Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice or any of its characters. I just own my charas and the plot. Thank you~ Enjoy! :)

Still Nicky POV

[Last time on Spying, lying, and...magic?

Imagine my surprise when here I was, running my fastest and suddenly, I end up in headquarters awkwardly on top of creepy mask guy. At least, Ariel landed on him. I crash landed on top of her and thus was squashing her and Persona, who was under her. I quickly pushed myself off the ground and hurriedly helped Ariel up. Persona helped himself up before either of us could move and brushed himself off while glaring at us. I couldn't help but notice though, that when he glared at Ariel, a flash of interest sparked in his cold, calculating eyes, no doubt calculating on how to utilize the new ability of hers in his best interest. ]

Suddenly, an icy aura pervaded the room. I shivered as a chill literally ran down my spine. Bracing myself to fight, I whirled around only to come face to face with a ticked off Alice. Meanwhile, Ariel was busy apologizing to Persona. I could hear her frantic but totally unnecessary worrying in the background as Alice and I squared off in a staring contest. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! Sorry! I'm so sorry Mr. Persona! I didn't mean to do that! It just happened! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Seriously, Ariel can be such a ditz sometimes. Doesn't she know that that evil creep is just gonna use her? Shouldn't she be - oh, I don't know, A LITTLE BIT MORE AWARE?! Then, suddenly, as if she heard me, she shot me an instant message (via telepathy) that read:"Shut it. I know what I'm doing. Stop playing with Alice and help me out here." Grr. Just because she discovered a new power doesn't mean she should use it to read minds without permission! Huffing in annoyance, I grudgingly ripped my eyes away from Alice's. This game was getting to be a little boring anyway. I sighed as I covered my face. "Come on," I tell Alice, "Let's help her out." At first, she pouted at my letting her win, but she was soon distracted by a breathless Melody who had just arrived. Apparently, in her anger at our getting to HQ before her, Alice left Melody behind. I would feel sorry for her if her appearance wasn't followed by the entrance of four very familiar boys.

Finally succeeding in reassuring Ariel that he was fine, Persona coughed loudly to get our attention. Motioning to the boys standing in the doorway in all their badass glory, he said in that cold, high-pitched voice of his, "Ladies, your assigned partners. These boys will be your guides both in and out of school. They are here to ensure your wellbeing as per your parents' requests. Do not hesitate to go to them if you have any questions or problems as they are specifically assigned to you. If you have any questions, ask them after I have told you your partner." Persona then addressed the boys: "Now then, boys, introduce yourselves."

Trying to mask his surprise and excitement at reuniting with the girls, Yuuchiro acted cool as he "lazily" introduces himself. "The name's Yuuchiro. Hirotaka Yuuchiro. Call me Yuuchi if you like. My alice is ice. It's nice to meet you." Alice slightly shivers as he ends with directing a devilish smirk in her direction. Yukito didn't really want to talk just then because he was busy analyzing the girls' expressions, so he poked Yuuchiro in the back and uttered a simple "Hn." Not surprisingly, Yuuchiro knew exactly what Yukito meant. Years of working together had made understanding what each other wanted almost second nature, so knowing what Yukito wanted to convey was natural. Jerking his thumb at Yukito, Yuuchiro said in a false, cheery, high-pitched voice, "Hi!" But, before he could say any more, Yukito had already pinched his back and was beginning to twist his hand. This earned a surprised yelp from Yuuchiro. "Yeow! Hey! What'd you do that for?!" Yuuchiro demanded as he furiously turned to glare at him.

"Hn," was Yukito's reply,

Makoto took the chance to jump in. "Woah dude, you did just try to embarrass him you know. I'm surprised that seeing how annoyed he was already, he didn't try to murder you."

Before Yuuchiro could retort, Russell chimed in. "Yeah Yuuchi, what's with that voice? You know that's enough to send him on edge when he's in that mood. I mean, what's with:'Hi. My name is Amagusa Yukito, but my friends call me Yuki! I like books and animals and I think Yuuchiro is amazing! He's the awesomest person ever! Oh and by the way, my alices are transformation and teleportation!'"

Beside him, an ominous shadow appeared just as they all heard a loud snapping noise. Poor Russell had imitated Yuuchiro's tone without thinking, even interpreting what he was going to say, and accidentally riled Yukito enough to make him snap. His form started to morph. He switched from form to form, each more deadly than the last, in an attempt to settle in the most appropriate form to beat both Yuuchiro and Russell up. Fortunately for the now shivering duo, Persona barked at Yukito to either control his temper or leave the room. Knowing that on days like this he was most likely not be able to contain his anger, he chose to teleport back to his dorm room. The lucky duo, realizing that Persona just saved their lives, breathed out a sigh of relief.

Taking a deep breath, Makoto smiled cheerily, "Heya! My name is Makoto. Makoto Takamine. You can call me Mako for short. I have the cooking alice. My interest is inventing new foods. My hobbies include watching action movies, martial arts and playing games. Incidentally, I'm friends with Alex and Koko. I hear that you're related?" He directed his last question at a surprised Melody.

"Wha?! No! I mean yeah? Why? How'd you know? Did he tell you?"

Makoto nodded, "Yeah, why not? We're close friends."

Melody groaned and face palmed herself. "Ugh...That idiot! I told him not to say we're related. Geez! So embarrassing... Did he tell you anything else? Anyone else? Or does everyone know that we're related?"

"No? I think only two other people besides the people in this room know about your relationship."

Hearing this, Melody breathed a small sigh of relief before recomposing herself. "So, tell me, who are the other two who know?"

"Mochu and Kitsuneme. Why are you so concerned about this? I think the twins are cool. Everyone thinks so too. What's the problem?" Makoto asked, confused.

"No, no, nothing. It's nothing. Don't worry about it." Melody quickly assured him. This further raised the boys' curiosity about their relationship.

Seeing that the situation was getting way off track, she forcefully changed the topic. "An-anyways, don't you guys have to finish your introduction? Hurry up! I'm got a room to unpack!"

Quirking an eyebrow at her reaction, Makoto lifted his hand and gently nudged Russell forward. Taking the cue, Russell spoke in that deep, soothing voice of his. "Hi, my name is Russell Tan. I can read the hearts of animals! Don't worry, I won't read your hearts. That'd be impolite. Plus I don't think it'd work on you girls anyway. Oh! I don't think you know how old we are yet. I'm 13, and Yuuchi's 14. Yuki's 15, and Mako's, what, twelve?" He turned to Makoto to confirm his age. Getting Makoto's reaffirmation, he repeated his statement once more with confidence. "Twelve. And there you have it. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask either one of us~ We'll be glad to help. Really, we mean it. Or at least I know I do. Since we're also specials, you can come to me if you have any questions relating to that as well."

"Aww... Thank you." The girls chorused. Yuuchiro and Makoto, jealous of the girls' different treatment of Russell, simultaneously yelled,"Hey! No fair! How come he gets the nice treatment and we get the silent treatment/interrogated?!"

None of the girls deemed it necessary to reply. And so, they continued to ignore the two and fawn over Russell, just to annoy them. Feeling like the situation had somehow managed to get out of hand, Persona coughed loudly, successfully getting everyone's attention. "Ahem! Now that you've become acquainted to each other, I'll be assigning partners now. You will have to work together on missions,so I suggest you learn to understand your partners. That's all for instructions. Any questions before we begin?"

Ariel raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Melodia."

"Are we stuck with the same partners forever or does it change occasionally?"

"Good question. As it is your parents' wish that you learn to work well with others, your partners shall switch as often as I see fit. Now, no more questions."

"But what if we have other things to ask you in the future?"

"Yeah! What if we need to consult you about something later, Persona-nii-chan?" Nicky said in a provocative tone.

Persona sighed, he was definitely not cut out for babysitting. Why their royal highnesses designate him of all people to train their children he will never understand. Also, why'd said kids call him 'oniichan'? He's definitely not 'oniichan' material. Deciding to brush away these somewhat disturbing thoughts for now, Person answered Ariel's question.

"If, in the future, you require any help and no one can answer them, then, and only then, can you contact me. I trust you all know that your acceptance into the Dangerous ability class is to be kept a secret from your classmates. I trust that you will also take care not to reveal your true identities. Now, moving on. Hirotaka, your partner will be Miss Rosaria. Takamine, Miss Pixia. Tan, you're with Miss Adulus. Miss Melodia, you're with Amagusa. He should already know about this. Right, Amagusa-kun?" When Persona said that, everyone curiously looked around for Yukito.

Persona remained calm, "Amagusa-kun, in the future, I'd prefer it if you remained visible until the end." Without further prompting from Persona, Yukito reluctantly flickered into view.

"Wha? Yuki was here all along? Didn't he go back already? When'd he come back? Oh no! He heard everything~" Makoto said dramatically In a loud, I'm-so-not-surprised voice, clapping his hands on his cheeks and wriggling feverishly.

"Dude, stop faking it. You knew he was here the whole time." Nicky deadpanned, smacking him on the head.

"Ow! Why'd you do that?!"

"Cuz you were being disgusting."

"Ahem." Everyone ceased whatever it was they were doing and faced Persona. "Good. Now, ladies, the boys will escort you to your dorms. They are to act as your partners and personal bodyguards from now on so please don't hesitate to use keep in mind that school starts promptly at 8 o'clock a.m. tomorrow. You're all in Class 2B Middle School Division. The boys are in that class too so they will escort you to class. You shall meet me here at 7 o'clock a.m. tomorrow to go over the rest of your registration processes. Here is your welcome package and a map. You are dismissed."

"Right. Come on then." Makoto motioned for the crew to leave. Walking to the door and opening it, he turned back and waved goodbye to Persona."Bye Persona~" Then he slipped through it before Persona could react. The rest of the boys, including Yukito who had reappeared sometime during this whole commotion, trooped out quietly. With her hand resting on the doorknob, Nicky too turned around and bid Persona goodbye, except she did it in a way that shocked both Persona and her friends. She said, "Bye Persona-nii-chan~ See ya tomorrow~" With a carefree wave, she was gone, but not before she muttered "It's ok. He's a good person." to Ariel.

Ariel blushed. "Wha?"

The rest of the girls gave her a knowing look before they too bid Persona goodbye and left. Now it was just Ariel and Persona. Taking a deep breath, Ariel launched herself at Persona. He stood there, absolutely frozen, whiled she gave him a quick hug. Pulling away, she softly said, "Thank you for your help." Then, she resumed her cheerful smile. She speedily made her way towards the door where she gave him a big yelled, "See ya tomorrow Persona-nii-chan!"and slipped out the door, leaving behind a confused Persona.

A/N: Now then, what do you think is gonna happen next dear readers? Muahahahaha! I'm not gonna tell you~ (mainly cuz I don't know where this story is going yet) But anyways, since ideas and other inspiring/interesting stuff is always useful, minna~ please review or PM me about story ideas, stuff you want me to write, and anything constructive that can help me better my writing~ Also, some good ideas about what the characters could do/any cool adventures are good too. I do have something planned, and the GA gang will definitely be involved in this story, but the story is currently moving veeeery slowly because I am running out of INSPIRATION and MOTIVATION. So, please dear readers, be a dear and feed Torty the hungry inbox with your creative ideas? Thanks bunches! :)

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