ACADEMY
Mikan and Narumi teleported back to the academy and arrived at the forest.
"here we are Mikan the party is held in the main hall, in case you've forgotten, it was also where the christmas balls were held,
do you nee-"
" Its okay narumi sensei, I can manage my way there" mikan interrupted politely with a smile on her face
"Eventhough you are unable to see my face now, I am actually smiling with joy, Thank you sensei, Thank you for everything"
Mikan said while hugging Narumi.
" I know Mikan.. because you are Mikan like that. Now enjoy yourself with the 4 precious hours that you have, okay?"
Mikan nodded, and with that Narumi disappeared.
PARTY HALL
Mikan was still 20 meters away from the venue but she could already hear the music, the beating of her heart
got louder and louder syncing with the bass on the background. her palms were sweating beneath the gloves and her knees are
shaking and she doesn't know why.
Mikan was already at the entrance and there was a line for the registration, she was 5th from the line and decided to stop the last minute when...
"oy! you! where are you going?" a familiar voice shouted
when mikan turned she saw a thin girl with a curly hair, she was wearing a lolita gown and had on some whiskers
"perm-" luckily Mikan got cut off by the beeping sound of the watch (10 minutes were taken out)
"hm? perm? perm what?" sumire asked
"ehh nothing , she then handed out the invitation
"yui? who are you? haven't heard your name before"
"uhh" mikan was stuttering for an excuse when
" ha it doesn't matter, I don't care who you are anyway, so hop in Yui, and enjoy the party!"
Mikan had no choice but to enter the main door, the sight that greeted her was unlike no other. Halloween decorations were all over
the place , walls were painted gray and black, the tiles were a checkered black and white, large chandeliers were hanging on the ceiling
and they each had realistic cobwebs around them. Mikan was marveled by everything, the students were at their best costumes
some scary- like frankenstein and zombies and some were dressed as princesses and robots. Everyone was sharing a laugh and dancing
through the music.
After the initial feelings of shock and awe resided, Mikan felt something inside. A sad thought, seeing everyone so grown-up,
not meeting any familiar face, being alone in the crowd-it made her feel as if she doesn't belong, a feeling as though, the
world inside the academy continued to turn without her existence for 3 years.
Mikan then shook off the negative vibes ," what are you thinking Mikan! You should be enjoying yourself!"
Mikan was desperately looking around for Hotaru and the rest of the gang when she heard her stomach grumble
"ehh" she whimpered while scratching her stomach.
she then looked at the buffet table full of sweets and savory treats and decided to
take a munch.
Mikan was looking at the differently colored drinks at the table when suddenly
"thirsty?" a voice asked
when Mikan turned, she was glad to see it was Kokoro
"Hm what happened it seems that you got nervous for a moment"
"oh crap" she thought, "kokoro can read minds and hearts"
Take a sip on that green liquid, it would surely refresh you!
"ehh? really? Okay, whatever you say Kokoro" Mikan replied
"Hm? you know my name?" Kokoro asked
" ehhh umm its... because of your tag!"
"oh right right"
Mikan was about to drink the green liquid when suddenly someone grabbed her hand
" please dont drink the green liquid or else you will bloat"
Mikan looked at the person who stopped her and saw that it was Yu
Mikan was so glad, she just wants to hug Yu right then and there if it weren't for the rules.
Yu was about to say something when the microphone blurted out
" okay guys so now we will have our annual singing contest! choose ur bets! and if ur bets win, one will
win the most coveted price of 1000 rabbits! So now look at your wrists and if u see a star you are one of the three
lucky persons to place a bet, now look!"
sumire shouted across the room, and she decided to place a bet on herself. The spotlight then moved to the next
lucky person, which turned out to be ruka.
Mikan was stunned, ruka looked different, he was taller, he still has a blond hair, and he looked
more and more like a prince. as per usual he was wearing a white tuxedo and he had on some eagle mask that he
temporarily removed to make his voice more clear . " i place my bet on miss hotaru imai"
everyone in the room cheered, but Mikan seemed to have lost all her hearing. the spotlight chose the bet
and there she was, Hotaru, in a lobster costume, her face popping out, she still has black hair, and her
eyes more purple than ever, she was pointing a gun towards ruka when the staff called her out.
Mikan was still shocked from the happenings when she was suddenly blinded by the light
"okay our third winner, Kokoro, pls choose your bet!"
" I choose... YUI!" everyone fell silent, and then there were murmuring
"yui? who is yui?"
"do you know who that is?"
"hm I can hear you everyone" kokoro blurted
"here is Yui" grabbing Mikan by the shoulders
Mikans watch was beeping fast and the time was deducted by 30 minutes.
Okay, so contestants please proceed to the backstage
The bets were placed under separate rooms, which was a shame since Mikan expected to see Hotaru there
"hmm I guess it better this way" she thought to herself "I don't think I could resist hugging her"
Mikan heard shouts from the audience and knew that the contest already started she then peeped into the stage and saw Sumire blurting out a ballad. She was out of tune but Mikan didn't mind, for it was nice seeing Sumire in her usual confident self.
"okay thank you bet number 1, now lets call out bet no 2, Hotaru Imai!"
Mikan got excited to see Hotaru's number , and when she peeped whats on the stage, her jaw dropped
Hotaru's robots were lining up, each with a different instrument. three girl robots were in the center andHotaru was on front seemingly acting like a musical conducter. When hotaru started everyone was gasping,Its likewatching a full blown concert, the musical notes were spectacular and the sound was engulfing the was already half way through Hotaru's performance when she suddenly felt the urge to pee,
"grr alright alright."
sumimasen! - mikan called out one of the staff, may I know where the bathroom is please?"
"oy bet no 3 you shouldn't go out anymore not even to the bathroom"
"please , my bladder's about to explode"
"oh all right, just go the the bathroom inside the props room. just head straight to this corridor and turn right,there you will see the bathroom."
"domo! Ill be quick!"
"okay, Ill call you out if its already your turn"
Mikan ran towards the props room and raised a thumbs up
when she went inside the room she felt chills. the room was full of decorations-zombie puppets, skeletons. Its a choice between walking towards the bathroom with eyes shut or peeing on her costume because of fright.
she chose the former. she succesfully located the bathroom door and peed. when she went out she decided to do the same was walking straight with eyes shut when she felt something drop on her head. when she opened her eyes to see what it is-she saw a scary looking clowns head turned upside down, it was a puppet and its hands were dangled in Mikan's head.
It was too much, Mikan cant contain her composure anymore, she violently pushed the puppet away from her headgear which then resulted to a loose bun and messy hair . when the puppet was taken off she shouted her way through the corridor which made her bumped into someone she was too careless to see.
'aww! watch where you're going stupid!"
" Gome Gom-" the person she bumped to then pushed her away
" why you!" mikan shouted, " cant you see that it was an accident! how dare you push me like that! Say sorry!"
"you pushed me first loud mouth" with this the guy stood up patting his black long sleeves, removing the dust"
"No, I didn't ! say sorry!" mikan is now dead serious
" hmm" the guy smirked, " how courageous of you to ask that of me, Know who you're talking to first before you open your mouth"
"why you-" with that mikans head gear was set to a blaze. and the person she bumped into disappeared into the shadows
fire. only one person can do that. Mikan was stuck. she didn't even notice that her leaf head gear was on fire
"oy! contestant number 3! its your turn! oh my god your costumes on fire!"
"eh? on fi?" waaaa mikan then hurriedly removed her headgear and realized the danger of what she's done 3 seconds after. her face is bare, If someone will see her they would immediately recognize her.
"come on now, they're calling you already"
"no wait please i need a mask"
"here use this, the staff then handed her out a japanese mask. it was of a geisha face"
"urgh fair enough"
The host was still calling bet no 3 out when Mikan went out the stage
"oh here she is, lets give it up for contestant no 3"
there was silence, except for a few claps and Kokoro's encouraging cheers
" hello, um Im Yui and Im contestant no 3" there was static
"obviously" sumire smirked giving a side comment
" umm Im here to support Kokoro, I really dont have a nice voice" Mikan strugglingly said, she surveyed across the room, on the left side of the stage she saw natsume and ruka talking, she then saw Kokoro's beaming face,sumire is busy looking at her nails while Hotaru is eating out a cake. Yu was on the center table cheering her up as per is seeing everyone, and with that she is happy.
"im gonna sing a song, by a singer that goes with the same name as me. This is Hello by Yui"
(please search Hello by Yui to know what song Im talking about"
" hello... hello.. hello" mikan then clapped her hands to the tune of yui's intro
surprisingly the number of people clapping with her was increasing, until such time that everyone was clapping their hands and cheering her on
Mikan sang the song with her heart out because it completely describes what she's currently feeling at the wants to hug and say hi to everyone but just can't
Mikan didnt even notice that the song is through. By the end of the last tune everyone cheered and shouted
" Wow! we didn't know you're such a crowd sweetheart! guys give it up for our mysterious miss Yui! okay okay bets, please come to the center stage!"
sumire and hotaru then lined up
hotaru was real near and Mikan can't help but look at her. Her tears were now streaming down her face. She can't resist the urge anymore and grabbed for hotaru's hand. Hotaru looked at her in puzzlement. Mikan's watch was beeping and time was taken out minute by minute. but she didn't care- because its all worth it. Mikan was trapped in her mind when the staff called her attention
"Yui! everyone is asking for you to reveal your face"
by this mikan let go of hotaru's hand and nervously held onto her mask
"umm no sorry no"
the host then grabbed her arm and said "come on now don't be shy"
meanwhile
" hm I bumped into that girl earlier, forced me to say sorry" natsume sneered
"haha that's good to hear natsume" ruka chuckled "its been a while since someone talked back to you like that, not since."
"just stop right there ruka" natsume interuppted, dead serious
" sorry"
"mm mm. ill teach that girl a lesson"
"what will you do natsume?" ruka worriedly asked
" just watch"natsume then released a fire just enough to cut off the ties on mikan's mask.
Everything happened in a split second, but it lasted an eternity for the people involved
The mask fell down and Mikan placed it back a second too late. and before she could use the teleport stone
the word that she feared was said
"MIKAN?"