Okay, now I'm confused! For now the genres will be Drama/Suspense (I know, I changed it again).
I think romance is out…sorry readers, but I don't think there's a drop of romance in here. Yet.
Help me!!!
But for now, on with the story…welcome to chapter 4 of Search for Sakura Mikan.
Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice.
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Chapter 4/'/'/'/'/'/'
He swore that he would find her…but could he do it?
Natsume debated with himself. Should he tell Ruka or not? The news might sound ridiculous to him.
Plus, he did not know how to tell him. Sighing, he flung his blankets aside and pulled his shirt over his head, preparing for another torturous day in class. The door slammed shut behind him, shocking students out of their drowsy state.
As expected, Ruka was waiting for him at the end of the corridor, ready to accompany him to class. Natsume inclined his head and marched on as if Ruka had not been waiting for him.
His friend did not mind. He was used to it anyway. Slowing down to a trot beside Natsume, Ruka peered into his weary face.
"Anything wrong, Natsume?"
Once more Natsume was in turmoil. Should he tell Ruka? Or should he dismiss it?
Suddenly the ground beneath their feet rumbled and shook with a mini earthquake. Natsume frowned and quickened his pace.
"Shit," he cursed. "Damn girls."
Sure enough, a mob of crazed fangirls came running up the corridor, kicking up a cloud of dust as they came along. They were all screaming loudly.
"NATSUUUUUMMEEEE-KUUUNNNNN!"
"To Hell with them," he muttered.
"They never learn, do they?" Ruka murmured with a sweatdrop. His eyes watched Natsume's fists warily, which were clenched tight and shaking. The occasional growl escaped his throat, signifying his deteriorating patience.
"Onii-chan!" Youichi called, pulling at Natsume's pants. "Why is the floor shaking?"
"NATSUUUUMMEEEEE-KUUUNNNN!" Fangirls squealed, falling head over heels in love with him. Youichi frowned and his eyes darkened.
A moment later, the fangirls were sent running away for dear life as many ghosts chased them away from the trio, courtesy of one devilish angel by the name of Hijiri Youichi.
"Serves them right," he sniffed. "Old hags."
Beside him, Ruka sighed, relieved that Natsume did not blow his top. Snatching a fearful glance at the fire wielder's face, he watched the anger ebb away from the handsome features. Soon the only trace of Natsume's fury was his customary scowl.
Absentmindedly, Natsume reached down to ruffle Youichi's silvery head of hair. His eyes glared at the space the girls had occupied as though accusing the corridor for allowing the nuisances to enter.
"I'll take a rest," he said abruptly, leaving Ruka to gape at his retreating back. Youichi ambled along beside his onii-chan with a cuteness that hid the devil within.
"Onii-chan," the young boy started to say as soon as Ruka was out of earshot.
"Hm?"
"Where are we going?"
"…To rest."
"Oh." Youichi fell silent after that.
Upon reaching the sakura tree, Natsume leaned his back against the trunk and closed his eyes, preparing to sleep. Youichi was left to amuse himself while his onii-chan slept.
Picking up a fallen sakura flower, he started to pull its petals, admiring each one carefully. He took in all the details, including the soft, slightly feathery feeling beneath his fingers and light pink hue that decorated every petal.
A gust of wind puffed the remaining bits of flower high into the air and out of reach. Youichi watched it with boredom flickering past his eyes.
The breeze carried the ruined flower and allowed it to dance in the air before dropping it on a branch. One of the petals seemed to point upwards, away from the rest of its fellows.
Amused, Youichi craned his neck. Who knows, the petal might be trying to show him a secret, after all. And secrets intrigued him very much. Reaching out to retrieve the bloom, his sharp eyes caught something different about the bark there. It was shrouded in shadow, but there were black spaces in the trunk of the tree that were too neat and organized to be a part of the rough bark.
Mystified, he traced his fingers over the recesses in the trunk, only to find himself unconsciously lifted onto the branch. A soothing yet disturbing white glow emanated from his skin, but Youichi never paid it any heed. He was too mesmerized by what he felt beneath his fingers to care.
His eyes, already huge, grew wider when the intricate dents flared brightly with a life of their own. He tried to jerk away, but his fingers appeared glued to the bark. All he could do was to watch fearfully as the fiery light crept closer to his finger.
Slowly but surely, it connected with his skin, and Youichi found himself blinded by brilliant white light.
….
….
"Hag!" he exclaimed. Sure enough, Mikan was standing, no, hovering, some distance away from him, glowing with an inner light Youichi could not comprehend.
The apparition appeared surprised upon setting her eyes on him, but her confusion was quickly masked by a smile.
'Hello there Yo-chan.'
The young boy whirled around wildly. "Who…who said that!" he exclaimed warily.
'Help me. Tell your onii-chan to help me.'
"But how?" Youichi wailed. He was beginning to be afraid of his surroundings. Where was he, anyway? It was pitch-black – definitely not at the sakura tree.
'Fire…'
"F-Fire?"
WHOOSH.
Angry flames roared sky-high, expressing their wrath in reddish-orange splendour. Youichi flinched and backed away, shielding his face with his arm. Dimly he saw the apparition float further away from him, her eyes wide with fear.
The inferno shaped itself into a burning lasso and hurtled towards her, spitting and crackling. Her mouth opened in a silent scream. The loop was five meters away from her now, three meters, two meters, fifty centimeters…
….
….
A piercing scream shook the air.
Natsume's crimson eyes shot open and he jumped up. Youichi! That…that was his voice!
Looking around frantically for the boy, he found him nowhere in sight.
"Kuso!" he cursed. A blur of movement caught his attention and he rushed to the other side of the sakura tree, intending to find the source of the scream. There he saw Youichi fall down from a branch and increased his speed with growing anxiety.
Youichi was shaking uncontrollably, so hard that Natsume's arms shook along with him. His eyes were dilated until they were two small dots in seas of white. Perspiration drenched every visible inch of skin.
His very appearance shocked Natsume to no end. What could have made the boy tremble so? Tears started to streak down the younger boy's face.
Smudging them away with one finger, Natsume tried his very best to comfort him, and also to control his mounting fury. Who had dared bully Youichi?! Did they not fear his wrath?
"What happened?" he asked, setting Youichi on his lap. The boy no longer cried, but he still trembled like a leaf in the wind. Huge, fearful eyes looked up to meet his crimson ones.
"The..the old hag. I touched the words on the wood and then I saw the old hag!" His young voice rang shrilly in Natsume's ears.
"Old hag?"
"T-Then there was a burst of fire and…" Youichi broke down, clinging onto his onii-chan's shirt. "Onii-chan, I'm scared!"
Natsume patted him on the head, his mind far away.
Find me.
Catch me, Natsume.
The words came back to him, clear as day. Had this incident anything to do with her? Shaking his head, he decided to ask Youichi.
"What did she say?" he asked in the coolest voice he could muster.
"Fire…" Youichi whimpered. "Fire…a fire lasso."
"…"
Fire? What did it mean? Sure, he had the element of fire by his side, but what had the word to do with his being able to wield fire?
"Calm down Youichi. It's all right," he murmured, allowing the boy to sleep in his arms. "It's all right…"
Nothing is all right, nothing at all.
….
"Natsume! What happened?" Ruka exclaimed upon seeing his friend with a shaking Youichi in his arms. The younger boy's eyes were closed, but his eyebrows were knitted into a frown and he had bit down on his lower lip so hard that it drew blood.
As for Natsume himself, he was the very picture of confusion and weariness. Ruka was confused and worried. What had happened?
The fire caster ignored them all and marched into his room, opening the door without further ado. Once inside, he placed Youichi gently on his bed and pushed some silvery locks away from the young face.
He frowned when he recalled Youichi's frightened whimpers. Old hag…fire…what did all that have to do with an innocent child? Natsume could not bear the thought of the younger boy being dragged down into the depths of darkness as well. No, let him endure that alone.
'That old hag'…could it have been Mikan? Youichi called her that before…then again, he called every girl he saw a hag, including that irritating Shouda.
Oh…but if only it was her….
All was silent in his magnificent special star bedroom. The trees outside rustled and whispered secrets to the wind, telling it things no human knew.
A movement to his left made him whirl around, crimson eyes darting here and there for a trace of the source of his wariness. Suddenly the chandelier above him fizzed and died.
Oh great, no electricity, he thought sarcastically. The duo were now plunged in darkness, for the curtains were drawn over the majestic windows to block sunlight from entering the fire alice's domain.
Slowly, a shimmering light started to invade the middle of the room. Natsume found himself watching its progress rather warily after the way Youichi had reacted earlier. A glowing foot touched the rich mahogany carpet, followed by the ethereal being that was its owner.
"Natsume," the creature breathed.
"What the heck did you do, baka!" Natsume snarled, indicating Youichi on the bed. Oh, how he longed to pin her against a wall and intimidate her like he always did before this…but he would only pass through her now since she was not even human, right? No wait, he was able to touch her back in the hospital, perhaps she was able to alter the solidity of her body?
The apparition shrugged. "I don't know. But help me, catch me."
Natsume's mind was in turmoil. Half of him wanted to kill her – not literally – for scaring Youichi, but his other half longed for her to be by his side. Which choice would overrule the other?
He wanted her, yes, but that was no reason for her to scare an innocent child! If she had needed help, just come to him, damn it! Oh wait, he could not talk to spirits after all…only this 'Mikan' was an exception.
"How?" he muttered gruffly, never taking his eyes off her.
"He knows," she murmured, pointing a finger at the sleeping Youichi.
"Next time, don't drag anyone into this."
"He is the only one whom I could show it to. No one else had his alice."
So there was a reason for it after all, Natsume thought. All the same, the crime had been committed, and he did not intend to let her off lightly. In fact, there would be Hell to pay when she was safe and sound.
"Idiot," he growled for good measure.
Knock, knock.
Mikan whirled around in shock and disappeared in a flash of golden light. The door opened to reveal Ruka and Subaru. Subaru strode briskly up to Youichi's prone form and began inspecting him keenly.
"I brought Imai-san here to check on Youichi. He seemed pretty shaken up just now," Ruka explained. Natsume did not know what to think. Once again, he was prevented from learning more about Mikan and how to retrieve her by the arrival of others.
"Hn." He turned to glance once more at Youichi, who was now sleeping peacefully on his bed.
Fire lasso?
Thinking back, sometimes Natsume himself could not fathom why he would take such measures to retrieve Mikan.
Why, exactly?
Well, he…
"I suggest you leave him here for the night, and he'll be fine by the next day," Subaru said, cutting into Natsume's train of thoughts. "He's just shocked, that's all. I wonder what made him that scared?"
"Mind your own business," Natsume snapped. "He can stay the night. Now go."
The medical alice retreated without another word. Ruka was left patting his bunny, staring at Natsume quizzically.
"All right, Natsume?"
"What? Yes…yes, I'm all right…"
Darn you Mikan, can you be any less confusing?
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Um. Sorry if Youichi seemed a little OOC…was he? I've no idea, hehe. Sorry.
Tell me if he is okay? Thank you!
Care to donate a review? Okay now I'm crazy.