ME: Yay! Spring Break! Ugh…I have the worst head ache…but I did it! I did an update! Thanks for all the reviews you guys!

Kida: It is much appreciated

Blood: Yes, it is. Now I can continue my courting of the lovely young Kida

Kida: And I can continue ignoring you to the fullest extent

Blood: You love it

Kida: Bite me

Blood: Well…since you asked so nicely~

ME: Guys, guys please…Find a room and argue someplace else…my head is killing me!

R&R

Chapter 2: Cheese-Louise! Where are we!?

It's silent as I floating in between the realms of slumber and consciousness. No dreams enter me, and all is calm with no color to distract me from a peaceful rest. I can feel a warmth on my skin, and my subconscious somehow tells me that it is sunlight. It must be coming through the window. I snuggle deeper into my coverlet and drift deeper into the void realm of sleep

Amongst the nothingness of my deep empty sleepy, I feel something…hear something…In the very back of my consciousness…I keep hearing it, feeling it…this something. It's almost a humming…but it's getting louder…

"-p!"

Hmm…is it a voice? I could have sworn that I heard a voice…maybe its Nightmare visiting…although I haven't seen him in quite some time…

"Ki-…-ke…-p!"

What is that racket? It sounds familiar…perhaps I'm dreaming after all, and this is a figment of my imagination…I'll just ignore it for the time being

"-da-…-fuck u-!"

…Ok, so my imagination is cursing at me? That new…and what's this feeling? It's like I'm…bouncing?

My eyelids flutter a little as I drift more and more into being awake. I suddenly realize that there IS a voice right in my ear and that YES, I am indeed bouncing without my say so, but it's only because my former roommate is trying desperately to awake me for god only know what reasons.

"WAKE! FUCK! UP! NAO!" exclaims Hikari as I spring up and down, "OHMEHGAWD KIDA! WAKE UP! THERE ARE WEIRD THINGS AND…AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO! WAHH!"

When I finally find the energy in me, I let out a moan and push myself up from my horizontal position to look lazily at my panic stricken friend. Being pissed off at being awakened in such a crude manner hasn't kicked in yet, but it's slowly getting there…just give me time.

"Hikari..." I say, and the yawn widely, "…What on earth has gotten into you? So help me if it's another spider-in-the-bathroom thing I'm going to smack you so hard in the EVERYTHING-"

"It isn't a spider thing! It's worse than the spider thing! But funny enough, it does have to do with the bathroom…", she says in a speedy voice, and I give her a glare, "PLEASE! Just…listen to me for one…or come with me! Either one is fine! Please I'm freaking right now!"

With an annoyed sigh, I reach for my spectacles on the stand by the bed and carefully push them up my nose so that I can actually see her. Her hair is a mess, like normal, she is still in her pajamas, and her light brown eyes are filled with a mix of fright, worry, excitement, and some other emotions I can't place at the moment considering I have yet to have my morning coffee.

"Fine." I sigh, and motion for her to get onto the bed with me, which she does, "What is it, because I refuse to go anywhere without you explaining yourself first."

She blinks

"Explain? Ah! Oh…uh…ok!" she says, frantically getting her thoughts together as she pushes her own glasses up her nose for the umpteenth time, "Ok, so you know how I go to the bathroom in the middle of the night?"

…a pause

…

"Yes?" I respond, not sure what else to say. It also doesn't help that I'm still two thirds asleep, and my vocabulary is still not within my reach.

"Well, I was doing that but I was still half asleep, see?" she continues, mouth going ninety miles per hour "And, well the bathroom is right across the hall from my room, but, silly sleepy me, instead of the bathroom I ended up wondering into the living room and opened the front door. Of course, I was awake enough to notice that that wasn't the bathroom…no toilet you know… so I just left it open and went to the bathroom"

"Is there going to be a point in this story sometime soon", I say blankly, rubbing at my eyes, "Because if not I'm going back to-"

"I'M GETTING THERE! SHUT UP AND LISTEN!" she exclaim, which surprises me. She usually doesn't raise her voice, especially to me, except when she's either scared or angry or both. Something serious must be up.

"Uh…sorry", she says, and scratches her head awkwardly, "I just-"

"It's fine" I say and nod, signaling for her to continue

"O-Ok….So anyway, I went to the bathroom, but I woke up a little more and realized that I left the front door open. So I went back into the living room to close it. And that's when I saw it!"

"Saw what?"

She flaps her arms around, "I don't know! It's just…I don't remember there being trees with signs and doors out in my front yard! I mean…where the fuck did my yard go?! What the fuck?!"

I stare at her with a 'are you an idiot' face, "A what?"

"OH FUCK DIS SHIT!" She throws her hands up in a 'flip-a-table' style and pushes herself off the bed. She then turns and points to me, "Hurry up and get dressed and meet me in the living room! Stat!"

I don't have a chance to respond (or do anything really…I'm too busy being surprised and half asleep) as she quickly runs toward her room, and I can hear her quickly throwing things in her room as she, too, gets dressed. And then I hear a thump…and a scream of a curse…she must have fallen on her backside while frantically throwing clothes on.

I let out a lazy exhale, mentally preparing myself for whatever this is Hikari is talking about. I push myself off the bed, pop some of my joints, and walk over to the chester drawers, where I've stored some of my clothes at so that whenever I come to visit I have something to wear. I decide to choose something simple. A violet, black and white checkered shirt and a pair of black slacks. I match that with some black flats and my attire is all set to go. I look back into my room to see if there is anything else I should bring…all I brought with me when coming was my usual shoulder bag with my vial and phone in it (along with other things that I won't waste time explaining).

…

I'm not going anywhere far, so I guess I can just leave it here…but I refuse to leave my phone.

I walk over to it and dig, pulling out my phone and the earbuds that are attached to it. And for some reason my charger is attached too…do I really need it?

I don't know where Hikari is taking me, so I might want to take it. As my Grandmother says, 'You can never be too careful.'

I unhook the charger from my phone and stash it in the little pocket in my slacks. Everything else goes into the little pocket over my right breast, and with that, I exit the room and go into the living room, where I find my temporary housemate staring out the front door of her house, wide eyed as she is trying to comprehend what it is she's seeing. She has on a button up short-sleeved blue V-neck shirt, black baggy jeans with like six pockets, and her usual autumn colored scarf, but instead of it being around her neck, she's using it to tie her hair up, throwing it up into a lopsided ponytail as usual. It hangs long, past where her hair stops at her waist and all the way to the back of her knees. She must have run out of scrunches…again

"Well, here I am.", I say, announcing myself, "Now, what-"

"FISH!" she suddenly exclaims, pointing her finger out "F-flying fish! Kida, come look!"

"Fish do not fly, Hikari", I deadpan, to which she turns and glares at me in an unceremonious way before saying in an annoyed tone.

"Just get the fuck over here and see for yourself!"

I raise my eyebrow at her practically growl and walk over to stand beside her

…

…

…oh my…

W-what is this? What the hell is this?! This isn't possible! This isn't even in the slight bit plausible…this is an impossibility, and yet here I am, witnessing it with my own eyes! She wasn't kidding, not even in the slightest.

Instead of the old empty front yard with a couple of flowerpots lined up by the door (that grew some herbs and vegetables that my friend liked), it was completely opposite. Trees were scattered everywhere, and upon them were signs that were pointing every which direction you could think of. There were so many signs that there were even sign posts with more signs. And that's not all that were on the trees. Doors upon door upon doors were on each and every tree, as if each tree was its own house. How peculiar. I looked around some more. Mushrooms, in both miniscule and ridiculously masculine sizes, sprinkled all over the place, each colored in marvelous colors that made me what to draw them all. There were a couple of pathways, some noticeable and some not so much, but all in all, the sight was amazing

But that's not what made my jaw almost drop.

Weaving in between the trees, as if everything beyond the doorway was made of water, were fish. Simple trout, salmon, you name it. They swam through the vegetation like it was made of nothing, the sunlight making their scales sparkle.

"Wow", is all I can say, as I take in all that's in front of me.

"I know, right", Hikari breaths, "its…amazing….Like something out of a fairy tale."

"Defiantly"

"By the way…told you so."

"…Shut up"

"Hey…hey, hey!" my friend says, nudging me in the side, "Wanna check it out?"

I break my staring with the world outside the door and turn toward her, eyebrows raised, "Out there? In that? I'm still trying to comprehend that THAT is actually there."

"Come on, Kida! Look at it!" She says, eyes twinkling, "Are you telling me that you aren't even the least bit curious? I can see your hand twitching, and you want to draw it as bad as I do!"

"I want to paint it", I correct, then remember why I can't, "Damn Blood."

"Whatever, you can curse Blood to Hell another time. Now come on." she exclaims as easily slides her tennis on (with no socks might I add) and walks forward. She has to climb down a little to get out, as it seems the door is a little high up for some reason, but she gets out and turns

"Whoa!" She exclaims, looking back toward me, "My house became a tree! How bitchin is that?!"

"What do you mean it became a tree?" I exclaim at her preposterous proposal. I walk forward, easily jumping out of the house, and walk toward her, where I turn and look back at where I came from. And she is right yet again. Her front door is on the side of a huge oak.

"How is this even possible…?" I sigh, trying to let my brain soak in all the nonsense happening around me, "I don't remember any of this at all."

"You're telling me." Hikari says as she looks around, "Well, I'm going to look around a bit. You coming?"

"I don't think we should do that" I say hesitantly, "What if we forget which door it is?"

"Puh-lease. We won't forget! It's the only door that's wide open!" she explains, using her logic to the fullest, "Now, you coming or not?"

Again, I let out a sigh, pushing my glasses securely up my nose with a flick of my finger "Well, since I can't leave you alone for a second, I suppose I have no choice."

"Awesome!" She exclaims as she starts forward. I reluctantly follow after her, but not before I turn and take one last look back at the opened door. I have the strangest feeling that I won't see it again…but that's not possible, right?

And off we go, with no destination set in mind as we weave through the vegetation. There isn't a particular path on the ground, but I follow beside my friend as we go forward, looking around and checking out all of the different sights and sounds, from the twisting limbs of the different trees to the rainbow-colored mushrooms and the glittering fish. Hikari tries once or twice to catch a fish bare-handed as they float beside us, and she almost succeeds once too, when the slippery thing wiggles out of her grasp and drops back into the ground like it's made of liquid. Then she walks over, kneels by the 'pond' of liquid, and tries to dip her head into it. But it seems that the ground is only water to the fish, and she easily smacks her head against the ground.

We walk for a while, so long that we forget the time altogether, but I keep noticing that she will stop and look around, like she is expecting something.

"What is it?", I ask after about the sixth or seventh

"Hmmm…", She says as she rubs her forehead gently over the sore spot, "It's just…well I know it sounds a little funky, but I swear I keep hearing someone saying the word 'cat' over and over again. Silly huh?"

"Cat?" I question, tilting my head a little "Well that's an odd word to say repeatedly if you ask me. But seriously Hikari, I think you hit your head harder that I thought you did."

"Naw! I'm all good! Don't worry about me! My head is pretty hard, you know." She laughs a little, but then stops midway, "You're seriously not hearing that? Like, I know it's not loud right now, but I think it's getting louder"

We both silence ourselves to listen to the wood around us. The calls of the wild echo, and the splash of liquid here as the aquatic life dips into and out of the land…but wait…I think…is that it?

"You know, Hikari…" I whisper softly as I turn my head slowly to try to pick up the sound better, "…I think I'm hearing it too."

She doesn't respond, but I can see her nod in affirmation before turning her head as well from the corner of my eye. We steel ourselves for whatever's coming our way

…a snap of a twig…a rustle of the bushes

It's getting closer.

And Hikari was correct.

It is getting louder

…

And then it happens.

"…cat, cAt, CaT, CAT, CAAAAAATTTTT! GYAAAAAAAAAA!"

"Holy-WHAAAA!"

*smack*

Like a bat out of hell it comes rushing out the bush, a flash of black and green and yellow zipping past me and running smack dab into my friend, who in turn flies (along with whatever that was) through another bush. I hear a strange thud, followed by a poof as bodies hit the harsh unforgiving earth. I am stunned frozen in my spot at what I had witnessed (and its speed, good lord how fast was that thing?!), but I quickly shake myself out of it and rush through the bush to my friend's aid. I bust through the shrubbery, only to gap at the sight in front of me.

Hikari lays sprawled flat on her back on the cap of the hugest mushroom I have ever laid eyes on, it curved much like one of those bowl shaped chairs as it grows form the corner between the tree and the ground itself. Its colors vary in every different color pink you could think of, from hot pink to magneta. In the air float the left-over silvery dust of, from what I can guess, is spores I believe. I think she's passes out from the impact, but I can't really tell at the moment because over her eyes is a dark green hat with yellow designs that had somehow made its way there thanks to the crash, but what has me staring is the strange person…a boy perhaps?...laying on top of her, on her stomach, his face resting on her collarbone. (It was a person that ran that fast?!) Of course, from my current perspective, all I can see is his back, clad in a greenish jacket with red and yellow outlines and his black slacks and...is that a tail coming from his backside?

I jumped a bit when it flicked.

So he's an animal, right? Like Boris and Peter…but which one? He doesn't look like a rabbit or a cat…in fact wasn't he was screaming cat a while ago? So he's an animal that doesn't like cats…

"Owie…oh…", utters the person in her lap sudden as he picks his head up slowly, followed by the rest of him as his sits up and seats himself in an almost squat position on her lower thighs. It's then that I notice that on his head is a pair of rounded light brown ears to match his animal appendage as it hides in a mop of reddish-yellow hair. (Are those highlights?) He then lets out a slight squeak as he touches his nose, "That really hurt chu~"

Wait a minute!

"You're a mouse!" I shout.

He jumps at my exclamation, and turns toward me. I have to say I am a bit surprised to have a pair of wide, curious lime-green eyes meet mine…Wait, so does that mean he's a Role Holder? Why haven't I seen him before?

It's then that Hikari lets out a pained whine, followed by a quick sneeze which makes both me and the mysterious boy look down at her.

"Ahhh…fuck." My friend moans as she gingerly pushes herself up to a slight sitting position, the hat falling on her chest. She then fixes her glasses, "My everything hurts…ohhhh… Geez what the hell did I land on? It feels…squishy."

"Another one!" He exclaims with a boyish giggle as he claps his hands. I ignore the strange boy completely as I rush to her side and put my hand against her back to help her up.

"Hikari, are you alright? T-take it easy now."

"Yeah…I think I'm fine, just bruised a little…", She blinks, coming within mere inches of the boy's face who is now basically sitting in her lap, "Uh…hi there?"

The boy beams, "Hello!"

My friend hesitantly smiles in return, "Nice to meet you too…uh…whoever you are. Could you please get off my lap now?"

"Ah! Ok! ", he says as he scoots off and to the side. "I didn't mean to run into you! I thought I heard something in the woods and I was scared the kitty was here and was going to eat me!" He then tears up a bit "Kitties are scary chu~!"

"Uh-huh…they sure are scary", I nod slowly, thinking that this guy is a serious nutcase as I watch him put his hat back on his head (I think it's crooked though). Then again he is a mouse, so perhaps it's a phobia, like Hikari has with spiders. I look over to my friend to see how she's taking this, but it seems as if she is taking it with stride, without a care in the world, smiling at the boy kindly. Although it could be that she has yet to regain the sense that was just knocked out of her.

"But I'm happy now! So happy! I found two cute lost items chu!~", He smiles widely at us, literally bouncing with joy. The result causes the mushroom to bounce a bit, and I have to find my bearings until it settles. He, however, falls forward and Hikari, ever the rescuer, catches him (somewhat sloppily) as he falls on top of her again, his arms landing around her neck in an awkward hug as his face smacks her collarbone.

He suddenly stiffens, and I see his nose twitch much like Hikari's does when she smells a sweet, "You smell…really nice, Miss! Kinda like Alice does! Are you a Foreigner?"

I tilt my head, wondering what logic this is, "According to your standers, yes. We both are, actually"

"Really! Amazing! Amazing!" he exclaims "Two Foreigners! And I found them! How lucky for me!"

"I don't know if 'found' is the right word here." I say bluntly.

"Be nice, Kida."

"I was."

"Hey, Miss?" the boy says as he looks up at Hikari with those wide lime green eyes, "Since you're a foreigner, I bet you're really nice! So…can I squeak a kiss chu~?"

…

…

…wait what?

Both is a state of shock and confusion, neither of us answer the strange request. He, however, takes this as an ok, and starts nuzzling at Hikari's cheek and quickly presses his lips against it over and over again. I just stare, trying to wrap my head around what I'm witnessing.

"W-W-Whoa there! H-Hey-Ahaha! Stop that tickles! STAHP! " Hikari laughs and pushes his face away gently, "None of that now!"

"Do you not like kisses chu?" he asks sweetly, confusion evident on his face. His ears flatten to his head

"Well…It isn't that. Kisses are ok I guess." She says as she tries to explain it to him, "But I just meet you and would at least like to know the name of the person who just ran me over."

"Yes, and I would like to know where the hell you get off by doing such a thing!", I say, a little annoyed of not somewhat astounded at this lad's behavior. Of course I have come to realize that the people in this world are nowhere near normal, but still it makes my anger rise when I am dealing with idiocy. Who the hell does this guy think he is, kissing someone you just meet?!, "You come out of nowhere, scare the living hell out of us, knock Hikari clear to the other side of the forest and now you go and kiss her for no reason? Who exactly are you?!"

"Oh! My name is Pierce! Pierce Villiers.", He backs up a bit and settles on the mushroom beside Hikari. He then smiles over at me, ears twitching and tail swishing, "Aww…were you lonely? Do you want kisses too chu~?"

"NO I DO NOT!"

"Hey, calm down. Chill~" Hikari say coolly, if not somewhat lazily as she pats my shoulder "No need to get all pissy. It's was all an accident after all."

I simmer down a bit before answering "Are you telling me you aren't even the least bit flabbergasted about what just happened? You covered in dirt and have bruises on your bumps, and vice versa!"

"Naw…not really. After living here so long, I don't think anything surprises me anymore. And besides, I've honestly had worse."

"He just kissed you! That's a violation of personal space!"

"It was only a peck on the cheek. Totally innocent" She says without missing a beat.

"GAH!"

"Kida, chill~! You're thinking about this way too hard", Hikari says tranquilly, like everything in the world is simply ok because it can be, "And it was an accident. Pierce didn't mean to run into me, did you Pierce?"

He shakes his head, "No! Not me! I didn't mean too! Honestly chu!~"

"See? Told you. ", Hikari says as she raises her hand and ruffles his hair, to which he lets out surprised squeak, "Ain't no thang but a chicken wang."

I sigh and stand, and then reach my hand out to help her to her feet, "I swear, your levels of empathy and tolerance are beyond me. I can't tell whether you are infinitely patient or simply refuse to give any fucks whatsoever."

"I could be a mix of both, you know. Or it could be that I knocked some of my screws loose when I hit my head." my friend responds as she takes my hand and finds her way to her feet, if not a bit unsteadily. Her face scrunches up, "Ah shit…everything from my ass up hurts…and I feel kinda…wonky"

"I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!" Pierce exclaims as he jumps to a stand, tearing up a bit,

"It's ok, Pierce. A lil' pain only makes ya stronger." Hikari responds kindly as she stretches and pops some of her bones. She stumbles a bit, but catches herself, "Ah! Name's Hikari Flumin, by the way. Friends just call me Hikari, but you can call me whatcha like. Just don't call me late for supper! Hehe"

"Ah…and I'm Kida Regnis, but Kida is sufficient enough." I sigh and laugh a little at my friend's good nature, and go along with her. I can't help but notice that Hikari looks a little strange…like she's not quite balanced right. I then take worry as she suddenly holds her head, "Hikari, are you quite alright? You're goofier than the norm."

"Dunnoz an'more", she slurs. She then hobbles over to a nearby tree and leans against it, "Feel kinda…kerfobled. Just…let meh rest a bit"

"Hikari, that's not even a word. And don't you dare fall asleep", I warn as I walk over and press my hand to her forehead, "You're warm."

"Oh no! Oh no! I remember Nighty telling me once that Foreigners are really special a-a-and that they get hurt a lot easier than us Role Holders do! Oh this is all my fault chu~" Pierce says dejectedly.

"Pierce! Stop that this instant" I yell, making him jump in fear. I calm myself before speaking again, as I don't want him running off on me, "We don't need hysterics. We need medicine…or better yet a doctor. Do you know any close to here that might help?"

He twiddles his fingers a bit, "Uh…I don't have any medicine, b-but I know someone who can help! Eli-chan can!"

"Eli-chan?" I ask

"Yes! Oh, don't worry! Eli-chan isn't scary. He is really nice!" Pierce says with a smile, "He yells a lot but he doesn't shoot me or chase me or be mean to me. And sometimes if I'm really good he gives me cheese! I love cheese! Chu~"

Hikari grins goofily, "Then do I haz sum recipes for you, you cutie!"

I can't help but laugh a little at the irony. Of course it's funny that Pierce likes cheese, as he is a mouse, but Hikari also loves the heck out of some cheese. Something tells me that she's made a new friend, if that hasn't already been established already.

But that is neither here or there at the moment.

"So, this…Eli-chan…he has medications, correct?" I ask, to which Pierce nods in return, "Hikari, I think we should have him escort us to this person, so that we might get you aid. You've hit your head more than once today, and I'm worried you might have a concussion"

"Ya know wha?" my friend says as she rubs her eyes, "I'm not even gunna argue with you…feel a lil…not right in the noggin."

"You look it." I say as I take hold of her shoulder, "Whatever you do, don't fall asleep."

"I'll be walkin, so I don't fall asleep", she slurs drowsily, and pushes herself off the tree. I go to ask if she even can walk straight when she suddenly tilts forward. Luckily I'm close by, and I jump to catch her, arms around her as she leans against me.

"Hikari!" I exclaim

"CHU?!" Pierce yells as he rushes toward us. When he sees that I'm having problems holding Hikari steady, considering I'm a smaller build than she is, he quickly helps.

"This isn't going well", I sigh, and my friend lets out an almost drunken sounding giggle

"WAH! What should we do?" Pierce whines, "W-We need her to see Eli-chan! He'll know what to do!"

"But I can't carry her!"

"I can do that!" Pierce exclaims"And I'm really good at carrying people! Please let me help!"

I look over at him, his eyes glittering in earnest. He's a strange one, I'll give him that, but I can't have any ill will towards a person who accepts their mistakes as earnestly as he does and offers assistance so readily. I give him a gentle smile of my own, not as bright as my friend's but enough to get my point across

"That would be much appreciated" I say, and together we move and situate it so that Pierce is carrying her in his arms. She struggles a bit, but not enough to hinder us, as her limbs fall limp. It looks like she's still conscious, but I'm not taking any chances, and smack at her cheeks to keep her eyes open. I am hopping she won't get mad at me for this,

"Let's go, and quickly"

"Yes! I know the way chu~!" he says confidently, "Come on, come on! Let's go before the scary kitty comes. Or worse…"

I don't like the way he visibly shivers in fear, and I can't help but wonder what else is out there in this strange new place we've landed ourselves in. Nevertheless, off we go, Pierce in the lead, Hikari drifting between wakefulness and slumber, and me rushing to keep up with the speedy mouse as we head towards who-knows-where.

My only hope is that we get there in time…but I have a feeling that I'm not going to like where we are going at all

DONE!

So, it looks like Pierce to the rescue, huh? And what will become of Kida and Hikari? And who is this Eli-chan? I bet you all already know. I also bet you all can guess where they ended up in this story by now can't you?

I had a little trouble with Pierce's personality, and had to look back at the manga and research it a bit. If you find anything funny with how I portrayed him, please let me know and tell me how to fix it if possible

For another chapter, I expect a good 10-15 reviews…this might give me more time to write.