Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice nor am I associated with the company of this said series. I am simply a fan putting what I want to happen in words…
Author's note: Hello there! This is the very first fic I made for Gakuen Alice. Although I wrote it hurriedly, I still had fun and I hope that anyone who will read this fic will enjoy too….
The Dance of Defiance
Destiny plays unfair
As life pivots and changes
Happiness and love
To be coveted away by the fading of life,
By the arrival of death…
Amber eyes scanned the surroundings by the window. She gave a soft sigh as her eyes and mind absorbed every detail the outside area made. The clouds were dark, looming and glaring down to everything below, who cowered of fear of what the clouds might bring. But the trees protested with the help of the strong wind that aided them in their dance. The dance of defiance. Dried leaves danced along in swirling motions that seemed to challenge the clout of the angered clouds. The sky was painted gray-the color of life faded away. Everything outside was cold, so lifeless, so like a graveyard.
She sighed for nth time that day. 'It's going to rain pretty soon.' She thought as her pale fingers made contact with the window's glass. She turned to look at the surrounding where she's currently in. It was no better than the one outside, save for the warmth that the large candle beside her gave. Yet the warmth was just physical, not spiritual, not mentally, it didn't reach her heart that pumped cold blood in every vein her petite body had.
The large room was dark, the only things able to provide light were the few burning candles put in every corner of the room and at the bedside table, where the wax seemed to melt faster and the wick seemed to burn stronger. The red curtains covered the windows so light outside couldn't penetrate (There was no light outside anyway.). And at the bed, her eyes remained. A boy of no more than sixteen years old lay, eyes closed, lips red as cherries that were like décor in his pale face. His raven hair was rather messy and his bangs were long.
She let go of the curtain her other hand was holding and it dropped like a lifeless body covering the window where she observed. Walking towards the bed, she tripped and fell on her knees. She clutched her knee. A tiny bruise was forming and she cursed under her breath. 'Damn!' She stood up and pulled at the chair to sit near the bed. She looked at the figure tenderly, with sad eyes and gently, ever so gently, traced his face with a finger.
She gasped surprised when a pale hand, much bigger than hers took hold of her own, stopping her from touching his face more. Eyes closed, he smirked, albeit weakly. "I see you tripped again baka youjo." He said softly, like a whisper in his sleep. She frowned a bit annoyed by him. 'How can he be so insulting when he's so weak right now?'
"I din't."
"Yes you did. I heard you fall. I heard you muttering something like a curse. Were you cursing?" and he chuckled weakly. Every move he did, he did it weakly, not like his usual self. She sighed. She knew that an argument with him will result to his win and her lost.
"Fine. I tripped. I fell. Happy?" She remarked, somewhat annoyed and at the same time defeated. He won this round again and so a smirk made its way again to his lips. He loved winning yet he asked. "Were you hurt?"
She looked down to her knee, brushed the bruise with her hand and smiled. "Yes, I think. Just a tiny bruise. Nothing to be worried about." She assured him and he smiled weakly, not a smirk this time and she was happy to see that a soft smile played on his face. That smile, she knew it was for her and only her. But just until when will she see that smile? That smirk that she loves and hates? Just until when? That, she didn't know and didn't think about for long. The thought of 'until when' scared her.
"That's good." He said softly and unexpectedly, he coughed and blood trickled down his chin, into his hand. Her eyes widened in horror. She made a move to stand up, to ask for help, but he grabbed her hand, unwilling her to go, to leave him alone in that dark room. "No, don't go. Just stay here." he said his voice sounded scared yet firm.
"But, Natsume! You need help right now! I'll be back right away, I promise!" She said shakily as tears welled up her eyes, threatening to fall anytime soon. She was scared and he knew that. "I don't need help.Just stay here." And with this said, she fell back on her seat weakly. The tears that threatened to fall now fell freely, damping her cheeks.
He held her hand firmly, as if to comfort her yet she just sobbed more. She couldn't help it. She knew too well, that his alice wasn't doing any good to his body. It was strong. The alice of fire that burned within his body and this power within him is burning his life. Slowly, just like a candle wax melting because of fire, his life would end. This scared her so much.
"Stop crying baka youjo. You look uglier when you cry." He said, teasing her. "How could you be like this?! You're still so annoying! I'm not ugly!" She said between hiccups and wails. He chuckled softly. She began to calm down, her cries dying down to a small sob. He looked at her with his crimson eyes.
Still holding her hand, he sat up and leaned against the wood of his bed. She stared at him with tear-filled eyes. "What are-"she started to ask him in a worried tone but he cut her off.
"Mikan." She gasped. Surprised that he called her name seriously, urgently, commanding her to listen. She remained quiet; a way of hers to say that she was listening.
"Is it okay? Is it okay that I love you?" He said this, his voice full of loneliness, of sorrow, not of someone confessing his love to another.
Although surprised, she smiled weakly when everything he said sank in, embedded in her mind, in her soul, and forever will be in her heart. She held his hand tighter and met his eyes. Amber against crimson. A clash of two colors, of two souls that entwined with each other strongly, passionately at the firm hold of their hands.
"Yes."
He pulled her into a tight hug and she didn't move away. She accepted his warmth and his love just like he accepted hers. She was happy. That moment was theirs and theirs alone. The tick of the grandfather clock stopped for them, stilling everything in that room except for the rhythmic beat of their heart. They knew at that very moment, they were in love, they were one.
She didn't know when this will last but she was going to have this moment, cherish it in her heart and remember it forever. This was hers and no one, nothing can ever take this away. She was scared that maybe when she wakes up one day, death will covet him from her. But their love for each other willed her.
And she decided at that moment, that she will defy destiny and the frightening death that would come soon.
'Natsume, I'll fight for us…'
And just like the trees in protest, aided by the wind to dance and the dried leaves in swirling motions, her soul danced with them. The dance of protest. The dance of fixed defiance.
Destiny plays unfair
As life pivots and changes
Happiness and love
To be coveted away by the fading of life,
By the arrival of death…
But if defiance shall strike?
Shall it persist?
Author's note: so, the end of this one-shot. I wanted to write something sad, something blah I dunno. Well, this is the result of it and I don't know myself if I was able to write what I really wanted to write. Oh well…I'm just happy to have finished this one
I hope you enjoyed reading it….
-Burnt Tangerine
ss