Disclaimer: I do not own KHR or Jumanji. Everything else is mine. OOC warning.
Chapter One
"Lisa, honey, your father's home!" Mom called to me upstairs.
I was sitting at my desk in my bedroom, watching some videos on Youtube when I heard Mom's yell.
Dad's home? Yatta! I thought, hopping to my feet and sprinting out the door.
Dad had been gone on a month-long business trip in France, so I was excited and happy to hear he's returned.
"Dad!" I greeted happily, practically tackling the older man in a bear hug.
"Hey, darling, how are you?" Dad asked.
"Bored. So, did you get me anything?"
"Lisa," Mom lightly scolded.
"No, no, dear, it's all right," Dad said, chuckling. "Actually, I did get you something." Dad entered the living room while Mom and I brought the rest of his bags inside. "Here, I'll take that," Dad said, receiving the carry-on I was holding. He unzipped the bag, revealing a wooden board game titled Jumanji.
"Ooh, that looks interesting," Mom remarked. "It's a board game?"
"Yeah, I found it in an antiques shop and immediately thought of you, Lisa," Dad said, smiling.
"Me? Why?" I asked, studying the board's worn wooden jungle images.
"Remember when you were five, I had taken you to that safari park in America? You were so amazed and excited; you never wanted to leave," Dad recalled, chuckling.
"You even threw a temper tantrum that lasted for hours when it was time to leave," Mom said, placing a hand to her mouth as she giggled at the memory. "You finally settled down once we bought you those stuffed animals."
I smiled as I recalled the old memory, only remembering parts of it. I still had the stuffed toys sitting on my windowsill.
"Aw, Dad, that's sweet of you! Thanks," I said, hugging him.
"I'll get started on dinner," Mom announced before leaving for the kitchen.
"Do you want to play the game with me now?" I asked.
"Not now, honey, I'm pretty wiped from the trip," Dad replied, smiling apologetically.
"Nah, I get it. But promise to play with me tomorrow?"
"It's a promise," Dad said, holding his pinky out, and I hooked my pinky around his, a large grin on my face. "Honestly, though, I didn't think you'd like the gift very much since it's a board game. You're always reminding me you're not a little girl anymore," Dad said.
"Yeah, but there's nothing childish about hanging out with family," I replied.
"That's true," Dad said, smiling.
We continued chatting with Dad sharing his experience and time in France until Mom called us for dinner.
The next day, a warm Saturday afternoon, I was walking home after having finished shopping for cake. I hummed cheerily as I skipped along the road while gently swinging the medium black bag holding the chocolate cake I purchased.
"Lisa-chan!" Someone called me. I halted in my steps, looking around for the person who called me. "Lisa-chan, over here!" I spotted Sasagawa Kyoko waving at me from the entrance of Namimori Park.
"Hey, Kyoko," I greeted, smiling and waving as I approached her.
"You bought cake?" Kyoko asked, pointing at my bag.
"Mm-hm! I was craving something sweet. What are you—"
"Lisa!" Lambo and I-Pin dashed towards me with Haru trailing behind them.
"Hey, Lambo-kun, I-Pin-chan," I greeted, stooping and grinning at the young children.
"What's that?" Lambo asked, reaching for the black bag, but I quickly snatched it up before he could peek inside.
"It's chocolate cake. Would you guys like to share with me?" I asked.
"Cake! Cake!" Lambo shouted happily, hopping up and down.
I giggled at the boy's enthusiastic reply and straightened to my full height. "Let's go to my place since it's close," I suggested.
"Let's go!" Haru cheered.
"Thanks for having us!" Haru and Kyoko said as Mom served drinks on the kitchen island where we sat.
"You're welcome. Lisa, I'm visiting Lana-san, so I'll be gone for a few hours, okay?" Mom told me.
"Roger," I said, nodding.
Mom waved goodbye as she left the kitchen, leaving the five of us alone.
"Knock it off, Lambo!" I-Pin complained, swatting Lambo's wandering hand away from her slice of cake.
"I want some more…." Lambo groaned, and I giggled.
"Here, Lambo." I slid my plate to the boy, who cheered before devouring the treat. "My dad returned home yesterday from France and brought back a board game. You guys wanna play?" I asked.
"That sounds like fun, doesn't it?" Kyoko said, smiling.
"Yeah, yeah, let's play a game!" Lambo said, his mouth full of cake.
"I'll go get it," I said.
I rushed out of the kitchen and up the stairs to my room where the Jumanji board game sat beneath my stuffed animals on the windowsill. I plucked it up and returned to the kitchen where I-Pin was chasing Lambo whose face was covered in chocolate while Haru and Kyoko attempted to calm the pair.
"Lisa, protect me!" Lambo cried, jumping towards me, and I caught him in my arms.
"Lambo ate my slice of cake!" I-Pin accused.
"Lambo-kun, seriously?" I sighed.
"He ate the rest of the leftover cake, too. Mou, Lambo-kun," Haru said, sighing heavily while Kyoko giggled.
"Eh?! Geez, you really are a greedy brat, aren't you?" I remarked, setting Lambo on the ground.
"Is that the game, Lisa-chan?" Kyoko asked, pointing at the board game hugged against my chest.
"Yup! I'll set it up on the table," I said, approaching the island table and placing the game on top of it while everyone gathered around the table.
"Jumanji?" Haru read.
"This looks fun!" Kyoko remarked.
"Right?" I opened the game, my eyes taking in the game's layout.
"Are those the instructions? They're written in English," Haru pointed out.
Yeah, which is strange since Dad bought this in a store in France, I thought.
"'A game for those who wish to find a way to leave their world behind. You roll the dice to move your token, doubles get another turn. The first one to reach the end wins," I translated.
"The winner will be Lambo-san!" Lambo declared, hopping atop the table.
"No, I-Pin will be the winner!" I-Pin said.
"They're both fired up," Haru said, giggling.
Kyoko scooped up the four pieces and frowned thoughtfully. "There's only four pieces, but there's five of us."
Oh, she's right, I thought, studying the four pieces in Kyoko's hand.
Lambo snatched the monkey token out of Kyoko's hand, grinning as he held it up as if in victory. "Lambo-san will be the monkey!"
"I-Pin will take the elephant," I-Pin said, grabbing the piece.
"You girls can go ahead and play first. I'll take the next game," Haru said.
"Are you sure?" Kyoko asked while I picked the alligator token, leaving the remaining rhino.
"Mm! It's fine, it's fine," Haru assured.
"Okay, then, let's—whoa!" I yelped when my piece suddenly flew from my hand and landed on the board. Kyoko's, I-Pin's and Lambo's pieces did the same.
"Hahi! That's weird…." Haru remarked, staring warily at the board.
"Must be magnetized," I reasoned.
"Who cares?! Let's play already!" Lambo spoke impatiently, reaching for the dice, but I smacked his hand away.
"Fine, but we'll play rock, paper, scissors to determine who'll go first," I said.
Lambo huffed but obeyed. Kyoko won the game, so I handed her the dice.
"All right, here goes." Kyoko tossed the dice, and they clattered on the board. "Five," Kyoko said, reaching for her piece only to retract her hand when the piece moved on its own.
"Whoa!" Lambo cried in amazement while rest of us stared in mute wonder as the piece moved forward five spaces.
"That's amazing," Haru said, and I had to agree. I wouldn't have pegged the game to be so sophisticated because of its wooden and aged design.
"Look!" I-Pin spoke, pointing at the dome found at the center of the game, which had been blank moments before now smoke swirling inside it, forming words.
"'In the jungle, you must wait until a player rolls five or eight,'" I translated. "What does that mean?" I wondered aloud.
"Hahi! Kyoko-chan!" Haru screamed, her brown eyes going bug-eyed.
I gasped sharply as Kyoko's body started to gradually disappear, her entire body entering the dome like a vacuum.
"What's happening?! What's going on?!" Kyoko cried, her voice fading.
"Kyoko!" I screamed, reaching for her, but my hand passed through her. All I could do was watch in horror as my friend disappeared into the glassy dome. "No! Kyoko!"
"Hahi! What just happened?!" Haru demanded, staring in wide-eyed horror.
"The game took her! I can't believe it!" I practically sobbed.
"What do we do?" I-Pin asked.
"We have to get her back! And the only way to do that is to roll a five or eight," I said, recalling the rhyme.
"Lambo-san will get Kyoko back!" Lambo proclaimed, snatching up the dice and tossing them before I could stop him.
"Three," Haru said, her shoulders slumping.
"Let Lambo-san try again!" Lambo said.
"Wait, look." I pointed at the dome, which held a new rhyme. "'At night they fly, you'd better run. These winged things are not much fun.'"
Immediately, screeching filled the air, causing us to cover our ears.
"Hahi! What is that?!" Haru asked.
Before I could respond, the entire kitchen flooded with screeching bats.
"Ah!" We all screamed, ducking to the floor while the swarm of bats flit through the air.
"Gah! We're gonna die!" Lambo cried, clinging to me.
"No, we're not," I said, my eyes glancing over at the double glass screen doors leading to outside. "Hold on."
I pried Lambo off me before crawling towards the doors. Several times bats swiped my hair and scratched my skin until I successfully reached the door and shoved it open, letting in the warm spring breeze while at the same time freeing the bats. The bats flew out of the kitchen like a black stream into the broad daylight.
"Nice thinking, Lisa-chan," Haru said, standing to her full height.
"Yeah…. Geez, I really don't want to continue playing, but we still need to rescue Kyoko," I spoke, frustrated.
"All we need is a five or eight and then we can stop playing. Whose turn is it?" Haru asked.
"I'll roll next," I volunteered. I threw the dice, and we watched in apprehension as the dice rolled.