Her Past
Disclaimer: Don't own Gakuen Alice…
Mikan's surroundings suddenly vanished and were replaced by blackness. Mikan panicked, it was exactly like her dream, the horrible dream she sometimes had about her past.
"Meiji?" she tentatively asked.
Meiji slipped her hand into Mikan's.
"Are you ready?"
Mikan nodded.
"Meiji-chan, I love you, Papa loves you too, I'm so sorry, we couldn't be together for longer," her mother said as tears slid down her grimy face, leaving tracks. Then, everything turned black. Meiji was dimly aware of being jostled and carried, however, she couldn't find the strength to open her eyes.
"Meiji-chan?"
Someone was calling her. Meiji tried to arouse herself, however her eyelids would not lift themselves.
"Is she still sleeping?"
"Yes, she'll be okay."
Meiji felt a cool hand stroke her forehead. Gathering all her strength and will, she tried to open her eyes again and this time, her eyes obeyed. The first thing Meiji saw when she opened her eyes, was an old man. His wrinkled face, accompanied by a bushy white beard looked kind. His eyes were the lightest blue and seemed to sparkle although there was no light.
"Awake?" he asked gently. Meiji nodded weakly.
"Who are you? Where am I? Where are my parents?"
The old man's face crinkled in laughter.
"You really do remind me of my daughter, so many questions," he laughed. "I'm your grandpa and I'll be taking care of you from now on, I hope we'll get along well."
That was when my happy childhood truly began.
"Meiji, you went to the Outside without telling us again!" a plump woman scolded.
Meiji grinned cheekily.
"It's amazing out there! I don't see why I shouldn't!" Meiji remarked.
"You mustn't! You're our future leader; you must stay safe in our underground base! What if a Gakuen Alice person sees you?"
"Yes, Yes, Take-san."
"Don't yes me!"
Meiji stuck her tongue out and skipped away.
"Come back here, you rascal!" the plump woman, also known as Take angrily exclaimed and chased after Meiji.
Meiji giggled, she loved going to the Outside, no matter what Take and the other Anti-Gakuen Alice movement people drummed into her.
"Woah, woah, what's going on?" someone chuckled.
"Ah, Ojii-san!" Meiji cried and sprinted into his arms.
"H-H-Henry-sama…Catch her for me…" Take panted.
"Meiji, what did you do?" Henry, Meiji's grandfather, sighed and ruffled her hair.
"Nothing much!" Meiji insisted.
"She went Outside!" Take butted in, still panting.
Henry shifted his gaze to Meiji.
"Take, thankyou for your consideration of Meiji, I'll take it from here," Henry seriously said. Take eyed Meiji one last time and nodded before leaving to resume whatever she was doing before. Henry took Meiji by the hand and led her to his office.
"Am I in trouble?" Meiji asked nervously.
"Yes, very big trouble," Henry chuckled.
"Why are you laughing then?"
"I always laugh, Pudding."
"Ah! You're calling me that again!"
"I can't help it, it suits you. It rebounds whenever someone tries to poke it, it's wobbly, unsure of itself and most of all, it somehow manages to make the people around it very happy."
Meiji felt a blush rising to her face. Henry pushed open the door to his. He signalled for Meiji to sit down in his big armchair and he himself sat down in the chair opposite it.
"Meiji, you know that Take is just very worried for you, she was a dear friend of your mother, she doesn't want the same thing that happened to her to happen to you."
Meiji looked down at her knees.
"I know… but-"
"Meiji, you are the Anti-Gakuen Alice movement's future leader, our hope. When I die, you take over, but before that, no harm must come to you. We don't want the massacre that your parents were caught in to repeat itself. To prevent it from happening again, we hide so we don't engage in any battle with Gakuen Alice."
Meiji solemnly nodded and clenched her fists to prevent her tears from leaking out.
"Oh, Pudding, I'm sorry, here, give me a hug," Henry apologised, seeing that she was upset. He spread his arms out, offering a hug. Meiji collapsed into his arms and buried herself in his chest.
"Can I really not go Outside any more? I'm so lonely, I can't play with anyone here, I want to play with someone around my age!" Meiji mumbled, her voice muffled.
"I'm sorry."
"…I-It's okay, it's all for the Anti-Gakuen Alice movement which my parents sacrificed themselves for."
"I'm really sorry, Pudding."
"Ojii-san, I love you," she choked. Henry smiled and affectionately patted her head.
"Yay! Ojii-san's taking me Outside!" Meiji whooped as she ran in circles, like a dog chasing its tail.
"Meiji, calm down, is it really that great? But, I'm only taking you to the house we lived in before we formed the Anti-Gakuen Alice movement."
"That's still awesome!"
Henry's eyes crinkled as he smiled.
"Come on now," he ushered.
They climbed several flights of stairs and at last, their heads poked Outside. Henry silently slid out of the trapdoor and checked if the coast was clear. He gave an okay sign and Meiji burst out. She skipped alongside him, her hair bouncing up and down. They walked and talked for a couple of minutes.
"Ah, we're here."
Meiji snapped her head up and her eyes widened. In front of her, was a house. The house wasn't relatively large, but that didn't matter, it looked cool. In front of it, was a well-kept garden and a swing. Meiji's eyes lit up and she made a bee-line to the swing.
"Swing, swing!" she gasped and flung herself on it.
"Not now, Meiji, I want you to see the inside of the house first."
Meiji reluctantly pulled herself away from the swing and followed Henry into the house. The moment she stepped into the house, all her disappointment with not being able to play on the swing melted away. In front of her, was a life-size dollhouse. The furniture inside was antique and crafted with expertise. A large grandfather clock chimed away in the corner while the flowery curtains billowed in the wind. Meiji's mouth formed an 'o' shape.
"Wow!" she exclaimed happily.
"It gets better upstairs," Henry laughed.
Meiji flew up the stairs and explored all the rooms. Each one was amazing in their own way, but the one Meiji found most attractive was the playroom. It was filled with toys of all kinds, however that was not the thing Meiji liked most about it. The view from the window was. Looking out of the window, Meiji could see an unimaginably large expanse of land filled with long threads of golden grass which swayed with the wind.
"Wow! This is amazing!" she breathed as the wind swept tendrils of black hair into her face.
"I know right, your mother loved the view too."
Meiji's face was glowing with happiness.
"This house is awesome!" she commented.
"That's great, but Pudding, it's time to go home now," Henry said.
"Eh? Can I come again tomorrow?"
"Sure, but we have to leave now."
Amongst all her excitement, Meiji didn't notice Henry's worried gaze.
"Ojii-san, hurry hurry!" Meiji pushed.
"Okay, coming!"
"Hurry! You're going to miss the shot!"
Henry pushed the 'OK' button on the camera and strode over quickly.
"Meiji, sit on my lap."
3 2 1
Flash!
A picture slowly winded out of the camera.
"Yay!" Meiji hooted and sprinted to the photo. She plucked it out of the camera and gazed at it. Henry walked over and bent over to look at the photo.
"We look great!" he commented.
"I look weird, see, my smile is lopsided!"
"You look beautiful."
"Ahaha~ hey, let's put this in a photo frame and keep it in this house, as a memory."
"Sure, one moment, I'm sure there's a photo frame somewhere here."
Meiji smiled to herself. She loved everyone in the Anti-Gakuen Alice movement, but most of all, she loved her grandpa. Soon, Henry returned, holding a photo frame decorated with seashells.
"Your mother made this, you know."
"Really? She was really good at art then!"
Henry slipped the photograph into the frame and held it up for Meiji to see. For a few moments, they sat there silently, admiring the photo.
"Pudding, let's go now, we've spent way too long here."
Meiji nodded solemnly and plodded after Henry. After walking a few metres, Henry suddenly stopped.
"Pudding, there's someone following us, keep quiet and follow me," Henry said in a low and cautious voice. Meiji's eyes widened a little. She slipped her small hand into Henry's and stumbled after him. "These folks are probably Gakuen Alice Searchers, looking for our base, we mustn't let them find it, so we aren't going home for a while, I'm sorry, Meiji," Henry whispered in Meiji's ear.
He led Meiji into the thick expanse of grass.
"Will we lose them here?" Meiji whimpered hopefully.
"Maybe."
They snaked through the grass, twisting and turning, however the sound of footsteps behind them never ceased.
"What do they want?" Meiji nervously asked.
"They probably don't know who we are, don't let them know. For now, they probably suspect us of being part of the Anti-Gakuen Alice Movement, they'll tail us for a while and for that while, we won't go back home."
Meiji nodded and they continued to wander around. After almost an hour, Henry suddenly stopped.
"This won't do, they'll get suspicious about why we aren't going anywhere. Pudding, do you mind if we don't go home for now?"
"It's okay, I trust Ojii-san. Plus, that means we get to spend longer Outside."
Henry led Meiji out of the grass and headed towards the road.
"What are you looking for?" Meiji asked.
"A taxi, they are cars which drive us to the places we want."
"Wow! That's amazing!"
"Oh! Taxi!"
Henry waved his hand and immediately, a car with a small light on its top stopped in front of them.
"We would like to go to Town Square, or is that too far for you?" Henry told the driver who nodded happily.
Meiji scrambled into the back seat and rolled down the window. She noticed that ominous grey clouds choked the sky and fat raindrops started pattering onto the ground. The car began to move. Meiji saw Henry turning his head to see if the Gakuen Alice Searchers were still tailing us or not. We couldn't see because of the heavy rain. All of a sudden, a flash of lightning illuminated the sky. It turned the sky a light violet, before darkening again. Following closely, a clap of thunder shook the car. It wasn't like any other thunder Meiji had ever heard, it was absolutely deafening. The hairs on Meiji's neck stood up as the thunder rumbled and lightning crashed. The pattering of rain got louder and louder.
"Meiji, close the window, we don't want you to get all wet," Henry advised. Meiji nodded and hurriedly closed the window. She pressed her face against the glass and peered outside. All she could see, was rain and the sky lighting up every few seconds. Raindrops crashed onto her window and slid down. They looked like tears.
"Heavy rain isn't it? I heard that it will last for a while," the driver commented.
"Really? That's horrible, I can't do the washing now!"
Henry and the driver continued to engage in small talk. Meanwhile, Meiji was admiring the scene outside. The storm raging outside made her feel so insignificant and powerless. She could hear dogs yelping and barking and see people hurrying home with umbrellas, which kept on flipping.
After what seemed like ages, Henry told Meiji that they would be nearing Town Square soon. The moment he said that, Meiji spotted a series of colourful lights up ahead.
"Wow!" she gasped and leaned forwards to catch a better view. The area in front of her was filled with flashing lights and music. There were people everywhere, it seemed like a festival.
"Ojii-san! What's this? What's happening? Is it a festival?"
"This is Town Square, it's not a festival, it's just like this."
Meiji's eyes shone in excitement as she gazed at the passing shops. People were everywhere, going in and out of shops, wandering aimlessly around streets. The car stopped at the edge of a street. After paying the driver, Meiji burst out of the car.
For a while, Meiji and Henry strolled around the streets, window-shopping. Suddenly, something caught Meiji's attention; it was a cute silver bracelet. Meiji tugged at Henry's sleeve and made puppy eyes at him.
"Can I have this?" she pleaded, making her eyes go all wide and innocent.
"…Hm…Fine, but it's an early Christmas present."
"Way! Ojii-san, you're the best!"
Henry smiled and led Meiji into the shop.
"That will be $10.69 thankyou," the seller said, looking at the bracelet that Henry put on the counter. He dug into his wallet and tugged out a few coins and a 10-dollar note. "May I interest you that this is a charm bracelet, so there are charms that we sell for it," the seller added, looking hopeful that she might earn some more money. Meiji's eyes lit up at the sound of it and she looked up hopefully at Henry.
"Go pick some out then," Henry laughed and followed Meiji over the charms section.
Soon, Meiji picked out 4 charms, a flower, a love heart, a star and a seashell.
"Are they too girly?"
"Nup, they're fine. Puds, I think we need one more to fill the bracelet," Henry said.
"How about Ojii-san picking one for me?"
Henry's lips tugged into a smile and he looked at the available charms.
"How about a pudding? Just like you!"
Henry handed Meiji a pudding shaped charm and they made their way to the counter again.
Meiji jingled the bracelet, loved the metallic sound of the charms clanging together.
"Ojii-san, are you sure there aren't any more people following us?"
"Yes, we can go back safely now, are you tired?"
Meiji shook her head and continued admiring her bracelet. She peered out of the taxi window and her eyes widened. The moon was so high up in the sky already, which meant it was late at night. Meiji rested her head beside the window and watched the cars whizz past her.
Slowly, she fell asleep, only to be awakened by Henry later on.
"Puds, we're home," he said. Meiji lifted her eyelids and stumbled out of the taxi, almost falling onto the floor, however Henry caught her just in time.
"Thanks," Meiji murmured and straightened herself up. Henry took the lead and plunged into the grass. Meiji followed him, struggling to keep up with his fast pace. All of a sudden, he stopped, causing Meiji to bang into him.
"What's wrong?" she whispered.
"Someone's following us. Oh gosh, I must have been wrong. This is worst case scenario, hmm…I can't pretend this place isn't of any important any more, that will be too suspicious…they must know now…Meiji, do you have a hiding place near the base?"
"Why?"
"Ok, do as I say from now on ok? Quietly leave me and go to your hiding place, wait about 15 minutes and after that, if the coast is clear, sneak back into the base."
"What about you?"
"I'll create a diversion so you can run."
"Eh?"
Henry lifted his hand and suddenly, a huge monster appeared in the sky. Meiji opened her mouth to scream, however Henry silenced her by telling her it was an illusion.
"Go, now!" he urgently whispered and Meiji fled. She tore through the grass and headed to her hiding place, a dying tree with a hollow inside. Meiji squeezed through the crack hid in the tree.
In the distance, she heard several gunshots, screaming, more gunshots and shouting. Mikan squatted and covered her ears with her trembling hands.
"Ojii-san, I'm scared," she whimpered and squeezed her eyes shut.
After a while, the gunshots stopped. Meiji opened one of her eyes and pressed it against the crack. There were no more illusions, nor gunshots. It almost seemed peaceful. Meiji decided it was the right time to leave for the base.
Suddenly, a house went up in flames. Not just any house, the house Henry had taken Meiji to, her Mother's. Meiji supressed a scream and burst out of her hiding place. She sprinted towards the burning house, not thinking of the consequences. As she neared the burning house, Meiji heard voices.
"What do you think, should we just leave? I mean, the base is under that damn house, so when the house collapses with that old man in it, the base will get destroyed too."
"Yea, I can't be bothered to dig through all of that burnt mess and locate the base and then check if there were any survivors."
"Yea, let's go, I want to drink tonight."
Meiji gasped in horror and shock, her grandpa was inside the burning house.
"Meiji?" someone croaked, it was Henry. He staggered out of the burning house, flames still on his back.
"Ojii-san!"
Meiji ran to him and patted the flames out, ignoring her burning hands.
"Meiji…"
"Don't speak! Wait, I'll get help!"
Henry shook his head weakly.
"It's okay, I-I don't think I'll live, and I want you stay by my side as long as you can."
Meiji felt tears welling up in her eyes and she shook them away. She didn't want her grandpa to see her crying, it would only make him feel worse.
"Meiji, here."
Henry handed her a photo frame, slightly burnt from the fire. Meiji's eyes widened and a tear slid down her cheek. It was the photo they had taken together.
"Did you save it from the fire?" she whimpered. Henry attempted a weak smile, however it didn't really work.
Suddenly, Meiji felt a cold tingly feeling on her nose. Her hand flew to her noise, only to find it being water. "Is it raining?" she muttered to herself and peered up at the sky. Small flakes of white drifted down from the grey sky, melting as soon as they touched Meiji's skin.
"Ah. It's snow, I believe you've never seen snow."
"Snow? Wow! That's so cool!"
Henry closed his eyes and laughed quietly.
"Meiji, I have a favour to ask," he croaked.
"Anything, I-I'll do anything."
"Please take over the Anti-Gakuen Alice Movement after I die, and, please continue smiling and laughing like now."
Another tear slid down her cheek.
"Is it really the end? Will you really die and never come back?" she sobbed.
"Who knows…?"
"Don't joke around now!"
"I'm… just trying to get… rid of this heavy…and sombre…mood."
Some more snow fell, creating a thin blanket of snow around and on them. Henry coughed up some blood, staining the pure white snow red.
"Ojii-san, please don't go!" Meiji cried and clung onto Henry's hand, which was starting to become limp.
"Mei…ji… I have one more favour to ask…Please… use your Alice to help someone, I've never… had the chance to use…my Alice to help anyone dear to me…so…please fulfil my wish…"
Henry's hand suddenly turned cold and slid from Meiji's small hand.
"Ojii-san?"
There was no reply, except for Meiji's sobbing and sniffling. "Don't leave me alone, you're the only one I have left!" she cried, her small figure shaking, alone in the snow.
"I later realised that Ojii-san had fooled the Searchers into thinking that the base was under the house and he protected everyone in the Anti-Gakuen Alice Movement. He sacrificed himself, just like my parents, for it," Meiji said.
Mikan looked down at Meiji, and saw her fiddling with a bracelet. Mikan assumed that it was the one her grandpa had given her.
"Are you all right, I mean, after watching, umm… your Ojii-san's umm… death…" Mikan cautiously asked. Meiji said nothing and all of a sudden, their surroundings reappeared. The light hurt Mikan's eyes.
"I'm all right, it's ok."
Meiji smiled and let go of Mikan's hand.
"I'm sorry, you didn't have to show me that…" Mikan apologised, feeling horrible about reminding Meiji about her grandpa's death. Mikan turned away from Meiji, too ashamed to face her.
"It's ok, I've never used my Alice before, so it was fun using it too," Meiji said quietly. Mikan wondered if she was thinking about her grandpa's last wish.
Suddenly, there was a rustle in the grass surrounding them, and she heard a bang of a bullet and Meiji's gasp. Mikan whipped around to find Meiji crumpled on the ground, a stain of crimson blood spreading on her shirt.
"Meiji?"
This chapter was mainly about Kori Meiji, hopefully it wasn't boring T^T
Thankyou for reading and those who reviewed ^.^
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