A/N: Mikan and Hotaru are both 14 years old.
We were going to make this a chapter, but we got lazy, so it's a prologue instead. It's not really that great, and we just did our best so yeah. This prologue's a bit confusing, so my apologies for that. Anyways, enjoy! And please review, we would appreciate criticism so that we can improve in the future. There WILL be Mikan and Natsume romance. Tons of it. :] This is just a prologue! I was brain dead when I thought of this, so yeah. T-T XoXo, Miya&Ame
Prologue: Without a Trace
Mikan Sakura was never one to fall in love. Sure she may be the cheerful and the optimistic brunette that everyone knew but never was she truly happy. She smiled, yes. She laughed, yes, but was she ever truly happy? No. When she saw her elementary classmates talk about love with such heart felt eyes about their prince charming in their fantasies she wanted to swallow herself whole. She never believed that this particular word existed, nor would it rise against the deepest pits of her heart. Behind that fake smile plastered onto her face it was only misery and no one knew about it except her best friend, Hotaru Imai. Ever since childhood, her parents never spoken even one word of kindness to her. If it was anything, then sure they spoke to each other with a tone of affection that would even make the rainiest of days nourish with warmth
But, when they came face to face with Mikan they looked at her with scrunched up faces with only one expression that she recognized. Hate. You may think that it was such a pity for her to go through the displeasures of life at such a young age but she didn't mind really. At most, she was glad that she discovered it at an early time of her life before she actually opened up to the ones that were called her parents. She was unwanted. She was a mistake. She knew that and just when she thought everything was against her, there was always this one person that wanted to help her, the person that always remained at her side no matter what happened, her best friend. Although she never understood love and surely knew that she never wanted to encounter this feeling ever, she knew that she treasured Hotaru. She didn't even know why Hotaru even attempted to talk to her when they were both little kids but for the very least, she was glad she did. Hotaru knew just how Mikan felt and how her childhood took a toll on her personality. Everything. It was the exact cause for why Mikan couldn't make any friends, her depression and solitude just pushed other kids away.
To Hotaru, it was the same but being the way she was, she was satisfied with just having Mikan by her side, she didn't need anyone else . She grew up in a well sheltered family and was spoiled with happiness. In Mikan's case though, she knew exactly that the loneliness was eating her alive for she never experienced anything but hate from her family. Hotaru couldn't stand the sight of her best friend being like this so she tried to introduce her to her classmates as much as it displeased her to do so and this didn't go unnoticed by Mikan. She knew Hotaru's intentions and as much as she hated it she decided to bring down her barriers around her, just a little, to befriend them just to satisfy her because after all, Hotaru Imai never tries to talk to anyone outside her social circle.
These children she called her classmates though, she couldn't even bring herself to look at them, much less talk to them. They were what you call the definitions of stupid brats, she knew just after setting her eyes on them that they didn't want to talk to her just as much as the next guy. Then why did they talk to her? Simple. They pitied her. And Mikan Sakura wasn't one to take pity from but she couldn't stand to see the look of worry and sorrow planted on her best friend's face. She wanted Mikan to be happy, and by continuing to be her normal self wouldn't suit her best friend one bit so she faked, she lied. Hotaru knew this of course, but she didn't try to stop it either in hopes of her slowly warming up to her newly found "friends" because she believed that her fake smile would soon fade away and her real one would take place. Mikan tried hard to keep up this façade but she didn't know if she could keep it up any longer because soon enough, Hotaru wasn't with her anymore.
Like a quick snap of the finger, she disappeared without a trace, there was no warning, no notice, and that left her in a stage of depression even more than she already was. Mikan's heart was in a deep hole of misery and although she was never one to cry, she actually let out big wet tears the day that her best friend never returned to her side. Yet, she didn't want to give up. She knew that she didn't have anything here, her parents didn't take one look at her, her so called friends weren't even true to her, so why should she bother spending her life here? So, without taking a look back, she was determined to find Hotaru, and failure was not an option. And now, begins the journey of Mikan Sakura to find her best friend and the chance to re-enter Hotaru's life by her side. But, with her going on such along and crazy adventure by herself there's bound to be something that happens to her along the way. In this case, Mikan Sakura slowly develops a different personality, and a new perspective on life. Now, what else awaits her on this wild ride?