Down to the dining room went Kaoru and Mikan. The dining room was a very simple one, white walls and marble. A large table for eight sat in the center. Kaoru helped Mikan onto one of the table's plush chairs.

"What would you like to have?" she asked, leaning against the table.

"Sandwiches, auntie," said Mikan. Kaoru looked into the air blank for a second, in thought before calling a maid. "Get her a couple of sandwiches."

Mikan sat patiently in her seat, swinging her legs. Kaoru looked from Mikan to outside the dining room.

"Auntie," Mikan called out, snapping Kaoru out of her daze.

"Yes, dear?"

"Where does the Key come from?"

"The Key? It…" Kaoru trailed off, in thought. "It comes from the government, I think. Everyone has one. Natsume has one with an orange stone, and you have one with a red stone, like me. The government distributes Keys to the hospitals, and they are then given to newborn babies, ensuring that every child has a key. You only get one key for life."

Mikan stared at her. "Well, if you don't understand it properly now, you'll understand it wehn your older. I couldn't grasp it's context until I was seventeen."

"Okay." Mikan was still not convinced.

And the silence continued, Kaoru staring out the door and Mikan eating.

Mikan finished soon, and turned to Kaoru

"Auntie, can I go play on the swing now?" Mikan asked, coming to what she had been thinking of since she had reached the Hyuuga Manor. "Please?"

Kaoru looked at her for a moment, before smiling and nodding. However, before Mikan could start running, Kaoru crouched to her level and patted her head. "With Natsume."

Mikan's expression fell a little, but she nodded. She ran out of the dining room and skipped up the stairs to the right. She slowed down once she reached the top, and looked into the corridor. It had the exact same layout as the left one. So she decided that Natsume's room would be in the same location as her's.
She walked up to his door and knocked. No response. She knocked again. A grunt came from inside.

Good enough.

She barged into the room. Natsume was in his bed, reading a manga. His room also had the same layout, except it was mirrored, and he had a few more possessions than her.

"You!" She called out, as she didn't know his name.

Natsume ignored her, flipping the page of his book. Mikan felt her anger rise a little.

"You! Short-eyebrows!"

She saw Natsume's expression turn to annoyance at that.

Mission accomplished.

"Come with me! Auntie sent me to get you out and play with me on the swing!" Mikan said.

"No." His reply was short.

Almost as short his eyebrows.

Mikan huffed, before stomping over to where Natsume was. She pulled the book out of his hands, and carefully returned it to the bookshelf. She then grabbed the stunned Natsume by his hand and ran out the room with him in tow. Natsume simply followed, too confused to to do anything. She pulled him along the corridor and then down the stairs. Kaoru, who was sitting in the sitting area in between the left and right corridors, watched on amusedly.

Out the door the children went, and Mikan pulled Natsume over to the swing. She sat on it, and patted the space beside her.

Natsume stared for a moment, before glaring at her. "No. I'm going back in."

"No, you're not! Auntie told me that I have to play with you!"

"I am not going to play, ugly."

Mikan let out a screech of annoyance, and jumped off the swing. She grabbed Natsume around his waist, and sat back in the swing with him on her lap. He was smaller sized and lighter when compared to her. Ignoring his trashing around, she started swinging, kicking her legs off the ground. It was a little hard of a feat to achieve, with Natsume in her lap, but she managed to pull it off.

"Put me down, hag!" Natsume yelled at her.

"No!"

Natsume pulled away from her, and both of them landed in a heap before the swing. However, Mikan still had her hands around him. Natsume tried to pull away again.

Mikan pushed him down and sat on his stomach. "Can't get away now, ha!"

Natsume pulled her hair. Mikan scratched his cheek. Natsume pulled her mouth. Mikan…

Mikan tickled him. Natsume, no matter how much he resisted, burst out laughing, tears in his eyes.

"Stop!" He stammered. "Let me go!"
He tickled her back. Mikan resisted for quite a while, but once she gave up, she collapsed in a fit of giggles. Natsume saw this as his chance to run away, and escaped inside. Mikan calmed down from her giggles.

Tears pricked her eyes.

"Ah, no, no," she mumbled, trying to wipe them away.

Certain scenes from her time in the orphanage came to her.

No one ever played with her. Even the new kids were quickly turned against her. When she had cried and asked the caretaker why, she simply blamed Mikan's mother, Yuka. Mikan never really understood why.

Her only friend was her stuffed bear. And he was taken from her. Taken from her, and tossed out the window. Then he was torn apart by the older kids.

Her only friend was taken from her.

And now, even Natsume, for whose sake she was adopte- taken in, ran away from her at the mention of play.

"Please, not now," she said to herself, her attempts at stopping herself from crying failing.

She wept as quietly as she could, and yet, Kaoru managed to notice her and came out.

"Mikan, where's Natsu- Wait, are you crying? What happened, dear?" Kaoru came down and sat down before her. "Did Natsume do something?"

Mikan shook her head. "It's nothing. It's nothing."

Kaoru watched as the child tried to stop crying, and failed. Not able to take it anymore, she hugged Mikan.

Mikan shook her head, and wiped her eyes forcefully. She sniffed, and looked up at Kaoru.

"It's nothing, auntie."

Mikan got up and ran off into the house before Kaoru could say anything.

"Even children can act like that, huh. She reminds me of her."
XXXXXXXX

The reason the previous chapter was messed up was because the site didn't save my format properly. I rectified it, so if you want to, you can read it again?
Reviews:
Guest: Thank you!

Lexi1989: I tried explaining the Key a bit more, but if it's still a vague concept, it will make sense in a few chapters time, as it will come into play.

Anilissa: Hohohoho, you're gonna be suprised ow Yuka comes into play. I have a plot twist up my sleeve :)

loveisfun: Here!

(CH1)Unknown: Thank you! I tried looking ut for typos and stuff this time.

Naeema. gomez: Sorry! The previous chapter was messed up due to corrupted format, but I rectified it! it's readable now.