Hiroki Seijun's Story

“Welcome to Alice Academy!” a deafening voice exploded through the speakers of the crowded assembly hall. A boy with a spirit-seeing Alice chuckled as the spirits of students and staff alike leapt from their skins at the sudden shattering of their eardrums and the sight of... “I’m Mitsuki Hisakawa, Student Body President and your host for today.”

Students and staff members had been trapped in that assembly hall for the past three hours, listening to introductions of new students, briefings, announcements, rules, subjects, uniforms and speeches. Most notable of the speeches included the junior school principle’s, which droned on for 56 minutes and 22 seconds regarding his pet serpent’s favourite times of the day. Most of the audience had fallen into a deep sleep only to be jarred into wakefulness by bag pipes announcing the arrival of the President of the Student Council.

“Mommy!!!” wailed a small child from the elementary school. He received a glance from the self-proclaimed host on the stage and he very literally seemed to turn grey. His jaw touched the top of his chest and he swayed like a paper bag in a rainstorm as he sat rooted to his seat.

“Listen up, kid,” Mitsuki said slowly, clutching the stage podium. “Your mama’s swimming in a sea of gold right now and you’re probably never going to see her again. Suck it up or I’ll suck you up into a big, black whole of oblivion. Unless you’d rather be my roommate, of course,” she added with a baring of teeth that might’ve been a feral snarl or a grin.

The stage podium turned to ashes.

Mitsuki laughed.

“Haha, these stage props sure are fragile, huh? Wood these days!” The audience laughed nervously.

“Moving on. Welcome back, oldies, and newbies, welcome to the next decade of your life stuck with me if you don’t follow the rules,” she chirped, her wavy snow blue hair bouncing merrily on her shoulders. “Seeing as I’d rather be contemplating the meaning of life under running water, we’ll skip the formalities, alright?” she declared.

“First up’s the annual Search and Conquer tournament!” Dramatic bagpipes drum rolled. There was a mass intake of breath from the older students. “That’s right, kids! It’s the annual 71st Hunger Games!” Mitsuki clapped loudly before returning to standing on her toes to reach the microphone. “No, seriously. Stop acting like I’m sacrificing you to the Fertility God. Woooo, excitement!”

She grunted and snatched the microphone from the stand. They needed shorter microphone stands. “I said excitement.”

A roaring cheer followed the initial splatter of applause.

“For those of you who’ve yet to experience the joy of Search and Conquer, let me explain to you what it is.” She beamed supportively, rolling her weight onto the heels of her booted feet and then to her toes, and back, and forth, and back. Her eyes darted left and right. Man, she needed a sugar hit.

“14 students will be randomly chosen and given individual flags they must keep on their persons. They will be sent to the Northern Woods.” Suddenly, the interior of the assembly hall transformed into that of the menacing outdoors. The crooked fingers of the trees loomed over the audience, threatening to engulf them. Students from the technical abilities class panted as they spun and tapped at the mechanisms maintaining the illusion.

“The” – she grinned – “’volunteers,’ will be scattered throughout the woods during noon and in the woods they will remain until sunrise. The game involves stealing an individual’s flag. Those whose flags you steal will join your empire and you will be their Queen or King.” But who was she kidding, a woman would win this. “Anyone under their command, will also become your slaves. For example, Billy steals Dicky’s flag, Billy becomes Dicky’s king. Lily steals Billy’s flag, and becomes Billy and Dicky’s queen. If Dicky steals Momo’s flag, Lily also becomes Momo’s Queen.

“The person who manages to survive unclaimed until sunrise wins a prize, as does the person with the largest empire. The prize?” Mitsuki’s pale aquamarine eyes darkened with glee. “The former, 1000 rabbits” – there was a collective gasp, that was even more than Special Stars received – “and the latter, a one day ticket outside.”

Silence drenched the student body just as the illusions made by the technical abilities class evaporated, the assembly hall shimmering into focus.

“Now for the rules of the game!” she announced, her aura leaping into a fluff of pink cotton.

“One: once a person has claimed another’s flag, you cannot claim their flag unless you’ve claimed the flags of the people they are ruling. Two: you cannot steal the flag of your own monarch. Three: killing or permanent injury of students – or teachers – is not allowed.” She tossed a glare at Midna Silvera, emphasising each word with venom.

“Fourth: you may not bring items – dangerous or otherwise – outside of what is given to you. Fifth: your flag must be tied around your wrist at all times. Losing your flag will result in removal from the game. Sixth: no communication is allowed with those beyond the Nothern Woods. Seventh: no teleportation or human locating Alices or any other similar Alice may be used.” Mitsuki’s gaze flicked over to the wings of the stage for a brief moment before returning to the student body. “This year, Nero Sceer, the Head of the Dangerous Abilities class will be overseeing the tournament. He may use lethal force and interfere with the events. He may aid the participants or act as an obstacle,” her voice dripped with disdain. “He will reinforce the rules to ensure the game is fair.”

Mitsuki beamed and clapped her hands together, bouncing just as a lanky man – or gigantic rabbit shaped like a man – appeared beside her. He bowed and lifted the tall hat from his head, holding it out before her.

“Now for the volunteers!” She dipped her hand into the hat and pulled out a bundle of lollies. She unwrapped them and stared, reading out the names before popping the candies in her mouth with fervour. “Sylvia Cauthon, Hiroki Seijun, Maya Shinozaki, Midna Silvera, Jules Carter, Kana Nishino, Lorelai Bay, Michel De Angelo Robutton, Feris Lilliand, Alexander Rammis, Azeal Rowens, Shino Terr, Naoya Watanabe and…” She narrowed her eyes at the sweet.

Mitsuki flipped the candy around, rubbing at it as if to ensure it was real.

She tasted the candy.

No, it couldn’t be.

“This is wrong,” she told the towering rabbit man. Her only reply was a disappearing bunny act as her useless assistant vanished in a puff of smoke. She opened her mouth, closed it, turned to the audience, and glared. “And Mitsuki Hisakawa.”

She turned away from the stage for a moment, her softly flowing pigtails twitching as she faced the back of the stage. The Alice limiting rings on her fingers flared, the gems flickering like embers in wood that was about to ignite. She exhaled and spun around, her usual smile already in place.

“Now for your gifts! For Sylvia Cauthon, a bottle of water.” The items would appear midair and fall into their laps. “For Hiroki Seijun, all seven books of the Harry Potter series. Alexander Rammis, a pineapple. Naoya Watanabe, a jelly fish lamp. Maya Shinozaki, inflatable earplugs. Midna Silvera, a detached showerhead. Jules Carter, chicken bones. Lorelai Bay, chinese tea leaves. Kana Nishino, a piece of nylon string. Michel Robutton, tarot cards. Feris Lilliand, a king sized mattress. Azeal Rowens, a bottle of salt and pepper. Shino Terr, a cup shaped like Pokemon. Mitsuki Hisakawa… Men’s underwear... 100% cotton."

“All Search and Conquer participants and Nero Sceer must report to the edge of the Northern Woods at 1147 hours to commence the tournament. Other students and staff may view live footage of the tournament in the dining hall or common room. Students may return to their respective rooms if they so desire,” she mumbled absentmindedly, her gaze drifting already to a realm no one else could see.

“By the way, I was serious about my request of cookie dough pop tarts in your welcoming letters. New students who fail to provide me with sugary goodness…” She paused, tilting her head in thought. “Will die.”

---

---

Hiroki had entered the assembly and searched for a seat farthest away from the other student's to avoid shoving and crowds, he found an empty row and sat down, he felt like he had been here, in this assembly, it was probably just in his head. He pulled out a grape lollipop from his trenchcoat's pocket, pulled the wrapper off, and shifted it in his mouth, left and right. Feeling agitated, annoyed, un-easy.

Suddenly, he felt a spine tingling chill run through his body, he shudderd at the familiar feeling. "...i thought i told you to stay and wait in my dorm until i got back, Kitty..." Said Hiroki. "But!, but...Aniki, your dorm is so boring! and...i felt lonley..." said the ghost child, with long silver hair, pale skin and icey blue eyes, she had on a white dress laced with bows. "Sigh--... alright, but don't wander.." said Hiroki. Kitty was this spirits name, she doesn't remember her old name so Hiroki had given her this name because she's just like a cat annoying, always invading your personal space, curious. She was found by Hiroki in the halls one late night, he heard moping and decided to investigate and discovered a small spirit child , her cause of death is unknown, Hiroki is trying to find out the cause and put her to rest and try to help her passover, she hangs out around him from time to time.

"Understood!" Smiled the ghost child, she floated down between his legs onto the chair. "Thank you, Aniki!" "Ah....yeah...". She called him Aniki, big brother, because she find's him kind and caring, much like an older brother.Hiroki is annoyed at this of course but he puts up with it. “Welcome to Alice Academy!” Kitty clinged onto Hiroki's shirt, and Hiroki winced at the ear peircing sound. Evreyone in the assembly was scared senseless, their souls jumped out of their bodies, literally! Hiroki chuckled at the sight, and kitty giggled.

“I’m Mitsuki Hisakawa, Student Body President and your host for today.” Said a petite girl with baby blue hair, she seemed unusualy familiar. Hiroki listened intently. “Mommy!!!” cried out a small child, an elementary student. “Listen up, kid,” she snapped “Your mama’s swimming in a sea of gold right now and you’re probably never going to see her again. Suck it up or I’ll suck you up into a big, black whole of oblivion. Unless you’d rather be my roommate, of course,” Hirokis eye's twitched and he had a nervous smile on his face. "Tch, poor kid..." he said under his breath. After a breif introduction, she finnaly got to the point. “First up’s the annual Search and Conquer tournament!” Hiroki had an "are you kidding me?" expression on his face. "Tournament? what the hell kind of a school is this, and on the first day?!...who has the god damn time to waste on such trivial shi--" he paused, realizing kitty was looking up at him. "S-..sorry.." he said with a grim look, turning the pale girl's face forward.

“That’s right, kids! It’s the annual 71st Hunger Games!” he brought his hand to his face. "Man this is stupid..." he said under his breath.
“For those of you who’ve yet to experience the joy of Search and Conquer, let me explain to you what it is.” She went on explaining what the game was, some game where you retreive flags and try to be the only one standing without having the flag reclaimed. The prize was certainly generous, she then explained the rules. Hiroki's eye's reflected the bright green colors of the trippy illusion's made by the Technicals, changing the color of his eye's into an electric green sort of color. the trees had then vanished. The pres said she would be drawing the names of the Volunteers. "Voulunteers? Hah! It should be changed to "Those held against their will" !..." Hiroki thought to himself. She pulled out lollies, and read the names. “Sylvia Cauthon, Hiroki Seijun, Maya Shinozaki, Midna Silvera, Jules Carter, Kana Nishino, Lorelai Bay, Michel De Angelo Robutton, Feris Lilliand, Alexander Rammis, Azeal Rowens, Shino Terr, Naoya Watanabe and…”
She read her own name. Mitsuki Hisakawa.

Hiroki felt a strange wave of Déjà vu wash over him. He stared blankly at Mitsuki for a moment. "Wait," Hiroki studied Mitsuki's hair and eye's. "I-..iv'e seen her! in one..of my dreams, perhaps?" he thought to himself, it hit him. "SHIT! i should have remembered!! this is what i was trying to avoid! gah!...why hand't it occured to me before?!"thinking to himself. Hiroki ruffled his hair, frustrated. He had a dream of this whole assembly a week ago, he was going to call in sick on this day and skip out on the assembly so he wound't have to attend the tournament! but it slipped his mind, welp' now he has to go forth with the tournament. He was cursing at himself for not remembering.

He slumped into his chair and cupped his face in his hands, letting out a small muffled greiving moan. Kitty tried to comfort him. Mitsuki was yelling something at someone on the stage, but Hiroki was too busy moping to hear what she was saying. He then slumped forward against kitty and rested his chin on her head, she shooshed him. "Shhh..Aniki, it's going to be okay! you just have to be brave!" she said "..it's not about me being afraid, kitty. This means people...are gonna....touch.....touch me..." Kitty rolled her eyes.

“Now for your gifts!" Hiroki lifted his chin. ".....Gifts? what the hell for??" He had a confused look on his face. “For Hiroki Seijun, all seven books of the Harry Potter series." The stack of books floated towards him and descended into Hiroki's lap, both Kitty and Hiroki looked down at the series. Hiroki examined the Harry Potter series. "Iv'e already read all of these..." he said disapointingly. "Be grateful!" said Kitty, poking Hiroki's nose. He grabbed her wrist. "Don't...enough touching." Kitty pouted. Hiroki let out a sigh, and stared up at the ceiling. "Alice Academy is gonna be one hell of a ride..."

Azeal wasn't very fond of crowds. To him it was just another opportunity to here all the whispers and rumors about him. He much rather had been sleeping and having those gruesome nightmares. He made sure he brought his pill bottle with him just in case something happened. For example, last year he was locked outside his room and couldn't get to them and in minutes he was back in his old cell. Something about dorm room destruction and student on student violence. Still, it could have been worse. They could have all died. He made sure to sit way in the back of the assembly hall. That way he would here as little gossip as possible.

It wasn't long before he gave relief to the fact that he brought those meds of his. Apparently he would participate in a competition.

One thousand Rabbits and a free day on the outside. Well I don't spend much money nor do I believe they would allow me outside. On top of that these pills make it so I can't use my Alice. So tell me brain, why should I care about this event. Should I care because of her?

He thought looking at the president. Her blue hair looked familiar and her voice sounded familiar, but, something was off. What was it?

It doesn't really matter. I have no friends. So why should I care about one person. I shouldn't. Right?

As he rambled on in his head he frowned at the gift that appeared on his lap. He much rather have had the collection of Harry Potter books. He gave a quick sigh of relief when the girl said she would kill the newcomers who didn't bring her pop-tarts. Good thing he wasn't new.

At the end of the ceremony he stayed seated, waiting for most of the crowd to disappear. He didn't really know what to do next. He could go back to his dorm, but then he would have to pass by people. No. The best thing was clearly, to go to the meeting area early. That way he could spend some time alone. Maybe people might think he's cool and want to be his friend because he arrived early. . . Yeah right. At most they would say "Oh. Just what you would expect from Gods son." Oh how he hated that rumor. He calmly stood up and proceeded to walk outside stopping at the end of the row he was in to calculate another passing thought. He looked around and saw the boy named, Hiroki Seijun.

It couldn't hurt to ask.

He walked up to the boy and said, "Excuse me." His voice not much louder than a whisper. "Um, when you're done reading those, would you mind if I could read them too. Uh, you don't have to if you don't want to. I mean. I just like reading is all."

There were many questions to ponder upon regarding the intricate spiderweb of life. Some of which included but was not limited to: what the hell was wrong with Naoya? He was like a male, scowling, albino version of Lady Gaga, equipped with the glow in the dark breast plates, controversial sex slash mass murder music and all.

She'd admittedly been glaring in his general direction throughout most of the assembly - when she wasn't looking at a certain Aliment Serving Superintendent or ASS for short - or rather at the skinny bubble of fish that was Lorelai Bay beside him. What was she doing there so cheerfully disintegrating Naoya's vibe? She had bad Feng Shui embedded in her salty skin. The stupid reversed mermaid and her absurdly blinding smile along with her ridiculous cascade of luminescent sapphire hair. Her flawless skin and youthful bounce?

Botox.

Mitsuki chewed the inside of her cheek as she wandered purposefully through the assembly hall. Who was she kidding? She had no idea where the hell she was going. It didn't matter, she could walk through walls. No, seriously, she could walk through walls.

Never in her eleven years of being slave to Alice Academy had she ever been chosen for Search and Conquer. She'd laughed at the misfortune of the chosen, especially those given bizarre and pointedly useless and troublesome "gifts" like a Finding Nemo DVD. What could you do with that in a forest?

Yet here she was, holding a bundle of men's underwear - '100% cotton!' the package emphasised. At least they'd vacuum packed it and she didn't have to think of a way to carry a dozen boxer briefs piled as high as she was short for the entirety of the tournament. What good would underwear do her? Maybe she could use it as a pillow. Maybe she could blackmail Alex for his pineapple. Yes, that sounded ingenious.

Mitsuki knew most students believed these sadistic and bizarre games were her idea of fun but she wasn't that creative. She simply continued the traditions of Alice Academy and picked out magical candies from a hat. If it were up to her, she'd give herself a tank or maybe a person, maybe a subdued Nero Sceer transformed into a mindless zombie.

“I made you cookie-dough candies.”

The blissful image of Nero with a collar around his neck attached to a cord in her hand shattered into one even more mesmerising. She took in his messy grey hair, the sleepy tilt of his stunning grey eyes and those perfect, perfect grey lips. Damn, she was colourblind, but he was beautiful. So breathtakingly beautiful, she thought she might unravel into a pile of mush if he stood there staring at her for too long.

"...had some.” Was she dead? She was dead, wasn't she? The steady thump of his heartbeat trickled up her arm and splattered red across her cheeks. His dimples flashed for a brief moment and she could've sworn she'd sprouted wings and maybe another head. “I’ll make you more.”

Oh she wanted so much more from him. She wanted everything. She wanted to follow the dips of his lips and pop the buttons of his pants so he could pop her. He made it hard to keep it PG31.

"Michel," she breathed. "Do you-"

"Umm.. H-H-Hi Michel.”

Jules' soft voice trembled with nerves and Mitsuki quickly took a step back from Michel, the red of her cheeks igniting at being discovered staring so intently at Michel whom Jules loved, and having such inappropriate thoughts when it wasn't as if she could touch anyone anyway. Mitsuki tugged at the soft material of her fingerless gloves.

"Jules!" Mitsuki called cheerfully, spinning around to drench her jewel in the brightest smile known to man. Jules had been nothing but kind to her, the only to like her not because she was useful or because they were frightened, but genuinely like her for her. She deserved better and she had to wonder, as she was certain most wondered, how on earth she'd managed to lure an Angel into her oil slick.

Stop it, Tsuki, she chastised. You're the epitome of perfection.

"I'm so sorry you were chosen for Search and Conquer," Mitsuki said with a frown. "I was certain threatening to castrate the wererabbit to leave your name out of it would work." Her brows furrowed as she contemplated what she'd done wrong. Was the threat inappropriate? Should she have taken his basket of bunny children hostage?

"I'll protect you, Jewel." Mitsuki looked into her friend's large eyes. She knew many thought her to be naive and even childish but she knew Jules was wiser and saw more than anyone in this school could hope to. Jules saw the billions facets of compressed carbon and knew it to be a chunk of coal struggling to be a diamond.

Mitsuki rubbed the back of her neck and brushed invisible lint from her uniform to keep her hands busy and away from Jules. She smiled and glanced between Michel and Jules.

"Hey, Robutt, why don't you... Prepare for Search and Conquer and go together? With Jules. Jules and Michel. Michel and Jules," her voice trailed towards the end. "Mijules. Juchel. Miles." Mitsuki snapped back to the present like a spring pulled taut only to be suddenly released.

"Anyway! I have uh- Committee stuff! Working. With the newbies. Showing them around, you know? Threatening them. Retrieving my cookie dough pop tarts." Stop talking! "I'll just be going now," she said, spinning on her heel and skittering away, one inch at a time. She was almost incredibly strange - more so than usual even - when she was around Michel and Jules simultaneously. "Assignment! New person. Helping out uh... These guys!"

She grabbed the arms of the two nearest students, and lucky for them their uniforms and her gloves rested between their skin. Otherwise, they might've died or turned into a big, vertical expanse of grey. She glanced at them, one clutching a pile of Harry Potter books and the other a salt and pepper shaker. She glanced at Michel and Jules, the thoughts in her mind bouncing against her skull like nails and razorblades in a container of jelly. She had to stop being so weird! Names. She needed their names.

"Ah, ah, ah..." She pulled her lower lip between her lip and glanced between the two of her hostages. "Uh... This is Hokie Saint," she said quickly, lifting up the hand of Harry Potter. Had his name been Hokie Saint or Juliet Sand? Ugh, close enough, she grunted. "And this is, this is..." She glared at the familiar face and then, as if she'd been shot with a litre of tranquillisers, she felt her legs turn to rivers.

"Still not giving me your name?"

"...zeal."

"Huh?"

"Azeal. Azeal Ji Rowens."

"Azeal. Azeal Ji Rowens." Mitsuki shook her head. Of course. As student body president, she knew the names, Alices, histories, personalities, clothing sizes, average bathing times and preferred foods of everyone. Really, she was just a stalker, but she liked to think she was just taking initiative and being responsible. Who knew when a person's style of handwriting would come in handy?

"Anyway!" she said merrily, forcefully tugging the two boys closer to her body. She tucked her arms over their elbows and laughed very loudly. "Have a great night- I mean, time together, Robutt. My Jewel." She spun around and dragged her two excuses with her.

"Don't say a word," she said, her words clipped and cold the moment she turned her back on Michel and Jules. "Now smile and laugh like you're having fun," she commanded, nudging them to look happy with a painful stab of their pressure points with her thumbs. "Oh, Hokie, you're hilarious!"

She shoved them into the gardens outside of the assembly hall, the shutting of the double doors behind them reverberating through the walls as the onslaught of sunlight momentarily blinded them. Mitsuki crossed her arms and frowned at the two. Mmm, they'd looked more impressive from afar. She raised a brow and let her gaze travel over every inch of their bodies, noting the occasional freckle on their skin and crinkle of their shirts.

She met their eyes, and smiled.

"I don't believe we've been formally introduced," she said after introducing herself quite loudly on stage but a few minutes ago. Mitsuki curtsied, lowering her petite frame for a moment before smiling serenely. "Mitsuki Hisakawa at your service." She winked as she straightened her body. "I'll be your guide for today. How may I be of assistance? What would you first like to do? Perhaps you'd like to visit my torture chamber?" she laughed.

---

---

Hiroki felt more fatigued than he did when he woke up, he was ready for the day to end, all the student's had exited the assembly, it was just him and Kitty now. Kitty, Noticing the tired look on Hiroki's face, offered to help him beat the game "Aniki! i can help you win the game!" she said with a smile on her face "Noo kittyyy..." he said with a hoarse voice, the thought of the game alone was enough to drain his energy. "Didn't you hear...we can't use our Alice.." "B-but! they can't see me!" said kitty flailing her arms. "Trust me..they'll catch us and if they do it won't be pre-" he was interupted by a skinny black haired boy. "Excuse me." Hiroki turned his head to his right.

[color=gray]"Hm?.." he said looking up at the boy, for he was still in his seat. He thought he was the only one in the assembly, he didn't notice him. "Um, when you're done reading those, would you mind if I could read them too. Uh, you don't have to if you don't want to. I mean. I just like reading is all." Hiroki looked down at the series in his lap, then looked up at the boy. "You can have them." he raised them up to the red eyed boy, he reached for them taking them from Hiroki. Hiroki then got up out of his chair, put his hands in his over-sized pockets and walked away towards the exit of the assembly. Kitty clung onto his arm and walked beside him. Hiroki started towards the hall.

"Now what...when does this games start.." Said Hiroki, eager for to get it done and over with. Kitty tugged at Hiroki's arm lifting herself up and down, which caused Hiroki to anchor evreytime she jumped. "Gah! stop it!..Kitty!!" he said through his teeth, trying to shove her away. “I made you cookie-dough candies.” Hiroki paused, and looked ahead of him. It was Mitsuki, and some blonde haired guy. And another student appeared, she was small and had brown hair. Hiroki was going in that direction, he was planning on waiting outisde for an announcement on when the game was to start or something, and plus he was feeling a little drafty so some sun would do him some good.

He lowered his head, causing his bangs to veil his eyes as he passed by the three student's, kitty began tugging at Hiroki's arm again and swung from his arm causing Hiroki to loose his balance and skid across the floor, he collided against Mitsuki, landing right ontop of her. "Fu-...fuck." he said under his breath. "I-i-i-i-i...IMSORRY ANIKI!" yelled Kitty, she then dissapeared....

Hiroki met Mitsuki's eyes for a breif moment, he then flinched and jumped up off of her, he didn't even apologize, he just got up, shoved his hands in his pockets and ran a little. His eye's were wide in shock, he wasn't quite sure what the hell just happend. He slumped against a wall and blankly stared at the floor. "Aniki?...Aniki!" said an echoey voice "Aaanikii!" evreything caved in "Huh?...." Hiroki blinked a few times. He sighed a sigh of realief. "only...it was only..a vision!..hah.." his breathing was a bit heavy, he was trembling a bit. Kitty grabbed Hirokis arm, Hiroki grabbed kittys hand and moved it off him. "What did i say about touching..." . "Bully Aniki!!" she pouted and darted off in front of him, Hiroki calmed down a bit. He was reminded that Mitusuki and the other two student's were still there, he lowered his head so they woudn't talk to him or notice him. "i should have better control of Kitty..." Hiroki thought to himself,making a mental note.

Azeal looked down at the Hiroki with his heart racing like he was inside some sort of merging deal. When the boy said he could the book collection he couldn't help but to feel an air of success. He quickly awkwardly had a book collection and some salt and pepper to go with it. Not that he knew what to do with the salt and pepper, but he wasn't really the type to ever get gifts. In fact, besides from some incredibly soft, but very strange candy he got from a masked girl when he was younger. Speaking of masked girls, he wondered what happened to her. Not now of course, but the thought of gifts has brought in the thought of her. His first friend. As he remembered she had a mask, blue hair, and was bubbly to say the least. Definitely a talker. He let a faint smile rub across his face as he walked down the hall.

She probably just got tired of me. It's okay though. Everyone does eventually. I mean, I wouldn't want to be friends with a guy like me either.

As depressing as his thoughts may have been, sticking a piece of candy in his mouth was definitely a fine solution. However, Before he was able to complete the thought.
Whoosh!!
He felt like he was being dragged by a lion inside her den to do the worse kind of things. "Don't say a word," she said.

I have no reason to say anything.

"Now smile and laugh like you're having fun,"

Umm?

Of course the best he could do was turn his frown into a flat line from corner to corner of his mouth.

"Oh, Hokie, you're hilarious!"

Wait did I miss something?

He traveled through his memories and just realized that someone did happen to say his name earlier. He must've not noticed because no one had said his name in years. At least not his real on. The very sound of it echoed through his head, even though it did take awhile to settle in. His face felt warm and his stomach tried to do a somersault but failed so just raised its hands in approval. The one person who was to say his name was the one person he was now looking down at. Her blue hair caught his eyes and he felt a strange familiar vibe oozing off of her. Of course. It was clear to him now. The person who had taking him and Hiroki, now that he looks at it, was none other than....

"President Hisakawa." He said no louder than a whisper. It was more of a loud mental note to himself. Before he could say anything about her question Hiroki ran into her.....or whatever that was that happened.....tackled her? Azeal didn't know. The boy was gone not to long after that.

Damn. I didn't get to thank him for the books.

Never mind that. There was now a bigger issue. He was now alone with the blue haired girl. Almost everyone in school feared her. Rumor was, that she destroyed everything that she touched and warnings were spread not to get near her. Her nickname even matched his own in some way. A being from hell. The only thing was, this wasn't the issue. The issue was that Azeal had only come in contact with two women. One being his dead mother, whose pearl he wears around his neck, and the other being a blue haired girl who amazed him with her stories of everything possible.

What am I suppose to do now?

He looked at her and then looked at the sky. Following that, he looked back at her. Truly he had to say something. Oh yeah. That's right. "I'm sorry." He said with a sad expression, one that looked almost like he was breaking bad news. "I don't need an escort to show me around school because I've been here for a long time."

This is bad. If I keep this up I'll be alone. Isn't that what I want. No. What I want is a....

"Friend." The word seeped from his brain cavity all the way past his lips. Was it true. Was he really that much in need of a friend. Of course not. He had his precious memory delightfully sweet, soft yet chewy...... No. He ate the last one this morning. It was as if a cold reality just set in. Tears almost swelled up in his eyes but he forced them away.

Damn medicine.

He looked up at the blue haired girl. Well, President Hisakawa. He wasn't away, but to the other students who knew better, he was the bravest man on earth for asking this question.
"Umm. You don't happen to have any Howalons, do you. I'm sorry for asking. It's just that their my favorite candy and I saw one girl eating them before so I thought maybe you would eat them too."

He didn't know why he had to apologize so much after asking a favor. Maybe it was all those mandatory personality classes he had to take before being allowed to actually participate in school. Who knows? The only thing he could do now is wait for her answer.

Wow, these people were weird.

Mitsuki's upturned lips twitched in the corner as she struggled with her conflicting feelings. Did she find them amusing? Or did she want bury them in a freezer encased in puff pastry?

"Oomph!"

Mitsuki stumbled forward a few steps as the six foot body that stumbled into her bowed and apologised repeatedly. She bared her teeth and he seemed to crumble over himself, taking frightened steps backwards into his friends. She gave them a taste of her signature glare and screaming like small children, they raced away.

Mmm, she should get them on the track team.

The student body president rolled her eyes as she turned her attention back to Tweedledee and Tweedledum. She didn't understand why everyone was utterly petrified of her. It hurt her feelings. After all, she was adorable.

She giggled and tossed her snowflake curls over her shoulder, as if to prove a point.

"I'm sorry." She raised a brow at the soft voice. Azeal stared at her, his obsidian eyes capable of luring the unsuspecting into their chilling oceans. The glimpse of sadness she saw in them stopped her breath at her lungs and sent a penetrating agony through her head. She caught her scream before it escaped her lips and settled for a subtle flinch instead.

"I don't need an escort to show me around school because I've been here for a long time."

His voice was muffled behind the flood of ocean water that encompassed her mind. He was quickly rushing into a speck in the distance. He was always so far out of reach and she tripped over her own feet trying to catch someone she could never touch. She remembered, once, she'd taken a chance, reaching out her hands to touch his through the gaps of the bars. They'd gotten an inch of each other before the barrier Alice had thrown them both back.

Then the memory dissipated, succumbing to the darkness that had veiled it for three years.

"Friend."

Mitsuki blinked her crystal blue eyes and realised she'd been standing gawking and paralysed the whole time. She must've looked nuts. Peanut brittle would've had nothing on her. She laughed uncertainly, remembering Naoya. She grasped onto the frowning image of one of the only other Special Stars in the school, his downturned lips disapproving as she lectured him, once again, about his constant use of his Alice. She was forever urging him, or threatening him, rather, to stop disintegrating his existence with his clocks.

She was deaf to the protests of others when they accused her of hypocrisy. It wasn't the same, she'd say. She couldn't not leach the universe of the world if she'd wanted to. Whereas he did not need to tug and warp time in the gaps between his fingers and the turning of his screws. She'd even offered to pay him to stop, if money was what he wanted.

But he was too in love, or too drunk, on the Alice that wove his near translucent skin and electrified the bones beneath. His Alice was his frame, his mind, his soul, and he would treasure it as he'd never treasured her.

She saw his stubborn eyes, their irises the soft hue of rose quartz, decorated with rays extending like blood rippling through water. His gaze never stayed in one place or time for too long, not unlike him. He fluttered between each of the billion arms of clocks years and decades into the future and past. It made him hard to grasp and his body, as easily frayed as the wings of butterflies, made him impossible, untouchable. and annoying as hell.

As per usual, her fury towards Naoya overpowered any confusion she might have towards the dark eyed puzzle before her or otherwise.

"Umm. You don't happen to have any Howalons, do you. I'm sorry for asking. It's just that their my favorite candy and I saw one girl eating them before so I thought maybe you would eat them too."

"Howalons?" Mitsuki tilted her head to the side, studying Rowens curiously. "Yeah, of course. They're my favourite. I'll go get some." She spun around to storm towards the student dormitories but stopped and turned around. "I, um... I mean, would you like to come with me? I don't suppose you've ever seen a Special Star's room before."

Alice Academy had no rules against males going into the rooms of females. They didn't even have separate dormitories for either. Rather the buildings were separated between Elementary, Middle and Senior School. There were six floors in each building in total.

The massive dining hall, kitchen, common room and in house staff quarters was in the ground floor. The second belonged to the no stars and to say it was grungy would be an understatement. Not in her 11 years of being a student at Alice Academy had she ever been to the second floor, and she planned to maintain her lack of curiosity. The third floor belonged to the One stars; the fourth, Double Stars; the fifth, Triple Stars; and not surprisingly, the pent houses to the Special Stars.

Without turning around to see if they would follow, she headed towards the dorms. The school didn't much believe in technology and that included elevators. Mitsuki didn't mind. Steps were cute. Like hammers. Hammers were cute too.

She skipped up the steps, humming in her sugary sweet voice as she danced her way up to the sixth floor. That was one thing the other stars were glad of, at least they didn't have to climb six flights of spiralling staircase.

"Here we are!" she announced, waving at the baby pink double doors in front of them but glaring at the doors not too far down the hallway. Where was Naoya? Was he in his room? If he wasn't, was he with... That thing?

"Stand back," she warned, turning her attention to the pink monstrosity before her and slipping a glove from her right hand. Cool air touched her skin and she sighed contentedly, the specially made cloves were suffocating. Mitsuki pressed her palm to the door. The energies of the wood, paint and metal knobs and nails reacted with her own like positive and negative mega magnets within close proximity. Excitement pooled in her racing heart and she grinned, happy to be allowed a drop of her power to roam free.

Mitsuki inhaled, pulling the particles of the door towards her and in an earth shattering blast, the door exploded.

Guilt immediately chased the adrenaline away. This was the true nature of her power: destruction, and she felt wretched for enjoying it. She hastily pulled her glove back over her hand.

"The doors here react with our Alices," she explained hastily, in case they began to wonder why she was randomly blowing up her own room. "It's the only way to get it. A new door will appear in a bit. It's to ensure no one can simply enter our rooms." Special Stars had... Questionable things in there. Besides, they were the school's precious tools. "They made it more elaborate after some students managed to sneak into one of the Special Stars rooms."

Mitsuki stepped into her room and announced with flourish, "Welcome to my not so humble abode!"

A frilly cream four poster bed sat against one wall of the room; pale blue curtains cascaded from the frames. A desk the colour of sunset rested against the wall, a forest green swivel chair nearby. A large carpet with swirls of various colours covered a part of the wall, and everywhere, instruments lived. There was a cello, a harp, a flute, multiple guitars - classical, acoustic and electric - a grand piano and countless others rested here and there.

Mitsuki's room was a mismatch of colours, probably due to her being colourblind, or maybe because she constantly had to have her furniture and walls repainted and refurnished because her room turned grey after a while. Presently her walls were a mix of lilac, azure, yellow and green.

A massive painting hung on one wall. It was a girl - a ballerina - frozen in a pirouette, her hair like blue snow was pulled into a taught bun and her startling blue eyes gazed into the distance. She looked like Swan Lake.

"Yep, that's me. Not the lead in Swan Lake," she said with a grin but her voice betrayed her bitterness. "The main character had a dance hypnotising Alice. Cheating, if you ask me."

"Welcome to the annual Search and Conquer!" a voice chirped from nowhere and everywhere simultaneously, echoing through the minds of the contestants in the menacing woods. Well, in sunlight, it was actually quite pretty, ignoring the poisonous snakes and mud swamps that probably plagued it. Mitsuki felt her jaw fall a little at the familiar cheer. Coffee boy? she thought incredulously. "I'm James Franklin, our student body president's personal assistant." She snorted at his self-proclaimed title. Please, he was her foot rest and slave and had been since they were six. "My lady, my nights have been dark with worry for you," he moaned and Mitsuki grunted in response. The feeling was not mutual; and weren't nights meant to be dark?

"Seeing as both prez and vice-president Rammis were chosen for this expedition, I'll be your guide for this tournament." Mitsuki shielded her eyes with a hand to look at the afternoon Sun, memorising the shadows the trees around her cast and the position of the star so she would roughly gauge the time. She wished she'd worn a watch but each of the participants had been magically teleported to random parts of the Northern Woods at 12:00pm sharp and seeing as she'd been too busy with almost dying in the school hospital, she hadn't had much of a chance to even get dressed. She shivered in her thin hospital gown and thanked her luck that it at least wasn't one of those that left her entire backside bare. She'd prefer to have a pair of pants on but an ugly off white dress with pale blue polka dots was close enough. Her vacuum packed bag of men's underwear was tucked under her arm, despite her having no recollection of having it. She supposed their 'gifts' simply appeared with them even if it wasn't on their person at the time of the transfer. Luck was working in her favour today. You never knew when you could use a pair of 100% cotton underwear, even if she honestly couldn't fathom a situation that would call for that, and she was pretty damned creative.

"As you can tell, you've all been scattered throughout the Northern Woods and you'll find a green and red flag with the face of Santa Claus wrapped around your wrist. You must keep this on your persons at all times. When your flag is stolen, the face of Santa will become that of your new team leader. Team leaders will have the faces of their victims printed on their flags."

Mitsuki was already moving, searching the woods for prey. Having been sent on countless missions, she moved quickly and silently, her eyes tracking every rattle of a leaf or skitter of an ant. She had no idea how she'd even ended up in the hospital but she remembered gasping as a surge of life like a shock from a defibrillator jolted her awake only for her to succumb to unconsciousness moments after. Her earliest memory besides that jolt was giving Azeal half a dozen Howalons.

She listened intently to James as he recited the rules she'd memorised before and put a halt to her prying altogether when he began reading through the names of participants. She racked her brain trying to remember every small detail about every student. She knew most in person and knew all from reading their personal folios yet perhaps it was whatever had happened before, but she couldn't seem to remember anything all that well. She thought she might've understood most of their Alices but the names were being thrown into a large, boiling pot of mud, and it didn't look as if it was going to be salvaged any time soon. She bit the inside of her cheek. She wasn't one to give up.

"Search and Conquer will end when the sun rises tomorrow and your gifts will disappear. The person who remains unclaimed through the entirety of the tournament will win a thousand rabbits, and the leader with the biggest team will win a pass to the outside. Be warned, there are Alice traps scattered throughout the Woods that will transport you to the nearest competitor should you make contact with it. These are very well hidden and unlikely to be spotted, but here's a tip: watch out for anything and anyone that's out of place."

Like that gigantic rubber duck over there?

A massive rubber duck sat a ways away. When did that get there? She gawked at it, puzzled, and then they made eye contact. Wait, what? Eye contact?!

"CHEEEEEEEPPP!!!"

"What the f-" she cursed just as the rubber contraption slash beast bounced towards her. She screamed and spun around, running as fast as she possibly could as the neon yellow creature leapt distances no bathtub deco should've been able to. Mitsuki was in no way slow, having spent most of her days every day chasing after idiots who broke rules, but the duck was one crazy piece of plastic.

"Prez! Prez, are you okay?!" James asked frantically, his voice deafening from the invisible speakers in their heads. She heard a muffled voice in the distance scolding him for using his telepathic broadcasting Alice inappropriately. She scowled. No one was allowed to yell into his ear and use him as a personal broadcasting station except for her.

I don't know, Franklin. I'm being chased by an oversized bathroom utensil. Do I look okay?

"Uh, by the way," his voice returned. "There're some obstacles to overcome in the Woods."

Mitsuki chanced a glance over her shoulder and found the glint of the rubber duck's dark eye.

No shit.

She screamed and ran harder.

"I'm so glad I'm not any of you right now," James laughed for a while before sobering up. "I love you, Tsuki. Survive and come back to me. My body is yours to use and dispose of."

Mmm, disposing of him did sound quite nice.

"CHEEEP!!!"

Maybe later.

Upon closer and slightly less brief inspection, she realised the duck wasn't a duck after all but a gigantic chic. Hope fluttered in her stomach - or maybe hunger, it was hard to tell - and she wondered if she could eat it.

Her eyes darted around, searching for an escape but finding nothing but trees the duck would only crush. Maybe she could dig a hole and bury herself, and maybe the medicine they gave her was making her stupid, crazy, or both. She glanced at the rings on her fingers as she ran and touched her ears, her Alice limiting devices had been replaced. Could she take out a duck giant made of rubber? Did her Alice even work on rubber?

You're not freaking electricity, Tsuki.

For one reason or another, she hesitated to stop and stand in front of the duck with her arms wide open for a hug. Maybe it was the highly plausible chance of death by flattening or her mistrust of self-guided, supposedly small baby chickens, but she wasn't quite ready to die.

But she stopped, spun around, and held out her arms.

"CCCHHEEEEPPP!!!"

The bundle of yellow fuzz grasped her hands and spun her around, tears glistening in the corners of its eyes. It pranced through the garden of trees, although from this vantage point, they looked more like pieces of broccoli. The humongous chic clutched Mitsuki to its neon chest and twirled, emitting sounds of joy or calling for more crack, there was little differentiation.

"CCHEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPP!!!"

Well, stranger things have happened.