DISCLAIMER: I don't own Gakuen Alice.
A/N: More author's notes at the end of the chapter. LOL And I'm sorry for not updating any sooner. : (
CHAPTER SIX
Pricks and Polka Dots
I'd like to think that my presence in the academy is part of something greater than merely posing as Jin Hideaki.
And no, let us not include the typical forbidden romance that involves one of the students finding out about the girl's identity and ultimately, they fall in love, as I'd often encounter in the comic books I read during middle school. If anyone finds out about my secret, I am done. My days as a normal citizen of this country will never arrive. Besides, these people aren't as compassionate as the ones living outside the four walls of the academy.
Although to be honest, I never thought that I'd be placed in such a position either. The things I envisioned myself doing when I turned 18 surely didn't include this part. My grandfather always told me that 18 was the epitome of youth for, well, almost everyone. I wouldn't go into detail regarding my grandfather's heartfelt speech on youthful exuberance and how during that point of his life, he's been through, I don't know, five life threatening situations as proof.
This makes for one life threatening situation though. Grandfather would have been proud of me.
The first thing that I had noticed upon waking up was that the bed looked like as if it were left untouched. If my memory serves me right, I was tending to an ill Natsume Hyuuga diligently that I ended up falling asleep on my study table, since he was occupying the bed.
But now that he's gone, I guess it's safe to say that everything that had happened last night can be regarded as a dream, because honestly, both Hyuuga and I will never admit the fact that I helped him to anybody. I only did it because I had some humanity left in me unlike Hyuuga, the ungrateful bastard, though I was expecting that something like this would happen.
Nonetheless, it felt good to know that Hyuuga now owes me a favor for saving his life and for not reporting this to the higher ups. This could actually be my trump card.
The next thing I noticed was the time. It was 7:50 in the morning, and it dawned upon me that classes start at 8. I curse myself for forgetting to set up my alarm.
One could imagine how frantic I've become after realizing that I only have ten minutes before my first class—Math, with the ever so pleasant Jinno-sensei, to make matters worse. Dashing back and forth in my room, I brushed my teeth while attempting to remove the uniform that I've been wearing since yesterday, starting with my pants. After fumbling with my zipper, I let out a sigh, ignoring the foam that was slipping its way out of my mouth as I let my pants and boxers drop before heading to the bathroom to spit and gargle. Once I was done with that, I rushed to my bed, where I had placed the uniform that I retrieved from the closet, and just when I was about to get rid of my jacket, I hear a voice coming from the door.
"Polka dots."
Wide-eyed, I directed my attention to the open door, where Natsume Hyuuga was wearing the same shocked expression as I was.
We stared at each other for a while with our mouths agape, speechless and far too clueless to decide what we should be doing next. Fidgeting before him, I place my hands over my groin. Flushed, he looks away in response before resolving to close the door, hoping that the both of us would ignore everything that had just happened.
Except that this was Natsume Hyuuga, and he's been trying to get back at me for kicking his balls a few days ago.
"Shit." I muttered to myself, wearing my pants as quickly as I can before catching up to Natsume Hyuuga. He was heading downstairs the moment I opened the door. I tried calling his attention, but he doesn't look my way. Agitated, I follow him down the staircase, stopping him midway by placing my hand on his arm, which he pulls away from my grip.
"Natsume, I'm begging you. Please don't tell anyone about this." I pleaded rather desperately as I clung onto the sleeve of his sullied jacket. He avoids looking at me, as if he were disgusted by my presence or perhaps the fact that I am a girl, while he attempts to remove my hands off his arm. I refuse to give into his demands nevertheless.
"I have a perfectly good explanation behind why I'm actually here—,"
"You're just sick."
He takes a step down, abruptly pulling his arm as an effort to free himself, and he would have had, if I had not tightened my grasp.
"Natsume, please listen to me. It's not like I wanted to be here anyway."
"Leave me alone!"
He shouted, leaving me off guard as he tugged his arm from my clasp. He walks away, the sound of his footsteps echoing loudly in my ears as I gazed languidly at his back. My pulse shoots up, and my senses have become dull. A part of me doesn't even bother to make an effort to stop him and has allowed him to leave like that, that I could give up, because somehow, this was what he's always wanted out of me in the first place.
"What was your name again?"
"Mikan. Sakura Mikan."
"And how old did you say you were?"
"17."
Strangely, my conversation with the boss sprang out of nowhere, serving as a reminder and perhaps to incite fear within me, to knock some sense back in my head; to make me do something, anything to convince him otherwise. The entire thing seems so surreal to me, and I honestly haven't gotten a grip on reality and how I'm supposed to deal with it, but I'm now beginning to realize why the conversation came into mind.
Ever since I was discovered by the boss, I've allowed myself to be enslaved, to become part of the plans they've set rather than obeying my own. It enraged me to the point that I've driven myself to a dead end, but it primarily rooted from the fact that I hate people telling me what to do or how to live my life. When I was held captive by the clan, they treated me like I was their property, and how I despised them for even treating my parents in the same manner, which is why I wanted to get things over with already. This pretense is a shortcut after all.
And this guy is ruining my plans.
I'm not going to watch my life crumble down before me. I've had enough with people seeing how vulnerable I am so that they could use it to their advantage and dictate where I'm supposed to be. Because I know that deep down, somewhat, there's more to my existence here than just posing as Jin Hideaki. Indeed, I feel like there's something more to it.
So I decided to run. Reach him. Do anything in my power to convince him otherwise.
He struggles himself against my grip. I bear no intention of letting him go so easily, and just when he brings his hand towards my face, I closed my eyes, screaming at the top of my lungs.
"I won't let you!"
If there's something I've learned from creating Alice stones during my Alice 101 sessions with Tsubasa-sensei, it was to help me control my Alice better and to wield it whenever I want to. Having identified myself recently as an Alice, I found it mysterious and at the same time intriguing. I've become curious with what I can do with my Alice, what more if I could unleash its full potential? More likely, it could become beneficial for me and for other people as well, which is why I reckoned that my existence here isn't solely dependent on being Jin Hideaki.
Truly, my Alice has yet to unfold itself, though it surfaces in the most unconventional places.
Upon opening my eyes, I was stunned to see an unconscious Natsume Hyuuga and a palm-sized crimson Alice stone in my right hand for reasons I am still unaware of.
Four hours have passed since Natsume had lost consciousness, and once again, I have to drag him all the way upstairs to my bedroom, laying him down on the futon carefully so as not to wake him up. I need all the time that I could get to calm myself down and think things through, to find the right words in order to persuade him to let me stay, and pray that he either gains amnesia from that fall and forget everything he saw right before he passed out or that in some form of divine intervention he chooses to understand my situation and keep mum on this secret of mine.
And if things turn sour, I could always pull out that stun gun that the yakuza handed over to me back then.
I watch him sleep this whole time from my study table, my seat facing the futon along with a World Economics book on my lap to make up for the classes I've missed so far. My fingers find themselves tapping onto something hard, and upon diverting my attention to it, it turns out to be the crimson Alice stone that had emerged from the palm of my hand the moment Natsume fainted.
I close the book on my lap, putting it on the table before turning in my seat. Holding the rock in my hand, I inspected the object, pondering if its appearance had something to do with Natsume losing consciousness. Recalling the events that occurred, I was holding onto his sleeve throughout the time, and I could've sworn that there was no lump of any sort within it that would've slipped into my grasp. The stone can't be mine; when I was creating Alice stones in Tsubasa-sensei's class, mine turned out to be orange. It would also be strange if he did create that Alice stone in the middle of such a situation—he was absolutely pissed off, avoiding me as much as possible after discovering my secret.
So does it have to do with me? Perhaps, though I'm not that keen on telling him that I think I have his Alice stone the moment he wakes up. What's important here is how to get him to shut up.
My free hand comes in contact with the relaxing plasters Yuu had given me the other day, and I stare at it for a moment until I hear the sound of the futon rustle against the bedstead, and I immediately turned my head to my left, hiding the stone and the plaster in separate pockets of my jacket.
While Natsume sits down on the futon dumbfounded—maybe this is the last place he'd ever expect himself to be after seeing me in my polka dot panties—I grip onto my study table for support as my knees feel like they're about to give out any second now. Alright Mikan, remember the grandiose speech you've prepared in your head to convince Natsume Hyuuga to keep his mouth shut during my stay in the academy.
Okay, he's glaring at me, and I can't believe that I'm actually rattled by this when I thought it was childish for anyone to glare at someone with the intent of sending daggers straight to your soul. Alright, speech, speech, speech…
I open my mouth.
"Please don't tell anyone."
"What did you do to me?" he snarled as he impatiently got on his two feet and approached me.
I released my hold onto the table and started trudging backwards, bumping the back of my knees onto the chair in the process as I try to at least look as if I haven't lost every bit of composure in my body.
"Look. You froze all of the sudden and passed out. All I ever did was let you rest on my bed." And out of nowhere, a nervous chuckle escapes my lips, which made Natsume crease his forehead even more. "You were pretty much exhausted last night and you forced yourself out of bed the next day. You must have stressed your body too much."
He smirked, taunting me with every step he takes. "You're a sly one, aren't you?"
I take another step back, my knees quivering. "But I didn't do anything!"
"Why are you even here?"
He asks, and yes, at the back of my head, I've written a book stating my reasons behind my presence in this school, why I'm posing as another guy, my family history with the yakuza and how things eventually sum up to this. I breathe in, gathering every thought and making sure I don't miss out on any detail regarding how this story goes, but I couldn't manage to bring myself to speak.
Why am I even here? I'm having quite the existential crisis in the most unpredictable moments.
Natsume moves a step closer while I drag myself backward, only to collide with the wall. Having me cornered, he leans onto the wall by placing his hand right next to my head before fixing his eyes onto mine.
"I…"
I'm here to get a high school diploma for the the son of the head of a notorious Yakuza clan. I can just blurt it out and hope that he understands, but thinking about it, it's just another excuse to gain sympathy for my one way ticket out of the evil clutches of the Hideaki clan.
Let's face it—Natsume didn't ask that question because he's curious as to why I had done such a thing, but to point out that a girl is studying in an all boys' school. I know I have no right to claim that I should continue studying here, no matter what my reasons are. It's plain and simple: I'm not supposed to be here, and knowing that, I'm trying to convince him to keep quiet regarding all of this. Yes, I was supposed to get through the school year without anyone finding out that I'm a girl. I was supposed to prove to them that I can do it, and that they should leave me alone by then since I've done my part of the deal, but looking at things, I'm the one who's at fault.
"Well…" he scoffed, lifting his other hand in view, and I close my eyes in fear, holding myself back from crying. "You're a girl after all."
I opened my eyes the moment I heard him finish his sentence.
What's so wrong about being a girl anyway?
His hand was open, and before fire could come out of his palm, I've already imagined myself getting my face burned by him. Sure, I have the chance to protect myself thanks to my Alice, but I wouldn't be so confident as to have it work at the most convenient of times. Afterward, I'll be sent out of this school and soon find myself in the red light district because this is only as far as I can get.
But it sure is taking him time to summon his flames.
Suddenly and rather unexpectedly, Natsume turns his back at me and moves to the other side of the room with his fists clenched before spreading his hands out. He motions a hand at the wooden wall where my dresser is located as well, and another at the window near the bedstead. I was certain that he was trying to set fire to my room, judging from the way he waved his arms around furiously, his palms facing the object which he's decided to burn, but fails to do so.
"Is there something wrong?" I slightly tilted my head towards the side, asking a superbly dumb question as if I was somewhat disappointed that my room isn't going to be turned into ashes. He then faces me as he continues to pant heavily, exhausted after his numerous attempts to unleash his Alice. His grim expression, accompanied by the way he averts his gaze from me, was enough for me to figure out that something was horribly wrong, knowing that it's the first time I see Natsume in distraught.
"You can't use your Alice…" I spoke, earning a look of disbelief coming from him rather than rage. "…can you?"
Without another word, he departs my room. I didn't bother to stop him—I reckon he'd be more preoccupied with his inability to wield his Alice more than my presence in a male establishment.
Certain that I was by myself, I pull out the crimson Alice stone from my pocket, rubbing it with my thumb as I contemplate on whether this had something to do with the event.
A/N: This chapter is quite short compared to the ones I've previously posted, I must say. I don't think it's relevant to the story though but one of the reasons why I wasn't able to update faster than expected is because I've been going through heaps of self-doubt. For the past few months, it seemed like every piece I've written was trash, henceforth the delay in update, and I didn't want to disappoint you guys, though half of this chapter's pretty mediocre to me, and to think that this is the best that I can come up with after months of writing—it's frustrating, really. I don't expect you to understand this and you could totally ignore this message but hey, I just want you to know that I didn't spend three months completely slacking off.
Anyway, thank you so much to those who've reviewed, subscribed, and added this story to their favorites! I really appreciate the time, and lots of love to those who tried to figure out who Blue Snow actually is. So far, no one got it correct, but don't lose hope! There'll be plenty of chances for you guys in the later chapters. And because I've left you guys hanging for quite a while, here's a preview of the next chapter, which would hopefully make up for that.
"Shit. Hideaki, stop laughing and keep still."
"What are you talking about… oh, a bear! It's so cute!"
"Jin, don't. That's not your average stuffed animal. You could actually die."
"RUN!"
"Thanks for that, Ruka-pyon."
"Uh, Hideaki, you're hugging me."
I should probably mention that both of them are intoxicated in the next chapter. Why is that, you ask? Well, find out in the next chapter!
Also, you guys have any idea as to why Natsume's Alice stopped working all of the sudden? Do you think the stone that appeared in Mikan's hand has something to do with it? I want to hear your opinions on that. =)
Until then,
My-violinprince.
