[REVISED]

Chapter 7: Crossing Boundaries

I Just Didn't Know

They're close to one other—too close—but when will they realize that their prey is one another? This is a tale of two unlikely heroes who're obviously meant to be and will be tackling a bunch of obstacles for their love. Can love surpass identities? Can love change a cruel man's heart? Can love put an end to the endless cycle of fighting? Will love triumph?

At school, Mikan has noticed the worried look on Hotaru's expression. She could feel in her guts that there's something wrong with her friend. She bit her lower lip and started to make a move.

"Hey Hotaru," She called as her friend turned to her. "What's wrong?"

"Ruka... He... He's acting weird lately." The skinny black-haired girl replied with a tone of worry in her voice. She kept playing with her fingers as she looked away from her friend.

"What do you mean?" The brunette asked, leaning her head onto her friend's.

"He's acting mushy around girls." Hotaru spoke, trying her best to hide the shades of pink appearing on her cheeks.

"So what are you worried about?" Mikan asked, raising one of her brows.

Her friend flinched, Mikan could see bits of sweat at her forehead. She's going to deny it. "I'm not worried about him!" Hotaru said defensively. Mikan's right. The shades of pink started to redden, almost making Mikan chuckle at her friend's expression. Obviously, her friend has a crush on the new student. She didn't mind it since in her own opinion, Hotaru deserves someone—other than Mikan. It's always been the two of them, it's time: to let someone enter their lives.

She continued to walk with her friend until the brunette bumped into someone she didn't expect to meet. Luna Koizumi. The infamous killer: Black Mist.

Mikan fixed her glasses and stared at her colleague. Hotaru felt the awkward tension but she didn't move backward nor forward, she stood beside her friend and held her ground.

"Sakura," Luna called, her hands crossed. Her eyes met Mikan's. She's really pretty, Mikan admitted, she just needs to fix her personality and she's good to go.

"Meet me in a while at you-know-where." She whispered softly then she left. Hotaru felt disturbed, she knew something big is bound to happen. She could feel it. And so did the brunette.

"Do continue where you left," Mikan insisted, she needed something to lift her thoughts off from Luna's words. She felt her stomach making summersaults as they continued to walk.

"Well, Ruka's acting mushy around girls," The purple-eyed girl said as she ran her fingers through the strands of her hair. "Except for me."

Mikan's lips form a small smile. She imagined scenery where Ruka and Hotaru are all lovey-dovey, whilst she's beside them drinking Iced Tea. She giggled at the thought of that. Suddenly, in her thoughts, a child—about five years old—came running towards her. The child's eyes were pure red like someone's. The child called her Mommy.

In a spurt of the moment, Mikan's thoughts vanished. The first thing that entered her mind was Natsume. She slapped herself mentally and heave out a sigh.

"Hotaru," The brunette called. "I need to go now. Luna's waiting. Bye!" Then without much further ado she left her friend alone, before she could even say a word.

Dark times are coming, the past is going to repeat itself. More countless lives will be killed and people would kill one another in order to survive. It happened once during the first Assassin World Battle, it might happen again.

At the back of the school, Luna Koizumi is leaning at a tree while her arms are folded. Her thoughts are about Mikan Sakura. Nobody could ever grasp what she feels for the brunette. She sometimes treats her either as an enemy or as an ally. Maybe, just maybe, that's how an assassin feels for their colleague. Her thoughts were cut off when Mikan appeared in her sight.

"What do you want to talk about?" Mikan asked.

"I heard you got a Class-A Mission from Her," Luna spoke. "What is it?"

"I've been ordered by Her to kill a certain pest. It's giving so much trouble to the organization that they need to finish him off." Mikan informed, coolly.

"She trusts you so much, doesn't she? She favours you as well." Luna said with a tone of discomfort in her voice. Mikan could feel her throat going dry as she kept talking.

"Don't worry," Mikan insisted. "One day, She's going to favour you than me. She's after all your..." She was about to continue when the school bell rang.

"Leave." Luna ordered as she swished her hand at her.

Mikan's throat went dry, she could feel it. She knew Luna feels helpless when it comes to this matter. After all, who wouldn't be frustrated when your ownmother loves someone else than you? She turned around and silently left, leaving Luna with her thoughts.

As soon as Mikan opened the room's door, she saw a couple of students fooling around. She never liked her school, if it wasn't for Hotaru, she would have transfer to another. Some of the students made paper airplanes and threw it around whilst some were taking a nap. She looked at the room with a detest expression, getting one of her classmates' attention.

"Hey, look," He spoke as his friends stopped on what they're doing. They all turned to the brunette who didn't say a word and just passed them by. "It's the Idiot." Mikan never liked the class and the class never liked her as well, in other words, the feelings are mutual. The brunette decided to keep a low profile by ignoring the young boy's comment. However, this action peeved the boy more and perceived it as something of displeasure.

He pulled her hair which made the brunette stop on her tracks. He gave out a wicked laugh as his buddies kept on insisting to hurt her even more. Mikan wasn't in a good mood to overlook his foolish action. Her brown bangs covered her eyes.

"Why aren't you talking, Miss Idiot?" The boy spoke as his grip on her hair tighten more.

"Shut up." She softly said.

"Starting to fight back, aye? You really are stupid." He said as he leaned his head at her. She could feel his breath growing closer and closer, much to her dismay, his breath rinks of cigarettes.

"Could you get away from me?" She asked as she lightly pushed him away from her. "Your breath stinks." With her comment, the boy's friends laugh at the brunette's statement. The boy felt embarrassed and humiliated. In the corner of his eye, he could see some of their classmates controlling their laughter.

"Quiet!" He shouted as he slammed her to the table, making everything silent. The brunette didn't say a thing, she experienced more painful situations than this. Compare to her assassin missions, this pain is nothing.

She couldn't handle it anymore—not the pain, but her dignity. She took hold of his arms and twisted it roughly. The young boy's expression was unforgettable as he felt the pain. He could feel his bones broken to pieces, in just a matter of seconds, his skin turned purple. He falls to the ground as he screamed in pain.

The door opened widely, revealing a shocked Natsume, a scared Ruka, a worried Hotaru and a smiling Luna. They didn't know what exactly happened, after all, they only saw when the boy fell down already. Natsume's eyes turned to the brunette who was busy looking down on the boy's body. Out of annoyance, she flipped her hair back and removed her glasses. She couldn't hold it any longer.

Luna has always loved how dark the other Mikan's personality is. It's like a different person for her, she loved that side best. For many years being with her, she knew how dangerous to taunt Mikan when she's in her other persona.

The brunette's brown eyes watched the boy lying on the floor, whimpering in pain. Nobody dared to help him, they somehow felt a premonition that if they did, their asses will be kicked.

"I'm s-sorry!" The boy moaned as he curled up into a ball. His demise made Mikan's assassin senses tingle in excitement and delight. She was ready to lay another punch at the guy's nose, hoping it'll bleed more. But on the midway of the attack, her fist was stopped by none other than Natsume Hyuuga himself.

"Get a hold of yourself." He said, bringing back Mikan's normal self. She finally realized what she has done. She looked into his crimson eyes and glanced back at the kid who was still whimpering and shivering in fright. In the corner of her eye, she could see everyone's reactions to her outburst. The last few minutes' events sank into her mind. She blew it up.

Damn.

It's been a week since the fight commenced; a lot of people were gossiping about it, some even added more juicy details to add more heat. Some said that the poor boy was thrown off to the wall whilst some stated that Mikan Sakura secretly tasted drugs.

"I'm such an idiot." The brunette grunted as she buried her head in her hands. Everywhere she went, all eyes were on her. There was not a day that anybody spared her a moment of privacy and comfort. The safest place she could ever be is in the library where only a few people would go to.

"Well, since you noticed that fact, it makes you less of an idiot." Hotaru replied flatly as she turned another page of the book she was reading.

It was normal for Hotaru to hide how much she cared for the brunette.

"Hotaru, I—" Her words were cut off with the vibration of her phone inside her pockets. She rummaged in her knapsack and took her phone out.

You got one new mail!

Read – Delete

From: Unidentified Number

Mission: go to Angel's Love club, find the owner named Mister Smith and kill him.

"Hotaru," She called as she placed her phone back inside her bag. "I'm cutting classes." She rose from her seat and walked out of the room.

Hotaru felt a heavy feeling throbbing inside her chest. She hated it. She didn't like it one bit. She got a feeling that this is the last time she'll ever see her friend. She didn't like it one bit at all.

Something is going on and somebody has to know.

Natsume's perspective

I'm an assassin—note, a killer—not some bodyguard to protect a little nobody. Well, let me correct myself; he's not a nobody, he's a somebody. Not only he owns the largest club in the city but also he had illegal dealings around the globe for nuclear weapons.

Groveth Smith. The stinking two-faced, fat, old man you'll ever meet. He smells worse than rotten trash, he stinks like a dead rat's baby's rotten food in its rotten stomach (whatever that is). I could never forget the first day I ever met him, his breath rinks of cigarette butts and the worst part is: he didn't stop talking. As long as keeps on funding the organization, I won't complain. At least, not directly though.

When I arrived in front of the club, I noticed the door was slightly open, making me suspect something has already begun. I charged inside but stayed silent as a viper.

"Please," I heard Groveth's voice shaking from fear. "Spare my life!"

I followed his voice and found every of his bodyguard down on the floor, bleeding badly and unconscious. I didn't mind whether they were still alive or dead, their current situation made me speculate that the opposite organization sent a powerful one to annihilate the pig.

I've observed her from head to toe. She was obviously a female, with her petite structure and many other feminine features. Her brown hair was tied up into a bun and a black veil is covering half of her face, making me uncertain on her identity. Is she the Black Mist that everyone in my group was talking about?

"Silence," She said as she pointed her dagger at his throat.

I could see Groveth Smith leaking in his pants out of fright, just the sight of it made me pity him and at the same time, laugh at him. I should put an end to his misery now.

I stepped out of the shadows, taking the girl's attention full-blown to me. Through the holes of my mask, I could see her eyes widening.

"You're Black Cat." She hissed as she kicked Groveth off and turned around at me.

Inside my mask, I couldn't help but smirk at her remark. "Looks like you know me," Pause. "Too bad you're not going to see the light of tomorrow."

"Very funny, Pussy." She said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Who are you?" I asked.

Beneath her veil, I could see her grinning evilly. "Fallen Angel." There was a long pause between the two of us. She's the one, I thought, the one I have to slay.

To Be Continued