Disclaimer: The ownership of Naruto or Alice in Wonderland does not belong to the authoress.
Chapter 3: Anything But
When Alice awoke on the hard, wooden chair, she found herself tied with, not rope, but strings made of a strange, blue, fluid-like material. She fingered the strands that bound her wrists together. It felt smooth. She tried to pull away her wrists. It was taut. Alice furrowed her eyebrows.
"Curiouser and curiouser," she said.
"What's so curious, Alice?" she asked.
"It's not rope, and yet it binds, Alice."
"But wire is not a rope, and yet the rabbit caught you, Alice."
"I suppose you're right, Alice."
A light chuckle echoed throughout the dimly lit room. Unbeknownst to the captive, there was a two-way mirror in the room. Behind it stood the notorious Akatsuki themselves.
"Leader-sama, what do you think?" asked Kakuzu.
The man who seemed to be covered by the dark shadows stared intently at the girl in wooden chair. She was, at the moment reciting what seemed to be a poem about a crocodile, or at least attempting to. It kept alternating between a little crocodile and a busy bee.
"She's not a ninja," said Leader-sama.
" We gathered that much," said Deidara with a slight eyeroll.
The shadowed man glared at his minion, but said nothing as he turned to Sasori. "I assume the weapon you used had poison on it?"
"Yes. It was a neurotoxin chemical that was designed to slowly torture the victim until death."
Leader turned his head back to the eccentric girl behind the glass. "She must be strong if she was able to resist this kind of poison, and it was Sasori's creation, no less."
"Will you recruit her to the organization?" asked Itachi.
There was a pause as Leader-sama crossed his arms and drummed his fingers against his elbow. "We'll see, after the interrogation." And with that, he opened the door to his left and entered the interrogation room.
"Whadda think'll happen?" said Kisame.
"Feh, isn't it obvious? She's gonna get the shit beat outta her then she'll join the Akatsuki," said Hidan. "That's how it's always been."
"I dunno, she's a tough cookie. Even Leader-sama said so," said Kisame, "I say, if she gets outta the charka strings, she'll land one punch. Then she'll get the shit beat outta her."
"Quiet." Sasori glared at the duo. "It's starting."
Leader-sama stood before the girl, radiating a killer's aura. This did not seem to affect Alice, a grin bore her face.
"You must be delusional, girl, to be smiling like that in a place like this," Leader said.
"I've been tied up and tortured so many times, I've lost count. Doesn't bother me as much anymore," Alice grinned. "So, what are you gonna use? Poison mushrooms? Knives? Horrid singing?"
Leader-sama raised his eyebrow at the last means of torture. "Horrid singing?"
"Oh yes. The Hatter would always sing when I get tied up in situations like this. It was terrible."
"Really now?" Leader pulled out a wooden chair that was hidden in darkness and sat. He stared at the girl with menacing silver eyes that unnerved even Alice. "I was told that you mentioned something about a 'cat' and 'caterpillar' during your introduction with my organization members. There's also this 'Hatter.' Explain."
"Hm? You mean the Cheshire Cat, Caterpillar, and the Mad Hatter? You don't know about them?"
Silence showed that he didn't.
"Well, they're three of the Main Roles, of course," she smiled, "Like the White Rabbit, and the Hare, and Red Queen, and me, Alice."
Leader-sama narrowed his eyes. "What is this Main Role?"
Alice chuckled, "For an inhabitant in Wonderland, you don't know much, do you?"
"Wonderland?"
Well, this is interesting.
Alice stared at him. "Yes…Wonderland. What kind of person doesn't even know what Wonderland is? Did you just get sent here or something?"
Oh yes, this is very interesting. Leader-sama clasped his hands together and placed it under his chin. "Miss…Alice, is it?" A nod here. "I haven't the slightest idea where this Wonderland is, but I am sure that this place is not it." Alice's eyes widened. He continued. "Where you are now, where I am now, is Amegakure, my village. I am its leader."
He waited for a reaction. Except for the occasional "Fuck, bitch, talk already!" from the other side of the wall, the room was silent. Even a senbon could be heard dropping ("Sasori!" "My bad.").
A meek wimper evoked the man to raise his head. He expected the water-works. After all, she is away from her home, and wouldn't one be in a distressed state if that were to happen? Especially if one was a girl (or in all fairness, a sensitive boy, but that is not the case here.)
Of course, tears came streaming down the sides of her face, mingling with the crusty scab forming on her cheek. A disgusting sight. And yet Leader-sama could not help, but be a bit surprised and a little uneasy. Alice was not only crying, but also laughing with glee.
"I do not see what is so amusing in your situation Alice."
She smiled and would have wiped away the tears had it not been for the blue strings tied around her arms and wrists. "It's 'cause I'm happy," she beamed.
The man before her and the others behind the glass were stunned, questioning her sanity. Then again, they weren't so right-in-the-head themselves.
"And why are you happy?"
She sniffed before saying, "Because I got out! I got out of Wonderland, that's why!" She proceeded to guffaw, "I told Cheshire that I'd get out!"
Amidst her laughing, Leader-sama asked, "Where and what is this 'Wonderland,' Alice?"
Alice stopped laughing and slowly cricked her head towards him, a look of utter disdain flickered in her eyes. The man was not intimidated. He'd seen this look with many other shinobi. Only this time, he was dealing with a little girl in an apron. Alice lowered her eyes to the dirt.
"It's kind of funny you know."
"And what, pray tell, is so funny?"
"The place is called Wonderland, when in fact it is anything but wonderful."
"Elaborate more about this place, Alice."
"It's not even a place," she smiled softly, "It's actually a game."
A 'What the fuck is that crazy bitch talking about' could be heard from the other room, followed by a couple of 'Shhhh!'s.
"You're friends are not doing a very good job of hiding themselves," laughed Alice. Leader twitched at the comment. His S-Class shinobi were, in fact, being particularly loud. He'll deal with them later
"Continue."
"Well, as I said, Wonderland is a game from a…another dimension, I guess you could say. It was made by The Gamemaker, who acts as a sort of God in that dimension." Alice looked at Leader-sama. His face told her to go on. "There are these people called the Watchers who choose the players, see. The players come from another universe."
"Which universe did you come from?"
"My memory's a little rusty. I've been in the game for so long. But I recall coming from a place called 'California'. Anyway, the players are lured to Wonderland and given roles." She looked at him.
"Roles tell us who we become in Wonderland," she smiled. "And once we get our roles, we use our new names and weapons to play the game for the Watcher's enjoyment."
"Play the game?"
She nodded. "The Kill-or-be-Killed Game."
A chilling silence creeped the room. Alice waited for her interrogator to break it.
"I see," he said, getting up from his chair. "In a sense, your world is no different from mine."
"Is that so?"
"We also kill here, but with a purpose." He looked at her. "My purpose is to become God. In your case, this world's 'Gamemaker'."
"Haha, how horrible!" she giggled, but instantly shrieked as a kunai was so suddenly lodged into her arm. Blood trickled down her elbow.
"I plan to destroy this world," said Leader, his back facing her, "And rebuild it with my own hands. There will be no more corruption. No more sadness. No more wars." He glanced at her.
"And no more games," he said, noticing her eyes soften at the thought of living in a liberated world.
"Alice, will you join me in making this happen?"
She tilted her head and closed her eyes. A small grin pulled at her lips. How nice would it be, to live in such a world. She wouldn't have to live off of those growth enhancer cakes and growth deficiency drinks. Wouldn't have to worry all the time about beheadings or being on time to watch the beheadings so that she wouldn't be beheaded herself. She would forget about the Jabberwock, forget about the singing thorn bushes, forget about them…
Alice opened her eyes and said, "There aren't any Red Queens here, are there?"
With that, the Akatsuki Leader knew he had his tenth member.
Author's Note: Hmm hoped you liked it! Please review!