A/N: It's been a year? I'm so cruel! *cries in a corner* anyway… please enjoy this chapter :D although, I should've been studying for the exam, but I cannot keep my readers waiting!
I don't own anything except the plot and Hikari wo
Girlpink56: The wait is over! :D
WaterDragon645: Thank you so much!
Guest: Hahaha! That would be funny!
Candyluver2121: Awwww thanks!
xxXMyhtiaXxx: Haha yeah… and thanks ^^
The Last Happy Song: That's an awesome idea :D
Alice-in-Wonderland-fan888: Yeah… she is
TheParadoxicalOxymoron: Nope! Haha don't worry, actually you make me improve the story more! So, thank you very much! Hikari's hiding her true feelings thinking that if she hides all the pain and kept on smiling, it will all go away because seeing her friends' smiles is all that matter to her. She has a temperamental personality ^^
Sleeping Moon: As always, thank you so much! :D sorry I haven't been able to review… school…
Mission 6
Clocks
"Finally…lost…them…" Hikari said between breaths.
For one hour, one long freaking hour, she had run around the entire mansion and still the twins found her in every room or in every corner. It's no surprise that the twins could find her all the time. They particularly own the place and live in that mansion. After escaping from the second floor's window, she sprinted towards the forest, where at least, she could catch a breath from running away from the twins. She would run across the whole Country if she has too.
She leaned against the large tree trunk, closing her eyes, enjoying the peace while it lasted. The Country of Hearts was indeed peaceful when they were not having a war, like claiming lands or ruffians attacking pedestrians. The brunette could really get used to this peace and quiet. She has been longing for one in quite some time now.
Away from the second Wonderland, she has to continue her duty as a keyblade wielder. It's not like she didn't like being a keyblade wielder, but it's just been so long since she had a normal life. When was the last time she ever goes to school? It was four years ago. Because of that, she and her friends have to learn everything in a quick month, speeding everything up unlike a normal student should. Sometimes, she just wished time would stop or at least slow down…
A frustrated sigh escaped her lips, she needed to go back, but at the same time she wants to stay at Wonderland a little bit longer. She slides down the tree trunk, sitting at the roots of the tree with the braches providing shades for her. In a matter of seconds, she fell asleep.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Hikari."
"Huh?" The keyblade wielder blinked her eyes, trying to adjust to the brightness of the room. Her vision soon cleared and her eyes widened at the scenery. It was a very spacious space with lots of weird things floating around. This kind of scene reminds her of the place at the Mark of Mastery Exam, the Symphony of Sorcery. She glanced around with an awed look across her face. She spotted Nightmare floating a few feet away from her. "This is so cool! Am I really in a new world?!" she exclaimed excitedly.
Nightmare chuckled, "You're asleep. This place is your dream."
"Still… I made a pretty cool dream place." Hikari commented, staring at everything excitedly. It was as if she was a child in a store full of sweets.
The silver-haired dream demon chuckled. "So you've drunk the Medicine of Hearts." he said, stating the fact.
The keyblade wielder nodded her head. "Yeah, and it sucks… it doesn't literally heal your wounds. White lied." She said, pouting childishly with her arms folded. The sickly dream demon simply smiled at her naïve personality. She truly doesn't care about being healed from drinking the Medicine of Hearts, the potion she bought from the Moogles can do that. But what interests her is the so called love game the role holders made up. "Hey Nightmare, what's this about a game called Game of Hearts?" she asked curiously, turning to face the dream demon.
"Like White have explained, everyone will fall in love with you. If you don't fill up the Medicine of Hearts you cannot go home."
Hikari gave a deadpan look. "What kind of game is that?" she asked and received another chuckle from Nightmare. The brunette sighed and dug her hand into her pocket, grabbing the vial. She pulled it out and played it between her fingers. There was a drop of red pick-ish liquid. Funny, she didn't remember spitting out some of the distasteful liquid.
Nightmare read her thoughts, "You can only fill it up by spending time with the role holders and that drop is when you spend your time with The Bloody Twins." he explained.
"So does this mean the crazy woman from Blood's house didn't finish her game? And did Alice finish her game too?" Hikari asked.
"Ah… they both had finished their game." Nightmare inhaled smoke from the pipe, taking a puff. Not five seconds later, he exhaled the smoke in a long blow, creating a long line of grey smoke. He hoovers in the air right in front of the keyblade wielder, who was staring at him questioningly. "Those who have filled up the vial can choose whether they want to stay or go back home. Both chooses to stay." He explained, taking another drag from his pipe.
Hikari nodded her head, her mouth was shaped in a large 'O'. "Oooohhh! I get it now! If I fill this vial up by spending time with you guys, I can either go back home or stay!" She held the glass vial between her thumb and finger, grinning in triumph for solving the 'mystery'.
Nightmare's face was an inch away from the girl's grinning face. "Correct. You're catching up." He praised, smiling at her. A smirk graced his pale lips. "Now, if you have finished the game… what will you choose?" he blew the smoke at Hikari's face.
Hikari squinted her eyes, scrunching her nose up in disgust at the stench. She fanned the smoke out of her face with her hand, taking a step back. "I…don't know yet…" she coughed out. "I mean I've only been here for like what? Three time periods I think? I want to know more about you guys. You all are a really interesting bunch!" a bright smile was seen on her lips.
She crossed her hands behind her head and continued, "I like you too! I wish I can read everyone's mind like you. It's a really awesome power…" She pouted childishly.
The silver-haired man felt blood rose up to his cheeks at the brunette's comment. "Y-You shouldn't compliment people like that so bluntly…" he coughed into his fist, the red never leaving his cheeks.
Hikari laughed and slapped Nightmare's back. "Hahaha! You sure are different! Other than you, I think everyone's ego will fly up like a rocket!" she kept on laughing. She suddenly became quiet. Not a second later, she gave Nightmare the stink eye. "So does this mean you've been kidnapping girls all this time?" she frowned, furrowing her eyebrows down.
Nightmare sighed, "Please don't look at me like that." His lips twitched a little, an offended look on his face. The aura around the girl was different. It wasn't like the usual bright and happy aura. It was more suffocating, plus the look she was giving Nightmare was making him uneasy. "We brought them here so they could forget about their painful past. Just like you and Alice." He let a small smile grace his lips.
Hikari blinked and crossed her arms, closing her eyes to think back. "I… don't really have a painful past that I want to forget…" she thought back to when she was a child. It was the time when some boy decided to put glue on her chair. Her eye twitched at the memory. It didn't end pretty… "Actually I want to forget about that." She deadpanned.
A chuckle escaped from Nightmare's lips after reading her mind. "I think there's more to your memory, my dear." He smiled. Hikari began to think back again, trying her best to remember any painful memories. The time when she got a 40 in math, the time when she got hit by a wave, the time when someone put gum in her hair… nothing was bad enough for her to be brought to Wonderland. The silver-haired man's eye narrowed as a smirk replaced his smile. "How about we start with the raft?" he suggested, giving a closed-eyed smile.
Hikari's eyes widened. "You know?! How!" she demanded, backing a step away.
"I'm offended that you always forgotten the fact that I'm a dream demon." Nightmare took a drag from his pipe. He tilted his head up, blowing the smoke out. He averted his eye, catching the foreigner was standing in a defensive stance. Her face was determined, her lips tightened to a thin line as she stared up at him. "I've seen everything. There's no need to hide from me."
Hikari scoffed. Turns out, this guy was invading her memories. Some gentleman he is… "So? What do you think? I killed Heartless, Nobodies, you name them… That may be human in their past life…Disgusting right? Or is it scary?" she questioned, a frown on her lips. Her fist tightened. "Tell me what you think, I don't bite a lot." She gave a scary look.
What happen next was what she didn't expect… she expected him being scared of her or even vomit in disgust, but…
Nightmare embraced the girl in a hug. "Actually…it's quite the opposite, dear Miss Keyblade Wielder." He cooed. He gently placed a hand on top of her head as his other hand patted her back comfortingly. "Though, people thought you as of an irresponsible and immature teenager. You are selfless and your cause is pure from your heart." he reassured.
Hikari returned the hug with a short one. Nightmare pulled away from the girl, smiling. The brunette grinned happily at the dream demon, giving a salute. "Thank you so much, Nightmare! I needed that a lot!" she cheerfully said.
Nightmare could only laugh. He averted his eyes when he felt a shift in time. "It appears that it's already nighttime…" He stated and Hikari glanced around, finding not a single spec of an inky black color. The man chuckled at the girl's confused look. "Not here my dear, what I mean is Wonderland." He recalled.
Hikari scratched the back of her head, "Uh… I know that." She replied.
The sickly dream demon patted Hikari's head gently. "Please return to the tower as quick as you can… nighttime in Wonderland can be very dangerous." He advised, tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. "Good night, Hikari~" He kissed her forehead, ending the dream.
"Your secret is safe with me."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Oh man… I thought I was going the right way." Ace let out a soft sigh with a hand rubbing the back of his neck. After the event at Joker's circus, he set out to find more clocks for Julius. The Knight finished collecting clocks hours ago, but he was once again lost in the forest. No matter how many times he visits the Clover Tower, he just can't seem to remember the way. He looked up when something blocked the sunlight. His crimson eyes stared at the moon high up in the inky black sky. The stars twinkled, decorating the sky alongside with the moon and clouds.
'Oh well… Camping it is!' The brunet thought happily as he pulled out the materials he need to set up a tent. He dropped the bag of damaged clocks right beside his foot. He hummed a tune when he staked down the tent. His hand wiped the sweat off his forehead, standing tall to look at his work. He turned around on his heels and headed into the woods to collect sticks for the campfire, remembering not to go too far.
The Knight held a bunch of sticks in one arm as the other picked up the sticks on the ground. He bends down, picking a stick up. His head perked up when he spotted something behind a tree. It was a person. He narrowed his crimson eyes and stood up, walking near the person. His eyes widen for a split second before going back to its normal size.
The something—the person—was the new foreigner, Hikari. Ace kneeled down to the girl's level, staring at her face. He reached his right hand out, brushing her bangs away from her face. She was so peaceful when she was asleep. Way different from when she was awake. He caress her cheek with his gloved hand, leaning closer to her face. A smirk appeared on his lips as he placed his hand around the girl's neck.
What if…
"Ace?"
Ace's hand twitched before he looked up, a smile on his face. He pulled back his hand from Hikari's neck, taking a stray of her hair playing it with his fingers. "So you're finally awake, princess~" he chuckled, watching the girl stretch her arms out in the air. He placed a hand on his chin, averting his eyes up to the sky. "Though…it's useless to wake up now. It's already nighttime here." He commented.
Hikari stood up, brushing the dirt off her pants. "Yeah…Nightmare told me." A yawn escaped her lips. She wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes, trying to rub the sleepiness away.
"I was about to carry you to my tent…but now that you're awake, let's go to my tent!" Ace cheerfully said, dragging the sleepy girl by her wrist while holding the sticks he collected under his arm. He suddenly stopped, making the girl bump into his back. He gazed over his shoulder a smirk on his face. "Or do you want me to carry you there?" he asked.
"Hah?" was Hikari's smart reply, a blank look on her face.
The Knave of Hearts laughed. "Nothing, nothing~" he sang.
Surprisingly, Ace and Hikari made it back to Ace's tent in five minutes. They both sat in front of the tent. The keyblade wielder was trying her best to stay awake. Her head nod every few second as her eyes grew heavy, fighting to keep up for Ace. A heavy jacket was placed on top of her head, covering her from the cold wind. She pulled the jacket down to her shoulders, wrapping herself in the fabric.
"Thanks, Ace." Hikari thanked sleepily as she watch Ace set up the fire.
As soon as Ace was finished with the fire, he sat beside the brunette. "So what were you doing in the woods? I thought you were with the twins?" he curiously asked, turning his head to face the girl.
Hikari gave an annoyed look. "I was running away from them." she answered, her lips in a scowl.
Ace raised an eyebrow, "Running away?"
"They were too huggy." Hikari curtly replied, closing her eyes with her eyebrows furrowed down. "Honestly, I thought the mafia would be more…aggressive." She sighed from her nose. She turned to face the man beside her. "So what about you? What's your story?" she questioned.
Ace hummed, tilting his head up to the sky before staring into Hikari's blue eyes. "I was collecting clocks for Julius, of course." He said, a wide smile on his face.
"…clocks? So you're like a clock-collector for Julius." Hikari concluded. She imagined Ace collecting alarm clocks from houses and gave them to Julius. The people here at the Land of Hearts sure do have interesting jobs. A snicker escaped her lips. She covered her mouth with her hand, her shoulder shaking in laughter.
"What are you laughing at?" Ace tilted his head, his eyes blinking owlishly at the brunette.
Hikari cleared her throat and took a few deep breaths, calming herself. "Haha… it's nothing, nothing… It's not like I was thinking about you as an alarm clock delivery man, haha…" she laughed nervously and shut her mouth after realizing that she spilled her thoughts. "A-Ah, but I'm not saying that your job sucks, it-it's just that well…I'll be quiet now." she scratch the back of her head awkwardly, averting her eyes from the Knave, blushing in embarrassment.
She didn't expect Ace to laugh. "Hahaha! It's alright! It's alright! Don't worry about it." His laughter died down to a warm smile on his handsome face.
The brunette kept the fire going, throwing more sticks to the fire as Ace stares. "…Do you always go camping?" she asked, trying to make another topic.
Ace smiled, "Yup! All the time! It usually takes me around 10 time periods to get to the Clover Tower! And then another thirty to go back to the Hearts Castle!" he proudly exclaimed, laughing soon after. Hikari joined in the laugh, but it was more of an awkward laugh. "Did you know that the Clover Tower belongs to the Land of Clover?" he asked.
"Eh? So it moved? Like walk up and move?" Hikari pressed, trying to conclude.
"You sounded so surprise! Nightmare can do anything with his powers~" The Knight sang.
"…." Hikari has nothing to complain. She did see weird things every day. Even weirder than men with ears on top of their head. "I see…"
It was once again quiet. The only sound that could be heard was the crackling fire and the sound of crickets in the dead of night. Ace averted his crimson eyes to the brunette beside him, staring at her at the corner of his eye. The new foreigner does have quite a sense of humor, he noted. He suddenly felt something over his left shoulder. It was his own coat. He stared down and caught Hikari looking up at him with a grin.
"You seemed cold, so why not? It's not fair if I keep it for myself. It is your coat anyway, Ace." Hikari reminded the Knight before staring at the fire, the sound of crackling could be heard from the fire. They both were close to the point where their shoulders brushed each other. "Errr…" she scratched her cheek, making Ace stare at her. "About earlier from today at the circus… Just forget that I said anything. I always say weird things. So just forget about it." She coughed, blushing a little.
In a blink of an eye, she felt her back against the ground with a figure hovering above her. She raised an eyebrow at the brown-haired man. "Is…there something wrong with my face?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows down. She pushed herself up with her elbows. "Why are you staring at me like that?" she continued, giving a look.
Ace leaned his head down to her chest, placing his ear to the place where her heart is. He closed his eyes, listening to her beating heart. It was somehow different. It was a steady beating unlike Alice and the other foreigners when he first laid his head on their chest.
"…Are you asleep already?" Hikari deadpanned, ruining the moment. "Ace? Can you hear me? Your head is heavy…I wanna sleep too…" she trailed off to see Ace still laying his head on top of her chest.
The keyblade wielder let out a sigh before she carefully pushed Ace off of her. She placed the jacket over Ace's body as she sat on the ground, waiting for the fire to go out. As soon as the wood was burned to ashes, she carried Ace inside, struggling with the tent's flap. She wiped the sweat off her forehead, staring down at Ace's sleeping face. Don't get her wrong, but he was heavy. She was about to turn in to the empty spot beside the sleeping Knight, but someone grabbed her wrist.
She looked over her shoulder, seeing Ace wide awake. "Sorry… Did I wake you up?" Hikari laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head with her free hand. The man stayed silent. A smirk slowly made its way up to his lips. He pulled the girl to his chest, forcing her to listen to his clock. "Ace! If this is an attempt to get revenge by hugging me to death… it's not funny!" she waved her arms frantically.
"Can you hear it?" Ace's question stopping her from rambling.
"Hear what exactly?" Hikari's question was a bit muffled. She blinked before closing her eyes, listening carefully to something unusual.
Tick tock
Tick tock
She pushed Ace away gently and reached her hand out to grab the collar of Ace's shirt. She pulled it open, the sound of the buttons clicking from when she forcefully yanked the shirt open. She stared blankly at the part where his heart was supposed to be. There was no pocket watch.
"My, my, I didn't know you want to take it to the next level~" Ace chuckled.
A visible vein popped on her forehead. "Oi, oi… what does that supposed to mean?" she asked, an irritated look on her face. She stared at his bare chest blankly. "I heard a clock… and yet… there's no pocket watch." She said out loud.
Ace smirked. "That's because my heart is a clock!" he pointed out, placing a hand over his left chest. He laughed at Hikari's blank and confused look. "You see… everyone here in Wonderland have clocks for hearts instead of real hearts." He stated, wiggling his gloved finger in front of Hikari's face.
"Well… I guess that explains the ticking…" Hikari replied. "So does this mean that Julius is the doctor of the house?" she laughed a little.
Ace raised an eyebrow, "You're not scared?" he asked, fixing his shirt. "You're taking this way easier than any other foreigner…"
Hikari shook her head. "Trust me, I've seen way weirder things than this." She grinned, closing her eyes. She placed her hand over her chest, clutching her shirt a little. "…I know what it feels like." She murmured quietly.
But Ace heard it. "What was that?" he asked tilting his head.
"Nothing! Nothing! Let's go to bed!" Hikari quickly exclaimed, laying down on the floor of the tent.
Ace stared at the girl's back. What did she mean by that?
A/N: So what will happen next?
In KH there are Nobodies, being without hearts! all in all will be explained my dear readers~!
Special thanks to: MegaKiraraLover, marlilsis, Cyclinity, SydneyInWonderland, Chinomi, Candyluvergirl2121, The Last Happy Song, Animefreak1145, Girlpink56, Fovever-Dino, Giraffadon, SunstreakerandSideswipesWoman, Lurking Phoenix, 1zoo1, DeansDirtyDeedsx, Twilight Dark Angel, Pokemon-Ranger-Aiko
for adding this story to their favorites!
Special thanks to: marlilsis, Cyclunity, Waltzing Shadow, Chinomi, leroalice, Candyluver2121, The Last Happy Song, Animefreak1145, Girlpink56, Dreamer Number 9, Swirlingdreamkeeper, Forever-Fino, Giraffadon, BasilNotes, 1zoo1, DeansDirtyDeedsx, Twilight Dark Angel
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R&R please