Author's Note: I'll explain stuffs after the chapter ends, so please read there too. Hope you enjoy. This one is a bit longer. And I'm sorry if there are mistakes, please mention if you notice.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything and anyone here except for the plot of this fic.
The Bloodlust: Snow White x Alice in Wonderland
Chapter 4: Time Flies Fast, Literally
"Uwooogh!"
Kagura involuntarily threw herself off from the bed, her butt kissing the tiled floor hard. She hissed as she turned to look up at a certain someone who dared startle her first thing in the morning. Or was it even morning still? She lost track of the time, but honestly she couldn't be bothered anymore. She just wanted to punch whoever this someone-look-alike... Kagura stiffened once she got a good view of the intruder.
"B-big brother?"
"Eh? I'm White Rabbit, Snow White."
"No no. Wait, no. Why are you here?! Wait. Actually your voice sounds annoyingly familiar to some crazy voice that..."
That was owned by the very one who caused her fall on that well.
"That was you?!" That time, it had a deep tone, a bit different than the normal carefree voice her brother had. But now she put that and this together, and was convinced it was indeed him.
"Well Snow White. How is it? This place."
"Don't ignore me, bakamui!"
"I'm White Rabbit."
Kagura pushed herself up and jumped on the bed, she then grabbed the guy's collar. Her fists were trembling, due to the boiling anger she felt that moment. What was her brother thinking!? Kamui, her brother who left her several years ago, came back for a reunion just to cast some weird spell or magic, on her? What. Did he go off on his own all those years to learn some forbidden magic or some supposed-to-be-epic spell that could prove impossible to be possible?!
"You jerk!"
The white rabbit guy, only stared at her with an expression Kagura didn't want to comprehend at all. It was as if he was actually dumbfounded and didn't know what she was talking about. He had that wide surprised eyes, staring into hers and she suddenly felt her cheeks heating up. Alright. That was embarrassing! She was too caught up in the happenings that she snapped unintentionally. What if just like the prince, this guy who looked exactly the same as her brother didn't know her as well? She loosened her grip on his collar as she looked down, feeling a little guilty but she didn't let him go just yet.
Kamui, the white rabbit who he claimed himself to be, smiled a little before he touched Kagura's hand. The trembling fists were no longer there, only small hands now wrapped inside Kamui's bigger hands. The girl's shoulder jolted, and she slowly lifted her face taking a quick glance at the guy in front of her.
"I am White Rabbit. And I'm sorry for all these sudden events but it was your fate that led you to me, at that place and at that time." Kamui had his eyes closed but he had a genuine smile plastered on his face. Kagura could just tell he wasn't lying to her. She had that feeling.
But there was no way she'd give in to everything so easily. She nodded before pulling her hands off from his, the warmth she thought she felt faded at the same time.
"Come, Snow White. I'll show you around."
"Eh? Show me around you say... -?!"
One blast of wind, and in a second, she was no longer in the bedroom. Kagura gasped as she found herself cradled by the White Rabbit's strong arms. She never dreamed of being carried like some princess but when she looked up at him, and hesitantly turned her head to the side... The horror of falling down once again haunted her and she shivered at the sight. Once again, she couldn't be bothered by anything anymore. Her fear didn't go unnoticed by him. He reassured her by tightening his grip and with that, they toured to the first place he intended to bring her.
The forest.
XxX
Her conclusion was that It was important for her to know and be aware of the things and creatures in wonderland. She was lectured by Kamui, when she tried eating some delicious-looking fruit she picked from some bush. White Rabbit is too long, I can just call him Kamui, though I get the urge to punch him whenever I see his face. Kagura pouted as they wandered around the dark forest.
If there was one thing Kagura found to be completely frustrating, it was the time. Just few minutes ago when they were still up there, the sky was so clear and bright and she was convinced that it was probably late morning, but now excluding the fact that the forest itself was already dark enough, when Kagura looked above, she raised a brow not bothering to hide her confusion. Why in the world was the sky dark and had beautiful stars on it? It turned night already?!
Kagura shook her head and rubbed her eyes. Her eyes could be playing tricks on her. Then she looked up above once again, only to find herself even more confused when the sky became a little clearer, with the sun poking out from the clouds. Now it's sunrise?! What in the world...?
"That clock-guy, why is he changing the time so fast right now?"
Kamui meant to talk to himself, but Kagura heard it anyway. She was about to ask him when he grabbed her hand pulling her towards him, soon enough they were in the air again but only for a few seconds. She realized they were leaping from one spot to another from such a far distance inbetween. This guy was really a rabbit. An abnormal rabbit, yes!
Not long after, the two of them arrived outside a tall tower. It was shooting out dark aura, like it was some witch's tower. Kagura already prepared herself for the weirdest thing to see or to meet. After all, this wonderland seemed like a place that popped out from some fantasy story she'd only ever read in a children storybook. And no, she wasn't reading anymore alright! It was when she was a child and her Mami would tell her bedtime stories.
Kamui let her go for a moment, before walking up to the huge wooden door. When she thought he'd knock like how he should, he kicked the door instead, breaking it into pieces. Kagura widened her eyes in shock. That didn't last long, she decided to display a pokerface. Well... Actually, she remembered doing something similar in her world before. As she thought, this rabbit guy was her brother! Perhaps he was fooling her into thinking he didn't know her like that Okita-look alike prince. And that his rabbit ears were just props. She ought to try pulling that off later.
After a few minutes, a male voice which sounded lazy reached their ears. It was like some recorded stuff, with the background noise clearly heard along what he was saying. But it was a live recording, she thought. The voice was talking to them.
"You broke my door again. When will you learn to knock properly and wait for my permission before you intrude here?"
"Ahh my bad, Shinsuke. But you see, we're kind of in a hurry. We're going up there now."
'Shinsuke? That sounded a name she knew somewhere.' Kagura glared at Kamui, who in return held his hand out to her with an innocent smile.
"Did I scare you? It's natural around here. What I did, I mean."
"Scare, your face. I was just a little surprised, yes? I can walk by myself."
Kagura ignored Kamui's hand. She proceeded to the broken entrance, and waited for Kamui to lead the way. He did just that, now they were on pebbled stairs as they made their way towards the upper part of the tower. Along the way, there were clocks either hanging on the wall or floating inside beautiful glasses. Those beautiful glasses were dangling from up above, through shiny threads that Kagura found amusing. How come those threads could hold something that looked really heavy?
Right. She was in wonderland. And here she thought she prepared herself for more unbelievable stuffs and happenings.
...
It was taking forever to reach the upper floor. Now that she thought of it...
"Hey rabbit. Why don't we just leap, fly or whatever again like how you did with us out there?" Kamui stopped on his tracks.
"Are you getting tired Snow White? Unfortunately I am not allowed to use my magic here."
"That was magic? I thought the leaping was your nature, since you're a rabbit and all, yes? So it's not."
"I'm sorry. Come here."
Kagura yelped when he took her in his arms again, he wasn't allowed to use magic but it seemed like he could use his natural skill. This stupid rabbit... He could have just done this earlier. He ran while leaping inbetween, causing her to hold onto him tight. Before she realized it, she already had her arms around his neck. She blushed terribly when he shyly commented about it. And frankly speaking, that was weird!
He had exactly the same face and body as her big brother, but his gentleness towards her kept giving her bubbly feeling. Deep inside, she was feeling happiness at this situation. Never had she dreamed of seeing a Kamui acting like this. But it had been a really, really long time since she was at the very least, treated nicely by him. It was frustrating at first but thinking of it more, she quite enjoyed it... though she'd never admit it. Kagura coughed, few seconds later, they finally reached the highest part of the tower. There were clocks and watches everywhere. There were so many of them, that she didn't know where to focus her attention anymore.
"Hey Shinsuke. How are you doing nowadays? Oh I'd like to introduce someone."
Kamui had already put Kagura down on her feet, and he gestured for her to relax. However that proved to be very difficult. Why? She knew that name was familiar!
"Y-you, the one-eyed villain!" Even in wonderland, he was one-eyed. She guessed that was his destiny. To be one-eyed forever. Poor one eye.
"Excuse me?"
The guy called Shinsuke glared at the girl before him. Kamui tilted his head, confused as to what Kagura was talking about. But she was too entranced in the increasing confusion as to why he would be there as well. Yeah in her world, she knew that the one-eyed guy was friends with her brother. But would that also apply even in different world or dimension, whichever it was?
"Don't you recognize me?" With utmost curiosity, Kagura asked the one-eyed guy who was sitting lazily in one of the chairs designed clocks.
"Oi rabbit, who is this girl you brought over? Is her head alright?"
"Oi I can hear you, stupid one-eye! Of course my head is fine, yes?!"
Kamui raised a brow at the interaction between Kagura and Shinsuke. He chuckled, making echoes around the space.
"Shinsuke, this is Snow White. A girl I brought from a different world."
"What?" The guy named Shinsuke turned to look at Kagura. He examined her, disbelief on what he heard.
"Oh yeah. Why were you playing with the time earlier?"
"Ah that. I received a message from the Queen of Hearts. It said she couldn't wait for the next day, because it was a celebration for something whatever it was so I was requested to forward the time. Right now, it has stopped at dawn."
"You can do that kind of thing here?" Kagura was beyond amazed. So this villain had a decent work in this place. That felt awkward, considering he had somewhat twisted personality in her world. Oh well, despite the same name and same appearance, he was still a different person she guessed.
"I am the Master of Time here, the only one who can manipulate time. This tower is called Clock Tower."
"Celebration today... Sounds fun. Snow White, we're participating on it." Kamui declared as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
First of all, her clothes weren't for some occasion like "Rettsu Pariii~" or some other elegant occasions. Second, she probably needed to go back to the palace where Alice was in. He might look for her, just maybe. And last but not least, she didn't feel like going to a party she didn't know a single person at all, excluding Kamui. She might get arrested there or something for looking abnormal. To her, they were the ones who looked abnormal. But to them, in this wonderland, she was the abnormal one. Although the sound of party gave her the promise of lots of foods and delicious stuffs. Alright, now she felt torn.
"I need to go back to the palace first."
"Palace? Don't tell me... that palace? You met Alice, then?" Shinsuke laughed under his nose. Somehow, Kagura felt annoyed with that stupid mocking laugh. Was he mocking her? Was he? And he knew that prince.
"What of it?" Kagura returned the question. She peeked on the side, seeing Kamui just listening to her conversation with the one-eyed guy. Then she looked back at Shinsuke.
"Nothing." Shinsuke snorted, turning his back on them. He brought out a tobacco from a pack he took out from his pocket. That seemed like a signal for Kamui as he took Kagura's hands with his, pulling her away from the room. When they arrived downstairs, Kagura blinked at the fixed door. That was a quite fast fixing?
Kamui who got an idea as to what Kagura was thinking of, spoke, "Shinsuke rewinded the time to the moment before we got here. That's why the door is fixed. It was never broken down by me at this stage."
"He can also manipulate time like that? Ain't that too convenient, yes?"
"It is."
For once, Kamui had a serious expression. His eyes were opened, looking into a distant and his smile nowhere to be found. Kagura's chest tightened at the sight. No. This wasn't her brother, she shouldn't feel bad seeing him like that. But she couldn't help it. Why?
"Anyway, let's go. I'll bring you back to the palace. But you have to come with me to the celebration later, okay? I'll pick you up by then."
Kagura could only nod, wishing the sudden emptiness she felt would go away soon.
XxX
NOTE: Takasugi Shinsuke has the same voice actor for Julius Monrey on Heart no Kuni no Alice series. So I gave Julius' role to Takasugi here. Actually in the movie, Alice's voice is Kagura's Kugimiya Rie. And in Shiro Ari, Snow White's voice is Kagura's as well. It's so interesting to put these things together. Lol
Reviews are highly appreciated! *puts on puppy eyes awkwardly* They lift me to high spirits. :D
Fic Word Bank:
Bakamui - "baka" which is stupid, attached to Kamui. Kagura calls him like that even in canon.
Rettsu Pariii -Hijikata's Rettsu Pariii ~~~ anyone? XD (translates to Let's Party).
Reply Section:
Rinfantasy - I can't spoil anything for now, mainly because I haven't spoiled myself yet as well. But I'm thinking hard and planning everything so it will make sense by the end. :)
great me - Don't worry lolz it's fine. I was just a little confused at first XD
okikagufan - Thank you so much! I will do my best to make things more entertaining and fun :) yey!
Thank you so much to all of those who read, favorites, follows and especially to reviewers ^-^
