Hey! Um, i don't really have anything to say soo...here's chapter two, you smexy riceballs.
Chapter Two: I'll Protect Myself
Sakura Mikan stayed silent, sinking that mere, five sentenced line in as deep as she possibly could in the moment.
"Welcome to the Dangerous Abilities."
She lifted her gaze towards Persona, then to Kuonji. Neither of them had the hint of deceit.
"The what?" her boggled mind inquired. She already knew what it was, but she never imagined her own self to be part of it. At this moment, the dreaded DA is a stranger to her.
"The Dangerous Abilities. DA for short," replied Kuonji. "A class in which alices are so strong they are considered a threat to the school." Persona nodded approvingly. "We don't have much time left, so I'll explain it briefly.
"Students in this class are wide in age groups. It does not matter how old or young they are; if the school thinks they belong in DA, they belong in DA. I'm pretty sure you are familiar with Hijiri Youichi. He is the youngest to be ever in that class. But since he is too young to do anything for us, he's being put on hold. That's why it's not very well known he's part of it."
"On hold?" Although she grasped the fact what he was in, she was unaware that they had plans for him in the nearby future.
"Yes, on hold."
Mikan gasped. Damn it, You-chan...
"Tsubasa Andou? Ah, a senior. I believe he is the oldest. You have known him for quite some time. He's been with this group for well over four years, and I have no doubt that he'll gladly make you feel welcomed if, for some reason, you don't. And for what they do…well, here comes the hard part." HSP sucked in a long, deep sigh. "They go on missions assigned by Persona. The difficulty depends on how well one can control their alice. Some don't get to go at all, seeing that they have no experience whatsoever.
"You, on the other hand.." HSP took this chance to smile, which sent chills up the girl's shivering spine. "Despite being a newbie, Persona and I believe you are ready to take on missions. Don't think that you were unsupervised when you trained to control your nullification and REC alice on the rooftop late at nights."
Persona took over. "Though, you might need a bit more work on your second alice, your nullification is already powerful enough to tackle your first assignment alone. But, being the gentleman I am, I'll partner you up with an expert. Don't you worry your little self about being killed too soon." He thought to himself for a second. "Oh, and keep in mind that you are not free. Being in the DA means that you're a tool to the school. If you do anything uncalled for, your punishment will be sentenced immediately."
Missions? DA? Tools? Mikan tried to keep up with what they're saying, but her mind fell flat.
What?
What's going?
Why am I being accepted?
Missions?
Why now?
'Welcome to the Dangerous Abilities.'
All she could make out right now was her knees sinking to the floor as her energy was nowhere to be found. Only her bewilderment and and astrayed mind occupied inside of her. With each second of her ignorance, her heart beater faster and faster, as if it could be heard over the silence enveloping the room.
It seemed like forever before she finally looked up to make contact with their calm faces. "Natsume…" she breathed. "Natsume is in this, too, isn't he?"
Persona lucidly nods. "Yes."
She knew that. She knew that he was part of DA. She also knew that he took on missions. But the truth of it all being slapped in her face like that still crashed her pretty bad.
"Why," she buckled her knees together. "Why would you make them do this? They're just kids, they never wanted to be born the way they are now..." By now, Mikan had already began to rise, due to the impulsive anger building up in her. She had totally forgot about herself, and began getting angry for others. She can't help it; it was her natural senses that made her. And besides, she'd always wanted to say something about it. The right time never seemed to come. Until now.
"They aren't tools, they're alive! Why are you using them for your own accord? Why? It just makes their lives much more of a hell than it needs to be!"
You-chan…Tsubasa-senpai…Natsume…
Persona and Kuonji exchanged brief glances before deciding to take action. With a snap of his fingers, Persona disappeared from the room, leaving it once more just the HSP and Mikan.
"I can see you need more time." He waved his hand dismissively to her. "You can go now. Get some time to think about it," he offered. Not a millisecond too soon that he chuckled. "Well, not implying that you have any other choice."
She didn't think twice at his offer. Tears were just on the verge of scaling down her face, and she was not going to let Kuonji, most of all, see her cry. As fast as her quavering feet could take, she bolted out of the room.
She splashes another handful of cold water to her face, hoping it would erase the trails of plummeting tears. Mikan turned off the sink and looked levelly at the mirror. She couldn't tell the difference between her own or the bathroom's water, which meant that washing her face had worked.
The girl displayed in front of her now was totally different than the on from this morning. And it's only been two hours.
"Welcome to Dangerous Abilities."
"Don't worry your little self about being killed too soon."
"…Hijiri Youichi…"
"…Tsubasa Andou…"
"Yes."
Mikan forcedly shut her eyes, concentrating on getting rid of her negative thoughts. Everything was happening too fast. No one even bothered to ease it down for her. No one. She hasn't gotten over her mother's death, and yet, she's being pushed into another obstacle. Why? Each and every time, trouble never finds it hard to sneak its way into her life. Each and every time, she manages to drive it out, only to find it useless in the end. Each and every time…each and every time.
Mikan gradually begins to open her eyelids, letting fake light seep into her vision. Once thoroughly bare, she sees the reflection of the girl with drenched facial features again.
I am Sakura Mikan. I am Sakura Mikan who has gotten through every hardship. I will make it through this one as well. I will hold on. For now.
She slapped both of her cheeks for the second time that morning and gathered the courage she had. I can't falter, for I never have. I can't falter in anyone's sight. I am not that weak. Not anymore. She practiced her best smile in the mirror and, as soon as she's satisfied, Mikan exits the girl's bathroom and walks to class.
This is what her late mother probably wanted for her to do. Do not falter, for I never had. Do not falter, for Mother didn't, either.
1-A and the students inside it quietly chatted amongst themselves when it was self-study. Narumi was too much of an idiot to know that they never talked about studies during this period, but of the latest gossip.
"What do you think happened to Mikan?" Inchou asked Koko, who had his arms around Sumire's shoulders.
"Don't know. We can only ask her when she gets back."
"Hey," Sumire cooed at her boyfriend, "can't you just, like, read her mind or something?"
He shook his head. "Her Nullification has gotten so much stronger that it almost blocks out any other alice unintentionally."
Both Sumire and Inchou looked down disappointedly, but somewhat impressed on how far Mikan has improved.
The mind reader felt a jolt poking at his arm, so he tilted his head to his left to see who it was. "Natsume?"
The charcoal-haired boy, a good six feet high, looked down at Koko, his flaming eyes as captivating as ever. His hands were tucked cooly in his pockets as he leaned unto the table across. "Oi," he said. "Did you read Narumi's mind?"
Koko thought about the question and why it mattered. He was unaware that he gathered a crowd each second he took. Then, with a sudden start, he shouted, "AH! I forgot, I did."
"And?" Natsume coaxed.
"He doesn't know anything either," he said bluntly.
"Jinno?"
"Nada, man."
Natsume clicked his tongue against his teeth irritably and he made for his seat, pushing anyone in his way aside.
Ruka followed him, apologizing to anyone he disturbed, and took his place in front of him. "I'm sure she's fine."
"You're not sure of anything when it comes to Kuonji," snarled Natsume.
"But what can he do to her?"
He tapped his foot anxiously. "Everything he did to me."
"Mikan," Hotaru whispered loud enough for them to hear. They jerked their focus on her abruptly, oblivious that she was present in her seat the whole time. "Came back."
As if on cue, a certain brunette in pigtails came hopping in with a bright smile smeared on her.
Eh. Short chapter. But if I left it the way it was (chapter 3 was also supposed to be part of this) then your eyes probably already been dead. Just warning you guys, this and chapter 3 won't be my best works. I mean, reading it myself makes me want to hurl. The reason why is because I screwed up on the story plot so I tried to fix that, and I did, but the part when Mikan was getting angry at Kuonji and Persona (it's kinda at the beginning) was all messed up. Sorry! So try to endure with meeee , kay, bye and remember to stay smexy!