Gakuen Alice/ Gakuen Arisu by Higuchi Tachibana
17th of December; 20 days after the AAM attacked.
I couldn't recall the name of this town... But I never forget to count the day, following by the time displays on my father's watch; the only thing that I can keep tracking the days and times, maybe I would probably knocked out for couple days caused by being exhausted, add least I know what's the day and what's the time. It has been 20 days since the AAM attacked on this town and this town left nothing but sorrow, death and painful memories for the survivors. Every day I am witnessing them; seek the way out from this town since no one will put a hand's out for them. They are running away from this death town as they try to continue survive along their painful experience and memory that seems just like a hard stains that they try to erase.
I just watch them leaving this town... Sometimes I wish that I would do that too, I'll going to leave this place just like them.
But I just can't... Not now... Not until I found Mikan...
The population come to even a small number. There is no life over here anymore. Disease outbreak takes over many lives after the attacked. Children and women are the most fragile living thing that becomes the victim of epidemic.
A mother that protects her child from anything by any shapes of way, but disease takes their both life away. If... one of them could be survive from disease; the child who survived from it, but the child alone would end up die cause of not willing to taking care all by themselves, a child that not yet learn what history are lack of history of life... A child only learned when the child lives long enough to experience life.
How about a mother? Could she survive until everything return to normal again? I'm not willing to imagine how they felt. A mother that lost her child but lives; just like the part of your body missing, that's how a mother would lost her sane from lost a child or family, leading herself died of broken heart..
Hope alone is not enough if the mind is weak to fight back the emotional state of mind. Determination and a heart of steel is the way to spared life to survive this dark like judgement day.
I wonder if the child lives...
And I hope Mikan lives as well...
I wonder if the snow fall until dusk, it's been snowing since dawn... The land getting colder, cover in white, my breath also turning white.
Since the last 20 days I've been searching for Mikan, besides searching her faithfully, I'm seeking food to survive... seeking for food to 'lives' are not the right words for the situation I am now. Ignore what good foods are, as long as I can get energy every single day, that more than enough...
Under this snow, I'm keep walking with a thin cloth cover my body, I felt a bit cold but I'm alright because I know I'm not going to freeze and die since my Alice become useful in this weather, even the snow that falls and touch on my skin melts away like sweat. But the wind might bring contagious air, dead body rotting behind the crumble building, in the river or drain or just on the street that I used to walk by. And I thought I saw somebody sleeping on the open street leaning his back on the light pole...
I won't wake him up or disturb his sleep, I just know he will not listen, rather, heard a sound... Under this snowy sky, He'll be burying by the snow little by little and the lamp pole will become his sign of grave.
A slight of trauma slips through my mind; emerge an image of her lying somewhere in these cold land with her eyes closed and breathless. It gave me Goosebumps and uneasy feels. I clenched my fist and hopes the sudden shivers would stop and I grit hard on my teeth because my breath start to shake.
I've lost both of my parents and I don't think so I could take another lost... Somehow I thought that I have to take it if I really lost her but somehow... If she's really gone, her death becomes my biggest fear...
That's the reason why I won't stop searching for her, have a faith that she is strongly going through all of this hideous caused by AAM.
I won't fall now.
Yet... still got traces of the AAM hunting for Alices that might be alive, but they encountered with me; I sentenced them to death. So far, four of the little fell in my hand, they were after me after all... it's useless to running from them either to stay, they were hunting me.
Well I won't run and I'm not defence myself but hunting them instead. Shows them what kind of fear they had brought to this town, what they gave to this town, they shall get some return...
The faces of the AAM people that I killed still fresh in my head; they plead upon my mercy, begging to spare them. What is that...? Aren't they pleaded just how the innocent people ask from them? Aren't that all the same? Looking at the AAM begged to me, crying and hold to my feet... That's kind of excuse enough boiled my wrath and I am fully disgusted! When the mere human begged for their life, were they even listening?
If the AAM keep going back over here and encountered with me, so that's mean they are hunting me as their most wanted enemy. Bring them thousand over me, I will return nobody to the AAM movement.
The AAM worth for nothing. Lower than pebble... Nothing.
But my last encountered with the AAM people I could say that I almost die fighting with him... It was 3 days ago, I was seek for an item that could be useful such as shoes or maybe some lighting component and since that day I always look for a source of water that just safe enough to drink. That when I was out somewhere around Mikan's school. Though it's not really wholly destroyed, some faucet still runs water. And it's snowing just like how its looks like now. I was catching the running water from the faucet into container that I brought along.
The water running in a very slow flow, I'm taking a longer time to wait for the container to getting full.
That's the moment I've been shocked by the AAM sudden and bad greet. I was shots in silence. The bullet penetrated in my arm's flesh, the felt like something burning slice through my skin numbed my whole arm. And I got one weakness if I get encountered with that AAM, my whole life I never learn a good self defence or martial art or... combat skill.
The AAM not just shooting at me with a flawless movement, he was running towards me, with his truncheon 3 in 1 whatsoever I have to explain those weapon, he slammed the weapon right on my face and suddenly he turn the weapon into katana, like a guillotine fall the blade of the katana swing in amazingly quick, the blade alone enough to cut into two through my bone if I don't escape from that grave, I am lack of fighting experience, but I don't want to lose to this sick bastard.
I fight him back; like a rebellious ruffian used to street fighting, grab anything around and use it as a weapon, and after all, I shoot fire at him. But he seems intend to come closer to my body. As long as I keep a distance from him, he'll never get near to me.
The AAM who attacked me before moves in idle. That's was kind of odd, why they not move in add least 3 or 4 people in once?
My life is in great danger those times. The sick bastard really going to kill me since I can sense a dreadful killing aura from him. His fist just like a hammer hit, it bring my brain shaken till I could not stand on my feet, I fell on a snow on the ground, the snow gotten stain with my blood. I could feel my body levitate... Well I got it wrong, The AAM lift me up and point his weapon right on my head; as he was ready to release the trigger to end my life.
"It's useless to use your Alice now..." I'm just disgusted to listening to what he likes to say...
"I'm not scared to burn myself..." thought that I'm going to be scare to flick myself on fire; he was way too far from right. But first I fill up his weapon with my fire, burn all the way through make the bullet ashes away. I grabbed his arm with grudge, spark my vengeance and release the fire full of hatred on him. I let him go and watch him screaming in pain burning on the fire that I set. He rolls on the snow try to rid off the fire, but that's impossible since he got caught in fire that been created by Fire Alice.
The only person, who could put the fire out, is me... I left the place without waiting he turn into ashes. That's boring... I got my blood left traces in the ground with my head half conscious. Thought I'm going to die... But I survived.
Ever since the attacked, I frequently using my Alice, and I don't know if this sudden fatigue on my body have to do with my Alice, moreover, it gives me chills when blood running from my nose... I could not do anything about... As long it won't bother me longer, and then it'll be fine to me.
It will be a long night for me since I've decided to expand my time before I return to my place; the basement. I need to find more edible things, not all food has a long life shelf, hopes to find more like canned food processed food in tube or sealed food with heavy foil, and bread will never be edible anymore after long. So the whole night I've been survey to shop and to another shop to find as much as I can bring back... Since the town only become empty and left just me alone.
The snow has stopped fall and the cloud disappeared. It's been a while I didn't see the sky with thousand of stars and the moon shines perfectly make my shadows on the ground and my surrounds dyed with dark blue colour.
Destiny never finds the way for me... for you... try to figure what it means that's what going to be happen.
I couldn't believe that I found a warehouse that only 20% the building damaged caused by the attacked, the warehouse place just before outskirt of the town and about 4 kilometre from my place though it just a small warehouse but it stored processed food like canned tomato soup, sweet corn, condensed milk and even processed food ready to eat corned beef.
It gives me quite relief in the heart. For sure I could survive longer and I can keep a good pace in the future to searching for her.
I continue gather all the food that I wish to bring with me. Since most of the food in can form, I only take as much that I can hold.
"I better call it a day..." As I ready to leave, suddenly I've sense another present just around the warehouse. A feeling like someone is watching you somewhere hidden from your sight.
And I don't like that feeling...
I put down my bag without any sound even a slightest. Turn my head as slow as I can, the bluish light from the outside will do to track any movement other than me. But my eyes spotted a black figure hiding behind stacked boxes, that figure might be noticed I was alert, the figure seems reluctant to make any moves...
My past encountered with the AAM gives me a lesson, do not pull back. Attack, burn to kill.
But I let the black figure noticed me with fire grow in my hand until the bluish dark room turn into red and orange colour. The black figure like more to shock than noticing my fire. Instead to show himself and have a fight for his life with me, he runs away out of the warehouse. I could see the black cloak wavering when he runs... Like the AAM outfit.
I running to pursue him, ever since I've lost my parent, The AAM will be my enemies and I will kill either me or them who encountered me.
As I out from the warehouse, the black figure still on the sight. I know that I don't have time to catch him in a race; I decide to use my fire to catch him instead.
"DON'T YOU DARE TO RUNAWAY FROM ME!" I convert my energy and hatred towards the AAM and release fire, not just fire but really huge fire. I want the AAM to disappear in an instant.
But the figure that I was after, turn away where I standing, the cloak swing in the and already mark on fire and he desperately taking off the cloak from him...
Not 'him'.
Like life on the edge, I also desperately to make the fire that I was created to kill her disappeared! Misfire or anything! I just won't let the fire hurt her even a bruise on her nail...
After the fire disappeared... the figure come to very clear sight... she is standing right in front of me... under the blue moon, her dark brown haired shines, with a torn cloth and bare foot with her shaking arms... with her other hand gripping her arm tightly... God... she does really go through this alone...
"...Mikan..." When she heard her name called out from my lips and she heard my voice in the air, her tears rolls away.
"No..." her face shows how fear occupied her. And the thing she feared of... Is me.
