Prologue: Sea of Stardom (Part 1)
Warning!
This is a Danganronpa Fic, so expect dark and serious themes! But also fun and whimsical themes! Enjoy!
"Hey Grandma? Can you play that one song again?"
"Hm? "That one song?" I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific dearie."
"The one by uhhhhh...
Whitney Houston? I think? I really like that song!"
"Oh! That one! Of course dearie!"
Grandma started playing the song as they both enjoyed the music.
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"Miss Pheme?"
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"Miss Pheme? Please."
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"Miss Pheme. I implore you to wake up."
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"Miss Pheme! I need you to wake up Miss Pheme. We have important things to discuss."
The figure gently shook Pheme awake. It took a bit, but Pheme slowly opened her eyes from her unplanned nap.
"Hmm? Ah, was I sleeping? Forgive me. I was having an... interesting dream as well..."
The other figure in the room stared at Pheme for a moment before speaking once more.
"So? What do you think Pheme?"
"What do I think? Ah! About our new stars? Well I have a lot of feelings. But how shall I express them? Hmmm."
Pheme thought to herself for a moment.
"Well, I suppose I don't have to think about that right now. But my heart trembles with so much excitement! The drama! The action! The heartbreak! I want it all!"
"I.."
"I want it all! All of it!"
"ALL OF IT! YES!
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The other figure in the room waited for Pheme to calm down.
"Miss Pheme? I need to you respond to me. Our stars have arrived and we need to determine where they will be dropped off at. This is your call remember?"
"Ah, forgive me. I lost my composure for second. Very unbecoming of me. Let us get back to business. What special studio is first?"
"Well according to the list it is the...
Horror Studio."
"Ah, Horror is it? How frightening! I love the chill down my spine I feel at a good horror movie! The monsters! The suspense! I love it all! The screams! The gore! It's amazing!"
The other figure waited silently for Pheme to snap out of it.
"Ah, I lost myself again did I? Please forgive me. Now, let us look over our stars yes?"
Pheme looked over the list of their 16 "stars."
"Ah, I have it! My genius has struck! I know exactly what we shall do..."
Pheme paused for a moment for added dramatic effect.
"Have them put these four in the Horror Studio." Pheme said as she pointed at four pictures on the document.
"Ah, I see. Very good choices Miss Pheme. Especially... that one." The figure said as they pointed at a certain picture on the document.
"Indeed! I'm just that smart! I can't be beat." Pheme praised herself.
"Right. But it shall be done Miss Pheme." The figure moved to depart, but Pheme wasn't done talking just yet.
"That shall be a titillating foursome no? Oh how excited am I to see our stars shine! You haven't an idea how I've longed for this!
"Quite right Miss Pheme. Now, if you are ready for the opening act, you need only give the word."
"Of course!"
Pheme paused for dramatic effect once again.
"Ready..."
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"Action!"
Darkness. Complete and utter black. That was what surrounded my vision as I slowly was brought to consciousness. But my mind was still covered with a thick fog. I managed to open my eyes, in attempt to disperse with that fog.
"Huh?"
But when he did...
He was only met with more darkness.
Wherever he was, they certainly didn't have any electricity, or just money to pay the bill for it. It was completely dark. His eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, but he couldn't even see an actual light anywhere. Where was this? Not his bed that's for certain. He'd been lying on flat and hard ground.
"Doubt my sleeping pills did this..." He said aloud.
He got up off the ground and started to look around a bit more. His eyes were still getting used to the darkness, but he could slowly start to see more and more of wherever he was.
And whatever that place was, it sure had a lot of trees.
It explained why there were no lights, because it looked like he was in the middle of a forest. Mainly pine trees, along with some scattered fauna here and there. Again, not like he could admire it. He was in a random forest that he has no memory of going to, so he was likely kidnapped.
"Whoever did this was pretty bold huh..."
He started to take a few steps forward. He needed to get his bearings more. And he obviously needed to escape too. He slowly walked forward, not sure of what to expect. But as he did, he heard a sudden...
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*SNAP*
He nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound. But he looked down, and realized he stepped on a twig.
"Oh. Guess I should've been more careful."
"Hmm? Did someone say something-nya? I was having a nice catnap-nya..."
Twice in a row, he had nearly jumped out of his own skin. But evidently there was someone else here. His eyes focused a bit as he saw a girl curled up in a ball on the ground near his feet.
He looked over the tired girl, trying to see what she looks like. His eyes were barely focused enough to see her.
The girl had long black hair with streaks of white flowing down to her waist like an ebony waterfall framing a cute, round face. She had white, alabaster skin, and full lips done in black lipstick. Her left eye was sky blue while her right eye was an intriguing golden color that almost seems to glow. He wasn't trying to ogle her, but he did notice that she had a voluptuous, an hourglass figure, and long legs with an ample bust. Her fingernails were meticulously manicured with black polish.
He was surprised he could even see her hair in this darkness considering the color. But she had an outfit to match her dark hair too.
She had on a black, puffy-sleeved silk blouse, a sinched-up black leather corset, fingerless, elbow-length fishnet gloves, a black leather miniskirt, a pair of black silk stockings held with lace garters and a pair of polished black stiletto heels. She had a gold chain anklet on her right leg and a ruby attached to a long gold chain around her waist. On her head she wore what looked liked a pair of... cat ears? As well as a strap-on cat tail. Suppose it explains what she said earlier.
As he was trying to see what this girl wore in all this darkness, the girl finally noticed him.
"Oh? Hai hai! Were you kidnapped too-nya?"
"Huh? I suppose I was. You uh... alright down there? Sleeping on isn't very comfortable. Trust me, I'd know."
"I'm perfectly fine-nya! I was just having a little cat nap!" She said and she jumped up onto her feet.
"A cat nap huh? What, are you actually a cat? A cosplayer? What's up with those ears?" He questioned.
"Huh?? I'm not a cat-nya! And I'm not a cosplayer-nya! I'm Kuroko Kurobara-nya! I'm the bestest hypnotist in the whole wide world-nya! Because I'm the Ultimate Hypnotist-nya! I'm super-nice happy to meet you-nya!"
He decided not to question her strange way of speaking.
"So you're an Hypnotist huh? You want to take me into a trance? Would that be fun?"
"It wouldn't be fun for me-nya! I only hypnotize pretty women-nya!"
"Oh? So I'm not pretty enough for you then? What's up with your restriction?"
"Well, have you ever seen a woman in trance-nya? Each one a veritable Sleeping Beauty just waiting for a kiss from their Prince or Princess Charming-nya. Ultra-plus Magical, n-yes?"
"Well I suppose I haven't seen that. I'll take your word for it." Again, he decided not to question it.
"Hold on-nya! I've told you about me, but I haven't heard about you-nya! Who are you-nya?"
"Little old me? Well, if you really want to know, you can call me Kei Aikawa. It's a pleasure to meet you. And in which I don't believe it is a coincidence, I'm an Ultimate just like you. The Ultimate Lawyer to be exact. Do you by any chance got a smoke?"
"A smoke-nya? No! I don't even have my belongings-nya!"
Right. He almost forgot they were kidnapped. Fair enough she doesn't have anything on her.
"But a Lawyer-nya? Hmm..."
Kuroko eyed Kei up and down.
She wasn't into him like that, but even she could admire him. He was a tall, fair-skinned, conventionally attractive young man, with nape-length light gray hair that's styled in a tidy manner with 3/4 parted bangs that go down just slightly past his ocean blue eyes. He had a V-shaped face with a sharp jawline along with a rather lean, noticeably chiseled body, possessing a well-defined chest with symmetrical pecs, as well as broad shoulders that are tapering down to a V-shaped torso.
She thought he dressed a little plainly, but she definitely noticed how much of his chest he was trying to show off.
But he wore casual suit, consisting of a dark blue blazer over a white button-up shirt with the first two buttons on the top left undone to reveal a bit of his chest. For his bottoms, he had a pair of slim-fitting, dark blue dress pants and dark brown dress shoes.
But the one thing Kuroko couldn't take her eyes off of was his smile. He had a... strange smile. She had seen plenty of people, both in and out of trance, smiling. But something about Kei's just threw her off.
She decided to put it out of her mind for now.
"Well you definitely look like a Lawyer-nya! But you seem pretty carefree for one though-nya!"
Kei was surprised she was so blunt, but he wasn't offended by that comment at all.
"Oh yeah? Not the first person who has said that to me. You usually expect a Lawyer to be all serious? Walking around with a stick up their ass? Well that's not me. But don't underestimate me. I have the skills to take anyone down."
"Wow, that's impressive-nya! I want to see you in action-nya!"
Kuroko had never experienced Lawyers, or law in general, so she was rather curious.
"Oh? I'm flattered. But we ought to deal with the current situation first. We are in the middle of a strange and scary forest, remember?"
Kuroko had honestly forgot that for a moment.
"You're right-nya! As expected of a Lawyer-nya!"
Kuroko looked around her.
"Well... where do we start-nya?"
Kei thought for a moment.
"Well I'm no professional forest ranger, but I think we just start walking. Not much else we can do right?"
Kei started walking off before Kuroko could even say anything.
"Hey-nya! Wait for me-nya!" Kuroko yelled out as she ran after Kei.
The two started walking through the dark forest, not having a specific destination, all the while staying careful of their surroundings.
The walk got silent pretty quick, so Kuroko decided to strike up a conversation.
"Kei-nya? You said something strange earlier-nya. About you being an Ultimate not being a coincidence-nya?"
Kei was snapped back out of his own little world when Kuroko said something. He had zoned out.
"Huh? Oh that?"
Kei went back into his head for a moment before giving an answer.
"Well, Ultimates being kidnapped has been a thing in the past. People really don't like Ultimates, or maybe just Hope's Peak in general."
"Is it really that common-nya? Seems pretty difficult to kidnap Ultimates, considering they're so famous-nya."
"Famous huh? I suppose you're right. But some people don't like fame. They despise it. So they choose to hurt famous people. Namely Ultimates."
Kei paused for a moment.
"Or... it's something a lot more shallow. Like kidnapping for ransom or something. I suppose let's hope it's the latter. But I've dealt with cases like that before. People kidnap Ultimates for all sorts of reasons. I guess I wouldn't call it common per se, but it's not exactly rare either."
"Huh! I never knew that-nya. I really hope whoever took us plans to hurt us-nya! That's doesn't sound like fun-nya!"
"Indeed. Definitely not my idea of fun either. Let's just hope we find a way to escape. Again, dying here would not be fun."
Their conversation seemingly finished, they walked in silence for a little while longer.
They didn't know how long it had been, as the darkness and their still partly hazy minds messed with their perception of time. But after a while, they finally saw a very faint light.
Kei held his arm out, motioning for Kuroko to stop.
"Hey! What are you doing-nya?"
She clearly didn't understand what he meant by that.
"Shush! There's a light ahead. Be quiet."
Kei looked closely at the faint light ahead, and saw it was a small campfire. He could barely make out two people around it. He tried to glean more details, but something distracted him. Kuroko.
Kuroko still kept on walking, so this time Kei forced her back. They needed to be careful here.
But again, Kuroko just wouldn't listen.
"Hey-nya! Don't touch me! I want to see what's going on at the light-nya!" She borderline yelled.
"I told you to shush! We don't know if they're friend or foe!" Now Kei's voice volume was getting a bit louder.
"There's no point in just watching them-nya! Let's just go see-nya!"
Kei didn't expect her to be this stubborn. Or maybe naive is the better word? But Kei wasn't going to back down here.
"Just stay put! Channel your cat energy and just relax!" Kei was definitely getting more annoyed with her, his voice volume showing that fact.
"Again, I'm not a cat-nya!" She again borderline yelled.
This was getting nowhere. Kei and Kuroko had started fighting, and the two people at the campfire finally took notice.
Kei whipped his head around at the noise of someone walking.
He could see one of the people slightly clearer now, and he almost wished he couldn't. Because he was huge.
The man approaching them was a very tall and extremely muscular man. Kuroko had been alerted to the sound and started looking at him too.
He was very broad and menacing, and they could see multiple healed bruises on his face, hands and body. He had tan skin that contrasted well with his olive eyes. He had a dark teal mullet and a grin plastered on him. He also had an almost frightening aura of confidence around him too.
His aura reminded Kuroko of Kei's smile. Both were very... chilling.
The pair were brought out of their thoughts as the giant man yelled towards them.
"HEY! YOU TWO! I SEE YOU HIDING IN THOSE DAMN BUSHES! COME OUT HERE YOU FUCKS!"
Yeah they were screwed. Kei knew they should run to be safe, but Kuroko had other plans. She had already walked out of the bush and into the open to greet the monster of a man.
"That idiot..." Kei mumbled.
Fine. If he was dying like this then so be it. He followed her out to see the giant.
"Oh the little spies decided to show themselves huh? What are you after you fucks?! I'm a busy guy! I ain't got time for this shit!" He immediately yelled at them.
Kei was preparing to say something, but Kuroko, seemingly like always, just started staying words without thinking.
"We aren't spies-nya! We're Ultimates! We were kidnapped and trying to find our way out!" She yelled back.
"Oh. Oh?! Oh shit! My bad guys! You were kidnapped too?!"
Huh. He became apologetic pretty quick.
The mountainous main squinted his eyes and sized up Kuroko and Kei, the latter of which who was still rather farther back than Kuroko. He still didn't know what this guy was capable of.
"You two don't seem like much compared to me, but nobody looks good when compared to me! Cause I'm a star baby!"
The ginormous man started flexing his muscles. Kei widened his eyes. He thought to himself for a second. Yeah. One punch and he was done for.
"Well it's good you understand now-nya! I'm Kuroko Kurobara, the Ultimate Hypnotist-nya! It's very nice to meet you-nya! And the guy behind me is Kei Aikawa-nya! He's the Ultimate Lawyer-nya!"
"Oh yeah? Hey, anyone ever tell you talk strange Kuroko?"
Kuroko slightly tilted her head.
"Hm? What do you mean-nya?"
"Eh, don't worry about it!" The man decided to drop it. Didn't seem worth the trouble to question it.
But he shifted his gaze away from Kuroko and onto Kei.
Kei had started just standing behind Kuroko awkwardly. This wasn't a situation he expected to be in.
"You!" The building-sized man pointed at Kei.
"You're a Lawyer eh?"
Kei finally decided to stop hiding behind the totally-not-a-cat-girl and walked in front of Kuroko. And he decided to respond too.
"Yeah. I am. What's it to you? You want my card? I'm a pretty busy guy, just like you."
"What?! Nothing like that buddy! Don't worry about it! Anyway, why were you hiding behind the girl? You scared of me?" He asked with a condescending tone as he stepped forward at Kei.
"H-huh? Of course not. Who could be scared of a little guy like you?" Kei refused to let himself get thrown off by this guy.
""Little guy?" You're a jokester aren't you? Ha ha! Well. I don't blame you for being scared! Especially when being faced with this stallion!"
He flexed his muscles once again.
"Well, you certainly like to show those off. I'm assuming you're an Ultimate like us? What's your talent? Ultimate Couch Potato?" Kei said sarcastically.
That didn't bother the so-called "Couch Potato."
"Ha ha! You really are a funny guy! Nah, these aren't for show! My guns are pretty fucking amazing aren't they?! I use these babies to beat people down as the Ultimate Wrestler! They call me "The Pain Killer," but my real name is Genjiro Mashimoto! The best fucking wrestler there is!"
That certainly explains his physique and his "guns" as he called them.
"A wrestler? I should've guessed. So? Got any... interesting achievements?" Kei was doing the talking now, despite how awkward it came out.
"Achievements? I'm the Ultimate fucking Wrestler! What do you mean achievements?!"
Hm. Kei could sense him getting a little agitated at his question. He was intrigued, but like always, Kuroko had decided to get in his way.
"Hey Genjiro-nya? Who is that pretty lady by the fire-nya?"
"Huh?"
Genjiro turned around, seemingly forgetting she was even there.
"Oh, her! We've probably talked enough! Let's get back to the fire!"
It wasn't a long walk back before the girl sitting alone at the fire perked up at Genjiro returning.
"Oi! Genny! What the fuck took you so long? I was getting nervous over here!" The girl yelled out. Her and Genjiro definitely shared one trait. Being very loud.
But while Kei was being mildly annoyed, Kuroko was looking very intently at the girl. She couldn't help but admire her. And in a very different way from how she admired Kei.
The girl at the fire was a thin, cream-coloured skinned woman with shoulder-length auburn hair with bangs that curve to the left and partially obscure her left eye. Her eyes were a bright red, and she had painted black nails. She had bright red lipstick, and a slight scar under her right eye. Kuroko also stared intently at her chest, noticing she was rather flat-chested. Enough to make you suspect she was a boy, but Kuroko wasn't that stupid. And that wouldn't stop her.
But her eyes shifted from the girl's chest and onto her left arm, where she had quite the tattoo. It ranged from her shoulder to just above her above her elbow, facing outward. Kuroko didn't play video games, but a random realization popped into her head, telling her that the tattoo was of The Hunters Mark from Bloodborne. Why did she realize that? Don't worry about it.
Kuroko's attention then shifted to the girl's clothes. Her outfit consisted of a white sleeveless blue tank top with a black clip-on bra underneath and a pair of dark blue jeans held up by a brown leather belt with a golden buckle. She also wore a black choker around her neck and two red bead bracelets on her right wrist. Footwear-wise, she wore black slip-on shoes with white ankle socks.
Kuroko could immediately tell that she was a tomboy.
But she needed to get to know her more. She reached the girl before Genjiro and Kei were even back at the fire.
"Yo! Who are you? Not the people who kidnapped us right?" She immediately questioned Kuroko. Kuroko started to respond, but the girl spoke first.
"Wait, Genny would've beaten you to pulp if you were. I guess you ain't bad then?"
"Yep-nya! I'm Kuroko, and the guy in blue is Kei-nya! We were bothing kidnapped like you-nya!"
"Oh shit? Damn. The thought of someone being able to kidnap four Ultimates is fucking scary."
Genjiro and Kei had finally reached the fire as Kuroko and the girl were talking.
And as they reached the fire, Genjiro went and barged in on their conversation.
"Fuck yeah it's scary! It's scary how they could capture a beast like me! I swear I'm gonna beat the shit outta these damn kidnappers once they show their mugs!" Genjiro yelled out.
"Damn right Genny." The girl agreed. She then glanced at Kei and Kuroko.
"Oh hey, I haven't introduced myself yet have I?The name is Yoshino Akiyama. The Ultimate Horror Novelist. I guess I'm a bit of a horror nut!"
Yoshino locked eyes with Kuroko for a moment.
"Your name was Kuroko right? Imma call you "Roko." It's nice to meetcha!"
Yoshino then locked eyes with Kei.
"And you were Kei? It's nice to meet you." Yoshino said with a much flatter tone compared to her talking with Kuroko.
"You didn't sound very excited to meet me Yoshino." Kei remarked.
"Oh yeah? Not sure what you mean." Yoshino said back in a very flat tone. What did he even do to her?
"Anyway, I make some damn good horror stories. Either of you read horror?"
"Not really. Not my type of story. I'm too much of a scaredy-cat." Kei answered, clearly not actually meaning that last part.
"Yeah yeah whatever. How about you Roko?"
Kei might've been having trouble with the Horror Novelist, but Kuroko quite liked her already. She seemed rather enchanted with Yoshino. Kuroko curled her hands like paws in front of her as she chimed in, but not to answer her question.
"Roko-nya? That's such a cute nickname, thank you-nya! But it's not as cute as you are-nya!" She added with a wink at the end.
Yoshino started to faintly blush, but she quickly turned Kuroko down.
"Hey uh, I'm flattered, but I'm not really interested in that sort of thing right now."
"Oh-nya? That's disappointing-nya. But I understand-nya." Kuroko said with a sad tone.
But she turned her mood around rather quick and asked a question that changed the subject.
"Hey, how did you two get here-nya? What's your story-nya?" Kuroko asked Genjiro and Yoshino.
"Oh ho! I can take this one!" Genjiro blurted out as he started telling his story of what happened to him.
"So I got no damn memories of before I woke up in the dark ass place! But I was woken up by Yoshi over here screaming like she was getting shanked!" Genjiro yelled out, like he usually does. He really was loud.
Yoshino quickly turned towards Genjiro and punched him in the side.
"Hey! What the hell! You said you wouldn't tell them! Keep it to yourself you jackass!" Yoshino said as she punched Genjiro's side again. Not sure why she bothered, it wasn't like he would actually feel it.
"Ah come on! It was fucking funny! You just screaming out "Ahhhh help meeee!!" Ha ha! Shit was priceless!" Genjiro said as mocked Yoshino.
"Nah, shut the fuck up Genny- Ah, Genjiro! That's not fucking funny! Ok just sit down you moron! I'll tell the story!"
Genjiro surprisingly relented as he sat down, still laughing to himself.
Yoshino had gotten really annoyed over whatever Genjiro was talking about. Kei eyed Genjiro suspiciously as Kuroko was just focusing on whatever came out of Yoshino's mouth as she began telling their story.
"So it's the same for both me and Genjiro. We woke up in the pitch black darkness of this forest. And I guess I might've screamed out a little but it doesn't matter!" Yoshino definitely tried to whisper that last part, but Kei nor Kuroko called her out on it.
"But I met up with Genjiro pretty soon after waking up. Then we thankfully found this damn fire soon after. I didn't want to spend another second in that fucking darkness!"
Kei was intrigued by what Yoshino just said.
"Oh? The way you worded that sounds like you don't like the dark. Surely you aren't afraid of the dark are you Yoshino? Rather strange considering your Ultimate talent." Kei asked in an ever so slightly condescending way.
Yoshino immediately shot a sharp glare Kei's way.
"Shut the fuck up!" Yoshino yelled out then proceeded to pause.
"So uh... So what if I am? Please don't fucking talk about it." Yoshino was sitting down, so she buried her head in her knees, clearly embarrassed about it.
Kei could tell she didn't walk to talk about it, so he dropped it. But Kei saw out of the corner of his eye, Genjiro struggling to hold in a laugh. Does he really find that funny?
Kei sighed to himself. He waited an annoying long amount of time for Genjiro to stop laughing over a poor girl's fear before talking about his and Kuroko's story.
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Once both sides had shared information, they needed to decide what to do.
Kei spoke up first.
"So, we clearly need to get out of here. We haven't seen hide nor hair of our kidnappers, and we don't need to stick around long enough to see them. So I say we get and move around. Find an exit, light, or even just something strange. We need something to work with."
Yoshino knew that they should look around more, but she was still apprehensive.
"I uh... yeah! You guys look around and I'll just stick around here. Yeah!"
Yoshino clearly didn't want to move anywhere.
"Nah, you can't be serious! Get your ass up Yoshi! We can't stay in the fucking place any longer! Even if you are- *chuckle* afraid of the dark, you just gotta deal with it!" Genjiro said and he pulled Yoshino up onto her feet.
"Hey! Don't touch me Genjiro!"
Kuroko went and moved to her rescue.
"Hey now-nya! I think it's ok-nya! The guys can scout around for an exit while I stay here with Yoshino-nya! I'll keep her safe-nya!" Kuroko remarked with a wink.
"Oh yeah? Eh, works for me! Not sure if little man over here can keep up with me though!" Genjiro said with a shout as he punched Kei's side playfully.
"Hey! C-calm down Genjiro. Let's just get going." Kei barely got out as he swore he felt something break inside his body.
But he just wanted to escape at this point. He just wanted to go. These three seemed like nice enough people. Well, maybe not Genjiro. Yoshino and Kuroko were though.
"Anyway, so Genjiro and I will scout out the area while Kuroko and Yoshino stay here? I can work with that. Don't get into too much trouble while we're gone you two!" Kei said with a slight smirk.
"Trouble-nya? Never-nya!"
"Trouble? The hell you mean? Just get going already! I want to get out of the damn place already..."
Yoshino was clearly get impatient, and understandably so. Especially considering she was a horror novelist scared of the dark of all things.
Almost as if he could read the narration, Genjiro tried to hold in another chuckle.
"Alright Lawyer man! Get your ass up and let's get moving! A stupid forest isn't gonna stop The Painkiller!" Genjiro said as he went to grab Kei's arm to drag him along with him, but Kei was just fast enough to avoid it.
"I appreciate the escort offer but I can walk fine on my own thanks." Kei remarked dryly.
"Whatever! C'mon, let's get moving!"
Genjiro started to jog off, with Kei barely keeping up.
"Be careful you guys! We don't know if Jason Vorhees or some shit is hiding in here! And let's not find out!" Yoshino shouted towards them as the boys started to walk away.
"You sure like to worry about nothing Yoshi! Just stay put and this stallion will save the day!"
Genjiro started to sprint off, clearly eager to "save the day" as he said. But he was quickly stopped by something. A loud metallic screech, like machinery starting up again. It sounded like some sort of audio equipment.
"Hey! What the fuck is that sound?! It's loud as shit!"
"You're one to talk..." Kei mumbled out.
"This sound is hurting my ears-nya! Make it stop-nya!"
"Christ! Well ain't no horror villain sounds like this!" Yoshino shouted as she covered her ears.
It took a couple of seconds, but the sound finally died down. And it was replaced with a voice.
"Oh? Have my adorable stars finally woken up? How wonderful! I'm so very glad to see you all up and alright!"
It was... a strange voice. It was clearly muffled in a way, as if it was coming over some sort of intercom. Strange considering where they were.
And the voice itself was hard to describe. It was feminine, with a touch of flamboyance. Also... a tad bit of insanity as well.
Yoshino was the first one to respond to the voice. She couldn't tell where exactly it was coming from, so she just shouted in a random direction.
"Hey! Who the hell are- Wait. Scratch that. Where the hell are you? What is this place?!"
"Oh? So many questions already? You seem fairly impatient. That's very unbecoming of a star Ms. Akiyama!"
"The mysterious voice responded to you? We know it's not a recording at least." Kei chimed in.
"Wait a sec, you know my name? Do you know all our names? If this is a joke this ain't funny! I already pissed off enough if it is!" Yoshino's anger was starting to overtake her fear.
"Of course this isn't a joke! I would never dream of playing a prank on people such as you! Mr. Aikawa, Mr. Mashimoto, Ms. Kurobara, and Ms. Akiyama. I'm so very sorry if this came off as a joke to you. Don't worry, I'm so very serious about this!"
"Uh, the fuck you on about? Don't apologize for some shit like that! Just get out here so The Painkiller can beat the shit out of you!" Now it was Genjiro's turn to chime in.
"That's right-nya! Get down here so Genjiro can beat you up-nya!" And now it was Kuroko's turn.
"I'm afraid I cannot acquiesce to those demands my darlings! I'm perfectly fine where I am, though I appreciate the offer!"
Kei made a quick mental note. Feminine, Flamboyant, Insane, and also Sarcastic. Great.
"But that's enough talk for now my darling stars! We must get the show on the road!"
A show? Interesting.
"Hey, what do you mean by a show? I'm not very photogenic I'm afraid." Kei asked and quipped.
"Mr. Aikawa, you needn't worry about that. Just follow my instructions and you'll do perfectly!"
"Oh yeah? What if we don't follow those instructions of yours?" Kei asked once again.
"Very good question! It's very simple."
The voice paused for a moment. Perhaps for dramatic effect?
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"If you do not follow my instructions, death awaits you! Exciting isn't it?!"
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Did she say... death?
"Nya??? What do you mean death-nya? I don't want to die-nya!"
Genjiro's expression changed from a blinding grin to a slightly less blinding grin at the news.
"Death? Fuck that! You ain't killing me, or any of us! We don't give a fuck about your rules!"
Yoshino stood up, Following Genjiro's enthusiasm.
"Yeah! No way we're following you! You crazy psycho! I've had enough of this shit in my life already, I don't want more! So no way you can make us bend to your will!"
Kei understood their defiant attitude. But they needed more information before they stand up to this mysterious big bad.
"Hold on Genjiro, Yoshino. Just chill for a second. Let's ask questions before we do anything reckless."
He wanted to stand up to this mysterious voice too, but he knew getting information was more important. But Genjiro and Yoshino didn't go down immediately.
"Huh? Nah buddy, I ain't bowing to this bitch! We're fighting her! Right Yoshi?"
"Hell yeah Genjiro. I ain't letting anyone walk over me!"
Well they probably wouldn't listen to reason. So Kei asked the other person with them.
"Kuroko, you ok? Let's get information before we do anything rash."
Kuroko quickly responded.
"I'm ok-nya! And you're right-nya. Let's get details before we do anything reckless-nya."
Alright, good. Two out of Four weren't hotheaded enough at least.
"Alright then Miss Mysterious Voice, what are these instructions of yours?" Kei asked.
The hotheaded ones still didn't like listening to a damn kidnapper, but they let Kei talk.
"My instructions are very simple. All you need to do is..."
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"Run!"
And just like that, everybody was plunged into darkness once again. Though this time, it wasn't due to being knocked out or falling sleeping. This mysterious voice had somehow remotely extinguished their faint campfire, and plunged them into a complete dark.
Yoshino, as expected, started freaking out.
"Hey! What the hell is this?! Guys?! Where'd you go?! I don't want to be alone here!"
"Yoshino. Calm down. We haven't even moved." Kei said as he responded to her plea.
"Oh uh- I guess you didn't. Yeah. I knew that! Just please don't move yet. Or uh- just stay situated for now. I really don't like the dark."
Yeah, they were plenty aware. Genjiro was stifling a laugh as the mysterious voice continued talking.
"You four stars have been plunged into darkness! For it is time for the first act of our pilot episode! It's time for Horror!" The mysterious voice said gleefully.
"Horror-nya? This isn't very scary so far, just dark-nya."
"Oh? Is it not scary enough for you then? Then let's amp it up!"
"That's not what I meant-nya!"
But Kuroko was too late. All of a sudden, a loud whirling sound startled all of them. It sounded like... a chainsaw?
"Ah, do you hear that my wonderful stars? A chainsaw! A classic horror movie weapon! Who knows how much blood has been shed by the chainsaw? Isn't so wonderful to think about? I'm sure you agree Ms. Akiyama?"
"What? Well... maybe a little."
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"Wait! Nah, I don't agree with you! You psycho! What's that chainsaw for? Turn on the lights!" Yoshino yelled out.
"But if I turned on the lights it'd ruin the first act! You four stars are now a part of a horror movie! I'm sure you love that, don't you Ms. Akiyama?"
"Huh? Well... kind of."
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"Wait! No I don't, shut up! I'm not understanding or playing your sick game!" Yoshino yelled out again.
"Kinda funny hearing a Horror Novelist who's scared of the dark talk like that! Shit's hilarious!" Genjiro added.
"Can you shut the fuck up Genjiro?! Drop it!" Yoshino yelled out once again. For being so small compared to Genjiro, her voice can definitely rival how loud he is.
"Oh my dear Ms. Akiyama. I'm afraid you will be playing it. Along with your three fellow stars!"
The group of four glanced at each other. Well, they did the best they could in the dark anyway.
"That chainsaw is the sound of a killer! He is rapid approaching your location as we speak! I'd recommend you run my darlings! You must find the exit to these woods within 10 minutes! You must escape before then!" The voice instructed.
"Fuck that! What happens when those 10 minutes are up you fucker?!" Genjiro asked.
"Another good question! If those 10 minutes run out, I'll just kill you all myself! Ha ha! Fun right?" The voice said, absolutely dripped with delight.
Whoever this voice belonged to... definitely wasn't sane. So that made their job a lot harder.
"I'd recommend you start running now! The timer started a little bit ago, so you have 8 minutes! Ta-ta for now darlings! I hope to see you escape!" The voice said, signing off.
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The group fell into silence. What... had just happened? Someone kidnapped the four of them and threw them into a forest with killer? Seriously? This felt less like real life and more life a crazy fantasy story or TV show!
All four thought this to themselves for a moment, before Genjiro spoke up.
"Hey, so I don't wanna listen to what that bitch's voice says. But we ought to run now! That chainsaw is getting really fucking close."
"Oh? I'm surprised to see you have some restraint Genjiro. I half expected you to just charge in the direction of the noise." Kei quipped.
"I normally would do shit like that, because I'm so awesome! But even I know this ain't the time for that. So enough sitting around! Let's get going you lazy fucks!"
"Right-nya! Cmon Yoshi, let's get going-nya! Don't worry about the scary dark, I'll hold onto your arm-nya!"
"Y-you don't gotta do that Roko. I'm not gonna let some stupid voice and a stupid threat knock me down."
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"But if you don't want to hold my arm I'm not gonna object..."
Yoshino whispered that last part pretty quickly.
"Alright! Let's go! Think you can keep up with me Mr. lawyer-man?" Genjiro jokingly asked Kei.
"Easily. Just try not to slow me down old man." Kei joked back.
"Old? Fuck, guess being 21 is old now! Ha ha! But nah, enough talk. Let's go!"
Genjiro blurted out as he darted off on a random direction.
"You're going to run into a tree of you don't slow down!"
Kei had trouble seeing where he went, but he eventually went after him.
"Well the boys are gone. We ain't gonna let them beat us! Let's go Roko!"
"Yes-nya! I'm ready-nya!"
Yoshino and Kuroko were a bit slower compared to the boys, mainly because Kuroko was hanging onto Yoshino. But they kept a steady pace nonetheless.
Genjiro charged ahead like a raging bull. He had almost forgotten they were running away from a crazy killer. He just enjoyed the competition. But the main thing he noticed was Kei's stamina.
"For being a lanky boy, you got good stamina Kei!" Genjiro shouted behind him.
"Thanks! I'm flattered you think so highly of me mountain-man!" Kei shouted ahead of him.
They continued to banter back and forth as they ran, but it was pretty short lived as Genjiro let out a sudden cry.
"OH SHIT!"
"Genjiro? You alright over there?"
"Yeah I'm good! How could I not be good?!"
Kei couldn't tell if he was actually offended by that.
"But nah, I ran into a wall or some shit! Check it out!"
"A wall? I thought this was a forest?" Kei questioned as he approached when Genjiro was.
Once Kei could see what Genjiro crashed into, he was surprised to see that he was actually right. They reached a metallic wall at the edge of this "forest."
"Huh. Looks like this "forest" wasn't a forest at all. Pretty good camouflage."
"What it is, is fucking annoying! I ain't gonna let a wall stop me!" Genjiro shouted out and he started punching the metallic wall like a madman.
Kei wanted to stop him, but realized that might be easier said than done, considering who "The Painkiller" was. But Genjiro luckily stopped anyway as the boys heard the girls yell out for them a little further away.
"Hey boys! I think we found the exit! Dunno why there's a door in the middle of a forest, but an exit is an exit! Let's get out of here!"
"Cmon, boys-nya! We need to get out of the forest-nya!"
Genjiro looked in the direction of their voices and smirked.
"Look at that! The girls beat you to the punch at finding answers! Sucks to suck eh lawyer-boy?"
What?
"What? What do you even mean? This wasn't a competition." Kei was awfully confused by what Genjiro even meant, but he learned by how not to question it. He's just... eccentric. Yeah. That's it.
Genjiro was already walking towards the girls, so Kei joined him. After a 30-second walk or so, they reached them. And lo and behold, there was a door.
Kei reached towards it and moved the handle. It actually moved too!
"Guess it wasn't locked. That's good, hate to be in a fake forest with a fake killer for too long."
"Huh-nya? The killer was fake-nya? How-nya?" Kuroko asked.
"Listen."
Everyone paused for a moment.
"Do you hear it? Or more accurately, do you not hear it?"
"Not hear what-nya?"
It took a second for Kuroko, as well as Genjiro and Yoshino to realize.
"The chainsaw stopped didn't it? I'm assuming it was a fake meant to scare us, just like this forest was."
Yoshino wasn't happy at the news. I mean, who would be?
"What?! So I got scared over nothing?! You gotta be kidding me! That stupid voice isn't gonna know what hit them. Cmon, we're getting out of the fucking place!"
Yoshino refused to wait anymore, and she pulled open the door.
Instantly, a harsh and blinding light shot into the room they were in. Everybody shot up their arms to cover their eyes.
"Fuck! That's a bright ass light!" Genjiro said as he walked out the door.
"Well, it's better than this fake forest-nya!" Kuroko said as he followed after him.
"Damn right! This fucking mastermind is gonna get a piece of me, I swear!" Yoshino was third out.
Then Kei was the last one left. He looked behind him one last time.
"This was a bit too easy, and rather anti-climatic. This kidnapper wanted us to escape, it feels like. Wonder what their plan is..." He mused aloud.
"Well, no matter. Let's just see what awaits us past this glorious and blinding door."
Kei moved to walk out of the door.
And what awaited him and his three companions on the other side of the door was...
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Hm? I wonder what it is! You'll just have to wait and see!
Anyway, this was part 1 of our prologue! There will be 4 parts in all!
But I hope you enjoyed, and for the creators of these four characters, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns about how I wrote them, please let me know! This was my first time writing others' characters, so I hope I did a good job!
But besides for that, in case you didn't know, I am still accepting submissions! The deadline is July 4th, but I was just rather confident in these four! Did you like them? Hate them? I'm curious to see your thoughts!
But that should be it! Once again, I hope you enjoyed! Don't get crushed under the weight of fame darlings!
And have a good day/evening/night!
Our Glamorous Stars
1. Kei Aikawa - Ultimate Lawyer [theotakureader101]
2. Kuroko Kurobara - Ultimate Hypnotist [MrUtenaHolic]
3. Yoshino Akiyama - Ultimate Horror Novelist [DeathlyJazzHands55]
4. Genjiro Mashimoto - Ultimate Wrestler [Grandma Sue]
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