Welcome to Shibuya!

[Aleu]

Hiroari nodded slowly. "I can see you, yes." So they didn't exist to the others in the crossing? A strange world that gap demon had decided to put him in. A little curiosity crept into the corner of his mind -- where would she find a place like this? A second, more alarming thought followed: had she cursed him? Sealed the borders of his existence? That would take a lot more than finding the exit -- he supposed there was coercion to be had as well...

"Shibuya...? Ah, I'm sorry, I'm not from this area." Hiroari smiled placidly at Go, while the gears spun in his mind, trying to make sense of what he was experiencing. "I come from a rather remote farming region: I'm not sure where it is with respect to... Tokyo... us farmers don't often get out to see the rest of the world."

So. What... perhaps those of Gensokyo weren't visible to outsiders -- maybe the Hakurei Border wasn't just a geographical seal, but a spiritual one as well? A seal that one carried within their soul? That was stupid -- that kid was obviously not one of Gensokyo, but he was in the exact same situation. It was obvious that they were in the outside world, though -- Tokyo was a familiar name, Edo had been renamed before the creation of the Hakurei Border. The kid must be from around here, then... he'd be useful to pull information from.

Dead? That was stupid. He had taken a nap beneath the cherry blossoms -- they weren't the cursed kind, either.

"...Forgive me, I forgot. I'm Konpaku Hiroari, Warden of the Roukanken."

[P-chan]

Len blinked after being addressed. They had given a fantastic display of erasing Noise for their first time, and he was reminded of his first time playing the game, when he was a player. Except now he was a Reaper. He didn't reply, debating in his head whether to lie or tell the truth, when Yosuke jumped in.

"S-Sorry if Jiraiya startled you." Yosuke gave Katsura one of his signature 'grin-while-winking' smiles to try to lighten the mood. If he was thinking correctly, this pact thing would mean that they'd be stuck with each other for a while. "He's tame, don't worry... He's my Persona. It's really complicated, but I faced this monster that represented everything I hated about myself. After accepting that its feelings were ones I felt too, the monster turned into Jiraiya. I used him to get rid of other monsters. Jiraiya's part of me, and I don't look scary, right?"

Yosuke tried to laugh again, but it turned into a short cough. He rubbed his throat confusedly before clearing it. "And no, I've never heard of Gensokyo before in my life. Not surprising, seeing that I don't get around much. Sounds like a nice little resort in Japan that would have lots of watermelon. Watermelon would taste good right about now, with lots of salt-"

"Now what is this little happy party going on here?"

Spada stood on the roof of a nearby ramen store and pointed down at Len with a glare. "You, what are you doing socializing with players? You should be either guarding that wall over there or helping me get rid of them by summoning more Noise-"

His gaze shifted from Len to Katsura, his mood shifting with it away from anger. "Oh, hey, a girl player! I haven't seen one of those yet here in the lovely UG! How about I let you live for another day and we can go get some hot dogs at Spain Hill-... Hey, wait, I'm getting distracted again- Len!" Spada unsheathed a sword and jabbed it at Len's direction. "Get back to that freaking wall and guard it! Reapers shouldn't have to babysit other Reapers!"

Len cringed, glancing nervously at Yosuke and Katsura. Busted...

[Aleu]

((OH MY GOD I JUST READ THAT LEN IS SERVANT OF EVIL LEN AGHAGHAHGA;DSJASLKDFJL;SJF SOB CRAI))

"Wow, I'd hate them too if that's what my feelings looked like." She laughed a little. It was a strange story, but the green and white miko, originally from the outside world, had a saying: "You can't let yourself be trapped by common sense in Gensokyo." Gensokyans had a naturally high bar for suspension of disbelief. If that was his story, no reason to discredit it right?

"Gensokyo's... not quite like that." Haha, Suika with salt? "It's... uhm, secluded. Japan within Japan?" Katsura paused, then with a short laugh: "It's almost like its own little world."

"Now what is this little happy party going on here?" Katsura cringed reflexively -- that was the same voice her supervisor used when she got caught slacking off on the patrol. Funny how some things really did haunt you after death. This guy seemed like a pushover, though: the womanizer types generally ended up that way. But no harm in leading him on, right?

Katsura looked up at Spada with a grin. "I'd looove to take you up on that, Mr. Reaper. Len was just giving us a leg up here -- tell 'ya wha', let him off the hook and I'll see you at Spain Hill tomorrow, hm?" Turning away, she looked back at him, tugging on the tip of one her ears with her hand, turning it between her fingers and tugging it down across her face, looking sidealong at Spada with her cute-but-coy face on. Her wings spread slightly, just enough to be hinting. "I'll be looking forward to it, alright?"

Enemies were often the best sources of information, after all.

[P-chan]

((AHSKFJASKLF SERVANT OF EVIL IS CUTE PUPPIES COMPARED TO PRISONER AND PAPER PLANE BUT IT'S STILL SAAAAAD))

Seriously? Yosuke glared up at Spada, who looked just as surprised as he was that the offer was accepted. How come whenever I try to pick up girls with lame pick-up lines they never say yes? He remembered many the times on the school trip to the mountains when he tried similar lines, but they always resulted in him getting beat up. Hell, maybe he should meet this Spada guy somewhere to get lessons on- hey, no, the point at the current moment was staying alive and it looked like this guy was an enemy.

Spada's eyes fluttered between a glare at Len and curiosity towards Katsura. He resheathed his swords and tapped his chin with a finger while pursing his lips. "Wow, that's a first. Whenever I ask Iria or Ange to do something with me I get bullets shot at me or daggers thrown."

Yosuke sweatdropped; so much for that fleeting idea.

"I, uh, suppose I can take a break from my Reaping a bit tomorrow," Spada continued, poking his finger at Len, "and give Len a break, too. Hey, you! You're lucky that this pretty female player has convinced me to pity you! I'm expecting you to get back to that wall within the next 15 minutes and I won't let Minamimoto know what you've been up to... Not that pi face would do anything about it."

He scoffed, folding his arms as he returned his stare to Katsura, flashing her a thumbs up. "If you're alive tomorrow I'll be at Spain Hill. I suppose you shouldn't have to worry about the mission since some other people should complete it. You do know that only one team has to complete a mission for the next day to begin, right? Speaking of missions, you'd better get to Cat Street fast today! Only 100 minutes left, you know, and all those walls in your way need their objectives to be met." Spada pulled off his beret and gave a slight bow in Katsura's direction. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go attempt to erase some other players. Adieu~"

Yosuke's eye twitched as he watched Spada wander off. He snorted, turning to Katsura and Len as he crinkled his nose. "That was something else, huh? Hey, he didn't even acknowledge my existance! What am I? Do I have to dress up in a bear suit like Teddie to get people's attention?" He grumbled to himself as he kicked at the yellow crosswalk lines on the ground.

Len poked his index fingers together as he started to step backwards, towards the street leading to the Shibu Department Store. "Um, thank you, Katsura, for helping me out there... I'm sorry I didn't tell you two that I was a Reaper. I-I'm not gonna try to erase you two now, I'm just going to go back to... my wall..."

[Aleu]

((I mispelled Spada as Spanda while typing this.))

"Sure thing," Katsura replied, flashing him a smile and tugging at her ears again. "You make sure you're on time and wait for me, alriiighhttt?" She stuck out her tongue and waved at him, mimicking the motion of her arms with her wings. "See you soon!"

As Spada turned to leave, Katsura nodded at Len, one eye still watching him disappear into the scramble. "No problem. Scratch my back and I scratch yours, right?" Not to mention I'll probably need you later on... Katsura flapped a hand idly at him, smiling a little. "Get back to your wall, I think we'll be okay."

...

Everyone gone?

"Yeah, that guy wa... Ick ick ick ick." Katsura rubbed her hands against her cheeks, making a face and blowing a raspberry into the air. Her wings spread and flapped in agitation, and she moaned to herself a little, staring skyward. "I feel like such a whooreee." Noting the look of confusion on Yosuke's face, she laughed (more like a sharp bark) and explained: "Woman are sly, crafty, sneaky little weasels that'll use their feminine guiles to work you around til your balls tie up and fall off from exhaustion. I don't like it but when I need to, I'm no exception. Looks like that kid there isn't quite aware, though."

She showed him a fang-like grin. "I'll work him over good tomorrow. Anything we need, I'm sure I'll be able to get out of him." Anything to get out of here, right? The outside world looked like fun, but being dead wasn't her preferred way of spending her time there. The Yama probably had some leeway with the Hakurei maiden -- maybe she'd get her to let her slip out here from time to time.

"Come on, let's go." She gestured towards the road towards the Shibu Department Store, where Len had gone. "We can talk while walk, and it sounds like we'll probably need a bit of time to get there." Katsura started to move through the scramble, tail waving at Yosuke behind her. "And a bear suit would fit you nicely."

[P-chan]

((SPANDEX PANDA NOOO it's the first time I've heard that, though, there's usually jokes about THIS IS SPADAAAAAAA instead))

Yosuke shuddered - at both the creeper Reaper and Katsura's description of women. Maybe he could get some tips on women from a woman herself, though, and made a mental note to ask about it later.

He didn't know Katsura very long but he already was concerned about her going on her own to see that Reaper in the beret. If he was correct in his deduction those 'Reaper' people were trying to get rid of the people like him and Katsura, the 'players'. Who knew what beretman was going to do at Spain Hill, but if she really was okay with it, he didn't want to say anything else about it.

Katsura was far ahead of him before he started following after her; Yosuke jogged a bit to catch up. He watched from the corner of his eye as her tail flicked back and forth. He couldn't hold in his question any longer, and gulped down an uneasy lump in his throat. "So, uh, are those ears, wings, and tail just cosplay, or..."

~-~-~

Spada whistled to himself as he pondered what to do next, perched on the 104 Building again. There were other players he could bother, but in the back of his mind he was still a bit unsure about this erasing thing. Whenever he watched another person screaming as they disintegrated away he felt this unsure poking at his chest, like maybe he was doing something... wrong?

But it couldn't be wrong, right? The Composer told him that these people were brought here because they did bad things. It was his job as a knight to bring justice to people who did bad things, right? It was okay to kill criminals, and these people were supposed to be criminals, right? Maybe his brothers would finally not try to kill him whenever they saw him if got rid of all these evil people.

So this erasing thing is okay. I'm not doing anything wrong, you know. These people deserve it. It's just my duty as a son of the house of Belforma to bring justice...

He saw a boy in a hoodie speaking to another with short hair and green clothes. Players, Spada could go have some fun with them. It didn't even look like they'd make a pact yet. Making sure his beret was on tight, his swords properly sheathed, Spada leapt off the 104 and landed in the crossing in an alley. Peering around the corner at the two, he smirked as he pulled his Noise pin from his pocket.

"These two look weak; let's try some frogs this time~" With a snap of his fingers, two green frogs about the size of an elementary school student materialized behind the boy in the hoodie.

[Aleu]

Katsura stared at him for a moment, a puzzled expression on her face. "You... what's cosplay?" She stopped for a second and batted him across the head with a wing a few times, still looking puzzled. "Is that like a costume?" Bat bat. "'cause this isn't a costume, they're mine." Bat. She flicked at him with her tail, her face shifting to a wicked grin. "I guess you don't have youkai in the outside world, do you? I remember... They all sealed themselves within Gensokyo back then. Haha, that's interesting."

She adjusted her tokin a little, looking at Yosuke while walking backwards. "You're Japanese, I take it, so you should know your way around your mythology a little bit. Do you remember the tengu? The wind sages, up in the mountains with the long red noses?" She reached around behind her back, grabbing at something tied there. "This kind?" A mask in the effigy of the traditional tengu dangled from her hands -- red face, long nose, odd gritted teeth.

"Yours truly~"

BZZZZZZZT

"OW! Mother of --------" A stream of old-world expletives burst from her, and Katsura jerked backwards sharply, a burning pain streaking through her back and rear. "What the hell was that?" There was nothing ther-- a ripple through the air... a barrier?

------

"Hostiles?" Hiroari turned his head slightly, noting the approaching (enormous) frogs. "That's nice, but if you could just die right now..."

...

?!

... "If you could just die right now..."

?!?!

"What... the... does magic not work out here? Damnit!" He drew his sword and slashed violently at the closest wrong. There was a hum of moving steel and the glow of sundered thought, then -- nothing? Tch...

No steel, no magic, not even the power to rend confusion and devour the thoughts of ghosts? The Roukanken had never failed him before but... maybe the rules were different here... The best route was to run until he figured it out.

And without a word, he bolted into the Scramble.

[P-chan]

Yosuke tried to hide his confusion from his face as he listened to Katsura, blinking every time a wing bumped him. Japanese mythology? There was a reason why he barely passed history; he never paid attention in class. It was silly how unperceptive Ms. Kashigawa was while she was teaching, because she never noticed when Yosuke was playing his PSP under his desk...

He didn't know anything about mythology - even when Souji tried to explain who the real Jiraiya his Persona was based off was, he didn't get it. He just nodded his head (like he usually did whenever he didn't get what a girl was saying) until he saw a flash of red lightning shoot from behind Katsura.

After taking a step back reflexively, he listened as Katsura fired off a string of unrepeatable words. "Uh... are you okay? Looks like it hurt." Yosuke walked over to where she'd just been zapped and tentatively began to stretch a finger towards it. "...Probably shouldn't try that, huh." He pulled it back and frowned at the transparent barrier. If Rise was here, he could just ask her to scan the area and see what was up, but this wasn't the TV world, and Rise wasn't here.

"...You guys probably want to get through, right?"

Yosuke glanced behind him at the familiar voice, seeing Len standing there. The blonde gave them a half-hearted wave and smile.

"I'm only supposed to take the wall down after some players complete a task I ask them to do. Reapers usually are expected to make them defeat Noise or something, but it's only the first day, and you two already beat up those other Noise..." Len folded his arms and stared up at a flashing billboard sign. "What's something easy that I could ask you guys to do..."

After figuring out Len was a Reaper, Yosuke wasn't so sure they could trust him anymore. Len was right, it was their first day, and Yosuke was still unsure of who he could believe in Shibuya. Still, he didn't seem hostile and had helped them before.

"Ah, I know." Len snapped his fingers and grinned at them again. "How about I sing a song and you two have to guess what it is? Oh, it won't be anything hard, don't worry."

[Aleu]

Bzztt... Kasura shook the lightning out of her fingers, turning around. "Oh, wow, been a while. How've you been... uh... Rin, was it?"

((OH GOD THE ONELINER IT HURTS))

[P-chan]

Len was in the middle of materializing his keytar from its pin when the mention of his sister's name caught him off guard. It clattered down to his feet and he flinched at the loud noise before picking it up by its neck. "R-Rin?" he stammered, feeling his grip on the keytar tighten with anxiety. "Is she here? D-did she die? Oh, I knew it, she got caught sneaking out of the country, didn't she? She never was a sneaky one..."

He eased the strap over his head. With the keytar snug hanging from his shoulder, his hands were free and he lifted them to his face, pressing his palms to his eyes. "Ohhh, if she's here she's probably a player, and she'll never make it through without my help. She doesn't even know how to make herself breakfast; she doesn't even know how to boil water for her tea every morning. She can't tie her shoes either, they'll come untied and she'll be tripping all over the place..."

Yosuke was staring at the keytar while half-listening to Len's mumbling. Well, I play guitar, but what the hell is that thing? I almost want to ask to try it out...but now isn't the time for that. "Uh, Katsura, I don't know what you said, but I don't understand anything he's saying-"

"If you saw Rin," Len cut in, sniffling, "please tell me, 'cause if she's here I gotta help her, Reaper or not..."