Misperception by Papirini

whispers in the trees

MISPERCEPTION

Whispers in the Trees

Six year old Judy Charleston had had enough.

 

She was running away from the offensive spot, her face stained with tears, her body bruised and scratched. She whimpered as she stumbled about, sobbing as much as her heart would let her after witnessing the terrible inequity.

 

It's not fair...it's not fair!!

 

The little brunette wanted to die at that moment, or at least tell someone. Tell anyone. Her mother said that tattling was bad and made you look rude, but at that moment Judy didn't care. Too much had been done to her, and she had finally burst.

 

"Mommy..." Her mother wasn't there, but she didn't care. She still wanted to shout for her. "M-m-moooooommy!!!!!"

"HEEEEY, JUDY-CHAAAAN!!!!!"

 

Judy's large blue eyes were filled with tears as she turned to see Kousagi skipping towards her, a giant smile on her ice cream coated face. The smile on Kousagi's face only made Judy burst into more tears.

 

"I got choccy ice cream!! What did you.." Kousagi blinked when she noticed that Judy's tears were soaking her own shirt. "Judy-chan? What..."

"K-kousagi.."

 

The pain and agony in Judy's eyes was limitless as she opened her mouth. What next came out was a wound in the very heart of childhood, the worst atrocity to ever be committed in front of a child.

 

"HE BROKE MY DOLLY!!!!!!!"

 

Judy's patented glass-breaking scream echoed through the trees of the park, attracting the attention of several of the more attentive little kids. Slowly, all their heads turned towards the epicenter, their eyes wide.

 

"..Wh-what?!" Kousagi's eyes bulged out as she caught the bawling kindergärtner. "Y-you don't mean..him...he didn't."

"Y-yes!!!! He-he-he d-d-did!!!!"

".Not..your 1892 Talking Edison doll with the porcelain face and the brown hair and the funny warbling noises!!" Kousagi's eyes widened. "The one your mother's mother's mother's mother's mother had as a kid and passed down in excellent condition as a family heirloom."

"W..."

 

Judy tearfully held it up. There it was, the beautiful, rare antique doll, passed down through six generations, the paint on its face was scratched of on one side, and completely burnt off on the other. The yellow taffeta dress it wore was ripped, as was the underwear, and its wide hat was completely gone.. The wax cylinder mechanism that had been inside was almost completely detached, then melted onto the back of the doll's body, cracking the skin there beyond repair. Finally, the word "BABY" was written several times in permanent marker on the soles of the tattered doll's shoes.

 

"...this.."

 

The doll was so rare that it was priceless in several different dimensions; Kousagi's own family had a black-haired Talking Edison heirloom, though it had gone to Chibi-Usa. But even Kousagi knew the value of such an item, and knew what it was to have one.

 

"WaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!" Judy burst into tears. "WAAAAAAAH!!!!"

"So he did." Kousagi's face darkened. "This..."

 

The other young kids began to gather around the two, gasping at the condition of the doll in Judy's hands. They trembled to see it; they knew of only one unholy creature capable of such a terrible thing.

 

"It was him."

"No way."

“Way.”

"How terrible!"

"...Why." Kousagi's voice was abnormally low and dangerous. "Why did he do this act of disrespect to you, Judy-chan."

"I..I.." Judy sniffled. "I w-wouldn't give him my i-i-ice cream. H-he already had s-some, but he wanted m-more."

"That..little.."

"What!? Just for that?!"

"Evil! Just evil!!"

"We can't let him get away with this."

 

All the younger kids slowly turned towards another point in the park, where a glen of large cherry blossom trees sat in a circle. At the center of the circle was the silhouette Vazgorth, his black cape flapping in the wind as he sat, meditating, a smirk on his face.

 

"That Vazgorth...he's nothing but a spoiled, selfish, evil little brat." Even Kousagi, who was apathetic by nature, glared at the satanic spawn. "He makes spoiled, selfish brats everywhere cringe in fear because he stains their reputations! All he's done since coming here is mean, mean things. Like pulling on my hair."

"And tripping me!" Mimi Creamy of the 19th dimension chimed in. "And making me bruise my knees!"

"Putting gum on my space shoes." Zandra Zukino of the 80th glared at her silver boots. "My favorite pair, too. Momma bought them for me on Sazime 34.."

"Zapping my cat with black magic." Gin Chiba of the 50th shakily clutched his crisped pet, who meowed pitifully in agreement. "And making me wet my pants!"

"Turning me into a frog!" Darien Shields II of the 6th dimension gave a ribbit. "My parents will kill me!!!"

"And with Judy-chan's doll.." Kousagi looked up to the sky and shook her fist. "There can be no forgiveness for him. We'll teach him to mess with us!!"

"HURRAH!!"

"Yay!" Judy sniffed. "Hooray.."

"I'll lead us to victory!" Kousagi then reached into her pocket. "We will make him wish he never came here!!..."

 

At this gesture, the kids tensed, expecting Kousagi to draw out her sailor stick. They had heard that she was a sailor soldier in her dimension, a relatively uncommon phenomenon for a variety of reasons among the group assembled in the 15th dimension. They expected her to transform into Sailor Moon, take up a stick and begin beating Vazgorth with it in the name of love and justice.

 

"But first..." To everyone's disappointment, Kousagi took out a candy bar and took a huge hunk out of it. "We need a plan. And crayons. And paper. And whip cream!!"

"Whip cream? How-"

"No questions yet!" Kousagi held her hand up. "First, we must get the all the whip cream we can from that ice cream vender we went to earlier today. But we'll need money to get it, so empty your pockets!"

 

Instantly, hands flew into pockets, and before the lavender-haired girl could say another word, she was covered in dollar bills, yen notes, space bucks and every other conceivable form of money that could be had in the various universes.

 

"Aiiiie!!" Kousagi's head popped out of the pile. "Wow! A lot! Thanks, but...I wonder if it'll be enough.."

"3,000 yen from me!"

"Thirty bucks from me."

"..I had money in my pocket...before I was turned into a frog."

"Almost 300,000 space bucks from me." Zandra looked at everyone's jaws as they dropped. "Don't be fazed. Inflation where I live makes it worth two yen."

"Ouch, that’s tough, Zandra-chan."

".Do you want shoelaces? That's the currency where I come from."

"Yes, give everything you can! Everything!!" Kousagi waved her hands frantically. "Exchange rates don't matter!"

".Ok, then I'm in too!"

"Excellent." Kousagi nodded to Gin Chiba as he threw shoelaces into the pile. "Let's gather up this money and prepare ourselves...for battle.."

 

She eyed the prince of Xaxalax as she said this, wondering what he was doing. He was glowing an eerie red color, and was starting to float slightly off the ground.

 

That monster...what is he planning this time?!

 

-----------------

 

 "Heheheh."

 

Ranami could only frown as Gunther put the last card down on the pile. With a grin, Gunther took it the hand and combined the other bits of his winning pile together.

 

"Now, let's see.." Gunther's hands flew as he counted the points in his mind. "Naru and I have almost every card in the deck..That's 230 points...plus the last trick means...that we have 250 points. Looks like we win, Ranami-san!"

"..That's it." Ranami went to stand up. "I quit."

"Ooooh, but you can't quit, princess!" Gunther imitated a sad puppy as he moved his head towards Ranami. "We still have to get to 2,000 points! Don't be a sore woooooser, Wanami..Waaaaaahnami..."

"Come any closer and I'll rip your lower lip from the rest of your body," Ranami hissed.

"Awww, but Waaaaahnami." The sad puppy face deepened, and Gunther pouted to the point where the bottom of his gums came out along with the lip. "Don't whiiiiiiine.."

“....I wish Hitoko-san were here to knock you.”

 

Ranami's eyes briefly flashed red, and her hand moved towards Gunther's mouth. Next to Gunther, Naru nervously watched as the Black Moon princess went to fulfill her promise of mutilation.

 

"Wh..." Ranami was interrupted by a squeaking voice. "Wh-wh-what happened t-t-t-to his lips!?!?!?!?"

"Uromamo-san..!?"

"AAAAAAAAAAH! N-N-N-N-N-N-NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!"

 

Naru gasped as Uromamo suddenly gave a bloodcurdling scream, throwing himself out of his seat. He was staring at Gunther with bloodshot eyes, sweating profusely, his own lips chattering violently. It was a complete difference from two minutes ago, when he had been calmly playing cards, albeit losing.

 

"What-"

"G-g-g-get away!!!" Uromamo scooted away, still screaming at Gunther. "They got you!! Th-th-th-they...g-g-g-g-GET AWAY!!!!!!!!!"

"Uromamo-san!!" Ranami glared at Gunther. "Now look what you did, you idiot."

".I just made a silly face." Gunther looked puzzled. "They couldn't have possibly made a puss like that in his dimension-"

"Shut up and deal another hand."

 

Ranami's voice became so dark and menacing that Gunther immediately complied. Without another word, he dealt out another hand, with Naru picking up her cards nervously. Her eyes darted back and forth, noticing Casper sitting behind her, sitting silently.

 

Casper-san. There seemed to be no reaction from the red-haired teen as he watched. What on Earth....?

 

"R-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-ranami-s-s-s-s-s-s-san." Uromamo started crying, again to the shock of Naru. "They got him they got him they got him...they're here I know they're here I-i-i-i-i-I'm sc-sc-sc-scared..they're g-g-going to f-f-f-find m-m-m-me..!!!”

"No they won't."

"H-h-h-h-h-how d-d-d-d-do you-"

"Uromamo-san, you can trust me." Ranami's voice was calm again, but firm. "Gunther's just a jerk who doesn't know better. Here."

 

Ranami held out her hands in front of her, showing Uromamo that there was nothing wrong, that he could trust her. Slowly, shakily, the frightened boy brought his hands up to respond. At the table, Gunther grumbled to himself as he looked at his hand.

 

"There we are." Ranami's voice softened. "See, Uromamo-san? Gunther's just a jerk."

".....Ok..ok......"

"Casper-san.." Naru looked back over at Casper as Uromamo grasped Ranami's wrists tightly and pulled himself up. "Forgive me for asking, but..do you know...why does Uromamo-san do that? What's wrong with him?"

 "It's a control issue."

"Control?"

"Yes." Casper looked at her cards, then looked at Gunther's cards to see what was there, then shook his head when he saw that the Bavarian-born bum was bluffing. "Uro-san had never had any say in his life until he escaped the institution he was placed in as a baby. I doubt he'll ever be able to live a normal life after what they did to him..."

"An institution?" Naru's mouth dropped. "He was placed in an institution? Why?"

"Because of the nature of his birth." Casper glanced again at Naru's cards. "The scientists that worked at the place his parents were imprisoned were so shocked by it that they decided that Uro-san was not fit for normal society. They did all kinds of cruel things to him – injections, genetic manipulations, beatings. They deprived him of sleep, food, and human contact for days at a time. It was all ostensibly to fix him, but the truth was that they almost completely destroyed him."

"Imprisoned?" Naru gasped. "And cruel things...What did they do that for?"

"..For Uro-san's conception."

 

Suddenly, Casper bent over and grabbed Naru to him. It was rough, nothing like Naru was expecting from someone who had seemed so gentle to her. But she accepted it, regardless; the look in Casper's eyes indicated a terrible secret.

 

"Naru." The words were almost hissed into her ear, though Naru also couldn't imagine Casper hissing into her ear. "Uro-san was not conceived in a normal fashion. He was not carried in a woman."

"...Test tube?"

"No." Casper lowered his voice more. "Not artificial insemination."

"Clone?"

"No. I mean that his conception was...reversed, somehow."

"...'Reversed'?" Naru frowned. "What do you mean?"

"..Naru.." Casper sighed, and then lowered his voice even lower. "I mean that, in simple terms...Uro-san's father...he was the one who..well..."

 

At this point, Gunther, who had not been let onto the secret of Uromamo's birth, noticed Casper and Naru whispering to one another. The potential of sweet nothings always interested him to no end, and, arching his eyebrows, he decided to strain his ear in order to listen in.

 

"HE BROKE MY DOLLY!!!!"

 

Unfortunately, just as the truth was being spilled, Judy Charleston's scream, which could cause steel buildings to collapse onto itself, echoed through the trees, shaking them so violently that the rustling of the leaves, combined with the sound of creaking branches, left Gunther unable to hear what was being said, even as he saw how tantalizing it was. Naru's just kept getting wider and wider as Casper whispered on.

 

"Damnit!"

 

Gunther swore as Naru's ear and Casper's mouth parted. Naru simply stared at Uromamo as he was brought back to the table by Ranami. It was apparent that whatever it was that she was told by Casper, had affected her. She looked at Uromamo with some pity in her eyes.

 

"That's......terrible." Naru whispered, presumably to herself, though Gunther heard her. "To do things like that to someone just because they're different.....to not let them live a life.because...."

"Because of what?"

"...Nothing." Responding to Gunther, Naru closed her eyes and smiled, which frustrated Gunther's curiosity even more. "I guess I should be grateful for the life I've had is all. I've had my share of heartache, but...at least I still had my family."

 

Casper turned away from Naru at this statement without a word. Gunther noticed this as well, and noticed that Casper's face had considerably darkened at Naru's statements; in fact, he looked downright angry.

 

Oh, hmm...what's he about now... Gunther began to sweat as something suddenly returned to the forefront of his mind. Oh, damn! I forgot all about what Casper had talked about until just now!! Crap, crap, crap!!!

 

"Um...so!!!" Gunther nervously laughed as Ranami and Uromamo picked up their cards. "Going back to what's at hand....you guys bet first, right?"

".Hmph." To Gunther's shock, Ranami threw her hand down. "I don't want to play anymore. You always win."

"What?!?"

".M....me neither." Uromamo reluctantly put down his cards. "I.....don't want to play anymore."

"Whaaaat??" Gunther's mouth dropped. "You dooooon't?! B-but.....we haven't finished the game!!"

"....I don't want to play anymore." Uromamo's face brightened as he realized what was happening. "I.....don't want to play anymore!!"

 

He started shaking again, almost as violently as before. This time, however, he looked so happy that he could burst. He even started crying again, but once more, Naru realized that they would not be tears of fear, but tears of joy.

 

This is the first time..he's ever truly defied someone..?

“Uromamo-san.” Ranami smiled. “That's wonderful. See? And no one is here to punish you.”

“Th-they're not r-really after me anymore...”

“No, not today.” Ranami rubbed Usomamo gently on the shoulder as she stood up. “And after tonight, never again.”

“After...tonight?”

“Tourmaline-san will be sending everyone back home at sunset.” Casper also stood up. “She gave us 12 hours – 6 to 6 - to mingle with our siblings from the other universes. It's in part to allow us to meet each other, but the time limit is mainly to keep suspicion from arising in our worlds as to our whereabouts and disappearances.”

“..Oh.” Naru looked at Casper. “And Uromamo-san...”

“...won't be returning to his world.”

Naru and Casper both turned to see Hitoko standing behind them. She carried a large plastic bag which almost reached the ground.

“Tourmaline-san doesn't wish for him to return there again.” Hitoko set the bag on the ground. “Anyways, I figured we could all have a meal together before we have to part ways.”

“Mmm.” Naru smiled and nodded. “Sounds excellent!”

“It's just rice, Tsukino-san...”

“Chiba-san.”

“...Very well.” Hitoko nodded. “Well, it's enough for everyone to have a serving, so it's not much...”

“Rice is fine for me!” Naru turned up to Casper, blushing slightly. “Isn't it, Casper-san...?”

Casper was not looking at them. He instead was looking outwards, away from them, with a hardened look on his face. His hand was stuffed deep in his pocket; his lip was quivering slightly.

Tsukino......and Chiba.....

“...Casper.” Naru turned to see a look of worry on Hitoko's face. “Don't.”

Names they....never gave me.

Naru turned back and forth, from Hitoko to Casper and back. There was obviously something else going on, something that no one was willing to talk about. That certainty only grew when the other three stood up and stared at Casper in unison, all with the same expression of worry that Hitoko had.

“Casper...?”

“Hey everyone!!”

The tension was interrupted by a strand of pink suddenly appearing before them. All of a sudden, it was hidden from Naru again, though she sensed that it wasn't ultimately gone.

....What is going on?

“Small....Lady.”

“Hi! Sorry to startle you all.” Chibi-Usa grinned as she carried her own plastic bag. “But...well, since you guys are the only ones that are pretty much around my age, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out, and share a picnic with me. It's not much-”

“Rice?”

Chibi-Usa blinked as everyone started to laugh. It was a nervous laugh, a laugh of tense relief.

“....Yeah. Enough for everyone.” The pink-haired girl looked down at her bag. “How'd you know?”

“Hitoko-san also brought some rice as well.” Ranami gave Chibi-Usa a smile. “Still, it's kind of you to bring us all some food. Now there's enough for everyone to have two servings.”

“Hmm.” At this, Naru also smiled. “It's...I guess it's amazing how we can think alike, Small Lady.”

“I guess so!” Chibi-Usa didn't see the flicker of sadness in Naru's eyes at this. “But...remember? I told you, you can call me Chibi-Usa. All my friends do.”

“Oh.....yes, of course....Chibi-Usa.”

“Anyways,” Chibi-Usa pat her bag. “Let's eat. It's getting late.”

“F-f-food? There's food?” Even Uromamo was licking his chapped lips. “I'm hungry.”

“Hmph.” With a sigh, Gunther finally put his cards into his trenchcoat. “Oh well. I guess the game was shot anyways...”

“...Food sounds good.”

With his slant smile, Casper bent down and began to help Hitoko and Chibi-Usa set up the blanket. Ranami and Uromamo joined in the fray, while Gunther and Naru silently watched.

Casper-san.....what it is?

This time, however, Naru now knew his slanted smile was not completely sincere, or at least, not completely forthcoming of his feelings as he whittled another piece of wood into nothing with his knife. There was something behind it, something he was not admitting to. Something that, for some reason, scared her deeply.

A secret......from me? Why?

Naru looked at Gunther, hoping for an answer. Gunther, however, was completely inattentive to her. He was turned away from her, staring at Ranami's body with a curve on his lips.

Something is definitely going on. Something.....

Above the group, the wind began to pick up speed. As such, Naru could not hear the curse coming from the mouth of one of her newly-appointed friends and siblings, a curse which would have proved to her that merely befriending them and spending time with them would not heal all wounds they had accumulated in their own realities.

“Usurper.....I'll get you....”

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