Chapter 3: Back into the Darkness

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The fire slowly dissolved from his hand. His sister's life is at stake. Images of her began to appear in his thoughts. His beloved sister, Aoi. Sooner or later she is going to die in the hands of Persona. BUt, that is not going to happen unless he does his mission. But, how about Mikan? She will never agree to let him do his missions. He doesn't want to leave her. But, he also loves his sister. What will his decision be? Will he continue to stay into the light and let his sister die? Or, stay into the darkness and leave the light? It was a hard decision but, he had to choose one. I'm sorry, Mikan. Buriko, I'm going to save you. Don't worry, Onii-chan is here, he thought. He looked at the man before him. Persona, on the other hand, knew that he succeeded. Natsume clenched his fists knowing that he will not like his decision. "What's my next mission, Persona?" He was again back into the darkness.

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She slowly removed the pie from the oven. The sweet aroma of the cherry pie she made spread across the dainty house. She silently congratulated herself for doing a job well done. She slowly sliced the pie into eight pieces: four for his brother, and four for her. The red juice of the cherry began to flow from the pie, and its vapor began to spread across the house. Surely, it was delicious. She heard knocks on the window, and she saw little birds using their beaks to knock on the window. She smiled as she saw them. She took out a slice, and placed it on a platter. She then opened the window and placed the platter outside. The birds then flocked to eat the pie she made. She placed the remains of the pie and rested on the couch. She then reminisced about the incident that happened in the forest. She remembered the boy she saw. Was she ever going to see him again? She then thought about it sadly, for his brother would never want her to do that.

Then, she heard footsteps approaching her house. A familiar person was walking towards her house. With him, was his bag and a box of chocolates. Aoi suddenly ran towards the door and opened it. There stood her older brother who smiled happily at her. She embraced her tight and felt him kiss her head. She took the things he was holding and placed them on top of the couch. She then saw him sit on it and remove his shoes.

"Onii-chan, it's not yet afternoon. How come you're here early," she asked.

"Why? Don't you want to see Onii-chan," he replied as he chuckled.

"Of course, I want to see you Onii-chan. I even prepared cherry pie for you. Do you want to have a slice? Just wait for me. I'll get you one." She then went towards the refrigirator and took a slice of the pie and placed it on a platter. She then went towards him and gave the pie. However, she saw a disappointed expression on his face. She then remembered that she wasn't allowed to go out of the house, yet she did so.

"Onii-chan, I know you are angry because I went out of the house. I just wanted to give you some pie so I can make you happy. I'm so sorry. It won't happen again. I promise," she said as she raised her right hand. She then saw him smile at her and take a bite of the pie. He patted her on the head.

"Don't worry, Aoi. Onii-chan's not angry. And for your information, you are now allowed to go out of the house. I have a surprise for you," he said.

"Surprise? What are you talking about, Onii-chan?"

"You are going to school, Aoi. Those Alice students, they are going to be your classmates soon. As a matter of fact, I'm here early because I'm going to bring you there now. Now, go to your room and be at your best attire. We don't want your teachers to have a bad impression on you, right?"

"Hai!" She then dashed to her room and picked her best clothes, even though most of them are house clothes for she was only staying in the house. Then, the siblings started their journey. On their way to the faculty building, Aoi was already imagining of how school was like, what the atmosphere of the classroom will be like. She was imagining that the boy that she met in the forest will be her classmate. Finally, they arrived at the faculty building. They entered into a large room where large windows, a large couch, and a large table was found. On the couch was sitting Narumi-sensei, Jinno-sensei, and Misaki-sensei. When Narumi first saw the siblings, shock was written on his face. That man beside that girl isn't he Persona? He thought.

"Per-" he was cut when he saw Serio - commonly known as Persona - told him not to speak.

"Narumi. My kouhai. How are you?" Serio started to speak.

"Serio-senpai, it's been so long since we talked to each other," Narumi said. "And who is this young lady. Can I know your name, my dear?"

"My name is Yuki Aoi. My onii-chan told me all about you. How come did you say that it's been a long time since you talked to each other. Onii-chan said that you always meet," she asked the teacher with the Human Pheromone alice.

Narumi just stood silent. Then, he heard Serio speak. "It's because Aoi, your Narumi-sensei and I think that a few hours without seeing each other is long. That's why he said that it's a long time since we talked to each other. Right, kouhai?"

"Hai," Narumi nervously agreed.

On the other side of the academy, Hotaru and Ruka had already gone out of the room. Mikan eagerly waited for the door to close. She listened to their footsteps as they went further from the room. The sound of the footsteps slowly turned from loud to soft. They were gone.Finally, she had the time to be alone with the fire caster. She looked at him as he continued to lie on her bed. He remained silent. It seemed that he was deep in his thoughts. She tried to call his name, but he didn't respond. She called him once more, but still no response. What the heck is this guy doing, she thought. She called his name for the last time, and finally he responded.

"What is it? You seem angry," he softly said as he rose from the bed.

"I have been calling you for the three times, already. It looks like you're thinking about something important. What is it? You can tell me. I don't want you to keep any secrets at me," she replied as tears formed in her brown orbs. Natsume felt sorry for ignoring her. He placed his hand just underneath her eye and wiped the tears off her face. He smiled at her and brushed her auburn hair. She, in return, smiled at him. I think it is best if I tell her, Natsume thought.

"I have been thinking what happened in the forest. It's just that I saw a girl. She had black hair. She was familiar to me. I even thought it was Imai. But, as what Ruka said, she was with him all the time. So, I'm sure it wasn't Imai. But, I felt something about that girl. It seems that I already knew her. I just can't remember who she is, because she didn't show her face to me," he started to tell her. He then placed his crimson eyes at the brunette. She was bowing her head. A thought then entered into his mind and he smirked as he thought about it. He wrapped his arm around the nullifier's neck and rubbed her head. Mikan shrieked in shock.

"Why did you do that," she asked as she fixed her hair. "You know, I brushed this hair for a hundred times. You just don't know how hard it is to brush your hair for that number of times," she continued. She then saw him look at her. Their faces were only inches away and she began to blush when she noticed their position. She saw him do his famous smirk.

"You're jealous of the girl I'm talking about, aren't you?" He asked her. Mikan began to turn redder when those words rang in her ears. She hid her face behind her bangs and shook her head in disagreement. Of course, it was a lie. She then felt Natsume's hand remove the bangs from her face. She then felt his warm lips pressed unto her forehead. She felt weak and started to embrace him. She saw his face, which had eyes that looked at her with intense passion. His fingers carressed her soft face. She felt her heart beat fast. She didn't know what to do. She continued to look at his eyes which brought her deeper into his hypnosis.

"You don't need to be jealous of her, Mikan. I'm not even sure if I met that girl. She's not that important to me. You're important. All I know is I love you and I'm yours," he said as he continued to carress her face. Mikan, on the other hand, felt her heart melt when these words began to ring in her ears. He loved her. He will never leave her. She then realized that she does not need to be envious of other girls for he was hers, and she was his. No one is going to stop them. He felt his warm body brought to hers. She felt his arms wrap around her body; and she did so, too. She heard his heartbeat. She listened to its rhythm. She always loved to listen to his heartbeat, for it always reminded her about his love for her. They continued to stay in that position for several moments, not planning to let go. She then felt him kiss her cheek. She sat there motionless. She then felt him kiss her forehead. He looked at her deep in the eyes. His fingers carressed her lips. He closed his and planned to plant a kiss on her lips. However, he heard the door open. He jerked in shock and brought himself away from the brunette. There stood on the doorway a blond-haired teen and the horrific inventor. Darn this, he thought as he looked angrily at the couple.

"Ruka, why the heck are you here? Don't you guys know how to knock," he angrily asked his bestfriend.

Ruka just smiled when he heard Natsume speak. "I'm sorry if I disturbed you, guys. It's just that I have news for Sakura-san, and I know that she will be happy to hear about it," he said as he placed his aquamarine orbs at the eager brunette. He knew that she wanted to know about the news he was going to say.

"News?" Mikan looked excitedly at the Animal-boy which made him giggle at her. Natsume continued to look at him angrily.

"What is it about this news? Maybe it's not that important. We don't want to hear about it," the fire caster said as he tried to close the door. However, Ruka forcibly brought himself into the room, and Hotaru boringly followed from behind. Natsume then closed the door for them.

"We have a new classmate. She's a girl. Maybe the girl you saw from the forest was her, Natsume. As what you have said, she was wearing a pony tail only that her hair was placed on one side of her head. I found her familiar too. So, I hurriedly went here to tell you all about it. And, I think that Sakura-san is interested in these things."

"How did you know all about it? I think that the faculty room is inaudible from the outside," Mikan asked.

"This is the whole story. Hotaru and I were walking in the academy and we saw Koko and Kitsunume. I asked them what they were doing. Then, they began to ask us why we were together. Of course, I answered I was blackmailed. Koko didn't believe me because he read my mind. I also told him not to tell anyone by my mind. He agreed. Then, he brought us into the faculty building. He told us that he was going to test his new mind-reading technique. That's when he told us about the new student. After several minutes of listening, we heard the door open and we hid behind the plants. That's where we saw the girl along with the teachers and an unfamiliar man with long hair - looks like her brother. So, we decided to tell you guys," Ruka narrated.

"Okay, enough with this. I'm getting hungry already. It's almost lunchtime and we need to go to the cafeteria, you guys," she emotionlessly said as she listened to her stomach grumble in hunger.

"Hai," the others chorused. They altogether went out of the room, and out of the dormitory. Of course, they did their daily rituals. However, as Natsume was walking, he saw a black cat standing under the sakura tree. He left the others who were busy doing their rituals. Sakura, he thought. When he went towards the cat, he realized it wasn't her. Then, he saw the silhouette of the brunette running away from him. He followed it. Finally, he reached the building where the classes of the Dangerous Ability Type class was held. He followed the silhouette until they reached the top floor. As he approached it, he saw the silhouette fall towards the ground.

"MIKAN!" He shouted. He then went down the building and see if she was hurt. He ran towards the motionless object, and realized it was only a doll shaped like Mikan. He then felt an eerie aura approaching him. He looked at the figure before him and realized it was Persona.

"My kuro neko, it's been a long time since we've seen each other. I missed you," he said as a smirk appeared on his masked face.

"What do you want, Persona. I'm already happy where I am. I'm not going to do missions anymore."

"The academy is in danger, Natsume. I need you to do your missions. If not, the academy will fall. And besides, I have a little something that will make you agree to do your missions."

"If you are planning to harm Mikan, I'm sorry but it's not going to work. I'm going to protect her even if it means my own life."

"That's so sweet, but I'm not talking about her, Natsume. She's useless to me now. I'm talking about your sweet sister. What's her name again? Aoi?"

"Aoi's alive?" He stood there motionless. His sister is alive. She is in the lair of the man before him. He could hear her screams for help. All these years, he spent his life alone. A new hope began to arise when he heard his sister's name once more. His sister was alive. She survived the tragedy he went through. He has a family. But, she was in Persona's hands. Maybe she is suffering. Maybe she's dying. As these thoughts entered his mind, he let out a fireball and glared at Persona.

"Let her go," he said as the fireball in his hand grew larger. Persona just smirked at the sight.

"There, there, Natsume. She's safe. And I'm willing to let her go unless you do your missions. If not, I'm not going to have second thoughts on killing your ever dearest sister. You don't want that to happen do you?"

The fire slowly dissolved from his hand. His sister's life is at stake. Images of her began to appear in his thoughts. His beloved sister, Aoi. Sooner or later she is going to die in the hands of Persona. But, that is not going to happen unless he does his mission. But, how about Mikan? She will never agree to let him do his missions. He doesn't want to leave her. But, he also loves his sister. What will his decision be? Will he continue to stay into the light and let his sister die? Or, stay into the darkness and leave the light? It was a hard decision but, he had to choose one. I'm sorry, Mikan. Buriko, I'm going to save you. Don't worry, Onii-chan is here, he thought. He looked at the man before him. Persona, on the other hand, knew that he succeeded. Natsume clenched his fists knowing that he will not like his decision. "What's my next mission, Persona?" He was again back into the darkness.

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Hello, everyone! I'm sorry for the late update. It is because that I don't have the time to use the computer because I had to do many things for the enrollment. Imagine, I spent one whole day to be enrolled into some university. Sick, right? Well, I'm happy because it is already chapter 3 and the events here are getting hotter, don't you think?

I would like to thank the following for reviewing my fanfic: katrinaanne , kimmie911, akerue, and '-MiNi-RAi-'. Thanks everyone!

And hey, chapter 98 of Alice Academy is coming on June 5. Please read it! I love you, guys!