Mikan's Little Twin

Chapter 125: Nowhereness

Tears fill my eyes once more. I have to leave them again... and it hurts so much. But for some reason, knowing that they're always with us gives me the strength and courage to head back to my sister.

'We love you, our Daughter. Please, take care of yourself and your sister. We will love the both of you, always and forever.'

I spin on my heel and run away from them. 'Goodbye for now, Mama, Papa. I'll be waiting for the day when I can see the two of you again and we'll all be together.' I run but I don't know where I'm running. There's no ground for my feet to touch on but I know I'm moving. I'm surely moving towards Mikan. She's the person I want to be with most right now, and I know that I'll see her again. I keep running and running for what seems like forever but I won't give up. Because my sister still believes in me and I know that she's waiting for me. It's difficult to tell whether I've been running for a few seconds or a few years but I haven't stopped moving. I won't.

My head turns in every direction and soon, I spot something in the distance to what I think is my left. Someone very far away. I take off in that direction and the voice gets louder and louder, the closer I get.

I push my legs harder and tears stream down my face, 'Mikan-Nee!' I try to call out. I keep pushing myself and finally, I'm at her side. Mikan stands in her school uniform, smiling upwards. For a moment, my heart skips a beat. How long had it been since I saw her? It felt like years...

Years since I've seen that wide smile that shone so bright, it could melt anyone's heart. Her eyes were puffy but filled with hope, as she seemed to stare into my own eyes.

'Akako... Hotaru... I'll wait for the day until I see the both of you once more.' Mikan-Nee grins before her smile drops a little. I'm not sure what caused her expression to change but I wanted to see that smile for all of eternity.

'I'm here, Onee-chan. Wait for me.' I reach forward and take her face into my hands, leaning forward and giving her a small kiss on her forehead, 'I'll see you soon. I swear it. I'll always make my way to your side.'

My eyes close as I make this promise. And a loud roaring noise- the loudest sound you could imagine, takes over.

///

Bodies fall to the ground right outside of Headquarters, Nodacchi grunting from the impact of hitting cement with a body in his arms. Hotaru and Subaru fall to the ground right next to him, the impact injuring all of them while burn marks cover their skin. The impact from leaving Time-Space caused many lacerations upon them.

Two teachers happened to look out of the window at the right time and sprint outside. Jinno-Sensei and Misaki-Sensei stand over the group as they take Akako's body from Nodacchi's arms.

"Nods-Sensei!" Misaki shouts as they lift the injured and worn out man up. Nodacchi looks around, confused for a moment as he tries to figure out where in time they were. "This is... the academy..." Nodacchi mutters when he sees his coworkers. "What's... the time..?"

Jinno, who was used to witnessing the man traveling through time, answers his question. "It's been almost half of a month since you left, and a week since Sakura Mikan left the academy." Jinno says. While his attention is focused on his coworker, a voice shouts for everyone's attention.

"We need to get Akako to the hospital right away!" Hotaru yells. This startled everyone and gathers looks. Misaki-Sensei, who holds Akako's limp body in his arms, raises his fingers to Akako's neck where he felt nothing. What little hope that the man held quickly diminished as his eyes slowly travel up to the intelligent girl, "Hotaru-San... Sakura-Chan's-."

Hotaru cuts him off, her frazzled state catching everyone off guard. "No! She said that she'd come back! We need to heal her as much as possible!" Hotaru explains before turning towards her older brother. The boy could not stand by and do nothing when his little sister had such a heartbroken expression. He nods in response, "We need to hurry and move to the hospital. Call for Tonōchi to meet us there." Subaru pleads of the teachers.