A/N: For those who read the prequel, the girl I mentioned at the end, her name has been changed from Astrid Cleric to Aisuru Kuro. Enjoy!
Wonder, Hope, Memories, Dreams, and Fun. These are five of the most important feelings of childhood. But there is one more that needs a Guardian to keep the light of it alive in the hearts of children…
A young girl sprinted quickly through a thick wood, her movements light and agile. Her thin body was accustomed to leaping high over fallen trees, as if she had been trained to do that very task her whole life.
Her long ebony black hair flung out behind her, bouncing and waving with her movements as she rushed through the trees. She glanced back over her shoulder, her blue eyes wide with fear before she turned forwards again and continued running.
The dark haired girl aimed to leap over a fallen oak's trunk when it was suddenly coated in a thick layer of ice and snow. Knowing that that boy would soon follow the whiteness, she abruptly switched directions and fled to the left, weaving around a thicket of bushes and ducking under a low hanging pine branch.
Glancing over her shoulder to see if the boy would follow as swiftly as she had averted him, the girl didn't notice a rabbit hole open up in her path. Turning her head around, she found two large ears sticking out of the hole, twitching back and forth. The girl kept running, her footsteps light and silent, before leaping gracefully over the tall, furry ears and continuing on at the same pace she had kept before.
Brushing aside dangling ivy as she rounded a tree trunk, the ebony haired girl found herself face to face with a floating woman coated in iridescent green, yellow, and blue feathers. Her bright pink eyes lit up in surprise as she collided with the girl. "Oh!" the woman cried in surprise.
The ebony haired girl stumbled back, gasping sharply before regaining her footing and running off in the opposite direction.
"Wait!" the woman's voice rang out behind her. "We aren't going to hurt you! We just want to talk to you!"
The girl paused in her step for a moment, debating on whether or not she could trust the sincerity in the woman's voice. Deciding not to risk it, she moved to keep running, only to find her path blocked by a large man decked in a huge red coat and furred hat. His long white beard was at her eyes level. "Wait! Stop! We are friends," he said calmly in a thickly accented voice.
The girl stepped back and turned to run the other way, only find the feathered woman blocking her path. Moving to the right, the owner of the large furred ears from before blocked her path. Desperate, she turned to the left, and again found her path blocked by a short golden man who floated off the ground. He smiled serenely at her and waved.
Sighing in defeat, the girl's shoulders drooped and she tried to catch her breath. Her eyes darted around behind her long black hair that shielded her face, trying to find their weakest point so she could dart out if things got bad fast. But she had to play along with them so they wouldn't see her escape coming.
Straightening her shoulders and pushing her hair out of her face, the girl sighed again. "Fine, you caught me. What is it you want from me? You show up in the middle of the night, scare the daylights out of me and then chase me for, how long?"
The large furry bunny scoffed and said in a thick Australian accent, "'Bout three hours, give or take. You put up a good chase, kid, I'll give you that."
The girl grinned coyly and laughed. "Yeah, I try. So, what is it you want?"
The large man with the white beard smiled warmly. "What is your name?" he asked her in a thick Russian accent.
The girl looked at him through narrowed blue eyes. "Aisuru Kuro. But I go by Ai."
The four people surrounding Ai smiled at one another, excitement evident in three out of the four's eyes. The only one who looked less than thrilled was the bunny.
"Great! Come with us! It's time you became a Guardian!" The feathered woman ushered her forwards. Ai ducked away from her and held up her hands.
"Whoa! Wait. What's this all about? I've been living on my own for about a month and then you guys turn up and chase me around then when you catch me, I tell you my name and suddenly you want me to be a Guardian? Someone explain what's going on here."
"You were chosen. Just like the rest of us, Aisuru."
Ai whirled around when the new voice sounded. She looked up and found a young boy about her age casually leaning on the trunk of a tree, perched high in a branch. He had shock white hair and blue eyes just like hers. He was tall and lean, wearing a blue hoodie and brown pants, both coated in intricate frost designs. It took her a moment to realize this was the same boy who had been throwing snow in her path for the past three hours.
"Chosen? What do you mean chosen?"
Ai watched as the boy leapt from the tree branch and landed softly on the forest floor, the wind seeming to support him the whole way down. He swung a long, wooden staff around from behind his back and perched it on his shoulder. The staff was hooked at the top and like his clothes, covered in complex floral looking frost designs.
"I mean exactly that. You were chosen to become one of us, a Guardian. We guard the children who believe in us, we guard their childhoods. We help them see the wonder in things, we give them hope and fun and dreams, and protect their memories. And now, you've been chosen to join us, to help us protect them."
"Why me? What can I do? I don't have any powers." Ai saw something flash in the white-haired boy's eyes, something that looked like pain. But it was gone before she could even be sure.
"The Moon told us to find you. He didn't tell us why, just said that you were to become a Guardian."
Ai tensed. "The Moon talks to you, too?"
The boy nodded. "Yep. What did he tell you?"
Ai looked at her feet, her toes curling around the thick grass that surrounded them. "Just that my name was Aisuru Kuro. Then he's never said anything else." Ai looked up at the others, her eyes showing signs of weakness, a desperate longing. "Why can't anyone else see me? I tried talking to a few people I met but they didn't notice me and…" she paused and hugged her middle. "One of them walked right through me."
The boy's eyes softened in sympathy. "I've been there before. It's because people don't believe in you. They don't know about you and the aspect of childhood you guard. When you become a Guardian, we can help you find it, your center. And then children will start to believe in you."
Ai looked up at the boy and took a step away from him. "But…they don't see me now so how could they find out about me? I'll be unnoticed for the rest of my life won't I?"
The boy sighed. "I can't tell you that to be honest. It all depends on you. You can come with us and find out."
Ai shrank away from him again. "I don't even know your name. I don't know any of your names!"
The boy flipped his staff so it rested across both his shoulders and he flashed her a cocky grin. "I'm Jack. Jack Frost."
Ai felt her face grow warm against her intentions. She ducked her gaze away and looked at the other four people standing around her. "And you guys?" she muttered.
The feathered woman smiled warmly. "I'm Toothiana. But everyone just calls me Tooth."
The man in the red coat with the heavy accent smiled as well. "I am Santa Clause. But you may call me North."
The large rabbit huffed before saying, "Bunnymund. Call me Bunny. And this fella here is Sandman. But we all call 'im Sandy." The small golden man waved cheerily at her and smiled.
"Can he talk?" Ai asked, studying the small man.
"Not with words," Jack cut in. "He forms images above his head with dream sand to communicate with us."
Ai smiled down at the golden man and gave a small laugh. "Hello."
Jack studied her for a moment before asking, "So, your name. It's not English is it? What is it? Do you know?"
Ai sighed and thought about it. Surprisingly, even though the Moon had told her what her name was, she knew what language it was and what it meant. She looked up at Jack and nodded. "Yeah it's Japanese. Aisuru means 'loving'. And my nickname, Ai, means 'love'."
Jack smiled. "Love…that's cute. I like it."
Ai flushed again and ducked her head. "Thanks, " she mumbled.
North chuckled deeply and shook his head. "Alrighty then! To the sleigh! Let's get back to Pole quickly now!" North, Sandy, and Tooth all started towards the sleigh. Bunny shook his head and stepped back. "Oh no, mate. I'll take my tunnels. I'll see you back there."
Bunny tapped his large foot on the ground and a rabbit hole gaped wide in the ground, appearing from nowhere. Bunny saluted them and dove into the hole. As soon as his ear tips disappeared, the ground closed up like it was swallowing him and a pink daisy popped up where the ground had closed.
Ai stared at the ground in awe, almost wondering if it would open up and swallow her too. "Does he…always do that?" she asked, turning to Jack.
Jack laughed and nodded. "Yeah. The kangaroo hates flying. C'mon, you can take his spot."
Ai followed Jack. "Kangaroo? I thought he was a bunny."
Jack and the other Guardians laughed as Jack helped Ai into the sleigh. "He is. But Bunny and I didn't always see eye to eye and we fought sometimes. Kangaroo is a nickname that I still tease him with from one of those fights."
Ai nodded. "I see. It's because he's Australian isn't it?"
Jack laughed again and nodded. "Yeah that and his huge ears and the way he hops around."
North turned around, interrupting their conversation. "Everyone is ready, yes?" Jack, Tooth, and Sandy nodded.
Ai looked around in confusion. "Wait, ready for what?"
North snapped the reins and let out a crazy sounding laugh. The sleigh lurched forwards, throwing Ai backwards. Ai yelped as she landed against some hard and cold. She looked up and found herself clinging to Jack's chest as she tried to regain her footing.
Stuttering out something about being sorry, Ai found her feet and gripped the side of the sleigh before sitting down. Jack flashed her a cocky grin before perching on the edge of the sleigh.
Ai looked over to North and saw him pulling out something that looked a lot like a snow globe. The wind whipped his words back at her, so she heard him whisper, "North Pole," before he threw the orb out in front of the sleigh with all his might.
What in the-? Ai thought, watching the globe soar through the open sky, expecting it to fall to the earth and shatter. Has he lost it? She thought to herself.
No sooner had the thought formed in her head than the little orb spontaneously exploded in a shower of glitter and light of all colors, taking shape into a swirling vortex in front of them.
Ai gasped out loud, gripping the sleigh even tighter. There was a tugging sensation in her gut, a feeling that, for an odd reason she didn't know, she had felt before. Everything seemed to elongate as the sleigh and all it's passengers were sucked into the vortex. Everything seemed to spin wildly before Ai felt herself straighten out. She looked around and tried to stand up.
Ai's legs gave out underneath her and everything began spinning again. The vortex was something that she wasn't used to and it was definitely affecting her. There was a strong hand on her shoulder, keeping her steady before she completely blacked out.
A/N: This is the sequel to Dancing in the Snow! I hope you all like it! Please R&R!