Sato Hashimoto / / ???? The first thing that Sato could recall was the sensation of falling. A giddying sense of vertigo that made his stomach somersault as the world rushed past him in a dizzying blur. It was a struggle to focus on any one particular thing (particularly when he was more concerned with what came after the fall), but his disorientation would finally cease when his back hit soft, carpeted ground, eliciting an 'oof!' from the slightly winded schoolboy.
Blinking back the stars that dazzled his vision, Sato finally focused on a black-and-white chequered pattern on the ceiling, the urge to hurl slowly subsiding as he gradually regained his bearings. Rising to a sitting position on the floor, the male's eyes flickered around the unfamiliar room in alarm, tension knotting in his stomach as tried to recall what had exactly happened moments before. He remembered going to school...and seeing Rokoru, in that ghastly yellow uniform, and then...
"Oww!" He winced, pain throbbing in the back of his head as his memories blurred beyond that point. Ugh. Where
was he exactly? And how did he get there?
Taking a moment to look at his surroundings, Sato noted that the room he had tumbled into was essentially empty, with no doors or windows in sight. Even his own entrance from above seemed to have sealed itself shut after his fall, with no discernable way of making his way back up. All he could see ahead was a long and winding corridor that branched so far ahead that dense darkness made it impossible to see what awaited around the corner.
Sato immediately felt apprehension at his new predicament, noting that the gloomy building looked entirely unfamiliar and out of place with the quaint town of Warakuma. It was true that he had only lived there for half a year, and it wasn't like he knew every acre of the place, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was inherently
wrong here. It certainly didn't help that he couldn't remember how he'd even ended up in such a place to begin with.
Well, sitting around doing nothing about the situation was hardly practical, so the senior resolved to at least investigate the room a little more closely before he started losing his cool. Letting out a deep sigh, Sato reached up to ruffle his hair as he contemplated on just how much trouble he was in.
His troubles however, as he would quickly discover, were only just beginning.
Instead of the soft, groomed texture of his brown locks, his hand combed through long, synthetic strands of blonde hair that curtained around his shoulders,a disturbed emotion appearing on his normally calm features as he withdrew his hand like it was burned.
The hell...? His eyes flickered down to the rest of his tight-fitting attire (a fact that he had
only now noticed), as his bewildered gaze took in the sight of his feet squashed into a pair of Mary Janes, followed by his legs that were clad in nothing but plain white nylon pantyhose. His skin tone became impossibly paler as he bolted to his feet clumsily, the hem of his rich plum dress fluttering against his thighs as he pawed at the ribbon around his stomach with a rather effeminate yelp. If he wasn't freaked out before,
he certainly was now.Okay, what kind of sick fucker knocked him out, threw him into some creepy, desolate room and decided it would be fun to dress him up like a pretty doll?! That was the question at the forefront of Sato's mind, his calm demeanour cracking as wild accusations flared up in his mind. Was it the Archery Club's doing? Was there some kind of initiation ritual into vice presidency that Rokoru had failed to mention? Or was this something else?
Before Sato could reach a meltdown over his situation, he was quickly distracted by a strange typing sound that echoed from the corner of the room.
He wasn't alone. Putting his crossdressing issues aside for now, Sato's eyes swivelled quickly towards the source of the noise, trepidation and relief conflicting within him at the discovery of not being alone in this strange, creepy place. "Hello?" He finally found his voice as he approached the mysterious figure hunched up in the corner, feeling strangely vulnerable wearing nothing but a dress and no weapon for protection. "Uhh...look, I kinda just woke up here and..."
The typing sound stopped. The silence that reigned was chilling, and Sato could feel the cold sweat cling to the back of his neck as he watched the silhouetted figure warily. His body was angled in a certain way, so that if the stranger posed any kind of threat, he could make a quick exit towards the shady corridor as fast as his Mary Janes could carry him. If not...hopefully, Sato could get some answers as to where he was, and more importantly, how he could get out.
"
I'm playing." A dull, female tone echoed in response after a seriously long delay, and Sato could almost feel the relief wash over him like a crashing wave as he let out a tense breath of air. He was almost afraid he was going to encounter some hulking beast of a man, but it was just a girl. Phew.
The typing resumed, and as Sato stepped closer towards the girl, he could make her appearance out a little clearer. She didn't look particularly familiar, but she was wearing the Warakuma High uniform and a set of headphones on top of her head as her eyes remained fixated on a computer screen before her. She looked entirely normal, a fact that Sato cherished far too much in the given situation. He cleared his throat, finding what shred of dignity he had left before addressing the fellow schoolgirl again. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm Sato Hashimoto, a student at WHS like you. I know you're busy but I really need to know where I am-"
"
Oh no!" The girl suddenly exclaimed as her chair pushed back with a jarring screech, Sato's eyebrows flying up in surprise as she ripped off her headphones and fixed him with a panicked look. "
Have you seen the time? Oh no oh no oh no..." She shook her head furiously, despair furrowing her features. "
I'm so late...he'll be so upset!"
"Wait, what-?" Sato was slightly taken aback at the sudden burst of emotion that rose out of the sullen girl he had only met moments before, but before he could even try to suss out the root of her troubles, something else had caught his attention...and rendered him completely speechless.
Poking out of the girl's dark hair...was a pair of white, fluffy rabbit's ears, twitching with a life of their own as the girl looked around utterly grief-stricken. They looked so realistic, that Sato could feel himself start to doubt his own sanity.
There's no way... Sato refused to finish the thought, shaking his head wildly as he tried desperately to cling onto his senses. The girl was merely just overly eccentric, he rationalised, ignoring the rabbit-like way her nose wrinkled and twitched as she glanced around the room nervously. Here she was, playing computer games in some weird hovel whilst wearing a pair of bunny ears and acting like a total recluse, and he was expecting to get a rational, clear cut answer out of her. Not to mention he was literally a guy in a dress right now. Who was he to judge?
Sato's hand twitched with an urge to facepalm at his own despairing situation, but before he could do so, the rabbit-girl was off like a bullet, bolting down the harrowing halls without as much as a glance in Sato's direction. "H-Hey,wait!" Sato's own response was delayed, reeling purely from the speed of the girl before he decided to give chase. As strange as she was, that girl was the only company he had down there, and there was at least a logic in safety in numbers. "Tch..!" Wasting no more time, Sato's legs pumped against the ground as he followed her swiftly into the dark corridor, ignoring the weird sensation of his dress billowing in the breeze amongst his pursuit.
As he chased the elusive bunny-girl, Sato dodged and weaved through more bends and turns, panting slightly as he crouched and squeezed through an opening that lead further down the corridor. It was a strange, oppressive feeling, but Sato felt as if the walls were closing in on him with every step as he travelled deeper down the hallway.
Finally, he caught sight of a door at the hallway's end, and without a moment's haste, Sato swung it open and stepped foot inside the adjoining room. "Hello? Umm...Miss?" He called out lamely, craning his head around the strange new room in search for the telling sign of bunny ears. However, all he was greeted with was a near-identical room to the first one he had fallen into, with only one notable exception; a sturdy, solid oak door that stood out from the rest of the dark, dreary decor. It looked slightly out of place with the rest of the room, and Sato couldn't help but be drawn to it as he took a small step towards it. There didn't appear to be any other way out of the room, so the only conclusion he could draw was that Bunny Girl went in that direction. And since she was the
only companion he had right now...
Sato let out a tired sigh, deciding that the best course of action was only to persevere as he reached over and clasped his hand around the solid brass doorknob. Weird, it felt strangely warm under his touch...
"H-Hey!"
Sato nearly jumped out of his skin, stumbling back with a loud gasp at the boyish growl that emitted from the door. "What the f-"
His curse fell short as his eyes widened at the bizarre sight, the uncanniness of the situation causing his skin to prickle with unease. It was still a door before him, except...carved on the door was a face. And not just
any face but-
"Sato Hashimoto? Oh man, fancy seeing you here!" The unmistakenable voice of Noboru Yamamoto broke out from the slit underneath the doorknob, the voice breaking into laughter as the door appeared to shake from its hinges. "Hey man, how you been? Uhh...nice dress, by the way."
"Uhh...?" Sato was at a complete loss for words, staring blankly at the animated door that somehow resembled his junior friend. "Noboru-? Wait...how...what?"
"The one and the same. Although I gotta be honest, being a door makes it kinda hard to train," Noboru sighed, his wooden frame groaning synonymously. "There's nothing to do but hang around, you know? I get bored stiff sometimes..."
"R-Right..." Sato's voice was unnaturally high, his head spinning slightly at this creepy turn of events as he backed away from the 'door' slightly. Now he was convinced that he was slipped some drugs too...that had to be the
only explanation for this, right...? "Umm...hey, Noboru." Sato sounded uneasy as he addressed the door-no,
Noboru, of all people. This was just too weird..." Uhh...did you see a girl come by here? She's from our school, with dark hair and uhh...white rabbit ears."
"Oh, you mean Ayano!" Noboru's voice immediately responded with recognition, his mouth curving into a wide grin. "Yeah, she just came by here. She was kinda freaked out about being late for Kami's do. Speaking of, are you planning on goin'?"
Well, that certainly made it a little easier for Sato to explain his situation, and the relief was apparent on his face as he wiped a sticky strand of blonde hair from his face. "Umm..yeah, sure. Hey Noboru, could you uhh, open up for me?"
"H-Huh?" Noboru sounded appalled, and if Sato thought it were impossible for a door to blush, he would immediately be proven wrong as Noboru's bronzed cheeks appeared to glow red for a moment. "Well, uhh...if it's you, Senpai..." His voice become uncharacteristically shy as he looked away bashfully. "Then I suppose...I'll let you..."
Sato felt distinctly uncomfortable. He was opening a
door, not...not
that... "Just don't get the wrong idea! I'm only doing this so I can get out of here." Sato reminded him hastily, to which Noboru replied with a flustered "of course, of course!" Taking a hard gulp, Sato's fingers brushed Noboru's brass doorknob, trying to ignore the emanating warmth and the way Noboru seemed to be
gasping. "Oh, Senpai..."
Sato felt his own face burn, and the urge to spring away from the door immediately surfaced, but some kind of invisible, oppressive force kept him rooted to the ground, compelling him forward. With a sudden burst of confidence, he turned the knob with a flick of his wrist, and Noboru unclicked open softly, allowing him entry.
"W-Well..." Noboru sounded slightly breathless, which only served to fluster Sato even further as he avoided the anthropomorphic door's gaze. "I guess...you should get going, then..." Noboru sounded strangely...disappointed? Dejected? Either way, it made Sato feel a weird sense of guilt, and he didn't really like it. Making some kind of half-hearted bow, he pushed the door ajar and quickly stepped into what only could be described as a forest clearing.
