Disclaimer: I do not own anything besides the story and ideas.

Swirling Death

I shot out of bed in a startle, my eyes wide in alert and fear, sweat ran down my forehead and back, my heart raced and my breath came out uneven. It took me about a minute to realize that I was still in my one bedroom apartment and that it was about three in the morning. Perfect, I was supposed to be going to my new job interview in about five hours. I combed my fingers through my shoulder length pink hair and sighed. I closed my eyes, taking a minute to relax my racing heart before going to the bathroom. I was most definitely not sleeping after that type of dream.

I had the strangest dream concerning the strangest of things. I saw a black figure shadow king and he was surrounded by his loyal subject who included a black cat, a flying fox, a bug covered mummy, a glowing ghost and a variety of other weird things I'm not in the mood to get into. After taking a good look in the mirror, I groaned. I had bags under my eyes, my hair was a mess and I was sweaty all over. I licked my lips, but my tongue felt like sandpaper. I swallowed and then winced at how dry my throat was. I washed my face, deciding to drink some coffee and get ready before time, maybe try and go over my lines for how to introduce myself properly during my interview. Good first impressions leave a big impact on a person. I really needed this job.

I turned my head and spotted the toilet. I stared at it for a moment and then narrowed my eyes at it. I walked up to it and then flushed it. It's not like it was dirty or anything, I live alone, but for some odd reason the sound the toilet makes when you flush it is somewhat relaxing. I know it was weird to think that, but I remembered the last time I couldn't sleep; I just flushed the toilet a couple of times and then somehow awoke lying on the cold tile floor. Wait, why did I just remember something as stupid as that? Lack of sleep is affecting my brain.

I flushed the toilet again and looked into the seat bowl. The clear blue water was swirling and swirling into a small opening at the bottom of it. I stared until the flushing process was finished.

This toilet was a swirling death…
I smiled at the silly thought and then flushed it again, telling myself that this was the last time and that I was going to go into serious mode after this. As I watched the swirling death process, I saw something peak out in the entering hole at the bottom of the toilet. Oh, don't tell me that…! Oh, that's just sick! I was about to reach for my toilet plunger when suddenly the small hand grabbed my arm with such force that nail imprints were left there. I yelled out in fear and pain, grabbed the plunger and was about to attack the hand when it suddenly tugged at me.

My relaxing flush finished at that moment and the hand froze on my arm. It took a second to realize that the hand wasn't going to let go any time soon, and so I tugged and tugged. I went to the point of struggling to get free, but it was no use. The hand wouldn't release me and all this struggling was just hurting me more. I stood there, thinking what was going on, and if this was even physically possible. How did a hand even shoot out of the toilet in the first place?

Flushing, I placed my finger on the flusher and looked uncertainly at the hand. It didn't even twitch, like it was frozen lifeless. I took a deep breath, clutched the plunger in my other hand, and flushed the toilet once more. Almost at once the hand moved again and pulled me into the toilet. I thought it was going to drown me, and the last thing I would see was the swirling death but something else happened.
Instead of drowning, I went into the swirling death of the toilet and was falling down a crack delusional vortex. There were clowns and squirrels and butterflies and beers and candy bars and flowers and dragons and unicorns and coffee and chocolate and teddy bears and-! What the hell? I knew this was a dream and I knew none of this was real, but I was so scared that it did somehow feel real in some way even though this was not physically possible. I shouted out. I screamed my lungs out that it felt like they would burst, but I realized a few seconds after I started screaming that everything froze in place. The crack delusion swirled and then disappeared, leaving me floating in a black vortex of some sort.

I must have seriously eaten something bad for me to be having a stupid dream like this, or maybe I hit my head and am now lying unconscious in the bathroom.
A zap of lightening shot through the black void and a crack opened up. There was the hand again and it reached out for me, and when I tried to scream, a large amount of water went into my mouth. I immediately closed my mouth and looked around, but everything else was too black and too dark. I didn't even realize that I was under water this whole time, which would explain how my short hair was floating around like a dancing anemone. The hand grabbed my forearm again and pulled me into the crack in mid-air, like it led to a different dimension like in the movies. I was probably having this dream as a sign that I've been watching too many movies recently.

I dropped down hard on the ground and groaned. I sat there immobile for a moment before moving all my limbs to make sure nothing were broken and if they were all working. I took a deep breath and stood up straight. I looked down at myself and frowned. I was still wearing the same thing I went to bed with, blue short shorts and an oversized blue t-shirt with a picture of a teddy bear with a mustache on it, and it was now all wet and clinging to my body. That's just perfect.

"You have arrived," said someone from behind me. I turned around to see a sandy blond haired boy with a huge grin on his face, his eyes wide with wonder at his surrounding and wearing only swimming trunks. Weird.

"Uh… Hi?" I replied, not really knowing what else to do.

"You are the chosen one," he said in a slurred yet monologue tone that was beginning to freak me out.

"Yeah… I'm just going to walk away now," I stated and was about to turn around and just do that when suddenly a female ghost pushed him out of the way.

"Koko, what are you doing? You're supposed to greet our guests happily and nicely!" the ghost said in a perky and cheerful tone. Then tried to pound her fist into his skull, but it only just went through him. This made her even angrier, so she continuously kept trying to pound her fists into him, but he just stood there motionless with his frozen smile directed at her. The ghost got exhauster and fell to the ground soundlessly. She peeked up at me and like she had just noticed me, squeaked in surprise. She straightened and laughed nervously at me. "Sorry about that. He's just a bit awkward," she stated as I nodded understandingly. "Anyways! I'm Mikan! We have been expecting you!"

"You have…?" I asked surprisingly. She nodded her head vigorously and started to float away. I stared at her back, and once she was at least twenty feet away, she looked back at me in a confused manner.

"Well? Aren't you coming? Hurry up slow-poke!" she called back. I looked at Koko who was still standing there with his frozen smile. I shrugged at him and then jogged after Mikan the ghost. I walked in silence, absorbing my weird surroundings as Mikan floated away, humming an unknown tune. Eventually we walked through the gates and before me stood a castle. The large monument was menacing to say the least.

We walked into the castle and I thought to myself 'Why am I following her so obediently anyways in the first place?'

'Because you are in a strange parallel universe and have no better option than to follow her," an inner voice said to me.

'What if she was leading me into a trap?' I challenged as it seemed like the inner voice face-palmed at me.

'Just shut up and go along!' she shouted back and I quirked a brow.

'Alright already, jeez...'

I walked in and the first thing that happened was that Mikan the ghost got kicked by a boy in a black cat costume. I stood there with wide surprised eyes as he played with a fireball in his hand.

"Natsume~! You're such a meanie~! Boohoo~! That hurt~! My poor little butt~!" Mikan cried. How did he hit her in the first place if she's a ghost?

"You're so annoying." he said. Wasn't he the one who kicked her in the first place? "And your butt is huge."

"Natsume-baka!" Mikan shouted out and cried her eyes out. A boy in a fox costume flew in out of nowhere and carried Mikan the ghost away. "Where are you taking me Kitsu-baka! I need to bring her to the king~!" Mikan screeched out as her cries echoed and faded away as she disappeared.

I looked around and then my eyes landed on the cat boy named Natsume. He beaconed me to follow him as he strode away with a type of air that you'd find from a guy in Playboy magazine. I sighed, ignoring how weird this toilet dimension is and followed him.

He pushed open two large oak doors that looked like a kid his size shouldn't even be able to budge. As the doors opened, I looked in to see a large dark figure sitting on a lavish throne. Standing next to him protectively was a mummy with bugs. 'Must be his bodyguard?'

The shadow king looked down at me, or I guess he was since he looked more like a silhouette then a physical figure.

"Is this here?" he asked in a dark and deep voice as if he had a sore throat.

"I guess, Mikan brought her in. Unless Mikan screwed up again like she usually does or I'm blind since I've never seen her in the kingdom before, this is definitely her…" Natsume the cat said before walking away. The Shadow King indicated for the mummy bug boy to leave as well, and then got up. He walked over and then paused in front of me. As I tried to take a step back to create some distance between us, he grabbed my hand and stopped me. He squeezed my hand reassuringly.

Usually if you see a tall dark figure with no face or anything, simply a pure black shape, would be a great ordeal and I'd be running for the hills at this moment. But I wasn't. He didn't seem menacing or scary or anything to be feared. It was a gut feeling, but I actually felt more safe with him than anywhere else since I landed in this strangle bizarre place hidden in my toilet.

"Today, just for today, fulfill my wish and stay with me?" the Shadow King asked. He rubbed circles around my knuckles with his thumb in a relaxing gesture. I looked down at my hand, and was so focused of his actions that I completely forgot to answer back to him. He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it. "Will you be mine for the day?"

"Why only today?" I asked, and then immediately regretted it. I wanted to slap myself for what I just asked. He chuckled in his dark tone, but it seemed light and amused instead of dark and sinister. Maybe he wasn't as evil as he looked? Nah, I'll still think he's evil. Why? Because he stared kissing up my hand, up my arm and as he got to my shoulder I kicked his shin. He grunted and bent down to clutch his shin in pain. "I meant. Why are you only specifying the today part?"

"Because we have little time together left, it can only be today…"

"Should I question that?" I asked.

"No, please…"

"Good, I don't feel like I want to know anyways." He chuckled and guided me away. All we did that day was talk and laugh and get to know each other. We walked around the garden, sat on the roof and he told me all about his kingdom and his family, I told him about my circumstances, and so on and so forth. At the end of the day we lay next to each other on the dew covered grass and looked up into the starlit sky together.

"What's your favorite color?" I asked.

"Blue. Yours?" he replied.

"Pink. What's your favorite animal?"

"Not cats," he said, referring to one of his loyal subjects, Natsume, the kid in the black cat costume from before. I giggled and turned my head to the side to see him staring at me, I guess, since he was still a shadowed figure. "You are amazing."

"So I've been told." I lied lightheartedly as a joke, earning a chuckle out of him. "But thank you, it means a lot coming out of you."

"Why is that?"

"Why is what?"

"Why does it mean a lot coming from me in particular?"

"It just does…?"

"I want to hear your answer."

"I don't have an answer to that question."

"You should."

"Well I don't."

"How irritating."

"You're irritating."

"No, I'm handsome."

"Well now, I wouldn't know that, considering you practically blend into the darkness. You're only a silhouette to me," I explained. He sat up and looked down at me.

"Would you like to see my true form?" he asked suddenly. Curious, I sat up as well and nodded. "Alright then, but you have to close your eyes first."

"Then what's the point?"

"Just do it."

"Alright, if you say so." I closed my eyes obediently. I heard some ruffling and scrunched up my face in displeasure. Gosh, I was so curious as to what he looked like for real. He could be a monster, or an animal, or a monster with an animal head! The possibilities are endless.

"You can look now." he said. His voice changed, it was smoother with a hint of charm and ease in it. Before he sounded like he had a sore throat, now his voice sounded as smooth as silk. Before I could open my eyes though, I felt water overcome me. I coughed and gasped and pulled back. Opening my eyes, I gasped loudly and tried to catch my breath. I looked around frantically to see that I was back in my bathroom and the toilet bowl in front of me. Oh my goodness, that was just gross.

I looked down at myself to see that I was all wet and smelled disgusting. I looked at my wrist to see that the red marks were still there. So it wasn't all my over reactive imagination then. Looking at the time I saw that I have fifteen minutes left before my interview started.

Holy mother of fudge cake…

I ran around the apartment room, taking a two minute shower, changing, fixing my appearance, hair and make-up. I grabbed a piece of toast and bit at the corner as I ran out and jumped in my car, speeding down the road. As I got into the company building and made my way to the right floor, it was a minute before my interview time scheduled. I gave out a huge sigh of relief. Thank the great fishes, I wasn't late.

The secretary who was a young, younger then I was, brown pig-tailed perky girl with a genuine smile lead me into a room with a single loan chair face a tong table. At the table sat a sly fox eyes blonde boy, a creepy smiling blonde next to him, the middle seat vacant, a devilishly handsome raven haired man with red eyes that eyed the secretary with possessive lust, and then lastly an older man with black hair with emotionless endless black eyes and bandages around his face.

What an interesting bunch of people to possibly be working with in the near future.

"Take a seat," the blonde fox-eyed boy stated to her.

"Thank you," I replied, taking a seat.

"We would start the interview, but you see, the boss isn't here yet. I'm so sorry but as you can clearly tell he's a complete slacker and an idiot and-!" the blonde with the creepy smile was on a roll until a voice interrupted him.

"Who is what now?" the voice said. I intently recognized it, and widened my eyes in shock, snapped my head around to see 'the boss' behind me. He was tall with blue hair, blue eyes, a pale complexion and a star tattoo below one of his eyes. He wore a tuxedo in an easy-going fashion - not too uptight but not a complete slob about it - and a charming smile.

"You're a slacker and an idiot!" the blonde said with a creepy smile. I would have looked at him disbelievingly if I wasn't looking at 'the boss' disbelievingly already.

"Do you want to lose your job?"

"No, sir!"

"Then keep all stupid comments to yourself," the boss exclaimed. He looked at me as if he just saw me for the first time, and then blinked once, twice, and then a third time. "You are…?"

"The interviewee," the raven haired boy exclaimed simply.

"Ah, I see. You want a job here?" the boss asked her.

"Yes, sir!" I replied, trying to seem perky instead of disheveled.

"What's your name?"

"Misaki Harada."

"I'm Tsubasa Andou," he introduced and shook her hand. "Congratulations, Misaki-Chan, you got the job! Want a reward?"

"Really? But what? How? We didn't even-?"

"Do you want the reward or not?"

"Yes…?"
"Great!" Tsubasa pulled her by her hand and lightly yet quickly pecked her lips. "Welcome!" he said with a charming smooth grin.

I looked up into his eyes in bewilderment. How could he? How dare he? Why would he? Looking up into his swirling eyes, I knew he was a hurricane of trouble. He simply oozed of it.

He was a swirling death in itself. And I wasn't complaining.

The End

A/N: Merry Christmas everyone and happy holidays.