Hello again! Hopefully not too long a wait this time. This is also a reasonably sized chapter for once, just over 8000 (not counting added notes of course). Honestly, not too much to say other than that. Certain parts of this chapter were hard to write, but once I finally nailed all the basics down, editing/polishing stuff up wasn't too bad.

Thank you as always to oddvector and Darkblaw for being the best betas ever. Even when the doc was being so slow that it took at least a minute for the doc to accept every suggestion approval haha.

Enjoy!

Scale 15: Time is Relative

And suddenly Rindo woke up staring at a lavender ceiling, heart thudding. Shoka and Kaie hovered over him in concern.

Shoka released a sigh of relief. "It's about time you woke up. You had us worried."

"S-Sorry…" mumbled Rindo, gripping the fabric beneath him with both hands. Trying to ground himself in reality again. He was here, whole, and not being torn to pieces by—

Maybe it was just a bad dream born from panic and guilt, but it had been so vivid. He could still feel those teeth all over, especially in his hands and heart. Fret…Was Fret still missing him? Even though it should have been impossible for Fret to miss Rindo? Their Souls were fused together. What else could he want?

Then again, that didn't stop Rindo from missing Fret, did it?

His phone vibrated. Rindo had to rub the blear from his eyes before he could read Kaie's texts. "Are you feeling better now?" asked Kaie. "Do you know what happened? My scans didn't show anything unusual :/"

'Fret happened' was what Rindo wanted to say. But…But then he would have to explain the nightmare, what Fret had done, what Fret had become.

Rindo didn't want to do that. For one, it might agitate Fret enough to drag Rindo back into the same nightmare or something. He could still feel a painful tightness in his heart, like Fret was squeezing his heart to his chest like a pillow. A pillow he might have just ripped to shreds if he got upset again.

And yet, Rindo wanted to…protect Fret? He hadn't been malicious or anything, just terribly hungry and needy. It wasn't Fret's fault that he transformed into that. Not so different from how he had been during the singing, really.

Assuming that this nightmare Fret had been Fret at all…

"Rindo?"

"Oh! Uh, sorry, I, uh, just had a really bad panic attack, I think?" Rindo quickly replied, putting on a lopsided smile. "Maybe I was still worn out from all the singing stuff? Anyway, I'm feeling better now! So, uh…"

Actually, what should Rindo do now? If Fret's RG data was missing, then Rindo had no way of learning about Fret's old life. Aside from the texts and pictures on his phone that is, which he had already memorized. Not like there had been much else to do when he had been lingering in the timeless void that one loop. Trying to convince himself that he didn't need the real Fret when he could just gaze at these snapshots of his image and words for eternity.

"So…" Shoka seemed just as clueless as he was. "Wanna just hang out some more? It's probably best if you take it easy anyway, if you just passed out outta nowhere like that."

"Um…Yeah, let's do that."

"Indeed, there's no hurry :)," said Kaie. "Most evolved Reapers stay at the hotel for about a week while recovering. In the meantime, I'll get to the bottom of this missing data mystery. :(."

"I sure hope so," said Rindo. "Thanks Kaie."

As soon as Rindo and Shoka stepped outside, Rindo…had no idea where to go next. "So, um, what do you like to do, Shoka? For fun, I mean. I've just been kinda dragging you everywhere that I wanted to go, so…uh…"

"Nothing to apologize for," said Shoka, before Rindo even had the chance to apologize in the first place. "I know that post-singing stuff is awkward as hell, so I'm fine with just tagging along with whatever you wanna do for now. Not like I got any big plans or anything."

"Thanks," said Rindo. Then he abruptly remembered that FanGO was a thing, a thing that they both liked. "Oh yeah! Wanna play some FanGO? Uh, if it even works here in the hotel? I haven't actually checked…"

"You won't be able to play FanGO in the UG until Kaie is done updating your RNS account, and well…" Her shoulders wilted a little. "You'll have to make a new account."

"What? Why can't I just use the account I have?" The one he had put almost a thousand hours into.

"I mean, the data on your phone should be fine offline, sure, but you won't be able to go online with it ever because your RG data is kinda…nonexistent now. Like your account got poofed."

Oh, right. As far as the RG world was concerned, Rindo Kanade did not exist and never had. And neither had Fret…In fact, the stuff on Rindo's phone was the only physical proof that either of them had existed at all…

"So yeah, if you ever wanna go online again, you'll need a new account. And you can't have two accounts at the same time because, y'know, it's a mobile game?"

"Yeah…" Rindo's face lit up. "Oh, maybe we could still trade stuff now though? That still works offline, right?"

"Nope, you gotta connect to the server for that," said Shoka. "Even if the people trading are huddled right next to each other."

"Oh…" Rindo sighed. "That sucks…"

"Yeah…"

Rindo took out his phone, staring at it. It shouldn't be that big of a deal, right? It was just a game. He'd work his way back to where he was soon enough. And it wasn't like there was some memento of Fret on there or something, because Fret hadn't played FanGO at all. So was there really a reason to hang onto an account that couldn't even go online anymore?

"So, you wanna hang onto your old account, or start a new one?"

Rindo stuffed his phone back into his pocket. "Actually, can I just watch you play for now? I mean, if Kaie manages to find the lost data, then I'd get the account back too, right?"

"Should be able to, yeah," said Shoka. "And Kaie's a tech whiz, so I'm sure he'll get this out figured out in no time."

"Yeah," said Rindo. "Plus it'll be fun to see how you play the game."

Shoka smirked. "Careful, you might just learn a thing or two, Rindragon."

It was a nice distraction, trailing behind Shoka without much thought to where they were going. Fret must be here, somewhere, but Rindo still wanted a physical presence by his side. He hoped Fret wasn't jealous.

And maybe Fret wasn't? Though Rindo had this weird feeling of being jealous of…himself? Maybe that was Fret, or maybe that was himself being jealous that Fret was spending time with someone else, or some other nonsense like that. Being one person with two Souls might actually be more confusing than the singing instinct had been.

The strange tightness in Rindo's chest made him feel sleepy. Or more accurately, made Rindo want to sleep? Fret curled up on his heart and napping on it, maybe? Much like how Fret would curl up on Rindo's lap or chest and doze off during a nice long Soul Twister. Was that why he was so quiet now, because he was mostly sleeping when Rindo was awake? Right now it seemed like dreams were the only way he could spend time with Fret…

Dreams…Hadn't Fret said that he would be Rindo's dreams if Rindo would be Fret's truth? Did he mean that literally? Though Rindo still had no idea what Fret meant by Rindo 'being his truth' or whatever. Maybe Fret would tell him in their next dream together?

Rindo loved Fret, and missed Fret…

…But if Rindo fell asleep, would Fret start devouring him again? He…He wasn't ready for that yet…He…

It…It would be okay. Fret was safe with him, and he was safe with Fret, and nothing would change that now. And Fret loved Rindo, but he also loved being social. So this was good. Fret liked having friends. So did Rindo, really. He was just bad at keeping most of them. But Fret should be able to help with that, at least subconsciously. And Fret having more friends might help Fret manifest better too. Give Fret something to focus on besides…

But it seemed like neither he or Fret felt like socializing yet, as he quietly skirted past the Reapers hanging out in the food court. Most of them were newly evolved Reapers, so they probably weren't in the mood to talk right now anyway. The Red Spider Lily Reaper was staring off into space, the girl of the first Reaper pair they'd spoke to was picking at half-eaten meals scattered all over the table, and the fedora girl had her head buried in her arms, her body wracked with sobs.

Now that Rindo thought about it, he didn't know any of the names of the Reapers here. He hadn't even thought to ask in his singing stupor, where Fret and only Fret mattered. But he really should ask, once they were all feeling a little better….Which would take who knows how long…

Shoka seemed to get the memo too, since they didn't stay long at the food court at all. Instead they soon made their way to the aquarium floor.

Shoka actually found quite a few summons there: an ichthon, a sea monk, and way too many water elementals. Even a leviathan, which she somehow managed to catch! Huh, Rindo had never realized how good coeurls were as summon partners. Sure they weren't the strongest attackers and would desummon at a stiff breeze, but their Blaster skill's paralyze and petrify effects were really useful for making targets easier to seal into the capturing crystals. The summons couldn't attack or run if they were literally turned to stone for three turns.

But Rindo still wasn't crazy about the cramped quarters of the aquarium. No room to either run or fly. And this was the place where Kaie had mentioned how the sung lost their memories, and Fret had been so upset that Rindo had to comfort him with I love yous for several minutes on end.

Fret…He had always been so brave, had smiled so much for Rindo. So to see him shaken so badly...

Rindo had at least been able to protect him from the Noise in battles. He had been able to reset all those other timelines where Fret had been miserable because of Rindo's failures. Especially that one where Fret had cowered behind Minamimoto to get away from Rindo. But he couldn't protect Fret from losing his memories. Especially with Rindo's ability to reset the day gone.

Fret's memories…How much did he remember now? Did he remember anything? Or was he just cheerfully yet desperately following Rindo's lead? Clinging to him because he didn't know what else to do? Maybe he only knew who Rindo was, and that he and Fret loved each other, because of Rindo's own memories?

…So Rindo had to put Fret back together as best he could, even though he was missing so much information about him. Because Fret was counting on him. Because Fret trusted him.

Rindo's heart felt extra heavy. If he'd climbed into one of the aquarium tanks, he would've sunk like a stone and stayed at the bottom where he belonged.

This aquarium held nothing but sorrow for both Rindo and Fret. He should go somewhere where Fret would be happy. He should go…to the park. Yeah, it was finally time to go there, no matter how painful it might be for Rindo.

So Rindo requested to go to the park floor next, and one short elevator ride later they were there. Rindo could feel not just his wings but the very tattoos under his skin pressing to get out and enjoy the fresh air. Or as fresh air could be in a hotel, he supposed.

And it was here that Rindo finally let himself reweave into his Noise form and take to the false sky. It felt so good, so right, just to feel the air beneath his wings. And now he could fly as much as he wanted, now that his weakness and exhaustion were gone. Now that Fret…Now that he could take Fret up with him, effortlessly. Show Fret the view and feeling through Rindo's own eyes and wings.

Do you…like this, Fret? Does it make you happy? Now that we're together?

Rindo felt…a longing? For what?

Fret, what's wrong?

Rindo felt his gaze dart down below, where Shoka watched him.

Ah.

Rindo glided down and landed next to Shoka.

"H-Hey!" The gust created by Rindo's arrival blew Shoka's hood back despite her best efforts. She quickly pulled it back up. "Have fun?"

Staying in his Phoenix form, Rindo crouched down. "Do you…wanna fly with me?" Man, all the reverb in his voice made him sound so weird. He would've thought he would be used to it by now, after going half-Noise so much, but apparently not.

Shoka blinked. "Oh! Uh…Sure! Not like I've got anything better to do." She clambered onto his back, grabbing onto some of his softer feathers. "Okay, let's go."

"Okay!" Rindo took off again.

He heard Shoka's sharp intake of breath and felt her grip clench as they ascended.

"You good?" Rindo asked, straightening out to a steady hover. "You're not scared of heights or anything?" He paused. "Maybe I should've asked that first, huh?" He chuckled weakly, which came out as an echoey, warbly whistle in this form.

"Pssh, I love heights," said Shoka. "I can Telewarp to high places, like, as a latent psych. So this…" She was quiet for a bit. "This is really cool, actually. Warping to a high place isn't the same as flying." A little more silence. "So thanks."

Rindo giggled nervously. "No problem." Because this…this was so nice. Fret was right: having someone else up here with them only made that toasty feeling in his heart even better.

"My, what a splendid Noise form! Such fiery colors truly set the heart aflame!"

Rindo glanced down to see none other than the oh-so-fabled Shiba himself, gazing upon him with a self-satisfied smirk. Next to him was Kubo. looking…almost kinda sour?

"Oh, hi!" Rindo flew down to them, landing carefully so he didn't jostle Shoka too much.

"That's quite the Noise form you got there, kiddo," said Kubo, grinning once again. "No wonder the boss is so interested in ya." He eyed Shoka as she climbed down before whistling at Rindo. "Wow, getting chummy with another Reaper already, are ya? C'mon now, didn't you just eat?"

Rindo let out a warning warble, before he forced himself to relax back to his human form. "It's not like that."

"Yeah, stop making this weird, you creep." Shoka folded her arms and glared at Kubo.

"Nyeheh!"

Shiba chuckled, before turning to Rindo. "Greetings, new red-hot star of Shibuya! So we finally meet."

"Um, hello." Rindo honestly didn't know what else to say. He hardly knew anything about Shiba, and most of what he had heard was not favorable.

"So what brings the legendary Game Master here today?" Shoka seemed a little more comfortable than Rindo, but not by much, judging by her fidgeting.

"Why, we're here to escort our newest Reaper to the top floor, to tell the whole UG of his meteoric rise to Reaperhood!" Shiba declared.

"W-Wait, I'm going to be on the announcements?" asked Rindo. As in those daily reports on the phone that Rindo barely remembered at this point? Oh wait, hadn't Hishima mentioned something about a Reaper coronation earlier?

"Of course! Such an inspiring story of passionate power will surely set hearts ablaze for Reaper and Player alike!" said Shiba. "Now come with us. You as well, Shoka. After all, everyone will be there for such a momentous occasion!"

"Um, everyone?" The more Rindo heard about this announcement, the less he felt ready for it. Yet he followed everyone else to the elevator anyway.

"C'mon, you got this kiddo!" Kubo's sneer was far from encouraging. "Just channel the cur within ya a little, and you might even enjoy yourself!"

Shoka glared at Kubo, glanced at Shiba, and then said nothing.

Was…Was Kubo referring to Fret? Anger surged up in Rindo.

…Partly because Kubo was probably right. If he could summon Fret a bit, that would probably do loads for his anxiety. Let him take over a little even, so he could soak up all the attention he wanted. Yeah, if he were Fret, he would have demanded to be there, cuddling Rindo the whole time. Then he would happily declare his undying love for Rindo for the whole UG to hear, and then fill the rest of the runtime with 'I love yous' and whatever other cheerful chatter came to his mind. Or maybe Fret would have just Soul twistered him into blissful oblivion instead. Maybe even both. Probably both, actually.

…Or he would have gone completely feral like in Rindo's last dream and rip Rindo's Soul to pieces before everyone's eyes…

Either way, not terribly professional.

…Yeah, maybe Rindo didn't want Fret to take over for this. Not when he couldn't control or predict what Fret might do.

Rindo's heart was suddenly squeezed by smothering heat. Such sharp pain, like Fret was biting his heart in either hunger or anger.

Teeth…Rindo gripped his chest. Was Fret…awake?

…Silence. Didn't seem like it. Gnawing on Rindo's heart in his sleep maybe? Because Fret was just starving that much? Was he still suffering from those teeth-in-his-heart he used to mutter about in his sleep, even now? Was that what drove Fret to sink his own teeth into Rindo?

Shoka sighed, looking at Rindo sadly.

Shiba noticed Rindo too, and his smug smile became…not gentle exactly, but more…understanding maybe? "Still feeling scorched after the singing? A little cold even?"

'Scorched' was probably more accurate. He definitely didn't feel cold. Though he did miss Fret's warm presence snuggled into his side, rather than painfully pressing on his heart. If only he could hold Fret, and be held in turn…

"Indeed, the fire of singing captures and consumes like no other," Shiba went on, placing a hand flat on his chest. "A heat so encompassing that all within it snap and crackle, until the flame's endless appetite becomes your own."

"...Yeah," Rindo croaked. That sounded about right. A fire within that only blazed higher the more he tried to put it out, slowly cooking the reason out of him the longer it burned.

"And such a feeling…is exquisite." Shiba sounded almost nostalgic?

Rindo didn't exactly agree. But he couldn't entirely deny it either. The further he had sunk into the singing, the more intoxicating it became, even as he became weaker both physically and spiritually.

"Especially once you share that feeling with another," Shiba continued. "Then you stoke and feed each other's fires to your hearts' content." He chuckled. "Well, it is impossible for any heart to stay content for long in the forge of singing. But that is part of what makes singing so glorious."

Glorious, huh? Rindo didn't agree with that at all. There was nothing glorious about that desperate neediness to be with Fret, to possess Fret, to consume him so he would always have him. Rindo's stomach turned at the thought of how he had pierced key parts of Fret's wings to overwhelm him with his own feelings. How Rindo had done that to make sure that his prey had absolutely no chance of escaping this time, but also as some sort of twisted mercy, to numb him for what Rindo was about to—

Shiba's smile faded to a more somber line. "But sadly, no fire can burn forever. One partner is reduced to ash, while the other is left charred and cold, their flame simmering down to embers. After so much heat, after so much passion, everything else in the world seems cloaked in a smoky haze, doesn't it?"

Well technically everything seemed clearer to Rindo, between better eyesight and better reasoning. But he kinda understood what Shiba meant. After feeling so much inescapable emotions for so long, his feelings seemed so…dull now? Aside from the guilt of course.

"But never fear!" Shiba threw one hand outward, which made Rindo jump. "When those old burns peel away, you'll find a new, better you underneath! And though it may seem that you could never experience such delightful fervor with another, that time will come again! For singing never ends, and this is something to be embraced in all its eternal glory! It means that, if you are strong enough to survive the states in-between, you will meet and take in many wondrous Souls, which will allow you to blaze brighter than any star! For there is no bond that will make you stronger than the bond between singer and sung!"

Rindo was taken aback by the sudden motivational speech. Though he wanted to ask how the bond between singer and sung could be so strong when the sung was also 'reduced to ash'. But then the elevator stopped, and the doors opened to a large studio.

There it was, the background Rindo had seen during the many Game announcements: a dark purple wall with a lush red couch, and not one but two golden chandeliers hanging out each side.

The other Shinjuku Reapers were already here. Rindo saw a whole feast laid out on the table behind him. Was that part of the set, or would that be for celebrating his Reaperhood after the cameras had cut off?

Shoka smiled and patted Rindo's shoulder. "It's your big moment, Rindragon. You got this." Then she scurried over to Ayano's side.

Kaie only smiled and nodded. Maybe it was seen as rude if he used his phone for texting right now? Oh wait, his phone was being used as the camera for the announcement. Yeah, he definitely couldn't text right now then.

"Yeah, it's your board now, birdbro!" Susukichi cheered, grinning.

"Settle down, Susukichi," said Ayano, as she pressed some wrinkles out of Shoka's hoodie.

"Alright, alright," said Susukichi, though he was still grinning wide. "Can't help but get excited by a brand-new disc on our side. Right Li'l Tsu?" He nudged her not so subtly with his elbow.

Tsugumi nodded almost absently. But she looked…sad?

Hishima meanwhile mostly ignored Rindo, instead taking turns between glaring at Shiba and glaring at Kubo.

Shiba lounged back on the couch, while everyone else remained standing. Kaie activated the camera on his phone.

"Greetings, sheeple of Shibuya," Shiba drawled with a smug smile, before it softened to something a little more friendly. "Today we have an announcement that will start a fire within every Player and Reaper alike, for a new Reaper has joined our ranks!"

Reaper…Rindo had been a Reaper a while by this point, but hearing someone actually call him a Reaper felt very strange. Perhaps because Reapers didn't really seem that different from regular humans, besides the whole singing and Noise form thing.

"So let us give a welcome as warm as the family hearth!" Shiba threw out a hand to Rindo, and the camera suddenly whirled toward him. "Our new red-hot star, going from Player to Reaper by his own passionate power! Rindo Kanade!"

Rindo almost winced at hearing that name. Not that he currently had another name that Shiba could call him instead, but…It felt so wrong now to hear this name, especially his full name, as his name.

And then, almost as if the universe agreed with him, the lights flickered and the building rumbled beneath their feet.

Everyone else looked around like they were trying to spy cracks in the walls. Even Kubo seemed unnerved by it, and that guy normally just sneered at everything.

"W-What's going on?" asked Rindo, every muscle in his body tensing. Not just because of the possibility of the hotel suddenly collapsing, but a more eerie, familiar feeling that he couldn't quite name. It reminded him of…the timeless void? But this definitely wasn't time travel.

The shaking stopped almost as quickly as it had begun. The lights slowly returned to full brightness.

"Okay, that was…weird," said Shoka.

"Perhaps the infrastructure is long overdue for a checkup, rather than yet another fresh coat of paint." Hishima gave Shiba in particular a sour look.

Only the slight downward angle of Shiba's brow indicated his displeasure. "If you are so concerned, then perhaps you would like to perform that inspection yourself? After all, it doesn't seem like you're doing much else these days."

"I was hoping that the very owner of Akinosuke Hotel would show more concern about the building and its residents," said Hishima. "While a physical defect in the structure is admittedly unlikely, this area is unusually unstable due to the emotions drawn—"

Then three figures materialized between Rindo and Shiba. The two smaller ones on the side had on the generic red hoodies of a wall Reaper, so they could have been anyone. But the person in the middle was clearly—

"M-Mr. Minami?" asked Rindo. What was he doing here?

But Minamimoto didn't even glance back at him. "Odd function."

"O-Of course, milord."

Rindo froze. He knew that voice and strangely formal way of speaking from anywhere.

She writhed, doing some kind of…gesture? He couldn't really tell from the back. "Obtuse angle who opposes us! Feel your karma tear you asunder from within! Rrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaawgh!"

And then all three of them vanished, only leaving behind confused Reapers.

"Who the hell were those guys?" asked Shoka.

But their disappearance only spiked Rindo's anxiety more. He knew what that meant from previous loops—what she could do.

"Ain't those the poison discs trying to mess up the board?" Susukichi squinted around. "How'd they go outta sight? You're the only one with Plague Noise, boss."

They hadn't gone invisible. They had gone straight into someone's Soul. With the intent to kill.

"Then we must find them at once!" Ayano declared, voice ice-cold. "Shoka, please Telewarp out with Rindo while we get to the bottom of this!"

But who had they chosen to invade? Rindo couldn't sense her within himself like he had before.

"Wait, let us help!" said Shoka.

And…Could Rindo even do anything about it?

"Nah, I'm with Ayano on this one." For once Susukichi looked grim. "We don't know what these poison discs are plannin' for their next move."

"Y-Yeah, we should go, Shoka," said Rindo. Though if Minamimoto's group had chosen to invade Shoka, no amount of running would help. But she, a low-ranking Reaper who hadn't even sung before, was probably not high on their hit list. Hopefully.

Rindo's eyes darted from person to person. Everyone seemed fine, just irritated and puzzled, but how long until…Who was it? Who was it who was it who was it?

"Hey, calm down Rindo," said Shoka. "It's gonna be oka—"

Then Minamimoto's group popped back into sight again, backs still turned toward Rindo.

"Q.E.D." Minamimoto's voice brimmed with smugness, one hand clenched shut. His fingers unfurled, revealing a crumpled-up red-and-black pin that crackled with a strange dark energy.

Rindo gaped at the mangled metal. This familiar residual energy…Was that…had that been his Player Pin? What was Minamimoto doing with it? Had he found it after Fret had thrown it away?

And had he destroyed it? Why?

Gurgles. A loud thud. Rindo's head snapped in the direction of the sound.

Kubo was facedown on the floor.

"Kubo!" Immediately bending down beside him, Shiba shook Kubo's shoulder. Rindo'd never expected the unflappable Game Master to look so concerned.

Especially when Kubo abruptly disintegrated into black particles.

Shiba's hand stayed frozen in midair, as he and everyone else stared at where Kubo had been.

Rindo had known this would happen, but…Why? Why would Minamimoto use her to kill someone? And why Kubo? Sure the guy had been a jerk, but did that really warrant death?

Minamimoto merely curled his lips in disgust at the distraught Reapers. "Get out of my 428 and my Pork City, you Shinjuku 4253s!"

Rindo had no idea what he meant by 4253, but it sounded like an insult. And more importantly, he wasn't about to interrogate a murderer on his speech idiosyncrasies.

And to think that Rindo had trusted Minamimoto once. That he had trusted Minaimimoto enough to leave Fret in his care.

Shiba's expression immediately went from shock to rage, standing tall once again. "You think that you can just snuff out one of us and then expect us to flee like smoke in the wind?" He raised his hand toward Minamimoto like he was about to fire Force Rounds, but instead semi-translucent Noise coagulated at his feet. "No, you'll find our passion burns far too brightly for that! Now, witness the true power of the Executor!"

Shiba's speech was answered with raucous guffaws from the smallest of Minamimoto's group. "Executor? Oh that's rich. Didja choose that title for the cutesy-wutsey pun?' She started sparkimg with red-and-purple energy. "Well then, Mister Eggs-'R'-Cuter, why don't we see whose Noise are more adorbz, and deserve to be called Dissonance Noise!"

"W-What's Dissonance Noise?" asked Rindo, turning to Shoka.

"I have no idea," admitted Shoka.

"Shoka, leave with Rindo at once." Wings flared out of Ayano's back. "This is not a request. This is an order." Her voice started to reverb in the middle of her sentence as tattoos grew out of her skin.

The other Reapers also splayed out their wings, tattoos taking over. Except for Shiba, who simply glared as a golden aura flared around him.

And then Minamimoto started transforming too, even though he didn't have any Reaper wings! He was becoming…a Cat? A Boar? No, a Lion, but with a strange boar-like tattoo armor?

"I…" Shoka glanced at Rindo, then back at Ayano. "O-Okay. Just don't die, got it?"

"Of course, Shoka, my darling." Ayano's words sounded strangely sweet in this situation.

Shoka gripped Rindo's wrist. "Okay, let's go!"

Everything blurred as Rindo felt a sudden rapid shift upward, like he had been launched out of a supersonic cannon. Within a blink, he found himself standing under an actual open sky. Where was…Oh, he was on the roof of Akinosuke Hotel. He could see the buses running through Dogenzaka, that new mall with the rooftop garden, and even the 104 building.

"Alright, we…We need to get as far away as we can, so go Noise so we can fly outta here faster."

"R-Right!" It would probably be safer for Rindo to be in Noise form anyway, in case they got attacked.

Rindo became Phoenix Cantus, let Shoka climb onto his back, and then flew off. A few moments after they left, the whole hotel became cloaked in a strange red-and-purple aura, its surface so distorted that it was almost impossible to see the building beneath.

"W-W-What is that?" asked Rindo.

"I don't know! Just keep going!" Shoka growled, though she sounded more panicked than angry. "It…It's what Ayano wants us to do…"

"...Yeah…" Rindo gazed down at the city below. Strange to see the city so calm, considering what was happening at Akinosuke Hotel. Especially when he could…still hear the screeches of battle? Even from here? Though the sounds were oddly…filtered?

Oh! It was Shoka's phone. She was…watching the battle? Right, because the fight had started during the announcements! With all the monstrous howls and shrieks, it was hard to tell who was winning the battle. If only Rindo could watch too. But right now he was the transportation.

"Shoka, where should we go?"

"I…" Shoka began. "There's where me and Ayano always meet, so we could…" She frowned. "But those three can just teleport anywhere, right? So…"

Right. What place would be safe when Minamimoto could just warp in anytime? Maybe a store or restaurant…No wait, Minamimoto had vanished away in a restaurant that one time, so he could probably teleport into one just fine too.

Nowhere…Nowhere in Shibuya was safe…

So the best option was probably to stay airborne for as long as possible. Rindo hadn't seen Minamimoto fly yet, so he probably couldn't warp to him while he was high up in the sky. But Rindo didn't know how long he could maintain Phoenix Cantus either. Though both he and Shoka had Reaper wings, so they could stay aloft for at least a little while that way.

But after that…Then what?

"It…It'll probably be fine," said Shoka. "Ayano's strong. They're all ridiculously strong. Especially Shiba. So those other losers probably don't stand a chance."

"Y-Yeah, you're probably right," said Rindo. The Shinjuku Reapers did still outnumber Minamimoto's group too, even with one member already eradicated. "Though Mr. Mi…Minamimoto is pretty tough too…"

"You know that guy?" asked Shoka.

"Yeah, he was working with me and Fret. Sorta," explained Rindo. "Mostly he was just doing his own thing and only showed up to help with battles. I think…I think he wanted Fret's Remind for something, and that was the only reason he joined us at all. Once I decided to sing with Fret, I never saw him again until now. Minamimoto hates singing."

"You think that's why he's attacking Akinosuke Hotel?" asked Shoka. "Because it's a place specifically for singing?"

"Maybe?" said Rindo. "Honestly, I still don't know what his deal is, or what he's really after."

"You know anything about the other two with him?" asked Shoka.

"I have no idea who the girl sass-talking Shiba is," admitted Rindo. "But that other girl…She can go into people's Souls and tear up their hearts and minds, killing them from the inside out. That's…That's probably what happened to Kubo."

Shoka nearly fell off Rindo in shock. "Holy shit, what? You had someone like that secretly on your team too?"

"I'm not that dumb!" Rindo snapped. "Well, I did try to recruit her, but I nearly died from one of those Soul attacks. After that, I didn't even want to go anywhere near her. In fact my Soul got hurt so bad that it started singing. That's why I'm…I'm like this now…Why I…"

"I'm telling Ayano and Kaie about that girl now!" She whipped out her phone and started furiously typing, before suddenly stopping. "Wait, they're not gonna be reading their phones during a fight, duh. Rrrgh…"

He was quiet for a moment, though he flew more carefully to make sure Shoka didn't fall off while she texted. And was it just Rindo, or were the sounds of battle getting louder and…doubling?

There! At the screen at Scramble Crossing, where both players and Reapers were swarming! Minamimoto's attack on Akinosuke Hotel was playing! Okay, now Rindo could see what was going on in the fight.

Well, sorta. The static, abandoned camera did little to capture the action. A flash of vines here, a burst of fire there, sometimes some red-and-purple Noise wrestling with some translucent Noise on the screen for a few moments.

Occasionally a much larger, more complex Noise form would charge past the camera, maybe even stopping for a moment to launch an attack or engage in close-quarters combat with a foe. An elegant humanoid Iris spinning around the battlefield, a lithe purple Swallow swooping down with tattoo tails streaming behind it, a blue knight-like Noise with protective icy chrysanthemums blooming out of its armor and forming its shoulder guards, and a massive humanoid Deer pelting the ground with lightning. And, of course, the Lion-Boar thing Minamimoto had become.

And Rindo had no idea who was which Noise form, aside from Minamimoto.

But it was surprising how some people hadn't turned to half-Noise during the fight. Well, her staying human wasn't that shocking, since she probably had no way of turning half-Noise in the first place. But she totally would if she could, Rindo was certain.

But the other Reaper girl with Minamimoto, who had cast her red hoodie aside to reveal a garishly girly outfit, hadn't gone half-Noise either. Was it possible that she just hadn't sung yet? But she seemed awfully powerful for a basic Reaper, cooing at the hordes of violet Noise generating around her, including weird raven-like tumors that ricocheted around the room endlessly.

And Shiba still hadn't transformed, and he definitely had a Noise form, judging by how he talked about singing before. Though maybe he didn't need it, as he was able to effortlessly evade each blow and counter with an attack of his own.

Wait, but if there were only three in Minamimoto's group, then…Then who was the Stork fighting the Deer, assaulting the antlers with a bunch of afterimages of itself?

"Snap out of it, Li'l Tsu!" barked the Deer, whose distorted voice sounded like Susukichi. He was trying to shock and shake off flocks of the red-and-purple Noise off his horns.

"I'm only fighting you because I must." The Stork sounded so sad. "If you stop fighting, then I will let you flee."

"Why…Why are Big Su and Li'l Tsu fighting?" Shoka croaked, staring at the screen in horror.

Why was Tsugumi fighting Susukichi? Was mind control something Minamimoto's gang could do too? If they could directly go into people's Souls, then maybe…As if they weren't terrifying enough already…

The camera suddenly whirled away, facing the smug smile of the frilly pink Reaper. "Hellooooooo all you Shinjuku fricks! You seeing this, right? Well, let the darlingest princess Coco help you really see it!" She spun the camera back toward the action.

Terrifying screeches, followed by electrified chains strewn everywhere. She was binding the Shinjuku Reapers one by one so that Minamimoto could tear into them further! Though the chains did little against Shiba it seemed, who simply dissolved into butterflies whenever he got tangled.

"Woooow, look at these motherfricking bozos who can't even take down one big kitty cat and two helpless little girls," Coco chirped. "Seriously, these are the guys you Shinjuku noobs look up to? Like LMAO!"

Shoka snarled at the screen, like she wanted to plunge into the screen and wring this Coco's neck herself.

Still, as long as the combat waged so fiercely, maybe the Shinjuku Reapers stood a chance. She needed time and a docile target in order to go into someone's Soul, it seemed. Otherwise this battle would probably already be long over. So as long as they could keep putting up a fight…

But everyone was clearly getting tired, their movements becoming more sluggish. While Minamimoto and his crew looked only a little worse for wear. And the translucent Noise were starting to just…keel over? Even when they weren't being hit by attacks?

"Aww, you guys getting all tuckered out already? LOL! You really think that you can beat this totez adorbz fairy princess in her own realm?" said Coco, as a swarm of mink Noise orbited around her. "Only Her Majesty and her loyal servants are allowed to live here. Everyone else's pathetic Souls get ripped up and nommed by our dissonance." She giggled. "Like, we don't even have to touch you to kill you!" Her too-happy tone suddenly took on a sinister edge. "It's just way more fun to tear you sacks of shit into itty-bitty pieces ourselves."

She stood tall amid the chaotic carnage. A mere human among Reapers and Noise, and yet she stood fearless. Her eyes were hidden behind the light on her glasses, and her hair writhed with electricity. "All we desire is for all of you to leave Shibuya at once. Whether by your own free will, or by erasure at our hands."

"We will never surrender the city to the likes of you!" spat Shiba.

"'The' city." Minamimoto barked out a bitter laugh. "You don't even count Shibuya as your city! To you, it's just garbage to be added to the heap. But you're the zetta unaesthetic trash! Draining my city of its talent. Homogenizing the UG. Zero difference from the factoring obtuse angles. They can do whatever the helix they want with their domain. But this is my domain, and I decide its range."

Minamimoto's Lion form roared as he bent over. Paws clawing upwards, he crackled with red energy.

"Souls that don't meet their parameters—crunched. The remainder that meet the parameters—inserted into an algorithm that reduces them down until they're nothing more than another obtuse angle. The subtraction of individual egos to satisfy those tasteless tetrahedrons of the Higher Planes…Even the zeptograms I gave a digit about multiplied into a yoctogram!"

While Minamimoto ranted on, the Iris entangled him onto a tattoo cross.

But Minamimoto didn't seem to care. "Worthless waste! I'm eradicating the obtuse angles and their 4-2-1 from my spatial coordinates!" Minamimoto broke free of his red tattoo armor and left it hanging on the tattoo cross.

Suddenly much faster without the extra tattoos, he rushed toward the Iris and struck it with a kick that sent it flying, before stomping the floor and engulfing it in a huge plume of magma before even the Iris landed. The tattoos abruptly unfurled, revealing its vulnerable human form, Ayano.

Minamimoto teleported away before the Swallow could snatch him with its talons. He evaded the flurry of swoops and gusts afterward with similar ease. When the Swallow flew up to summon another windstorm, however, Minamimoto warped up to it before it could finish, nailed it in the back with a kick, and rocketed down to the floor with it. The tattoos unwove to reveal a dazed Kaie.

Ice shards needled Minamimoto's side while he stood on Kaie's back, and Minamimoto roared in both pain and anger. With a snarl he shot toward the Chrysanthemum, claws rapidly ripping at the Chrysanthemum's layers of icy armor, though it reformed faster than Minamimoto could tear it off. During the attack the red tattoo armor reformed over Minamimoto, and with a mighty stomp summoned a magma geyser right underneath the Chrysanthemum, eradicating most of the icy armor at once. Then with a few more powerful yet precise strikes, Minamimoto peeled off the rest of the armor, and then followed it up with another blast of magma. Hishima stumbled away in his human form, before falling to his knees.

Before Minamimoto attacked further, however, he paused. What was he looking at? Then he suddenly teleported, his powerful kick slamming into Shiba's stomach just as Shiba materialized from the cloud of butterflies. The force of the blow sent Shiba flying into the wall.

While Shiba was briefly stunned, Minamimoto cast off his red armor, battered Shiba with a flurry of lightning-quick slashes and kicks, and slammed Shiba down into the floor. The force of the landing knocked him out.

No…No one was in their Noise form anymore, each of them caged in by both Dissonance Noise and afterimages of the Stork…Oh shit, oh shit…

"No…" Shoka croaked.

Minamimoto cracked his knuckles as he looked down at Shiba, his tail swishing back and forth like an impatient feline, or maybe even an eager dog? "Now to crunch this wannabe hyperreal, still stuck as a stupid surreal, and sum up this factoring Game. Odd function!"

"I-I am prepared, Lord Tomonami!" she answered, taking on some ninja pose with her hands.

Minamimoto sneered at the unconscious Shiba. "Drown in the sea of imaginary numbers!"

"I-I, Nagi the Edgelord, will bisect his Soul like the blade I am!" she proudly declared. "Urraaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

They vanished.

It was over.

It was all over.

A few moments passed, and Shiba emitted a few gurgling sounds. Then he fell silent.

Everyone, both present at the battle and those watching it from elsewhere, pensively waited.

Minamimoto's group reappeared just as Shiba's body started breaking down into static.

"I shall repeat myself only once more," said Nagi the Edgelord. "You will leave our city, or you will die. Exile or erasure: the choice is yours."

"Everyone, please, return to Shinjuku, " Tsugumi returned to her human form. "I don't want there to be any more bloodshed than there needs to be."

"You want us to return to that barren wasteland?" Ayano hissed. "The one that your brother had his hand in ruining, even before the Plague Noise arrived? Perhaps betrayal runs in the family."

"My brother had nothing to do with the fall of Shinjuku!" Tsugumi said. "He was framed! Kubo tricked us all! He was the one behind the—"

"Kubo would not have been smart or brave enough for such a scheme," growled Ayano. "And, for all his faults, Kubo would not have murdered his fellow Reapers in cold blood like you and these vermin just did. I will not hear a word more from your traitorous tongue! And we will never—"

"Then we will abscond."

"Hishima!" Ayano spat. "How dare you—"

"If we perish here, then all of Shiba's efforts will be for nothing," said Hishima.

"Yeah…The Game's over, Ayano," said Susukichi. "Time to wipe the board clean and start over. Think of the other Shinjuku Reapers. Think of Shoka. If we can't stand up to these guys, then they're gonna get swept even faster."

Ayano continued to rumble with barely-suppressed rage, but said nothing.

"Let us return to Shinjuku, however desolate it may be," said Hishima. "Let us assist Shinjuku in convalescing. Make it mightier than before, in Shiba's honor. We have no need for this city anymore."

"...Fine," said Ayano through gritted teeth. "For the sake of the other Reapers, we will leave."

"You hear that, you Shinjuku dipshits?" Coco hollered toward the camera. "Game's over, and you better get outta here before I tear out your wings myself! Though that does sound super dee duper fun, so if you wanna stick around, be my guest and I will treat you oh so dearly!" The broadcast suddenly cut off.

Rindo felt a shudder shoot through him.

"I'll gladly rip her wings out instead if she lays a finger on anyone else," snarled Shoka. Her flare of anger, however, soon simmered down to something more resigned. "So…that's it, huh?" Shoka's voice was so quiet that Rindo could barely hear it. "Kubo's gone…Shiba's gone…and now we have to leave…"

"W-Well, at least we didn't lose anyone else?" Rindo knew his optimism sounded painfully forced, and it was. But at the same time he really was glad that the rest of the Shinjuku officers didn't get wiped out. That, for whatever reason, Minamimoto's group had shown some degree of mercy.

But that didn't make up for the murders that did happen. Or everything else they had done.

"Y-Yeah…" said Shoka. She gazed at Rindo for a while. "Though, technically you're actually a Shibuya Reaper. You don't have to leave. Since this really is your home and all."

His home…The place Rindo and Fret had lived all their lives…

"But I can still leave, right?"

"Huh? You would...want to? I mean yeah, especially since you're not officially registered yet or anything." Shoka's voice shook, but the trembling tone held onto the slightest scrap of hope. "But, are you sure about this? If you decide to stay with us, you probably won't be able to come back here. Ever. And Shinjuku's…"

"Fine by me," said Rindo. "I mean, what reason do I have to stay here, really? This was home when I could spend time with Fret here, or with my family. But now no one from my RG life even remembers us anymore, and Fret…"

Rindo felt a sudden painful pressure around his heart, but he smiled anyway.

"Fret will always be with me now, no matter where I go, and…and you guys are my family now. So of course I'm coming with you!"

Shoka grinned. "That…I'm actually really happy to hear that, Rindo. It means a lot."

Rindo nodded. "And let's be honest, with those three in charge of Shibuya now…"

"Yeah, this place is going to hell in a handbasket even faster than it already was," said Shoka. "So what're we waiting for? Let's get out of this dump."

"Uh, I don't know where Shinjuku is though?"

"Oh right. Start flying and I'll give you the directions. Or, uh, just follow the other Reapers leaving. Either way…" Shoka's phone dinged. "Oh, the RNS just updated with an evacuation plan! Okay, we'll just follow this!"

Seems like Kaie finally got his phone back. Or maybe he had simply borrowed someone else's. "Okay."

As Rindo glided under Shoka's guidance, he glanced down to Shibuya below. Other Reapers were rising from the city where Rindo had been born. All heading in the same direction. Migrating. Just as he was. Just how he should be.

Shibuya…This was Rindo's home. This was Fret's home. But…

But this didn't hurt as much as he expected it to. Despite everything that had happened.

Or maybe because of everything.

Maybe he was just sick of Shibuya, and wanted to be anywhere but here.

It's probably worth explaining exactly what Minamimoto's plan was, since Rindo and Fret yeeted themselves out of all possible plot context, and the Shinjuku Reapers have been yeeted out of Shibuya. So, I couldn't really think of a way to include it originally. Oops.

Minamimoto, Nagi and Coco all activate a signal they have set up at one of the empty rooms at the hotel when Shiba broadcast begins. This allows Minamimoto to extract and absorb a safe amount of Soul Pulvis from Rindo's pin. Since there's not that many this time, he's able to get the enhanced Noise form without going berserk. Some Soul Pulvis is left in the pin, however, so when they Dove into Kubo's Soul they could release it there. Otherwise they don't have the raw power to destroy an Angel Soul, even from within. The Soul Pulvis feeds and multiplies in Kubo's Soul until it consumes it entirely. Shiba meanwhile was dispatched with a regular Dive.

Only three chapters to go now! I've finally been able to make the following two chapters mostly coherent. I just need to write a couple more scenes and iron out all the wrinkles/details. Update times will of course depend on when my wonderful betas are available.