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The beauty looked around her, seeing nothing but blackness. Her mind was panicking, as she knew not where she was or how she had gotten there, and, as she thought searched her mind for clues, she realized she had no memories of anything at all. Frightened, she let out the first sound she had ever heard, a piercing scream.

A dim light lit suddenly, and the beauty was shocked, both at her own scream and the sudden visibility of her surroundings. 'Calm,' she told herself, 'be calm.' She shoved her many questions into the back of her mind, and gazed around her surroundings. 

In the poor lighting, she could see many people all around her, all unconscious, suspended in the air by a metal beam that came from the grey roof and somehow attached itself to the strangers. The walls around her were mirrors, all showing the reflections of these people, and as she realized, showing the reflection of her.

For a moment she stared at it, completely perplexed at simply seeing herself. The image in front of her was that of a short, petite girl with brown eyes and incredibly wild red hair. Freckles were splattered over her face, contrasting her soft pale skin. She was both cute and fierce at once, and she decided she liked the look. She also liked the dark red hoodie she wore and long dark brown boots that nearly touched her jean shorts. 

Smiling, she realized that she liked herself.

Once again she gazed around the room, and saw next to her a tall boy with messy grey hair, and beside him a skinny blonde with the longest hair that stretched down to her thighs. On the small metal beams that held them she could read the words "Tatsuki Yoshida" and "Kimichi Kato." On her other side was another boy with long black hair, his beam reading "Ryusei Inoue" and next to him a girl with curly dark purple hair and dark skin, labeled "Azusa Matsumoto." She looked back at the mirror, and realized that she too hung from a beam, her's engraved with the word "Jitsuko Yamazaki." A small voice suddenly spoke in her mind, and she realized the words were names.

"Subject Number 0000008765, Yamazaki Jitsuko, has refrained from unconsciousness. Beginning procedure 48."

Jitsuko would have jumped had she not been attached to the metal pole, but her body did the closest thing and tried to force itself upwards, and she suddenly screamed out in pain, for the beam had suddenly tore through her skin due to her action, cutting through muscle and banging against her bone. Her senses all exploded at once, adrenaline rushing through her veins as she became sharply aware of the hot liquid running from her back to the soles of her shoes, and she watched in shock as droplets fell to the floor, deep red in color. 

"Subject Number 0000008765, Yamazaki Jitsuko, has engaged in non-programmed activity, possibly damaging internal codes. Beginning procedure 23."

Suddenly Jitsuko was dropped from her beam, and fell to the ground with a grunt, still completely shocked and in pain. Her blood splattered across the floor, surrounding her in red, and her head slammed against the cold floor. Ever part of her was panicking, trying to regain control of her mind, but she was only able to be terribly sensitive to the exploding pain in her back, and the the liquid that was thickly flowing around her, staining her clothes and her skin and her hair.

"Subject Number 0000008765, Yamazaki Jitsuko, contains damaged programming. Canceling previously engaged procedures. Beginning procedure 1."

Jitsuko suddenly felt a searing pain in her chest, and she coughed roughly, spitting out blood from her mouth, only to have it replaced by more and more that gathered in her throat, choking her. A cycle began then, as she began to repeatedly cough out the liquid and gasp for air before more replenished in it's place, the pain in her chest continuously growing stronger. Hours passed of this repetition, until her energy ceased and she let herself give up. 

Closing her eyes, Jitsuko allowed herself to rest, her lips slightly parted, letting out a steady stream of blood. Mentally and physically exhausted, her consciousness slipped away from her, and with it all the pain that had been enveloping her throughout most of her memory. 

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Her vision was foggy and blurred, but after a few moments it cleared and she found herself staring at a bright light, so she blinked multiple times before attempting to turn her head, only to find that it, along with every other limb, it had been restrained. Unable to take the brightness, she closed her eyes, briefly trying to struggle against her constraints before giving up,  and concentrating on what had happened.

Memories flashed in her mind, of the room with the mirror's for walls, and the voice that had rung out, and the people suspended from the bars. She remembered hurting herself and suddenly falling to the ground, and the gruesome feeling in her chest, and the blood.

She shivered where she was, too familiar with the memory of the blood.

"Jitsuko, are you awake?" the voice came from her side, startling her, though this time she did not jolt upwards and hurt herself. 

Opening her mouth, she formed the first word she had ever spoken, "Yes." 

A brief feeling of giddiness washed over her, as she heard her voice, which was both rugged and beautiful at once, like that of a child. It was her voice, such a new and beautiful experience that she knew immediately would always have. 

"Good," the voice said, and she felt herself being released from the restraints, and she immediately sat up, turning to see a young woman with green hair that had been cut into a short pixie style, and dark violet eyes. She wore a white spaghetti-strap shirt, and long blue jeans. Three golden rings pierced each ear, standing out against her chocolate brown skin. 

"My name is Hiroka Kobayashi," she told Jitsuko, "I was banned from the Mère, like you. You can live here with me if you wish, unless you'd rather wander off to some other place."

"What?" Jitsuko asked, her insides already panicking due to the unknown, though she was keeping her voice steady, "What is the Mère?"

Hiroka looked at her oddly, "Jitsuko, do you know anything about this place?"

"No," she shook her head.

Hiroka sighed, "Alright, prepare yourself, it's a long story."


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