Disclaimer: Not mine.

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"Um, Natsume. I don't think I should be here," Ruka said anxiously as he looked around. He tugged at Natsume's shirt with his casted hand and motioned for the dimmed and empty looking room with his uninjured one. "This is kinda… um, should I just go back?"
/he trailed off with his question but his feet already making their way towards the door. It wasn't a question, obviously. He really wanted to get out of the place.

Natsume grabbed Ruka's shoulders and the poor blonde halted his steps with a sigh. He turned around and gave Natsume a look that was asking him to let him go. He could not stay in the room. Scratch that, he would not stay in the room. The environment
/was too foreign for him and he could not get used to the scene that was playing before his eyes. Not to mention the eerie air he felt inside the room.

Natsume shook his head and ordered him to sit down. Thus, he dragged his feet to one of the couch inside the room and sat down. Kazuki who was already sitting there before him, chuckled. "I'm guessing this is your first time in one of DA whereabouts?"

"I didn't even know you guys have such place," Ruka responded, slightly furrowed his brows when he tried to force himself not to wince at the sight he was seeing on the other side of the room. Mikan was there, sitting on a chair and a glass wall separated
/both of the room that they were occupied so he could see clearly what was going on on the other side. To be honest, he's not used to such gruesome sights. Now he felt like the bruises on his face were throbbing.

"If other people know about it, then there's no meaning to it," Kazuki answered casually with both his feet propped up on the small table in front of them. They were cans of empty coke beside where he placed them and he paid them no mind since he's comfortable
/with his sitting position. He heard Ruka mumbled and managed to pick up something along the line that sounded like 'point taken'.

Kazuki glanced at the other side of the room where Jun was pacing back and forth near the entrance door, talking on the phone. Based on the frown forming on his face, it seemed the conversation didn't go as well as he had initially planned. Once in awhile,
/he would see Jun biting his lower lip, probably trying to control his anger; or really, more correctly assumed, trying to control himself from talking back.

"Yes, I will be fully responsible for her disappearance." His voice sounded horribly strained.

There was a pause and he had stopped moving too, as if somebody on the other line had said something to freeze him off. He then massaged the bridge of his nose before he started to pace again. "Yes, that is correct. She's with us." He sent a pointed look
/towards Kazuki's direction and based on what he heard and how Jun looked right now, Kazuki could already guess what the doctor was nagging about right now on the other line. The corner of his lips curled into a smirk and having seen that, Jun rolled
/his eyes at him.

"We are truly sorry for the inconvenience. I will bring her tomorrow for the check up." Then the conversation continued with him mumbling a few Yes and Okays before he snapped his phone shut, indicating the end of the phone call.

"I'm starting to wonder if he also has the cat-dog alice in him," he muttered while sluggishly taking a sit on the only empty small couch left in the room. He leaned his back against the soft cushion. "Maybe he has the tracker alice." He suddenly pondered
/on the thought. It could be possible. How else would he know that Mikan is with them?

"He's just a smart doctor with a high level of IQ," Kazuki cut him off with a roll of his eyes. "After all that happened, things with the AAO and her alice blown up, who else would be stupid enough to kidnap her? Nobody would want to end their lives facing
/her when she's in such a state with no alice controllers on," he reminded him. "It made sense that we're the only possible culprits. Since there's no sign of breaking in or any signs of her fighting back."

"If there is any signs of her fighting back, the whole hospital would be burned down by now," Jun chuckled. His soft gaze landed on the brunette in the other side of the room. "How is it going? Has she stopped yet?" He asked Kazuki without turning his
/head away. His attention solely fell on Mikan alone.

"Unfortunately, no." Kazuki lift one of his feet and nudged Jun with his foot. "You should go in and tell her to take a break. The poor guy needs a breather." He looked at the strained looking man inside the room with Mikan. He had his eyes bulged out
/and his saliva was dripping from his mouth along with his blood. He was trembling.

Kazuki pointed one finger towards Ruka as well. "And Nogi here looks like he might puke if he watch another seconds of it."

Jun turned to look at Ruka Nogi who was sitting quite stiffly beside Kazuki. He knew Kazuki was exaggerating but he could not but felt bad for the blonde. He did look quite uncomfortable. He had heard on the grapevine that Ruka Nogi is one soft-hearted
/guy in contrast to the insensitive best friend of his, Natsume Hyuuga. He noticed the slight pale look he had on his face right now.

"I'm sorry for dragging you here with us, Nogi," Jun said apologetically. "You must be restless for being forced to be here. But we really have no words against hers this time." Jun tilted his head towards Mikan's direction. "Especially since she's in
/the mood to kill." Now that she finally could use her alice again.

Natsume turned around with his arms crossed on his chest. "Ruka already saw more than enough when her alice blown up. This is not his first time seeing blood and raw flesh," Natsume spoke, indicating the time where Ruka saw for the first time that Mikan
/killed every member of the AAO left when her alice ran out of control.

"But it still doesn't help the queasiness that I have to see it again." Over and over again, that is, Ruka added silently in his head. He felt like a bile was stuck in his throat when he tried to gulp down upon seeing Mikan shoving her hand through the
/man's stomach like she had not done it for the fifth time already throughout his stay inside the room.

His eyes widen as he watched the blood spurting out in red liquids and dripped on the floor. "Maybe it's too much for me, after all." Now he felt sick. He bent down and held his head between his palms. Why does she want him there anyways? So he could
/watch she torture someone?

Kazuki softly pad Ruka's back, repeatedly saying soothing words like, 'There, there. It's just a little blood," to him like a little kid. Ruka mentally flinched. Little blood? Is he effing kidding? There's a lot of blood there!

Kazuki tried to hide his grin when he muttered the next words. "Assuming Mikan wants you here, I'm guessing you'll be spending a lot of time with us from now on. So you'll get the hang of it soon."

He watched Ruka shook his head intensely and he could not help but laugh. "I'm sorry but you're just too innocent, Nogi." He then noticed that the vehement shaking of his head actually meant something else. "Oh?" He quirked a brow, staring at him. His
/eyes widen. "You're gonna puke for real?!" He jumped down from the couch in alarm. "Holy shit! Hang on! Imma find you a plastic bag! Shit don't puke on the couch, damn Nogi! I don't wanna clean it later!"

He pulled pale-looking Ruka up and dragged him to the door. Kicking the door opened with a really loud bang, he pushed him outside. Not before he yelled in, "Damn it Jun, tell Mikan to stop already!" He huffed, "Imma have to clean the couch for the second
/time if this guy decide to vomit again at the sight of blood."

Jun looked at the door now left wide open after Kazuki kicked it. He blinked, slightly confused at the turned out of events then turned to look at Natsume. "You're not gonna check up on him?" He asked worriedly. He didn't know Ruka Nogi to be that delicate.

Natsume shook his head. "Later. I'm gonna let Akio handles it first." He smirked. "So Ruka could feel guilty about it later on." His best friend would be pissed at him for burdening a stranger to take care of him when Natsume's actually in the same room
/and could help him instead.

"We didn't know Nogi could be so weak with blood," Jun pointed out, feeling slightly guilty. He finally made his own conclusion not to bring Ruka Nogi anywhere near thick red liquids. Or just anywhere near people getting killed; or about to get killed.

Natsume shrugged and turned back his attention to what's going on on the other side of the room. "He was never one. But this is probably too gruesome for him. Watching people getting killed that is." He threw a glance at Jun and Jun thought he had seen
/a very small smile formed on the raven-haired's lips before he turned around again. "Or getting tortured. But he'll be alright. He's quick to recover." Now he started to wonder if he hallucinate it in the first place.

To be honest, Jun was quite amaze with how the small conversation flowed. He had never engaged in a talk with Natsume Hyuuga previously all by themselves and he was completely stunned that they could actually converse normally. Jun had thought Natsume
/Hyuuga to be a one-word answer kind of guy. But to actually have a decent topic with him, Jun started to think of his initial impression on him. Although their current topic was not exactly normal when it involved blood and killing people. Or torture
/them.

"Ruka never like DA people," Natsume silently added in. "But he gradually accepts that I'm in DA class even though he's still against it even till today. Must be odd for him to see that Sakura is also one of them now."

Jun was taken aback by Natsume's voluntary act. He didn't expect him to continue with the conversation. Especially when he didn't give him any reply about their previous topic. Not only that, for Natsume Hyuuga to share something so open like that, it
/must be a first. No, scratch that. Maybe he's that type of a person all along, it's just probably that not many people know because he's only like that to certain people? Like how sometimes he only let his walls down around Ruka Nogi. Maybe that's
/it. Maybe Natsume Hyuuga wasn't so bad after all. Maybe all of this was just really a misunderstanding all along.

Jun walked and stood next to Natsume. His trained eyes fell on Mikan. "Must be odd for everyone to see her change like that." He watched her impassive expression at the sight of the man groaning in pain and how her eyes glistened when the man screamed
/in agony when she twisted one of his arms. Jun's eyes became clouded. "It was harder for us because her changes happened right infront of us and we could not do anything about it."

"Because you guys were forced to change as well," Natsume responded. It wasn't a doubt but Jun really saw it this time; the faint sad smile on Natsume Hyuuga's face. He wasn't hallucinating. "That's what happen when you join the DA. You become heartless."
/Natsume knew, because it also happened to him.

There was a silent moment for a while and Jun wondered if he should say something because somehow, their topic had gotten a bit heavy but then Natsume spoke up, almost in an inaudible tone. "In Mikan Sakura's case, maybe we're the trigger for her changes."
/Did he sense a hint of guilt in Natsume's tone as well?

Jun raised his brows. Now's the topic he really grew interest in. Facing Natsume, he leaned against the glass wall and crossed his arms on his chest. His gaze fixed on Natsume's crimson ones. "Hyuuga, don't you think it's almost time for you guys to make
/up?"

Natsume threw him a steel glare and immediately Jun knew it's a sensitive issue. But he's not gonna back down. If he didn't step in, this issue will never be solved. Time is ticking. Not to mention that both sides were stubborn as hell. He calmly raised
/both his hands in front of him to stop Natsume from countering and quickly added, "I know I'm a complete stranger and we are not exactly in good terms to become friends as well but," he threw a glance at Mikan before continuing, "based on how Mikan
/react towards Imai's case, I'm sure she still cares for her old friends. Even if she strongly deny it."

Natsume narrowed his eyes at Jun. "Were you always like this, Kouhei?" Jun raised his brows quizzically at him, could not perceive his words. Then Natsume startled Jun a little by slightly shaking his head and scoffed. "I thought Akio is the only nosy
/one." He turned around. "I'm gonna go and check on Ruka."

He headed for the open door. "You aren't half as bad as I thought you were, Kouhei." He paused and mumbled under his breath, "Maybe better."

Jun's face broke into a bemused smile. "Ditto, Hyuuga. Ditto." Natsume closed the door behind his back and Jun could hear the sound of his footsteps echoed in the empty hallways as he walked.

Now he was left alone to ponder.

Natsume Hyuuga was extremely… participative and expressive this time around. Maybe they could end up be friends after this. He shook his head and mentally chuckled at such thoughts but he could not but feel intrigued by such idea. Supposed he should just
/enjoy the thoughts of considering it instead. Not that he knew it would happen. He had hoped, but he knew it definitely wouldn't happen.

He pulled himself off the glass wall and headed for the door that connected to the room Mikan was in. As he turned the doorknob and pushed the door open, he saw Mikan was already sitting back on her chair with one leg crossed the other. She was playing
/with her alice controller, absent mindedly tugging at the stud earing on her ear but her hard gaze was on the man floating in the middle of the room with both his arms spread open on each side. "He's not talking. No, it's more like he won't talk."
/He heard her clicked her tongue in annoyance.

Jun looked at the poor man. Seemed like he had fainted hence the reason why Mikan had stopped. He watched the blood running from a gash on his forehead and there were cuts everywhere on his body. There was a gaping hole through his stomach and he could
/see the organs inside it. Thick red liquid was dripping on the floor. His right hand was hanging limply on air. His leg looked like it was bended the other way around. It was indeed a dreadful sight.

"So you're going to continue doing it like this?"

Her mouth twisted into a grimace. "It's not like he's gonna die."

"Normal person would have died, Mikan," Jun pointed out. "It doesn't matter if you keep on rejuvenate his cells with one of your alice. He could still die due to unbearable pain." Hecould only gaze at the sight of the man's wounds closing up. The

hole in his stomach slowly regenerate and the flesh began to attached themselves again.

"Then what do you suggest we should do, Jun? I can't get inside his mind because something was blocking my entrance. It was definitely something AAO would do. Probably blocked his memory or something," Mikan said through gritted teeth. She then bit her
/inner cheeks out of frustration and mumbled, "Can't even use my Nullification Alice on him to unblock his memory. I don't know what's blocking me."

Jun quirked his brows. "That's new. Nothing ever blocked your nullification before," he commented.

"That's why it's pissing me off!" She huffed. "I couldn't torture him mentally so I went for physical but he's not saying anything at all!" She paused. "Maybe I should go for his emotion after this."

"What, you're gonna ask him to count 1000 backwards, minus 7 each time, would you?"

Mikan rolled her eyes at Jun's remark. Nonetheless, she stood up and playfully smacked Jun's arm with a chuckle. "You should stop reading Tokyo Ghoul already, Jun. It messes up your head." She headed for the door. "Then, I'll leave it to you this time
/around." She looked at the man. "Give him another one hour for his body to completely revive and he's good to go again."

Her anger had somehow lessened now. Of course it would; she had already tortured the man five times now. Probably that's enough to let her steam off her rage for being so angry at him for shooting Hotaru straight through her shoulder and took her away
/right in front of her eyes. Now that her conscious was back, drowning her fury side away, she finally got to think right in the head.

AAO must had already anticipated this would happen. That's why they had the man's memory blocked in the first place, as a precautious measure. But what kind of strong alice was it that it could blocked her nullify alice? On the other side, it got her
/thinking whether AAO did it on purpose; they wanted the man to be found. Maybe that's why he was alone when okaa-san found him. If that was so, then why this Satoshi Sugahara's not talking even when he's tortured? Why was he that loyal to AAO?

Now rather than torture him because of her anger, she just wanted him to spill the information out. She needed to know where they took Hotaru.

Mikan was about to close the door behind her when she noticed the room she was entering was void of any human presence. Her glance darting around but there was nobody. She frowned. Poking her head back inside the previous room, her mouth turned downward.
/"Jun, why is the room empty?"

Jun's eyes light up like he finally remembered something. "Ah I forgot to mention. Nogi threw up so Kazuki took him outside. Hyuuga went to check up on him."

Now Mikan felt bad. "The blood's too much forhim?"

Jun shrugged. "Hyuuga said the gruesome sight is too much for him." He paused. Eyes closed, head tipped back, he suddenly grinned. He opened his eyes and Mikan saw them twinkled. "You know what, let's get Nogi to talk to him."

Mikan gave him a blank look. "What?"

Jun walked towards her and placed both his hands on her shoulders warmly with his face beaming excitedly. "If torture doesn't work, let's go for a more civilized route."

Mikan scowled at his term of words on her. "Civilized? You're saying my way isn't civilized? And anyways, why can't you just talk to him instead of Ruka?"

Jun mentally perked up at the mention of Nogi's given name Mikan was using but he decided not to press on it. That wasn't such a big matter he should be thinking about right now. "Come on Mikan, taking into account our outward appearances, compared to
/us five including Hyuuga, if you're a captive, who would you want to talk to?"

Finally seeing Jun's point, Mikan rolled her eyes and eventually gave in. She sighed. "The blonde with the kind face."

Jun padded her head softly. "Exactly."

TBC.