Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice
Chapter 4. [Discontent]
I fell into the darkness once again, slipping into a vast space full of panels of flickering memories. Looking around, I slowly maneuvered through the hollow murmurs, blatant taps of my heel echoing around the base of my head. A numbing scent of a variety of sweet Anko, Dorayaki, and Anmitsu wafting in my nostrils. A giggle dissipated around me, the radiating panels of light shifting to the playful rays of the sun. My eyes widened in surprise, kisses of fallen Sakura petals drifting on my hair. I gasped when a sudden glob of pressure tightened against my abdomen, two feeble arms hugging my torso in content.
Innocent scarlet eyes laughed in delight, glimmering up at me in sheer happiness. Holding my breath I blinked down at the girl, realising it wasn't just an ordinary girl; it was my sister Aoi.
"Natsume!" She smiled widely, taking hold of the front of my shirt and dragging me along in a hurried manner.
"O-Oi!" I stumbled behind her, following a patterned path of pebbles up a steep hill of wild flowers and grass. I remember this day: it was the day of New Years, around the time I was six. Her small hand tightened around my shirt as we reached the top of the hill, two grown figures looming ahead with gentle laughs warping around the field. I couldn't speak, hardly believing the illusion in front of me. Dad was here, being a klutz and all, but the more prominent realisation would be the laughing carefree face of my mother. With widened eyes, I stood in the lay of the wind, staring in awe. She sat under a blooming Cherry Blossom tree, a sunflower hat adorning the top of her midnight black hair. Pouting at something ridiculous dad said, she finally noticed me and raised a brow in question.
"Hey, Natsume, Aoi chan! Come here, let mama see you." Patting her lap, a warm softening smile arched the gentle shade of her lips and rosemary stained cheeks. Aoi, without any sort of hesitation, let go of my shirt and quickly ran toward her with a teeth flashing smile on her face. My hands trembled by my sides, silent with conflicting emotions tearing my resolve apart. Her familiar smile continued to beckon me forward, my body beginning to inch closer to a picture that I've long since forgotten. It seemed so surreal, so unreal; as if what my reality is, was just a painful torturous nightmare. But as I drew closer, I finally began to realise that this was truly a dream.
"Natsume?" I was finally standing where all of them were sitting: plates of Anmitsu, Anko, and Dorayaki spread across a patterned blanket of checkered white and red. Faces of worry assessed every crevice on my face, the ends of my bangs hiding the glimmering tears in my eyes. Suddenly, I felt a gentle touch lightly skim my arm, the hoarse movement in my throat constricting. "Come now, Natsume. Let's enjoy this moment together, as a family, ne?" Tilting her head, mothers scent suddenly triggered a certain awareness within me, the careful smell of sweet rice tea and herbs. My bangs cast shadows across my face, silently nodding. And with that, she smiled. Slowly, I sat criss crossed next to mother, wondering how long this reminiscing will last. The wind blew, laughter and the gradual warmth of the sun devouring my conscience. Moments of time stopped, and for a second, I felt that this was actually real. The numerous cherry blossom flowers fluttered across the field, and I was no longer apart of the scene. I was a bystander, watching as the light began to fade, the giggles dissipitating. Everything I once knew leaving me for a second time. Yet...I couldn't stop it.
Opening my eyes, I noticed that my head was resting on the desk, Ruka's presence gone. In silent movement, I lifted my head away from the petrified wood and scrunched my brows at the memory of that Panty girl. What an idiot... Shifting my gaze towards the window, a broad lining of the Northern Woods filled my sight, bile rising in my throat. She has no place here, that baka. Leaning my figure back into the seat, I noticed Rabbit san resting with twitching whiskers, his snow white fur moving in sync to his breathing.
"Hey, do you think that transfer student will really get through the Northern Woods?" My eyes pulled toward the boys in front of my desk, Chisato tilting his head out of concentration. Eiji waved his hand with a scoff, laughing at the question. I lowered my gaze to the dry lint wood and listened carefully.
"No way! There's no chance of her beating Bear." Something clicked in my mind and I remembered. Heh, serves the girl right.
"Yeah, and I bet ten rabbits that Bear makes her give up!" The four eyes proudly propositioned. I scoffed quietly. Gambling are we? So damn annoying...
"I'll bet fifty rabbits!" My jaw clenched. They don't realise it, do they? That she's...different. Chisato hesitantly trailed his words.
"But, what if she's hiding some kind of incredible ability?" Shoda Sumire poised herself between the boys and raised her hands with a smirk.
"There's no way. I'm sure her lies have been unraveled by now." Slowly turning to me, a smile afflicted her facial muscles. "Ne, Natsume kun?" Suddenly my irritation climaxed, that Panty girl's face flashing before my mind. Closing my eyes in a way to level my anger, I slowly breathed out my thoughts.
"Shut up. You all know that this isn't the type of place," Lifting my down casted stare I continued, feeling flames of irritation lick the walls of my throat. "...where just anyone can stroll in and make themselves comfortable." Now that I think, and clear my mind of the illusions that have happened, I can clearly see that she's a foe. No matter how I think of this situation in numerous angles, her face fuels the darkness within me. And the realisation is...I want to destroy that happiness, burn it completely to the point that there's nothing left but ember...but why isn't it working? Silence enclosed for several seconds, anxiety building up around me.
"Right, right, right!" Shoda exclaimed nervously, as if walking by a lion in a cage. "You're so right! Really!" She waved her hands in the air to calculate my attention, the pitch of her voice lengthening. "I was just thinking that myself, Natsume kun!" I ignored her and grit my teeth. Back then, it wasn't because I was tired...I could have sworn I used my Alice, but it had no effect. My hands clenched unconsciously, tightening inside my regulated cargo pants. Just who is that girl...?
Flashing a conspicuous scowl around the entirety of the room, everyone went back to Hell knows what, and once again the chaos returned. Ridding myself of those thoughts, I snapped my fingers, Mochiage at my side.
"Yes, Mr. Natsume?" He always used an honorific, tch. Rolling my eyes I tossed several rabbits his way.
"I'm hungry." I said simply, he nodded in a docile manner, scrapping the coins in his hand and hurriedly scrambling to the Vending Machine. Lifting the manga magazine once again, Rabbit san suddenly appeared before my vision, peeking at the illustrations in interest. A smile tugged on my lips as I leaned back, Mochiage huffing in front of my amused gaze, placing a Ramune bottle and the Baby Star Ramen snack in front of my teetering orbs.
"Is this fine?" He confirmed. I nodded as a sign of acknowledgement, popping the Ramune bottle open and drinking the sweetly bitter liquid. While the clink of the marble echoed in my ears, Rabbit san opened the bag of Ramen flavored chips. Crunching a few in my mouth, I leisurely relaxed back into the seat with a wonderment poking my train of thought.
"Yo," I said, alerting Mochiage. He stood next to me and listened. "Where's Ruka?" His eyes peered around the room and came to no upcoming conclusion.
"No idea, I wonder where he is?" Grunting in annoyance, I flipped through the RPG manga pages. Chisato walked in my line of sight, wiping his hands on his shorts and raised his finger in thought.
"Oh, I saw him just now." I raised my eyes in question. Scratching his head, he continued. "He was hurrying his way in the direction of the Northern Woods." Huh? Quickly turning my head to the direction of the woods, I squint my eyes to see a yellow blurb in the distance. Trees thrashed from its quake, birds fluttering amidst the graying sky. What? No, he couldn't have...clenching my jaw, I let out a shaky sigh.
"Mochiage," He stepped back in surprise, my limited tone exuding out my emotions. "Check the Clairvoyant, if not, I'll bloody my hands today..." He solemnly nodded and shadowed out the door, my ears rung in pain as I stared out the window. My eyes set into a tight sphere, the memories from a few years ago bursting across my unavoiding senses. That one night when the unthinkable happened...when we couldn't sleep and made a vow together...
Shutting my eyes I spat in distaste. That girl will feel what it's like to be in pain, for the first time in her life I will make her feel pain. Wait...I shouldn't get ahead of myself, for all I know he's taking another detour to the High School Divisions Animal Shelter. A low thudding became evident, my neck twisting to see Mochiage burst through the doors in a sweaty mess.
"Mr. Natsume!" He huffed, throwing the door into the wall with a loud bam. Everyone became distracted. "I just heard from the Clairvoyant guy, but Ruka has been," breathing heavily, my eyes lowered. "Captured by those three!" My trust faltered, a sagging burst of anger sticking my thoughts...Sitting up with my hands steadily shoved in my pockets, I felt the danger of my aura waft into the air as I slowly stepped toward Mochiage. With glaring orbs of flaring crimson, I stared at his cowering body.
"Where is the Clairvoyant?" Mochiage gulped, pointing behind me. My gaze trailed to a frigid haired boy with spectacles and a bowl cut. Examining him under my scrutiny, he tentatively cut to the chase. What a wise decision.
"In my vision, I saw him bound by rope. But the strange thing is, the new girl and the Class Representatives were applauding as if exhibiting some new strange animal at the Zoo." Thinking, he made gestures with his hands. Crudely, I stared him down.
"...Ruka was tied up?" I confirmed, my voice hoarse. Four eyes nodded softly, stopping his hand motions whilst clearing his throat.
"Yes. Ruka was mad about being deceived, and that Mikan girl hit him..." Anger flared in my heart like the deepest pits of Hell, stronger than before; bitter, Mochiage quietly intervened.
"Oh yeah. Tobita can make people see illusions..."
My bangs covered my expression, the vague voice of Shoda shouting in the background.
"Oh My God! She's holding Ruka hostage because she thinks she'll lose!? She pisses me off!" My hands shook, my breathing fastening. I told her, to follow the rules...It took all of my self restraint to not burn the place down, to be over and done with this oblivious prison. Pain...she'll feel pain. I'll use my Alice on her no matter what...
I could hear voices of fear deadpan around me, my own anxiety obliterating to madness.
"Where are they now?" I calmly asked, afraid that my control will falter.
"Um...ah. Right near the outline, over there..." He motioned toward the area in the distance, my ears sensing the comments behind me. Whispers of crap, whispers of truth.
"At this rate, isn't the transfer student, going to be in serious trouble...?" Glaring at the landmark that the Clairvoyant acknowledged, I felt the palms of my hands heat up. Wait for me, Ruka.
Rushing through the Woods, twigs snagged at the material of my clothes, wind clogging my throat and suffocating me with air. I could sense I was close, I could feel a certain instinct direct me forward to a scattered mess of tree branches and leaves. The musky scent of berries and ferns destroyed by my unyielding anger. Finally, I could hear their voices, my footsteps beginning to slow as I made my way into the grassy field.
"So, shall we continue...?" Class Reps voice stopped my arrival, my eyes slant as my ears perked to listen. "Don't worry, Mikan." I held back a scoff. Trying to comfort Polka Dot Panties I see? Rustling the branches aside, my dark figure pressed away from the brush of leaves and into a clearing of grass. Their heads turned, my heart tolling to a pitiful ice as I met familiar eyes that shined like sunlight through whiskey. Feeling my resolve fall, I couldn't push back the glare molding onto my face.
"Oh! Natsume..." Ruka nervously slurred, my eyes scrunched in threat to the surprise on their shocked faces. Ruka stepped toward me, my eyes noticing red rope marks dance across the skin on his wrists. Clenching my fists, my fingers twitched to inflict vengeance, my thoughts losing sight of the good and bad.
"Ruka, we're going back." My eyes were narrowed into ruthless slits, ready to attack at any given moment, ready to diminish those who are my enemies...and this time, I will not hesitate to burn.
A/N: Hello readers! Again, I would like to thank those who follow this story, view it, and fave! It makes me really happy! I haven't updated in awhile, but I'll try to update at least every week! Again, thank you for reading and please review! If it's too much to ask you're not obliged to, it's just I want to see what you think! Anyway, I'll update soon! Bye! (By the way, at the beginning of this chapter Natsume was having a dream. Just in case you didn't notice!)