Confusion seemed an understatement to describe how Chihiro Fujisaki felt. He remembered... Well, nothing. Not where he'd been nor how he'd got here. Nor even where 'here' was. He was in his school uniform... the usual girls style one, skirt and all.

He was in a cold and draughty concrete hallway, the only sound the buzz of the strip light bulbs. Behind him, a sealed red metal door - the handle wouldn't budge an inch. That, or he was too weak to open it... He shivered a little as both his insecurities rose to the surface and a gust of wind blew up his skirt and chilled his legs.

The other way though, seemed to trail off like it was endless, the lights not on a few strips down. It was the only way to go, though, so he really had no choice... and then he heard what sounded like footsteps approaching from the darkness.

"H-hello? Is anyone there?"

And then a pink-haired cloak-wearing figure almost crashed into him from the shadows, making him stumble back in fear.

"Whoa, whoops, sorry about that! Was running a little too fast I guess! Lemme help you up...." The figure said, scratching their head.

To Chihiro, the figure seemed to be a girl, wearing black stockings, a short skirt, and carrying a sword. He took her offered hand to be pulled back on his feet.

"Um, sorry miss, but, do you know where we are?" Chihiro asked.

"Nope! Not a clue! But let's introduce ourselves, huh? I'm Astolfo of the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne! Rider Class, and it's nice to meet you!"

"...I'm afraid I don't know what any of that means," Chihiro replied.

"Huh? You don't? Ah, well, you can just call me Astolfo. And I'm a guy like you, by the way."

Chihiro practically froze in surprise.

"W-ha.... how did you realise I was a boy?!"

"I like cute things regardless of gender, and I can tell! Oh, that's why I'm dressed like I am, I like to be cute. I normally keep it a secret to have a little fun but I figure we're both kinda the same sorta person.... Say, what's your name again, I forgot?"

"I... don't think I told you. I'm Chihiro. Chihiro Fujisaki."

"Ah, cute name! So, what's your story for dressing cute? Like being cute? Someone dared you? Deep-seated emotional trauma and insecurities rising from being bullied as a child and using it as a sort of escape mechanism? Everything else was in the wash? Like being cute?"

"...you said that last one twice," Chihiro managed to say, while suppressing the panic at the fact this stranger had accidentally more or less nailed his reasons for his attire.

"Yay, that must be why then!" 

Chihiro blinked in confusion, but decided to just let this Astoflo keep assuming that was the truth.

"Sooo... there's like nothing back there and just this door down here I guess, did you try opening it?" 

"It's stuck..." Chihiro said, expecting the stranger to just push it open with ease.

"Huh, yeah, that's pretty tightly jammed. Oh, wait, it's a push door! Oh, nope, jammed. Hang on, stand back a bit..."

Chihiro did so, and in a flurry of sparks and screeching metal, Astoflo stabbed the door, cutting a hole open with his sword.

"...Oh, I just noticed, there's a little bolt thingy up the top, guess I should have undid that first. Ah well, off we go!"

Chihiro waited as the other boy squirmed through the small gap, deciding to undo the latch to go through.

"Good thinking, I should have done that. I could have torn my clothes!"

The door led to another corridor, the pair walking in silent agreement to the end, only to find it went three ways - a door blocking the way forward, or two corridors heading left or right.

"Oh, this is the worst puzzle yet..." Astoflo sighed.

"...It's not really a puzzle, it's just three directions."

"Well, yeah, but you see, that means there's like a sixty-six percent chance the other two directions are cooler than the one we do go in, and I'll wanna turn back if it's too boring... And I'm bad at choices too. Ah, you know what, you pick!"

Chihiro was feeling a little overwhelmed at the enthusiasm this boy showed, but also felt a little pleased too.

"...The door?"

"Alrighty then! Let's see if it's jammed too... wait, latch... No, no latch..."

Chihiro pushed it open as Astoflo inspected the door.

"Whoa, it's automatic! Wait, no, that was you, I see now. Well, let's see what's there! Oh, nothing."

Indeed, there was nothing much behind the door. Just what seemed to be a gumball machine.

"Oh, little rubber balls?" Astoflo said, making the machine dispense two, green and white.

"That's strange... What even is this place?" Chihiro wondered.

"Dunno, but check these out, they're super bouncy!" 

Chihiro watched as Astoflo bounced the white ball off the ground, but yelped when it lost control and hit into him - and suddenly began expanding.

"W-what's going on?!" He cried out, as the white ball quickly cocooned him, and a latex protrusion began flowing up his neck, wrapping over his mouth. Glancing around in panic, Astoflo winced.

"Oh wow, sorry, Chihiro, I didn't expect that! Hang on, I'll cut you loose... Hopefully... Uh, sorry if I cut your ear off here, or something...."

"Mmph?!"

"Kidding, I'm good with this sword, I won't cut anything off, not even your hair... By the way, you gotta tell me how you do that style, I like mine as it is, yeah, but I wanna change it up maybe?"

"Mmph."

"Oh, right, yeah, cutting you ou-whooa!" Astoflo said, as he stood back, and his heel rolled on the green ball... which also began expanding.

"Ah, uh... yeah, made a bit of a mistake there, sorry," He said sheepishly as he too was encased in a round body-covering ball.

Chihiro merely gave a muffled groan as the pink-haired boy was also gagged, and then began trying to roll.

"Mmmph mmm mmmp mph mmm, mmmph mmm mrph mphr, mhh? Mmmph," he said, meaning 'Okay, I can't seem to roll at all, guess my feet aren't on the ground, huh? Bummer.'

...Despite their predicament, Chihiro felt oddly at ease with the way Astoflo wasn't letting a gag shut him up. Even if he had no idea what the pinkette boy was saying.

And at least the rubbery ball they were trapped in was keeping the cold air off his legs.