This story seems a little cliche, but... eh. It's fanfiction. Good writing practice, I guess, but it's really all kind of a rough draft. I'll always be going back and changing things.

Disclaimer: I don't own The World Ends With You.

Chapter 2: Junichi

I stare at the phone in my hand, desperately trying to understand the words on the screen.

"Erase the lies that torment a maiden's heart. You have 120 minutes. Fail, and face erasure." – The Reapers.

Okay, time to figure this out. Well, uh, let's see… "erase" usually refers to Noise, right? But what's this about a "maiden"…? A maiden…

I look up from my phone to take a look at the girl next to me, who is intently studying her own phone screen. Haruka. She bites her lip, too deep in thought to notice.

She's… nice, I guess. Pretty smart, and not exactly bad-looking… but the thing I don't understand about her is that she claims to know me from some elaborate past. Maybe she's a long-lost childhood friend from years ago?

…No, she couldn't be. I would've remembered someone like her. Someone who isn't afraid to just point out the truth, instead of always… well…

"Jun—" Suddenly, she looks up at me, so I instinctively turn away. "Ah, sorry, I meant Junichi…" she whispers.

That, too. She keeps calling me "Jun" for some reason. Must be the name of that best friend she loves so much. The only thing that bugs me is that it's the same as… er…

Never mind. Gotta think about the mission. "It's okay. What is it?" I ask, putting on a smile.

She puts her phone away with one swift movement. "I can't seem to get any clues from this message. Let's try scanning."

I nod in acknowledgment. "All right." We both take out our Player Pins, focusing hard…

What am I gonna eat for dinner/What couldn't I have said anything better/It'll be okay the weather's looking good tomorrow/My grades are going down what's my mom going to say/This song sucks it could really use a better beat/I think I might try this job/Still an hour left until—

Aah, scanning is just so… messy. It's hard enough to register my own thoughts, let alone understand the tons of thoughts of everyone else out here. Carefully, I reevaluate those past few, searching for a clue…

"That girl," says Haruka, tapping me on the shoulder. "There's something differ+ent about her thoughts…" She points at a bespectacled girl who carries a stuffed animal of some sort. Wait, I know her—!

"It's Shiki," I say aloud. "She was in my class back at school."

Haruka looks at me cautiously. "I thought you lost your memories."

I shake my head. "No, my memory's fine."

She bites her lip again. "Oh. I guess that's just me, then." For a moment she seems to waver, but she quickly recovers and nods to herself. "Anyway, focus in on… Shiki."

Okay, doing that. Shiki… Shiki…

"…what did he mean by no way he doesn't think I'm good enough or maybe he's just being rude but—"

O-overwhelming. It feels strange to be reading her personal thoughts, like I'm reading her diary or something. But what Haruka said was true—there does seem to be something different about her mind. There's a vague buzzing sound… it hurts my head a little to focus in on it.

"Do you hear that?" I ask Haruka, and she nods. The noise gets a little louder.

Haruka tugs at my jacket sleeve. "Let's follow them," she says, referring to Shiki and her two friends.

"Good idea," I answer, quickening my pace. The three start to disappear from sight, so Haruka and I give chase. We run for about half a block, until—

"Wah!"

We hit a wall.