Summary: Because time cut short is the cruelest thing of all... and she was going to stop it from happening again. No matter what. Time-travel R&R

Iridescent
The property of certain surfaces to change color as the angle or view of illumination changes

Prologue

The day that he died, Mikan broke.

His death had not been sudden, but rather cruelly drawn out as the fourth Alice form slowly destroyed his already suffering body from the inside out because he used it too much - she told him not to use it too much! - during the war and as an agent. Because he never could simply sit back and watch now could he?

No. He was Natsume Hyuuga. He was a man of action and well known for his lack of patience and Alice of fire.

The Black Cat did not sit back and watch.

So he paid for it with his life, and Mikan died with him.

Stupid, wonderful, arrogant fool.

She didn't try to push through the pain and move on and let time dull - not heal, because time, despite common belief, cannot heal all things - the hurricane of emotions that seemed to be crushing her. Because it wouldn't. She didn't try to act like it was okay. Because it was not. She didn't try to smile, even though that's what everyone had expected her to do. Because she simply could not do it.

Because the moment that his heart stop beating, Mikan's stopped along with it.

She simply sank to her knees, and the cheerful spark that had twenty-one years lit hazel eyes died.

She didn't talk to her friends anymore.

Mikan cut herself off.

No amount of prying or pleading or threats or tears or attempts at persuasion could get Mikan to withdraw from the shell - her apartment as well - that she had receded into.

Because you see, during the time that Mikan watched him slowly deteriorate, she began to fray. But he was still there, the key thread supporting her, and so she held together despite all of the tugging and pulling that was trying to rip her apart.

Then he disappeared.

She had loved him too much, they all realized that day, to survive without him and despite all she had conquered and survived and been through (together, they were together through it all), losing him - her light, her reason, her smile - was the single thread that pulled the tapestry that was Mikan Sakura apart.

She loved him too much. No one had realized she loved him like she did. Mikan didn't even think she had realized it.

...she always had been slow.

After many, many months and hundreds of failed attempts, her friends stopped trying to talk to her, and Mikan sat alone in her apartment withering away as she drowned in her grief; alone until one day, in the middle of the summer, there was a knock on her front door.

Blank hazel eyes blinked - once, twice - and then very slowly she stood and she walked to the front door where thin fingers turned the handle slowly and opened it.

A person she had never seen before stood there.

Blank hazel eyes blinked again.

"Mikan Sakura," a soft, lilting voice said, stating fact rather than questioning.

She had the most beautiful blue eyes the young woman had ever seen... and the oddest white hair.

"Yes," Mikan confirmed in a rough voice. "What do you want from me?"

The mysterious woman tilted her head, long waves of snow and ice shifting with the motion, and pink lips lifted into a soft upward curve.

"I don't want anything," she told Mikan in that same beautiful voice. "My name is Somiko, and I have a gift for you."

Mikan looked down to see her offering a large blue stone the same shade as her eyes: the brightest, most beautiful blue she had ever seen (her name fit, Mikan thought then; Somiko; beautiful blue child) and without thinking, she reached out slowly to take it from her open palm.

"What is this?"

The same little smile was Somiko's only response.

"Please... what is this?" Mikan asked again, desperation washing over her without explanation.

Somiko's smile turned sad then and she reached out to touch Mikan's cheek gently and for some reason the brunet felt tears come to her eyes.

"Who are you?" she whispered.

"Someone that wishes happiness for you," the woman said, "I'm giving you a second chance, Mikan Sakura. You have lived a hard life, done so much good, and yet lost the one who meant the most to you and live in misery. It is not right, and I will not allow it."

"Who are you?"

The stone Mikan held began to glow.

Somiko didn't answer her question again, instead telling her information in a rushed voice as light began to dance around the brunets feet.

"This is something I will never be able to do again. This is a unique gift that you alone deserve and you can change things for the better. You can be happy, you can have him again. But it will not be easy and you must not change things without thinking it through, Mikan! You are going to leave now, and I wish you good luck. Maybe someday, we will meet one another under different circumstances, but for now-" a swift kiss was pressed to each of Mikan's cheeks and she stared in confusion because she still didn't know this person and the stone was throwing out light and wind and what'shappeningtome? "-be strong and once more: good luck!"

Mikan opened her mouth to ask what was going on, but before she could get out more than a panicked "wha-?" she was consumed by white light and cold fire and the sensation of falling, falling, falling...

.

.

.

"Oi!" a rough voice growled out.

A calloused pair of hands shook her shoulders.

Mikan blinked very slowly, and came to the quick realization that, oh, her head hurt very badly and she was on the floor, which was cold, and-

"Stupid girl, can you hear me?" the same irritated voice snapped again, a hint of worry lacing the harsh words, and she finally began to take in more of her surroundings and looked up to the voice that belonged to the person hovering over her.

Red.

Beautiful, bloody, horribly wonderful red.

A color of eyes that she had never thought she would see again.

'Natsume...'

Mikan passed out.

-O-o-O-

And so a new cloth began to be woven, this time with a few strings of white amidst the black, and a single strand of crimson.

Chapter End

Somiko: beautiful blue child; made up of three characters; so - blue, mi - beauty, ko - child

A/N: Something tells me that only a few are going to be able to understand the significance of the title immediately... Ah well, let me know if you do understand. I'm curious.

So, what do you guys think? Inspiration for this hit me randomly. As in at 4 in the morning.

Time travel is not a road much traveled in the Gakuen Alice fandom (I only know of one) and so I thought I would take a whack at it with a twist.

Let me know what you all thought! Any criticisms, comments, questions, flames, or whatever it is that you want to review about is welcome and much wanted.

Review please!