MANIA

Red Origins

A/N: I was originally going to put this between 'The Biggest Adventure Yet' and 'Traveling To The Dark Land', but things got mixed up. So, I brought this further down.

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~Throne Room, Bowser's Ruined Castle~

Back in Bowser's Castle, Kikyō watches in silent amusement at a personal security monitor featuring the demented Lumalee annoying the common sense out of the other prisoners, save for Kara, who is too scared of her current surroundings to even listen.

Kiyotaka: *Enters*

Kikyō: *Giggling* I can watch this all day.

Kiyotaka: You would.

Kikyō: ... Cold as ever. *Turns the monitor off* Is that mechanism fixed by now?

Kiyotaka: It should be in working order soon. *Turns to the Super Star* Then, we'll show both worlds what the Crimson Elite can now possess.

Kikyō: ... To think, this whole thing started out as an idea conjured up by... you. And now, here we are, showing these worlds that we're more than just a... group of "snobby" rich kids.

Kiyotaka: ... And it all began at our school.

{Years Ago}

The Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School is a school established by the Japanese government to nurture young graduates who will support the country. It boasts a 100% employment and college entry rate, and with thorough, state-directed teaching methods, it spares no effort in pursuing the nation's desired future. In short, it's another typical school for rich kids.

However, during one such school year, the students of that year created something bigger upon graduation.

The students are divided into different rank classes, lettered A - D. These ranks are usually known for fighting each other, but it wasn't until one such school year, that the students of that year formed a pact after graduating, finally ending their strife against one another. Ironically, it was the lowest rank, D-Class, that came up with the idea of forming a pact, led by one particular student, Kiyotaka Ayanokōji.

Kiyotaka had originally planned to use his schoolmates as stepping stones, but later on, he somehow grew close to them, even to those outside his rank. Of these people, his closest friends consisted of nine people, three of whom were Suzune Horikita, the younger sister of the school's Student Council President; Yōsuke Hirata, a fellow class representative, and Suzune's boyfriend; and Kikyō Kushida, a seemingly friendly student on the outside, but with a dark personality on the inside. Despite her two-faced nature, Kiyotaka, known to be two-faced himself, decided to date her, believing that they could "guide each other".

After graduating, Kiyotaka, Suzune, Kikyō, and Yōsuke decided to form the Crimson Elite with D-Class, and to their surprise, the other three classes decided to join as well. These classes became platoons, and each platoon was led by their class representatives. Kiyotaka, Suzune, Kikyō, and Yōsuke were not only the leaders of D-Platoon but also four of the ten overall leaders of the whole Crimson Elite.

They started out as a typical elite of rich folk, but later on, they decided to take things a step further... by doing devious misdeeds all over the world, often doing such things just for kicks.

While the Crimson Elite enjoyed their new lifestyle, only one of them became disgusted, and had resigned to escape it all.

Ever since that one resignation, the Crimson Elite had been getting visions of a mysterious vigilante thwarting them, prompting them to stoop down to darker levels.

{Present Day}

Kiyotaka: ...

Kikyō: We'll be in deep water if that "KZ" guy gets his way.

Kiyotaka: *Nods*

Ken: *Enters* Sorry to interrupt, but we got the mechanism up and ready.

Kiyotaka: ... Start it up.

Ken: *?* Already?

Kiyotaka: Yes. And hurry. We have a vigilante to stop.

~Dungeon~

Kara: *Ignoring everything Lumalee is saying* ...

Karre: Okay. That star is going to be the death of me before the Crimson Elite does anything to us.

Ethan: Shh. You're going to scare Kara.

Karre: Sorry. I'm not trying to. I just-

*Rumbling*

Kara: *Snaps out of her thoughts* Uh... What's happening?

~Outside~

*The castle ascends into the air, revealing its other self as an airship*