A/N: Longer than usual.
Disclaimer: Don't own it.
Violet.
When it came to the sky, it was a rare color, only emerging once the sun and moon cross paths. The time of twilight, where violet covered the sky. Eventually, it would fade into black, where stars would wake up one by one, and then unknown to the naked eye, the beautiful blanket would morph into an eerie, emerald green.
During this time, when one walked, the most hushed of footfalls would sound like nails dropping onto metal. The softest of whispers would sound like hurdling screams. No matter how careful a person was, without a doubt they would be heard.
Only those with the potential were allowed to roam free, and he used his freedom to open the door to his final destination. For now.
I chooseth this fate of my own free will.
There was confusion, along with unease, but his fingers never loosened their grip on the pen. They worked slowly and steadily as they swiftly painted letters on the paper. A contract signing, inside a dormitory. He found it slightly illogical but didn't question the rules nonetheless. It was too much of a hassle to do so. And he never liked hassles, especially today-
-When things outside were blanketed by an ocean of green, puddles of blood scattered about on the streets. He never dared question the coffins standing upright outside the building, but he wanted to.
He was inside the living room, by the entrance, and right in front of him was a boy in striped pajamas, asking him to sign a contract that made him promise to take responsibility for all of his actions.
He never understood, not until that fateful day.
Suddenly, several hours before his first visit to the dormitory, he found himself packing his things, stuffing monochromatic clothes into his luggage. Lifeless, ash gray eyes glinted at the window, and there he caught the color violet, the color of dusk.
"Welcome to the Velvet Room."
Undoubtedly, that familiar voice belonged to the master of the room. As soon as his silver eyes opened, a wave of royal blue filled his vision. The inconsistent shadows were dancing on the floor, made by the light flickering from outside the endless elevator. Minato glanced upwards, and there he saw Igor, his nose of considerable length, and his lovely assistant Elizabeth. "This is quite unexpected, I must say. Your entry here has yet again been through a dream."
A flash of blue obscured part of his vision. His hair had seemingly fallen to cover his eyes, so all those present couldn't see his slight raising of a brow at the latter words. He felt uncomfortable, as per usual, as Igor flashed his menacing pearly whites.
"Please, have a seat," the master gestured to the plush chair before the table.
"I couldn't enter."
Igor nodded slowly. "Yes, that is—"
"The key is gone."
"Regarding that—"
"Weird things have been happening to me."
Elizabeth cleared her throat and broke into the conversation. "If you would permit the master to speak, then unanswered questions shall no longer be, yes?"
He doubted that, but nodded and took his seat anyway.
"There has been a glitch in time," Igor began, fingers intertwined and elbows resting on the velvet table. "A paradox, in other words, that allows two universes to overlap. Now, I mentioned to you before that this room exists between the realm of consciousness and unconsciousness, between dreams and reality. This paradox has seemingly restricted access to guests such as yourself."
"Restricted, meaning…"
His attendant stepped forward and said, "For the time being, you are unable to enter the Velvet Room of your own free will."
"What caused the paradox?" he asked.
Elizabeth was the one who opted to answer this. "We do not know that for certain. What we do know is that we are unable to aid you until a solution has been made," as the attendant answered, her hands rummaged carefully inside her endless purse. From there she produced what seemed like a key, except something was very wrong with it. "It is yours."
So this was where it went off to. His azure key, which gave him access to the Velvet Room, had somehow found its way back here without its owner. However, what is most crucial to the key wasn't present; its other half had apparently been breached. Minato analyzed it carefully; the section where it had been cut was cut cleanly, as if it were made that way since the beginning.
"As you can see, it is broken. The important part is missing."
He frowned, which didn't bode well for the days that were to come. Igor seemed to notice this, and shot him a reassuring glance.
"Now, don't lose hope yet, precious guest. All is not lost. Such glitches come with threats, but also come with good opportunities."
"…Opportunities?"
"When half and half come together, they become whole."
Obviously.
"They become a force that is stronger than before."
Vague, as how he had always been. He pushed himself back to lean against his chair. "Where are you getting at?"
"Find what is needed to be found, that is all."
A few minutes of silence.
Then a grunt.
Fingers drummed against the velvet table.
Finally, he leaned forward, impatience betraying his features.
"…That's it?"
Igor simply looked at him with that ever irritating grin of his. His conduct calmer and ultimately more composed than the boy's.
Minato pressed on. "What is it that I'm supposed to be looking for?"
"That, I cannot say."
"Shouldn't it be the missing half of this key?" He held it up, broken and cradled in his pale hands.
"Not necessarily. Its counterpart will soon enough find its way to you. That key merely serves to open the door to this room. It won't rectify this paradox should you find it. I believe it is best if you focus your search on something else."
He shoved the key into his pocket without tearing his gaze from the long-nosed man. "Like…?"
"All the answers to your questions lie within you. You need only search with your mind, not with your eyes. Seek with your heart, and the door will open for you."
Does this paradox pose as a threat to this world?
"I sincerely hope that you're not thinking of leaving this be," Elizabeth said with her usual cat-like grin. "It might not directly affect this world, but it might affect the reality of another. There is a possibility that someone with an important role might stray from his or her path."
"We have many, many guests," Igor chimed in. "All serve a purpose, all contribute to this balance. The most important shall receive the power of the universe if need be."
Minato riveted beyond the denizens, where screened, metal barricades towered over them all. He knew it was an elevator, but its destination, or how high above they were, were unknown. Various sounds of alloyed ropes, burning against alloy, resonated with the gush of wind caused by its rapid movement towards the peak. Wherever they were headed, it must have been quite high.
Perhaps she was waiting at the end of this elevator.
Perhaps she existed somewhere around the paradox.
Of course not. He shook his head in both amusement and dissatisfaction. "Anything else?"
Unmoving, Igor bore his gaze unto the boy and, for a moment, the sound of the elevator running couldn't be heard, and everything withdrew into silence.
"Just one more thing," the master held one finger.
Minato said nothing, a sign for the other to continue.
"The mirror does not lie."
"…"
Thank you kindly for the inefficient, most nonsensical visit of his lifetime. Now he had to search for two things that he wasn't sure even existed, and his coming here only succeeded in producing more questions than actual answers. It was too much of a hassle to say that out loud, though. Abruptly, Minato rose to his feet, furniture screeching against the floor as he pushed it back. The gazes of the two Velvet Room residents followed him as he did so.
Tone flat and eyes sharp, he spoke.
"I think it's about time that I left."
.
.
My actions are my consequences.
.
.
As if placing the broken key onto his study desk and staring daggers at it until dawn was going to help him solve the case.
That dream (which wasn't really a dream) had him waking up in cold sweat, and despite the blue-haired boy's attempt to fall asleep a second time, he couldn't, hence staying up and thinking things through was the other alternative.
Of all the things that could happen, it had to be a paradox. Minato knew that access to the Velvet Room was crucial during SEES's journey towards Tartarus. A stronger leader was always better, in his opinion. But now that that wasn't about to happen anytime soon, he had to make do with what he was now.
Minato Arisato, a boy who went to live at Tatsumi Port Island for a year, who unknowingly went to get himself involved in all of this insanity. If he knew beforehand, then—
—he surprisingly wouldn't change a thing.
"Yo."
Only one person could have given him that greeting. The person in question seemed to have waited a while before deciding to knock on his door. Junpei must have something serious to talk about. "It's open," Minato said, pushing the key into the deeper parts of the table and hidden from view. Sure enough, the door opened a few seconds after, revealing his friend's bushy features.
However, the grin that usually crossed the other's lips wasn't present at all, not even a hint.
"Something wrong?" the stoic one of the two asked. "You're never up this early."
Junpei shook his head, his breathing ragged, the corners of his jaw glistened from the sweat trickling down his neck. Minato often caught the magician in his weakest moments, and apparently, this was one of them.
"I don't know, man—I mean—should I really say that I'm seeing things? Or maybe studying is taking its toll on me?"
Junpei? Studying? He looked around for signs of flying pigs.
"Don't give me that look, bro. I have been studying. Against my will, though. Mitsuru's eyes are like a hawk's, I'm tellin' ya. Seriously, she ain't giving me a break anytime soon," the ball-capped boy's knees met with the floor, and then he leaned against the bed before heaving a worn out sigh. "The thing is—I think I've finally snapped."
"You said you were seeing things?" Minato had always been blunt, true enough.
Junpei nodded. "Yeah. I was brushing my teeth in the bathroom, you know, to maintain my pearly whi—"
"Yes, yes. What did you see?"
He felt something grabbing his shoulders forcefully, almost to the point that the blue-haired boy was pinned against the wall, but he managed to place one foot backward to steady himself. Junpei had him seized; the normally happy-go-lucky teen was obviously shaken.
"The mirror, man. The mirror. My reflection moved on its own!"
There was silence.
"I swear, I was just brushing my teeth, but then suddenly my reflection clutched its head as if it were in pain or in agony over something."
Minato paused, analyzing his friend's body language carefully. He showed no signs of fabrication. In fact, Junpei was at his most sincere, more than he had ever been. Minato brought a hand to the other's forehead, clicking his tongue in inconformity when his friend's temperature was normal. That very act seemed to anger the capped boy.
"Dude, I'm not crazy!"
"Just checking."
"I'm serious, man!"
Minato nodded. "I believe you."
Junpei appeared skeptical.
"I do," the stoic one insisted, stuffing both hands into their pockets. "Just give me a little time to figure it out."
"Are you for real?"
"I'll only deem you crazy if we can't find anything that explains this… phenomenon."
And the grin reached the magician's ears as soon as those words were uttered. "Alright. Don't you dare go back on your word, okay? I'm trusting you here."
"In the name of the bro-code," Minato swore, one hand pressed against his chest.
.
.
When everything is beyond my reach, I don't hesitate.
.
.
So here he was, alone inside the bathroom, mentally preparing himself for what he was about to see.
'The mirror does not lie.'
Or so he was told.
If that was true, then what had Junpei's reflection shown him? The truth? What about he, himself? What would the mirror show him?
A pair of silver eyes.
Strands of midnight blue hair.
Thin lips, forming a straight line.
Gray earphones loosely wrapped around the neck.
The image shown in the mirror was Minato Arisato himself.
Well, half of him, at least.
He could see a thin line breaking his reflection in half. Where his azure hair should have been, instead revealed auburn strands. One earpiece of headphones was painted red, and from the left showed his thin, straight lips, but when crossing the line, they had turned upwards, forming a smile.
And the familiar color of her crimson eyes.
The image shown in the mirror was half of Minato Arisato himself, and apparently half of someone else.
'The mirror does not lie.'
He stared. Minato Arisato couldn't help it, so he stared, made sure to memorize half of her features so he could mirror them whole in his mind later on. How this girl had cherry eyes and chocolate hair, how her smile was as sweet as the earlier described, how she seemed so very different from him, yet so very much the same.
No movements were attempted, for fear of breaking the link that connected the two of them. He now understood how Junpei felt when he said he had gone insane.
The lips of the truer half of his reflection moved. "Who are you?"
The other half moved. "You're asking me that again?"
He nodded.
"I'm sure you can make an educated guess from here."
She laughed. "I'm your—"
"Wait."
He took a deep breath.
"You're my other half."
And the other half of his reflection faded with a smile.
His mind had never been clearer.
"Where are you going?"
Minato stopped, turned to look at Akihiko with a stoic face and gave him a hastened salute, before opening the door and exiting through it with a slight jog, leaving his senior's question unanswered. It was cold outside, the sun barely risen, and the air felt frigid brushing against his pale skin—especially since he'd been running. But he wouldn't allow himself to stop.
He found her—his soul mate. She wasn't a friend, at least not yet, and she wasn't his lover (no one could predict the future.) But then again, this girl wasn't a mere acquaintance, either. Her presence brought music to his mute soul, and that was enough reason to be by her side.
The path seemed to grow longer with every step he took. Each second that passed by felt like hours.
But Minato was a patient man. He didn't really mind the extra mile.
He had never felt so alive in his entire life. Not while he was doing kendo, nor arts, not even whilst fighting inside Tartarus. Right now, his whole being screamed energy that he felt his blue aura materializing onto his outline while he ran. He cast his gaze heavenwards, and he once again caught the sky in its rare color.
He could almost see it now, her crimson glow, his azure mixing with hers, forming a beautiful twilight violet.
For the first time in a long while, where no one could see, Minato Arisato smiled.
A/N: Lmao. Could that be considered a fateful encounter? I thought not. Sorry about that.