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Six-year-old Yata Misaki really shouldn’t have followed that weird rabbit into the woods.
He really shouldn’t have peered into the abnormally large opening located under a bunch of large tree roots, either.
But here he was now, stuck in a large white room, with nothing but a key on the floor and a box of macarons. A small mousehole with a locked door was a few feet away from the key, which Misaki assumed was the key to said mousehole. As to what was on the other side of it... he had little a clue.
There was a note on the box saying ‘Eat Me’, which Misaki could definitely read at his age. Although it certainly was a little suspicious – who wouldn’t be suspicious about suddenly finding themselves in a white room with a box of macarons? – Misaki paid no mind and ate the reddish-orange macaron. It tasted an awful lot like the weird pastries his mother used to bring home from the old lady’s bakery down the street.
What Misaki didn’t expect to happen, though, was his body shrinking to the size of his younger sister’s smaller play-pretend dolls. The tiny key that he noticed earlier was much too large to fit in his hand, but the mousehole’s lock seemed to fit it perfectly now that he was at a small enough height to really see the size of the keyhole.
Being a curious young boy, Misaki ran over to the key and dragged it over to the keyhole – really, it was only the length of his arm at most, but he felt quite lazy at that moment and thought that dragging was the easier option at this point – and lifted it to the lock. It was a lot lighter than Misaki had imagined it to be, and he was silently thankful to whoever made the key for considering the difficulties of smaller things and creating a sort-of workaround for it. He felt satisfaction wash over him as the key clicked into the lock, and he suddenly stilled.
“What could possibly be at the other side of this door, though?” Misaki asked himself. I’m quite curious…
With said curiosity overriding his instinct to run away from the ‘unknown’, he turned the lock, pushed the door open, and took a step out into a new world. Misaki seemed to find himself in a rather large forest now; there were leaves and trees he hadn’t ever seen before, along with animals that made no sense to him whatsoever. There were flies that had bread for wings and flowers that seemed to sing and dance from their spot on the ground. There were snakes that looked more like gummy worms, and even the vines vaguely resembled green-colored string cheese.
There was a very faint trail – really there wasn’t any sort of trail to be seen, but there seemed to be a path that had previously been tread – and Misaki found himself following it. A few hundred steps later – really, he counted, for he was certain he was a smart child – he finds himself a rather large meadow with nothing but short-cut grass and dots of purple and blue flowers scattered around everywhere.
Misaki couldn’t really tell where he was at this point, nor where he even came from at that. The trail he had been following earlier seemed to suddenly vanish – as if someone had been walking behind him and quickly brushing the trail off. The thought of being lost didn’t scare the boy, no, it merely made him even more curious, even more adventurous.
He started to circle around the meadow, taking in the mountainside far, far away, and the quiet rustling of the woods around him. Creatures shrilled and squawked, spoke and un-spoke. Sometimes he’d hear speaking that sounded like something of his language, but after a while it all blurred into even more gibberish. After finding himself at the opposite side of where he started from, he noticed a tiny knife stuck to a tree. It was a pretty knife; the handle had intricate designs that reminded Misaki of the moon and stars, and the knife itself was a clean, shiny silver.
He pulled it out of the tree with a grunt, surprised to find it so difficult to do so. With the force of his own pull he fell back a couple of steps and suddenly bumped into something that was soft, but hard at the same time. Whipping his head around, though, Misaki found absolutely nothing in front, above, nor below him that would have been made of such soft yet hard matter.
“That was odd.” Misaki murmured, twirling the knife in his hand. “I swear I bumped into something just now…”
He took a tentative step forward, towards where he found himself bouncing off of what seemed to be thin air, and ran smack into something again.
“Ow!”
Misaki jumped at the sudden voice. He spun around and around, but there wasn’t anything close to him besides the trees and seemingly inanimate flowers. He could’ve sworn that the voice was close by, though. “Who’s there?” He called out, not exactly hoping for an answer but all the same hoping that something would come greet him. He had the knife ready, at least.
He heard something like a tongue click before the voice spoke again. “You’re not from here, are you?” The speaker had yet to reveal itself to Misaki.
“I’m afraid not…” Misaki mumbled, knife still clutched in his hand. He didn’t know how to use it properly, but he’d find out soon enough - if he had to use it that is. “What’s your name?” He asked again.
He heard a tongue click again and suddenly found himself face-to-face with a boy around his height, if not a little taller, with dark, dark hair and piercing blue eyes. He was wearing a simple black hoodie and dark blue jeans – it was a fashion sense Misaki wasn’t aware of, but he liked the look of it.
“Why?” The boy said, eyes cold and guarded. Their faces were mere inches away from one another, and if Misaki concentrated hard enough be would have been able to notice the heat of the boy’s breath dance across his face.
“Isn’t it normal to tell people their names?” Misaki asked innocently. “I’m… Yata.”
“Yata?”
“Yeah…”
The dark-haired boy’s eyes flickered to the knife and back to Misaki, squinting. “You’re not telling the entire truth.”
“What do you mean?” Misaki suddenly felt the need to be defensive. His hold on the knife tightened. “My name is Yata!”
“That’s only half of your name, though.” The boy commented, not once looking away from Misaki.
“Well yeah, Yata’s my family name…” Misaki was a terribly embarrassing name, for it was a feminine one - and not one bit did he think of himself as girly.
“What’s your first name, then?” The mysterious boy pressed.
Misaki shook his head. “I’d rather not say…”
“Then I won’t say my name.” The boy shrugged before disappearing once again.
“Wait!” Misaki cried, reaching out with his free hand, but only met thin air. He blinked once, twice, before his mind registered what had just happened. “Where did you go?”
Panic started to settle in his stomach. Where did they go? Where am I? How do I go home?
“Hello?” He murmured, unsure of what to do next anymore. “Are you still here? Hello?”
“What?” It was the same voice as earlier. Misaki visibly relaxed, then realized a little late that the voice came from below his line of vision.
He looked down and found himself eye-to-eye with a small bluish-black cat with the same piercing blue eyes as the boy from earlier. If one looked closely enough, they would find that the cat also had black-ish stripes that lined his entire body – of course, Misaki didn’t notice that much at all.
“Are you…?” Misaki didn’t quite know how to phrase his question, so he left it vague in hopes that the cat would catch on – and answer, maybe, considering everything here seemed to have a conscious of their own.
“What do you want?” The cat spoke, and Misaki instantly recognized it.
“You’re a cat!?” Misaki exclaimed, crouching down to get a better view. It was only then that the stripes were more prominent, but Misaki still didn’t care much for them – who would, if they just found out that there was a person that could turn invisible and into a cat?
“So what?” The cat growled.
“Why are you so mad?” Misaki asked, eyeing the way the cat’s ears flicked in different directions from time to time.
“You’re annoying.”
“Hey!” Misaki pouted. “I just wanted to know your name.”
“But you won’t even tell me yours.”
“I told you, it’s Yata!”
“Yata what?”
“Yata….” Misaki trailed off. “Are you going to laugh at me if I told you what it was?” He really didn’t want to upset him, so maybe he could give this curious creature an exception and give him his name – after all, he was a person that had the ability to turn into a small cat. A kitten, almost.
“I don’t see why I would.” The cat seemed to shrug.
“It’s…” he fidgeted a little before answering. “It’s Misaki.” He murmured, looking away. He felt a blush begin to decorate his face.
“Yata… Misaki?” The cat seemed to be deep in thought.
“Yeah….”
“Okay, Misaki.” The cat turned and began to walk away, leaving Misaki gaping a little.
“Don’t call me that! And where are you going?” Misaki stood to catch up to the cat. It wasn’t very hard, considering its small size and even smaller legs. “Hey – you have to tell me your name now!”
The cat stopped momentarily before proceeding towards the meadow again. “…. Fushimi.”
“Fushimi what?”
The cat seemed to stall. “…. Saruhiko.”
“Saruhiko?”
The cat clicked its tongue. “Didn’t I just say that?”
“Well you did, but… doesn’t ‘saru’ mean monkey?”
“And what if it does?”
“Ah… nothing.” Misaki couldn’t help the smile that snuck its way onto his face. “Saruhiko… huh?”
“I’m the Cheshire Cat, too.” Saruhiko mumbled, barely audible enough for Misaki to hear.
“Cheshire Cat?”
“Yeah.”
“What does that mean?”
“Something an idiot like you probably wouldn’t understand right now.”
Misaki frowned at the answer, but didn’t push it. Saruhiko was a new friend, so he wanted to be at his best behavior for now. Besides, it’s not like he’d remember that little bit of information anyways. Fushimi Saruhiko was enough for him. Suddenly… “Hey, just where on earth am I, anyways?”
“Shut up. You talk a lot.” Came Saruhiko’s immediately reply. Misaki scowled, but bit back a reply in favor of the comfortable silence. They were quiet as they walked to the center of the meadow. He didn’t really know why he was sticking around with Saruhiko, but he felt strangely at ease around him.
“So… where am I?” Misaki tried to ask once again after they had reached the middle of the meadow. There was a large rock situated in the middle of it, with enough of a curve to allow the both of them cover from the sun. Saruhiko had transformed back into a person and was lying on his side, facing away from Misaki.
It was only then that Misaki really noticed the cat ears on his head and a tail protruding from his backside. He had a sudden urge to touch them, but remembered how badly his own cat had reacted to that when he had done it for the first time, so he kept his hands at his side.
“… Wonderland.” Saruhiko mumbled a moment later. “In Jungle.” He paused. “The knife… can I have it back now?”
“What knife?” Misaki asked.
“The one in your hand.”
“Oh!” Misaki had completely forgotten about it. “It’s yours? Why was it in a tree?”
“I was practicing.”
“Huh?”
“I was throwing it around.”
“Isn’t that dangerous for a kid?”
“Wonderland… forces you to mature fast.” Saruhiko’s voice was barely above a whisper. He turned to lay on his back and gestured towards the knife. “Give.”
“Fine, fine.” Misaki huffed, handing Saruhiko the knife. Saruhiko places it in his hands and flicked his fingers down, sending the knife flying into his sleeve. Misaki was stunned; all that happened in less than a second, and Saruhiko didn’t look the least but hurt by it. Where did it go?
He didn’t think too much of it, because Saruhiko had given him the name of his location – twice. “Wonderland… huh.” Misaki pondered the name, but hadn’t ever heard of that place. “Where in the world can Wonderland be? It’s certainly not near Shizume… is it even in Japan?” He had started to talk to himself, which Saruhiko promptly ignored as he dozed off on the cool grass.
When Misaki had finally realized his audience was nonexistent, he sat by Saruhiko and leaned back on his hands to watch what he could see of the sky. It was mostly clear, but the clouds that were floating around looked rather funny. There was one in the shape of a piece of bread, another that looked like a truffle he had been given by his mom the other day, and even one that seemed to depict a horse of some sort.
“What peculiar clouds.” Misaki mumbled as he dropped onto the grass, arms cushioning his head. “Well, everything around here is rather odd, now that I look at it. Bread-winged creatures certainly aren’t a common thing in Shizume. There’s also the talking and dancing flowers, and then this fellow here isn’t a normal human either, now that I look at it…”
“You’re loud.” Saruhiko turned to lie on his back before turning his head to look at Misaki. “Why are you so loud?”
“Huh? I dunno… though I’ve always been told I’m loud and annoying by my friends at school. I guess it’s just me.” Misaki said, not looking to Saruhiko despite knowing that his eyes were on him. “I ask a lot of questions because I have a lot of questions, so I ask everyone the same question until I’m satisfied with their answers. That’s all there is to it, I think.”
“You’re an idiot.”
Misaki turned to glare at his companion. Saruhiko had been calling him an idiot quite often lately, and they haven’t even been acquainted for half a day yet. “Why are you calling me an idiot?”
“You have to ask the right person the right question in order to get the right answer, stupid.”
I’m stupid, now? Misaki turned to glare at him. He wanted to yell, but his brain had registered what Saruhiko just said before he could open his mouth. “Well… you’re right about that.” He lied onto the grass and turned so that his entire body was facing Saruhiko. His bright amber yes met bored blue ones. Saruhiko’s eyes seemed to have a sort of catlike attribute to them, but they were hardly noticeable – at least, Misaki didn’t bother to stare at his eyes for a long amount of time despite the slight desire to. “Do you ask a lot of questions too?”
“I’d rather not ask as much as I need to.”
“Why?”
“It’s easier for me to get the answers myself.” Saruhiko yawned as he turned his body to the side, fully facing Misaki.
“Doesn’t asking questions usually get you the answers though?”
Saruhiko clicked his tongue. “I’d rather find out for myself than have other people tell me what to do. A lot of people are liars, you know.” Misaki’s eyes widened at the amount of spite in Saruhiko’s words, but his expression softened immediately when he noticed that Saruhiko had begun to fidget a little.
Misaki didn’t really know why, but he felt really safe and comfortable around Saruhiko, so he took the chance and threw an arm around Saruhiko. He froze under Misaki’s touch, causing the one that han an arm around the other to frown. “I won’t hurt you, if that’s what you’re afraid of...” Misaki mumbled, watching Saruhiko’s stricken face. “My mom always told me that hugs help when someone’s not in a good mood.”
“This isn’t a hug though.” Saruhiko mumbled back, turning his focus to the grass between them.
“It’s as close to a hug as I can get right now.” Misaki stuck his tongue out playfully. He watched Saruhiko’s expression begin to soften, and beamed when Saruhiko finally started to relax. “See? You’re feeling better already!”
“Am not.” Saruhiko chanced a glance towards Misaki and started to stare at Misaki. The latter didn’t really notice that, of course, but he reveled in the way Saruhiko’s eyes seemed to have somehow captured the sky and the sea within them.
The peacefulness of the meadow started to affect Misaki. He had an irrational desire to just lay there and take a nap with Saruhiko under his arm and so he did. However, before sleep took over his entire system he felt something vanish from under his arm, only to be replaced by something warm and soft burrowing itself into his chest.
He smiled when he realized what – or rather, who – it was.
______________
Misaki woke not too long after he had dozed off, and looked down to watch his companion stir as well. Saruhiko was in his cat form and tucked comfortably under Misaki’s arm, his small body leaning against Misaki’s chest in a way that made his chest tighten oddly. Seeing this made him think of his own cat back in Shizume and he grinned. If only my cat was as affectionate as this.
Saruhiko blinked his eyes open and peeked his head out of his curled position to look at Misaki. He immediately noticed Misaki watching him. “What?” He muttered, looking away. Misaki could definitely imagine a blush on his face if Saruhiko were in human form at the moment.
“Ah, it’s nothing…” Misaki sat up and looked around, careful not to jostle Saruhiko around too much. He picked up Saruhiko the way he picked up his own cat and set him on his lap. The sun had begun to set and the sky was bathed in hues of oranges and reds. “What a pretty sky.” He breathed.
“It looks pretty normal to me.” Saruhiko was still curled up and looked about ready to take another nap.
“You just don’t know how to appreciate things.” Misaki fired back, albeit playfully. He didn’t take his eyes off of the sky as he bantered lightly with Saruhiko. He vaguely wondered if his mother would let him take her camera to Wonderland next time – if he could ever find his way home, that is.
Saruhiko hopped off and transformed back to his human form, sitting next to Misaki and and bringing his knees up to his chest, hugging them loosely while resting his cheek on his knees. He was looking at Misaki with a curious glint in those eyes of his. “Why are you here?” He asked suddenly.
Misaki was taken aback by the question and he turned to look at Saruhiko. Their faces were really close again, but Misaki didn’t mind. “In Wonderland?”
“Nn.” Saruhiko’s ears were cast downwards, but it wasn’t like the way his cat would do to indicate they were upset or anything. It looked more tired than anything else.
Misaki shrugged. “I saw a funny looking rabbit running around the forest near my home and I followed it. I found myself in a room with some yummy macarons, so I ate one and I shrunk!” Misaki laughed at the memory. “Then I saw this weird door and opened it, and that’s how I found myself here.”
“Hmm.” Saruhiko set his chin on his knees, looking towards the forest.
“How old are you?” Misaki suddenly asked. There was something about Saruhiko that made him seem both older and younger than Misaki, all at the same time. He wanted to get as much information about his new friend as he possibly could. “And how come you have ears and a tail?”
“I’m six, I think.” Saruhiko mumbled, and went on to immediately answer the other question. “I was born with them.”
“Awesome!” Misaki beamed, looking towards his friend. “I wish I had ears and a tail, too.”
There was a hint of sadness in Saruhiko’s midnight eyes. “I’m the only one left.”
Misaki’s eyes widened in shock. “What do you mean?”
“My town got destroyed. I’m the only one left with cat ears and a tail, I think.”
Misaki frowned. Was he allowed to take Saruhiko home with him? “Are you okay?” He found himself asking Saruhiko. He didn’t like the look in Saruhiko’s eyes.
“Of course I am.” Saruhiko sighed. “There are lots of people in Wonderland that are kind to me.”
“But… Do you have any friends though?”
“… No.”
“What about me, then?”
Saruhiko turned to look at him again. “What about you?”
“I thought… we were friends or something.” Misaki mumbled, suddenly feeling embarrassed. “Where I’m from, you use first names with people you’re very close friends with.”
“Is that so…” Saruhiko continued to stare, but his eyes held a faraway look to them. “Friends… huh…”
Misaki just smiled. “Have you never had a friend before?”
“Not… that I know of.”
“Then let me be your friend!” Misaki grinned. Saruhiko’s eyebrows knitted together.
“Your face is going to break if you smile any more.”
Misaki laughed, but kept his smile. I can’t help it! I’m happy!” He tossed an arm around Saruhiko’s shoulders. “So… we’re friends now, right?”
He looked away. “I guess…”
The moment passed and the two of them watched the sun slowly dip below the horizon, leaving the sky tinted with hues of blues and purples before it gave way to the starry night sky. Fireflies had begun to dance around in the meadow, but the weight of Saruhiko’s body leaning against him kept Misaki from standing up and chasing them as they danced around the quiet air around them.
“Saruhiko.” Misaki breathed, hoping that his hearing was as great as a cat’s. “Look at this.” He didn’t know if Saruhiko was watching already.
Saruhiko stirred a little and reached up to rub his eyes, as if just waking up from a nap. “What?” he mumbled. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, nothing, just…” Misaki sighed happily. “It’s really pretty.”
Saruhiko looked around them and saw the same thing Misaki saw – a sky littered with stars and fireflies dancing all around. “This is normal.” He deadpanned, yawning quietly. His ears were laid back and his tail swished lightly as he tried to push away the sleepiness.
“Normal? What do you mean normal? I’ve never seen this before…” Misaki frowned. He’d kill to be able to see this every night. All Misaki ever saw when he went to bed at night was a high ceiling and nothing else.
“It’s normal for me because I live in this meadow.” He mumbled. “… They’re just fireflies.”
“They’re beautiful though.” Misaki smiled and leaned his head on top of Saruhiko’s, which had been leaning on his shoulder. “I’d love to see this every day.”
“Then stay here.” Saruhiko’s voice was barely a whisper.
“I’d love to,” Misaki murmured, “but I have to go home and see my mom or else she’ll have my head for being gone so long.”
“Then what are you doing here?” Saruhiko’s voice momentarily turned icy.
“Saruhiko?” Misaki didn’t like the way Saruhiko’s voice sounded. It reminded him of when the school kids would push him away.
“Leave if you need to.” Saruhiko lifted his head off of Misaki’s shoulder to give him a glare.
Misaki shook his head. “I don’t want to leave you. And even if I had to leave… It’s not like I’ve the slightest clue as to how to leave.”
“Go back from where you came from.” Saruhiko’ expression didn’t budge, causing Misaki to fidget under his gaze.
“I’m afraid I don’t even know where that is at this point.” Misaki mumbled, looking away. “I’m as good as stuck here now.”
Saruhiko clicked his tongue. “What are you going to do about it?” he asked as he moved closer to Misaki.
“I guess I’ll have to stay with you until I know how to go home.” He sighed, turning to look at Saruhiko. They’re noses were barely touching, and Misaki suddenly felt shy; he had never been this close to anyone before aside from his cat and parents, as well as his sibling. His face heated up as he fought to remember what else he was going to say. “I… don’t know what else to do anyways... I’m lost.”
Saruhiko sighed before leaning down and plopping his head onto Misaki’s lap. Misaki took this as a sign that Saruhiko’s bad mood had passed and he was somehow satisfied with his answer. “Let’s just go to sleep now.” He curled up his body, as if to use Misaki as his pillow for the night.
“You sleep an awful lot.” Misaki remarked, but he wasn’t upset or anything. If anything, Misaki was beginning to enjoy Saruhiko’s laziness. It allowed Misaki to talk and talk without being afraid of what Saruhiko would say – aside from the shut up, you’re annoying remarks he found Saruhiko so inclined to say. He remembered how his own cat used to sleep more often than play with him, and he somehow understood what Saruhiko meant. Saruhiko kind of reminded him of his cat, and he couldn’t help but giggle, earning a questioning look from Saruhiko himself.
“It’s nothing.” Misaki smiled. “You just remind me of my pet cat. He loved to sleep a lot when he was a kitten.”
“Heeeh.” Saruhiko turned to his other side so that his face was buried in Misaki’s stomach. “Let’s go to sleep.”
"It's so early though!" Misaki complained frowning. "I have so much energy still!"
"Save that for tomorrow, then." Saruhiko murmured, already drifting off to sleep. "You still need to find your way home, remember?"
Misaki couldn't argue with Saruhiko's logic. Sometimes Saruhiko sounded a lot older than he really was. "Alrighty then." Was all Misaki could think to say before turning away reluctantly and watching the fireflies float around before going back to sleep.
He really did have a lot of energy, but Saruhiko's lack of energy had started to affect him a little, honestly.
______________
"Where are we going?" Misaki asked Saruhiko's retreating figure, quickening his pace in order to catch up to him.
Saruhiko shrugged stiffly, tail swaying side to side as he walked on. "Somewhere."
"That's not very descriptive." Misaki mumbled, but went along with him anyways. As soon as Misaki had woken up that morning from a surprisingly peaceful night's sleep, Saruhiko was stirring as well, ears twitching adorably as he slowly blinked his eyes in an attempt to chase the sleep away, and Misaki couldn't help but reach up and brush Saruhiko's hair off of his forehead. That little act of affection had made Saruhiko stand straight up and look at him with a sort of mean look before literally turning tail and walking off.
Hence why Saruhiko was in a slightly sour mood at the moment.
Saruhiko had easily hopped up a couple of high rocks and turned to Misaki, smirking. "Can you get up here by yourself?"
Misaki frowned. He probably could if he tried to, but the rock wall was well over twice his own height - which was still pretty short, but still pretty high in his standards. However, he has his pride to protect.
"I can!" He said, albeit the expression on his face said otherwise. "Just... give me a moment." He grasped onto a small ledge and hoisted himself up - only to unceremoniously fall down and land hard on his back. He quickly scrambled to his feet and tried again, earning an extra couple inches, but still the same result. He tried again after that, and after falling a third time he settled to simple scowling at the rocks.
"You can go around." Saruhiko suggested, sitting along the ledge and looking down upon Misaki. His ears were perked up in interest as he observed the young lost boy.
Quick observation showed that there was a part of the wall that had broken, leaving enough rubble to make it climb-able. Of course, Misaki wanted to keep trying to climb the rock wall but he had the feeling Saruhiko wasn't the type to wait very long, and so he swallowed his pride for the time being, jogged over to the broken area of the wall, and climbed. It didn't take very long for him to reach the top, and when he did he found Saruhiko right by the ledge, smirking.
"Took you long enough." Was all Saruhiko said before turning around and walking off again. Misaki groaned and hurriedly walked to catch up to him.
"Can't you slow down a little?" Misaki complained. "I'm all for an adventure, but I'm hungry so I don't have a lot of energy."
Saruhiko clicked his tongue, but didn't answer. The tip of his tail lightly brushed over Misaki's stomach before dropping back and swaying lightly as he walked. Misaki walked a couple quick steps and took hold of a bit of Saruhiko's hoodie in an attempt to slow him down a little, which earned him a scowl at first, but Saruhiko slowed down nonetheless. "What happened to your energy from last night, anyways?" The young cat asked him irritably, clicking his tongue.
"I don't know. My hunger ate it? Mother said something about that before, like if you're hungry you end up eating your energy, which is why kids should eat a lot. Are we going to eat soon?" Misaki inhaled until his lungs were full – that was a lot of words in one breath.
Saruhiko didn't answer; they let the silence hang as they walked, watching the trees slowly give way to fields of flowers and hills that looked more like a wonky chessboard than anything else. It struck Misaki then that he had yet to see any other inhabitants of Wonderland aside from the weird flowers and some flying things he couldn't quite possibly name, and he was slowly beginning to believe that Saruhiko was actually all alone here.
"Does anyone else live around here?" Misaki found himself asking, voicing his thoughts without expecting any sort of actual answer from his companion.
"... there are, but we're at the edge of Wonderland, and nobody ever visits here." Saruhiko did manage to blurt out a reply despite how reluctant he sounded in doing so.
"How come?"
"It's awfully far from the major kingdoms, so it's a hassle to come out here for no reason at all." The word kingdoms suddenly made Misaki excited. Did that mean that there were knights in shining armor and princess to save, too?
"Why wouldn't they, though? I take it they don't like adventures?" He remembered hearing a story about a prince that was boring and lazy, that didn't want to do anything besides sleep and eat.
Saruhiko was quiet for a moment before he spoke in a soft voice. "Jungle is scary when you're all alone."
Misaki's eyed widened slightly and his hold on Saruhiko's sleeve tightened. "But you're alone, aren't you?" Genuine worry was laced in every syllable, and Saruhiko simply flicked his eyes towards Misaki for a brief moment before looking back ahead.
"I'm okay." He mumbled. "My family is gone, but there are other people in Wonderland."
Misaki suddenly let go of Saruhiko's sleeve and threw his arm around Saruhiko's shoulder, causing Saruhiko to stop walking. "You should make more friends, stupid!"
Saruhiko sighed. "I don't want friends."
"What about me, though?" Misaki's smile was putting the sun to shame again, and Saruhiko stared at it briefly before clearing his throat and looking away awkwardly.
"… except you." Saruhiko’s voice was soft as usual, but Misaki caught his tail wagging a little. He laughed sheepishly before pulling his arm off of Saruhiko and running on ahead. He suddenly felt really energetic, though he still felt tired. It was a weird feeling, but he felt happy.
"Seriously, though, where are we going?" Misaki's eyes were practically glowing from the way the sun reflected off of them. His auburn hair soaked in the sunlight, making Misaki look more like a tiny beacon than an actual person. He was twirling around, taking in the chessboard hills and the far-off singing of the flowers as he waited for Saruhiko’s eventual answer.
"Somewhere." Saruhiko said again, sighing the last syllable. "Just wait."
"But we've been walking for forever!" Misaki nearly yelled in exasperation, causing some more odd flying creatures to suddenly take flight and escape to who-knows-where. He caught sight of one that looked vaguely like breakfast food. "Hey... are those things with the bread wings edible?" He found himself asking as his eyes followed one until it disappeared from sight.
"Bread-and-Butterflies?" Saruhiko was slowly catching up to Misaki.
"I think so? I dunno! The things that look like food..."
Saruhiko chuckled. "Anything here's edible, but I don't know if they taste good."
Misaki frowned. That pretty much meant that it wasn't a good idea to catch one and put it in his mouth. "What about the talking flowers?" He asked, backpedaling so as to face Saruhiko while talking to him.
"Like I said, you can eat what you want." Saruhiko grumbled, his tail twitching slightly.
At that, Misaki stopped once he noticed a patch of them by the path. He crouched down and stared hard at the flowers.
"Saruhiko, they have eyes." Misaki sighed, taking in the angry expressions of the flowers. He couldn’t hear them, but he imagined they were probably saying stuff about him. "They're looking at me all weird, too."
Saruhiko rolled his eyes. "They're alive, of course they have eyes."
"Mom's flowers back home didn't have eyes and they're alive too."
"Your flowers are weird."
"But some of the other flowers here don't even have eyes!" Misaki exclaimed, jerking his head up to look at Saruhiko, who had stopped and was currently standing next to Misaki. The flowers in front of them flinched visibly.
"You're scaring them." Saruhiko smirked.
"I am?" Misaki looked back at the flowers, whom were, in fact, cowering just a little despite their angry expressions. He reached a finger out to touch one of them, and suddenly the closest flower bit Misaki.
"Ow!" Misaki yelped, falling backward and onto his butt. "What was that?"
"I was gonna tell you," Saruhiko sighed, a smile clear on his face. He looked like he was suppressing a laugh, as well. "A lot of flowers here are mean."
"Well, I wasn't planning on eating them anyways!" Misaki huffed, but began to laugh all the same. "This place is completely bonkers."
Saruhiko raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment. He was busy watching Misaki squirm on the floor, body shaking with the sudden outburst.
“Let’s just go now.” Saruhiko muttered, looking away before he began to laugh a well. “I’m hungry, you know.”
______________
When Misaki had found it in himself to shut up and start walking again, the sound of grumbling stomachs caused Saruhiko to quicken his pace. Misaki was having difficulty following along, but was enjoying Saruhiko’s explanation of the destination all the same.
“It’s anything amazing. Un-Birthday Parties happen all the time, and I just go for the free food, tea, and entertainment.” Saruhiko sighed. “It’s really far from the meadow, though, but it’s still food all the same. And it’s good food.”
“Is that so…” Misaki pondered the new information. Parties meant people, so Saruhiko really wasn’t alone! It was a huge relief for Misaki, who suddenly felt lighter all of a sudden. He gasped as terrible singing began to drift in the air. "Is that people!?"
"… If you can call them that." Saruhiko shrugged. He stopped abruptly, causing Misaki to stop as well and turn back to him, giving him a questioning look. He suddenly poofed back into his cat form and hovered in the air for a moment before dropping onto Misaki's shoulder lazily. "I’m tired." He yawned. "Just follow the awful singing and we'll be there in not time."
"The singing isn't that bad." Misaki laughed, letting Saruhiko do as he pleased. He began quickening his pace once he felt – and heard – Saruhiko's stomach begin to rumble again. The singing got louder and louder, and Misaki began incoherently muttering about not knowing the song they were singing.
They came to a clearing, where a messy table was situated in the middle of a gated patch of grass. At first all Misaki saw was a rabbit sitting alone, but there was more than one voice, so there obviously had to be other people around, too. There were cups stacked haphazardly on top of one another, along with a couple of upturned teapots and whatnot. There were plates of food, as well, and ten or so empty chairs surrounding the long table.
“What is this?” Misaki asked Saruhiko.
“The tea party.” He replied boredly. “Just walk in. They’ll love you, probably.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. I’m hungry, so hurry up.”
“Yes, your majesty.” Misaki sighed, walking forward to meet the rabbit. When he passed the gate, the rabbit suddenly snapped his head up to look at them.
His eyes widened. “Fushimi!” he exclaimed, leaving whoever else was there to sing the song without him. “Welcome!”
Misaki shifted his feet. Did they not notice him?
Saruhiko jumped back into his human form and nodded his head in greeting. The rabbit look from Saruhiko to Misaki, then back to Saruhiko.
“Who’s that guy?” The rabbit asked.
“A…” Saruhiko looked at Misaki. “Friend.”
The Rabbit’s eyes widened. “Oh, dear me! It’s nice to meet you, Fushimi’s Friend!” The rabbit hopped out of his seat and bounded up to meet the two, shaking one of their hands in each of his own. “Please do enjoy your stay! I take it it’s your un-birthday as well?”
Misaki nodded, remembering that it was not, in fact, his birthday. He didn’t have it in him to speak; Saruhiko looked uncomfortable and the rabbit looked much too enthusiastic, even for himself. He still didn’t know where the other voices were coming from, either, nor did he recognize the song they sang save for six lines – “A very happy Un-Birthday to you!”
The noise and the weird atmosphere was suddenly too much for him, but he was still curious to see who they were and if they really did have food they could eat, so he stayed put.
“Sit, sit!” The rabbit never introduced himself as he dragged the two to sit on two random chairs that were seated next to each other, but Misaki didn’t really care about names right now. What he did care about, though, was the noise the teapot in front of him was making. He looked to Saruhiko, who just shrugged and grabbed a slice of carrot cake. At that, Misaki decided to ignore the teapot as well, turning to grab a slice of cake as he had just seen Saruhiko do. He shoved it in his mouth hungrily, satisfaction flooding through his veins when he found that it was actually tasty.
The teapot that was making noise earlier suddenly shook, and the lid popped up suddenly to reveal a tiny mouse poking out from the opening. They looked rather clumsy, words incomprehensibly slurring together as they tried to talk – or sing? – along to whatever they were trying to keep up with. Saruhiko was looking at the mouse as well, but after a couple of seconds he clicked his tongue and resumed eating. Misaki followed suit, grabbing random pastries and whatnot while listening to the rabbit and the mouse, along with some other talking creatures he had yet to see. Saruhiko seemed bored out of his mind every time Misaki snuck a glance at him, and Misaki vaguely wondered if Saruhiko wanted to leave right away.
Misaki finished the last of his scone and tea before turning to Saruhiko, who looked as if he wanted to rip his ears out. He tapped on Saruhiko’s plate in order to get his attention. “Wanna go?” He asked, smiling tentatively. Saruhiko nodded slowly, sending a quick glance towards the rabbit before turning back into a cat and climbing back onto Misaki. They began to walk out, but not before Misaki stopped at the gates and turned back to the messy tea party.
“Shouldn’t we say thank you?” Misaki asked, suddenly feeling guilty of what just happened. He had ever given them his name, nor did they give him theirs. It felt weird taking food and tea from strangers.
“They won’t care.” Saruhiko said, tail swishing side-to-side in contentment. “They always have tea parties. I’ve never seen them outside of this field.”
“Where does the food come from, then?”
“Like I know.” Saruhiko shrugged. Misaki looked at him and gave the tea party one last look before sighing in defeat and walking out. It was still morning, Misaki assumed, because he felt like he had barely done anything so far.
Saruhiko allowed Misaki to wander around wherever he pleased, napping every time Misaki would be quiet for a short stretch of time. Wonderland was a rather large country, Misaki thought, because he had yet to see anything he hasn’t ever seen before.
The chessboard hill was suddenly upon him, and he noticed chess pieces – at least, he thinks they’re that, for he hasn’t seen many people play chess before – moving about on the hill. There were two… things… constantly shouting letters and numbers that made no sense to Misaki, so he walked on in hopes to find something even mildly amusing to coax Saruhiko out of his slumber.
He found a normal, grassy hill and climbed to the top of it, enjoying the 360-degree view of the landscape he was given. Past the hills were the flower fields, and he vaguely recognized Saruhiko’s meadow. Misaki noticed the tops of tall, tall buildings too, reminding him of the castles in the storybooks his mom often read to him at night. They were far, far away, so Misaki didn’t even consider the idea of going to check them out. Luckily for him, though, Saruhiko was like a walking library.
“What are those?” He asked as he pointed to the three castle tops.
Saruhiko yawned as he glanced at the things Misaki was pointing at. “They’re the three kingdoms.”
Misaki chuckled. “You’re always so sleepy, Saruhiko.”
“You’re tiring to talk to.” He shot back, returning to his previous napping position.
“Well, I can’t say you’re wrong about that.” Misaki mused. He started his trek down the hill when he noticed that the path he was about step towards branched out in three places. Misaki’s energy wasn’t being eaten by hunger anymore, and suddenly he wanted to run around and explore.
He stopped suddenly at a point near the top of the hill and looked at his companion, who was probably already starting to doze off again. “Hey, Saruhiko?” he reached up to tap the top of Saruhiko’s head, earning a small hiss.
“What?”
“… Change back to a human real quick.”
“Why?”
“Just…” Misaki looked down. “Just do it, idiot.”
Saruhiko seemed to sigh, but suddenly the weight on Misaki’s shoulder was gone and his vision was filled with Saruhiko’s small frame. He smiled.
“I just wanted to see you, that’s all.” Misaki took Saruhiko’s right hand with his left and hastily ran down the hill before Saruhiko could even begin to complain. “C’mon!” He dragged Saruhiko down the hill with him, not once bothering to stop and check on his companion. Something told him that no matter what, Saruhiko would have followed him, but he wanted to hold onto him just in case.
When they reached the bottom of the hill they were both out of breath; Saruhiko’s mouth settled into a half-hearted frown while Misaki was once again grinning. The curiosity and energy radiating off of him was making him extremely restless. Saruhiko was still out of breath by the time Misaki had recovered enough to speak a little coherently.
“Say, Saruhiko.” Misaki panted, not taking his eyes off of the cat. “Can we… go on an adventure?”
“To… where?” Saruhiko’s breathing was beginning to normalize as well, and Misaki couldn’t help but stare at the red that had decorated Saruhiko’s cheeks.
He smiled fondly. “Anywhere, as long as you’re there, too.”
Saruhiko gave him an odd look before turning his attention back to their hands, which had become intertwined sometime between then and when Misaki had begun to sprint down the hill. He pulled them up to examine them; Misaki watched Saruhiko’s expression go from caution to wonder to something else entirely, and nearly yelled when Saruhiko nipped on the tip of Misaki’s ring finger.
“What was that for!?” Misaki frowned. Saruhiko had human teeth in his human form, which Misaki was grateful for, but that still hurt.
Saruhiko shrugged. “I don’t even know myself.” His face was unreadable as he turned to look at the paths they were supposed to choose to take. “So? Which way?”
Misaki was torn between berating Saruhiko about biting him and going on an adventure right that moment. He looked at the paths one by one, and grinned when he had finally chosen which one to venture.
“Saruhiko, let’s go!”