Fractal Plane: Beyond Public Eyes

Chapter 1 - Re-encounter

1

"How's it going with farming your YT points?"

Shiki turned back, and in a very eager mood, posed the question to the three companions walking behind him.

His abrupt stop and enthusiastic pose made him stand out against Aria Alley's numerous neon lights at night. The spiky-haired boy showed off his blue smartphone, which had the Yuki-ON app open.

Yuki-tan's chibi avatar, with her pink and red hair, waved at the three companions with a big smile and bobbed in place.

"The time is 7 p.m.," said chibi Yuki-tan. "The temperature in Shiroki City is currently 15 degrees. It's looking to be sunny tomorrow, so rest up and enjoy the great day. While you're at it, won't you check out the music video for one of my singles?"

Then, chibi Yuki-tan seemingly pulled out a list from the edge of the screen and began running down the list of available music videos for free users.

It was the generated message that the hundreds and thousands of Yuki-ON subscribers in Shiroki City would have gotten used to by now. After that would be her spiel to encourage people to get premium membership before a trailer for her big concert approximately a week from now.

"You know, I hit the 20k milestone just today. I'm soooo excited. This will get me more chances to win the lucky draw for Yuki-tan's concert! Only 5k more to hit the cap!"

With his head mostly hidden underneath his teal hoodie, Kazuki chimed in. "Sorry to spoil the fun, but you remember the last time something like that came up, right?"

"Oh come on. I have turned a new leaf, and I will not be screwed over by RNG this time around!"

"Ummm... I think I'm on 12k. That entitles me to 12 entries on the grand draw."

It was Amagi, who had finished checking her phone.

"How about you, Uehara?" asked Shiki eagerly.

Beside her, the black-haired girl tilted her head a bit before taking out her phone from her jacket's pocket. "It says 8.3k here. I haven't watched a lot of the videos, honestly. Still, I'm amazed our pal here has 20k."

"I know the guy bought special membership from the app's store to accelerate point farming." began Kazuki. He then turned to Shiki. "So, who do you owe money this time, Shiki?"

"Let me take care of myself, okay? Heck, with what I spent, I could easily overtake your measly 2k points, Arata."

"He did not answer the question," sighed the two girls together.

"Who cares about that? Look, we're here!"

Shiki's feet made some noise as it stomped onto Aria Alley's floor. The spiky-haired teen had a confident look on his face while standing in front of the door to a large unit at a corner. On its banner, it read First Strike.

Not too long after stepping near the store did the wafting smell of coffee invade Kazuki's nose.

"When has a café opened up here? Last time I'm here, I remember the karaoke bar nearby, the various pubs, but not this one."

He turned to Uehara and Amagi, but both had a likewise surprised look on their faces. With their nightly patrols often being in other places, neither really had any point in going to Aria Alley much.

"Just last week! Haven't you been reading Misawa's blogs? She made a whole post about this!"

Kazuki's head sunk. Did Shiki really expect him to spend time reading the gossip mill where half of the content were just clickbait?