Disc: I don't own G.A. or League of Legends.

Even if the mind forgets, the heart still remembers.

Recap:

"I can't go out with you, sempai, because I like someone else." That statement was from Hotaru Imai who was facing Hayate Matsudaira, a second-year high school student.

Mikan and Natsume's footsteps made the two of them turn at the same time and their eyes met with one another. And as if the situation wasn't awkward enough, Ruka Nogi was frozen at the corner where the intersection of hallways met.

First Encounter: The Broken Girl

Should I just walk away? Should I pretend not to hear anything? Those questions encircled Mikan's mind and to be in that situation was so rare that she didn't know what to do. Natsume remained indifferent, but the way he gulped contradicted his expression. Ruka was so stiff in the corner with his eyes floating from one side to the other and Mikan was afraid that he would become cross-eyed.

"Pretend you didn't hear anything and move along," Hotaru's voice broke the heavy tension in the air and Mikan could finally breathe again. She tugged onto Natsume's sleeve and she scuffled away from the confessing upperclassman and from the "motherly" Hotaru.

"I-I'll go with you guys," Ruka stuttered silently to Mikan and Natsume. The three of them hurried to get out of there and they stopped when they got to the first year floor to catch their breath; Ruka leaned against the wall, Natsume gazed at the window with a blank face, and Mikan bent over and placed her hands on her knees.

"Am I the only one who's feeling guilty?" Mikan asked begrudgingly. Her glasses were about the fall from the bridge of her nose but Natsume gently pushed them up. It was a good thing that her face already looked flushed because that gesture along was enough to bring her heartbeat into a chaos.

"Well, we were not really supposed to witness that," Natsume agreed with apprehension.

"That was too sudden," Ruka said. Mikan forgot that one of the most popular guys in her school got somewhat involved in the whole confession situation. "Narumi-sensei told me to get the homework sheets from the faculty room, but I wasn't expecting to see that," he explained to them.

Natsume and Mikan looked at each other and turned to Ruka.

"How are we going to face Imai-san tomorrow?" Mikan raised the question that they were dreading.

"Pretend nothing happened," Natsume suggested.

"Oh, you don't have to." That statement came from Hotaru herself. The trio jumped in shock and Ruka bumped his head on the wall in the process.

"Ho-How long have you been standing there?" Ruka asked and his voice trembled. He massaged the spot where he hurt himself.

"Just now," Hotaru blandly told them. Her expression told them nothing, however her smile slowly appeared and Mikan let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm sorry. We didn't mean to intrude on you and Hayate-sempai," Mikan apologized politely. She bowed her head slightly and what pissed her off was that Natsume and Ruka weren't backing her up or giving her some sort of help.

"Don't worry about it," Hotaru told them with that serene voice of hers. She then turned her heels away from them and bid them goodbye.

Mikan's shoulders slumped when she realized that she was heading the same way that Hotaru just took. She mentally cringed and considered of taking the long way to go home.

"I'll see you tomorrow, guys. It's a good thing that Imai-san is a considerate person," Ruka said. He then went to the opposite way where Mikan was going to.

"See ya, Sakura," Natsume waved her goodbye. Mikan felt like there was a connection that formed between her and that unsociable guy and she thought of how nice it would've been if they actually became friends.

"See you tomorrow," she said before going to the direction where she was supposed to take. She didn't really have a choice but to take that road and if she would ever meet Hotaru, then she just had to act natural like she'd been before.

How long has it been since the last time I talked to another student here? Mikan thought as she left the school grounds. As expected, Hotaru Imai was walking several yards away from her and Mikan felt uncomfortable, so she left herself the constant distance from the lass.

Suddenly, the latter stopped in her tracks and Mikan was startled that Hotaru was facing her way. She wondered if Hotaru knew that she was avoiding a head-on encounter with her; that would make the situation more awkward.

"I rejected him," Hotaru suddenly spoke that Mikan's eyes widened and her pace slowed down. She didn't say anything, but she noticed how the usual benevolent aura around Hotaru suddenly diminished like light inside a closed room.

"All of you are idiots who are wasting time making friends and confessing your stupid love, and that sempai is just one of them," Hotaru said that with the most uncaring tone that Mikan had ever heard in real life. She examined the person in front of her; it was the same Hotaru Imai who had this sophisticated short hair and appropriate figure as the role model of the school. But Mikan realized that the "motherly" Hotaru was no more at that moment and she transformed into this another person who alienated everything around her.

"So this is your true personality," Mikan responded apathetically. She was surprised about this confrontation, but she didn't want to look like an idiot in front of this person.

"Yeah, so what? Those fools believe that I'm like their "older sister" or their "mother" and they can't even manage by themselves. They can't get a clue that they're making themselves look more stupid than they really are," Hotaru added with a hidden distaste.

"Then why did you lie to Matsudaira-sempai about you liking someone else?" And why are you telling me these? Mikan added in her thoughts, grinding her teeth in order to stop herself from saying anything else.

Hotaru looked at the ground, her long eyelashes fluttered lightly on her cheeks. Mikan wondered how could such a beautiful person carry such anger in her heart.

"It's true," the lass said. Mikan refused to believed that she heard that answer right. It was not the response that she was expecting from the supposedly-coldhearted Hotaru and her ambiguous attitude was starting to confuse Mikan. She sighed and began walking again and when she was a step ahead of Hotaru, she heard her say something that shocked her more.

"I like Ruka Nogi, but those feelings are just a hindrance."

Mikan's blood rushed upwards and before she knew it, she was already swiveled around and she started yelling.

"Why are you telling me these? And hindrance? Feelings are yours alone so don't let anyone manipulate that possession!" Mikan's chest heaved up and down and she composed herself after she realized what she had done.

She turned back around and was about to stomp away and she heard some chuckles. It was Hotaru laughing at her and it was probably the first time that Mikan had ever heard her laugh.

"So this is your true personality," Hotaru said, mimicking what Mikan had just said earlier, with amusement dancing in her eyes. If it was possible, a nerve would have popped out because of irritation on Mikan's and she really did stomp away from the school gates. But before she would have gone farther away from Hotaru, the latter shouted something to her.

"Be my friend, Mikan Sakura!" That statement made Mikan halt in her tracks and her eyebrows met together in suspicion. She'd never had a decent friend since middle school because of her taciturn behavior in all of her classes. Her personality was often being taken advantage and they would dump all their work on her or gossip around her like she was dumb. She didn't like that. She didn't like the fact that it was because of her inability to express herself more or the fact that she couldn't make friends because she was too afraid that they would cast her aside later on, like what her parents did to her. But now, there was this strange girl who wanted to befriend her. Both of them kept secrets and they revealed them to each other in a matter of an argument.

Mikan raised her arm up and waved it to say goodbye. And Mikan didn't know that this gesture made her newly-founded friend smile genuinely. Only if she would turn around.

The next day was probably the strangest day that had ever happened. When Mikan arrived to her classroom, Hotaru was already sitting in front of the classroom with girls surrounding her with questions about their lives, Ruka was chatting and laughing with the other guys who were talking about karaoke, and Natsume was sitting at the back of the class with his earphones on. It was just the usual day for all of them and Mikan wondered if yesterday had actually happened at all. Not until Narumi-sensei, their homeroom teacher, strolled into the classroom with a sheet of paper in his hand.

"Today, I'll be announcing who are going to be on cleaning duties for this month. Wait, on a second thought, I'll just post this on the board for you to see," Narumi said slyly. He then added, "But the ones on cleaning duty today are going to be Hotaru Imai (she smiled politely at him), Ruka Nogi (he gave a little salute to him), Natsume Hyuuga (he kept listening to his IPod), and Mikan Sakura."

Mikan went pale and she also saw the same reaction from Ruka Nogi behind his desperate attempt to cover it. She also glanced at Natsume and she saw him opening his eyes with a dreaded expression.

"We can now begin our lesson!" Narumi-sensei exclaimed gleefully, completely unaffected from the black atmosphere around those four said students.

"Hello," Mikan greeted the Ruka, Natsume, and Hotaru in the classroom after school. They were getting ready to clean and Mikan felt like they were cleaning for hours when fifteen minutes had just passed.

"Don't be stiff," Natsume said as he stood next to her with a broom in his hand.

"This is so awkward," Mikan told him and Natsume looked at her like she just said something stupid because 'awkward' would be an understatement. If only he knew that she was carrying a certain person's secret who happened to be in the same room as her.

"Mikan, can you help me bring our the trash," Hotaru suddenly asked with that convincing voice of hers. Mikan couldn't say no and she just nodded, ignoring the weird look that Natsume cast on her.

Both of them left the classroom and both of them were carrying a trash bin. The squeaks of their shoes were heard in that quiet hallway and Mikan couldn't find the words to start a conversation to the person that she yelled at yesterday.

"Don't be so overly-conscious. Just a while ago you were invisible girl so just continue to be like that," Hotaru told her in that cold demeanor of hers. Mikan bit her lower lip and stared ahead.

"Why did you tell me about who you really are? And about... 'that'?" Mikan asked, not knowing how to address the other issue with Hotaru.

"You just happened to be in the wrong place at a wrong time," Hotaru responded indifferently. She then added on, "And I don't intend to do anything about that other issue...yet."

Mikan was confused. She didn't know what to say because she'd never talked about love or about friends with the other people before. She didn't know whether to encourage Hotaru and pursue her feelings for Ruka or just let her decide on her own.

"You don't really have to do anything. You just need to be quiet about it," Hotaru told her. Mikan wondered if she was an open book; Hotaru seemed to know what was on her mind and that thought bugged her.

"Why do you think it's useless?" Mikan asked. She didn't know where did that question came from, perhaps her heart understood what was supposed to be said.

Hotaru was quiet for a few seconds before she replied, "I have an older brother and he's a doctor right now. Nii-san is outstanding and I really admire him even if I've only seen him twice a year. My parents are proud of him and they boast about him every now and then."

Mikan got the gist of what the situation was and she looked at the trash can as Hotaru continued her story. "They want me to become like him. "Don't fail us", "They have such high expectations from you" and "Don't neglect your studies and focus only on one thing" are the "encouragements" I hear from them everyday. But really, they're more like a burden."

The trash can in the brunette's hands became the subject of her eyes and she wondered how many crumpled feelings have been thrown into this while Hotaru resumed the way of living that was forced on her.

"I was taught that making friends are only beneficial because in the future you can use them. I was taught that such thing like 'love' or 'like' are useless because they're going to be the thorns on the pathway that I'm taking. I only need to be that perfect student and everything will be okay," Hotaru said. Mikan noticed the change in Hotaru's tone, or maybe it was not conspicuous until now, because underneath that impassive tone was a hidden desperation.

Mikan wasn't able to comment on anything as she began to process about the life that Hotaru has been living. They dumped cleaned out the trash bins outside and Hotaru began walking back to school, but Mikan stopped her.

"Why aren't you fighting back? Is that really what you want to do?" Mikan asked; she was already vexed. "I don't really know about high expectations from the others, but I know what it's like when others are forcing you to live the way they want you to live. But I'm not the type of person to go with the flow, so I'd rather stay in my own corner rather than fake everything and lie to myself."

Hotaru let out a small smile, which Mikan thought was a smirk at first, and she said to her, "I know... I wouldn't befriend you if I didn't know that. And I am fighting back; I was the one who suggested to Narumi-sensei to put us in a group today."

Mikan's eyes widened and she was frozen for a second. "So you were acting earlier like you were so distressed about this?!" Mikan said accusingly.

"Isn't this a good opportunity to see how you, ignorant and foolish human beings, can actually socialize with each other?" Hotaru remarked.

Mikan dragged herself into the school and muttered, "And I thought you wished to make Nogi-san into liking you."

"And that too," the lass added on and Mikan almost had a whiplash when she turned to face Hotaru. She definitely wouldn't be able to get used to this bold Hotaru.

"I'll go back now," Hotaru waved her goodbye and Mikan thought of how inconsiderate of her to leave her alone there. She was about to follow Hotaru back to the classroom when a voice startled her so bad that she almost dropped the empty trash can in her hand.

"So Imai likes Ruka?" Natsume chimed in. He had that smug look on her face and a blush crept into Mikan's face.

"Why are you eavesdropping? Are you a girl?" Mikan countered. She was really going to freak out because Natsume just found out one of Hotaru's secrets, then something clicked in her mind. The thought of how Hotaru left her was probably because she knew that Natsume was hiding in the corner and she wanted to leave Mikan alone with him. That thought hit a nerve on Mikan and she began brainstorming about how to get back to the cunning woman.

"You're friends with her now," Natsume commented. Mikan's train of thoughts was disrupted and she stopped to think about it. She would have never thought that she would be friends with Hotaru Imai, or even talk to Natsume right at that moment. That bubble that she was taking refuge in had been popped by these people.

"I guess so," she mumbled bashfully as she looked at the ground. Natsume smiled at that, unbeknownst to her.

"Good for you. Somehow, Ruka and I became friends," he told her. Mikan looked up and giggled.

"How did the antisocial boy and the class clown became friends within a day?" Mikan asked jokingly.

Natsume grinned and replied, "Because of League of Legends."

Mikan shook her head playfully and said, "Figures."

"I'm actually surprised that you know that," the lad teased her.

She laughed and began to walk back to the classroom, "It's because I'm a gamer, too."

Natsume gave out a dragged "What?" to emphasize how surprised he was. Mikan thought that he was stereotypical if he actually thought that only guys could play video games. Mikan was about to enter the classroom when she collided with Ruka and Mikan would've been thrown backwards if Natsume wasn't there to support her.

"I'm sorry!" Ruka immediately apologized and Mikan waved it off and told him that it was okay.

"Oh, do you guys wanna hang out after this?" Ruka suddenly asked. Mikan and Natsume looked at each other and Hotaru was suddenly next to Ruka. Mikan couldn't help but have the urge to tease the impassive woman in front of her.

"That's a good idea," Hotaru agreed with that nice aura around her.

"I can't...," Mikan's voice trailed off when she saw that hawk-like eyes of Hotaru with that menacing aura enveloping her and threatening Mikan with its sharp point. "I-I guess I can," Mikan suddenly changed her course.

"If she's going, then I'm going too," Natsume told them. Mikan turned her head swiftly to him and she had never been grateful in her life until now, because she really didn't want to deal with Hotaru-Ruka situation alone. And the thought of how Natsume was concerned about her was enough to give her a heartwarming feeling.

Mikan's twitched when she saw Hotaru made some gagging actions in the sidelines. She hated the thought of how Hotaru was able to actually read her like an open book. She better be careful around her.

"Then, it's settled then. We'll invite Kitsu, Anna, and the others," Ruka told them. Now, that was unexpected. Mikan was only anticipating a small group for a hang out day, but she totally forgot that Ruka was so popular that he could easily invite ten more people to hang out.

Mikan looked up, hoping for Natsume to object, but he didn't say anything and now Mikan was torn whether to escape from there or just deal with it. Hotaru and Ruka went back to cleaning the book shelves and Natsume patted Mikan's shoulder.

"A chance for you to make more friends," Natsume said. Mikan didn't know whether to be appreciative of that or not. He didn't know her situation and it would be heartbreaking to see him disappointed if he knew that his suggestion was troubling her.

She smiled at him and said, "You're probably right." Natsume then messed her hair and went back to erasing the chalkboard.

Mikan looked at the three people with her inside the classroom. A social interaction with these different people was something alien to her and she didn't know how to respond to this. She was suddenly brought into this other dimension of the world after being pulled out of her secluded world. If she didn't see Natsume at the rooftop, her life shouldn't have turned 180 degrees.

However, the bubbling feeling of happiness when she's together with Natsume won't disappear.

A/N: Woah.. I haven't typed a long chapter after "The Broken Pieces Left" :O This is like...so weird but I'm happy that I'm able to do this after taking the PSAT hahaha and this chapter is probably long and boring because of the details and stuff but I promise that it will get better because I know some of us don't enjoy this kind of stuff, this story is going to be kind of long. I'm just maintaining the way I write and I hope that you'll support and continue reading this story because this is only the beginning and there's more to come :D Thank you so much for those who have reviewed and I love you all!

Yours truly,

CrimsonHazelEyes