I got extremely bored one day in study hall a while back and wrote the outline to this and somehow I came out with this! Trust me; this is a lot better than the rest of my writing! My writing skills have improved tremendously since my last story. The summary sounds a bit cliché to me, but please give it a chance! This is only part one of the prologue, the next chapter will be a shorter prologue and then a time skip to the present. I'm a bit worried that FFnet might delete my lines when I post this, so if they do I will do something different next chapter.

IMPORTANT READ THIS PART! The prologue takes places ten years earlier, but I did modify some of the ages so it would fit my story better! These are the ages in the past (Just add 10 to get their present ages!)-

Miku- 6

Luka- 8

Meiko- 13

Kaito- 10

Gakupo- 9

Rin and Len- 3

Gumi- 6

And now, I present you with this story!

"Why aren't we there yet?" Miku asked while yawning and stretching, narrowly missing Rin.

"Because we had to go the long way since you brought your mother to the park," Kaito said dryly and flicked her on the side of the head.

"I see it, I see it!" Gumi chanted from the front of the pack and took off running towards the large area of trees that surrounded the lake. It was hidden, and as far as the children knew, no one else knew about their special spot. They had never seen another person, so they went ahead and claimed it as their own.

When Gumi reached the barrier of flora she peeled it back to reveal the small gap of trees that was just barely big enough to fit through. "Found it!" She called as she flipped her lime green hair backwards.

Once everyone caught up, they ducked down and practically crawled through the brush and trees. When Kaito got out first he took off running and went to jump straight in, clothes on and everything; but he stopped abruptly.

"What's wrong?" Meiko yelled as she stood up and brushed the dirt off her red skirt and white tank top. Since she was the oldest she always had the hardest time fitting through the back entrance and would get filthy, which was not to her liking.

Gakupo hustled over and stopped as well. "Guy's you might want to come see this." He said with a bit of worry in his tone.

Luka knew very well that Gakupo and Kaito were trouble makers and didn't really have a serious air to them; she believed this was a prank, but she ran over anyway. She took one look and instantly stopped cold in her tracks. Their once beautiful lake that was always a lovely light midnight color was now a light purple mixed with navy green.

Her thoughts came to her instantly, "Guys, what did you do?" Luka turned and faced the boys and crossed her arms. She was a hundred percent positive that Gakupo and Kaito had gotten their hands on some dye (a lot of it) and came here last night to try and scare them.

"I swear it wasn't us!" Kaito said and threw his hands out in denial. Gakupo opened his mouth also to add something, but was cut off when Miku came running over crying and screaming her head off.

"Kaito!" She yelled and crashed straight in to him, sending them both tumbling onto the ground. Miku sat up on top of his chest and was shaking and bawling.

"Yes Miku?" Kaito asked through gritted teeth as he attempted to sit up as well, to no avail.

"The twins put bugs down my dress!" Miku screamed and pointed accusingly at the three year olds who were innocently wrestling near the entrance.

"Sorry to break it to you, but they're three, I don't think they could go find bugs and put them in your dress," Gakupo butted in.

"But they did!" Miku insisted, "Gumi saw it, ask her!"

Kaito finally managed to roll out from underneath Miku and sit up, panting a bit. "Miku, we've got a bigger problem than bugs, we-"

"WHAT'S MORE IMPORTANT THAN BUGS?!" Miku cried and jumped up. She began to say something else, but then caught a glimpse of the lake. "What happened?" she asked to no one in particular.

"Did you guys manage to get something to take the dye out?" Luka asked, focusing her attention over to Kaito once again.

"I already told you we didn't do it!" Kaito yelled at her. As they continued to bicker, Gakupo gathered everyone and brought them over to the spot where they were arguing.

"Oh my gosh!" Gumi squealed as she leaned forward to inspect it more closely.

"I don't really see much of a problem with it," Meiko sighed and took off her shirt, uncovering her red bikini.

"You actually want to go swimming in that stuff?" Gakupo asked her.

"Why not? It just has a different color to it, nothing else is different about it," Meiko said and leaned over and splashed some onto Gakupo who jumped backwards to try to avoid the majority of it. "See, normal water."

"Well I guess…" Gumi trailed off.

"Come on!" Meiko insisted and pushed Gumi head first and far out into the pond.

Gumi quickly darted up to the surface and spit out the water that she inhaled when she crashed in. "Wah!" She cried. Oh right, Gumi was six, she couldn't swim.

Kaito instantly jumped in and swam over to the flailing little girl. He grabbed her and kicked with his feet as he held her out of the water and managed to make his way back over to the edge of the lake. He crawled out and carried Gumi with him. "That was mean," he told Meiko as he shook the disgusting water out of his dark blue hair.

Meiko shrugged and jumped in as Gumi coughed up some water and then weakly sat up.

"Are you okay," Kaito asked her softly, holding her back up for her.

She nodded, "Actually the water feels great." They all looked at her with dumbfounded expressions. None of them could fathom that the hideous water would be normal.

"Do you think it's safe to swim in?" Luka asked Kaito, finally excepting that he and Gakupo hadn't done it.

"I guess," he said while taking another glance at the water that Meiko was having a blast swimming in.

They all got undressed down to their bathing suits and gingerly walked in to the lake. "I told you, the water is fine!" Meiko said triumphantly. She then threw them a, 'I told you so' glance and proceeded to grab Rin from Gakupo and put her on her shoulders. Rin sat on her shoulders just like Len was doing on Kaito's.

"How does it feel so normal when it looks so weird?" Miku asked while treading in about two feet of water with Gumi.

"How should I know? But I do know it feels great because it's so hot outside!" She squealed and splashed her arms in the water, splattering Miku in the process.

"Well That was your fault for wearing a sweater here," Luka called over to Gumi who didn't respond but instead dove into the shallow water and swam back up holding a small brown and white cracked rock.

"Look! Isn't it pretty?!" Gumi asked Miku while she shoved it in her face.

"Sure," Miku responded, not knowing exactly why Gumi liked the rock so much, but agreeing anyways.

Gakupo came running back into the water with a beach ball, "Wanna play?" he asked everyone, most of them not noticing he had even gotten out of the water.

"Not now, I'm in the midst of heated combat!" Kaito called. He and Meiko were in the middle of a brutal battle of chicken. Len and Ren were kicking and punching at each other, but it didn't seem to be going anywhere.

"Luka?" he asked and made a sad puppy dog face at her. She didn't seem to be doing anything and eventually gave into his slightly annoying pestering of him wanting her to play.

They decided not to ask Gumi and Miku because they couldn't swim very well and might end up getting themselves hurt. Gakupo and Luka swam over to the far side of the lake to play a game that mimicked volleyball.

After a few more hours of swimming and playing they got out and dried off due to it becoming dark. They knew their parents would probably start worrying since they usually didn't stay out this late.

While Kaito and the others went ahead Luka and Meiko helped Rin and Len dry off and then out their clothes back on. Once Meiko was sure they were gone, she decided she might as well tell Luka her secret she had been holding in all day.

Before saying a thing, Luka turned to her and said, "Spill." Meiko's eyes widened in fear, had she been that obvious that an eight year old could figure it out? She knew Luka was pretty smart, but Meiko didn't know how Luka had known.

"Don't worry, if I'm correct on what I think you're about to tell me no one else knows," Luka reassured her. Oh great just what I need, advice from an eight year old, Meiko thought.

Meiko sighed and sat down next to her, "I have a crush," she admitted and Luka nodded, "and it's Kaito."

"Gosh what took you so long, were you doing your make-up?" Kaito asked the duo as they crawled out of the bushes with the twins right behind them.

"Len wouldn't stop dumping dirt down his shirt," Luka quickly lied. Kaito fell for it and they began to walk home.

"Did you get the math homework?" Gumi asked Miku, trying to start a conversation.

Miku's eyes widened in alarm, "We had math homework?!" She asked frantically.

"No, I was trying to scare you silly!" Gumi giggled as Miku shoved her.

"Don't scare me like that, I've already got my mother thinking I spilled grape juice on her bed, she doesn't need to think I didn't do homework!" Miku told her with a bit of anger.

"Let me guess you did spill the grape juice," Gakupo assumed and looked back to see a very guilty looking Miku with her head hung low.

"Maybe," she said and trailed off.

"I'm so telling!" Gumi threatened.

"You wouldn't dare!" Miku screamed while Gumi took off running, passing everyone in front of them. "Meanie! I am so going to get you!" With that, Miku began to chase her, her light turquoise pigtails flapping in the wind behind her.

"Should we stop them?" Luka asked as she adjusted how Rin was sitting on her shoulders.

"Nah, they'll be fine, they do live so close to here anyway," Gakupo said. It was true; Miku and Gumi lived on the same street that was only five minutes walking distance from the lake, so he didn't think there was any way they could get themselves lost.

Meiko walked in awkward silence next to Kaito. Kaito didn't understand why she was being so quiet, but he assumed it was a girl thing. He was trying to think up something to get her laughing, but his thoughts were interrupted.

"I'm hungry!" Len called out and started pulling on Meiko's hair.

"Me too!" Rin chimed in and began cry.

"Be quiet!" Meiko demanded, "We'll be home in a minute!"

"Yay, food!" the siblings sang together and then became quiet again.

After about ten more minutes of awkward silence they dropped the twins off at their parents' house. They told their father that they had been at Meiko's house the entire time and had played dress up, and thankfully he bought it. Len and Rin's mother had come outside to greet them with cookies and apple juice. They all noticed she was pregnant again and she told them it was going to be a girl before they had to go.

"I wonder if she will look like the twins," Luka said and Meiko shook her head.

"Probably not, I mean their dad has black hair so you never know," Meiko said.

They dropped Kaito off next, telling his parents the same tale, and they went with it just the same. Next was Luka, and then Gakupo, and then Meiko was all alone. She walked onto a back road and then down a small path to her make shift home. It was a medium sized trailer home that was so beaten down you would've thought it had gone through a hurricane, then a flood, and maybe a volcano too.

She dug the rusty key out of her back pack and let herself in, knowing her dad would either be passed out or gone. When she unlocked the door, the overwhelming aroma of alcohol and cigarettes hit her once again, just as it had every day. She pinched her nose and quickly darted to her room, being careful to not step in the broken glass or the mysterious liquid that seemed to be coming from the kitchenette's sink.

When she reached her room she opened the door and slammed it shut as rapidly as she could. She took in a deep breath of much needed clean air and set her bag down on her bed. She turned on the fan to try to blow away some of the stench that had seeped into her bedroom while she was gone.

She started to get ready for bed after eating some pretzels that were conveniently stashed under her bed. Meiko thought she might look over some science for tomorrow's test since she had nothing better to do, but her idea was immediately shut down when she heard the front door open.

Meiko frantically threw her school bag under the bed and jumped under the covers and turned out the lights. She turned on her side, away from the door and shut her eyes just as her dad's awful drunk girlfriend walked in.

"Good the brat's asleep," She said to herself and shut her door. Meiko stayed silent and still as she heard the fridge door open and the clanking of beer bottles.

Meiko despised the woman that was supposedly her mom. Her father forced her to call her 'Mother,' saying that she was her biological mother. Meiko knew deep down that she wasn't related mainly because the woman had exactly no motherly instincts. Meiko could remember when she was nine she was riding a bike and she accidently ran into a tree. She had walked home to find the lady drunk and instead of asking if she was hurt she told her to suck it up and get her another beer.

Meiko called her 'Jaakuna josei' which means evil lady, which described her perfectly, but Meiko wished she would have enough courage to say it to her face. Meiko listened as she did every night to her get drunk yet again. Her dad did the same exact thing, but he wasn't usually around so she didn't see it happen a lot. Jaakuna josei was around mainly at night so Meiko could avoid her, occasionally sneaking out into the woods to escape her presence.

Tonight was going to be a long one; Meiko thought and tried to fall asleep as quickly as she could.

The next morning Miku woke up and felt absolutely awful. She felt like she was going to hurl, but at the same time her throat was on fire plus she had a high fever. Miku managed to stumble down the hall to her father's office and grabbed the phone. She quickly dialed her Mom at work and told her that she was really sick and she was given permission to skip school.

Miku pulled herself back to her bedroom in a walk that mimicked a slug. She crawled into her bed and got back under the covers and attempted to fall back into a slumber and forget all the pain she was in. She failed miserably.

Luka woke up to see the beautiful sunshine filtering into her room through the curtains. It was absolute torture. The very second Luka opened her eyes and saw the light she had an instant migraine. Her head was killing her, and she thought she might as well rip it off and it would feel better. No amount over covering her eyes or sleeping seemed to take it away.

I really want to punch something right now, Luka thought out of frustration. Her head pounded as she blindly stumbled out of her bedroom towards the kitchen. She had to walk along the wall to avoid opening her eyes. When she arrived in the kitchen she felt like she was going to puke. When she had gotten up she discovered she also had a bad case of vertigo.

She grabbed the phone and blindly dialed her dad's work phone. She prayed she had typed it in right as she hit send.

"Hello," her father answered. His voice seemed excruciatingly loud, but Luka was more preoccupied with what she had to ask him.

"Dad!" she practically screeched and then cupped her head in pain and realized how big of a mistake that was.

"Luka, what's wrong, why aren't you at school yet?" her dad asked, his voice filled with worry.

"Can I please stay home?" Luka begged. She knew how strict her parents were about her being at school and making the best grades. She herself couldn't remember the last time her parents had let her stay home from school.

He sighed into the phone and asked, "What seems to be the matter with you?"

"Everything is spinning and my head is going to split open," she said as quietly as she could into the phone.

He sighed again and then said, "Just don't tell your Mom, okay?"

Luka smiled, "Thank you, and I promise I won't!" Her mother was a doctor and wouldn't probably be home for a while anyway.

"Alright kiddo, go get back in bed and try to get some sleep," her dad said and with a small click the conversation had ended.

Luka hung up the phone and then walked up to bed as slowly as she could to stop the dizziness, even though it didn't work very well. When she slid back into her bed, after shutting the curtains of course, she thought frantically, when will this go away?!

Kaito woke up drenched in sweat. He sat up, panting. His room had to be at least 100 degrees! He staggered out of his room to find that the rest if the house was the same. He ran down the stairs, almost tripping a couple of times and darted over to the thermostat. It read seventy two!

No way! It's burning up in here! He pulled off his soaking wet pajama shirt and threw it onto the floor, not really caring at this point. He sprinted through the house, making sure nothing was wrong. After seeing the thermostat temperature, his only idea was it might be a fire. He already knew there wasn't any smoke flying through the house, but he went to check anyway. After seeing everything was just as it should be he slowed down and took in a deep breath.

Why is it so hot?! He questioned himself aloud and then sat down in defeat. He started to lay down because the cold marble felt good when an idea popped into his head.

He jumped up and bolted to the kitchen. When he arrived once again he opened the freezer door and stuck his head in.

"Ah," he sighed as the frozen air gave him some much needed temporary relief. He closed his eyes for a moment, but when he opened them he spotted one thing in the world that he was so in love with right now.

Ice cream.

Gakupo was sitting on the couch. He was wrapped up in enough blankets to pass as a small, modern day mummy. Even though he was surrounded with every blanket, cover, and robe he could find he was still shaking from the cold. Gakupo had already turned the temperature up to a steaming ninety degrees. He had turned the television onto an old episode of SpongeBob in a pathetic effort to preoccupy himself with a distraction, though he knew it wasn't working.

His parents had still been there when he had told them he was sick. Since they were the picture perfect family they were entirely okay with him staying home with his cold. Well, he had described to them what he thought the normal symptoms of a cold were, but honestly he knew he was at least ten times worse. They had left for work after he promised he would be good and they told him they would be calling every hour.

Gakupo curled together as much as he could and slowly began to drift off as some little kid show came on.

Meiko felt like she was going to die. No, she knew she was going to die. Well, she thought she might if the agonizing burning sensation in her hands didn't stop soon. She had been holding them in a bucket of ice water for what seemed like two hours now, but nothing seemed to work. Every single time her hands would start to have relief from the pain it would come back three times worse.

By now her she couldn't feel her finger tips; due to the ice water, but it was the palms of her hands that were bringing her the biggest problem. They were so excruciatingly painful that she didn't think she could take it much longer.

She was thanking whoever was watching over her up in Heaven that her father and his lady 'friend' were both out of the house at the moment. Her dad was supposedly at work, and she didn't want to even guess what that cruel lady did all day. It probably wouldn't have been good if they had known she was skipping school and she had found another way to injure herself.

The truth was that she actually had no idea how she had injured herself this time. All she knew was she had gone swimming in that questionable water yesterday. She had felt a bit tingly when she had gotten out…

That's it! She thought triumphantly and smiled. She knew that everyone had gone swimming yesterday and it couldn't just be her! She jumped up to reach the phone and instantly the burning had started up again. She threw her hands back into the water and let out a small squeal of relief when they met the water. Meiko threw her head back in desperation.

Maybe later…

Gumi was lying in bed. She felt completely fine, but she had to stay home that day due to one major problem she had that morning. When she had gotten up she walked into her bathroom and screamed. To say her body was bloated was an understatement. Her face was red and puffy; at least two times what it had been last night. Her body was the same, turning her lithe figure into a hideous bulging mass. Just one glance and she could tell her body wouldn't even be able to fit in her uniform, but it wasn't like she would ever be going to school like that. Instead she had crawled back into bed.

Now Gumi was watching My fairly Odd Parents. She didn't really know what else to do. It wasn't like she could go outside. She hadn't even been able to call her parents to alert them of her predicament because her lips and tongue were swollen so much. Her major problem was boredom. Gumi was sure it was going to be the end of her. Today is going to be a long day.

Jun, Rin and Len's mother, had awoken to the peaceful sound of birds and the sunlight. She knew something was terribly wrong. Normally her children would have been in her room hours ago, jumping on her bed, demanding breakfast. She quickly rose to her feet and walked as fast as she could down to their bedroom. She tried to hustle, but running while heavily pregnant was not an easy task to accomplish. When she reached the door she tapped on it lightly. When she received no response she barged in to find them still sleeping.

What? It's ten in the morning! Why are they still sleeping? She walked over to Rin and shook her awake.

"Eeeek!" Rin screamed and jumped up into a standing position on her bed, rubbing her shoulders where her mother had shaken her.

"Rin are you okay?" Her mother asked frantically. Rin shook her head and sat back down and started bawling. "Honey what's the matter?!" Jun asked and took a seat next to her and attempted to wrap her arms around her. Rin shrieked again and leaped away.

"That really hurts," Rin said, shaking, "Like every time you hug me."

Jun looked Rin over, there was nothing wrong with her physical appearance, but every time she even slightly touched her Rin would freak out like she had struck her. "Just lay back down, I'll get you some medicine okay?" Jun said and smiled. Rin nodded and slowly and carefully slid back under her covers after her mom had stood up. Jun handed Rin her favorite teddy bear and then walked across the room to check on Len.

Even through all of the commotion, Len had managed to stay sleeping. Jun shook him, to no avail. She shook him harder and eventually his eyelids fluttered open.

"Mom?" he asked groggily. "I'm really sleepy," he said and yawned. With that he rolled over and drifted off.

Jun stood up and shook her head in disbelief. How had both of her children become so sick overnight, while nothing looked wrong with either of them? She sighed and exited their room, and walked down stairs to get Rin some promised medicine. She pondered the thought of looking up their symptoms on the internet, but she had learned before that doing that was the number one way to make you believe they were going to die from an incurable disease. Instead she poured the right amount of liquid medicine into a small plastic cup and took it up to Rin. Jun decided that she should just let Len sleep it off because he didn't seem to be in any pain. I guess I'll have a lazy day today.

DONE! Oh my ketchup…. My fingers hurt.

I hope you enjoyed this and I do appreciate constructive criticism! Please review!

Till next time!

~squirrel