Hi! I am back with a new chapter. Haha… Well, this is the new chapter…
I forgot to tell you this, I got the idea of the last scene of the last chapter from the Disney's Frozen but Ice Princess is one of the supporting characters on GA, perfect for the story... tee hee hee...
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.
sweetangel - well, there is really an ice princess in the GA story... tee hee hee... At nakalimutan ko ngang sabihin last chapter na nakuha ko ang ideya sa Frozen... tee hee hee... But there is really an Ice user in the story... You'll know more about her in the future... tee hee hee...
Yep, Ryoma's there alright... He was there... He was Ryoma after all and he would do just to keep in touch with her...
Definitely a reckless one... sigh... It was her nature after all... Now she made everyone worry... even Ryoma...
That... you'll know in this chapter... Thank you very much... ^_^
Chapter 12: The Truth Behind the Alice
Chapter Summary: They thought that it was really nothing but they were wrong about it.
They were silent all the time. Everyone was worried about the unconscious girl who was lying on a bed inside the hospital. They settled her to a bed next to Hotaru's brother. Subaru was fine, now that some of his healing alice was brought back to him. Hotaru was relieved because of that.
The relief that she felt disappeared as long as she looked at the other side of the room. She knew that consequences now that half of Subaru's alice was removed from her body and to worsen her condition, she used some of her healing alice to the injured girl a while ago. Nonoko was able to make a cure for the injured girl and was recovering miraculously. Sakuno was able to revive her in the nick of time.
Sakuno was still unconscious. She was just sleeping if being stared but deep inside there was something wrong about her. Ryoma was just sitting on a chair near her. He had sensed it before but he didn't confirm it to the alice users.
That was his biggest mistake.
He clenched his hands tight. The girl was doing it again, sacrificing her life to others before even thinking of her own self. He couldn't do anything to her despite that he asked Mikan to give it to him.
"Take Ryuzaki-san to a private room so that she could rest well." Jinno ordered as he looked at Tsubasa.
Tsubasa nodded and went closer to the girl. Hotaru walked closer to Ryoma and tapped his shoulder.
"Do you want me to tell her everything once she wakes up?" She asked him.
He looked at her for a few seconds before he closed his eyes and looked away, "I'll tell her myself."
"Make sure that she'll understand," Hotaru said looking at him, "I am sorry about this."
"I am not holding her body, so you shouldn't apologize to me," He said looking at Tsubasa who was now holding the girl in his arms, "Tell that to her once she wakes up."
Hotaru just nodded at him. Mikan was not there anymore for she too was shocked at the turn of events. Of all the people involved in the story, she was the one who was affected the most. Everything that happened was all because of her. Why wouldn't they blame her? Why couldn't they shout at her? She knew all of this because Kokoroyomi told it to her once they were alone.
Mikan was suffering inside. Her best friend was suffering and she was not even sharing her burden to her. She hated her whenever she acted like that but she couldn't blame her either. She would just understand her situation… for now. She didn't want to do it but she asked Natsume and Ruka to stay with Mikan for a while, for she was tending to her older brother until he woke up. She wanted him to see her first once he opened his eyes. She cared a lot for her brother… even though she didn't show it to him. Sighing, she looked at the tennis prodigy who was showing some kind of irritation because of the scene that they were currently witnessing, and called out to him;
"Stay with her for a while," She said catching his attention, "We will secure your place don't worry."
"Un."
Jinno walked closer to him and gave him another message, "No matter what, don't let her use that alice again, you hear me."
He stared at the stoic teacher before he nodded, "That's not going to happen."
With that, they walked outside and went to the room which was allotted for the still unconscious girl.
Meanwhile:
Mikan was just sitting on her bed, staring nowhere. Her hands were on her lap as she was fidgeting with it. She hadn't recovered from the event that happened a while ago. She feared about Sakuno's condition. She would never forgive herself if something bad happened to the girl.
It was all her fault and she couldn't even stop her from that time.
If it was easy for her to take it, she would have done it in the first place. She bit her lower lip as she closed her eyes. She gripped her hands really tight as well. She couldn't contain all of her emotions inside her.
"Polka dots."
She opened her eyes slowly when she heard names, "I am not in the mood for games, Natsume. Just leave me alone."
Natsume didn't listen to her. Instead, he sat beside her and leaned his upper body in a slanting position, "You're quiet. I am not used to it."
"Sorry for being quiet," She said not looking at him, "Now get out."
Instead of following her, he finally lied down on her bed and closed his eyes. Mikan was shocked at his action and got pissed at him.
"What's got into you, Natsume!" Mikan said standing up and stood in front of him, "Can't you follow simple instructions?"
"You're nosy." He simply said before he peeked an eye at her. Without warning, he used his left foot to lift her skirt which was just in front of him and smirked, "It's strawberry this time, huh?"
Mikan was shocked when he did that. Her face was mixed with embarrassment and fury as she was red all over, "Y—you, pervert!" She retorted as she jumped on him and started hitting him to his chest, "When will you ever change?! Stupid, pervert Natsume!" She continued hitting him there until he finally caught her wrists making her to stop;
"You're finally back to normal."
She was taken aback at his words. Natsume did that just to make her react? He was just a plain pervert and he knew that she would be pissed if he did something like that. They stared at each other for a few seconds before she realized their position.
She was almost on top of Natsume and their faces were really close to each other. Then, a memory came back to her, a memory that she had never forgotten. Her face became red once she remembered that.
Natsume noticed her reaction. He didn't let go of her hand, instead he pulled her hand closer to him.
"N-Natsume," She blushed as she looked at his hazel eyes, "W-what-wha—"
"Mikan." He only said as he stared at her eyes.
She didn't know what to do. She could hear her heart beating so fast. Was it because of what happened to them before? Natsume was just seriously staring at her.
The door suddenly opened making the two of them look at the door. Ruka entered with a shock on his face. He turned around when he saw their position not missing to blush really hard.
"G-gomen," He said closing his eyes in the process hugging his rabbit even more, "I didn't mean to interrupt."
Mikan called out to him, "R-Ruka-pyon! It's not what you think!"
Ruka didn't listen to her and went out once again closing the door behind him. Mikan was about to stand up but then Natsume stopped her. She forgot that he was still holding her wrists.
"Natsume! Let go of me!" She tried to struggle really hard. She didn't know what was gotten into him. He wasn't teasing her or calling her names. He was just staring at her and was not going to speak until later, "You're not funny at all!"
He did let go one of her wrists but what surprised her was he placed his hand to her cheek and kissed her on the other side. Her eyes widened when he did that. He kissed her on the cheek for a few seconds before he leaned away from her.
"Stop keeping your problems to yourself," Natsume said sitting up in the process, "Learn to share it," With that he stood up and walked away to the door. He twisted the doorknob but before he exited the door, he turned back to look at her and said, "You are not alone here."
He closed the door after that.
She stared at the closed door, her eyes were still wide, her face was red and her heart was beating fast. She didn't know what really happened but Natsume was showing some unusual behavior to her. She was not used of him being like that. Still recovering at the previous event, she unconsciously touched the cheek that he kissed a while ago. She realized another thing.
Natsume was indeed worried about her, he was just telling her in different ways.
She bit her lower lip as she looked down. He was right after all. She needed to act together. She had to face her problems and she knew that she was not alone. She had her friends and she knew that they would never abandon her. Sakuno would forgive her too judging from the girl's nature.
Besides, Alice Academy would probably miss her jolly behavior if she continued acting like that.
In a Private Room:
Sakuno was still unconscious. He was just staring at her as he sat next to her bed. Narumi visited her a while ago and told him that she would be like that for a while. They didn't know when she would wake up for the power that she had used was beyond their expectations.
She needed a lot of rest that they first imagined. Everything was changed when she made that decision.
"You cared about her."
He flinched when someone talked near him.
"You blame yourself of what happened to her."
"…"
"You wanted to be of help to her."
"…"
"Stop reading my mind."
"If you already know what I was thinking, then stop it." He retorted as he looked to his side where Kokoroyomi was standing.
"Gomen, Echizen-san," Kokoroyomi said, "Your thoughts just came out to your brain that I can easily read it."
"Then keep it." He said.
"You know, she's a brave girl," Kokoyomi said not tearing the smile to his face, "Take care of her if needed."
"Heh," He closed his eyes as he smirked, "You don't need to tell me that."
They stayed silently there for a while before Kokoroyomi walked away;
"Okay."
He looked at him and frowned. He showed him his signature smile and continued talking.
"You want to be alone with her so I'll give it."
Ryoma frowned at him and replied, "You really freak me out."
Kokoroyomi chuckled as he opened the door, "Hai, hai… take your time." With that he closed the door and that left the two of them.
He had the time to look at her, now that they were alone. She was just sleeping as if there was nothing wrong about her.
What did she get herself into? More on, what did he do that she was involved into this kind of situation. Kokoroyomi was right; he was the one to blame. If he didn't buy that stupid necklace and give it to her, she would not be experiencing the situation right now.
Sighing, he moved closer to her and brushed her hair from her head. He didn't know why he did that but he liked what he was doing.
"Ryuzaki…" He whispered as he stared at her peaceful face. He continued brushing her hair for he didn't know how long.
2 Am:
Her eyes were slowly opened. She blinked twice as she stared at the ceiling. Realizing that she was in a different room, she started to move and whispered;
"W-where am I?" She supported her upper body because she was not really feeling well. Then, she felt someone beside her making her eyes wide.
Ryoma was sleeping on her bed while sitting on a chair, his head was resting on top of the bed that she was sleeping.
She didn't know what happened until she looked at the sleeping boy beside her. She looked forward as she gripped her hands tight on her lap. She remembered about giving half of the alice that she was currently possessing to the real owner and then she used her healing power to the injured student after the transfer.
That made her collapse after and she didn't know what happened next. She didn't even know how long she slept in that room.
"Ryuzaki."
She looked to her side when she saw Ryoma getting up from sleeping, rubbing his eyes in the process, "G-gomen, Ryoma-kun. Did I wake you up?"
Ryoma stared at her but he didn't say anything.
"Where are we?" She said as she looked around. She didn't know if she could move aside from that, "Where are the others?"
"…"
"I—Is the girl, okay?" She asked him this time, "She survived, right?"
"…"
"I knew I gave the right amount of time for Nonoko-san to make the cure—" She stopped talking when Ryoma suddenly stood up from the chair and moved closer to her. She panicked when she saw him putting his knee on the bed;
"W-what are you doing?" Her blush appeared when he was getting closer to her, "R-Ryoma-kun—" Her eyes widened when he finally did.
Ryoma wrapped his arms around her and rested his head near to her temple.
She held her breath when he did that. She didn't know how to react to his actions. Ryoma was hugging her at the moment. She was panicking inside.
"Gomen."
She blinked twice when he said one word.
"...For everything." He continued after a few seconds of silence.
"W-why are you… apologizing?" She was rather confused at his words, "R-Ryoma-kun?"
He leaned away from her a little but he didn't say anything.
"You didn't do anything wrong," She looked at him despite the tense that was happening between them.
"Ryuzaki."
"N-nani?"
"…"
"She blinked twice as she waited for his words which he gave her;
"You have to know something."
"Eh?"
"The truth behind the alice."
Flashback:
"What happened?" Narumi suddenly entered the room of the hospital and saw the people gathering at a certain spot, "Ryuzaki-san!" He walked closer to them and stared at the unconscious girl who was lying on the bed. He looked around the room.
Mikan was crying and Hotaru was comforting her. Ruka and Natsume were not far from her. Tsubasa and Misaki were tending to Sakuno while Jinno was talking to Nonoko at the meantime. The other students who witnessed the scene were told to leave the place.
"What is happening to her?"
He looked at the only person who talked inside the room.
"It is not about the alice, is it?"
"…"
"Tell me."
Narumi looked away from his amber eyes and he tried to think for a better answer.
"You are right, Ryoma-san."
Everyone looked at the person who answered his question. Removing her hands from her face, Mikan looked at him with tears.
"It is not only about the alice," Mikan answered, "It is how she uses it."
The silence welcomed the room after Mikan said that.
"Mikan…" Hotaru said with a hint of concern in her voice, she comforted her best friend but Mikan just meekly smiled at her.
"I should've told them about it before."
"…"
Mikan looked at him and said, "I… didn't want her to use the healing alice at all cost not because they would only sense it but..."
Ryoma anticipated the continuation of her words and he wasn't really expecting it.
"Her life force will decrease everytime she uses it."
His eyes widened when he heard that from her.
"She's using her own life whenever she uses her alice."
Another round of silence welcomed the room. He was trying to absorb everything as the process was taking it too long for his brain. He knew what it meant but he refused to believe it. He gripped his hands tight really hard as he looked at the girl on the bed.
"Does… anyone know about this?" He then looked at the fire alice user and his best friend. Both of them looked away and either of them said anything.
"I am sorry, Ryoma-san," Mikan said closing her eyes in the process, "I am sorry. It was all my fault," She looked down as she covered her face with her eyes once again, "Sakuno's life is in danger."
"…"
"…"
"How can you save her then?"
They looked at him. Ryoma was looking at Mikan who raised her head a little.
"E-everything I told you is real. The alice should leave her body by itself and not by force," Mikan said as she leaned for Hotaru for support, "I can't steal it completely for the result would still be the same."
He didn't reply to her after that. He looked away and cussed inaudibly. Was there another way to save her? Why was it happening to her? If he didn't give her the necklace in the first place, then none of this would happen.
Then he realized everything.
It all started with the necklace that he gave her.
Narumi walked closer to him and tapped his shoulder, "Echizen-san, just make sure that she will not use the healing alice anymore."
"…"
"Her life will be saved if she would do that," Narumi said and then looked at everyone, "We will sort another solution on how to take the alices inside her without harming her life."
He just stared at him and registering what his message was. All he could do was to nod at the teacher in the alice academy.
For now, he decided to trust the people around him… as he didn't have a choice but to do it.
She was just staring at him after she heard the whole story. She didn't how to react at the revelation that she just discovered at that very moment.
Her life was beyond half of living?
She was using her own life force everytime she used the power? She looked at her own hand as she started to understand everything;
"I see…" She said placing her hand to the other, "No wonder that I felt helpless when I was using the alice. My life was affected after all."
"…"
"I finally understand now."
She flinched when Ryoma suddenly placed his callous hand on top of hers. Looking up, she saw how serious he was as he stared as her.
"Promise me," He started not tearing his eyes away from her, "that you'll never use that alice ever again."
"R-Ryoma-kun."
"…"
Ryoma was concerned as she stared at his amber eyes. He rarely showed that kind of expression, let alone to her. She couldn't help but blush at the action he was giving. Despite of it all, she was glad that he was thinking about her safety;
"H-hai…Yakusoku da yo."
"Good," He nodded as he leaned away from her placing a hand in his pocket, "But it's not good to eavesdrop like that," Out of actions, he suddenly turned around and threw something at the front door. But before it hit the person's face, it immediately stopped just a few inches to that person's face as long as Ryoma recognized the intruder, "With an open door, Narumi-san."
Narumi stared at the ball in front of his face before he grabbed it there and smiled at him, "Just as I thought of Echizen-san, you do have it too."
Sakuno who was shocked at the scene looked at them alternatively. She was rather confused.
"You have the locomotion alice."
Ryoma didn't say anything but he was just staring at him. Sakuno was shocked when she heard that from the alice teacher. She couldn't believe what was really happening;
"I... I-is that true?" She leaned in just to look at his face sideways.
Narumi answered for her, "Echizen-san here has the alice of controlling the thing's movements that he throws."
Her eyes widened when she heard that. Ryoma had an alice as well. She couldn't believe that.
"I bet that you asked Mikan-chan to give you that alice, didn't you?"
"…"
"So," Narumi said placing a hand to his chin, "She had the stone and she thought that it fits you."
"Do you have something to say?" Ryoma said after that.
"My, my Echizen-san," Narumi said walking closer to them, "Don't be grumpy, you are looking more like our Natsume here."
Upon hearing that, Ryoma grunted. He didn't like to be compared to anyone, let alone to him.
Sakuno was still absorbing at other information that she discovered. No wonder that he was able to enter the world because he also had an alice. That explained his unusual actions in Seigaku and in this place.
Ryoma had an alice as well.
"As Echizen-san said, I am here to say something for Ryuzaki-san," Narumi said looking at the girl sitting on the bed fully catching her attention, "You already know the consequences, right?"
Sakuno nodded at him as confirmation, "D-does Subaru-san feel the same way?"
"Healing alice is his own natural power," Narumi explained, "Since it is his power, it is natural for him to use his alice without using his life as a source."
"…"
"But yours is different," He continued. The two of them were listening to him, "The alice is depending on its original power. Since the alice is not in its original master, the power is looking for another source, and that is the vessel's life."
"I… see," She looked down as she understood his explanation, "Because I am not its original master, it is natural for it to depend on my life, thus using it in the process."
Narumi walked closer to her and grabbed her hands, "We're sorry about involving you and Echizen-san for this," He said solemnly, "If we could just turn back the time, we should have prevented those alices entering your body long ago."
Sakuno being the kind one shook her head, "I-Iie, don't worry. No one expect this to happen. So please, don't blame yourself to this," She said as she looked behind him, "I will not blame anyone for this, so please, stop apologizing to me."
"You saw us," Mikan said entering the room together with Hotaru and Ruka, "But Sakuno…"
"I want to thank you instead."
Everyone blinked at her interrupting words. Sakuno closed her eyes and smiled at them, "Without these alices within me, I wouldn't been able to meet you guys."
"…"
Mikan was really shocked at her words. She wasn't able to stop her tears as they started to fall down on her cheek, "Sakuno…" She ran to her direction and gave her a comforting hug. She was surprised at her action but recovered fast. Mikan was apologizing to her once again so she just tapped her back.
"Mou, Mikan-chan…" She chuckled a little.
"Ryuzaki-san," Hotaru said calling her attention, "Now that you already know your situation, do not use the healing alice anymore. You have to promise us."
Sakuno looked at her and then to Ryoma, the latter nodded at her before she looked back at Hotaru, "I promise."
"Recover fast, okay," Mikan said leaning away from her, "I'll show you the other parts of the school once you can leave the place."
"Hai…" She replied happily at her.
Natsume was just leaning outside the door and heard everything. He smirked at the conversation that he was hearing at that moment. He grunted first before leaving the area. He was satisfied that the pigtail girl was back to normal.
Later on:
Narumi told everyone to leave so that Sakuno could rest. It was really early for all of them and Sakuno needed to rest. It was actually a miracle that they were all still awake at that time. It was only Ryoma who decided to stay with her that night. It was awkward for it was the two of them once again.
"Go to sleep," He ordered sitting on a chair, "I'll just stay here."
"B-but what about you?" She asked him. She was really embarrassed now that he was just there. She bet that he had been staring at her while she was sleeping. Blush appeared to her face after she thought of that.
"I am fine. You should worry about yourself," He said as he grabbed her to her shoulder and pulled her down on the bed, "I'll sleep when I feel sleepy."
"Ryoma-kun," She called out despite the blush, "Are you sure?"
He nodded, "I'll sleep on the ground. They prepared it for me, so don't fret."
"O-okay," She finally agreed. She then settled herself comfortably. He was right, she really needed to rest. She wasn't recovered from the power that she used today. She felt sleepy once again.
"Ryoma-kun…"
He sat on a chair and looked at her, "What is it?"
"Arigatou," She whispered before she closed her eyes but not missing to say her thoughts to him, "I am glad that you are… here with me."
She let herself in slumber after that. She didn't know Ryoma's reaction or reply for she was ready to rest for another day.
Done! How was this chapter? Well, that explained her unconsciousness. Was it typical? She's using healing alice which was not original hers in the first place. Her life is being absorbed whenever she uses it. What will happen now? Will they get an alternative solution? Find that out in the future. Domo…
and about Ryoma's alice... actually, I can't give any suitable name for it. If you have something in mind, can you share it to me... His alice is only invented by me... domo...
Reviews please… tell me your thoughts… Domo… ^_^
Next chapter: The Ice Princess