A/N
I know it's been a while and still there haven't really been any reviews.. but I thought I'd give myself an early bday present and post one chapter to see how it goes...
End A/N
Having alleviated their worries to some extent, Natsume got up, intending to find Persona but was stopped by Mikan's hand which had grabbed on to his left sleeve. He raised one eyebrow, wondering what she wanted. Mikan simply used his sleeve as an anchor and hoisted herself up from the bed. "I'm supposed to stay with you this week, remember? So wherever you go, I go." Natsume, who'd forgotten about the silly punishment Mr. Narumi had given him, frowned, "I don't think you need to take that seriously." Mikan shook her head, "No way. Mr. Narumi said I should take it very seriously because I'm just as responsible as you are. Do you really want to see me punished because of you?" Annoyed, Natsume pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to figure out a way to ditch her without getting her in trouble. "What exactly is your punishment?" Ruka asked Natsume. But it was Mikan who answered, "Mr. Narumi wants me to keep an eye on him since he seems to be falling sick often. So I have to stay with him at all times. And he gave Natsume 3 days of detention after classes get over." "He also said I was allowed 30 minutes alone every 3 hours." Natsume pointed out. "Consider this my 30 minute isolation for the past 3 hours." So saying, he released himself from Mikan's grip and jumped out the window as Mikan simply stared in disbelief. "What just happened?" "Indications are that he just got away from you." Hotaru said, wryly. "How could he jump like that with that kind of injury? How reckless can he get??" Furious that she'd let him get away, she turned to Hotaru and beseeched her, "Help me!"
Meanwhile Natsume, who had taken that jump reflexively, leaned against a tree in the forest trying to gather his bearings and ignoring the pain that had shot up from his gut, on his landing.
Once he was relatively sure he could pull off a calm exterior, he walked on to Persona's favourite spot in the forest. Persona was already in the midst of a meeting with someone so Natsume remained hidden, listening as he waited for the other person to leave.
"It is not your job to keep track of the students in the dangerous ability class. It is true that I don't like it when my students disobey me but I despise it equally when they overstep. But" Persona added, smirking cruelly, "since you have been useful, you may take on the role of being my spy in the dangerous ability class so that there is no overstepping of authority in the future. Am I understood, Matsuda?"
The boy named Matsuda smirked back, " Yes sir, Mr. Persona." "Now leave me." Matsuda looked surprised at being asked to leave but he bowed and left immediately. Five minutes later, Persona spoke out, "Just how long are you planning to take to come out?"
Knowing he was the one being addressed, Natsume slowly stepped out of the shadows. "I wasn't sure if anybody else from your fan group had decided to visit in the hopes of being made a spy." He remarked, dryly. Persona looked amused, "Are you jealous? Or worried? If you can't even tell if anybody else is lurking within a 30 mile radius, you must be in pretty bad shape. Still not planning on visiting the hospital?" "No." Natsume's voice was flat. Persona nodded, as if he had expected his answer. "So what brings you here? Eager to offer your services despite your injury?" Natsume scowled, "I want to know what the council is considering regarding the use of the SA class students." Persona surveyed Natsume as he spoke, "You do realise I am under no obligation to give you any information, not free of cost atleast, I hope?" Natsume's face darkened as he bit out, "The information means nothing to you." Persona nodded, "That may be true, but evidently it means something to you and therefore it could mean something to me." Natsume clenched his jaw, but said nothing. Persona smiled, pleased at the situation. "Alright, I'll tell you. The council will begin the use of SA students in 2 weeks. I have been instructed to train them from this weekend. Naturally not all of them will be used. They will simply be placed on standby for any missions in which their particular abilities might be to our advantage." Natsume's face was carefully blank as he asked, "Who determines the value of their skills with regard to the mission?" Persona's gaze sharpened as he replied, " I do, naturally, and anyone else above me in the chain of command." Natsume said nothing. Persona continued, "The council is already aware of the abilities of each student of SA and will naturally have a say in who gets to participate in each mission. I suppose this is your way of looking out for that silly and obnoxious girl from SA that I've heard is under your protection." Natsume glared at Persona, unwilling to confirm or deny the insinuation. "I'm collecting on that favour you owe me for the Dora case." Persona raised one eyebrow, "My My, Are you sure you want to use up your favour for this?" Natusme scowled and nodded, "I must be the person who trains Mikan Sakura at all times. I must go on any mission that Mikan Sakura is selected to go on. And in cases where I am unavailable, Tsubasa Andou must go with her. No other options. If neither of us are available, she must not be chosen. And finally, Mikan Sakura must not be used for any missions ranked higher than C." Persona surveyed him thoughtfully as he considered the request. A minute later, he asked, "You do realise that I can be overruled in any decision I make, right?" Natsume nodded, "But it's unlikely the council will intervene under normal circumstances. I need you to keep your word. I'll figure out the rest later." Persona nodded slowly, "I can grant most of your requests but some of them are not in my power. Like I said, the council is already aware of their abilities and any mission I get from them will already have a list of the people I should use for it. If she is selected by the council for a B rank or A rank or S rank mission, I cannot and will not intervene. And if there should arise a situation where both you and Andou are unavailable, I can perhaps arrange for a decent guard but I won't be able to avoid using her. And with regard to training her, you may play the major role, but I will be testing her from time to time using others. This is the best deal you can get. Take it or leave it." Natsume's eyes narrowed, "I get to choose the guard and I have to approve of her opponent for testing then." Persona smirked, " Sure." Natsume nodded as he turned to walk away. It wasn't ideal but it was the best scenario he had the power to create so he would simply have to deal with it.