Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice.
Claimer: This fan fiction is mine.
This story is a sequel of A State of Disequilibrium, and takes place one year after it. You have to read that before this one, so you'll get the references. :)
Mutually Assured Destruction
noun. A doctrine of military strategy and national security policy in which a full-scale use of high-yield weapons of mass destruction by two opposing sides would effectively result in the complete, utter and irrevocable annihilation of both the attacker and the defender. Abbreviation: MAD.
Chapter One
A Happy Occasion
17 : 48 : 36
"I'm sorry; what was that?"
The little girl peered up at her teacher, a spark of frank curiosity in her blue eyes. "Why does everyone seem so tense today, Narumi-sensei?" she asked. Outside, the sun was fast descending, the vibrant colors engulfing the sky and painting the earth below.
The seven-year-old Nami Riyuzaki arrived in the Academy only yesterday, and had spent the entire morning today exploring the school with her homeroom teacher. The two of them had just finished visiting the buildings for the elementary, middle school, and high school divisions, which the young Nami found very exciting – if only everyone wasn't so uneasy and nervous.
"Tense?" Narumi repeated, with a slight arch of his eyebrow. "Whatever do you mean by tense?" The cheerful smile on his lips seemed to widen as he looked ahead, and the two of them rounded a corner. "Today is a very happy occasion."
Nami furrowed her eyebrows, unconvinced by Narumi's casual dismissal of her remark. Most – if not all of the students that they had visited – seemed very distracted by something that concerned the entire school. They were all talking in hushed voices among themselves, like something big was going to happen that day, and the entire student body was making a desperate attempt to make it perfect.
Whatever it was, however, certainly did not seem like a happy occasion, unlike what Narumi claimed. Nami was young, but she had seen enough of her mother to know the difference in being anxious in anticipation of a party, which was a happy occasion; and in being stressed out over the wrath of her father over her mother's credit card bills, which was kind of like apocalypse.
So no: Narumi's claim that it was going to be a happy occasion was far from fooling Nami. Still, she had to admit that there was something absolutely curious about her teacher's playful smile – something that made her conviction falter even just a little; like it was truly going to be just as happy as he said it was, and everyone else was simply a fool to believe otherwise.
"So what's the occasion?" she asked instead, wondering how something that Narumi called 'a happy occasion' could bring so much distress to the rest of the population of Alice Academy.
Narumi smiled down at her once more, just as they stopped in front of the faculty room, where they were going to wrap up the tour by eating together.
"Today is Natsume Hyuuga and Hotaru Imai's first anniversary."
…to be continued…
Didn't expect for this to be multi-chaptered, did you? ;)
I originally intended for this to be a one-shot. Then it became a two-shot, and then three – till I realized that the only way I'd be able to tell the story in a few chapters and with as much details as I want is for me to post 5000-word chapters again. I decided I'm too lazy for that, and I reckon most people are too lazy to read that much in one sitting either. So here's a continuation of the legend, this time in several parts.
Leave a review, and throw in some conjectures while you're at it. I'm extremely curious to know what you think will happen next. :D
Hilaire
04.30.12