I'm back with a 4th Chapter! Before reading, let me first say that I am sorry for the long wait. I know it's been a long while since I updated, about a month ago I'd say. But thank you to those who are holding on to this story. Please enjoy this chapter. It's Thanksgiving weekend in Canada right now, so Happy Thanksgiving to all readers in Canada.
Reviews and criticisms are welcome!
Also for those wondering, I changed the 104 building to the 109, because that's what it's actually called in the real Shibuya.
Disclamer: I don't own Persona or The World Ends With You, they belong to Atlus and Square Enix respectively
Path to 109
Neku and Joshua, along with S.E.E.S., made haste with their passage over to the 109 building. Their time was running very short as of the moment, with less than two minutes left on the clock.
1:54
1:53
1:52
"Dammit, gotta pick up the pace!" Neku thought to himself. They couldn't let themselves drop their stamina, or else they would not make it to the building in time. Granted, they would make it to the building in about a minute, but better safe than sorry.
About a minute later, they all had arrived at the 109 building, and the timers on their hands dissolved in black and red smoke, leaving any fear of being erased behind for now. The S.E.E.S. group nodded together at each other, feeling now was the best time to gain answers from the orange-haired stranger.
Joshua caught their expressions, and he was the first to speak out. "Now that we are out of the worry of being erased, I suppose it's time for some answers to be revealed"
The red-headed heiress was the first one from the group to speak, "We appreciate you're help from earlier, Sakuraba. But now we feel is the time that you started giving us some answers. Who are you actually? Why bother to help us when we never knew you? And explain to us this Reapers Game that we happen to be in right now."
Neku turned to face Mitsuru, the one he thought wouldn't be the first to lose their composure. "Geez lady, at least give me some time explain things. To answer two of your questions, I helped you because we have a mutual friend in Minato Arisato." The group had NOT expected to hear the name of their late leader, even less expected by some stranger whom they just met. "You know, Arisato-sempai?" Ken asked Neku, in a totally stupefied manner. "Yeah, we were friends since we were kids. We were practically brothers. To be quite honest, he was the first friend I ever made." Neku sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.
"Then I suppose you've heard of the car incident twelve years ago?" The redhead asked the orangehead.
"...gotta say, that put me in a bit of a shock. I thought he was dead at the time. I got a letter from the PIPD stating so. I didn't know until recently that he had survived the crash... the guy could've sent me a letter or something, but I guess he had some other stuff to deal with."
"May I ask you who relayed to you that information, Sakuraba-kun?" The blonde android was the next one to speak out. She had a feeling she knows the answer.
"Ummm, it was a guy named Igor and his assistant Margaret. They're both pretty messed up in the head if you ask me. But you got to admit, out of all the crazy crap that they say, it's all true." Neku remarked.
"I see," Aigis responded, her suspicions confirmed, "Igor we all have definitely met, but I do not know of a woman named Margaret."
The silver-haired boxer was next to speak up. "Now can you explain to us what this 'Reaper's Game' is all about? Plus why are there Shadows here as well?"
Neku faced the boxer, pondering on what the best suitable answer might be. "...I think Joshua is the best person to talk to with that type of question," he said.
"Like Neku said before we arrived here, the Reaper's Game is an event in which people who have died in the RealGround, that would be the world of the living, have to win in order to gain a second chance at life. The player pins that you have right now and the timer that was recently on your hand signifies that you are players," explained Joshua, pointing towards the group. They all took a look at their bands, more specifically the skull pin that is attached to it. "To add, you would also have to pay an entry fee. But the Reapers don't mean pay with actual cash, but something that you would hold dear to you. For example, your memories, or your best friend. Even your physical feature."
Now that he mentions it, I don't ever remember how we even died, let alone even coming to Shibuya, Yukari thought to herself. She would relay this thought to her teammates later.
"You say that the RealGround is where the living reside in. I'm guessing that the people around us are in the RealGround, but where are we? Why is it that no one can see us?" Fuuka asked them.
"We're in the UnderGround, or UG in short. It's where the Reaper's Game takes place. Sure we're in Shibuya, but the RealGround, or RG, and the UG are different planes of reality." Joshua explained.
"So that's the puerile reason why no one is able to see us..." Mitsuru pondered. "How do we win the Game?" she then asked.
"In order to win, you have to complete a set of challenges that 'The Reapers' give to you. Usually a person and their partner would be given a week to complete the Game, but Neku here was a special case." He directed his right hand towards Neku.
"I had to participate in the Game three times. My first entry fee was my memories from before I entered the game, then the second was someone dear to me, a friend of mine named Shiki Misaki. The third entry fee was everyone else, which left me voided of a partner. Until another friend of mine, Beat, came and helped me. After that last week, I won, got back to the RealGround, and retrieved my memories," he briefly paused there to collect his thoughts a little, as he didn't want to reveal that it was his partner that had him enter the Game in the first place. "Unfortunately, I don't know why I ended up back here."
"So basically, we just gotta keep finishing up whatever missions these 'Reapers' give us, and then we're home free huh? Doesn't seem too bad," Junpei said in his traditional upbeat timbre.
"Yeah, but that still leaves the Shadows. If they're here, we need to find out where they're coming from before any real trouble happens," Yukari added.
"So we all have set our goals here?" Mitsuru asked the group
"WOOF-WOOF," Koromaru barked in a sign of agreement. "You got it," the brunette agreed. "Hmm, another journey means another chance to kick some Shadow ass. How could I even think about passing this chance up," the senior boxer stated, smirking in delight while he was at it. "No way am I letting my friends be in danger," the teal-haired girl agreed. "Mmhm, I must become stronger too," Ken said. "I will not allow my friends to be killed or likewise, I will continue this journey as well!" Aigis said with newfound determination. "ALRIGHT! S.E.E.S. IS BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER!" Junpei cheered at the thought of bringing back S.E.E.S.
Neku could only stare at the group. They were willing to go through with the hell that's been presented to them, and they looked like they were going to overcome the challenges set before them. He then chuckled. "You got some very determined friends, dude. Don't worry, I'll watch out for them," Neku spoke to the sky.
Then the spiky haired teen did a double take towards Joshua, who started walking away from the group. "You're not coming with us Joshua?" Neku asked his partner. "Nah, I got some things to take care of," Joshua replied back. "You know you're gonna leave me partner-less, right?" retorted Neku, in an expression of slight anger and disbelief towards his partner. At that point, Joshua threw something small towards Neku. Like the speed of a cat, Neku caught whatever it was his partner threw at him. As he opened his palm, he saw that he was holding a player pin. But it wasn't any normal player pin, as this one had a different colour scheme. Instead of a white skull and a black outer layer, it was now black and red respectively.
"The O-pin..." Neku said as he stared at the pin. "This isn't something that you would just give to me, why then?" "You're gonna need all the help you're gonna get. I've tweaked the pin a little to better fit your situation. Not only can you battle monsters on your own, but you can now pact and un-pact with any partner that you so desire. But remember this, you can only have one partner at any given time. Once you go for a new partner, the pact between you and your previous partner will be broken, in place of your new pact." Joshua finished explaining. Neku stared at his new pin for a few more good seconds.
"Alright, I guess I need something to go for, thanks man." Neku placed the pin in one of his pockets. "I trust that you will take care of our guests?" Joshua asked the blue-clad teen. "You can count on it." Neku responded back. "Good, I guess I'll be off then." As Joshua started walking away, he grew out two bright white wings. Everyone but Neku had a surprised look on their faces as he flew away towards the distance.
"This place just gets weirder and weider," the baseball-capped boy said. All the S.E.E.S. members nodded at that.
"Oh yeah, before we head out, I never really got your names. Igor only told me that Minato-san and a group of his very close friends kept back a monster that could've destroyed us all. He wasn't really specific on names," Neku asked the group.
Mitsuru and the others faced each other once again, deciding whether or not to reveal their identities to the stranger. "Well, he did reveal his and his ex-partner's name, and he knows about Minato and what he did. I guess it's only fair," the boxer suggested. They all nodded and turned back towards Neku.
Junpei was the first one to walk towards Neku, "Well then, I'll start off. My name's Junpei Iori, and any friend of Minato is a friend of mine for sure," Junpei introduced himself as he brought his right hand towards Neku for a handshake. Neku stared at the offered hand for awhile, and then took his hand into his and shook it. Both of them smiling at their new bonding.
Yukari stepped up next to introduce herself. "One thing you should note about Junpei though," she said as she brought her arm up the baseball-capped boy's right shoulder and leaned her elbow on it, "he's one hell of a slacker and a joker," Yukari joked. "Hey, I still resent that!" Junpei retorted as he brushed the brunette's arm off. "In any case, I'm Yukari Takeba, pleasure to meet you." In the same manner, she held out her hand and Neku shook it.
Fuuka came up to the spiky haired teen afterwards. "Greetings, my name is Fuuka Yamagishi. It's nice to meet someone who was friends with Minato-kun before us. I look forward to working with you," she greeted in a professional manner. She bowed towards the spiky-haired boy, and Neku could only rub the back of his head in a bit of embarrassment. He has never really been bowed down to.
Akihiko and Ken both walked up to Neku. Akihiko brought up his right hand and balled it up into a fist, "Hey there, the name's Akihiko Sanada, looking forward to kick some ass with ya." Neku fist-bumped him, smiling as well.
"My name's Ken, Ken Amada. A pleasure meeting you Sakuraba-sempai," Ken greeted the elder teen. "Don't mind him, he always regards us by our last names. Ken's a lot more mature than a good amount of us here," Akihiko remarked, ruffling Ken's hair while he was at it. Ken was practically cringing while his hair was being messed up. "Sanada-san, please don't mess with my hair. I'm not a little kid anymore," Ken said to the boxer.
The android and the Shiba-Inu were the next ones to introduce themselves to Neku. "Greetings, my name is Aigis. As you can see, I'm an android built to resemble a human. However, I can assure you I am very much human," the android said as the other teen observed her. Neku was, to say the least, intrigued by the android in a number of aspects: her ability to speak fluently like a normal human person, her social etiquette, and her mannerisms are equal to that of a normal human. Then again, Neku has a penchant for seeing weird things, so this didn't surprise him too much. "Aside from that, it is a great honour to meet you, Sakuraba-san." She outstretched her hand, and Neku shook it.
"RUFF!" Koromaru barked. Aigis crouched down to rub the dog's fur. "And this here is Koromaru, but we just call him Koro-chan. He is a Persona-user like us. He says 'Hello, it's such a great honour to meet you,'" Aigis said. Neku was slightly more surprised about Koromaru than he was with Aigis, bit just slightly. As Neku crouched down to the Shiba-Inu's level, Koromaru practically jumped towards Neku so fast that the teen almost lost his footing. He then licked Neku's face in happiness. "Hehehahaha. Hey quit it!" Neku laughed as he was bombarded with a mixture of dog tongue and saliva.
As Neku put the dog back on the ground, the last person to introduce herself walked up towards him. "I see you're making fast friends right now. My name is Mitsuru Kirijo, and I am temporarily leading this group as of this moment. Pleasure to meet you, Sakuraba." As soon as the red-haired heiress said her name, Neku was quickly put into thought. Kirijo? Where have I heard that name before? he thought to himself. Telling himself to ponder on it later, he said to the heiress, "likewise."
After all the introductions were done, Mitsuru continued speaking. "As this is our first time experiencing this, "Reaper's Game," we have no bearings of this place at all. Since you have been in this Reaper's Game before, we ask you that you should become our field leader, as you have the most experience in this situation, and the fact that we would most likely stay together throughout the course of this game." The rest of the S.E.E.S. group nodded in agreement that they should elect Neku as leader. Neku thought about this for a little. It seemed like the best idea to go for, as his new comrades are totally new to the atmosphere of the Reaper's Game. Even if they can hold themselves very well in a fight against Shadows or Noise, they would be totally screwed if the next mission comes out and they don't know what to do. Plus, they seem to have the same goal as him: to find out why they were in this mess from the start. After a few more seconds of thinking, Neku concluded his decision. "Alright, I'll be field leader." The group felt a sense of relief when Neku made his decision.
"Glad to have you onboard," Yukari said in happiness.
"Heh, this certainly feels like a sense of deja vu," Akihiko remarked, as this certain scene had played out in the past before.
CRASH, Neku could hear the sound of something reminiscent of a sheet of glass shattering. Then a voice appeared../
I am thou, and thou art I
Time started to freeze, Neku's vision started to grow dark and he got a minor headache. What the hell? he thought.
Thou hast forged a new bond
It brings thee closer to the truth
Thou shalt be granted maximum blessings when creating Personae of the Fool Arcana
As soon as the voice finished speaking, everything started to get brighter and time began to run its course again. "What's wrong Sakuraba-kun?" Aigis asked him. The group only just noticed Neku's right hand brought up to his forehead. "Uhh, it's nothing. Just a small headache," Neku reassured them. Still, what was that thing. Hmmm, it must have been the other Personae that Igor and Margaret talked about.
The moments passed by as S.E.E.S. welcomed Neku into their group. They were starting to get tired. "YAAWWWWNNN, I'm so beat up after today! I feel like the floor is a good place to lie down here," Junpei said as he fell down the floor in a splat-like manner. "Mnn, you're right, I'm feeling quite tired myself," Fuuka said, rubbing her eyes. Neku looked at the rest of them. Junpei was lying down on the ground spread-eagled, Yukari's trying her best to keep awake but her eyes keep fluttering, Fuuka was self explanatory, Ken could barely stand on his own two feet at this point, and Koromaru was whimpering. Aigis was an android so she couldn't feel fatigue, Akihiko was a boxer so he has superb stamina, and Mitsuru only started to have bags starting to form under her eyes but nothing else majour on her end.
"Hmm, we can use my place to crash. It's not far, it's just by the Dogenzaka area, only a few minutes' walk from here. Think you guys are able to make that distance?" Neku suggested. Everyone nodded. "Alright then, let's go." They all started to head towards the direction of Neku's place.
109 building, rooftop
A figure in a black cloak watched over Neku's interactions with the group. The cloak was very reminiscent of the cloaks of Organization XIII, with the chains and all. The figure in question was holding a book about the size of a dictionary by her side. This book had elegant designs on its cover, and seemed to be generating some sort of ethereal energy. Just then, Joshua had flown above the figure and landed about a few feet away from the figure.
The wavy-haired boy's wings dissipated as his feet touched the surface. "So, is everything coming to your like? Ms. Conductor?" Joshua asked the cloaked figure, now known to be as a woman.
"I sense great power coming from the headphone boy. I can see why you recommended him, Mr. Composer," the cloaked being's feminine voice rang out like some sort of swan song. Joshua was starting to grow intrigue for this lady.
"You know, you still haven't told me your grand scheme of things. What will you plan to do with the Players?" the Composer asked the woman.
"That secret shall remain with me for the time being," The woman responded. "Really now? The other Game Officers aren't gonna like the way you're directing things. With you and your constant secrecy." Joshua told her in a snarky sort of way.
"Worry not, for all shall be revealed in due. You'll have a part to play in this too Composer," As she said that, she started to take off the hood of her cloak. Her face was of a slight pale complexion, and she sported pale yellow hair that reached down to her neck. The most striking feature are her yellow eyes.
"Ok then Ms. Conductor. Or should I say, Elizabeth."
FINALLY I AM FINISHED WITH THIS CHAPTER. To start off, let me say that I am truly sorry for these one-month gaps. Sometimes I don't find the time to write, and when I do, I'm busy doing other stuff than writing this story. Not to worry though, as I will see this through to the end, as I have said before. So thanks for holding on, and I will see you next time.
Thank you readers, and Happy Thanksgiving!
