Kura: Hello! Time for the new chapter!
Berry: …
Kura: Yeah…uh…*looks at story paper* I hope it is okay…oh, and review replies!
Pwenie: Thanks for thinking it was interesting! I hope that this chapter is satisfactory to you as well! XD
Akatsuki Utaou: Hmmm…maybe it is, maybe it isn't. XD Thank you for the compliment too and I hope that you will enjoy this update! :)
Ms Fantasy Freak Lolololololol: thank you for that compliment and please do enjoy this next update! XD
Kura: Well, let's start, shall we? ^^
Berry: …eh. Kura doesn't own Gakuen Alice. The day she does is when pigs will fly, hell will turn all sparkles with flowers and cuteness and heaven will turn dark, ugly, evil, and God will hate us all.
Kura: …Well…didn't have to be so mean about that…sniff…and it will not happen because Hell and Heaven cannot turn out like that!
Berry: That's the whole point baka.
Kura: T^T
Chapter 1 – I won't leave
It was a normal day for the class 2B in the Elementary Division, where children would do their usual "tomfoolery" as their math teacher, Jinno-sensei, would often call it. And there was no one else to experience the horror that they gave except for the poor substitute teacher who stayed in a corner of the room, weeping in silence.
Then, the door of the class slid open and their real teacher, Narumi-sensei came in. Everybody turned to him, not because of his…usual strange clothes but because he, for the first time since the kids had seen him, had a grim smile on his face. He walked in, along with another.
The other had raven black hair and violet eyes. He wore glasses and he had a stolid expression on his face.
The room was silent when the two stepped in. Every eye ignored their teacher and stared at the high school student in front of them who merely ignored them as he searched the room.
The person's eyes rested on the Ice Queen of the school: Imai Hotaru who felt the gaze and looked up with a raised brow before she returned to her invention. Everybody could feel that the man suddenly felt irritated.
Then he walked up to Hotaru. She continued to ignore him. The class president, Tobita Yuu looked at Hotaru. "Imai-san, he's looking at you!" He whispered. "I think you should-"
"I don't care what you think I should do. I can do what I want." She said coolly. The class president, Yuu blushed and nodded. He looked away.
…Imai-san…can be so cruel…and scary… He thought fearfully as he went over to some of his friends and together, they looked back at the scene in front of them.
Meanwhile, the man then reached into his pocket and pulled out…a letter…?
The students looked at it in confusion as he held it out to Hotaru. Hotaru finally stopped and looked at the letter. She looked up to the man.
"…Mother and father sent this…" He said softly.
Everybody suddenly gaped at the man. Then Hotaru's eyes widened.
"…You're…Subaru…niisan…?" She asked. The man, Subaru nodded and then took her hand and placed the letter in them. He gave a sad look at her.
"You should read this later…better not to be here…" He said. Then he turned and walked out.
The class was silent as Hotaru looked at the letter hesitantly. Her eyes widened slightly before she then stood up and left the classroom swiftly.
Everybody turned to Narumi for answers but he shook his head. "Gomen ne minna but this is for Hotaru-chan only." He said before he left the room.
The class then started to talk.
And during this, a blonde-haired boy with sea-blue eyes turned to his raven black haired friend who had his usual manga on top of his face. "Ne…Natsume, what do you think that was about…?"
The boy Natsume merely shrugged.
But the two both had strange feelings in their heart.
~.~.~
"…This…what…how…?"
In a Triple-Star room, a girl sat on her bed, her eyes looking over the letter with slight shock. She gave a frown and set the letter back on her desk that sat near her bed. She fell back to her bed and opened her eyes, looking at the ceiling.
The letter…told her…everything…
Dear Hotaru and Subaru,
I hope the both of you found each other. Hotaru, I hope you will love your brother as your parents did.
At this, Hotaru couldn't help but snort at that.
Also, I'm so sorry for not sending a letter in so long. The village had caught on fire-
Hotaru gasped softly at the sentence and a single thought ran through her mind. Is everybody okay…?
-and everybody is trying their best to fix the mess the fire had created. But afterwards, we will be starting the funeral-
Hotaru again, couldn't help but gasp.
-and send the ones who died into a peaceful afterlife. We had only hoped that we could get you out of the academy for this but they refused-
Hotaru scowled.
-and so we had to send you this instead…We hope that you can at least send your love to them from the academy…also, we have sent you a list of who had died…if you wish to look upon them. I just hope you won't be extremely saddened by this because even though they are gone, the ones we love will always be in our hearts. Don't try to do anything extreme…I'm sure you understand why we would say this.
Love, Mom and Dad
Hotaru's eyes widened upon remembering that sentence. She quickly got up and reached for her letter, looking through the pages of it. She frowned as all she saw were the contents of the letter.
"…I thought mother gave me-" Her sentence stopped when a folded paper fell out of the envelope and she slowly picked it up. Her hands slowly unfolded it.
Why do I…feel so calm…? She thought as she then closed her eyes and breathed in and out. She then opened her eyes and looked at the list the paper shown.
The people who died are…Amani Mariko…hmm, never knew her. Next are…Eminai Karimi and Eminai Daichi…huh…the twins died…their parents must be devastated…
Let's see…next is-
Hotaru continued to skim through the paper and near the end, she gave a sigh. That's good…the baka didn't get-
Her thought stopped immediately as she stared at the last two names of the list. Her eyes stayed fixed upon the two names and her hands shook before she dropped the papers. However, the list stayed open, staring at the ceiling. Hotaru could still see that very name that shook her. Suddenly, a small tear appeared and fell down her cheeks as she continued to stare at the name of her best friend.
…Sakura…Mikan…
~.~.~
"Say, haven't you noticed…but she didn't come again today." Yuu looked at the vacant seat along with two others: Anna and Nonoko. They all shared the same worried expression and sighed sadly.
"Imai-san has been missing for a whole week now…" Yuu said.
Anna looked thoughtful. "Do you guys think something bad happened?"
"Remember that letter that her brother gave her?" Yuu and Anna nodded. "Well maybe whatever was in it made her unable to come to class!" Nonoko said.
The three continued to talk, all three wondering what to do.
"Maybe we should go to her room and cheer her up! I heard from her robot that something terrible did happen back at the village she was living at before coming here…"
"Anna-chan…she'll kill us if we go visit her…"
"Inchou is right on that Anna-chan…"
"Oh…yeah…"
While the three sighed in defeat, one boy was listening in on them; a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes.
He gave a slight frown as he sat back onto his seat and looked towards the right in a seat lower down the class. It was empty…as it was the past few days. He clenched his fist softly while the bunny on his desk looked at him with worry.
"Ruka, what's wrong?"
The boy blinked and looked up to see his best friend in the school: Hyuuga Natsume; also known as the most feared in the entire school and the only Special Star in the elementary division. Ruka gave a small smile. "Nothing Natsume; I'm just glad that Imai's not gonna be taking any pictures for a while."
Natsume nodded before sitting down next to his friend. "I see."
Ruka looked at his rabbit that suddenly hopped away from him. "Huh? Usagi, where are you going?" He asked. He watched as his bunny hopped on over to the empty seat and a single thought ran through his mind.
"I don't hate you as much as the other idiots in this class…"
Ruka frowned. "Why on earth did I remember her saying that?" He muttered softly.
Natsume lazily opened an eye and with it, looked at Ruka with curiosity. "What did you remember?"
The blonde haired boy shook his head, not hearing Natsume as he tried to get the girl out of his mind. I'm not worried for that evil, dark, money-loving, rude, Devil of a woman! No way! She's done nothing but embarrass me since the day she came here! He thought angrily. Natsume raised a brow at this and looked at Koko who just happen to walk by.
"Oi, Yome, what's Ruka thinking about?"
Koko looked at Natsume with the same grin but with a disbelieving look in his eyes. "You want me to actually read your best friend's mind?" He asked. Hi grin suddenly widened and Natsume then felt regretful. "You can't take back what you've said Natsume! It doesn't matter if you're pretty much the most powerful person here; I don't care! If I get permission, I do it without guilt!" He cried out happily while turning to Ruka.
Natsume sighed and looked at Ruka as well.
Meanwhile, Koko couldn't help but give a small snicker. I suppose you would like to see what Ruka is saying, correct? Alright then, Koko will show you!
(Ruka) GAH! THIS GIRL IS SO FUSTRATING! WHY AM I EVEN WORRIED? WHAT'S THERE TO WORRY? SHE'S PROBABLY PLANNING MY DEMISE RIGHT NOW! SHE'S EVIL! RUKA, STOP THINKING ABOUT HER! WHY CAN'T YOU STOP THINKING ABOUT HER! GAH! DARN IT! WHY AM I THINKING ABOUT HER WHEN SHE'S A DAMN-
Koko gave another muffled snicker, deciding not to show us all what Ruka thought before turning to Natsume and whispering, "He's thinking about some girl. Apparently, he thinks that she's evil and would be thinking about his end right here."
Natsume sweat dropped. "…He's thinking about Imai…"
Koko blinked and tilted his head. "Really? Cause it seems like Ruka is very worried about that girl too that he can't stop thinking about her."
Natsume frowned. "…She was absent for a while…" But why would Ruka be worried about her?
"I have no idea!" Natsume stared at Koko who grinned happily and patted Natsume's back playfully like they were best of friends. "Well, gotta run! See ya!" He cried before running out of the room like his life depended like it.
Natsume stared at that empty space before he turned back to his best friend who continued to mutter things. Natsume sighed and patted Ruka's shoulder which then caused the said boy to freeze and turn sharply. Ruka relaxed and smiled. "What is it Natsume?"
"…" Natsume stayed silent for a moment then said, "Ruka, if you're worried, at least go and visit her."
Ruka blushed. "E-Eh?"
"NANI?" The two cringed at the loud screech and covered their ears. They turned to see the most annoying girl in the world…well, at least to them: Shouda Sumire. She had a horror-struck face on and was staring at Ruka with teary-eyes. "WHO IS IT?"
"W-What?" Ruka asked, backing away from the dark green haired girl.
Sumire's eyes suddenly had flames in them. "WHO COULD IT BE THAT DIRTIED YOUR MIND RUKA-SAMA? I'LL KILL HER! I'LL MAKE SURE SHE NEVER BOTHERS YOU AG- KYAAAAAA! MY HAIR!" Sumire suddenly screamed as black flames burst aflame on her hair and she ran out of the room trying to put it out. Ruka sighed and turned to Natsume with a smile.
"Thanks for that Natsume." Natsume nodded.
"She was annoying me anyway." Ruka sweat dropped. Natsume looked at him. "Besides, why are you worrying about Imai?" He muttered softly.
Ruka gave a small blush and gave a small glare to Natsume. "It's nothing! I'm just worried because it's the first time she would actually not take a picture of me and not sell it. It's nice, but strange as well…"
Natsume sat up and plopped his arm on the desk while placing his head on his hand with his cheek on his hand. "Interesting…is that all you're worried about; just because it's strange?" He asked nonchalantly.
Ruka shook his head furiously up and down. "Yes!"
Natsume sighed. "Whatever…"
~.~.~
"He says whatever…BUT HE DOESN'T MEAN THAT!" Ruka cried out, ruffling his hair with his hand furiously. He groaned and fell to the soft grass while looking up at the clouds as they passed by.
"…Seriously…it's all too strange…usually Imai would be sneaking pictures and running off while I have a lion chase her! Why isn't she doing anything?" He wondered aloud while he felt Usagi poked his cheeks.
"And what allows you to worry about my little sister like that?"
"Huh?" Ruka blinked and tilted his head up to see an older boy with the same, dark, cold violet eyes of Imai Hotaru: Imai Subaru. He gulped and sat up. "H-Hello…"
Subaru frowned. "Are you close to Hotaru?"
Ruka blinked. "W-What?"
"Answer my question."
"W-Well…not really…more like I'm a victim of her damn plan to earn money…" Ruka said as a gloomy aura surrounded him.
Subaru just stared before he gave a small sweat drop at the gloomy boy. Poor boy…what in the world does Hotaru do…? He wondered. Then he knelt down. "Do you think badly of my sister?"
Ruka turned to look at him. "…Kinda…"
Subaru gave a low chuckle. "I don't really blame you."
Ruka gave another "huh?" before Subaru placed a hand on the younger boy's shoulder. "Don't think that bad of her. Right now, she's just not feeling very well. She heard the news of the village she was staying at before she came here has fallen into a tragic accident."
"Eh?" Ruka frowned. "Oh yeah…I heard about it but what really happened?"
Subaru shook his head. "If you want that answer, ask Hotaru…you may go and visit her if that's alright with you. She actually may need some help but I cannot go visit her today because of my duties."
"W-Wait…you want me to-"
"You catch on very fast. I appreciate your help." Subaru said as he stood up.
"B-B-But I never-"
"Please do visit her soon; she might go crazy if there is nobody to help her at the moment."
"B-But I-"
"Good day."
Ruka watched in defeat as the brother of perhaps his worst enemy left…and leaving that enemy in his very own care. Ruka slumped down and held his head in his hands. "God…what did I do to deserve this? Imai would sooner kill me then let me help her…" He whispered fearfully.
He sighed. "But I guess I should. At the very least, it would help ease my worry." Ruka said, standing up and walking back to the dorms…the girl's dorms…
~.~.~
He looked around nervously to see giggling faces of girls everywhere…oh how he hated giggling girls…they always try to do things to him and Natsume that get way out of hand that the two have to use their Alices. Of course, rarely ever since Imai came in and just gave those girls pictures of the boys but you could never be too sure of what giggling fan girls are thinking about…especially if the boy they like willing come to the girls dorm…
"Nogi-kun~" Ruka suddenly shivered and turned around to see a redhead giggling behind him. He felt himself stiffen and she came closer. "Are you here to see me, Nogi-kun?" She asked in a sugar sweet voice.
Ruka blinked as he suddenly remembered the "mission" he had here in the girl's dorms. "Ah, that's right…" The girl's eyes brightened. "Do you know where Imai Hotaru-san's room is?"
The girl fell down anime-style, confusing the poor boy. She quickly stood up. "Uh…Y-Yeah…but why do you want to see Imai? She's done nothing but stay in her room and-"
"Nogi-kun? What are you doing here?" Ruka turned to see a girl with wavy pink hair and aqua blue eyes. Then her face brightened. "Oh, are you here to see Hotaru-chan?" Ruka nodded slowly. She gave a bright smile. "Oh, that's so nice of you considering what she's done to you!"
…Then again…why do I have to cheer her up? I have no reason since she's evil to me… He thought.
Then Anna grabbed Ruka's hand. "I'll take you to her!" She cried as she ran while pulling him along with that same bright smile on her face.
"Ah! Don't pull; it hurts!" Ruka cried.
Behind the two as they continued down the hall, the once giggling girls went into depression.
As soon as they got far away, Anna looked at Ruka with a smile. "You have to remember; you may never know what a giggling girl may be thinking of! So be careful! Oh, and…" She looked down. "Hotaru-chan…something bad has recently happened so she's terrible upset." She said sadly.
Ruka frowned. "…what happened?"
"That's for me to know and hopefully for you to never find out!" Actually I really don't know… Anna thought, looking to the side.
…I'd figure she'd say that… Ruka thought, not realizing that Anna wasn't telling the truth.
"Ah, here we are!" Ruka looked up to see themselves in a hallway with not as much doors. "She's a Triple Star so she lives here; not many have Triple Stars like her after all!" Anna explained.
Ruka nodded and they arrived at a door with the signs that said, "DON'T ENTER OR ELSE!" Suddenly, Ruka didn't feel so good as he stared at the sign with uneasiness. Anna smiled at his actions and patted his back encouragingly.
"Don't worry; Hotaru-chan only puts that up to, as she says, not bring any bakas near her." Again, Ruka felt terrible as he stared at the sign.
He sighed and turned to ask Anna something but all that greeted him was…nothing…He twitched angrily and sighed. "I brought this upon myself; might as well get it over with…" He muttered darkly as he knocked on the door.
Silence greeted him and he frowned before he knocked again, harder than before and then finally, the door opened. He prepared himself to ask if she was alright but stopped short when he found himself in front of some…girl…that he never met before with weird blue things sticking out of her head where her ears should've been.
"What the hell are you?" His question just flew out of his mouth and he cursed himself for being a rude idiot but it didn't stop his curiosity.
The girl looked at him confusingly. "I am Amanatsu." She replied and he blinked when he heard her voice. It was robotic and not human-like at all. Okay maybe a little but not much.
Ruka nodded slowly. "…Um…alright…
"I'm a robot that Hotaru-sama created when she first arrived here. Nice to meet you!" She said cheerfully.
"…R-Right…" Ruka muttered.
Amanatsu stared at Ruka. "Did you come to visit Hotaru-sama?" Ruka hesitated before nodding slowly. The robot smiled happily. "That's wonderful! Hotaru-sama has been so down lately…I've been getting so worried…" She said, looking sad all of a sudden.
Can a robot even be sad…? Ruka wondered as Amanatsu invited him in. But Ruka stopped short when he saw the room.
It was hell. Glass was on the floor. The room was dark and unclean. The curtains were closed to avoid light from coming in and brightening the room. Clothes once worn were thrown to the ground without care. Ruka turned and stared at Amanatsu. "What the hell happened here?" He asked in a shocked tone.
Amanatsu sighed. "Hotaru-sama won't let me clean up. She says that the cleanliness makes her think of Mikan. She doesn't want to think of Mikan. But she still thinks of her. Her heart is sad. So this room is to become sad. Her mind is messy and broken. So this room is messy and broken. She doesn't want to be reminded of her life before she came to this academy. And Subaru-san is the only one that can calm her down to eat, take a shower, and sleep.
Ruka looked down. A strange feeling erupted in his chest and it hurt. He clenched his fist and looked up, a determined look in his blue eyes. "Where is Imai? I want to see her."
The robot looked at his warily before nodding slowly and led him to another room. Inside, the lights were turned off. The shades were completely closed like the living room but the room wasn't as messy as the other. In fact, it seemed like it was the only place she would keep clean. "Hotaru-sama…?"
A figure on the bed stirred. Ruka saw the figure's head slowly turn and he saw dull violet eyes staring at him. He shivered. There was nothing in those eyes; absolutely…nothing…
"Nogi…what are you doing here…?" He shivered again as he heard her voice. It was empty like her eyes. They held no emotion.
He stared into her lifeless eyes. "I wanted to see…how you were doing…"
"Why?"
"Huh?" Ruka looked at her eyes and shivered at the empty void-like eyes.
"Why…? You hate me."
A strange feeling erupted in Ruka's chest as he looked at her and heard that sentence. He bit his lip. That strange feeling hurt…He didn't like it. It was like it was trying to tell him something…something important. "I don't." He said without thinking.
For the first time he had ever met her, he saw a look of confusion and surprise before it disappeared and turned empty. "…What do you mean…?"
"…I don't hate you Imai." He looked at her eyes once again but this time, there was something…something else.
"…I don't…understand…why?"
Ruka shrugged, looking just as confused as she did. "…I…don't really know…but I really don't hate you…" He said rather softly. He continued to look at her violet eyes…her pretty violet eyes. He hated the fact that they were always so unemotional. It was like seeing a female Natsume but the fact that it was her really bothered him for a strange reason and he didn't know why.
Silence ran through them before Hotaru looked away. Ruka sighed. He took it as a sign to leave and made a move to do so when he heard a broken voice of the same girl he had just spoken to. He turned around sharply, his eyes wide with confusion. "W-What…?"
He froze when Hotaru suddenly lifted her head, looking at him but what really shocked him was seeing tears coming out of those usually confident and unemotional eyes. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and she was sniffing very softly. Her face was pale from staying indoors for so long but she was also red because she was crying…for the first time that he had ever met her. Her violet eyes were broken and emotion was finally shown in them.
The emotion of sadness…of loneliness…and loss…
"Don't leave me…"
Ruka couldn't believe his ears. THE ice queen of the elementary division of Gakuen Alice was crying in front of him and asking him to stay. He felt his face and neck go hot and even go to the tips of his ears. He wanted to deny his ears of what they heard but he knew that they heard correctly.
"Please…don't leave me…"
And his body moved. It moved without his permission over to where Hotaru was. Ruka tried to stop. He really did. But after seeing those eyes, his heart wasn't going to listen to his mind. Then, a second later, he found himself hugging the violet eyed girl who was still sobbing silently but he heard a soft gasp. He hugged her tighter and closed his eyes.
"I won't leave."
Kura: Kawaii~
Berry: Kawaii…
Kura: I love Hotaru x Ruka. It's cute. :D
Berry: indeed…
Kura: I hope you all liked that! :D Please do review! BYE-BYE and…GOOD NIGHT!
