Alicization: Another Story

Chapter 1

The sound of footsteps was heard coming from the wilderness. Leaves rustled as the wind blew hard. The young girl, holding a basket of fruits, came into view. Her long golden hair, which was tied into a braid closed by a white ribbon, shone brightly as the sun reflected on it. Her bright blue dress with a white pinafore that reached above her ankle once freshly cleaned after laundry, now covered in dry mud and short sticks that used to be thin branches that were part of trees that grew high as though it could reach the sky. Her light brown hat, made out of straw, now tattered and filled with tiny holes.

Before she could reach the front door of her small yet simple house made of bricks with a pointy roof made of cement, a voice she knew called out her name, "Alice! You've finally returned, good to see you!" Alice Zuberg looked towards him, surprised but happy. "Eugeo, it's good to see you too, " she replied, with a small smile, filled with so much joy. The boy smiled back. His clothes with the color of light blue were wet, filled with sweat. So was his flax brown, slightly wavy hair, and forehead. His light brown short pants were filled with what looked like mud, and hands covered in dirt. As Alice examined him, she gave an angry expression, cheeks slightly red, placed the basket of fruits down and her hands on her hips. "Now now, what have you done? Mom's going to get furious once she sees you like this. Where's Kirito?" She took a look at the grass field beside her house and found out that Kirito was nowhere to be found. She looked to her left, no sign. Right, no. Left again, nothing. Where could he be? She wondered.

Right behind her came a figure which looked like a boy's. His hands ready to grab her shoulders. Before he could do that, Alice then swayed to the right and dodged his stunt. "C'mon now Alice, you're no fun at all," the young boy whined. His cheerful expression changed and became a disappointed one.
"What on earth are you doing, Kirito-kun?" she questioned.
"Without your presence, it's so dull."
"You have Eugeo to fool around with!"
"But still!"
"I'm the oldest sibling here, and it's my duty to be responsible. I have to abide that rule."
Kirito then stopped himself from answering back as he thought he was being rude. He hated the fact that he was the youngest of them all, and had no one to play with as Eugeo would be occupied with the house chores, and Alice would be going to town to fetch the groceries and other items that can be useful in the house. Since they lived so far away, it took Alice more than an hour to reach the market and come back. She also had other chores like feeding the animals in their mini farm and making sure the flowers in their garden hadn't wilted.

Eugeo however, had to take care of their house by keeping it neat and tidy while their parents drive up North to do their jobs. Apparently, their parents said that they don't plan to tell their children what their commission is as they think the three of them will be unable to understand and claims that it is too dangerous for them to know. Eugeo wasn't that surprised when they told him that as their previous occupation was sweeping the lawns of the houses in and out of town.

Alice walked towards Kirito until she was right in front of him. Hands still on her hips, she said, "I'm sorry Kirito. I just wish that I can at least have a day off and play with both you and Eugeo." she said. She wanted to tear up as she could see the sense of guilt and sadness in their eyes. Kirito and Eugeo started feeling sorry for her, as they couldn't imagine how tough it must be for her. Despite having so many goods stored in their fridge and cabinets, having a family of five meant that they had to work extra harder each day to provide themselves. But even though they have to go through so much every day, they never once had a feeling of unfairness or anger in them. They enjoyed the life they have and plan to treasure it forever until it ends.

The three of them walked towards the front door of their house. Eugeo was kind enough to help Alice carry the basket of fruits while Kirito held the door so that all three of them could enter. Their house had at least 2 windows on each side, stairs to the second floor, some tables and chairs, a couch, and a back door.  Right in front of the door was a floor mat with the words 'Welcome' in cursive. Their shoe rack luckily had enough space for all three pairs of shoes. Seeing how muddy each of their shoes were, Alice told Kirito and Eugeo to place their shoes outside instead of the floors of their home as she wanted it to be clean. Kirito agreed without questioning her.

Alice stared at her, Eugeo's, and Kirito's attire in disgust. "More work for me to do... huh?" she said to herself. Since laundry was part of her daily chore, with so much up her sleeves, Alice sometimes wonders how she managed to survive. She'll have to walk half a mile, plus carrying a pile of laundry, to reach the lake which was located closest to her home. What a busy day she's having, Alice said to herself, sighing.

She walked towards the kitchen table and removed the fruits in her basket and placed it in a ceramic bowl with many flower patterns. As Eugeo watched her sister, he asked, "Kirito, do you think we can help Alice-san with the chores? I know that it isn't my job but I just feel sorry for her. She's been really tired from the moment she woke up, and I don't think she got enough sleep last night."

Unlike Kirito, Eugeo has always been the quiet type. He never once complained about not having enough quality time with Alice, which he wishes he had, but he wanted to be the brother who was always there for his sister. Who always had her back. Of course, he has helped her when necessary, but he also wanted to offer more help.

Kirito looked at Alice, then Eugeo, then Alice again. For a second he went silent. Before Eugeo wanted to call out his name, Kirito walked towards Alice, slowly. Behind her back, Kirito lifted up his right arm. Just when he wanted to tap her shoulders, Alice called out his name.
"Kirito."
He stopped his fingers from touching her. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't. He stood there frozen. Alice turned around, and Kirito did not expect to see the last thing he wanted to see. What made him so confused was that she had a smirk on her face. Was Alice planning on doing something? If so, what? What could our responsible, loyal sister be planning on doing something that all three of us would get in trouble? Kirito questioned himself.
"Let's go to the lake."
"L-lake?"
"Yeah, l-a-k-e." She spelled out.
Kirito wanted to ask why Alice wanted to bring all three of them to the lake where Alice would often go when doing laundry. He recalled pleading Alice to bring him to the lake as he wanted to play, and in the end, she agreed, which brought all three of them in trouble. Eugeo nearly drowned, Alice's blue dress was ruined, and Kirito had bruises all over. They came home drenched when their parents reached home, furious about what happened. Of course, all three of them were mischievous since they were less than 10 years old when that incident happened, and so far only Alice and Eugeo had learned their mistake. Apparently, Kirito hasn't.

This was his chance to spend some time with his sister. He knew that his sister was serious, so instead of asking why, he ran up the stairs to change his clothes. Alice did the same thing, but her closet was filled with the same outfit, so it looked like she wore the clean version of it. Eugeo changed too, but this time, he switched his plain light blue shirt and black pants to an unbleached, rough cotton or flax, short-sleeved, light blue tunic with irregular texture, hand sewn threads on the cuffs and a V-shape cut on his chest, tied with a light brown cord, with brown trousers. Kirito wore the same outfit as him as he couldn't find any other clothes in his closet. All three of them went out of the house, ready to go.