The Black Fox [Gakuen Alice Fanfiction]

Festivals, RPGs, and the Unxpected

"Do you want to go check out the Special class' RPG game? I hear it's actually pretty good, despite how unpopular it is."

"Not particularly." I looked up at Akira, who I was walking around the Alice festival premises with. "Why? Are you curious?"

Akira laughed. "More than a little curious, I admit. Let's go together."

"Do I have a choice?"

"Nope." Akira dragged me by the arm for a good part of the distance before I finally gave in.

"Geez, fine, I'll do it with you," I grumbled, digging my heels into the ground, making him halt.

"Scared you'll lose?" Akira's grin was nothing short of taunting.

"Oh? You're on."

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"Kai! Why did you have to move out of our class?" Mikan wailed, barreling toward me. I held her at an arm's distance, not wanting her to get too close. I didn't want to answer, and luckily I didn't have to with Akira timely intervention.

"Oh, Kai, do you know these people?" Akira rested his chin on my head. "You're just the right height for me to do this. It's nice."

"Yeah, they were my previous Ability classmates before I transferred. And Fuji-san, could you please stop that?"

"But it's comfortable."

"No."

"Fine." Akira finally got up.

"Anyway, Kai, you're here to play, right? Did you come to visit us?" Mikan chipped in, excited.

"We're here to play," Akira confirmed, just before I could speak.

"Yay! Ruka-pyon and Permy went in earlier. So pick an item and start!"

"Okay..." I cautiously placed my hand inside the box, feeling around. I touched something cold, and drew it out. "A torch?" It was in a cylindrical shape, no longer than the length of my hand. "What do I need this for?"

"You'll just have to find out." Tsubasa stepped toward me. "I heard the truth about your Ability class change from Narumi," he mouthed at me before adding in, "I didn't mention it to anyone else."

I exhaled in relief, not aware of having held it in the first place. "I appreciate that."

"Do you need a run through of the rules again?" Tsubasa asked me, and I shook my head.

"I'm fine," I answered, pushing the open the door to the game site.

It was dimly lit inside, and the walkways were narrow. I entered the first room, alert, and anticipating what was to come.

"You'll pass this level if no sound comes out of your lips within the next thirty seconds." Someone stepped toward me, and I jumped back on reflex, surrounding my hand in a thin veil of water. "I changed my iPod's name to Titanic. It's syncing now."

I bit my lip to keep from laughing at the god-awful pun. It was definitely one of the worst I've heard, and I didn't usually laugh at puns, either. I speculated that it was probably the guy's Alice.

"Haunted French pancakes give me the crepes."

"A cartoonist was found dead in his home. Details are sketchy."

If only I could block out the sound, but what could I use?

"Without geometry, life would be pointless."

Then it registered. Using a small amount of the water I had prepared from earlier, I plugged it into my ears, successfully muffling any words the guy spoke. The desire to laugh ebbed away and I counted to thirty before retracting the liquid.

The door behind my first opponent opened, and I stepped through, almost immediately bumping into someone on the day out. "Watch it," I spat out.

"Kai?" It was Akira.

"Fuji-san? Where did you come from?"

"Over there." Akira pointed at a curve in the labyrinth. "Want to navigate this place together?"

"Okay." If Akira was surprised at my lack of resistance, he didn't show it. "Who'd you get, by the way?"

"I got this girl who would travel through mirrors. She took my item, and I could only pass if I got it back from her."

"How'd you bypass her", I asked, intrigued.

"Oh?" Akira flashed a grin. "I happened to see her doing something really embarrassing a few days ago, and I—"

"That's enough." I cut him off.

"You did ask."

I shook my head. "And I wholly regret it."

"Left or right?" Akira queried, just as we came to a fork in the route.

"How about we split up? There'll probably be people on both sides, and we'll get through fast that way."

Akira seemed to agree, and we parted ways, with him heading left, and me to the right.

"Kai, you're finally here. I'm not going to go easy on you, okay?" I looked up to see Tsubasa's smile, and I found out that I was rooted to the ground. "Touch me in thirty seconds and you're free to go."

I knew I had to erase my shadow from under Tsubasa's foot. I quickly scanned the room, and found that the two flashlights from behind me were the cause of the problem. I could probably break them, I thought, preparing to cut them down with spinning discs of water.

"Ah, I forgot to tell you but if you damage anything, you're disqualified."

I withdrew my Alice at his words, tucking my hand into my pant pocket. I felt the familiar coldness of the torch, and drew it out, positioning it just so that it would displace my shadow. Finally free, I had a few seconds to quickly tap Tsubasa on the shoulder.

"Good game," he stretched his hand out for a shake, and I dropped something into the plam oh his hand. He yelped and dropped it immediately, and I laughed.

"Consider it payback; you were the most annoying opponent to face."

"Would have really crushed me if you though I was easy," Tsubasa joked, face one of joy before quacking morphing into concern. "Hey, are you alright? You look really pale..."

"Me? I'm fine. Just feeling slightly light-headed n—"

"Oi, wake up, what the hell happened? Can you hear me? Kai!" Tsubasa's panicked voice started to sound distant, fading in and out. There was the sound

"Tsubasa! Is that Kai? Goddamn it, I knew Persona shouldn't have pushed him so hard," someone growled, and that was all I heard before I blacked out.

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A.N. There probably will be a multitude of mistakes as I didn't proofread, and I apologize if you spot any!