Disclaimer; Alas, my most supported pairing is not mine! It belongs to another! Sigh...
Rant; Ah, it's been so long (at least to me) since I've uploaded a story! I was overcome with a wave of fan-gasm one time while reading Heart no Kuni no Alice, and had an epic idea, so, here I am again, offering my heart up to you, the readers, in the form of an amateur's writing. Thank you all for supporting me!
Ah... I really want to draw a banner for this story...
Watanuki in Wonderland
By; Nakashima Miharu-sensei
Chapter 1; Point Blank
And to think, it had all begun with that rabbit.
7 years ago…
"Yuki-chan! Wait up!" A ten-year-old Himawari ran through the yard, searching for her bunny, Yuki-chan. "Ah!" The little girl cried, spotting the white furball in the middle of a pool of sunlight, "There you are, you naughty little thing!" But suddenly, as she picked up the bunny, a chasm opened up underneath her.
"Uwah! Himawari-chan!" A little boy with messed up hair and glasses ran towards her.
"Watanuki-kun! Help! The girl shrieked, holding her bunny close to her chest as she fell into the pit. The boy jumped after her.
"I'm coming, Himawari-chan!" But as soon as he was within the grasps of the dark hole, it closed in on him, leaving nothing behind.
"Himawari-chan!" Watanuki shouted in the darkness, his puny pre-puberty lungs trying to project his voice into the black surrounding him. "Himawari-chan, where are you?" He could feel himself plummeting through the air. "Himawari-chan!" In his heart was a swelling fear that she had fallen to her death, and this thought pushed tears to his eyes. "Himawari-chan!"
"Watanuki-kun! Watanuki-kun!" A faint voice called out, far below him. "Help! Why can't I see you?" The little voice sobbed.
"Hold on, Himawari-chan, I'm coming!" The boy tried his best, not understanding the laws of gravity, to fall quicker, so that he could reach his friend. A small pinprick of light appeared below him and quickly grew bigger, silhouetting Himawari, who was many, many feet below him. And then, they were falling through the sky, whipping through wisps of pale white cloud. Watanuki struggled against the wind as he hurtled towards the ground. And suddenly, he hit the earth that had seemed so far away a few moments ago. The harsh impact knocked the wind out of his thin frame as he sprawled over the grass. As he fought to catch his breath, Watanuki never noticed the shadows that crept over his foot.
"H-Himawari-chan…" Watanuki raised his head. When he saw the girl curled up a few feet away, he started up. "Himawari-chan!" The girl raised her head.
"Watanuki-ku-" Her voice cut off as both children we dragged backwards by the shadows of the trees. The little girl shrieked. "Watanuki-kun, help me! Help!" Her shrill voice rang through the foliage, and a few small birds scattered. The boy struggled against the black substance, but every handhold he found fell away and crumbled as he was pulled farther and farther away from the flailing Himawari. As the darkness surrounded him, he gave a final lunge.
"Himawari-chan!"
"Are you awake?" A voice called him out of the emptiness, echoing around the deep recesses of Watanuki's mind.
"Ah…?" The little boy's eyes flew open. The world was distorted, a massive blur of red and black. "W-What happened?" Watanuki's franticness was cut short by the realization that his glasses were broken. He shook his head.
"So you are." The voice sounded amused. "And just as restless as I thought you would be."
"What? Who are you?" The boy groped around, not being able to see anything. A pair of hands reached out and removed his glasses.
"There. Would this be better?" A few moments later, the glasses were replaced in his hand. Watanuki put the glasses on.
"Hey, I can see!" He looked around. Apparently, the pair of hands had belonged to a woman with long black hair that reached down to her knees and ruby red eyes. She was wearing a gown, Victorian era, by the looks of it. The gown was red, trimmed with masses of black lace in heart designs. The woman wore a small heart-shaped ornament on her head. "Thanks, lady!" He stared at her for a few seconds. "What's with your dress, lady?"
The woman smiled. "My name is Yuko, child. And there is nothing wrong with my dress. It's Victorian."
"Uh, Yuko-san, that's nice and all, but I have to go." The little boy suddenly jumped up, interest lost.
"Why?" Yuko smiled down at him. "What's the hurry?"
"I gotta find my friend. Her name is Himawari-chan. She got lost down here." Watanuki thought for a while. "Hey, Yuko-san? Could you tell me where I am?"
The kid switches topics quicker than I switch outfits. Yuko thought wryly as she watched him look around the room. "You, my dear child, are in Wonderland. I am the Queen of Hearts, Ichihara Yuko." The boy snapped to attention, gaping up at her in wonder.
"Wow! So Yuko-san's an actual queen? Himawari-chan would love that! Is this the Castle of Hearts? Is that why this room is all fancy?" Watanuki's mouth sped off. Then, he paused. "Oh… am I talking too much?" His shoulders drooped. "I do that sometimes. Sorry." Yuko was even more amused than before.
"Oh no, it's fine…" Yuko patted his cheek. "But," She leaned towards him, "All that talking, and I still don't know your name."
"Oh… my name is Watanuki Kimihiro. I'm seven years old." The little boy looked down. "And… I really should go now…" Yuko sighed dramatically.
"Ah… and I was about to go have some snacks… Looks like I'll have to eat them alone, then. Goodbye, Kimihiro-chan…" She turned, walking slowly back to the other end of the room, where there was a large, heavy looking door.
"Snacks?" Yuko heard Watanuki ask from behind her. She smirked. "Wait up!" He ran across the room.
"Watanuki-kun?" Himawari sat up. "Yuki-chan?" The troublemaker bunny hopped up into her lap. "Yuki-chan! I've been looking for you!" The little girl looked around, tiny pigtails swinging. "Ah? Where am I? Watanuki-kun?" She stood, clasping her bunny to her chest. She started off, into the dark forest around her. "Watanuki-kun?"
The noise in the forest was deafening. Himawari had always thought of forests as peaceful, quiet places to play. But here, she was alone, and the noises of the forest pressed in on her, making her want to scream. Himawari broke into a run, the branches and vines whipping and scratching at her face, arms, and legs. Suddenly, the noises and scratching ceased, and Himawari looked up. A tall house loomed over her, dark and forbidding. Himawari burst into tears. Two people, the taller one, a man, wearing a freakishly mutilated top hat, and the shorter one, a woman with curly black hair and long white rabbit ears, looked down at her.
"What's wrong, darling?" The man in the hat took her hand, smiling benevolently at her.
"I-I-I'm s-scared!" The little girl bawled, cheeks wet and shiny with tears. "I want my mommy! I can't find Watanuki-kun!" She paused for air. "I wanna go home!" Wailing, she held Yuki-chan in one hand and the man's hand in the other.
"It's okay, little girl. I'm the Hatter, Fei-Wong Reed, and this is my associate, the March Hare." The man waved his free hand at the rabbit-eared man. "Won't you come in for a while?"
"No, no. Mommy says to not go with strangers." Himawari hiccupped, wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her dress.
"What is your name, child?" Fei-Wong asked her, adjusting his monocle. "We can help you get back home to your mommy. She's our friend, you see."
"M-My name is Kunogi Himawari, Reed-san." Her eyes grew round. "That's a cool hat, Reed-san!"
"Yes, yes, thank you, Himawari-chan. Now, shall we go in?" He and the woman led Himawari into the house.
The door slammed behind them.
Endnotes; Don't worry, my beloved WatanYuko fans, this will be a WatanYuko fanfiction, because of course, I cannot live without writing them. Ah, the joys of writing again! Squeal~ My not-so-inner fetish for romantic manga springs upon me anew, though, I must say, I expected it... It does this every day.
I do find it sad, recently, knowing that many of my fanfiction ideas are tossed and forgotten, like memories of a breeze that blew a month ago... but I am determined to hold on to some of them! Haha! I think I'm talking like... nevermind... since when have I said 'Alas'? (See disclaimer if confused) Grr.
Until next time, my dear readers,
Drink wine! (Or any type of alcohol, actually.)
Shout at the moon in angst! (I don't know. I had to put something here... but this does sound fairly fun)
Pretend the voices in your head aren't there (telling you to rip things apart and to taste the yummy blood and crunch the bones and... oh. Heh.)!
-Nakashima Miharu-sensei :)
