Hi! I am back with the new chapter! Well, this is the continuation of the story… Domo…
DISCLAIMER: The Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi-sensei and Gakuen Alice belongs to Higuchi Tachibana-san. All rights reserved to the both of them.
I would like to thank 'cutielove077' for reviewing this fic and my Absolute Kiss/Couple fics. You really made me day reading your reviews… thank you very much. Expect my replies of your reviews these days… maybe now… thank you very much… ^_^
Chapter 11: Not Your Average School
Chapter Summary: She was surprised at the new people, new place and new surroundings. She was definitely surprised at everything… She meant everything.
She couldn't open her eyes because of the blinding light. She knew that the force was welcoming her entire body. So, it was what it felt like entering a portal. You felt light all over that you thought that it would blow you away from everywhere.
There was an unexplainable wind that covered her entire body. She bit her lower lip. She was starting to get nervous at everything. The alices inside her body were somewhat reacting for an unknown reason.
Was it because they were entering the world where the alices came from?
She didn't really know. All she knew was she was entering a new world that she wasn't familiar of. She slowly opened her eyes when someone grabbed her hand. She looked beside her to see Mikan smiling at her;
"Don't worry, Sakuno," Mikan said, "I'm here, I won't let something bad happen to you here."
Sakuno smiled at her and replied, tightening her grip to her hand, "Arigatou, Mikan-chan."
They looked at each other while still floating inside the portal.
"Mikan."
Mikan looked at the person who called her. Hotaru was calling her and gesturing her to come for a while. The former looked at her and slowly let go of her hand. She hesitated at first but she decided to let go afterwards.
"I'll be back," Mikan smiledthen noticed something before she continued, "…maybe not."
"Eh?" Sakuno wondered about her words. Mikan finally let go of her hand and went to Hotaru's direction. Hotaru was with Natsume and Ruka and they were ahead of her. She was left behind so she had the chance to observe the place now. The portal was pretty big and there was no actual space but pure volume and masses. There were covered with spectral lights, contrast to the blinding light that she felt when they entered the portal a few minutes ago.
Somehow, it felt nice to view the place now. She liked the lights that she was seeing at that very moment. She then looked below her feet; she wasn't touching the ground at all.
She was stupid to think about it but she was indeed flying. She mentally giggled at that. Well, she was afraid to fall at all and good thing that this portal had some kind of power to make the people float who would dare to enter one.
"We're almost there." Hotaru said looking behind her and smirked, "Keep up there."
"U-un." Sakuno said although she was wondering about the smirk Hotaru gave her but she shrugged it off afterwards. A few moments later, she would be entering the Alice academy. She would be helping the original owner of the alice that she was currently possessing. She wanted to help the person right away. That was what she was doing all the time anyway.
She wanted to help anyone who would need her help and she would tend to them as long as she could.
Raising her left hand to her chest, she clenched it and made a tight decision. She knew that she could do it. She planned to move closer to the others when suddenly a hand grabbed her right arm. She stopped from moving and looked behind her.
…Only to be surprised.
Floating above her, a pair of amber eyes was seriously staring straight down at her. Still masking the same old expression the person got. Her eyes widened, her cheek blushed and her heart beat faster when she recognized the person who was now in front of her, still holding her to her arm;
"R-Ryoma-kun…"
He smirked at her, "You can't keep all the fun to yourself, can you?"
She was totally surprised that Ryoma was there so she couldn't help but ask him, "W-what are you doing here? I… I thought that…"
Ryoma went closer to her making her blush even more, "Just be thankful that I am here."
She blinked twice when he said that and bashfully nodded at him, "H-hai…" Well, she was indeed thankful that he was there. It was really a surprise for her that he was there inside the portal.
Meanwhile, Hotaru and the others were smiling at them except for Natsume and a little from Ruka. Later on, they could see the other end of the portal and they were covered with white light.
Sakuno closed her eyes once again because of the blinding light that covered her. She didn't know how long until Hotaru spoke;
"We're here."
She slowly opened her eyes and adjusted her sight around her. Her eyes widened when she saw what was in front of her. They were on top of a hill and the wind was nicely welcoming the entire group. A smile was brought to her face when she saw what was below them.
"Welcome to Alice Academy, Sakuno, Echizen." Hotaru said facing the two as she gestured them to the school.
Alice Academy was just in front of them. There was a large school sitting at the center of the forest. Sakuno couldn't believe it. The school was double—no triple times bigger than Seigaku.
"You school is rather big." Ryoma said that as a statement.
"Well, this is an exclusive school," Ruka explained, "Only Alice users can enter the school. It's for their own protection that non-alice users are not allowed here."
Sakuno blinked at the information and then looked at Ryoma afterwards. He was just casually listening to their conversation. She observed herself as well. She could be considered as an alice user now, right? She was possessing two alices for the meantime so she thought it was okay for her to be there.
What about Ryoma then?
She couldn't understand anything or maybe he was given a privilege to enter the school. How he did do that, he didn't know.
"Let's go," Natsume said, "Let's get on with it."
The others nodded. Natsume led them to the school.
Later on:
She was rather speechless as they enter the school. Ryoma was also a little surprise at the scene around them. They could see different types of alices being used as they observed the area.
A student was flying in the air, a student was making non-living things move, a student was controlling the water's movement, A student can ran as a speed of light, a student can turn himself into a matter, a student can walk through a wall, and so on and so forth.
S-sugoi! It's amazing. They have different powers. It's like magic. Sakuno thought as she looked around. She was speechless but she was amazed at the display that they were showing.
"S-sugoi! It's amazing. They have different powers. It's like magic."
She flinched when she heard that and shrieked when she found someone behind her. She went behind Ryoma as she observed the person. He was smiling and his eyes were closed. H-he can read my mind?
"Of course, I can," He said looking at her, "That's my alice."
"Stop frightening her, you dummy." Hotaru aimed the gun at him but he avoided it.
"Sorry about that," Mikan chuckled as she introduced the boy to them, "This is Kokoroyomi, he's a mind-reading alice user."
"R-really?" Sakuno said as he looked at him once again.
He looked back at her and smiled, "Thank you Ryuzaki-san, nice to meet you too."
Sakuno was enlightened at his answer. She introduced herself to him in his mind. It was freaky at first but she was getting used to it now.
"Don't even think about it." Hotaru said once again. He was looking at her and probably reading her mind at the meantime.
The others were still conversing to him when Sakuno shrieked once again. Ryoma was surprised as well. Sakuno's body suddenly floated in the air and was panicking at that moment.
"Ryuzaki!" Ryoma called out to her.
"W-what's happening to me?" Sakuno said in fear as she looked down. She was not far from them but the fact that she was floating was unusual for her.
"Put her down, Kitsuneme," Hotaru said pointing at the culprit, "Stop playing around, you idiot."
"But she's new, right. We should welcome her." The boy called Kitsuneme gestured her at the direction where he wanted her to fly. All of the sudden, his hair was set to fire and he accidentally lose control of his alice. Sakuno lost to the gravity and fell down.
The others were surprised at the turn of event. Sakuno closed her eyes for the impact not missing to shout due to shock. Everything went silent afterwards. She was supposed to feel pain because of the impact but she wasn't feeling any pain at that moment.
What she felt was someone was holding her. With a pair of strong arms, that was.
"Hey, are you okay?"
Upon hearing the voice, she slowly opened her eyes and stared at the pair of blue-colored eyes and dark blue-haired boy in front of her. He had a star sign near his left eye. She was just staring at him for she didn't know how long.
"Hey!"
She blinked and blushed when she realized her position. She was in his arms carrying her like a baby. She clenched her hands to her chest as she tried to speak, "A-anou… I—I… a-arigatou… I—I,"
The boy laughed at her, "You're funny but I like you already."
Sakuno blushed even more when he said that. Ryoma on the other hand grunted. Natsume and Hotaru saw his reaction and they couldn't help but smirk at that… at least in Hotaru's case.
She wasn't recovered when someone hit the boy on the head causing him to put her down on the ground.
"You can't stop flirting even with the newcomers, can you?"
They looked at the last person who talked. It was a girl this time. She had a pink hair and was almost the same height as the guy who saved her from falling.
"Misaki, you don't have to hit me hard," The guy said rubbing his head, "That hurt, you know."
"Well, you deserve it." The girl called Misaki replied and then looked at them, "Hi, you must be the new alice users. My name's Misaki, Harada Misaki and this is Tsubasa, Andou Tsubasa, my stupid boyfriend."
Sakuno was shocked when she said that, "Y-you are a couple?"
Misaki looked at her and said, "Unfortunately."
"Hey!" Tsubasa reacted, "What do you mean by that?"
Misaki ignored him and tapped Sakuno's shoulder, "I know what happened to you from Narumi-sensei and to these kids beside you. We can take you to sensei's place."
Sakuno stared at the girl and nodded.
"Ryuzaki-san thought that you are very beautiful." Kokoroyomi suddenly blurted out Sakuno's thoughts.
Misaki and Sakuno both blushed when they heard that.
"P-please, stop reading my mind," Sakuno covered her face due to embarrassment, "Mou!"
Misaki on the other hand smiled at her, "Thank you still. You are pretty yourself too, Sakuno."
Sakuno blushed even more. She wasn't get used of hearing things like that about her. The others smiled at her shyness and couldn't help but think how cute she really was. Ryoma was not any different. He was thinking the same thing. Then, he remembered the mind-reading alice user. He looked at him and passed him another message. The boy sweat dropped and smiled;
"Don't worry, I won't say it."
The others wondered about what he said. He looked at them and then to Ryoma and then back to them once again. He flailed his hands afterwards;
"Don't mind us, it was nothing."
They were still unconvinced but they decided to let it go.
Later on:
They entered some corridors and facilities halls as they went to their destination. They met more alice users on the way. It seemed that not all of them knew about their arrival only the first people that they met once they set foot to the school knew about it. The others just ignored them and continued with their routines. Mikan was talking to Tsubasa and they were getting sweet. Natsume and Ruka grunted for some reason and somehow, they didn't like the way they talked to each other. Misaki was fine with it and she couldn't help but chuckle at their reaction.
"Ryuzaki."
"Hai?" She looked at Ryoma, surprised when he called her. He was not looking at her. He was looking ahead of them; his hands were in his pocket. She was just staring at him waiting for him to say his thoughts which he gave after a few minutes of silence.
"No matter what, stay close to me."
Her face turned red when he said that. Why would Ryoma say that to her? It was a surprise for her actually.
"We don't know what's going to happen, so always stick to me." He clarified.
Her eyes widened when he said that. Was he planning to protect her while they were there? She couldn't believe it. Ryoma was being protective of her. She couldn't help but feel overwhelmed about it.
"H-hai… arigatou, Ryoma-kun."
Hotaru looked at them as they walked. Somehow, she felt rather at ease when they saw the two acting odd to each other. It would be better if Mikan was like that but now, she had to worry about something. Natsume had showed some motives from her a few days ago. And she was not blind not to see the real score between them.
If people would just be honest to themselves, everything would be easy for them.
xxx
They reached the office where Narumi was occupying. Tsubasa opened the door and announced their arrival. Ryoma and Sakuno were silent, thinking what kind of teacher Narumi was.
Their serious expression turned into something funny when flowers around them were visible to their eyes and then, a blonde guy wearing a frilly dress welcomed them with open arms.
"Mikan-chan!"
"Naru-sensei!" She welcomed the teacher in equal gesture making everyone shock.
"I missed you!" Narumi said rubbing his cheek to her cheek.
Mikan giggled as she let him, "I missed you too sensei."
Hotaru coughed to catch their attention, "We brought Ryuzaki Sakuno, sensei."
Narumi leaned away and looked at her. Sakuno shyly smiled at him not missing to bow for respect.
"Ah, welcome, Ryuzaki Sakuno and," He looked at Ryoma, "You're the unexpected one."
Ryoma frowned at him as he stared at the teacher. He was weird enough to wear dresses but he just couldn't voice it out. He knew that he was an alice user so better not to provoke him, let alone a teacher.
Narumi chuckled as he patted his head, "Relax, there's no meaning about that. I am glad that you are here for Sakuno-chan here."
Sakuno blushed as Ryoma nodded after he recovered from the shock.
"I am sorry to put you into this, Sakuno-chan," Narumi said getting serious all of the sudden, "I think they already told you about it."
"H-hai," Sakuno said nodding at him, "Don't worry about me. I also want to help."
Narumi nodded and then looked at Mikan, "You have to make sure to gather enough alice so that the both of them can endure it."
Mikan nodded, "I will."
"Are they going to be okay?" Ryoma asked after that.
Narumi looked at him and said, "Sakuno-chan will lose energy for a few days but she will gain her strength after resting for a couple of days."
Ryoma didn't reply to his words. Somehow, he wasn't sure about the whole thing. He felt that something was behind all this. No matter how they tried to convince the girl that everything would be fine, he just couldn't seem to relax. He hoped that everything would really be fine afterwards.
"Let's go to the hospital now." Natsume said cutting his thoughts. He was somewhat irritated. Ryoma sensed that he didn't have the good vibration towards the teacher. He would understand that somehow.
Narumi was like his senpais in some things.
At the hospital:
They entered the hospital and the unit where Hotaru's brother was residing. They saw someone in the room, a teacher that had a stoic expression who was wearing glasses and a student doing something at the counter.
"Jinno-sensei," Tsubasa called out to the teacher making the two of them look at the rest, "How's Imai-senpai?"
"Tsubasa-senpai, Misaki-senpai," The student called out to them and went closer, "Still no change. I am getting worried about Imai-senpai."
Misaki tapped the student's shoulder, "Don't worry Nonoko-san," She started, "We could save him."
Nonoko smiled when she heard that, "R-really?"
"Are these the people that Narumi was saying?" Jinno asked to them.
Hotaru answered, "This is Ryuzaki Sakuno, sensei, the current owner of the alices and Echizen Ryoma, her schoolmate."
Jinno nodded at them which they returned the gesture. They kept talking for some information and Sakuno couldn't understand all of it. She was in the middle of the conversation when she noticed someone outside the room.
It was a girl. Her hair was shoulder length and curly. Her expression was somewhat soft especially when she noticed that she was staring at a particular person.
The girl was staring at Mikan with fondness in the eyes.
Her expression changed into something cold when she noticed that someone was looking at her. She looked at her making her flinch in the process. She didn't know what to do so she gave the girl a meek smile. The girl was surprised at her reaction and then ran away from her location.
Sakuno blinked twice after that. She was wondering about the girl's reaction but she shrugged it off afterwards and continued listening to the group.
Later on:
Jinno told everyone to leave the area except for Mikan, Hotaru, Ryoma and Tsubasa. Natsume was told to get out but he disobeyed his teacher, much to his annoyance.
"Sakura, Ryuzaki-san. You have to concentrate and make sure you will not fail," Jinno warned, "It's for the sake of the both of you."
Jinno was looking at her and then to Subaru who was lying unconsciously on the bed. She knew what he was talking about. She held his hand a while ago and he was awfully cold. She was worried about Hotaru's brother. One wrong move, it would worsen Subaru's condition.
She would do her best not to fail.
"I'll leave everything to you, Sakura." Jinno said looking at the pigtailed girl.
Mikan nodded at him, "Hai, I'll do my best," She then looked at her, "Are you ready?"
Sakuno looked at her before she looked at Ryoma. He was just staring at her and then to the others before she looked back to Mikan and nodded, "Hai…"
"This will take for a minute." Mikan said before she raised her hand to her chest and concentrated at her alice.
Sakuno gasped when she felt her hand was slowly entering her body. It was warm but she felt odd. She felt different for the first time. As she gasped, she felt that her own life force was draining away from her body. Her energy was slowly decreasing from it. So that was what it felt like losing the energy that she had.
She held on to her chest once Mikan brought out her hand from her chest. Mikan smiled at her and showed her a stone.
It was the healing stone that she got from her body.
Sakuno smiled back at her before she lost her balance. Tsubasa was there to keep her from falling. Her energy was leaving her. Then she felt someone pulling her from Tsubasa. It was Ryoma. She couldn't help but blush at their closeness.
Ryoma was worried even though he didn't show it.
Mikan carried the stone and placed it on top of Subaru's chest. It took a minute before it absorbed to the body. The light covered the mostly part of his body. The others waited for the outcome.
Hotaru was the most anticipated person inside the room. When she saw her brother's expression changed into something peaceful, she let out a small smile.
Sakuno and the others smiled as well.
It only showed that the transfer was a success.
They haven't recovered from the event when the door of the hospital was suddenly opened and some students entered the place.
"Sensei, please help us!" The student said who was carrying another student in his arms, "Ice Princess strike her with her alice and it went through her heart. Please save her!"
Nonoko went to the injured student while Mikan was rather shocked when she heard what the boy said, "She's really cold. I need to make the cure but it will take a while. I hope she could make it." With that she stood up and immediately went to make one."
"Please, make it faster."
"There's no way that she would do that?" Mikan suddenly said making everyone look at her.
"It already happened," The student beside him who was already crying retorted back at her, "She struck my best friend!"
"No…"
"Mikan, calm down." Hotaru and Ruka went closer to her.
Ryoma and Sakuno just listened to their conversation. Jinno was trying to stop them from bickering inside the hospital. Narumi wasn't there to calm them down. The blonde teacher just left there as soon as he took them inside the hospital. The place was a mess. Sakuno then looked at the injured student. Her face was hurt for some reason. She thought the best thing she could do.
Surprising Ryoma, she walked away from him and slowly walked closer to them.
"O-Oi!" Ryoma called out to her but she ignored him.
She went closer to the students and suddenly placed her hands in front of the student.
"S-Sakuno?" Mikan was still shocked when she saw what she was doing, "W-what are you doing?"
Sakuno ignored everyone around her and concentrated on her actions. She released some of her alice powers and transferred it to the girl.
Natsume, Ryoma and Mikan were surprised at her actions. She even heard Mikan tell her to stop but she ignored her still. She just went on healing the student despite the odd that she felt.
"I… guess… she would be fine." Sakuno said gasping in the process, "She could make it until the cure is done."
The boy who was carrying her smiled at her, "Arigatou… honto ni arigatou."
Sakuno smiled at him too. She was happy that the boy felt relieved when she said that. The others surround her area as well, asking her if she was alright. She didn't have the time to reply to them when her world suddenly spun around her making her fall sideways on the ground.
She was able to hear them after that at least thus, losing consciousness completely.
Done! How was this chapter? Ryoma did come after all... tee hee hee... There are some uncleared scenes here right? That will be remained uncleared... for now... Sigh it was tiring… I was catching up with the updates these days… I am pretty busy and I don't know if I could keep up with the updates but I promise that I will do it as long as time gives it to me…
A lot of GA characters are mentioned here. I introduced them together with their alices well, except for Tsubasa, Misaki, Narumi and Jinno… and the girl there. For more info please feel free to visit Wikipedia… I'll be introducing their alices in the future too… domo…
So please… give this oblivious writer some motivation to continue… Domo…
Guys, I made a page on FB with the same name. It is all related to my POT fics so I hope that you like that page and support me all the way. If you have questions, you can reach me there. I am always online on the page so can visit my page there… Domo… ^_^
Next Chapter: The Truth Behind the Alice