**DISCLAIMER: Gakuen Alice is an original story of Higuchi Tachibana. No copyright infringement intended. **

"Hey, Mikan-chan!" asked the gentle voice snapping me out of my trance but not enough to make me twitch a muscle.

"Mikan-chan? Hey." A blob of burgundy appeared in my line of vision. "Are you okay? Are you lost?"

I only stared at him. He looks like someone I know, but I'm not sure if I can trust what I know anymore.

"Hey, don't be a stranger. It's me, Hiroaki Kichiro. Remember me? I was the one who found you at the park that time." he supplied to make me remember.

"Oh." was all I can say.

Great! Just great. This guy must think I'm a loony.

"Ouch." he feigned hurt. "And here I thought we're starting to get along again."

"NO! No, no. Don't think like that please. I'm just spacing out a bit, is all. Please don't take it to the heart."

"No, I was just messing with you. I was told that you'd be here so I looked for you. I thought you'd appreciate some company since you just got back." he smiled charmingly.

I smiled at that.

"So, let's go? Everyone excited to meet you. It's your first day, after all."

We walked together side by side until we reach a door.

"Hey, I'm gonna head in first okay? Given that you're everybody's surprise this morning, and 'I'm not suppose to know it'". He quoted with his finger when he whispered the last part.

"Oh, okay. Yeah, sure go ahead. You don't want to go bursting anybody's bubble, right?" I tagged along.

And his amused smile is what I got for a response before he went on his way.

I stood there in front of the closed doors, hearing the teacher greet his students, and for a brief moment a sudden image appeared in my mind when the door was opened in their effort to welcome me. I don't know what's going on but a sudden wave of nostalgia hit me like a freight truck, rendering me insensible effectively.

"I didn't know that this school has started accepting kids with special cases." a teasing voice shook me out of my trance. For some reason, a great deal of dread crept in every inch of my body. And all I can think of is that they shouldn't know.

But what is it that they shouldn't know?

"Kohaku-san, that's no way to greet a new student!" the teacher admonished the owner of the voice.

I followed the teacher's line of sight, and there he is, looking at me cryptically. My eyes widened in recognition. I glanced at the teacher and it appears that he can see him and apparently knows him too.

So he exists! I'm not making things up, nor I'm seeing things.

Then, the image appeared again in my head.

Kids' floating, moving painting, a student walking on the ceiling.

Nope. I'm still seeing things.

"Not my fault when she just stands there like an idiot as if she's not capable of hearing or talking or seeing." this Kohaku boy shrugged is shoulder uncaringly.

"This is your last warning, Kohaku." he warned tauntingly before he looked and smiled at me warmly. "Welcome to your new school, Mikan-chan. Please don't let that young man's uncouthness affect you in any way."

He then addressed the class, " As you all know, Mikan-chan right here suffered from an unfortunate accident and is just recovering. I expect you all to welcome her warmly and interact with her considerately, like how you would want to be treated when the circumstances are reversed. I hope I'm making myself clear."

"Yes, sensei." the class responded in chorus.

The classes went on like a blur and before I know it, the last class has ended. I fixed my things and went out of the classroom as fast as I can. I don't have anything against the school, my classmates or teachers for that matter. It's just that I can't rid of the antsy feeling I have. How I feel like I don't belong here.

"So how was your first day?" I heard Hiroaki-san say breathlessly.

"Oh, hey. Are you okay?" I asked feeling sorry about his state.

"Yeah. You're sure fast. I thought I wouldn't be able to catch you." he grinned. "You didn't answer my question though."

"It's fine." I responded simply.

"Doesn't look like it. You've been off the entire day. It's like you weren't there to begin with. Is something bothering you?" he inquired good-naturedly.

"Why are you so kind to me?" I asked curiously and my eyes widened in panic when I saw him get flustered. I realized my question came out too strong that it seemed like I perceived him as a nosy busybody.

"I'm sorry. I was just trying to help you adjust and recover in anyway that I can, I didn't mean to pry." he ruefully apologized.

Now it's my turn to apologize, "I'm sorry Hiroaki-san, I didn't mean for my question to come out like that. I was just curious. I understand that you said that we were close before, but I just don't have any memory of you. And .."

Should I tell him what's bothering me? Sure he's nice and all but there's just too many things that are not adding up and has been confusing the neurons out of me since I woke up. I'm not sure why I feel like I shouldn't trust anyone easily.

"And?" he prompted me to go on, effectively stopping my inner rant.

"I don't know. I think something's wrong with me." There. I think that that's a safe enough answer. I'm not lying either. I'm just not telling him everything. I'm sure there's nothing wrong with that, is there?

"I'm not buying it, Mimi." he said tenderly. "If you don't want to tell me now, or ever, it's fine with me. Just know that when you feel like you are going to burst because of the things that you're struggling to bottle inside you, I will always be here. Some things are not meant to be hidden, just as why some things are not meant to be told. I wish that you would realize the difference soon before you end up losing your mind." he said playfully while rubbing my hair.

"Doubt is okay, good even. But like any other things, a little too much of it is unhealthy." he added while looking at the vast lushes of green of the hill in front of us.

"Let's head home." he offered.

I looked at him in confusion.

"Just how hard did that accident damage your brain? What now? Don't tell me you had developed a short term memory lost?" he asked dubiously.

I just stared at him like an idiot that he may already reckon I am.

"Mikan Sakura! We live in the same neighborhood, remember?" he asked while comically pulling out his hair and I had to snicker at that.

"Now you're laughing at me? Come on, Mimi. You're hurting me here, if you haven't realized that yet." he teased mildly.

"Oh, I'm sorry. What are we doing here again?" I joked playfully.

"Finally, I was starting to wonder where did that smile go. I'm almost convinced that you're a totally different person since I first saw you again after the accident." he told me.

"Well, I don't want to make it awkward again now that when you're finally going back to your own self and it's getting dark anyway so let's head home now okay?"

Hiroaki's POV

Ah, that smile. God knows how I miss that smile.

"Finally, I was starting to wonder where did that smile go. I'm almost convinced that you're a totally different person since I first saw you again after the accident." he told me.

"Well, I don't want to make it awkward again now that when you're finally going back to your own self and it's getting dark anyway so let's head home now okay?" I added immediately to not ruin the moment.

We're walking together in comfortable silence when a shadow caught my eye.

"Here you are." I told Mikan as we reach her home.

"You better rest now. It must have been a tough day since you just got back."

"Thanks, Hichiro-kun." she said with a small smile.

"Don't forget the home works, okay? Good night, Mimi."

I was about to turn my back when I realized something. I caught her wrist before she had fully turn around to go inside.

"What did you call me?" it seemed like I startled her with my sudden actions so I decided to explain my behavior.

"Sorry, I did't mean to scare you. It's just that it has been so long since I last heard that name."

She tilted her head in confusion.

Honestly! Has she gone mute? What exactly happen to her inside that academy? She's so different from before that it's starting to bother me.

"You called me 'Hichiro-kun'. I ought that means that you remember me, even for a bit? You used to call me that because .. "

"... it's a combination of your name." she completed my statement leaving me dumbfounded.

"Do you remember now? I mean do you remember me?" I struggled to word my thoughts out since the shock hasn't worn out yet.

" Yeah, I mean no. I don't know. I just think that I should act more friendly towards you, which is only fair, since you never get tired of dealing with me. I almost spouted your first name but I realized you haven't really verbalized that it's okay for me to call you that so I sorta combined it with your last name." she explained in a rush.

"A Deja vu?" I thought.

"What?" she asked.

"Oh, I said that out loud, didn't I?" I said while I'm recovering from the flashback of when she first came up with the silly nick name when she was trying to befriend me before.

"You sure you don't remember anything? 'Cause those were the very words you told me the first time you called me that." I looked at her dubiously.

Is she hiding anything? She must have remembered something. That wouldn't just come out like that if it isn't the case, would it?

"Well. I'm seeing images every now and then and honestly, I'm not sure if they're real or not." she admitted anxiously.

"I see. Do you need any help with that? I may be able to distinguish which is real or not." I offered.

"No. It's okay. I mean you certainly have much more important things to attend to. I should be okay. They're just silly visions. Nothing big, really." she turned down quickly.

Too quickly.

"Okay." I decided not to push it. "But if you need anyone, you can tell me anytime, alright?"

"Sure! Thanks Hichiro-kun. Oh, is that the time? I still have to cook dinner. I really have to go now. See you around Kichiro-kun!" she said before running to their porch.

"See you, Mimi." I can only murmur while watching her clumsily unlock the door and slip inside.

I kept walking until I reached a safe distance.

"What do you want?" I asked with a straight face.

"Anything new?" he inquired condescendingly. I looked up lazily and found him sitting on one of the branches of the tree in front of me.

"She's remembering things but refused to spill the beans."

"What sort of 'things'?"

"She didn't say."

"Damn it. Do you think she's getting her alice back?"

"I can't say. You chanced a few small talks with her, didn't you?"

"We already talked about that. I'm not picking anything out of the ordinary."

"We can't take any risk, just because we're not sensing anything means that the others are not suspecting. For all we know, they might have sent the others to look for her." he added.

"I didn't feel anything on the barrier, did you?" I asked starting to worry.

"I didn't feel anything too, but that's not the point idiot." he fired irritably.

"What are you suggesting?" I chose to ignore the insult.

"We won't do anything, yet. Just go with your ruse while I come up with something. We'll talk soon."

And with that he's gone.