Chapter Text
The first thing I notice is the sound of music.
It’s a quiet melody, one that speaks of melancholy and loss to me.
I try to remember what I was doing.
All I could remember was extreme pain and desperation to make sure someone else was safe. After that it all went black. My body ached with pain.
I open my eyes (it took me a moment to realise they had been closed in the first place) and find myself in what I think is a gymnastics studio, and after taking a moment to think, I knew this place was a gymnastics studio without a doubt. A gymnastics studio that has had several odd additions made to it at that. I could see strips of red fabric streaming down from the ceiling. In one corner I can see an old printer, one that looked like something an old person would begrudgingly use.
I could also see voluminous red curtains on her left and right, blocking off either the walls or more of the room I’m in. Either or. Everything in this room seemed to be some form of red, which honestly seems excessive even to me. Don’t get me wrong I like the colour but this seemed too much. It honestly looked like the aftermath of a bad car accident.
In front of me I see those fold out tables you tend to see at community centres, the ones that had withstood the test of time with an air of stubbornness and resignation. On top of the table is a laptop, every visible inch covered in stickers, I take note of the stickers of a flag that consists of the colours of blue white and pink. Why that caught my attention I could only guess. Probably because it wasn’t a shade of red.
I can also see an empty chair with a very comfy looking jacket hanging off the back of it.
I then notice my reflection in the mirror in front of me.
I see an auburn haired girl sitting in a chair, she was fairly tall and lithe. She had brown eyes and is wearing a school uniform. Behind her is gymnastics equipment such as several different types of beams and lots and lots of foam mats. It felt like it had all been pushed to the side. There is also a door. It is currently closed.
I know without a single doubt that girl was me.
What was I doing before this?
Why can’t I remember?
I grip me head in pain, like the absence of my memories is a gnawing void.
“You okay?” I can hear someone asking, sounding concerned for me.
Head still painful I look up and see a woman wearing glasses, looking down at me with what I could only assume was worry. She had long brown hair with many dyed pink streaks in it. Her eyes were an inhuman shade of red, something that looked like looking into twin pools of blood. She was wearing a maid outfit oddly enough, like the type you would see on a Victorian maid. Also her hands were covered in black gloves, I couldn’t help but notice, leaving the only exposed skin being her face which was quite pale like it didn’t get much in the way of sunlight. Then again this room doesn’t seem to have any windows.
“Can I do anything to help?” the woman asked, looking fretful as she did so.
I shook my head.
I would be fine.
I had to be.
For her sake. (Who?)
Besides the pain was beginning to fade now.
“No it’s fine.” I reply, surprised by how hoarse my voice sounded. It sounded like it hadn’t used in months. “Actually can I get some water?” I ask, hoping that would help. And that I could actually get some water.
The maid nodded her head. “Sure I can do that.” she said before leaving, walking through the curtain to the left.
Now that I think about it I’m not sure where she came from in the first place.
Actually now that I think about where am I?
While this place feels weirdly familiar it also feels equally unfamiliar.
As I was trying to figure out where I was, not having much luck in that regard, I could see the maid appear again, a glass of water in her hands.
She offered me the water, which I gratefully took and immediately began to drink, sating my thirst. Once I was finished I just placed the now empty glass on the floor.
The maid had sat down in the chair across from her, her hands fiddling with what I was pretty sure was a deck of cards. “How are you feeling?” she asked me, her inhuman gaze locking onto my own. I can feel beads of sweat trailing down my back.
Doing my best to not show how nervous I am, I say “I’m fine, but I’m confused. Where am I?”
“Can’t say I blame you, considering what happened to you.” I frown, trying to figure out what she was talking about. Apart from pain I remember precious little. “As for where you are, welcome to the Red Room. A place that exists between dreams and reality.” she explained softly, shuffling the cards in her hands. Well the name was fitting to say the least considering how red it was.
“Wait what?” I ask after taking a moment to process the last statement. Between dreams and reality. What those that even mean?
“Like I said this place exists between dreams and reality. Both ephemeral and not, a curious state of existence.” That explained nothing! The maid laughs, causing me to pout. “Honestly I’m not sure how to fully explain it.”
The maid takes a breath before speaking again. “But enough about that. My name is Hana and I have an offer for you, if you chose to accept it.” Something about this statement weighed in the air, feeling like it was important for me to think before I spoke.
“What’s the offer?” I can’t but be curious about this offer.
“The offer is simple,” Hana said putting down her cards and picking up a piece of paper, it looked like a contract from what I could glimpse, “you can sign this contract and return from the world you came from and face what comes next. If you don’t sign I will let you go to wherever you were going to head next.” Something about the last bit felt off to me, but I wasn’t sure why. Hana held out the contract allowing me to see that it said one thing and one thing only. It said I would take responsibility for my choices and actions.
Beneath it was a line for me to sign my name.
I took the contract and say apart from that one phrase and the dotted line, the contract was otherwise blank. “Do be warned that if you sign you will face many trials. All of them will test you, but you will be able to face them with what you’ll gain. So only sign if you’re sure of your course of action.” Hana warned. She was holding on to a pen as she did so.
I looked over the contract once more.
I thought over it for what felt like an eternity. What did I want to do?
Go back?
Move on?
Eventually I come to a decision.
“I’ll do it. I’ll sign the contract.”
“Very well.” Hana hands me the pen in her hand.
I sign my name on the dotted line.
Kasumi Yoshizawa.
“Very well. May your journey be fruitful one.” The contract burned up in red fire turning to ash in my hands. Despite the heat the fire doesn’t hurt me, it just feels warm and comforting.
Then the world around me dissolves like bubbles.
I find myself waking up.
- - - -
I wake up in a doctor’s office. I can feel the scratchy sheets they put on top of the beds they examine you on.
As I slowly blink awake I remember what happened to me before I woke up in the Red Room. I had been walking home after gymnastic practise with Sumire. Sumire had ran away from her and ended up in traffic.
I pulled her out of traffic, only to be hit myself. At how fast I was hit, I knew without a doubt that I wouldn’t have been able to survive that.
I died.
I fucking died, I think in disbelief. I’m not sure how to feel about it in the slightest.
I grip on to the scratchy sheet, the rough texture helping me ground myself.
My heart is racing, as I take several deep breaths. Slowly but surely by heart slows down to a more moderate pace.
I hear the door of the room I’m in open and in walks in a person I could only describe as a goth doctor. She had short blue hair and gorgeous brown eyes and was wearing a lab coat over a short green dress. She also had a necklace and choker around her neck.
I can feel myself blushing as I look at this woman. She was unfairly pretty. She looks at me with a look I can’t really make heads or tails of.
“So,” wow her voice sounded really pretty, “care to explain how a dead girl suddenly appeared on my clinic’s front door.”
Quick Kasumi come up with a good answer!
“I-. um I got better.” I blurt out the first thing to come to mind.
Surely I could have come up with something better that that?!
Thankfully the doctor just laughs at response. “Funny,” her eyes then harden, “Now what’s the actual reason?”
I gulp, not sure how to answer this question in the slightest.
“I don’t know.” I eventually answer, and i was mostly telling the truth as I had no idea how I ended up here. Well mostly I know who was the most likely culprit. But something told me that blabbing carelessly about the Red Room seems like a bad idea.
Her eyes soften an ember of concern flickering in their depths, making me breath a sigh of relief. “I see. I’m Tae Takemi.” the doctor introduces herself. “Would you like me to contact your family?”