A Haunting First Night [Open]

[Motoko Higurashi]

Will you bring me home?

The cold air might be annoying to some, but to Motoko, it was a rather comfortable evening. The sun had set, but it was only dark enough for a few bright stars to show their faces. The moon hadn't even risen yet. Still, it was this time of day that nobody in their right mind would come go out alone. However, it wasn't like the young Higurashi had chosen to take a walk in the dark...she was lost. Horribly, horribly lost. And totally freaking out.

"Where am I?" the blue eyed child whimpered, bending over to brush the dirt off a large flat stone. Her fingers felt the words indented into the rock, and she flinched back lightning fast. It was just as she feared...she had followed that dammed rabbit into a graveyard. At night, alone, in a unknown graveyard in some place she didn't recognize...it was every little girls nightmare.

But how had she gone through Tokyo and ended up somewhere in the middle of nowhere?!

Moto whimpered again, turning back and forth, the only things in sight a few gravestones and a few whistling trees in the distance. Red trees. Not normal, not at all, and it just added to the creepy air of this place. Motoko shook her head and sat so she was leaning against a large headstone, back to the gate. If she couldn't find a way home soon, she'd end up sleeping here in this creepy place.

Oh Niisan...neesan...Ayra...where are you...? I'm scared!!

[Sarah Roberts]

The time of day no one in their right mind would come out here alone. Boy, was that the truth. Though, Sarah had never claimed to be in her right mind. Hell, she didn't even have a right mind to go into, but, even if she did have, she'd be out of it now. Things were, at the same time, the best and worst they'd ever been. Kyle had proposed, and she'd said yes. They were engaged now, and that should have made her as happy as she could be. And it did. However, there was still al lingering doubt that maybe they shouldn't be. At least not yet. And she just couldn't shake that feeling. Also, her other brother, Kris, had been severely injured. He had lost an eye to a powerful boogie, and was in a bad place. It was all more than Sarah could take sitting around her dorm.

Thus, she found herself here, of all places. The graveyard. At night. The place where no one in their right mind would be caught dead after sundown. Yet, Sarah found a great comfort here, among the headstones. An odd peace. The quite of death, perhaps? She didn't know. All she knew was that it was a place where she could be alone with her thoughts, and that's exactly what she needed right now. Of course, it didn't hurt that she loved places like this. The creepier, the better. So, here she sat, on one of the tombstones, looking up at the night sky. She closed her eyes, and breathed in deep the cool, night air. Her eyes opened again as she let the breath out. What a perfect night.

Sarah heard something behind her, and turned to look. Was that someone else here? She couldn't see anyone for awhile, but she kept hearing noises, like someone pacing, and . . . was that a whimper? Sarah had mixed feelings about this, and didn't really have the patience to sort through them. However, the major tendency was to investigate further, so she did.

As Sarah got closer to the sound, she was able to see a little girl who looked hopelessly lost. Sarah smiled slightly, as she imagined she looked much the same way out here, albeit for a different reason. She decided to call out to the girl. "Hello. Are you lost?"

[Motoko Higurashi]

The wind whipped swirls of blue across Motoko's line of vision as the voice reached her ears. The little girl glanced up at the unfamiliar face, eyes wide. It was a girl, probably a few year older than her. She was awfully nice looking, and her eyes were amazing. Emerald green? How foreign! Moto stood up wearily, holding on to the gravestone for a little balance. A weak, nervous smile met the girl's gentle one. This woman looked nice enough, and she had such a pretty smile. Maybe she could help me find my way home!!

But what had she said? What language was she speaking? English? A worried, confused frown formed on the preteens pale face. Moto didn't speak a lot of English...they don't teach it in junior high...so how was she supposed to respond? Drawing up some courage, the younger girl tried to respond with the little english she knew. "M-Moto...not..." she stuttered, taking a deep breath before continuing, "...n-near...To...Tokyo?"

Were she not to worried, Motoko would have been irritated. Of all the people she'd been found by, it was a foreigner. This could be bad. Am I even in Japan? Was I kidnapped?

[Sarah Roberts]

Sarah approached the girl cautiously. She seemed harmless enough, but there were plenty of boogies who looked the same . . . right up until they ripped your face off. Still, this one seemed genuinely worried. Sarah maintained the smile, which wasn't as hard as it usually was. Poor thing might be a newcomer. Sarah had never seen her around, before. If that was the case, the little girl would probably need a lot of help adjusting.

"M-Moto...not... ...n-near...To...Tokyo?"

Tokyo? Was this girl from Japan? Come to think of it, she did look oriental. That might be troublesome. So far she seemed able to communicate, but how much English did a Japanese girl this young know? Well, Sarah had to try. As much as Sarah loved it out here, girls like this one didn't typically respond well to being left alone in a graveyard at night.

Even worse that it was a Wonderland graveyard.

"Heh. Um, no. You're not near Tokyo, anymore. . . um . . . " Sarah knelt down in front of the girl. "Moto? Is that your name? I'm Sarah. Can you understand me?"

If this girl couldn't understand English, this would be difficult to explain. Hell, it was hard enough to explain Wonderland to someone who spoke the same language, let alone someone who spoke a completely different one. However, Sarah couldn't just leave her here. She was too lost, herself, to be able to leave anyone else in the same situation.

[Motoko Higurashi]

Motoko blinked at what Sarah said, apparently not understanding a word of it. But she did, if only the bit about this girls name and three other little words. Not near Tokyo. Shit. The little girl trembled with the sudden realization. She must have been kidnapped! Why couldn't she remember it? All she could recall from a few hours ago was the park, then that odd rabbit...then funny yellow marbles? Startling yellow marbles and a creepy, icy laugh. Hands grabbing at her long blue hair.

A man. A man with gold eyes.

That man must have kidnapped me!!

"Not Tokyo? Then....not home..." she whimpered, blue eyes looking painfully into green. "S-Sarah-san, wh...where is M-Moto?"