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Chapter Text

Hazuki and Yoshiya were at least friendly, which was why they were atop 104 tonight, discussing the imminent repercussions of the newest Long Game.

“Father will want to talk to you. I can assure you he’ll come down just for the occasion.” Yoshiya laughed, listening to the song of Shibuya underneath the hustle and bustle of the city. It was like a soothing hymn to his ears, he could pick out each individual voice. Hazuki must have also been listening, since his face seemed tense.

“Mother will want you to deal with your errant Reaper, I’ve every confidence she will see you in person too.” Hazuki’s eyes sharpened, and his hands were firmly in his pockets.

They stayed like that for a while, listening to a song that Joshua had stopped a long time ago.

“I had forgotten what the song used to be,” Yoshiya gave another wry smile to his Brother, “but now that I can hear it again, I’m reminded of her. He fights for her, you know, enchanted by the ancient song.”

Hazuki knew, of course, who Yoshiya meant. At the bottom of the Shibuya river, through which flows the waters of Shinjuku, rested a very old Soul, a Soul that sang, that danced through the wind and over every face of Shibuya in the morning light. She was as powerful as she was beautiful, and old. Not quite the goddess that Yoshiya had dethroned, but one close to her.

“It is a pleasant song, but it is not yours. Why are you playing it?” Hazuki asked, his hands balling into tight fists as he fought off the tears in his eyes.

“To try and bring my errant Reaper home, as you so aptly described him. This was the song of his Soul too.”

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He awakes to the skies of his own Shibuya, and in his ears rang the sound of his song.

It’s unfamiliar, and yet entirely expected; his Soul resonates with Shibuya easily this way, finding its rich tenor amidst the shrill sopranos, a vibrato that runs through each voice, carrying with them the words of a prayer. He’s only ever heard this song once, in the memories of the one that rests at the bottom of the river.

Neku finds him, crumpled up in the corner of the crossing, a little worse for wear and his clothes a mess, but alive.

“You look like you’ve been through hell and back. At least you’re in one piece again.” The former proxy offers him a hand, picking him up off the ground with ease despite their weight difference.

“You still acting as a variable in his function?” Sho asks cryptically, his yellow eyes watching Neku carefully for his reply. The young adult barely bats an eye.

“More or less. I’ve been sent to retrieve you, please, come quietly.” Neku quickly realises the signs of Minamimoto’s fatigue before he does, catching the Reaper just under his arm when his knee tries to escape from under his weight.

“Man, what were you doing out there?” Sho doesn’t answer him as they walk towards the river, Neku hastily shoving a salmon onigiri in his face, which he eats without protest. It’s still early for the city, but the rush of water would have drowned out the sound of people anyway. Walking through the Path, Sho found his balance and managed by himself until they reached the pad. Inside was just as he recalled, glass floor, decor looking just as Kitaniji had left it. Joshua was currently seated on one of the two couches, a cup of hot coffee in hand and phone in the other.

“Oh good, you came. Hang on, I need to call in Coco, too.” Josh flashed them a bright, toothy smile, and Neku rolled his shoulder disinterestedly. Since becoming Joshua’s Conductor, he’d been given free enough reign to straddle both Planes of existence, but actually working with Josh like this was a foreign feeling.

“I thought you’d given up on my matrix, what’s going on here?” Sho mumbled, laying himself down on the couch in such a way that didn’t cause anything to hurt. Josh sighed, sipping at his coffee carefully.

“Well, as much as I don’t care about what you’re doing, there are those above me who do. Depending on what Mother has to say, it may be the end, so to speak.”

The three sat in silence, Neku deciding to fall asleep while he could, Joshua filtering through the thoughts of the city and Sho mulling over his coming demise. He should have known this day would come, right when he’d arrived at the answer too.

He’d been sent back here, in part because the song called him, and part Hanekoma throwing him around like a stray cat and bruising his ribs.

Coco arrived next, all flowers and pastel colours, her normally cheerful face sullen instead. She fidgeted with the object in her hands, eyeing Josh like a wounded animal unwilling to entrust it to his care.

“I want to keep it.” She said, decisively. The Composer raised his frequency ever so slightly, causing Neku to stir and the Reapers to hiss in pain.

“Mother will need it, dear, or I can erase you instead. Your choice.” Josh hummed, returning to the appropriate frequency as Coco slowly shuffled forwards to give him the item. A chess piece carved to look like a lion’s head was placed into his waiting hand.

“There’s a game next week, Coco. I expect you to do your job, especially if you want to keep in contact with Tsugumi.” The Composer watched his peon pale and then flee the pad with expediency. He tossed the chess piece in the air absently as he waited for time to pass. It took another hour before Mother arrived. She was heralded by the buzzing of a frequency being tuned, and it made every part of Sho want to run away and kill something. Neku stretched his shoulders, waking up as their guest came into the pad from the hidden door.

Dressed in a soft lavender tea gown, white gloves, white kitten heels, enough pearls to shame a colony of muscles and hair pinned perfectly into a bun, Mother was every part a matriarch. In her off hand, a delicate fan that covered half her face, and in the other, a tiny clutch purse. She walked in tiny steps, and when she talked, it was quiet and unassuming.

“Joshua, my dear son, we’re ready now.” Joshua rose from his seat when Mother finished, the rest of the gathering following him through the secret door to a different room. Unlike the Composer’s room, which was filled with a model Shibuya, this one was a long hallway, the floor and walls a barren concrete. Following the path eventually yielded to a circular space, and inset in the floor was a statue of a woman. She was baring her back to the world, a tattoo of a fox’s skull painted over her olive skin, her body trapped against the intricately carved stone that depicted a large, fiery monster.

“Minamimoto Sho, you were once extended grace, and you have decided to throw it back in Joshua’s face.” Mother’s eyes were black coals as they focused solely on Sho, who himself was transfixed on the statue. He knelt beside it, his hands hovering just above touching it, something hungry in his expression.

“We’re giving you one more chance, one more attempt to redeem yourself. If you succeed, we’ll give her back.” Mother began to speak in another language to Josh, leaving Neku to marvel at Sho’s behaviour, his eyes and nose wet and his Soul ablaze with a number of different emotions; including despair.

“Hey,” Neku squatted next to the mathematician, “You okay?”

Sho tore his eyes away from the figure at last, standing tall and marching to the pair from the Higher Plane.

“I’ll do it. Whatever you irrational integers have in mind, I’ll do it.”

Chapter Text

Beat wasn’t much of an academic, but he was an honest and hard worker. Ken Doi had hired him on as a kitchen hand thanks to the popularity of his new curry joint, it was a bit much for the old ramen master to get around to in the short opening hours.

One of the first things he’d done since the Game was get a haircut and replace his headphones for a beanie that Shiki and Eri had given him, a tribal skull adorning his forehead when he slung it over his shortened blonde hair. He’d worn the headphones ever since Shibuya’s takeover, now that he thought about it; the music of the UG leaked into his RG ears and it was difficult to concentrate around it.

“Hey Dai-kun, there’s some folks here for you.” Ken called to him from the service counter, Beat turning down the heat under the vegetarian curry he was stirring.

“Aight, I’m comin’,” Beat sighed, adjusting his beanie to relieve some of the heat on his forehead. Seated at the counter were Uzuki, Kariya and Neku. He whistled lowly, leaning over the benchtop to talk with the trio.

“Look at you, working hard for once in your life.” Uzuki mocked, a smile gracing her bright pink lips. Kariya laughed, following with a ‘hey don’t work yourself to death, man’. Neku looked at him directly,

“Beat, if you could be a Reaper again, would you?”

This was something of a sore spot for Beat. On one hand, he was skating by (hah), ignoring the shadows of disappointment that hung in his parent’s eyes, on the other, he wasn’t sure that the answer could be found in the UG. He kinda liked being alive, it kept him close to Rhyme, which was all he could really ask for.

“I dunno whatchu askin’ for, Phones. Why me? Las’ I ‘member I wasn’t ‘zactly Reaper material, yo.”

It was Uzuki who answered him, regarding him like an older sister might their wayward brother.

“Look, for a long time now the UG has been...different. The boss is thinking, maybe, he needs different Officers,” Uzuki brushed her hair back, “Reapers who understand Players, to better protect them from outside influences.”

Neku reached out for Beat’s arm, the contact reassuring and gentle, just like his smile.

“Josh thinks you’d do a good job. Just think it over for now, okay? Oh,” Neku reached for the plastic covered menu, reading it quickly, “Can we have two specials and one trio?”

Beat laughed once, shaking his head. Some things never change.

“Aight, I’ll getcha curry.”

----------------------

“Sho,” Josh was sitting in the studio’s fitting room, watching as Shiki and Eri measured and sketched and made Minamimoto squirm, “It’s a risk sending you to Shinjuku. The Higher Plane will be expecting results.”

The dark Reaper hissed between his teeth, hugging his dressing gown closer against the cool of the room.

“Now don’t misunderstand,” Josh continued, replying to Neku’s text, “I also expect you to do your best. However, I also want you to come back alive. Think you can manage that much?”

He didn’t receive much of an answer, since his two new Producer candidates came barging back into the room in an explosion of Imagination. The girls threw some interim clothes at Sho, giggling as he sulked off to redress, leaving Josh to look over the designs.

“So, I mean, his goth punk look was pretty rockin’, he had it down.” Eri beamed, turning the page of her book over to show their work. The paper showed torn jeans, not unlike his old ones, paired with a long sleeved double breasted coat that hung over a loose collared shirt and tank top. It was the pattern on the coat and the notes for flocking on the shirt that had his attention - lion’s heads and claw marks. Joshua smirked evilly, drinking in the Imagination like a fine wine.

“This will be perfect, ladies. Come by to drop it off soon, yes?” The girls joked about just ‘throwing it down the stream’ to reach him, but the exchange was well received. The Composer of Shibuya gathered his Reaper from outside, clothed in a red-lined zipper jacket and asymmetrical jeans.

“What the factor was all that for?” Sho demanded, shoving his hands into his pockets, sulking under the cover of his cap.

“I can’t have you wandering into Shinjuku looking like a mess! What would they think of me?” Josh laughed in mock hurt, Sho’s eyes glowing a dangerous yellow in the dimming lights.

“Oh do come off it, Minamimoto. It’s just a matter of course, Shinjuku needs all the Imagination it can get, sending you in uninspired clothes would hinder progress.” Josh retrieved the lion’s head chess piece from his pocket, waving it in front of Sho’s face, the Reaper uselessly trying to snatch it away from the too-slippery Composer.

“Ah ah, no. See, my poor kitty,” Sho bristled, “I could always throw this away if I decide you’re a threat. I’d hate for you to lose it again.”

Sho stalked faster towards the river, cursing his luck, throwing his Soul against the confines of its cage and feeling the purest of rage fill the dark corners. He reached with his inner senses and pulled from the people he passed, tore the painful memories and thoughts straight out of their heads, using it to fuel the fire in his chest. Once he reached the Path, he felt that rage pour out of his hands, forming two Eurobeat Boomers. They seemed to recognise him with their beady, red eyes, and they screamed when he crushed them under his fingers in an instant.

“Rrrrrgh… Just a little longer…”

-----------------

Josh rarely thought about the past, it wasn’t something to concern himself with. He’d dethroned the goddess, taken the river and made his own music and that was the end of his story. Whatever hellish life Yoshiya Kiryu had been alive for, it was insignificant when compared to his time as Composer.

But today he found himself staring directly at his past.

“He broke his wings, did you know that? He shattered them under their own weight.” Joshua recounted, the statue to which he was speaking was unable to answer him. He decided to sit on the concrete floor.

“Sometimes I wonder what difference you would make. What would you do about him?” Josh fingered the pattern that surrounded the body, feeling it vibrate under his touch.

“I’m changing Shibuya, just for you. I’m building a new world out there, so you don’t have to be in here anymore.”

I’m calling on the few friends I might have, Beat will protect the Players even if it means sacrificing his life. He knows best the struggle of a Player in this world, after all. Rhyme knows her way in and around the system that Kaie created, a most auspicious asset to keep the UG running.

Kariya and Uzuki are doing well as an Officer and the Game Master, and Neku is a most excellent Conductor. Then there’s the matter of changing my Producer over from Hanekoma to those two lovely ladies, at least for a bit. I’ve yet to make these changes permanent, but I would hope they agree to the mission I give them.

Joshua returned to his feet, feeling a tristesse in his once-human heart.

“You will arise, to a brand new day.”

Chapter Text

They’d been trying to manually filter through the remains of Shinjuku for a while now, Kaie using the data collected from Shibuya to find their way through the ruins. The few Reapers that had returned to their ground were exhausted, and Shiba was growing concerned for their success.

“This would be easier if our own Composer would greet us with his presence. It burns me up inside that we’re left like ashes at the bottom of the fireplace.” Hishima placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder, drawing away his negative Imagination.

“I think our Composer might have been behind this to begin with.” Tsugumi whispered, taking her headphones off her head to listen to the world around them. Shiba sighed, seating himself on the shadow of a bench.

“The only question is why - Why did he have to burn it to cinders? Was our passion not hot enough?”

Shiba’s question was answered when a figure stepped onto the Ground. Enveloped in a too-bright light and bringing with them a piercing, buzzing sound.

“That is one way to phrase it, yes, Shiba Miyakaze. I was dissatisfied with my inheritance, so I had Kubo cleanse it.”

The boy was dressed in black and white, fine golden hair and golden eyes, and carried an air of purpose. He looked at the ground, contrition covering his features and tightening his jaw.

“I am Hazuki Mikagi, but please, call me Haz. I became your Composer ten years ago - truthfully it is my fault for the downfall of Shinjuku.”

Shiba felt something inside him snap, finally! A fuel for the flame! He pulled away from Hishima, both his friends reaching for him to prevent him from striking out at their Composer.

“Tell me why, why did you let us crash and burn? What was the purpose of your blazing fury!”

Hazuki laughs, it’s empty and cold, and his smile is barely covering the truth of his feelings. The boy removes his hands from his pockets and braces himself for the impact. Shiba’s open hand hit Hazuki’s flesh, a bright blossom of red just under his left eye.

“I was inexperienced. I was given this Ground from my visionless predecessor, but I was no wiser than him as to how to fix Shinjuku.” Hazuki touched his wound, watching the faces of his Reapers as they listened to him, full of anguish and pain that he’d brought upon them.

“Both this Ground and its sister of Shibuya were losing their vibes, our Songs were being drowned out, and we couldn’t stop it. In an act of cowardly desperation, I sent Kubo to amend my error, only to underestimate his designs.”

Shiba growled, his anger emptied, replaced with numbness.

“So, why haven’t you managed to restart the Ground yet?”

Hazuki buzzed with static, his frequency fluctuating wildly for a moment, causing Tsugumi to cry out in pain.

“I can’t.”

The revelation hit them like a sack of cement. Their god couldn’t fix their home? Shiba looked to Hishima and Tsugumi, pleading with his eyes for the truth, which neither of them could provide. Shiba felt the emptiness grow in his stomach, consuming him like a cold flame. He fell to his knees and buried his head in his hands.

“...But I’ve asked for help. Shibuya is sending us one of their own. Yoshiya hasn’t failed me yet, I doubt he will now.”

-------------------------

Shiki and Eri were surprised when they walked into the pad that Sunday afternoon. Gathered in the pad was the entire crew, Beat, Neku, Rindo and Shoka gathered around their DS consoles playing a digital Tin Pin version, while Rhyme, Nagi and Fret were showing each other images on their phones and laughing at each one.

“Perfectly timed girls!” Josh chimed, appearing from between the two huddles of people, holding out his hand for the bag Shiki was carrying. She handed it to him, Josh telling them to get comfortable while they waited for their final guest.

“Well, this is nice.” Shiki smiled, putting herself between Beat and Neku, her friend offering his console for a round.

“Yeah, sure is.” He returned, pulling her to his side. Eri giggled, inserting herself next to Beat pointing at his Pins and offering advice. Once Beat had readjusted his set, another furious round of screen scratching commenced.

“I totally get Tin Pin now. Why did this just poof?” Rindo smirked as he pushed Shiki’s pin off the board.

“Same. This game is way too fun.” Shoka elbowed Rindo when she slammed his pin away.

“Alright everyone, I’m glad you could all make it.” Joshua interrupted them, drawing all their attention to himself, and the recently redressed Minamimoto. He fidgeted with his cap, thinking of whether or not to put it back on with his new duds.

“This is a well-wishing party, as we say goodbye to our beloved Pi-Face for a while.” Josh pushed him into the fray, Sho flexing his hands in the awkward silence.

“Wait, Mina-man, what’s this about?” Fret looked owlishly at the Reaper, Sho coughed before he responded.

“I’ve been given a particular set, I have to work within the parameters,” he finally decided to place his cap back on his wayward hair, hiding his eyes in shadow, “It’s nothing you zeptograms need to concern yourself over.”

“Hey,” Rindo waved, “We’ll be here if you need us.”

“Indeed. Lord Tomonami, we’ll avail ourselves to your aid, should you require it.” Nagi wiped away the tears in the corners of her eyes, Fret snickering under his breath.

“Trus’ yo partner, all that.” Beat added.

Sho folded around himself as Joshua announced his departure, summoning a beam of light to whisk him away to Shinjuku.

“He looked...worried.” Eri whispered to Shiki, her friend shrugging.

------------------------

The first time he’d noticed it was when he was five.

Sebastian had taken him out to the park that day, and in the corner of his eye, he saw something like a shadow. Sho’d not known what it was at the time, perhaps a fly too close to his face, or just a plane passing overhead.

When he was seven, at the shrine ceremony, he heard it for the first time. Like a low rumbling drone, it was everywhere in the city. The shadows that hung over people grew, sometimes they gathered together into large shadows and swim through the air, then disappeared.

By the time he was thirteen, he was cranking out complex equations that would have caused anyone’s head to spin, all to try and quantify what it was he was seeing, and why it seemed to multiply in places where there were strong negative emotions. He’d seen his classmate fall unconscious when one of these large shadows overcame him. When he came to a conclusion, a rather elegant equation filled with known values and a single unknown variable, Sho pinned it to his wall.

In highschool, the numbers of the fallen increased daily.

All around him his classmates fell to pieces before his eyes, and all he could do was bring them to the nurse. They might have looked at him like he was the plague, but Sho was close to the bottom of the mystery.

Sometimes in the window of that coffee shop he’d wandered into that summer, he saw monsters made out of tattoos attacking people nobody else could see. If he tried, he could hear them outside, he could feel them when they brushed past his shoulder. Sometimes the monsters came out of a person, and the invisible people fought them.

Then one day, he’d met her, and things made sense. She had piercing red eyes, and she looked paler than the rice paper in the Oji estate.

But he couldn’t remember why he knew her.

------------------------

When Sho opened his eyes, he was on the roof of the Metropolitan Government building. Seeing Shinjuku was like looking at static, all random numbers and waves, and no Song rang in his ears.

This place was a graveyard.

Sho looked down, spotting the signals of the Shinjuku Reapers within walking distance. He leapt off the building, safely catching himself by partially transforming into his Cantus form. He dusted himself off, adjusted his hat, and headed for the congregation, all of them looking to their Composer with malcontent.

“Speak of the devil. I believe you’ve met before,” The Composer spoke evenly, despite the wavering of his vibe, “Everyone, this is Minamimoto Sho, Yoshiya sent him to help us.”

Sho looked over the sea of faces, saw the wariness in their eyes, and he brought his brim down over his face.

“Zero-seven-seven-three-four.” He offered meekly. The Reaper he knew as Kaie cracked a grin, his laugh carrying over the sombre mood. Hishima also shook his head in mirth.

Hello to you too! Kaie projected from his phone, I know you’re fond of numbers, so if I showed you the data, would that help?

“It would be a start,” Sho pushed his hat up to scratch his forehead with his thumb, “After that, we can discuss the plot.”

Chapter Text

“He’s being awfully cooperative,” Haz replied, “Should I be worried?”

Yoshiya’s lilting laughter came from the other end of the phone line, and Hazuki could hear him sitting smugly in the couches of the pad, sipping some refined liquid.

”It might seem out of character for him, but trust me. He’s not the Taboo monster you think he is.”

“I’ll take your word for it. Take care, Brother.” Hazuki ended the call, standing up from sitting on the top of the government building. Under his watchful gaze, the cleanup was progressing at last. After Sho had seen the data from Kaie, he’d set about creating sigils in every corner of the ward, Wall and Harrier Reapers copying them exactly at even spaces. Judging by the Imagination flowing through them, they were filtering the leftover vibes of Shinjuku.

“Minamimoto Sho, what has Yoshiya taken from you?” Hazuki narrowed his eyes, searching the streets.

----------------

“Yo Rindude!” Fret called from the lockers, Rindo increasing his pace to meet his friend.

“What’s got you now?” Rindo chuckled, putting his outside shoes on and reaching for his studs from their box.

“So I got this from my buddy at that academy, check it out!” Fret sent Rindo a message, Rindo opening his phone to look.

There, as impossible as it was, was a photo of Sho, dressed in the academy uniform. He didn’t have the whisker marks on his face, and his eyes weren’t as brightly yellow, but it was him.

“HOLY SHIT!” Rindo exclaimed as they exited. Fret was bouncing on his toes, full of energy from the gossip.

“I KNOW! I have to send this to Nagi, hang on-” Fret smiled widely, quickly typing out something before he snickered, “Oh she’s gonna freak!”

Sure enough, two seconds later, and only just passing the school gate, Fret’s phone pinged no less than eight times. Each message was less and less coherent.

“Man, is she ever gonna confess to him or what?” Rindo laughed as he jumped into a nearby Siren raid on FanGo.

“Naw, I don’t think she’s like that. Hey, wanna go get curry?” Fret dragged Rindo through the streets of Shibuya, crossing the Scramble as they’d done for so long, and headed into the back of Dogenzaka, where Ken Doi’s curry shop stood proudly in the sunlight.

“Welcome! Ah, it’s you two. Dai-kun’s only just come in. Dai-kun!” Ken shouted into the kitchen, Beat nodding and easily preparing the usual order, extra spicy for Rindo, and extra rice on Fret’s. They sat in the corner booth, Rindo sending Shoka their location if she had time to visit, which she sadly didn’t. Fret was fiddling with his EleStra game, only putting it down once their order came through, Beat giving them a large, toothy grin.

“Eat it while it’s hot, yo.”

“Thanks, Beat!” The boys called, Beat giving them a wave as he headed back into the kitchen.

“...If Mina-man’s in that photo album, I wonder how he died?” Rindo pondered between bites. Fret shrugged, taking a sip of his water so he could reply. His words were silenced when a shadow was cast over their table, a man with short black hair, a white collared shirt and black vest and slacks combo looked at them meaningfully over his sunglasses.

“Well, all you had to do was ask, boss.” The man laughed, seating himself next to Rindo, freaking the boy out immensely.

“Uhhh, who are you?” Fret panicked, reaching for his phone. The man took his sunglasses off, wiping a hand down his face before he answered.

“I’m a friend of Neku Sakuraba’s,” the man began, sliding his glasses back on, “I’m Sanae Hanekoma, and I know a thing or two about your friend, Sho Minamimoto.”

-----------------

He piled trash when he felt like garbage, which was often enough.

He’d stack them to defy gravity, he’d make perfect golden ratios you could only see if you looked at a certain angle, he’d place them where you couldn’t ignore them. He’d stack them as high as he could manage, watching them dominate the silhouette of the city.

People didn’t like garbage, they didn’t like the way it smelled, or that it was ugly, it was a waste product - get rid of it! He’d watch from the shadows as passersby would be stewing in their own darkness, and then suddenly they’d walk away a little taller, take a deeper breath. They were working!

The world might be garbage, but maybe it didn’t have to be. If people could see that the rubbish pile was not insurmountable, that change could come, then the trash can be taken out.

That girl with the red eyes came to him in the crossing, as he was walking away from his latest creation.

“Hey, can I-”

His ears filled with cotton.

--------------------------

The Game had begun anew, Coco watched the Players from her usual hiding spot in the Tower Records block, staying out of the way enough, erasing Players who had no partners or were too weak. She had a decent score of points, but it wasn't like she was in total danger either. Her job was to collect and address Entry Fees after all, Josh wouldn't throw her out so quickly. Such a job might seem odd to an outsider, wouldn't it be the Conductor's responsibility, instead of a Reaper?

Well, yes but no. Coco was just like Joshua- a memory of a bygone era. She might seem like a modern young adult, but the truth was, she was an ancient oiran in training. She'd died in a horrible, fatal misunderstanding, and so ended up in her own Game. When Joshua offered her a place of power, she'd taken it without hesitation. He'd made her responsible for taking the Fees, since an oiran would know the truths hidden in the heart. She'd taken some time off before the Long Game, when Tsugumi had called to her for help. Coco knew the Mutsunae siblings due to their shared Reaperdom, Tsugumi quickly becoming her friend despite the centuries between them.

So when Coco had heard from her about the state of Shinjuku, she'd left Shibuya under Josh's blessing and found her friend. She'd watched the lights go down on the streets, the screams of the people still rang in her ears and the haunting, empty feeling made her shiver even now. She hadn’t made it in time for the last Game, everyone had already lost by the time she’d summoned Minamimoto’s Soul from the refinery sigil and shot Neku.

Coco’s eyes fell upon the current favourite partnership to win, Tatsuya and Nobuko, they were frantically making their way to Tower Records to help “make the charts”. She thought about sicking a Grindcore Mink on them, but decided against it. They’d have enough trouble without her.

“You’re a hard one to find. How ya doin’, little lady?” Sanae appeared beside her in a flutter of white feathers. The pastel princess Reaper huffed, turning away from the angel.

“Well gee, I dunno, maybe I want to sulk and still keep my cheery adorableness in tact!” Sanae smiled, seating himself on the ledge, giving her enough space between them.

“I’m reopening the ol’ cafe on Cat Street. In fact, I’m having an opening party with the kids. Wanna come along?”

Coco looked at Sanae Hanekoma with enough venom to scare off a snake. The old man didn’t seem to notice, instead he continued his speech.

“A hot cocoa with your name on it if you do. That aside, I do need to talk to you about Sho.”

Coco tensed, she wasn’t ready to have this conversation, let alone have it with Sanae.

“Relax, I can’t exactly punish you for it. I just want to know a few things,” he took a long breath, leaning back on his palms before he began the interrogation, “First, you know why Yumeko Inarigawa is sealed at the bottom of the river, why do you think Josh put Sho into that refinery sigil?”

Coco fiddled with one of the flowers on her skirt, desperately trying to avoid the answer. She whined quietly while she stressed.

“Second, Sho and Neku have a rocky history, why do you think he’d partner up with him right after the Long Game in which they fought to kill each other?”

Again, Coco averted her eyes from the Producer, instead willing a few Noise into existence below them, one partnership unable to deal with the wave of Jellies.

“Third, and this one is important,” Sanae’s voice took on a dark tone, “Why did you take his memory of Yumeko?”

Coco snapped, turning to face Sanae, her eyes watering and nose running. She sniffled, wiping away her tears as she spoke.

“Because! Because he could have saved Shinjuku!” Coco wailed, “His psych could have fixed everything, but I was too slow, like always! So I took his memory of her,” she took a shaky breath, “I took it to keep him. He’s attached to it, so he’d do anything I asked if it meant he’d get it back!”

Coco was surprised when Sanae brought her into his arms and stroked her hair as she bawled, her tears staining his shoulder and Noise forming in the air around them. He pushed the Noise down into the street, what was a few more points to the better Players anyway? When at last the tears dried, Coco’s face was red, eyes bloodshot and her voice hoarse.

“Shhh, it’s okay. Come along to that opening tomorrow, and I’ll make you that drink.”

Chapter Text

Tuesday was Nagi’s only day without a lecture, but she’d spent the day working on her assignments anyway. Irresponsibility was, after all, one of Lord Tomonami’s least favourite things.

Fret and Rindo had invited her to a cafe on Cat Street in the afternoon, so she promptly left her dorm at 3pm to get there in a little under an hour. She was soon met by her two former teammates in their school uniforms, the boys waving enthusiastically as they reached their destination. “Wildkat” was emblazoned in a bold, English font, the inside of the cafe a pleasant tan and cream colour all around. The smell of coffee was mellow and warm throughout the space.

Sanae Hanekoma, the proprietor as Nagi would learn, had invited them to his grand re-opening, as well as the Reaper girl Neku had been close to, Coco.

“Well, well, well. We finally meet in person.” Sanae smiled, reaching for four cups from his top shelf.

“Wait, what are you? A stalker?” Fret wheezed, eyes wide.

“Not exactly. You know how you have Reapers and a Composer?” He poured some mild roast coffee into three of the mugs, topping them off with cream and sugar. Fret, Rindo and Nagi eyeing him suspiciously.

“Well, I’m also among the ranks. Don’t worry about the specifics, but think of me like an umpire.” Sanae motioned to the cups, Fret quietly daring Rindo to taste it first. He sipped the drink, finding it oddly delicious.

“If it is true that you are a keeper of the rules, then what might it be that you have summoned us for? We are no longer participants.” Nagi noted, sipping her own drink carefully.

“You three were close to Sho, which is a miracle in and of itself. I thought you’d like to know a little more about the guy.”

Coco took that moment, once she had finished her cream-filled, sugar stacked cocoa to leave, the door swinging shut with an emphatic thud against the frame.

“Ooookay, what’s her deal?” Fret raised his brow, watching the Reaper vanish through the window.

“Coco’s just going through some stuff. She’ll come around, eventually.” Sanae took up a seat on a stool behind the counter, swirling a cup in his hands.

“Now about your friend, Minamimoto, where shall we start?”

Rindo fiddled with his phone, thinking of what to ask. What did you ask about the stranger that helped you survive a death game? Wait, how did he die? Hadn’t that been what he and Fret had been talking about yesterday?

“Mr Hanekoma, how did he die?” Rindo asked after a while of silence. The older man lowered his eyes, a sad smile on his face.

“Well, that’s an interesting question. If you’re wondering how he died to get into the UG, then the answer is he was thrown off a school roof. A complete accident.” Hanekoma answered, grasping his mug with both his hands.

“Why was he thrown off the roof? I doubt he was the suicidal kind…” Fret ran a hand through his hair, trying to ease his nerves.

“There was someone up there, looking for an escape. They were running, he caught ‘em and threw ‘em away from the railing. However,” Hanekoma sighed, “When you have that much energy going in one direction, you have to have equal and opposite energy. In saving them, he doomed himself.”

“The kind of selflessness that you describe almost seems incongruous with his character. Did something transpire in the UG to change his disposition?” Nagi removed her glasses to wipe them carefully.

“The personality you three bore witness to is him. He’s not after power for power’s sake. The truth is,” Hanekoma shuffled in his seat, “He wants to protect Shibuya. Why else would he be a lion?”

“But protect Shibuya from what? We stopped Shiba and Kubo, what else is there?” Rindo’s eyes widened, his heart thundering in his ears. What had they missed, in order to save the city?

“...For a long time now, Grounds world wide have been suffering from bad vibes. A lotta bad Imagination out there, angry, frustrated Imagination.” Hanekoma’s expression grew serious, he stood up from his seat to reach for something in the cupboards to his left.

“When Imagination like that is allowed to fester, it creates what we call Taboo Noise. In the wild, it’s incredibly rare, normally it’s manufactured using the bad Imagination. But,” Hanekoma retrieved a sketchbook, opening it to a two page layout, a series of black and white Noise, “They’ve been popping up unprompted, it’s only been getting worse these last few years. Sho was one of the first to notice.”

He turns the page, showing a stylised mathematical function.

“This was how he described it, and his maths works out. He thought,” another page turn, two more pages filled with photos of piles of garbage, “If he could draw that Imagination into one thing, and then that thing was destroyed, then it’d go away.”

“So...this has been happening for years?” Fret stared owlishly at the barista, Hanekoma’s shoulders sagging as he put the book away.

“Yeah, it has. But that’s kind of why I need you three to help him.” Hanekoma straightened up, his confident gaze suddenly inspiring the Wicked Twisters.

------------------------

Josh had given Neku the chess piece, telling him to read it with his Sync psych. He’d been dubious about it, since Josh giving him a cursed item would not be out of the question. Whatever this thing represented, Pi-Face had been determined to get it back.

What the hell, Neku thought, it’s not like he’d kill me again.

He concentrated on the piece in his hand, closing his eyes to focus his senses, the chess piece radiating vibes like a soul. It carried on its vibes the echoes of two voices, singing that Song. As he listened, he began to see.

-----------------------

She was dressed like a geisha, painted white skin, a brilliant red kimono painted with golden foxes and a green obi that complimented her strikingly red eyes. They were standing at the corner of the crossing, it was still dark out as Neku looked slightly downwards at her.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” She smiled with her painted lips, bringing Neku’s head down to her level so she could whisper to him.

“Are you a Reaper?”

There was a muffled response from Neku's position in the memory, but the face of the girl told the same story. Her eyebrows raised and her painted lips curved into a smile.

“Hmmm just a human. I’ve got my eyes on you.”

The memory fuzzed like a TV tuning its channel, when the static cleared, he was laying down looking up into the red eyes of the geisha, Reaper wings sprouting from her back.

“...So you died then, okay. I’m only allowed to tell you this now, survive the next seven days, we’ll talk again.”

Again, a muffled pause, and the geisha paused in her movements, her face downturned.

“We don’t have to be. Survive -”

More static took over Neku’s senses, and when they cleared again, he was sitting on top of Pork City, the girl from the previous memories had changed. In place of the kimono was a large, fluffy red jacket that swallowed her body, dark jeans, colourful high top sneakers and her skin was a rich olive.

“You know they won’t let us both go. Listen, I’ll stay at the bottom-”

Neku watched as his body moved by itself, his arms moving emphatically as he delivered some kind of speech, the girl’s eyes moving between horror to sadness. When the tirade stopped, she turned away from him, her arms and legs curling inwards to her chest.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry we have to choose - it’s not fair is it. Maybe if…” She sighed, resting her cheek on her knee as she turned her face to him again, “Maybe if you were Composer, they wouldn’t be doing this to us.”

Neku didn’t realise he’d been holding his breath, the visions faded to black and he found himself back in his room, seated on his bed, still clutching the chess piece. He felt tears in the corners of his eyes, wiping them away with the backs of his fists.

“Joshua, what did you do?”

Chapter Text

The plan was moving ahead, they'd created enough filters to lower the risk the Noise would pose once they started up the sigil functions. Once all the negative vibes and Imagination from one sector had been drawn into manufactured Taboo Noise, Sho would use his Consume psych to bring them to a central point, while the Shinjuku Reapers could begin to separate the UG and RG Planes properly.

It was dark and gloomy in the silence of the Ground, the few street lights that functioned flickered and hummed ominously, and it set Sho's teeth on edge. He'd been feeling awful all day, his stomach threatening to empty out what little it had and his shoulders had been burning up. Where he thought nobody would find him in a hurry, he'd removed his shirts and coat, folding them neatly and topping the pile with his cap. The air, despite its stagnation, was cool against his burning skin. A sharp pang ran through his ribs, and Sho lurched forwards on his seat. He shoved his hand into his mouth to catch the scream, biting down between his first knuckle and the web of his thumb, his sharpened canines drawing blood.

His wings had shattered three years ago, in his fight with Joshua and Neku that fateful day, and finally they were coming back. The pain inside his chest grew, like claws raked over his sternum and the insides of his lungs, making it hard to breathe. With a sound like iron creaking, stems of black pulled themselves out of his flesh, points first into the sky, six of them slowly unfolding like music stands, until they stretched to meet his arm span, flexing as he breathed and adjusted to the way they sharpened his senses. Once he was sure the pain was through, he carefully loosened his jaw, taking his bitten hand out to observe the wound. Blood pooled in the punctures from his teeth, which were closing thanks to the return of his full strength.

"So I guess that's it then…" he huffed, exhausted. He picked up his layers, covering himself back up as quickly as he could manage around the pain of his wings' return.

I too, find myself an insomniac, Sho heard the voice projected from the message and he hissed, teeth bared at Kaie as he came from the shadows towards his bench.

“I don’t need you in my quadrant!”

Please, I mean no harm, the voice stuttered, and Sho inwardly cursed, putting his anger aside, wrapping his torso with his arms. Kaie sat on the opposite end of the seat, observing the few stars above them in shared silence, trying to discern meaning in their pattern.

You’re no ordinary Reaper, are you? Kaie typed out, If it’s alright, I’d like to hear about you, maybe be your friend?. The mysterious, non-verbal Reaper smiled around his tired-looking eyes, offering his hand in a gesture of peace. Sho huffed, crossing his legs on the bench seat and sighed.

“Friends get added to the heap, and crunched. Especially if they happen to be mine,” He felt the tears burn at his eyes, his nerves already a wreck from today, “If you have any sense, you won’t integrate with me.”

Lucky for me, I have no such thing. My Psych, Divination, is the kind of thing that requires one’s common sense to be put aside. Kaie reached out to tap Sho’s shoulder lightly, the younger Reaper looking at him like a feral cat from under his hat brim, his eyes glowing with his power.

You were never really alive, were you?

Sho’s back arched as he made a snarling growl, his wings exploding from behind him, and he flew into the darkness of the night.

This is curious. I need to talk to Hazuki… Kaie thought, fiddling with his phone still.

--------------------

The next morning, Neku was drawn to Cat Street, his feet unconsciously depositing him where Wildkat used to be. To his surprise, the cafe was put back together, and looking at him through the glass door as he turned the ‘Closed’ sign over, was Hanekoma.

They stared at each other, until they both cracked smiles and laughed.

“Phones! Boss, how ya doin’?” Sanae greeted him, welcoming him inside. Neku sat at the counter, asking for a sweeter drink.

“I’m fine, but I have so many questions.” Neku confessed, his ears turning slightly pink. Sanae laughed, handing him a mocha.

“Well, I don’t think I’ll be too busy today, so shoot.”

Neku felt the warmth of the drink in his hands, thinking of where to begin. He reached into the pocket of his jacket, finding the chess piece with his fingertips. He took it out, placing it on the countertop.

“You know what this is, don’t you?” Neku gathered by the frown that formed on Sanae’s face. The Producer picked up the token, examining it in the light, before he put it back down next to his guest.

“You’d be right. Have you seen what’s inside?” Neku nodded, taking a sip of his drink while he thought about how to explain what happened last night.

“I have. Who is that girl? Why is she at the bottom of the river?”

“Ah,” Sanae rubbed his chin, “So you’ve also seen her down there. Alright then, here’s the scoop boss.”

Hanekoma pulled out his phone from his back pocket, searching through the album application until he found a peculiar portrait. The image might have been a sepia photograph once, but it had since been restored to its full colour. The geisha from Neku’s visions last night was seated on a tatami floor, her hair styled with several stylish combs and pins, red and gold fox kimono and those unnerving red eyes. Once Neku nodded, Hanekoma put his phone back.

“This is Yumeko Inarigawa, the only soul that survived from Joshua’s takeover of Shibuya. She survived because Joshua valued her Conversion psych.” Sanae explained, pushing a cookie Neku’s way as he sat on his own stool. Neku took an appreciative bite out of the sweet.

“See, Yumeko was unique. Her mother died pretty late into the pregnancy, and the goddess wasn’t about to judge a child for their parent’s sin, so Yumeko was finished with the goddess’ weaving and given to a family that would need her.”

“I guess I never thought about that, has it happened a lot?” Neku asked, putting down his empty cup carefully. Sanae picked it up, putting it on his side of the bench.

“Nah, not in so many words. However,” Sanae rested his head on his palm, leaning on his elbow, “She was the only child the goddess made that way. Then, one day in our fair Shibuya, a mother barely a trimester pregnant died in a traffic accident on the way home from talking to the father.”

“...I see.” Neku drummed his fingers, considering this information. Three months wasn’t a lot of development time, he remembered that much, it certainly wouldn’t be like the goddess’ rescue of a premature birth.

“Joshua, feeling mild pity for that kid, spent a full week drawing together enough Imagination to make a body for that tiny soul. As a result, that Soul has exceptional powers,” Sanae began to recite a list, “A high sensitivity to vibes, premonition, high aptitude for psychs, and a rare, natural psych.”

“Mr H, what’s this got to do with Yumeko?” Neku asked, his eyes narrowing as he regarded the Game’s guardian with suspicion.

“Well, that Soul and hers were composite. Conversion, her psych, could draw from high energy sources and create almost anything,” Sanae sighed, stretching in his chair, “And Sho’s Consumption psych meant he could create high levels of energy at once.”

Neku felt his blood run cold.

“...In one of those memories, Yumeko said that one of them had to go to the bottom of the river. Was that why?”

Sanae rose to prepare another cup of coffee, Neku feeling his pulse race through his body.

“...If we’d left them alone, these two Reapers would have outstripped the Composer for power. We all underestimated them at the start, and now I can’t help but feel we effed up,” Sanae handed him another drink of mocha, “They were fixing the Ground, the Taboo Noise epidemic we were facing was slowed to a grinding halt, and we didn’t even notice until Yumeko was gone.”

“Is that why he wants to be Composer? Free her? Then what?” Neku looked desperate for the truth, his eyes pleading to Sanae for answers. The older man sighed, shuffling his feet.

“That’s the thing, I don’t think even he knows. He’s upset that he’s alone, he wasn’t allowed to choose life when he won his Game, he wasn’t allowed to keep Yumeko when they were Reapers together,” Sanae reached out, ruffling Neku’s hair affectionately, causing him to catch on his drink, “But that’s why I need you, and everyone else, to help when the time comes. Can you do that?”

Neku stared into his reflection in his drink.

Chapter Text

It was a startling thing to be looking down at your own dead body.

Not two minutes earlier, he'd been running up the service stairs to save Shinji from himself, he'd caught him by the wrist, twisted him hard in the opposite direction he was running and flung him to the concrete roof.

Then he'd sailed over the railing bar, his butt catching at the wrong angle, preventing him from grabbing onto anything to save himself.

Which was why he was laying in a blossoming carpet of red on the carpark behind the main building.

Around him, Sho saw them arrive, students, teachers, a pair of paramedics...there was Shinji, devoid of the black shadow that had clung to him, he looked as ashen as a ghost, mumbling to himself. Then, an unusual duo approached him, not the body on the ground, but him. They walked through the people like they were only suggestions of reality, and the world became blurry and muffled. One of them was tall and dressed in a black snakeskin suit, the other was shorter, donning one of those popular Lolita dresses he'd seen in Tsutaya O-East.

"My, my. You're cutting it close, aren't you? Almost at the deadline for entry, and here you are." The man smiled behind his aviator sunglasses, stroking his chin thoughtfully. The girl beside him gave him a defiant look, as if she knew him.

"I have to take your Fee now. More will be explained to you when the Reaper's Game starts," she smirked, "But you already knew that, didn't you?"

Sho felt the air around him ripple, and then cold.

“Who...was this again?”

“Um, wasn’t he in…”

“Didn’t he do that thing on the board…”

“He’s a...Midori something? Mina- Manzo-”

His eyes went wide, as he looked around at the faces of the students, none of them seemed to recognise him, not even Shinji. What had they taken from him? He reached for his phone, searching through his contacts. He read through the conversations he’d had with his dad -

Except his side of the conversations were gone.

In the few photos he had of himself and Eiji Oji, his friend had been erased.

He felt light-headed and heavy hearted, and decided to fall into the pool of blood like it was a futon, his real body taken away by the ambulance crew.

“...So you died then…” There she was, coming to see him.

But every time she drew close, the memory would fade.

------------------

“We’re ready, Minamimoto.” Hishima said, spreading his arms wide on the barrier line.

”When we start, there’ll be no subtracting from the equation. If your strength is equal to or less than f and you struggle before t gets to zero, you’ll most likely be taken to the power of i.” The Shibuya Reaper replied. They were communicating via speakerphone, since Sho had to place himself at the center of the sigil layout in the middle of Shinjuku. Hishima nodded to his subordinate Reapers, and they completed the linework on the sigils, the neat, enochian scrawl releasing grey smoke into the air.

On the other end, Sho was calling to the loose Imagination with his psych. He thought of it like eating, putting the pieces into his stomach through an imaginary mouth. He pictured his entire body inhaling, pulling the Imagination in, sometimes grabbing it with his hand to shove it down. When Hishima finally called out that the sector had been separated, UG from RG, Sho stopped.

His head felt light. He looked over to Kaie and Tsugumi, watching him from a distance, and he giggled. Numbers ran through his head, a sequence of forgotten thoughts and memories amalgamating into a tangle of darkness, and he smiled into the sun. His phone rang again, this time Shiba making the call from the other side of the city.

“What a prime number!"

Despite the sharp-toothed grin on his face and the laughter that bubbled up while he absorbed more Imagination, Kaie and Tsugumi couldn't help but worry.

---------------------------

Josh had brought Hanekoma to the pad, the Composer of Shibuya noticeably disturbed, since he was actually doing his job.

“I’m ordering you to work with GattoNero. Flood the Ground with your Imprinting.” Josh decided at once, throwing a scrap of paper into a bin nearby. Already, the waste basket was filled with piles of paper balls, and at least one entire notebook had been shredded to pieces.

“And what do you want it to do? Or have you forgotten how it works?” The Producer carefully gathered up the rubbish, wary of the wild vibes his boss was giving off.

“Rrrgh! I don’t know! That’s the problem,” Josh fiddled with his phone, randomly searching the internet for whatever came through his head, “I made him, but I can’t read him because of that. I was hoping to decode him, but we all know what happened there.” The Composer finally settled for slouching into the backrest of his seat and pouting. Sanae rubbed the back of his neck, thinking, unsure of how to assist Joshua's block.

"Yo, wha's got priss-kid so down?"

The sound of Beat's unique voice echoed through the Path as he entered into the pad. Behind him, Rhyme was staring pointedly at the pile of discarded paper.

"Oh it's you. What can I do for you, Daisukenojo and Raimu?" Josh's mood immediately lifted, the trickster part of his nature showing through. Beat shoved his hands in his pockets, having rested his board by the exit.

"I jus' wanted to ask a question, yo. I heard you want me back as a Reaper 'n' all, but why?"

Rhyme headed for the basket, picking up a piece and uncrumpling it, revealing a mess of scrawled notes. A few more papers in, and she realised they're all the same.

"Well, to answer both of you-before you ask," Josh's serious expression returned, crossing his arms, "We had a Game that almost destroyed Shibuya twice now. I'm tired of it, actually, which is why I want you two to help me."

"So what can we do?" Rhyme watched as Joshua leapt out of the couch, to gather up the papers in her hands.

"I expect you both to respect the rules of the Reaper's Game, you know, no picking favourites," Josh explained, scrutinising his own handwriting again, "But your first and foremost responsibility is to make sure this Ground is never threatened again. Whatever it takes, no more outsiders messing with the Players or the Game."

"I think I getcha, aight. So," Beat rolled his shoulders as he thought, "If anyone like Shades or that Kubo guy show up again, we jus' kick 'em to the curb."

Josh nodded, "Pretty much, yes."

"I see. Then, do you need me for my analytical abilities?" Rhyme returned to her brother's side, preparing to leave.

"Yes, that and the upkeep of the RNS. It'd be a waste to not use what Kaie gave us." Josh answered smoothly, still frowning at his work as if it could combust spontaneously. Beat walked up to him, all three steps, and snatched the paper from his hands to see it.

"Wha's this?" He was promptly hit in his side by his sister, who reprimanded him for his rude behaviour.

"... I'm trying to work out what new message to put out in Shibuya," Josh sighed, looking again at his phone, "We have a problem, and somehow Minamimoto was taking care of it, and now I can't figure out how."

"Tabooty? Trash man? He was being helpful to you?"

"I don't remember that guy, was this while I was…?"

"Long story short," Sanae cut in, heading behind the bar counter, "We have no clues."

There was a pause, Beat and Rhyme discussing in whispers and Sanae handing Joshua a glass of wine.

"The world is garbage," Beat exclaimed, "He used to say tha'."

"Perhaps...he didn't mean it literally?" Rhyme pondered, writing the phrase down on her notes app. She added ideas as she spoke.

"Maybe he meant that...you could throw reality away? Or maybe," she typed, "That he wanted to throw away the current version of this world? If ideas are like snacks, once you finish with one, what do you do with the packaging?"

Joshua's face lit up, eyes sparkling in their violet glory, and Sanae found a smirk on the corner of his face.

"I can't believe I was that blind. Thank you, Rhyme. Now shoo, both of you." Josh pushed them out of the pad, Beat using his skateboard to expedite the trip out of the river.

"So what'll it be, boss?" Sanae chuckled, pulling out a thick marker from his vest.

"I want you to imprint, through every last corner of Shibuya…"

---------------------------

It was late at night, Hazuki preparing to find somewhere quiet to sleep for a short while. All around him, Reapers had huddled together in the few sheltered places along the newly reclaimed districts, able to rest easy at their lowest frequency. Shiba was probably somewhere with Hishima, Tsugumi might be close to her old home, and Kaie would be wherever his feet could carry him.

He found himself in one of the few green spaces, taking a seat at one of the picnic tables. His rest was short lived however, as Mother lowered her vibes to meet him in the not-quite RG. She was wearing a fluffy dressing gown that swallowed the lower half of her face in its lavender tone, her hands neatly folded on her lap and hair in a long braid over her shoulder.

“Hazuki, my Child, how are you?” Her eyes carried in them a motherly calm, and it made Hazuki’s heart warm.

“I am fine, Mother, but,” Hazuki sighed, running a hand over his face, “Are you here to reprimand me like Father?”

Mother reached over the table with her delicate hand, warm and gentle as it cupped the side of his face.

“No, Hazuki. You are a Child,” Mother retracted her hand at last, reaching into the pocket of her gown for a small, round wrapped candy, “And I love all the Children. I’m here because you looked like you needed me.” She pushed the candy into his hand, and Hazuki smiled, slowly unwrapping the bright green sweet.

“Mother,” Hazuki began, rolling the hard sugar in his fingertips, “Should I really be here? Father said I need the experience, but I’ve only had ten years compared to Yoshiya’s centuries - I can’t help but feel like a failure.”

Mother rose from her side of the table and came to Hazuki’s, pulling him into an embrace over the side of the seating.

“Oh my dear Hazuki,” She all but sang, “You cannot compare yourself to Joshua. He has overcome many adversities that you couldn’t even dream of, and in turn, he hasn’t faced the same trials that you have either.”

Hazuki put the candy into his mouth, letting its gentle, minty flavour coat his tongue and teeth. Mother brushed his hair with her fingers, and she held him tightly once more.

“Now Hazuki, no more tears. You’ve learned your lessons, help your Conductor have faith in you. I’ll let you sleep now, little one.” Mother waved goodbye, vanishing from the park, and Hazuki laid himself out on the bench to sleep, perchance to dream.

Chapter Text

“Oh my JOSH*!” Eri exclaimed. That morning, Sanae Hanekoma had wandered into the head office of GattoNero, only occupied by Shiki Misaki, Eri Yamashita and Kou Toriyama. He’d brought with him a sketchbook of his original designs, pages full of colours and lines and notes that Eri all but drooled over when she got to handle them.

“Sorry Mr H, Eri’s been a long time fan of yours…” Shiki bowed slightly, Sanae waving his hand dismissively.

“Ah don’t worry about it. Anyway, so I was thinkin’,” Sanae reached over Shiki’s desk, picking up Mr Mew, “This guy needs a new friend! Whaddya think?” He offered a broad smile, which was received with cries of excitement.

“TOTALLY! We can do your Brainy Cat! Ooooh, everyone’s gonna LOVE IT!” Eri picked up a new sketchbook, flipping to the nearest blank page and began drawing as they talked.

“How about a few shirts with prints? They’ll be a sure-fire hit.” Kou suggested, turning for the kitchenette to make some coffees.

“Maybe a dress influenced by your wall? We could make it like a quilt.” Shiki rummaged through her buckets and buckets of materials, pulling out piles of colourful scraps.

“Oh yeah, use those last little pieces!” Eri agreed, drawing up a slender silhouette, draping a mid-length skirt from its waist down. Sanae was watching thoughtfully, requesting his own pen and paper.

“I’ll start making a campaign,” Kou called from his desk, “What do you want to call it?”

“Hmmm...How about Cat Mirror? When two cats socialise, they’ll often copy the other’s pose.” Sanae offered, drawing Mr Mew and Brainy Cat laying belly-up on opposite sides of the paper he was working on.

“That’ll work nicely. Alright, CAT Mirror,” Kou drew up on his little whiteboard, “Shibuya’s two tom cat’s lazy day.”

Shiki’s brows furrowed, thinking back on that day in the pad. She pulled out the pattern they’d made for Minamimoto’s clothes, considering their design carefully, feeling the contours of each piece in her hands.

“We need a third,” She said decisively, “A third cat would balance everything out, we can make everything in threes, and everything can still be perfectly symmetrical.”

Inwardly, Sanae Hanekoma was full of pride - what a perceptive little lady! He quickly abandoned his previous illustration and began anew, tracing the firm features of Leo Cantus’ face onto a fresh page, then turning them softer, rounder, the mane a little less wild and a little more calculated.

“How about this?” He showed his idea. GattoNero quickly approved of the design, and work was fast to begin.

--------------------------

“I had the strangest thought,” Rindo said to Shoka, as they sat in Mitayashita park, licking icecreams, “Shinjuku was where the Tokyo mayor was, wasn’t it?”

Shoka nodded, swallowing her most recent mouthful.

“Yep, a whole lotta politicians,” She recounted, “Also a lot of shopping. For all the big department stores, you’d go to Shinjuku.”

“Then, the whole thing of teams in the Game,” Rindo pondered, “Was that just a Shinjuku thing? I mean, it’d almost make sense.”

“You could see it that way,” Shoka bit into a part of her waffle cone, “But that’s not what happened. Our Conductor, Ryuji Mustunae? He made us into teams so our Composer couldn’t wipe us out.”

“Oh,” Rindo finished his cone, “So it’s just a coincidence that the most easily divisible part of Tokyo had a team-based game.”

“Ah, don’t worry yourself over it anymore. We’re free now, let’s not waste it!” Shoka smiled, walking with Rindo down into the Scramble, and then back over to 104. In the window of GattoNero’s shop was a neat little sign, New campaign coming soon! Shoka almost screamed, walking up to Miki with a spring in her step.

“What’s the scoooop!” Shoka leaned forward, desperate to know what Miki could tell her.

“End of this week, new designs are coming in. I’m actually so stoked for it, Eri sent me a pic or two~” Miki giggled, making it a point to show only Shoka the sketches. Three black cats in loaf form sitting in a row, another with all three staring at a butterfly, and a form draped with paper in the shape of a dress.

“They’re so cute! RINDO!” Shoka shouted, Rindo yelping as he stopped browsing through the socks on offer, “We are coming back in a few days time. Later Miki!”

She all but dragged Rindo, who waved to Miki, back out to the Scramble and towards her apartment.

----------------------------

He remembered his own Game.

It started with the introduction of the rules, that a fee had been taken from them and they had to win to get it back. Make a partner, erase the Noise, don’t be erased, complete the mission, all they had to do? Survive seven days. Then, after the speech from Reina Inawa (Game Master for that week), they were knocked unconscious and spread around Shibuya. Sho found himself in Cat Street, not many other Players around him. He knew vaguely that a strong partner would go a long way, he just needed to find one. To his right, a scream sounded, and three people had already been erased from frog Noise.

“Hey, we need partners to fight, yeah?” Sho’s shoulder was jerked backwards by another boy, dressed in another school’s uniform, “Then be my partner, please!” The boy shouted, desperate to avoid a true death. Sho sighed, offering his hand for a pact.

“Sho Minamimoto. I hope I haven’t miscalculated on you.”

The boy shook his hand, and there was a light around them. The Noise paused in their attack, stunned by the event.

“Hiro Saiba. I’ll help you win no matter what.”

After their introductions, they began their assault on the Noise, Sho using a shockwave and pyrokinesis pin he’d found in his pocket, the frogs wailing when they were erased. Hiro seemed a little tired after the wave, but once they were reunited, their phones buzzed.

Mission mail: Congregate at the crossroads once you’ve eliminated the target, fail and face erasure - The Reapers.

Sho felt his left hand sting for a second, and looking at his palm, he saw a set of bright red numbers ticking down time.

“We’d better find this target…” Hiro searched through his pockets for anything that might help, oblivious to the man that passed by, covered in yellow Noise sigils.

After he'd convinced Hiro to give chase to the Noise generating man, they'd managed to clear the mission. They were celebrating their first victory, when that lady in the red kimono turned up, her finger pressed against her lips signalling for quiet. Her mouth moved as she talked, but the words came through like he was in water.

----------------------

Ever since he'd seen her statue at the bottom of the river, he'd been plagued by the vague visions of her in his memories. As soon as she appeared in them, her voice would garble or he'd lose his train of thought in the memory, and it was beginning to frustrate him.

He pulled the Imagination from the sigils as hard as he could, five days into the week and only three districts remained now, the one he had filled with his array, the mayoral office district and the central shopping street. It was Shiba and Hishima watching him today, Kaie and Tsugumi had volunteered to aid in the separation of the Grounds, and Shinjuku's oppressive airs were slowly lifting. The endless static that rang through Sho's ears was fading, a victory all around.

If it wasn't for the fact he felt like he had a head cold. Once he stopped absorbing, his eyes felt itchy, his chest felt full of mucus and his nose was blocked. He coughed, and Shiba approached him carefully, waiting for the fit to end.

"You look like you're burning out. Do I need to call Hazuki?" The new Conductor placed a hand to Sho's forehead, feeling a feverish heat under his skin, causing Shiba to frown. Sho shook his head violently, his whole body shivering.

"No! Don't you dare integrate those hectopascals... I'm in prime condition, I'm only going to get exponentially better once we finish…" Sho's words were hoarse, and he coughed again at the end of them. He paled, running away from the two older Reapers, clutching his middle with his arms.

"I'll call Hazuki, Hishima," Shiba returned to the side of his friend, resting forehead to forehead with him, "Gather the Reapers. Tell them to watch from a distance, and to stay in groups for now."

"Do you think my psych could improve his condition?" Hishima hummed, gently touching the side of Shiba's face with his glove. The Conductors sighed, shaking his head.

"No, I don't want you getting burned. This sounds like a Composer problem to solve."

He dialled his Composer, listening to the tone ring three times before Hazuki responded.

"Shiba, is there a problem?" Shiba took a deep breath before he explained.

"Minamimoto is in dire straits, barely on pilot lights. I would like it if you could call Shibuya's Composer and ask them if they know what's going on, if they can brighten his condition."

"...Send me a description of his symptoms, I'll contact Shibuya for advice. Remain alert, Shiba."

Shiba diligently typed the list, fever, shivers and sweats, swollen eyes, blocked nose, coughing fits; for Reapers, sickness was not something that happened. You only got sick if you were attacked by a poison inducing Noise or psych, so for Sho to be exhibiting such illness, it was concerning. He'd barely waited five minutes, Tsugumi and Kaie flying towards him, panicking.

"I had a vision!" Tsugumi exclaimed, clutching her chest as she synced with Shiba to use her Trailer psych.

In the slightly fuzzy vision, Shiba saw a horrific scene.

----------------------

As soon as Joshua received Hazuki's message from Shiba, he'd made up his mind. He'd called Neku and Rindo, summoning the boys to the pad.

"Minamimoto is hitting his limit," Josh explained, leading them into the statue room, "Now I've never dealt with this aspect of his psych, so I'm sending you in blind. Whatever it takes, you need to stabilise his Soul- it's causing him excruciating pain."

Neku had returned the chess piece to Joshua, but as they looked down at the statue of the woman, he threw it back to his Conductor.

"If you can somehow return that to him, it'll be a start." Josh suggested, kneeling at the base of the sculpture.

"And you think he needs me because I was his friend?" Rindo asked, wringing his wrist anxiously.

"Yes. You might not realise it, but he was fond of you Wicked Twisters." Josh smiled at Rindo, Neku stepping in while the Composer concentrated.

"His Soul was different when I saw him take on those Noise with Kariya," Neku nodded, "I think part of that was you. Maybe he actually liked you."

"Okay, so, we all go to Shinjuku tomorrow, right?" Rindo tapped his head with his phone, preparing to message Shoka, Fret and Nagi. Neku would more than likely call his own friends.

"Yep. Seems like it, Josh," Neku tapped his friend on the shoulder, Joshua's nod an indication to continue, "You message me as soon as you're done here."

"Of course, partner." Josh tittered, Neku and Rindo heading back into the pad, where Rindo asked Neku a few questions.

"What's he doing anyway?"

"That's a tough one," Neku answered honestly, texting his former partners, "In there is Sho's friend, Yumeko Inarigawa. Apparently she's got a psych that compliments his," Neku sighed, thinking about Hanekoma's conversation, "Maybe he's betting on her being there for him will help. Sho seemed desperate to get her back so."

"Huh, that's...really sad. I mean," Rindo put his hands in his pockets, "I always thought he was a loner, and then Hanekoma told us he was trying to save people from Taboo Noise. It just seems...odd."

As they walked through the Path, Neku patted Rindo on the shoulder.

"He once tried to use Taboo Noise to get enough power to defeat Joshua. He ended up crunched under a pile of vending machines right here," Neku pointed to the pile that remained on the Path, a bitter smile on his lips, "I think he failed because he didn't have a partner. He had help, sure, but he wasn't syncing with anyone in a fight."

Rindo crossed his arms, listening and thinking as they came to the end of the Path, the light of the ending day washing through the river.

"What if," Rindo began, "What if you'd been his partner? Would you have been able to save Shinjuku?"

"Ah, so you heard about Coco then," Neku surmised, facing Rindo just before the exited, seeing the apprehension in the younger boy's eyes, "I think it would have been a disaster. If I didn't know what I knew now, I'd have been unable to trust him, and he probably wouldn't have helped me fix that. But I don't doubt that had we been able to fully sync, we could have defeated Kubo and Hazuki."

Rindo nodded, running a hand through his hair to try and ease his nerves.

"I hope he trusts me." Rindo murmured. Neku looked out into the daylit world, humming the Song.

-----------------------

There are more street lights now, casting Shinjuku in a brilliant, fluorescent blanket. He walks through the streets that are not his home with legs that feel disconnected, a static zing every time his foot falls to the pavement, shooting through his knee, as if he’d only just awoken - or maybe he was falling asleep.

Everything was a mess in his mind, when his eyes dared to shut, he could hear the murmurs of the crowds around him, he could feel their thoughts bouncing around in his head, and sometimes he felt their bodies brush against his shoulder, as if passing right by him. When he opened his eyes, he could see their shadows milling around under the street lamps and around the windows of the shops, parents holding onto kid’s hands, old men gathered together, office workers on their way to the bars that littered the alleyways. In his head, a song echoed in time with his footfalls on the drumbeat. He looked to his left, finding a lit convenience store. The shelves might have been slightly barren, and there wasn’t anyone at the counter, but he didn’t care right now. He picked up a few cans of whatever drink looked like it was enough, and he shoved two of them into his pant’s pockets, a third cracked open in his hand as he walked out. He took a drink, the bubbles of the beer prickling his mouth and throat - it’d been so long since he’d drank, but he needed it now.

He liked the way his brain fuzzed as he sat on a random garden wall, the people almost seemed alive, moving in their shadowy ways as he watched, tapping his foot to the beat in his head. His eyes squinted, and he curled around himself, lowering his cap brim to hide his face as he took another, longer drink, burning the inside of his throat and stomach.

When he finally emptied his drink, he twisted the can between his dexterous fingers, making a neat crescent moon, before he reached for the second one in his pocket. In the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of red, and golden foxes danced on it. Her face was obscured by a traditional veil, and he couldn’t hear her, but he felt like he knew her. He remembered something about drawing fractals on street corners, painting walkways with wild vectors and arrows, mathematically perfect shapes that blossomed outwards like flowers and trees. She had something to do with that, didn’t she? She’d also helped him make those piles of garbage, shaping them into actual statues, a pegasus once adorned the front of 104 with its wings made of the lids of various beverages, beady eyes from two bottles lodged together in its head.

He continued walking, and she followed. He dared to look to his right, seeing a giant, glass window darkened from the inside, and he saw his reflection. He looked haggard, dark circles under his eyes, and his skin was clammy and pale. Beside him, he thought he could see another version of himself, slightly younger, face downcast as they faced each other, as if his other was guilty over something. Truthfully, Sho was doubtful of himself, the last few days, he’d been remembering things from years ago, when things had been different. He reached a set of stairs that brought him to the upper level of the main plaza of Shinjuku, the government building visible in the distance.

He wasn’t always empty, was he? There was a hole in his head, and a growing pain in his stomach as he emptied his second drink, quickly opening the third to find some comfort, tossing the empty can absently into a bin. He remembered everything leading up to his death and installment as a Reaper, but there was a large chunk of time missing from being on wall duty and trying to shoot Joshua. What was he forgetting?

When he really opened his eyes, his feet had brought him to the top of the highest peak of Shinjuku. He turned from the edge, seeing the woman in red, and she seemed to smile at him. Sho laughed, snickering hopelessly around his tears, his can crushed in his fist. He turned around, facing the edge this time, taking a deep breath.

And then he fell.

Chapter Text

He knew Daisukenojo Bito and Raimu Bito from Mitayashita Park.

He watched them, while he was passing by. He didn’t know why he was drawn to them, “Beat” always got a treat for himself and his sister, laughing and cheering along with her as they just existed in the city. They reminded him of his past - the way he and Eiji Oji would sneak out of the Oji estate to go down to the nearest convenience store and buy all the cheap, delicious snacks they were never otherwise allowed. He missed Eiji, the Prince of Shibuya didn’t miss him though, he couldn’t even remember his oldest friend.

He looked, one might say, forlornly over at the siblings, their fun teasing and camaraderie causing an unpleasant ache in his chest as he mulled over his lost brother.

The second one he watched was Neku, he knew he’d be at Udagawa every day at four on the dot. Then, Neku would spend fifteen minutes admiring the CAT mural, sometimes taking a picture at a certain angle, zooming in on it, turning it around.

Then he’d gotten to see Neku’s sketchbook, pages full of imitations of CAT’s work, each of his tags lovingly adorned with notes and coloured in different ways, examining how the colours affect the art. Sho felt his heart stir looking at them, they made him keenly aware of his own lack of creation. He flew upwards, looking over to Harajuku, then down Dogenzaka, over to Pork City - and he felt his hands itch. Sho dove downwards into Takeshita street, picking up the nearest bin and hoisting it and holding it to his waist. He whipped out a pair of rubber gloves and set to work, building a statue of garbage in the image of Brainy Cat.

When he’d seen Shiki wandering the streets alone, he’d often find himself walking alongside her, listening as she gave her stuffed cat every one of her grievances. There was something instinctual as he walked with her, like there had been another girl he’d been so close to, drawing away her dark thoughts too. He liked that she liked cats, it made him feel a bit more confident in his own body, his Soul taking the form of her favourite animal.

While he’d been shadowing Rindo, Fret and Nagi, their earnest trust in him, when they asked him to help them in their fight against Susukichi, he’d never felt more alive. For three years something had nagged at the back of his mind, within reach but too far to touch, the girl with red eyes plaguing his dreams constantly. He could see her sometimes mouthing to him, speaking to his heart.

Shibuya was his to protect, and finally he’d found the missing parts of his equation that would serve his purpose. Their decisiveness, their desperation, it smelled, it vibrated it Imagined something deep within him, that awful day when everything had been lost. It made his hunger rage and his blood sing, and he roared, screaming to the dream of Shibuya.

-------------------------

Shiba had been hesitant to let Sho use the array even once more, but in the Reaper’s barely lucid state, he’d told them all not to get in his way, and so he, Hishima and Tsugumi had remained nearby, Kaie going to the government building to separate its planes. Once that area had been liberated, Kaie had switched places with Shiba, the Conductor working on the shopping district.

Then Sho had fallen unconscious, and the Shinjuku Reaperdom was not going to awaken him until aid had arrived from Shibuya, even Hazuki standing watch over the mathematician, his gentle Song lulling him to a shallow sleep.

He wasn’t sure the peace would last long.

------------------------

“Here’s the long and short of it,” Hanekoma announced as they waited for their single, ghost train to Shinjuku special ward, “His Soul is falling apart due to a high level of Taboo Noise manifesting in it. You’re going to have to dive in there, and silence them as best you can.”

The Producer handed out player pins, their psychic powers a comfort in the former Player’s palms. Shiki watched as Mr Mew seemed more lively, around her, the others taking note of their weapons, attached to their jackets, shirts, scarves or bags.

“Just like when you synced up to all of Shibuya,” He further explained, adjusting his sunglasses, “You’re all going to sync up to him and dive. I can’t say what you’ll see in there for sure, but you have to at least contain him.”

Nagi nodded, clutching her newest plush of Lord Tomonami a little closer. Fret patted on her shoulder, the older girl comforted by his touch. Rindo and Shoka bumped fists, Beat and Rhyme performing a complex handshake. Neku snaked his arm around Shiki’s midriff, the shy seamstress sinking into his warmth.

“Oh, one last thing: Trust your partner. Since Shinjuku is out of commission right now, you’ll be operating under Shibuya rules.” Hanekoma threw a blank pin to each of the pairs, Neku looking at it fondly.

“We’ll bring him back in one piece, Mr H.” Rindo promised, his determined stare bringing a smile to the angel’s features.

“I have every faith in that. Your ride’s here, get going.” A single carriage tram appeared in the gloom of the station, and boarding it, they felt their bodies buzz, like they shifted Planes forcefully.

“Woah, what was that?” Fret shivered, hugging his arms a bit closer.

“We were tuned, don’t worry - it’s reversible.” Shoka assured, a smirk on the corner of her lips. Rindo rested against the nearest seats, looking out the window as they sped into Shinjuku, swapping the high rises of Shibuya for the slightly lower roofs of the political and department store district. Their ride was relatively short, depositing them at the largest train station in all of Tokyo. A Reaper in a red hood was there to receive them, waving frantically.

“HURRY! THEY’RE NOT GOING TO LAST MUCH LONGER!”

They raced, chasing the Reaper out of the station, into the chaotic storm of Imagination that was culminating over the top of the plaza. Wall and Harrier Reapers were desperately trying to separate the Ground, while a battle raged between two sides of Noise, a Neoclassical Drake howling at Tsugumi’s Grus Cantus form, accompanied by a Tsuchigumo Noise, using its webs to try and tie it down. Shiba was nursing a wound, Kaie carrying him away from the battle field.

Thank goodness you came! Sho’s in the middle of all that mess, Kaie typed, They’ve got that Drake under control, get to the source and stop it while you can!

Floating, eyes closed and arms spread like he was crucified, was Sho Minamimoto. His face was contorting in pain, and muffled screams were audible between his teeth. Neku and Rindo stepped forward, ready for the mission.

“Nagi, you ready?” Rindo turned to his friend, the girl nodding vigorously.

“Now is not the time for cowardice! No sacrifice is too great!”

Neku reached out for Shiki’s hand, clasping it tightly.

“Gonna need your help, Shiki.”

“That’s what partners are for.”

Together, they closed their eyes, searching for Sho’s Soul, finding it flagging in the wind like a kite. Amplified by Shiki’s vibes, Neku reached out, grabbing ahold of the tail of the Soul, then he drew his friends closer, grasping onto each of them with imaginary hands extending from his body.

“Nagi! NOW!” Neku called. Fret held onto her shoulder, bracing her.

“You got this, Nagi.” He quietly assured, Beat and Rhyme flashing her thumbs up. Against the backdrop of the crushed Drake, Nagi breathed, focused -

And she dove.

“Pardon the intrusion!”

--------------------------------------

He’d been listening again, whisked away by the charm of the Song. He liked this Song, it was easy on his ears, especially when all he’d been hearing for three days now was the screams, wails and despair of every last Soul in Shinjuku. It hurt to keep it all inside, it wasn’t normal! He used to make things...Or he thought he used to? He wasn’t sure, there was a blank space in the memory.

He recalled being able to make Noise, and that made it easier too. Maybe one big Noise? Just one, to relax his brain? In the fog of his mind, he conjured a single refinery sigil, sending it outside his dream. He felt a little lighter, but then he’d heard the shouts, garbled through the fog, and he went cold. The fog around him turned hostile, icy and dark. He screamed, turning and running, running to escape the noises outside.

As he was running, he was tackled from behind, the growls of a beast pinning him down. He strained himself to turn to look at the monster that had attacked him, and found himself staring at Leo Cantus, its beady, red eyes judging him. It lifted him from under its foot, holding him like a piece of rubbish by the back of his collar. He braced for the worst, as it lowered him slowly towards its chest, where it pinned him to its insignia - his back to its body. He felt pain rack through him, a thousand shocks of electricity as it began to drain him, the darkness and fog growing into a storm, lightning, violent winds and the sound of burning flames.

“AAAAAAH!” His voice tore itself from his throat, nothing but intense, hot-cold pain making his body numb and his eyes falter, water streaking down his face.

He saw a light appear, dissipating some of the storm, and the shouting outside, it was calming down. Figures called out to him, but his ears were pounding with blood and the roars of Leo Cantus.

-----------------------------

“MINA MAN! HEEEEY!” Fret shouted.

“MR MINAMIIII!”

“TABOOTY!”

“PI-FACE! HEY SHO!”

“SHOOOOO!”

“MATH MAN!”

“LORD TOMONAMIIIIII!”

“WAKE UP!” Shiki and Rhyme cried, but the beast of a Noise that held their Reaper to its chest roared in reply, tearing its claws into the darkness that shrouded Sho’s Soul. Winds pulled at the partnerships, dragging them inwards.

“GUYS! HOLD ON!” Rindo called out, grabbing onto Shoka’s arm, trying to run from the maelstrom.

“Whatever happens, TRUS’ YO PARTNER!” Beat shouted, letting himself and Rhyme, who clung to her brother’s side, get sucked into the first hole.

“BEAT!” Fret yelped in surprise as he and Nagi were also pulled away from the ground, thrown into another, separate hole.

“It’ll be okay Rindo! Have some faith!’ Neku encouraged, leaping with Shiki into one of the last two portals, leaving Rindo and Shoka no other choice but to take after them in the last opening.

“RINDO! WE CAN DO THIS!” She pulled him into a hug as they sailed into the final portal, the wind stopping once they had all been swallowed. Rindo felt it as they tumbled onto solid ground, helping to manoeuvre Shoka carefully while they landed. Once everything stopped, they rose to their feet and dusted themselves off, noticing that they’d arrived in a large courtyard to a fancy estate. Looking to the emblem, a peacock preening itself, Shoka gasped.

“We’re in...the Oji house? What’s going on?” Shoka wandered towards the front entrance, pushing the dark wood of the traditional door aside, seeing the house devoid of occupants. In the distance of the halls, she heard chattering.

“Could this be...from his past?” Rindo pondered, following Shoka as they made their way through the twisting hallways and opening several wrong rice-paper screen doors. At the back of the house, near the kitchens, they finally found the source of the noise - a very young Eiji Oji with dark hair sitting opposite Sho, who wore a red bandana over his own head.

”Hey Sho,” Eiji sighed, pushing his apparent homework further into the middle of the table they were sitting at, ”You’ll always be here, right?”

”...Why wouldn’t I be?” Sho asked, looking at his friend in confusion, his brows tilted upwards. Shoka and Rindo snuck closer, entranced in the ghostly figures before them, like watching an artefactored* tape.

”I had this...horrible dream, that one day I’d wake up and you’d be gone.” Eiji rested his head on his palm, fiddling with his hair absently. Sho shook his head, laughing.

”Now I know you’re out of your binomial mind. I’ll getcha snack.” Sho waved, standing up from his chair and walking into the kitchen. It was then, in the corner of the gloom, that a black and white Grizzly Noise shot out at Shoka and Rindo.

You were right, Sho’s voice rang through their minds, as the bear chased them through the house, Shoka and Rindo firing Force Rounds when they got openings, I died, and then you didn’t even know I was gone. It hurts, when you’re inequivalent equations. You were the first friend I lost…

“He’s generating Noise from his memories?!” Shoka called to Rindo, now that they’d finally returned to the courtyard, enough space to fight the Noise properly. The Grizzly grew twice in size, bearing down on them with its giant shadow.

“I think so! We gotta defeat it!”

Beat and Rhyme were skating through the academy, following Sho as he carried another student on his shoulders, adrenaline providing strength.

”Come on! Almost there!” Sho tried to cheer his compatriot up, hoisting him up a little higher, tilting forward a little further, until sick bay came into view. He dove inside, calling for the nurse.

”He’s exhausted! Is there somewhere he can rest?”

I was protecting them, but no matter my efforts, they only increased exponentially.

An army of Choirfrogs came charging from either end of the hall, Beat quickly turning his board around.

“Hold on, sis!”

In yet another vision, Fret and Nagi were surrounded by a white light, Sho standing in front of a Reaper with aviator glasses, a black snakeskin suit and red headphones slung over his neck.

”I regret to inform you, that I cannot grant your life back to you.” The man in the shades sighed. Sho’s face paled, and he stumbled backwards, falling onto his behind. He was shaking in disbelief, muttering self-assurances, tears of stress piling up in the corners of his eyes.

”It’s a consolation prize, for sure,” the Reaper leaned forwards, tapping on Sho’s cap, ”But I can at least let you exist.”

They took everything from me, I had nothing left - at least, I thought I didn’t. But even now, I’m not sure of the solution.

“Uh, Nagi?” Fret swallowed, pointing weakly at the trio of black wolf Noise that was stalking up to them from a short distance away.

“We must forge onwards, and fight!” Nagi declared, Fret bracing for the worst.

When Neku and Shiki landed on the other side of that portal, unsure of what they were doing, they found themselves in the deepest part of Sho’s Soul. Fragments of a chess board floated around, interspaced with mathematical tools and illustrations. At the center of the room, a table that held a chess board, minus one piece. Reaching into his pocket, Neku found the lion’s head piece, and looking over at the board, there was a single, white space blank for a queen piece.

“Do you think we put it back?” Shiki hugged Mr Mew tighter, holding onto Neku’s hand, squeezing it.

“I’d say so.” Neku approached the table carefully, acutely aware of the distortions that plagued Sho’s Soul as a result of his Consumption psych. Just as he reached the corner of the board, Shiki cried out, pushing Neku away, a Eurobeat Boomer flying for them.

I’VE ALREADY LOST EVERYTHING! LEAVE ME ALOOONE!

----------------------

Joshua communes with her, reaching for the dream. Shibuya dreams, things the goddess had left behind on a secret plane, hidden even from the Higher Plane. Now, there was only one dreamer, Yumeko Inarigawa, trapped in the finest creation of her old master. She’d laid her body down on the mirror that was the gate, and then she’d frozen in time.

When her Song finally reaches his mind, he breathes easier, he raises his vibe, concentrating on nothing but traversing the plane of the dream, crossing the watercolour cobblestones, watching the origami fish and birds, the silk-painted and embroidered plants, people and the delicately drawn buildings. Truly, a creation, an amalgamation of every one of Shibuya’s Imaginings. If he concentrated, Josh could even see their dreams, fractal fans, patterns of cranes turning into dragons and back again.

Then he finds her, seated like a queen doll at a festival, brush in hand, patiently tracing the dream with her eyes, hands, and filling the empty spaces with more repetitions.

“Master, you have come to this place for what purpose?” She speaks the old tongue, she’s graceful as she places her brush down on its rest, and she’s even beautiful as she inhales her pipe, the fragrant smoke filling Joshua’s nose and bringing a smile to his lips.

“Mistress Yumeko, I am here to free you.” Joshua steps forward, climbing the steps of the doll stage, Yumeko Inarigawa rising to her full height. She laughed, covering her face with her lengthy sleeve.

“You jest, milord. It is impossible to leave the dream, since it was not you who imprisoned me here.” Yumeko waves her hand, and the pipe she was smoking became a sword, long, fine and sharp. Its curved edge braced against the horizon line, and Joshua smiled evilly.

“My dear Yumeko, I think you’re going to break yourself out.” Joshua offered her a feather from his own wings, a shorter, straighter, sharper blade sheathed in a white saya.

“Have you heard his cries? He rattles on the other side of my cage,” Yumeko tied both her swords to her obi, then tied her sleeves back with another fine, green ribbon, “He rattles and screams and cries against this prison, even if he knows me not.”

Joshua stared into her red eyes, swirling dangerously with the bright fire of the Inari-kami, and the Composer of Shibuya took the heaviest comb from her hair, a giant sakura tree wrapped around seven fine teeth of gold, and once it was removed, the dream began to close in, buildings swallowing the sky with their windows and paper walls.

“Are you ready to fight your way to freedom, my child dreaming of the fox river?”

Yumeko drew her blade, and in a blaze of tattoo-shaped fire, her form shifted into golden samurai armour, adorned with a fox’s head for a helmet.

-----------------------------------

Hazuki saw as the Noise storm abated slightly after the dive into his Soul, but even so, Sho Minamimoto’s unconscious body was still a magnet and refinery for bad Imagination.

He’d already destroyed Shinjuku once.

He was not about to lose his Ground again.

Chapter Text

Neku was keenly aware of the lack of time he and Shiki had to put the queen back in place on the board, he looked to Shiki, then to the Eurobeat Boomer and the Taboo Chameleon proving difficult. He watched as the scenery blinked, from the Soul’s chaotic appearance to the familiar, empty street of Shinjuku Plaza.

“Shiki! We gotta get it back now!” Neku called, throwing the piece to his partner.

“Okay! Mr Mew, help Neku!” Shiki cried out to the cat, it grew in size and started running, picking up the Chameleon with a kick into the sky. The Boomer charged for Neku on its path for Mr Mew, Neku using his own shockwave pin to counter the attack. Shiki ran, ignoring the fight to reach the board - the world blinked again.

Shiki paled, almost tripping. She leapt, and with her fingertips on the top of the lion’s head, she slammed the queen back in place.

The world erupted in ribbons of red, and light.

----------------------------

The buildings became trees the further up she went, twisting through the branches that extended from the wooden structures, climbing for the light she could see through the spaces in the leaves, ever aware of the shadows behind her.

They found themselves scattering to the pavement, Sho’s Noise frozen in place, breathing out smog, refinery sigils appearing in the darkness surrounding it, glowing dangerously. Shiba shouted to his Reapers to leave, Tsugumi and Hishima taken away with the rest of the Wall and Harrier Reapers to rest. Neku and Rindo gathered their friends, forming a wall in front of Sho.

One of them shot for her, a dragon made of blossom petals, roaring and shooting bolts of lighting, and once she escaped the treetops, a river of painted cranes extended upwards, to the silk screen sky, gates of solid stone closing her path forward. Yumeko inhaled, unsheathing the short, white-hilted blade from its saya, cutting the stone door open down the center with a loud grating noise. The dragon behind her changed, petals turning to small blades, the dragon becoming tiny bats, screeching into her ears as she fled them, running up the water that threatened to drag her backwards.

Taboo Noise was oozing out of the sigils, dark and slow like tar, hundreds of red, evil eyes looked at them as they apparissed into the world. Hazuki quietly stepped down from his position above the confrontation, orbs of soft light shining all around him.

Yumeko didn’t falter, she concentrated; she closed her eyes to the world around her and focused on nothing but hearing his voice. Sho was out there, he needed her, she needed him, it was as simple as that. The final gate was before her, a guardian of black marble, carved with the pattern of the mirror that held her body.

“I’m done being a prisoner!” Yumeko cried, releasing her armour as she leapt into the darkness.

On the other side, Joshua was breathing hard, extracting himself from the dream had taken some effort and extreme modulation of his vibe. He watched as the mirror glowed in brilliant gold, then as it exploded into bright flames. Yumeko stood, free at last, atop the stone, her geisha outfit and all.

“Go, he needs you. GO!” Joshua shouted, quickly texting Neku. Yumeko nodded, retrieving a stick of bells from her kimono sleeve, ringing them once.

----------------------------

Neku’s phone buzzed, but there wasn’t time to look, Trance Rhinos, Carcinopunks and Walls of Grizzly marching forwards, the smog that surrounded them moving like water. Leo Cantus remained still, unflinching, as Hazuki leapt into action, blasting beams upon the Noise as it approached. The refinery sigils continued to glow, producing more Taboo Noise.

Shiba looked on in horror, this had been the vision that Tsugumi had shared unto him, Hazuki single-handedly handling the invasion of the dark Imagination, exhausting himself. Shiba rose, the pain in his side forgotten, as he changed into his Noise form, Lepidoptera Cantus spreading its bright, flaming tattoo wings and launched forwards. Shiba himself looked like a man in a moth costume, rainbow coloured flames consuming the Taboo Noise.

“SHIBA!” Kaie screamed, his voice barely above a whisper as he let his own Noise form, Corpus Cantus take over. Purple tattoo ribbons swallowed Kaie, wrapping him like a cocoon, and then white bones, patterned with tribal markings and rabbits creaked, surrounding Kaie’s shield with a ribcage, shoulders, arms and a spine, topped with a skull that housed two indigo, shining eyes. From between perfectly white teeth, the Cantus screeched, rising from the ground with two large, skeletal legs, stooping down to crush Taboo Noise under its heels and hands.

“WOAH! I’m glad we never had to fight him!” Fret paled, the rest of the Shibuya crew in shock. Leo Cantus moved, slowly, the refinery sigils finally slowing in their creation of Taboo Noise. Neku leapt for Sho, aided by Mr Mew’s bigger form, trying to block Leo Cantus from attacking Shiba.

“STOP! SHO! WHAT ARE YOU DO-” Neku didn’t get to finish his words, Leo Cantus’ kick caught by the softer body of Mr Mew, protecting Neku from the full force of the roundhouse kick.

Hazuki growled, readying another beam of light in his palm.

A flash of gold, the lion fell to its knees.

Neku looked up from between Mr Mew’s arms, and saw a warrior adorned in gold standing before the dark beast, sword at the ready. Something tickled the back of his mind, and he absently thought to check his phone - seeing on the screen a single message:

She’s free

The warrior sheathed their sword, leaping into the air, then crashing their heel into the nose of the lion Noise. It roared, swiping quickly with both of its clawed hands, the warrior easily slipping between them, retaliating with more swift strikes to the side of the monster, fists crashing into its waist and pectoral muscles, causing it to double over. Shiba saw a Eurobeat Boomer raise its back legs, aimed at Kaie’s cocoon, and he fired off a meteor of flames, burning the bothersome thing in a screech of static. The clash with Leo Cantus was reaching a fever pitch, the golden warrior striking with their blades, driving the tip into the side of its hip, cutting the back of its knees and using the saya to attack the back of its head. The lion roared in pain, Taboo Noise coalescing from the sigils, pooling at its feet.

“YUMEKO, LOOK OUT!” Neku shouted, running back to his group, Mr Mew shielding Shiki.

The warrior’s armour dissipated with their next swing, the Noise effortlessly crushed by the movement, leaving only the geisha with red eyes behind. She looked to the gathering from Shibuya, then back to Leo Cantus, its hulking form breathing heavily as it collapsed.

“They’ll keep coming,” The geisha - Yumeko - spoke evenly, brushing back Leo Cantus’ mane with her hands, “Until you ease his Soul. Can any of you do that?”

“Yes, milady! We have such an ability!” Nagi responded, dragging Fret, Shoka and Rindo to the forefront, Shiba, Kaie and Hazuki still anxiously waiting for the rampage of the giant Noise.

“Then while I siphon off his energy, put an end to his suffering. You,” Yumeko waved her hand to the three Shinjuku residents, “Help me on this side.”

Yumeko turned to talk to them, while the Shibuya delegation cautiously regathered around Sho’s body.

“Brotha’s messed up,” Beat sighed, “I ain’t never liked Tabooty, but this ain’t right yo.”

“He must feel awful…” Shiki held Mr Mew a little closer, Neku brushing her arm gently to comfort her.

“Hope springs eternal. We have to try!” Rhyme exclaimed, stirring her brother out of his brooding.

“It must have hurt,” Shoka brought her arms around herself, “Those memories must suck.”

“Mr H said he’s been gathering up all the bad Imagination here,” Rindo tapped his head in thought, “It’s probably what’s causing this.”

“If you’re ready, Nagi,” Neku spoke at last, “Then we’ll reach for his Soul.”

Nagi looked at the fallen lion, and touched his paw with her own, gloved palm. It felt warm, like cat’s fur in sunlight, and she smiled to herself. Fret was chewing his lip, thinking hard, staring at his Player Pin.

“What if...What if we didn’t have to fight those things?” Fret flicked the skull pin, “I mean, we have our psychs back - what if we can use them instead?”

Rindo’s eyes lit up in recognition, feeling for his own Player pin. He doubted he could rewind time out here, not without the divine power of his previous pin, but what if he could affect the world inside Sho’s Soul? What could they do with that?

Leo Cantus stirred, growling, more smog exhaled from either side of its mouth.

“Ok, it’s now or never!” Shoka poked Nagi, worry on both their faces. Nagi nodded to Neku, who with Shiki’s help, reached again for Sho’s Soul, syncing everyone with it.

“Onwards we dive!”

----------------------------

“I need you to describe to me everything you remember of Shinjuku.” Yumeko explained, her longer sword changing for a large brush, one which took both her hands to wield, “If you tell me who lived in this Ground, I can create bodies.”

Yumeko closed her eyes, feeling the raging energy of Sho behind her, a deep pool of Imagination to use as an inkpot. She reached with her brush, pulling from Leo Cantus’ limp body pigment onto the tip of her tool, ready to paint whatever was described. Kaie’s skeleton body sat down with a small crash, legs crossing as it summoned a crystal ball to its bone hands, inside that, he summoned images of those that had lived in Shinjuku.

“...This was the political ward of Tokyo.” Shiba explained, pointing to all the suited characters that passed by in the vision of Kaie’s ball. Hazuki watched, eagerly, as Yumeko’s brush moved sinuously, outlines of ink filling in with gouache-like colours, men and women in business attire appearing in the plaza, and in the distance.

“This Ground was less a home and more a wayfair,” Hazuki twisted the hair in front of his face, “Students and parents, a lot of salaried workers passed through here in their time off.” Yumeko kept painting, her brush moving seamlessly from the last suited figure, to painting a school uniform, more of them, bags on shoulders, in hands, buttons undone and completely buttoned shirts. She kept moving, middle aged women, older men and youths decorated in the simpler, affordable attire offered by the department shops that dotted the nearby streets. Soon, the plaza was full of faces, colour, but devoid of movement. Kids held onto their parent’s hands, sipping drinks and eating sweets, public office employees hastily munching lunches, scanning papers and studying their phones intensely.

Even filling the Ground with almost four hundred thousand bodies, the energy from Sho’s body was still radiating. Yumeko inhaled, exhaled, and pulled more from his reserves, filling her brush with ink. She started by drawing a word, kibou, then she outlined it with a phoenix body, the firebird curling its long neck around its body, crying from its open beak and around its spread wings and tail feathers - wake up! Wake up you who sleep!.

Shiba and Kaie’s Noise forms dissipated, watching in awe as the drawing continued; from the bird’s wings, flames licked outwards, and from its feet, a vortex of movement - petals and leaves blending into the tops of tree branches, their roots entangling into a larger, framing circle. Around that frame, Yumeko wrote a prayer.

“So that Shinjuku might, like its brothers and sisters,” Shiba read, “Find its way from the darkness. Grant vision to your deaf Composer, and raise your volume you silent Souls.”

Hazuki stood, lost for words, in the brilliant light of the prayer.

-------------------------------------

Inside Sho’s Soul, the darkness had increased, Leo Cantus and Sho standing silently, unmoving as they faced the group, Sho’s hands in his pockets, eyes hidden under the shadows of the brim of his cap. Around Sho, the sigils of Taboo Noise floated ominously.

“So,” Rhyme pondered, “Do we choose one each?”

“No.” Said Rindo, gripping onto his Player pin, honing its image in his mind, “We do this one at a time - I think you were right Fret.”

At the mention of his name, Fret raised a brow and tilted his head.

“If we can jog his memory somewhat, it might weaken the Noise.” Rindo suggested.

“That might work,” Shoka nodded, “Noise is generated from discord.”

“But whaddya remind Pi-Face ‘bout? How he almost made our asses grass?” Beat huffed, stretching his legs nervously.

“When Neku and I went into that portal earlier,” Shiki spoke softly, “He said he’d lost everything. But what if he hasn’t?”

“...He attempts to protect our fair Shibuya by ascertaining power,” Nagi fiddled with her glasses, cleaning them with her shirt hem, “Or so speaketh the vendor of caffeine.”

“Okay, time to see if this works,” Rindo shut his eyes, focusing on the pin in his hand, feeling it as energy flowed into it. Around his ears, the winds of time roared, and his body felt like it’d plunged into water, floating and other senses dulled. He thought about what he knew of the Reaper, his former teammate, his friend, and reached.

“Show me when you hurt.”

Rindo’s pin shone brightly in his hand, tendrils of light wrapping around each of the former Players, the scene changing as it faded. They found themselves atop Pork City, admiring Shibuya’s sea of endless lights and music that wafted into the night sky, which was devoid of stars.

To their left, a girl in a fluffy red jacket that engulfed her entire torso almost to her knees, dark hair in a ponytail and jeans sat, staring into the world below.

”You know they won’t let us both go. Listen, I’ll stay at the bottom of the river-”

On their right, Sho Minamimoto stood in a different outfit, began to shout.

”Why should we have to divide?! We were finding the solution! They stole my life once, and that doesn’t factor a digit to me anymore! My ability here is approaching infinity, why is that a bad thing?”

The world spun, colours blending together into grey, the sky became the ground and everyone fell onto it. Their senses inverted, before they were corrected just as sharply, finding themselves in the middle of the Crossing. Around them, hundreds of faceless people walked through them, and at the center of the scene was Sho.

“I’m not like you,” His voice was surprisingly mellow, the harsh edges of his sharp personality missing, “I was never like you. I’m the sum total of a snapshot of Shibuya - Their Imagination made my body. I am them, and likewise, they are me.”

The Reaper spread his arms, looking straight through Rindo.

“They might fight each other,” Sho continued, “But without them, there is no beauty. Even if I’m alone in my vision, I’ll still scream it to the masses, I’ll make their eyeballs bleed with my dreams!”

“...Yo, you ain’t never had it easy huh,” Beat huffed, “I think I get it now.”

“No, keep your distance-” Sho whispered, folding in on himself. Rindo walked up to him, putting his hands on Sho’s shoulders, staring him in the eyes.

“I won’t! Are you crazy?”

Sho looked at him in bewilderment, mouth slightly agape.

“We came all this way,” Rindo sighed, “Because we were worried about you. You might not think so, but we’re friends. We were able to count on you in the Game, and now it’s your turn. You just have to trust in us.”

“Real friends,” Shiki added, stepping forward, bravely reaching out to hold Sho’s hand, “Stay by you no matter what. Best friends are made when you aren’t even looking. “

“It...must have really hurt you, when your prize was denied,” Fret pushed Rindo back so he could take some space, “But...that doesn’t have to be the end of it. If you still want to protect Shibuya, we’ll help you, even if it puts us at risk.”

Sho’s eyes prickled with tears, and he fell to his knees, sniffing in hard breaths between his cries.

“...She’s out there,” Neku pulled Sho up from the ground he’d fallen to, “Yumeko’s waiting for you, just like Josh promised.”

That brought the Reaper up short, his tears frozen and his chest heaving with his breathing. He looked at Neku, eyes wide and bloodshot, the boy Conductor still talking.

“No, we’re not lying. I want you to trust me, trust us, to help you. We’re not going anywhere anytime soon.”

“You risked erasure...twice now...for me,” Sho coughed, then laughed, “You stupid binomials! All of you! This is just some scheme to get me to come to your weekly gatherings and laugh over nothing, isn’t it?”

“Oh yeah,” Rhyme giggled, “We’re having a marshmallow contest next week. Champion round.”

Shoka snickered, Rindo, Fret and Beat not far behind in a full laughing fit, even Nagi smirked at the hilarity.

”Misho! Misho! Can you hear me?”

Sho looked into the blank sky, and smiled; it was a gentle smile, warm like the sun and pleasant on his face, it made his sharp lines softer and his eyes fill with a new wetness.

“Alright, t has reached zero, it seems.”

-------------------------------------

After Yumeko had completed the illustration for the prayer, the darkness that formed Leo Cantus had faded, leaving only Sho on the ground unconscious. Looking to the roof of the train station, Shiba saw his Reaperdom, flying cautiously back into the plaza, now that the danger had passed. He saw as Hazuki inspected the new bodies that filled his Ground, considering something.

“They need a Song,” Yumeko answered before it was even asked, the geisha finally untying her sleeves and pulling Sho into a seated position, his head to her shoulder.

Hazuki paused, placing his hands around his ears, and he listened. He could hear strings, brass and wind instruments, the muffled sounds of drums - and he Composed. With a base of warm string chords, he built intensity, filling spaces with brass pads, leading into soaring winds - all placed between steady drum beats. He sang in his head, words of hope, of love, of aspiration. Shiba found himself humming along, his foot tapping to the beat, moving his hands in the rough shape of the rhythm.

“Brother would have liked this Song.” Tsugumi rubbed her arms, willing away the goosebumps that ran along them as she listened.

“He would have, I’ve no doubt,” Hazuki’s gaze sharpened as he beheld the sister to his previous Conductor, “But this is our Shinjuku now. He would also be glad to see it so free.”

Tsugumi nodded, smiling meekly.

“Yes, he would have wanted this.”

Chapter Text

“Misho! Misho! Can you hear me?” Yumeko whispered into his ear, “Come on, wake up Misho.”

--------------------------

With Sho in their party, they surfaced to the top level of his Soul, the Taboo sigils from earlier having deposited their respective Noise into the battlefield, the top of Pork City. The Grizzly charged first, claws swinging into the air. Mr Mew caught it, sending it flying into the army of Choirfrogs, who ribbited loudly as they charged, their chests full of bubbles. Shoka and Rindo were quick on the uptake, firing rounds into their puffed chests. Fret made a barrier with his Spectral Swords, forcing the frogs to stop their onslaught.

“So much for one at a time!” Shiki shouted.

“Dontchu worry ‘bout it, Shiki!” Beat encouraged, slamming his board down onto the Chameleon’s back, “We got this yo!”

Sho shot forward, a shadow of Leo Cantu’s claws slicing through the hordes, the screeches of dying static filling the air.

“You’re outta time!” Rindo yelled at the Grizzly, raising both his open palms towards it, Shoka mirroring him.

“Buzz off!”

The blank pin that Rindo had put onto his coat flashed, the insignia of Yu Yevon shining brightly. From under the Grizzly, the shadow of a wheel formed, holding it in place, as Bahamut descended from the skies, roaring blue flames upon it. The sync attack faded, the Grizzly turning into static fragments, flying away on the wind.

“Woah...that was awesome!” Rindo and Shoka cheered, clapping hands in high fives, bouncing with energy.

Pillars of light appeared in the plaza around Yumeko and Sho, eight of them in total, the group finally surfacing from their dive. On her shoulder, Sho’s breath tickled her exposed neck as he exhaled, his eyes slowly opening to reveal their yellow hue. Once he looked up at the body that was supporting him, he opened his mouth as if to speak, then just as quickly he closed it, carefully sitting up properly.

“Hey, you still with us?” Fret leaned down, offering his hand to help his friend up. Sho stood up on his own, Yumeko rising smoothly to her own feet.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Sho answered, removing his cap to brush a hand through his hair then replacing it, “Nothing got subtracted from you, did it?” In the following silence, Beat and Neku shared a look, apologetic expressions on their faces, shoulders hunched forwards and eyes avoiding looking at Sho.

“Hey, hey,” Sho snapped his fingers, “I’m still alive - so are all of you. This isn’t a funeral.”

“...Lord Minamimoto,” Nagi adjusted her glasses, Sho snapping around to face her, “You’re not engaging with your habitual use of mathematical terminology, are you quite well?”

“What, would you prefer that? Zetta weird of you.” Sho’s eyes narrowed, crossing his arms. Yumeko smiled, elbowing his lower back.

“Misho, be nice to your friends.”

“What are you gonna do about it, you five-nothing digit?” Sho turned around, looming over Yumeko with a deliberately ugly sneer over his face. He was laughing as she decked him across his cheek with enough force to land him on his backside.

“Please excuse him, he’s probably still somewhat asleep...and starved.”

“Yumeko, right?” Rindo asked, Yumeko replied with a bow.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Rindo Kanade, this is Tosai Furetawa," Fret waved, "Nagi Usui," Rindo pointed to the girl currently helping Sho off the ground.

"Shoka Sakurane, hi, nice to meet you." Shoka dipped in a shallow bow, Yumeko returning the gesture.

"Neku Sakuraba, and these are my friends - Beat and Rhyme, and Shiki." Neku offered Yumeko his hand, the geisha shaking it firmly. Yumeko looked around them, committing their faces and names to memory. She smiled at last, Sho’s arm snaking around her shoulders.

“I’d hate to break up your most joyous reunion,” Hazuki sighed, hands in his pockets, “But I’m afraid I have to ask you to leave. It’s against the rules if I let you stay in the UG here.”

“A train awaits you at the station, I’d advise you use it to return to Shibuya.” Hishima sidled up to Shiba, the Conductor appreciating the new life in Shinjuku.

“Thank you, Mikage-san.” Yumeko bowed one last time, Hazuki only surprised for a moment, until he remembered he had met her before, when he first inherited Shinjuku.

“It should be me thanking you,” Hazuki shook his head, “Especially you, Minamimoto. Without you, this Ground would still be a wasteland. I’ll have something sent to Joshua for you. Until then, everyone.”

With a jubilant farewell from the Shinjuku Reaperdom, they boarded the train in the early afternoon, the quiet buzz of being tuned washing over them. On the other side, waiting for them were Uzuki and Kariya, both of them messing with things on their phones.

“Oh, well this is a surprise.” Kariya nodded, Uzuki finally taking notice of the train arriving from Shinjuku. Yumeko Inarigawa was the last to leave, Sho standing at an awkward distance away from her, not too close, but not far either.

“Well, look at this. Koki-san, Yashiro-san, I’m relieved you’ve been promoted.”

“It wouldn’t have been possible without your mentorship, Inarigawa-sama!” Uzuki dipped her head, quickly putting her phone in her pocket. Yumeko chuckled behind her sleeve, mirth shining in her eyes like rubies.

“...Hey,” Sho stepped forwards, his eyes hidden by his cap brim, “I...I should apologise. I’m sorry, I was an ass to you.”

“HUH?!” Uzuki shouted, her wings twitching nervously.

“That week, I...I told you hands off the players, and you almost got erased by Taboo Noise I created. I wasn’t in my right mind, and you need to know that.”

If Uzuki’s jaw could have fallen off her face, it would have, as she began to recognise the words Sho’s voice was making, the mathematician wringing his hands, silent in the face of Uzuki’s shock.

“Well? Aren’t you going to, you know,” Kariya laughed, “Accept that?”

“I, uh...okay. It’s water under the bridge, Minamimoto.” Uzuki finally collected herself, watching as the group whooped and teased Sho, walking from the station towards the river’s opening.

“It’s a good thing Yu-chan’s finally back in action. I was starting to worry for our fair Shibuya.” Kariya smirked around his lollipop, rolling it around between his teeth. Uzuki looked at him like he’d grown a second head, Kariya leading her out of the station and towards Dogenzaka for a bite.

-----------------------

“Oh good! You’re all home, alive and well.” Joshua greeted, lazing on an entire couch, reading through Uzuki’s end of week report, Sanae Hanekoma behind the drinks bar, polishing the glasses and cleaning the cabinets. Opposite Joshua was Coco Atarashi, looking thoroughly startled by the presence of both Yumeko and Sho, since they entered last.

“For a job well done, I’ve sent some things to your residences. All that’s left is to get a good rest, you’ve earned it.”

“Hey Sho,” Rindo opened, Fret and Nagi already heading out of the pad with Beat and Rhyme, “Can I have your number? So we can catch up later.”

“I guess.” Sho shrugged, showing Rindo his detail screen, Rindo copying the number into a message line, sending a test text. Shoka collected him on her way out, having spoken to Shiki and Hanekoma about the availability of new GattoNero merchandise. The Producer had pulled some serious strings to have everything made for the midnight release. Neku walked out with Shiki, who was on the phone to Eri, confirming things about the campaign reveal, the Conductor nodding to Sho.

“Hnnng, Yumekoooo!” Coco cried, hot tears pouring down her face, her nose dripping as she sniffled, “Yuuuu...I missed you!”

“Apparently so. It’s good to see you too, Coco.” The geisha neatly folded herself into the couch seat, Coco quickly tackling her with a hug, her tears smearing both their makeups where she cried. Joshua patted the spot next to him, indicating for Sho to sit.

“So I have wonderful news,” Josh’s face lit up with a cat’s grin, all teeth and eyes glimmering with mischief, “You can be Reapers again! Congratulations, Mother and Father are even allowing you Officer positions.” He then stole Sho’s cap, putting it backwards on his own head, leaping out of the mathematician’s reach, snickering and still too happy for anyone to relax.

“But there’s a catch! Before you can come back, you’re on a five-year RG probation period. Starting midnight tonight, you’re going back to life in the RG. You’re at the mercy of your friends now, and whatever they expect of you.”

“Probation? What’s that for?” Yumeko asked, brows knit in confusion. Joshua looked to Sho, who was paling, hoping he’d not have to explain to his best friend what had transpired in the Long Game three years ago. Joshua’s trickster nature shone through as he gleefully informed Yumeko of what happened.

“Our beloved Pi-Face,” Joshua waved the hat in Sho’s face, pulling it away before he could grab it, “Tried to kill me in the RG, then he used Taboo Noise to draw me out, reincarnated as Taboo Noise, tried to kill me again, and on his second resurrection, he was hopping dimensions gathering his missing Soul fragments.”

Sho was sweating, shivering, afraid of her reaction. For the few years he’d known Yumeko, anything that constituted a threat to either Joshua or the Ground was to be eliminated. He’d hoped that when he became Composer himself and freed her, he could have just undone the damage, made new Souls in the image of those he’d destroyed, but he hadn’t had that chance. Even with the few Souls Joshua had recreated, some Reapers had been lost entirely, as had some from the RG as a result of Taboo possession. She’d never have had to know how far down he’d fallen, all for her.

“...This was my fault. I should have fought them harder, shouldn’t I?”

“Actually, it’s my fault,” Hanekoma interjected, finally walking out from behind the bar, “I should have known how much you cared for Shibuya, and the lengths you’d go to for each other. I should have known that until we took Yumeko, that you weren’t going to threaten the Composer. Blame me, alright?”

“Blame me too! I thought if I revived Sho, he’d save Shinjuku before the Inversion, but I was too slow and the sigil was wrong and-” Coco sniffed, her tears finally drying up. Yumeko shook her head in disbelief. How much had the Ground changed in her absence?

“Does it matter now? It’s all factored out now, no use disputing the proof.” Sho shoved his hands into his pockets, averting his eyes from everyone in the room. Joshua laughed again, shoving Sho’s cap back on his head with as much force as possible, pushing his head down into his lap.

“Now, now, all is forgiven. You walk out that door, up the Path, and don’t come back here unless I call you personally. Out! Shoo!” Joshua raised his vibe slightly, irritating the Reaper’s ears enough to force them to flee his vicinity. Outside on the Path, Yumeko looked to Sho, still full of contrition. She sighed, crossing her arms.

“You think I won’t forgive you?” Yumeko surmised. Sho remained silent, licking his lips.

“I always thought you wouldn’t forgive me, not after I left you behind.” Yumeko hung her head, feeling hot water prick at her eyes. Sho swept her into a hug, both of them unable to breathe steadily, the truth finally shared between them.

“It doesn’t matter now. You’re here.” Sho whispered, yellow and red eyes meeting at last. Yumeko looked over to Coco, her oldest friend looking forlornly at the ground, worrying one of her flowers. She looked back to Sho, observing his clothes. The style might have changed, but the core design remained the same. In the reflection of the river, she saw her ruined makeup, and laughed.

“I must look so gaudy, how about I fix that?” Yumeko held out her hands, Sho gently taking them in his own, the light of their not-quite Pact sparking in the air around them. Yumeko’s clothes changed, the red kimono swapped for an ankle-length red leather coat, black hiking boots, dark jeans with gold-painted foxes running up her to her knees and a white t-shirt with a samurai painted across it. A green pair of studs in the shape of stars adorned her ears, which were neatly displayed thanks to the framing fringe of dark hair, the rest tied into twin plaits that fell over her shoulders. She let go of her psych, a small, audible snap as she and Sho separated.

“How’s this? Is it modern enough?”

“Almost! One last thing oughta do it.” Hanekoma had, apparently, followed them on the Path, ambushing them at the final stretch where the transformation had taken place. Coco yelped, running away in fear. The Producer chuckled, reaching into his pocket for a velvet bag and a small box. In the bag was a green choker ribbon, a golden sakura blossom attached to it by a chain, and in the box was a plain, single diamond ring.

“There we go! Have fun out there, you two.” Hanekoma laughed, lackadaisically walking into the late-day sun. Sho shrugged, Yumeko slipping the ring onto her right hand.

On the other side of the Path, Sho’s phone rang - Was it Rindo already?

”HOLY MOTHER, SHO?! IT’S ME, EIJI!” came through the phone line, Sho flinching as he held the device some distance from his face.

“Eiji?” Sho asked, realisation dawning on his face.

”YES, YOU KNOW, LIKE THE GUY YOU ABANDONED! NEVERMIND THAT NOW, COME TO THE ESTATE!”

“Eiji-”

”NO! I WON’T HAVE IT! You come back to Shibuya after all these years, with a charming young lady as I hear and think I’ve forgotten you? You’re coming to the estate right now. Where are you?”

Sho looked sheepishly to Yumeko, who quickly reached for the ring on her hand, adjusting it to the correct hand. Damn you, Joshua, they thought.

“...Shibuya Stream. Should I-”

”Wait right there!”

-------------------------------------------

Watching from the river, Joshua was dying of laughter.

---------------------------------------

It took Sho until Friday to convince Eiji Oji to ease up, a haircut and too many suit fittings almost making him miss being forgotten. His father, Ken Doi had come back to the estate to discuss the arrangements for the wedding banquet, apparently part of the memories Joshua had implanted had been that Yumeko and he had been travelling for some time together, resulting in their engagement. It made Sho uncomfortable to no end, Yumeko and he were friends, sure, but was it really a good idea? He didn’t even think of Yumeko in that light, but she was flattered, and rather calm about the whole deal.

“It’s fine, a marriage of convenience is nothing. It’s not like we’re supposed to make an heir, are we?”

That had sent a whole new wave of panic through Sho, Yumeko finding the ordeal hilarious, furiously texting Coco and Kariya, who also apparently thought Sho’s suffering immensely funny.

But come the weekend, they were finally able to escape Eiji and his entourage for a few hours over at the Shoka’s place. A giant apartment at the edge of Shibuya and Shinjuku that easily fit all their friends at once.

“Just think of it like a Pact, that’s all it is.” Neku suggested, his pencil fluttering across a sketch, filling in shadows and thickening lines. Rhyme then appeared out of the kitchen with Shoka, holding enough snacks for a small feast. Among them, was a large bucket of marshmallows, and absently Sho recalled the young girl’s remark from the dive.

“So who wants to try? Current record is 15, held by Fret.”

An evil smile spread over Sho’s lips, as he reached for the bucket, pulling it over the table towards him.

“That’s a weak number! I’ll easily crunch it by 8!”

“You’re a menace to society.” Nagi commented from over her book.

“AND a coward,” Yumeko chuckled, “MAKE IT 10!”

Fret watched in horror, as not only did Sho manage 25 marshmallows, but also swallowed them all in only two gulps.

“I’m a weaker man! I’m a weaker man!”

---------------------------

They were slinking around in Udagawa, bags of paint on their shoulders, laughing between themselves as they covered the wall next to CAT’s mural with an Escher drawing, skulls turning into cats, into foxes and then back into people.

“It’s almost fun not using my psych.”

Sho looked around this part of Shibuya, a place that used to be filled with darkness, malicious Imagination congregating from between Tipsy Tose Hall up to the edge of Udagawa finally starting to fade. In the week they’d had back in the RG, the imprinting that GattoNero was putting out was working.

Find your beauty
Add together your differences
A whole world can be found in the heap

He liked not hearing the constant buzz of Noise in his Soul from the use of his psych, he liked that he could be here with all of his friends as much as he wanted. Sure, he might miss the ability to directly influence the RG from the UG, but what did that matter now? His vision was finally being realised.

“I don’t really want my matrix inverted again.”

“Maybe it doesn’t have to be.” Joshua smiled, appearing from the shadows.

Chapter Text

“Composer save me, you’ll be the death of us all.” Yumeko hissed as they pulled into the Crossing, Sho parking the black van in the center of the road. It was early in the morning, too early for too much foot traffic, but that would soon change. They had mere minutes to set everything up and get away before it became a mess.

“The set is important to the plot, and it’s time they were added again.” Sho retorted, climbing into the back of the van, throwing open the door and quickly shoving out three screens. Yumeko sighed before following to help him, with the screens in place, they quickly brought out the pieces of the statue. Ten figures in a circle, made from garbage that had been artfully stuck together, posed like super sentai characters; each also had a unique feature:

Black and yellow opposed each other, chains around their necks with skull pendants.

Blue had headphones slung around his neck, while his opposition of orange covered his lower face with a mask.

Purple stood at the top of the circle, red in front of him, sitting on the base of the ring, each with a feather in hand.

Green and pink stood next to each other, holding onto the same stuffed doll carefully.

Around red, white and gold stood guard, a scarf on gold’s shoulders and a pair of goggles strapped to white’s face.

All ten of them had tin pin slammers strapped to their arms, the broken and forgotten toys revived like the slammurais themselves. Once they finished bolting the statue together, the screens were folded back into the van and they sped off, leaving those at the Crossing in awe.

“Hey! I remember them!”

“There were ten? Woah, I’m old…”

“Aw man, where’s that slammer champion…”

“Isn’t he-”

When Rindo and Fret would happen upon it only a few hours later on their way to school, they snapped a hundred pictures and sent them to their friends, tagging each of them with their appropriate statue. At the lockers, Rindo looked over to where he knew Shuto Dan put his shoes, finding the once-legendary Shibuya slammurai solemnly looking at a pile of notes. His friend, “Yammer” had moved halfway across the country to a specialist school, leaving Shuto by himself; it was this knowledge that compelled Rindo to reach out to him this morning, a photo primed on his phone to show the other boy.

“Hey, Shuto, right?” Rindo introduced himself, Shuto barely looking over his papers, humming in reply.

“Oookay, so, this might sound crazy,” Rindo huffed a laugh, showing Shuto his screen, “But these showed up at the Scramble. You were a huge fan once, weren’t you?”

Recognition lit up in Shuto’s eyes, and Rindo was sure he was about to lose his phone for a second, as Shuto almost salivated, his papers hastily shoved into his book bag.

“Holy moly! The slammurai! Aw man…” Shuto reached into his pocket, retrieving his phone only to look at it longingly, the joy in face quickly running out, “If only Itaru...Nah, he’s probably over it.” Shuto pouted, slouching his shoulders.

Rindo felt panic rising in his chest, until Fret walked over, slinging his arm over Rindo’s shoulders.

“Hey now, maybe it’s a sign? Why don’t you try asking him?”

Shuto looked apologetic, hands in his pockets, face downcast.

“We- we haven’t spoken in weeks. Everything’s been piling up and...And when we do talk it’s cause I need help with my homework. I don’t know if he even thinks I’m still his friend anymore...Wouldn’t he have talked to me already if we were?”

“Sometimes,” Fret touched Shuto’s shoulder lightly, bringing the boy back to ground, “You just need to give them a little reminder. In the meantime, here’s my deets - I’ll send you a snap of that statue.”

All three boys walked away, feeling a little bit lighter.

----------------------

“Sho,” Eiji narrowed his eyes, watching his friend’s back as he moved around the kitchen, “You’ve been giggling all morning. What did you do now?”

“He thinks he’s achieved some evil scheme, but what do I know? My betrothed won’t breathe a word to me.” Yumeko spoke pointedly, Sho barely catching himself before his knife slipped onto his hand. It wasn’t often that she referred to him as such, but Sho had quickly learned that in the last few weeks, invoking the title meant she was angry - which could result in some very unpleasant problems, like his cakes going missing.

“I put a statue of the slammurais up, at the Crossing.” Sho confessed, carefully easing his board full of chopped vegetables into the soup on the stove. Yumeko snickered over the top of her green tea, Eiji sighing in relief.

“I forgot you were into that, all those years ago. What about you, Yume-chan?”

“Hmmm...Hard to say, but if it makes Sho happy, I won’t get in his way.”

Sho slammed down three plates of omurice onto the table, breaking up the conversation, a soft pink dusting his cheeks.

“You two are impossible! And stop flirting!” Sho hissed, shoving a spoonful of the meal into his mouth. Yumeko chuckled, delicately making her way through the food, Eiji laughing at his friend’s embarrassment.

“I wouldn’t dare! How little you think of me, Sho…”

----------------------

“My my, he is sentimental. What a surprise!” Joshua reached out, brushing the finer features of the art installation. In the middle of the day, he wandered on the highest frequency he could manage without entering the Higher Plane. People naturally avoided him, and he was undetectable to the UG.

“If I recall, you invented the whole thing, based on old Shibuya.” Hanekoma came up from behind him, clapping Joshua’s shoulder with his hand. Joshua gave him a secretive smile.

“Well, I never said I wasn’t sentimental either.” Joshua leaned down to look at the red slammurai, flicking the spot where their nose would be. Hanekoma cackled, already dialling up a few numbers on his phone.

“Nostalgia! What a human thing…”

----------------------

A week later, Rindo was hanging out with Fret and Rhyme, the only other boys Rhyme was ever allowed to associate with as per Beat’s well-intentioned caution. They were crossing from Dogenzaka, heading for 104 where they’d pick up Shoka and then stop at Cat Street. On their way there, two figures in well-made suits, one with blonde hair and the other with black, were walking in front of them.

“It’ll be an experience, I’m certain of that. I just don’t know if villany will suit moi so well, you know?” The blonde dug his elbow into the black-haired figure’s side, and was met with a sharp growl.

“Keep that up and I’ll burn your kimchi.”

Rindo saw them for a second, yellow eyes glaring at their companion, and he was instantly aware of who it was.

“Sho! SHO!” Rindo shouted, beckoning Fret and Rhyme to follow. Before him, the former Reaper froze in his tracks, turning around slowly.

“Well, well, well. Seems a couple of zettagrams turned up. I’ll see you back at the estate.” Sho smiled, hands in his jacket pockets. Eiji laughed, patting his friend on the arm.

“Take your time Sho, as long as you don’t go running away from me again.”

“Minaman! You look so…” Fret thought for a second, looking at the way Sho wore the dark grey suit, a tasteful two piece with a bright red tie. Rhyme tapped his shoulder.

“Refined? Dignified?”

“Yeah that!” Fret agreed, slamming his fist into his open palm like a hammer. Sho barked a laugh, pulling his tie down slightly and undoing the top button of his shirt and his jacket completely.

“It’s okay, I know you were going to say old.” Sho teased, flicking Fret’s forehead with his fingertip. He fell into step beside Rindo as they marched their way into the urban sprawl proper.

“It’s the cap,” Rindo said softly, Sho tilting his head, “Without the hat, you look...wrong.”

“Ah, that. Yeah well, can’t exactly go into contract negotiations like you’re about to fight Noise.” Sho huffed, patting Rindo’s head affectionately, the younger teen making an annoyed sound.

“Contact negotiations for what, if you don’t mind?” Rhyme asked, finally extracting herself from her talk with Fret about some game or another. They were reaching the foot of 104, Shoka running between Rindo and Fret as Sho talked over their heads to Rhyme.

“Can’t say, but,” Sho looked over to the statue that he’d installed the other day. It had been moved from the Crossing itself to out front of 104, a production company claiming it as their own, “This is just a prediction. The endpoint is within range.”

Rhyme followed his eyes, finding the statue, and she gasped. He motioned with a single finger over his lips, and Rhyme returned the favour with a zipper over hers. Fret, Rindo and Shoka had been too involved with complaining about studies to have heard the hushed conversation, but the shared look of mischievous delight did not rest well on them.
-----------------------
“So Joshua, do you think Sanae was right to trust him?” Father asked, his face buried in a book as he sat opposite Joshua in a game of shoji. He’s the image of the modern man, a sharp, neatly pressed suit in dark grey accented by bright royal blue and gold, a sprig of lavender and rosemary on his lapel, while ash streaks decorated the slicked-back hair visible above the edge of his reading.

“I believe he was, yes,” Joshua replied, studying the board, “And until he directly upsets the Game again, I’m inclined to live and let go. Surely Haz told you the same.”

“He did, yes. Thank you for helping him with that too. I’m trying to let him grow, but he’s…” Father trailed off, moving his piece without looking. Joshua hummed, taking his turn.

“He’s hesitant. Understandable, but I think we won’t have to worry too much more. Father, tell Mother I said hello.” Joshua waved, Father rising smoothly from his chair and vanishing after touching Joshua’s shoulder.

Chapter Text

Please be aware these are headcanons, and are mostly based on para-textual elements that I, personally think make the most amount of sense.

Higher Plane:

There are created and ascended angels. Those who are created, are made purely from HP energy and ideology. Ascended angels are more likely to rebel, and were refined from human souls by tuning them up.
All angels have the same HP, but it manifests differently according to the cognition of the Ground. Mother and Father are universal figures, and oversee all angel activity.
Mother is much more involved with the angels, providing them comfort when they find themselves confused. She is ambivalent to many of the HP’s policies, much more interested in the actual souls of any given Plane.
Father is very interested in HP politics, and is unlikely to see the worth of the souls that make up each Plane. He thinks that Joshua certainly has his reasons, but he doubts his efficacy and truths.
Joshua is an ascended angel, Hazuki was created.

Joshua:

Was born as a “half” during the Edo period, which would make him the target for much discrimination and would explain his distaste for humans. He saw Shibuya go from castle town to metropolis.
His history is the Eden set, he died and came to the goddess, who was seeing to the souls of the kings who sought her blessing, and she took pity on his purer soul - only for Joshua to kill them all as a newly ascended angel.
Joshua is only as involved with his Ground as he has to be, providing it some direction, but never outright ruling over it like a king.

Hazuki:

Being created, he is very out of touch with humans
Inherited his Ground from its previous Composer, when the Composer went basically senile. The Ground was already in disrepair when he got it, but he also inherited Matsunae, who was desperately trying to turn the Ground around.
He disapproved of Matsunae’s approach because it wouldn’t lead to the Higher Plane’s vision for the world, and so he called down the Inversion to cleanse the Ground.
He calls Joshua Yoshiya because he’s aware of Joshua’s actual history, and holds him to that nature/history

Coco/Yumeko:

Coco is a very old Reaper, she was actually brought on by Joshua, and he lets her do whatever because she’s useful in the grand design, but less important elsewhere, so she doesn’t deserve his attention.
Yumeko was “woven from Shibuya” in the same way as Sho. It makes sense to me that the goddess could, if presented with an incomplete soul (a child in the womb), she could have made it complete and brought it back to life, sparing said child from unnecessary judgment. Joshua thought that would be a great idea for when Sho died in a similar way
Yumeko was sealed away because her Creation psych was far too powerful, but she was also coerced because of Sho.

Taboo Noise:

Taboo Noise are made of “rotten imagination”. When a Ground has become too stagnant, or the people of a Ground fall into a dark mindset and nobody addresses it, it leads to the creation of Taboo Noise. It takes forever for these natural TNs to turn up, but you can refine them artificially by imprinting darker/evil ideas. It was a plague on Shibuya previously

Sho:

He’s not wholly allosexual, I think he’s somewhere on the ace line, but he’s certainly romantic, which is how he feels about Yumeko.
Sho is the sum total of Shibuya’s imagination, so he takes on the characteristics of Shibuya, especially its self-determinism.
He grew up as a good boy, it was his entry fee that tore that away from him
His adoptive father was the chef for the Oji family, which is why he and Eiji are really close in my mind.
When he was revived by Coco he was incomplete, but when he hops through dimensions, he regains his true form. All versions he comes across are defeated, but not Erased. When he is finally himself again, he also regains what he lost from his entry fee.
Him being complete allows Joshua to return him to Officer status and that means he MUST regain his wings.
The Tin Pin universe Sho Minamimoto is really sweet, he’s the best boy of them all, and the one we see in the new Another Day is a dimension between Tin Pin and the game’s world.

Shinjuku:

Was a Ground made on the principle of politics. They split it into a team game to reflect this.
Shiba deeply regrets entering into his deal with Kubo, because he does miss his friends in Susukichi and Ayano, those deaths weigh on him when he tries to sleep.
Shiba is married to Hishima. You cannot tell me otherwise.
Shiba’s Noise is literally mothman in the same way Konishi’s was a tigerwoman.
Kaie’s Noise is a Gashudokuro, giant skeletons made from people who starved to death. They track prey very well, and it’s very hard to escape them.
Hishima would be a boar-like creature, to match the Hanafuda theming.
Being in Shinjuku post-purification was like being in a world of static. Ideas of items and stuff still existed, but it took a lot of energy to make them real

Tin Pin:

Is basically the YuGiOh of this world. Still exists as a game played by some, but it’s very niche.
Eiji Oji was contacted to be the next major villain of a new Tin Pin Slammers show.
Shooter is still mad about Tin Pin, and he’s really lonely now that Yammer went on to fulfill his promising future as an academic elsewhere. When they reconnect over the game, it’s like Yammer never left, and they go a long way with Eiji Oji and his producers to make the game fun

Neku:

Is a kind of Conductor/Producer, Hanekoma has been tutoring him to replace his role, so that Hanekoma can shift to a different office. Joshua still wants him as a Conductor, but he’s also considering Uzuki for the position.

Shiki and Eri:

Got picked up online straight out of high school, and frequently travel for their stuff. They make their prototypes in house, and have a full team to do so. The shopkeep, Miki Saionji, is one of their models and is fully on the inside.

Shoka:

Now lives with a rich family in Shibuya, she attends St Ursula’s school. Her parents are often away, and so has the run of the house.

The Wicked Twisters:

Hang out together with Rhyme as a kind of study, kind of goof group when they have nothing else on.