Someone: THIS IS HEAVEN!!
Oh well. Good readers, if you're wondering who just shouted like that is and maybe you've guessed it right, then you must have known who she is. Yes, I repeat it again. SHE!
Hotaru: An idiot who's writing this story.
PING PONG! A hundred for you, Hotaru!
Hotaru: (Raises an eyebrow) A hundred? I don't mind as long as it's counted in rabbits.
What? You're really a money-lover! Can't you throw aside that habit of yours even though it's just in this chit-chat room?
Hotaru: Can't, for the freaky author knows that she doesn't own Gakuen Alice and its characters, which means she couldn't change my habit even though this is her fic.
Geez! This freaky author should have learned more what it meant by making a fanfic. She could make the characters OOC if she wants!
Hotaru: I'll haunt you if you dare to tell her that. (Prepares Baka Gun)
No. No. You can't hit me. I'm invisible! HAHAHA!
Hotaru: (Growls) Darn. That freaky author shouldn't have created you. And why are you here? As long as I know, you just appear in When I Met You, stupid narrator.
Hey, you're right. Why am I here?
Hotaru: (Rolls her eyes) Told you.
Oh well, I should get back to When I Met You before they miss me.
Hotaru: They won't.
I heard that!!
Hotaru: Who cares? Where's that freaky author anyway? There's no sign of her after she shouted a while ago.
illutia mist: (Appears from bushes) Yeah! I'm here!
Hotaru: Why are you hiding?
illutia mist: No need to know. By the way, have that stupid narrator gone?
Hotaru: Just now. How could that thing appear in this fic?
illutia mist: (Shrugs) How do I know? What I know that…I HAVE FINISHED THE 8th PIECE!! HAHAHA!!
Hotaru: (Sighs) Many idiots here and there.
-x-
Small Pieces of You
-x-
8th Piece: More Friends
All people at the cafeteria were silent a thousand words. They looked at the girl who just barked into the cafeteria and pointed her finger at Jacklyn, saying that she's not a human. Anna, Nonoko and Yuu were wide-eyed, Mikan was wide-eyed and her mouth opened a little in shock, Ruka was confused, Koko shook her head, Natsume remained expressionless, Youichi was a little surprised, and Hotaru…kept on eating her lunch as she looked at the girl and Jacklyn.
Jacklyn arched an eyebrow at the girl. "I'm not a human?" she asked confusedly.
"Yes! I saw it with my own eyes yesterday!" the girl stated.
Jacklyn looked at Mikan confusedly. The brunette just shrugged in lack of knowledge expression. Jacklyn then shifted her gaze to Koko, who returned her stare with a smile on his face then stood up. He approached the confused girl.
"She's one of the fan girls that surrounded you yesterday," he whispered in a low voice so that only Jacklyn could hear it.
Jacklyn looked at him with an 'oh' look then she looked back at the other. She took a step forward. The girl was startled a little at her action.
"What do you mean by yesterday? I met with Narumi-sensei yesterday," Jacklyn said calmly. She used the excuse that was used by the fan girls to bring her to the forest. As one of the fan girls, of course she remembered about that. She thought of something to retort back at the black-haired girl.
"After you met with him! Yes! After that! I saw it!" the girl finally said.
"What did you see anyway? I don't remember that I did anything wrong," Jacklyn bent her eyebrows and sent a 'see-if-you-dare-to-tell-the-other' glare.
But the girl ignored the glare. "I saw something unbelievable yesterday!" she threatened, still not wanting to spoil what it was, waiting for Jacklyn to beg her not to tell anyone.
'Darn!' Jacklyn started to feel annoyed. She went to her. And once she was close enough to her, she moved her lips near the other's ear. "Say anything about it and you'll pay," she whispered with a cold voice as the other trembled slightly at her tone. "Besides, I can tell them what really happened yesterday. You should be glad that I followed your excuse to corner me at that time."
From the others' sights, Jacklyn looked like she was kissing the girl's cheek at that time. All of them were shocked, except for Natsume, Hotaru, and Koko who had read Jacklyn's mind.
"Understand?" she whispered, emphasizing the word. The girl nodded in fear. "Good," she said in a low voice as she pulled back. "So, what's that unbelievable thing?" Jacklyn asked kindly.
"No…nothing…" the girl said as she turned away and ran out from the cafeteria.
Jacklyn pretended to be confused. "What's wrong with her?" she asked with an innocent face.
In a few seconds, some murmurs could be heard inside the cafeteria. It looked like they were talking about the incident that happened just now.
Jacklyn glanced around. 'What are they murmuring about?' she thought. Now she was confused for real.
Koko moved to her. "They think you're lesbian," he said, making her wide-eyed.
"Wh-WHAT?!" she was shocked.
"They think you kissed the girl on the cheek just now," he explained, explaining the part that made the people thought she was lesbian.
"No way!" she denied, a little loud. Her face flushed a little, embarrassed.
"And some of them think that you have a pheromone alice," he added.
Jacklyn covered her face with her left palm. 'How did all turn like this? And why did they think I have a pheromone alice?' she thought, regretting her action to the girl just now.
"Because the pheromone alice can attract the other living things. They'll do what you want or command," Koko explained calmly. "It's Narumi-sensei's alice. He has the human pheromone alice, which make him can attract another people."
"So that's why…" Jacklyn murmured, thinking of what she should do now. 'At least they have forgotten the time when the girl said that I'm not human.'
"Umm, there are some of them thinking that the unbelievable thing that happened yesterday has a connection with your pheromone alice and your 'lesbian' behavior," Koko added again, sweat dropping.
"I'M NOT A LESBIAN!" Jacklyn shouted desperately.
"Most of them don't believe it," the mind reader kept on saying out the audiences' minds.
"Oh, please stop, Koko! I get a headache now!" She walked to the gang's table in annoyance.
"Jacklyn-chan, did you really kiss her cheek?" Mikan asked, still in her shocked state.
"No! I don't!" Jacklyn stated as she slumped down on the empty seat beside the brunette.
"So, your alice is a pheromone alice?" Anna and Nonoko asked in unison.
Jacklyn sweat dropped. 'What should I say?' she thought in panic.
"Lesbian," Natsume muttered, earning him a glare from Jacklyn.
"What did you do to my member?" a familiar coquettish voice suddenly asked.
Jacklyn looked at the voice's direction, knowing who the owner of the voice was. 'It's her again.' She sighed. "What do you want now?" she asked with an expressionless face.
"You're acting too much, non-alice girl," Marika said.
"I've told you. If I don't have any alice, how did I enroll in this school in the first place?" Jacklyn said without looking at her. "By the way, you and your members are the one who act too much."
"You force me to tell the incident that happened yesterday?" Marika sneered.
"And you force me to tell your lies?" Jacklyn retorted with a smirk.
Marika glared at Jacklyn who glared back at her. The glaring contest between them began.
"So, she's the culprit of the incident that happened yesterday?" Koko suddenly blurted out.
Jacklyn glanced at him. He quickly covered his mouth after he realized he just said out something that was supposed to be a secret. He gave the girl a 'sorry' look.
But it was too late. The gang had heard what Koko just said. They looked at Jacklyn who now glared back at Marika.
"Jacklyn-chan, what happened yesterday? Were you sick because of that?" Mikan was the first one to speak as she looked at the black-haired girl worriedly.
Jacklyn smiled at the brunette. "Don't worry, Mikan. It's not like what you think," she convinced her.
"But, Jacklyn-chan…" Mikan tried to say something but was cut off by Marika.
"So, they didn't know, huh?" the owner of the coquettish voice smiled as she looked at the gang, especially Natsume and Ruka.
"So, you're lying," Natsume said as he looked at Jacklyn.
"I'm not lying. I didn't come to class yesterday because I was sick," she stated as she looked at him straight in the eyes. 'Yeah. I'm mentally sick because of those wings,' she thought in boredom.
"Yeah, she's not lying, Natsume," Koko said, helping her to convince the crimson-eyed boy. 'At least, mental sickness is also counted in one kind of sick,' he thought as he giggled inwardly.
"So, what's with the culprit of the incident that happened yesterday?" Hotaru finally talked.
Jacklyn moved her gaze to the inventor. "Some business with this…"
"Hag," Youichi cut off her words.
"Yeah. Hag," she agreed.
SLAP!
With that, everyone in the cafeteria focused their attentions to the gang's table once again.
Marika just slapped Jacklyn on her left cheek. Marika's eyes showed hatred and anger towards the girl in front of her. Jacklyn was wide-eyed for a moment, and then she glared at the wavy-black haired girl who just made a red mark on her white soft skin.
"You're very polite, huh," Jacklyn mocked. "First, you disturbed my precious lunchtime. And now, you slapped me. What a good attitude you have there."
Yuu, Anna, Nonoko, Koko, Ruka, and Mikan looked at her, still in shock because Marika suddenly slapped her but she still could mock her.
In that tense situation, the bell suddenly rang. It meant they have to attend another class again.
"You better go back to your class," Jacklyn said with a stoic face as she stood up. "You should be glad that I didn't tell anyone about the incident, even Narumi-sensei," she added in a low voice so it just could be heard by Marika.
Yes. She didn't tell Narumi about the fan girls' attack. She just said that she accidentally made the wings drawing alive. This was what she meant when she said that she told Narumi what had happened in 'her version'.
She glanced at Koko and he nodded, understanding that she wanted him to not telling this to anyone.
"I'll go to the class. Do any of you want to come?" Jacklyn smiled, ignoring the petrified Marika.
All of them stood up and went out from the cafeteria along with the rest of the students. Mikan glanced at Jacklyn as she walked with the gang. Jacklyn kept silent after her last sentence.
'I never have been slapped by anyone. Not even my parents or Izu,' she thought, spacing out.
"Jacklyn-chan, does it hurt?" Mikan asked suddenly, bringing the spaced-out girl out of her thought.
"Oh, this?" Jacklyn asked back as she held her red cheek. "I don't really feel it. I'm just a little shocked." She smiled at the brunette.
"So, what happened yesterday?" Hotaru asked, remembering her question hadn't been answered.
"Fan girls," Jacklyn murmured, irritated.
"Now you know how annoying they are," Natsume said nonchalantly.
Jacklyn threw a murderous glare at the crimson-eyed boy that walked a meter beside her. "It's because of you, cocky boy," she blamed him.
"Don't blame me for the fan girls' action. I don't get involve in it," he stated.
"Yeah, you're right. What will they do to me after this?" Jacklyn was still irritated.
"I think Houji-san is worse than Permy," Mikan said, a little worried.
"Great. Whatever. The war has been started anyway," Jacklyn said in submission.
"By the way, what's your alice? You haven't told us," Mikan asked, remembering the other day when Jacklyn's sentence was cut off by Marika.
Jacklyn raised an eyebrow at this. "Is it that important?" she asked, trying to avoid the question.
"After this, our class is depending on our alice," Yuu said. "There are five types of alice. The first is the Latent type, which most common powers are in this class. Second is Technology type. Those who can create experiments are in this class. Third is Active type. This class is for those whose alice isn't forced with inventions or practice, unlike the other classes. The next is Special Ability type. This class is for those whose alice doesn't fit in the other class. And the last one is Dangerous Ability type, which consist of those whose alice is considered as the dangerous one."
"Wow. It's so complex, huh," Jacklyn commented, fascinated at the explanation. "So what class that all of you attend?" she asked the gang.
"I'm in Special Ability type. Yuu and Koko are in Latent. Anna, Nonoko and Hotaru are in Technology. Ruka's in Active," Mikan described.
"Natsume?" Jacklyn asked again as she pointed to the crimson-eyed boy who glared at her.
"He's in Dangerous Ability class with You-chan," Mikan replied.
"You…chan?" Jacklyn was confused.
"Oh yeah, you haven't known him," Mikan said as she stuck out her tongue playfully. "This little boy's name is Youichi Hijiri. I call him You-chan though," she pointed at Youichi.
Jacklyn looked at him, but Youichi looked away. 'So Mikan calls him You-chan. He's kind to Miss Angel but not to me,' she thought as she smiled.
"Haha, I wonder too," Koko blurted out suddenly.
"What's wrong, Koko?" Anna asked, confused at his sudden reaction.
"No. Nothing. It's something about Miss Angel," he smiled.
Youichi snapped his head at the mind reader in annoyance. "You read my mind," he accused him. The mind reader just sweat dropped.
"No, I'm not," Koko denied, but a spirit suddenly appeared and chased him.
He had disappeared from their sight now, running to he-knew-where.
"Youichi's alice is controlling spirit. Be careful not to make him mad," the brunette whispered to Jacklyn.
"Oh…" Jacklyn stared at the little gray-haired boy. 'I bet Koko read my mind, not him,' she thought as a smile appeared on her face once again.
"So, what's your alice?" Mikan suddenly remembered her question that hadn't been answered.
Jacklyn smiled as she turned to face the brunette. "My alice is that present," she answered, making the brunette more curious.
"Okay…But what is it?" she asked her eagerly.
"You're in the special ability class, Jacklyn-chan," a familiar voice said.
"Narumi-sensei!" Mikan smiled at the gay teacher that was approaching them.
"Why don't you take her to the class, Mikan-chan?" Narumi smiled at the cheery brunette.
"Okay! I'll do it, Narumi-sensei!" Mikan gave him a bright face. "Come on, Jacklyn-chan!" She took Jacklyn's hand and ran off.
After they vanished from their sight, Natsume glanced at Narumi. "You know that sketchbook girl's alice, right?" he asked him in an arrogant way.
Narumi just returned his cockiness with a smile. "Maybe," he replied mysteriously, gaining a glare from the now-annoyed raven-haired boy.
"WAAHH!! Natsume-kun! You're mean!!" the gay teacher said as he tried to extinguish the fire that suddenly appeared on his right sleeve.
"Tch." The suspect walked away with Youichi, leaving the rest of the gang and the gay teacher behind.
After he left, Hotaru took out her Baka Gun and shot Narumi to the ground then she walked away.
-x-
"So, this is our new junior," a black-haired boy with a star mark on his left cheek said with a smile.
"She's cute like you, Mikan-chan," a girl with red hair commented.
"This is Tsubasa-sempai," Mikan introduced the boy with the star mark on his cheek to Jacklyn. "And this is Misaki-sempai," she said as she pointed at the red-haired girl.
"I'm Jacklyn. Nice to meet you," Jacklyn said as she bowed her head a little.
"Jacklyn-chan, what's your alice?" Misaki asked kindly.
"Oh yeah! You haven't told me!" Mikan poked her left palm lightly with her right hand that was formed into a fist.
"Um, I'll tell you but don't tell anyone, okay?" Jacklyn asked hesitantly.
"Why?" Mikan and Misaki asked in unison. Tsubasa just raised an eyebrow.
"I have my own reason." Jacklyn smiled. "Just don't tell anyone, okay?"
"Okay," the two girls agreed.
Jacklyn sat down and took out her pencil-colored box from her bag. Then she opened her sketchbook and started to draw. Misaki and Mikan looked at her confusedly.
Jacklyn then looked at the two excited girls after she finished her drawing. "I'll start," she said. The two nodded.
Jacklyn brought her hand onto her drawing, which was a butterfly. The same one with her present for Natsume and Mikan at the first day she met them. She touched it gently and the butterfly came to alive and flew around them.
"Cool! Is that how you made those butterflies that time?" Mikan said, excited at what just happened.
Jacklyn nodded at her question.
"So, what is it called?" Misaki asked as her eyes followed the butterfly's movement.
"Narumi-sensei said it's the drawing alice," Jacklyn replied plainly.
"So, this is the drawing alice. It looked like a rare one," Tsubasa commented. "No wonder that you're in the Special Ability class. It's a special one."
"But it's just last for twenty four hours," the black-haired girl said modestly.
"No alice that can last for a long time. Twenty four hours is good enough," Misaki said, cheering her up.
"It's good that your alice isn't a dangerous one," Tsubasa said. "Your alice will be used for the academy's purpose."
"Yeah. There are some gossips that they'll ask you to kill people or something, but I'm not quite sure about that," Misaki added.
"Like Natsume…" the brunette suddenly said. Sadness could be seen on her face.
Jacklyn stared at her. "What's with him?" she asked, curious.
"He's told to do some missions. I don't know what the missions are, but sometimes he comes back in bad condition," Mikan explained. Her eyes showed her sadness and worry when she said that.
"When did you know about that?" Jacklyn asked.
"Three years ago," Mikan reminisced. "One night, I found him injured badly when I was on my way back from Hotaru's room. I insisted him to tell me what had happened. He just said that he was from a mission. No any details about it."
'That cocky boy never talked too much. Why does he like to be alone anyway?' Jacklyn thought.
"Moreover, his alice is eating his lifespan every time he uses it. His alice is the unlimited type, you know," Mikan added.
'His alice is eating his lifespan? Doesn't he hate his alice?' the black-haired girl thought again, wondering.
"It looks like Nodachi can't teach us again," Misaki changed the gloomy topic.
"Nodachi?" Jacklyn was wondering who that was.
"The Special Ability class' teacher. Our teacher," Tsubasa explained to her. "He can travel through the time. It's his alice. But he hardly can control it."
Jacklyn showed him an understanding expression.
"So, what will we do now, Jacklyn-chan?" The brunette smiled at her.
"Taking a walk outside?" she suggested.
"Okay. Let's go!" Mikan took her hand.
They bade their seniors goodbye and walked out from the class into a view of green scenery and blue sky.
"Mikan, what's your alice?" Jacklyn asked as they walked to nowhere.
"Mine is nullification," Mikan replied. "I can nullify alices."
"So, if you use your alice, I couldn't use my alice?" Jacklyn guessed.
"Yup. Sort of," Mikan said happily.
"Natsume's is fire and Koko can read mind, right?" She made sure.
"Yes. Hotaru's is invention, Ruka's is animal pheromone, Anna's is cooking, Nonoko's is chemical, and Yuu's is illusion. There are still many alices that you can find here," Mikan explained.
As they talked, they didn't realize that they had arrived at the famous Sakura tree. Then they spotted a certain raven-haired boy lying on a branch of the tree.
"NATSUME!!" the brunette called him as she smiled brightly.
The aforementioned boy sat up and looked at the owner of the voice that he had known well. He spotted the sketchbook girl beside her too.
"Polka-dots," he muttered, but was noticed by her.
"I'm not Polka-dots! My name is Mikan!" she protested.
"You're not going to the class?" Jacklyn asked him.
"None of your business," he said as he leaned his back on the trunk.
Jacklyn bent her eyebrows at the answer, annoyed.
'In the dangerous ability class, your alice will be used for academy's purpose.'
'I found him injured badly when I was on my way back from Hotaru's room. I insisted him to tell me what had happened. He just said that he was from a mission.'
The sentence suddenly rang in her head, erasing her annoyance before as she thought, 'Maybe he doesn't like to be in that class. Maybe he doesn't want to be there.'
She let out a sigh and finally said, "Okay. It's none of my business."
"Good if you know," he retorted in his bored tone.
She arched an eyebrow, suddenly felt annoyed again. "Cocky boy," she murmured and…
"NATSUME!! PUT IT OUT!!" she shouted when she found her sketchbook being burnt again. The raven-haired boy just smirked.
But the fire suddenly extinguished. Jacklyn looked at the brunette beside her, who was smiling at her. Jacklyn smiled back at her as she said, "Thank you, Mikan." The brunette nodded.
"Tch. Polka, you disturbed me," the raven-haired boy that was forgotten for a while said in irritation.
"It's her precious thing! Don't burn it!" Mikan retorted.
"Whatever," Natsume said as he closed his eyes.
"You're lucky that you're up there. If not, I would have smacked you," Jacklyn growled, really annoyed because he burnt her sketchbook once again. Natsume ignored her, which making her feel unpleased.
But then, she smiled as she looked at those two. "I'll leave you two here. I still have something to do," she said as she ran away.
'What's that girl up too?' the fire caster thought as he looked at the running figure suspiciously.
"What business that she has to do anyway?" Mikan said under the branch, catching the fire caster's attention.
'Oh well. At least, she's here,' he thought, a little happy.
The brunette then looked at him. "Natsume, can I go up there?" she asked.
"No," he replied simply.
"Please."
"No."
"Come on."
"No."
Mikan puffed her cheeks in annoyance and started to climb the tree trunk, ignoring his answer.
When she almost reached the branch where Natsume was lying, her foot slipped and she fell. She already closed her eyes, waiting for the impact. But a hand caught hers. She looked up and saw him holding her hand, saving her from the fall.
"Natsume," she muttered. Natsume didn't say anything. Instead, he pulled her up to the branch where he was occupying at that time.
After Mikan sat on the branch successfully, he leaned back on the trunk. The brunette smiled at him and said, "Thank you, Natsume."
"Hn."
--To be continued--
illutia mist: Ne, ne, Hotaru.
Hotaru: Don't use 'ne' on me. It doesn't suit you and you're not that innocent.
illutia mist: (Pouts) Geez. You don't have to react like that just because I used that word.
Hotaru: (Looks at illutia plainly) I think this is the right time to ask for the payment.
illutia mist: (Wide-eyed) WHAT?! You just appeared for some scenes and said a several dialogues and you've already asked for the payment?!
Hotaru: (Raises an eyebrow) Any problem with that?
illutia mist: Woah! Big problem!
Hotaru: Oh? Is that so? How about this? (Prepares her Baka Gun)
illutia mist: (Points at Baka Gun) That's HUGE problem!!
Hotaru: Which one will you choose?
illutia mist: (Wails) Not fair! You've made me broke in When I Met You and now you ask for the early payment in this fic?! Where's the contract?!
Hotaru: There has never been any contract from the start, dummy.
illutia mist froze for a while. And when it's written froze, it means she REALLY FROZE.
Hotaru: Tch. This dummy author froze herself.
illutia mist: …
Hotaru: (Annoyed) Why is she like this recently? This should be her job. Good readers, because this stupid author is freezing here, I'll replace her part to say this. Thank you for reading and please review. That's it. (Murmurs) I should ask an extra payment for this later.
illutia mist: … (…Hotaru, you're an evil…)