#technobro

So I guess I'll give you a brief run-down on what should change for me to be more on board with the ending. I hate Mikan having the stealing alice with a passion. I know that shows up pretty early, but I hate it and I usually forget about it because of how much I hate it so if I ever wrote a canon-verse fic (which I'm nervous about because of this very thing), she probably wouldn't have it, which would require me to shift a lot of other elements in the story. I just think it kills the importance of her nullification alice. She had a "useless", understated, subtle alice that could easily be taken for granted but that was actually super cool and useful in its own way, and the stealing alice is... not helping that issue. The stealing alice is immediately and clearly useful and showy and impressive, if a bit taboo. But that taboo element is rarely touched on with Mikan because she doesn't even know she has it for a while and she's immediately pretty okay with it when she does find out about it because it never really does wrong... Meanwhile, Yuka's story with the stealing alice is so much more meaningful because we get a deeper look into being outcast for her alice and how much of a burden it can be. Mikan doesn't have that relationship with the stealing alice, but its arrival undercuts her nullification alice and as a result her arc suffers.

I also think Persona took up way too much time. I don't really care if he has a redemption or not but the "We have to forgive everyone so we can all move and be happy now" message is so aggravating to me and not a lesson you should be giving a young audience so, I would get rid of that, or at least undercut it. (My issue with Persona's redemption is more about Mikan than him, actually.)

AND I HATE HOTARU SAVING NATSUME. I hate it so much. It's my least favorite part of the story, no contest. I'd delete that right away. Additionally, Mikan losing her memories has potential but none of it is used and then all of her relationships in the last chapter are minimized to elevate Hotaru, to the detriment of every other character on that beach, which pisses me off so much...

So I usually like an ending that looks like this: Mikan only has the nullification alice (and thus Yuka wouldnt have died, but would maybe have been put in a different bad situation, like maybe Mikan is still in the labyrinth as collateral over Yuka... that could be cool), and Natsume still dies (I love him dying) but Mikan saves him, and a huge help is Ruka. Maybe Mikan still loses her alice, and still loses her memories. In that case, the amnesia thing should be stretched out and actually used, instead of lasting a chapter because then it's just stupid and feels pointless. In this case, Hotaru should play a more subtle role (which is what she does best) and be the main one to chase after Mikan. That way the manga can still have the bookends of the best friends chasing each other, only this time it feels more equal. OR maybe Mikan doesn't lose her memories but since Yuka is still alive, she leaves the academy with her mom and they start some new life together for a reunion with friends later on.

OR she keeps her memories and doesn't lose her alice and instead everyone is happy at the Academy, particularly because Shiki is now in charge without the interference of the ESP so there's much-needed structural change that makes life at school a lot better and less prisonlike. TBH, I genuinely can't stomach the idea that the Academy doesn't undergo structural change because 1. That's such a cop-out and 2. It makes Shiki look bad and 3. It makes the whole story seem a lot more like child abuse apologism... which it isn't doing on purpose but OOF it is not a good look.

I also hate what was done with Goshima at the end there, so I would completely discard that.

He didn't even really do anything wrong, in your point of view.

But, of course, everyone's world was in black and white.

To them, they're good. The heroes of this story.

And everyone who defied them or didn't share the same opinion?

They were evil.

You supposed that was why Technoblade was so hated.

He stood against their ideology.

You two shared almost the exact same views, although you wouldn't consider yourself an 'anarchist'.

You sighed, staring up at the sky, sitting in the cold, white snow.

It was almost midnight, the sky a deep black, with stars twinkling, and the moon acting somewhat like a stage light, but for the Earth.

You hummed, lost in thought, until you heard footsteps, the sound of shoes crunching the snow.

Quickly whipping your head around, you saw Technoblade, and instantly felt more at ease.

You thought it was an enemy or something, someone who betrayed you.

You've been on edge recently because of all those people.

The moon shined on you two, you slightly smiling.

"Why are you up?" He asked, softly.

"Ah... couldn't sleep, my brain decided to think for once."

He gave a sound of acknowledgment, and you turned your head back to the sky.

You could hear more sounds, him sitting down by you, probably looking at the sky, as well.

"Hey..." He spoke.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry." His monotone voice lowered, seemingly sad.

"For what..?" You turned to him, he was looking at the snow.

"Dragging you into everything, honestly. A lot of people have betrayed you, and that was the one thing I didn't want you to experience, since it's happened to me countless times. It's a horrid feeling..."

"...you're my brother. They're not. If they betrayed me because of the simple fact we're siblings, they were never my friend.

It was never meant to be."

That seemed to relax him a bit, and, something that barely anyone gets to experience besides you and Phil, happens.

He smiled, sincerely. "You know, you're the best sibling I could have, Y/n." He says, looking at you this time.

"And you're the best shithead I could have grown up with, Techno. I love you, big brother." You chuckle, standing up.

"Lo—" Before he could finish, you stumble a bit, eyes wide open in shock.

He called out for you, but you couldn't comprehend what he was saying.

You shake a bit, and look down at your chest.

There was an arrow, right there.

It wasn't a skeleton arrow.

Blood was covering your chest, and soon your stomach, as well.

Your mouth was also filling up with the crimson red liquid, you almost choking before you died of being shot.

Your vision was blurry, tears started forming, but you felt numb.

You guessed the realization of what happened didn't sink in, you were still in shock.

"Y/N!" He was holding you, putting pressure near your chest to help the bleeding, which was too late.

He didn't dare to pull it out, that would cause the bleeding to become worse.

A salty clear liquid dropped onto your forehead — he was crying.

You smiled weakly at him, before you lost consciousness.

"No... Y/N! PLEASE!"

He shook you, hoping for a reaction.

For you to grin and laugh, saying "I got you this time!"

But it never happened.

His hands gripped tighter on your arms.

"N/n, you nerd, you're not supposed to die. Stay... please."

That night, the white snow that surrounded you two became red, and his heart became as cold as the wind.

He will get revenge for you, even if he somehow dies in the process.

Since we don't actually get Natsume's beat by beat thoughts on his feelings for Mikan, it's kinda hard to tell specifically where he is at each point. It's honestly up to each individual to interpret themselves.

I think Natsume is a go hard or go home type of person, so when he starts to care, it's intense and all-consuming, and thus tracing when exactly his feelings go into the "love" territory as opposed to "crush" or "heavy like" is a bit hard to say. I'd argue that he was never really in denial about his feelings for her, but because of his circumstances, he can't really be open about them. In any case, the reason why he acts so much nicer after the New Year's Arc when Mikan helps save Aoi and almost dies in the process, is because so much changed during this arc.

First, Ruka shared Natsume's story and circumstances with Mikan, so the bulk of what was keeping him mysterious is now out in the open. Mikan knows what his life has been like, and understands better why he behaves the way he does.

Second, Mikan almost died, which is a harrowing experience. Even Hotaru became more affectionate following that, because seeing someone you love nearly die will give you a harsh awakening on taking people for granted. Despite everything he's tried to do, he couldn't keep Mikan from being put in life-threatening danger. So much of his distancing from her was about protecting her, and he know sees that distance might actually not be helping her so much.

Third, the Academy has gone through some "changes" in policy following this arc. Natsume and Aoi's story was made public to the student body and they revolted, demanding Aoi, a non-Alice, be sent home and that Natsume be removed from the dangerous missions he's been going on. For all intents and purposes, things should be better now, but they're not. Natsume refused to go home with Aoi for a few reasons, but primarily to protect Mikan, who will be under tighter supervision than ever. The best way he can protect her is by staying in the DA class and continuing his missions. Since others aren't supposed to be privy to that, he has to keep this under wraps.

Natsume knows (and has known for a while, actually) that he is going to die soon. His life is running out. He doesn't think Mikan will ever love him like he loves her, but he's content to just be by her. Now that he knows distance won't help her, he closes the gap. He sits with her in class, chats her up, smiles more at her. This is probably the happiest we see him for the bulk of the story because he's genuinely okay with where he's at. He feels like he's making his own choices here, so he's at peace with his future.

It's actually funny because I'd argue this is the arc where Mikan fully falls in love with Natsume (she understands him so much better now after knowing his backstory) and thus his nicer attitude matches the fact that she's much nicer to him too. They banter, sure, but she's no longer annoyed at being in his presence and in fact seeks him out.

I think that's what makes Luna's appearance so unwelcome. She changes a status quo that we barely got to see, a new peaceful and friendly time for Mikan and Natsume, who were finally behaving like partners, only for that label to get ripped away. She separates them and it's a shame, because we never really see that particular brand of interaction between them again. I think that's actually a complaint of mine, that this moment is so short before it moves on to stress and jealousy, especially because things keep snowballing after this.

Oh, well!

I really like that in-between arc, actually, because all the "transition" arcs might seem like lull periods to pass the time or for comedic relief, but they're not. This one in particular is crucial to building a closer bond between Class B and also to set up that Mikan's happy life is about to be upended once again soon.

That being said, the Sports Fest is one of my favorite arcs for Mikan because of her feelings for him taking center stage when it's usually the other way around.