Let's experience capitalism. Elias spends all five of his coins.
[Handheld Console] - This handheld gaming device comes with a game - a quirky little text adventure about a young detective in a mysterious facility. How questionable!
[Nirvana] - That’s what’s carved into the sword, anyway, along with some nonsense runes there for the aesthetic. It’s appears to be a very fancy (and heavy!) steel sword, although the edges are dulled for safety reasons. Still, could give someone quite the bludgeoning.
[Cream of Corn Soup Can] - Mmmmmm-mmm. Creamy.
[Aleksey Akashi Amiibo] - He’s holding a wrench in his hand. How cute!
[100 Yen Kazoo] - A cheap plastic kazoo. It’s designed to be loud and obnoxious.
Tomoe looked at the timer on her hand. It still glitched out. She wondered – how much time left until they had to toughen up and pick up the pace? She wanted to assume she had about as much time as usual.
Her heart was beating so fast. Was this… anxiety? Tomoe tried to take deep breaths, but she couldn’t stop being on edge. Resting a hand to her chest, she clutched the cross necklace. These could be her final few moments of existing before… before an executioner came and took her away.
Which executioner? … Runa? Hawk? She didn’t know. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.
But if she were lucky, she and Lily would win. And she had to be lucky. So much was riding on this. She was sure Lily had her own things to attend to. Stories to write… places to be… people to inspire. Tomoe wanted to support her, even if their entry fees did come back full-force.
Not only did she have to be there for Lily, she had to be there for the others too. The first night she was here in the UG, she’d promised Jean she would do her best and regret nothing. She had to keep that promise. Besides – despite his near-death, Kou was intent on keeping his, with the tonkatsu and the observatory, and she was looking forward to that too. … Woah. Looking forward to outings with friends she’d made was a new thing, but it made her happy just to think about it.
Her thoughts drifted to the departed – she had to be there and win it for them. Manami and Rikuto and Corona and Ryely and Dax… and even Ayumu. She would emerge triumphant using the crafted wand, using their attacks through manifestations of shining white light. No one would stop her from doing it.
But winning… didn’t have to mean murdering, right? She didn’t want to be like the Reapers, doomed to eternal life - eternal murder - eternal suffering. Could the rules really be kill-or-be-killed today?
She finished her prayers, made a sign-of-the-cross for the last time this week, and hurried off.
Tomoe shivered as she prayed, her hands clasped tighter together than ever as she thanked God fervently for Taiki's and Kou's survival. But... tomorrow was the final day. Tomorrow, finally, they would have to fight Hawk. And Runa was still waiting to strike again. She hoped she was up to the task. She hoped she and Lily and all her friends could make it. And she hoped that Kazuya would figure out what to do with that mysterious umbrella. ... She wouldn't give up, she decided. No matter what.
She came back to the Memorial in the morning, buying Flowers (1200 yen) and laying them by the pole. Day six had already claimed two people she’d grown to like.
“You scared me like hell, stupid…! Don’t ever do that again.”
“I’ll… try to. I guess…”
She remembers all the hugs the three shared. Just half a day ago, she’d impulsively wrapped her arms around Ayumu, hoping he wouldn’t keep provoking the others. The night before, even Dax, Kazunori, and Lily were in on the hug.
“It’s hard to empathize with someone when you have nobody you look up to or love.”
They were a lot alike, she felt. Ayumu made sense. He played with guns, and she didn’t quite like that, but he still made sense. He looked like he was getting along with Dax, the sweetheart that they were. They had such a strong bond - Tomoe had been so awed when she’d seen their fusion attack.
“So… here’s to the both of us gettin’ there, mister Ayumu.”
… Why? Why’d he have to throw all that away? Why’d he have to say such mean things to Dax, who sure as hell didn’t deserve it either? Even though her head ached and her eyes were so tired from crying, she started to sniffle again. She’d cared for every single erased pair so far and it hurt more each time another added to the pile. She wanted to believe they were friends, that maybe Ayumu didn’t really mean the harmful things he said. But that didn’t make it okay for him to say them – and he and Dax were now gone because of it.
At least Dax was happy when they faded away, she thought. At least… the Reapers weren’t mocking them or anything like that…
“…At least you guys went out with a bang,” Tomoe murmurs. “I hope… th-that your souls’ll both be alright somewhere.”
After praying a little more, she turned and walked away.
Anzu presses her head to the ground in a full-on bow in front of the memorial.
“I-I know words can only go so far, but…. please protect Selvira…. She needs this……. I know if I die, she does too, but, if I had to get erased for her sake, I would…. That’s how important this is to me….” She pauses…… “Maybe that’s not right…. Maybe I shouldn’t think about giving my life for someone else’s……… If there’s anything I’ve been taught so far it’s that… there can be others that value me… If I made them upset I’d never forgive myself….. Maybe it’s best to just….. Hope it never comes to that…. I’m sure we- I’m sure we’ll all make it-”
Anzu picks herself up and brushes herself off before quietly doing an awkward wave to the memorial before walking away-
And just like that, Shino, the energetic Harrier... was gone. Tomoe couldn't understand it - what had he done? She couldn't antagonize him, nor could she blame Hawk for what happened. Because it just straight-up didn't make sense for him to do that for no reason. ... She sighed - and hoped, for now, that Shino would be at some sort of peace. Maybe she would be able to get to the bottom of things, but... she'd have to be careful. Curiosity could kill the cat.
Tomoe stopped by the Memorial. Day six... it was really about to start, huh? And so many of her allies - friends? - were still around. She supposed she could appreciate that, even if the erased pairs had been people she cared about too. But as she made a sign of the cross and prayed, she couldn't forget about that sinking feeling in her heart. ... She just hoped everyone could weather whatever the day was gonna throw at them.
She nods at Hayato, smiling thankfully as she takes the cheesecake. But Tomoe will not be defeated by this cat yet. She focuses her gaze, searching for Rin around... the entrance!!
Rin, fortunately, has not attempted to make another break out through the front door. Not that you’d be able to see her if she had. Regardless, she is not at the shop entrance.
