The Guardian of Gakuen Alice: Chapter 9

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

Natsume’s eyebrows furrowed because of the bright light that was coming through his glass window. He blinked a few times before turning to look at his girlfriend who was sleeping beside him. He was happy he finally met her. He missed her so much.

For the last few days, he didn't feel like going to class. Ruka was worried and had asked him several times if he was all right. To be honest, he was not all right, but he couldn't tell him that. He didn't want to make his best friends worried about him. Moreover, Ruka had no recollection about his girlfriend Mikan. Sitting under the sakura tree was he usually did to calm his mind. He leaned against the tree and sighed. He closed his eyes and thought about his unusual dream. A soft breeze caressed his being before he felt a warm hand on his left cheek. He snapped his eyes open and met with the warm hazel eyes he missed so much. Without saying anything, he pulled her to him and hugged her tightly. "Where were you?"

"I'm sorry for making you worry, Natsume," she apologised before telling him what she was doing for the last two weeks.

He missed her so much that he forgave her. He wouldn't complain, too, as she had done it for him and their future.

He caressed her cheek gently. She stirred and slowly opened her eyes. He smiled when he saw her deep blue eyes. He liked her pale brown eyes, but he knew that was not her real eye colour.

"Good morning, Natsume," she greeted him with a warm smile.

He leaned down and kissed her forehead. Suddenly, he felt the pain in his chest.

"Aren’t you going to school today?" she asked when she saw him get up from the bed without warning.

He grunted a short reply and walked to the bathroom. He needed to get away from her. He didn't want her to see this.

Unknown to him, she noticed something was wrong with him. She sat up and stared at his retreating form. Her eyebrows knitted. She got up from bed when she heard his muffled voice from the bathroom. She went to the bathroom and gasped. He was coughing uncontrollably, and the hand that covered his mouth was dripping red. She rushed to him and helped him back to the bed when he stopped coughing. She knew he was in pain from the uneven breath.

The time is almost up, she thought and started healing him, or more like lessening his pain. After a few minutes, his breathing turned to normal, and he slowly opened his eyes.

"How are you feeling?" she whispered quietly. She was worried about him, but she kept her emotion in check.

He reached out and cupped her face. "I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

She looked at him sadly. His lifespan would be over soon.

No word was uttered as the both of them knew what would happen.

She closed her eyes and hugged him. He hugged her back and traced her long locks with his fingers. He then pulled her petite body to the bed beside him. He rolled over and towered her form with his. He cupped her face and looked at her intently. He leaned down then kissed the water symbol on her forehead, her closed eyes, her nose, her cheek and finally, her lips. He lightly brushed her lips with his before kissing her gently. She parted her lips, and he accepted her invitation, deepening the kiss. His hand wandered the curve of her body and started working on her attire. Suddenly, his unusual dream intruded his mind, and he stopped abruptly. He pulled away from her and looked down at her confused face.

They stared at each other for a good minute.

He broke their eye contact and sat on the bed once again. Setting his feet on the floor, he turned his back to her.

She was confused. "Natsume?"

He remained silent for a moment before saying, "Why didn't you stop me?"

She was about to ask what he was talking about, but he beat her to it. "I won't be able to reborn again if we did it."

Her eyes widened in shock. She didn't know how he knew about this.

Before she could say anything, he quietly whispered, "Shiro."

Her eyes grew wider.

He turned around to look at her in the eye. Looking at her widened eyes, he knew he was right. The dream he had was not a dream. "Shiro is my ancestor," he told her before leaving the room. He needed to get away from her. He couldn't bear the thought of her with Shiro. Deep down his heart, he knew that he shouldn't think about the past, for no matter what he did, it wouldn't change anything. He should let it go, but they say, it easier said than done. He was confused with his feelings. He didn't know if his feelings were actually Shiro's or his. By the time he remembered his dream, he had doubted that Mikan’s feelings for him. As a guardian, she should have known that he was her past lover's descendant, right?

To say she was shocked would be an understatement of the century. She had never thought that Natsume was actually Shiro's descendant. Checking someone's family line was not something she would do unless it was absolutely necessary. She was unsure of what to do at the moment. She was lost. Long after they met, she did notice the similarity between him and Shiro, but she had never thought it was because they were related. The memory of her past lover was still clear in her mind even though it had been more than a hundred years ago. She didn't realise she was crying until her tears landed on her hand.

The sound of the thunder snapped her out. Rain was pouring down heavily. She blinked her tears away as she remembered Natsume. As she stepped out to the balcony, the rain slowly stopped until it was just drizzle. She closed her eyes, and her body slowly turned transparent before disappearing completely. Moments later, she reappeared before Natsume’s wet form against his favourite tree. She looked at him sadly.

"Natsume…" When he remained silent, she tried again, "Natsume?"

Still, she received no answer. Worried, she crouched down and reached out to touch his face. That was when she felt the heat. She quickly hugged him and water started engulfing their bodies before they disappeared from the sight.

...xXx...

He slowly opened his eyes. One look at the dark blue ceiling before his eyes was enough to tell him that he was not in his room. Pushing himself up, he leaned on the headboard. Soft footsteps were heard behind the door, and by the time he glanced at the door, his girlfriend and a servant, who was holding a tray, entered the room. After she stepped inside, she faced the servant and took the tray herself. The servant bowed at her before sliding the door close. She walked towards him and put the tray on the bed side before looking at him.

"How are you feeling?" she asked quietly.

"I'm fine," he grunted. His voice sounded hoarse.

An uncomfortable silence filled the room.

"I will tell you everything," she said, breaking the silence.

Before she could open her mouth to continue, he said, "I do not want to hear it."

She stared at him, a bit startled. As much as she wanted to tell him about how she didn't know a thing about him being Shiro's descendent, she couldn't force him to hear it. Their time together was running short, and she hadn't told him about Kazuma's proposal, too. She still couldn't figure out how to reject Kazuma without hindering Natsume's plan to become a guardian.

He knew she was trying to apologise to him about Shiro. Honestly, whatever happened between her and Shiro was already in the past. Questioning the past would not change anything as what was done, was done. He still remembered how shocked she was when he told him about Shiro, which made him guess that she didn't know a thing about him being Shiro's descendent. Needing to change the subject, he closed his eyes. "I'm dying."

Both of them knew it was true. "The decision is up to you, Natsume…"

He opened his eyes and gazed at her closely.

She gave a small smile before taking the cup from the tray. "Drink this."

He didn't question it, but he did look at the warm liquid before him questioningly. To him, it was just warm water, but he had a hunch there was something different about the water. He glanced at her and received a nod from her, encouraging him to drink it. He took a sip and found it was tasteless, so he drank it in one gulp. He blinked his eyes several times when his eyelids suddenly felt heavy. Before he could utter a word, she gently helped him lay on the bed again.

"I will wait for your answer in ten days, Natsume…" That was all he heard before the darkness engulfed him.

...xXx...

The sound of the clashing swords filled the entire forest. Sweat ran down his temple as he blocked the sword that was about to add more injures on him. He pushed his sword as hard as he could and successfully made his opponent retreat a few feet. He stood on his ground while breathing heavily. His body was aching everywhere and demanded rest, but he couldn't. He wouldn't get his rest until the battle was over.

They circled each other without breaking the eye contact. Once they stopped, the battle started again.

Mikan slightly clenched her fists as she nervously watched the battle between Natsume and Kazuma above the sky. She knew this would happen, but she was still worried about her love. Moreover, Natsume was fighting against a guardian, not a mere human. No matter what happened, she couldn't help him. He had made her promise not to interfere.

She was slightly surprised by his decision to be with her. But then, she knew what happened in the past wouldn't matter as it was just the past. Nothing would change no matter what he or she did.

"Are you certain, Natsume?" She wanted him to know that once he agreed, he could not return to the way he was forever.

He cupped her face. "Don't doubt me, Mikan."

She closed her eyes and sighed. "If you’re so sure, Natsume."

She refused Kazuma's proposal at the end of the day. Of course, Kazuma was not happy. He was livid once he heard about Natsume, who was later claimed as one of Eri's children. She knew Kazuma would refuse to give his approval, but what she didn't expect was how he challenged Natsume to fight. If Natsume won, he would give him his approval. Power alone, Natsume was nothing. Thankfully, Kazuya-sama, Kazuma’s father, did not approve this, so he suggested a hand-in-hand combat instead.

"Promise me that you won't interfere, Mikan," Natsume said before the battle began.

"…"

"Promise me."

She looked away from him.

He took her hand. "Trust me, Mikan."

She squeezed his hand gently. "I trust you, Natsume …" She closed her eyes when he embraced her.

"I won't lose," he whispered after giving her a peck on the cheek.

She let go of him to the scheduled area. Since Eri had claimed Natsume as one of her children, she offered him a fire sword.

They had battled for hours. Judging by their conditions, Natsume had no chance to win the battle. She held her breath when Kazuma's sword made a close contact with Natsume's neck. When the edge was an inch away from Natsume's skin, everything suddenly stopped.

Kazuma blinked as he couldn't move his sword. His eyes widened when he felt his mother's presence right beside him. He slowly turned to his mother. "Okaa-sama…"

"That's enough, Kazuma." His mother touched the sword, making it disappear along the wind.

Before he could say anything, he saw Mikan ran to Natsume, fussing about him.

Shina sighed. "Open your eyes, my son."

Kazuma looked away from Mikan.

"Do you think Mikan will happy if you killed him?"

"No …" He knew Mikan would hate him if he killed her human lover, but …

"You knew about her feelings from the beginning. Accept that and let her go if you truly love her."

Unable to bear the sadness he felt, he left but not before saying, "As you wish, Okaa-sama. I shall let her go and give my approval." With that said, he left the area with broken heart.

"Thank you, Shina-sama." Mikan smiled at the former guardian of the wind element.

Shina shook her head and sighed. "I seek your forgiveness for my son, Mikan."

Mikan looked down at Natsume, who was sleeping on her lap. He had reached his limit and passed out from exhaustion. She smiled while brushing his bang away from his closed eyes. "I offer you my gratitude to your son, Shina-sama." Because of him, I finally realised how much I love this human.

...xXx...

Natsume watched his best friend Ruka, who was standing one foot away from him. Of course, Ruka couldn't see him as he was no longer human. He looked at the diploma in Ruka's hand. His best friend had graduated from the academy.

He then saw Hotaru, Ruka's girlfriend, approach Ruka with her own diploma in her hand. "Ruka?"

Ruka turned his gaze from the sakura tree before him to his girlfriend Hotaru. He smiled. "Hi."

"What are you doing here?"

He shook his head before looking at the sakura tree again.

"Still thinking about your dream?" she guessed.

"I don’t think it was not a dream, Hotaru."

"…"

"I know it's weird."

"…"

"Am I weird?"

"…"

"Can you say something?"

"What do you want to hear?" she countered back.

He turned to look at her properly. "Something like we would name our son after my best friend’s?"

She stared at him blankly. "Are you sleep-talking?"

He frowned. "Do I look like one?"

"As far as I know he was your best friends in your dream." She stressed on the last word, but he seemed to ignore.

"It was not a dream," he whispered to himself.

She decided to ignore him, then. If she heard any more of it, she might shoot him with her upgraded Baka Gun to wake him up from his daydreaming. A small part of her did feel like she had lost something important, though, but she couldn't figure out what was missing. In the end, she gave up. Why bother to look for something that you didn't even know what it was?

Natsume watched the couple until they stepped away from his sakura tree, leaving to their new lives together. After becoming a guardian, everyone, including his best friends, could no longer remember him. To everyone, he was just like a dream that would fade from their memories. It was only Ruka, who didn't feel the same. He was happy to know that fact. He was even thrilled to know his best friends might name his future son after him. He mentally mused if he would meet Ruka's children in the future.

"Aren't you happy for them?"

He glanced at his left shoulder, where the green-haired fairy was seated. He looked at the couple again.

"I am." His crimson eyes softened.

"Regret?"

His lips formed a small smile. "Never."

"What's on your mind, then?" Her little blue eyes stared at him curiously, slightly demanding an answer from him.

He disappeared only to reappear on one of the branches of the sakura tree. Sitting down, he observed the students before replying, "Nothing, Fin."

Fin shrugged her shoulders and let the topic slide. She wouldn't dare questioning her master even though he was a human. It was kind of ironic if she thought about it again. He was her hated enemy because of their initial meeting, and now, she was his right hand.

He discreetly sniffed the air around him before speaking, "I always wondering what you gave me the other day."

Fin didn't even bother to reply as she knew the question was not directed to her, but to Mikan-sama, who had appeared beside him.

Mikan let out a smile. "My blood."

He almost lost his balance on the branch before looking at her with horrified expression. "What?"

Mikan leaned closer to him. "That was the only way to strengthen your health, Natsume. Please remember that I'm a manipulator of water."

Shaking his head in disbelief, he paid his attention back to the students again. He had always known that there was something wrong with the water she gave him. Nonetheless, he was grateful for what she did. He wouldn't be alive now had he not drank her blood. He held her hand without looking at her. She kissed him on the cheek, and the colour of his fire symbol on his forehead lightened. He caught her smile from the corner of his eyes and squeezed her hand gently. He smiled to himself as he felt lucky to have her. He scanned through the school grounds again, making sure no student were in trouble. He wouldn't even bother to check if he was not the guardian of Gakuen Alice.

The End

Thanks for reading.

Prev Chapter 1—The Unknown Saviour Chapter 2—The Land's Guardian Chapter 3—The Invitation Chapter 4—The Meeting Chapter 5—The Child Chapter 6—The Choices Chapter 7—The Requirements Chapter 8—The Ascendant's Memories Chapter 9—The Guardian of Gakuen Alice