Alex was on the verge of death, but instead of dying she found herself waking up in a hospital all the way in Japan. Now, when a specific person is standing at Death's doors they are often forcibly taken and shoved into a dimension similar but not the same as their own, nothing more than a puppet in a god's game, but when Alex is forced to join the Host Club by the Shadow King himself it's all she can do to try and remain sane. How is she supposed to cope with the knowledge of what will happen and what she can no longer have? Her loved ones gone all she can do is live in this new, but all too familiar world and play along with this game of deceit and truth. Just what's the deal with the "Other Half" story anyway? REWRITE: Love Me Till The End. Kyoya OotorixOC
There are strange phenomenons in the world that can not be explained. Nobody knows why they happen, why they're told, or even if they're real. But everyone always blames these strange phenomenons on one thing, one creature, one being. And that is a very phenomenon itself-a conundrum, an apparition, a belief. We blame these things on something we call "God". When something goes wrong we desperately search for something to blame, something other than ourselves.
Is that why he was created? Is that our truth? The harsh cruelty of the world is too cold for us to accept so we push the blame away, refusing to take responsibility.
Perhaps that is why I waited so long. Even as I wait here trapped in this endless expanse of white, standing on the brink of life and death, I watch patiently and listen. Time ticks on and the world continues to flow like it always has, each door to each world separate and whole and united all at the same time. But there was only one door I was interested in. The door you came from. "The Defender of Man". I was left alone for so long... watching and waiting, aging only as you have aged, and listened to your cries and wishes when spoken and/or thought.
You were the reason waiting here was easy. Why it was difficult. Why I longed. Witch each passing second you grew I found myself more and more attached to you, wanting to reach out and touch you: to become the friend, the sister, the mother, the lover... everything I could. I was so alone in that empty space... I had nobody but an "angel" for my company.
And then... the day came when he needed you. The day... he decided to make you into his puppet completely.
I should have been mad. I should have been upset at the knowledge and thought that he would be using you, but... if it meant I could meet you... even just once...
Then I didn't care at all.
She always found it a bit unfair. Normally she wouldn't have minded, but being ignored like this was completely ridiculous. So what if she was still child? She was fifteen now! That meant she could handle being told what was going on, being informed of the happenings between her parents without having to stoop so low to eavesdropping upon their conversations. Alex found it utterly ridiculous how they tried to hide their arguments from her despite it being so blatantly obvious. She knew they didn't get along; her parents never got along. They especially didn't get along whenever she was around-their daughter.
They didn't want a daughter. They wanted a son. A boy named "Alexander". Instead they got her-a girl named Alexandria. She wouldn't even live up to her gender, favoring jeans over skirts and hoodies over dresses. It nearly drove her mother to the brink, even when Alex was little, and as such she started to shun her completely. Her father didn't care one way or the other, having ignored her since she could start to walk, but Alex stopped caring after a while.
What she did care about was being lied to. If she had to hear "we're not getting a divorce, honey" or "you must have been dreaming" one more time she was going to drown herself in the bathtub, or better yet the school's bathroom sink. Those things were completely unsanitary. Maybe the toilet would be better? She could give herself a swirlie doing so. She always wanted to be stuffed in a locker at least once, but that never happened her freshmen year yet so it would have to be a swirlie. Alex sighed as she dragged her feet down the sidewalk, lazily making her way down the street towards the town library.
It was a small area, nothing special, but in the midst of it all resided a fantastical building filled with books. Now, Alex loved books; they were her haven. It was probably one of the best things about living in the country aside from the stars in the night sky and the fresh air, and she spent most of her time there. The musty scent of books, the dust when you blow on a book that hasn't been read in a long time... and the delightful smell of paper and the sight of the black ink words. Of course Alex didn't limit herself only to chapter books, but she did love to imagine everything going on, and another one of her delights was looking through the art section. Her favorite artist had to be Van Goph-she loved the way the colors mixed together, the way the strokes of the brush went across the canvas...
It made her super happy when there was an episode of Doctor Who all about him.
"Alex~!" The librarian called. The girl froze, jumping a little, and breathed a sigh of relief when she realized what had happened. She stopped scaling the huge bookshelf and turned her head, looking at the floor below. A twinge of fear pierced her heart when she realized how high up she was, especially since she was on the ladder, and she had a brief thought of what would happen if the ladder she was on suddenly fell over and she was sent flying back, over the railing, and down to the floor below. She stopped breathing and flinched, inhaling sharply, and she took a few shaky breaths as she snapped out of it and tried to calm herself. I'm okay... I'm okay.
She slowly lowered herself from the ladder, climbing down, and called out, "Coming!" to the kind old woman. Alex was sort of glad she wasn't carrying any books at the moment, as if she was she surely would have fallen to her doom. She tried not to panic at the thought, rather terrified of the feeling and what it could be like, and swallowed thickly as she carefully made her way down the stairs. Her fingers lightly traced the stair railing and as she walked down she tucked some strands of hair behind her hair, pushing her glasses up on her nose.
Her parents never bothered to get her contacts, constantly saying they were a waste of money, and it had taken all Alex had to convince them to even get her glasses. Reading in the dark so much had ended up killing most of vision, leaving her near-sighted, and she found it hard to read the blackboard at school. Or, uh, whiteboard really. The government stopped funding blackboards in all classes except music, which honestly bothered her a bit. On the bright side she didn't have to dust the erasers anymore-she always ended up coughing when she did that.
Alex came to an abrupt stop in front of the librarian's desk, staring up at her curiously. With a grin the elderly lady reached a hand out from behind her and slowly slid a book down on the countertop, smiling with mischievous green eyes. The young girl's eyes lit up, the honey brown soft and bright, and she practically stood on her toes to get a better look at the book, or to be precise... manga that resided on the desk. "Is that-!?"
"Yes, indeed. The latest volume, might I did." The librarian beamed and touched the tip of her nose lightly, smirking. "When I get down to it I can snatch whatever I wish. Nothing can stop me nor a woman on a mission. Besides, I heard it was your birthday the other day. What kind of person would I be if I didn't even get my favorite customer a gift? Of course, I'll still have to charge a fee, but..."
Alex didn't care. She just leaned forward, chin resting on her hands as she leaned down and rested her head on the counter, and grinned sincerely with big eyes. "You're the best, Miss Hopper. How much is the fee?" The old woman smile as she held the book up in the air, hesitating to give it to Alex just yet.
"It's not much, really. Just one simple hug for a dying old woman. Oh-!" She barely had to finish, Alex already running around the counter to wrap her arms around the kind woman. Miss Hopper chuckled and laughed, returning the embrace happily. "That was quick thinking."
"Why would I turn a hug down from you?" Alex retorted with a grin. "And you're not dying-you're still young. You're only what? Fifty?"
"Sixty-nine, but I appreciate the flattery." Miss Hopper pulled away and gave the book to Alex, who just gave her a goofy grin. "Now read up before I change my mind."
"Yes, yes! I love you, too. Agh~! You have no idea how long I've waited for this moment!" She waited and waited every day for the newest installment of her favorite manga to come out. Alex was quite an impatient teen and when Akatsuki no Yona took so long to update... well, she was going insane. Alex quickly hugged the woman again. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She stood on her toes and kissed the woman on the cheek, drawing out another laugh, and Alex stepped away to flip through the pages, eyes skimming and reading them quickly. It was the volume about the country of Xing. She paused suddenly, instead turning her head to look at the woman again. "Should I go or-? What time do you close today?"
"In a few hours. You can stay until then, dear." Alex smiled.
"Thank you!"
She perked at a table and read, finishing it under half an hour, and after spent her time rummaging through the library. She ended up picking out a few more books to rent and take home, carefully placing them in her shoulder bag, and when it was time she bid Miss Hopper farewell and headed out to walk home. She hummed to herself, practically skipping, and thought about what a wonderful day it was so far. She found it amazing at how quickly one's perspective could change depending one on person's kindness. Alex's day had started out awful until Miss Hopper spoke to her.
She sighed, readjusted the strap on her shoulder, and swung her left arm back-and-forth happily. Crickets chirped despite how it was still daylight out, the sun going down as it was now nine o' clock, and cars drove by every now and then. It was the country, but it was still a town and they received a lot of tourists. It bothered Alex slightly as she would rather live a peaceful life and remain in the middle of nowhere where nobody but those she was close to could reach or get to, but she often found herself ignoring it and instead closing her eyes and focusing on matters at hand. It would do no good to dwell on problems that weren't her own after all.
Hm... Should I pester Elena or Samantha on how to make cookies? Alex was in the mood to try something new. Her fingers also itched, wanting to type and/or draw. She was a very artsy person and as such needed to do hands-on projects a lot. Oh! Maybe I should- She froze, hearing something just around the corner she was about to turn. Alex hesitated. I should turn around. Alex needed to turn around. She needed to go. This was bad. There was screaming and that was bad and she should just turn around. I-I needed to-to-to go! Why won't her feet move?
She had to force her foot to slide forward. She was trembling, shaking, hardly able to breathe-but she was moving.
Just in the wrong direction. Alex found herself walk around that corner, peering in to see what was going on.
The second her eyes saw the gun in the mugger's hand all worst case scenarios dashed through her mind, informing her of every single possible way that she could die, get hurt, or narrowly escape injury. Unfortunately most of those involved the young man who was getting mugged becoming hurt and/or dead as well. Alex didn't know what to do. Scream? Call out to them? Back away, find a payphone, call the police? Wait, do they even still have payphones? Alex didn't know; it's not like she has a cellphone of her own either.
So instead she did something stupid. Lugging her shoulder bag off of her shoulder she threw it as hard as she could at the attacker, slamming it into his back with a surprisingly strong amount of force. Having not been expecting it, and having not heard her despite her heavy breathing due to his loud demands, he was sent stumbling forward and sent a random bullet up into the air. The male who had been rummaging through his wallet wasted no time in screaming and making a run for it, the poor tourist leaving his baseball cap abandoned on the ground. Alex quickly dashed forward and tackled the mugger who was just about to get up, wrapping her legs around him and her arms around his neck, and shrieked when he stumbled backwards and fell, landing painfully on top of her. Instead of letting go she just tightened her grip, digging her fingers into his chest and shoulders.
"Get off!" He growled, and wasted no time in ramming the back of his head directly into her nose. Stars danced in her eyes, leaving the girl dazed, and her grip loosed enough for him to yank her arms off. "The fuck you doin' butting in like that!?" Though she was out of it she was still conscious, and while she was not entirely sure what was going on Alex's body acted on its own and a hand reached up to grab his collar and pull him back down. It turned into wrestling match, Alex struggling to get the gun away and stop him from shooting anyone else, and the man fighting to get her off of him.
He ended up accidentally shooting once or twice more, breaking a store's window and maiming a poor innocent tree, but after a few more minutes of struggle he was finally able to get Alex off, knocking her to the ground and leaving her rolling down the sidewalk until she rested on the blacktop of the road. She groaned, dizzy, and shakily pushed herself up as the world spun. There was multiples of the man and as she squinted she saw each one raise the gun up, pointing at her. She didn't know which one was real, so she took a random gamble and stepped aside just as another loud, piercing yell ran through the air.
The yell of course belonged the gun, but it only served to deafen her more. Alex was completely disoriented now, stumbling and wobbling and almost walking in circles as she waved her arms around. The bullet had whizzed straight passed her head, leaving her in shock, and so when she finally managed to get her legs moving again it was too late to avoid the car that was coming at her in full speed.
She saw a bright flash of white, and the next thing she knew she was falling onto some vehicle's windshield and rolling over the top as it struggled to a stop. She flopped and wasn't even able to emit a scream, brain working enough in that messed up span of time to remind her to keep it closed in fear of biting off her tongue, and as the vehicle stopped moving she was sent flying off the car and onto the asphalt. She was dizzy, lightheaded and deafened from all the gunshots, and she could feel warm liquid trailing down the side of her face. Her jaw hurt pretty badly and so did her right leg, but before she could even try to pick herself up off the ground someone was already running over and helping her sit up.
"-god... you o-... -hear me!?" It was hard to make out what he was saying. Alex groggily opened her eyes, but was only able to make out a blurry mess of orange and blue. She blinked a few times, clearing her vision as best she could as multiples still remained, and as the person continued speaking and moving his mouth Alex blankly turned her head to look around the area. What had happened to her? "-llo?" There was another orange person running at her... but behind him... "Hey! -ait!" She had forcefully pushed herself up, using the stranger's shoulder as a boost, and was lunging at the person who had running at her. He stopped in shock, but Alex was already pushing him to the ground as a gunshot rang out.
The force of the blow sent her falling backwards and off of him, the bullet piercing her hard in the shoulder. She saw red and orange and blue and black-but before her head hit the ground and she reached unconsciousness she could have sworn there was a white figure smiling at her.
The next time she awoke she was blinded by white light. She groaned and shifted, but pain and soreness wracked her body and she was left to cry out, struggling to move and open her eyes completely. She tried to raise her arms up to cover her face and block the light, but amongst the pain she found something odd.
She couldn't feel her left arm. She couldn't feel her left arm. Alex tried to move it again and again, but she felt nothing. Eyes fully open now and stinging with tears she found herself breathing heavily, practically hyperventilating as she began to panic. Why won't it move? Why won't it move!? As she wheezed and cried out, frantic about her state and where she was, she could just barely take notice of the oxygen mask she was wearing. She felt hands pinning her down by pressing on her shoulders, merely causing her to scream and thrash more as she wailed about how her arm wasn't moving, but a sharp prick in the arm sent her into the depths of slumber once more.
When awoke again she was in a normal state of mind. The doctors allowed her to sit up, lifting the back of the bed and propping some pillows behind her, and brought her some rather luxurious food. It was much better than she remembered hospital food being, but she didn't concentrate a whole lot on it as she fiddled with the fingers of her left hand, desperately trying to get some reaction out of the dead limb. The bullet she had been shot with had pierced a few nerves, killing some of the control she had in her arm, and the doctors had told her that she had the option of therapy or amputation and getting a prosthetic. Alex just wanted to know why or how she was in a hospital in the first place-and such a fancy one at that.
There was a balcony outside that gave view of the whole city-a city very unfamiliar to her. She had a thought of what would happen if she walked over and leaned over the edge, peering a bit too far down into the depths below, but with a shudder and shake of the head she knocked that thought of her mind and proceeded to eat the food. It even looked foreign, just like the doctors and the decorations in the room, and it made her wonder if she was even in her home town anymore. She found that thought ridiculous.
The next day the door to her room slid open, but she ignored it. Alex figured it would be more doctors anyway.
"It's sort of rude not to greet your saviors, you know?"
"At least look this way, jeez."
"What a rude commoner."
She jolted, realizing very quickly that these people were not doctors, and whirled her head around to stare at them. Her eyes widened at the sight. There were two males, two very tall males, that were taking seats beside the bed she was sitting in. With sharp caramel eyes and spiky orange hair, they wore near identical grins as they looked at her. Alex wondered if it was because of her concussion that she was seeing doubles or if they were just twins and if so why on earth they looked so familiar. "Who are...?" She knitted her eyebrows together, confused. She felt like she should recognize their faces... or just the way they spoke.
"How are you feeling?" One of them asked kindly, looking concerned. He leaned over, arms resting on his thighs. "Do you remember anything?"
"Remember..." Alex just felt more confused, but she did try to recall all that had happened. She felt dizzy and her head throbbed as she did so, but after a few moments she was able to think of something. "A library..."
The second man blinked in surprise, lifting his chin up from the palm of his hands. "What?"
Alex nodded, placing her only working hand against her aching head. "Y-Yeah... there-there was a library a-and... a man..." He was... "He was... t-trying to..." Alex felt like throwing up, but she continued to push herself. She wanted to-no, needed to know what happened. "He was trying to steal this... this one guy's wallet and... and I... threw my bag at him." Yeah. That's what happened. At least, she's pretty sure. She leaned back against the pillows and closed her eyes, trying to level her breathing and calm down. She felt sick.
"Do you know why you were out on the street?"
She didn't respond, still trying to wait the illness out, and waited a good minute before opening her mouth again. Her eyes opened lazily, vision a little blurry. "I don't... no. Hold on." She groaned, leaning forward and holding her head in her hands. "I-I can't... my head..."
"It's okay! You don't have to answer. But... I'd like to thank you for what you did." Alex took a glance at the person speaking, not understanding. What did he want to thank her for? He smiled, "I... Well, you saved my brother. So... thank you." His voice cracked a little and the second man reached over and grabbed his arm, frowning with half-lidded eyes. His eyebrows were furrowed. "Y-You saved Hikaru..."
"You don't have to cry about it, Kaoru. I'm fine."
"I'm not crying! I-I just..." He swallowed, blinking his eyes a couple times as he looked away and back at the man he called his brother. "If she hadn't jumped in front of you then you might be-" He cut himself off, shuddering as he thought about it, and grabbed hold of the hand on his arm. He brought the hand to his face, closing his eyes. "It scares me... just-just the thought of it..."
"...I know."
These two... are siblings? They're so close... Alex's head hurt a lot as she watched them, but she found a small smile worming its way onto her face. She sort of wished she had a sibling like them. "Wh-Who... are you people?" She decided to ask. She really wanted to know. Alex felt that if she knew, she would figure out why they looked so familiar. Were they only familiar to her because she saw them before she woke up here? "Where am I?"
"Oh, uh, right. We didn't introduce ourselves, did we?" The emotional one... Kaoru was it?... said as he lifted his head up to look at her. "I'm Kaoru. And this is my brother,"
"Hikaru." The second one finished. "Together we're,"
"The Hitachiin brothers!" They beamed, almost as if they rehearsed their introduction.
Alex blinked. "Hikaru... and Kaoru..." She knew those names. She knew them so very well. It was on the tip of her tongue, but she just couldn't... place it. "...I'm Alex."
The who called himself Kaoru smiled while the one named Hikaru smirked a little.
"It's nice to meet you, Alex," Kaoru said, before informing her, "And to answer your question we're in the Ootori Hospital."
"Ootori..." She echoed, finding that name rather familiar as well. "Ootori..."
Hikaru seemed a bit annoyed with her just repeating everything and said, "Yes, Ootori. Haven't you heard of it before? It's one of the most popular medical facilities around." Kaoru sent his brother a look, but didn't say anything. "How hard did you hit your head?"
"..." Alex didn't respond and merely looked away, grabbing at the sheets covering her legs with her only good hand. "I... Those names... they sound different." Yes, that's what she was trying to get at. Different. They weren't... what she was used to hearing. "Hikaru, Kaoru, Ootori... are those...?" What the word she's looking for? She wants to say "foreign" but it's not what she's looking for. "Ja... Japa.."
"Japanese?" Kaoru kindly offered. She silently lifted her head with a slightly open mouth and gazed at him with big eyes. She nodded. "Yup. And your name... Alex. Isn't that American?" Another nod. "What are you doing here in Japan? Are you a foreign exchange student?" Alex looked at him in confusion, causing him to look surprised. "You're not? Then what are you here for?"
What is he talking about? There's... no way she's in Japan. Alex was in America... wasn't she? "This... isn't Japan." Both boys looked startled at her words and they cast each other glances before looking back at her with frowns. "I'm... in America. I-In Indiana... I was at the library." She pointed downwards, pressing her index finger against the mattress she was on for enunciation. "I was at the library talking to... to Miss H-Hopper a-and... and I left to go home." Yes... that's what happened. It's all coming back to her now. "I-I was walking wh-when I heard a scream and when I checked there was this guy robbing another guy s-so I threw my bag at him and tackled him, a-and he threw me off and I rolled into the street and then I was-!" Alex stopped breathing, the air stuck in her throat as her heart raced loudly inside her chest. "I-I was-I was-!"
"H-Hey, calm down! Hikaru-get a doctor! I think she's having a panic attack or something!"
"A-Are you sure?" He asked, but was already getting up.
"Yes! Now go!"
"O-On it!"
Alex had gotten hit. She was shot at and ran over and hit. A-And now she's not in America? How does that work? They had to be lying. There's no way she's in Japan. It's just not possible. I-I can't- She can't breathe. Why can't she breathe? What's going on!? "I-I-I-!"
"Hey, hey; it's okay! You're okay!" The boy was freaking out, trying his hardest to calm her down. He had no idea what was going on. "You're okay!"
Okay... is she really okay? What happened? She can't-She can't figure it out. It doesn't make sense. What's happening now? Is she seriously in Japan? She can't even speak Japanese!
Alex saw black spots in her vision at the same time she felt the pricking of another needle in her arm. She found herself calming down almost instantly, whatever medicine the doctor or nurse had put in her running through her veins and numbing her. "Japan..." She's in... Japan. Alex felt very tired all of a sudden, a wave of exhaustion washing over her as she slunk back against the pillows on the bed. "I'm... in Japan..." As she tried to think of reasons this could have happened she just found herself drifting off into sleep, darkness taking her into the black abyss.
I've waited so long to meet you... and now that the transaction is complete I finally can! It was only for a few seconds... but it was enough. If only I could have held your hand... or at the very least touch you. But I can't and I know "it" won't let me so I just have to be satisfied... I miss you already, Alex. Your smile, your eyes... but I have faith we'll meet again. If there's a will there's always a way, right? My other half...
How much I long to see you truly happy... is something I can't even comprehend. One would think that I should hate you; you can live while I had my life taken away, but... here, in your stead, I can live as well. Neither of us are dead, but my life had been prolonged for such a long time... I don't really care anymore. All I care about is you living. As long as that's so it doesn't matter what happens to me.
Just don't ever forget...
I love you, Alex.