Foreword from Rita- Yay! More abuse was needed for the DS~! XD
I kinda feel like I messed this one up a bit….But, well…nothing much I can or wanna do… -.-;
Review if you can, please and thank you~!
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This time, it wasn't the crosswalk, or the West bus exit for where Rhyme woke up at. She felt like as it she was in the air- until she realized it was her arm dangling off of a tall building. She looked down, peaking over the edge of the building she was on, which was Towa records. Nervously looking down, she had a slight panic attack.
"Oh, OH!!! Why did it have to be here?!" She said, worried. Beat heard her screams, and woke up.
"Okay, you Reapers! Who the hell dares to mess with Rhyme?!" He shouted, waking up like he did yesterday. She just looked at him as if she just saw something bad. Beat then looked at his surroundings, and realized where he where he was standing at.
"BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!"
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Somewhere in Lapin Angelique, Neku could have sworn he heard someone screaming, and it was a voice he remembered, but where did It come from?
"Hey, Shiki? Do you hear something?" He asked, but Shiki was happily talking to the store clerk, who called herself "Princess K." He just looked at the two teenage girls talking, then looked back at the selection of clothes, and groaned at them.
"…Never Mind…"
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"EXACTLY." Rhyme replied, with wide eyes, to Beat's screaming. She had to wonder how they got up there. He was pointing at the ground underneath the building. He tried to speak, but the words ran into each other. But then, a deafening screech interrupted his rambling. The two looked behind them, and there was a large group of Noise. Beat prepared his skateboard, but just as Rhyme was getting up, her back to the monsters, one of them went past Beat, and knocked her off the building.
"RHYMEEE!" Beat shouted after her, as she descended. She screamed, but she felt something heavy grab her, and she fell faster to the ground. She started to cry a little, and was trembling. She felt like she had stopped falling now, but she could feel something carrying her now, and her arms wrapped around someone's neck. She opened her eyes, and there was Beat, who was working desperately to get them to escape. It was a few blocks before the Noise stopped bothering them, but she still was frightened at the experience.
Rhyme looked at her surroundings. They were in the Shibuya Main Store area, she noticed, and the first moment their phones buzzed off for what seemed like the day, the two partners opened their phones in unison.
"Defeat the master of A-East.
You have 360 minutes.
Fail, and face erasure.
The Reapers."
"The master of A-East?" Rhyme asked, aloud. That was their main hint- It was a t A-East. Beat shrugged.
"I don know bout that. Seems too easy, yo." He said. Rhyme looked at him, with a slightly serious look.
"Yeah, it does seem fishy." She replied.
"As usual, lets scan, yo." Beat suggested, and she took out the pin and scanned the area. At first, she accidentally started reading every mind around her, and it seemed like Beat did too, and it wasn't very good on her ears. Switching back to go through each thought with Beat, she started to skim through them. She read one mind that was heading over to the ramen shop about a blackout, but there wasn't much more to note. After she got done, a message was sent to her phone. She opened it up, wondering what it was.
"Blackout." Was the message. She tilted her head to the side in wonder of the message.
"Black…out?" She asked aloud, and soon the message arrived to Beat's phone. She remembered then, that it must be a meme, which were small notes that gave hints to the mission.
"Well, that's what I got," Beat replied, closing his phone. Rhyme remembered a bit about imprinting, and was about to tell Beat, but he spoke up again. "A meme, possibly."
"Lets try imprinting on that one, over there with it, then. We could get a clue." Rhyme said, pointing at a man. She then scanned them, and using her pin, imprinted it in that person's mind. The man then started rambling about a blackout, and started to walk off, and he seemed to be dizzy.
"You think he'll be aight?" Beat asked, dumbfounded at the man's response, and at imprinting. But, Rhyme somehow knew that he got it.
"Yeah, I think so...As for the master of A-East…who do you think that would be? A reaper, or…a big Noise?" Rhyme asked.
"Well, we should hurry there." Beat replied, hasty as always. But Rhyme grabbed his arm.
"No, Beat. We should get a few answers first. Haste makes waste." She said.
"Well, luck is on our side, right Rhyme?" Beat asked her.
"Beat! Rhyme!" A familiar voice called out. There was Shiki, and right behind her, Neku.
"Heh. Talk about crap for luck, yo. Here comes Phones," Beat said, and then turned to whisper to Rhyme. "Well, it now turned to junk."
Rhyme just nodded, and Shiki walked up to them, as Neku stayed right where he was. Rhyme then started her question.
"Gathered any intel for the mission?" She asked. Shiki looked a little sad.
"No, not at all," But then she started to look a little happy. "But I know we'll get through it! We just have to take out the master of A-East, right?"
"But what's this meme for?" Rhyme asked, and noticed that Shiki was already ready for the fight against the master of A-East.
" 'Meme?' What's a meme?" Shiki asked her, confused. Both Rhyme and Beat were silent.
"I think Shiki could use our help. We can tell her, right?" Rhyme asked Beat, only because she knew how much he despised Neku, after what happened yesterday.
"Well…aight. But only 'cause it's Shiki." Beat said, and again, like yesterday, Shiki asked questions, and the two answered them. The last question was about imprinting.
"So memes are for imprinting." Shiki said, understanding about it. Neku, who was behind her, came up a few steps closer.
"Meaning…what?" He asked.
"Oh. Imprinting's one of the Player Pin's powers. You can use it to send words into other people's heads." She answered. Neku looked at his pin, a little surprised. Rhyme then remembered something, too. "Oh yeah! When you imprint--"
"Yo, forget it Rhyme. Don't bother. Phones don't trust us, anyway." Beat said, annoyed. Rhyme's happy smile disappeared.
"Beat, don't be like that. A problem shared is a problem halved, right? If we don't help each other out, we all…we might…" Rhyme stopped. She was afraid of the possibilities. She knew that Neku worked alone and liked to- which was fine- but that he and Shiki would need help. Beat just wasn't letting her help.
"Ahh! No, no! There's nothing to worry about." Shiki said, but Beat turned around.
"C'mon Rhyme. Le's bounce." He said, picking her up, and making a run for it on his skateboard.
"Beat…" Rhyme started after a few moments. "Why did you have to do that? What if he did--"
"I don't think he trusts us." He interrupted her.
"Still! You never know!" She said, and Beat finally stopped, and put her down. He went off on his skateboard, then, and she ran after, calling his name and telling her to stop. Finally after a bit, she tripped, and stared after him, her eyes filled with tears. She then, was thrown to the side by something. The object a that threw her, being a wolf Noise. She cried out Beat's name once more, and tried to run, but she couldn't.
"Ahhh!" She cried out, being struck again. She got up this time, but the wolf was running like mad around her. She bent down, covering her head with her arms for protection, eyes closed. She heard something fly over her head, and the Noise shout in pain. Opening one eye, she found Beat striking it, and a battle started. She suddenly got up, and started to fight, but before she could strike the single Noise, Beat had already erased it.
He stood in front of her, looking sorry. He lowered his head, and said, "I'm sorry, yo. I was just frustrated…"
"Its okay. You just startled me…" Rhyme said, trying to smile. It was a small one, but it made Beat smile a little, too.
"I shouldn't have. But…I think it was because you reminded me of my sister so much, that I came back. Plus, you my partner, yo." He said.
"But…I remind you of her?" Rhyme asked, tilting her head to the side in wonder. He nodded, and his smile faded.
"Yeah…It was a car accident that I died in to protect her. Not sure if she's livin' life or not." He said, and started to cry again. Rhyme was just shocked.
"I had a big brother who died protecting me in a car crash…would it just be a coincidence?" She asked, still shocked.
"Yeah, it may be one." He said, and rubbed his eyes. Rhyme stood there, and quickly checked her timer, wanting to try to think of something else. There was a half of a hour left, and she quickly scanned.
"I think I remember seeing a small gold bat over at A-East last week…I still have to wonder about it."
Rhyme paused, continuing to read the memory, and then, her phone got a new meme. She opened it up, and there were the words, "Gold Bat".
"The master of A-East is a gold bat?" She asked aloud, as Beat got the same meme.
"A gold bat…we gotta bounce there, then!" Beat said, shouting, and ready to head off.
"Wait! We don't need to rush!" Rhyme said, and she ran behind. They didn't rush there, and that resulted with them getting there sooner, by remembering small shortcuts from their location.
"So, what do we have to do now, yo?" Beat asked.
"We need to find a gold bat." Rhyme said, and pointed to the building.
"We don't have time for 'em, though! We need to fight the master!" Beat said, confusing himself.
"I'm telling you, we need to find a gold bat." Rhyme continued.
"But why a gold bat?" Beat asked. Rhyme opened up her cell phone and pointed to the mission message when it popped up.
"It's the master, Beat. I've been trying to tell you that."
"Then we gotta hurry! We don't have time!"
"We don't have time for mistakes, either. Haste makes waste." Rhyme finished, and pointed to the building.
They ran into the building, and Neku and Shiki were fighting a big Noise. They couldn't see them, but the two could sense them. Finally, they came back. Rhyme checked the clock, again, and was surprised to see less than 5 minutes left on it, instead of it gone.
"Geez! Talk about a heart attack!" Rhyme heard Shiki shout. But then Shiki seemed to calm down. "But…that was the master, right?"
"Nope! Clock's still ticking!" Neku shouted, and Beat checked his clock.
"Son of a…" He murmured worryingly, but Shiki raised her voice.
"You're kidding! Then…where's the master?!" Shiki shouted, interrupting Beat.
"No! We're out of time!" Neku shouted. Beat tapped Rhyme's shoulder, and pointed at something. She could then see a glittering shine. They nodded at each other, and Beat got on his skateboard.
"Don't drop the ball now, yo!" Beat shouted, and ran ahead of Rhyme, as she readied for a big jump. "Here's your 'master'!"
Both of the two jumped high into the air. Beat hit it with his skateboard, as Rhyme slashed it with a pin. They landed safely, but as an aftershock of the land, Rhyme fell back, but she wasn't hurt. Footsteps were heard, as Neku and Shiki both ran up to the two.
"Beat! Rhyme!" Shiki yelled.
"Yo, looks like we made it." Beat said, and Rhyme checked her hand, with a sigh of relief.
"Yup! The timer's gone now. Mission complete." Rhyme said, with a smile as always.
"Huh? Its fixed!" A voice in the distance was heard. The four looked back, at two men, one who was working with the lights, the other supervising the man who was working.
"You sure?" The man who was watching the mechanical work asked.
"Uh-huh. The lights should work now." The mechanic said.
"Okay, I'm gonna go tell the others!" The other one said, and ran off.
"Looks like they're in business." Neku said, and Rhyme walked over to them.
"This place is gonna fill right up. We should step outside for now." She recommended, and they did so. Outside, the two explained how the big bat wasn't just the master.
"Oh, so taking out the giant bat wasn't enough! Whoops. Good thing you two came along. We owe you!" Shiki said, smiling softly.
"Man…You two shoulda gathered more info, yo." Beat said, then eyed Neku. "I'm talkin to you, Phones!"
"Hee hee." Rhyme giggled. Beat just looked at her.
"What, Rhyme?" He asked.
"Stop trying to act so tough. We didn't have all the info, either! You wouldn't have found the little golden bat if it wasn't for them. Know why?" Rhyme asked Beat.
"Let me guess. We had to beat the big golden bat, first." Neku guessed.
"Bwaaaaah! Yeah…You act like you got the answers now, but you was freakin' out before!"
"So were you, Beat." Rhyme giggled again.
"Bwaaaaah! Who's side you on, yo?" Beat asked, and Shiki laughed. Rhyme joined in. "Least I got the job done, aight?"
Neku then let out a small laugh. Beat turned around, back to Neku.
"Hey, I heard that, yo! Who said YOU could laugh at me?" Beat asked, but Shiki came up to Neku.
"Look. The concert's starting," She said, changing the subject, but then looked a little concerned. "Wait…"
" 'Sup now?" Beat asked, a bit confused, too.
"How come we were able to talk to him? You know, 777." Shiki asked Neku.
" 'Cause he's a Reaper." Neku bluntly replied.
"WHAT?!" Shiki shouted, surprised at Neku's answer.
"Mr. Hanekoma explained all this. Did you forget?" Neku asked. Shiki paused for a few minutes.
"That's right…He mentioned only Reapers and other Players can see us. So we're on our own." Shiki said, and Neku was silent. Rhyme also paused for a moment, thinking about when they saw Shiki and Neku earlier in the day.
"You think…You think we'll make it?" Rhyme asked.
"We'll make it." Neku answered. Rhyme was shocked that Neku was the one answering. "No matter what!"
"Heh. Think you can deliver, Phones?" Beat asked Neku.
"Hey, you know…we really do make a good team. Starting tomorrow, what do you say we work together? We only survived because of teamwork." Shiki asked, and Neku seemed to nod his head a little.
Did he change his mind? Rhyme thought, as she said, "I agree! And what doesn't kill us only makes us stronger."
"If Rhyme's down with it, then so am I." Beat replied. Shiki turned to Neku.
"No objections, Neku?" Shiki asked her partner. But he was silent for a few minutes. "Hey, Neku. Remember what Mr. Hanekoma said."
"Just don't drag me down." He finally spoke, and turned away from the small group. Shiki was happy.
"Yay! That settles it. Here's to teamwork!"
Week 1, Day 3 End
