This teenagers name was Akira Kurusu. He was a second-year high school student. For most of his life he had been getting good grades, but recently they'd been dropping off due to personal issues. He had a small group of friends, but there had been a barrier between them and himself. This was caused by his insecurity about certain personality traits and interests he had. He knew that if people knew who he really was, he would be bullied and harrassed. Because society was sick.

So He put his head down and stayed under the rader. Akira Kurusu was a cautious person. Not exactly an obvious choice for a piece. But Blanc had never been one to choose the obvious piece.

Akira made his way to Tokyo, pretty much on his own. It was...a disorientating change of pace. He'd lived in a smaller town before, one that wasn't quite the hive of activity that Tokyo was. Then again, few places were. He felt a bit like he was thrown into an ocean without being taught how to swim. Still, he made it to the cafe, even with the horrible directions he was given. He walked in not knowing what to expect.

What he found was an older man, one with a beard and wearing glasses. He had a classy sense of style, and was wearing a tired expression on his face.

"...Oh right. You must be the kid." He said.

"Akira Kurusu." He said, pushing up his glasses. They were an affectation, he had perfect vision, but he wore them occasionally.

"Sojiro Sakura. Now I have to go over a few things with you." He said, giving him a once over.

"First off: I know about why you're here." Sojiro said. Akira felt a twinge of panic, violation, worry. He didn't let it show.

"Don't worry. I don't have a problem with it. Your life isn't mine. And personally, I'm not going to enforce you going to that facility of quacks. Your...sexuality isn't something that can be cured." Sojiro said. Akira instantly loved this man.

"Thank you, sir." Akira said.

"I'm not done. Keep your head down. Don't bring boys over if you have any...intentions, and don't do anything that would reflect poorly on me or my cafe. Got that." Sojiro said.

"Of course." Akira said.

"Good. Now, you'll be staying upstairs. I'll show you." Sojiro said and Akira followed.

The room was bare, just an attic without much in it besides a couple of shelves, a couple tables, and a bed. Akira ran his hands through his hair and sighed.

"I know. Not exactly ideal circumstances but it will work out for now. If you get a job, then feel free to buy things to spruce up your room. That's basically all. Keep out of trouble. Make sure I don't have to report anything to your parents and make sure you go to bed early tonight. We will have to set you up at your new school tommorow." Sojiro said.

And with that, he left Akira to his new room. Akira relaxed on his bed and pulled up his cellphone. Previously he had noticed a strange app with an occult symbol on his phone but he hadn't had time to actually explore it. Clicking on it said, "This service is not currently available."

Huh.

He looked up a couple of search terms online about a strange app. And while he did find some interesting results, nothing told him anything about what the app could be. It might just be a promotional campaign but maybe...

Maybe it would be his key to magical powers and a whole new world to explore.

He chuckled to himself. That was probably too much to hope for. Today had taken a fairly good turn as it was. This Sojiro guy didn't seem like a complete asshole. Though he had no idea what favor he could owe his father.

Eventually, Akira found himself falling to sleep.

When he woke up he was on a large, four poster bed with pink covers. He felt very much as if he had been sleeping on a cloud. This place felt...comforting. He got up and noticed that he seemed to be in some sort of strange Disney princess/druid grove. The place was sparkling with gems, filled with the color pink, and there was plenty of flowers and trees, and other assorted bits of nature flowing through it. At the far end of this castle/grove lay a man with a pointed noise sitting on a large golden throne. Beside him was a woman in a blue uniform with long blonde hair. She looked fairly young.

"Hello Akira Kurosu, and welcome to your Velvet Room." He said.

Akira once again looked around the room. It wasn't bad, but it was utterly surreal. Normally he would think this was a dream, but something about it felt utterly real.

"What's going on here?" Akira said.

"My master Igor has summoned you. As the game is nearly about to begin." The young woman said.

"Game? What game?" Akira asked.

"The only game that matters. A test of your morality, reasoning ability, skill and of course, your ability to effect change in the mortal world." The long-nosed man, presumably Igor, said.

"But we've been terribly rude. You're not even dressed yet, and introductions must be made." The young woman said and she snapped her fingers. Suddenly Akira found himself in a pink, puffy, frilly dress. It looked a bit like Princess Peaches. He also could feel he was wearing a wig and make-up.

"...What is this?" Akira asked.

"You need to be put in your ceremonial garb. You are a princess, a magical girl and a hero. Though you don't know it yet." The young woman said.

"B-but I'm male..." Akira protested slightly.

"Of course. But that doesn't mean you can't be a princess." The young woman said.

"Now to introductions. My name is Igor, this is my assistant Lavenza and as I have said, this is your Velvet Room, a reflection of your soul and quest." Igor explained gesturing grandly.

Akira blinked.

"You keep talking about a quest. What sort of quest." Akira asked.

"That is for you to figure out." Igor said.

"We will give you some hints. This is a quest to avert calamity. The world is in serious danger." Lavenza said.

"And it's my job to somehow prevent this calamity. How?" Akira asked.

"You will soon awaken an incredible power within you. With that and with your wits, you are to stare down the monster of calamity and avert the End." Igor said.

"The End?" Akira said. He wished they would speak to him in plain Japanese. But then again, they wouldn't be occult figures coming to him in a dream, would they?

"We will meet again, Kurosu-san." Igor said and Akira woke up in his bed.

He might have been a bit sad he wasn't wearing a poofy dress.