[Hero]

Hibiki walked sluggishly down the street after a long day at school, his thoughts muddled with problems from his math class. His train of thought was interrupted by the sound of children talking coming from an alleyway. He didn't have to go far to hear what they were saying. "Have any of you heard of a game called Otokoyo?" he heard someone ask. Otokoyo? Why did that sound so familiar? Hibiki continued walking down the street, still able to hear the conversation but was so deep in thought that he wasn't paying attention to anything they were saying. "No, demons live there and hunt the kids who play" he heard a voice say catching him by surprise. Hibiki stopped in his tracks for a moment and started racing as fast as his legs could carry him toward his house.

He slammed open the front door, fumbled with the lock and dashed up the stairs. He rushed toward the bookcase in his room and started pulling out almost every book in there. He had made quite a mess before he found what he was searching for. Carefully, he opened the old notebook, taking care not to tear anything. The pages were filled with childish drawings and scribbles of children and monsters. Hibiki had drawn these several years ago when his uncle told him about this game. He could still remember that strange expression that his uncle had when he was telling him the story.

Hibiki sat there shaking in excitement. He didn't know if he should believe that this game existed or if it was really as dangerous as people said it was. He looked up toward the bookcase again and saw the black mask grinning back at him. It seemed to be taunting him, like it knew a secret he didn't. Hibiki shoved the mask, some bandaids and food into a backpack and headed out the door, unsure how he was going to find the rumored city.