I think trains are cool. It's not that I like the trains themselves, but I love the concept of using them as a narrative device. Many of the manga or web novels or books I've read use them to represent the start or end of a journey, as you leave behind the past and embark into the future. Unfortunately, here in Tokyo, the subways are always packed.
But now that I think about it, that could be representative of how everyone has their own little stories, and how even if it goes unnoticed, each person is traveling along their personal journey of li-
"Sayuri!"
Huh?
"You're doing this again! This is our stop! Get off the train already!"
Crap. I quickly grabbed my bag and pushed past the people before me while apologizing. I jumped out of the subway doors, just before they closed. As I hunched over panting next to her, my childhood friend Tanaka Mika spared me no pity. Forming a closed fist, she promptly smacked me on the back of my head.
"Dumbass. I bet you were daydreaming about random things again."
"..."
Mika often treats me like this, both physically and verbally, but I know that this is just her way of teasing me. Still, she hits pretty hard...
"Anyway, let's keep going. Akihabara's a popular place, so we should get there quickly before the crowd comes and they sell out."
She took my hand and dragged me to the escalator, where we squeezed between the crowd and stepped onto the moving staircase. I looked at the walls as we slowly ascended, and was not surprised to see numerous advertisements plastered everywhere.
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Being the teenage girl I am, the clothing ad caught my eye. A beautiful woman sporting a rather fashionable pink dress and an expensive handbag smiled at me.
Hold on. Was it just me, or did she keep on smiling directly at me, even after I passed her?
My foot hit the top of the escalator, nearly tripping me. Maybe Mika's right. I followed Mika to the station gates, and together we scanned our Suica cards to be let out to the street. Looking at my card's balance displayed on the gate's small screen, I inwardly sighed.
"Mika-chaan... can you buy it today? I'm running a bit low on money... I promise I'll buy the next one..."
Mika rolled her eyes but didn't say anything, meaning that this was expected.
Sorry, Mika.
________________________________________________________________________________
The Electric Town of Tokyo was bursting with colors, as well as people. With all of the advertisements and logos everywhere, there wasn't a single blank spot anywhere. The streets were swarming with people shopping for the latest electronics and everything else you could imagine. Anime and manga stores, arcades, electronic stores, and even maid cafes; all things Otaku were found in this very place. Not letting go of my hand to avoid being separated, Mika pulled me along the moving current of people.
After much struggle, we finally reached our target. I forced Mika's hand off of my wrist ("You don't have to worry about me getting lost here!") and together we joined the long line protruding out of the Ninjatend store.
"You think they're going to run out before we can snag a copy?" Mika skeptically asked.
The thought of it worried me, but I was confident that we had come early enough. I mean, how many people would line up at seven a.m. for a measly copy of the new Battle Bros? But with this crowd, I kind of felt like we should've come earlier.
"U-uh........ It should be fine... maybe..."
"Well, whatever happens, happens."
Mika turned to face me, and we made eye contact.
"Now that I think about it, how did we even start playing video games again?"
I thought back to when we were younger.
"Well, I think I used to watch my brother play Jumping Man after school back in elementary, and after a while he finally let me try it. Then I invited you over to play with me, and kick-started our addiction."
"I bet you just stared at your brother until he caved in."
"...You're probably right. I was really shy back then, huh."
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"No kidding. It took you a few weeks of just watching me from far away before you finally gathered the courage to talk to me."
"Hey. I'm not like that anymore."
"Yeah, right."
Mika snickered, which I ignored. The line was incredibly long, and after a while, I started to feel thirsty. My throat felt like sandpaper.
"Hey, Mika."
"...Mmmmm?"
"Should I go get drinks for us?"
"I thought you ran out of money?"
Her comment flustered me, and it began to feel hot, despite it still being early spring.
"I still have enough money to buy something from the vending machine, just not something pricier than a game!"
"Just messing with you. Grab me a CC Lemon."
This woman...
"Alright, hold our spot for us then."
Breaking away from the line, I walked past the Nintendo store and turned the corner. Being a frequent visitor to Akihabara, I knew where all of the vending machines were.
Lost in thought, I realized with a jolt that I had long since passed the vending machines. Looking up, I found myself in a rather dark alleyway. I was completely alone.
There was an immensely creepy atmosphere, almost like it was ripped straight out of a horror manga.
Well, that's just because I'm scared of the dark. Thankfully, there seemed to be a vending machine here too.
Carefully avoiding tripping on scattered cans and cardboard boxes, I made my way to the machine. I browsed the options and spotted CC Lemon.
Huh. Looks like Mika's in luck.
I considered my options for a bit before settling on milk tea.
I was scanning my Suica card on the machine when I heard a sudden loud crunching sound from behind me, making me jump with a jolt.
What was that?
Quickly turning my head around, I looked down the alleyway and scanned my surroundings. Nothing had changed, and there was an eerie silence.
Was it just me, or was it a LOT darker?! Seriously, I was joking about the horror manga!
With fear creeping from the back of my thoughts, it became painfully apparent that I was completely alone. I desperately grabbed the drinks from the vending machine and promptly dropped the CC Lemon due to my panic. The drink rolled a bit down the alleyway (ignoring my internal pleading) and came to a halt.
Dear god.
Ignoring the screaming in my mind, I ran over to pick up the CC Lemon and put it in my bag with the milk tea. It was when I was standing back up that I spotted something strange deeper within the alleyway.
It looked like some sort of black blur. And yet, It seemed to have a life of its own. It kept on moving around, bumping into the walls.
That can't be right. Was there something in my eyes? I wiped my eyes and looked again. It was still there. I squinted and tried to make out the blur's form. That was a mistake.
My vision slowly cleared, revealing an extremely tall man.
Oh geez, how did he get there? And why is he so tall?
Craning my neck to look up at him, I quickly noticed his attire.
He wore a black suit paired with a bright red tie and a gray fedora on his head.
Oh my god.
His head.
With a revelation that chilled my blood, I realized that instead of a face, the man had an endless void.
Eyes widening with fear, my mind went blank and my body froze for what seemed like an eternity, as I simply stared into where his face was supposed to be.
The rest of his body was also pitch black, although it somehow didn't look as dense as his face. The man stood about ten feet tall with long, thin arms and legs that couldn't belong to a human being.
Time slowed, and horror rapidly erased all other feelings within every nerve within my body.
And then everything unfroze.
RUN.
Every single one of my instincts screamed at me to get as far away as possible from this entity, and I couldn't ignore them. Tears formed in the corner of my eyes from the sheer effort it took to hold my scream in. It didn't matter what the hell this thing was, I had to get away.
I turned around and ran down the alleyway as fast as my legs could carry me, nearly tripped on my own feet.
Even though I knew not to look, I couldn't stop myself from looking over my shoulder. What I saw horrified me. With several pairs of arms sprouting from its back, the massive creature propelled itself along the thin alleyway by pushing against the walls, crawling along like some horrific spider. More arms reached towards me with long, outstretched fingers, and an otherworldly noise rang my ears.
Please, this can't be real. Sobbing inside, my heart pounded twice as fast and I somehow ran with a strength I didn't even know I had. My mind raced with overwhelmed thoughts, and I barely registered what was around me.
Oh my god.
Oh my god. I'm going to die. God help me. Anybody, please. I tripped and tumbled along the ground.
No, no, no no no no no no!
Lying on my back, I desperately tried to push myself away from the terrifying man.
Am I going to die?
As the creature's blood-curdling scream kept getting louder and louder, I tried to close my eyes. But with a sort of horrified fascination, my eyes stayed open.
An hour ago I was looking forward to playing video games with Mika. How did things get to this?
Different thoughts and images flashed through my mind. The seconds slowly crept by. The approaching demon's face filled more and more of my vision, as it reached out to drag me to the depths of hell.
And yet all I could comprehend were the words flooding my head.
What would my family think when I disappeared? Would they ever be able to move on? What about my friends?
The flooding thoughts overwhelmed me, and I couldn't close my eyes no matter how much I wanted to. I watched in utter horror as several long, deformed arms rapidly lashed out towards my face.