goddamn. hanekoma. playing dealer with a stacked deck. arming every faction. placing eggs in every basket. bets on every hand.
āan inevitabilityā; that the proxy handpicked by the composer would be a fan of CAT, the proxy being a fan of CAT ensures a strong imagination, the proxy possessing a strong imagination means the proxyās worthy, the proxy being worthy ensures the composer would pick him. it didnāt have to be neku, necessarily, but it always wouldāve been. neku is at the mural, because he is the worthy proxy, joshua is at the mural, because heās there to collect his proxy, minamimoto is at the mural, because the fallen angel has informed him of the composerās identity.
shibuya being destroyed is an unacceptable outcome. the composer must be stopped; the proxy must change his mind, the conductor must win their game, or the fallen angelās game piece must kill him. thereās a perfect outcome out there, but insurance is necessary. so kitaniji gets his pins, minamimoto gets his taboo noise, joshua gets a busted tracker, and neku gets a mentor.
hanekoma lays the groundwork for neku to become the kind of person that can influence joshua. ātrust your partnerā, the other various advice, telling neku some things about joshua to get him to sympathize. and itās because heās nekuās idol that neku tries to internalize it, because itās CAT saying these things. and neku died because he loved CATās mural. an inevitability.
Hello! I am gifting you this for the TWEWY Gift Exchange, since your original creator couldn't make it. I hope you enjoy what I have written below the line :) Merry Christmas!!
Organising the meeting had not been the issue. In fact, thanks to Hazuki Mikagiās fondness for Joshua, it had been exceedingly easy to organise and facilitate the meeting with the foremost manager of the UG in Shinjuku. It was in the back corner of a river side library, filled with college students running around between isles. Hanekoma easily found his target on the other side of a small table, thanks to his large and unusual hat.
Kaie Ono had risen to his status, not quite a producer, but what his people referred to as a manager, because heād made the RNS - a social media outlet and messaging site specifically for all participants in the Reaperās Game in Shinjuku, and then heād spread it to the Reapers who originated from and remained in Shibuya. Sanae Hanekoma had witnessed his work for three years, and was genuinely impressed with what the man had achieved. Hanekoma hadnāt put much stock into the internet at the time, since when he was rising to prominence as CAT, the internet had been little more than a few blogs here and there, and blogs were deeply personal affairs.Ā
Nowadays, social media was a whole new medium, and it was a mild mystery to the much, much more ancient Sanae. But he was willing to learn, which was why he was sitting across from Kaie, who had a bright pink laptop in front of him, covered in various decals, among them a Brainy Cat. Was Kaie simply a fan? Did he think the sticker was cute? It didnāt show the same amount of wear that some of the others did, especially the Lapin Angelique bunny head on the leftmost corner. The Brainy Cat was new.Ā
Sanae heard his phone chime, and when he looked at it - a smartphone of all things, where had the Galakei of yesteryear gone - he hummed. Kaie had messaged him.
Hello, it read, I am delighted to meet you, Sanae Hanekoma. Producer for Shibuya.
Sanae huffed a laugh.Ā
āAh yeah, same to you. From what I hear youāre not much of a talker, and I donāt know about you, but Iām still new to this whole phone-vitality bit. What if weā¦ā As he trailed off, Sanae moved his hands carefully. He signed to Kaie the symbols for ātalk like soā. The man, usually calm and cool, smiled brightly. He replied with swift but eloquent signing.
Iāve never met another sign speaker. Truly, this is amazing, Sanae-san, Kaie expressed his gratitude for Hanekomaās accommodations.Ā
Itās nothing. If youāre not comfortable speaking, and I donāt want to use my phone, I figured youād know how to sign. Hanekoma smiled, Kaie genuinely warming up to his meeting partner.
Letās begin with your questions, Kaie urged Hanekoma to look at his laptop, turning it around so he could see the screen. A large portion of the website in question was just pictures, arranged in three columns, running all the way down the page.Ā
You asked, āis it possible to imprint via social mediaā, and to be honest, Iām not sure. But social media seems to make people more receptive to imprinting, perhaps you should treat it as a, Kaie paused, thinking of his word, his hands clenching and unclenching, supplementary to your ordinary work.
I see, so itās just like always, the machine canāt express psychic influence. Kaie nodded at Hanekomaās conclusion.
You also asked me to teach you how to run the RNS, but frankly I think thatās irresponsible of me to do. Youāre a Producer, you have much more important work. Kaieās face turned grim, perhaps he was thinking of the Producer which Shinjuku had managed to get killed in the crossfire. Sanae remembered the aged woman as a trouble maker, a tailor who loved people almost too much. Sanae knew that sheād taken Kaie under her wing, training him in various Production mechanisms, with every intention of installing him as the new Producer there, but Sanae could tell he was unsure if he wanted the responsibilities.
But there is hope!, Kaieās signs turned a bit frantic, even Sanae having a moment of trouble interpreting them, There is a wonderful young person, Rhyme Bito, who should be able to assist you better than I could.
Hanekoma made a bitter laugh. Ha, yeah, Rhyme would be okay with the arrangement, but Daisukenojo - Beat - would be much harder to convince. Hanekoma didnāt blame the kid, after his sisterās total erasure? His caution was warranted. Sanae idly wondered if heād been making a scary face, as Kaie looked dourly back at the screen.
āI wonāt lie to you, Kaie Ono, I am hesitant to allow Rhyme Bito toā¦continue UG correspondence with you, simply because sheās a critically unknown quantity. Sheās searching for a part of her soul that was totally erased, and if she goes too far, she might get erased again.ā Hanekoma spoke in a low voice, and Kaieās face paled. He wrung his hands anxiously.Ā
Donāt fret, friend, Hanekoma signed once more, Shall we move on? Tell me more about the features of the RNS. Iām not much for LINE myselfā¦ (LINE is the Japanese default messenger app. Itās something like Whatsapp but pretty exclusive to the JP region)
And so Hanekoma spent an afternoon learning about friends and group chats, and how to curate a good online presence. While he listened, and learned, he was suddenly more aware of how Shinjuku could act as a team game. Social media allowed Players to be more widely connected than before. Joshua built his Game on the principle that most people would only be able to sync with one person at a time, since humans are prone to shutting themselves off from each other, and group dynamics could change in an instant depending on the personalities that existed in them. But with the RNS, one could see how a team could be made, curated, as people with incredibly specific interests and knowledge could easily find one another. Truly, humans were more connected than ever.Ā
At the end of Kaieās explanations, they sat in the pleasant silence for a while, Sanae considering everything heād learned and taking a few notes on his phone. Once he pocketed the device, he invited Kaie to stand with him.
Come with me, he encouraged, Iāll take you to my place and give you a cup for the road.Ā
Kaie smiled brightly, and followed the Producer of Shibuya through to Cat Street, at the back of which was a small cafe, decorated with various CAT designs and paraphernalia. It was a startling wash of nostalgia for Kaie, who had known CATās work from the first year in Shibuya, only for it to fade away so fast. But being here now, it also reminded him of his former mentor - Shiho Oikawa. This made the young reaper pause, it had been so long since heād thought of Shiho, just buried in the throes of survival, that the thought of his mentor made him tremble. Should he not succeed her, and become Producer?
āI can see you over there, thinking about something heavy. Shiho wouldnāt want you stressing yourself. Come, drink, and take your worries back home. Iām sure Shiba and Tsugumi will be who you need to speak with.ā Sanae placed a mug on the marbled countertop, and Kaie took the stool seat in front of it. The coffee smelled delicious, warm and inviting, and in just a sip, he felt a little better.
Hanekoma heard his phone chime again.Ā
Can I come back and see you again next week? - Kaie had messaged.
Sanae turned around to face him, completely at ease.Ā
For Neku's birthday, while Hanekoma's still in like, angel timeout, he makes a gift for Neku and yeets it from the sky and it'll just hit him on the face like "Happy Birthday Neku -Mr H"
