Narumi's P.O.V
"For the thousandth time, we don't know anything. We loaded Mikan on a plane, one we had checked and rechecked to make sure there was no sign of any sort of suspicious activity. It all checked out, and she was loaded on and left for Russia. The only reason that we found out she hadn't arrived was because of the Principle of the Russian Branch of Alice called. We have our suspicions, but unlike you, we can't just barge in and set the whole place on fire." I say, my voice gaining more irritation. His crimson eyes narrowed at me, and he clenched his fist on the edge of my desk.
Why was it that all our conversations consisted of him barging in, demanding answers, and getting pissed when I didn't have them? I was just as worried as he was, yet you didn't see me acting like a savage.
"Narumi. You don't understand." he spits out, his teeth clenched. "She is in real danger. Much more then you could ever imagine and we have to save her before she is dead, killed in awful ways that you couldn't imagine. We have to do something, and we have to do it now. The team is already in on it. We have to leave. Now." he demanded.
What was unusual was how crazed….and frantic he looked. His eyes showed the desperation he was trying to hide.
"Natsume…what's really wrong? What are you hiding?" I ask, my blood starting to run cold.
"I can't let her die….and I can't do it alone so you can, and will, help me. Okay? Okay." he says, standing up and starting towards the door.
"Natsume." I say, my voice firm. "I can't help you if I have no idea what the hell is going on."
He takes a deep, shuddering breath, and finally meets my eyes.
"I was holding Mikan's Alice stone, and next thing I know, it's gone. Then I…I saw what was happening around her. I saw what they were doing to her. Then all there was around her was this unbreakable darkness that never seemed to end and all I could only hear what was happening to her. And I heard her apologize…even though she was the one in pain." Natsume said, his eyes clenching shut. His whole form was as stiff as a board, and if I thought for a moment the boy was capable of crying in front of me, I would think he was about to.
Mikan needed to be saved, and it needed to happen now.
"I can inform the principle, and we can get a team…" I start before he cuts me off.
"No time. We have Mikan's crew, and that is the best of the best. We can just go now." he starts.
I rub my eyes. "Natsume. You have no idea where she is, or where the bloody hell the facility is keeping her. You are running blind, and are going to do nothing but piss people off, destroy property, and be too distracted to actually get to where you want to go. So we need to recollect, gather information, and not jump into anything."
"But I can't promise that she will be breathing by the time we get our damn thoughts together." he snaps, his voice sharp as knives.
"You might hate this school, and you might hate every system and person and operation that keeps it running, but I promise you, you will not find her without its help. Once we know enough then, by all means, you can go off on your own and save her. But until then, we need to wait, and if you don't, I will not help you and I think that it's pretty necessary for me to help you if you want this operation to succeed." I snap back.
For a few minutes we stared into each others eyes, blue clashing against crimson in an almost violent way. He finally looked away, a scowl etched in anger.
"Fine. But I will be leaving in three days, whether you are with me or not. Keep me updated." he says before walking out.
I wondered if maybe Mikan's like-a-hurricane way about her had rubbed off on Natsume in the time she had known him. She seemed to come in unexpectedly, cause ruckus, and leave all within a short amount of time. Natsume seemed to be the same way.
The conversation always left me exhausted, only with Mikan it was the pleasant kind.
Not so much with Natsume.
I covered my eyes with my arm, my blonde hair falling out of its pony tail and tickling my neck. Mikan, why was it that anything that ever involved you was always such a life and death matter? Why couldn't you just have a normal high school life, and be in love, and have a shot at a normal life for just a few minutes?
Why couldn't we just reverse time without the permanent consequences, and live our happily ever after like we really deserved?
'Because this is reality, Narumi, and if life was like that, Yuka would be alive, Mikan would be happy, and this whole school would have been burned to the ground a long time ago.' I thought to myself, a dry chuckle escaping out of my lips.
If 'ifs' and 'buts' were candy and candy and nuts then we would all have a Merry freaking life, now wouldn't we?
…
Mikan's P.O.V
"Why do you call yourself Alice?' the principle asks me. I could hear him pull a chair up besides the bed that I was currently bleeding out in. My breath came in short little gasps, as my Alice did its charm and slowly healed me.
"It was chosen for me, obviously," I say harshly, scowling. I could almost hear him frown, as he stood up, and brought his hand down on my slowly healing wound. I ground my teeth together, trying not to scream.
"I was being pleasant. Giving you a small little break to chat, and this is how you repay me? By acting like a little smartass?" he asks his voice sickeningly sweet. I close my sightless eyes, and take a deep, shuttering breath.
"I'm sorry." I say in a small voice. He takes his hand from my stomach, and sits back down.
"That's more like it. Now this rat, Natsume, your ex-boyfriend or whatever he was, he did some damage in your life. He was one of the reasons you left, no? So what was it that made you stay even when he treated you like crap? What was the reason you loved a little ass like him?" he asks. Ah. Apparently hurting me physically wasn't enough. He had to remind me of the things that I tried to push into the back of my head.
"I stayed because I loved him. H-he was hard on the outside…but…I knew he loved me. He always protected me, and he was sweet once you got to know him. I could always count on him…for quite some time. You don't choose who you love, otherwise I would have stopped loving him a long time ago." I say. He doesn't reply, as if mulling over my words.
"You want to know what I do to people that I love, or even like?" he says in a creepy voice.
I turn my head towards him. "You kill them," I reply simply.
He gives a delighted laugh.
"How did you know?! Maybe I have underestimated how smart you are, little girl." he says happily.
"I know because its one way we are alike, though in different ways. I push them away, and threaten them, and make them believe that I Hate them, and you kill them. It's your defense mechanism because someone took screwed you over, or you lost the only person that mattered to you."
"Shut up!" he hisses angrily. "You don't know anything."
"I'm just wondering what that person did to make you this way. You are so bitter, mean, and just flat out nasty. So either someone really screwed you over, or someone you loved died before you were ready for them too. And you never accepted that." I say, not even caring at this point how bad the consequences will be. I feel that familiar blurring presence in the back of my mind, and though I have no idea what the hell it is, I'm not scared of it.
It seems so familiar, like something I know inside and out, and just can't put a name on.
"That's it, little girl, I'm done trying to be nice! No one hurt me, and no one died. I am this way because I have a job that needs to be done, and I don't see anyone else stepping up to do that! Alice academy needs to burn to the ground and all the damn Alice's need to be in it until it is nothing more then ash on the ground. And since I can't have that right now, you will have to do. You will suffer mentally and physically knowing that no one can save you, because they are all dead. They are all dead because of you. And no matter how much you piss me off, I know that I have destroyed everything that matters to you. And you have nothing, because you are nothing. So try your psycho analysis' all you want, you are nothing more then a sarcastic little girl." he spits out. Unaffected my ass, I hit the nail right on the head.
"My only question is, if you are so keen on getting rid of all the Alice's, why don't you start with yourself?" I spit out. I feel a sting in my cheek, and the sound of his hand slapping my skin resonates through the empty room.
"GUARDS!" he bellows, his voice full of irritation. I heard the shuffling of feet, and the door glide open. "Change of pull, get me Shock." he says.
The satisfaction from pissing him off faded quickly in my mind as the familiar feeling of dread fills me. How could I have been so stupid? I should have just shut my stupid mouth. I heard the familiar squeak of Shock's boots on the tiled floor.
'Mikan?' I hear a masculine voice whisper at the back of my mind, making my whole body jolt forward.
"Did I give you permission to move?" the principle hisses violently. That means he didn't hear it.
'…Who are you?' I ask silently in my head. I hear a deep sigh, and I start to feel a little irritated. They were in my head and they were complaining.
'Mikan, its me, Natsume. Where are you? I need help in finding you. God, I'm so glad you are alive.' he says breathily. He wasn't sighing in irritation, he was sighing in relief.
I choke out a sob, ignoring the principles barks to stop making noise. I bite my lip, squeezing my useless eyes shut.
'Oh god, Natsume, you are alive. You aren't dead. Thank god you aren't dead.' I sob mentally, wanting nothing more then to wrap my arms around him. Day ago I wanted nothing more then to kiss him, then strangle the life out of him. Now, I was scared that I would never get to say those acidic words that had been begging to escape my lips since the day I left Gakuen Alice for the first time.
'I know, Mikan, but right now I need you to tell me exactly where you are so I can help you.' he replies calmly.
'I don't know. And don't come, there is no way that you could get inside. They have the top Alices here and they will kill you. Just stay away, please.' I beg.
'You know I can't do that.' he whispers. 'I have to save you so we can live happily ever after.'
I nearly choke again, listening closely to the uneven sound of the rubber shoes squeaking against the floors. I could almost see Shock's face, pale and covered in freckles, fitted with that determined look that I had seen on his face when my eyes worked. He looked like nothing more then a loser that you would see cosplaying then a sociopath, but something changed in him when he was permitted to use his deadly Alice, and it wasn't a good thing. The switch was flipped and the damage he did was irreversible.
A/N: I have total respect for cosplayers, and totally think it is super cool, so I hope that I am not insulting anyone in any way. Alright, just wanted to get cleared up.
Then again, his behavior is nothing unusual. Having Alice's like that, they changed you. And having the Nightmare Alice took away his Nobody status and made his every wish a command. His Alice mixed with the fact that he actually had a brain, means he was a deadly force. A force that I would love to take down if I had the chance to cure him of the evil that he has become.
I can hear the rustling of fabric, and I can only assume that he is putting on his gloves. There is a metallic click, and I gulp and take a deep breath.
'Natsume, you love me, don't you?' I ask mentally.
'You know that I do.' he says softly, and my skin nearly itches for his fingers to graze across my cheek like they once used to do.
'Then you have to get out of my head.' I say. I have maybe thirty seconds tops before I begin.
'Why?'
'If you love me get out of my head.' I say more forcefully. Then I imagine a door slamming in my head, and I feel him leaving my subconscious.
A cold metal is pressed against my still open wound, and I bite my lip in preparation.
Please don't come Natsume, because I can't bare the thought of you dead.
…
I know it's late, and I am sorry. Life gets busy. Forgive me. Feel free to tell me what you think and I hope you liked it.
