Final Game
Day 1: A New Beginning
"Watch out!" "What?" "Look Out!" "Noooooooo!"
"Hmph!" "What?" "Not you that kid down there. He looks like he's sleeping. It's pathetic" "He's probably a new Player" "Can I Erase him? It'll be the first one!" "No hurtin the Players on Day 1." "Fine. Be like that." "Rules, man. Rules…"
He opened his eyes, groggily. Hmm? Where am I? He stood up, surveying the crowd. He looked up at the skyscrapers. Suddenly a shadow danced along the windows. His head darted from side to side. Must have been my eyes playing tricks on me. He began walking in the direction everyone else was going. "OWW!" He sat on the concrete floor, looking at an orange hair boy, dressed in purple. The boy looked at him curiously. The boy stood up and smiled. "Hey, are you a new Player?" the boy asked. "Umm… Yes?" I'll just fake it all, assuming this isn't a trick. "You can tell me the truth," the boy said. He sighed. "I have no idea," "So you know nothing about the Reapers, Players and all the other junk?" "Well…yeah," he replied sadly. "What about your entry fee? The thing that you prized the most?" the boy said. "Doesn't ring a bell." "What about your name?" "Nope." "Check your pockets or something." He felt his pockets and found a hard and smooth item.
He jerked his hand out with the object. "OUCH!" He look in his hand. He had found a yo-yo! "What was that?" the boy asked. "A yo-yo," he replied proudly. His hand went over the smooth surface. He felt something etched into it. He brought it to his eye. "E-T-H-A-N. Ethan? Ethan! That's my name!" he shouted.
"Congrats," the boy said. "Now, you need a partner to survive. So make a pact with me," the boy said sternly. Well, I barely know anything and he seems sure of things. "I accept then," Flashes of light came, blinding him on the spot. He blinked his eyes rapidly and looked at the boy. "Hey, what's your name?" Ethan asked. "Oh yeah! I'm Neku. Neku Sakuraba," "Neku... Oh, yeah! Something about the entry fee you said. I think mine had to with my memory," "Oh…" Neku said quietly. "Mine was my memory also but I've been in a couple of other Games… They weren't always the same." Neku said. Neku reached in his pocket and took out a scrap of paper. "What's that?" Ethan asked, curious to see what it was. " Hmm? Oh it's a photo," Neku stared at it intently, slowly smiling. He pocketed his photo.
"So let's get you up to speed on the history of the Games," "Ummm, games? Like video games?" Neku snorted, "Video games... This is like a virtual reality game. You only have one life but when you die, the game is over. No more playing." "What!?!?!" " Yup, basically the world ends for you," Ethan looked around him carefully. People roaming the streets. Kids laughing at each other. Cell phones everywhere. This place had the buzz of the city.
"So, Joshy-boy what are we planning for little Neku and his wannabe?"
"Do not all me that vile name. My name is Joshua." Joshua lounged in the comfortable sofa, deeply annoyed by the new Conductor. He enjoyed Kitanijji more. The fun lasted more with him like the time he pressured him to remake Shibuya.
He was disgusted with the pad because of her 'new' decorations. Skulls and pink bows were found almost everywhere. She claims that Lapin Angelique is the in thing right now. He thought it was just an excuse to 'mingle' with the Players. Her Game Master was more reliable. If he continued to behave, surely he would be promoted to Conductor.
"Hey, Kariyu. Go get Uzuki to meet up with Neku and ol' Ethan." "Sure but Ethan? I thought he was in the RG?" "Nah, he's better off in home territory." Kariyu sighed' "Uzuki won't be happy with Ethan but glad to kick Neku's ass..." Kariyu let without a word. A few moments later, Joshua could hear screaming but quickly calmed down. He smirked and looked at the TV screen for a moment. Ethan and Neku seemed to be talking in the middle of the Scramble Crossing. He would give them time to catch up before sending them to the next Day. He had a couple of other things to take care of.
"Shevik and Bolts, go and attend to the little 'present' for tommorow. "At once, master. Do we get to talk to the Players?" "No, Bolts. Even though you enjoy interacting with others, concentrate on the task at hand then you can do it." Joshua smiled to himself once again. He had high hopes for the pop goth girl conductor. Hopefully she had inherited her father's intentions, his beautiful dream of remaking Shibuya into a paradise. Her father, Kitanijji. This will be a fantastic week for him, indeed.
"So we're playing a game?"
"Yup and that's game with a capital G."
"And you're telling me that I died and got sent here instead of hell or heaven?"
"Correct, this is the UG which stands for Underground. RG is where people who are alive and that's called Realground."
"I'm dead and if I win this game...?"
"You get brought back to life as long as you play by their rules." Neku rolled his eyes while he said this and let out a sigh.
"What's wrong?"
"You see I kind of broke the rules or something like that and they had to keep me in the Game for three times. I have experience with this."
"That's why I trust you and because I have no one else to trust." Ethan looked away from Neku. Ethan looked at the skyscrapers, searching for a sign.
"It's really weird, Neku. How did I die? I have so many answers to look for. Why am I here? Why was I picked?"
"Hmmm... I'll give you one answer. You were brought here to be given another shot at life. I died to get someone else a shot at life again. What the heck? I;ve been through this 3 times. What's wrong with a 4th? As long as I can make a difference in this Game, that's good enough for me." Neku looked at Ethan and smiled. "Let's go and brought back to life." Ethan smiled confidently and hesitated for a second.