Yay another update!
Thanks to the reviewers who suggested potential manga prospects! No, I'm not Singaporean, I'm Filipino! My grandma's part Chinese though. I've been living in Singapore for quite a while now. Any Filipino readers out there? If you're from Assumption College, particularly in high school now, then, hey, I might remember you haha! Hmm. Well in Singapore, I am once again stuck in an all-girls' school -sigh- but it's okay. I have two strange older brothers so I can "observe" their odd boy habits...
Anyway, I meant to make this chapter a little longer but if I did, it'd stretch way too much so I've decided to reveal the "vital information" next chapter. My aim for this story is 19 chapters! Yes, that was random...
Disclaimer: Gakuen. Alice. Not. Mine. -sobs in the corner-
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Two Quarters And A Heart Down
7: Assimilation
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Gritting my teeth, I summoned all my strength to loosen the death grip Natsume had on my windpipe. Was he really going to choke me to death?!
I closed my eyes and gasped; a desperate attempt to get air.
No good. Natsume was too strong for me.
"MIKAN!"
I had a fleeting glance at Natsume's shocked face before he was thrown off of me. He landed crudely on the grass a few feet away. Heaving and clutching my throat, I gazed at my rescuer. It was none other than Narumi-sensei.
His eyes slowly darted from me to Natsume, a frown gracing his feminine features. "Are you alright, Mikan-chan?" he asked, rubbing my back as I choked and spat.
I glared at him. Of course I'm not alright! "Ee, I was nearly strangled to death by the guy I like, otou-san," I said sarcastically. "Of course I'm fine! I'm peachy keen!"
Concern turned to indignation and finally delight as Narumi-sensei's eyes scrunched up in a devious smile. "Ah, so you do like Natsume-kun! Since when, Mikan-chan? Ooh, this is so exciting!"
Aoshi-san seemed to have noticed the commotion and rushed to my side, breaking through a crowd of curious elementary students that had gathered around Otou-san and I. "Mikan? What happened? Did that boy attack you?" He jabbed an accusing finger at Natsume, who was still sprawled on the ground. He seemed to be unconscious.
Ignoring my two fathers' protests, I walked to Natsume's limp form and gingerly touched his cheek with my fingertips. When I pulled away, a black, smoky substance extended from his cheek to my fingers. I gasped as the smoky tendrils curled around my hand. I shook it off and the smoke evaporated into nothingness.
That was when I felt it.
Another Alice.
It was a new vibe; an Alice I had never encountered before and, honestly, this scared me.
This Alice had a sinister, ominous feel to it and it seemed to manifest itself in the smoke that came from Natsume.
I knew Natsume would never attack me like that so this could only mean that the presence I felt was the Alice controlling him! But where was the source of the puppetry? My Alice territory's radius was about fifty metres. I checked out the Alices of everyone in my area but I couldn't find a match to the smoke's aura.
Was the person responsible for this controlling Natsume from afar? If so, then he had to have a territory like me. But how big was it? How far could he possibly be?
I bit my lower lip, my brows furrowing in thought. I wasn't very familiar with how Alice territories worked. I was the only one I knew who had a territory.
Could it be that the sinister Alice… wasn't an Alice? What if it was just an evil spirit?
I screamed inwardly. Baka baka baka… Don't think such things!
Then, I remembered the Barrier Alice that had been activated only a while ago. Not to mention Shades-san. I remembered that someone from the AAO had a Barrier Alice. Could they be behind all this mess?
Shoot. And it was just my first day back as well.
"Father? Narumi-sensei?" I got up and walked over to them, ignoring the stares from the children. I'll be back for you, Natsume. I promise.
"What happened to Natsume-kun?" Narumi-sensei looked genuinely worried. Did he see the smoke?
My father waved a hand dismissively. "Never mind about that now, Narumi. Mikan, the barrier – ?"
I nodded sagely. "Ee. Dad, I think the Anti-Alice Organisation is behind all this."
"I see. Sure seems like it but where is the person who used the Barrier Alice?"
"I don't know. I'll use my Alice now to find him."
Aoshi-san grunted his approval.
The area the barrier had covered was really big so the user must be meting out a lot of power right about now. So that should make it easier for me to find him. But strangely enough, I couldn't seem to pinpoint his location.
Narumi-sensei frowned once more and his eyebrows furrowed. He looked upset. "But why would they want to capture our Elementary students…" he mused. Yeah, it's not like they've mastered their Alices or anything. Why would the AAO want to take in inexperienced, weak Alices?
Narumi-sensei gasped as grim realisation dawned on him. "No! They want to take the young ones to train them up… To teach them how to hate the Academy…"
"Utterly despicable!" my father concurred, looking considerably appalled.
Argh, I couldn't concentrate! The kids were too noisy and my two insinuating fathers didn't help very much. I walked about twenty metres away from the two men conspiring against the AAO's motives. Maybe if I moved, my territory might capture the offender…
But still, about ten or fifteen minutes had passed since the barrier went up. Surely the AAO would have acted by now, right? Most of the students noticed the barrier's presence and were crowding around some teachers. I guess the teachers arrived just before the barrier trapped us all.
I stopped dead in my tracks.
Thirty metres to my right, in a thick copse of shrubs and trees, an infuriatingly familiar Alice flared up.
Voice Pheromone…I could sense Barrier there too.
There was no time to run back and warn Aoshi-san and Narumi-sensei so I made a beeline for the trees to stop that man from carrying out whatever plan he was going to execute.
However, as I caught a glimpse of unmistakable auburn hair and amethyst eyes amongst the trees, a gunshot grazed my cheek, leaving a bleeding scratch.
The man who had fired the gun was another AAO crony in a tux and shades. I was planning to disarm him until he fired two more shots near my feet, causing me to back away.
"Good girl," Shades-san 2 growled, his lips curling into an ugly sneer. "Stay there. Don't get in the way or next time, I won't miss." He aimed his gun at my head with his finger on the trigger. I gulped.
My heart was beating wildly and I was sweating like a pig. I bet my hair was all frizzy and poofy at the back while the rest of it clung damply like sea snakes onto my sweaty face and neck. I must've looked ridiculous.
The only consolation I had was that the gunshot was pretty loud. After it was fired, the children became relatively quieter aside from a few screams. Aoshi-san and Narumi-sensei surely would have heard that too. They'd be coming to my side any minute now… Narumi-sensei would brandish a bean whip he had stolen from Misaki-sensei's greenhouse and destroy the guns and punish the bad guys… I don't know what my father could do but he could whip out his knife again and capture the goons.
Just please, don't use the Voice Pheromone Alice.
If he did use it on all these people, then I don't know if I can save everyone… It's a really big area to cover and I'm tired…
So… so… so… tired.
I had a long day.
No more.
I'm tired.
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This is what I remembered before blacking out.
Narumi-sensei was running towards us and screaming, "No, Reo!"
Aoshi-san was heading for me, calling my name as I staggered and swayed from fatigue. Then, Shades-san 2 aimed the gun at him.
I raised my arm to try and stop him but I was powerless.
Then, the gun was set on fire.
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I felt that only mere moments after I closed my eyes and embraced the darkness, someone was holding me by my shoulders and furiously shaking me awake.
My eyes fluttered open immediately and a blurry image of Natsume appeared before me.
The black smoke from before seemed to engulf him then it disappeared completely. Then, it reappeared, framing his body and disappeared once more. Was I hallucinating?
I blinked a few times and stared. The smoke was gone.
"You idiot," Natsume growled, looking pained, "don't just stare at me like a moron. Stop Reo."
My body stiffened and I broke out of his grasp. To my left, Narumi-sensei was slumped on the ground with his right arm cradling his left forearm. Blood oozed out of a wound. Kami-sama, he was shot! Aoshi-san was in front of him, fending off Shades-san 2 and Shades-sans 3 and 4. Shades-san 2 had a swollen hand, probably from when Natsume (I presumed it was him) regained consciousness and used his Fire Alice. Either Shades-san 3 or 4 must've shot Narumi-sensei.
I could still feel the Barrier Alice but none of the men trading blows with my father had it.
"Students and faculty of the Alice Academy," Reo boomed, abnormally loud. He was perched on a tall tree branch overlooking the people in the area, standing upright and pressing his left palm against the trunk for support. In his right hand was a microphone. "The Academy has been deceiving you…"
I glanced worriedly at the students and teachers. Most of the teachers were covering their ears, thank Kami-sama. But most of the students had glazed looks in their eyes, giving in to Reo's powerful Pheromone Alice. I looked at Natsume. His pupils were dilated and he was kneeling on the grass, sweating and panting heavily.
I didn't have enough energy to snap all the people who had conceded to Reo's Alice out of this trance so the best way to end this was to cut off the source: Reo himself.
Without a second thought, I charged at the tree and jumped off the trunk, gaining momentum to land on Reo's branch. He looked absolutely shocked at my sudden intrusion.
Before he could do anything else, I snarled and lunged at him, maxing out my Nullifying Alice.
A white light engulfed the two of us. Yes, that's it! I managed to temporarily cancel out his Alice!
My eyes widened as I realised I had knocked both of us off the branch and were now falling to the ground.
I closed my eyes to brace for the impact.
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Sunlight filtered my eyelids, causing me to literally see red. I tried not to think about what that colour reminded me of.
I stirred and opened my eyes to find myself in a white room. Concerned faces hovered around me.
I was in the hospital.
I sat up a little and thankfully, no one tried to push me back down. Aoshi-san adjusted my pillows so I could comfortably lean against them for support. I smiled gratefully at him. A faint blush crept up his cheeks.
I smiled weakly at the people in the room: Hotaru, Ruka, Kokoroyomi, Yuu and even Sumire.
But where were Natsume and Narumi-sensei? Wait, shouldn't Kenta and Hiro be here too?
"Narumi-sensei has already been treated," Yuu said gently. "He went to get us snacks."
"And Natsume?" I prodded. My voice sounded small and faraway.
The five of them exchanged uneasy glances.
"Where is he?" I demanded, my voice rising by a few octaves.
"Mikan, please calm down," Ruka tried to reason with me.
"Yeah, you idiot," Hotaru chided. "It's eight o'clock in the morning. Moreover, we're all skipping class just to see you so you could show a little more gratitude."
"Hotaru…"
"Mikan." I turned to my right where the doorway was. A boy with soft ebony hair and gentle-looking amber eyes was standing at the doorway.
"Hiro-kun!" I started. I was genuinely happy until I saw the grim expression on his face. "Hiro?"
He shook his head sadly and moved from the doorway, revealing Kenta. He wore a similar grave expression. My eyes roved to the young girl whose shoulders Kenta was firmly holding.
Kenta marched the girl in and turned her to face Aoshi-san. She had short, spiky black hair and ornery teal eyes. A perpetual scowl ruined her otherwise pretty face.
The girl was dressed in the red Elementary Division uniform. She was tall and skinny and looked about twelve years old.
"Mikan," Hiro said. "This is Chisa Mawako. She works for the Anti-Alice Organisation."
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To be continued...
Reviews are much loved and much appreciated!
Thanks for all the support you've been giving me for the past six chapters! I hope that you will continue reading and reviewing!
Hmm. So, what's this "black smoke" and "puppetry" business? What happened to Persona and Urumi? Why is an elementary schooler working for the AAO? All will be revealed in due time...
Here's a little challenge: which song does the line "two quarters and a heart down" come from? And what is the name of the band that sang this song? The next chapter will be dedicated to the first person who can send in the correct answers! (oooh it's soooo easy, ne?)