Introductory Author's Note: I have the tendency to go into excruciating detail and endless passion when it comes to crafting a story. I apologize if the first few chapters appear to be lengthy to a fault, and perhaps even boring in nature. Reviews would be nice, so that I know whether or not this story's worth a read. Since it's a relatively new story, I will probably update frequently and heavily edit for the first week or so of its conception. Feedback would be appreciated.

Disclaimer: The World Ends With You belongs to Square Enix.

Prologue: Over the Edge

AntiFiction

05-13-2012

(P)

A dreary overcast poured into the skyscraper-lined horizon, darkening the otherwise exuberant streets of the youth-centric Shibuya. It started to drizzle a misty haze, painting the busy scene in gradations of gray. Neon lights pierced through the fog, large billboards booming with advertisements and corporate signs glistening the upper bounds of towering structures. Flashes, sparks, and glows illuminated the miserable mood of an impending storm. Crowds of pedestrians appeared, donning colorful umbrellas as they strolled the insomniac pathways of twenty-four hour shopping districts. The indistinguishable hum of conversation buzzed in the thick air, somewhere between the natural racket of traffic and occasional twitches of aired commercials.

Suddenly, without much warning, there was a downpour that transformed the mystical brume into a pacific flashflood. Large accumulation of water led to deep puddles and flowing streams that drifted down the active roads. Most individuals didn't mind getting wet, but a good portion of them sought shelter in the comforting, warm buildings surrounding them. The shift in crowd levels was intriguing to watch from an outsider's point-of-view. Casually going about their days and meandering through their life stories, nobody truly expected what was about to unfold.

Unbeknownst to the general public, there was a suicidal man on the Miyashita Bridge, contemplating on whether or not to end his life. He stood overlooking the edge, his spidery fingers tightly gripping the handrails. He was peering through his long black hair as rainwater became waterfalls by slipped down the edges. A sadistic thought came to his mind: what if he wanted to go over the edge, too? Without giving himself time to think, he immediately perched himself up on the rails and attempted to climb to the other side. Steadying himself, he barely could balance himself on the slippery, wet handrail. Attention was drawn only when he was seen in an angelic pose, his arms held out at both sides in preparation for flight, and his striped jacket blowing in the fierce wind.

"He's going to jump!" A woman screamed. The throngs of people went from calm and passive to frantic and chaotic. As if they were too helpless to the unfolding events, a huge group formed, surrounding the man to get a good view of his impending death.

A sigh of nostalgia emitted through his nostrils, and without even a word of farewell or declaration, he began to slowly tip forward. Before his feet were off the edge, a large hand grabbed him and pulled him back with such force, he crash-landed into the pavement behind him. He yelped in excruciating pain, thinking that his spine exploded on the sidewalk from the impact. The sharp pain left and instantly, he realized he was in someone's arms. Completely prepared for death, he nearly forgot how to think. Before he could properly analyze the situation, the same woman that screamed and drew the massive crowd, then yelled, "He's okay!" A cheer erupted amongst a kinetic crowd, and not even seconds later, everybody went back to their usual business. Of course, there were a lot of cell phones that had recorded the incident, so those would be floating around the internet in no time.

"Y-you..." His unforgiving eyes sharply glared behind his oversized pair of shades. "You robbed me of my salvation..." He bore his teeth in a menacing fashion, resembling a snake willing to strike its prey. He resorted to violence. After all, he was humiliated by creating a public scene and failing at achieving his death. So he jabbed his rescuer in the chest and drove a knee into his abdomen. The gripping hands temporarily released. Assuming he had freed himself, he turned around and ran a few steps. The same large hands that saved him grabbed him by his shoulder-length black hair and dragged him back so forcefully, his knees gave out and he fell onto the cement.

"I gave you a second chance." For the first time, he looked up at who had saved him. Towering above him, it was a dread-locked giant, his massive fists clutching onto his raven hair. Both of them were locked into a glare, and getting soaked in the rain, but they didn't care. At first, he didn't want to fear his savior, but seeing that he was a very intimidating, strong individual, he suddenly became afraid. Panic wasn't his style, and rather than crippling over and crying like a little girl (what he wanted to do), he placed a bony hand at the base of where the giant's grip was, and he tried to free himself as painlessly as possible. The struggling only made the death grip much tighter.

"... Ouch..." He said pathetically. "Please let me go..." He couldn't fall to his knees because he was physically restrained, and he was rather weakened by believing he was ready to give up his life today. Resorting back to a suicidal mindframe, his stance softened, and he went limp in the giant's arms. "Okay, fine. I give in. Kill me, since you obviously want the pleasure of doing it, rather than letting the bridge take all the glory."

The large man blinked in confusion, "I don't want to kill you. If I wanted you to die, I would've pushed you off the bridge or just let you fall." He released the dark hair, which plopped down onto the striped jacket, soaked into little twisted locks from the rain. "I'm sorry. You attacked me. My instinct was to defend myself. Apologies if that's a foreign concept to you."

The skeletal man looked up and blinked, almost surprised by the amount of humanity such a beastly creature contained, "Oh, no, no..." He cleared his throat, slightly embarrassed that he was supporting his entire weight solely on the massive arms that saved him. "I was just... so ready to die. I didn't think anyone cared enough to stop me. I really don't have anything left to live for."

"Well, what do you call yourself, then?" The dreadlocked man displayed annoyance to the cold, heavy rain that relentlessly showered them. "I don't know if we've met once before, because you look extremely familiar."

"Really...?" The thin man didn't recognize him at all. To him, they were complete strangers. "I'm Megumi Kitaniji. Seeing that you've saved my life, you man call me Megumi if you'd like."

"Such an honor, Mr. Kitaniji." He said, too respectful to call him by his first name. "I suppose you may call your humble servant... Higashizawa Yodai."

"Humble servant?" Megumi chuckled, grinning to himself, "I should be the one indebted to you. You stopped my life from going over the edge, literally." He balanced himself, no longer using Higashizawa as a support. He pulled his long, wet hair over his shoulders, and stated, "Maybe your intervention in itself is something to live for, in its own way."

Higashizawa stared up at the sky, tilting his head and peering through his dreadlocks, in pondersome thought. "I suppose you could see it that way." He shifted uncomfortably, "I mean, it was nothing. WELL, not nothing, but you know... No big deal. You'd do the same if you saw some poor hopeless soul committed to suicide."

Megumi blinked; technically, he wouldn't. He hadn't really thought much outside the realm of himself, hence why he was so desperate to commit suicide when his situation took a turn for the worse. When he was miserable enough, he was determined to fix it, and if it seemed that it would be impossible to resolve in his lifetime, he would plan for the most drastic solution and carry it out as promised. Although he wouldn't help a suicidal man, thinking that he probably should have the right to end his own life, he falsely stated, "Yeah. I would do the same."

He didn't know how much those words pleased Higashizawa. "Well, I'm free for the day. You want to grab something to eat?" Megumi blinked invisibly through his ridiculous shades, so it came off as a confused stare to him. "Isn't that what people do?" Higashizawa's voice seemed to shrink.

"Yeah." Megumi nodded. "I am somewhat hungry, and... it's not like I have anywhere to go anymore. No family, no friends, no co-workers, no boss, nobody..."

"You have your humble servant, Higashizawa." He reminded, "Come on. I'll take care of you."

"I don't want to be a burden..." Megumi suddenly realized he was catching a cold from standing out in the freezing rain for such an extended period of time. He shivered and his teeth chattered lightly; a large embrace surrounded him, as Higashizawa's arms drew him close, protectively.

"Never say you're a burden." Higashizawa said, a trace of sadness hinting in his tone. "A human life is too sacred to be treated as such." He truly valued and respected who Megumi was, even though they seemed to have just recently met - and this adoration extended to practically all of humanity. Ironically, his large size seemed to symbolize that he literally had a large heart, and an overwhelming capacity to love.

Megumi tried returning the adoration. He was already leaning against the giant's frame and only coming up to his chest. His hands were naturally positioned around the large belly, which he tried hugging - he would've succeeded if his thin arms could encompass his circumference. "Thank you..." Megumi whispered, only then realizing how many people were giving them strange stares for standing in the middle of the bridge, on a rainy day, spieling gratitude and kindness. Although in some peculiar minds, it looked like a scene from a romance film. Higashizawa was probably blushing, though it was hard to tell, as he hid his face behind dreadlocks. "Ummmm..." He hummed, trying to find some excuse to slip out of the crowds without appearing to be a coward - something he was not.

"Let's get out of this rain." Megumi finally said as the perfect cue, and the two of them left Miyashita Bridge. A few people who had lingered to watch the entire conversation broke out into cheering and clapping, leaving the two men quite embarrassed as they went about their days as everyone else did.

-Author's Notes-

I probably spent two-and-a-half weeks thinking about how I'd start this story. I could never think of a really good beginning. Finally, I thought a really catching start would be this meeting on the Miyashita Bridge during a rainy day. The connection between Megumi and Higashizawa, pre-death, might explain why the two are on such good terms in the UnderGround as Reapers. Seeing as they're the first two antagonists seen in the Game, I thought it was appropriate to start the story with them. I don't really write romance - it's not my thing. As a result, there probably won't be any pairings in this story. Instead, it's meant to be much more of interconnected friendship. Please let me know whether or not this appeals to an audience, especially this early in the stages of writing it. Reviews would be incredible.