[ D day - 3 ] [ 22 H : 59 M : 40 S ] [ Japan ]
Hiroto Sawatome decided to sleep in the local oxygen tube, for the double taxi fare to go home after nine is almost the same as resting in the tube hotel. As an experienced News Anchor, he knew, the competitiveness is not about being available all throughout the year, but being available in this exact moment when the onus is on himself.
He had two promotions in two days, from Afternoon news to evening news, and evening news to prime time, all because he was the only one available in the middle of the night when the portal vanished somewhere in India.
Sure, now the rest of his colleagues are copping out too, but he still has the correct measure of happenings. From what he sees, a single person is causing all these incidents. The timing is exactly like how he, himself prepares for an annual exam, where he names himself for four hour nights and six hour work times.
Yes, Hiroto attended Tokyo university, and was an excellent journalist in his own rights before he became a news Anchor. He still had that zeal and the instinct to catch the big news, despite having become a family man.
Thus, unlike his colleagues who are socializing in the TV station, as soon as he finished his work, he returned to this tube station to catch sleep. He woke up at god forsaken hour of four O'clock in the morning.
He immediately checked the news, and the comments below the viral video.
" The truth about Portals " - If you want to find it, click 'here' , and pay '***$''. There's no need to visit if you are stingy for just 'this money'. I am sure you, MISOR, won't be able to survive what's going to come. I advise you to experience luxury for once in your life, Miser ! For the rest of you, make your plans. Future is going to be rough. Prepare well. This is the last of my conscience ! Whether you live well or not, it depends only on yourself. Don't blame me for knowing the future and not telling you. "
It's an extremely typical fishing in the troubled waters kind of behavior of cyber criminals. However, what attracted Hiroto was how straightforward the words are and how very unconvincing. Moreover, he is stuck for inspiration. He really wanted to see what a alarmist or conman has to say about the situation.
Thus, he paid the money. The information was just so … well matching the situation.
Hiroto quickly got his laptop out and set to research information.
The first point. One portal opens for every hundred thousand people in a ten kilometer to three mile circle.
Hiroto started matching. Soon, he realized, it's absolutely true. This man ! He might be a genius. Even if he did not speak like a con man, this information is quite well observed on the part of 'A Nobody from future '.
'ANOF' Hiroto shortened, as is the habit of their nation.
Vikram lamented a countless times over this moniker, which was almost always expanded to A Narcisistic Obsessesive F***er. So much so, ninety nine percent of the world's population only knew abbreviations.
Second point: The portal or whatever, will overflow at midnight of the third day from their opening, if all the beings in them are not killed within three days, the portal.
Hiroto read forward.
The beings in the portal are usually animals, most of the time they are the animals that a certain area was famous for before humans occupied it.
It's also possible this being would be different from the one you imagine - given history is remembered only from a certain point.
The beings will not be the size you expect them to be. They increase in size as the time of their stay on earth increases.
The animals drop something called gene fragments, which works like a bio hack. It changes your genes.
Only, these gene fragments need not always be something worthwhile. They could be debilitating as well, for the most strong traits of animals are developed by sacrificing one or other convenient trait.
However, these are not all the points that Hiroto paused over. He paused over something that should have been very much clear from all the above points.
This is not an apocalypse, but a calamity.
Governments had to make some hard decisions.
They were able to rescue some, but not all.
Only these words were highlighted in red.
'Able to rescue some, but not all. '
The words swirled in Hiroto's mind.
" Some , not all. "
Then it struck him all of a sudden.
The government is going to save the rich, sacrifice the poor. After all, it had been a very common practice all over the world for the government to leave it's people to face wind and rain on their own, especially when a man who could fund their campaign is at risk on the other side.
He had an extremely clear news that the defense force entered portals yesterday, just like american and chinese.
There's no news from that front till now.
Only, some of their political reporters who are around the influential figures reported almost all 'who and who ' of the rich world are moving to uninhabited Islands.
Anger burned within Hiroto.
Instead of facing the calamity head on, the government is going to wait till the last minute to announce it to people, just like they did during the nuclear plant leakage.
They wanted to close their eyes and ignore what's happening right in front of their eyes.
After all, people would always be more grateful when they are saved from the disaster than when moved beforehand to prevent any and all damage.
' I will not let them do that, ' Hiroto determined.
The morning news is with-in his control. He may not do much, but he could most definitely put out this website address, and endorse it with his own name.
If they listen to it, it's good, if they do not, then in addition to the website, he would announce he was doing a twenty four hour live of his day on the same news.
In his live broadcast, he could speak of many things.
He would prepare, and along with himself, he hoped at least half the nation will.
Thus, he set to work, preparing possible guesses for the animals that could be in any of the portals opened all over Tokyo, and other cities.
He messaged his wife, forwarding her the information in the document. He asked her to return to her hometown. It's a fairly out of the way island.
Rina Taro was a young girl who always had the dream to become a journalist. She had been a fan of Hiroto since the time he was a field journalist. She subscribed to his broadcast channel as early as the time when he was just covering smog and dust in the city.
Thus, when the alarm rang at six in the morning, she opened her mobile and watched it, despite it being time to get ready for school.
She could not believe the words Hiroto was reporting.
Yet, she had followed his career from the time she was a middle schooler.
She knew his style. She met him personally when he came to her neighborhood to cover some news, had the opportunity to shadow him. She had great respect for the man.
Thus, when he said such shocking words, she believed him from the bottom of her heart.
Their family is just Rina and her aging grandfather.
They had a small traditional sweet shop in a forgotten corner of Tokyo.
If what Hiroto is saying is true, then the animal in the portal nearest to them could very well be Karasu, the crow.
The entire shop and field could very well turn out to be a horror-thriller like in the movie 'Birds'.
The Defense force did not even take a look at their portal. Even police are not paying it too much attention, given how dilapidated their area is, and how many other portals are there, it's not too surprising.
So, it's all up to Rina around here.
Rina grabbed her pachinko and dressed herself in the anime armor she bought after one entire summer of part time jobs. She never missed a shot with her pachinko. A mere Crow
Kira Yaminosuke had nothing shining about himself save for his name. He was a high school delinquent - or within the preppy school he had to attend because of the school district, he was branded a delinquent just for being poor.
He worked in night shift construction, just because it paid more money. With this money, all he could afford is a match box sized rooftop room. His only comfort was gaming. He is a master gamer, he could probably kill a level fifty boss with a level ten novice dagger just following cheats. Yes, he is an Otaku.
His only contact with real life happened on the way back from his work site, as he watched the morning news.
That's how he saw the greatest broadcast fiasco of the day, where the news Anchor Hiroto Sawatome advertised his own live broadcast in the morning news !
Just for the sheer audacity of the man to have fucked over news channel like this, Kira subscribed to and watched Hiroto's live.
As Hiroto talked, Kira's senses awakened.
Isn't this video-game becoming real? Aren't these portals the dungeons ? How could a gamer like himself stay at home when he could play for real ?