Okay, new story here! This is the first chapter. I've only got up to chapter 3 written so far, so updates may be slow, but since it's winter vacation right now I'll try my best to write a lot! Please, please, PLEASE tell me anything I can improve on. I'd appreciate it. Thanks and I hope you enjoy the first chapter of Dream In This Chocolate Realm!
By the way, the title has pretty much nothing to do with the story and may and probably will change.
Disclaimer: I do not own Kamichama Karin! I do own Tsumiko Hayashi though.
I slowly opened my eyes to greet the rays of sunshine flowing through the stained glass window. Glancing over to my alarm clock, I took note that it was 5:40 AM. Hmm...time to prepare breakfast. My chocolate brown eyes swept across the room, finally settling upon a garment of pure snow white velvet. It was long and the sleeves trailed after me as I donned the gown, twirling around in front of my mirror to make sure I looked alright. Feeling my hand brush over something smooth and thin, I looked out the corner of my right eye and spotted the comb. In just a few moments, a baby-blue comb shaped like a fish was running gently through my dark hair, sorting out tangles and stray strands. Then my pale fingers arranged my hair –how else would it stay like that– with my short bangs covering the majority of the forehead and a few strands perfectly framing my delicate face. I smiled, pleased with my appearance, and strolled into the bathroom. Splash, went the water as I brought it close to my face; it cleansed the sleepiness completely. It was then 5:50 AM, I had to hurry.
I swiftly brushed past the walls of the hallway as I made my way down to the kitchen. Kyuu-chan wasn't there; he'd informed me the previous night that there was business he needed to attend early in the morning. Not that I minded since we were more than able to take care of the hotel and move out on our own. Well, for breakfast I chose a simple menu: a bowl of egg porridge, a dish of cabbage with potatoes, and some clear vegetable soup. Then the time was 6:10 AM. We'll be late if they don't come down right away.
If you still haven't figured out who I am, you will now.
"Kazune-chan, Karin-chan, breakfast is ready! Hurry up or we'll be late!" I called up the stairs.
"Comin' Himeka! Sorry, I was up late last night." My cousin replied with a sigh as he rushed downstairs. I gave him a warm smile and we both sat down for breakfast.
"Okay, Himeka-chan! I'll be right down~!" My friend, Karin-chan, called down the stairs.
That's right, my name is Himeka Kujyou. Yes, my name means princess, stop gawking - I know you are; that's what everybody does when they hear my name! Anyhow, moving off that topic, I live together with my cousin, Kazune Kujyou, along with our butler, Kyuu-chan - our parents both died a long time ago. We live in a huge, enormous, gigantic sized mansion and go to a famous, private academy called Sakuragaoka Private Academy. I personally think it's unreasonable for just two people to live in a dwelling this large, but Kazune-chan's the one that made the decision. Well, today would be the first day of seventh grade, I'm so excited; the time has finally come! There was a vacation for the past month or so, and usually I would go out with Kazune-chan, Miyon-chan and Yuuki-kun. This year, however, Kazune-chan said there was something important he needed to see to and so we'd went out of town for a while. Not that I minded; visiting a new place was exhilarating! Plus, we'd met Karin-chan and now she's also living with us –what fun!
As usual, I finished breakfast first so I skipped upstairs to change into my new uniform. I finally got to wear this one! The middle school one is so much cuter than the one we had to wear back in elementary school. Our uniform then consisted of only a white short sleeved blouse and a soft black skirt reaching down to the knees –so plain- along with black dress shoes (A/N: I made this up on the spot XD). It looked like we were going to perform in a concert!
Oh no, I'll be late; it's already 6:40! I didn't realize breakfast had taken me so long. I quickly slipped off the light morning gown and replaced it with my uniform. After smoothing out some wrinkles, I grabbed my schoolbag and dashed downstairs where Karin-chan was still getting ready while Kazune-chan was waiting, then we ran to school together. Thankfully, we weren't late.
We arrived in the classroom early, even, and had time to greet our friend, Tsūmiko (Tsuumiko, I'll just write it as Tsumiko – no accent) Hayashi, before heading down to the opening ceremony. She raised an eyebrow when we came in, panting.
"Ohayo Kazune, Himeka." Tsumiko greeted, "You two look... tired, and you're late." she commented.
"Good morning, Tsumi-chan! How are you today?" I informed politely.
"Good morning, Himeka!" she gave me one of her rare goofy grins. "I'm fine today, thank you for asking. How was your trip?" Tsumi-chan replied, glancing over at Kazune-chan who was sitting beside us.
"Our trip was fun. Was everything alright at home?" I asked.
"Yes, the house was fine. I was a little bored though, but at least Karasuma didn't attack." Tsumi-chan said, and then glanced over at Kazune-chan with a sly smile. "You can stop worrying about that now, Kazune. I know you are!" she was ecstatic at having caught him, Kazune, in the act of doing something unreasonable and unneeded. Kazune-chan turned away, embarrassed.
We then headed down to the auditorium for the opening ceremonies. Gosh, I have to say... it was the boring-est thing I'd ever been to. Not to mention, that says a lot considering I've been touring the world. Kazune-chan always was a fan of touring, but that's beside the point.
When it was finally over, I was walking down the hallway with Tsumi-chan and Kazune-chan when a voice said my name.
"Himeka-chan, I've found you!" I heard someone call. Spinning around resulted in my direct encounter with none other than the Athena ring-bearer herself. I flashed a small grin and motioned for her to come over. Karin-chan and Tsumi-chan haven't been introduced yet. "Hmm? What is it, Himeka-chan? Who's that?" Karin-chan asked, pointing to Tsumi-chan.
"Karin-chan... it's not polite to point..." I scolded lightly, "Well, Tsumi-chan, this is Karin Hanazono. We met her during our trip!" Tsumi-chan studied Karin-chan.
"Hmm... the goddess, huh? Tsumiko Hayashi, nice to meet you." She said, extending a hand out to Karin-chan. She took it.
"Tsumi-chan also lives with us. She's really sweet and awesomely genius too, compared to us at least." I giggled at the last part, but I wasn't kidding about my description of Tsumi-chan. "Tsumi-chan can fight; she went through A LOT of training. However, she, like me, does not possess Kamika powers. So, basically, she can only do physical fighting." I explained.
"I see... well, it's nice to meet you too, umm... Hayashi-san." Karin-chan said awkwardly.
"Tsumiko is fine. Himeka calls me Tsumi though," she said, tilting her head over in my direction, "but I don't mind if you call me Tsuu. After all, I just plan on calling you Karin." Karin-chan nodded slightly and smiled.
"Okay, I'll call you Tsuu-chan then if you're going to call me Karin."
"So I take it Karin is the goddess? That's why she's here, right?" Tsumi-chan confirmed, seeing as Kazune-chan had previous been saying some things about another goddess on our trip.
"Yeah, Tsumi-chan! Karin-chan is a Kamichama!" I beamed at them in an excited manner.
Kazune-chan just sat at his desk all this while as we chatted away after we returned to the classroom until I think he couldn't take anymore of our… girlness –mostly Karin-chan and I; Tsumi-chan was not one for girl talk. He rose from his seat and glared at us. I didn't notice, but I think Tsumi-chan did because she turned to him. She then raised an eyebrow and turned to us.
"Hey, Karin, Himeka… Why don't we sit down; I think the teacher's almost here."
Tsumi-chan was right. The teacher did come, and she taught us some basic lessons which I don't think Karin-chan understood at all. The morning passed like the breeze. At lunch, we met together and discussed… godly matters.
"Kazune… I've been meaning to tell you this for that past few weeks now, but kept putting it off. I figured it was time you knew."
Tsumi-chan engaged the conversation in a very serious, emotionless tone, leading everyone to believe that it was an extremely drastic matter. It was, however, not the type of 'drastic' that we had predicted.
"I've been having some… nightmares for the past few weeks."
We all stared at her. The statement came so suddenly and unexpectedly that our brains didn't know how to deal with it. Once it all settled in, however, we gave her surprised and curious glances. I heard Kazune-chan let out a breath he'd held but soon straightened up. I think he then unleashed his 'whatever' personality, which meant he pretty much saw everything as pointless and said things in an annoyed tone.
"That's it?! Wow, Tsumiko, and here I thought it was some kind of formidable challenge. It's just nightmares? What are you, five?" The tone was harsh, but if you listened closely, you could easily detect the worry in his words. Or maybe it was just me; after all, I have known Kazune-chan practically since we were born.
"Now, now, Kazune-chan… Don't be like that…" I said reprovingly. "Tsumi-chan, what kind of nightmares were they?" Even though I said this, a part of me couldn't help but wonder why these nightmares were bothering her. After all, they were... dreams. But of course, I didn't say that.
"Himeka-chan's right, Kazune-kun! Don't be so mean! Tsuu-chan's your friend, isn't she?! Don't tell me you don't care about anything other than those rings of yours!" Karin-chan accused.
That did it.
"Oh yeah?! Well, just shut your annoying mouth! Women are so meddlesome and loud! Who says I don't care?! Go ahead and tell us about your nightmares, Tsumiko!" Kazune-chan retorted. Oh dear, I hope this doesn't get out of hand.
Both Tsumi-chan and I watched them with worry, but soon all gazed fell on her as Kazune-chan proposed his willingness to listen. Kazune's attention meant a lot to Tsumi-chan, I knew that, as he'd never paid much to her –or any of us for that matter- for he was always busy; either researching or fighting, if not recovering. She gave a smile and began her story.
"It's really not all that important, but I was just a bit concerned about it. It's okay if you don't want to listen, Kazune, but I guess I'll tell since you are listening. My memories of it are quite vague at the moment; and I've forgotten quite a bit, but I'll do my best."
"Okay, I'm all ears."
Thanks for reading all the way to the end of this first chapter! What did you think? It's awesome? It could use improvement? It sucks? Please review and tell me what I can improve on! I can take criticism (sp?), just don't tell me 'it sucks' and stop. That just doesn't help me improve the story. If I have any grammar or spelling mistakes, please point them out to me! Oh, and if you think you have anything for a good sub-plot or even plot (I might find it better than my current one), please tell me! THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Hope I made at least some sense (sometimes I don't get what I'm saying myself).
Please review? Pretty please? --- Okay, that is so NOT me.
- Yuuchan