Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice
Claimer: This fan fiction and all errors it might contain are mine.
This is an entry to Hilaire'sGAFFC#2: The Casting of an Irrevocable Spell. The prompt is to portray Hotaru Imai as a most original sorceress/witch who has casts spells/creates potions/does whatever is said in the literary/mythogical contexts.
Make Me Love You
She controlled the human's fates, and had always hated them. She did not trust them, and did not associate with them. And yet, why did this man make her feel so . . . different?
She added the Verbena into the cauldron, the violet herb incinerating in the smoky pot, where the mixture turned purple. After adding a few other herbs, the rose colored smoke vanished, as the bubbling stopped, the liquid only appearing to be a small amount compared to it's large container.
The sorceress, picked up a flask, dumping the thick liquid into it, sealing it with a cork tightly, making sure nothing would escape. She stuck a beige masking tape onto the front of it, and then grabbed a marker, labeling it,
'Love Potion'
She added it into her large collection in her experiment room. She put it right next to her 'Hate Potion', which was colored a thick gray, like a rain cloud.
She smirked at the sight of them two, putting them both into her bag, preparing for another day, another day of controlling the fate of the unfortunate or fortunate humans in the small village which she lived in.
Putting on her black coat, and placing the hood up over her head of ebony hair, her amethyst orbs were then focused to getting this over with.
She couldn't let a laugh escape her lips, and it sounded somewhat evil to her. Malicious. Like an evil laugh she heard in the movies. Like she was enjoying this. She stopped the laughter and sighed, opening the barrier—or her so called 'front door'—from the outer world and her own.
She left her small laboratory with her confidence and her human name: Hotaru Imai.
Walking through the small village, she kept a low profile and desperately wanted to get out of this situation she had at hand.
Bumping into numerous villagers, and ignoring their stares at her, she prodded on. Some men kept staring at her, and she knew why. They were pigs, and she didn't look like a sorceress at all, she looked like a mere human woman. They thought they could attract her hard-to-grasp attention, but she had no interest whatsoever in ever having a relationship, especially with a mere human.
She remembered what the elders had told her, that she had to use the two potions to control their fates, to let them be 'happier'.
Crap. That's what she thought this all was. Why was she doing this? Why couldn't they let fate fall into place like how it was supposed to? Why were they interfering with the lives of humans?
She decided to ignore the questions that haunted her mind; she was getting money from this, and that was all that mattered.
She loved money, it helped her through her hard times, and was always there for her, since she never allowed herself to become broke. Unfortunately, people weren't like that.
People betray. And it's a miracle if they don't. She knows, since she had once encountered human contact before, and they soon abandoned her after they knew of her unusually cold personality, or her piercing words and carelessness when it comes to caring about what other feel. She wasn't a human, how was she supposed to understand how they act and feel?
She stopped. She shouldn't be thinking about these kinds of things. She had a job to accomplish.
She remembered what she had to do and kept going, towards a small prairie where she heard the involved was.
Seeing a man with golden locks and ocean eyes, which were gazing out to the horizon, she knew it was him. One of the elders had shown her a picture, and she knew it was that man, with his 'Prince Charming' aura.
Ruka Nogi.
He sat on the tall wheat grass, his arms wrapped lazily around his legs.
She noticed something was wrong. But she just wondered what. She shook her head lightly, remembering what she was here for. She wasn't supposed to deal with their emotions, she was supposed to do her job, that's what.
She grabbed a paper from her thick coat pocket, which held her task.
Hotaru Imai, use your infamous potions on Ruka Nogi, to help him get his life back on track and help him set free his worries.
The Elders of the Witchcraft Society
What the hell was this?! She wasn't a social worker! She was a sorceress for God's sake!
Grumbling mentally, she took out her wand—which she had stored in her coat—and mentally recited a spell, which then caused the man, Ruka Nogi, to pass out right in the middle of the field.
She transformed her slim wand into an electronic broomstick, hopped on before hauling the man onto it herself.
"Damn this . . ." She muttered, struggling from his weight, why couldn't she be stronger? That would sure solve her problem.
Finally getting him on, she flew off, making sure he didn't fall to his death first.
She finally managed to get the man into her small home, yet after dumping him hastily on the couch, she didn't know why he was still sleeping. Her powers weren't meant to knock him out that much. Or was he just one of those humans that couldn't take it?
She didn't use any deadly spells on him, she would know, she wasn't stupid.
Hearing him shuffle, she looked at him, his eyelashes fluttered and soon he opened his eyes, which he rubbed. He looked comfortable, and she was annoyed for a second.
But as he became aware of his surroundings, he stopped, and shot up like a bullet.
"What the hell?! What's going on?!" He shouted at her, who was intently staring at him.
"You're not dead. That's good." Hotaru stated, as his eyes widened at her.
For numerous reasons. First, he had never seen any girl like her before. She was breathtakingly beautiful, and yet she seemed sad for a reason, even if her face showed no emotion.
How melancholic. Just like his best friend, who held the heart of the woman he loved. He decided to let them be, since he knew they loved each other, and she didn't love him the way he did to her.
Second, she didn't seem to be surprised by him. Usually, girls would try to catch his attention, but they never succeeded.
"What are you staring at?" Hotaru asked, her eyebrow twitching slightly at him.
"No-Nothing." Ruka snapped out of it and looked around the small cottage.
"What is this?" Ruka asked, as Hotaru stood up and scoffed rudely.
"It's my house, stupid."
"Jeez, no need to get all rude." Ruka's eyebrows furrowed together as they both glared at each other; as they were polar opposites, but they didn't know that opposites attract.
"What are some problems in your life?" Hotaru decided to get straight to the point, as Ruka whipped his head in her direction.
"What? Why do you want to know?" Ruka asked, his eyes widening at her smirk.
"Fine. I'll get it myself then." Hotaru smirked before walking towards her front door, but then she felt him grab her arm, causing her to stop and look back at him.
"Where are you going?" Ruka asked, his tone of voice serious and his stare intense.
"You don't need to know, if you won't tell me, then I'll need to do this the hard way." Hotaru said, grabbing her wand and transforming it swiftly into a broomstick, as Ruka jumped back and landed on the cold floor.
Jumping on, she zoomed high through the skies of the town, soon noticing that she had a stowaway in the back.
Looking at him, she brushed the whipping wisps of her bangs out of her eyes and sighed.
"What are you doing? Stop!" Ruka shouted, grabbing her hand to stop her, but it didn't do anything.
"Stop if me you can." She said, shaking his hand off and going faster than ever, even making herself lose a little control. Ruka screamed as the wind rushed and whipped his face, making it hard to see anything.
"Stop your screaming moron." Hotaru said, landing slowly in the prairie he once was in.
"God! What were you thinking?! What would have happened if I fell off?!" Ruka shouted, as they both hopped off her broomstick, which soon turned back into the wand she slipped into her coat.
"Then," Hotaru started, smirking darkly at him, "That would've been too bad."
Entering Ruka's house, Hotaru looked around the rather large cottage. It was very peaceful, and was adorned with animals running around, all who Ruka seemed to know by name.
"So, what problems do you have? Tell me before I beat it out of you." Hotaru crossed her delicate arms and sighed, looking around while Ruka picked up his bunny and looked at her, annoyed.
"Why do you want to know?"
"I don't want to know, I need to know." Hotaru responded to him as she glared at him with disgust as he kissed his bunny's forehead gently and lovingly.
"Why? Are you on a mission? Oh God, you're that blackmailing witch I hear about! Even the house on the hill! How cliché." Ruka commented, yelling at her as she raised a suspicious eyebrow.
"How irritatingly flattering." Hotaru muttered with a smirk as Ruka's ocean eyes bulged.
"Flattering?! That's insulting! Aren't you upset at them?!" Ruka asked her, furious himself at her thoughts.
"No, I don't associate myself with humans unless absolutely necessary. Like this situation for example." Hotaru explained to him as he furrowed his eyebrows together, suddenly interested in what she has to say instead of wanting her to just shut her sarcastic mouth.
"Why?" Ruka asked her softly; feeling the topic was not meant to be yelled about.
"Humans don't stick by you, they betray. Everyone betrays somehow, never staying with you. Even family for instance. Even dying is betrayal. Leaving the ones you love, it's betrayal." Hotaru whispered softly, her expression simply bored, though her insides churned when she hesitantly remembered her past; the source of her thoughts on the topic.
Ruka never heard anyone talk about the topic like that. When people die, it's their time, and you can't change it. He believes everything happens for a reason, even if that incident is bad.
"What sticks by you then?" Ruka decided to ask this question, wondering if she would say, "No one".
"Money." Ruka almost choked on his own saliva, which built in his throat.
"What?! That's like, the one thing that doesn't stick by you! Are you like, filthy rich or something?! Is that why you think like that?! And death is not betrayal! It is merely their way of leaving, and it's an opportunity for you to become more independent and to simply move on in your life! You have to stop thinking like, or else you'll be all alone in the world! And I don't think anyone wants to be alone, no matter how much they say they want to be alone or don't want to socialize, they're lying! So stop lying to yourself!" Ruka shouted, standing up from his seat at the table which they were sitting at as Hotaru merely stared at him the entire time, amethyst orbs not blinking nor breaking the stare.
"Ugh, I'm sorry, it just came out . . ." Ruka whispered, his cheeks tinting a light pink as he slowly descended back into his seat.
Hotaru just stayed silent, and stared out the window of the small cottage, registering all the information Ruka had just screamed right in her face angrily. It was like a wake-up call, but she couldn't stop the words that were replaying over and over in her mind.
Maybe he was different.
She brushed the thought away quickly, she couldn't let herself be affected by this human's words. He shouldn't be affecting her this much, this had never happened before.
What was with this man?
Hotaru decided that she would go home after that incident which happened with the man. He was odd. That was for sure. And there was something different about him. And she didn't like it. She couldn't get the words that he spoke out of her head. They were imprinted into her brain, no matter how much she tried to get it out.
"Damn him." Hotaru whispered to herself, putting her coat on its hanger and strolling calmly into her lab, putting her bag of the two potions on the table, sighing.
Today was such an odd day. Probably one of the most odd in her life. She couldn't get that man out of her head, and worse, she was even questioning her beliefs because of him.
This was simply horrid. Sitting down in her armchair, she exhaled deeply, trying to get it all out of her system. She was frustrated, and she was confused.
She scoffed at her mental confession. She was a sorceress, not some human like the rest of them were, so of course, she needed to act different. She didn't want to be a human, and that's exactly why she had chosen the path of a sorceress.
Sighing, she randomly grabbed a book from her library and quickly scanned the title, desperately looking for something to take her mind off that man.
What was he thinking?! He just—practically—insulted the blackmailing witch! What was he going to do now?! What if she decided to do something to him? He didn't know what, but he knew there had to be something. She didn't seem like a 'saint'.
Damn. He didn't like where this is going. He was even pacing around his house for God's sake! What would happen now? And she was still persistent about the whole, "What problems do you have in your life?" thing. And he didn't even know why she wanted to know.
He sighed, and pursed his lips together in thought, plopping himself onto his seat on his table.
He wondered what would happen next. Would she come again?
Ugh! He needed to get her out of his head, she was the witch that lived on the hill, and he had known that fact before. He just never met her. And she was different. And he knew that somewhere deep inside him, he wanted to see her again.
"You're back?" Ruka asked, shocked—and slightly elated—by the fact that the sorceress that was ruling his mind yesterday had showed up at his front door. She just stood there, her eyes as mysterious as ever, and she still had the black cloak on her, covering her beautiful face.
"What problems do you have in your life? That is getting irritating to say so I suggest you tell me and let me be on my way." Hotaru stated, walking into his house, whether he liked it or not.
"He-Hey! You can't just invite yourself into someone's house like that!" Ruka shouted at her, ignoring her second comment, but Hotaru just gazed at him with lost eyes.
"Do you even have any manners?" Ruka asked softly, as Hotaru furrowed her eyebrows.
"What a stupid question."
"I mean, you don't really 'associate' yourself with humans, so you don't know how to react around them, so you don't interact with them because you're afraid of what they're going to do, because you don't know . . ." Ruka stated as Hotaru's eyes widened. How did he manage to get all that information from only meeting her once?
"Who do you think you are? A therapist?" Hotaru hissed dangerously as Ruka stepped back, noticing her irritated mood.
"I . . . was thinking about it yesterday, and . . . just now, I figured it out." Ruka confessed, looking slightly—make that a lot—embarrassed. Hotaru was merely amused, since that was what she was doing, but of course, being herself, she wasn't going to confess it like he did.
But still, she didn't like him.
"When are you going to tell me?" Hotaru asked him boringly, pretending to ignore his statement.
"Tell you wh-what?" Ruka stuttered, almost shocked that she was still bored, or at least in his mind she was.
"You know what I'm talking about. Now just tell me what your damn problems in your life are so I can get this over with." Hotaru demanded him, growing impatient with this constant stalling.
"Why should I tell you?!" Ruka still resisted, not giving in to her ways, since he knew she would feel like she won, and he wasn't going to give her the satisfaction.
"Ugh, you're a stubborn one." Hotaru commented, irritated.
"Well! You have to learn these types of things; before you ask these types of questions, you have to, you know, get to know the person." Ruka explained, as she just raised an amused brow.
"So? I don't have time for that." Hotaru said emotionlessly; yet Ruka knew she was nervous, and he found out another thing about her.
"What's your name?" Ruka asked, stepping closer to her as she backed away from his sudden move.
"Why?"
"I just want to know."
". . . Hotaru Imai."
"Hotaru Imai?" Ruka echoed, as Hotaru's eye twitched.
"Don't say my name so lightly Bunny Boy," Hotaru hissed as he was taken aback.
"Bu-Bunny Boy?!"
"I shouldn't have told you my name, so be pleased." Hotaru finished, walking out of his house once more, getting her wand out and doing the routine; heading home.
To think about 'Bunny Boy'.
After months passed, this routine continued, Ruka learned more things about her while Hotaru kept giving certain things away to him. Was it intentional? After a while, yes. She didn't know why, but she was growing attached to the human. He began to look forward to her visits everyday to say the usual, "What are the problems in your life?". He would always ask why she would ask, and she would just get upset again.
They both soon began to talk about different things; while arguing along the way. Ruka wondered why he felt this way towards her; the way he enjoyed seeing her and he even looked forward to her visits. She was always so emotionless every time too.
In fact, now that he mentioned it, he's never seen her smile before.
"Hey, Hotaru." Ruka muttered, taking a sip of his coffee before Hotaru turned to him; they were in his house, having one of those days where they would just talk.
"I told you not to call me that Nogi." Hotaru said to him, her coffee sitting innocently on the table, not touched nor sipped. She said she didn't drink coffee, but Ruka saw her eyeing it while he wasn't looking, so he always makes her a cup; which she drinks in secret.
Conversing once more, they both wondered what the other thought of them.
Were they starting to have feelings for each other; other than friendship?
Impossible.
Months pasted, and soon, they began to grow feelings for each other. And Hotaru asked the question everyday, "What problems do you have in your life?" And Ruka always said why. Hotaru soon began to grow happy that he didn't just tell her; she didn't want to admit it, but she really had grown feelings for the stunning lad, and vice versa.
One day, Hotaru asked the question, and Ruka didn't say, "Why?", instead, he said something else.
It was a bright day that happened, and they were in the prairie, which they both had first met, they were sitting down in the praire, though Hotaru was irritated with the grass, and wanted to burn it no matter what it took. But as usual, she kept it to herself.
Of course, Hotaru asked, as usual, "What problems do you have in your life?", knowing the answer already.
But today was different.
Ruka turned his glossy gaze to her, and she suddenly looked at him as well.
"I don't have you."
At first she was shocked at his sudden confession, but then she grew a little disgusted at how the words sounded so . . . mushy.
"Did you take my love potion I made a while back Nogi?" Hotaru asked sarcastically, not daring to look at his face.
"No, I took the hate potion." Of course, he didn't, but he was going to prove his love for her.
She turned her confused yet irritated face towards his amused one.
"What?"
"I took a hate potion, and yet, I still love you." Ruka whispered, smiling gently at the sight of her face which had finally made an emotion.
He slowly pulled her into a warm and comforting embrace, which was eventually recuperated.
"Even magic can't help morons." Hotaru muttered against his shoulder as he chuckled lightly.
She could finally trust someone. She felt happy, contented, she felt human.
End
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