Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice is not mine…
Previously, on the last chapter!
Wait, why am I thinking so much about this? It shouldn't bother me at all… right? He's just my friend! Wait, he shouldn't be counted as my friend, that pervert! He should be with Sumire, they make a perfect couple! Mikan thought, though tears welled up as she thought that, but why am I making such a big deal over this?
The Fire
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Just five more minutes, Jii-chan, I promise you I won't be late for school…" Mikan's muffled voice murmured from behind the door.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Mikan-chan, wake up!" Nonoko shouted, as Anna kept knocking the door, "The top floor is burning!"
"Mmm…" Mikan's voice sounded again, "Burning…I wonder if Jii-chan fried the sausages correctly…"
"MIKAN-CHAN!!" Nonoko and Anna screamed in unison.
The door creaked open, and an exhausted Mikan answered. "Oh, it's you, Nonoko-chan, Anna-chan, I thought I smelled Jii-chan's burnt sausages somewhere…" She mumbled, barely able to keep her eyes open.
"The top floor is burning! We have to get out, fast!" Anna cried.
"Top floor?" Mikan suddenly seemed wide awake, "You mean where the Special Star bedroom is?"
Narumi-sensei, dressed in a pale pink nightgown and pink, fluffy bunny slippers, sighed as he looked up at the elementary boarding house. The top floor, the floor exclusive for Special Stars, was coughing smoke, flames spitting out like red tongues.
"Is that the work of Hyuuga-kun?" Jinno-sensei asked him, trying not to take notice of Narumi-sensei's taste in clothing.
"I don't think this is the work of Natsume-kun alone…" Narumi-sensei commented, as he squinted to look further, completely oblivious to the fact that Jinno-sensei was trying not to laugh.
"Well, whatever it is, we'd better put a stop to that fire before it consumes the lower floors," Jinno-sensei cleared his throat as he forced himself not to laugh, and then scowled and barked at the fire engine and people with Water Alices to work faster.
All the elementary students were evacuated from the building, and were all watching the scene rather anxiously. Anna, Nonoko and Mikan were the last ones to get out. Anna and Nonoko had to drag Mikan along as she was half-asleep.
When they got out, Mikan stopped suddenly, and then said, "Where's Natsume?"
Meanwhile, deep in the Northern Woods, Natsume and Aoi were panting, completely out of breath from all that running.
"This is all your fault!" Aoi pointed an accusing finger at him, and then sighed when Natsume said nothing, "Guess we have to postpone the duel…"
"I told you we were supposed to duel in the Northern Woods! Why'd you go and attack me in our room?" Natsume shouted furiously.
Aoi giggled, "Well, that's because you were caught off guard. I knew I couldn't get a chance like this if we officially started the duel!"
Natsume looked at her contemptuously. "Whatever it was," Natsume sighed mid-sentence, "You played dirty."
"Gomene, Natsume-oniichan," Aoi smiled prettily, and clapped her hands together.
"Forget about that for now. I think we're lost."
"Narumi-sensei! Where's Natsume?" Mikan cried anxiously as she tugged at Narumi-sensei's hideous nightgown, "Did he start the fire?"
Narumi-sensei smiled kindly and said, "You're really worried about him, aren't you?"
Mikan blushed a little. "I was just wondering, that's all." She casually shrugged.
"That explains why you were jumping up and down from fright when you realised he's gone," a sarcastic, stolid voice greeted her coldly from behind.
"H-Hotaru! I wasn't worried, n-not at all!" Mikan shouted, though she was obviously very jittery.
"Right, I totally believe you, in a hundred years maybe… an idiot like you can't even lie."
"Hotaru, you baka!" Mikan screamed, very red now.
Narumi-sensei was watching Mikan very intently, with a slight frown on his face. He quickly exchanged the frown for a smile when Mikan looked his way. Mikan's brows were knitted together, and she stared at him with a slight pout on her face.
"Narumi-sensei, did Natsume cause that fire?" Mikan asked, her lips quivering slightly.
"Well, we can't say yet…" Narumi forced a smile.
"What happened, actually?" Mikan looked at him.
He abandoned all attempts for a smile, and frowned slightly. "We really aren't sure. It could be due to a…a…" he faltered, and looked thoughtful, "a fire alice, but then again, it could be just an accident." Seeing Mikan's worried face, he hastened to smile and said quickly, "The latter's a really big possibility too, Mikan-chan."
Mikan still didn't look convinced, her frowning face showed a sign of suspicion, even. Her shoulders were hunched, and her pigtails hung down sadly. She sniffed, and then asked, "Narumi-sensei, I-I'm tired."
Narumi-sensei looked at the building, and exclaimed, "Oh, the fire's put out already! You may now go back to your rooms. I shall see you first thing in the morning. Good night."
He smiled at her, though he looked a little sad. He then gave one last pitying look at her, and watched as she staggered back to the boarding house, with a reluctant, and unusually kind Hotaru guiding her.
"Natsume-oniichan, we really are stuck here."
"Hn."
"Natsume-oniichan, I'm cold."
"Make a fire, baka."
"Natsume-oniichan, I'm bored."
"Whatever."
"Natsume-oniichan, let's play a game."
"Arrgh! Stop it with your whining and complaints already! Can't you see I'm trying to get some shut eye?" Natsume exploded, irritated beyond measure.
Aoi sighed, twirling a lock of her wavy, raven-coloured hair absent-mindedly. No matter how hard I try to talk to him, he pulls back. She pouted, I guess that's Natsume-oniichan for you…
Natsume was lying against a tree, closing his eyes. Aoi was gazing at him with bitterness. Was Persona-sensei so bad to you, that you had to have a total change of attitude? She felt like crying, you weren't like this before. I know you weren't.
"Natsume-oniichan?"
"What?" Natsume snapped.
"When are you going to confess?" Aoi looked directly at him.
Natsume opened his eyes, and looked back at Aoi. "What are you talking about?" He answered coolly.
"I'm talking about your infatuation with Mikan-chan. When are you going to confess?"
"I'm not infatuated with her," Natsume averted her gaze, "I'm just…interested."
"It doesn't matter if you are merely 'interested'. What I want to know is when you are going to confess."
"Probably…probably never." Natsume then looked away, his eyes betraying a hint of sadness…and guilt.
Aoi caught the message his eyes were trying to send. She then imposed another question, trying to change the uncomfortable subject. "Did you…did you remember anything about yesterday?"
"What's with that weird question?" Natsume grunted.
"Just answer it!"
"Well, I woke up in the morning. And then I slept at night."
"You can't remember anything in between?"
Natsume was now trying to avoid her stare and incredulous words. "Nothing." He replied. Realizing that this sounded strange, he quickly thought of a reason, "I was having a really bad headache."
"Mm…" Aoi wasn't listening to him anymore. She was lost in thought.
"Damn it! I can't find them!" Yamada-sensei was so piqued that she slapped her crystal ball repeatedly, veins popping.
"Don't push yourself, Yamada-sensei," Narumi-sensei looked on, half-amused, half-anxious at the scene.
"For some reason, I can't use my alice to find them! Damn!" Yamada sensei gave her crystal ball one last hit, "this crappy crystal ball is getting old!"
"That had nothing to do with it, Yamada-sensei," Narumi-sensei tried to console her, while backing away.
"It's five in the morning," Yamada-sensei glared at Narumi-sensei, "And I'm not a morning person. My alice works better in the afternoon. So call me then, Naru." She then got up violently, and stumbled out of the staffroom, muttering unintelligible curses.
Alice works better in the afternoon? I've never heard of such nonsense, Narumi sighed, if she wants to think up excuses, she should think of those that are less pathetic…
"What's gotten into Yamada-sensei?" Misaki-sensei asked when he walked into the room, "she looked like an anorexic who just realised she had overindulged in too many sweets."
Jinno-sensei strode into the room, stick in hand. He overheard the conversation and then scowled as he said, "Apparently, she drunk herself silly last night."
"How did you know she was drinking last night?" Narumi-sensei pleasantly asked, a twinkle in his eyes.
Jinno-sensei didn't blush, but a pink tinge appeared slightly on his cheeks. Small sparks were emitted from his stick. He turned away quickly, coughed and said, "It's none of your business." He then abnormally walked out of the room.
"This school really is full of mysteries…" Narumi-sensei commented.
Aoi opened her eyes, yawning. Where am I? She asked herself. Observing her surroundings, she muttered, "Oh yeah. The woods."
She glanced over at her brother, who appeared sleeping, but she knew he was wide awake.
What time is it? She looked at her watch, only five in the morning. Wait, what's that noise?
There was a distant sound. It sounded as if someone was chopping wood. Immediately, she became wide awake. She sat up, curtly brushed her clothes, and got up. She was about to leave when someone pulled her skirt, causing her to yelp.
"Where are you going, baka?" Natsume asked.
"I was just going to see what that noise was," Aoi explained, tugging at her skirt, trying to free it from Natsume's strong hold.
"I'm coming with you."
"Why, are you scared of being here alone?" She poked him, teasingly.
"No, but I was just going to make sure that idiotic brain of yours knows where it's going." He rolled his eyes.
"It sounds like someone chopping wood, could it be Bear-san?" Her face turned blue at the very thought, "Natsume-oniichan, I heard Bear-san was really violent…"
"It's been a rough morning," Narumi-sensei yawned, rubbing his eyes, "Yamada-sensei went off for a very long time…"
"She's pouting right now," Jinno-sensei answered mechanically from behind him.
"How did you know?" Narumi-sensei asked him curiously.
"Never you mind!"
Narumi-sensei smiled vaguely, and then turned his head back to the window, the window facing the Northern Woods. I must be hallucinating, He sighed, the trees look orange to me.
"Narumi!" Jinno-sensei exclaimed as he pointed at the window dumbly.
Narumi-sensei took a better look, and his eyes widened in surprise, "A small part of the forest is burning! It looks like the fire can spread really quickly! Quick! I think that's Natsume-kun's and Aoi-chan's signal!"
"Natsume-oniichan, it's really going to spread soon if they don't come quickly!" Aoi coughed, as fumes from the fire reached her.
Natsume lazily brushed the smoke away as they came to him. "That was a really great idea of yours, Aoi. Now we're going to suffocate here before they come." He snapped.
"It's better than facing Bear-san!" Aoi coughed, "But then, once they find us, everyone will know my alice!"
"And why is that a bad thing?" Natsume asked.
"Well, then word might just get to the higher-ups that we have the same alice, and at the same perilous level…" Aoi bit her lip, "And they might take either you or me. And I don't want to lose you again!" Aoi was coughing a lot now, as she was the one talking the most.
Natsume stared at her. "You really are a burden, baka…" He could not hide that small smile that escaped from his lips.
Out of the blue, A pink elephant on wheels came. It lifted its trunk, and poured water everywhere. The fire soon subsided, and an exasperatingly familiar voice said, "For this kind deed, it would cost you five hundred rabbits. Each." A pair of violet eyes stared apathetically at them.
"Imai! What are you doing here?" Natsume asked scurrilously.
"Narumi-sensei called for me. He saw your signal."
Mikan dragged her feet dully, her eyes glued to the ground. Her backpack slung from her shoulder. I'm being really early today, she sighed, I couldn't sleep a wink last night. What's the point of going to school?
As she neared the classroom door, she heard overjoyed and excited banter. How can everyone act so normal, when Natsume's gone? She thought bitterly.
She entered the classroom, face down.
"What's wrong with you, Polka Dots? You look terrible," a voice smirked from the seat behind Mikan.
She turned around quickly, hardly daring to believe who it was. "Natsume?" She cried.
"Took you that long to realise I was here all along, little girl."
She her mouth was hanging open for a second, but was quickly replaced with a huge smile, "You're back!"
She then ran to him and enveloped him in a big hug, almost crying with happiness.
"Hey, get off me, I don't want germs all over me!" He paused, then smirked, "Well, well, well, looks like someone decided to switch to cherries today!"
It took Mikan a few seconds to realise what he was implying. She immediately went red in the face and screamed, "HENTAI!"
The class burst into roars of laughter, but a group of girls sitting on the far end of the room weren't laughing. The leader of the gang was glancing surreptitiously at the pair. And she did not look happy.
Well, I'm glad you've made it to the fifth chapter of this crappy series! I admire your guts, or are you just bored? Well, this is the longest chapter I have ever written. Reviews are welcome as usual. Flames are not welcome, but constructive criticism is always open. Enjoy my next chapter!