Sora shook himself off, checking his hands. He'd just been sitting with Kairi not a moment ago before he felt himself fading from existence.
He'd abused the power of waking to find her, and had been at peace for paying the price, but… well. Maybe he hadn't just died like he thought. And this wasn't the Final World, either. Far from it, he had his form, and could definitely feel. He scuffed a shoe on the pavement, taking stock of the world around him.
Neon signs, tall buildings, concrete. Less Traverse and far more Fransokyo or even The Wortld that Never Was.
Scratch that, way more the Nobody's home base than San Fran. There was no sign of water, and far more neon.
Sora frowned. He couldn't read a single sign on any billboard or shop. That never happened before. Donald had told him that in the days of Faerie Tales, the worlds were united as one, so they all shared the same language, too. And after they drifted apart, fragmented, that didn't change. Certain worlds had dialects, or slang, or accents, certainly, but they all still shared the same spoken and written language.
That wasn't the case here.
Sora walked, feeling a sharp chill. His clothes were wet and dirty, and he wasn't carrying very much in the way of munny, either. He overheard group of girls, maybe his age, in matching uniforms chatting. They looked like the clothes he had to wear back at school on Destiny Islands, or Kairi's school uniform at least. The boy's uniform was shorts to combat the Destiny Island's perpetual summer.
He didn't want to pry, but he tried to listen to them.
He couldn't understand a word.
One of the girls waved to the other two, and turned to face him… and promptly walked straight through. Sora panicked for a moment, flailing his arms, until something caught the corner of his eye.
He flexed his wrist again, pulling off his gauntlet to get a better look. Simultaneously, he felt both relief and panic.
Relief, because he knew what it was.
And panic for the exact same reason.
Red symbols were etched on his hand. He'd seen them before, on Neku, and Rhyme, and Shiki. But on them, he could read them as a countdown timer for the game they were forced to play. Here, the marker was the same, but the digits unfamiliar.
Was this world so long separated they had their own language?
At least he had some information, if he could remember what Joshua had told him correctly.
He was dead, he was in this game, and if he won, he'd have his life back. Sora laughed a little. He'd died already, so he just needed to beat this stupid thing and he'd be back to normal.
Which meant the first thing he needed to do was find out who his game partner was.
Sora had his first lead when he found someone floating above a streetlamp on black, almost lace like wings.
"Heeeeeey!" Sora cried at him. The black winged person- who was in a black hooded sweatshirt with a red kerchief on his face- ignored him. Sora frowned. If the winged people were like him- dead- they could also see the myriad of living people walking and moving around in the city too. He probably didn't even consider he was being hailed.
Sora thought about casting a weak spell, but didn't want to hurt the person, opting to take a small one-munny gem from his pocket, flinging it at the winged boy's thigh. "Heeeeeeey!" he shouted again.
Now the boy noticed Sora, and swooped down.
"Itai-yo!" he cried at Sora, flicking the gem back at him. "Nan-da-ze?"
"Can… you… understand… me?" Sora said slowly, articulating each word. It was hard to judge the boy's response, all covered like that.
"Shimatta… gaijin da," the other boy spat out irritated. Sora took it as a no, and instead just opted to show him his hand.
The boy exhaled, yanking on his hood. "Koko de mattanasai," he said, in an authoritative tone, as he turned and started walking. Sora followed. The boy just sighed louder, grabbed Sora's wrist- grabbed, Sora noticed, not passed through- and walked with him until he found a bench. The winged boy pointed at it, and Sora sat.
"Mat-ta-na-sa-i."
"You want me to wait here?" Sora asked, pointing on the bench he was sitting on. "Wait? Matty nassy?"
The boy just facepalmed and flew off.
Sora hoped somebody living didn't sit on him.
Eventually, the hooded boy flew back, with a very nice sight for sore eyes.
Joshua. The blonde flew low and landed on a knee, standing himself up and magically removing the wet stain he got on his knee from the landing.
"Sora?" he asked, confused.
"Joshua!" Sora said excitedly, jumping up and nearly tackling the angel in a hug. The black-winged boy looked like he was about to faint.
"Shiinda to kiita," Joshua said. Sora internally cursed.
"Joshua, I can't understand you."
Joshua peeled Sora off of him, and tilted his head. The boy in black merely cowered behind, visibly worried about something.
Joshua snapped his fingers, pointed at Sora, and made an open and close gesture with his hand.
"You… want me to keep talking?"
Joshua smiled, and rolled his wrist, which Sora assumed meant 'keep going'.
"Like how I got here? Because I can't tell you very much, other than I was sitting on a paopu tree with Kairi, um, she's a good friend of mine and…"
"Okay, I think I've got it again," Joshua replied. "Do you want to understand Japanese, too?"
Sora never felt so relieved. "Is that what everyone's speaking?"
Joshua nodded.
"Then, yes. Please."
Joshua flicked his forehead with a slender finger, and a lifetime of language filled Sora's head. It felt a little like when Roxas shoved his memories in him, minus the emotional strain.
"Hey, Komaeda, say something," Joshua said with a slight smirk.
"Er, yes, boss, what?"
"And?" Joshua asked, looking at Sora.
"I can understand him now," Sora said.
"And you're speaking Japanese. Thank God," the boy in black- Komadea- said. "So I'm not in trouble? This kid here's way out of proto-"
"He's my responsibility, Komaeda. He shouldn't even behere."
"America's got its own purgatory, I hate it when people die on vacation, especially otaku cosplayers," Komaeda muttered. "Sending him home?"
"Excuse me," Sora whined. "I'm right here. And what's an America?"
Joshua sighed. "Komaeda, scoot. I'll sort this out."
"It's almost midnight and he doesn't even have his game partner, though. Won't he run out of time?" Komaeda asked, with genuine worry. "And have you paid your entry fee?"
Joshua paled, and grabbed for Sora's wrist. "Right, you did say he was dead… oh. Huh. Komaeda, you saw this too, right?"
"Uh, yeah, he showed it to me."
"Please tell me you've passed middle school math."
"I was run over by a car when I was ten, Joshua."
"Oh," Joshua said, softly. "Forgive me. Don't worry, though. Sora's not going to fade out at midnight." He lifted up Sora's hand so all three could see, and now Sora understood the symbol on the timer.
His timer wasn't time at all; it merely read ∞:∞.
"Well, first's first." Joshua said, sighing. "You're dead and in the Game, but with your timer like that… I don't know. I've never seen anyone given infinite time before." Sora and Joshua walked down the street together, to who-knew-where. Sora causally noticed that people were walking through him, but around Joshua.
"Are you alive? People are avoiding bumping into you," Sora said.
"Observant, but no. I've never been alive. The guys and girls in black were, once, they chose to be Reapers instead of reincarnating. Black wings are reapers, white ones like me are angels. Though most people higher up would be having my head right now for exposing all this. The living humans just see a normal teenager, no wings. Muttering to himself, or, thankfully," he added, putting his arm down, revealing something similar to Sora's gummiphone, "modern technology lets me talk to you without looking like I'm crazy."
"Have your head?"
"The big man upstairs doesn't really like people knowing exactly how this whole business works. You get a pass because you're not from here. Heck, to some of my own rank, they'd probably consider you a god. The bigger question now, is, what to do with you? First, let's get you out of those soaking clothes. Food, too, I'm guessing?"
"Yeah."
Sora followed Joshua through city streets, before Joshua froze.
"Wait. I knew something was weird. I never put my finger on it."
"What?"
"That," Joshua said, flatly, pointing at a store display. Sora stepped closer. Video games! He peered in the closed shop, looking at the rows of merchandise, before letting his eyes trail to the window.
"Is… no. That's me."
"Komaeda's 'otaku cosplayer' reminded me. I guess, tomorrow, I'll go buy you a game console. Maybe it has some hints about what to do."
Sora looked at the display, at the cartoon of his face grinning on a throne with a crown.
"I… hope so."
"Joshua, are you nuts?" A woman with blindingly red hair downing wine straight from a bottle asked as he trudged into a Shibuya penthouse apartment. "Arches only in here. Upper management orders."
Joshua held up Sora's timer- marked hand first, and a paper ad second.
"Sora, Uriel, Uriel, Sora. Sora's from another universe. He gets exemptions."
Uriel stared at Sora with sharp golden eyes. "That Sora?"
"That Sora."
Uriel huffed. "Whatever, fine. Just give him some normal clothes or something. We have one otaku in this house already. I don't need more cosplayers here."
"Cosplayer?" Sora asked confused.
"People are going to think you're dressed up as that game character."
"But these are my clothes!"
"Yes, and in this world, you're a game character," Joshua huffed. "Uri, do we have any leftovers?"
"Just go to the FamilyMart and get something. And a bottle of peach chuhai for me."
"My ID says 17, Uri."
Uriel stood up. "Whatever. I'll go too. Sora, you want booze?"
Sora blushed a little. "Um, no, pass. Just a hot shower and food, please."
"Missing out," Uri replied with a wave of her hand. "Only good thing about being on planet, if you ask me."
Joshua rolled his eyes. "Bath is the last door on the left down that hall. And Gabriel's in, she said she's happy to share her room with you."
"Her?" Sora asked, blushing further.
"None of us exactly have… er, parts, like mortals do, being male or female is just out of convenience," Joshua replied with a shrug. "If you feel better bunking with me, I don't care, but I don't exactly have a lot of floor space."
Sora shook his head. "That's fine, I'm already imposing."
"You know Gabe just wants Sora because reasons," Uriel muttered, stretching her wings and opening the apartment door.
"Yes," Joshua replied, grabbing something from a cupboard. "And that's why it's a good-"
Music blared from Joshua's pocket. "Komaeda… oh. Wait. A Riku cosplayer? Under the pedestrian bridge? Yeah, I'm flying there now. Just keep him calm. Actually…"
Joshua passed Sora the phone. "Looks like you've got a friend."
"Is anyone getting sleep tonight?" Uriel asked, taking another swig from her bottle of cheap highball.
Gabriel, a short, black haired girl with sharp bangs and an oversized T-Shirt with a game logo on it, grinned toothily at Sora and Riku, sitting at the kotatsu inhaling convenience-store fried chicken and oden, both in whatever clean clothes the other angels had that would fit them.
Riku also had an infinity timer on his hand, matching Sora's exactly.
"Doubt it," Riku said between mouthfuls. "Though I'm exhausted."
"Regular dead shouldn't be tired," Gabriel commented, almost drooling sitting between the two of them. She snatched a bun from the communal pile of sweets and began munching.
"I'm not even sure they're actually dead," Uriel said, sliding her bottle into the slowly growing pile of recyclables. "From what you all have explained, it might just be how their magic makes them perceived in this world. If they didn't have timers, they'd just wander Tokyo, unable to talk to anyone, read, or even buy shit."
Joshua nodded. "I spoke with the higher ups."
"Tattle tale," Gabriel whined.
"Call me a snitch all you want," Joshua muttered, uncapping a bottle of alcohol for himself. "I just want to make sure they can get home. Both Sora and Riku helped restore our world by waking it, I'd say even the top brass owes them for that."
"Wait… does that really mean our world is part of Kingdom Hearts?" Gabriel asked.
The rest of the table stared at her.
"Um, duh, the game," she clarified, waving her hands around. "I mean, it's in the secret ending, too. Sora wakes up, and, like, the graphics are hyper-realistic, and walks through Tokyo, and so does Riku, and the 104 building is there, and…"
"Back up," Uriel said sharply. "This happens in the game?"
"Um yeah, it's the super secret ending, you need to earn it by taking pictures of Mickey emblems and-"
"King Mickey?" Sora and Riku asked.
Gabriel held up a finger, swiped another bun, and grinned. "Step into my office."
Gabriel's 'office' was a high-tech room, with a TV as big as a wall. She spun in an expensive looking swivel chair, and motioned to her closet. "Grab some futons, you're crashing in here anyway."
She grinned, booting up her PS4. A cartoon image of Aqua stared back at them. Sora and Riku just stared at it. "I got this for finishing A Fragmentary Passage!" she cheered, as if that meant anything to anyone but her. "Killjoys," she muttered., pressing a button on the device. A disc labeled Biohazard 2 popped out and she searched a shelf for a row of cases, putting it back and popping in Kingdom Hearts.
"Do we have to play through this whole game for this?" Uriel asked, downing more chuhai, looking annoyed. "Don't these take like eighty hours to finish?"
"Theeeeaaaater moooode," Gabriel piped back. "I can just play any cutscenes I've unlocked. Which, in this case, is all of them." Her wings fluttered as she adjusted herself in the chair.
"Lesse, secret movie, Yazora, here we go."
"Wait, Yazora?" Sora asked, before being shushed by the entire room.
Sora and Riku watched the short video in silence.
"So, anything new?" Gabriel asked.
"There's someone in an Organization hood in your city, on a roof, if this is accurate," Riku said dumbstruck.
"Could be a cosplayer, but it's a lead."
"Yazora," Sora said, mouth dry.
"Who?" everyone but Gabriel asked him.
"He's a video game character," Sora stared.
"I mean, duh, that's what your universe is to us," Uriel said, annoyed, flicking her hair back.
"I mean… in our universe."
Gabriel saved him. "Yeah, in the Toy Story world. It's a game. Verum Rex. Yazora is the main character."
"I'm pretty good at it, but Buzz kills my high score every time I set a new one," Sora admitted.
"Wait," Joshua said, crossing his arms and pointing. "Your world is a video game in ours, and this person Yazora is in a video game in yours. And if the end of this game is real, that means there's some bad guy and this guy from your universe here?"
"This is making my brain hurt," Sora whimpered.
"I think the answer is yes," Riku said, thoughtfully, staring at the list of cutscenes on the screen.
"Well, then, they're our leads." Uriel said. "But there's only three of us here now. Michael and his crew are handling some issue in Milan. We're not exactly omniscient."
"So?" Gabriel said, cutting the game back to the console menu. "Don't we have a Game round tomorrow?"
"What does that have to do with anything?"
Joshua smiled. "I'll call the Reapers in the morning. Sounds like tomorrow's challenge is hide-and-seek."