No spoilers, but a lot of made-up character history and me showing off my talent of being able to make any character a bit more dark and angsty. Most of these, especially 25, are much, much longer than the usual. And I wish 23, 24, and 25 could've been in the order of 25-24-23, but…you get what you get.
Key to Flying
Done for the 30 KISSES challenge
By DarkenedSakura
Themes21-25 (what you feel is what you are)
21. violence; pillage/plunder; extortion
During lunch, Tsubasa and Misaki were nowhere to be found.
And because his untimely warden-chaperones weren't around, Tono was more than content to spend the hour with Mikan and the others. Without those two. And except for a long glaring match with that one little brat, the lunch period went by much better than usual.
Neither of them were there to keep him from playing with Mikan either, he thought, pretending to kiss her brow as she giggled. Didn't they realize that it was harmless and all in good fun?
Until.
"Tono-sempai? Where's Tsubasa-sempai and Misaki-sempai?"
"Ah. They were busy yelling at each other when I saw them in the hallway, so they'll probably be late."
The girl appeared to be in deep thought for a moment. "Hmm…now that I think about it, I've never seem them really really fight before."
"Take it from me," he said warily, "It's something that you don't want to see."
"Huh? Why?"
Because the last time they did, they almost blew up the school grounds, he thought wryly, but merely said, "Because they can get pretty violent."
"…Like how?" the blond-haired boy ventured to ask.
This was going to take a while.
Tono settled back in his chair. "Well, first they get mad at each other and hurl insults…"
"Idiot!"
"I didn't mean to!"
"You're still an idiot!"
"…Or maybe Misaki hurls the insults and Tsubasa deals with it since whatever started it was probably his fault," he concluded.
Mikan nodded.
Something was odd with that picture, but Tono put it aside. "And usually, Misaki punches Tsubasa, or throws something at him, or…" He trailed off, looking at Mikan again, and blinked. "Actually, it's kind of like how you and that brat interact, just on the next level."
"Eh?!" She looked…stricken, to say the least.
Natsume leveled a burning look at him.
Tono stuck his tongue out in reply as Mikan started waving her arms around rapidly, shouting something or another about the brat.
He stuck in a glare over her shoulder as well, for good measure. Thankfully, the kid seemed more self-restrained than usual with his powers, or else their fighting really would be more like their older counterparts.
"Idiot!"
"I didn't mean to!"
"You're still an idiot!"
"Hey, wait!"
Tono looked up. Maybe his imagination was more vivid than he thought. Unless –
"OW!"
Yeah. It figured that the fight would get dragged out here.
"Oi oi," he yelled at them, a glint in his eye. "Not in front of the kids, eh?"
The two of them turned to him.
He had a sudden sense of déja-vu of, among other things, the last time that he had irritated the two of them. In front of the school. Causing them to back him into a corner with a vengeance.
"Another thing that's similar about you two and these two," he wryly remarked to the kids, "is that usually, a poor innocent bystander like me or Tsubasa gets involved at just the wrong time and gets unfairly punished for it. Well, he's far less innocent than me, but – "
"Tono!"
" – I hope you guys get the picture?" he laughed nervously, backing up a bit and wondering if he could make a quick getaway somehow.
Oh, one of these days he really needed to learn from his mistakes. Really.
22. cradle
It's the fifth explosion he can remember from the past few minutes. Or is it the sixth? None of it really sticks out any more, nothing but the cacophony of sound melding together into streams of adrenaline and panic, nothing-nothing-nothing hammering into his head with explosions that mean something.
He dodges from the sound, dodges in the wind, dodges and feints and runs that much faster across the field. Animals, artillery, fireballs, icicles – he ducks and weaves and avoids it all, because he can't afford to be hit. And it's not the fear of tearing skin and broken bones or pain or how getting knocked over would get in the way, as annoying as those things are.
Someone who means a lot to him has been taken, is gone, and he can get hit with the shrapnel and the projectiles all they want – after he gets her back.
--l--
For him, promises of the end of the world had already come and gone, all in the forms of threats and angry yells and demands to fit in, shackle down, and obey. Against punishments and curse seals, he had resisted it all. And maybe they realized then that while he'd never be afraid of his world ending, he'd always worry for the few people around him that meant anything.
He used to be as wise as Natsume, keeping people at bay for their own good.
Why did she have to come and mess that entire system up?
(the system was there for a reason)
--l--
Now that he thinks about it, he should've known that this battle was going to take place one day. Students against teachers. Rebels against authority. The disillusioned against the weavers of said illusions.
He just never thought that it'd be this big. Or that they'd stoop to such levels.
Then again, they had Persona and the Dangerous Alices that he knew better than most, so it shouldn't have been such a surprise.
It seems that Tsubasa is surprised more often than not these days.
He's not sure what that could mean.
(god it means he's slipping)
--l--
When he gets to the end, he's not alone.
Natsume's there, with flames all around him like a child's comfort blanket. His eyes are red, so red, and he's fighting all of his demons away. Washing them away with fire, one tangible being at a time.
He glances up, still throwing fire. They look at each other.
Words don't need to be said.
The kid doesn't do much, just tilts his head a certain direction and says, "Over there."
Tsubasa stands there for a moment that he really can't afford to spare, then digs a small stone out of his pocket and tosses it over.
The boy catches it, expression unchanging.
"Thanks." Pause. "It's repayment for last time, too."
Something small changes in his fire-rimmed eyes, and he loops the string connected to the Alice stone around his fingers before he turns away, still fighting.
Tsubasa runs, leaving the reminder of who he was and how things could've turned out behind.
Far, far, behind.
--l--
When he gets there, he's too late. He should've known that she'd fight to the death, captivity or no.
Please not the death, he hopes, please not the death.
At first glance, it's hard to tell whether it was his fears or his hopes that came true.
She's taken enough hits that there are no more of her doppelgangers left, and it's as though he's arrived at the perfect moment to see her start to fall backwards towards the floor. He runs up and catches her centimeters from the ground, cradles her in his arms, rocks her back and forth as he shakes and hopes beyond hope that she's all right.
Has he called out her name enough times?
He puts his fingers to her neck, lips to her brow, and breathes a sigh of relief when he feels a pulse.
He lays her down to the side – gently – and straightens, standing.
Some bastards are going to pay.
23. candy
Damnit.
Today was a bad day.
"Oi, where are you?"
"You can't run forever!"
She skidded to a stop behind a tree, holding her breath. Of all her luck, to get involved in a situation like this. Wasn't that Tsubasa's job and not hers, provoking middle schoolers far older than them for the fun of it and all?
She gritted her teeth again for good measure. Maybe they wouldn't notice her and move on, and then she could run back to the elementary building. Maybe they'd just go away. Maybe positive thinking would bring about some results this time.
"Found you, troublemaker!"
Or maybe not.
Today was most definitely a bad day.
"What, aren't you going to back up what you said back there? Gonna use your doppelgangers on us?"
Oh, those bastards knew that her Alice had been working erratically for some reason during the past week. No wonder they chose this day of all days to come seek retribution. Not that it was anything worth fighting over, though. After all, she reasoned, they were idiots and morons and useless brats who only used their Alices to pick on the others.
She had told them so, anyway.
Considering everything, that had obviously been somewhat of a mistake. In timing, at least. The principle of telling them the facts wasn't, really.
She put up a front anyway, turning and facing them. "You guys…"
They sneered. "What can you do? You're helpless. This'll be like taking candy from a baby."
Clenching her fists, she knew, after looking over their shoulders – they were wrong. And almost gave a sigh of relief, except that that would've given away the game plan.
"Go on, then," she smirked back. "Try to lay a finger on me."
"What kind of a stupid challenge is that?" one of them spat out, attempting to move forward – only to realize half a second later that he was already caught in the trap.
Tsubasa stepped out into the tree's shadow.
"Andou!"
Even in the darkness, his smirk was ever so visible. "Huh, picking on defenseless girls? Never thought you guys would stoop that low."
They growled like the morons they were, but stayed stiff in relaxed postures identical to his.
"Now, you guys definitely owe her an apology." He appeared to be in deep thought for a moment. "Hmmm…what would be good enough?"
The students scowled but said nothing, knowing full well what he could do to them with his Alice, if motivated.
He glanced at her.
She raised her eyebrows.
They quaked without moving.
Tsubasa shuffled forward so that the students stood right in front of Misaki, then dropped down to his knees. Groaning, they did the same, except that they kissed her shoes when he bent his head forward.
He mock-sighed. "Hey, hey, shouldn't you be begging for her mercy right about now? I know I would."
Silence for a moment.
A very short moment.
"W…w-we're sorry! We won't try anything ever again!"
"Oh god, is he going to use those hell words on us? I heard what he did to that other group of middle schoolers…" one of the morons whispered.
Tsubasa smirked again.
Misaki shook her head, smiling ruefully. If this had happened months ago, when he was still more dangerous and introverted than this, then those guys wouldn't have even lasted this long.
She leaned back as the others started doing Hindu squats for a couple of hours, then walked away with Tsubasa, ignoring their groans.
What else did idiots deserve but something like this, in the end.
24. good night
She hates it when people say good night, because within that phrase is an intrinsic lie.
Like, "Good night, Misaki – we'll take you out somewhere special tomorrow," when in truth her parents disappeared the next day and only came back days later with empty apologies and empty presents and another flurry of good nights and good mornings to spare.
Like, "Good night, Misaki. We love you," when the morning after, they'd abandoned her in front of the Academy and sped away in a tinted black car, never to return.
Like, "Night, see you tomorrow," when the next morning, Tsubasa was nowhere to be found. When she'd searched and waited and the teachers had nothing to tell her and he'd reappeared days later, shrugging it off and nonchalantly saying (out loud) "Huh? I overslept that long?" (while in a whisper he'd said I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I can't tell you what or why) and she was left to punch him again and again, yelling and shouting and how could he, where was he, did he know how worried she was because knowing him he'd fallen off a tree or something, idiot, that idiot –
Like a million pledges that she could remember if she'd wanted to, a million broken promises and a million apologies and lies. Good night, they'd promise her before they would go away. Good night, they'd kiss her before they'd disappear. Good night, good night, good night.
It was why she clung to good mornings. Good morning meant that the previous gesture from the evening before hadn't been completely false. Good morning, while not an absolute promise of bright sunshine and "everything will be okay", was still like a security deposit to a good night's IOU – far better in comparison. And she took what she could get, after all.
It's something she won't forget, even as things change.
But things do.
When he says "good morning" to her now, she doesn't think about the dangers that the Academy could still pose to them even when they've graduated and moved away. She doesn't think that maybe one day, he won't be there to say it or "good night" to her again for a long, long time. She doesn't think that maybe it has as much of an inherent lie in it as the other term, promising things out of its control.
They've been rendered absolutely useless, the meanings of the terms against his breath on her neck.
Between morning and night, she's learning to live life in the moment.
It's all the truth she needs.
25. fence
The first few days, she didn't understand why she was here. She loved her mother and father, and her mother and father loved her, right? So why had they dumped her outside of these gates, why had they handed her off to a man in a dark suit and sunglasses, and why had they climbed back in the car?
Why did they drive away and leave her all alone?
It's a school, they had said. Her parents, the men, the adults that identified themselves as the teachers there. It was a special school for special children like her, they had said.
But she didn't want to be special. She just wanted to go home.
--l--
Mommy…daddy…?
Why did you…
Why?
--l--
She always knew that she had been a little different from everyone else. Especially the first time that she made copies of herself – whoa, wait, copies? Copies? – and wow, can the other children do that?
Her parents had been so proud. So happy. We tried for so long, for a daughter like you, and you've surpassed everything we would have asked for. A child with abilities like us. We thought it would never happen.
You're special, they told her. You're special.
(You're so special, we've left you and goodbye, here's a goodbye kiss from ten blocks down the road as we drive away because you're our special child and we love you we love you we love you.)
She never thought about it that way.
After all, special's not weird, not abnormal, not strange.
Special's only what you make of it. Only that and nothing more.
Only that and nothing more.
--l--
The first few days, they couldn't really stop her. They could dress her in plaid skirts and white shirts, could take away all of her privileges save for a bowl of rice to prevent starvation, could show her up in front of the class and try to make an example out of her. But it never changed the fact that at 3:55 pm every day, she would run and run and run, run past the men in dark suits with several clones to ward them off until she could reach the gate.
Running running running, every single day. Ran until it was there.
She remembers very well – that exact minute was the time that she had first arrived at the gates, and that was the time that her parents drove away without her.
Maybe they'd come back at the same time.
Maybe it didn't really happen.
Maybe, if she waited long enough, she would wake up as if from a dream. As if it was all just a dream.
(Little girls need dreams the way cotton candy pink and bubble gum innocence go together hand in hand, god they should know that god they should know.)
Maybe if she wanted long enough.
Every day was a maybe. Always always always, every single day.
--l--
They said she was special. Pinned extra gold stars to her blouse and said aren't you lucky that you have the parents that you do?
(Stars are supposed to be free flowing things in the night sky. Daddy taught her that. What are these?)
They never understood why, when they'd say so, she'd slowly start to cry.
--l--
Another day, another 3:55 pm.
Why haven't you come yet? she wanted to yell to the open air. Why haven't you come?
What did I do wrong?
Not even a squeal of getaway tires to answer her, not even that much.
--l--
But she wouldn't let them break her.
She wouldn't.
--l--
There was a point where Misaki lost track of the days, almost lost track of the reasons for why she ran out every day like clockwork to clutch the bars of the fence before she'd be taken back inside. A point where her parents' faces weren't as crystalline clear as they used to be and why hadn't they sent her any letters or photos, why hadn't they kept in touch, why did they leave her here like she had done something wrong?
Had she done something wrong?
The thought caught in her throat, and she willed herself not to cry.
"Hey."
Willed herself not to cry.
"There's no point in running out here every day, you know."
She merely sank to her knees. No use in whirling around and trying to escape like all of the times she had tried before. No use in trying to conjure up those copies of her that seemed to come only when it would cause her grief and never when it could do her good.
Go ahead, she thought, I won't try anything this time. Just take me, just do what you always do.
"Are you deaf? Is that a side affect of your Alice?"
"Just hurry up already," she bit out.
"With what?"
Stinging retort waiting on the tip of her tongue before she knew what she was thinking, she turned around.
He wasn't an adult.
"The teachers that normally chase you aren't here," he said nonchalantly, looking down at her with striking blue eyes as if he was analyzing an insect.
The surprise shocked her emotions away. "Who…are you?"
He smirked. "The boy that all of the teachers are trying to find, right now. Saves you some trouble today, doesn't it?"
She blinked.
"Let's just say that I'm more troublesome than you. At least, I should be. Doesn't explain why they've been chasing you for days, though."
She paused. Why should she talk to this strange boy, anyway? Only weird people talked to others just as weird.
He continued to talk as if she wasn't simply saying nothing. "I'm guessing you've never tried to jump over the fence before. Or climb, for that matter."
She looked at him, surprised.
"Anyone knows you can't get out of the school through the gate or the fence. It's got an electric current running through it. They keep us in here for a reason."
"But…somebody could get in here from outside, right?" she whispered, so quietly that she wasn't sure if she said it.
"Parents don't come for their children here," he stated coldly, simply. Truthfully.
She didn't feel as surprised as she'd have expected.
No, no, no.
Footsteps, faint voices.
"Have you checked near the gate?"
"He never runs there, it's the girl that does!"
"Go check anyway!"
The boy looked at her, eyes seemingly boring into her own. "If you stay here, they'll catch you."
And then he disappeared into the trees.
She ran away as well, but couldn't distance herself from his words.
Parents don't come for their children here.
It haunted her, almost as much as the intensity of his eyes.
She refused to think about it.
--l--
Misaki saw him again the next day.
She honestly wouldn't have noticed. Sure, she did her work in the classes and responded to the other kids and smiled on demand and everything, but she hadn't really paid attention. Hadn't really noticed anything or anyone because none of them mattered, after all.
Hadn't really noticed the kid in the back with the piercing blue eyes, until today.
She walked up to him. "So you knew."
He slouched backwards, hat and hair covering most of his face.
Something she only needed several moments with him to figure out was that this kid was absolutely frustrating. "Say something, will you?"
"There's nothing to say."
So very frustrating.
She sat down next to him anyway.
--l--
End of the day, 3:55 pm.
Misaki stayed where she was.
Silence. Tick, tick, tick.
Tock.
"Aren't you going to go?"
"Where?"
"The gate."
Pause.
"It's the seventeenth day."
She bit her lip and thought, all the way back. Back to her parents' ecstatic faces at finding out that she had an Alice. Back to when they left her at the academy with hardly more than a goodbye – if they had left one at all. Back to running, running, always running. Back to not understanding why.
"You said parents wouldn't come for their children, here."
"I did." He slid further down in his seat, one eye lazily peeking out from under his hat. "But you didn't have to listen to me."
"I'm not."
"Hm?"
"I just…you said it yourself, it's the seventeenth day, right? If they come, then…the teachers will tell me."
He said nothing, merely tipped his hat back down as a nod to something greater that she wasn't sure of.
"You think it's stupid. You think all of it was stupid."
"Sometimes, it's good to believe."
Silence.
She sat with him long after class ended.
--l--
Before long, it became the new routine.
"You know, I hope you're not trying to use me as a replacement for your parents," the boy wryly quipped.
She merely punched him.
"Ow!"
"You deserved it."
--l--
Years and years later, Misaki's parents have never come for her, never not even once. And she doesn't give the clock a second glance when it's 3:55 any more.
At the same time, Tsubasa is still as much of a moron as ever, and thus gets smacked for being one whenever such moments come up. And they don't talk about the past, when he was withdrawn and battling his personal demons and she was naïve and questioning the world, when they first met and when they left their problems behind.
She's never talked to her parents again. It's something that doesn't really come to mind or haunt her in her dreams any more.
For everything she went through, there was never a trade, never any reparation.
But in retrospect, she probably got something else out of it after all.
--l--
Whoops, it's been quite a bit over two months, hasn't it. I hope the extra length of this (4,141 words compared to the usual of 1500-1600) makes up for it – this batch is around twice as big as one set of five normally is.
Apologies for those who think that my rendition of Misaki is a bit far-fetched. But really, no matter how bright and sunny they are, everyone in GA seems to have some kind of a wretched, dark, angsty past, and Tsubasa did mention the kind of kid he used to be. So if the difference with him is that pronounced now, imagine if she had to overcome some hurdles of her own as well. This makes characterization of the two a challenge, because if I write a theme for them in one of the transitional times, then they'll seem out of character if I don't have some kind of a lead-up, but having one for each of them can be messy. So. Uh, ah well.
A lot of these are interconnected, and almost all of these follow a general timeline. If you'd like, I can put up the 'reading order' and relations for all of the themes when I'm done.
Dex is only the best beta ever, and reviews would greatly be appreciated. I don't write for reviews, but they sure as hell give me more encouragement and sometimes speed things up. And there's only one more batch after this, so it won't be long.