1Homura dreamed of blood.
A common occurrence for the once good-aligned kunoichi. A picturesque classroom, the smiling face of the teacher she once trusted transformed into a mocking sneer and a sudden lunge, the translucent glint of steel and the smell of copper. That once smiling face was now replaced by a pale, blood-stained face and the protruding abdomen of the teacher she once trusted.
The once picturesque classroom was now reminiscent of a grotesque parody of its former self. Blood splatter and viscera covered the placid walls and furnishings. Homura stared upon the mutilated corpse in silence, her bloodied hands shaking from emotions indiscernible to even her.
The silent Homura collapsed to her knees paying no heed to the blood below as she continued to stare in silence at the teacher she once trusted.
The one who betrayed her.
"Aah…"
Her mouth widened and closed several times, unable to properly formulate the words to express the growing ache in her heart and the deepening pit in her stomach.
A voiceless cry broke from her throat as it echoed across the room as Homura expressed her sorrow the only way she knew how, as the blood of her teacher cooled beneath her.
Homura awoke with a chill pulsating across her body. Her wettended cheeks stung across the freezing cold and hard surface.
This isn't my room.
The shinobi was immediately on alert. Her body jolted up in quick response, only to be met by her head slamming into an equally hard surface.
"Ow, ow, ow," said the green-eyed shinobi, clutching her head in pain, mentally chastising her hasty action in response.
"Well, look who finally decided to wake up. You okay there, new girl?"
A brash voice called out in response, as the Homura turned around and zoned in on the source. A girl, around her age with shoulder length, messy brown hair and reddish eyes that seem to glint under the transparent lens of her glasses. However, the most apparent detail was her outfit itself, which looked like stereotypical black & white striped yet heavily modified prison garments.
Questions began to circulate in Homura's head. Did she get captured by the enemy? If so, who? Or was this perhaps a test setup by Hebijo and Rin-sensei?
"Are you done gawkin' now, girlie?" said the bespectacled girl, as her starred red scarf swayed behind her as she took she lined herself along against the bars of her cell, arms crossed under her busty chest.
"Who are you and where the hell am I?" Homura growled impulsively, not liking the situation she was in nor the girl's eerie calm tone.
"Calm down and take a deep breath, new girl. I know it's hard for you first timers but ya get used to it in time"
"First time of what?"
"Don't you see what you are wearing, new girl?" the scarfed girl asked rhetorically as she pointed towards Homura, or rather, her outfit.
Homura looked down at her apparel only for her eyes to widen out in shock.
"Eh..what..am I...?"
Homura looked down in a muted disbelief at her apparel. The same black & white striped prison garments adorned her body, the top being a low cut that showed off her toned midriff, with a small tie reminiscent of her Hebijo student uniform. Her black leggings clung to her curvature snuggly as her striped skirt contrasted against the gauzy and shiny leggings.
"W-what the hell?! This is..what is going on!" exclaimed the confused shinobi as she gripped her clothes in a panic as a creeping dread that began to slowly dawn on her.
"My Secret Ninja Scroll, my Claws...they..they aren't here."
"Ugh, could you like, keep it down over there? It's getting annoying" spoke an almost haughty sounding voice coming from within the room, causing Homura's eyes to finally wonder and take in her surroundings. Something which Homura briefly chastised herself for given her situation of not properly taking in her surroundings as she was trained to do.
"If Rin-sensei were to know I failed at doing something so simple, she would have my head." thought the brash shinobi, biting her lip in both worry and slight anger at both herself and her situation as looked around.
A cold, and metallic set of cages within an equally cold, steel construct of a room with a hall pathway separating the adjacent cells, that looked almost futuristic in design. Some of the cages were occupied with other girls with similar clothing.
A haughty looking twin-tailed blond who had just spoken whose tone reminded Homura of another blonde haired girl she knew. A pale young girl who could be no older than a child with dark, braided twintails muttering in the corner of her cell. The girl to the right of her cell was almost angrily pacing back and forth, almost paying no heed to the Homura as she muttered something under her breath, her short purple hair is worn in a bob with tufts of hair sticking up on each side resembling cat ears bobbing each time she walked.
"Oi, leave her alone, Kisaragi. You know how it is for the new girls, the one who came the other day was just as scared even if she tried to hide it." replied the glasses-wearing girl turning her head to the side towards the direction of the blonde.
"Hmph, whatever." uttered Kisaragi as she twirled a strain of her golden hair in boredom.
Homura felt the pit in her stomach grow again as she began to grit her teeth in frustration.
"Kayako Randou, by the way"
"What?" Homura spat out, her fear turning into anger as she turned to face the bespectacled girl.
"That's my name, Kayako Randou. But people usually call me 'Ran'," the girl now, known as Ran clarified, as she repositioned herself among the bars of her cell as she continued "So what's yer name, new girl? I can't keep calling you new girl, ya know. It'd be easier than calling you 'girlie' or 'new girl'."
Homura continued to glare at Ran, as the scarfed girl merely took it in stride, waiting for an answer. Homura bit her lip, seemingly in debate with her shinobi nature to give possible information to an unknown in a clearly disadvantageous situation and most importantly, appearing weak.
However, the scenario Homura found herself was unknowingly weighing on her, especially after the harrowing nightmare just before had left her unusually vulnerable. Her bitten lip drew blood. The taste of copper permeated her tongue. The pit in her stomach and dull ache in her chest returned full force.
A smiling blood-stained face.
The glint of steel.
Hands stained with blood.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she forced away the images. She gave a deep breath and replied, "..Homura."
"Sorry I didn't catch that."
Homura quieted again, clenching her hands several times as if debating to herself on whether this was a good idea or not, before replying once more but in a decidedly more forceful voice.
"Homura. That's my name."
Ran blinked twice before replying with a sigh and a small smile. It was most likely an attempt meant to calm the frustrated girl down but in reality, it only gave Homura a greater sense of foreboding.
Ran lifted her body off the bars of her cell and placed a hand on her hip, her scarf swaying with her body.
"Well, Homura. Welcome to Hell. You might be here awhile."
End of Prologue