Disclaimer:
I do not own Alice Academy.
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Mission Part 10
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Mikan tried to process all the information she just got from her best friend. There's too many things rampaging on her mind now—things that are being knocked on softly by Hotaru's cooperative behavior on answering her questions. She tried to hold her tears back. She knows these won't let her think more clearly. And she feels that her best friend is just as lost and pained as she is. Mikan tried to be stronger and pushed a little more. After all, no one has been very accommodating to her since she was saved by Natsume—only her best friend trusts that she can handle these things that she let her know, so she's not going to stop asking even if her head might just crack into halves right then and there.
"Aoi," Michelle repeated. "Tell me about her."
"Well, she's an alice, too. She's Natsume's younger sister. They got separated when Natsume's just young and Aoi's still a baby—he was brought to study at the academy while she was taken as a hostage to force Natsume do dirty and illegal things for our school when it was still controlled by the dark administration," Hotaru paused and tried to remember more. "You were the one who first saw where Aoi was hidden back then, therefore leading to her freedom. But that still stuck to Natsume—his sister's kidnapping and wasted years at the academy's dungeon and the work that the academy gives to those powerful alices at a young age. He doesn't want for any child to lose their childhood—not a single soul again. So he was really against the idea of another generation of suffering alices. He envisions it as another batch of children who'll just agonize from the gift of supernatural powers they never asked for in the first place."
Mikan was silent. She felt a tug in her heart for Aoi, and also for Natsume's past. She understands now her husband's side. She kind of remembers it—his missions, his degrading health before when he was still under the academy's illegal works, the bitter years a little girl spent untouched by the sunshine—she see flashbacks of it. She shudders. She can remember the look and the smell of blood, tears, fear and all.
But who wouldn't fear for the future of an offspring of two Alice Deities? It'll be the most targeted child the world will ever see. But still, aren't they both strong enough to face whatever harm their child may encounter in life? No use of arguing that for now—she's sure she had used that point in one of their fights over this 'building a family' talk.
Hotaru tried to soothe her. "But all is in the past now. Don't fret."
Yes, and that's what frustrates her. The things that she should know by heart are now trapped in her head like a chick still inside its shell. It still needs to be warmed up before it can fully go out to the real world.
"So, are there any more issues between us that I should know about?"
"Hmm... as far as I know, there's not a single argument—big or small—that you both didn't handle very well," She patted the back of Mikan's hand, evidently showing sadness in her face. "But then again, you ran away Mikan. From all of us."
Right. And that's one thing she should know why now. But of course, Hotaru can't help her with that now.
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Somewhere in the East Coast of the country…
PZZING! PZZING!
Damn, how did they know me? the man thought as he stopped from running and dodging some bullets for a while to catch his breath. Unarmed and in a cover-up, he cannot fathom how the bad guys caught up with him again. The world is getting smaller and smaller every minute. One moment you were just taking your dog for a walk and the next minute, you may be running for your life.
He set his legs to run again and to jump over fences. He's been exhausted and has been trespassing on the neighborhood's properties just to get out of his pursuers' sight. It's a goddamned residential area! Aren't they even scared of killing other people or being arrested by the police when someone reports a live shoot out going on around here?
Bullets kept flying. Glasses get shattered. The floras of the neighborhood's gardens are now being turned into a total mess. He tried to run, duck, and just run. The sun's still high yet these killers aren't the vampire types—the kind that attacks only at night to conceal their job. These two men running behind their target clearly radiates the we'-don't-give-a-damn-even-if-fucking-get-caught-in-this-crime-just-as-long-as-we-kill-him message.
He prayed for her sister's safety. He prayed for his nephew's safety. He prayed for her girlfriend's safety. And God, he prayed for a little miracle to happen for him to survive this killing spree.
And then, a siren was heard from down the street. He crouched down and tried to run-while-your-tummy-is-lying-flat-on-the-pavement towards the sound's direction. And at last, he saw the patrol car and jumped before it—feeling as if it's a vehicle sent from heaven just to rescue him. Well, without his powers, he's quite sure he'd die unarmed if there weren't anyone to help him. The police came out of the vehicle and recognized him. He was quickly ordered to get inside while the back-ups arrive and went on to search for the bad guys.
He smirked as he thanked God on being so generous for saving him. He told the officers everything and it's understood that he'll be with them for now—he's a special case that needs to be protected. God, he never actually thought that revealing himself to the authorities again would be today. He made a mental note to himself that he needs to warn somebody about this incident. And with that, he exhaustedly gave his whole weight to the backseat. He thought about where could have his dog ran off and where would it be staying now? The poor thing. Well, he couldn't fuss over a dog now. He put up his forearm in front of his face, covering it and the unmistakable star tattoo below his left eye.
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"Well, what about Agent Wade? Don't we get along? Do I have any issues with him?" Mikan asked.
Hotaru raised her eyebrow. She was confused with the tone Mikan used to ask her. "What's with that question?"
Mikan bit her lip. "Well, I don't trust him."
Hotaru's purple eyes widened. Among all the men in this world (with the exception of Natsume and her family), Ruca was also Mikan's best friend. All four of them are. "You don't trust him? Why? Wait—did blondie do something nasty to you?" she asked as she cracked her knuckles, almost ready to give Ruca a good beating. "Because if he did, I would really call our wedding off for real now."
Mikan was shocked. "Wait, what? He's your fiancé?"
"Oh, didn't you remember that when you remembered me?"
"NO! Oh, God... how could I doubt him? He's your... my best friend's... and yet—"
"Stop! Hold it right there, girl. Now, if I were to choose between you and blondie, I have long decided that my best friend is more important," she winked at Mikan. "Putting off our wedding since you were gone, doesn't that prove to you that you're more dear to me? So let me hear your side and I might just really throw this whole engagement thing."
Mikan was touched. She didn't know she owed this much to Jinx and to her best friend as well. God, her absence made Hotaru postpone their marriage after all this years. She now took notice of the simple silver band in Hotaru's left ring finger. A little diamond stone shines at her, as if talking to her conscience for making it be worn by its owner for so long now; not a typical lifespan for an engagement ring. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know," she apologized. "But... I really have a strong sense of detachment to him. Like every inch of me doubts him the moment I saw him back at the clinic when Natsume have saved me."
Hotaru was hurt, but still, she knows there's a reason behind it. And Mikan is no fool to joke about things like this. Also, she knows that Mikan's always been an easy giver of trust. She trusts almost everyone and everything back then that it almost costs it her life. But, yeah, things have changed now. And she's going to find out what sparked this mistrust between her best friend and her beloved.
She remembered that Ruca was the last person Mikan talked to before she vanished. Of course, at first he was questioned for that, but nothing has been pointed out to make Ruca the reason for her disappearance. Have he really made Mikan go away? she mentally asked herself. Seeing her best friend now in person, and being able to talk to her, she was relieved more than ever. But Mikan's appearance now doesn't erase the fact that Ruca have been searching mad for her after she was gone—unknown to Natsume's knowledge. He also tried to hide it from her as well, his pursuit to locate Mikan and all. But of course, who could hide anything to the Queen of Spying? But then again, he had successfully hidden from her the reason behind why he's been looking for her secretly.
She mentally smacked her head. She's so lost now. She doesn't know whom to question now. She thought that maybe this is the feeling of a person who's got an amnesia like Mikan—who tries to get information from the people around her. And when she's got some of it, trying to piece every detail together seems to be like trying to locate the right direction in a perfectly white room. You've got no reference point, and you'll never know where to start looking if everything looks just like everything else. It's a clean slate. It's dizzying that it makes her vision blur a little. The thought of choosing sides for her is sickening. There must be some explanation for this—and please, God, let it be a good one.
She was about to ask Mikan more about this—to try to get to the bottom of it—when the door suddenly opened and revealed Natsume with a wireless phone on hand.
His fist is clutching to the phone, his eyes as deadly as his alice of flames. "Tsubasa called. He said it's crucial that we meet with him ASAP."
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Author's Note:
Thank you for reading!
Ahhh, I'm running out of words now to explain my revelations here, so sorry for the shortened chaps. _ I just try to unfold my plot one small piece at a time so my readers won't get confused.
[This is for myself, too. xD I'm prone to being confused my my own sewing of plot.]
Also, thank you for my new subscribers, listers and readers. :] And for my avid readers who even give me PMs just to motivate me.
So, is it good? Or lousy? Reviews will be much appreciated!
I'm relying on my reader's comments to work on my story. :D