Chapter 8: Blink

"Sure you don't need a ride back to the Kuzami's?" Mr. Misaki asked. Alice shook her head and gave a small smile of thanks to the Misakis. She noted how they had said "Kuzami" rather than home.

"I'll be fine," she assured. "A walk is good for a girl every now and then," she said as she walked out of the door of the restaurant. The family of three waved from inside.

As Alice walked down the road she began to think about the events of the day. Runo and she had gone to the closest mall and went shopping. At first, Runo had only gone to buy one thing. An hour or so later, in Runo's arms were three different kinds of dresses, two pairs of shoes, and a bunch of hairpins. She had wanted to go to the cosmetic store, but Alice quickly interjected, saying she had to go home and help Shun with Kanna.

"All in all, I guess it was a fun day," Alice said to herself. By the way it sounded, though, she was trying to reassure herself.

Alice was never a really girly person. She did not like to go shopping, nor did she like to get dressed up with make-up, which was not really necessary, in her opinion.

Meeting Runo and Julie were one of the greatest things that happened to her when she looked back at it. Julie was such a bubbly person. If it were possible, she would stay the whole day at the mall without a thought. The mall was like her home. If she had all the money in the world she would stay there forever.

Alice giggled at a new thought that popped into her head. She could just see Billy grumbling mild profanities, while holding more than three bags, as Julie dragged him throughout the halls of the mall.

"I wonder how Shun would take that?" she asked aloud.

"Not well," a deep voice from around her said. Alice instantly stopped moving where she was. She looked around, now noticing the darkness that surrounded her. It was actually really late, around eight at night. She was close to home, now. She could just run. "Don't run." Was it reading her mind?

"Who are you?" Alice asked. Her hands clenched into fists. "Show yourself!" she demanded roughly. Her eyes began to glow a deep pink.

"I see your powers are maturing," the voice said conversationally. It was as though they had known each other for ever.

Alice cringed a bit. "Please," she began to beg. "Show yourself."

The deep voice chuckled. "Alice, my dear, have you already forgotten my voice?" he asked. Suddenly, right in front of her, a person began to materialize. She gasped.

"Masquerade!" Bingo.

Her eyes stopped glowing as fear took over her. What was he doing here? Wasn't he dead? Hadn't she and Shun gotten rid of him? Did this mean he was back? Did this mean—

"Alice," Masquerade called, suddenly behind her. "It's not good to fall into deep thought when your enemy is here." She looked up and shook her head from her thoughts. "I mean, when you're with friends, sure, you can fall into thought, but—Oh! Are we friends now?" he asked mockingly.

She quickly turned around, trying to slap him. He simply jumped ahead of her. When she turned around, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her closer to him. He looked down at her hand seriously. "I see you haven't fully mastered your powers," he stated calmly. "Such a shame, isn't it?"

Alice looked seriously into Masquerade's eyes. "What do you want, Masquerade?" she bit out venomously. He smiled at her, not answering her question.

"Don't blink," he merely stated. Next thing Alice knew, she was in front of the Kazami Manor.

"What the—," she began to ask, but Masquerade slowly began disintegrating again.

"Never blink, Alice," he said quietly as he faded away. "Tell Shun to never blink," he continued. "For you do not know what you may lose in those few seconds that you do blink." He was gone now, but his voice could still be heard. "You could lose a friend, a love, or…a life."


"So, my dear, how was your day with the blue-headed obnoxious girl?" Kyo asked. The Kuzami's and Alice were currently cleaning up the kitchen. Since Maya had returned she insisted that the cleaners be let go, stating that they could do all of these things together. So now, Kyo was wiping down the table, Maya was sweeping the floors, Alice was washing dishes, and Shun was drying. Kanna was currently laying in her playpen, with Skyress watching over her.

Shun expertly threw a damp towel at his grandfather's turning face. It hit dead-on, causing a giggle from Kanna. Maya shook her head back and forth in exasperation. "You could be nicer grandpa," Shun said as Kyo got up from where he had fallen on the ground.

"Honesty is the best policy, Shun," Skyress commented in Kyo's defense. Shun merely shrugged, still not looking or helping his grandfather. Maya laughed, knowing this was just the relationship the two had. She fell silent, though, when she noticed her laughing partner was not laughing with her.

"Alice, dear, are you feeling well?" she asked. Alice had not even heard a word from Maya or the previous conversation that took place. In all honesty, she was not even there during dinner. "Alice?" Maya called again. Alice just kept cleaning and cleaning.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at the young lady. Kyo looked to Maya, who looked to Shun.

"Alice?" Shun called, gently touching her shoulder.

She mildly jumped, dropping a dish, but catching it before it fell against the sink. "Yes?" she asked.

"Are you feeling well?" Maya asked once again, concern sown into her voice. She rested the broom against the wall and walked toward the girl. When she got there, she put her hand against her forehead.

Alice looked at her and gave a meek smile. "I'm fine, Mrs. Kazami. There's no need to worry." Alice was looking for a quick excuse. "I think I am just exhausted after today."

Kyo interjected. "Well, Alice, why don't you rest?"

"No, no, no, no, no. It's fine."

Shun gave a glance toward his mother. She nodded her head. "Dad, I think it's time for you to learn how to give Kanna a proper bath," Maya suggested, picking up the restless girl out of her playpen. Kyo was about to interject, but looked at the face his daughter-in-law gave him. Quickly, they shuffled out the room.

It was silent for a while. Skyress had bounced her way over to the top of the counter and on top of Alice's shoulder. The young girl gave her a small smile.

"So, what did you and Runo do today?" Shun asked, trying not to pry too much into Alice's business. She didn't seem to mind the question.

"She tried on dress after dress in her room," she began. "Then, she couldn't find what to wear in her closet, so she dragged me along to the mall. That was a catastrophe." Shun looked at her. Something was wrong and she was trying to hide it. "By the end of the day, she had brought three dresses, two pairs of shoes, and a couple of hairpins."

"Alice," Shun cut off. "What's wrong?" he asked.

She looked at him abruptly, wondering what had brought that question on. I guess I'm not the best liar, she thought. "Nothing, Shun," she said, still trying to lie. "I'm just tired. Today was hectic."

"You're lying," Shun said. "What really happened?"

Alice looked into his eyes. His eyes clashed with hers. He was searching for something. Anything. He was worried about her.

"It's too much to remember," she continued to lie. "I think I'm going to get ready for bed," she said, settling down the sponge and washing off her hands. Shun said nothing as she retreated out of the kitchen and toward the back stairs. All the while, his eyes looked at Skyress, hoping she could get an answer.


"That's a very beautiful nightgown, Alice" Skyress complimented as she sat on Alice's bed. The young girl was currently brushing out her hair that was in a tangled mess.

"Thank you, Skyress," she said automatically. Something was definitely bothering her. She had barely looked at Skyress the whole time. When she went for her shower, she rested Skyress outside the bathroom. Her shower was longer than usual.

"Be honest, Alice," Skyress demanded softly. "What is going on?"

Alice looked at Skyress from the mirror in front of her. She gently put down her brush. Suddenly, she fell to her knees, tears in her eyes. This alarmed Skyress. Quickly, she wobbled over toward Alice. When she was in front of the girl, she gasped. Her hands were clenched into fists. Tears were streaming down her face.

"Alice—," Skyress began, but said girl cut her off.

"Skyress, have you ever had a secret?" she asked abruptly. "Have you ever known something that…that you knew you should tell person who needed to know the most, but you just didn't?" She sobbed. "You didn't because you were the one who wanted to protect him?"

Skyress looked a bit taken back by this. Whatever this thing that was bother Alice was, it was big.

"Masquerade's back!" Alice screamed, but in a quiet manner. "He came to me as I was walking home, he stopped me, he talked to me, he threatened me, he—."

"Did he touch you?" Skyress growled out. Alice looked up. She said nothing. "Did he touch you?"

"No. I mean yes, but it was only my chin."

Skyress growled. "Shun will not like this."

"NO!" Alice roared. "You can't tell him. Please don't. I'll do it, but you can't."

Skyress was taken back by this. She wanted to protect Alice and knew telling Shun was one of the only ways. But, at the same time, she did not want to hurt the girl. She was hurting already.

"I won't," Skyress promised.

"Thank you," Alice said, getting up and wiping away her tears. She picked Skyress up and rested her on her shoulder. She walked out of her room and into Shun's. He was in there, looking outside of the window. "Shun," she called.

Shun turned around and looked at her.

He knew she had walked in.

"I'm sorry."

And she hugged him.

And he hugged back.

...

And this put Skyress in a spot. Two of the most important people in her life had secrets that they had to keep from each other.

She knew both of them. She knew both of their secrets.

And she couldn't tell a soul.

But at the same time, she had to protect them.

She couldn't…

Blink.


1904 Words.

I'm back. Sorry for the long delay. Once again, I needed to find myself. So, hopefully I can be more consistent in making this story work. Maybe I should make a schedule?

So this is not exactly a comeback chapter. This was just something I needed to do to reassure myself I still had it in me. What do you guys think?

Alice's secret.

Shun's secret.

Skyress's problem.

Too much to handle.

Well, I love you guys and hope you can forgive me.

Love,

~Lady Anata~