Kira

"La~ La~ La~"

Kira began to hum as she strolled around the large room, her footsteps echoing. In her hand was weird-looking flower, a flower that seemed to have an eye in the middle of it.

Her purplish, slightly messy long hair fluttered beautifully. For you see, her 'stroll' is walking at a speed that exceeded the human limit. But for her, this was disgustingly slow. Still, she didn't increase her speed, for the last time she did, she managed to cause some bookshelves to fall. Of course, that led her to get berated by the White Rabbit, and she didn't want that to happen again.

As she glanced to the left, her purple-colored eyes gazed at the endless hallway filled with bookshelves, stretching endlessly. This was only one of the many places filled with bookshelves in the world of the Rabbit Hole, and yet, it's the largest. Damp darkness shrouded the hallway and the venerable bookshelves, with the only light visible from that hallway being the flickering, barely functioning lanterns hanging from the ceiling. These weren't normal lanterns, and Kira knew it. They were specifically made with magic, causing them to never stop shining.

The White Rabbit once told her that this specific hallway, or library, didn't obey the normal laws and rules of space and time. The reason was, as the White Rabbit told her; "This library contained a vast amount of books about sorcery, and due to the magic emanating from it, it was hypothesized to stretch endlessly, never-ending."

Even the White Rabbit, which was the guardian of this place, didn't see the end of that library. After all, It's not like the White Rabbit created this place.

Even from this distance, Kira could hear some distant whispers coming from the library. According to the White Rabbit, that was the sound of the books talking, as some of them had a mind of their own.

How terrifying, she thought. She didn't bother getting close to the place, so she looked somewhere else.

To her right was another long, low hall, with lamps clinging onto the roof of it. There were a seemingly countless amount of doors in the hallway, and they stretched endlessly as well. This hall was one of the most important locations in the rabbit hole, as each door connected to a different place, most of them being a fairy tale and folklore locations, where fairy tales had been corrupted by madness. The hallway was endless, and It was said that if an athletic human that didn't have an extraordinary soul ran at full speed, only after 4 hours will they reach the end of it. That was how vast the hallway was.

Of course, it wouldn't take that long for her. She has long since passed the limit of normal humans.

'The White Rabbit is probably there.' She thought as she gazed at the hallway. For you see, many doors also led to rooms inside this rabbit hole, and the White Rabbit was probably in one of those rooms.

She then looked in front of her. There were three doors, all of them a few inches apart from each other. She knew where these doors led.

She happily strolled towards the door in the middle and put her cat ear against it. The White Rabbit wasn't athletic, and as such, with his magic, he made numerous doors that connected to different parts of the rabbit hole. For example, the door to his lab was in that long hallway, but he also decided to make another door here that directly connects to it.

Kira hummed as she tried to listen to what was inside the door, but alas, it was silent. With a small groan, she went to the door next to it and did the same thing.

This one led to his garden, which was one of the most lovely things Kira has seen in her life. It was filled with wonderful animals, beautiful flowers, and scenery that was beyond description.

Once more, she hummed as she tried to listen to what was inside. And sure enough, she could barely hear the sound of muffled conversations. As she focused on it, she finally could comprehend what was being said;

"Your ways of fighting were magnificent, sir! I don't think I have ever seen someone with such precise attacks and calculative mind!"

Kira raised one of her eyebrows in confusion. She was sure this was the White Rabbit, but, who the hell was he talking to? There hasn't been a visitor to this place for quite a long time now, with the exception of her. Mostly because she's his servant at this point, as evident by the flower in her hand. The White Rabbit had told her about some weird flower, far, far away on the peak of a tall mountain, and told her to retrieve it. Everyone else in the rabbit hole, she knew the White Rabbit will never praise them like this.

"Mhm..."

"And as I said, there's no need to fret over Albert's death. Although I considered him a friend, his greed for power ultimately led him to be corrupted, and go insane. Additionally, you had no choice."

'What? Albert is dead?' Albert, the guardian, was dead? That was ridiculous! Although she hadn't seen him in person, but from what she heard, Albert was extremely strong. Additionally, with the core in his stomach, he's able to dish out many attacks that are pretty much impossible to dodge. Even Kira knew she would have some problems with him.

'Then, if Albert's dead, does that mean this new person is-'

"Yeah, uh, before you continue, there's something that has been bothering me. If you excuse me..."

"Hm? What is-"

Before Kira could hear the end of the white rabbit's sentence, she felt a sudden sense of danger. She instinctively reared her head back as fast as possible.

*Crack!*

*Swish!*

All she saw in front of her was the tip of a sword glinting, as it slightly pierced her head. Fortunately, it wasn't deep at all, merely a centimeter deep. But, it still stung her a bit.

Sweat started dripping from her forehead, and stepped a few steps back. The sword clung to the broken door, and yet, despite it not moving, she felt a massive amount of danger from it.

The person quickly silenced the White Rabbit when they responded.

"Show yourself."

His voice was elegant, but empty as well. Kira didn't budge and just stared at the door in shock. That person had just tried to kill her!

After a few seconds of constant, anxiety-filled shouts from the White Rabbit, she slowly went towards the door and gripped the handle.

Countless times she was in the face of death, and every time, she managed to slap it in the face, and escape, or even defeat it. But here- she felt danger. That person managed to spot her immediately, despite her nature. She was an expertise in stealth, and despite her aloof movement, she actually hid her presence quite well.

After a few more moments, she opened the door anxiously. The first thing she met was the gaze of the White Rabbit.

"...Kira?"

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Kira didn't know what the hell was going on. She was currently sitting near the white rabbit, who just told her to sit down, and was currently happily chatting with the person who just tried to kill her. The first thing he said was that she wasn't a danger, and that the man should feel at ease.

While anxiously looking at the ground and caressing her arm, she swept a glance at the man in front of her.

He was nothing remarkable, and even his soul seemed average. She felt none of the danger she previously felt as if what happened previously was just a mirage.

His hair was as black as the night, his eyes equally so. Matter of fact, his eyes looked empty, as if she was staring at an abyss. That freaked her out quite a bit.

One important fact was that he had no clothes on. This man was bare-ass naked! Although the table obscured his lower parts- especially his private areas- quite well, she still felt a bit embarrassed.

However, the most important part was what he was doing. While he was conversing with the white rabbit- although it was mostly the white rabbit talking and him just giving out short answers- he was...

"Ugh?!"

"You bastard!"

"I'll tear you apar-"

"Shut up." The man calmly stated, as he threw a 'ball' at the ground, which caused it to bounce back into his hand. However, Kira knew this wasn't a simple ball, but rather, the eye of a madness beast! She knew it because, well, it was an eyeball, and she felt a distinct connection to it.

She was, after all, partially similar to it. When she got infected by madness when she was just a young kitten, she managed to resist it partially, and due to her immense willpower, she didn't turn insane.

Instead, she turned into a humanoid form. Of course, she could still change a few portions of her body to use her madness abilities, but alas, she barely uses it unless in extreme situations.

Back to the topic at hand- How did that human manage to beat that madness beast and Albert, especially with his seemingly average soul? It just didn't make sense.

But then, she recalled the sword that was thrown at her and the immense danger she felt from it. This man wasn't normal, she knew it.

"Ah, It still sounds weird to me. Your swordsmanship is immaculate, and yet, you say you can't even remember your name. Furthermore, you mentioned your first memory is from the Sea of Blood, yes?"

Kira's ears- Cat ears- perked up.

"Yeah."

The man's answer was simple, and he didn't explain further. But still, Kira was slightly shocked. He came from the Sea of Blood and had managed to defeat both the madness beast and Albert, and yet, he can't even remember his own name? Kira felt suspicious.

"Ah, how peculiar." The White Rabbit muttered, "Still, it's a miracle you can remember your swordsmanship."

Kira looked at the White Rabbit strangely. She didn't know why the White Rabbit was this happy chatting with this person- and how he even believed that man's story! It seemed like he didn't even doubt the story.

"That reminds me, you said something quite strange at the end of the fight. Was that a spell? Are you a magic swordsman?"

"Huh?" For the first time, the man looked at the White Rabbit with surprise, "Uh, no, it was just..."

"A regeneration nullifying spell? Ah- but I've never heard of such a weird chant! You must have some other spell that hides the strength of your spell, too! Truly, you are filled with wonder!"

"No- It's nothing- It's just-"

"Ah, truly strange, truly strange. I already have a few ideas of where you could've possibly learned this! Maybe It's from the great magician of the east, or maybe It's from the Academy of..."

"It was just a pun..."

Both Kira and the White Rabbit fell silent. Kira, because she didn't know what the hell he was talking about, and the White Rabbit, because he thought he had heard wrong.

'A pun..? Did he just say a pun?' Kira thought as she stared at the man, confused. The situation was confusing to her.

"...I beg your pardon?" The White Rabbit looked at the man with a bewildered expression.

"As I said, It was just a pun." The man said with an empty voice and continued playing with the eye of the beast, not caring for its insults.

Both Kira and the White Rabbit looked at the man with confused expressions.

"But- Why would you say that in a fight?" The White Rabbit still didn't believe it was only a joke- after all, who would joke in a middle of a battle? When he first heard the 'joke', he was bewildered, but quickly thought it was a spell. However, the man is outright stating it was just a joke.

"I thought it was a funny joke, so I said it. That's it."

The White Rabbit's thoughts were a jumbled mess. He believed everything the man said- except for this. It wasn't just because of its absurdity, but the fact that the man in front of him looked stone cold, and his eyes were dead, too. He just couldn't believe it.

"What was the joke?"

Both the man and the White Rabbit immediately turned toward the source of the sound, which was Kira. Feeling both of the men looking at her, she lightly coughed.

Despite how absurd the man sounded, she was suddenly intrigued.

She loved teasing people with horrible jokes, after all. Besides, considering how the White Rabbit was friendly with the human, it seemed like he didn't mean any harm. She thought this was perhaps a good chance for her to form some kind of a friendship- after all, he defeated both Albert and the beast.