𝒜 westerly wind blew across the snow-tipped peaks of Kinai's northern countryside, great evergreens stretching up to the skies to meet the yawning abyss of darkness above. It was early enough in the morning that the birds had just begun to sing, the silhouette of the moons fading as the golden sun peeked over the horizon and lit the world awash in its glow. Wooden carriage wheels cut through ice and snow until they made it onto a dirt road, the horses at its head snorting and flicking their manes as they trotted along the beaten path.
Aiko sat alone in the coach, her russet-colored head leaning against the back wall as she daydreamed. After packing her bags and frantically checking over her new academy uniform for any stains or wrinkles, she'd loaded her belongings into the back and prepared for a long journey across the kingdom. Megumi Academy was located in neutral territory near the southeastern edge of the continent, where the weather was mild and there were few people around for miles. Reading up on it, she'd discovered that the school itself was actually built inside of a large crater — rumor has it that the crater was formed thousands of years ago when the goddess herself came crashing down to the earth and gifted mankind with mastery over magic, blessing them with the ability to wield the elements as a sign of her good will.
Of course, that was only a rumor. Nobody really knew when or how mages came to be, though everyone had their own explanations that ranged from somewhat plausible to completely nonsensical. That was all a bit outside of the scope of Aiko's mind, however. She lounged back and yawned loudly, rolling her sore shoulders as she stretched her arms above her head. Having to wake up so early and get ready wasn't doing her any favors, and it wasn't long before she fell asleep on the leather seat, her head pressed up against the window as she closed her eyes and let the carriage rock her along into dreamland.
✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ
"I don't know about this, Ai. Attending such a big academy could be dangerous." The soothing, sagely voice of her grandmother floated to her ears, ever the cautious woman. It was that very caution that had kept them safe for all these years, she knew, but there was no way that she could just ignore an invitation from the headmaster of Megumi Academy.
"Oh, don't worry about it, nana. Everything's going to be just fine! It's one of the most secure places in the country, after all." Aiko had reassured her as she'd stuffed another sweet roll doused in lemon in her mouth, a bit of citrusy juice spilling over onto her chin. "I'll write to you every week - promise."
The elderly woman let out a sigh as she tucked some of her granddaughter's hair behind her ear, the age lines in her face growing deeper with concern. "If it were up to me, I'd keep you far away from that damned prophecy. What if you run into that cursed girl at school? Goddess, to think they'd even let a child of darkness into the academy."
Aiko shook her head, gently taking her grandmother's hand away from her face and placing it back at her side. "It's just a dusty old text, nana. The prophecy isn't actually real. What's the worst that could happen?"
When the heroine awoke once more, she found herself face to face with the most grand view she'd ever laid eyes upon. The carriage descended into the valley below and Aiko stuck her head out of the window to watch as yellow and orange leaves fluttered on by, a slight chill in the air signaling the beginning of autumn. From the big clocktower in the square, she could tell that it was less than ten minutes until noon — in others words, the very same hour she was meant to show up for the opening assembly. The driver had just barely made it in time, the rickety old wheels sliding to a stop as he reined in the horses. Aiko shot up out of her seat and fumbled for the campus map that had been enclosed in her letter, her hazel eyes wide as she scanned over the crumpled paper. Oh no. Where's the meeting hall?
She practically busted the doors down in her hurry to exit the carriage and grab her heavy, overstuffed bags from the back, though the added weight of them didn't seem to bother her much. After accidentally hitting the coachman in the face with one, she turned red and quickly bowed her head a few times as she backed away. "Sorry. Thank you!"
There was no time to linger. She had only a few minutes to find the meeting hall, and with such a huge campus looming ahead of her she was afraid it would take at least half an hour to make it from one side to the other. Her panicked expression only deepened as she attempted to decipher the map, silently cursing herself for never having been particularly skilled at navigation. As she looked up she noticed that there were almost no other students near the front, likely because they were already at the assembly. Spotting a boy walking by himself, Aiko rushed over to him and waved, her white uniform skirt rustling with the movement.
"Hey! Are you heading to the assembly, too? Can I walk with you?" She smiled at him in a friendly manner, her head tilting to the side as she watched him acknowledge her. The dark-haired boy leveled her with a blank, disinterested gaze before turning his face away a moment later.
"No. I'm not going that way."
Aiko paused. "Eh... Huh? But it's about to start... Wait, where are you going?"
She watched incredulously as he began walking in the direction of the woods bordering the school grounds, his strange behavior prompting her to do a double take. "W-wait, wait! Can you at least tell me where the meeting hall is?"
He paused with his back still turned to her, but she could see him angle his jaw from behind and slightly nudge his head to the left. Tearing her eyes away from him, she turned to look down the path he'd indicated, soon spotting a big central building with a pointed roof some ways down, though it was partially hidden behind the foliage. Based on the way that students were still making their way inside, it was probably a pretty safe bet to assume that that was her destination. "Oh! Thank you so mu-"
The moment she'd turned to look at him once more, she'd found that he was already gone. Confused, she spun around a few times to see if she could spot him. No dice. Nevermind, I don't have time for this! The grand clock would soon strike twelve, and if she hadn't stepped foot through that door by then, she would be late. Goddess forbid she was tardy on her very first day.
Aiko's heeled boots struck against the cobblestone path as she ran towards the main building as fast as she could, a light sweat forming upon her brow while she sprinted. It certainly didn't help that they had to build everything so far apart, and she found herself wishing she could have a word with the architects who'd designed such a labyrinthian institution. Luckily, she was pretty sure she had just enough time to make it inside. With a singular goal in mind, the girl effectively shut out everything else around her, her legs straining as she vaulted over a hedge instead of going around it and landed smoothly on the other side.
Well, almost.
In the split second before she crashed into a stranger, the only thing she could see was a flash of pink hair, the color so bright and vivid that it nearly blinded her. She let out a shout as their bodies collided, the force of her impact so strong that it toppled the both of them. Aiko fell on top of the figure that she vaguely registered as a girl, the feeling of a soft, feminine body beneath her own serving to cushion the blow somewhat. That didn't stop her head from reeling in the aftermath, stars dancing around the edges of her vision while a thin trail of blood streamed down her nose.
Aside from the pain, however, there was something else that assailed her senses. Flashes of imagery, places foreign and strange, faces she'd never seen before — memories. Her eyes widened as they hit her all at once like an oncoming train, the sensations so sudden and violent that she felt as though her heart would stop. She experienced the entirety of another life in the blink of an eye, overpowering emotions coursing through her and causing her body to shake uncontrollably. What was this? All at once, she felt friendship, warmth, love, desire... She was staring into the eyes of a girl who meant everything to her, reaching out for her with unspoken ardor on her lips, melting into the tenderness of her embrace... Only for all of it to be ripped away as two bright lights flashed at her and a deafening sound drowned out her thoughts. Those positive feelings quickly turned to fear, despair, agony, and bitter denial. She was dying, struggling to take in her last breath even as her mind refused to succumb to the darkness. Over and over, the same line replayed in her head like a broken record, uttered by an unfamiliar voice that once belonged to her.
``— I want to see her again.``
These recollections of a past life were hers. Every sight, every sound, every taste, every scent, everything she'd ever touched and everyone she'd ever met. Her parents, her siblings, her friends, her soulmate... All of them were once a part of her life in another world. And this world, the land of Kinai, and even the boy she'd briefly bumped into earlier... She recognized them all from a video game she'd once played.
This is... The Light Maiden's Quest for Love!? And I'm... I'm the heroine, Aiko Hikari!
When she came back to, she realized that she was still on top of the young woman, her cheeks flushed and her chest heaving as she panted from the exertion of running so fast. Only a few moments had passed between the initial collision and her regaining her memories, but it had felt like hours while she was watching her former life play out in front of her. Now she was finally able to get a good look at the person she'd run into, her unfocused gaze sweeping over those sharp amber eyes and that familiar head of long pink hair. That's the villainess!
Air crashed into her lungs almost painfully as Aiko scrambled to get off of her, her head still spinning from how hard she'd hit the floor and the overwhelming sensations that came after. In a daze, she realized that this was one of the first scenes in the game, part of the prologue where the heroine arrives at the academy and is first introduced to her mortal enemy, the villainess Rin Koizumi. If she remembered correctly, this was the part where she'd be severely lambasted for bumping into her.
Unfortunately, she was too dumbstruck by everything she'd just learned to try and think of a creative way out of this situation. All she could do was fall back on her butt and stare slack-jawed at the other girl, her hazel eyes brimming with tears that even she hadn't realized were there. Everything she'd just witnessed was so intense, so heavy that she couldn't help but tear up. She couldn't quite explain it, but she missed that girl from her memories terribly.
"Ah, I-I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Aiko apologized profusely as she bowed her head to Rin, droplets of blood leaking out from her nose and staining the grass beneath their feet. "Please forgive me!"
Her shoulders tensed up as she readied herself to be rebuked by the noblewoman, but even that mattered little when she was now faced with the staggering reality of her situation. Hells, nobody would ever believe her if she told them about it. She hardly even believed it herself.
As the morning sun started to shine across the trees on the wast garden and through the huge glass-window of the dining room, where a pink-haired woman, still drowsy from waking up just a few moments ago enjoyed her morning coffee and a brunch-like breakfast prepared for her before she'd need to depart for the school she'd be living in for the next few years. Despite the lavish and delicious assortment of foods from bacons and eggs to toast all the way to cakes and other desserts she was all her lonesome in the huge dining-hall that could house over a hundred guests. Only exception being the maid who stood in the corner eyes closed, hands in front of her ready to serve the young Lady of the house whenever she needed.
"... So it begins today..." Rin Koizumi thinks to herself as she takes a sip of her coffee with cream and lets out a little sigh. If she could decide she'd rather not go to the academy. If she could decide she'd already be disowned by now, banished to the edge of the Kingdom to a little house where she could wither away with the memories of her past life, trying her best not to forget the times she had with the only person she ever felt any kind of connection to, but alas this was not meant to be. Deemed as a harmful person she'd be kept under a strict surveillance in the academy while the teachers would do their best to make sure she would not be a threat to society. Even if the young woman was deemed harmless she may eventually get what she desires, but that will be very unlikely.
She was born as a villainess, and with accursed powers meant only to destroy, and that's what people would see her as. A demon who'd be better off dead, someone that needs to eventually die for the sake of the Kingdom.
All the painful memories and the lot she was dealt with in this ridiculous new life she was granted made the yellow-eyed, constantly bored and apathetic looking woman loose all her appetite, and after finishing her coffee she stands up to get ready for her departure. "Feel free to take some if you want." she says with a flat voice to the maid as she exits the room.
After an hour a fancy carriage is waiting at the front of a beautiful manor. A group of maids were busy running up-and-down the stairs to carry all the luggages that had been packed for the Rin. The scene looked more like the villainess was moving out entirely rather than just going to a boarding school, and that was because it was essentially the case. Previously warm, caring and doting mother and father of the woman had grown distant and cold ever-since they learned that she had inherited a rumoured dark powers. Neither of them wanted anything to do with her, and when she was out of the academy she was to move to live a small apartment at the downtown that they had gotten for her.
When the last maid had ran up the stairs to announce to the pink-haired woman that everything was all set Rin walked down the stairs, now wearing her school-uniform, her hair down as usual and a pink rose hair-ornament in her hair. The maids were lining up the outer side of the stairs, all bowing to the mistress leaving the house she had been living the past 18-years of her life. At the foot of the stairs a butler was holding open the carriage door and lightly bowing as well. Rin looked around to see if her parents had come to see her off, but of course they hadn't. Not like she expected or wanted them anyway. As she took the first step inside the cart the butler Ronove finally opened her mouth.
"Please take care of yourself Young Mistress."
In the cold household the old man Ronove had been the only one who even tried to be there for Rin when her parents distanced herself from them, however after the information of her powers was starting to circulate and become common knowledge even he took his distance. A little taken-aback of his wishes her eyes widen a little before she replies back to him.
"You too Ronove. Be well."
And with those words the door to the carriage was closed, and the driver took off. An occasion that was normally celebrated and filled with tears of joy was unceremoniously over, and the new life of the villainess... As well as the main-story in the game The Light Maiden's Quest for Love was now about to start, with the notable difference being that this 'game' that she once played in her past life with the person she holds so near and dear was now her new reality, and after her untimely end by her own hand she was now reincarnated as the antagonist of the game, and essentially the whole current world she resided in.
Was this some sort of twisted payback due to her ending it all so soon? Or was there some other reason she got a new chance in life? She did not know, nor particularly care. Even if it was an act of mercy from some higher being the fact that she was put into this world, and the fact she regained her memories at an early age was the highest form of torture for her, and she would not forgive any God from toying with her like this.
Ride to the Academy was relatively short for her, but it was long enough for her to recap her objectives for the following years. She would stay away from everyone. Not cause anymore trouble, but also to use her evil reputation to her advantage to make sure no-one would mess with her or try to get close to her. After regaining the memories of the past she had started to prepare herself in many fronts if worst came to be. She knows the basics how to fight, she knows how to cultivate plants and crops and prepare basic meals, also her survival skills were pretty on-point. Since nobody paid any mind to her, or were too scared of her she could read all the books she want and do any sort-of unladylike things to hone her skills, though due to her nature she only bothered to learn basics.
However when it came to her magic she used more effort. Both to control it so she could avoid any unfortunate accidents like one she had with the assassin prior to her enrollment, and so she could know the true extent of them, and if there were any alternative uses for the unique powers that she was cursed with. So far her experiments had not yield any results, but one thing Rin was actually looking forward to in the academy was to possibly get more knowledge of these abilities of hers
There were also two more objectives:
Do not interact with male-leads unless necessary
And do not interact with the main-heroine under any circumstances
If she could minimize her role in the story, and just be a background-character then all would go well she thought to herself. One of the male-leads gets the heroine, if Rins powers go berserk they would slay her, and they'd get their happily ever after. If her powers didn't go berserk she could just let the days pass by until it was her time to move on, and maybe kill the rumors of dark-magic meaning inherently evil with her, but that was most likely wishful thinking.
Not even realizing that they had arrived at their destination while immersed in her own thoughts Rin suddenly hears the rivers voice. "We have arrived Miss Koizumi." he announced as they pulled at the gates of the academy. "I will move your belongings to your dorm so you can go to opening assembly already." he added as the pink-haired woman stepped out of the carriage. There was still 20 minutes till the assembly, so she decided to took her time to get there, but would start to regret her decision shortly after.
Immediately when she stepped out of the carriage and started to walk towards the meeting hall people more and more eyes started to look her, glued to the woman who is said to bring destruction and ruin to whole kingdom. Soon Rin could hear people whispering, see them pointing at her. Some were clearly belittling her, snickering to one another and calling her names. Others clearly backed away and were startled. She could also hear some people claim that she murdered an innocent person in cold-blood at the banquet few months ago. Knowing it was in-vain to even try to correct these people she continued her walk, trying her best not to let the oppressive atmosphere get to her, keeping the apathetic expression on her face the whole time, just looking straight ahead, and without even noticing picking up her pace to get away from the piercing gazes and judgemental word.
Sooner than she thought Rin found herself at the front of the meeting hall, but instead of going inside she decided to go to behind the nearby trees near the pathway and wait there till the heroine had went inside. She knew that the CG where the villainess and heroine would meet would triggered before the assembly in front of the door, and if she could avoid it all-together or alter the course of how it goes it would benefit her plan greatly. She kept glancing towards the door while leaning against the tree with her arms crossed. The clcok kept ticking, and the heroine was nowhere to be seen. "Do I really need to go first and forcibly trigger the scene..." Young woman thinks before letting out a frustrated sigh and putting her forehead on her palm. "Such a bother..." villainess says just before something unexpected happens.
She hears some rustling next to her, and manages to see a glimpse of something before omething... Or someone falls on top of her. She fells down on the ground, not hurting herself too badly, but still the weight of this random person making her uncomfortable. Rin then looks up and sees an unexpected sigh.
The heroine. Aiko Hikari was on top of her. Unintentionally pinning her down on the ground
"... But this was not where the CG takes place... What is she doing here?" Rin thinks to herself as she tries her best to not let the surprise attack to show on her face.
Few seconds pass till Rin finally opens her mouth, frowning and putting on the preplanned act immediately.
"Move." she says in a cold tone, trying to immediately draw distance and line between the two opposites in the story. And once the brown-haired heroine had stood up she followed in-suite, patting down her back and butt to get most of the dirt off of her as the woman, who was now sobbing and bleeding from her nose profusely started to apologize from her.
Letting out a frustrated sigh Rin takes out her handkerchief and extends her hand towards Aiko.
"Take it. It is a real pain if people think I am bullying you." she says and waits for the herointe to take up on her offer, her tone basically demanding the woman to take it.
Once the handkerchief was taken out of her hands she quickly turns her back to hazel-eyed young woman and starts to walk towards the meeting hall. "No need to return it. Consider it paid back by coming in at least minute after me and never speaking to me again unless necessary." Rin says as she walks in the hall, leaving the heroine of the 'story', and someone she is much more familair with than she could ever think of to hopefully wait till she has been getting to her seat, while once again causing a commotion among the student-body, which most had already gathered in the hall.
After casually walking to an empty seat where one of the instructors guided her she closed her eyes and put her hands on her lap. Hoping that despite the things not going like they did in the original work this encounter wouldn't cause any noticeable differences in the story that would make her life any more difficult.
The first thing that came out of the villainess' mouth was one simple order, ice-cold and straight to the point: move. As soon as she'd done so, the pink-haired woman wasted no time in dusting herself off, but the sight of it only made Aiko feel even worse. Yes, she'd had no choice in running into her, since it was programmed into the game — and yes, Rin Koizumi was supposed to be a mean, unsympathetic character — but she still felt bad for knocking her down and getting her all dirty. It did raise a few questions, however. Was Rin even a 'real' person? Was anyone in this game conscious, like she now was? Perhaps she herself wasn't even fully in control of her own actions, just following some predetermined script even now... The thought was enough to send her spiraling into an existential crisis, at least until she was brought back to her senses once more by the handkerchief that was shoved into her hands.
"Eh...?" Her voice was small suddenly, her glassy eyes wide with astonishment. Aiko sniffled, completely taken aback as she gingerly plucked the cloth from the other's fingers. "You're giving me this...?"
Even if she wasn't exactly gung-ho about it, Rin was offering her something to wipe her face with. Her line about not wanting people to think that she was bullying her was strange, and definitely not one that she remembered from the original game. In fact, the whole scene seemed... off. Was this even the right spot for them to bump into each other? Perhaps her new memories were a bit hazy, but she was almost certain that the villainess should have started shouting at her by now.
Aiko was left dumbfounded for a time as she watched her darker counterpart turn on her heel and make her way into the assembly building, leaving her with only a few frigid words in parting. Her fingers subconsciously tightened over the handkerchief as she felt her heart begin to beat faster in her chest, a million different thoughts running through her head. At the forefront of them all was an intense, burning desire to find out why the villainess was acting differently than she was supposed to. Did there exist alternate timelines even within a game world? Her head spun trying to grasp it all, but before anything else she used her sleeves to wipe the tears from her eyes, quickly dabbing the handkerchief against her bloody nose.
Without thinking, the heroine's feet began to move seemingly all on their own. Before long, she was going directly against the girl's wishes, hurrying after her and into the busy meeting hall. Her eyes scanned over the seats until she spotted the back of that beautiful pink head, a storm brewing in her chest. She had to get to the bottom of this.
Luckily, the people next to Rin scooted away as though they were afraid to sit so close to her, leaving an open seat ripe for the taking. Aiko swooped in like a vulture and snatched it up, practically falling into the chair in her haste. Once she'd steadied herself and narrowly avoided an embarrassing accident, she reached for the noblewoman's arm, firmly gripping onto it before she could get up and leave.
"Wait," she began, a determined look on her face. Even with her slightly red, puffy eyes and the presence of smeared blood around her nose, Aiko had taken on a completely different tone from before. "You left before I could introduce myself — I'm Aiko Hikari. Thank you for the handkerchief."
She gave the pink-haired maiden a bright smile, beaming at her despite the strange looks that the people nearby were giving the two of them.
"Didn't Koizumi-san just push that girl?" A thin, black-haired girl said to her freckle-faced friend, but in typical otome fashion the two of them didn't even bother to keep their voices down, making it so that they could clearly hear every single word.
"Yeah, she did, didn't she? What's up with that?"
Aiko turned to the gossiping girls and frowned, her brows furrowing with annoyance. "She didn't push me. I bumped into her. Don't make things up just because you feel like it." She chided the students for spreading false rumors, ignoring their offended expressions as she turned back towards Rin. Right, she wasn't supposed to know her name yet. This was, by all means, the first time they'd ever officially met. Her hazel eyes met with amber ones as she peered into them, reluctant to retract her grip. "I'm sorry. I know you didn't want me to speak to you again, but I couldn't help it. I'm interested in you!"
The awkwardness of such a statement was completely lost on the heroine, her face remaining just as serious and determined as before. Despite dropping what sounded exactly like a love confession, Aiko retained her hold over the other's wrist, staring deeply into her eyes. She opened her mouth to speak again before she was interrupted by the sound of the headmaster shushing the crowd as he held up a small crystal, the magical qualities of the gem amplifying and projecting his voice across the room. He looked more like a fancy-pants aristocrat than the head of a school, his flamboyant emerald green suit contrasting his long white hair, pants tucked neatly into the heeled boots that he wore.
"Everyone, please stay in your seats until the assembly has concluded. I know you're all ready for another exciting year at Megumi, but we've got a few bases to cover before we can kick off the semester. Welcome back to all those who are returning to our fine academy, and a warm welcome to all of the new students in our midst! As I'm sure you've come to notice, this award-winning institution..."
He continued on talking, his booming voice drowning out the silence that had fallen over the audience. Aiko tuned him out completely, pausing to let go of Rin as she chewed on her lip anxiously. How could she focus on some long, boring speech when she had so many other things to ponder right now? Leaning over to her unwilling neighbor, she cupped her hand next to her ear to whisper something to her. "Could you tell me your name?" She inquired softly, pretending like she didn't already know it. If Rin looked in her direction, she would find that the heroine was smiling again, the lack of hesitance in her gaze suggesting that she either didn't know or didn't care about the villainess' unfortunate reputation.
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