Chapter Two: Voices of the Chord ~II~
"Ocean, you're calling me. To a place where I have no memory."
~Voices of the Chord – SawanoHiroyuki/Gemie
As the Mr. Knight carried me along, I swore I saw the sky change from midafternoon to night to morning and back. "Whelp, it's nighttime, time to set up camp," he said as he put me down gently on a log and seemed to pull a tent out of Oyashiro-sama knows where. He makes good time setting up his shabby brown tent, making sure everything was secure. I raised an eyebrow; did he really know where the hell he was going?
"Do you have any idea where we're going?" I asked him simply, no cuteness in my voice. He shakes his head, grinning like an idiot.
"Nope but isn't it the journey not the destination?" he replied, trying to get philosophical with me. I sighed, this guy was hopeless, and I had not known him very long. He tells me to stay by the fire as he had to track something down for us to eat. I did not question his order at all. I was in an unknown place with unknown potential threats looming all around me. I stayed close to the fire, waiting for him to get back. It seemed to take forever. I had a feeling this guy legitimately was lost. I sighed but it turned into a giant yawn. I decided to climb into the tent, using a red blanket I found, curling up inside it and sleep claimed me instantly….
Instead of my usual post traumatic flashbacks of past loops, I found myself in a nebulous multicolored void. I walked on what seemed to be clouds, my bare feet feeling the softness of the plush ground underneath me. Suddenly, a golden light appeared before me and a man with short, silvered hair materialized. He had a left silver eye which seemed to observe me thoughtfully and his right being covered by a simple black eye patch like a pirate. Even his attire was like a pirate with a lacey shirt, black vest with detached sleeves and black shoes and pants. He looked nice as if he had gotten back from somewhere important.
"Thank you, you're a lot nicer than my usual dream clients," he said, his voice slightly deep in tone. I took a step back, did he read my thoughts?
"Yes, I can read your thoughts Rika Furude of Hinamizawa. It was I who brought you here. It was you who wished to live, and I heard your wish and simply granted it for you," said again, without missing a beat. My violet eyes widened once more in surprise. He had granted my request. I could not believe it.
"Well believe it, you're here in Wonderland now. What you choose to do now is up to you," he replied with ease. I had not thought about what I would do here. I had been busy running from people I thought were after me. "You will be safe from future loops here in Wonderland. Wonderland's inconsistent time periods make it difficult for time travel or what you call loops to occur. I believe when you wake up, you will be in the Hatter Mansion. Young Alice had found you by yourself at Ace's camp. Oof, it's time to wake up now," he added before he faded from view. Wait Mr. I have more questions!
Before I had a chance to ask Mr. Dream man more questions, I woke up from sleep. My vision was blurry as I had awakened in an unknown room. "About time she woke up. She was asleep for four time turns straight," said a deep and unfamiliar voice. My vision had adjusted to the brightly lit room. I noticed I was on a bed; my cuts had been bandaged and I no longer wore my green sundress. I slowly sat up, wanting to get a look at the source of the deep voice.
A tall man with black, spikey longish hair sat on the edge of the bed to my right. A woman with long dark blonde hair sat on my left with inquisitive aquamarine-colored eyes. The raven-haired guy had piecing emerald, green eyes. They contrasted sharply beneath is dark bangs that jetted out under his overly decorated top hat complete with roses, feathers and cards. He looked like the Mad Hatter character that appeared in the Alice in Wonderland books. The woman wore a blue dress with golden ring like designs on her puffy sleeves and skirt complete with a white apron pinafore tied over it. She also had a blue bow tied up in her hair. If I didn't know better, she also looked like she appeared out of a fairytale.
"A…Am I dreaming? I must have hit my head," I said, chuckling lightly. The man and woman did not smile. Their expressions appeared dead serious. The Mad Hatter like man looked very nice with his white suit, complete with a long white-tailed coat, with white dress pants with a lavender undershirt. He also looked quite spiffy as if he were going somewhere important. "Did I say something wrong?" I had questioned.
"You…. you were screaming out in your dreams as if you were having a nightmare. If I did not know better, I would say that you suffer from trauma young miss," said the Mad Hatter man. He spoke so matter of factly and so formal. I hung my head down, my indigo bangs obscuring my eyes. I did not know how to reply to his statement. The girl put a caring hand on my shoulder.
"I am sorry I could not do more. I stayed by your side while you were sleeping. Your face looked as if you were in pain. It was as if you were being tortured. God, I can't imagine," she said softly. I had simply talked to a gentleman with short silver hair. Had some of those flashbacks leaked through in the waking world? Judging by their expressions, I must have cried out and screamed aloud in my sleep. I felt bad for the trouble I had caused them. Tears began to fall down my eyes. Mad hatter guy looked surprised as did the woman in blue. She simply pulled my small form into her arms, hugging me like a mother. I simply buried my head in her chest, allowing my painful emotions to erupt. I wrapped my arms around her, clutching desperately at her dress for dear life. I did not want her to let me go.
I wondered if my friends were alive. Thoughts of Mion, Rena, Keiichi had sprung forth, seeing their dead bodies broken and mangled as they appeared in many different loops. I only wanted my friends to live and thrive. I wanted us to live free from tragedies, free from killing each other, free from darkness. We did break free from the loops once but somehow; I had been jerked back there. How and why? Now here I was, crying in a strange woman's arms, hugging her desperately as if my life depended on it. I had never had a chance to get to know my parents very well. I was very young when they had died mysteriously.
"Do you…. want me to be your mother?" the woman asked softly. I nodded into her chest, hiccupping, my nose running from crying so much. I looked up at her with bloodshot eyes, red from crying. Only soft aquamarine eyes greeted mine as she brushed my hair out of my face. The Mad Hatter man handed her a handkerchief to dry my eyes with. "Blow," she ordered, and she held it up to my nose for me to blow the snot into it which I did. I sighed again, collapsing from exhaustion into her chest again, falling asleep once more.
I woke up again a little later with the man and woman still by my side. Apparently, they did not want anything to happen to me. I barely knew them, and the woman asked me if I wanted her to be my mother. I had nodded yes in desperation. Said woman was still holding me close to her side as she lay in the bed. I was sandwiched between her and the mad hatter guy who had taken his overcoat off as well as his hat and neck bow and was in his dress shirt, also holding onto me and the woman as if she were somebody special to him and as if he were my father. His eyes were closed, and I could here a faint ticking sound coming from his chest. Did he have a clock in his chest for a heart? Curiouser and curiouser.
I also heard a faint heartbeat coming from the woman. She did not appear to be like Mr. Hatter. Was my "mother" like me? I did not know. All these questions raced through my jumbled mind, trying to make some sense out of something. Would my friends wonder what happened to me? I prayed silently that they would be ok. I suddenly buried my face in Mr. Hatter's chest, trying desperately to block another flash back, this time of Satoko performing the Wataganashi ritual on my innards. Why? Why Satoko? Why did you fucking do this to me?! I started sobbing profusely once more, the man and woman's holds only tightening as a result as if to instinctively comfort me. It worked slightly and I was able to settle down, take a few deep breaths and my heartbeat slowed somewhat. "Sorry Mr. Hatter sir," I whispered, feeling somewhat ashamed.
"Don't worry about it. We're here for you now, daughter," he simply muttered softly. My violet eyes widened; did he just call me his daughter? I barely knew them and here they adopted me without a second thought. My muddled thoughts lured me back under again as well as their warmth comforting me as I fell back asleep.
When I woke up once more, cobwebs filled my mind. At first, I was slightly confused where I was until I saw Mr. Hatter, my newly adopted father holding me as well as my adopted mother behind me. I still did not know their names. I am sure I would find out soon. My newfound father was just starting to wake up himself and he muttered, "How long were we asleep for?" I shrugged as I did not have any idea. He noticed me again, "Hello there," he added with a small smile, patting my indigo-colored head. I returned it when I looked up at him. He then made the decision to sit up, dragging me with him. I stretched my short arms out, yawning slightly. Guess I was more exhausted than I thought. However, I was ready for the day (night, midafternoon, morning? I did not know what I'd get in this place.)
I heard my newly adopted mother yawning as she also sat up. I turned and her blue dress was crumbled with wrinkles from having been slept in the night prior. Her dark blonde hair was also slightly messy, her blue bow on top of her head slightly knocked askew as well. "Morning Blood," she muttered and "Morning…. sorry we did not get your name last night," she added, addressing me.
"Rika, Rika Furude sir," I replied, my voice still sounding a bit groggy. My new father, now known as Blood, chuckled slightly, ruffling my hair with a hand good naturedly.
"How about you go clean up with Rika, Alice and then we'll all go down for some tea and breakfast? How does that sound?" he said after a bit. I nodded, approving the idea. "And sometime today, I also suggest you take Rika into town to buy some new clothes. That sundress simply won't do," he added. Why not? I liked that sundress. However, I was not going to argue with father. I have not ever really had the opportunity to get many new clothes so maybe this would be fun.
I did not have much time to ponder anything else as my mother, Alice picked me up with ease and brought me into a bathroom to help me clean up. I sighed as I was quite capable of cleaning myself up. But Alice insisted of being a mother and doing it for me, so I let her do so. She did her best to be gentle when brushing out my long purple and blue hair, only gently working out tangles without pulling too hard which I appreciated. It was such a contrast to when I sometimes had Satoko help me with my hair.
She was always kind of rough which resulted in pulling and yanking. After a few times of that experience, I decided I was better off brushing my own hair. She had me sitting on her lap while she brushed my hair. I glared at myself in the mirror, I did look cut up and slightly dirty. I noticed for the first time I was wearing one of father's shirts as a nightgown. I practically swan in the damn thing because it was so big on me.
Mother then noticed I was glaring at myself in the mirror. She stopped brushing my hair to ask, "Everything alright, Rika?" I nodded, faking a smile but she didn't buy it. "Are you sure?" she asked me again to which I nodded again. "Ok, if you say so," she added, not pressing further which I appreciated. I would talk about my feelings when I felt comfortable enough.
Once she was done brushing me, she stripped me of the baggy dress shirt, turned on the water in the tub shower, and put me inside. "Mom, I can clean myself up," I said pointedly. She sighed simply, she realized I was probably right.
"Allow me to care for my new adopted daughter," she pleaded. I sighed again, nodding.
"Alright mom," I replied, closing my eyes, allowing her to finish helping me clean up. I guess my scratches were not that deep as she had taken off the bandages before putting me in the shower. I had to admit it felt nice being taken care of by a mother like figure. Before I knew it, she was done, and helped me out, drying me off with a towel. She then hopped in and took a shower too. It took her a bit because she had to wash and rinse her long curtain of dark blonde hair. I went out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around my small frame to look for something to wear that was my size. Being stuck as a short ass eleven-year-old sucked. I could not wait to grow into a younger adult body so clothes could fit me.
There was a walk-in closet just outside the bathroom filled with my mother's blue dresses and a few others with similar designs in other colors. I particularly liked the green variations with the silver rings. I wished I could find that dress in my size. After searching through father's and mother's clothes, I found nothing. Just then, father came in, grabbing himself a shirt to wear. It was a lavender dress shirt like he had on yesterday. He looked down at me, realizing I was trying to find something my size. "Right, I forgot," he muttered and used magic to make a dress appear on me. It looked like my mom's dress except a light green with blue ring designs on the skirt and sleeves. I happily hugged him, not even questioning his magic use, I talked to the reincarnation of the Goddess of our village for many years. So, who was I to question?
"Thanks dad," I said smiling, adding a small nippah at the end. He chuckled lightly, happy to see me smiling. He bent down to my level, wrapping his arms around me, hugging me back briefly before letting go and standing up. I walked out into the main room, sitting on the couch and waited for them to finish dressing and what not. Feeling a little bored, my purple eyes darted to the vast bookshelves that lined the perimeter my parents' room. My father must be an avid reader judging from the collection of books he had. I went to one of the shelves and pulled out a book, sitting back down to crack it open and read its pages.
As I read the first few pages, I discovered it was a fantasy and mystery story. I looked at the title embossed in golden letters: "When the Seagulls Cry" by Ryukishi07. Immediately intrigued, I began to get lost within its pages once more, getting as far as Battler and his family just arriving at Rokkenjima as mom and dad came out, fully dressed. Father noticed I had one of his books. I made to get up and put it back on the shelf. However, he stopped me.
"No, go ahead and read it. That is what they are for after all," he said with a smile crossing his lips. Alright then, I nodded and just set it aside on the coffee table, making a mental note to pick the story back up later. I headed toward the double doors that separated this vast room from the corridors. I waited for them because I did not know my way around. Alice and Blood grab one of my hands like a mother and father would and then walked out into the hallway with me in tow.