(For the sake of this story, I increased the ages of everyone by 2 years. Also I don't hate any of the characters in AA [no matter how much I dislike Mimi] so any negative portrayal of any character is simply for the story. And with that out of the way, enjoy!)

In the kingdom of Asagao, there lives a girl by the name of Hana Mizuno. She is a cheerful and spirited young girl, and everyone who meets her is charmed by her kind nature. Unfortunately, her mother passes away when she is 8, and her father marries a woman who, despite her seemingly calming nature, is ruthless and spiteful, with 2 daughters of her own, (although one of them seems a bit too mechanical to be a human) Mimi and Kakusu. Because of their jealousy towards Hana, the three of them make Hana their slave, having her do everything for them. Her father goes to other kingdoms in search of work, leaving Hana to fend for herself. But she tries not to complain, because she knows her step family makes her father happy. And this is where we start our story...

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"Hey, slow down!"

"No way, you're gonna have to run faster than that if you wanna catch me!"

"That's not fair!"

"Of course it is, I tagged you so now it's your turn."

The young boy stopped to catch his breath, unsuccessful at catching his friend, who twirled around so her skirt fluttered in the air as to tease the poor boy. They had been at it for about 20 minutes and he could not catch her, no matter how hard he tried.

"Why are you so fast today? Usually it doesn't take me this long to tag you."

"Maybe you're just a slowpoke today." She stuck her tongue out.

"Huh?!"

She giggled. Her attempts at rousing him up were working. She wanted a bit of a challenge.

"Honestly, I was hoping for a lot better, but I guess you're just a big ol' lazy pants!"

"Hey!"

"Lazy pants, lazy pants, na na nana naaaaa!"

"Oh, that's it!"

He began to run at her, much faster than either of them thought he could, and she just barely got out of his way. She laughed.

They ran around for a bit more, until finally he got his hand on her shoulder. Unfortunately, with that much momentum he sent the both of them crashing down. They landed with a thud beside each other, groaning slightly. As the both of them sat up, they began laughing.

"I didn't think you could go that fast!"

"Neither did I!"

The laughter died down, and as it did, the girl noticed something.

"Hey, my shoe's missing!"

"What?" The boy looked over at her feet. Sure enough, her left foot was barren, save the cream stockings she was wearing. "Where did it go?"

"I'm not sure, we were going so fast I didn't even notice."

They got up and began to search, but it didn't take too long. The shoe in question was only a couple feet in front of them, around the area where the boy had tagged her. He picked it up and brought it to her, but instead of giving her the shoe, he decided to do something else.

"My lady, may I have the honor of putting your shoe back on?"

She giggled, slightly embarrassed at his overly pronounced act. "What, why would you wanna do that? I can put it on myself."

"It's the least I can do, since it was I at fault for you losing your shoe in the first place."

"Y-you're so weird."

The boy got down on one knee, and began slowly putting the shoe back on her foot.

"Hana."

The boy started to speak again, but his voice was different.

"Hana?"

So different in fact that it sounded like an entirely different person altogether. It sounded almost like-

"Hana!"

"Ahh!"

"Ugh, if you're done spacing out I need these cleaned by tonight. Then there's some dusting in the front room that needs attending too after, and my room is a mess. And if I catch you doing slacking off again, you're gonna hear it from mom, Capiche?"

"Y-yes Mimi."

She stormed off without another word, rolling her eyes. Hana looked down at the shoes in her arms and sighed. She began walking through the hallways of her step family's manor until reaching the backyard. She passed through clothes lines hung and ladened with sheets and garments of all kinds, trying not to mess up the clean but still drying fabric, and made her way to the wash bin, positioned nicely underneath a big tree. It's branches towered over to cast a cooling shadow, which was a blessing on those hot and humid days. Luckily, it was still early spring, and the wind had a crisp and cool feeling to it. She looked out to the fields of grass and wild flowers that reached beyond to the sky, almost cloudless.

Has it really been 10 years, mom? I almost can't believe it myself. After everything that's happened, I didn't think I'd make it this far... But Dad would've been devastated if I had actually run away. And where would I have even gone, back home? ... Well, all things considered I could be worse off.

She sat down on the stool next to the bin and took out the brush perched on the side, and began delicately scrubbing away the dirt on the first shoe, then the second, then the third. Whatever Mimi had done to them, she wasn't sure, but she knew she'd never know. As if it weren't obvious, Mimi despised Hana. She didn't know what she had done, but from the moment they met, Mimi had it out for Hana. She never liked anything Hana did, constantly looking down on her and acting snooty and standoff-ish. Nothing was good enough for her. And yet she always demanded Hana to do everything for her. Hana shook her head, reaching for another shoe. It was pointless trying to figure her stepsister out.

"Hana."

A formal monotone voice brought Hana out of her thoughts, and in front of her was her other stepsister, Kakusu.

"Mother has requested of you to go into the market place and purchase some more confectionaries for tonight."

"A-alright, just give me a few minutes, I just have a few more of these to clean."

"Affirmative. But you would do well to increase your speed and efficiency, you are aware of how we all detest you when you make us wait."

"Yes Kakusu, I'm sorry."

"And those shoes with wrinkle and stiffen if you do not air them out correctly."

"I know Kakusu, I'll make sure to dry them properly."

Kakusu turned and walked back to the house. Hana watched her for a minute, trying to figure out what it was about Kakusu that was so... Odd. While not as mean as Mimi, Kakusu was so precise and particular that not even the smallest thing out of place could be gotten away with. She pointed out every detail of the things she wanted done, almost like she knew exactly what it was that wasn't to her liking... But in a really thorough and creepy kind of way. It was exhausting.

She finished scrubbing the last shoe, and patted them down to soak up the excess water. After putting them on a rack to dry, Hana quickly went into the house to gather what she needed: a basket, her hat, and the money she needed. The first two were easy enough to get. But to get that last one would require-

"Hana!"

She spun around and came face to face with her stepmother, Shizuka Wakahisa, now Shizuka Mizuno. She towered above Hana, her presence overwhelming the poor girl. She took a step back, trying not to quiver.

"S-S-Shizuka, I was just looking f-for you..."

She glared at Hana, clearly not impressed.

"It took you long enough. You're lucky we don't throw you out and hire someone to get things done in half the time it takes you!"

She flinched.

"But, we don't have to pay you anything, and you barely eat, so I suppose that's a fair trade off."

She didn't even consider how her father would feel if they abandoned her. Sometimes Hana questioned how much her stepmother truly loved her father.

"Anyways, here." She handed Hana a small purse. "I shouldn't have to tell you this, but do not dawdle, it is especially important you make it back here on the dot! Understand?"

"Y-yes Shizuka."

"Then MOVE!"

Hana let out a small squeak and rushed to the front entrance.

As she closed the door, she sighed, resting her back on the door. She could never go a day without her stepmother yelling or her step sisters belittling her, even if she did nothing wrong. A part of her thought they did this for fun, to spite her.

Tucking the purse into her basket, she set off for the market. In all honesty, she loved going to the market. She had been many times since she was young, and there was always something happening, like one giant street party. Everyone there was so friendly...well, almost everyone, but more than that, many of the people there were like her second family, much more than the one her father married into, and she loved being around them. Even after her mom's death, the move, and the horror that was her step family, they stayed by her side and helped her in any way they could. A small smile crept onto her face. The market trips might only be about once every 2 weeks, but they were her favourite trips to make. Her pace sped up slightly until she was in a light jog, taking in the warmth of the sun and the sounds around her as she made her way to her favourite place.