(You got it boss!) The cold winds whipped around Neku as he made his way up Cat Street with Joshua. With finals coming up, getting the time to visit WildKat Café wasn't easy between study sessions with Shiki who was silently stressing out, Eri who was openly panicking, Beat who was unfoundedly optimistic, and Rhyme who was picking up on pretty much everything easily. Neku had taken some extra time with all of them, helping and getting helped in return just to make the time for him and Joshua to go into Shibuya at all.
"Ah, Cat Street." Joshua said. "Kind of nostalgic isn't it Neku?" Neku gave out a sigh, exhaling a cold misty breath. Pulling his purple scarf up over his mouth, he moved towards Hanekoma's café. Neku was a bit hesitant to approach it considering the circumstances. With what Neku knew about Hanekoma, he didn't feel comfortable bringing up what happened in the game with him. (Despite everything that happened, and what happened after…I still have no clue where Hanekoma stood on what Joshua was doing…and I've been too afraid to ask him.) Secretly, Neku was hoping that this would be one of Hanekoma's sporadically closed days, and he could avoid the awkward conversation about important information.
"Hey, what can I do for you Phones?" (…Guess I'm not that lucky.) "Haven't seen you in a while now. Haven't found another café have you boss?" Neku felt his face slightly pale. In all honesty, since Joshua had shown up, Neku had been avoiding the café when meeting up with everyone.
"Course not." Neku replied as casually as he could. "Things have just been…difficult lately."
"Talking about the fallen angel brigade?" Neku was slightly surprised at Hanekoma's response. (Guess I was right to expect him to know what's going on.)
"As sharp as ever you sneaky cat." Joshua complimented. Hanekoma gave out a hearty laugh.
"Helps that they haven't been exactly subtle." Hanekoma motioned to his counter; a crack and small indent was apparent in the stone. (I can take a guess at who left that…wait…)
"Did a large man leave that?"
"Large would be an understatement. But yes." (Weird…) "He left that when I brought you up. Really seem to rile him up quite a bit."
"Someone is very popular it seems." Joshua teased. (Let's not lose track.)
"Actually, we came to ask about something we're not entirely sure about."
"Go ahead boss."
"About a month ago I had a run in with a large group of taboo noise. But it wasn't just a large group, it was almost like they were multiplying while we fought." Hanekoma raised his eyebrow at this.
"Really? Sounds otherworldly Phones." (What does that mean?)
"Neku, do you know how noise is created?" Joshua asked.
"I know Reapers make them."
"Not quite. When a person dies, they leave behind a soul. Its those souls that become noise. Either by becoming bound to a Reaper's pin, or to negative human emotion. Enough people die everyday that pulling their souls out of the field between the RG and UG is child's play."
"Sounds like an immoral recycling center." Neku commented.
"Better than letting those souls go to waste and fester between the boundaries." (Fester?) "But taboo noise is a bit more complicated. Think of it like refining a soul to a sharper edge. You can't just do that anywhere though."
"…You're talking about those weird blue graffiti marks Minamimoto made that we found in Udagawa during the game."
"Precisely. Refinery sigils are currently the only way to make taboo noise…but what if you could speed up the creation process?" (That sounds ugly and powerful.)
"Can Reapers even do that?" Hanekoma gave out a single laugh.
"Maybe if every reaper in a country worked together. And that's a BIG maybe." (Then…)
"It had to be someone a lot stronger." Neku looked over at Joshua.
"As flattering as that is, taboo noise does nothing but create chaos for the UG. Mindless chaos is not my style." (…Fair point. If there's one thing I know about Joshua, it's that he's not going to leave details to chance. Taboo noise is too wild to control, even Minamimoto didn't have any luck controlling them until he WAS one.)
"Then it had to be one of those fallen angels."
"Possibly…" Joshua mused. "…There's something about the way you described the taboo noise as self-replicating that has me skeptical of that conclusion."
"You manage to grab a pic of them?" Hanekoma asked. Neku shook his head.
"The area was clear after the fight. Any graffiti or sigils that were there, weren't."
"That still doesn't mean they weren't there before." (…Oh right!) Neku reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. (It's been a few months so I had completely forgotten about that function.)
"Bring me back a picture of that sigil and I might be able to parse something out for you."
"Thanks."
"Glad to see you're still a reliable source." Joshua added.
"You kids just manage to keep things interesting. I'm not gonna let you run into dead ends. Speaking of, I've got one last bit of info before you go snapping pics."
"What is it?" Neku asked.
"I've been keeping tabs around the city, and a month ago I noticed a spike in energy that dissipated just as quickly in Udagawa. With your account I'm fairly certain that was when you were fighting the Taboo noise. I can tell you for certain that the morning before then, there were no refinery sigils in Udagawa at all." (So they had been placed there THAT day?)
"That's a startlingly quick time for them to pop up." Joshua said.
"Yeah, my thoughts exactly." (…)
With the cold creeping in, Shibuya wasn't as packed and crowded as it usually was, Udagawa even less so. The backstreet seemed almost empty, the only people around being the workers in the nearby shops. (Guess this works well for us.)
"Lucky us." Joshua commented. "Go ahead Neku." Neku pulled out his phone and fiddled with the time and date on the phone. (Alright…that's the date…and let's go about an hour before the fight.) Neku snapped a shot. When it showed up on the phone, a picture of the alley could be seen, only much darker with a night sky.
"Nothing."
"Odd. Not even a high-ranking being can make a sigil in an hour." Joshua mused for a moment. "…Neku, what's that over there?" Neku looked to where Joshua pointed, finding only the rest of the street.
"What are you-" When Neku looked back, Joshua had disappeared. (Of course he disappeared.) Before Neku could even grumble about it, he felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Shiki and Nina.
"I thought that was you." Shiki said with a little giggle. She and Nina were carrying a few bags from various shops.
"Hey Neku." Nina said with a small smile.
"What are you two doing out?" Neku asked.
"Nina was helping me with exam prep, so I helped her with her fashion." Nina held up her various bags with a sheepish expression.
"So how's that been going?"
"Pretty good. I think I found some stuff that will make her look cute." That big smile on her face had Neku chuckle. "W-What?"
"Nothing…just remembering something." Neku looked away, a slight pink coming to his cheeks.
"What are you doing here?" Nina asked.
"Oh, I'm checking something with Joshua." Shiki gave Neku a look of confusion and he returned a subtle nod, making her nod in return, "He took off for a minute but he should be back soon." (…I assume.)
"Does that mean you're ready for the test?"
"Probably." (I honestly have no clue.) Even for Neku it was just too much information to cram into his head all at once, but he couldn't let this uneasy feeling sit forever either. Whatever was happening in Shibuya was his business. (Once I figure this out, I'll cram like there's no tomorrow.) "What about you guys?" Shiki gave a nervous chuckle.
"I'm a bit worried about how much I'll actually remember on test day." (That tracks.)
"I feel pretty confident!" Nina said psyching herself up.
"Figures. You're one of the smartest people I know." (…)
"Hey Nina, mind if I ask why you're so smart?" Neku asked.
"W-What do you mean?" She replied.
"I'm curious. It's rare you meet someone who's been able to skip grades like you did."
"Well…I'm not sure exactly what to tell you…imagine a lot of thoughts running through your head all at once, and it's like all those thoughts are trying to talk to each other. As they talk they come up with various answers…and I just kind of parse through them to find what I need…eventually you get good enough to make those thoughts converse with each other on things you need them too, so instead of having multiple answers after a minute, you have one answer after a few seconds." (That sounds really complicated.)
"Is that why your so quiet?"
"K-Kind of…it takes me a minute to parse through my thoughts around other people. With tests it's straightforward information. People are…a bit more complicated, with hidden layers and social cues you can't always interpret correctly…even my mom isn't that easy to talk to." She looked at the ground for a moment, before looking back up at Neku with a small smile, "B-But it's getting easier with you guys helping me."
"Well, I'm not sure we've been helping. But we know people are different and don't hold those differences against them."
"Even Joshua?"
"Y-Yeah…even him." (Although I'll admit to the occasional thought of smacking him here and there.)
"How touching." Neku turned to see Joshua standing behind him. (And appearing out of nowhere doesn't quell that feeling.) "I know you loved me Neku."
"…"
"Anyway, I found what we're looking for." (Really?)
"Then we won't keep you." Shiki said with a smile. "Come on Nina, I know this little shop that sells the cutest sweaters." Shiki led Nina down the alley towards the main street, leaving Neku and Joshua alone.
"Well, she picks up on things rather quickly. I suppose that's an artists eye for you." (You'd better not mean that sarcastically.)
"What did you find?" Neku asked. Joshua filled open his phone. On it was the same street but this time it was littered in strange sigils. (Those must be the taboo refineries.)
"When was that?"
"Same time, just in the UG." (Right, we got shifted over before the fight. We must have been shifted back after.)
"But here's the extra interesting detail." Joshua brought up a second picture. It was the same street, but this time reapers were all around in it. All of them seemed to be working on the sigils.
"Freaky."
"Seems more of Shibuya's reapers have been converted by those pins…but even that didn't top what I had found from a picture before." His last picture had the same alley, but in the center was a large figure who seemed to be blurred out of the picture. The only part visible was the large white wings on either side of them. (A fallen angel…no, wait…those wings are pure white.)
"That's an angel. Isn't it? And not a fallen one."
"Yes." Joshua replied. "I figured somebody high up must be assisting them but I figured it would be somebody a little under. Angels are incredibly powerful beings. Even fallen angels are reduced to a tenth of that power…this is very interesting." Joshua snapped his phone shut and stuffed it back in his pocket. "Well, we got what we needed, let's head back to H." (…I wonder…)
"…Right."
Hanekoma looked over the pictures Joshua had taken in the UG. He gave a sigh before handing the phone back to Joshua.
"Man, another sticky fingers angel."
"They seem to be cropping up pretty regularly." Joshua commented.
"Yeah but they usually end up slapped down before they can do anything. Even fallen angels only last for a few weeks before they're erased."
"Well this group has managed to stick around for longer than they should."
"And now we know how." (Wait…)
"You're saying the taboo sigils are giving them energy?"
"You're close phones. Game Master and above are able to absorb noise to augment their abilities. But as you noticed with the three you fought; they take on traits of what they absorbed."
"Keeps it from just being a power siphon technique." Joshua explained.
"But when they are destroyed, they become pure energy before they dissipate."
"So…when we took out all those taboo noise…" Neku mused
"A nice full course meal for our enemies." (Are you kidding me!?)
"Doesn't mean they're not bleeding energy." Hanekoma assured him. "Just a nice refill."
"…But I can't be the only one doing this can I?" Neku asked
"No. But taboo noise are much more filling than the garden variety reapers make. After the trouble you put the last two through, I think it's safe to say they needed an emergency filling." (So we got jumped just so I could fill up the two I'd smacked down…damnit!)
"We do seem to have a bigger issue than that though." Joshua pipped up. "More reapers are being converted than I initially assumed. Any news on what I asked you to look into?"
"Yep." Hanekoma replied. "And your right. More of those weird fountains are popping up in corners of the city. I've been erasing them wherever I see them but they seem to be popping up faster than I can quash them."
"Fountains?" Neku asked.
"Connection points for a place more powerful than even you can comprehend." Joshua explained. "Each one is a tether. Hook enough together, and you'll end up having a direct pipeline to a place even I can't go." (That doesn't sound good.)
"Well, that solves one mystery at least." Hanekoma said. "At least they aren't creating taboo refineries in the RG. That would alert the boys upstairs real quick…although it seems they're getting some help in that department too." (Every time we hear something new about them, it just keeps making them sound tougher than we first though…what are supposed to do?) "…Hey Phones." Neku looked back at Hanekoma, who's expression had become much more serious, "I'd be careful out there if I were you. You've caught the attention of a very dangerous group…although it seems like they had their sights set on you for a while…be careful."
"Y-Yeah…"
As Joshua and Neku left the Kat Café, Neku ran back what he and Joshua had found out. (Converted reapers are making fountains to create a pipeline to somewhere…fallen angels are using noise as ways to keep their power up…and I'm being targeted…)
"Well, I suppose that's all we can do for now. I think I'll go home for today." Joshua started walking away to the surprise of Neku.
"Wait!" Joshua stopped and turned back to Neku, "That's it? We found out they're siphoning noise energy and creating a direct line to somewhere powerful and you're just going to go home!?"
"Oh, is that an eagerness I sense from mister blue?" (Are you kidding me!?)
"They've tried to kill us multiple times and you're going to let that sit!? We have to do something!"
"…Alright Neku. Then where do we go?" Neku found himself for a loss at this question, "How do we fight a group of fallen angels when we could barely handle one at a time? How do we break the reapers out of those pins without getting swarmed by them? How do we KEEP them from being recontroled? I'm all ears." Neku clenched his fist, more pissed off at his inability to answer those questions than Joshua himself. "Until we can answer even one of those questions, all we can do is keep collecting information. So head home. I'll be sure to contact you first if anything can be done." (…I hate that he's right…but I don't have a choice.) "Besides, I'm sure you want to do a brush up on 20th century history before the test. You seem to be struggling with it."
"…Stop spying on me."
Stepping off his bus, Neku made his way back home through the cold wind. As he walked, snow started to fall around him. (Guess it's gonna be a white winter.) He continued down the path to his block, following the street signs like the back of his hand…and yet, on his last turn, he ended up back at the bus stop he had gotten off at. (What…no, I know I took the right path.) At the bus stop sat a man, hunched over and scribbling into a book. Neku felt something off about him; he instinctively stepped back, placing his hand on his pin deck in his pocket. The man stopped, snapped his pocket book shut and shoved it into his pocket before turning to Neku. His hair was black and matted, slightly covering his eyes, but not enough for Neku to ignore the bloodshot quality and bags underneath. The man clearly hadn't slept in days if weeks.
"So you're the boy they talked about? I guess appearances really are deceiving." (I can take a guess at what you are.) Neku kept his gaze locked on the man, who slowly approached, prompting Neku to step back so that he stayed at a distance Neku could react to, "I see we're of the same mind. You know how dangerous it is to break your gaze from something important. After all…" He stopped mid-sentence and just stared back. As they went on, Neku felt his eyes start to dry and, in that moment he took to blink, the man was in his face, "…you might miss something. Even if you blink." Neku shot back, breaking his eye contact with them man in panic and skating back. When he looked back, he was in front of his apartment complex. The man had disappeared completely, and on the ground, Neku found only one pair of footprints left in the freshly falling snow, his own. (I definitely DIDN'T imagine him.)