In the Books Prologue: In Which the Book Traps the Dan
"Everyone! Look what I found!"
It was another summer day and the heat was practically everywhere. But the air conditioning was a blessing in the small apartment, even if the sun's rays seemed like they were trying to melt all the windows. As if asleep, the members of the infamous Blinfold Gang raised their eyes to the source of those words.
It was a ball of fluff known as Marry Kozakura.
"What is it, Marry-chan?" The idol of the group, Momo Kisaragi, smiled at her best friend.
"I went to my old house yesterday to get some of my old things," Marry said and lifted up the pile of books she was holding. "I was able to find all my books and—" She lifted up a small book with a red cover. The sides of it were outlined with gold flowers, and across the center were the words Fairy Tales written in gold. "—I found the book my mom used to read to me when I was younger!"
"That's cool!" Momo said as Marry handed the book to the idol. Momo opened the book and browsed through its pages. She seemed to be so interested, a smile gracing her features, but that smile suddenly disappeared when she stopped at a certain page. "Guys, do you know what these words mean?" Momo showed the book to the group, pointing at a certain part.
"What is it, Kisaragi?" The leader, a tomboy who went by the name of Kido Tsubomi, took the book from the idol's hands and looked at the page Momo was pointing to. The words were sprawled out all over the page, making it unclear, and it was in English to boot.
"That's weird..." Marry muttered. "This book was never marked by those words."
" 'Beware the ides of March, my pretty chickens'? " a cat-eyed boy named Shuuya Kano read over Kido's shoulder. "What the hell is... I mean, what does 'ides' mean? And why March? It's currently August, and why 'pretty chickens' ? It doesn't make any sense!"
An eighteen-year-old boy who normally kept to himself and the corner spoke up. It was none other that our hikiNEET genius, Shintaro Kisaragi. "Well, what I remember properly is that 'ides' in the ancient Roman calendar is the middle of the month. It falls on the fifteenth during March, May, July, and October. But it falls on the thirteenth during other months."
"Wow, Master!" exclaimed a girl—well, cyber girl—from his cellphone named Ene. "I knew I could depend on you for such useless trivia as that!"
"That's so cool," said the white android named Konoha. His voice seemed dull and his expression was as well, but there was a flash of admiration in his eyes.
"Sh-shut up!" The hikiNEET was never used to being praised, and his face was red.
A twelve-year-old boy named Hibiya Amamiya looked at Shintaro suspiciously. "How do you know those kind of things? You're creepy."
"Well, however Shintaro came to know that isn't the issue here," a boy wearing green known as Kousuke Seto reminded. "We need to know the meaning of this message!"
" 'Beware the ides of March, my pretty chickens,' " Shintaro read from the page. "Wait, it says P.S., which means 'Post-Script'. Maybe there are more texts like this in the book."
Momo marked that page as a just-in-case thing, continued flipping the pages, and words with the same style as the first appeared, in English as well. "Why are these all written in English?" Momo wondered out loud and marked it. " 'So, I do hope and trust these fairy tales you keep in mind to save those needing help. Wishing you well, ME.' Can you translate that, onii-chan?"
Shintaro did his best, and everyone understood what it meant. Kido then flipped the pages and landed on another page just like it. " 'Due to 'please' of friends,' " Kido squinted at the words, " 'I save these tales. Thank me for it.' " Kido looked to Shintaro, and he tried translating it again. Momo marked it.
Seto tried flipping the pages, and he landed on the words "Greetings, my dear readers!" They left the book open at those words, baffled.
"What the heck!" Kano exclaimed, his irritation clear. "These words don't make any sense! Maybe they're just misprints."
"Wait..." Hibiya muttered, his fingers tracing the words on the page. "Do you all know how English books are read from left to right, while our books are read from right to left?"
"Ah, I see what you're at!" Ene beamed at the boy. "You think that, since the message is in English, maybe you read it the way the English read their books! You're a genius too, Hibiya-kun!"
"Okay, let's try that!" Momo read the message the way Hibiya suggested it, and Ene took down everything she said in Shintaro's notes.
Greetings, fellow readers! Due to the 'please' of friends, I save these tales. Thank me for it. So, I do hope and trust that these fairy tales you keep in mind to save those needing help.
Wishing you well, ME.
P.S.-Beware the ides of March, my pretty chickens!
"It still doesn't make any sense..." Shintaro said after reading the whole message in English and Japanese. "What is the significance of the 'ides of March'? Why is it written in English? And why is it signed ME?"
Silence filled the normally noisy apartment, as everyone was deep in thought. Maybe this message was a prank. Maybe someone wrote it here as a joke. But either way, the Blindfold Gang were as sure as hell bored, and solving the meaning of the message was a great way to kill time.
Marry suddenly snapped her fingers. "Oh, I forgot!"
"Huh? What is it, Marry-chan?" asked Momo.
"I forgot to make tea. I'll go now." And Marry went to the kitchen, leaving the gang trolled.
Then Konoha raised his hand, his expression the same as ever. "Um, I might be wrong, but a while ago Shintaro meantioned something regarding the ides. It takes place on the fifteenth every March, May, July, and October. So, maybe when ME called out the 'March' part, it probably has something to do with those four months since that's the only time the middle of the month for them is the fifteenth."
"Huh," Kano smiled. "That's not such a bad idea. Let's accept that theory for now."
"Wait, guys!" Momo pointed to the book, which was now lying open on the coffee table in front of her. "Each message appears every four pages! That's so weird!"
"Four months..." Seto muttered. "Four pages..."
"Wait, it makes sense!" Kido yelled, shocking the whole group. She coughed then lowered her voice. "The fifteenth is the middle for four months... So, maybe we're supposed to take note of every first word, since ME pointed out 'March', which is the first of the four months that have the fifteenth as their ides."
Ene and Shintaro put down the words in the note. The words that came out were Greetings, due, of, these, for, do, these, keep, save, wishing.
"Eh, that still doesn't make any sense!" said Kano. "They're just a bunch of words!"
"Words, words, words," Ene quoted, drawing circles in the air with her finger. Then she stopped abruptly. "Hey guys, do you know that phrase 'The first is the last and the last is the first'? "
"Well, yeah," said Momo. "It's from the Bible I guess."
"Oh, I see where you're going, Ene-san!" Seto clapped his hands. "So, are you suggesting we read every fourth word?"
"Mhm. Presicely!" Ene smirked.
Shintaro and Ene took down the words, and everyone noticed that Shintaro turned pale. Slowly, he read the words out loud in Japanese.
Reader, please save me. I trust you to help. -ME
Not long after those words were uttered, the electricity turned off and Marry rushed to the living room, tea tray in her hands and panicking. "W-what just happened?" she said in a rush and put the tray down on the table quickly. "Why did the lights go out?"
The only source of light was the sun outside, and soon enough that source was gone too. It was a clear day a while ago, but now dark clouds seemed to be blocking out the sun. Kano stepped away from the window, then turned his gaze to the book, which was now covered in a purple glow.
"Why is it glowing like that?" Marry put a hand on the book, and before they knew it she disappeared, leaving behind a high-pitched shriek.
"MARRY!" Seto screamed and put his hand on the book. Then he too disappeared, like he was being sucked into the book.
Everyone stared at the book in shock.
"D-do you think we should go after them?" Kano stammered, looking at Kido.
"Of course!" Kido exclaimed. "They're our friends!" And she kicked Kano in the back, causing him to fall face first on the book. "But you're definitely going first." Kido followed right after in the most badass way possible.
"Danchou-san!" Momo yelled, and jumped in right after.
"What are you waiting for, Master?" said Ene, excited beyond all reason. "When your friend jumps off the bridge, you should jump with them!"
"That's not how it goes!" Shintaro said, but everything went in slow-motion as his hand slipped and his phone fell into the book.
"Whee~!" He could hear Ene cheering as she fell into who-knows-what.
"Ugh..." Shintaro sighed. "I'm doing this for my phone!" And he screamed in the most unmanly way possible as he was sucked in by the book.
"Hibiya, we should save our friends," said Konoha, putting his hand on the book softly and disappearing as well.
"Oh well," Hibiya muttered after Konoha was gone. "You only live once. HIIIIIIIIIIIIYAAAAAAAAAAAA~!" And he too fell in the book.
It shut quietly after everyone was gone, and after a few seconds the electricity was back.
Shintaro opened his eyes after what seemed like a very long fall. He looked to the right, and, thank goodness, his phone was still intact. He sat up, taking note of whatever was around him. Aside from the gang, nothing else could be seen in the room they were in except for the color white.
The others stirred as well and slowly everyone regained consciousness.
Wait—what was Ene doing on the ground with them?
"Oh, Master! It looks like you've followed as well!" She smiled, then looked around. "Wait, why aren't I in your phone anymore? Does that mean..." Ene looked down at her legs. Contrary to her expectation, her feet were still non-existent, merely pixels. "Oh. Of course not."
"Is everyone okay?" Kido stood up and asked everyone. "That sure was a hard fall."
"Yeah, I think we're all fine, Danchou." Ene managed to stand up as if she had feet, but she appeared to be hovering just as she does in cyberspace.
"The question is if all of us are here," said Seto. "Raise your hands and I'll count." Everyone did, and Seto counted nine. "Well, it looks like we're complete!"
"What do you mean you're complete?" said a familiar girl's voice. "The Blindfold Gang is never the Blindfold Gang without me!"
Everyone turned their heads to the source of that voice, and it was none other than...
"AYANO!" yelled Shintaro and Ene.
"AYANO-NEESAN!" yelled Kido, Kano, and Seto at the same time.
"I missed you all so much!" she said, hugging her three siblings. After she proceeded to hug Shintaro and Ene.
"W-what are you doing here, Ayano?" Shintaro asked his best friend. "I thought you..."
"I thought the same, actually," she said quietly. "Even I don't know why I'm here. But then, I'm glad I am if it means I get to spend more time with all of you!"
"Y-yeah." Shintaro smiled. "Same."
"Well, I'm not the only one here, so I shouldn't hog up all the attention." Ayano pointed to a little girl who stood behind her. "Hibiya-kun, I do believe you know her."
"Hey," waved the girl.
"H-Hiyori," Hibiya stammered as he stepped forward. "I thought you—"
"Konoha-kun!" said Hiyori, and she ran to give Konoha a bear hug. Then she turned to Hibiya. "Oh. And you too."
"I see that I'm still rejected," Hibiya muttered to himself, wearing a forced smile.
"Well, reunions aside," Hiyori put her hands on her hips, "do any of your friends have an idea as to what we're all doing here, Hibiya?"
"They don't, but I do," said another voice. Everyone turned to find another girl. She appeared to be the same age as Hibiya and Hiyori, if not older. She had long, brown hair kept together at the back with a big, red ribbon. She was wearing a white blouse with a plaid red necktie, a matching knee-length skirt, white ankle socks and black shoes.
"Hi, I'm Mary Elizabeth Cross. But you know me as ME."
"W-wait, so you wrote the message with the ides stuff?" Momo asked. "Why?"
"Well, as you deduced, I need your help," said Mary Elizabeth. "I was lucky enough to get your attention with the message. I'm glad you were able to solve it as well, which proves that you can take up my request. But in the end, it depends if you want to do it. If you don't, then I'll fire up the spell to take you back."
"Before we can agree, you have to tell us what the mission is," said Kido. "But, as the Blindfold Gang, we're always ready to accept a mission."
"Ah, that's good to hear," smiled Mary Elizabeth. "I won't hold it back then. I was trapped in this book by a sorceress many years ago. I've been trying to find ways to get out. But the thing is, the only way I can get out is if there are enough people who are willing to act as the fairy tale's main characters in the stories here."
Eleven pictures formed behind Mary Elizabeth, each depicting different fairy tales. "There are eleven fairy tales left, as you can see here, which is why when I saw all of you huddled up near the book, I knew it was the best idea to send the message to you." She turned to Ayano and Hiyori. "As for you two, I know. You shouldn't be here since you're no longer alive. But, since I've been in this book for so long, I've learned not to underestimate the power of words. I used words to bring you from the Afterlife to be here for a short while." Her dark brown eyes glanced quickly at Shintaro and Hibiya, smirking. "And I also know that some people here miss you very badly."
Mary Elizabeth took the time to look everyone in the eye. "But that aside, the mission is simple. So are you willing to take it?"
"Yes!" Ayano exclaimed and clasped Mary Elizabeth's hands. "Of course we're willing to help you! Which fairy tale do you want us to do first?"
Mary Elizabeth seemed to be shocked at Ayano's gesture of friendship, but she recovered immediately, giving a slightly sadistic smile. "I'm giving you the freedom to choose which tale to go to first. So, decide among yourselves, but know that I will always be the narrator. I control each deed you will do as the character. And, I get to pick who plays who. Thank you for helping me!"
Ayano went back to the group with Hiyori, and they all formed a circle to choose.
"Wait," Kano turned to Mary Elizabeth, who was watching them all with an amused expression. "Why'd you pick the phrase 'ides of March'? And why 'pretty chickens'?"
" 'Ides of March' is a reference to Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. 'Pretty Chickens' is a reference to Shakespeare's Macbeth," she simply replied. "But that doesn't matter. Just focus on the matter at hand."
"Okay," Kano said awkwardly and went back to the gang. "So, which fairy tale first and who will be who?" He turned to the eleven pictures behind Mary Elizabeth. "I think we should do 'The Princess and the Frog' first. That fairy tale's easy."
"How about the Snow Queen?" Ene pointed to the picture of two kids caught in a snow storm with an elegant lady right behind them. "I did enjoy Frozen, and it's a pretty good fairy tale. Plus, it's snowing there, so it should be a relief from the heat."
"To be honest," Ayano said, raising her hand, "I think Shuuya-kun's idea is good. Can't we stick with that?"
"Yeah, I'm certainly not in the mood for cold right now," said Hiyori, stretching. "Let's go with cat-eyed man's idea."
"We vote then," said Kido. "Who agrees on the Princess and the Frog?"
Everyone raised their hands except for Ene, so it was already decided
"Cross-san, we'll go to the Princess and the Frog for the first story," said Kano
"Ah, I'm glad you chose that!" Mary Elizabeth clasped her hands. "A coincidence too, considering that you and Kido-san will be the main characters of this tale.
"Wait, what?" said Kido.
"Yes, you heard me right. Kano-san is the prince, and Kido-san is the princess. Please enjoy the fairy tale I have prepared for you!" Mary Elizabeth took the couple's hands and led them to the picture of the princess holding a frog. "Once you enter, there is no return. The only way to make it back here is if you finish the whole tale. Also, most of the characters with you will resemble people you know in real life. But know that they are not real. They are merely NPCs."
"Non-playing characters?" said Kano. "You have those here?"
"Yes. Games too revolve around words and stories. And, that's all you need to know. I wish you two luck then. Do your best!"
"But—" Kido was cut off as Mary Elizabeth pushed them forward, and the room behind them disappeared.
A/N: Yeah, this plot is over-used. But then it's always so fun to write it down!
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