Blue-Eyed Boy

by Green Phantom Queen

Spinoff of Mana Goddess's "Dreams are for Nights" and set after "Month of Sundays", what should be a day of rest ends up having a young boy from another world wishing to see his parents again. So off goes Jun Shigeno as she appeases a little child's heart throughout a day of tea, donuts, dolls and friendship.

10. Appearances and Apprentice

A Blue-Eyed Boy

Chapter 10: Appearances and Apprentice

"The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance."

-Aristotle

As the song began to play, Ankh glared at Yumeria while simultaneously keeping up in the waltz with Eiji. KoAnkh stayed quiet as he watched an alternate version of his parents partake in this type of dance. He had never seen them dance like this before, but everyone seemed to relax like this was something they did all the time.

Cloth Eiji finished a cookie before turning to Cloth Ankh staring at his bigger self dancing. Cloth Eiji poked him and extended a hand out.

"Shall we dance?" Cloth Eiji said with a "woof". Cloth Ankh tilted his head as he looked at the hand then back at the dancers. The strange feathery winged doll nodded his head as he jumped off the dessert tier and landed in Cloth Eiji's arms. Heblushed a bit before Cloth Eiji howled.

"Come, I'll teach you," Cloth Eiji took Cloth Ankh's hands, placing one of his dance partner's hands on his own shoulder, and the two began to waltz. "Just follow my movements and hear the song in your heart. 1...2...3...1...2...3..."

Cloth Ankh felt a bit clumsy, but then he quickly caught on. He giggled as they twirled around a plate of cupcakes as Quetzie watched them with curiosity.

"They're so good at it, Jun nee-san!" he said, pointing to the dolls. "That's amazing! Hey, Cloth Haruto! Why don't you try it out?"

"Of course!" Cloth Haruto bowed toward Cloth Shotaro, who bowed back. They too began to waltz, circling round and round the teacups. Hina giggled and pulled out her cellphone, taking photos of the dolls having fun. Shingo also nodded his head, somehow remembered of all the times he and Hina would dance at home when they were children.

"This is so romantic..." Chiyoko sighed. "Don't you think, Yumeria?"

"It's so moe~" Yumera cooed, quickly doing a rough sketch in her sketchbook. "They will give me so much inspiration for my doujinshi..."

The Cloth Dolls continued their dance, Cloth Ankh and Haruto flying into the air with their respective partners, continuing to spin round and round. In fact, they were so caught up in their dance that they didn't see Ankh and Eiji approaching them. The result had the dolls bump into Eiji and causing him to fall on top of Ankh. This time, to avoid having their lips crushed once more, Eiji made sure that he placed a hand on Ankh's chest as they fell. However, this only made it look like they were sleeping on the ground, Eiji's face resting against Ankh's chest. Yumeria looked in awe.

"Nya~" she swooned. "Oh Love-chan will love this! I think Luna will love it also! Must get photos."

"No, not again!" Ankh snarled, pushing Eiji off of him. "How much longer are we doing this farce? I just want my ice candies!"

"I want a tiger that breathes fire and has wings, but we all can't get what we want!" Shotaro cackled, leaning on his chair. "Oh this is so hilarious, a great sense of deja vu, don't you think?"

"It's all right, Ankh," Eiji dusted his pants and helped his partner up. "On the bright side, you're not being threatened to be mummified by Wadjet."

"Tch," Ankh replied, heading to the kitchen to get some ice candies. Eiji sighed as he went to follow the stubborn Greeed, hopeful that he could change Ankh's mind about the situation.

"Dizzy..." said Cloth Eiji, holding onto his head as he was on the floor. He whined as he looked for Cloth Ankh, but couldn't find him. "Where are you?"

"You're sitting on me," Cloth Ankh complained, wiggling his arms and legs under Cloth Eiji. "Help!"

"Here!" said Cloth Haruto flying and grabbing onto Cloth Ankh. "1...2...3!"

With a tug, the two cloth dolls were sent flying into a wall, landing in one of the rose bushes decorating the Alice in Wonderland inspired dining room. Cloth Shotaro giggled and rolled on the floor laughing. Jun sighed as she gathered the dolls.

"That's enough fun for one day," she said, taking the dolls back to the table to eat desserts. She looked at the clock, shocked to find that it was only around 2 PM despite everything that happened. "What else are we going to do today?"

"We're going to need more food," Chiyoko noted, seeing Shotaro eating a cream puff, licking the cream off of his fingertips. "That reminds me. Koyomi gave me the business card for the donut truck who made the donuts for the party, and I was wondering if you can get two dozen donuts for today?"

"Are they all plain sugar?" asked Jun, recalling Haruto eating nothing but the plain sugar donuts outside the ones Yayoi sprinkled with cinnaomn of course.

"Just get one-quarter of them plain sugar, and the others can be whatever you want!" Chiyoko smiled, handing Jun the business card. "I'll start preparing a delcious roast beef to counteract the sugar."

"That sounds like a good idea," said Jun, pocketing the card. "Come on, Quetzie. "We're going on a trip."

"Can we bring KoAnkh also?" asked Quetzie, turning to his friend. "Please?"

"Sure. I think it'd be nice if he learned a little bit more of this world," Jun smiled, turning to KoAnkh. "What do you think?"

KoAnkh hesitated, slightly worried about what else this strange world had to offer him. The Cloth Dolls rushed toward him, wrapping their arms around his own.

"We'll be there if you're scared," Cloth Eiji barked. "Come on, let's have donuts!"

"And see Yayoi-chan!" Cloth Haruto giggled, covering his mouth with his hands to stifle his giggles. "I want to see Yayoi-chan again, and let her kiss Big Haruto as well!"

"Yayoi?" KoAnkh tilted his head. "Who's Yayoi?"

0-0-0-0-0

"So, tell me..."

"Yes, Haruto?"

"How long have you..."

"Uh-huh..."

"How long have you been...hiding the fact that you kissed boys prior to me?" Haruto asked, much to Yayoi's chargin. Yayoi blushed as Haruto grinned, eating a sugar donut. The Garuda PlaMonster chirped around the two as Yayoi buried herself into her textbook.

"I've only kissed one boy...and it was on the cheek," Yayoi muttered, looking up from her reading. The two sat at a table near the Hungry Donut Shop Food Truck, the manager and Ryu gone to gather some more supplies at a nearby store. Haruto and Yayoi were the only customers at the time, six powdered sugar donuts piled into a small pyramid in between them. "Why are you asking me this?"

"A little birdie watched you through last night, to make sure there weren't any invaders that could smother you with a pillow," Haruto chuckled, his golden eyes showing merriment with his playful teasing. "I should've interrupted you and play you some music by the window. By the way, who was that boy?"

"That was my friend, JK," Yayoi answered, setting her book down. "He was one of Gentaro's closest friends, the one who could get information on any and all Amanogawa High student. He explained that things are getting worse. Gentaro's unlocked his White Crow powers, and now there's an infinite pool of Cosmic Energy to feed on. We have to hurry and stop this."

"Yeah," Haruto looked up, smelling the air. He growled and said, "I sense something."

"WizarDragon?" Yayoi asked, looking around. "Who do you sense?"

"Something new..." Haruto answered, his gold eyes looked at the group of three that approached them. He pointed to the boy with four dolls on his shoulders. "There..."

"Oh, Jun!" said Yayoi, seeing Jun approach them. "And Quetzie, too! What's going on?"

"Chiyoko wants us to get donuts for a big tea party for him," Jun pointed to KoAnkh, who looked at both Haruto and Yayoi with curiosity. "He's from another...he's from very far away. His name is KoAnkh."

"Hello KoAnkh," said Yayoi kneeling and petting KoAnkh. "I'm Yayoi Tokuda, and the donut boy behind me is Haruto Sohma. Nice to meet you."

"Haruto..." KoAnkh repeated. "Haruto, why are you cheating on Houka nee-san?"

"Eh?!" asked Yayoi and Haruto looking at the boy. The Cloth Dolls also gasped and covered their hands in shock.

"She'll be super-duper mad when she finds out that you're cheating on her!" KoAnkh added. "After going into her Underworld and saving her from that Lamia Phantom...how could you be so cruel?"

"Um...we just..." Haruto stammered, looking at Yayoi glaring at him. "No, it's not what it looks like Yayoi. I've never even heard of her!"

"You better be telling the truth..." Yayoi glared, pulling out a card from her pocket. "Are you sure that I'm your first girlfriend?"

"Of course, of course!" Haruto looked back at KoAnkh and at Yayoi. "I mean...this...this is awkward."

"KoAnkh," Jun sighed. "Remember, this world is different than your own. So while your Haruto dates a girl named Houka, mine dates Yayoi."

"'This world?'" Yayoi repeated. "Jun, what's going on?"

"It's...complicated," Jun answered, dragging two chairs so Quetzie and KoAnkh could sit near Haruto and Yayoi. Cloth Haruto swooped over to the table and began to eat Haruto's leftover donut, the other dolls also joining in on the delicious treat. "Let me pick up Chiyoko's order and I can explain this in full detail."

"All right then," Yayoi sat down, noticing KoAnkh staring at the card in hand. "So...what is your world like, KoAnkh?"

"It's...like this world," KoAnkh began, looking away. "It's nothing special. I mean, my Haruto likes plain sugar donuts and transformes into Kamen Rider Wizard."

"And was probably not killed by his girlfriend..." Yayoi muttered.

"What was that?" asked KoAnkh, turning to her.

"Nothing, just...nothing," Yayoi replied, seeing Haruto summoning the Unicorn PlaMonster in front of Quetzie. The tiny blue unicorn let out a whinny as it galloped across the table, leaping over Yayoi's book and snorting at a picture of an image of an Yamata no Orochi. Quetzie giggled as he poked the Garuda that flew around him, perching on his shoulder to sing a little song.

Then, there was a growl.

KoAnkh turned around as a giant beast tackled him to the ground, drool dripping down its jaws. Yayoi stood up, pulling out her cards at the strange behemoth. It had black shiny fur, and three heads with pointy ears and sharp teeth. It growled at KoAnkh, sniffing him all over.

"What is that?" asked Qutezie, simultaneously curious and scared of the creature.

"That's Cerberus," Haruto answered. "It's the guard-dog that protects the gates of Tartarus, which was considered the Ancient Greeks' equivalent of Hell. Although, I always thought it was a myth."

"Whatever it is, it needs to back off," said Yayoi. She summoned a blue rapier, its tip emitting a bit of frost. "All right, you hell hound. Back! Back I say!"

The Cerberus turned around, its three heads loudly barking at the girl. Yayoi noted that the dog had three different set of colored eyes—cyan, crimson, and gold. Cerberus turned away from KoAnkh as it stood up on its hind legs...

And then, they suddenly tackled Yayoi, the girl falling to the ground, and all three heads of Cerberus started licking her. Yayoi giggled at their wet noses pressed against her cheek, hearing them whine and bark happily. Cloth Eiji saw the display of affection and let out his own barks.

"New friends!" he cried. "Where did he come from?"

"And why is it here?" asked Haruto, feeling WizarDragon wanting to possess him. He closed his eyes and grit his teeth, willing the Phantom to not take over. "Something's wrong."

Jun returned with the donuts in time to see the Cerberus lick Quetzie's hand and bark at him. A look of confusion and wonder appeared on her face at the strange mythological creature. She looked at the box of donuts in hand, hoping that it could handle fried dough better than a normal dog.

"Cerberus!" cried a voice. "Cerberus, there you are!"

Jun turned to see a teenage boy in a green hoodie and jeans approach the group, a silver staff topped with a dog's head in hand. Cerberus rushed toward its master, letting out a series of barks. The teenager nodded a few times, pointing to Haruto and Yayoi as Cerberus let out a loud "WOOF!" in unison.

"All right, thanks," he said, patting Cerberus' three heads. He then looked to the group and smiled. "Oh, let me introduce myself. I'm Shunpei Nara, and I've been here to pick up you, Haruto Sohma...Kamen Rider Wizard."

"Wait...how do you know that name?" asked Yayoi. Something wasn't up—Haruto didn't start calling himself a Kamen Rider since two nights ago, after he learned about the legends of the Kamen Riders from her. "And what's with that staff? And is Cerberus your..."

"Phantom? Yes he is," Shunpei nodded his head and put a finger to his lips. "But don't tell anyone, all right?"

"And you better hope I don't come out and roast you on an open fire," Haruto snarled, a bit of WizarDragon appearing due to the spiral-like horns growing from his head. "What do you want with me?"

"My master, the White Wizard, wishes for an audience with you," Shunpei bowed at the waist. Haruto and Yayoi looked at each other with shock and confusion. "Come, let me take you there."

"Wait, what about-" Jun never had a chance to finish her sentence as Shunpei's staff began to glow. Cerberus howled as Shunpei slammed the staff on the ground, enveloping everyone in a white dome of light. Haruto grabbed onto the plate of donuts, Yayoi her books, and Quetzie gathered the Cloth Dolls, just as they vanished in a blink of an eye.