Man Hunt Part 3
"What are you doing?" The dark figure demanded, sitting up straight. He roughly grabbed Mikan's wrist when she came to the horrible realization that this was not Koko.
Lucky for Mikan, it was Hyuuga.
"Uh..." This wasn't the first time Mikan has royally messed up, but she couldn't help but think how much she 'screwed the pooch' on this one.
Fortunately for her, crimson eyes glinted through the darkness with curiosity, rather than anger. He propped himself up on his elbows and turned out the light- his forest green comforter pooling at his waist.
All thinking ceased in Sakura Mikan's brain as her hormones went insane.
"I, uh..." She fished in her mind for an excuse, gaping moronically at his half-naked body. She admired his defined chest and ardently thanked the inventor of soccer, because his abs were... fan-fucking-tastic. Mikan, in all sixteen years of her life, had only caught one glimpse of a six pack before, and that was because her classmate was wiping off his sweaty face with the hem of his shirt. But nothing compared to Hyuuga's. She was tempted to reach out a finger and trace the outlines of it, but a cough startled Mikan out of her spellbound trance. Patches of scarlet red colored her cheeks after she quickly shook her head to clear it. She took a peek at his expression and was irritated to see him smirking slightly. Arrogant jerk. Mikan trailed back to what she was saying before a brilliant thought struck her. "I was trying... to get a picture of you." She muttered with faux embarrassment, plucking at the edge of her navy blue tank top.
Hyuuga was silent for a second, loosening his hold on Mikan. She slid her wrist out of his callused hand, wondering why she suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of loneliness; why her wrist felt freezing when the room was perfectly warm; and why she felt like wrapping her arms around the boy in front of her and landing a big fat...
"Hey, Natsume!" Someone's voice called. It was accompanied by several panicked pounds on the door and the impatient rattling of the door knob.
Mikan was frozen with fear. Her, otherwise, brilliant brain failed to function once again as she stared at Hyuuga with wide gray eyes. Her hand instinctively raked through her hair while she nervously bit her lip; a habit of Mikan's that makes itself known whenever she was about to get in trouble.
Sensing her anxiety, Hyuuga smiled devilishly at her- eliciting a horrified look from her, before pushing Mikan's petite frame out of his way. She landed on the plush bed with a disgruntled 'oof!', and then sat up with indignation. He strode over to the door in two paces, flinging it open to reveal a very harassed best friend.
"Are you okay, man? I heard noises... did you have another att-" Whatever Ruka was going to say, Mikan didn't know, for he was cut off by Hyuuga's warning glare. Having grown used to said expression, the blonde merely cocked an eyebrow quizzically at the serious teen. In response, something in Hyuuga's eyes must have tipped off Ruka because the next thing Mikan knew, a pair of periwinkle eyes were staring at her in shock. He began to stutter while pointing at his childhood friend's bed, the beautiful girl sitting on it, and the man himself. His eyes expanded to the size of pucks at Hyuuga's lack of clothing, while Mikan's mind snapped to attention, cottoning onto what Hyuuga's plan was.
He was trying to embarrass her. Great.
She lifted her chin up defiantly, determined to not satisfy his wish while relaying to the smirking teen that two could play at this game. "Natsumeeee" she whined saccharinely, twirling a strand of coffee-colored hair. Mikan winced inside, wondering how anyone could speak like this on an everyday basis. "I thought we were going to have more fun tonight." She finished with a flutter of her eyelashes. She nearly burst out guffawing at the scandalized expression Ruka was sporting on his face. Despite this, Hyuuga remained unmoved, besides an amused glint coloring his deep crimson eyes.
"I- I'm so-sorry. I'm... ah... yeah... carry on- NO- err... I m-mean-" Ruka choked out, his cheeks becoming more flushed with every syllable as he stumbled outside, before Hyuuga swung the door shut wordlessly. He leaned his broad back against the door frame after the sound of staggering footsteps could be heard no more, with a calculating face that Mikan knew all too well.
She made to get off the bed, and thereby escape his inquisitive gaze; however, her body unconsciously sprung back and tensed. An iota of a second passed, during which her brain fully processed why she did that, when a ball of undulating flames appeared inches from where her face was previously. It took a lot of willpower for the auburn beauty to not retaliate with her Alice, seething silently at his impudence. She rapidly rearranged her features to mask her expression of incense; putting on the airs of a frightened mouse facing a deadly snake.
She snorted inwardly- she couldn't be any farther from that.
Hyuuga stepped up to the bed and extinguished the fire. Much to Mikan's dismay, he continued his journey; stepping onto the bed and backing her up against the wall, where he caged her in by placing both hands on either side of her 'intimidated' face. He leaned in close. So close that Mikan could feel his breath caressing her face, pondering upon why her hands felt clammy and why her eyes were glued to the faint outline of his soft lips. Mikan roughly forced herself out of her daydream, frustrated with her damned hormones.
"What?" She snapped, forgetting to act like a cornered mouse.
She felt his lips turn up in what she imagined to be a smirk, and a sense of dread overcame her when the sound of a camera registered in her mind.
"No more pretending, are we?" He asked with a lace of malice. He then proceeded to look at the picture he just took. "Stripes? Still in middle school, I see." He mused out loud, directing his trademark smirk to his Blackberry.
She merely frowned, slightly puzzled by what he meant by 'stripes.' He answered her unvoiced inquiry by showing the photo. This time it was the latter's turn to stutter and turn several shades redder.
The photo, distorting Mikan's pissed off face into an aroused one courtesy of the dim light, caught part of her bra peeking out from behind her tank top.
With a look of fury, she furiously swiped at the god forsaken phone, growing increasingly irritated as he continued to dodge her with uncanny ease. She wanted to break that phone, and punch that stupid expression off his face and then throttle him with relish. And maybe after all that, slap him around some more just for kicks.
However, her body froze suddenly as the alarm bells in her mind rang shrilly. Hyuuga also paused, attempting to decipher the reason why she was standing rigidly with her fists clenched. He narrowed his eyes and identified the problem before Mikan arrived to the same conclusion, looking at each other with grim expressions. There was an intruder somewhere in the building. She closed her eyes to pinpoint the trespasser, deducing that he was downstairs... in her dorm. The two of them flew out the room simultaneously, Hyuuga swiftly throwing on a shiry, paying no heed to the wolf whistles his roommates were throwing at the pair. But Koko, already holding the front door open for them, took off down the hall with Mikan and Hyuuga, reporting to the former that the culprit was attempting to gain access to Mikan's dorm by using her alice. A picture of the girl who followed Mikan and her companions earlier flashed in her mind. Gritting her teeth, she accelerated her pace, praying to whatever deity out there for her friends' safety.
The three of them inaudibly edged towards the dorm door until Koko toed it open cautiously, motioning for them to follow his lead. Mikan temporarily halted, agilely swooping down and grabbing her strapped dagger from under her sweatpants in one fluid motion. Hyuuga sighed quietly in annoyance before following Koko into the dark depths of the room. Mikan stuck her tongue out at the back of his head. Jerk.
Stealthily padding along the edges of the hallway under the cloak of darkness, the mind-reader stopped in front of the room across from Mikan's, which she recognized as Sumire's and Aoi's room. A flash of panic appeared on Koko's face as he listened intently to the imposter's thoughts. Without warning, he burst into the room and tackled a hunched silhouette to the ground with a yell before Mikan and Hyuuga entered- the former checked on Sumire, while the latter strode over to his baby sister.
Mikan checked Sumire's breathing, before performing a cursory check of the girl's body for any wounds and stickers. After she was satisfied with the results, Mikan pondered upon why a cold sensation was still nagging her in the back of her mind; something was off. But what? Her gray eyes widened as she spun around with alacrity and dread. She realized what her two biggest mistakes were- neglecting to detect the intruder's alice and not questioning the whereabouts of everyone. After Koko's yell, surely Hotaru would've arrived by now. In fact, how did this intruder enter their dorm without anyone realizing it? There were five Alices here, for crying out loud.
She cursed loudly, expanding her nullification barrier to cover Koko and Hyuuga, but it was too late for the mind-reader. The trespasser effortlessly tossed his limp body to the wall, a resounding thud echoing through Mikan's skull. She glimpsed at Hyuuga's hunched body from her peripherals, the strident noise of his coughing causing her to inch towards him. With a wary eye on the black figure, she berated herself. If only she had remembered to confirm what Alice this girl owned earlier, this would have never happened. She scowled at her situation, not liking the number of disadvantages which counted against her.
Activating her Alice Recognition stone, Mikan's pupils dilated and she got a faraway look on her face. Hyuuga looked at her, sensing a strange aura radiating off of her slender body, before it all disappeared. Another coughing bout rendered him speechless, but he heard her announce loudly that the intruder possessed the Alice of ice. His crimson eyes flitted towards Aoi's prone body, comprehension dawning on his expression; it would account for his little sister's low temperature and why she was in a comatose state.
A predatory look crept onto Mikan's face as soon as she discovered the other girl's Alice. Here she was, expecting the worse, but this girl was nothing compared to some of the Alices back home. This was going to be fun.
Still hiding in the shadows of the room, the trespasser sprinted for the ajar door but Mikan hurled her dagger at the doorknob; hitting it squarely in the keyhole. "Where do you think you're going?" She asked languidly, walking calmly to the trembling other. Sensing an attack coming, Mikan nullified it, turning on the light nonchalantly. They were now within three feet apart; Hyuuga observing Mikan from the background. The fact that he noticed Nobara activating her Alice, and was surprised to see nothing happen, alarmed Hyuuga. He hoped that Mikan would use her Alice again, but the chances of him seeing it were slim. The things he garnered from Sakura's character were that she was incredibly deceptive and guarded; the two most irksome traits to ever have. But for some unknown reason, he still wanted to know why. Hyuuga decided that maybe he didn't hate her as much anymore, and plus, he had something to whittle away his time with. To say that his intrigue was awakened by the enigmatic girl was an understatement.
When the room flooded with light, Mikan realized that the girl was not, in fact, the one who tracked them. The tracker had chin-length hair that was straight, whereas the female who quavered in front of her had long, curly green hair the color of pale jade. Mikan, correctly interpreting the intruder's darting eyes, twisted the girl into a complex arm hold before the latter could make another break for it.
"Ibaragi Nobara." Hyuuga muttered under his breath.
"Who?"
"The Ice Princess."
Mikan stared blankly at him. "As in the chick from that American movie?"
He gazed at her coolly. "You're an idiot."
She scowled deeply. "At least I'm not an insufferable one."
"Whatever you say, Stripes." He said with a smirk, which made her blood boil.
"What did you just call me?"
"Um..." A timid voice hesitated. The pair averted their glaring match to the speaker.
"What?" They snapped in chorus. Gray eyes seethed with anger, while a sigh erupted from Hyuuga as he looked away with an indiscernible expression.
"Well, I-I was sent here by the new Dangerous Abi- ah-"
Hyuuga's expression darkened, remembering the days when he had to tolerate Persona's unmerciful requests. His throat constricted and his hands curled into fists; his knuckles became white.
"I mean Special Class teacher... with a mission." She finished quietly, quailing under his furious eyes.
"Tell me your mission." Mikan commanded sharply, already wary of her Special class's teacher.
"T-to test H-Hyuuga Aoi and Sakura Mikan and see if they're um... s-suited for the Dan- I mean Special class." Her voice grew small towards the end of her statement and her quivering still had not ceased.
A feeling of pity overcame Mikan, causing her to release Ibaragi from her grip. "Leave. Go. And tell the teacher that he better be damn well prepared for the two of us." Fury radiated from the core of Mikan's body. How dare he send someone over to attack a sleeping, unsuspecting student? This cowardly, underhanded technique was so dishonorable and infuriating that Mikan didn't bother to conceal the venom in her voice when she spoke. The Ice Princess nodded mutely before scurrying out of the dorm with a small apology. And just like that, the whole vicinity surrounding the room Hyuuga and Mikan were in warmed back up. Hyuuga lightly touched his little sister's forehead, secretly relieved that her body temperature was going back to normal.
Mikan slumped to the floor; allowing the copious amounts of adrenaline to leave her and the effects of being in fight-or-flight mode to slam into her body. She withdrew her nullification barrier back into her body, not realizing that Hyuuga looked at her strangely the moment she did so, tired from the strenuous pressure of maintaining and expanding her nullification. She never received true training for her Alices since she came from a small city- the teachers merely had her train on her own. Without another thought, her hazy gray eyes rolled to the back of her skull as she passed out on the carpeted floor; the image of Hyuuga's approaching body being the last thing she saw before darkness engulfed her.
A/N: Please tell me if you find any errors in my story, I will be coming back and editing it anyway... this is a shorter chapter than the others, I know, and I apologize, but I've been kinda really busy with school. Oh and please read my new story Rediscovering You! I promise you won't regret it. :)
Reviews are as fan-fucking-tastic as a half-naked Natsume.