Last chapter! Woo hoo! :D Hope you guys like this chapter :)
"Natsume." Mikan breathed. "Why?"
Fire crackled and blazed, but there was no other sound. Natsume did not reply, no one else muttered a word.
Mikan held her breath as she glared at him.
"Soul Sucking Alice…" Koko whispered under his breath, paused, and then threw his head back with a loud, humorous laugh. "I should have known."
"What?" Mikan turned her head cautiously towards Koko, keeping an eye on Natsume in her peripheral vision. "Soul Sucking Alice?"
"There was a rumor," Koko started, "about a girl in the DA class who had this alice. There was no doubt it was true, but no one saw her before." He motioned towards Natsume. "I should have known they would use it on the best DA member; there's a black mark on his neck."
Mikan's eyes trailed down to Natsume's neck, and indeed, there was a black mark, almost like a bruise, at the base of his neck.
Natsume stood there without moving a muscle; his crimson eyes were shades darker than usual and stared at them, yet staring at nothing. He was seeing, but could not see anything.
"We have to get past him." Koko stated. He looked at her, "no matter what happens, don't get caught, don't die, and I'll be waiting for you on the boat," he got prepared to run, and Mikan was in a panic, "if I survive this. You're on your own. I trust you. Go!"
Mikan's body moved on it's own accord the second she heard the word 'go.' Her legs pumped her at an inhumane speed, racing past flames and burning objects, towards the harbor. Fire rings circled around her, but she paid them no mind as she continued running without missing a beat.
Her pants started flaming as she jumped past ring after ring of fire. She wanted to scream. She could smell the bittersweet aroma of smoke. She was slowing down.
But as fast as she caught fire, the fire extinguished and her burning hot legs cooled down, as if ice were placed on top of them.
Ice…
She was able to spare a glance behind her, and she instantly became horrified. Her mind was thrown in turmoil, and her legs came to a dead stop seconds away from the harbor.
"Mikan," Hotaru called over the mic. "What are you doing? Don't stop!"
"Where's Koko?" Mikan asked in a daze, heart bounding, head throbbing. She couldn't see Koko or Natsume behind the wall of fire.
"Where's Koko?" She asked again into the mic, louder than before. There was no response other than the buzzing of static from the other side.
"I have to go find him." Mikan whispered to herself, forcing her legs to move once again, to the opposite direction.
"No, Mikan." Hotaru spoke once again, firmly. "You have to keep going, the boat will depart soon. You'll be safe once you get on."
"But!" Mikan cried, wanting to continue on yet her legs stopped by themselves. "But Koko is—"
"Trust him." Sumire's voice appeared with such confidence and reassurance, Mikan merely nodded and turned around.
"Trust him," she repeated quietly to herself, urging herself once again to break into a run. She was exhausted, her eyes stung with unshed tears and smoke, she missed Koko, but she kept running.
Almost there.
Almost there.
Koko felt pain shoot up his arm as Natsume fired a bullet at him. 'Blast it,' he thought, clutching his bleeding arm, 'who the hell gave him a gun?'
He couldn't see Mikan's silhouette from behind the fire anymore. He could only pray that she was safe, on the boat, and ready to go. He would have to meet up with her soon; the boat is about to leave.
"Come on, man." Koko whined. "Snap out of it already! The Natsume I know would never get possessed that easily."
Natsume continued advancing without missing a beat, reloading his handgun.
"Talking ain't gonna work, is it?" Koko muttered to himself. "Fine, let's do this the hard way."
With a flick of his hand, the fire surrounding them disappeared, replaced by rings of ice.
"You'd have to create fire that's hot enough to evaporate my ice," Koko said smugly. "Or else it'll just turn into water, and put out your fire either way. Oh, but that'll take a lot of energy, won't it?"
The sparks started under the ice on the floor. Steam started coming out.
"Shit," Koko swore as the ice around them started to melt, steam a mixture of cold and heat. "My alice won't buy me much time."
He clutched his sword in his left arm, the one unwounded, and clutched a gun in his wounded one.
He raced towards Natsume, and vice versa.
Bullets fired, swords clashed against each other in deafening clanks, and blood spilled as ice and fire swirled together in a deadly dance.
Ten minutes.
It's been ten minutes already, and the clock kept ticking on. Mikan was restless as she paced the boat. She couldn't see anything on land; she supposed they were too far away for her to see. She couldn't see any fire either.
"Hotaru, Hotaru." She spoke into her earpiece. "Do you have any signals from Koko? It's taking him much too long."
"His signal disappeared." Hotaru answered slowly, "the boat will leave in three minutes whether he shows up or not. Be prepared for the worst, Mikan."
Mikan slumped onto the floor of the boat, making it rock lightly on the freezing water and the chains that connected it to the harbor clinked.
"Koko," she clasped her hands over her heart. "Please make it."
"Two minutes." Hotaru announced.
Mikan sunk deeper into her seat.
"Do you think he'll make it?" Sumire's whisper was heard into the microphone.
"I don't know." Hotaru whispered back, tone flat, before raising her voice again. "One minute."
"Oh god." Mikan cried as she heard Hotaru's countdown. He's not going to make it. The motor at the end of the boat roared to life as the boat rocked even more violently.
"30 seconds." Mikan came to loathe Hotaru's voice as it boomed from the earpiece. 30 seconds, he couldn't possibly make it.
"10, 9, 8, 7, 6…" Mikan covered her eyes with her hands as tears silently rolled down her face. The boat jerked once violently and then she could hear the breaking of the chain. The wind blew against her face as she felt the boat accelerating.
Then a tap on her shoulder.
She flinched at the contact before snapping her head up and stared right into a pair of chocolate brown eyes.
"You look devastated for some reason." He stated with a wild grin. His hair was a complete mess (but looks surprisingly good on him) and his uniform was ripped in numerous places. Splatter of blood was evidently visible on his shirt.
"Wha…" Mikan swallowed thickly. "What happened?"
"Well," Koko started, pretending to think deeply. "I beat Natsume."
"Obviously," Mikan rested her head against her knees, suddenly extremely tired. "I mean, how did you win him, and what happened during the match."
"Um, I kinda used my alice to block his alice, and then we were just hitting and shooting each other. He shot my arm, I shot his leg, and then I ran as fast as I could. I broke the earpiece in the process." He showed her the broken pieces.
"No wonder why Hotaru lost your signal." Mikan sighed and Koko gave out a loud laugh.
"The two of you," Sumire's voice could be heard from the earpiece, and Mikan put it on speaker so Koko could hear too. "The most dangerous part is over. Travel safe, 'kay? And keep in contact."
"You sound like a worried mother." Koko teased with a laugh. "We know, we know."
"Thanks guys." Mikan sniffed with tears. "Thank you so much. We never would've made it so far without you guys."
"Of course." Hotaru answered nonchalantly. This was it. This was the end of their journey. The boat continued speeding down the water, following the outline of Japan to the city of Osaka.
The trip would certainly be long and unnerving, but they were free and they were together. That was all that mattered.
It was almost the second day when Koko and Mikan finally reached Osaka. Just as they would expect from Hotaru and the others, an apartment was already paid under their names.
Mikan jumped onto the sofa in glee as Koko gave out a little chuckle before sitting down next to her.
There was a moment of silence.
"What should we do now?" Mikan whispered as she stared at the ceiling, slightly worried about their future.
"Hm, it would be best if we both got a job." Koko answered thoughtfully.
"That's true…" Mikan trailed off as she stretched her arms in front of her.
"Let's not think about it." Koko whispered. "For now, let's just live in the moment."
There was silence, and nothing but the clicking of the clock was heard.
"Ne, Koko," Mikan started quietly, "I love you."
Mikan Sakura.
Kokoro Yome.
Their existence shall always be a secret from the academy. Only the handful of friends who helped them escape would know they were still alive. Their existence will always be a secret, and this secret will be frozen in time and sealed with a kiss.
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