So I did something different with this. Please bear with me on it.
In this world where everything is not what it seems; people abuse what they take for granted. Nobody knows exactly when, but around the mid 1950s, people's red strings of fate were suddenly being shown to us.
People were being led to their soulmates. Now, I would have thought that was a bunch of bullshit... if I hadn't seen them for myself. Everyone's red string of fate led to one or two or three people. People could have as many soulmates as they needed... I guess. But what about mine?
Where's my soulmate? I don't have a red string of fate. People don't date others anymore. It's a passing fad. All everyone wants to do these days if follow their strings, hoping to find the one their meant to be with. But what about those of us who don't have one?
Are we just doomed to be forever lonely?
I sigh as I tack away at online orders for Allmate parts for Junk Shop Heibon. I don't have an Allmate, myself. I don't feel the need for one. I have my coil; it's good enough... but I do get lonely sometimes. Maybe an Allmate would cheer me up.
I stop my work on the computer and look at my stringless pinky. Even Koujaku has one. That man whore has a freakin' soulmate and I'm stuck being the odd one out. Then again, I'm not particularly normal. Normal people don't seduce every person they come across with their voice as easily as I do. Normal people don't have nerves in their hair that are extremely painful when touched, like I do. It's a hassle really... and annoying.
I clear my thoughts and continue to tack at the computer when I hear the old-vintage ring of the bells. I grimace. I hope to god it's not those brats.
I smile and look up, giving my introduction, "Welcome to Junk Shop Hei-" I stop. It's not the brats, but it's also not someone I'm too fond to see right now. "-Oh it's you."
The man whore has arrived.
"Why are you like that, Aoba? I've done nothing wrong," He gives me a sly grin.
"Yeah right. You're bothering me at work, Koujaku," I state with clear annoyance in my voice.
"Oh don't be bitter. I was thinking we could grab lunch. It's lunch time, right?" He smiles at me with a Koujaku chuckle. Koujaku? More like Kou-jack-the-fuck-off. Every time I see his stupid string, I'm reminded I'm doomed to eternal loneliness. But it's not his fault.
"It is lunch time, but I have to wait for Haga-san to get back," I remind him as the door bell jingles again.
The brats have returned.
Hell breaks loose and I don't leave until closing time.
"Well that was an eventful day," Koujaku laughs as we head over to Mizuki's place for dinner.
"You didn't have to stay, y'know..." I frown at him.
"You should smile more. You won't attract potential mates with that frown," Koujaku pokes my forehead. I look down.
"What mates...?" I mutter more to myself. As we close in on Mizuki's place, I look off to the side and see a thrown out Allmate. It's a dog model. It looks like a Japanese Spitz. I walk over and pick it up. I know it's just an Allmate, but it's so sad seeing it there. Maybe I can fix it up.
It's a free Allmate, at least. I mean, I may not need it but if I have one, I can definitely use one.
"Aoba."
I turn around with the Allmate in my arms.
"What?"
"Did you just pick that out of the trash?" Koujaku asks with a raised brow. My cheeks flush and I scowl.
"So what if I did? It's free and looks in good working order, I see nothing wrong with taking it home with me," I look to the side and stuff it in the bag I always carry with me. I walk up to Mizuki's door and am about to knock when I hear a crash inside.
Koujaku and I look at each other before barging in... to see Mizuki pinned a white-haired male to the floor. The other guy had on a white lab coat, white gloves, white knee-high boots, a white collared dress shirt, bluish green cargo pants, and a yellow scarf. He looks at me and brightens up.
"Master!" He flings Mizuki off of him and pounces me.
"Uwah!" Ow. "Get off! Let go!" I growl out and he sits us up.
"I must protect Master!" He says blatantly.
"Master? What the hell are you talking about?" I give him a weird look.
"My grandfather told me to protect you. I promise to protect Master!" He nods vigorous.
"O... kay...? Who's your grandfather?" I ask skeptically.
"I... can't tell you right now... But I will someday!" He nods again.
"So who the hell are YOU?" I frown, dissatisfied with his previous answer.
"OH! Forgive me, master. My name is Clear!" I think he's smiling. I can't tell. He's wearing a friggin' gas mask. Who the hell wears a gas mask like that? Weirdo.
"Okay... Clear... why are you here?" I ask, looking at Mizuki's place.
Mizuki's face was flushed. "He said he was following his red string of fate, hoping it'd lead him to his master and then he suddenly appeared here and asked if my name was Aoba. I told him 'no' and then described him to you..."
I looked at Mizuki's pinky and found his string connected with Clear's. Oh.
"Wait. Why would you describe me to him!? He could have been out to murder me or something!" I grip at Mizuki.
"C'mon, look at him. He couldn't hurt a fly," Mizuki laughed and I looked at him. He did... seem rather innocent.
Almost like a child.
After dinner at Mizuki's, I called home and told Granny I had already eaten and would pack up the leftovers for her lunch tomorrow. I was more excited about working on this Allmate I had tucked in my bag.
A night of working on the Allmate proved to be a success. I started it up, input my name and information, gave it a name, and then designed its Avatar for Rhyme. I didn't care to Rhyme, but a lot of Drive-Bys have been happening lately. Better to be safe than sorry.
"Okay, Ren. Is everything functioning properly?" I asked. I couldn't wait to hear it's cute little voice.
"All functions are within normal parameters," a deep voice emitted from the Allmate. My face went blank... a poker face, if you would. This... this was not what I was expecting.
"Aoba." The deep-voiced dog Allmate called out to me.
"Oh... Sorry. I wasn't expecting you to have a deep voice, Ren," I laugh it off.
"I apologize..." He waits a moment before speaking again. "Is this better, Aoba?" His voice was a high-pitch chipmunk sound.
I burst out laughing. "Haha! No-no! You were better with the deep voice."
"I'm happy to have amused you."
"Yeah. You're definitely an interesting thing. I like the personality mode on you," I grinned. I think I was going to like this Allmate.
~Several Months Later~
"Ren! Seismic Canon!" I call out as Ren puts his fists together, his arms transforming into a canon.
"100% loaded. Firing," He blasts the enemy with vibration waves.
"Now, Ren! Plasma Canon!" He loads his canons with plasma.
"100% loaded. Firing," He blasts a ball of plasma at the enemy. "Enemy defeated. Rhyme terminated."
"Wait!"
And we're back in reality. I sigh as I look at my unconscious opponent. "Dammit. I couldn't see."
"See what?" Ren looks up at me with his huge dog eyes.
"I only see my red string of fate in Rhyme, but I can never see who it's connected to because I get so distracted by battle... it's irritated," I sigh out.
"I'm sorry, Aoba," Ren replies. I smile and shake my head.
"Don't worry about it, Ren. If anything, at least I have you to combat the loneliness until I meet my one. Even then, I'd probably still care about you a whole lot. You're my partner in all this, Ren," I grin.
"Aoba-san!" I hear a distressed voice. A recognizable voice and honorific.
I turn around to see Koujaku and Clear running toward me. Clear looks worried. "Clear, what's wrong?"
"Mizuki-san. He's-He's... he's gone! Taken!" He looks on the verge of tears. Who can blame him? His life partner is missing. I'd probably freak out if Ren suddenly vanished... I mentally face palm. I'm equating the love of someone's life to my affection toward my Allmate. This is a new low for me.
"All of Dry Juice is gone. Been wiped out... and... there's something else, you should see..." Koujaku looks to the side, gritting his teeth. "Mink and Noiz were looking for Dry Juice members and well..."
We get to the scene and Koujaku greets Noiz with a kiss to the cheek, wrapping an arm around his waist. Their strings of fate connected. I look up and gasped.
This is terrible. I stop in my tracks as I see that every single Dry Juice mark had been painted out and replaced with Morphine's symbol. Morphine was behind this? I thought they disbanded years ago.
"Wait... you know what doesn't make sense? They left Clear. He's a member of Dry Juice," I point to the tear-shaped tattoo under Clear's right eye, the opposite side of Mizuki's tattoo.
"That's what scares me Aoba-san... Did I make someone mad?" He looks at me like a kicked puppy.
"I doubt it. There's a reason they didn't take you. Maybe it's to fuck with all of us," I frown as I pat his head in reassurance. He's my pseudo-child, I swear.
"Mink, any data?" We all look up at him as Koujaku asks him. Mink silently flicks up a card.
"I found this at Mizuki's bar," he states.
It was a definite clue. On it read: Toue, Inc.
Toue's behind this.
We regroup at my house where Granny just told me a piece of information I hadn't known. That I was not biologically made, but was still given a soul somehow. I have a power known as Scrap. Well then, things just keep getting more magical. And if that wasn't enough, Clear had something to add.
"My grandfather used to work for Toue. He manufactured robots and Allmates. There are two robots he designed to look like humans. I was the model for them. They are known as Alphas. Before my father passed away, he told me to protect a boy named Aoba Seragaki from ever coming to harm at the hands of Toue. I will protect you, Aoba-san... but..." Clear looked down and gulped. "If... If I find Mizuki-san... I'm sorry, but I..."
I smile and shake my head. "It's fine, Clear. You do what you need to, to save Mizuki. He's your partner."
"Aoba-san!" Clear looks up at me with tears in his eyes.
"AOBA SERAGAKI! YOU ARE UNDER ARREST!" Fuck. Goddamit. Now Akushima wants me, too. What the hell is going on?
Hiding underneath Junk Shop Heibon, we devise a plan to enter Platinum Jail. Since Clear knows the area surrounding the entryway, we put him in charge of getting us there.
We made it into Platinum Jail... now we're holed up in this place called "Glitter". It sounds too fruity, if you ask me. But... we didn't get in here by chance. We were 'invited'... courtesy a la Toue, I'm guessing.
"Ren, scan the area for Mizuki," I state as Clear patiently waits for me.
"Yes, Aoba," Ren complies. "Scanning... 100% complete. Mizuki not found."
Clear deflates. "Mizuki-san... where are you...?"
"We need to get to Oval Tower," Mink says from the across the room. We all look at him.
"Why?" Noiz asks.
"It should be obvious. It's where Toue is, and most likely, Morphine," Mink states with his usually town.
"Or maybe you just wanna go there because you're string of fate leads to it," Koujaku jokes, per usual. Mink doesn't react.
"Well, it sounds like a plan. What do you think, Ren?" I smile at him and go to press my forehead to his like normal. "Ren...?"
"Sorry, Aoba... It feels weird."
"What does, Ren?" Ren doesn't answer, and instead, runs off. "Ren!"
I jump from my seat and run after him.
"Ren-san!" Clear follows after and all five of the us split up, looking for him. Ren had been acting weird since that drive-by Rhyme on the way to Platinum Jail. Noiz thinks it's a worm, but I don't trust him with Ren.
Clear and I take a right, Koujaku and Noiz take a left, and Mink goes straight. We have to find Ren. To be honest... I've come to depend on him so much, I can't imagine life without him.
After about half an hour of searching the town, we find Ren in the Allmate shop and regroup there. "Ren!" I call out and go to him, picking him up in my arms. "Ren, are you okay?"
"Sorry, Aoba... I thought I found something on Mizuki's where-abouts..." Ren's voice sounded a little off. Odd.
"What was it?" I ask him.
"Nothing, I'm sorry." Clear deflates again.
"Well, next time, tell me, okay? I was really worried, Ren," I frown at him.
"Sorry, Aoba." I smile and ruffle his hair. I'm don't wanna press my forehead to his in fear of getting rejected again. I don't think my heart could handle that. Ren's never rejected me before. I wonder why he is now.
Inside Oval Tower, we find Morphine... and it's led by two people I thought I could trust. Also, Ren's disappeared again. I have to find him and make sure he's okay.
"Virus! Trip! You!" I growl out. I wanna try to use Scrap on them, but based on the history they just told me about them... I don't think Scrap would be effective. As I take a beating from the mind-controlled Dry Juice members, I hear Koujaku's growl and all of a sudden they're on the floor. I look up and see Noiz and Koujaku fighting off the Morphine-forced Dry Juice members. When I stand up, I realized Virus and Trip are gone. Sneaky bastards.
A door opens and we all look at each other, heading to it. Inside was an unconscious Mizuki, his neck tattoo inked over with black and Morphine's logo. That's terrible.
"Mizuki-san!" Clear calls out and goes to him, holding him in his arms. "Aoba-san..." He looks up at me and I nod.
"I understand, Clear. Get Mizuki to a hospital, stat!" I look at him and he nods, rushing out with Mizuki on his back.
Koujaku, Noiz, Mink, and I exit the hall where we find Ren crumpled on the floor. "Ren!" I go to him and hug him to my chest. Suddenly, we're thrust into the world of Rhyme. A drive-by?
"It's a drive-by," I hear Noiz state and I look around. I see people off to the side, but... they seem warped. They start warping more and transform into seriously corrupted versions of Allmates.
"It's a virus," Noiz 'tchs' and I sigh. I've had about enough of this. I look at my pinky and notice my string of fate isn't there anymore. Where'd it go? We're in Rhyme! But...
Wait... Was... Ren?
I frown. I need some answers. I guess the only way to do that is to Scrap my own mind, to dig into a past that I've forgotten.
"Koujaku! I need your sword. Can you put it right in front of me?" I ask and he nods. Sitting down, I look at my reflection and initiate Scrap.
I found my red string of fate again. Inside my own mind. As I wade through what looks like a darkened Rhyme field, I find Ren in his Rhyme form with most of clothes removed. He's growling and seems to have glitch over his right eye.
"Ren!" I call for him and walk toward him. He growls again. I look down and see my red string of fate. I follow it with my eyes... and see it connect to the end of Ren's pinky. "Ren...?" I take another step forward.
A series of pop ups display in front of me asking me questions about Ren. I answer them all as quickly as I can.
A final one pops up.
Does Ren love Aoba?
My heart skips a beat.
I choose:
Yes
No