I awoke to the sound of rattling chains. My eyes groggily took in the sight of my surroundings.

A cell? Why was I in a cell? I was even wearing the black and white prison garb.

"So you've come to, Inmates."

I jolted up, trying to place the stranger's voice. My movement was restrained by the shackles on my wrists and leg, but I managed to walk to the bars of the cell.

"W-What's going on?" I asked, rubbing my eyes. The scene in front of me didn't make sense.

"The you in reality is currently fast asleep. You are only experiencing this as a dream." A soft voice chimed.

Two identical little girls in blue prison outfits were standing guard in front of my cell and another. Stranger than them was the old man with an abnormally long nose, sitting at a desk and smiling like a maniac.

"H-Homura?" A familiar voice called.

"Akira?!" I responded, pushing my face against the bars to catch sight of my twin. The effort was useless, I could only see in front of the cell. Akira must have been in the adjoining cell.

Our noisiness angered one of the girls. She slammed a baton on my brother's cell, shocking the two of us into silence. "You are in the presence of our master. Stand straight!" The baton hovered threateningly over my cell next. When I didn't give a response the girl scoffed and turned around.

"Welcome." The old man greeted in his deep voice. "I am…Igor. And this is my Velvet Room. I am delighted to make your acquaintances."

Both Akira and I remained silent. The strangeness of the situation left us speechless.

"This place exits between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those who are bound by a 'contract' may enter." Igor continued speaking as if he wasn't expecting an answer from either of us. "I've summoned the both of you to speak about important matters. It involves your lives as well."

"Our lives?" We said at the same time like typical twins.

"Still, this is a surprise…Akira Kurusu. The state of this room reflects the state of your own heart. To think a prison would appear as such. You truly are a 'prisoner' of fate. In the near future, there is no mistake that ruin is awaiting you…"

I leaned my forehead on the bars. Everything Igor was saying made my head spin in the worst way. A headache was quickly forming.

"Ruin?" Akira held up better than me from the onslaught of information.

"I speak of the end to everything. However, there is a means to oppose such a fate. You must be 'rehabilitated' towards freedom…that is your only means to avoid ruin." Igor's too wide eyes locked on to me next. "And you must help facilitate that 'rehabilitation'." He chuckled. "Do the two of you have the resolve to challenge the distortion of the world?"

"Wait a minute! I don't understand a thing you're talking about." I interjected.

Igor ignored my outburst. "Allow me to observe the path of your rehabilitation."

The twin wardens suddenly turned around. The one with braids was impassively staring at me while the one with buns was smirking in the direction of my brother.

"Ah, pardon me for not introducing the others. To the right is Caroline, to the left is Justine. They serve as wardens here."

"Hmph, try and struggle as you like." Caroline with the buns, snorted.

"The duty of wardens is to protect inmates. We are also your collaborators…that is if you two remain obedient." Justine with the braids, stated.

"I shall explain the roles of these two at another occasion." Igor drummed his fingers on the desk. "Now then, it seems the night is waning…it is almost time. Take the time to slowly come to understand this place. We will surely meet again, eventually…" His eyes moved from one cell to another without blinking.

A loud ringing noise startled me.

"What is that?" I frantically looked for the source.

"Time's up. Now hurry up and go back to sleep, Inmates." Caroline tapped the baton on her shoulder.

Abruptly, I was overcome with fatigue and stumbled back onto the bed. My vision went black. Akira's name was on the tip of my tongue, but my mouth wouldn't move.


Take your time


My eyes flew open and I rolled onto my side, grasping at my pounding heart.

A dream, that had to be a dream!

"Homura." A hand landed on my shoulder. In a panic, I shoved the looming body away.

"Owwww!"

I peeked over the edge of the bed to see my brother sprawled out on the ground. He looked as sweaty and panicked as me. We weren't in a some funky prison, but our new living space in the attic of Cafe Leblanc.

"Akira, I had the craziest dream about an old man and a Velvet Room! Tell me you did too!" I gulped, swiping my curly black hair out of my eyes.

"I did too…" He sat up, twirling one of his curls around his finger. "Maybe it was just a twin thing. This wouldn't be the first time you and I had similar dreams…there's no way that could have been real."

"I-I guess…" I took a calming breath. "Y-Yeah, it must have been our nerves working against us." My heartbeat slowed down to a normal pace. "Anyway, we should get ready. Mr. Sakura will be here soon."

The time on my phone meant we had less than an hour to get ready.

"You can use the bathroom first." Akira stood up, wiping the dust off his sweats.

I retrieved my uniform from the shelf and hurried downstairs to clean up.

If the reception we received yesterday was anything to go by then this meeting was doomed to be agonizing. Mr. Sakura was downright rude to my brother and I when we arrived. A bunch of pompous school teachers were certainly going to make our lives hellish…school was gonna be a nightmare.

"The bathroom's all yours, bro." I slumped onto my bed with my legs crossed, idly humming a tune.

Akira sniggered. "Can you dress like you live in this century and not some play?"

I sent him a dirty look. The Shujin uniform was cute on its own, but I had to add my own flare. Underneath my blazer was a lace shirt that tied into a ribbon at the collar and sleeves that ended in ruffles. Black tights covered my legs and white heeled boots completed the look.

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players, dear brother." I finished with an elegant bow. My long hair fell over my shoulder. Unfortunately, I hadn't mastered the ways of my hair. Somehow, I had managed to pin most of it back with the bangs neatly combed out of my eyes.

"You're so weird, sis. Sometimes I wonder how we're related." Akira passed me with a fond pat on the head.

"You love my weirdness!" I shouted downstairs.

"Some days!" He shouted back.

I giggled. We were both weird. While Akira got dressed, I mindlessly played on my phone until an eerie app shaped like a red eyeball popped up in the middle of my screen.

"Is this a virus? I hope it isn't, I just got this phone." The app was dragged into the trash and the phone rebooted.

"Texting your boyfriend already? Let the poor guy rest. He needs a break from your constant fangirling." My brother teased.

"Shut up." I tossed a pillow across the room, hitting Akira in the face. "You're just jelly because I have a special someone and you don't."

He adjusted his glasses that he didn't need. "Technically, you don't either. A childhood crush doesn't count, especially when you two haven't seen each other for years." His grin turned smug.

"That's why they call it a long distance relationship, dummy. I wouldn't expect a novice like you to understand matters of the heart." Now seemed like a good opportunity to get back at him for his earlier comment. "Can you dress like you live in this century? There's no style or personality to your uniform."

"I'm not trying to stand out. Mom and Dad were clear about us staying out of trouble."

And just like that the mood turned depressing. Our parents had become a taboo subject for me. Unlike Akira, I hadn't taken their decision very well. I cried for hours afterwards and refused to speak to them when they told us they were sending us away. I'd never felt so betrayed before. Our own parents refused to defend us and instead chose to get rid of their children like some dirty secret. All because of that disgusting bastard!

"Sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." Akira's apology snapped me out of my dark thoughts.

"Looks like you brats are up." Mr. Sakura's gravelly voice interrupted the conversation. He came into the attic. I whistled as I took in his old school outfit. The man scoffed at me but I saw the tips of his ear were red. "Let's go introduce ourselves properly to the staff about the transfer. The school is in the Aoyama district. It'll cost a bit to ride the train there and the route transfers are a pain. I'll drive us there, but just for today. Let's go."

"Onwards to hell." I muttered. Akira bumped my shoulder.

"Don't be pessimistic." He chided.

"Sheesh…men aren't usually allowed in my passenger seat so you're in the back, boy." Mr. Sakura told Akira. I sniggered at Akira's mild frown. We followed after our new guardian.


Take your time


"Didn't I say school was going to be hell? The principal and those teachers hated us…and I can't believe they put us in different homerooms!" I complained, not looking forward to the first day. The idea of having to fend for myself in a new school wasn't appealing. I had counted on at least having my brother with me to ward off the crappy students that would no doubt hate our guts.

"It'll work out, sis. We can still have lunch together." Akira comforted me, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. As always, Akira was the cool twin during the meeting. He handled the condescending adults with grace and didn't let anything get to him.

I didn't understand how he could weather it all with a smile. The whole time we were in the meeting I wanted to smack that fat principal silly. Akira's homeroom teacher was just as bad. Mine wasn't as obnoxious, Mr. Hiruta seemed alright if a little eccentric. I nearly punched Akira in the gut when he whispered that my homeroom teacher and I had similar taste in clothes since his shirt was frilly like mine.

"Damn, to think there'd be that much traffic…what a waste of time." Mr. Sakura grumbled, shutting the door and placing his hat on the bar. "I wasn't able to open the cafe today…"

Akira and I looked at each other before coming to a silent decision. We both bowed to the man. "We apologize for being an inconvenience."

Even though Mr. Sakura was abrasive, he was providing us shelter and food, that enough earned him some leeway. I didn't mind being a tad more submissive in his case.

"Whatever." He sighed. "Just head upstairs. There's something I need to give you brats."

I wondered what the mystery gift would be?

Akira and I headed upstairs to wait for Mr. Sakura. My phone buzzed right as I sat down on the couch. Once unlocked, I checked my messages and smiled when I saw the group message.

Future Hubby: How did the meeting go? The teachers aren't giving either of you a hard time, are they?

"Akira check your phone." I started typing a reply to my longtime friend.

Homura Kurusu: It was awful. :( Everyone is treating us like dirt. It's beyond aggravating! :( Worst of all, Akira and I don't even have the same homeroom teacher despite us being twins. Aren't twins supposed to be in the same class?! Stupid record, it's all your fault!

Future Hubby: I'm sorry to hear that, Homura. This might be out of line, but in a way I'm glad things turned out the way they did.

Homura Kurusu: ?

Big Brother: I second that.

I glanced up at Akira. It took him forever to join the chat. The phone's buzz drew my attention back to the chat.

Future Hubby: Well, now I have the opportunity to see both of you again. We've kept in touch through emails, texts, and calls, but that only does so much. I'm looking forward to meeting up. Perhaps we could have lunch and catch up?

Homura Kurusu: So am I! I'm dying to see my favorite prince. ;)

Big Brother: She really is. It's all she's talked about since we got here. It's almost kind of sad.

"What's sad is how immature you are!" I sprung up and put Akira in a headlock. He flailed in my grasp. "Act your age, Akira Kurusu!"

"Says you! You're the queen of immaturity." He grunted, reaching for my sides and tickling me. Our tussling got rougher as I tried to cave in Akira's head and he tried to puncture my sides.

"Talk about a gruesome accident…eighty people were involved." Mr. Sakura strolled into our room and froze as he caught sight of us. "What are you two doing?"

"Wrestling." We answered in unison, slowly untangling from each other.

Mr. Sakura scoffed. "Should a girl your age be wrestling? How tomboyish."

I huffed. "Of course I should. How else am I supposed to fight off sexual predators?"

The barista was taken back by my blunt words. Akira shook his head.

"You had something for us, Mr. Sakura?" My brother reminded the man.

"It's a diary. I only have one so you two will have to share. Make sure both of you write in it." He dug the object out of his pocket and tossed it onto the dresser. "You brats may be under probation, but there's no special limitations on what either of you do in particular. Besides following the law, that is. However, I'm obligated to report on both of you, which is why I'm having your daily activities recorded."

"Such a cheapskate." I mumbled. Akira coughed to cover up my comment. Mr. Sakura glared and was going to let me have it, but his phone rang. He turned to take the call.

I plopped back on the couch and picked up my phone. The future hubby had replied.

Future Hubby: Haha. You two haven't changed. How about we meet up sometime this week? My workload is pretty light and I don't think I'll be swamped with homework yet.

Homura Kurusu: Sure. Let us know what day works for you. Akira and I don't have jobs to schedule around.

Homura Kurusu: Though we should look into getting jobs. We don't exactly have parents to depend on anymore.

Homura Kurusu: Ignore that, I pulled an Akira. Parents are a taboo subject for you too.

"Homura." Akira called. He was holding the diary out for me. "Anything you want to add?"

"Besides some snarky notations, not much." I accepted the diary and claimed a colored pen from my backpack.

Akira had written a dry, to-the-point summary of the day's events. Deciding to spruce it up, I began adding commentary and doodles here and there in the diary.

"Is that your phone?" I questioned. There was a ringing sound coming from somewhere.

"It's not my cell…I hear it coming from downstairs." Akira went to go investigate.

Done with the diary, I set it back on the dresser. A shower was what I needed. With my pjs in hand, I went downstairs to the bathroom and saw Akira coming back into the cafe.

"Sakura forgot to flip the sign to closed." He explained.

"Gotcha."

"Don't use all the hot water."

"Maybe I will, that'd be good payback for you being a crap older twin." I taunted, smirking at Akira, who rolled his eyes.

"Such a petty little sister you are."

I winked before entering the bathroom.

Memories of that night flooded my mind as the water hit me. That bastard wouldn't leave that woman alone and Akira couldn't walk away. Sometimes I wished my brother wasn't so kind. He had all the right intentions and yet he ended up with a record for assault. I ended up with a record for prostitution because I helped him…everyone started treating me like I was a whore after the news of our arrest got out.

"The shower's all yours, bro."

"Are you alright?" He picked up on my bad mood.

"No. I'm pissed at that bald asshole that screwed up our lives!" I laid down on my bed, snuggling into the pillow Akira had returned.

"It's alright to be angry, but don't let it consume you. Things will get better...eventually."

"As you say, oh wise one."

Akira took off his glasses and grabbed his nightwear before leaving. I took my phone off the charger and checked the message. Mom and Dad had sent me texts, reminding me to stay out of trouble and get good grades.

Like they cared. They were too busy getting divorced and lamenting on their wayward kids to give a real shit.

All the people I had thought were my friends shut me out and refused to respond to any of my texts after the incident happened. Those numbers were deleted without a second thought. When it really came down to it, I had two numbers in my contact list that mattered, my brother and my childhood friend. They were the only ones to stand by me. Speaking of my childhood friend, he'd sent me a message outside the group text.

Future Hubby: You don't ever have to censor yourself when speaking to me. If you don't tell me what's wrong then I can't help you.

Future Hubby: In regards to your parents, I can't fathom how they've become such a negative part of your life. From what I recall, they were very affectionate with you and Akira and seemed happy together.

Future Hubby: What changed?

I remembered those days. Mom and Dad were like the "It" couple of the neighborhood and we were their unexpected, but perfect twins…sometimes I wondered if I was the root of the problem. Mom and Dad weren't expecting twins. Akira was the one they prepared for and I just happened to come out during the delivery, surprising my parents and baffling the doctors since all the scans only showed one child.

Homura Kurusu: I honestly don't know what caused it. One day they just started arguing and then the next day and the next day until all they did was argue. I seriously hated going home to that. Most the arguments were about work, bills, and parenting.

Homura Kurusu: At least now I don't have to hear them shouting and breaking things.

I shouldn't be telling him this. The home life is supposed to be private…but this was my best friend. I told him everything.

Future Hubby: Perhaps the space provided by your probation will cool the tensions in your family. Or at least I hope it will. It pains me to hear the two of you suffering like this.

Future Hubby: If you need anything at all, feel free to ask, Homura. I'll do my best to assist.

I smiled. Leave it to the Detective Prince to cheer me up.

Homura Kurusu: Anything?

Future Hubby: I have a feeling that this might backfire, but yes, anything that is within my power to do.

Homura Kurusu: Then I request a cute stuffed animal. ;) I'd feel a lot better if something cute were in this dusty attic.

"You're so transparent."

I screamed in fright. Akira stood up, avoiding getting smacked and holding in his laughter.

"Stupid Akira, don't sneak up on me!"

"Either he's really oblivious or very polite. Which is worse I wonder? My brotherly instincts are confused on how to handle this infatuation of yours." I repeatedly hit Akira with the pillow. "Alright, alright. I'll leave you alone."

"Wait till you get a crush, I'm gonna tease you ten times as much." I promised. He chuckled, flicking my nose and sauntering back to his side of the room.

"We have to take the train to school so don't stay up all night texting. With all the accidents the timetables will be messed up." He flicked off the lights.

I groaned. "Can I skip school?"

Being a social outcast was an odd experience for me.

"No."

"That was too quick of an answer."

"This year will fly by and then we'll be back home. Hang in until then, sis."

"I'll try…for you, Akira."

"Good. Now go to sleep."

I pulled the blanket over my head and checked my phone one last time.

Future Hubby: Oh, what a relief. I thought you might ask for something outrageous, like the time you insisted I go beat up another kid because he threw your shoe into the fountain.

I had to stifle my laugh to prevent Akira from hearing.

Future Hubby: A stuffed animal is more manageable. Did you have a preference?

Homura Kurusu: Surprise me with something you think suits me. ;)

Future Hubby: Very well. I'll steal your breath away with my selection.

My cheeks warmed up. He really fitted the bill as "Prince Charming". Reconnecting with him would be interesting.