Mikan's Little Twin

Chapter 111: Forgiveness

A soft smile graces its way to Persona's lips as he watches Mikan smile brightly at her twin for trying to make amends, reminding the man of the bright smile that was always on his Sensei's lips.

As the trio heads off, Mikan takes hold of Persona's hand once more. They walk, Mikan and Akako remembering the words they learned from their father.

'It doesn't matter what kind of Alice you were born with, what matters is how you chose to use it... and how you use it to live the life you want." The twins recall. It was evident to them that Persona was taking these words and trying to apply himself to them, wanting to use his Alice for good.

Mikan's brown eyes wander to her sister who was staring straight ahead, seeming lost in her thoughts.

'I'm afraid that Aka-Chan and others will have a hard time forgiving Persona.... But she seems like she's really trying. I'm not sure if she's doing this because she wants to or if it's for me, but I don't think we should hold grudges. Instead, we should all try to move forward. Persona has made many mistakes but has the courage to chose to become a new man.' They all begin running, Persona leading the two girls down the hallway, 'For the sake of father... I think I should move forward with everyone. We shall become stronger...'

While Mikan was trapped in her inner monologue, Persona quickly came to a stop which resulted in the girl bumping into his back. Akako, on the other hand, quickly stopped as well, turning towards the man in confusion. She furrows her brows and wipes the sweat from her forehead.

"Erm- what's wrong?! Enemies?" Mikan's head swishes back and forth, looking for any type of enemy of what may have stopped the man from advancing. Akako reaches forward, grabbing her sister's head and stopping it from moving so as to prevent the brunette from getting whiplash.

"There's something I must tell you." Persona doesn't turn around to the girls but rather stays facing forward. Both girls turn their heads towards the man, Mikan's face squishing from Akako's hands still on her cheeks.

"Eh?" Mikan tries humming though it comes out sounding odd from the position her face was in at the moment.

"Shortly after your escape, they cut back on the number of perusers for you. Now... Natsume and the Elite guys are probably on the main campus... preparing for the last attack on the ESP." When he says that, Akako's hands fall from Mikan's face and swing to her side. Both girls can only stare at his back as he speaks, "No one is chasing us right now. So I'm guessing... the ESP sent a large number of people for this fight."

Mikan jumps forward, griping Persona's sleeve which causes the man to turn around in surprise. There, he sees two very concerned children, looking up at him.

"It's all because... I ran away..?" Mikan's voice stutters slightly, troubling Akako. The younger twin moves forward to Mikan's side, facing her profile to try and make Mikan feel better. "It wasn't just you, Onee-Chan. I escaped too-!"

"But you left to chase after me..."

Akako frowns at her sister, not liking how the girl was blaming herself. "You left and saved Nobara! You had a good reason to leave- don't speak like this, Mikan. Now isn't the time for us to feel guilty." Akako tries reasoning with her sister. Hearing those words, Mikan turns towards Akako, surprised at how mature she sounded, "What's done, is done." Akako shakes her head.

Mikan states into Akako's eyes wondering how she was so calm at the moment. In Akako's blue eyes, Mikan sees something flash slightly. Her eyes seemed to tear up for a moment before the girl blinked them away, Akako internally worrying very much for Natsume.

"But Natsume..." Mikan says, cracking Akako's mask. Akako's strong face immediately fell, her rapid breathing becoming more apparent.

An image of his ruby red eyes crossed Akako's mind, imagining how soft they were when he looked at her. The hidden fondness he held towards her and his smile. His black hair, falling slightly in front of his face- him calling her name...

'Natsume... you'll be able to take me from here, won't you?'

Persona watches the girl, as she's slowly consumed by her anxiety of what could be happening to him at the moment. An incomprehensible amount of guilt and shame filling the man.

"I am responsible... for the deterioration of Natsume's. Condition." Mikan slowly faces Persona while Akako can only look straight ahead, knowing this. "I am also the reason Akako is in this state right now. No matter how hard she tries to hide it, she's slowly becoming weaker and weaker due to the Alice use." Mikan's eyes tear up hearing those words, hating the thought of Akako going through all that pain for all those years. Persona flinches at the sight of her watery brown eyes, lowering his head in shame. "I refused... to treat the students as 'human beings'. It was the way I was treated before. I have pushed them towards the darkness and despair that I've been through for many years."

Akako looks away, towards the ground as she recalls the times he was talking about.

"After I take you two to the Hana princess, I... I will rush to their aid immediately. If I have to confront the ESP, I will not hesitate to fight for their lives... even if I have to sacrifice my own."

Akako's eyes shoot open, as big as they could, the girl snapping her head towards the man. She couldn't believe his words. This man... the one who was always ordered on what to do, who was taken advantage of and slowly turned into a monster... was slowly releasing himself from the chains that bound him to the elementary school principal. He was standing up and saying he was willing to give his own life for the sake of others.

"I know I can't make up for anything... but at least-." Persona says but Akako quickly reaches out to take his hand. The notion stuns the man, never having expected to see her like this. Akako glares up at Persona, though not as she usually does. Her gaze wasn't filled with hatred or any type of malice nor any fear, instead she looked upset with him. Akako was upset at the words that were escaping his mouth.

The eleven year old now knew how determined Parsona was to help everyone and fight his ways. She shakes her head, recalling how much her father loved the boy and wished for him to live his life. "Don't say that! Father believed in you so much, he wanted you to live your life! Don't talk about ending it even if it helps us!" Akako frowns at the man, "Yes, you made mistakes but I can tell that you want to change. I've hated you for so many years... but even I wish for you to make this change. That way no one else suffers, so... stay alive! In order to make this change and make sure that the cycle doesn't repeat!"

Mikan takes a step forward, nodding her head towards Persona with the same expression as Akako. "She's right! It's water under the bridge, let's put it all behind us!" Mikan throws her arm out to the side as though they were throwing all the emotions and actions into the past. "No one should... neither you nor anyone else should talk about sacrificing your life! You sound pessimistic although you want to live forward!" Mikan scolds, "You've hurt people like Nobara... so how are you planning to make things right if you're dead? In this critical moment, everyone's doing all that they can..." Mikan's head lowers slightly at the thought of all her friends fighting for her sake. She fists her hands in frustration at the thought, "No matter what, I don't wanna just be the one who needs protection. Now, everyone is working together, trying to get our academy back. The tragedy should never happen again- no one should die!"

"I want to protect everyone!"

Persona is once again, blown away by the spirit of Sakura Mikan. She was no doubt Sensei's daughter. Both girls were astounding, wanting those around them to always be safe and wanting to protect their loved ones... but, was it also a weakness?