Crimson Almond

Puppets are merely toys used for their master's wishes - Dead souls, attached to strings, following orders, unable to break the chains holding them back - Can't find their way out… Or even the skills they lack. Mikan Sakura knows this very well… For she is nothing but a doll also…

Chapter 1: New Beginning

Puppets are merely toys used for their master's wishes.

Dead souls… attached to strings, following orders.

Someone… please…

Unable to break the chains holding them back.

Can't find their way out,

I'm lost… stuck…

Or even the skills they lack…

Someone… Get me out of here!

"Dumb ass girl! You messed up again!" A small brunette was being punished for her actions again. "Do the usual. When you're finished, bring her to my office." The Mistress said coldly. The men dressed in black looked at the girl, night sticks in their hands. "Get ready to pay for your ill actions towards our Miss Tsubaki!" One hooted. "Here we come!" The other one joined in.

She put her arms up in a defensive position and attempted to block their attacks. Her arms didn't do much though, for her small body had slow reflexes. She winced as the men in black continued beating her with their night sticks. "Stop…" The girl whimpered. She grabbed one of their legs lightly. "Stop…" She said a bit louder than the first time. They continued without even pausing to hear her out.

The brunette lie defenseless on the ground. "Stop it!" She screamed. There was a bright light and a loud bang that signaled an explosion, sirens followed soon after. The goons dressed in black were either unconscious or dead-she wasn't sure which. Everything faded to black.

She woke to find herself alone in a room, surrounded by darkness. After sitting up, she scooted over to the door, pressing her ear against it. The young girl could hear her Mistress arguing with someone. She was able to identify him as a man, though he had a girly voice.

"I'm not handing this girl over to you." Her Mistress hissed.

"Hear me out, Tsubaki-san. I'll take her away from here so she doesn't cause you trouble ever again." A cup was set on a table.

"She is a very good worker. I can't just give her away."

"Please… I'm begging you to let me take her to Alice Academy."

'Alice Academy? Where and what is that?' She was drawn to their words. But in the end, she couldn't hear the rest of their conversation due to the furnace.

Suddenly, the door opened and she fell on the floor. She looked up to see the Mistress' angry face. 'Crap. Now I've done it…'

"Get up and get out. A man is coming to get you at 9 pm. Get whatever stuff you have from under the staircase and leave." She grabbed the girl's arm and the girl winced; bruises and cuts were all over her body. "Stop complaining and go." The Mistress noticed the expression on the brunette's face and threw her back to the floor, causing her to hit her head on the wall. It hurt. The wall was made of stones and her skull bled, after hitting her head on one of the sharp edges.

Her Mistress grabbed her arm again and shoved her towards the stairwell. The girl was holding her head with her hand. She could feel the blood on her finger tips and in her palm. Her brown eyes filled with tears from the pain as she made her way to the stairwell door. She twisted the knob and grabbed a small bag, no bigger than a change purse, then limped towards the main entrance.

When the frail girl got to the door, the Mistress shoved her out. She closed her eyes tight. 'Mom… If I do things without complaining, will you forgive me and come back?' She steadied herself using the railing and exited through the gates. Her wait for the mysterious man began.

The girl took the pocket watch from her small bag to check the time. It was very precious to her since it had belonged to her father. 'Only a couple more minutes 'til nine.'

Looking down at her body, she noticed her arms, legs, and clothes were all covered in blood. Her head still bled. She leaned against the stone hedge and drifted to sleep.

The brunette opened her eyes to a bright room and a man sitting in a chair. "Ah, Mikan-chan! You're awake!" He stood up. Mikan sat up and looked at him. "Welcome to Alice Academy, Mikan Sakura-Chan."

"H-How did I get here?"

"I found you sleeping in front of Tsubaki-san's home. I picked you up and brought you here." She stood up only to fall back onto the couch. "Careful, Mikan-chan. Your head was injured and you were drenched in blood. But it's alright, we fixed it up." He explained.

'I'm so confused. Okay… I am at Alice Academy… Why? I dunno why… How? Some strange man brought me… Here we go again… Another Master to serve…'

Probably due to the fact that Mikan was looking at him like he was a creeper, he suddenly remembered that he hadn't introduced himself yet. "Oh, right. My name is Narumi. I'm a teacher here at Alice Academy." Mikan nodded slowly, still confused. He continued, "This school is for special kids with a unique power. Only kids with an 'Alice', or special ability, can attend."

"So… Does that mean I have an 'Alice'… or ability, Narumi-sama?"

"You don't have to add the 'sama', Mikan-chan. And to answer your question, yes. You have a very unique Alice, or should I say Alices."

"I have more than one?"

"Yes. Nullification and SEC."

"SEC?" "Correct. Your Nullification Alice allows you to protect yourself from other Alices and the SEC stands for Steal-Erase-Copy. It allows you to do as the name suggests." She nodded her head in response again. 'Okay…'

"How did you know I had an Alice? How did you find me, Narumi-sama?"

"Just call me Narumi Sensei. Anyway, we noticed a disturbance caused by an Alice in your area."

"You mean the big explosion and fire?" Mikan questioned.

"Yeah. You probably copied that Alice from your father…" He looked down with a hint of sadness in his eyes, and then looked back up at the confused girl. "Well, school begins in about an hour so why don't you get ready." He handed her a uniform.

"Thank you." Mikan's brown hair fell over her shoulders as she bowed respectfully.

"No problem. You can use my room to get ready since we don't have your room completely done yet. Sorry, Mikan-chan." With that, he left her. 'I guess I should get ready and head to this "2-A" place that is apparently in the High School building.'

"Everyone is in class now, so wait here until I tell you to come in. Okay, Mikan-chan?" She nodded. 'I'm really not used to talking so much, well, so much as a normal conversation. I've probably had a longer conversation with Narumi than with any of my masters or mistresses.' Mikan looked through the cracked door and watched. Narumi clapped his hands together. "Okay, everyone, we have a new student today!" He glanced at the door. "Please come in!"

As Mikan walked in, the room filled with whispers and stares. She sighed. 'I can't take all these eyes…' Narumi sweat-dropped when he noticed all of the cuts and bruises on her body. She didn't bother to conceal them.

"Everyone, this is Mikan Sakura. I expect you all to be nice!" He looked around the classroom. "Free period starts now. The next teacher will be here in forty-seven minutes!" Then he walked out the classroom door.

'Okay… Where am I supposed to sit?' Mikan's eyes wandered over the entire room, taking in the whole 'school' atmosphere.She walked over to the window in the back and sat on the ledge.

'Great… I already don't like this place.' She rested her head on the window and sighed. 'Mom… Dad…'

Do you miss her?

Yeah.

Why? She was nothing but mean to you. Plus, she wasn't blood-related.

I admire her. She worked all the time and fed my brother and I.

She didn't do much for you. Your 'Dad' is the one who took care of you.

She did her best. She had to work to get the money.

She had to support you. She's the one who agreed to take care of you. Anyway… Remember- You ended up in a bad situation when she left.

She didn't leave. She was kidnapped.

Kidnapped, whatever. She didn't try to save your brother either. She let that man take him. And in a way, she did leave. She made no effort to get away.

Working in other homes wasn't all that bad.

Are you kidding? Look at yourself now.

Sigh…

You're too nice. But you know, in your head you think all these… confident thoughts… When it comes to actually talking, you're more timid. Isn't it kind of funny how you have a way of thinking-an assertive attitude-but when it comes to saying your thoughts, you have no poise.

Who are you? Your voice sounds familiar, but I can't remember…

It's too early for me to reveal myself to you.

What?

A boy with spiky, sand-colored hair approached the new girl, interrupting her inner conversation. "Hello, Sakura-san." She looked at him with her cold, brown eyes and replied with, "Mikan."

"My name is Kokoro Yome. Everyone calls me Koko." She nodded. 'Okay… So why are you here? You're bothering me.' Despite the discipline Mikan had gone through, she still had such insensitive thoughts-just as the voice had pointed out.

"Eh? Koko? Is this the new girl-Mikan-chan?" A girl asked.

"Yeah. This is my friend Nonoko Ogasawara." Koko said.

"Nice to meet you!" She took my hand. "Let's be friends, 'kay?"

"Hey, don't forget about me…!" Koko complained.

"Hey, hey. What happened to you? You have cuts and bruises all over your body, Mikan-chan!"

Mikan looked around the classroom. Everyone stared at the three as it was completely silent. She tried to smile. "Sorry, Kokoro-sama, Nonoko-sama, I shouldn't reward myself with friends when I've done such things as to disappoint my masters and mistresses." She stood up and made her way out of the classroom. Mikan was drawn to a pair of crimson and light sapphire eyes, in particular, staring at her as she walked passed them.

'A new student. A girl student… But she's not all over me like the other girls are. She's different and quiet.' The crimson eyes watched intently as the brunette walked passed him and his friend with the light blue eyes. 'She's so… weird, so formal.'

"Natsume-sama! The new girl sure is weird, right?" Sumire squealed. 'Jeez, the stupid fan girl… Go away.' Natsume thought when the obnoxiously loud girl jumped up. He shot her an annoyed look.

"N-Natsume…!" She seemed a bit shocked at his reaction.

"Koko-kun, what was she thinking?" Noko asked.

"Nothing maybe…? I dunno. I couldn't read her mind. It was like there was a barrier."

"Eh?" Anna questioned in disbelief. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"We should get some information on this new girl." Yu added. "Hotaru."

"Right." Hotaru nodded.

"Who cares about her anyway, Natsume-kun?" Sumire laughed. He continued to ignore her.

"Hey, is she just gonna' ditch next class? That's not a good thing to do on her first day…" Yu stated as the class rep.

"Natsume. What do you think of the new girl?" Mochiage asked. The crimson eyes glanced at his sporty friend and smirked. "The new girl will regret coming here."