"Author's" note: Chapter 14 is up! I took a really long time figuring a few questions regarding the plot. It is still unclear, but somewhere there. An apology for being so late: SORRY!! My excuse being: EXAMS. They are really never ending. :( Pouts unhappily.
Thanks to all who have reviewed and love this story! Happy reading!
Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice and it's a fact.
Chapter 14 – Namae
What's in a name?
That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet
Romeo and Juliet - Scene 2.2
William Shakespeare
The door was left ajar as a sleek figure slid her way through.
"And so how was your little trip, my dear?"
The figure paused. Her mouth curled into a malicious grin.
"Purrrfect"
"Have you tested them enough, Pink panther?"
Luna flashed her canines smugly as she eyed the woman sitting comfortably on her armchair.
"Of course, although I must say Mikan Sakura would be of no use to you. She poses no threat nor is she capable enough to be a pawn by the looks of it." Luna faked a shrug, appearing as nonchalant as possible.
"Is that so? But you would still want her as your prey, won't you? For your revenge."
Luna tensed slightly, but forced herself to relax.
"For my revenge?" she feint ignorance.
"Mikan Sakura is the daughter of Yuka Azumi, isn't she? Which also mean that there is a high chance she would posses that Alice. She cannot be taken lightly."
"You knew…" Luna sulked, chewing on her lower lip.
"Of course, how could I not." the woman smiled slyly, "therefore, I would advice to hold back on your killing spree until the vampires meeting. We would like to be in top shape no? Oh and shall I capture your prey for you?"
Her only reply was a slam of the door by a very moody pink panther. The woman shrugged. She snapped her fingers. At that instant, a vampire stood before her.
"Get Mikan Sakura." was her only command as the vampire sprinted away.
o.O.o.O.o
She fingered the nape of her neck. It was not there. The mark was not there. She panicked slightly. Her eyes roved around in a frantic search for familiarity. She was still within the abyss, but there was something about this dream, something very different. She paced forward in distress. Chocolate-brown eyes stared unseeingly at an object. With a tug, the dark fabric slid off the object.
Her hand loosed in surprise, while the silk cloth vanished into the darkness. A girl with angelic features so frighteningly identical to her floated in the luminous fluid contained within a large tube. Her slender frame was clad in white robes, tied down by a single red cloth which drifted up and down in the liquid. The only difference between them was their eyes. Hers were closed in deep slumber unlike the real breathing person which were hazel and widened in awe.
She backed off in alarm. Was that her? The mere thought of it stricken her. Her fingers boldly reached for the glass, but were restrained by a mysterious force. An invisible hand wrapped around hers.
"Yuka erased your memories, didn't she?"
Mikan withdrew her hand, startled by the voice, but by no means was she afraid. Had she lost her memory? 'Probably' she answered her question for she could not recall the most recent events. In fact, she did not even know the slightest detail of who she was. Her eyes scanned the huge cylinder. It had not reflected a figure.
"Dareka?" She hissed. It was a familiar presence. She knew this person, yet there was a sense of wary and suspicion shrouding around this strange voice. It was not to be trusted and Mikan's sixth sense was not to be taken lightly.
"You need not know, child. It is best that you recover your strength, for the path ahead is not one to be cruised through; it is no bed of roses. I foresee danger coming your way whether you like it or not. "
The honey-sweet voice ceased to resound. Her words of concern comforted Mikan greatly, but she could not help but be chilled by her last sentence.
Mikan lowered her head in silence, her mind formatting thousands of questions. There was so many things she wanted to know, but can't seem to reveal them. She glanced at the figure within the glass once more and knew what she had to ask.
"May I ask a question?"
"Yes, child. As long as it is within my capabilities, I shall answer it"
"Who is she?"
The voice did not respond immediately. It paused for a very long time as if debating whether it should speak. Finally it did.
"She is your Alice. It slumbers now, but when it awakes, who knows what havoc it would cause. You must never touch her, child."
Mikan opened her mouth to ask another, but decided against it. She remained quiet, processing the new information. She felt lost. If she had lost her memory as the voice had said, what was she going to do now? Who should she trust? She did not know. As if reading her thoughts, the voice answered her.
"You must find Natsume."
"Who is he?" she asked.
"Think hard, child. I have no control over you. I am merely a soul which resides within you." the voice urged.
Mikan frowned. An image of the raven-hair lad flashed through her mind, followed by an overwhelming burst of memories. There were glimpse of a violet eye girl and an old man, but other than that her thoughts were full of Natsume - the guy she was supposed to find.
"Once you have found him, you would be safe. Your memories will gradually return at your own peace. Sleep well, child. You have a long journey ahead."
Mikan nodded. Closing the shutters of her eyes, she drifted off to unconsciousness.
o.O.o.O.o
"Narumi…"
The name sounded familiar, ringing a bell in her memories. An image of a blonde hair male of not more than thirty smiled jokingly back at her. Her eyes flung open but were shut instantly as the world wobbled around her.
"So be it. After all he had predicted so." It was a male's voice, but in a much higher range than most male would speak in.
"Was he murdered?"
A female voice…Mikan didn't recognize it, but it contained so much sorrow and regret.
"Assassination to be more exact. He had shielded her, but gave his life away as a sacrifice." the same voice answered, probably the one whom the lady had mentioned, the one known as Narumi.
"Koizumi is still on the move, but somehow I feel that there is someone behind her…" A different set of vocals muttered. The voice was a low tenor, calm and rational belonging to a male – a third person.
Their voices gradually faded into the background as Mikan grew restless. She blinked. Her vision was clearing, even though her head remained muffled and light. There was also this slight throbbing pounding against the base of her head, but other than that she felt alive. She was alive. She marveled at that incredible fact. She smiled broadly.
Oh well, she had been through worse than that. She flicked her tongue over her lips. It was dry and cracked. For a while she was contented to just lay there. Moving a muscle seemed too draining and tiring of an action. She noticed that the speakers were not in the room along with her and saw only of the white ceiling.
"…Natsume Hyuga…."
Mikan's senses sharpened instantly, suddenly alert to every sound. The guy in my dream. They are talking of that guy. The conversation was back on track. So he really exist…wait…what was his name again?
"Natsume Hyuga eh…" Oh right, Natsume Hyuga, that's his name.
The lady spoke, "It is necessary. It was either him or Mikan who had to go. Given a choice, anyone would have done the same thing. Those two cannot stay together. He will only bring her trouble and misfortune, given the fair share of pursuers after him. Ryona had said it once, hasn't she not that she will not risk involving any outsiders in this matter?"
"True, she did say that, but this 'outsider' whom you refer to is none other than your daughter and that aside, your reason for chasing Hyuga out of my grounds is invalid. You very well know the impotence of Hyuga as compared to your daughter. He holds the key to it" The unidentified third person spoke solemnly of the last few words.
"Do not talk to me of importance! Mikan is far more of priority to me than any other!" the woman snapped back spitefully, but regretted and tried to redeem herself.
"I cannot afford to desert my daughter. She is unlike us, a mere mortal, defenseless and ignorant. I will look after Hyuga as promised, so please leave my daughter out of this. I ask that you have to protect her, only her."
A shiver ran down her spine. At the same time she felt a pang of sympathy and understanding for the lady. A mother's love is unconquerable.
"Please…She has to be ignorant of everything…I…do not want her to be caught up in this…I can't take her away with me either…too risky, too dangerous, too rash…" the lady spoke slowly, pausing in between words as if to think of the right way to phrase her sentence. She seems to be convincing herself more than the other party.
"This is the best for all" She finished with unstable confidence.
"And what of Hyuga? What of Pandora's heart" The third person sniffled, his tone was somewhat mocking.
A sigh.
"What makes you think I am not doing my duty? I will keep him safe. After all, he is the key to Pandora's Heart. But the rest is up to him, as a vampire he should be able to survive." the woman stated.
Vampires?! This does not make any sense. Vampires exist? Those cold blooded creatures with sharp fangs that plunged indulgingly into a human's fair skin to retrieved their food source. No…it couldn't be true.
"If Natsume Hyuga is the knight, the host of Pandora's heart would be…" Narumi finally spoke.
"Most likely…it would be something she would do, sacrificing her own children." Zenachy answered. There was a deep pause. That moment of silence stretched for the longest time.
When the voices did not return, Mikan did not bother to listen on. She did not want to listen on. Her feelings were all jumbled up. Mainly, she felt uneasy and perplexed. In the first place…who was she? She did not know. And there was the issue of Pandora's heart too. What on earth was that?
She hosted herself up into a sitting position. She needs to escape; this place was dangerous. Yes…escape to the one called Natsume Hyuga. He seemed to be the only one she can trust now. She felt weariness sweeping over her. She was tired…all so tired. Hopefully, he can help her. Hopefully. Her eyes shut and once more she drifted to sleep.
o.O.o.O.o
When Mikan woke up, she found herself in the exact room she was in. She was glad to actually have remembered. Her memories were not constantly deleted after all. That was positively good to hear. Still, she could not remember her name. Who was she? She found herself staring at a girl in the mirror. Brown sloppily tied hair, clouded hazel eyes and a slim figure with curves hidden under a baggy T-shirt. For a mere girl who had gone through not more than seventeen years, she felt old and haggard. Darkened shades of grey coloured the bottom of her droopy eyes. Disorientated would be the most suitable word to describe her current feelings. She looked and felt absolutely dreadful.
"Watashi…dare?" she found herself whispering to the mirror. She noted the clothes she was wearing. A school uniform, mud stained, torn and tattered. She had been outdoors. Not that it would matters. She was going to escape, but the thing was…how?
She spied a glass of water and gulped it down her throat. Noticing a pile of clothes on a table, she decided to accept the offer and change out of the uniform. It was a simple pair of clothing: A shirt and a pair of slacks. Hazel orbs fixed upon a single mandarin orange. The word 'Mikan' resounded in her head. Her name was Mikan. She smiled, pocketing the mandarin orange. Now, she was ready and as for the escape plan, she hobbled towards the door. With a twist of the handle, the door came open. That wasn't so bad of a start, wasn't it? Mikan grinned and left the room.
She had been wondering where on earth she was since she left the room. The school grounds were huge and in no less than an hour, Mikan was lost. She groaned. Why didn't the school have exit signs? She glanced at her surroundings, feeling a major De ja vu. She was rather curious to why she had ended up in such a remote area in the school. All there were was a Sakura tree and a plain field. The area appears to be towards the back of the school.
She fingered the bark of the Sakura tree, running her hand across its scaly texture. The tree was withering. However in the memories she had recovered, it had been in full bloom. She eyed the leafless branches that stretched out in an awkward manner. It was bare. She frowned. Somehow, the tree held significance to her, witnessing it in such a sorry plight depressed the brunette greatly. Perhaps when she returned with Natsume, it would bear flowers again, returning to its former glory. She smiled, sincerely hoping it would be true.
"I hope you would be in full bloom forever," She voiced out her wish. With one last stroke and a huge smile across her face, she headed off, having spotted the gateway out. She left, not noticing the few budding leaves that had sprouted from the Sakura Tree.
o.O.o.O.o
Mikan felt a wave of lethargy swept over her and another dizzy spell as she took a few more steps. Her stomach growled nosily to her embarrassment, but she could feel no embarrassment in her current predicament.
She had sprinted once the school grounds were out of her sight. She ran, guided with only her instincts. Not a particular smart thing to do, considering you are running over a large distance to who knows where.
'I am definitely not an athletic.' Mikan concluded, her chest furiously heaving up and down as she ran. She felt the shortage of breath and her muscles straining to keep up with the speed. Finally, her legs gave way. She sat, trying to catch her breath. She frantically scanned her surrounding. She was in a narrow street and lost once again, but it was different. This time, it was very different.
She felt a chill ran down her spine. Someone was watching her. She could not shake off the feeling ever since she had past by that crowded street. She needed to run, to escape. It is not safe to rest. She urged her two legs to rise, but they wouldn't. She glanced furtively at a broken mirror not far away. There was indeed a person behind her, but not any person…a vampire.
Mikan hosted herself up with her remaining strength. She pushed herself towards the opening of the street, staggering forth a few steps. There was a couple there to her relief. She opened her mouth, attempting a call for help, but merely managed a squeak.
"Help me…" her voice died down. At first, it seemed as if they had not heard, but the female turned her head towards her. The light shone upon her pale face, too pale for any human. Mikan felt herself despairing as the couple moved towards her. She did not know which she feared more, the stalker vampire or the couple vampire. Both seemed equally bad.
Ending note: REVIEWS! Grins broadly. Mikan's power is coming out and once more she is in deep trouble! Oh well, let's see what happens next. :)