Happy Reading, peeps!
Rush
By Tsuki's Angel
~Chapter 11~
-Unpredictable Weather-
-Four Months Later-
The lights above her were blurry. She couldn't see properly. All she saw was white fuzz. She couldn't focus her eyes on anything. The only thing she could sense was a ringing in her ears and someone picking her up. Gentle hands held her under her knees and back. She felt herself being hoisted into the air and set down somewhere. She couldn't open her mouth to speak. What's happening to me? She thought.
Her head was swirling. She still felt the gentle hands on her back, setting her down on a soft cushion—the couch. The cool leather was a blessing for the heat that rose to her cheeks. But the ringing got louder, and nausea began to take over her. Her eyes were beginning to close. Succumbing to sleep will make it go away, she thought. Her stomach churned. She felt like she ate rotten eggs.
That's when Mikan shot up and puked into pink plastic bucket nearby, which was placed there conveniently by Hotaru Imai for such very occasions. Mikan was a mess. Her bangs stood up from being pushed off her clammy forehead so many times by Natsume. Her face was void of color now that she had thrown up. The black sweatpants and grey t-shirt that she borrowed from Natsume were drenched in her cold sweat. And thank God that her hair was in a ponytail. It resembled a bird's nest.
Mikan groaned. "I'm sorry, Hotaru." She hiccupped. "I don't feel good."
"Mikan Sakura, that is absolutely revolting!" Hotaru snapped to the woman. She decided to dispel her anger at Natsume. "This is all your fault, Hyuuga! You men and your infernal sperm!"
"Tch," Natsume scoffed, once again pushing hair off of Mikan's forehead. "She was completely for it if I remember correctly."
Hotaru growled, "You owe me big time. And I'm talking hard, cold cash. I took you out of that war. I could knock your ass right back into it."
"Jesus, woman. Calm down," Natsume said. Natsume took Mikan by the waist and sat her up. "Don't move. You might puke again."
Mikan nodded and adjusted herself on the couch so that she was more comfortable. "I feel so gross."
Hotaru rolled her eyes. "I would too if I looked like you."
Mikan frowned and threw her head back on the couch. "Why can't he just be born already?"
Hotaru shook her head. "You still have three months to go."
"I feel terrible. And I can't even eat Howalon to make myself feel better," Mikan complained.
"Ever heard of birth control?" Hotaru jeered. "Maybe you could have avoided this mess."
Mikan was quiet before she answered, "I don't think he's a mess."
"You say that now. Just wait until you have to take care of him," Hotaru said, but her demeanor was softening. "How are you so sure he's a boy?"
"Because I imagine Natsume when I imagine him," Mikan replied, grinning at Natsume. Natsume merely scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. Mikan smirked and looked at Hotaru. "He's in denial."
Hotaru looked at Mikan skeptically. "I don't understand you."
Mikan shrugged. "You don't have to understand me. I just know he's a boy."
Natsume came back into the conversation. "What if she's a girl?"
"Then so be it," Mikan said. "I just hope he or she doesn't have an alice."
"Highly unlikely," Hotaru sighed.
Mikan's face scrunched up. She wanted to change the subject suddenly. "What's the status on the war?"
Even though Mikan couldn't actually participate in the war, she liked to have updates every now and then. She was supposed to be fighting in it, after all. Mikan decided that if the war didn't end by the time she had the baby, she would periodically go on rescue missions. Just to help out. Natsume already did this, going out some nights to see if there were any bodies left to save. Many times they came back with one or two people. Mikan felt a responsibility for fighting, even though she was forced into everything in the first place. For now, all she could do was sit and watch.
"The Tracker Technology is well on its way. If things go as planned, a stalemate should reach the war soon. Then we will execute our plan immediately." Hotaru replied, sharp and to the point.
"What about Ivan and Isabella?" Mikan asked.
"They checked in three hours ago," Hotaru replied. "They will be back by tomorrow."
"What were the casualties today?" Natsume asked.
"I haven't checked up on that," Hotaru said smoothly.
Natsume knew she was lying. She never wanted to say anything about casualties in front of Mikan. Mikan, being pessimistic about the war and herself enough as is, blamed herself for much of the things that happened in the war—even things that she knew couldn't have been her fault. The other week a hailstorm of bombs crashed into Central Town, killing many. Mikan felt she could have put up a barrier or something, but Natsume insisted that she would be killing herself if she did so.
"I see," Natsume replied to Hotaru.
Mikan suddenly began to sweat again. Her breathing started up and she felt nauseous…again. "You guys I think I have to—"
Natsume's shirt paid the consequence of Mikan's nausea. Natsume felt the warm liquid penetrate his shirt onto his abdomen. He looked at it in pure disgust, holding his breath so that he didn't breath it in. Hotaru laughed maniacally inside. On the outside, however, she managed a small smile.
Natsume grew pale and increasingly frustrated. He took a deep breath. He sat up very slowly as to not get any of the horrid substance on Hotaru's carpet. Natsume grabbed his shirt from behind and stripped it off in one fluid motion. Mikan's eyes lingered on his bare chest and the fine line of hair leading down his abs. Hotaru saw this and rolled her eyes. She pinched the bridge of her nose. It was not helping her anger that she had a half naked man and a hormone drunk pregnant girl in her living room.
Natsume crumpled the soiled shirt up and threw it into the pink bucket. His abdomen was slightly damp, and he desperately wanted one thing. He ran his hand through his hair once and counted to ten.
"I'm going to take a shower," Natsume said finally, turning around to leave the room.
"Wait," Mikan said, stopping Natsume in his tracks. "I'm sorry, Natsume."
Natsume didn't say anything in fear of snapping at his pregnant girlfriend. He just sighed and waved a hand at her on the way out.
Mikan frowned. He was going to listen to her, damn it! "Natsume!" She heard his footsteps stop. He was listening. "I need a shower too!"
There was a long pause, and Hotaru wrinkled her nose. "That is too much information."
Mikan blushed and harshly whispered, "Hush, Hotaru! I didn't mean it that way."
Natsume finally replied. "I'll be in our room," he called back.
Hotaru groaned. "You two should keep your conversations private."
Mikan imitated a glare at Hotaru and said, "I'm not going to do anything."
With that, Mikan turned around and walked in the direction of their room. Hotaru never saw the mischievous smile that her face held.
. . .
Isabella stood behind a tree. She was breathing ragged breaths and paused her breathing for a moment to hear if footsteps followed behind her. The silence of the forest secured her assumption that she had lost the frightening man that was chasing her. Isabella diverted her attention to the AAO camp she came upon while running from agents in the Northern Forest. Isabella gathered up her strength and began climbing the tree. She couched on a lower branch to see how big the camp was. It covered a lot of ground.
The camp laid itself on a large clearing surrounded by trees. Tents were set up in random locations. There was no uniform setting. In the center of the camp, there was the largest tent, which Isabella assumed was the head honcho's tent. The camp lingered with AAO agents.
I could extinguish that entire camp, Isabella thought to herself.
Isabella breathed in a deep breath, fueling the fire within her with oxygen. She held her palm out and slowly brought it down. She killed every single plant within and around the camp immediately. Closing her eyes, she extinguished her inner fire, leaving icy remains. She held out a single hand and wiggled her fingers a little. The moisture in the air automatically froze, and little snowflakes began trickling onto the ground. Isabella used the remaining moisture to form a thin dome of ice over the camp. She wiggled her fingers again, and the snow fell harder. She froze the snow that fell on top of the dome, making the dome impossible to break.
Isabella smiled devilishly. I'm not a dangerous ability student for nothing.
Isabella breathed in through her nose as she grabbed the air in front of her and violently pulled her hand back, sucking the oxygen right out of the dome, letting it fuel the fire within her. Without the plants, oxygen couldn't be produced within the dome. She let the ice thicken with more and more snow, letting the dome get bigger and bigger. Isabella changed the texture of the ice so that she could see right through it. It would take about ten minutes for them all to get irreversible brain damage. Fifteen for death.
Isabella slumped against the tree stump, breathing deeply again. Her heart was burning. She felt sick for using so much power.
Ivan will be proud of me, Isabella thought, I can't wait to tell him and Mikan.
Nausea painfully overcame Isabella. She fought the gag reflex and tried to remain quiet. After about five minutes, she felt herself getting back to normal with a lingering headache. This was what she gets for using too much power at one time, which is why she rarely does anything like this.
Isabella waited for twenty minutes just to make sure everyone was dead. Then, she raised a fist into the air and thrust a wave of fire over the entire dome, making the ice crack and explode violently. As soon as the smoke cleared, Isabella jumped down and made her way into the camp. Just one look and she knew her business was done there.
Everywhere she looked she saw dead bodies.
. . .
Ivan paced the floor of the costume shop he promised to meet Isabella at. She was three hours late and counting. He had already checked in with Hotaru long ago, saying that they would probably be back by tomorrow. Ivan hoped Isabella wasn't hurt. Or dead. Oh God, he hoped she wasn't dead. Ivan violently punched the wall, and it shattered on impact. He gasped. He forgot that he needed to control his emotions. Although he never felt enough rage to do this, he could destroy entire cities with the alice he possessed.
He heard the front door bell jingle. His head whipped around, and he saw her. He saw her, and his emotions immediately calmed down. "Isabella." He saw her smile at him, but when he looked closer, he saw that she was pale and that she was wounded. Her tiny frame bent over. "Isabella!"
Isabella fell into Ivan's arms. She was breathing raggedly. "Y-you need…to hear…what I did!" Isabella spoke between breaths. "I…destroyed an…entire AAO camp…by myself!"
Ivan hoisted her into his arms and set her carefully on the counter. He grabbed a soft looking cloth that seemed to belong to a bear costume and folded it, setting it underneath her head. Isabella grabbed Ivan's hand. Ivan squeezed it and pushed her hair out of her eyes.
"We need to get you back to Imai's," he said. "Now."
Isabella nodded. "O-okay—ah!" Isabella doubled over onto her side, clutching the clothing over her chest.
"What's wrong?" Ivan said frantically. "Where does it hurt?"
Isabella wasn't used to this level of pain. "I-I thought that it was just a headache…and nausea. I used my alice…full capacity." She breathed heavily. "Oh, it hurts."
"Where?" Ivan asked, hoping to God that it didn't hurt where he thought it did.
"My chest," Isabella said.
Ivan nodded, his fear coming true. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a bottle of black liquid. "Imai gave this to me. Said it was from the lab. She said to only use it for cardiac issues, which this is. Drink it." Ivan lifted her head up gently and put the bottle to her lips. "I'm only going to tell you once—you have to drink it all, got it?"
Isabella nodded and felt the liquid go down her throat. It was cold at first, but then it burned. Her eyes widened, and she tried to push Ivan away. Ivan kept a firm hand on her and forced her to drink the entire thing. Isabella's eyes watered, and she desperately tried to push him away. Once the last of the liquid was gone, Isabella lost consciousness. Ivan lifted her and swung her onto his back all in one go. He picked his backpack up off the counter and left the shop quickly. He decided to ditch the place using the exit he conveniently made earlier through his anger.
Finding a way out was easy, but it was finding a safe way that was the hard part. They could always risk going through the forest, which could be potentially very safe or riddled with AAO agents. Ivan decided that was their best chance. He prayed that it was an empty forest and that the scariest thing in there was a squirrel or gigantic baby chick because he knew that there were possibilities that were a thousand times worse.
. . .
The bleak winter sun shone through the open window, lighting up the room instantly, making the wooden floors gleam. The maroon canopy of a rather large bed casted a shadow upon the walls. On either side of the bed, there were side tables with lamps. The room gave off a homey atmosphere, much to the occupants' liking.
Mikan sat on the bed in her and Natsume's bedroom. Her hair was damp from her shower, and she was dressed in a simple crimson V-neck t-shirt and a pair of black leggings. A laptop was open on the bed, and Mikan scrutinized the screen. She was currently checking the data on the war. Hotaru kept everything neat and organized, which Mikan found very helpful.
A blip appeared on the lower corner of the laptop, signaling that a device was activated. Mikan clicked on it and saw that it was Ivan's. She quickly opened the application to track their progress. Months ago, Hotaru installed GPS tracking devices into Ivan and Isabella's uniforms so that the team back home would always know where they were on their missions. But the computers in Hotaru's lab could only connect if they themselves turned on the tracking devices, which Ivan suddenly did.
"You look sexy in that color," Natsume absentmindedly commented, leaning on the bathroom door frame.
"I have more important things to worry about other than my sexiness, Natsume," Mikan said, flipping through the pages on the laptop.
Natsume frowned. "You wouldn't have said that an hour ago."
Mikan waved him off with her hand, her eyes never leaving the screen. "Do you have any idea why Ivan and Isabella would go into the empty forest? It doesn't lead anywhere."
Natsume shrugged and threw his towel into a nearby laundry basket. He sat down behind Mikan, looking at the computer screen with her. "Beats me. Maybe they needed to get away from some agents. I'd go into some empty forest if I had to escape."
"But I don't think the shop they were in was red territory," Mikan said, worriedly. "I think it was a safe zone, don't you? Why would they leave a safe zone so quickly? And weren't they supposed to come back tomorrow?"
Natsume moved her hands off of the laptop and did some searches on the application. "They're heading towards the exit."
"Now?" Mikan asked.
"No, tomorrow," Natsume rebutted sarcastically. "Yes, they're heading back now."
Mikan jumped up. She walked forward to one of the canopy's wooden supports. "Something's wrong, Natsume." She turned around to see Natsume already standing up. "We have to go tell Hotaru."
Natsume nodded and the both of them hastily left the room. Hotaru was in the laboratory in the basement and was busy working on her Tracker Technology. The lab consisted of three rooms—the experiment quarter, the computer room, and the study room. The experiment quarter, also known as the main lab, was the largest, having lab materials and tables and expensive equipment everywhere. The study room was like a library—to do research if one needed guidance during a lab. And the computer room was a dark room with many screens holding different information on different parts of the war such as weapon count, head count, and the GPS system, which was rarely used because it was only used in emergencies in case agents tracked down the signal, which was now the only signal that could penetrate the newly formed AAO barrier around the academy walls.
Mikan tugged on Natsume's sleeve. "You go set up the application in the computer room. I'm going to explain things to Hotaru in the main lab."
Natsume nodded and went straight to the computer room, where Sumire and Luca were watching the progress of the war. Sumire and Luca did their part for the war by mandating when to send out more alices. Lately, they couldn't send out anyone but the strongest because of the tight security, and even then, many came back injured. The status of the war was complicated. Rescue missions were hard to send out since there were not many alices that they could send out. What was worse was communication was cut off between the inside of the academy and the outside, meaning there was no way that anyone could communicate verbally with those inside.
Natsume marched into the room and turned Luca's chair around. "I need to use that computer," Natsume demanded.
Luca raised an eyebrow. "What for?"
"Isabella and Ivan," Natsume said. "Open the GPS app. Something's wrong."
Sumire shrugged and opened the application. She fiddled with a couple of keys, and her eyebrows shot up when she saw the results. "Why are they heading back now?"
Hotaru walked in with Mikan suddenly. "Move it." Luca jumped out of his seat and Hotaru took his place. She scrutinized the screen and punched in some data. "One of them is hurt. That much I can deduce. They wouldn't be on the move if both of them were injured."
"That's a relief," Mikan whispered more to herself. She prayed that it wasn't serious. "If they keep at this pace, they're going to reach the end of the Western Woods." Mikan thought for a second. "I'm sure they're trying to avoid the Academy Headquarters. It's flooded with agents at this point. They're going straight until they're out of the Western, or they're going to cross the Southern." Mikan's voice grew small. "They must be exhausted."
Natsume crossed his arms. "We need to send out a rescue team."
Hotaru stopped Natsume's tracks. "Do you honestly think we can get a rescue team right now?"
"It would take a while," Natsume said, "but they would get there eventually."
"We don't know what's wrong with them, Hyuuga," Hotaru said bluntly. "It could be muscle deterioration, burns, broken appendages, or worse. We could be late."
"We should send in a helicopter," Sumire said. "I'm sure we have one on standby."
"Who's going to go?" Luca asked.
"I'll go," Mikan volunteered. "They're my friends."
Hotaru looked at her as if she grew three heads. "Are you kidding me? You were just puking green chunks hours ago."
"Exactly!" Mikan said. "That was hours ago. I could be a huge help. I can heal somewhat."
"Somewhat?" Sumire asked. "I thought you had full control over the stolen alices."
Mikan frowned. "You know, I thought I did, too, but the thing is lately I haven't been able to use some of my alices as well as I used to."
Hotaru snorted. "It's the sperm."
"Hotaru, quit blaming things on sperm!" Mikan snapped, pouty. "And it's not only that! I've lost the ability to use some of my alices completely. Like weather."
Luca blinked. "You tried to control the weather recently?"
Mikan crossed her arms. "The sun was too bright. It needed clouds."
Luca's jaw dropped. "How long have you been controlling the weather!"
Mikan waved him off. "Oh, don't worry about that. I don't usually use that alice at all. Just lately, I wanted a change."
"Sperm," Hotaru justified. "It's the sperm."
"Hotaru!" Mikan snapped again. "Hormones! It's the hormones!"
"That the sperm caused," Hotaru again justified. She abruptly changed the subject. "When have you started losing alices?"
Mikan stopped and counted. "About a month ago."
Hotaru pursed her lips. "Go see my brother for testing. Tell him I sent you, and tell him what you've told me. You're not going on the rescue mission."
Mikan frowned. "I could just teleport, you know."
Natsume glared furiously at her. "Do that and I'll burn your hair to a crisp."
Mikan gasped and glared at him. "You wouldn't dare."
Natsume leaned towards her. "Try me, Polka."
Mikan glared at Hotaru and Natsume, suddenly angry. "I'm supposed to be fighting in this war. I can't just sit around and do nothing while my friends are in danger!"
Sumire hung up on a phone call that she had just made. "Hotaru, I've got Tsubasa and Misaki willing to go on the mission."
"Great," Hotaru said, not taking her eyes off of Mikan. "Send them along with Hyuuga and Mochu."
Mikan's jaw clenched. "I'm going to the infirmary." She turned around and started to walk away briskly.
"Sakura," Luca said, calling after her. "Wait!"
Mikan stopped. "What?"
"You know why you can't go, right?" Luca said. "It's for, err, both of your safety."
"What?" Mikan said, turning around. "You think I wouldn't look out for myself and my kid?"
"He didn't say that," Natsume said. "You'd just overexert yourself and put strain on him."
Mikan glared at him. "Yeah, I got that."
"What kind of reply is that?" Natsume snapped.
"I don't know!" Mikan retorted.
"You're making no sense," he said.
"I know!"
Natsume looked at her incredulously. It's as if they were the only two in the room. The others felt the tension rising. This was not a good thing. It meant that another one of their fights was coming on—and they didn't want to be there to see it.
"I'm leaving," Hotaru said, getting up and walking out.
Luca quickly sped out of the room. "Right behind you."
Sumire nervously laughed. "I'm going to get more coffee." She nearly sprinted out of the small room and shut the door behind her.
"How do you expect to go on a rescue mission if you can't even make sense talking?"
Mikan's jaw clenched. "Well maybe I don't know what to say!"
"You're being ridiculous," Natsume said.
"So are you," Mikan said. "You know I can handle this. I won't overexert myself."
"You say that now," Natsume warned. "But when you're out on the battlefield, you don't think about yourself." Natsume sighed. "I've seen your battle strategies. You just look at your allies or opponents. It's like you don't even care if you get out alive."
"Of course I care!" Mikan yelled. "I'm not suicidal!"
"Maybe not," Natsume said. "But I'm not taking a chance of losing you again."
Mikan huffed. "I can take care of myself."
"Sometimes you need someone to take care of you," Natsume said, losing his patience with this woman. "Especially when you're pregnant during a war!"
"I'm not a child, Natsume!"
"Then stop acting like one!" Natsume yelled. Mikan shut up. "You think you know best and that you can take care of yourself and this war, but you can't! You just can't, Mikan!" Natsume breathed deeply. "This war isn't your responsibility! And you're forgetting that I'm a Dangerous Ability student, too. I'm just as trained, just as capable. You don't need to fight for me anymore!" Natsume's hands shook by the end of the speech.
Mikan was shell shocked. She honestly had no clue what to say. So she turned around and ran up the stairs to the main floor, leaving Natsume alone. Natsume stood, not believing that they had just argued after so long. They had never had a fight like that before. Hotaru shook her head as she continued to work on her technology. Idiots, she thought.
Mikan exited the lab, took a couple of turns, went down a few hallways, and showed up in Subaru's infirmary. Mikan had grown accustomed to calling him Subaru. She saw him often enough to take a liking to his name and preferred that to "Dr. Imai." The familiar smell of white linen and hospital soap entered Mikan's senses. She had been here many times. Hotaru had her coming to the infirmary every week after her arrival, much to Mikan's dismay. After some begging and a little help from some crab meat, Mikan had gotten Hotaru to cut down her visits to once a month.
Subaru was busy putting a newly admitted patient on an IV. He jotted down a couple of notes on a sheet of paper stuck on a clipboard and hung the information above the patient's bed. He spotted Mikan as soon as she walked in.
"Sakura, can I help you?" he asked, not taking his eyes off of another sheet. "You're not signed up for appointment for another two weeks or so."
"Hotaru told me to come here," she mumbled.
"Take a seat," he said, sighing. "What has my sister sent you in for?"
"She said that I should tell you that some of my alices disappeared since about a month ago," Mikan said.
Subaru raised his eyebrows. He pushed up his glasses. "I see. Could you tell me which ones you lost?"
Mikan shrugged. "You know, I don't think I could even tell you all of the alices I have, much less which ones I lost. But I have been disadvantaged since I can't change the weather to my liking anymore."
Subaru stopped his writing. "You've controlled the weather?"
Mikan frowned. "Luca asked the same thing."
"It's not something you hear every day," he replied. He motioned with his hands to an empty bed. "Lie down."
Mikan made herself comfortable in her usual hospital bed. Just as Subaru took out Mikan's rather large file, they both heard a crash at the doorway. Mikan jumped in her bed, and Subaru nearly dropped the file. He glared at the unexpected visitor.
Mikan gasped. "Mr. Narumi!"
"Hey there, kiddo," he said, clutching his arm. He tried to smile, but it looked like he was clenching his teeth in pain. "Imai, I need some stitches."
"Take a seat," Subaru instructed. He began taking out sterilized materials to begin suturing.
Narumi took a seat next to Mikan. "How's it going with the kid?"
"What happened to you?" Mikan asked, worried.
"I have an explanation," Narumi said, raising his good arm in defense. "I was in the Central Town Square."
Mikan's eyes widened. "That's nearly suicide at this point in the war!"
Subaru pulled up stool and a table. He set down Narumi's arm and cut the cloth away from the wound. "Hold still," he said, examining the cut. "It's very dirty. Did you fall on some rocks?"
"I got hit by one," Narumi grinned.
"Victoria," Mikan hissed. "She did this to you!"
Subaru began to clean the wound by cleansing it through with water. He disinfected the cut and proceeded to numb it.
"Don't warn me or anything," Narumi said after the initial shock of the disinfectant was over.
"You're a grown man," Subaru said. "Suck it up." Subaru placed a hand over the wound and concentrated. There was a faint greenish glow, and the wound was nothing but a small pink scar.
"What were you doing in the Square?" Mikan asked worriedly. "Why was Victoria there?"
"The AAO leader was there," Narumi said. "I got the hint from some of the spies that are stationed in Central Town. Victoria was with a couple of her students, and they tried to wipe him out but failed. There was too much security. I just happened to get violently hit by an aftershock. The leader probably got away without a scratch." Narumi chuckled.
Mikan's eyes widened. "What was he doing there?"
"Apparently, one of their camps was completely obliterated. All that remained were dead bodies," Narumi said. "Powerful alice use was the only probable cause. That or the black plague or some kind of toxic gas leak."
"What traces were left?"
Narumi pursed his lips. "You know, it was quite odd. There was some charred wood and signs of a violent explosion on the surrounding area. But there was also a ton of ice and snow concentrated there."
Mikan's breath caught. Her heart began to beat fast. "Isabella."
"Excuse me?" Narumi asked. Subaru's interest was also perked.
"Oh my God," Mikan cried. "Isabella! That's her alices!" Mikan began to panic. "She's the one who's hurt! She used her damn alices at full capacity! Damn it! She probably injured her cardiac muscles. She has heart problems when she overexerts her alice—that's why she doesn't go on extreme missions! She's in danger of cardiac arrest!"
"Okay, okay," Narumi said. "Calm down, Mikan. I'm going to tell Imai and her team. They'll figure something out."
"They're already sending Tsubasa, Misaki, Mochu, and Natsume," Mikan said bitterly. "I'm useless."
Narumi sensed her guilt. "Not useless, Mikan. Just smart and careful."
"I could help," Mikan said.
"You do help," Narumi said, staring at the girl he saw as his daughter. "Just not directly."
Mikan felt her eyes well up with tears. She avoided looking at Narumi, ashamed of her weakness. She stared outside the window next to her bed. "It would be my fault if she died."
Narumi stopped her from speaking any further. "That's not the way you should be speaking. You need to realize that this war isn't your fault. You seem to keep blaming yourself for everything."
Mikan bit her lip. Natsume had said the same exact thing. Everybody was saying the same things to her. Mikan began to feel atrociously superfluous. She was just bringing everyone down with her nagging and whining, wasn't she? Her eyes grew more watery with the thought. Who would want the help of some damaged, pregnant girl in a war anyway?
"Crying isn't a weakness," Narumi said. "It's an escape."
Subaru quietly inserted an IV into Mikan's arm. He didn't do well with comforting people. Mikan didn't even flinch at the needle entering her body since she was used to it. "I'm going to recommend you stay here for a couple of days. I need to monitor your heart and the fetus to see if there are any changes as you lose more alices. I will require blood and urine samples. It may seem like very ordinary testing, but this is a rare condition and we do not know a cause." Mikan didn't speak, so Subaru spoke up again. "I'm sure we can find something, though."
Mikan nodded, and Subaru dragged a curtain between Mikan and the rest of the infirmary for privacy. He left to get back to work. Mikan didn't seem to really hear Subaru's words. Rather, she was trying to stop her damn tears. Ever since she arrived at Hotaru's place, she promised herself that she wouldn't cry—not after the ridiculous show that she put on when she got here. No. She had decided that crying was a weakness. Even if she wasn't allowed to fight in the war, she had to show the others that she was strong. Stronger than she had showed them she was when she arrived. Mikan Sakura was not to be messed with.
"Crying isn't a weakness," Narumi repeated.
Mikan took in short, jagged breaths. They sounded like hiccups, but it was just her pathetic attempt to keep up a wall that she put up. It was tearing down, and when it crashed, Mikan just cried. She felt so pathetic. She wanted to help, but all she could do was cry. What happened to her strength? What happened to the ruthless killer that she trained herself to be? What happened to protecting Natsume?
Natsume's sentence bounced in her head over and over again—you don't need to fight for me anymore!
And all she could do was cry.
. . .
Isabella was limp on Ivan's back. He treaded through the cold air of the Western Forest. His lungs were burning, and he had to keep mumbling to himself to keep going. He wasn't going to let Isabella died. She was much too important to him. She couldn't die.
He felt sudden movement on his back. Isabella was waking up. He felt her cheek rub against his shoulder where her head was. The touch felt so lovely—like a miracle that she was awake.
"Mmm…Ivan…?" Isabella mumbled.
Ivan stopped. "Yeah, Isabella?"
"Mikan would kill me if my heart didn't," she breathed out, trying to laugh.
"Don't say shit like that," Ivan said seriously. "You could have died."
"Don't you think I know that?" she replied, coughing. "I'm sure that someone's coming, Ivan."
"Never be sure," Ivan said. "I need to get you out of here."
"How long have you been carrying me?"
"I don't know," Ivan replied honestly.
"I can walk," Isabella said, lifting herself slightly from Ivan's back.
"I'd rather you not," Ivan rebutted.
Isabella sighed and wrapped her arms gently around his neck. She held herself close to him. Ivan held on tighter to her legs. "Thank you," Isabella said.
Ivan felt her breathe on his neck, and he continued walking. "Anytime, Bells."
Isabella smiled. "You haven't called me that in a while."
Ivan grinned. "I think that we should say things like that when we're in danger of dying."
"Things like what?" Isabella said. Her voice was now down to a coarse whisper.
Ivan frowned. "You shouldn't talk much."
Isabella ignored him. "Things like what?" she repeated.
Ivan sighed. "I don't know. I guess things that mean something special? Don't know how many words we got left to speak, you know?"
Isabella held him tighter. "You're right."
"I shouldn't even be talking like this," Ivan laughed. "We're supposed to remain positive."
Isabella shook her head and she felt dizzy again. "There's a limit to positive, Ivan. Especially when the positive is mostly lies to comfort us."
Ivan was about to counter her argument when suddenly he heard the sound of air being chopped at a high speed. He looked up to see the one thing it could be—a helicopter. His heart flooded with relief. They had gotten his signal! Isabella was going to be saved! Ivan swung Isabella so that he held her secure in his arms as the helicopter dropped a rope ladder down. Isabella ducked away from the harsh wind, and Ivan grabbed a hold of the ladder.
Mochu jumped from the helicopter and proceeded to levitate in the air. He took Isabella from Ivan's arms and brought her into the chopper. Natsume stood at the edge of the doorway of the helicopter and held out a hand for Ivan, which he gratefully accepted. Misaki already had Isabella buckled in a seat and on oxygen, and Tsubasa was well on his way steering the helicopter away from the forest.
Mochu got Ivan situated and put him on oxygen also. He didn't know how long Ivan was out in the forest for, but he needed to heal his body.
"Is Isabella going to be okay?" Ivan asked as soon as the door closed. Isabella had her eyes closed. She was resting.
"We can't be sure until Dr. Imai checks him out," Misaki said, taking a seat up front next to Tsubasa. She was primarily there to help him navigate so that they could avoid any AAO air attacks.
"She has cardiac problems when it comes to her alice," Ivan said. "Did Mikan tell you that?"
"Naru told us before we left," Natsume explained. "He heard it from Polka."
Ivan sensed a certain apprehension when Natsume mentioned Mikan. "Did she say something to you?"
Natsume scoffed. "Tch. No. She's just being impossible."
"That's Mikan for you," Ivan laughed. He coughed heavily. "Oh, Christ, I hate this weather."
"Oh speaking of weather," Misaki said. "I heard Mikan could change it. Is that true?"
"Does it matter?" Tsubasa asked from the front seat.
"She lost that alice," Natsume said.
Mochu's jaw dropped. "Wait, she lost an alice—"
Natsume and Mochu were unexpectedly thrown off balance by a tremendous force.
"Holy shit!" Tsubasa swore. "We were hit!" Tsubasa paused. "And that rhymed!"
Mochu was in disbelief. "Why is an idiot like you piloting this thing!" he yelled.
Misaki used a scanner to check the surroundings. "We were hit by an air blast!"
"Wouldn't it just be easier if they killed us?" Natsume yelled over the commotion.
Ivan ripped off his mask. "They most likely want to take us prisoner. Hostages." Ivan looked to Misaki. "Switch spots with me." Misaki hesitated. "I've got to blow up some shit."
Misaki shook her head and switched with him. Ivan roused up anger. The AAO was not going to get away with this. They hurt Isabella. They hurt Mikan. Now it was their turn. The Alice Academy in London was known for their DA students—they were the most dangerous people in the world if used to full potential. He was one of them.
"Oi, Harada," Natsume said, getting Misaki's attention. "Make sure Isabella is stable. I'm opening a door."
"What the hell for?" Misaki asked.
"Can't let London boy take all the responsibility," Natsume said simply. "Gotta burn some agents to the ground."
"Don't overdo it," Mochu said. "Mikan will have our heads if something happens to you."
Natsume smirked. "Can't promise anything."
After making sure he had a parachute strapped to him in case he fell, Natsume opened the door and a large gust of wind blew into the helicopter. He looked down and saw explosions in the forests and in the air that probably killed many people—agents and alices alike. He looked back to see Ivan moving his hands in motions that set off these explosions. He could see the pure rage in his eyes.
Looking behind the copter, Natsume saw that they were being followed. He produced a ball of fire in his hand and worked on it until it was white hot. When he was sure that it had enough energy built in it, he aimed. And fired. Natsume hit a bullseye when the fireball hit the AAO copter's propellers. The copter spiraled down to the ground. Natsume didn't see any other copters, and he knew the battle wasn't over.
"How far until we get to Imai's?" Mochu asked.
Tsubasa replied quickly. "Less than five minutes. I see the helipad."
The sense of relief that filled the helicopter was short lived because the copter was once again thrown off balance when another force hit them like unpredictable weather. This time, they were in deep trouble. One of their propellers was on fire.
"Slight problem," Tsubasa said. "We're going to crash and burn and die painfully if we don't figure out a way to land this thing safely!"
"Why are you the God damn pilot?" Mochu screamed.
"I'm the only one who agreed to this rescue mission that took the pilot course, dumbass!" Tsubasa screamed back.
"We only have four parachutes," Misaki said.
"We could carry Isabella," Natsume suggested. "But then we have the problem of the copter crashing into Imai's building."
"Here's what we're going to do," Ivan instructed astutely. "We're going to jump with the parachutes. And when we do, Natsume will set the copter on fire so that it becomes brittle, and I will blow it up so that it causes less damage."
"That plan has too many holes in it," Natsume objected.
"You got a better one?"
Natsume shut up at this point and found the remaining parachutes. Misaki created clones of herself so that she could secure the parachutes on everyone correctly. Her doppelgangers finished the job quickly and efficiently. Seconds away from crashing, Misaki reverted to normal and grabbed Isabella into her arms. The six alices threw themselves out of the now burning helicopter and opened their chutes. Ivan waited for the right moment. And with moments to spare, he blew up Hotaru Imai's helicopter, sending its tiny pieces flying through the air.
The six of them seemed to calm down significantly, until they realized that the flying debris was cutting holes into the parachutes. There were literally holes in this plan! Mochu quickly did everything he could to prevent his friends from falling to their death. He grabbed a hold of Ivan's and Natsume's parachutes. He could barely hold on, but he slowed down their falling.
Unexpectedly, Isabella began to open her eyes. She looked down and nearly had a heart attack for the second time that day. She screamed at the top of her lungs. Instinctively, she threw out her arms and froze the moisture in the air again. She was going to die! They were all going to die! Isabella tried to think quickly. What could she do?
Suddenly, an idea came to her head. She froze the moisture in the air again and created a shape out of the ice she formed. A slide. Tsubasa tumbled onto the ice and slid down the steep slope to the helipad, where charred bits of helicopter were falling and scattering. Isabella and Misaki followed Tsubasa's path, but they were thrown off the slide with the extra weight. They both crashed onto the ground violently, though not fatally.
Tsubasa's eyes turned into saucers when he saw that they were about to roll off of the roof. Moving quickly, he jumped to his feet and sprinted. He stomped his foot on their shadows, and the two girls froze where they were—inches away from the edge of a tall building. Tsubasa grabbed their hands and let go of their shadows. Misaki yelped in pain. She had broken her arm when it broke her fall. Isabella scraped by with bruising since Misaki broke her fall.
The three of them heard another crash. Turning around, they saw that Mochu and the other boys had crashed onto the helipad in a whirlwind of fire. Although Tsubasa's arms were extremely sore and stinging from the cuts, he managed to find the strength to get Isabella on her feet. The girl had just saved his life. And Misaki's. She had earned his respect for life. He slung her arm over his shoulder and began to walk her to Mochu's crash site. Misaki followed meekly.
Natsume had managed to get up on his knees. He clutched his side. He had broken his ribs once again. But this time he had a possibly broken arm or dislocated joint to go with it. Mochu had landed much too harshly onto his shoulder, which had dislocated it completely. His shoulder had crashed directly into Ivan's collarbone, which was now most likely broken from the impact of hitting the ground and Mochu's fall. They all had burns from Natsume's attempt to slow down their fall by blasting fire beneath them, creating a rocket effect that did worked to an extent but left scars.
Natsume coughed and spit out blood. He groaned. "I don't know whether this is a failure or a success."
"We're living, right?" Misaki breathed.
"Barely," Ivan groaned, grasping his shoulder area. "We need to see Dr. Imai."
"See Doctor Imai," Mochu emphasized. "Avoid Hotaru Imai." He glanced at the helipad. "She won't be happy about the damages."
Tsubasa shivered. "I don't want to think about it." He glanced at the others. "We don't tell the girl Imai or her team until tomorrow, agreed?" There was a general agreement.
Isabella's voice was tiny. "How about Dr. Imai? Can we see him now?"
"That's right," Misaki said. "We've got to get this girl on a heart monitor. Stat."
. . .
Subaru Imai was a calm man. He needed to be calm, especially when patients began to get fussy over their injuries. But there was a limit to the calmness Subaru could show. Seeing the four alice students and two former alice students injured from a helicopter crash walk into his infirmary put him at the brink of panic.
But he needed to remain calm.
Subaru cleared his throat. "May I pose a question?"
Tsubasa mulled it over in his head. "Sure."
"What the bloody hell happened?"
"We'll explain later," Misaki said, flinching in pain at her arm. "Isabella needs help. And tell Hotaru that we came back from the mission, but we'll be in our rooms resting. She doesn't need to know about any of this…yet."
Subaru nodded. "Heart problems, right?" Subaru asked, gesturing to the limp Isabella with Tsubasa.
Misaki replied, "She needs a heart monitor."
Subaru Imai worked quickly. He was good at what he did. He called in some of his assistants to help him out. They set Isabella on a heart monitor and sedated her so that she could rest. Some others popped Mochu's and Natsume's dislocated joints back into place. Subaru focused on the bigger injuries first so that if he ran out of energy, at least he wouldn't have to worry about them. Misaki's arm was healed and put into a sling for rest.
Ivan's collarbone was another story entirely. It had damaged the muscle surrounding it. Subaru could only do so much. His arm was also put into a sling, but it was elevated as to not irritate the bone. Subaru went back and forth between the six of the patients, treating major injuries in intervals so as to not force the body to reject healing. He even got around to healing part of Isabella's heart.
As the hour passed, Subaru became well exhausted from the day's work. He was used to treating many people at a time, but not so many people with so many broken appendages from what seemed to be a pretty severe crash. By the time he had finished healing the major injuries, he was at his limit. All that was left to heal were some very minor burns.
"Oh my God."
Heads turned to see that Mikan was standing in front of the bloody mess created in the infirmary. She clutched the curtain that hid her. She looked tired, for she had just woken up from the sedatives Subaru had given her so that he could force her to rest after some tests he had run. Apparently, he had given too light of a dosage since that sedative was supposed to work for hours, not a fraction of one.
"What happened?" Mikan asked, shock written all over her face.
"I have yet to hear the explanation," Subaru said. "I am intrigued by this mishap."
It took Mikan a long time to wrap her brain around what had just happened. She was quite shocked. About everything. Who wouldn't be? Her hands were shaking when she reached down to touch Isabella's white blonde hair.
"She destroyed an entire camp," Mikan said. "Why would she do that? She knew this was going to happen."
"Don't stress, Mikan," Misaki warned. "It's bad for the baby."
Mikan didn't listen. "I just don't get why she would do something like that. Who was she trying to impress?"
Ivan sat next to Mikan and took her hand. After a while, he said, "I think it was us."
Mikan scrunched her eyebrows. "Us?"
"Isabella, I guess, feels like a weak link," Ivan said. "I think she's always felt that way."
"Well she's pretty damn strong," Mochu interrupted. "Not anyone can take out an entire camp like she did." Mochu glanced at Ivan. "Unless you get angry."
Ivan grinned. "Right. Unless I get angry."
Mikan glanced around. "You guys still have burns?"
Subaru crossed his arms over his chest. "That's right. You have burns." Subaru glanced at his watch. "It's getting late. You are welcome to stay here, since I have admitted you all to the infirmary, but there will be no racket. I will not hesitate to sedate you, is that understood?"
Tsubasa asked, "So…we are free to return to our rooms?"
"If you think you can take care of yourself for the night, then yes," Subaru said. "But I highly recommend staying here."
Tsubasa shrugged. "I couldn't stand being in here for the night."
"I think I agree with him there," Misaki said. "I feel better already. A couple of painkillers should get me through the night."
Mochu stretched. "Yup. I'm out of here." Mochu walked straight to the exit but stopped before stepping out. He looked back at his friends. "Did this all just happen?"
Tsubasa followed Mochu's path. He patted him on the back. "Yeah, man. It did."
One by one, the alices left the infirmary. Misaki simply wanted to get out. Ivan, on the other hand, could not stand to see Isabella in the state she was in then—so vulnerable. He decided it best to visit her in the morning. Subaru left to his room shortly afterwards, trusting Natsume to shut the door behind him if he decided to leave. Mikan, on the other hand, was not allowed to leave. She had a plastic wristband that admitted her to the infirmary until doctor's notice to leave.
Silence engulfed the infirmary. Mikan stood in front of her bed, ignoring Natsume's patronizing gaze. Natsume grew aggravated and groaned in frustration. He pulled the curtains to hide them once again.
"Are you planning on ignoring me forever?"
"It hasn't even been a day, Natsume," Mikan said.
Natsume, frustrated, sat down on Mikan's bed and ran his hands through his hair. "You're supposed to be resting, you know that?"
Mikan held her hand on her hip. "No. I really don't have a reason to be here. You, on the other hand, do."
Natsume was skeptic. "You're losing alices." He emphasized it as if to teach it to a little kid, which he might as well be doing. "That's more than a reason. It's an obligation."
"Well you just got into a helicopter crash!" Mikan blurted, shaking. Her true worries began to show. "You could have died! Losing alices means nothing if you compare it to death."
"Don't you think I know that?" Natsume asked. "The entire time I kept imagining what would have happened if you were there, too." He buried his head in his hands. "I would have lost you both."
Mikan's cold attitude melted instantly. All she wanted to do was run into Natsume's arms and have him hold her. Tell her it was going to be okay. Tell her that there was a reason that everything was happening to them. But all she could really do was stand there and watch him.
Mikan tried to build up the strength. She reached out and lifted his head. "I…" She sighed. "I know you said you don't want me to fight for you anymore, but does that mean I can't protect you?"
Natsume answered her with a kiss. Mikan returned it eagerly. Pulling back, Natsume said, "Protect me form what?"
Mikan shrugged, leaning into his embrace. "Harm's way."
"I'd rather you stay here," Natsume decided.
"Did you use your alice too much?" Mikan asked. She already knew the answer.
There was a silence. "I might have," Natsume said finally, after some thought.
"This war is killing everyone," Mikan stated. "Including us."
"We're alive, aren't we?"
Mikan frowned. "But injured." Mikan came up with an idea. "Hey, Natsume?"
"Hn?" he murmured.
"Can I heal your burns?"
"No," Natsume said instantly, letting her go.
Mikan felt hurt. "I want to help, Natsume. Allow me this. They're very minor, anyway."
"They'll heal on their own," Natsume justified.
"I want to help them heal," Mikan insisted.
Another long silence came about. "Okay then," Natsume said, giving in.
Mikan smiled, and Natsume, for the second time that day, stripped himself of a shirt. "To think that this you were covered in vomit." Natsume shivered. It was either from the thought of vomit or her light feathery touches. Mikan settled her hand on a burn that was on his chest. There was a faint glow, and the burn was gone. "See? That wasn't hard at all!" Mikan felt a small burden on her chest being lifted. Although she still felt the guilt from earlier in the day, she felt a little better doing something small like this.
Natsume rolled his eyes. "Whatever makes you happy. The rest can wait until the morning."
"You make me happy," Mikan admitted. "No matter how frustratingly irritating you can be."
Natsume simply lifted her up and settled her down on the bed. Neither one of them spoke a word. Natsume made himself space beside her on the bed. After a few kisses and choice words, Mikan was the first to fall asleep. Natsume stayed up nearly all night, thinking about how lucky he was that Mikan didn't go on that mission.
Because if she did, surely she would have died.
Whoo! That was long.
I know this may seem rushed (lol PUN!), but I wanted a fast pace for this chapter. I don't know if I achieved the "fast pace" I was looking for, or if I just made it look like I was trying to rush this chapter. And I realize that Mikan may have been annoying. And maybe I downplayed some things I should have emphasized. Thoughts?
I tried to show off everyone's talents in this chapter, by the way. Some got more spotlight than others, but the point is the same—every alice has a purpose! Mikan isn't the only one who can kick ass with alices! Mochu can fly. I want to fly. Feel the wind rush through my hair…okay that was bad. I'm going to stop now.
