Hi again! This chapter took a little while because...Well, there was a lot of details to double and triple check. Thanks as always to oddvector for making sure this all makes sense!
Anyway, longer chapter this time, because there was a lot to cover this particular day. Also because Kaie loves to talk and explain. Yeah, mostly that. Shoutout to fellow Kaie fans out there.
Scale 3: Got Your Back
Rindo gasped as he found himself back in that black-and-green void. His panicked thoughts spiraled almost deliriously for a few moments before finally settling into rationality again.
It…It had happened again. And it had happened even faster this time!
Rindo steadied his breathing. Okay…Okay, but he also had learned a lot. This turning into Noise thing was apparently called 'singing', and it was supposed to be a Reaper evolution thing, but it was happening to him for some reason. And the singing wasn't tied to a certain location, and didn't have anything to do with going to the shrine.
So what did cause it then? Had anything else weird happened? Well, he had run into her again. Could she have caused it somehow? Though he hadn't sensed her in his head or Soul like before…
Rindo really missed Fret. Especially after that brief but brutal fight with...
...Shoka. Seriously, what the hell had that been about? She had acted like getting torn apart by her was an honor or something? Actually, maybe that was just the singing making her nuts. He knew from personal experience, after all. But if she had been that eager to jump in and rip him to bits, then why hadn't she just done that from the start? She had said that most Reapers didn't want to sing, probably because it made them insane…But then why had she chosen to sing? With him?
So much information that answered almost nothing…
So now what? Rindo apparently couldn't stop his singing once it started, but why was it starting? He had somehow made it start sooner this time! What was he doing wrong? If only Rindo had a way to figure out exactly what was going on with his Soul.
Wait, hadn't Shoka tried to call Kaie about Rindo's numbers? He seemed pretty knowledgeable in general when it came to Game stuff. So maybe Kaie could pinpoint exactly when and why he started singing, and then Rindo could finally figure out how to not start it.
Yeah, yeah Rindo should check in with Kaie. Back to Kaie's fortunetelling place then.
...Actually, wait. Maybe he was approaching this wrong. The day before, when he had attempted to recruit her, he had wasted so much time by only jumping back a little each time.
Only to freeze at the final step, waiting in line with the voucher, because what if she attacked Rindo again anyway? Would just getting her a pin she wanted really be enough to keep her calm? Or stop her from suddenly turning on them without warning in the future? If she couldn't handle not getting the pin she wanted, then what would she do when she failed to get anything else she wanted? Or under the stress of fighting Noise?
Rindo didn't care what Minamimoto said. Recruiting or even befriending her was just too much of a risk to the whole team.
But that wasn't the point right now! The point was, jumping back in tiny increments only wasted his time. What if he just jumped all the way to the start of the day? The earlier he could change course, the better, right? Especially since he wasn't exactly sure what was causing it.
Rindo closed his eyes, thinking about the start of the day, and felt a strong jolt when he jumped back even faster than he expected. He opened his eyes, only for the edges of his sight to go red and fuzzy.
Oh great, so I have to sit through the vision again? Rindo thought with some annoyance. Hold on, this is probably a good thing. Maybe I'll notice something in the vision that I didn't before! He focused, and then—
Fret stared at Rindo with wide blue eyes and quick breaths. Scared. "R-Rindo…So, uh...you're a raven?" Somehow Fret managed a smile.
Rindo could only warble in return.
"...Rindo, it's me, dude..." said Fret with a nervous smile. "You remember me, right? L-Let me remind you! C'mon—think!"
Rindo fluttered toward Fret.
"Rindude? Buddy? You remember me? You gotta remember me, right? Rin—"
Rindo jumped when the vision abruptly stopped. "What the hell?" Why was it different?
Rindo heard Fret yelp. "W-What the hell what?"
"Uh..." Well this was awkward. "What the hell...is this Game?"
There was a pause as Fret studied Rindo, then grinned. "I know, right? Man seriously, why are all these missions so dumb?"
"Yeah..." Rindo sighed in relief. Good thing Fret never questioned anything Rindo said ever. Well that was one less complication to worry about...out of a thousand.
Why was this vision unlike either disaster he'd experienced before? That made no sense! Unless, this vision showed what was gonna happen this time if he didn't stop it?
And then that Susukichi guy suddenly barged in out of nowhere, went on about giving them points if they helped some random dude, and then left.
Right. Rindo had forgotten about that. But he hadn't forgotten about—
"Ruinbringer trash, fresh from the heap."
There was Minamimoto, just as before. Ha, he didn't get to jumpscare Rindo this time!
"Heyyy, my Mina-man!" Fret said with an effortless grin, like Minamimoto had just casually walked through a door.
Minamimoto barely paid any attention to Fret's jovial greeting, however, his cat-like eyes peering down at Rindo.
Rindo gazed back quietly. And now Minamimoto was going to tell him about the 4-2-1, just like before.
"Zeptogram No. 2," Minamimoto said, tone clipped.
"Yeah?"
"This trajectory...4-2-1," Minamimoto muttered. "How many times have you temporally translated, Zeptogram No. 2?"
Rindo blinked. That last part…That wasn't what he'd said before! "What?"
"Yeah, what're you talking about?" asked Fret. "Rindude ain't bilingual enough to translate anything. Not yet anyway." He grinned. "Well, besides maybe internet speak. We're both pretty fluent in that!"
"Hollow-skulled hectopascals," said Minamimoto, scowling. "Temporal translation! Recurring on the ?-axis of transfinite bifurcations!"
"W-What?" Rindo wasn't even going to try to look any of that up.
"Ignorant integer! That pin of yours elucidates the power!"
"My pin?" asked Rindo. "Wait, which one? We've picked up a lot of pins from the Noise."
"The one that translated you to this plane of existence in the first place."
"Kweh? The Reaper pins?" asked Fret. "So you're talking about…scanning?"
"I'm talking about the temporal translation that only Zeptogram No. 2 can do."
Something that only Rindo could do? Wait…Did he mean…
Was he talking about his time travel? Could Minamimoto actually do that? Just figure out that Rindo had been time traveling?
Minamimoto watched Rindo like a cat eyeing a canary.
Wait, hold on, was admitting to the whole time travel thing such a good idea? Especially to Minamimoto, who seemed to be working with her behind their backs? Who valued people solely based on the 'numbers' their powers provided? Rindo could only guess what Minamimoto would try to use freaking time travel to do, and none of the options sounded good.
Or even Fret. Not that he would do anything malicious, but, knowing him, he'd somehow find a way to screw up time for all eternity by introducing phones to ninjas or something.
Of course that was assuming that Rindo's power ever let him do more than reset a day. But what if they did get stronger? Then he would need to be careful to not end up in some government lab somewhere.
"Something only I can do?" asked Rindo with a nervous smile. "Uh, slash stuff real good?"
"Hey, don't go all serial killer on us now, Rindude," Fret joked, nudging Rindo and smirking.
"Too late," said Rindo. "Tell that to all the Noise I've erased."
"Aw man, does that mean I'm a serial killer too?"
"Ignorant integers," growled Minamimoto.
"Anyway, we're gonna go see Kaie, Mr. Minami," Rindo added.
"We are?" asked Fret. "Why?"
"He's a Reaper, right? So he might be able to give us some leads on a buncha stuff," explained Rindo. "Maybe he can help with the 4-2-1 thing? And I just want to know more about the...mechanics of this Game, so to speak. He gave us all that info on Noise and Soul before, so maybe he'll give us more if we ask?"
"Hmm..." said Fret. "Well, it's worth a shot, right? Let's do it!" He winked.
"Does that sound good, Mr. Minami?" asked Rindo. "We might be able to get some extra info for you too."
"Hmph, I doubt his calculations are any better than mine," said Minamimoto, arms folded. "But if that coneheaded cardinoid could explain it with a function even stupid scalenes like you could understand, then fine, waste your time." His frown deepened. "The only thing that'll help the 4-2-1 are your calculations, zeptogram." Then he walked off.
Rindo's own calculations, huh? Well according to his own calculations, getting extra info from Kaie would be very helpful in better understanding what was happening to him. And certainly more helpful than endless math metaphors about a concept that he was already confused about.
Fret quietly watched Minamimoto skulk off. Then he turned to Rindo with one of his easy grins. "Alright then, let's go Rindude!"
"Yeah." And hopefully with Kaie's extra analysis, this time Rindo would make sure nothing bad happened to him or Fret this time!
...Or, worst case scenario, he would keep trying until he finally got it right. Hopefully this wouldn't end up being the longest day ever, but if it had to be...Rindo hadn't stopped Fret being crushed by a truck only for Rindo himself to freaking eat him or something.
"Rindude? Earth to Rindo."
"Yeah, I'm coming! Wait up!"
But Rindo forgot that Spain Hill was closed until Kaie showed up, so getting there early actually didn't help. Crap, when exactly would Kaie arrive at the wall to let them in? It'd been sometime between 12:00 and 12:30, right? And it was only 10:24 right now. So that left almost two hours to kill. Man, why had Rindo jumped back so early? Well, he could just jump ahead, but since he wasn't sure exactly when Kaie would show up…
"So…should we get food first?" asked Fret. "And see if Kaie's back here later?"
Honestly, Rindo was getting kinda hungry. Technically the day had just started, but Rindo's last meal had been several hours ago, at Donburi Town. But since he didn't want Donburi again so soon… "Not gonna lie, I could go for some Freedom Fries right now." And besides, he should probably get this Reaper wall out of the way while he had all this dead time…
Oh right, Rindo should draw the anti-sync hand things!
…With his nonexistent pen. Because why would he ever carry a pen with him when he had his phone to jot notes onto? He should pick one up the next time he went to a store.
Go figure, thought Rindo, as a bunch of frogs materialized before them. Whatever, he'd leave that drawing stuff to Minamimoto. Rindo would probably just doodle the seal thing wrong and somehow instantly turn himself into a Noise or something.
And the sync felt nice, real nice...He would enjoy it while it lasted.
Because Fret was so happy. Of course he was, because he loved syncing. He giggled as he rained down energy bullets onto the nearest frog. "Ain't no stoppin' us now!"
Rindo smirked. "We got this." These were just frogs, after all. Annoying, but not that threatening.
Which was why it was almost funny how close Fret stuck to Rindo, blasting any amphibian that got too close, his back pressed against Rindo's. Which was more awkward than helpful. Rindo had to lunge forward in order to slash the Noise, which in turn left Fret stumbling back without him.
"Man, the movies make this look so easy!" Fret grumbled. "Two dudes against the world, literally back-to-back, smirking at each other before they kick everyone's ass! C'mon, stay still for two seconds Rindude!"
...Nevermind, Fret wasn't taking this seriously at all.
Then something rocketed over their head, crashing through the swarm of frogs, bursts of static buzzing and popping through the air.
Ah, there was Minamimoto. Once again not synced with them. This time ending the fun before it even started.
All that remained was a lone amphibian, hopping alongside Rindo. The two boys watched it, glancing at each other. Once they erased it, the sync would be over...
With an almost supersonic stomp from above, Minamimoto squished the frog out of existence, the static crawling over his boots before evaporating away.
The sync cut off as they sank back into the UG. Rindo felt kinda cold without it, so he tucked his jacket tighter around himself.
The RNS app on Rindo's phone jingled in his pocket. He brought it out to check it, even though he didn't need to.
"Oh, you leveled up? Nice!" said Fret, before his expression turned slightly sourer. "Hey, why didn't I level up then? We've been in the same amount of battles together!" He squinted at Rindo's level. "Wait, why are you two levels ahead of me, Rindude?"
That…was a good question. He had only been one level ahead before. "Uh…"
Fret crossed his arms as he cast a suspicious glance at Rindo. "You been off doing some private training without me, my Rindude?"
Wow, he almost sounded angry? Or at least disappointed. "Dude, we haven't been separate at all this entire Game. That's literally impossible." So then why was Rindo so much stronger than Fret then? "Maybe I'm just…erasing more Noise or something?" But that couldn't be all that it was, right?
"Or the temporal translation," said Minamimoto.
Temporal…The time travel? Oh wait, that actually made sense! If Rindo was keeping the power levels he got from the battles he did before he jumped back, that would explain why he and Fret's levels were unbalanced.
"That's my current hypothesis," said Minamimoto, sounding strangely thoughtful for once. "It correlates to the 4-2-1, but is there causation?"
Hmm…Was there a link? Though Rindo didn't see how simply getting stronger would suddenly make him turn into Noise. If this singing thing was linked to levels, then the singing should have started whenever he leveled up right? But last time the singing hadn't even started during a battle…
Fret gave Rindo a curious, almost concerned gaze as Rindo pondered in silence. But then Fret got this weird deer-in-headlights look when he noticed Rindo staring back. Eventually Fret turned away, seeming…bothered by something?
"Zeptograms!" Minamimoto barked. "Converge at Donburi Town!"
"Wait, Rindude wanted Freedom Fries!" Fret piped up. "Can we do that instead?"
"Donburi Town's the shortest distance from—"
"C'mon, Justice Burger's not that far," said Fret. "And I know you like your soda and ice cream, my Mina-man."
Minamimoto smirked. "Heh. Fine. If we're going to be calculating a solution to Zeptogram No. 2's 4-2-1, then we need some extra glucose. Converge at Justice Burger!"
"Aw yeah!" Fret looked so proud of himself. "See, I can remember stuff sometimes, my Rindude! Now let's go!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming." But Rindo had a small smile on his face.
Even though Rindo thought he had his mind made up by the time he walked through the door, he still debated between getting some Freedom Fries or a Superhero Soda, eventually settling on getting both. Minamimoto got a Superhero Soda and nothing else. Eventually Fret, who had taken a shockingly long time to decide, finally got a Fearless Fishwich and...a Superhero Soda? Didn't he hate those though?
They all sat down at a booth, Minamimoto sitting across from Rindo while Fret sat next to him. Huh, Fret usually sat across from him, but okay. This was even kinda…nice?
Sure enough, Minamimoto went on the same 4-2-1 spiel as before. Rindo tried to pay attention to see if anything was different, but honestly all the math stuff blended together in his tired brain. Maybe he should have ordered an extra-large Superhero Soda instead.
So instead Rindo's focus wandered to Fret, who kept glancing between the fishwich he'd taken two bites out of, Rindo, and his untouched soda. Eventually he put the fishwich down, picked the soda up, stared down at it like it was a poisoned chalice, before taking the tiniest of sips. His face scrunched up in disgust.
Rindo snorted with laughter. "Too sweet?"
"Too fizzy," Fret grumbled. He studied Rindo for a couple moments, looking away when Rindo returned the curious look. Then Fret suddenly shoved the soda to Rindo's side, though Fret's gaze stayed locked onto the table. "Uh, a-anyone want the r-rest of mine?" His eyes darted to Rindo for only a second.
Rindo gaped at the pink flush spreading from Fret's face to his neck. Was he...?
"Zeptograms!"
Both boys yipped and sat up straight.
Minamimoto snatched Fret's soda and guzzled it down, glaring at them. "If you hollow-skulled hectopascals aren't going to listen to my calculations, then I have no reason to stay in this vector." Then he straight-up vanished. In the middle of the restaurant.
Fret squinted at the empty seat across from them, arms crossed. "Rude."
Rindo sighed. "Mr. Minami sure is...Mr. Minami."
"He sure is." Fret didn't sound as amused as he normally did. "...Hey Rindude?"
"Yeah?"
"So about the whole...uh...I mean, I know Mr. Minami said to...But I don't know if I..." Funny how Fret looked everything but Rindo as he spoke
"What are you talking about?"
Fret broke out into nervous laughter. "A-Anyway, I gotta go to the bathroom! Soda, am I right? I'm gonna be right back!" He scurried off before Rindo could say anything else.
Rindo frowned down at his own drink, though in his mind's eye all he could see was Fret's face and neck turning pink as he offered Rindo his soda.
Fret...liked him? As in liked him liked him? Since when? Well maybe that explained why Fret kept being his friend even after Rindo occasionally ghosted him, because sometimes Rindo's anxiety decided that leaving the house to do something fun was way too dangerous. Other previous friends of his got sick of his flightiness and just...stopped calling.
But not Fret. Fret just rolled with whatever Rindo wanted to do. Rindo wanted to stay in? They'd just chat on the phone then, with Fret reporting on his shopping adventures on a play-by-play basis, sending him pics of both the best and worst threads he could find, along with tons and tons of stickers. Sometimes he even modeled the clothes, which looked extra funny for the tacky stuff, and for the actually good stuff made Fret look extra...uh...
Oh, Rindo should text Swallow while he was waiting. He had…almost forgotten to talk to them? That thought made him weirdly nervous.
"afternoon swallow"
"oh hey rindragon! :) what're you doing now? killing more monsters?"
"eating"
"oh nice. what are you having?"
"justice burger. though none of us actually ordered a burger lol"
"nice."
Rindo stared at his screen for a while. "so uh…u know that irl friend i have?"
"the one who really likes chocobos? :)"
"ya that 1. wait howd u kno?"
"um...you only really have one irl friend you've ever mentioned."
Oh yeah. Fret was kinda his only in-real-life friend right now. "i think my irl friend likes me? like, really likes me? like tried to give me an indirect kiss through a soda likes me?"
"omg i thought that only happened in anime. so did you give him a not-so-indirect kiss back? ;)"
"n-no! should i have? im still kinda tryin to process it tbh."
"well you like him too right? so why not? um, you do like him too, right? sorry if i'm misreading :/"
"i…" Rindo wasn't really sure what he felt about Fret. But right now, with Fret absent for all of a minute, Rindo's heart ached again. "i care about him a lot." Enough to reset time to save him, over and over. Which probably said a lot right there, but… "but i dunno if im ready to, like, date? but thats more of a me thing, not a him thing. theres a lot goin on right now." Like making sure Rindo didn't eat Fret's Soul with a side of Freedom Fries.
"i see. good luck figuring out your feelings! it can take time. there's no rush and no wrong answers. i'll be here for you no matter what. :)"
"thanks, swallow"
Swallow's texts stopped after that. They must have gotten busy. Probably good timing, honestly. Rindo needed to get back to work too, figuring out what to do about this singing thing, if Fret ever got back from—
Oh there he was, sliding back next to Rindo, before nibbling on his fishwich some more. Rindo caught Fret sneaking a glance at him. Then Fret dropped his gaze back to his own food and munched on it more intensely.
Rindo meanwhile still felt strangely restless, almost…caged? But that made no sense. He could leave whenever he wanted, and Fret was right here with him too. Still, he wanted to hurry up and go outside. Well they should leave soon anyway, it was 11:46. Maybe that was it?
When Rindo and Fret finally finished their food, a surprisingly quiet time, they headed back out to Spain Hill. And then, at 12:12…
"Greetings! :D" texted Kaie cheerfully, even though his face remained somber. Kinda made Rindo wonder how he himself looked while he was texting people. "How may I assist you? Oh, perhaps you would like to get a reading? :3 Spain Hill is supposed to be closed today, but I have a key!" He rolled a strange-looking yellow pin out of his sleeve.
"Um, actually, I want to ask about some Game stuff, but can we do it at your place?" asked Rindo.
"Oh? Why, of course!" texted Kaie. "And then if you want to get a reading afterward, I'll have everything ready ;)."
Really shilling his stuff, huh? thought Rindo. Well, whatever. He'd get another reading if he had to, but otherwise he didn't have the time to waste on it.
They followed Kaie into his shop. Yup, still very purple. Rindo didn't know why he'd expected anything different.
"Now, what questions do you have for me?" asked Kaie, as they all sat down at the table. "Does something concern you? Is that why you wanted to speak in private?"
"Well...yeah," said Rindo. "I, uh, think there might be something wrong with my Soul? Some stuff that Mr. Minami said earlier...concerns me. He seems to think that I might start...singing?"
"Singing? Like you're gonna turn into a snobby pop star or something?" Fret only furrowed his brows in confusion. "Because I'm pretty sure that has zero chance of happening. I can't even get you to sing karaoke!"
"That...is likely not what this Mr. Minami person is referring to :/," said Kaie, his eyes narrowing as his frown deepened. Man, he almost looked scary like that. "Though how he would have such Reaper-exclusive information is...troubling. But a state like singing shouldn't happen to a Player."
"That's what I've heard, yeah," said Rindo. "I've also heard that you're good with analyzing Soul numbers or something. So could you do that for me real quick?"
"Hmm, you have some very informative sources :v," said Kaie. "But I am curious, so give me a moment to bring up your data." He typed and swiped rapidly on his phone.
"Dude, what even is this singing stuff anyway?" asked Fret. "Is it the same as the 4-2-1?"
"Yeah. It's..." Rindo glanced away. "...When a Reaper turns Noise and eats another Reaper to evolve or something."
"Oh." A pause. "Wait, what?"
"Yeah, so I kinda don't want that to happen," said Rindo with an exasperated sigh. "I'm…worried that I'll go after you."
"Huh? Why?" asked Fret. "I mean, we've got the power of friendship on our side, right?"
…The things Fret said with such an innocent smile.
"Also I'm not a Reaper?" added Fret, his eyes studying Kaie's room as if he expected an answer there. "And neither are you? And why would you need to eat a Reaper anyway? Why not eat Noise or something? Well, I guess Noise do kinda dissolve when you erase 'em...But hell, if it's meat you need, why not just pig out at SBY BBQ?"
"It's not that simple, I'm afraid :(," said Kaie. "Singing is more an evolution of the Soul rather than the body, so a whole Soul must be consumed in order for that Soul to reach the next stage of existence. Otherwise, the singing Soul is consumed by its own Inner Noise."
"Yikes..." said Fret. "Sounds like it sucks to be a Reaper. Kill or be killed, huh?"
"There are many difficult aspects to being a Reaper, it is true. But really it's not quite as bad as it sounds. :) It's like being part of one big family, except that no one grows old and dies. Well, there are Reaper points to consider, but as long as you do your job properly you'll have more than enough to live on. It's actually a pretty relaxing existence once you get used to it. For example, I have all the time I need to do fortunetelling on the side. :D"
"Uh huh." Fret sounded as skeptical as Rindo felt.
Kaie's frown returned as his eyes scanned something on the screen. "What's this? These peaks and valleys in your Vibe Check numbers, and now a steady decline...You are, indeed, singing! :O"
"W-What? B-But that means..." Fret cast a horrified glance at Rindo.
Rindo couldn't quite meet his friend's gaze. So the singing had already begun this loop. "When did it start? Like, can you tell?"
"I can pull up more detailed data, yes. One moment."
"Rindude..." Oh, Rindo did not like that terrified puppy-eyes look Fret had.
"Fret, It's...it's not okay, but..." Rindo forced himself to smile. "But we'll figure something out! That's why I wanted to come here! Now that I know for sure...Kaie, while you're getting that data up, what triggers singing anyway?"
"It could be caused by several factors, but the most common one is stress," explained Kaie. "Stress, and a certain level of power usually not obtained by Players. And the third, inevitable factor: time. Eventually, all Reapers must sing, and when that time comes, one cannot avoid it. But it is simply part of the natural process of a Reaper growing up. :D"
"Hmm...So I got stressed out about something, and because I'm an unusually strong Player, that triggered the singing?" Great, that narrowed down the list a ton. And he had barely done anything on this loop!
"But this..." Kaie bent over, bringing his phone even close to his face. "How strange! I've never seen anything like this!"
Oh great. "What is it?"
"Oh! Your numbers were average, or perhaps slightly below, since you joined the Game—until they suddenly spiked up to stratospheric levels at 10:00 today! :O" said Kaie.
10:00? Wait, it had happened right at the start of the day? How? He hadn't felt any different at the beginning…
"Ah! And it appears there were hourly spikes that occurred the day before! Tell me, what occurred on Day 3?"
"Uh...We were trying to recruit a new member, though that…didn't work out," explained Rindo.
"Yeah, we never even saw them!" said Fret.
Yeah, because Rindo didn't want to get anywhere near her ever again. "So since we never found them, we got…distracted. We went to a restaurant to get a special voucher for a special pin or whatever, stood in line for a while. and then, uh…" And then his fear of her had taken over and he had fled before getting the pin, but he couldn't exactly say that without mentioning the whole time travel thing. "..Like, I thought maybe the special pin was related to the mission, but then I realized that it was just some merch for some game I didn't know about, so we left. And…that's it, really."
So why would his numbers have been weird yesterday too? Yeah, he had gotten attacked by her, but then he had jumped back, so that shouldn't have mattered anymore, right?
"Yeah, and everything's been normal today too?" added Fret. "We went to Center Street, fought some Noise to get past a wall Reaper, grabbed some food, and now we're here."
"Hmm, most curious. :/ Let me run a composition scan on your Soul as well."
"Okay," said Rindo. "Whatever you need to do to give me the most answers." Because that was probably all this loop was gonna be good for, if the singing had already started. Though, how would he avoid the singing if it began right at 10:00? Well, if Rindo knew what caused it…and once he knew, he should jump back as soon as possible. If only he could figure out how to do it without waiting for a panic attack from a disaster.
Panic...disaster...Wait, all those hourly spikes did have something in were when Rindo jumped back in time! That even explained the weird fluctuations in power too, because he jumped around out of order!
But what did that mean?
Rindo glanced over to Fret. He was turned away from Rindo, hugging Kaie's rabbit toy like a scared child. Man, he had never seen Fret this upset ever. Well, not counting whenever Fret saw him transform in the previous loops anyway. Though maybe not even then...Rindo had no idea what to do if Fret started crying, and not in that faux-dramatic way he sometimes did. "Fret...Hey, um..."
Fret perked up at Rindo's voice and smiled, using the rabbit to wave at Rindo. "Don't worry, buddy, w-we'll figure this out, like you said!"
Rindo only felt the pain in his heart increase. How long before this ache in his chest burned like acid? Before his back and skin gave way to ravenous tattoos that would cover him like kudzu vines? Fret...
Rindo's phone dinged with Kaie's response. Fret leaned into Rindo a little to get a better look at the screen.
"Hmm...it seems you've already absorbed a significant amount of another's Soul, judging by the two distinct sets of patterns in your own," explained Kaie. He gazed at Fret, who was still pressed close to Rindo. "Your teammate's, most likely. Let me check his data as well."
"Wait, really?" asked Fret, sitting up again and looking himself over. "But I don't feel any different? I mean, I don't feel sick or anything."
Rindo sure felt sick, but for a different reason. "When did that happen? My singing just started today, right?"
"Yes, so it's odd that the singing has progressed so much. :/," texted Kaie. "Normally this amount of Soul absorption only happens in the final stages. But if you were in those final stages...Well, you both would already be in a half-Noise state, battling your chosen partner." For a moment he almost looked…wistful? "So either your will is incredibly resilient, or something else is going on."
"Well, Rindude can be pretty stubborn," Fret chuckled weakly, picking at one of the stuffed rabbit's ears..
"Fret, this is serious," mumbled Rindo. "I could...I might have already hurt you badly, if I've been absorbing your Soul." But when? When did that happen? They had synced earlier, but that fight hadn't been very long. Certainly not long enough to drain away a good portion of Fret's Soul, right?
"Don't worry buddy! I feel fine!" Fret sounded way too chipper about this.
Kaie's brow furrowed. "Curiouser and curiouser. It appears that Fret has barely lost any Soul at all, but it is his Soul pattern mixed into your own Soul, and a significant amount of it."
"See? I'm fine!" said Fret. "Mostly!"
"Not quite. :/ Your numbers have been stable, but at 10:31 this morning…Hmm. They are still clearly your Soul pattern, but your Soul underwent some sort of massive upheaval. You are not singing though, and I cannot think of what else might have caused such a dramatic, sudden shift. :( But I will keep thinking. :)"
"Uh…I still feel the same though?" Fret turned to Rindo. "Do I seem any different to you, Rindude?"
"Um, not really?" said Rindo. A massive shift in Fret's Soul? What the hell?
"Also, it seems like Rindo's Soul suffered direct damage recently," Kaie went on. "Though some of the damage has been repaired, or at least filled, by the second Soul pattern."
"Huh? Direct damage to my Soul?" asked Rindo. "But how is that possible? And what does that mean?"
"Hmm…I think that damage to your Soul likely set you on the path of singing," Kaie explained. "You most likely lost a lot of Soul from it, like blood from an open wound. That lack of Soul in turn made your Inner Noise upset and unstable. Singing is as much a survival instinct as an evolutionary one."
"So I'm singing because my Soul is injured?" asked Rindo. But what could have gored his Soul so badly right at the start of the day? Without him even feeling a thing?
"Essentially yes, though it likely didn't fully begin until there was enough added stress," said Kaie. "Singing because of a lack of Soul is much rarer than simply singing because the Soul is ready to evolve."
"So Rindo's Soul is hurt?" Fret almost looked guilty? "And my Soul is trying to…heal him?"
"Your Soul is trying to be one with his."
"O-Oh." Fret was quiet for a moment. "That is…certainly a wording." He giggled nervously.
"But you said that I have a…significant amount of Fret's Soul already?" asked Rindo. "But Fret has barely lost any Soul at the same time? Is it happening slowly over time or something?"
"I'm not sure. But it's almost as if the Soul had become duplicated, rather than taken from him. Curiously, the pattern that his Soul shifted towards at 10:31 appears more similar to the pattern repairing your Soul, compared to the pattern that he had before."
"Duplicated?" asked Rindo. Wait...
"Maybe I just have a really high regen stat on my Soul?" offered Fret. "Folks do say that I bounce back from stuff pretty quick."
But Rindo was barely paying attention to Fret's rambling. Wait, is it because...?
"No Fret, your Soul numbers have been average to above average at this point," Kaie replied. "In fact, as I mentioned, your numbers have remained stable, even with the drastic shift in pattern at 10:31. Did anything happen around that time? Or, what were you doing then?"
"10:31?" asked Rindo. "Uh, what were we doing—"
"C'mon—Think!" said Fret, shutting his eyes tight.
The Remind worked like a charm, and Rindo suddenly remembered Fret leaning against his back. "Oh! We were fighting Noise! It was just regular old Noise though, nothing weird." So it was the sync then?
"I see. It might have been because the two of you synced, and Rindo's Soul was already singing," said Kaie, confirming Rindo's suspicions.
But it couldn't have been just the sync. The strangely vampiric connection was just a symptom of the larger problem.
"There's definitely resonance going on as well," Kaie went on. "But hmm, that still doesn't explain how Rindo obtained so much, while Fret lost so little, and yet was still so profoundly altered by the encounter. Hmm..."
Of course it didn't. Because there was one thing that Kaie didn't know about, that he wouldn't even have considered because the idea was so absurd.
Time travel.
Rindo hadn't drained Fret much this time, but Rindo had gone half-Noise and drained Fret significantly that first loop. Though the following loop hadn't gotten quite that out of control.
"Is…Uh, you think this is happening because we're such…good buddies?" asked Fret. "I mean, when we've got a good groove going in battle, our sync gets stronger, right?"
"Hmm, it is true that singing goes quicker as the partners become more accustomed and willing, but I'm not sure if that's entirely what this is. :v," said Kaie, tapping and swiping on his phone. "It still doesn't explain the excess Soul, or why both your Souls changed so suddenly and drastically."
But the time travel would explain it. Because if Rindo was carrying Soul from Fret through each loop, leeching more off from him each sync...
A gentle, almost shy touch on top of Rindo's hand. When Rindo didn't reflexively pull away, Fret gingerly laid his hand on the back of Rindo's. "Don't worry buddy, it'll be okay. We'll fix this, somehow."
And that light touch felt…nice. The slight tremble only made it more endearing.
But…
Fret calling for Minamimoto's help one loop, but reluctant to leave Rindo in the next. Fret suddenly being too bashful to even look at Rindo half the time in the last loop. And then in this one, cooking up an indirect kiss scheme and even laying his hand on Rindo's.
The singing wasn't just happening over and over, it was getting stronger each time! Because Rindo had more of Fret's Soul each time, because of each sync they shared. And because...
"If you are willing to sing with him, then this will resolve itself soon enough," typed Kaie. "One person absorbs the other, true, but it is more the blending of two Souls than one Soul simply 'eating' the other. Together, you will become a new person. :D"
"A new person, huh?" asked Fret. "But we still have to fight, right? I don't wanna hurt Rindo, and he probably doesn't want to hurt me either. Right, buddy?"
Rindo only nodded, staring at his shoes.
Because Rindo himself was stronger each time. He kept whatever extra strength he gained whenever he jumped back in time. Rindo's preserved power levels were evidence enough of that. Everyone else's power, including Fret, reset to normal. Everyone else's Souls—
"This acceleration beyond the curve...multiple temporal translations?" Minamimoto had said. "Zeptogram No. 2, how many timelines have you iterated through? And what fraction of Zeptogram No.1 have you integrated already?"
Multiple temporal translations…How many timelines…So that was what Minamimoto had meant! Rindo had barely paid attention at the time because he was struggling to keep his wings and desires trapped within him, but Minaimimoto could tell that Rindo had jumped back multiple times! Which meant that Rindo was changing enough each cycle for Minamimoto to notice something was off, even though he wasn't time traveling himself. Rindo was changing…
...Oh god.
If Rindo's Soul always kept all its changes, even through time travel, that meant he was keeping the damages to his Soul too! Including…
It was her. She was the one who went into his mind and nearly destroyed him from the inside out. That was where the Soul damage came from! That bitch. She was the reason why—
But his Soul was already singing from the near-fatal damage inflicted yesterday, and not even time travel could heal his Soul—
Oh god, the resets didn't matter.
The singing hadn't started at 10:00. That had just been his already-singing Soul jumping back to the start of the day! And the singing itself would probably keep happening sooner because his Soul was getting weaker while his Inner Noise kept getting stronger, especially whenever it got access to Fret's Soul in any form, for even a moment.
No, the resets only made everything worse.
"Rindo?"
Shit, Rindo hadn't even realized that he'd been shaking and starting to hyperventilate. Not from a fever, at least not yet...
"Rindo, buddy, come here..." Fret carefully wrapped one arm around Rindo from the side.
Rindo's eyes burned, letting Fret pull him closer. "W-What do I do?" he croaked.
"...I don't know," admitted Fret, rubbing Rindo's back. "B-But I'll be here for you, no matter what."
"Fret..." Rindo felt something spasm across his muscles. But the back rub felt so good, and Fret was so warm. "D-Don't let me hurt you..."
Rindo felt Fret's chest heave with a sigh, his breath rushing past Rindo's ear. "Is there really nothing we can do, Kaie? At all? Well, besides..." Rindo felt Fret hug him tighter.
"Not at this point, I'm afraid," texted Kaie. "But do not worry! If you two care for each other this much, then I'm sure you will be happy together once the singing is over. :) Singing is a frightening concept, I know, especially the first time it occurs. But I can tell you from personal experience that blending with another Soul brings a closeness that nothing else can match. :3"
"A..closeness, huh?' Fret looked down at Rindo.
"And we'll be here to take care of you too. :)"
Fret glanced back up at Kaie. "Really? Why?"
"Because you'll be Reapers of course, once you grow your Reaper wings," said Kaie. "Well, you'll be a single Reaper soon enough, but the point still stands. We Shinjuku Reapers always look after each other. :D"
Shinjuku Reapers? What did Shinjuku mean? Some kind of super special type of Reaper?
"Wings?" asked Fret.
"Like these." Two large bat-like wings unfurled from Kaie's back effortlessly, before being tucked away again.
"W-Whoa!" Fret exclaimed. "Oh, that's…kinda cool I guess? Why'd you hide them though?"
"We normally don't keep them out, as a matter of professionalism during the Game," explained Kaie. "Don't worry, Ayano will guide you through the ins and outs of being Reaper once your singing is complete. In the meantime I suggest that you enjoy your time together before the singing. I will inform the other Reapers of your unusual circumstances, so you will no longer have to worry about any duties as Players. In fact, I will escort you to Akinosuke Hotel to assure that there's no trouble. ;)"
"Wait wait wait, but what if we still wanna go back home?" asked Fret. "Can't we just go back to playing the Game once we're done?"
"I'm afraid not. :(," said Kaie. "Once you become a Reaper, you cannot go back to your RG life."
"W-Wha? How's that fair?"
"Normally, becoming a Reaper is a choice made by the winners of a Game," Kaie explained. "But since Rindo has started singing as a Player, which is quite unprecedented, Reaperhood will be inevitable for him."
Inevitable…Rindo's heart hurt, as did his head. The walls of this small shop were too close around him. He wanted to go outside…
"Now if you wish to keep playing the Game, Fret, you can," Kaie added. "But you cannot do that and sing with Rindo at the same time. The singing will force you to become a Reaper. And when you two become a new person together, well, it won't be possible to simply place you back in your old lives."
Fret barked out a weak laugh. "Yeah, guess you got a point." But his brows still knit together in worry.
"So, what would you like to do, Fret? Stay with Rindo and sing, or keep playing the Game for a chance at reincarnation?"
Fret was quiet at first. "What'll happen to Rindo if I don't sing with him?"
"He can choose another partner to sing with. If he finds no one else, then he will become a Boss Noise instead."
"A Boss Noise? Wait, like the gorilla Noise at the end of Day 2?" Fret's eyes widened in horror. "Wait, that was a person? But we…"
"It had once been a person," said Kaie, his mouth set in a grim line. "The original Soul was consumed by the Inner Noise, and so that was all that's left. A Noise like any other, only stronger."
"O-Oh…" said Fret.
Great. So it was either absorb someone, or get turned into a mindless Noise. What a choice.
"And considering the state of Rindo's Soul, his warsong will probably start in the next couple of hours," said Kaie.
"Warsong?" asked Rindo, though he suspected he already knew that it was.
"When one starts transforming into a Noise, and any sync goes from a loop of shared life force to a back-and-forth drain depending on who's stronger," Kaie explained. "The first to fully drain the other's Soul is the one that evolves, of course."
So pretty much what Rindo had expected then. It wasn't just him turning Noise. The sync itself became corrupted.
"T-That soon?" asked Fret. "What makes you think it'll happen that quick?"
"His Soul already starting to strain against the repression of the Reaper sticker."
"W-What does that mean?" asked Fret.
"Reaper stickers forcibly downtune you to the RG," Kaie explained, even though Rindo didn't understand what any of that meant. "So it seals UG elements like the Inner Noise. However, this does not stop singing. The Inner Noise will still devour you from the inside out and become a Boss Noise if you fail to sing, and your body will die in the RG. So we have little time to waste on a decision. Will you sing with Rindo, Fret?"
Fret stared down at the floor.
Rindo put on a small smile. "Fret, you don't have to do this. You aren't singing. I'll just find someone else, and you and Mr. Minami can win this Game without me no problem."
"Of course that depends on whether you can find someone else willing to sing with you during that time. :/"
Someone else, huh? Well, apparently Shoka was willing, for whatever reason…
"I…I…" Fret swallowed, before wearing a strained grin. "If he doesn't find anyone else, he'd...die, basically, right?" His gaze turned towards Rindo. "I-I wanna make sure you're gonna be okay, Rindude."
"W-What?" No Fret, don't do this. "Dude, you can still go back home! You don't have to throw away your chance at life just because of me!"
"Aw c'mon, what kind of friend would I be if I just left you stranded in the afterlife forever?" But the way his hand trembled in Rindo's, gaze averted, grin still glued in place despite his frightened eyes…
"I know it takes a lot of bravery to choose to stay with Rindo, especially on such short notice. No one would blame you for wanting to run away instead." Kaie frowned. "Though, considering that your team is in last place, I don't think your odds of winning the Game with only you and 'Mr. Minami' are…favorable. :( But the decision is yours! :)"
Fret's eyes turned back to Rindo, afraid but also determined.
"Fret, you don't have to—"
"I've made up my mind already!" Fret snapped, his hand clamping down on Rindo's. That spike of anger evaporated almost instantly, his gaze back to the floor as his grip lessened slightly. "I-I'm staying with you, no matter what."
"Fret..." Fret, you have no idea what you're getting into…
"A-Anyway, we better get moving, right?" said Fret, looking even more worried.
"Correct. So it's best to get both of you to Akinosuke Hotel as quickly as possible. Let me just send an announcement, and we'll be going."
After a minute, their phones dinged with the declaration. "As of 13:01, due to unforeseen circumstances, the Wicked Twisters will no longer be participating in the Game. This does not count as the Wicked Twisters falling into last place, and the Game will proceed as normal to the end of the week. Best of luck to the remaining teams: Ruinbringers, Deep Rivers Society, Variabeauties, and Purehearts!"
It was surreal having Kaie lead them through Shibuya. Wall Reapers opened their walls with a simple polite text, and there was no need to fight Noise at all.
Fret stayed quiet, hanging onto Rindo's hand, and Rindo honestly had no idea what else he could say to him.
Rindo squeezed back carefully, and he saw Fret smile just a little.
There was no fanfare, no balloons, no celebration, but other people sure gawked at them like they were a parade. Other Players they didn't know muttered among themselves as they passed, shooting them dirty looks.
Except for, funnily enough, Susukichi of the Ruinbringers, who laughed and grinned, but not in a condescending kind of way. Almost...friendly? Weird. Who was that silent girl with the headphones beside him?
Rindo heard that Kubo guy guffawing far more snidely from somewhere, but he didn't see where he was.
Members of DRS in particular spoke to each other in frantic whispers whenever Rindo and Fret passed. And standing by one of those scared clusters...
She was there. Of course she was. She watched them without emotion, her eyes hidden by the light reflecting off her glasses. "Hmm. Most curious...Is this the wretched phenomenon Lord Tomonami spoke of before?"
Who the hell was Lord Tomonami? Was that the leader of the DRS or something? They seemed nerdy enough to use a pretentious title like 'Lord' for their leader.
Rindo tried to subtly hide behind Fret. Fret noticed and not-so-subtly stood taller and gave the girl a disapproving glare.
Surprisingly, she stepped back into the throng of frightened DRS members, though they didn't seem to notice her arrival.
Now that Rindo thought of it, was Minamimoto watching from the shadows somewhere? Probably judging them for their 4-2-1-ness or whatever.
Kanon had no scorn for them though, only a smile and a wink. "Congratulations, boys! You simply must tell me how you did it later!"
Rindo only chuckled nervously.
Funny, Fret didn't look at her at all. "Y-Yeah, we will…"
As they kept walking, Fret squeezed Rindo's hand. "It'll be okay, buddy. I…I'm sure it ain't as bad as it sounds, y'know? The way Kaie talked about it, it…almost sounds kinda nice? Don't knock it 'til you try it, right?"" His laughter sounded forced.
"Fret…" said Rindo. "Are you really okay with leaving your whole life behind? What about your other friends? Or your parents? Are you really okay not being able to spend time with them?"
Fret's smile faltered for a moment."I...Well, I can't lie and say that I won't miss my folks or my other friends, or just...being alive in general…" Suddenly Fret was beaming at Rindo again. "But man, if I left you alone, whatever other guy you choose would eat you alive for sure."
Fret…probably wasn't wrong, judging by how Rindo's 'fight' with Shoka had gone
"And I mean…I've made my choice, right? I'm already removed from the Game. Our team isn't even a thing anymore. And my Soul's been fusing with yours already. And it's doing that because…because it wants to. And Souls don't lie, right?" More anxious chuckles. Fret clenched Rindo's hand almost painfully.
"Fret…"
Fret took a deep breath, like that feeble laughter had winded him. "Look buddy, I…Sure I could have just gone home to my other friends and family, but sacrificing you to do that is just…Man, that's what scumbags do. If anyone knew what I did just to get back…" He looked troubled. "Would anyone even want a turncoat like me back at all?"
"Fret, you're not a bad person if you want to leave," said Rindo. "You could just…not tell anyone when you get back? It'd be kinda hard to explain anyway."
"Heh. True." Fret's weak grin soon crumbled to something much sadder. "But I'd still know what I did. And…I don't know if I could enjoy life, knowing that…that I left you behind when you needed me most, because of my own selfishness."
"Fret, it's not selfish to want to live."
"It is if…" Fret swung their intertwined hands back and forth almost playfully. "It'll…It'll be worth it…If I can stay with you…Yeah, it'll all be worth it…"
Rindo's brow knit together in worry, but he didn't say anything else.
Other people Rindo didn't know briefly showed up to study him and Fret. A man with glasses and a strange glove. A woman with long black hair and an iguana. Next to her was...Oh, Rindo definitely knew that person.
"What the hell is this Kaie?" Shoka almost yelled. "Why are these two disqualified all of a sudden?"
"They're singing, Shoka. It's against the rules to have someone singing in the Game. :/"
"They're what?" She gaped at Rindo in particular.
"Now Shoka dear, if they're singing, that means we will have more family soon," said the woman with the iguana. "And I think that will be wonderful."
Shoka sputtered.
"Hmm..." The man with glasses looked displeased.
But everyone was interrupted by a reedy man in glasses and a stout man in blue clothes, both with panicked but hopeful eyes, demanding to know just how the Wicked Twisters had gotten out of the Game.
Their strained smiles and sweat…Something about that made Rindo irrationally angry. They thought they had it bad? Try having time travel powers and still not being able to save yourself or your friend!
While the thin one pleaded with the lady with the iguana, and the stout one argued with the guy with the glasses, Rindo suddenly felt a little dizzy. He rubbed his eyes and groaned. Everything was so bright and loud.
"Rindude? You good, buddy?"
Kaie glanced back at Rindo and frowned. "Do not worry. We're almost there." He kept leading Rindo and Fret forward while the other two escorted the errant Players away.
Rindo spotted Akinosuke Hotel long before they reached the entrance. It was tall, and it was gaudy, painted bright gold and red, with orange butterflies stamped around the entrance, and one huge fire-colored one at the very top. There were windows, lots of windows actually, but every single one of them was painted a deep scarlet, with only a tiny bit of light from within shining through.
Fret smirked nervously as they approached. "Dude, just what kind of hotel is this?"
"A place where partners can sing in peace," said Kaie. "Unfortunately you will likely not have time to enjoy its services before the singing, but you may take as much time as you like to enjoy them afterward. :D" He paused thoughtfully. "There is no need for a Soul check-up, since I already examined your Souls, so we'll take you straight to your room. I already informed the staff about your upcoming arrival, so everything should be ready. :)"
Right now, the only service Rindo cared about was a decent bed to lay on. His head throbbed and his muscles burned all over. Though the rising fire in his heart had yet to spread to the rest of his insides. But if the previous loops were any indication…
"Rindo, you're shaking." Fret's hand carefully compressed Rindo's. "C'mon, buddy, let's get you inside."
Rindo only nodded, and even that made him feel a little dizzy.
As soon as they entered the doors, Rindo felt…Fret's anxious concern? Rindo could feel it directly now? Wait, were they synced? Was this place actually on the Noise Plane or something? It had that weird static-filled atmosphere the Noise Plane did...sorta.
Kaie mentioned something about the unusual nature of this place, along with Noise-proof doors or something. Rindo frankly didn't have the brainpower for any more of Kaie's explanations.
Honestly he barely registered going through the elevator, and then down a long hall. His brain was so addled with a feverish fog that he just let himself be led by Fret the whole way. Fret…If Fret was here then he should be fine…But that wasn't the issue, was it? He needed Fret to be fine too…
Finally, a bed. Rindo collapsed onto it. Now that he was off his feet, he glanced around the room: small, cramped, not good for flying. Disappointing. The walls were padded for some reason.
Fret sat on the bed on the other side of the room, staring at Rindo pensively. So much worry wafted off him. He picked at the ragged old hat that always hung off his belt loop, no matter what flashy outfit he wore. "So…Uh…How are you feeling?"
"Horrible," muttered Rindo. Already his back was hurting, so he rolled onto his stomach.
Fret's face fell. Guilt. "S-Sorry…"
"Fret, this isn't your fault. I…" Rindo sighed, burying his face into one of the pillows. "I just don't know what to do about this…I don't want to hurt you, Fret…"
"I know, buddy. I-I don't wanna hurt you either…"
They both stayed awkwardly silent, with only the unfamiliar hums of an unknown building to listen to.
What else could Rindo do? If he was feeling this sick already, then he didn't have much time left.
"Oh, hey! What if I Reminded you during the whole Noise thing that you don't want to eat my Soul and stuff?" Fret suggested, looking and feeling almost hopeful. "Or to only eat, like, a part of it maybe? Would that be enough to keep you from going Boss Noise? Or maybe if we kept a sync going for a long time, and you just fed off my Soul for a few days instead of all at once? Maybe that would work?" He groaned. "Man, I should've asked Kaie that stuff while he was still here…"
Rindo really doubted any of that would do any good. Especially considering his previous accidental Soul draining hadn't made him any less ravenous for the whole of Fret's Soul this time. Even the Remind…
Actually, there was one option Rindo hadn't considered yet, whether out of selfishness or stupidity. One that would guarantee that Fret would be okay, at least.
"Y'know, the Remind stuff might work?" said Rindo.
Fret perked up instantly. "Really?"
"Yeah," said Rindo."If I can remember that I'm myself, maybe we could…stall? Make sure that I don't hurt you too bad, give you time to recover from Soul attacks or whatever, like you said."
That, of course, wasn't Rindo's real plan. His real plan was to wait until Fret himself started turning Noise. Kaie said that the singing would force both of them to become Reapers, right? Then it would at least be an even playing field, and Fret would have a chance to devour him instead.
But Fret needed more than just a chance. Fret needed the odds in his favor as much as possible. Rindo tucked the blankets tightly around himself, even though he was already too hot, and laid on his back, despite the protests from his already-pinched wings. It wouldn't buy much time, but he'd take any extra seconds he could put between himself and Fret.
What else could Rindo do that wouldn't look too strange to Fret? He could hole himself up in the bathroom, he supposed. Just tell Fret he wasn't feeling good, lock the door, and then stay there until his wings and mind tore out of him. Reassure Fret through the door if he had to. Actually, why try to hide it at all? "Listen, Fret, I…I really wanna make sure I don't hurt you, so I'm gonna lock myself in the bathroom. Don't try to come in, since I might, uh—"
Fret went from somber to terrified in an instant, scurrying over to Rindo's bed. "No no no, you stay here, got it? Y-You stay right where I can see you, got it?"
What the hell? Why was Fret so worked up all of a sudden? Unless Rindo's singing was starting to affect Fret too, just like Kaie said it would. And that was what Rindo wanted, right? If he wanted Fret to sing him instead? "It's okay, Fret. I'm just trying to protect you."
Fret kneeled down next to the bed, resting his head on his arms, but his blue eyes stayed on Rindo. He looked so serious it was almost unintentionally funny. "You stay here." The sulky yet almost childish tone didn't help.
Rindo couldn't help but chuckle a little, though Fret was clearly unamused by Rindo's amusement. "Alright, I'll stay here."
"Good." Fret still watched him like he expected Rindo to sneak away when he blinked.
Dammit, those stern puppy-watchdog eyes made the heat in Rindo's heart spike. With a soft smile, he untangled one of his arms from the covers and rustled Fret's hair. His locks were all weird and stiff from whatever hair products he used on it. But the way Fret's face suddenly reddened, as his head slowly sunk into his arms, was worth it. Heh, Fret may have hid his face, his ears were still flushed. And it did absolutely nothing to disguise his rampant embarrassment and nervous giddiness and simple warm joy.
All these feelings, whether terrific or terrible, all Fret. Rindo could soak in this wonderful cocktail of emotions forever. Fret was so…everything. Everything that Rindo needed…Right here…
Hot pain sliced all across his back.
Fret yelped when Rindo accidentally pulled on Fret's hair. He pushed Rindo's hand away and sat up straight. "R-Rindo?"
"Sorry…" Rindo hissed, his hand gripping the sheets instead. "Sorry…Sorry…Sorry…Fret…"
"S-Shit, is it happening?" asked Fret, panic flaring up. "Uh, w-what should I…Right! Remind! Right!" His hand clenched the top of Rindo's balled-up fist. "C-C'mon—think!"
Rindo remembered when they had first visited the croaky panic store, with Fret trotting around in a Santa outfit purely for Rindo's amusement. Of all the things to remember now…But it had cut through the pain, if only for a moment. That and the trembling pressure around his hand helped ground Rindo a little. That and Fret's fear-tinged determination.
"C'mon—think!"
Now Rindo remembered the beginning of high school, when Fret had casually invited Rindo over to his table of friends, like Rindo had been an old friend too, instead of someone he'd just met when the semester started. And it had been…awkward as hell, because being packed in with that many noisy strangers around a table had made him extra anxious. But Fret hadn't seemed to mind his nervousness and had tried to keep Rindo included in the conversation, even if Rindo hadn't said much. But after that disastrous failure at basic social interaction, Rindo had stuck to his lone table…And sometimes Fret had come to visit, or even just greeted him as he passed by the table. And that had been…surprisingly nice. That someone would go out of their way to check up on Rindo, without constantly being in his face all the time.
Pain. So much pain and fire. But Rindo had to hold onto himself long enough until Fret lost himself and—
"C'mon—think!"
And Rindo thought of Fret crying out for Minamimoto's help that first loop, and then how Fret had so reluctantly fled with Minamimoto the second loop.
Why was Rindo thinking about this now? Fret wouldn't remember any of this, so it couldn't have been a direct Remind. Had Fret's last Remind failed then? So much sadness and fear and crushing guilt from Fret…But only some of it was for Rindo?
Meanwhile Rindo's heart thudded and thudded in terror of what was to come…but also in excitement? Why did Rindo almost want it to happen again? This heat infecting his torso, a burning void...and then a piercing pain.
With a shrill squawk Rindo ripped his hand away from Fret's, thrashing onto his side and facing toward the wall, his body scrunched up from the agony.
"R-Rindo…"
Keep talking, Fret, thought Rindo, as the searing sensation in his heart spiraled out into the rest of his chest. Maybe just hearing Fret's voice, no matter what he said, would be enough to keep Rindo and his wings calm. Fret was here…Fret was right here…
But of course it wasn't. The wings tore out all the same, and already patches of his skin burned from the underside. Ah, there they were, the loathsome tattoos that ate through his skin like worms…
Fret. Where was Fret? Ah, there he was, awkwardly sprawled on the carpet, probably flung back by the wings. Yeah, Rindo saw some crawling static on Fret's shirt and chest.
Fret stared at Rindo with wide blue eyes and quick breaths. Fright. Horror. Desperation. Fret's emotions became more vivid than ever, as the sync went from a balanced loop to a one-way path leading only to Rindo.
Fret…Did Fret not want to do this after all? Even though he had said that he would stay until the end this time?
No…No, of course Fret didn't want to do this! That wasn't the point! The point was that Fret was his friend and he didn't want to eat him! Though that wasn't slowing the tattoos any, as a beak formed over his face…
"R-Rindo…So, uh...you're a raven?" Somehow Fret managed a smile, though his feelings pulsing through the sync were anything but happy.
Rindo could only warble in return, which was frustrating because there were so many things that he wanted to say. You're gonna try to be funny even now? Really? Get ready to fight, stupid!
Though…a Raven, huh? Yeah, that sounded right. He was a Raven.
"...Rindo, it's me, dude..." said Fret with a nervous smile. "You remember me, right? L-Let me remind you! C'mon—think!"
Rindo remembered that time when Fret had somehow talked Rindo into going into a massage parlor, and Rindo had never realized how tense his body had been until a masseuse had pressed that tension out of him. It had hurt at first, but man he had felt so relaxed after the visit.
Or maybe Rindo had just felt that relaxed because Fret was with him. Everything was better when Fret was with him, whether it was school or shopping or slowly turning into a Noise. Rindo fluttered toward Fret.
"Rindude? Buddy? You remember me?" So hopeful, yet so uncertain. "You gotta remember me, right?"
Of course he remembered. He was Fret. And he loved Fret, and the Noise hiding within him. Why was it still staying burrowed, still not showing its wings, when the Raven Noise was right here waiting for it?
"Rin—"
The Raven Noise shot across the room on his four wings, ramming Fret into the wall. Fret still looked dazed when the Raven Noise stabbed his shoulders with the tips of his Reaper wings.
Fret screamed, his shoulders flickering with static, as his eyes shone with fear. "Buddy wait wait wait, you don't wanna do this, remember? C-C'mon…Th-Think…"
But the Raven Noise wasn't Reminded of anything at all, so either the pain or the panic kept Fret from concentrating enough to activate it.
The Raven Noise's arm, bladed with sharp tattoo-like feathers, raised for a more precise strike while Fret was pinned. If he didn't want to fight, then the Raven Noise would make this quick. If he did want to fight—–
With a terrified yell both of Fret's palms lit up, launching a volley of energy blasts. The rapid-fire bursts knocked the Raven Noise across the room, crashing into the side of his bed.
Fret slid down the wall, shaking. Not daring to take his eyes off the Raven Noise. Fret gritted his teeth as he gripped his heart.
So Fret was willing to retaliate. Willing to fight, willing to hurt…but still no wings or Noise?
Fret froze as the Raven Noise's wings flared out again. He pushed himself onto all fours, trilling, before suddenly lashing out at everything around him with his wings, screeching.
"R-R-Rindo..."
No, Rindo had already attacked and hurt Fret, and if Fret didn't hurry up and turn Reaper, Rindo was only going to hurt him more and more until there was nothing left to—
One of Rindo's wild Reaper wings stabbed into the mattress and got stuck there for a moment before tearing free. Maybe…Maybe something like that would work. With a screech he plunged all the sharp tips of his Reaper wings through the carpet and into the floor, forming a loose cage around him. He pulled on his wings, but they remained stuck. If the other Noise emerged while his wings were caught…
But this was what he…wanted? Well, if anyone had the permission to take his Soul, it was…
Fret still had his back flattened against the wall, eyes wide and panting with terror. But within the pupils of those blue eyes, a paler blue light sputtered.
Those blue eyes darted toward the door.
Wait, was Fret going to—
Fret made a mad scramble for the door, only to get hung up when his hat hooked onto an endtable,
Wait, no! After a struggle the Raven Noise finally yanked his wings free, flew toward Fret, and tackled him to the floor. Then the Raven Noise clawed furiously at Fret's back, ignoring his yelps and yowls of pain. Where were the wings? So much static. Where were the wings? He'd pull them out himself if he had to!
Fret snarled as he curled both his arms upward, blasting Rindo in the face with a flurry of psychic projectiles. While Rindo was stunned, Fret lunged for the door and dashed straight out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him.
With an angry caw the Raven Noise flew toward the door, only to be repelled by a shock. Huh? Why hadn't that happened to Fret? Was it because Fret hadn't gone into Noise form yet? Was this what Kaie had meant by Noise-proof doors?
He rammed into the invisible barrier over and over in frustration. No! He needed to get out because Fret was out there! If he wasn't with Fret, then he would end up devouring himself out of unbearable loneliness and hunger!
Wait…He couldn't see Fret, but he could sense him. The sync was still active! And Fret didn't know anything about deactivating the sync this time! So as long as that connection remained, Fret's Soul would still be drained, so the Raven Noise would still be fine!
Was there a range for the sync though? If Fret ran far enough? The Raven Noise pressed up against the padded wall, to try to stay as close to Fret as he could.
It seemed that Fret hadn't gotten far though. The Raven Noise could feel Fret's raw terror burn down to something more sorrowful and exhausted. Guilt. Always the crushing guilt. The tiniest bit of longing, despite the fear and will to survive. But, more than anything…
Regret. Regret about everything. And not a shred of desire to consume or even hurt the Raven. Not a shred of desire to consume or even hurt...Rindo.
The heavy everything was enough to make Rindo's eyes burn, until they overflowed with tears. Because this unhappy song wasn't what he wanted either! He had to get to Fret, no, he had to save—
And so Rindo's plans crumble once again. But what can he do, now that he knows the truth behind the singing and Fret's own escalating feelings?
Next chapter might take a little while too. Quite a bit needs to be fleshed out/added.
Does everything make sense in this chapter. I know it was quite a bit all at once, but there wasn't a good way to split up the explanation.