Hiro got in the tub with the teddy bear and brought it to his chest. He gave it a tight squeeze and gasped as the tub filled with warm warm and bubbly suds.
He now sat in the tub overlooking Central Park, the eerie solar eclipse nonexistent, New York City as it once was. A helicopter moved through the air in the distance, a plane beyond that flying toward New Jersey. The clouds rippled toward the Connecticut border, the Tri-State area alive and well.
A new timer appeared directly in his line of sight:
02:58
02:57
02:56
Still clutching Chronokuma to his chest, Hiro reached his hand into the water looking for the pocket of his hoodie. The phone wasn’t there.
He blinked a few times, and finally let out a deep, satisfying breath.
“Fuck…” he whispered as he relaxed deeper into the tub.
The lavender scent from the bubbles filled his nostrils, the overwhelming floral scent unlike any he had smelled in months. Hiro had grown so used to the smells associated with living in a fallout shelter and navigating the subway system that lavender seemed entirely alien.
He relaxed even further, the water up to his chin.
“My god,” he whispered. “Less than three minutes.”
Hiro sat there for another full minute, occasionally splashing the suds around. He hugged the teddy bear even tighter as he finally got out the tub, his clothes sopping wet.
Hiro shook off like a dog, still holding the teddy bear, a jolt of laughter coming to him. “Ha!”
He approached the mirror and saw himself, his dark hair, gaunt cheeks, circles under his eyes, slight beard stubble that could never fully grow, not like his father’s. Hiro ran his hand over his chin. There just so happened to be a razor and shaving cream in a drawer.
Less than two minutes to shave with one hand while I hold a teddy bear? Nah, I’ll just stay scruffy.
Still sopping wet, Hiro walked to the shower and turned it on, the water instantly hot. He stepped in and let it pour over him to wash off any of the soap as the time ticked down.
Less than a minute and a half now…
Hiro’s stomach grumbled.
He took a deep breath and stepped out of the bathroom and into the bedroom of the penthouse apartment. He was just about to pass beyond, to the kitchen, when he remembered that he had set up a barrier.
Doing so could leave me vulnerable. Crap. I need to play with these mechanics more.
As the final minute countdown, Hiro returned to the bathroom and got in the tub, a little of the water spilling out. He didn’t know why it happened to be full when he arrived in the past, but he assumed the Doom System had done it.
The Doom System actually hooked me up? This shit can’t be real…
For some reason, this caused him to burst out laughing.
Of course, it isn’t real. Or it is. Either way, it doesn’t matter.
In less than thirty seconds Hiro would return to the Interim, where he would rest, recoup, and then head out to meet Valeria. He had no real way of contacting her, but he figured if he stayed in the vicinity of the parking garage, she would contact him.
Hiro tried to relax even further, willing himself to enjoy the moment.
I wish there was a way to tell when it was the good ol’ days…
With that thought, the sky turned red and Hiro appeared back in the present, in an empty bathtub in the abandoned penthouse suite. Only this time, his clothing and hair was still wet and he still smelled like lavender.
He set the teddy bear aside and took out his phone.
Hiro couldn’t quite find the words to describe what it had been like to visit the past. Instead of replying, he got out of the tub and removed his clothes, which only revealed in the dim mirror’s reflection just how skinny he had become.
He found some mouthwash and used it. I can eat my Survivor Tenders later.
****
Permanently moving from a fallout shelter to an upper floor penthouse on Billionaire’s Row was certainly something Hiro considered upon waking that next morning. Even if he wasn’t greeted by a beautiful sunrise, the view was stunning, the gloomy solar eclipse barely dampening his mood. Especially after his bath.
01:23:13:28
01:23:13:27
01:23:13:26
Eight hours have passed? Holy shit! Hiro turned his phone over and sat up.
The guilt he felt for oversleeping faded once he remembered just how crazy the last twenty-four hours had been. There is still plenty of time before the gates open and the Interim ends. You’ve got this.
“You said there would be merchants. How do I find them?” Hiro asked his Companion.
“Last time I checked, I had less than that. Are you telling me I gained followers in my sleep?”
Highlights? Hiro shook his head. He had to remind himself that the followers and everything else he was experiencing wasn’t real. There weren’t any recaps. There weren’t any post-game shows and talking head commentary. These are real peoples’ lives that the Doom System is fucking with for its own sick pleasure.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“Do I have enough followers to buy something good?” he asked after eating one of his Survivor Tenders, and ignoring its bland flavor.
“Not exactly an answer, but I suppose it will do. How do I improve my ranking?”
Hiro groaned at this suggestion. It reminded him of the warehouse he worked at, where he packaged and shipped items for the biggest online retailer in America. From the moment he clocked in, everything was tracked. At one point, there had been news reports that went around about piss jugs and other things people were forced to do to stay on the clock and meet their quotas.
These rumors were true.
Hiro’s world before liked to think it had left the depravity of the early Industrial Revolution, yet it had merely adjusted things slightly, at least for those at the bottom.
And now, Hiro was at the top.
Even with his lackluster Interim grade, he was currently in the most comfortable bed he had ever laid in, one that probably cost several times his monthly rent before the system appeared.
But he knew he couldn’t get comfortable.
As easy as it would have been to keep his barrier up and sleep another few hours—or hell, sleep until the gates opened—Hiro wanted to do better. Grow stronger. Make more connections with other Survivors. Prepare for the worst.
And maybe if I’m just lucky, ask the right questions and stop the Doom System for good. But first, shopping. After all, you can take the capitalist out of the market, but you can’t take the market out of the capitalist.
Hiro didn’t know if he heard that phrase, or if he came up with it on his own. But it did remind him of a Japanese proverb his grandfather was fond of, the child of a frog is a frog.
This reminded Hiro of the summers he had spent with his grandfather as he stood before one of the penthouse windows, where saw numerous golden beams. The nearest merchant wasn’t very far away. Midtown, near Hell’s Kitchen. It looked like he would be able to make his way down using {Bounce}.
His next stop was the closet, which mostly had women’s clothing.
“I’ll make it work.”
Hiro found a sleeveless black top, a concert t-shirt judging by the band name, Black Pumas, and the dates on the back. This replaced his black hoodie, which had seen better days. The man’s clothing didn’t fit, much too large, but he was able to exchange his shoes for a pair of Nikes that looked like they had never been worn.
Gear in tow, Hiro removed the {Sacra Limina} barrier with the wave of a hand. He cautiously checked the rest of the home to see that he hadn’t been discovered. There was less to loot than he would have liked, unless he wanted to carry another backpack with him.
I can always come back. I don’t even need to set a {Beacon}; this building is impossible to miss.
Hiro moved on, leapfrogging his way from rooftop to rooftop in the direction of Hell’s Kitchen.
As he traveled, he caught a glimpse of the other side of the river, New Jersey, which looked equally as fucked as New York. Are people there considered part of the ‘City Survivors?’ How far does it span? Is it the entire Tri State Area?
Hiro blinked this thought away as he reached a smaller building in the shadow of a steel and glass skyscraper. It was here that he found the merchant, who had set up shop in an alley rarely touched by the sun.
“Hello, Survivor,” the man said in a grizzled voice, his features hidden by a conical hat.
The merchant had set up a tarp over a pair of oversized crutches, enabling him to crouch with his sandaled feet visible. He was surrounded by shopping carts, his digs more appropriate for a homeless encampment than some post-apocalyptic arms dealer.
The merchant titled his head back and Hiro saw that his eyes were missing, replaced instead by a pair of glowing buttons that began to spin. He revealed a pair of sharpened yellow teeth as he spoke: “I see you have a Kiri Yōso Vape Pen.”
“I do.”
“I have cartridges for that. If you would like to upgrade the vape pen itself, you will need to visit a different merchant. But don’t worry. I’ve got what you need. The name is Wayne, by the way.”
“Hiro,” he said as he touched his chest. “Cartridges for my vape pen, yeah?”
“Those, yes.” Wayne ruffled through his items. “I have more gauze, but it seems like you already have access to something like that.”
“You can see my inventory list?”
“Is that what you are calling it? Yes, I can see what you currently have, and I have an idea of what you could possibly need. It is up to you to make the decision, however.”
“Armor?”
“Unless you make it yourself, or find it, there is no armor for sale during the first Interim. The Doom System has yet to decide if this will apply to the Second Interim.”
So Wayne calls it the Doom System as well. Hiro shook his head. The merchant came from the system, he’s basically an NPC, yet he refers to the system in the same way that we do? Weird.
“You are hesitant to sacrifice followers?”
“What? No. I don’t care about that part.”
Wayne maintained the crooked smile on his face. “Are you sure? You haven’t sacrificed them yet.”
“Can you see how many followers I have?”
“Naturally.”
“Then tell me what I can afford and what you think I should buy.” Hiro gestured toward the shopping carts. “You seem to have a lot of stuff.”
“I do indeed. But different Survivors require different items, so I will focus on you for now. As to what you’ll need…” The merchant shifted his neck to the side. An arm on his back pressed out of the fabric of his tattered robes, which produced a three finger claw that searched through the shopping carts.
While it did this, the merchant swept some of the other items away and began setting things down. Once the items were all placed on the carpet, the third arm disappeared into his robes.
Wayne spoke again: “One-time use vape pen cartridges. Remember, these won’t affect you. Later, there will be some options that can affect you, but you will need to make it to that point first.” He tapped on the first few cartridges. “Poison. Corrosion. Decoy. Bleed. These are the ones I would suggest for the first Interim.”
“And once the gates open?”
“Things change when the gates open,” he said ominously. “Focus on the Interim for now. Poison is self-explanatory, I believe. Blow it at your opponent and provide poison damage. Corrosion does the same, but is best used for an armored opponent, something like a Sentry or certain Hunters. Decoy produces a bouncing decoy that will distract most opponents, at least during the first Interim. Later, you’ll need something stronger. It is useful if you need to flee.”
“And bleed?”
“Heh. Bleed is a good one. It causes seeping wounds to appear on an opponent. These wounds are compounded by your follow-up strikes and the passage of time. You are aware that there are some opponents out there that are too strong for you.”
Hiro thought of the Twin Bunnies. “I am.”
“This would be something to use against them if you decide to risk a fight.”
“Can I have all Bleed cartridges, then?”
Wayne cackled at the suggestion. “If you had more followers to sacrifice, sure, but this is part of a one-time package I’m offering you to give you a taste of what is possible. There’s something else as well. Your opponent doesn’t have to be directly in front of you to feel the effects of these cartridges. As long as they are engaged with you, the cartridges will affect them.”
“Nice.”
“There’s one more thing. Because it is your first time visiting me or any merchant, I have a small gift to encourage you to come again, once you have more followers to sacrifice. Don’t say I never did anything for you.” Wayne’s glowing button eyes twisted and the text appeared before Hiro.
{Kore Nani Neko}
Rank: A
Type: Attack/Area of Effect
Upgrade: N/A
Description: The Catlady of Vila Nova De Gaia knew that her children were poisoning her through daily servings of toxic pastéis de nata. During a torrential downpour, Father of the Iron Bridge came to her aid, advising her to feed the famous Portuguese pastries to her fifteen cats instead, with the promise that they would be reborn as her minions.
In retaliation for killing their childhood pets, the Catlady of Vila Nova De Gaia’s children pushed her off the balcony of her seventh story flat. Returning from the dead to torment her children, the Catlady brought her beloved felines with her, who scratched her ungrateful children in the night preventing them from ever sleeping again.
Kori Nani Neko Summons a horde of phantom demon cats to overwhelm your opponent, causing bleed damage. It can be used once per fight.
Kore Nani Neko? Hiro was familiar with the Japanese song, which was later used on social media with cute cat videos. Once again, this gave him the feeling that the Doom System was messing with him by constantly warping his Japanese heritage. What about my American heritage? I have that too… he thought.
“It’s a good ability, trust me.” Wayne the merchant smiled up at him. “The horde of demon cats are the land equivalent of piranhas. It will be a bloodbath. A fun one. You’re lucky. But I could sit here and tell you that forever. Are you ready to sacrifice your followers?”