Gosh… it's been so long… don't throw anything at me! I finished this one first, so Winter Serenade is going to take a bit longer since I'm planning to remove some… scenes… that I think should not be there… Well, no need to worry about other stuff when you got this awesome chapter waiting! Enjoy!

Feathers of an Angel

Chapter 8

After the Alice Festival… Mikan and Yuki's bedroom…

Yuki quietly plaited her hair into loose, long plaits as she waited for Mikan to finish getting ready. Mikan, on the other hand, was rushing through her daily routine twice as fast as usual, having woken up late. Sighing, Yuki put on her boots and star badge slowly, as if to taunt Mikan's current "predicament".

'I'm late! I'm late, I'm late, I'M LATE!' Mikan screamed, her hair going all frazzled and she clawed them in desperation. Her clothes were in disarray and her hair was left untied.

'Mikan.'

'Oh no!'

'Mikan.'

'What should I do? It's right after the Festival too! I don't have the time for breakfast!'

'MIKAN-BAKA!'

'Huh?' Mikan paused in her frenzy to look at the dark haired girl who was looking quite pissed off.

Yuki picked up the alarm clock and said, 'I set it 3 hours early.'

…

'EHHH?'

At Classroom B…

'Mou…'

'Stop sulking, Mikan,' Yuki patted her friend's back.

'But… you… played a prank on me!' Mikan wailed and tears spurted out from her eyes.

'It was a harmless prank. Besides, we have time to talk now,' Yuki gestured nonchalantly.

Mikan's eyes grew suspicious. 'We?'

'We as in everyone in this room right now.'

She tensed up as several presences became apparent to her. Mikan stood up and did a 360 to see who they were. Her gasp was hardly discreet.

'Surprised?' Yuki smirked and stood up as well.

'Shall we commence, then?' Kisaragi Jin stepped forward. Everyone nodded and pulled out their necklaces. Metal glinted in the pale morning light. Yuki and Kisaragi both pulled out their own set of bat wings and assumed their position at the front of the classroom.

'Has the room been secured?' Yuki asked sharply.

'It's been done,' Kisaragi assured.

'Very well, we may begin. Introductions first, it would seem,' Yuki sat on the table. She bared her necklace to the occupants of the room and said, 'Shirogane Yukiko, copper-silver rank. I'm one of the two leaders in this operation. Hm… I have the alice of Sight through water. Omniscience, in other words, but with a condition. Anything else you would like to know?'

'How did you become one of us?' Someone from the back of the classroom shot at her.

Yuki shrugged, 'It's not really your business to know. I don't keep track of these things either. Kisaragi, you're next.'

The teen smirked and swung his necklace on his index finger. He said, 'I'm Kisaragi Jin, copper-silver just like the midget. I'm the leader of this whole mess. I have no obligation to tell you what my alice is. Don't irritate me or else… I just transferred here so don't go around assuming you know me. And I think… that we should all keep our relations here a secret. But then again, I suppose you all know that.'

Yuki nodded and pointed to Mikan. Mikan turned to the rest of the people and showed them her necklace. 'I'm Sakura Mikan, copper rank. I have the alice of Nullification, as well as the Stealing alice, though that should remain as a secret for now. I'm Yuki-chan's assistant. Uh… I'm quite skilled in fighting…' Mikan looked quite faint at the mention of combat, but regardless held her stand until her part was over.

The man at the back stepped out and showed off his pair of bat wings. 'I'm Zero, more commonly known as Serio Rei or Persona over here. Copper rank and leader of those serving our organization on this side. You should know my Alice. I think we're in a mutual agreement that you brats will, on no circumstances, approach me in public.'

Yuki sighed, 'Right… I take it your mission is going well?'

Persona nodded, 'Yes. The Principal trusts me wholeheartedly. I think it would be easy for me to accomplish any missions pertaining to him at this point of time.'

Kisaragi ran a hand through his hair. 'That's good. You should understand that we are your superiors in this academy. All orders will be sent to you. I expect you to relay them to the appropriate parties.'

He gave a nod and blended back into the shadows. Next, two students from the middle school department stood up. They were obviously the next top-ranking agents there.

Kisaragi frowned, 'No high school students? That's not very good.'

Persona coughed from the shadows and said, 'The high school students I managed to get have graduated. They were the ones I have influenced… from my time. I was afraid to make any movements in fear of their principal.'

Yuki sighed and frowned, gesturing for the two to continue on.

'Yo, I'm Tsubasa Andou and this is my partner Misaki-chan! We're both copper rank, under Zero. We are the ones to conduct actual missions and stuff…' The black haired teen smirked cockily. His pink haired companion slapped his arm but didn't say anything.

'Tsubasa-senpai…' Mikan whispered to herself.

'What are your specialties?'

'Uh… I guess we're all-rounded. But we work as a team. Oh! And we're in that special spy team thingie that is being used to weed out the BH spies so we're sort of some double agent… yeah. Um, there're others that are spies too, right, Kokoroyome?' Tsubasa patted the sandy blond's head who was sitting just beside him.

The small elementary boy stood up. 'I'm Kokoroyome. I'm a copper rank, under Zero. I'm the scout and a double agent for our cause. Um… I now have orders to read Yukiko-san's and Mikan-san's minds but I'm feeding them false information at the moment. Do I have any new orders?'

Yuki thought for a moment before shaking her head. 'No, you may continue with that set of orders for now. Are there any other mind readers in that team right now?'

'Yes, but they're in the high school division. Apparently only my powers are strong enough in the elementary division,' Kokoroyome reported.

'Right…'

'Ano…' a blue haired girl stood up. 'I'm Nonoko. Um… I'm copper rank… under Zero-sensei. I-I'm the inventor… of sorts. It's my… job to produce medicine and supplements… for those on mission… Uh… I'm an agent because of my parents, like Ruka-kun.'

'Nogi Ruka, copper under Zero,' Ruka stood up, the rabbit usually in his arms absent. 'I'm also an agent because of my parents. I specialize in combat.'

'Tch, flaunting their background like that…' Some nameless middle school boy scoffed. The next second, a knife was lodged onto the table where he was, its blade touching his fingers very gently. There was no doubt who threw it as all eyes were directed from the now pale and shaking boy to the cool and collected blond boy.

'Enough! No fighting or insulting, or I will be forced to deal out punishments!' Persona growled from the back. Ruka sat down immediately, with Nonoko nervously following suit.

Kisaragi sighed and ruffled his hair. 'This is tiring. I don't have any more interest in listening to the rest of the introductions. The rest are all Blacks, right? No one important. We can skip them.' There were collective growls and protests, but a quick glare silenced them up.

'I'm sharing the same thought. Okay, onto the next topic. I'm sure Zero has relayed to you that Gold-ranked No.10 will be coming to the Academy soon. As in, he has plans to come to the Academy within the foreseeable future. So, all active missions will be suspended until further notice unless specified so that we will remain in relatively good relations with this school. So, Zero, please convey your orders!' Yuki jumped off the table. 'Hm, that's all, I guess?'

Kisaragi nodded and they both made their way to the door.

'Hey!'

Both of them turned around. A middle school boy was standing up, face contorted in fury and fear. He demanded furiously, 'Why did you kill him? The first "victim" of yours-he was a fellow agent!'

'Ah…'

The boy stormed up to the short girl and grabbed her by the shoulder. Shaking her angrily, he demanded, 'Give me a good reason why I shouldn't kill you right here and now!' He was suddenly silenced by a sharp pressure to his neck. Mikan and Kisaragi were holding shining silver blades to his neck, each on either side of him. The boy gulped and froze stiff in his actions.

'Let her go right now if you wish to not become the next sacrifice,' Kisaragi said coldly.

Mikan continued on, 'We're perfectly capable to decapitating you right now.'

The boy shakily lifted his hands off the girl. Yuki brushed her clothes, looking away. She looked thoughtful, before finally saying, 'If you really want to know that badly… the first boy was a traitor to us. It was discovered a few hours before our arrival that he intended to sell us out to the Academy, and that was unacceptable. As a result, we were forced to eliminate him. Not wanting to cause any unrest and wariness among the school, the council gave the order to move ahead with our plans and use that boy as the first… sacrifice for our plans. We didn't really want to kill him, but treason is not tolerated in this organization. Does this answer your question?'

The boy looked murderous. He spat out, 'So it's acceptable to kill someone else because he didn't agree with our ideals?'

'No, it's not. But do realize that it's either him or the rest of us. If we had been found out, there would be more at stake than just your pretty little life. Our plans will have fallen through, and all the agents would have been purged. Not even the boy would survive. You know how the Academy works. Kill off all the parasites. And that's how we work as well,' Yuki pointed to his bat wings hanging around his neck. 'If you're really an agent of our esteemed organization, then you should at least understand this. We will follow through with this mission, we will succeed, and we will do anything that is needed to accomplish that.'

'But… that's wrong!' He protested.

Kisaragi walked up to him and pulled the necklace off him, barking, 'That's enough! Someone like you is obviously not suited for this. Zero, settle with him after this!'

Persona nodded from the back of the classroom. Kisaragi and Yuki both turned to the door and walked away.

'Mikan! What are you doing? It's time for breakfast.' Yuki called over her shoulder.

Mikan got up hastily and said, 'Hai! I'm coming!' Tucking her necklace and the knife back into some place undetectable, she rushed to catch up with Yuki. Looking out of the door, she found the said girl walking alone. Turning back to the classroom, she realized it was empty.

'Huh…?'

In Classroom 1B later that day…

Homeroom period.

Narumi stood in front of the class with a gay smile on his face, wearing gay clothes and posing in a gay fashion. (A/N: I have nothing against Narumi, but he creeps me out with his… personality at times.) Clapping his hands several times, he said cheerily, 'Okay Class! We have something very special lined up for you next week! The end of year examinations will be starting next week!'

Collective groans echoed and a dull, dark, dreary atmosphere clouded the room. Mikan herself looked quite pale at the prospect of the examinations.

Narumi continued, 'It will be held for the whole of next week, and the subjects include… Mother Tongue, English Language, Mathematics, Science, Geography, History, Literature, Home Economics and, of course, whatever is being taught in your Alice class this term! Isn't that exciting?'

'…'

'…'

'NO IT'S NOT!' Came the collective shout.

Narumi sweat dropped at the response, but perked up a few seconds later and chirped, 'I'll leave you to your preparations! There will be free blocks for the rest of this week for you to do self-study, but the teachers will be available in the staff lounge to provide any assistance! Have a great two weeks ahead! And Shirogane-chan, I need to see you outside for a moment! Ta-ta!'

Yuki got up and left the classroom with Narumi. Mikan stoned in her seat and stared at the schedule of the exams that had been passed down previously.

'Mikan-chan?' Yuu approached her and asked concernly.

'…'

'Mikan-chan, are you ill?' Yuu shook her shoulder gently.

'I CAN'T DO EXAMS!' Mikan wailed all of a sudden. Yuu and those around her jumped back. Mikan slammed her head onto the desk and turned on the taps that lead to the leaking of her tear-taps.

'B-but Mikan-chan, you're great in your studies! What's wrong?'

Mikan cried some more. 'I really can't… I manage all the classroom work and stuff, but when it comes to exams, I can't do it! My mind freezes up and… and I forget everything! Ojii-san always scolds me when I get such low marks for my exams, but I can't help it!'

Hotaru looked at her coolly. 'That's right… you always fail exams back when we were in school. It seems that six months has done little to change that, ne, Mikan?'

'Mikan-chan…'

The classroom door opened again and Yuki walked back in and made her way to her seat. Mikan scooted over to make space for her to sit down, all the while dragging her tear-stained face across the desk. Sniffing, she asked, 'Yuki-chan, what did Narumi-sensei tell you?'

'I'm exempted from exams.'

'Eh?' Several heads shot up.

'Why?'

Yuki smoothed her blindfold. 'I can't see, and they don't feel that it's fair to conduct oral tests. They don't want to risk me using my Alice either, since there's a high cheating rate. There's no helping it this year, so I'm exempted. Meanwhile, they're going to push forward the schedule for treatment, so while you're studying, I'll be in the hospital.'

'Eh... Yuki-chan is so lucky…'

'Lucky? She won't have a chance at the top student prize now.'

Hotaru flipped a page of her book which she was currently studying and said, 'I don't think it's lucky to stay in the hospital. It creeps me out. Who is treating you, by the way?'

'Hm… who knows?'

'…'

'Well, it starts tomorrow, so why not we help Mikan-chan with the exams today?' Yuki suggested. 'What Mikan-chan really needs is the confidence for the exams. I think intensive confidence-building training will help.'

Hotaru's eyes glinted and a familiar sign appeared in her eyes. She immediately stood up and said, 'I have just the device for you! But, first, let's discuss the fees.' A calculator was whipped out of nowhere.

'Eh? But I just got my allowance yesterday!'

Intensive Training Menu, Day 1…

Hotaru heaved a pile of worksheets onto the table and if one listened hard enough, he would be able to hear the table screaming in protest under the weight of the paper(which then led to the question as to how exactly did she manage to carry all that over). Mikan stared and stared at the stack, and after a while, looked up at Hotaru questioningly.

Hotaru had a menacing glint in her eyes as she said, 'This will be part one of your training. To train your self confidence and efficiency in dealing with questions, you will be attempting 100 of these questions every hour. Between each hour will be a 15-minutes break, and we will begin with the next set immediately after. This will continue until dinner, and after which you will receive the marked and evaluated test papers to do corrections.'

'Eh?' Her jaw dropped to the floor.

Yuki, who was sitting in a corner, sniggered uncontrollably. Mikan shot her a glare, but it was weak due to the prospect of having to do numerous test questions for the whole day.

Hotaru picked up the first set of questions and placed them on Mikan's desk. She then went on to explain, 'These papers came from previous years' exams, and they are mixed up so that you will have a wide variety of questions to attempt. These will also train your ability to adapt and respond so that you won't be fazed by questions in the exam. Let's see…' She looked at the clock. 'The first paper begins… now.' She set the chicken-shaped timer and placed in front of Mikan. The said girl blinked for a second or two, before realizing the importance of time at the moment and began charging through the questions.

And then, one hour later…

Ring! Ring! Ring! The chicken rang loudly as the one hour was up. Mikan wearily turned over the paper and slumped down in her seat. She moaned, 'That has got to be the worst 1 hour of my life!'

'That will be one of the worst hours of your life,' Yuki corrected. She grinned, 'You still have many more to go!'

'Eh?' She turned slowly to the stack beside her and gulped at the still towering stack of papers.

From the other end of the building, one could hear a girl screaming 'NOOOOOOOOOO!'

And that process continued on for quite a while…

Day 2, Hospital…

Imai Subaru walked briskly down the corridors of the hospital, ignoring all the gazes and looks that he got from the people around him. Swiftly, rounding the corner, he made his way into the specialized wards in the northern wing of the hospital and entered a room with a plague stating: Sight Correction Experiment VI, Examination Room

'Ah, Imai-san, you're here!' The nurse inside greeted cheerfully. 'I've just finished getting her ready. You may begin when you want to!'

Subaru nodded and put on the white coat and gloves. He then swept his hair back casually and walked into the cordoned off area at the corner of the room. Sitting down at the desk beside the examination bed, he picked up a light blue file and opened it. Not a second later, the dark haired girl was wheeled into the area by the nurse. The nurse bowed and left the room quickly, leaving the two alone the in the big examination room.

"Are you ready?"

'… Saa, I suppose I'll know when you begin…' Yuki replied.

Subaru shot her a look but turned back to the file and wrote some notes in it. They sat there in silence, with only the sound of Subaru's pen scratching on the papers in the file.

'You're a special case. From what they tests are showing, there has been no damage at all to the eye itself, yet you are unable to see a thing. Just to confirm, you can't see anything at the present moment, can you?' Subaru asked.

Yuki shook her head. 'Not a single shape. Just… black.'

'We have classified this as psychological-based, so all treatment will be directed towards the psychological area. We will begin the examination now,' He stood up and walked over to Yuki.

Yuki grabbed onto his sleeve, pausing him in his actions. Subaru raised his eyebrows expectantly.

'You… are you doing this… for the credit you'd get if this succeeds?' Yuki asked.

Subaru's larger hand enclosed the small, dainty one on his sleeve. 'It's not like that.'

'Really? I heard scholarships to the Alice Academy Specialist University in Russia is impossible to get if you don't have enough outstanding pre-requisites on your dish. This… experiment, as they so nicely put it, would be quite attractive if it actually succeeds.'

'What you're saying…' Subaru knelt down. 'Is as if you're doubtful of why we're doing this, as well as our capability. Why?'

'Why would someone do this for a weak girl they've only seen and talked to a few times?' Yuki folded her hands on top of her chest.

Subaru sighed. 'It's actually… a favour. To Shuichi.'

'Sakurano-senpai?' Her head shot up.

'That's right. He asked of me this favour, and I agreed to do so. It's that least I could do for my closest friend. It's not really the credit and stuff, but Shuichi knows I want to go to the Medical Branch in that University, so he's trying to give me this chance. Are you at rest now?'

Yuki laced her fingers together, keeping her head dipped.

Subaru sighed and looked away.

'Then… that's alright then.'

'What?'

'I was afraid… but then hearing you makes me feel at ease now. Thank you, Imai-senpai,' Yuki smiled at him.

'Ah…' He pushed up his spectacles and looked away very deliberately. 'Let's go, shall we?'

'Hai!'

A week later, after exams…

The exam had proceeded smoothly, and when the last paper ended and the invigilator left the classroom, the students of Elementary Branch Class B erupted into cheers. Well, most students, anyways.

'It's over!' Mikan dropped her head onto the desk. 'It's finally over. I am so going to Central Town to get a parfait and enjoy this day!'

Hotaru's eyes glinted. 'Mikan, you're forgetting that you owe me your allowance for the next 2 months. Parfaits are out for you.'

Mikan darkened considerably. 'I know… but I think I did well for this exam. Your special… training helped… I guess…'

'Of course it did. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the top student award was clinched by you,' Hotaru said.

'Heh!'

'Though, if you do, then at least credit me by giving me that one month's worth of Central Town vouchers.'

'Mou, Hotaru-chan!'

Someone chuckled behind them. 'But if Mikan-chan really does get that prize, then I think she should treat us all to parfait.'

'Yuki-chan!' Mikan jumped and instinctively hugged the girl who had crept up to the pair from behind, dragging her onto the bench.

'Ack, Mikan, that hurts!' Yuki moaned, rubbing her butt.

'Sorry! But I'm so glad to see you again! I didn't see you the whole week! Where were you, mou! You didn't even return to the room!' Mikan pouted.

Yuki wrestled herself out of Mikan's arms and said, 'I was in the hospital. They figured it would be best if I stayed overnight so that they could monitor my condition. I had to wake up every two hours for tests… it was terror.'

'So who was treating you?' Hotaru asked, looking at her.

Yuki smiled. 'You brother, Imai Subaru.'

Everything in Hotaru's hands dropped. Hotaru grabbed the front of Yuki's blouse. 'When's your next appointment.'

'Ah… they gave me some drugs to test out… I guess… it should be in two weeks time…'

'I'm going with you.'

'Eh, Hotaru-chan?' Mikan cocked her head to the side.

'...'

'A heart to heart talk with your long lost older brother?' Yuki asked. Hotaru remained silent.

'Or maybe, Hotaru-chan just wants to call Imai-senpai: Onii-tama!' Mikan suggested cheerfully.

BAKA! BAKA! BAKA! The Baka gun was out and aimed at Mikan's head.

Hotaru blushed a bright pink and said, 'Stop saying things like that! In case you were wondering, which I definitely think you were, I wanted to warn him if he did anything to you that causes you any harm, I'd have his head for sure, whether he's my brother or not!'

On the way to Special Abilities Class…

'And?' Mikan looked at Yuki, holding her hand and swinging it.

'Nothing. He was just doing it…' Yuki answered.

'So you'll get your sight back?' Mikan's tone lifted a slight bit.

'Perhaps. There's a good chance that this will succeed.'

'That's good, isn't it?' Mikan smiled brightly. She touched Yuki's face and both of them paused in their steps.

'…Yes?'

'Does Yuki-chan… want this?'

'…' Yuki touched Mikan's hand, and then pointed to her chest, where it was sure that the pair of bat wings was hanging.

'Don't tell me… it's orders?'

'From No.10. He said that I should be as perfect as possible, and if it means that I must use the Academy, then I will,' Yuki tugged at Mikan's hand and started to walk.

'But I want to know if you want it, Yuki-chan!' Hotaru-chan?"Ho

A string of coughs interrupted their conversation. Mikan looked up, and saw a middle-school student sitting on the bench, coughing like mad into his hands. Not too far off, a few soft toys were trying to move a bucket of water to the sick male.

'Are you alright?' Mikan, being Mikan, rushed forward to the boy, dragging Yuki along.

'Ah…' the boy looked up. 'Could you… help me get some water?'

Mikan looked at the soft toys that were trying to move the bucket, but in vain. 'Don't tell me… those things are yours?'

The boy looked at where she was looking at, and face palmed. 'Why is it in a bucket…?'

Mikan laughed and said, 'I'll get you bottle! Just wait here!' And she ran off.

'Ah…' Yuki reached out, feeling strangely awkward being left alone with the senior.

'Um…' he looked at her. 'Would you like a seat?'

Few minutes later…

Mikan came running back with a bottle of fresh water, panting slightly. She stopped right in front of the boy, passing the bottle to him. 'Here!'

The boy accepted it gratefully, taking out a few pills and chugging it down with the water. When his coughing subsided, he looked at both of them and nodded in gratitude.

'Thank you. I needed that.' He smiled, dazzling Mikan. 'My name is Kaname. Sono Kaname. The soft toys are my creations. Hey, come over and say hello!' Instantly, five or six soft toys came piling on top of him, hugging his for their dear life.

'That's an amazing Alice!' Mikan exclaimed. One of them, a white rabbit, hopped into her arms and Mikan cuddled it. A brown bear nudged Yuki's arms, and she picked it up hesitantly.

'Where are you heading? I'm sorry to have held you up like this…'

'Oh, never mind! We're just going to the Special Abilities Class! We're early, anyways, and I doubt Noda-sensei is back from his excursion yet either!' Mikan passed the rabbit back to Kaname.

'Special Abilites… Could it be that you two are-'

'HEY! IT'S KANAME!'

They turned to see a group of middle school Special Ability students walking towards them. Leading them was Tsubasa himself.

'It's Kaname!' Misaki, who was tagging beside him, exclaimed.

'You're out of hospital? Really?' Tsubasa clapped the boy on the shoulder.

Kaname laughed and stood up. 'It's just for a day. I wanted to surprise you, so I didn't tell you all… sorry about that…'

'Sorry? Don't be! This is great!' Tsubasa swung an arm around him. 'Hey, let's go celebrate this! This is awesome!'

'YEAH!'

Streets of Tokyo… in a black car…

'Another job… how troublesome…'

'Lin-sama, Kisaragi Jin has been successfully planted into the Academy,' the man sitting opposite him reported after hanging up from a phone.

The man crossed his legs, running a hand through his stiffly gelled dark hair, trying to scoop a few loose strands back into place. He paused, moving his hand to his face, where he noted the missing last finger on his left hand and the spider webs of pearly white scars decorating the area. He grinned, clenching his fist, and looked back at the man with his sharp dark eyes.

'Good work,' he said, pulling out his pair of golden bat wings. He toyed with it with his left hand, looking out of the window.

'Looks like it's going to be a while before I get to see my room again, huh, Lang?' The high ranking man looked at his subordinate.

'Yes… Lin-sama…'

'Damn it, I thought I ordered you to call me Yang in private,' Lin glared at the man.

'I'm sorry… Yang…'

'No sweat. We are life-long partners, after all,' Lin looked back out of the window. 'You better get me some good rice wine once we get there. I'm starving already.'

'Then you should eat some proper food. As your subordinate, it's my duty to see that you are in best health,' Lang replied.

Lin gave a big laugh, smiling at the man. 'You really… are… a mother hen, Lang. It's no wonder that you're the closest one to me.'

Lang bowed his head. 'I'm not worth that praise… Lin-sama.'

'You are, Lang Zi,' Lin said seriously. 'Once we get into the Academy, stay by my side at all times. Even when I'm going to the toilet. You will watch my back like it's your own life, and the same for me. I can't bear to lose you. After all, where else can I get such a loyal servant?'

He kept his head bowed. 'Understood. As I can't bear to leave you either, Yang.'

Alice Academy… That Night…

Kaname smiled as he watched the stuffed bear trot away into the night. The bobbling lantern danced in the dark woods, and he kept his eyes on the bear until the light had completely faded away into the forest, leaving the place as quiet and peaceful as it first was.

Kazane sighed and looked around.

And nearly had a heart attack when he saw a dark haired girl standing beside his window, completely unnoticeable unless he had turned to look.

'You are… the girl from this morning…' Kaname said, taking in the Elementary branch uniform she was wearing.

'I'm Shirogane Yukiko. May I… talk for a while?' She turned to him, showing him clearly the blindfold she had around her eyes.

Kaname looked at her, before saying, 'Sure. Do you want to… come in?' He held out an arm. Yuki took it and hopped into the room lightly.

Kaname sat down on the bed and looked at her, 'So… what did you come here to talk about?'

Yuki sat on the window ledge. 'I know… about your Alice.'

He winced. 'And… are you going to tell me to stop doing what I love to do?'

'No. What you do with your life is none of my business,' Yuki replied. He winced at the words. Yuki continued, completely oblivious to his reaction, 'But I do want to know… what having that Alice entails for you. Why are you so willing to… split your life force and insert them into these… creations… for others? Is it really worth it?'

Kaname laughed hollowly. 'It's not whether it's worth it or not. It's about my will. I've always been a weak child, and I couldn't play or enjoy certain things like other children could. This Alice is a form of redemption for me. It's something I can finally do. That's why I am willing to do it. If it's a mean to anchor my existence into this world, then I would willingly do it.'

Yuki inclined her head. 'And what of the soft toys?'

'Huh?'

'What of them… when you finally… go away. Will they continue to stay here, alive when their main body is gone, or will they too, die off when the main body dies, and erase your existence from the minds of those girls you gave those heartfelt toys to?'

He clenched the sheets in his fists, crumpling them up.

'Continuing to do so is but a temporary solution. No, a solution that has adverse effects. You achieve nothing but the temporary infatuation of those girls. Every girl you win over with that Alice is another few months of your life being drained away, and every toy you continue to make is but you killing yourself over self indulgence. These toys have no meaning once you die to those girls. They may feel sad, but once time passes, you too, will fade, just like their tears.'

'That's… not true!' Kaname stood up angrily. 'I… these toys… they're part of me. They bring happiness to the people I give them to! It's not worthless!'

'The happiness is but fleeting. What use is happiness when you're killing yourself over a few girls you don't even know that well? When they only see you because of that bit of happiness you can offer?' Yuki stood up as well.

Kaname grabbed the half-sewn fabric from his bedside table and shoved it into her hands. 'This is a part of me! Even if it's but a short while, I'm still giving happiness to the people around me! It doesn't matter if I die, because I still managed to bring happiness to people!'

Yuki pushed the cloth back to him. 'Even if it means hurting the people around you?'

'What?'

'Tsubasa-senpai is hurting because of your constant hospitalization. Misaki-senpai can't help but feel pain every time you cough. Just because I can't see doesn't mean I am oblivious to these people's feelings. They respect your decision so much that they are willing to shoulder the pain just to see you satisfy yourself by cutting your lifeline away.' Yuki touched his hand. 'Are you willing to let these people, the ones that see you as their friend, not the Alice, not the toy-maker, not the cute kohai - your true companions, anguish over your death?'

Kaname sat back down heavily on the bed.

'There are people that don't look at you for the Alice, but for what you truly are. Even then, do you still delude yourself into thinking that the only way to anchor your existence is by making these toys?' Yuki took a step towards him. 'So I ask again, is it truly worth it, to be killing yourself over this matter? Is it worth it to split your soft toy for those annoying senpais you see out there, clamoring for something cute, not something you put your heart into.'

'No…'

'Senpai?'

'No… it's not,' Kaname sobbed. 'But what else can I do? It's the only thing I know! I don't know a life that doesn't have this!'

'Then look towards Tsubasa-senpai. He's your friend, no? Surely he knows how.'

'I…'

Yuki walked back to the window and stepped onto the ledge. 'It's not that… I'm saying that your Alice is useless… It's just that, I think it has far more potential than for you to just be using it to satisfy some girls.'

'My Alice… why am I given this gift?' Kaname looked at his hands, slightly calloused from the hard work he had poured into making the soft toys.

'That's for you to decide,' Yuki jumped off and out of the room. She turned back briefly. 'By the way, senpai… If you were given a chance… to not suffer from what you are now… would you take it?'

Kaname walked to the window and stuck his head out to look at her. 'You mean… not be the fourth type Alice anymore?' Yuki nodded. Kaname furrowed his brows, before sighing, 'I think… after all that you've said… I would. No more do I want to give up my life freely. I want to live, Shirogane Yukiko. If I have a choice, then I would surely… surely, chose the path to live on.'

She smiled at him softly. 'That's nice, huh?'

'What?'

She had already run off into the woods.

In another venue…

The High School Principle looked cautiously at the man getting out of the black car. His Alice activated on its own, and he confirmed with his own eyes that this man was an Alice. An Alice of high skill. Principle Yukihira shivered. This was not going to be an easy negotiation.

The man gave a mock salute at the blond, cocking his head to the side.

'Yo! I'm Lin Yang, and this is my… subordinate, Lang Zi. We're the representatives from the Black Halloween,' Lin smirked. 'I hope we have a good time in your Academy, High School Principle Yukihira Kazu.'

He narrowed his eyes at the use of his name without introducing himself beforehand. Yes, this was going to be a tough talk.

Whew… That was long. It's almost 6k words… and 16 and a half pages long. Well… it's still kinda short for nearly a whole year's update… cringes! Sorry! Still, I hope you enjoyed this.