ME: Hi everyone! Mad-chan here! This is my Hikari x Elliot FF that a lot of people suggested, and I am happy to say that I am excited!

Hikari: YAY!

Elliot: Hell yeah!

ME: Looks like everyone is excited! Well, I don't wanna say much, considering all I had to say I've already established on my other side-story-starter stories, so…

R&R

Just a heads up, it's entirely in Hikari's POV, unless I state otherwise, then I will let you know when it changes back


It was a rather lazy and slow shift at the Bakery for me, as I sit up at the front desk, spinning around and around in slow circles in my chair to relieve at least a little bit of my boredom. My navy and black earphones hang from my ears, hooked up to my phone in my pocket (Since all it can do now is play games and music considering cellphones don't exist in Wonderland) It's playing some old 1990's stuffy stuff on repeat: 100 years by Five for Fighting. I mouth the lyrics as I go around and around and around, not fast enough to make me dizzy, but enough to satisfy me for the moment.

I'm fifteen for a moment~

caught in between ten and twenty~

and I'm just dreaming~

counting the ways to where you are…

As the song continues, I take note of the Afternoon sun as it shines into the restaurant from the front windows, coloring the inside a pleasant auburn color as about a handful of people (About two or three, but they are getting done and are about to leave) sat around at the tables. It's seriously that slow today, so slow in fact, that my boss actually said that we could leave early if we wanted. (Mr. Bill, not Gowland. Gowland is my boss's boss, and I don't get the label/power thing.) Of course, who wouldn't like an offer like that? Who would refuse it?

Me, that's who!

I like the satisfactory feeling of earning every penny in my paycheck. (And whatever Overtime I can get because DAMN, Mr. Bill pays some good overtime!) And, I really love working here! All the workers are so nice, my boss is awesome, the customers are actually decent, and I get to associate with my favorite thing in the world…SWEETS! Other than those pesky harassers/drunkards what wonder in here that I have to firmly throw out the front door (sometimes in the literal sense) every now and again, I honestly have nothing to complain about …except for days like these, where I actually WANT to be scrambling around the kitchen like a dog chasing its own tail…

And so, here I am, being one of probably three (including my boss) workers actually working the full hours, spinning lazily in my chair and waiting for anyone to walk in. Mr. Bill has put me up front on the register to watch the door and serve whoever decides to show up on a day like this while he's in the kitchen doing his thing. I would love to take his place, but oh no, he won't have none of that. He hates working the register. Says that's what he hired us for…

never a wish, better than this~

when you only have one hundred years to live…

Around and around I go, music blaring out most of the noises. I'm thinking about changing the song, but I can't find the motivation to dig in my pocket and fish for my phone at the moment. I'm also thinking that the next Time change need to hurry the hell up, because that's when we actually close-

*DING~G~G*

The sound of the door bell ringing makes me jolt to a stop mid-spin and quickly twist around to see who had walked in on such a sluggish day, my absent thoughts washed away like soap suds on a dish. I can't help but smile as I lean on my elbows on the counter, cutting my tunes off for the moment as I rest my chin in my palms. It's one of my number one (in a list of five or so) customer who just happens to waltz in, long ears flopping a little as his boots click on the hard floor. He's also a personal favorite, as he just so happened to be the biggest contributor to my paycheck~

"Yo, Elliot!" I say with a wave and a smile. Ever since that time at the mansion where he helped me out when I lost my glasses in the fountain, we have actually gotten really close. I sort of thought he was mad at me for a while, (you know, since I basically lied to him. I'm still a little guilty about it.) but after a couple of tea parties, we've talked and such, and actually have gotten to be good friends. At first, I thought he was rather pushy, but now I know that he's really trustworthy and loyal when you get to know him, if not a little bit of a worrywart.

"Hi, Hikari!", he answers cheerfully as he walks up to the register with a grin and starts looking through the lower glass at all the dessert on display eagerly. Of course, I know what he's really after.

"Let me guess~", I sing-song with a giggle, spinning an earphone around in circles, "Something carroty, I presume?"

"Like you wouldn't believe!" He sighs and rubs his stomach, "I don't get why Blood hates carrot dishes so much. They're delicious! The smell, the taste…"

He goes on and on a little about his favorite vegetable…well, favorite flavor, describing it and such as his (very pretty, I think) violet/blue eyes look thought the glass cabinet. I can't help but snort at his devotion. It's honestly adorable, if you ask me, kinda like that one time I introduce Boris to the laser pointer I found at the bottom of my huge purse (He was mad at me after, but it was so mega kawaii at the time I just couldn't help myself) Kida thinks I think everything is cute, though, and I wonder if that's true…surely I don't think everything is cute. Hmm…

"Hey…Where's the carrot cake?" Elliot asks, as he bends over a little more to take a better look, "I don't see it."

"Huh? That's weird", I saw as I lean over the counter to look through the glass with him. Our foreheads bump a little as I scan it for the carrot treat with him, but I can't seem to find it either. That's weird…we usually have at least one. Elliot is a regular, after all, even if he's basically an enemy of this territory. But Mr. Bill has a thing where he 'don't give a damn where they come from as long as they pay the bill.'

Ha…that's my boss.

Speaking of which, I use my leg power and kick my roll-y chair back until I come to the window behind me that peeks into the kitchen. I call out to my boss, who I see is elbow deep in some dough, "Hey Boss! Where's the carrot cake?"

He doesn't bother to stop and turn toward me. "Cake's cooling in the window. It's not iced yet though."

"Kay!" I answer, and I go to tell my friend the news when I'm loudly interrupted

"Need some help moving that carts? They're not full like usual, but they can still be pretty heavy."

"Naw, I think I can handle it by myself today. It's just one cake." I say in return, then try again with informing my customer, "If you don't mind waiting a bit, I'll have it ready in a jiffy. Just…do whatever, I guess"

"Ah, Okay. Be careful."

"Sure, sure." I say, waving off his worrying comment. I jump out of my chair and straighten out my clothes a bit as I flip up the door on the counter and walk toward the window display-slash-cooling rack. Even on a lazy day like today, I still relatively try to look good, and the girls here help me out a lot. Least I can do is keep the wrinkles out of my clothes.

I walk up to the rolling racks (lined up in a 2x3 so that there are two in the window at all time) and look around for the one with the cake I'm looking for, and sure enough, there it is. On the inside of the middle-right rack in the middle row, and with it is a couple of pumpkin pies that are still smoking a little and a cookie sheet of cinnamon cookies, not much but I still need to maneuver some things to get to it, as the cake is behind the pies. All I have to do is move the rack a little to the right and I can just grab the cake. I make a lazy, absent note in the back of my mind to stay mindful of the still hot pies, and walk around the rack, unlocking the tires so I can roll it.

"Just gotta grab the handle", I whisper to myself as I grab said thing, giving it a pull. It moves, but only slightly, "Whoa, you're heavy." I say, only a little louder.

"You ok over there?" Elliot calls out as he pushes himself off on the counter he was leaning on, ears twitching as his violet eyes watch me, worry in them. He looks like he's about to come over here, but I stop him.

"I'm fine, just…stay where you are." I say with a slight huff as I dig my shoe covered feet into the ground and give the thing another pull. FUCK! Budge, damn you! Bill wasn't kidding, these things are heavy! Usually the guys (Jim, Tom, or Riley) are the ones moving the racks, but they left early already.

I let out another huff of breath. It needs to move a little more. I can fit my hand in their now, but the cake needs to come out

'Come on, you stupid thing, just a little more.'

With a squeak, it submits to me and moves just enough, and I let out a victory huff of breath. Ok, I can get it now, and not worry about bumping into the sides or anything. I reach in with one hand and poke at the cake, making sure it's nice a cool. It's a big one, all right. Elliot should be satisfied with this. Knowing him, he'll buy the whole thing, like usual.

Without thinking, I reach under and pick up the cake from the bottom, and proceed to pull it out

I only forgot one thing…

"SHIT!" I shout as I yank my hand, with the cake still in my grasp (somehow), out of there. The cake bumps into my chest, but none the less stays intact. Can't say the same for my hand though, as a long, pinkish-red burn line starts to show up the right side of my right hand, from the knuckle of my pinkie finger to the knot of bone at my wrist. The hot side of the pie pan sure did a number on it too, 'cause SHIT it hurts. I should probably put some cold water and aloe on it later-

"Hikari!" Elliot shouts, breaking my thoughts. He rushes toward me, ears up and on high alert "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm cool", I laugh a little (that was pun-y. HA), not wanting to worry him. I hide my hand a little with my sleeve, "I almost dropped your cake and it scared me a bit. That would have been really bad. I mean, I know how much you are looking forward to it and all."

'Ok, shut up, Hikari. You're pushing that lie a bit.'

"Oh…that's all it was?" he says, confused, then scratches the back of his head, "Damn it, don't scare me like that. I thought you got…I don't know, stabbed or something. You screamed so loud, my ears are still ringing a little."

"Ahaha, my bad, my bad." I laugh nervously. Close but no cigar. Shit, it's starting to throb, "Just an overreaction, nothing more. Now, let's get this cake iced."

I quickly side step him, trying to make it so that he can't see my burn, and speed walk back to behind the counter. I put the cake in the icing tray, they rush to the back to both get the icing from the fridge and run some cold water on my burn. I can't help the hiss that leaves my lips, along with my silent mouthing of the work 'fuck'.

I whistle behind me makes me jump and turn my head to see the not-face of my boss, Mr. Bill, as he (I guess) eyes my burn "Damn, that looks painful. What'd you do-"

"SHH! Shut up!" I say. Knowing Elliot, he can hear anything and everything, and I really don't want him to poke his nose in and start worrying about a mistake of mine. I did it so I will handle it, like I always do. I don't like it when people fret over me, like that first time Kida and I went to Blood's tea party and Elliot had to patch up a bullet wound. It's embarrassing, and anyway I'm used to dealing with my own problems without relying on anyone to begin with.

I take out my notepad and quickly write what happened, what's wrong, and why I'm writing in the first place. He raises and eyebrow at my antics, but nonetheless reads the note and nods before going back to doing…whatever he was doing before. Looks like decorating something.

After a bit, I get a pair of white plastic gloves and put them over both my hands, just to be safe. It's nice and red now, and I just need to last until I get home. Now…what was I after again? AH! Icing!

*DING~G~G*

The sound of the front door opening catches my ear as I am getting the icing from the fridge (by the way, cold fridge plus burn equals awesome) followed by the shouts of two more of my check's major donors.

"Kari-chan!" comes a boyish shout, "Where are you, Kari-chan?"

"Guess who it is!" come's its twin.

"Don't yell in the store, you little-STOP TRYING TO CLIMB ON THE COUNTER!" Elliot shouts.

I sigh, knowing automatically who it is. Who else could it be, honestly? I walk out to see the bright faces of Dee and Dum as they jump up and down at my presence, being barely held back by Elliot as they try to pounce me before I have the time to fully leave the kitchen.

"Kari-chan!"

"Hey you guys." I laugh as I put the icing on the counter and walk out of it, least they leap over it to get to me. Elliot lets them go, and I catch their jump-hug successfully. (Shit-fucking-OW!) They nuzzle into me like little kids do, and I pat their heads and embrace them in return before letting them go.

"You guys aren't slacking from work just to come see me again, are you?" I ask, hand on my hip. It wouldn't be the first time, and it probably won't be the last.

"We aren't slacking!"

"Not this time! We came to get you and the Chicken Rabbit."

"I'm not a rabbit, you little shits!" Elliot exclaims, knocking them both on the head with his fist, "And you're probably lying, too! Slackers!"

"Wah! Kari-chan!"

"He hit us!"

"Boys, boys! Stop this roughing in the store. And Elliot, you need to control that temper of yours." I scold. His ears droop, and at times like this I can agree with him that he's a dog, not a rabbit, because I know of no one who can pull of the kicked puppy look more successfully than he can. I want to pet him so effin bad, but that will make the reprimand invalid.

"Chicken Rabbit got told on!" the twins say, as they stick out their tongue at him at the same time.

"Don't think you're off the hook either." I tell them, pinching them both on the ear. They yelp, but don't move away. They know better, it seems, "It's not nice to call people names either. Now you three, apologize."

They all look at me like I'm the one with maniac-killing tendencies in this world, each exclaiming his own rejection

"Apologize?!"

"To him?!"

"Never!"

"Do you like your ears where they are?" I ask as I pinch harder on the twin's ears and look pointedly at Elliot's, giving them my emptiest, scariest sweet smile (one that can rival Ace, mind you. I can be really convening when I want to be). You can hear them gulping, eyes widening in fear. "Because if you don't apologize, NOW, I'm going to tear them off and shove them into the new assholes I'm going to rip into you. Now…where are those apologies?"

There's a silence.

No, that won't do at all~

"I can't hear you~" I sing-song wickedly.

"S-Sorry!"

"W-we're sorry, K-Kari-chan!"

"That's better", I say, letting them go. Dee and Dum skitter away a bit, rubbing their probably sore ears while Elliot covers his. I giggle and smile at my victory as I walk back behind the counter to get prepped to ice. Works just as well here as it does back home.

"Now, be good and go sit over there, you three, I need to get finished working." I warn as I absent reach into the tool draw with my right hand to get the icing knife.

I have to bite down the hiss when I bump my burn spot into something rather sharp.

Elliot's POV

Huh…that's strange. What's with that face she just made? Her nose scrunched up for a second…I wonder what's wrong.

But anyway, I decide to lean against the counter as I still try to calm my clock down from that scare she just gave me. Shit, she's scary when she wants to be! And there she goes, happily humming as she ices the cake I ordered, as if she didn't threaten our lives five minutes ago over an everyday, normal scuffle between me and the brats. I just don't get her sometimes…I mean what's the big deal, anyway? I smack the twins around all the time when they call me names. They don't really bother me (Except the rabbit stuff, that really pisses me off), and we usually get bored with it after a while and go our separate ways. I don't understand…but whatever I guess. It's over now.

"Hey, Brother?" whispers Dum as he sits at a table with his brother. (at least I think its Dum. Hell, I can't tell them apart half the time unless someone tells me or they decide to age into their older forms.) My ears twitch toward them, "Didn't Kari-can look kinda…hot when she got all mad and stuff?"

"Ahaha, are you into some S and M stuff, brother?" whispers Dee in return as he lightly punches Dum's shoulder, "But I have to agree with you there. I though my clock stopped for a second…it was awesome!"

"Totally awesome! Maybe we should make her mad again."

"Maybe we could…"

I tune them out and pay more attention to my cake, watching as she smoothly layered creamy white icing onto it. I lick my lips in anticipation as I watch as she skillfully twists the knife this way and that, putting little swirl patterns into it. She then starts to put little orange carrot and greens leafy vine designs along the side and the top. Ah, I've been looking forward to this all day! It hasn't been Night in a while, which means that Blood hasn't planned any midnight tea parties as of late, which means no carrot sweets for me. And I've been having one hell of a sweet tooth for a while now, but Blood say he doesn't want any orange food on his table. I seriously don't get Blood sometimes (I'll go with whatever he says, but he's still a bit of an enigma) How can anyone not like carrot cake…or carrot cookies…or carrot compote….Mmmm…

"So Dee, Dum" Hikari calls out, not looking up from her work as she twists her wrists this way and that, "You said something about coming to get me and Elliot, right? What for?"

"Ah, that's right!" Dee exclaimed, suddenly excited as he bounces in his seat "Boss wanted to invite you to a tea party he's planning on throwing."

Oh, so Blood isn't going to wait for Night after all? Makes sense. Wait! That means I can add this to the carrot stuff that's already going to be at the party! YES!

"He said he was going to have it soon, so we had to make sure to let you know so you'll come" Dum finished, then paused before continuing, "You…are coming, right?"

She laughs as she continues, almost done, "Don't I make it to all of the ones he throws? Of course I'll be there." She makes the final few touches on the cake, "And…FINISHED!"

She smiles as she looks at her finished cake, spinning it a bit to check on the details. Kida did mention once that she and Hikari were art students back in their world, and I can see why. It almost looks too perfect to eat.

My growling stomach says otherwise.

"Pretty!" one of the twins exclaims as they both push me out of the way to get a better look. She laughs at them, and spins it around so that we can get a full look at it.

"Carrot cake is gross, but I'd eat that!" responds the other

"Thanks, you two." Hikari says, then looks toward me, "I just hope that the customer is satisfied with it."

I smile, "Of course! It's my favorite, after all!"

She laughs at me and turns around to grab the packaging things from a shelf behind her. As she goes to pull one of the fold up boxes, her face scrunches up again when she bumps her right hand against shelf a bit, and she lets out a strained huff of breath. Her pulse jumps too, then settles back to its usual pace.

…What was that?

"Hikari?" I ask, ears tilting up a little, "Is something wrong?"

"What are you talking about?" She answers, not meeting my eyes as she packages my cake and hands it to me with a warm smile. I can't help but take notice that she's almost babying her right hand. I pay for it, but keep an eye on her.

Something it up. I can smell it.

Hikari's POV

Shit, Shit, SHIT! Fuck that hurt so badly! Why? Why is it hurting so much, it's just a little burn! I'm used to being burned from working in the kitchen, so WHY the HELL is it HURTING?! All I did was bump it!

"Are you sure you're ok?" Elliot asks, his face a little more serious than before. Oh crap, don't be catching on to this shit! It's just a fucking burn for crying out loud!

"I'm fine. Nothing for you to worry about." I say smoothly, keeping my smile on my face. I tug on my sleeve to cover my hand, "Excuse me, I have to…go to the bathroom! I'll see you guys at the tea party!"

"Huh? Oh Ok, Kari-chan! See you later!"

"Hey, Brother! Let's go find Boris and have some fun!"

"No you don't! Back to work you twits!"

I ignore them to the upmost of my ability, and bolt to the back, headed for the girl's dressing room (yeah, I said bathroom. I LIED). Ok, so…so much for being inconspicuous, but I REALLY need to find out what the ever loving fuck is up with my hand.

I practically bust through the door, startling my fellow coworker (the only other one besides Mr. Bill and I), Avery, who is washing her hands at the sink. I skit to a stop, just a little bit spooked myself. I didn't expect her to be in here. I hadn't seen her in the serving area, so I thought she was somewhere in the kitchen and I hadn't noticed.

"Goodness!" she exclaims, "You scared me half to death! What's wrong?"

"NOT. NOW." I answer, not really trying to be rude but seriously, this thing is hurting like a MOFO. I rip off the plastic gloves on my hands and shove it on the sink, cooling it off with some icy water before putting it against the light to get a better look. It looks about the same as before. I squint my eyes to look closer, but I can't really see anything. I wonder if it's my glasses when I hear a sound to my left

"That's one bad burn." Avery say as she looks at it too, "You should get it treated right away."

"It's not that bad." I scoff, then hiss a bit as it throbs, "A-all I did was skid it against a hot metal pie pan while getting the cake behind it. All it needs is some aloe and it will get better in no time."

"I don't know." she hums, a pondering look on her face as she looks at it closely, "Looks like a little more than that."

She might be right, and I might have flour on my glasses, who knows? But I do know I've never had a simple burn that hurts this bad. Feels more like I'm being cookied from the inside. WHAT THE FUCK WORLD?!

"Well, good thing for you that it's closing time." Avery says, and then gasps, "And will you look at that! It's Nighttime! Lucky!"

I blink in surprise. Closing time? Really? Has time gone by that fast? I look over at the little window and sure enough the sky is a black blanket covering all. I walk over to look outside, putting my burning hand against the cool glass for some relief, and watch as the lanterns start flickering to life and revealing the cobblestone walkways.

"Good thing the Boss doesn't open at Night, huh?" Avery says as she gets her things ready to go, "My next shift is the Noon one. Which one do you have?"

I turn toward her, "Oh, I have the Afternoon shift again, this time with Tom and Tammy. Whenever that will be"

"I know right?"

We laugh at that, as we both know that the Time Changes in this world tends to be a tad bit contrary, never in any particular order, some too long while others too short, and some skipping like a bad record. Even after being here a while, I'm still getting used to it.

"I'll see you later then, ok Hikari?" my workmate says as she waves and opens the door to leave, "Get that checked out."

I nod and wave back absently before walking over to my locker and proceed to change out of my work uniform, being careful of my hand. Today I decided to wear something lazy, not really caring what I looked like when I woke up in the middle of the Day thanks to the sun blaring through my window like a flashlight. (I was so angry at the sun for like three seconds) a skin colored tank top under a slightly oversized button up green long sleeve shirt (it's a guy's shirt, but I really liked the color and it was in a sales basket.), a simple pair of blue jeans and my usual shoes. I brush out the braid, transfer shit from the pocket of one pair of pants to the other, and wrap my trademark scarf around my neck.

I look down at my sleeves, which are split a little down the side with a couple of buttons on it, and decide to get some ice from the mini-fridge and a wrap from the first aid box and make a little cooling thing for my burn. I then pin up all buttons on my sleeves all the way tight, too keep pressure on it. Whatever's wrong with my hand, I probably don't want it to get infected along with all this other stuff. You know, just to be on the safe side. I'll have to wait until I get back to my house to properly medicate it up, because I don't see fresh aloe in the First Aid box. (I have one growing in my yard. Lucky my grandma taught me stuff like this)

After checking myself over in the mirror, I walk out and into the serving area where I see Mr. Bill, sweeping.

He looks up, "You gone, girl?"

"Yeah, I'm going."

"Get that burn checked out." he says, still sweeping, "Avery said it looked funny to her."

"Avery's a worrywart, and so are you", I say with a laugh, and all I get is an irritated grunt in return, "I'll bandage it when I get home, don't worry"

"You better", He grumbles, "Don't want an injured worker messing up my work."

I grin, "I'm the perfect worker. Would I do that to you, Bill?"

He snorts a laugh at this, and then proceeds to swat playfully at me with his broom "Get the hell out and get that burn looked at, before I break this broom 'perfectly' over your ass."

"Ok! Ok, I'm gone!"

I laugh at out playful banter as I head toward the front door. Mr. Bill might be a crusty, stubborn old guy, but he kinda reminds me of my Grandpa in a way, and it makes me happy that he cares enough about me bitch about my well-being. Sure, he's a Faceless, and I don't really get the difference between Faceless and Role Holders, but to me he's just a nice old man who talks some good smack.

The door dings as I walk through it, and I turn to go down the road that leads toward my house.

'I probably should hurry though, so I can get this hand fixed and bandaged, and then I can get ready for Blood's tea party. It wouldn't do to be late…'

I hear the sound of a twig snapping or someone stepping on a piece of glass, and I stop to take a look around. The park is relatively empty, with not a soul in sight. The wind picks up, blowing snack wrappers and plastic cups across the concrete, giving the park and almost eerie feeling to it.

'I have the strangest feeling…that there's someone looking at me…maybe I'm just paranoid.'

I slide my sore hand into my pocket and gingerly wrap my fist around my pocket knife.

'But just in case.'

I pick up my step.


Holy Shit, who could that be after Hikari? Do you know? DO I KNOW?!

OF COURSE I KNOW! But you, my lovely readers, have to pay the price of 5 REVIEWS to know the continuation of this. And just so you know, I already have the next chapter typed and ready to upload, but I'm not until I see some lovely reviews

BTW, what happened to Hikari actually happened to me while getting ready for Christmas. I burned my arm while taking something out of the oven and cut it in the same spot (still have no idea how the cut happened). Hurt like a MOFO for days. You have no idea how bad. The burn healed faster than the cut though (weird)

I BID YOU ADU! UNTIL NEXT TIME!