So right. I've been busy lately, and I expect to be next week too. Although I already have a quarter of the story planned out, I ain't going to post until I write at least 2 chapters in advance. That's just to be sure of the direction of the story, so I won't have to revise a story twice. This chapter isn't that long, kinda like a prologue chapter? The next few would be much longer, anyway ;)

This new version's less depressing. Much less. And the pace is much faster. It's more... exciting? And there are more twists and turns in the plot, so expect the unexpected, ne? :3 Some of the chapters stay pretty much the same, except for more thoughts and stuff. Each chapter now has symbolism in it as well. For example, 'Night Sky'. Any guesses to what that might mean? Chapter dedication to the first person that gets it right!

'Fate's Experiment' will be undergoing a minor revision as well. So sorry if my updates are slow...

Nonetheless, enjoy!

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Blindfold

By Rock-n-Round

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Chapter 1:

Night Sky

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Hotaru Imai noticed that the sky outside had fallen, even though it was only late evening. It was painted a beautiful dark blue colour; dotted with the occasional whites of the clouds and the gold sparkle of the early stars. The cool night wind which entered through the little windows of the room made the stoic girl shiver unconsciously. She brought her jacket closer to her with her hands, crossing her arms soon after to help keep herself warm. Looking out of the window once again, Hotaru wondered why it was so dark—it was only late evening, after all. The skies seem to have an ominous touch to it somehow as well. Truth to be told, Hotaru loved the night-time; it was cool and quiet, and the darkness did much to calm her at times. The tranquil of a simple nightfall would make her sit on her bed and gaze out of the window for hours when she had been a little child. Silently, she thought about what the night would bring them—was their mission going to be successful? Or was it going to fail?

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Hotaru focused on the screen before her. To her left, she could see Natsume cautiously sneaking about hallways, looking for Mikan. On her right, Ruka had his back against the wall, resting while waiting for her escape signal. Tonight's mission was particularly important; Mikan's retrieval could put a stop to the Alice War—although the chances were slim. The Alice War had been going on for approximately four and a half years, if Hotaru remembered correctly. Four years ago, she remembered how it started; all the pain they were put through, all the challenges they faced and all the things they had to endure. Aside from being one of the masterminds behind all their battle plans, Hotaru was also trained as a nurse under her brother due to the lack of hands at the hospital, and she had seen more deaths than she ever would in her entire lifetime. Hopefully it would all come to a close soon, with this infiltration.

Mikan had been captured by the Anti-Alice Organisation half a year ago, and the AAO had held her captive ever since. They probably wanted her for her Stealing Alice, since they had lost Yuka Azumi to them a couple of years back. Hotaru figured that rescuing Mikan was a priority; the AAO might hurt Mikan, considering the fact that she can be an annoying loudmouth at times. That was not the only reason, Hotaru supposed, for Natsume and Ruka have been having trouble concentrating on tasks at hand recently. The two lads were busy worrying over the brunette, and Hotaru had to pretty much run the place together with Sakurano and her brother, Subaru. Hotaru still remembered that one time when Ruka had forgotten to call maintenance—the entire building almost blew up because of that.

Hotaru gave a small smile at that memory, and sighed when she thought about her best friend. Natsume and Ruka hadn't been the only ones worrying over her; Hotaru knew that she had also spent a great deal of time sitting alone in her dorm at night, silently thinking about Mikan's well-being. Was she alright? Did the AAO hurt her? Hotaru had known the girl for as long as she could remember—they were practically inseparable; the bond they shared was far greater than any friendship anyone else could have. The girl recalled those nights when the moon, the stars and the night sky had been her greatest friends, accompanying her through the sleepless night, giving her some form of comfort and solace amongst all the chaos from the Alice War.

The night sky was truly a friend indeed.

Closing her eyes, she reopened them again to reveal determined amethyst orbs. Hotaru Imai would get them all to safety today—including her best friend Mikan Sakura.

…

Ruka had his back up against the wall. Peering over his shoulders, he strained his eyes to look over the corners of the wall. Good. There was no one in sight, which meant that Natsume was holding up just fine at the other side of the building. All he had to do now was to wait for Hotaru's signal for the big escape. Sliding down the wall, he sighed. As easy as that sounds, it really wasn't. Waiting was never easy. Waiting for things to come, waiting for things to end. He had no idea whether the war was really going to end just with the retrieval of Mikan; it certainly doesn't seem like it would.

Running a hand through his blonde locks, Ruka shut his eyes and let out a small sigh. He was tired of everything that was going on right now—the fighting, the missions, the stress, and something else that he had been afraid to accept for a long time now—Mikan's rejection.

Before the war had started, he had confessed to Mikan, knowing fully that Mikan was already in love with Natsume. Ruka wasn't stupid; he knew that Natsume would definitely end up with Mikan—after all, they had been fated to be together before they were even born. Ruka figured that his feelings for the brunette would eventually disappear and that time would heal his wounds, but he was wrong. To some extent, he had got over Mikan—he wasn't trying to fight with Natsume over her; he wasn't going to try and win her affection. He had given up long ago. However, there was still a small part of him that was reluctant to actually move on and fall in love with another girl. His heart still wrenched at the sight of his best friend and his old crush together, happy and smiling. Perhaps he wasn't ready to move on. Perhaps he hadn't actually gotten over Mikan yet. Perhaps he was just living a lie—living in his own world, shutting himself off from reality, and drowning in his very own illusion.

It was at times like this where Ruka sought comfort on his bed, staring at the ceiling, and simply just refusing to move. Or think, for that matter. It helped to calm him. Ruka would also sit in the bathtub for ages and ages, just laying in the warm water and thinking about what the future would bring all of them, what the past could do to haunt them, and what the present would bitch slap straight into your face. Oh right, Ruka sourly mused, it would bitch slap harsh reality.

The lad directed his eyes outside the window, watching as the leaves danced in the cold night wind. Ruka mutely noted that this was the first time in ages that he had time to sit and look out of a window, just simply taking in the view of the night sky and looking at the beauty of nature. Ruka loved the way the moon shone so brilliantly in the navy-blue canvas, outlining all objects under its vast hold. He watched as the grey clouds lazily drifted over the sky, and then covering the moon. A chill shot down Ruka's spine, causing him to rub him arms together. Ruka pressed his lips into a thin line—he wasn't cold. It was just an eerie feeling he got—an eerie feeling that something bad was going to happen tonight.

Shutting his eyes, Ruka chased away the thoughts. He had to focus on the retrieval mission. It was more important than his problems right now. Glancing at the communicator-cum-watch on his wrist, the blonde boy noticed that Natsume was taking longer than usual—way longer, actually. Did something go wrong over there? He wanted to go and find his best friend right now, but it was dangerous. Maybe it was best to stay in position and wait for Hotaru's orders. But what if Hotaru had been captured too? If that was the case, then maybe it would be best if he went to Natsume's aid now, and perhaps they could still salvage the mission and bring Mikan back. Ruka pondered over the two situations. What should he do now?

A scream could be heard from the other side of the building, followed by a loud explosion.

His question was answered.

He was going to find Natsume.

…

Hotaru hated all of this—nothing was going right.

It was supposed to be a quick infiltration after getting rid of the enemies of the area, but unexpectedly, the Anti-Alice Organisation had recruited more people after the previous battle with them. Looking at the screen, Hotaru bit her lip and cursed inwardly. Natsume was having a hard time fending off the goons—his eyebrows were crinkled together, and sweat was pouring off his forehead. He looked ready to faint any time. But it couldn't be helped. The only reason why she hadn't told Ruka to go after Natsume was because she had just figured out who the enemy were actually going after.

It was actually Ruka Nogi himself.

The raven-haired girl had to admit; the enemies had read their moves perfectly this time. Second the Nastume, Ruka had been the one most affected by Mikan's capture. Also, he was a capable fighter and strategist. Knowing that Natsume was probably too strong and feisty for them to go after, the Anti-Alice Organisation had gone after a kinder and easier target—Ruka.

Hotaru fixed her gaze on Ruka's monitor. The lad was sitting on the floor, checking his watch. Suddenly, he snapped his head up. The girl raised a brow in alarm. What had happened? Hotaru glanced over at the other screen, where Natsume was supposed to be. Her amethyst eyes widened. The situation was not good. Natsume had just set off an explosion, and Ruka seemed to notice it. And if Hotaru guessed correctly, Ruka would go after his best friend.

And she was right.

In the screen, the blonde boy had just stood up and ran off. Immediately, the girl tried to get through to Ruka with her communicator-cum-watch invention. Pressing on the button, she spoke.

"Ruka?"

Through the monitor, Ruka seemed not to notice her voice. Hotaru decided to try again.

"Ruka? Can you hear me?"

Hotaru focused her eyes on the watch on his wrist. Crap. Of all times, her invention had to malfunction on her now. The girl cursed aloud.

If Hotaru was going keep the promise she made to herself, she would have to get everyone out of this place—and fast.

…

Running along the paths, Ruka followed the scent of burning wood. By the way the smoke was rising abnormally; he could tell that Natsume had it set off. The explosion was probably a signal for everyone in the building to evacuate—something major must have happened for the raven-haired lad to send a warning. Ruka doubled his speed, and soon he could see the fire spreading out into the pathways. Activating his temporary barrier Alice, he braved through the flames and crumbled matter, and looked around frantically. He had to find Natsume soon. By the looks of the situation, the building would collapse in another hour. Scanning the area, he tried to look for the source of the flame, somewhere where the flames were the largest. After a moment, blue eyes spotted a massive fire lapping out a room in the corner of the hallway. Without any hesitation, his feet quickly ran towards it.

As soon as Ruka entered the room, he could feel the heat bearing holes through his barrier—it was getting drastically weaker. Clenching his teeth, the lad silently cursed. At the rate he was going, his barrier would probably wear out within the next ten minutes. Ruka dropped to his knees, barrier still intact, and crawled along the floor. Through the flames, he could already make out the figure of Natsume half-hugging and half-shaking a tattered Mikan. The blonde-haired lad could also see another person behind them, but the person's silhouette was unfamiliar to him.

Rolling over to avoid the crumbling ceiling, Ruka forced himself to stand up and focus on the unknown figure behind Natsume. His best friend certainly didn't seem to notice that anonymous man, and Ruka could vaguely make out a thin and long object being clutched in the hands of the figure. Instantly, his eyes widened in alarm, and his mind was thrown into a state of flurry. Ruka didn't know what made him do it, but he did it—he launched himself in front of Natsume and Mikan, arms thrown over the pair in a protective manner.

Ruka shut his eyes tightly, preparing himself for the worst. A split second later, Ruka felt a searing pain slash across his eyes and right arm, and an agonizing scream sliced across the burning room. Slumping onto the ground, he could feel a liquid seeping through his clothes, turning it a bright red colour.

An image of the calm, night sky flashed past his mind. Ruka found himself slowly relaxing, and eventually, he let the darkness embrace him.

…

Clutching the teleportation stone in her hand, Hotaru concentrated. She had already spent a whole fifteen minutes trying to activate the stone, but to no avail. Glancing over at the screen one last time, she saw that Ruka was already lying in a pool of his own blood, while Natsume had just taken out the enemy. If she didn't get all of them to the hospital soon, they would probably die from suffocation—and in Ruka's case, the loss of blood.

It was all up to her to decide their fates now.

Hotaru furrowed her brows, and tightened her grip on the teleportation Alice stone.

Please work.

…

A flash of white appeared for a brief moment before disappearing again, and Hotaru found herself kneeling in a pool of Ruka's blood. Realising that the stone had worked, Hotaru sighed in relief. Her head snapped up to look at Natsume.

"Hyuuga, I'm going to teleport all of us back to the Academy's hospital now."

The red-eyed lad locked eyes with Hotaru for a moment, showing his momentary gratitude towards the girl. He then nodded at Hotaru, indicating a positive response to her earlier statement.

Bringing Ruka's body close to her, she took one of Natsume's hands into hers and squeezed her eyes shut. Concentrating on the teleportation stone, the girl pictured the safe Academy grounds, sitting in the middle of Tokyo under the beautiful night sky.

Hotaru reopened her eyes.

The retrieval mission was a success.

Hm, so how was it? Was it better? Anyway, do drop by a review to tell me how I did! Any guesses to what 'Night Sky' is supposed to mean?

Review, ne? It makes me egg-cited.