Disclaimer: I do not, repeat do not, own Gakuen Alice… I wish I did though… Oh yeah, Demon and Angel are not Gakuen Alice characters; they're mine…
Summary: The academy's finally getting serious about dealing with Mikan's alices, and the Dangerous Ability Class is getting a new teacher in the bargain. What's going to happen next?
Chapter 12
The twelve-year-old nimbly jumped from one branch to the next. Her golden, sun-streaked hair tied back into a ponytail. Her face was hidden behind a mask with the slightest light-blue tint. The mask covered her forehead, nose, and cheeks, revealing only the area of her mouth down to her chin. But it severed another purpose other than hiding her identity. It's also for her training, a powerful control-device that dams a large percentage of her alice, inducing her expend more energy to use her alices effectively.
It was already 12:30 a.m., and she had just finished her tenth mission for the week. Her trainer allowed her to take missions after she'd mastered the wind alice. She's been taking approved missions that no one in the DA Class wanted. And at times, she even got first-pick before the missions are presented to the class.
She was about to jumped to the next branch when she sensed a projectile headed for her. Her body instinctively twisted to avoid being hit, and gracefully landed on the forest floor. Glancing at where the object came from, she saw the glint of a dozen more icicles headed for her. She expertly shredded most of them using her wind alice and destroyed the rest using her bare hands, then activated her nullifying alice for the new attacks that were aimed at her back. Black-hued icicles and white-flamed fireballs disintegrated as they hit the nullifying barrier she created.
She turned to the sound of clapping. Angel, her flame-colored hair tied back into a ponytail, was smiling and clapping her hand. "That was excellent, Mikan." She turned her head to the man beside her. "She did really well, didn't she?"
Demon just nodded and headed for the car. He waited for them by the vehicle and got in on the passenger side when they arrived. Angel slipped into the driver side to start the car.
Mikan entered the backseat, leaned back, and removed her mask. She glanced at her clothes. The dark coloring hid the blood spattered all over it, but the stench of iron permeated from the cloth. Dried blood tinted her hands and had seeped under her fingernails. She had to kill again tonight. The same cold, dark feeling from when she first ended someone's life coursed through her body yet again. The darkness festered and clawed in her, as if struggling to take over.
She cursed her weakness. She should be used to this by now.
"Quit letting those fucking notions run around your head, damn it," Demon said using a mind-reading alice to hear her thoughts. "Whether those people are good or bad, you ended their existence tonight. What you're feeling right now is normal. It makes you human. The time when you don't feel a thing when you kill someone, that's the time you should question your humanity." He shifted on his seat to gaze at Mikan. "Every bloody human being is made up of both light and darkness. The only difference is the balance between that light and darkness inside each of us, making us either a being of light, or of darkness." He turned to face forward again in his seat. "You're of light, Squirt. The darkness inside you might grow, but don't let it overtake your light. Don't lose yourself in it, or you'll lose your identity."
Demon seemed to reminisce about his dark past. He's one who's born with his darkness outweighing his light. Darkness is what he'd known since his early childhood. "If you're really desperate for some therapy, you can talk to your onee-chan. She'll most likely know how to help you cope. Since I'm of darkness, I don't have a damn fucking clue what you're feeling right now; I've never experienced it."
Mikan nodded. She might take up that offer if what she's feeling now doesn't subside. "When's my next mission, Onii-chan?" she asked.
"Tomorrow," was his only reply. He grabbed something from his pocket and lobbed it at her.
She reflexively caught it. "What's this?" She opened her hand and on her palm was a golden, encircled star.
Angel, who'd been driving quietly all this time, beamed at her through the rearview mirror. "We can't let our imoto-chan, and one of the academy's top agents, remain a single-star forever, now can we? Congratulations, Mikan. You're now promoted to special."
It was 1:00 a.m. when the car pulled up on the driveway. Angel's cellphone rang just as they entered the house. She took it out of her pocket and answered it. Her face grew graver as the call went on.
Perceiving that the call was important, Mikan waved at them, signaling that she was heading for bed. Demon and Angel both responded to her with only a silent nod.
Angel finished the call before turning to Demon. "That was the headmaster. Reports came in that she's healed enough to get her alice back. They want us to escort her back to the academy today." She raked a hand through her hair, messing it in her aggravation. "Damn it! She'd already spent almost two years of her life locked up in a prison cell in the academy. Can't they just leave her alone?!" she growled in frustration.
Demon pulled her into his arms to comfort her. He removed the strap securing her hair, sending it into a riot. "Don't worry. We're now here to make sure she won't suffer in the academy. This time, she'll be with her brother. Not in a prison cell," he said, trying to calm her down while affectionately combing through her soft, unruly hair with his fingers.
Angel sighed and nodded. "Yes, she'll be with her brother and make new friends." Her eyes assumed a fatal glaze, "Aoi's not going to be a pawn in a sick game this time."
Mikan was told about the news when she woke up. She still had to wake up at four for her training, even though she had a mission last night. Knowing that Aoi and Natsume will soon be together again in the academy, she went on with her training with a big smile. Her training had quickly progress from hitting sand, to breaking wood planks, to smashing rocks and boulders with her bare hands. Since Angel usually replenishes the boulders with her earth alice, she had an unlimited supply of boulders to smash on the cliffs.
Demon and Angel watched her start her jog with the wolves trailing behind her, before they left to fetch Aoi. They each took a separate transportation from the other – Angel took her Ferrari while Demon rode his Ducati – and headed for the address given to them.
Angel was the one who rang the door bell and waited by the door. Demon stood a distance behind her. People tend to try to slam the door on them when they first spot Demon on their doorstep. They've learned from experience to let Angel get seen first in most friendly engagements.
A sad-looking man opened the door, but the sad appearance quickly changed into a flabbergasted one when he came face-to-face with Angel. "A-Angel?"
Angel smiled. "Hello, cousin. Aren't you going to invite us in?"
The man snapped out of his stupor and peeked at the man looming behind Angel. "Come in you two." He led them to the living room. Angel sat down on the sofa, but Demon positioned himself by a window. Her cousin-by-marriage sat down adjacent to Angel but kept staring at the dark figure by the window.
"I know you're tall, Angel, but Demon looks like he's getting bigger every time I see him," he commented.
"That's because you knew both of us since we were… what… nine, ten," Angel chuckled then turned solemn. "How do you feel about Aoi going back to the academy? Where's Aoi now by the way?"
"She's the one who decided to go back to the academy," he said worriedly. "She said she wants to see Natsume and a friend again. She's upstairs." They heard a thud on the stairs. "That's probably her now," her cousin smiled.
"Otou-san, I need some help with…" Aoi stopped in her tracks and stared at their guest. "I'm sorry I didn't know that…"
"It's alright," Angel smiled at her and signaled Demon to help Aoi, so that she can privately talk with Aoi's father. "He'll help you with your things."
Aoi was clearly intimidated by Demon but led the way to her luggage.
Angel turned back to her cousin. "Are you sure about giving up both your children to the academy?"
"I actually don't know if it's the best decision. I know Aoi will be put in the Dangerous Ability Class, same as Natsume. I just want both of them to be safe. But they won't be safe if we try to keep running away from the academy, either," he looked Angel in the eye. "The academy sent the two of you, didn't they?"
Angel nodded. "Don't worry. They're my only cousin's children. They'll both be safe. I'll make sure of it." She grinned. "In fact, it's a godparent's duty to ensure her godchildren's well-being when their parents aren't around, isn't it?" She stood up and opened the front door for Demon, so that he can put Aoi's bags in her car. Aoi followed Demon out and was curiously looking over the slick-looking car and the powerful motorcycle parked by the sidewalk.
"I'll also make sure their letters, if any, get delivered to you." She was about to follow them out but turned back to her cousin-by-marriage. "Oh, have I told you the Dangerous Ability Class has a new adviser?" she grinned impishly at him, giving him a good idea who the new adviser is.
He stared at his two visitors with his daughter. Aoi was happy perched on Demon's motorcycle where he had placed her. Angel came up to them and asked Aoi where she wanted to ride. His daughter had a troubled look on her face. She evidently wanted to ride both. Angel solved the problem by proposing that Aoi ride with Demon on the motorcycle halfway and the other halfway with her in the car. They left with Aoi wearing a helmet and positioned contentedly in front of Demon on the bike. He turned to a picture of his wife and smiled. "Looks like our children might find happiness in that place after all, my dear," he turned back to look at the direction the car headed. "We clearly didn't make a mistake choosing Angel as both our children's godmother. That cousin of yours sure is a miracle-worker like you said. A genuine angel," he beamed, "with a bona fide demon to boot."
Aoi was quickly enrolled in the academy and given a one-star rank, since her alice hadn't fully recovered yet. She was a little disappointed though when she learned from Angel about Mikan's transfer, but was happy that she's getting Mikan's old room. She feels more connected with her Mikan nee-chan that way.
Natsume hurriedly burst into her room when he heard about her arrival. He found it a bit ironic that his sister was getting Mikan's old room. He'd been scaring the hell out of anyone who was designated to this room after Mikan left. The dormitory head had a problem with students pleading to be transferred to another room when assigned this "cursed" room.
"Onii-chan!" Aoi hugged him.
"Hey, let go, you're choking me," Natsume said teasingly but allowed her to hug him.
A discreet cough interrupted them. "Sorry to interrupt your reunion. But Demon's starting to get tried of playing bellboy."
Aoi apologized, and she and Natsume silently moved out of the way to let Demon through. Demon set down all her luggage by the bed and left.
"Just ask if you need anything, okay." Angel told the ten-year-old girl before leaving behind Demon.
"Climb to the top of that tree," Demon pointed to a tree with the height of a seven-story building, "then tell me what you see."
Mikan obediently jumped up the branches. With her training, it took her less than a minute to reach to top. She balanced on a branch and scanned the surrounding until something caught her eye. A sight that looked vaguely familiar to her.
"It's the academy," she uttered in wonder. From where she stood, she could see the Northern Gates of the academy. And beyond it was it Northern Woods. She could also see the roof of the high school building.
"Yes, it is." Demon said, standing on a branch on the other side of the tree.
His voice surprised Mikan. She hadn't even heard him climb up. She knows he hadn't used his alice, her stealing alice had been now honed to the extent that she can detect if someone uses an alice near her.
She broke out of her musing when Demon pointed to the academy. "Your next mission is to copy alices you judge practical to use in your future missions from everyone in the academy."
CHAPTER END
A/N: Most of you had guessed that it's Aoi correctly :). I know a lot of you had been asking when Mikan's coming back to study in the academy, but I think it's a little too early for her to see her friends yet. She still needs to experience and learn a few more things (and probably pick up a couple of bad habits along the way… mwahaha XD).
Woohoo! Another record-breaking number of reviews! I profoundly thank everyone who review and support this fanfic. And again, read and review. Explicitly NO FLAMES. CONSTRUCTIVE criticism and suggestions are, of course, allowed.