~Aldea's POV
I gasp and sit bolt upright, haunted by the odd dream I just had. I can't completely remember it, but it was something to do with KagePro… With a start, I realise that I'm not in my bedroom. Where am I? What happened? Was it… Was it real?
"You're awake!" I squint and turn to the source of the voice. I swear loudly as my eyes land on Seto. He looks somewhere between confused and concerned. "How did you end up in the river?"
"I-I don't-"
He cuts me off, "Wait, I'll go and get the others. Will you be okay on your own for a minute?" I nod. He gets up and leaves the room and I dig my nails hard into my skin, wincing as they pierce the flesh and blood starts to pool in the palm of my hand. I'm definitely not dreaming. Did someone drug me? Was my ramen contaminated with some sort of hallucinogen? I shake my head and look around the room. It doesn't seem familiar, but I can guess that it's either in the home- is it a flat or house? - that the Mekakushi Dan have in the manga or the massive mansion type thing they have in anime. What the hell is going on?
The door swings open and I find myself face to face with almost all of the Mekakushi Dan. The only one missing is Hibiya. He must have gone home now that the summer's over, I think. I make eye contact with Kido, and memories come flooding back. I smile gratefully at her, realising that the dream I just woke up from wasn't actually a dream, but actually happened. I let my eyes trace across all of them (Shintaro actually looks a bit like some old photos of my dad), and I feel instantly annoyed when I make eye contact with Kano and his smirk becomes more prominent. I scowl at him.
"Do you want to tell us your name?" Kido asks. I think hard. Do I tell them my real name, or do I give myself a cool Japanese name? My name contains a letter that doesn't exist in the Japanese language. I decide to be honest with them.
"A-Aldea." I say, my voice cracking slightly. I gasp and feel a blush rising in my cheeks when I realise something- I have three volumes of the Kagerou Daze manga in my rucksack! What if they've gone through my stuff?
"What's this, Aldea-san?" I grimace and don't look up. "Aldea-san?" I look up, horrifically embarrassed, and see Takane holding out my Hatsune Miku plushie. I'm so relieved that it's not my manga that I start laughing.
"What's so funny about a plushie, Aldea-san?" Shintaro asks, giving me a look that clearly says what the hell, you weirdo.
"N-nothing. It's a Hatsune Miku plushie." I say, and Momo smiles brightly.
"I told you, Ene-san!" she says, and I let out a small giggle.
"If these guys will give me a chance, I'll introduce us to you, Aldea-san." Kido says, giving the others exasperated glances. The others all shut up, and Kido introduces everyone to me.
"Nice t-shirt you were wearing yesterday, Aldea-chan." Kano says light-heartedly with a smirk, and I frown as I try to work out what he means. Is he commenting on my L cosplay? Kido punches him in the face and I realise what he was saying. My t-shirt was white, and it got wet. It must have gone see-through. I wasn't wearing a bra. I groan and bury my face in my hands, blushing furiously. Konoha tilts his head to the side and I chew my lip as I remember my meeting with his dark side. Wait, how is he even here is Kuroha is in London? They're the same person.
"Are you okay, Aldea-san?" he asks. I nod, and my embarrassment turns sour and becomes anger and hatred.
"I'm fine, but he won't be when I'm done with him." I say, glaring darkly at Kano.
"Aldea-san, there are two things I would like to know from you," Kido says before Kano has a chance to respond to what I said. "How did you end up in the river last night, and how did you know my name before I told you?" I gasp and cover my mouth. I remember now that I said her name after she got me out of the river. What should I say? I can't let her know that I'm a fangirl, but I need to make it clear that I know something about them so that they will make me stay here. If they think I know about their abilities, they won't let me leave. I force the thought out of my mind by thinking of how I could have ended up in the river. I try to think of something that isn't simple, but also isn't an obvious lie. I was on a tour boat, and I leaned too far over the edge and fell in. No one noticed. Dread fills me at the memory of just being in the river and feeling so helpless, and the lie that forms so easily in my mind only adds to it. I realise with a start that everyone is staring at me, waiting for an answer. The pressure of having everyone's gazes focussed on me makes my hands tremble, and I feel sweat starting to bead on my forehead.
"I don't think Aldea-san wants to talk about it." Seto says softly, and I glance at him to give him a grateful smile. His eyes are red, which surprises me because I know that he doesn't like to use his ability. He blinks quickly a few times and looks away, and, when he looks back, his eyes are normal again. Kido nods.
"I would still like to know how you know me, Aldea-san." she says in a monotone. I think back to the manga and recall what she looked like when she was younger. Maybe I could convince her that I knew her, Kano and Seto from the orphanage? It's unlikely that they'll believe me, but-
"Maybe you knew each other when you were little," Momo says cheerfully, "You might have been childhood friends!" Kano scrunches his face up, as if he's thinking hard.
"You do seem kind of familiar, Aldea-chan." he says, and for once I'm glad that I have a plain face that looks like a lot of other people.
"I-I don't know how I know you, Kido-san," I lie, "I know you from somewhere, but I don't remember where from."
"If Kano recognises you, maybe you were at the orphanage or in our elementary class." Kido says. She doesn't seem completely convinced, but she definitely hasn't realised that she's never seen me before. She's giving me a chance, though, to act like she's caused me to remember.
"It must have been the orphanage. I was really young then, and my memories of it are hazy." I say slowly, trying to look like I'm concentrating on remembering. I suddenly regret quitting Stagecoach. If I still went, or had chosen Drama as one of my GCSE options, I would be able to convince them more easily. As it is, I have more acting experience than most people my age, but I'm still not that great at it. Kido nods, frowning.
"How old are you now?" she asks.
"Almost fifteen." I reply.
"So, fourteen." Kano says.
"Almost fifteen."
"You're not fifteen yet. That means you're fourteen or younger."
"Okay, fine. I'm fourteen. Satisfied?" Seto lets out a light laugh as I glare at Kano.
"You're younger than I thought. Though that might be because when I think of fourteen year olds, I think of Kano and Seto at that age. They were both young for their age." Kido says. I snort. I'm young for my age. Everyone who knows me says so.
"I'm not as mature as you think. I just come across as mature to people who don't know me." I say with a shrug.
"That would be why you had a load of manga and two plushies in your rucksack."
"Is it English that it's been translated into?" Momo asks, and I nod. "You speak English?" I nod again. "Say something in English!" I roll my eyes.
"It's really annoying when people keep questioning me. Give me my manga and leave me alone." I say in English, hoping that none of them know enough English to understand me, and Momo and Marry stare at me, stunned.
"Manga in English is manga?" I laugh at Seto's stupid question and nod.
"How come your manga is in English, Aldea-chan?" Kano asks me. He doesn't hide the fact that he's suspicious of me.
"English is my native language. I still find it difficult to read kanji." I explain.
"That's so cool! When did you move to Japan?" Momo bubbles with a smile.
I pause for a few seconds to think before speaking, "I was born here, but my parents are English and we spoke English at home. I was put temporarily into the orphanage when I was three, and when I moved back in with my parents, we moved back to England. We moved back here a few months ago." I'm surprised by how honest and natural it sounds, though it's probably only me that it seems that way to, because I'm not great at knowing when people are lying.
"What happened that meant you were only there temporarily, Aldea-san?" Kano asks. It's obvious that he doesn't believe me. I can't think of what a valid reason would be, so I shake my head.
"I'd rather not talk about it." I whisper, hoping I can convince them that I just don't want to bring up bad memories.
"Do you want to go and get properly cleaned up? You can borrow some clothes for now." Kido says. I nod.
"Thank you." I say.
"Who wants to lend Aldea-san some clothes? Shintaro-san? You're about her size," Kido says, and Shintaro frowns slightly and opens his mouth, probably to complain. "She's taller than Marry and Momo, and I don't want to force her into something baggy and shapeless like my stuff."
"Baggy's fine. All of my clothes at home are men's clothes and club hoodies. I'm fine as long as my legs are covered." I say. Kido nods.
"I'll get you some clothes. Come on, guys, give Aldea-san some space." she says, turning and leaving the room. Everyone else follows, except for Momo. She races forwards with an eager grin.
"What clubs do you do, Aldea-chan? Can I call you Aldea-chan, or would you prefer -san?" she asks.
"-Chan's fine. Back in England, I cross country running- long distance- and volleyball. I've been doing cross country since I was seven, and I started volleyball when I found out that I was good at in PE at school." I explain. Momo smiles nervously at me.
"I'm guessing you don't know who I am. You're treating me like I'm just any other person." she says unsurely.
I shrug, "Just because you're famous, doesn't mean you're not a person. I treat people based on how they treat me, not based on what they do for a living." When I finish speaking, Momo visibly relaxes. The door opens and Kido comes back in, clothes draped over her arm.
"Kisaragi, I thought I said to give Aldea-san some space." she says, and Momo bows as she apologises. Kido dumps the clothes on the bed. "I hope Kisaragi didn't bother you too much, Aldea-san." I shake my head.
"It's fine." I say. Kido nods.
"We'll leave you to it, Aldea-san." she says, dragging a still apologising Momo out of the room. I smile and begin laughing as I fall back on the bed, then calm myself enough to get dressed into Kido's clothes. I don't even bother trying to resist the urge to smell them before putting them on. I giggle giddily to myself before leaving the bedroom.