Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes.

Chapter 74, Section 72: The Second Meeting

Nobi Tomohiro carefully stepped off the train that was parked at Komagome Station, holding his camera.

Starting from Nippori Station, the stations he could stop at became increasingly difficult, leaving him no choice but to be careful, since he only had three chances a day.

Moreover, like Iwasaki, he has begun to feel the effects of aging in his body—or rather, the changes.

After all, for his current age, losing less than ten years of lifespan should be considered accelerated growth, and it's not to the point where he's powerless.

I'm actually terrified of Nippori Station. Getting here means we're almost at the hospital, and injections hurt a lot. But I don't want my father to worry about me, so I always pretend to be happy whenever we come here.

This is what the little boy said when he looked at the photo of the abnormality at the Nippori Station exit.

After passing Nippori Station, the platform reverts to its original, repetitive, and old appearance.

He passed by Komagome Station every day, but he had never felt it so unfamiliar.

"is her?!"

Nobita suddenly perked up when he saw a familiar figure.

A girl in a white dress sitting on a chair.

It was the same person he met in the maze who had borrowed his phone.

At this moment, the other person stared blankly at the pitch blackness in front of them, seemingly lost in thought.

Nobi approached cautiously, trying to stay within the other's sight and making no threatening moves.

"It's almost cherry blossom season now, isn't it?"

The girl's voice drifted over, faint and ethereal.

Nobita instinctively wanted to say that the cherry blossom season was almost over, but then he immediately remembered that this was a game and the seasons had to be calculated according to the game's schedule.

It's March 15th in the game, the time when cherry blossoms in the Kanto region begin to bloom.

It blooms from mid to late March until it gradually fades in mid-April.

"Yes, it's almost cherry blossom season," Nobita nodded and said.

I remember a cherry blossom scent, but I've forgotten its name.

The girl in the white dress tilted her head slightly, as if trying to recall something important, but she couldn't remember it.

"The Tsubaki-kanzakura, also known as the Hatsumi-jin, is a rare cherry blossom that emits a fragrance."

At this moment, Nobi Tomoyoshi was thinking of the woman he had seen twice on the train a few days ago, the one holding a branch of Tsubaki cherry blossoms.

The girl's eyes slowly brightened.

"Yes, that's the name. But... I think I've forgotten something?"

Nobita remained silent, unsure of what to say.

The girl turned to Nobi: "Actually, there's more to darkness than just darkness. That child might be like me, just forgetting some things he shouldn't have forgotten."

After saying that, the girl stopped talking, sat down in the chair, closed her eyes, and softly hummed an indistinct song.

"Is there more than just darkness in the darkness?"

Last time, he provided the phone with the password to unlock the gate, and the girl in the white dress bought him time to open the iron gate at the crucial moment.

This time, a question was asked, and after the answer was given, a sentence was provided that might be useful later.

So, is the girl in the white dress actually a character created by the game to help the player?

Just like the worker.

Unfortunately, because these stations and trains might possess some kind of power, his UV light could no longer detect any clues after he said goodbye to the little boy.

Even though he knew the worker had failed to escape the subway, he couldn't help but worry about him.

Nobita even felt that he was being somewhat ridiculous.

But this wasn't the first time he'd been emotionally moved by the lives of game characters. Perhaps those NPCs, created by the program code, really did live in a world they couldn't touch.

After gathering his thoughts, Nobita figured the girl in the white dress wasn't the anomaly at this station, so he bypassed her and began searching the surroundings. A short while later, he found a withered wildflower in a corner, seemingly about to die.

Nobita felt no threat at all; the girl's soft humming in the distance seemed to surround him, giving him a great sense of security.

chapped.

He took a picture of the flower that was about to wither.

The photo slowly popped out, and no ghosts or monsters rushed out from the surroundings.

The train hadn't arrived yet, so he took out the photo he had just taken.

Above is a little boy squatting on the ground watering the flowers, next to him is his father who looks somewhat helpless.

Unlike before, this time he wasn't wearing an eye patch and could see.

Sure enough, time does indeed go backwards.

Flowers, please grow strong and healthy!

The little boy's voice rang in my ears as expected.

With a sigh, Nobita put away the photo and walked to a spot not far from the girl in the white dress, quietly waiting for the train to arrive.

If he's not mistaken, the next stop will be Sugamo Station.

The name comes from the fact that the Sugamo area was once a wetland that attracted a large number of spot-billed ducks to inhabit, hence the name "the place where ducks nest".

So, will the anomaly be a duck? Or will the goblin be a spotted-billed duck?
"Sugamo Station is going to be scary. Make good use of your camera."

The girl suddenly stopped singing and gave this prompt.

"Ah? Okay, I understand, thank you!" Nobita quickly expressed his gratitude.

She didn't respond, and after the train arrived at the station, she entered the carriage first, ahead of Nobita.

But after Nobita followed them inside, he never saw them again.

"Disappeared?"

Nobita sat nervously in the chair, his palms, gripping the camera, constantly sweating, which he couldn't wipe away.

The girl in the white dress had previously warned that the officer at the end of the maze would be difficult to deal with, and that proved to be true. So, she reminded him again. Well, he was prepared to get stuck.

The train has arrived at the station.

Nobita's mouth slowly grew larger.

Although he had tried to overestimate the site's terror level, he still underestimated it.

The entire platform looked as if it had been stained with blood, as if it were wearing a red filter, and all you could see was a crimson red.

Tick ​​tock.

The sound of dripping water came from somewhere.

But was it a drop of water, or a drop of blood?
This... the entire station is acting strangely, isn't it?
Nobi gripped the camera tightly and reluctantly stepped off the train, his shoes making a sticky, wet sound as they touched the ground.

The platform has only three lights, emitting a dim, yellowish glow.

Perhaps due to the surrounding blood-red color, everything appeared to be filtered through a blood-red lens.

He could also faintly hear what sounded like chopping coming from a place where the light didn't reach.

"What are you trying to photograph with that camera?"

A voice came faintly.

Nobita turned his head and saw an officer in the darkness, wearing an old military uniform stained with blood and with rotting flesh. He was carrying a samurai sword in his left hand and the terrified head of a child in his right, and he slowly walked towards him with a sinister tone.

"Give me the camera!"

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(End of this chapter)