The train's sounds drew a young woman to sleep. The sounds clearly annoying as she ignored the people around her and rested. Taken from the city and sent to the country… How dull, and boring. She wanted to just live her life, not by how someone else wanted her to. But… Yasoinaba sounded nice enough, especially if the Hare of Inaba was right. Little adorable de-
Her eyes opened, noticing something was wrong. No longer did the sound of a train echo around her. No longer did she smell the disgusting smell of other people she didn't care for. No… Now all she heard was a lone piano being played, and the smell was now that of lavender. Chocolate eyes shifted around her, waiting for someone to attack. This never happened before, never. She'd been summoned to hell every once in a while, hell, sometimes she was summoned to a wasteland in the middle of Bumfuck, Nowhere. But never a weird place like this.
She closely studied the room, the area she was in. It seemed to be a bar, and she could see a person in black clothes playing the piano. She was in a chair, a luscious one at that, and it was made of velvet. She began to feel it under her hand before two people sat before her, one of them smiling and the other calm.
The calm one was dressed in blue, a coat of sorts. Golden eyes watched her, and silver-ish locks fell down from her head. She held a large book in her hand, and that drew more attention from the girl. What could be held in a tome that big? Her past, present, future? Or something more… The other… Well, he was an odd one.
Large eyes, a crooked smile on his lips, and a large hook nose. Like, it was larger than her middle fingers combined. The hell… Elfen ears, a balding head of white hair, and a suit.
"Welcome… To the Velvet Room." The young woman frowned deeper.
"Alright, enough playing." The man smiled wider and the woman blinked at her tone. "I just want a normal life. I've had enough angel's out for my blood, enough demons ripping out my spine, and enough gods playing with humanity to want to be done. I swear if I have to save the world, I'm out."
Oddly, the man laughed, well, chuckled. "Of course not. No such thing will occur. Well… I cannot promise that one hundred percent." The young woman's frown deepened before he held his hand up. "Let me introduce myself before we go wild. I am Igor, the master of the Velvet Room. And you are?"
The girl still frowned, but looked at her hand. "... I have no real name. But call me… Maria Narukami. I'm not sure what it actually was, my real name…"
"Ah, Maria. A pleasure." He smiled, taking out a deck of cards from somewhere. "Here, we are to help you on your Journey." Laying them out, he still looked at her. "Allow me to draw your fortune, shall I?" Maria simply nodded. What could go wrong with a simple fortune telling?
"Now, before I begin, let me tell you this. This place is a world between dreams and reality, mind and matter. This world can only be visited by those who undertake an unknown and unseen contract… By Fate." Maria scowled at him, and Igor chuckled. "Calm down, Dog. I mean no harm." Eyes widened and she nearly reached over to throttle him. Before she could, he continued.
"Now, know these cards are the same we show to any other guest here. But… The outcomes are always different." He flipped over a card, showing a tower hit by lightning. "The Tower in the upright position. There will be many misfortunes coming your way. Now… The card showing a more unknown future." He flipped another, showing a moon.
"The Moon, also upright. It seems that misfortune awaits at your next destination, and that you will be charged with solving a great mystery." He chuckled. "While I did glimpse your mind, I believe you will succeed in this Journey. After all… It is your Fate." Now Maria was growling. This was bullshit.
"Perhaps it is." She blinked. Did he- "Yes. Remember, we are between reality and dreams. And this world… Well, it's easy to see the mind of those who enter." She so wanted to punch him. So much. "But I'm sure that, in accordance with your contract, it will not be long until you find your way here once more. This year represents something of a turning point in your destiny, and unless you solve this mystery, your future may be forever lost to you."
Maria frowned and thought about this. Her future… Lost to her? That wasn't good. Would… Would they really leave her for dead? She shook her head, getting a chuckle from Igor again. "Now, I am here to provide my guests with whatever aid they require, so that that does not happen. My aide is also here to assist you." He motioned to her and the woman smiled softly.
"I will indeed be assisting you on your journey, dear guest. My name is Margaret." Maria nodded to her and crossed her arms.
"So… How the hell do I leave?"
"Simple." Igor smiled as Maria felt tired suddenly. "You wake up."
Wait-
"What?!" Maria sat up, seeing the train had stopped just at the place she was meant to get off at. Weird dream… Then again, was it really a dream, or a vision? She didn't know. Standing, she grabbed her bag and caught a glimpse of herself in the glass. Brown hair, brown eyes behind a pair of glasses, and a bit of a scar going from right over her right eye to under her chin on the left. She rubbed it a little instinctively and frowned more.
How long had she had that? She wondered that a lot now. Was it when she was fighting a being cloaked in fire, a long spiraling sword covered in those that tore into her as she reached for her weapon? Or was it against a man who wanted to take away human emotions and left her a shell of herself? Or perhaps it was when she fought someone who was once her friend, who slowly went mad as he thought she killed his friend? Clenching a hand into a fist, she glared at the reflection of herself and exited the train. Stepping outside, she heard someone's voice.
"Hey! Over here!" Turning, she saw a man with grayish brown hair standing there, a coat in hand and a smile on his face. Maria made her way over to him and nodded. "Well, you're more handsome in person than in your photo. Welcome to Inaba. I'm Ryotaro Dojima. I'll be looking after you." She blushed at the handsome bit, but smiled back.
"Maria Narukami. I'm in your care, Mr. Dojima." She bowed a little, remembering the proper bowing that she was meant to do to him. Dojima seemed to stop before he chuckled.
"No need to be so formal. But let me see… I'm your mother's younger brother... and that about sums it up." Maria found herself wondering what to say.
"Well… It has been a while." She smiled and then found herself cornered with something from her past. Something she didn't expect.
"I'll say. You've really grown. I still remember when you were in diapers…" And there went her composure. Face turning a vibrant crimson she turned away from him, coughing as he motioned for a young girl to step forward. Wearing a pink shirt, brown hair in some pigtailed things, and… Adorable. Adorable was the first thing that hit Maria before her eyes widened. To the being Igor called a Dog, it was almost a mirror, a mirror to her past. An innocent child, unaware of how bad humanity and the universe could be. Who had a future before her and was unaware of what it would be.
"This here's my daughter. Come on, Nanako, introduce yourself to your cousin." Dojima smiled and the girl raised her hand a little in greeting.
"...'lo." It hurt, to see this girl the way she was now. But she couldn't have those emotions rise any more than they were now. She had to compress it all down.
"What're you so shy for? Ow, hahaha." Dojima laughed as Nanako hit his back in embarrassment. "Well then... Let's get going. My car's over there." Dojima waved her over to a car and Maria followed, placing her bag next to Nanako. Soon, they drove to a gas station, and Dojima stepped out, as did her and the kid.
"Hi! Welcome to Moel!" The attendant smiled and waved at the three, as Nanako looked at her father. Maria chose to ignore everyone else as she studied the town around her. There was no feeling like Demons and Angels gave off. Hell, the town was completely normal. But… Igor's words went back to the forefront of her mind.
"It seems that misfortune awaits at your next destination, and that you will be charged with solving a great mystery." Well that wasn't ominous or anything. She continued to frown as the attendant walked over to her, smiling. Seemed they were filling the car up and wanted to chat.
"A city girl, huh? Are you in high school?" Maria nodded, and the attendant chuckled. "Does it surprise a city girl to see how little there is out here?"
"A little. It's odd, yes. But I've… Gotten used to it." Was the answer the attendant got, as Maria leaned against the truck.
"Yeah, there's so little to do, I'm sure you'll get bored fast. You'll either be hanging out with your friends or doing part-time jobs. Speaking of which, we're actually looking for part-time help right now." Holding out their hand, Maria shook it and the person smiled. "Give it some thought, why don't you? We don't mind if you're a student." Looking at the watch on their hand, the attendant blinked in panic.
"Oh, I should get back to work. Have a good day, city girl." Walking off, Maria noticed Nanako looking at her. Feeling a pounding in her head, she almost didn't hear the young girl's question.
"...you ok?"
"No… I don't think so." Maria managed, looking at her hand after she felt her forehead. Sweat, lots of it. "T-Tell Dojima I'm gonna sleep when we get to your place, kay? Sorry Nanako…" She climbed into the truck and leaned back, breathing deeply. Why did she suddenly feel so… sick? She felt Dojima get into the truck and Nanako say something, and soon the truck began to move. Letting her body move on autopilot, she set to work trying to understand what made her sick.
The Attendant seemed to be the cause of the oddness. Question was, what were they? No discernable gender, identity, lifestyle, anything. Just, a face in the masses. Did they send a disease into her? The more she thought, the less she understood about it. Damn it! She felt her body enter a room and sleep, and soon she found herself in a foggy area.
"..." She frowned as she walked forward, a sword suddenly at her side. Long, thin, basically a katana. She pulled it out and felt a presence in her mind. An odd presence, yet similar to her own. Stepping forward, she stopped as someone formed. A silhouette that seemed smug.
"You'll never win. The mystery will never be solved. The Killer will escape." Maria's annoyance reached a peak as she drew the blade, slashing at it. She missed in her rage, and continued, the shadowy being repeating those words over and over. Soon, she couldn't continue attacking and passed out, waking in the real world.
"... Rule 4; Dreams are more than they appear." She muttered, remembering a set of rules she made for herself long ago. She grabbed a set of clothes to wear to the school and walked out of the room, looking down the stairs and smelled something cooking. She walked into the room and took it in for a moment. A table close to the floor, a couch near it and a tv close as well. A counter was near the kitchen, which wasn't very big, and a door leading outside was close at hand. Looking at the kitchen, she spotted Nanako making food.
"Where'd Uncle Dojima go?" She asked seeing the young girl set out some toast and sunny-side up eggs.
"Something came up. He won't be back. You have school today… Right?" Maria frowned and looked at the calendar, just to be sure of the date. Tuesday, the twelfth of April. So she did.
"Guess so. You know where the high school is?"
"Yeah. My school is on the way there. We can go together… Right?" Maria frowned at the seeming lack of a parental figure she had, and sat down, grabbing a slice of toast while Nanako dug into her own plate she made.
"Of course, Nanako… Chan." The girl looked up at her and tilted her head. "Sorry. I'm bad at the stuff you put at the end of your names. I lived in America for a few years and got caught up in how they spoke." She wasn't lying, but it wasn't true in this world. She sighed as she grabbed her backpack and followed the young girl out of the house, and onto the road on some flooded plain.
"Your school is just ahead. My school is just ahead. Bye." She saw Nanako smile as she walked off and Maria continued onwards. Looking at the school, she was minorly impressed by it. It wasn't too big, nor too small. She walked toward it just as some kid smashed into a trashcan on his bike. Part of her wanted to laugh her ass off, but another wanted to help him. Wasn't his fault that he crashed, but then again… She looked him over a few times. Brownish hair, a pair of headphones around his neck, and a shirt like the one the other students had.
She walked towards a classroom she seemed to be meant to go into and listened in. Better to have some information rather than not. Rule 51: Any information you gather without being seen can be better than the info you actually get when in conversation. She leaned against the door as some malform-faced man started towards her.
"Talk about bad luck... The homeroom teacher here is Morooka, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it's King Moron alright... We get to enjoy his long-ass sermons every day for a whole year…"
"Hey you guys, I heard there's going to be a transfer student from the city in this class."
"Huh? Really? A guy or a girl?"
Maria's mind carefully dissected the info. Morooka, aka King Moron. Sermons probably on how stupid the kids are. She looked at the man and nodded to herself. That was probably him. She listened in again.
"A transfer student from the city... Just like you, huh, Yosuke? ...Huh? You look dead today."
"Yeah, um... I don't wanna talk about it…" The young Narukami girl smiled a little. Seemed like she had a class with the bike boy.
"What's with him?"
"Who knows?"
The man finally got close and entered the class, and she followed in after him.
"Awright, shut your traps! Now I hate wasting my time, but I'd better introduce this transfer student." Maria's eyes narrowed at the man in annoyance. "This sad sack's been thrown from the big city out to the middle of nowhere like yesterday's garbage. And she's just as much of a loser here as she was there, so you guys better not get any ideas about hitting on her!" He told her to introduce herself and she looked at him.
"Oi, ugly. Call me a loser again, and I'll ask my uncle to inform the school on your attitude. Also, not interested in dating at the moment, sir. So kindly stop your attitude, shut up, and let me do things my way." Maria felt a part of her burst into laughter and sighed. Seemed she woke up that part of her. Moron gaped at her, as did the rest of the class. Nobody called him on anything like that before, mostly out of respect for the man and only did so behind his back
Maria faced the class and sighed. "Greetings everyone. I am Maria Narukami. I spent some time in America, so forgive me if I insult you without meaning to." She bowed to the lot and felt something tick in her mind. Like some meter for her courage went up for mocking Moron or something. Sighing, she turned as the odd and possibly deformed man screamed at her.
"That's it, you're on my shit list, effective immediately! This town is miles away from your big city of perverts and assholes, in more ways than one! You better not even think of getting involved with the guys here, let alone abusing them! Looking at your pathetic face, I'm sure that threat won't even work!" Maria growled a little, eyes narrowing at the man. The man continued on his rant, getting louder and louder before someone spoke up.
Similar brown hair to the boy, wearing a similar outfit to hers. She noticed a green jacket as she spoke. "Excuse me! Is it okay if the transfer student sits here?" Moron noticed her, stopped his rant, and muttered for her to 'siddown.'
"He's the worst, huh? Rotten luck for you to get stuck in this class... Well, we'll just have to hang in there for a year. Uh… Nice job in saying that to him." Maria smiled as she sat down, before looking at Morooka as he spoke again.
"Shut your traps! I'm taking roll, and I damn well expect you to respond in an orderly manner!" As he called for the names, the kids were silently whispering to one another.
"Sucks to be the transfer student, ending up in King Moron's class on the first morning here…"
"Yeah, he won't think twice about suspending you if you get on his bad side. Then again, we're all in the same boat…" The young woman took that into account as she looked back at the man.
"I'm Kinshiro Morooka, your homeroom teacher from today forward! First things first! Just 'cause it's spring doesn't mean you can swoon over each other like love-struck baboons. Long as I'm around, you students are going to be pure as the driven snow! That's all for today. Normal lectures will start tomorrow." Maria's mind began to wander, thinking about the laugher she heard in her mind.
'It' woke up. She wasn't upset at having 'it' wake up, but it was annoying to have it talking to her all the damn time. The other parts of her were awake too, and she nearly groaned at the thought of them all waking up. She put her mind to the side and began to look over whatever had formed from yesterday and found even more problems.
She'd had parasites enter and begin to slowly consume her body before. She'd had one that talked to her, hell, 'IT' was basically a parasite if she looked at it from one perspective. But this wasn't like those. This thing just sat within her mind, as if slowly gaining form. Blue light swirled around a humanoid mass within the confines of her mental space, and she had to suppress a groan of annoyance. Whatever this thing was, it wasn't hurting her, nor was it taking too much energy that she'd need to live.
And that made it all the worse. It wasn't hurting her, yet it was draining energy. It didn't seem like a threat, but it was an outsider intruding into her mind. That alone was nearly enough to have her throw it out and get rid of it. But… What was the harm in it being within her? Stretching in her mental space, she looked back to see a part of her walk forward and nod.
It was like an actual mirror image of herself. She couldn't tell when she made this one, but it couldn't have been more than seven to ten years ago. Looking at her chest, she saw how this one came to be. A giant red splotch was clear to see, and the scent of copper hit the air.
"Number 47183, keep an eye on this thing." The part of her nodded and took up station next to it, watching it and taking small notes. Maria's body moved slightly and the young woman took control of it, looking around. A lot of people were nearby, and she frowned. Seems she was let out earlier than usual? She looked up and felt a small bit of disgust hit her. A human was hung up by the television lines, and she heard Uncle Dojima speak up.
"Hey, what're you doing here?" Maria turned and frowned.
"We're just passing by." That made her stop. Turning, she noticed the girl from before walking with her, along with a new one. A girl with long black hair and a red headband in it. Part of her noticed their looks at her and knew her body was somehow dragged into something after she looked into the thing growing in her mindscape.
"Huh... I should have figured that'd happen. That damn principal. We told him not to let them through here…"
The girl with the green jacket spoke up, "...You know this guy?"
"I'm Detective Dojima, her guardian. Uhh... Well, how should I say this... I hope you get along with her. But you three really ought to stop wandering around and head straight home." She noticed a young man behind Dojima nearly throw up at the sight of the body and frowned. That didn't seem faked, but he was a detective. A body hung up like that shouldn't be too bad. Then again… How many times did she see someone die?
"Adachi! How long are you going to act like a rookie? You want to be sent back to the central office!?" Adachi, hm?
"I-I'm sorry... Nngh…"
Dojima sighed and ordered, "Go wash your face. We're gonna go around and gather information!"
"T-this what that announcement was about...?" Seemed the first girl wasn't used to this, but Maria saw the other detectives take the body down. "Hey, Yukiko...? Why don't we go to Junes some other time?"
The long haired girl nodded. "Good idea…"
"Alright then, we're taking off. Starting tomorrow, neighbor, let's do our best!" The girl waved and walked off with the other, now named Yukiko. Nodding back, Maria made for the Dojima residence.
She made it home after Nanako, and sat down to eat dinner with her after a while. "I wonder if Dad's not coming home again tonight…"
"Seems like it." Maria mentioned as the news came on.
"Our top story this evening concerns a bizarre case in a quiet suburb. Around noon today, a woman was found dead near the Samegawa River in Inaba."
"Ah! The Inaba Police Department! Th-That's where Dad works!" Nanako spoke up, before going quiet and looked away.
"It'll be ok, Nanako-chan."
"...I know. That's his job, so this stuff happens."
"Well, cases like these do pop up. But I promise he'll be home soon. Case should be done at some point. After all… That's clearly an easy case."
"Authorities are uncertain as to why the body was in such a state. With the cause of death also uncertain, police continue to investigate whether the death is an accident or a homicide. A thick fog common to the area has slowed their progress, and plans to fully canvass the area are delayed until tomorrow."
"They found her on the roof? That's scary…" Nanako muttered, before something got her attention. "Oh, it's Junes!"
Maria looked at the tv and blinked. A supermarket commercial? Why was that interesting? "At Junes, every day is Customer Appreciation Day. Come see for yourself, and get in touch with our products! Every day's great at your Junes!"
And almost at the same time, Nanako sang, "Every day's great at your Junes!" She looked over at the older girl expectantly and Maria sighed.
"Your Junes!"
Seeing the girl smile made the older one smile as well. "You memorized it already? I'm the best one in my class!" She continued to sing the song, ignoring the tv. The story from before came on and Maria paid attention. If there was a case she needed to solve… This info would be important.
"The deceased has been identified as Ms. Mayumi Yamano, a 27-year-old announcer at the local television station." So she had an identity, and if her memories of the tv news from yesterday, showed that something was up with her. Some sort of affair? She put two parts of her mind to work on how the body looked as she wished Nanako a good night and went to bed.
The next morning, Maria found herself looking at the same young man who was on the bike before stuck in the trashcan. She couldn't leave him there and pulled him out.
"Whew, you saved me. Thanks! Umm… Oh yeah, that's right. You're that transfer student, Maria right?" When she nodded, he smiled. "I'm Yosuke Hanamura. It's nice to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you too, Yosuke." She smiled softly at him, and he seemed to blush a little.
"Heheh. A-anyway, did you hear about the incident from yesterday? They found that announcer lady hanging from an antenna! You think it was some kinda warning? There's no way something that weird could've been an accident."
"I do." Maria replied, hands in her jacket's pockets. "Hanging from an antenna… Condition of the body was in good order too. This was a message from someone to us. And the closeness to the school shows it was meant for us students and not the adults."
"D-damn… Did you get all that from what was just there?" He asked, staring at her.
"Yeah. It's pretty obvious what this message could be. 'Don't end up like this lady.' Or something like that." She answered, shrugging. The meaning behind the message was subjective, a matter of perspective, but there was a meaning behind it.
"Yeah… Dangling a dead body over a roof like that... That's just messed up. Then again, it's pretty messed up to kill someone in the first place."
"Agreed."
"Anyway, you wanna ride? It's a little squeaky, but it should be fine." Yosuke offered, and she chuckled.
"Certainly. Such a gentleman." She climbed on behind him and sighed as they rode towards the school. After a while, they got there and he put the bike away.
He turned to her and asked, "So, you getting used to this place?"
"Not yet. Still getting used to how this town is in general."
He nodded. "Makes sense. You did just get here. There isn't much to do here compared to the big city, but there is that certain... something you can't get anywhere else. The air's clean, the food's great... Oh, you know about the local delicacy?"
She shook her head. "It's grilled steak! Like that's anything special, huh?" She nodded as she noticed the girl from yesterday walk over. "I know a place where you can get it cheap. Wanna come? You helped me out this morning, so it's on me."
The girl spoke up behind him menacingly, causing him to stiffen up. "What about me, huh? No apologies? You broke my 'Trial of the Dragon', remember?"
"Urgh... You always come around when I'm talking about food…"
The girl turned to Yukiko, who Maria nearly didn't notice at all. "How about it, Yukiko? Don't you think he should treat us, too?"
"I'll pass... I don't want to gain any more weight. I need to help out at the inn today, anyway." Maria heard 'IT' speak up, and this time, she listened to it.
Really? The human doesn't want to gain any more weight? She looks paper thin! Do people just like to go on diets at this age?! Its voice was bizarre, going from an older woman's to a young girl's to an old man's' and then to some mechanical version of speech. It certainly wasn't happy after hearing Yukiko's words and then let of a rusty laugh.
Glad to see you're paying attention… Host.
Welcome to the first of a series I'll be doing. While I won't explain much about who IT is or what life Maria's lived, I'll say this. The world she comes from originally is our own reality. But I hope you like this series. It won't be a series that will get updates that happen one after the other, it will be a lot longer than this from now on. But again, I hope you enjoy.