The Fool (I)

Welcome to the Velvet Room

"Men are fools, mankind is foolish, but a fool is not necessarily foolish. After all, a wise man cannot learn as much as a fool can."

I exit the house, and of course I find Shisuke lying on the ground, rubbing his legs either because they hurt or because they are dirty. Or both.

I expect for him to learn his lesson, but he never does, and I honestly don't know if he ever will. Regardless, I offer him a hand and help pull him off the ground.

"You ok? That looked like a pretty rough fall."

"Yeah man, no worries. I… I don't know why I keep crashing right there; those steps get me every time. You know what I mean?"

No. I honestly have no idea what he means, but I'm not going to tell him that. Not because it would hurt his feelings. I have no qualms with that, trust me. I just don't feel like listening to one of his lectures on the way to school. I play along instead.

"Yeah, I get it. It's the stairs' fault you always run into them, not the fact that you never pay attention to where you're going."

Oops. Some sarcasm slipped through. Oh well.

"Exactly. I'm glad you get it. Most people wouldn't agree that I crashed because of the stairs, they'd say I am the one to blame. See, this is why we're friends. I have your back, and you know I'm not a screw up!"

Except, he IS the one to blame and he IS a screw up. I agree that he has my back though, out of all of my so called friends, he was the only one who always had my back. It was back then, during that incident at my old school, when I realized this to be a fact. Shisuke is my true friend, and my only one right now.

It was halfway through the school year last year when what Shisuke and I call the Norikama Incident. Norikama being the name of the school we went to back then, but I digress. I was relatively popular. I didn't have girls flocking to date me or anything, and I only received one, maybe two. (okay fine, three) love letters. The thing was, I was dating this girl that I had a crush on since I first saw her. She was athletic, smart, a good kisser, and really nice. Oh, did I say nice? That's not right.

See, the thing is, she was always hanging around with the popular crowd, and I was always hanging around with, well, Shisuke (Yeah, I know, not off to a good start). I didn't know what she was always laughing about with her friends, and to be honest I didn't really care. We were happy together. At least, I thought we were happy together.

I learned my lesson the hard way, on the day of the "incident." She asked me to meet her in the classroom and not thinking anything bad would happen, I went. But, when I got there, her clothes were scattered across the floor and she stood there up against the wall on the opposite site of the room in her underwear. I thought she had been attacked and ran to her rescue. Big mistake. I got close to her and she screamed. I thought I was going to go deaf.

"Pervert!" She yelled. Loudly. Repeatedly.

Our sensei came in and, well, he assumed I was the one who ripped her clothes off and, honestly, I couldn't blame him. I tried to plead my case, but I was calm thinking she would tell them the truth.

She did tell them the truth. Her truth. Not the rest of the world's truth. She told everyone that I had assaulted her and tried to have my way with her. I told them she was lying and was like that when I got there. I told them I was trying to help her. I wanted to make sure she was okay. Did my sensei believe me? No. Did any of the students? No. Except for one. Shisuke. There wasn't enough evidence to prove I did anything, but I couldn't go back to school. Not there. My reputation was ruined.

I stayed in my room for three weeks after that. I only left every once in awhile. I remember the first time I left my room was five days after it happened. Shisuke showed up all beaten up and bruised. I asked him what happened and you know what he said?

"After all that went down and the students found out, they were brutal man. They kept calling you nicknames, and… and me too, you know? They called me stuff too, because I am really close friends with you."

"You are?" I asked him, "you mean you still want to be friends with me after all that."

"Of course Matoi, why wouldn't I? Look, I am your friend, okay? I know you. I know what stuff you like. I know what stuff you don't like. I know what stuff you do. I know what stuff you don't do. And I also know, that what they are accusing you of doing is one of those things you wouldn't do."

"Thanks, I needed to hear that. So about your face?"

"Oh, yeah. Back to that. Like I was saying, they called us both stuff, and eventually they started pestering me about you asking, "Why'd he do it?" "What gives him the right to treat her like that?" and "Just who does he think he is?" You know that kind of stuff."

"And what' you tell them?"
"I told them… I looked 'em in their stupid faces and said "Go to hell! He's not that kinda person."

"No way!"

"Yeah. I said it and then…"

"You got your ass kicked?"

"Yeah… Then I got my ass kicked. But… you know what? It felt good!"

"Alright masochist, calm down."

"Not that part! Standing up for my friend. Because, no matter what happens we will be there for each other. So come back to school. At least finish this year and we can get into a high school far away from Norikama and leave all these idiots behind. What do you say? I kinda need you to say yes, I might not make it if I go back alone. Come one, man."

And I agreed. But the rest of that school year was hell. Although, looking back on it, it would have been a much worse hell without Shisuke there.

"Okay, Matoi, you either also crashed on the steps or you are in a very deep train of thought."

Just reminiscing.

"Let's just go to school already, okay?"

"Yeah sure."

And with that, we began walking towards our new life, heading straight for our future which lay in wait at Saijo High.

Our future that was… uneventful.

Yeah, I was bored basically all day long. I still met up with Shisuke after school though.

"Hey, Matoi, can I ask you something? Two something's actually."

"Sure."

"Okay! First, did you see that girl in the front row on the right? She is so my type!"

"Is that the question?"

"No, the question is, do you want to go out with her?"

"We've only been here for one day and you're already hunting for girls out of your league? Really Shisuke?"

"She is totally in my league, and even if she wasn't, I would so level up for her!"

"Its not a videogame Shisuke. And besides, do you even know her name."
"Um, no I don't but I have a good excuse for that."
"Which would be?"

"I was distracted by her perfect beauty, so I wasn't listening."

"Well, that definitely sounds like you."

"Haha, yeah! Anyways the second question. Was it just me, or did today really suck? Well, except for Front Row on the Right Girl."
"First, do not call her that if you ever want a shot with her. Second, yes. Today really sucked. I almost fell asleep in my first class and I slept like a baby last night."

"Ugh. Last night. Don't remind me. I had the creepiest dream ever."

He had a weird dream too? I wonder what it was. Was I going to ask? Yes, yes I was.

"A creepy dream? What was it about?"

"Well, I was just alone in this weird room and a voice was talking to me about "inner power" or some mystic stuff like that."

"That doesn't sound too creepy."

Well, minus the fact that I had a very similar dream, which is definitely creepy.

"Well, that wasn't the creepy part. The creepy part was how realistic it felt. Like, I was standing in some liquid and my feet actually felt wet."

Woah. What is happening?

"The voice starting telling me about how I need to become stronger if I want to protect my friends and then he told his name was…"

"Venus?"

"What? No. That's not what he said his name was at all. He said his name was Abyssius. Where the heck did you get Venus from?"

"Uh, um…. Nowhere. It just popped into my head out of nowhere."

"Then you might want to get it checked out. Anyways he said his name after I asked who he was and he was all like…"

I cut in again.

"I am thou and thou art I?"

"Yeah. How did you know?"

"I had a similar dream. Everything was the same except I was talking to Venus."

"So, that's where Venus came from?"

"Yeah, but Venus said "I am thou… and thou art I. I reside in thy heart and resonate with thy soul. Know my name as I know yours, Matoi Nakoto. I am Venus." and and then he disappeared.

"In my dream, Abyssius said "I am thou… and thou art I. I flicker like the heat that is borne from thine flame. Radiant only when reflected from your soul. Know my name as I know yours, Shisuke Yamamoto. I am Abyssius." And… then he disappeared."

"This is so weird."

"Yeah, super creepy now. I thought it was just normal creepy before. You don't think it means anything do you?"

"No, it couldn't have. It's just a coincidence. A really… too coincidence to be a coincidence coincidence."

"Matoi, I'm the smart one and I couldn't follow that. Did you check your phone after you woke back up?"

"No, it was 12:01, I was tired!"

"Wait, you woke up at 12:01 too!"
"You are just messing with me now."

"No I swear, and I checked my phone when I got up since I don't use an alarm clock…"

"That explains a lot actually."

"Back on topic. After I woke up, my phone was lit up and I had received a message."

"No! Don't tell me, it was from a phone without a number, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, and all it said was…"

And this part we said in unison.

"It begins."

We both froze, not knowing what to do with this information. This was either a very elaborate and difficult prank, or it wasn't a prank at all and something big was happening. I didn't want to think about it.
"I'm going home," I finally said, breaking the silence.

"Whoa, wait, wait, hold on! What are we going to do about this?"

"What is there to do?"

"Well, one of us could sleep and the other stay awake and see if something happens."

"But then one of us won't have enough sleep."

"Stop complaining."

"I'm not. You're my friend. I care about you."

"That's so sweet. Then it's a deal. I'll sleep and you'll stay up," he says walking past me.

"Where are you going? And that's not what I meant!"

"Your house! Don't care!"

"But…. Shisuke."

"Matoi. Stop being a Fool. This is a mystery, and we can solve it. So let's solve it."

"Ugh, fine!"

And so we went back to my room, where we explained absolutely nothing to my parents relative to the actual reason he was spending the night, and instead lied about Shisuke not wanting to be late for school on the second day. As if he really cared. He was going to be late for no matter where he started. He could have slept at school and might not have made it to class on time.

Anyways, back on topic, we waited around in my room until midnight. It was pretty uneventful, so it turned to us playing video games and talking about girls pretty fast. Okay, I was playing games while Shisuke talked about girl. Oh, I'm sorry. She has a name.

"I'm telling you man, Front Row on the Right Girl is amazing."

"Can you not call people you know nothing about amazing. She might be the worst human ever."

"No dude, she's awesome."

"Oh, yeah? What's something she likes to do."

"Learn math."

"Just because she's in math class doesn't mean she likes to learn math. I'm in math class. I don't like to learn math."

"Okay, then she likes to… she…"

"She what? What does she?"

"She likes to sit in the front row on the right."

"Oh really? How'd you come up with that one?"

"Look, okay I'm telling you. She is great. It's called a man's instinct."

"Then why don't I think it too?"

"Easy, little boy's like you can't have a man's instinct. It's in the name."

"So you're a man and I'm not. What are the qualifications of being a man then? Do they have to be late for school, crash on the same spot everyday and fawn over a girl they know nothing about, not even her name?"

"Sounds about right actually."

"Does a man also have to make his friends stay up until midnight to see if some stupid superstition of his is correct or not?"

"Dude. Something weird is definitely happening. There is no way our dreams are a coincidence. It's too creepy to be."

"Yeah, well it's 11:59 now and nothing's happened yet, so I think it's safe to say, you are crazy."

"I bet you're not gonna think I'm crazy when that clock turns midnight and something weird…"

He stopped mid sentence. That never happens with Shisuke. Sometimes he doesn't stop talking after the sentence is over.

I turn my head up from the game I'm playing and I notice three things right away. First, everything I see has a blueish tint to it. Second, the clock beside my bed says 12:00. And the thing that scared me more than I'd ever been scared before. Third, Shisuke was completely frozen mid sentence.

The room was dead silent. Nothing was making a noise. Not my game. Not the streets outside. Not even the loudest thing in the room. Shisuke. Everything was frozen, silent, and slightly blue.

Then I remembered the end of the dream, when the blue light flashed and erased the darkness. Unlike that blue, this one didn't leave me feeling secure. It made me feel… uneasy. In short, I was scared. I felt like, even though I could see Shisuke and all the lights from other houses outside my window, I was alone. And that was the scariest part.

I didn't feel alone for long however, and something else quickly came to scare me even more. My phone started ringing. One ring… two rings… three rings… There was no phone number, there was no cryptic message, the only thing of text on the screen of my phone was the words hovering over the big green button in the center of the screen.

"Answer."

The worst part, I was thinking about pressing that button. And I was about to, when someone knocked on my door, making me jump out of my skin, into heaven, then back down to Earth and into my skin.

I jerked my head nervously between the door and the phone, wondering what I should do, and how that choice was going to affect me, physically, emotionally, and most importantly, psychologically.

"Who's there?" I asked, sounding so weak and terrified, like I was a small child lost and asking for help to find their mommy.

No one answered. Either because I was crazy or because they wanted to kill me. Either one seemed very believable.

I reached for the phone to answer it, thinking to myself "the first evil is always less evil."

I came so close to hitting the green answer button when my door slung open and my hand slung my phone. Into the wall. Shattering it.

In walked two men. One man was the epitome of a nightmare. He was an old man with ears of an elf, in that they were very, very pointy. His nose looked sharp enough to use as a weapon, and was long enough to wield as one, plus he had huge, bloodshot eyes that pierced through your very skin and soul. He was wearing a black suit with white gloves, that matched his silver hair, and he walked around leaning on a cane that went to what appeared to be the top of his hip, but he was a very tall and slender old man.

The other guy was considerably less of a terror to behold. He stood slightly shorter than the old man and was wearing a blue suit instead of the black one the old man was wearing, but was still wearing white gloves. His face made him look like he was a teenager, but his posture and aura made him seem much older. His face was normal enough. No pointy ears, no sharp nose, no bloodshot eyes. He was wearing a golden earring and he had brown eyes, plus his hair was blonde to the point of almost being white. Basically, except for the clothing choices and light hair, they looked like the complete opposite of each other.

"Who are you two and what are you doing here?"

The old man spoke in a very spooky but also oddly relaxing voice. "What are we doing here, do you know what this place is?"

"Yeah, it's MY room. I would appreciate it if you told me why you just barged into MY room."

"But, Matoi, this is not your room. This is just a recreation of your heart. A place that makes you calm."

"No this is… wait, you called me Matoi."

"Since when is it wrong to call a young man by his name?"

"It's not. It's wrong when a complete stranger knows it. Who are you?"

"Why, don't you want to know where you are first?"

"I know where I am! This is my room!"

He turns around and look at the young man behind him. "Does this space belong to this young man?"

He replies by shaking his head no.

"My partner says this space does not belong to you."

"Oh, really? So if this isn't my room where am I?"

"Oh, you'd like an introduction? I'm sure that would be fine, right Alexander?"

The man… I mean, Alexander replies "I'm sure it is. He is here after all."

"Okay then, are you ready to hear what I have to say Matoi Nakoto?"

"What else can I do?"

"That's the spirit! Now, listen closely, it's important." He says this, then focuses his gaze on me. I feel my soul being penetrated by his glare. HIs face distorts into a smile, the kind of smile that makes grown men pee themselves after seeing it in a dream, and in that oddly calm voice of his he says to me one single sentence that sends shivers down my spine.

"I am Igor, and welcome… to the Velvet Room."