[Week 4, Thursday: Makoto, Yusuke]

[purrtagonist]

[honestly, Akira's been scourging the city for his thieves for quite some time now, getting more and more concerned when he can't seem to find them. the bookstore is the last place he hasn't checked, and when he swings the door open, it's with a bit more panicked force than usual]

[how lucky for him that his thieves are already here!!]

Comments

[justfists]

[look. Yusuke is safe.

unconscious, but safe.

Makoto made sure of it.

But she just looks... exhausted.

She's slumped against a bookshelf, looking like she's trying to catch her breath... and thinking, hard.]

[purrtagonist]

[there's a moment-- a brief moment-- where Akira takes in this sight. unconscious Yusuke, and an obviously worn out Makoto. it's a short moment, lasting no longer than the blink of an eye. because in an instant, he bolts over to them both to make sure they're not injured]

-- Makoto! What happened?!

[justfists]

[yusuke should probably get healed.

he's fine. but it can't hurt.

Makoto jumps though, before she realizes it's Akira and slumps]

We just... fought and killed the biggest Noise I've seen so far.

[purrtagonist]

[LISTEN. . . I'll ask Candace about this when she hops into this post and also Akira makes a mental note to call on Kaiba asap???]

What?? Where? And how did you get pulled into a boss fight without me??

[considering this is after the giant gecko from yesterday? Akira is understandably concerned]

[justfists]

A secret door opened up.

[and now? Now she's fishing in her pockets for.... the information that she absolutely has stolen.]

I have never read so fast before. And this isn't all the information we found.

[she pushes herself up to stand, holding out the waterlogged pieces of paper she absolutely ripped from different books, judging by the paper quality differences.]

[purrtagonist]

[Akira settles on the ground next to Yusuke so he can watch him, and monitor his status. but his gaze settles on Makoto and the damp paper she's holding]

Was it just you two?

[he asks, as he reaches out to (gingerly) take the paper from her]

And what is this. . .?

[justfists]

[she shakes her head]

Magnus and Miki were also there. Miki has the other books-- I just grabbed the pages I found that were important.

[this page says: --- Game --- brought back from the brink by the actions of --- Composer's Proxy. ---- --------, chosen because he represented everything wrong with ------- according to --- --------, turned things around in a manner no one expected. Reports from our agent say that the -- is completely different now. Perhaps other Games will be so lucky. Reports of other Games being in similar ------ have been numerous as of late, but should things turn around, perhaps we won't have to...]

[purrtagonist]

[and he just]

[falls silent while reading this, eyes scanning the page, entire body stiff like he's frozen in tableau]

[. . .]

Do you have more?

[justfists]

[this page she hands him?

is crumpled. It says:

If someone had asked me “are souls real” while I was alive, I would’ve said “fuck no.” I also didn’t believe in any form of afterlife and believed death was the sweet release into nothingness from the pain that was living.

Well. Joke’s on fucking me on all accounts.

Everything is made up of Soul. Or, well, everything that fucking matters. Players, the living, Noise, Reapers, the Composer, I could go on but I fucking won’t. What defines which category a Soul falls into is just the code binding it. So reshaping a Soul is simply a matter of having the amount of power necessary to give it a certain form. The easiest shape for a Soul to take is Noise. A living being is the hardest.

Erasure, unlike what the word implies, is just undoing the binding that makes up a Soul. Don’t get me wrong, they still fucking die. But any being powerful enough can retake and reshape a Soul as they wish, even post-Erasure.

It’s extremely easy to undo the binding of a Soul. Reshaping it isn’t. I’m sure there’s some kind of lesson to be had here about life and death, but the truth is no one is ever truly free from this bullshit. Part of you will always live on. There’s even been a rare few cases of a Composer bringing back Erased Players for their own reason.

Maybe that kind of power is the real reason “gunning for the job of Composer” is a real quest for both Players and Reapers.

Ha ha, just kidding, what the fuck kind of Reaper cares about reviving people? They just want to be top of the Reaper food chain, right? Besides, any Composer that does nothing but revive everyone is definitely getting fired. It'd take some pretty special circumstances to make it otherwise.]

... I have two more pages, after that.

[purrtagonist]

[he smooths it out, and takes a little longer to read this one, brows furrowed. when he's done. . .]

. . . this is probably from Max. I've heard him say these kinds of things before.

[justfists]

It sounded like him to me too.

So... We can try to become the Composer. I wonder if this was the bad decision he mentioned.

[purrtagonist]

No.

[he says that matter-of-factly]

That's not it. Max told me about the Composer of his Game; I don't think he would've done that if he were the actual Composer.

[justfists]

[she nods]

You're right.

[another exhale, and she's got TWO MORE PIECES OF PAPER TO GO.]

Either way, I still have more information. And I'm sure whatever Miki has will augment it.

[purrtagonist]

[he nods, and places that other piece of paper aside]

All right. Let me see the other two.

[justfists]

[to cut to the chase, she unfolds both of them at the same time:

#1

The Underground, or UG, is a parallel plane of existence to worlds that only Reapers and Players of the Reapers' Game can see. It exists in the same space/time as the Realground (RG), but has a higher vibration frequency. Those in the RG cannot generally see, hear, or in any way perceive events and people in the UG, while those in the UG can perceive RG events freely (though physical interaction remains difficult). The Noise plane straddles both the UG and the RG. Certain people are able to see the UG or the Noise plane from the RG. The cause of this, of course, being ------- -----------. The UG is the only place where Reapers and Players can use their powers and psychs. Certain designs, such as emblems, can connect the UG and RG, permitting Players to be seen by and interact with RG people and objects. The designs on a Reaper Creeper panel are an example of this, as are the emblems which permit Players to enter and use shops. The UG is highly tuned into the Noise Plane. The Composer is the only Reaper exception to the rule when it comes to being able to use powers outside of the UG. All UGs are separated and work by their own set of rules decided by their respective Composer.

and... #2 is from a book on tin pin and is oddly detailed about the rules, different types of pins, and something called a "whammy". The one thing of interest to him though would be a note written in the margin in scratchy handwriting:

Shibuya's Composer spent a near week in a universe centered around this...? Really?]

[purrtagonist]

[huh. . . . . . . huh]

I can't believe all of this was just lying around. And you said Miki had more?

[justfists]

Yes, she does.

[But, now that it's off her mind to share it? And that everyone's safe? Makoto pauses.]

... Akira, can I tell you something?

[purrtagonist]

[it's the first paper he returns to, the one with the most blanks. but before he starts reading it again, his gaze flickers up towards Makoto, head tilted in concern]

Of course you can. Is everything all right?

[justfists]

No. I'm so exhausted. This week has been awful.

Fighting that monster, and thinking about Chiyo-- it's been the most stress relief I've felt in ages.

And even then, Yusuke got hurt because I got careless.

[so she can't even really have enjoyed it]

[purrtagonist]

[glances down at Yusuke again, letting out a breath as he places a hand on his teammate's forehead :(]

That makes two of us who have had pretty shitty weeks.

[his tone is a bit dry]

But I'm glad the two of you aren't seriously hurt.

[justfists]

Right...

[she inclines towards him just a bit, drawing at least a little comfort from his presence, even though all she wanted to do was have a teenage temper tantrum.]

Can we just... complain? Like we're back home, we're not missing anything important, and tomorrow is just another school day...?

[like there was a palace to investigate, or mementos to explore]

[purrtagonist]

[comforting people is one thing he's good at]

Complain away.

[he scoots a bit closer to her, still keeping Yusuke in his line of vision]

I am your sounding board.

[justfists]

[look, fine. they can just sit and watch their fox, and makoto finally just leans against him slightly.]

I hate that this is a game, and I'm tired of pretending to be someone I'm not.

[purrtagonist]

[and he against her, shoulder to shoulder. the contact is familiar, and more than welcome]

I hate that this is a game, too.

[quietly, he echoes that sentiment]

And if you're tired of pretending. . . then stop.

Just be you.

[justfists]

I thought it might be easier to not draw any attention to myself if I was just a student council president.

But I hate it. I didn't realize how much, until now.

[she draws comfort from the contact]

... Why was your week terrible, Akira?