Chapter 2: The First Broadcast
The rain continued to fall over Tokyo.
Inside Anteiku café, the quiet atmosphere was suddenly interrupted.
Ken Kaneki had just finished pouring a cup of coffee when the air in front of him flickered.
A blue screen appeared.
Kaneki froze.
"…What?"
The cup nearly slipped from his hand.
The screen floated in the air like a hologram. Transparent, glowing softly.
Across the café, Touka Kirishima looked up from behind the counter.
"Kaneki…?"
Then she saw it too.
Another screen appeared in front of her.
Touka frowned.
"What the hell is this?"
At a table near the window, Yoshimura slowly lowered the newspaper he had been reading.
He could see it as well.
A glowing message filled the screen.
ATTENTION
A new category of threat has entered your world.
Designation:
SCP
Kaneki blinked.
"S… C… P?"
Touka crossed her arms.
"Is this some kind of prank?"
The screen continued.
SCPs are anomalous entities that violate the normal laws of reality.
They may appear harmless.
They may appear weak.
Do not assume safety.
Kaneki felt a chill.
The text changed.
First documented anomaly entering Tokyo:
SCP-173
The screen flickered.
Then an image appeared.
The statue.
Kaneki stared at it.
"…That's creepy."
Touka grimaced.
"Looks like some weird art project."
The broadcast continued.
SCP-173
Alias: The Sculpture
Properties:
• Extremely hostile
• Capable of instant movement
• Will snap the neck of nearby humans
Touka rolled her eyes.
"Yeah right."
But the next line made everyone in the café go silent.
SCP-173 cannot move while being directly observed.
Kaneki tilted his head.
"…So it's like… a statue that moves when you look away?"
The screen responded.
Correct.
Touka scoffed.
"That sounds stupid."
But Yoshimura's expression had changed.
He was watching the screen carefully.
Kaneki noticed.
"…Manager?"
Yoshimura spoke quietly.
"If this is real…"
He adjusted his glasses.
"Then Tokyo has just become much more dangerous."
Across the city, inside a CCG office building, another group was seeing the same broadcast.
Juuzou Suzuya sat on the floor, lazily playing with a box cutter.
The screen appeared in front of his face.
Juuzou blinked.
"Oh."
He tilted his head sideways.
"What's this?"
Nearby investigators immediately stood up.
"Is that a hologram?"
"Who's projecting this?"
Juuzou ignored them and read the screen.
SCP-173
Threat Level: City Hazard
Juuzou smiled slightly.
"City hazard?"
He looked amused.
"Sounds fun."
One of the investigators shouted.
"Turn that thing off!"
But no matter what they touched, the screen remained.
Untouchable.
Across the room, a tall figure quietly observed the broadcast.
Kishou Arima.
The strongest investigator in the CCG.
His calm gray eyes studied the image of the statue.
SCP-173.
Arima said nothing.
But he watched carefully.
Every detail.
Back in Anteiku, the broadcast continued.
The statue rotated slowly on the screen.
Its crude painted face seemed almost childish.
But the longer someone looked at it…
The worse it felt.
Kaneki rubbed his arm.
"…Why do I feel like it's staring at me?"
Touka looked annoyed.
"Because it's ugly."
The screen displayed more information.
Warning:
If you encounter SCP-173:
Maintain constant visual contact.
Do not blink.
Touka snorted.
"Yeah, okay."
Kaneki looked concerned.
"…That actually sounds really dangerous."
The broadcast continued.
Containment requires at least three observers to maintain visual contact while personnel secure the entity.
A final message appeared.
Foundation containment operation will begin shortly.
Individuals are advised to avoid enclosed spaces.
Juuzou laughed from across the city.
"Too late."
He was already standing up.
"I want to see it."
Meanwhile, Arima finally spoke.
"…Interesting."
One of the investigators turned toward him.
"Arima, do you think this is some kind of terrorist technology?"
Arima looked back at the screen.
The statue image froze.
"No."
His voice was calm.
"This is a warning."
Back in the rain-soaked park, Lucas was also watching the broadcast.
The system displayed dozens of icons.
Each one represented a viewer.
Kaneki — Watching
Touka — Watching
Arima — Watching
Juuzou — Watching
Lucas whistled.
"Wow."
"They're all actually seeing it."
The system replied.
Broadcast synchronization successful.
Lucas stretched slightly.
"Well… that makes my job easier."
He opened another screen.
A live map of Tokyo appeared.
A red marker blinked.
SCP-173 location detected.
District: Shibuya.
Lucas sighed.
"Of course it's Shibuya."
Population density: extremely high.
Civilian casualties predicted if uncontained.
Lucas rubbed his face.
"Great."
He opened another menu.
Mobile Task Force Deployment.
Five units were listed.
Red Right Hand
Nine-Tailed Fox
Hammer Down
See No Evil
Debuggers
Lucas cracked his neck.
"Alright."
He tapped the command.
"Let's start the Foundation."
DEPLOYMENT CONFIRMED
Five black helicopters were already lifting off from a hidden facility beneath Tokyo.
Inside one of them, heavily armed soldiers prepared their equipment.
Night vision goggles.
Tactical helmets.
Heavy weapons.
One of them spoke into the radio.
"Mobile Task Force Epsilon-11, Nine-Tailed Fox."
"En route to anomaly location."
Back in the park, Lucas looked up at the rainy sky.
"Okay."
He smiled slightly.
"Let's catch a statue."
Far away…
In a dark alley in Shibuya…
Something stood between two dumpsters.
A tall, thin statue.
Its painted face looked forward.
Waiting.
For someone…
To blink.