This chapter was a ton of fun to write. XD That is all.

Hikaru hummed to herself as she opened the door to her house. Today has turned out to be such a good day. She looked back and grinned. Archer had tons of bags in his arms. Even the bags. He was carrying so many bags that he was unable to carry her back to home. If that wasn't a success she didn't know what was!

"I seriously don't know how you could shop so much," grumbled Archer as he carried the bags to the living room so she could sort through them later.

"Don't underestimate the will of a girl! Hikaru held her head high. When Archer was out of sight, she sighed and rubbed her lips. She had shopped in order to forget what had happened. She was forced to stop though when it was getting late. She needed to get the bags dropped off at her place before heading over to Rin's. It didn't really work though. In the back of her mind she kept thinking about it over and over again.

When Archer had asked what was wrong, she really did want to tell him but at the same time she was afraid of how he would respond. "Why should it matter?" she whispered to herself. She really did not understand what was going on with her. Why did it matter what he thought?

She was broken out of her thoughts by the ringing of her phone. She pulled it out of her pocket and saw it was Rin. She flipped it open and put her phone to her ear. "Hey, what's up Rin?"

There was silence on the other end and she thought Rin had butt-dialed her. Wait. No. Hikaru could hear breathing. Heavy breathing. "Hey Hikaru." Hikaru's eyes widen. Rin's voice sounded so strained, so tired. Listening hard, she could hear sounds of clashing weapons in the background. "Rin!? What's going on?!"

"Sorry Hikaru. But I think we're going to need to reschedule that girl's night-Lancer look out!"

"Rin!? Where are you! I can help! What's going on!?"

"Just lay low, okay Hikaru? And stay out of trouble. I can handle this."

"Rin! Rin!" It was no use. Rin had hung up.

"What's the yelling about?" Archer walked into the hallway.

"We need to go help Rin! She's getting attacked by another Master. We need to help her!" Before Hikaru could run out the door, Archer grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Where are you going? Do you even know where she is?"

"No, but we can't just leave her there!"

"I'm guessing she told you to stay put. Listen to Rin okay? She'll be fine!"

Hikaru tried to pull her arm out of Archer's grasp but he was like a stubborn rock. "I can't just leave her there! Rin could…she could…" Archer flicked Hikaru's forehead. "Ow!" She covered the spot with her hands. "Can you please stop that!?"

"Are you thinking straight now?"

Hikaru blinked and then looked down at the ground. "Yes," she said quietly.

"Good then." He released her arm. "Rin will be fine. She's an accomplished magus and she won't go down without a huge fight. Plus she is very stubborn and will be very, very hard to kill."

Again. Archer was doing it again. It sounded like he knew. Like he actually had fought alongside Rin and was speaking from experience. And she didn't understand why but it bothered her. Hang on! What was she saying? That was impossible! There was no way Archer could have known Rin from before right? However, he did make a point. This was Rin! Rin knew more about being a magus than Hikaru did. She had to be fine. She just had to.

"Then what should we do?" Hikaru rubbed her lips with her pinky finger. She had wanted to talk to Rin about what happened with that perverted guy but it looked like that conversation was going to have to wait. There were also the weirdness that she was starting to feel around Archer.

Noticing that Archer was staring at her again, she clenched her teeth and put her hand behind her back to prevent herself from touching her lips. "I'm going to go sort the stuff I bought," she announced before hurrying past her Servant.

Hikaru stood on the front step of Rin's house and rang the doorbell again. It had been a day since Rin's phone call. She had tried to call this morning but Rin was not picking up her phone. Thankfully Archer had not protested to visiting Rin's house so here they were.

"I'm sure she's fine," said Archer when Hikaru glanced back at him, worry clear on her face.

"But then…why isn't she picking up? Or opening the door?" She pulled out her phone and called Rin again. After hearing it ring for a long time, she broke the connection and stuffed her phone back in her pocket. She wished she was better at tracking people by their prana. She would be able to find Rin with no problem.

"Come on. Let's go."

Hikaru looked up in surprise. Archer was walking away briskly. Did he have some plan to find Rin? She followed him silently. It couldn't be far or he would have insisted on carrying her there. Where were they going?

Archer turned and walked into the nearby park and waited for Hikaru to catch up. "I want you to sit on that bench over there while I get you some ice cream."

"Huh?" Hikaru didn't think Archer could make her dumbstruck anymore but it looked like he had done it again.

"Look, you are way too frazzled about this. Yes, you can be worried but you are over-worried. You need to relax a bit."

Hikaru bit her lip. She knew she was being a worrywart but she couldn't help it! Rin was her best friend and also an ally in this War. How could she not be worried? "But…"

"No buts." Archer attacked her forehead again.

"Gah!" she protested. "Can you please stop!?"

"Stop giving me reasons to flick your forehead then. Now go sit over there okay?"

Knowing that Archer would not take no for an answer (and she feared for her forehead), she walked over to the bench and sat down while Archer went to get the ice cream. She pulled out her phone and called Rin again.

"Dang it Rin. What happened to you?" she whispered when Rin did not pick up again. She put her phone back in her pocket and tapped her foot on the ground as she waited for Archer to return. What was she going to do?

"Nee-san. Alice has met you again."

Hikaru looked up. It was the little girl she had run into on the way out of the bathroom a few days ago. Like before, she was dressed up in a frilly white and blue dress and her long white hair was in two braids. "Oh hello," Hikaru said, giving the little girl a smile. She was so cute that it lifted Hikaru's spirit a bit.

The little girl tilted her head to the side slightly and then reached out and grabbed Hikaru's left hand. "Nee-san? You want to play with Alice? Alice really wants to play with you!"

Alice? Was she referring to herself? How cute! "I'm sorry but I'm waiting for someone," Hikaru said gently. She thought her heart would break when she saw Alice's face fall. "But…I think he should be able to find me with no problem if we don't stray too far…" she relented.

Alice's eyes lit up and she began tugging on Hikaru's hand. "Yay Nee-san is going to play with me! Come on! Let's go! Alice is waiting!"

"Alright, alright," Hikaru said a laugh, getting to her feet. What a cute little girl. Alice led Hikaru over to a small picnic table that was in between a small clump of trees. On the table were various pastries on dainty plates along with a beautiful teapot and matching cups. A girl who looked exactly like Alice but wearing a black and purple version of Alice's dress was delicately sipping tea.

"Is that your twin sister?" Hikaru asked the little girl who was leading her to the table.

"No. Alice is Alice," replied Alice.

The other Alice lifted her head and smiled at Hikaru before she got up. Alice released Hikaru's hand and ran over to black Alice. She lifted up her skirt and gave Hikaru a perfect curtsey. "Welcome to the Mad Hatter's Tea Party!"

The black Alice also curtseyed before she spoke. "Hosted in the Nameless Forest!"

LINELINELINE

Archer's eyebrow twitched as he stared at the bench. He closed his eyes and counted to three before opening them again. Nope. She was not there. Honestly. He needed to keep her on a leash with the amount of wandering this girl did. He was thankful that he forgot to grab money off of Hikaru. Who knows where she would have ended up if he had been gone longer?

Using her prana signature as a guide, he followed it to a grove of trees. As soon as he passed through it, he felt the air around him shift. It got heavier and the amount of mana in the air was enormous. There were also trees surrounding him on all sides, even where there were no trees a moment before. His eyes narrowed. There was only one thing that could cause this. A Reality Marble.

"I'm going to strangle her," he murmured before he began running. It didn't take him long to find her. She was sitting at a picnic table that mimicked the tea party in Alice in Wonderland. Sitting across from her were two little girls. That looked like twins. Alice and Caster.

Archer cursed. He shouldn't have been surprised that they would be here. All of the other Masters had been the same. He should have warned Hikaru to not trust any little girls she met. "Master!" he called, running over to the picnic table.

Hikaru just ignored him and continued to sip tea.

"Are you here to join the tea party Nii-san?" asked Alice with childlike innocence.

Archer glared at the little girl and grabbed Hikaru's arm. "Did you hear me Master?"

"Huhhhhh?" Hikaru turned her head to look at him. She giggled. "Who are youuuuuuu? Are you here to join the tea party? You can be the Mad Hatter! We need one!" She giggled and turned to Alice. "Do we have a hat for him? Or he can be the dormouse!"

Archer just stared at his Master. Wh…what? Why was she acting this way? She broke out of his grasp and collapsed back down at the picnic table and began eating cake. Realization dawned on him and he turned his attention to Alice and Caster. "Release her," he commanded in a low, threatening tone. "Release her from the Nameless Forest."

Alice's eyes widen. "How…how does he know about the Nameless Forest?!"

Caster got up and tugged Alice to her feet. "We need to go Alice. This tea party is over."

"Awww…" Alice frowned. "But I wanted to play with Nee-san some more."

"No. We must go Alice. It is not safe here." Caster was watching Archer carefully as she pulled her Master to her feet.

Archer summoned his bow and a sword which he converted into an arrow and pointed it at Alice. Before he could fire the arrow Caster grabbed Alice's arm and in a flash of light the two were gone.

"And those teleportation powers were annoying the first time." He made his bow disappear and turned to his Master. Based on the amount of mana in the area and the fact that Hikaru was still stuffing her face with cake, the Reality Marble was still in effect. There was no time for him to go find Caster to break it though. He had to get Hikaru out of here.

"Come on," he grabbed her arm and yanked her to her feet.

"Whhhhatttt are youuuu doinnnngggg?" she wailed, struggling to push him away. "I wassss havvvving a looooot of funnnn."

"No. Sorry. You don't get any fun. Say your name right now."

"Myyyyy name?" She tapped her mouth a couple of times with her pointer finger as she looked up at the sky with a questioning look. She giggled. "I forgot!" She escaped Archer's grasp and began skipping around. "I have no name! And I'm at a mad tea party! I think I'm mad!" She giggled again and turned to Archer. "Are you coming to the tea party? We have cakes!" She skipped over to the picnic table and picked up a slice of cake and began eating.

This was bad. Archer had no idea how the Nameless Forest worked outside the Moon Cell but he knew he had to make her remember who she was. "Mast-Hikaru. Hikaru." He carefully grabbed her by the shoulders (careful not to grip her tightly on her injured one) and made her look at him. "Your name is Hikaru. Can you say that?"

"Hikaru?" She giggled. "What kind of name is that? A silly name. So silly! Now let me go!" Archer tightened his grip so she couldn't escape him again. She winced and let out a small cry. "You're hurting me…" she said in a small voice. He loosened his grip automatically and she ducked and slipped out of his grasp and ran to the other side of the picnic table so a barrier was between the two of them. "I tricked you! I tricked you!" she laughed with glee.

This was getting really old. "Hikaru. You need to listen to me. You have to say your name. Hikaru Kishinami. Say it!"

"No!" she yelled. She picked up the tea pot from the picnic table and threw it at him. He sidestepped the flying teapot. She glared at him. "Meanie! You are a hugeeeeeee meannnnieeee! You ruined the tea party! Now…." She paused and thought for a moment. "Wait…why was I having a tea party?" She giggled and shrugged. "Hehe, I forgot." As if she never saw Archer before she tilted her head slightly as she stared at him. "Are you the Mad Hatter? Are you here to join the party? Or are you the White Rabbit? Your hair is white! You must be the White Rabbit! Am I late?"

Archer knew this could not go long for much longer. She was already losing it. Heck, from the way she sounded, it seemed like she already lost it. "Sorry Hikaru," he said as he leaped onto the picnic table and crushed cakes and teacups. Before Hikaru could run, he was on the ground next to her and he grabbed her tightly with her arms pinned to her sides.

"Lemmeeee go! Lemmmmeee go!" she screamed. "Meanie! Nincompoop! Lemme go! I'm going to miss the tea party!"

"Say your name!" commanded Archer as he tightened his grip as she began thrashing around. Why was she so strong right now? Why couldn't she have this kind of strength normally? "Say your name! Hikaru Kishinami. Just say it!"

Hikaru stopped struggling and stared up at him. Was she actually going to comply? "I want to whisper it in your ear," she said softly.

Well, that was alright by him. At least she was going to do it. He leaned in closer to her. A sinister grin crossed her face before she slammed her head against his. He let her go in pain and shock. She had a hard head! Holding his throbbing head with one hand while trying to blink away the stars that dotted his vision, he reached out and grabbed her arm before she could scamper away. "Hikaru. Damn it! Say your name!"

"Let me go!" she screamed again. "I don't want to lose my head! I will not go with you to see the Queen, White Rabbit!"

This was getting him nowhere. Ignoring the pain that radiated out of his forehead, he dragged her over to a tree and pinned her against it in order to prevent her from running again and so it would be easier for him to grab her again if she tried to do anything and run.

"I don't want my head to be chopped off," she said in wide-eyed fear. A moment later the fear was gone and she giggled. "You look funny, whoever you are. Aren't you warm wearing that? I'm going to a tea party!"

She was rambling even more now than she did before! Archer's mind raced to think of a solution. Moon Cell Hikaru had just written her name on her hand and that was the end of that. This one though…he needed to think of a way to make her calm down enough to listen to him. Something. He needed to shock her. Force her to stop talking and listen to him.

A thought entered his mind and he looked down at his Master. She was still rambling on. Could he really do that? To her? He knew there was no other choice. He was running out of options and he did not want to leave her in the grip of the Reality Marble any longer.

"I wonder where the Cheshire Cat is…and the Caterpillar. They were supposed to come to the Tea Party! Wait. I was going to have a tea party?" She giggled. "Since when was I going to do that?"

"Hey. Look up."

Hikaru's eyes focused on Archer as she looked up at him. "Yesssssssssss?" she giggled. "I stretched out the word."

Archer swallowed. "Can…can you close your eyes for a second? It's a game."

"I love games!" squealed Hikaru and she closed her eyes.

Before she could forget what she was doing and before he could lose his resolve, he kissed her.

Hikaru's mind was fuzzy. She didn't really know what she was doing. All she knew it was a ton of fun. Nothing mattered. Nothing mattered at all. Her mind was blank, unable to take in any new information. Stuff like, who she was, what she was doing, where she was, none of that mattered. None of it.

And then she felt a weird sensation on her lips. Something was nagging at her. Pulling her away from the clouds in her mind that beckoned for her to come back and enjoy being in bliss.

No.

She wanted to stay.

No.

She wanted to go.

No…

She opened her eyes and froze. He was close. So close. Who was he? His body was pinning her in place so she could not move. He was kissing her with intenseness and longing but at the same time was gentle; like he was afraid he was going to hurt her.

What…what was going on? As if he could sense that she was staring at him, he opened his eyes and looked at her. A shiver went down her spine. He was looking at her like he never did before. They were intense, passionate, even. "Say your name," he commanded in a low husky voice.

"H…Hikaru Kishinami," she whispered, unable to think, to do anything else.

She heard the sound of breaking glass and the forest around them disappeared leaving only a small clump of trees behind. The weight that had been pressing at the back of her mind vanished and she could feel that her thoughts were hers again. She also was now painfully aware of how close Archer was to her.

As if he realized the same thing, he jumped away from her. "S…sorry."

Without him to support her, Hikaru slid down the tree until she reached the ground and gently touched her lips. What…what happened? He had…he had kissed her!

"It….it wasn't working." Archer's back was to her. His voice was devoid of emotion. "I was trying to get you to say your name to break the Nameless Forest Reality Marble. Nothing was working and I was getting desperate…"

He trailed off. It was obvious what he had done to help bring her back.

"It…umm…worked. That is a good thing…" She stared at some ants that were making their way through the tall grass. Her memory of the events that took place in the Nameless Forest were starting to come back. She groaned. What in the world had she been doing!? She reached up and tentatively touched her head where she had head-butted him, expecting to find a bump. Nothing. There was no bump. That was odd. She remembered hitting him very hard too.

"Anyway." Archer crossed his arms but his back was still to her. "That little girl, Alice, she is the Master and the other girl in black that looked like her is Alice's Servant, Caster."

"Oh…yeah…" Hikaru had figured as much. Her luck stunk so much. Only she would end up in a crazy situation like this!

"They're probably gone now but I think it would be best for me to search the area, just in case."

"Uh yeah. That would be a good idea. If anything happens, I'll run or use a command seal."

"I'll be back."

She did not move until she was sure Archer was gone. She got to her feet but she kept her back pressed against the tree to help support her. She gently touched her lips. No way. It didn't mean anything right? He had said he did it in order to break the Nameless Forest's hold on her. But then…why had he looked at her like that? And why did it bother her so much?

She leaned against the tree until Archer returned and the two walked back home in uncomfortable silence.