Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice.
Mikan looks at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, the sound of water running from the faucet filling the empty, still room. She leans forward, her hands resting on the sink to support her weight as she looks at her reflection, the strange incident from the afternoon flashing in her head.
"I'll come by at 7."
The girl blinks, her long eyelashes sweeping over large hazel eyes. Was the boy serious? She glances at her wrist watch, she had half an hour till his promised time.
This was stupid. She hadn't promised the stranger anything, why was she obliged to listen to his request?
Maybe I'm getting played, she thinks as she splashes cold water on her face. It wasn't that being asked out came as a surprise, being an attractive and friendly young girl, Mikan had acquired her fair share of admirers, but she always kept them at a distance, never having to deal with such a bizarre situation. She always turned down dates and shot down any advances from her male coworkers because a relationship wasn't something Mikan could so much as think of much less commit to. Her heart still hadn't healed from wounds given by the family who left her; she couldn't put herself through something as vulnerable as a relationship with a boy who could walk out of her life in a heartbeat.
So it was perfectly ok, she tried to reason with herself, that she had ditched the stranger and left work early to avoid him. She never promised to be there and if he had waited to hear her reply she would have told him so. She grimaced, thinking of the boy's burning red eyes, it wasn't that she hadn't said no to his preposterous request, it was that she couldn't. She smiled wryly, shaking her head as she remembered her reaction to the dazzling young man; it was most probably her headache that got to her.
Speaking of her headache, her brain felt like it would ooze out of her skull at the way it was melting against the migraine. Mikan wiped her wet face with a soft white towel, her lips set in a grim line, she walked to the kitchen with sheer willpower. Popping a pill in her mouth, Mikan practically crawled to her sofa, too exhausted and pained to walk to her bed, she fell into nightmares before her head hit the leather couch.
Ruka really shouldn't be laughing so hard. He knew this was a problem and it would complicate their mission further but try as he might he couldn't smother the laughter building in his throat, his friend's livid expression wasn't helping it either.
"Will you shut up already," Natsume hissed at the amused boy.
Ruka bit his lip, his eyes dancing with mirth as he said with controlled hilarity, "She stood you up." Another bout of cackles followed this statement and Natsume idly wondered if Ruka would still be laughing if his golden locks were burning.
As his laughter dissolved to quiet chuckles, Ruka spoke up, "Come on, you have to admit this is a little funny…you actually got rejected by a girl," he snickered unrepentantly.
"It wasn't even a real date," the raven haired boy muttered glaring daggers at Mikan's front door. After waiting a whole hour for the infuriating girl at the Bakery, Natsume and Ruka had tracked her back to her house to find her peacefully sleeping on the couch, without a care in the world. The sight almost had him burning the whole house down.
"Real or not, you finally tasted rejection. Wait till Hotaru hears about this," His irritating companion declared, laughter still evident in his voice.
A vein in Natsume's forehead popped at the mention of the stoic witch. "This is stupid." He huffed. "Let's just go back, there's nothing else we can do here." He turned to go.
Ruka stepped in front of him, "and abandon the mission?" he questioned in amusement.
Natsume clenched his jaw, "The girl isn't a witch. She's the most mundane human I've ever seen. Come on Ruka, you've been watching her…she's so normal."
Ruka rolled his eyes, "We all start out like that. Until we learn about our powers we lead human lives," he explained.
Unlike Ruka, Natsume had never lived a human life, he was a warlock at birth and gifted with magic the moment he took his first breath. Never having had to activate his powers, Natsume didn't quite understand the ascension from mortal to Wiccan life. But he still held firm to his opinion, "Look, even if she was a witch—though I highly doubt she is—but with her IQ level she'll have lived multiple lifetimes before finding out."
"Well then we'll have to wait multiple lifetimes for her because we can't go back without her," Ruka replied.
Natsume shut his eyes and tried to quell his temper, Ruka could be such a prick sometimes, "Fine then. Let's kidnap her."
"Oh great idea," came the dry response as Ruka stepped away from the boy and gestured to the front door, "after you."
Natsume gave him an aggravated look and made to retort when a scream pierced his ears. His head whipped to the old wooden cottage in front of him as another scream broke into the night.
He met Ruka's worried gaze and together they ran to the wooden door leading to Mikan's house, he broke it open and sprinted inside, Ruka following close behind him.
He moved swiftly to the living area where he knew the girl was sleeping but when he got to the narrow dark space, he found it empty. He looked around the tiny room, searching for auburn hair or a flash of hazel eyes.
"She's not here," Ruka whispered softly.
Natsume turned to check the rest of the house when he heard a low shriek. Coming from above him.
Mikan gasped for air, her lungs burning against the strain. I should have ran outside, she thought running up the stairs to the roof of her cottage. She would be cornered in seconds up here. Leaping from the last stair, she runs out to the open rooftop, a light wind blowing her hair. It was a full moon tonight, low and bright but hidden behind thick gray clouds, it gave the night an eerie glow. The young girl turns to lock the door leading to the rooftop but before she can catch hold of the rusted metal handle, it blows open, the heavy metal door breaking from the hinges and flying to the edge of the roof with her. Mikan screams, grasping air as she slips off the edge. A hand shoots out just in time before she falls off the roof it catches her wrist as she starts to dangle off the side of her cottage. Her eyes wide with terror, she looks up to meet deep blue irises.
Her savior pulls her up just as her attacker knocks into him, sending him flying off the roof, she hears a low voice yell, "Ruka!" before her attacker grabs her by the elbow and hauls her off the floor. She looks up at the blackened face of her co-worker, Takeru and whimpers like a cornered rat. Takeru's eyes were glazed over, only the whites of his eyes visible, his friendly face darkened by what seemed like smoke. Takeru's lips pulled into a ferocious snarl as he smashes her body against the side wall, making her head crack against the tough cement and stars burst behind her eyelids. Mikan looks wearily at her attacker, her head limp against her body. Long claws reach towards her forehead, her eyes widening with horror, Mikan screeches at the top of her lungs moving her arms up protectively in front of her face just as a black shadow materializes in front of her, shielding her from the assailant. She looks up at the dark figure, peeking at from behind her arms; she catches the silhouette of a tall boy barely visible under the light of the hidden moon, his long black coat billows around him as he brings up his right arm. She watches as he opens his palm, directing it towards her attacker and softly whispers in the wind, "Inferno."
A hot white light shoots out of her protector's open palm towards Takeru. She hears a screech as bright orange flames consume him and Takeru falls to the ground burning and dissolving into black dust.
Her knees buckling, Mikan falls to the ground with her back sliding against the rooftop wall. Taking deep breaths, she slowly looks up at the black shadow that shielded her at the same time as the moon slips out from behind the clouds and showers her protector in silver light. She gasps when the young boy turns towards her, bright red eyes softened in the moonlight. He regards her impassively looking her over with as much interest as someone would look at a pile of filth stacked in a corner.
Mikan opens her mouth to say something when movement in her peripheral vision causes her to turn her head to the side. The girl watches mutely as the blue eyed boy from earlier jumps up on to the rooftop landing lightly on the balls of his feet, he sighs quietly as he runs a hand through his blonde hair. His expression was irritated; it made his delicate features stand out in the soft glow of the moon.
"Ruka." The low husky voice of her dark haired protector brings her back; she turns back to him, blinking to clear her mind against the haze, who were these beautiful strangers?
"That was a strong one; it must've been feeding for a while now." Ruka says rolling his arm around a few times and then clutching his shoulder when pain shoots through it.
Natsume walks towards him and takes his shoulder in one hand. Mikan sees him murmur something before a yellow glow comes out of his other hand. He lightly moves it over Ruka's shoulder, inches above his skin. After a few seconds, he lets go of the boy and watches him roll his shoulder experimentally, Ruka smiles his gratitude when the pain numbs.
Mikan squeaks as she tries to get off the floor, catching the attention of the two young men. Ruka walks towards her and crouches down to her eye level, Mikan stifles a gasp as she looks into burning sapphire.
"Are you alright?" he asks her softly, his eyes filled with worry.
Mikan stares back stupidly. The other boy comes up to stand behind Ruka and shoots her an annoyed look, "She's gone mute, it might have broken her brain." She hears him mutter something like, "not that there was much of it to begin with."
That snaps her out of her daze and she glowers up at him, "Me and my brain are completely fine, thanks for the concern," she tries to mimic his annoyed look back at him.
Ruka smiles at her, softening her expression, "your temper is still in check, that's good," he looks her over, "can you stand? I know you're injured."
Mikan nods quietly at him, too star struck to do much else. He looked like a prince out of Mikan's fairytale books.
The boy offers her his hand and Mikan graciously accepts, slowly getting up. She looks over at the pile of grainy dust, the smell of burning smoke still in the air. Ruka follows her gaze and grimaces slightly, "he's been hanging around you for awhile and completely blindsided us."
"W-what was it?" Mikan asks not looking away from the black dust, it was hard to imagine Takeru's friendly face while staring at it.
"Djinn, they're weak creatures. Feed on power to fuel themselves." It was the other boy that answered looking at the pile of smoke and dust with revulsion. He looked back at Mikan, "he was feeding on your power, didn't you notice anything?"
Mikan gave him a puzzled look. Power? Feeding? "What are you talking about? Are you saying that thing really was Takeru?"
Ruka intervened before his friend could say anything else, "We'll explain everything but first you have to come with us, you and your familiar."
"Familiar?" Mikan asks confusion coloring her tone.
"The cat." The red eyed boy responds, his face impassive and annoyed as ever.
Blood drains from Mikan's face, "Nobara," she whispers in panic and rushes to the staircase, running back down to the living room. She could feel Ruka and Natsume hot on her heels as she entered the tiny living space she ran from earlier.
Looking around wildly, she discovers the black cat crouched near the sofa exactly where she left her when she ran away from Takeru.
With shaking knees, Mikan squats down in front of her cat and reaches out to touch the injured feline but the raven haired boy besides her grabs her wrist just before it can make contact with Nobara's soft fur. He yanks her hand away from Nobara and sends her a quelling look. Mikan looks back at him in anger tugging harshly at her wrist. He frees it but stands in front of the cat, shielding it from Mikan.
"She's been put under a barrier spell." Ruka says in surprise, making Mikan cut off her glare at Natsume and turn towards her cat. Tears build at the corner of her eyes when she takes in Ruka's worried face and Nobara's still body, "No." She whispers brokenly into the dark room.
Nobara had protected her from the assailant. She'd jumped up and shielded her from his attack when Mikan was numb from shock.
"It's my fault," she says wretchedly, trying to step around Natsume's tall frame.
But the raven haired boy simply held her in place with a single finger to her forehead. It sent a lightening fire through her skull and she felt stars explode for the second time that night. She sends him a tantalizing look, her hands holding her skull. The infuriating boy just stares back unrepentantly and turns towards Ruka who was bending down towards Nobara now.
Ruka closes his eyes and raises his hand, palm open towards the black cat as he chants something lowly moving his hand over the feline's body, inches away from making contact. A few heartbeats pass as Mikan stares at Nobara powerlessly, Natsume still blocking her from reaching out to her.
Ruka's eyes open, "it's strong," he says in dismay looking at Natsume, "the Djinn used a lightening zap to knock her out; we need to get her to Jinno-sensei."
Natsume nods, sends Mikan a condescending look to stay where she was and walks over to Nobara. Mikan watches him lowly whispers something just as an orange radiance wraps around Nobara and a fragile bubble engulfs her.
Ruka turns to Mikan, "she's badly injured and under a spell. It's too complicated for us to handle."
Nobara floats in the bubble, staying half a foot away from Natsume's head as he moves to leave.
"Wait!" Mikan says, her hands stretching out in front of her as if to pause time. She looks up at the two strangers, "spells? Djinns? Nothing you say is making any sense." Tears start to spill, she ignores them and turns towards the raven haired boy, "Give me back my cat," she chokes and reaches out for her.
Natsume simply continues to walk towards the door with her cat. Her temper at its limit Mikan gets ready to attack him when Ruka touches her elbow, "I'm sorry Mikan, I know it all seems confusing right now. But trust us. We're not here to harm you." His eyes shine with promise and Mikan has to look away to collect her thoughts, why did these boys have to be so good-looking?
Natsume regards her like she has the intelligence of a pineapple, "if you touch the cat you'll fall into the same coma she's in."
She gapes at him and he rolls his eyes, "although that would make this far easier. And less annoying."
Ruka shoots him a warning look making the red eyed boy shrug and walk out the door, her cat floating behind him. The blonde boy sighs and turns back to Mikan, "Will you come with us to Gakuen Alice? I promise you'll find all your answers there."
Mikan swallows. No, she wanted to say. She didn't trust either of these boys and their beautiful faces. But Nobara was unconscious and they claimed they could cure her. It really wasn't much of a choice for her; Nobara was all she had left. Even if the strangers had asked her to follow them to hell to cure her cat, she would have done it.
Mikan nods slowly and turns to follow the boy with bright blue eyes out of her home and into the unknown with just a single backward glance at the house that stored memories of a lifetime she would soon leave behind.
A/N: So this chapter is more on the shorter side but I thought that was a good place to stop. That and I'm getting a hand cramp. I was mildly worried that this fandom would have died with the ending of the manga but I'm glad that's not the case! Especially since I haven't had my fill of Natsume and Mikan just yet. And I'm about to start babbling like this is my blog post so I'll just stop there. Review anyone?