The World Ends With ME
Title: The World Ends With ME
Author: Nix501st
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 3,416
Inspiration: I was reading Das_Mervin's sporking of the first chapter of Bree Tanner, when I stumbled upon the line: “I was a god now. Stronger, faster, better. Nobody else counted.” This reminded me of a certain Composer of Shibuya, who thinks in a similar way. I got really peeved by that, and I mean, really peeved. I jotted down a few notes, contacted my beta-readers, and this was born.
Summary: Bree can't trust anyone. They'll only stab her in the back when she isn't looking. So what happens when she is killed while trying to feed and is thrust into the Reaper's Game?
Deep in the Underground River, slumped over on a large throne in the Dead God’s Pad was the young Composer, deeply asleep. As he listened to the music of the city, his face had relaxed enough to allow a small smile.
It had taken two long, difficult years to rework his Shibuya, to fix everything without directly influencing anyone at the same time. The Composer liked to think that it was all worth it, now that he was finally done.
He was abruptly woken by the first slight change to his city. He looked around almost frantically for a second, and then sat up to listen harder.
Fear was what he heard in his Music. The Instruments of many were beginning to pick up the pace in a crescendo alike to what one might hear in a horror movie. Was a murderer making rounds throughout his Shibuya again?
He looked up at the sound of his door opening, seeing his Producer enter the room.
“Hey, J, it looks like we’ve got a bit of a problem.” His Producer said.
“Oh, yes, I’ve definitely heard the Music change, Sanae.” the Composer replied with a wry smirk on his face.
“I know you’ve heard the change in the Music, but we’ve got a bigger issue right now.”
“Whatever could that be?”
“People are dying, but their Souls aren’t arriving in the UG.”
* * *
Bree Tanner looked around the world of Shibuya. The Udagawa Back Streets in particular were where she and many other of the newborns preferred to be. It was the same as back home, with the broken street lights and shady characters, its dirty streets and dingy shops.
And the humans were the same as the ones from Seattle too.
She sighed at how stupid all the humans were. They were there for her to eat, but they really didn’t have to be so stupid. If they were smart, the hunt would be more fun.
As Bree walked down the empty back streets of Udagawa, she thought about her arrival in Shibuya.
Riley had told them that they needed to recruit some new vampires from a country called Japan; something about how they would have special powers. Bree vaguely recalled his saying something about tentacles, although she had no idea what he had meant.
And so, Bree and several other vampire newborns had swam from the coast of Seattle, fed at Shelton, then snuck onto a passenger ship that was docking at Hoquiam. The ship was bringing them to Urayasu at Tokyo Bay so it would be an almost straight shot to get to Shibuya.
Bree wasn’t sure why Riley wanted the recruits to be from Shibuya in particular, but one of the newborns said that she couldn’t wait to see the 104 Building and the Statue of Hachiko. Bree hadn’t paid attention to much since she had boarded the ship, trying to ignore everyone else and stay safe. Suddenly, she was jostled out of her thoughts by shouting.
“Get the hell back here!”
“You can’t run, Hisao!”
She looked up, hearing the shouting and saw a young boy being chased by several older men. The boy opened his mouth to yell for help and Bree tensed up. She couldn’t let him scream. If he did that the police would get involved and she would be discovered.
Thankfully, Bree didn’t have to lift a finger, as several of her fellow newborns jumped out of the shadows and pounced on the men, who had no time to scream. Bree herself descended on the boy and covered his mouth with her hand.
The boy looked almost ten. His eyes were dark and rolling in his skull from fear.
Then Bree froze, hearing his blood rushing beneath his skin, smelling it, almost tasting it. The desire to feed was further accented by the smell of the spilt blood of the various gang members and the sound of their dying gargles. Overwhelmed, Bree pushed the young child down and pinned his hands above his head.
Sweet. That was the only way to describe how he tasted: sweet, young blood, that was untainted by the filth that would have polluted him later in life. More, more, Bree needed more of his life. Down her throat, pooling and coagulating in her stomach. More, please, God, she wanted more. More of the substance that fulfilled her in the only way she would ever desire.
Bree Tanner didn’t even notice when the ten year old stopped twitching, stopped crying. She pulled her head back and saw that her companions had finished with their meals as well and had already departed. Bree looked unflinchingly at the body she had drained and picked it up. It was time to hide the evidence.
She took time to thank her lucky stars that some of her other cohorts had enough control to change a few of the unsuspecting denizens of the city. She had overheard that one of them had planned to change a female named Ai.
Suddenly, a new scent came to her attention and she heard some scuffling up ahead. She looked up to see a boy, about seventeen with obnoxious orange hair staring at her in horror from up the street. He started to back his way toward a house.
She rose to her feet with inhuman speed and saw with satisfaction that his eyes had widened in fear: an expression Bree thought looked good with his pleasing aroma. Bree smirked widely and began to advance on him. Her prey quickened his retreat, but before he could reach the front steps of the house, she ran for him, unafraid to unleash her vampire speed during the hunt.
Suddenly, before she could lash out at him, something slammed into her head and sent her spiraling into the street, right into the path of a car. The next thing Bree knew, she was flying through the air.
But, Bree flipped around in midair and landed on all fours with cat-like grace. Bree stared incredulously at her attacker, a tall boy wearing a black beanie with a skull on it. His blond hair was messy, unwashed, and he was holding a skateboard in his hands offensively. He smelled like he hadn’t taken a shower in days, and Bree’s lip curled in disgust.
“Yo, Phones, get inside! This must be that murderer that’s been going around!” yelled the one wearing the beanie.
“Beat, get in here, too. You didn’t see what that thing did, it’s not human!” shouted the one with orange hair.
“I don’t care if it’s a pony! That motherfucker tried to kill you!” Beat bellowed back at the other.
“Beat, what’s happening?!” cried a female voice from inside the house and Bree heard someone run outside. Another man yelled, “What the hell is going on out there, Daisukenojo‽”
“Go back inside, Rhyme, and get the big ass box on top of my dresser! Neku,” Beat continued, “help Rhyme get the Sunscorch!”
Bree narrowed her eyes and jumped at Beat, nails rocketing towards his jugular.
Unfortunately for Bree, Beat was an experienced fighter from his time during the Game, and had developed extremely capable reflexes. Beat moved to the side in time to avoid an open throat, instead getting only a small cut on the side of his neck.
At the same time a man who resembled Beat ran out of the house holding a pistol. It only took a second for him to pull the trigger.
Bree jerked back and fell down the front steps that led to the door. A foot was placed on her back and she felt her hands being jerked behind her. She hissed loudly and lashed out, throwing the tall man into the house and pouncing on Beat.
Beat's head hit the wall with an enticing crack and his head fell forward as he dropped his skateboard at his side with a loud clatter. Bree was vaguely aware of the girl yelling Beat's name as she tackled Bree. Unlike the last time, Bree was not held down. The young girl got off her quickly. Then, for the first time in her newborn life, Bree wasn’t fast enough.
Flames suddenly consumed her as she let out an ear-rending scream. Bree was hot all over, too hot; she hadn’t felt this way since she had been turned. Where had the fire come from?!
Bree was still able to move and jumped to her feet, seeing the orange haired punk clutching a can of hair spray in one shaking hand. In his other hand was a burnt match. Behind him was a young girl who looked like Beat and was holding a pack of matches in one hand and an open cell phone in the other; she had called the police.
Bree screeched again and launched herself at the two, only for Beat, who had recovered from his brief unconsciousness, to slam her back with his skateboard, letting out a loud, animalistic cry as he did so. The tall man, Beat’s father, had also recovered and was talking into a cell phone, calling for an ambulance and backup.
As Bree Tanner hit the ground for the last time, she let out one last unearthly shriek as the flames finally consumed her fully.
* * *
Bree Tanner glared down at the cell phone in her hand as she waited impatiently at the Scramble Crossing. She had to find a Partner, but there wasn’t a single person that she could trust. If they were strong, they would only betray her; if they were weak, they would only stab her in the back.
That man, Hokutou, had told her that she had been stripped of her vampirism. A quick look at her arm shocked her and confirmed his story: her prettiness was gone, all of it.
Her strength, grace, and beauty had been taken from her, along with her life. Why? What had she done wrong? She had simply been trying to live her life. To feed so she didn’t starve: why was that wrong?
Now that your importance is on the shelf,
you’ll arrive at the SELPH.
Pigs make an ear sore,
let’s make them no more.
~You have four hours, flowers. Don’t be late, or you get no date.
Bree scowled more deeply and flipped her phone closed. What the hell did that mean, anyway? Did she have to kill pigs? The hell was a SELPH?
Suddenly, there was an ominous static-like croaking, Bree let out a yelp as she was slammed into from behind by a large, green frog with tattoos for feet. She flailed took off running.
Before she got far, Bree ran into something and fell to the ground. She looked up and saw another girl holding her head. What was up with her? Was the idiot blind?!
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Bree hissed.
“Make a pact with me!” She shouted, crawling forward and extending her hand in the semblance of a greeting.
Bree looked back at the approaching frogs, then back at the girl, weighing her options. On one hand, she had death by giant tattoo-frogs. On the other hand, she faced fate with an unknown Partner that she didn't even trust.
A frog croaked behind her and Bree reached a decision.
“I accept!” Bree said, and leaned forward, grabbing the other girl’s hand as a light surrounded the both of them. When the light faded, the frogs were gone.
Bree looked around and smirked before looking at the short girl in front of her. The girl was just a bit older than Bree. Her hair was disheveled and short, curls covering her eyes. Her arms were too long and Bree thought that she saw a few pimples on her face.
“What’s your name?” Bree asked, still smirking.
“My name’s Yasuko Tanaka…” The girl trailed off, staring awkwardly in her direction.
“What? What are you staring at?” Bree frowned, uncomfortable. She had never been stared at when she was a vampire. If only she was still one…
Yasuko winced at the sting in Bree’s tone before picking herself up quickly.
“N-nothing, you're just pretty, is all.” Yasuko said, dusting off her pants. “What was the mission of the day again…? We only have… a few hours or so left; right?”
“I’m not pretty anymore,” Bree replied stiffly, “and we have three hours and thirty minutes left.” Bree looked down at her cell phone and repeated the mission aloud.
“SELPH?” Yasuko asked, cocking her head and letting her already messy hair cover her eyes even more.
“S-E-L-P-H, SELPH, that mean anything to you? 'Cause it means nothing to me.” Bree sighed and flipped her phone closed. Bree looked up and frowned, “Move your hair out of your eyes! You ran into me because you couldn't see me!”
“N-no, this is just how I wear my hair; I promise that it doesn’t m-make a difference!” Yasuko stammered, shaking her head. “Come on,” Yasuko said, “I think I know what the poem means…”
Yasuko told Bree that SELPH was an acronym for Science Enrichment for Learners with Physical Handicap, which probably meant that they had to go to a school for handicapped children.
“How do you know that?” Bree asked Yasuko testily, debating whether or not she was a so-called Reaper in disguise.
“It’s a guess, but I think that we should at least give it a shot.” Yasuko muttered something quietly before continuing to speak. “We need a map though, I know that there’s a school located somewhere near here. If you tell me the names of a few nearby districts, I’m sure I’ll remember.”
“Don’t you know your way around?” Bree snapped, irked at wasting more time when she could be getting her life back.
“I-“
“No, show me the way to the next district so that we can get this over with. Come on, Yasuko.” Bree said, tapping her foot.
“But I can’t find my way around…” Yasuko whimpered, and gulped, as if waiting to be struck.
“Why not? Jeez, you’re one useless Partner.” Bree glared at her. “Weren’t you born here or something? Don’t you know where everything is in your own city?”
“It was what I gave up!” Yasuko shouted, standing her ground.
“What, your brain?”
“No! My sight! I can’t find my way anywhere right now!” Yasuko shouted and moved her hair out of her eyes.
* * *
“Wait, so that’s the killer girl? Treating her partner like that, I just might hurl,” groaned a short, lanky man with straight shoulder length hair. His companion, Hokutou, stood next to him with his arms crossed. The two of them were watching Bree and Yasuko move along in the exact direction of the Pig Noise awaiting them.
“Indeed, Nansei,” Hokutou replied. “The girl with long hair is one of the many creatures that have descended upon our city, spreading their madness to our civilians.”
“If those vampires keep up killing but not making any Players... Man, these guys are going to get a lot of haters.” Nansei declared, “It’s too bad her Partner has smarts, or else I’d have more Points before Day Two even starts.”
“Yes, well, you’ll have a chance to prove yourself as the Game Master of this week. Don’t worry.” Hokutou replied. He turned and began to walk away, causing Nansei to give him a curious look.
“I have work to do. So do you. I’ll see you after the Week is done.” Hokutou said.
* * *
By Day Seven, Bree and Yasuko had reached an understanding of sorts. Bree would guide Yasuko as Yasuko deciphered the meaning behind each Day’s mission. Once, the two of them hadn’t finished a mission, but, thankfully, two other Players had.
More than once, they met up with the Game Master, Kumoto Nansei. Often, the nut job would complain about the lack of women his age in the Game and taunt Bree. Yasuko was glad that Bree usually stood in front of her so that she could easily stop Bree from blurting that Yasuko was actually nineteen. She didn’t want that Reaper flirting with her in rhyme. Of course, she paid for covering Bree’s mouth with a sudden elbow to her solar plexus, which left her gasping for air and doubled over.
They found that, to their frustration, Nansei's original poem that they had to figure out was asking about something in a different language, and they would have to take it to a book store, translate it, then run as fast as they could to wherever they had to be.
* * *
Yasuko was ecstatic that they were almost done with the Reaper’s Game. She could finally go back home and hug her mom and dad. She wanted to apologize to her little brother, Hisao, for their fighting. Once she got back, she could go to the museum, the zoo, the library. She could read again!
She would call all of her friends, tell everyone that she loved them. Hell, she was going to run up to Prince and give him a kiss on the cheek! She was going to live!
Those were her thoughts as a blinding light overtook her and Bree. Of course, Yasuko couldn’t tell, but she heard Bree hiss loudly. She looked around sharply, despite how pointless the motion was for her.
“W-what’s g-going on, Bree?! What’s happened?!” Yasuko asked, her stomach constricting from worry. Had something gone wrong?
“Worry not,” A new voice said.
“The hell are you doing here?!” Bree snarled, and Yasuko heard her walking toward the stranger.
“I am here to deliver you to your new life. Part of my job is to prepare you for the Composer’s gift,” Hokutou said with a wry smile.
“Composer, Conductor, who gives a shit!” Bree shot back. “I just want to go home!”
“Calm down. That is what I am preparing you for,” Hokutou replied, mentally rolling his eyes. He looked at Yasuko, then back to Bree.
“Wait, the Composer’s the big guy running this little party, right?” Bree asked suddenly, a strange tone to her voice.
Both Yasuko and Hokutou looked at her oddly as Hokutou answered “Yes.”
“I want to challenge him. I will become the new Composer,” Bree said coldly.
Yasuko’s future shattered before her.
“No! No! Bree, no! We can go back, please, don’t! This isn’t… no!” Yasuko begged while shaking her head. “I want to go home, see my parents! Don’t you? I’m tired of fighting! I just want to go home. My little brother is waiting for me!”
“Shut up, Yasuko! I’m tired of being stepped on and told what to do! It’s time that I make the rules,” Bree growled back.
“Listen to your Partner, child. You don’t know what you’re getting into…” Hokutou started to say.
“Oh no, she doesn’t. Not at all,” a new voice chimed in, echoing around the empty space they were in.
All three turned toward the voice's source, and Bree and Hokutou saw a tall man striding toward them. He was clothed in pure white and his energy seemed so potent that it was almost visible, leaking off of his figure.
But it wasn’t the man's aura that put off Bree the most. What did it was his appearance. He was completely white: skin, hair; it looked like his clothes melded into him because their hue was exactly the same. He was so pale that at first, Bree thought that this man had taken her vampirism for himself. She’d realized that he hadn’t when she saw his eyes, the color of dull eggplants.
“I-I challenge y-“ Bree started to say, before Yasuko covered her mouth.
“No, w-we don’t…! You can leave now! Please!” Yasuko said before Bree harshly elbowed her away.
“Now, that’s no way to treat your Partner,” the Composer chided her as he stood before them. “Oh, yes, I will take it from here, Hokutou. You know me, never one to say no to a challenge.”
Bree narrowed her eyes. He was mocking her, she was sure of it.
“Yes, Composer.” Hokutou bowed slightly and disappeared. He had warped away.
Not even bothering to help Yasuko up, Bree fell into an offensive position, staring down the Composer.
“Wait… how the hell am I supposed to fight you if you blend in!?” Bree shouted, noticing that his color almost perfectly matched that of the surroundings.
He giggled, giggled, at her. “Who said that I fight fair?”
Author: Nix501st
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 3,416
Inspiration: I was reading Das_Mervin's sporking of the first chapter of Bree Tanner, when I stumbled upon the line: “I was a god now. Stronger, faster, better. Nobody else counted.” This reminded me of a certain Composer of Shibuya, who thinks in a similar way. I got really peeved by that, and I mean, really peeved. I jotted down a few notes, contacted my beta-readers, and this was born.
Summary: Bree can't trust anyone. They'll only stab her in the back when she isn't looking. So what happens when she is killed while trying to feed and is thrust into the Reaper's Game?
Deep in the Underground River, slumped over on a large throne in the Dead God’s Pad was the young Composer, deeply asleep. As he listened to the music of the city, his face had relaxed enough to allow a small smile.
It had taken two long, difficult years to rework his Shibuya, to fix everything without directly influencing anyone at the same time. The Composer liked to think that it was all worth it, now that he was finally done.
He was abruptly woken by the first slight change to his city. He looked around almost frantically for a second, and then sat up to listen harder.
Fear was what he heard in his Music. The Instruments of many were beginning to pick up the pace in a crescendo alike to what one might hear in a horror movie. Was a murderer making rounds throughout his Shibuya again?
He looked up at the sound of his door opening, seeing his Producer enter the room.
“Hey, J, it looks like we’ve got a bit of a problem.” His Producer said.
“Oh, yes, I’ve definitely heard the Music change, Sanae.” the Composer replied with a wry smirk on his face.
“I know you’ve heard the change in the Music, but we’ve got a bigger issue right now.”
“Whatever could that be?”
“People are dying, but their Souls aren’t arriving in the UG.”
* * *
Bree Tanner looked around the world of Shibuya. The Udagawa Back Streets in particular were where she and many other of the newborns preferred to be. It was the same as back home, with the broken street lights and shady characters, its dirty streets and dingy shops.
And the humans were the same as the ones from Seattle too.
She sighed at how stupid all the humans were. They were there for her to eat, but they really didn’t have to be so stupid. If they were smart, the hunt would be more fun.
As Bree walked down the empty back streets of Udagawa, she thought about her arrival in Shibuya.
Riley had told them that they needed to recruit some new vampires from a country called Japan; something about how they would have special powers. Bree vaguely recalled his saying something about tentacles, although she had no idea what he had meant.
And so, Bree and several other vampire newborns had swam from the coast of Seattle, fed at Shelton, then snuck onto a passenger ship that was docking at Hoquiam. The ship was bringing them to Urayasu at Tokyo Bay so it would be an almost straight shot to get to Shibuya.
Bree wasn’t sure why Riley wanted the recruits to be from Shibuya in particular, but one of the newborns said that she couldn’t wait to see the 104 Building and the Statue of Hachiko. Bree hadn’t paid attention to much since she had boarded the ship, trying to ignore everyone else and stay safe. Suddenly, she was jostled out of her thoughts by shouting.
“Get the hell back here!”
“You can’t run, Hisao!”
She looked up, hearing the shouting and saw a young boy being chased by several older men. The boy opened his mouth to yell for help and Bree tensed up. She couldn’t let him scream. If he did that the police would get involved and she would be discovered.
Thankfully, Bree didn’t have to lift a finger, as several of her fellow newborns jumped out of the shadows and pounced on the men, who had no time to scream. Bree herself descended on the boy and covered his mouth with her hand.
The boy looked almost ten. His eyes were dark and rolling in his skull from fear.
Then Bree froze, hearing his blood rushing beneath his skin, smelling it, almost tasting it. The desire to feed was further accented by the smell of the spilt blood of the various gang members and the sound of their dying gargles. Overwhelmed, Bree pushed the young child down and pinned his hands above his head.
Sweet. That was the only way to describe how he tasted: sweet, young blood, that was untainted by the filth that would have polluted him later in life. More, more, Bree needed more of his life. Down her throat, pooling and coagulating in her stomach. More, please, God, she wanted more. More of the substance that fulfilled her in the only way she would ever desire.
Bree Tanner didn’t even notice when the ten year old stopped twitching, stopped crying. She pulled her head back and saw that her companions had finished with their meals as well and had already departed. Bree looked unflinchingly at the body she had drained and picked it up. It was time to hide the evidence.
She took time to thank her lucky stars that some of her other cohorts had enough control to change a few of the unsuspecting denizens of the city. She had overheard that one of them had planned to change a female named Ai.
Suddenly, a new scent came to her attention and she heard some scuffling up ahead. She looked up to see a boy, about seventeen with obnoxious orange hair staring at her in horror from up the street. He started to back his way toward a house.
She rose to her feet with inhuman speed and saw with satisfaction that his eyes had widened in fear: an expression Bree thought looked good with his pleasing aroma. Bree smirked widely and began to advance on him. Her prey quickened his retreat, but before he could reach the front steps of the house, she ran for him, unafraid to unleash her vampire speed during the hunt.
Suddenly, before she could lash out at him, something slammed into her head and sent her spiraling into the street, right into the path of a car. The next thing Bree knew, she was flying through the air.
But, Bree flipped around in midair and landed on all fours with cat-like grace. Bree stared incredulously at her attacker, a tall boy wearing a black beanie with a skull on it. His blond hair was messy, unwashed, and he was holding a skateboard in his hands offensively. He smelled like he hadn’t taken a shower in days, and Bree’s lip curled in disgust.
“Yo, Phones, get inside! This must be that murderer that’s been going around!” yelled the one wearing the beanie.
“Beat, get in here, too. You didn’t see what that thing did, it’s not human!” shouted the one with orange hair.
“I don’t care if it’s a pony! That motherfucker tried to kill you!” Beat bellowed back at the other.
“Beat, what’s happening?!” cried a female voice from inside the house and Bree heard someone run outside. Another man yelled, “What the hell is going on out there, Daisukenojo‽”
“Go back inside, Rhyme, and get the big ass box on top of my dresser! Neku,” Beat continued, “help Rhyme get the Sunscorch!”
Bree narrowed her eyes and jumped at Beat, nails rocketing towards his jugular.
Unfortunately for Bree, Beat was an experienced fighter from his time during the Game, and had developed extremely capable reflexes. Beat moved to the side in time to avoid an open throat, instead getting only a small cut on the side of his neck.
At the same time a man who resembled Beat ran out of the house holding a pistol. It only took a second for him to pull the trigger.
Bree jerked back and fell down the front steps that led to the door. A foot was placed on her back and she felt her hands being jerked behind her. She hissed loudly and lashed out, throwing the tall man into the house and pouncing on Beat.
Beat's head hit the wall with an enticing crack and his head fell forward as he dropped his skateboard at his side with a loud clatter. Bree was vaguely aware of the girl yelling Beat's name as she tackled Bree. Unlike the last time, Bree was not held down. The young girl got off her quickly. Then, for the first time in her newborn life, Bree wasn’t fast enough.
Flames suddenly consumed her as she let out an ear-rending scream. Bree was hot all over, too hot; she hadn’t felt this way since she had been turned. Where had the fire come from?!
Bree was still able to move and jumped to her feet, seeing the orange haired punk clutching a can of hair spray in one shaking hand. In his other hand was a burnt match. Behind him was a young girl who looked like Beat and was holding a pack of matches in one hand and an open cell phone in the other; she had called the police.
Bree screeched again and launched herself at the two, only for Beat, who had recovered from his brief unconsciousness, to slam her back with his skateboard, letting out a loud, animalistic cry as he did so. The tall man, Beat’s father, had also recovered and was talking into a cell phone, calling for an ambulance and backup.
As Bree Tanner hit the ground for the last time, she let out one last unearthly shriek as the flames finally consumed her fully.
* * *
Bree Tanner glared down at the cell phone in her hand as she waited impatiently at the Scramble Crossing. She had to find a Partner, but there wasn’t a single person that she could trust. If they were strong, they would only betray her; if they were weak, they would only stab her in the back.
That man, Hokutou, had told her that she had been stripped of her vampirism. A quick look at her arm shocked her and confirmed his story: her prettiness was gone, all of it.
Her strength, grace, and beauty had been taken from her, along with her life. Why? What had she done wrong? She had simply been trying to live her life. To feed so she didn’t starve: why was that wrong?
Now that your importance is on the shelf,
you’ll arrive at the SELPH.
Pigs make an ear sore,
let’s make them no more.
~You have four hours, flowers. Don’t be late, or you get no date.
Bree scowled more deeply and flipped her phone closed. What the hell did that mean, anyway? Did she have to kill pigs? The hell was a SELPH?
Suddenly, there was an ominous static-like croaking, Bree let out a yelp as she was slammed into from behind by a large, green frog with tattoos for feet. She flailed took off running.
Before she got far, Bree ran into something and fell to the ground. She looked up and saw another girl holding her head. What was up with her? Was the idiot blind?!
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Bree hissed.
“Make a pact with me!” She shouted, crawling forward and extending her hand in the semblance of a greeting.
Bree looked back at the approaching frogs, then back at the girl, weighing her options. On one hand, she had death by giant tattoo-frogs. On the other hand, she faced fate with an unknown Partner that she didn't even trust.
A frog croaked behind her and Bree reached a decision.
“I accept!” Bree said, and leaned forward, grabbing the other girl’s hand as a light surrounded the both of them. When the light faded, the frogs were gone.
Bree looked around and smirked before looking at the short girl in front of her. The girl was just a bit older than Bree. Her hair was disheveled and short, curls covering her eyes. Her arms were too long and Bree thought that she saw a few pimples on her face.
“What’s your name?” Bree asked, still smirking.
“My name’s Yasuko Tanaka…” The girl trailed off, staring awkwardly in her direction.
“What? What are you staring at?” Bree frowned, uncomfortable. She had never been stared at when she was a vampire. If only she was still one…
Yasuko winced at the sting in Bree’s tone before picking herself up quickly.
“N-nothing, you're just pretty, is all.” Yasuko said, dusting off her pants. “What was the mission of the day again…? We only have… a few hours or so left; right?”
“I’m not pretty anymore,” Bree replied stiffly, “and we have three hours and thirty minutes left.” Bree looked down at her cell phone and repeated the mission aloud.
“SELPH?” Yasuko asked, cocking her head and letting her already messy hair cover her eyes even more.
“S-E-L-P-H, SELPH, that mean anything to you? 'Cause it means nothing to me.” Bree sighed and flipped her phone closed. Bree looked up and frowned, “Move your hair out of your eyes! You ran into me because you couldn't see me!”
“N-no, this is just how I wear my hair; I promise that it doesn’t m-make a difference!” Yasuko stammered, shaking her head. “Come on,” Yasuko said, “I think I know what the poem means…”
Yasuko told Bree that SELPH was an acronym for Science Enrichment for Learners with Physical Handicap, which probably meant that they had to go to a school for handicapped children.
“How do you know that?” Bree asked Yasuko testily, debating whether or not she was a so-called Reaper in disguise.
“It’s a guess, but I think that we should at least give it a shot.” Yasuko muttered something quietly before continuing to speak. “We need a map though, I know that there’s a school located somewhere near here. If you tell me the names of a few nearby districts, I’m sure I’ll remember.”
“Don’t you know your way around?” Bree snapped, irked at wasting more time when she could be getting her life back.
“I-“
“No, show me the way to the next district so that we can get this over with. Come on, Yasuko.” Bree said, tapping her foot.
“But I can’t find my way around…” Yasuko whimpered, and gulped, as if waiting to be struck.
“Why not? Jeez, you’re one useless Partner.” Bree glared at her. “Weren’t you born here or something? Don’t you know where everything is in your own city?”
“It was what I gave up!” Yasuko shouted, standing her ground.
“What, your brain?”
“No! My sight! I can’t find my way anywhere right now!” Yasuko shouted and moved her hair out of her eyes.
* * *
“Wait, so that’s the killer girl? Treating her partner like that, I just might hurl,” groaned a short, lanky man with straight shoulder length hair. His companion, Hokutou, stood next to him with his arms crossed. The two of them were watching Bree and Yasuko move along in the exact direction of the Pig Noise awaiting them.
“Indeed, Nansei,” Hokutou replied. “The girl with long hair is one of the many creatures that have descended upon our city, spreading their madness to our civilians.”
“If those vampires keep up killing but not making any Players... Man, these guys are going to get a lot of haters.” Nansei declared, “It’s too bad her Partner has smarts, or else I’d have more Points before Day Two even starts.”
“Yes, well, you’ll have a chance to prove yourself as the Game Master of this week. Don’t worry.” Hokutou replied. He turned and began to walk away, causing Nansei to give him a curious look.
“I have work to do. So do you. I’ll see you after the Week is done.” Hokutou said.
* * *
By Day Seven, Bree and Yasuko had reached an understanding of sorts. Bree would guide Yasuko as Yasuko deciphered the meaning behind each Day’s mission. Once, the two of them hadn’t finished a mission, but, thankfully, two other Players had.
More than once, they met up with the Game Master, Kumoto Nansei. Often, the nut job would complain about the lack of women his age in the Game and taunt Bree. Yasuko was glad that Bree usually stood in front of her so that she could easily stop Bree from blurting that Yasuko was actually nineteen. She didn’t want that Reaper flirting with her in rhyme. Of course, she paid for covering Bree’s mouth with a sudden elbow to her solar plexus, which left her gasping for air and doubled over.
They found that, to their frustration, Nansei's original poem that they had to figure out was asking about something in a different language, and they would have to take it to a book store, translate it, then run as fast as they could to wherever they had to be.
* * *
Yasuko was ecstatic that they were almost done with the Reaper’s Game. She could finally go back home and hug her mom and dad. She wanted to apologize to her little brother, Hisao, for their fighting. Once she got back, she could go to the museum, the zoo, the library. She could read again!
She would call all of her friends, tell everyone that she loved them. Hell, she was going to run up to Prince and give him a kiss on the cheek! She was going to live!
Those were her thoughts as a blinding light overtook her and Bree. Of course, Yasuko couldn’t tell, but she heard Bree hiss loudly. She looked around sharply, despite how pointless the motion was for her.
“W-what’s g-going on, Bree?! What’s happened?!” Yasuko asked, her stomach constricting from worry. Had something gone wrong?
“Worry not,” A new voice said.
“The hell are you doing here?!” Bree snarled, and Yasuko heard her walking toward the stranger.
“I am here to deliver you to your new life. Part of my job is to prepare you for the Composer’s gift,” Hokutou said with a wry smile.
“Composer, Conductor, who gives a shit!” Bree shot back. “I just want to go home!”
“Calm down. That is what I am preparing you for,” Hokutou replied, mentally rolling his eyes. He looked at Yasuko, then back to Bree.
“Wait, the Composer’s the big guy running this little party, right?” Bree asked suddenly, a strange tone to her voice.
Both Yasuko and Hokutou looked at her oddly as Hokutou answered “Yes.”
“I want to challenge him. I will become the new Composer,” Bree said coldly.
Yasuko’s future shattered before her.
“No! No! Bree, no! We can go back, please, don’t! This isn’t… no!” Yasuko begged while shaking her head. “I want to go home, see my parents! Don’t you? I’m tired of fighting! I just want to go home. My little brother is waiting for me!”
“Shut up, Yasuko! I’m tired of being stepped on and told what to do! It’s time that I make the rules,” Bree growled back.
“Listen to your Partner, child. You don’t know what you’re getting into…” Hokutou started to say.
“Oh no, she doesn’t. Not at all,” a new voice chimed in, echoing around the empty space they were in.
All three turned toward the voice's source, and Bree and Hokutou saw a tall man striding toward them. He was clothed in pure white and his energy seemed so potent that it was almost visible, leaking off of his figure.
But it wasn’t the man's aura that put off Bree the most. What did it was his appearance. He was completely white: skin, hair; it looked like his clothes melded into him because their hue was exactly the same. He was so pale that at first, Bree thought that this man had taken her vampirism for himself. She’d realized that he hadn’t when she saw his eyes, the color of dull eggplants.
“I-I challenge y-“ Bree started to say, before Yasuko covered her mouth.
“No, w-we don’t…! You can leave now! Please!” Yasuko said before Bree harshly elbowed her away.
“Now, that’s no way to treat your Partner,” the Composer chided her as he stood before them. “Oh, yes, I will take it from here, Hokutou. You know me, never one to say no to a challenge.”
Bree narrowed her eyes. He was mocking her, she was sure of it.
“Yes, Composer.” Hokutou bowed slightly and disappeared. He had warped away.
Not even bothering to help Yasuko up, Bree fell into an offensive position, staring down the Composer.
“Wait… how the hell am I supposed to fight you if you blend in!?” Bree shouted, noticing that his color almost perfectly matched that of the surroundings.
He giggled, giggled, at her. “Who said that I fight fair?”