My Candy: Chapter 5

#08: Gakuen Alice (Natsume & Mikan)
...xXx...

"Stay away from Akira-sama, will ya?"
Mikan looked at the owner of the voice frantically.

"Please… don't do this to me," Mikan pleaded.

The same voice spat, "Now, now, are you trying to order me?"

Her heart was thumping so loudly that she felt it was going to burst out from her chest at any moment.

"Please… please stop this…" Mikan said, still begging the owner, a girl about her own age.

The said girl smirked. She swung her hand at Mikan's left cheek, and the sound of the impact echoed through the wild forest.Laughter followed after that. The girl was not alone; she came after Mikan with her faithful friends.They were all members of Akira's fan club.

Tears rolled down her face as Mikan touched her reddened cheeks.

'Release me!' Mikan's inner voice growled.

Mikan clutched her chest as she replied to herself, 'No, I will not release you. Never!'

"I guess talking was not enough for you, huh?" the girl snickered and smiled evilly at her. "Girls, you know what you should do."

"Of course, President," the girls replied in unison and started approaching Mikan. They held her as the others started ripping off her clothes. A girl chuckled evilly as she brought out a pair of scissors.

Mikan stared at them in horror. "W-what are you doing?"

"I hate your hair," the girl replied with an evil smile.

Mikan started struggling to get free.

"Bad girl, stay still," the girl commanded as the others tried hard to hold her.

"No! Let me go!"

In the midst of the struggle, the tip of the scissors scratched Mikan's cheek. Eyes widened as they all fell silent and released her instantly.

Mikan could feel the blood rolling down her face. She touched her cheek and looked down at her hand with her own blood. Her hands were shaking, and she closed her eyes tightly.

"Don't you think you overdid it?" one of them said to them as the others glared at her.

The leader approached her in disgust. "What now? Are you trying to tell me that you—"

She stopped in mid-sentence because Mikan now stood in front of the girl, blocking her. Her head was downcast.

"Are you going to be a heroine now?"

The girl who stood behind her called out, "Sakura-san?"

Mikan replied by tilting her head slightly.

The forest was steadily filled with dark clouds. They looked up to the sky in confusion as it was still mid-day.

"W-what's happening?" the leader stuttered, and the others started backing away from Mikan as she was now growling like a dog.

When the dark clouds covered the sun fully, their eyes widened.They stared at her in disbelief when her hair colour slowly changed to golden as it grew longer. When Mikan opened her eyes, they gasped. Before them was Mikan with a pair of golden eyes, and red outlined her pupils.

"This is the first time I have been released… I will be generous to all of you. You can run as far as you can from me."She grinned, showing her sharp fangs. As she flicked her fingers, her nails lengthen into claws. "But… be ready to lose your life when I catch you though."

Frightened, they all fled away from her to different directions.

Mikan closed her eyes. "Aren't you afraid of me?"

The girl who stood behind her remained still. Her eyes widened when Mikan turned around to look at her with her beast eyes.

Her body started shaking in fear as she stuttered out, "I-I am, b-but I know it would be f-futile because y-you would be able to catch me."

Mikan gave a low laugh as she approached the girl. She traced her face with her claws. "Your name?"

"R-Rin," she replied frightfully.

Mikan smiled. "Rin… I have no intention of hunting you so you can go free."

Before she knew what was happening, she was staring at the wild forest in front of her. Mikan had vanished from her sight in just a blink of an eye.

Rin snapped her eyes open and sat up instantly. Sweat ran down her face as she breathed frantically.

"Mikan-sama…" she murmured and looked at the clock. Since it was still early, she sighed. I guess I'll ask him later.

...xXx...

When Serina-sensei walked into the infirmary, Natsume and Hotaru turned to look at her. Serina-sensei returned Hotaru's nod with her own.

"How is she?" Serina-sensei asked quietly.

"Not good…" Hotaru replied softly.

A moment later, another person walked into the infirmary. It was Subaru Imai.

"Onii-chan," Hotaru whispered.

Subaru glanced at her before turning to Mikan.

"Excuse me," Subaru said as he approached Mikan. He started examining her before stating, "Quarantine."

Quarantine! Natsume thought in disbelief.

"It's best to do it now before her animalistic mind takes over."

"No," Hotaru said.

Everyone looked at her in confusion and surprise.

Subaru stared at his younger sister. "Do you want to take responsibility?"

"I didn't say anything about taking responsibility." Hotaru glared at her older brother. "Let Mikan decide for herself. I'm sure she knows what the cause for this sudden change is."

"Are you suggesting that something, or more specifically someone, was responsible for this?" Subaru asked.

Hotaru nodded. "Mikan's animalistic self wouldn't have risen if she felt no danger around her."

"My suggestion is we quarantine Mikan for the time being," Subaru told Serina-sensei.

"Don't you understand?" Hotaru exclaimed aloud.

Everyone looked at her in surprise as the Hotaru Imai they knew was always calm.

"She will not disappear like that. The only way to stop her is to let her have her prey!"

Serina-sensei looked at Hotaru. "Other students will be in danger if we let Mikan attend class now. We will wait for her to decide what to do about her other half."

...xXx...

Akira smiled at Rin as he asked, "What is it that you want to talk about, Rin-chan?"

Rin looked around before turning her gaze back to him. "I had a dream."

Akira nodded, urging her to continue.

"It was about that time, Akira-sama."

"You had that dream, too."

Rin's eyes widened. "Akira-sama, don't tell me…"

"Yes. I'll talk about this with the principal. Just wait until we speak again," Akira said and left quickly.

Rin nodded and looked up at the sky through the window. I hope we are not too late.

...xXx...

Mikan started waking up. Slowly, she got up from the bed and realised she was alone in the infirmary. Next to the bed, she found a note and a few pieces of candies. She took the note.
Mikan,

Stay in the infirmary until I get you. Don't forget to eat your candy.

—Natsume

Smiling, she devoured a piece of candy immediately as she knew that she had changed during her sleep. Too happy, she didn't hear soft footsteps approach her from behind. A strong smell hit her nose when she turned around, and darkness welcomed her.

...xXx...

Hotaru and Natsume were emotionless, but inside, they were worried like hell. Natsume returned to the infirmary, but found Mikan nowhere in sight. He contacted Hotaru and found out she was not with her either.

Someone's in danger, Hotaru thought and whispered, "Akira…"

"Did someone call my name?"

Hotaru and Natsume turned around and looked at the newcomer.

"Akira…" Hotaru almost let herself sigh in relief. She looked at the girl beside him.

The girl gave a small bow. "It's been a while, Hotaru-sama."

After giving her a nod, Hotaru turned to Akira. "We need to find her, Akira. She is trying to take over."

"I thought so," Akira replied and looked to Rin. "Try to look for her aura, Rin-chan."

Natsume looked at them curiously. He had no idea as to who they were.

Rin nodded and closed her eyes to concentrate on her Alice. After a few seconds she opened her eyes and looked at the Northern Forest.

"Just great," Hotaru cursed and ran to the forest while the rest of them followed her. When they ran deeper into the forest, Hotaru's eyes widened when she saw Ruka, who suddenly appeared before her. Since it was too late to stop, she collided with him. Both of them fell to the ground painfully.

Natsume stared at his best friend curiously. "What are you doing here, Ruka?"

Rin helped Hotaru up from the ground.

Ruka groaned in pain before looking up in surprise. "Natsume?"

Remembering the current situation, Ruka began to panic as he blurted out, "Natsume, we need to look for Sakura-san."

"The animals told me that Sakura-san was being dragged here by a few girls. I think they are from your fan club, Natsume…" he finished, and Natsume clutched his fists tightly.

While looking at the sky, Rin exclaimed, "Akira-sama!"

The dark clouds were being dragged deeper into the forest.

Everyone looked up to the sky as well.

"Damn, we need to hurry!" muttered Akira.

...xXx...

Sumire looked at Mikan, who was tied to a tree. "Impressive."

Mikan stared at her in horror, and Sumire smirked. "I didn't know that people who are knocked out by chloroform could wake up in less than 15 minutes."

Seeing Mikan's horrified face, she commented, "Don't be so frightened. I won't do anything to you, so don't worry. I will just leave you alone here, to remind you of your place."

Mikan felt her heart start to thump loudly as she pleaded, "Please, let me go…"

"Impossible! You are begging me to let you go?" Sumire laughed together with the rest of the members.

Mikan closed her eyes tightly. "Please… I don't want to hurt you."

The last statement was like a whisper, but all of them could still hear it quite clearly.

Sumire snickered. "Hurt me? Are you an idiot? Don't you realize that you're tied very tightly to the tree right now?"

Mikan balled her fists tightly. Slowly, her nails lengthened until they pierced her skin and drew blood. Still, she pleaded again, "Please…"

"No. You will stay. You need to remember your place. You should stay away from Natsume-sama."

Sumire looked up at the dark clouds. "It's going to rain, huh?"

"We have to go back, Sumire-sama," one of the members suggested.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Sumire replied with a bored tone and turned to look at Mikan. She and the others stared at her in disbelief as Mikan was suddenly freed from her bindings. When Mikan's hair grew longer as the colour changed to golden, Sumire shuttered out, "W-who are you?"

Their eyes widened when Mikan's eyes fluttered open. They revealed golden pupils outlined with red.

"It's been a while…" Her cold voice filled the forest.

They all started trembling in fear.

Mikan licked her lips. She brought her bleeding hands up to lick them clean. "I won't be so generous anymore since you have hurt my body."

"I feel so good right now, so let's start a game of tag. Don't get caught by me if you value your life." Mikan chuckled.

All of them ran away from her except for Sumire, who was still staring at Mikan in horror.

"I don't know what you are, but don't underestimate me because I won't run away from the likes of you," she said confidently, but her voice told her otherwise.

"Very well. I love challenges," Mikan replied with a small grin. She smirked. "You will be my new prey, Sumire Shouda."

Sumire wouldn't admit it out loud that she was shivering in fear when the words slipped out from Mikan's lips.

Mikan flexed her claws to the side and smiled evilly at Sumire. "Let's begin the game."

Prev Chapter 1—The Transformation Chapter 2—The Golden Cat Chapter 3—The Truth Chapter 4—The Other Half Chapter 5—The Release Chapter 6—The Silver Cat Chapter 7—The Battle of Love Chapter 8—The Seal of Fate Chapter 9—The Curse Chapter 10—The Wolf Chapter 11—The Candy Next