GAKUEN ALICE CHAPTER 178 (SPOILER)
Four years after leaving Alice Academy, Mikan has returned to her normal life in her village. She is now sixteen-years-old and is a popular second-year high school student. Mikan is troubled by the fact that she has no memories from the two years when she was in Alice Academy. Her grandfather told her that she was sick during that time, but Mikan is clearly skeptical because everything from before she entered in the fifth grade are still intact. When she arrived home, she had no recollection of what and where Bear came from, and was confused by the letter that Kaname had left for her to take care of Bear. As she is walking to school with two friends, Mikan admitts to her friends that at first, she was scared that Bear can move and do household tasks. Her grandfather assured her that Bear is harmless, but Mikan was scared because Bear never moved in front of anyone but her and her grandfather, leading to her being seen as a weird girl to the villagers. However, as she got to know Bear, she became close to it and grew to love it again. Mikan confirms to herself that despite having no memories from when she was ten to twelve years old, she has a happy life. Unkown to her, a mysterious person is watching her from the distance.
At school, her teacher announced that there have been recent kidnappings of young girls in the village and the kidnappers appear to be foreign. Mikan is surprised of the news because she always thought of her village as a peaceful place to live. Mikan gets in trouble for daydreaming and is warned by her friends that if she is not careful, she may be kidnapped as well. It is revealed that Mikan’s village is being protected by a barrier created by the academy, which explains why no enemy organizations have been able to find her. However due to the recent kidnappings, a foreign group has managed to find out Mikan’s identity and are trying to capture her. While walking home, a male classmate approaches Mikan, and her friends note that he likes her. Mikan is not interested in dating and gently rejects him. Mikan has been asked out by boys many times before but she rejected all of them because she says that she has no experience in love and dating, but she feels that she did have someone she loved dearly during the time she lost her memories. So when someone confesses to her, she compares it to that strange feeling and she believes that she is waiting for the person she feels that way towards. They stop by the sea and enjoy themselves, and Mikan feels like she is watching the sea in place of the person who wants to be with her. She remembers that each time she has a happy moment, she starts to cry, but not happy tears, tears of sadness that something is missing in her heart. Mikan beleives that it has something to do with the person she had once loved and wonders who he was.
Just then, they are attacked by kidnappers who grab a hold of her friends. Mikan tries to save them but she is clearly outnumbered. The kidnappers say that Mikan is the sole target. As she struggles to save her friends and protect herself, a powerful blaze of fire comes over the kidnappers, leaving Mikan stunned. She looked up to see the mysterous person and suddenly has a flashback of the moment she first encountered Natsume, which leaves her confused. She is saved once again from more kidnappers by Narumi, and again, Mikan has a flashback, of when she first met Narumi. But she doesn’t remember him and thinks he is one of the kidnappers, much to his amusement. When Mikan runs to save one of her friends, the firend beats the kidnappers unconscious and her face changes, revealing to be Goshima, which shocks Mikan. Mikan has no idea who Goshima is and begins to panic over the situation. Goshima admits that he was sent to protect Mikan when she left the academy and has been posing as a classmate. Mikan accidently falls over and the other mysterious person catches her. When she turns around, she finds that its Natsume.
