Rozen Maiden: Erdgeist
EPISODE 7
Trust Issues
"And that's it in a nutshell," said Jun, "If we don't get that last piece back, there won't be anything we can do to fix this whole sorry mess."
"I see." Tomoe considered the matter, having listened intently to Jun's summation of recent events. She had arrived not long after their return from Rapunzel's world. Hinaichigo was happily snoozing in her lap, after giving Tomoe an enthusiastic welcome. Even after so many years, Tomoe herself had not changed much. She was as stoic as ever. Jun threw his hands up in dismay.
"I don't know what to do. You know how bad Kirakishou is. The things she did. She's a menace!"
"I agree, but I don't see that you have much choice. You haven't much time left."
"To do what?! Walk right into her world and fight her for it? Because the last time the dolls did that, you might recall they all died. I know Kirakishou. She'll force Celia to be her medium if she doesn't already have one. And then she'll be strong enough to defeat every one of her sisters all at once. And the last thing we want is to put her and Barasuishou anywhere near each other. That won't end well." He started to pace back and forth for a while, then stopped and buried his head in his hands in sheer frustration of it all. "Tomoe ... I don't want to see a repeat of ten years ago. I couldn't take it if that happened again."
She chuckled lightly. "You really are attached to them, aren't you?"
Jun lowered his hands and gestured helplessly. "I am. I can't help it, they've been a part of my life for so long. I honestly don't know what I'd do without them."
"The Alice Game is over, Jun. And you're Rozen's apprentice now. If anything happens to them, you can always repair them. But if you don't get that mirror shard, the dolls' father will be lost forever. I think this is a risk you just have to take."
He nodded reluctantly. "I know, you're right. Doesn't mean I have to like it." There was a loud crash from elsewhere in the house, prompting him to turn in that direction. "Oh what the hell are they up to now?"
"You're up to something, admit it, you treacherous two faced terror!"
"Suiseiseki, calm down!" Souseiseki struggled to hold her twin back, whilst Barasuishou lay sprawled at the foot of the stairs, a large red mark visible on her cheek. She pressed a hand to it and looked up at Suiseiseki, her expression clouded with confusion.
"I don't understand," she said. She had been absent from the earlier confrontation with Kirakishou, having been asleep in her case. No one had explained to her what had happened yet, unless Suiseiseki's sucker punch counted as an 'explanation'.
"You and Kirakishou are in this together!" Suiseiseki declared, pointing an accusing finger. "The two of you are plotting against us, just like you did during the Alice Game! Well I am so on to you this time, do you hear? You won't get away with it!"
"Is this true?" Shinku calmly enquired as she approached the Enju doll. Barasuishou got to her feet and lowered her hand from her cheek, her features returning to their normal passive pose.
"No, Shinku. My father forbid me from seeing her. I have not spoken to Kirakishou in years."
"Liar!" Suiseiseki screamed. "Look upon her and know her for the deceitful creature that she is! She so cannot be trusted, how many times do I have to say it?!"
Bara looked from the gardening twins to Shinku, and though she was as difficult to read as ever, it was still evident that she was hurt by the accusations and doubt. She turned away from them.
"If that is how you all feel, then perhaps I should leave."
"That will not be necessary," said Shinku, much to Suiseiseki's shock.
"But Shinku-"
"Do you have any proof to substantiate your claim?"
She balked at that, but then quickly rallied and shook her fists in outrage and stamped her foot. "I don't need any proof to know what a rotten double crossing no-good backstabber she is! She is every bit as terrible and awful as Kirakishou, they're practically one and the same!"
Shinku sniffed. "As I suspected, you have nothing but baseless accusations. Whilst I will admit that I do not trust her completely, I am willing to give her the benefit of the doubt one last time."
Suiseiseki was flabbergasted. She stared at Shinku, almost at a loss for words. "But ... but why?"
"Because," She regarded the Enju doll, who turned and did the same to her, "I cannot go on always thinking the worst of everyone. I may be mistaken in this instance, however ... I truly hope that I am not."
"What the heck is going on?" Jun demanded, arriving upon the scene with a weary sort of annoyance. "Are you guys fighting?"
Suiseiseki and Barasuishou stared at each other for a long, drawn out moment, the tension thick in the air. Finally Suiseiseki slumped against the bannister. "No," she said, "It was just a misunderstanding. I'm sorry for making such a racket."
"Well, you guys should think about getting ready. It looks like we've got no choice but to go after Kirakishou. We'll need to be at our best if we're going to pull through this."
As he left to go find the other dolls, Suiseiseki descended the staircase and stopped beside Shinku. When she spoke, her voice was far more subdued than it had been.
"Alright Shinku. I still don't trust her one bit, but I do trust you. If you think she's worth one more chance, then ... then I'll go along with it. But only because of you."
"Thank you, Suiseiseki."
Shinku hoped that her sister's trust in her was not misplaced, just as she hoped that the trust she had placed in Barasuishou would not be misplaced. Only time would tell, and time was something they had very little of. Especially now that their youngest sister had involved herself in their lives once again.
Kirakishou's world consisted of a glorious glittering castle amidst a vast white tundra, snowflakes gently drifting down from a pinkish-white sky devoid of clouds. It was very peaceful and pretty.
It was also very cold and lonely.
The dolls had told Celia that a Rozen Maiden's world reflected what lay within each doll's heart. Given that, she felt even more sorry for Kirakishou than she had before. She wandered through empty rooms and even emptier hallways, admiring the beautiful crystal construction of it all, and yet noting the total lack of anything remotely warm or comfortable. This was not a happy place, she felt.
"Why did you follow me?"
Celia jumped, startled by the doll's voice. She spun around to find Kirakishou standing directly behind her, watching her with only one eye. In place of the other was a white rose seemingly growing from her eye socket. That was unsettling to say the least. Celia resisted the urge to shudder and forced herself to remain calm.
"I ... I wanted to get to know you."
From her expression, that was not the answer Kirakishou was expecting. "Did you?" she said, her voice betraying her disbelief. Celia swallowed and pressed on.
"I heard about you from your sisters. They ... they don't seem to like you very much, do they?"
"No," she admitted, "they don't. But I like them very much."
"So do I. That's why I wanted to get to know you. I didn't think you could be as bad as they said."
Kirakishou grinned in a disconcerting fashion and gestured. White rose vines materialised and ensnared Celia, wrapping themselves around her arms and legs, holding her firmly in place. The seventh doll drifted close, her yellow eye wide.
"Perhaps I am," she said, "Maybe everything they told you about me was true. You want to know me? Shall I show you how terrible I can be?"
Celia knew she should be afraid. The Rozen Maidens had described Kirakishou as nothing short of a fiend. They had recounted how she had stolen a girl's soul tree and threatened to destroy it. How she had kidnapped Jun and almost gouged his eye out with a sliver of crystal. How she had tricked his sister into a covenant and then nearly drained the life from her. Her reputation was pretty horrifying, all told. And yet Celia was not scared in the least. She was herself merely a soulless thing with the likeness of a dream girl. She didn't even know if she was entirely real or not. What did she have to be afraid of? Certainly not this sad, attention starved doll. She felt pity for Kirakishou, not fear.
"If that's what you want," she said, "I don't mind. I guess I'd rather you didn't hurt me, but I won't fight you if you do."
Kira seemed thoroughly puzzled by her attitude. She peered close, turning her head this way and that, examining Celia intently.
"Who are you?" she finally asked, utterly perplexed. Celia tried to shrug but still couldn't move due to her restraints.
"I don't really know, to be honest. I think ... I think I'm supposed to be Alice."
Kirakishou stared at her for a long while, and then drifted back down to the ground, the rose vines dissolving away as she did so. She hung her head, a sad smile showing on her face. "I used to think that as well," she said, sounding rather tired, "I hurt a lot of people to prove I was right."
"You sound like you regret that."
"Maybe I do. But no one cares."
"I care," Celia insisted. She knelt down beside the strange doll, her hands pressed against the cold, smooth crystal floor, her expression earnest. "That's why I came here. Why I followed you. I care."
"Why?" Kirakishou regarded her with unconcealed suspicion, finding her words hard to believe, difficult to accept.
Celia blinked back tears that threatened to spill forth. "Because I know what it feels like to be all alone. I know how horrible it is not to have anyone who cares about you. And I know that for all the bad things you've done, you're not the monster your sisters say you are."
"Am I not?" the doll challenged, as if daring Celia to prove her wrong. She made a point of shaking her head.
"No, you're not. This world reflects who you are, and this is not the world of a monster. I've been inside a monster's world, and this isn't the same. Your world reminds me of myself, before I met your sisters. All alone, with no home or family. No place to be. Unwanted. Well you know what, Kirakishou? Even if your sisters don't want anything to do with you, I do. If I have to, I'll stay here with you forever so you won't have to be alone any more."
Kira gaped at her in astonishment, then broke into a wide grin and giggled, her hands clasped behind her back. "I like you. You're nice. Aren't you going to try and take the mirror shard from me, though?"
"You have six angry sisters who are probably going to try and do just that," said Celia, "No, I don't think I will. I'd rather be your friend. I think that's actually more important."
She laughed. "Oh my, you are a strange one. Well then, since you think you are supposed to be Alice, I shall call you Alice. Would you like some tea, Alice?"
It felt very weird to be called Alice, but then perhaps that was her name after all. Celia smiled and bobbed her head. "Thank you, that would be lovely."
She had made a new friend, and whilst she felt certain every other Rozen Maiden would insist that was a huge mistake on her part, Celia did not think so. She did not think very much of herself, but if she could make someone as sad and lonely as Kirakishou smile and laugh, then that could not be a bad thing. She might not be a real person, but the happiness the seventh doll displayed was certainly real enough, and that at least was something worthwhile.