Catch Me, I'm falling for you
Here we go; this is chapter 6… :) Thank you for the reviews… Enjoy!!
Niane Anne Marie: thanks for the quadruple review:))
Blackrose816, don't worry I got meaner surprises in mind! Wahahaaha!
Disclaimer: I, yuuri727, solemnly swear that I do not own Alice academy.
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Chapter 6: Worried
"What do you see?" Reo asked impatiently.
"Natsume is suffering under a deadly fever. Mikan and her new friend are out venturing in the woods looking for the green crescent stones. I have to say, they are both in a dangerous condition." Serina explained emotionlessly.
Reo frowned. "What? Getting them killed by someone else is not part of the plan. ..But…Who cares? Let them die. Whatever happens, we're ready. How about those three? Where are they?"
"I'm sure they are still patrolling Mikan and Natsume's love necklace."
"Everything's still cool. We have plenty of time to spear. Isn't that right Narumi?" he squeezes his face with an evil grin.
"Yes…Reo…Everything's under control." Narumi answered him flatly.
"Although I'm still curious about Sakura, Isn't she the daughter of that person?" he smirked again. "I'll know sooner or later…"
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In front of the woods…
"Let's go, Shigeru. There's no time to waste." Mikan tugged his shirt a little stubbornly.
"Shouldn't you be at least…Worrying?" he looked down.
She slightly tilted her head. "Worrying? Why should I? Is it still about my life?"
"Well…yeah…I mean…"
"Come on!!! Stop worrying!" she squeezes his cheeks. "Just think of it as a heroic deed for the academy. Come to think of it, I just realized you were cute…but…because of that frown, I think I'm taking that back." She grinned playfully at him. "You still gonna frown?"
A faint smile started to curl. "Okay, okay…you convinced me enough already." He removes Mikan's hand from his cheek. "Come on…"
"Yeyyyy!!!" she grabs his hand and pulls him towards the woods. "Let's do this together." She smiled.
His face started burning up again. "Damn…I'm blushing!!! I can feel it. I hope she doesn't notice." He thought.
"Shigeru-kun, Are you sick or something? Your face is all red!" she places her hand on his forehead. "You should've told me you were sick…"
His cheeks started to grow redder when Mikan got close to him. "N-noo!! I-I'm f-f-fine!! I-I-I…w-w-w-ell…I'm fine, Mikan…Let's go…"
"Okay…if you say so…"
"This is the perfect time for bonding…I think…"
The two of them happily marched their way inside the deep dark woods.
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Back inside the room, Natsume was still groaning in pain. He couldn't stand up or move an inch where he was staying.
"Why did I actually let Mikan go to that adventure?"
"Where was she headed again?"
"That's right…To the woods, to get those green crescent stones…"
"She has to fight those powerful elves…to get it…"
"She's also with that Shigeru, which I never really saw fighting during combat…"
"Damn…That idiot will never survive…I'm pretty helpless…I couldn't stand up…nor fight…That stupid girl…why did I even let her go there? Oh well…I just hope that Shigeru has something that's worth it…If only I could just stand up…"
From outside…a familiar blonde teen gazed at him.
"Nat-sume…" he whispered emotionlessly, trying so hard to regain control of himself…
"We have an unbreakable bond of friendship…Reo….shouldn't….interfere with it..." He couldn't break away from his control, no matter how hard he tried to resist it.
"Polkadots…Mikan…" the raven-haired boy tried standing up no matter how painful it was. "For Ruka, Imai, and all the others…I must fight…" he thought, limping his way to the door, but his vision was 10 times more blurry than a normal person waking up, his face was 27 shades of red, and his wounds and bruises haven't healed up yet.
"You're still in a bad condition…Don't…Natsume…" the blonde whispered.
"Baka…that baka…will die…I'm sure of it…I…must…get….up…I must…get to the woods…" he still limped and struggled to fight the pain burning inside him.
He held onto a wall for support and continued to hobble across the room to the door. "Too much use of Alice?...I'm…really gonna die before I get there…but then…I won't be able to show her…that place…" he shook his head "Why am I actually…thinking about her?"
Face the truth, Natsume…You love her…
"No! Who would fall for an idiot like her?...Not me…" he was already by the hallway, still trembling in pain. That blonde suddenly got his consciousness back. "Natsume?! I have no time to waste."
He jumped on a tree, away from the house. "I have to find…Sakura-san…She…may be the one to help Natsume heal up…It's the least I can do…I won't let him die…"
"I just…won't"
--
"Natsume…If there is no choice left…You take your own life. Promise me that. You don't know the consequence that your friends might endure…"
"Promise me that you'll still be alive!!"
"I can't take…this anymore…" The raven-haired boy suddenly stumbled in the middle of the staircase; he fell up to the ground. After a while…He realized he was already coughing out blood. His vision started to blur…The world seemed to turn around on him…
"Mi…kan…gomenasai…gomenasai…MIIKKKAANNN!!!!"
"What's the point of living if the only thing I'm good at is causing pain?"
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"Achoo!" Mikan rubbed her nose lightly. "That was sudden."
"Someone must be thinking of you…" Shigeru assumed.
"Really? Do you have any idea who it is??" she bounced happily.
He placed his hands inside his pocket. "Hmmmm….give me number from 1-28."
"14!! That's my favorite number!!!" she grinned widely.
"What's the 14th letter of the alphabet?"
"It's…N…Natsume?! Could it be him?!" her eyes grew widely.
"Maybe, He does care for you a lot…"
She frowned and looked down sadly. "I'm really worried about him…I have his bad feeling inside me…that…"
Shigeru placed his hand on her shoulder gently. "No frowning, Mikan…You will save him right?"
"Yeah…I'll get there in time…I'm sure of it…as long as he doesn't do anything stupid like struggling to follow me or something…"
"Can I ask you something…?" The brunette blushed lightly.
"Hm? What is it?" Mikan titled her head.
"What's the faint glow on your neck, some kind of stone or something?"
"Ah, the love necklace, Natsume has the other half. Well…you see…a guy named Persona gave this to us the night the academy got all corrupted. This necklace allows two people to merge souls once their bond is strong enough…then once our bond is stron-" He pulled her and hid behind a bush with his hand covered her mouth firmly.
"Shhh…something's coming and I don't think it's very friendly…" he peeked slightly what it was and it seemed to be a huge dragon. It had green slimy scales and looked hungry.
"Swgru, I cwn't bweth!! Wt gwo!! (Shigeru, I can't breathe!! Let go!!)" Mikan wiggled stubbornly.
"There's a dragon Mikan! Keep quiet!" he whispered softly. Mikan was looking at him direct at the face. She then, saw the dragon behind Shigeru, looking at him hungrily. Her eyes widened and started pointing the dragon.
"Swgru!! Bwnd wyo!! Twe dwgon!!!! Ts gwna weat wyo!!! (Shigeru!! Behind you!! The dragon!!!! It's gonna eat you!!)" She was wavering in fear.
"I know there's a dragon that's why you have to keep quiet." He hushed again.
"Wno! Wook! Wook!" when she was finally able to get out of Shigeru's grasp, she ran immediately with no word.
"What's up with her?!" He then felt drool stream down his shoulders. He froze, the he looked what was behind him. It really was the dragon! He also ran as fast as he could.
"Run for your life!!!" the two of them yelled, running to different directions just to get away from the dragon. Then, in front of them, there was an intersection, they didn't care where they were going so they went on separate paths, the roads were narrow so the giant green scaly fiend wasn't able to follow.
Mikan continued to run and run and run…Above her, the blond teen followed her through the treetops. After seemingly hours of running, the woods grew dark, the wild whispers of animals became louder, she them, got frightened. That was the time she realized Shigeru wasn't with her anymore.
"S-shigeruu…w-where are you?!" she called out, fear mixed with the tone of her voice.
She heard a sound of a stomping creature draw closer to where she was.
"Shigeru? Is that you?! Where are you?!"
There was no response.
She was shaking in fear. She really wasn't used to the dark; she sat down and wrapped her arms around her. "I'm scared…" Tears started to stream from her cheeks. "Someone…Anyone…Please help me…"
"Am I giving up now? I'm giving up on Natsume? No…I can't…I mustn't…For the academy…But…I'm really scared…I can't go on any longer…"
"Sakura-san, stop crying." Mikan glanced at him. It was the blonde teen…
It was him…
"Ruka-pyon?!" she looked at him. She was still afraid that he was still under Reo's control.
"Don't worry…I'm okay now…" he smiled. "I'm free from Reo…"
Without a word, Mikan rushed towards him and hugged him tightly.
"Ruka-pyon!! I'm scared! I don't where I am now, or where to go!! I'm lost! You have to help me…Me and Shigeru went on separate ways during the intersection…that's why we got lost and couldn't find each other. You have to help me get to the elves or else…Natsume will…"
Ruka squeezed her back tightly. "I know. I know…he'll die right? Don't worry, we'll get there somehow. Just don't cry…okay? It's awfully weird to see you crying. Let's go together, shall we?" he grabbed her hand and they walked carefully through the dark path.
"Ruka-pyon…How did you break free from Reo's spell?" she asked curiously.
"I saw Natsume by the window, he was suffering under high fever right?"
"Yeah…I just hope he didn't do anything stupid like trying to follow us or something…He might end up coughing out blood at the bottom of the stairs."
Ruka scratched his head. "Umm…I did see him trying to get up…but…I don't know where he went…"
"I'm really worried about him…Well it was my fault he got all beaten up like that…"
"At…the train…right?" his grasp on Mikan's hand became tighter.
"Yeah…When Tsubasa-senpai slapped me…he got all flared up…then…"
"I'm sorry, Mikan…It was my fault…if only I didn't get caught up in Reo's spell…things would have happened differently. I'm sorry…I'm sorry…"
"Hey, it's not your fault; you didn't want to get controlled in the first place, right? It's all an accident…it's no ones fault." Mikan smiled.
"But...are you really sure it's okay?" he questioned again.
"Affirmative, sir!" she placed her hands on her forehead like a soldier. The two of them chuckled in the situation. "Well…anyway, do you have any idea where Reo's main hideout is? Where the rest of the academy is?"
"I…" she raised an eyebrow, waiting impatiently for an answer.
"I…"
"I really haven't seen it yet…The last thing I remembered was when Reo ordered us to watch over you until you and Natsume have developed the 'bond' that necklace needs, then we kidnap you and take you to his hideout. That's the time when we ambushed your train. We knew if the travel would take longer, the more chance you could talk with each other…That's about it…" he explained.
She blinked her eyes in amazement. "I really have to be careful. They'll use me as blackmail material for Natsume."
"Yup, I think so…I guess that's the plan…Once he has gained control of Natsume, he can destroy everything. Imai-san is still under his control…but I have no idea where they went."
They walked and walked and walked…hand in hand, both trying to keep up the courage inside them.
"I wonder where Shigeru is…" Mikan looked up.
"Who's Shigeru?" Ruka raised a brow
"He's my friend. He came with me because he was afraid that I might die with the battle against those elves. The sad thing is…Natsume hates him."
"He's worried about you…" he smirked. "Where'd you meet?"
"At the train…by the food cart."
"How'd you got close?"
"We stayed in his rest house when we got damaged after the train crash."
"He brought you there?"
"Yeah."
"I have now come to a conclusion." He grinned.
"What conclusion?!"
"Shigeru-kun likes you!!" he giggled.
"Ha ha…as if! Who would fall for someone like me?" Mikan looked away. He laughed again. "What's so funny?" she pouted.
"Oh nothing…" He smiled. "I love you, Mikan. Don't blurt out things like that." He thought.
Suddenly, they heard sounds of creatures celebrating some ritual or something. They hid inside a bush and peeked what it could be. It was the group of powerful elves, jumping and dancing around a huge bonfire. By the totem pole, in the middle of the bonfire, there was a familiar teen tied up tightly. It was their brunette friend, all covered in scars and bruises.
"Shigeru-kun?! What is he doing there?!" Mikan asked with a worried expression on her face.
"They're celebrating…I don't know why, but I think they'll be feasting on your Shigeru, Mikan."
The elves continued doing their rituals, and focused their attention merely on Shigeru. Mikan started to worry more.
"What?! They can't do that!! We have to do something!! Ruka-pyon! Let's go!" She stood up but Ruka pulled her back down.
"We'll do something. But attacking now isn't the best time. We have to make a strategy or something. Attacking like in berserk mode won't do us any good. We might also end up like him."
Mikan sat back down stubbornly. "Got any bright ideas?"
He smirked at her confidently. "I do Mikan, I do…"
-End Chapter-
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Tada!! What do you think?! I have to admit…This is the longest chapter I made so far. I'd like to hear some comments…Please do review if you have time! I'll update soon. :) Until then,
Adios.