THE WORLD I ONCE KNEW
Week 1: Day 1
[a NOISE unlike sound]
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"The rogue Noise was first seen at Udagawa Back Streets, by a Red on Wall Duty that was there to guard the Patchy R & R that Players were meant to defeat for that days mission. The noise in question, a Melodi Corehog, apparently appeared there without prior summoning by a Reaper, smashed through the wall set up, and rampaged down the streets before being erased by Officer Kakeru Takeshi, after being attacked by the Noise himself. Casualties included a pair of players and one Support Reaper."
The Conducter, Zio Lee, had called all the bigshot Reapers to a meeting in the exclusive Dead God's Pad. This was Shiro's first time in the room, and hopefully not his last. He wasn't even meant to be down here, being the newbie he is, but Ike insisted he be let in.
Shiro Shinda was a Reaper who was new to the trade and had joined them only 2 weeks earlier. His time as a Player was short, after only four days his partner was erased, and an option to join the Reapers was the only thing he had left. He didn't mind though. Shiro found the other side of the game fascinating. He knew his sister missed him, but he decided she would be fine and opted out of the battle for a second chance.
"Yes Conducter, that is correct" said Kakeru Takeshi, sitting just across from Zio. "The Red mentioned noted that the Noise gave off a slightly different vibe than usual, and its what led him to believe the Noise was a rogue. However he did note that it was definently not a case of Taboo Noise. It was unsummoned, yet somehow got into the UG."
"Better here than the RealGround" said the girl sitting next to Shiro. "At least we can deal with it". Alice Lithunia was an averaged sized 19 year old girl, with blond hair adorned with a little red bow. Her necklace stood out, a christian cross. The story of why a Christian joined the Reapers was a popular one, yet the true reason behind it was still unknown. She had been recently promoted to Officer herself, and used to be one of the toughest Harriers across all 4 of Japan's Reapers Game's.
"Well.. anyway. I was hoping to have this matter wrapped up before this weeks game started,, but we're running out of time, its already 9:30. The new players for the week will be here in half an hour. Meeting dismissed"
And with that line from Zio, the 10 reapers in the room headed towards the door, except-
"Ike, Shiro, Alice. Come here"
"Oh boy, this is gonna be about the thing with the SUV we had that bird do last Friday" muttered Ike. Ike Futomara seemed to be the average Reaper, and didn't stand out too much amongst the team. However he was known as a fierce and cruel fighter when he needed to be. Stories said he once killed every Player in a round of the Reapers Game in order to get some powerful pin. However Shiro had learnt that Ike was a laidback and lazy guy, and when he didn't want to do something, he didn't. Probably the reason why he's still only a Harrier after being a Reaper for almost 2 years, but Officer duties didn't seem to fit him anyway.
"Conductor sir, I know we're not allowed to erase Players before Day 7 but technically the bird did i-"
"Thats not what I want to talk to you about" interrupted Zio.
"Oh, cool then. Whats up"
Zio cleared his throat. Shiro always though him to be a demanding power hungry sort of guy, but when it came down to it he always got shit sorted out when there was a problem. Ike hated his guts from the moment he met him.
"I want the three of you to look further into this matter"
Shiro was slightly surprised. "Why us, Conducter sir?"
"This will be good training for you, Shiro. Plus it will keep Ike busy"
"And me, sir?" said Alice. Shiro could tell she didn't seem to have a clue what was going on.
"This will be your first overseeing as an Officer. Keep notes in your head and have a report ready to give when you've figured it out."
"Yes, Conductor sir"
"I want the three of you to head to Cadoi City and talk to the Red who was at Udagawa when it happened. He's to tell you every detail he knows. Figure out where this rogue Noise came from."
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"Maaaan, why do we have to do this crap?"
"Oh get over it Ike, you would of just spent the day making the new Players make a fool of themselves anyway"
"Aw c'mon Alice, its fun, really. Don'tcha remember back when you were a Harrier and you got to screw with Players too?"
"That was.. I grew up, okay? Sure it might of been a little fun at the time but you have to get over it and do your job."
The trio were heading across the Scramble Crossing, the center of Shibuya. Overheads loomed the 'Shibuya 104', a large tower filled with nothing but shops. Shibuya was one of the fasion capitals of Japan, and its placement in the large Tokyo cemented its status as a must-see location. However under all the talk and fun, Shibuya was also one of Japan's 4 locations for the legendary 'Reaper's Game'.
The Reapers Game was a second chance at life. People who die in the real world, known as the 'RealGround' or RG, came to this world, the 'UnderGround' or UG. There they had to survive an entire week, fulfilling one mission a day while fighting monsters known as 'Noise'. If you survived the week, you got to return to the RG and continue your life. If you were killed here, or 'Erased' as its called, you were officially dead. No replays, no restarts.
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"Yo, Red Hood." called Ike. Shiro looked up to see they had arrived at Cadoi.
"You guys need something? Let me guess, its about the Noise from Day 6 last week". The Red Hooded Reaper gave nothing away about his own personality, just like the various others around Shibuya. He'd be one of them too, if it wasn't for Ike taking an interest in him during the time he played the game. However Shiro could notice strands of orange hair peeking out of under the hood. Guess it gave him a little bit of himself.
Alice was the one to respond. "Pretty much, yeah. We're wondering if you can tell or show us everything you know about it."
"Alright then, follow me" said the Orange haired Red. He lifted his hood a little so the three could see his face, letting them know which one they needed to be with. "The names Kariya. Koki Kariya."
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"Udagawa huh, why here of all places" Shiro wondered out loud. Kariya had brought them back to the original location of the event.
"Well, Udagawa is a dead end in the UG, right?" said Ike. "That means it must have entered Shibuya here, otherwise Kariya would of seen it come past earlier."
"Huh.. impressive, Ike. Didn't know you could use your brain like that" remarked Alice. She was examining the Graffiti that covered the wall. A mural by 'CAT', a street artist that hanged around Shibuya. He had a few murals around the district, but this was by far his most famous.
"Well excuuuse me, Officer, maybe next time I'll just sit back and enjoy some Ramen."
"Still" Shiro started "Why would it turn up here? Theres gotta be some reason a Noise can somehow enter the UG of its own accord. The location has to have something to do with it."
Alice seemed to ponder for a moment, before saying "Have you guys ever heard the story of the Realm Anchor?"
"I haven't, no" replied Shiro
"Well.. Ike can tell you about it while I finish up looking at this"
"No can do mam, I haven't got a clue what you're talking about" replied a voice from the roof of the nearby Cyco Records.
Alice sighed, then began. "Well, i'll tell you then. Listen up Ike, you need to know this! ("Whatever sis"). Well, you know that the various grounds overlap each other, right? The RG on the bottom, then the UG, then the Higher Plane. Well, the item that holds these simultaneous existances together here is called the Realm Anchor. Its apparently a statue in the very bottom Ground that holds each realm in place, so they can't seperate or drift."
The story was interesting, but Shiro noticed a problem with it. "Wait, if the statue is in the bottom Ground, they wouldn't it be here?" he asked.
"Well.. no. They say there is one more realm, that exists below the UG. It is the 'NoiseGround', the original home of the Noise."
Ike, hopping down from his perch, said "Now THIS one I know man. Though its all myth, don't believe it at all. I don't really believe any of these old Reaper stories"
"Says the legendary guy who slaughtered over 80 players to get a Pin" said Alice.
"...Thats personal. Its not just 'some pin'."
Shiro was intrigued by the new revelation. "You mean.. that story is true?"
Ike seemed to think about something for a second, and then pulled out a small pin and handed it to Shiro. The pin had the pattern of the Noise Fox on it, though unlike the summoning pin, the fox was colored, and the background was black.
"My partner.. from the game I was in. She was.. killed by a Noise, an ambush set up by some Reaper, and tied her soul to that. He taunted me saying that he'd give me the pin if I erased every other played in the game. So.. I did it. Killed him too for good measure. I joined the Reapers so I could use it but.."
"..you can't get it to work huh?" finished Shiro.
"I can summon any other Noise fine but, this one, I dunno, it just won't work for me."
The group stood in silence for a while.
"Well.." Alice started, "I'll tell you more about the NoiseGround a bit later, yeah? Right now I could go for some food. Mexican Dog sound good to you guys?"
Ike pretended to choke. "Really girl, how do you like that stuff? Ramen mannn, Ramen."
"I'm fine with that.. as long as Ike pays for it" Shiro replied.
Alice smiled and nodded in agreement. "What an excellent idea Shiro, I think I could go for some free Ramen as well."
"W-Wha.. you.. oh whatever then, let's go"
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The three of them sat atop 104, eating their ramen and looking out over the Scramble. The few remaining players were just finishing up, disappearing into a blue light to await the next day.
"It feels like such a long time ago when I was the helpless girl running to 104."
"It kinda was, Alice. Its been about 4 years now, right?"
Shiro's memories were much more vivid of his battle for survival, but he decided to listen to Alice's and Ike's old tales of their battles and hardships before jumping ship to this side of the game.
"I'm gonna head off and write up some reports on what we covered today then. Ciao"
And with that, Alice span on the spot and disappeared.
"I need to get myself one of those teleport pins.."
"Ike, I doubt anyone would give you one considering how much more of a mess you can make if you can warp at will"
"Hah, yeah probably"
The two sat in silence for a while, staring at the parts of the large Tokyo beyond Shibuya.
"Well we made minimal progress today, didn't we?" asked Ike
"Yeah, I guess so" answered Shiro.
Ike finished his Ramen and stood up. "We're gonna solve this thing!"
"Wait, since when do you care?"
"I'm gonna show up that Zio prick and prove that I can get shit done. The guy thinks all I do is muck around"
"But that IS all you do"
"He doesn't need to know that"
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The Back Streets of Udagawa were as silent as ever, a dead end location that was rarely visited by Human or Player. Except tonight, there was one man, looking over the large mural that decorated the wall. This was the man's first visit to Shibuya, but he wasn't here for sightseeing or shopping.
The man had only one goal in mind.
"I'll get you for what you did to my grandfather all those years ago..."
"..Yoshiya Kiryu."
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-a NOISE unlike sound-
::Day End::