Chapter 10 : For Now
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Personal conversations flow.
Featuring quotes and diary entries.
Gakuen Alice and its characters are the wonderful creations of Tachibana Higuchi.
A week had passed since Mikan's disclosure. In spite of Ruka's advice and Hotaru's meaningful stares, Natsume avoided Mikan and she didn't try to reach out to him either.
Today, Natsume was once again in the High School Division's Student Records Office, but not for detention. Student Records Custodian Kyousuke Minami had professed himself to be an ally before. Today he would be put to the test.
"You once told me that Mikan and I have allies to support both of us, whatever path we choose to take. You also said that you're one of those allies, even if I didn't want you to be. I want you to prove that today."
Minami looked at him solemnly. He was too perceptive to attempt any lighthearted answer to that. His piercing green eyes urged Natsume to continue speaking what was on his mind.
"She has chosen a path that I cannot let her take. How can you support the both of us if that's the case?"
"What do you want from me, Hyuuga?"
"I want to see her records with my own eyes. Today."
Minami shook his head. "Hyuuga, I still have to adhere school policy."
"Don't give me that crap. You told me quite a lot of things about the Ministry of Defense and the school's enemies before. Was that also part of adhering to school policy?"
"Ah. That was different because it was a personal conversation." Minami grinned slyly. "We can have another personal conversation today, if you wish. What part of her records would you like to talk about?"
Natsume looked at him skeptically.
"Hyuuga, forget the papers. I know all the records like the back of my hand. Ask away. All personal conversations, are, of course, off the record and will not be shared with others."
"Off the record to such people as the High School Principal who seems to trust you?"
"Yes, of course. My dear boss trusts you too, you know."
"Stop joking." Natsume glared at Minami.
"Come on, Hyuuga. He sent you to me for detention before. He knows we would have personal conversations. He probably knows you'd come once in a while to seek information. I think that says a lot."
"I need to see the logs of her Alice levels."
"You can't see Mikan Sakura's records but as I said, we can have a personal conversation. I'll make this easy for you, Hyuuga. Her records note an unprecedented recovery of her lost alice, or rather, alices that merits further study."
"It is also noted with emphasis that further study of its nature and exploration of its potential will proceed only upon the student's consent. The student in question has expressed her willingness to cooperate with the academy for this endeavor but she has withheld her consent for the moment."
"At present, Principal Kazumi Yukihira is the one responsible for observation of Mikan Sakura' alices, particularly with regards to their stability. The observations are logged in every week and the latest one states that her Alice levels are stable."
"As far as I know, all the information I have told you just now is not available in any physical form accessible to most officials. Then again, you already know about all this, right? I only rambled on about it in formal terms." Minami shrugged.
"You think that having all these personal conversations makes you my ally? Our ally?"
"I do what I can. Would you like to take a seat? You have standing in front of my desk for far too long."
"I think I'll leave right away. It was a waste of time to come here."
Minami flashed him another sly smile. "That's a shame, Hyuuga. I was also thinking of having a personal conversation about the Ministry of Defense again. Are you sure you wouldn't like to take a seat?
Natsume raised an eyebrow and finally sat.
"For starters, that idiot defense lackey Akira is still dating my sister but I know that's not what you want to hear. Stop rolling your eyes at me, Hyuuga. You have a sister too and surely you won't want any idiot hovering around her and worse, dating her."
"Don't bring her into this mess!"
Minami held his hands up in surrender.
"Calm down, Hyuuga. Anyway, I'll continue. Let's just say my sister is like my counterpart in the defense ministry, working in an office that keeps records of this country's secrets. She doesn't tell me a lot, which shows her professionalism and that's fine. The only time she tells me anything is when it concerns my direct safety, which is pretty rare. So what you're going to hear from me is not from her. Let me make that clear."
"Cut to the chase. My patience is running thin." Natsume was itching to burn Minami's short black hair and see how he'd react.
Like their previous meeting, Minami suddenly dropped his friendly demeanor and turned serious. It was unnerving.
"Akira, in his official capacity as liaison officer, dropped by yesterday. There has been success in arresting some of the financial backers of the enemies of this academy. These people will be charged for money laundering and other stuff but protocol dictates that the more sensitive details stay hidden from the general public."
"Just how many organizations still remain out there?"
"We know of two, the same ones we talked about before. I'm feeling generous today, so I'll give you their names. Behemoth is a product of a merger between two groups. Never mind the names of the two. Its objective is to use Alices as human weapons for hire to anyone who can afford it. After losing their main safe house and a few of its members recently, the rest of Behemoth scattered all over the country. Some have been captured."
"The other group is mainly composed of the remnants of Z. They still want to bring down the academy and also believe that Alices should hold power over non-Alices. They call themselves Zenith now. Hopefully, other groups won't emerge. Well, that's it for our personal conversation. Off you go, Hyuuga!"
"Hey, Minami?"
"That's it for today, I mean it. Don't thank me." Minami stood up and sauntered to the door of his office, waiting for Natsume to walk out.
"I'm not stupid. I won't do that."
Minami laughed.
"If you're wondering when I'll ever babble about how that demon stained my life, the answer is, not anytime soon. But you still have some years left in the academy, maybe I'll satisfy your curiosity sometime within that time frame."
Natsume was about to send a burst of fire from his right palm but Minami was ready. One perfectly round sphere of water enclosed each of Natsume's hands. The water pressure was intense and rendered his hands immobile. Minami shook his head while smiling. The spheres popped into nothing, not a droplet spilled on the floor.
"I'd like to spar with you within that time frame, too." Natsume smirked as he left a chuckling Minami.
Natsume's smirk fell after a few steps. Mikan would scold him for using his alice. He decided to head the dormitory to find her. She wasn't in her room. He vaguely remembered Koko talking about a newly opened spa in Central Town that the girls were looking forward to spend time in. He decided to wait for Mikan.
He looked around and saw her cork board. She had written her favorite quotes in colorful strips of paper and pinned them on the board in various angles.
"Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten."― G. K. Chesterton
"Everyone has inside them a piece of good news. The good news is you don't know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is." — Anne Frank
"You cannot fail a single subject because Bear's wrath awaits you if you do. So study harder!" —Mikan Sakura
Time flies like an arrow. — Japanese proverb
Unless an idiot dies, he won't be cured. — Japanese proverb
The last one was written in Hotaru's neat penmanship.
There were also pictures of her, him, their friends and her Special Ability Class family.
He was surprised to find one photograph of him actually smiling. He was looking down at her while she smiled at the camera. It wasn't there the last time he was in her room, but that had been quite a while ago. He took if off the cork board and kept it in his wallet.
At her desk were stacks of books, folders and notebooks. He picked out one notebook which was jutting out of the pile. It turned out to be a diary of academic moments which Mikan found interesting or distressing. He read some random entries.
Dear Academic Diary,
I never thought that I would spend a sleepover with Hotaru revising a draft of my Macroeconomics term paper. Instead of having a pillow fight or watching a heartwarming movie while eating pop corn, I am writing about the scarcity of resources and its implications in modern society. I am still 1,193 words short of the required word count! Moreover, I have two other terms papers to work on. What did I ever do deserve this level of torture?
Dear Academic Diary,
Contrary to what it may seem, Permy is not ignoring Koko because of her sympathy for me in the midst of my ongoing feud with Natsume. We're at odds because of poor Sora Ninomiya, who has become Natsume's 'willing' servant. But anyway, Sumire is mad at Koko for not spending enough time with her. I know he's learned how to tune out people's thoughts but this is the one time he should be using his alice it to its full potential! Hotaru said it's none of my business.
What does this have to do with academics, you might wonder? It's that I feel bad for Koko because Permy only talks to him for their World Literature group project. It's a great project and I find it very unfortunate that their group is not enjoying it. Anna is feeling uncomfortable working with those two. I think that creating dioramas is really fun! I'm grouped with Kitsu and Yuu and our assigned work is Iliad.
Dear Academic Diary,
I am very sorry to Nonoko for spacing out as we did our research in Geography today. We're partners for a report on Japan's progress in digital archiving of our country's prominent natural features. I know, that was a lot of words. We're trying to make a concise but witty title for our report.
I was very startled to find that I had actually made sensible notes during our stay in the library. I must have been running on auto pilot. It's just that I'm divulging my secret to Natsume, Hotaru and Ruka in a few days. They're going to be mad, especially Natsume. I will do my best not to cry. I must not cry.
Natsume heard footsteps and hastily snapped the notebook shut. He returned it to its previous place on Mikan's desk as she opened the door to her room. She froze the moment she saw him but recovered after 10 seconds, entered, closed the door and slowly turned to face him.
"Hi, Natsume. Err, I didn't know you'd be here. I'm sorry I didn't get you anything from Central Town. Um, have you been waiting for a long time?"
"Come here."
"Um, I am here,"
"Come closer, you idiot." Mikan frowned at this but did as he said.
Natsume embraced her and she returned it. They remained that way for a while, without a single word said between them. Instead of being awkward, it was very peaceful. He spoke first.
"You can cry, Polka dots."
"Like, now? I don't understand you, Natsume." She looked up at him.
"If you're sad, come to me and cry your heart out. I don't care how much uglier you get. Cry in front of me. Don't hold back."
"Natsume! That would have been so romantic if you just left out the part of me being ugly. I just came from the spa with the girls today so I think I look better than usual," Mikan rolled her eyes and punched his chest playfully. "Ah, Nonoko wasn't there because she had a date. I think it was at the theatre."
Natsume smirked. "I said uglier, Polka."
"Natsume…I'm still pushing through with my plan after graduation."
"Hn." He tucked a few loose strands of her hair behind her ear and she caught his hand.
"I won't change my mind, Natsume."
Natsume gently freed his hand from hers and moved it to the side of her face.
"Me too. Let's not talk about that now."
He kissed her and wished that all his feelings would reach her, because some things just can't be put into words.
Natsume thought he understood what fire was, because after all, it is the power he wields. Mikan makes him feel otherwise.
He has realized that she is fire herself, the kind of fire that he would never master. She is the fire that fuels his very soul, the fire he cannot live without, the fire he is so scared he'll lose again.
In this moment, Mikan filled him with warmth that silently promised that she will remain true to her word, that their separation will not go beyond two years, that she will come for him after those two years elapse, that they have a future together.
He still does not agree with her decision, but somehow Natsume knows she will have her way. Her determination has always been stronger than wildfire. But he is also not the type to back down from any obstacle.
For now, he chooses to focus on the present. He still has years to try his best to keep her from staying in the academy, Alice hunters be damned. For now, her arms are encircling him as they part their lips to breathe before kissing again — and that is more than enough.
End of Tenth Chapter