"His New Partner"
"You have done so well, Natsume. It's time I reward you..."
"Oh, my little heart can barely hold my excitement," Natsume scoffed. "I want no gifts from a twisted man like you." The gray, dingy walls felt like they were closing in. Each ticking moment and the tight confine of space and harsh effort to breath always reminded him how much he hated this accursed room. He also disliked the man in front of him, a quickly growing flame of hate in his heart.
"My, you are getting bolder in your way of speaking to me. Ne, no longer afraid of me? I missed when you first cried when I appeared. You are growing up." Persona narrowed his eyes. He had dark eyes for an equally dark soul, and they were too intense for Natsume to turn his gaze. "Still, your gift shall come soon."
Natsume raised his hand and stalked out the Dangerous Ability Classroom, shaking his head. He had only stayed after class to give his final mission report. He was quitting.
Mikan's pleading and himself had become tired with this lifestyle. Stopping missions and not using his alice were the two things to make sure he could actually live a happy life. Well, as happy as he could have with a girl like Polka and nosy friends like Ruka and surprisingly Imai.
His chest felt lighter as he walked down the long hallway to his dorm. The click-clack sound after the movements of his boots rang. He was walking a road to somewhere he chose. Not Persona, not his limited alice that wanted him to die a worthless man, or even fear would hinder him now. Soon, he would be free in soul and contract from the deceitful Academy.
Natsume stopped and touched his earring, a tiny red bead that held too much power over him. When the weekend came that alice restriction would be gone as well.
Natsume banged on the door furiously. Persona had asked for it and now he was going to get hell either by an early death or the flames of his hands.
"Open this door, PERSONA!" He yelled.
Whoever was on the other side decided to ignore his calls which meant Natsume had to take matters into his own hands. He did so by hurling a small fireball through the metal door. He wasn't afraid anymore of the consequences for his unscheduled visit to see the living embodiment of death (such an oxymoron).
Inside Persona's office a few other students, older boys from the High School Division, sat in a row of chairs in front of Persona's desk. They seemed to be finishing their mission debrief. Natsume ignored them and stood a few feet away from his teacher.
"I can't believe I am saying this but..." Natsume growled, trying to focus on his next sentence. "I am willing to be civil if you leave her out of this."
"Who is her or should I say she? I was never good at grammar." A tiny smile appeared on Persona's face. The thick coat of black lipstick glittered on his lips.
"Don't PLAY dumb with me!" Natsume yelled. His calm was fading and anger wanted to take hold. No, he would reason with the demon first before thrashing him once and for all.
His flames, a flickering blue color, were ready to burn the delirious smile off Persona's face. Jinno-sensei had always said blue flames were the hottest.
Of course, at a snap of his finger, the older's man mindless, dangerous ability drones went to attack him. Natsume cursed at him within his mind. Persona was no coward, but he didn't dirty his hands without cause.
"NO!" Natsume yelled. He flung the first boy with a non-effective plant alice into two other drones. Alternating with his flaming hands, he deflected their attacks and threw another guy into someone else's path. He had his revenge set on one person. Persona-The sole man, who had gone too far.
"You will die!" Natsume roared.
"And here I thought you would enjoy having little Mikan around," Person chastised him while dodging his punches. The look of rage in Natusme's crimson eyes amused him greatly. It was sweet to his taste-A scared little boy fighting to protect his loved one. Ironically, Natsume reminded him of himself with more spunk and actual loved ones.
"This was fun, but I must put an end to your foolishness." Persona pressed a button to signal his alice restriction to hurt him. His flames extinguished momentarily, and Natsume gasped trying to will his knees not to buckle. The shock of discomfort through his body was crippling and he staggered a few steps.
Before his eyes could glaze with tears, he lifted a shaking hand to his earlobe and pulled. He put up with the immense pain and yanked the red earring with all his might. Once, it was gone his power would no longer be confined. He would finish Persona.
"AGGGGGH!" It was done. For a moment, he wondered if he tore the hole in his ear during the process, but he was too preoccupied with Persona to check. He gave him a demonic smile. "Hell is now on Earth for you. Today, death itself meets death!"
Natsume charged and the momentum of his speed fanned his blue flames. He cast a ring of fire around them both if someone tried to play hero. His hands grabbed a hold of Persona's turtleneck quickly burning a hole and exposing his bare chest, but the man stayed still. A look of pain flashed on Persona's face and beads of sweats began to drip down his forehead.
"NATSUME, stop what you are doing! Leave him alone," A voice cried. Natsume knew who it was without even turning around. His Mikan. She was so naïve running down here to stop what was inevitable. He heard more clatter of footsteps, which were probably Ruka, Shadow freak, and whoever else wanted to stop him.
"Natsume, please... He's not worth it. You are no murderer. I don't mind going on missions with you, because we will protect each other," Mikan gave a desperate whimper. Her cries were sad enough to steal his attention if only for a glance. How dumb she made him to forget his basic mission training: Never take your eyes off your enemy for a moment.
"Uh!" Natsume choked. Persona, with an inky mess of mascara and sweat dripping down his body, choked him with a pair of sharp, black nail polished nails. The man's two elongated nails were well placed near his Adam's apple. That sadistic man was cutting off his air supply!
Natsume tried to channeled his fire through his squinted eyes to burn his face off, but Persona struck his face with his free hand and messed up his focus.
"What insolence... I know you can kill me. I am not as strong as I once was, but you won't. Would you like to know why I know this?"
"No, I... don't!" He kneed Persona in the middle of his skinny torso and fell down on the cold tile beneath him.
"You hold no power over me now! The alice restrictionS are gone without you removing them, the missions are over with, and the life of pain you helped cause ends now!
"You hurt me, I hurt Mikan."
"What..." His raised hand with fire still burning ready to deliver the last blow stopped mid-air. If that demon meant what he thought...
"I will kill her whole before she has time to heal," Persona said calmly. How was he able to mask emotions at such a tense moment?
Desperation was clear on Natsume's face now. He showed so many feeling in this one day: Bitterness, rage, and defeat...
"She doesn't even have her alice(s)..." He reasoned hoarsely. The flames were gone and he would not ignite them again.
Mikan, Tsubasa, and Ruka took this time to rush to his side.
Out of shame for his failed murder ploy he turned away from Mikan's view. She would only see the back of the criminal she once loved. He shouldn't even feel worse for his actions, he did tell her what a dark being he was.
"Natsume, remember when Narumi-sensei told me I would begin training my alices and Tono-senpai amplified it?" Mikan asked.
Natsume nodded, not daring to face her. Persona stood still watching the scene play out. His fallen drones from earlier made a move to strike his friends, but to his surprise Shadow did something right. Tsubasa rendered them useless by freezing their shadows. Now, they were truly free to talk without any interruptions.
"Well, this is how I am supposed to start regaining them! Every now and then, I get a glimpse of my nullification power back and Narumi-sensei says if I practice enough I can make force-fields."
"Sakura, I can understand why Natsume wanted to hurt that... monster." Ruka said in a firm voice. His hands were free of any animals and fidgety.
Natsume became surprised at his best friend. Monster? Cruel words were actually in the blonde boy's vocabulary?
"They hooked Tono-senpai and her up to a machine and tried to force her alice back. Tono passed out from overusing his power or he would have tried to stop them. He yelled at them earlier that this wasn't the way to help her. Natsume, Sakura was in that glass square screaming in agony, they pretended not noticed."
"I... I got so restless seeing her like that, that I forced the machine off by slipping a lizard through a crack in the command engine. Tsubasa-senpai, he was the true hero... He burst in there like some action star and broke the glass. Shattered pieces of it flew everywhere and Sakura took the brunt of the pain."
Mikan's lip quivered and she stared at Ruka long and hard.
"I am sorry, Sakura for telling, but I understand him. I really do... Persona's crimes will haunt him one day."
"First of all, who is they?" Natsume demanded. "And, Mikan that day when I asked about those scrapes and bruises you had, had been then?" He finally turned around to see his lover and friends' faces.
She nodded and pulled her red hoodie, his hoodie, down her face. Her eyes hidden from their view.
Tsubasa led Persona out of the room. He was probably going to try some selfless hero junk and say,"Please don't punish him for his tantrum. I will take over the rest of his missions." Natsume would deal with his reckless, idiotic senpai later, more important matters were at hand.
"They are the Academy," Ruka answered for Mikan.
"BUT, it's not Persona's fault!"
Natsume rolled his eyes. He grabbed her hand and made her face him. His earlier shame gone.
"What are these, Polka?" He pointed to the red mark on his cheek from Persona's slap, the nail imprints on his throat, and the drying blood on his earlobe.
She sighed. "Natsume, Persona is trying to change. He told me... He thought if we were partners you would start forgiving him. He still relapses into violence because it's all he has known. I am not saying you should forgive the torment or the damage he caused, but give the person, Rei Seiro a chance. Forgive but not forget, kay? I am willing to at least try..."
"Persona is a bit like you. He has no social skills whatsoever. He's just learning to say sorry. He thought me being your partner would make you happy. It makes me happy that I won't have to wait by my window wondering if today is the day you die or not. I will be with you on the field. I will make sure you don't exert your alice too much either! Natsume, I begged him and he said he would release you from missions next year."
"I am going to check on Tsubasa. You know... In case, Persona tries to infect him," Ruka announced. He could tell the atmosphere was different after Mikan's heartfelt speech.
Ruka gave him a wave signaling he would give them some time alone.
Natsume tried to take it all in. This entire situation frustrated him. In a year (after so much agony) he could be done with doing the Alice Academy's dirty work, while Mikan would just begin it. She would have to learn the ropes the hard way like he did. As a pro, he still nearly got killed doing mission work, and an amateur like Mikan wouldn't make it without guidance. Guidance the Academy wouldn't give.
"Hush, Polka before you make an ugly crying face," He said quietly. He couldn't use his usual stoic tone, too much emotion had been drug out of him today. "Even after next year I will protect you. Someone will have to show a baby like you how to conduct herself during a mission. Quick tip: Don't wear panda pajama pants to missions."
"Polka? Natsume, say my name for once, and I only have on panda pajamas because I was going to bed! I rushed down here because Ruka-pyon told me you were going to kill Persona. Honestly, who do you think I am?" She frowned with puffed out cheeks.
"Partner..."
"Huh?"
"You're my new partner."
"Yay! I guess I am!"
Uh! Yeah, Mikan yay for abrupt endings! Oneshots are hard sometime, you know? This is sort of a prequel to Summer Vacation, so read that too! I make a minor mention to this in chapter six which will come soon. Chapter five goes up tomorrow if everything works out right. :D
(1) I had this idea in my head for a while. Around the time in August when I got back into my GA craze. I can't remember Persona's personality very well, so hoping he's not too OOC. I thought about using a generic villain instead nah... Mr. Rei had traces of redemption here.
(2) Here's hoping Natty-boy's not too OOC either, but rage/revenge can drive you to act differently and lose sight of yourself.
(3) When Natsume tried to kill Persona with blue fire, that part was inspired by a Kung Fu Panda scene. The one where Tai Lung fights Shifu. That leopard's blue fire was dope!
"Thanks for reading and/or reviewing! Have a lovely day!"