Mikan's Little Twin

Chapter 118: Crushing Reality

Mikan's red and puffy eyes stare at the ground where Hotaru and Akako were just a moment. Her legs give out beneath her, Ruka calling out to her in concern and running to her side. He wraps his arms around the brunette, holding her while her trembling hand slowly grips tightly to his sweater. The boy was her anchor in this nightmarish scenario that Mikan wished it was. She prayed with all her heart that this was a nightmare. One of the nightmares that she had from the constant worry she held for her sister's livelihood.

Mikan closes her eyes and burrows her face into his shoulder, his body heat reminding her that she was stuck in this reality.

Mikan couldn't pinch herself awake.

When her brown eyes opened again, she wouldn't be welcomed by Akako's worried gaze above her on their bed. Akako would not be there to soothe her back to sleep and cuddle with her, reminding Mikan that she wasn't alone.

Ruka feels Mikan's hot tears soaking into his uniform as well as his own tears that drip onto her hair. He looks over to Natsume's unconscious body while dreading the moment the boy would awaken. His best friend had just left him, trying to make a noble sacrifice for them but all the boy could feel was pain and anguish. Something else burned deep inside of Ruka despite the aching and longing that tugged his soul to and fro.

Anger.

An anger so faint yet it's presence spoke volumes in the silence of his gloomy soul. Different thoughts ran through his mind, wondering why she did it. Akako could have escaped with Mikan... but she would have lost Natsume in the process. She could have escaped and forgotten about them all, living her life free of the academy. She wouldn't have had to give her life to save them, she would be alive and smiling with Mikan. Though these thoughts paced back and forth within Ruka's mind but the shadows of truth that he knew remained.

Ruka grits his teeth, shaking his head because he knew that Akako would never do that. She would never allow Natsume to die. Akako would never be able to forget the place that he holds in her heart and would never be able to erase the mark he's engraved into her soul. Something would always be missing.

Thinking about that infuriated Ruka.

Akako saved Natsume because she wouldn't have been able to forget how special he was to her but the blond wondered if she ever thought of how her actions would affect others. Just as she couldn't do that with Natsume, many others would not be able to do that with her. Did she forget how bright she made their days? Did she forget ow she was a light for Mikan as well as himself and Natsume?

That they wanted to save her?

Mikan's head slowly begins falling forward. Her grip on Ruka quickly loosens as gravity welcomes her unconscious body. Everyone around panics when her eyes slowly close but Tsubasa assures them that she only fainted after examining the girl. Ruka keeps ahold of her, not wanting to let her go. Just as he did for her, Mikan was the only thing keeping Ruka grounded right now.

Across the hallway, Luna continues to hold the principal's body in her arms. She had witnessed the last breaths of her best friends daughter. The sight had caused a tremendous surge of guilt to travel through her veins. It rushes throughout her body like a sudden blizzard attacking a summer day.

Soon, a pair of navy blue pants takes over her view. Her blue eyes skim upwards, taking in the familiar suit until she's met with the face of the high school principal. His slightly red nose and rosy cheeks stood out against his porcelain skin, indicating that he too had just finished crying.

He looks down in the woman with detached eyes as he tries to be calm and take care of the situation at hand. It troubled his heart to see Akako pass as she did. He could only see his brother in her, wondering if that's how his final moments were. The uncle could not afford to lose himself anymore than he already had and needed to take care of the remaining business.