Chapter 3

Soreni stood behind the school gates leading to the Scramble Crossing. If she took a step forward, would she be able to come back? And if she could, what would Kanade and the rest of them think of her? These thoughts crossed her mind as she debated over this single move.

"Hiya!" Frightened by the sudden voice, Soreni jumped. She looked behind her and saw a smiling Hinata waving and walking to her.

"Oh, it's just you Hinata. Don't sneak up on me like that!" Soreni shouted. Hinata playfully chuckled at her.

"What are you doing here, Soreni? Shouldn't you be in the high school with everyone else?"

"I should, but…" She looked back at the Scramble Crossing. Dozens of people passed by the school, not even giving it a second thought. Soreni saw why they named it the Scramble Crossing; people of all ages were scrambling their way through the crosswalks to get to their home or maybe the famed 104 building where hundreds of girls and a few boys shopped. Hinata sighed to himself, ruffling the point of his hair with his right hand.

"I understand you're curious, but it's much safer in the school. Even Joshua and Neku warned us about it. If we exit here at the wrong time, we'll get sucked into the Game!"

"It's more than that, Hinata," she said, lost in thought. "Somehow, I get this…this warm feeling in my chest." Her left hand laid above where her heart should be. "Whenever I look at this city, I feel this way…" She lifted her foot slightly, and took a deep breath.

"Whoa - hey, hey, hey!" He grabbed her wrist and held her back.

"Don't try to stop me," she said sharply. "This is something I feel that I've got to do."

"Who said anything about stopping you?" He pulled her close and gave her a calm look. "I'm coming along with you." Soreni's eyes widened.

"Really?"

"Someone's got to look after you, so…" Suddenly, she hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, Hinata!" He was speechless. "To be honest, I was a little afraid to go at this alone…" Taking advantage of the situation, Hinata decided to say something cool to win her favor.

"Just don't fall for me, alright?" Soreni had already let go and ran into the Scramble Crossing.

"Who would do that!" she shouted. "C'mon, before I leave you behind!"

An hour and a half passed by before Soreni and Hinata realized that they were lost. They had gone through a few alleys, passed a records store, stopped by a Mexican Hot Dog restaurant, and then went through a couple stores to where they were now, a bridge overlooking people shopping below. Hinata found it strange that they could order food and eat at the restaurant, but he was even more surprised that the employee serving them was also named Hideki. "And here I thought that Hideki wasn't a popular name…" he said sadly.

"I think you should be glad," Soreni commented. "At least your name's normal. Have you ever heard of one person named Soreni?"

"Being unique is better. Anyway…" He covered his eyes from the sunlight and searched the area. "Do you have any idea of where we are?"

"Now that you mention it…" Soreni did the same, holding the same confused look.

"This isn't good. We could get involved into the Game at anytime, so I wanted to stay close to the high school." Soreni stood mystified by the scenery. Her eyes held a sense of pleasure despite their situation.

"We're in…Miyashita Park," Soreni said, as if in a trance.

"What? How do you even know?" She continued looking around the city, unaware of Hinata's question. "Hey, Soreni!" He grabbed her shoulders and shook her back and forth. "Soreni!"

"Huh!" she shouted, startled at the sudden movement. What?"

"How do you know this is Miyashita Park?" Hinata asked her, crossing his arms.

"Huh? How do I know…?" she asked, disorientated.

"Yes! Are you alright!" She slowly nodded.

"I don't know. I just…know, is all." She looked around and revealed even more of the unfamiliar city. "Over there is Cat Street…and over there is the Miyashita Park Underpass, among other things."

"Are you sure?" he asked, unconvinced. Soreni nodded again.

"It just comes to me." "Well, then can you find our way back?" Soreni shrugged, and tried to peer out into Shibuya.

Suddenly, she felt a shadow from behind. Her first instinct was to turn around, but something inside her said otherwise.

"I thought I heard some shouting here," the man from behind said. "And here I find two players just begging to be erased!" Without hesitation, Hinata grabbed Soreni and pulled her back, then took out his gun with his free hand. A man in a red hoodie looked at him inquisitively. But Hinata gave him his answer before he knew it. A bullet zoomed its way toward the Reaper, but he dodged it as if he did the matrix.

Almost immediately after, the man is erected upright, and then gently falls to the ground. Confused, Hinata looked onward and saw another man staring at them. He was a tall, fairly skinny man dressed in black and white. With his tinted black glasses, Hinata thought he looked pretty cool. But now was not the time for that.

"Who are you?" he asked the man, steadying his gun straight at him.

"That Reaper saw you. But you couldn't be Players, since they've already sent them away…" the man in black and white mumbled to himself. Soreni quickly clutched Hinata's hand, urging him to run. Hinata himself wanted to run away ASAP, but something in his gut told him to wait.

"Who are you?"

"I understand your fear, but I'm not a Reaper. My name's Sanae Hanekoma. I'm what you call…a guardian. And you two are in the Reaper's Game. But it seems like-

"We know that already," Hinata said, cutting him off.

"Hmm, what's that? You already know about the Game? Then, why are you still…?"

"Hinata…" Soreni whispered. "There are more of them…" Her voice sounded frightened. Quickly, he scanned the buildings for any signs of Reapers. But he couldn't seem to find any visible in the area.

"I don't see any, though," he answered.

"Let's go to my café," Hanekoma suggested. "You'll be safer that way." The two looked at him hesitantly. In reply, Hanekoma gave a smooth smile, and the two reluctantly followed him.

However, Hanekoma stopped at the bottom of the stairs. He was fiddling with his pocket, looking for something. Hinata politely waited for him, but Soreni couldn't wait. Her anxiety was ushering her along. Without a second thought, she continued past the park and onto the sidewalk of Cat Street. Hanekoma stopped as he realized that she had moved on. A break in what seemed to be broken glass was evident in the air.

"She could…" Hanekoma mumbled.

"What was that?"Hinata asked.

"It's nothing," he replied with a smile. "Let's go. My café's only a bit farther."

"I understand what you're saying," the pink-haired Uzuki said.

"Then you'll understand why we need to get out there now!" the newly-established Reaper, Beat, shouted.

"BUT, you're just a newbie. Going out without a partner is dan-ger-ous. Especially with those Taboo noise out now." She bit her thumb nail with her small teeth. "Now, as much as I'd like to see you get mauled by one, Kitaniji would probably not let me. So there goes my fun…" She walked to the shadows of the rooftop, where Kariya was resting. "Oi." She bent down and poked at his face. "You owe me a ramen bowl, remember? How long do you expect me to wait?"

"Hahaha," Kariya laughed. "You seem to be full of energy as always." He closed his eyes and continued. "How's Shiro doing?" Uzuki pouted.

"He's at the corner of the rooftop, looking down at Shibuya," she replied. "Gotta say. He's been in the dumps ever since Kitaniji told him about coming back to life."

"He's probably just eager to get back to his family and friends, like anybody else. Don't worry about him so much."

"Gah. I wasn't worried about him!" she claimed. "It's you that asked about him!"

"Hahaha…" Kariya laughed. "Fair enough. So when does Kitaniji plan to make him a Reaper?"

"Don't know, don't care. Just shut up and get some rest so I could get my ramen bowl sooner!"

"What am I doing?" Shiro asked himself. "I'm dead, aren't I?" He looked at his hand. Then his eyes averted to the ground, where many people were walking around at the Scramble Crossing. The sunset was at the right point where the city looked like it was dyed in red. Shiro covered half of his face with the hand, and continued staring. "I can see everything so clearly. I can feel it so clearly. Heck, I can even taste everything so clearly! But, I'm sure I died."

Suddenly, a spring breeze flew by, sending Shiro's hair flying.

"I can come back, right? Then I just have to get back!"

"What for, dude?"

Shiro turned around and looked at his new acquaintance curiously. It was Beat, with his skateboard in hand.

"What do you mean 'What for'?" Shiro asked. "Shouldn't anybody want to come back to life if they had the chance?"

"Well, yeah. But you seem to especially want to go back. What's there back for you?" Shiro didn't reply. He joined Shiro at the edge of the rooftop. With one foot on the ledge, they both looked out at the sky. "Well, it's not any of my business if you don't wanna tell me." Another breeze passed by. "Hey, this might be sudden, but can you do me a favor?" Shiro peered at Beat from his peripherals.

"Shoot," he replied, putting his hand in his jacket pocket.

"Team up with me, and help me erase as many Players as we can find," he said to Shiro. He took a better look at Beat.

"You serious?" Beat nodded his head several times.

"Dead serious. No one wants to team up with a newbie like me. And you want to come back to life too, right?" It was Shiro's time to nod his head. "Then you won't be losing anything! C'mon, dude! Let's do it!" He held out his hand to shake. Shiro glanced at the hand oddly, as if he didn't know what to do with it. Then he grabbed it firmly and let a smile slip out.

"I'm Shiro."

"Call me Beat!" They let go and stared back at the ground. "Hey, I have an idea! Let's go to this café I know to celebrate!"

"A café? You sure?" Shiro asked, hesitant.

"Yeah, you'll love it! The owner there is the coolest guy you'll ever meet! And the coffee is amazing!"Shiro scratched the back of his head.

"…Alright," he finally said. "I could go for some coffee."

"Then let's go!" In an instant, Beat jumped down the rooftop. About halfway down, he put his skateboard beneath his feet. Then, in a matter of seconds, he landed onto the ground, the wheels screeching on the sidewalk. Shiro shook his head as he looked at Beat turn left and right to "avoid" the crowd.

"I have a feeling I've gotten into something bad…" Shiro said to himself. He shook his head, but eventually plucked his courage. "Here's my first step into the Afterlife…" His right foot forward, he closed his eyes, and felt the rush enter his mind.