Red Parade
"Aaaagh!"
Anzu woke to a panicked yell in the hallway. She blinked once, twice, and rolled onto her side to get a glimpse of the bedroom window.
The sky said it was around seven o'clock.
"Oh no!" she yelped with a jolt of realization. Anzu rolled off her bed swiftly, and landed on the floor with a muffled thump. She scrambled to her feet unsteadily and ripped the white bed sheets from her body.
"Wake up, Maiko-chan!" she squeaked, throwing her bedcovers off as well. The sleeping girl stirred and moaned drowsily.
"What time is it?" she asked, then she glanced out the window. Her blue topaz eyes flashed open all the way, and she regarded Anzu severely. "Stupid, look how early it is! The sun is just rising!" Nonetheless, she sat up and slid out of bed.
Anzu darted around the room while yanking off her shirt. "Come on!" she cried, slipping on her school uniform. "They're already starting!"
Maiko frowned, then slipped out of her clothes. She watched with evident interest as Anzu shrieked and slapped on her socks and shoes. The quiet girl combed her shoulder-length hair and stretched her arms above her head. "Alright," she said disapprovingly, "where are my chocolates?"
Anzu whipped around to stare at her. "Huh-?" she exclaimed. "They're right on the desk!"
"Hmph," Maiko said coolly, sweeping the few, elaborate boxes into the inside of her sheep-shaped back. "Who knows where you could've put it? What with you throwing your stuff around—"
"Oh, shut up!"
Anzu lifted open the cloth flap that covered the underside of her bed. She cried out when she found a box full of small, wooden boxes. "Phew, thought I lost them," she sighed in relief. Anzu took a few, examining each one, and placed them into her empty school bag. She put her arms through the straps and retied the ribbon of her shirt.
"Okay!" she said intensely, raising a fist to the sky. "Let's do this!"
Maiko yawned and followed the pumped-up girl out of the room. Out in the dorm corridor, students screeched, some in terror, but most in menacing voices. Boys tore down the hallway, running all they could. Girls followed close behind, their arms outstretched and in their hands were opened boxes full of chocolate.
"Come here!" the girls roared simultaneously. "You haven't tried the frog one yet!"
Anzu stood paralyzed by the door with Maiko at her side. She sweatdropped, and the music boxes in her bag felt heavier on her shoulders.
"I'm glad I'm not a guy," she said, shuddering. "They have it tough." Then she let Maiko tow her down the hall and a set of stairs. They pushed on the glass doors and stepped into the cool, early morning air. It would've been relaxing if there weren't any yelling boys zipping around the buildings outside…
Anzu looked upset and turned to Maiko with a wail. "How're we gonna find everyone?" she asked, poking her fingers together in faltering hope. "They're all hiding."
Maiko turned over Anzu's gift to her in her hands and looked up with a small smile. "I know what to do," she said with a laugh. Anzu's face lit up. Maiko held up a hand for her to not speak.
She closed her eyes, tasting the air for emotions. Around them, she could feel the pain of others, but they were the feelings of people who they had no connections to whatsoever. She tried to sift out the sea of pathos and pinpointed on several people on Anzu's hit list. Immediately, she could see several white flashes of light, like emergency flares, hanging in the sky, only visible to her with her mind's eye. She smiled, and her eyes flashed open.
She pointed to their right, toward the Middle Branch building. They looked on with amusement as they found teenaged boys hiding in shrubs and behind trees. Each one of them showed panicked expressions and shushed them with their index fingers pressed against their chocolate-stained lips. When the two girls walked away laughing, they sighed in relief and remained in terror-filled hiding.
"Here," said Maiko, once their feet reached the carpet of the inside of the building. It had an old, elegant feel to it, and it was much more mature than the Elementary building. Anzu glanced around anxiously, looking for teachers that would scold them for trespassing. But they didn't see any adults, and only heard the occasional scream pierce the air.
"Where?" Anzu asked, peeking in through the glass of a classroom window. She staggered back in surprise when she saw several boys crouching under the tables with wide-eyed terror.
Maiko trotted down the hall, and Anzu followed, looking bewildered. Then down a long set of winding set of steps they went…
She jabbed a finger at one of the classrooms before them. It was labeled that it was a laboratory. Maiko grinned and twisted the knob of the classroom. A few stools were knocked over with a loud, echoing clatter as the girls entered the room.
"Hello?" Anzu called out, frightened. The classroom was empty, but something had just made noise…
A head belonging to a boy poked out from under a black table that was piled with small clear dishes and beakers.
Anzu gave him a running hug, and they both toppled over to the dusty checker tiled floor with loud laughter.
"Hareta-niichan, are you okay?" she squeaked as the teenaged boy slid her onto his lap.
He ran a hand through his champagne-colored hair and looked uncertain. "I think so," he said shakily. Anzu looked dismayed and started checking him for strange side effects from some chocolates he might've received. Hareta chortled and tickled her, his poor-me facade fading away.
"I'm fine!" he laughed brightly. He ruffled her hair and grinned at Maiko, who stood smiling several feet away. "So," he said gravely, "are you here to give me chocolate too?"
Anzu looked hurt and tossed her school bag at him. "You know I can't make anything with chocolate," she groaned, quickly plummeting into a murky gloom.
Hareta looked up wonderingly, then chuckled and opened her bag. "That's right. I remember. Just like the biscotti you made last time…"
Her eyes widened in horror, and she hurriedly covered his mouth. "Don't say it!" she squealed. Then Hareta pulled off her small hand, his mouth curved into a Cheshire Cat-smile. Surprisingly, he remained silent and glanced at the contents of the bag. "Oh, so this is my present?" he asked, holding up a music box with a raised eyebrow.
Anzu snatched it back and he looked surprised. "No," she said firmly, digging out another and placing it on his palm. His fingers closed around this one. "This one's yours."
It had a sun etched on the middle. Hareta laughed delightedly and lifted its lid. A cheerful, nostalgic melody flowed from the amulet in the center of the blue velvet. "Wow, sounds great! Thanks, Chibi! " He hugged her head with a snicker.
A smile lit up her face. "You're welcome! Happy Valentine's!" she giggled. Maiko laughed quietly from behind her hand.
"Hey…" said a muffled voice from behind Hareta, interrupting their rejoicing. A hand appeared and clawed at his shoulder. "You're squishing me."
Anzu let out a sharp scream, and Hareta and Maiko both winced. The teenaged boy laughed and scootched to the other side under the table. Hoshino's blonde head appeared, then his body. He shook his limbs out of their numbness and peered wearily at the two girls.
"Yo," he said, rubbing his tired eyes. His hair was a mess, and his clothes were wrinkled. His cerulean blue eyes widened with shock. "This morning, when I walked out, some girls jumped on top of me and tried to feed me their sweets!" He shuddered, rubbing his arms at the memory. "Agh, and do you know what happened after I ate one? I turned into a cat! They started hugging me. Then I ran away…" Hoshino shivered in fear. "Those girls chased me around the greenhouse, and Misaki-sensei yelled at us, calling us hooligans and rowdy kids. He was waving his watering hose around madly and it splashed all of us." He wrinkled his nose in distaste at his wet shirt.
Hareta chuckled. "Yeah, he streaked in here, where I was hiding. He was still in his cat form. He scared the hell outta me, waving his paws around and mewing really loudly…"
Hoshino looked awkward. "Quiet, Sempai."
Anzu giggled, reaching into her bag and handing a small box to him. Hoshino shivered and took it, while yelping when Maiko flicked his forehead with her index finger.
His sister sighed in hopelessness. "My brother," she said disapprovingly. She didn't say anything else while she and Anzu both stood.
Anzu made a half-salute and grinned at them with a snicker. "Yep, we're off to deliver more music!" she laughed. Hareta gave her another warm hug and Hoshino waved. "See ya!"
Then the girls exited out of the lab room, glancing both ways. Anzu looked to her navigator. "Okay," she said to Maiko, "where to now?"
The quiet girl closed her eyes and felt around for emotions. She frowned, and turned toward the end of the hallway. Her topaz eyes peered at her. "There's two of them around here," she said. "You wanna go by yourself?"
Anzu looked puzzled, and hefted the bag on her shoulders. "But why?" she mused. "You're not coming?"
Maiko smiled and shook her head. "I have to go deliver some chocolates now," she said distantly. Anzu suddenly felt a strange pang that her friend was leaving some of the truth out. "See you at breakfast."
Anzu raised her hand in farewell. "B-bye bye…?" she said quizzically. She watched Maiko disappear rapidly down the hallway and down a stair way. Then an incredulous idea hit her with crushing blow.
Maiko-chan's going to torture some boys with chocolates! Anzu thought in horror. I had no idea that she was into that kind of thing… That was what she had deducted from her friend's odd behavior, anyway.
Anzu shook her head furiously, and trotted in the direction that her friend had pointed. She arrived before a door of another classroom. Class C of the Middle Branch building.
A star with a "C" imprinted on it hung outside the heavy wooden door. Who's in here? she wondered briefly. She decided to not worry about it, and happily pushed on the door.
"Hello?" she called out. The room looked exactly like Narumi's classroom. Her feet shuffled along the checkered tiled floor. "Is anyone here?"
No one answered back. Anzu scratched her head as a wave of confusion hit her.
"Huh, that's funny," she said aloud, and turning back to the door. "This is the right room, right?"
Anzu was about to leave when she spotted a black shoe on the ground. It dangled from behind one of the ledge benches, swinging back and forth without a care in the world. Smiling craftily, the girl crept on the boy and tugged on his foot. With a loud plop, the shoe came off in her hand and she tumbled backward in surprise.
"Woah," she mumbled, and she set the shoe back in the boy's lap. "Sorry 'bout that." Anzu glanced up from the floor and almost had a spazz attack.
"Axel!" she burst, staring wide-eyed at the frozen black-haired boy across from her. "Why are you here? This is the Middle School's classroom."
He blushed, and he turned his stormy gray eye away from her. "Um," he babbled, "I'm waiting for my sister, actually." Axel's mouth curved into a small smile and hid his face in his arms on the table. "She makes chocolate for me every year. She's nice."
Anzu perked up happily. "Ooh, do they have funny effects?" she asked, tilting her head. Axel shook his head with a musical, quiet chuckle.
"She's not that cruel," he said with a grin. Then he eyed the bulging school bag in her arms. "What's that?" Then his eyes melted to liquid silver. "Oh yeah, your music boxes, right?"
She nodded, one jerky bob. "Yep!" She plunged a hand in her bag and dug around for a while. "Hm… which one—Ah!" She pulled out one with a flower on it. "This one's yours."
Axel took it with a quiet appreciation. "Can I open it?" he asked in a hushed voice.
"Of course!"
He lifted the rosewood lid with a delicate touch of his finger, and a soft melancholy lullaby drifted out and waltzed in the air. It sounded like a harp and a variety of other instruments. Together they created a tear-inducing, beautiful, harmony. The two children kneeled on the floor in a sudden upwelling of reverence, and closed their eyes. Behind their lavender lids were images of sunsets and hills and flowers. A soft blue sky, the color of laughter, was dotted with fluffy white cottony clouds. Birds sang distantly from the trees. A river nearby whispered in the breeze. And a mysterious, wonderful aroma wafted in the air, rejuvenating their senses. There were no words that could possibly describe it. Perhaps it was a honey-sunshine-flower-honeydew-strawberry-apple-leaves-snow kind of smell. But who knew?
They both opened their eyes and laughed at their similar expressions. Their eyes were bright and refreshed, and their hearts beat in time with the music that still flowed from the box on the ground.
"Wow, you really did it!" said Axel, extremely impressed. He smiled, his cheeks flushed, and leaned toward Anzu. "Thanks," he whispered, clutching the box to himself. Axel then pressed his lips on her cheek. She went stiff with surprise. He sat back with a small laugh. "You taught me that, remember?"
Anzu brightened, and straightened up to sit on her knees. "That's right."
Axel smiled, but looked despairing for a moment. A wave of confusion swept over her, but then Axel stood up and stretched, happiness writing itself all over his handsome face.
Anzu doubted herself at seeing the strange expression on him. A fragment of the imagination, she decided.
Axel grinned, his eye flickering silver again. "This'll be our little secret," he said with a laugh, cradling the box to his chest. "No one but me will get to listen to this."
Anzu did a double-take. "Well, you don't have to go that far…"
The boy laughed in delight. "No way, it's mine!" He waved at her. "You have any more boxes to deliver?" he asked.
Her hand flew to her mouth. "Ah, that's right," she said, twisting around for a glimpse of the clock hanging on a wall. "Oh wow, eight o'clock, huh?" Anzu scrambled to her feet and grabbed her bag. She quickly slung it over her shoulders and poised with her hand on the heavy wooden door. She grinned at the black-haired boy who sat by himself on the ledge bench. "See ya later!" she giggled.
"Oh!" he said abruptly, and his arm shot up. "Wait a sec, you forgot something!"
She glanced at him, evidently vexed. "What did I forget?"
Axel tilted his head. "My Alice?" he prompted, his eyes flashing with uncertainty.
Anzu looked horrified, stepping backward. "Aaaah! I can't believe I forgot!" She hung her head in shame. "You almost got away with not telling me…" She whipped her head up and glared at him reproachfully. "Tell me, please!"
The black-haired boy laughed, and turned the box over in his hands in thought. "You won't laugh." He said it firmly in a statement, as if confirming their little agreement.
She shook her head furiously and he sighed, gathering up his courage to finally spill the beans.
"I…" he said slowly. Anzu craned in closer, straining her ears. Her heart galloped in her chest in anticipation.
***HIS WORDS***
I have the Pheromone Alice.
Silence. A few quiet moments crawled by. Anzu looked blank. A mouse could've crept along the floor with its twitchy whiskers dusting the floor, and they wouldn't hear it.
"Ph-pheromone…?" she asked weakly. Axel braced himself, leaning away from her, expecting the worst.
Anzu twisted and tore her eyes from his anxious face. A contained giggle escaped from the back of her hand.
"You…" exclaimed Axel indignantly. "See, it's funny, isn't it?"
"Pffftt.." Anzu rubbed at her eyes. "It's not funny, your Alice… It's because you made such a big deal out of it!" she gasped with laughter. "Besides, it suits you! You're handsome."
He looked disgusted. "It's nasty! It makes me wanna barf." He shuddered and laughed with no emotion. "I don't want people to fall over my feet wearing faces like that. Love-sick grins…" Axel shivered again, a chill crawling down his spine.
Anzu tilted her head, smiling from ear to ear. "It's not useful to you?" she asked.
"No way!"
She looked disappointed. "Aw, so no stories to share, huh?" she complained. "Like, I made so-and-so fall for me…"
Axel looked mortified and crossed his arms stormily. "Ugh, no…"
Anzu giggled, shifting the bag on her shoulders. "Oh, Axel," she laughed. "You're so funny." Then she sighed and pushed on the door. "I'm gonna go. I want to see your Alice in action some time."
Axel looked offended, and she laughed. He trotted up to where she stood, by the door. He stayed back a few steps and snickered, looking embarrassed about their previous conversation.
He looked thoughtful, and a delicate finger was twined around in chin as he mulled something over in his head. Axel then returned his gaze on Anzu and laughed effortlessly.
"You're always interested with how my love life is going," he mused, "so I thought you'd want to know about this."
She perked up, and was balanced on the heels of her feet. "Yeees?" she said, gawking at him. He looked terribly innocent as he played with her gift in his hands.
Axel smirked at her magnetic fascination and continued. "I think I have someone I like." He paused, weighing his words carefully. He smiled at Anzu. "I think."
She shrieked and threw her arms in the air. "Wow, who is it?" she gasped as soon as she calmed down a notch. Axel was fighting a roar of laughter. "Tell me?"
He sniggered and stuck his tongue out impudently. "No way," he said. "One secret's been told already."
Anzu slumped into a depression. "Aww, tell me how it works out later..." she mumbled dismally, pushing on the mahogany door.
Axel smiled sunnily, and for a moment, she was stunned by his flawless perfection. Just the fact that this incredulously handsome boy was toying with her present while looking dazed when he thought about a certain someone made her want to keel over in elation. She tried to scrape together the image of a girl who would look perfect by his side and immediately thought of Maria with her gorgeous, silky golden hair that waved to the small of her slender back, and her exuberant, astonishingly green eyes framed by doll-like lashes.
She was so ecstatic that she nearly missed Axel's last words. He chuckled at her awe-struck expression. "See you, Anzu." It sounded warm and gentle, as to not startle her from her dreams.
She blinked, clearing her daze, and pushed on the door. It swung easily, and she stumbled artlessly out of the classroom and into the hall.
Whew, she thought with relief as she headed down the corridor, the sound of her feet reverberating on the walls. If I'm not careful, I just might fall in love with Axel! Especially now that I know that he has the Pheromone Alice…
She shook her head furiously with a nervous laugh. "He's just a friend," she muttered, and before she knew it, she was pulling on the tarnished metal handle of a different room. "Just a friend…"
Anzu stepped inside, perplexed. Sometimes she walked mindlessly, and often got lost. This was usually the kind of moment when Mikan would appear out of nowhere and scold her, hugging her head after giving her a brief, tearful lecture about not leaving her side. Fortunately, it always happened like that, and she was found every time. Anzu giggled at the memory, and walked in further. It was a library, but when she swept her eyes around the scenery in front of her, a sense of déjà vu creeped up on her.
Before a towering book shelf, a boy with dark brown ringlets of hair stood in silence, his eyes going through a thick book. On his perfect nose were silver-rimmed glasses. Anzu laughed out loud and trotted over.
"What're you reading now?" she asked with a smile, sidling up to him.
Naruse glanced at her from his book, adjusting the frames on his nose. He held the book out to her and allowed her to read the title.
"An—" she struggled, trying to pronounce the English gilded title on the front of the leather bound book. "Anti-calamity…?"
Naruse studied her briefly, then shut it softly and put it back in an empty place on the shelf. "That's right." He then walked around an oval-shaped mocha-colored coffee table and sank into a comfortable armchair. Naruse's blue eyes watched as she sat down across from him, noting her shiny, fascinated eyes.
Anzu looked dubious with her wrinkled nose. "I don't know what this anti-calamity means, but," she said, delving her hand into her school bag. She pulled out a rosewood box that had waves etched all along the edges and lid. She tossed it at him casually. "This is for you, believe it or not."
The quiet boy caught in easily in one hand and examined it from end to end. His face held no emotion, but Anzu had expected that kind of reaction.
"I didn't do anything," he said after a while. He raised an eyebrow skeptically. "A bribe, is it?"
Anzu stared at him, offensive. "What? No, I wanted to make it," she clarified, leaning toward him seriously. "Just for you."
Naruse held a strange emotion on his face. A mixture of many emotions, too blended to distinguish any of them without half-baked guesses. Anzu shrank back, and decided to dub that face as "scary".
He pointed at the box in his hand. "So," he said, his voice laden with derision, "what does this do, exactly?"
"Unnnn…" Her tongue was twisted into many knots upon knots.
"Answer quickly!" he said sternly, and she flinched, waiting for a threat. But none came.
Anzu turned to him again with deliberate slowness. "It's a music box," she said cautiously. "I compose stuff, remember?"
Naruse looked wry. "Yeah." He scowled at the box and lifted its lid. No music came out.
"Ah," Anzu said suddenly, reaching over the coffee table towards him. "It hasn't been winded yet, sorry…" She slipped and accidentally laid a hand on his shoulder.
He jerked away in an instant, and so did she. An electric current zipped through her skin, starting from the palm of her hand and traveled rapidly down to her toes. "W-whoops," she laughed nervously, red-faced chagrin washing over her. "My bad."
Naruse glared at her, smoothing his shirt. He then rose from the chair and slipped the box into his pants pocket. Wordlessly, he turned his back to her and strode over to the single door of the library. Anzu stared at him from behind, hovering by the chairs.
When he was about to push on the glass door to head into the hall, he paused, and turned to her.
"I'll listen to it later," he said ambiguously. Then he pocketed his glasses.
Another smile? Or just a glitch in my system? Anzu mused, watching in silence as he slipped into the hall way. She frowned, waited a bit, then tore out of the library. Naruse was gone.
"Aw," she whined, completely disappointed. "I wanted to ask him about it too. 'Did you just smile?'" Anzu sighed and wiped her brow. "If he got mad, would that mean yes? Oh, but that could be a no, too… Ooh, why am I so dumb?"
She grumbled to herself as she stomped through the hall. Maiko would be finished delivering chocolates by now. And she would be waiting impatiently in the cafeteria, eating breakfast alone.
No class! Anzu thought with a thrill, reveling in the aloneless of the empty hallways.
"Mm!"
Anzu stretched her arms above her head and sighed with content. It was now afternoon, and pretty warm out. It was so nice that she had decided to take a walk. She figured that it was well-earned after being so diligent about delivering the rest of her music boxes to Nakao, Maria, Narumi, Haruna, Kiori, Tazaki, Suzuki and Miroko. Anzu counted everyone on her fingers and had to use them twice.
"Wow, thirteen," she said with a laugh. Anzu sighed in happiness, standing in the warm sun that peeked behind some fluffy white clouds. She grinned, and studied a tree on her way to the dorm. The tree was the same one Naruse had leaned on while dozing off. She laughed, and skipped down the sidewalk.
I hope he likes it, she thought, and automatically clasped her hands in a quick, silent prayer. Please like it, Naruse-kun.
Anzu tilted her head and a smile crept into her features while she strode along the empty, quiet pathway.
Will "Pepper Mint" really put him to sleep? I'll ask him about it tomorrow.
She continued down the sidewalk, humming a cheery tune. Anzu made "Pepper Mint" while thinking of his sleeping problems. She wanted to see if he could get healthier and get a bit more of color in his pale skin. Plus, he did look really slender. Did he eat enough? Now she worried about him whole-heartedly at night. Anzu expressed that same worry in her music.
And I want him to open up a bit, she thought. Maybe become friends?
She sighed and kicked a pebble with the toe of her shoe. It bounced up ahead a few feet, as if saying, "Not likely!"
The lanky boy frowned and pushed on the ornate wooden door and slipped into his room. It was spacious, and generously furnished, with an enormous bed that could fit several people and still have enough wiggle room, several cushioned couches, and a veranda that had a good view of the sunsets that lit up the entire sky above Alice Gakuen. Naruse thrust his hand into his checkered pants pocket, and his present was set on the table with a soft clatter. He stared at it apprehensively, as if it would beep at any moment and explode into a million pieces, and also blasting him apart.
That girl, he thought with a scowl, what goes on in her head? I have nothing to do with her…
Then a frown settled on the edges of his pale pink lips, and he berated himself. Naruse threw off his shoes and changed into a t-shirt and sweats. His arms were always concealed by the long sleeves of the winter uniform, but they were actually hard with muscle. Naruse's mouth twitched, thinking of what Anzu would say if she managed to get a glimpse of him.
"Wow, do you work out or something?" she would ask in her bubbly, excessively exuberant voice. "No wonder you're so strong!"
He glared at a phantom image of her and flopped onto his bed angrily. Why does she always follow me? Listening to me prattle like my life's story is vitally important.
Naruse rolled onto his back and sighed irritably. Just being on the soft bed made his eyes droop. But at night he couldn't sleep. Or rather, he didn't. It wasn't just because he was up thinking about things. It was because Persona handed him missions nonchalantly that kept him playing and baiting Death. Who wouldn't brood over that fact in bed?
Persona, he thought, and a wave of intense admiration swept over him. Naruse respected and revered him, and never questioned his orders. Well, sometimes he was a bit cheeky now and then, and his dark, humorless teacher would punish him with the ring around his neck.
You are bound to me by fate, Persona had said, a grim smile playing on the edges of his black lips. Naruse could never distinguish what emotion the older man felt, as he wore an ominous white mask over his black, cold eyes.
Persona stared out into the dark sky, watching as a sliver of blinding orange crept over the horizon line. It was just around sunrise, and they were doing their training outside. Those days were harsh, when Naruse had just come to the Academy.
Naruse wiped his brow, sweating just from the memory. Persona had been merciless then, not as understanding as he was now.
The Persona in his crystal clear memory turned to him again. He bent down to the boy's level on the ground, staring at the fallen boy and the cuts all over his body. The hems of his midnight black jacket almost trailed on the ground, not quite touching.
The man looked at the exhausted Naruse with a wry expression. I warned your mother to stay by my side, he said, staring at the sunrise with an unfathomable silence. Anger rippled throughout Naruse's body when Persona mentioned her.
His mom.
She was all that mattered.
Persona turned to Naruse, his lips curved into a slight smile. Good boy, he whispered, reaching down to pat his student's head. His pale white fingers, covered with a mind-boggling amount of Alice restraining rings, and long nails like claws felt his hair, then lightly touched the boy's dirty, scuffed up cheek.
Hate is good.
Good boy.
Naruse sat on the dusty ground, paralyzed by the strange man. He watched in silence and guarded himself as Persona sighed despairingly and stood up. His masked eyes swept over the buildings of Alice Gakuen, small from where they trained on the grassy hill.
Persona looked stiff and emanated frustration and anger.
Where is your mother? he asked sharply. Did she flee her house? Naruse was stunned by the sudden change in mood. Persona was prone to hiding his emotions. But he let them out now without a care. Did he trust Naruse to keep his small mouth shut?
The tall man's jaw was clenched. Poor Nobara, he said softly, gazing out into the sky in lonliness. What a wretched man your father is.
Naruse's heart twisted in pain. He didn't know his dad, as he had left his mom when he found out that she was pregnant. He had abandoned him, leaving Nobara just to fend her herself and her unborn son. She worked everyday without a complaint, scraping together money to feed herself, just enough to deliver a healthy baby boy.
They lived in an apartment. A small, stifling one at that. It wasn't in the best of neighborhoods, and crime was not uncommon. Sudden screaming at night wasn't unusual.
When Naruse heard about his dad from Nobara, he was infuriated. He was probably three or four then, extraordinarily mature for such a young child. He'd grown on the streets, after all.
He wanted to break everything in their small house. When he was about to send their only lamp smashing to the floor, Nobara calmed him down with a few words.
She smiled a small, sad smile layered with regret and despair.
I don't blame him, she had said. She still sounded like she was in love with him. That made Naruse even more enraged. Alarmed, she caught his wrist and set back the lamp on the small kitchen table. Weakly, she staggered under the weight and panted as she put it down.
She's so powerless, he thought, running over to her side and throwing his arms around her, tears splashing down his face. If only he could do something to help her. But he was just too young, and still green behind the ears. He rarely went to school, though his mom begged him to. But Naruse was always worried about her even when coloring pages in a classroom at preschool. He was so aggravated that he snapped at children who wanted to befriend him. He sent them away with words like stinging, tangled up nettles.
There was an instance where it ended horribly. Punches were thrown, and loud strings of oaths were in the air. There were screams and a sea of tears from all the children in the classroom. Naruse stood paralyzed above a kid. Beneath him, the child cowered on the tiled floor with his small hands held protectively in front of his face. Scarlet blood pulsed profusely down his cheek, and drops of it splattered and stained the ground. Naruse staggered back in shock, staring at the bloodied crystal clenched in his white fist.
A yell came from several adults, and they rushed into the room. One restrained Naruse, but he was already limp with fear. His face was white, a chalky, sick and deathly pale. His hand slowly released the crystal, and it clattered ominously to the floor.
The teachers of the preschool were running around, trying to calm the wailing children. They spoke in low voices to each other, throwing harsh looks at the still boy with crusted blood on his hands.
A monster Alice.
Call the Academy! Do it now!
Escort him to his house. Notify his guardians.
Yes, right away!
His eyes widened in fear. He didn't want Nobara to find out about the incident.
He had made a boy cry. Bleed, snivel, beg. Crouching on the floor, red pooling on the white sterile tile.
Disgusting.
Naruse turned on his heel and dashed out of the room, in between the adults' legs. Several shouts followed, and rapid footsteps came after him, and arms clawed the air just a hairsbreadth away from his body. His heart felt like it would tear from his chest and plop to the ground, his vital organ rolling to a stop with one last shuddering heave.
But it didn't. He was almost disappointed.
He kept running, and he ducked into several alley ways to lose them. The boy knew his way around, as he wandered around at night, gazing up at the stars.
But it was always too cloudy to see the diamonds in the sky. Gray, choking smog hovered above the city slums. He glared at the heavens above them.
Show me! Isn't there a God out there, pulling all of our strings?
Naruse slowly lost the adults, one by one. He could hear their alarmed cries as they floundered around, looking for him behind trash cans and the like. He slowed to a trot and softly knocked on the door of his apartment.
The iron door slid open, and his mother's pale, beautiful face appeared. Her soft blue eyes widened with horror when she saw how dirty he was, and took him in a tight hug, cleaning the crusted blood off his hand with a warm, damp towel.
Kiri-chan, she cried, a sob rising in and out of her throat. Her wildly curly brown hair tickled his face as she hugged him. She had just finished speaking with one of the furious adults at the preschool. You have my Alice, don't you? Nobara leaned back, wiping the tears from her face with the back of her hand. But they didn't stop running down her face.
Some people are going to take you away.
Naruse staggered backward, but his mom's hand was still on his shoulder. What? No! You need me! he wanted to shout. But his mouth opened, and no words came out.
I can't go! he finally managed, tears appearing in his eyes. Nobara let out another muffled sob and hurried away, shamefaced of crying in front of her son. She didn't want to let him see her when she was so vulnerable.
Two days later, a sleek black car pulled to the deserted curb of their apartment building. Naruse glared out the window, watching as a tall man in black swiftly got out of the car. His lope was unnervingly graceful, and the boy dropped the curtains, disgusted.
A single rap announced his arrival at their door step. Nobara staggered to the door and unbolted it with shaking hands. She went stiff when she saw who it was.
P-Persona…?
She let out a sob and quietly rubbed at her red eyes. The man in black looked grim. They exchanged a few words, laden with double meanings that Naruse didn't get. Their emotions ranged from sorrow to happiness and regret. When they finished, Nobara stepped aside to let the man named Persona have a glimpse of her son.
Persona was frightening. A white mask shaded his eyes. A black smile. Multiple piercings and rings on his long, alabaster fingers. Nails like pincers that would gauge your eyes out if your tongue slipped up. The way the bizarre man carried himself loudly told the world that he was proudly a pariah (loner).
Persona examined the silent boy, and stepped closer. Naruse hissed and backed away.
Hm, he said in a low, unforgettable voice. It was nightmarish. His hand extended to Naruse slowly, trying not to frighten him. A mere copy.
He was referring to how much mother and son looked similar. A wry smile formed on his dark, sinister lips.
Kirio, is it? he asked. Naruse was still, fighting the impulse to bolt out through the door way. Persona straightened and looked almost pleased. He shook his head with a small, one syllable laugh.
You're coming with me, he said clearly. To the Academy.
The boy could only shake his head fervently.
Nobara's eyes widened. No, Kiri-chan, she said in a soft voice. You must.
Naruse's jaw tightened. No.
Persona glanced at Nobara almost apologetically, then with inhuman speed, lashed out and firmly gripped the boy by his arm. Naruse shrieked, thrashing around, but the man's hold on him was too strong. He was no match.
Goodbye, Nobara, said Persona, looking calm as he held the restless boy. I do wish you would come back with me.
The thin woman shook her head furiously, and her eyes were full of past pain. No… I'm sorry. It's hard for me to think about it at all…
Persona sounded almost kind. I understand. Take care of yourself.
Nobara nodded and just watched as Naruse fought a losing battle. He roared with fury, clawing at the man's arm. His eyes wheeled around as he struggled toward his mom.
No! he wailed, a piercing, shattering sound in the still night. You need me! I don't want to leave you!
His mom looked small, fragile, too breakable as she feebly raised her hand in farewell.
Kiri-chan, I'll miss you, she said with heart-breaking sorrow. Naruse thrashed harder, but Persona continued to lead him to the opened door of the black car.
No! No! I don't want to!
Nobara shook her head.
This is meant to be.
How he hated those words! His mom always spoke of fate. She would mope around the apartment, sighing, thinking about the foggy, murky memories and faces she wanted to see. Nobara mumbled that it was supposed to be like that. Like they weren't supposed to meet again. Fate pushed everyone away from each other.
Nobara looked and stared into her son's wild eyes.
Please do me one last favor…?
Naruse stopped thrashing around. Persona waited.
This child, she coughed violently. If you happen to meet a child with this surname…
Nobara struggled to say the last name, covering her hand over her mouth weakly.
Please befriend them. Their parents are special people to me.
Her eyes pleaded with him. They would haunt him for eternity.
Naruse nodded without a word, and she smiled a tiny smile.
Goodbye.
She looked awfully lonely and wistful as Persona placed him gently in the backseat of the car. The door slammed shut behind him. And when they started driving off, the old Naruse was shedding bits and pieces of himself behind.
Behind with Nobara.
Naruse lay on his bed, breathing harshly. He sat up with dizzying speed and whirled around. He pounded his fist on the wooden desk at his side.
"Dammit…" he whispered, full of regret. His eyes were hot with anger. "I don't even know if you're alive or not…"
They were not permitted to send each other letters.
No "how are you?"s, nothing.
Naruse floated in anxious darkness.
An abyss of lonliness.
He whipped the music box off his desk and it flopped onto the bed, mocking him. Naruse steamed and wanted to smash it onto the ground, but his mom's words echoed in his mind.
Please befriend them.
"Hyuuga," he snarled, setting the box on his pillow while seething. If only it were so easy. He was jumpy, and liked to frighten people so they wouldn't bother him. But the girl on his mind was fearless. Every time she bounced up to him, she had a cheerful grin on her face, and chirped, "Hello! What're you doing now?" She infuriated him with her endless questions, her eyes full of fascination. Naruse felt like he was drowning in the inexplicable magnetic force of those thoughtful hazel orbs.
"Why do you smile?" he whispered, opening the box as if it would reply back. "So naïve…"
A letter fell out of the box. It was nestled in the corner. He hadn't noticed it before. Naruse unfolded it uncomprehendingly, his mind still awhirl from re-experiencing some painful memories.
Naruse-kun,
I can't help but wonder about you. You're an interesting person. You have a lot of secrets, don't you? Ahaha, sorry for being so nosy.
Yep, and I know that you can't sleep well. Why's that? You can tell me anything. Anyway, I put two songs on here. Pretty nifty, huh? The first one's Mystic. The other is Pepper Mint. Pepper Mint is the song that'll definitely put you to sleep. You'll sleep like a baby! (lol)
Anyway, I still want to be your friend! I think everyone does. But take your time. We're all waiting for you.
Listen to the music and tell me what you think!
Anzu.
His mouth twitched. He was fighting a smile. The raven-haired girl really got to him sometimes. Maybe she had another power besides composing music, he wondered. Naruse frowned and shook his head, then winded up the box, wondering which switch was which. There were two…
He shrugged, and waited as the music twirled around. It was a nostalgic, kind melody. Like the kind of music you would listen to after a hard day to rejuvenate yourself. But there were melancholy parts too, and it re-emphasized the bittersweet, familiar qualities of the music.
Suddenly the bed felt so soft. Like plush, he began to sink deeper and deeper. Or maybe it was like a nest of feathers. Or moss…. He traded a dozen comparisons in his head drowsily. His eyes were definitely drooping. A little flicker of amazement swept through him before the world disappeared through his eyes.
So this is Pepper Mint? It's… really effective…
He had an unbelievably soft dream that day. And he slept all through the afternoon til the next morning. Naruse had never felt so relaxed before.
So this is what a good morning is supposed to feel like, huh?
Naruse almost smiled when he got ready for class.
Comment: This one was also very long (laughs). I thought it would be lighter and shorter, but suddenly I was revealing Naruse's past… O.O
Oh yeah, and I'm almost finished with my summer work. O.O It's due in… a week (laughs). So there'll be a lot of chapters coming after I complete it. But then I'll get caught up with the new school year… (whoops!)
Please review what you think! :D