Yes! an update that is not unreasonably late! I am proud to say that Drowning out the Echoes (Previously A Part of my World) has reached 100 reviews! Thank you to my 100th reviewer; comicworm!
Thankyou very much to my reviewers (and there's so many more than last chapter :D) :
Kylee-Cat
unknOwn - I'm sorry for the run-ons; unfortunately I'm the type of person who doesn't like short sentences, but I'll try to make my sentences less run-onish fromnow on
Amai Youkaiko
xxxangelHoliCxxx
XxMidnightPrincessxX
Whiteyuki
anim3gurl
jEzzy mISt-miSSy - I didn't even think of that, but it would be cool!
Sakura Breeze
Comicworm
bunnyjumps
AngelTales
kitykat556
pirateKitten11893
BrokenFacades
This chapter is dedicated to my reviewers, for helping me reach 100+ reviews
Drowning Out the Echoes
Chapter 8
Falling Walls
Throughout the week, Mikan's special ability classes were the only things that kept her sane. Every morning during home-room classes she had to sit by Natsume's side and act as if he was just another person. It had become a habit for Mikan to move from her seat once Narumi left the room and talk to Hotaru for the rest of the session.
It was Friday, and everybody was excitedly planning for the weekends. Halfway through questioning Anna about the shops in Central Town, Mikan suddenly remembered that she'd left her school diary in the classroom.
As she walked back through the corridors, she suddenly noticed that hers weren't the only footsteps.
"Hyuuga-san, are you stalking me?" She asked, doing her best imitation of an irritated girl.
"So it's Hyuuga-san, is it?" his voice sent shivers up her spine "I thought we agreed that our last name would be Sakura."
"That...was a long time ago." Mikan started to walk off, but Natsume grabbed her arm.
"Why do you hate me? Just tell me what I did!"
"You left me!" Tears started to run down her cheeks. "You promised we'd always be together, and then you just left!" Recovering from her outburst, she roughly pulled back her arm, attempting to walk away. Natsume caged her against the nearest wall with his arms, an agonised look on his face.
"Let me go." said Mikan, turning her head so that she would look anywhere but at his eyes. She could feel his irregular breath on her cheek, so close...
"They told me you'd already been adopted. I thought you were the one who left." Mikan tried to open her mouth to reply, but couldn't think of anything to say. A part of her wanted to believe him, but an even larger part of her was warning her not to.
"Please" she choked "Please don't-"
"Mikan" he growled "Look at me, dammit!" She looked at him in shock and immediately regretted it. She had always known that once she saw those familiar eyes, she would never be able to look away. He moved his head forward until his forehead rested on hers. He was so close, she could've counted his eyelashes. She could feel his warmth, she could feel his heart beating. It was too familiar, she had to get away. Desperately she pushed back against the wall, as if hoping she would merge into it.
"W-wait-"
BOOM
When Mikan opened her eyes, she realized that she was still being pinned against the wall by Natsume. The only difference, in fact, was that they were now horizontal. Yes, horizontal as in parallel to the floor. She heard a coughing sound, and looked up to find an entire class staring at them with varying looks of shock, amusement and in some cases, mortification. Mikan hurriedly sat up, pushing away the just as surprised Natsume. Why had the wall fallen down? Was it someone's Alice? Maybe Natsume's...come to think of it, what was his Alice? Trying to look anywhere but at his face, Mikan's eyes travelled along the ground and paused at what appeared to be a sign stuck on the wall. 'Partition wall; do not lean on'
She tried to restrain it, but it leaked out anyway; a small laugh. Of all the walls to lean on, they had to choose the partition wall. She froze when Natsume reached up a hand and brushed away a stray strand of hair from her face. He was smiling at her, watching her animated face. His smile was beautiful.
"GET A ROOM!" shouted a boy from the back row.
"Fucking single stars. C'mon, Mikan." Mikan brought up her arm but hesitated before taking his helping hand. She started to retrieve it, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her up regardless. As soon as she had regained balance, Mikan snatched back her hand.
"Sorry, Hyuuga-san, but I have to go and find my diary."
"This diary?" asked Hyuuga, grinning as he waved about the small leather bound book.
"Give it back!"
"Say it."
"Say what?" asked Mikan. She gasped as Natsume pulled her close to him and whispered into her ear.
"Admit that you want to sleep with me." His voice was amused, almost playful. Mikan could feel it, bubbling up inside her.
"How dare you, you, you conceited piece of...of horse-radish!" Yes, her famous anger had been released. This could mean only one thing; she was about to make a massive fool of herself. "I'd rather sleep with a donkey before I even consider sleeping with you!"
"You're considering it now."
"No-o, I'm considering sleeping with a donk- wait no... Just give the fucking diary back! I'm sure it doesn't appreciate having your grubby little hands on it!"
"If you're serious about the donkey thing, I know someone who could help-"
"No, that was a bad example...ummm, I-I'd rather eat raw...uhh...raw hair...Anyways, you think you're so cool, but you're really just a perverted potato brain, stupid hentai! It's like karate versus french horn, and you're the french horn!" She gave Natsume a triumphant look as if her argument had not only made perfect sense, but had actually proved Natsume inferior. Her face fell when she noticed Natsume's shoulders shaking in silent laughter. She realised in that moment that Natsume hadn't wanted her to 'admit' that she wanted to sleep with him. He'd just wanted to make her angry. "You are insufferable!"
"A detention in the first week for breaking a wall, disturbing an entire class and for comparing one of the hottest guys in school to a trumpet? You are going to go down in school history, Mikan, and not in a good way."
"French horn, actually, and he provoked me." said Mikan through gritted teeth. "Now can we please stop talking about this?"
It was Saturday, and Mikan was on the tram to central town. She was looking forward to the visit, but would've preferred it if Anna and Nonoko would shut up about the events of the previous day. The embarrassing story had spread throughout the school like wild fire, gaining momentum with each passing moment. Some people treated her with a strained disdain, others treated her like she was some sort of legend. She just wished everybody would forget about it, she didn't need more attention than she already had. Her thought were interrupted as the forest fell away, revealing the most beautiful town she had ever seen.
It was quaint, the architecture looked to be around 17th century. Puffs of smoke wafted up from small chimneys, pots of colourful flowers hung from curtained windows and wrought iron lampposts lined the paved roads. As the tram made its way down the main road, Mikan could see shops of all kinds, selling everything from food to furniture, with a multitude of items in between. At last the tram stopped out the front of a tower so tall that it seemed to disappear into the clouds, fading into nothing. As Mikan stepped off the tram, she was nearly bowled over by the colour, the noises, the exotic smells.
"This is the 5th district of central town" explained Nonoko. "It's the main commercial centre, and you can buy pretty much everything here. And this," she gestured up at the colossal tower "is the translucent tower. No one knows why, but it can amplify your Alice as you go up the levels. They use the upper levels mostly for long distance scrying and stuff like that. It's kinda weird becau-" She was cut off.
"Oh, stop boring her Ogasawara-san, I'm sure Mikan doesn't care." Katsutoshi had approached them while they had been distracted. He was looking coldly at Nonoko.
"Kuonji-san, excuse me; I didn't realise you were there. You're right, Mikan, let's go and see the shops." Nonoko grabbed Mikan's arm a bit too tightly and dragged her away, with Anna and Hotaru following behind.
"You should be careful around him." warned Nonoko
"I know."
"No, you don't. He's the son of the elementary school principal. He's just a puppet to that man, he's dangerous."
"The elementary school principal...how many principals are there?"
"Three," answered Hotaru, "Kuonji, the elementary school principal; Hī, the middle school principal and Yukihara, the high school principal. Kuonji is the one you should be wary of. You should under no circumstances catch his eye. His influence is almost as large as his ambition."
"Ah, here we are!" exclaimed Anna "This is the best lolly shop in town! You like candy, right Mikan?" But at that moment Mikan couldn't answer. She was too busy staring at the rows of spun sugar sculptures sitting in the windows. Inside there was an entire wall devoted to boiled sweets, a shelf loaded with every type of liquorice imaginable, barrels of sherbet (2 rabbits a bag), jars of special effects candy, a table laden with shortbread, and that was only skimming the surface. But that was nothing in contrast to the large silver fountain in the middle of the room. The water cascading down was luminous, glowing in the soft colours of the rainbow yet perfectly clear.
"That is the spectrum fountain. You know, the water isn't only the colours we can see, it's also the colours we can't see."
"Wow!" Mikan breathed softly.
"One day I want to be able to make a drink or food like that. Something that will make people happy when they eat it." said Anna smiling.
"You should, you have the cooking Alice, right? You could start up a restaurant."
"I can't. I have to take over my family's business, ERS. You know, the mining and oil company."
"Oh." Mikan surveyed Anna. She was still smiling, but there was something strained about that smile.
The afternoon found them lying on the lawns outside the central library, each sipping a bottle of spectrum water. Anna and Nonoko were animatedly chatting about a recipe, and Mikan was watching Hotaru oil the hinges of one of her many inventions, occasionally asking questions.
"Oi, Polka!" Mikan looked up as she heard Natsume's voice. "Catch." A white box flew straight at her and Mikan, panicking, only just managed to catch it.
"Hyuuga-san, I think you dropped your box." She said, keeping her voice as even as possible. Of course he didn't drop it, but she didn't want anything from him.
"Nup, it's for you, polka dots." he said as he walked off, leaving Mikan wondering about her new nickname.
"Whoa...how did he get his hands on these?" asked Nonoko in a hushed voice.
"Why what is it?" asked Anna, moving closer for a better look "Howalons? But these don't come into season for another few weeks!" Nonoko handed the box back to Mikan.
"They're a type of fruit made by an Alice. Try some, you'll like it." Mikan almost refused, but in the end decided to try one of the small, delicate, pink fruit. It was delicious. The outside felt so fluffy, and the inside so creamy. It tasted like no fruit she had ever tasted before.
"It's delicious!"
"Yup, that is a fruit that you can get nowhere else in the world. One of the many perks of being an Alice." said Anna grinning.
After she and her friends had finished the howalon, Mikan returned to pondering her new nickname
Polka-dots...polka-dots...polka-...!
"HYUUGA YOU PERVERTED BASTARD!" She yelled at no one in particular, unnerving a few innocent passer-bys.
When, in the evening, she finally returned to her apartment, she was still fuming. She tore the envelope she found on her table open, muttering obscenities under her breath. As she read what was written on the envelope, her temper finally cooled to be replaced with nervous anticipation. At last she had been summoned. She would finally learn what her Alice was.
Your thoughts on the chapter? How do I improve if you don't speak up? Even a simple thing such as my run-on sentences, or incorrect use of grammar. By reviewing, you are helping me to improve my english marks ^.^