Chapter 10: Coming Around

Ruka's POV

"I can't believe it."

"Me neither…" Her speech was slurred, which must have meant that she was taken over by sleepiness once again.

We were watching the clairvoyant screen for about three hours now, and by the looks of it, we weren't very sure if we were going to see Natsume ever again.

"Sa-"I stopped talking when I felt her head suddenly rest on my shoulder. She had this peaceful yet pained expression on her face that it seemed unreadable to a person who didn't know her well. I stroked her head and wiped a stray tear that was rolling down her cheek.

It was strange that her tears made me remember people whenever I saw them, and at that moment, Imai suddenly came to my mind.

I pressed a button and the machine quickly scanned my eye for the second time tonight…

"Met al gepaste eerbiedheer, wens ik naar huis te gaan. [With all due respect sir, I wish to go home.]" A statuesque raven-haired girl spoke clearly at the scene. She was currently standing in front of a table of men in lab coats and business suits. She seemed familiar, but at the same time, a total stranger to me too.

"Zeker een andere reeks van prototypen en een jaar won' gekwetst t, nr? [Surely another set of prototypes and year won't hurt, no?]" One of the men seated on the table asked the girl. After saying that, the other men nodded and spoke in different languages among themselves. Meanwhile, the girl was, as I could see, shaking.

It was then that I realized that the tall and pretty girl was actually Imai. That figures. I examined her face closely and saw her purple orbs getting misty. She wore a cold expression and was trying to hold back whatever anger was suppressed inside of her.

"Greedy jerks…" I heard her incoherently mumble.

Then she closed her eyes and nodded. "Ik begrijp [I understand]." And with that, she turned back and walked away.

I had to give it to her; she was impressively fluent in whatever language she was speaking back there, even if I honestly did not understand a single word they said.

It didn't look like good news, not especially for Mikan either. And judging by the look on Imai's face, those 'greedy jerks' might have said something that pissed her off.

I turned the machine off and placed it back in the box. Then I looked at Sakura again. She was really in need of a shoulder-to-lean-on right now, especially because of the things that were taking place right now. Natsume's been stowed away in a foreign ship together with some Alice refugees led by a spunky yet strange dark-haired girl while Imai's in a far-off land resisting the urge to hit those greedy foreign men.

What to do, what to do? Sakura's really going to need me this time. I sighed and dozed off a few minutes later, while lying down beside Sakura with her head still on my shoulder.

Natsume's POV

Ugh. What the hell happened last night?

I had this really strange dream last night…

I feel like I'm having a hangover.

My aching head…

I woke up to the sound of excited laughter and chit-chat from above me. Then my thoughts finally re-arranged themselves after I came to.

"What the - ?" I quickly scanned my surroundings. It appeared that I was on a bed in a small cabin. Oh, and my voice suddenly woke someone up.

"Hey! You're finally up!" Kyoko stood up from her chair beside the door. She came over to hug me, well, almost hug me.

"Hands off. Where the hell did you take me?!" I hollered at her while pushing her away from me.

"Why, to the good guys of course!" She happily chirped, while attempting, once again, to hug me.

"I said hands off. What the hell did you do this time?!" I said while kicking her lightly on the stomach to get her off me.

"Oof. Is this the kind of thanks I get after practically saving your life from those guys last night?" She pouted at me while dusting off herself after falling to the floor.

"What did you do?" I glared at her.

"Uhm, carried you over to this ship, encouraged a revolt, started a forty minute war, and became Poster Girl for Public Enemy-student Number 1." She mumbled while looking down at the floor.

"WHAT?!"

"Err... The bad guys are stuck in a sinking liner in the middle of the Pacific Ocean because of me. That's good right?" She grinned at me.

A short moment of silence.

I stood up and smacked the back of her head. "Good job, idiot."

"Tha- Hey! What was that for?!"

"For saving my life." I looked back on the way to the door of the unfamiliar cabin and smirked at her. I opened the door and strode casually in the hallway.

Seconds later on the deck, I saw some students from the academy ship that were pointing and staring at me. The other kids didn't seem to notice and continued to laugh and run along the deck. They were all in their pajamas too.

I recognized the liner right away as a Zaibatsu Corporation ship because of the company name painted on a wall. I continued studying the ship environment, which seemed to be a lively and happy one, when suddenly a sandy-haired boy bumped into me out of nowhere and looked in surprise when he saw who he collided with.

"Oh! Hyuuga-sama! Err, why don't you go down to Main Office o-over there. Uhm, just turn left. 'K bye!" The uneasy boy bowed then ran back again to his friends again. I looked at them for awhile and took note on how happy they were. It reminded me so much of the people back home. And their laughter…

Laughter wasn't a restrained thing anymore, because now, these kids could be able to laugh freely from their hearts. So that must mean I can to.

I made my way to the Main Office, as the anxious-looking boy directed me to. Some stared, but I didn't mind. I wasn't in the mood to shoot any menacing glares right now. Still, I shouldn't be in such a foul mood since this was a day of rejoicing, whatever crap Kyoko was able to pull off last night.

I reached Main Office and a motherly receptionist greeted as soon as I came in.

"Ah. You must be Hyuuga-kun. Glad to finally have you. So, if you could oh-so kindly fill out this form, then we could be able to release you in about two to three days, depending on the distance of your home." She smiled a sweet smile at me, which got me thinking again. I usually don't listen to people who tell me to do stuff, so I played her words in my head again and was taken aback. I internally gasped.

"What?!" I choked.

"Please fill out the necessary release forms, Hyuuga-kun. Then, as soon as you're finished, you're on your way home!" She beamed at me once again while she handed me some papers and a pen.