OKAY!!!! I FINALLY UPLOADED!!!!sorry it took sooooo long... my dad took away my keyboard and i kept typing the same story in three different coms. Geez! the first computer wouldnt let me upload it, the second was in my mom's laptop ut when i tried to save it, the computer chose that moment to go out of whack and when i uploaded it, the WHOLE THING GOT DELETED!!!! anyway, this chappy, (warning:spoiler) we find out who this new agent is and of course it is so obvious! there's a lot of Natsume thinking about his mistake and well...it just breaks ma lil heart... n den...we wait for chapter 5!! haven got idea yet...so plz...if you can...send me anything you wanna see happen to these two!!!!! BYEEEE!!! HAVE FUN!! (for continuation of sammy's crazy talk...scroll down to author's note...
Chapter 4: Retribution
Moonlight echoed the single silhouette of a creature. It wasn't completely human but it wasn't an animal. It features resembled those of a feline but its characteristics were certainly that of a human. The Black Cat was still in business.
Natsume Hyuuga, now four years older and still hurting, sprang into action, throwing his flames at those who dared appose him. Mikan's murder and funeral had set him back seven years on his old ways: moping around, fighting dangerous missions and skipping classes. He had one mission tonight: get into AAO headquarters, retrieve information on the newest AAO member and get out.
His mind dived into the vault of memories as he entered the premises. As for Hotaru, she had dwindled back into the hermit shell she had abandoned when Mikan arrived at the Academy.
Strangely enough, much to the surprise of Natsume and the other students, she had managed to capture the heart of his best friend and ever-lovable Ruka Nogi. It was annoyingly ironic.
In the past, an even still in the present, she had made it her second nature to blackmail Ruka every second in the day. But for some reason, the cold inventor and the warm animal-lover were a contrast and complemented each other perfectly.
Natsume still had those annoying unspoken words ringing in his cranium. Oh, how he longed to voice them out!
Bang!
A gunshot nearly wounded him! Pay attention…you…you…ba…ka…
It was even hard to say Baka anymore. Her nickname caused more pain than a bullet would. Lady Fate had decided to be cruel and had snatched him nullifier from under his nose. He would never forget her but would he move on with his life?
Those three words! Those blasted eight letters had tormented him for four years and never did he have the guts to say them while she still lived. Several Alice users had already jumped from the bushes. Natsume just sighed and went back to his work. Back to basics, huh?
All the Alices, four of lighting and three of lava, whipped and lashed out at him. He easily sidestepped the attacks and launched his own flames at them. He fought until he was near enough. In a matter of moments, all the Alice users were unconscious, rendered paralyzed from Natsume's judo.
Hands in his pockets, Natsume strolled into the AAO facility. If he remembered the map Persona had given him correctly, the room where they kept the files were on the second floor. Using his special skills as an expert spy, he made his way to the filing room.
When he entered the room, he was surrounded by icy metal. Everywhere, the walls, the ceiling, the desks, the cabinets and the lamps, were plated metal. On the table, a single ebony file sat, silver words etched on the front. It read:
File X: Agent Guardian
He grabbed the file and stuck it under his arm. The door opened and Rio, followed by Mikan's murderer, walked in.
"Well, well, if it isn't the Black Cat," said Rio. "Aren't we lucky, Aori?"
"Immensely," she replied in a bored tone. "Maybe he should meet our new friend, Agent Guardian?"
"No thanks," the flame caster said. He leaped through a window, shattering the glass. He disappeared into the night.
"Aw, he didn't want to meet her, now did he?" asked Rio.
"No he didn't," another voice came.
"You're here, Guardian," Aori said.
The slim figure behind her removed a dark mask. "Well, Mikan, I guess you'll meet him soon. Do you remember him?"
"Why would I?"
"Oh right," Aori said, realizing her mistake. "Just kidding."
Back at the Academy…
Natsume walked through the gates of the Academy. Persona waited at the Sakura Tree. He tossed the file to Persona. "Your data," he said blankly. He loathed this man. Although not directly, this man had a hand in Mikan's downfall. He would never forgive him for that. He had sent her on a mission she should never had to go for and when she died, all he had done was shrug and left it at that. What roasting him alive would feel like.
"You haven't been the same since Sakura left," Persona taunted. He really wanted to die. "Returning to your shell I see. Imai has done the same. Poor Mikan. If she saw her friends like this, her little heart would…" He never finished his sentence.
Natsume's enflamed hand held him by the neck. "Don't you ever say her name," he snarled. "You don't have the right." He released the teacher's throat. He turned and strolled back to his dorm.
He would never forget her, never. He didn't realize that a single dark figure was watching his every move.
Dawn light streamed into his room. Natsume awoke to find frozen tears on his cheeks. That blasted dream again! In his dream, he finally found Mikan, his Mikan, in his arms where she belonged. Four years had made her into a beautiful girl. When she lifted her head to speak, the same words flew out of her mouth. They shattered his heart. "Who are you?"
It pained him to even think that Mikan would forget her friends…forget the Academy…forget him. No. Mikan would die before she would. But she was dead.
He got dressed. Still the same song played in his mind.
'Cos you know I'd walk a thousand miles,
If I could just see you, tonight…
It hurt him to think of that Last Dance…the last time he had seen Mikan that happy in his arms. But that was in the past and it would stay in the past. He had to move on!
Breakfast tasted the same as it had tasted for the past four years. Across from him, Ruka and Hotaru quietly ate their meal. Silence. The one thing that had stayed the same. The longer since Mikan's death, the quieter it got.
On the table, a bouquet of Sakura flowers sat, its listless and light petals swaying in the wind from outside the Academy. "A romantic, Ruka?" asked Natsume.
Hotaru looked at him with pure venom. "Looked at a mirror lately, dimwit?" she snapped. Her distaste for him had grown since that unfortunate day.
"May 29th" explained Ruka. Everything came to Natsume, smacking him in the face. May 29th: the day Mikan left them forever.
Natsume left abruptly and walked to the Sakura Tree. How could he have forgotten? She was more important to him than anything in the world. Skipping all his classes, he just sat under the tree and pondered
Night quietly came and engulfed the Academy. Natsume finally decided to return to his room. He strolled to the special star dorms, hands in his pockets as usual.
Soon after he stepped onto the path, he sensed another presence. "How long have you been there?" he asked, quietly.
"Long enough," a female voice answered. A fleeting shadow jumped from the nearby trees and he found himself restrained. "I can't believe my first mission in four years was so dull. I followed you around for one and a half days and you notice me only now. Natsume, I'm hurt."
"Who are you?"
Agent Guardian, at your service," she replied.
"Hn," he grunted. "AAO's newest lapdog. I'm not surprised."
"You stole my file. I have to get revenge somehow."
He felt the mouth of a gun poke his back. He tried to use his Alice but no flames came from the tips of his fingers. "Sorry, you think I'd at least come prepared. See this necklace here? It contains a millilitre of your girlfriend's blood. Nullifying blood." That did it.
Hard as he could, he pushed himself free from her grip and turned to face her. He saw a black masked face. "You sick…"
"Calling girls names? What did they teach you here?"
He saw she was only about seventeen. Pounding footsteps echoed in the silence. Teachers had found them. She pouted. "We'll finish this tango some other time. Ciao!" She turned to leap back into the darkness.
"Wait!" he yelled. She stopped and briefly turned. "Why did you join the AAO? What would you gain?"
Her eyes through the mask holes were slits of fury. "Retribution," she whispered. The wind blew and she vanished. Jinno and Narumi were instantly behind him.
"Hyyuga!" barked Jinno. "What happened?"
The flame caster felt faint. Something about that girl was mesmerising and yet incredibly irritable. The last thing he saw before passing out was the overturned road.
Slap!
Mikan Sakura sprawled across the floor, a red welt glowing on her cheek. Kayo Aori's hand was held in midair after delivering the blow to her daughter's cheek. "Your first mission, simple at the most, in four years, and you screw it up!" she yelled. "With any luck, they'll just think that Hyyuga was hallucinating and just imagined AAO's new agent attacking him! But why wouldn't they believe him? He's the only thing stopping our silent war from completely breaking lose!"
"I'm sorry," Mikan whispered.
"Sorry is not going to fix this mess now is it?" snapped Aori. "Nevermind that for now. You go to the Training Room and start rifle practicing. I'll try and figure out howmake your trail vanish."
Mikan got up and bowed ninja-style. She exited the briefing room. As she passed the Hall of Enemies her mother had dreamed up, her eye caught sight of a head of raven hair and blood eyes ahead in the hall. Natsume Hyuuga, you'll pay for what you've done.
As Mikan passed the portrait, it burst into flames. The hot tongues began licking away the Black Cat's canvas face.
A white-washed ceiling greeted him. Natsume awoke to find Ruka sitting beside him. When his best friend saw he was conscious, he jumped up. "Natsume! You're finally awake!"
"Ruka," the flame caster grunted. "What happened?"
"You passed out," explained Ruka. "They said before you passed out, they heard you whispering something about an Agent Guardian had attacked you. Next to you, they found a barrette with a strand of DNA on it. They sent it to the labs for DNA testing."
"Hn." He sank into his pillow.
The door opened and a sobbing Hotaru rushed in. her puffy red eyes revealed how much she had been crying. Her older brother, Subaru-san, entered after her. His hands were shaking and his face was white as a sheet of paper.
"The DNA results came back," he said. He raised the file. "The results say that this Agent Guardian had over a hundred different types of Alice." Natsume and Ruka's eyes widened. "And the results also say that the agent was from the Academy."
"Who was it?" pressed Natsume.
He stood and stared at the Healer. "Who is this nut-job that decided to join the AAO's circus?"
Subaru sighed. "The results came out as a positive match to…."
"Spit it out, Imai!"
"…Mikan Sakura."
Natsume swore he passed out on the spot.
A/N: I'm baaackkK!!! okay...so i have miidterms on wednesday so wish me luck!!!! i really dun wanna sit for it. PS!! i'm going to Beijing on friday so it will take some time to upload chappy five... i am a very slooooooowww writer...so plz be patient and you will be rewarded with Mikan's and Natsume's bitter reunion!!!! I CANT BELIEVE I CAME UP WITH THE IDEA ALL BY MY SELF!!!! SO COOL MAN!!! OK SO CHAPPY FIVE: Bitter Reunion (I told you it was a bitter reunion! hehe)
