Yay! The next chapter is UP! Enjoy!
Mikan's POV-
I opened my eyes and rolled out of bed, wincing at the slight pain in my arm. I glanced back at the empty bed, figuring that Natsume had already left to go get ready. I took a quick shower and slipped on my uniform, taking care to hide the huge gash in my arm. I skipped down to the kitchen and grabbed a slice of bread before racing towards my class. Training with Persona had given me some speed so I made it to the classroom with seconds to spare.
Throwing open the door, I called out an 'ohayo' to everyone and ran over to Hotaru.
"OHAYO HOTARU!" I yelled flinging my arms out.
Baka Baka Baka
I flew to the other side of the room and collapsed in a heap. Sadly, this was becoming a daily routine for me. "meanie.." I muttered before running over to my seat and jumping in. Not a second after I had done so, a loud beeping sounded from the other side of the room from Hotaru. Everyone looked at her curiously as she switched off a device on her wrist. Ruka hurried in a split second later, a blush creeping onto his face when he realized that Hotaru was watching him. I raised my eyebrows. Natsume did the same. We glanced at each other and nodded.
We have some work to do on our flirting friends.
Natsume's POV-
Gay lord walked in a moment later, but something was different. He didn't look...GIRLY! He was wearing a pair of light blue jeans with VANS and a plaid shirt. Narumi stalked to the stand and looked around the classroom.
"I have an announcement." Everyone was listening intently, because it's not everyday that Narumi talks normally without any high-pitched squealing or anything. "From today, you will all have to turn in a report on any suspicious activity around the school." Murmurs of protest went around the classroom. I raised my eyebrows. Reports? What was this good-for-nothing-academy trying to do now?
Someone stood up on the side of the classroom. "Why do we have to do this? We didn't do anything wrong!" At this point, Luna smirked and stood up.
"Because I said so. There have been weird things that I've seen and they need to be put to an end." I rolled my eyes at the stupid comment.
"Like what?" I said, staring her down.
Like lower class students spending way too much time around us upper standard students!" she exclaimed. A gasp went around the room.
"Who gives you the authority to say who we hang out with?" Hotaru said, not taking her eyes off her latest invention. Luna glared at the young inventor.
"The Principal, that's who." she bragged. Everyone scooted backwards, trying to edge out of the classroom without her noticing. "STAY!" Luna screamed. They froze, mid-step. Narumi glared at the girl and whispered something in her ear. She huffed. "Fine, you all can go. But first reports are due tomorrow." The class nodded and scurried out, not wanting to face the wrath of Luna Koizumi.
I stalked out after them along with Mikan, Hotaru, and Ruka. We went over to the Sakura tree and sat down. Me and Ruka climbed up to a branch and laid their heads back. Mikan and Hotaru looked at each other and shrugged, kicking their legs out in front of them. The four remained silent, watching the rays dance across the manicured lawn, and soaking in the last warmth of the day. I glanced down and saw Mikan whispering something to Hotaru who looked at her anxiously and shook her head as if in protest. Mikan nodded furiously and pulled Hotaru off the ground and onto her feet. 'Go.' she mouthed, and Hotaru stalked off towards a small park on the side of the school.
Miakn grinned at Ruka who looked at her weirdly. Oh, now I understood. I pushed Ruka off the branch and jerked my head towards the way Imai had gone. He looked at me with panicked eyes. Mikan faced him with a serious face.
"Go. Tell her how you feel, Ruka-pyon. Trust me." Ruka started to protest but I jumped off the tree and stood next to Mikan.
"Seriously man. Don't screw this chance up. It's probably the only time you'll get her alone." He nodded and stalked off towards Hotaru. Once he was out of earshot, Mikan grabbed my hand and started to run. "Oi Polka!" I exclaimed, while she dragged me behind a bush. "What are you doing?" She put a finger over her lips.
"I need to get this on video." she whispered, pulling out her camcorder. I rolled my eyes. She sounded just like Imai now. "They're talking now." Mikan whispered, her eyes bright with excitement.
"Uh, hi Imai-san." Ruka said nervously while Hotaru looked at him weirdly. "I have to tell you something." Hotaru nodded, folding her arms.
"Okay then." she said stoically. "Spit it out." Ruka's face turned bright red.
"Um, Imai-san, I- I-"
"Yes?" Hotaru now looked curious. Ruka looked up.
"I- " he took a deep breath. "I love you." Hotaru's eyes widened as Ruka's words registered in her mind.
"What did you say?" she whispered. Ruka straightened up.
"I love you." he announced. "And, I don't mind if you don't return the feelings to me right now, but I will always love you and-"
"Baka." Hotaru whispered, her face full of emotion. "I love you too, Ruka." His head snapped up, looking at her with shock, a smile spreading across his face. Before she could say anything else, he pulled her close and kissed her. It was a small, light kiss, but full of passion. Hotaru hugged him, knowing that he was right for her.
"I love you, Hotaru." he murmured as he ran his hand through her purple-ish hair.
"Aaawww!" Mikan whispered, wiping tears from her eyes. Seriously, this girl is just too emotional. Well at least, Ruka has someone now. I pulled Mikan up and silently crept out of the bushes, knowing that if we got caught, we would end up in the hospital for months.
We walked back to our Sakura tree and sat down. Mikan rested her shoulder on mine as we gazed at nothing in particular. I sighed as the sun dipped into the horizon, sending a spray of oranges and reds into the sky.
All of a sudden, Mikan sat up and stared into the Northern Woods. Persona walked out, his eyes looking colder than ever as he looked at the girl beside me with disgust.
"You have another mission, Kuro-neko." he said, his cold voice sending shivers through Mikan's body. "Come with me now." Before leaving, he briefly glanced at Mikan and then left into the mist. I sighed and stood up, helping Mikan before I turned around.
"When will you be back?" she asked, her voice trembling. I turned around and gave her a weak smile. "Tomorrow morning at the latest. Don't wait up for me this time. I don't know how long it could take." Then I turned around and walked behind Persona into the forest.
Mikan's POV-
I waited until Natsume was totally gone from my view until I jumped up and ran to the dorms. Throwing on my mask, I tied my hair into a tight knot and jumped through the window. Wanting to make it there before Natsume or Persona, I jumped through the trees faster, scratching my arms and legs in the process as I was only wearing a short sleeved shirt and my uniform skirt. When I reached the base, I leaned against a tree and waited for the other two to arrive. They sure do take a while. I decided to surprise them.
Climbing onto a lower branch of a tree, I blended into the shadows and waited until I saw Persona and Natsume walked towards our meeting spot.
"We'll have to wait for her, Kuro-neko." Natsume rolled his eyes.
"Hn." I smirked and jumped out of the tree landing right next to Natsume and Persona, making both of them jump slightly at my sudden appearance.
"You waited, I came. Now what's the mission." I stated boredly. Persona huffed at my impatience and began to speak.
"This time, your mission is to escort some new students to this school. There will be a car and you two will follow it. Make sure there is no trouble along the way." I rolled my eyes and started walking towards the highway where we would meet the car. My feet carried me towards the road and I could hear Natsume following through the trees behind me. I fought the urge to crack a joke or say something stupid like usual. But Natsume didn't seem to feel awkward about the silence so I kept quiet.
A couple minutes later, we both stepped out onto a road lit by streetlights and found a car waiting to be accompanied. I stood on one side with Natsume on the other and the car rolled off the side of the road and onto the lane. We jogged along with it, not bothering to tell the car to slow down. We were trained for this, after all.
We were about a mile away from Gakuen Alice when about 20 masked men emerged from the trees, blocking the car. I heard the terrified squeaks of the girls inside and the surprised 'oh' of the driver. Natsume and I stepped up to the job. They were finished in about 10 minutes. The car rolled on and we followed behind, just incase any of them awakened.
The gates opened and the car went on through them as Natsume and I jumped on the back in order not to be left behind. The car screeched to a stop in front of the dorms and Natsume hopped off with me.
Natsume stalked off towards the trees, but I lingered behind. The chauffer opened the door and helped two familiar looking girls out. I peered at them and held in a gasp of surprise. Akame and Eri stepped out of the vehicle. My other two best friends besides Hotaru. They were always there for me when I needed them after Hotaru got sent here.
And now they were standing right in front of me! It took every piece of control I had over my body to not run over and hug those two right now. The chauffer turned to me.
"Can you please take these young ladies to their dorm rooms, miss?" he asked politely. "I need to go report the event to the principal and I don't want to leave them out here by themselves." I nodded.
"Yea. It's cool. I'll take their luggage too." I said in a montonish voice. The driver nodded and pulled out four suitcases from the trunk and set them on the ground.
"Here you are." the driver exclaimed. "Thank you, miss, for all your help." I waved my hand nochalantly.
"Don't worry about it. Bye." The man hopped back into the car and drove off, leaving me with Akame and Eri who gawked at me as I picked up all four suitcases with ease.
"Follow me." I said stoically and stalked ahead. I heard the patter of their feet behind me and hushed whispers. Opening the door for them, I struggled with the suitcases and managed to make it to the elevator. Akame and Eri followed quietly. Noticing that their stiffness and awkwardness around me, I sighed.
"What Alices do you have?" I asked The two jumped at my sudden question.
"I- I have levitation." stammered Akame. I nodded my acknowledgment.
"And I have teleportation." murmured Eri. I smirked. A new rival for Mochiage. How interesting.
"What Alice do you have?" asked Akame. I glanced at her sideways.
"Nullification and S.E.C." I stated. They looked at me questioningly and I rolled my eyes, glad to have my mask still on. "Nullification nullifies any other Alice that tries to harm me. S.E.C. stands for Steal, Erase, and Copy. So basically I can steal, erase, or copy anyone's Alice." They gasped and I sighed.
"I have never stolen or erased anyone's Alice yet." I reprimanded them and they let out a relieved breath of air.
"Why don't you take your mask off?" Eri questioned. I shrugged.
"Don't want to." The elevator dinged and I stepped out with their luggage and walked towards the dorm rooms. I stopped in front of two vacant one-star rooms. Copying the future Alice had already given me knowledge of them being one-stars.
"These are your rooms." I turned to face them. "Breakfast is at 7:30am. Classes start at 8:00 sharp in the Elementary School Building. The one right across from this dorm building." They nodded and picked up their respective bags and set them in their rooms. The two walked out and looked at me curiously. "What?"
"Nothing." Akame shook her head. "It's just, you look like someone we used to know." My breathing hitched up. Did they recognize me already? No, that's not possible, right?
Eri nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Hey, can you take your mask off?" I shook my head.
"I don't want to."
"Please?" They pleaded.
"No!" I exclaimed sharply. Eri closed her eyes in concentration and tried to use her levitation Alice to lift the mask off my face. I nullified it. "Did you already forget that I have the nullification Alice?" I asked. She deflated a bit and Akame rolled her eyes.
"Whatever Eri, lets go. She's probably just some stuck up baka that thinks she can do whatever she wants." The two turned towards their rooms, but I used my barrier Alice to stop them.
"Fine." They turned around expectantly. "I'll take off my mask Akame." She gasped, probably remembering that she never mentioned her name to me. "Oh , I remember you two alright. How could I not."
Eri glared at me. "What are you talking about? This is the first time you're even seeing us." I chuckled.
"Yeah right." I shrugged. "Fine. I'll show you. But you have to promise me one thing and I mean this." They nodded, signaling me to continue. "You cannot tell anyone about this. Nobody in my class except for Hotaru knows about me doing this." Akame gasped.
"You know Hotaru?" she exclaimed. I nodded, signaling for them to be quiet.
"Here, lets take this conversation somewhere more private." I teleported all of us into my room. My friends shook their heads in amazement.
"Hey," started Eri doubtfully, "why is your room bigger than ours?" I sighed again.
"Special star." They looked at me in awe and I rolled my eyes.
"Are you sure you can promise not to tell anyone?" They nodded and crossed their arms over their hearts.
"I promise." They chorused. I took a deep breath, took my hair out of it's knot and was about to pull off my mask when someone stepped into my room. I whipped around, my forehead creased in anger beneath my mask as I faced Persona once again.
"What now?" I spat. Akame and Eri shrank back at the newfound cold layer in my voice. Persona smiled that ever-so-cold smile of his.
"Well, well. Getting friendly with the new acquaintices, now are we, shiro-neko?" he asked. I glared at him
"Not at all Persona." I said through clenched teeth.
"Well, I was just making sure that you came back from the mission safely." I rolled my eyes and snorted.
"Yeah right." Persona shrugged and jumped back through the window. Akame and Eri looked at me with frightened eyes.
"Who is he?" Eri whispered fearfully.
"Sadly, he's one of my teachers. Don't mess with him unless you want to get hurt." I stated. They nodded quickly. "Calm down. He can't do anything to you while I'm around. He probably won't anyway." I muttered. They nodded again. "So," I started, trying to lighten the mood. "You guys wanted to see me?" Eri nodded again vigorously. I pulled off my mask and my friends gasped.
"Mi- Mikan?" Akame whispered, a hand reaching out and caressing my cheek. "It really is you!" she exclaimed, jumping for joy. Eri was acting a little differently though.
"You could've told us you were going." she whispered angrily. "You could've said good-bye." I looked down at my feet ashamed and that's why I was surprised when she enveloped me in a big hug. "I missed you, Mikan-chan." I nodded and hugged her, too. She finally pulled back and I grinned my usual cheery smile at her. Her eyes lit up and the three of us enveloped each other in a great bear hug.
I was the first to pull back. "Go on you guys. You have to wake up early tomorrow. We'll be in the same class. I promise." Akame and Eri laughed and skipped out the door. I quickly closed the door behind them. Hopefully Persona hadn't heard all that.
Taking a quick shower and changing into a pair of loose sweats and a tank, I crawled into my bed and hugged the comforter tight around me. Sleep quickly took over and I was left with a dreamless night.
RIIIINNNGGGG! The alarm rang, popping me to my senses. I looked up groggily at the clock. 6:30am. I groaned and turned over, only to fall off the bed onto the wooden floor. Cursing under my breath, I slapped the alarm clock and it turned off. Since I had some extra time today, I would take a quick shower and use the extra time to catch up with Akame and Eri. Ten minutes later, I jumped out, dried myself down, and pulled on my uniform. I brushed through the forest of tangles in my hair and pulled it into my usual two pig-tails.
I grabbed my bag and glanced at the clock as I raced out the door: 7:15. Running down the stairs, I almost bumped into Eri. "Whoa!" she exclaimed, steadying herself. I gave her an apologetic smile.
"Sorry." Eri shook her head in forgiveness.
"It's all right. I was just heading to breakfast. Wanna come with me?" I nodded enthusiastically and skipped to breakfast. There we met up with Akame and ate our breakfast. We walked to school together. All Akame and Eri did was gape at the huge manicured lawns, the huge mansion-like schools and the line of perfectly cared for Sakura's along the pathway. I was about to say something when Narumi jumped out in front of us. Akame and Eri stifled a scream while I just chuckled. This was to normal for me.
"Ohayo, Narumi-sensei!" I exclaimed, waving my hand. Narumi nodded. Today, he was back to his usual attire: Pink jeans paired with a ruffled white blouse.
"Ohayo, Mikan-chan! Are you two the new exchange students?" he asked, peering at Akame and Eri who were sweating bullets by then. They nodded furiously and Narumi stood back, clapping his hands. "Wonderful!" he exclaimed, twirling off into the distance. "Now, I'll see you all later!" I continued walking, pulling a shocked Akame and Eri along with me.
"He's our homeroom teacher." Their mouths opened in a small 'o' as I pulled them along the path. Making sure that no one was there, I glanced at them. "Hey, guys."
"Nani?" Eri asked.
"Please don't tell anyone I have the SEC alice, okay?" Akame looked at me questioningly.
"Why?"
"Because I don't want them to know yet. Only Hotaru knows so far. And Persona." I added with a whisper. Seeing that we were at the classroom, I motioned for them to wait outside and flung open the door.
"Ohayo everyone!" I called out. Running over to Hotaru, I flung my arms open. "Ohayo Hotaruuuu!"
Baka Baka Baka
I moaned as I rubbed the new bruises on my head. "Mou, Hotaru, that was mean!"
"Don't bug me." came her reply. Then I remembered something and grinned mischeviously.
"Hey, Hotaru!" I called out.
"What?" she replied, her back still facing me." Pulling out my video camera, I crept over to her and played yesterday's scene of Ruka and Hotaru confessing to each other. Her face turneed bright red and she pulled out a MEGA baka gun. I quickly pulled it away.
"No, no, no. Ne, Hotaru?" She glared at me. I sweatdropped. "Do you want a copy?" I asked meekly, holding up the camcorder.
Baka Baka Baka
I flew across the room again and groaned as I hit the floor with a thump. Knowing that If I wanted my life then I should stay away from Hotaru, I skipped over to my seat and slipped in.
"Ohayo, Natsume!"
"Hn." came the grunted reply from under the manga. I sighed.
"Honestly Natsume, is it that hard to say 'hello' ?" I asked.
"Hn." I glared at him.
"Fine. Keep it that way. But first, give me this.." I snatched the manga off his head and hid it in my bag. Natsume sat up and glared at me.
"Give it back, Polka." I grinned evily.
"No."
"Give. Me. My. Manga. Back. Now." I grinned cheekily and pulled it out of my bag, holding it between my hands as if I was going to rip it in half. He looked at me threateningly.
"You wouldn't." I smirked.
"I would." He lunged for it but I leaned back and held it out of his reach. Natsume glared at me for a split second longer before pulling out another manga and placing it on his head again. I pouted and tossed the other manga back at him. He caught it with ease and smirked. I rolled my eyes and looked to the front of the room as Narumi-sensei pranced in.
"Ohayo class! I have some exciting news. We have some new students! Come on in girls!" Amake and Eri walked in and stood, facing the classroom.
"Hello." said Amake. "My name is Amake Tanaka and my alice is levitation. I am a one-star." She stepped back as Eri stepped forward to make her introductions.
"Ohayo everyone. My name is Eri Sato and my alice is teleportation. I am also a one-star." The class clapped and Narumi looked around for some empty seats.
"Ah! Tanaka-san, you can take the seat next to Mochiage. (sorry, I don't know his last name)" I smiled. This was going to be fun. Two of the same Alices next to each other. "And Sato-san, you can sit next to Shouda-san." The two girls nodded and went to their respective seats. "Okay class, free period!" and he waltzed back out the door. I stood and walked over to Akame and Mochi who were having a glaring contest. I spun both of them around.
"Ne, ne. Watcha' doing?" I questioned innocently. Mochi faced me with an angry expression on his face.
"Can you tell the new student not to touch my stuff?"I glanced at Akame who was glaring at Mochiage.
"I did not! He dropped his pencil so I picked it up for him. Then he just tells me not to touch his stuff." she said, exasperatedly. I rolled my eyes.
"Seriously, can you guys try to work it out?" I asked desperately. In response the two of them marched in separate directions. Akame marched over to Eri and Mochi stomped over to Natsume.
Like I said before. This was going to be fun.
So... How was it? This is my longest chapter ever so can you please review? Pretty please? Just click the little button down there... :)
I had a lot of fun writing this chapter too! I'll have the next chapter up ASAP!
Arigatou!