By Tiger Dauthi
Chapter 3: Dazed and Confused
Cmments at end. Sorry for the long delay!
Nagisa opened her eyes to glowing stars on the ceiling. Not that she'd expected anything else. She was getting used to this feeling of plunging into darkness.
Oh lord, am I really going mental?
At any rate, now was not the time to worry. Now was the time to get out and have some fun, seeing as there was no school today. Glancing at the still-snoring Mepple, she decided to do him a favor and bring him to Honoka's house.
Of course, she had her own reasons for going over too...
"It makes me feel tired..."
"...but I'm happy, Mipo!"
Nagisa smiled softly. It was nice to see Mepple so energetic and happy like that. She'd been so distraught over what had been happening to herself lately that she hadn't bothered to see if Mepple was alright after his terrible illness. As a compensation she'd decided to bring Mepple to see Mipple.
"...I don't care, Mepo. That Nagisa is just a pumpkin head anyway."
Nagisa's eyes instantly swiveled around to focus on Mepple. What did he just say!
"Nonsense, I think Nagisa is cute!" "She's just a bumpy pumpkin head!"
Scowling, Nagisa yelled at Mepple, "Mepple, don't be calling me a pumpkin head and flirting at the same time!"
She really does look rather like a pumpkin head when she's angry...
Mepple chose not to address the first issue and instead commented on the other.
"It's only natural to flirt between lovers-mepo!"
Just as Nagisa looked ready to refute that, Mepple added, "If you're so upset about it find yourself a boyfriend!"
If anything, Nagisa looked even more like a pumpkin head. Enraged, she yelled, "Now I'm pissed! Get out here!"
Mepple promptly turned into a cellphone and couldn't be pried open.
Glancing at them, Honoka smiled awkwardly. I can't tell if they're getting along well or not...
She splayed herself across the bed, looking at Nagisa. Nagisa was pretty, not pretty in the superficial way that glamour girls seemed to be, but really beautiful from somewhere deep inside her, which emphasized her short blond hair and wide, sparkling eyes. Courageous, strong, athletic, boisterous, outgoing... the antithesis of Honoka really.
A boyfriend... The phone rang, shaking Honoka out of her reverie, and she quickly got up to answer it, stealing one last glance at Nagisa, still trying to wrestle Mepple out of his cellphone.
"Hello?"
A string of loving words flooded from the telephone.
"Dad!"
"I'm doing fine!" Pause. "Yes, right, tomorrow at Narita airport!"
"Bye!"
Honoka set the phone down carefully, then skipped happily back to her room. Nagisa's face popped up in front of Honoka, startling her. They stared at each other for a moment, Nagisa's a picture of curiosity and Honoka's of surprise, before Honoka suddenly leapt forward and enveloped Nagisa in a hug.
"My mom and dad are coming back tomorrow!" She exclaimed. As if suddenly realizing what she was doing, Honoka let go and scrambled back to her seat on the bed.
"Your mom and dad?"
"Yes, they're coming back to Japan tomorrow."
"Right, you said your parents are working abroad."
"Yeah, I haven't seen them for a year!"
"A year? Wow..." I couldn't live without my dad or mom for a year... Weakling Nagisa. Ignoring that little voice, Nagisa hurriedly asked, "What do they do for a living?"
The conversation resumed.
"They're art dealers."
"An art dealer? What's that?"
"It's a business that deals with jewelry and works of art. They buy and sell works of art by traveling to countries from around the world."
"Wow, it's a business that covers the entire world..." Look at how successful Honoka's parents are! She'll probably be on the top of the social ladder in the future too. Look at you! Nagisa bristled at that. She raged at her inner self, even as she tried to keep up the conversation. Not being very good at hiding her emotions though, Nagisa felt a touch on her shoulder and her eyes focused back onto Honoka, who looked a tad worried.
Grinning readily, Nagisa said, "That's pretty cool, but it sounds tough."
While Honoka didn't really look placated, she sat back and replied, "Yeah, they always seem busy."
The slightly dejected look on her face faded as she brightened up and said, "But they take the trouble to come here on vacation once a year for my birthday."
Nagisa smiled, happy for her. Then the fact that she'd said her birthday was tomorrow hit her. You dolt! You didn't even know when her birthday was before this! Yeah, just go ahead and be completely clueless! Grimacing, she hid her face from Honoka and bade her goodbyes, mentioning some vague thing that Nagisa didn't really know whether she had or not.
Nagisa muttered to herself about how stupid she was all through the walk home, causing people to stare at her strangely. The day was so sunny though that she could not help but feel cheered, and her thoughts turned to happier things.
Honoka looks really happy. It's no wonder since she can't see her parents for a year. Tomorrow is Honoka's birthday, so I've got to give her a present.
As Nagisa thought about what to get Honoka, she considerably brightened, and ended up skipping and singing home, thus earning her even more strange stares.
However, at home, as she upended her jar, all that tinkered out were a few coins.
18 yen...
She bashed her head against the table. In an instant, the world around her started to fade in a way that shouldn't happen just by hitting one's head against the table. She thought she heard voices talking in the background.
Oh no...
"Yes, that's her friend, Honoka she's talking about. Yes, yes, exactly like the Yukishiro-san we have in our ward. Apparently they've forged an extremely close bond in her other world, where they fight evil hand-in-hand."
A muffled cough of laughter.
"She is quite the idealist, isn't she? Her relationship with Yukishiro-san in her world must be what caused her to latch onto the poor girl immediately. I'm confused as to how she knows her though, as they've certainly never met before this."
Incomprehensible murmurs.
"Yes, perhaps she'd woken up before and seen Yukishiro-san when she was unattended, but it's kind of strange. After all, I don't recall seeing the patient's name anywhere in here... Heard it? I suppose Yukishiro-san could've talked to her sometimes..."
A sigh.
"Problems, problems..."
The world slowly faded back to her room.
Blearily Nagisa got up, stumbling about for a bit, trying to organize her thoughts. I'll definitely have to ask Honoka about this later...
Her hand touched onto something fuzzy. Glancing down, she saw a knitting kit. A few moments passed before the cloud over her thoughts rose.
I know! I'll make her a Mepple and a Mipple! Nagisa grinned at Mepple.
"What are you smiling at?"
"Black Thunder!"
"White Thunder!"
"Our beautiful souls..."
"Shall crush your evil heart!"
"Pretty Cure Marble Screw!"
Light glancing off the jewels intensified. Faintly, Nagisa heard a giggle in the distance. What?
The world faded to black.
Nagisa woke in a familiar white room, that was most definitely not the jewelry store. Again? What stupid dream is this?
A loud voice boomed into her head, causing her to grimace.
"Dinner time! Up and at 'em!"
Pissard, decked out in a nurse's uniform in all his glory, was passing out trays to sleepy or silent girls. Noticing Nagisa's eyes on him, he came over, smiling broadly.
"So what's it today, Misumi-san? The pretty duo get to have some fun with Pretty Cure Marble Screw?" He sniggered.
Incensed, Nagisa gritted out, "We were saving the world, for your information, and apparently there's nothing for me today, seeing as I'll have to listen to you."
Taken aback, all Pissard could do was gape at her for a minute, before recovering himself and his awful smile.
"Well, this is a nice change! We weren't really expecting you to be awake today!" he explained. If possible, he smiled even more brightly. "It's wonderful to have you with us though! Here's your dinner!"
Nagisa stared at the plastic bowl of cabbage soup and the undercooked rice. After a moment she went to pick up her fork, and that was when she noticed that her present to Honoka was still clutched in her hand.
Pissard seemed to have noticed her pauses. Smiling beatifically, he asked, "Do you need any help?"
Nagisa scowled. "No, I'm capable of feeding myself."
Pissard backed off.
"Okay, if you're sure... Dr. Marks will be in to see you shortly then."
"Now, Misumi-san, do you know who I am?"
"I know your name is Dr. Marks. When I popped up the other day I heard you talking with Pissard. But I don't think I've heard of you before that."
"Misumi-san, you've been in this institution for a good two years. Do you know what year it is now?"
Promptly she replied, "2005."
"That's right. In 2003 you were severely injured when someone smashed your head hard with a lacrosse stick. You were thrown into a coma for a year. The next year it was determined that you could wake up at any moment. You did, but not completely."
Nagisa looked at him in complete confusion. Taking it as a sign of curiosity, the doctor continued.
"A year after the accident, you started speaking. At first, we were overjoyed, but then we realized you weren't talking to us at all. You'd created your own world, almost a replica of ours, but with a carefree life, best friends, and magical powers."
Nagisa paled. "No..." she whispered. This was a dream. A dream. She pinched herself, hard.
The doctor put a hand over hers and gently removed it. Sadly he said, "This isn't a dream, Misumi-san. We're all just regular people. There is no Dark Zone. There is no Garden of Light. And we need you to stay here, Misumi-san, if you want to get better."
Tears leaked out of Nagisa's eyes, splattering the quilt. Noticing her tears, the doctor reached over and handed her a box of tissues.
"I know this is a lot to take in. Maybe you'd like to visit the wards sometime later, to help you adapt?"
Unable to bring herself to speak, Nagisa merely nodded. A rustling of cloth beside her indicated that the doctor had stood up, and the clattering of steps meant that he was leaving. Nagisa drew out the little trinket she'd meant to give Honoka.
If my world isn't real, then where did this come from?
Now that that's done, I don't want to see this story again. For a long, long while. That was ridiculously hard to write. I simply couldn't get the ideas out while following the TV show script and (try to) keep the story interesting. As such, it's probably really boring, and I apologize.
Alicia: Of course I will!
Realm Of Chaos: It probably will go a long way, I'm planning on making it some 15 chapters or so.
Eh, I don't want to see the story for some time, but I'll be starting the next chapter tomorrow. :p
