Data 4 ~ Rhyme

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~ Your POV ~

I woke up earlier than I'd like to wake up this morning, but at least I have Pash to keep me company. "So Pash, ready for our first day at Heibon?" I ask her. "Hm, I believe so. Is there something I should prepare?" Pash asks me. "You could download a map of the district. I'm still not really familiar with everything." I tell her, to which she nods. "Understood. I shall take care of it." I smile at Pash and finish my cup of coffee.

I stretch a bit and put my keys into my bag. "Well then Pash, we might as well get going. You know, in case we get lost." Pash opens her eyes and nods. "Alright (Y/N). I have also gathered information on the district." I nod with a smile and pick the bird up. "Are you okay with flying next to me or do you want to sit on my head or something?" Pash thinks a bit. "I don't mind. Whatever's good to you." I sigh a bit. "Fine. Do whatever feels right to you. Just know you're welcome to make yourself comfortable on my shoulder or head." I say, before leaving my house for work.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Okay, I've been in this street. If I turn this way I should-" I tell myself, walking into a street I haven't been in before. "I don't know where I went wrong, Pash." I sigh as the bird catches up to me. "If you turn back you can turn another corner to get to Aoyagi street, which is part of Beni-Shigure's territory." Pash says as I cringe at hearing Koujaku's Ribsteez team. "Is that so? In that case I'll-" I feel someone grab my arm. The person turns me around and I face a blond boy with a pierced face and a rather silly hat.

"Uhm... Can I help you?" I ask. "Who are you?" The blond asks in a bored tone. "I'm (Y/N)... I moved here two days ago." I say. "So will you play Rhyme with me?" He asks. Rhyme? Why would he ask me to play Rhyme with him when I've never met him? Besides, I've never played before. "I don't-" I start, but he interrupts me. "You're playing Rhyme with me." He says and I suddenly feel a stinging pain in my head. I fall to the ground.

The last thing that I clearly hear is Pash saying my name.

~*~*~*~*~*~*

I wake up in what seems like the inside of a computer game. It couldn't be... Was this Rhyme? I stand up while holding my throbbing head with one hand, trying to bear with the stinging. "(Y/N)! Are you okay?" I hear Pash ask. "Yes, I'm fine.. Just a heada- Woah." My eyes widen at seeing Pash. In front of me was not a little ball of fur but an actual human. It looked human, anyway.

"Ah right, I forgot to tell you. Allmates have an online version to play Rhyme with. This is what I look like in Rhyme." Pash explains. So we really are in Rhyme, huh. "(F/N) (L/N). 23 years old." I hear another voice and turn around. A guy wearing a labcoat and a green rabbit head stands on the other side of the field.

"How the hell do you know those things about me?" I ask, making sure to pay attention to my surroundings. "... This is hopeless. Let's just finish this right now." The rabbit guy says, and a horde of rabbits appear on the field. "Pash, are those his Allmates?" I ask, to which Pash nods. "I can't do anything about them, though. I cannot attack since I have not got any information about Rhyme." She explains. "So what the hell do we do?" I ask in a panic.

"Annihilation SET!" A squeaky voice calls out. "Roger!" Other voices say. I look at the horde of rabbits who look ready to attack at any moment now. "Pash?" I look at her. "I... I'm gonna get help! Please (Y/N)... Have faith in me." My Allmate puts up a serious face and turns into pixels until I can't see her anymore. Did she just ditch me?!

"Pa- Ulgh!" I cry out in pain at the feeling I'm being impaled. I clutch my chest and look down. Strange. It feels like I've been impaled but there's no wound. Only unbearable pain. I look at my opponent who is still just standing there. "....Finish this off." He says. "Death SET!" The rabbit calls out again, to which the army replies with "Roger!" again. If I wasn't just impaled, I would've made a run for it now, but my chest hurts too much. I let myself get hit by the attack and the pain in my chest gets worse.

I break down and collapse, the throbbing headache still going on.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I open my eyes slowly and find myself staring at a ceiling. My head still hurts but not as bad as in Rhyme. What the hell even happened? I do everything I can to sit up and I now notice I'm in a bed. But it's not my bed. It's got red sheets and white pillows with tassels at every corner. I feel my head and notice a bandage around it. I worry about Pash, since she's not around. I get out of the bed and start walking at a slow pace.

My surroundings are very old fashioned Japanese styled. Like I'm in one of those samurai stories. Honestly, it's quite relaxing and reshreshing. I support myself on the walls and follow the hall I'm walking through. I enter what seems like a living room to me, and to my surprise, Koujaku sits on a chair, drinking some tea. He puts down his cup and smiles at me. "Morning sleepyhead. Sleep well?" I ignore his comment and sigh a bit. "What happened, Koujaku?"

"Your Allmate came flying into my shop saying you'd been trapped in Rhyme. I followed her and found you collapsed on the floor. I just did what was right and treated your wounds." Koujaku explains and makes me smile a little. Perhaps he's not so bad after all. I can see why Mizuki said he's a good friend. "Well... Thank you." I say, making Koujaku smile at me. He picks up the sleeping yellow ball of fur gently and puts it in my hand. I place the bird on the top of my head.

"Now, I do have something I need to tell you, (Y/N)." Koujaku says and I look up at him. He sure is tall. "What's that, then?" Koujaku's expression changes. "I may have an idea to who forced you into Rhyme. I'm going to see him now. You coming with me?" Koujaku seems quite angry when he mentions this person, so I get curious. "Sure, I'll go."

~*~*~*~*~*

Koujaku and I walk through the busy streets in silence, me earning angry looks from all the women around me. Koujaku walks me to the steet I accidentaly found. "This is the place, isn't it?" I ask, to which Koujaku nods. "It's quite obvious to me who did this now. We're almost there." We walk on a little bit, pass some guys who look angrily at Koujaku. Suddenly, he stops walking, making me bump into him a bit.

"Hey, old man." I hear, I step next to Koujaku and see the pierced blond guy again. "It's you?" I ask him, to which he grins a bit. I hear Koujaku growl a bit. He steps closer to the pierced guy. "You bastard! What good is it to pull someone into Rhyme? And it's not just because she's female, because I'll get to that in a bit." Koujaku tells the guy angrily, who just lets out a "Tch."

"Curiosity. That's all." He says. "Don't play around with me! I know there's more to it!" Koujaku growls. The pierced guy chuckles. "You want to fucking go or what?" He asks mockingly. Koujaku balls his fists. "You little...!" The two look as if they're about to fight. I have to do something. I grab Koujaku's arm tightly and pull him back slightly. He looks at me with a hesitant look. "Koujaku.. Please don't." I say in a pleading tone and Koujaku looks like he doesn't know what to do. I step in front of him.

"Listen up. I'll forgive you for pulling me into Rhyme. Just... Don't ask me to play ever again." I tell the pierced guy. He just stands there for a bit before walking away. I turn back to Koujaku and grab his still balled hand gently. "Let's just go." I say. I feel Koujaku's hand relax again. Just as I'm about to pull back he entertwines his fingers with mine. I smile a bit and hold his hand. "Sorry." Koujaku says. "For everything." I shake my head. "It's okay." We start walking back to his territory.

Who knows. Perhaps this guy isn't so bad after all.

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