Thank you all for reviewing! :) I hope you guys enjoy the next installment~! There might be grammatical errors, i rushed "


Mikan came into the room with a bright grin adorn on her face. She turned towards Narumi and gave asked shyly, "So how do I look?"

Narumi gave a warm smile, "You look absolutely adorable! Those pigtails are a charming touch."

Mikan gave a small smile. She had mixed feelings about her new style. On one hand she was glad but she was also a bit sad. A small part of her wished that grandpa could have been able to see her like this. Narumi gave a frown as he observed the expression that the girl had. It was a mixture of happiness tinged with sadness. What had caused that to happen? He had unknowingly become attached the girl in the few past hours they had with each other. He didn't know anything about the girl except that she didn't grow up in the greatest environment. But the way the girl held herself, he doubt anybody would have known. She was so cheerful and determined not to trouble anybody with her problem, so it seemed.

"What's the matter?" asked Narumi.

At the sound of his voice, Mikan quickly smiled reassuringly, "Nothing really... I just want to thank you for all that you have done for me. I still feel like this is a dream."

Narumi gave a sad smile. She was such a sweet child. "This isn't a dream, Mikan. It's the real deal. Don't worry; you'll never have to go back to that aunt of yours."

Mikan could not help but feel a wave of relief wash over her. It felt so much more real now that it was actually said. She was going to have a new life and meet new people her age.

"Now Mikan, I've talked with the principal of the school. He says that you have been accepted to the school as being a prospective student." said Narumi. Mikan gave a shout of glee.

"But you have to pass a test first." At that comment, the girl deflated. She did not remember Narumi ever talking about a test at all! She hadn't picked up a book in ages and there was no way she could study for everything in time.

When Narumi saw how panicked she was becoming, he quickly interjected, "Don't worry about it! The test is actually really simple. You're going to join the Elementary division class B. All you have to do is get accepted by your classmates!"

Mikan frowned and stared at him with incredulous eyes. Was he really serious? What kind of test was that? Meanwhile, Narumi continued on as if it were perfectly normal, "We, the teachers, will judge and oversee your Alice. So don't worry okay? Just have fun."

Mikan raised her brow in disbelief. She could not help but hesitate at the strangeness of the requirement. But…she trusted Narumi, mostly. A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.

"Excuse me. We are the class presidents of class B." said a muffled voice.

"Well, this is convenient. You can meet some of the students' right now." said Narumi, before going to open the door. Mikan stood where she was nervously waiting to see her prospective classmates. What if they didn't like her? What if they noticed her injuries? There were so many uncertainties. But mostly, she was definitely looking forward to meeting people her age.

Narumi opened the door revealing a guy and a girl. They were both dressed in the same attire as she, albeit, the boy was wearing shorts instead of a skirt. The guy had short sandy hair and glasses while the girl had purple hair and a stoic face. They both looked to be her age…

Wait a minute, purple hair? And a stoic face? That girl looked strangely familiar! Mikan gave a strangled cry. Narumi frowned. Was something wrong?

Mikan moved slowly towards the two students, and tentatively…no, timidly called out, "Hotaru?"

At the call of her name, the purple haired girl seemed to suddenly focus straight on the person calling her. There was a pause before her eyes widened comically as she realized the person who was calling for her.

"Mikan?" she gasped in shock, her voice carrying across the silent room. Mikan let out another strangled cry before running towards the purple haired girl. She practically tackled Hotaru into the ground with the hug. Hotaru returned the embrace. The two best friends were united once again. Narumi quietly walked out; bring the shocked boy out along with him. The door closed with a small click, leaving the two girls to their reunion.

"I missed you so much! Please. Please tell me this isn't a dream." whispered Mikan. She could not let go of Hotaru. She held on tightly, as if scared that if she let go then Hotaru will disappear right before her eyes.

"Baka…I'm right here in front of you." said Hotaru quietly, as she rubbed Mikan's back in soothing circles. As Mikan slowly calmed down, Hotaru inspected her recovered friend. The purple haired girl could not help but frown at the state of health Mikan was in. Even if she weren't a doctor, she could see that the girl had a drastic loss of weight. And even though she couldn't see inside the mind of Mikan, Hotaru knew that the girl had changed, a sense of tainted innocence hung around her precious friend. What had happened?

Suddenly Mikan winced in pain breaking the hug. Hotaru watched in worry as Mikan held her side. "What is the matter?"

Mikan tried to brush it off. She didn't want her friend to worry about her, not during their reunion, "Nothing really. It's just a stomach ache…"

Hotaru frowned, "Mikan, you know you were never such a good liar."

Mikan gave a stilted laugh, making warning flags flare up in Hotaru's mind, "I know, but I couldn't help but try."

With that said, Mikan slowly pulled up her shirt to reveal a mass of bruises on her side. She watched unhappily as Hotaru gasped, freezing in shock.

"What in the world happened?"

Mikan shrugged brushing it off with a sad smile that made Hotaru's heartache. She quickly pulled her shirt back down, blocking the horrid sight from her friend's sight.

"This wasn't that bad compared to the others, so don't worry about it" said Mikan, before she changed the topic instead asking Hotaru what happened in the year that they were separated.

Hotaru noticed the avoidance but did not comment on it, for now. "After you disappeared, I had to come here… I have basically been here the whole time."

"Do you like it here?"

Hotaru shrugged, "But Mikan, what happened to you? Where did you disappear to? Everybody was looking for you."

Mikan grimaced and looked away. It was quiet for a good two minutes.

Mikan finally turned back to Hotaru, a stiff smile on her face, "After…After grandpa d-died, my…'aunt' came and took me away, claiming she was my only blood relative. We left in the middle of the night. I never had a chance to say good bye to any of you guys. From there, I was forced to work for her. I was trapped there in her house; I couldn't even go to school. I never even got the chance to see grandpa's grave and say good bye!" By now, Mikan's eyes were brimming with unshed tears that she refused to let fall, whether it was out of habit or simply because she did not want her friend to see her in such a state.

Hotaru, on the other hand, was brimming with anger. Her eyes were incredibly dark, almost bordering black from the usual amethyst! How dare that woman do that to Mikan! What kind of aunt was this woman? Hotaru had a feeling that there was still more to this that Mikan was hiding. She felt a flood of guilt crash into her heart. She couldn't protect her precious friend.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry that I wasn't there to help you Mikan." Hotaru whispered, unable to say anything else.

Mikan smiled and gave Hotaru a hug, "As long as you're here now, I don't have to worry about anything. Plus I'm never going to see that aunt of mine ever again."

Hotaru gave a small smile at the way Mikan brushed it off. She was still so optimistic and kind, even with what happened to her.

"You now get to take care of me 24/7. I expect full services." Mikan joked as they broke the hug.

Hotaru gave a small smirked, "Of course I will Mikan."

Mikan gave an edgy laugh and eyed her warily. Then, quite abruptly, Mikan asked her something that made Hotaru raise her brow, "Hey Hotaru, are we still best friends?"

"As best friends as we were before, if that's what you mean. If it is like that, then yes." Mikan's face broke into a huge grin, as an inexplicable weight seemed to drop from her shoulders. She hugged Hotaru again. She was so happy; so happy to be together with her friend. Hotaru gave a small smile.

There was a knock on the door. The two girls turned to see Narumi stick his head in. "Sorry to interrupt, but we need to get you guys to class."

Mikan nodded her head excitedly, "I can't wait! What is the class like?"

Hotaru shrugged, "…It's nothing like the classes we use to have. People here are…different."

Mikan furrowed her brow in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"The people here have special talents, I don't know how you got in here but I guess here is better that that horrid person."

This time it was Mikan who shrugged, "I'm fine Hotaru. I can adapt."

"Just so you know, when you're in class you better behave and not get into any trouble. Some teachers aren't nice and some students are even worse." said Hotaru warningly, her emotionless façade back in place.

Mikan laughed before she adopted an offended look "Hey! I'm all about behavior. You can trust me."

Hotaru rolled her eyes in disbelief, "Yah, right when pigs fly." She muttered.

Mikan made an indignant sound.

Hotaru continued "If you want to talk to me, you will have to behave because I'm trying to get the best student award. It is a rather tedious task."

Mikan looked at her confused. "Huh? What student award? Do you get a prize?"

Hotaru nodded, "It's sort of like a bunch of rewards…Mainly people do it for a week visit to your family."

Mikan nodded with rapt attention before frowning. "Wait. Why can't you just go home whenever you want to? Don't you have vacations or something?"

Hotaru sighed before looking off into the distance. "Mikan, once you enter this school, you can't leave until you graduate. Many kids are taken from their families and usually never see them again."

Mikan's eyes widened in shock, "You knew about this and you still came?"

Hotaru nodded and looked away, "Frankly I was tired of moving around form place to place. Plus, you were basically the first person other than my parents who saw through my façade. I made a lot of good memories in the village so it's okay."

Mikan smiled and hugged Hotaru again. Hotaru was always so brave and mature, something Mikan always admired.

They arrived to the room in which Class B resided. As they steadily reached the door, Mikan could not help but get nervous. She was so excited, she could barely keep still and was soon whacked by an annoyed Hotaru.

"Ow! That hurt Hotaru!" pouted Mikan, as she rubbed her head in pain.

"Keep still" replied Hotaru bluntly.

Narumi chuckled at the antics before patting Mikan on the head, "Okay Mikan! I'll be leaving you with Imai and Tobita. I have to go now."

Mikan nodded and waved bye to Narumi before turning back to her two classmates.

Then the boy, who was with them, shyly walked up to Mikan and held out his hand, "Hello Sakura-san, my name is Tobita Yuu. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Mikan smiled and shook his hand "Nice to meet you Yuu-kun."

Yuu smiled. Mikan could not help but think that Yuu was a sweet kid right of the bat. As Yuu proceeded to explain the class rules and what not, Mikan could not help but wonder what all the kids were like.

"Well, welcome to class B" he said, before opening the door to reveal her soon to be classmates.

Her jaw dropped in shock.


Enjoyable? It was a bit short, but feel free to leave any comments or critiques~! until next time.