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Kirumi Tojo's Palace | The Ultimate Maid's Failures
By now everyone may be used to find themselves in bizarre locations, between going into palaces and visiting Nekyia. It might not come as a surprise that it has happened again.
What might come as a surprise, though...is how empty this place is.
All around you there's nothing more than a large, gray, featureless expanse. In the distance there seem to be bars, curving upwards to gather so, so high above you, possibly hundreds of miles above, so high it’s hard to distinguish.
It’s a cage. So unfathomably large. You could escape, were you to get to the edges of the cage, but...it would take forever. No matter how you look at it, you're trapped. The atmosphere is so...hopeless. Devoid of anything even remotely positive.
Not that you want to hang around for long, do you? After all, this is someone's palace. Not a place to stick around at. What to do, though?
It’s all so...empty. Silent. Featureless. A flat expanse of hard gray tiles.
Gather together, everyone. Gather and choose a direction. North, East, West, South. All directions look completely identical, but could it affect your time in this place, somehow? Probably not. But all treks start with the first step. Perhaps, if you get moving, you'll progress?
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anyway, joshua's heading over to the piano motif door because why wouldn't he. ]
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....or not. It doesn't budge.
When they try to enter, though, one of them probably pressed against the painted piano on the door, and when they did, there sounded a loud sound, like a piano key being pressed. Testing it a bit more will show that the piano keys drawn on the door can actually be played, even though they're merely painted on the door.
This impromptu piano sounds...off-key, though. Nobody has tended to this piano in a while.
One of the three also will see a round window on the door, about head-high, to look into the room]
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...there's someone here. Someone you know.
It's Ai Hoshino, browsing the CDs.]
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Ai...? Did they buy music together or something?
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... But I want to see that piano in more detail.
[Then he closes his eyes to listen carefully to the sounds coming from inside. If the keys on the door can be pressed, surely a tune is the answer. He just hopes his knowledge of the piano hasn't faded over the years.]
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It's easy to guess the keys cover a single scale from C to B. His perception throw from before doesn't allow to figure out the kind of melody that opens the door...
...but if he listens closely, he'll hear the black keys have a strange clicking sound that's not present on the white ones.
Looks like you only need the black keys. That sure narrows things down!]
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Let me try and discern what sequence they need to be in. Pardon me. [Then he presses his ear to the door to listen. (11)]
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That's why it takes him almost an hour to figure out the tune that opens it. Listening to if the clicks sound different or not, below the sound of the piano key itself, is hard work, requiring focus. You sure won't notice the pass of time, but Aubrey and Joshua will. Are they even around after an hour...?
Another consequence is that, when the door opens, Ai is nowhere to be seen. Odd.
But hey, door is open! The music room can be accessed]
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Then he pauses, because he's overcome by the urge to play, just a little. So he does, his fingers stiff at first, but he slowly eases into it, playing a song that's wormed its way into his head when he heard it in the castle of his nightmares.]
1/2
The piano sounds absolutely perfect. Unlike the door, it having been off-key, the piano is well tuned, spotless. The music Shalem plays sounds amazing in it.
In fact...the entire music room is very clean. The building looks abandoned, weeds and dust everywhere, but this music room...it's different. Every inch of it is well taken care of.
By the time Shalem finishes the song, he will notice a black band placed on top of the piano. He might not have seen it earlier because it's black on a black surface, but it's there]
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The door opens and Kirumi enters. She's carrying a bunch of rags and a couple bottles. The mood is somber, she’s keeping her head down. She doesn't see Shalem at all.
Kirumi cleans the music room with the effectiveness one expects her to have. Once she gets to the piano, she gets to working on it. Tuning, oiling, cleaning, leaving it so well polished she can see her reflection on its surface.
Once Kirumi is done with the keys, she stops, staring at them. She tests a couple of those]
...I am sorry.
[Kirumi murmured. It's like she’s talking to herself, but it's not directed at herself]
At the time I could not think of how you felt. Solving the case and protect us all was all that mattered. I shall carry the responsibility for your death forever. I will not...I will not forget I aided in causing it.
[Kirumi has to take a moment to gather herself]
We promised to you we would hold strong together. I will do all in my power to ensure we all live.
I will not allow any deaths anymore.
...we promised...
[Kirumi takes out a funerary band, which she places on the piano. She made it herself, of course. Once she has taken a moment of silence for the deceased student, she gathers her stuff and leaves.
The music room is left filled with a forlorn air, commemorating someone who isn't here anymore.]
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And then behind Shalem, Ai swings a classic acoustic guitar at his head.
Olé 🎸]
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WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT. There's no time to think, just act. Shalem is quick on his feet, dodging the swing (16) and tossing himself to the side, skidding to a halt with his tail flailing.
Then he looks up at her, brows furrowing.]
Do not do that to an instrument! [He has his priorities straight.]
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The piano cracks open and explodes! Debris hits Shalem but it won't cause as much damage as this Ai hoped it would]
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NOT THE PIANO-- [The Troupe would have had her head for this, if she did it in their presence.
But Shalem decides it's time to get out of this room before more poor, innocent instruments get caught in the crossfire. However, his exit is less than stellar, because he stumbles out through the door (10), might even bump into Joshua and Aubrey in his haste. Either way, he's slowed down as he leaves the room.]
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[Ai doesn't even try to pretend to be her. She pursues Shalem, back to the starting area! She still has the acoustic guitar, and quite reveals a couple vinyl CDs in a very bombastic manner, throwing them like frisbees at Shalem. Watch out, the edges are sharp!
But her aim isn't sharp, she misses by a mile. Shalem's slowness, though, means she gets a free swing of her guitar weapon, which she also misses.
Maybe this fake Ai just sucks at fighting]
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Ma'am, I really have to ask you to put the thing down-- gently, mind!
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It wasn't gentle.
It was critical, in fact (20)
The guitar shatters in impact, completely unusable.
Whoooops]
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Whoa, hey! [What, exactly, the fuck? She hasn't received the warning about shadow teenagers (and Ai) yet, either, so her first move is to try and restrain the girl by her arms (12).]
What the hell is your problem?!
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Let...go...!
[She shouts, squirming, but is unable to get herself away from Kainé. Woah! You have captured Ai, and she finds herself at the mercy of Kainé.
It takes a bit, but Ai loses all fight, just...breathing heavily and glaring at Kainé like she wishes she had a second guitar at hand right now so another head gets the brunt of it.
Watch out, Kainé. Ai will attack at the first chance she gets]
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1/2
2/2 boy i am struggling to spell on mobile
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A body has been discovered! Please gather at the east wing of the first floor.
[And there's the snap of a picture.
For the record, that speaker announcement was not broadcasted all over the place, it was just for this starting area and nowhere else. Nobody will come because of it, yup]