C H A P T E R  1:

THE MINAMI MANSION'S TERRITORY

The dirt road was filled with rocks, crunching loudly as they were being flattered under the wheels of the buses. The sleek exterior of the vehicle reflected the distorted images of the trees and clouds on the clear blue sky, smears of colors melding into the surface as the vessel keep a steady speed. Crows could be heard, squawking nonstop as the buses passed underneath them, almost as if they were alarming strangers have entered their territory.

A certain god-striker was looking out the window as the scenery become a blur to the naked eyes. However, he wasn't bothered by it in fact he wasn't even focusing at all. In his hand was an old small piece of paper with a messy handwriting, seemingly the one who wrote it was in a rush apparently.

On the small note, it's read as "Find The Truth" and at the corner of the note was much smaller writting that read as "The Minami Mansion". It's sound oddly suspicious to him at first. Out of places in the world, why that place? The very place where they was last seen on that day.

As he recounted all the little information that he gather about the case, he was snapped out of his daze by his seatmate ❝Are you nervous about this, Hiroto?❞

He shook his head, looking at the passenger beside him, his teammate and brother, Tatsuya who has a worried expression when he noticed him struggle with something. To be specific, the note in his hand.

❝Tch, that's just your imagination❞ With that, he turned to looked out through the window as a sigh from the redheaded was the last thing he heard from him.

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This is definitely not the right house.

Hiroto glance at the slip of paper in his hand and back to the looming mansion of a house in front of him. Cracked concrete steps led up to a bent iron gate, creaking idly in the wind, a winding path continuing right ahead to the front porch of the mansion. Tangles of dark briars and red roses bunched up around the mansion, ivy crawling up the windows and walls, giving the impression of a house that had been left untouched for years but in reality, it was only three years have passed since then.

The color scheme of the mansion was dark, rich hues of creamy white, blue and purple. The trees bore dark and dry leaves, almost black in color, despite the season being Summer.

In short, it was not something he would expected to see it again in a horrible condition.

He turn back to his former teammates, looking all confused by the condition of the house. One of them, Goujin asked their former coach in question ❝Are you sure this is the right place?❞

❝Yes, it's said so in the address❞ The former coach of Inazuma Japan, Zhao Jinyun said causing more questions to rise among the teenagers ❝What... happened here?❞

No one dare to move forward into the mansion, it's looked so ancient but magnificent with a creepy vibes. No one but a certain striker was brave enough to walked up to the mansion, leaving his teammates behind.

❝H-Hey!❞

❝Are you out of your mind?!❞

❝How come he...❞

How many times in a person's life do they get this opportunity? Even it's look haunted but he won't know without taking a ris, right? With that in mind, he stepped forward to the entrance of the mansion, placing a hand on the doorknob, readying to open the door as a loud click responded to it.

❝It's unlock...❞ He turned the knob, pushing it open as the door creaked in protest but manage to open easily. Stepping through the door then he found a switch to the left side of the door before flipping it on, illuminating the long hallways. Not long after the lights were turned on, behind him were his former teammates and guests come running to him as he begin to walk down the hallway.

❝Whoa...❞ They whispered in amazement at the huge chandelier hanging from the massive ceiling as they slowly walked down the path but it was cut shortly when a loud slam echoed throughout the hallways.

They all turned around to find the door was shut closed at that very moment and what's more terrifying was the fact that no one was any near the door to closed it. Before they knew it, a soft melody begin to play through the air.

The sudden noise took the group by surprise, flinched and turned around to only find the hallway was completely empty yet it's seems to be the source of the melody was coming from that direction. Some were terrified, some stay calm yet they can't deny the fact they weren't fond the idea of the mansion being haunted.

❝The door... It's not opening... ❞ Nishikage stated through gritted teeth, using all of his strength to attempt of pulling the door open. His muscles begin to straining as the door remain unopened the entire time ❝Pull it harder! It's can't be locked when there's no one here!❞ Atsuya shouted, tapping his toes on the marble flooring. His posture gave off a strong aura but it was oblivious, he was clearly spooked by everything happening around him.

❝I'm pulling this door as hard as I can, it's not budging at all❞ Nishikage said, finally giving up before stepping back.

❝Fudou, if this is one of your pranks again, it isn't funny❞ Kazemaru said in an authoritative tone, slightly glaring at the said boy.

❝It wasn't me, I swear❞ the brunette male claimed, raising his hands up as if saying he was innocent.

❝Wait if he didn't do it... then who did?❞ Sakanoue asked quietly and that's when the music begin to change and it was louder than it was before.

The distant piano was heard, playing a slow relaxing tone. At this, the detective of the group, Kirina hummed putting all the little details in places before he exclaimed ❝I think we should where this melody is coming from❞

❝W-What if it was a ghost, gosu?!❞ Iwato or otherwise known for his nickname, Golem stood there in frightened ❝We won't know what really happened if we don't forward now, won't we?❞ after those words left the young detective's mouth, the group went silent, beside the slow piano playing a tune along with somewhat of a high-pitched voice in which their words could be made out as "...Come forward and into the unknown where you will learn the truth..."

Ootani was the first to break the silence between them, not at all liking it since she was already on edge as it was not helping her anxiety. Deciding to point out the things she had noticed about the piano playing in the distance ❝I don't know if you noticed but as soon as we got inside, the piano started playing and it's getting scarier by the second...❞

❝Well, we can't just stand here. We might as well check it out❞ the bluenette, Mizukamiya huffed in determination, itching to found out what they come for and get out there as soon as possible.

The group immediately departed from the main entrance and into the long extensive hallways that made the mansion give the impression of a museum. Upon hearing the tune, Norika rubbed her arms, feeling cold out of the sudden and so on edge as she noticed the piano's melody became louder.

They approached slowly, noting that the hallway was becoming dimmer and dimmer the further they went. However, the more they trekked forward, the louder and louder the piano got. With quiet footsteps, they shushed at each other and tiptoed their way past a corner, peeking into a room. They were amazed by the ginormous living room with a lot amount of sofas, some gray cushions at the end of each sofa. A whole large deck was placed in the middle between the sofas and the huge screen TV.

What's more was that an old game console was placed on the deck, seemingly to be connected to the TV ❝What the...❞ Haizaki started, not believing what he is seeing right now as the group stepped into the room slowly. The closer they went, the louder the piano become and it was clear now that they know what it was coming from.

❝I thought it's would look more terrifying on the inside but it's look completely in perfect condition...❞ Tatsuya stated, the thought bothering him to no end as on the other hand, Hiroto went to check on the game console ❝What is this...?❞ Upon noticing the game itself, the title reads as "Ensemble Stars!"

It was quiet at first till the game turned on and that's when the huge screen of the TV show the home page of the game and at the corners of the screen was a peculiar group of girls who are awfully resembles the ones who went missing for three years which got them to be more on edge than ever as a voice from the game spoke.

❝Welcome to Ensemble Stars!❞