Chapter Text
"And what do you think?"
You turn your head left and right to see yourself completely in the mirror. Yumiko, one of your friends you met at work, thought you could use a makeover because she thought you looked too gloomy and unapproachable. One thing you don't necessarily want to change. You actually like the clothes exactly the way you wear them, and if that makes you look unapproachable, then so be it. You tried to explain that to Yumiko too, but she wasn't easily dissuaded from her "better" version of you, so eventually, you just agreed.
This is why now, on your day off from work, you sat in front of a mirror with a completely different hairstyle than you usually have. Yumiko had parted your upper hair, and now you had two small buns to the left and right of your center parting. The hair that wasn't in the buns made up the larger part, and was slightly wavy and teased, making your hair look much fuller.
You gotta hand it to Yumiko, she had a knack for this kind of thing. However, you weren't sure if this was the kind of hairstyle you wanted to walk around with in your normal everyday life. Apart from the fact that it would take you hours every morning. And you didn't feel like getting up at 3 am.
Yumiko nudged you lightly on the shoulder as you just looked in the mirror with an unreadable expression. "Well, say something! It's great, isn't it?"
"It looks beautiful, yes. It's definitely obvious that you are skilled. But I don't know if it's right for me," you finally say. You had tried to choose your words well, so you wouldn't hurt her.
Looking in the mirror, you could see her making a slight pouty face. "Oh, come on! It looks cute, no?"
"Yeah, maybe that's the problem..." Your tone was soft. Maybe because you didn't want to say it out loud anyway.
"Your makeover isn't even finished yet, (Y/n). We still have to pick out the right clothes for you. And I already know exactly where to find them."
"That means I have to walk around like this?" you replied in a playful tone, whereupon Yumiko just sighed briefly and then started laughing.
You and Yumiko leave her apartment. Yumiko drags you to the train station because one of her favorite shopping places is close to it. You knew about the place since Yumiko mentioned it to you before. However, you had never entered it yourself and if you were honest, you can't even remember the name. Probably something Yumiko would slap you on the back of the head for if she knew.
After you crossed the large crossroad it wasn't far before you were standing in front of the doors of the boutique.
Your eyes fall on the sign that hung above the front door. In big red letters, it said "WONDERLAND". Now that you read that, you could remember it again. Yumiko's favorite store was called "WONDERLAND". Kind of cheesy when you think about it. But that was another thing you weren't going to let Yumiko find out.
"This is where we'll find your perfect outfit," Yumiko says before pulling away from your arm, which you had hooked, and opening the door of the boutique.
"Of course we will..." you reply before following her into the boutique.
As you continue to try to understand some of the more outlandish creations, Yumiko had already disappeared between clothes hangers. She really was completely in her element, you think to yourself before you move to a less crowded spot in the store and pick up your cell phone to pass the time.
Two of your other friends have texted you. Or rather, have made fun of the fact that Yumiko is giving you a makeover. They all know how enthusiastic Yumiko was about the whole thing and how passive you were.
'You better get back to work,' you now write in your group chat.
You only see the two messages 'Yes ma'am' before Yumiko calls you over again and you put your phone away.
As soon as you arrived where Yumiko is, she already held out the selected outfit to you. So close to your face that you could not see anything except for the color black.
"Stylish, isn't it? It fits your current vibe and won't overwhelm you with too many colors. But still, it looks way cooler."
You take the hanger out of her hand so you can keep the clothes at a normal distance to even see anything. "You do realize I don't just walk around in black, right?"
"Yeah, but you look like someone who would."
"What does that even mean? Besides, when have I ever only worn black?" you counter before taking a closer look at the clothes she picked out for you. It was a pair of black high-waist shorts and a black top that only has the right sleeve. There was also a belt with many small metal eyelets next to one at a distance of about 3 centimeters.
Yumiko puts her hands on her waist. "Don't go taking every little detail of what I say at face value again. And now, get changed first. I need to see how it looks on you."
You knew that objecting wouldn't do any good anyway, except to drag the whole thing out unnecessarily. So you bend to her will and follow her directions to the fitting rooms.
After you had to wait for a few minutes, one of the fitting rooms became free. You go inside and immediately change your clothes.
"Wow, (Y/n), there are fireworks outside. Hurry up and you can watch it too.", Yumiko says through the door after knocking.
"Yeah, I'll be done in a minute," you reply. You didn't know if it was really true, or if she just wanted to give you an interesting reason to leave the fitting room because she thought you wouldn't come out.
Well, anyway, you didn't really care, since you were done anyway and weren't really interested in staying much longer in this small and somewhat smelly fitting room.
The moment your hand touched the doorknob, the light in the booth suddenly went out and the music also stopped playing.
A little puzzled, you look up at the lamp. "A power outage at this hour?"
You turn your gaze back to the door of the fitting room before actually opening it this time, but what you find - or rather don't find - took your breath away for a brief moment.
The boutique was completely empty.
The many young women who previously filled the hallways were now all gone. You could see an empty boutique, which you would probably only see at closing time, given the amount of customers. But it was not closing time. It was the middle of the day.
"Yumiko?" you call out. But your shouts only bounced off the walls, never receiving a response.
Briefly, your thoughts wander to the idea that this is all just some prank pulled by Yumiko. But you quickly dismiss this thought, because that would clearly be too much effort for a little prank that all the strangers in the store wouldn't benefit from either.
Besides, how was it possible that you heard voices seconds before the blackout? They couldn't have disappeared that quickly, could they?
After walking a few steps forward onto the main aisle and not being able to see anyone even that way, you went back to the fitting room where your cell phone was still lying.
You took it in your hand and pressed the power button, but nothing happened. The screen stayed black.
Now you were seriously confused.
Yes, the power was gone, and maybe that's why the signal was also gone, but you should still be able to turn it on.
Slowly, the situation seemed to get worse and worse, and you couldn't deny that some panic was rising up inside you. But you knew better than to just wait here in the fitting room, hoping that the answers would come to you. Because they probably wouldn't, you were sure of it.
That's why you left the boutique after you had walked through it once more, to be really sure that no one but you was there.
You quickly realized that not only the boutique but all of Shibuya was abandoned. No matter where you went, you were greeted by the same reality: there was no one here. The train station, which was usually so crowded with people that you had to watch where you were stepping, was now empty, except for the garbage flying over the streets, carried by the gentle breeze that was blowing. A sight you never expected to see for yourself.
But however quiet and peaceful it may seem, you'd probably prefer squeezing through the crowds right now, while getting bumped into every now and then. This was definitely not a sight to be happy about.
Like the other people, Yumiko was nowhere to be seen, but somehow a little voice in the back of your head told you to worry more about yourself. After all, you were the one who seemed to have been forgotten while she and all the other people were gone. Did they forget about you because you were in the fitting room? But that couldn't be because there were people in the other two fitting rooms as well, who were not here now.
Could it also have been that you were gone and not humanity?
Maybe Yumiko is looking for you in the boutique right now and thinks that you sneaked away, while you were actually in this abandoned version of Shibuya.
Since you had no other choice anyway, you kept walking through the empty streets. You had given up hope that you would find someone, but maybe somewhere you would be able to use your cell phone again.
But it came as you thought it would, it couldn't be turned on anywhere. A thing that probably would have been useless even if it were possible. If you were alone here, then, of course, you couldn't call anyone. And if you could, then you would probably just be laughed at and labeled as crazy anyway.
In the meantime, it had become dark. It will probably be better to look for a place where you can sleep and then continue your search tomorrow, or maybe your problem will have solved itself by then?
Even if your faith in this theory is very low, maybe you are just dreaming a very realistic dream and wake up in the fitting room because Yumiko is banging on the door like crazy. An unlikely thought, but at least it was more comforting than the thought that you were trapped in some pseudo-world all by yourself.
You're about to head into the next best building to find a place to sleep when the billboard behind you suddenly turns on. Your surroundings were illuminated in white bright light.
You turn around. On the screen that usually showed advertising clips, there was now only a white screen, before a black writing appeared.
'Welcome, players.
The game is about to start.'
"What's this all about...?" you say to yourself before the screen switches again. Now you could see an arrow pointing to the left, with the words 'This way to the game arena' above it.
As you turn your head to the left you can see that there are also several other screens down the street pointing the way.
Since you had no other point of reference, you decided to follow the arrows, even though you felt a little uneasy. After all, you didn't know where they would lead you, or what was meant by players and game arena. But the fact that players, i.e. the plural, was written there had to mean that you were not alone. Maybe you'll find someone at this game arena who can finally explain to you what's going on here.
January 8, 2023