Feathers of an Angel

Chapter 9

Rumors were flying around everywhere.

"Did you hear? The BH guy came last night? Some saw him!"

"I heard he looks gorgeous!"

"That's too bad… if he was a teacher here…"

"Don't forget, he's fighting against the AA."

"But they came to make negotiations, right? The BH can't be that bad…"

"I see him!"

"What!"

The High School Students rushed to the windows, looking out at the grounds. Two men were walking just a few steps behind their High School Division Principal. One of them was a dark haired man in his 20s, with gelled hair and spectacles, donning a navy suit and gold tie. His greenish-blue eyes glinted, and he wore a small smirk as he walked in a relaxed, composed, and in many girl's eyes, "COOL" style.

"He's so dreamy!" One of the girls screamed, practically pressed up against the window.

The one beside him had a slightly wilder look. His spikey, platinum blond hair was combed back, but still stuck up madly at the back of his head. He was also in a suit, black with a silver tie, though he had several chains and straps going around his body for some reason. He walked with his back straight, hands stuffed in his pockets, face void of expression and green eyes darting around warily. He was just half a step behind his companion.

"I'd go for the blond one though! I like the wild, untamed, cool look!" Another girl gave a purr. "He's almost like a cat!"

"Tiger!"

"Leopard!"

"Meow!"

Sakurano sighed inwardly. The girls were making a great commotion about the two Ambassadors from the Black Halloween. He admitted, they did have rather unique and attractive looks, but he didn't think that was enough to send the hormone-crazy females on a "fan-girl mode".

"Shuichi," Subaru called him. Sakurano turned to his vice-president and nodded, resuming his walk to the Student Council Room.

Or the secret room beside the Student Council Room.

Subaru stopped beside the door to their room, turning to take a brief glance at Sakurano. He nodded, and Subaru pressed his palm against the door frame.

Seconds ticked by, and the wall slid open to reveal a dark room. Sakurano and Subaru walked in, flicking on the lights.

They were all there. Perfect.

Barely moments later, Persona walked in from an alternate door. They all stood up and gave him a bow.

"Sit."

They did as told.

Persona leaned against the wall, looking at the group of students that had gathered.

Sakurano and Subaru took a seat at the back, observing the lot.

This was a secret meeting. A meeting for a special student committee dedicated to suppressing the BH influence in the Alice Academy. An important meeting, for an important group.

"Kokoroyome, report," Persona drawled out, quick to get the meeting started.

The sandy haired Elementary Division boy stood up and bowed. "Kokoroyome reporting. Orders received stated that I was to observe the mental activities of two suspects in the Elementary Division: Sakura Mikan and Shirogane Yukiko."

Sakurano winced. He didn't want to think that the short, quiet girl was associated with that kind of organization that killed…

The boy continued, "Over the period given, I have noted the different thoughts that they were thinking about, and I have classified them in the following categories." He pulled out a small notebook.

"For Sakura Mikan, her thoughts mainly centered around the following," Kokoroyome read out from a notebook, "Imai Hotaru, Shirogane Yukiko, Hyuuga Natsume, Nogi Ruka, Narumi-sensei, Star Rank, Hawalon, Central Town, Duties, Special Abilities Class, and the Giant Pyon. During the Exam Period, it was impossible to determine what she was thinking as her mind was clotted with exam syllabus and unnecessary information on the Shinsengumi."

Sakurano noticed Andou Tsubasa, sitting in a corner with his pink-haired friend, cough not-so-discreetly. Noda-sensei's doing, most probably?

Kokoroyome continued, "For Shirogane Yukiko, her thoughts centered around: Sakura Mikan, Imai Hotaru, Student Council, Special Abilities Class, Treatment, and analyzing Mozart's Sonata in A minor."

What? Was the general reaction amongst the students.

Admittedly, the last one was completely unexpected.

Persona coughed and said, "Continue your observations. I do not see these as a concern just yet."

Kokoroyome nodded and sat back down.

Tsubasa and Misaki both stood up next. Tsubasa rubbed the back of his neck, and began, "Tsubasa and Misaki here! We were instructed to watch out for potential suspects in the Middle School Division that may be associated with the BH. Our current suspects are: Yamazaki Suzu, Aoyama Mizuki and Tezuka Mitsukini. The former two have parents who were activists… they protested heavily against the Alice Academy in general. The two were admitted into the Academy at the ages of 11 and 12 respectively, so they may have been influenced by their parents to think of the Academy in a negative light."

Misaki fidgeted and shifted her weight around, continuing from where Tsubasa left off, "Tezuka Mitsukini is a different case, though. He is constantly alienated by his peers due to his unusual Alice – Sticky Hands, which as the name implies, allows his hands to act like suction pads and attach themselves to any object solidly unless he wills it otherwise. As a result, he too shares some resentment towards the Academy. Ever since BH was made known, he has been snooping around trying to get more info on the organization, and has attempted to influence his peers into supporting the BH."

Persona gave a small nod.

"Another thing."

Tsubasa held out a finger. "That middle school boy that was killed… we dug up some dirt on him. It turns out that his family too were activists against the AA… and he was planning to side with the AAO and act as an inside spy. At least, that's what we found on his journals and personal blogs. A list of contacts with the outside world had also been found. We passed it straight to the DA class right after we found it."

Sakurano's eyebrows rose. So the boy was going to betray them? So the BH did a favour to them by killing him off?

"What are we going to do now?" one of the not-so-prominent ones asked.

Persona adjusted the mask on his face. "For now… while the BH ambassador is in our campus… we will maintain a hospitable image. The Higher-Ups want, if possible, a non-violent resolution to this situation. Therefore, we shall engage in a silent non-violence treaty with them. Judging by the lack of activity after the first few days, it would seem that they too would agree to this course of action."

Sakurano nodded silently. Mutual agreements… showing the same train of thought and motives. Non-violence treaty… meaning that they too wish to avoid conflict.

They were really showing a really good image to the Academy.

The thing was, should they believe this side of them or not?

And the meeting continued on…

XxxX

"Iincho won the 'Student of the Year' award!"

"Iincho's going home for a week!"

"That's… great!"

"Ahhh I envy him…"

"Iincho worked hard! You have no right to envy him, you slacker!"

Mikan happily grasped the Class President's hand, exclaiming, "Congratulations, Iincho! It's great that you're finally going home!"

Yuu rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Yes… It is… Thank you, Sakura-san."

Hotaru looked up from the blueprint of the latest invention she was working on, commenting, "I heard you have a younger sister now…"

Yuu blushed and nodded. "Yes, I've only seen her from the photos my family sends me… she's three right now! I'm excited to see her… as her brother…"

"That's great!" Mikan clapped her hands together, smiling broadly.

Yuu smiled again and nodded. "I'll be sure to get souvenirs for you all."

"What?"

"Souvenirs?"

"Iincho! Get me some too!"

"I want that sweet you always boasted about!"

"Can you get me that samurai doll? It's the one on that anime I was talking about!"

"Iincho! I want the local mochi!"

"Ahhhh~! Alright, alright, line up and tell me what you want!"

It turned out that the line extended all the way from Iincho's seat at the front of the class to outside the classroom.

XxxX

Mikan dropped onto her bed, tired from an entire day of studying. Her test results had been satisfactory, but it wasn't good enough to earn her the Student of the Year award. That, coupled with her poor star rank of One Star, completely trashed her hope of ever going to see her Jiji…

"What's wrong, Mikan?" Yuki sat on her bed, pulling off her boots. "Depressed over something?"

Mikan turned to lie on her stomach and looked glumly at the black haired girl. She muttered, "I miss Jiji… I want to win the Award thing too…"

Yuki paused for a while in the midst of pulling off her left boot. She turned slightly to face Mikan, and said, "Did you think… that they would let you go out of the Academy… with our current status?"

Mikan's expression darkened significantly. "It's not like I chose to be part of the bat wings, Yuki-chan."

Yuki turned away and pulled off her socks.

"I mean… I come home from school one day and suddenly I'm dragged off and thrown into a black car, and the next time I know, I'm being injected with some funny thing 3 times a day and kept in a white room," Mikan scowled and pulled off the ribbons in her hair. "I didn't even know what was going on with me until a whole year later!"

Yuki didn't say a thing as she worked on her right foot, removing the boots and socks.

"And then Yuki-chan showed up and started teaching me how to fire a gun… I didn't even get a say in things…" Mikan combed her hair with her fingers. "I… hate the-"

"If you complete that sentence, I may have to execute you for treason," Yuki interrupted, standing up.

Mikan sat up as well, eyes wide in shock. "Yuki-chan… would kill me?"

"Treason is a serious crime. If you declare it so openly, as your superior, I will have to deal out appropriate punishment."

"Yuki-chan…" Mikan started tearing. "Yuki-chan knows how hard it is for me! I didn't choose this, yet I'm being made to do all these disgusting things that I don't even want to think about! And yet, all you can think about is the rules?"

She smoothed down her uniform, pausing as her hands felt the outline of the bat wings under her blouse. Yuki cocked her head to the side, saying, "Mikan… you don't know the circumstances in which you were… inducted into the bat wings? Didn't anyone tell you anything?"

Mikan shook her head, still crying.

Yuki sat down on the bed again, untying the blindfold from her head.

"Yuki-chan?"

"Do you… want to know?"

"What?"

Yuki opened her dull golden eyes, turning her head to Mikan's direction.

"I know… the reason why you are in the situation you are in, right now."

Mikan felt her pulse race.

"Do you… want me to tell you?"

XxxX

'No, it can't be!'

Mikan dashed out of the room, shooting down the hallway.

'It's a lie! It must be a lie!'

She threw herself into the cold night air, stumbling down the stairs and onto the brick pathway leading to the dormitory.

'Jii-chan would never… he would never…'

The slippers she wore twisted and she fell down heavily on the rough path, grazing her knees and palms.

'I… Yuki-chan…'

A tear leaked out from her eye and dripped onto the cold stone path.

'Yuki-chan… has never lied to me… right?'

"Oi, Polkadots."

Mikan looked up, eyes still brimming with tears. Standing in front of her was the Class' only Special Star, Hyuuga Natsume, and also the prized Kuroneko of the Dangerous Ability Class.

"What… Hyuuga-kun," Mikan rubbed the tears from her eyes and looked away defiantly.

Natsume crossed his arms and stared down at her. "What're you doing out here past curfew?"

"I could say the same for you," Mikan retorted, folding her arms as well.

"…"

"…"

"Hn."

"Hmph!"

Natsume sat down on the cold brick path, just a few feet away from her and let his gaze wander up to the starry sky above them.

Mikan looked at him from the corner of her eyes, shifting slightly.

They sat in silence for a while.

"What are you doing here?" Mikan, finally mustering the courage and curiosity, asked.

Natsue lowered his gaze to look at her.

"I wanted to gaze at the stars."

"Out here?"

"I'm hot." He answered quickly.

Mikan scoffed and chuckled, "Yeah, I bet. You're shivering in your boots."

"You're the one in pajamas and slippers… Polka," Natsume retorted with a slight sneer.

"Why you!" Mikan crawled up and made to strike him, only to fall back down in pain. She winced as she brought her knees up to check on her injuries. The grazes were all bloodied and had pieces of gravel stuck deep into them. Her pants were already stained with the dark red blood.

"Ow…" Mikan moaned softly, trying to brush the dirt off the wound.

"Hey, stop that," Natsume caught her hand. Mikan looked at him quizzically. He sighed and pushed her hands away, picking the gravel out skillfully by himself.

"Eh… eh?"

"Shut up and keep still," Natsume shot at her. Mikan froze up and nodded stiffly. He gently removed the bits of rocks from her knees, and then reached into his pocket to pull out a green stone.

"What's that?" Mikan tilted her head to the side.

"Alice stone. Haven't you heard of it?" He looked at her.

Mikan shook her head. "What's it for?"

"Tch. Just watch and see," Natsume wrapped the chain of the stone around his right hand, leaving the stone to dangle just in front of his palm, and then held his right hand over her knees. Instantly, she felt a warm, soothing power over her wounds, and soon, the wounds and pain were gone.

"Wow! Amazing!" Mikan touched her knees, prodding it gingerly. "It's as if I never got those grazes!"

Natsume pocketed the Alice stone and turned back to the stars.

Mikan looked at him shyly, chewing her lower lip. She raised a hand apprehensively, and then quickly tapped his shoulder.

Natsume turned around. "What?"

"Th-… Thank you…. Hyuuga-kun," Mikan blushed and bowed her head.

"Hn." He turned back to the stars.

"Ah… ah…" Mikan hugged her knees to her chest.

"So what are you doing out here?"

Mikan looked down. "I… I… That is… Um…" Mikan swallowed the lump in her throat and said, "I heard something… I didn't like… and I… ran… away…"

"Eh?" Natsume looked at her incredulously. "You ran away because of something that trivial?"

"It's not like that!" Mikan burst out, glaring at him angrily. She then looked down, embarrassed, saying in a softer and calmer tone, "It's… not what you think it is…"

-Flashback-

"Don't you want to know?"

Mikan gripped the bedsheets tightly, looking at Yuki pleadingly even though she couldn't see it.

"I… do…"

Yuki turned to Mikan fully. "Do you know how you came to be under your Jiji's care?"

"Eh?"

"Ten years ago, just months after you were born, a woman left you in a temple monk's care. She then fled, never to be seen again, and never went back to collect her daughter which she had abandoned."

"That… how can that be…"

Yuki continued on, "The temple monk was a strict practitioner of his religion. He had barely enough money to support himself, much less to raise a child. Of course, being the kindhearted man he was, he couldn't afford to let a young child die."

Mikan could tell what was coming next.

"The Black Halloween heard of your Jiji's plight, and immediately offered to support your Jiji and you for as long as you lived, in exchange for letting you join their ranks once you were old enough to receive training," Yuki tilted her head to the side. "And having no other option available, he agreed."

"No way… You're lying, right?" Mikan jumped up in disbelief. "Ji-chan would never… he would never sell me off!"

Yuki stood up as well. "If he hadn't agreed, you would have died from starvation."

"He had no right to do this to me!"

"Would you have rather him letting you die a slow, painful death and let it weigh on his conscience for the rest of his miserable life?"

"Ji-chan would… never…" Mikan jumped over the bed and grabbed Yuki by her shirt. "How do you know all these things?"

Yuki raised an eyebrow. "I'm your superior. Of course I know these things. After all, it was me that found out about you."

Mikan's hands dropped to her side.

"That can't be… Yuki-chan… condemned me?"

"Mikan-"

"I hate you!"

And she bolted.

-End of Flashback-

Mikan buried her face in her hands, mumbling, "I said I hate her… I said I hate Yuki-chan!"

"And so?"

"And so?" She looked at him, tears once again brimming at her eyes. "Yuki-chan is my… is my best friend and-"

"Then why do you hate her?"

"That…" Mikan dropped her head. Natsume sighed and looked at her.

"How troublesome. You said she's your best friend, right?" Mikan looked at him, confused. Natsume sighed and scowled. "What I mean is that, since she's your best friend, if you want to keep it that way, then you should go apologise."

"Ah… oh…" Mikan blinked. She got up quickly. "Thanks, Natsume-kun! You helped a lot!" And she ran off.

Natsume rubbed the back of his head. "Troublesome…"

XxxX

At that time, a reconciliation of another kind was taking place.

"Excellent piece of glass, really," The dark haired man commented, lifting the wine glass up to his eye level. He looked at the blond haired High School Principal through the glass, examining him through the cool yellowish alcohol in the glass.

"Indeed," Yukihira Kazu replied, lifting his own glass in a toast.

Lin Yang smiled, eyes curving in an upward arc. "To a successful negotiation?"

"To a successful negotiation," Yukihira echoed. They tilted the wine glass back, taking a small sip of the alcohol.

Yukihira set the glass down, leaning back against the chair and observing the delegate from the Black Halloween. Lin, on the other hand, was still looking at Yukihira through his wine glass.

Yukihira spoke, "Is there something so fascinating about that wine glass, Lin-san?"

The man chuckled, "Do you think so?" He took another sip of the wine. "Ah, yes, this is good stuff."

The Principal inclined his head.

Lin set the glass down with a flourish, lacing his hands and smiling broadly at the man sitting opposite him. "You know what the worst thing about negotiations is?" The blond raised his eyebrows. "We all start out looking at the other end through a wine glass."

"A wine glass?" He repeated incredulously.

"Appropriate metaphor, do you not think?" Lin picked up the wine glass again. "Through this glass, I do see you, but how much of the real you do I actually see? Right now… hm, you look like you have a huge neck…" From Yukihira's side, he could see Lin's greenish blue left eye, yellowish due to the liquid inside the glass, peering at him.

He got the message. "An assumption… a judgment of the other party…"

Lin snapped his finger. "That's it! Right now, you see me, one of the heads of the organization named the Black Halloween. Recently, someone in this Academy has died, no?"

"A Middle School boy, killed in the school grounds," he affirmed. "It was the work of your organization."

"Yes, yes, we all have heard of that story," Lin smiled. "So now, you're seeing me as one of the heads of a group of people that, apparently, have no qualms about killing little boys. Am I wrong in making his assumption?"

Yukihira remained silent.

"Not a good idea to reply, hm?" Lin laughed. "A good diplomat, you are." He clapped his hands together, leaning forward. "But you see, we all so start off out with prejudices. It is only human to do so."

"And… you're not?"

"You caught me."

The Principal straightened up from his seat, looking at the man seriously.

"You believed me, didn't you?" Lin smiled. "Good to see that you do take my words seriously."

"You were lying?"

"Of no, of course not," He shook his head, the smile still present on his face. "It would be unwise to lie during a negotiation. It is highly unprofessional for a seasoned agent like me to do such a thing." He raised his left hand – the one missing a finger, and smiled, "I'm an Alice, as you can see, Principal Yukihira-kun."

Yukihira tensed, raising a hand hesitantly to his eyes. "What do you mean… Lin-san?"

"You know what I mean, Yukihira-kun," Lin said. "I know… about you… and your Alice. Or should I say, Alices?" He caught the look on the blond's face. "I'm not lying, Yukihira-kun. As I've said, it is unprofessional for me to do such a thing."

"Then, about you not being human…"

"In the general public's eyes, we are hardly human, are we not?" Lin stood up, taking the wine glass with him, and started to pace the room. "People born with such an ability to defy science… Telekinesis, Teleportation, Pyrokinesis… tell me, are humans meant to possess such powers, or are we simply not human?" He shrugged, taking a position by the window behind the Principal's desk. "Is an Alice human?"

"You don't know that," the Principal pointed out.

"Of course I don't. Such a philosophical thing, humanity is," Lin shook his head. "My psychiatrist told me that it's all in the state of mind, who we are. We are who we think we are. I think, therefore I am. So right now, if we think that because of these abilities which are beyond the capabilities of a normal human body, then we might as well not be human, because our existence defies what a human body should be.

"But then, but then, it's all in the state of mind. Our bodies may not be human, but our minds, our minds may still be human. We think and feel emotion like other humans do, and we too have our own set of morals and values. So while our shell is not human, our spirits are. Well, that's just a way of saying things… but you do get what I mean, no?" Lin smiled.

"What are you trying to get at?" Yukihira asked slowly.

The man took a sip from the glass in his hands. He sighed and looked at the blond. "People see what they are, not who we are. Tell me, if we were to go out of this school right now bearing the symbol of this Academy, who would look at us… like we're aliens? Who would see us… for the monetary benefits an Alice would bring if sold on the black market? And Who would treat us… like part of the crowd?" Yukihira flinched. Lin went on, pacing back to where the Principal was sitting, "It's going on everywhere. We are not being treated like human beings. Once the outside knows of our special abilities, they cease to see us as humans. We may think and look like one, but whatever we do, we still… are not humans in their eyes."

Lin leaned on the back of Yukihira's chair. Yukihira sat straight in his chair, not turning to look at the man behind him.

"Wouldn't you like… a world for all Alices… where we aren't treated this way?"

The High School Principal bowed his head.

"Hm? Why so silent? What do you say, Yukihira-kun?" Lin got up and returned to his seat.

Yukihira looked at the man in front of him. "An excellent debater and negotiator you are… Lin-san."

"That is of course, Yukihira-kun," Lin smiled. "Let me reintroduce myself. I am Lin Yang of the Black Halloween, and Head of Liaison and External Affairs Department. Our objective is to reach a friendly and non-violent partnership between the Alice Academy and Black Halloween, for the sake of the Alices. Pleased to meet your acquaintance, Yukihira-kun."

Yukihira suppressed a shudder, saying in a slightly shaky tone, "And what purpose do you have… here in the Alice Academy?"

"We're looking for partners, of course. Such an ideal cannot be put into place by the effort of one little organization," Lin chuckled. "And without saying, out partner needs to be… the best the world has to offer. We highly value our agents, Yukihira-kun, and we wish nothing but the best for them. We hope for no harm to even reach them at all. Therefore we must be of want of a partner that will provide us both mutual benefits. I assure you that this trip here only affirms your top position among the other potential partners we're looking at, Yukihira-kun."

He narrowed his eyes. "Like the AAO."

"The AAO? Ah, them… Yes, they had been a likely candidate, a few months back. But yes, like the AAO."

"Their beliefs clash with ours," He pointed out.

"Yes, that's why I said that they were a likely candidate, had not the incident a few months back. We have dropped them from the list. Temporarily, until they can redeem themselves," Lin smiled and nodded. "Compared to them, you have a far greater advantage in this area… Yukihira-kun."

Lin slipped an arm around the principal's neck, caressing the military-styled suit with a tender touch. He whispered into Yukihira's ear, "I suggest you use this opportunity wisely, Yukihira-kun." His fingers travelled down the star symbol for the Alice Academy on his chest. Lin smirked. "It'll not come again easily."

XxxX

Tsubasa stopped outside the door.

"Here's your room… uh…" He scratched his head. "Kirigake-kun?"

The brown haired boy's face twitched. "It's Kisaragi. Kisaragi Jin."

"Oh, I knew that!" He grinned.

Kisaragi quirked and eyebrow, stepping past him and opening the door to the dorm room. It revealed a clean, albeit bare room, equipped with just a simple single-sized bed, a cupboard and a desk. He walked in, touching the white-washed walls apprehensively.

"You're new, so you've been given a 1-star room," Tsubasa informed, walking in as well and closing the door.

"It's… not what I expected…" Kisaragi admitted.

"Common toilets are down the hall. Only the girls get toilets in their rooms," He shrugged. "You better go there early to get warm water, but not too early or you'll freeze to death. Laundry services are only available for 3-stars and above. There's a laundry room on the top floor. Detergent is not supplied. Sheets can be changed weekly at the information counter on the ground floor. As for the cleaning… only 3-stars and above will get cleaning services. More things will be added to your room as your rise the ranks, of course, but for now, this is what you're stuck with."

"Strict," He commented, opening the window to glance outside – which was the brick wall of the adjacent building just an arm's length away.

"3-stars get to choose their own rooms. Needless to be said, they chose the ones with the best view and the largest leg room," He chuckled, walking in. Even though he stood as far as he could from him, they could easily stretch out their hands and touch each other if they wanted to.

"So…" Kisaragi shut the window closed and turned to the black-haired boy. "What do you have for me?"

Tsubasa smirked and slipped a slim, black rectangular block out of his pocket. The bat wings on it gleamed.

Kisaragi smirked.

"This is a recording of the meeting."

"Good work, Tsubasa. I'll make sure you'll be properly rewarded for this."

"Naturally, Kisamaki-san."

"It's Ki. Sa. Ra. Gi. Kisaragi Jin."

"Sure thing, Kimigake-kun."

"…Just Jin will do, Tsubasa."

"Righty-O, Jin-chan!" Tsubasa waved and left the room. Kisaragi sighed and sat down on the bed, looking at the mirror hanging just opposite the bed.

"Ohhh… You let someone else call you by your name~…"

"Shut up, Shin," Kisaragi scowled at his reflection, snatching up the sheets and throwing it over the mirror. He looked at the white sheets covering the reflective surface, feeling the presence in his mind diminish till it was no more than an inconceivable whisper at the back of his head. He huffed and laid down on the bed.

"Just let this stupid thing be over and done with…"

XxxX

Not long later, news of 'Stolen Alices' began to rise in the Academy. Narumi had briefed the entire Elementary B Class of the incident, leading them to their current worries:

Mikan had been curious about how the Alices had been stolen. "I mean… Alices don't just die away, do they? Unless it's the First type – the childhood type."

Kokoroyome, unexpectedly well-versed in the subject, nodded. "Yeah. I can hardly think of anyone who lost their Alice naturally apart from that exception. Maybe something out there is taking their Alices away from them forcefully? Like ripping them out of their soul?"

Ruka frowned at that idea. "Ripping the Alice out of their soul?"

"Yeah. Alice is part of us, isn't it? I mean, it's part of how we define ourselves. We're special, in a way that nothing can really explain. Alice is like part of our psyche," Kokoroyome said, displaying a rare display of wisdom.

"But if someone was really 'ripping' the Alice away from us, then I suspect that those kids must have felt something wrong. They didn't complain of anything… they didn't even notice when they lost their Alice!" Mikan exclaimed. She turned to Yuki, who was playing with two metal balls in her hand. "What do you think, Yuki-chan?"

Yuki paused in her playing of her little toys. "We're Alices, ne? We've been exposed to many out-of-the-world experiences, ne?" The students nodded. "What's to stop is from believing that there's someone out there with a Stealing Alice?"

"Stealing Alice…"

"Man, that is some scary stuff. Really? Someone that goes around stealing Alices? That's like, totally against what an Alice is."

"Yeah, but we have Sakura-san with her Nullification Alice too, right? She too is somewhat an Anti-Alice force. If Nullification is possible, then maybe even Stealing is possible!"

"Whoah… a Stealing Alice…"

"Wicked, like there's Alice, and then there's the non-Alice… Alice… things…"

Outside the classroom, Narumi sighed and leaned against the wall, listening in on the conversation happening inside. Misaki walked up to him, folding his arms. "How's the students?"

Narumi ruffled his hair, saying, "The students… Well, Shirogane Yukiko has just planted the notion of a Stealing Alice being possible. I don't think that was intentional, but that girl… her ideas can be really dangerous. Well, the class' taken in by the idea, so they're now wondering who in the world could possibly have the Stealing Alice. At least they haven't found out about the cases in the Middle School Division just yet."

Misaki narrowed his eyes. "You don't think it's that woman, don't you?"

Narumi chuckled and walked away, shrugging. "Who knows? Maybe there's someone else out there with the same Alice as that woman." Misaki sighed and shook his head.

"I know, Naru, that you're still looking for her."

Narumi paused in his steps.

"Is that so?"

He walked away without another word.

In the very same class they were talking about, Imai Hotaru's eyes widened as her earphones transmitted what was just said outside. Her eyes darted to Yukiko, who was sitting innocently at the edge of the crowd, listening in onto the innocent discussion. Mikan was cheerfully talking about the situation, not an ounce of worry on her face as if the topic at hand was no more than a matter of fashion to a slob. Hotaru's lips tightened.

'It's about time… I talked to him.'

Something… was up in the Academy.

XxxX

I understand that this took some time and I deeply apologise. The truth is that this chapter had been done up quite a while ago but I needed to take a break and look back on the whole plot as a whole before I could publish this.

The manga has taken quite a turn the past few chapters. For one, I didn't expect Yuka to die so unexpectedly. When she did, I literally went 'WTHHHHHHH?'

Baring the bad language, I will assure to you readers that my planned version of this story's ending will not quite turn out that way. For one, I am planning to link this as a prequel to another story that I have already planned out and it would be most unpleasant if I followed canon dot to dot. Certain events will still play out, of course, but some parts leading up to them will be altered slightly. Gakuen Alice has progressed to a darker story and while Feathers will contain that loveable fluff like the scene with Mikan and Natsume, it too will have certain dark elements of its own.

Until next time!