JC: Mikan survived! A lot of you were pretty worried for Mikan back there. I don't have the heart to kill Mikan off, since she's my favorite character in Gakuen Alice. I've managed to finish this chapter quickly. Fujioka Takumi is going to make his appearance here again. There will be no Raito and Haruka here.
Before we begin, I would like to thank the following reviewers who have supported me. This fanfic became successful because of you guys. Thanks for the inspiration.
Reviewers:
Naina, enuphix, nissikisses, Mizuki, Liza, Natsumedestiny, niceladysakura, Caritate, kmc27, candyxgirl, truc.mi, il0veGA, heya-gurl, cutiebear14, ladalada, sHirO-kOi, KawaiiLinaKisses, lizeej, mica123, pApAw, kaye2bu, BlueNobody, Sakiru Yume, dominiqueanne, jazzflame, Irumi Kanzaki, melissa1995, Charmane, 95Elizabeth, 'miyuki-chan07', deynaz, halftherainbow7, laumiki, koko, sarkura, kyatoraina-chan, Alrisce, sakura-himeno, sakurahua2x, CuteGurlygal07, lasaky, crimsonfire3, prettycj, animeangel95, mangamanic1234, BiTtEr-SwEeT-cHeRrY, laumiki, Xin-No-Hikaru, flamehaze, Zero-Ryushiki, Kurukus, eli07yuu, lady kaname kuran, FrUiTyxLiCiOuS, katiesquilts, dethblist, Aminatsu032, oO0OoyummyflakesoO0Oo, NATSUM3, Junkiie, xXxraikimikoxXx, Sinshana, CarTonic, Aelita18, CuteGirlygal07, ichigo kimmie, guests, and loyal supporters.
Note: Did I miss anyone? There are so many and I got dizzy with all the times. (Sorry…)
Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice. I would never dare to steal it. This wonderful series belongs to Higuchi Tachibana.
Forgotten Memories
Chapter 20: The Flames of Shattered Memories
In the shadows of the elementary school dorm's staircase, Fujioka Takumi pulled out a pouch containing the remaining memory stones of Sakura Mikan. He opened the pouch and took out one crimson Alice stone about the size of small boy's palm. He pursed his lips at the sight of it. Among Mikan's memory stones, the red one was the biggest. From his experience, he could tell a person's most loved one with the stones. The bigger the memory stone, the more important that person is to you.
Putting the stones away, Takumi walked towards an open window and jumped down. With perfect balance, he landed easily on a tree branch. He scanned the premises first before he climbed down the tree. He still had the objective in mind, and that was to kidnap Mikan.
For the rest of the morning, he had been spying on unsuspecting guards and students of the academy. He had learned a lot. He knew his two members, Haruka and Raito, had escaped from their so-called prison and hid themselves somewhere in the school.
He heard a rustle in the trees that wasn't squirrel or chipmunk. He reached in for his gun in his trench coat, getting ready to shoot any suspicious character in his way. He heard a twig snap, and he whipped his head around and saw a glimpse of yellow beside a tree. The petite figure and the blonde hair—he can't be mistaken. It was Kazeno Chiaki.
Takumi sighed in relief. Composing himself, he leaned his back against the tree behind him. "Any luck in finding them, Kazeno?" he questioned.
Swallowing her anger at Takumi, she folded her arms and shook her head in dismay. She had to lie about Haruka and Raito. After all, she went to all the trouble of getting them out of the academy safe and unharmed. It was a good thing she found them in the Southern Forest—a place faraway from Takumi's previous location.
"Where are those two idiots?" Takumi grumbled, cracking his fists. He swore under his breath that he will murder the two once he gets his hands on them. They've caused too much trouble for him already.
"Forget about them," Chiaki said. She forced herself to stand firm in front of Takumi, despite the injuries and the wounds on her back. She managed to hide her cluttered self from her leader under the dark shade of the tree. "We can still do the mission without them."
"You're right," Takumi agreed, thrusting his hands into his pockets. He kicked at a stone, and it skipped towards the bushes. "You know the plan, Kazeno. Let's go." He scurried on forward, confident and willing. This time he had made sure that his plans would succeed unlike last time.
Of course she had to follow Takumi around. He'd be expecting good results from her. But she really didn't have much enthusiasm to follow him. Takumi had no idea that she was the one who foiled his plans. She couldn't tell him that. After all, she was only doing this in order to protect Mikan. It was a relief that the curse on Mikan has been lifted. However, not all of her memories were returned yet. Chiaki couldn't just go back to the organization without making sure that Mikan was completely fine.
Suddenly someone kicked her side, sending her flying to a tree. Chiaki struggled back to her feet. She threw her gaze at her leader. She was surprised, of course, to see her leader glaring fiercely at her with those cold lilac eyes.
Takumi, who was physically stronger than her, was already making his way towards her. He gripped her neck and pinned her hard against the tree. "I never knew you're such a good actress, Kazeno," he said, grinning evilly.
Chiaki let out a small shriek, kicking and trashing. "L-let me g-go!" she cried.
"My instincts had been right. I never should have trusted you." Takumi stared at her face keenly. He was choking her to death with his strong grip. He seemed to be ready to kill the blonde girl at any time.
She wondered when and how did Takumi find out about her hidden motives. She had been so secretive about it that not even Raito and Haruka knew. And yet her leader busted her. Since that was the case, Chiaki no longer had the reason to hold back. She activated her Alice and pushed Takumi back with her wind. Once the distance was set, Chiaki jumped up and hurled a gale of blades at the guy.
Takumi back flipped a couple of times just to avoid the blades. He yanked his gun from his coat and pointed it at Chiaki. "You were the most reliable one among my members," Takumi said. "You're an Elite member of the AAO and yet—"
"I have my reasons for doing this," Chiaki cut him off, retaining her stoic expression. "So deal with it!" She instantly summoned a hurricane to trap Takumi inside.
"Release me!" Takumi demanded.
"From now on, I won't take orders from you," Chiaki retorted.
Takumi wasn't the least bit intimidated by Chiaki's power. "Release me or else," he said in an eerie voice. He pulled out the pouch of stones and showed it to Chiaki. "I'll destroy Sakura Mikan's memories."
Chiaki's eyes grew wide in an instant. "You wouldn't dare!" There was no guarantee that Mikan will recover all her memories by herself. Mikan could either remember slowly or she won't remember at all. "Fujioka Takumi, how low can you get?" She narrowed her gaze on the leader.
"I was a bit impressed with you acting, Kazeno," Takumi said, juggling the pouch in his hand. "I would have never guessed your schemes. But thanks to that shadow manipulator, I was able to confirm your betrayal."
"W-What are you talking about?"
"Remember the time when we were about to attack the auditorium?" Takumi cupped his chin and smirked spitefully at her. "I ordered you to do reconnaissance work. Before you left the hotel, I saw you carrying curse-prevention control device."
Chiaki bit her lip. She thought she managed to sneak away quietly, but Takumi saw her with the device. She should have been more careful.
"And when I saw the shadow manipulator moving freely despite of the curse, my deduction about you was correct," Takumi said as he pulled out the red memory stone from the pouch. "You think you can outsmart me? Well, think again!"
Chiaki didn't budge. She was too exhausted from the pain and injuries. Her energy was only enough to keep her Alice running. The situation will definitely turn bad if she lowered down her Alice around Takumi.
The Mind Reaper laughed maniacally. "Did you know?" He held out the red stone for Chiaki to see. "This stone is the most important memory of Sakura Mikan," he explained.
"Don't destroy it!" she exclaimed, dropping to her knees.
"Then release me…"
It was a tough decision for her. If she would release Takumi, he will certainly shoot her to death. If she won't follow his order, then he will destroy the precious memory of Mikan. However, when she thought back about the promise she made, she knew she had to make sacrifices for Mikan. Before setting out on this mission, she vowed to protect Mikan—even if she dies trying.
"Time's a wasting," Takumi said, clenching the red stone tight.
Chiaki shut her eyes tight. Mikan was more important to her than her life. She looked up at Takumi and said, "All right…" With one snap of her finger the wind around Takumi disappeared. Chiaki was ready to face the consequences.
Placing pressure on the trigger, Takumi walked towards Chiaki. "You're such a fool," he told her. He pinned Chiaki to the ground with his foot. "This is what you get for betraying the organization." Takumi relentlessly started stomping on the blonde girl.
Chiaki managed to prevent herself from screaming. "Fujioka…" she grumbled, throwing the Mind Reaper a serious look.
"What's with that disgusting look?" Takumi said, obviously mocking the blonde. He hid the stone back in his pocket, grabbed Chiaki by the collar and pulled her up. "I'm going to give you a slow and painful death, Kazeno." He pointed the gun directly at her heart.
"T-To…" Chiaki grabbed his wrist and glared at him with furious emerald-blue eyes. "To hell with you!" she uttered, activating her Wind Alice. She summoned a razor wind to cut through Takumi's shoulder. With a deep wound like that, Takumi had no strength to hold up Chiaki. When she dropped butt first to the ground, she panted hard.
"You're going to pay for this, Kazeno!" Takumi exclaimed as he held his wounded shoulder. "I'll kill you right here and right now!" He aimed the gun at her.
Chiaki no longer had the energy to run away and use her Alice. This was the end for her. She simply closed her eyes as she waited for the bullet to kill her off completely. As she heard the gunshot, she was sure that she would be dead. But, for some reason, she was still breathing. She slowly opened her eyes, confused and wary, and saw a high school student standing in front of Takumi. "What the…" was the only thing she could mutter.
The student, who had red hair, peered behind her shoulders to look at the blonde. "It looks like I made it just in time," she said.
"Doppelganger—Harada Misaki," Chiaki muttered. She then noticed the gun lying on the ground. She guessed that Misaki must have kicked it away when Takumi was about to shoot. She was saved, and it was all thanks to Misaki.
Takumi took a step backward. "Another nuisance…" he said. He performed a defensive stance and tried to kick Misaki.
However, Misaki quickly dodged Takumi's attack and back flipped backwards. As she regained her composure, she charged towards him and punched his face. "That was just a warm up." She winked an eye at him, smiling confidently. "I won't go easy on you on my next move." She snapped her fingers, and instantly a group of clones surrounded Takumi. Without giving Takumi the chance to retaliate with words, Misaki and her clones assaulted Takumi with hard kicks and punches.
Takumi only managed to dodge and block some kicks and punches, but the rest hit him like a rock. It was really hard to fight with a wounded shoulder. He coped up quickly after he dodged an attack from a clone and kicked it away. He stepped on a clone's shoulder, jumped up and landed a few inches away from the group. He spun on his heels and revealed the red stone once again.
"And what's that gonna do?" Misaki said, cracking her fists. She was ready for more fighting. She had to admit that beating the guts out of Takumi was fun.
"Doppelganger, stop right there!" Chiaki told Misaki as she stood up. "That stone holds the most important memory of Mikan-san." She clutched her chest tightly.
"What?! The chibi's memories?"
"He has the power to steal and erase a person's memories," Chiaki continued with her explanation. "If he destroys that stone, then that memory will never return to Mikan-san."
"No way…"
Takumi smirked contentedly. "Maybe it'll be better if Sakura Mikan doesn't remember the person in this stone," he said. "The organization only needs her and her Alice. She'll be better off without memories at all." He clenched on the stone tightly until it started to crack.
Misaki and Chiaki both paled at the same time. "STOP!!" they screamed, but Takumi paid no heed to them. He continued destroying the stone without mercy. The most important memory of Mikan shouldn't be destroyed, the girls wailed in their minds. They had to do something to stop the Mind Reaper. At this point, Misaki spotted the gun on the ground. With haste, she picked up the gun and aimed it at Takumi.
"Try and stop me if you can, Doppelganger," Takumi said, his voice hard. He doesn't seem to be afraid of the gun or death at all.
"Drop that stone, bastard!" Misaki's hands were trembling. It was her first time to hold a gun and point it to a person. Sure, she was trained in hand-to-hand combat, but she was never trained to kill other people—even bad guys. She wanted to shoot Takumi to stop him from his foolish attempt, but her conscience was bothering her at the wrong time.
"Why won't you shoot?" Takumi was challenging her.
Misaki shut her eyes tight and put pressure on the trigger. "I guess I have no choice," she muttered. She took a deep breath before she made her move. "Hey, Kaze, think fast!" She swiftly lobbed the gun at Chiaki.
"WHAT?!" Takumi uttered, his eyes widening.
As if she was expecting it, Chiaki caught the gun, pointed it at Takumi and shot his arm. Handling a gun was nothing new to her. She wasn't particularly good at it, but she can still use it properly like a pro. She scored a direct hit. "This is the end for you, Fujioka," she said.
Takumi fell on his knees, dropping the stone on the ground, as he groaned in pain. Like Chiaki said, it was the end of him. He could no longer fight, not with his condition. He had failed his mission. He had failed his organization. There was always a first time in everything, he thought. His vision blurred when he looked up at the blonde girl who was still holding the gun. He frowned before he fell unconscious to the ground.
"The other stones are in his pockets," Chiaki said. "We should give it to Mikan-san right away."
Misaki picked up the red stone from the ground. "So this is the chibi's most important memory, huh?" She motioned over to Takumi and pulled out the pouch containing the remaining memory stones from his coat. "It's all here." She smiled at the thought of her favorite junior. With the stones, Mikan will surely be back to her old self again. Misaki couldn't help feel excited.
"Doppelganger," Chiaki called as she limped her way towards Misaki. "I want to thank you for saving me." Her face was a little flushed when she said that. Another thing about her was that she wasn't used to thanking other people who weren't close to her.
"No problem," Misaki replied, giggling.
"I'm glad that it's all over," Chiaki said, sighing in relief. She locked the gun and tucked it into her jacket for safe keeping. She knelt down before Takumi and checked his pulse. "He's still alive." Of course, Chiaki wasn't a cold-hearted person. Even though Takumi tortured her, she didn't want him to die. As she stood up, she suddenly heard cracking noises again.
Misaki heard it too. "What's that sound?" she asked.
Chiaki didn't like the sound of that. She glanced at the red stone in Misaki's hand and gasped at what she saw. "The stone…It's…" She pointed at it with a trembling finger. The red stone was still cracking. She shot the unconscious Takumi a glare, and through gritted teeth she said, "He just won't be give up."
"It's not stopping," Misaki said with a pang of fear. "At this rate, the stone will be destroyed. Hey, Kaze, we have to hurry and give this to Mikan-chan! Let's use your wind to fly over to the hospital!" Misaki couldn't keep her self-control intact anymore.
"I wish I can…" Chiaki lowered her head. "But I don't have much strength left to use my Alice." She dropped to her knees, letting out an exasperated breath. She won't be able to do anything—even if she'll force herself to use her Alice.
Misaki could see how weak and unstable Chiaki was. She felt sorry for the girl, knowing that Chiaki almost gave her life just to save Mikan's memories. Misaki knew that it was up to her to deliver the stones. "I'll go!" she said.
"Doppelganger, do your best," Chiaki said, smiling gently at the older student. "I'm sorry if I can't help you."
"That's okay. You've done enough and you deserve some rest." Misaki spun on her heels and hid the stones in her pockets. "Take care of yourself, okay?" Determined and ready, she dashed off towards the direction of the hospital.
Mikan was sleeping more peacefully by the time Natsume brought her to the hospital, and she hadn't vomited blood again. Her vital signs were normal, and her friends were satisfied that she wasn't about to die. They left her alone in the room, except for Natsume, Ruka and Narumi-sensei, and she was in a deep sleep, filled with complicated dreams. She couldn't tell where the dreams were leading her, but after a while, she was aware that a raven-haired boy was walking along at her side. He seemed at ease, and after a while, he turned toward her and smirked and said, "Mikan."
"You…" Mikan was aware of being able to talk to him in the dream, and she noticed how happy he calm he looked.
"Do you remember everything now, polka-dots?"
"Polka-dots?" She threw him a confused look. She didn't know why the boy was calling her by that name. It somehow irritated her. "I have a name," she said emphatically, pouting cutely.
The boy rolled his eyes away. "I'll call you whatever I want," he said nonchalantly. "And 'polka-dots' is a good name for a little girl like you."
Mikan's eyebrows twitched in annoyance. She glared at the arrogant raven-haired boy and said, "Shut up, ah—" She paused for a while, and much to her surprise, she didn't know what to call him. She felt like she knew him, but she can't remember his name. Her eyes softened as she placed her hand on her cheek. She looked at him, with a curious expression, as she tried to think about his name. "You—who are you?"
The boy was taken back at this. Surprised, he turned to look at the brunette. "You don't remember me?" he muttered. He sounded very firm.
"I-I… I think I know you, but I can't remember," she said miserably and she started to cry in her dream. "Why? Why can't I remember you?" He stood watching her for a long time, not sure what you say to her, as she cried. He put an arm around her, and she sobbed even more. "I'm afraid. It makes me too sad. I know it in my heart that you're someone special to me and yet…"
"Stop crying," he said, his expression unchanged. However, his heart was aching. The girl he treasured can't remember him. Still, he will be there for her no matter what. He promised to protect her as always.
"I can't," she sobbed. "I can't stop crying."
"Yes, you can, polka-dots," he insisted, and then there was a sound in her dream, like another voice talking to her. This one seemed to come from far away, and she recognized it. She opened her eyes to see who it was. It was Nogi Ruka.
"Sakura, are you all right?" the blonde boy asked.
"Ruka-pyon…"
"You look a little better now, Mikan-chan," Narumi-sensei said, looking pleased.
She sat up on the bed, thinking about the dream she had, feeling a bitter coldness inside her. "Who was that guy?" she silently whispered.
Narumi-sensei brought her five-pieces of sliced apples, and she ate decently. She was a bit weak, but she was happy. The pain and the curse inside her were gone. Her teacher was there, and also her good friend, Ruka. She knew that they were all worried sick for her.
"Mikan-chan, did you know that Hotaru-chan and the others already woke up?" Narumi-sensei told her.
And she smiled as soon as he said those words. "Really? That's good. My Alice helped them a lot!"
"They've gone back to sleep, but the doctors said that they'll be released tomorrow," Narumi said, adding more good news.
"Hotaru, Nobara-chan, Tsubasa-sempai… I'm so happy for them!" Mikan took one piece of apple and stuffed it into her mouth. After that, she jumped off the bed and hugged her teacher. Narumi leaned over and kissed her then, and she felt slightly ticklish about it.
"Sakura," Ruka said quietly. "Her smile…" He was always enlightened by her smile. He never got tired of admiring her smile. And seeing Mikan in her usual cheerful self was more than enough to ease his troubled thoughts.
Meanwhile, Natsume was watching the teacher and the adorable brunette laughing and tickling one another. Normally, he would try and burn Narumi to keep him away from Mikan. But he let this moment slide through, because he wanted Mikan to enjoy her time with her so-called father.
Just then, the door slammed wide-open. Standing at the doorway was the Doppelganger, Misaki, who was panting hard. "Mikan-chan…" she said, taking a step forward. She looked tired. She dangled the pouch in front of her, showing it to everyone. "Here are your Alice stones, chibi…"
"Are those the remaining memories of Mikan-chan?" Narumi looked at the red-head curiously. He had been wondering where the other stones were.
She nodded then, and seemed to be thinking deep. "Mikan-chan, you have to take the stones quick," she explained to her junior. She opened the pouch, spread out her other palm and dropped the stones there. There were three small stones—one was silver, the second one was green, and the third one was pink—and there was one big red stone. But the red one had cracks all over it. "Take this, chibi." Her eyes grew more serious. She had run a great distance, without stopping, just to give Mikan the stones.
"Where did you get those?" Narumi asked.
"I'll explain the details later!" Misaki uttered. She marched over to Mikan and placed the stones in the young girl's palms. "Now absorb it before it's too late."
"What do you mean by that, Misaki-sempai?" Mikan asked innocently.
There were those cracking sounds again, and this alarmed everybody, especially Misaki. The red-head girl was starting to panic a little. "Just do it!" she exclaimed.
"Um…okay…" Mikan said, placing the Alice stones against her chest. The three small stones were starting to glow, and after a while, the stones went inside Mikan. Memories of Hijiri Youichi, her old friends back at her hometown, and her memories of acquaintances, enemies flowed back into her like a river. She, especially, smiled at the memories of her cute little friend, You-chan. Because of this, she was excited to see the little kid again. Mikan's lips curved into a smile as tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Mikan-chan, you still have one more stone there," Misaki pointed out as she nibbled on her thumb. She was genuinely worried about the cracked red stone. "That red stone holds your most important memory."
Mikan gazed upon the red stone, which reminded her of someone. Instinctively, she turned to the raven-haired boy standing beside Ruka. This stone has the same color of his eyes. But something stuck her mind with discomfort. She looked at the stone again, hoping that it contained the memories of that particular guy. As soon as she placed a kiss on it, the stone cracked even more. "What's going on?"
"No, the stone!" Misaki uttered.
"It's going to break," Narumi-sensei added.
Mikan held it near her heart, saying a silent prayer, wishing it wouldn't break. She focused her energy on the stone, but she can't seem to absorb it. "Please… Please…" she begged. Once she looked at the stone again, it broke into pieces. Mikan was horrified by this. "No, this can't be…"
"It broke!" Misaki said, clenching her fists. "Now her memories will…"
The brunette's knees trembled and her head started to hurt. She screamed as she dropped on her knees. "Why is this happening?" she asked, holding her head.
"Sakura!" Ruka went over to her and held her shoulders. "Pull yourself together," he told her.
Natsume couldn't stand watching her. He took her by the hand, pulled her up, and embraced her tightly. His sudden action surprised the others in the room, not to mention Ruka who instantly got jealous at the scene of his best friend hugging the girl he loved. It was only after he gently pushed her away to look at her that she gave him a puzzled look.
"You…" Mikan said, touching his cheek. She stared into his deep crimson eyes and found it to be attractive. Her heart pounded fast and her cheeks burned in red. But one question popped in her head as she continued staring at the raven-haired flame-caster. "Who are you?"
To be continued…
JC: Mikan recovered all her memories, but she can't seem to remember Natsume anymore. The red stone contained Natsume's memories. However, it got broken. How will Mikan-chan remember him now? Well, Takumi's reign as ended, and I love how Chiaki and Misaki beat the crap out of him. Please review! No flaming!