Natsume's P.O.V

I was brought back to reality as a heavy pain slammed into my head. At first, I thought I was being attacked, but then I realized that Mikan had pushed me out of her head, breaking our connection in such a hurry that it left a physical pain pulsing inside my head.

I rub my palm on my forehead, mulling over her words. She sounded so weak, and her words grew as icy as she demanded me to leave. But Mikan wasn't like that. She might have used to be, but she didn't go so cold without a reason.

She was scared, and she was still trying to protect me. The girl was incapable of being anything but selfless, and it almost made me sick to my stomach. I didn't want her to try to protect me. For once, she was the one in need of rescuing.

I let out a frustrated growl escape my lips. All I wanted was for her to be safe. Even if it meant that we couldn't be together, all I wanted was to know that she wasn't bleeding in a dark room wondering if she was ever loved in the first place.

And the fact that I wasn't sure of that right now terrified me with such a force that it nearly brought me to my knees.

'Natsume, you love me, don't you?' she had actually had to ask me. Her voice, even mentally, sounded so unsure and scared, as though she had no idea if I would throw her in the dirt or not. The fact that she doubted my affections would have been insulting under any other circumstances, yet I could understand it.

It just showed me that the girl that I fell in love with was still there, though there might be a layer of ice around her heart. It showed me she still needed to hear those words and be reminded that I was still going to be here ten years down the road to comfort her when she woke up screaming as she remembered these dark days. But for me to do that, I needed her to help me save her. She knew that things were completely out of her control at the moment, but that still didn't stop her from fighting any form of help we could possibly give her.

God she was this ball of infuriating beauty, wrapped in insecurities and stitched together with selflessness.

"You know more then you are letting on." A cold voice says from behind me. I turn to look in the amethyst eyes, seeing a spark of hope that quickly was masked.

"I am connected to her. I think my body absorbed her Alice stone, and now I can talk to her sometimes. She just kicked me out of her head." I say. With Imai, there was no use in trying to hide your petty little secrets. She got the info she wanted when she wanted it, and if you were dumb enough to think that a girl with all of her resources couldn't get what she wanted, you were the one in the wrong.

"It's bad, isn't it?" she asks slowly. I pause, before nodding my head.

I turn to look at her, red clashing with violet.

"I don't think she has more than a few days. I think they are telling her that we are dead. She blocked me out because I think something bad was going to happen to her." I stop, taking a breath to avoid my voice cracking. "I think she was trying to protect me. When we are connected, it's almost like I am in the back of her head, seeing what she sees, and somewhat feeling what she feels. I think she didn't want me to expectance whatever was going to hurt her so she shut me out."

"That sounds like something she would do." Hotaru says with a sigh.

"So why are you here? Does Narumi have a plan, or did they find out where she is?" I ask, changing the subject abruptly.

Her eyes bore into me, and for a second I see weakness. I see fear, and weariness. I see pure, raw sadness.

"Persona is going to kill us. I know he probably went after you already. Actually, I know he did. He tried to attack me, but I had one of my inventions on me, and quickly distracted him and got away. But Ruka…" she says, her voice breaking off and filling with anger and hatred.

"He attacked Ruka and he's in the hospital. He grabbed him, and my brother said." Her voice starts to break so she coughs a little. "My brother said that if he had managed to hold onto him any longer that he would have died. They are using some of the Alice stones that Yuka gave them to extract it from him, and he is going to be okay, but he won't stop until he is dead. You know he won't. I know he won't. And the academy can lock him up all they want, but he will always find a way to escape and just come find us all over again. We will live our lives always looking over our shoulder and hoping and praying that it isn't him. What if we have families? Careers?" her voice is even, but it gains volume. This is as close to falling apart as I have ever seen Hotaru. She usually always has a plan. She usually always knows what to do and how to be the hero.

This time, in the time we need it most, she was coming up blank.

"He knows that. But then again, did we ever really have a chance of doing anything before him? Mikan and I are already Dangerous Abilities, and with you and Ruka's history with saving the day, I honestly don't think there is even a chance they would let any of us go. You can make weapons of mass destruction. Mikan can take Alice's and use them. I can burn everything into a pile of ash. Ruka can call on a bloodthirsty animal and command it to rip anyone he wants to shreds. We have been doomed to this fate from the start, and I think all of us realize that." I say.

She looks at me with blank eyes.

"And I know that Mikan and I had every plan on fighting that until the end. I don't care if I don't ever have a chance of a career doing something I love. I don't care if I will never get to settle down or be with the people that I love out of fear that something bad will happen to them. But I know for sure that I don't care what happens to me if we don't get Mikan back. My life, without her, is purposeless. Before she came into my life it was purposeless. I won't go back to that. And I won't let you and Ruka live in fear like cowards. He is going to be fine and we are going to get Mikan back, and we will kill Persona. That's it. End of story. Until that's done I don't think that we get the option to think about the future." I snap, before turning and walking out of the room.

"They think they know where she is." I was almost at the door when she said this, as if it took her time to think over whether or not she should tell me. "They have had a pretty good guess at where Mikan was from the very beginning, but it is far too dangerous to go there. Everyone would be dead within a matter of minutes."

I turn to her, rage in my eyes.

"You knew."

"Of course I did. You know that most of the time, I know things before Narumi. But I have done everything I can to find a way to save her, and I haven't found one. I don't think she can be saved."

I look her with cold, dead eyes.

"This time, I have resources that you don't. She will be saved, or my body will lie cold and dead in the garden and everyone will wonder if I was nothing more than mere legend." I hiss before exiting the room. The twisted hallways take me down until I am standing outside. The sky is cloudy, rain clouds threatening to send a flood of vengeance down onto the Earth, mirroring my mood to the very tee.

My life was just hell.

"Natsume." I hear a voice say behind me, and I mentally groan. I wasn't in the mood to argue or have a long, meaningful discussion on why I needed to be prepared for the worst case scenario. I turn to see Seb behind me, a small smile on his face.

"Do you need anything?" I ask bluntly, making his smile grow a little bit bigger.

"I just wanted to tell you that Chess hacked into the system. They had a pretty good idea of where Alice was this whole time, but it has always been too dangerous so they didn't te-" I cut him off.

"Hotaru told me. I don't really give a shit about the risks. She has put her life in danger for us too many times to count and it's time to finally return the favor." He nods his head, and takes a deep breath.

"We think that, with some of things that Alice left in Chess's care, we can get there. But as Narumi and the rest of the idiot that run this place, we will be in a black hole once we get there. We have no information about the layout, or where the hell she is even located on the island. For all we know, we could be killed the second we show up there." He says.

I had heard this far too many times today. Did they honestly think it was going to scare me? I can't remember the last time actually dying scared me. Being alone and without Mikan was far more terrifying.

"If you don't want to go, I don't really care. I will go by myself even if I know that I will die. I just need to at least try. She is worth that. We all have someone that we are willing to take stupid risks for." I say, looking at him knowingly. His eyes bore into me, and he gave me a sincere smile this time.

"Even if you wish that you didn't have to." He agrees. I hoped he could have his happily ever after with that happy airhead friend of Mikan's. He had liked her since he had met her, and his little crush had just developed each and every day. Unlike many of the people around me, he got it. He knew enough of pain and suffering to know what it was like to be willing to give up everything just for a chance, no matter how small it is, to save the one you love.

We knew some people were worth dying for.

"We aren't backing out. Alice-I mean Mikan, is worth the fight. We can't just leave someone who has become like a sister to us in the dirt. We might not live by the motto 'No man left behind' but… I don't know… I feel like we can't just live a life just making sure we stay alive and watching everyone around us die. Because who really knows? Maybe if we hadn't been so focused on our own survival we could have saved a few of them." He says, a far off look in his eyes.

"You can't think like that, man. It is how we are trained. If you are only thinking about everyone else, then you are bound to get yourself killed. I just think it's about finding a balance." If I needed to be having this conversation with anyone, it was Mikan. She was the one who wanted us to stop trying to reach her because she didn't want us to get hurt. She was so wrapped up with saving us and making sure we were all okay that she forgot that she was the one who needed to be saved.

She was the one who was going to die.

And she didn't realize that we wouldn't be okay with this decision and try to stop her from making it. Maybe all along, this was the root of all of our problems. She was trying to protect everyone from the big, bad world, while I wanted to show it to them so they could become stronger. She believed in blissful ignorance. I believed that being naïve was for the weak.

It was a nature vs. nurture situation that we always seemed to clash on, both of us too stubborn to see there was truth in each other's arguments. All our arguments, all our fights, all the times we would scream at each other and then ignore each other, if we would have just come to this conclusion then it could have all been prevented. But we all knew that Mikan's and I's relationship could never be that easy. Nothing involving both us was going to be easy.

"You are right. Anyways, we are her for you, and we will do anything to get her back, I hope you know that. No one deserves to be a victim in this endless game. Talk to us when you are ready to go." He says, giving me a small smile and a wave.

'Sometimes you have to let her save herself.' Yuki had said something along those lines, but that was ridiculous. She was a fighter, and she would escape the first chance she could, but when I was in her head, I could sense a fear I had never seen in her. She was terrified, helpless to do anything.

Which is why I was getting her out of there as soon as possible.

No. Matter. What.

High School Principles P.O.V

I had stayed holed up in my office for nearly a day and half. If you needed to talk to me, I had a perfectly working phone or you could very well come to my office. I needed to find Mikan, no matter what the cost. I would pay money, give up power, sell my god damn soul if that was what it took.

None of it mattered if I failed. All I was supposed to do is make sure she was safe. Make sure she was happy. Make sure that no one tried to take control of her for her power. Yet, that duty that I thought I had held so firmly in my hands was nothing more than sand slipping through my fingers.

I had come to acceptance about the fact that she had transferred to a branch of the academy that no one would wish on their worst enemy. Of course, I should have never managed to justify her going there. But I saw the way her face fell every time she thought no one was looking. I saw how she died a little bit inside every time she and Natsume went at it with their words. How they hurt her far more then she was ever willing to admit.

I let her leave because I figured she had a better chance being in hell with demons she didn't know, than staying her and getting tormented by the ones that she not only knew, but loved.

She would let them rip her apart and never whisper a single word of complaint. Because that's just who she was.

And lastly, she was getting used for her powers. I don't know what sick types of experiments they were doing, but the thought of her being in some excruciating pain, thinking she was completely alone made me want to vomit.

I had one real job to do, and I fucked it up. I fucked everything up.

There was a quick rap on the door, but I don't so much as acknowledge it. I know who it is. Éclair was everything anybody could ever dream of having. She deserved so much more than me.

If I had failed with Mikan, who knows what would happen if I was in a relationship?

She opens the door, peaking her head around with a small smile, holding a black, steaming cup of coffee.

"I brought you some coffee." She says in a soft voice. I nod my head, looking back down at my laptop and typing furiously away. She walks forward, setting the cup down, and leaning down onto her elbows.

"You can't run away from me, Kazumi." She says. My heart stop. The way my name rolls off her lips is intoxicating.

"I have things I need to do," I say, my voice quiet but powerful.

"No."

"Don't you get it? I have to find Mikan before it's too late. Just leave." I hiss harshly, slamming my fist down. She doesn't even look phased.

"There was nothing you could have done to stop this. He wanted her and he would have gotten her one way or another. Whether it meant he had to mow down everyone with a machine gun or go back in time kidnap her when she was child. You can't blame yourself." She says softly, looking at me with that knowing look in her eyes.

"You don't get it. I could have stopped this. There had to of been some way, somehow for her to get away from him. If I had only kept my eyes open, then I would have seen it. But I was too distracted."

"Are you saying that I am just a distraction?" she ask. Her face looks neutral, but her eyes hold a pain that I don't think I have ever seen.

And I know I want to say that she is the reason. I want to say that I can't be with her. That there is nothing she can do about it, and I hope she finds happiness. But by god, I can't look her in the eyes and bring myself to say it.

"Fuck. Don't look at me like that." I groan, covering my eyes with my face.

"Just say it. Say it and get it over with, but it needs to come from your mouth." She says, her eyes piercing into me.

"I can't be with you." I force out of my mouth. It tastes bitter…wrong.

"Why?"

It was hard enough saying it, how in the hell was I going to come up with an excuse of why I couldn't be with the most beautiful fucking creature I have ever seen.

I look away, trying to focus on the computer screen.

"No. You can't run away from everything. I won't let you run away from me. Give me a reason."

"I will fail you. I work too much, and will end up being negligent. I forget important events. I have no parents for you to meet, and I am crabby as hell around holidays. The one-" I start, my voice shaking slightly. "The one person I was given to protect, I failed. For all I know, she could be dead. I have enemies, and countless people that would love to destroy me, and…females. There are a few of those that would love to tell you about my rebellious teenage years. I'm moody, needy, and can't cook for shit. All in all, I am nothing more than a bachelor that puts on an adult face." I say.

"You think that will scare me? I have stayed with you for night after night, trying my hardest to make sure that when I sleep I don't snore. I have made you pot after pot of coffee, and went through almost a month just making sure I learned exactly how you liked it. I have tried my hardest to make sure you were happy, and I have taken your phone calls with bitchy old men complaining about some stupid shit that no one cares about. I am not scared of you, Kazumi, nor will I ever be. And I know that you will save Mikan, and nothing can stop you from doing that." She says, her voice getting faster and faster and going up a pitch, very unlike the calm, collected person she was. I mean, she was crazy, but not flustered.

"Éclair."

"I mean, I have always believed in soul mates. You know, one person for everyone. But it can't be all peachy. I know that rarely do people find them, and sometimes when they do, they let them slip by. But from the second I saw you… I just knew. I knew that I wanted that gaze on me. I wanted your arms to surround me. I knew that if anyone in this entire world was made for me, it was you. And I knew that I absolutely couldn't let you slip away. No matter how hard you pushed, or shoved me away. Because I know you need me. Just as much as I know that I need you. And in-"her ranting is getting louder and faster, her eyes wild and desperate

"Éclair."

"-In this entire infinite universe, I couldn't just let you get away from me. I knew that out of all the things in this world: money, power, and class, that none of that would matter no matter how much of each I had. Because without love, it is just-"

Knowing she won't shut up, I take my hand from hers and grab the back of her neck, smashing her lips onto mine.

"I know."

"You know?"

I stroke my finger down the side of her face, giving her a ghost of a smile.

"That you are mine. It terrifies me. Because if I don't find Mikan… then I will always wonder if I have you in my arms for just one more moment before you are taken away too."

"There are few things I know," she says, her face becoming serious. "I know she is alive. She is a fighter and a lover, and hell knows she fights for what she loves. It doesn't matter what they are doing to her, she will always return home." She says. A spark of something swims in her eyes, and I am tempted to let myself drown in it.

"Thank you." I whisper quietly, gripping her hand in a death grip.

I didn't know how this would go. I was half inclined to believe that by the time I needed her as much as I needed air in my lungs, she would be sick of me, and leave me alone to wither away all alone. But the other half of me wanted to believe that after all the shit life had thrown at me and how hard I tried to never let it ruin me, I would finally get to live happily ever after.

But things didn't work that way. It might be fair for me to get a happy ending after I fought my way to the top, but this was the real world. I was promised nothing.

Because if we all got what we deserved, Mikan would be here, safe and happy, most the people in charge of this academy would be dead, and this whole place would be burned to the ground.

Just because this world wasn't fair, didn't mean I was going to stop fighting to save Mikan. It didn't matter what she did when she was away. It didn't matter the people she had hurt or killed, because I know that she was simply a domino, tipped over and trying to stop herself from knocking down everyone around her, just as the people before her had knocked her down.

And once I found her, alive or….or found that she had left this world to be with her parents, I would make sure that the Principal could never harm anyone ever again. Even if this meant I had to put a bullet in his head myself. I would do it with a smile on my safe.

I would do what it took to keep what I love safe and alive.

Which meant this war was just getting started.

I take one last look in Éclair's eyes before letting go.

"We must begin to make preparations. We are entering hell, and certainly can't go empty handed."

I believe this is the longest I have ever made you wait for an update. Damn. Life has kept me so busy I have barely had time to breathe. I am terribly sorry. I hope you enjoy this and please don't stone me to death for your incredibly long wait.