Chapter 17: Stay
"It can't be her" Natsume said, his heart beating faster. He is walking very fast, actually he was already running. To where? Of course, to Mikan's room.
"Not her, no, please don't" he said while crushing the earring on his palm. He reach her room, the door hangs open. Mikan was in there, sleeping peacefully. She wasn't awakened by the noise Natsume made.
He felt… relieved. He walks near her, touch her cheeks. He notices something, she looks tired, and she looses a little color. He just ignore it, he got a lot of stress thinking that the girl was mikan. He closes her door and took a rest on his room.
After Natsume had left her room, a shadowy figure appears. His fingers caress her cheeks.
"Tsk…tsk…he doesn't have any idea that it was you. What are you going to do now? What is he going to do if he knows it was you? His beloved sinking in darkness—"he was cut off when mikan mumbled something.
"Natsume…Hotaru…Ruka…Yuu…ko—"
His finger touches her lips so she would stop muttering her friend's names.
"Sleep tight, tomorrow there will be a new destiny for you" after that, he touch the rose beside her, it turn into ashes. He left her room.
Unfortunately, Koko saw Persona exits Mikan's room. He hides and read his mind.
When Persona walk pass by Natsume's room, he thought… 'Poor Natsume, you loose your family and now your beloved' he was smirking.
Koko clench his fist, he want to punch him but he doesn't have any guts to do it. It is simply because Persona has much stronger alice that he is
Natsume's room…
He was lying on his bed. He can't forget the girl's figure; she looks a lot like mikan, her auburn hair, brown eyes, and slender body. And…and it looks like she knows him, like he was something precious to her.
The girl just burst out before, when a stear was going to hit him.
"Oh Natsume! You are so dunce!" he said to himself. It can't be here, it will never be her. She wouldn't keep any secrets to him.
But if you think about it, everyday at 2 in the afternoon she always runs off and when she go back in evening, she's always tired and weak. She is becoming paler every single day.
"Stop thinking about it!" Natsume scolded himself.
Hotaru's room…
She saw Persona came in to Mikan's room. She heard all the things he said.
"What does he mean!" she said, bewildered. Until now, she doesn't know what is happening to her best friend. What's the use of her being a genius if she doesn't even have the power to know what is happening to her best friend?
"Hotaru, do something!" she said to herself.
In Mikan's dream…
It was no dream. It was real, something from the past and the present.
"We will be back and we will get you little girl"
"You know what mikan, if it is hard for you to hide it to them. Then, why don't you just leave them"
"What do we know will happen next? The anti-alice organization might use them to get you…"
"…just like how they use you to get your mother"
"I'll be back to get you"
End of Mikan's dream…
"No!" she screams, she sits up and covers her eyes by her hands.
Tears starting to form in her eyes "I can't be with them. I don't want to put them in danger. I can't loose them, I wouldn't" she wiped her tears, she already made her decision. The decision that will change the whole of her, her whole life.
Next day…
It's and early Sunday morning, mikan got up and wash up. She saw her face on the mirror, she looks pale, and she can tell it herself. She notices that she still wear her dress last night "I better change" she muttered.
She wore jeans and black blouse. She exited her room and said "I'll do it"
She stops in front of Natsume's room "god, help me" she slowly opens the door, enter his room. However, she found no one in there "He might be outside" she whispered. She exits the room, and the dormitory and start finding Natsume.
She saw him reading his manga under the tree. Her hands in her back, fingers cross 'Let me lie this time' she prays.
She approaches him, no, not with a smiling face but rather with a serious expression.
Her legs were trembling; she doesn't know if she will do it "I'll do it" she said lowly.
"Natsume" she said, her voice was very low.
"Yeah" Natsume said, not even removing his eyes on the manga.
"Let's…let's" she couldn't do it.
"Any problem?" he removes his eyes to his manga this time and look at the trembling state of mikan. He stood up and holds her shoulder. She removes his hands on her shoulder and stood up bravely.
"Let's break up"
"What do you mean!" he said, he still don't get it or nevertheless he don't want to understand it.
"I said, let's break up" she said firmly. She was hiding her true feelings; she was holding back her tears. 'Don't cry you can do it. Please, Mikan, don't cry'
"Why? What did I do wrong?" small tears fall down from his ruby eyes. He thought, he would have her, but now she is leaving him again. He pull her into an embrace "please stay, don't leave me again" he said to her, he was pleading.
Eiji is walking and saw the scene between Mikan and Natsume, and then he heard here shout…
Mikan push Natsume away from her. "I…I" she can't tell it. She know he will hurt him, she don't want to do that but she need to. She fells her heart breaking into pieces, her fingers still cross then she shout it "I don't love you anymore!" she look at him, she can see it. His pain, the hurt that he felt.
Eiji's eyes widened 'She really did it' he thought. He wasn't grinning nor smiling.
Mikan want to touch Natsume's cheeks, she want to make him fell good but she can't do that. She turns her back, ready to leave him. She saw Eiji, she knows he heard it. She ran to him so Natsume could see it. She grabs Eiji's hand and pulls him away.
While in Natsume…
He can't hold back his tears. Mikan telling him that 'she doesn't love him anymore' is a real heart breaker. He punch the tree behind him, there are fire in his fist, the tree burns.
He was dying slowly, his only light has gone. He can't stop his tears. Why? Why does she break up with him? Why doesn't she love him anymore all of a sudden" is it because of him? Because of that stupid red haired man.
"Darn him!" he said.
In Mikan and Eiji…
Mikan stops from walking when they are already far away from Natsume. She lean her head to Eiji's chest, he rubbed her on the back and started crying, Crying her heart out.
"Why did you do that for?" Eiji ask her with concern in his voice.
"I don't want them to be in danger because of me" she said, Eiji embrace her.
"Don't worry; you can be with them again if you finish your revenge. If it is hard for you to leave them, why don't you just stop your revenge?"
She looks up at him.
"Okay, this may be sounds crazy because I'm the one who suggested you to leave them. But if you're finding it hard to deal with it, why don't you just stop your revenge. It doesn't you nay good" Eiji said to her.
"I can't and I won't. Even I stop my revenge the anti-alice will still hunt me, and they will still be in danger. It's better if I kill them first before they could touch me or them" she said with anger.
"I already swear, I'll kill him, he will die a horrifying death" there is solidity in her voice, Tears streaming down from her brown eyes.
He gives her a comforting embrace. "Don't cry" he holds her shoulder, push her, and look at her. He smiles at her sweetly. He dries her tears by his finger tips and said. "Stop crying, it will stained your beauty"
At the teacher's lounge…
"Yuuri, are you sure about that?" Mr. Narumi asked.
"Yes, I saw him, he was tied up and I can tell that he was suffering a lot." Yuuri said.
"Do you think they were going to kill him?" it was Mr. Jinno turn to ask.
"I guess not, I heard them saying that they are going to use him to get a certain nullifying girl" he said plainly.
"Oh my god! We can't let her know about it!" Mr. Narumi said.
Persona was exiting the room.
"Persona!" Mr. Narumi shouted. He stops from his tracks. "Don't you dare tell her! Let us do something first before telling it to her" he said, almost begging.
"What are you going to do?" he asks him sarcastically.
"Let us handle it" Mr. Misaki said.
"If that's what you want" Persona said.
Outside the faculty room…
Hotaru is outside; she is supposed to enter the teacher's lounge because Mr. Jinno called for her. She heard it, all of it. But, she can't understand who is this him they are talking about. However, she is 100 sure that the nullifying girl that they are talking about was Mikan.
She clenches her fist, she didn't notice that the door swing open. Persona look at her, he smirk, and walks away.
She opens the door, the teachers saw her, she could say that they all have worried faces even Mr. Jinno.
"Hotaru…please do come in" Mr. Narumi said.
Instead of entering the room, she turns her back and ran away. She needs to see Mikan now! She need to know, she want to know what is happening to her.
She stops, Mikan won't tell it to her. She knows she wouldn't. Koko came into her mind. She rides to her scooter and start finding him.
She found him chatting with other students. She snatches him.
"Hey!" Koko shouts.
Hotaru stops her scooter; she grabs his collar and pinned him on the wall. She gave him a death glare.
Koko gets what she wants. "Okay, what do you want?"
"Tell me. What do you know about Mikan?" she asks.
"Why do you ask?" Koko asks her back.
"Just tell me. For Christ's sake!" she said.
"I can't" he said, avoiding her eyes. He felt her hands loosening it grip. He look at her, her head stooped, clenching her fist.
"Please, I just heard the teachers talking about her. I really want to know what's happening to her. I'm trying to know about it but I can't, even how genius I am, I really can't"
She's just a human,
With a special ability.
She's not a god,
Who knows everything.
"The only thing I know about her is…"
He can see it,
Her weak point.
That she's only a human,
Only a human being.
Hotaru look up at him.
"Is that…" he tells her all the things he know about Mikan.
"What! What do you mean other alice?" hotaru asks a bit confuse.
"She has other alice, if I remember it right, she called it the controlling alice" Koko said calmly.
Hotaru does still not believe what Koko tells her "and who is the man she's going to take revenge with?"
"I don't know. She didn't tell me" he said in a very low voice.
"Why didn't she tell you?"
"I don't know, she just said that she had her own reasons and she can't tell it to us even if we are her friends"
Hotaru felt her heart flinch. Why? Didn't she trust them? Didn't she consider them as her friend? No, that's impossible, Mikan might be childish but she considers all the people around her as her friend. But, did she really consider them as a friend?
She felt a sudden danger. She turns around, walking very fast, taking big strides.
Koko follow her, he reads her mind. He knows that feeling, he felt it too, the anger and the pain. He tries to slow her down.
They walk pass by Ruka, who is playing with his animal friends. He saw hotaru, he greets her.
"Hi!" he greets her cheerfully.
However, hotaru didn't even look at him, she walks pass him and behind her was Koko trailing her. He glance to Koko his eyes asking for an answer.
"Just follow us" Koko whispers to him.
Hotaru and the others reach the Sakura Tree, her feet bring her there. They saw Natsume, head bow. He looks like ion a misery; he cried they can tell that.
Ruka approach him "what happen?" he asks his friend gently. Something happen, he can see it.
Natsume didn't reply back, he doesn't have the strength to tell them what happened.
Koko explained it for him "mikan...she just broke up with him"
Hotaru and Ruka are shocked, mouth agape, and eyes wide.
"Is that true" Ruka will not believe it until Natsume is the one who say it.
Natsume nod, the hear Hotaru's rushing feet, walking away. They can sense her fury.
"Let's go, she might do something to Mikan" Koko said worriedly.
Natsume look at him.
"I can't tell it now, lets just follow her" Koko said. He and Ruka follow hotaru.
Natsume stands up and follow them
Hotaru is finding where Mikan is. Her fist clench, she can't find her. She can't find her anywhere! She forgets to use her inventions because she was really bothered.
She found Mikan! She's with Eiji, they were embracing each other! What is this, some kind of a joke! She couldn't break with Natsume because of that Eiji guy.
She storm towards them. Eiji releases Mikan from his embrace. Mikan turns around and saw the flustered face of hotaru.
"Hotaru?" she said almost in a whisper, Koko, Ruka and Natsume are behind her. She saw Natsume's reddened eyes, she felt guilty. She's the reason why he cries. It is because of her, Mikan, hurt her beloved Natsume.
"Tell me, why do you keep secrets on us?"
Mikan look at her. She wants to explain to them but if she does that, she may not hide her true feelings anymore.
"What secrets?" Natsume asks. No one answered him.
"Why do you need to keep secrets on us!" hotaru shouts at her, she's really furious. Her eyes sharpened in anger.
'So Koko already told her' Mikan thought. Koko can't read her mind because Mikan was on her guard. She was using her nullifying alice.
'Koko only knows that I have other alice and that I'm meeting Persona. They wouldn't know any further than that'
"It's because…you don't need to know" she said coldly, pointing the words you and know.
"Aren't we your friends?" Hotaru said, tears threatening to fall down.
Mikan felt pain strike her heart.
Right know,
I am hurting myself.
Right know,
I am hurting all of you.
They doesn't that it hurt her more. Tears forming in her eyes but she quickly take hold of it.
I want to cry,
I want to ease the pain.
I want to end it.
Now!
'Be strong, you can do it, Mikan. Just for the sake of your friends' she said to herself. Clenching her fist, her finger nails digging into her hands.
But I can't do that,
I should be strong,
I must be strong.
Just for you, my beloved friends
She straightened her back "Not anymore" she said coldly"
It was Ruka's turn to speak "what do you mean?" he said, he heard it clearlyhe understand I fully but his mind and heart don't want to accept it.
"You are not my friends anymore. I quit being your friends, all of you don't mean anything to me anymore..." she was not finish speaking yet, but she was cut-off by Hotaru's slap on her face.
Hotaru's crying. she falls down in her knees. Crying hard, Ruka embrace her, comforting her. She cried on his chest.
"Why?" Natsume said almost in a whisper. "Why do you need to turn your back on us? Is that because of me? Or because of him?" he throw Eiji a distasteful look.
How mikan wish, she could wipe away all the pain they felt. She stared at Natsume "I don't need to explain myself. It's not because of anyone. It is my own choice, my own decision. From now on, you're not my friends anymore"
She turns her back, hold Eiji's hand. Eiji hold it tightly, telling her that he would always be with her.
"Wait! We will always be here for you" Natsume said sincerely.
She squeezed Eiji's hand tightly. Eiji looked at her, he pities her, and he knows how hard it is for her.
"Don't worry; I'll always be here for you as your brother…"
It's short compare to other chapters. Don't kill me yet, because the next chapters are much worst than this. Hehehe.
Hope you enjoy it!
Takes for the reviewers and for the readers!