THE SELECTION

G.A. Version by merudy (previously crimson flares)

Chapter 12

A/N: oh look, i'm actually back. fun. also, this chapter's gonna suck. have fun!

The cold metal circle of a gun pressed itself on my forehead and I could only hold my breathe, waiting for the trigger to go.

I couldn't breathe.

The entire dining hall was in utter chaos. Shrieks were heard around the hall and the girls were crying under the grips of men, all in the same red shirt and black bandannas. Some girls, however, remained calm and tried to reason with their captor who, in all means, ignored all their chides. More men in the same getup overthrew chairs, ornaments and decorations, leaving havoc upon their wake.

Everyone was scared.

"Now, now..." The brawny man who was holding me hissed on my ear, his throaty breathe leaving a hot trail on my cheek. "Don't move, or I'll hurt ya."

"What do you want?" I blurted out, choking over my own saliva. "Who — who are you?"

The man ignored me, shooting a salute off to someone in the distance, then forced me on my knees. At one hand he held me down by the shoulder and the other raised an earpiece over to his ear, fastening it on.

"'Lo," I heard him rattle to the earpiece. "Yeah, got my baggage down. A short girl with brown hair and brown eyes. A lil' on the brittle side yeah, her arm's twice my hand..."

"Oh god, report to your boss without insulting me, would you?"

"Shut yer yap, shrimp," He said, removing his hand from his earpiece to hold my head down with both of his hands. He continued speaking to his earpiece in a lower volume. I could now only barely managed to make out what he was saying. "Mm, yeah, master's here... gonna teach these girls a lesson... take over without... good king... yeah... these girls are hella whiney..."

I squirmed on the floor uncomfortably. Ignoring the fact that my buttocks were literally sweating up on my dress, I tried to make sense of his words, but I couldn't. I watch as more girls get pinned down on the floor, force depending on how they react (those who resist were handled rather toughly, but not enough to bruise them — those who regained composure and stayed calm were held rather loosely and seemed more comfortable). Nobody could use the alices, as they were held back by the restrainers, and I could tell that everyone was itching to fight.

Just as I am.

I felt helpless, just being pinned down on the floor like this like a guinea pig; whether or not I stood a chance on escaping from this man's grasp, I didn't have any power to fight back anyone who attacks me. I was a small, measly girl with a non-offensive alice. I felt useless all over, itching to save all the frightened girls, but there was nothing I could do.

Stupid Mikan.

A loud clap from the other side of the room interrupted me from my thoughts. I found Natsume standing up on a cabinet, face rigid. The king stood by his side, reddened and looking extremely furious.

Then I realized something.

Natsume was wearing the same bandanna as the men in red.

What's going on?

"Let them go," Natsume ordered and, on cue, the men on bandannas freed all their captives. I stumbled from my position, wiping my cheek with the napkin on my dress pocket.

"Natsume-sama!" I heard a girl cry. "What is this?" Her plea triggered more chatters as everyone began to question Natsume, who kept his expression rigid. He seemed to be waiting for the chatter to die down before speaking. Meanwhile, I was upset. I didn't speak and simply frowned at Natsume, who met my eyes for a second before turning away.

There was a reason why he was behind this.

"Prince Natsume!"

"What's going on?"

"Is this the treatment we're going to get if we are to become Queen?" One girl has yelled, obviously causing Natsume to just snap. He jumped off the cabinet he was standing on and faced us.

"No," he said coldly. "As you are all properly informed, the castle is often attacked by a recurring — or newer, smaller — groups of rebels that threaten every resident in the palace." Natsume paused, looking over the entire room , at each of us. "This is a mild simulation in which one of you — in the near future — would have to experience very regularly. I want a wife who knows how to fight back. Someone independent and strong-willed, not cry and whine every single mistake. So if you think you cannot handle the pressure of being royalty or the threat of the rebels, you are free to go."

I stepped out of my room towards the balcony, shivering at the chilly Alicea air.

Natsume's words today never stopped haunting me after they came out, honestly. It made me think about myself. Everything was true— the rebels were constantly around, wreaking havoc, and most of the time, people get hurt. Chaos was inevitable.

Six girls had signed up to leave right after the what happened. Each of them were from different castes and different personalities, all of which never really stood out to me. They were now packing up, freshening themselves before flying home tomorrow.

Back to where they belong.

Back to where they knew they were safe.

Looking back how their eyes were, I knew they were afraid. Afraid of the rebels, the dangers of being royalty and afraid responsibilities that would come along with the crown.

Afraid of Natsume.

I knew that this entire thing was his plan. Natsume never meant to choose from a small pool of girls randomly picked from all over the country. I could easily tell that he'd rather handle the crown in his own hands, alone. Days along the Selection and he's already tired of everything. He meant to frighten the girls and make his work easier. He's sick of everything — the girls, all the extra work, the Selection itself.

Just as I am.

There was never a moment in my life that I have been more scared than I was just a few hours ago. A man was literally holding on to me, his breath gross and stinky, plotting some shit buried up his sleeve. I hadn't offensive alice or physical strength to fight a huge, brawny person back. I was defenseless. One day I'll be stuck in that situation, a real one, and I would then be only able to pray for a miracle to come and save me.

That is, if I continue to stay within the competition.

"Changing your mind?" Someone popped from the balcony and I jumped, looking around. Natsume, in his raggedly handsome my-hair-is-wet-from-sweat-but-I'm-still-hot-as-fuck glory, was sitting at the ledge, dangerously hanging near the end. He was watching me with an amused expression which unsteadily reminded me of a cat's.

"Go away, Natsume." I frowned at him. "Your little setup earlier wasn't nice."

"Good. Exactly like how I planned," He mused. I flashed him a glare.

"I'm serious. You know that anyone could have gotten seriously traumatized by that!" I chided. "Rude. Why are you here, anyway?"

"I went on a little sprint outside." I didn't buy his explanation. "Give me a break. My entire family's on my suite waiting to ax my soul into hell."

"I am also angry at you."

"Let me in, little girl. On the bright side, some girls actually left. Your work is getting easier."

"You never look at the bright side of things, Natsume. You're the embodiment of pure evil. Six girls are actually leaving tomorrow, are you happy now?"

"You mean seven. That Shaw girl threw a fit while I tried to get private with her."

"You're savage. Get off my face."

"We'll talk later. Are your maids in?"

"No, why?"

"I'm gonna go get a shower."

After scandalously forcing himself inside my room, claiming that it was his palace and therefore his property, Natsume helped himself my precious, strawberry-scented bathroom in he came out of approximately fourteen minutes later, donning only his pants and a towel over his shoulders.

My mouth fell open.

He was topless.

Literally half-naked.

In my room.

"PERVERT!" I screeched, throwing the pillow I had in my lap at him. He caught in his hand and scowled at me.

"Heh, as if you aren't enjoying the view."

I — of course I —" I sputtered, my eyes travelling from his face to his wondrous boobs (wow, he has them more than I do), to his perfectly sculpted chest (holy shit, can you believe this guy? he has no chest hair and his body's literally shining, shimmering, splendid... oh shut up Mikan) down to the sexily chiseled V that leads to his...

"Get a shirt on," I hissed before I get even more distracted. Natsume rolled his eyes and sat at the edge of my bed, drying his air off with a towel. His slight hunch made his boxers come into view. My inner fangirl died.

"Enjoy the view while it lasts," he says with a straight face.

"Natsume," I said through gritted teeth. "Get. A. Shirt. On. Or I will throw you off the balcony." I was tingling all over, my senses jolting upward, as thought I was being electrified, but it feels so damn great.

But it's because Natsume looks relatively hot right now. Nope, not at all.

Natsume rolls his eyes at me again and throws a shirt on — out of nowhere, what the actual —and walked over to my comfy sofa chair, shifting it so he was facing me.

"There are seventeen girls left in the competition..." He began straightly, not batting an eyelash. I stiffened in my position and sat a little more formally. Natsume's aura had turned from playful to his usual serious expression, all the teasing gone. I felt quite uncomfortable — he was back to the Natsume I didn't know.

"As someone who appointed themselves as a friend, I want you to tell me how to get rid of seven more girls. I want everything to narrow down to the Elite as quick as I can, then whip something up to delay the entire Selection."

My mouth fell open.

"What was the point of having this — this entire thing?! Snagging people out of their normal lives, turning them into someone they aren't, forcing them to act like a bunch of options. You do that, then look for a puny excuse to just end it without a resolution? What did you hold this competition for?!" I demanded, meeting his eyes. He watched me carefully, scrutinizing every expression that forms out of my reddening face. I was fuming.

"You, for a fact," he jabbed a finger at my direction. "Know quite well that I never wanted to hold this sort of thing in the first place." I nodded furiously, waiting for him to continue. "The Selection is a waste of time. When I can actually devise plans to improve this country, I am forced to flirt with strangers, comply to their demands, socialize with people whilst balancing my responsibilities as a prince and an heir. I like this entire thing as much as you do — which is, in other words, I don't."

"But you agreed to go through with it. You could have fought back. I know you can get your way." I retorted, jumping off my bed. I stood on my carpet and crossed my arms in his direction. Natsume watched me carefully.

"I would have done what I can if I could," he replied curtly, expression hard. "But the entire country is in chaos, Tiger Print. The people need a distraction — one I tried to argue with — and the distraction needed to be very big. One that involves the entire country. An event that is based on tradition, which the royal family gravely tries to keep." Natsume paused. "Which, in shorter terms, is this entire bullshit."

"Then I suggest you at least choose one girl in the end," I said. I walked over to the sofa beside the chair he was sitting on and placed myself on it. "No matter how long it takes. This entire Selection had cost money, time and pressure, Natsume. Put it all to waste and people won't forgive you."

"Who the hell cares. I don't need the people's forgiveness."

"You need their trust," I pressed. Natsume stared at me and sighed.

We sat in silence for a long moment. I grabbed a magazine from the coffee table and began to flip through it while Natsume sat on my chair, his elbows on his knees and hand in his head. I wondered what he was thinking about, but I was rather certain he still didn't regret his actions earlier.

He did have a point. Anyone who'd remain to be his queen needed to be strong. Not someone who always needed someone on her back. Natsume needed someone who was smart, independent and strong-willed; —that is, if he chose someone in the end.

What if I get to be his Queen?

No.

Not possible.

"Hey, Tiger Print?"

"My name is Mikan."

"Mind if I ask you a question?"

"No, what is it?"

"What if I make you my queen?"

I look up from my book to find him already sitting on the empty space next to me, his eyes boring deep into my soul. My heart skipped a beat — since when was his reddened lips and unruly hair that hot?

Oh, shut up, Mikan.

"You're gross. Don't look at me like that," I pushed his face away, blushing. What was going on with me?

"I'm serious. You're a lot more decent than the rest of the whiners we both got stuck with. What do you think?"

I laughed and shook my head, patting his shoulder lightly. I ignored the rapid beating of my heart and excused myself to the bathroom.

A/N: Alright, hahaha that's it! ^^ I'm so sorry to everyone who thought I was dropping this story! i've been trying to write for a long time now it's just that school and tumblr got me so hooked! I'm currently about to restart the entire manga to at least gather more intel on how I'm gonna illustrate the story. Thank you for all the support!

I hope you guys liked this chapter! Next one would come with the interviews (what do we even call that again? err. Also, i've lost my OC list, I'm so sorry...

Thanks to Chibi Mimi 1997, StarElsie, THE SELECTION, AnimeMango, C.F. Cat, chikuura, PurpleRockShooter, Guest, EchizenRyoma, Lady Conchicum, 0gWxlf, JustMe, michelle97, MieraK1, freespirited309, and Sakura Shiragiku, who reviewed! ^^ I love you guys so much! thank you to those who favorited and followed too, ahh 3

(P.S. — i tried to reread this entire thing but i ended up gagging at myself. my 11-year-old self is a nerd.)