Part 18: Day 3: Roamin' The Streets (Part 1)

Day 3: Roamin' The Streets (Part 1)





: And Joshua? ...He’s on the phone again.



: You’ll have it all ready for me, won’t you?
: Who’s he talking to? Same person as yesterday? ......
: Well, shouldn’t be long till the mission shows up.......

: ......




: ......




: OK... What’s the deal? It never takes this long. Am I even getting reception?



: ...That smile makes me nervous. What are you scheming now? Yeees?

: You’re coming with me today, right? There’s someplace I’d like to go.
: ......
: You never followed through on your promise yesterday. So today, you’re making it up to me. ...Right? We haven’t got anything else to do yet. So let’s go take care of my stuff first.
: No way! I told you yesterday--first, we do the mission. Then you can play around. Besides, the mission could show up any sec--



: Whoa, you’re right. There it is, Neku! Let’s see...



: Fifteen minutes!? That’s on the other side of Shibuya!
: We’d better hurry, then.
: No joke! Shut up and start running!


But as is OFS tradition I get distracted by chump noise.


Such as jellies. Jellies float around lazily, sometimes spreading their tentacles to hit Neku or Joshua if they get close and inflict immobilize. Sometimes they shoot a bolt of lightning between the Jellies and reproduce, creating a whole new jelly that floats around.


Sometimes, they produce mutant jellies.


These guys have different pin drops and everything, along wtih higher EXP and PP rewards. They aren't all that uncommon, but you may still have to sit and wait for one.

Anyway, the trip proceeds smoothly through the Dept. Store, but once Neku reaches Cadoi City...



: Ugh! Not one of THEM?
: Looks like there’s a wall up ahead.
: Dammit, we don’t have time for this! ...There’s only one way to Cat Street. And that’s through here. Quick, let’s clear the wall!


Easy enough.


For clearing the wall, Joshua gains his counterattack, so to speak. It moves enemies to the other side of the screen and immobilizes them.


Towa Records is selling some new CDs. Still not Rush Hour.


Cars drive by. It's neat.


I've had one of these sitting around for ages.


The park itself is looking nice.


Anyway, we're finally at our goal, Cat Street.



: Huh? No timer... Wait! Was there ever a timer? I never stopped to notice before... But our phones got the...



: Whew! We finally made it. It’s that café just over there, Neku.



: I’m surprised it worked this well.
: You...UGH! I can’t believe you!
: Oh, come on. No harm done. It’s not like we have a real mission yet. Anyway, here we are--so let me get this done.
: ......



But first, the Jupiter of the Monkey store is here.


Jupiter of the Monkey, a 4th wall-breaking reference (Jupiter, one of the companies that worked on TWEWY, was formed on the Year of the Monkey), has sports wear. shorts, jackets, tennis shoes, the works. Still stylish with a generally blue asthetic, the pieces are named after assorted Japanese deities.

Yes, those are Neku's shorts. The ones he has on now.


And that's his shirt, the one he has on now.


Notice that the clerk is rapping. JotM is awesome like that.


Anyway I buy a lot because it's all low-bravery stuff that gives Neku a lot of stat boosts. And because the clerk raps.


Anyway, time to go into that cafe.



: Mr. Hanekoma!?
: Hmm? Oh, Phones! What, you’re in the Game again?
: Yeah... And because of that, Shiki’s... She was my entry fee.
: They took the young lady, huh...
: Well, buck up. Nothin’ you can do about that right now. ‘Sides, boss, I’m sure she understands.
: ...Thanks.
: I see you two are acquainted.
: Yeah.





: The two seem to go way back. Is this where Joshua learned all about the UG?
: I hate to seem impatient, but could we, you know?
: Sure thing, J. Lemme see your phones.
: Yours too, Neku.
: My phone? What do you need with it?



: Gimme just a sec, guys.
: I told him we were coming, so it shouldn’t take long.
: Told him how? Wait, so you the person you were talking to on the phone was--
: Mr. H, of course.
: Man, now I feel like an idiot. Mr. Hanekoma’s got his secrets, but I’ll trust him over this kid. I guess...if Mr. H is OK with him, I don’t have to worry quite so much.
: Sorry for the wait, guys. Here ya go.
: Thanks. Now we can finally go on a little hunt.
: A hunt? For what?
: You’ll see when we find it. Let’s step out front and give the tracker a whirl.

They step out front and give the tracker a whirl.



: ......Just what is this tracker tracking?
: Ready to go, Neku? We’ll canvass Shibuya and look for signals.

Joshua leaves.

: Should I really go along with this?
: What’s up, Phones? You look like ya got something on your mind.


Yup, a lot of words from Hanekoma. Two day 3s in a row.

It's okay because Hanekoma is cool.

The cafe

: So this is your place?
: Yup! I call it “WildKat.” Pretty hip, right?
: Yeah... It’s a nice enough looking place, but...nobody’s here. How’s he paying the rent?



: I got to be such an addict, I started up my own café.
: Because you love...beans. Who gets into coffee because they like BEANS? That’s just... No.
: Oh, hey! I said I’d fix you up with a cuppa last time, huh? Have one for the road, man.



Joshua



: I’ve known him for a while now. He’d swing by when he was bored, and we’d talk. See, he’s a little special...
: “Special”?
: Yeah. He sees things.
: Things? Like what? “I see dead people,” kind of sees things?



: Oh...
: And when he wanted to talk about it, he came to me. There aren’t many folks who’d listen, If you know what I mean. In a way, he’s been alone all his life. He’s pretty aloof, and can get prickly from time to time, but he’s not a bad kid. In any case, he’s your partner. You’re gonna have to make friendly.
: ......

The Mission



: That’s what I hear. The Game Master’s the one who handles all the missions, so I can’t tell you what I don’t know. But yeah, usually it’s one mission per day.
: The Game Master... This time, it’s that whack-job junk collector. He’s capable of anything... Doesn’t matter, though. I’m not letting the Grim Heaper trash Shiki’s life. I have to beat him, for her!
: The missions are guaranteed to show up on your phone. When one’s issued, you’ll know. So don’t go losin’ that phone, Phones.

The phone



: Whatever you call it. So...what, it picks up some kind of signal?
: Pretty much. I set both your phones to locate energy spikes now. The tracker will point you towards the nearest spike.



: ...... Not if I want a straight answer.
: There’s one other feature in there now, too.
: Another one? What’s it do?
: I told Josh how to use it. Ask him.
: ...... Not if I want a straight answer.

No more questions

: If you’re bored, go take a walk with Joshua. You still don’t have a mission, right? It’d be a waste to just sit around all day.
: Yeah, but...
: You don’t look convinced. Did you forget already? If you wanna survive in this Shibuya, you gotta--
: Trust my partner, I know. It’s just...
: You still got a long way to go, Phones. Knowing it in your head doesn’t mean much if you don’t act on it.



: What!? What did you just say?
: Huh? I say something weird?
: “Enjoy every moment with all you’ve got.” That’s the motto of the one person I respect. I’ve made it my mantra. It’s the way I live.
: You coulda fooled me.
: Well, now’s not really the time to be enjoying life.
: Uh-huh... You really have got a long way to go


Title drop detected.

: If you want to enjoy life, expand your world.



: I’m stuck in the Reapers’ Game. I can’t even leave Shibuya. How an I supposed to expand my world?
: That’s for you to figure out.
: Expand my world...
: Now go on! Get!

He says that but there is nothing stopping me from walking right back in and...


Buying things. Mostly coffee, some pastries, and some soup.


All of these have high efficiency increases, and the pancakes and muffins are slightly more efficient than crepes at bravery. I stock up and


Wait wait wait

Is that

It is


It's the best attacking pin in the entire game.

It requires Dark Matter.

You're mocking me TWEWY.

You're mocking me.