Disclaimer: All rights belong to Higuchi- Tachibana sama
This story though, belongs to me.
Thanks to dominiqueanne and chichiru chu for reviewing, as always!!
RECAP:
She reached the top of the staircase and nervously said "Hello?? Anybody here?? Hmm. Guess not." And shut the door tight and locked it on the inside.
"Good. I'm done. Silly kitty. Coming in here and giving me a fright. Clumsy too…Oh my gosh!! Kitty!! Hang on Kitty!! I'm coming to save you!!
Chapter 4 : The Black Cat
Yuu, Kitsuneme and Kokoroyomi stood in confusion when they heard the loud voice echo from where Ruka was. Yuu had just been telling them what Natsume had told Ruka and him and the three were discussing it quietly when they heard a girl speak loudly. For a second they froze, thinking they'd been found out when they heard the rest of what she said and the sound of a door closing. They breathed a sigh of relief.
"I think we can-", began Kitsuneme, floating in the air.
"-relax now", said Kokoroyomi grinning widely. "Or not.." he finished as Ruka ran up to them, panic written all over his face.
"Natsume's in-"
"-trouble isn't he", said Kokoroyomi, finishing Ruka's sentence.
"Yes Koko. Stop reading minds", said Ruka, irritated.
"Didn't have to", grinned Koko.
(A/N: I'm calling him Koko from now on. It types out faster than Kokoroyomi. Lol..)
"What do you mean, Natsume's in trouble?", asked Yuu. "He said he'd be fine…"
"I know what he said!!" Ruka was becoming more hyper by the minute. "I was sitting by the door when some girl came from the basement, shouted out and freaked the hell out of me, by the way, And just as soon as she came, she banged the door closed and bolted it on the inside. I tried to open it but I couldn't."
"Calm down Ruka", said Yuu who was becoming just as hyper as Ruka but trying his best to control himself. "Okay, did she say anything else?"
"Apart from what you heard, no", said Ruka frowning. "Oh yeah, she was standing by the door after she locked it and shouted out about saving a kitty. Nearly fainted when I heard that one, I was trying to open the door from the outside…"
"Ha ha!! Kitty!! How weird!! Like Natsume's mask!!"Chorused Kitsuneme and Koko, laughing.
"Oi…don't tell me…"the blood drained from the four faces as the light dawned on them.
They ran to the room with the bookshelves and all four took turns alternatively pushing and pulling the door but to no avail.
Ruka bit his lip as he pushed the door.
Hold on Natsume. We're coming to save you!!
"I'm coming to save you!!", shouted Mikan running down the steps frantically, taking two at a time.
Natsume heard her and let out a groan.
Save me? More like kill me!! What the hell have I gotten myself into?
He stared at her when she came to a stop in front of him, her hands on her knees, panting.
She's going to find out anyway. And I might as well let her help me. I cant get out of this mess, not without burning the books anyway.
He was surprised with what he'd just been thinking.
Since when have I cared about burning anything? Hell with these books!!
He got ready to unleash his fire when Mikan bent down and started picking up the books. She was deft with the books and looked at them lovingly as she picked each of them out carefully, so that she wouldn't damage them and also to prevent the cat from getting hurt anymore than it already was.
On second thoughts…let her take her time…
Mikan cleared away most of the books making sure none fell on the black cat.
"You're a really big kitty aren't you?? I've only seen cats this big on TV. Ah! You should be able to move now kitty!! Try getting up will you?? There! That's a good kit….ty…", she faltered as the 'Kitty' got up to its full height and towered over her, standing on its two feet.
"Oh my God!! You're not a cat-!!"
Ya think??
"You're a thi-!! Mmph!!"
She found herself pinned against the desk with the thief's legs, her back bent over it and his hand over her mouth, silencing her effectively.
"If you promise to keep that big trap of yours shut, I'll let you go. Understood?", came a menacing voice from behind the mask.
She nodded quickly and he released her.
"Ano… I just-"
"Not a word!!"
"But-"
"Zip it!!"
She fell silent and gave him a reproachful look. She opened her mouth again but one dark look from him and she closed it hurriedly.
She makes a lousy hostage. If I was one of those bad guys, she'd be dead by now…Baka…
"I'll be asking you some questions and I expect you to answer. You can open your mouth to, and ONLY to reply. Got it?"
She nodded again.
"Good. I want a particular book. Its called The Book Of The Dark Alice. It's a very important book and I'm sure its not up there", he said pointing to the ceiling. "If it's anywhere, it's here. So I want you to find it for me. Is that understood? Good. This way you don't even have to talk. What?", he asked as she suddenly started fidgeting,"Spit it out!!"
"I don't know this book!!"
"What? What do mean you don't know?"
Mikan breathed out deeply, happy she was able to talk freely now.
"I've never even heard of this book in the first place and I doubt it's the kind of book Ojii-chan would keep."
He prompted her to continue.
"I cant explain to you, but I know for a fact that Ojii-chan would forbid a book with that name to be kept in this library. It's a family thing."
"Explain." He said in a quiet voice.
"I just told you Baka!! I cant explain!! And even if I could I wouldn't!! Bleh!!", she said sticking her tongue out at him.
This was the last straw for Natsume. He brought forth a small flame in his left hand, pinned her against the wall with his right and whispered menacingly in her ear.
"Explain or I'll burn your underwear right off"
"Alice…",she breathed, staring at the flame. "I suppose I can tell you then, since you're an Alice user."
Interesting. She knows about Alice's. How many more surprises is this night going to throw at me??
"Do you mind if I sit down?", she asked him.
He shrugged and watched as she sat down at the desk. She saw his eyes narrow through the slits in his mask and took a deep breath.
Okay Mikan. You can do this. Just reach under the desk for that little knob while you explain why Alice book's aren't allowed here and press it. If all goes well, you can throw a few books at him to distract his attention, run to the secret passage and get out of the library. Then you can call Hotaru and nab this thief!!
"Right, now where should I begin. It all started long ago.."
She smiled inwardly as she pressed the knob, distracting him with her story.
"This isn't working!!", grunted Yuu, pushing with all his might. "Ruka!!"
"I'm on it" Ruka had already summoned the mice again and looked up at the other three. "Let's go!!"
The mice ran out of the library through a hole and the boys ran out through the front door not caring if they were seen or not. The mice ran behind the library and they follwed close behind.
"There doesn't seem to be a visible opening to the basement", said Kitsuneme
The mice ran into a garden which was right behind the library, unkempt and overgrown with shrubs. Then they turned and chattered to Ruka.
"They say there's an opening here somewhere. They don't know where though. We'll have to search for it ourselves."
Ruka, Yuu and Koko stood on a grassy patch next to a wild shrub while Kitsuneme hovered above them.
"If Natsume were here, he'd just burn this land, find the opening and save himself", said Kitsuneme.
The other three nodded.
"True..", said Koko.
Then the stupidity of the statement hit them all and they looked up at Kitsuneme, sweatdropping.
"What?? I thought it was funny.."
"Come down here Kitsuneme, the winds' addling your brain up.. "
Kitsuneme grinned and landed on the shrub next to them.
"Come on guys, we can do this wi-"
"WHAT THE??"
It seemed like the ground just opened up below Kitsuneme and he was swallowed up by the darkness. They stared at the hole in the ground where he'd been just a few seconds earlier and crowded around it.
"So…do you think this is it?", asked Koko.
"Sure is!!", said Kitsuneme's voice as he slowly flew out of the hole. "It's a tunnel and goes down pretty deep. But there are iron rungs fixed in the concreted tunnel. So it shouldn't be a problem getting down."
"Let's go guys. Natsume is waiting."
They got into the tunnel and climbed down quickly. Kitsuneme flew ahead. They climbed (and flew) down until they saw a dim light at the end of the tunnel. The tunnel opened out into the basement of the library and Koko was waiting for them on top of a tall shelf. It was taller than the rest and it helped, because they could now see Natsume and a girl about ten shelves ahead of them.
I'll need atleast 10 reviews for this one before I upload the next one guys!! Come on..its only ten..lol..No.I'm serious…
Here's this one guys!! I promise this mission will be done by next chapter. Can you imagine that all of this happens in a span of lesser than an hour?! Scary…
Anyway, hope you guys liked it!! Even anonymous reviews welcome!!