Thanks for the reviews, all! You made me really happy! So here's chapter five as a gift to all of you! -hugs-
Disclaimer: I'll never own Gakuen Alice, so don't bother thinking I owned it.
/'/'/'/'/'/'
Chapter 5
/'/'/'/'/'/'
Poor Youichi was barely able to swallow his breakfast. His piercing emerald green eyes were bloodshot, and any slight movement was responded with a startled stare. Natsume noticed this and therefore went about his business as quietly as possible, keeping a careful eye on his young charge.
Sumire was of no help either. She had come to coo over him as soon as they entered class, and was quickly scared away by the scariest demons Youichi could summon.
"Get away from me you vile creatures…!" Her banshee-like shrieks shook every window in the elementary branch. Natsume was prepared to swear that he heard glass shattering further down the corridor.
"Onii-chan, can we leave?" Youichi mumbled, not looking at him.
"Sure."
Ignoring stares from the rest of his classmates, Natsume stood up and exited the classroom with Youichi ambling along beside him, hand in hand. He made to go to the sakura tree, but the latter shook his head and tugged incessantly in the opposite direction.
"Why don't you want to go there?" Natsume asked gently. A determined shake of the head was the only reply he received. Shrugging, he allowed the younger boy to lead him wherever he desired.
They continued walking for quite some time, with Youichi in the lead and Natsume tagging along behind him. Many students stared at the two as they passed, but a death glare from Natsume was more than enough to shut them up.
Finally Youichi stopped walking and sat down on the ground with a bump. Natsume followed suit. By then they were far away from Natsume's original destination, the sakura tree.
The fire wielder observed the younger boy keenly. Youichi was careful not to make eye contact with him, instead lowering his eyes to stare at the gravel stuck on his boots.
"What's wrong?" Natsume asked.
"Don't want to go there," the latter mumbled.
Once again, Natsume was left to wonder what happened to him during his short nap under the sakura tree. Sighing, he bent down to gaze at Youichi.
"Look, I know this will be painful, but can you please tell me what happened yesterday?" I can't believe I'm swallowing my pride…for her of all people.
Youichi's head snapped up, striking green eyes staring at him incredulously. "Onii-chan! I…" he trailed off when he finally made eyes contact with Natsume. His huge, innocent but serious emerald eyes stared and stared.
Was this really Hyuuga Natsume, the dangerous fire alice chased by the power hungry and revered by girls?
The elder boy hung his head as though in defeat. His eyes held the most indication of his melancholy. The previously burning seas of flame were now dull and almost lifeless.
Youichi was stunned. How did the old hag influence Natsume so? How could a single girl change his whole life? His young mind could not cope with it.
"It's okay if you don't want to," Natsume whispered, barely moving his lips. All at once Youichi shook his head.
"I will," he said, determination burning in his huge eyes. Inwardly he shuddered, but he balled his fists and took a deep breath.
For onii-chan.
….
Natsume flexed his fingers, deep in thought. His mind reeled with the new information it had received from Youichi, replaying it again and again before his eyes like a movie.
He had not forgotten the look of terror in the boy's eye when he told his tale, and the way his eyes seemed to dart here and there frantically when he came to the part where fire started to consume Mikan.
Come to think of it, he could not say that he did not feel anything at the end of Youichi's story either. In fact, he was seething.
How could that baka even show something this…this disturbing to a child? To Youichi, no less.
That girl will always remain an idiot.
Sighing, he uncurled his fist and summoned a small fireball. His action caused warmth to spread up his arm, but it was a desolate sort of warmth, not the kind that made him happy at all.
Natsume flicked his wrist. A thin fiery rope whipped out of his hand and lashed and a tree, demolishing it effectively. Ashes floated down to rest on his hair, but he ignored it, concentrating instead on the accuracy and speed of his attacks. Besides that, he was also bent on shaping his fire into a lasso as mentioned in Youichi's story.
The partly destroyed copse was on the verge of repairing itself, but now it was beaten down again by Natsume's practice. Hn, as if he cared.
Crunch.
The boy's head snapped up immediately at the noise, sharp crimson eyes scanning the area for the intruder.
Crunch, crunch…
"There you are." The voice was cold and heartless, slicing into Natsume like a sharp knife.
"Persona," he growled.
"Mission tonight at nine. Meet me at the gate."
"What!" Despite his exclamation, an inner part of him started to squirm and sniff the air for any sign of 'fun'.
Revenge, it hissed.
"Nine," Persona repeated, sparing Natsume a malicious smile. He then strode out of the partly demolished glade, most of it charred and blackened.
The mysterious man chuckled to himself. Natsume's wrath at having Mikan torn away from him would be the perfect alice amplifier. Hell's fire will be at its worst, consuming everything and leaving a pile of ashes in its wake.
Oh yes. Manipulating others was his specialty indeed. And he intended to use Natsume's fury to its maximum potential.
"Hn, Hyuuga…strong alice, weak spirit," he snorted. "Fancy pining for a girl."
A baka girl like that outcast Sakura Mikan, no less.
Ah well. He could not be bothered to dirty his hands for the sake of this petty business. All he wanted of Natsume was his incredible power, and his capability to undergo missions. Performing them with a vengeance would be sweeter.
Sweet revenge.
That boy will remain a puppet for always. A helpless little puppet with Persona being the puppeteer, ordering him about by the means of strings attached to his limbs – or rather, holding his sister above his head like an enticing candy just out of his reach.
Dangle the bait before the prey, then reel it then just before he gets a hold on it…ah yes, manipulating others is a fine game indeed.
….
BAM.
"What is it?" A man yelled to his partner, terrified. The other man could only point in front of him mutely. The car they rode in stood abandoned by the roadside. Well, not anymore.
A silhouette on the bonnet of the car turned to face them, coldness radiating off him in waves.
"Kuro Neko…" the latter whispered, half in awe and half in fear.
"You'll pay for what you did to her," Natsume growled, his throat rumbling with unspoken threats of painful deaths by fire.
"Why, how dare you accuse us you little br-" his voice died long before he finished his sentence, for he was dead before he could do so. Natsume glared at the remaining man through the slits in his mask, his crimson eyes burning angrily.
"Three seconds to run, old man…" One…
"I'm not old!" the man replied heatedly. "You'd better watch your mouth, b-"
Three.
A painful, agonized shriek.
Then silence. A deathly silence that did not waver even after the man crumpled to the ground with a charred dent where his heart was.
Natsume simply stood there with his right hand curled into a fist, staring blankly down at the corpse.
Someone stepped out of the shadows and clapped slowly. "Well done, Kuro Neko."
"…"
The moon came out from it cubbyhole behind a cloud, bathing the area in radiant moonlight. Eerie shadows seemed to descend on the two males standing immobile on the ground, with two fallen at their feet.
Persona smirked. His idea of using Natsume when he was desperate and resentful was, indeed, not bad at all. Not bad at all.
In fact, it was brilliant.
….
All was silent in the glade. Not a whisper, not a rustle could be heard among the leaves.
The undisturbed tranquility was broken by the sound of quiet breathing and the silent, almost inaudible approach of a student. Imai Hotaru bent her head as she walked, unmindful of the gentle stalks that brushed her cheek.
Her violet eyes stared ahead with a glazed look about them. It was rather disconcerting. In her right hand was a thin gold chain with a small heart-shaped locket, swinging in rhythm with her every step.
Upon closer inspection, the words 'Hotaru and Mikan' could be seen engraved onto the tiny locket in fancy lettering, right in the center of the heart.
The girl slowed to a stop and brought her fist up to eye level and gazed at words for a long while, as though gathering courage to unlock the clasp that kept it shut. Her action was nonchalant, but her shaking hands betrayed her true emotions. Finally her free hand reached up and opened the locket.
A smiling Mikan sprang at her, lively and happy from the photograph fitted into the frame. Her beautiful brown eyes were dancing with joy then. She was truly happy – then again, when was she not?
Mikan had a similar locket by her side with her unsmiling picture in it, Hotaru recalled. She just had to wonder, did the jovial brunette have it by her side now?
The Ice Queen sighed inaudibly and closed the locket, holding it close to her heart. She could feel the calming palpitating of her heart beneath her fingers, and she pressed her trembling hands against it even harder. The coldness of the metal penetrated her clothes as though they were never there.
She never felt it. She felt neither the cold that stabbed into her chest, nor the painful way the locket dug into her pale fingers and threatened to spill blood.
Hotaru could only dwell on the picture contained within her precious locket, and reminisce the happy times they had spent together since they came to know each other back in the village, for Sakura Mikan was no longer here.
She was gone, like a leaf blown away by the wind. The only difference was that there were people to mourn her disappearance, unlike the leaf which probably would not be missed out of millions of its comrades. A leaf was common; the girl was not. She was irreplaceable and unique.
Mikan was – well, who she was. No one could change that, ever.
The lonely girl threw her deep gaze at the full moon that was smiling down at her.
There was this Chinese legend that said whenever the moon was full, one could see a bunny pounding the elexir of life with a pestle, she mused. And Hotaru could almost imagine it now. Its little paws would be wrapped around the pestle with a huge mortar before it, and an apron would be covering its furry front.
A small smile nearly succeeded in creeping its way onto her pale face, but Mikan's cheerful face suddenly flashed across the surface of the moon and caused the slight upturn of the corners of Hotaru's lips to droop again. Her grip on the locket tightened and she bit down on her lip, her eyes clouded over with worry.
"Mikan," she whispered. Where are you?
….
A blonde boy stargazed dreamily at an open field. His back arced as he leaned his weight on his arms, and he sighed unhappily.
Just then a white bunny came lolloping up to him and pawed gently at his hand. Ruka looked down and caressed its fur with a smile.
"Have you found her?"
At its nod, he grunted and stood up, brushing away the dirt that had collected at the back of his pants.
"Good. Let's go."
….
Ruka stumbled along behind his rabbit, always careful to keep an eye on it in case he lost it. Its snow-white fluffy tail bobbed up and down as it leaped ahead towards its master's friend.
The rabbit led Ruka into the forest and into a deep, secluded glade. The boy was perplexed. Why lead him here? Surely Imai-san would not hang out in this glade?
Sure enough, he could decipher the slim silhouette of a girl as he neared the dell. Just then the moon emerged from behind some clouds and bathed the area in moonlight. The girl had her back to him, but Ruka could see enough to decipher the short, raven-coloured hair as Hotaru's all right.
She was oddly quiet – not that she was ever talkative, albeit when explaining her inventions. Ruka went closer to her with apprehension dwelling in his gut.
Hotaru never gave any indication that she knew of his arrival. In fact, she never moved so much as a millimeter from her spot. It freaked him out.
Sucking in a deep intake of air, Ruka prepared himself for the worst outcome and tapped her shoulders gently.
"Imai-san, are you alright?" he asked softly. Please don't kill me, oh please don't kill me…!
Hotaru jumped when she felt human hands making contact with her shoulders, but calmed down when she saw who it was.
"Nogi-san," she said curtly, never turning around to meet his eye. Almost instinctively, her grip on the locket tightened. The chain gave a tinkling sound, breaking the tense situation into millions of little pieces.
The bunny came up to its master then scampered forwards to brush itself against Hotaru's leg comfortingly. That caused Hotaru to drop the locket, and it fell down with a soft noise onto the dewy grass.
Ruka stared at the grinning Mikan in the picture for a long moment. The latter kept silent and unmoving, keeping her glazed stare on the very same object that captured his attention. Finally Hotaru bent down and scooped the locket up into her hand. But before she could straighten her spine, a pair of strong, athletic arms had encircled her in a tight, comforting embrace. She froze.
What was this? Why was he even doing this?
"You miss her, don't you?" he whispered into her ear.
That did it. Her self-composure shattered, and Hotaru found her shoulders shaking uncontrollably. Ruka could feel it too. He could feel her lithe frame trembling slightly, and he hugged her tighter in an effort to calm her.
"Everything will be okay," he murmured.
The Ice Queen's eyes stung with unshed tears. The burden she had borne since Mikan's disappearance was felt all the clearer then. It was almost unbearable. She felt as though it was crushing her under its weight.
She did not like it at all.
The last of her strength crumbled, and she buried herself deep in a surprised Ruka's chest and started crying, hard.
"Yes, I miss her, I miss her, do you hear me!" she cried desperately, shaking her head. Tears flew away from her, glinting in the moonlight. "I miss her…"
Ruka could only stare at her, half in awe and half in fear. But when a pair of skinny arms found their way around his body, he knew what to do.
He embraced Hotaru harder and laid his chin on her head.
"It's alright, Hotaru…"
"It's okay to cry…"
Hotaru choked and sobbed harder, pouring out all her sorrow and stress in her tears. And Ruka was there with her all the while, allowing her to feel secure in his comforting embrace and sharing his warmth with her.
A little flame of hope reignited itself deep inside her heart– for now Hotaru knew that she was not alone.
',',
Twisted Persona. -shudders-
Well, another chapter done, and I do hope you readers will review! It makes me so happy to receive them.
Stay tuned for the next chapter! I'll try to update as soon as possible (though school comes first).