I dream of you all the time!
A slight breeze ruffled Ruka's hair as he tried to ignore the whisperings of his friends. They all seemed so happy, so content with what they had but he was the only one who felt so lost in his own desires to get that one thing which was so close to him but yet a million miles apart. It was as if he was in a mirage where he felt that he was so close to his deepest desire coming to life but when he actually touched it there was nothing but endless stretch of nothingness.
It was mid summer vacation and the group had decided to take a break from their daily rituals and go in a camp to some unknown corner of the northern forest and finally get to spend some quality time with their friends. At first Ruka too was excited about the whole trip because first of all it would mean getting to spend even more time with his animal friends, and the forest was more of a home to him than his 3 star bedroom but more importantly he was looking forward to spending time with Mikan though he never let any one guess it.
But now that they were all here, sitting around the campfire, laughing and giggling at the slightest comments; Ruka felt lost. He gazed at his silhouette trying to think of a way to get to her, to tell her what he truly felt but every time he tried to do that, the nagging fear always hauled him back; what if she didn't feel the same way?
Mikan sat at the far end of the fire trying to poke fun at Natsume's face and giggling maniacally in the process and Natsume who sat a few feet away from her was glaring at her furiously. Koko was speaking out loud everyone's thoughts and was enjoying tickling Nonoko's nerves. Ruka sat away from the rest of the group so that Koko wouldn't think of reading his thoughts and a few paces away from him Hotaru sat still, muttering to some strange device in her hand, lost in her own world, not even bothering to join her friends. He sometimes envied her lack of sensitivity to humans because that way at least she could refrain from the terrible pain that emotions sometimes inflicted on you; she was a robot with flesh and bones in his eyes and nothing more.
A sigh escaped his lips and he closed his eyes and BANG!!!!
Hotaru shot him straight on the face and he almost choked in pain and he was about to scream out a remark at her face when she cut him in mid sentence and in her monotonous tone said, "Koko is going to tell us all some bizarre story that he had picked up from a sorcerers head, if you have any interest to listen then get out of that corner and join the others."
He glared at her but got up anyways and patted the dirt from his shorts. "Why aren't you coming? He asked her, not really caring to know the reason.
Hotaru too finding the question absolutely unnecessary to answer continued to concentrate on her invention. Her oblivious reaction pissed Ruka off and he shrugged and dragged his feet to where the others where sitting. This was not his typical behavior to a girl even if it was Imai Hotaru, but today he was just not in the mood to be nice.
They all snuggled close to the fire, trying to avoid the bitter cold as much as possible and Koko sat grinning in the middle, obviously enjoying reading the suspense created in the minds of his listeners. Anna and Nonoko sat at his sides there expressions clearly revealing their fright while Mikan was screaming at the top of her voice begging Koko not to tell a ghost story. Ruka gazed at her, amazed at how every minute thing about her seemed to appeal to him. He felt his face redden as Mikan suddenly looked at him with pleading eyes asking if he could persuade Koko and Ruka smiled at her innocent face, as if to assure her that it was alright and that there was nothing to be scared.
And finally Koko coughed his throat clear and spoke in a whispering voice that matched with the crackling rhythm of the fire. Ruka smirked at Koko as it was evident he was trying to grab Nonoko's attention but let him continue any ways.
"everybody, there is nothing to be frightened about because I am here not to tell you a ghost story but rather an enchanted love tale that will whisk you off reality and what is most interesting about this story is that it is no fiction but rather a true love story that has taken place in this very campus of our Alice academy and so any one madly in love should sit tight and listen carefully because this might be just the thing they need to get the love of their life. He winked and Nonoko and she blushed slightly.
Many centuries ago there was a boy who had a strange alice that allowed him to read and manipulate other peoples dream but he never was happy with his alice. As a child he used to often scare his classmates giving them nightmares and used to crack fun at them but as he grew up he found that there was nothing special that he could do with his alice. He used to envy his friends who had alices that could throw fire balls or jump trees or charm people but his was just simple. A dream manipulator could do nothing but make people dream, which they do anyway.
Then one night, as he was strolling in the northern forest, which was a habit of his, he suddenly came upon a girl covered in a worn out cloak lying under the old willow tree."
There was murmur of gasps from the girls and both Natsume and Ruka exchanged an exasperated look. Koko was having the time of his life.
Koko ignored the interruption and went on with his tale.
"He was shocked to see the girl there and his first instincts was to run away but then he heard the girl whimper in pain and so he crouched down beside her and took her face in his hands. Her face was pale and by the faint glow of moonlight she looked unearthly. The boy not being able to leave her alone took her with him to his dorm. He hid her in his room making sure no one would know because they just might get the wrong impression. He decided to inform the teachers about her in the morning but meanwhile he told her to sleep.
As she lay asleep he wondered who she was and then suddenly he decided to enter her dreams out of curiosity. However, what he saw made him fill with sorrow. The girl had fallen madly in love with a boy and she had given her everything to the boy but just the day before the night he had left her but not only that, when she had begged him to stay he had beaten her up."
Once again the girls "OHH"ed
" the boy felt sorry for the girl and after that he often went to meet the girl and eventually they became good friends and slowly the boy realized that she meant more to him than just a friend. However the girl was always sad and she often used to tell that she could never possibly be able to love again.
Then desperate to make her happy, he used to sit on a tree by her window and he used to change all her nightmares to beautiful fantasies and he entered her dreams time and time again, encouraging her and assuring her and one day the girl too fell in love with him and then they got married and thus they lived together till the end of their life.
But the day the man was about to die, he blessed the fireflies with his alice, because he now knew the power of his alice was beautiful and he wanted to match lover with his alice even after his death so that they too could have a beautiful life like him.
"Awwwww" the girls cried.
But Koko was not yet finished.
"and it is said that the fireflies can still tell you the secret to enter the dreams of your loved one but for that you need to be able to speak to them which is impossible!"
The girls once again "ohhhed."
Only Ruka held still because the last line had caught him off guard. No one seemed to remember that some one among them knew animal tongue and suddenly Ruka knew how he was going to know what was in Mikan's mind.
There you go, review if you want me to continue. Don't worry, Hotaru has a long role coming up and if not anything else, I can at least promise you a happy ending. Ruka is yet to know a lot about himself. Lolzzz
tomboy ninja13
