《Nihon no Niko》Chapter Five- Completely Cut-Off
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Walking through the streets of Shibuya after school proved to be quite a challenge, or that was at least how Niko thought of it. Even though he had been living in the NYC up until recently, the new city he had temporarily moved to was honestly wearing him out. It was almost as if everybody in the city was moving at double the speed he was!
Thankfully, the transfer student spotted an unoccupied bench and vending machine on the corner of the street he was walking down as he was on his way back to the inn.
A perfect place to rest for a short while.
‘Coffee? In a vending machine?’ Niko thought as he approached a vending machine filled with appreciation for such a convenient machine. ‘Wow, that’s actually a really good idea. Don’t think we have any of these things back home though…’
A minute later and the transfer student was sitting on the bench next to the vending machine taking occasional sips from his warm can of black coffee and grimacing everytime he did so. Regretting his decision to be ‘adventurous’ and try a different blend of coffee than his usual sweet kind.
“So bitter…how can people drink this stuff?” Niko muttered to himself, refusing to throw his beverage away due to his stubbornness. “Well, I paid for it, so I might as well finish it”
The sky was beginning to turn orange when Niko swallowed the last of his bitter beverage, shivering as the bitter aftertaste lingered in his mouth.
‘Should probably head back to the inn now, it looks like it’s getting late…” the transfer student thought, standing up and stretching. ‘Still, I wonder where Hanako lives. Don’t spirits and stuff usually haunt the place where they died?’
He tossed his can in the direction of the bin, missed and watched it roll into some bushes nearby. Next thing he knew, the teenager was crouching down on the ground trying to find the can so that he could dispose of it properly. It just felt wrong to leave it there. Guess these were results of having the importance of recycling drilled into his head since grade school.
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Before long, he quickly caught a glimpse of the shiny, aluminium can through the green vegetation just after a few seconds of searching.
‘Am I the only one who knows about Hanako? Did she tell other people about her existence?’ Niko thought to himself as he went to grab the coffee can still contemplating if Hanako was even real and not just some illusion he’d come up with on a whim.
All of a sudden, the can vanished from his sight and further into the bushes as if somebody had snatched it away. Cursing a little, Niko shuffled his way further into the bushes now determined to get the coffee can back. However, in retrospect, that may have not have been the wisest choice he could've made .
“No head…” Niko stammered as stared at the second supernatural phenomenon in he had seen that day. A bead sweat rolled down the side of the transfer student’s face as tried to comprehend the being that was kneeling right in front of him.It resembled a young woman, maybe around her mid 20’s? Definitely a business person due to the black pencil skirt, black heels and white business shirt it was wearing; but honestly Niko was not entirely sure. The body was headless after all…
The headless body was holding the coffee can and outstretched its arm to hand it back to Niko in a strangely polite manner for a supernatural decapitated being.
‘Yeah, no. I’m not doing this. I’ve already ran into a spirit today, I don’t need this thing in my life as well’ the transfer student thought as he span on his heels and prepared to run away as fast as possible. Well, that was until he felt a deathly cold sensation on his left wrist. It was honestly quite strange, Niko could interact with Hanako, the cursed spirit of a child just fine; but trying to interact with a headless body was just one step too far outside of his comfort zone.
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‘Oh hell no!’ Niko thought as struggled to get his hand away from the dead-cold grasp, but the hand some serious strength. ‘Not today! Hell, I haven’t even been in Shibuya a week and yet all of this shit is happening to me!’
“Let go already!” the transfer student cried out barely broke free of the body’s grasp.Without so much as a second thought, Niko was sprinting down the street, not even bothering to look back and definitely not even considering going back for the empty coffee can.
However, it appeared that fate had a few more surprises for Niko that day. A whole inn full of them apparently.
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Synergy
Dear Inspector, Please accept this letter as my formal resignation from being a Player. Hey! Laugh all you want, but I had to try. With no rules down here, who's to say that I can't resign? Anyway, my reasons are simple: I'm neither a gamer nor a hero. You got the wrong person for the job. Sure, the pay is decent and I could pretty much live like a king if, you know, I wasn't so busy trying to survive. I have major concerns about the demonic dagger bound to my soul too. Come to think of it, I've never asked to be transported to this fantasy land either and would like you to return me home, thank you very much. I don't want supernatural powers, I don't want to complete quests after quests, and I don't want to be your test subject anymore. What? I'm not whining, you're whining. Stop making excuses and let me leave already. Thank you for your understanding, and I hope you'll find a better replacement after I'm gone for good. Sincerely,Randel, the Mad Painter What to expect from Synergy: --> Some GameLit elements are presented subversively. If you want the protagonist to “play the game” properly, this might not be the story for you.--> No filler chapters; the story's structure is already plotted out. It's going to have six story arcs.--> Character development happens slowly, over many chapters. Don't expect a perfect protagonist right off the bat.--> Some romance, but it will never be the main focus.--> Humor and dark elements in equal measure, but not to the extent that I’d label this story as “Comedy” or “Grimdark”. ... and lots and lots of Author's Notes. See you on the other side of the portal!
8 107Heaven's Grip : Orcs of Iaoue
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8 282Demons Don't Lie
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8 147Lightning Heroic
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8 80Dishonor
In the center of a nuclear wasteland lay the last vestiges of humanity, the City, as its numerous inhabitants called it. To leave its protective wall was certain death. Humanity was not meant to fit within the confines of a walled city. But, with a strict caste system and the threat of being sent to the lowest level of the caste system for even the smallest crime, the City has survived. Liv was born to the highest caste, Most Honored. After her father's treason and subsequent execution, her family was cast into the prison that the lowest caste, the Dishonored, lived in. Tortured and forced to work as a slave for every bite to eat, Liv desired revenge against the King that made her life a living hell and the City that held her captive. With a forced smile and a polite bow, Liv would destroy the overpopulated last bastion of humanity. Releases weekly on Tuesdays at 12:45 Eastern US Time. This story is posted on Wattpad, Inkitt, Moonquill, and Royal Road. There is an original old version (never been updated and does not have any chapters that have been published since 2016) available on Fiction Press and there is an old version of Dishonor (the first volume only) for sale on Amazon. If you are not reading on one of these location, you are reading a pirated version and you can read it for free on Royal Road.
8 443Alma's Dreams are Default
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