No, unfortunately Gakuen Alice does not belong to me.
Shock.
Disbelief.
Horror.
Sadness.
Hurt.
Had her heart stopped?
Someone once said that the greater your capacity to love, the greater your capacity to feel the pain.
She didn't understand. At first, she thought about getting your heart broken. This was much different. This was a much different kind of pain. Someone she loved was lying in a hospital bed right before her eyes, broken and bleeding, and his heart wasn't beating.
Hotaru was standing beside her, frozen as she stared down at Ruka's closed eyes and beaten face.
Mr. Narumi walked in behind them, a sorrowful look on his face. "Come sit, girls," he said softly. "It's best if you don't watch." He steered them out of the room and towards the waiting area, away from the noise of the crowd outside.
Mikan stumbled into a chair. Hotaru wasn't much more graceful. Her eyes were wide.
Was this really happening?
Mikan began to hyperventilate. Her head felt light, and her face and hands were tingling – lack of oxygen to the brain, no doubt. She tried to imagine what he would say to her if he saw her like this, but the only image her mind could conjure was that of him lying in the hospital bed.
Mr. Narumi sat in the chair across from them.
Hotaru's gaze was almost accusing as she looked up at him, her jaw tight. "What happened?" she said through clenched teeth.
He sighed. "Everything was going according to plan up until they were finished laying the explosives. The AAO knew they were coming. They got ambushed, and there wasn't much they could do." He smiled faintly. "Natsume still exploded the headquarters, though. They saved you. Both of you."
Mikan cupped her hand over her mouth in attempt to stop her feeble sobs from escaping.
"No pulse," she whispered roughly.
Mr. Narumi smiled again. "They'll pull through," he assured them. "They always do."
Hotaru grasped Mikan's free hand, offering comfort and also taking some for herself.
They waited without words, the only sounds being Mikan's loud breathing and Hotaru's occasional sniffle.
It had only been ten minutes when a nurse arrived, her hands gloved, her hair hidden by a cap, her uniform covered in blood. Though she had a mask over her mouth, it was obvious by her eyes that she was smiling.
"We've got both of them in stable condition," she said proudly. "They have a few major injuries, but nothing that can't be fixed in a matter of time. They've both regained consciousness, and they wish to see two lovely young ladies by the names of Hotaru and Mikan." She turned to Mikan and Hotaru and smiled once more. "I'm assuming that's you two."
Mikan was on her feet in record time, pulling Hotaru up after her.
The nurse led them into the room – the commotion had died down hugely – and the room was almost silent, aside from the steady beep of both heart monitors and the dull buzz of the other machinery.
Both had their eyes closed.
"I'll leave you, then." The nurse smiled once more before bustling off.
Mikan was hesitant in entering the room, but when she saw Hotaru rush over to Ruka's side, she cautiously walked in.
She hadn't taken the time to put shoes on when she had hurriedly left the room.
Natsume's eyes opened into slits when he sensed her standing there and his lips twitched up into a smirk. "You look horrible," he commented.
She choked back her sob as she collapsed in the chair beside his bed.
His eyes shifted to her, but his head didn't move. "I thought I told you not to worry," he mumbled. "And now look at you…you look like you just got hit by a train and survived to tell the story."
She frowned. "You're the one that looks like you got hit by a train."
He chuckled, and then winced.
She made a face. "That wasn't supposed to make you laugh. I'm trying to make you feel bad."
Hotaru and Ruka were talking quietly behind her.
He closed his eyes again, but the smirk was still in place.
"My feet hurt," she grumbled, pulling her legs to her chest and massaging her bare feet. "You said you were going to be a couple of hours, not one hour." She glared at him. "I would have had shoes on if you came back at the time you said you would."
"I said it would take a couple of hours if everything went according to plan," he reminded her. "Everything didn't go according to plan, so it doesn't count."
"Good point," she admitted.
"Where's my kiss?" he demanded.
She frowned again. "Jeez," she said. "You're pretty greedy. I'm not going to kiss you when you're in the hospital hooked up to a bunch of machines. I might contaminate you. As if your body's not weak enough. It doesn't need to be fighting sickness."
"I want a kiss now, and you know you want one, too."
"Yes, I do, but it isn't worth a life."
"A kiss will make you feel better." He opened his eyes again. "The nurse said you walked into this room when I was dead. I want you to forget that ever happened. You don't need to cry anymore."
Her eyes watered anyway. Slowly, she dropped her feet to the ground and stood up, hovering over him. "Tell me if I'm hurting you," she said carefully, pulling her hair into her fist so that she didn't tickle him with it. Then she gently pressed her lips to his.
She felt him tense and pulled away quickly. "Sorry," she said quickly.
"You didn't do anything, idiot," he said with annoyance. "You just smell so damn good. I'm the one that has to resist pulling you down and giving you a full blown make out session."
She smiled faintly. "You can save that for when you get better."
He breathed a light chuckle. "I need a favor." It wasn't a question.
She sighed. "You always need favors."
"I disagree."
She shrugged. "What's the favor?"
"You have to promise me you'll do it. No backing out." His voice was sincere, despite being weak.
Mikan gave him an uneasy look. What was he going to ask her? Surely he wouldn't tell her to stay away. She would never be able to do that, not ever.
"Okay," she said hesitantly.
"Go out tonight. Go to the new amusement park downtown, go to the mall. Take Imai and the rest of your pathetic band with you. Forget about Ruka and I until we're better." His eyes were opened into slits again.
She frowned again. "I'd slap you for calling us pathetic if I wasn't so afraid I would do something wrong and disconnect something." And then she collapsed back into the chair. "The school won't let us out. They didn't even let me out for my grandpa's funeral."
"Your grandpa didn't want you at the funeral."
"Excuse me?"
"He thought it would be too depressing for you."
"And how do you know?"
"He sent Narumi a letter, and Narumi told me about it."
Mikan wasn't sure whether to believe him or not. She shrugged it off. "They won't let us out."
"I may be lying in a hospital bed, but that doesn't mean I can't burn them." He lifted his hand, palm completely visible, and a ball of flames appeared, alluring and yet dangerous. "They'll let you out."
Mikan gasped and leapt forward, grabbing his hand with hers and nullifying the flame. "Don't do that!" she whispered through clenched teeth. "Don't use your damn alice for no reason, you show-off." She narrowed her eyes. "I'm not going anywhere."
"You promised."
Defeated, she groaned. "Fine, then," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'll win you a giant stuffed duck and make you sleep with it, just to humiliate you." She glared down at him. "But for now, you focus on getting better."
"Deal."
"Mikan, this is so much fun!"
"Anna, we haven't even gone on any rides," Hotaru said dryly.
"It's still so much fun!" Anna rejoiced.
"We just walked through the entrance," Hotaru continued.
"You're no fun, Hotaru!"
Mikan stared in wonder at the rides around her. Roller coasters, swings, and every other ride imaginable. There were game places for prizes, concessions, and it was crowded, despite the hour being almost seven o'clock.
The park was open until midnight.
"Well," Sumire said, eyeing the roller coaster named 'The Ring of Fire' warily, "let's go."
"Nobody let me forget that I have to win Natsume a giant duck," Mikan announced. "I want to humiliate him." She began skipping off towards the center of the park, a happy smile on her face as she attempted to do what Natsume asked and forget what position he was in.
"I'd be kind of creeped out to see a bunch of men dressed in black suits with sunglasses on hanging out around here," Nonoko said uneasily as she looked around at the guards stationed randomly amongst the park. "If Reo's out of the way, what's the point in protecting us?"
"We're special," Anna said.
"I vote we go on the Ferris Wheel first." Sumire pointed at the huge ride. "Then we can see what to take after that."
Hotaru shrugged. "Whatever."
The Ferris Wheel line wasn't very long. They were on within five minutes, Sumire, Anna, and Nonoko on one chair and Mikan and Hotaru on the other.
"We're supposed to have fun, Hotaru," Mikan urged, elbowing her best friend in the ribs gently. "Lighten up a little." She smiled. "I'm willing to go on all the scary rides with you."
Hotaru's smile was faint, but amused. "We should have a contest."
"What's the contest?" Mikan challenged excitedly.
"Whoever throws up the most wins."
Mikan laughed. "You never throw up! I can totally win!"
"You've never been to an amusement park with me before."
"That's true."
Mikan looked around. The light was fading as night climbed closer, and the lights around the park were turning on, illuminating everything that the light from the sun didn't touch. It was a fairly big park, therefore meaning that there would be quite a few scary rides.
"How about that one?" Mikan pointed to a ride not far off, the one that they had seen when they first entered the amusement park. "The Ring of Fire. It looks like it could be pretty scary."
The Ring of Fire was a roller coaster, but it wasn't one that just went on a track all over the place, up and down and around and around. No, it was one that simply went in circles. It rocked back and forth until it gained enough speed, and then it would continue like that until it could go all the way around. Sometimes it would stop upside down on the top of the circle, and then it would rock back down and hang upside down the other way.
Hotaru nodded. "Alright," she agreed. "It's on."
Mikan turned around in her seat so she could see Anna, Nonoko, and Sumire. They were all talking and laughing, pointing at the different attractions. "Hey! We're going on The Ring of Fire next!"
"Ha! You wish!" Nonoko called back. "I'm not going on that!"
"Me either!" Anna agreed.
"I will!" Sumire volunteered. "It doesn't look too bad."
That was an understatement.
The line for The Ring of Fire wasn't particularly long, but it took a good ten minutes before the three brave girls were climbing on. There were three seats next to each other. Mikan sat in the middle with Hotaru on her left and Sumire on her right.
The ride began.
It hadn't even gotten all the way to the top when Mikan was screaming, using her hands on the padded bars that acted as a roof to give herself support as her body lifted off of the seat and her shoulders pressed against the device holding her down. She was laughing and screaming at the same time, already beginning to feel sick.
A string of curses was flying from Hotaru's mouth, and she was actually screaming, too. Sumire was simply yelling at the man controlling the ride to stop, but of course, he couldn't hear her.
The coaster stopped at the top of the circle.
"Oh, God," Mikan muttered.
It began to slide back down, and then back up, and then finally it began to slow.
Mikan stumbled off on weak legs, her hand resting on her stomach. She was sure she must have lost some color, but she was still laughing. She had been ready to throw up on the ride, and now she was looking for the garbage can.
Hotaru was already running over to it.
When they finished, they looked at each other and then burst out laughing.
"I think I have enough food in me to throw up one more time before I have to eat more," Mikan said.
Hotaru patted her stomach. "Me too."
Sumire and Anna and Nonoko joined them, Anna and Nonoko practically dying from laughter.
"I'm glad I haven't eaten anything since breakfast," Sumire said weakly.
The night went on like that. They stayed at the amusement park until it closed. After Mikan and Hotaru had had enough upchucking, they headed over to the game area and began using the money the school had given them to win some prizes.
They were looking for a decent game to play when they realized a couple of guys following them. Hotaru shot them a warning look, but it didn't phase them, and they tried to seduce them.
"Hey, kitties," one of them said in a rough voice. "What do you say to having some fun at my house?"
Anna snorted. "You look like you live in a barn."
The man who had spoken ignored her. "Come on. You know it will be fun."
Mikan pointed her chin into the air stubbornly. "I'm taken, thank you very much. And if he finds out who you are, you'd better hope you're not in the country anymore." She crossed her arms over her chest.
"Careful," Sumire warned the two boys. She jabbed her thumb at Hotaru. "She might blow your head off."
They were within arms reach now, and the one who had been doing the talking reached out and grabbed Mikan's ass, without hesitation.
Mikan yelped and leapt forward. Then, her eyes narrowed, she turned around and wailed the guy right in the kisser. That was the last they saw of them.
And, as they had been told, Mikan and Hotaru began to forget about the incident at the school and have fun.
Mikan and Hotaru walked side by side down the hall, towards the Alice Hospital. Mikan was carrying a giant stuffed duck, as promised, and Hotaru was carrying a giant stuffed cow.
There were only a few nurses up, but the ones who saw them didn't stop them, but told them that both Natsume and Ruka were being stubborn and refused to sleep. Apparently, Natsume threatened to burn someone if they even dared to try to sedate him.
Mikan peeked into the room and saw Natsume's eyes were closed. There was a curtain dividing the beds now, so Hotaru had to walk in and peek around the curtain. Then, she disappeared behind it, leaving Mikan somewhat alone with Natsume.
She bit her lip as she tip toed over to his bed and sat down silently in the chair she had been in earlier. She stared at his handsome face in silence, trying to see over the giant stuffed duck.
"Just admit you had fun."
His voice surprised her, and she jumped. Unfortunately, when she landed again, she missed the chair and ended up on the ground. She groaned and pinched her eyes shut. "Don't scare me like that!" she scolded, rubbing her tailbone as she got back to her feet, still holding the duck. "Jeez."
His eyes opened up into slits and he chuckled, instantly wincing.
She flopped back down on the chair. "I told you I was going to get you a duck." She held it up. "This thing's almost bigger than me."
"You had fun," he guessed.
Mikan frowned. "I threw up six times because I had a contest with Hotaru," she said, shuddering at the memory of the taste in her mouth. "And in the end, we tied." She patted her stomach with her free hand. "We threw up twice first, and then ate, and then threw up some more, and then ate, and then threw up some more. I don't think I have any food left in me."
"How many guys tried to seduce you?"
Mikan shrugged. "Only two, and they were both together." She glared at the wall with a surge of hate when she remembered the man's face. "One of them grabbed my ass," she spat. "It was the most unpleasant thing I've ever experienced."
Instead of being mad, Natsume smirked. "What did you say to him?"
"Before he grabbed it, I told him I was taken, and that if he, meaning you, found out who he was, he'd better hope he wasn't in the country." She smiled before she spoke again. "But as soon as he grabbed it, I turned around and nailed him right in the face."
"Even better."
She smiled and stood up. "Now, like I said, you have to sleep with this duck." She placed it gently on top of him. "If it isn't there when I get back in the morning, I'm seriously going to kill you."
"Why don't you just sleep here?"
"Tempting as that offer is, I'm a wild sleeper, and I'd probably end up knocking your IV pole over, or rolling under the bed and strangling myself with some cord as well as disconnecting the cord from you." She brushed a strand of hair out of his eyes. "I'll come back as soon as I get up."
"I didn't mean sleep on the floor," he said, rolling his eyes. "Sleep on the bed."
Mikan pursed her lips, and then shook her head. "That's not much better. That's actually probably worse."
He closed his eyes, the corners of his lips still pointed up in a weak smile. "You must miss me when you're sleeping alone or something, because you don't squirm at all when you sleep with me."
She looked offended. "Liar."
"I'm not."
She glared at him. "I'm sleeping in my own bed."
He opened his eyes again. "I'm not asking you."
After a moment of staring at his vulnerable state, she huffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine," she said finally. "I'll go get ready for bed and then I'll come back. I'm not going to enjoy walking through the hallway in my pajamas."
"Don't take your time."
Mikan turned and walked over to the curtain. She poked her head in and smiled warmly at the sight of Hotaru using her arms as a makeshift pillow on the bed as she sat in the chair similar to the one Mikan had been in. She was looking up at Ruka with tired eyes as they spoke quietly.
"Hotaru," Mikan whispered. "Come get ready for bed."
Ruka's eyes shifted to her, and then back to Hotaru. "You need sleep," he agreed.
"Natsume's making me sleep with him," Mikan said. "You should make her sleep with you, too." She smiled at the look Hotaru gave her as she stood up.
"That's not a bad idea," Ruka said with a light laugh.
Hotaru stared at him, then at Mikan, expressionless. "Fine," she said, walking over to Mikan. "Maybe I'll accidentally pull your IV cord out and make you die." It was obvious that she was kidding.
Mikan and Hotaru walked together until Mikan got to her room, and then Hotaru parted.
In her room, Mikan had a quick shower, got into her pajamas, brushed her teeth, and pondered if she should actually go back down. At one point, she had herself convinced that she should just stay up and make Natsume suck it up, but then an image of the straight line across his heart monitor came flashing back and she basically bolted out of the room.
Hotaru was already walking down the hallway towards Mikan's room, clad in a pair of dark blue silk pajama pants and a dark blue tank top, her short hair already dry. She had probably blow dried it, for it was clear from the 'Sea Island Cotton' scent radiating off of her skin that she had had a shower.
Mikan was simply in a pair of short orange pajama shorts and an orange tank top to match. Her long hair was still wet, and it clung to her arms and neck.
They walked in silence back to the Alice Hospital, Mikan shivering in the cold night as they switched buildings. Hotaru didn't seem bothered, and Mikan guessed that it had something to do with her dry hair.
When they got to the room, Hotaru disappeared behind the curtain and Mikan headed over to Natsume's bed. She stared down at his position on the bed, trying to figure out a way to make it work.
"I don't get it," she admitted. "How is this supposed to work?"
Natsume's eyes remained closed, but he smiled. "I was expecting you to stay in your room."
"I thought about it, but I felt sorry for you." She smiled. "It can only be so great being stuck in a bed all day."
He lifted the duck off of him and handed it to her. "Hold it." She took it, and he struggled to turn onto his side with his back pressed against the wall. She winced as she watched him, her free hand fluttering helplessly above his body.
He let out a sigh of relief when he made himself comfortable, and then he patted the empty space on the bed beside him. Mikan's sigh was more of one that meant 'I can't believe this', and she slipped her flip-flops off. She put the duck down first, and then she carefully laid down beside him, facing him, on top of the blankets. The duck, being extremely soft and squishy, didn't create much of an obstacle. It was squashed flat between them.
The bed was warm where he had been lying, but the sheets were free of bloodstains. She knew she didn't need the blankets to keep her warm. His alice, whether he was trying to use it or not, would keep her warm. His body was naturally warm, from his alice, of course.
He lifted his outside arm slowly and painfully and draped it loosely over her. The other arm found its way under the duck and under her hip. He pulled her carefully into him, and she buried her face in the front of his shirt.
"This is my fault," she muttered, fighting her tears.
"Shut up."
"My damn alice," she went on. "If I didn't have such a rare alice, this would have never happened."
"Wrong." He pushed a strand of hair off of her neck. "Reo didn't want just you and the rest of your crazy friends. He wanted to bring the school down, and you five would just be a bonus. So shut up before I burn you." He sighed when he felt her shoulders still shaking. "Reo's dead."
She would have held him tighter had she not been afraid to hurt him. "I know," she whispered. "But you might as well be. Look at you! You're a mess."
"Everything is going to be fine now," he assured her. "No more AAO, no more missions. Polka-dots, we're graduating in a month and a half. We have one last concert as part of this school on the last day. Nothing is going to go wrong."
"Why are they letting you go?" she asked. "I didn't think they'd let you, because of your 'dangerous ability'." She snorted. "It's only as dangerous as the person wielding it."
"They can't stop me from leaving." He rested his chin on the top of her head. "Narumi thinks you're enough to keep me in line." The smile was in his voice. "Don't you agree?"
She clung to the front of his shirt. "Then you're not going to leave me?"
"No."
She smiled one last time before drifting into sleep.
Mikan never knew planning a concert could be so painful. Along with studying for her next exam, she had gotten a total of eight hours of sleep over the course of four days – that was two hours each night.
With Natsume and Ruka in the hospital, it was difficult to plan, but Hotaru and Mikan would always give them updates, get them to sign things, and then tell them they better get their sorry butts better so they could practice.
With the day of the concert climbing closer, both bands were busy.
They couldn't even begin to guess that that day was going to be the best of their lives.
A/N: This chapter is, like, really short compared to thelast few, but i need to save eveything else for the next chapter. I'm sorry to all of you who are enjoying this story, but thenext chapter might be the last, or the second last. Hehe.
Back to school tomorrow (eww), so the updates are going to be a little longer. Badminton starts on Tuesday, but if I make the team, i probably won't be busy with it, seeing as there are no games, just practices and a tournament.
I hate how i have different sized feet. I just bought apair of flats ( i love them!) and one fits perfectly but the other is too small. Hehe.
Anyway, I'll try to make the next chapter better and longer. By the way, I got the ride 'The Ring of Fire' from Westerner Days in Red Deer. Me and my friend went with my sister and her friend, and I was the one yelling at the guy to stop the ride, myfriend was jus screaming, and my sister and her friend were swearing. The ride wasnt even working properly when we went on it, so it didn't go in the full circle, and i can't even begin to say how glad i am. haha. I'm also glad i decided not to eat that day.
xoxo
Ducky-san
