Meeting with Kori Meiji
Mikan's heart raced a million miles per hour and her hands trembled slightly at her side. She put on a brave face and straightened herself up to look bigger.
"Who are you?" Mikan asked in a controlled voice. The figure at the door silently moved towards Mikan.
"I-I'm warning you, if you come any closer, I'll call my friends!" Mikan stammered, cursing herself for calling Natsume and Tsubasa friends. The figure ignored her and continued to edge towards her. Mikan took a shaky step backwards and suddenly, her legs gave in, leaving her in a tangled mess on the ground.
"Are you alright?"
Mikan looked up and her eyes widened. The figure at the door had been a young girl. Mikan unconsciously let out sigh of relief and tried to slow her heartbeat by breathing deeply and slowly. The young girl stretched out her pale hand and helped Mikan up.
"Can you wait outside on the veranda for a moment while I clean this mess up?" the girl politely asked. Mikan obliged, still shaken. She seated herself on the creaky veranda and gazed at the field of tall golden grass in front of her. A gentle wind caused them to sway in unison, scattering flecks of dust everywhere. The scenery before her stirred a strange feeling of warmth in her chest. Mikan wondered what that feeling was. However, before she could name it, the girl returned and sat down next to Mikan.
"Who are you?" the girl asked cocking her head, causing her ebony hair to fall to one side. Mikan stared hard into the girl's turquoise eyes, which were shining with excitement. There seemed to be no malicious intent, so Mikan decided that it wouldn't do much harm in telling the girl her name.
"Mikan."
"Mikan? That's such a cute name! I'm Kori Meiji, nice to meet you!"
Mikan's eyes widened in disbelief, she hadn't found the location of Kori Meiji, she had found the real person herself. Mikan considered stealing the girl's Alice right away, but then she decided against it. She wanted to find out more about the Anti-Gakuen Alice Movement that Kori Meiji was in.
"Mikan, you know you said that you had friends didn't you?" Meiji said.
"Y-Yea, kind of…"
"What are your friends like?"
"U-Um…well…one is older than me, he's my senpai, but he's not really respectable… The other one is the same age as me and he…he… is a jerk…but I get the feeling I knew him in my past before, but, no matter how hard I try, I can't remember…"
"Did you lose your memories?"
"Y-Yea…"
"O-Oh…I'm sorry…"
"Never mind that, can you tell me where you live, like if I want to find you, I can look for you there."
"Does that mean you want to see me again? Does that mean that we're friends?"
"I-I guess…so about where I can find you…?"
"O-Oh, I'm sorry, I can't tell you where I live, but I can arrange a time and place for us to meet up!"
Mikan pondered the suggestion and decided that having some sort of contact with Kori Meiji was better than none.
"Okay, so how about in 2 days?" Mikan suggested hopefully.
"Sure, same place same time?"
Mikan nodded eagerly. She wondered what the ESP would say of her achievement. Bzzt! Bzzt! Mikan's phone vibrated in her pocket.
"I'm sorry, I have to go now," Mikan apologised and hurriedly stood up.
"Sure, bye bye!"
Mikan parted the grass and hastily stepped in. Her phone was incessantly vibrating now. She fished it out of her pocket and glared at the caller. It was Natsume. Mikan flipped her phone open with a sigh and answered.
"Natsume! What's with the non-stop calling! Anyways, I'll be coming in 5 minutes, call the driver for me."
"Hmph."
Beep Beep Beep. He hung up. Mikan stuck her tongue out at his caller ID and stomped through the remaining grass.
"Oi! You're late! Natsume was really worri…" Tsubasa trailed off. Natsume was giving him a death glare that really looked like it could kill.
"Natsume was…?" Mikan echoed absent-mindedly. Her mind was full of Kori Meiji.
"N-Nothing…" Tsubasa nervously said and ducked into the car.
After a few hours, they arrived at Gakuen Alice.
"We have to go to Kuonji-sama's office to report our results," Mikan stated. Natsume made no comment but Tsubasa pulled a face.
"The results part of the mission is always so boring!" he moaned. Mikan shot him a look and he immediately shut up.
Mikan knocked on the ESP's door and waited for a reply.
"Come in."
The guards outside his door pushed the door open for them and then closed them as soon as they stepped into the room.
"Welcome, Team C, how are your results?" the ESP asked from his desk.
Tsubasa spoke first.
"I looked around the borders of the target area, however there was nothing to be found, no possible underground basements and no empty buildings," he rambled.
"Okay then you are excused now." Kuonji-sama dismissed. Mikan could now see why Tsubasa was so eager to report first. He flashed Mikan a wink and left the room. Mikan glanced at Natsume and he didn't look like he was going to speak any time soon, so she did.
"I searched the empty house and…"
Mikan paused, she wondered if she should tell the ESP about her encounter with Kori Meiji. She decided against it, she wanted to know Kori Meiji more, why she, who was a mere child yet a target.
"And…?" Kuonji-sama echoed expectantly.
"And I didn't find anything either."
The ESP eyed Mikan suspiciously. Mikan ensured that her face was wiped clean of emotions and stared defiantly back at him. It was the first time she felt like not divulging everything to the ESP.
"Okay… then you are dismissed, if anything comes to mind, tell me first," he said, eyeing Mikan for one last time. Mikan turned her back to him and strode out of the room. As she left, she wondered if Natsume found anything.
The guards closed the doors behind Mikan. She suddenly halted, realising that she wanted to hear the conversation between Natsume and the ESP. The guards beside her shifted uneasily, wary of her strange behaviour. Mikan took notice of that leaned against the wall weakly.
"What's wrong?"
"I have a headache, I need a minute," Mikan informed them while feigning pain.
"B-But…" one guard insisted.
"Just let her be, she's the ESP' favourite, she's no threat," the other guard cut off.
Mikan's ear was against the wall so she could hear everything inside.
"How about you Natsume?"
"Didn't find anything."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Hahahahaha!"
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing, I just found it funny how now I have Mikan Sakura in my hands, you're so obedient and properly answer my questions! Just remember, one wrong move and that runt's life is mine, you know you're skating on thin ice right?"
Mikan could feel the guards' eyes on her. She knew that it was the right time to leave now, so she righted herself and slowly walked away.
Mikan shut her bedroom door behind her.
"…You make one wrong move and that runt's life is mine…" the ESP's voice echoed in her mind. Her faith in the ESP was wavering. She collapsed onto her bed and buried herself under the blankets. She had always thought the ESP was on her side, the one who saved her from those who tried to kill her, however now… She scrunched her eyes and curled into a tight ball. Mikan was lost, she didn't know who to trust.
"Mikan, you can trust me you know."
"I know! You're the person who I like most in the world!"
"Stupid, don't trust people too easily."
"I'm not stupid and I don't trust everyone!"
A chilly wind slithered in through the window and sneaked its way through the blankets around Mikan. She shivered and slowly, Mikan fell into a dreamless sleep.
The next morning, Mikan tuned out Narumi-sensei's chirpy voice and focused on her thoughts. She was debating whether or not to tell Natsume and Tsubasa about her meeting with Kori Meiji.
"Ah, so that's your secret mission that you're always skipping class for!" Koko exclaimed. Mikan's jaw dropped.
"What are you saying?" she whispered, frantically looking around to see if anyone else had heard.
"I can read your mind you know, you're going to meet up with Kori Meiji tomorrow and you're wondering whether or not to bring Natsume and Tsubasa with you."
Mikan rapidly clasped her hand over Koko's mouth and dragged him out the classroom.
"Eh? Mikan-chan, Koko-kun, where are you two going?" Narumi-sensei piped.
"We'll be back in a minute," Mikan silenced and threw Koko out the classroom, into the corridor. She towered over him and put on her most menacing face.
"Don't you dare tell anyone about what you know about the mission okay?" Mikan demanded. Koko smiled blankly. "If you do, I shall kill you okay?" Koko continued to smile. "If you've got it, then go back into class." Koko said nothing and continued to smile. "…He's kind of creepy…" Mikan thought. After a few more seconds, Koko got up and skipped back into the classroom, whistling. Mikan sweat dropped.
Mikan decided that she didn't feel like going back into the classroom, so she strolled outside. Mikan had never really had the chance of exploring the school, so she jumped at the opportunity. She ambled down corridors of classrooms, both empty and filled. At last, she exited the building and rested in the garden. She seated herself on a bench nearby and gazed at the Sakura petals, which gently floated onto her lap. For the first time at the school, Mikan felt at peace. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the sunshine on her skin.
"Are you skipping class?"
Mikan jumped up in surprised and glanced around her. The garden was empty.
"Look up."
Mikan did as she was told. Her eyes caught sight of Natsume lying on one of the branches of the Sakura tree she was sitting under, a teasing smile on his face.
"H-how long have you been there?" she asked, embarrassed.
"Longer than you've been sitting there."
"What do you want?"
"Nothing, just wanted you to realise my presence."
Mikan felt heat rapidly rising to her face. She looked away.
"Just so you know, I don't think I'll be at school tomorrow," Mikan said. She didn't know why she told him that, but she felt that it was the right thing to do. Without waiting for his response, she brusquely walked off.
As she left, Mikan dialled in the driver's number. After a few moments, he answered.
"Hello?"
"Hi, this is Mikan Sakura and I would like you to drive me to the target location, Kityo, at 8am tomorrow morning."
"Ok, has this been approved by the ESP?"
"…Um…Yes…"
"Ok then, meet up at the gates tomorrow morning. Goodbye."
Mikan snapped her phone shut and looked up at the sky. She didn't know what would happen in the meeting with Kori Meiji tomorrow. She hadn't reached a decision on whether or not to steal Kori Meiji's Alice or not. Mikan's head was in a mess.
A pair of pitch black eyes followed Mikan as she walked back to her class. A thin-lipped mouth curved in a sinister smile. How naïve that girl was to think that she could do something without telling him. How naïve and stupid indeed.
"Mikan Sakura, did you really think you could escape my grasp?" the ESP chuckled to himself.
Mikan's heart thudded painfully in her heart. Her fingers restlessly tapped against the car window. The car trip was taking too long. After another painstaking hour, they finally reached the target location. Mikan stumbled out of the car and raced to the rendezvous. She was late. As she tore through the grass, her eyes caught sight of another car pulling up behind the car she travelled in. Mikan slowed down a little to catch a better view, however the urgency to not be late and miss her meeting with Kori Meiji won her over. Finally, she reached the burnt house. Mikan took a few moments to catch her breath before looking around for Kori Meiji, however she could see no one in sight.
"M-Meiji?" Mikan tentatively asked. There was an awkward silence.
"You're late."
Mikan spun around, but saw no one.
"Over here."
Mikan turned her head to the place where the sound came from. A small head, Meiji's poked out from the house and she smiled.
"Did I surprise you?" Meiji giggled.
"I'm sorry for being late."
"It's okay, sit down and make yourself comfortable."
Mikan decided to sit on a tree stump near Kori Meiji.
"Hey, Meiji, what is this house to you exactly? Every time I see you, you're near this house," Mikan asked. She tilted her head downwards and let her hair form a curtain. She didn't want Meiji to realise what her intention of asking was.
"O-Oh… um… how should I put it… hey, do you know about Alices?"
Mikan was slightly confused; she wasn't sure why Kori Meiji asked about that, was she trying to change the subject?
"Um, yes…"
"Oh! That's good, well, I have the Remembrance Alice and I can pass my memories to someone else or look into another person's memories. I'll show you a bit of my past life."
Saying that, Meiji closed her eyes. All of a sudden, Mikan's surroundings turned black. She was in a void. It was similar to the one in her dream.
"Are you okay?" Meiji's voice echoed in the darkness.
Mikan looked down beside her to see Meiji smiling at her.
"I'll show you a bit about myself, and you're questions will probably be answered."
I'm so sorry for the late upload! I was bombarded by homework and tests! .
Thanks for reading and those who reviewed!
Please review! It really makes me happy to know what you think of my story!