Jumpers Chapter 14: Rule Breakers, a maid sama! fanfic

Disclaimers: The author respects the genius of Hiro Fujiwara—mangaka of Kaichou-wa Maid-sama.

Synopsis: #4. Amidst the world of unearthed secrets lies the reality that the natural and supernatural coexist together. A fragile brethren, a time tripper, a past, present and future to change. AU. UsuiXAyuzawa.

-;-

Heiress

Is once again dedicated to:

Guileene and Coline Escalona

-;-

Life is short. Break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably and never regret anything that made you smile.

For Ael PandaBels who had the patience to edit The Perfect Crime due to its awful use of parsing, too obvious discrepancies, severe and aimless stratagem, incongruous intervals and very ill-chosen—and shitty—ending. Thank you, Panda.

Chapter 14: Rule Breaker

The interferer had finally opened her eyes. The equilibrium had been unbalanced once again. The Forces would move another time to turn the final spin of their Fates and reclaim the Retribution for unwisely bringing the departed back to living.

The Retribution is thy—

I jolted right out of my dream when I heard the loud sound of highly-strung metal motors echoing round my room. I was stupefied to find nothing and no one else with me thus; I slammed myself back to my sleeping position. But I couldn't find the will to sleep anymore. My head is all about the Retribution again, and how everything could change overnight and completely ruin everything I believed in.

My thoughts immediately flew to Takumi and it was a wonder—for me—how he was able to completely invade my system and control my whole being. Has it always been like this for both of us? Am I really that in love with him ever since before? This emotion is so… possessive and jealous and domineering I fear I'd already suffocate him. Everything about me revolves around him. I can't be like this forever—I can't be that clingy.

I altered my position and faced the floor-to-ceiling windows only to get another head start upon seeing Takumi lying next to me on my bed. I felt my stupid heart accelerated painfully I almost consider it as palpitation before I was reminded that he was just here last night—that he decided to stay. I was calmed the next moment and settled on to simply staring at his peacefully asleep face before reaching forward to touch his sharp jaw. He was so beautiful.

So, why? Why do we have to suffer such a twisted fate? Why is our destiny so… so distorted? Why is it so dark? When would shadows fade away? When would darkness turn to light?

Why did I have to die?

I froze at that single question that had me stiff inside and out. Now that I think about it… I haven't gotten the reason why I have to die. I don't even remember why I died—Takumi already told me how—but why? Why did I go as far as dying? Am I running away from something? Was I chasing something? Was someone chasing me? Was I chasing someone? Was I—

"Misaki." My eyes automatically refocused at the sound of Takumi's voice before I stared at him. He was already awake.

I tried to sound cheerful. "Good morning."

"It sure doesn't look good for you." He got my hand that was on his jaw and pressed it against his cool lips I find absolutely enticing. "What's the matter? You look like you're in deep thought?"

Why do you have to look so perfect even after sleep? "I was wondering how Mom would react once I told her that you won't be going anywhere."

He smirked at that although there was still uncertainty coloring his eyes. "I guess I have to prepare myself now for incurring her wrath. I'd need a bullet proof shield to protect you."

"She won't hurt you."

"I don't really care about my well being. I care about you." His eyes became solemn I was unable to avoid it. In fact, I was already falling deeper and deeper into the trap that was his eyes. And even if there was a possibility that everything could be just a form of deceit my brain was producing since I was confused, I couldn't take away my eyes from him.

He smiled that assuring smile again, before sitting up and pulling me with him. "Come on and let's prepare for school. You look like you already need some carbohydrates in you system—and some liquid, too."

The storm clouds looming over the city has something I feel uncomfortable about.

I stared at it from Mom's animal clinic and scrutinized it carefully since it absolutely looked awful on me. I haven't seen such storm clouds before—and their formation, it was weird. It looked off and something tells me it already serves as a bad omen. The weather news already reported the advent of a storm but somehow, I don't feel relieved. I feel distraught and the slightest noise startles me. And once again, those clouds seemed familiar to me—their construction, I mean. It's like I've seen them before.

Like this clouds had watched me before all these.

The last customer of the clinic finally exited Mom's office followed by Mom herself. She waved at the sight of me and led her patient to the exit before changing the sign of the clinic from Open to Close. She undoes her white coat and sat next to me wearing a tired expression.

She smiled again. "I thought you wouldn't have the time to spare for your silly Mom seeing that you're too preoccupied with thoughts about your boyfriend."

Ugh, I can't believe we're really having this topic. "Whoever you're talking about is absolutely not my boyfriend."—Not yet, in the least.

"You keep on telling that when it was so obvious how much you're in love with Usui-kun." She looked at nowhere in particular too with a resigned expression on her face. "Misaki, I was clear when I said that I don't like Takumi for you. His whole presence spells trouble for me. And he's a bit eccentric—and I don't like him."

I have to give it to her. She absolutely knows how to annoy me. "You already made your point very clear, Mom."

"But it seems like you weren't going to listen."

I sighed. Why, oh, why does she have to oppose our relationship—if there is any? I am already at the right age to decide on my own plus the fact that I would never regret this kind of thing. What is wrong with the symmetry of this freakin' world? "Mom, isn't it so obvious that I like him? And he likes me too, Mom. He's not going anywhere because of those reasons." God, she doesn't even know what Takumi is capable of doing just to keep me from danger's path.

"So, you're saying that you two are already in a relationship."

"We're not. He's not my boyfriend." How many times am I going to repeat it for her to be satisfied and not doubt me? "He doesn't want to engage in a serious relationship yet when he knows that… well, that you dislike him." Crap, I hope Takumi wouldn't get mad by that little lie. It's for his benefit anyway. Maybe, Mom would like him a lot if I threw in a few fabrications. And besides, there is no way I'd tell her that I had died and Takumi is currently in the process of protecting me and we're all living in a time space warp.

Now that would sound utterly ridiculous. Ha ha ha.

Not funny.

Mom seemed to have considered my words for a moment. "Oh, is that so? He's aware of that?"

"Yes." That wasn't a lie. And in fact, it looked as if he had known that fact before Mom could even inform me about it. "He was well aware of that. He was disheartened of course, but he plans to get you to trust him again."

"Oh," was the only thing she was able to say before she looked towards another direction. "—You told him."

"No. He was pretty much of a good guesser. And what can I do? I don't like lying so I told him that he guessed correctly. He seemed really confused at first, until he told me he'd try to get closer to you and gain your trust. He even apologized for what he has done—although we're both certain that he had not done anything offensive against you."

A beautiful blush crept up her cheeks that I nearly laughed. Really, Mom is absolutely silly. "I don't really dislike him. I just find him not suitable for you. I thought you don't like boys with blond hair."

I could only shrugged. "Well, I guess my standards have been altered. I really like Takumi, Mom. He's… he's different."—He saved me. "He's everything I could ever want. I… I really, really like him."

"When you say it like that it looked as if you don't just like him. You're in love with him, weren't you?"

"What—no! This and that are different matters."

"Doesn't look that way to me, dear." I pouted since our topic is beginning to get a bit personal. "You're already in love with him."

"I'm not that compulsive, Mother."

She was about to speak again when thunder sliced the skies apart, nearly making both of us jumped out of extreme surprised. Heavy rain began to fall to the dry ground followed by electricity failure. I let out a startled shriek since I wasn't really a fan of blackouts. Swiftly, I clutch onto Mom's arms—only to realized that I'm already a big girl now and I can't let her think that I'm still afraid of the dark. I removed my tight grip off her and swiftly stood.

"I better get home now, Mom. Suzuna will be back home in a few minutes."

"Yes. Go ahead. I still have a few things to arrange here in the clinic before I head back. Do you want to use the car?"

"No, Mom, you know I can't drive properly." I bid her farewell and put on my coat and hoodie before charging out of the clinic and into the rain. Since I've brought my bike with me, there is no way I could simply leave it behind. I rode on it and charge onto the heavy rain, allowing the huge raindrops to soak me from head to toe. I reached the old driveway in no time and abandoned my bike by the front yard and charges inside the house.

"Suzuna!" I called out loudly. "Hey, I'm back already. Are you home now?"

No response. Weird, maybe, she hasn't returned yet. Guess I hurried here for nothing. I shrugged out of my drench coat and hurried upstairs to quickly dry myself when thunder threatened the skies again with its high-bolted rods. I froze on my movements and stared at the open windows where the cold wind enters. Even if I was shivering due to the intense cold, I still had the nerve to walked towards the open windows and looked over the dangerous horizon that was our front yard.

I was on that position when thunder strikes again and it startled me to see a crouching figure by the end of the hallway on my peripheral view. Dumbfounded, I quickly spun around to check out if there really was a figure standing by the hallway and was confused to find none. Were my eyes playing tricks on me?

Misaki…

The faint whisper made me look around again because now, I am certain someone really called out to me. In spite of the cold, I made my way around the dark house, searching if someone was here with me—someone that might have a connection with the future that led all of us into living in the past—only to be welcomed by nothing but darkness.

Darkness…

Darkness… why is it so familiar? Why does it felt like I've seen this kind of darkness before? What are these kinds of memories? Why do they seem more vivid than the memories I possessed now?

Darkness… darkness… darkness—

Crash!

Alarmed, I spun around to where I was previously standing only to see that the vase near the open windows had fallen down the floor and got smashed into huge and small pieces. I rushed towards it, carefully picking up the huge and safe parts when one piece cut my middle finger.

Instantly, I dropped everything I was holding with the hand that had been cut.

"Takumi… no. Takumi… Takumi… wake up."

The taboo is something that was called a taboo because it was vetoed. A force and a tripper couldn't be together because they are an existence banned. Every action has a reaction received. Everything done has a price. Every wish needs to be granted, but Retribution must be paid to keep the symmetry of the world balanced. Every thing comes with a price—a price that should be paid no matter what the cost may be.

And the Retribution is thy—

"You wanted to be human, am I getting this right so far?"

"Yes, like normal people—you know, so we could be together properly."

"But you weren't immortal. You were only presented the element of Longevity. That wasn't considered as immortality. There is no such thing as forever, but only life after death."

"So, you already have an idea now of what awaits us in the future."

"No, not exactly. But let's leave it to Fate itself. The future is something that we couldn't control. You already know this saying: everything happens for a reason. But when you willed something to happen that is not planned by Fate, then, it comes with a price instead."

"Then, what happens next after this? I'm not immortal; you possessed a longer life than I do—so, what about us?"

"Let's not worry about that for now. Let's just enjoy the present while it lasts."

The headache began to take its toll, my surrounding started to swirl around as if I was spinning. The darkness started to move utterly slow, the thunder sliced the skies apart, the rain became heavier, becoming an even more oppressing situation. The aura around the house became subjugating. There was too much heaviness. There was storm. There was the familiar storm clouds, the recognizable darkness, the oppressing air… the fragment of a past… the strings that ties the world of illusion to the world of reality.

There was the truth.

"You… wanted to be human, am I getting this right so far?"

"…Yes."

…

"You wanted to be human."

"Yes, like normal people."

…

"…Human."

"…Normal people."

…

"…You weren't immortal…"

"…I'm not an immortal; you possessed a longer life than I do…"

…

"—Weren't immortal…"

"—Possessed a longer life than I do…"

…

"—So, what about us?"

"Let's just enjoy the present while it still lasts."

Another loud sound of thunder echoed around the deserted hallway of the mansion. I stand; dropping everything I was holding and saw a vague reflection of Takumi from the mirror before me.

Realization struck me: I wasn't human.

Then, if I'm not a human… what am I?

Time: Unknown

Date: Unknown

Place: Unspecified

I was the light. I was also called Force. I was called as Equilibrium… the Balance… the Symmetry… the Unknown… the Mystery… Enigma… Arcane… the Conundrum… the Paradox… the Insignia… the One.

I was considered as one who keeps the balance of the world—keeping the known from knowing the unknown. I've got control of the mind. Because the mind is something that only recognizes the worldly things. Those that serves as incomprehensible mysteries, the mind gets rid of it. They serve as mysteries that should never be allowed inside the mind of a mortal. The brain doesn't have the ability to digest them. They were twisted, illogical facts that immediately needs disposal. In fact, it was an automatic process: when the brain witnesses something out-of-this-world, it enters the Anxiety course and very slowly ejects out the situation witnessed so the person who perceived it would forget. It creates another illusion and since it was something easier to dissect, it would become the logic that the brain would process.

That process is called balancing, because in order for both worlds to co-exist together in harmony, the unknown should never be known by the known. It is the only way to keep everything in symmetry. It is the only way for both worlds—no matter what kind they belong to—to be in peace. Of course, since the unknown is well aware of the existence of the known, there were rules set for them that they are required to abide.

And that law is the Law of Interference, wherein the interferer is only allowed to interfere once. Too much unnecessary interfering of a situation would immediately require a price—also called the Retribution—not only to the one being interfered but also to the interferer. And sometimes, depending on the wrong misdeed, the price is something no one could easily pay for. And once a member of the known had found out things regarding the unknown, of course, there comes another price too since the symmetry of the worlds became unbalanced again.

And that price is regarded and considered as Death—wherein the cause of the sudden asymmetry would be immediately expunged from the face of the world. Both members of each world could cheat Death, but the repercussions exceed the Retribution, itself… and chaos would begin.

In our world, there was nothing but chaos… mayhem… pandemonium. Everyone exists for war. And the way of life is much tougher than anybody else's.

I was the source of light and balanced… until I met him… that my supposedly pure world was tainted by own selfish desires and asymmetry. I never regarded him as an evil and dark person—people had their own darkness. Maybe, I had one too, but I was too dutiful to pay attention to what I truly wanted. And for an existence like me, duty means doing the things your heart may well regret.

I was given the present of being able to live for a long time. I suffered the painful process of Death, and was revived again in order to continue the duty entrusted only to me. I bore the world on my shoulder—keeping the much-supervised balance night and day. I was all alone in the darkness. I was a fabled character. It was an obligation to the world—not a punishment. It was a life long duty entrusted only to me.

Until he came and gave light—no matter how bright my place is—in my world.

He was a breath of fresh air, my personal sun… my Light. Because of him, I learned to loosen up. I was the cold snow people constantly regarded me as. I was the herald of Death. I was the one to contact the Reaper when someone is causing irregularity to the balance of the world. I deliver them personally to their deaths—both known and the unknown. I was hated; I was loathed… but not him.

In some way, I regarded him as someone special. Whereas my life is nothing but twisted, he became my salvation. The unending winter became a warm and beautiful and memorable spring of my life. For a moment in my life, I was able to set aside my duty and forget the justifiable things I was taught to only do. I was able to become someone worthy of love.

I fell in love with another member of the unknown—a time tripper.

But it was vetoed.

I was in a rank higher than him. It was vetoed. Only people of the same level are allowed to mate together. The other Forces prohibited our union. It was never allowed. It was labeled as taboo. It is an offense no one should ever commit since the ramifications and stakes are way to high to be properly paid even if one uses his entire lifetime.

But Love is something that could never be contained nor be bounded by duty. In the world—and on other worlds that possibly exists too—Love is the most powerful emotion no other emotions could defeat. And whereas two hearts are controlled, all the more their flames will be ignited to an even greater degree.

No one was able to stop us… until Love and Fate and Duty collided against one another that immediately set the wheels of Destiny spinning: the future is about to get altered.

The stimulation for revolt began.

"You wanted to be… human, am I getting this right so far?"

"Yes, like normal people—you know, so we could be together properly."

"But you weren't immortal. You were only presented the element of Longevity. That wasn't considered as immortality. There is no such thing as forever, but only life after death."

"So, you already have an idea now of what awaits us in the future."

"Then, what happens next after this? I'm not immortal; you possessed a longer life than I do—so, what about us?"

"Let's not worry about that for now. Let's just enjoy the present while it lasts."

"And besides, I also wanted to take that burden away from you. You've been dying and being revived to continue that kind of work—don't you think it's quite unfair for your part? It is an endless cycle. Don't you get tired of doing the same thing again and again? Haven't you considered quitting?"

"I don't think quitting is an option for an existence such as I. I am already bounded by this kind of obligation. My existence… without my existence… the world would become such a chaotic place, and I don't want something like that."

"Why do you have to be so generous?"

"Well, you already know that saying: it runs in the blood."

"You never even had a family, how could you say it runs in the blood?"

"Meeting you is enough of a gift to not think that the world I'm living in is unfair. That's why I'm really happy that we could be together even if our union is vetoed. I realized that we don't need Union to prove our affections for one another. Being with you is already enough for me—I wouldn't wish for anything in this world anymore."

"Well, I've got one wish."

"And what is that?"

"That we could change this world by becoming humans."

Neither of us was aware of the repercussions of that one wish. There were corollaries with only the mention of one word—one wish. We didn't know that it would set things aflame. And I, for one, had completely forgotten about the complications of carelessly uttering a wish coming from deep within a heart. No wonder it was vetoed. No wonder it was forbidden to make a wish, because once one does so, every thing else would be altered. The room for change would be opened and the gates leading to altercation would set the wheels of change for another amendment—a revolution that would mark the world forever.

And then, before I could even realize what's happening, we became the cause for disproportionateness. The one who used to speak with Death itself to claim lives became the one who was now hunted and searched. They became fugitives. They became renegades. They hid from the rest of the world in order to escape the punishment that awaits them.

We ran and ran. We hid ourselves during daytime. There was nowhere else to go but a place for seclusion. Even so, the luxuries I've felt when I still carry the world was nothing compared to how it felt running away with Usui Takumi. It was an experienced of a lifetime. It was the moment I considered as the most precious treasure I could ever keep with me even in Death. We were running endlessly towards a place only the two of us would find peace. Indeed, it was an absolute treasure. It was absolute peace no matter what the situation is. It was perfect. It was beautiful.

But all things are bound to end when Death came and claimed one of us… and that person will never be me… because it was Usui Takumi that died.

"Do you recall now… the real distinction of illusion from reality?"

My head pounded even more as the oppressing atmosphere inside the mansion weigh down on me. I fell down on my knees, the ache of the past scarring me for an even deeper wound. There was the sudden rush of cold water inside my head as if I was outside and rain is pouring down on me. It was an uncomfortable feeling. It wasn't pleasurable at all. It was painful.

Are you now aware of the consequences of possessing selfishness and darkness and abandonment of your duties?

It felt as if something was grinding my head from the inside. Those memories… whose memories are those? To whom do they belong? And what kind of recollections are those… why did they suddenly showed themselves on me? Why? What? How? Who?

Who am I?

Who you are, you asked? Isn't the answer already too obvious? You could already see through the veil you created to hide the truth from plain sight. You already know the answer.

What… what am I?

What are you? What a foolish question for someone who was able to control the balance of the worlds. Did you really think that by denying the truth, you'd be able to get past the predicament you're in? Did you really think that this kind of illusion world you've created would aid you escape your misconducts?

The sharp pain slowly dissipated and slowly, I was able to stand on my feet. The clouds were still opaque and familiar… because they were the same storm clouds that took away the one person whom I considered as everything I cared about. I stared into the mirror and noticed that Takumi's reflection was nowhere to be found. It was nothing but an illusion… like this world. Everything was trickery—another means to conceal pain and disapproval.

I created this world. I created this mess because Usui Takumi already died right before my eyes. I altered my memories to escape everything. I revived Usui Takumi and made an illusion world where both of us could live together as normal human beings.

I am Ayuzawa Misaki—one of the invisible Forces of the world.

"Takumi, I love you. We'd be together for all eternity, wouldn't we?"

"There is nothing else in this world that I would want but you."

"No… no! No, don't take him away! He's mine! Don't kill him!"

"Misaki… I love you. We'd be together for all eternity, wouldn't we?"

"There is nothing else in this world that I would want but you."

Those weren't what the Reaper was supposed to say. It was all-wrong. Once again, it was another part of the trickery.

The true cause of the sudden discrepancy of the world had finally opened her eyes. The equilibrium had been disproportioned once again. The Forces would move another time to turn the final spin of their Fates and claim the Retribution for unwisely altering the time and spin of the world

"The Retribution… is thy life."

Heavy siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh. :D. At last, another chapter done. Sorry if it's a bit short. My brain is currently suffering from a disease that seemed non-existent to this world. I must be absorbing too much from the world of Heiress or maybe, I've witnessed something beyond normality that my brain is beginning to eject the sight of the unknown. Anyway, I hope you like my update as well as the sudden twists in my story. If you have questions regarding the story, don't hesitate to ask. Do PM me and I'd answer all of your questions.

I haven't updated the story for quite a long time now so I've forgotten important parts of the storyline. But thank God I was able to remember them when I found the original plot of this story hidden under a pile of trash inside my boxes of personal and manually written stories.

So yeah, I hope you'd like it.

By the way, the reaction about Unforgotten is something I didn't quite expected. I didn't know it would be well received. The Favorites and Follows and Reviews and PMs absolutely made my day. At first I was worried about posting it in FFN. I fear that the theme itself was nonsensical and wouldn't make any sense to the readers. I didn't know you'd all love it.

Thank you. Words will never be enough to express my gratitude.

But the end is quite near, huh?

Anyway, I'll see ya all in Bias.