It didn't take long for rumors to reach Hyuuga Natsume's ears, even if those rumors were only shared between teachers. A few days ago Natsume heard rumors of a boy with an absurdly strong alice who would enroll into Gakuen Alice. Natsume was never supposed to know that, no student was, but he had knowledge of the Academy most people didn't, and he knew all the dark places in the Academy that most didn't know existed. He had no problems finding out things most people wished to keep secret.
So when the teachers finally announced in class that there was a new student, Natsume wasn't surprised, only curious. He had been wanting to see the topic of all the whispers.
And when the much awaited newcomer arrived, Natsume was more than a little surprised.
From the very moment Ichihashi Hokuto walked into the classroom, with all his thirty-something alice-restraining devices and his stoic expression, Natsume had found himself feeling a spike of terror towards the newcomer. Ichihashi was a Dangerous Ability type, that much was obvious. Why else would the principals give the guy so many restraining-devices? Natsume, having as much power as he did for being a Fire alice, had only needed two alice-restraining devices to keep his alice in check. To need so many as Ichihashi Hokuto wore... Natsume couldn't even imagine how insanely powerful a person's alice had to be for that. Persona, Natsume's annoying superior and the moderator for the Dangerous Ability Class, only wore eleven, and the guy was a monster.
Ichihashi Hokuto terrified Natsume, and a terrified Natsume was an angry Natsume.
Naturally, Natsume ended up sending Ichihashi Hokuto the most baleful stare he could muster. He also noticed that even Imai had been warily glancing at the guy. Good survival instincts, Imai, Natsume thought derisively. Maybe your idiotic best friend will catch some of it.
His eyes landed on Sakura Mikan, who was watching Ichihashi absentmindedly. He grudgingly hoped that the stupid girl wouldn't be stupid enough to actually approach the guy. Nobody in class knew his alice, and the teachers never talked about it. For all Natsume knew, maybe Ichihashi made people explode upon eye contact.
Lunch time came and ended, and when class resumed the students were whispering again the way they were when Ichihashi first stepped into the classroom. Being the imbeciles that they were, their whispers were loud enough for Natsume to overhear.
"Dangerous..."
"Ichihashi-kun said..."
"Killed... for fun..."
Natsume's head snapped up at that. Killed? For fun? Were they saying that a murderer had been admitted into the school? That Ichihashi Hokuto was a murderer? Well, it wasn't that hard to believe. Thirty-seven alice-restraining devices, Natsume finally finished counting. Thirty-seven. Guy was either a god or a demon.
Mikan slumped down on her seat, suddenly drained. Ichihashi-kun had killed. Mikan didn't believe it was intentional — nobody could mistake the sorrow in his eyes when he said the word "practice" — but she still can't wrap her head around that. He had killed. As in ended a human's life.
She shook her head and looked across the room at Ichihashi-kun's empty seat. He left for the Elementary School Dorm without another word after his sudden admission. Where was he? Did he get lost? Had he been too mortified by admitting that he had caused a person's death? Mikan never regretted anything like she regretted asking about his alice. If she had gone through what he had, she wouldn't want to talk about her past either.
The guilt was eating her alive.
But she had been so curious. Curious about the way his grey eyes never lingered on anything, curious about the small smile that played on his lips that seemed both cruel and anguished, curious about the formal way he spoke, curious about his rich, silky voice, curious about—
"Hey, Stupid Polka. If you stare any harder, Ichihashi's seat will melt."
Mikan started. She tore her gaze from Ichihashi Hokuto's empty seat and met the hard crimson glare of the school's resident jerk: Hyuuga Natsume.
"What do you want, Pervert?" she snapped at him. Just like how Stupid and Polka seemed to be Natsume's monicker for Mikan, Pervert was her monicker for him. The jerk was, after all, a true pervert. No decent guy would call a girl after the pattern of her underwear. No decent guy would look in the first place. Pervert.
"You're throwing goo-goo eyes at Ichihashi and he's not even here yet. It's disturbing."
Mikan was aghast, and an embarrassed flush went up her cheeks. "I'm not throwing goo-goo eyes at anyone! Least of all Ichihashi-kun!" She wasn't. She was just... wondering about Ichihashi-kun. She was just worried that he wasn't in the classroom yet. She was just—
"You're doing it again," Natsume hissed. "Stop it. I have to sit behind you and see that stupid look on your face. I'd go blind."
She threw him a glare. "If you do go blind, it's because you keep peeping under girls' skirts!"
He huffed, then smirked. "Not my fault you keep flashing me, Polka."
Seriously! What was wrong with the guy? "You're so... immature. Ichihashi-kun would never—"
"Don't." He cut her off. "Don't compare me to that guy."
"Look—"
"No," he snapped at her. "You look. That guy's dangerous. You shouldn't even talk to him, much less make goo-goo eyes at him."
"How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not making goo-goo eyes at anyone!"
"You are. I see that look plenty enough times on Shouda to know it for what it is. It's obvious that you like Ichihashi. It's obvious that you shouldn't. That guy... he will end up killing people one day. I know his type."
"As I know yours," a dangerously soft voice came from behind Mikan and Natsume. There stood Ichihashi Hokuto, a cold mask of indifference that Natsume could only hope to emulate on his face. "Good afternoon, Sakura," he greeted her calmly.
Mikan flushed when she remembered what Natsume had been saying before Ichihashi showed up. Did Ichihashi hear the part where Natsume said that she liked him? She hoped to Kami that he didn't.
"It's rude to eavesdrop on other people's conversations," Natsume snarled at Ichihashi-kun.
"I hear it's also rude to gossip about other people," Ichihashi replied succinctly. "Our mutual rudeness would cancel each other out, apparently."
"Who the heck made up that stupid rule?"
Ichihashi Hokuto raised an eyebrow at that. "Who makes up all the other rules? Does it matter who makes the rules? What if I told you that I made up the rule to never steal from others? Would you steal just to spite me?"
"I..." Natsume trailed off, and Mikan fought the urge to laugh. "You're a strange guy," he concluded.
"Truer words," was Ichihashi Hokuto's reply in English.
The teacher arrived then, and Ichihashi Hokuto wordlessly walked to his seat, Mikan's and Natsume's existence seemingly forgotten.