Part 4: Day 3: Who 2 Trust (Part 1)

Day 3: Who 2 Trust (Part 1)




Neku is all alone, in a huge dark space.

: Nngh... What is this place? It’s dark... Is it nighttime? No, I’m indoors. Wait! The girl!




The game replays part of the cutscene from the end of Day 2 here.

: ...I need to get out of here.



: Huh? It doesn’t work. So I can’t use pins. Oh, well. I’ll just have to feel my way around.


Oh hey, what a dramatically inconvenient time to get this!


I slap my new friend Ice Blow in my deck and just forget to play.


At this point, Shutdown PP, SPP from here on, gives a hell of a lot of points for the amount of effort put in. Some pins even evolve, changing in to a different, usually better pin by getting enough PP from the right source.

Ice Blow is one such pin, evolving by SPP.

Anyway, after neglecting to play the game for ANOTHER day and harvesting even more SPP for Ice Blow, Neku slowly fumbles in the darkness when...



: Somebody’s coming this way...








: Don’t do that.
: I scared YOU? Where the hell have you been?
: It was dark. I was looking for a way out! I must’ve tripped a half a dozen times.
: Hmm, time to try this again
: Neku, pins only work when we fight Noise.
: Really?



: W-well...It’s dark. You should be more careful.
: You kidding? I already found the exit!
: Then why didn’t you lea--
: I’m not going anywhere without you.
: ...
: C’mon, I’m not that useless, am I?
: ...Don’t do anything dumb like wander off.



And then a ~Flashback~


The Reaper is taking a sadistic glee in watching players erase each other when...





: Making "erase your partner" the mission is a clear violation.
: It is!?
: I know that. I was just having a little postgame fun.
: What!?
: One mission per day. That’s the rule. And only the Game Master can pick the missions.
: I know that, too



: Which MEANS this wasn’t a mission, which MEANS I didn’t break any rules!
: Then start walkin’, sister. Your work’s done for the day.
: ...Hmph. For a Player... you know a lot about our rules.
: You...you tricked me! All that about letting me out of the Game-- that was all a lie!
: Like, that is so rude! I do not lie. If I erased you, that’s still letting you out of the Game! Ugh, you totally ruined all my fun.



The Reaper leaves. After Shiki gets back on her feet...





: Think of me as a sort of...guardian. I watch the Game, to make sure shady types don’t start bendin’ the rules.
: That Reaper tricked us.
: You mean she tricked YOU.
: ...
: You ignored the young lady, fell into a trap, and very nearly snuffed her for good.
: ...
: If you think you can do everything yourself, you’re in for some hard lessons. Now! Apologize to the young lady.
: ‘Scuse me?
: Hard feelings don’t make for good teamwork. You wanna survive or not? Go on!
: ...



: Neku... I, um...
: F-forget it. I’m over it. I mean, you didn’t... She made you do it, right?
: And I should’ve stood up for myself better. So let’s just put it behind us.
: There! Problem solved! Now listen up, you two. There’s only one way to stay alive in this Shibuya. Trust your partner! Especially you, Phones.
: "Phones"?
: You know what trust is, right? Partnership is essential to surviving the Game. Alone, you face limitations. But partner up, and you can smash right through them. Same goes for when you fight the Noise. You may think you’re alone, but you’re not. Your partner is in the other zone, sharing your energy. So you gotta sync up and send that energy back and forth.
: ...



: Tell her how you’re feeling. Lay it on her! That’s the fastest way to get something across.
: He’s right, Neku! Look...I know I hold you back. I’m not that good at psychs... But still! I want to win at this Game. And I want us to do it together! So tell me what you’re thinking! I just want to understand you!
: ...
: Neku?



: But I don’t.



: I woke up in the intersection with no clue how I got there, no clue why I’m part of this stupid Game. I don’t know anything. Because I can’t Remember...anything.
: But... That means...what? You have amnesia?
: ......
: Sorry to hear it, boss...That’s rough.

The ~Flashback~ ends.



: I didn’t know.
: It did strike me as kind of strange that you knew nothing about Shibuya or the Game.
: What, like you do?
: Well, I don’t know EVERYTHING, but...
: Anyway. We got lucky. Thanks to Mr. Hanekoma and his advice. I feel like you and I can finally talk.


Her phone beeping startles her so bad she drops it.

: That almost gave me a heart attack!
: Hey, you dropped your phone--



: ...You looked?
: The screen was face up...
: That’s my friend. She was in my class.
: So all those times--
: Yeah. I was looking at this.
: And you yell at me for keeping secrets! It’s just a photo. You don’t need to--
: Look, Neku! The mission mail!
: ...Huh? She’s covering? What else does she have to hide?
: "Defeat the master of A-East. You have 360 minutes. Fail, and face erasure. --The Reapers"
: Oww!
: The timer. Guess we’d better get started.
: OK! Today’s mission has something to do with A-East.
: A-East?
: It’s the name of a concert space. I’ve been there a bunch of times.
: You seem to know Shibuya pretty well.
: Of course! I hang out here all the time. Follow me! I’ll take you to A-East. The exit’s right over there.


Easy is for wimps.

Also the pins are usually worse, which is terrible. Only in very few cases, like if the Easy pin is notable in some way, will I ever drop below Normal.



: Wait a sec...
: What now?
: Umm... We’re here, heh heh...
: You mean we were inside A-East the whole time? You know--
: How was I supposed to tell? They had all the lights off!
: ...
: We’re ahead of schedule, so no griping. Now let’s go defeat that master! Umm...once we, um, find it.
: It was too dark to see anything inside.
: Then we better take care of the lights. Otherwise we’re more likely to trip over it than defeat it.
: How do we restore power? Somebody around here must know...


How about this guy with a unique sprite that has three dots over the head, indicating a talking scene?


Naw I'll go to the gothic lolita dress store. GOTTA GET BRAND MOTHERFUCKERS



: Huh!? I thought no one could see us!
: What, did you forget, Neku? It's like Mr. Hanekoma said.


And that's how we can buy things in stores.


Like frou-frou gothic lacy dresses!


...Except that everything, even the wig, is far beyond our budget. Not to mention neither character is brave enough to wear this stuff. Shiki's almost there but Neku's 100 whole points away from even the simplest stuff.

Anyway, lets leave and talk to that unique guy.



: What’s that guy grumbling about?
: Hey, perfect! You two.
: Huh?
: Can we help you?
: H-h-hey! Wait a sec--

He comes over to them.

: Think you could do a guy a favor?
: Sure, if we can be of any help.
: Shh! What’re you--
: Let’s hear him out.



: We might even be able to solve his problem. If not, don’t worry. I promise I’ll say no.
: You sap... Look at the bigger picture!
: My band’s supposed to play here in a few hours, but the tech’s been gone all day. Could you go look for him? I gotta stay here and hold down the fort. Man, where the hell’d that slacker go?



This begins another conversation.

Tech?

: So this tech’s part of the concert crew?
: That’s right. He’s in a black tee. Got a lanyard ‘round his neck. Without him, we’re screwed.

Why can't you go?

: Why can’t you go find him?
: ‘Cause I got a concert. I can’t go wondering off. The name’s 777 ("Triple
Seven").
: 777...

777



: Oh, you’ve heard of us? Rock on. We’re still totally indie. But one day, we’re gonna start a rock revolution, just wait an-- Nngh...


It's a really bad cough.

: Whoa, are you all right?
: Yeah, my throat’s just sore. I had to shout a lot during load-in. It’s hard to get anything set up without the tech.
: Oh, you poor thing..
: No tech, no show, huh? So if we find the guy... You can rehearse if we find your man?
: Of course! It’s that, or call off the show. So how ‘bout it? Will you see if you can find him?
: We want to help, but... We don’t really have time...do we?
: ...


Of course we agree.

: Sure, we’ll do it.
: What? We will!?
: Yup.
: Thanks, man! You rock! If you see him, tell him to haul it back to A-East. I’ll be here waiting.
: OK.

777 leaves.

: Hee hee!
: Ugh, stop laughing.
: Sorry, I’ve just never seen you act so...nice.
: ...She still doesn’t get it.



: Plus, that 777 guy? He’s a--
: Now we can help 777 AND finish the mission!
: Sigh...


To the South is another guy in a red hoodie.


But before we do that, it's time for a lot of words!

: Another wall.
: No big deal. We know how to handle it now.



And now begins another ~flashback~ to Hanekoma at the end of the last day.



: and a friendship saved from the rocks, I’m gonna give you a little advice, and a little gift. Make sure you remember it all.
: OK, but... First, could YOU remember my name? Um, Mr. Hanekoma. It’s Neku. Not "Phones".



: I got it now.
: I wonder.
: So let’s start with some Q & A. You got questions? I got answers.


I know a lot of you had questions about the situation Neku's in, so here's Mr. Hanekoma to explain!

The Reapers' Game

: To win the "Reapers’ Game"... you must complete seven missions, one each day.
: So...is it true that if we don’t, we’ll be erased?
: Well, only if you all fail, to be precise.
: Huh?
: You two aren’t the only Players. If any one Player completes the mission, you all do.
: Then we don’t have to play.
: Ah, but if you all think like that and ignore the missions--
: Then we all wind up erased.



: Grade us?
: Naturally, you get points for finishing a mission.
: But...what are the grades for?
: On the seventh day, you’ll know. Just clear the missions. You’ll be glad you did.

Reapers

: What are Reapers?
: Their main job are running the Game, and testing the Players. So like that sister who gave you trouble before, they’ll get in the Players’ way from time to time.
: She was such a creep...
: So they’re like some kind of group?
: Yes! Very sharp, Phones.



: You’ve seen the guys in red, by the walls? They’re Reapers, too.
: I knew it.
: Whoa, really? But the guys by the walls never attacked us.
: Not all Reapers are cut from the same cloth.



: The wall Reapers are Support. They won’t attack you. All they do is issue conditions to pass the walls.
: So they don’t fight.
: The Harriers, on the other hand, hunt Players for a living. It’s not just their job, either. If they don’t dispatch Noise, erase Players, and score points...



: So we’re their lunch.
: Everybody’s gotta eat, kiddo...

Hanekoma



: What, me? Pfft... ...All right. I’ll tell you a little.





: I didn’t ask for your personal ad.


In case you are wondering, yes Hanekoma is awesome.

: "Natto" gets my tummy rumbling.
: Like I said--
: As for my physical dimensions,
: Stop. Please.
: So you run a café? I thought you said you were a guardian.
: The café’s like a hobby. Totally hip, right?
: Yeah! I think it’s cool.
: Uhh...what?
: Drop by my place if you get the chance. I’ll give you the best cuppa joe you ever had--



: What kind of invite is that!?


Neku's frustrated, Hanekoma's laughing it up, a common theme of their interactions. Because Hanekoma is pretty awesome. Anyway, on to the last topic.

: This...IS Shibuya, right?
: You bet. But not your Shibuya.



: "UG"?
: As in "Underground." The UG is one big chessboard for the Reapers’ Game.
: You expect us to believe that?



: So we’re in another world?
: No... The RG and UG exist in the same space. What you see is the RG-- the real deal.
: ...



: Who’s that?
: Shibuya’s supervisor.
: Shibuya has a supervisor? Right.
: I can’t say anything more on that subject. It’s classified, you dig?

No more questions!

: Now, for that gift I promised...



: What is this pin? It’s blank. What it’s psych?
: This one’s a little different. It takes two people to use. It only works against the Noise, when you two are in complete sync. The more you get in sync, the more you Fuse your energy, the stronger the psych this puppy will unleash. You’ve got talent, Phones. You can use a much wider range of psychs than the others. Learn to cooperate, and you might be able to use this one, too.
: Yeah! You’re great at psychs. Way better than me.


This is the first time Neku has a happy face. Considering the shit he's in I'm surprised he makes any.

: There, see? You take good care of that.
: Let’s try and get to work, Neku!
: ... But...I can’t use it by myself. I’m supposed to sync up with HER? Not happening. What good’s a powerful pin if I can’t use it?
: Just to be clear... You need more than talent to use that. It takes somebody with style... if you catch my drift.
: I’ll use it. And please... My name is Neku. Not "Phones."
: Oh, right! Sorry ‘bout that. I got it now, Phones!



And so ends the ~Flashback~



: What a nice guy, giving us that pin. And fun to talk to.
: I’ll give you that. Something about him just...pulls you in. Not sure
why, but... I kind of want to talk to him some more.
: Neku! Let’s try the pin!
: ... So I have to sync up with her? Pfft, right.
: What’s wrong? Oh, I know. You forgot how it works, right? You’re hopeless.
: ...
: Let’s see... First, we have to fight in sync.
: And that’s where this all goes to hell.
: Then, once we’ve got a groove going, this pin will activate, and you can use it!
: Great explanation.
: Ready to give it a shot?



Battle Video: Fusion

I stop caring about the bottom screen since there's no HP bar, so I spend the whole time trying to get Shiki's stars. The game doesn't mention it, but if you get it the first time with that card, you get two stars instead of one.

The damage is essentially 5 times their attack scores. Since both Shiki and Neku are sitting at 10 attack, it deals 50 damage. Keep in mind this is from both screens, so it was a 100 damage to each bear.

They give you the fusion tutorial with the weakest of the fusions, though. How dull. Either way, Neku's partner in the top screen serves to get these fusions going.



Next time, ramen porn.