Just One Chance
by Her Pretty Smile

Synopsis: After being informed of the Academy's decision to erase her memories, Mikan found herself wandering in the school grounds, feeling sullen and sad. But then, when she sat on a tree stump, she discovered a suspicious-looking bag full of alice stones just beside her leg. However, just as she picked up an unusual one that caught her eye, she was suddenly sucked into darkness and brought to another world familiar to her—the past. Now, she has a chance, just one chance for her to be able to make things right as it should be. And she wasn't going to ruin the opportunity given to her. [Ongoing]

Warning: This is unbeta-ed. May contain mistakes or errors or any of the sort.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice.

Authoress' Note: WAIT! Before you suddenly sue me of plagiarism, please let me introduce myself first. I am the one and only author of this story 'Another Chance'. I'm Ai-chan. It's me, you guys! This is my new account. :3 See? I didn't abandon this story, you guys! :)

For those who don't know me, well... the better! :)

Also, there are some references here to the manga, of course. Sorry if they seem annoying, but they're vital for this story. I'll be making adjustments, though, so that it won't be messy.

Sooo, here it is! Has been revised and proofread and edited by none other than myself. :3

Just One Chance
Chapter 1
The Beginning of A Change

SEVERAL VOICES EXPLAINED THEIR decision to her.

"Mikan, regarding you who lost your alice, we have to tell you our decisions on what will happen in the future."

"After all the preparations are done, all your memories in the academy will be erased."

"Under the protection of the middle school principal's barrier, you will leave the academy and return to your grandfather. You would live on with the life you once lived before. No alices. No Hotaru. No Natsume. You would never remember their existence. Or anything and anyone connected to the academy for that matter."

She was aghast. "Why? Why my memories? These memories you talked about, does it refer to the memories I have of everyone here?" The gravity of the situation came crashing down on her immediately. "All my memories will be forgotten? If so, what about the memories of my dad? And even to those of my mother? Everyone..." Tears welled up in her eyes. "No! Don't remove my memories of all those important to me! I will do anything! Please! Just don't take my memories away from me. I beg you... Please..."

.oo0oo.

WHEN MIKAN OPENED HER eyes, the soft brightness of her room instantly clouded her vision. Blinking rapidly yet wearily, she sat up and rubbed her eyes.

Narumi wasn't there. It seemed that he'd decided to leave her alone with her thoughts after rendering her unconscious.

After stretching her arms, the first thing Mikan wanted to do was to go for a walk to clear her thoughts. So much had happened these past few days. Ever since Luna took the ESP with her, ever since Natsume's death, and ever since Hotaru's disappearance along with her brother and Nodacchi, she hadn't been able to sleep very well nor dream.

Her head felt like it was literally about to break. The wheels spinning inside it were on the verge of collapsing; she couldn't think properly and her body was shaking.

But there was still a flicker of hope inside her, a belief that things would turn out all right in the end.

And if things still weren't all right, then it wasn't the end yet.

After walking around for a few minutes, she discovered a tree stump and sat on it, her thoughts reverting towards Hotaru.

Imai Hotaru. Mikan's best friend who promised her that she would bring Natsume back no matter what it took. But how many days had passed? Maybe even weeks had gone by.

And still, Hotaru hadn't come back.

Where was she?

What happened?

Mikan could only make one guess.

Hotaru was still finding a way.

But what would happen to her if she succeeded?

I can't hold the promise I made with Hotaru anymore, Mikan thought in despair, burying her face in her hands. After leaving this academy, the promise to wait and to look for Natsume...

I can't do it anymore.

Hot tears slid down her cheeks. She made no move to wipe them away for she deemed it unnecessary.

What should I do? Mom? Dad? Please help me… What should I do?

At that moment, her leg hit something beside the tree stump when she tried to shift into a more comfortable position and she yelped in surprise. Instinctively, she looked down below and saw an odd-looking paper bag. She stared at it curiously as she went down from where she sat and grabbed it. When she finally opened it, though, Mikan was taken aback of what she saw inside.

"Alice stones?" Mikan wondered aloud. "I wonder why this bag is here. Who would leave it here, anyway?"

Mikan turned her head left and right to search for someone who might be looking for it, but she found no one in sight.

Wiping away her tears, she curiously took out a rainbow-colored alice stone and brightened a bit at its prettiness. "This is an unusual stone!" she exclaimed. "Is there even something like this? I wonder what this does." She carefully examined the stone, fully admiring its beautiful color.

Suddenly, she felt her whole body spinning, spinning round and round and slowly being sucked inside a void full of darkness.

W—What's happening?

She felt cold all over, then hot. She felt scared, then paralyzed.

Her mind was full of panicked thoughts and she couldn't calm down.

What… What is this feeling? I feel like I'm being pulled away!

.oo0oo.

HER VISION BLURRED, AND she hastily blinked it away.

But the moment her eyes adjusted, the first thing she saw was a black limo and people crowding around it, their expressions clearly that of amazement.

Amidst the crowd, one particular dark, short-haired girl caught her attention. She was standing right in front of Mikan, staring at her with a blank expression on her face.

"Ho—Hotaru?" Mikan cried out, finally realizing who the person was. She was engulfed by the desire to run and embrace her best friend and cry on her shoulder and ask her questions like 'Where were you all this time?' and 'Why did you return just now?', but before she could take a single step forward, another realization stopped her from doing so.

How did they both get here? She could barely recognize the place. And wasn't she in the forest just a little while ago?

What's going on? Why is Hotaru suddenly in front of me?

Her eyes widened. Wait. Hold on a sec!

"Hotaru, why do you look so..." Mikan couldn't find the best word to describe it.

Her best friend was getting impatient from waiting for her to finish. "So what?" Hotaru said in annoyance, urging Mikan to say it already. She didn't have the time to sit around and wait for the continuation of her sentence. Those agents standing beside the parked car were waiting for her. Even the driver, Tominaga, was looking at her from the car's rearview mirror.

The words came out of Mikan's lips before she could think twice. "So... little?"

Hotaru's eyes narrowed. "You know, just because I'm short doesn't mean you have the right to point it out on my face with everyone around. We are both ten years old. And in case you don't know, I am the one who is taller compared to you."

Mikan gaped at her. "Ten years old?! What's going on here? This is all too weird!" Out of reflex, she immediately stared at her hands, her body, and her feet.

I'm... ten years old again? Mikan thought, her eyes wide with disbelief. Wha—? But aren't I supposed to be 12?

Hotaru studied her intently, apparently noticing her state of disarray. "Mikan? What's wrong?"

"Hotaru..." Mikan's voice trailed off.

"Look, just hurry up and say what you want to say already before I go."

"Go?" Mikan said, confused. "Go where?"

Hotaru's eyes narrowed further in suspicion. "Mikan, if this is a joke, please stop it now."

"I'm not joking!" Mikan said, almost exasperated at the calm, annoyed aura Hotaru was emitting. Her head started to ache; it was already feeling the effects of information overload. "I just don't understand what's happening right now! I was just looking at an alice stone and suddenly I was whirled into this place—…" Her voice trailed off again, this time in realization.

Wait a minute. Maybe… Maybe this is the past! Maybe that alice stone was a time-travel alice, just like Nodacchi's! No wonder this scene feels like déjà vu...

Hotaru's eyes widened when she heard the words 'alice stone.'

"Hotaru!" Mikan said suddenly, her eyes blazing with determination. "You're going to Gakuen Alice, right?"

"Yes. I said that in the tortoise mail I sent you," Hotaru replied, studying Mikan intently and wondering how she could've known about alice stones.

"Then…" Mikan began, looking at her best friend with a bright smile on her face, "Let's go together!"

END of CHAPTER 1
TO BE CONTINUED

A/N: So this is now the revised edition! :) Hope you guys like it. The next chapter will come on either Saturday or Monday, so stay tuned.