Chapter one: The Diva
Darkness…
Pure darkness…
Seeing walls of blue….
No, velvet…
These aren't walls…
Curtains….
A stage….
A girl with long silver hair and a butterfly headband, wearing a dress that was the same color as the room…
A man with a long nose and pointed ears, wearing a creepy grin…
"Welcome to the Velvet Room, Diva…"
As the sun reflected off of the pale skin of a young woman, a sharp gasp left her soft lips. As her blue eyes opened, she brushed the purple hair from her view as she rubbed her eyes. Her hair was done up into twin tails, and she wore a red shirt with a black sweater, dark jeans, and skull converse. Her outfit complimented her rather curvaceous figure.
During the flight, she had her headphones on and she had fallen asleep at some point. When she looked around, everyone on the plane was leaving. Giving a soft sigh, she stopped the music on her phone and removed her headphones before getting up and leaving her seat to grab her bag. Her luggage had to have already arrived at the airport, so she'll have to retrieve it there.
As she walked out of the plane, she couldn't help but wonder what that dream was.
'Could it have been a nightmare or something? I mean, it didn't even look scary, just…. Strange…..' She shook her head. 'I'm thinking too hard on this.'
She hadn't realised she had retrieved her luggage in the luggage area until she saw it in her hand, the tag reading...
Miyako Inoue
'I must be super distracted today,' the girl, thought to herself. 'Maybe the travel just…..'
She paused in that, suddenly thinking about why she had to travel from Kyoto to Hokkaido.
She could remember the angry and exhausted looks of her parents as she argued with them. Miyako looked like she was on the verge of tears as the yelling got worse and her father slammed his hand on the table.
"Enough with your excuses!" He had shouted. "The decision is final! You're staying with your grandmother in Hokkaido and will attend the rest of your second year in Gekijo Academy!"
"It's time you stopped being irresponsible, Miyako," she heard her mother say.
Miyako looked around the airport to see if her friends were coming to say goodbye, but none of them were showing up and she had no choice but to enter the plane.
Miyako frowned before she moved forward to head for the exit of the airport. She didn't want to keep her grandmother waiting for too long, so she made sure to make the trip short. What will Miyako expect? Well, knowing her grandmother, she'll get a warm welcome first and then scold her once they get to her house.
Good thing she was prepared.
When she made it to the exit, Miyako looked around for any sign of her grandmother. She soon spotted a petite old woman with short lavender hair, pale skin that had a few wrinkles, a yellow button down shirt, and pink skirt. The old woman was holding a sign that had Miyako's name on it.
'Found you, Grandma,' she thought to herself, smiling and rushing over to her grandmother.
"Grandma!" She called.
Her grandmother looked towards her and smiled. Miyako stopped in front of her so that the petite, old woman could hug her granddaughter.
"Hello, Sweetie," she said as the teen hugged her back.
They pulled away with smiles before they left the airport.
Miyako's grandmother, Chiho Inoue, had a silver car with five seats. The teen got into the passenger's side while Chiho got into the driver's seat. Once she started the engine, they pulled out of the parking space before they drove off.
A few minutes pass by before, Chiho gave a stern look.
"You know, I did warn you about the kind of people you associate yourself with," she said.
Miyako frowned as she looked out the window.
"I know you don't want to hear this, but you need to," Chiho continued. "From the way you had described them to me, those children were not a very good influence on you. I'm assuming that this is the result of your parents being busy all the time, but I can only assume." She glanced at her granddaughter. "All I'm trying to say is, be careful in who you choose to be friends with, alright?"
"I know, Grandma," the purple haired teen said bitterly. "I've learned my lesson. Especially when they didn't show up to say goodbye…"
Chiho fell silent after that, and the rest of the ride was spent in silence.
When they arrived at the Fruits & Roots Flora Shop, they were greeted by a young woman with short brown hair.
"Good day, Granny Chiho!" She greeted.
Chiho smiled at the woman. "Ah, good day to you, too, Shurui-chan," she replied. She made a gesture to her granddaughter. "Shurui-chan, this is Miyako. Miyako, this is Shurui Waka, the owner of the beef bowl shop next door."
"I'm Miyako Inoue," the teen replied politely. "It's nice to meet you."
"Likewise, Miyako-chan," Shurui replied with a smile. "Granny Chiho talks a lot about you. If you ever need a job, don't hesitate to come to the shop for employment."
"Thank you, I'll keep that in mind," Miyako said, smiling up at the woman.
With that, they parted ways and Miyako dragged her luggage inside and went to the back door that lead to the inside of Chiho's house. The inside was fairly neat as the walls were a floral purple, the wooden floors was nice and clean, and the furniture was placed in spaces that made each room spacious. The kitchen was also clean and the flooring had white tiles with white walls.
It felt like Miyako never left when she last visited.
"Your room is just upstairs," her grandmother informed. "I made sure it was clean and organized before your arrival."
"Aw, Grandma, I could've done that when I got here," the teen said.
"No, you're job is to unpack and get settled in," Chiho scolded. "Now up to your room you go."
Miyako chuckled but did what she was told and headed upstairs, carrying her suitcase instead of dragging it up there. When she made it to the closest door to the stairs, she opened it up to reveal light blue walls and a twin sized bed with red sheets on it.
Ah, this brings back memories. She always loved this room whenever she visited. It was spacious, the carpet was soft, and the window was big enough to open and feel the soft spring breeze.
'This really feels like I never left…'
2020 4/12
"And here is the paperwork for your agreement of the school rules," the principal said, pushing a piece of paper in front of Miyako and Chiho.
The purple haired teen grabbed a pen and wrote down her signature on the piece of paper.
"Welcome aboard, Miyako-chan," a sickly looking teacher with dark hair in a ponytail and bags under his grey eyes said with a kind smile. "I'm Kazuma Yaguchi. I'll be your homeroom teacher for class 2-B."
"Wonderful," she replied with a stoic expression.
"I must say, Inoue-san, your granddaughter looks like a younger version of you," the Yaguchi said.
"Ah, yes, I do get told that a lot," Chiho chuckled.
"I appreciate you letting her take the opening in your class, Yaguchi-kun," the principal said.
"Well, you did say that our new student will need an opening spot in a class, right?" Yaguchi said. "I figured it would be fair if I let her in the class." He gave Miyako a smile. "Besides, I have a feeling she'll get along with my class just fine."
Miyako gave him a small smile in return. 'Well, at least I have a nice teacher…'
She turned her attention to the principal when he cleared his throat.
"Now, listen carefully, Miyako Inoue," he said sternly. "I let you transfer here out of the goodness in my heart. However, I will not hesitate to suspend you if you cause us any trouble. Do you understand?"
Miyako went back to her blank expression at this.
"Yes, sir," she said. "I promise not to cause any trouble."
"Good, we shall see tomorrow then," the principal said.
"Thank you, sir," Chiho said. "We'll be going now."
The principal simply nodded and the two Inoue's left quietly. Miyako frowned as they walked down the halls.
"I just got accepted, and people are already starting to give me a hard time," she mumbled.
"Word spreads fast in a small town like this," Chiho sighed. "They'll give you a break as time goes by, and as long as you do as you're told."
The teen said nothing as they left Gekijo Academy.
The day passed on to the evening and Miyako had changed into her pjs, which consisted of a black top and grey shorts. She stared up at the ceiling as she thought about how she got into this mess.
'Pranks… Expulsion… Being sent away... I'm starting to wonder if I even did the right thing…'
Three weeks ago
"Shit! They're searching for the culprit!"
Miyako watched calmly as her friends started to panic when the whole school was put in a line.
"We're in so much trouble!"
The purple haired teen blinked as the school board sized everyone down.
"Who did it!?"
Everyone flinched as the principal yelled.
"Someone better confess, right now!"
Miyako watched her friends tremble in fear before she looked at the principal.
"I did it! It was my fault!"
Present
Miyako grimaced at the memory.
'I should've known they didn't care about me from the start…'
Her eyes started getting heavy, so she chose the right time to close them and fall asleep.
All of what happened had been so exhausting emotionally and physically. Tomorrow was probably going to be just as bad. She hoped she would have a dreamless sleep like last night.
But no. She didn't get a dreamless sleep.
Instead, when she opened her blue eyes, she was met with a large ceiling and a single bed in a room with nothing but a dresser and a mirror. Miyako looked around as she slowly sat up. When she looked at her lap, she blinked when she found herself in a white silk dress with the straps wrapped behind her neck.
"What the…"
The purple haired teen shook her head and she got off the bed, noticing that she didn't have any shoes on, but not caring in the slightest. She walked over to the door and pushed it open carefully.
Before her was a theatre room with the stage curtains closed. Miyako walked passed the many seats that the room could provide, making her think she was going to see some sort of play. She went up to the stairs of the stage and slowly crept up. As she made it up the steps, she began to notice the color of everything in the room.
It was blue.
'No… Velvet…'
Miyako reached the middle of the stage and that is when the giant curtains began to open to reveal what she didn't anticipate to see.
Behind the curtains revealed a man with a long nose, pointy ears, and a rather frightening smile. Beside him was a girl with long silver hair, golden eyes and a velvet dress with a butterfly headband.
"Welcome to the Velvet Room, Diva…"
Everything came back to Miyako in a heartbeat.
"You…"
"It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance," the man said. "I am Igor, the master of the Velvet Room. Beside me is my assistant, Lavenza."
"It is nice to finally meet you, Diva," Lavenza said, curtsying.
Miyako blinked. "Wait, what did you call me?"
"You, my dear, are the Diva," Igor informed. "The star of the show. The lead of the plot."
The teen gave a skeptical look toward the man in question. She took a slight step back.
"What exactly is this place?" She asked. "I mean, this is all a dream, right?"
"On the contrary," Igor began, "this world has an existence between dream and reality, mind and matter." He gestured to the room. "This lovely theatre is what lies within your heart."
Miyako's eyes widened. "My…heart?"
"Indeed," he said. "The Velvet Room only appears when a person is bound to a contract. It will vanish when that contract is fulfilled, and the Diva has played her role in the show."
"Role? What are you getting at?" The teen demanded.
"He speaks of an evil that has every means of returning to bring ruin to the world," Lavenza said. "It is in the process of being resurrected by an evil cult, whose sole purpose is to bring back a false God who had once tried to bring ruin."
"It was only stopped by the hands of the Trickster who defeated it with great power that came from freedom," Igor said. "Now that this cult is intending to have the false God return, it is the Diva's turn to take the stage."
Miyako took her time to process everything before shaking her head.
"I'm sorry, but you've got the wrong one. I don't know what is going on, but I want out of this dream. This is way too bizarre! I'm not a Diva! There is no way that I can defeat something as ridiculous as that! Why the hell am I even having this kind of dream!? What is this place!? For real!"
She jumped when she heard a large clock go off on the background.
"Ah, my apologies," Igor said, "but I'm a afraid we'll have to close the curtains for the time being."
"When you awaken from your sleep, you will notice that my master has left you a gift," Lavenza said. "Please use it well."
"Until next time, Diva…"
Everything went black after that, but Miyako knew one thing.
Whatever this encounter meant for her, it was going to change her life forever…
okay so I'm going to give out what positions are available, because all phantom thieves spots are now taken. I got salted, but I deserved that honestly, it was absolute poor timing on my part
Available spots are side characters:
Hierophant
Hermit
Judgement
Tower