Narumi's POV

I had loads of experience with troublesome Alices. I was normally sent to handle the most problematic ones, and usually the troublesome actions were the result of: a. their need for attention, b. a need for rebellion, or c. they just attracted trouble. But somehow, the eleven year old sitting on the couch before didn't seem to follow into any of these categories. In all honesty, she looked like an utter mess. Her matted hair was an unidentifiable color from all the dirt and whatever else that was in it. Her clothes and shoes were ill-fitting and basically in tatters. The girl was obviously underfed, from how her the outline of her bones could be easily identified and sunken cheeks. Blatant black, blue, and faded yellow bruises littered her warm brown skin from God only knows where.

Yet even though she looked like she had ran through Hell, her intelligent molten amber eyes, the way she held herself, displayed a strength I hadn't seen in others. She stared at me head on with grim determination, her eyes never faltering even with all the accusations being placed on her from her foster mother. I couldn't help but get the feeling that she was a beautiful child, despite her outward appearance. Suddenly the girl was dealt a blow to the back of her head by her foster mother, who glared disdainfully at her. She landed on her hands and knees, staying there for a few moments before returning back to her seat, not even acknowledging the woman. Instead she once again turned her gaze to mine, though I didn't miss the shininess of her eyes.

"... She is such a disrespectful brat! Constant discipline is given to her yet she refuses to change her disgusting habits, or let her useless pride go! She even steals from me! Me! The one providing for her ungrateful butt." Her foster mother, Arissa, paused in her rant, turning to face me with an ugly, fake pleading look in her eyes. The 34 year old, with her salon done platinum blonde curls, and expensive clothes, looked the complete opposite of the child beside her. Her clothes were obviously brand name, along with the designer sunglasses on her head and multiple rings on her fingers.

It was almost disgusting how she seemed to think she was in the right, when her charge looked on her way to death's door. I couldn't blame the little girl, whose name I realized I hadn't even learned yet, if she really even did any of these things. "She even stole one of my most precious possessions, which she even has the nerve to wear in public on her own hands. My wedding ring!" I raised an eyebrow at Arissa, before turning my attention to the little girl's hand in question. Surprisingly though, the woman was correct. The girl was fiddling with a gorgeous ornate wedding ring which was obviously too big for her hand. A brilliant golden agate gemstone was inlaid in it.

The ring looked to be an antique, an expensive one at that. Suddenly the girl's hands curled around it, and the first signs of a troublesome child finally appeared. Her eyes narrowed, as the amber cooled into two hard gems. The glare took me aback, as her protectiveness suddenly tripled. Sighing as I realized that Arissa may have been telling an inkling of a truth about the eleven year old, I quickly reached out and grabbed her. She immediately stiffened, as I gave her a warm gentle smile. Channeling a good amount of my Alice into my tone, I spoke.

"Why don't you give your foster mother her ring back? It must be very special, and you probably hurt her when you took it." We stared at each other for a moment, her eyes quickly descending into frigidity. Suddenly she ripped her hand from my grasp, a childish, mirthless laugh echoing throughout the room. "You should really make sure you have all the facts before you instantly assume such things, Mr. Narumi." I was taken aback once again, at both the proper way she spoke and her lightly accented Japanese. That made it clear she was obviously not a native of Japan, which had already been obvious her skin tone. She continued at my stunned silence.

"You should consider the fact that like all the other things Ms. Arissa, my foster mother," she practically spat the words, "are lies." She held up the ring for all of the occupants, (myself, Arissa, and a few policemen), of the room to see. "You should consider the fact that this is obviously an antique ring made from special materials that only the real owner would know. You should consider the fact that Ms. Arissa doesn't even know what the gemstone that is inlaid in my MOTHER'S wedding ring is. You should consider how long I've actually owned this ring before coming here has been. So you'll have to forgive me when I refuse to hand over my ring to the woman who has been mistreating me and trying to steal it since I had arrived."

The questions she gave were all logical, and the vehemence in her tone was being forcefully kept to a minimum. But the unspoken threat was still plenty obvious as it loomed in the air. It was the blatant fact that not only had she resisted my Pheromone Alice, which I knew worked from the dazed expression of the occupants, but that she knew exactly what I had been doing and didn't appreciate. The reason for us even bothering to come here at all was quickly being proven. From the way she wasn't affected, I had to assume she was a Nullification Alice like Mikan. It was enough to make let out a sigh of relief, as I knew we would have had to leave her here if she hadn't had an Alice.

I faced Arissa, and began to turn my Alice on her. "Would you mind answering the questions she has given?" Arissa sluggishly nodded, giving a sloppy smile. "I can't really answer it. I first saw that ring when she came." Sending out a burst of power, which had everyone except the kid and myself faint. Flipping my hair over my shoulder, I faced an surprising sight. The girl had sunk to her knees, and was breathing heavily as she took in her surroundings.

I stared at her, trying to understand. If she had the Nullification Alice, she shouldn't have been affected at all. Shrugging it off I knew it really didn't even matter, the evidence of her having an Alice being displayed at just the fact she was still conscious. Bending down in front of her, I gave her a warm smile. "Don't worry about them, they will awake in a couple of hours with only a minor headache at worst. I came to offer you a chance at an out from this place and the foster system." As she pulled herself together, she eyed me warily.

"W-what's the catch?" So she picked up on that.

"You would be required to attend Alice Academy, a place for people with special abilities which I'm sure you are aware you possess." She paused, before murmuring something under her breath. "What was that?" She stared me straight in the eyes.

"I'll go."