Well, if you thought I was dead, you were quite dead yourself. Dead wrong. That's all.
+-SITS-+
((How…unfortunate… that acronym for this one.))
Chapter One: Yellow Tail, Blue Fire.
"Why…"
"….What the hell!"
Same streets. Same people. Same thoughts flying around.
Anger.
Misery.
Jealousy.
Hope.
Love.
Obsession.
Truth…
"You're screwing with me!"
"I assure you I'm not. Life little crossroads are often as simple as the pull of a trigger."
"…"
"Neku…"
"Hee hee…your face is priceless."
"Don't you remember what Mr. Hanekoma told you?"
"I'm just…"
"Oh! Before I forget, I've collected your entry fee…"
…
What was it that I treasured the most? My life? Shibuya? No, he could never take those without violating what was already on the line. What then, did he take from me…?
"My honeybear said "Don't get any thinner". So we both got fat. At first it was cool but…now I need a whole new wardrobe!"
Neku tore himself away from the voice that echoed unrepentantly through his head. That particular line of logic could be followed from a month prior, when the whole story with this girl and her honeybear began…but he wasn't in the mood.
No, what made him grind his teeth was the fact that he was once again in the game. What was this; a boxing match? This was his fourth round by now…
His phone chose this moment to interrupt with an ugly ring. He barely had to glance at the screen. It seemed that every time, they gave the same mission for the first round. Still he thought better of ignoring it and flipped it open.
"Reach Head Q. You have 600 minutes. Fail, forfeit, erase."
A familiar stab of pain went through him and he took a habitual glance down at his hand.
9:59:57
Well, that was new. Head Q? As in Headquarters? Where was that? The Shibuya River?
But then, he should be the only player who would know about that…unless he was again the only player in the game…
Neku shook his head. No. That was a game played on him by Shades. This was Joshua's show now, and while he would not put it past him…he had been forced to admit that, even snotty, Joshua played fair…as long as his opponent didn't leave himself open that is.
No. First; Hachiko, there had to be someone there…there always was. Better go now before the noise notice he's partner-less.
As if they could read him mind, a band of Orchefrogs balefully turned to regard him and then, strangely, turned away. They looked kinda full…which did nothing to lighten the boy's spirits as he ran past them. Best to get far enough away to deter them from giving chase if they changed their minds about being hungry...he just needed to head straight down this road.
OW!
Neku ran headfirst into a wall, and literally bounced off it, landing hard on his behind and letting loose some hard grains of asphalt that rubbed his elbows nearly raw. Wall…here?! Neku reviewed his memory of the scramble. No, there had been no red-hoodie donned reaper there…so he could not go to Hachiko today? Then where would he…
No, he had to focus. Where did he have to go? Head Q. Where in Shibuya was a Head Q?
Neku cast his eyes about in the sky, and then, finding no answer there, took a glance down at his hands. They told him nothing. Well scratch that. One of them did have something to say:
9:56:35
Suddenly, he got an idea. Shibu Q-Heads. It was about as close to a large open space like 104 that he could think of, and it was close enough for him to take a chance. After all, they gave him ten hours to fool around with.
He knew better than that though. They would not give him that much time unless he needed it. He'd go to Shibu Q-Heads, because that was his only lead. But he had a feeling that was not the answer…and even if it was…he still needed a partner.
Neku closed his eyes and focuses on his pin, expanding his range again for "mind-reading" those around him. It had become such a habit by now that for a few seconds he didn't know why he was doing it. Then it struck him.
Players could not be read, and since he did not see any "O-Pins" flying around on the crowd as of yet, he could probably tell Reaper…or, more importantly, Player, from RG person in the crowd using this technique.
He was not discouraged when he didn't hear any blank spots in the speech though. He just walked to the other end of the scramble, where he would take Center Street and…
He stopped when he saw a red hoodie.
"…"
Well. We he going to tell him the terms to open the gate or not?
"…"
"…You're not going to open this gate for me, are you?"
"…"
Rrgh...forget it. I can take the long way then.
It would have been very easy to just take Center Street Entrance and go to AMX, and from there, the Tipsy Toes before he's reach Shibu Q Heads. As it was, with this reaper blocking the way, he had to go through the department stores to Cadoi City first, and then through Molco and Spain Hill before reaching Tipsy. It was an annoyance, but again…he didn't have a choice.
Maybe he could make a pit-stop and check up on Mr. H too, that detour would only take him 40 minutes at a leisurely pace.
Putting up the volume on his headphones, it struck him that he had not charged his Wireless MP3 in almost a month…nor his phone.
But of course, they still worked here in the UG. He half smiled at the thought of what the designers of his MP3 would think about its battery lasting this long as he walked, and, thankfully, there was nothing to stop him from going to the department stores.
In fact, nothing stopped Neku as he walked past Cadoi city into Molco either, habitually scanning the crowds with his eyes and his pin for a partner as he went. He had to sneak by a few noise, but besides that, he met no real trouble until he got to Spain Hill.
"Grr! I like dogs…BUT THIS IS REDICULOUS!"
A singular shout rang out across the general sea of noise from chit chatter that was Spain Hill's regular crowds. A shout not heard by one of those people. The kind of shout Neku wanted to find. He paused and took off one of his phones speakers from his ear to hear more clearly, looking around for the source.
"Down doggie! NO! Don't follow me up here! Err…since when do dogs climb up on tables?! Gah no, that's my SHOE damnit!"
…There. A girl of around ten or so was dangling from the guardrail or the second floor's pathway, the part that was about six feet above a eating table for Definitivo Dogs. Her mail carrier was swinging around like a mad pendulum while one hand held on tight to the guard rail's bottom. The other one had an atlas in it, and that atlas was being used to smack a noise's snout repeatedly as it ravaged at the girl's left shoe. Neku recognized it as one of the wolf noise, the weak ones.
Blonde haired, blue eyed, the typical story-book dumb daydreamer type, the oblivious one. Inwardly, Neku cringed at the comparison.
…Isn't there anybody…else…that he could partner with?
That thought died before it even got a chance to be half born. The kid needed help, and Neku could do it. He ran over to grab the girl from the guardrail, smacking the noise on the snout in passing. He couldn't do much else until he had a pact anyway.
"Eh? Wait, you can see me? So that…"
Neku didn't waste time on words as he ran; only four of them escaped his mouth as he turned around and set her down in one movement.
"Made a pact yet?"
"Hee, if I did, my partner would have been a real disgrace huh? Nope."
"Good."
One freaky light show later, those wolves weren't looking so sure of themselves. To Neku's surprise, the girl fished out a laptop and flipped it open, and kept it that way.
"…Let me guess. You use that to fight noise with."
"Unfortunately."
Before he could say more, they both were forcibly shifted into the noise zone. Neku reviewed what pins he had on, though he was not worried at all. These guys were nothing compared to Shades after all. A few wolves and a crab; nothing special. Neku shot off four boomerangs straight at the wolves, catching their legs and tossing them up in the air to be erased by a few penetrating bullets he shot their way. The crab skittered up to him, but he jumped sideways and prepared to let loose his discharge pin, but before it completely prepared, the crab disappeared in a burst of static. His partner… must be. Well, at least she could do something…
Although he'd have to ask her later how the heck she fought with a laptop in her hand, he did have to sync up with her style after all…maybe after this round, because, lucky him, there were two sets of noise. He buckled himself down for the second reduction…
…
"Garage Wolves, discharge and other immobilizing or long lasting hit phycs work best against these fast moving curs…Carcinofolk, lunge type and shockwave type phycs work best to stun or knock back these scuttling crabs."
"So, your laptop gives you info on the noise?"
Looking up, the girl fixed Neku with a blank look, as if she didn't really know who he was. It only lasted for a split second though. Then it turned into a small smile, and she snapped the computer shut.
"Sort of…err…I'm sorry but I don't think you ever told me your name…"
Folding his arms, Neku looked down at the kid who was his partner. Something about the way she spoke was off…like an adult.
"Neku. Neku Sakuraba."
"Is Neku your first or last name? I can never tell in this country…"
"First…wait…you don't live in Shibuya?"
"I see. No…I'm from Birmingham…England. I was visiting a friend…and well…I'm called Cat, short for Catherine…but I think there is an artist named CAT here, so if you're a fan just call me Weis."
"I see…got another name besides that?"
Especially when Weiss reminds me of some kind of nasty tasting fish?
"…Abigail?"
"That's fine. Now I'm going to have to ask…partners work best if they know each other, I mean their fighting style, to sync up better, defeat noise faster. I've always used all kinds of pins, but most people I meet can't use a lot of them so they use something else…"
"I know. This told me that."
Again she held up the computer before slipping it into her mail carrier. She then closed her eyes and recited.
"Psychs, or the abilities unleashed by the pins provided to players at the beginning of the Reaper's Game, are only usable by an individual with sufficient Imagination. The power of such gives the form of the attacks the pin will unleash, so each pin will be different in the hands of a different player. The failure of a player to use a pin is mainly due to the failure of them being able to mass sufficient will and imagination to supply it…"
She held up the basic Pins Neku had received himself so long ago, but she only had three.
"Out of all the pins I got, these are the only ones that worked, and they only work when they want too…only Psychokenesis works consistently. Force Rounds and Shockwave feel like they might work if I had more power behind me."
"Sooo…You use your laptop as a club or something?"
Eyes widening, the girl took a step back.
"Whoo, oh no no no no no no nononono….bleh, gah…err, sorry! That would be terrible….no…It's kinda like a game. There is a code that appears on my screen, like a word that's all mixed up…and I have to uncode it and type it in time. Usually if I get it right I can use one of the pins like Force Rounds for a set time…at least, that's what those last two battles have told me…I don't really know all of what I can do…but maybe we can teach each other!"
"Maybe. I doubt there is much you could teach me though. This is not my first time playing."
"Wh…wait…what? You've died before?"
Hmm. She's complicated. Using pins and kenesis at once. She doesn't talk like a normal ten year old either…must be smarter than she looks.
"Not exactly. It's a long story…and we need to finish the mission."
That reminded him, and he took a look at the time.
9:03:24
"We seem to have plenty of time to get wherever it is…Shibuya is not big enough for it to take 9 hours to cross from beginning to end on foot. I know at least that much…and we could talk while we walk too...I mean...err…well…you said yourself we should be able to know each other better…err…not if you don't want to or anything or if you don't think you need it I mean knowing how I fight will help you in battle if that's what you wanted but I don't really know why or what or err…"
"Whoa, stop the train, I want to get off. Calm down. The reason why I wanted to know how you fight was because of this."
Neku held up a blank pin, the one Mr. H had given him weeks ago. He expected her to give him a blank look, but instead, her eyes widened.
"A harmonizer pin…"
"…What? How did you…that's what it's called?"
"Hmm? Well…It, err…it only makes sense…I mean, err…well…you-you wanted to know how I fought so you could recognize the flow of my imagination right? I mean, you said you wanted to sync up better…and that's a blank pin, as you said the reason you wanted to know, so I just have to put one and one together and…err…well, like I said, my laptop lets me look into a lot of information about noise and the game…"
Neku tossed his pin up in the air and let it fall back into his hand.
"…and what does your computer tell you about my pin?"
Looking uncomfortable, "Abigail" looked at the floor, watching the vague reflections of her and Neku on it. She spoke to those, not really daring to meet his eyes. Again, she begun to recite from memory.
"Harmonizer Pins measure the stability and synchronization of a person's soul with another's. Namely, only a person with an exceptional will and imagination can use one, and the stability of their soul directly influences how well they can co-operate and sync with their partner. The greater the stability, the greater yield the pin can give through syncing. It works doubly well when both players have stable souls though. If more than two co-operate, it becomes even more devastating. If four players are in full sync and activate its power together, with stable souls…well the result would be unimaginable…but even if four souls of varying stability were fully synced, or if one of those souls, the instigator, was in full sync with the other three, the result of that pin would still be nigh unstoppable…"
Neku's head suddenly gave him a flash of when he fought Shades…the second time. He had felt something inside him he never had felt before. Like he was a part of his partners. It wasn't that Shiki or Beat, or Josh was in sync with each other, but he felt like he understood each of them, that he was in sync with them.
In other words, that he was the "instigator". He remembered the incredible power the pin in his hand had unleashed at that time and mentally shrunk from it.
It could become more. More than that, that is the kind of power you have in your hand here.
The girl looked at him side-along, watching him watch the pin.
"It is a scary thing, huh?"
He looked at her. She was weird, over nervous maybe, but she was not dumb. A walking encyclopedia maybe, but…hey, at least she was small enough that he could ignore if she got boring.
9:01:06
"Well I wasted that hour...do you have any idea where the "Head-Q is?"
Her question made him remember where he was. Yeah, finding his partner was only half of today's battle. The other half was figuring out the mission itself.
"I have a feeling that it's referring to Shibu Q-Heads, but that's only a guess. The mission format is different from the last three times I've played."
"Soo..wait, this is your forth time? Oooh…err, excuse me for saying it but it that norma-"
"No. You usually only play once. I just would much rather not explain the reason for that at the moment. Shibu Q-Heads is past Tipsy Toes, we go that way."
Neku pointed behind him, and, put off, the girl nodded. Still, she was curious, but…you don't look a gift horse in the mouth. She did realize a problem though, and was quick to point it out.
"Problem. There is something blocking that way."
Neku spun and looked around. She couldn't be serious…he didn't see a red hoodie anywhere…he walked as if in a daze and met the solid barrier he had hoped was not there. Crud.
"This is the only way to Shibu-Q…"
"The ONLY way?"
The girl had followed him. Well he expected nothing less. She was a foreigner, more or less lost here. That, and she was a dead little girl whom could only talk to one guy in the entire area and expect a response. Of course she was going to follow him.
"Well, we could get there by going back along the roads to the scramble crossing and then center street, but that way was the way I tried first…and it was blocked too."
"That does not answer my question. I asked you if this was the only way, I meant if we can't try some other option."
Neku screwed up his face a little. What the hell had he just said…there was another way they could try but it was blocked, couldn't she hear? He turned around to repeat again what he had first said but then he saw her face.
Tiny, blue eyed, determined, and a bit whimsical. The kind of look that belonged on someone his own age or older.
"That's what I just said…"
She shook her head and quirked an eyebrow. She pointed back to the Definitivo Dogs.
"What was I doing when you found me?"
"Hanging by the guardrail."
"Now, imagine the stairway to that second floor is this blocked passageway. It has two stairs right? Let's say one end is Scramble and one end is here, and the second floor is Shibu-Q. What way is climbing the guardrail?"
He suddenly got it, and shook his head at his own stupidity. She wasn't asking him if this was the only way left that was specified. She was asking if this was the only way. When she had tried to climb the guardrail, she was taking the old saying of finding a locked door and going through the window…
…and she was asking him if he knew how to do it here. It struck him as odd how he never tried to bend the rules in any of his games like that. When he found a wall, he just was encouraged to find another way, not access how good the block on that way was…
…except for this time with Beat, but that was more along the lines of "HULK SMASH" than "Lets climb through the window." he gave it some hard thought. He wasn't sure.
"If anything, there is an alley-way at Cadoi city that leads behind the Shibu Department Store complexes. It takes jumping a few gates but…you could get to the center street if you jump through a few home gardens and walk the back streets. I think I remember a kid being chased by a few dogs and climbing a stone wall to end up behind a Laundromat on center street. We could follow that example…assuming that there are no more gates, which I don't think there would be, as it would kinda be pointless…we could then run through the parking lot of the Laundromat, enter the back entrance, kite through the place and exit its front into center street and then continue to AMX, then Tipsy Toes. That what you're asking?"
She gave him a small smile.
"That's exactly what I'm asking. Ha, and here I thought the Shibuya natives were docile and rule abiding. Heh. Welcome to the United States Slums way of doing things, Jersey and Brooklyn style!"
Neku looked down at the runt of his partner.
"I thought you said you were from England?"
She gave him another half-smile and paired it with an over-done, thick and stereotypical accent of the Brits. She even began stroking an imaginary beard.
"Jolly well am chap, but that doesn't mean I was born there! Bollucks, you think the boy's never heard of a bolly plane! Jump to it now, we've got paces to make!"
Spinning on the spot, the girl zipped away with a speed surprising for such short legs. She called back as she rapidly disappeared.
"No idea what lies ahead, so best not waste time finding out! Race you there! By the way, check your head! Catch me if you can!"
Neku had no idea what she was talking about, and had just about resolved himself to doing the same thing he had when Beat had suggested racing when he realized that his ears felt weird under his headphones. He reached up to adjust the stereos and then realized…
…his hands where only touching air.
Catch me if you can!
No…
By the way, check your head!
…way…
Why that little!
Before Neku could even thing, before those around him even had a chance to breathe, Neku was off at a speed that would have made even Beat hustle hard. Hell those Headphones were his best pair. He'd had them for years and they had never blown, matched his style perfectly, and had taken him through so much…he was not going to let some runt out race him after pilfering.
Of course, this was exactly what Abigail wanted reaction wise out of him, but Neku wasn't thinking about that right now. Only one thing was in his mind. His 'phones. He raised his voice above the crowd, calling out to the one person who could hear him with the power of a knell.
"WHAT THE HELL! GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE!"
+-SITS-+
For reference, at this point and time, you could place the teams "stats" and "equipment" if you were to think about them, as follows:
Pins:
Shiro
Kanesada
Self Found, Others lost.
Playmate Beam
Peteropus
Neku:
HP: 5720+ 626
BRV: 291
ATK: 80
DEF: 58
Pi-face's cap
Tokgenkyo
Lavender Lotus (Ask him no questions, he will tell you no lies.)
Liberty Duke
"Cat"
HP: - -
BRV: 250
ATK: 10
DEF: 08
Oh dear, here I go again. Oh well.