Chapter Eleven: A Shot in Hell

All missions were cancelled. While Natsume could hardly say he was ungrateful for the respite, the opportunity to properly heal, he was less thrilled than he might have been under different circumstances. Rumours had spread around that the cause of the Alice loss was human in nature which suggested someone was actually stealing the Alices. How exactly one steals an Alice, Natsume couldn't fathom, but he reasoned that if it was a disease perhaps it was one engineered by enemies. Natsume wanted to break the quarantine and catch it, but barring that he hoped that the quarantine would last for months, enough for his condition to improve.

"Just goes to show you can't give up, huh?" Lucas had quipped when he'd discovered missions had been cancelled indefinitely. "You never know what's going to happen." In spite of himself, Natsume had quirked his lips in the ghost of a smile. He tried to keep his eyes on the goal. Live until Middle School. Break Aoi out. Time felt like it was ticking out and he was behind in the race. He was starting to feel some of the old rage stir inside, as he remembered how he'd told Mikan he hated her. Something of the trapped feeling had returned, and he wanted to kick something, break the walls. He'd so worn himself down though, the exhaustion won leaving him with violent daydreams as he lay in bed hoping this miracle of a break could somehow last, never having enough hope to place faith in it.

Tobita came back a couple days after the announcement to general excitement. Before homeroom, he was met with squeals of excitement and questions about his sister and the outside world. He passed out the various gifts that people had asked him to get them, and for everyone else brought some biscuits. Even Natsume got some to his surprise, but then again it was the squeaky clean, always trying to be fair, Class Rep. He trashed the gift in front of everyone, but no one had to know he'd swiped the biscuits themselves into his bag when they hadn't been looking. He avoided the ruckus around him and tuned out Tobita's commentary about his sister. Despite his efforts, he soon found himself lost in memories of his sisters first day of school, and how he'd been the one to walk her there, and show her around since his dad had to go to work, and their mom had passed.

"My power won't come!" Class Rep's panic-stricken voice broke the reverie and Natsume raised his head to hear better. "It's not coming. It's not coming."

"Oh my God! He's lost his Alice."

"Crap, really?!"

"Someone get the teacher."

"What's going on?"

Well, shit, maybe losing your Alice was going to be easier than he thought. Natsume shook his head and tried to bring himself back to reality. It couldn't be that easy. Nothing ever was. Maybe someone had gotten past security when Rep was with his family?

The door slammed open and Tobtia was whisked away from the overwrought class for tests and possible isolation. Natsume felt bad for the guy, but he couldn't stop the leaping in his chest. Now he'd been exposed, if it was a disease. Maybe he'd be next? Maybe? Naru had warned that any of them could be called up for research at any point, and in the meantime not to panic, cause disturbance, or leap to any conclusions. He refused to answer all other questions nor allow Tobita any visitors. So maybe…

Mikan, who most people had noticed at this point had the greatest influence over Naru, was volunteered to pester him, but all Naru said even to her was that he could pass on a message.

Natsume had snorted. Yeah, he'd heard that one before. Imai pulled out a dum-dum canon and shot him with it.

"Who believes you?"

It must have been an upgraded super-canon because it knocked Narumi out. Imai immediately stepped forward, stuck a device on his forehead and used a control in her hands to animate his body and walk him out of the room. Natsume realised in horror, she was going to use his body as a patsy to get them past security to see Class Rep.

"That bitch is terrifying." Lift- Up murmured, awestruck. Natsume couldn't disagree. He would not want her as an enemy.

"What are they thinking?!" Some panic-stricken girl cried out wringing her hands. "They could bring back all kinds of germs."

"I'm sure they've just gone to get more information." Someone shot back. "I for one would like to know more about what might just steal my Alice away from me."

"Well maybe if you'd paid attention-"

Natsume ignored them and tried to settle his racing pulse. Calm down, he reminded himself. You don't know how this is transmitted, and nothing is worse than broken hopes.

"Are you alright, Natsume?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said too quickly. Lucas gave him a knowing look.

"Hoping you're the next victim?" He said lightly.

Natsume turned over and gave him a "would-you-let it go" look. He didn't want to dwell on a faint possibility, but Luas just looked saddened.

"It's alright. I understand." He refused to meet Nastume's eyes, suddenly focusing extra hard on petting his rabbit. "Your Alice hasn't brought you much but pain." He paused and took the time to look back and meet Natsume's eyes. "I would miss you though, and think it was a real shame."

Natsume swallowed. There was a new ache in his chest. He nodded jerkily finding it hard to look at Lucas's earnest expression, afraid he would lose his composure. Because Lucas did like his Alice, and the communion it gave him to animals. Lucas would rather stay at the Academy than lose that. And Lucas had come here for him.

They waited on tenterhooks for the crazy duo to come back with information. A couple hours later when they returned, it turned out they had actually spoken to Class Rep himself which only put them in the position of easy scapegoat to those who were afraid. Worse still, they really had little in the way of new information to justify their risks. Mikan bore the brunt of the angry mob accusing her of putting them all in danger despite her protests that it's not like it was contagious. Natsume noted that not one of them dared target Imai who had enabled it. Either it was because Mikan was the louder and more easily thought of target, or they knew better to mess with Imai who was ever known for tinkering with her crazy devices or both. Cowards.

"Hey, everyone don't get close to Mikan you might get the disease!"

Permy, opinionated as ever, settled the matter by putting everyone in their place: Both the panic-stricken idiots who were picking on people to make themselves feel better and in control, and Mikan for disobeying the teachers instructions that were meant to keep them all safe.

"Don't be so self-centered next time!" She concluded with hands on her hips.

"Class Rep!" Someone exclaimed midway through her spiel, as the man himself walked in.

"Class Rep!"

"How are you?"

"Did your Alice come back?"

Natsume leaned closer to get his own answers.

"I'm so sorry I made you all worry. The test results are in and it's nothing contagious or dangerous, so they let me come back to class. Although they don't know for sure why I lost my Alice, it's a special case because there's a chance of recovering my Alice. So even without it, they might still let me stay here."

"You might be able to recover your Alice?" Permy asked. "Does that mean they know something?"

Tobita hesitated a moment to gather his thoughts as he sat down.

"They might know something about it. They asked me a lot of questions about what happened before and after the loss. A person with a mind reading Alice even did an investigation of my recollections. On the way back to school, I met this woman and they pegged her as a suspect in the case."

"A woman?"

"Yeah," Tobita rubbed his forehead in confusion, "my memory of meeting that woman is rather hazy. I couldn't hear clearly; I think they said amnesia fragrance might have been used on me. What the people in the lab were saying is that it's likely the woman had an Alice that lets you steal other people's Alices, and that the chances of my Alice being stolen by that woman were pretty high."

The atmosphere darkened and people started whispering. Who had even heard of an Alice that can steal other Alices? It must be awfully rare? And why would an Alice do that to another Alice?

"Well," Tobita tentatively put forward, "I'm not too sure, but they think the recent string of "Loss of Alice" incidents was done by this woman. Apparently this woman is called "Z" and is a part of the anti-Gakuen Alice resistance faction."

Natsume's eyes widened involuntarily. No fucking way. Lucas next to him looked up startled. Natsume looked to the other end of the classroom and saw Imai's neck looked stiff as though she was trying to hide her reaction. Even Permy was doing an obvious double take. Mikan looked rigid and shell-shocked.

"Mikan?" Tobita touched her shoulder trying to shake her out of her stupor. "What's-"

Mikan turned her head and made eye contact with Natsume, her brown eyes wide with questions, and Natsume knew he had to bolt.

"Natsume!" Lucas came running out after him.

"Natsume!" And shit, Mikan was chasing after him too. "Natsume! Wait up! The Z Rep just spoke about just now, is it related to the matter that happened before? Do you know something?"

He ignored her. There was nothing he really knew anyway that could help her or that she couldn't figure out on her own. He couldn't be her crutch. He kept walking.

"Natsume! Natsume! Wait! HEY, WHEN SOMEONE IS SPEAKING TO YOU YOU SHOULD AT LEAST PAY ATTENTION!"

He couldn't blame her for losing her temper, he supposed. If that Alice thief was the woman that Reo was referencing, Hell, it could even be her mother, although he wasn't entirely sold on that yet. He understood her desperation.

"What is wrong with you? You've been disregarding everything and everyone! What brought on this sudden change in attitude? Is there something I'm doing that irks you? If there is, just say so!"

Ah, but that was the issue. She brought him some measure of joy, hope, and that was intolerable to the principal. The moment he'd been avoiding had come.

"Everything." He grit his teeth. "Everything irks me." He looked over his shoulder to stare her straight in the eyes. "I hate everything about you. Don't come near me."

He saw just a little bit of pain flash across her expressive brown eyes as if somehow she still expected better of him.

"I HATE YOU JUST AS MUCH!" She shouted at his retreating back.

He clenched his hands into fists in his pocket but gave no sign in his straight, proud back that anything she said could possibly hurt him.

A high pitched shrill emergency alarm went off stopping Natsume in his tracks. Everyone dashed out in the hallway to look out.

"The TA just came and told us there's an order to restrict us from going out!"

"Someone snuck into the school. Hotaru's eavesdropping device picked it up. Apparently one of them looks a lot like this Z."

Natsume tensed in anticipation. So it had happened. Reo had been scouting the school, and now Z had attacked. He needed to find this woman quickly. Not only to protect the students, as was his role as a member of the DA group, but if that woman could just steal his Alice…

Natsume bolted down the corridor and headed straight out the doors.

"Natsume!" Lucas exclaimed and followed right after him, but he hardly noticed. "Hey, where are you going?!" He ignored him and kept running.

He had hardly gotten outside when he heard a whirring above his head. He looked up and goddam if it wasn't Imai on a flying scooter.

"Hotaru!" Mikan screamed following right behind her with Tobita dogging her footsteps.

"I want to see the faces of the people who stole Rep's Alice." Imai spoke with quiet determination. "Mikan, do you want to go too?" The very fact that she only asked her and not Tobita, who was the victim standing right next to her, told Natumse all he needed to know about what Imai suspected about Z.

"Yes!" Mikan exclaimed and jumped on the scooter behind her and they both flew off, but not before taking the time to stick their tongues out obnoxiously at Natsume.

Well, shit.

"I'm going to go tell the teachers!" Class Rep stammered. Lucas looked at him in horror.

"You're going to rat them out?"

"I don't want them to lose their Alices like I did." He didn't even seem to notice that Lucas's tone was disdainful as he ran back inside.

Natsume used the distraction to ditch Lucas. He didn't want his friend to lose his Alice either. He wanted to be the one that happened to. Just conveniently in the line of duty as a Dangerous Ability Student…

He soon found himself near the main gates where there had been an explosion. It was difficult to make out but it looked like the members of Z were a male and a female using multiple Alices. Bingo. The woman had hair that seemed nearly the same shade as Mikan's. It was cut short and she was wearing sunglasses. The male was dark-haired and tall. Both moved with an easy confidence.

And, wait, there was a third! Long haired, in a suit, with a gun.

Then they were gone. Teleported somewhere else. Fuck. Natsume stopped and listened, but he couldn't hear a thing. Damn. What a fucking waste. They could be anywhere now. He kicked the ground and huffed before turning to walk back to the school at a sedate pace. Well, that was fruitless.

He waited in the homeroom with the rest of the students, nervous and hoping for news. Everyone seemed somber. For once sitting in their seats, and talking quietly, and not messing each other around with their powers. When the news finally came, Natsume had to swallow down the guilt at the way he'd dismissed Class Rep's concerns.

"You may have heard some rumours that there was a student injured in the Middle School division." Naru began. "I'm afraid this is true, although the student in question was not a middle-schooler. Imai and Mikan were out of bounds and unfortunately encountered the terrorists. Imai was shot in the back and remains in surgery. When she is stable and able to accept visitors, I will let you know." He sighed deeply and concluded by reminding everyone that the security measures were in place for a reason.

Natsume and Lucas exchanged looks. Natsume felt guiltier though that he didn't really regret his actions like he should've. He could handle guns.

If only he'd been there.

When Imai came out of surgery, Natsume, Lucas, Tobita, Mindreader, and Mikan were the ones chosen to be allowed to see her. The rest of the class protested, but were told to wait. Mikan dashed in the room frantically.

"Hotaru!"

Imai groaned and tried to open her eyes.

"Right now, Mikan," a voice said from behind, "it might be better not to ask her to do anything taxing." It was Subaru Imai who was just finishing taking off his scrubs. Natsume blanched at the thought of having to do surgery on his own baby sister. He shook his head trying to shake the thought off.

"Excuse me," the head physician who was standing at the door asked, "are you the patient's teachers?"

Misaki, Jinno, and Naru who had accompanied them nodded.

"I have something I need to discuss with you."

"Should we leave the children alone?" Naru asked.

"The patient is still under anesthetic. One or two minutes shouldn't make a difference."

That certainly did not sound promising. If it had been good, they wouldn't have felt the need to leave. Natsume looked over at Imai. Her face was pale and clammy. She was still on oxygen. Natsume had been shot before. He'd been in surgery before. There should be no earthly reason why she'd be on oxygen if a bullet had been the sole problem. How bad was it really? He noted too that her brother still had his hand on her shoulder and seemed to be trying to heal her still. Something wasn't right.

Mind-reader picked up his train of thought and quickly filled them in on what was being discussed in the other room. The bullet hadn't been lethal. They were able to remove it. The problem was poison. They had no antidote, and while the older Imai could slow the progress with his Alice, it was likely beyond even his abilities to heal her entirely. They were discussing whether or not family should be contacted. Without the antidote, her condition was not likely to improve.

"Hotaru?" Mikan asked softly, her voice quavering. Natsume looked over at her and saw she was standing a bit apart from the others. Her figure was quivering and he could see she was in shock and overwhelmed by survivor's guilt.

"Mother?" Imai gasped and Natsume felt his heart sink. He looked over again and could see Mikan was holding back tears through sheer force of will. He wished he could go over and tell her it would be okay. (It wouldn't be.) He wished he could give her a hug. He wished he could do anything but stand there and watch.

"Hotaru!"

"Time's up." The teachers were back and visiting time was over. They were hustled out.

"Hey, lil' brat!" A familiar voice exclaimed when they reached the waiting room. Natsume glanced up ahead and saw Tono lifting up Mikan in his arms. Natsume's brow furrowed. How in Hell did they know each other? He was hardly reputable.

"What are you doing here!" Mikan asked in his stead.

"Oh, I'm just showing this guy around." He gestured his head over to Noda, his arms still occupied with Mikan. "He lost his way as usual. Couldn't figure out which way the hospital was." Natsume rolled his eyes. Typical time-traveller never could navigate the present. Mikan glanced at her abilities teacher nervously but he just smiled reassuringly.

"The punishment for your willful actions will be decided on at a later date. Until the decision is made, be good and stay indoors."

Tono hefted Mikan up higher in his arms. "You," he teased, "are such a small brat to get involved in such big matters. He really is too hard on you."

Mikan wrapped her arms and legs around him and rested her head on his shoulder, trying to hide the tears.

Natsume found himself glaring malevolently. Why did this shit keep happening? First the Shadow-freak and now Tono who was a notorious lady's man. Why was Mikan so touchy-feely with them? It was annoying. Tono looked at them and smirked.

"Look at all you boys!"

That's when Natsume realised Lucas and Class Rep were glaring too.

"Hyuuga," Noda called to get his attention. "An urgent meeting has been called at the Dangerous Ability Class. Please go there immediately to take part."

Natsume nodded his head once in acknowledgement rolling his eyes again. So much for no more missions. He didn't want to leave Mikan, who was worriedly asking why he had to go. (He ignored the skip of his heart. She must not truly hate him didn't want her to worry, especially under the circumstances, but he was glad to think she might worry over him.)

"They'll just drag me there if I don't go, huh?" He confirmed more for Mikan's sake than his. He knew the answer, he just wanted her to know in his own way that he wanted to be there.

He made sure to stamp on Tono's foot on the way out for good measure.

Not everyone in the DA classroom had arrived yet,so Natsume parked himself by the window trying to see Mikan and the others when they headed back to the Elementary division. It didn't happen quite the way he anticipated. Rather than a group, he saw a finally sobbing Mikan run outside. Lucas followed after, stopping her, and hugging her, and rubbing her back as she cried all over him. Natsume felt like he'd been doused in cold water. It had only been a few hours ago that he'd told Mikan he hated everything about her. How could he have ever realistically expected he could be there for her? Especially with the Principal breathing down his neck.

"Ah, Ah, the meeting hasn't started yet? You call us here so urgently and now you want us to wait? I'm going back."

"You can't, you ninny! We have to stay here and wait for orders."

Natsume closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. There was, he reasoned, one thing he could do. If he could get a hold of Z, he might be able to get the antidote for Hotaru. He might even find out what was going on with Mikan and the Academy. Of course, their next mission might not necessarily go the way he was hoping. But he knew what his role was. He wasn't the hugger. He was the guy in the shadows who protected.

Still looking out the window, he noticed that in the building next door Naru, Jinno, and Misaki were discussing something urgently. The situation with Imai?

"I'm going out for a breather," he told his teammates and stepped out onto the balcony. Carefully, he climbed up onto the rail, and when he was steady jumped onto the balcony of the next building. Pressing close to the wall, he tilted his ear close to the windows to listen.

"It would be better not to let Imai visit her parents in this state." He heard Naru say.

"Since the principal has commanded that there's no choice." Jinno replied.

"But how...Imai's condition...no one can be sure it won't worsen." Miksaki seemed the most concerned of the trio. Jinno's voice quickly responded.

"In the past, Hotaru Imai's parents, in an effort to not to hand her over to the school, spent a lot of time evading us. Just for that I think the principal will never let them meet." There was heavy silence then Jinno continued, "As long as the principal does not agree, we cannot do anything." He shook his head. "That this kind of mishap could happen to an outstanding student like Imai who is taken special notice of by even the principal… On the other hand, Mikan, who was with her in this escapade, should realise the principal will not let her off so easily."

Natsume leaned forward and noticed the other two teachers nodding in some form of shared understanding. He worried what the principal might do if forbidding your parents from seeing you even when you were on your deathbed was going easy on you. He had plenty of fodder for imagination.

"In any case," Jinno continued, "she also has the Alice of ability theft."

Fuck, so that woman probably was her mother, definitely reated. He noticed Misaki suck in a breath of air like that was confirmation of something terrible. Jinno nodded somberly. How the Hell did they know what Alices she had? Was Mikan keeping secrets about her abilities? It would make sense if she did, but she didn't seem the type to have such guile. As far as anyone knew, she only had nullification.

"Anyway, she's Yuka Azumi's daughter who is a known part of the anti-academy movement. Having that thief's daughter in our custody gives us leverage. Principal Kuonji will be watching the situation very closely."

Natsume's brow furrowed. Mikan had seemed to have known nothing about her mother, or anything about her parents if what Lucas had been told was true.\. Natsume had a hard time wrapping his head around it. Mikan's mother was a part of a group that had shot a girl? That trafficked Alices? She might even be the leader? And Mikan knew nothing? Had her mother left her with a distant relation to protect her from criminal elements, or had she not wanted her, or both? Had she gotten remarried, or adopted, since the name Sakura didn't seem to line up with their research? The stealing Alice was rare enough, maybe Azumi had never gone to the Academy and that was why nothing had turned up when Lucas had gotten nosy and looked into old yearbooks.

"Mr. Jinno, when did you know this?" Narumi asked urgently. "If I had known of the situation at the time, it might have been possible to predict the outcome!"

Jinno vaguely shrugged one shoulder. "Regardless of whether the principal knows of this matter, after all that has been said, he cannot come over, and there is nothing we can report."

Why wouldn't Kuonji know? Wasn't the Academy his dark playground?

"Mr. Narumi," Misaki interjected. "You have been behaving very inappropriately of late. If not for the special attention the principal pays you, I really would send you off for an investigation right away. Instead of worrying about others, please start being more careful with your own actions."

Natsume had heard enough. He slipped away quickly, and told the rest of the group that he was going for a bathroom break.

"Hey! Natsume, where are you going? Wasn't it said that after the meeting we had to wait for orders?"

"Toilet…" He muttered.

"If you sneak away, there'll be Hell to pay!"

He didn't even look back. He owed Imai the truth, and he doubted they would tell her. A small portion of him hoped she might have answers to the innumerable questions swirling around his head. Were those teachers part of a conspiracy? Was it well intentioned or ill intentioned? What about Naru's behaviour did Misaki think was suspicious? How was he given special attention? Was he benefiting from Academy vices like Natsume had always suspected? Was that why he was getting away without investigation? If they trusted each other enough to talk like that, how come Naru didn't know what Jinno knew? Were they protecting the principal's illusion of decency, or were they hiding information from him? Natsume had used to think the situation at the Academy was pretty straightforward, now it seemed there were way more factions.

Before he knew it his feet had found him in front of Imai's hospital room. He looked in through the window and saw her brother was still with her. He huffed. He couldn't talk with her while Subaru Imai was there. He didn't trust the high schooler one whit.

"Mew, mew," he heard a whine next to his feet and looked down. How had he not realised there was something next to him? That was dangerous. He couldn't afford to get lost in his head like that.

It was Penguin. Imai's ridiculous, clingy, apparently adorable robotic companion. The thing had basically become an unofficial class mascot in the last week. The little creature lifted his flippers and mewled to be lifted up since it couldn't see in. Natsume rolled his eyes and ignored the creature which waddled over and started nuzzling his feet. Unreal. Natsume kicked it out of the way. This was getting ridiculous. Maybe he should leave.

"Why did you do that to Penguin?"

The fuck? Natsume looked back in the room and saw Imai staring at him. How the Hell?

"It's very expensive. If it's damaged, I'll get you to pay for it." Well, that was pure Imai. How was she even talking to him through a window? He couldn't see her lips moving under that oxygen mask. "Why're you here alone? The place you should be at right now is by Mikan's side."

Natsume blinked, stupefied. He knew from all his eavesdropping how critical Imai's condition was. There were no flies in her ointment either. She must know too. And she was telling him to go be with her friend? Damn, he'd underestimated this girl, and he'd never exactly taken her lightly.

"That should be the rough content of what she wants to say," a nurse with a mind-reading Alice informed him. Natsume nodded in understanding that she had been the one to do Hotaru's talking for her, or rather speaking her thoughts aloud. Ah, so maybe not telling her to go to Mikan. That made more sense. He doubted Imai really wanted that, but she did think that was where he would be regardless, and she was right. He should probably head over to the dorms and see what that idiot was doing, if she was okay.

"Geez, where did that penguin go to? Mewling around, how dreadful!" That would be Permy. He shook his head in bemusement. God forbid the Penguin get lost.

"Found it!" Nonoko shouted. "Ah!" She shrieked. Typical, he snorted, she must have just noticed his presence.

"Ah, Natusme's here too. What're you doing in this kind of place? You never came back; we were so worried." Permy said grasping her cheeks in affected shock. He felt too drained to even respond. His thoughts were still racing on Imai and Mikan's situation. "Ah, what's happened to Lucas?" Natsume frowned. That must mean Lucas was still with Mikan. Somehow, people still assumed Lucas would rather be with him than her. "Ah, right, you don't know about Sakura do you?"

"Sakura?" He caved and asked.

"Hmm, well apparently she's listening to some tall tale about a warphole in the high school division or whatever. She's at the Special Abilities classroom wringing her heart out about how to get an antidote or Rep's Alice back or whatever." She put her hands on her hips and looked long-suffering. "I didn't think Lucas would still be indulging her. Come on. I'll show you."

"Bye, Hotaru, we'll come back later!" Nonoko and Anna waved goodbye. Natsume trailed along stoically.

Natsume allowed Permy to prattle on all the way, but offered little in conversational contribution. Heck, the more she filled the silence the more he learned. By the time they arrived outside the SA classroom you could hear the cacophony going on.

"Quick, help us look for the warphole!" He heard someone shouting as Permy burst the door open in her typical brazen, take no prisoners, style.

"Sakura!" She shouted. "I have heard it all. And to think I thought you were genuinely sorry. Yet you're disredgarding your betters who're trying to stop you from doing dangerous things, insisting on looking for a warphole you don't even know really exists to chase down that Z person?! Sakura, aside from being an idiot, you are still an idiot! Well, I object to this kind of plan!"

"Sakura, I heard you're going to help Class Rep and Hotaru get some special medicine; is that true!?" Nonoko interrupted excitedly. Lucas dashed up to the door.

"Natsume, I was so worried." Natsume shook his head frantically.

"Regarding the mission, you don't need to worry too much."

"But…"

"It's alright."

He noticed Tono eyeing them suspiciously and waved his hand in front of Lucas to shut him up.

"In any case, do you want to break the rules and cause everyone trouble again? Doing this kind of brainless thing! What if you're next? After Class Rep and Hotaru to have something happen to you?" Permy continued on her soap-box.

"But," Mikan interjected emotionally, "But I promised that together with Hotaru we'd help Class Rep get his Alice back. If we can't find the special medicine, Hotaru will be in great pain."

Or dead, Natsume thought grimly, as Class Rep tried to reassure Mikan that she didn't need to take such risks on his behalf.

"That's part of the work of the school."

"But, I really want to do something to change the current situation. I don't want her to worsen. As long as even something slightly good will come of it, as long as I can, I'm willing to do anything."

She looked around desperately with tears in her eyes, but as always she was swimming against the tide. The Shadow Freak tried to let her down gently.

"But the practical problem is, even if you could find the warphole what can you do then?"

"There could still be nothing at all," Lucas said. Soft spoken as he was,people listened when Lucas finally spoke up. "But if there was something you could do, and you couldn't try it, wouldn't it make you hate and regret it more?" He stepped forward. "I'll help you. If Sakura wants to find that warphole, I'll help her look." He looked around the class daring anyone to disagree with him.

In truth, Natsume had been with the Shadow Freak. The warphole probably didn't exist, and going in without a plan was asking for trouble, but the look on Lucas's face stopped him short. It was somewhat helpless. A strange look to be wearing when you decided there is something you can do. Natsume was struck by how often he'd seen that look on his friend's face. When Natsume came back from a mission, when he was bleeding, the rare times he cried and tried to hide it. When Lucas would beg to know if there was really nothing he could do or say to help him. Lucas had first noticed Mikan for that same desperate loyalty. Maybe just trying would help make Mikan, and Lucas for that matter, feel better. It was something over nothing after all, and he had experience that could actually help. Certainly he wasn't going to let them go alone. Dangerous missions were his domain. This, he could do.

"Me too." He stepped into their little circle. "Instead of sitting here discussing in circles if the warphole really exists, we should use this time to ascertain the truth of the matter. That would be more productive and useful."

He ignored the protests that it was dangerous and they'd get in trouble since life was always dangerous and always trouble. Were the higher-ups really going to get upset if he volunteered for a mission for once?

"If we really do find that warphole, at the very least we can catch those guys, before the school makes some stupid move. If we can solve this, we won't ask for anything in return anyway."

For the first time in his life, Natsume felt a burning in his blood for a mission. He would be thrilled to eliminate the Z organisation that trafficked in Alices and shot children. He would like to be able to do something for Mikan and his friend for once. He owed Imai too, for her part in getting him out of Z's clutches. It was time to return the favour.

(But more than that, it wouldn't hurt if he lost his Alice along the way.)

(He buried the thought as deeply as he could, trying not to be was for Lucas and Mikan, and Imai because he owed her. That's all.)

A/N:You may have noticed that Natsume speculates that Yuka was adopted, and perhaps thought that was a typo, and Natsume was speculating that Mikan was adopted. Nope! Adult adoptions are pretty common in Japan for inheritance purposes, so Natsume's first explanation for why Mikan is a Sakura and not Azumi, is either because Yuka got married, (or remarried), or was adopted into the Azumi family, possibly when she joined Z. Natsume's first thought isn't (child) adoption, because that's actually quite rare in Japan.

It's actually fascinating to me that Mikan is adopted in this manga, and I wonder how it happened. In Japan, it can be very hard to get adoptions done, because bloodlines are a huge deal. If you can't prove parental consent to the adoption, it cannot go through, and it is unusual to be given. Moreover, even in the case of children being found abandoned, it is not uncommon for a court not to terminate parental rights just in case a parent comes looking. Most such children grow up in orphanages, since foster care doesn't much happen either unless it's by blood relations.

Long and short is, Mikan's grandfather must have had connections to have pulled it off. You see, even if he had said that Mikan's mother had asked him to take care of her, how do they know the mother won't return for the child at a later date? How then do you terminate parental authority for an adoption? That's a doozy. Hence, odds are the government just registered Mikan Sakura, (gave her the name Sakura as Nonno is willing and it's a common enough name), as head of her own family in the koseki, and if Nonno Sakura wanted to officially adopt her when she was an adult fine. Worst case scenario, her grandfather had connections in the school to fudge things to let her attend, and that Mikan is, (to his limited knowledge), stateless. (After all, adoption would be even more crazy to a man of his generation, although maybe his experience with young children made him more prepared than most men his age.) Maybe that's the real reason he's protesting the school closing? It makes things easier for him? Hotaru might have spared Mikan a lot of trouble by donating that money to the school. Who knows?

So, basically, that Mikan is adopted is pretty much the last thing to cross anyone's minds without knowing the full story.