Kaoru sat, staring out the window at the trees. Every once in a while, a attendant lady would go check on her, open the door, try to talk, get rejected, leave.
A tear passed down Kaoru's cheek. She was "In care of social workers for death of parents." Or make that "In jail for the crime of being an orphan."
Kaoru sighed as she picked up the soda can filled with beer. Recently, she had been taking to drinking with the other kids at the orphanage. Drinking was nice. It made her forget everything stupid, made her forget how unhappy she was, made her forget..
Her Parents.
Her parents had died just a few months before. Her mother, father, her home. She was to be shipped away to a different family then her brothers, since her brother's family wanted two boys and not a girl.
Knock. Knock.
A visitor interrupted her thinking.
"Come in"
Kaoru answered in the normal rough tone that she usually used around employees.
The door creaked open. Kaoru turned her head to see who was emerging from the corridor.
"Kaoru-kun! I thought I'd find ya here"
The bubbly voice belonged to Momoko, a fellow inmate. She was a "Lean Mean Schizophrene Machine", placed at the orphanage for a number of things. Mainly her schizophrenia, that caused her to destroy stuff and sabotage things. Kaoru had taken a liking to her because of her unpredictability. Momoko was one of the few people that Kaoru actually could stand. The fact that her social ability was cut off made her speak like a small child. Momoko said it was also because "Kaa-dono and Maa-sama, the people who only I hear, want me to speak this way."
"Nya, Kaoru-chan"
Another girl peeped into the room. Inmate Miyako smiled daintily.
Miyako-chan was anorexic. Her hair hung limply over her shoulders, giving the impression that the delicate girl could cave in any second. She hadn't always been like that. When she first came to Shirohato park for problem children, she was as plump as any girl. But this place was filled with professional bullies. "Hey, Fatso!" was an everyday phrase for her now. The words got to her head very quickly and she soon cut down on the food. She was the only kid that Kaoru genuinely felt sorry for. Kaoru and Momoko usually tried to make her eat more by calling her "Skeleton" and "Skinny-bones" as nicknames. It seemed to be working... As long as the other kids were not around.
Momoko started yelling at the top of her lungs.
"We are R"
"Shh... Secret, remember"
Miyako's quiet tone of voice cut of Momoko's proclamation. It was a well known fact that Momoko was oblivious to her own tone of voice.
Momoko and Miyako walked over to Kaorus bed. Momoko bent down, whispering sharply in Kaoru's ear.
"We are running away!"
"Cool. Umm... This plan is foolproof, right"
Kaoru sat up and spoke tiredly to Momoko. They only had one shot at this. If they failed, Shirohato would make sure security measures were taken and reduce the girls' freedom considerably.
"Yes! Skelly has the plans"
Momoko flopped onto the chair beside Kaoru's desk, still wearing the insane smile. Miyako brought out a file, carefully opening it and bringing the contents out on the table. Kaoru stared with glee at the papers, consisting of maps and lists.
"So. This is what we need to escape from Shirohato park"
Kaoru smiled. This was brilliant!
"Ah... I'm afraid these things will be a bit hard to find"
Kaoru studied the document carefully, crossing out and adding in things with her pencil. A hour passed.
"Finished"
Kaoru looked at her Friends with an expression of delight and glory. This time, it really was foolproof, in the correct meaning of the word.
"When will we leave, then"
Kaoru turned to Momoko who was in charge of times. It struck Kaoru that Momoko would have to be blind-folded and gagged, lest she ruined the plan. Momoko often blew up and told everyone if "Kaa-dono" and "Maa-sama" told her to.
"Tonight"
Momoko smiled insanely at her Friends.
"Why tonight?" Kaoru inquired. "Wouldn't it be better to plan it up a Little more carefully, so that we are ready?"
"Because Kaa-dono and Maa-sama say that if I leave tonight, they'll go away. Besides, I don't wanna spoil everything like I always do"
Momoko looked at her Friends with a worried expression. Kaoru sighed. She knew what she had to do.
"Oh, alright. I'm gonna go pack. And Miyako, Momoko, you do the same"
"Roger"
"Hai"
And with that, her Friends left the room.
Kaoru looked at her room. It contained everything she owned. All memories, all presents, the mini-football her brother had given her. Her books. Her baseball mit. All her medals. Everything that was worth keeping. Could she really leave all this behind? Kaoru sighed, picking out the most important things.
A mini-football.
A old family photo.
Two sets of clothes.
Her gameboy.
A water canteen from when she was 3.
A universal radio and her wallet.
Kaoru stuffed all her things into her bag. She really wanted to cry, but remembered that she had to be strong. She had to fight from now on, she had to try and try and try. From now on, her life would be a runaway-rollercoaster. Kaoru sighed, trying not to think too hard about it.
"A-are we going now"
Miyako stared worriedly at Kaoru. It was not very hard to notice the fact that Miyako was deathly frightened.
"Yes. We will go now"
Kaoru smiled solemnly as she opened the window, feeling the night breeze blow in on her. It was hard to admit, but she was afraid. What if they found her? What if they put her on the news? What if..
"Mff"
Momoko's sharp attempt to speech quickly awoke Kaoru from her thoughts. They were running away, not daydreaming.
"Ahh, yes. Sorry"
Kaoru hoisted Momoko over the windowsill and helped Miyako over, too. Miyako was not as strong as she used to be, even when she tried her hardest. She was clearly freezing, even if she did her best to ignore it.
Kaoru took hold of Momoko's rope and held it tight as she looked over the yard. A road went right. Escape? No. Not down the main roads. A small path was located west of her. That way? Yes. That way. If she followed that path, she'd soon be in the forest. Forest? No. Not a chance. Then she saw it.
A bus drove down the road leading to the city and stopped with a tired puff by the bus stop beside Shirohato. It was too dark to see what kind of bus it was, but who'd bother with apparel when a bus came heaven-sent to the rescue.
Kaoru took Miyako's hand and dragged her and Momoko to the buss. Miyako was too surprised to hesitate while Momoko had started emitting muzzled screams. It didn't strike Kaoru how odd Miyako and Momoko looked at the time.
Kaoru stepped onto the buss. The driver was secluded from them with a dark screen, and spoke through a voice scrambler.
"fee is free"
a strange robotic voice responded when she tried to hand out her money. Kaoru was surprised. This was... strange, as far as she was concerned. Still, It could have been Adolf Hitler driving, and Kaoru still wouldn't't question. It's a lovely feeling to have things go your way for a change, especially if that aspect of your life has been neglected for a few years. Kaoru knew better then to question her luck.
"Well guys, take a seat"
Kaoru beckoned at her Friends. Now that she saw just how odd they looked, she was thankful that the driver could not see her. Miyako walked uneasily to a front seat, seeing as the bus was almost completely empty, except for Kaoru, Miyako, Momoko, and the anonymous driver. She tugged at Momoko's rope.
The knot did not exist anymore.
The rope fell off Momoko, freeing her arms. She started spinning, yelling, hitting everything in sight until she accidentally hit the screen that separated the driver from the world.
The screen rattled a bit. It made a little crackling noise and fell to the ground, shattering. Miyako looked curiously forward. The screen seemed to made out of some kind of glass, or plastic. A smokescreen now rose, making the driver cough into the voice scrambler. This caught the girl's attention.
"Sir, are you all right"
Miyako stepped forward to face the driver. The smokescreen faded.
"What the"
Kaoru's chin nearly touched the ground.
"mmmff"
Momoko removed her blindfold. Miyako gasped.
A little boy sat in the drivers compartment. His hair was black and slicked back. He did not look any larger then 8 years old. He sighed.
"Did you have to do that? I finally found you! And then you go all Dragon on me? Ain't ya thankful? You should be"
He was now erupting into a small fountain of anger. Kaoru slapped her hand against her forehead. Momoko looked astounded.
Finally Miyako spoke.
"What are you talking about? We are just three ordinary girls! We couldn't't know."
The boy stopped.
"Ah! Sorry! Somebody was sent ahead to tell you, but... I guess they got delayed."
"Well, couldn't't you explain to us, then"
Miyako smiled and shifted her feet. This was a strange day! She
was finally out of prison and now a little boy was picking her up in a buss. She was not aware of how much weirder this day would become.
The boy sighed.
"Ok. I'll tell you everything, but please, please, please don't interrupt me."
The boy pressed a button marked "Invisibility cloak". He then beaconed for the girls to have a seat.
"I am from another world"
Kaoru twirled her finger towards her head. Miyako just stared and Momoko Mffd.
"My name is Kitazawa Ken. I am from deltaspere. It located in another dimension."
Momoko was quiet. Miyako continued to listen, wondering what he might tell of next. Kaoru sighed.
"In Deltaspere, we have three high Powers Maidens. They are all injected with the power of light, and fight those that are injected with evil. Sadly"
Ken paused. His face wore a sad expression.
"They have been poisoned"
Ken continued in a calm tone of voice, ignoring the tears that seemed to well up in her eyes. Miyako stayed put. She knew that this was a way of getting attention. The little kids at the orphanage usually used tactics like this. It wasn't very strange. They were all just little kids, torn away from their parents and hungering for affection. Telling stories or misbehaving was the only way they could confirm that they were alive. Miyako knew that ignoring the children was much worse, that was a way of confirming that they did not exist.
"I was told that the antidote could only be given by their DoppelGanger, who exists in another world. This world. And I have
found you. I promise I'll send you back here as soon as"
Kaoru sharply interrupted the monologue.
"Well, I don't want to go back. I'd rather die then stay there."
Miyako shivered at the thought of returning to hell. They hadn't exactly been very nice to her. Bullying was nothing they did anything about, if it was just words. They would tell her to ignore it, perhaps because they thought that she was a bit too weighty to care about. And now that Momoko finally had convinced her to leave that place, she didn't know if she had the courage to escape on her own.
"I have no wish to return there"
Miyako inquired softly. Momoko nodded her head and Mmffd in reply.
"In that case I think we'll have to work something out"
Ken spoke softly, making a sharp turn for the right, causing the
buss to shake. Kaoru was thrust to wards the window while Momoko, who was sitting together with Miyako, almost squashed her.
"Ah, terribly sorry. Were was I? Yes, your reward. I believe we can discuss that after you do our job." Ken muttered nonchalantly. Kaoru grunted. Miyako was thinking. A little kid driving a buss. He couldn't't be lying. She did not know any child who had kidnapped anybody when they wanted to talk. Miyako decided he was genuine.
"And our jobs are"
Miyako smiled and tried to sound as polite ad possible. This might be her ticket home. Home. She could remember her parents. She had never been told why she was separated from her parents at the age of 8. She had been a very happy girl, overflowing with energy and ambitions of being a cook, and then.
And then. Then they had stolen her away, shattered her integrity, made people screaming and playing mean pranks Her everyday time. Miyako hated those people. She really, really, did.
"Well, I'll be sending you through a portal. You'll each get teleported back as soon as you cure them. As you are not complaining, I will send you now. Might as well get this show on the road. You may recall memories during the teleportation process. I apologize for this inconvenience"
Ken spoke calmly and pressed a button marked "Teleport"
Momoko started to flimmer, like a hologram going out. She looked around confoundedly as she was untied and disappeared.
Miyako was startled. She started rubbing her eyes, unsure of if she really saw the truth. She turned to Kaoru, who seemed to grow fainter and fainter and soon she too, disappeared. She looked down at her feet, finding that they were gone. Miyako panicked. Her arms seemed to be dissolving from the bottom up. Now her neck. Now her head.
Miyako found herself floating, floating in a strange kind of blue-black vacuum. A familiar scene materialized itself in front of her.