-1Hitoriaruki: Walking Alone

Chapter Four: Truth

By: Kasia

Disclaimer: Okay, Gakuen Alice belongs solely to Higuchi Tachibana... But if you happen to know her, can you pleeeease talk her into selling it to me?

At exactly six a.m. the maid gently rapped on Isabella's door. It took her a few tries, each gradually louder, before Isabella actually heard it from her spot inside the closed off bathroom. Pushing herself to her feet, she stretched with a sigh.

"Are you awake, miss?" The servant asked timidly, her voice barely penetrating the walls.

"Yes, yes," she affirmed, "I'm up, thank you!" The knocks instantly halted.

"Very good, milady," the maid replied, shuffling back down the hallway. Breathing out a downhearted sigh, Isabella bit her lower lip and stood. Less than five minutes later, she was on her way to the main hall. She was a bit surprised to find Natsume waiting with her two comrades. She raised an eyebrow at Martin, eyeing him quizzically.

"We thought that he should know," he explained with a grim smile, "Charles tells me that he will play a great part in this story." Isabella hesitantly nodded. She slowly spun around, her eyes tracing the many paintings and pictures that hung on the walls. She was in no hurry to begin this discussion. All three of them knew that this would not be a privilege to Natsume, but a burden. Regardless, if Charles said they should tell him, she wouldn't question it.

"I suppose I should start at the beginning, just to fill Natsume-kun in," she began, turning to face them, "You might want to have a seat. This will take awhile…" As Natsume sat himself in one of the large, comfy chairs, Charles stepped over to her.

"Izzy," he breathed into her ear, "Tell him just what he needs to hear." She nodded her understanding and he stepped back to his place against the far wall. Martin was standing a little behind Natsume, resting his arms on one of the other chairs. They all watched her expectantly.

"So," Isabella started, "Mikan's mother, Maria - the one I was telling you about, - she also had the nullification alice. She and her husband, Edward - Mikan's father and my brother - were operatives for the government. Actually, so were the three of us, at the time. When Maria got pregnant, normally a happy and exciting event, she was very troubled. She was worried about Ed's reaction, so she chose not to tell him and instead went on a long-term mission that lasted until after the baby was born. She had a baby girl - Mikan - and took the child to her father, ie. Mikan's "Jii-chan". She knew that her life was far too dangerous for the child to grow up with her, and she proved to be undeniably correct.

"After leaving Mikan and returning home, she began to conduct a series of experiments. She had taken a small sample of Mikan's blood and found that Mikan, too, had the nullification alice. Wanting to know as much about it as possible so that she could give something to her daughter, she studied straight through the night many times. Finally, she made a breakthrough, but it wasn't what she had been hoping for. You see, she discovered something virtually shocking and entirely unexpected about her alice… That if she used enough of her energy - no, all of her energy, - she could not only stop someone from using their alice, but even remove it from them entirely. However, when she tried it on an enemy, she became so weak that she nearly lost the battle and eventually fainted from lack of strength.

"Edward was shocked and entirely confused. - His wife was brilliant, how could she ever make such a big mistake in her research? And why was she so consumed with it? - When he questioned her, she wouldn't answer. Finally, after days of asking, she confessed that they had a child, and that the child had her alice. She explained that she had wanted to give Mikan something - anything - in return for leaving her like she had. Edward was shocked, but he agreed with her move to keep Mikan out of danger. That night, Maria had a vision. This had never happened to her before, so she wasn't sure what to make of it, but the vision showed a young Maria using her alice to protect and save millions. She was puzzled by it and spent days trying to understand it. It finally dawned on her nearly a week later. The woman was not a younger version of herself, but an older version of Mikan!

"She told Edward about it immediately, and they decided that Mikan should have extra protection. So, he asked Martin, Charles and I to help the two of them, and we swore our allegiance to him at all costs. There was one more with us… A young girl with amazingly vicious powers that far surpassed her age of only nine years old. She was wise and had mastered more skills than Ed, shockingly enough. But she betrayed him - she betrayed us all. On her sixteenth birthday, she showed her true colors by launching a surprise attack on each of us, trying to pick us off one by one. Well, like that would work! She might have been strong and knowledgeable, but we had far more experience than her. She ended up running off, and I haven't seen her since."

Isabella paused, taking a sip of water and making sure Natsume had no questions before continuing.

"Maria is now on another long-term mission, but this one is far more personal. That young girl killed Mikan's father nearly ten years ago while he was with Maria. She saw the entire thing. There was one other spectator, though I imagine she has hidden the memories far, far back within herself. That spectator was an eight year old Sakura Mikan."

Natsume unconsciously sucked in a huge breath. Behind him, he heard a choked sob. Isabella's eyes widened and the rest of the group turned to see Mikan standing at the door, hands covering her mouth in shock. Natsume stood, taking a step toward her.

"Mikan…" He began, but it was no use. She turned and fled from the room, Natsume following. The other three sat there and listened as the front door opened, slammed, opened again.

"I…I didn't… I didn't even realize she was there!" Isabella whimpered, tears filling her eyes again at her niece's distress.

"Of all things for her to hear…" Shishou whispered.

"That poor child," Martin breathed.

"Indeed," piped another voice. They looked back at the door Mikan had just been standing in to see a tall, light-haired young man standing in her place. A collective gasp went around the room. Isabella slowly stepped toward him, hands reaching out as though to see if he were real.

The reuniting had begun.

Hotaru stared down at her computer, then up at the mansion, then back down again. Ruka had parked them about a quarter mile away with a clear view of the front door.

"Hotaru…!" He hissed, and she looked up to see Mikan fleeing from the house, Natsume right on her heels. Even from a distance, all three of the passengers noticed her distress, as well as her slight limp. Hotaru moved to open her door, but Ruka caught her arm, slowly shaking his head.

"They've gotta figure this one out on their own," he advised, giving her an apologetic smile. It was obvious how eager she was to be at Mikan's side. The group had watched the conversation through the video camera Hotaru had on Mikan. They were nearly in as much shock as she was. Hotaru hesitantly nodded, sorrow clear on her features. It's rare for her to show this much emotion, Ruka silently speculated, watching her intense anxiety sympathetically. Sumire leaned forward.

"I'm going to go speak to Shishou," she announced, "I want to know who that man we saw go in was." She slipped out of the car, actually leaving more out of respect for her two friends than out of curiosity. Hotaru was extremely upset, though she did her best to hide it. She knew that the unspoken couple would appreciate the privacy.

Back in the car, Ruka wrapped his arm around Hotaru's neck. He pulled her towards him in a gentle embrace, caressing her back. With Sumire gone and no air of strength or control to put on, Hotaru slowly fell into sobs for her friend's misfortune. Ruka waited for her to stop shaking before pulling back. He sweetly cupper her face in his hands, kissing her forehead. She sniffed, trying hard to get a grip on her tears.

"All this time," she wept, unbelieving, "And I… I had no idea!" She leaned into him again, another sob choking her. She couldn't help but chide herself. What kind of friend doesn't ask about another's missing parents? It's not like we've only known each other for a few days or something!

"Shhh…" Ruka soothed, "No one would have guessed something like that, Ru-chan… Not even Mikan remembered it." Rubbing a hand over her hair, he silently prayed she would fall asleep. She could definitely use the break.

Natsume finally caught up with Mikan, grabbing her arm and pulling her back towards him. She complied, stopping and turning to look at him, but instantly dropping her gaze. Her eyes seemed to be memorizing every crystalline piece of sand the ground had to offer. They were both breathing hard from the run, making conversation difficult, but Natsume ignored that.

"Mikan," he sputtered between gasps for air. She seemed to look farther down, if that was possible.

"Mikan, talk to me," he pleaded. Her eyes squinted and her brow furrowed. She opened her mouth to speak, then quickly closed it. Clearing her throat, she tried again.

"There's a piece of paper under your feet," she reported, raising a hand to point. He raised an eyebrow at her but did not bother to glance down.

"Mikan," he stressed, "How does that have to do w-"

"There's writing on it," she interjected, bending down. It was squarely under his shoe. She glanced up at him.

"Do you mind?" She asked pointedly. He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Talk to me first," he demanded, adding, "And not about some part of the scenery, either. Talk to me for real." He knew her well enough to know that if she wasn't talking willingly she must be really upset. Big shock there. She stared at the white sheet below him.

"Not yet, Natsume," she protested, her voice barely audible, "Don't make me talk about it yet." He watched as she peered down at the marked paper, wondering if she remembered it. It meaning her father's death. He wondered if she could see the instant replays playing over and over in her mind's eye. He knew that he still saw his village… Maybe a bit less in the past few years, but it was still there.

Pulling the paper out from underneath his boot, Natsume dusted it off and handed it to Mikan. If pretending that everything was okay would make her feel better - if it was what she wanted - he would play along. At least for now, anyways.

Alright, Hikari thought with a sigh, This is getting a little ridiculous. Sure, boss wanted me to destroy this base, but I never thought it would be this easy. She was making her way back out of the base, stroking her gloved hands along the walls, not bothering to hide. If they saw her face… Well, good for them. They would not remember it when they woke up, anyways. She had personally made sure of that, using her alice to search each and every one of their brains simultaneously, pulling out any thoughts or memories that resembled her. Granted, there were a few possible memories that were dismantled that were not necessarily about her, but that was something that could not be avoided. When you are searching through over five thousand minds at the same time, you just did not have time to go back and make sure you were entirely perfect.

Regardless, the boss definitely overestimated this place. She paused, instantly realizing she was not alone. Well, he's never been wrong before. Guess I can't assume he is now. She chuckled to herself, turning to face him. Yes, him, by this point she had searched his mind enough to know that it was definitely a he. And she almost laughed at the fact that he was still pressed against the wall around the corner. Like I don't know he's there, honestly…

"Alright," she sighed, "Come out already." She did her best to hide the tension in her voice. She was not entirely sure, but it seemed that he had just blocked her out. Like he had shoved her out of the house of his mind and somehow even managed to slam the door. Unconsciously, she squinted her eyes and stepped into a loose fighting stance. She would not be taken by surprise. The man slowly slunk out of the shadows, a black mask keeping his face from her sight. Strange, the only memories she had been able to see - maybe even allowed to see - were those of him fighting… And always with the mask on, never with it off.

He took a fighting stance, snapping her back to reality. Why did that stance seem so familiar? He somehow took away all of her fighting spirit. Frustrated, she clenched and unclenched her fists, trying hard to psych herself back up. She did not get much of a chance - he came at her quickly and with force. Block, block, dodge, block. She could not get in a single hit! The furrow in her brow increasing, she tried to move faster, thinking that, if nothing else, she could beat him in speed.

Her tactic failed miserably. Whatever speed she went at, he seemed to go faster. She began to slow herself down, thinking he would follow. He did not. But the weird part was that he kept stopping. Not stopping entirely, but just before he hit her. He would see that she had missed the block and stop within a centimeter of his target, pulling back immediately. After a few minutes, Hikari took a spare second to execute a one-handed back spring, separating herself from him by a few feet. They both stood and stared at each other for a moment, and she realized that she was breathing heavily. Too heavily. This was unusual, even to the point of being weird.

"Who," she choked, raising her hand in question and quickly clearing her throat, "Who are you?" The man reached up, pulling his mask off.

"I thought you would never ask."

"I still can't believe it," Sumire thought aloud, "How is it possible that she doesn't know about you? How is it possible that she hasn't realized that you're watching her?" She propped a hand on her hip and turned to the four adults - okay, three adults and one almost-adult - watching her curiously. The younger one spoke up first.

"Well, isn't it obvious? We wouldn't just give ourselves away!" He scoffed, hugging Isabella once again. She noted that there was no tone to insinuate mocking or insulting. Charles spoke up next.

"That's pretty much the reason I was able to stay with her and teach her," he affirmed, "So that I could make sure she wasn't told and didn't figure it out on her own."

"And," Isabella piped, "After she enrolled in the academy she was much too engrossed in that to really spend time considering the possibilities." Sumire nodded, pondering. Charles stepped forward and gently placed a hand on her back.

"Some things," he sighed, "must be kept a secret. For the sake of those that the things are about, as well as those they would affect."

Sumire nodded again, trying hard to focus. Taking a deep breath, she replied.

"But I still can't believe that Mikan never found out about you," she speculated, gesturing to the young man, "I mean, how could she not know that she has a twin?"

There ya go, chapter four ! Okay, now to reply to some reviews... And just a note, it's your reviews that really make me want to keep writing, so I've very, very thankful for them. Ah, and I'm soooooo glad you all seem to like it!

kiuna'yukina: I love those moments, too! They're my fave to write, hehe!

Michiyosama7: I'm trying, I'm trying, be patient onegai

k3gh: Yup, Hikari... Pay special attention to the upcoming chapter titles in this regard, too...

red: I am I am I am! I'm really glad you like it! .

Keep your reviews coming, they really encourage me to keep writing!