Twisting Time

Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ Fᴏᴜʀ

        "Dear Grandpa, I have to make it through the frightening Northern Woods using my Alice. That's the challenge he forced upon me." Starting with Mikan's basic monologue, imagining that she was writing a letter to him, sounding somewhat negative to some with that last statement.

        She even plays the pronoun game, referring "he" in her supposed letter to Natsume. "But... What is my Alice, anyway? What is this place, the Northern Woods?"

        The Bear in front of Mikan, Hotaru, and Yuu in the previous chapter hadn't made a graceful gesture in scratching his bum. It made a "what-are-you-looking-at" face. "Th-The stuffed animal is moving!" Mikan was obviously shocked for the first few moments seeing the creature. "All on its own! What is this? Where's the signal receiver for the remote control?" Mikan approached it, petting it on the head as Yuu screamed in panic. 

        "Wow! It moves as though it's alive! You're so cute!" And she started to swing it vertically in the air, very amused and happy at the sight, while the Bear— Not so much. "Teddy! What are you doing in a place like this?" She had a grin that really pissed that Bear off, although a different bear would've said otherwise. 

        "Mi... Mikan! Y-Y-Y-You b-b-better m-m-move a-a-away f-f-from th-th-that s-s-stuffed b-b-bear!" There weren't that many people that could stutter that much. The class rep was really afraid of the one bear out of the many other fears.

        Mikan glanced over at him clueless, letting her guard down so Bear could uppercut her into the sky as Yuu screamed in terror. Again. Mikan's pride might've been somewhat hurt, due to her shocked expression that she was giving. "Mi-Mikan! Are you alright? Th... That bear is... Mr. Bear, the Forest Keeper. It's the most powerful bear ever!" 

        "S... Say what...?" As if a bell had rung to start a boxing match, Bear had started beating her up, with Yuu being the commentator. 

        "Right, left, right, right, left, body blow, chin, uppercut, and a kick to boot!" Yuu announced, very pale in the face, close to having his face colored a light blue. "Aah, Mikan!!"

★★★

        There was the normal commotion in Class B, but the topic was mainly about the transfer students. One of the conversations was focused on Mikan, since the other transfer student had simply blended in. The boys in that engaging conversation would talk about Emiko, but what was there to talk about? She was just plain strange and invisible. She obviously didn't want any attention on her, not causing any trouble, even walking out the class as Hotaru hit the levitating problem child earlier. "Hey, do you think that the transfer student will really get through the Northern Woods?"

        "No way! There's no way she can beat Bear." A kid waved dismissively at that question. "I'll bet fifty rabbits!" This somehow turned into an auction-like joke really.

        "But what if she's hiding some kind of incredible ability?" Shouda, being a nosy girl she is, interrupted their conversation. She obviously dismissed that idea that Mikan would ever have an Alice, claiming that her lies will be unraveled, turning to get an opinion from their almighty lord and savior Natsume. He looked annoyed. Then again, who wouldn't be annoyed by the amount of idiots surrounding him?

        "You all know that this isn't the type of place where just anyone can stroll in and make themselves comfortable." ...And thus made the whole class feel awkward or uneasy. Or both.

        To make up for the silence, Shouda agreed nervously, further adding in the harsh tension as Natsume really ignored everyone else after that, simply thinking to himself. "Back then... I could've sworn I used my Alice. Even that other girl didn't bother saving her, did she know who the hell she was? Who are they, exactly?"