illutia mist: (Keeps weeping at the tree)

Mikan: …I pity her…

Jacklyn: Don't. You'll be fooled by her.

Natsume: (Rolls eyes) Polka is stupid anyway.

Mikan: What?! I'm not stupid!!

Natsume: Stu-pid. (Sticks out his tongue)

Mikan: (Hit his head with a board)

Natsume: Hey!! (Rubs his head as a vein pops on his head)

Mikan: (Holds the board above her head) Call me stupid again and I'll make you go to heaven.

Jacklyn: (Sweat drops) ...Guys…stop it…

Hotaru: (Takes out a video camera) Natsume Hyuuga is being bullied by the used-to-be-no-star girl. This will be interesting.

Jacklyn: (Looks at Hotaru) …Don't you think Mikan will be the one who will be hunted by the fan girls if they see this?

Hotaru: (Pretends not to hear and keeps on recording) You better do the disclaimer for the pathetic author.

illutia mist: (Cries hardly)

Jacklyn: (Rubs temple) …the freaky author, illutia mist, doesn't own Gakuen Alice and its characters. She just owns this plot…and me…which sucks for me. And Bourne Severity belongs to Ryuamakusa4eva.

-x-

Small Pieces of You

-x-

24th Piece: A Talk with an Old Friend

She couldn't move her dark-brown eyes from the male figure in front of her. It seemed like, just by seeing him, she was turned into stone. And no, he's not a basilisk or witch that cursed all people who saw them into stone. He was just a boy, a simple natural boy with blue eyes and orange hair. At least that was what she thought.

"I assume you don't remember me?" she heard him ask. But she didn't answer, for she was still over surprised to see him there.

'What? How? When? Why?' were questions that dominated her brain at that time. The tiny space inside her head had been too full to register another question or words beside her own confusion.

The boy tilted his head a bit, still with his wide smile gracing his face. He could see surprise and confusion written on her face and he didn't blame her for being like that. He kept on smiling, waiting until the girl in front of him got over her shock.

Three blinks later, her eyes turned back to its normal size, though she still didn't avert her gaze from him. She lifted her hand and poked his arm, which was laying still by his side. She stopped after the first poke, just staring at the spot her finger jabbed seconds ago. Then two seconds later, she started to poke it again. Two pokes, three pokes, and the act continued until the tenth poke.

The boy blinked at her act and chuckled. "Do you remember me, but you don't believe it?" he asked, catching her by surprise.

She pulled back her hand and looked up at him, eyes wide once again. "…Are you…really…?" she stuttered, disbelief evident in her eyes.

The class was silent in wonder, as if there was a live show drama playing in front of them. Hotaru and Bourne just looked at them indifferently, as well as the fire caster. Narumi blinked in every minute, wondering what was happening at that time.

The orange-haired boy blinked once in understanding. "Yes," he said, "it's me."

Jacklyn froze. "…Jack…?"

He smiled brightly at her answer, and Jacklyn immediately knew. Her answer was right.

-x-

"Who is Jack?"

The drawing alice user looked up from her food upon hearing the question. Mikan was sitting in front of her, hand clutching the spoon filled with fried rice, curious look on her face. Jacklyn looked back to her food, fried noodle, and put down her spoon as she sighed and said, "…Jack is…Jack."

The brunette blinked. "Yeah…I mean…is he your childhood friend?"

Jacklyn glanced at her and rolled her eyes up to the ceiling for a while, thinking. "…No…not really…" she simply replied.

"So?"

She shifted her attention back to the brunette, who was waiting patiently for her answer while sipping her drink, then looked back at her food. Truth to be told, Jack wasn't her childhood friend. No, he's not. She was confused how to describe him to the brunette. They indeed were old good friends, but not in reality.

The voice of the crowd in the cafeteria was heard so loud in her ears that afternoon, preventing her from thinking the right words to explain to the brunette who the new orange-haired lad was. Not to mention she was still tired from the mission she had to do that morning. Why was she at the cafeteria that afternoon? It was because she hadn't had breakfast and lunch, and her stomach already demanded food inside them. Mikan, whose stomach had also made a loud sound, joined her since she had nothing to do.

Jacklyn heaved another sigh. She rubbed her temple, hoping it would help her to concentrate more. "Well, you see…he is…"

"Mikan-chan! Jacklyn-chan!"

Both girls turned their heads to the voice's direction, only to see Anna and Nonoko waving at them from the entrance door. Mikan waved back at them, while Jacklyn just gave the girls a smile. The twins strolled to their table and sat down beside them; Anna was on the right side of Mikan and Nonoko was on the left side of Jacklyn.

"Where's Hotaru-chan, Mikan-chan?" Anna asked, looking at the brunette in curiousity.

"I think she's in her lab. She said something about making more productive things," Mikan answered as she smiled.

Jacklyn smile inwardly upon hearing that. She barely knew the inventor, but couldn't help thinking that it was just so Hotaru. She had seen a few inventions the raven-haired girl created and most of them indeed were useful, though there were a few things she didn't understand what they were used for.

"And where are the others?" Nonoko butted in.

Mikan shrugged. "I don't know about Koko and Yuu, but Ruka must be with Natsume again. Maybe they're wandering around the school field." The indigo-straight haired girl nodded in understanding and asked another question to start a conversation.

Jacklyn didn't talk too much for the rest of the afternoon. She just ate her lunch and drank her lemon tea while listening to their conversation. She did give comment once in a while if she felt like it. The discussion about Jack had seemed to be forgotten by the brunette and she didn't know she should be happy about this or not.

That afternoon passed in a blur. Jacklyn had no idea how she finished her food (which she didn't bother at all as long as she was stuffed) and how she walked out from the cafeteria without bumping into other students. What she knew was she was walking beside Mikan now. The brunette was busy chattering with the twins while she was just walking in silence and just listening to their chat, like what she had done in the cafeteria before.

While walking, she thought of something to do in that day. Her mind was floating somewhere else as she pondered.

"Jacklyn."

She snapped out of her thought upon hearing her name being called. Turning her head to face the brunette, she smiled and asked, "Yeah?"

"We're planning to go to Central Town after this. Do you want to come?" Mikan asked, her eyes sparkling in happiness.

Jacklyn blinked and thought for a while. "…But I thought you should ask Natsume if you want to go to Central Town?"

The brunette's smile turned into a frown. "…You're right."

The black-haired girl immediately felt guilty after she saw her friend's unhappy face. She hated the fact that she had ruined her joy, but that was the truth. She was no longer Mikan's partner after Jack's appearance. After she revealed the orange-haired boy's name in shock, Narumi thought they knew each other (which they did) and asked her to be his partner.

She couldn't decline it of course, since she also didn't have partner; if it's not because Mikan offered herself to be her partner in the first place which made her Natsume's second partner. But as a 'good' partner, she left him after the class was over, once again, due to the tiredness and hungriness she felt. She really couldn't think of anything at that time. Her body moved on its own.

Yeah…so…she left him…because she was hungry…

She sighed and rubbed his forehead. That was a stupid reason to leave his partner, who was completely unfamiliar with the school route, just because she was hungry and the miserable sound of her stomach got the best of her. She would have to make up for this later.

"Hey."

She froze for a while upon hearing the voice. Her eyes were still on the brunette and the twins, who had their heads turned to the voice's direction the moment they heard it. Slowly, she craned her neck to the voice's direction. And there he was, leaning on the wall in front of her, staring at her with his trademark smile on his face.

The other three girls were looking at the two by turns, wondering at the exchanged glances. Jacklyn stood still, eyes just staring at the lad, unmoving. Her lips then parted a bit as she asked, "Need anything?"

He chuckled. "Yes. I need to talk to you."

She raised an eyebrow. "Sure. I also want to ask you something."

His smile widened as he detached himself from the wall. "Then, shall we?"

Jacklyn looked back at Mikan and the twins. They smiled at her in understanding and encouraged her to go with the new boy. She smiled back at them and nodded. "I'll see you guys tomorrow," she said as she waved at them and walked to the orange-haired boy who had been waiting for her.

Jack cast a last smile at her before turning away and leading their way.

She was just staring at his back, following him every step while wondering what he wanted to talk about.

-x-

Natsume sat silently on one of the seats in an empty classroom, legs resting on the desk in front of him. His crimson eyes followed the movement from his so-called trainer, Persona, who was walking back and forth in front of the class with unknown documents in his hands. At the front row of seats, a boy with spiky-blonde hair was sitting on a desk with eyes closed, listening to his i-pod.

The fire caster clicked his tongue and glanced outside the window. Trees and bushes were everywhere at the other side of the glass material. A few kids could be seen playing hide and seek under the trees. Happy and joy were on their faces as they ran and searched for a place to hide themselves from their friend. There was no trace of worry or sadness in their faces. They were still pure and innocent.

Unlike him.

His mind had been tainted by hatred and anger. His skin had been tainted by blood, his victims' blood. He wasn't pure inside and out again, not like what he used to be. The invisible hands from darkness had chained him for a long time. Even though he had found his light, he wouldn't be able to reach it. The hold was strong; too strong that no matter how hard he tried, he wouldn't be able to get away from it.

He could just secretly smile in darkness whenever he saw the unreachable light in front of him. He had decided to stop struggling to free himself from the invisible chain, as long as all people that he loved would always be in the light side, even Ruka, who had known about the darkness he belonged to.

The kid was now searching for his friends. When he found one of them behind the bushes, a bright smile spread widely on his face. Both of them laughed and went searching for the other kids. Natsume kept on watching them in silence, eyes following their movements. He didn't felt the creepy silence which engulfed the Dangerous Ability classroom again. As he watched the kids playing, he felt like he was being there with them, standing under the tree, listening to the kids' laughter and soothing sound of wind.

It would be nice to be relaxed for sometimes; no mission, no sudden pain, no disturbance. He barely felt those times. Once he felt it, it would be hard for him to let it go, the serenity that he longed for among his hatred towards the world and his tiredness to live.

Even though all of it was just in his imagination.

He closed his eyes for a while, trying to realize his imagination into his head, his sight, his hearing, and his sense. Faintly, he could feel it. Even it was just the sound of wind and his view was still dark.

"Black Cat."

He groaned inwardly at the cold voice that woke him from his thoughts. He opened his eyes and looked at his Dangerous Ability class teacher in irritation. Persona was staring back at him with arms crossing in front of his chest, the documents still in his hands. Bourne was also staring at him too, one of his earphones in his ear.

Persona tilted his head a bit. "Did you space out, Black Cat?" he asked, mocking tone in his voice.

Natsume just looked at him sharply. No word came out from his lips. Why couldn't that man let him dream about his freedom even for a while? Was it forbidden for him even just to dream of it?

"None of your business," he answered irritatingly.

Persona's lips turned formed a sly smile. "Bad mood as always, Black Cat," he teased.

The raven-haired lad didn't answer. He gritted his teeth behind his lips, holding back the annoyance and anger he felt towards the man. It was good that he had learned to keep all of his emotions to himself. If not, he might have snarled at him and picked up a fight, which would just make him waste his lifespan for using his alice in a useless battle.

Natsume's eyes flickered. "Yes," he said. "I wonder what he," he pointed at Bourne, "does in this country."

Bourne raised one of his eyebrows at the lad's pointed index finger. "I've told you that the academy in USA has been safe for now, so they decided to send me back to Japan," he answered relaxingly.

Crimson eyes narrowed. "I've heard that from you this noon."

"Then why did you ask again?"

"I asked him," he said as he pointed to Persona, "not you."

Bourne shrugged. "Suit yourself. The answer will be the same though," he remarked, "though it would be better if you hear it from the person itself."

Persona shook his head and approached the teacher's desk to put down the papers. "Like what he had said before, he came here because the Alice Academy's branch in USA sent him back since they have been safe for now," he explained. "It seems like the AAO in there retreated to make a new plan to attack. A few students with strong alices at the academy had been chosen to watch and protect the place for now."

"The AAO in there retreated? Completely?" Natsume asked in interest. Persona nodded slightly at this and looked back at the documents on the desk. The fire caster blinked once then leaned his back on the back of his chair, registering the information in his head.

AAO, stood for Anti Alice Organization, was Alice Academy's lifetime opponent. They had fought them all this time, preventing them from kidnapping the alice users and trading them abroad or training them to be used as one of their allies. He ever encountered with a few of them which were led by Reo Mouri. Yes, Reo, the red-haired man he met this morning when he was caught by AAO along with Little Angel.

'Poor pawn.'

Natsume grew quiet. He remembered what the man said before he went out from the dungeon they were hold in. Those two words of his quite intrigued him. If it was him, it quite made sense since he was being the academy's tool.

'You don't know what you have gotten yourself into, little girl.'

That was what Reo said before he said those two words. Did that mean she was also a pawn too? But she wasn't from the academy…right?

"…Do you know someone nicknamed Little Angel?" Natsume asked all of a sudden without looking at his teacher.

Behind his white mask, Persona glanced at his student. "No. I don't recall there is anyone with that nickname in this academy," he answered simply.

Natsume fell silent once again. One thing he had made sure was that the girl wasn't one of the students in the Alice Academy. But she had alice, right? And she said she was being sent by someone too. Who was that? And why?

Bourne watched the raven-haired lad closely for a few seconds before he closed his eyes and listened back to his i-pod.

After thinking for a few minutes and still having no idea about it, Natsume chased the thought away, averting his eyes from the man to the window. There was no kid playing under the trees again. He assumed they had gone back to their dormitory, since sun had started to set in the west. Today would be over in a few hours again, and a new day would begin. He wished Persona would just dismiss them now, so he could go back to his room and take a rest.

Two figures caught his attention by all of a sudden. An orange-haired boy was walking past the forest, followed by a black-haired girl behind him. One of his eyebrows rose at this view. If he wasn't wrong, he remembered the orange-haired boy was Jack. To know that he had a relationship with the sketchbook girl this morning quite surprised him. But if his eyes didn't deceive him, the black-haired girl herself was also a bit shocked when she saw the boy standing beside her desk.

'Do you remember me, but you don't believe it?'

Natsume was a bit confused at the sentence that came out from the orange-haired boy's lips.

What did he mean by that?

-x-

"Seriously, who are you?"

Jack turned his head to the black-haired girl beside him, a smile on his face. "I'm Jack," he answered shortly.

Jacklyn had a disbelieving look on her face. She still didn't believe him. She knew he might be right, but she couldn't believe this was really happening.

Jack shifted his gaze back to the view in front of them. Academy's wide green field was spread with sunset as the background. It was such a beautiful moment in the afternoon. To be able to see the sunset using her bare eyes made Jacklyn silent in amusement. When she was still in her house, she was too busy locking herself in her room and doing something else, so she never saw sunset this clearly. Clouds and academy's ground were bathed by its light, making it look like a painting which was dominated by red color. It was breathtaking.

"…How?" she asked unsurely, eyes still on the sunset.

The orange-haired boy kept smiling. "Which one is how?"

"All of them."

He laughed. "That will be a bit difficult to explain. My throat will be dry first."

Jacklyn rolled her eyes and leaned her back on the trunk of a tree behind them. She couldn't help but think he was too much like 'him'. His name, his physical appearance, his smile that was always on his face, and his playful comeback; all of them were exactly like 'him'.

But it was impossible, right?

"When did you appear?"

The simple smile was back on his face again. "A few minutes after the incident at the roof."

Jacklyn stared at nowhere in front of her again, registering the answer she got from him. "…I can't believe you," she muttered, closing her eyes.

"Aren't you happy to see me?"

The question made her open her eyes again in the next second. She looked at him, seeing that his gaze was on her too. Dark-brown met blue in a few seconds of deafening silence. Sun kept on setting down in the west. The only trace that was left was its red color along the horizon.

"I don't know," Jacklyn replied, breaking the stillness.

"Why?"

She fell silent for a while. "…Because it's impossible…" she said in a low voice, almost whispering.

After that, silence fell upon them once again. They were just staring at each other, as if they wanted to make sure which one of them that could stand the direct contact longer, as if the loser would get a punishment.

For once in this day, Jack's expression was serious. His trademark smile faded from his face. His stare was soft, but demanding at the same time. He wanted to know why she didn't believe him. They were old friends, old and good friends. That was what he believed in.

"My alice…" Jacklyn started, "…could just stand for twenty four hours…"

The lad didn't move or say anything. His attention was fully on her, waiting for her to finish her speech.

Jacklyn sighed. "It has been weeks since that happened…" she continued. "You should have been…"

"…Disappeared," he continued, immediately silencing her with his word. "I know that."

Her jaw clenched a bit at his answer, and both of them were back to the staring contest once again. Wind blew a bit harder, swaying the leaves and grass, as well as their hairs and uniforms. The remaining red color would be gone in a few minutes again and night would come soon, but they didn't seem to be affected by this. They still had one hour to go back to the dormitory.

The drawing alice user was struggling in her mind. A half of her started to believe him, but another half didn't. Rather, the other half was confused, demanding the truth to make it believe in him. Jacklyn clenched and unclenched her hands in nervousness. She wanted to know the truth, excited yet afraid. She was afraid that her power was a curse; the curse for her best friend she wanted to cherish in her imagination forever.

She pressed her lips together, picking up her decision. Taking a breath, she closed her eyes for a while before opening them again. "Explain."

He raised an eyebrow. "How did I arrive here?" he asked.

"How could you stand longer than my other creations?" she clarified what she meant.

The corner of his lips tipped up in a lopsided smile. "Because you wished it?" he said jokingly.

She blinked. "…You mean, if I wish it, I could make the drawing I want alive?"

Jack shrugged. "I don't know."

Jacklyn's lips curled down into a frown at his confusing answer.

"But it could be because you wished it and you unconsciously overused your alice," he added.

She went silent as she remembered the faithful day. That day, she indeed wished him to be alive since she felt so lonely after she avoided her friends. She prayed hard while clutching the drawing of his. But it was just too good to be true. "If I do that again, I can make the others like you too?"

Jack stared at her for a while and turned away. "It could be just a coincidence," he commented as he looked at the sky which had slowly turned dark. The weather started turning cold. They had to go back soon. "I might be the lucky one," he finished his sentence and turned his attention back to her. "You may get killed if you do it once again."

Jacklyn's gaze softened when she saw a glint of sadness in his eyes as he said his last sentence. He cared about her, yet she doubted him. They were best friends. He was her secret 'very' best friend though he wasn't real, well, used to be unreal.

But to find him alive and walking into her life was a bit surprising. He had just been in her thoughts for all this time. She never thought that after all she had wished for this since years ago, she would get surprised once he had turned to real. Perhaps she needed to give him chance; a chance to convince her, a chance to meddle with her life. She was the one who created him anyway. She must take responsibility for what she had done.

The drawing alice user heaved a submissive sigh, one of her feet kicking the grass under her. "Fine," she finally said, "I believe you."

Jack's lips formed a smile, his trademark smile. "That's so nice of you, creator," he teased.

She rolled her eyes. "Just call me Jacklyn. It's a bit weird to hear you call me 'hey' or 'creator'."

"Fine…Jacklyn." He winked at her, which she returned with an annoyed face.

"Don't wink at me. I don't like it," she growled as she turned away, intending to go back to the dormitory. A soft laugh escaped from his lips as he followed her from behind. "You better told me how you could arrive in this place later or I won't talk to you for months," she threatened in exasperation, wishing it could cease his laugh.

His laugh turned into chuckle. "As your wish, creator."

"Jack!"

He chuckled again.

"As your wish, Jacklyn."

--To be continued--