Mikan the Alice
Chapter 11: The Black King and Rabbit
Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice.
A.N. Now that I think about it, it's actually more of an omake. But I'm not sure if it should be counted as an omake or chapter so I'll just say it's both.
Ruka's P.O.V.
My feet pounded on the hard concrete path as I ran at my top speed. "Gotta warn Mikan. We have to save her."I kept on thinking over and over. "Will I make it?"
I stopped in front of the iron gates of the Black Kingdom. After catching my breath, I walked towards the gate. "Hey! Open up!" I shouted. One of the guards flinched when they heard my shout. When they saw me, they gasped.
"Black Rabbit! What are you doing back here?" he shouted. I glared at him.
"Just let me in!" I shouted once more. The guard finally understood and started to fumble around in his pocket for the key. When he finally got the right key, he inserted it into the lock. The gates swung open and I immediately ran in.
If Natsume is still like he was when I served him here, he must be at the garden gazebo. I ran to the back of the castle and looked around. The grass was tall because of poor care taking and most of the plants had already withered. Except for the large sakura tree. I walked towards it and gazed up at its tall height. "Of all the beautiful plants in his garden, Natsume only cares about this plain old sakura tree huh?"I heard the sound of bark scratching and I looked at the highest branch of the tree. There sat Natsume frowning down upon me. He sighed and jumped off with ease. When he regained his balance, he looked at me with cold eyes.
"What do you want?" he asked as he dusted a few petals from his shoulder. I gulped, but hid my nervousness.
"Don't worry. I haven't come to have a conversation with you. I just want to know where Shuichi is." Natsume shook his head.
"I have no idea where that creep is. He always hide in the most unpredictable places. It might take you hours to find him." he said. I sighed sadly and looked away. "By the way, why are you even looking for him? From the last time I remember your last meeting with him, you-"
"Shut up." I interjected. Natsume blinked in shock. Then, he started to chuckle.
"Looks like the Black Rabbit is finally manning up huh?" he teased. I clenched my fist. "Even after so many years, he still pisses me off."He let out a long breath and crossed his arms. "But if I'm guessing, Shuichi might be hiding..." he picked up a pebble and threw it into the gazebo nearby. A yelp sounded and a tall figure stood up, rubbing his head. "...There." Natsume said. He turned towards the castle and waved. "Have fun." I grimaced. "Bastard."
Suddenly, Shuichi pounded his hands down onto Natsume's shoulders. He jumped up a bit but as I could see, he was actually really pissed off. "Oh no my King. Don't go yet. This might be the only time we get to have a little talk all together. Let's enjoy the moment." Natsume's eyebrow was twitching but Shuichi ignored it. He pulled Natsume over to one of the seats and sat him down. "You sit here," He pulled me and sat me across from Natsume. "And you sit here. While I..." he walked towards the railing of the gazebo and sat atop of it. "...Sit right here!" he said with a cheery smile. Natsume and I sweat dropped. "He's still a creepy old man.""Old man you say?" he said with a terrifying face. He walked next to me and whispered, "I'm just a few years older than you Black Rabbit. Don't you ever forget that again." He smiled and walked back to the railing and sat. This feels like hell. Only worse. Natsume turned to me and nodded.
I explained everything. Why I was here, how I knew, and etcetera. They nodded and listened carefully, saving their questions to the end. When I was done, Natsume put his teacup down. "It is true that the Red Queen is out to get her, but what can we do? Sure we can warn her but in this case, that isn't really doing anything." he said "as-a-matter-of-factly". I nodded.
"I know and I wish I can do something, but I don't know what. We can't interfere, we can't tell her to forfeit or she'll die, and we can't let her continue or else she'll get harmed badly. All the paths that she can take leads to death." Shuchi nodded.
"I understand what you're saying. We must tell her first so she can be on the lookout. Black Rabbit, I must warn you. The connection might not be clear so she probably won't get the entire message so keep it simple and short. Got it?" he asked. I closed my eyes and nodded. "Come here." He motioned me toward him. I went over and he placed his hand on my head. "Think of the message. Only the message."
"Do you think she got the message?" I asked him as he panted after using his power. He shrugged.
"We'll just have to see how this all plays out." We all looked at each other. The whole situation was worrisome but we can't do anything besides hope. "Hope...hope...hope. All we want is hope."Natsume announced he was going back inside the castle and this time Shuichi let him. When he walked away, Shuichi pulled me next to him.
"Eh?" He smiled and clutched my shoulder so tight it felt like my shoulder blade was breaking.
"Do you still remember what happened 'that' time?" he asked me. I shook my head frantically.
"Not at all, not at all!" I shouted nervously. He gripped my shoulder tightly.
"Do not deny it Black rabbit. You still remember. And just so you know," He grasped my other shoulder. I gritted my teeth tight. "I will be watching you. So, keep your mouth shut." He tossed me away right when he finished. I gasped and stumbled to my knees. When I turned around to see if he was still there watching me, I found out that he was gone.
Natsume's P.O.V.
"That damned Shuichi. Makes me stay and feel tortured by him, it's just a new meaning of demeaning."I picked up the stray sakura petal that was on the floor. After a soft flick, it was back in the air again. "I should plant more sakura trees."I yawned and lay on my back. "But who's gonna help me?"I closed my eyes and breathed silently. Peacefulness is what I needed.
Suddenly, I jolted up. Something was calling me towards the window. I walked closer to my large window and looked down. Right there, was Shuichi torturing Ruka. "Shit." I mumbled. I managed to catch a few words here and there.
"Don't deny...that time? Watching...mouth shut." Then, he suddenly pushed Ruka away and disappeared. Ruka turned back for a look but I could see a surprised look on his face. "What are they hiding from me?"I was pissed. How dare they keep secrets from their King. "But...don't I have my own secrets too?"I sighed and placed my hand on my forehead. "It makes sense. But it's still rude in a way."
"Your beloved sakura tree seems to be blooming prettier than usual." said Koko. I didn't turn to him, but I nodded instead. He walked closer. "Still wondering about her?" I chose to ignore that. He laughed at my shyness. "Fine, I won't talk about her. Here, have some tea." He placed down a tray on the table and took the teapot off it. After he finished setting up the table, he motioned me to sit.
I finished all my tea and looked outside the window once more. Ruka had left a while ago I assumed. Something read caught my eye. Blood. "Did Shuichi really do that to Ruka?"I told Koko to clean up the blood stain after he left my room. As usual, he obliged with no hesitation.
A paper plane suddenly flew into my room. I grabbed it and opened it. I gasped in horror and threw it on the floor. "Damn that Red Queen. What does she want?"
A.N. Shuichi is so secretive... Ruka must feel so much pain. We shall all wish Mikan good luck on her third trial! Thank you to all those who have reviewed, favourite, and alerted this story. And please review my chapter so i know how you think!
