A/n: Mikono's velvet room will be different from Akira's and the attendant will be different, as well. Hope you all enjoy! Love you all!!!
~✨Celestial✨~
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With a gasp, Mikono opened her eyes and analyzed her surroundings. When she saw the walls carved with Egyptian hieroglyphs shaded with different fonts of blue, she turned her head and spotted a man with a protracted nose grinning at her. More confused than frightened, she pushed her body up and threw her legs over the edge of the plush, ornate divan couch she was reclining on.

The grinning man spoke to her when he saw he had her full attention. "Welcome to the Velvet Room. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. My name is Igor. It's not very often we have guests two days in a row." He then gestured to someone behind her. "This is is Theodore. He's a resident here, like myself."

Slowly, Mikono turned her head and saw a charming young man with white hair and golden eyes. He greeted her with a polite bow and expressionless face. "A pleasure to meet your acquaintance."

Mikono was now more confused than before. She looked back toward Igor. "What is going on here?"

"The time for you to wield your power is close at hand, but you will still need to wait a while. I am quite curious as to how you will wield such power." Igor reached out toward the coffee table in between the two couches. There were cards strewn across the surface, face down. He grabbed one of the myriads of cards and flipped it over for him to see. "Well, well... What do we have here?"

The girl's curiosity was piqued. "What is it?"

Igor flipped the card over, revealing it was blank. "It seems an unknown card has been added to the deck. This will truly be interesting." He leant forward in his seat before snapping his fingers. The wall behind him dissolved, revealing five stone statues.

Mikono's eyes widen when she could identify all five statues. They were sculptures of five Egyptian Gods-Horus, Anubis, Sekhmet, Bastet, and Sobek. "Those are..."

"Your ties with your birthplace are strong," Igor comments. He then closes his eyes and placed the card back onto the table. "It seems our time has been cut short. For now, I bid you farewell."

Suddenly, the inky-haired girl felt herself falling back asleep before she could question the strange man further.

<-----<<<<<

"C'mon, Mikky, wake up!"

Mikono's eyes fluttered as a groan slipped from her lips. When her vision cleared, she saw two worried faces looming over her. Blinking owlishly, she glanced at the two boys. "What happened?"

"You really don't remember?" Ryuji responded with his own question.

She sighed. "Of course I do. That was your opportunity to tell me it was all a dream and make me feel better..."

"How're you feeling?" Akira inquired.

"Besides the headache I have from being smacked by one of those weird guards and that weird dream, I'm fine." She looked around, noticing chains dangling on the wall and a few wooden barrels in the corner. Her eyes locked onto the cell door and felt her heartbeat speed up. "Is this a cell...?"

"Those assholes threw us in here," Ryuji growled. He stomped over the bars and peered through the slits in search of the guards. Wrapping his hands around the metal bars, he yanked on them with another snarl. "Hey, let us outta here! I know there's someone out there!"

Mikono shook her head with sigh, readjusting her position and allowing her legs to dangle off the edge of the wooden bed. "Don't waste your energy, Ryuji. I doubt the three of us could bust through the bars, anyway."

Akira sat beside the cerulean-eyed girl as Ryuji walked back toward them. The blonde's eyes scanned the cell in annoyance. "Dammit, where are we?! Is this some kinda TV set?"

"Why would there be-?"

Mikono was silenced when a terrified scream echoed through their cell. Akira and Ryuji rush toward the cell door, searching for the person who screamed. The girl remained sitting on the bed, her body shaking from hearing the shriek.

"Th-The hell was that just now...?" Ryuji muttered, his own terror showing in his shaky tone. Another scream bounced off the stone walls surrounding them, frightening the teens further. "Whoa... Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa... You're shittin' me, right?"

Pushing through her fear, Mikono flew to her feet and began searching for a way to escape. "Guys, we need to find a way out of here!" The two boys turned around and nodded before beginning to search the cell.

Mikono searches under the beds while Ryuji checks the barrels and Akira examines the chains on the wall. The students were only given a few moments before they heard familiar heavy 'clanking' approaching their cell. Their bodies froze as they saw guards approaching their cell.

"Be glad that your punishment has been decided upon. Your charge is "unlawful entry." Thus, you will be sentenced to death," one guard informed the trio.

Frightened, Mikono lowered her body to the ground behind one of the beds. It wasn't the ideal hiding spot, but it was all she could work with at the moment.

Ryuji backed away from the cell door alongside Akira. "Say what?!"

"No one's allowed to do as they please in my castle," a familiar voice chided.

Mikono peeked her head out from her hiding spot when she recognized the voice. "That's...!"

"Huh?" Ryuji mumbled. His eyes widen when a man wearing a cape decorated with hearts, a pair of pink underwear, and a crown emerged from behind the guards. "Wait... Is that you, Kamoshida?"

Akira, already have forgotten the name, looked over at the blonde. "Who?"

The delinquent went to respond, but he wasn't able to say a word before Kamoshida spoke up. "I thought it was some petty thief, but to think it'd be you, Sakamoto. Are you trying to disobey me again? It looks like you haven't learned your lesson at all, huh? Or would you rather I take out my frustration on that darling Mikono of yours? After all, she is used to a beating or two on a weekly basis," Kamoshida chuckled menacingly.

Akira's eyes widen in shock. Now he knew where that bruise came from. He wanted to ask her about it at the train station, but he never found the right opportunity to bring it up.

Ryuji glared daggers at the scantily-cladded man, gritting his teeth in anger. "I swear, if you touch her, I'll-!"

Ignoring the delinquent's outburst, Kamoshida glanced at Akira with a smirk etched across his face. "And you brought a friend this time...because you can't do anything for yourself."

The chocolate-eyed boy lunges forward, grabbing the bars tightly as his glare sharpened. "This ain't funny, you asshole!"

The man's smirk shattered, revealing a scowl. "Is that how you speak to a king? It seems you don't understand the position you're in at all. Not only did you sneak into my castle, you committed the crime of insulting me-the king!" His grin returned tenfolds as he eyed Ryuji. "The punishment for that is death. It's time for an execution! Take him out!"

"What...?" Mikono gasped, her body petrified.

The guard beside Kamoshida began unlocking the cell door, causing Ryuji to back away in fear. "S-Stop it...!" The cell door was unlocked and swung open. The guards shuffled one by one into the cell.

The blonde was out of room to back away when the back of his legs hit one of the beds. "Goddammit...!" He thought fast and pounced onto one of the guards, knocking the enemy to the ground. Akira was taken aback at the boy's strength. "I ain't down for this shit! C'mon, we're outta here!" He turned to search for Mikono, but he was stopped when another guard knocked him back with a punch to the gut only seconds later. With a grunt of pain, Ryuji staggered backward and collapsed to the floor.

"Ryuji!" Mikono shouted, emerging from her hiding spot. She leapt on top of the bed before jumping onto the back of one of the four guards. She wrapped her fingers around the edges of the adversary's mask, but she wasn't able to tear it off before being grabbed and thrown against the wall. She cried out in pain when her body slammed against the wall before tumbling to the floor.

Akira, being the closest to her, kneeled beside her. He placed a gentle hand on her arm and looked down at her with concern written all over his face. "Are you all right?"

"I-I'm fine," Mikono manages to mumble through the pain. She leans against the boy as he helps her to her feet, his taller stature hiding her from Kamoshida's line of sight. He knew the man hadn't recognized her yet and wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible.

The guard Ryuji knocked down recovered and closed in on him. He eyed his best friend and the transfer student. "Just go! Get outta here...! These guys are serious!"

"Oh?" Kamoshida scoffed in amusement. "Running away, are we? What heartless friends you are."

"He ain't no friend..." Ryuji muttered, glancing at Akira. "C'mon! Hurry up and go! Take Mikono and get outta here, dammit!"

Kamoshida's gaze traveled over to the girl beside Akira. He entered the cell and smirked once recognizing the girl. "It seems my little dove has escaped her cage. Guard," he pointed toward the armor-cladded individual standing in front of the two students. "Take her away. A few days in the dungeon will suffice before she's ready to return to her room."

"Like hell I'll-agh!" Ryuji shouted out as he was smacked down again by another guard.

The guard Kamoshida addressed turned and reached out for Mikono, but Akira promptly pushed the girl behind him and stood protectively in front of her. He tried to fight off the guard, but he was easily pushed aside and shoved against the wall by another enemy.

Mikono struggles against the single guard, using her self-defense skills her father taught her to try and escape. Unfortunately, her training wasn't sufficient to take down such a large and heavy assailant. She was picked up by the guard as if she weighed nothing and slung over his shoulder. Not wanting to give up, she tried to kick and punch him. "Let me go, you oversized tin can!"

Akira fought against the guard in a desperate attempt to save Mikono, but he was easily overpowered. "Tsutsui-san...!"

Ryuji and Akira watched with thundering hearts as the girl was carried out of the cell while screaming.

Mikono kept struggling against the guard as she was carried away from the cell. She was quickly becoming exhausted, but she couldn't stand the thought of losing her friends. It may sound crazy, but she believed Akira was already a friend with how much they shared with each other yesterday.

When the guard suddenly came to a stop, Mikono looked around the dungeon. She wondered if she was still near Ryuji and Akira or on another level of the castle, but her thoughts were interrupted when she heard rattling of chains. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the guard operating a lever. When she saw it was controlling a cage suspended over the roaring water below, her eyes widen in horror. She tried wiggling her body in the guard's grip to get a better angle so she could kick his head. Unfortunately, his arm was locked securely around her waist and she couldn't budge an inch.

The guard lowered the cage toward the surface of the water before reaching out and grabbing the chain suspending it. He hauled it onto solid ground, opened the cage door, and tossed Mikono inside haphazardly. She shrieked when her sore back connected with the metal bars. Her body slumped against the side of the cage, watching through blurry eyes as the guard locked the door. He returned to the lever and maneuvered the cage back to where it once hung over the water.

When the pain subsided, Mikono pulled her knees up and hugged them against her chest. She buried her face into her knees, tears streaming down her face as she whimpered. "I want to go home..."

<-----<<<<<

"Damn you!" Kamoshida cursed, pushing his body off the cold floor of the cell. He yanked at the bars, glaring at the two boys who locked him inside.

Ryuji ignored the man, turning his gaze to newly dressed Akira. "Hey...! What was that just now?! And...your clothes...!"

Akira glances down at his new outfit before his clothes revert back to his school uniform.

"Whoa," Ryuji gaped. "It went back to normal?!"

The two boys were then startled by Kamoshida when he shook the cell door violently. "You bastards!"

"God, this's effin' nuts!" The blonde shouted. "Anyways, I've got Mikky's bag. Let's scram! You lead the way!" He took the keys and tossed them into the water before making an escape with Akira acting as the leader.

"We have to find Tsutsui-san," Akira stated once they leapt across a broken bridge. "Then we can search for an exit."

"Where do you think that asshole took her?" Ryuji questioned.

"Not sure, but hopefully not far."

The two boys ran through the dungeon, leaping across cages to reach the other side of the waterway. They searched every cell they passed in hopes to find Mikono, but most of them were empty or filled with crates and barrels.

Running up a spiral staircase, the boys found themselves on the upper level of the dungeon. Ryuji became frustration when it wasn't the exit, but Akira pushed forth and continued to search for their classmate.

When they reached a dead end, Ryuji groaned. "Another dead end?" He gripped Mikono's bag tightly. "Dammit! How the hell're we supposed to find Mikky and get outta here?!"

"Hey, you there!" A voice shouted, grabbing the boys' attentions. "Blondie! Frizzy Hair! Look over here!"

Akira and Ryuji exchange baffled expressions before searching for the source of the voice. They looked into a nearby cell and saw an anthropomorphic cat. The blonde's eyes widen in bewilderment. "What is this thing?!"

The small creature sticks its white paws through the bars. "You're not soldiers of this castle, right?! Get me out of here! Look," he pointed to a hook on the wall with a key hanging from it. "The key's right there!"

"We're trying to find Mikono and a way out of here!" Ryuji proclaimed. "I mean, you obviously look like an enemy, too!"

"I'm locked up here, so how can I be your enemy?! Help me out!" The creature begged.

Akira stared down at it. "A cat?"

It glared up at him, waving its paw around. "I am NOT a cat! Say that again and I'll make you regret it!"

Suddenly, they heard a noise in the distance and knew it was the guards searching for them. The boys grew tense, knowing they didn't have much time before they were found.

"They're catchin' up already...!" Ryuji exclaimed. He fumbled through his pocket and pulled out his phone. "Shit, there's still no service. Ain't there any way to contact someone outside?! How the hell do we get out...?!"

Akira checked his own phone, but the had no service, as well. He sighed, sliding the phone back into his pocket. He adjusted his glasses before looking toward the delinquent. "Check Tsutsui-san's phone."

Ryuji did as Akira commanded and searched through her bag. He found her phone, but it was just like there's. "Nothin'..."

"Hey, you two!" The creature bellowed, getting the students' attentions again. "You want to know where the exit is? Let me out and I'll take you there. You don't want to get caught and executed, right?"

Akira stares into its blue eyes, only to be reminded of Mikono's own cerulean gaze. "Can you really help us? We also need help finding someone."

"I never go back on my word!" It proclaimed exuberantly. "But you might want to forget about your friend. You'll be caught before you're able to search the entire dungeon for him."

"First of all, "he" is actually a "she." And second, there's no way we're leavin' her in a shithole like this with that Kamoshida bastard bein' in charge!" Ryuji yelled out in anger.

This grabbed the creature's attention and it changed its mind. "All right! We'll find your friend!"

"That was a quick change of heart," Akira commented.

Ryuji looked over at the frizzy-haired boy. "This thing sounds like it's all talk..."

"If you guys think you can find your friend AND get out on your own, then be my guest!" It shouted angrily.

"Whadda we do?" The blonde questioned his fellow student with a worried expression.

"Let's trust it," Akira replied. "It might also be our only way to find Tsutsui-san."

They heard the familiar sound of footsteps nearby, putting all three on their toes. Ryuji eyed the creature with furrowed brows. "Are you seriously not messin' with us?!"

"If you don't hurry, they'll catch you and you won't be able to save your friend!" It howled with its own glare.

"F-Fine..."

Akira grabbed the key from the hook and unlocked the cell door. The little creature hopped out of the cell with a smile plastered on its face. "Ah... Freedom tastes so great..."

"Now, help us find Mikono and the exit, you monster cat!"

"Don't call me a cat!" It shrieked, glowering. "I am Morgana!"

Ryuji glared back. "Shuddup and hurry it up! You wanna be locked up again?!"

Morgana winced at his harsh tone. "A-All right, sheesh!" The creature peered down the way the boys came and saw a drawbridge. "Follow me, and stay quiet!"

The boys, having no other choice in the matter, followed Morgana. They placed their faith in the cat-like creature, hoping to find Mikono and the exit.