I woke up with my shoulders shaking. My head bobbed to the left, leaning into soft skin.
"Huh…" I slowly opened my eyes to see an arm shaking me. My face felt flushed, but everything else was freezing cold. I blinked and looked straight forward.
Kid was towering over me, sitting near my waist and shaking my shoulders. Getting the wrong idea, I sat straight up and-
SLAP
I smacked his cheek as hard as I could, leaving a bright red hand-print on the left side of his face. My face was a deep scarlet.
"Oww! What the hell!" He rubbed his stinging cheek. I covered myself with the thin sheet.
I looked at the clock. 7:59… 8:00. I blinked.
"We're going to be late!" I shrilled. Kid laughed, but flinched. He rubbed his face harder.
"No school, sadly. It was raining pretty bad, we're practically underwater. Thankfully the storm stopped this morning." Kid stood up. I noticed he was wearing a green and black striped collared shirt. I hugged my- I mean, his undershirt.
Kid held his hand out to me. I gently grabbed it and he pulled me up to my feet. I yawned and stretched. I buttoned up the bottom button that came loose when I was asleep. I felt groggy, tired, and my knees shook slightly.
"Are you going to be in your pajamas all day?" Kid asked. I sat back down and put on a pair of warm, white fuzzy socks. I stood again.
"Yeah. Problem?"
"Well, everyone is coming here tonight to hang out, so I kind of figured you'd get dressed."
I giggled before slugging him in the back playfully. "Oh, I'll pull something off." I walked out with Kid following.
Liz and Patty were in the kitchen, and the smell of too much frying filled my nose. They, too, were in their pajamas. Liz looked up, and smiled. Suddenly, a small fire burst up from the stove where she was cooking, nearly singing her hair.
"Ah!" I ran over to the stove and turned off the burners. The sizzling of burnt bacon soon faded.
"What were you trying to do?" Kid leaned over on the counter and examined the ashes. I picked up the pan and threw the contents into the trashcan nearby.
"Cook breakfast for Alice…" Patty started. She giggled. "She seemed blue yesterday, so… yeah!" She clapped her hands. I grinned.
"Thank you." I began turning the burners back on and placing cold strips of bacon back onto the pan. Soon we were eating on well-cooked bacon and eggs.
"What do you want to do?" Liz poked my shoulder. I had my legs hanging over the top of the couch and my head rolling off the seat, with blood rushing to my skull. Liz and Patty did the same, with Kid reading by my other side.
"I dunno." I poked Kid's knee. "What do you want to do?"
Kid closed his book and shrugged. "Don't know…"
Patty stood up and grabbed me and Liz's hands. "Let's go over to Maka's!" She rushed us to their room.
Their room was similar to my room, only lots more pink and blue and yellow. I yawned and sat on their double bunk. Patty's was on top, all messy, while Liz's was on the bottom, also messy. I twirled a strand of my hair. They had a large mirror directly in front of the beds. I looked at myself. My hair was messy, strands falling onto my face and chest and shoulders. I also had a cowlick. My eyes seemed slow and tired.
I sighed as I felt my forehead. It was burning hot. I hated myself as I figured out I was running a fever.
I stood up as Liz showed me a bunch of shirts and skirts. She asked about her borrowed black skirt, and I said it was in my room, so she ran to get it.
"How about this!" Patty showed me a black tee with a pink tank top. A pink heart was spray painted onto the front with the words "PUNK" written on the side.
Liz came back with my bra, white jacket, and her skirt. She handed me my clothing before she chuckled and ruffled the black skirt.
I put on the tank top, it hugging my waist, then the shirt, and then the jacket. I noticed the felt inside was blue. I put on a pair of skinny jeans. I made sure to make sure they weren't looking, so they wouldn't see my markings.
I put on my charm bracelet and my necklace. I kept my earring in my room. I also put on my checkered band.
"Ta-da!" I turned around. Liz and Patty pulled their shirts on while they turned their heads. They wore the same exact outfit- Red shirt with jeans and a small white tie. Together, they looked absolutely adorable.
"You look so cute!" Patty walked over and tugged me over to the bed. They sat me down and began brushing my hair.
"Your hair is so glossy… unlike mine." Liz shook her dirty-blonde waves. She grabbed Patty's end of my hair and began braiding. Patty crawled over to her sister and began combing hers, making a hair salon conga line.
I flipped my thick braid back and forth. I blushed in the mirror. I was pretty, unlike the other times I've looked into my reflection. I crawled over to Patty and began brushing out the many knots, careful not to hurt her, but it was difficult.
"Hey guys!" Maka waved. Her usual sandy-hair pigtails was now down, framing her face. She wore a snug blue jacket and leggings. She went back to reading a book on the couch. Soul was at the kitchen, bending over and grabbing assortments of food out of the fridge. He wore a white tee shirt and red and black pajama bottoms.
"Hey-o, Maka-o!" Patty marched over and sat down next to her. Liz and I did the same.
"Ahh, Alice, nice to see you." Maka smiled at me. My face went pink. "How are you?"
"Yeah, Alice." Soul sneered, sitting on the armrest and placing an arm around my shoulder and squeezing me tightly. I shrugged off his ever-growing grip on my shoulder. "You're quite strong, for a girl, you know." He shifted positions in his seat, making me remember pushing him on his butt.
I looked down at my hands which were fingering the hem of my shirt.
I whispered. "I'm sorry…" I didn't want to talk about yesterday. My brain slammed against my skull.
"Whatever…" Soul released my arm, and walked into the hall. A few minutes later he returned, wearing an orange shirt with a black leather jacket. His white hair was spiky and out of place to his crimson eyes. He wore baggy jeans and sneakers.
"I'm hanging out with Black*Star." He didn't even wave, just slammed the door shut.
I kept staring at my hands. I felt terrible, not just me being sick.
A hand was placed on my shoulder. I turned my head to see Maka smiling at me, rubbing my arm.
"It's okay, Soul's just an ass sometimes." She giggled. I smiled softly and leaned back in my seat.
"So what…" Liz, Patty, and Maka were on the floor redoing each others hair. I chilled out on the couch, flipping through the channels on the television.
"A young girl named Aki, who-" I flipped to another channel.
"Huh?" I switched back to the news.
"was found on the road a week or two ago, now speaking. Breaking news, the small child found on the road drugged now speaking!" The newsman repeated.
I leaned in closer as he spoke. "Aki woke up barely this afternoon after being unconscious for well over a week. After everything was calmed down, she explained everything. Here is one of our caretakers, who spoke to this girl."
A woman showed her face on the screen. She was fat and ugly and mean-looking.
If she lacked beauty, her voice was dripping with honey. "The girl woke up barely today, relieving all of us. We thought she had died out of over-dose of sleeping syndrome." She shook her head. "Like last time, she asked for her sister, saying exactly- 'Onee-chan! Where's my onee-chan?' Eventually she calmed down and said her name was Aki. She couldn't remember anything else."
Like me, kinda…
"You heard it!" The man started. "Upon further questioning, Aki can't remember her sister's face, or anything else. Soon she will be put under adoption. If you have any information, please, go on our website and contact the local police station." I clicked the news to a random commercial on toothpaste.
She… she really forgot about me… Oh, Aki…
Tears stung my eyes. I shook them away. I was glad, this was what I wished for.
Right?
I hoped she'd live a happy life… without me, a burden to her.
"Alice?" Maka looked at me.
"Hmm?" I looked up.
Liz came in. "Thinking about that little girl? She's kind of like you… so sad, I wouldn't know what to do without Patty." She slung her arm around her sister's shoulder, making the both of them giggle.
I whispered quietly, making sure no one heard me. "We're a lot more alike than you think, Liz."
"What now…" Maka thought aloud. Patty was watching TV, Liz was lying on the floor picking at the carpet, and she was reading a book. I was in the kitchen making tea for everyone. The kettle screamed, piercing my ears. I poured two cups. (Maka is the only other one who drinks tea.)
I walked over and handed her a piping hot cup. Despite the burning, I sipped in a lady-like fashion, my right hand covering it, and holding the cup on the bottom with my left. Maka slurped it down.
"Hey… when's the summer festival?" Liz asked. She sat up, hair falling down her forehead. I set my cup down beside me on the table.
"Uh… June, I think. Why?" Maka replied, setting her cup down completely empty. I got up and poured more for her.
"No reason…" She lied back down again, a dreamy mist in her eyes.
"Thinking about something?" I sipped my tea and swallowed before I spoke. She seemed scared by my sentence, because she instantly tensed up.
"No reason!" She repeated.
Eventually, we ended up playing games and such, talking about the weather (literally). Finally the clock struck seven, and I was completely worn out. Liz must've noticed, because she stood me up and excused us to leave. Maka nodded and waved goodbye.
I struggled up the stairs. Patty laughed about a comment Liz made on how unsymmetrical that place always is, mimicking Kid.
"Alice?" Patty turned to me. I was falling apart from the other two. I put a hand on my forehead, and practically burned my palm. My cheeks felt flushed. I panted once we got up the stairs.
I looked up. I was tired. Liz and Patty walked over, the tall one grasping my shoulder and feeling my cheeks and head.
"Dang… Alice… you're burning! I noticed you were slow all day, but I never thought you were sick! Oh my, let's get you home already!" She grabbed my hand and gently pulled me to the door. We stepped inside.
"Back? At seven? Evil, evil!" Kid called out half-heartedly as Patty scooted me along. He was looking in the fridge and grabbed out a water bottle.
"Yeah yeah, whatever!" Liz called, dismissing him. They took me to my room, where they made me change into my pajama shirt. I sat on the bed, panting from the much needed effort to redress.
"Is everything all right?" Kid walked up to the doorway as Liz and Patty were in the bathroom looking for a thermometer. I loosened my braid, my crimped hair falling down my back. I spread my free toes around the plush carpet.
Kid turned his head sideways. "You're cheeks are flushed, are you ok?" I looked up at him, my eyes telling the story. He rushed over and felt my head, his soft, cold hand felt like ice compared to my head. I moaned because suddenly my stomach pounded against my body. I placed a hand over my mouth, thinking I would vomit. My stomach eased. I lied down on my side, my bangs falling onto my face as I squished my head into the soft pillow. I felt too weak to open my eyes as I heard the twins run back into the room, shaking a thermometer to get it ready.
"Open." Kid grabbed my jaw open and stuck the stick inside. I closed it, the plastic-glass tasting odd on my tongue. For a while everything seemed deadly silent, and I thought I was, too. Kid wrapped his fingers around my jaw and opened again, taking the thermometer out. It left a plastic after taste. I regained just enough strength to open my eyes.
Kid stared at the thermometer, making sure not to touch the part was in my mouth.
"104… when did you get so sick? You were fine earlier…" Kid began.
My voice sounded hoarse as I whispered. "I've been sick all day… but it didn't take its toll until now…" I closed my eyes again as I held my clammy hands close to my chest. I didn't get sick often, being sick only twice before in my life, but nothing compared to these headaches and pains.
"Hmm… you shouldn't be out then." Kid sighed as he wrapped the sheet around me and tucking me in, like a little child. "Do you want anything?" He began to stand. Somehow, somehow… I quickly reached out and grabbed his retreating wrist. I opened my eyes again and saw everyone's surprised expression.
"I want to not be alone." Well, really, my throat was really dry, but I didn't complain. Kid sat back down again and crossed his legs.
He turned to his partners. "She'll be okay, why don't you guys go to your room?" Liz and Patty nodded and backed out of the room, slowly, shutting the door behind them. I turned back onto my back and tightened my grip around Kid's wrist.
"Thank you." I mouthed out the words. He wiped the small sweat drops from my forehead with his sleeve.
"No problem, anything for a friend." Kid grinned before frowning again.
"Won't… you get sick if you stay with me?" I whispered.
He shook his head. "No. My Shinigami body is different, so I can't get sick… drunk, or anything."
"Oh…" I turned to where I was facing him. I dropped my hand so I was holding his knuckles. Sleep beckoned me. I closed my eyes, hoping not to fall asleep. I felt a warm feeling when I was with Kid, my special friend.
With his free hand, he patted and gently rubbed my arm. He must've felt bad for me, I guessed. My grip on his hand weakened. I opened my eyes, halfway, but Kid waved his hands over them, shutting them again.
I was at peace, laying there. I accepted sleep with full grace, but not before feeling Kid's fingers lace over mine and gently hold my hand as if it was glass. I smiled softly before going into my own dreamland.
I woke up on the cold floor, my body shivering. My body was sprawled across the gray tiles. I felt much better than when I fell asleep. I slowly sat up onto my knees, which soon became cold as well.
"Hello?" I called. I wore the black gown with the never ending train. The tattoos were connected, as always.
"Hello?" My cry was unheard. I attempted to get up, but something held my left hand down against the floor. I pulled and tugged, but it felt like someone was holding my hand too tightly. I sat back down, and curled into a little ball, hugging my knees.
A sudden warmth appeared from my right. A coldness chilled my left. I looked up to see Aki on my left, smiling like before. She wore a beautiful kimono, green with yellow suns. Her hair was up in a small bun. She seemed a mile away.
"A-aki!" I crawled onto my knees. She noticed me finally, and ran towards me. I couldn't do anything since I was pinned to the floor. I didn't care. With my free hand I welcomed her with open arms. She ran into them, hugging the dear life out of me. I fell over, laughing and smiling.
"Onee-chan! Sister!" She almost screamed. Tears filled my eyes and streamed down my cheeks. My hand was free, and I held it up in front of me. Bruises were around the fingers, as if someone crushed my hand rather than hold it. I hugged her back as I sat up.
Tears filled her eyes, too. I wiped them with the palm of my hand. She did the same with mine, nearly poking my eyeballs out.
"Aki… how… how did you get here…?" My eyes went wide. "Aki…" I grabbed her shoulders. "You shouldn't be here!"
"Onee-chan…"
SLAP
I blinked out for a second. I was on my knees again, farther away from Aki. My dress spiraled around the two of us. I cradled my stinging cheek.
"A-aki…" I turned to see her face in absolute horror. Her small hand was almost behind her head, bright pink with hitting someone.
"Sister…" She whispered. I caught her as she dropped to her knees. She cried into my shirt, sniffling and screaming. It was a disgusting cry, I wished she would be her happy self.
"I… saw somebody else… somebody scary! I didn't know it was you! I'm so stupid! I'm sorry… sorry… sorry-yy!" I hugged her and stroked her hair that now came loose and fell down her back. I grabbed the hair and put it back into a bun.
We sat there, hugging, crying, and comforting. She made my entire top dress soaked with tears.
"Aki… it's alright, I'm here. I'm here, and I'll protect you. Mmmk?" I lifted her chin so she looked into my eyes.
She gasped softly. "Your… your markings…" She gasped again and coughed. "Your eyes! One's blue and the other one is purple!"
I nodded. She smiled. I mimicked her smile with a small one.
"I told you! My big sister is the most special person in the world!"
"Aki…" My smile grew smaller.
I leaned down and kissed her forehead. A single tear streamed down my cheek, and dripped from my chin. It splashed on Aki's palm.
"Sister?" She squirmed away and looked at me. "Why don't you come to me? I'm in a hospital…" She rubbed her arm.
I looked down. "Aki…"
"Tell me! Please…" She began. I held my hand up.
"Hikaki! Shush." I felt terrible. Tears fell from my face. Knots grew in my stomach, and my head pounded.
I know what I have to do. I… have to!
"Ma-mari…" The name seemed unfamiliar. I stood up, slowly, and turned my back to her.
I flipped my head. "Hikaki Amuza!" I said loudly.
She looked at me in confusion. "Tell me…"
"Forget about me!" Somehow, I knew how to escape. I snapped my fingers, like my shadow did. My body cracked, then my feet shattered. I fell, my hair flowing in front of me. Tears streamed down my cheeks. Eventually every bit of me cracked and shattered, the shards leaving no trace. Everything flashed white, then black.
The last words to process through were-
"I'm sorry… Aki…"