The Composer
Time to face off against Uzuki! Uh, eventually. Neku and Beat actually spend most of this day doing completely irrelevant stuff. Lol.
Besides the wild goose chase necessary to progress the story, there's also a couple of optional events on this day. For instance, the reaper who does the Reaper Review is retiring??? I will miss you, trivia guy. In exchange for completing one last quiz, he gave me a half-eaten hot dog. What a beautiful way to end things. Also, I spent way too long on today's INCREDIBLY FUCKING HARD Tin Pin battle at Stride. I won in the end, but it took me many, many tries.
Funnily, no matter which direction you go, there will be a short cutscene of Uzuki running away giggling. She just really wants to play tag. First, though, Neku and Beat had to do some bonding. This is where Beat finally reveals Rhyme is his sister, and also that the pin he's after contains her Noise. Neku immediately agreed to help, saying Rhyme is his friend, too. Awwwwww.
With that out of the way, I finally got to fight Uzuki. After beating her at tag, of course. Neku tagging her is honestly really funny. Anyway, I kicked her ass, but I have to wonder: where are the Reapers getting all their guns?! And why do they even need them? I guess Joshua and Minamimoto were trying to kill people in the RG, but Uzuki definitely doesn't need a gun to do her job. Who gave her that.
I like how this day finally gives a little more insight on Kariya and Uzuki's motivations! Uzuki was trying so hard to get promoted this whole time because she felt like she was holding Kariya back...but he just wants to hang out and eat ramen with her. What a cute friendship they have. It's unfortunate that they are trying to kill me. Now, on to the next day, and Kariya's game!
Today's Secret Report:
Rather than head to the Shibuya River, the proxy has begun wandering the streets, apparently in pursuit of the Game Master.
Konishi, this round's Game Master, seems mainly interested in saving her own skin.
She appears a loyal follower of the Conductor, but the appearance of a promising candidate for Composer would quickly change her tune. At this point, she has been working hard to recover the Conductor's trust after her slip the first day.
She has issued a single six-day mission - one that exploits Beat's greatest weakness: Rhyme.
Her plan is to panic the pair into committing some fatal error while keeping watch from her front-row seat within Beat's shadow. This serves both to restore her standing with the Conductor and to avenge the blow to her pride.
Beat's greatest desire is to bring her back to life.
Even if revived, though, Rhyme still lost the Game. Her entry fee is non-refundable. I do not know what the girl's entry fee was, but a life without it - the thing she held most dear - would be filled with grief and hardship.
But is the void in one's heart caused by loss never filled?
I think it can be. But it may take some time, but something else will come along to fill that empty space - so long as one enjoys the present.
In other words, we needn't mourn the loss of that which we hold dear. If only more people realized this...
The Composer did not impose the entry upon Players to cause them anguish.
In experiencing life without the thing one most values, Players are forced to reexamine just how crucial those things really are. The hope is that by the close of the Game, Players will be able to take a hard look at themselves, and be able to take on the future with a new outlook on life.
The entry fee exists to force Players to see the truth about themselves. It is a test posed by the Composer to spur Player's self-enlightenment.