It was late into the night. However, lights by the pavements illuminated the path, causing the shadows of the trees to dance along with the rustling of the leaves. While everyone was asleep, Misaki blundered along the empty pavement, hoping that no one, especially the teachers, would happen to take a midnight stroll and spot her in the tired state she was in.
Misaki cursed her luck that day. She had been enjoying herself at central town until late in the night, and had conveniently missed the last bus back to the academy, so she had to walk the long way back after supper. After supper. She could have sworn the pain in her side was endless, stabbing her every time she took a step. Besides that, she had a headache that had been there since the day before, and although she hastily took an overdose of the medicine, her condition wasn't improving at the very least.
Why had she been at central town in the first place? Alone? Good question. It was because her best friend, Tsubasa, had suddenly disappeared, and the other girls in her class weren't planning to go all the way to central town. No way was she going to ask Tono or Megane, so she decided to go by herself.
Misaki wasn't stupid. She knew Tsubasa was on one of his missons, although she had decided against saying anything to him. Somehow, she ended up thinking about him while "shopping" at central town. Her thoughts swam, and her vision was a little fuzzy because of her headache. She staggered around, making sure not to bump into any of the blurry black obstacles her brain registered as students, and when she finally managed to compose herself, she ended up at a random street she didn't remember seeing before. It took at least an hour before she caught sight of a familiar shop, and she jumped at the opportunity to buy several sticks of yakitori (A/N: Japanese skewered grilled meat, covered in sauce, it's yummy!) . so that's how she ended up in this state.
Tired would be an understatement. She was utterly deprived of any energy left, and briefly wondered why. The medicine!
"Overdose," she muttered and groaned.
She wasn't going to make it back. She knew it. The dorms were two blocks away, and Gakuen Alice was so big that even two blocks seemed so far away. Misaki isn't the type to simply give up, but this time, she did. It wasn't much of a choice. Her knees gave way and she blacked out almost immediately.
Giving up.
Tsubasa had just completed his mission. Last one for the week, maybe even the month. Feeling very accomplished although he had some cuts on his arms, he wished his partner Natsume a good night, earning a curt nod from the boy, before parting ways with him. He strolled at a leisurely pace towards the dorm before noticing someone walking- no, more like stumbling in front of him.
Someone with light, layered red hair. Someone with a slim figure. Someone with the back he knew so well.
The next second, Misaki Harada muttered something he couldn't quite really figure out and suddenly collapsing, her legs buckling and her back falling in slow motion towards the ground.
Tsubasa, thanks to his quick reflexes from all those missions, sprinted forward, jumped on her shadow, and his slowly breathed out in relief. He wrapped the girl in his arms, cradling her gently.
"Misaki? Misaki!" She felt really, really hot (A/N: Not that kind of hot...) , and was already out cold. Just before he was about to carry her off, he noticed a small bag lying on the ground beside her and peeked in, acting on instinct. After all, he needed to confirm it was hers. When it was too dark to see anything, he drew his hand in to look at the contents, and was surprised to feel the cool material of a glass bottle.
Tsubasa nearly got a heart attack when he saw the contents of the bottle. Inside it, there were countless sickening white pills. His hands were shaking so much he almost dropped the thing.
Misaki was taking pills? Why? So much at a time, too...
The shadow controller gathered himself and slipped the bag with the bottle inside Misaki's pockets. Supporting her weight quite easily, he took off towards the teacher's dorm instead. His heart palpitating, he couldn't help noticing something was wrong, and terrible thoughts filled his mind.
She's so light... She shouldn't be!
Kicking open the doors to the building, he was spotted by a shocked Makihara.
"Makihara-sensei, she fainted... I found her on the pavement by Bear's house..." This kicked the teacher into action. "Narumi! Go find Sakurano-san. Now. It's an emergency," He threw open the door closest to them and stormed into the room, before dragging a confused Narumi out, pushing him in the direction of the exit.
"Please wait with Misaki-san. I'll ring the hospital," Makihara rushed away.
The hospital! Tsubasa wanted to die. He sank to the cold, marble floor with his back against the wall, letting Misaki's head rest on his lap, one hand at his forehead and the other stroking her hair, smooth as silk.
Things happened in a blur afterwards, he could hardly figure everything out. He barely remembered Sakurano returning with Narumi, teleporting Misaki and Makihara away. He didn't move the whole time, and forgot that Narumi was even there in the first place.
"I know you're worried and tired. Sitting here won't be much help. Why don't you go back to your room?" Narumi patted him awkwardly on the shoulders. "I promise to tell you about Misaki-chan if her condition worsens, or changes. She must mean a lot to you," He continued.
Tsubasa got up. "Thanks, please remember to tell me," he managed bleakly before dragging himself towards his room, avoiding the dorm mother (A/N: The robot which is in-charge of the wellbeing of the students, the condition of the rooms etc) .
Throwing himself on the bed after a quick shower, he winced as the image of the unmoving Misaki drifted back into his mind. I loved her, he told himself silently. I loved her... What if something happens? If something happens to her...
A tear slipped from his closed eyes, and he punched the nearest wall in frustration. The pain in his knuckles was bitter and sharp, yet sweet at the same time, although he didn't know why. He kept at it- hitting and hitting the wall, until there was a big dent where the paint cracked, and his hand was sore and bleeding. Abandoning the bed, he rolled over on the stone floor, before finally silent crying himself to sleep.