Title: Opposites
Inspiration: Playing the Wii, chapter 164, and a confusing situation
Disclaimer: If I owned Gakuen Alice, I'd know what was going to happen in 166 and wouldn't be going insane!
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She walks into the room uncertainly, feeling her brain tell her that it's too good to be true.
She'd seen him before once when they told her that he was okay, and that his chances of surviving were increasing with every hour he stayed stable. Ruka, You-chan, and even Hotaru, who are all with her, had seen him once before as well. But not awake.
When she sees him again, she can feel a weight being lifted off of her shoulders. He sits in the bed, still connected to a few tubes. But he looks like he's getting better. His face isn't as pale as death. His eyes have emotion in them again, even though she suspects he's trying to hide what he's feeling, as always.
"Natsume," she breathes, her face erupting into a grin as joyful tears leak from the corners of her eyes. "You scared us so bad."
He shakes his head, the corners of his lips attempting something resembling a smile. "Stupid. I said that I wasn't going to die."
You-chan runs in front of her, walking briskly so that he can hug the hospitalized lad. Ruka helps him, making sure that he doesn't kick any of the wires in his excitement. Hotaru stands back with her friend, who just stands at the foot of the bed.
Once Youichi is done with his brief hug, Mikan attempts not to skip over to her fiancé and hug him as tight as she can. Natsume, rather annoyed by the audience, tries not to like it. But once she says, "I thought you were gone." All of his restraint flies out the window and he hugs her back.
He brushes his lips against her cheek and towards her ear, whispering, "I missed you."
The brunette blushes a shade of red similar to a rose, which makes the raven haired boy appreciate the fact that he survived even more. As they gaze lovingly into each other's eyes, neither of them notice the fact that the position they're in is utterly awkward or that everyone else is kind of looking at them.
So the youngest one politely and quickly interrupts them with the word, "Ew." and they quickly scatter apart. Or Mikan does. Natsume still can't really move.
"What's this?" Hotaru asks, pointing to the elusive TV hanging on the wall and the black box with four small remotes next to it.
"Apparently, the school felt the need to make up for accidentally killing me. I wonder why," The fire Alice states sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "So they brought me a video game system."
The cheerful girl immediately picks up a remote. "Can we play?" She asks, reaching for the power button on the console.
Natsume struggles not to roll his eyes at how annoying she can be. "I guess. Why not?"
He feels something warm bubble up in his chest, something pleasant that momentarily dulls his pain, when he sees her beaming smile. She reaches for You-chan, handing him the second remote. "Want to play?" She questions, turning on the TV.
Instead of calling her a name like normal, Youichi nods and accepts the controller, waving it around through the air.
She then motions towards her best friend, pushing one in her direction. "You gonna play too, Hotaru?"
Hotaru, seemingly showing her kind side today, shakes her head. "I'd rather not at the moment. I'm trying to decide if selling a picture of you and your lover over there reuniting would make a good profit or not," She responds, pulling out a piece of paper and some pens.
An evil glare and an annoyed blush blossom upon Natsume and Mikan's faces, respectively. Apparently, Hotaru isn't being kind at all.
The nullification Alice snaps herself out of the look she's giving her friend, then turns to the two boys behind her. "So Ruka, Natsume, you can play with us too!"
The two boys look at each other suspiciously, then shrug. "I swear, if they're trying to kill us again, I'll come back from the dead and kick their damn butts," The raven haired one mutters, forcefully taking the remote.
"So, what game are we playing?" Ruka then asks, taking a remote as well.
The five watch as the machine loads and the words 'Wii Sports Resort' appear in the upper left corner. Natsume groans, obviously displeased with the choice of games the school has given him. "They could have given me something cool," He says, resting his head against his pillow.
The brunette sighs. "I think it's cool," She responds, trying to lighten up the somewhat negative mood Natsume has created. "So, what sport do we want to play?" She asks, looking around.
It's silent until the youngest announces, "Frisbee!"
Ruka shrugs and clicks on the icon. Mikan stares at Youichi in awe. "You can read?"
"He can. Keep up, Mikan." This time, it's Hotaru that answers, not looking up from the calculations on her paper.
A slightly annoyed growl can be heard from across the room. "Pick your character already, Polka. Everyone else has," A voice says. And everyone can guess who says it.
She huffs, choosing a darker haired girl with pigtails.
The youngest goes first, for some reason, extremely confused about how to work the remote. Even Mikan understands the concept: hold down the B button until you want to throw the frisbee. Do so while moving your arm forward. Sure, it's a little bit complicated. But after two and a half minutes, Youichi is still struggling.
Ruka goes to help the little one, just as bored as the rest of the crew. Meanwhile, Natsume pulls his, well, fiancée towards him in one sweeping motion. She lands on the side of the bed but quickly moves to a more normal sitting position.
He looks at the clock then back at her and grabs her hand. Watching, she sees him pull open a drawer on the nightstand ever-so-slightly and glances at it. Inside is her Alice stone, glowing like it did the night she gave it to him.
Once the realization appears on her face, he closes the drawer and untangles his fingers from hers right before Youichi turns to his role model and gives him an accomplished look. "I finished. Your turn," he states. Natsume nods and picks up his own remote, ready to take a turn.
Ten minutes of frisbee later, a nurse opens the door and nods at the group. "Your visiting time is over. Mr. Hyuuga needs his rest."
Natsume nods, looking rather exhausted. Ruka turns off the Wii and picks up Youichi, who waves. Mikan does as well, smiling. "I hope you come back to classes soon, Natsume!" She says, giving a huge smile.
"By the way, I've decided not to sell your pictures. I wouldn't want an angry fangirl crowd to destroy any of my pictures in anger," Hotaru adds, placing her files under her arm.
The littlest one heads out first, followed by the animal pheromone and the blackmailer. Mikan leaves last, allowing for him to mouth, "Me too."
After closing the door, the world begins to spin.
She finds herself standing in a similar hallway, where she just was a blur and where she is just as unclear. Before her is a stainless steel door. She grips the handle, the metal cold against her soft hands.
The first thing she sees is the window. The outside looks both familiar and not. Quick with recognition, she figures out that she's in the same room Nobara was in when she saved her. The same room Hotaru was once in.
And now, the room that Natsume is in.
Or, well, was.
His body lies on the slab in the incubator, unmoving and lifeless. She doesn't dare touch it; she knows a silent alarm would go off, and that wouldn't be good for anybody. Yet she wants to reach out and touch him so bad. She just wants to hold is hand. Have him tease her.
"Hey, Natsume," She greets, shakily. "I turned twelve last week. You weren't there, though. I missed you. Although, nothing can really compare to what you got me last birthday." She tries to laugh, but it sounds foreign to her ears. It's changed, just like the rest of her.
But still she smiles, remembering her friends. "Oh! Ruka and Koko and Youichi and Yuu and Hotaru and all of your fan club says hi. We'll try to get Ruka and Youichi in here sometime, but they wanted to send me first. I hope they can make it." Fresh tears spill over her cheeks, leaving a cold trail on her skin.
"You'd tell me not to cry," She sobs, wiping at her tear filled eyes. "You'd tell me how you made it, and how you'd stay alive. I wish you were here.
"But I'll be fine. And everyone else will be okay. We'll never forget you, though. I'll think of you every day, just like I think of my mother," She concludes, resting her hands on the glass.
And she would think of him every day. After all, he was the one who loved her when she was ten, was her fiancé when she was eleven, and widowed her when she was twelve. He bullied her and protected her. He truly was like no other.
Suddenly, she hears a crackling sound in her ear and startles. She hadn't noticed that there was anything in her ear. "Mikan, you need to go. The Fukatai are on their way back towards you," Hotaru states bluntly into the earpiece.
Mikan nods to herself. "Thanks. I'll get going." As she turns to go to the door, she looks back at Natsume. "I love you," she tells him, giving a small smile and wiping her eyes once more.
When she turns the handle, she finds herself back in the cold hallway. It takes all the strength she can muster not to walk back in there and sit with him until she gets caught. However, she can't get caught. Not today. As she walks briskly down the hall, she notices that she's dizzy.
Collapsing, Mikan feels the room spin once more, forcing her to open her eyes. She takes in her surroundings, noticing the bracelet that is monitoring her heart and the scratchy sheets through uncertain eyes.
His death. His survival. They flood back to her now in a rush that can only be described as a dream. His fate- it hasn't been decided yet. Or if it has, she doesn't know about it.
Someone- she looks like a nurse- rushes in quickly. "Miss Sakura!" She says breathlessly. "We're so glad you're awake. About Hyuuga-"
She puts her hand up to stop the lady, giving her a polite but exhausted looking smile. "Can I have a minute? I'm still feeling like I'm gonna pass out." It's true, after all. The room is still spinning, her head is throbbing, her body aches, and talking is not too fun either.
But it's not just that. She knows that what the nurse will say will tell her if he's dead or alive. Able to survive or not.
"Sure," The woman says, seeming to understand her predicament. She tidies up a little as the brunette gathers her thoughts.
She's grateful, for this moment, this moment of hope, could be the last she'd have about Natsume.
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Dedication: To Carolle Royale, an awesome person! HAPPY 16th BIRTHDAY! Riya, you're so sweet and you just brighten up any (chat)room you walk into! And "The Alice Games" is amazing. I love you for writing it. I hope this year is wonderful for you!
Author's Note: I love being on my iPad when an iPad commercial comes on. I feel awesome. Anyways, I also wrote this mostly in New York while drinking coffee! Yay for me! If something doesn't make sense, blame it on that. Also, happy We'll-probably-find-out-if-Natsume-is-dead-or-alive day! I hope we survive!