Time flows like a stream. I'm quietly swept away. Under the moonlight... Stuck Between Two Worlds Rei had strained the last of her patience. If one more person had to ask her if she "remembered anything" she was going to scream. Everything was so overwhelmingly unfamiliar. At least she recognized common objects like furniture, and things like birds and trees... She could even name something as complex as the IV that was stuck to her arm. They called it Psychogenic Amnesia. She called it an inconvenience. Her "father" did not realize all this though, and made the mistake of bringing flash cards to help Rei along. Deeply insulted, she nearly flung the offending objects back at him. Hell... She was amnesiac, not retarded! She was beginning to hate her stay in the hospital. The itchy cast on her broken right arm, and the annoyingly perky nurses were driving her crazy. She would rather brave the unknown than stay another minute surrounded by these patronizing idiots. If she weren't drugged with medicine most of the time, she would walk out the door herself. And what was up with all the medication anyway? She knew for certain that head-trauma was not terminal... least of all hers. While Rei was stewing over these thoughts in her bed, Dr. Mizuno smiled slightly beside her. The truth was, her patient was already well enough to be discharged from the hospital. But her overprotective father had insisted that his daughter stay in the hospital for a few more days in case the doctors missed something. Kaori knew he meant well and was worried about the young girl's current state of memory loss... but he really was overreacting too much. "Do you feel any pain, Rei-chan? Migraines?" "No..." Rei answered, sounding almost petulant. "I'm 'perfectly' fine." The doctor nodded neutrally and scribbled something on her clipboard. "Mizuno-sensei..." The young girl began seriously, "I want to leave." "I'm afraid that's up to your father," Kaori told her. "But don't worry; you'll be able to leave soon." She nodded to the other girl before she walked out of the room. Rei watched her leave with a frown. 'Cold woman...' She thought before shifting around in her bed uncomfortably. She wished she had television in the room... or even a radio. But she had none of those because "that stupid man" deemed that it was too much for her poor, damaged brain to handle. She wondered if the patriarchal man had always been like that... He was so irrational. She looked out of the window and jerked in surprise. She had seen something, or rather someone-- a flash of long, blonde hair. 'What the...?' But she knew that her room was three stories high. She struggled out of bed, and dragged the IV with her towards the window. Something was compelling her to check. Curiosity? A certainty that she really had seen someone and simply wanted to confirm it with her own eyes? When she looked outside, she saw nothing unusual. Of course! What else did she expect? She was about to turn away, and return to her bed, when she saw it again. She followed the figure with astonished eyes as a blonde-haired girl, with strange-looking pigtails who wore a peculiar sailor uniform, ran down the road away from the hospital building. What was bizarre about this otherwise normal sight was the fact that this girl was nearly transparent and that her movements were caught in slow motion. 'Rabbit...' The thought came unbidden in her mind. She blinked and shook her head. Then checked to see if the apparition was still there. Nothing. It was gone. 'I must've hit my head harder than I thought... I'm having hallucinations.' She shook her head again-- troubled with this weird, new development. Friday... Her father finally relented to have her discharged from the hospital on Friday. Well... today was that day and no one showed up. For some odd reason, Rei felt that this sort of thing was familiar. She felt uncomfortable waiting alone in the Hospital lobby and regretted chasing away the fussy nurse that was assigned to watch her. The people that would pass through the doors, especially the sick ones, were making her feel very ill. One case stood out of the rest... One child was wheeled in. She seemed to be locked in some kind of happy trance. The small girl looked at her with an open-mouthed smile, saliva dripping down one corner of her lip. She overheard the doctors call it the "Gaudium Syndrome." She had quickly looked away, completely unnerved by the happy emptiness in the child's eyes. After waiting for almost an hour, the dark-haired girl had finally had it and stood up. She could not take being inside this clinical prison for another minute. A yellow convertible, a Mazda Miata, pulled up alongside the curb just when Rei walked outside. "Hey lady, want a ride?" The sandy blonde-haired driver called out cheekily, dark green eyes twinkling. Rei paused and stared at the driver for a while, a rather good-looking man at that, suspicious and intrigued at the same time. "Do I know you?" "I work for your father." When he stepped out of the car, Rei was amazed to realize that he was actually a 'she.' Sure she was tall, had boyish-cut hair, and was wearing mannish khaki slacks with a loose, white button-down shirt... But the roundness of her breasts that hinted below her shirt was obvious to those who looked. "I'm Ten'ou Haruka. Your father called me a few minutes ago to pick you up." "A few minutes ago? I was waiting for almost an hour!" "Really?" The amiable smile on the handsome woman's face fell, and was replaced by a contrite one. "Your father was probably held up in an extremely important meeting and just recently managed to get out of it to call me to pick you up." Rei could not help but feel that the words seemed like a white lie. No... She KNEW it was a white lie. She let out an aggrieved sigh before walking around the car and got in. Haruka got in as well and drove out of the Hospital and onto the main road. The blonde could not help but glance at Rei at the corner of her eye. She was sure Yasujiro had told her that his daughter had amnesia... But Rei was acting like Rei, who did not seem surprised by Haruka's convincing excuses-- as if she had heard them before. She knew that the young girl was extremely perceptive before the accident but this was just a little eerie. "Do you remember anything, Rei-dono?" Haruka ventured out, testing the waters. "If you ask me that question one more time... I'm going to stick my foot in your mouth..." Rei whispered dangerously, not even looking in the blonde's direction when she said that. Haruka smirked. Rei was Rei... Amnesiac or not. "Sorry, I just had to ask." "Why?" "Well... You're acting like your normally peachy self; I thought your father was lying when he said you had amnesia." That finally brought a smile to Rei's face, albeit a self-deprecating one. "I was always that grumpy?" "Only on your better days." Haruka joked while she turned the car to the left at a less busy intersection and skillfully maneuvered them around the other stagnant cars. "Would you like something to eat before you meet up with your father? I bet you hardly even ate that cardboard-flavored junk they serve in the hospital. I know I wouldn't." "Yeah... I'd like that." The dark-haired answered gratefully. She never took her eyes away from the scenery that flashed in front of her as the car sped ahead. She felt like a tourist as she admired the unfamiliar and beautiful shops and restaurants that lined the streets. She admired the goods that she would catch glimpses of, within these buildings. She inwardly vowed to re-acquaint herself to this wonderful place... if her father did not decide to lock her in some house for her own safety. She rolled her eyes at that probability. The car slowed down to a stop in front of a restaurant called Anna Miller. "We used to always eat here together. So don't be surprised if some of the waitresses recognize us." Haruka told her, a strange-- almost impish grin on her face, as she held the door for her younger charge. Rei was looking at her oddly as she walked inside, so she did not see some of the available waitresses suddenly perk up and moved towards them. "Good afternoon!" They greeted brightly, startling Rei. The dark-haired girl's eyes widened when she finally took in their appearances-- especially the exaggerated emphasis on their breasts and legs by the cut of their rather short uniforms. The ribbon above the butt... It was just so, so huge! 'Oh my god...' She thought. "Haruka-chan! Rei-sama!" A short and cute red-haired waitress suddenly launched herself towards Rei and wrapped her arms around her neck, careful to not jar the cast between their bodies. "Rei-sama! I was so worried! I thought that I would never see you again!" She pulled away, their faces inches from each other, to pout at the older girl. "You made Naru-chan cry. Boo...!" 'Wha--!' Rei was dumbstruck, flinching away from the other girl's nearness-- which was hard to do since she was wrapped around her like an octopus. "Whoah there, Osaka-chan! Rei-dono just got out of the hospital." Haruka laughed, stepping behind the red-head named Osaka Naru, and pried her away from the other girl. Naru immediately latched on to Haruka, blushing like a happy bride in her arms. "Haruka-chan! You're so mean! You haven't visited us for a while! Naru-chan missed you!" "You did? But why would such a pretty girl like you miss someone like me? Don't you have dashing suitors pounding away at your doorstep everyday?" The blonde was practically oozing with charm as she smiled down at the smaller girl flirtatiously. Rei shook her head at this public display of affection and went ahead to look for an available table. A few minutes later, Haruka joined her and sat across from her. She had a sheepish expression on her face when she met Rei's arched eyebrow. Naru appeared beside them and put a couple of menus in front of them. Then she whipped out her little notepad and pen, and finally put on a professionally cute air that was Anna Miller's trademark. "What would you like to order?" Haruka did not touch her menu, knowing what to order already. She waited patiently as Rei perused hers. "Uh... I'd like the club sandwich and some iced tea please." The dark-haired girl told her. "Same here." Haruka added. Naru jotted the orders down in her notepad. "Is that all?" She saw her customers nod. "Thank you. The food will be served in a few minutes." The red-head bounced away, but not before winking at Haruka. The table was silent for a moment. Rei could not help but stare at the waitresses that passed by. 'Such tight shirts...' She thought. 'How can they breathe in that thing?' She turned around to see her companion looking back at her intently. She was annoyed to feel embarrassed to be caught staring like a hormonal pubescent boy and looked around again, this time, nonchalantly observing the kind of people who ate here. Otaku... They were everywhere. What kind of place was this! "THIS is where we eat most of the time?" Rei asked incredulously. "ALL the time actually." Haruka answered, stifling a chuckle. She was extremely amused at how fidgety Rei seemed, especially when she looked like she was trying hard not to look at the suggestively-uniformed girls. "You can look all you want, you know? The waitresses here are used to it. Touching them is a big no-no though." She grinned when the other girl flashed her a glare. "Are you sure? Because one of them was willing enough to be touched by you." Rei retorted sarcastically. The blonde blushed at this. "Yeah... I get that a lot." "I bet..." The younger girl muttered under her breath. Out loud, she said, "Does 'Naru-chan' know you're a girl?" Haruka nodded. "Why do you dress like that?" The blonde looked mildly offended at that. "Hey, it's not exactly the latest thing to hit the stores but it's comfortable." "No, I mean-- forget it..." And Rei had accused Haruka of putting her foot in her mouth earlier. She was no different. Feeling like a fool, she refused to meet the other's eyes. 'Jeez... Defensive much?' Haruka thought, chagrined. She kept forgetting that Rei was like a newborn--everything was new to her. "Look Rei-dono," she began, "it's really quite simple. I am a boy trapped in a girl's body." She had said the words humorously, but she was alarmed to see the blood drain from Rei's face. "So um..." The younger girl started, and Haruka was afraid that she was going to ask her the dreaded question. "You said we ate here together a lot. Are... Are we together?" At first, the blonde was confused with the question. She had not been expecting that one. Then she realized what exactly it was that Rei had asked and doubled over in laughter. "Kami... NO! Your father is going to kill me if we were! What made you think we were a couple anyway?" By now, Rei was wishing really hard that the ground would rise up and swallow her whole. She had never felt so mortified-- by her own audacity and foolishness to ask such a ridiculous question. "Sorry," she mumbled, "I'm just grasping at straws here... I was just trying to find out what kind of person I am and what kind of life I was supposed to lead..." "You don't have to rush, Rei-dono." Haruka offered sympathetically. "You'll learn more about yourself, little by little, in due time." "Yeah..." There was a short and uncomfortable pause which Naru interrupted when she came back. "Here are your orders!" She announced cheerfully and arranged the food and drinks in front of the pair. She turned to Rei and sweetly spoke to her before she left them again, "It's great seeing you again, Rei-sama." Rei, fearing the worst, pointed at the retreating girl's back and queried, "Are we...?" "Hell no." Haruka chuckled. "She's not your type." The assembly hall of TA Gakuen bustling with students. There were a lot of excited whispers. There was a rumor going around that their idol was back and that she would be addressing everyone today. Of course, it was just a rumor with the prospect that it couldn't be true. Of course, as rumors went-- 50 of them were true. Hino Rei was returning to school-- just not today. And it was the headmaster who had everyone gathered in hall to address the issue regarding the girl, himself. "Good morning, everyone." He spoke, his nasal voice resonating in the loudspeakers. "As you all know, on the unfortunate night, a week and a half ago, one of our dear students was involved in a car accident. She lay unconscious, but recovering, in the hospital for two days. Well... She will be returning next week. "Yes, you heard me clearly. Statesman Hino's daughter will be coming back to school on Monday. Now, the reason why I gathered you here today was to tell you that I expect each and every one of you to treat Hino Rei-san with sensitivity and tact. I have been told that she has amnesia due to her head-trauma. Bearing these things in mind... You should treat her accordingly. "Now... Are there any questions?" The hall erupted with raised hands and voices. "He... WHAT!" Monday morning, her 'first' day of school... and she was already wishing she had not left the hospital. 'Of all the infuriating things...' Rei stormed into her father's study, Haruka hurriedly rushing after her and trying to intervene. "I'm sure your father meant well..." The blonde began only to be cut off. "Are you trying to run a freak show... 'Dad?'" Rei demanded angrily, approaching her oddly calm father sitting behind a large, red Mahogany desk. "Am I the main attraction?" "Of course not, Rei-chan." Yasujiro answered serenely. "Then WHY did you call my school and asked the staff to tell EVERYBODY that I'm brain-damaged!" Rei started pacing, too furious to stay in one place. She was so tempted to hit her father over the head with her cast. What had he been thinking! "Alright, first of all you're not brain-damaged." The older man looked upset with that and was trying to use the most soothing voice he had possible. "And I was only trying to make sure your classmates won't hurt you or take advantage of your... condition." "Did you ever stop to think that I can handle myself? GOD! What am I? Incompetent? Helpless? I don't need everyone in school to recognize that I'm the retarded one they had heard about and start pointing fingers at me!" "Stop saying those things about yourself! You're not like that!" "Did you tell YOURSELF that!" Haruka had buried her face in her hand. What a mess... She should've just kept her big mouth shut when Rei had voiced her concerns over her re-integration to a school life that she could not remember. She could not look at the arguing father and daughter. But she could feel Yasujiro's accusing eyes boring holes into her head. Finally the blonde pulled her hand away and yelled to be heard over the shouting match. "You're going to be late for school, Rei-dono!" "Fine!" Rei spat back and stomped out of the room. Haruka turned to her boss. "Sir... I'll be driving Rei-dono to school now." "Fine!" Yasujiro snapped before rolling the chair to face the window, hiding his tense form from view. Without another word, the blonde left the room quickly. Rei ignored her for the rest of the drive. When they finally arrived in TA Gakuen, she jumped out of the car before the blonde could speak or apologize. When she walked through TA's grand and intricately designed entrance gates, she was instantly surrounded by school girls talking all at once. "Rei-sama! Welcome back!" "Rei-sama, how are you?" "If you need any help, Rei-sama, just ask me!" "Rei-sama!" "Rei-sama!" The dark-haired tried to shield her broken arm from their enthusiastic expression of female adoration and tried to push through the crowd with little success. Finally, her already frayed patience spent, she screamed, "BACK OFF!" Just as the nearby girls instinctively stepped back in surprise at her vehemence, Rei felt herself being scooped up in protective arms and was quickly carried through the mass and into the main building's entrance where Haruka finally let her down. "Thanks..." Rei looked up at the taller woman with awe and gratitude. "No need." The blonde answered, smiling sheepishly. "I was just making it up to you for not stopping your father's foolhardy idea." Rei thwacked her shoulder harmlessly for that one. "Yeah... Whatever... Get out of here." "Sure thing, princess." The other woman winked. "I'll be picking you up later. And I might probably do that literally if the afternoon is anything like this morning. Until then... Gambatte, Rei-dono!" Rei nodded, took a deep breath to gather her courage, and entered the building like she was approaching the gallows. Haruka mentally wished her luck one more time before turning around to walk in the opposite direction. As a doctor, Mizuno Kaori knew she must keep a certain professional distance from her patients. But treating patients with the Gaudium Syndrome was making it hard for her to keep detached. In fact she was close to feeling more than a little worried and anxious. She watched the patients through the glass window of the ICU. The ward was full to capacity with people with Gaudium Syndrome and more were coming everyday. As far as the research department knew, there was no cure for this weird psychological illness. Was there an epidemic? Was this simply mass hysteria? But what could cause such a thing? She turned her attention to a child, the latest one who was brought in. A Jane Doe-- most likely a street urchin judging by the rags that she wore-- was found standing, catatonic, in the middle of the road-- the cars speeding and blaring their horns past her until a concerned bystander was finally smart enough to realize that something was wrong with this little girl. So far, out of everyone with the illness, she was the most responsive. The research department, whom Kaori was actually a part of, wanted to bring her to their private facilities to perform tests on her. Kaori shook her head in pity at the little girl's impending fate. A lab rat, she was going to be... But she was no one... A street kid was not going to be missed. She turned away from the window and left. She did not notice a small figure appear beside the Jane Doe's bed. The little girl turned towards the newcomer, smiling happily. If only Kaori had stuck around, she would've witnessed a miracle. The child spoke. "Deedee-onee-chan." "Hello Dumdum-onee-chan." The mirror image of the girl, this one who had inky-black hair instead of platinum-blonde like the other, spoke. "Did you have a nice tour?" "Yes, onee-chan. The people in this world were very nice to me." The other twin slapped her hard. "Idiot! They are all faking it! This world is as crummy as the last!" "I'm sorry onee-chan." Dumdum sat up and pressed a hand gingerly on her cheek. But she felt nothing. Things like sensations and feelings were eradicated from her system a long time ago. There was only happiness. Pure, unadulterated, ignorant bliss... Deedee reached out to tear the IV from her sister's arm. The sisters watched the blood spurt out for a moment, before Deedee bent down to lick along her arm-- following the bloody trail until she reached the wound where she began to suck on it. Dumdum smiled happily. Finally, when the wound stopped bleeding, Deedee straightened and pulled her sister down. "Come on... The queen is waiting for us." "Yes." Dumdum agreed with quiet joviality before they both disappeared, unnoticed, in thin air. +Author's Note+ Is it just me or are the chapters getting shorter and shorter. O.o;;; Hehe... I'm sick right now so the next update might take a little longer. I typed this baby as best as I can in my state! But I am about ready to collapse. Damn, I'm obsessed... The reference to Anna Miller is true in real life. My mom told me about it and about the waitresses there. I am so envious she got to see them! T.T If I was there, I might've probably joined the Otakus in the ranks. Lol. Naw... The "-dono" suffix means you are regarding someone with respect. I believe it translates to madam or sir. You probably all know what otaku means already (because I know anyone reading this fanfic is a pure-blooded BSSM otaku) so I'm not explaining that one. Gambatte means 'hang in there' or 'good luck.' Anyone noticed any fairytale allusions yet? Anyone :P Like I said... The theme may seem unoriginal but the plot isn't.
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