His Dark, Kind Soul

Author's Note: I know it takes a long time in between each chapter, but I assure you that I'm doing my best to update as quick as I can. Thank you for being so patient and for leaving reviews. This story has certainly grown in a way I never expected. Your kind words have been overwhelming. Thank you! ÜÜÜ

Chapter 9: The Shape of His Alice

Present day, Central Town, Natsume Hyuuga at age thirteen

"Kira was very warm and people loved to be around him." Mr. Kobari smiled as he spoke of his old friend. "He made you feel important just by talking to you even if it was about the most mundane things."

The shopkeeper had been sharing stories for the last half hour but although none of the things he said could be found on websites, his tales had been hardly interesting. In fact, Koko and Kitsuneme listened to his sentimental stories with a little discomfort. The man didn't seem to notice though and he went on.

"I was from the Special Ability class and we weren't very popular; but he always admired our skills. It was nice to have such a famous student for a fan."

He paused to stir milk into his tea and Koko and Kitsuneme exchanged a look. Kitsuneme cleared his throat, "Yes and so… uh… what happened to him?"

"Nobody knows for sure," Mr. Kobari said to their disappointment. "One day he was with us and the next day he was gone."

"But did he—"

"He didn't jump a ravine or escape the teachers in a wild goose chase," Mr. Kobari snorted. "I swear those forums get crazier every year. If Kira Samushiro wanted to break out that way, he'd have done so years before his senior year. No, something else happened. Something darker but no one was allowed to speak of it. It was all hushed up."

"Did he die?"

"Now there's a question," the shopkeeper grinned. "Why, the answer to that would be worth a million rabbits, wouldn't you say?"

Koko grit his teeth. "What do you think happened to him?"

Mr. Kobari smiled mutely. He stirred his tea then said nothing at all. Koko and Kitsuneme looked at each other. Really, this man was no help at all.

"He was teaching a kid in his last year," Kitsuneme said, deciding their current line of questioning was getting them nowhere. He pulled out some papers to show him. "Kira describes him to be very skillful—"

"How did you manage to see these documents?"

"That's not important," Koko said impatiently. "We want to know more about the kid. We think we may get some information from him. Have you heard of this guy?"

Mr. Kobari scratched his chin. "Of course, Little Nimbus. I remember him too; sinister kid wearing a charming death glare. He wouldn't cheer up no matter how many times Samushiro tried to make him smile. Pretty menacing for an eight-year-old."

"Eight-year-old?!"

He smiled. "Yes, eight and Kira was very proud of him. He never thought much of his own accomplishments, but he was exceedingly proud of that boy. He'd even boast how that kid was a Level 7 Alice, the likes of which were never seen before."

"How many levels are there?"

"Five." He sipped his tea. "Nimbus was the Wolf's favorite. In fact, I'd say he was too fond of him. At least he was fonder than the Academy would like him to be."

"Well, where is he? What happened to Nimbus? How come nobody ever talks about him?"

"Simply because his story isn't over. Nobody likes a premature legend."

"So he's still here?" Kitsuneme asked excitedly.

"Yes, I still see him around. In fact I often see him with…" Mr. Kobari looked at them strangely. "How old are you two?"

"Thirteen."

"Or almost."

"Ah, I see." Mr. Kobari drummed his fingers on the desk then glanced around the café in a very covert and suspicious manner. Then he leaned forward to whisper, "How thick can you two be?"

They reared back in offense. "Excuse me?"

He shook his head, dismissing his own question then tried again, "How badly do you want to meet Little Nimbus?"

"I'd stake my life," Koko said dramatically.

"That's a big price to pay."

"Some mysteries are worth it."

"But remember there are things you can't unlearn. If I give you this information, I can never take it back," Mr. Kobari spoke with a warning. Kitsuneme looked uncertain but Koko pressed on.

"We can take it."

"I don't think—"

Koko's head snapped towards his partner. "Are you serious? We've come this far. It's our chance."

"Yes but to never unlearn something," Kitsuneme hesitated. "Maybe we shouldn't do this. Who knows what Little Nimbus would do to us?"

"Who cares? I want to know," Koko insisted. He looked at Mr. Kobari expectantly and the man smiled over his teacup.

"Persistent little fellow, I like you," Mr. Kobari muttered. "Not the smartest crayon in the box but then you have your merits. All right then, you said you were a mind-reader…" Mr. Kobari reached up and took off the clipped-on gold earring on his left ear. "I want you to listen to me very carefully Kokoroyumi. What you do with the information after this is up to you."

Koko realized then why he couldn't read the man's thoughts the whole time. He had been using a controlling device that blocked his Alice. The shopkeeper evidently had secrets significant enough that he would use a safeguard like that. It made Koko hesitate but the man was already staring intently into his eyes and he didn't have time to stop his Alice. When the knowledge hit him, Koko choked even though he wasn't drinking from his cup. Kitsuneme looked alarmed when his friend's eyes widened, his jaw dropped and his complexion turned pale.

"No way…"

Five years ago, Alice Academy Grounds, Natsume Hyuuga at age eight

Natsume had been sitting beneath the Sakura tree long enough to see the sky change color. Nobody had found him though he was certain the others must be looking. You can't get away with attacking the Wolf right before a high profile mission without some sort of consequence from the Academy. Still, he had no plans of turning himself in. He would let them look. After all, by all accounts, his anger was justified.

He heard footfalls on the path and he looked up to see Marie Akagi heading towards him. She saw him staring but his glare didn't deter her. He immediately grew cautious but he stayed because she wasn't an enemy.

"Hey there," Marie said openly then sat down at the base of the tree next to him. He said nothing and waited for her to begin.

They weren't close but an unspoken friendship had been borne between them in the course of his training. Marie was their sixth member. She's healed him more than once; but above everything else, he knew her to be the girl the Captain loved.

Natsume always thought she had an easy manner and she approached him now with the same conduct. Her distance was just right, as though she had carefully calculated how near Natsume would allow her to sit without taking offense. She didn't speak, didn't seem to feel the need to. Instead she stretched her legs out then took time to arrange her skirts. At length, she glanced at him and smiled at the suspicious look he gave her.

"Did the Wolf send you here to get me?"

"Kira isn't back yet," Marie said then checked her watch, "Maybe another half hour."

"So why are you here?"

She didn't fib. "Kunimitsu and the others are looking for you. They're very worried. I thought I'd find you here."

"How'd you figure that out?"

"I always find Kira here."

That stung. "I'm exactly like him, am I?"

"No… if that were true," she tipped her head upwards to the branches of the Sakura tree. "You'd be up there." Natsume grunted. "So how's school?"

That wasn't the question he was expecting. "You don't have to make small talk. Just say what you came to say. I hate your boyfriend and I'm not afraid to say so."

Marie laughed. "He's not my boyfriend and why would I talk to you about that?"

"He is so your boyfriend and what else would we talk about?"

"Goodness, you're cranky."

"Cranky doesn't begin to cover it!" he said tersely then burst out, "You're here to tell me that I shouldn't have attacked the Captain the way I did. You believe he was right not telling me what the Academy had in store for me because I would never have listened to him. You think it's forgivable just because he trained me and helped me and did what he did because he thought it was right! Well I don't think it was right and I'm not about to listen to any of you!"

Marie blinked at his tirade. "What does the Academy have in store for you?"

"Like you didn't know."

"I don't," she said simply. "Fact is I don't know enough about what goes on in your Mixed Class to talk about things you already seem to understand better than me."

"But you're still on the Wolf's side," Natsume accused.

"How can I be when I don't know what's going on? I love Kira but that doesn't mean I always think he's right."

She said love, Natsume thought, momentarily distracted by her easy admission. She knew it for certain and probably Kira did too but Natsume had never known the Captain to admit it that effortlessly. Marie seemed more open about it, much more upfront.

"So… you attacked Kira?" she prodded when he didn't reply.

"He deserved it," he said ruthlessly.

She smiled with humor. "I'm sure he did but I'd be sorry to think he got hurt right before a mission. Was he hit?"

"He was too fast."

"Did he fire back… weaken himself in any way?"

"He was too much of a wuss to try," he muttered, remembering that Kira hadn't even tried to defend himself. "You know you could do better than that coward."

"So I've been told," Marie laughed.

Natsume's eyes narrowed. "Aren't you afraid of him?"

"No."

"Well you should be," he said crossly. "He's killed people, you know."

"I know."

"And you don't care?"

"Not in the way you think."

"He's also going to die."

"That I do care about," Marie said softly. There was a pause after that, in which Natsume tried to grasp the very honest feelings she laid out before him.

He saw that this girl was so deeply committed to Kira that he understood why the Captain should fear for her. If the Academy knew of this, they would have no second thoughts about using her against him. Like they did with Aoi Hyuuga.

"You should be more careful of what you say and how you speak of him," Natsume said roughly. "We can't afford to have people loyal to us."

"I know."

"He can't protect you from the Academy, even if he really wanted to."

"So he said. Funny though, because I believe he can."

"He'll do his best," Natsume conceded grudgingly. "But he can't stop the Academy… if they choose to do something. Most of the time we don't have a choice in the matter."

"I'm not completely helpless Natsume."

"Maybe, but you should know that if anything bad happened to you, it would destroy him. You're very important to him."

"Like I said, you already understand better than me."

He thought of his sister. "I guess."

Marie smiled faintly. "So after everything you've said, despite all the things you know of him and of this school, do you still believe he ever meant to hurt you?"

Natsume blinked, went over their conversation in his head then abruptly sheathed his claws. He frowned slightly. "You're sly."

She laughed. "Will you come back inside Natsume?"

"…Okay." They stood up together and she smoothed her uniform while he watched. "This doesn't mean I forgive him though."

She nodded. "I don't think you should anyway, not until you've had the chance to actually sort things out between you two. I'm just here to make sure you go and get some food inside you."

"That sounds good to me."

They were about to head down the pathway when suddenly Mahiro appeared in front of them, looking terrified and out of breath.

"Marie!" she cried then slid a glance at Natsume. "There you are."

He was about to respond but Mahiro's attention swiftly returned to Marie and the tumult in her eyes increased. Her tone was enough to ignite fear even before she shared her news.

"Kira's back…"

There were noises. A rattling sound. Someone was shouting. No, there were dozens of them at once. The ground was shaking. He was being pushed. No, he was being driven somewhere. A door just banged. A girl was crying. There were machines being hooked up and the beeping was making everything awry. There were too many noises to make sense of it all.

"Wolf, hang in there…"

His vision was hazy. He wasn't sure where he was or what was going on. There was pain on his side and it was shooting rhythmically throughout his being. He was losing blood but that was inconsequential. The more pressing matter was the agony in his chest that constricted his breathing and stiffened his limbs. Good god, he couldn't even make sense of the pain.

"Samushiro, please hold on…"

There was a racket. He was moving down a corridor. Heads were turning towards him. He knew these people but he couldn't quite identify them. The knowledge escaped him because all he could think about was the pain; this undeniable, inexplicable torture that could only be his Alice.

Doors slammed. Then there was face, a young boy whose expression was accusing, somewhat concerned but ever mistrustful and ever intense.

The pyrokinetic.

He couldn't make sense of the noise. Or the pain. Or this torture. But that boy brought him back to focus even as someone stuck a needle through his arm. And as Kira finally drifted off to oblivion that was his last thought.

I have to make things right with Natsume.

"Not even a cure?"

Kira turned around and stared at Davies warily. "Say that again."

"If I tell you that we've found a way to heal you, will you still turn your back on the Alice Academy?" He didn't answer. "Sit down Samushiro. I have a proposition only a fool in your position would refuse."

Kira stepped closer to the table but didn't sit down. Davies took that to mean that he wasn't inclined to stay long. That was fine with him. If the impudent boy wanted to have this important discussion standing up, then he would oblige. Davies drew out a folder from his top drawer and laid it open on the table.

"For decades our scientists have been fascinated with the Alice, its biology, behavior and most importantly its origin. After years of research, three definitive schools of thought emerged. The first advocates the idea that an Alice is brought about by a special genome that triggers a mutation in humans by exceeding the normal 23-pair chromosome count. This altered DNA appears in random and the genetic information it carries has unpredictable results."

Davies showed him a diagram of a double helix structure and some calculations made by an unnamed scientist. Kira's gaze flicked over the exhibit but didn't remark. Then his teacher pulled out a picture of a human brain with several other calculations made in the margins. He laid this next to the first exhibit.

"Although the first theory deepens our molecular understanding of Alices, it fails to explain how it could possibly cause such outrageous outward effects; nor does it explore how we are able to exercise a degree of control. Hence, a second theory emerged which attributes the Alice to a brain function that allows certain individuals to tap more than twenty percent of their brains and thus demonstrate extraordinary talents."

He noted Kira's preoccupied expression. "I assume you understand what I'm telling you, considering you've been delving in Metagenomics since you entered high school. While undoubtedly academic, I hardly think that subject is just extra credit material."

Kira ignored the mockery in his tone. "I suppose the third school of thought attempts to marry the two and says we control what's innate in our genetic make-up by tapping more than twenty percent brain power."

"Exactly, and it is this third branch that is focusing on the genetic behavior of the fourth form Alice to unlock the secrets of all our abilities."

He paused, letting Kira mull over his revelations. The statements were loaded, debatable— grossly inadequate. Kira could think of a hundred arguments why all three models shouldn't simplify the Alice in the way they've done. If it had been that straightforward, he'd be finished with his own research. However, his knowledge of each discipline was limited and so he couldn't debate its elements. Besides, only one aspect concerned him.

"Is there a cure?"

"We are very close to finding it."

Kira exhaled, disappointed with the answer. "What's stopping you?"

"It takes time. While we may succeed in turning everything scientific, there are delays in application. Tests need to be run and very few are willing to undergo such complicated and occasionally painful procedures."

There was a pause, a moment to reflect. A standstill.

"We require—"

"Me."

"Yes."

"My kind," Kira spoke more to himself. "You need fourth form Alices but the difficulty is that you would need someone already in a weakened state to conduct diagnosis on its effects."

Davies seemed pleased with his deductions. "You understand then that this is the work I'm offering you. Do this for the Academy and we may both win."

"Both?" Kira scoffed. "I'm the one who'll be experimented on and you want me to believe we'll be benefiting from this on an equal measure?"

His handler looked unmoved. "If you do this for us, we may give you back that very life you hold so dear."

"In exchange for what? The rest of my life?"

"Kira, you know this benefits not only you," Davies said, rapidly changing tack. "It would help your friends, other Alices… that boy."

"You don't get to play that card."

"I'm laying down your options. You could keep fighting then die in vain, exhausted in battle or you could leave with me now and help us find a cure. You may still perish, yes, but it will be with purpose for your sacrifice will give others a chance. It's your choice."

He gathered the documents back into the folder while Kira pondered his last words and the sheer irony of it. He had come so close to being free and suddenly this. To the very end, the Academy held his life as collateral for what they wanted done.

"Why me?"

"You fit the requirements," Davies said bluntly. Then he removed his glasses and leveled Kira with an honest gaze. "And because I hold you in esteem, so much that I wish to remove you from this place and give you a fighting chance. I've told you countless times: I am not your foe. Come with me and you will have a chance at a real future."

"If you think you can sway me, you underestimate how much I resent the Academy."

"Think boy! Are your personal feelings more important than saving yourself?"

Kira's fists clenched. "Death isn't the only future waiting for me."

"How much time do you believe you have?" Davies' gaze was piercing, meaningful and harsh. "We are still your greatest chance Wolf— perhaps your only chance— to live."

Kira's eyes flickered open. The room was dark but white light filtered from the corridor through the glass window whose blinds had been pulled up. Evidently, he was under surveillance of the passing nurses. He turned his head and the small motion caused it to throb violently. Something in his chest flinched then bile rose in his throat making him sick. His vision blurred and his limbs felt rigid. But other than that, he was fine. After all, he was still alive.

"Kira?" came a voice. His eyes began to adjust to the darkness and he could make out the shadow standing next to his bed. "Wolf, can you hear me?"

"Kogure," he rasped out. "Am I…?"

"It's a terrible setback," his best friend answered. A chair pulled up next to the bed. "But they say you'll recover. You're not wounded or anything. You're just… it's just your Alice."

"What time is it?"

"Three in the morning."

"Why are you here?"

"They won't allow the others in." Kunimitsu raked a hand through his hair. "Davies gave me pass. Apparently, I'm your next of kin."

Kira chuckled at that detail. "Does she know?"

"Marie came by the building after second period and before club activities began," his friend answered. "She couldn't get clearance though so I told her I'd keep an eye on you. She left flowers."

"What kind?"

"Lilies."

"Ah," he nodded in thanks then glanced about himself to survey what he could about his state. He couldn't tell much. "When do I get out?"

Kunimitsu looked down. "Dude… you're hooked up to three different machines. I don't even know what the wires on your left hip are supposed to do."

"You said I'm not wounded."

"You're not bleeding," he said with a tinge of exasperation. "But looking at you now… let's just say you've had better days. Just stay down for a while."

"I can't. I have to find—"

"Natsume knows what's going on," he said plainly. "I'll send him to you soon. Don't worry about it. We've got it under control."

Kira sighed. He must be in worse state than Kunimitsu revealed or else his friend wouldn't be adamant on keeping him in the infirmary. They both loathe the place. But he didn't really have a choice because he had the feeling the three machines were keeping him resuscitated. Had he really sunk that low? His thoughts wandered back to his dream, to that conversation in Davies' office that was haunting him with such clarity.

How much time do you believe you have?

"Mitsu," he began hoarsely. "When we get out of here, what happens next?"

He gave a tight-lipped smile, "Out of here infirmary or out of here Academy?"

"Academy."

"I don't know," Kunimitsu said honestly. "I'm just hoping we make it out alive."

Natsume walked out into the courtyard with a purposeful stride. He was headed for the lighted glen with the old wrought-iron bench that was Kira and Marie's meeting place. Kunimitsu had paid him an early visit to inform him that the Captain was finally allowed to leave his hospital room. He wasn't discharged yet. It had been three days but the doctors still wouldn't sign the release forms. Kira's health still worried them and that troubled Natsume. If the Wolf could fall dead any second, he would be expected to step up at any given time as well.

Natsume reached the glen then halted a few paces away as he was met with a scene so intimate that he flushed to have witnessed it. Kira was already there and so was Marie; and right then the Captain was kissing his girl as though he had no intention of ever letting go.

As though this was a singular perfect moment in his life.

As though this was his last day on earth.

They broke apart and Marie leaned her forehead against his shoulder. Kira rested his chin on her head and his expression was one of sadness. Natsume frowned. No man should be allowed to kiss a girl that lovely then wear a gaze of regret. Marie pulled away first then she planted a quick kiss on his cheek before running away. There were no words exchanged between them. Kira let her go, watching her disappear down the road with the same look of melancholy.

Seeing it was now safe to approach, Natsume walked up to him then threw a fireball. The Captain wasn't well enough for instead of catching the sphere in rime, he ducked and the fire hit the ground a few paces away.

"That's a good entrance," Kira said dryly.

"Thanks, I've been working on it."

Natsume formed another sphere then locked eyes with Kira. The Wolf stood motionless even with the obvious threat. Natsume released his Alice and the ball traveled swiftly over the Captain's shoulder. It grazed his cheek and burned him before it hit the ground again. Even then, he didn't flinch. The attack left a blister.

"Why didn't you dodge it?"

"Why didn't you hit me?" Natsume bared his teeth and Kira exhaled, "I'm tired Natsume, tired and guilty and right now just a little suicidal. If you're spoiling for a fight, you won't get it here because I have no right to fight you."

"You're using fancy words again."

"I'm sorry."

"You should be."

"What do you want from me?"

Recompense was ridiculous. An alternative was out of the question. His apology was in the air and Natsume didn't want that either.

"That's a good question."

Kira sighed again then took a seat on the bench. Natsume surveyed the Captain and was just a little disappointed with what he saw. Kira was in pajamas. His pallor was telling, all the more sallow with his limp white hair. He seemed to have lost weight in the last few days, making his frame leaner than ever. But Natsume wouldn't call him weak. Not even then. The White Wolf was never frail even when he was ailing.

"What happened to you?"

Kira glanced at the seat next to him but didn't invite his protégé to sit down. "After the mission, we were ambushed two blocks away from the Academy. The enemy knew who we were. They took three of us down then gave chase. I tried to fight but they were ready for me too. I was shot but I kept attacking anyway. I wore myself out then just when help came, I passed out." He pulled up his sleeve to show him an ugly black mark that ran down his arm. "Their ammunition was mixed with some kind of compound that melds with the blood. The labs are still trying to figure it out. Even Marie couldn't heal me completely."

"What were they after?"

"I don't know but it was personal." Kira studied the scar. "They knew we were Alices and that's because… they were Alices too."

He grew confused. "Why would the school attack you?"

"I didn't say they were from the school."

We're fighting fellow Alices, Natsume thought and suddenly it hit him. "So that task you gave me on those dangerous abilities possessed by students in the last years—"

"—are Alices that would be trouble if they were on the other side."

"You mean if they were enemies."

"I'm not saying that," Kira said quietly. "Because it's not that simple. The Alice Academy isn't black or white, it's many shades of grey. Your opponent today could save your life tomorrow. Or you could one day change your mind on who to side with. So I'm not calling them enemies Natsume."

"But they shot you."

"You did too."

"Not with a bullet that merges with your blood."

"Point taken but that just means we need to up our game."

His response reminded Natsume that in the last few weeks Kira had started to teach him how to diffuse certain Alices. The Captain was preparing him but somehow he knew it wasn't for battle. It was for his survival. "We're going to fight them, aren't we?"

"Not you," Kira said then amended, "Or at least not yet."

Natsume exhaled then at long last he sat down on the bench. Kira was too smart to claim that as any sort of victory. Besides, the kid kept his distance and his posture was still far more guarded than it had been in the last months. He was sorry to see how quickly this child had to grow up just because he set foot inside the school.

"Kira." He so rarely used the Captain's name. "How long do you have?"

"If I lost a year for each time I maxed out my power…" He spoke with irony. "I should be dead, and that's if I lived to be a hundred and two. So I guess that's not how the math works."

"Seriously."

"I'm not sure when they're going to need you," Kira said honestly. "But I'm already sorry for the role I played in all this. I've always been sorry."

Natsume pulled out the pocket watch they had given him. He stared at the turning dials and stayed silent. A war was coming and he was expected to take part in it. What kind of messed up future was that? But there was no point fighting Kira over this because he already understood that the Wolf probably had as much of a choice in all this as he did. They were both being manipulated and what remained was to see who would become the greater legend. Besides, Natsume had already resolved that the first Alice he would take down would not be his teacher.

"I can't give any of it back," he spoke at last. "Not the training… or the skill… and I'm never giving back this pocket watch."

"So what do you want from me?"

"I just… I guess… I need to blow off steam."

Kira thought it over then he suddenly stood up. He walked a few paces forward then shut his eyes. Natsume watched as frost suddenly erupted from the dry, summer earth and gathered to at least four inches of snow. Nearby plants and trees were also covered in rime and a cool breeze blew. It was only a small diameter but the area was wide enough for the two of them. Kira tipped his head upwards and snowflakes descended from the sky to complete the winter picture.

"What are you doing?"

Kira didn't answer. Instead he bent down on one knee as though to contemplate his work. Natsume shook his head, thinking his mentor was being crazy again then he stood up to leave. When he turned, something cold hit him on the nape and dribbled down his back. He whirled around and saw that the Wolf was already packing another snowball.

"How about it, Hotshot? Think you can defeat me on my turf?"

"You know, you're only in pajamas."

"I can take a handicap." Kira shrugged then smiled meekly. "No Alices, same ammo. Come on Hyuuga, just get it out of your system."

"I don't want—"

Kira threw the snowball. It was provocation. Natsume quickly ducked then grabbed a handful of snow as he ran. Like with everything else he did, Natsume was ridiculously efficient at packing snowballs. He launched the projectile and hit Kira squarely on the forehead. The kid smirked and the Captain laughed then got ready to defend himself.

Their hands grew numb. They skidded on their clothes. Their limbs froze from the activity and Kira exhausted his Alice once more. But the numbness didn't matter. They went at it for about half an hour. That morning, though many other things were left unsaid, Kira was doing his hardest to restore Natume's trust and the strangest thing was that the kid actually let him try.

Present day, Alice Academy Study Hall, Natsume Hyuuga at age thirteen

Natsume read the last line he wrote then concluded the paragraph. When that was done, he closed the yearbook he had been using then glanced at his companion. Mikan had rested her head on her arms and she was sleeping soundly in a rather uncomfortable position. She dozed off a couple of minutes ago and he didn't think he had any reason to disturb her. He watched her shoulders rise and fall with her steady breathing. Before bringing him canned coffee, she had already changed out of her school uniform and was dressed casually for a quiet evening in the dorm. He noted her fruit-patterned shirt and the bright-colored capris she was wearing. Her hair was pulled up in pigtails, quite like old times, then were held in place using watermelon bands.

Such a wonder why he found this girl enchanting.

"Hotaru," she whispered in her sleep then giggled about something in her dream. Natsume snickered. Truly, she was the most constant person he knew.

Natsume's watch beeped and he checked the time. It was nearly half past one which meant it was time for him to go to the briefing room. Despite the lateness of the hour, it was still a long night ahead since he had a mission in another prefecture. These long hours were going to take their toll but that was a problem for another day.

He wrote a short note to tell Mikan to make sure Ruka got the books and papers he left behind. As he did so, he remembered her comment about the way he held his pen and his lips lifted in a small smile. Then he had to shake his head to remind himself that he was on his way to a mission and there was no room for distractions on the field.

He glanced at Mikan one more time. He remembered Marie. He remembered Mahiro. He remembered the mistakes his two comrades had made.

Then he left.

When Mikan woke it was nearly dawn. Her back hurt from the awkward position she had taken while sleeping. The room was empty but Natsume had at least organized his things before disappearing to wherever he was at the moment. Around her shoulders was a uniform jacket, Natsume's to be sure. Despite the fact that he had left her alone, she didn't feel cold at all.

She saw the note Natsume left at her elbow and decided she needed to find Ruka before classes began. Worry nipped her heart since there was no denying Natsume had gone on a mission again, a fact he failed to mention during the whole time they were conversing. However, he must have known that his departure would trouble her because he had added a short phrase at the end of his note. While the rest of his message left instructions the last line was meant to make her smile.

Next time, bring me apples, no-star.