that she might have missed.

When her left hand touched the padlock, she felt a slight warmth on the palm of her hand and suddenly, there was a soft 'click!'. The metal padlock unlocked and fell to her hand. Her eyes widened in amazement.

She glanced down at the padlock and saw the phoenix glowing softly before the light dimmed down and turned back into the previous blood red colour. On a closer look, she finally noticed that the padlock had no keyholes. She felt slightly foolish.

Mikan placed the padlock on the floor and opened the chest. What greeted her sight was something she did not expect at all.

A crown was in the box. It gleamed golden, with decorative engravings and studded with jewels, ranging from ones as small as pills, to the biggest one which was the size of her thumbnail. The biggest jewel looked like a red moonstone, luminously lovely and smooth to the touch. When she caressed the stone, a strange heat traveled through her fingers.

Slightly spooked, she quickly put down the crown and continued rummaging through the box. There was a red and gold robe very reminiscent to the Chinese hanfu she used to see in dramas, except for the long and wide white sash, which definitely looked like a kimono obi. It was elaborately embroidered with gold threads, and felt very heavy to Mikan, who had never worn something so luxurious in her life. When she stood up and held the robes to her chest, she found that they were her size. She assumed that this robe belonged to the Mikan of this world.

There was a matching pair of red shoes too, also embroidered with gold. They were flat, like ballet slippers. When she slipped them on, the cotton inside encased her feet perfectly. They were surprisingly comfortable.

She took them off and placed them to the side. There were more jewelry in the box; golden bangles and delicate anklets that chimed as they swayed, diamond rings that looked obnoxiously expensive, and a surprisingly simple necklace made out of a thin golden chain with the same red moonstone jewel as the pendant.

A smaller box inside revealed many gold, silver and copper coins, and Mikan felt incredulous. 'There are so many precious and expensive items in the box, why is this person living in such a simple room?'

Then she thought, 'I hope all this truly belonged to her and they are not stolen goods!'

There was another light green robe, with a slightly narrower peach sash. It was less elaborate than the red and gold robe, but the thick silk cloth still felt expensive.

The last item in the box was a thick leather book. The leather cover was stained black with silver metal edges. There was a lock that prevented Mikan from opening the book, but like the previous padlock, there are no keyholes.

She placed her left hand on the small lock and the lock clicked open. Mikan sighed in relief. Hopefully, there's something in this book that could tell her something useful. She opened the book and flipped through the pages.

She didn't know how long she sat on the floor, reading the book. By the time she finished, her back and waist ached from sitting too long and the sun was very much up, casting light in her room. There were sounds of people walking and talking outside the window.

At first, she felt disheartened because the writing in the book was definitely not Japanese. It was not Roman letters either. But slowly, she could read the book and figured that maybe the memory and knowledge of the body she was in helped her read it.

This wold was a world where people had special abilities that they call, "Alice". The writer of the book was the owner of this body, who was also named Mikan, of the Yukihira Clan. She was 18 years old, and possessed an Alice that can cancel out other people from using their Alice. She sounded like a sheltered, naive lady of a noble household. There were no records of her childhood here, since the first entry was written when she was 13, when she described her life in the Imperial Palace.

Because of her strong defensive Alice, she was taken into the palace as the Crown Prince Natsume's playmate, who possessed the Fire Alice. Later, when she turned 16, she was installed as his noble concubine, and was titled Concubine Innocence. She helped him financially, and with the Yukihira Clan backing her, she also helped take down the Crown Prince's political opponents. She sounded very loyal to her family and the Crown Prince, and was very much in love with the Crown Prince. The excessive adjectives she used to describe the Crown Prince made Mikan cringe.

However, the later entries slowly took a depressing turn. The head of the Yukihira Clan, Masashi Yukihira, this body's grandfather, was sentenced to execution on account of treason. Her mother passed away under mysterious circumstances which were not revealed to her, and her father went missing during a trip to another kingdom. With no capable head leading the clan, and with her essentially trapped in the seraglio, unable to go out, it fell into ruin.

The last entry detailed a rather heartbreaking day. The Crown Prince, whom she loved and was so loyal to for years, took in another concubine, and had her immediately installed as an Imperial Concubine, granted with the title, Concubine Elegance; a much higher rank than the original body. By that point, the Crown Prince had rarely visited her, for he was so busy trying to take over the throne from the ailing King. Her servants were hardly around anymore, all of them ignored her after the downfall of the Yukihira Clan. Nobody wanted to serve an unimportant person who couldn't protect them from other powerful people, especially since the Crown Prince had not visited her anymore.

She initially persevered through her hardship, but finally broke down after accidentally seeing the beautiful Concubine Elegance together with the Crown Prince in a garden pavillion. The Crown Prince gave Concubine Elegance a bracelet made out white jade, studded with the Fire Alice stone, a stone made out of condensed Fire Alice.

The white jade bracelet was only given to the future queens of the kingdom. With the bracelet, it signified that Concubine Elegance will be crowned Queen once the Crown Prince took the throne. She will be recognized as his main wife, his partner in life, the one he will trudge with through his day as they grow older. The one who will have the honour of sharing the same tomb as him, together even in death.

Seeing the harmonious view of Concubine Elegance happily accepting the bracelet and kissing the Crown Prince so romantically, the original body's heart finally broke. They both looked good together, and while the original body definitely understood why Concubine Elegance was chosen over her, she still felt wronged.

She spent her best years and almost all her life supporting and chasing after him, and what did she get? A ruined family, an empty palace, and a broken heart.

So Mikan Yukihira took everything that she can, and after some near close calls and bribing the palace guards and servants, she escaped the seraglio and palace, intending to go look for her missing father. And now here she was, in the Ibaragi Kingdom, far away from the Hyuuga Kingdom, the place where her father was last reported to be seen before he went MIA.

Mikan sighed. She doesn't know if she should feel pity for Mikan Yukihira or worried over her foolishness. Going away from the palace, just to search for her father who may not even be alive, all by her clearly inexperienced self; it was a bravely silly decision. It was even more admirable that she made it all this way unscathed.

"Now then," Mikan said. "What should I do?"

Hunger drove her to go outside of her room. After washing her face and deeming her appearance acceptable enough, she went outside and walked downstairs. She was greeted by a young woman with pink hair.

"Oh you finally came down!" the woman chirped as she walked towards her. (Mikan was glad that she can understand what the woman was talking! She'd be lying if she said she wasn't worried of the language barrier.)

The woman smiled at her, "You look much better now too. You were so sick when you arrived yesterday. If you didn't come out anytime soon, I would have to call the physician to check on you."

Mikan slowly opened her mouth, wishing desperately that what comes out will be the language used in this world, and was immensely relieved that it's not Japanese. "No need. I just need to rest. Its been a long journey."

Then Mikan looked around, and saw that there were not a lot of people yet. Good. She asked, "Will it be alright if you can send some food to my room? I'm a bit uncomfortable eating outside."

The woman replied, "No problem. Give me a few moments, I'll bring up some stew for you. Its delicious! I'm very proud of it."

Mikan laughed. "I'll look forward to it!" Then she tilted her head a bit and asked, "Do you know where I can find the nearest library?"

The woman hummed. "Library? We don't have one here. The nearest one is in the next town. If you go by carriage, it will take you 3 hours. You should go tomorrow. They're closed today since its the weekend."

Feeling grateful, Mikan said, "Thank you, miss…?"

"Anna Umenomiya. Call me Anna!"

"Thank you Anna!"

The stew really was delicious. The thick creaminess completed the sweetness of the root vegetables and the savoury meat. It was one of the best stews she ever tasted. Mikan no longer felt hungry, and decided that when she meets Anna again, she will heap praises on her cooking. She rubbed her full stomach in content and slowly grew contemplative.

No matter how she arrived here, its still not right to suddenly hijack a person's body. She's not going to suddenly take over this person's life and do whatever she wants. Her grandfather taught her better than that!

One thing was certain, she has to find a way to return home and return this body back to its original owner. Besides, she has many responsibilities back in her own world. There are loans to pay, friends to call and catch up with, food to eat, manga to read, and a very troublesome grandfather to look after. She cannot stay here in this world!

She figured that if there's a place to go to, the first stop should be the library. Hopefully, there would be more information there. Because this was not her place.

Fatigue set in her bones and when she laid down on the bed, she immediately went to sleep.

"Natsume, my hand hurt! What did you do to my hand?"

"I marked you. It means you're mine forever!"

"Forever? You won't leave me?"

"I won't leave you! I won't let you go either! If you run, I'll catch you."

Laughter. "Okay! Come catch me then!"

A tall man sat in a desolate room, his eyes closed. The room looked abandoned. The floors and furniture were covered in a thick layer of dust. The air smelt stale. The lamps were cold. The bed looked untouched. It was clear that the previous occupants in this room has left a long time ago.

The man had a small orange Alice stone clutched in his hand. The gentle wave of familiar energy pulsing in his hand was the sole thing that kept him from burning someone out of rage. He can hear childish laughter ringing in his ears, the image of his childhood playmate pressed in the pages of his memory.

Behind him were many servants, all prostrating, their foreheads pressed on the floor, shaking in fear. His hands itched. He wanted to set them on fire. Did he not task them to take care of their mistress sequestered here?

They're lucky that they're even alive. He'd execute all of them if he didn't know that their mistress would be very sad to see people die.

A man in armour returned and bowed to him. "Your highness, we cannot find Concubine Innocence anywhere in the palace. It seemed that she's escaped. We've sent our search parties. She shouldn't have gone too far."

A man with blond hair and blue eyes patted the man on his shoulder. "I asked the animals to search for her too. We'll find her, Natsume."

A pair of bright eyes. A charming laugh. The sound of footsteps going further away from him. "Okay! Come catch me then!"

Natsume opened his eyes, his red irises burning with determination. He'll catch her, and take her back here with him. No matter what happens, no matter how far she ran, he won't let her go.

"Find her as soon as you can, and bring her back." The order came out, a gavel's strike, sealing the fate of the runaway concubine.

A.N.: That...wasn't as bad as I expected. Also, I'll put the meaning of the italicized words later, if you want.

Also, you can see where I'm getting my inspiration hahaha. All these CN webnovels and JP light novels are ruining me.