Disclaimer: Not mine.
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Narumi's now torn between two choices as he repeatedly glanced at the back of the class. Two of his students were sleeping soundly. He could be a responsible teacher and scolded them. But then again, those two students were.. he sighed. He then glanced around his class. The whole class wasn't concentrating on the lesson. Even he himself was getting distracted from teaching today.
Both Jun Kouhei and Mikan Sakura were fast asleep in their seats. Well, that's not really something weird to fuss about. Mikan Sakura, no, Ellys Emerys always sleeps in the class. So it's pretty much normal. But what really got the students eyes boggled was, Jun Kouhei was cuddling her in his arms, while both of them asleep. Mikan had her back leaning on Jun's torso with his arm wrapped around her waist. She's even clutching on his arm and his head was against hers. It was quite a sight.
Kazuki Akio, even without looking and even if he's not the main focus, he could sense the stares. He was sitting next to the two, of course he would feel it, because he's also in the whole picture—even if he didn't wish to. The two were deep in slumber, only him was conscious enough of the stares and honestly, it's quite annoying. They kept glancing back and forth and whispering. He thought of napping too but his brain was already conscious of the eyes looking so he ended up reading a comic book. But that too, didn't help him to ignore the constant stares. He was fully aware of everything in the class.
Kazuki cleared his throat to get Narumi's attention. "Sensei, do you want me to wake them up?" He asked from his seat from the back of the class.
Narumi didn't really expect Mikan would be in class for he knew she's supposed to be in a recovering state. He did not fail to notice that she wasn't wearing any controllers. After what happened last week with her alice suddenly went out blast, he was rather flustered of what to do as he turned around to face the class. "Do you want to, Akio?"
Kazuki shrugged. "Not in particular." But then his eyes turned into a glare. "But it seems to distract everybody else in the class." His voice turned threatening. Ever since the incident where he mentally tortured a classmate during their summer class trip, people had been very cautious around him, trying not to get on his bad side for fear they would ended up mentally tortured like the guy who was at that time stupid enough to talk back during the disruption of Mikan's alice outburst.
Everyone averted their eyes from his glare then made a big commotion about facing the board. Narumi gulped. He forced himself to plaster a big smile on while saying, "Minna-san, please pay attention to the board. Unlike your three classmates at the back, you guys haven't finish studying Shakespeare so I suggest you guys paying attention to the board." Narumi too, he tried to act normal. Supposed he should turn a blind eye. After all, Mikan was in recovering state.
Kazuki silently sighed as he felt the eyes gone. Now he could get some peace. He turned to look at the two sleeping beside them and automatically, his vein twitched in irritation. He was really annoyed with the stares and had to force himself to do something about it because he couldn't stand it, but the two, they could still sleep like without a care in the world. He mentally sighed. Mikan's slowly recovering, that he felt glad about to see. But looking at Jun, he frowned. Even in his sleep his best friend looked so lethargic despite his effort in trying to appear better.
Just then, something odd happened. Just when Narumi got his students' attention back to the front and continued teaching, Kazuki felt his skin prickled as his arms blossoming with goose bumps. He furrowed his brows and closing his comic book, he looked around. Nobody else seemed to notice it. Even Narumi wasn't fully aware of it. The air felt a bit heavier but somehow it felt strangely familiar. He thought of waking up Mikan and Jun but when he turned around, Mikan was already sitting up straight with a frown etched crystal clear on her face. "You don't have controllers on, Mikan," he heard Jun reminded her. "She's not here for any harm so please refrain from using your alice."
Mikan gave him a dismissal wave and stood up after snatching Kazuki's comic book. Kazuki watched her climbed the table and brazenly stood on top of it. He didn't argue. He just stood there with his chin on his palm, watching from the sideline, like he always did. He won't take part in this unless he felt like he needed to and now he felt like he needed not to. Plus, he liked watching the two of them bicker with each other. It humored him sometimes.
"I can sense you!" she threw the comic book straight on towards the front. It went passed Narumi—shocking him in the process—like a bullet. Narumi froze when he felt some breeze passed by. He slowly turned his head and his eyes bulged when he found the piece of material diagonally pinned on the blackboard just a few inches beside his head. A comic book, he realized. How can a comic book be so deathly? He thought it was a flying dagger! Can a comic book be so sharp for it to get stuck like this on the wall? No, it's not about the sharpness, it's about the strength of the person who threw it.
Narumi turned around and immediately he saw Mikan standing on her desk at the back of the class. The whole class was now looking at her too. She had her arms crossed on her chest. He pulled the comic book off from the blackboard. He furrowed his brows. "Uhmm Mikan, what—?"
Ignoring him, Mikan picked up two pens from the next desk. "Stop using your Invisibility Alice and come out already," Mikan spoke with an irritation look portrayed on her face. The whole class was now wondering whom she spoke to exactly. She seemed to be staring at something at the front of the class but it didn't seem like she was talking to Narumi-sensei. Even Narumi was looking ever so puzzled right now.
She held up a pen and swinging her arm, she threw it at the class front door. "And next time, don't bring your pets together with you." Another one went flying towards the back door of the class. The class could hear the almost inaudible sound of barking before a doglike figure slowly materialize itself at each door. Gasps filled the entire class when they realized what it was. A direwolf was sitting on its back legs at the front door while another one had its head on its legs, casually laying near the back door. Despite being a direwolf of unusual size, they were cutely wagging their tails, in contrast to the sharp teeth they were baring right now as they looked around the class.
"Ara ara," a feminine voice spoke. "I see your senses works fine even without using your alice."
Narumi turned around to where the voice was and his eyes bulged out as he staggered back a step. A hooded figure was standing beside him in a very close distance. He didn't feel her presence at all just now! She took off her hood, revealing a feminine small round face with brown eyes and pixie cut brunette tresses. "Ah, Narumi, hishashiburi ne." Her smile grew wider after she saw him. "Sorry for disturbing your class." Narumi was a head taller than her so she ended up tilting her head up to look at him. "But it makes things easier when it's your class." Because Narumi is not a stranger and they knew each other.
The class turned into a silence. They sat still and eyes, looking at the said person ever so curious, wondering who she was and where did she just come from. Narumi, on the other hand, his expression suddenly changed. Straightened himself up, his face turned serious. He looked at her with a frown. "How did you get pass the academy barrier?" Even if the woman was his respected senior back in the academy days whom he had not met for years for she suddenly disappeared out of trace, rules are still rules. With her actions right now, she's considered a criminal for breaking in.
She chuckled. "Nothing can stop me from entering." Narumi felt tense looking at her crooked smile she's giving him now. "The barrier is as weak as the person who made it so I just break it down a little."
Break it down a little? Narumi doubted it. He remembered that the principal himself supervise the barrier so it definitely won't be a weak one. It's just her being too strong. After all, she was known for having top notch alices. He bet the academy alarm would go off much later. Most likely after she went back already. Even if she managed to break in, it would take awhile for the security to clock her presence inside the academy. He gave her a very serious look. "You're scaring the kids."
Yuka scoffed. "Nonsense. I'm not some sort of criminal. I don't look like one." She motioned for the whole class. "And besides, they aren't kids. They're big enough to be called young adults."
Narumi gave her another look.
She rolled her eyes. "Okay, I broke in so I guess that did make me a criminal but I'm just here to pay my daughter a visit."
Mikan? Narumi looked at Mikan and it didn't seem like she knew her mother was coming as well. On contrast, she didn't like her mother coming at all for she was frowning still, while looking at her mother with both her arms crossed over her chest.
"I come here to bring her an early Christmas present." She said with a very wide grin as she clasped her hands together excitedly. She turned to look at Mikan who was now raising her brows questioningly at the mention of Christmas present. It's months to come so why is she bringing a present now? More importantly, it's weirder that she even wanted to give her one. She never did before this.
"I believe his name is Satoshi Sugahara." Mikan looked questioningly at her mother. She didn't understand what she's saying right now or whom she's referring to. "I came across him when he was buying an Ice Americano at Starbucks. This lad isn't very smart, he was travelling alone at that time," the corner of Yuka's lips curved up viciously, "Poor him for doing so but it was fun playing with him." Yuka wiggled her forefinger.
Just then the whole class was presented with a body suddenly appearing beside her out of nowhere from the thin air, hanging just above the ground. He was fully conscious for his eyes were wide open but they wavered in fear. His feet were dangling mid air. Looks like his lips and limbs were locked because he seemed unable to move despite floating on air. He looked beaten up too, his face was bruised and his clothes were badly tattered. Cuts were everywhere. There were hint of blood too on his black shirt.
"I have to give him some credit though. Despite being stupid, he's very persistent in fighting back," Yuka added in. She twirled her finger and the man hovered higher off the ground. His face grew panicky. "So how about it, my daughter?" The glint in her eyes grew darker.
Mikan's face was flushing with indignation. She could feel her jaw clenching as her brows wrinkled in vexation. Her eyes were seething as she looked at the man hovering on the air in front of her. She recognized him. She would recognize that face anywhere. The face that had been keeping her awake late at night lately. The face of a person who shot Hotaru and took her away. She would recognize it anywhere.
The knuckles on her hand were white as she clenched them tightly, trying to suppress her anger that was rising up to a very dangerous level. "You fucking bastard!" She bellowed ferociously as she jumped down from the table and launched towards the front of the class with a very quick speed. When she got near him, she swung her hand in the air and unconsciously used her alice to make her hand as sharp and pointy as an ice spike, with the intention of shoving it through his chest.
But Jun was quicker. When he saw Mikan launched forward, he quickly jumped after her. He managed to stop her just in the nick of time when her fingers barely touched the shirt as she was about to push her hand in. He grabbed her by her wrist and pulled her. Mikan stumbled backwards. "I told you not to use your alice, didn't I?!" His voice thundered throughout the whole class, surprising everyone inside. He gave her a disapproving stern look. "You have no controllers on. The whole class might be dead if your alice went out of control again. And you're still recovering state!"
Mikan's eyes smoldering as she glared menacingly at Jun for stopping her. Her chest heaved in an uneven manner and the veins on her neck were pulsing. Yuka looked at Jun with her brows raised. "Ara, this is interesting. I had never seen Jun getting so mad before," she commented leisurely, her eyes twinkling with dark amusement.
Jun looked at the man. He was scared, very scared. His teary eyes told him that. He turned to her with a scowl on his face after his anger ceased a little. He heaved a sigh. "Yuka-san, this is a class and there are also other students here. Please take your games elsewhere."
Yuka gave him a dismissal wave. "I'm not playing a game here." She was. Nonetheless, her attempts failed miserably. She had wanted to test her daughter just now; without any controllers on, how far would her alice go. She mentally sighed. Trust Jun to always be the sensible one, even in such situation. She looked over his shoulder and saw Kazuki sitting at the back of the class, watching them from his seat, looking the least bit interested in joining in. She motioned for Mikan who was still ticked off. "This kid is temperamental as always." She stood up and whistled. Her two dire wolves came paddling to her side.
She took something out of her pocket. "Make sure she wears this." She handed Jun an alice controller. Jun looked at it. It was a matte black stud earring. "I had it specially made for her. It's very strong. So rest assure, this will be enough to not let her alice running wild again after this." She paused. "But if this one breaks as well, you know how to reach me." She padded the dire wolves on their heads. "Well, I had my fun. I'm leaving this to you guys. Do whatever you want." She sent a look towards Kazuki's direction as she threw him his comic book back. "Reading the same boring thing all over again, huh Kazuki."
Kazuki swiftly caught it with his hand and grinned. "It's a new series, Yuka-san."
"Wasting your money on something useless again," she muttered while shaking her head disapprovingly. "I never get your thinking." She turned and gave Narumi one final look. "We'll meet again next time, Narumi. Ja ne!"
Then she was gone. Same went for her two pets. The rest of the class was in total silence. They looked at each other before the whispers began to fill throughout the whole class. They had watched the drama. They had seen Mikan's infamous mother, the one who rumored to be chased down by many people because of her multi-alices, the one who suddenly disappeared. Gazes were exchanged among them as they whispered to each other. Another rumors were about to spread soon.
"Stay the hell out of this," Mikan growled as she pulled her hand away. Her head was still steaming.
"I get it you're mad but he's all we got right now in finding Imai. If you kill him now, we lose our chance in bringing her back." Jun's face turned softer. "You wouldn't want that, right Mikan?"
Jun watched as Mikan biting her bottom lip and her nails digging her palms. Her mouth tightens into a stubborn line. Her ego was battling her common sense now. She hated it because as much as seeing the man now angered her so effing much to the point of she wanted him to drop dead now, what Jun told her was right. He's the only lead they had now. She gave Jun a withering stare before looking over piercingly at the still hovering body of the man. Her common sense won.
"Fine," she grinded the words between clenched teeth. Taking a few steps towards the nearest desk—she noticed the owner of the desk were flinching when she came close to her—and facing her back to Jun, she picked up a pen. "But I'll be the one who gets to torture the information out of him," she sneered just as she turned around and swiftly threw the pen she was holding. Jun didn't see it coming for it flew passed him like a bullet and went straight for the man's thigh. Thick red fluid began splurting out and dripping on the floor. Seeing the blood coming out, Mikan smirked darkly. "I'll make sure he regret taking her away."
Somehow many of them had now shrunk in fear inside the class. Had Mikan Sakura always been that vile? They had just witnessed her stabbing a person's leg with a pen. Technically, she threw it and not literally stabbing it but still, there's blood coming out either way. It was supposed to be harmless stationery, that pen. With her eyes now red, it made things even scarier. They tried their best not to make any eye contact with her. What had happened to the chirpy and nice Mikan Sakura? Who the effing hell is this Mikan Sakura they're seeing now? Even when Ellys Emerys first came, she didn't have that frightening aura surrounding her like now.
Mikan walked towards the door and kicked it open. "Let's go. We got work to do with this bastard." She motioned for Jun and Kazuki to follow her. When she saw Kazuki got out of his seat with their bags, she finally stalked out of the class. Kazuki followed suit with his hands in his pockets, not before he pulled the pen out of the man's thigh, all the while feeling a bit sorry for him to be caught by such a person like Mikan Sakura now. The man would shout in pain if he could, Kazuki noticed. But then again, this pain was nothing compared to what he would feel later on when Mikan finally got her hands on him. He expected the man would end up begging for his death instead of his life.
Jun turned to Narumi and bowed his head. "I'm sorry, Sensei. Please excuse us." As he walked out, the man's body hovering behind him, following him out. It seemed Jun's now controlling his movement with his levitation alice.
The door slammed shut and Narumi sighed in defeat. Just then he heard the alarm went off. As he suspected, it would go off after she had left. "Minna-san, please calm down. It was just the alarm. No need to panic," he called out. He calmly took out his phone and dialed up Misaki's number.
"Misaki, turn it off. It was Yuka-senpai. She came to my class to see Mikan. No harm is done. No, she's not here anymore. She just left so turn it off," he shouted over the phone. The alarm was too damn loud.
Meantime, Koko was trembling in his seat. Ruka looked worriedly at him. "You okay, Koko?"
He looked up and Ruka could see the beads of sweats forming on his forehead. He grabbed for Ruka's shirt and leaned in. "Shit, Ruka! I should have not seen it. I should have not seen it, I should have not seen it in the first place," he kept on repeating.
Ruka sent Natsume a helpful look but Natsume just shook his head with a frown. "See what exactly?" he continued asking Koko. The scene that occurred just now, Koko saw pretty much the same things as him and everyone else in the room, Ruka thought, so why is he so bloody messed up unlike the rest of the class.
"You heard them talking right?" he whispered, glancing around to see if somebody else was listening to them talking. When he was sure nobody did and the alarm was damn loud too, he continued. "Mikan Sakura's got no alice controllers on so she isn't allowed to use her alice, which means that her nullifying alice isn't activated."
Realization began to dawn on Ruka's face. He gave Koko a pity look. "You went inside her mind?" In her anger state, Koko must had seen something awful inside her head. He knew because he had seen that state of hers too; when the AAO came. After putting up an admirable effort in fighting back, he was badly beaten down when he got not energy left. Natsume was in no state to continue fighting either.
Upon laying there on the ground, unmoving, Ruka saw the side of hers that he had never seen before, a side that he had not expected to see at all. Unlike Natsume, he was not a member of the Dangerous Class so he had never seen her in action before. She swiftly fought them, heartlessly killed them one by one and ruthlessly throwing their bodies aside. But that's only until they shot Hotaru Imai and took her away that she finally blew up and her alice ran out of control. Strange, even in that state, her alice managed not to hurt him and Natsume. To this day he still couldn't figure out how both of them survive her alice outburst.
Koko's head bobbed up and down. His face paled as he remembered what he saw. "It was fucking scary!" He held his head down with both his hands. "I saw what she wanted to do to that man. If Kouhei had not stopped her, she would have shoved her hand straight into the man's chest and killed him on the spot." He gulped. He had never imagined Mikan Sakura to be that scary. With her eyes red like that, it didn't look like she was being possessed. It looked more like she's a demon herself. "She had done it before, countless time. She wanted the man dead. She could not have made it any clearer if she could take his heart out and crushed it."
TBC.