Chapter Text
“Come and join the dancing plague, till your limbs you lose control, till each and every bone does ache, rest your soul now…” In a familiar voice, the twin voices rang through my head, confusion swirling in me like a storm. That was the last thing I had heard before blacking out.
Well, before the story continues, I should probably introduce myself. I’m Aira Shiratori. I’m an obsessed fanboy working idol in the unit ALKALOID. With three other insane wackos people who I consider family, we put on live performances like the other units under our agency, COSMIC Productions. Let me tell you, idol drama is always up in the air. It’s honestly super cool a bit pressuring. But I’ve also met so many of my gods favorite idols like Tori Himemiya and Adonis Otogari! Anyways, I should probably explain what happened prior to passing out.
Rewinding to a few hours before that, I was sitting in my room with Hiiro, my unitmate. Thanks to Rei and Eichi both being on international travels with their units, I was able to have Hiiro over. We were a bit bored, and honestly, I couldn’t tell if I was awake or not. As the clock on the desk indicated the time, which happened to be 9:30 p.m., we received a few guests at our door. A sharp rapping noise came, and Hiiro quickly got up from his beanbag chair to get it. “Yes?” He opened the door, not bothering to peek through the small looking hole there. Tatsumi and Mayoi, two of our unitmates, stood at the doorstep there, slightly drenched in rain.
“Leave your coats at the rack! And Hiiro— no, I’ll get some towels!” I grumbled, standing up from my comfy throne of plushies to grab some towels from the laundry hamper. Those two were always wandering off together, getting lost in any situation. You’d have no idea how many times me and Hiiro have had to run after them and call them back so we could practice. I found the hamper in—you might have guessed it— the hole in the wall. Long story short, that came from when Mayoi was still super shy around us, and he would always crawl in the vents. He broke the wall by accident while crawling, and Eichi banned him from using the vents again. It was kinda suspicious to begin with, and other units began calling Mayoi the imposter from Among Us.
Searching through, I found my extra fluffy towels that I’d purchased for such an event like this, scurrying back to where my unit was, standing at the door talking casually. Mayoi was holding up some kind of disc, and I began to panic. If they were gonna watch some kind of weird movie like the last time, I did not want any part in it. That last one scarred me for life, and I don’t think I’ll ever look at sausage the same way ever again. I crept into the room again, looking at Mayoi and Tatsumi. “Got the towels!” I said in a fake cheerful voice, trying to get a closer look at the title of the movie. I guess Mayoi noticed me peering down, because he quickly shoved the disc under his arm, taking the towel and drying off his hair.
“Thank you Ai-chan~” Mayoi said, a small smirk on his face. I glared at him, and I think Hiiro was surprised by my aggression. I had to protect Hiiro from the horrors of the movies that Mayoi always chose, and I normally just covered his eyes, sacrificing my own sanity. Tatsumi shrugged, but still grabbed a towel from my arms.
“Yes, thank you Shiratori-kun,” Tatsumi smiled, clearly trying to hide what he was plotting with Mayoi. I sighed silently. The duo had made me suffer through countless movies, and this time I was prepared to run!…
Mayoi showed me and Hiiro the disc once they had changed into more casual clothing and dried off. Hiiro looked at it curiously, admiring the cover art, while I just deadpanned and stared at Mayoi. “Arisu no Wonderlando?” I read the cover, looking at the main character. She was blonde with bright blue eyes, and had a blue dress and white apron. Honestly, the movie looked boring, but at least it wasn’t rated PG-13 or R. Tatsumi hummed to himself as he got the disc player running, trying to plug the cord into the tv. Mayoi started rambling about the movie and how it was a fantasy adventure type, and we had to duct tape his mouth shut because he was giving us too many spoilers. Tatsumi just let the nonsense continue, still trying to figure out how to start the movie.
“Mhpf mp fmh fhmp!” Mayoi said excitedly, even though we couldn’t make out a single word. His eyes were glowing with excitement as Tatsumi finally started up the movie. The movie started… with credits? Me and Hiiro looked at each other, shrugging in confusion. Tatsumi made us gather at the couch, sitting down in front of the screen. I sat with Hiiro on my right, and Mayoi on my left. Tatsumi grabbed a chair from the desk, bringing it so he could sit next to Mayoi. He also noticed the confusion on our faces, and explained that older movies would put the credits first. I was still a bit confused on why, but at least there was an explanation for it. Once the movie had actually started, the main character, who was named Alice, was dumb and followed a random talking-singing rabbit? I dunno, it might have made a fun movie night for Hajime and Ra*bits, but for us ALKALOID soldiers? No way.
When Alice fell into the rabbit hole, Mayoi made an unnecessary gasp—at least I think—when it happened. Tatsumi glanced at Mayoi, giving him a threatening smile which shut Mayoi up even more than how quiet he was due to the duct tape. Hiiro giggled, receiving a hushed shout of annoyance from Tatsumi. The movie kept playing, and some of the most ridiculous things happened. A smoking caterpillar? An insane hatter and rabbit? I couldn’t understand why Mayoi and Tatsumi would choose this disc. Heck, knowing Mayoi, he could have stolen it from the store. But I guess the card soldiers of the Queen of Hearts were kinda like us. I mean, our unit uniforms have the symbols, and we created an entire song. I guess we could be considered like this Arisu no Wonderlando if you think about it like that.
It was just getting to a part with the Queen of Hearts trying to behead Alice, when I felt myself getting drowsy. I let out a loud yawn, before snuggling up to Hiiro and closing my eyes. I could have sworn I was asleep for a brief moment, but when I awoke, I found myself falling. Falling?! I quickly tried to get in a comfortable position, only to fall face first onto a rocking chair. It seemed to be falling like me, but was rocking softly and like a feather. Holding on tightly to the hand bars, I pulled myself back up, and sat on the chair. From there, I could hopefully get more of a view of where I was.
Oh the wonders that I could tell you of. The inside seemed to be a curved brick wall, similarly to how a well is designed in a cylinder. Paintings hung on said walls, curving and bending to the construction of the hole. Other wonders fell with me and the rocking chair, like an open parasol and a beautifully carved wooden drawer of clothing. It seemed awfully familiar, and strangely, it felt as though I was in another world entirely. That couldn’t possibly happen though, because I’d just been watching another movie with my unit!
I could soon see the floor, black and white checkered patterned. It was getting closer and closer as the rocking chair finally landed. The floor was hard and cold, the surface felt like ice though. Right as I thought I was in the clear, gravity seemed to turn on me, and it was revealed I was on the ‘ceiling’, and I fell onto the ‘floor.’ The entire layout of the room had changed, throwing me off. A small doorway led to an even smaller hallway, the floors and walls covered in a gaudy dark velvet pink. Being careful of any traps, I walked over to the hallway staring at the walls which seemed to close in on me. Holding the same ornate patterns of the room before it, the paint of the walls seemed to have changed, with a deep maroon that was slightly offset from the pink. In the room was also the first sign of life in this wild, untamed place. A boy, maybe a bit older than me, stood, his back to me. With vivid purple hair in a long braid, I could have sworn it was Mayoi, but there was no way. Unless this was all a dream (which it clearly isn’t, seeing as though I almost broke a bone falling on a wooden rocking chair), then there would be no way for Mayoi to appear here. Plus, the kid (not that he is a kid, he’s like 10 cm more than me) had freaking rabbit ears, ones that were floppy, but probably really tall if you straightened them. And a tail. A really cute and fluffy one. Both of these animalistic features were colored with white fur, the ends singed with a bit of teal somehow. Without a second thought, I quickly ran over to the being, hoping for a way back to ES. Whatever this world was, it definitely wasn’t near the ALKALOID unit dorm.
“Hello?” I asked timidly, a bit scared as I tapped the boy on his shoulder. “Do you know where I am?—“ The initial shock when I glanced at the boy’s face was definitely one of my biggest moments of surprise. I would recognize those narrow, scheming, nervous bright blue eyes anywhere, and they would belong to the one and only… “Mayoi?!” I shouted in shock, carelessly disregarding my friend’s newfound rabbit ears.
“Don’t scream!” Mayoi muttered in a hushed voice, his ears pressed to his head as he blocked his human ears. A bit sorry, I glanced at the floor, before mumbling a quick sorry. “I-It’s okay…” Mayoi replied quickly, piping up before I could utter another word. “I-In any case, t-this is a startling devel-development.” He said, his tail twitching as he sniffed, rubbing his nose. “T-The lady at the desk w-when I bought it—“
So he did obtain it through legal means , I thought to myself as Mayoi stumbled and stuttered, messing up his words.
“N-Not me! Tatsumi bought it, and I c-chose it,” he said, a blush creeping over his face. I instantly began thinking about the TatsuMayoi fanfictions that I helped to write on the internet, smirking inside, before tuning back into the end of Mayoi’s dialogue. “A-And the lady had said the disc was cursed…”
My eyes almost popped out when Mayoi mentioned that the movie was cursed. “Cursed?! And you didn’t think to tell me and Hiiro??” I clutched my head, trying to control my overwhelming thoughts before a splitting headache began. “Mayoi, we should have burned it when we had the chance! Better yet, have Tatsumi exorcise it!” I groaned, slumping and shaking Mayoi—though he barely moved an inch. He trembled a bit, before speaking up again.
“L-Look, Tatsumi said it was fine!” Mayoi promised, holding up his right hand. “I swear on my life, wait, not my life, can I take that back?… I want to keep my life…” I sighed, letting go of Mayoi’s shoulders—my arms were getting a bit stiff from reaching higher than normal anyways.
“It’s fine,” I said, brushing off Mayoi’s outfit. Looking closer, it was kinda like a suit, Mayoi’s least favorite kind of clothing. I snickered a bit, wanting to take a photo. Then I realized my own outfit. I was wearing a dress. It was blue, and had a neat white apron, with little faded card symbols embroidered on the edges, just like the main character of Arisu no Wonderlando. “Aghhh!” My screams visibly and emotionally scared Mayoi as he jumped in fear, his ears raised in a half fold.
“A-Aira-chan?…” Mayoi asked nervously, twiddling his fingers as he approached me, the shaking figure weeping on the floor. “A-Are you—“
“I’m okay,” I said with a deadpan laugh, curling up into a sobbing mess on the floor. “My pride as a man is just ruined, ruined for my entire life.” Mayoi’s eyes widened as he paced around me, poking and prodding.
“Oh no! H-How will ALKALOID function without Aira!!” Mayoi stuttered, his paces long and wide as he took timid steps everywhere, not even questioning the fact that he had just walked up one of the walls. Glancing up, I sat straight up, the color returning to my face.
“W-Wait, Mayoi!” I pointed at his feet, wanting him to notice his current action. “You’re walking on the wall!”
“I-I am?!” Mayoi stared down, panicked. “H-How do I get down!?” He began to hyperventilate, his eyes bugging out as he grabbed his ears as a coping mechanism. Scoffing, I quickly made my way to the section where he’d begun his journey defying gravity, finding that I could join him. Now both of us were walking on the wall, the room almost seeming to morph to suit our conditions. A window corrected itself and moved to where I’d been standing only minutes ago.
Well, it shouldn’t hurt to try something in this wonderland , I thought, quick to test my theory. If this worked, then we’d end up in the same enchanted forest of the animated movie— wait, why am I talking as though this would actually make sense? Whatever, now isn’t the time. I took a small hop, before finding myself falling onto the ceiling, and crashing headfirst.
Let’s just say it resulted in a bit of gore that I would not be allowed to mention. After that sudden and abrupt end to my life, I opened my eyes, thinking that I was in the Judgement Zone. Quietly thinking, I began to regret not joining Tatsumi’s religion and hoped his deity would still save me. Right as I was about to finish my silent prayer, I felt a tingle across my body, until seeing a bright light. Reaching out my hand, the familiar scene of the magenta room came into view, Mayoi still screaming and panicking. “Ahhh! What would Tatsumi say?! Oh, I’m such a horrible mom! Letting Ai-chan run off all alone, watching her— I mean him die with all the guts and blood and organs—“
“Mayoi!” I shouted, slightly annoyed at how he could go on and on about gruesome things like this, and yet have no response when I approach him crawling in the vents. “I’m right here! Not dead!” Mayoi perked up, quickly running off the wall and dashing towards me. Smothering me in a tight hug, I had to tap him a few times before he let me go, my head spinning a bit as I caught my breath. His smile was tilted awkwardly, his green eyes staring a hole in me.
“Ai-chan!! Y-You didn’t die!” Mayoi stuttered, pulling at his fingers. “B-But you clearly died! You jumped and then the gravity changed on you, and your head—“
“Mayo, there’s a time and place for everything,” I hummed, quoting Tatsumi’s words at our first live. “We gotta figure out how to get back to the ALKALOID dorm, or at least back to ES.” Scurrying around, me and Mayoi soon began to check everything in the room. There was a small table with a vial labeled ‘drink me’. Other than that and a lone door that was too small to open, there was practically nothing of use. Mayoi was quick on the uptake, eagerly grabbing the bottle and about to down it all. I stopped him as he undid the stopper, holding his wrist firmly. “Mayoi! I’m here as well! Only drink half!”
“R-Right…” Mayoi nodded, taking a quick sip of the drink before handing it to me hurriedly. Downing the rest of the contents, both me and Mayoi began to shrink down. Within a few seconds, both of us were exactly the right size to twist the doorknob and squeeze through one by one. Well, at this point, you’d think that this was a reality, right? Well, Mayoi was on that line of thought. Meanwhile me? I was still convinced this was some kind of whacko dream that was hyper realistic. I mean, Mayoi turning into a bunny boy? Probably not possible. And certainly my dress was part of the dream, just heavily influenced by the last things I was watching, that’s it.
Well, walking in was easy. Going back would prove to be harder. As Mayoi stepped in last, the hinges began to creak, threateningly moving back into its original shut position. “Mayoi! The door!” I shouted, hoping that he’d notice quickly. If the door happened to be one of those one way locked ones, then we’d lose connection to the place we first found ourselves in, and maybe lose some unknown clues. Almost instantly, Mayoi’s ears perked up, his eyes wide as he turned to grab the doorknob. He managed to grasp it, and was slowly pulling the door back open. With a quick search, I found a big enough rock that I could drag over easily pick up with my strength, and heavy enough to accidentally crush my toes prop the door open. Right as I’d finally managed to get the rock close enough to give one final push, a sudden flash of wind blew across my face, dust stirring up. I coughed, losing my sight for a few seconds. Blinking, I stared at Mayoi, then to the rock, and the now fully closed door. “Ugh…” I grumbled, checking the door by giving it a small tug. It was locked.
“What?…” Mayoi uttered in confusion, his brain probably still processing what had just happened. “W-Wait, was that a person?…” he looked around, and with his height, quickly found a shorter bush where a blonde haired rabbit kid was crouching.
“Nishishishi! I completed my mission for wAgHG!” He suddenly shouted as Mayoi picked him up by the collar, dangling him above the ground. He whimpered and his tail fluffed up as he was raised higher into the air. “Don’t hurt me!…” the boy flailed, closing his eyes and preparing for an impact. Me and Mayoi just stared at each other, remaining silent. Eventually, the boy revealed his face, removing his arms covering his head. “M-Mayoi-kun?! Aira!?”
“Nazuna-kun!” I shouted, once again ignorant of Mayoi and Nazuna’s rabbit ears. Both of their ears pressed tightly against their heads again, and this time, I noticed something. While Mayoi’s ears were white and teal-ish with no blemishes, Nazuna’s were white and speckled with black, a small tag hanging from his right ear. “Nazuna-kun, you have something on your ear,” I scoffed lightly, walking closer to try and read the small inscribed words. This tag shows the full and complete ownership of R*R1 under Joker’s Circus. Weird note, but okay. Anyways, his outfit was similar to his outfit from when he did the Underland Live. There was also a clover motif throughout his clothing, with a small tattoo of one on his neck. I don’t really know how to describe his outfit, so you’ll have to search their unit up later.
“Don’t touch ma eawrs!” Nazuna grumbled, swatting away my hand weakly. “Also, why ya weering a pretty blue dwress?” I blushed, instantly pulling my hand away.
“Nothing!” I mumbled quietly, still a bit embarrassed that I didn’t get a cool outfit like Mayoi or Nazuna. Mayoi slowly set Nazuna down, who quickly began hopping around the area like a frog. Strange right? Wasn’t he supposed to be a rabbit?
Ignoring Nazuna for now, I quickly began to take a look at our new surroundings. The door had led to an odd forest, with tall lofty trees that blocked out the sun. Shadows were somewhat nonexistent, seeing as though we were already in said shadows. I guess since this is fiction, there was a magical light that just came from nowhere, following Mayoi around. He jumped at everything, even Nazuna’s continuous movement of hopping. Well, there’s no fixing Mayoi’s skittish behavior… Might as well play with him some~
“Mayoi! There’s a bear!” I cried jokingly, pointing into the deep brush. Almost instantly, both of the rabbits raised their ears, listening for noises. Mayoi stumbled behind Nazuna, who had finally stopped jumping everywhere to pay attention. I stifled a laugh as Nazuna was first to realize there was no creature, instantly bouncing over and smacking me in the head.
“Ai-chan!” Nazuna grumbled, a small frown on his face as his eyes welled with tears at the corners. “Ya scared me and Mayoi!” I laughed, gently pushing Nazuna’s grabby hands away from me.
“Okay okay!” I grinned, watching the realization set in for Mayoi. His ears flattened as he crouched on the floor. The grass was beginning to stain his outfit a bit, the green tint on the pristine white pants. His pale but vibrantly colored teal eyes stared up, casting a grim stare towards me.
“That was a scary notion…” he mumbled softly under his breath, though I could just barely make out his words. “If there had been a bear…” he shuddered at the thought, erasing it from his mind. “I’m so glad there isn’t a bear!... Wait, that might be insulting the bears– I’m so sorry bears! I’m sorry that I was ever born on this wretched planet! I should die for the sins I have committed–”
“Mayoi! Too far!” I yelled, clutching my head in disappointment like all those popular tv shows do. Did I forget to mention? Mayoi can overthink things in the worst ways possible. Just like when I kinda died earlier, he always assumes the worst situations that could possibly happen, and gets caught up in his thoughts. Tatsumi says it’s endearing, while Hiiro thinks that Mayoi is just too grim. Meanwhile me? I think that Mayoi needs to get his brain checked.
Nazuna, who’d gotten over the prank by now, glanced at me and Mayoi, almost bouncing on his toes. “Have ya seen anyone else from ES?” he asked, a curious gaze in his red eyes.
“There are others here?” I blurted out, quick to respond.
“Yeah! There’s all of Valkyrie, Ra*bits and Eden here, but I dunno if anyone else has gotten here,” Nazuna sighed. “I split off from the other rabbits for a second, and now they’ve all disappeered without me!” his ears twitched, his fists balling up before releasing, energy dissipating into the air. “Do ya know how you got stuck here?” he asked, tilting his head.
“So basically, Mayoi and Tatsumi brought a cursed disc of Arisu no Wonderlando to our dorm, and we were watching it. I fell asleep during the movie and found myself here after waking up– well, after falling down a very very very very very deep brick well sort of thing." I explained.
“I-I came here after the movie ended… Aira and Hiiro were snuggling on the couch, so I went to grab a blanket for them. A-And I was going to the hamper by the hole in the wall, and I tripped into the hole, but fell down the same brick well that Aira probably did. I’m so sorry! My death will never be able to repay the heinous sin of purchasing the cursed movie!” Mayoi sat on his knees, bowing again and again, over and over. The hair tie holding his braid together began to come loose from the motion, the form of the braid slipping. “I-I don’t deserve to be on this earth!!”
“Awh come on!” Nazuna chuckled, giving Mayoi a small pat on the back. “Yer group is already amazing enough! And you’re also super cool as well!” Mayoi blushed at Nazuna’s compliment, his ears flattening in embarrassment.
“Yeah Mayoi! It’s fine!” I said, though in reality I was gritting my teeth and trying my best not to start ranting at Mayoi like earlier. The idol had already suffered enough at this point, so I probably shouldn’t rub the fact in anymore.
“I-If you really say so…” Mayoi mumbled, his fingers trembling as he walked ahead of the group. “W-Well, er, I’m the oldest of the group— I-I think, and so I’ll lead?” He looked around at both me and Nazuna, waiting for confirmation.
Nazuna’s cheeks puffed up, his eyes wide as he stared at Mayoi. “Mayo-chan! I’m the oldest!” He frowned, crossing his arms across his chest. “I’m 20! And you’re wike 19! And I’ve been here longer than both of you, so I lead!” He hopped forward, ahead of Mayoi and into the bushes. Turning, he glanced at the two of us, frozen in place. “Well? We’ve had our fun standing around. We hafe to get going, or we’ll be late late late!”
Mayoi followed second after Nazuna, until he decided that he wanted to stay in the back and pushed me forward, leaving me to walk almost directly next to Nazuna. It was eerily quiet. Not even the darkness of the forest could offset the mood. It was purely just because of Mayoi’s tension and nerves, and maybe the fact that I was half scared to death from a spider crawling over my shoulder halfway through the walk. Peeking over his shoulder to glance back, Nazuna was somehow skipping happily along the dirt path, unafraid of the insects and crawly creatures. It was getting close to midnight when Nazuna’s ears shot straight in the air as he seemed to be listening for something.
“Hey! Over here!” Nazuna gave a small wave, before jumping into a bush, straying away from the path. Mayoi stuttered a bit, mumbling random noises strung together before following.
“W-Wait!” I shouted, nervously pacing after the two. Those two were really fast, considering they were now both rabbits. “Shouldn’t we stay on the trail?” Both of the rabbits apparently couldn’t hear me because they dashed forward still, though they probably ignored me on purpose. Ugh… Can’t Nazuna at least give a short warning before he does impulsive stuff like this??
It was about another hour until we reached the end of the leafy green forest, now in the realm of a civilized city. A grand clock tower with ornate golden hands ticked the time, a loud bell ringing to mark noon. Noon? Last I checked, the moon was still high in the sky. There should have been at least 5 hours more of night—
My train of thought was cut off by the immediate squeals and shouts of the townsfolk, who had taken an interest in our group. They were already starting to bombard Mayoi and ask questions about his ears, and some also seemed familiar with Nazuna, asking him about ‘Joker’s Circus’ whatever that meant. Meanwhile, they harassed me about my dress and how I was a man and still wearing girly clothes. One thing I did notice was that their faces were blurred. Their eyes and facial expressions were gone, like they’d been erased. They only came into view when they were right up to my face, invading my personal space. It was almost like they were faceless, but if they still had their mouths visible. Don’t ask me, I don’t know anything about that.
“Geez, private space much?” I mumbled under my breath, hoping that the folk wouldn’t overhear me. Judging from how Arisu no Wonderlando was heading, I’d probably be in big trouble if I offended the wrong person by accident. Luckily, Nazuna was starting to calm down the crowds, while Mayoi was cowering and crouching in fear of the crowd.
“Lweave Mayoi and Aira alone! They just got here to Wonderland!” Nazuna pouted, his ears flopping as he ran around to the crowd. He tried to jump and get a view of the size of the crowd, before dashing to a park bench, standing on it as though it was a grand stage. “Over here, I’ll perform a trick right now to entertain you!” He pulled out a magician’s hat from thin air, and quite literally, he just summoned it from the sky. I’m not joking. And then, he proceeded to pull a flower from his hat. “Tada!” The group of people around us cheered and flocked to Nazuna, now ignoring Mayoi and me. The flower Nazuna held up in the air wasn’t much of an actual flower. It was more of a bundle of leaves with green edges and a pinkish coloration in the middle. It felt oddly familiar, and gave me a sense of deja vu. Nazuna quickly stowed away the flower, interrupting my thought process, and sped over back to us.
“Nazuna-kun!” Mayoi stuttered nervously, his eyes with a glint of happiness. “I thought I was going to drown in all those people,” he trailed off, side eyeing the hedges off to the side. “So, er, where are we again?”
“We’re now in Clover City!” Nazuna grinned, waving to some of the stragglers of the crowd from before. “This is tha place where Valkyrie is stationed most of the time. The current season is spring though, so they’ll be moving over to the circus soon enough.” Nazuna grabbed my wrist, dragging me along with him. His pace was incredibly fast, and I had to speed up in order to keep up with him. Mayoi followed Nazuna, though a bit nervous from the previous swarm of people. We soon stopped at the entrance to a toy shop. The glass window display was filled with cute teddy bears and assorted plushies, a variety of colors and sizes flooding the display.
How cute, I thought to myself quietly, looking at one doll in particular. Aw, it’s so cute. It has a little black ribbon around its neck and a pretty blue dress and apron— Wait, isn't that what I’m wearing? I looked down at my clothes, before staring back at the doll. Weird coincidence…
“Well, are you coming?” Nazuna chirped, swinging open the door to the shop. “There’s someone you should meet!” We all walked in together taking in the sights. It was fairly normal, with more dolls and plush toys lined up on the shelves. A nice clean white border adorned the main counter, where an old man, probably old enough to be my grandfather, was standing.
“Hello Nazuna dear,” the man smiled, the wrinkles on his face molding to his smile. “What brings you back to the toy store?”
Nazuna gave a small nod back, his eyes glowing with excitement. “Old man, these are the friends I was telling you about! Mayoi and Ai-chan!” Mayoi’s grin was a bit sheepish, caught off-guard by Nazuna's sudden introduction of us. “They’re the ‘White Rabbit’ and ‘Alice’!”
“Alice?” The old man, who I assumed by now that he was the maker of all the toys, seemed curious, pushing up his glasses. “There hasn’t been an Alice since, since, oh I don’t know. This is wonderful news Nazuna!” Both Mayoi and I were really confused by this point, so we just did our best to listen along to what we could understand of it.
I guess I’m an ‘Alice’ in this world. So like Arisu no Wonderlando? This entire dream makes no sense. That is, if it even is a dream at this point. I’m probably just hallucinating, right? Everything is this world is fake—
“Too bad you won’t see the end.” Nazuna’s eyes were wide, pupils shrunken. The light seemed to disappear from his crimson gaze, a shadow of darkness within the smile he held. A gun in his right hand was summoned like the hat, aimed directly for the toymaker. “Sorry old man, Joker’s orders.”
“Nazuna-kun!” I shouted, quickly scrambling to try and stop him. “What the heck are you thinking?!” Mayoi was frozen in shock, before doing the same and slowly approaching Nazuna from behind. Nazuna’s head turned to glare at us, almost like an owl would.
“Sorry you two, but I just told ya,” he grinned, cocking his gun in a fluid motion, preparing to strike, “Joker’s orders.” With those words, he aimed for the toymaker’s head, ruthlessly blowing his head off. Blood stained the pastel pink and blue tile of the toy store, dripping everywhere. The man’s body was slouching against the shelf now, his eyes still and lifeless compared to the velvet red wound to his head. Nazuna walked over, pulling on a pair of white gloves from his pocket, and immediately pulled a knife out, cutting out the man’s innards. I was horrified to say the least. Mayoi was worse and immediately fainted at the sight of blood, his body going limp and hitting the floor.
What the heck?! Nazuna just killed a person! And for no reason! This world… is cursed. There’s something here that’s probably possessing Nazuna! Yes, that’s right. I swear, once I’m back at ES, I’m getting the Pretty 5 gang to call the cops on Nazuna. Wait, but then that would mean no more Ra*bits shows. Dang it Aira, get it together! Killing is way more dangerous and important to think about than shows! Oh, wait, didn’t Nazuna say that Valkyrie was stationed here for a while?… Maybe I can escape this place and find Mika! I certainly don’t want to be left alone with Nazuna right now after all… Ugh, but he killed a person… I may not have known him, but… this world is a cruel place. I should run now. Before I could execute my plan of dragging Mayoi out the door and running off, Nazuna had already finished what he was meant to accomplish. In his palm he held a clock covered in guts. Mentally screaming at myself for not leaving quicker, I decided it better to feign innocence instead of trying to run. Who knows, what if he killed me next?
“Nazuna!” I faked a happy tone, which wasn’t too hard to be honest. Being around ALKALOID and Crazy:B got me used to the insane madness that this world is. “Why’d you kill that man? He didn’t do anything wrong.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Ai-chan,” Nazuna mumbled, putting the clock in his pocket. “Will ya remind me to drop it off with a dormouse later?” I nervously nodded, making sure Nazuna wasn’t suspicious of my behavior. After a short breath and pause, the light finally returned to his eyes, his smile becoming more like the Nazuna that I knew. “Sorry that ya had to see that! Joker’s tasks come before anything in this world, and I was here on orders so…”
“No! It’s totally fine and okay!” I stuttered, trying to spit the words out quickly. I was still so so confused about what just happened. My brain was still swirling in circles as well from the thoughts from my morals, my instincts and my idol fanboy self.
Do I run away now or stick with Nazuna? He’s the only other person in this world that me and Mayoi really know, but then again, there is the fact that Nazuna is now a murderer… Agh, I really wish Pretty 5 was here… They’d definitely have more concrete ideas than me…
“Ai-chan? Are you okay? You seemed a bit tired,” Nazuna walked over, pulling off his blood-stained gloves and tossing them into the conveniently placed trash can by the door. “I’ll check your temp—“
“I’m fine!” I backed a bit, scared of Nazuna. I hoped that he wouldn’t notice the small trembling of my hand or the way my legs were shaking slightly. I think he did end up noticing, because he paused, his hand frozen in the air.
“…There’s an amazing hotel nearby! It’s also where Shu and Mika should be staying, so you can go visit them!” Nazuna tilted his head, his bangs subtly tinted with red. He seemed a bit reluctant, but also, I think he understood the course of emotions in my head. Looking out the window, the sun seemed to be just rising over the horizon.
Okay, I think time is traveling backwards. What kind of world has night before noon, and noon before sunrise? Shaking my head to rid myself of theories, Nazuna and I still had a problem. Mayoi was still passed out, and the two of us together probably were the bare minimum to lift him up. It took up at least 45 minutes dragging him from the toy shop to the hotel that was directly across the street.
Sheesh, maybe after this, I’ll put Mayoi on a diet. He is way too heavy for us to carry around! Nazuna had some kind of perks in the world and got us a discount, though the lady at the front desk kept insisting that our board was paid for and free. Maybe Mayoi and I had an important role here as well? Whatever it is, I hope it doesn’t directly associate with the fact that I spawned in the world with a dress.
The room we got was pretty fancy for something that I was dreaming about. There were two separate beds, one for me and Mayoi. The wallpaper was a deep green with little clover patterns. It really made me think that I was in ‘Clover City.’ Besides that, the staff here kept insisting that we also get free room service and have a waiter by the door at all times. It really is strange that this world accommodates so… Delicately? Wonderfully? My brain was way too tired to deal with comprehending basic descriptive words. Lugging Mayoi onto one of the beds, I ripped the blanket off the bed, before tucking it back in, making sure Mayoi was nice and snug. It was honestly kinda cute seeing Mayoi calm for once, seeing as how he’s always panicking or screaming his head off.
As I was about to drift to bed myself, I remembered that Shu and Mika also happened to be staying here. With a single rap of my knuckles on the door, a butler was already there, waiting for me.
“Aira Shiratori-san, how may I help?” The butler’s voice was quite young, a male at that. The door creaked open under my hand, revealing the young teen.
“Can you take me to Shu Itsuki and Mika Kagehira?” I asked, peeking down the halls to see the other rooms. The butler looked surprised for a second, before shaking his head.
“I’m sorry, Itsuki and Kagehira left three time slots ago. They’ll be at Joker’s Circus by now.” The butler responded, clearly not trying to piss me off (even if I was a bit angry).
Dang Nazuna! First you go killing an innocent on ‘Joker’s Orders’ and now look! Shu and Mika are gone to whoever the heck Joker is! Why do I even bother…? Taking a deep breath in to try and relax, I gave the butler a pat on the shoulder. He didn’t seem much older than me, maybe even younger, and I felt bad for almost snapping in front of him.
“Thanks anyways,” I said, but then realizing I had accidentally added a tone of boredom, gave him a light smile. “Sorry, I’m a bit tired as of now. Say, you mentioned ‘time slots’?”
“We use time slots here in Wonderland since time is all mixed up. Each period is normally about 3 hours for your time system.” The butler seemed eager to explain the nature of this world, and boy was I glad to finally get some answers. “The time of day changes without any pattern. It can go from day to night in an instant.”
Well that explains how it went from midnight in the forest to a bright sunny noon in the city, I thought to myself.
“Shiratori-san should take a rest, you have 16 time periods left.” The butler nodded before trying to make his leave. However, something felt off about the way he worded it.
“W-Wait! Why only 16 time periods?…” I asked, words tumbling out now that I’d yelled for him yet again. “Is something going to happen then?”
“E-Eep!” The butler then proceeded to run down the hall like a scared hamster in a ball, the ends of his tailcoat disappearing around the corner.
O-Oh… I suppose I shouldn’t dig too deeply into that. Maybe it’s just how long my stay can be? That’s probably it. Yep. I closed and locked the door behind me as I entered the room again. The moon was back up in the sky, shining on the city outside the window. It was a strangely comforting sight seeing the moonlight reflect back at me, something that reminded me of the late nights spent at the dorms with ALKALOID and Crazy:B. I know I said before that they were probably the most insane people that I’d ever seen in my life, but to be fair, that was before I met the rest of the ES idols and learned about their lives. And not to brag, but ALKALOID just has a familial connection with each other that you can’t really question. It’s one of those bonds that was simply fated to be. Thinking back on all the wacky and crazy parties we would host in our dorms, I was starting to feel a bit homesick. Sure, I had Mayoi here, but this world was so big and unfamiliar. I wasn’t really sure of anything besides the fact that this was a dream, but even now, doubt began to sink into my mind, the thoughts suffocating. It felt like there was something I was missing, something that would help me see the bigger picture of it all. Thinking in circles won’t do anything to help… I thought, turning out the lights and crawling into the sheets of the bed. Tomorrow should surely go better.
- ••
“Aira? Aira?… Wake up? Aira!” Mayoi was shaking me half to death once I woke up and regained consciousness. Seriously, Mayoi needs to learn how to control his strength and bodily capabilities before anything else.
“Mayo… too much strength…” I mumbled, my eyes almost rolling back into my skull. “Way too much power…” Mayoi’s hands stopped, his eyes wide. He was a bit skittish and lost in thought before letting go.
“Sorry Aira…” Mayoi trembled a bit, playing with his braid. “I get so nervous so easily that it’s hard to control my emotions…”
I sighed, knowing that Mayoi was extremely good at guilt-tripping me into these kinds of situations, even when he didn’t actually mean any harm and was actually terrified. “It’s okay Mayoi… Just be more careful…And go on a diet!” I walked out the door, confusing the heck out of Mayoi. I could even hear him mumbling the words under his breath.
“Diet?…” Mayoi sounded so lost and confused that I couldn’t help but chuckle a bit, covering my mouth so Mayoi didn’t notice. He did end up hearing me with his rabbit ears though, and gave me a nervous frown. “Aira…” he gave me a toothy grin, the smile reaching his eyes. “I’ll beat you to death.”
“Oh what?!—“ Before I could begin protesting, Mayoi pulled off one of the pillows from the sheets and aimed for my head. There was no mercy in his eyes as he striked, bloodlust radiating as he threw the pillow. After falling onto the floor from the hit, I was also enraged, preparing to hit Mayoi in revenge. “Hyah!” I tossed the pillow, though it didn’t do much besides make Mayoi flinch.
“Aira’s attempt to hit me was so cute~ His arms are so weak~” Mayoi taunted, his eyes wide in amusement. “Maybe you should do weight training, since you’re so light and weak,” he smiled, twiddling his fingers. “B-But please don’t try to hit me again…”
“Alright,” I sighed, grabbing the pillow and putting it back on the bed. “We should get going. I think probably 3 time periods have passed.” Mayoi stared at me for a second before blinking.
“What’s a time period?” He asked, scooting in closer. Quickly I explained that time periods were how they measured time, since the time of day could change at an instant. “Oh… I see…” he remarked throughout my mini speech. “So, do you want to head back into Clover City? I know it might be a bit much after watching someone die—“
“I’m okay, I swear,” I mumbled, twiddling my fingers nervously. I was in fact not okay, but I couldn’t let my emotions get in the way. Hopefully this was all still a dream.
Still, that elder probably didn’t deserve to die… Why did Nazuna kill him anyways? Just because some stupid “Joker” demands it doesn’t mean you have to!
“Let’s check out for now and head back into the city,” I explained. “We can re-register if we need to.” We quickly cleaned up the room, leaving it in a better condition than when we first entered, and made our way to the lobby. The lady at the desk seemed eager to shoo us out, even though she’d been so nice before when Nazuna was around.
Typical. We’re probably still underachievers in this world, since we only arrived recently. We haven’t had any chance to introduce ourselves to anyone, so they’re probably wary of us.
The sky was a soft orange, with tinges of red and pink. Sunset perhaps? Since the toy store was so close to the hotel, it only took a minute or so to reach the familiar location. I could feel my stomach gurgle, probably preparing to throw up after I recalled the horrid sight of blood. Even if it was someone that I didn’t know, they didn’t need to die.
“Aira!” Mayoi snapped me out of thinking, pointing forward. “The toy shop…” Mayoi’s mouth was hanging open. I couldn’t tell why he was so flabbergasted until I looked over to the display window. Peering into the store, the floor was all cleaned up, no stains in sight.
“What the heck?…” I mumbled, hiding behind Mayoi and grabbing him by the waist. If there was some kind of dark magic happening, I definitely didn’t want to be sacrificed first. Peering inside, there was also a younger man working the register. He had dark blue hair and a familiar gaze of amethyst eyes. “Wait…” Before Mayoi could squeak anything, I grabbed his wrist, dragging him into the store. There stood Yuzuru Fushimi, one of the fine members.
Yuzuru?! I don’t think I’ve talked to him besides when I went to the fine fan meetings! Why’s he here? Maybe he works here? But then why didn’t Nazuna tell us about him too? Curse you Nazuna!
“Oh, Aira and Mayoi. Welcome,” Yuzuru smiled, setting the dustpan and broom in a corner. “What can I help you with?” We were both confused by Yuzuru’s presence, but Mayoi decided to press on with the conversation.
“H-Hello Fushimi-san… Me and Aira came back to check on t-the… er…” Mayoi scratched his head a bit, struggling to find the words to say. Yuzuru seemed to lose attention, turning to the cash register and counting bills. I sighed, quickly stepping in for him.
“The old man running this store got killed yesterday right here,” I gestured to the general spot where I think the toymaker had died. “Do you know anything about that?”
“I’ve been running this store though. There has never been an elderly man working here.” Yuzuru paused, tilting his head to look up at us. “Are you sure you got the right location?”
Right location? Yeah duh! I’m sure of this! Our hotel was directly in front of the shop! How could we mess up that bad!
“Yes, I’m sure,” I asserted, glaring at Yuzuru. Normally I don’t get too defensive about my memory, but this time I was confident. “Right Mayoi?” I looked over my shoulder, staring at the purple haired teen who was gazing at the shelves of toys. “Mayoi?” I snapped, grabbing his attention again.
“O-Oh! Y-Yes, the murder…” Mayoi stumbled over his words, scratching his head again. “It definitely happened, I remember seeing the guy turn into a clock—“
What?? Last I checked, Mayoi had already fainted before the man was confirmed dead. Did he wake in half a daze or something during that whole moment? I stared at Mayoi for a bit, making a mental note to ask him again outside of the store. Right now, his statement was good for convincing Yuzuru.
“Yep! We both witnessed it, so you can’t dismiss it!” Proudly, I slammed my fist on the counter, grabbing Yuzuru’s attention yet again. “Are you one of them—what’s his name— are you with ‘Joker?’” Yuzuru’s gaze was steady as he walked from behind the counter.
“Aira, I would appreciate it if you would not cause a ruckus?” He gestured to the window, some folks peering in. I was a bit embarrassed that people had witnessed it, and slowly removed my fist from the surface.
“Y-Yes sir…” I was a bit ashamed of my behavior, especially since it wasn’t fitting for an idol! Then again, wasn’t this whole situation weird enough to make someone as freaked out and angered as I am? “So, you’ve been running this joint?”
“Indeed. And I say this with all truth, there is no such old man here.” He smiled softly at the two of us. I felt defeated, but mostly I was mad at Nazuna. He could have left me and Mayoi with at least a little more information, you know? Then again, it would be awkward if he was still here, after he’d killed that guy…
“Aira-chan~” Mayoi cooed, pulling me out of thought. “Look at this plushie!” He picked up a small rabbit plushie that had black fur and mysteriously colored eyes. Yellow and blue, two very familiar colors that I knew to be the eye colors of Mika Kagehira. Come to think of it, almost all of the dolls had some motif tying back to one of the ES units, whether it was a small skull accessory for UNDEAD or a cultural Japanese fan for AKATSUKI.
Seriously Nazuna?! This adventure was going off the tracks, and I don’t even know if it was on the tracks to begin with! I don’t even know where to start learning more… Actually, maybe I do…
“Hmm…” I briefly glanced over to Yuzuru.
Should I ask him about this doll?… He seems pretty open to chatting, and maybe I can get more information…
“Fushimi-san—“ Almost immediately, Yuzuru cut into my words.
“You can simply refer to me as Yuzuru,” he put on another of his picture perfect faces, similar to the one in ES Magazine issue #206… Ah, I’m getting off track. “That doll is based on Mika, as you might be thinking. As a ‘toymaker’ here, I pride myself on keeping the legacy of ES close to my heart.”
“I see…” Mayoi mumbled to himself. “Thanks for the information!” He grabbed my wrist, pulling me closer to the exit of the store. “This was a fun experience! Let’s meet again later!”
“Mayoi!” I grumbled, trying to peel his hand off.
Why is Mayoi so insistent to leave?? I swear to Tatsumi’s God, if it’s because his social battery is drained and he doesn’t want to talk anymore, I’ll punch him in the gut and make him actually regret living. Mayoi gave me a hard look, gesturing to the door.
“Come on…” Mayoi kept waiting, a firm grip on my hand. I rolled my eyes, giving Yuzuru another glance.
“Okay Mayoi, but let me ask something else—“ I pulled away from Mayoi’s side, walking back to Yuzuru. “Er… Do you know where ‘Joker’s Circus’ is?”
“Oh, the circus? It’s somewhere to the south west. I’ll give you a map of the world.” Yuzuru went behind the counter, pulling out a dusty old bin of assorted papers. “There should be one of the older maps in this bin…” Mayoi glared at me again, tapping his foot on the floor.
“Come on…” His nerves were on the loose and Yuzuru dug through the papers. When Yuzuru finally found a map and handed it to me, Mayoi looked absolutely relieved to leave the store. “Alright, can we leave now?”
“Alright!” My patience was running thin as I said a quick goodbye to Yuzuru and pushed Mayoi out the door. I sighed, staring at him. “Mayoi, why were you so eager to get out??”
“I was just stressed! Something didn’t seem right in there…” he mumbled softly. The time period had changed, leaving us in early daylight. The sun shone on the pavement, casting dark shadows streaking across the ground. “So, we head northwest right?” Mayoi stuttered, reaching his hand out for the map.
“Yep! I guess I’ll trust your instinct for now,” I shrugged, handing the map over to Mayoi. Sure, most times Mayoi was just paranoid, but at this point, it would be better to be careful with anything suspicious. “The Joker’s Circus… That’s where Shu and Mika are supposed to be right? I wonder why they’d be at a circus.”
Valkyrie doesn’t normally associate with clownish activities, but I suppose a circus does require actors and theatrical experience. Shu definitely has that down, while Mika is still honing it…
“Ai-chan! S-Shall we go?” Mayoi asked, about to step off in the direction of the forest.
“Coming along!”