AN: On;y six days to write this! New record! Anyways, this is kinda short compared to the last chapter. None the less, I hope you enjoy. Full AN at the bottom.
For some reason, Minato didn't have his usual nightmares. Instead of the car crash and people being burned to ashes, he saw a mysterious door.
"Change is always good." he thought. Twisting the knob revealed a large room, all covered in blue.
A chain-linked back wall displayed that the room was moving upwards just like an elevator. Magically, the bluehead was sitting in a seat across from a long-nosed individual. He looked like a monster ripped off of R.L Stine.
"But that nose looks like Pinocchio." He thought in his head. The Pinocchio man grimaced and he heard a soft chuckle from a female. Looking up, a beautiful girl with silver like hair and a curvy blue dress was smirking. Seeming like Snow White, he made cautiously
"Your description is very accurate." She said while looking at the long-nosed man. Well, the man was an over-estimate. He looked pretty short and he still seemed annoyed.
"Aside from that, my name is Igor. I am delighted to make your acquaintance. This is Elizabeth. She's a resident here, like me."
"Pleased to meet you." She said with a bow.
"So you two can read my mind." He thought in his head before receiving a nod that indicated Yes.
"This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It's been years since we've had guests. Only those who have signed the contract can enter this place. Henceforth, you shall be welcome here in the Velvet Room. You are destined to hone your unique ability, and you will require my help to do so. I only ask one thing in return... that you abide by the contract, and assume responsibility for the choices that you make." Igor said while a contract that looked exactly like the one he and Hamuko signed appeared.
"Earlier, you mentioned guests. The only other person who signed the contract that day was Hamuko. Based on this, I'm guessing she's also one of the guests?" Minato asked.
"I'm afraid I cannot answer that question since it involves our guests' privacy." The long-nosed man said.
"I see. Oh well, I'll just ask her after I wake up from this dream." He said before getting up.
"I see that you are quite sharp. Eventually one of our guests should be this intelligent. Please take this key. It'll ensure that you can come here from your free will." Elizabeth said.
The key was blue and looked like what a normal key should've been shaped as and had a glossy tint to it. He shoved it in his pocket before walking out the door.
"Still better than the nightmares." He thought as the light enveloped him.
The next day,
"Minato-kun wake up! We have to catch the train to be on time for school!" An all too familiar brunette yelled towards the headphone wearing teen.
He sighed and got ready. It didn't take long, he just never really wanted to go to school.
"Damn, I need to ask if anyone else had the same dream." Minato thought.
"Or this key. I have a feeling that it's just me and Hamuko." He said checking to see if the key was in his pocket, it was. Existed out the room, the bluehead saw Yukari with the same outfit as yesterday.
"Alright good. I'm surprised with all that sleeping in school that you still need to sleep at night." She said with a chuckle but Minato just went downstairs.
"Hey, wait up!" She said trying to catch up. In the process, he sped up. From a walk, to slow jog, to full speed. It was just to see how fast she was and just some fun overall.
He was already out of the door and on the train before. Hamuko was already on the train, sitting with two boxes in her hands.
"Huh, you missed breakfast. But I made you a killer lunch so you'll be fine. Not like you actually use that energy for something important besides sleeping." Hamuko then gave him a lunch box that had dogs on it.
Minato hadn't really seen such kiddish things since he and his younger sister were mature since they were born. Cringing, he asked, "Can you keep it with you for now?"
"Are you seriously embarrassed about it? Cmon it's just some dogs." She said touching the puppies.
"Yeah they're adorable but I'd rather not carry them. Besides, I might drop it when I'm sleeping in class or something." Sitting down next to her, he saw that the train doors were about to close.
Then, two hands blocked the opening and entered the other junior that the two knew, Yukari. She was out of breath and fainted. Her usual nice clean face was drenched in sweat.
Fortunately for her, Minato caught her before the brunette reached the cold, hard ground. Hamuko also helped out by drying her up with her handkerchief.
"I shouldn't do that anymore." He thought on his head. While waiting to reach their destination, they heard two overly loud girls gossiping.
"Did you hear the rumor?" Said the gossiping student.
"Oh, um... something about... a bathroom?" Her friend said uncertainly.
"N-No! Not that one! I mean the one about the first-year student! Not only did she stop coming to school, she does nothing but sits and stare at the walls all day. If her mother tries to talk to her, she only mutters to herself,"It's coming... It's coming...!"
"That's weird!"
"I know right."
"Is that what the Apathy syndrome is?" Minato questioned himself in his head. Hamuko wondered the same but didn't matter when they saw they were almost there.
In three minutes, they looked out the train to see a bridge. Hamuko knew that it was Moonlight Bridge but she didn't remember much.
Unlike the redhead, he remembered everything. The fire, the corpses, a monster, a robot and someone else. It would be more clear if he was on the bridge.
They finally saw their school, the weird artificial island. It was a smoldering day with the sun burning anyone not wearing light clothes.
Minato tried to wake Yukari by shaking her but that made her cling on to him even more. He had to eventually let her hold onto him until they entered their first class and put her on her desk.
Hamuko had pinched Yukari and she was up immediately. The brunette was clearly scared.
"He's gonna get me executed! Mitsuru-senpai told me to keep a close eye on him. Please don't tell her Hamuko."
"What's an execution?" The brunette shivered at the question and answered: "You don't want to know."
The school day had been fairly boring but there was one interesting moment, Junpei being asked a question by Ms. Toriumi. It had become a common habit for the goateed student and for Minato to not pay attention in classes.
"Hakushu Kitahara is great, but I think I prefer Fuyuhiko Yoshimura. His works aren't as famous, but that's what I like about him. My personal favorite is "Mangekyo. Why isn't it ever in textbooks? I'll bring it next time so you can write an essay on it. Hey, Junpei! Were you listening? Who did I say was my favorite author?"
"Psst, Minato! Help me out!" Junpei said while kicking his friend in the knee. The bluenet wasn't sleeping for once as he just seemed bored out of his mind.
He whispered "Fuyuhiko Yoshimura." which the cap wearing student repeated.
"So you were paying attention after all." Then, the teacher went back to her teaching.
"Thanks, Minato. I'll take you out to wild-duck burger after-school today. I hear 's punishment is pretty harsh and she's not exactly fond of me." He said while fixing his cap.
RING! The bell had made all the students rush out the room. Yukari had to go to Archery club, Minato and Junpei had gone somewhere so Hamuko decided to head back to the dorm.
"I didn't even get to see if Minato enjoyed the lunch I made for him." She said in her head head with a pout. She carried the box with her since she couldn't give it to him. Junpei dragged him out even though Minato still looked drowsy
She left him a text saying "I'm putting your food in the fridge but help me study when u get home?"
Deciding that today was a good evening to study for exams, she went upstairs to her room.
On her way there, she bumped into a fellow with white hair and had a confident vibe to him. He wore a red vest over the Gekkoukan High uniform.
Sweat filled his forehead and brows as he wiped them off with a rag. He picked up a bottle. The brunette guessed that it was filled with protein powder from the fridge.
"Sorry about that miss. Are you one of the two transfer students?" he asked after chugging a protein shake.
"Yup! Hamuko Yuki, nice to meet you. You're Akihiko Sanada, right?" The boy nodded a yes and went back to his room near the beginning of the hall. She then began her tedious "learning."
Junpei Iori, Ace Detective, Lady killer, Handsome devil were all names that belonged to him. As an ace detective, he never would've thought that the emo-looking kid could have such a huge appetite. He ate almost ten times what Junpei ate and was still hungry.
An empty feeling was coursing through his wallet. Regretting his offer of paying for lunch, he facepalmed. Then, he noticed a sign in the back of the room.
"Wanna eat a lot and don't want to pay? Take the 10,000 yen challenge!"
He immediately told the waiter that they wanted to do the challenge and had a goofy grin.
Lucky for him and his wallet, the pair could consume the whole menu five times. If they could eat it, then no payment. But if not, then there would be a lot to pay off.
"Geez, how are you gonna be my pupil if you eat all this food?" He said still flabbergasted at how many items the bluenet ate.
The boy shrugged, "I can always eat this much. I never gain weight for some reason."
The brunette took off his cap and started to pray. "Please god, give me Minato's powers."
"Trust me, it's not that great. Once you've had everything, nothing tastes as good as the other ones."
"Well, whatever man. I hear you get to live with the fencing captain and boxing captain. Also Yuka-tan but she's not that great. Can anyone of them even make food?"
"Hamuko's pretty good at cooking. I still have no idea how Yukari is so popular. Do you just have to wear a pink vest and earrings?"
"I don't know dude. She must have something that makes all the guys fantasize. Well, see ya later." Junpei picked up one last burger and headed off.
Minato did the same but went the opposite direction. It was late afternoon and he barely slept at all.
Never needing to study made him a lot less stressed and calmer than most students at Gekkoukan High. His grandfather had forced him to study above college levels of academics which actually helped him out in this situation.
"Hmm, it's getting late. What time is it anyways?" He checked his phone and it was 7. His text message from Hamuko came several hours ago and he doubted that she could actually get anything done without him. He started to head back.
"I'm back." Minato announced. The sign in sheet was necessary for some reason. He signed in and saw that Mitsuru was sitting in a chair, with a book in her hand.
"You're late." The redhead said without looking up from her novel.
"I had stuff to do. Besides, as long as I checked in I'm fine." The bluenet went up the stairs but failed to notice a paper that the Kijiro heir was holding.
"Did you read the rules that were mailed to you? You have to sign in every day before the sun sets. Most of the people don't follow it because they've been here for years. At least sign in for the first weeks."
"No, I didn't check the rulers. I'll come back here right after school. Good night Mitsuru-senpai." He went to check the fridge and found the lunch Hamuko made. It came with an adorable little note that said "eat me please."
He picked it up and went to her room. A frown was visible on his face when he saw that she was asleep on one of the textbooks. At a closer glance, she was still on the first page.
There was drool coming out of her mouth, ruining the book. He smiled at the scene, it was pretty adorable.
Then, an idea popped into his head. He went right up to her face and whispered: "Wake up sweetheart." The distance between their faces was incredibly small.
Hamuko was slowly waking up but she felt a bit warmer. Not caring about the reason, she accepted whatever it was. Her eyes slowly crept open and she saw a mess of blue hair. Then, a scream that could wake up the whole dorm could be heard.
"AHHH WHY ARE YOU HERE? TOO CLOSEEE! AHHH!" She shrieked.
The bluehead stepped away from her and had a sheepish smile. Yukari was the first to arrive to see the girl blushing like a tomato glaring at the boy. The brunette wore her pajamas since everyone was about to go to bed.
He had been sitting on the bed after letting go and gave a condescending smile with eyes gone to stilts. It was heavily awkward until the girl left. She told the rest it was just Hamuko's and went back to doing whatever she was doing.
"That's what you get for not studying." was all Minato said before leaving the redhead alone in her room. He started eating the lunch she made him rub some salt in her wounds.
"I swear I will kill him." She muttered to herself before going to bed. Not that she would ever say it out loud, but it was nice.
The bed felt a little uncomfortable with her velvet room key in her pocket so she put it on her counter. Igor was pretty weird and that Theodore was also odd. Regardless, she had school tomorrow and a full night's rest was important.
The following Day
Minato felt a little guilty about what he did yesterday so he started texting her in the morning. He still lied in bed while using his phone.
Hamuko Yuki
Sorry about yesterday
Its fine. Id watch your back if i were you
On a more pressing matter, you got a key right?
Whatchu mean
Velvet Room.
Oh, I thought i waz only one
No, seems like we're destined to be
guests there or something.
You met big-nose man and Theo?
I met Igor and Elizabeth. Who's Theodore?
Uh person around our age with white hair
Blue clothes, funny hat
That sounds like Elizabeth.
But she's a girl.
Crossdressing?
He chuckled at the text and finally got up. He went downstairs and saw that Hamuko was cooking and checking her phone at the same time.
He ate breakfast with her and the rest of the day was almost the same as yesterday. The school was boring but Minato managed to get on Mitsuru's good side by being home as soon as school ended.
Since Hamuko didn't get anything done, he actually studied with her until it was almost the special hour. Mr. Ekoda had mentioned that there was going to be testing soon and since the redhead didn't pay attention in his class, she would need all the help she could get.
The two didn't know where everyone else in the dorm was but were too occupied to do something. "Huh, it's almost time," Minato remarked looking at his phone, 11:59 P.M.
"Yeah, might as well keep at it. Let's take our last sips of water." She raised her water bottle and drank it all.
Meanwhile…..
In the command room, Mitsuru, Yukari, and the Chairman were all looking at the cameras. They couldn't see the two newcomers room but still kept an eye on the hallways.
They were interrupted when a beep occurred on the panel. Mitsuru picked up the receiver and inquired: "Is that you, Akihiko?"
"You're not gonna believe this! This thing is huge! Unfortunately, I don't have time to talk... It's chasing me... I wanted to let you guys know. I'm almost there." Akihiko replied
"Does that mean... he's bringing that thing here!?" The junior exclaimed
"Mr. Chairman! Let's suspend our observation for now. We'll prepare for battle!" Commanded Mitsuru.
"R-Right! Be careful!" The group went to the front door and saw that Akihiko had slumped down to the floor.
"Akihiko!"
"Aghh!" Replied the fallen senior.
"Senpai!?"
The ash-haired teen looked up with a thumbs up "I'm alright. Get ready to be surprised... It'll be here any second."
"This is no time to joke around!" Mitsuru yelled.
"It's one of them, Akihiko?" Questioned the Chairman
"Yes, but not an ordinary one-" He was interrupted by the ground suddenly shaking. Mitsuru pulled out her evoker and commanded her team.
"Mr. Chairman, please head for the command room! Takeba, go upstairs and wake them up! Then, escape out the back."
"But, what about you two?"
"We'll stop it here. You led it to us, Akihiko, so I'm afraid you'll have to fight."
The teen got up and started cracking his knuckles. "Like I had a choice! What are you waiting for, Yukari? Go!"
"I-I'm going!" She said running upstairs. Minato's room had no one in it so she figured that he was in Hamuko's room.
She was right and cried out "I don't have time to explain. We have to get out of here, now! Hurry! Downstairs! We'll leave through the back door!"
The two followed her to the door and then she handed each of them a weapon. Minato had gotten a short sword while Hamuko had gotten a Naginata.
"What are these for?" The bluehead questioned.
"We might need it. Let's hope we don't!" The brunette attempted to open the door but it was locked. Some noises started to omit from the other side which caused Yukari to jump.
"Crap, they're already here. We need to go to the rooftop."
AN: TA-DAH! I bet you're anxious for next chapter huh? I'll try to write more since my spring break is coming up.
