A/N: Okay, I changed my mind. Now that college is just around the corner, I think I won't have enough time to actually revise this. However, I fixed some mistakes in the previous chapters, and I'm… well, just a bit satisfied.
So, without further ado, here's chapter ten.
Just One Chance
Chapter 10
The Secret's Out
FOUR MONTHS HAVE PASSED, and Mikan was nearly reaching the limit of the power of her water alice. Hotaru became a three-star; Mikan was still a two-star.
"That's so unfair!" Mikan wailed. "I was also aiming to become a three-star…"
"That's because your grades are so low," Hotaru pointed out.
"But… No matter how hard I study, I still flunk!"
"That's because you're stupid to the core," Hotaru said bluntly.
"Ho—Hotaru… That hurts…" You sound exactly like Shiki-san and Uncle! Mikan thought, pouting.
Wait a second…! Uncle…
"Is it possible to talk to the High School Principal?" Mikan suddenly asked.
The whole room grew silent.
Hotaru spoke first. "What business do you have with him, Mikan?"
Mikan chose her words carefully. "I have something I want to ask him. Is it okay if I don't tell you about it yet, Hotaru? It's really important."
Hotaru stared at her for a long moment, then nodded. "Okay. But I don't know how you can get to the HSP."
"You could try asking Narumi-sensei," Yuu suggested.
"Hmph. She probably just wants to suck up," Sumire remarked.
"Sumire is just jealous because Mikan is Natsume's partner," Koko piped up.
The goofy smile on his face made Sumire want to throw him inside a garbage can.
"Her thoughts are really evil, so I won't tell it to everyone," he added cheerfully.
Sumire smacked him with a hammer (which came out of nowhere). "Hey! Whose side are you on?"
"No one," Koko replied.
Mikan smiled. "I'm going! Bye, everyone!"
When Mikan left the room, Hotaru went over to Ruka and grabbed his arm.
"Eh? Imai?" Ruka inquired, his eyes wide in surprise.
Hotaru didn't say anything and went towards Natsume. She grabbed his arm too and dragged the two of them out of the room.
"Oi," Natsume said, his eyes narrowing. "What do you think you're doing?"
Hotaru let go of their arms, her expression serious. "I've got this weird feeling about Mikan ever since she came to the academy."
At that moment, Ruka remembered his conversation with Natsume four months ago.
.oo0oo.
"IT'S ABOUT THAT GIRL," Natsume said quietly.
"Huh?" Ruka said, confused. "What about her?"
"It seems like she knows something that I've never told anyone before."
"…Something that you didn't tell me, too?"
Natsume hesitated. "Yes."
After a moment of silence, Ruka smiled. "That's fine with me. If it's something that I shouldn't know, then I'm better off not knowing about it."
"That girl…" Natsume said slowly. "She also gives off a mysterious feeling. Like she's already been here before."
"But that's not possible, right?"
"…I don't know."
"Why don't you ask her?"
"I don't like her, and I never will. I don't even like talking to her."
"Well… Should we ask Imai?"
"…I don't like her, too."
"Then what should we do? My mind is full of unanswered questions…"
"Mine too. But maybe we can figure it out as time passes."
.oo0oo.
"WHAT KIND OF WEIRD feeling?" Ruka asked curiously.
"It's like she knows something about this academy and is trying to hide it from us," Hotaru replied. "And she seems a little mature, too."
"So why do you talk to us?" Natsume said with a raised eyebrow. "We don't know each other that well."
"I talked to you two because you are the only ones who Mikan seems to be close to."
"We are not close," Natsume denied flatly.
Hotaru ignored him. "Anyway, you heard what she said earlier, right? She's going to talk to the High School Principal. How does she know that the academy has principals in every division? Narumi-sensei didn't even explain that to her yet."
"So you're saying we should follow her," Natsume said.
"Yes."
"But what if she finds us?" Ruka said.
"Then we'll have to hide ourselves properly."
.oo0oo.
"AH! NARUMI-SENSEI!" MIKAN CALLED out.
Narumi turned his head towards her. "Oh, Mikan-chan. What is it?"
"Can I talk to the High School Principal?"
"The High School Principal?" Narumi said, bewildered. "Why do you want to talk to him?"
"Um… It's kind of private…"
Narumi thought about it for a moment. "Okay, I guess I can take you to the High School Division… But Mikan-chan, promise me that you have a good reason for talking to him, okay?"
"I promise."
.oo0oo.
"THE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL has the eyes to look through the power of the alice users. Because of his special body and rare alice, he was brought into the school since he was ten, and it had been almost fifty years since then.
"The High School Principal has the Longevity alice. Since he was young, he was always involved with selfish people who treated him as a God because of his alice.
"To protect the rare alice from being misused by outsiders, he didn't have any freedom in the academy. Because of his alice, the High School Principal went through all kinds of pain and sufferings. Therefore, he is even more objective than anyone else about the cruel system of the academy.
"Because of the death of Yukihira, there was a time when the High School Principal hated himself for having the alice that can detect other people's alices. He keeps blaming himself for bringing in all those sacrifices of the academy.
"Of course, it's the same to all of you.
"Everyone who comes or leaves the academy is decided by people including the High School Principal. Without knowing, every one of you have this kind of relationship with the High School Principal."
.oo0oo.
MAYBE MY COMING HERE was also decided by uncle… Mikan thought. But what if he doesn't know that I'm his brother's daughter yet? What should I do then?
When Mikan reached the High School Division building, a look of determination was plastered on her face.
If he still doesn't know, then I will explain it to him.
I've decided to let uncle know that I came from the future.
.oo0oo.
"SHOULD WE GO INSIDE, too?" Ruka asked.
Mikan had already gone inside the building. The three of them were hiding in the bushes.
"No worries," Hotaru said, taking out a gizmo from her pocket. "I put something on Mikan's uniform earlier. It can allow me to hear what she is going to say to the High School Principal."
"Isn't this an invasion of privacy for Sakura?" Ruka said.
"I'm only trying to figure out what she's so desperately trying to hide from us so that I can help her," Hotaru said. "She doesn't need to bear the burden herself."
.oo0oo.
AS MIKAN ENTERED THE office of the High School Principal, her uncle was already waiting for her.
"He—Hello…" Mikan said awkwardly.
"Hello," her uncle said formally. "And who might you be?"
"I'm Sakura Mikan… Uncle…"
The HSP's eyes grew wide. "You…"
"Can I talk to you about something? It's really important," Mikan said with pleading eyes.
Her uncle nodded stiffly. "All right. You can take a seat over there." He pointed to a chair near his desk.
"Thank you."
As the two of them were seated, the HSP spoke. "Now, tell me who you are."
Mikan was ready. "I'm your brother's daughter."
Kazumi stared at her. "You're… Izumi's daughter…? But how did you…"
"How did I know? Well… This is kinda hard to explain, but… I need you to believe me, okay? Please, uncle."
Kazumi nodded.
.oo0oo.
HOTARU COULDN'T BELIEVE WHAT she was hearing right now. The thought of Mikan coming here from the future was too much for her. It was like a dream, a dream so impossible that Hotaru couldn't swallow it all. Looking at the other two, it seemed that they felt the same thing.
"What is this…?" Natsume said. "This is…"
"How can it be…? I mean, it's possible, but…" Ruka said.
"Let's just listen," Hotaru said.
.oo0oo.
"THAT'S…" KAZUMI STARTED TO say.
"I know it's hard to believe, but it's the truth!" Mikan pleaded. "Please believe me…"
"I do believe you…" Kazumi said slowly. "But I don't know if I would be able to help you. Is it all right if I tell this to some close associates of mine?"
"You mean Sakurano-senpai and Imai-senpai…?" Mikan blurted out.
"Yes, them."
"Well… That's all right…"
Kazumi stared at her for a long moment with a soft expression on his face. "I see that you've had a heavy load on your shoulders for a long while. You say that you know why your mother joined the organization 'Z'? You also know how your father was killed?"
"Yes," Mikan said. "I also know what the ESP's alice is. He is the root of all evil. The boss of the organization 'Z' is the ESP's clone. I also know why he is slowly retrogressing."
"It's not safe for you to know so much," Kazumi said. "And since you're still an Elementary student, you're under the Elementary School Principal's watch. You should be careful at all times and you should never get caught by the Fuukitai. Do you have any close friends?"
"Yes."
"You should tell them the truth about you, too."
"But..."
"You should tell them so that they can protect you, too," Kazumi said softly. "I won't be able to keep watch on you all the time, but your friends can. You trust them, don't you?"
Mikan nodded.
"Then it's all right." He stood up from his desk. "You should go back to your classroom since it's almost time for your daily lessons. We shall meet again."
Mikan started to go outside his office.
"Oh, and Mikan..."
Mikan turned to him.
Kazumi smiled. "Thank you."
Mikan smiled back.
.oo0oo.
WHEN MIKAN GOT OUT of the High School Division building, Hotaru went over to her and gave her a hug.
"Hotaru?" Mikan said, bewildered. "What are you doing here?"
"You idiot..." she said. "You should've told me the truth..."
Mikan froze. "You know...?"
"Of course I know," she said. "We followed you all the way here. We even heard your conversation with the High School Principal."
"We?" Mikan said.
"Yes."
Ruka and Natsume went out of the bushes.
"That was unexpected, Sakura..." Ruka said.
"HUH?" Mikan said, her eyes wide. "They know, too? Hotaru!"
Hotaru let go of her. "You can't handle this alone, Mikan."
After a long moment, Mikan sighed. "All right..."
Hotaru patted her head. "We'll always be here, okay?"
Mikan smiled. "Thank you, everyone."
END of CHAPTER 10
TO BE CONTINUED