03-16-2015, 09:52 PM
"It's a bit of a long story."
Neku hung up and shook his head to dislodge the shock, then walked into the coffee shop with a smile on his fake. Mr. Hanekoma, also known as CAT, was quite possibly the person he liked most from his time in the game. Well, second-most. Shiki had been his entry fee to the second week's Game, which spoke volumes to how he felt about the insecure teen with her stuffed piggy. Even before finding out that the coffee shop owner was his favorite artist, Neku enjoyed talking with Mr. H. It was usually enlightening and actually pretty easy to do.
The orange-haired boy sat down at the counter and was surprised when Hanekoma had his order waiting for him. Usually, the man had him pay up-front. Neku took a sip of the coffee. A nice, dark roast with one sugar. Neku didn't really know much about coffee, but Hanekoma had been the one to offer this particular order to Neku the first time he'd ordered at WildKat, and the man had pegged him exactly. As Neku put down his cup and started speaking, a blonde woman entered the shop, taking a seat just a couple stools away, but she went unnoticed by the kid. "So, Mr. H, what can you tell me about this Game?" The capital letter was audible; both parties knew exactly what Game Neku was talking about.
Hanekoma held up a finger and walked over to the blonde, smiling at her. "Can I get you anything?" After taking her order and starting the coffee, he walked back towards Neku, keeping an eye on the coffee machine. "Well, for starters, Phones, it's not a game, or a Game. You had that vision, same as I did and every other Prime here did, too." The angel looked pensive as he attended to the blonde's coffee and served it to her with a polite smile. "It's the Omniverse. On second thought, it might just be some kind of game, but if it is, nobody knows the rules. Not even me, and knowing the rules of the Game is practically my second job." Hanekoma reached into the display case and grabbed a banana nut muffin for Neku and anything Medusa might have ordered, handing out the pastries. "The long and short of it is, everyone's trying to get that Omnilium stuff because it translates directly to power. Good news is, you ought to be able to fight without a Partner here. There's still planes of existence, but it seems like the UG is completely collapsed into the RG. Of course, that comes with bad news, too. If you can use psychs still..."
Neku could fill in the blanks fairly easily. "I might still be dead." Hanekoma nodded. "But keep in mind, this might not be the case either. I don't actually know. Maybe the collapsed planes just let a living person use psychs." Sanae turned to the blond woman with an apologetic grin. "I'm sorry, miss, we must sound like we're talking complete gibberish. Phones here is just someone I knew back before Omni decided I was 'interesting'." The teen sighed at that; calling him Phones was OK, but introducing him? "Mr. H, it's Neku, not Phones." Of course, the coffee shop owner's customary response followed immediately. "Right, Neku. I got it, Phones."
Neku hung up and shook his head to dislodge the shock, then walked into the coffee shop with a smile on his fake. Mr. Hanekoma, also known as CAT, was quite possibly the person he liked most from his time in the game. Well, second-most. Shiki had been his entry fee to the second week's Game, which spoke volumes to how he felt about the insecure teen with her stuffed piggy. Even before finding out that the coffee shop owner was his favorite artist, Neku enjoyed talking with Mr. H. It was usually enlightening and actually pretty easy to do.
The orange-haired boy sat down at the counter and was surprised when Hanekoma had his order waiting for him. Usually, the man had him pay up-front. Neku took a sip of the coffee. A nice, dark roast with one sugar. Neku didn't really know much about coffee, but Hanekoma had been the one to offer this particular order to Neku the first time he'd ordered at WildKat, and the man had pegged him exactly. As Neku put down his cup and started speaking, a blonde woman entered the shop, taking a seat just a couple stools away, but she went unnoticed by the kid. "So, Mr. H, what can you tell me about this Game?" The capital letter was audible; both parties knew exactly what Game Neku was talking about.
Hanekoma held up a finger and walked over to the blonde, smiling at her. "Can I get you anything?" After taking her order and starting the coffee, he walked back towards Neku, keeping an eye on the coffee machine. "Well, for starters, Phones, it's not a game, or a Game. You had that vision, same as I did and every other Prime here did, too." The angel looked pensive as he attended to the blonde's coffee and served it to her with a polite smile. "It's the Omniverse. On second thought, it might just be some kind of game, but if it is, nobody knows the rules. Not even me, and knowing the rules of the Game is practically my second job." Hanekoma reached into the display case and grabbed a banana nut muffin for Neku and anything Medusa might have ordered, handing out the pastries. "The long and short of it is, everyone's trying to get that Omnilium stuff because it translates directly to power. Good news is, you ought to be able to fight without a Partner here. There's still planes of existence, but it seems like the UG is completely collapsed into the RG. Of course, that comes with bad news, too. If you can use psychs still..."
Neku could fill in the blanks fairly easily. "I might still be dead." Hanekoma nodded. "But keep in mind, this might not be the case either. I don't actually know. Maybe the collapsed planes just let a living person use psychs." Sanae turned to the blond woman with an apologetic grin. "I'm sorry, miss, we must sound like we're talking complete gibberish. Phones here is just someone I knew back before Omni decided I was 'interesting'." The teen sighed at that; calling him Phones was OK, but introducing him? "Mr. H, it's Neku, not Phones." Of course, the coffee shop owner's customary response followed immediately. "Right, Neku. I got it, Phones."