- Author's Notes -
((Hey guys! All good?))
((This is a story that I'm posting on another site, however, I decided to share it here as well. I hope you like it, because I'm writing it with lots of love, affection and dedication.))
((For those who have already seen this story elsewhere, I am rewriting some chapters of this story, I will update the story soon.))
In today's chapter, a new day begins in a completely normal house, with a completely normal family. Well... almost completely normal.
The sun was rising once more in Crystal Tokyo. Once again, a new day was beginning.
However, that day would not be a normal day... that day was different.
On that day, as every year, there would be a parade in celebration of a very special date in Crystal Tokyo. That day, it was the commemoration of the end of the war against the Black Moon Clan, whose people of Earth emerged victorious.
In a normal house, in a residential area not far from where the parade was going to take place, there was a family that was a little... peculiar.
- "Amanda!" - Suddenly, a female voice ends up interrupting the sleep of a young teenager of only 17 years old.
The girl, Amanda Policena, just ignores the voice, turning away, eyes closed, once again trying to sleep.
The person who was trying to wake Amanda lets out a long sigh, before trying once more.
- "Amanda!" - The person tries to call Amanda again, a little louder than the previous time.
Now, it was Amanda's turn to sigh, the girl with short brown hair finally decided to raise the white flag and wake up.
- "Oh? So you finally decided to wake up, huh?" - The person asks.
Amanda opens her eyes and stares at the person who has been calling her tirelessly.
Well... the person... it wasn't exactly a person.
It was actually a stuffed white rabbit with long ears and big black plastic eyes.
Amanda Policena was a girl with fair skin and green eyes, with short brown hair. She was wearing pajamas, which was a long-sleeved white blouse, the blouse was showing a little of her belly, the blouse also had a yellow star design printed on it. She wore white pants and she was barefoot. On her head, she was wearing a white cap, in front of the cap, was a silver crescent moon and a small yellow star, and in both of her ears, were a pair of spherical earrings in yellow color.
- "Hmmm? Lily?" -Amanda asks, with a sleepy voice, her vision was still getting used to the light that entered through the bedroom window.
- "Good morning, Sleeping Beauty." - Lily crosses her arms, speaking in a slightly sarcastic tone.
- "Good morning... ahhh." - Amanda says, giving a yawn right after. - "What time is it?"
- "It's almost eight o'clock." - Lily answers and, almost automatically, Amanda widens her eyes, throwing the blankets over the stuffed rabbit.
- "H-hey!" - Lily screams, while fighting with the blankets.
Desperately, Amanda runs towards the wardrobe, desperately looking for her school uniform.
- "A-Amanda!" - Lily screams, after finally getting rid of the thick blankets. - "What are you doing?!"
- "I-I'm late!" - Amanda says, after finally finding her school uniform and removing it from the wardrobe.
The stuffed rabbit shakes her head negatively, while sighing deeply.
- "Amanda, you don't have class today, have you forgotten?" - Lily speaks, while trying to maintain patience with the girl with short brown hair. - "Today is the parade of the royal family."
- "Ehhh..." - Amanda, after listening to Lily's explanation, ends up dropping her school uniform on the floor. - "Is it today?"
- "Yeah, why else would I wake you up on a Saturday morning?" Lily asks, as she watches Amanda start to blush. - "No... don't tell me..."
- "Today is Saturday...? I forgot." - Amanda speaks, while giving a nervous smile.
- "Idiot!" -Lily speaks, while she shook her head negatively once more.
- "Sorry, Lily. I just forgot." - Amanda speaks, slightly sticking out her tongue, laughing lightly afterwards.
- "You really are a mess, girl." - Lily speaks. - "Go get ready, your boyfriend must have been waiting for you on the avenue for hours."
- "H-hey! Hiroshi is not my boyfriend!" - Amanda, now blushing, speaks with a serious tone to Lily, who was leaving the room.
- "Yeah, yeah. I know." - Lily says, before leaving Amanda's room with a victorious smile.
After Lily leaves the room, Amanda huffs in anger.
Anyway, it was normal for the stuffed rabbit to tease from time to time. Especially when it came to Hiroshi, Amanda's best friend since they were both kids. They were both inseparable, just like Amanda and Lily, even if she isn't, technically…real.
Yes, Lily was just a figment of Amanda's imagination, which only she could talk to.
People see Lily as just an old stuffed animal, however, Amanda sees her as a friend, her best friend.
I shake my head, Amanda begins to change her pajamas for the clothes that the girl with short brown hair had spread on the floor.
After finishing changing and fixing her hair, in addition to putting on some accessories, Amanda faces herself in the mirror.
Now, Amanda had her hair tied in two high buns, one on the left side and the other on the right side of her head, she was now dressed in a dark dark blue, with long, drooping sleeves, close to the chest, the dress had two small yellow stars drawn on it. She was also wearing a pair of white socks and a pair of white sneakers. Around her neck, Amanda now wore a black leather cord, secured with a bow and on her middle finger, Amanda wore a silver ring with a small yellow jewel, that ring... it was one of her greatest treasures, for some reason.
But... there was something else. And that something, made Amanda's expression change.
- "This is strange... again, that same dream... those same creatures that were chasing me..." - Amanda thinks to herself, staring at her reflection. - "What's happening to me?"
It was true. Recently, Amanda had been having strange dreams, nightmares to be honest. Until that moment, the girl with the short brown hair hadn't said anything to anyone, not her father, not Lily, not Hiroshi and not anyone, because she didn't want to worry them.
However... that was already pushing Amanda to the edge. She was thinking about talking to her father, but not at the moment.
After all, that day wasn't a day to worry about, it was a special day. Amanda takes a deep breath, struggling to crack a smile.
Amanda, now fully ready, decides to grab a bag and head to the kitchen, to have breakfast and head towards the parade and meet Hiroshi there.
The smell of eggs and bacon fills Amanda's nose as soon as she walks into the kitchen. There was Amanda's father, Murata Policena. Lily was there too though, sitting on top of the table.
- "Good morning, dad." - Amanda speaks, while calling her father's attention.
Murata was a fair-skinned, green-eyed man with brown hair. He was wearing a long-sleeved white button-up shirt that was rolled up, dark blue jeans with a black belt, and brown shoes. Murata also wore black-rimmed glasses and a red kitchen apron over her outfit.
- "Oh, good morning, Amanda." - Murata smiles, while watching his daughter go to a chair and sit down. - "Did you sleep well?"
- "Yes, I slept well yes." - Amanda answers, omitting the truth.
- "Ah, I'm glad." - Murata speaks, while finishing making Amanda's breakfast.
Amanda watches attentively as Murata brings the plate and a glass of orange juice. On the plate were two fried eggs with two strips of bacon on each, and some toast, already buttered on top.
- "Wow, eggs and bacon. I knew it smelled good." - Amanda smiles.
- "Yes, they are your favorites." -Murata smiles, as he returned to the kitchen, now to make his breakfast.
- "Uhhh, dad." - Amanda draws Murata's attention.
- "Yes, Amanda?" -Murata asks, while she was frying two eggs. - "Something happened?"
- "Actually, yes. I want to ask a question." - Amanda speaks. - "It's about my mother."
...
...
...
- "No way..." - Lily whispered to herself, while watching Murata remain silent.
- "What... what question?" - Murata faces Amanda.
- "Well, I know it must be a sensitive topic, but we've never talked about it before." - Amanda starts to explain. - "My mom, dad... what was she like?"
For a few minutes, Murata ignored Amanda to finish making his breakfast, which was the same as Amanda's, but instead of orange juice, it was a cup of coffee.
Murata sits at the table with his breakfast, in front of Amanda.
- "Well, your mom..." - Murata tried to find an answer to give his daughter. - "She... was your mom."
- "Really, old man? Is that your answer?" - Again, Lily whispers to herself. - "You know she won't buy that one!"
- "Uhhh, dad, that's not what I meant." - Amanda speaks. - "What I asked is what she looked like. It's just that I've never seen a picture of her before. You told me that she died, so you should have something to remember her by, no?"
- "..." - Murata is silent, probably thinking about something.
- "Dad?" Amanda raises an eyebrow.
- "Amanda, dear... your mom's death gave me a lot of bad memories. So, please, don't talk about it anymore." - Murata explains. - "Maybe one day I'll have the courage to show something of her to you."
- "Oh..." - Amanda looks away. - "I understand... I'm sorry, dad."
For some reason, Lily sighed with relief, but neither Amanda nor Murata noticed, as the stuffed rabbit was quite silent.
So the three of them are silent for a few minutes, eating their breakfast. Until, suddenly, the noise of the doorbell is heard.
- "Huh?" - Amanda looks up at the door.
- "Who will it be at this hour?" - Murata gets up from the chair. - "I'm not expecting visitors now."
- "Me neither. I arranged with Hiroshi that I would meet him on the main avenue." - Amanda speaks, while the brown-haired man walked towards the door.
Murata opens the door, but when he opens the door, a woman quickly enters, with a the angry expression.
The woman was pale-skinned and blue-eyed, with black hair tied back in a low ponytail. She wore a black dress with a high collar and long sleeves, over the dress, she wore a light purple coat with a kind of fur on the collar, the fur was a little darker in color. She was wearing see-through stockings and black high-heeled shoes.
- "Murata!" - The black-haired woman speaks in a serious tone, before the brown-haired man could say something.
- "S-Suki?!" - Murata says, surprised by the presence of the black-haired woman in his house, especially at that hour. - "What are you doing here?"
- "What am I doing here?" - Suki Moegi asks, while taking two movie tickets from her coat pocket. - "Do you know what day it is? It's best friends movie day!"
- "And you came here just to remind me of this?" - Murata asks.
- "Of course, you always forget about that day." - Suki answers, bluntly.
Murata and Suki have been best friends since childhood. For as long as Amanda can remember, that woman has always been in her life. As far as she knows, Suki helped Murata take care of Amanda when Murata's wife passed away.
Something Amanda doesn't understand is why her father and Suki would argue over anything. It was like Suki wanted to get something back... something her father was always owing her.
- "Sorry, Suki. But you need to reschedule the cinema. Remember? Today there's the royal family parade." - Murata speaks, after Suki finally shut up.
- "Huh? Is it today?" - Suki asks, the brown-haired man only responds by nodding his head. - "Oh..."
The black-haired woman shakes her head negatively.
- "Damn, what a head of mine." - Suki speaks. - "I was so focused on this very special day for both of us that I ended up forgetting about the actual show, again."
- "Do you intend to go to the parade?" - Murata asks.
- "Well... I think so. The police station gave me a rather unusual case recently." - Suki speaks, now with a certain tone of determination in her voice. - "And this case ended up falling to me, as you know."
- "What do you mean? An unusual case?" - Murata asks once more.
- "It's that case again, of the five girls and a boy disappeared without giving explanations and without any witnesses." - Suki explains, but soon after, she remembers something, correcting the information. - "Ah, yes, actually, a couple talked to one of the girls before her disappearance, but after that, they didn't see her anymore, they just heard a strange noise of wind in the direction where the girl went."
- "Oh, dear. This is horrible." - Murata speaks.
- "Indeed. I need to go, since we're not going to the cinema now, I'm going to stop by the police station to see the images from the security cameras again." - Suki speaks. - "Maybe I'll be a little late for the parade."
As the black haired woman turned to leave, the brown haired man grabbed her by the wrist.
- "Suki, uhhh... after the parade, maybe we can go to the cinema." - Murata speaks. - "Of course, if you have time."
Suki smiles, quickly, she moves, giving Murata a quick kiss on the cheek.
Soon after, the black haired woman left, leaving the blushing brown haired man, gently massaging his cheek.
- "That's love." - Lily whispers to Amanda, with a tone of malice. - "Hehehe."
- "Q-quiet, Lily!" - Amanda whispers back to the stuffed rabbit, while her father returned to the kitchen.
- "Have you finished?" - Murata asks, already back to normal.
- "Uhhh, yes." - Amanda answers, revealing that, while Murata was talking to Suki, the girl with short brown hair had just had her breakfast.
- "Then go brush yourself and then, you can go to the parade, Hiroshi must be waiting a long time for you." -Murata speaks, while she sat down at the table again, to finish her breakfast.
- "Okay, are you going later?" - Amanda asks, before picking up Lily.
- "Of course, I have to prepare even better." - Murata responds.
- "Oh, of course." - Amanda gives a light laugh, before running towards the bathroom.
Murata smiles as he watches Amanda disappear down the hall. Again, he was alone.
...Or so he had thought, because through a window behind him, a strange figure was watching the brown-haired man.
...
...
...
- "Who's there?!" - Murata turns towards the window, after feeling observed, however, there was no one else there. - "Huh...?"
Murata goes towards the window and looks out, whose vision was the small garden of the house.
- "How strange... I could have sworn there was someone watching me." - Murata crosses his arms, while looking at the garden.
After a few seconds watching the window, to see if anything else was happening, Murata turns around, returning to the table and continuing to eat breakfast.
Amanda and Lily were now alone again, both begin to comment on the subject that Murata and Suki were talking.
- "Five girls and a boy disappearing, and on the same day..." - Lily starts to strike up a conversation with Amanda. - "Kind of scary that, isn't it?"
- "Yes, but why?" - Amanda speaks, having her voice half muffled by the toothbrush. - "Why would anyone kidnap these girls and this boy?"
- "Mystery of mysteries." Lily shrugs. - "It could be for anything."
- "Hmmm..." - Amanda wipes her mouth, after spitting out what's left of the toothpaste. - "Now, I'm really curious about how they disappeared right in the daylight and without any witnesses."
- "That kidnapper must be very calculating in his plans." - Lily speaks. - "I just hope you're not his next victim. The silly way you are, you'll definitely walk into a trap and not even notice."
- "H-hey! I'm not silly!" - Amanda crosses her arms, puffing out her cheeks.
- "Yeah, it just isn't." - Lily rolls her eyes.
After hearing Amanda snort, the girl with short brown hair puts the brush away instead.
- "But seriously, maybe there's no way for the kidnapper to react, since he'll literally have the whole city looking." - Amanda speaks.
- "I think you're right, no one would be so stupid to kidnap in the middle of people." - Lily confirms positively with her head.
- "Come on, I need to meet Hiroshi." - Amanda speaks, while taking Lily with one hand and opening the bag with the other.
- "Oh dear... here we go." - Lily says, while Amanda stuffed the stuffed rabbit into her bag.
After managing to stuff Lily into her bag, Amanda leaves the bathroom.
Murata sighs with relief after finishing washing the dishes.
- "Phew... finally finished." - Murata speaks in a tone of relief.
Then the brown haired man hears footsteps behind him, looking back Murata was able to see Amanda.
- "Oh, it's you, Amanda." - Murata speaks. - "Are you ready now?"
The girl with short brown hair nods positively.
- "Great, then you can go. I'll stay here a little longer and get ready. I'll leave soon." - Murata explains. - "Oh, and be careful, that kidnapper must be on the loose."
- "Yes, dad. I know, I'll be careful." - Amanda speaks. - "See you later, dad."
- "Hey, Amanda, just one more thing." - Murata calls his daughter once more. - "Are you taking that bunny of yours?"
- "Bunny is my hand in your face, old man!" - Lily, still inside Amanda's bag, begins to struggle with anger.
- "Uhhh, yes. You know that Lily and I are very close, don't you?" - Amanda replies, feeling a slight kick on her waist, it was Lily, probably angry about what Murata had said about her.
- "Don't you think that's a little... childish? After all, you're a big girl." -Murata speaks, while she raised an eyebrow. - "What do you think people would do when they saw a 17 year old girl walking around with a stuffed animal?"
- "Hmmm..." - Amanda starts to think a little. - "...Yeah, I think you're right."
Amanda then opens her bag, taking Lily out of it, the stuffed rabbit lets out a discreet sigh as it is removed from the tight bag.
- "I'll keep it for you." - Murata speaks, while taking Lily from Amanda's hands. - "It will just take up space."
- "Okay, see you later then." - Amanda speaks, as she left the house.
...
...
...
After Amanda leaves the house, Murata stands still for a few moments, while watching the door close.
- "Amanda... be very careful out there. Anyone can be a target, including you." -Murata thinks to himself, while she closed her eyes. - "But what is this bad feeling I'm feeling...?"
Murata looks again at the window where he had felt that mysterious figure watching him.
...
...
...
- "...So, old man." - For some reason, Lily starts talking to the brown haired man. - "What happened while Amanda and I weren't here?"
- "...I don't know very well what happend, Lily." - Murata speaks, revealing that Lily, in fact, was not just from Amanda's imagination, but yes, she was very real. - "But if there's one thing I know, it's not a good thing."
Murata squeezes Lily gently, for some reason he felt that, at one time or another, he would have to reveal the truth about the family to Amanda.
Something he hoped would never happen.
- To be Continued -