I was on the platform, sitting in a chair. I wore the white dress. I was drinking tea with my shadow self in the mirror.
"So he saw you naked?" My shadow laughed. I could see her eyes now. They were red. Everything else was dark.
"Yep." I said. I sipped my tea. It tasted watery, but I still drank it.
"Did you kick him?"
"You bet I did."
"But you ended up hugging him in his shirt. It's love." My shadow chuckled. I glared at her.
"You know why I'm here." I said coldly. I wanted answers.
"To investigate me, I know."
"Good. First off, who are you?"
"I'm you. You're darkness, the one thing you keep locked up in your heart." Suddenly the mirror flashed, and I saw everything of her. She wore the same dress I did, only it was black. Her hair was a pretty silvery-white. She had black bunny ears, with a white tail. The chair was gone, and she was floating in mid-air, her legs crossed, in a sitting position.
"Why is my eye blue?"
"You got stabbed. It turned color." She shrugged.
"It's more than that."
"You're madness has blue eyes." Aki appeared. But only half of her. The other half was shadowed in darkness. She disappeared. The shadow reformed, still floating.
"How is Aki involved in this?"
"Isn't it obvious, Himari?"
"Shut up."
"You even started a new beginning filled with lies."
"Shut up."
"Just saying."
"Who's the other half?"
"You'll meet him tomorrow."
"Him? Tomorrow? So it has to be either Soul, Black*Star, or Roxas."
"Yep. I get to come out soon." She stood up from her flying invisible chair. She dropped the cup. Her teacup shattered. She placed her hands on the mirror. Like liquid, she stuck her hand straight through. She grabbed my collar. The mirror was like a giant water block. Ripples appeared. Sparks flew. She flew her hand back to her own world. I straightened my black tie. Since when did I have a black tie?
"See?" She winked at me.
"What's your name?"
"Alice. Or Himari." Suddenly she had a knife. She cut her palm. I winced. I felt it too. I looked at mine. It bled.
"We're connected, Himari. That's why we have the same name."
"So you're never gonna leave? Boo, you're boring." I said casually. I wiped my hand against the mirror. It was solid again.
The shadow bent and licked the place I wiped my blood on. I saw that the blood was being licked away on my side.
I spoke. "What can I call you?"
She looked up. "Rabbit will do. Or…" she stood up. "The True Alice of the Mirror."
"Himari, then."
"Alright." Himari sat down.
"What's it like, being insane?" I asked.
"It tastes sweet. Like blood. But you're blind, like you're blindfolded." She yawned. "You knows what that's like, huh."
"I see." I stood up. Cherry blossoms were falling behind me. Glass shards fell behind the shadow. "Can I wake up now?"
"Sure." Himari snapped her fingers.
"She's waking up! Sister, she's finally waking up!" I heard Patty's voice near. I opened my eyes. Liz was standing over me with a plate in her hand, grinning like a fool. Patty was bouncing on the bed.
"Patty, stop bouncing. Good morning, sleeping beauty." I sat up. Bacon and eggs wafted into my nose. Liz placed the plate on my lap.
"You didn't have to do this, guys." I said. Bacon, eggs, toast with jam, and a cut up apple.
"Sorry if you don't eat healthy. Kid makes us eat super healthy junk." Patty said.
"It's a thank you for the dinner and a welcome to your temporary home." Liz said, and sat down on the bed beside me. "Isn't that Kid's shirt?" she asked, pointing.
"Oh yeah… I had no pajamas, so I stole one of Kid's shirts. I was going ask you guys but I didn't wanna disturb you."
"You're really a sweetheart." Liz smiled at me. I smiled back. I ate everything on my plate. It's been a long time since I've had a decent meal. I always gave my food to Aki to make sure she'd get enough, then eat her leftovers.
"Put on the clothes you had on yesterday… they were hot." Liz smiled, twirling her hair. "We're going out to meet up with everyone in about an hour, so get ready."
"Sister, let me do her hair!" Patty said loudly. I nibbled on my last piece of toast.
"Nom nom nom…" I said quietly.
"You nom while you eat?" Liz chuckled.
My face went red. "It's a habit of mine." We all laughed.
"Sis! Let me do Alice's hair! It's so soft and shiny and long!" Patty whined, fingering my messy black strands.
"Not unless Alice is okay with it."
"I'm fine. Just don't cut it."
"Okay!" Patty literally grabbed me by my wrists (I was holding the plate, thankfully,) and dragged me into the bathroom. Liz grabbed my clothes, (I put them on the floor beside my bed.) and followed.
"Sis, no tangles!" Patty combed through my hair furiously. She had an evil gleam in her eyes. She got a pretty blue ribbon and tied it around my hair. My hair looked pretty pulled up in a ponytail like that. She then parted my bangs to where they fell over my right eye partially. 'Kid will be so displeased!' she laughed.
I went into the corner of the bathroom and put on my clothes. As I put on my shirt, Liz asked,
"What size are you?" she said nonchalantly.
"What?" I pulled up my jeans.
"Bust size, I mean. Just curious." Liz was brushing Patty's hair.
"Uh… I dunno…"
"Right, you're memories. Well I checked for you." She turned her head and winked at me. "Big B cup."
"Nice to know… Crazy person." I stuck my tongue out at her. I buckled my black belt. I slipped on my flats. Put on my bracelet band. Then my heart necklace.
"Hat or no hat?" I asked, walking over to them, Patty was dancing while Liz put on lipstick.
"Lemme see." Liz grabbed my hat and my ponytail. She pulled the pony through the small opening in the back of the hat. I looked in the mirror. I never looked so pretty before in my life. So clean. So well dressed. I smiled at my reflection.
"Want some?" Liz handed me a small, heavy bag full of make-up.
"No thanks."
"Hey… are your ears pierced?" Patty said.
Before Aki was born, when Mother and Father wasn't high or drunk, we once went to a salon. I got my ear pierced, my left one. Mother wanted both of them pierced, while Father didn't want me to get them at all. I compromised and got one.
"I don't know." I checked my earlobe. I only had one earring, a pretty pearl, but Mother took it away to sell it. Surprisingly, the hole was still there.
"Here! It suits you!" Patty threw a small earring at me. I grabbed it. It was a blue, four-pointed star. I put it in.
"Ow, damn!" I said once I finally got it in. It dangled. I cocked my head. It turned and twisted.
"You're so beautiful, I could simply die!" I turned my head to the voice. So did the sisters. Kid was standing at the doorway. He was laughing. "Come on, let's get going, you unsymmetrical beings."
Me, Kid, Liz, and Patty were walking down the sidewalk towards the park, where everyone would meet up. Liz and Patty were talking about clothes and food. Kid and I were behind them, being as silent as mice. I had my hands in my pockets, dragging my feet.
"You don't have a partner, right Alice?" Patty asked. She turned her head to look at me. Patty looked adorable.
"No."
"You a weapon?"
"Meister."
"Cool!" She walked backwards now, grabbing my hands from my pockets and jumping them up and down. "I hope you never get a partner, because then you can stay with us and I can do your hair and you can cook yummy food!"
I laughed. Patty laughed. Soon Liz and Kid were laughing.
"What are you guys giggling about?" A voice called from up ahead. I looked. Two people were walking towards us. I wiggled my way out Patty's hands and walked closely behind Kid.
The voice came from a girl, with sandy-blonde hair in two pigtails. Her eyes were an emerald green. She wore the school uniform, and had a book in her right hand.
The boy next to her was slouching, dragging his feet with his hands in his pockets, like what I was doing before. His spiky white hair looked abnormal next to his crimson red eyes. Another thing… his teeth were small spikes, not like regular teeth, as I could see in his scowl. He wore a baggy gray shirt and baggy jeans with sneakers.
"Ah, Maka, Soul!" Liz called. "There's someone I want you to meet." She turned her head. "Where's Alice?"
"Being shy!" Patty grabbed my wrists and dragged me from behind Kid. I noticed I was being dragged an awful lot lately.
I whimpered like a dog. I was in front of Liz and Patty, and directly in front of Soul and Maka. I was taller than Maka, but Soul's hair out-stood me.
"Hi, I'm Maka!" Maka said happily. She reminded me of Shinigami. Maka stuck out her hand. I weakly grabbed hers and shook it.
"Soul." The boy nodded at me. My face flushed. He was handsome. I bowed slightly.
"Nice… nice to meet you two… I'm Alice." I quickly walked backwards and behind Liz.
"Geez, you're shy, Alice!" Liz stepped aside, showing me again. She wrapped her arm around my shoulders to make sure I didn't go anywhere. "Have you guys seen the other three?"
Maka and Soul started walking with us. I was kept in the front. I dug my hands deep in my pockets.
Maka replied. "Nope. I called Tsubaki, and she said that the three of them would probably be by the fountain."
"Good, we were just heading over there!"
I whispered to Liz. "I don't want to meet new people… Just… leave me here, on the sidewalk! I'll be fine!" Liz's grip on my shoulder became tighter.
"You've never had a fun day in your life, so shut up and enjoy the ride!" As if on that command, Patty interlocked arms with me on my right, Liz doing the same on my left. Liz winked at Maka, and she went around behind me and put out her hands on my back.
"Oh dear Shinigami help me!" I whined to Kid as they took off at full speed with me in tow.
The girls had just ran away with Alice, so it was just me and Soul walking.
"So how did you meet Alice?" Soul asked coolly.
"Promise not to tell anyone else." I straightened my tie. I trusted Soul enough to explain her story.
"Whatever, I won't tell."
"Me and Father found Alice walking up the stairs to the Academy. She fainted and we helped her to the office. She has no memories of her past besides her own name." Soul stared me, flabbergasted. I didn't dare tell him anything else.
"Kid, you're joking, right?"
"No."
"Damn…"
"Make sure Maka doesn't ask too many questions, Alice can't really deal with it, the whole memory thing."
"Okay. Come on, let's catch up with them."
I was sitting on the edge of the fountain, my eyes rolling. We barely ran two blocks. I was so dizzy.
Everyone beside me was panting. "Let's do it again!" Patty said. "My nice shoes are ruined!" Liz whined. Maka was sweating, but she was reading the book she carried. I leaned over.
"Alice in Wonderland." She said out loud, telling me what she was reading.
"I love that book!" I smiled at her. She looked up.
"Have you ever read Shakespeare?"
Remember. You have no memories. I shook my head. "Shakespeare?" I used to always take Aki to the library to read. We weren't allowed to check anything out, (we had no Library ID cards) but it was fun. I read a million books there, simply out of curiosity.
Liz chimed in. "Maka, be nice. She really doesn't have any memories, except her name."
"Oh… sorry." Maka sighed. I felt bad, lying to them.
"But I do like reading." I said quickly. I counted off the books I was reading at Kid's house yesterday. "Alice Through The Looking Glass. Alice in Wonderland. Soul Power for Meisters…"
"By the way, are you a meister or weapon?" Maka asked. "I'm a meister!"
"I'm a meister too." I said. "Kid told me that the sisters are twin pistols."
"Yeah, Kid has a symmetry addiction." Maka chuckled.
"I've seen it." I laughed.
"Hey, don't leave us!" It was Kid's voice. Kid and Soul were walking towards us. Soul was giving me a concerned look. I gave him a confused look in return.
"Where's Black*Star and the others?" Soul asked.
"Yahoo! Has my fellow servants find another peasant to bow down to my amazingness?" A peppy voice came in from above.
"Black*Star, no!" Maka suddenly yelled. But it was too late. I looked up to see a spiky blue-haired boy on top of the fountain with a pair of chain sickles. I saw he had a star tattoo on his right shoulder. But that was all I could get before-
Suddenly I was wrapped in chains. Yells were heard. The wind was whipping my ears. I couldn't see. My hat fell off.
I was in midair, wrapped in chains, by none other than Black*Star! He didn't even know me! Why is he doing this? Blood rushed into my head.
"Black*Star! Put her down!" Soul yelled.
"No! She must prove her worth in my presence! She must free herself!" I looked around. No one was around besides us. Thank God, they could've called the cops on us if they did. I squirmed.
Suddenly Soul's arm raised. It flashed white. His right arm became a black and red spiked scythe blade. He cut at the chains. They broke, and I loosened, but more came and held me tighter. It squeezed the life out of me. I coughed for air.
"Yahoo!" Black*star yelled. His grip on the sickles loosened. I freed my arms from the chains. He gripped the weapon again. The air whooshed out of me. I stuck my hand out. Soul grabbed it with his human arm. Suddenly he transformed into a long-handled scythe. I turned it and hit the blade against the chain connecting me to the sickles. I fell, but I used the butt of the handle to catapult myself onto my feet. I turned, and Black*Star came at me. I jumped back, and landed close to Kid.
"Little help here?" I sidestepped just as chains flew at me.
"Liz, Patty!" Liz and Patty flew into Kid's hands as twin pistols. He held them with his pinkies. He shot at the blue-haired boy. I threw the scythe to Maka. She grabbed it and spun it. She got the chains wrapped around the blade. She yanked on it.
Black*Star went flying. He was coming right at me. I clenched my fist. I stuck it out and punched him in the stomach. Purple sparks flew out of my hand. I pulled it away quickly. What the? Black*Star flew into the fountain.
"What the crap?" I yelled, staring at my hand. It seemed normal enough. Black*Star's head popped from the fountain. He was soaking wet. There was a girl sitting beside the fountain. She was very tall, with long black hair up in a high ponytail. She wore a white summer dress. I figured she was Tsubaki.
I was right. "You passed! Tsubaki! That was amazing!" Black*Star yelled.
Everyone was in there human form now. "Alice, are you okay?" Soul asked. I nodded. Why is he being so concerned? I guessed he was just that type of guy.
"What happened?" I asked.
Soul sighed. "Black*Star got dropped on his head a few times when he was a baby."
"Yahoo! You!" Black*Star pointed at me. "You pass! You're worthy to be my friend! What's your name?"
I stepped back. I bumped into Maka.
"She's Alice." Maka said loudly to Black*Star. "Now apologize to her!"
"No!"
"It's quite alright. I'm fine…" I whispered.
"Black*Star usually isn't this stubborn." Tsubaki got up and bowed. "I'm sorry I chained you up. He's just my meister…"
"It's alright!" I interrupted her. "In fact, it was quite fun! You're Tsubaki, right?"
"Yes. Nice to meet you, Alice." She smiled at me. I couldn't help but smile back. I didn't understand, their personalities were as different as black and white.
"Forgetting someone?" Another voice called out. I turned my head to see a tall boy walking towards us with Pocky chocolate in his mouth. He shook the box. I gawked. His eyes were a dark misty blue, with his dark brown, partially spiky, messy hair in his face. He wore a red t-shirt with dark jeans. He wore flat sneakers. He had black and white rings on his right hand.
I hugged Maka's arm tightly. He was handsome.
Maka tapped my head and spoke. "Roxas, just in time! This is Alice!"
He looked at me. "Hey. Want some?" Roxas shook the box of Pocky. I let go of Maka's arm and slowly walked over. Roxas was over near Tsubaki. I grabbed one and placed it in my mouth. It tasted like dark chocolate. I only had chocolate a few times in my life, but I remembered its sweetness. I didn't know what to do, this was kinda awkward.
"Thank you." I said quietly. Roxas smiled. I blushed. I quietly slipped away and went back over to hide behind Liz.
"You're shy." Roxas walked over to the group. So did the other two.
"Let's get something to eat!" Patty suggested.
"Sounds good." I replied quietly. "Just as long as I don't get dragged."
"We have Tsubaki here, you won't get dragged." Liz said evilly.
"You get carried!" Patty grabbed my right arm, Liz got my left. Maka grabbed my right leg while Tsubaki grabbed my left.
"One, two, three!" I was suddenly picked up and carried mid-air.
"Put, me, down! Now! Please! Kid? Please!" I whimpered as they carried me to who knows where. The boys followed. "Not again!"
While the new girl got carried off, I was asked questions by Soul.
"So… Roxas." Soul said casually.
"Yeah?" I said.
"You never offered us Pocky." Soul chuckled. "You got a thing for Alice?"
I laughed. "I was just being homely. Geez, I just met the chick." I really don't know why I offered her my candy, just seemed the most natural thing to do. I never gave away my precious Pocky to anyone else, though. She was very pretty, I could say that much. Maybe that's why? I took note that she was very shy and quiet. But… I felt something else.
She seemed familiar.
We were sitting at a café, the boys finally caught up. I finished my Pocky. I had gotten through telling the girls not to ever do that again. It was about two o'clock when we got our lunch.
I got a ham and cheese omelet. It was absolutely yummy. I took small bites, savoring the flavor. Everyone talked and laughed and ate. I stayed quiet, however, sipping water and slowly eating my food. I was in a daze, eating and staring out the clear window.
Suddenly…
Darkness.