Gateway to Fairy Tales - Vocaloid 神威がくぽx巡音ルカ

💜💗💜💗💜 Story 💗💜💗💜💗 Kamui Gakupo had never imagined that one day, without any warning, he would step into a world that had nothing to do with reality, together with Megurine Luka. It had all happened far too suddenly. One moment, they had been walking down a familiar street, talking about where to have dinner tonight. The next, the ground beneath their feet turned into a swirl of light and shadow, as if an invisible hand had flipped the whole world upside down. Gakupo instinctively grabbed Luka's wrist and pulled her toward him, and the two of them were swallowed by a glow that was gentle yet impossible to resist. When his vision returned, magnificent orchestral music was already sounding in his ears. "...Where is this?" Luka blinked, and found herself standing in a palace of unbelievable size. Thousands upon thousands of crystals hung from the soaring ceiling, and brilliant candlelight flowed between gilded carvings and pristine white marble pillars. The enormous arched windows reflected a deep blue night sky, yet no moon could be seen outside, only stars floating in midair, as though someone had scattered the entire Milky Way into a storybook. At the center of the palace lay a splendid dance floor, where many people were whirling gracefully to the music. Everyone wore gowns that seemed to come from ancient fairy tales; skirts spun with each step, and the tails of dress coats traced elegant arcs in the light. In the distance, attendants in lavish uniforms passed by carrying silver trays, while musicians seated on a golden stage played a waltz neither of them had ever heard. And the strangest part was that no one seemed surprised by the sudden appearance of the two of them at the edge of the dance floor. An attendant in a dark formal suit even walked up to Gakupo as if it were the most natural thing in the world and bowed slightly. "Sir, your partner is waiting for you." Before Gakupo could ask who exactly the man meant, he felt his hand being gently taken. Luka looked down and realized that her clothes had changed too. Her original outfit had been replaced by an elegant ball gown, its skirt shimmering softly as she moved. Her long hair was still its familiar pink, looking especially soft beneath the crystal chandeliers. Gakupo had likewise changed into attire fit for a court ball, his long, pure purple hair neatly tied behind him, a few strands falling beside his ears. The two stared at each other. "Gakupo, did we travel to another world?" Luka asked in a low voice. "It seems very likely." "And into a fairy-tale world, no less?" "If the entrance to a fairy-tale world is a palace, then we seem to have been fairly lucky." Luka couldn't help laughing. "You really are calm." "At least so far, nothing here looks like it would hurt you." As he spoke, Gakupo extended his hand to her, his bearing so graceful it was as if he were long accustomed to occasions like this. "Since someone has invited us to the ball, why not enjoy it for a while?" Luka looked at his hand, then at the crowd twirling across the dance floor. "Then, sir, would you care to dance with me?" "The honor is mine." She placed her hand in his palm. In the next moment, the two stepped onto the dance floor. The music happened to shift into the loveliest passage of the waltz. Gakupo rested one hand lightly at Luka's waist, clasped her other hand in his, and led her to turn with the rhythm. Luka matched his steps, her skirt blooming into soft curves across the marble floor. They had accepted no invitation from this world and knew nothing of the ball's etiquette, yet their bodies seemed to understand everything here naturally. Every turn was just right, and every crossing came without the slightest hesitation. Luka looked up at Gakupo. "Did you secretly practice court dances before?" "If I said no, would you believe me?" "No." "Then let's say I prepared especially for today." "But weren't we planning to have dinner today?" "It seems dinner will have to be postponed a little." They looked at each other and smiled. In the unfamiliar palace, amid music they had never heard, they briefly forgot that they had crossed into another world, as if they had truly become the leading man and woman of a fairy tale, invited to a royal ball. Yet this ease did not last long. At some moment, Luka suddenly noticed something strange. A dancer who had just passed by them had originally had a dignified, beautiful face. But when the figure turned around, the head had become an oval mirror. The frame was set with intricate golden patterns, and the glass reflected the chandeliers of the dance floor, but it had no features at all. Luka's steps faltered slightly. "...Gakupo." "Mm?" "Look over there." Gakupo followed her gaze. A second later, his eyebrows lifted slightly. A lady in a pink bouffant skirt had, for a head, an enormous rose in full bloom. Its petals trembled faintly with her steps, and even leaned naturally toward another dancer whenever she turned. On the other side, a gentleman in a dress coat wore a perfectly round sphere on his shoulders, its surface as smooth as polished porcelain. The heads of several guests had become antique clocks, their hands ticking and turning slowly to the beat of the music. And there were light bulbs. Not hats shaped like light bulbs, but whole heads that had simply become light bulbs. The filaments inside gave off a warm glow, brightening and dimming with the dance steps. Farther off, the heads of some guests were even like floating glass bottles, delicate teapots, and geometric solids of every shape. Yet what was truly astonishing was not these bizarre appearances. It was that everyone seemed to take it all for granted. The mirror-headed gentleman still bowed to the flower-headed lady, the clock-headed guest still searched for the beat in the music, and the light-bulb-headed lady even nodded cheerfully at the two of them as she passed. "Good evening, you two! Tonight's ball is a delight, isn't it?" Her voice was sweet and natural. Luka was stunned for a moment, then answered politely, "Y-yes, it is." The light-bulb-headed lady twirled happily, and her light flickered a few times along with her. "Then please, enjoy yourselves to the fullest!" With that, she returned to her partner and continued dancing. Luka slowly turned to Gakupo. "I think our fairy-tale world might be a little different from what we imagined." "I think so too." "Doesn't it seem strange to you?" "Of course it does." "But your expression hasn't changed at all." Gakupo gave a soft laugh. "Would you feel more at ease if I looked terrified right now?" "At least it would prove I'm not the only one who finds this place strange." "Then I confess." He leaned slightly closer and said in a low voice, "I'm extremely curious right now about what these people are." Luka couldn't help laughing. "So you're only curious." "And a little worried." "Worried about what?" "Worried that you'll suddenly go ask that Miss Rose whether you can pluck her petals to use as bookmarks." "I would never be so rude!" "That's good." As they spoke, the waltz happened to reach its next section. The dancers who had been surrounding them gradually dispersed, leaving more space on the central dance floor. Just then, a gentleman with an enormous golden clock for a head walked toward them. He wore a finely tailored black formal suit, with a silver pocket-watch chain hanging across his chest. The hour and minute hands on his clock face moved slowly, and its twelve numerals seemed like pairs of eyes, as if observing them. He performed a proper court bow to Gakupo. "Sir, may I invite your partner to the next dance?" Luka instinctively looked at Gakupo. She had assumed he would refuse, since they had only just discovered that the inhabitants of this world all had incredible appearances. But Gakupo didn't answer right away. He first looked down at Luka. "Do you want to dance?" Luka thought for a moment. The clock gentleman before them, though strange, showed no hostility. The people at the ball had kept a friendly attitude throughout, and no one had forced them to do anything. More importantly, she didn't want to miss the chance to explore this world just because it was unfamiliar. "Sure," she said with a smile. "But I'd like the dance after that to be with you." Gakupo's gaze softened a little. "Of course." He nodded politely to the clock gentleman. "I'm very sorry, but tonight I already have a regular partner." The clock gentleman's hands paused for a moment. Then he let out a hearty laugh. "Ha ha! I see! Then please, you two, continue to enjoy the ball!" Not only was he not angry, he bowed deeply to them, then turned to invite another mirror-headed lady to dance. Luka watched his retreating back, amusement rising in her eyes. "You turned him down so naturally just now." "Would you have preferred me to say yes?" "Of course not." She answered so quickly that even she was startled. Gakupo lowered his head slightly, a trace of unconcealable amusement in his purple eyes. "I see." "Don't make that face!" "What face?" "The one where you clearly know what I'm thinking but deliberately don't say it." "Then do you know what I'm thinking?" Luka was at a loss for words. The music played on, and the palace lights reflected in both their eyes. She had meant to retort, but in the end she only tightened her grip on his hand and turned her attention back to the steps. Gakupo didn't tease her any further, simply following her rhythm and leading her around the dance floor. The guests around them were as oddly shaped as ever. The mirror heads reflected golden candlelight, the flower heads unfurled their petals to the melody, the sphere-headed gentlemen turned more skillfully than anyone, and the light-bulb-headed ladies were like dancing lamps, lighting up the entire palace. Strange, yet possessed of a beauty beyond words. Luka gradually relaxed, and even began to follow Gakupo's steps on her own, occasionally drawing closer to him on purpose as they turned. "Come to think of it," she asked softly, "do you think there are princes or princesses here?" "In a fairy-tale world, those roles shouldn't be missing." "Then will we be asked to take on some strange trial?" "If that really happens, I'll first check whether the trial allows you to bring a dance partner." Luka burst out laughing. "Do you plan on staying with me the whole time?" The moment the words left her mouth, she realized she had asked too directly. Gakupo's steps didn't stop. He only looked at her, his expression as steady as ever, though his voice was much gentler than before. "We came here together, so naturally we'll go back together." "What if we can't find a way back?" "Then we'll look for one together." "What if this world is very dangerous?" "I'll protect you." He didn't say it with grand passion, nor did he deliberately create a heart-fluttering atmosphere. It was simply a calm, natural sentence, as though no matter where they were, this was something that required no hesitation. Luka's heart stirred slightly. She lowered her eyes, though a smile she couldn't hide surfaced at the corner of her lips. "Then I can rest easy." Gakupo gently tightened his hold on her hand. The waltz slowly approached its end. But just as the final note was about to fall, a clear toll of a bell sounded from deep within the palace. Dong. Everyone's movements halted at the same instant. The mirror-headed guests turned toward the depths of the palace, the flower-headed ladies drew their petals in slightly, and the sphere-headed gentlemen stopped spinning. Even the glow of the light-bulb heads dimmed at the same moment. Gakupo immediately sensed that something was wrong. He gently drew Luka to his side, shielding her, and looked up toward the source of the sound. At the far end of the palace, an enormous pair of doors that had been tightly shut was slowly opening. Behind the doors there were no attendants, no prince or princess. There was only a long corridor laid with a deep red carpet, and countless antique clocks hanging along both sides. The hands of every one of those clocks were stopped at the same time. Twelve o'clock exactly. "Honored partners," a distant voice drifted from deep within the corridor, "the first dance of the night has ended." The guests on the dance floor turned toward the doors one after another. Then, in perfect unison, they stretched out their hands toward Gakupo and Luka. The mirror-headed gentlemen, the rose-headed ladies, the clock-headed guests, and the light-bulb heads with their soft glow all faced them, as if waiting for a shared answer. "Please accept our invitation." "Join us at our midnight ball." Luka looked at the rows of inhuman heads before her, faceless yet seemingly full of expectation, and found herself clasping Gakupo's hand. "Gakupo..." "I'm here." "I have a feeling." "What kind of feeling?" Gazing down the bottomless corridor, she said softly, "I don't think it was by chance that we came here." Gakupo was silent for a moment, his eyes passing over the dance floor to rest on the clock frozen at twelve. He felt the same way. This palace, this ball, and all these guests with their strange appearances yet graceful manners seemed as if they had known all along that the two of them would appear. And behind that door, something seemed to be waiting for them. Gakupo turned to Luka once more and held out his hand to her. "Then, Miss Megurine Luka." He smiled faintly, his eyes holding the same familiar tenderness. "Would you care to dance the next dance of the night with me?" Luka looked at him, and the tension in her face finally eased. She placed her hand in his palm. "Of course, Mr. Kamui Gakupo." Hand in hand, the two walked toward the open doors. Behind them, applause rose from the guests once more, and a new melody began to play. And in the instant they stepped into the corridor, the minute hand of the enormous clock at the very top of the palace quietly moved forward by one tick. Twelve-oh-one. The midnight ball of the fairy-tale world was only just beginning.