Angel Arc : Part 2 of 5.

#25:
Late

Everything's just a little too wrong, and he's a little too late.

They meet a little too late.

He is no more than a child, the top student of Dangerous Ability Class that the underground organizations feared and hated. He's the Academy's finest, partly because of his alice and superior strength, but above all else it's because he's the most heartless of them all. He is quite perfect, or at least in the Academy's twisted little logic he is: He's thrown away his regard for human life a long time ago, and he no longer feels remorse for the lives that he takes.

And so he finds it incredibly ironic when he's asked to do something not quite like his usual task: to ensure the freedom of the underground's most precious possession, and bring her back to the Academy where she should be – alive.

For someone who has been trained to be the Academy's heartless god, this is probably the most ridiculous mission he's ever been given. No, of course he does not kill: His alice is not meant for killing. The human pheromone instead allows him to crush people's will and spirit, rendering them incapable of thinking and deciding for themselves – something that by itself is far worse than death.

He laughs at the administrators' faces, in both incredulity and mockery. So tell me, he says to them, slightly confused by the genuine concern that he makes out from these unfeeling administrators he's always known them to be. What makes the underground's most precious possession so precious?

Their response is simple: She's an alice, like yourself, and hers is one of the most dangerous alices in existence.

Narumi scoffs, with a shake of his head. Of course it's an alice, he says incredulously, with a hint of disappointment in his voice. That an alice like him cannot protect herself is unimaginable, especially for him, who uses his alice most proficiently. He's grown up to the thought that alices are very much capable, exactly because they're alices. They do not need rescuing, and most certainly not the rescuing of someone who cannot even save himself.

He rises from his seat, and walks to the door of the Dangerous Ability briefing room. They are leaving before midnight, and the mission needs to be accomplished in four hours. So what's her alice? he asks, just as he turns the knob to leave.

The light mirror to Death, they say, and for a moment or two he only looks at their faceless profile on the screen, the implications of their words rendering him wordless where he stands.

"The alice of Life."

x ~ x ~ x

She is only four years younger than he is. The underground took her from her mother when she was barely two months old, well aware of the alice that she possessed, and has ever since kept her closely guarded.

The underground educated her, or at least taught her the things that they wanted her to know. She was taught to speak well; a master of many languages, because the organization who selfishly keeps her from the rest of the world reaches the four corners of the earth.

The underground faction calls her the life giver, the very heart of their organization. She is their strength, the one they depended heavily on when they were ill or fatally wounded - the person whose ability defines the difference between Life and Death.

And yet, he thinks, his eyes falling on the frail little girl whose only sight of the world was limited to the gap on the stone walls of her prison tower, she is worse than dead.

As if feeling his gaze on her, the girl turns away from the makeshift of a window, and looks to where he is. There is a moment of silence as she stares at him, as though taking in the details of his face, a mixture of surprise and exhaustion reflected in her blue eyes. You came, she whispers, managing to surprise him by sounding like she has been expecting him.

She gives him a weak smile, and slowly her eyes close, just as she collapses in his arms.

x ~ x ~ x

"Hurry up!" he yells at their chauffeur, like he's never screamed before. "We have to get her to the Academy!" He looks down at the girl on his lap, feeling his heart shatter with each of her ragged, shallow gasps for air.

Beside him, another student of Dangerous Ability is already firing orders on his phone, telling the Academy to get ready for their arrival. "It's going to be all right, Narumi," he says, his perfect composure doing very little to calm his classmate down.

Narumi only clenches his jaw, holding the girl's hand close to his heart.

He's terrified it might be too late.

x ~ x ~ x

It is five days after he rescues her when she opens her eyes again.

He wakes up to find her playing with the curls of his long hair, smiling as if inwardly pleased to find him sleeping beside her bed. He blinks, pulling away with a slight frown. You're awake, he says, unable to keep himself from returning a slight, small smile when he sees her brilliant blue eyes staring at him cheerfully.

Since two hours ago, she says. The doctors wanted to wake you up when they came to check on me, but I told them to let you sleep. She smiles at him, the dark curls of her long hair fluttering against the morning breeze. You look exhausted.

He frowns, trying to conceal the sudden embarrassment that he feels. He wonders if she knows how he's been there the entire time, like an idiot, waiting for her to wake up. How do you feel? he asks instead, wondering if she knows about her delicate health. The administrators have warned about him about touching the matter if she ever wakes up, and he's more than willing to oblige.

Her smile widens, evidently appreciating the question. Never been better, she says. Will you show me around the Academy, then? she asks hopefully. I wish to see the rose garden they were telling me about.

He narrows his eyes thoughtfully, unsure about her request. He can see that the wounds from days before have completely healed, leaving her pale skin smooth and seamless, but she is still weak, and she needs all the rest that she can have. Shouldn't you wait until –

There is no waiting, she cuts off, sharply, making him pause. She looks carefully at him, a faint expression of desperation making its way to her pretty face, and for the first time he notices the slight tremble of her shoulders. I don't have much time left.

He freezes, and blinks, her words like a punch to his gut. So you know, he whispers, a sudden coldness creeping over his heart, the happiness from her waking up completely crushed in an instant. He doesn't know why; doesn't care how someone he's just met can mean so much to him. All he's aware of is the sudden hurting in his chest, far worse than any injury he's suffered, and the silent scream of guilt that keeps echoing in his ears.

"You're too late."

And yet, like a perfect contradiction, she smiles at him without blame, the light in her blue eyes as brilliant as it was back then, when they were under the broken pillars and he was almost giving up.

"Will you stay with me till the end, Narumi?"

late.

Difficult chapter to write, I tell you. Tell me what you think?

Hilaire
08.30.11