Your Typical New Kid

by

Stars of Gold

Chapter 7: Break In

"Narumi!" Taiki yelled as he burst through the doors of the Staff Room. Narumi jumped in his seat, surprised. "Yes, Taiki-kun?" He replied in a worried tone. "It's Emi. She – She's gone!" Just then, Natsume walked in, a cold aura surrounding him. Everyone near him shrank back and shuddered in fear. "Inoue. Ice Girl's gone? So is Polka Dots." He said coldly. Taiki looked at him. "Emi and Sakura-san?" He muttered. Then his and Natsume's eyes widened simultaneously. "The Anti-Alice Organization." Natsume growled, clutching Mikan's ribbons in his hand. "They're trying to get to us." Taiki continued, pulling a dark green and brown tribal-looking bracelet out of his pocket. He began to finger it as he remembered when he'd gotten it…

-FLASHBACK-

"Jess, I…I have to…m-move a-away…in a couple of…hours…" He said sadly, not looking at the girl beside him.

"M-Move? To a d-different neighborhood?" She asked, tears welling up in her eyes. "Y-Yeah. I-I'm going to a new sc-school. An Academy. For p-people like m-me." She bit her lip, then stood, blinking away her tears. "Look. I'm not stopping you. I – I just want you to know that…whatever happens, you'll always be my best friend. Okay?" She said softly, turning to him. "So try to ease the process of your going away for me by not making anyone else your best friend. Is that possible?" She said jokingly, punching him in the arm.

"Well, just don't forget me, okay?" She said, digging in her pocket. "Here." She handed a brown and green tribal-looking bracelet made out of thin rope to him. "I – I made it myself. It's a sort of friendship bracelet. Take it as a farewell gift." He stood up, blinking, as he took it and attempted to tie it around his wrist. He failed miserably. She rolled her eyes and took over, her hair tickling his arm as she did so. He shivered involuntarily at their proximity and she looked at him with a weird look on her face. "It's cold." He said defensively. She gave him a 'You think I'm stupid?' look, but brushed it off as she finished the knot. "There we are," She said, stepping back. "Now come on. I wanna ride the swings in the park before you have to leave!"

And then, the two teenagers raced each other to the swings in the park nearby, living in the moment, carefree, not caring about what the future would hold for them.

-END FLASHBACK-

Taiki sighed at the memory. He wasn't able to tie the bracelet around his wrist anymore after the knot came undone. He seriously relied on Emi. Geez, poor dude.

AHEM. Returning to the story.

"They're baiting us. They're taking the ones we care about the most and holding them captive." Taiki growled, narrowing his eyes. "In that case, wouldn't they have taken Ruka-kun instead?" Misaki asked, cocking his head. Nobody bothered answering him.

"Anyway, we have to do something. Tell Persona to send his strongest students. They'll kill those two!" Natsume shook his head. "No. They want me and Inoue. The two of us will go." Taiki nodded gravely. "Besides, I wouldn't trust anyone else to go save my best friend." He said, clutching the bracelet tightly.

"Hyuuga-san, Inoue-san," Hotaru said, stepping from the shadows. "You'll be needing this." She handed them both a large, clear packet each, both filled to the brim with gadgets. "Instructions are inside. You both had better come back with those two in one piece. Especially you, Hyuuga. I want to test out my improved Baka Cannon on her. Ruka hasn't been proving helpful."

A slightly dizzy Ruka stepped out of the shadows as well. "Hotaru, you just gave me a massive headache." He commented, before massaging his temples and looking at Natsume. "Be careful, okay?" He said, a slight smile on his face.

"And follow Hotaru's instructions clearly. Otherwise, something catastrophic might occur." He glared at Hotaru. "She has a tendency not to consider those that might need her inventions in an emergency, or have an IQ below hers." She shrugged. "They're meant for everyday use. You usually have the time to find buttons and press them when you're not in a critical situation."

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Emi blinked her eyes open wearily. "What the…Where am I?" Beside her, Mikan was also regaining consciousness. "E-Emi-chan?" She asked weakly. "Yes. Mikan-chan, they took you too?" Mikan nodded wearily. "Hold on, I'll try to bust us out of here." She attempted to freeze the door, but nothing happened. "What? Mikan-chan, are you nullifying my Alice?" Mikan shook her head. "I think we're in the custody of the Anti-Alice Organization." She said darkly. Emi blinked. "Anti-Alice Organization? But why us? I'm not trained enough, and your Alice is hardly useful for trying to stop Alice Academy. Besides, we both don't have anything against the Academy." Mikan shook her head. "It's not us they want." Emi's eyes widened. "You mean…" Mikan nodded gravely. "They're baiting Hyuuga-san and Taiki! CRAP!" She cursed.

"My, my, such foul language from such a pretty young girl…" A familiar voice said through the small window at the top of the door. Mikan's eyes widened. "Reo…" She breathed. Emi raised an eyebrow. "The infamous Reo? The one who kidnapped Hyuuga-san?" She whispered fiercely. She nodded. Emi narrowed her eyes defiantly.

"What a strong Alice you have. You'll be good for the Organization," He commented, peering at the information in his hands. "Never." Emi said emotionlessly. Reo's head snapped up as he looked her in the eye. "Why not? The Academy won't be able to use you as they have used your dear friend Taiki."

Emi did not flinch, imagining that the emotion-controlling bracelet was still clamped on her wrist. "So? I do not question the Academy. I am sure that Taiki did as he did for his own reasons, of which I am not to pry into." She said coldly, staring straight back at him. Reo narrowed his eyes and turned to Mikan.

"You," He said, staring at her. "You followed us when we took Natsume." He commented. Mikan gazed straight back at him, determination shining brightly in her eyes. "Yes, I did. Do you have a problem with that?" She asked coolly, glaring as she noted the look of surprise on Reo's face. The girl he'd met and captured five years ago was emotional and clumsy, not calm in the face of danger nor so good at glaring. Then again, he thought, smirking. She is that person's offspring.

"Just stay put in there until your so-called rescuers come. Then you can all sit in there until you fall under my spell completely." And with that, he left the room, laughing evilly as he did so.

Emi rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath. Mikan grinned widely and began to giggle as she heard the many profanities that spewed from her companion's lips. Emi raised an eyebrow, then gave a small smile. 'No wonder Natsume's attracted to her,' she thought. 'She's so cheerful, even in the face of danger.'

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"Protective shield. Most likely an electrical barrier." Natsume muttered as they crouched on the top of a hill, surveying the Headquarters of the Anti-Alice Organization. "I'll check it out." Taiki said, extending a vine to the barrier and dropping a leaf. A moment later, the leaf was reduced to ashes. "Okay, we need to get through somehow." Taiki stated the obvious as Natsume rummaged through the gadgets Hotaru had lent them.

"Well, she says she's improved the cream that Polka Dots tried to use when she attempted to escape the Academy." He said, pulling a small tub of cream out. "She also says it not only stops the pain from getting to you, it also helps you blend into the currents of electricity, so no one will notice a disturbance."

"Let's test it out," Taiki suggested, applying cream onto a leaf and dropping it onto the dome. It passed through harmlessly, and nobody came out to investigate, so they assumed that the alarm didn't go off.

"I guess it works." Taiki stated the obvious once again as Natsume rolled his eyes. "Come on. We have to get in there before they kill those two."
Ooh. Emi and Mikan are unscathed, yes, but how many traps will Natsume and Taiki have to go through just to get to them?

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Stars of Gold