JC: There are going to be fights here. Aya has turned out to be one heck of an antagonist. Still, I love her to bits! I know some of you hate her so much. It can't be helped.

Note (reminder): Kyo looks like Syaoran Li from Card Captor Sakura, only he has platinum-blue hair and heterochromatic eyes (red and green). Ryou has the same hairstyle as Athrun Zala, and his hair his dark with green eye lights that matches well with his hazel eyes. Last, but not the least, Asuka look a lot like the long-haired Suzumiya Haruhi, but her hair and eye color is the same as Kyo's.

Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice characters belong to Higuchi-sensei. Sugita Aya is a cross-over character from Kodocha. My own characters in this fic are Kawashima Kyo, Kawashima Asuka, and Hibiki Ryou.

Obsession

Chapter 36: The Traitors and the Protectors

In chilly silence, Hibiki Ryou walked to the prison cell of the recent murderer of the academy, which was none other than the inventor, Imai Hotaru. He had no trouble sneaking in, since Aya took out the guards without breaking a sweat and disabled the security systems, and his Alice of Magnetism was really handy when you want to break in. It was a quarter to one. It was almost time to cause the big commotion. Reaching the prison door, he pulled out a card key he got from a guard a while ago and swiped it through the card slot. He inputted the right code and after that, the door slid open. He went inside the dim-lighted room and saw the prisoner sitting in the middle of the room, strapped in with Alice-proof chains. She had bruises all over her body and slight burns. Ryou guessed that she was punished a lot. In addition to that, she no longer had any stars on her uniform.

He approached her quietly and pulled out a Baka Gun from his coat. "Let's see if this invention of yours really works," he muttered. When he aimed the invention at Hotaru, it immediately fired with a loud 'Baka!' and the bullet hit Hotaru's forehead. "Woah…That must've hurt…" He chuckled, scratching the back of his head.

The inventor moaned as she slowly opened her eyes. Whatever hit her was painful. She looked up at Ryou and saw her invention in his hand. "That's…What are you doing with my invention, idiot?" she icily said.

Ryou shrugged and crossed his arms. "You're the idiot here, since you got hit by your Baka Gun," he said with a wide smirk. "Anyway, I'm here to bust you out of here. I know you remember Aya-san's plans."

Hotaru rolled her eyes away. "Why don't you just shut up and free me from these chains?" she said nonchalantly. "This is way too uncomfortable for me."

He was certainly getting pissed at her. "I took a big risk just to rescue you from here and you still have the nerve to talk to me like that." He shook his head in dismay. "What a bitchy character you have, Imai. I never liked you from the beginning."

She narrowed her amethyst eyes at him. "Keep talking and you might end up getting humiliated, Hibiki," she said. "Does blackmailing sound good to you?" She was, after all, the Blackmailing Queen of the academy.

Ryou wasn't the least bit scared of her blackmails. Well, if it was the regular Ryou, he would show some fear, but he was currently under Aya's control. "Imai, you're really a freak," Ryou said, unlocking the chains around Hotaru. "You owe me big time for this."

"You were only ordered by our leader, so I don't owe you anything," Hotaru smartly said, and Ryou glared hard at her. She just glared back at him and grabbed the Baka Gun away. "I believe this belongs to me." As she aimed the Baka Gun at him, it automatically fired a bullet and hit his temple, whipping his head back.

"You moron!" he uttered after straightening up. "What did you do that for?"

Hotaru put away her invention and folded her arms in front of her chest. "That was for hitting me a while ago," she replied indifferently. Ryou was about to utter a string of cursed words at her, but Hotaru cut him off immediately. "We don't have time for your nonsense. We have more important things to do. Remember, failure is not an option. If we don't do our work right, we'll get punished by our leader."

"I already know that," Ryou said, ruffling his shiny dark hair.

Without further ado, the two of them rushed outside and went through the forest to reach the main gate of Alice Academy. There were two Alice security guards watching the gate, so they couldn't just walk out of the academy easily. Then they went up a big tree located near the walls and met up with Aya and Ruka there.

Aya showed off a cunning smile when she saw her two minions and stood up on the branch. "Well done, Hibiki-san," she said, placing one hand on her waist, as she approached Ryou. "You've brought Imai-san here without any problems. I knew it was wise to use you to break into the cell."

"Thanks…But I couldn't have gotten in without your help," Ryou said.

"I only did what was needed," she replied before shifting her eyes on Hotaru. "Imai-san, how did the interrogation go? I trust it was a painful experience for you."

Hotaru kept up her stoic expression, even though she was irritated inside. "I was shocked by lightning and got beaten up by students who were close friends with the ones I killed. Of course, it was a painful experience for me. What do you expect?" She spoke in a very sarcastic tone. "Not only was I punished physically, I also got demoted to No Star."

Aya laughed maniacally yet happily until her stomach hurt. She bent down a little, holding her stomach, as she kept on laughing at Hotaru. The two boys present were just watching her without a care in the world, while Hotaru had the urge to fire her with invention. "No Star is the perfect star rank for you, Imai-san," she said, pointing a finger at Hotaru. "In fact, you're not fit to be a student here at all. But we're not going to accept you in the AAO either. You're just a mere tool for me. Once I'm done with you, I'll give Nogi-san here the pleasure of killing you. I hope you're prepared for that."

"I am prepared for anything," Hotaru answered with a straight face. "It's not like I have a choice now."

"Good…" Aya looked over at Ruka, her smirk becoming more sinister. "Phase 1 is done. Time for you to start phase 2, Nogi-san."

Ruka blew his whistle and summoned one of his trusted animal friends, the great eagle. Once the eagle landed on the branch beside him, he greeted it with a smile and brushed his hand through its feathers. He told the eagle everything it had to do, before he turned to glare at Hotaru. "Imai, don't mess things up," he said in monotone. "If you get my friend in trouble, I swear you're going to pay."

"Hmph…I'm the one who's taking all the risks here," Hotaru replied. "Your friend here is not the one who's going to go through the electric barrier."

"Who cares about you getting hurt?" Ruka retorted. "You're just trash anyway."

At that point, Hotaru's eyes were reverting back to normal. "R-Ru…Ruka-kun…" she muttered. Aya immediately noticed the slight change in Hotaru and used her Alice to manipulate her again. Hotaru's eyes became lifeless again. "Trash or not… This is too much for me…" Hotaru sighed and went beside the eagle.

That was too close for comfort. It seems my manipulation on her is weaker than the others. No matter, her will is not enough to challenge my Alice. Aya pulled out a small container with the label 'Cream' on it. "Hey! Imai-san, you better apply this if you want to get out of this academy alive," she said, throwing the container over to Hotaru. "I got it from your stinking old lab. Once you're outside, the Anti-Alice members will assist you in escaping. They will bring you to headquarters, but don't expect them to treat you nicely."

"I expected this much from the AAO," Hotaru said.

"Good of you to know," Aya replied. She pulled out her cellular phone and dialed Nonoko's number with speed dial. When Nonoko answered her phone, Aya informed her that Hotaru was ready. "You do know what to do, right?" And when Nonoko replied with a firm 'Yes', Aya put away her phone and faced the two boys. "Guys, let's get this show on the road."

The eagle spread its wings and flew majestically into the air, carrying Hotaru with it. It flew above the guard house and called out their attention. The guards spotted Hotaru in an instant and set off the alarm in the academy. While one guard informed the higher-ups and the other staff about a girl trying to escape from the academy, the other guard tried to bring her down with his Fire Alice. The eagle was nimble and fast, as it could easily dodge the fire attacks easily.

More guards were coming, most of them having Latent Ability Alices. But before they could even use their Alices to bring Hotaru down, silver-haired Aya appeared and defeated the first row of guards merely in five seconds using her martial arts skills. The other guards were stunned by her appearance. It was only after she beat the crap out of one guard that the others snapped back to their senses and started attacking her. Aya defeated them one by one, smiling in contentment.

Hotaru ceased the opportunity and released her grip from the eagle. She went through the electrical barrier, receiving 20,000 volts of pain. Good thing the cream was there to save her from being completely fried. Now she knew what Mikan felt when she tried to escape from the academy once. She landed roughly on the ground, injuring her right leg in the process. "Damn…" she muttered under her breath. "I can't run…"

"So, you're the bait Aya chose…"

It was a man's voice—a voice she recognized well. Looking up from the ground, her amethyst eyes made contract with Mouri Reo's. Standing right behind Reo was his most trusted minion, Shidou. "I'm guessing you're the one who's going to assist me in escaping," she said tediously, maintaining composure despite her injury. "What are you waiting for? Assist me now…"

She wasn't requesting. She was more like ordering him to assist her. He didn't like the tone of her voice one bit. But he had no time to reprimand her. "Of all the people…" he said with a shrug. "Why did Aya have to choose you? So troublesome…" He pulled out a blue Alice stone from his pocket and activated its power. The stone opened up a portal that led to the headquarters of the Anti-Alice Organization. He didn't want to carry Hotaru, so he ordered Shidou to do it.

"Reo-san, how about Aya-san?" Shidou asked as he picked up Hotaru and threw her over his shoulder.

Reo raked his fingers smoothly through his auburn hair and smirked. "She'll be fine. I have full confidence in her abilities." He spun around and faced the portal. "Besides, she still has some unfinished business here, so she's not coming back just yet."

"Aya-san truly is the ace of the organization," Shidou said. "It's a good thing the organization got to her first before the academy. Her Alices are amazing."

Reo suddenly grimaced as images of Aya flashed through his mind. "Yeah…amazing," he muttered with a sigh. "Now come on… We can't waste time here."

"Yes, Reo-san…"

"Attention! There has been a breakout from prison cell number 0034. The prisoner is known as former Triple Star student, Imai Hotaru of the Technical Class." The announcement boomed loudly through the speakers around the academy, waking up every student and staff in their rooms. "We have just received word about her escaping from the academy with the help of an Anti-Alice member. As of now, we have come to believe that Imai Hotaru is part of the organization as she had also committed murderous acts against her fellow students. We are requesting all students to remain in their respective dorms." The announcer repeated what she said again, which further alarmed the students.

Asuka jumped out of her bed and got dressed in her school uniform. Not forgetting her gadgets, she opened her balcony door and used her realistic hand-made black wings to fly into the air. "There's no way I'm sitting this one out," she said. But before she could get any farther away from the high school dorm, a whip suddenly caught her leg, almost throwing her off balance in the air. "What's going on? Who did that?!" As she looked down, she saw her moderating teacher, Misaki-sensei.

Misaki-sensei held his whip tightly, which was actually a bean whip, as he locked his cold gaze at Asuka. "You're not going anywhere, Kawashima," he said. "Didn't you hear the announcement? No students are allowed to go out."

"Let me go, sensei!" Asuka exclaimed, trying to break free. "I want to help out!" And she was being serious about it.

However, Misaki shook his head firmly. "You're just going to get hurt, Kawashima!" he said, a hint of concern present in his voice. "Do you have any idea who the guards are dealing with right now? It's her—the one responsible for the Hana Hime massacre."

The girl with the scarlet eyes… Asuka swallowed hard. An intimidating figure indeed, the silver-haired girl was as cold as ice and her powers were unbelievable. Fighting such an opponent was dangerous, however, Asuka wanted to confirm something from her. There was a high chance that she was the one responsible for the sickness and the deaths. "Please…sensei…" Asuka flapped her wings harder to gain more altitude, but Misaki's strength proved to be great. "I need to fight her!"

Just then, Ryou came running towards Misaki-sensei. "Sorry to do this, man," he said as he punched the teacher hard in the stomach. He knocked the breath out of Misaki, causing him to lose consciousness and drop on the ground like a heavy block of cement. "I'm going to get trouble with him."

Asuka untied the whip around her feet and flew down. Once she landed, she glanced at the unconscious teacher first before she unleashed her paper fan. "You didn't have to punch sensei, you moron!" she exclaimed, whacking Ryou on the head.

"You barbaric woman!" Ryou retorted. "I already helped you and this is the thanks I get."

"Ah! I don't have time for this!" Asuka spread out her black wings, getting ready to take flight again. "I have to take care of that Anti-Alice girl."

"Are you stupid? You're just going to get killed. Aya-san is not someone you can take down easily. Plus, she's really smart and she has no weakness." Ryou talked about Aya as if he knew her well. Asuka found it very suspicious, not to mention that he also mentioned Aya's name with the honorific 'san'. "Don't even bother trying, Asuka. You won't win."

Asuka's eyebrows twitched in annoyance. "You won't know unless you try!" she exclaimed with a clenched fist. "Besides, you're going to help me beat her!"

"Don't be crazy. Why the hell would I help you? I don't want to bother Aya-san."

Asuka was getting more suspicious of Ryou. "Hey! Explain right now!" She clutched the collar of his uniform and brought his face near hers. "Why are you talking like you know this Anti-Alice member? And why won't you help me? You would usually help me—even though you complain. What's with you, Ryou?"

Ryou let out a chuckle. "Well, it's because I'm a member of the Anti-Alice Organization too," he said, and Asuka's heterochromatic eyes grew as wide as saucers. He gave her a smirk and shoved her away from him. "And I'm here to stop people like you from interfering Aya-san." He inserted one hand in his pocket and pulled out a small silver rod. With one swing, the rod extended in length.

"Wait a sec…That rod…"

"Oh, this… I just stole this weapon from your lab," Ryou said, twirling it like an expert martial artist. "This is your creation. Whoever wields this weapon shall become an expert fighter, am I right?"

Asuka took an involuntary step backwards. "Ryou, how could you? How could you betray the academy?" she questioned him. "Why did you join the organization?! Tell me, Ryou!"

"Why, you say?" he said, getting into his fighting stance. "The answer is quite simple. It's because I'm getting bored of this academy." Enough said, Ryou charged forward and swung his rod at Asuka.

"RYOU!" She flapped her wings hard and flew into the air before getting hit. "I don't believe it. I always see you enjoying your life here in the academy and you say you're bored here? That's the stupidest reason I've ever heard."

"But it's the truth. Just accept it, Asuka."

Asuka shook her head rapidly. "This is not like you, Ryou!" she said, her voice a little shaky. "Why would you side with the Anti-Alice Organization knowing that you would go against your friends?"

"I'm not going to go against you or Kyo," Ryou replied, getting into another fighting stance. "Because I'm going to force you two to join the organization as well." He twirled the rod above his head and pointed it at Asuka. After that, the rod extended towards the winged-girl. Asuka managed to evade it in the nick of time, but Ryou had another trick up his sleeve. Since the rod was made out of metal, his Alice of Magnetism could easily manipulate it. Activating his Alice, he transformed the rode into its liquefied state and splashed of it on Asuka.

"What are you doing, Ryou?! Get it off of me!" she demanded.

Ryou had a malicious grin on his handsome face. "Asuka, I got you now…" he muttered, raising an open hand. "Once this is over, you'll be in the hands of the Anti-Alice Organization." Once he clenched his raised hand, the liquefied metal around Asuka's body transformed into chains, disabling her black wings in an instant. The only thing keeping her in the air was Ryou's Alice.

Asuka was having a hard time breathing, because the chains were getting tighter and tighter. The worst part of it was Ryou didn't seem to care that she was struggling. "You…You're not Ryou anymore…" she managed to say softly. Her eyes were getting blurry as her heart ached a little. "Ryou…would never do anything to hurt me…Sure, we don't get along at times…but…he's really a good friend. He's not like the one in front of my eyes…"

"I am still the Ryou you know, Asuka," he said coolly, stroking his dark hair. "I just had a change of heart. That's all."

"No…You can't be Ryou…" Asuka said, closing her eyes tightly. "Ryou would never join the organization! He's too good for that!" She found her voice again.

"You're getting too annoying, Asuka…" Ryou said coldly.

"I think you're the one who's annoying!"

"Who said that?!" When Ryou turned his head to the direction of the voice, a red-haired girl charged towards him and gave him a nice clean uppercut, sending him flying and crash landing to the ground. The punch was no joke. He felt like getting hit by a truck. The girl was definitely strong. He glanced at the girl and recognized her right away. "Special Star student, Harada Misaki… Alice is Doppelganger."

Misaki massaged her hard knuckles as she glared at Ryou. "So, you're a member of the organization now," she said in a rough tone. "How unfortunate. I guess I just have to beat the crap out of you, Hibiki."

"Aren't students supposed to stay in their dorms? I guess you guys don't listen to the rules at all." Ryou planned on using Asuka as a hostage. However, as he looked up he was surprised to see Asuka not in the air anymore.

"If you're looking for Kawashima-san, she's over there with Tsubasa," Misaki said, pointing at a certain direction. "He managed to catch her when you lost your concentration."

Tsubasa chuckled in his usual laid-back kind of way as he removed the chains binding Asuka. "Seriously, you don't want to mess with Misaki. She's as strong as an ox. No offence there, Misaki." He showed a V-sign at his girlfriend, in which she just sighed in frustration. "Hey! Hibiki, it's kinda weird of you to join the organization just because you're bored. Besides, that reason is too dumb—even for you. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were controlled. A lot of members from the organization have mind-controlling Alices."

"Mouri Reo could have probably used his Voice Pheromone on you," Misaki added, not taking her eyes off of Ryou. She had to keep her guard up.

"I believe so too!" Asuka declared, standing up. "There's no way Ryou would betray his friends."

Ryou gritted his teeth as he got back up. "You guys are a bunch of fools…" he mumbled. He would love to fight them, but chances of him getting defeated were relatively high. No one in the right mind would want to go against Andou Tsubasa, the infamous shadow manipulator of the academy, and his girlfriend all at once. That would be just crazy. "We'll settle this next time." He pulled out a Teleportation Alice stone from his pocket and activated its power right away. Within seconds, he vanished into thin air.

"He got away!"Asuka uttered, running towards the spot where Ryou was. "Damn, he's really gone. I can't believe this."

"It's good we snuck out of the dorm," Tsubasa said, placing his hands behind his head, as he motioned over to his girlfriend's side. "Or else Kawashima would've been seriously hurt by Hibiki."

"We only snuck out, because we can't stand waiting while doing nothing," Misaki replied, crossing her arms. "The academy is in total chaos. We don't know what's really going on. It's frustrating."

"Yeah…But I guess it's more frustrating for Kawashima," Tsubasa said, looking over at the platinum-haired girl who seemed to be in a daze. "One of her good friends is suddenly an enemy now."

Two knocks came from his door, alarming Kawashima Kyo in an instant. He was just lying in bed, twisting and turning, worried about the present situation of the academy. He knew everyone was awake due to the alarm and announcement, and he bet that no one would dare to sleep. He hopped off his bed, walked to the door, and opened it. He was quite surprised to see Nonoko standing in his doorway, wearing such a cute long-sleeved light-blue night gown. The gown reached up to her ankles and it made her look like a living doll. He was certain that he blushed at the sight of her.

Fiddling with her fingers, Nonoko asked Kyo if she could stay with him for a while. "You see…I'm kinda afraid… With all the commotion, I don't feel safe in my own room anymore…" And when she received no reply, Nonoko looked at him. "Kyo, is there something the matter?"

Kyo finally snapped back to reality. "Um…no…It's nothing…" He chuckled awkwardly. "I was just thinking of something."

Nonoko gave out a small smile. "How very unusual…" she muttered. "The composed Kyo is actually spacing out." She giggled sweetly, making Kyo's heart pound loud.

"Well, I'm just human," he said. "Why don't you come in, Nonoko?"

"Is it really okay?"

"Yes…" He would feel more at ease to have Nonoko close to him so he could watch over her. There was no telling when and where the AAO will strike.

Then it happened. He heard a sound—a roar and then whoosh! And felt the earth shaking. A bomb had just exploded. Only a bomb could make such an impact on the ground. Another explosion was set off; a lot louder and bigger than the previous one, and made the earth quaked wildly.

The chemist screamed and fell to the floor. She turned her head only slightly to the window, but enough to see the fireball rise in the air, trailed by a jet-black smoke cloud.

Kyo saw it too and grew frustrated. "Damn, is this really the end for this academy?" he muttered under his breath. "Is the Anti-Alice Organization just too powerful?"

Nonoko looked at him with a concerned face. "Kyo…" Afterwards, her eyes became lifeless, as Aya was taking over again, and her expression became stoic. "That's right. The organization is powerful. No one can ever defeat the AAO."

"Eh?" Kyo was surprised to hear such words coming from Nonoko. "You're not serious about that, right? Nonoko?"

Nonoko had reached for Kyo's face and caressed it gently. "What I'm saying is true, Kyo…" she said in a flat tone. She then leaned forward until her lips were centimeters apart from his ear. "I'm actually a part of the organization now and I want you to join me as well." Kyo's eyes grew wide in surprise, but before he could react, Nonoko injected medicine into him.

He moved away from Nonoko as quickly as possible, staring at her with disbelief. "Wait, you're not Nonoko…" he said, and Nonoko revealed a malicious grin to him. "Nonoko, are you being controlled? Nono…Argh…" He was starting to feel dizzy. His vision was blurring fast and his body felt numb. He could no longer think straight. Damn…the AAO got Nonoko…and they got me as well… As his vision blackened, he lost consciousness and fell to the floor.

About six o'clock in the morning, the higher-ups called for a meeting in the conference room of the faculty building. Only a few teachers were present, since most of them got injured during the fight. At first, it was only Aya fighting off the guards. Then suddenly Anti-Alice members came out of nowhere to assist her. All of the members were specially trained in arts of combat and Alice-usage, so some teachers and guards had a hard time fending them off. The notable teachers present were Jinno-sensei, Serina-sensei, Noda-sensei, Persona, Fukutan-sensei, and Misaki-sensei. Some student operatives were also present in the meeting and one of them was Matsudaichi Hayate. The student representatives of each Ability Class have also came, namely Tsubasa and Misaki.

The two Special Ability students have explained everything about their encounter with Hibiki Ryou. Of course, they didn't forget stating the fact that he was merely under the AAO's control, since he acted differently than usual. Tsubasa even implied that Hotaru might be under a different kind of mind control. He and Misaki believed that Hotaru would never commit murderous acts.

However, most of the people in the meeting were highly doubtful of Hotaru. Medical experts and an adept Alice-user have already checked on Hotaru to see if she was really controlled. Alas, all her actions were done by her own free will and she even admitted it herself. Furthermore, the AAO went all the trouble of assisting her to escape.

The elementary school principal seemed more than a bit cranky. Bags under his eyes were rather obvious to everyone in the room, but none of them said a word of it. "The situation has gone out of hand," he said, taking a sip of his coffee. "We have to destroy the organization once and for all."

Hii-sama, the middle school principal, was fanning herself as usual. Though she looked all calm and composed, she was also worried deep inside. "We can't act recklessly, elementary principal," she said. "Judging from the fight last night, our forces could hardly even stand a chance against them. We've suffered some casualties from the fight."

"Yes, I know that," the elementary principal said, massaging his temples. "But if we don't do something soon, the AAO will take over Alice Academy."

"If the high school principal was here, what would he do?" Hii-sama asked, closing her fan, as she glanced around to look at the people. It was unfortunate that the high school principal was still out of the country. The academy needed him now. "In any case, I believe it is time to inform the high school principal, as well as the other branches, about this grave matter. We must also warn our operatives working outside the academy and the honorable students who are visiting their hometown, especially Mikan no Kimi."

Tsubasa sighed in frustration. "Until now…The organization is still after Mikan…" he muttered under his breath. "I want to be there at her side to protect her. I don't want her to end up in that damn organization." Mikan was his precious junior and as a senior, he had the responsibility to take care of her. She was like his little sister.

Taking hold of his hand, while keeping their hands out of sight from the people around the room, Misaki turned to him with a smile. "I want to protect her too, Tsubasa," she said. Her face was full with determination. "And I want to give the AAO a piece of my mind. They've caused a lot of trouble for the academy."

"Bad news!!" Asuka burst into the room, panting really hard. "I've just been informed that there are several people missing in the academy. The first one is Narumi-sensei, who was last seen interrogating Imai Hotaru. Next up is Imai herself, who had escaped from the academy with the aid of an eagle. The others are Ogasawara Nonoko, Nogi Ruka, Hibiki Ryou…and…" She lowered her head and gritted her teeth. She felt so hesitant to say his name, but it was a must. "The last one is my brother… Kawashima Kyo… There are a total of six people missing."

"Ruka-pyon's missing too?!" Misaki exclaimed. "So…That explains the eagle… Don't tell me he's part of the organization? Wait, I bet he's been mind-controlled. It happened to him once before when Reo came here with the circus."

"Possibly, yes…" Hii-sama said. "Both Hibiki Ryou and Nogi Ruka were probably mind-controlled. But the matter with Imai Hotaru is different. And about Ogasawara Nonoko and Kawashima Kyo, I believe they were taken forcefully."

Jinno-sensei was the one who spoke up next. "Seeing that both Ogasawara and Kawashima are brilliant students, I'm sure the organization had their eyes on them for quite a while," he explained in a clear yet serious voice. "And because of what happened, I am convinced that the AAO is the cause of the sickness and deaths."

"I agree with you fully, Jinno-sensei," the elementary school principal replied. "If you've noticed, majority of the students and teachers who were killed and got afflicted by the sickness are offensive-type Alice-users. Some of them were even top student operatives."

"The enemy took down our firepower and lowered our morale first before striking," Jinno said, adjusting his glasses. "A very well-thought plan if I may say so."

"I think that's just part of the plan," Asuka spoke up. She had thought hard about the whole situation and she decided to express her thoughts, knowing it would help. "I think there's more to it than that. If the enemy wanted to lower the academy's force, then they could've just taken out the security force or the Dangerous Ability Class. However, they also killed innocent children and victimized students who don't even possess offensive Alices." A good example here was Umenomiya Anna who possessed the Cooking Alice.

"Then what would be the enemy's other objective, Kawashima?" Jinno-sensei questioned.

Before Asuka could answer, the teacher with a Super Hearing Alice picked up something from outside the gates. "There's a big commotion going on…" He picked up the remote control and switched the 42-inch plasma screen on. The television had direct connections with the cameras all around the academy. The teacher switched to the camera directed at the school gate. "This is worst than I expected."

Everyone in the room was stunned to see what was being flashed on the screen at the moment. Another troublesome situation have arose—one that they could never avoid. It was something they must face because it regards the safety of their students. The academy was nearing to an end.

The early morning breeze felt so cool and good against her skin. As she swept the dried leaves on the ground, she also enjoyed playing around with her mechanical bird friend, Sora. Clad in a white tank top over lapped with a sky-blue jacket, a light pink pleated mini-skirt, and white sneakers with knee-length leg warmers, she twirled around, humming a tune of her favorite song. She seemed to be dancing and her partner was the broom. She was enjoying herself until Sora went in front of her face and pointed its wing at a certain direction.

"What is it, Sora?" she asked, turning her head to the direction. To her surprise, standing a few inches away from her was none other than her friend, Ruka. "W-What?! Ruka-pyon, what are you doing here?" 

Wasn't he supposed to be in the academy? She thought the academy doesn't let students out of there effortlessly. He had a knapsack behind him, which was enough to fit in some clothes. Well, Ruka didn't get the Honor Student Award, and she couldn't think of any other reasons to why he was right there. Furthermore, he was in his school uniform.

With a giggle from him, he approached the young brunette casually and held out his hand. "Sakura, I came here for you," he said, his voice so smooth. "I've missed you so much."

"Eh?" Mikan slightly blushed and scratched her cheek with her finger. "Um…Why do you say that all of a sudden? It's not like I've been gone for weeks now. But I did miss you too, Ruka-pyon." She gave out her trademark smile.

"Sakura…"

Without any warning, Ruka pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. Mikan was puzzled by his action but didn't question him about it. She thought it was just a friendly hug—just like the hugs she gets from her seniors. What came after the hug was a real shocker. Because when Ruka faced her again, he swiftly sealed her lips with a kiss. Mikan didn't know how to react at that exact moment.

To be continued…

JC: Sorry, I didn't include Mikan and Natsume much in this chapter. I had to focus on the academy first. I know things are getting a bit confusing and I'm sorry for that. What do you think they saw on the screen? Care to guess? Well, I didn't really give any hints, but just take note of what Asuka said. In the next chapter, our favorite couple will be the next ones to face some problems. Hope you're ready for it. Please review. No flaming.