Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I own neither Gakuen Alice nor Alice Academy and I neither own the characters. But the OCs and the special story line is of course is my own imagination.

Thanks for all those great and comforting reviews guys…

Mikan, who has a really weak heart, was given severe medication to keep her calm and asleep. She was mentally pretty sick. That is the reason why she was asleep and in the hospital.

And guys, I bear some bad news… I really wanted to finish this story as fast as I could. But unfortunately like my other completed works, I think this story wanted to have fifteen chapters as well… that would be a hattrick for me… I hope it works… but I promise that if I'm able to finish it sooner, I definitely would!

Chapter 11

Taka Kouzuki

Natsume and Hotaru reached Hotaru's lab and went to her research area, where there was present an enormous flat screen computer… which you might just remember as the one which she used to get information on Taka Kouzuki.

She turned the computer on. They pulled up two chairs in front of the computer. Hotaru dimmed the lights. Natsume was actually nervous as well as very scared as to what he might see… he was already regretting the fact that he accepted to Taka's bargain and had killed him when he could have been saved.

'It isn't your fault Natsume,' assured Hotaru while plugging in the pen-drive.

Natsume did not reply. The computer turned on and Hotaru seated herself beside Natsume, ready to plunge into Taka's memories.

At first the screen was just a mess. Lines went through it like it was some sort of an ancient tape. After a few minutes, it steadied itself and to their surprise Taka was in the tape. He was right in the front, as though adjusting a camera.

'That should do it,' said the Taka in the screen.

Natsume could almost feel the dead guy's presence.

'Hi there!' said Taka, 'nice that you guys could see me!'

Hotaru felt really confused.

'Natsume Hyuga,' he said making Natsume look up, 'and Hotaru Imai, glad you could make it'.

He smiled at them. They knew it was just an image but couldn't help feeling sorry for the guy.

'I do hope the Ruka Nogi is doing fine,' he said regretfully.

The Taka in the screen sat down on a chair, which Natsume guessed was in his room, in this academy, as the room looked a lot like his.

'I know what you might want to ask,' said Taka, 'there might be several questions as in that matter….'

Natsume and Hotaru nodded even though it made no effect whatsoever as he was all dead and gone.

'I have the answers for every one of your questions,' he said, 'and I have explanation for every one of my act… I place it now before you… not to clear myself of any grudges from anyone… no…'

He smiled at them in a warm way that made them feel really sad and regretful.

'All I want to do is just to make sure you two can take care of something that is very precious to me…' he said smiling, 'and to make sure that you guys can clearly understand how precious that is to me…'

Both Natsume and Hotaru knew the answer before Taka even opened his mouth.

'I guess you know what I'm talking about…' he said gleefully.

The two smiled weakly.

'Anyway,' he said hurriedly, 'I think it is time… to take you to some of my worst memories…'

Natsume looked up in horror… 'Worst?'

Taka smiled. Suddenly, the room began to blur. Natsume was horrified. He stood up in surprise to find Hotaru sitting calmly on the chair.

'What the heck is happening?' asked Natsume in shock.

'Calm down…,' was her reply, 'I'm guessing this is one of Ms. Miyu Shinahara's works… just sit back down…'

Natsume obeyed without reason. After all Miyu Shinahara was one of the greatest Machine Manipulators that he knew, not that he knew many. Then suddenly the whole room went dark except for the light coming from the computer screen. Taka was still standing vividly in the screen.

'I hope it turns out well…' he said slowly and the screen went out enclosing the room with darkness.

'What on earth?' exclaimed Natsume.

Then slowly the room began to reappear. Natsume and Hotaru stood up and saw that they were mistaken. They were able to see something but it wasn't the room they were last in. their chairs had disappeared as well. It didn't look anything like any part of the Academy. Out through the window, they noticed it was really dark and snowing heavily. The whole area was covered in frost.

'Where are we?' asked Natsume.

There were in what looked like a corridor of a nursery. The whole corridor and every other part were in sepia shade except the two. They were the only colorful things in the place. Almost every room in the corridor were closed, bolted or locked. It was completely silent.

'I'm guessing this means we're in Taka's memory…' said Hotaru thoughtfully.

'Maybe… but I don't see him,' reasoned Natsume.

Hotaru opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by a blood-piercing scream. The two hurried towards the sound and followed another shriek. They turned around a door and were greeted by the cry of a newly born baby.

Somewhere a clock chimed mid-night.

'What the—?' escaped Natsume's mouth.

'I think that's Taka,' said Hotaru wide-eyed.

'Congratulations honey,' said a middle-aged woman to a brunette haired young woman who was lying on a bed in a dark room, 'your boy must be really lucky… to be born on Christmas day…'

'Where's my boy?' she asked trying really hard to speak.

A lady, who was carrying Taka in her arms walked right past Hotaru and Natsume without a glance, which is reasonable as they were just not there.

'Don't worry honey,' said the lady soothingly to the new mother, 'he's been taken down to get a rinse…'

'I—I—I have to—see—him,' she breathed.

'You'll have plenty of time to see him later,' said the nursing lady holding the mother's hand.

The mother squirmed in her bed, crying.

'I have to see him before I die!' she screamed.

'Don't shout,' warned the nurse, 'you'll make your condition even worse'.

'I don't care!' she protested, 'bring him back!'

Just then the nurses brought back Taka. He was still crying his lungs out. His small fingers caressed the blankets surrounding him. They placed him slowly beside his mother, who touched the baby's hand slowly, her tears falling on the crying baby. The baby stopped crying. He looked up at his mother with an alluring smile.

'What do you want to call your son, honey?' asked the nurse soothingly.

'Taka,' she replied after a minute, still looking at the baby, she added, 'ta from his father's name "Takashi" and ka from mine…'

'Kasumi Kouzuki,' finished the nurse for her.

Kasumi smiled.

'But Kouzuki is my maiden name…' she said slowly.

'But that's what you—' started the nurse but she cut-in.

'Yes, it still is… Takashi after all, never married me…' she said sadly.

'Why not honey?' asked the nurse good-naturedly.

'He thought that I was strange… just because I was an Alice…' narrated Kasumi more to the baby, who was now sleeping, rather than to the nurse and added sadly to the baby directly, 'I wish you don't end up like me'

'What's an Alice?' asked the nurse curiously but Kasumi lost control at that moment.

She began to choke and spit blood. The nurses freaked out and one of them carried a crying Taka out of the room. Kasumi began to struggle for life. She squirmed and after a few minutes, she stopped moving—forever.

A tear fell down Hotaru's cheek. Unknown to her, a tear had formed in Natsume's eye as well. But he caressed it out without Hotaru noticing.

'She's dead,' noted the elderly nurse to the one who carried away Taka.

'I was afraid of that,' she declared, 'what do we do with the boy?'

'This is an orphanage,' reminded the old nurse, 'we'll keep him till any of his relatives come to pick him up'.

'I'm not even sure that she had informed any of them,' reasoned the younger nurse.

'We still have the mother's maiden name,' proposed the elder, 'we can send out information… they might eventually turn up…'

'What do we name him?' asked the younger nurse.

'Taka of course,' she replied, 'he will be Taka Kouzuki'.

End Chapter 11

I hope you enjoyed that, guys. I really wish to update soon. I'm actually passing away some of my other works just in order to write this fic. I hope that I'm making the story atleast a little interesting.

Please review.