Disclaimer: Still don't own any TWEWY characters, nor Shibuya.
This thing will be split into… probably four "subchapters."
Fecking LONG .
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Chapter Three: Day One, Ground Zero---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Game, again… The only good thing is that I don't have to worry too much. Just two weeks of hell. Lucky me, though. I'm an expert now.
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His cell phone vibrated. He pulled it open to see the text that signaled the mission.
"Defeat the Guardian of 104. You have… 120 minutes. Fail, and face Uzuki. –Koki Kariya."
A sharp pain signaled the timer's appearance on his hand.
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Lollipop as Game Master? I guess it was inevitable. I erased two GMs myself, not to mention the Conductor. Joshua must have promoted him. Joshua… What are you planning?
Neku took a second glance at the mail.
Face Uzuki? He's still lazy. And aren't these supposed to be from "The Reapers?" Either he's got stones or he's too lazy to type "The Reapers…" Wait, no. He's just lazy. This is Kariya here.
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Neku noticed as he ran towards Hachiko that the pair he saw earlier had already partnered. He also noticed another pair from the quintet of tourists.
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I don't understand how they know the Game, but I guess it has to suck in some way to come to Shibuya for some photos and shopping, only to get… I have to find Eri. I dragged her into this. I got her in this mess, and I'll get her out.
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Blue light flashed everywhere around Hachiko as people hastily made pacts. The three hundred souls were quickly cut to about two hundred as Harriers and Noise descended like locusts upon the un-bonded Players.
Neku didn't see Eri anywhere, only noticing the sudden burst of light in his own eyes signaling a pact.
??? : "Thank you…"
Neku wheeled around to face the voice. It was a girl. She wore entirely black, with only gold trim cutting the shadowy figure. He noticed that her eyes were two colors together, and that she wore headphones almost identical to his own, except she had hers over her ears, like he used to. Behind the headphones, her black hair gathered into a strange shape similar to a buzz saw. Her suit appeared to be the Dragon Lady of Dragon Couture's "Chi" line, but it certainly wasn't the bright red he remembered. She had CD players attached to her hips.
Neku: "Who are you?"
??? : "My name is Tsubame… Tsubame Shinju. You're… Neku?"
Neku: "Sakuraba. Why'd you pact with me?"
Tsubame: "A wolf… came at me… That guy never talked about these creatures."
Neku: "Garage Wolves…"
He remembered them. He also remembered simple frogs giving him trouble his first day.
Tsubame: "What are they? And why can't I hear my music?"
Neku: "They're called Noise. They harass and erase unpartnered Players… Can I see your headphones for a minute?"
Tsubame: "…If you can fix them."
Neku pulled the black and gold phones to his ear, instantly hearing some form of custom guitar solo. It was then that he knew the cause.
Neku: "Do you… love music?"
Tsubame: "Music is my life. People are garbage. They don't understand anything."
Neku recognized that belligerent attitude. He had it himself, only a year back.
Neku: "Another thing that he forgot to mention… To enter this Game, you lose your most valuable thing. The most important part of you, or whatever you care about the most, is taken as a fee to enter. You have to win to have it returned. I think yours is music…"
Tsubame: "What? That's… …"
Neku's new partner dropped into silence.
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