Shinigami-cat: Hi everyone... I OWN NOTHING!

Welcome to strange

The next few days were horrible. Pretty much everyone in the town attended Kiku's funeral. It was a beautiful ceremony. Arthur had only ever been to one other funeral in his life and it was nowhere near as nice as this. It was his dads. He was shot and beaten to death. Arthur didn't give a damn about his dad though. He just attended because it was the polite thing to do.

But the funeral was soon forgotten and so was Kiku apparently. Which in Arthur's opinion was just sick. At the moment he was watching some of the kids play street hockey. He had to admit Francis was a shit goalie. Alfred was sitting next to him laughing when Antonio got sent off for deliberately tackling Lovino just so he could hug him.

"Hey Alfred..."

"Yep Iggy? What's up?" Asked Alfred.

Arthur bit his lip. "Why is everyone... acting like Kiku doesn't even exist anymore?"

Alfred looked down at his feet. He looked ashamed. "That's just how it is here... Death isn't anything new. We just learn to except it and move on... Look even Feliciano and Ludwig have gotten over it." He pointed to Feliciano who was clinging to Ludwig's arm and smiling happily while Ludwig was trying to push him off. "See everything's back to normal."

Arthur chuckled darkly. 'Normal... Is that what it is now? Normal? This town is sick. Everyone here is so decensored. It's so unreal.'

"CHANGE OVER!" Yelled Gilbert. "TWO PEOPLE OFF! TWO PEOPLE ON!" Lovino and Feliciano walked off and Alfred and Matthew walked on. Arthur tilted his head in confusion. Once again Matthew wasn't clinging to someone. Gilbert sat next to Arthur and sighed contently. "Awesome isn't it?"

"What?"

Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Matthew of course. This is the only time he doesn't cling to anyone. He's come such a long way since... the incident..."

"What incident?" Asked Arthur.

Gilbert hesitated. He quickly looked around to make sure no one was in ear shot. Once he was sure on one was around he turned to Arthur. "Okay I'll tell you but you didn't hear this from me. Last year we had the harvest festival like always. Everything was fine but it turns out that Alfred and Matthew had snuck off to see if the rumours were true."

Arthur raise an eyebrow. "What rumours?"

Gilbert shook his head. "Just a bunch of kids stuff. Nothing important. But anyway the next day me, Francis and Antonio went bushwalking but we took a different path and we... we found him..."

Arthur had an idea about what they found but he needed to hear it from Gilbert. "Who did you find?"

Gilbert chuckled darkly. "Matthew... We found him on the ground... on the trees... on the rocks... on the grass... I was surprised that he was still alive. But he was. Nothing really important was shredded anyway."

Arthur looked at him with wide eyes. "Matthew was attacked? Did they catch the guy?"

Gilbert tilted his head in confusion. "Why would they bother? I mean it's not like he died." Gilbert gritted his teeth and dug his hands into the grass. "That's right... Why would the grownups even bother trying to find the bastard that to someone like Matthew? He's just a kid. Kids aren't important. We're useless, stupid kids. They don't give a shit about us."

Arthur didn't really know what to say. He just sad the first thing that came into his head. "The way you talk you make it sound like people dying is common around here."

"Not just murders." Said Gilbert seriously. "Disappearances too. A while back Francis's step sister Monika disappeared without a trace... just walked off into the bushlands and that was it. She never came back..."

"He had a step sister?" Questioned Arthur. He already knew that Monika was Francis's sister but he didn't really know that she was his step sister.

Gilbert nodded. "Yep. She was the nicest girl you could have ever met. She was so full of life... Planning to get out of the town as soon as possible and go to a uni in the city. But then she just vanished." Gilbert chuckled darkly. "She's still missing you know. After a week they all gave up... after a year even Francis gave up... BREAK HIS NOSE!" Yelled Gilbert as the puck went flying through the air and hit Alfred in the face.

Arthur sighed. "Just wondering... why is Matthew so clingy one moment and so (crazy) independent the next?"

Gilbert frowned. "When I found him he was still awake. I stayed with him and tried to comfort him until the medics got there. I've seen dead bodies before... but it was a real shocker to see someone so damaged still but alive... After that night he became extremely afraid of everyone. The only people he'll let near him are Alfred and me."

'Like hell.' Thought Arthur bitterly. 'Matthew is completely crazy. No doubt about it. He's insane and... I can't even think of another word.'

"CHANGE OVER! TWO OFF! TWO ON!" Called Gilbert. Francis and Ludwig walked off and Feliciano and Lovino walked back on. He turned back to Arthur and sighed. "Well... I'm off and remember... I said nothing."

Arthur nodded and started to watch the game again. He kept a close eye on Matthew. He had a strange glint in his eyes. It seemed dark and even sinister. It made Arthur shiver.

Ludwig walked towards him to grab his drink bottle. "Having fun Arthur?" He asked.

Arthur shrugged. "It's a nice distraction."

"From what?" Asked Ludwig.

"Kiku's death you twit." He growled.

"Right... But that was a week ago." Said Ludwig. "You should be over it by now."

"Bloody hell!" Exclaimed Arthur. "Do you hear yourself? He died a week ago and everyone is acting like its normal!"

Ludwig shrugged and grabbed his water bottle. "A word of advice for you Arthur. If you're going to live in this town get used to it."

"What?"

"Oh Ludwig!" Called Francis. "Can I have a private word with you?" Ludwig nodded and walked off to talk with Francis. They seemed to be in a really intense talk about something. After twenty minutes or so thunder began to roll in.

Gilbert blew a whistle causing everyone to stop. "ALL RIGHT PEOPLE TIME TO RUN LIKE THE BITCH'S WE ARE. IT'S GONNA RAIN!" Everyone groaned but quickly ran off.

"Bloody hell." Mumbled Arthur. "It's just rain."

XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX

It was official. Arthur hated Australian weather. Sunny one second, pouring down rain the next. He ran through the sheets of rain until he reached a sheltered bus stop shelter. He quickly ran under it and shook the water from his hair. He was surprised to see Ludwig sitting there too.

Ludwig chuckled. "So you didn't run like everyone else?"

Arthur pouted. "I didn't know it was going to be this bad... How long until the rain stops?"

Ludwig shrugged. "I'd say between an hour and a week."

"A WEEK?" Cried Arthur. "A BLOODY WEEK? THAT'S INSANE!"

Ludwig shrugged. "Well that's just how it is. Bone dry one minute, soaked the next. Got to love the weather." He yawned and stretched. "You may as well make yourself comfortable. We'll be here for a while."

Arthur sighed and sat on the floor. It was dry surprisingly. He rested his head against the metal side and frowned. He wasn't sure how to talk to Ludwig. He just seemed a little... intimidating. 'What do we have in common?' He thought. 'Well... there's Kiku but he didn't seem too interested in talking about...' Suddenly Arthur's eyes lit up. 'The letter that Kiku wrote! It mentioned him and the curse!'

"Are you okay?" Asked Ludwig. "You seem a little out of it."

Arthur smiled. "I'm fine... I actually want to talk to you about something important. It concerns Kiku."

Ludwig frowned. "What about him?"

"Well you know how when we found him last week?" Asked Arthur. "I was in his room and I found a letter. It mentioned you and the curse and how you were spared."

Ludwig's eyes suddenly became fearful. He shook his head really quickly. "I don't know what you're talking about! I've never heard of a curse before! No curse here! It doesn't exist! I didn't lose part of my memory because of it! I wasn't cursed! You're crazy!"

Arthur sighed. "You realize I never said you lost part of your memory because of the curse right?"

Ludwig grimaced and punched the side of the bus shelter. "Fuck." He ran his fingers through his hair and stood up. He leaned agenised the side of the shelter. "I guess I can't deny it now huh?" He said to himself. "Who would have thought I would have been asked about it twice in one day..."

"Who else asked you?" Asked Arthur.

Ludwig sighed and gazed out into the rain. "Francis... He's going through the same thing I went through all those years ago..."

"What things?"

Ludwig gulped. "The footsteps... They start off in sync with yours but sooner or later they start to get out of time, and then you know it has begun... Then you hear the hands... Thousands of them, scratching behind closed doors..." Ludwig was beginning to tremble.

Arthur gulped. 'Shit he's actually freaking out about this!'

"And you can feel a presence." He said. "It hovers over you while you sleep... It's like a heavy weight, stopping you from breathing properly... You start to panic and hyperventilate but there's nothing there... Then the whispering starts... You never know what the voices are saying but it never stops... It drives you mad..." Ludwig paused and looked down at his wrist with pure terror on his eyes. "Then the worst part happens... The itching starts."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Itching?"

Ludwig nodded. "Yes... It's just a normal itch to start with... so you scratch it... but the more you scratch the more it itches... Eventually you can't stand it... So you take a razor and... And slit your wrists."

Arthur's jaw dropped. "You slit your wrists? Are you serious?"

Ludwig nodded. "But that's not the worst of it... Maggots... millions of them... They spill out with the blood... They try to get back into your body but they can't. The air is toxic to them. They can't survive outside your body... but it gets even itchier and you keep digging at it... You try to dig them out but it's impossible and before you know it... You bleed to death."

Arthur shook his head. "That's stupid. Maggots wouldn't be able to live in the human blood stream or any blood stream for that matter. Anyway I'd like to point out you didn't bleed to death."

"I almost did." Said Ludwig. "I went to visit relatives in Germany about three years ago and it happened. Gilbert wanted to stay here so he didn't go, so he doesn't know the whole story... But I started to hear the scratching on my door at night... Then the itching... Then the maggots... Then I woke up in a hospital." He sighed. "I suffered brain damage because I lost so much blood... I forgot the first ten years of my life. Good thing I was about thirteen at the time."

Arthur nodded. "So... Francis is starting to experience these things?"

Ludwig nodded sadly. "He told me he's hearing the footsteps..."

Arthur frowned. 'It seems more like some kind of mental illness than a curse to me. Besides I would have been able to tell if Francis was cursed. Besides I can't fell any magical presence around here in this land... But maybe I should ask...'

Ludwig frowned and kicked a rock. "Don't tell anyone about what I just said... About Francis I mean... He doesn't want people to know."

Arthur nodded. "That's fine... I was just wondering if there were any magical creatures in Australia."

Ludwig shrugged. "Well... I've heard about the Rainbow serpent and Tidalick the bull frog. They're stories from the Dreaming."

"The dreaming?"

"Aboriginal folk tales." Answered Ludwig. "There are hundreds of them. You can have a look in the library later."

Arthur nodded. 'I might just do that. It is possible that a magical creature could be doing this... but I'm not sure...' He sighed and slumped against wall of the shelter and looked out into the rain. It was going to be a while before it cleared up.

TBC

Shinigami-cat: Well... What do you think? Next chapter is going to be from a different characters perspective... Guess who it is and win a virtual cookie.