Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice
Chapter 1. [Darkness]
The shadows, the darkness, nowhere yet everywhere at once. My name escaped his dark obsidian lips, entrapping me in a place far from the light, far from any sign of hope; as far as the deepest pits of oblivion.
"You think you can escape?" A loud, cruel induced laugh filled my ears. My senses dulling and numbed with arson, smothered, waxed with a swab of toxin. Nevertheless, I continued searching the darkness with crazed eyes, summoning a desperate flair of flames in the presence. "Hm, look at you. Such an arrogant little brat. Kids like you deserve punishment, don't you think?" Gritting my teeth, I resisted the emotional pull to surrender, the tainted breaths of my frustration echoing across the perimeter of the black empty space. "Moreover, no one escapes, not the ruthless Kuro Neko, not me, and definitely not some Alice fool. This is just the beginning, better make the best of it, Hyuuga. The lives of those close to you are indeed affected by your decisions." I wanted to believe this darkness wasn't eating me away, wasn't tainting my soul, and that I was normal. Two words. Why me? Am I some toy that the Academy can mess with? Does my limited life span bring joy to their shitty lives? Hn, whatever. One thing is for certain, no matter what, I'll make them regret. Even if it means killing myself in the process, what's at stake? Sooner or later I'll die, and I'd much rather it be sooner, than to delay the inevitable. After all, I am the Kuro Neko, a murderous, Black Ops agent working for the ESPs. Or, so they say. And to be honest; it pisses me off.
[Kuro Neko]
My eyes snapped open, pain tracing my body as I cringed further into my blanketless bed. With slanted, wary eyes I noticed the ends of my legs spun, and intertwined with the dark sheets as they spilt over the sides of the mattress, resembling the darkness and cruelty of the memory. Sitting up with panting breaths, I reached for the two pills at my bedside; a gift perhaps, from that bastard Persona no doubt. Tilting my head up and swallowing them whole, I wiped my mouth and noticed a note on my desk. Swiping the paper into my clenching fist, I scanned the vivid words with a hollow feeling stem in the pit of my gut.
"Disobeying are you, Natsume? I'll see you in the Elementary Principals...office, punishment will be much assured."
Closing my eyes in annoyance, I lit the note in a flair of fire and watched the dancing flame obliterate it into ash in the air. Playing with fire costs so much, but once you experience it, you can never stop. My eyes followed a thin line of light that escaped into the emptiness of my vast dormitory, dazing me in a slight trance as I went to the window, and cloaked myself into the darkness. Nothing good can come from the light, it burns, and changes you. It coaxes, and taints you, I'm better off in the darkness. Better off with them in the light...
[Kuro Neko]
My hands were trembling inside the pockets of my regulated shorts, a merciless headache consuming my everlasting fatigue. They wasted no time to attach the incredulous Alice restrainer on me, a consequence for being uncooperative in yesterdays mission. Lifting my hand up, I traced the black cat mask with deft fingers, irritated that I surrendered so easily to that guy. I still remember the cynical grin that smeared across his made up charade, the way he leisurely sat on the cushion of his chair; simply watching me pay the price with blood and sweat.
"Natsume?" I quickly snapped back to reality, relieved to find it was Ruka Nogi walking towards me. Shoving my hand back into my pocket, I acknowledged him with a terse nod.
"Yo, Ruka." I casually greeted, walking further away from Naru's chaotic class of idiots, his light feet shadowing mine in unison. Silence passed and all I could think of was how neck deep I'm in, of how I want to rid of the manipulation and lies.
"It happened again, didn't it?" He said, stopping my movements in a complete sentence. I shifted my position to see a gleam of sadness in the depths of his blue, crystal clear eyes. The complete opposite from my blood driven orbs. Noticing we were in the perimeter of the Middle School division, I looked around to see if any eyes or ears were listening.
"Ruka..." My voice paled in comparison to his tearful state, watching as he averted his eyes to the padded green grass.
"You always have to endure it by yourself, why?" I averted my gaze. Because you'll be consumed by the darkness too.
The pupils in his eyes dilated, slightly lonesome. He couldn't see my face, couldn't tell what I was thinking, fortunately. My mouth dried, dropped to a silent grunt of pain as I tried to regain the words I should say, but nothing came out.
Laughter filled my ears and I swiftly cranked my head to the side to see some of the older Middle School students make their way over to me and Ruka. My hands itched with the lust to burn, awaiting their intimidation route to appear. Their disgusted, amused filled eyes clung to my mask and my throat growled in bile.
"If it isn't the murderer. Ne, Hyūga, how does it feel to be a toy for the Academy? Must be fun, especially with someone of your...class." Snorting with laughter, the boy flicked his wrist, aiming an illusion of burning flames toward me. Taking an intimidating step forward I clenched my fists and felt the urge to stain my hands. However, Ruka suddenly pushed me to the side with a protective glare molding his soft features. They raised their eyes in amusement. "So, animal boy wants to play too?"
"Don't you bastards have something better to do? Please, leave us alone." My head started to pound, my blood deteriorating. Ugh, those pills. The effects should wane off soon.
"Why? Shouldn't you be in class little boy?" Making a mocking face, the upperclassmen reached to touch Ruka, yet by now my senses were on high alert. I kicked his shin with the tip of my boot, grounding out a painful hollar from his wide spread mouth. Smirking in slight disappointment, I managed to conjure a fire above my index finger. The ball sack would've been better...tch.
"Think before you speak." I let them stare at the ever gorging flame, hearing a gulp of hesitation.
"Wait, you want to wager?" The boy said, tentatively backing up. Soon his shirt fanned with fire, screaming and all as he urged me to stop.
"Why should I?" I knew my tone and body posture sent them on a drift, I knew I was some fearful holy figure in their eyes. Still, why do they still instigate me? Idiots.
"I-I'll get my uncle to send a letter to your family!" He squeaked in peer pressure, hands up in humiliating defeat. My ears perked, the rhythm of my heart picking up. Letter?
Slowly, I diminished the scorching flames, Ruka watching me warily.
"Hn, whatever." I shook my head of hope, grasping Ruka's Alice uniform in my grip, dragging him along to the Elementary Division. That has to be one fucking lie...
"Actually, if you escape the Academy," I stopped any movement and listened to the rare, disbelieving proposition. "In exchange, I'll give you a letter from your father." Clenching my fists, I felt tears absorb my cheeks. Lifting a hand to my mask, I remembered no one could see my melt down. "So, are you going to do it?" Staring down at the cement, I came to to a ridiculous conclusion.
"Hai hai." I muttered, leaving the scene in a scrambled mess eroding my thoughts.
"Natsume..." Ruka spoke, walking by my side toward the entrance of the Academy.
"Ruka, will you help me?" I mumbled, turning toward him with the emotions on my traits hidden. He jerked back in surprise, soon, slowly, nodding in guilty agreement.
"Natsume, what if he finds out?" The blond of his hair shined like the sun, like the light. Shifting my body towards the planked gate, I sighed, lightly summoning a fire with the palm of my hand. I could feel the pressure of the gate, the feel of someone watching every action I made. My body and mind felt completely drained, utterly exhausted and used. I felt numb, as if by now nothing could hurt me; but obviously I can.
"Step back, Ruka." He twitched, blinking rapidly as he took several steps back. Turning my attention away from his worried state, I stared at the Alice wall in silence. Lifting both of my hands, I concentrated, dislocating myself to be a simple engorged flame. Then I did the only thing that fit my persona, the only thing that I knew I could do. And it was the pleasure to burn.
My mind started to revolve around the sense of flames. The smoky scent, the flawless heat. I could feel the ends of my fingertips begin to charge with power, energy draining and mentally killing my soul as I flashed my eyes open and launched a large expanding ball of fire to the Alice wall, a loud kaboom irritating my ears as I swiftly hopped onto the gate of Alice Academy. I've never thought I could feel this wary sense of adrenaline again - but what may the consequences be? Wind whipped at my skin, the pointed edges of the gate taunting my balance.
As the smoke moved away from my clear line of sight, I noted the voices of panic and almost smirked. The large cracked wall crumbled to the ground, an evident dent showing as my flames left charred edges around the rigid pillars.
I knelt slightly and pushed off the slim platform of the gate, tunneling toward the ground. My breath catching in my chest as I finally noticed Narumi, a wide emphasized grin plastered on his face. Crap.
"Natsume!" He hollered in delight. "Don't run away!" Suddenly a sharp sting thwacked against my cheek, the mask miraculously releasing my face as I grit my teeth in pain. The ends of my black hair swayed before my eyes, the thud of my body collapsing against the ground causing me to wince. I could hear the high tone in his voice pound in my ears, gradually growing more and more annoyed.
"H-Hey! Are you okay?" The presence of a new voice appeared, yet I couldn't find the steam to respond immediately, panting, feeling blood rise from my throat.
"I..Urgh!" Grunting in pain, I felt my hand limp, crushed by a weight that stung my form useless
"Its useless to try to escape using your Alice powers, Natsume-chan." I peered over my pain and watched Naru carefully kneel before me, a grin on his face and a certain flair in the midst of his eyes. "Before you use your power, I'll use mine and you'll end up being embarrassed like before. Though, I'd get a certain amusement from that..." My face scrunched in hatred, my eyes expecting him to burn anytime soon, but as of now my Alice is useless.
Clenching my teeth I heard my voice rise. "Crazy teacher! Hmph..." Then I felt his hand wrap around my shoulder bone, tugging me toward him as he blew in my ear, a sweet scent evaporating the musky smell of smoke. My heart rose to a certain level, my body numbing and blushing at the same time.
"This is the rewarding punishment for you." He whispered, and that was all I could remember as I blanked out, back to the vivid shadowy darkness, my chance long gone and forgotten.
A/N: I hope that it was entertaining in the least, my attempt at writing Gakuen Alice in Natsume's perspective! His story will be called Kuro Neko as in Black Cat, which is his alias name in the Governmental world of Alices! Thanks for reading! I'll update soon!