[Week 0, Monday: Undine]

[purrtagonist]

[sure, Akira is well aware that he's super green around the edges. that the only actual Game he has under his belt is the one in which he was a Player. but even so? something about this setup feels. . . off. from the fact that he and his fellow Reapers are on "loan" in the first place, to the fact that he's being asked to Erase Players instead of help them. and sure, that Max kid said a Reaper's gig wasn't usually a pretty one (and that he, a participant in a game with puzzles and dungeons and fighting Noise rather than direct Erasure or murder, had just been lucky enough to land himself a non-violent Composer), but still. . .]

[. . .]

[it's Undine he seeks out first, out of all of his Reaper comrades. he doesn't know why; maybe it's just her softer, kinder personality]

Wells-san?

Comments

[alchemicalwater]

[Undine is keeping to herself now that the introductions have happened. Most of the other reapers are just too strange for her liking. Or scary. It's...different. Not entirely changed, but different enough that Undine is left feeling lost here.

But Akira, he seems more normal. He did say he was new, didn't he? Maybe that's why he's not so unhinged or jaded like the others. Maybe there's still hope for him yet.

So when he approaches her, she smiles.]

Yes? Can I help you?

[purrtagonist]

[it's tough to completely tear down an unstoppable force like Akira Kurusu. and dying once, surviving a Game, earning his second chance at life, and then being dragged to his first actual Game as a Reaper "on loan" after stealing his world back from a false god is hardly enough to even dent his armor]

[he smiles as well, leaning his shoulder against a nearby building. honestly, he probably waited to approach until they were around some kind of dark alley or tucked away behind the lottery cart or. . . something]

You can, actually.

If we're going to be working together, I wanted to ask you a few questions. If that's okay.

[alchemicalwater]

Sure, that's alright. I'll answer them to the best of my ability.

[What she chooses to answer, at least. She has a few secrets that are going to take some friendship to unlock, but Akira's probably got the best chance of getting there first. What with him being a fellow reaper and also looking like he might possibly be an alright guy. Undine's standards for friendship are pretty low, and yet so many people are not going to make it there.]

[purrtagonist]

[it's okay, Akira knows how Confidants work. UNLOCKING SECRETS COMES WITH RANKING UP!!]

You can ask me some questions too, when I'm finished. But first

[he holds up an index finger, to indicate "one"]

Your Game. The one in which you were a regular Player.

What was it like?

[alchemicalwater]

It was...

[She actually has to think of how to describe it.]

Trying. Difficult. But not impossible. The host of my game, she was like...well, it's something special from my world, so it might not make sense to you. But it's sort of like an older sister? Someone who watches over you, but also encourages you to do better?

That's what the whole game was like, honestly. It wasn't just about coming back to life, it was about coming back as a better person. My conductor is huge on personal growth like that.

[purrtagonist]

[. . . oh. the more she talks, the more relieved Akira's smile becomes. that sounds like what he believes a Composer, a Conductor, a Reaper, should be. guides for the dead and lost, offering opportunities to those worthy to correct whatever mistakes they made in life]

[a second chance. just like he got, at the end of everything]

She sounds very caring, to be invested in her Players' personal growth like that.

[alchemicalwater]

[Yeah, Akira might not be too relieved if he knew about the death rate in the games her conductor has run. SOME of the boys and girls get out of it alive and as better people, but for the majority...]

She is. But she's a little strict about some of her rules. I've, um.

[She sounds a little nervous as she says this.]

I've had to erase players before. Normally we didn't, but sometimes real problem players showed up that we had to handle ourselves.

Don't let the others fool you: erasing players is hard. Even the bad players who are just hurting others are still hard to erase.

[purrtagonist]

[WHY IS HE THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS GAMES WITH LOW DOUBLE-DEATH RATES!!]

. . . I see.

[. . .]

Is my universe really the only anomaly, then?

[alchemicalwater]

Maybe? Did the reapers really never erase a single player? It didn't happen that often in mine, but it still happened.

[purrtagonist]

[he's quiet for a moment while he searches for his answer, before he nods, although it's carefully slow]

I've never actually reaped in a game before, so I can't say for certain.

[but what he can say, is. . .]

But I don't recall any of the Reapers in the came game I participated in Erasing a player directly. Don't get me wrong. The Game was dangerous, and not every Player made it out alive. But deaths-- ah, Erasures, I guess-- were always at the hand of the hands of Noise or dangerous dungeon traps.

Reapers were there as guides and support. Like NPCs, almost.

[alchemicalwater]

Mmm, that's what we were in my games. But sometimes, someone in the game didn't want to learn and grow. They just wanted to break things. And people. And when that happened, we had to stop them.

Those were the conductor's orders, at least. And the conductor is the boss, so you have to do what the conductor says.

[Which is why they're stuck here, participating in this Game where they're going to have to probably erase innocent people.]

[purrtagonist]

[. . . it makes sense. in the one game he remembers? they never had that problem. but who's to say it didn't exist in another game? or another? or that he wouldn't have been faced with the duty of removing problem Players himself, on the orders of his superiors?]

[it's a sobering thought, to realize that perhaps he had agreed to this job a bit too readily, a bit too easily. all he had wanted to do was help others, the same way he had been helped in return]

But even then, it was never part of the Game's design to Erase players. Not like it is here.

There's something wrong with this Game, Wells-san. Can you feel it?

[alchemicalwater]

I can, yes. Reapers aren't supposed to be Players, for one. And we aren't supposed to target Players indiscriminately. If we Erase someone, it should be for a very good reason.

[purrtagonist]

Not to mention the part where we were sent here "on loan" by our Composers without any warning.

[. . .]

I know. . . that sometimes a Reaper's job isn't pretty. So maybe the rules of this Game aren't what we should be getting stuck on.

[maybe that is the most normal part of this set up]

But I want to know the truth behind everything else.

[alchemicalwater]

I do too. It feels wrong. Why would our composers lend us to anyone, especially without talking to us first? I was the only water-based reaper my composer had, she's going to be in a tough spot if another Game is run while I'm gone.

[Or if she dies here.]

[purrtagonist]

[. . .]

Wells-san. . . do you intend to go along with the rules of this Game?

[does she plan on slipping easily into the role she's been given?]

[alchemicalwater]

I'm not going to Erase players until I'm forced to, if that's what you mean.

[She tries to smile, to reassure Akira, but she's worried and it shows.]

I...can't die here. There's something I need to do before I die for good. I don't want to hurt anyone else, but if our host forces the issue then I'll do it.

[She does want to do the right thing, but she has Reasons for considering going along with it. At least to some extent.]

But if you mean the stuff I said before, about helping Junko bring despair, don't worry. I'm not going to do that. I only said that because she's dangerous and it's probably better to not draw her ire right now.

[purrtagonist]

[quiet for a moment, just absorbing her words, before he finally speaks again. he takes his time, choosing what to say very carefully]

I don't plan on putting any of us in unnecessary danger. Our lives are tied to the lives of otherwise innocent people. Our deaths mean their deaths, and that isn't fair.

[and more than that, he knows he can't die here, either. not with Makoto and Yusuke as participants in this Game. not with everything he has to return home to, back in his world. not when his partner-- Ichigo-- is someone so broken and traumatized that all he wants to do is find a way to fix his circumstances and send him back to his world in one piece]

But I don't intend to Erase anyone. [he doesn't even add the caveat of "until I'm forced to." it shouldn't be assumed it's there] I'm going to spend what time I can figuring out the secrets behind this Game, no matter what it takes.

[alchemicalwater]

[It is a reasonable thing to think. She wants to find out what is going on here too. This is all so wrong, and all of these reapers are so broken. She has no idea what could have happened to them, but fixing whatever went wrong sounds like the best strategy here.]

You're right. We need to find out what's going on here. These games, there's never just one. If we don't find out what caused it in the first place, then it will just happen again.

[Maybe even with them still in it.]

[purrtagonist]

[her agreement with his assessment earns Undine a tiny, but firm, smile]

Then we're in the same corner.

[which is a nice feeling, because Akira hasn't felt on the same page as any of the other Reapers he's met thus far]

That makes us allies.

[alchemicalwater]

I thought that much was obvious already.

[She doesn't really trust anyone here, but Akira gets slightly more of a chance.]

It's so weird, though. In my world, only girls have powers. I've never fought alongside a boy before.

[purrtagonist]

Should I be honored to be the first?

[he says, one brow arched in amusement]

[alchemicalwater]

Maybe. Though it would be better if you had a transformation sequence too.

[Those get REALLY ridiculous in her world, it's great.]

[purrtagonist]

Oh, I do, so that's not a problem.

[AKIRA WHAT]

[alchemicalwater]

Really?

[WHAT?]

[purrtagonist]

Really.

[this punk ain't even explaining himself]

[alchemicalwater]

Can you show me?

[She can't show off hers but.]

[purrtagonist]

[SADLY--]

[he shakes his head]

My abilities don't work here. The only "power" I have access to is my psych.

[lifts a hand, tapping the sides of his glasses with his fingers. and suddenly? he vanishes from view. voila!!]

[so that top level where he's accidentally swapping to and from invisibility is obviously him being full of shit]

[alchemicalwater]

[Akira u shit

Undine has definitely been hiding stuff too though, so she's going to show off a bit here.

Namely by backing up a couple steps before she starts to run, but once she hits her stride she holds her hand out in front of her. Moisture is suddenly sucked out of the air, making a little jet of water for her to propel herself around on. So basically, she's skating around on a thin layer of water that is also pushing her forward.]

Even if you only have your psyche, it pays to get creative.

[purrtagonist]

[LISTEN, HE'S GOTTA PLAY UP THE FACT THAT HE'S A NEWBIE PLAYER TO THIS GAME AS MUCH AS HE CAN]

[when his hand drops from his side, his form suddenly phases back into view, fingers dipping into his pockets with the thumb hanging out. he watches her glide smoothly across the ground, letting out a low, impressed whistle as he does so]

It does. Even a non-offensive psych can be used offensively if you know how.

[spoilers: he has figured out how, but also, it doesn't seem prudent to show Undine that right. . . now. . .]

[alchemicalwater]

[She'll come to a stop near Akira, letting the water all fall to the ground. Somehow she is completely dry, despite just messing around with so much water.]

You're right there. It's unfortunate that it was needed, but I managed to pick up a few tricks along the way.

[During her time in games, she means.]

[purrtagonist]

[as expected from a master of hydrokinesis]

You must be a quick learner, Wells-san.