Chapter 1: Prayers and Wishes

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Beep beep… beep beep…

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The alarm clock was screaming. (Yaaawn...)

You know what's actually kinda dumb?
Dreams.

Especially the ones you have four nights in a row—
And every time, you wake up right at the BEST part because your alarm has zero chill.

Like, excuse me??
My brain can fully render a flying castle, a space dragon, and a steamy kiss with Levi—
but can’t give me FIVE more seconds of dream time?

Absolute trash.

Just cutting off at the worst moment. No warning. No decency.
I swear, nightmares are better. At least when you wake up, you feel relieved.
Like, nothing was taken from you.
If anything, you feel… rescued.

This morning, I woke up before Kimuu did.
The clock said 6:55AM. Early riser victory, as usual.

“Mmghhhh…”

Kimuu always lets out this mysterious zombie noise when she wakes up.
It’s the only time she sounds kinda human.
No, seriously.

“Wakuwaku~ ♪ Good morning to my adorable little sister~!”

“…Shut up, Kamii.”

“You know, you can call me Onee-chan if you want~!”

“…Move.”

See? Great little sister. She probably loves me.
I mean, I’m the only person she even lets touch her.

Yeah—
Kimuu avoids physical contact like it's radioactive.
She won’t touch anyone.
She won’t let anyone in.

But I’m the exception.

I get it.
If I had a sister like me...

You’d wanna cling to her too, right?

…Huh? What kind of sister am I?

Wow, you really just pick up a book without looking at the cover? Amateur.

Okay fine. I'll introduce myself real quick—but try not to get addicted, okay?

Dark red hair with a hint of crimson.
Eyes like legendary jewels—deep purple, unreal.

Cute. Radiant. A little scary.
I’m so pretty the world can’t fully process it.

…And yet, at school?
Nobody talks to me.

Zero. Total shutdown.

Why? The answer’s obvious.
I’m too beautiful.
They’re all scared. 100% confirmed.

Though Kimuu has said:

“…No. They just think you’re weird.”

—Excuse me?? That’s literally prejudice!

Anyway, let me introduce my sister too.

Kimuu. My little emo queen.
Long bluish-grey hair all the way to her waist.
She walks like a tragic movie heroine. And totally silent.

Her eyes are deep, dark blue. Zero expression.
One time, someone looked at a photo of her and said:

“…Wait. Is this… like, a memorial picture?”

I mean, fair. They just thought she passed out or something.
Someone waved a hand in front of her and she flinched—

And then punched them.
Like, one-shot KO.

Weirdly, I got suspended too.
Justice is fake. Lawyers must suffer.

Anyway. This morning had no events of interest.

Just the usual: get ready for school.
Mom was already gone.
Dad left earlier mumbling about “work”.

…He’s totally at a shogi café or something.

So, in conclusion:

I’m the supreme commander of the household today!

YASSS☆彡

The faucet in the bathroom was acting weird.

“…Kamii. It’s clogged.”

“HAHAHA! Worry not, my precious little sister!
You have the glory, skill, and multi-functional genius of your big sis on the job!”

“……”

I yanked the handle with all my might.

…It felt like it budged?

But—
when I blinked, it was back in place.

Blink again.

Now it was bent backward like it just gave up. Weird little defeat pose.

“…Okay then.”

One last blink.

Water started flowing normally.

I didn’t say anything.
But I swear…

That faucet looked at me.

…Probably.

We stepped outside.

A weird noise came from the sky.

I looked up.

A crow.

Crows don’t usually hang out around here, do they?

And get this—

It was flying upside down.

Wings flapping the wrong way, legs dangling from the sky, the whole thing.

“…New trick?”

Blink.

It was flying normally.

Yup. One of those days.

“What’s first period today?”

“…Probably math.”

“Any tests?”

Kimuu didn’t answer—just shook her head.

That’s when I noticed.

Everyone around us was wearing black.

Tops, bottoms—black. Black. Black. BLACK.

I thought it might be some weird fashion trend, but it wasn’t even cold.

…Well, maybe a little.

Hmm.

Maybe it’s one of those “ritual dress code” days.
Some obscure religious holiday?

I checked my phone.

Result:

“Some saint’s memorial day in a foreign country.”

—Yeah okay, and?

We turned the corner. Suddenly, everyone was dressed normally again.

Kimuu looked like she was thinking about something.
Didn’t care about anyone around her.
…But I’m pretty sure she noticed those guys in the black suits.

Still, she barely talks.
So I’ll probably never know.

Part of our route to school includes passing this old snack shop on the corner.
The shopkeeper was doing her usual thing—collapsed behind the counter, headphones in, invisible.

Didn’t wanna bug her, so we skipped it.

Instead, I looked at “that” statue we always pass by.

—The Mario one. Or like, the bootleg version.

Only this time…

It wasn’t Mario.

It was… Wabatattario.

No, I’m serious.
A creepy gargoyle.
Painted like someone just dumped acrylics on it and hoped for the best.

“…Nope.”

Kimuu and I noped out immediately.
The vibe was off.

A few steps later—I glanced back.

It was Mario again.

I squinted at it hard.

…Yeah.

Probably just too much TikTok last night.

I mean, I only went to bed like, an hour later than usual.

Eventually, we reached the front gate of Shitennō-ji.

As we got closer, I could tell—
Kimuu felt something.

Her body gave a tiny shiver.

Maybe she was just cold.
…Or maybe she was possessed!? Yokai Watch emergency!?
Or wait—
Did something trip her Kuudere Radar?

While I was still theorizing, I noticed something way weirder.

There were—
no people.

Like, seriously zero.
We’re talking “this place doesn’t exist in this dimension” level of empty.

I swear, this spot is usually swarming with tourists.
Especially foreigners—like hijabi tourists or loud British guys yelling:

“OMG it’s so cool!”

But today?
Nada. Not a soul.

The closer we got, the more off Kimuu became.

“…What’s wrong?”

No answer.

Instead—she grabbed my arm. Tightly.

The last time she clung to me like this was…
Halloween, second grade.
She got scared of a clown.

Which means… this is bad.

…Or maybe it’s stomach cramps.

Either way: high alert.

Her hand was trembling a little.

We passed through the first gate and—

A sound shot down my spine.

My hand flinched.

Not because I was scared, okay??
Just… surprised. That’s all.

I looked back—

The scenery beyond the gate…

Was warped.

Dark. Broken.

“W-What the heck…!?”

I tried to step back—

THUD.

…Invisible wall.

The air smelled… burnt.
There was no wind. But still, a pressure.

“Okay, what the hell. This is kinda funny, actually?”

Funny, as in—
weirdly terrifying.

I looked at Kimuu—

She was kneeling on the ground.

…Praying.
Not her usual blank silence—
this was the kind of prayer you make when your life is on the line.

No freaking way.

My totally-unreligious, emotionless, I-don’t-care-about-anything little sister…
was praying.
Hard.

Like,

“Please. Please don’t let anything happen.”

It chilled me to the core.

Kimuu praying?
That’s, like, a cosmic-level Red Flag.

No. Stop. Don’t do this.

I still didn’t want to believe it.
There had to be cameras, right?
Some VR prank with super advanced tech?

If this was a joke, it had zero comedic value.

I grabbed her arm.

She didn’t resist.

Actually, she gripped mine even tighter.

Both of us were sweating, quietly.

We moved forward in silence.

Our goal—was Sakura-san, the shrine maiden.

If she was there… maybe she could explain.

The air… was heavy.

And not in a “wow it’s so peaceful” way.
More like “breathe wrong and you’ll die” kind of silence.

It echoed—
just the sound of our footsteps and breath.

Nobody had punched us.
Nobody had bitten off our legs.

And yet, we walked like people who’d already been attacked.

We reached the main hall.

And there—

A wooden board.

Words written on it.
Looked like ink. Calligraphy brush maybe?

“I’m sorry…”
“I’m so sorry…”

The wood was old.
Some of the ink had bled.

Whoever wrote it—
their hand must’ve been shaking.
Maybe they cried while writing it.

I looked at Kimuu. She looked back.

No words.

Just eyes.

And that was enough.

Then—
creak.

…A sound.

And then another.
And another.

Cracks appeared beneath our feet.

I instinctively grabbed Kimuu’s arm.

The floor—was breaking apart!

I ran.

I picked her up and ran.

GOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH!!!

The roar was unreal.

The entire floor of the main hall—
collapsed.

A giant hole opened in the center,
glowing with a pale, blue-white light.

The central tower…
got swallowed up. Like it had never been there.

This… this had to be a dream.

Or—
please, let it be a dream?

Can I go back to the one where I woke up with a kiss from Levi?
Please?

But before I could pinch myself—

Our bodies floated.

We were being pulled—
toward the hole!

I reached for a pillar and grabbed it.

One hand on the column—
the other holding Kimuu’s hand!

“KIMUU!!”

“…!”

She grabbed tight, too.

But the gravity was getting stronger—fast!

My bag got sucked in.

Her school bag flew off like a rag.

“Kamii, let go! It’s no use!”

“I’m NOT letting go!!”

Let my little sister get swallowed by some void of doom?!
NO WAY!!

This isn’t some shonen manga!!
But still—
I’m NOT giving her up!!!

“Please, just let go!!”

“I SAID NO!!!”

And then—
Kimuu…

She let go.

…No way.

She immediately grabbed my sleeve instead.

But in that split-second—

My hand slipped from the pillar.

—Too late.

But honestly?

If I was gonna die with her,
that didn’t sound so bad.

…That’s what I thought—

Until I was like:

“Wait, I actually don’t wanna die.”

And then—
we were flying.

Or falling. Or both. I couldn’t tell.

That blue light was burning my eyes.
But my whole body—
was exploding with adrenaline.

Veins popping.
Heart slamming against my skull.

This is real.
THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING!!!

I opened my eyes—

And I was falling.

Pure, unfiltered free fall.

Kimuu was beside me.
Couldn’t see her face, but I bet—
she was just as terrified as I was.

All around us—
patterns.
Colors.
…Or maybe stains?

Like we’d been dropped into a living kaleidoscope.

My head spun.
I felt nauseous.
Like I could pass out any second.
But my heart felt like it might explode first.

Either way—I was about to lose it.

And then I saw it.

—A blue rose.

It was falling apart.
Not broken, exactly…
More like melted glass.

Then came the red one.

…It felt like it was glaring at me.
Judging me.
Its eyes said: “So? What are you gonna do?”

And then—white.

The white rose looked at me gently.
…But there was sadness in it.

In every rose—I saw myself.

But none of them looked back at me.

…I couldn’t say anything.

My brain just shut off.

Not even enough energy to crack a joke.

And then—

Darkness.

Everything turned black. Like, blacker-than-black black.

Couldn’t see a thing, even with my eyes wide open.

Kimuu and I…
were still falling in that endless void.

After a while—

A scene appeared out of nowhere.

We landed.

Completely.
Hard.

Me and Kimuu hit the ground like a bag of radioactive potatoes.

Where were we?
Visually—it looked like a closet.
But the contents were—

Pots. Pots. Pots. Pots. POTS.

More pots.
Frying pans.
Ladles.
Lids.
And—

A wooden spoon that, I swear, WINKED at me.

“UWAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!”

I dodged the spoon's creepy flirting
and splash-landed into the pot ocean.

Everything toppled.

Smelled like… medieval garlic soup.
Rotten edition.

“Owwww… what the heck…”

I flopped around on the floor like a dying noble.
What remained of me was just… emotional debris.

Kimuu was trying to get up too, but—

There it was.

A cutting board.
That moved.
And breathed.
And had a SOUL.

A living kitchen implement.

I felt eyes on me.

I looked up.

Something was watching.

We locked eyes.

A giant puffball of fur.

Fur?
Wait… alive??

It was completely round, super fluffy.
No arms. No legs.
Just… FUR.
A living ball of fluff.
With eyes and a tiny mouth.

The eyes were massive.
The mouth was shaped like a soft little “nya”.

“……”

“……”

“…Nya.”

Did it just TALK!?

No—wait. It was murmuring.
Whispering softly.
Zawa zawa. Nya nya.

“Okay, hold up. Are we literally being accused of witchcraft right now?”

(I mean… we did crash in through the roof like two magical delinquents. So yeah. Kinda fits.)

I slowly got up and looked around.

Finally understood.

This was… a kitchen.

Hence the pots.
Hence the soup stank.
Hence the spoon attack.

…But like.

WHERE is the explanation for the cat-fuzzball army!?

Someone please explain
this reality (fantasy) to me!!

That’s when it happened.

BAAAAAAAAAAAANG!!

—I seriously thought the door blew off its hinges.

No joke. The whole wall shook.

Two cats entered.

Jacked. Standing on two legs.
Wearing military uniforms.

Whiskers perfectly trimmed.
Faces 100% “We’re on duty.”

Kimuu and I just stood there, speechless.
They arrested us without a word.

Like some isekai criminals.

And then—
They slapped those on us.

Not handcuffs. Nope.

Glowing snakes.

They floated mid-air,
bodies like little LCD screens filled with stars,
and coiled smoothly around our wrists.

…They didn’t even touch us,
and yet we couldn’t move.

At all. Not even a twitch.

I want one for cosplay.

They dragged us into—
a dim hallway that looked straight out of a fantasy RPG.

Old, but perfectly maintained.

A vibe between Dragon Quest and Attack on Titan.

Kimuu’s face?
Full overworked office lady who just lost the printer mode.

Me?
I was in full “yeah I’m done being surprised” mode.

…Until I wasn’t.

Doors. Doors. Doors.

Lining both sides. All numbered.

…What the heck.
Is this a medieval cat hotel?

And some of the candles—

…They were PNGs.

Not flickering.
Not glowing.
2D as heck.
Just… flat.

Like my chest.

…Whatever. I’ve accepted it.

Finally—we passed the last door.

And entered—

The throne room.

HUUUUGE space.
With a dramatic red carpet dead center.

At the back—

A throne.

(Called it.)

Decorative columns on both sides.
If this were a game, a boss fight would be loading.

Someone was sitting there.

But I couldn’t see clearly yet.

We walked closer, step by step—

WHACK!

They hit my leg.

Forced me to kneel.

Engage: Mandatory Respect Mode.

I locked eyes with Kimuu.

Without saying a word, we both knew:

“Yeah, we’re screwed.”

I slowly lifted my head.

And I saw—

Horns.
Fur.
A face.

—A GOAT!?

Wait, HOLD UP.

The king… is a goat!?

A goat. Wearing a crown!?

A freaking crown!?!?

…I’ve reached my limit.

But that goat…

Was surprisingly calm.

Royal blue cape.
Golden shoulder guards shaped like roses.

Heavy and regal.
…Honestly? Kinda cool.

His eyes were sharp, but still.

Not looking down on us.
More like—he already knew everything.

Like he could see through us.

Like his eyes were saying:

“I already know why you’re here.”

And then—

In a deep, slow, all-seeing voice, he said:

“Take them…
to the Witches’ Chamber.”