Alice Alive

By, KKYOKO

Chapter Two: Making Nice

Shiori takes me to her two-story house that her late husband left her. It's Japanese-style, and clean and simple. It has four bedrooms that are approximately about the same size, one traditional bluebonnet blue tile-covered bathtub/bathing room, and two modern half bathrooms. The apple-decorated kitchen is a good size, with a dining table in the middle. The living room is strangely smaller than the kitchen, and is decorated in hues of beige and green. The entire house is light, open, and cheerful. I can tell by the size and quantity of the bedrooms that Shiori and her late husband had been planning on filling the house up with children. It is a shame that he passed away.

Shiori leads me around the house, showing me around, and telling me about it. Kurama follows at a distance, observant and silent. He gives away nothing and watches us scornfully. Shiori either doesn't notice or is used to her son's behavior, but she appears happy enough as I occupy her attention. Only having a son and all, she seems excited about me, maybe because I am a cute little girl.

She shows me the room that I will be sleeping in. It is adjacent to her room and beside Kurama's. It's obviously a guest room, but there is a bureau, a white wardrobe, and a small bed pushed against the window. She smiles as I take in the room, then she slips away, saying that she's going to start dinner and to call her if I need anything. Her hand flutters over Kurama's head like she might smooth his hair, but then she thinks better of it at his expression, and I hear her go downstairs.

"You're mom's nice," I say, frowning at him. "You shouldn't glare at her like that."

He ignores my comment and steps into the room, closing the door behind him. "Nice story you told her," he says pointedly. "Very poignant for an eight year old."

I sigh, and bounce onto the bed. "I'm actually twenty-two," I reveal. "I wanted you to be curious, so I didn't tell you right away."

His placid expression doesn't change at all. "That explains the story. I need to know more about you, though."

I stop him before he can go on. "You're very serious for an eight or nine year old, Shuichi-kun. And is there a reason you don't like your mom?" I decide to point out the fact that he is abnormal before we can get into my business. "I want to know more about you first, because I don't have to tell you anything, kiddo."

His eyes narrow at me, like he is contemplating ways to kill me if he only had his strength and powers. He folds his arms and leans against the door, for a moment, considering his options. He could tell me nothing, or he could tell me a bit about himself and learn a bit about me, or he could try to kill me, which would likely result in having his cover in the human world blown.

He sighs and comes toward me, away from the door. He stops about a foot away from my spot on the bed, forest green eyes reflecting his age. Unfolding he arms, he begins with, "I am not eight years old either."

"Are you copying me?" I ask dubiously, inwardly giggling at myself. "I know mimicry is one of the sincerest forms of flattery, but –"

"I assure you, I am not copying you, nor do I have any urge at all to flatter you," he says dryly. His eyes flash with irritation, but I see the eons of patience he has accumulated hold him back from doing anything violent. I politely wait for him to continue. "I am not quite sure how old I am, and that alone should tell you that I have lived a long time. In my previous life I was not human. I was something more…sinister."

I lean forward, expressing my curiosity. "Sinister?" I ask.

"I was a demon," he says flatly, gauging my reaction.

I laugh. "I've had a bit of experience with those," I tell him honestly. "When I was in high school, I made a lot of psychic friends and we went exploring in graveyards and old houses. Once we took a trip to a haunted hotel in Austin together, and that was kinda scary, but it was thrilling too, you know? But I can see and sense spirits and entities too, not as well as I used to. I guess I sort of grew out of it." I tap my toes together and watch his expression. "I'd like to think I know a thing or two about demons."

I hold back on the information that I have the ability to strip their powers. I figure I should sit on that until the opportune moment, but I do sort of want to tell Kurama. I was sort of forced to develop that power when a demon followed me home from the haunted hotel, and started squatting in my bedroom closet. It was pretty terrifying, and I was concerned about it going after my younger sisters.

He doesn't expect my experience. "Interesting."

"Were you a strong demon?" I ask, smiling slightly.

He smiles back, but it's a cold smile. "Very strong. I'm certain that you've never met a demon quite like me."

I cackle. "I didn't know you could be funny, Shuichi-kun! You're so serious. Of course I've never met a demon quite like you. In fact, I've never met anyone quite like you." I laugh harder, bending over. "Honestly."

The cold seeps out of his expression, and his mouth twitches in the corner. "I suppose I've never met anyone quite like you either." He sobers. "Your situation is very strange though. Even stranger is the fact that you're a human."

"Are you calling me weird?"

"More or less." There is more amusement in this smile. "But is this your body, I wonder? Your original body?"

I stand up and turn around for him, and catch my reflection in the mirror. My cheeks are round and childish, and I'm not used to it. "This is what I looked like when I was about eight years old. It's so weird," I muttered, pinching my cheek as I stared at myself. I turned back to him. "That's an odd question to ask though, Shuichi-kun. Is that not your original body?"

He smirked. "Not quite. I'm missing ears and a tail."

"Uh?" I asked, staring hard at him. "Really? Like cat or dog ears and tail?"

He tugged a piece of his red hair, looking up at it over his eyes. "Fox," he answered. "I was a kitsune, or rather, I still am in some sense. I was known as Youko Kurama."

"Interesting," I said, returning his earlier statement.

"Shuichi! Alice!" Shiori calls our names from downstairs. "Dinner!"

The next day, Shiori calls into work, drops Kurama off at school, and takes me to the police station. The officer at the desk looks up expectantly when we walk in, and Shiori flashes him a smile. She explains the situation to the man, and asks him if he knows anything about it. The officer frowns and tells her that there haven't been any recent deadly car accidents in the area, but he'll call around and ask other precincts. Shiori explains that she's only making sure that I don't have any relatives, and she doesn't mind taking me in as her own child. The officer's eyes swivel to me, fixing me with a curious look.

"Are you sure it was a car accident, sweetie?"

I nod solemnly.

"Were you in the car?"

I shake my head, considering the fact that I should have some bumps and bruises from an accident, and I don't. "I was about to get in the car, and someone ran into Mommy and Daddy."

"Did you see the person?" he asks.

I shake my head again. "No. I fainted," I make up on the spot, so I don't have to know what happened. "When I woke up someone told me they were dead. And the person that hit them got away."

Shiori explains to the officer then that I told her that I didn't have any other family. He nods, and offers to call her and let her know if anyone files a missing child report for me. If there's nothing for three months, Shiori can began an adoption process if she desires, and if she doesn't want to take care of me anymore, she can turn me over to the government's child welfare agency. They'll make sure that I find a good foster home or orphanage. That doesn't sound like an option to Shiori though, because her arms tighten around my body possessively.

"What should I do about her schooling?" Shiori asks. "She doesn't know her last name, and it's impossible to know if she's a Japanese citizen."

The officer shrugs. "It shouldn't be a problem if she uses your last name, ma'am. Just so the schools can call her something, at least until we find out who she is or you decide to adopt her."

Shiori nods and thanks the officer for his time, slipping him her business card in case of any news. We leave the building and head out into the blustery cold. Shiori pulls my hood up over my head affectionately, smiling at me. "I'm glad Shuichi-kun's old coat fits you. We still need to go shopping today for some clothes, though."

I nod cheerfully. I'm wearing Kurama's clothes under his jacket as well. He is bigger than me, so they fit somewhat, but even in my old life I was a small child. I was underweight until I hit twelve, and I imagine it'll be mostly the same in this life too. Shiori takes my hand and leads me to the train station. We take a short ride to a local shopping district and find a department store. Shiori lets me choose most of my clothes, but I have to try everything on because I don't know anything about Japanese sizes. I glance at price tags when Shiori isn't looking and try to pick cheaper items.

Eventually we leave the store with two big bags full of clothes. Shiori buys more clothes than I expect her to, but then I'm comparing her to my mother. My mom was super stingy when it comes to spending money – a trait I inherited from her. We take the train back to the neighborhood where the Minamino house lived, take the bags to the house, and put the clothes away in the dresser in my room.

Shiori glances at her watch. "We still have time to take you to the elementary school, Alice-chan. We can at least get you registered today, and then you can go with Shuichi-kun tomorrow."

"Okay," I say, getting to my feet. "Can I wear a new outfit today?"

"Yes," Shiori says, pulling out a small printed skirt and a white blouse out of the dresser and handing them to me. I change quickly, knowing we don't have loads of time. I pull on my new coat and let Shiori zip me up, and she gave me a little pinch on the cheek. It's kind of nice to be a kid again. It's nice to not have to worry about paychecks, or car insurance, or college tuition. Being an adult is so overrated.

I follow her downstairs and she slips her coat and shoes on and we head out again. As we walk to the elementary school, Shiori braids my hair and tosses the braid over my shoulder. She smiles at the effect and tells me it looks very cute, and then she pulls my hood up to cover my ears. We walk hand in hand down the sidewalk.

The elementary school isn't very far away from the house - just two blocks. The building is two stories, white, with a large playground to the side. A sign on the gate said "Watase Elementary" in Japanese. I realize with a start that I can read Japanese, or at least the hiragana above the kanji on the sign. I suppose an eight year old student in Japan should only be beginning to learn some kanji, so I might not be too far behind the other students then. And if I can read Japanese, I'm obviously speaking it too. Everyone I've spoken to so far seems to understand me well enough. I wonder how all that happened.

As I'm musing, Shiori leads me through the hallways to a receptionist. She greets the woman and asks to speak to the principal. The receptionist nods and leads us to a back office and knocks on the door. She lets us in the office without a word, shooting a smile at me.

"How can I help you?" the man behind the desk says. He indicates to the chairs. "Please have a seat…Minamino Shiori, right?"

Shiori nods, smiling. "Yes."

"Your son is an excellent student, Minamino-san. It's hard to overlook the parents with such good children," the man smiles kindly. His eyes slid over to me. "And who is this?"

She puts her hand on my head affectionately. "This is Alice. She's come into my care recently, and she'll be staying with my son and I. She needs to be enrolled in a school soon, and I thought this would be the best place to start. The problem is, I don't have any previous records of her schooling –"

"I was homeschooled," I piped up.

Shiori nods, acknowledging me. "Or a last name for her."

"Well, we can give her a placement exam to determine which grade to put her in," the principal says, "but her not having a last name is a problem. You don't have a birth certificate or anything for her?"

Shiori shakes her head. "I was thinking we could use my family name for the school records, but I really have no form of identification for her. Frankly, I have no idea where she came from, but she speaks Japanese very well. Her parents," Shiori leans forward and glances at me. I pretend to be fascinated with my shoes. "Her parents died in an accident recently, and no one has come to claim her. I went to the police station today, and the officer said that he would contact me if anyone filed a missing person report."

The principal looks thoughtful. "Do you plan to adopt her, if no one claims her?"

"Yes," she replies, firmly.

"Well then! From what I understand, there's a three-month window for someone to come claim her, and with the right lawyer, an adoption process in your case should be fairly quick. I think the school can wait about four or five months for a form of identification, or adoption papers," the man smiles. "It's unusual, but the board can certainly stand to overlook it in your case. It shouldn't be a problem. Now, for that placement test, would you care to take that today?" he asks Shiori.

I'm beginning to get annoyed with the let's-talk-over-Alice's-head-she's-not-here thing. "Yes," I say before Shiori can reply. I force the sullen expression off my face and try to smile. "I want to take it today. Then when will I get to go to school?"

He glances at a clock. "There's enough time today we could get you in by tomorrow morning, I think."

"Can I be in Shuichi-kun's class?"

"If you place in his grade, I don't see why not," the man replies kindly. He turns to Shiori. "It seems she's taken quite well to your son."

She smiles in reply.

"See Tanaka at the front and get her to give you the test, Minamino-san. I'll go over it personally and place her myself."

We leave the office and get the test and a pencil from the lady who smiled at me. She gives me a spot at the desk beside her to work on the test. I write my name in English at the top corner of the test and write it in katakana underneath the English. The first few questions are mathematical, which is fine, because elementary math to a twenty-two year old college student is cake and pie. The next are definitions and shapes. There are some open-ended questions that strike me as psychological more than anything. All in all, the entire test is easy, especially since I now have magical reading/writing/speaking powers, which are extremely helpful. I get a few of the most difficult wrong on purpose, and I figure at almost two hundred questions I can afford it. College has taught me many things, and calculating my grade is one of them.

I finish the test in about forty-five minutes, and hand it to Tanaka. Shiori smiles at me. "Do you think you did well?" she asks.

I nod, smiling. "Do you think if I place ahead of Shuichi-kun, I can still be in his class?" And then I immediately turn red for thinking I could place ahead of Kurama and then expressing it to his mother.

Shiori laughs at me and ruffles my hair. "Maybe."

Tanaka comes back in about an hour and leads us back to the principal's office. He smiles at me approvingly. "You did very well, Alice-chan. I think you'll do fine in third grade with Shuichi-kun."

I grin, excited.

:)

So I revamped this chapter. Hope you liked it!