A/N: I have elected to call Mochiage 'Lift-Up,' as Mochiage is a nickname which means just that. Likewise, I have elected to call Kokoroyomi, 'Mind-Reader,' as, once again, that is what Kokoroyomi actually means. It is a nickname. Finally, I decided to spell Ruka, as Lucas, given that he is half-french; I believe that 'Ruka' is just the romanji of his actual given name.

Chapter 1: Finding the Light

Natsume slammed into the wall hard.

"How dare you look at me like that?!"

He heard the voice shout-like he wanted to look at that ugly mug-felt the hand against his chest, but didn't know the perpetrator of the assault. His eyes were closed from the impact; his teeth gritted as he routinely ignored the bruises forming on his upper back. Did it even matter who said it? Who'd done it? It was always the same old stupid refrain anyway: Assholes. His eyes flung open, and he glared at the three students in front of him blabbering on and on.

"...I don't see why you were appointed the only executive student in the elementary branch at all."

Blah, Blah, Blah: Idiots.

"Natsume!" His best friend, his only genuine friend really, Lucas, called out anxiously as he ran up the corridor, but Natsume ignored him, and continued to stare hatred at the middle schoolers in front of him. He wished Lucas would go. He didn't want him involved in this garbage. He didn't want to paint a target on his friend's back, best end this quickly.

He pushed himself off the wall, and turned his head deliberately to the side. The moron who shoved him, and his two goons backed off quickly: Good, they should be afraid. Natsume grabbed Lucas's shoulder to march him away: Just ignore it.

"Oh, give me a break! Other students have only been executive reserves for years, but a murderer like you gets to become a representative, seriously?"

Natsume's back stiffened.

"You're an arsonist! A recognised criminal. You don't deserve the honour!"

Honour, yeah right, this cunt was nothing but an imbecile. Seriously though, if he'd really burnt down his whole village, did they really think it was smart to aggravate him? What? Did they think being in the Academy would stop him? That he couldn't kill all of them if he wanted to? With minimal effort? Were they trying to get on his bad side? Did they think they were invulnerable? Dickheads. He might be punished, and severely, if he did do it, but they'd still be dead now wouldn't they? Or nursing third-degree burns: Such a tempting thought…

"The only reason you've got such a position is because you're his favourite."

...and dammit, the brainless twits were attracting a crowd now. Was it honestly too much to ask to be left alone? It's all he wanted; didn't seem like too much, really. He kept walking.

"Hey, isn't that Natsume Hyuuga?"

"Whoa… I've heard about him. They say he's a mass murderer."

"A juvenile killer…."

Whisper, whisper, whisper, but naturally he can hear every single one. He ducked his head, and coughed discreetly into his hand, placing it inside his pocket to hide the blood. He didn't want Lucas to see how bad it was. He didn't want anyone to see his weakness; he didn't want to admit this actually hurt. Dragging up those stupid rumours again… Oh, he was going to burn those three to meatballs next time he saw them.

"Natsume, it's best not to get involved with people like that."

He gave no reply. Lucas meant well, and he wasn't wrong, but sometimes he wanted to just grab those self-righteous bastards by the collar, and pin them to the lockers. He wanted to slowly burn them up by their appendages, and ask them if they weren't afraid of fire. If they wanted a fight, he wanted to give it to them, and every other prick, bastard, and punk in this hellhole they called a school. Why not? They were asking for it! Day by day, why put up with this farce? Why not put the fear of the Black Cat into those losers? Because he'd get punished? Ha! He's breathing punishment anyway, he may as well earn it putting those asses in their place. The Academy couldn't do too much to him anyway, or, rather, they needed him at least functioning to do their dirty work. It's his only bargaining chip: A fairly useful one too if you're careful weighing pros and cons. Still, he always holds back, probably 'cause no one'd care, (and he, rather unfortunately, would, probably.)

In a small recess of his heart where Natsume pressed everything down, down, down, but couldn't deny, (realistically, the pressure was reaching critical there), he always hoped someone would see him. When he raged at the hecklers in the hallways, when he ignored the lackeys and parasites hanging off him, (the ones he neither wanted nor requested), he just wanted an acknowledgement of the injustice. That's all: For someone to admit it was all screwed, even if they did nothing else; for someone to see, and not turn a blind eye, or try to justify it, or say "it'll all be okay," but recognise the truth. Fan or foe, no one ever seemed to wonder where he got all his scars, why he sometimes was covered in bruises, why he ended up in the hospital so fricking often. Oh, they fawned and condemned, but never actually gave a damn, and he found he craved a sense of vindication no one ever gave a shit about. It got him pissed beyond his own comprehension, although the apathy shouldn't be a surprise, really, because if people cared, he wouldn't be here: A ten year old boy with blood-stained hands, and an outlook as dark as ash. One man wanted power, and no one bothered to stop him, probably because they were riding his coattails. Never mind who gets trampled underfoot. Never mind the means. Natsume knows how this world works by now, no rose-tinted glasses. You're hated, ignored, or used; if you're ever fortunate enough to find someone who doesn't fit that, you'd better never let them go. Oh, and nothing comes for free, not even love.

"Natsume?"

"What?"

"You're headed the wrong way for class."

"Huh. Right, whatever, I'm ditching. I don't think I could take anymore bullshit today."

"Alright, I'll go with you."

"No." Natsume spoke forcefully this time, rather than dully, and turned to look his friend straight in the eyes. "I'm fine by myself, really. I want to be my myself." Lucas looked hurt, so Natsume tacked on, "Just for now."

His friend nodded looking concerned, but said nothing, and walked away. Natsume appreciated the reprieve. He was grateful for the support of his best friend, but sometimes it was a burden, not Lucas's presence, nor the sacrifices Natsume was always willing to make to protect his friend, but the knowledge that he was hurting Lucas too, dragging him down into his own abyss of despair, that he might be failing him. That knowledge was hard to live with. Natsume didn't know how to get out of his pit, and Lucas was too loyal not to follow. It rested heavy on Natsume's shoulders. Lucas's friendship was sometimes the only thing that made him believe this world wasn't entirely cruel, and he didn't want him to ever regret it. He wanted his friend to smile again, be happy again, but Lucas couldn't while Natsume suffered, so everything spiraled, and the burdens on his young shoulders grew. Natsume couldn't even promise things would get better. It was so goddamn pointless, wasn't it? He sacrificed for the people he loved, and all he seemed to ensure was that the life he'd bought them would be miserable. How do you live with that? Why bother?

Natsume came here to protect his sister. Lucas had followed. Now, Natsume poured his life out with his Alice in the hopes of keeping them both safe, and while he'd once hoped that maybe he'd last long enough to graduate, he doubted it these days. He was already coughing up blood; he wouldn't last another eleven years. Lucas's talk of a peaceful future, (thank god he'd stopped with it lately), all those hopes and dreams, they only reminded him of what he could never have. His was a life spent proudly bowing his head to a man he hated to protect others until the day he expired. Trapped by his own nature, his own compassion and conscience keeping him there, he wondered if those people who spat at him even knew, if it wasn't for him, they might be the next chosen; they might be dead, and that despite his own lapses in self-control, and his abysmal reputation, he only wanted to use his fire to protect and it was killing him. Worse still, if he ever got out of this Academy, would Kuonji really give up his sister? Probably not. Natsume knew he needed to last long enough to free her himself, somehow, and get them both out, but he didn't know how, and the situation was getting desperate. He needed to last at least two more years, until middle school, then he might be able to sneak into the Flower Princess Den where she was being held hostage. Just two more years, he could last that long, couldn't he? Maybe? If he could just get her, and get out, maybe he could make it, maybe. Even if he died getting her to safety, it would all have been worth it. His greatest fear now was that if he died this year, or the next, sometime soon, Aoi and Lucas would face all too imaginable horrors, and everything might have been in vain, wasted life.

Would he ever really be free? Would he seriously be able to forget? Put it all behind him? Everything he's seen? Everything he's done? What he knows will continue happening to others? Even outside of the Academy, he'll be ruled by it, because he gave a crap, even when he tried not to. Was thiswhy his mother had been part of an Anti-Academy group? He understood. He finally understood, and the pressure on his shoulders, the cyclical nature of his thoughts made him want to crawl out of his skin. They gave him raging headaches. Think, think, think, and there seemed no possible way out of this mess. Lucas had said lately his eyes were fierce and dark, like a wild animal caged. Natsume believed him. If love was stronger than hate, he hadn't seen it yet. It was just the only thing that gave his suffering the slightest bit of meaning. Natsume closed his eyes under some random tree and went to sleep: A nice reprieve from life, provided he could avoid the nightmares.

"Hey, hey, you wouldn't believe what I heard from my uncle!"

It was two weeks later: A different set of numskulls, the same old talk. It wasn't directed at him, of course it wasn't; they were just talking extra loud, and sneaking glances right at him.

"He's working at the department that censors the incoming mail, and I heard there were ones from Natsume Hyuuga's father…"

This time Lift-Up, who was ditching with him and Lucas, was the one to start the hustling away. It was uncharacteristic of him not to start mouthing off, so maybe something had showed on Natsume's face when his heart had skipped a beat. No one had ever openly discussed his father in such a manner before-not that it mattered, not that anything mattered. They were just trying to get a rise out of him.

"Wait, does he even have a father? I thought he burnt even his entire family to death…"

"Well, it seems he does. Just his old man, apparently, and all his letters go straight to the disposal room. You know, I even thought about taking one and selling it."

Natsume's eyes widened, and his gait faltered against his iron will. Aside from his usual disdain for people who would sell something so intensely precious to someone, (some people had no self-respect), what if it was true? Not that he would ever be able to get his hands on a letter, but that his Dad was writing him, still, after so many years?

"Since there were so many, I doubt anyone'd notice if I took one."

He stopped in his tracks. Had Dad really written that many? Not just a few, but enough to pile up?

"Hey!"

He and his friends turned. The middle schoolers were talking directly to him now.

"You know, I wouldn't mind selling the letters to you, as long as you do what we want you to do. C'mon, what do you say? After all, it's up to you if you really want those letters…"

"Shut up," Natsume snarled. It was a lame response, but he was compromised, and it was all he had left in him. He just hoped they didn't realise how much this was cutting.

"Ah, don't be like that. You don't even know what it is we want you to do yet."

He said nothing, but he was giving them his attention, and they knew it. He hated it. He couldn't stop it.

"We want you to escape from the Academy, and if you can return safely, I will give your letter from your dad to you. As I said before, it's all up to you, but you wouldn't want to let go of this once in a lifetime opportunity now would you? Besides, if you've really got an Alice the level of a special star student, it should be easy for you. What do you say, Hyuuga?"

"Fine," he muttered against his will.

"Agreed," the other boy smiled coldly, and Lift-Up and Lucas merely stared, slack-jawed, trailing after Natsume as he walked away up the stairs towards the roof. He'd feel less like the walls were closing in on him where the air was fresh.

"Natsume, don't tell me you're actually going to do it?"

Silence.

"Come on! It's all just a trick and you know it!"

"I know."

"Even if it's all true, they'd never risk giving you the letter."

An affirmative grunt.

"Then why are you still gonna do it? I know there's just a slight chance you might get something out of it, but you know the risks are way too high! They just want you to get in trouble so your privileges get taken away."

He knew. He didn't care. He wished Lift-Up would let the matter go, but it was Lucas who surprised him. Maybe he shouldn't have been so taken off guard, Lucas had always stood by him through everything, but Natsume found himself more shocked by him than anyone else all day. Perhaps it was because everyone always seemed so determined to tell him what to do, to control him. Maybe he'd grown used to the fight, always expecting it.

"Natsume, if you've made up your mind, I won't stop you. Just be careful."

His friend placed a hand on Natsume's shoulder, and Natsume felt maybe, just maybe, Lucas understood what he couldn't say: Sometimes he felt older than his years, far too old, and sometimes he felt he was battered around a void, and sometimes the only thing that got him out of bed was his love for his sister, and truthfully, while he often wondered how it would feel like to just be a ten year old boy, he really was just a ten year old boy, and this is exactly how ten year old boys feel when they've nowhere to turn, and no one to trust. Ten year old boys want their parents to protect them; they want hugs from their father, they want warm arms wrapped around them again. Sometimes they get tired of having to be strong. Natsume hadn't had any contact with his father in two and a half years, and in all that time to think Dad had never ever given up on him. He was aching inside in ways he couldn't explain, and wasn't even going to bother trying. He didn't care what anyone else thought. It might be stupid, but it was the only way, even if his Dad never knew, even as irrationally angry as Natsume often was at him, to say he still cared, to make a statement. As Natsume sat on that school roof, Lucas's steady hand on his shoulder, the wind breezing over him, he felt somewhat calmer to think someone hadn't given up on him, even though they'd been given every reason to, even if it was just his Dad.

The wind rustled the leaves around him as Natsume stood on a thick bough high up on the sakura tree in front of the main school entrance, but unlike yesterday on the roof, there was no sense of peace, just aggravation. Yesterday, he'd felt somewhat content. He'd had a solid plan, worthy of the consequences. He'd sat on this same bough surveying the guards, and the walls, and trying to decide what to do, (and wondering in the back off his mind if he really should do it, given the potential risk to his sister), when Lucas had climbed up and sat beside him.

"Say, Natsume?"

"Hm, what is it?"

"How about we... run away?"

"What?!"

"Oh come on! It's written all over your face."

"What are you going on about?"

"I know you'll reply that you can't go, because of me, because of Aoi still being at the Academy, but what I see is different. I can see you're desperate to get away from this place, and escape the darkness that never seems to end. So, even if it's just for one day. Let's throw these chains off. Even if we do get punished, it would still be worth it, if I could just see you get your wish of seeing the light."

"Lucas…"

Natsume had looked at his friend moved, stunned, and speechless at his understanding. What could he say? Lucas didn't even seem to require words, he just smiled at him with gentle, sky-blue eyes twinkling with compassion. They'd started planning immediately. They were going to take a day for themselves.

Standing on that same branch now, those burgeoning hopes had hardened into spiteful purpose. The plan as it had stood was that Natsume would use his fire to blast a hole in the wall when Lucas gave the signal he was ready with his large mutant eagle friend, then Natsume would get out through the hole in the wall, and Lucas would follow with the eagle using his Animal Pheromone Alice to have it fly them off wherever: A simple, but good plan. They'd considered other possibilities, like Natsume stealing explosives for the Dangerous Ability students, so he wouldn't have to spend so much of his Alice on making the blast in the wall, but ultimately this was decided to be the best. Not only because fewer variables meant fewer things to go wrong, but because it said exactly what they wanted to say: They were only staying in this Academy to protect each other. They stayed here because they chose to, and the Academy didn't really own them; they could leave whenever they wanted. Their cooperation both forced and tenuous. Natsume had even written a letter to his father and was planning on dumping it into a mailbox somewhere outside when he got the chance. Even when the Academy personnel eventually caught up to him and Lucas, they'd never be able to check all the mailboxes in all of Tokyo. He'd just have to make sure it wasn't one that was close to the Academy and he'd be set.

That plan still hadn't changed. The problem was the bastard-teacher Narumi. Natsume had held disdain for Narumi from the moment he and Lucas had laid eyes on him back in their old village. Naru had struck a flirty, downright gay pose on the wall and told them all-him, Lucas, and Aoi-he was going to be their homeroom teacher at the Academy. Natsume had disliked him intensely then, if only for the arrogant presumption and condescension, but with the advantage of hindsight Natsume now loathed him, because Narumi must have known when he'd said those words the devastation the Academy had been planning, and he'd done nothing to stop it. Who knew how many people had died when they'd caused Aoi to lose control of her Alice and set the village alight? How many innocents had they murdered on their insane quest? Worse still was the sense of betrayed trust. Narumi had said he'd take care of his little sister, and sure he'd brought her to the hospital, only to deliver them and, worse, his sister into Persona's care. Natsume doubted he'd ever trust anyone, except Lucas, ever again.

Yes, Narumi pranced around wearing loud outfits, and dazzling people with his disgusting Alice, and his super-fake I'm-a-nice-guy peppiness, but he was one of the worst in this dunghill, and it was he, whom Natsume hated only less than he hated Persona and Kuonji, who had trapped Natsume in the corridor last night telling him he was being punished for being absent from class one too many times; it was he who had put this blasted Black Cat mask on him, while shaking one long index finger at him, seeming concerned, and disappointed, like Natsume was just a kindergartener throwing a tantrum who could do so much better if only he'd just apply himself. God, he hated the man. He was the biggest hypocrite in the entire goddamn school. Even so, it wasn't the damn cat mask he would have to wear all day, since Narumi was the only one who could take it off, it wasn't the massive headache he was going to get, and the extra damage he was going to do to his body as he bust through the Alice-restraint, nor how much harder that was going to make it to break out which that had him riled, not the only or most significant reason anyway, because if nothing else he was really making a statement of his power to every scoffer in the Academy when he pulled it off. No, it was the presence of Narumi, the man who'd put this mask on him in the first place, and made his life so difficult in general, outside of the school gates proving what a creep he was that was throwing Natsume's carefully planned escape off, and royally pissing him off too.

It was seriously aggravating, and probably proved that Natsume really was being set up that Naru was there in the first place, but that wasn't the main issue. He, and Lucas when he came, would be able to handle one teacher when it came right down to it, the biggest concern was that the pervert was, right now, probably using his Alice to manipulate a little girl, and Natsume couldn't ignore that. She looked about nine or ten, and wore her light brown hair in two long pigtails. In the five or ten minute time period he'd been watching them, the pedophile had dazzled her, held her hand, had her jumping up and down like a deranged person, share her food with him, but now was the limit, the perv was holding both her hands in his, and having her dance all around him; Natsume just couldn't ignore it anymore. He'd always suspected that Narumi, with his disgusting attitude, and even more disgusting Alice, might be touching children inappropriately, and Natsume simply couldn't wait and watch this anymore. Lucas would just have to catch up. He forced his Alice up, thrust it past the restraining mask, blew out the wall, determined the barrier was weakened, and leaped for the sidewalk below. It took all of five seconds,if that.

"Natsume! Desertion is not allowed!" Narumi roared, pulling something out of his pocket and swining it in Natsume's direction. "Let's just call this divine justice!" Always so melodramatic.

Some kind of organic whip sprang through the air from Narumi's direction and swatted him painfully across the cheek in mid-air. His black cat mask went flying. Well, at least that meant that he'd have an easier time using his Alice. He gritted his teeth in anticipation and pain as his body slammed into the ground forcefully. He'd probably hit hard enough to bruise bone.

"Oh, dear." Narumi said in a patronising tone, looking down at him with a hand on his hip and the strange whip he'd used to hit him slung over his shoulder. "I've a feeling I've despoiled his cute little face, but even so, I must say, I'm glad I borrowed this bean whip from Mr. Misaki. It comes quite in handy."

The pig-tailed girl he'd been victimising looked over at the blonde transvestite-esque teacher with horror. Utterly shell-shocked, she looked back and forth frantically between Natsume and Narumi quick enough to add whiplash to her immediate problems before she ran up to Natsume stammering,

"W-wait, are you okay?"

Natsume was uncertain whether to be touched by her concern or annoyed by her stupidity in running up to a boy who had just blown up the wall of a school , not to mention it probably wasn't wise to do so when the man who had just whipped said boy, and harassed her, was standing right there . Speaking of which-Natsume tried to drag himself to his feet with his last bits of strength-they were not safe here with Narumi around. He ignored the girl entirely, (who was apparently too stupid to run away; he was strangely touched, but mostly just extremely annoyed-get out of here, little girl! Do you think you're doing me any good?), as he struggled to push himself halfway up onto his knees with arms that felt like spaghetti, while ignoring his aching bones, his straining lungs, and the splitting headache he'd given himself, and wasted no time in attempting a fire in his palm. He'd barely gotten started when Narumi loped up and stamped down on his hand with a smirk on his face.

"Even if you try to use your Alice to escape, it'll be pointless."

Natsume glared up feeling totally humiliated. His left cheek was red where the whip had hit him, and there were scrapes on his forehead and chin. Everything stung. It was a struggle to keep his head up.

"Before you can use your Alice, I'll just end up having you pay the price with my Alice like before...but I'm a nice guy so I'm willing to let it go."

A nice guy?! Natsume grit his teeth so hard he thought he heard one of them crack.

"Pervert teacher!" He bit out, and Narumi wouldn't even tolerate that.

"It is an honour to accept your lovely praise," he said in a saccharine voice as he bent down and, with a paradoxical gentle-strength, dragged Natsume up by the collar, planting a large smack on his cheek.

Natsume's body reacted immediately. He could feel his heart race, his cheeks flush even redder than his eyes, and his every nerve sensitise to Narumi's presence. He felt hot, and cold, and flustered, and above all extraordinarily aware of Narumi. That was the part he hated the most when this happened: The overpowering attraction to his teacher. It was so beyond words gross. Alien desire coursed through his too-young body affecting his ability to function on such an integral level he would soon pass out. Pheromonal Inclination was an Alice he thought ought to be made illegal. I fucking hate you must have been his last coherent thought before he blacked out. Lust and love do not necessarily go hand in hand.

When Natsume came to, he was immediately aware that this was a) not his room, and b) not the hospital. It felt like he was lying on some kind of sofa. This was not the typical way of things, and that meant danger. His senses perked. Natsume heard nothing particularly useful, so he cracked open an eye, and sat up groggily. In front of him was the pig-tailed girl Narumi had been messing around with earlier. Her back was to him, and she seemed enraptured with some kind of book in her hands. It made no sense. He blinked twice in confusion. Narumi wouldn't have just left a dangerous lunatic like him alone in a room with a young girl. Well, then again, it was Narumi… and why hadn't he been brought to either his bedroom or a hospital room like usual? And what was the pigtailed girl doing here anyway? She wasn't an Alice-he'd never seen her around before, and they should be in the same class, or she might be in Youchi's, but he'd have seen her either way-and only Alices were allowed inside… Increasingly Natsume was coming to the dawning realisation that he might have been played. This girl was no victim now was she? She must be working with Narumi, and she must have a powerful Alice, or she wouldn't have ever been left alone with him, and she might just be some kind of spy, and this was probably a bigger set-up than he'd anticipated, and damn it, he was going to get answers! She owed him.

Grabbing the girl by her left pigtail-she gasped in pain-he pulled her back and threw her down on the sofa. Maintaining his grip on her pigtail with his right hand, he positioned himself above her with a knee on her solar plexus, and his left hand over her throat to trap her completely. The girl stared up at him with wide brown eyes communicating terror so great she was unable to even scream.

"Answer within five seconds or I'll burn this hair of yours." He tugged at her pigtail. "Just what are you?!"

One, two, three, he counted up in his mind as the girl squirmed and cried out beneath him. On the third second there was a large shadow of an eagle at the window and someone came smashing through distracting both Natsume and the girl who looked over to see a blonde boy slumped under the window in an awkward landing.

"You're late, Lucas." Natsume looked over with a scowl seeming rather put out, but not more so than his friend who was surrounded by broken glass, and seemed to have hit his head on the window sill. Lucas was rubbing at the base of his skull looking extremely disenchanted.

"Honestly," he huffed, "whose fault do you think that is, Natsume?" He added an aside under his breath, "And I came here to rescue him…" Standing up slowly, and shaking glass shards off himself, Lucas noticed that Natsume was not alone. "What are you doing? Who's that?"

Natsume turned himself around to face his friend by switching his knee on the girl's stomach for his bottom, essentially sitting on her. When she tried to escape, he shoved his hand down on her head to keep her in place barely looking at her through the entire process.

"She was here when I woke up. All she does is bawl, and won't tell me the truth of who she is."

"Is she an Alice?"

"Maybe, I dunno." He shrugged. "At any rate," Natsume turned back to look at the struggling girl beneath him, "since she won't listen to what I say; I figured I'd make her cry." Looking down at the girl, he found severe disappointment-turned-rage rose up inside him, and mixed with self-loathing that he'd been had. Dreading the brutal punishment that was to come, Natsume found he knew exactly how he wanted to go about making this girl suffer for it. It'd be so poetic, and no one got away with defying him like that. Natsume didn't tolerate threats. She wanted to lie to him? Fine. Work with Narumi and make a fool out of him? Fine. Trick him? Fine. Have him humiliate himself? Fine. He'd return the favour twice over. He'd ruined his own escape today, because he'd thought he was helping her escape Narumi's attentions, but she'd been fooling around with him willingly, so he'd give her exactly what she deserved: An idea of what he thought he was saving her from. Glancing over at Lucas he said spitefully, "Let's at least take her panties off."

The young girl began to scream loudly for someone, anyone, to come help her, as she flailed around even harder, but Natsume just lifted up her skirt, requiring neither Lucas's permission nor support, and commented rather nastily as her underwear came into view,

"Oh, look! A world of polka dots is revealed!"

"By the way, Natsume, why don't you just spook her with your Alice?" Lucas commented awkwardly, and Natsume figured he must have been a bit uncomfortable with the situation, but he didn't know what Natsume had just been through and suffered on her account, so he didn't let it bother him.

"I'm tired and can't get in the zone." It was true. He'd tried earlier, but it hadn't worked. The backlash of busting through his Alice-restraints he supposed, but it wasn't going to stop him from living up to his word of punishing the girl if she didn't answer him. Natsume didn't make empty threats, and this was better than just hitting her or something. That seemed wrong, somehow. It might actually hurt her. Scaring a girl to make a point was one thing; hitting her, causing physical damage, seemed to be quite another.

Lucas nodded and went back to the windowsill to watch the proceedings. He made no further comment, and while he made no move to help Natsume in his endeavour with the struggling girl, neither did he try to stop it. His general attitude seemed to indicate that Natsume would have to do what he felt was necessary. In fact, Natsume was amused to note that Lucas was looking rather curiously at the girl's behind.

"I heard screaming from over there!"

Footsteps echoed in the hall and frantic voices could be heard.

"Oh, this isn't good." Natsume muttered, as Lucas said,

"People are coming!"

Natsume jumped off the sofa, and scrambled toward the window where Lucas was waiting. The door slammed open hard.

"Are you alright, Mikan?!"

Mikan, so that was her name, Natsume made a point of remembering it as the girl ran with tears streaming down her face into the arms of Narumi, rubbing salt into a wound as far as Natsume was concerned. Clearly no pheromones had been involved there.

"Natsume! Lucas!" Misaki shouted at them looking furious.

"I'm out." Lucas muttered looking beyond uncomfortable, as he jumped out the window, but Natsume turned back towards the girl and the teachers determined to get the last laugh.

"See ya, Polka Dot Panties." He tossed the article of underwear in question at her, and jumped out with vindictive satisfaction. Served them all right. Behind him, he could hear the girl wailing inconsolably.

The pair of them listened for a short moment, and Lucas seemed somewhat regretful. There was a pain in his eyes whose source Natsume couldn't quite identify, but ultimately Natsume couldn't bring himself to feel any remorse for what he'd done. He'd had to do it. He'd warned the girl, and she hadn't answered. That was that. He was hardly going to dwell on it, not after everything.

"We should probably get to class." Lucas pointed out. "After what just happened, we can't afford to ditch today."

"Agreed." Natsume nodded following after him. "Just a moment though."

He took the letter to his father out of his pocket and used his Alice to burn it watching the charred pieces sail away in the wind. What a waste. He didn't think he'd ever felt more bitter.