Author's Note: Oh my llama! Even though this story only has 1 review { hopefully more }, favorite and follow, I'm very grateful to the rest who have bothered to at least read all the way! Please don't be a silent reader - laugh, predict, even critique any character's behavior if you'd like. I'm open to reviews on how to improve because I'm not perfect, so leave one! I think POVs should kick in...right about now!

Mikan's POV.

Conflicting emotions still roils within me as I assure myself with Nonoko's encouragement which plays on repeat in my head like a broken recorder. With those few words, I should feel a little more braver, stepping off the bus in cautious steps and Nonoko's palm rested flat on the small of my back, propelling me forward. That's right, I clenched my fist to shut off the logical part of me who still insisted I accept reality, I will travel back in time, drop a few hints I had prepared the previous night, and I will confess my feelings before Misaki does.

" You can do this Mikan-chan! "

She whispers in my ear and then walks beside me, Anna-chan following suit soon after, clueless but still remaining bubbly. We all headed towards the crowd in front of the entrance to the High School Campus. There, the terrifying Jinno-sensei began briefing us with his thin wand held up high, ready to jolt anyone who wasn't paying attention.

" In this campus, you all must be QUIET! When I say quiet, I MEAN QUIET! I will not hesitate to electrocute anyone who doesn't follow the rules. Do not wander off, stay with the group, and never, I reiterate, NEVER, try to enter the active keyhole. There will be consequences if you try to do that. We are here only to learn about parallel worlds in theory, not travel them. Now, let's all head inside."

He briefed in a strict tone that resounded his message clearly to the class's students - do not misbehave. Although his lightning alice had been controlled through that black wand he had in his hands, it was still something you wouldn't really want to experience. But warning tones and all, I had been numbed already and besides, I was ready for whatever punishment I was going to get, as long as I had Tsubasa-senpai in the end.

The class trawled the long hallways of the High School Campus, which looked almost like a replica of the Middle School Campus, except with more facilities, such as technology labs, where there were touchscreen screens projected by a compact circular device, another one of Hotaru's inventions. Ah...Hotaru. The tugging on my conscience had intensified since I brought up her name...it was probably around this time where I would have conceded the fight and honestly say I still loved her and wanted to remain friends with her...but in the name of love and war, I can't! She would drag me back to my senses with her sensible advice and I don't want that!

" Wahhh, their cooking labs are equipped really well..."

Tantalizing scents of barbecued meat and Shanghai fried rice with salted pork and bok choy emanated from the kitchen where those with similar alices to Anna practiced. There were pots and pans hung above every table and their stoves utilized electricity to cook food, so it was flat with a circular marking, unlike at the Middle School campus where our stoves were powered by gas.

During our walking around the campus though, I could sense the fixed gaze that sent cold fingers playing down my spine.

It was a familiar kind of stare, but I didn't have time to figure this out now.

" Mikan-chan, what's the plan?"

Nonoko inquires me for the details, closing the small gap between us. I scrawl a few words on a piece of paper I hurriedly tore from my notebook and hand it to her. Anna tries to peek and find out the content of the note I passes Nonoko, but Nonoko deftly stuffs it in her right pocket.

" Hey, what are you all up to?"

Sorry Anna-chan...I can't tell you. Although Anna's eyes are narrowing and her eyebrows are pressed together as if she was trying to silently interrogate me, I manage to somehow get away with biting my lip nervously and avoiding eye contact at the moment. The class halts in front of the wooden double doors that lead to Music Room 3 and Jinno-sensei starts to explain the significance of the keyhole at the school.

" Now, as you can see here, this keyhole has a surprisingly hollow outlook, but it pulses with the energy it gathers from every alternate world created. It is very important that you understand to never use this keyhole, as it could get you trapped in time. "

That was what Hotaru had mentioned too. Her warnings resonate with the alarm bells that are set off with the confirmation by Jinno-sensei's information, but I silence the deafening thought that seems to drown out my yearning to change the future - the initial reason why I was so energetic these days.

At the corner of my eye, I notice that Nonoko had read through my note and gave me a thumbs up, meaning she understood what she had to do. But further ahead, I noticed Hotaru keeping a watchful eye on my actions too.

Well, sorry Hotaru-chan. But this is my once in a lifetime chance.

Jinno-sensei's lecture on the keyhole ends, and we are all ushered back the way we came from.

" Now, let's go back to the classroom children!"

Jinno-sensei goes behind to make sure that we are all on track to the bus and don't fall behind or stray. Nudging Nonoko lightly, she nods and goes next to Jinno-sensei, seemingly telling him something.

" Um, Jinno-sensei, I really really need to take a photo of that Chemistry Lab! "

" Why didn't you do so just now? "

" Well you see, we were all too harried and the photo came out blur...so I deleted it. Could we go back and take a photo of that?"

Nonoko's pleasant smile had somehow been able to keep Jinno-sensei distracted for awhile. With a sigh of relief, I hastened my pace and ducked into an empty classroom, rummaging through my bag for the inflatable life sized doll of me that I had been given last Christmas Party. It blew up at the press of a button, and I set it to Mikan mode. This would help cover me over the day.

I breathe a sigh of relief as it manages to walk out in time to meet Nonoko, who assists me by chattering to the doll to properly disguise it as me, and thankfully Anna doesn't really notice the plastered smile on the doll's face which would have been strange on me these days.

I wait behind the slightly ajar double doors of the classroom for the echoing footsteps to fade into the silence of the hallway before sneaking towards the keyhole.

" Can a human even fit in here? "

I wonder to myself incredulously, doubt written on my face as clear as day. Oh well, sucking in a deep breath, I poke my finger in the hollow of the keyhole.

" WAIT WHAT?"

To my surprise, it sucks in my whole being, pulling me into a dimension where light did not exist. Then, like my presence had breathed life into the pitch black space, it began to warp and its center expanded to reveal a time window, in which I saw fire.

At that moment, I had already forgotten about why I was here in the first place.

There was detritus that had been burned at the corners, and the scene unfolding in front of me seemed to be an acrimonious one. The background was of a shattered window from the hallways of our Middle School Campus, dying flames that engulfed the surroundings of a raven haired youth whose battered body carried deep wounds. His life seemed to hang on a thread. But his still ruby eyes struck a chord within me.

Why did I feel as if my heart was being shredded?

My breath caught as a girl with the same pigtails as mine rushed to his side and laid on his body, tears pooling in her eyes and flowed freely down her rosy cheeks in rivulets.

Death was inevitable to every human being, but somehow,

Half of my soul had been lost. Broken even.

Excruciating pain that drove through my chest like a hot knife through butter.

What was this intense feeling?

My body quivers at the intensity of this unknown feeling.

The throbs of his heart against his rib-cage is waning, and these fleeting heartbeats seem to cause a hollow within her being.

As my eyes raked in the situation,

I remembered.

Was what I was experiencing, perhaps,

Heartbreak?

Soon,

whatever was it that gave him life,

it fled his body.

And yet another coagulated storm of emotions roils in my heart. Despair that loosens my grip on sanity, strangles my will to live. Sorrow which overwhelms me completely and etches his corpse into my mind, and that girl, hunched over his corpse, her tears that soaked the atmosphere with sadness.

And,

For some reason,

tears begin sliding down my cheeks too.