[Taro Yamada]

GAME ON!

HP: ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ 100/100

There were lulls between Taro's jobs. With his inability to sleep and lack of need for sustenance, he could accept work at any time when others would need some minutes for things such as "lunch". All hours of his day could be used for heists even, save for the time needed to travel between locations. He didn't exactly have a ride to call his own.

But contrary to popular belief, or because his name didn't reach enough places yet, crime did sleep. There were gaps in his days where he had nothing to do that he needed to fill with something, because he wasn't a fan of being idle. Luckily for him, Tokyo was still a massive city even when he wanted to extend his play area beyond it, so he could take some time familiarizing himself with its nooks and crannies.

One such nook would be a house tucked away, rumoured to be abandoned because it was haunted.

Did Taro believe in ghosts? Yes. After seeing everyone's collective experiences online when it came to them, how could he not? It'd be a huge waste of effort to make such an elaborate lie otherwise.

Besides, if there were no ghosts in the house, that just meant he was free to destroy it.

Once he reached the address - after losing his way for a couple turns, GPSs were confusing - Taro tested the knob on the front door. If it was unlocked, he'd let himself in. If it was locked, he'd still let himself in by kicking the door down.

Yukine Kobayashi

[Yukine Kobayashi]

How had he… gotten here, again? White LED eyes winked, simulating blinking, as the robot lifted its rotund head. It knew this place, but had spent so long viewing it from above, it looked wrong from less than a meter off of the ground. The robot lifted its hands– infantile, hard-rubber things, flexing its fingers experimentally. There was dust on its hands, dust like that on the ground– oh, he’d been looking for something! That’s right!

It crouched down. Looking for… what exactly? It dug slowly, optical input whirring as its brain grasped for an answer in the rubble. These had to have been books, at one point– but the hole in the roof had let rain in, making the pages all stiff and mildewy. The pages had to be peeled free of one another, and were so dirty that they could barely be read.

If you can’t read the book, you won’t be able to find answers.

That’s right! He needed answers. But this was a picture book… What sort of answers could one get from a picture book? The robot peeled the cover of the paperback in an attempt to view the first page, but ended-up tearing it. There, in an untidy scrawl, were three symbols. ゆきね

“Yu… ki… ne?” the diminutive robot intoned. Something about the name felt like… sitting in a spot on the couch that you always did, where the seat was broken-down in such a way that it was molded to you. It felt familiar.

“Yukine,” it repeated, more confidently. Then, remembering the placard at the building’s front entrance, it recited, “Kobayashi Yukine… me. Thats me.”

That was his name! He couldn’t wait to tell–

To tell, uh–

Who again?

Downstairs, someone attempted to open the door. Since it was already halfway off its hinges, the thing groaned open with very little effort. Although, with how it sagged to one side, its lower corner scraped against the dilapidated floor as it reluctantly opened. The robot lifted its spherical head, the fins on either side of the head twitching.

A familiar thrill of fear and fury rushed through its tiny body. Someone was in its house! It got to its feet– if the flat, round pegs upon which it walked could even be called that– and went to see who had come.

The intruder would be greeted by a run-down home as they entered, once fashionably minimalist but now frighteningly devoid of any comforts that a home usually provided. The floor jutted at unanticipated angles, littered with leaves and broken glass and other detritus from prior visitors. Directly ahead was the stairs to the second floor (where the robot was currently listening). To the right, the living room, which… seemed to have come under fire, and very recently too– one could still smell the stench of burnt upholstery and smoke from that direction. And in the far right corner, what had once been a kitchen. Graffiti decorated the parts of the wall that still stood, while holes punctuated other parts of it. There seemed to be a door off of the kitchen behind the stairs which, if one stepped through, would show the remnants of a laundry room and bathroom.

Yukine stepped onto the second floor landing, careful to remain behind the wall as it peered down the stairs. Although the screen on the front of its head presented a cute, cartoonish facade, the robot’s optical input was actually in the middle of its face-plate, where the nose of a human face would be. Of course, surrounded by a similarly-colored screen, the camera blended quite well into the rest of its “face”.

Had the intruder been looking towards the stairs, particularly at knee-height for the average person, it would notice two pinpricks of white staring back like two, glowing eyes of an otherworldly occupant. Should the intruder take notice of Yukine, the little robot would duck quickly back behind the protection of the corner, scurrying into the nearest room. But if they took no notice, it would begin to creep slowly down the stairs.

[Taro Yamada]

GAME ON!

HP: ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ 100/100

So the door was unlocked after all. It just had some resistance due to the odd angle the barrier was in. Unfortunately Taro took this as an obstacle to power through, so with too much strength for the task at hand, he kicked the door down, letting it fall to the floor with a resounding BANG. He then walked in, stopping on top of the ruined piece of wood as he surveyed his surroundings.

Well the place sure looked like those houses you'd see in horror movies. Uneven floorboards, blackened couch, damaged walls. Things were broken down before he'd even touched the place. He was pretty sure it'd have the smell to match too. Good thing he didn't have a working nose.

The digital being did catch some light at the corner of his eye though. He turned his head to look at the source, but it went away before he caught sight of it, hearing tapping grow softer instead. Whatever it was, it sounded like it was going farther from him.

Taro whistled to no one in particular. "Yo. Ghost. You here?" He drew his katana before bringing it down to the sofa, blade digging into the upholstery. "I'm messing your place up. This is about time you tell me to leave right?" Pulling his sword away, the furniture's filling spilled from the pillows as he wandered further in, moving towards where he heard the clicking sound went while he lazily dragged his weapon across the floor.

Yukine Kobayashi