A / N . . .
~~~~ denotes flashbacking. Text that is in italics inside the [~~~~] is a flashback.
--- denotes a scene change. The focus of the story is shifting to another character(s) in a different location.
----
---- denotes time skipping. The scene may or may not change as well.
I have chosen to use "yes" instead of Suiseiseki's "desu,"
"maybe" instead of Kanaria's "kashira"
and "because" instead of Hinaichigo's "nano"
I have done this because I want the story to flow in English. For this reason as well, it's "Father," not "otou-sama," etc. etc.
These hands were callused with wear, yet their touch upon the bisque head was softer than silk, softer than the most wonderful feather. Their touch was loving, the love from their owner flowing through the hands and into the doll.
Beautiful, blue hair. The tresses of sky fell in cascades of waves, seeming too perfect to be artificial. The perfect girl. The perfect doll.
"Father..." A voice as soft as the wind, the voice of a newborn child. One pale hand reached up to the face, the arm not reaching far enough. "F....ff....father...."
Golden eyes shone brightly as she twirled, long dresses and sleeves flying through the air. A smile of pure, innocent bliss was painted on her face, directed at her beloved father. And he smiled back at her, filling her gaze with adoration and love.
She was intelligent, sentient, and capable of love. The most perfect little girl, yet she was not a real girl. But she was perfect, a perfect Alice. And that was what her father had sought in her creation.
"She hasn't been herself," Shinku said softly, sitting on the side of Jun's bed, with her legs daintily hanging off the edge. Her pale chin rested on two small hands, and she stared over at the young boy.
"And?" Jun replied absently, eyes darting across the screen to follow the mouse movements. "How can you expect her to "be herself," Shinku?" he added, just as absently.
"Jun," Shinku retorted, the edge of command hanging from her voice. "When I am talking to you, I expect you to look at me."
"Yeah, yeah," Jun muttered in response, not making any motion to comply with Shinku's command-request.
"Jun," Shinku repeated, the edge of command not so subtle.
"What?!" Jun demanded, still directing his eyes at the screen. "I'm talking to you, aren't I?"
"Jun!" Shinku exclaimed, the command no longer subtle but now blatant. "It is not proper for a servant to talk back in such a manner!"
"..." Jun stared discontentedly at the screen, before spinning around in his chair to face the irritated doll. The two stared at each other, blue eyes locking onto brown eyes, before Jun looked away and turned back to his computer.
"You can't blame her, you know," Jun muttered, resting his cheek on one fist. "After all that's happened, she still--"
The sound of footsteps tmp tmp'ing their way up the staircase caused Jun to quickly close his mouth and spin fully around in his chair, eyes wide. Blue eyes equally attentive but not nearly as wide, doll and human stared at the door handle as it slowly turned. The wood swung outwards as the small figure of Suiseiseki appeared in the doorway. Her small lips were in an irritated pout, and a light blush poked at her cheeks. The brown haired doll swept into the room, trails of green dress and black ruffles dragging behind her.
Shinku bit her lip and pulled out her gold pocket watch. "...Night is the time for sleeping, and it's almost past nine o'clock. Good night, Jun," and with that, she hopped off of the bed, blonde pigtails streaming. With a light thump, she landed on the floor and quickly walked over to her case. Shinku glanced at Suiseiseki, who smiled back winsomely, undoing the latch of her own case.
"Good night, Shinku, mini-human, yes," she said, the winsome smile remaining on her face as she climbed into her case and closed the lid. Shinku held the lid of her own case open a bit longer, blue eyes lingering on Jun, a sad expression on her face. Jun glanced at her regretful gaze and turned away, hiding his face.
"...Night is the time for sleeping, isn't it?" he repeated gruffly, staring in the opposite direction. Shinku sighed, and with a light click, her case was shut.
---
"Kaa~naaa~~!" declared an exuberant Micchan as she swung the green-haired doll around in a twirl of joy. "Oh, my darling Kana, you've reached a new pinnacle of cuteness! The top! The most...most..." At this point, Micchan had set Kanaria down to look at her, seeming ready to burst from the cuteness. "OHH, KAA~NAA~!!" she exclaimed, hugging Kanaria in a glomp of love.
"Hm?" Micchan released the green-haired doll from the hug, resting her hands on the small shoulders and looking at Kanaria. Kanaria's face was averted, and her mouth was open as if she had just sighed. "Is there something wrong, Kana?" The older woman tilted her head to the side in curiosity. Kanaria blinked and shook her head, snapping herself out of her melancholy. She looked up at her Master, shaking her head with wide eyes.
"No, no, nothing's wrong at all, Micchan, maybe!" she exclaimed quickly, perhaps a little too quickly. "I...just..." A small pout crept onto Kanaria's face, which was just enough for Micchan to explode with cuteness again.
"Ohhh, Kana, you're just so c~u~t~e when you pout!!"
-----
-----
"...What are you doing here?" Jun asked sleepily, looking down at the little green-haired doll, dressed in bright orange and yellow and carrying a parasol as always. He slouched against the doorframe, eyes bleary with sleep. In contrast, Kanaria looked fully alert, if not a little worried, trying to stand as tall as possible. "It's odd for you to be trying to enter honestly," Jun muttered, taking off his glasses to rub his eyes. God darn it, why was the sun so bright in the morning?
"K-Kanaria was just--!!" Kanaria exclaimed, her eyebrows knotting and her cheeks reddening. She seemed to be getting rather worked up, and was trying to stand up even taller to see around Jun.
"Jun?" called Shinku from the top of the staircase, small feet making small sounds as they descended the stairs. Suiseiseki pattered along behind her, and...
"H-Hinaichigo, maybe!!" exclaimed Kanaria, eyes wide and mouth round. She saw the blonde curls, the bright green eyes, and a wide smile directed at her. "Hi, Hinaichigo!"
"Huh?" Suiseiseki demanded slowly, tilting her head to the side. "What are you talking about, yes?" Her heterochromatic eyes widened and seemed ready to burst with tears. "Hinaichigo is gone, yes?! What are you doing, showing up here and reminding us?!" The green and red eyes had reached their breaking point, and without further ado, Suiseiseki had spun around and raced back up the stairs, leaving Shinku, Jun, and Kanaria gaping after her.
"I...I...I just..." Kanaria's face fell and she fidgeted, looking down at the pavement. "I...I saw Hinaichigo, maybe...?"
---
"S, Souseiseki!!" Suiseiseki sobbed, having barricaded herself inside of her case. Small fists rubbed at her eyes, trying to stop the tears from flowing. "S, Souseisekiiii!!"
----
----
When had she fallen asleep? The brown haired doll opened her case to an unfamiliar surrounding. And she was alone.
"Wh, what is this, yes?!" Suiseiseki demanded, holding up her case lid with one pale hand. "Is this the N-Field, yes?" She shrank back slightly, her arm quivering. "A....am I...alone...?" Heterochromatic eyes surveyed the area, what seemed to be a dimly lit ballroom from what she could see.
A flash of something, a wisp of a ghost?
"Wh, who's there, yes?!"
"Father, please, g---"
"F, Father?!" Who's there, I said, yes!!"
The wisp floated into Suiseiseki's field of view, with long, flowing hair and a beautiful dress. The form was hazy and colorless, and Suiseiseki had to squint in order to see the ghost.
"Father, please, g---"
Suiseiseki's eyes widened with horror, for reasons that she did not know, and she quickly dove into her cage, pulling the lid down to shut out the whispers.
"Father, please, g---"
"SHUT UP!!" screamed the doll, clutching her hands over her ears and tightly closing her eyes. She curled up in her case, bent over and terrified. Worst of all, she had no idea as to why she was this terrified.
----
----
"I didn't sleep at all, yes," muttered Suiseiseki as the morning light shone into her face. She slowly turned her head to look at Shinku's case, and one other. "...did that annoying Kanaria sleep over last night, yes?"
As if responding to the mention of her name, the case opened and a green head poked out. Kanaria's eyes were as tired and haunted-looking as Suiseiseki assumed her own eyes looked.
"You look like you didn't sleep at all, maybe," Kanaria said softly, staring at Suiseiseki.
"Same with you, yes," Suiseiseki responded irritably. Kanaria sighed and slid out of her case, leaning against the wall.
"You know, I had a weird dream, maybe," Kanaria whispered, looking at the ceiling with dead eyes. "It was like an N-Field, maybe, but..."
Suiseiseki's eyes widened, and she also climbed out of her case to listen to Kanaria.
"...it was like a ballroom, maybe. And...there was...a ghost, maybe? And she was saying--"
"..."Father, please, g---" and then she'd cut off, yes?" Suiseiseki interrupted, her gaze just as dead and directed at the ceiling. Kanaria seemed far too drained to even be surprised.
"Yeah, maybe," Kanaria said slowly, before her eyes welled up with tears. "I...I miss Hinaichigo," she murmured, hanging her head to cry.
Suiseiseki stared at Kanaria, her eyes wide with horror as she tried to not cry. Finally, the doll had no choice but to give in and hung her own head, pulling her knees to her chest and crying her sister's name softly. "Souseiseki, Souseiseki..."