Distorted Wonderland

Yuki

Halo Two: Yuki:

Yuki trembled as she turned the mini cat charms so that they faced the window. It freaked her out to even touch them. Still, she needed to snoop around to make sure that it didn't happen again. If that meant dealing with a bunch of fake little cats, she was willing to do it.

"What are you doing up here?" she heard someone ask behind her. The woman leapt around to see Noriko standing in the doorway with a disapproving look on her face. Her guardian rose to her feet and cleared her throat.

"Your cats give me the creeps," Yuki admitted.

"Why are you in my room?" Noriko asked. Her guardian bowed her head.

"Excuse me," she muttered before seeing herself out. The ward glared at her as she walked away.

Bitch!, she thought as she went back downstairs. Mikado, Masaomi, Anri, and Chiharu sat in the living room waiting. Noriko slid the door closed behind her.

"Sorry about that," she said, "Yuki can be so annoying."

"Did she try to go into your room again?" Chiharu asked.

"Yeah," her friend said, rolling her eyes. She took her place at the unplugged komatsu. "So where were we?" she asked.

"Page forty-eight," Anri murmured.

"Thank you," Noriko said, nodding. She opened her textbook, gritting her teeth. "I hate her so much," the girl complained, "Yuki is so controlling. She doesn't care about me; she just wants to drug me up into a vegetable." Mikado placed his hand on her wrist.

"It's okay," he whispered. Noriko shook her head.

"No, you don't understand," she said, "She's trying to hide something from me. Yuki thinks I don't know, but I can see right through her. I don't trust her!"

"Come on!" Masaomi said to smooth things over, "Don't be like that. A pretty girl like you shouldn't be a sourpuss."

"Right," Chiharu said quickly, "Let's just focus on this text here." Noriko took in a slow breath.

"You're right," she mumbled, "You're right. You're right." She picked up her book and started to read.

In the kitchen, Yuki heard the whole conversation while finishing her tea. She waited until the five students were buried their textbooks before she disappeared down the hall with her cell phone. Her footsteps quickened as she dialed that old number.

"Come on, come on!" she hissed under her breath, "Pick up! This is serious!" Yuki froze in her tracks when she heard a creaking noise coming from Noriko's room. The woman lowered her phone and walked over to the slightly opening door as if in a daze.

The inside looked the same as it did five minutes ago. Yet, something felt off in here. The woman felt her body go stiff like something or rather someone was watching her. Yuki shook her head.

Don't be so stupid!, she thought, It's just you and the kids in this apartment! Get a hold of yourself, stupid! Yuki looked down at her phone and tried to call the number again. She gritted her teeth and cursed herself as it went to voicemail.

"Damn it!" the woman muttered. Yuki sat down on Noriko's bed and groaned. The creepy feeling this room produced wouldn't leave. Yuki reached into her pocket and pulled out her iPod. Music did wonders to calm her down in the past. Once the upbeat 90's Japanese pop filled her ears, Yuki felt herself relaxing enough to begin her search in the room again.

Suddenly however, the song began to skip to the next one after twenty-five seconds. Yuki looked down and noticed that her entire playlist kept skipping song without playing them. Freak out, she tossed her iPod across the room. It donned on her as she turned that all of the cat charms on the desk, above the bed, and on the floor were all facing her again with judging eyes.

Stay away! Stay away! Stay away!

Yuki backed out of the room as fast as she could. An icy breeze hit her short brown hair and nape. She turned inch by inch and jumped when she noticed that the dark hallway became dark and abandoned. The woman shivered as she fought to keep from freaking out.

"Noriko-chan?" she asked. "Guys? Kids?" Yuki jumped when she heard her cell phone ring in the room. She forced herself to swallow her fear long enough to walk inside. Closing her eyes and reaching around on the bed, Yuki picked up the phone and placed it to her ear.

"H-Hello?" she asked. A sharp meow forced her eyes wide open. A little black cat with green eyes sat in the middle of the room staring at her. It opened its mouth and meowed again.

"Get away from me!" Yuki hissed as she back away to a corner, "Get away from me!" The cat lounged forward, sending the poor woman scrambling back to Noriko's open closet. When she looked up, the cat had vanished as if it never existed. Yuki shut her eyes and just to wish away her fright.

Stop acting like this! There is no curse! There is no curse!

She paused when she heard a crunching noise above her head. Yuki looked above her to see two black hands reaching down for her throat. She struggled to break free from the grasp as they pulled her upwards through the hole in the ceiling of the closet. Once her feet disappeared through the hole, that was the end of it.

Masaomi, who was the last to leave the apartment for dinner, didn't notice a thing as he headed out the door.