The Jester's Game

"The world is not as it should be. It's filled with distortion, and 'ruin' can no longer be avoided. Those who oppose fate and desire change... From time to time, they were referred to as Tricksters. You are the Trickster. Now is the time to rise against the abyss of distortion... Oh? It appears you are not the him... But, you will do. You who hunger for power to set your world right. Come my Jester, let us start the game.'

[?/?/20XX]

The casino's lights flashes, revealing a figure dressed completely in black. The light glints off a white comedy mask, that completely covers her face. The tattered cloak she was wrapped in shifts, as she turns and leaps onto the next platform.

'It's the Phantom Thief!'

'Get him!'

Smirking underneath her mask the figure continues making her way forward. Her gloved hands gripping a suitcase, one could see cuffs and chains wrapped around her hands. Voices begin to blare from her communicator.

'Good, now get running!'

'This is our only chance!'

'Stay calm! You can get away now!'

'We'll retrieve the briefcase on our end.'

'... Suspects… not confirmed… hold… your… positions…'

'Hm…? What was that…?'

'Don't worry about us, just concentrate on getting away!'

'You better get out of this alive little sister.'

No need to tell me twice. The figure rushes forward and leaps towards the next skylight. Just a little more and I will be home free. And shit. Looks like I jinxed myself. The figure noticed two shadows blocking her path with another one behind her.

'Take' em down Jester!'

Smirking, Jester leaped into the air, twisting, and landing on one of the shadow's back. Reaching her hand for the mask, she tears it off. Dark ooze splurts from the shadow, revealing its true form. A Sacrificial Pyrekeeper huh… Reaching into her cloak, the figure pulls out a luger pistol. One headshot and a dead shadow later, the figure looked up and saw three other shadows gathered. Looks like I have my work cut out for me.

'See ya.'

As soon as those words left the figure's mouth, she leaped through the glass and into freedom. And that my friends, is how you make a majestic escape. Upon landing on the floor, lights ended up flashing onto Jester. Raising a hand to block her eyes from the sudden light, she grimaced. Well shit. What a warm welcome from the cops. Right in front of Jester was an entire army of cops, all of them armed to the teeth. Well, there's nothing wrong in running away… Jester races towards a roof access ladder. Leaping onto it, she begins to climb upwards. Looking up, she then realised what a bad mistake she made. Right above her were another group of cops. One of them raised his rifle and slammed it into Jester. Upon landing on the floor once again, the cops immediately surrounded Jester, pinning her to the floor.

'Didn't expect to find some kid. You have your teammate to thank for this. You were sold out.'

Cuffs were slapped onto Jester and she blacked out.

Cold. That was the first thought she had upon coming to. Looking around, she found herself in a completely sealed room devoid of any windows. Shifting about, the clink of chains greeted her. Crap, I'm completely trapped. And my clothes… They changed back. Shit.

'You still don't get it do ya? Give it up!'

A foot smashed into her, knocking her backwards against the wall. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes but she attempted to keep them in. I will not let these bastards see me cry.

'Come on, cooperate. Or what, you want another shot? Huh? With the number of crimes under your belt, there's no way you can get out. Now then be a good girl and sign this.'

A clipboard was shoved into her face and her handcuffs were removed. A confession? No! I refuse to sign this! She shoves the clipboard back at the officer. Grinning, the officer points a finger towards her.

'You little punk. Do you just want to get even more beaten up? There's no way you can escape this without getting hurt. Now, you better sign this if you want to remain in one piece.'

Eyes glinting in defiance, she shifted forward and bit the officer's finger. Howling in pain, he pulled his finger back while she spat out the blood she had managed to draw. Grabbing her by her hair, the officer whipped out a knife. Fear gripped her heart as she stared at the blade. They wouldn't dare to stab me, right? The blade whipped through the air and she squeezed her eyes shut. Instead of touching skin, the blade had instead found contact with her hair, cutting through it cleanly.

"You better cooperate, or else the next cut will be at your finger."

Looks like I don't have any other choice. Reaching for the pen, she signed the confession. Upon seeing the name Akane Kurusu scrawled onto it, the officer smirked and walked out of the room. What have I done to deserve this mess… The door to the room swung open.

'... I didn't expect it'd be you. You'll be answering my questions this time. Those bastards…'

Akane looked up into the face of Sae Niijima. Turning her head to see what Sae was looking at, Akane saw an empty syringe on the floor. Her eyes widened. Shit, those assholes drugged me.

'Can you hear me? It seems you've been through alot. Almost anything can happen here… and I can't stop them. Please, answer me honestly, I don't have much time to save you either. What was your objective? Why would you cause such a major incident? I thought better of my sister's…'

Her sister's what? I can't even hear Sae properly… Raising her hand to her face, Akane massages her forehead. Her surroundings began to turn black. Is that… A blue butterfly? Just then, a voice rings out…

"...You are held captive. A prisoner of fate to a future that has been sealed in advance. This is truly an unjust game... Your chances of winning are almost none. But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you... ...I beg you. Please overcome this game... and save the world… even though you are not the true player of this game... The key to victory lies within the memories of your bonds—the truth that you and your friends grasped. If you do not believe in your place in this game... at least believe in the bonds with your friends… It all began that day... when the game was started half a year ago... For the sake of your world's future... as well as your own... you must remember…"

[09/04/20XX]

'Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for riding with us today. We will be arriving at Shibuya shortly. This is the last stop for this line. Please transfer here for all subway lines.'

I looked up upon hearing the announcement. Looks like I will be arriving in Shibuya soon, my new home… Raising up my hands to rub my eyes, I blinked when I touched plastic before remembering, I'm wearing glasses now. Stifling a yawn, I looked down towards the floor. Hopefully this would be a better year for Akane Kurusu…

'Irritating bastards… How could they do this to me…' I muttered as I shoved my clothes into a cardboard box. My older twin brother, Akira Kurusu, had committed a crime. The perfect honour student had attacked some old guy to protect a woman. Of course, he was sued by the old guy. In order to prevent Akira from getting a criminal record, my parents had decided to put the blame on me. Since the old guy was drunk, they managed to pass it off that it was I, the delinquent Akane Kurusu, was the one who assaulted the old guy. Somehow, the court had believed them. Maybe it was because we were pretty similar looking… I mean if I grew a few centimetres, dyed my hair back to black and put on glasses, we would look identical. Their logic was that since my future was practically non-existent thanks to me being a delinquent, why not just ensure it? After all, they would rather lose me then their precious son. Looking into the mirror, I realised I was in for a rough time in Tokyo. I definitely looked the part of the delinquent, with my dyed purple hair and with that scar across one of my eyes. Maybe I could put on a mask, pretend to be more like my brother. Maybe then, I would be treated the same as him. The day before I left my hometown, I proceeded to dye my hair black and bought a pair of fake glasses from the optical shop.

'We have arrived at Shibuya station.'

The announcer's voice snapped me out of my reverie. Shaking my head, I stood and walked out of the train doors. Today shall mark the birth of the new Akane Kurusu!

Shit, I am totally lost. Who would have guessed that Tokyo could be this confusing. I had only left the station a few moments ago. Let's see where is my GPS app… Hmmm? I don't remember downloading this app… A red eye stared at me from the app icon. It couldn't have been a virus could it? This phone is probably gonna be my last, I can't afford to have it replaced. I attempted to delete the app, hopefully that would get rid of whatever it is.

Ba-bump

Eyes widening in shock, I looked up from my phone. What was that feeling I just had… What? Has the world just frozen? All around me, it seemed as though time had stopped. I was just casually walking along Shibuya crossing, one of the busiest places in Tokyo, and everyone just so happens to have stopped. All of a sudden, blue flames manifested in front of me, appearing in a vaguely humanoid shape. A horrible laughter suddenly filled in the air. The blue flames dispersed a little, revealing… me? My mirror counterpart looked exactly like me, just that she was not wearing glasses and had bright yellow eyes.

'Miss are you alright? You seemed to have zoned out there for a second.'

Blinking, I looked at my mirror doppelganger once more only to find her gone. 'Miss, do you need any help?' Turning my head towards the sound of the voice, I realised that it was a female police officer. She had light brown hair that was cut in a bowl shaped style. Smiling, I answered, 'Actually officer, can you help me find my way to this address?'

'Thanks so much for your help officer. I have no idea how I would have made it here without your help!' I thanked the female police officer.

'It's no trouble at all! I understand how the streets of Tokyo can confusing for a newcomer like you! I still remember when I first moved here from the countryside… but it appears that there is no one home. May I know what's your guardian's name?' She chirped.

'Funny, he should know I am arriving today…' muttering to myself, I rang the doorbell. I waited for a solid 5 minutes but there was still no response. I rang the doorbell again, once more receiving no answer. Could my new guardian have forgotten that today was the day I arrived in Tokyo? Annoyed, I whipped out my phone, maybe I had gotten his address wrong. Let's see, Sojiro Sakura and his address is… Crap! My phone ran out of battery! Stupid piece of shit!

Putting on a sheepish smile, I turned to the police officer and said, 'Um, my new guardian's name is Sojiro Sakura…'

'Oh! So your new guardian is Boss! He should still be at Leblanc right now. How lucky are you to have met me, I know exactly where he is! Come on, I'll bring you there right now!'

Panting, I finally plopped down on my bed and stared at my new room. In the last 3 hours, I have found my new guardian, learnt that he owns a cafe called Leblanc and that he thinks of me a fool for allowing myself to take the blame for my brother's crime. Afterwhich, he had introduced me to my new attic bedroom, which was in a huge mess, and I have spent that past while cleaning it up. I had also changed out of that damned school's uniform. Why did the blazer have to be so thick? At any rate, I should probably get some sleep. I had a long day tomorrow after all. Picking up my phone to check for any messages, I saw that there were none. Honestly, was I expecting anyone to message someone with a record like me? Wait, I thought I deleted this weird app, what is it still doing here? Frowning to myself, I deleted it once more and went to bed.

When I opened my eyes, all I saw was a deep blue. Where on Earth am I? I looked around and saw myself in a small room. Wait, why am I wearing a prisoner's outfit? I was clad in a classic black and white prisoner outfit, even having a chain attached to an iron ball to complete the look. I must truly look like a classic prisoner. A deep voice rang out through the air, 'What an interesting guest we have. I was not expecting this room to take this shape… but then again, I was not expecting you as a guest either. Welcome to my Velvet Room.'