Chapter 1: Her arrival (Revised)
Ashes and gun powder fumes the air with a strong stench of blood from the countless kills that were committed tonight, and there was specifically a strong smell from the countless wounds that were shot by professional alice users that function like excellent tracking dogs. Our young alice user, Natsume Hyuuga, was a brilliant lad that possesses the fire alice that burns his opponents alive as if they were burning in hell. Now bleeding to death, Natsume Hyuuga lies in an office room in silence as he waits for Death to get him, or even a gun man to finally finish him off. As he lays in his pool of blood, patiently waiting for his life to end, he ponders over what will befall to his sister after he's gone.
Will she finally be freed from the shackles of the school called Alice academy, or will she be killed if she was unnecessary?
Natsume tries to move his body, but the extreme pain made it futile to do anything. The thought of Persona laying a finger on his little sister boiled his blood so much, he continued the struggle to stand up. As if teasing him, his mind said to stand but his body said otherwise. Frustrated and angry over his helplessness, he started crying and cursed to the air.
"…of all times…why now? Fuck…" Natsume said before he coughed up blood.
He heard the door creaked open and footsteps walking towards him.
Before the boy's eyes was a strange looking girl that doesn't particularly look like she belonged to the enemy, nor was anyone he recognized. She had long black hair and a kimono that were black as night, but her white cat mask and floral designs at the hems of her robe were contractually white as daylight. For a few minutes, the girl continued to stand beside his body and stared at him in pure silence as if expecting something from him.
"…Are you death?" Natsume asked.
"I'm here in orders of the academy to confirm whether you are alive and whether you successfully retrieved the data we asked you to get." The girl said.
"I…might as well be dead. The data is in…my blazer. Enemy took…the counterfeit…" Natsume said.
The girl kneeled in and unbuttoned his bloody blazer to find a hidden pocket that had a small usb in it. She took it out, and slid it into her black obi.
"Hehe…"
"What's so funny?" asked the girl.
"Hehehe…nothing. Just…kill me." Natsume said as he looked directly at the girl. "You got what you want…finish me… then leave."
The fire caster looked up to the ceiling that was caught in fire, waiting for it to collapse and become one with the flames. His flames. Then the room became black.
Natsume summarizes his life as a half- emptied glass of water. After his village was burned down to the ground, along with his best friend, Ruka, and his kind father; Aoi, his newly blind little sister, was all he had left. It was soon after that the Academy came by to collect the two siblings in their black limousines with suspicious chauffeurs in black suits.
The young Natsume, age 8, knew fully well who these men were, because his father repetitively tells him that the day will come when Natsume will be taken away. All this time, he believed he would fight back when the Academy sets before his presence and escape with his family.
However, the circumstances has changed.
His sister and he did not have any relatives that could take in two orphans, and although they could escape now, it would be not long till they find them again. Therefore, Natsume agreed to come with the academy and let them do whatever they want to him, in the condition that his sister will be treated well and happy. Therefore, during the last seven years, Natsume had served the Academy to their every whim, because he would do anything for his sister safety.
Natsume summarizes his life as a half-emptied glass of water, because without Aoi, he would just be an empty glass.
At Alice Academy
The mild sound of cricket's chirps vibrantly in the outskirts of Alice Academy's Northern Forest. Sitting in the midst of darkness under the shadows of their tall trees was the girl with the white mask. Laying upon her lap was a resting Natsume sleeping soundly as she caresses his hair in comfort. To prevent the young fire caster catching a cold, she covers him with her black kimono, making her endure the cold with her thin white kimono undergarments.
She looked down at the boy as he squirms upon her lap to find comfort in his position. Fortunately, he did not woken up, and she sighed in relief that she would not have to experience his fiery attitude at 2 o'clock in the morning.
She was informed of the boy's characteristics beforehand, and was told he possessed similar qualities to his alice. Hot-tempered, ferocious, out of control, overwhelming and fierce. These were traits that people normally would avoid to get away from unnecessary trouble, but not to the girl. Coincidentally, they were qualities that also describe her most important people. Although they were ruthless and relentless under the orders of the academy like Natsume, she knew deep down that they were kind, caring, and cherish towards the people they hold dear. Conceited as she sounds, she knew they love her as much as she loves them, despite how much blood they spilt in between.
The temperature continues to drop as she remains sitting in the dark, and prays when in the world will Persona, her advisor and guardian, will retrieve her. The only warmth she could acquire was the strong body heat emitted from the boy on her lap.
"It must be because of his alice." she thought in slight envy. The girl inherited a power called the Stealing alice from her late mother. It allows her to transform alices as a stone and if she wanted do, insert that alice into another person. At the same time, she also gained the Nullification alice, which deflects any alices that wishes to harm her. Now during this cold circumstance, neither alices would keep her warm.
Out of all her body parts, her hands were the most effected to the cold and they began to shiver. Overpowered by the chilly weather, she could not resist trying to use the boy as a personal heater. As a resort, she carefully placed one of her cold hands to Natsume's cheek, while the other was holding his hands.
"So warm." She thought.
"Did I interrupt you?" said the man behind a tree.
The girl turned her head and glared at the man with the white half-mask intently with a slight killing aura. Although her cat mask it, she scowls at him.
"Persona, I've been in the cold for too long, where in the world were you?" said the girl in frustration. She extended her arm to him as if signaling him to give her something warm.
"I was busy handling other missions that the headmaster wished me to do. I sincerely apologize." he said while removing his black leather jacket and placed it on the girl's shoulders.
Confident with his strength, the man lifted the sleeping Natsume to his shoulders to carry him to his room. Persona extended his arm to assist the girl standing up, and she took it with a hint of delight and gave a smile under her mask.
"Let's go home." she said as she held onto Persona's hand that was strangely warm, despite having the Degrading alice.
Infirmary room
The morning ray hitting directly at Natsume's eyes was the cause for his disturbed sleep. His red eyes slowly opened to adjust to the bright lights, and stares at the familiar white ceilings of the academy's infirmary to gradually wake himself up peacefully.
However, a flash of blood, a girl in a white cat mask, and a burning ceiling surged through his head and caused him to jolt in surprise and abruptly sat up.
"I'm alive?" the boy thought.
He started touching his arms and legs to make sure they were not Swiss cheese from the bullets. He also lifted his shirt to make sure his stomach was still intact and touched it to find any falsification. Natsume was surprised not only was he alive, but the injuries he received were all healed completely without leaving a mark. His best bet was that he either was in heaven, or someone with an incredible healing alice treated him.
The scent of rubbing alcohol with a strange mix of laundry detergent was the signature smell of Alice Academy's infirmary, something that Natsume would be very familiar with after he comes back from a mission. He also looked around the room for anything out of the ordinary, but it was just a room practically empty with nothing but a bed and a clock. He looked up at the clock across the room to check what time it was.
"1:12 pm. It's late, so I won't make it to the afternoon sessions on time." Natsume thought.
One of Natsume's duties to the academy was not solely going to missions, but he was to also attend classes like a normal student. According to the Academy's school board, Natsume was still a minor and still needs to be disciplined and educated like any student in the Academy. They believed if he was not taught to be civilized, then he would not be able to control his alice properly and would cause trouble to the school. Therefore, it was mandatory for him to show up to classes, or else he would be severely punished for it. But considering he almost took his life for a mission last night, he deserves an absence for the day.
He stood up from the bed, and walked up to the window to see the bright world that he will never be a part of. According to his view, he calculated that he must be on the 4th floor of the infirmary because the view of the cherry blossom trees right below were not too far, nor were they quite close. The sun rays were perfectly shining against the cherry blossoms, which gave off a mystifying beautiful appeal to it. Natsume couldn't help but take notice on the elementary boys that were hanging underneath the tree. There should have been a session already, so Natsume guess that these boys were ditching. He could see how they were enjoying themselves under the bask of sunlight and smiled at each other's company.
Natsume stared at the boys with silence and sadness, for he started to reminisce the times he had with his best friend, Ruka. He was the only person aside from his family that was never afraid of him. He would always look at him in the eyes with no hesitation, and treated him as an equal. When Natsume revealed Ruka his fire alice, the blonde boy was surprised, but was never horrified. It was because he also had an alice, but not that amazing as Natsume's he said. He possessed the Animal Pheromone alice, which allows animals to be attracted to him and technically commands them to his every bidding. For the first time in his life, Natsume found another alice user he could share his troubles with, and although their level of liability were different, they still considered each other the same.
The creaking noise of his door opening interrupted Natusme's thoughts of memory lane, and glared whoever disturbed his peace and quiet.
"I see you are feeling better, Natsume." said Persona.
Natusme continued to stare at him in disgust as he watches him with that smirk he hated so much. Although Persona is his advisor, he was the man that assigned him missions and punishes him whenever he pleases. Honestly, he could not stand to being in the same room as him, much less breathing the same air. However, there were questions Natsume had in mind that were needed to be answered, and Persona was the man who would give it to him.
"Cut the crap, Persona. Why am I still alive? You and I knew that I would be dead last night, risking my life for that stupid piece of shit you guys were so gung-ho about, but here I am. Living and breathing. On top of that, who was that girl you sent me? Depending on how she just came to steal the data that I risk my ass for and didn't give a damn that I was dying, she seemed like a nice girl. A true keeper." Natsume said with a hint of sarcasm at the end.
"I assure you Natsume, I never doubted that you would make it out alive BECAUSE of that "nice girl" I sent you." Persona said. He walked closer to Natsume, and he looked down on the boys red eyes with an intense aura.
"Without her, you would not be alive right now. You would've been buried in that storage under enemy territory, and we wouldn't lift a finger getting your burnt corpse. Imagine, what would have happened if your sister found out about it? She would surely be devastated that her only brother died somewhere in the outside world, and she would probably beg us to find your remains. In return, we could do whatever we want with her, doesn't that sound fun?"
"You fucking lolicon! She's only 12 years old!" the boy retorted as he gripping down Persona's collar shirt.
"And you were eight." he replied.
"Bastard!" Natsume scowled. He growled at the man with the burning hatred that resided in him for the last seven years.
"Ah hem." A feminine pitched voice was heard outside the infirmary door.
"Pardon me. Natsume, as much as I know how much you loathe me, that is not why I'm here." Persona said as if getting back to business. Natsume was still pissed off, but stayed quiet to hear the news. The girl with the white mask walked before him, which made Natsume have a confused expression.
"What is she..."
"From today onwards, she will be your partner during missions." Persona said. The girl bowed slightly to make his acquaintance.
"W-wait. Partner? Her?" he questioned with confusion and discuss.
"Yes" replied the young girl as she extended her hand. "My name is Shisane, and I hope we'll get along."
Natsume slapped her hands away as he glared at her with the most hatred look in his eyes. "Fuck off. I don't need partner Persona, I can take care of myself. Especially not with this girl." he said.
He then went back to his bed, and covered the white sheets over his body. It was a sign that he no longer wanted to talk, so Persona and Shisane quietly excused themselves out of the room.
Persona and Shisane continued walking quietly to the student dormitory area, where Shisane will be residing.
"I'm sorry about letting you see that, he can be…a big handful." The man said.
"No, its okay. I didn't really give a good impression the first time we met anyway." She replied. From there, the rest of the walk consists of silence until they were close to the elementary school dorms.
"May I ask a question?" he asked.
"Sure. What is it?"
"Why didn't you transport back to the main base? Whether Natsume was dead or alive, your goal was to retrieve the stolen data from the AAO safe and sound. With your level of power, you could've transported back safely, even with Natsume's carcass. So why were you only able to pass through the gates?"
"It was because… I healed his wounds before we escaped. They were pretty bad, so it took a lot more power than I thought."
"I understand that the healing alice requires a tremendous amount of energy, but with your amount of power, even healing a fatal wound would not dramatically drain your alice that bad."
The masked girl stopped her tracks and stayed quiet as if she was guilty of something. The man felt her concerns, and was worried how she was. He held on to her shoulders, which made the girl look up at him.
"Please. Tell me."
Shisane looked down again, but she held over his hand to ease him.
"Persona. I actually did something I should have never done. But honestly, I don't regret it and it's for one good reason" Shisane said.
"For Youichi-sama." The man replied.
Under her white mask, the girl smiled. She was delighted that Persona, her beloved guardian, always understands her thought process. Only a few people in her life knew her priorities and the reasons of her actions. On most cases, it is always for her brother, Youichi.
"That's right. Anyway, can I see him before I go to my room?" she asked.
"Of course you can." He said with a smile.
In the elementary third star dormitory lives a young boy named Youichi, laying down in his bed as his guardian, Sergio, reads him a bedtime story. Ever since the boy came the academy, which was two years ago, Sergio never left his side.
Sergio is Persona's twin little brother, and he was sent to the academy as a hostage. Of course, he didn't knew about it until years later when he witnessed his brothers half-dead unconscious body. Although he possesses the same Degrading alice as his twin, it was not on the same level as his. His ability works on small organisms like flowers and small rodents, but not anything big like a human. Therefore, he couldn't contribute to anything extreme like a mission. To show his usefulness to the academy, he takes the job as caretaker for infants with dangerous alices and a substitute teacher for his brother or any teachers that calls in sick.
"Sergio." Youichi said.
"Yes?" he replied.
"When will Onee-chan come back? She said she'll see me tonight."
"I don't know sweetie. Today is a very busy day for her, so I'm not sure you will actually see her. But it's definite that you'll see your sister tomorrow, cause it's gonna be her first day." Cheered the man.
"Yeah, you're right." Youichi replied with a smile. He turned to his sides, and held onto his stuffed rabbit, indicating that he will go to sleep. However, there was a knock on the door.
"Speak of the devil." Sergio said. He stood up and opened the door to see Persona and a little brunette.
"Welcome Mikan-sama. Youichi-sama has been expecting you." Said Sergio.
"Thank you Sergio. I hope my brother didn't caused you any trouble." She replied.
As Youichi heard Mikan's voice, he sprang up from his bed and rushed towards the door.
"Onee-chan!"
"You-chan!" Mikan replied with excitement. She hugged the little boy with a smile on her face, and so was the boy.
"Oh my gosh, you're so big now! It's only been a month, and you've grown so much. I mean, your hands are as big as my palm now. Maybe this is what you call puberty." She said as she started playing patty-cake with the 8 year old.
"Mikan-sama, he's just growing. He's not even in his 'teens' yet." Said Persona.
The masked man felt a tap on his shoulder, and faced Sergio with a sweet smile on his face.
"Glad you're safe and sound." Sergio gave the masked man a firm hug, and Persona did the same. After their long meaningful hug, Sergio noticed the floral kimono, a black wig, and a mask in his brother's arms.
"Is that what I think it is?" he said as he pointed it out.
"Yeah. She wore these earlier before coming here."
Sergio grabbed the kimono and looked at its wonderful details of pink cherry blossoms near the hems of the kimono. He then grabbed the white cat mask with a similar cherry blossom design.
"It's beautiful." Sergio commented with a sad expression.
Persona also saw his sad look, and he understood why. Maybe it was a twin thing, but Persona also didn't like how the kimono was too beautiful for its own good. Their young mistress, Mikan-sama, is among the most powerful alice user in the country, for she had inherited both Nullification and Stealing Alice from her deceased parents. Under the Japanese Alice government, she was their pride and joy, the national treasure. But as much she is beloved by many, she was also feared. Just like her mother, Yuka Azumi, she was considered the 'Grim reaper' upon Alice users. Her job, ordered by the higher ups, were to steal alices from users close to death. Government officials feel like it would be a waste of an alice if it dies along with the user. Therefore, they send Mikan to take it away from them. But despite the user's plea in their death bed, she remains following orders. For Mikan wearing a beautiful kimono that stands out from death is like a slap in the face that a user will never die with their alice. She represents the beautiful and ugly truth for Alice users, just like her mother.
Amidst in the middle of their thoughts, Mikan asked Persona if she could sleep with Youichi tonight. The mask man was ready to object because her uniform was ready in her room, but Sergio interrupted him, saying that tonight was fine, because she could just teleport back to her room on time.
Mikan agreed with that idea and promised to Persona that she will be awake to teleport back on time to prepare for school.
End of Chapter 1