Fandom Persona: Non Grata

[simj26]

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Is


OPEN

 

[simj26]

Shadows of Truth

The Velvet Serenade

18th February 2016


1730 hours


Rei Satoh slipped in another coin into the machine and idly fiddled around with the controls of the crane, turning her attention instead to Samuel. The man in white was excitedly polishing his cups with gleeful abandon, holding them up into the light every time he was finished with one, before setting it aside, and starting on the other. She could hear him, even from all the way across the café, muttering with barely disguised elation, “Today’s the day...frabjous day, callou callay...wonder if I should bake a cake…”. The crane clamped itself around the neck of one of the plush kittens inside of the box, but its deliberately weak grip failed to find actual purchase on its target. As the crane retreated back into the air, the claw merely pawed at the kitten’s face, before leaving it in the pile of other cats. Rei sighed, and smacked the side of the machine, before straightening up, brushing a lock of hair from her face.


“So, Samuel, how are we sure that our invited guests are sure to come? I mean, how are they even supposed to do that?”


“The same way you go every time, Rei,” he answered, without missing a beat. “The same as how our dearest Ms. Getrude found herself in this room.”


“Abusing those powers of yours, are we, Samuel?” Rei dropped herself down into one of the chairs in front of the counter.


“Fie!” Samuel looked up from his cups, and flashed Rei a grin. “I merely use it to give our esteemed guests a gentle push in the right direction. I lay the path ahead of them. Whether they walk the path is to their discretion. Even you, Rei Satoh, you who wield the power of the truth within your hands, your path has already been paved.”


“I came here on my own accord. I-- we-- they found you with what they had on hand.” She was growing quite irritated with the man. Though he presented himself with an air of a being of some power, his odd, roundabout way of speaking tended to rub her the wrong way. Then again, he had mentioned that his duties were to, in her own words, ‘give hints, not answers’.


Samuel looked as if he was about to retort, but a loud ding rang from behind the curtains that shielded vision into the back of the café, turning his attention towards it instead. “Oh, I baked everyone's favourites and extra helpings for that one child! I’ll be right back. Do tell our guests to settle themselves first when they arrive.” Before Rei could tell him off for not answering her question, he had already vanished behind the curtains.


Rei sighed, slipped off her seat, and pulled out several more chairs from behind the counter, setting them across the length of the front. She always wondered where the chairs came from, or how the café always seemed possible to accomodate as many people as it needed. She swore that there were only two of the cushioned cubicles when she first stepped into the Velvet Serenade- now there were three, enough to seat the whole gathering they were expecting, as well as still allow that Gertrude to use one as a makeshift bed whenever she came over. She turned towards the backdoor of the café, and waited. They would come soon, if Samuel’s words to be believed.




The time is almost 1800.


Your day ends, for the most part. For the students, the afternoon classes have ended, leaving only your after school activities to be taken care of, though many, if not all, activities have been postponed to another date, reasons unknown. For the working class, your office hours have ended, and you are already returning home from a day’s worth of hard work, and you received no heckling from your boss. For the service labourers, you should be trapped in your workplace until your boss’ say so, though you find reprieve in that, strangely, your employers are quite kind enough to let you off early for the day.


These coincidences send a ripple through populations of students and workers alike. It makes you feel uncomfortable, but the growing anxiety over the Lethargy Syndrome, as those who experienced the Kizuna Meets Ai Festival’s strange occurences call it, or the Apathy Syndrome, as those who read about the Tatsumi Port Island incidents call it, explain the behaviours of the governing bodies, sort of.


Those who have been called by the man in white, however, recall their dreams with great clarity. They remember in those dreams, just as they were whisked away to the waking world, the voice of the man in white rang in their ears. “18th February!” It echoes now, over and over again. Thankfully, today has been relatively uneventful. No man in white has been seen stalking you around, and hasn't appeared in your dreams, even when you fell asleep in class.


And, just as you think your day would pass, just like another day, you cross the treshold of a door. No matter where you are, no matter which door you cross, no matter who you had been with, you find yourself crossing instead the threshold of a familiar place. The spinning disco ball, the strange decor, the rigged crane machine, and the wafting scent of cookies. A girl in what seems to be a white uniform is seated by the counter, playing with her light blue hair.


You catch her attention, and she stands upright immediately, bowing low to you.


“Welcome to the Velvet Serenade. Samuel is currently preparing your complimentary cookies, so please, do stay a while. We have much to discuss in length.”




OOC:


OBJECTIVES:


well, boys, here it is. Just post whatever you want, up until stumbling into the Serenade, and their reactions. Wheeeee.

 

[Orikanyo]

Another shitty day after another, Boss doesn't shut up about the bread, its bread, yeah, it goes bad quickly if you don't use it, don't properly contain it and stick it in a wet place! but would he say anything? No, because he liked his job, well, enough to not walk out, hell he needed that money until a better opportunity showed its self. Wait... didn't he have another job? A part time one?


Honestly hes gone there so much as a customer hes forgotten that.. well... he DID sign up to work there... And... did he promise to be there today or something? No, no that was a dream. Or... was it? Gah, he just can't shake it. "18th of February." he spoke softly as he set about his culinary work, boiling the noodles, preparing the meat, hard boiling the egg, why people put an egg in ramen he'll never know. Not that he didn't like eggs, they were good, just... why? Its odd. But then again... He was working at a Japanese restaurant... guess he still had some German in him after all if he thinks THATS strange.


Damn... every time he thinks of home he gets hungry... well.. hungrier then standing in front of nice smelling food all day. What'd he give to barbeque up some nice sausages, or perhaps boil them? That'd be good, though much better for cooking many of them at the same time.


"Hey Richard."


Or maybe a sheppards pie? Thats easy enough to make, veges, mashed potatoes, and ground beef, easy and delicious, and easy enough to keep for lunches.


"Richard, dude."


Perhaps... no... Italian is Friday, good excuse to just order pizza, or make pasta... Wait.. what day was it anyways? he knows the date, god knows he couldn't forget it, but what was the day-


"DICK! earth to Dick!"


The man who was shouting in his ear finally caught his attention, using the name that Richard disposed most in his life, many a teen age boy during his years in high school came away with a broken nose for using it. Richard stopped his cookery and turned to the man with a murderous glint in hsi eyes, cracking his knuckles.


Until he noticed it was his supervisor.


"Eh? oh sorry boss, didn't catch yea." he suddenly hid his anger like a teen age boy hiding his porn when he hears his parents coming home.


"Were closing early today, clean up and lets get outa here."


"Oh? whats the occasion?"


"i don't know, just got orders is all, get cleaning."


With a shrug and a sigh, he set to cleaning, continuing his train of thought on his dinners through the week.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


"...Well.. its almost 6... Guess i could stop by the see if Sammy is still alive." he scratched his head for a second as he thought of what to do with his newly extended weekend. The serenade isn't to far away anyways, like 10 minutes if he walked? He can just save gas, go grab a cup of coffee or two, chat about baking with Sammy for abit, maybe tell him about his attempts at a Parfait that went horribly on the weekend? Sure, maybe get a good laugh outa it.


"Well, time to hit the ro-" he had just exited the building, mumbling those words to himself, when he saw the interior of the building he was now within. Did... he blank out? Did he just teleport? Did time and space crumple together to get him to his destination faster!?


But then, the girl started to speak, who was she again? "umm... uhh..." Richard looked back towards the doorway and then to the cafe again... Sighing he walked forward to take a seat, today was a weird one.


The man sat at the counter with a grunt, his grouchy looking face turning to the woman in front of him with a incredulous look of confusion.


"Alright, I'll bite, but answer one question first... How anime are we going here? Cause this is all lining up to well to be circumstance, Don't tell me, give me a moment and I'll take a guess. Me, and maybe a group of others are chosen to go on a long arduous adventure to discover our true selves and battle the evils that lurk in the dark shadows of the world, pretty sure thats a anime plot somewhere..." the man sighed, taking a guess at whats going on, hell he just teleported here, maybe, after Sammy had appeared in his dreams no less to tell him to come here at February 18th, which it was, and he couldn't help but hear the man's voice repeating it all day!


At the very least, this waitress was cute.


@simj22

 

[Emiya Shin]

Miyako Kagiyama

[18th February 2016 / Asahiro High School]


It was nearing 6pm, and today Miyako has after school training for rhythmic gymnastics. With 3 months away from the annual inter-school competition, it is important for her to get sufficient training. Despite being a talented gymnast in the school that she represents with, Miyako merely got a 3rd place in last year's competition. As a result, her trainer decided to start early and step up the training.


Just when she arrived at her personal locker, Miyako's smartphone, a slim, black colored Sharp Aquos Crystal 2 vibrated in her pocket. She took it out and checked what was the fuss about. Miyako unlocked her phone, and tapped on LINE's app notification which displayed 3 unread messages. When she reads the messages...

>Trainer: Today's training is cancelled. Will give out more updates later tonight.

​

Miyako raised her eyebrows, and curiosity hit her as the gymnast trainer actually announced that today's training is cancelled. The other students of the rhythmic gymnastics group chat were very happy with the news, posting out numerous cutesy happy messages, thanking on the update. As for Miyako, she simply closed her smartphone and placed it back to her pocket instead of saying anything on the LINE group chat. The girl with dark brown shoulder length hair simply sighed to herself.


("That... was surprising. I hope the trainer's fine...")


Then Miyako took a look around her surroundings, and there was no one. Coupled with the trainer's sudden cancellation, she felt that something is wrong. At this moment, Miyako remembered something that has been bugging her for quite a while.

“18th February!”

​

She closed her eyes and exhaled. The man's voice echoed with such clarity and loudness as if she heard the words directly in front of him, not to mention she got it in a very vivid dream that she ever experienced. Miyako decided to visit the peculiar cafe that she has stumbled upon days ago.


("Hmmm... I guess I should go back to that weird cafe. Something just bugs me to go there...")


Miyako closed and locked her private locker, before heading out to the exit with her school bag in hand. Then, she closed her eyes and gave a heavy yawn, stretching herself a bit before stepping outside of the main building. Once Miyako opened her eyes, the sight of the disco ball dangling from the ceiling, the purplish walls, the strange rainbow-ish decors greeted her sight. The sudden change of locale seemed too much for the timid schoolgirl, as she immediately stumbled and fell backwards, landing on her backside. Even so, her face continued to display her shocked expression.


"How..."


She started off soft, but immediately raised her voice without knowing that there is a girl with light blue hair in a waitress outfit and a young man in yellow beanie cap talking to the girl.


"How the heck did I ended up in here?! I was at the school moments ago!"


After that, Miyako finally noticed the two people, who presumably turned at her after making a commotion. She quickly covered her mouth in shame, before apologizing to them. She was still lying on the floor with her back leaning on the door to the outside world, the entrance to Velvet Serenade.


"Whoops, sorry. I... tend to act rashly whenever things like this happened to me..."


Then, Miyako quickly got up to her feet, before carefully approaching the two. Once she was within range for a conversation to occur, she bowed to both of them as a sign of courtesy and more apology to her sudden loud behavior.


@simj22 @Orikanyo

 

[QuestingBeast]

Gertrude (Empress)


On the tray the teacup tipped. It swung opposite in a rough motion, then pitched over entirely, diving down, falling fast to crash into a thousand tiny pieces on the floor. From the mess of ceramic and tea, Gertrude retracted her foot. Already, the leather of her shoe steamed in long billows, drenched in that simmering heat.


"Gertrude! You've done it again?!"


She closed her eyes tight, not willing to see the furious red face of portly Mr. Miragi storming from across the room.


He was a kind man, really. Today was just a difficult one. All last night the restaurant, Maiden Dream, had not a moment's rest; a twenty-four hour special, complete with immoderate discounts, was his last-ditch effort to raise visibility before the franchise went belly-up. While the night was a good one, it would likely be not near enough to convince the investors to change their minds. Anyone would crumble under that much duress. Gertrude herself shook with fatigue from the night's labor.


"Get out. Out. Go. Just go."


Her lower lip trembled, but she dipped her head in a solemn nod. In silence and with lowered eyes, she pulled her apron off over her head and unclipped the lace headband encircling her hair. Folding them as she walked to the front door, she touched the doorknob and turned back once, to see if Mr. Miragi had a change of heart.


His white dress shirt was wrinkled, his tie half-fallen off. Arms crossed, and a sad frown pulled down his chubby cheeks. He scuffed a foot on the floor, and turned towards Gertrude, but before their eyes met, she slipped out the door and into the street.


Akihabara was its usual self. On her first step, she nearly slammed into a sweat-drenched, glasses-laden neckbeard, who pulled away upon noticing her with such speed that she might as well had leprosy. Half-bowing in apology, Gertrude scurried along the sidewalk, following the line of traffic, since it went just where she intended to go.


There was a pulling in her heart. A sweet whisper within her ears. The familar sensation of being called from the inside out, a foreign allure one place could satisfy. The Velvet Serenade was always there, even when she merely wanted it to be.


A mysterious place for a home, surely, but that did not deter Gertrude in the least. No other place in the world gave such reprieve.


After a stop in the convenience store to purchase a pack of a dozen onigiri, Gertrude went down across the street towards the main square. There she surveyed the shops until, like a gravitational pull, she caught sight of the familiar blue light that shone more clearly than the smoggy sky. Her steps turned toward it.


All the relief and comfort of returning home brought a wistful smile to her face as she passed through the cafe's door and into the Velvet Serenade, only to come to a halting stop when she saw the unusually crowded interior. It was a good thing she'd bought extra, then. Waving as she went, Gertrude made a beeline for her usual seat.


"It's not much... but please help yourself," she said, head bowed, as she placed the bag of food on the table. Sighing, she sat down in the cushioned chair and leaned back, eyes closing out of comfort brought by peace.


"Hmm... It's so good to see you, Rei," she raised her head just long enough to send her a gentle smile. "How was your day?"

 

[waifu]

Rui



​

Bzzt.

Rui pulled out a cell phone from his pocket as it alerted him of a new text message. He flipped his phone open to check it. His face didn't waver for even a moment as he read the contents of the message and diligently replied to it without much thought. Once done, he put his phone away.


It was almost evening now, the sun descended and shined the last of its light for the day. Surprisingly, today was a fairly boring day. Surprising because it was 18th February. After anxiously anticipating its arrival for months now it was somewhat of a let down. 18th February was just another slow school day, followed by a trip to the book store. Was this it? Was he doing something wrong? Was he supposed to do something? Maybe nothing ever happened to begin with, maybe it was all a fluke, or maybe he was just mad.


Rui's thoughts were interrupted as he reached his housing complex. It was the sound of a little girl crying. Rui recognized the crying right away. It was Momo, the four-year-old who lived next door. She was very loud and kind of out there, very much like a four-year-old. The sobbing became louder as his unit came nearer.


"Rui onii-chan!" Momo yelled as Rui appeared in front of her. She was standing outside of her unit, tears and snot rolling down her face. Rui walked up to her and stared at her blankly. "Did you lock yourself out again? Are you stupid?" He asked with the utmost seriousness, expecting an answer. The little girl continued to cry.


Momo wasn't actually locked out. Their door was just old and hard to pry open. Her grandmother had probably dozed off, unaware of the fact Momo had gotten out again. "Look, I'm going to open the door for you this time, but if I catch you getting locked out again, I'm going to call the authorities. Your grandmother is going to get in trouble for neglecting you and they might take you away. If you want to avoid all of that, you will do as you're told. Understood?" Again, with the utmost seriousness.


Momo nodded meekly.


"Good, now hold my bag and stand back," The high school student said, handing over his messenger bag to the four-year-old. Momo held it with both her hands and did as she was told, sniffing.


Rui stood back, getting in position, and dashed towards the door. His foot came in contact with the door and he kicked the door wide open, only to be magically transported to The Velvet Serenade. He landed on the cafe's floor with a thud. ".... ?" He noticed there were other people in the cafe, none of which were Samuel. So this was it. February 18th. It was finally happening.


"........."


The seventeen-year-old quickly composed himself and wordlessly took one of the seats available in the cafe, trying to hide his embarrassing entry.

 

[Orikanyo]

"Glad to see I'm not the only one confused about all of this-" Richard spoke to the first young woman, when suddenly the second one appeared... Looking... less perturbed it seems. He sighed heavily and scratched behind his ear, looking about as confused as confused can get.


"I don't know, and really I'm trying to get some answers myself, if Rei would stop being mysterious and bloody tell us whats going on. And just about how many folks are gona come in toda-" the young man burst through the door, at first, it look intentional, then he fell... then he got back up and took a seat. "...Sammy is gona have to explain quite abit about these shenanigans I swear." he grumbled and watched the other guy for a moment, then turned his face towards the first young woman who came in.


"I know about as much as you do, first a dream about Sammy saying something about the 18th, and now I'm here. Honestly i'm wager this is a dream, some weird ass dream..." he shook his head in disbelief of the situation, hes still sticking with his guess before. but a dream would make most sense.


"Whelp, if its a dream, better this place then a nightmare." he laughed as his expression turned from confused, to jovial once again, not like it was a bad place to end up, the Serenade was pretty nice to hang around. "So, whats your name? Asking you lot as well. I'm Richard Gehrman, Chef is my occupation, and a regular here at the serenade when i'm not apparently dreaming about it, though i'll take this as a sign to stop coming her so much." he announced his name to the room, a smirk appearing on his face as he finally gets comfortable.


@Emiya Shin (Speaking directly) @whoever else wants to chime in.

 

[GasMaskie]

"Fuck! Are you kidding me?" The young girl man slammed his fist against the bathroom's stall wall as he stared at his cell phone screen with contempt. Fluent English briefly echoed through the empty public restroom as the student took a deep breath. The 'date' set for today had been delayed. Sure, it was February 18th and that albino chuuni was haunting his dreams constantly reminding him about the date, but it's not like that actually meant anything, right?


I really should have checked my phone before I changed clothes. Maybe the convenience store's having a sale, I should check that out later. Kaede carefully folded his school uniform and stuffed them into a duffel bag. Admittedly, he had always felt stuffy in that outfit and the skirt and stocking he wore on his 'dates' provided a greater range of movement. It wasn't a hobby, rather it was another strategy for 'fund acquisition', at least that's how he rationalized it.


Kaede took a brief moment to adjust the ribbons in his rose-colored hair before pulling up his peculiar hood and stepping through the stall's doors. And he found himself standing at that strange shop's entrance. His eyes darted around the room, three women and two men. It looked like the strange man in white wasn't around for some reason. There was only one thing to do in this situation.





"Ehhh? I was sure I was just there a few seconds ago..." He pouted and brought a hand to a cheek in a playful show of frustration. Once more, he had donned one of his masks - this one was of a coquettish young woman. A careful study of the Electric City's inhabitants and their peculiar conversations had led to a greater understanding of the term 'moe'. This act served well as a bait for his prey.


The trap whistled a tune as he carefully made his way to a seat with precise and graceful movements. As a part of his research, he had to stomach hours of archived footage from idol concerts. He imitated their choreography to a degree and as a result seemed far more cheerful than he actually was at the moment. Kaede plopped down at a booth and set his two bags under the table.


...I really hope this isn't some sort of Happy Science shit. Maybe the chuuni drugged that cookie the last time I was here. He kept smiling absentmindedly as he checked his phone and awaited any further developments.

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

Suzuho was probably looking forward to this a little too much.


It was the eighteenth, a week after her little... Dream encounter, she guessed she'd call it? And she was honestly more excited than she should have been. For some reason, which she couldn't quite figure out, she'd been excited for the day ever since her last 'conversation' with Samuel... Even if the conversation had probably been a complete work of fiction. She hadn't been back to the place since, partially because he hadn't had the time, and partially because she wasn't actually sure where the Serenade actually was. She had only ever been there once, after all. Never the less though, this time, she felt sure she could track the place down. Rather, she knew she could track the place down.


Still through, she needed to be prepared. She'd put on her nicest jacket, the lovely ear rings her first boyfriend had given her, and even taken out the sweater she was only supposed to wear on special occasions. Or in other words, she was overdressing like an idiot. When she finally stepped out of the door of her apartment, which she'd had to practically run back to so she could get prepared like this, Suzuho looked more like a girl on the way to her first date than she did one going to some club meeting. But, that happen pretty much every time she got over excited like this. That was just the effect that the potential for a little extra spice in her life had on the girl, one could suppose.


Before long, Suzuho was immersed within the crowds of Akihabara. Standing out like a sore thumb, of course. She roved though the streets just about as slowly as a human could possibly muster, more than once stopping right in front of some poor otaku too timid to ask her to move, scouring every corner, alley and store window for a sign of the weird little cafe. Eventually, she sat down with a sigh. Why on earth couldn't she remember where the place was? She guessed she was halfway lost when she found it, but seriously, it shouldn't have been this much of a pain to track the place dow...


Jesus.


How did she not noti-


God, that didn't matter. Bolting up from her seat with a startling speed, Suzuho's eyes darted around the street of Akihabara, now scanning the place for the man and woman that marked where her reprieve. There. She bolted right for them, or rather, power walked right for them, rounding her way into the not-so-pristine stall filled room, and picked the nearest one. Then, she pushed it's door open as quickly as she possibly could, turned to close it and... Found herself face to face with a completely different door.


A blue one, to be exact.


"Ah!"


Needless to say, she taken more the a little off guard. Her yelp, as much as she'd tried to suppress it, was enough to sound out through the cafe, easily being enough to alert any other patrons to her... Sudden arrival. "I ah..." Spinning to face the room, her speech was impeded by her confusion. "Ah... How did I..." He blinked. "Is this?..." There was no doubt about it. The disco ball. The weird decor... This was definitely the Serenade.


...And she'd gotten here through a toilet stall?


She huffed. Was she dreaming? People had always called her out on being a bit of an airhead, but getting a toilet stall mixed up with a cafe seemed like a bit much, even for her... Whatever. She supposed she'd just go with the flow. She'd either wake up consequence free, or just have to deal with the fact that'd she'd just made the biggest- and most coincidental- mix up of her entire life. Composing herself, Suzuho made her way away from the doorway, casting her gaze around the room only to find a number of people already lining it's seats.


"I um... Am I late?"

 

[Emiya Shin]

Miyako Kagiyama

[18th February 2016 / The Velvet Serenade]


"Glad to see I'm not the only one confused about all of this-"


The guy with a beanie cap spoke to Miyako. Before he can continue on with his words, an exhausted young woman in another type of waitress attire magically appeared in the Velvet Serenade in the same manner that Miyako did earlier on. She was not disturbed by it, and casually walked to a seat and relaxed herself. The beanie cap guy then continued on.


"I don't know, and really I'm trying to get some answers myself, if Rei would stop being mysterious and bloody tell us whats going on. And just about how many folks are gona come in toda-"


Another interruption as a young man with a pair of spectacles fell to the ground. Miyako turned at him just in time to see him scurrying without a word to the nearest seat.


"...Sammy is gona have to explain quite abit about these shenanigans I swear."


Miyako barely heard the grumble from the beanie cap guy in front of her, and lets out an audible sigh before gently shook her head and placed her hands on her hips. Is really the man in white who appeared during Miyako's first visit to the Velvet Serenande, and then appeared again in her recent vivid dream really did all this? She pondered about the question.


"I know about as much as you do, first a dream about Sammy saying something about the 18th, and now I'm here. Honestly I'm wager this is a dream, some weird ass dream..."


The beanie cap guy continued speaking to Miyako, but this time he decided to take the currently unfolding event as a weird dream. At this time, Miyako pinched both sides of her cheeks, and she felt that it hurts. To her, this is the reality.


"Whelp, if its a dream, better this place then a nightmare."


He laughed as his expression changed from to his previous confused look to a jovial one. Miyako forced a smile too, just to get along with him. Even so, it did little to reduce Miyako's suspicious feeling to the current situation she was in.


"So, whats your name? Asking you lot as well. I'm Richard Gherman, Chef is my occupation, and a regular here at the serenade when i'm not apparently dreaming about it, though i'll take this as a sign to stop coming here so much."


The beanie cap guy introduced himself, as he began to look more and more relaxed. Miyako wanted to introduce herself, but another person appeared in the Velvet Serenade. It was a young girl with a hoodie. She has an aura of uncanny cheerfulness as she gestured and exclaimed about her sudden arrival in a cutesy manner. Miyako continued to look at her as she walked to the nearest seat before fiddling with her smartphone.


Just when Miyako wanted to address Richard and introduce herself, she witnessed another person, this time a pink haired girl with a colorful sweater. She lets out a cry of surprise, before turning around and checked the surroundings. After talking to herself and a few confused gestures, she seemed to realize that she was in the Velvet Serenade.


"I um... Am I late?"


At this time, Miyako decided to seize the chance to talk before any more people decided to appear in a magical manner.


"No, I think." She reassured the pink haired girl. "I just arrived here as well, though I wished someone could at tell me moments before I get teleported in here..."


Then she turned to Richard, finally able to address him.


"Anyway, I'm Miyako Kagiyama, a second year high school student from Asahiro High School. This is my second visit to the Velvet Serenade..."


At this moment, Miyako felt hunger creeping on her as she turned around and positioned herself so that she could see everyone in the Velvet Serenade. Her eyes caught the familiar view of a filled convenience store bag placed at the table where the exhausted dark haired waitress was sitting. The stare on the bag made by her was brief, but noticeable by the others.


@Orikanyo @thegang

 

[Veradana]

Art club had been canceled, something about mold in the ceiling causing a health hazard. No one knew how long the room would be unusable. Since they wouldn’t have been able to find another room on such short notice, their teacher supervisor had just shrugged his shoulders and told them to go home. There wasn’t much left to do at that point. She couldn’t exactly skulk around the sports teams’ practices.


In the end, she decided just to go straight home. After all, final exams were coming up, and while she’d been what her teachers called “acceptable” in her marks, she couldn’t risk any chance of failure. Even with the low, low chances she’d get into a university next year, she had to graduate high school on time at least. The phrase “Future Careers” blared in her head as walked down the street to the train station. She bit back a scowl, clenching her fists and drawing up her shoulders.


Suddenly, her phone buzzed in her pocket, startling her out of her thoughts before they could drag down any further. After ducking out of the way of the main sidewalk, she pulled out her phone, a teddy-bear charm dangling from it, and flipped it open to a calendar alert. Strange, she couldn’t remember setting anything for today. All it said was 18th February, which sure was the date, but who would write it like that? Yuzuki stared at her phone screen for a moment, thumb hovering over the delete key. She snapped her phone shut.


It was already getting late, and she needed to get moving if she wanted to get a train car that wasn’t packed like sardines. Then again, this was Tokyo; all of the trains were like that unless you were a drunk coming home in the early hours.


As she stepped through the train station doors, she was whisked into that weird, colourful café. She stared, wide-eyed, at the menagerie of people who’d gathered before glancing back and forth between them and the streets of Akihabara. After practically stumbling over herself to get out of the doorway, she noticed that they were all older than her. Okay, she could manage that, just be polite.


“E-excuse me,” she said, “Does anyone know what’s going on? I was trying to get on the train but…” she trailed off, looking back at the door.

 

[Father Gigantor]

"That'll be 5000 yen sir."


Kousuke pulled out the bills he needed from his wallet and handed them over to the cashier girl, a short black haired lass likely making more money in a week than he had in the past few months. He absentmindedly looked around at the crowd of people in the building as he waited for the transaction to be completed, his mind wandering as he did so. "Maybe I should put off all this freelance bullshit, and get a part time job here..." The prospect of a more steady income grew more tempting by the day as his savings slowly dwindled. Job opportunities for web designers certainly weren't sitting around on their asses begging to be taken up, especially not for a 19 year old one, with nary a credential his name and no working experience to speak of.


"Ahem."





Kousuke landed back on planet earth just in time to catch the cashier girl shooting him an annoyed glare, with a plastic bag containing his copy of the new Monster Hunter game in an outstretched hand and his change in the other. He took the items from her and let out a nervous giggle, before hurrying towards the downward escalator and stumbling out of the Softmap building into the bustling evening streets.


As he walked in the direction of his second destination, Kousuke pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the time, six in the evening on the dot, just in time to be caught in the dinner rush hour, were eateries and malls would be packed to exploding point and even ordering the meal would take several times the duration it would take to consume it. Kousuke wasn't one for standing in single file with a bunch of other hungry and irritable people for long, especially with no video game to occupy his time. But there wasn't any dinner waiting for him at home, and with trains jam packed, going home to cook would likely take longer than any alternative really.


The alleyways and back streets of Akihabara, and damn near most of Tokyo really, always had little eateries or sleazy bars and establishments tucked away and out of view of most. If he had any luck, he'd come across more of the former before the latter, and hopefully with short queues too. As he rounded the corner into the passage, it seemed like luck was indeed on his side for once, a short ways down the alley was a Ramen shop, and on his the front was a notice. "Special offer! From 15th to 18th Feb only!" it read, in bold blue characters. Behind the Noren curtain, were several visible pairs of legs, no doubt patrons enjoying their food. His mind made up, Kousuke pushed the curtains apart and entered the place.


"Eveni-"


"Oh."


"Uhhh..."


He was greeted, not by the familiar sound of a shopkeeper trilling "Irrashaimase!" but by a door. A very familiar, stunningly blue door, one he had pulled open a week ago, the night of his ill fated 'group date'. Somehow here it was, the door to the Velvet Serenade, in all of its cerulean splendor, stealthily lying in wait behind the curtain to a ramen restaurant. Kousuke had to look up and around him a few times, to make sure he wasn't on one of those bizarre hidden camera shows that was all over TV. As he continued to stare perplexedly at the door, debating the best course of action, he felt the ground beneath him lurch forward as if the whole world was tipping. He quickly lost his footing and fell face-first into the door, crossing the threshold and landing onto his stomach in one swift, ungraceful movement.


Rolling onto his back and groaning, he spied the familiar spinning disco ball directly above him in the middle of the same strange ceiling, the faint scent of cookies wafted into his nose at the same time. There was no mistake, this was the Serenade alright. What wasn't familiar however, were the extra pairs of feet some distance away from his head, none of which visibly belonged to Samuel...


"Erm... Just dropping in? H-heh heh..."

 

[Turnip]

Saori sighed. Sitting outside on the park's cold bench, she took a small sip of her canned coffee. The bittersweet taste lingered on her tongue as she found herself lost in thoughts once again. For circumstances unknown, school had been cut short, even when she was positive there were things needed to be done in the student council. Deep down, she had hoped to be buried under the heavy paperwork, or the constant errands, or anything else at all. But today, she found herself simply watching the snow fall down.


On days like this, she couldn't help but think back on the incident from last year. The Velvet Serenade. By now, she had tried to brush it off as simply a dream. But... it felt too real to be just that. She closed her eyes. She could imagine the lights hanging from the ceiling, the mismatched decor, the contract underneath her hand, all clear as day.


"Come on... There's no need to think about it so much," the girl muttered to herself. She took a final swig of her coffee, still keeping her eyes on the falling snow. Well, it wasn't like she was disturbed by the thought of the café. Nothing had necessarily happened since then, anyway. Still, she couldn't help but think back on it from time to time, and she couldn't help but doubt that it was simply an insignificant dream.


The snow crunched under her feet as Saori stood. As beautiful as the scenery was, it was about time to start heading home. Thinking about it, the small park was a bit odd in itself, with a small fence the only thing awkwardly secluding it away from the rest of the city. In this way, it also made the perfect little hideaway for her. She lifted the handle of the gate and took a step out, greeted by a gust of wind...


"...." As if the universe had been reading her mind, she found herself suddenly in the café in the blink of an eye, appearing just as mysteriously as the last time. It almost annoyed her how accurately she could remember the interior of this place. This time, however, there were others as well. A young receptionist greeted her as she stepped in the room, and made her way back to the group after the quick introduction.


"Um... hello everyone." It was the only thing she could think to say in a situation like this.

 

[QuestingBeast]

Gertrude (Empress)


Voices like a buzzing rose and fell in easy conversation. The man with the beanie was introducing himself, and commenting on how strangely he happened into the Serenade, but Gertrude was so used to the oddities of this place that she no longer bothered to worry about them. It was easier just to accept things as they are and not worry about the why or how.


His hair is kind of funny, she thought briefly.


The cushioned chair was so warm, so comfortable. Gertrude sank into it. The conversation grew fainter, the light of the room dimmed as her eyes pulled closed, knitting tightly. Breaths came in deep, slow, and behind closed eyes she felt herself falling forward. A shape like a hand reached for her: large, black, covering the light, covering her face.


Her neck snapped up, eyes wide open. The waitress rigid from startling awake.


Ohh, how embarrassing. She flushed. Hopefully no one noticed.


Drool had pooled at the corner of her mouth. With the back of her hand, she lowered her head and wiped it away subtly.


The flow of conversation hadn't halted even with all the newcomers. Gertrude saw two more had stumbled in and taken their seats. The boy with glasses looked like he was trying his best to control the expression on his face, but the girl seemed perfectly at ease with the Serenade's strangeness. In her seat she was texting, smiling cutesily all the while. Was she a regular? Gertrude couldn't remember seeing her here before.


Half-paying attention to the chatter, Gertrude reached into the grocery bag for her onigiri. Thumbs parted dark green seaweed, uncovering the white rice inside. The grains were cool and aromatic, urging her appetite on. Not losing to the tightening of her stomach, Gertrude took a dainty bite off the top, chewing thoughtfully on the gushy grains.


A pressure on her right ear. Someone was staring. Gertrude caught the hungry gaze of the high school student just as it broke away.


Odd... Gertrude had said they could help themselves, but in all this time, no one had reached out a hand to the food.


As Miyako introduced herself and the newcomers settled in, Gertrude, pushing back her chair with such care that it made not a peep, stood up, and took into hand the grocery bag.


In a circle she walked around the table, rustling the plastic as she reached in and with a practiced, professional smile, gave one onigiri to each person, saying "Please, enjoy." as she set it down.


As she walked, she talked.


"Excuse my rudeness, I don't believe I've introduced myself," Her voice was soft, but held a surety that rang clearly in the air. "My name is Crantz Gertrude. I have been a visitor here at the Velvet Serenade now and again," she said humoriously, sending a knowing look towards Rei. "It's a wonderful café, don't you think? The decor really grows on you after a whi--"


Her voice stopped short as her foot landed on something that wasn't the floor. Soft and hard. A sinking feeling fell in her stomach. A human body, indeed.


To make matters worse, since she was still in her job uniform, her shoes had thick, large soles and narrow heels.


She raised her shoe from being embedded between his shoulder blades and bowed deeply. "Sorry, I'm so sorry!"


Distraught, she dropped to her knees and reached out a hand to him. "A-are you okay? I'm so, so sorry about that..."

 

[waifu]

Rui

​

It always amazed Rui how people just willingly shared information about themselves to complete strangers. "Socializing" they called it, more like a recipe for disaster. Rui eyed the people gathered in the cafe. Just how trusting were these people? How could everyone here be the chosen one? - and how many people were suppose to arrive here anyway? Did everyone here have cards that dictated a special kind of future that no one else but they themselves possess?


Sure, he might be overthinking this out of restlessness, but his concern was legit. How were they sure Samuel was trustworthy? Maybe he was some kind of a trickster that trapped them here and was only going to let them out after a game of mutual-killing. Rui scanned the room for possible self-defense weapons and emergency exits as he let his imagination run wild...


They started introducing themselves, one by one, as people continued to pour into The Velvet Serenade. There was Gehrman Richard, a homeless looking young man. There was no way he was a chef. He looked like a bum. He was probably a thug or criminal of some kind.


Then there was Kagiyama Miyako - boring, probably not a threat. And finally, there was another girl with a bag full of rice balls. She distributed the onigiri to everyone, trying to make everyone feel comfortable. Rui picked up his snack and only examined it. "..... Sakamoto Rui," he said, breaking his silence temprarily.


Rui was skeptical about this Crantz Gertrude character. She seemed way too comfortable here. As the young woman walked away and accidentally stepped on someone, Rui witnessed another person enter The Velvet Serenade. A familiar person. He dropped the riceball he was holding and stood up immediately.


"Student Council President, Teshima Saori......?"

 

[Orikanyo]

Richard Gherman

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!"


He laughed as the young woman had stepped upon the second fool to fall in the door, he continued to chuckle as he placed the donut on the counter for later. "Guess this ain't to bad, got myself food and a show!" he snickered as he leaned over to look down at the fallen guy, then looked to the other girl in the doorway. "Man, you all just keep coming and coming huh?" he asked , his grin not leaving any time soon.


"We should be keeping track how many folk eat dirt on their way in, so far none of the ladies have, but I heard women got better balance so... makes sense." (SCIENCE YO) the man leaned on his seat as he awaited another to come in through the doorway.


....but... why did he have the feeling he was being silently judged by somebody in the room? Well, more often the usual...


However, the new girl who came in seemed polite enough, guess it wouldn't have been her. "...Student president?" he rose an eyebrow at the guy who spoke, then finally clued in that he was probably pretty much in a room with a bunch of high school students.


"....So.... Introductions besides, wheres Sammy? Cooking up something from the smell of it, better hearing and smelling some baking then him sharpening a knife or something."

 

[Emiya Shin]

Miyako Kagiyama

[18th February 2016 / The Velvet Serenade]


While Miyako waited for everyone's responses, a female high schooler that wears the same school uniform as herself appeared at the entrance. She looks younger, at least in Miyako's eyes. Like her, the girl was confused, before asking everyone what just happened and her words trailed off at the end, her gaze returned to the Velvet Serenade's entrance. Miyako had a feeling that she might have seen her around the Arts Room in school. She decided to respond to her.


"Um... No idea I guess? I was trying to go home and then I ended up in here."


Then an older guy wearing formal clothing and a pair of spectacles fell down to his stomach with a thud. Miyako of course, was surprised by his actions. He then rolled on to his back while giving out a pain expression.


"Erm... Just dropping in? H-heh heh..." He greeted everyone.


In response, Miyako simply sighed and muttered to herself. "Samuel needs to stop doing this..."


The scent of baked cookies coming out from the back of the Velvet Serenade becomes more and more perceptible. Then, the dark-haired, exhausted waitress got up from her seat and placed one of her hand into the grocery bag in front of her. She began passing everyone an onigiri that she gotten from the grocery bag and told everyone to enjoy the food that she has given to them. The four eyed male high school student that fell earlier on introduced himself as Sakamoto Rui, after receiving an onigiri from the waitress. The name rang some bells, but Miyako could not place it on where she heard it. Perhaps he is that loner that stays away from everyone in her class?


The waitress introduced herself when Miyako took an onigiri from her.


"My name is Crantz Gertrude. I have been a visitor here at the Velvet Serenade now and again," She turned to Rei, before sending a gaze as if they are acquainted. "It's a wonderful café, don't you think? The decor really grows on you after a whi--"


The young woman named Gertrude displayed a look of horror and immediately stopped herself. She looked downwards, only to realize that she has stepped on the man with a suit and spectacles. Miyako simply looked at the incident with her mouth agape followed with a shudder. That must hurt real bad, especially that pair of killer heels Gertrude was wearing, as Miyako thought to herself. It was fortunate that she did not drop her share of the onigiri.


In response, Gertrude quickly lifted her shoe away from her victim, before bowing deeply to the guy and apologized. She even dropped to her knees and reached out a hand to him, asking about his condition. Once again, Miyako sighed, and this time shook her head, before taking a bite from the onigiri.


("My goodness...")


But sudden entrances are not yet over, as another female highschooler appeared at the doorstep of Velvet Serenade. This time, it was someone she was familiar with. It was the student council president, Teshima Saori as she hesitantly greeted everyone like the other girl. Rui was surprised by her sudden appearance, as he dropped his onigiri and straightened himself, before calling out to her.


"Student Council President, Teshima Saori......?"


Like Rui, Miyako was also surprised to see her in this establishment too. Maybe this 18th February thing is actually some kind of big event?


"Oh, Teshima-san...? Good evening..." She greeted at the end, with a slight bow.


As for the loud beanie cap Richard, he decided to add more to the conversation.


"....So.... Introductions besides, wheres Sammy? Cooking up something from the smell of it, better hearing and smelling some baking then him sharpening a knife or something."


Miyako simply lets out a forced chuckle, before her gaze moved to the mysterious light blue haired girl in a waitress outfit who has been quiet for a while. Perhaps it is time for her to explain what actually happened just now?

 

[Veradana]

A strange woman had given her onigiri. Well, the woman gave everyone onigiri, but all Yuzuki could do was look from it to her. The woman, she said her name was Gertrude? She seemed strangely at ease in this place. Then again, Yuzuki thought as she split the gift in half to see what the filling was, the atmosphere here was strange. She stole glances between the gathered people, shifting from one foot to the other. There were a few people from her school, although she didn’t recognize anyone she’d know by name. The third year who’d answered her didn’t know what was going on either.


“I see,” she mumbled, gingerly nibbling at the tarako filling that was probably not drugged or poisoned. “I guess it was a silly thing to expect anyway.”


The smell of baking wafted through the room, thick and heavy. The strangeness must have been getting to people, and they’d started introducing themselves. Well, except for a shifty-looking man who kept looking at the doors. Practically out of nowhere, another man started cackling, and Yuzuki flinched at the noise. When she looked over, she saw a man sprawled out in the door way, Gertrude kneeling next to him, offering endless apologies. Yuzuki gave the scruffy, laughing man a withering look. What a noisy man. She shivered at what he said next; she really didn’t need the image of Samuel brandishing a knife at all of them, her being all of 160 centimeters tall and maybe 45 kilos.


Maybe everyone would be more at ease if they all knew who each other were? Since most of the others had already introduced themselves, she guessed that meant it was her turn.


“My name’s Yuzuki Kuwahara,” she said, bowing, “I hope we can all get along?”

 

[Turnip]

The room was alive with excitement as the guests in the Serenade began to socialize. Talking among themselves, handing each other snacks, even tripping and stepping over one another. It was an interesting sight, to say the least. As for herself, Saori had simply chosen to remain quiet until Samuel's arrival. She was just the type of person who was more eager to find answers than make friends, after all.


Just why did they find themselves here...? It seemed as though everyone had appeared in the same, mysterious circumstances as her, introducing themselves mostly out of pure confusion. There didn't seem to be a noticeable pattern among the group either. Saori could pick up on the presence of some students, even a few adults, but nothing seemed to stand out. The pieces simply weren't fitting together.


"Student Council President, Teshima Saori......?"


A voice suddenly called for her and broke her train of thought. She turned to find a boy around her age with a surprised look on his face. Now that she took a closer glance at him, that did look a lot like her school's uniform, didn't it. His face was a bit hard for her to recognize though, but a few moment's recollection would help her to realize who he was.


"Ah, you must be Sakamoto... Rui-san, yes? I'm just as surprised to see you here as well, actually. Here, let me help you clean this up." She dropped down to pick up the rice ball he had dropped, and extended it to him. "Try to be careful with your food next time, alright? It's not good to have it go to waste." Just as she had picked up the rest of the rice ball on the floor, another student had chimed in.


"Oh, Teshima-san...? Good evening..." Greeted with a smile and a bow, Saori returned the gesture.





"Good evening, Kagiyama-san."


Miyako Kagiyama. Though they had never spoken much before, Saori could recall her being mentioned a number of times among the athletes. Kagiyama was one of the rhythmic gymnasts representing the school, and was even supposed to be entering a competition in a few months. Being able to recognize her fellow students was simply one of the things that came with being the student council president, it seemed, though it wasn't a skill that very meant much to her.





"I don't suppose you two would know what's going on?"


@waifu @Emiya Shin

 

[GasMaskie]

The trap had to stifle a giggle when the woman had shown up and stepped on the fallen man. A cute smile that showed off a canine was Kaede's way of showing his gratitude to the woman. Gertrude. was it? She was likely a foreigner with a name like that, or at the very least someone who had foreign ancestry. The student took small nibbles at the shaped rice snack. In his experience, slowly eating the food helped him pretend that it was a substantial meal.


"Student Council President, Teshima Saori......?"


Then, the realization hit Kaede like a Japanese truck or the deadly Japanese fever. A cursory glance at the student with glasses and the young woman confirmed his suspicions. He carefully pushed the duffel bag against the side of the wall and adjusted the hood. As a student, Kaede never really stood out thanks to his average test scores and quiet demeanor. The large round glasses that he wore in class further helped to widen the distance between his two facades.


Still, he continued to consume the onigiri at the same steady rate. There was little chance either of them would recognize him anyways. He was certain that neither of them were in his classes and he had never really made a name for himself at school. Being part of the 'going-home' club certainly helped. Regardless, the young man knew that it was in his best interests to keep his 'compensated dates' a secret from the stuco president.


"...Ah! If we're doing introductions, then I'm Kaede Ihara~. I guess I'm in your care now, so please treat me well~!"A cheerful, glowing introduction that almost seemed rather unguarded. ...Looks like I'll have to keep this charade going until I can get home.

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

Suzuho took a seat next to the girl who'd greeted her. "Tele...?" Suzuho was taken aback. Sure, she'd just walked through a toilet stall to get her, but, teleported?


Now she definitely knew she was in a dream. Well, that or the girl was crazy. She'd have to wait and see, she guessed. Aside from her, a few more unfamiliar faces lay. A one rugged, and topped with a beanie, making more than a show of himself as his laugh bellowed out at the newfound commotion at the doorway. A woman, an usually composed looking woman, hunched over another man. One laying on his back. Suzuho decided that it probably wasn't in her best interests to intrude on whatever it was the... Couple? Was trying to do.


Typical of her to not notice that he'd just blundered like she had... Sighing internally, Suzuho cast her glance around the room. Adults acting like clowns... High-School Students playing catch-up... With all the impenetrable situations taking place throughout the room, she might as well have arrived late. Or maybe she just needed to be more forceful and break her way into one of their conversations. Haha, now that was a funny thought. One last time she decided to look through the room, hoping to find someone who'd found themselves just as unable to enter the proceedings as she. But alas, she failed. Instead, she was greeted by yet another conversation taking it's rise, a perky, youthful voice spilling out of the only other person in the room who'd not been engaged with it's other inhabitants.


"Ihara?" She did her best to chime in. "I-, ah, Hi! I mean, nice to meet you!" Suzuho couldn't help but let out an awkward laugh as she finished off her sham of a greeting. God, it'd been an age since she'd been to something like this. If her high-school self could see her now, she'd be laughing her ass off. "I'm Suzuho Kofunami. Er, since I never introduced myself, I mean."


Laughing. Her. Ass. Off.


"Well ah, how many times have you been here before? This is only my second... Any idea if things are always this uh... Lively?"


@GasMaskie

 

[simj26]

Rei Satoh

Rei coughed and cleared her throat, and laid down what she had been busying herself with as the crowd chatted amongst themselves, turning the rather small quarters of the Serenade into a smaller space than it already was: a tray with drinks, nine in total, stacked upon it. Soda water and ice filled the majority of the tall glasses, topped with a slice of lime, and with passionfruit syrup already slowly fusing with the soda around it. She stuffed colourful curly straws and accompanying long spoons, one of each, into the glasses, lifted the tray with one hand, and, without a single drop spilt, she distributed the drinks across the patrons of the Serenade. After completing her rounds, she returned to the front of the cafe, and bowed low, clasping the tray over her chest in her arms. Straightening up, she offered all of the guests a smile, a well-practiced one, and one that even Samuel admitted was well-emulated.




“I apologise for my earlier rudeness. For those of you unfamiliar with my presence, I am Rei Satoh, the mysterious part-timer that I am sure that Samuel has often mistaken you for.” She silently wondered if her own introduction was quite necessary. Her orders were to observe, and assist with the operation, not to become an acquaintance of any sort to them. And truth be told, she also doubted that she would make a good friend to any of them. She had heard of her sisters becoming close with those they had acquainted themselves with, but…


She shook her head, and returned back to her speech. “Now, I am quite sure that most of you are quite confused- thank you, Richard, for expressing everyone’s thoughts in the most outspoken way possible,” she nodded to Richard, without a single inflection of sarcasm in her voice, “and, to tell the truth, if I were to be whisked away from my ordinary life into some strange cafe with the most tackiest decor when I’m supposed to be heading home, I would be quite bemused as well.” Her smile remained unmoving, neither dropping nor rising, as she continued after a small pause. “Now, to answer the biggest question you have in your heads: What am I doing here?”


“The answer is quite simple, my friends, but we'll get into that matter later.”




She closed her eyes and sighed. She turned her head towards the source of the voice, where an alluring scent of freshly baked cookies also seemed to stem from. The deep blue curtains fluttering shut behind him, his form was even more accentuated by it. Again, he was wearing that silly pink apron of his, with a small, yellow sunflower crudely painted in the center of its pockets. With his uncanny and wry smile, he laid two plates of cookies, on the counter. He wiped his hands on his apron, and opened his arms out welcomingly to the guests. “Welcome, again, to the Velvet Serenade! Rei, would you mind serving them their drinks?”


“I already have, Samuel.” Rei replied instantaneously, as if it was part of some gag they practiced often.


Samuel did not receive her answer immediately, and instead stood with his arms spread open, frozen as he attempted to understand what he was hearing, his eyes darting around the cafe, catching sight of the drinks seated in front of the guests. After a long, uncomfortable while, he finally clapped his hands together, and nodded. “Ah, right, of course you did. Thank you, Rei. In any case, please, dig in! I’ve made all your favourites! Even yours, Gertrude!”


Rei gave another bow, and retreated behind the counter, right next to Samuel, and along with him, offered an inviting hand towards the cookies. They had best take the chance to scarf down those cookies now. Whatever news that Samuel decided to lay on them soon really shouldn’t be taken on an empty stomach.

 

[waifu]

Rui

​

Stupid, stupid, stupid! He should have acted like he didn't know the student council president. Now everyone here knew what school he went to, he had totally compromised himself. Rui grew nervous. If that was not enough, the Miyako girl from earlier apparently knew Saori, too. Was she from their high school? He wasn't really paying attention when she was talking about where she studied.


She must be extremely unpopular.


Saori picked up his snack for him from the ground and lectured Rui about food wastage. Hmph. Typical Teshima Saori. Rui looked away and stuck his nose in the air, trying to look indifferent, as if he was never taken back by his classmate's presence. He did the shaft head tilt and turned to look at Saori. "You can keep it," he scoffed, brushing her off, and went back to his seat.


There was no need to answer her or anyone's questions until he himself knew why he was brought here in the first place. How strange was it that there were three people from his school here?.... Out of all the schools in Akibahara, why was his special? Rui narrowed his eyes and scanned the small crowd to see if he could recognize anymore faces.


Rei introduced herself and Samuel finally made his (comical) entrance. Rui wasn't amused by any of it, he continued to stare at the duo blankly.

 

[Orikanyo]

Richard did not need to be told twice, plus, he was hungry anyways, and Samuel's cookies were always just to die for! So he wasted no time gathering up a bunch of his favorites and began to happily stuff his face like a squirrel preparing for winter. "Sammy-" the man stated between bites, his hand brushing away crumbs and small smears of chocolate. "Good work as always, you always know how to impress." he smirks as he almost inhaled his third, hey, he spent all day in front of food he couldn't eat... or atleast fully, he was entitled to abit of pigging out now and again.


Plus he made certain to stay fit, not wanting to be like his father was a key part in that endeavor.


Swallowing his fourth he gave the two a smirk. "So you two, your sweetening us up, offering us drinks, cookies, when are yea gona give us the big news huh? Something important enough to pluck us out of.. wherever we were i'd bet... the world isn't ending is it? No, wait, magic is real? Don't tell me we gotta twirl around and transform to get these powers, i don't know about you but the sight of me in a dress is one I'd rather not think about! HAH!"


the man laughed at his own joke, and the reference that was the utter foolishness that was this situation... and the fact magical girl animes were utter foolish bull, wait... wasn't there one that had the magical girls be boys that changed into girls? ...They made them cute... So.. what would he be if that was the case...?


....


.........


"...i wasn't ready for this train of thought..."

 

[GasMaskie]

Kaede gave a wide smile to the woman. Though, her awkward response forced some memories of a few dates to come to mind. Namely, the dates where he had successfully lured a NEET out of their disgusting caves. Absolutely disgusting. All they do is mutter and avoid eye contact. I did them a favor...


There was no remorse to be found within the young man wearing a cute skirt. It was entirely likely that he had scarred them further by mugging them. That sort of stimuli could easily exacerbate their agoraphobia. He knew that he was a terrible person - but this was a cruel world where the only person you could trust was yourself.


"Well... I've only been here once before, and there wasn't anyone else here besides Samuel. I think it's a good change though, the atmosphere matches the decor now~." And once more with that coquettish tone and innocent look. However, his attention was drawn to the mysterious part timer and the eccentric man in white.


As rough as he truly way, Kaede simply couldn't deny sweet things. He took small sips from the straw before turning his attention to the employee and his prepared cookies. It seemed that the beanie-wearing guy had already began to scarf down some cookies. The Trap of Electric Town skipped over and plucked the largest cookie out the pile. With his eating habits, the sweet would last for a while.





He might have a point. Hell, for all we know we're probably all dead and this place is Purgatory. Maybe we'll be granted magic powers and be forced to kill each other for a second chance at life. But... the venue seems way too small for that. And a man in white? I think that one of those Lovecraft Outer Gods took that specific form. Tch, I've been lurking 2ch too much.





@The One Eyed Bandit