Chapter Text
Waking up in a hospital was strangely the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to her. Slowly sitting up and seeing hands, real hands attached to the end of actual arms, caused Rhyme more joy than she could have ever imagined. “I’M ME AGAIN!” She shrieked with glee, accidentally startling her brother awake. In the chair beside her, Beat jumped to his feet, and nearly fell as his board clattered away, caught slightly beneath his shoe.
“Huh?! Wha-” Seeing his sister as a human again made him shout with glee too. “RHYME!” Hugging her tightly, the siblings laughed. “Booyaka! You’re all person, not a bit a Noise in sight!”
“Dude… You’re so loud, you know that?” Another voice spoke from within the same hospital room, groaning as they sat up. Blinking and coming to the realisation that they were hooked into beeping machinery, there was another comment. “Wait, this means we won- WE WON! WE’RE ALIVE AGAIN! Oh, I’m so happy I could die all over again- but you know, I won’t because no one wants to go back through that mess.” Fret celebrated his newfound life in the RG by dancing in his bed, stationed beside Rhyme.
On his other side was the last of the ‘dead’ former player trio, waking and smiling brightly as she came to the same conclusion as her friends. “You bet! This calls for a party!” Clambering to her feet in spite of all the machinery she was attached to, there was a resounding crash as Eri forced the cables to let her close to Fret. Hugging her friend with joy, three sets of worried parents rushed into the room, grief becoming glee as they realised their children were alive and well.
Seeing his parents in front of him, Fret tried not to tear up. “Wait wait wait, final test to make sure everything’s actually okay and all that-” Clearing his throat, Fret prepared himself. “Where are we right now? Are we in Shibuya?” Being deadly serious about the question, his father sat on the bed beside him.
With a cautious tone, Mr Furesawa answered. "Yes Tosai, you're in Shibuya. Are you feeling alright?" Concerned for his son, he simply had to ask.
"I'm better than alright dad." Fret beamed. "I'm alive ."
After several check ups and astounded doctors at the miraculously immaculate recovery of the two teens that were shot to near death and the third who had been in a seemingly fatal car accident, the friends left together, discharged with bills of perfectly clean health. Convincing their parents that they were going to be fine without constant supervision, they slipped away from the adults to get the low down on the city. Seeing that the date was Sunday the 12th of November, they realised a day had passed since they were all present and fighting in the UG. Beat and Rhyme checked social media, with Eri and Fret trying to contact their friends.
Spotting new messages from Nagi, it appeared as though she had woken first.
Nagi: I went to check on you all, but you were fast asleep within the hospital. Convinced you were all alive and safe, I proceeded to attempt contact with Lady Shoka. To my concerns, she is not responding.
An hour later, or conversely merely five minutes ago, Nagi had sent another message.
Nagi: If you all receive this, proceed to 104 POSTHASTE!
As Fret read this, Rhyme came across some disturbing news. "Guys, have you seen this??" Gathering around the short girl's phone, they all read the news report from the day before.
November 11th
Today's Headlines:
Mysterious Teen Deaths in Shibuya
Police stumped by coroner report
Yesterday, two teens were found laying in the middle of Scramble Crossing and two in front of the Statue of Hachiko in broad daylight. All four had seemingly fallen from high places, with a majority of their bones broken. Police are stumped as to how they appeared without witnesses, or identification as to events prior to their deaths. Their names have not yet been released to the public for the privacy and grief of the families, and no picture has been provided due to it being considered too morbid for public consumption.
Gasping with shock and guilt, all feelings of elation drained away. Putting her own phone away, Eri shuddered. "No wonder I can't contact Shiki… not all of us made it back."
Realising now what trouble Nagi was dealing with, Fret began to move. "We have to get to the 104 ! The Boss needs help!"
Having spent the last week or more with people just passing through them, the four teens had trouble avoiding other pedestrians, often just barrelling through as they forced their way. Fret leading and Beat close behind him, they constantly excused themselves, insisting it was an emergency.