Special Alice (Gakuen Alice / Alice Academy FF)

SA 53 - Rui's Property

{Author}

" Brother-san," Misaki called out tentatively. "B-brother-san?" Mikan and Ruka blurted out of the blue. The attacker rubbed his eyes, unable to believe that Misaki was one of the intruders.

" Misa-chan?! Why are you here?! You also can't be here, kid!" he began to panic, clutching Misaki's shoulders. His eyes trembled as he saw Misaki down in the Hanahime-den's basement.

" What do you mean?" Misaki frowned. " He's here. I am aware that you're frightened by his presence," Hayate said, shaking Misaki's shoulders. Mikan pushed him away from Misaki.

" You are an enemy, get away from us," she firmly stated. Hotaru stood up, glaring at Hayate, unwilling to accept her defeat, and the group began to walk away from him.

" Hey! You can't walk past me just like that," he exclaimed, trailing behind them like a curious puppy. " Cool Blue Sky!" he beamed at Hotaru, seeing her as a character from his favorite TV show.

" What's your name? What are your hobbies?" he started asking Hotaru, but she paid him no mind. Ruka and Mikan were weirded out by the guy, but Misaki and Youichi allowed him to trail behind.

He held Hotaru's shoulder to stop her, but she once again gave him a death glare. " You pest. Touch me again, and I won't hesitate to use my baka gun," she scarily threatened the guy.

Hayate trembled in fear, but he felt his heart race. His face turned red as he stared at the hand he used to touch Hotaru. " Shoulders... so thin," he muttered.

" You," Hotaru got even more ticked off. Misaki sweat-dropped and held her head. " His heart got stolen by Hotaru," she pursed her lips together and shook her head in disbelief.

A familiar voice reached Misaki and Youichi's ears. " Hayate~ What are you doing?" the voice asked softly.

" I came to check on you~. Are you a dog? Embarrassingly trailing behind girls, can't you take this task seriously, you piece of rubbish," the guy chuckled and grabbed Hayate's collar. Misaki and the others turned their heads toward the source of the voice and saw another guy.

" Rui senpai," Misaki gasped. Rui approached them after letting go of Hayate. " And now, where is this handsome boy?" he let out another chuckle, a foolish grin on his face.

He examined their faces one by one, and his eyes widened when they landed on Youichi. " EH?! How annoying! Is this the cute kid whose face throbs my heart?" he said, sounding quite feminine, and blushed.

Misaki sweat-dropped, seeing Rui's true nature. She had thought Rui was interested in girls, but it seemed he was more inclined toward boys.

Youichi stared at Rui, who eventually dropped his smile. " This kid... Is it Youichi?" he asked. Hayate tilted his head in confusion. " What?" he asked.

" The appearance isn't the same, but he's pulling my negative power toward him, my source of energy. The only guy who could do that is the boy with evil spirits," Rui said seriously, looking directly at the older Youichi.

Hayate gasped. " Impossible!" His eyes widened as he saw the older and taller version of Youichi.

" So you guys also have this soldier?" Rui scoffed. His eyes then landed on Misaki, who was beside Youichi.

He gasped and pulled Misaki into a tight hug. He started rejoicing again. " My Misaki!" he declared.

" What's with her being close to our enemies," Mikan said, sweating, noticing that Misaki had an unexpected connection with Rui, their enemy.

" How I wished to see you once again! How unexpected to finally see you here! Visiting me, perhaps?" he chuckled before letting her go.

" Senpai," Misaki said, sweat-dropping.

Hayate took action and slipped between the two. " That's enough, Rui," he said, not wanting Misaki to feel creeped out by the guy.

" Nobara-chan and Misaki are my only beauties. Come on, you trash, let me be," Rui pushed Hayate back before grinning at Misaki.

" You see, Misaki. I don't like girls; I'm interested in guys. Only guys, however... you and Nobara-chan are an exception, girls who have taken my liking. Now, come with me; I'll take care of you, just like I am with Nobara-chan," Rui said, holding out his hand for Misaki to take.

"No, Misa-chan!"

"Misaki!"

Youichi then pulled Misaki toward him, hugging her protectively. Rui's face became serious once again. " How annoying. So, it's not only Natsume, but you, too. You're trying to act like a grown-up, protecting a bunch of intruders?" he crossed his arms.

Hayate mentally thanked Youichi for pulling Misaki away. " But how did he get so old and tall?" he asked in amazement.

" Stupid, can't you use your damn brain? It's the Gulliver candy!" Rui hissed, shooting Hayate a glare before looking back at the group of young intruders.

" So annoying, a cocky three-year-old. It doesn't matter whether you suck away my negative power. Thanks to the Hanahime-den's basement, it has a lot of negative power; I can use my Alice as much as I want," Rui smirked at Youichi, who was staring straight back at Rui. The aura surrounding Rui had changed, and Youichi began to feel scared.

Misaki was ready to use her barrier Alice to protect them against Rui's Alice. However, Youichi pulled away from Misaki and pushed her behind him. "Everyone, run," he said.

" You-chan?" Ruka asked, full of worry. " Curse Alice," Youichi simply added. Misaki nodded, understanding what Youichi wanted to say.

" Rui senpai has the Curse Alice. If we get caught by his smoke, we'll get marked, and we won't be able to escape it," Misaki explained to Hotaru and the other two.

" The handsome boy's identity was revealed, and he was the betrayer three-year-old, Youichi. Now, to ease my disappointment... I'll start my hunt," he taunted, creating a black fog that hovered around him, looking ominous.

" Youichi, when I'm not around and something happens, I'll be expecting you to protect those guys," Natsume patted Youichi's head softly as he looked at him. "I'm counting on you."

" You-chan! Run away with us, please!" Mikan pleaded, grabbing Youichi's arm. However, Youichi didn't move from his spot, determined to protect Mikan and the others from any harm.

Youichi remembered Natsume's words from a while ago, and then he summoned an evil fog, shocking Mikan. " Sakura!" Ruka shouted, and Misaki quickly dragged Mikan with her.

Ruka gently grasped Mikan's shoulders and spoke in a soft, caring tone, " You'll just get in the way, Sakura..." With his words, he allowed Youichi to confront Rui and Hayate on his own.

" You-chan," Mikan called out with concern, torn between staying and leaving. They observed how Youichi's dense fog was expanding, enough to block the corridor completely and prevent Rui and Hayate from pursuing them.

" Mikan. Misaki-nee," Youichi said, his voice filled with determination. " Can't look," he added, sparing them only a brief glance before focusing on his impending confrontation.

Rui, while chuckling, intently observed Youichi's actions. " Not bad for a three-year-old, I must say," he acknowledged, nodding his head in reluctant admiration.

Hayate, on the other hand, scratched his head in puzzlement. " Hey, Rui. Do you know how to dispel Youichi's evil fog?" he inquired.

Rui furrowed his brows and admitted, " No, but since we're dealing with a three-year-old, the fog will tire him out because of the barrier. We can easily defeat the kids behind him in a split second," he assured Hayate.

With those words, Youichi initiated an attack against the two adversaries. " That guy! Does he want to kill us?!" Hayate shrieked as he and Rui scrambled to dodge the incoming attack.

" Hayate! You were supposed to attack quickly!" Rui reminded him, slightly exasperated.

Hayate, realizing his blunder, sweat-dropped and administered a small self-reprimanding slap. He quickly unleashed his wind Alice to attack Youichi directly.

Mikan cried out in alarm, realizing the impending danger, and moved to block the attack for Youichi. She successfully nullified the attack but ended up twisting her ankle in the process.

Both Mikan and Youichi tumbled to the floor. " Sakura!" Ruka gasped and dashed toward them to check on their well-being.

" Right, she's the nullification kid, Natsume's partner. So she came here, risking her life for him? Are they lovebirds? How moving," Rui mused, his tone a mix of sarcasm and irony as he wiped away some sweat from his brow.

" Such a pity, no matter how hard you try to save Natsume. It seems that his fate is sealed, he'll be locked in the Hanahime-den forever," Rui proclaimed as he looked at them intently.

" What did you say, senpai?" Misaki blinked in confusion, clearly taken aback. Ruka's eyes widened, and he began to shake with anxiety, his thoughts consumed by concerns for Natsume's safety.

" Why does he need to get locked up?" Mikan inquired, puzzled by the situation. Hayate chimed in, " He's too cocky."

" Who knows? Persona decided it, meaning it has nothing to do with us," Rui replied dismissively. " But yes, always cocky. He's always warned for his reckless actions, and now he's had it coming. Plus, stepping foot here in hopes of finding his sister. Such stupidity like that has resulted in this," he added, shaking his head.

" Misaki, you should watch out too, my dear. But I, Rui, will be protecting you," Rui announced with a gleam in his eyes. Misaki, unsure of how to respond, could only sweat-drop.

" This enemy seems obsessed with Misaki, and the other one is infatuated with Hotaru," Mikan observed in a low voice.

" He's an offender," Hayate declared. " He's lucky to step foot here, but his luck ends here," he stated.

As the conversation continued, a sense of impending doom filled the air. A sinister black fog began to creep closer, surrounding them all.

Youichi and Mikan were too late to react to the fog, and Mikan was about to nullify it when it was already upon them.

" At a critical moment like this," a voice chuckled. The group's attention turned towards the source of the voice, and they saw Tsubasa holding a lamp, which cast eerie shadows as he stood on one himself.

" Tsubasa senpai!" Mikan and the others gasped upon seeing him. Tsubasa's face lit up, and he smiled at them.

" You guys! I've been searching for a while~," he confessed, a bit out of breath. Rui's eyes locked onto Tsubasa, his expression changing subtly.