WELCOME TO THE GAME.

[strangerpeople]

[You have died. When you awaken, it's in your body back to the shape it was in before whatever it was that killed you - but not all is right. Nothing surrounds you but darkness as far as the eye can see. A girl's gentle voice speaks to you from seemingly nowhere. It is a voice you probably haven't heard before.]

It's all right...it'll be all right.

Please forgive me for this, but, you're in the True Game now. As you're now here, on this plane, I...took something from you. Something important. The thing dearest to you. It has to be taken, though, as it's your entry fee - it's one of your means of surviving this!

I promise, we don't mean to do anything terrible to you! But this Game is important, and you getting through it is, as well. You'll receive missions, and for the missions you complete, you'll be given points. The more points you earn, the closer you'll get to leaving this place. And then, when you do finally leave, perhaps you'll understand why you were brought here. You'll regain what you lost, and you'll know the truth.

So please...please survive! I have faith in you! You'll be all right!!

[Sure enough, as soon as she's done explaining and collects your fee, something important of yours is missing. It might be memories, an object, or even a person (that's not a Titled), but they are your collateral now. Your motivation for continuing your existence in this world. You black out, and when you wake again, you're back in the mall, in the bedroom you'd been assigned. You remember everything you'd forgotten while you were alive, although you might have re-forgotten it if that was your entry fee. At least everything here seems mostly the same.

However, there's a few new things to discover... your cell phone now lets you read the surface thoughts of everyone that's living, and imprint thoughts into their heads (except for Croix, The Chance. Maybe it's because she didn't have a power? Who knows.) You also have all the items and money you had when you were still alive, which will be useful, because you still get hungry and, we'll say you still need clothes, but that's actually debatable because you are invisible. Not to other dead people, no, but to the other people in the mall.

Yeah. That's a thing. This version of the mall is full of random people who are using the mall as a mall, and even working the registers - oddly enough, there's this one girl with pink hair who seems to work at all of the restaurants at different times. But no one can see you, except for the shopkeepers of food and clothing stores specifically. (Luckily, the Barcade counts as food.) The Titled can be seen going about their business as well, and you can follow them around and watch them, listen to their conversations. However, nothing you say or do can be perceived by them. Even using your powers goes unnoticed, no matter what you try to do with them. It's like you're in parallel worlds. So that's a little spooky.

Speaking of spooky things, there are also monsters in this version of the mall, though the living seem as able to perceive them as the Titled can perceive you, and even to you they are only barely visible unless you focus on seeing them clearly. But these monsters attack people - they attach to the mall-goers like parasites, however for now, they seem to be leaving the living Titled alone... they prefer to attack the dead Titled, and only the power you gained here seems to truly damage them. They also seem quite difficult to defeat on your own. If one of them happens to come for you, you'll need to find the others, fast. At least if you checked your phone, your first mission told you where to go!]

Comments

[steelmagnolias]

[ He shoots up from his bed, unsure of what to do and just...staring at his covers for a moment. The last thing he remembers is his head swimming as he struggled to breathe, his vision closing in and an abyssal pit of pain-

-pain that's gone now.

He exits, unsure of what to do or where to go, so he sits up and there's only one person in the world he can think of.

His daughter.

His daughter- shit, shit shit shit shit...

He'll be in the Cat Cafe. ]

[katsufemmefatale]

[They're not dogs, but Yuuri likes the cats because they're living things capable of interacting with the dead. They're warm, soft, and comforting. So he goes there with the intention of covering himself with a few purr machines and letting his brain settle for a bit.

And there's Ren.]

Sanzashi-san... I'm so sorry you're here.

[steelmagnolias]

...fuck.

[ So he really is dead, and you, Katsu-kun, were one of the last people he ever expected to see again. ]

I... I'm pretty sorry I'm here, too.

[katsufemmefatale]

[Yuuri sits beside Ren, picking up his favorite black cat and scritching the content animal under the chin. Ren might notice Yuuri's ring is gone....]

You're going to fight to return to life, right? You're not giving up?

[steelmagnolias]

What else can I do? They took my little girl from me.

[foolishjustice]

[Maybe a minute after Ren enters the cat cafe, someone else walks in after him. Akechi at least has the courtesy to make sure he moves into Ren's field of vision before he reaches out a hand to rest it on the older man's shoulder. His head, noticeably, is turned away to obscure his face.]

[steelmagnolias]

...Goro-kun.

[ It's just a damn name, but there's so much weight behind his words that Akechi doesn't need to say much. ]

I really hoped we didn't have to meet again like this.

[foolishjustice]

[Instead of turning his head so he can answer, verbally, he pulls his phone out of his pocket.]

So did I. It seems inappropriate to ask if you're okay, but how are you coping?

[steelmagnolias]

I need a fucking smoke.

[foolishjustice]

Under the circumstances, that should be the last thing you want.

Do you know how the poison got into your system?

[steelmagnolias]

[A moment of realization hits him, and he takes a moment to sigh deeply before texting back.]

Old habits die hard.

[foolishjustice]

It might be a bit late to worry about the condition of your lungs, but it's still a habit I'd suggest breaking.

I can offer some coffee instead, if you'd like.

[steelmagnolias]

That sounds great right about now.

[foolishjustice]

[He turns just enough to hold a cup of coffee, black and lightly sweetened, out to Ren. In that movement, the older man might see that his eyes are red and puffy, as though he's been crying recently.]

[byanyother_name]

[It's not until much later that he gets a text.]

They're worth very little, I realize, but...

You have my deepest apologies, Sanzashi-san.

[steelmagnolias]

[ ...Ren doesn't respond at first.

He understands that Kurama had probably had his own reasons, and he's been rather heartbroken over Goro's own murder, but...

...after the memories come flooding back, he finds that it's. Difficult. For him to affort Kurama that same forgiveness.

So he sends a single text back: ]

You shouldn't have told me.

[ He really didn't want it to be you. ]

[byanyother_name]

[There's only a brief delay before the response comes. Rather like Kurama is paying close attention to his phone but choosing his words carefully.] You would have realized as soon as you saw I was the only other newly dead.

And my apology is the least you deserve.