Part of the long thought-of yet poorly-named and just-announced EspionAlice series (already including the one-chappies A Day in the Life of the Kitty and the Spot and Grocery Shopping for Persona). A little something I was moved to write for New Year's Eve which is currently happening, right now, outside, which I am not at because internet (deep sigh).
Btw, I advice you to read A Day in the Life first before this, for better understanding of some details.
Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice copyright © Tachibana Higuchi, 2003-Present
What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?
by foxtrotelly
~ Dedicated to anyone reading this on New Year's Eve/New Year's, or whatever, it's ok if you don't read this New Year's Eve/New Year's, it's still for you, kid, whoever you are ~
—
"This sucks."
There it went, that pesky little nerve that always throbbed at the peak of Natsume's tolerance. Usually it just seemed to stick out the most whenever he were out with Andou. Which was now.
Damn his life.
And he swore, if Andou even dare repeat that statement for the God-knows-nth time, he would freaking blow a—
"Hey, you know what sucks? This."
BAM!
His partner shot him a startled look. "Not cool, man, not cool!" He glanced at the suddenly darkened street behind him. "Now was it necessary to blow that fuse? You always—"
But Natsume was too busy watching the shower of sparks happening inches behind the imbecile's head to even pay attention to what he was saying.
"—the moment you lose your temper, and frankly, those are just symptoms of a much needed attitude adjust— Are you even listening to a word I'm saying, Hyuuga?"
He merely gave him a dismissive wave of his hand. Of course he wasn't.
Tsubasa's shoulders slumped. "Of course you weren't." With that, he turned back to where they were both facing a minute ago; north, where a valuable CEO was due to emerge from his condo suite at his balcony at any given moment.
Any moment now.
"But what if he wouldn't be emerging at his balcony any moment now?" Tsubasa piped in unabashedly, as if Natsume didn't just make an electric box explode right behind his head minutes ago.
Amazing how he could say the exact opposite of what was on Natsume's mind, though. Like really.
"Do I have to explain to you how key it is that he emerge on that balcony again, kage, or would I have to draw a picture for you?" Natsume snapped.
His idiot partner couldn't possibly make such a dense remark now. Not when it's all been planned out already.
The CEO, expected to be residing in his home at the moment (time: 22:54, as it read on his watch), would receive a call at exactly 23:57. Being a man of several underground and covert operations in and out of the black market close enough to be illegal ("But not quite," as Persona would bitterly add.), a call like that would prompt him to use the privacy of his outdoor balcony to take it, the disguised caller being none other than their mentor himself.
Their job was simple.
From there, Natsume and Tsubasa would be given precisely three minutes to make their way to the penthouse suite balcony where Mr. CEO would be unexpectedly "borrowed" and brought to the Academy where he would be "lent" for information and access to his company's main computers. They would plant a mobile hologram and seal the balcony from the outside to divert his wife and kids in the meantime. Within two hours, he would be returned to his home, where he would be set down on the balcony seat facing south, drugged into the next morning with only the latest recollection of taking an important phone call the night before as his wife wakes him up for breakfast with his smartphone still perched on his lap. By then, the balcony would be accessible from inside the suite, giving the Mrs. the impression that her husband purposely locked it when they were all still up to keep them from interrupting his business call, unlocking it only when they were asleep and out of the way. Sure, it would cost him a nagging from the wife about the importance of family matters before his blasted career, but more than that was the entailed safe reward of the operation's success to the Academy and the eventuality of it on his own company.
With the obtainment of classified information and access to the company's main files, they would be able to cancel out an unsuspected embezzlement scam made with the Z Corps. Clean up the mess before things get further messy, as briefed, and minimize all forthcoming damages to the Gakuenand the CEO's business from them—which means no premature nuke attacks on the Academy and no bankruptcy for Mr. CEO.
And it all came back down to Natsume and Tsubasa, and how they were expected to intercept him at just the exact second when the clock strikes twelve and the pyrotechnics—a big and loud enough distraction—would be set off: New Year's.
"But I mean, come on, Natsu, it's New Year's, for crying out loud! Doesn't he have a vacation home to go to in Prague or—" Tsubasa paused to stifle a yawn "...something?"
Natsume sat up straight, bracing himself against the coming January breeze and urge to set his partner's stupid tartan cap on fire. He knew well enough that both of them had been dragged out of the New Year's Eve festivities back at school but wherareas Tsubasa had pranks to pull and inordinate amounts of mochi to devour, Natsume was forced to play host to his idiot classmates being the only one among them with special star accommodations. Having to weigh which was the worse ordeal between being stuck here on the roof of an apartment complex with none other than dim-witted Andou for company on New Year's Eve from being trapped in his own dormitory with dim-witted company times 30 on New Year's Eve was difficult for him, either way.
But with that new Sakuragirl in the picture now this year? He'd take this roof business with freaking kage any day than having that spy in his dorm, touching his stuff and breathing his air.
He swore.
Well, that and he really did cuss.
"Now that's just being mean," Tsubasa remarked, turning to face him again with a grimace.
He meant to apologize, but he wasn't any good at that. "Well being stranded here on a shingled roof with a dunce like you, I wouldn't find any other words to say."
"Wow, you know what, that means a lot, Natsume. You've really touched me," Tsubasa said. He placed a hand over his heart mock-sincerely. "In here."
"Hn."
They sat in silence in the dark for a while, watching at a few stray firecrackers going off at random points in the sky but keeping their eyes trained on the condo unit a few roofs ahead. The inside was lit, so any crap Andou had been mentioning about vacation homes in Prague was most probably far from valid.
The wind had died down, but it was already colder than ever. Each shrugged on his hoodie tighter around himself, their breaths puffing out like vapour from their mouths. If they weren't on an assignment Natsume would have already produced a fire to warm himself, but he couldn't give away their position now. He rubbed his eyes.
Some minutes passed when a faint beeping noise started from beside him.
BEEP! BEEP!
The sound was apparently coming from Tsubasa's watch.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
"Andou, wake up! ...Andou!"
Stirred out of sleep, Tsubasa lifted his head from his crossed arms propped up on his knees to take a glance at his watch. Without meaning to, Natsume did the same, their watches being synchronised and all.
"Oh!" He lit up.
"What is it? You could've blown our cover there, you moron," Natsume hissed.
"It's 11:11!" Tsubasa told him, ignoring his previous comment.
Natsume looked at him as if he couldn't have lost any more of his brain but just had.
"And, you make a wish on 11:11!" Tsubasa went on, unruffled as ever.
"God Andou, that has got to be the single gayest thing I've ever heard you say."
Tsubasa took a hit this time. "Yeah but...free wishes! Who wouldn't want that, right?"
Natsume rolled his eyes.
"And besides, it's the last one of the year, so it must count for something," Tsubasa said, conviction in his tone.
"Well, I could say you've truly outga—" He stopped as he saw Tsubasa with his eyes actually close, expression set as Natsume turned to face him.
Tsubasa must have felt him looking at him, so he said, with his eyes closed, "Come on, Natsume, you try."
He knew he didn't have to, and wishes were for fools who couldn't move their own asses to do something about their lives, but he closed his eyes anyway. At once, he thought of his condition and—
He shook his head. No.
He thought of his stupid painter dad, who must be lonely at home without any of his children to celebrate the holidays with. Then he thought of his idiotic little sister, trapped in that archaic den for who knows when.
God he missed them. But again, no. He shouldn't.
So instead, his mind shifted to his best friend Ruka, the latest volume of that manga he'd been reading, new socks. Then, the scent of oranges and frappes, dumb Rilakkuma mechanical pencils, pearly white teeth set in the brightest of smiles, shades of chestnut brown and—
His eyes flew open. That's it. He was losing his mind. Looking over to Tsubasa, he saw that he had a slight grin on.
"Well you know it only counts within the minute of 11:11, but maybe for you the gods of fate would make an exception and give you 'til 11:13." Natsume heard Tsubasa chuckle at himself a bit—oh yeah, he thinks he's so funny—before adding, "So what'dya wish for?"
Natsume glared ahead, keeping silent.
Tsubasa filled in the silence, though his voice had gone softer. "I never really ask for much, actually. Just that things are going well back at home with the family, you know? My little brother, he was sick when I left. And my mum had just given birth to my little sis. God, that was like, nine years ago? I left because he was sick and dad was sick and..." He trailed off just as he had stared heavenward, blinking rapidly.
It took him a few moments to get back to himself when he said: "Hold on, and you?"
"Socks."
"Ah," Tsubasa nodded as if he understood. He sniffled. A single firecracker went off in the west, filling the night air with a small boom! "So, about Prague—"
"Leave it, Andou."
They both were quiet after that. Soon, 23:56 had come upon them. Then, 23:57.
The light was still on, but there was no sign of the CEO.
23:58.
Natsume double-checked his watch again to be sure.
23:59.
"You know what they say about New Year's Eve being the biggest letdown of the year?" Tsubasa said as they stood from where they sat, poised to move.
Natsume honestly didn't need this right now.
"So should we—"
He held up his hand. "No. We wait."
24:00.
The moment the watches on their wrists beeped in perfect synchronisation was the moment the sky lit up with bursts of color so close to them Natsume could see the gunpowder fluttering weakly in each explosion's wake. The moment Tsubasa pulled on his solid gray mask and Natsume his cat mask and the moment they sprang into—
BZZZ!
Tsubasa gave a start. "Woah there! My phone does not vibrate like that unless it's from—"
"Persona," Natsume finished for him. With a nod, Tsubasa started reading the message on his phone.
"'CEO is out for the holidays and had left his home to the care of a housekeeper. He is currently residing at his Prague residence with his family and would not be back until the third of January. Mission aborted.'"
It took about a few minutes for the both of them to get a hold of the situation, but it was Tsubasa who was able to surface first:
"Well...Happy new year, Natsu!"
Yeah I've always imagined and dreamed them to be partners like this, able to finish each other's sentences, know exactly what the other's thinking and have some mushy moments together to spare teehee (just like in Grocery Shopping). Plus with some innuendos to boot aww yeaah!
Yay I love the Tsubasa/Natsume bromance~
Review? ^_^