Gakuen Alice Fan Fiction ❯ A Covenant with the Devil ❯ The Unexpected ( Chapter 2 )

Lies, temptations and deceptions. What else could it be? They say that when the devil feeds on the life of a good person, nobody will notice...but I did. It got Mikan, the person I love the most, and I won't let it take her away from me. Natsume x Mikan. Shifting First Person POV.   Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice is not mine. I hope Tachibana-sama forgives me for what I’m about to do with her characters.     Author’s Notes: I truly apologize for the slow updates. In this chapter, I’ll be introducing you to a significant original character (OC) in the story. This story will involve a lot of made-up fictional and historical background about alices…so yeah, if you encounter any of these they’re just products of my warped imagination and never happened in the anime nor manga.   Although I’m naturally an optimist, I tried to shift to a more skeptical perspective. I hope it turned out okay, constructive criticisms are very much welcome! Though I know flames are inevitable, I’d still say “No Flames please” (especially meaningless ones)…….but since I’m in an evil trance right now, I might be tempted to play with them.   There will be slight changes in their character. In their 20’s, the GA characters must have undergone some changes in their attitude. XD One constant thing in this world is change – including anime characters I think. Eh-hehehehe. Hope this chapter satisfies your need for horror!   Courtesy of Gakuen Alice Fanfiction Network (GAFN) and Gakuen Alice Forums (GAF). Click on my profile to join!   ----------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------o A Covenant With the Devil Genre: Horror / Romance   Written By: WizdomGoddess   Chapter 2: The Unexpected   ----------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------o   It never went away. Those repulsing images of the decaying hand and hungry fangs haunted my mind. They clawed in deep, lingering like a vulture feasting on a predator’s left-over.   We were a match made in heaven, sleep and I --- but last night proved otherwise.   I kept turning uncomfortably in a raging sweat. Most nightmares rarely hang around during wakefulness but this one was different. It didn’t end when I woke up this morning. Each detail was vivid as day. I want to believe it was just a nightmare but I could only wheeze like an old car engine.   ‘Say goodbye to nightmares with Dream Willowbeds for only…’ rang the prissy voice of the promotion model we encountered years ago, that time when I purchased this bed with Mikan. I spent a fortune on this junk yet I still had nightmares. Say goodbye to nightmares -- my ass.   Those people will do anything to make money. That model’s crooked smile and sculpted brows looking more like inverted V’s than U’s were obviously physical endowments of mediocrity. I encounter these kinds of clueless women everyday, looking like Barbie dolls with red strings attached to their backs - pawns of damned businessmen.   Alice Academy graduates like me could easily see through such facades; even someone as dense as Mikan knows it. Businessmen are gremlins hidden beneath human flesh, starving for power in the deceptive game of politics; to me, they’re all born liars -- some more or less sensible than the others. All they care about are their profits soaring high up in the air; it’s the very oxygen they breathe.   ‘You work for liars’ my better sense reminded.   I hate it when it’s right.   I get paid to do their dirty work – handsomely. Maybe I’m a liar too, more so towards my self. Why did I enter this life? Was it destiny or decision? Years ago when I was still a student in the academy, I strongly believed in the latter.   But now, I don’t know anymore.   After a deep breath, I exhaled bothersome thoughts away. I still had a meeting to attend. Grumbling curses, I tried to rub off the sleepiness from my eyes and glanced at the time. 6:45 am.   OH SHIT! I’m going to be late!   Rushing out of my bed was a piece of cake for me. With lightning speed, I went straight to the bathroom. Damn, fifteen minutes! Can I do all my morning rituals in fifteen measly minutes? Maybe I can put off showering for later. The door was already wide open. Mikan probably forgot to close it again.   I entered.   My toothbrush stood at the far edge of the sink against the wall; beside it, a toothpaste tube was sticking out of the glass. Above the sink was an oval mirror. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to look at my reflection first.   I walked towards the sink reaching for the toothbrush with my right hand and the toothpaste with the other.   My hair looked like pocket-sized kindergarten children ran all over it; the strands sprang wildly in all directions. A pair of sleepy ruby eyes stared back at me. The color of ruby…or is it the color of blood? Is there even a difference? I’ve killed many people in my missions but I’ve never looked long enough to study how dark their blood was.   My solitude was broken by a consecutive tapping sound. The image of the rotting hand formed in the mirror, aiming for my neck. My heart thrashed like an involuntary joint. Was it back? So it wasn’t a nightmare? Breathing became even more difficult when I tried to think. It took only a few seconds before I decided to look down at the sink.   The faucet handle was slightly loose; drops of water consecutively fell out of its snout. It splashed against the hollow with a tap…and another…and another. It was just the sound of dripping water. Damn. What’s going on with me? Last night was JUST dream! A DISTURBING ONE.   I twisted the handle and caught the miniature waterfall on my curved palm. The feel of splatter on my face was refreshing, yet I knew the pleasure was short-lived: the nightmare won’t go away.

After a couple of minutes, I trudged out of the bedroom dressed in a navy blue turtleneck and jeans. My hair was no longer in disarray. I unfolded the black trench coat that hung on my left arm.   Ugh, I’m hungry. I needed to eat breakfast, but if I do I’ll be late.   I glanced at the cabinet of kitchen wares that separated the kitchen and the dining area. At the center of the dining table was prominent bulk. A couple of hotdog sandwiches were wrapped neatly in transparent plastic; a folded paper bag was underneath it. A note was lying on top of the sealed buns. I stalked towards it and picked up the note:   Natsume! I’m going to the park with Sumire! Sorry for leaving suddenly!  Here’s some breakfast in case you wake up late again! Love you!   XOXOXO forever, Mikan   PS: You can put the food in the paper bag yourself.   I smiled almost reflexively. The woman has somehow developed her ability to think ahead, especially when it involved me and food. So she’s going with that Shoda woman…Whoever thought those two will end up as best friends? Ever since Hotaru Imai left to pursue her doctorate abroad, the cat-dog girl rescued Mikan from depression and grew protective of her --- even from me. Who am I to complain? I’m glad some women actually grow out of their fan-girl phase.   I stared at the XOXO at Mikan’s end remarks and chuckled. I have a weird feeling that her recent best friend was the one who injected the “XOXO” in her vocabulary. Who knows what else she taught my fiancée?   Hastily, I grabbed the paper bag and dropped the buns inside. I rolled up the edges and inserted the note in my pocket. It was thoughtful of her to think of me even with all the stress that came with her job. I understand her; I work in the same agency after all.   Mikanlooked extremely tired yesterday when she went home. A difficult mission must have been assigned to her.   Mikanchose to apply in the same agency where I worked; her reason was she wanted to ‘be with me’. At first I forbade her but the woman was stubborn and joined anyway. Amazingly, she was doing well in the defense unit in her missions. She deserved a break.   It’s a mystery how Mikan manages to be optimistic despite her tight schedule. I don’t know where she gets all her energy; she always managed to replenish it. I have always loved her cheery attitude --- it never failed to brighten up even the gloomiest of days.   I usually kept an eye on her during her missions but recently, my boss made a dumping ground out of me. He assigned one mission after another that I barely found enough time to rest and watch over my fiancée. There are times when I wonder if he did it on purpose.   Stop thinking of these things, move your ass Natsume!, scolded my brain. I dashed towards the main door. With one last look at the empty condo unit, I went out and closed the door behind me. I pulled out my cellular phone and dribbled on the keys with my thumb. I typed a message that said: thanks.   Grinning overtly, I added an XOXOXO.   I searched for Mikan’s number and clicked the ‘send’ option.     ---------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----o   I laughed.   “Hey! Why are you laughing? I haven’t even started yet!”   My cell phone almost flew off my hand. I forgot that Sumire was about to tell something funny. I tried to rack my memory. Was it a joke? Was it someone else’s embarrassing moment? Was it a movie? I can’t remember…   I sent her an apologetic grin.   Sumirecrossed her arms and glared. “Ahhhh, never mind! What’s up with you anyway?” she pouted. Furrowing her brows, she fixed her gaze on my cell phone. “What’s in the cell phone that’s more interesting than me, hmm?”   Her expression changed into something awfully familiar. I recognized the expression right away; Sumire had something up her sleeve. I knew right away that my best option was to think of another topic.   “Hotaru called me up again this morning!” I began cheerfully, “I knew it was her. I’d recognize her voice right away but…maybe, there was something wrong with the signal. I could only hear her say ‘Crefdulnikar’…is that a foreign word or something?”   Hotaruand I have been phone pals ever since she went abroad. I really don’t know what university she applied in because she refused to talk about it. At her age, it’s amazing that she’s already taking up her doctorate. We chat almost everyday but this morning, I couldn’t understand a word she said on the phone.   “Crefdulnikar? Nope! Never heard of it,” Sumire replied.   “After that, the line wet dead. It’s strange,” I pondered, “It really worries me…”   “Well, yeah…you can’t expect the line to be clear all the time. I guess that’s the downside with all these high-tech stuff. It makes the world grow smaller but it still has some loopholes. But I have to admit, it’s pretty useful…” she said. “Wait a second here, you changed the subject!”   I swore her cat ears popped out the top of her head. “Don’t even think about it Sumire!” I warned. “Remember, if you transform here people will see you! You know we’re not allowed to do that!”   “I’m perfectly aware of that…” she replied. “What do you take me for? I’m only going to spill the beans to your darling Natsume. I’m sure he’d love to know where you’ve been two days ago.”   My heart felt like it had been sucked out of my chest. I realized what it meant; I’m being blackmailed again. Hotaru used to do that before she left and Sumire was like my best friend’s doppelganger.   I watch as she ran towards the rusty swing set standing a few meters away. She took hold of the ropes and sat gently on the flat piece of metal. The playground was filled with mothers gossiping and children running wildly; a couple of toddlers were building castles in a sandbox right in front of Sumire.   At the path beside the sandbox, a little boy was pointing at an ice cream stand, gluttony written all over his round face; his mother kept shaking her head, looking irritated. The ice cream vendor was flashing the flyer of latest promos to the little boy.   Natsumewould probably snort at this scene.   I walked past all of these without a second glance and occupied the swing beside my friend. We continued where we left off.   “Please don’t tell him! It was a mission! It’s not my fault…” I pleaded. I wish Sumire didn’t know me so well, but I guess it’s too late for that.   If Natsume found out where I’ve been, what I’ve been, assigned to…he’ll go berserk! He’ll surely burn the agency down with his alice. That was a far welcoming option for me, especially since we’re going to get married in a few months or so.   The deliberate sighs coming from Sumire interrupted my thoughts; she sensed my lack of attention yet again.   “You were drop-dead gorgeous two nights ago! Who would have guessed our very own Mikan Sakura knew how to swing her butt against a pole!” she pressed on tauntingly, “As if that wasn’t shocking enough, you just had to straddle that old man’s thigh! Eww! I can’t believe you! He was all over you after that!”   The disco lights blinded me once again. I was at the center of the stage of a typical night club. The outfit I wore barely covered anything, something I never thought I would wear in front of anyone besides Natsume. Frantically, I tried to repress the flashback.   “STOP IT SUMIRE! Don’t remind me!” I cried.   “Naughty, naughty Mikan!” she hooted.   “Look, I never wanted to accept the mission in the first place. I never wanted to disguise as a stripper. They promised to intervene if things got out of hand…but…”   “As usual, you’re naïve as ever. It’s a good thing I was there to save your butt….,” she blabbered. She was going to scold. Deciding it was best to let her rattle on, I clumped my mouth together. It took several minutes before she finally changed the subject.   “…how are you and Natsume doing? I heard from Kokoroyomi that you two were up to something nasty last night,” she inquired. Her face looked flushed waiting for a juicy answer. She has got kidding if she expected me to tell her.   “That should be kept private and you know it!” I replied, the juiciest answer she will ever get from me.    “Oh, I know alright,” she giggled, “You seem to forget what Kokoroyomi can do when he reads someone’s mind….like when he talked to your fiancée at around three am this morning. His relentless snickers woke me up when he got home.”   “SUMIRE! As if you and Kokoroyomi aren’t guilty of that either! How would you feel if we tell your nightly adventures in your bedroom to everybody?” I said teasingly. Ofcourse, I’m not sure if they’re really doing that. I simply assumed.   If grandpa was still alive, he would have lectured on how stereotyping hinders the development of wisdom. The years have passed yet there are circumstances that I couldn’t help but be biased about. I guess reality (or is it Natsume?) made sure of that.   What are the odds anyway? Kokoroyomi and Sumire have been engaged for over a year now. They live under one roof and they sleep together in one bed. They also joke about malicious topics all the time. In addition, they will be married in three weeks; I am even going to be Sumire’s maid of honor. I’ve heard of couples doing it before marriage without being punished by the gods; this practice of pre-marital sex has somehow wriggled its way as part of the cultural norms. I really don’t think much about it anymore, maybe except in this situation when I’m being blackmailed by the soon-to-be bride.   “You and Natsume can’t read minds so why should I worry?” she yawned. “I wonder how I’ll tell him…an anonymous call perhaps? Give him a letter informing him of what happened with your name signed on it? Oh! The prospects are endless!”   I shrieked a “SHUT UP!” but I only heard the terrified screams of children.   The racket surprised us. Why is everyone running?   We barely had time to react. The place suddenly became mute. Turning around made me dizzy; people were running in all directions. I had no idea what was going on so I turned to Sumire who was staring at the sandbox with wide petrified eyes. Why is everyone running Sumire? I’m confused!   I knew I shrieked at her but she didn’t seem to hear me. I barely even heard myself. Hesitantly, I turned to the sandbox. The two toddlers in there had been picked up by their mothers, leaving their castle that looked more like a small hill. I held my breath. Now I knew why everyone was running around.   Tiny maggots have emerged from the castle, wriggling their way out into the open air.   Oh my god…I wanted to run but my feet refused to move. There were probably hundreds, no, thousands of them. With my body frozen, I was forced to watch the disgusting sight. I couldn’t believe it but I swear they were eating each other. Is that even possible? How did that happen?  For goodness sake, maggots don’t eat each other…right?   “S-Sumire…”   “M-Mikan! L-LOOK!” I heard Sumire speak. Her voice trembled. The castle had now disappeared, but a weird, irregular lump had replaced it at the center. The bed of maggots separated in half and revealed a severed hand with maggots coming out of its flesh. Each hole, each damaged tissue had yellow maggots aligning the rim as they fed on its ripped flesh. I wanted to puke. We need to get out of here.   CREFDULNIKAR.   Hotaru’svoice echoed in my head ceaselessly. A pulse thudded against my temples.   My world began to spin and everything went black.   ------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------o   “Natsume! You got here just in time!”   Yuu Tobita waved for me come over the circular table where the rest of the guys sat. Kokoroyomi winked at me for reasons I dare not bother with. My best friend Ruka sat beside Kokoroyomi with a beam. I walked over to join them, taking the empty seat beside Ruka.   “Where’s the old man? I want to get this over with,” I muttered. They all shrugged.   “He’s not here yet,” Ruka replied.   Jazz music resonated throughout the café, probably the only good thing about it. The other customers looked like wealthy businessmen and business women who care about nothing but themselves (and coffee). If it weren’t for civilization, those people will probably go mad. Their two-faced mediocrity angers me in more ways than one. I don’t know why I resent them; maybe it just grew on me.   “You’re always mad at something Natsume!”   Kokoyou swine, stop butting into my head. Do you hear me? Glaring at him didn’t help, he simply grinned back at me. Darn, I almost forgot about Kokoroyomi and his mind-reading alice. I hate it when he did that; that guy’s presence is worse than having a migraine.   “Awww! Ouch, a migraine? You don’t like me Natsume?” Kokoroyomi interrupted again. When will this guy ever quit?   “If you don’t stop reading my mind Koko, I swear I’ll burn every inch of your tuxedo during your wedding ceremony,” I threatened.   “Wah! That’s foul play Natsume! Besides, I don’t plan to be naked until the wedding night, yah know?” he chimed. Beside me, Ruka suppressed a chuckle.   “You strip off every night, what difference will it make during the day?” I retorted. Yuu’s mediating gestures were visible from the sidelines. As usual, we ignored him. I continued glaring at Kokoroyomi like there was no tomorrow.   A waitress stopped by the table and put down a cup of brewed coffee I front of us us. She bowed and left, almost like a mindless puppet.   A tinkle from the front door brought caught our attention. When I turned to the new arrivals, I recognized old Jinno right away. I could easily spot grayish strands on his hair from my seat. He wore eyeglasses like he used to and his outfit was a casual pleated red polo and black pants. Jinno seemed occupied in deep conversation with the old man beside him.   The old man talking to Jinno was about three inches shorter than him. His face seemed freshly shaved and a noticeable wart protruded from his left cheekbone. Long wavy hair draped over his shoulders. I watched as he pulled back his hair and tied it neatly, letting it fall against the rear of his neck. His cheeks were flushed probably from the cold weather outside. I immediately noticed the unique shade of his eyes --- it was incredibly blue, a piercing blue to be exact. He carried a gigantic tightly-sealed pail with his right hand.   Both men hung their coats at the suspender. Jinno scanned the cafe and caught our gazes. He walked over, followed closely by the strange man. Without a word, they took the remaining empty seats. Jinno’s companion placed the pail on floor.   Jinnostudied us for a while and started to speak. “Good. You’re all here,” he coughed, “Let’s get down to business. The academy is in need of your services. You have a new mission, requested by a major client from the Alice Academy university branch in Europe.” He gave a slight nod to his companion. “The person I have with me today is our client, none other than Dr. Tomas Amos. He’s the dean of Alice Academy University in France.”   Rukaand I exchanged glances. Alice Academy had a university branch? What does he want? It was weird that someone from a foreign country would approach us for no reason. Kokoroyomi must have read my mind because he started moving his head up and down in agreement. Yuu looked nervous.   I realized that the Amos guy was looking directly at me.   “You must be Natsume Hyuuga. Your alice should have sucked the life out of you by now,” he said crudely, as if stating fact. “You must have done something good that made you live longer.”   Ruka’shead snapped towards me, knowing I’ve just been insulted. My eyes instantly narrowed at the old man. He had some guts to display such sarcasm, if he was indeed trying to provoke me. Growling, I clenched my fists under the table. Who the hell was this man?   “What do you want old man?” I simply asked. Being with Mikan everyday, I’ve learned the art of self-control and that’s a good thing.   “You can call me Tomas. We’ll be working side by side from now on…even though I’m your client, so to speak,” he explaind, then proceeded to answer my question. “I want cooperation from all of you. For your sake, for the Alice Academy’s sake…the mission is classified at superior rank. You’ll be paid handsomely if that’s what motivates you.”   “Oooh,” Kokoroyomi chirped.   Yuulooked confused. “What’s this mission about?” he inquired.   “This will sound crazy but first, we need to form ties with the Anti-Alice organization. Negotiate an alliance.”   Mr. Jinno reacted for us. “WHAT! Tomas, are you mad?” he exclaimed, “We can’t negotiate with those scums. They’ll surely betray us! If you want the Academy to continue with this plan of yours, you better make some changes to it.”   Tomas didn’t listen and continued his speech. “We’ve been good through Mr. Jinno, but I could see you still don’t know how to read between the lines. Reo Mouri is in that group, am I correct? His voice pheromone alice will be useful if he comes to our side. I also heard the pretty Yuka Azumi joined the Anti-Alice too,” he said and looked at Jinno. “We’re dealing with a stronger opponent here. A supernatural one I believe. Jinno have you ever heard of the story on how the ancient Alice wielders acquired their powers?”   “Yes…”   “I think it has something to do with that...” At that moment, he reached for the sealed pail and slammed it on the table. I could hear splashes of liquid whirring inside. What’s in it? Kokoroyomi must have the answer. Knowing him, he must be reading the old man’s mind right now. I turned to him but he looked as confused as the rest of us.   Tomas unsealed it slowly. An awful stench dispersed when he lifted the thick plastic cover. He put on a surgical glove and grabbed something from inside. Curious, we waited.   When he pulled it up, I regretted being curious. He had grabbed the ebony strands of a decaying half of a head. I could see the bone through the broken flesh. Blood was seeping from the eye sockets, like it was freshly mutilated. What bothered me the most was that the face was recognizable.   “Persona…” I swallowed.   Is that really Persona? Is he really dead? Maybe it’s just someone who looked like him…or the doctor’s playing a practical joke. I refuse to believe that someone as evil as him would die. Damn…what’s going on...maybe this all a dream? I knew the answer to that but being in denial was easier. I sunk into my own world and looked at everybody present at the table. Ruka and Yuu were both silent, even Mr. Jinno looked like he was about to vomit his breakfast. Kokoroyomi sweated profusely.   The sight was tolerable for me, but the stench was stinging my nostrils. We all fumbled for our handkerchiefs to block the smell.   “Persona’s dead. This is what’s left. The academy investigators couldn’t find the rest of his body. We don’t know how this happened. My instincts are telling me that something’s after us…I just don’t know what…or why for that matter…” he explained, placing the head back into the pail and quickly sealed it.   Strangely, the smell disappeared. “Feel free to inhale. The liquid where I placed the head is a formula that gets rid of the stench of rotting corpses. The smell you breathed a while ago is actually composed of oxygen atoms. It simply replicated the actual smell but it’s not that harmful like the original.”   We all released our noses and savagely breathed for fresh air. The waitresses have frantically sprayed perfume all over the cafe.   “I’m an alice wielder myself, particularly a technical type. I have the alice of elemental creation. I can change and manipulate the functions of atoms or any other element as I please in a matter of seconds. Maybe create something as precious as a diamond or transform the oxygen atoms here in the café into carbon monoxide,” Tomas continued.   He took off the surgical gloves and stuffed it back in his pocket. “It took me a long time to master it, since I need a great amount of knowledge on microbiology. I decided to pursue a doctorate in the European branch. I went through a lot there but before I realized it, I became the dean of the university. Time flies so fast.”   His pause was deafening, we waited for him to continue.   “Before I found out about Persona’s death, my student died in the university a year ago. We found no corpse. It was only now that I decided to turn to the academy here in Japan. Half of the student’s flesh was found as if it was brutally ripped away. We knew it belonged to the student….the DNA samples confirmed that,” Tomas closed his eyes and rubbed the bags under his lashes. “I don’t know why it had to happen…we need to get to the bottom of things. Something is out there…I…I don’t know what it will do.”   Jinnocrossed his arms. “It’s preposterous. I don’t believe your story. So what if Persona died? It doesn’t mean his death is connected to your student’s,” he said gruffly, “I can’t believe the academy accepted your request.”   “You know me better than that Jinno. My instincts have never failed me.”   “Maybe it’s about time your so-called instinct fails you. Our senses aren’t sharp like they used to be, Tomas.”   Dr. Tomas gave Jinno a long, hard stare; his eyes had turned into a dark blue color. I have never seen that kind of color before.   “The name of my student was Hotaru Imai. You know her?”   My world stopped.   Hotaruis dead?   -------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------o   To Be Continued…   Next Chapter: The Danger

Mikan finds out about Hotaru’s death. Sumire feels bad that all this had to happen when her wedding was already near. Natsume, Koko, Ruka and Yuu accepted the mission. With Dr. Amos, they set forth to make a pact with the Anti-Alice Organization head quarters…   ---------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------o   End Notes:  If you spot any errors, feel free to inform me! I haven’t reread this chapter yet. If you’re an avid fanfic writer of GA, do visit us at GAFN and join us! Just click on my name, there are links provided there. Sorry for the short end notes! It’s been over a month since I last updated, I truly apologize. I hope you’re not tired of reading yet. XD Ehehehe, God bless!   Original Characters Thus Far (OC)   Dr. Tomas Amos – wielder of the Elemental Creation alice. The Dean of Alice Academy-University France in Europe, the school where Hotaru pursued her doctorate, despite her young age. He is also a professor of the technical types; a former teacher in Alice Academy who worked closely with Jinno. He is a serious man around Jinno’s age; an introvert who prioritizes his work; very focused on his goals but could get extremely sarcastic; loves fast learners and close friends; rational and analytic.                     &nbs p;                     &n bsp;