The Black Fox [Gakuen Alice Fanfiction]

Missions

“Per…sona?” I recalled the time I had pestered Natsume into giving me details about the man he was hiding from some time ago. Natsume had refused to tell me anything apart from the name ‘Persona’.

What did this man want from me? A million questions ran through my head.

“Hurry up, Kai. We don’t have time to waste,” Narumi pressed, urgency all too obvious in his voice.

“I’m coming.” Letting the door fall back into place, I followed him down the halls of the school, to where Persona awaited.

~*~*~*~*~

“We’re here,” the blonde teacher announced just as we stopped in front of a door at the end of a long, dim corridor where the only light source were flickering lights. The place gave me the chills, and I hoped to get out of the area soon.

“Go in.” Narumi had clearly noticed my hesitance. Throwing all the doubts I had into the deepest recesses of my brain, I pushed open the door. It closed with an ominous thud just as I passed through, sealing me in the place. The room was even darker than the corridor, and it took my eyes some time to adjust to the light. Despite my lack of sight, I knew someone was watching me. Black, leather chairs were scattered around the room in no recognizable order or fashion. The wallpaper was black—scratch that, the whole room was pretty much black, and a long table was placed in the center of the room.

I was about to start searching when the lights suddenly lit up, forcing me to close my eyes.

“You’re finally here.” A man dressed entirely in black stood before me. His attire explained why I hadn’t seen him in the darkness. Without waiting for me to respond, he threw he object in his hands at me. Catching it, I turned it between my fingers. It was a mask in the shape of a fox face, made of a material I’ve never encountered before. Blue marking were around the eyes and the tips of the ears were decorated with silver patterns.

“Put on the mask.” It was a command from Persona.

“And if I refuse?”

“Don’t make this more difficult than it already is.” Following his orders, I placed the mask on. Surprisingly, I couldn’t feel it on my skin. “Good. I’ll be giving you the details of your first mission, so listen carefully.” Persona handed me a file labelled ‘Hyuga Natsume’, and I almost dropped it in shock. The whole situation exuded bad vibes, and I wanted I really didn’t want to know what Persona had in store. “Your task is to eliminate the one on the file.”

“Why do you want him gone if he does your dirty work?” Against my better judgment, I decided to press Persona for answers.

“It is not your place to ask questions.”

“Then what if I refuse to co-operate?” I challenged him, but his expression remained unchanged.

“The Academy has its methods, Kai.”

I gave out a forced laugh in the face of his threat. “Do you really think that would work on me? I don’t have anyone you can use anymore.”

“Even her?” Persona slid a small photograph across the table and I pick it up. It was one of a girl, around my age, with long black hair tied into a high ponytail. Back in the time when my parents were still alive, she was my only friend; the only one I was close to.

“You know this girl, don’t you?”

“What makes you say that?”

“Don’t play games with me. I’ve been lenient with you until now. Next time, I won’t hesitate to use force.” Without pause, Persona continued, “This girl has an Alice which is rather useful to the Academy.” I balled my hand into a fist as I listened. This man was going to take her into Alice Academy to make her run missions!

“And I have a choice to stop her from entering this place if I chose to co-operate with you?”

“That’s right. If she somehow manages to get herself into the Academy—like you stupidly did—I’ll guarantee that she won’t have to work under me.”

“You…!” I dug my nails into my palms, trying to restrain from launching myself at Persona. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea; the man had the aura of death itself.

Persona only gave an irritating, satisfied smile in response, which served to anger me further. “Do you accept my conditions?”  

Gritting my teeth, I looked down at the floor, away from the man’s face. “Fine. I accept.”

 ~+~+~+~+~

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