Fortuity
Authors Note: Hello everyone! I'm back! I know it's been years and for that, I apologize. I know there is no excuse but I've been really busy. Asian parents, you know. Please give me another chance at this for I've been trying to gain back my love for writing. Please give this one a chance! Thank you in advance. Oh and btw, no alices for this one. There would be references about it though.
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN GAKUEN ALICE! All characters from Gakuen Alice are owned by Higuchi Tachibana.
Chapter 1
"Be wary of black cats, little one."
Mikan whipped her head around, looking for the person who just spoke when her eyes finally settled on an old man sitting on the side of the street. 'Was he talking to me?' Seeing that everyone else was minding their own business in this busy street, she concluded that he really was talking to her.
And so she sat down beside him and asked him, "What did you mean by that, grandpa?"
She looked at the old man for a while but he made no sound. She noticed his clothes, dirty and tattered. He also had a cup filled with coins. Her heart went out for him. She always felt bad for old people begging at the streets. 'Ahh. That's so sad. I wonder what his life story is?'
A few more minutes passed with only silence between the two of them. Mikan tilted her head to the side, wondering if she was imagining it or not. Sighing, she buried her head between her knees. Was she starting to imagine things now? Even though the past few days have been rather hectic, she didn't think it would've come to this. She's been through worse but she never started imagining people talking to her. Had she gone mad this time?
No, no. That's not it.
Shaking her head, she stood up and dusted the dirt off of her skirt. She looked back at the old man.
"Grandpa, if I see you again, I promise to treat you to a delicious meal! I want to do so now, but I'm rather short on cash. I'll see you again!" She turned around and was about to go her way when she heard him cough. She looked back at him, "Are you finally speaking to me, grandpa?"
The old man smiled as he looked at her. "Be wary of black cats, little one."
A-ha! So he really was talking to her! She wasn't just imagining it! "I'm glad that I wasn't just imagining it, but what's wrong with black cats? Is it about the superstition?"
The old man laughed out loud, "Do you believe in superstitions, little one?"
"Are you making fun of me, grandpa?" She smiled wistfully, "I've never been a superstitious person, but it was said that if a black cat crosses your path, then you're going to be unlucky. I don't want to be unlucky!" Maybe some other time, but no, not this time. She needs all the luck she can get!
"It's up to you young lady, about how you want to interpret what I said. I just want you to be careful."
'Wait a minute,' she thought. This grandpa sounded serious. What if the grandpa in front of her is a fortune teller or something? She's seen things like this in movies and dramas, about how people get warned about their future in the least possible way they'd expect!
Or maybe...
"Say... grandpa, can you see my future? Or perhaps, are you my guardian angel?" She asked nervously, fiddling with her fingers. The old man in front of her raised an eyebrow. After a moment passed, he just smiled.
He is?
Mikan blinked, then a sob escaped from her lips. She slumped to the ground. "I really need to be lucky! What should I do to be lucky? I don't have a job you see and I need to pay my bills! Plus I have to visit my grandfather soon, and I don't want him to know that the granddaughter he raised has been poor and jobless for almost a month now! And my best friend is not talking to me–"
The old man merely stared at the girl as she was talking. No, ranting to him is a better word to describe what she's doing at the moment. He mentioned something random to her at the start, something he usually does when he sees interesting people on the street. When she stayed and tried to talk to him, and even said that she'd treat him to a meal, he was surprised. Normally, the people who heard him would just go their own way. So he repeated his earlier comment to gauge her reaction and played with her for a bit. He didn't expect this kind of reaction at all!
He looked at her as she sighed, "Actually grandpa, I quit my job because my boss started to harass me! He said that I need to do him some quote-unqoute special favors if I want to get promoted! How dare he–"
With that mentioned, the old man observed her. She was pretty, without a doubt. She has a heart-shaped face and big brown eyes that young men would love to stare at. Her long brown locks curled naturally at the end. She was petite and thin, but not like the anorexic models he had occasionally seen in the news linked with his grandson. He watched her as she launched into an overly dramatic explanation of what had happened in her work. He shook his head, 'And all this started because she thought I can see her future.' He needed to clear up that misunderstanding. "Little one, I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but I cannot see your future. Nor am I your guardian angel."
"...and then he– What?"
"You misunderstood me."
Shit. Well that was embarrassing.
Mikan blushed and stared at the ground. "I'm sorry grandpa." Here she was thinking that she was finally saved from all the unfortunate things that has happened to her so far. But who was she kidding? What happens in movies would not happen to her in real life.
"It's okay. Are you feeling better now, young lady?"
She looked up and saw him smiling at her. Everything was bottled up inside her, and even if this old man wasn't her guardian angel, it felt refreshing being able to share all of that with someone else. She smiled sheepishly, "Yes! I'm feeling better. Thank you so much for listening to me– even if you were forced to endure all that." They laughed.
As she stood up from her position, she heard her phone chime indicating a message.
Mikan. Meet now. My place. Expecting you in 30 minutes. -Hotaru
YES!
Mikan jumped for joy. "Look grandpa!" She pointed at her phone and showed the old man that her best friend is finally talking to her. "My best friend hasn't talked to me for a while now but now she wants to see me! Maybe you really are my guardian angel! Ahhhh– I can see the light again!"
She was on cloud nine. Her best friend! She knew she needed to go now but then she suddenly remembered that she was talking to this grandpa. She can't just leave him like that, not after he listened to everything.
The old man saw that the girl he was talking to was conflicted about leaving him alone, and so he urged her to go immediately, "You will see me again little one, so go on and meet your best friend." He knew though that they may not see each other again.
She nodded, "I promise to visit you again grandpa! I'll bring a delicious meal and maybe next time, you can tell me about your story. I promise to return!" She waved goodbye, and ran off.
The old man smiled to himself as he watched her go. Then when he turned his head to the side, he saw a man wearing a suit walking towards him.
Well, time's up.
He took a deep breath. Then, he finally decided to stand up from the ground. The man stopped beside him and shook his head, "President, how long will you do this? You always disappear during your break time!"
"Bleh. I have no obligation on telling you my whereabouts, Tobita. I am paying you to do your job at the company and to not be my babysitter."
"But president! What if someone recognizes you? And where did you get that... that outfit?" he sighed, "Personally, I don't care about what you do on your break time sir. However, break time is already over an hour ago and you're almost late for your next meeting." Sometimes, Tobita wonders why the president of their company likes to dress up as a beggar. He's a millionaire for Christ's sake!
The old man laughed, "Anyway, I promised you, didn't I? That today's the last time I'll dress up like this." He let out a sigh, "Let's go, Tobita. I still have to change my clothes."
As both of them started to walk away, the old man's thoughts drifted to the girl he just met. Never had he met a girl of her age as interesting as her. He felt sorry that he lied to her. For all that time he spent pretending to be a beggar, no one has promised him a meal or even promised to visit him again. She would be a good match for his grandson. It's unfortunate that the chances of his grandson meeting her are next to nothing.
Oh how wrong he was.
.
.
.
"Where is he?" Mikan wondered as she scanned the place where she talked with the old man. She left a few minutes ago but went back because she forgot to introduce herself to him. She also wanted to know his name.
She asked around the vendors in the vicinity about him, but none of them noticed him leaving. Mikan scratched her head, confused. 'Where could he have gone?' She's searched the area but he was nowhere to be found!
A thought crossed her mind once more. What if he really was her guardian angel? And he was bluffing because she almost blew his cover! Mikan let out a giggle.
Then her phone rang. She quickly answered it once seeing it was Hotaru.
"Hotaru! I miss–"
"30 minutes have passed. You better have a good excuse for not being here on time. You'd need your guardian angel's blessing for it. Be here as soon as possible or you'll be paying for every minute you're late." Click.
Mikan stared at her phone in disbelief. 'I am so dead.' She knew that Hotaru was serious. She has no time to waste. She groaned, "By tomorrow I really won't have money!" And so she ran to her destination.
.
As Mikan was running to her best friend's place, thanking the one above that she was only a couple of minutes away, she spotted something a few paces in front of her. A blur of black moving, crossing her path and going to the space in between two tall buildings to the left. She stopped in her tracks. Uh-oh.
"Be wary of black cats, little one."
"Is that... a black cat?" She gulped. No, she thought to herself. It was just a superstition. "No no no he was bluffing, remember? The grandpa a while ago was bluffing, Mikan." She laughed nervously, trying to convince herself that it was nothing. Still, she couldn't help but check if it really was a black cat. And so she started walking towards the alleyway and stopped upon reaching it.
Great.
'Do I have to go inside this dark alley just to check if there really is a cat?' She shook her head and laughed at how silly she was, "It was a superstition. Also, black cats are really lucky for some– hmphrrrhpp"
Before she can even finish her sentence, a hand covered her mouth and she felt herself getting pulled in by someone inside the dark alley. She struggled as she was pushed against the wall.
'Is this it?' Mikan thought. Tears started to form in her eyes. She didn't want things to end like this! She has dreams and goals! She was still picking herself up from the recent misfortunes that happened to her! If only she didn't think of following that black cat, she probably would've been at Hotaru's apartment by now. 'This can't happen to me.'
"Stop struggling!" a male voice growled, probably the voice of her captor.
Who wouldn't struggle in this situation? Mikan's eyes darted back and forth around the alley, adjusting to the darkness, and trying to find a way to escape. "Mhrrrmph! Hrrmppphh!" She kept on flailing her limbs around to push away her captor.
The male holding her hostage saw how scared she looked and cursed under his breath, "Okay little girl. I'm not going to do anything against you. I'm going to let you go now, okay? Just stay with me for a while and listen."
When he let go of her, Mikan screamed. "What the hell were you trying to do to me?"
The guy immediately shushed her, "I'm not a bad guy." He looked around and glanced at the street where they came from, to see if anyone heard them.
"Not a bad guy? Who are you kidding –"
"Just listen!" He ran a hand through his hair, getting annoyed. Then, "I won't do anything to you! I'm just avoiding some people following me, and I thought that if I was with a girl in a dark alley they won't even spare us a glance. So stay."
Despite the darkness, Mikan tried to make up the features of the man in front of her. It was too dark for her to clearly see his face, but from what she can see, he looked decent enough to warrant benefit of the doubt. Still, she glared at him. "If you wanted help you could've asked nicely."
He snorted, "Was I supposed to say please? We're already here in this situation." He glanced at the street once again, on alert. Mikan crossed her arms and scowled. This man is testing her patience. The nerve of this man! She doesn't know him so she could just leave him. He scared her to death just now!
All of a sudden, both of them heard a commotion. "I saw him I saw him!" "Where? This way?" "I don't know! Come on hurry!" "Kyaa!" "He ran this way!" The shouts and the sounds of footsteps were getting louder and louder. The man muttered a string of curses in response.
Mikan flinched at his colorful wording. "Are they after you?" She hesitantly asked. Then she added, "...are you famous?" Honestly, she didn't really know. She can't see his face clearly in the dark. She just looked at him, and it seemed like he was staring at her in disbelief. She shrugged, she doesn't have anything to do with him. Plus if he's famous, she doesn't want to get caught up all of it. "Well they're after you, so I'm going now..."
She made a move to leave and without warning the man in front of her placed both of his hands on either side of her, effectively trapping her against the wall. "I said, stay."
As he leaned closer towards her, Mikan found herself looking straight at his eyes. 'What a unique set of eyes.' She thought.
Doomed – that's her situation now.
She was supposed to leave, and not get involved with this strange person. She was supposed to feel scared of him and his actions towards her. Yet, she made no further effort to move. Her heart suddenly beating faster than normal.
Stupid – that's what Hotaru would call her if she finds out.
He continued to lean even closer just as the shouts and footsteps were getting louder.
Mikan felt like this man was looking at her very soul. His stare was piercing. His eyes – bewitching. It was the first time she saw eyes with this shade of red. Crimson, more like it. The most beautiful eyes she's ever seen. 'How strange,' she thought. It was the first time she's seen it, but it felt oddly familiar – like she was home.
Captivated – that's what she is.
As he rests his forehead against hers, their lips barely a few inches away from each other, Mikan can no longer hear the commotion. All she could hear was her heart, beating loudly against her chest, like it was about to burst out. He was still leaning closer... and closer...
Slowly, she closed her eyes. And waited...
And waited...
Until she heard a snort. Mikan's eyes shot open.
"Did you think I was going to kiss you, little girl?"
Then he laughed.
Shit. She was unlucky alright.
Author's Note: I will be updating my profile soon enough, to give an explanation to all of you. Check it out if you want. :)
Reviews would be greatly appreciated!
