Shiki is awakened by the sound of the bustling scramble crossing. People pass by her, completely ignoring her presence like she's not even there.
"I really have to start over don't I. . .?" she says to herself. "How am I supposed to go another week if Neku isn't-. . ." Shiki cuts herself off. "No, I can't think like that. I have to do this, for his sake, and mine too." Shiki pulls out her phone and checks her mail. It seems like she's already received her mission.
"Game I: x = 30 + 74, t = 60 min. Incompletes will be destroyed." Shiki reads aloud. She instinctively clutches her hand as the sharp pain makes itself known. She looks down at it and sees the familiar timer of sixty minutes.
"So, 104 then. I just need a partner, Someone strong enough to get me to the end of this week. . ." Shiki thinks to herself, trying to guess where a strong player may be. Only one location is on her mind though.
"I guess I'll check Hachiko. Maybe someone will be there." Shiki says to herself before running off to the dog statue.
"Hello! Anybody here! I need a partner!" shouts Shiki as she arrives at the dog statue, but no one pays her any mind. She is alone, but only for a moment, as only a second later, the noise comes to keep her company
"Noise!" she yells. Shik jumps back and pulls out her stuffed cat Mr. Mew. but she remembers something, and her stomach drops. "How am I supposed to fight off this noise without a partner? I can't use my psyche without one. . ."
Shiki steps back as the noise approaches. The Noise jumps at her and she braces herself for impact when the Noise is suddenly erased. Before she can think about what just happened, she gets a strange feeling in her body. She's in sync with someone.
"Someone formed a pact with me? But who-?" Before she can look around though, more Noise appears before her. She sets Mr. Mew on the ground, who stands on his own two feet like it has a will of its own.
"My psyche! It's working!" Shiki thinks to herself. Shiki gives out commands to Mr. Mew, who follows them efficiently, and with enough effort, the noise is erased. Shiki takes a moment to pick up Mr. Mew and catch her breath, before turning her attention to a voice behind her.
"Howdy, the name's Yoshiya Kiryu. But my mother and father call me Joshua." Shiki takes a good look at the boy. He's around her age. He's thin and sports a powder-blue button-down dress shirt and grey trousers. His blonde hair is thick and wavy, like if he forgot to do his hair in the morning.
"I guess you can call me Joshua too, seeing as your my partner," says Joshua. Shiki's jaw practically drops as she hears this.
"you're my partner!?" Shiki practically shouts "He's so frail, how am I supposed to make it through this week with a partner that's not even as strong as me?"
"Why the attitude? You're not exactly the ideal partner either Shiki" Joshua teases. Shiki tries to respond but she can't,
"He's right. Neku did all the heavy lifting last week. . " Shiki's lamenting stops, however, as she realizes something. "How do you know my name?"
"I've been watching you silly, good work last week by the way," says Joshua.
"Wait, he was watching? But I never saw anybody like him at the end of last week. . . unless his appearance changed too." Shiki's train of thought is interrupted, however, as Joshua continues to talk.
"Why not make things easy today, Hmm? It's only the first day after all. Let's scan the area and see if we can get any information." Joshua suggest
"R-right!" says Shiki "He seems to know what he's doing. Maybe this won't be so bad." Shiki scans the area and doesn't see much, except for one thing, which gives her a sinking feeling. She can scan her partner. She takes a deep breath and scans Joshua. Suddenly, she's seeing the vivid image of an alleyway dotted with shops on the sides and posters plastered everywhere. Suddenly the image fades away and Shiki is left confused.
"Was that, Udagawa? Why is that on his mind? And why can I scan him?" Shiki is snapped back to reality as Joshua speaks up.
"Well, anything?" he asks. Shiki is about to tell her what she saw but realizes that might be a bad idea.
"I shouldn't tell him I can scan him. If he doesn't know that could make things worse, and if he does know then he doesn't know I do, which may be good for the time being." Shiki thinks, before responding to Joshua "Nothing by the looks of it. Our only option is to go to the 104 building." says Shiki. Joshua nods with that ever-present smirk on his face before the two run off to finish the mission's objective. As they reach the 104 building, they see something strange, however. A large mountain of junk in the middle of the street. And on top of it, a man.
"You're zetta slow! How long does it take to crack a z-class code, you factoring hectopascals!"
"Hectopa- what is he talking about?" asks Shiki.
"Sho Minamimoto. Remember the name. I'm the new Game Master." As Sho stares the two down he notices something peculiar. He smirks as he looks at Joshua.
"Wait. You. . . You're a player this time around?"
"This time around? What is he talking about?" Shiki thinks to herself.
"Hmmph. Now that's a happy miscalculation. This brings me one iteration closer to my desired solution!" Shiki is confused by the words of the reaper, but Joshua only laughs.
"Hee hee. . . Day 1, and the GM's already putting in an appearance? Not one for tradition. Are you?" Joshua asks
"Tradition? Tradition is garbage! Crunch! I'll add it to the heap! This is my game. And I only allow two things. Flawless calculations. . . and beauty!" Sho exclaims
"I'd heard you were quite the eccentric. . ." says Joshua. Sho looks around from his garbage heap as more players approach the 104 building.
"So! Now that I have you rounded up. . ." Sho pulls out a Megaphone from the trash pile and turns it on. "Attention, all yoctograms! It's times two DIE!" Suddenly, each pair of partners gets a large noise to fight, Shiki and Joshua leap back as they engage the noise. The battle is tough, but they manage to scrape by. Shiki barely has time to catch her breath before Joshua strikes up yet another conversation.
"Sho, Rather fascinating wasn't he?" he asks. Shiki is stunned by this. "At least we won't be too bored this week, hmm?"
"Bored? Fascinating? Is something wrong with him?" Shiki thinks to herself "This isn't a game, there's so much on the line here, can't he take this seriously?" Shiki wants to practically explode, but she stops herself. "Trust your partner. . . there's too much on the line. . . too much to be on bad terms with my partner. I'll hang in there. . . for you Neku. . ."
Shiki thinks back on the events of the previous day. The man wearing those sunglasses, calling himself the Conductor. She remembers the words that shattered her world.
"As per the Composer's mandate, the number of players to be given new life this round is. . . One." Those words still ring in her mind. She remembers it all. How Neku had scored the highest, how he had won the game and been allowed to leave. How they had made a promise to meet at Hachiko once Shiki's second week was over. How her original entry fee was returned, her true appearance, and how something far more precious was taken as her new one. She remembers the pain in her heart as Neku was claimed as her new entree fee,
"Neku. . . I won't let you disappear because of me. I'll keep my promise. Once this is over, we'll meet in RG, and I'll. . . I'll tell you how I really feel. Hang in there, I'll see you soon."
