Alice of Human Sacrifice: The Sixth Alice
Sand-chan: Hello, and welcome to the sequel/continuation thing of Akatsuki Horror Series: Alice of Human Sacrifice, with me as the writer, and Tyranno's girl as the editor/beta-er/co-writer of this fic! ^_^
TG- Yes, the wonderful SandTanukiKunoichi has continued the AHS: Alice of Human Sacrifice, and I, quite frankly, think that its awesome. Well, I hope that everyone enjoys it. *bows* Once again, credit to the awesome SandTanukiKunoichi.
Sand-chan: I don't own Naruto, Vocaloids, Alice in Wonderland, both the book and animated movie, or Vienna Teng's song "Lullaby for a Stormy Night", if I did, all hell would break loose… -_-'
TG- Neither do I!
Sand-chan: Let's begin this story, shall we? :3
Kyoko knew she had to get away from there, from the hospital she had been in most of her life, away from the gossip of the "sympathetic" nurses, unnerving doctors, and that horrid stench of death and antibiotics, a smell she never liked since the first day she arrived.
"Ma'am?" a voice asked, breaking the seventeen and a half year old girl out of her thoughts and made her turn her head to the driver of the taxi cab she was in.
"We're here, already?" Kyoko asked disbelievingly, looking out the window again, focusing her eyes on the thick forest on her side of the cab, so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice that she arrived at her destination: The Emerald Forest.
"Yes, we arrived five minutes ago." the brunette driver said, rolling the long tooth pick in his mouth as he watched her pick up the deep grey backpack and smooth out her plain white t-shirt.
"Sorry…" she said, feeling embarrassed at making her driver wait more than necessary; it was a miracle that the driver was willing to drive her there in the first place, after all the rumors about a fifteen year old blonde male who died in that forest five years ago.
The driver gave her a warm smile before saying, "It's no big deal, but I have to wonder, why come to this forest…?"
Her eyes darkened slightly for half a second before saying with a smile, "I'm meeting with a person who doesn't know my town all that well, so we agreed to meet outside this forest."
The driver looked at her oddly before saying, "That kinda makes sense…" Kyoko opened the car door and closed it slinging the backpack over her shoulders and paying the taxi driver through the open window of the passenger side.
"Thank you for driving me here. I really appreciate it." Kyoko said, smiling at the simple taxi driver.
"No problem, but please don't go into that forest, I've heard some crazy stuff about it." the cab driver said with caution in every word.
"Don't worry, I won't." Kyoko said reassuringly before the driver smiled back, closed the window, and turn around, going back the direction it came, and taxi was out of sight and Kyoko was alone…again.
'I do feel bad for lying to that taxi driver…' Kyoko thought before a small, melancholy smile spread across her face before she took out a large plastic Ziploc bag with a large manila folder in it and her small, black cell phone from the backpack.
'… for running away from the hospital…' she continued her thought, typing in a text message, setting it to send a few hours from now, and selected only two people it should be sent to, Ryoichi Akacho, her older brother, and her and her brother's best friend, Reina.
'…and doing this to you, onii-chan, but…' she continued, then paused for two seconds before she put her cell phone in the plastic bag and placed it on the ground and turned to face the forest before her.
'…since I have so little time, I have made up my mind and there is no way of changing my decision, so that's that!' Kyoko finished her thought, eyes changing to a serious glint and her blank look to a determined one as she took long, powerful strides into the green fortress of trees that will change the fate of her soul.
Kyoko was panting erratically as she fell to her knees and slumped over, gripping the area that would be between her heart and her lungs, coughing violently, some specks of blood landing in the dirt in front of her. It had been only a few hours since the start of her journey into the forest's flat terrain with protruding rocks and roots, and her shirt and dark blue denim jeans were torn, her black converse were covered in dirt and scratched up, and she was pushing herself past her limit.
After a few seconds of coughing, her breathing regulated and she wiped the small amount blood from the corner of her mouth, thinking, 'I still haven't found what I am looking for, but it feels like I'm so close…'
'And you are child…' A voice said, like it was right beside her, whispering in her ear, but it was in her mind.
'Oh this is just peachy, first my physical health goes, now my mental health? Life must have something against me or something like that…' Kyoko thought as she got up and continued to walk forward and slightly to the right, in the direction that her instincts were telling her to go.
'You're not going insane, child. You are very close…' the voice said, speaking with a soothing voice.
'And why should I believe a voice in my he-' Kyoko's thought was then cut off when she heard a conversation on the other side of a wall of trees and tall bushes.
"Sasori, why do you collect herbs every day, un?" a male voice asked, a bored tone evident in his words.
"Because they are used often and need to be picked often, and you didn't have to come with me Deidara." another male voice, Sasori, said to first male voice, Deidara, in a slightly teasing tone.
'Deidara…where have I heard that name before…like I met him before…' Kyoko thought, genuinely confused and curious, before she tried to push some of branches out of the way to see what the conversing males looked like, and, unfortunately for her, she lost her balance and broke through the wall of branches, falling on her face in a painful and ungraceful manner.
"Ouch…" Kyoko groaned out, her face throbbing painfully as she thought, 'I may have lost some of my dignity, but at least I didn't lose my backpack, which has things that are precious to me…'
She then felt a sliver of panic as she searched for the two necklaces that she always wore, and let out a relieved sigh when she found they were still around her neck, for the clasps of the necklaces were slightly broken and would fall off once in a while.
She then felt like she was being stared at, so she lifted her head up and gasped for two reasons; one, she saw a beautifully ornate mansion with a tall, rose bush maze and a brook, which she almost fell into, and two, a red-haired, cut short and looked slightly messy, tree bark-brown eyed, man with pale skin, teen-like princely facial features, lithe body in an red and brown Victorian-style outdoorsmen outfit, carrying a brown satchel for the herbs, and calm expression, but his eyes were wide with surprise and question, for he was about to place herb in his hand into the satchel.
They stared at each other for a few seconds, both frozen by surprise, before the red-haired man started to chuckle and a male voice, Deidara's, that was leaning against a tree in a way where Kyoko couldn't get see his face, asked the red head, Sasori, "What's so funny, un? You're chuckling…"
Kyoko, quite confused and surprised at that point, gained back some of her ability to think when she heard Sasori say, albeit in a joking tone that Kyoko accidentally took seriously, "It seems we have a little trespasser on our property."
"Oh my god! I am very sorry! I didn't mean to! I was walking along and I heard a conversation and got curious, so I-!" Kyoko said in a panicked voice, fearing the worst, and started apologizing, until Deidara's voice cut her off, asking loud and clear, "Kyoko…?"
She was quiet as she looked past Sasori's shoulder and at the Deidara's form; a sky-blue Victorian-styled outfit on a tall, slightly muscular body, sun-kissed skin, gold-blonde hair with some of it put up in a ponytail-like style, but what Kyoko noticed the most was his sapphire-blue eyes that looked at her with the same shock that she felt as memories of her first and only friend that she made long ago flashed through her mind, and remembering that his name was…"Deidara?"
Deidara was shocked beyond belief, the memories of his twelve-year-old self and the nine and a half year old with orange hair and deep purple eyes flashed through his head.
He was shocked at how much she changed: her skin was slightly paler than he remembered, her orange hair, that had shines beautifully in the right light, that was once knee-length was now barely past her shoulder-blades and was pulled back into a low ponytail, her face was still very child-like, slightly slimmer, but the round, softness of her features made her look like an innocent child, dark rings around her round, not-too-big-but-not-to-small eyes, showing she was not getting the proper amount of sleep, she grew taller, legs were longer, flat waist had a feminine, hour-glass curve, and her bosom grew to about a C-cup; to Deidara, it was like looking at angel, and unbeknownst to him, Sasori thought the same when he got a good look at her.
"Wow…it's been a long time since we last talked Deidara." Kyoko said, her voice ringing like a mix of wind chimes and bells that sounded sweet, whimsical, and heavenly as it graced their eardrums.
'I wonder how her voice sounds when she sings…' they both thought curiously, even though Deidara knew her for awhile, he didn't know much the girl, now woman, that he befriended, and Sasori was, for a reason unknown to him, drawn in by this orange-haired, amethyst-eyed angel.
Kyoko tried to stand up but when she did, a large amount of pain shot up from her ankle, started to fall back down, while gritting her teeth to keep from screaming out of the pain from the injury, and thought, 'I must sprained it when I fell through and landed on my face.'
She braced for the impact expected for falling down, but it didn't happen. She opened her eyes to see Sasori had caught her left wrist and arm in a light, but strong grip, while Deidara had caught her right arm, right above her elbow, and her right hand with his, his palm against hers.
A sudden, stinging jolt went through their connected hands, like touching something and nearly burning your hand, and, as sudden as it came, the feeling disappeared. It was quiet for a few seconds before Sasori asked in a concerned voice, "Are you alright, Kyoko-san?"
"I think I sprained my ankle…" she answered honestly, knowing she wouldn't be able to walk at all.
"Then we'll help you." both Sasori and Deidara said as they each laced an arm around Kyoko's waist and slung her arms over their shoulders, making her feel a little embarrassed that they have to practically carry her.
"You don't have to-" Kyoko started to say, when Deidara cut her off saying, "But we want to, Kyoko-chan, un."
"I'll try to make the swelling go down and make your ankle feel better, Kyoko-san" Sasori said before Kyoko could open her mouth to say anything.
Kyoko was quiet for a few seconds, before letting out a long sigh, and said, "Fine…"
Sasori and Deidara smiled slightly at the stubborn woman as they helped her into the large mansion.
"Pein-sama…" a tall, shadowy figure with a gruff voice addressed a man with short, spiky orange hair, grey-ringed eyes, and multiple silver piercings in the bridge of his nose and his ears in black and red robes with silver trimming, who was intently watching the whole interaction between the three outside from a wide window in the large mansion, and noticed something different about Deidara, more specifically, Deidara's right hand.
"Kakuzu…did Deidara have a red mark on the back of his right hand? A spade, diamond, club, heart, in that order, going clock-wise, with a small five-pointed star within a small circle in the middle?" Pein asked Kakuzu, who had stepped out of the shadows to reveal a tall, broad body with dark skin and dark hair, deep green eyes with the whites of his eyes a blood red, dressed in a black Victorian-style suit.
Kakuzu, taken aback with confusion his question, answered confusedly, "No Pein-sama, I do believe Deidara didn't have a mark of that description."
"Hmmm…" Pein hummed slightly, watching the orange-haired girl pout slightly with a light blush on her face, Deidara laughing with genuine smile, and Sasori with a small smile of his own, then noticing that the back of the girl's right hand had the same mark as Deidara's, except that it was black as darkest inks.
Pein's eyes widened slightly before he cracked a smirk and chuckled slightly, which caused Kakuzu to be very surprised. Pein then said, "This might be an interesting development…"
"Wow…" was all that came out of Kyoko's mouth when she was practically carried into the lavish bathroom-like suite.
"You said the same thing when we entered the mansion." Sasori pointed out teasingly as he gently placed Kyoko in a chair near the large tub and placed her deep-grey backpack down next to the chair, ran some warm bath water, and started to pour in herbs that made the water sweet smelling and really relaxing, with Deidara leaning against the wall, arms crossed slightly, right next to door they just came through.
Kyoko flushed slightly with an angry pout, before saying angrily, "Well, sorry for being in the hospital most of my life and forced to be in the same room all the time!"
Sasori stopped what he was doing to look at her with a slightly shocked face as she pulled her leg, the one that didn't have the sprained ankle, close to her and placed her chin on her knee, as her hair-tie came loose and her hair flowed like an orange waterfall, her bangs came loose and framed her face beautifully, which had a melancholy expression. Deidara lowered his head, knowing that she had to stay in the hospital most of the time, but not sure for what though. That's when Deidara saw a red mark on his right hand and thought, 'I'll have to have a better look at that later…' before focusing back on the interaction between Kyoko and Sasori.
"Oh…I didn't know." Sasori said, feeling a bit regretful for bringing up a sore subject of Kyoko's. She was quiet for a bit before she took a deep breath and said in a light, forgiving voice with a small, forgiving smile, "It's okay, you didn't know and I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."
'Her smiles are more beautiful when her hair is not in a ponytail…' Both Deidara and Sasori thought before Kyoko said, "Um…the bath's ready..."
Deidara and Sasori snapped out of their thoughts and Deidara said slightly rushed, "And you want privacy, un. Understandable, let's give her some privacy Sasori!"
He grabbed Sasori by the wrist and pulled him out of the bathroom. Kyoko caught sight of the red mark on Deidara's right hand and then looked at her right hand. To her surprise, she had the same mark on her right hand, but it was pitch black, which made her confused. 'Oh well, I'll fret about it later, after my bath.' She thought, taking off her ripped up clothes and looked in the mirror.
'Man, do I look pretty beat up…' she thought, as she saw the large amount of scratches, scrapes, and bruises that she got while on her little 'journey' through the forest and at the swollen ankle that she had sprained. She cringed a bit, before she practically sunk into the water that felt so euphoric against her sore body, it felt like all of her injuries were being washed away by the heavenly smelling water.
'This is way better than that hospital…' Kyoko thought before memories of being in that insane asylum of a hospital went through her mind, causing her to make a pained grunting noise. She then dunked her head under the water to clear her mind of unpleasant thoughts and resurfaced a minute later to see that her clothes were cleaned, but were still ripped up.
'Today is just getting more and more peculiar…' Kyoko thought as she stepped out of the tub and mindlessly step out using the leg with the sprained ankle. She braced herself for pain, but felt nothing. She looked at her ankle in complete surprise, for it had completely healed, she then looked at herself in the mirror and gasped. Her skin was completely unmarred, like she never had an injury in her life.
'Like I thought earlier, today is just getting more and more-' Kyoko thought, before it was cut off by a coughing fit, slightly more violent than the last 'attack'. After her coughing fit was over and she started to breathe regularly again, she couldn't help the melancholy expression that stared back at her in the mirror.
'Might as well enjoy my limited time that I have left…' She thought with a melancholy smile before she put on her clean white bra and underwear, then picked up her ripped up white t-shirt and thought, 'I definitely can't wear this…' before she remembered that she packed a white sleeveless sundress that her older brother had given her a few weeks ago for her birthday with cute little, shiny black dress shoes that looked like Alice's shoes from that animated movie, 'Alice in Wonderland', that she watched in the hospital when she was little and a silver necklace with a red rose charm with matching bracelets.
A small, sad smile showed itself as she pulled the lovely, but simple white sleeveless sundress, black, shiny black dress shoes, and the silver jewelry with rose emblems. She chuckled lightly before she thought, 'I did tell onii-chan that I would like to pass on in an outfit like this…'
She then took a deep breath before putting on the simple, but elegant white sleeveless sundress; the end of the dress barely touching her knees and hugged her womanly frame quite nicely, the black dress shoes giving her an air of innocence, and the silver jewelry on her wrists and neck made her look graceful and elegant, she kept her hair down, brushing out the tangles as it dried, giving it a slight shine to her straight orange locks, and then used a black head-band to keep her bangs separate from the rest of her hair, letting the bangs frame her face naturally.
After she was done, she picked up the two necklaces that she wore most every day; a red butterfly on a thin, silver chain and a circular locket on a silver chain, which had the same mark that was on her hand. She took a long look at both necklaces before putting the one with the locket around her neck, and the one with the red butterfly into the front pocket of her grey backpack, which she slung both backpack straps over her left shoulder and exited the bathroom and into the mansion to explore.
"…And that's all I know about Kyoko-chan, un." Deidara said, sipping on his tea after his explanation to Pein, Kakuzu, and the others in the room about what he knew about their carrot-topped guest. It was dead quiet, until a light sniffling sound broke the silence and made everyone turn to a young male with ink-black hair that was short and messy and big, round dark-brown eyes that almost looked black.
"What wrong Tobi?" the older male next to him asked. The older male had pale skin, long ink-black hair that was tied back in a low ponytail, taller and slimmer build than the shorter and child-like male, his dark-brown eyes, that were also nearly black, looked at the shorter male next to him with concern.
Tobi sniffled before wiping the tears that were starting to fall and said in a shaky voice, "That must have been so lonely… Being in the same room, dealing with the same nurses and doctors, baring the same pain and loneliness… day after day, week after week, and year after year…! That must have been so sad and lonely…! And…!" He then full out sobbed as he let the tears he tired to hold back, hiccupping every so often.
It was quiet in the room, except for Tobi's cries, sobs, and the occasional hiccup. The older raven pulled Tobi into a light, comforting hug as he let Tobi's tears soak his Victorian-styled shirt as he rubbed Tobi's back soothingly. After about a minute, Tobi stopped crying and said quietly, "Thank you, Itachi…"
The older raven, Itachi, pulled away slightly, kissed the younger male's forehead, and sweetly said, "No problem at all, Tobi."
It was quiet again, until a beautiful woman with purple-blue hair, which was held in a bun by lovely golden pins and flowers, and equally purple-blue eyes in a graceful purple Victorian-styled dress asked, "But Deidara, you said that someone did visit her."
Deidara said, "Ah, that's true… her brother did visit her, but it wasn't very often. Only about every ten weeks, if he was lucky…"
A blue haired male with black eyes, ocean-blue Victorian-style musician's outfit, violin and bow (1) placed gently near him, said angrily and disbelievingly, almost yelling, "How could her own brother not visit her more often?! And how could her parents not visit their own-" but was cut off when Deidara started to continue what he was saying earlier.
"He is Kyoko-chan's older brother by ten years, heir to the Akacho business firm, and son of the famous deceased artists, Rumiko Akacho and Kyouishi Akacho, who were famous for their natural and prodigy-like abilities in any form of the arts: music, poetry, visual arts, dancing, theatrical arts, creative writing, you name it, un. Their natural talent made them famous near and far! Kyouishi Akacho, Kyoko-chan's father and original successor of the Akacho business firm, and Rumiko Akacho, her mother, were my idols, the kind of artist I wanted to be… but died tragically in a car accident… with only Kyoko-chan and her brother the only survivors…" Deidara finished, his voice lowering near the end of his explanation.
"What was her brother like?" Tobi asked quietly, tears pricking his eyes once again.
Deidara was quiet before he took a deep breath and said slowly, almost in an eerie tone, "I only met him once, but many things about him stuck in my mind; he was always calm in front of others, poker-faced, in a way, when he addressed people, his voice was cold and direct, almost like ice, his hair was a muddy-red color, chilled me to the bone, but what scared me the most that day was his eyes. They were deep silver, like liquid mercury, and rings within them, much like Pein-sama's, un…"
It was deathly quiet, the atmosphere of the room was icy and cold. "A-and his name is…?" Tobi asked, shivering slightly, from the cold feeling of the room.
Deidara said, "His name is…"
"Ryoichi-san! What a pleasant surprise!" a long brown-haired, big, round blue-eyed female nurse greeted loudly, nearly running towards the twenty seven year old male, who was holding a bouquet of roses.
"Honda Tohru-san, could you please greet me with a lower volume? I'm supposed to be incognito." Ryoichi said, looking around quickly to see if he was being followed.
"Oops. Sorry, I forgot you have to secretly escape from your never-ending work to merely visit your imotou(2)." Tohru said more quietly, as she showed Ryoichi to his sister's hospital room.
Ryoichi sighed as he said, "That, and they keep trying to marry me off to women I don't even know…"
"I thought the woman you sometimes visit with was your girlfriend…" Tohru said, causing Ryoichi to blush lightly before saying, "Reina-chan may be my friend since kindergarten, but we're not that close…"
"Yet!" Tohru interjected, knowing from the chats she with Kyoko that Ryoichi loved Reina very much, and she felt the same, but neither telling the other fearing it would ruin their friendship.
Tohru brightened up as she said, "And speaking of marriage… I'm engaged!" She then showed the lovely engagement ring on her left hand to Ryoichi.
"Congratulations. Who's the lucky man? Your boyfriend, Kyou-san?" Ryoichi said, truly happy for her.
"Yup! The wedding is in a few months, so I'm really excited!" Tohru said, beaming brightly with happiness as they arrived at Kyoko's hospital room, oblivious of the fact that she's not in there.
"Kyoko-chan! You have a visi-" Tohru started to say happily, until she opened the door to see that Kyoko wasn't there, only to find a messy bed and an empty closet, where she would keep clothes that she would wear when she was able to go out.
"Oh my-! Emergency! Missing patient! Repeat! Missing patient!" Tohru said loudly in to her walkie-talkie that the hospital gives to all the staff.
Ryoichi didn't hear it, he was in complete shock and disbelief, frozen in the spot where he stood, but was brought back to life when Tohru shook his shoulder and asked loudly, "Do you know where Kyoko-chan would go if she escaped?!"
Ryoichi thought for a moment before memories of a particular visit with Kyoko flashed through his mind. He then said, "Yes, but it's a long drive from here, about six hours…"
"Six hours?! How long has long has she been gone?!" Tohru asked, panicking a bit before she said, "We'll continue to search the hospital, please find her as quickly as you can!"
Ryoichi was quiet for a few seconds before he said, "Okay." and ran as fast as he could to his car.
It was quiet in the room, since Deidara's little 'speech' was finished and the deafening quiet was just too quiet.
"Hmmm…this may be quite an interesting development after all…" Pein said, surprising everyone in the room. "Kisame…Please play something on your violin, to lighten the mood for all of us…"
Kisame, the blue-haired male smiled a toothy grin as he picked up his violin, placed the bow to the strings of the violin, and he said, "With pleasure Pein-sama."
'Why can't I find anything in this accursed mansion?!' Kyoko thought to herself as she continued to walk through the maze of hallways of a mansion, backpack swinging slightly from her brisk steps. She then heard a beautiful melody played on, what Kyoko believed to be, a violin.
'What a beautiful song…' She thought to herself as she mindlessly followed the wondrous music to a large door with a spade, diamond, club, heart, and half of a five-pointed star within a semi-circle in the center of the four card suits. 'Wait a minute…that kind of looks like…' Kyoko thought as she raised her right hand to see that the symbol on the back her right was nearly the same as the door in front of her.
Kyoko passed it off as coincidence as she opened the large door just enough to see who or what was making that enchanting music, and what she saw had her rooted to where she stood.
It was such a beautiful sight to behold; a blue-haired man in an ocean-blue Victorian-styled musician's outfit was playing the beautifully, bewitching tune on a dark wood violin, joyous expression on his face as he played. A man with long, ink-black hair, dark eyes, and bemused expression as he danced with a younger man who also had ink-black hair and dark eyes, but his hair was short and messy, and had a child-like face with a big smile as they 'danced'. Deidara was dancing with very beautiful purple-blue haired woman in a purple Victorian-styled dress, seeming to be the incarnation of elegance and grace. A man with silver hair that was slicked back in a blood-red Victorian-style fencing outfit, fencing rapier in hand, was leaning against a nearby wall and talking to a tall, dark-skinned, black haired man with a broad body, wearing a black Victorian-styled suit, and, from what Kyoko could see, black stitching across his skin, like a rag doll. Then she saw Sasori serving tea to a man with spiky, orange hair, silver, ringed eyes, silver piercings in his ears and nose, red and black robes with silver trimming, an amused expression as he watched the others, and an aura about him that made Kyoko want to bow down to him, respect him unconditionally.
'They look so beautiful…like they're in world of their own…I wish I could join in, it looks like fun…' Kyoko thought as her eyes softened and a small smile spread across her face as she continued to watch the scene from the crevice in the door.
'Why don't you join in if you think it looks like fun.' a light voice started the statement in her head as she felt a hand pressed against her back, while a dark voice, similar to the light voice, finished the other half of the statement as she felt said hand shove her forward. She caught herself against the door before she fell, but this caused the door to creak loudly, giving away her presence, and the music stopped as everyone snapped their heads up to see what caused the loud noise.
'Real or not, voices in one's head are evil…' Kyoko thought before straightening up as everyone was looking at her, before Deidara said, "Kyoko-chan! What took you so long? … And where are the clothes you had on when Sasori and I found you?"
Kyoko blinked twice before answering with a nervous chuckle, "About the clothes, they were torn up and in no condition to be worn and I had a spare outfit in my backpack to look some-what presentable. About being late, this place is like a maze, I only found this room because someone was playing a song on a violin, and quite beautifully, might I add."
"I am honored to get such a compliment from such a lovely young lady." the blue haired musician said as he walked forward and bowed to Kyoko, meaning every word.
"Well them I am honored to hear such a lovely song." Kyoko said as curtsied to the blue haired musician, before saying, "But I do believe there should some introductions, for I only know Deidara-kun and Sasori-san."
"I do believe you are correct. Pein-sama?" the blue haired musician said, all of them looking towards the orange haired man who was calmly drinking tea during the whole interaction and Kyoko thought, 'He must be the master of this place.', not knowing the full extent of how true that thought was.
Pein put down his cup of tea, stood up, and stating in a slightly teasing tone, "Wouldn't it be rude to our guest if we didn't introduce ourselves properly? I do believe so." He bowed slightly as he said "I am Pein, nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you as well, Pein-sama. My name is Kyoko Akacho." Kyoko said as she curtsied to Pein, for she even though she was raised to polite to everyone, it felt natural to Kyoko to be polite to the orange haired man in front of her.
"You have already met Sasori." Pein said, gesturing his hand towards the red haired male beside him, who bowed slightly as he curtly said, "Kyoko-san." and Kyoko curtsied as she said, "Sasori-san."
The silver haired man walked over and then held up one finger, his index finder, as he said, "Name's Hidan. Tall, dark, and gruesome over there is Kakuzu.", jabbing his thumb in the direction of the dark haired, dark skinned man known as Kakuzu. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that." Kakuzu said gruffly, before Kyoko giggled lightly before she said,
"Nice to meet you, Hidan-san, Kakuzu-san."
The blue haired man walked over, holding up two fingers as he said, "My name is Kisame, and it is a pleasure to meet someone as enjoyable as you."
"Likewise, Kisame-san." Kyoko said, honestly meaning those words, before the beautiful, purple-blue hair woman she saw before curtsied, held up three fingers, and said, "I am Konan, it is nice to meet such a beautiful lady like you." Kyoko smiled, knowing her words were honest, and said honestly, "Likewise, Konan-san, you're very beautiful."
Konan looked at the younger woman with surprised eyes and a light blush on her cheeks before she hugged the younger woman and said, "You're so cute~! Call me Konan-nee(3), you cute, honest, silly girl!", loudly as she twirled with Kyoko in her arms, then stopped twirling as she pulled Kyoko out the sudden hug and said with a smile, "But more importantly, you don't have to address everyone so formally all of the time.", but then added, "Except Pein-sama, he is to be addressed with respect! Okay?"
Kyoko blinked twice before she said, "Okay…?", with a straight face, but slightly confused eyes. Konan hugged her again and said, "So cute~!"
"Konan, Tobi thinks that Kyoko-chan needs to breath!" the male with short, ink-black hair and dark eyes said, noticing that Kyoko's face was starting to go blue from the lack of air. Konan released the poor girl from her hug as Kyoko took in deep breaths to get much needed air, while Tobi helped her stand.
"I'm so sorry Kyoko-chan!" Konan said, worried about the girl. "It's okay Konan-nee…" Kyoko said, a small smile on her face as she regained her normal breathing. Konan stared at the younger woman being held up by Tobi before she said, "I was called Konan-nee… I'm so happy, I could cry…", crying anime tears of joy and sniffling lightly, before the dark eyed boy who was helping her stand decided to introduce himself.
"Hi Kyoko-chan! Tobi's name is Tobi, but I guess you heard Tobi say that earlier!" Tobi said, hugging Kyoko lightly from behind as he rested his head on her shoulder, nearly pressing his cheek into hers as he held up four fingers.
Kyoko blinked a bit before she smiled and said, "Yes Tobi-kun, I did, but it was nice of you to tell me anyway." Tobi and Kyoko smiled at each other for a bit before Tobi asked, "Kyoko-chan? May I also call you 'Kyoko-nee'?" "Sure Tobi-kun." Kyoko said, smiling at his child-like mannerisms as Tobi released her from the hug and skipped and twirled as he said, "Kyoko-nee, Kyoko-nee~!", in a singsong tone. "I guess that makes me the middle sibling…" Kyoko mused out loud as she was unaware of the of the older, long ink-black haired, dark eyed, pale male next to her until he said, "Probably."
She practically jumped out of her skin when she a response to what she said. "My name's Itachi." the raven next to said as he also held up four fingers when he introduced himself. "N-nice to meet you." Kyoko said, still a bit shaken up from the sudden introduction. Deidara walked over, held up all five fingers on his right hand, and smiled as he asked, "Do I have to introduce myself to someone I know, un?" Kyoko smiled back before she said, "I don't believe you have to."
Both smiled at each before Pein asked, "Would you like to join us for some afternoon tea, Kyoko-san?", offering an empty chair at the table to her. Kyoko was quiet for a few seconds before she said,
"That sounds lovely Pein-sama, but, May I please dance first? When I saw everyone dancing earlier, it looked like everyone was having so much fun, that I wanted to join in… if that's not a problem…", tilting her head down, eyes half-lidded, and small smile with a light blush on her cheeks. Pein was quiet before he said,
"Sure Kyoko-san. Everyone, let us watch our guest dance." "Um, a-and sing! … If that's not a problem…" Kyoko added, staring at her feet shyly, not sure as to how they would react. Pein was quiet before he chuckled lightly and said, "Everyone we are in for a real treat today. Kyoko-san, we would be delighted to see you dance and sing for us."
Kyoko looked up and saw everyone smiling and nodding, giving his or her approval to her performance. Tobi then said, "Tobi would love to see Kyoko-nee's dance and hear Kyoko-nee sing!", smiling childishly as he said those words. Kyoko blinked a bit before she said shyly, "O-okay, but there's this spoken introduction…" "We don't mind Kyoko-san." Pein said, reassuring the shy girl, as everyone sat down and faced the shy, young woman.
"Um, o-okay…" Kyoko said before closing her eyes, taking two deep breaths, relaxed her body, and, when everyone was sitting down and comfortable, she opened her eyes to a half-lidded position, calm expression on her face and the aura around her was calmer and colder than her aura from earlier. Then she began to speak, in a calm, eerie voice that almost made everyone shiver.
"Once, long ago, in the Victorian era, lived twin brothers, both having vibrant orange hair: The younger twin, who had eyes like the deepest amethyst, was plagued by a disease that had neither a name nor cure. This younger twin had a family; a wife, two sons, and lovely daughter, but, sadly, this man died before his youngest child, the daughter, turned two years of age. That younger twin was my great-great-grandfather. The generations after him were very healthy, until a baby girl was born, having the same eye color, hair color, and illness as her great-great-grandfather. And…that girl is me, Kyoko Akacho, who came into this forest, body dying since she was first checked into the hospital at five years of age.", she paused, looked at the shocked faces of her audience, before she took another deep breath as continued.
"The older twin, who was my great-great-grand uncle, had ringed, silver eyes, much like Pein-sama's; I've had a repeating dream about this place for the past five years...", everyone looking at Pein, who was unusually calm during her little 'speech', before they turned their attention back to the dying, orange haired girl, who continued with, "That man studied all religions in the world, looking for the answer to life. All his intensive studies had revealed to him is that unless you control things, you have no place in this world.", she smiled sadly before she said, "There is some truth to that; 'unless you control something, you have no place in this world.' I learned that after an experience of mine. I was twelve and a half years old when, out of nowhere, I was given a small Venus flytrap with a note that said, 'Please take good care of it. The prominent mouth likes water and sunshine, like a regular plant, while the other prominent mouth likes insects and small pieces of meat.' At first, I thought the note was weird, so I only gave it water and let in sit on the windowsill of my hospital room. The next day, the one side looked kind of healthy, while other drooped, so I put a small piece of meat into the drooping sides mouth and watered the plant. The very next day, both sides looked so healthy, it made want to nurture it, keep it alive, because only I had the power to either keep it alive or let it die…"
She then laced her fingers behind her back as she leaned forward slightly, small, melancholy smile on her face, as she then said, "I named it Zetsu, as silly as that sounds. But four years later, on my sixteenth birthday, my uncle, a cold man who always smoked cigars, visited me with my brother and grandparents, who, despite the emotional distance, at least understood my feelings. My uncle was 'joking around' as he called, put out a cigar of his on the Venus flytrap, burning the main leaf considerably." Her voice lowered, smile disappearing, before she continued with, "I looked at him with a shocked and hurt expression, and all he said was, 'What? It'll only become worm food, just like you, you worthless child!', and then he lit the plant on fire with a match, pushed it off the windowsill, and walked away, lighting a cigar with the same match that took away something that, not did I have control over it, but it also gave me something to live for and I also saw a bit of myself in that plant: it's struggle against the many things in life, just to live on, I strived to be like that, but then it was gone right before my eyes… My grandparents scolded my uncle, while my brother comforted me, knowing that not only were my feelings were deeply hurt, but also knowing that plant precious to me."
She paused, took a deep breath, face calm and pokerfaced, and continued with, "Back to what I was originally saying, that man decided he wanted to be god. Who but a god could control the world make it what he desired most? But how could he do such a thing? So that man traveled near and far and one day found a new world where he could be whatever he wanted. Duke, king, god… It was his oyster! But… as we all know, in order to be a god, you need followers. So he decided: 'I will lure people to me and they will be my followers. Their hearts, souls, and blood shall be the foundation for my new world.'", and in the middle of the last sentence, Kyoko waved her right hand, the diamond on the mark that was on her hand shined an ocean blue for less than second, and music started to play; low at first, for she was still talking, but grew louder as she neared the ended of the sentence, while her white sundress turned blood-red, the spade on the mark of her hand shined red, and a spade-shaped ruby appeared on her headband.
She started to dance, beautifully, gracefully, and ghostly, in a way, as she then sang in a hauntingly, beautiful voice; shocking everyone with the every so familiar song:
"The First Alice was a gallant lad in red…
He wandered, sword swinging, into this Wonderland…
Then his crimes caught up and he was thrown into this wood…
What happened next is not clearly understood…
He suddenly found himself on an eerie trial…
Akin to a boat on a stormy sea without a sail…
If it weren't for the bloody path that he made…
No one would have believed that he existed!"
Hidan rubbed his chest in the area were his heart would have been. If he still had one.
Her dance moves during that part of the song were fluid-like and looked like sword fighting mixed with dancing, before she did quick twirl; the blood-red color of her sundress instantly changed to an ocean blue, the diamond mark on the mark on her hand shined a bright blue, and a diamond-shaped aquamarine(4) appeared next to the ruby spade, as she continued with singing, the dance moves still fluid-like, but now looked more a violin was being played.
"The Second Alice was an artist with the blues…
Wandering the Wonderland, trying to find a muse…
He discovered that there was great power in his words…
He wanted to use it to create his perfect world…
This Alice found a true paradise…
One that wasn't meant for such impure eyes…
He was shot by a crossed-eyed man…
And he was admired by all as he died!"
Kisame rubbed the bridge of his nose and hissed as a familiar pain flashed through him. "Why didn't I shoot myself in another place?" He mused to himself.
Another quick twirl and her appearance changed a bit again; the sundress changed from the ocean blue to a purple color, the club mark on the mark on her hand shined a light purple, and a club-shaped amethyst appeared next to the diamond-shaped gem, as her dancing became softer and more feminine and continued with her singing.
"The Third Alice was a beauty but so vain…
To extend her looks she came to this wondrous plain…
Everyone gazed at this young beauty renowned…
And soon their king, a new queen had found…
Seasons come and seasons go…
And her beauty began to fade like winter's snow…
Whatever happened to that beautiful queen?
Her heart's true beauty was too wretched to be seen!"
Konan smiled and a licked her lips with a forked tongue.
And right before the next part of the song, Kyoko's shadow extended and formed into a mirror of Kyoko. They both twirled, the real Kyoko's sundress turning a bright, orange-red color(5), and only half of the heart mark on the mark on her hand shined a bright, orange-red and half of a heart-shaped, orange-red topaz appeared next to the purple, gemmed club. The shadow Kyoko had a dark, orange-red sundress, the other half of the heart mark on her hand shined a darker orange-red shade, and only the other half of the heart-shaped, darker orange-red topaz appeared on the shadow Kyoko's headband. The real Kyoko continued to sing:
"There once were two cousins,
One naïve and one so bored."
Then the shadow Kyoko sung, tone slightly lower than the real Kyoko:
"The older was sick of life…
In their humble abode."
Both joined hands and sang:
"So they were truly happy when they received, one day."
They brought their free, opposite hands, which they had their index finder and thumb into the shape of a half heart, and placed them together to form a heart-like shape when they sung:
"A tantalizing Ace of Hearts!"
As quickly as they joined hands, they separated, but never too far apart as they sung and danced in perfect synchronization.
"The Fourth Alice was a set of two cousins…
They were invited to have tea inside of Wonderland…
Once the fun was over, they traveled further in…
The lure of Wonderland is such a powerful thing."
The real Kyoko twirled, then curtsied as she sung:
"The foolish younger cousin."
The shadow Kyoko twirled in the other direction, and curtsied as well, as it sung:
"The wiser older raven."
Both Kyokos joined both of their hands and came close together, foreheads nearly touching as they sung:
"They came so close to escaping,
but were still so far!"
Then the sounds of footsteps in partially dry grass, then something being hit, and quite hard at that, before they sung in an eerie tone:
"These two shall never wake up from their dreams…
They shall forever continue to wander Wonderland!"
Itachi closed his eyes and sighed before looking at Sasori and stating, "You and that damned tea-pot." Tobi silently smiled and rubbed his neck.
They broke apart, the shadow Kyoko disappearing and the darker half of both the shining heart mark on her hand and the heart-shaped orange-red topaz appeared on the real Kyoko, making the heart whole, before her sundress turned sky-blue and half of the five-pointed star within the small circle mark on her hand glowed a light blue color, as she continued to sing.
"The Fifth Alice was a sculptor, we were told…
He looked like an angel with his hair of gold…
He escaped from torment into Wonderland…
Yet, his fellow classmates would never understand…
He disappeared into the forest deep…
Lulled by dreams into a peaceful sleep…
Paradise to some…
Hell to most…
His smiles shall forever grace the halls of Wonderland!"
Deidara smiled and gave a short laugh, remembering what his life had been like before.
Everyone expected the music to die down and for Kyoko to finish, but the music rose in pitch and slowed in tempo as they focused on the girl who was facing them fully; sundress back to its white color, but the mark on her right hand still glowed and the four, gemmed card suits were still on her headband, as she started to sing.
"The Si-"
The music abruptly stopped, as did the singing, and the gemmed card suits disintegrated from her headband and the glowing ceased, as she collapsed to the floor, coughing very violently, more so than any other 'attack' she had encountered so far, with a lot more blood being coughed up and some occasional sickly sounding wheezing and panting.
Nearly everyone bolted over to Kyoko, except for Pein, who walked over to the dying girl, all of them trying to stop the violent coughing, but it was all in vain. "Pein-sama?" a voice asked, Tobi's voice, as he look up from the orange haired girl to the spiky, orange haired man as he asked, "Can we let Kyoko-nee be our sixth Alice?" Pein looked at the boyish male in complete surprise, for Tobi never suggested something as extreme as making someone an Alice, as did a few others who diverted their attention to Tobi before Kyoko went into another fit of violent coughing, more and more blood being coughed up, her face getting paler and pulse getting weaker.
"I'm sorry to be the barer of bad news…", a dark voice said, making everyone turn to the large, ornate door to see a male with short, ink-black hair that stuck up in the back with long bangs, dark eyes, and pale skin; he almost looked like Itachi, except he looked younger than the raven at Tobi's side, and continued with, "…but, she can't become an Alice."
"And why not, un?" Deidara asked, already pissed off by him.
"Because, she was already dying when she entered here. One becomes an Alice when they die in this forest, but she's been dying long before she entered this place, therefore making her soul open game to shinigami like me, Sasuke Uchiha…" Sasuke said, grinning sadistically before he summoned up a dark, demonic-looking scythe and continued with, "It's only a matter of time before that girl is as good as dead."
"So you turned out to be a shinigami, foolish ototou(6)." Itachi said coldly, glaring at the male you used to be his little brother. Sasuke looked at Itachi and Tobi and said sarcastically, "Well, well, well… If it isn't nii-san and Tobi-nii, what a pleasant surprise… I'd just like to inform you that because of your disappearance so many years ago, was the reason I became a shinigami."
Tobi and Itachi looked at Sasuke in shock and disbelieve, at which Sasuke chuckled darkly and said, "If you don't believe me, then I'll elaborate further; shinigami are created from souls that die before their allotted time of death. Two weeks after you two 'disappeared', I was named heir of the Uchiha family, and two nights later, I was murdered in my sleep by a man who belonged to a rival family. I died because of you two!"
There was then a collective chuckling. Sasuke growled and turned to see Kakuzu, Sasori, Hidan, Kisame, and Konan... laughing at him! Sasuke barked out, "Shut up, all of you!" Kakuzu smirked and asked,
"Why? I don't see anyone here except for Pein-sama that could make us." Sasori chuckled and continued,
"Why don't you just fly on home, death-boy? You're obviously being a nuisance." Sasuke tried turning away, just to find Hidan there in front of him. The albino poked his rapier at the brunette, almost tauntingly, as he laughed, his ruby eyes dilating into slits, his teeth growing into fangs and his ears growing more cat-like,
"Look who thinks he's a tough little man!" When the albino laughed, Sasuke swung his scythe at the young man but only met air as Hidan dodged the blow.
"Damn you all, I..." Sasuke stopped when he heard a violin playing again. He whipped his head around and saw Kisame, now with blue skin, sharply dilated eyes and gill-like marks on his face, playing away and smirking, showing of sharp teeth,
"Honestly though, we feel sorry for you but you need to stop playing this little blame-game of yours. If not, well..." He slowed the rhythm and it began a solemn melody. "Cry us a river, why don't you?" Sasuke growled again and was about to bark out another command until he felt feminine arms around his shoulders and a smooth voice saying,
"Honestly, sssweetheart. Don't act like thisss... It makesss it seem like a you should be in this dresss instead of me!" Everyone, except for Kyoko of course, roared in laughter at this. Sasuke was damn near boiling inside. How dare these pathetic excuses of lost souls make a jest out of him. And worst of all, he heard softer laughter from a certain direction. Sasuke turned and saw his older brother and his cousin, both now having blood-red eyes and claws, trying to stifle their own laughter. Sasuke snapped.
The shinigami charged at Tobi, scythe in position to cut, when Kyoko moved in front of Tobi, blocking the boyish male from the attack and braced herself, expecting to feel pain, but felt no pain at all.
Kyoko opened her eyes to see a man with green hair, green Victorian-style suit, and a simple, green top hat with a half-black and half-white rose on it, blocking the scythe with a long, black cane with an intricate rose design where the hands would usually rest.
'I've feel like I know this presence…' Kyoko thought, before her memories of the Venus flytrap she took care of and getting a half-black and half-white rose and a note that said, 'Please keep smiling. It looks better on you than a sad face and tears.'
"Zetsu… is that really you?" Kyoko asked, happy, sad, and a bit confused all at the same time. "I'm touched that you've figured it's me." The light Zetsu said before pushing Sasuke away, and drawing the sword that was within the cane.
"But now isn't the best time to chat." The dark Zetsu said, from the same body, before he charged at Sasuke, who had changed his scythe into a sword, and started to battle with the shinigami.
Kyoko fell to the floor, starting to cough again. "Kyoko-nee… why did you try to block Sasuke's attack?" Tobi asked, slightly confused as to why she would do that. Kyoko merely smiled weakly, blood flowing from the corner of her mouth, and said, "If I'm the onee-chan, then I should protect my ototou."
Tobi felt like he was about to cry before he said, "B-but we're not blood related…" Kyoko smiled even more so as she said, "Who ever said that you had to be related by blood to family? Even though I have a family, they never showed that they cared, loved, or accepted me in anyway, but here, in this mansion, with everyone, Deidara-kun, Konan-nee, Itachi, Hidan, Tobi-kun, Kisame, Zetsu, Sasori, Kakuzu, and even Pein-sama, you guys made me happier than I've ever been, and I wish I could stay with you guys forever…" the last part of that sentence is what caused the mansion's residents' ears to perk up.
Pein then asked, "Do you truly and honestly mean what you said? That you would want to stay with us forever?"
Kyoko blinked twice before nodding vigorously, then going into a small coughing fit, while everyone shared a look, except for Zetsu and Sasuke, who were still fighting each other.
"There is way to stay with us forever, but you need to become an 'Alice', and to do that, there are three requirements to become an 'Alice'…" Pein said, speaking in a way that would, hopefully, grab her attention, and looked over to see that he had Kyoko's complete and undivided attention.
Pein then continued with, "The first requirement is your own acceptance as an 'Alice', to accept that you will have to spend the rest of eternity in this forest, this mansion, with everyone here." Kyoko immediately said in a happy, straightforward tone, with a smile on her face, her right hand raised, palm forward, like she was making a pledge, "I, Kyoko Akacho, of the Akacho family, completely, honestly, and happily, accept being an 'Alice' and the fact that I get to spend forever with people that I truly and honestly care about."
After her little 'pledge', a bright, silver light shone from the one half of the small, five-pointed star within the circle that is in the center of the four card suits, the half that didn't shine earlier. Pein blinked twice before he continued with, "The second requirement is for the other 'Alices', Deidara, Tobi, Itachi, Konan, Kisame, and Hidan, to accept you as an 'Alice'.", he then looked at the other 'Alices' before Pein asked them, "Well, do you believe that Kyoko-san should be an 'Alice'?" Kyoko braced herself, expecting them to say 'no', outright.
"I honestly think Kyoko-chan should be an 'Alice', un. She'd be a lot happier here and I would be happier, too." Deidara said, truth evident in every word that he said.
'Deidara-kun…' Kyoko thought with a smile as the other half of the small, five-pointed star within the small circle in the center of the four card suits shined a sky-blue color before it changed into the bright, silver color that the other half was, her pulse speeding up a bit when it did so.
"She protected Tobi with her life and I believe that both Tobi and I would find her presence here enjoyable, so I honestly give my acceptance to Kyoko-san." Itachi said before Tobi said loudly, childish smile on his face, "What Itachi means is that Itachi and Tobi truly believe that you should be an 'Alice', Kyoko-chan!"
Kyoko then thought, 'Itachi, Tobi-kun…', as her pulse sped up again and the heart mark on her glowed both light and dark orange-red before it shone bright silver.
Konan walked up to the girl and hugged her lightly before she said in a quiet voice, "I honestly think that you would be a great 'Alice' and don't you ever forget that, okay Kyoko-chan?" Kyoko lightly hugged back and said, "Yes Konan-nee!" before she thought, 'Konan-nee…', as the club mark on her hand shone purple before it shined bright silver and her pulse sped up yet again.
Kisame walked over, then bowed before he said, "I truthfully think that you being an 'Alice' would be a very good thing, your singing and dancing was quite beautiful and would like to play a few songs with you." Kyoko smiled as she said, "I would be greatly honored to sing and dance to one of your songs Kisame." as she then thought, 'Kisame…' as her pulse quickened again and the diamond mark on her hand glowed ocean blue before it shone bright silver.
She turned around to be face to face with Hidan, who seemed to be shifting uncomfortably as he was trying to find the right words to say to her, as she asked, "Hidan-sa-" but was cut off when Hidan said, " You don't have to be so formal when addressing people…" 'Is he a bit shy…?' Kyoko thought before Hidan continued with, "Aw, hell… how do I say this? I t-think that you would be-", but was cut off as Kyoko hugged him, thought 'He is.', and then said, "I get the idea Hidan-kun." as she released him from the hug and saw that he was blushing like a madman before turning his head and scratched the back of his head shyly.
'Hidan-kun…' Kyoko thought with a smile as the spade mark on her hand glowed a blood red before it shined bright silver and her pulse sped and became more erratic, like it was over working itself.
Kyoko's right hand clenched over the area where her heart, merely hearing the echo of Pein's words, "The third and final requirement is to-", but she didn't hear the last part as it was drown out by a particularly loud and heavy heartbeat, and then…silence and falling feeling, but she stood up straight, suddenly feeling much lighter and very energetic, a feeling she never had most of her life.
She was brought out of her musings as she heard a light 'thud'.
'Does that mean that I've…' Kyoko thought as she looked at what made the noise and what she saw only mildly surprised her; she saw her own body, cold, pale, and lifeless, with the silver rose bracelets and necklace shining dully, but the silver locket was absent. She panicked as felt for the necklace, which, surprising, was not only still around her neck, but the clasp disappeared, so it could never fall off again.
"So this is what it's like to die? When I was alive, it seemed like such a sad, lonely thing." Kyoko said as she picked up her own body effortlessly and placed it, face up, eyes closed, and fingers laced, on a parlor couch, then crouched beside it, looking at her own corpse, before she noticed that it had a smile gracing its lips. She smiled and stood up as she said, "But…", then turned to face everyone and continued with, "Now that I've actually died, I now feel like I belong somewhere and this feeling warms my soul completely…"
She walked forward slowly, her hair lengthening instantly so that it brushed the back of her knees, nails turning pitch-black, and said, "And now that I think about it, my spirit was keeping my body alive because I wanted to feel like I belong somewhere, but I would then think, 'If I die, then I can't be with anyone, anymore' so I couldn't be at peace with the thought of being alone after I died, but…" she paused, standing right in front Sasuke, slightly injured by his battle with Zetsu, and then said, "But, I found a place of belonging and, even after dying, I still feel I belong here." and then asked with a smile, "So shinigami-san, do you mind leaving me be, now that I'm an 'Alice' and all?"
Sasuke blinked twice before he went into a blind rage and swung at her neck with his scythe, but was throw back by a blur of orange and silver, his back painfully hitting the wall near the large, ornate door. He looked up at the orange-haired female and his widen in shock; for Kyoko's black fingernails lengthened into pitch-black claws, had sprouted large silver, metallic, angel wings, and her eyes had dilated into cat-like irises.
"I'm not an easily angered or violent person, shinigami-san, but I will fight back if need be." Kyoko said darkly, her aura darker and glare fiery and cold at the same time, making Sasuke slightly tremble in fear and a cold shiver go up and down everyone else's spine.
"Oi, teme (7)! Kyoko's name was moved to the list of 'Alices' so we have to-" A blonde, spiky haired, blue-eyed male with whisker-marks started to say, before he opened the door and saw a rather, or at least he thought it was, comical sight; Sasuke was against the wall, looking like he peed himself from fear, a petite Kyoko standing above him, glaring the scariest death glare imaginable, and everyone else was watching with more than mild interest, some more fearful than others.
The spiky haired blonde sighed, then said to Kyoko, "Kyoko, please calm down, teme, meaning Sasuke, is obviously scared shitless, so I think he won't be attacking any time soon, and just in case, I'll restrain him, okay?" Kyoko was quiet for less than a second before she said, "Fine, but I'll be cautious…" and her aura became calmer, her fingernails shorter, but were still fairly long, silver, metallic wings became chibi-like and much smaller, but were still there, and her eyes weren't as dilated as they were before; still on guard, but not as angry as before.
The spiky blonde boy smiled and said, "Sorry about the trouble, Sasuke hates losing and has a really bad time letting things go. But anyway, my name is Naruto Uzumaki, friend and shinigami work partner of Sasuke, and since you became an 'Alice', Sasuke and I have no right to take your soul." he then grabbed Sasuke by the back collar of his shirt and continued with, "So we'll be going now." He then proceeded to drag Sasuke out of the ornate door, Sasuke unmoving from shock and fear.
Naruto stopped, without turning around, and added, "Oh, by the way…your brother will find your dead body in a half an hour, he'll think it's his fault you died, and try to commit suicide…unless you appear before him and explain that you're okay with your death." Kyoko was taken aback by what Naruto said, then asked, "And if I can't? What will happen to him?" Naruto took a deep breath and said quietly, still not facing her, "Then he'll become a shinigami, forever roaming the earth, reaping the souls of dying people for all eternity…"
And as quickly as they appeared, the two shinigami disappeared without a trace, leaving the room deathly quiet until Kyoko silently walked over to her gray backpack, opened it, and pulled out a few things; a fairly large sketch pad and two notebooks, one deep blue and the other purple, zippered it up, and opened the small front pouch, grabbing the red butterfly necklace out of it and zipped it up before walking over with a closed, partially emptied backpack slung onto her shoulder and necklace in hand as she walked over to her own corpse, necklace still in hand.
"Pein-sama, may I ask for two favors?" Kyoko asked Pein in a quiet voice that had the kind of tone which she would do something with or without permission. "The first favor being that I could please keep my sketch pad and notebooks here, and second…for me to be visible to my brother, even it's only for a few minutes…" Kyoko said, making it clear those were the only two things she really wanted, looking at Pein with pleading eyes that almost looked like she using puppy-dog eyes, that no one could say no to.
Pein sighed before he pulled out a clear crystal that was on a silver chain, handed it to Kyoko, and said, "Wear this crystal, it will give you a minimum of ten minutes of visibility, so I suggest you use it wisely, and yes, you can keep the sketchbook and notebooks here…"
Kyoko blinked twice, surprised that not only one, but both of her requests were granted, feeling happy and grateful she bowed slightly and loudly said, "Thank you, Pein-sama! Thank you very much!" and she meekly asked, "May I please borrow Kakuzu? Despite my ability to carry my body, it's still quite heavy to carry…" Pein then said in a slightly teasing tone that surprised most everyone there, except Kakuzu and Sasori, "Understandable, you may borrow him, but I'd like him back in one piece." Kyoko giggled at the joke and said loudly, "Yes, Pein-sama!" she turned and started to walk, backpack still slung over her shoulder, towards the ornate doors.
She stopped near Zetsu and said, "I'll need you to accompany me as well, Zetsu." Zetsu smiled, his razor-sharp teeth showing, before both light and dark Zetsu said from the same person, "Of course, Kyoko. We haven't seen each other in such a long time. It would be a good time catch up with each other." before he followed after Kyoko and Kakuzu, who was carrying her corpse, and right before they exited the doors, Kyoko said loudly, "By the way, you guys can look through my notebooks and sketchbook if you want!" then the doors closed, indicating that they were leaving the building.
After waiting a few minutes, Deidara (who had just changed form like the rest), Kisame, and Tobi inched their way over to the couch, where the two notebooks and the sketchbook lay, before Konan picked up the purple notebook, Itachi picked up the deep-blue notebook, and Sasori picked up the sketchbook, before the others could voice objections, Konan, Itachi, and Sasori deadpanned, "You weren't being quick enough…"
While Tobi, Kisame, and Deidara cried anime-tears, Konan started to read the book in her hands more intently, practically burying her nose into it, Sasori had a look of shock and admiration, before inconspicuously walking over to Pein to show him some of the peculiarly realistic drawings, and Itachi had closed his and gently handed it to Kisame as he quickly and quietly said, "I can't read musical notation…(8)"
Kisame then looked like a kid on Christmas day as he looked at the pages of complex music note combinations as Itachi joined Tobi, who was looking over Konan's shoulder and reading what Konan was reading, while Sasori, Deidara, and Pein looked at Kyoko's drawings.
Ryoichi had just drove about half-way towards The Emerald Forest on a nearly empty highway, with the exception of a taxi driver going towards the direction he was coming from, before his cell phone went off. He pulled his phone and his blood ran cold when he saw the sender of the text message was his imotou, Kyoko.
He read the message and when he got to the end of the message, he felt numb before he pressed on the gas pedal hard and sped towards the forest, a feeling of dread washing over his body.
He got to the forest in a fraction of what it would've taken to get there, if he didn't go over the speed limit (9). The clouds were starting to gather and darken above his head as he exited the car, about to go into the forest, before he noticed a large plastic bag with a large manila folder and Kyoko's cell phone in it.
He picked up the bag and put it on the passenger seat before he closed the car door and walked into the forest. After about under an hour of walking, came across a clearing, but he stopped dead in his tracks with what he saw, before sprinting over and falling to his knees in total shock and disbelief.
Kyoko was lying on the ground, face up, head resting on her grey backpack, and hands folded lightly, and was surrounded by a bed of white, thorn-less roses, like a hauntingly, beautiful death bed. He reached up and touched her cheek, it was stone cold and it was paler than Kyoko's light skin tone, and a wave of dread flowed through his body, he held himself as he shuddered and tears stained his cheeks as rain started to heavily pour from the heavens.
He was getting soaked to bone, but he didn't care until he heard a light gasp. He turned his head and his eyes widened as he saw the woman he loved as much as his imotou.
Reina's baggy black shirt and jeans were clinging to her body like a second skin, showing her tall, lithe body, her long, messy dark purple hair was sticking to the sun-kissed skin of her face and neck, her equally dark blue eyes looked at him with understanding and pain, before she sprinted over and embraced him tightly, both sharing their tears and sobs as they hugged each other like their lives depended on it.
Still hugging him, Reina started to sing a lullaby, one that she learned from Kyoko a long time ago, and she would sing it to him to lift his spirits.
"Little child, be not afraid
The rain pounds harsh against the glass
Like an unwanted stranger
There is no danger
I am here tonight
Little child
Be not afraid
Though thunder explodes
And lightning flash
Illuminates your tearstained face
I am here tonight
And someday you'll know
That nature is so
This same rain that draws you near me
Falls on rivers and land
And forests and sand
Makes the beautiful world that you see
In the morning
Little child
Be not afraid
The storm clouds mask your beloved moon
And its candlelight beams
Still keep pleasant dreams
I am here tonight
Little child
Be not afraid
The wind makes creatures of our trees
And the branches to hands
They're not real, understand
And I am here tonight
And someday you'll know
That nature is so
This same rain that draws you near me
Falls on rivers and land
And forest and sand
Makes the beautiful world that you see
In the morning"
It was quiet, the rain lightening to a light drizzle and their crying had stopped long ago, before she continued.
"For you know, once even I
Was a little child
And I was afraid
But a gentle someone always came
To dry all my tears
Trade sweet sleep for fears
And to give a kiss goodnight
Well, now I am grown
And these days have shown
Rain's a part of how life goes
But it's dark and it's late
So I'll hold you and wait
'til your frightened eyes do close"
Reina continued, the clouds clearing and the sunset peeked through the clouds, creating a lovely rainbow, with a lighter and equally sweet sounding voice joining in, making a beautiful harmony. Ryoichi and Reina's eyes had widened at the sound of singing voice they had thought was gone from this world.
"And I hope that you'll know
That nature is so
This same rain that draws you near me
Falls on rivers and land
And forests and sand
Makes the beautiful world that you see
In the morning
Everything's fine in the morning
The rain will be gone in the morning
But I'll still be here in the morning"
The song ended, both Ryoichi and Reina turning their heads before they looked at Kyoko, standing before them with the rose necklace and bracelets, silver locket, and simple crystal necklace around her neck, warmly smiling at them before she took a deep breath and said teasingly, "Despite being dead, I can still sing pretty damn good."
Reina and Ryoichi blinked twice, feeling like they've been thrown for a loop, before they chuckled. Kyoko pouted and said in mock hurt and sarcasm, "Way to respect the dead, you jerks." Before she continued with, "But seriously, I'm dead, just look at my dead body…"
They looked at the body, and noticed two things: one, that the corpse was smiling, and two, the roses that she seemed to lay in had changed from white to, literally, multi-colored roses, each rose petal was a different color, the colors ranged from black to blue to red to silver and many other colors, making Ryoichi and Reina stare in awe at them.
"Even though I'm dead." Kyoko said, making them redirect their focus to her, before she continued with, "Doesn't mean that I'm dead in your hearts, right? As long as you can look back at the memories of me or with me, and you can smile and think, 'Those were good times…', that would make me really happy." Her body started to fade, and before she disappeared completely, she said loudly and teasingly, "Reina-nee, I know you love onii-chan, and that he loves you too, so just confess and kiss already!"
Then she was gone, leaving the two blushing madly, before Reina asked, "…So you've loved me too, huh?" Ryoichi blinked twice before he shyly said, "Yes…"
Ryoichi then felt he was being lightly pushed towards Reina, stumbling slightly before straightening up, before Reina said lightly, blush across her face, "I think Kyoko-chan is hinting to something…" Ryoichi smiled back, leaning in closer before saying, "I do believe you're right…"
They then met in a short, but loving kiss, before pulling apart and smiling at each other, before Ryoichi asked lovingly, "Would it be too early to propose?" Reina blushed lightly before she asked, "Depends, when did it feel like our relationship was more than friends?" Ryoichi placed his forehead against hers, before he replied, "First year of middle school. And you?"
Reina shyly answered, "Around the same time." It was quiet before Ryoichi took off his class ring, and got down on one and asked, "I know this seems rushed, but our feelings for each other are strong, and for a long time, so, Reina Doushi, will you marry me?"
Reina was quiet before she said, tears of joy streaming down her cheeks, "Yes, Ryoichi Akacho, I will." He slipped the ring on gently, gazing into the other's eyes, before Reina said, "Kyoko is going to want a wedding invitation, you know this right?" Ryoichi smiled lightly before saying, "Yeah, I know. That's why I thought that maybe we could have the wedding here, in this forest, in this very clearing. I mean, after all, she did get us together in the first place."
Reina had a thoughtful expression on her face for a few seconds before she said, "That sounds good to me, but Kyoko-chan will have to double check."
"That's true…" Ryoichi responded, linking his fingers with Reina's as they headed back to the edge of the forest, but unbeknownst to them, Kyoko, Kakuzu, and Zetsu had seen and heard everything. "Kakuzu, Do you think Pein will allow my onii-chan's wedding in here?" Kyoko asked, hoping that the answer might be 'yes'. Kakuzu shrugged and said, "Don't know, you'll have to ask him."
Kyoko pouted lightly before saying, "I was hoping for a more defined answer…" Both light and dark Zetsu and Kakuzu chuckled lightly before all three of them walked towards the mansion.
It was quiet in the main room, with the exception of whispering, before they turned their attention to Kyoko, who had just entered the room with Kakuzu and Zetsu, who was then attacked with many questions, which she did answer, before she told them what had happened with her brother.
"So, Pein-sama, may he have the wedding here, in this forest, in this clearing?" Kyoko asked, giving her best puppy-pout. Pein sighed and said, "Yes, Kyoko, he can have his wedding here." All of the 'Alice's, except for Itachi, who nodded lightly, cheered. Deidara was quiet, slightly staring at Kyoko, before she bluntly asked, "Deidara-kun, why are you staring?
Deidara was quiet for few seconds before he said, "It's been about an hour since her body died, but she hasn't changed into her 'Alice' outfit yet, un…" Everyone looked at Kyoko, and true to Deidara's word, Kyoko was still in the sundress she died in.
"Maybe because Kyoko-nee became an 'Alice' differently, Kyoko has a different 'Alice' outfit." Tobi said, trying to explain why it was like that, and everyone agreed that it seemed like a logical explanation. "So, Kyoko-chan, any ideas for your 'Alice' outfit?" Konan asked, voicing the curiosity of most everyone in the room.
Kyoko blinked twice before closing her eyes, imaging herself in an outfit she drew a while ago. Her outfit suddenly started to transform: the dark mark on her hand glowed before it traveled up her arm, almost in a snake-like way, and formed a complex, squiggle-like mark before it disappeared, the black headband turned dark grey and a small light grey, top-hat-like hat that had a grey bow and a larger white bow slightly under the hat-thing attached to the headband, a simple black choker with white frills with the engraved locket one with five tiny gem roses, ruby, aquamarine, amethyst, half-dark, half-light orange topaz, sapphire, and one tiny platinum rose, in that order in a clock-wise direction, around the locket, the shoulder part of her sleeves puffed out slightly and lengthened, with two small white bows on the upper arm of the sleeve with frills where the sleeve ends, nearly covering the fingerless black gloves, a black and white corset-like top, attached to the puffed shoulder part of the sleeves, big, black bow, which, in it's own way, looked liked it was based off of thin, dragonfly-like, fairy wings, black, ruffled lace skirt trimmed with frills and bows, black and white horizontal striped stockings, and her shoes stayed the same; in a way, it looked like a black and white gothic Lolita version of Alice from 'Alice and Wonderland.'
After the transformation was complete, Kyoko opened her eyes and asked, "Well, what do you think?" She was glomped by Konan and Tobi as simultaneously said, "So cute~!" Kyoko couldn't help but smile as she felt a true feeling of warmth and belonging.
She then felt like singing, so she looked at Kisame who waved his hand, the flourish of music from earlier returning, the music's tone sounding more cheerful, but it was still slightly higher pitched and slightly slower tempo, before she sang in her beautiful singing voice and danced with haunting grace and beauty.
"The Sixth Alice was a fair girl, but gravely ill…
Living only by the power of an iron will…
She wanted to pass on quietly, she had planned…
As she wandered through this wondrous Wonderland…
She had not expected to have to choose between death or great happiness…
But what had happened to the beat of her heart?
She had given it to friends she truly loves!"
When she finished, they were completely awe-struck by her song, the sound more beautiful, knowing she meant what she sang. They then smiled, knowing that she'll be here with them forever.
It was three months afterward Kyoko's death when they had the wedding, and Kyoko was waiting for everyone at the front door of the mansion, which wasn't too far away from where they had set up the wedding "Come on guys! They'll start the wedding march any second!"
Everyone rushed to the door before they went over to the area where the wedding was just about to start, standing not too far away the back rows of white benches that were brought in. "What took you guys so long?" Kyoko whispered loudly, barely making it before the classic 'Here comes the bride' was played on the simple electric piano, which they set to sound like an organ, and seeing Reina, her soon-to-be sister-in-law, walk down the isle. "Well, Deidara and Itachi took their sweet time with their hair." Konan whispered loudly, the wedding march ending and priest started to read off the wedding vows.
"Konan-san, you're one to talk, it took you nearly an hour to pick out the right dress, let alone actually getting into said dress." Itachi said quietly, smirking slightly in his triumph. "Shh! Tobi can't hear what they're saying!" Tobi whispered loudly, cuddling into Itachi's arm as he looked on with dreamy eyes, effectively quieting the group.
"Kyoko-chan, when are you going to release the spell, un?" Deidara asked lightly, the priest getting close to the end of the seemingly endless vows and closer and closer to the 'I do's'. "I told you Deidara, after they say 'I do.' and Reina-nee throws the bouquet." Kyoko said, getting more and more excited about their 'dramatic' entrance by the second.
During the three months before the wedding, Pein and Kyoko had developed a spell that allows temporary visibility and physical contact, in other words, it's like they're temporarily alive.
"Let's review…" Kyoko said quietly.
Hidan said, "I can't use profanity."
Tobi continued with, "Tobi can't randomly glomp people."
Itachi then said, "I can't death glare anyone if he does."
Konan then said, "No rude comments."
Kisame continued with, "No getting horribly drunk."
Deidara then said, "No randomly exploding stuff."
Zetsu added, "No eating people. Despite the fact that humans taste so good. But we're on our best behavior today."
Sasori and Kakuzu said, "No injuring or killing anyone."
Kyoko then asked, "And the most important rule…?"
They all said, including Pein, "No one is to know about the 'Alices' and if it does slip out, it's known as a very secretive, little known club that has very restricted rules of joining, and if they ask about our clothes, our reasons are our club's eccentric taste in clothing." Kyoko smiled lightly before she said, "Very good."
They then directed their attention to the priest right as he asked Reina, "Do you, Reina Doushi, take Ryoichi Akacho to be your lawfully wedded husband, as long as you both shall live?" Reina wore the biggest smile as she said, "I absolutely do." The priest smiled lightly as he asked Ryoichi, "And do you, Ryoichi Akacho, take Reina Doushi to be your lawfully wedded bride, as long as you both shall live?"
Ryoichi had the biggest smile as he said, "Hell yeah I do, no offence." Priest chuckled lightly before he quickly said, "None taken." before he said loudly, "I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride." They shared a sweet, loving kiss, the family and friends applauding for the happy couple.
"Hey Kyoko, why are we all the way back here?" Sasori asked, not exactly sure as to why they were so far back. "Oh, that's easy…" Kyoko said dryly, watching as Reina drew back her arm, about to throw the bouquet. "Despite her lithe form, Reina-nee has one hell of a throwing arm…"
With that, the bouquet was thrown, further than most expected, but Kyoko and her 'family' were in the vicinity of where the bouquet would land. Kyoko released the spell instantly, a mini gust of wind, much like a sudden breeze, and jumped up, effectively catching the bouquet right as the spell took full effect, surprising the guests and pleasantly surprising her brother and new sister-in-law as she landed on her feet gracefully.
She held the bouquet of white roses and babies' breath in her left arm waving with her right arm as she said loudly with a smile, "Sorry that we're late! But we're here!"
Everyone there smiled, not quite why, before they started up the festivities and enjoyed themselves. And, after hours of eating, drinking, talking, and dancing, everyone started to leave, drunk or tired from all the fun, except for Kyoko, her 'family', and her brother and sister-in-law.
Kyoko smiled lightly, knowing that after this, she'll never see them again, and this thought saddened her slightly, but she tried not to show it. "You two should go now, it's getting late and you'll miss your flight to the place where you're having your honeymoon." Kyoko said, happy that her brother and his love's last memory of her was a happy one.
"We're in no rush and it doesn't take that long to get to the airport from here…" Reina said, practically glowing with happiness. Kyoko smiled, but then her smile dropped, noticing that the spell was starting to fade, her 'family' and herself fading with the spell. "Please be happy." Kyoko said, barely hugging them good-bye before she and her 'family' faded from sight.
"We already are happy, Kyoko-chan, we already are…" Ryoichi and Reina whispered, a single tear running down Reina's cheek, but it was a happy tear as they smiled widely and turned to walk towards the limo that would drive them to the airport, and, unbeknownst to them, Kyoko watched them exit the forest, mixed feelings as she watched them go, before she felt a hand touch her shoulder in a comforting and supportive way. She looked over her shoulder to Zetsu's hand there and looked to see that all of them were ready to comfort her if needed.
Kyoko smiled brightly before saying, "Thanks guys, you being here really helps…" Everyone smiled, before heading back to mansion. Before they entered Kisame asked, "Kyoko-chan, may you please play that song we wrote a month ago?" Kyoko happily said, "Absolutely Kisame-kun, absolutely." And meant every word, as she then heard them start to bicker, but she wouldn't trade it for the world.
End…or is it?
TG- You never know, Pein could always use new followers... Mwa ha ha ha!
Sand-chan: True, true, but still…*thinks then realizes something* OMFG!!!! That took forever!!!! lol :P
TG- But it turned out so beautifully! I never would have pictured the original story ending happy like that but it works. I hope everyone enjoyed Sand's work. I'm off to work on more of the Akatsuki Horror Series and finish my other fanfics *bows before running off*
Sand-chan: *waves goodbye to TG* Thanks for editing this thing for me! *ahem* Reviews are much appreciated!!! :D
EDIT:
Sand-chan: I forgot the notes, and some words, I put into the story, silly me! ^_^'
(1)- the stick thing used to play the violin.
(2)- 'imotou' means little sister.
(3)- 'nee' is a term for older sister or older sister-like figures.
(4)- the gemstone and the color.
(5)- I don't know Tobi and Itachi's color in the original fanfic, so I chose orange-red, where it looks more like red than orange, because it was the only color I could imagine both Tobi and Itachi in…
(6)- 'ototou' is a term for younger brother or younger brother-like figures.
(7)- 'teme' means bastard, or something along those lines, in Japanese.
(8)- musical notation is the fancy words for musical notes that you see on sheet music.
(9)- Remember folks, it's not safe to speed, highway or any place else… ^_^'