'God, I love Shibuya so much...'

With long slick black hair, a tall lanky body, dark shades and a slimming black snake-skin suit, Megumi Kitaniji stood out in a crowd, even in ones as diverse as those in Shibuya. Besides being unnaturally tall, he also always wore a large set of headphones around his neck. Nowadays, most people used ipods and such to listen to music, but not Megumi. There was nothing in the world he would give up his beloved headphones for. Well...except for one thing...

Pulling out his cellphone, he smiled widely at the picture he was using as the wallpaper; it was of a young woman and a small child. The woman looked to be around her early twenties and she had a look of pure joy in her eyes as she held her baby in her arms. Megumi chuckled to himself and thought, 'Heh heh...Shiyuki-chan looks as good as ever! And little Hiroki is getting cuter every day!'

Sighing, he closed his cellphone and slid it back into his pocket. No matter how much he loved Shibuya, Megumi still regretted getting a job so far away from his family. Especially since Hiroki was still just a baby and Shiyuki had only recently finished college. 'I want to be with them, but...who would take care of dear, dear Shibuya if I wasn't around?' Megumi thought; this was his way to convince himself he made the right choices.

Megumi was 26 and Shiyuki was 20; they had their first, and currently only, child while Shiyuki was in her third year of college. Although he had felt disgusted with himself for ruining a young woman's life like this, Megumi was still very dedicated to Shiyuki and their child. Now, he had to make ends meet and obtain enough money to finally buy a house to raise their child in.

As he made his way to Shibuya Station, Megumi took out his cellphone and stared at the picture of his wife and child once more. 'Hmm...' Megumi thought he noticed something suddenly flash on the screen, but he shrugged and ignored it.

That was when he happened to look up...

...and saw a young pink-haired girl, around 15 years old, lying in the middle of the street...

...and a car was speeding right for her...

'NO! NO! NO!'

Megumi didn't even bother thinking; his body started to move on its own. He ran through the crowd and leaped into the street, in some desperate attempt to save the young girl...

He stretched out his arm and barely grabbed onto her hand when...

...the car drove right over both of their bodies.

Wake up...

Wake up...

The game is starting...

Wake up...

Wake up...

The game is starting...

Open your eyes...

Megumi Kitaniji...

Megumi Kitaniji sat up and felt his insides turn cold. It looked like Shibuya...it sounded like Shibuya...it felt like Shibuya...but it wasn't. Pushing himself up off the ground, Megumi found himself being completely unnoticed by the hoardes of people passing by. When he reached out to touch one of them...his hands went right through.

"AAAHHHHHHH!!"

Falling backwards, Megumi screamed, "WHAT...WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"

Suddenly, he felt something land on top of his head. It was a small black pin with a strange design printed on it. 'What is this thing? A pin...?' Megumi thought while subconsciously squeezing it in his hand. At that moment, something strange began to happen...

'I can't believe summer's almost over!'

'Stop touching my boobs, Haruka!'

'W00t! MGS4! Tin Pin! SSBB! Okami! Street Fighter VI!'

'It burns...it burns...'

'Dammit! Konishi, stop messing with daddy's tie!'

'I hate picking up my little brother from preschool...'

Megumi covered his ears in some attempt to block out the voices, but it was no use. The moment he let go off the pin, however, the voices finally left and Megumi's mind was back at peace...somewhat. 'Oh god,' he thought, 'I think...I think I just heard the inner voices of peoples' minds...what the hell is happening...?'

He tried talking to the passerby a few times, and still he couldn't get a reaction from anyone. Then...a small, yet powerful voice whispered...

'We have collected your entry fee. Please be prepared to recieve your first mission as soon as you join up with a suitable Partner...'

Megumi felt a burst of pain rush through his body for only a split second, but it was more than enough to cause him to nearly puke out all the sushi he had for lunch earlier that day. Pulling out his cellphone and opening it, Megumi saw that the wallpaper he had set up was just a blank white background. Shrugging, he thought, 'Hmm...I really should have put a picture or something in there...it would have looked better...'

"Oww..."

Megumi spun around and let out a gasp; the pink-haired girl was now standing before him, rubbing her head while wincing in pain. Looking up, she let out a shriek and cried, "OMIGOD! IT'S A WEIRD CREEPY OLD PEDOPHILE! WHY MUST THEY ALWAYS FOLLOW ME?"

Megumi leaned in close and, doing his best to control his anger, hissed, "Why...are you saying such things?"

The pink-haired girl shrugged and replied, "I dunno...you just kind reminded me of Micheal Jackson, so I thought-"

Megumi held his hand up to cut her off and asked, "...Tell me...do you have a pin like this in your possession?" Megumi held up the black pin, and the pink-haired girl did the same. 'Great! Now I'm even MORE confused!' Megumi thought sullenly.

Suddenly, strange red symbols began to form within midair. Various creatures started to pour out of these symbols, all of them resembling real-life animals with various body parts replacing with tattoo signs. One of the creatures, a large bear with tattoo arms, stepped forward and sliced at Megumi's face.

Luckily, just before he was hit, Megumi was pulled out of the way by the pink-haired girl, who shouted, "I'M JUST AS CONFUSED ABOUT ALL OF THIS AS YOU, BUT DON'T ALLOW YOURSELF TO BECOME DISTRACTED! WE NEED TO TEAM UP AND BEAT THESE GUYS!"

"HOW DO YOU PROPOSE WE DO THAT?" Megumi snapped back.

"JUST...JUST TRUST ME!" The girl exclaimed as she grabbed Megumi's hand. At that moment, a burst of light erupted from underneath them and eradicated all of the monsters in one blow. "W-W-WHAT THE HELL? SERIOUSLY! WHAT THE HELL?"

'A pact has been formed between Players. The Noise cannot attack you now unless you will it...'

Megumi and the pink-haired girl turned to each other, both of them wondering if the other had just heard that strange voice. Sighing, Megumi asked, "It looks like we're stuck together now, for whatever it is that's going on...what's your name, anyway?"

The pink-haired girl smirked. "My name is Yukari Ushiro, 15 years old!" she replied, "Nice to meet you, mister...?"

Megumi shook her hand and gave the same smirk as he said, "...Just call me Mr. Kitaniji. I tried to save you, and now we're stuck in some game, I think. By the way...why were you lying sprawled out in the middle of the street, anyway?"

Yukari's eyes fell and she started to shake all over. Megumi let go off her head and regretted asking such a sensitive question.

"It...isn't it obvious? I was trying to kill myself...stupid..." Yukari mumbled under her breath as the tears started to leak out. Pretending not to notice, Megumi glanced down at the ground, and something odd caught his attention...

A small pin was lying on the ground. Instead, this pin had the symbol of a snake carved into it...

Many years later...

"You're still at the healthy age of 26...even after so long..."

"Yes..."

"You actually chose to forget about your loved ones and become a Reaper after learning the truth behind the Reaper Game..."

"Indeed...I did..."

"You forced Yukari to return to the RG, even though she claimed to have fallen in love with you? You told her to meet a nice boy and get married, right? I was almost cracking up during that part..."

"..."

"You did so many terrible things, all at my request...just because you love Shibuya so damn much. It's almost...hilarious, to be frank."

"Please, sir...don't laugh at me..."

"Very well, Megumi. How about we play...a Game?"

"A game, sir?"

"Yes, a game. A game...to decide Shibuya's fate..."