Birth

by Hrist Ferrinas

In the wake of the Reaper's Game, Neku and company adjust to life. When Neku's player pin catches fire and burns to ashes, Neku knows that something is very wrong in the UG. A very special Reaper's Game, a siege on heaven, and a lot of rule breaking. The Holy War starts now. Neku/Josh.

Title: Birth
Rating: T
Word Count: 16,779
Pairings/Characters: Neku/Joshua, Shiki, Beat, Rhyme, Eri, Kariya, Uzuki
Warnings: Violence, Blood
Summary: In the wake of the Reaper's Game, Neku and company adjust to life. Joshua, however, has yet to join them. When Neku's player pin catches fire and burns to ashes, Neku knows that something is very wrong in the UG. When he and the others make it past the Shibuya River, the one waiting for them is not the one they were expecting. A very special Reaper's Game, a siege on heaven, and a lot of rule breaking. The Holy War starts now.

Author's Note: This will be the first part of a series.

"Last night I lost the world, and gained the universe." -C. Joybell C.

X

The windows of WildKat are boarded up, ordinary slabs of wood hiding the remnants of a most unordinary cafe. When Neku peers through the gaps, he can just barely see the outline of toppled tables and chairs, the faint gleam of broken glass on the floor. It's exactly as he saw it last, three weeks dead and walking into WildKat to find Mr. H gone, evidence of Pie Face's rampage in the broken dishes and scattered coffee beans.

He had hoped the owner would return, that the mess would be cleaned up and the door opened, the smell of coffee in the air. He had hoped for answers.

Neku sighed, dropping his hands from where they were pressed against the wood. He couldn't even say he was surprised. It was a long shot, and maybe a little too easy all things considered, but still, the disappointment settled over him all the same. With one last glance at the empty building, Neku started making his way back home.

The streets of Shibuya were as busy as ever, filled with thousands of lives, every one of them with a different point of view, every one of them living in a world all their own. Two months ago Neku hated them all. But a lot can change in even the shortest amount of time, especially when you're dead.

In a way he was living a completely different life. His small, stifling world had expanded. He understood people a little bit better, and he was well on his way to understanding himself. He had friends, risk your life together and die for you kind of friends.

The Reaper's Game was hell. Fighting for his life. Having no idea what was happening. Slowly, painfully being drawn out and away from himself. Caring about people and being cared for. Trusting others, syncing their souls and sharing the same energy. Relying on others to such an extent. It was hell. He was lied to, manipulated. His hard earned trust was broken. And then he died again. It was probably the most difficult experience he ever had, and it's unlikely that anything will ever match it.

Even so. He would never look at people the same way, or take his world for granted. He was alive, more alive than he had been in a long time.

He was alive. Even though he lost the Reaper's Game.

X

Out of the group of friends, Shiki's home was the best place to get together when they wanted a quiet day away from the shopping district, their usual meeting place. Small in size as it was, the five of them had no trouble cramming into her living room amidst the fashion magazines and small couches, bringing with them school bags and tales of time spent away from each other.

For Neku, the first week out of the game was exceptionally difficult, and in none of the ways he was expecting. Without a doubt the game changed him, as it did all of them. But still, for a person as solitary as he formerly was, the disquiet, the absolute uneasiness he felt that first week from the loss of the pacts surprised him.

Three weeks. For three weeks, Neku was tethered to another person, sharing energy, their souls synced. Even though they were in different spaces, Neku could feel his partner. When Shiki was ready for a fusion attack, her energy thrumming with purpose, Neku felt it, his own imagination soaring. When Joshua was swatted out of the air by a noise, Neku felt it, and he was mindful when fighting that the reverse held true. When Beat lost control, his temper flaring in battle, Neku felt it.

Mr. H told him that the noise exist on two planes of reality at once. Any given noise needed to be erased from both simultaneously, or it wouldn't be erased at all. When Neku was synced to the others in battle, it was like they made one person. At first he hated it, despised it even, but tolerated it because it was the only way to survive. It was intrusive, and he suffered from every mistake made by the other party, as they suffered his. But somewhere along the way he got used to it, got used to never really being alone on that other plane. And sometimes, at the zenith of their sync, Neku would feel like he understood the other completely; Shiki's dreams, Joshua's secrets, Beat's guilt and his hope. But it only lasted an instant, and then it was gone, and he was left with only a feeling and none of the insight.

Even though there were only three junior high schools in Shibuya, Neku, Beat, and Shiki all managed to go to separate schools. Neku would not admit it on pain of death, but the first week without them, after being synced to them for so long, took some getting used to. On one hand, he felt like he was finally back to himself. On the other, he felt like he lost something important.

It didn't take the friends long at all to settle into a routine, and though Neku suspected it would be weird at first, what with Shiki looking like Eri during the entirety of the game, it ended up not being weird at all. Eri blended in seamlessly, and Shiki was Shiki no matter what.

The soft sounds of pencils against paper and the shuffling of turning pages brought Neku's mind back to the cram session.

It was pretty much required that all third years wanting to go to high school hit the books in second term if they wanted to have any chance of passing the entrance exam for their school of choice. Surprisingly, Neku, Shiki and Eri all had their eyes on the same school. Hiroo High School, home to a superior arts program and an up and coming fashion club. Rumor has it that the club even has a connection to CAT…

Beat, still at a loss for his plans for the future, decided to go for it too. After all, Hiroo was a good school all around.

While not the hardest school to get into, it wasn't exactly easy either. Neku himself was confident he could pass after some revision, and Shiki and Eri were right there with him.

Beat, however…

Looking up from the history book he'd been reading (his worst subject by far), Neku glanced at Beat seated on the couch next to him, head bent over a math book, his face tight with concentration. Pained concentration. Math was definitely one of Beat's weak points, but he was determined to pass no matter how much he had to suffer due to the mental anguish caused by algebraic equations.

"You okay there Beat?" Neku's question got the attention of Shiki and Eri, seated on the opposite couch across the coffee table. Rhyme, not needing to cram like the rest of them, yet tagging along in a show of solidarity, looked up from where she sat perched on the arm of the couch where she was whispering something to Shiki.

"Of course I'm okay Phones. I gots this. " Beat didn't sound very convinced.

Also not convinced, Eri reached over and plucked the paper Beat had been scribbling on off of the coffee table before he could stop her. Together with Shiki, she looked it over.

A few long minutes passed, and Neku wondered how bad it was, absentmindedly fiddling with the player pin he kept in his pocket, as he was wont to do.

"Wow," Eri said, and Beat looked as if she might slap him. "It's not bad."

"Really?-I mean, of course. Like I said, I gots this."

Shiki smiled. "Well, you don't completely get it, but you're close. With a little more work you should be able to pass."

"Alright! Just you wait, I'll get into Hiroo no problem."

"See Beat, you can do it if you try," Rhyme smiled. "So the next big hurdle is…"

Everyone turned to look at Beat.

"Japanese," They said together.

"Whaaaa!? Ah man, I'm tired of studyin'."

"You and every other second term third year," Eri said.

Neku gave him a nudge with his shoulder. "Just a little longer Beat. It will all be over soon."

"Not soon enough yo," Beat sighed, and he looked absolutely miserable. Neku knew exactly how he felt. The sooner they passed those entrance exams, the better. "For reals yo, if I knew what was waitin' for me after I came back to life, I woulda gladly stayed a reaper."

"Beat!" Rhyme glared at him. "You don't honestly mean that!"

"Course not sis, it was a metapor."

"First of all, what are you talking about? Some kind of game? Secondly, oh my god Beat, that was not a metaphor! It's worse than I thought. Someone get this boy a Japanese Language textbook." Eri began rummaging through her schoolbag, eventually emerging triumphant. She practically threw the book at Beat, who scrambled to catch it at the last second.

Shiki, a little caught off guard by both Eri's lucky guess and subsequent dismissal, laughed uncomfortably. "No worries Beat, between Eri and me, we'll have you passing the language section in no time."

Neku did not envy him the combined power of Shiki and Eri trying to impart wisdom on him. Those two coming at you together could overwhelm anybody. Just ask Neku's newly expanded wardrobe. They had him rolling over so fast it was embarrassing, but really, in that situation the only option is surrender.

One hand holding his history book, the other rolling around the pin in his pocket, Neku very carefully stayed out of it.

X

Joshua pushed his feet against the ground lazily, the low hung swing barely moving. Even though running to the swings, going higher and higher, the wind rushing through his hair and the breathless moment of a jump into uncertainty was his favorite part of going to the park, this time around he was more preoccupied with the red marker in his hand, with drawing numbers on his palm.

It was summer, the humid air a heavy burden on anyone exposed to the heat. The park smelled of freshly cut grass, and the buzz of people's voices like background music, ever present in a city as busy as Shibuya.

At seven years old, Joshua was beginning to understand that not everyone saw the world the way he did. Sometimes when people argued, weird looking animals would appear. Some were born with the fall of each angry word, clawing their way out of the air itself, while others would come from a distance, pulled in the direction of the conflict.

Sometimes, after the people on the news said that someone died or disappeared; sometimes, when Joshua was out with his mother, he would see them on the street, talking to people with black wings. Sometimes they were running from the strange animals, and when the animals touched them, they would just disappear. Sometimes they would come back as if they'd never left. Most didn't.

Always, they had red numbers on their hands.

But no one else saw these things, not the weird animals or the dead people come back to life; not the people with wings like a black birds.

Joshua was young, but he learned quickly not to talk about these things that only he could see.

Satisfied with his work, Joshua capped the marker and shoved it into a pocket of his overalls.

But as it turns out, these things that only he could see; it wasn't true at all. Mr. Hanekoma could see them too.

And now he knew. Now he knew everything. The red numbers were time, the weird animals weren't animals at all, and everything was as real as it had always seemed.

It sounded so incredible, like a story about heroes and monsters, like a separate thing from real life, as real as it actually was.

It sounded better.

Better than boring lessons, or piano recitals, or pretending not to see what's really there.

And it was called the UG.

Mr. Hanekoma had told him the same thing that his music teacher had told him, his mother and father; that he was special. He had a talent that most people did not.

And it meant that he could see Players and Reapers, and wonder.

Especially about the Composer. According to Mr. Hanekoma, the Composer made all the rules, and all of the rules were made with special purpose. Joshua didn't really understand what Mr. Hanekoma meant by imagination, but he still wondered. If he were Composer, what would his rules be? He didn't really know.

"Zero hours, one minute and fifteen seconds huh? You sure aren't giving yourself very much time, are you?"

Still contemplating the numbers on his hand, Joshua startled, looking up in surprise to find a woman seated on the swing next to him.

Joshua thought the woman to be very pretty, with long black hair and dark eyes. She looked to be about his mother's age, and she was smiling at him.

"I'm sorry?" He said, a frown pulling at his lips.

"Honestly, I don't think you're going to make it," the woman said, gesturing to his hand.

"I-" Giving his hand a glance, the moment's confusion gave way to understanding, and then all at once he was back where he started. "You know what this is? You know about the game?" The woman didn't have wings, and she was definitely not a player. Could she be someone like Hanekoma?

The woman laughed at him, the corners of her eyes crinkling in amusement. "Of course I do. I would be awfully bad at my job if I didn't. You, on the other hand, you should definitely not."

Joshua fisted his hand, covering the red numbers with the curl of his fingers. "Why shouldn't I? I see everything that you see. Why shouldn't I know?"

"Because it's no good for kids to be getting such big ideas. Because stupid kids do stupid things."

Joshua stood up from the swing, hands fisted at his sides. "I am not stupid. Just because I'm a kid doesn't mean I'm stupid."

Still seated, the woman just smiled at him, one arm propped on her knee at the elbow so that she could cradle her chin in the palm of her hand. "Oh, but that's what all the stupid kids think. And yes, I know exactly what you've been thinking Yoshiya Kiryu."

Joshua startled, looking at her with wide eyes. Wasn't this, what did Hanekoma call it? Scanning?

Sighing, the woman stood up and crossed her arms, casting a shadow over him. "The game isn't really a game, you know that right kid?"

Joshua remained still under her scrutiny. "I know it's not. I know it's real." It was more real than anything else.

The woman frowned deeply, her gaze evaluating. "You know, it's very uncommon for him to take a kid like you under his wing. Usually we are in agreement. Even if people have the potential to observe the game, it's better if they never know. It goes away in time, that potential, as long as it's left un-nurtured. Eventually they forget."

Suddenly, Joshua was afraid, his heart speeding against the cage of his chest. "I don't want to forget."

The woman reached out and put a hand on his head, startling him, her fingers ruffling his ash blond curls. "Well, I guess I can see why he would make an exception. It's been a while, since I've felt an imagination like yours. And still so young. I admit I was curious, I always am about anything that catches H's eye. He has always seen better than me."

The woman leaned down so that they were eye level, the dark of her eyes finding his violet. "Don't worry kid, I won't make you forget what H told you. But let me offer you some advice." Her hand slid from the crown of his head to the bottom of his chin, making sure he kept eye contact with her. "Never give up on anybody. Never give up on yourself. Never, never give up."

Joshua was beginning to feel funny. His vision swam, and his head felt heavy. Blinking away the dots in his vision, he shook his head.

He was standing by the swings, and he couldn't remember why.

X

After finishing up the study session with his friends, Neku headed to Hachiko. It was getting late, but Neku made it a habit to wait at Hachiko everyday for at least one hour, no matter what. And he was nothing if not stubborn.

Neku picked an empty bench and sat down, looking up at the grey clouds overhead. That was definitely not in the weather report this morning. The cold of the bench was beginning to seep through his school pants, but he dug his hands into the pockets of his high collared jacket resolutely. As if a little bit of cold would drive him off.

Once again he found himself rolling his player pin around in his fingers. It was strange. For the entirety of the game, Neku had always had two player pins. He didn't learn the why of it until the very end. One for him, and one for Josh. However, about a week ago one went missing.

Neku frowned, releasing the pin. Why would Josh want his player pin back?

It wasn't fifteen minutes into Neku's daily wait that the sky begun to pour down rain. People scattered to the nearest overhang, those lucky enough to predict the weatherman's failure quickly opening up their umbrellas and continuing on their way.

Neku wasn't one of those people. But there was no way he was going to abandon his self appointed post either and run to the nearest shop for shelter. So he stayed where he was, waiting.

It didn't take long before Neku was soaked from head to toe, strands of his hair clinging to his face and neck. The area around Hachiko became absent of people, beside the few who walked by under the shelter of their umbrellas, openly staring at the teenager waiting in the rain.

He was wet.

He was uncomfortable.

He was cold.

But he wasn't going to leave. He could bear it for the time being. Still, he gritted his teeth.

There were a hundred and one possible reasons why Josh had yet to show, Neku understood that, but that didn't mean that every single one of them didn't piss him off. There was a lot about the UG that he didn't understand, but despite whatever Joshua may have thought, there was one thing in the UG that Neku had a good deal of insight on.

And that would be the Composer himself, courtesy of one week soul bound and days upon days of thinking about exactly what happened during the Reaper's Game, about what happened after.

Neku bit his lip. Then again, maybe that was one of the many possibilities for Joshua's continued absence. For someone so deeply ensconced in the idea that people will never truly understand one another, the possibility that someone just might understand him after all just might be enough to keep him away. In a way, Neku could understand the fear. Or maybe just the opposite. Maybe Josh thinks that he doesn't understand at all, and that's why he stays away. Neku could understand that too.

Lost in his thoughts, Neku didn't realize when the rain stopped falling on him, an umbrella held over his head.

For a moment his heart leaped, but just as soon as the hope blossomed in his chest it died as he looked up and saw an old man smiling kindly at him.

They were both silent for a moment before the old man gestured with his hand and Neku understood that he wanted him to take his extra umbrella.

Neku may have made a lot of progress as far as his social tolerance went, but he was not quite ready to accept the charity of strangers. "Thanks, but I don't need it. I'm fine."

The old man looked him over and barked out a laugh. "Sure kid, you're fine." He shoved the umbrella into Neku's hands.

Neku took hold of it automatically before it could fall to the concrete. The old man took a seat next to him on the wet bench, the water soaking his jeans. The old man looked at him from under his own umbrella, a knowing glint in his eyes. "So tell me about her."

Neku just stared at him. "Huh?"

"You can't fool me kid, I've been around the block or two. The sooner you tell me about it the sooner you'll feel better and can get out of this godforsaken rain. I'd feel bad you know, leaving a kid like you out here in this downpour."

Neku still had no idea what he was talking about.

Looking at him, the man sighed. "It's okay kid, it happened to me too once upon a time. You aren't the first and you won't be the last. So why don't you tell me, huh? About the one that stood you up."

"Stood me up?" Neku questioned, before understanding dawned on him. "I wasn't..."

The old man rolled his eyes. "Really kid? Then why are you out here, sitting in the rain and looking miserable? Looks to me like you're waiting for someone that just isn't coming. In other words, you got stood up."

It wasn't what the old man was thinking, not really, but every time Neku tried to come up with a way to refute his words he came up with nothing.

The old man clapped him on the back. "Buck up kiddo, there's plenty of fish in the sea. So, why don't you go on home, lick your wounds, and call it a night?"

Neku looked at his cell phone. He still had ten minutes before the hour was up. "No. I'm going to wait a little longer."

The old man gave him a look of pity that immediately set Neku's nerves on edge. He stood up and moved to stand in front of Neku. "Ah, you poor kid." He reached out a hand and ruffled Neku's hair before the boy could adjust his grip on the umbrella to stop him. "You've got it bad, don't you?" He waved a hand. "Keep the umbrella. A stubborn kid like you is going to need it."

As the old man begun to walk away, Neku felt himself grow angrier and angrier. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

It wasn't something that old man could understand. Or Beat, or Rhyme, or Shiki, even though they tried.

Joshua would show eventually. He had too. Neku had tried checking at WildKat. He tried getting into the Shibuya River, but every time he made an attempt he found himself blocked as if running into a Reaper Wall. If he wanted to see Joshua again, he had to wait for him.

It couldn't end this way. There was too much Neku needed to know. Too many questions, their answers elusive as the Composer himself.

It couldn't end this way. Because even after everything, Joshua was still his friend.

And Neku learned by now not to give up on his friends.

X

The next day was Saturday and the five friends decided to take a break from hitting the books. They met at the Burger Shop in Shibukyu Stationside.

They all had very different tastes in food, but Neku really, really liked the Tatsumi Burger, and Beat and Shiki were almost as crazy about it as he was. Eri wasn't too thrilled about trying it, but she was convinced to split one with Rhyme.

After their grueling week of studying, the lunch break was like heaven, the friends easily breaking into chatter.

"So did you hear about Kyo? Eri asked, always the first to get in on the gossip.

Beat frowned as he took a sip of his soda through a straw. "Yeah, I can't believe it. I just saw the guy last week. It's a shame yo. There ain't many skateboarders like him around. I kinda looked up to him."

"Oh, I heard about that. Wasn't it a freak accident?" Shiki asked.

"Right. What did I miss? Who's Kyo?" Neku asked, wiping his lips with a napkin and then wadding it up.

Rhyme looked at him. "You don't know? Kyo was a local pro skater, I used to see him all the time when I went to watch Beat practice at the skate park. Anyways, he died."

"I heard he just fell wrong on the half pipe. It's crazy to think about yo," Beat chewed on his straw, furrowing his brow.

It really was weird, to think about anyone who died these days. Wondering if they were playing the Reaper's Game, right now.

Using the contemplative silence as an opportunity, Eri made a grab for Neku's schoolbag, intent on finally getting her hands on his infamous sketchbook.

Neku saw the attempt coming a mile away, the maneuver having been attempted many times before, and quickly snagged his bag, putting it out of reach of Eri's questing hands.

"Aw, come on Neku, when are you going to let us look at it. You're always drawing in that thing and it drives me crazy not knowing. Besides, I let you see my sketchbook," Eri said.

"No way Eri. Give it up. And there is a big difference between your fashion design sketchbook and mine. There is no way," Neku brought his bag closer to himself.

"Come on Phones, we all wondering. Why don't you want us to see it? You drawing weird stuff or something?" Beat asked.

"No Beat. I just don't want to show you guys, so why don't you just drop it?" Neku was starting to get irritated. His sketchbook was an extremely personal thing, and no matter how close he was to his friends, he did not want them or anyone else looking at it.

"If Neku doesn't want to show us, then that's that," Rhyme said, and Neku was reminded of his deep fondness for her. The girl was still looking for a new dream, but Neku was firm in his belief that she would find it soon.

"What Rhyme said. I'm just as curious as the rest of you bu…Neku, there is smoke coming out of your pocket."

Good old Shiki…wait. What?

The eyes of all five friends looked to Neku's jacket pocket where smoke indeed was rising out of it.

Ok, not the strangest thing that ever happened to him but, "What the hell?" Neku stood up. He patted at his pocket, hoping to extinguish whatever may have caught fire, but smoke continued to rise out of his pocket and he felt no heat when he patted at it. "What the hell?" He quickly took off his jacket, upending it so that the contents of his pocket would fall to the metal surface of the table.

He didn't know what he was expecting, but it wasn't his player pin, covered in flames, falling to the table.

"Oh my god," Shiki tore off the lid of her cup of water and threw the contents on the pin. It had no effect. The pin continued to smolder, yet there wasn't any heat and the fire wasn't spreading to any of the plates or napkins.

They all just looked at it for a moment, a thin stream of smoke billowing happily as other people started to look over to see what was causing it.

"Ok. What?" Eri said."

Suddenly, the player pin practically exploded in flames, and Neku watched with a growing sense of dread as the pin fell to ashes in front of his eyes.

For Neku, the world stopped for a moment. He couldn't hear anything, couldn't see anything but the ashes on the table. His heart beat itself against the cage of his chest like a wild animal, blood rushing through his veins and static in his ears.

And then he was leaving the Burger Shop, his friends calling after him, and as soon as he made it outside he started running. He ran and ran, past people walking on the streets, their curious gazes following him.

It had been a while, since he had felt this kind of fear, this sense of urgency. Not since the Reaper's Game.

Really, it just figured.

X

Joshua had thought he understood the nature of people.

Game after game, the judgment of player after player. He had thought he'd seen all that people had to offer, and he came away from it deeply unsatisfied. They could have done better, could have gone farther. So much wasted potential, so much complacency.

People wasted themselves, their potential squandered by closed minds and sealed hearts. Joshua was adamant in this belief. Rashly, stubbornly, and in the end erroneously.

If there was one person in the long game he should have been able to figure out, it was his proxy. He was a walking advertisement of everything wrong with Shibuya. Despite having a truly impressive imagination, the boy kept it, stuffed it into a small, cramped part of himself where no one else could know it. And Joshua knew that this was the one, this was the one that would win him the game. This was the one that would prove that Shibuya could not be fixed.

And one bullet later, Joshua had his representation in the long game.

It's almost laughable really. He had thought himself so clever. All the baiting, the mind games. Every harsh and patronizing word.

He was so sure how it would all turn out. Neku would pull the trigger. How could he not? Hadn't he told him? Give up on yourself, and you give up on the world. And it wasn't just his proxy's own life on the line. It was his friends. It was Shibuya.

For Joshua, it was a win-win either way. If Neku shot first, he would become Composer, and the current Shibuya would be destroyed, a new UG written to his will. If Josh shot first, then he'd just go along with his initial plan.

He had thought he had everything figured out, but really he had nothing. Nothing at all.

Neku lowered the gun. Joshua pulled the trigger. And that was when he realized.

He was wrong. If there was one person he should have figured out, it was Neku. And he was wrong.

He didn't understand Neku. He didn't understand him at all.

And looking at Neku, still on the floor with red pooling around him, that's when he understood.

When it came to people, and what they were capable of.

He didn't understand anything.

X

Neku ran, his sneakers smacking against the pavement as he made his way to the Shibuya River. He slowed when he got close to where he knew the barrier was, invisible to him but infuriatingly solid. He came to a stop in front of it.

He reached out a hand, coming into contact with the wall that blocked him, and in anger he slammed his fist against it, again and again. "Dammnit!"

God, it was so frustrating. Something was wrong, something was so wrong he could feel it in his bones, and the wall, the fucking wall just…he banged his fist again, as hard as he could. "Dammnit Josh, I know you're in there!" He was going to kill him, he was going to make sure he was ok, please, please be ok, and then he was going to kill him.

"Neku?"

He looked back to see Shiki and Beat running up to him, both of them looking out of breath.

"Neku, what's gotten into you?" Shiki asked.

"Why'd you run off like that, yo?"

Neku took a deep, calming breath. "I think something happened to—"

In the next instant, Neku felt the barrier give under his hand, and then he was running again, as fast as he could, past CAT's mural, and then he was bursting through the door into the Dead God's Pad.

At first, it didn't seem like anyone was there, but Neku was aware that if Joshua was in the UG, he wouldn't be able to see him. He came to a stop, Shiki and Beat following on his heels.

"Joshua!"

Neku saw a flash of movement in the corner of his eye, a familiar figure emerging out of the air itself.

"Oh, if it isn't the vector reject. I was wondering which radians were knocking at my door."

"The Grim Heaper? What are you doing here?"

Sho gave him a toothy grin. "Do the math. No calculators allowed."

Could Sho be the new Conductor? No, there was no way Josh would be that stupid. Sho only ever wanted one thing.

But if not the Conductor, then what was Sho doing in the Dead God's Pad? Where was Joshua?

Neku stared at him, at a loss. The absence of his player pin, a near constant since his time spent in the game, was keenly felt. The unease he experienced at its destruction was on the verge of becoming so much more. It felt like someone stabbed him in the stomach and refused to pull the knife out, twisting it this way and that as the seconds ticked by.

No.

It couldn't be. That would mean…There's no way that Sho could have…

Shiki inched closer to him, lowering her voice. "Neku. Is he…but wasn't…"

"Tabooty? Then that means that…" Beat didn't finish, glancing at Neku.

Neku swallowed. "You're the Composer."

"And the radian's got it! But what's it to you? Shouldn't you be out growing exponentially? I heard you beat the game. You shouldn't be here."

"You shouldn't be here." Neku clenched his fists. He couldn't breathe, where did all the air go?

Sho observed him for a moment, and Neku met his gaze with hard eyes. Sho's mouth curved in amusement. "Oh, but the inverse is true. I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be, the absolute number." He laughed, looking directly at Neku. "You weren't expecting anyone else, were you?" Neku visibly bristled.

Sho paused in his goading of Neku for a moment, studying the three of them. "How did you zeros get in here anyway?"

"Don't be messin' with us Math Man, you the one that let us in here," Beat raised a fist threateningly, and Sho looked puzzled. "What, did you want to rub it in our faces, yo?"

Still close to him, Shiki put a hand on Neku's shoulder, Mr. Mew clutched to her other side.

"Or is this a trap, yo? Payback maybe?"

"You're playing with imaginary numbers. You're in the RG now, and that takes you out of my equation. As much as I'd like to reduce your numbers, I would never let you in."

"Oh yeah? If it aintchu, who did?"

"I did."

Sho made a face at the new voice, and Neku directed his gaze to a woman, dark haired and pretty. She walked by the three RG dwellers, winking at Neku as she passed him.

When she came to stand beside Sho, the math nut crossed his arms.

"I should have known it was you. Who else would add unnecessary factors into my equation?"

"Your equation huh? Is that really the way it is?"

Sho scratched the back of his head, eyes on the ceiling. "Well, maybe not one hundred percent." He dropped his hand, eyes back on the woman. "But so what? What does that have to do with you letting these zeroes in?"

"We've run into a few unexpected difficulties. I'm not going to be able to help the two of you out directly, and the Producer's under lockdown. Do you really think you can handle everything on your own?"

"Why not? I'm the Composer now, and I don't do group projects. Besides, what can a handful of Real Grounders do?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised by what a group of RGs can actually do."

The longer the two talked, the closer and closer Neku came to exploding, his body thrumming with a horrible anxiety, like he was hanging off of a cliff with a few fingers, his grip sliding. Just when he felt he was reaching his limit, about to demand to know what the hell was going on, what the hell happened to Joshua, the woman looked at him, stared straight into his eyes, and smiled.

"Especially one that managed to maintain a sync with a soul as powerful as a Composer's. Isn't that right, Neku Sakuraba?"

Neku startled, his building anger curtailed in a rush of confusion. "You know about that?"

"Of course, everyone knows. And everyone knows about you, Neku." At his look of confusion, she added, "well, everyone in the Higher Plane. It's not every day that we get to watch such an exciting game, and with such high stakes."

"You mean you was watchin' in on us?" Beat said, suddenly angry. "Was it 'exciting' when Rhyme got erased, huh? Or how 'bout that pin turnin' all them Reapers zombie like, and me and Phones havin' to erase most of 'em. Was that 'exciting'?"

The woman shrugged. "Honestly, I wasn't paying that much attention to you. There were better things to watch."

"Why you…" Beat looked about ready to launch himself at the woman, and Shiki put a restraining hand on his arm and whispered harshly in his ear.

"Calm down Beat. We're not part of the Reaper's Game anymore. None of us have psychs anymore. If you attack her, you won't be able to defend yourself from whatever she decides to throw at you."

"But that reminds me. Shibuya isn't in such a good state as far as Reapers go, you know? The two of you did a good job of seeing to that. Shibuya is definitely undermanned, and this is just about the worst time for this to happen."

Sho waved his hands in the air. "Wait, wait, you think they can take on the Freqs? And while in the RG? Are you out of your vector?"

The woman ignored him, still looking at Neku. "So how about it? You want to see your friend again, don't you? At the rate things are going, he'll be erased before you ever get the chance."

Neku's raging blood started to settle, the woman's words alleviating the sickness in his stomach he'd been feeling since his player pin went up in flames. Joshua wasn't dead. Joshua wasn't erased. He felt absolutely exhausted.

"What are you proposing?" Neku asked.

"It's pretty simple, actually. I want you to renew your pact with Joshua."

"Renew my pact?"

"Yes. Having a pact with a person in the UG is the only way for someone in the RG to participate in the Reaper's Game while remaining alive. The two souls having been synced allows for the RG player to exist on the plane of battle. They go wherever their partner goes."

Shiki took this moment to finally speak up, no longer able to keep her silence. "And why would Neku need to do this? If Joshua is still alive, why isn't he here, why is Sho the Composer? And who the hell are you, anyway?"

The woman looked surprised for a moment, before settling on a decidedly amused expression. "Not just Neku. I expect you and Beat to also form a pact with a Reaper of your choosing."

Beat just about chocked on his own saliva. "Are you out of your mind lady? Like hell I'd form a pact with a Reaper!"

"Oh, so you're going to let Neku jump into this alone, are you?"

"I never said—Neku hasn't even agreed to anything yet!"

"But he will," the woman said in an infuriatingly confidant voice. She closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and then opened them again. "Look, this is far from an ideal situation. To think that an Angel like me would have to ask a couple of kids like you for help."

"You're…you're an Angel?" Shiki asked.

"Is it really such a hard thing to believe, after everything you've been through?"

Shiki and Beat looked at each other. Neku never took his eyes off the woman.

"We got a peculiar request from a newly seated Composer a couple weeks ago. He was requesting permission for a very special Game."

"Are you going to get to your point anytime soon?" Neku asked.

The woman rolled her eyes. "Teenagers. The point is that the game requested was Composer's Game Six. The point is that it was requested by someone who is, without a doubt, an LF."

"That doesn't mean anything to me," Neku said.

"Of course it doesn't. But it will. And if I'm right about you, Neku Sakuraba, it will mean everything."

X

Shibuya's song was muted.

The city's presence, usually bright and burning and inescapable, was subdued, like something apart from himself, something he could ignore.

It was always like this whenever he down tuned into the RG. At first, he couldn't think of anything more unpleasant, to be cut off from the soul of the city, to choose blindness over boundless sight. It felt wrong, the disconnection with Shibuya, like his own soul was bound and smothered.

And then, when he grew hateful of the city, disappointed and frustrated, he was down tuning into the RG every chance he got, seeking escape from the ever-present city, grateful for the inhibiting effect of the RG. He was tired of Shibuya, didn't want to hear her song, feel her pulse.

Now however, he was back to finding the disconnect unpleasant. Not to mention, he might run into Neku, and he wasn't in a position where he could just raise his frequency and hide like the coward he was. And he really, really did not want to run into Neku. That was one unpredictability he was better off not dealing with at the moment. Or ever, really.

Not that he wasn't avoiding places where Neku was most likely to frequent, but if anybody could spontaneously develop some kind of extra sense that would tell them where and when the Composer was in the RG, it would be Neku.

Joshua was seated in a booth in the back of a café he didn't really care for, waiting for the others to join him. The food was subpar at its best. However, it had one redeeming feature that kept him coming back, and that feature was red velvet pancakes with sweet cream cheese. Every time he took a bite, every time he cut a piece off with his fork, smeared it around in the cream and put it in his mouth; he would say it was heaven if he didn't already know what it was like. And it wasn't anywhere near as pleasant as a fork full of red velvet pancake, especially lately.

Staring at the condensation on his water glass, Joshua ran a hand through his hair, tugging at a few errant curls. How easy this all would have been, if this had happened a few short months ago. Back when he didn't care anymore, not about Shibuya, not about himself, not about anything. When he was so set in his judgment, that the shortcomings of its people invalidated the existence of Shibuya's UG. How easy this would have been.

But everything was different now. The love he had felt for the city, faded and shriveled and black; it was alive again. Almost new.

He had been wrong, and it had cost him his Conductor, almost all of his Reaper Officers, and a great deal of his Reaper ranks. And recovery was slow in coming. It was no easy feat for Players to win his game, something required for them to be eligible to become a Reaper. And he didn't want anyone that couldn't survive his gauntlet, what possible use could they be otherwise.

Naturally, this just had to happen at this exact point in time, when Shibuya was undermanned and in recovery. They just couldn't have done this when he wouldn't have cared.

Unlucky for them.

Shibuya was something worth being protected, he understood that now. And he would protect it at all costs. The Low Freqs would never take it from him. And if that meant a few dozen broken rules and a stint in the RG, then so be it.

It started as just a whisper, a tickle against his consciousness of something familiar. Someone familiar. While his senses were dulled in the RG, Joshua was still able to feel exemplary souls when he came into contact with them, their imaginations a world apart from others. When it came to the intensity of a soul, like called to like, and recognizing potential was something anyone of Composer class or higher could do even while restricted by the bounds of the RG.

Figuring that the approaching imagination was Hanekoma, or maybe his predecessor, Joshua took a sip of his cold water, waiting for them to sit down and wondering why only one of them showed up.

Joshua just about choked on his water when the one that sat down in the booth across from him wasn't Sanae, wasn't his predecessor, but the one person he least expected.

It was Neku.

For one moment, Joshua considered upping his frequency and just getting the hell out of there. Never mind that it would ruin all their well laid plans, how unlikely it would be that they could trick the mechanism for Composer inheritance a second time.

Joshua tried not to cough as the water went down the wrong way, hoping that Neku hadn't noticed his moment of absolute shock.

By the smug look on Neku's face, it was too much to hope for.

"Neku, I can't say I was expecting you," Joshua said smoothly.

Neku looked a little bit smug, but mostly angry when he said, "I know, considering you've become a pro at the art of avoiding me. This isn't exactly the way I imagined meeting you again, but the end of the world and all that, or so I'm told."

Joshua looked at him for a moment. There was no way. There was just no way. "Neku, what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about your Low Freq problem."

Joshua closed his eyes for a moment. He didn't know who it was, Hanekoma or his predecessor or even Sho, but whoever was responsible for this…

He opened his eyes and saw the determination in Neku's. "You shouldn't know about that, Neku. It doesn't concern you."

"The hell it doesn't. And whether you like it or not, I'm the only one that can help you right now. Aren't you curious? Why I'm here and not your Angel lady friend, or Mr. H?"

"Alright. Why are you here, Neku?"

"I know Mr. H and your Angel lady friend were supposed to meet you here. But Mr. H got detained by the higher ups, and your other friend thinks that he's in enough trouble for her to get involved. That leaves you here, powered down in the UG, alone and without support on the cusp of Composer's Game Six."

Joshua was silent for a moment. In order for the plan to work, he needed the support of Sanae and his predecessor. While Sho was involved, he lacked the power needed to be helpful, and he was a wildcard besides.

It wasn't hard to figure out why his predecessor had set Neku on him like this. She was probably laughing her ass off over it. Oh, they were definitely going to have words.

"Like I said before. This doesn't concern you."

"Why do you keep saying that? The Low Freq's target is the Composer. You. That automatically makes it my business. You're my friend, Joshua. And if you think I'm just going to stand by safe and sound in the RG while you get erased, then think again."

And there it was. The one thing Joshua did not want to deal with. Joshua found himself rising from his seat and leaving the booth, brushing by the waitress just as she arrived to take their order. In moments he was out of the café and on the busy streets of Shibuya.

"Hey, wait!" Neku was quick to follow behind him, and when he grabbed Joshua's arm to stop him, Joshua yanked his arm away and turned to face him, even though all he wanted to do was run away. Probably would have, but he knew for a fact that Neku was faster than him. "Goddamnit Josh, what's your problem?"

"What's my problem? You're the one with the problem Neku."

"How exactly am I the one with the problem? Last time I checked, you were the one with the undermanned UG, and the Low Freqs are after your ass, not mine. All I'm doing is trying to prevent your ungrateful ass from getting erased."

Joshua couldn't help it. He laughed, his voice without a single ounce of joy. "You see? That right there is your problem. You shouldn't give a damn about what happens to me, Neku. And the fact that you do is just…it doesn't make any sense. Nothing you do makes any sense."

Neku rubbed at the back of his neck. "Of course I give a damn about you, Josh. Friends tend to do that, if you haven't noticed."

"We spent one week together Neku. And during that time, can you name even one time I was kind to you? Of course you can't. You can't because I wasn't, because I was pushing your buttons and pulling your strings from beginning to end. After every cruel word that I said, after everything I've done to you, how can you stand there and call me your friend?"

Neku looked away for a moment. "Is that why you never showed?"

"What?"

Neku locked eyes with him. "At Hachiko. Is that why you never showed, all the times I've waited for you?" He put his hands in his pockets, but then changed his mind and took them out again. "It's kind of hard to explain, but when it comes to you and me, I can definitely say it. You are my friend."

"If that's the case, you have very unusual standards for the make of a friend. Friends don't do to each other what I did to you. They just don't, Neku."

Neku was silent for a moment. "Do you think I'm stupid?"

"What?" The unrelated question was not what Joshua was expecting.

"It's a simple question. Do you think I'm stupid?"

"Well, apart from a horrendous lack of knowledge of historical events, no, I don't think you're stupid, Neku."

"Then why are you so sure that I don't understand anything? Yeah, you were pretty terrible, no arguments there. But as we've already established, I'm not stupid. After the day we met up with Hanekoma, after he and I had a little talk, I started to pay more attention."

"…attention to what?"

"He said that you were a good kid. It was a crazy idea, considering all the shit you were pulling, but I started to pay attention. And it didn't take long to figure out, that the way you treated me; it was different from the way you treated everyone else. From Mr. H to Ken Doi, it was different. And honestly, it made me hate you that much more. It was obvious what you were doing."

"So why didn't you do it?" Joshua asked suddenly. "Why didn't you pay me back when you had the chance? When you had everything on the line? All your friends, Shibuya, and yourself. Why didn't you shoot me?"

"If you're asking me that question, then you weren't paying enough attention. To this—" Neku reached out and wrapped a hand around Joshua's wrist. Joshua instantly felt an electric shock run through his body. It was almost like…no it was exactly like what happened when you formed a pact…

No…

"Neku. Did you just…"

"I always wondered how you did it the first time without my permission. Your Angel lady friend figured you'd be difficult and taught me how."

Neku released his wrist, and for a moment Joshua could only stand there in shock.

"Anyways, back to what I was saying. If you really thought that I was going to shoot you, then you weren't paying attention. We had a pact, remember. And when we fought the noise on the plane of battle, even though we were separated physically, I could still feel you, your soul. And I can't really explain it, but somehow through the course of the week; I came to know you. The real you. I came to know your soul."

Joshua went from gradually getting over the shock of the pact to being completely floored. That. That was not normal. The ramifications of a typical pact were negligible, allowing only the flow of energy from one body to the next, and the sharing of pain and physical damage. Anything beyond that…it was unheard of.

"It wasn't even something I knew consciously. I just couldn't shoot you. I had every reason to, every reason; I just couldn't. After the game, I thought about it a lot. And after dealing with the absence of a pact, that's when I figured it out."

Joshua stared at him for a moment. Then he giggled. "You know Neku, I'm starting to think that if circumstances had been a little different for you, you would have gone straight to the plane of Angels the moment you died."

"What makes you say that?"

"That whole soul thing you're talking about. For the rest of us, the pact provides us with no insight into our partners. Such an ability is a distinction you share with few others." While Joshua had never heard of anyone else experiencing such a thing, there was always the possibility that they just didn't talk about it and assumed it was normal. Like Neku did.

"You mean that it wasn't the same for you?"

"I'm afraid I don't share the same insight into your soul as you apparently have with mine."

"Oh…"

"You know, I kind of feel violated right now. The soul is a very private matter."

Neku sputtered. "Hey, you were the one to make the pact with me, remember. You didn't even ask me."

"Of course. And I bet you're so proud of yourself, for turning the tables this time around."

"Actually, I kind of am. It's a rare thing to catch you off guard, and after everything that happened it feels pretty good to be the one doing the surprising this time around.

Joshua studied him for a moment, thinking. There was no way that he'd be able to break the pact at his reduced state. While he could reclaim his full Composer powers at anytime, it would ruin every single one of his current plans.

And somehow. Somehow he didn't want to dissolve the pact quite yet. Neku's favorable disposition towards Joshua after everything he had done to him was something that plagued him ever since Neku's offer of continued friendship. In the same way as his refusal to pull the trigger, Neku's desire to remain friends with him was something he never, never calculated. It was just one more incomprehensible thing in all that was Neku. But, after Neku's admission, perhaps it wasn't so incomprehensible after all.

Joshua wasn't sure how he felt about Neku's seeming ability to 'know his soul' as he put it, but…

"Are you absolutely sure about this, Neku? You made it out of the game for a reason, didn't you? Is your life really something you want to gamble with? The UG is not your responsibility Neku, it's mine." Joshua looked away for a moment, watched the endless stream of people flow by like the inexorable tides of the ocean. He looked back at Neku. "Even if you're my friend and want to help, you're still alive. If you want to keep it that way, you should stay out of this."

"I made the pact, didn't I? Of course I'm sure." Neku scratched at his cheek. "But before we get started, I want to know something."

"And here I thought she would have told you everything."

"Not about that. Not about the Composer's Game. "

"Oh?" Joshua tilted his head.

Neku looked at the ground, and then looked back at Joshua. "You said you were going to destroy Shibuya before you…I expected never to open my eyes again. But I did. And Shibuya was still standing." Neku put his hands in his pockets. "I know I lost the game in the end. So why?"

"Because of you."

"Huh?"

Joshua looked away. "In the end, you didn't do what you were supposed to, Neku. I was so sure about you, but I was wrong. I was wrong in my judgment of you. And so it occurred to me that…"

"You were wrong about Shibuya?"

"Yes."

"I see." Neku thought for a moment. "That explains why you didn't destroy Shibuya, Josh. But not why you brought me or the others back to life."

Joshua couldn't meet his eyes. "I didn't have the right to take your life in the first place. I thought it was justifiable at the time, considering the bigger picture but…it was just one more thing I was wrong about. It was only right that I return it to you. As for the others…had it been a fair game, Beat and Shiki would have made it out. As for Rhyme…consider it payment."

"Payment? For what?"

"For everything."

They were both silent for a few moments. Finally, Neku spoke. "So, about that Low Freq problem…"

Joshua jumped at the change of topic like a drowning man clutches a life saver. "Tell me what you know."

X

Neku walked the busy streets of Shibuya, Joshua at his side. They were on their way to Hachiko; Neku, Shiki, and Beat had all promised to meet back there with their partners in tow. Beside him, Joshua walked calmly, and if Neku didn't know him better, he would say that Joshua felt no anxiety at the steady approach of the Composer's Game. But Neku knew better.

Composer's Game Six. Otherwise known as UG Musical Chairs. It was going to be a very different game. For one thing, instead of all Players returning to a designated place at the end of the day, like the Scramble Crossing for Shibuya's game, Players would instead be shuffled around different UGs. It would be a tough week all around, the players having to adapt from one Game's rules to the next.

According to, what did Joshua call her? Lili? According to Lili the whole thing was a smokescreen. The newly seated Composer that made the request for the special game was no lucky player, nor a promoted Reaper. She was sure he was a Low Freq. And with this kind of game, Players will be harder to keep track of, the Reapers and Composers only keeping track of any one group that pops into their UG at a time. With this set up, it will be impossible for them to tell if a few extras show up.

Lili had tried to warn the other Angels that the special game was a bad idea, but according to her, "they reject my concern out of hand with their assuredness that nothing will come of it! They just don't see it!" The woman looked incredibly frustrated at the time, her hands digging through her hair and pulling at it.

Low Freqs were the polar opposite of Angels. While the Angels existed in the Higher Plane, the Low Freqs existed on a frequency even lower than that of noise. And with the current game, it wouldn't be hard for them to infiltrate the UGs, pass themselves off as players and erase enough Reaper's so that one of them could get at the Composer. And that was their prime objective. They would kill a Composer and inherit their power. And then kill two Composers, and than three, and so on. Eventually, they would have enough power to launch an attack on the Higher Plane itself. And that was just about the worst thing that could happen. If that happened, they could kiss the RG and the UG as they knew it goodbye.

After the long game, Reapers were thin in Shibuya's UG. Beat and himself had done quite the number on the population. Without a doubt, this would not go unnoticed by the LFs. Shibuya would be one of their first targets. Without Reaper Officers, without a Conductor, Shibuya had the UG's most vulnerable Composer.

Neku bit at his lip, his fists clenching at his sides. The action caught Joshua's eye, but the other boy said nothing.

Like hell anything was going to happen to him. Like hell. Neku would never let the Low Freqs touch him.

And so the plan was conspired. And in the name of that plan Sanae, Lili, Joshua, and in the end Sho, broke a ton of rules. The idea was to set up a lure for the Low Freqs. They needed a false Composer, and Sho was an ideal candidate. He also jumped at the chance to become 'Composer.' The basic idea was, while the Low Freqs make ready to launch their attack on the 'Composer,' the real one, plus an Angel or two, would lie in wait, blend into the RG in order to ambush them in their moment of vulnerability. The moment before they would strike. And while it was a good plan at its conception, the plus an Angel or two part fell through. And so here Neku was, Beat, Shiki, and two surprise Reapers on the horizon.

Neku looked at Josh from the corner of his eye. In order to maintain Sho's powers as the lure, Joshua was operating at a significantly reduced state and remained in the RG. However, he would be able to retrieve his power the moment he needed to.

In theory anyway. Apparently, not many people have tried to trick the mechanism for Composer inheritance.

"Hey, if it isn't Orangey Locks and the Petite Prince."

Neku would like to say he was surprised, really he would, but given the state of things he couldn't muster up an ounce of shock at seeing the lollipop wielding Reaper and his pink haired counterpart in the company of Beat and Shiki. Really, who else could it be?

Shiki looked distinctly uncomfortable, shifting Mr. Mew around in her arms as Uzuki Yashiro sat beside her, arms crossed and eyes narrowed.

Koki Kariya looked unperturbed as ever, stretched out on the bench next to Uzuki with his ever present lollipop in his mouth as Beat eyed him suspiciously from where he stood, next to him but out of striking range.

Joshua giggled at the Reaper's comment. "Orangey Locks and the Petite Prince. Sounds like quite the fairy tale story."

Kariya popped the candy out if his mouth and smiled at the two of them as they approached. "Oh, I'm sure it is. Murder, betrayal, all the good stuff from what I've heard."

Joshua raised an eyebrow and spared a glance to a flustered Shiki before settling his gaze on Beat. "How much did you tell them?"

Beat scratched at the back of his neck, but Kariya cut in before he could say anything. "Just the good stuff. You're really something else, Composer." Kariya pointed the lollipop at Joshua. "Don't think for a minute we've forgotten the long game."

Joshua tilted his head curiously. "Is that a threat, Harrier?"

"Not really," Kariya shrugged. "But our help doesn't come cheap. Give us one reason why we should help you clean up your mess."

Joshua narrowed his eyes, and Neku cut in. "Haven't Beat and Shiki gone over this with you already."

Uzuki snorted, uncrossing her arms. "Sure, but so what? Say the big bad LFs kill the Composer and take Shibuya. How much worse can it possibly get compared to what we went through during the long game? Last time I checked, an LF run Shibuya sounds a hell of a lot better than what happened with the current management."

"And last time I checked, me and Neku could've offed you back then, but we didn't. You guys owe us."

Uzuki looked at Beat, her eyes daggers. "That's exactly the kind of thing I hate. Hand outs from Players. It makes me sick." She stood up, and switched her glare to Neku, who returned her stare. "Besides, this one was ready and willing to take us out, even after we were no longer a threat." She looked pointedly at Joshua. "A pity his conviction fell through in the end. Maybe then we wouldn't be in this situation."

Neku was starting to get angry. "Hey Beat, why didn't we erase them again?"

Shiki sighed. "Oh please, can you stop acting like you haven't already agreed to do this?"

Kariya shrugged. "Hey, nothing's set in stone yet." He rubbed his fingers together. "We need a little incentive."

"Let me guess, saving the world's just not doing it for you," Shiki said.

"Like I said, how much worse could it possibly be?" Uzuki argued.

Joshua looked at her for a moment. "You really don't know, do you?" He met eyes with Uzuki and held her gaze until she abruptly looked away, uncomfortable. He then looked at Kariya, who grinned at him. "But you do."

"I've been around the block or two. I'll admit the Low Freqs are bad, bad news, but I never work for nothing. I hate working. And no one, not Composer or Angel, can force a pact between the living and the dead. And hey, I can tell by the way you're looking at me that this probably wasn't your idea, but someone has to pay the piper."

Joshua ran a hand through his hair. "You know, if we had survived this, I was probably going to give you a promotion anyway."

Uzuki was on her feet in an instant. "Let's do this!"

Kariya gave a sigh of the truly long suffering. "I was afraid this was going to happen."

Uzuki grabbed Shiki by the arm and started to bodily drag her away. "No Low Freqs are getting in the way of my promotion." She looked back at Neku and company. "We've got the Reapers. My promotion won't mean anything if all the underlings are dead."

Kariya watched them go in amusement before looking at Beat. "Guess that means we're on Player watch."

"Better than babysittin' Reapers."

"Did you miss the part about some of them being LFs?"

"Still better than babysittin' Reapers."

X

After Beat and Kariya left, Neku turned to face Joshua. "That reminds me, what's going to happen to them?"

"Hmm? What's going to happen to who?"

"The players this round."

Joshua tugged at a lock of hair and slowly ran his fingers threw it. "It's hard to say. Composer Games exist to break up the monotony of business as usual, and some of them help uncover flaws in the machine. But for UG Musical Chairs, it's really just a player swap. Composer's can see how their native players stack up against others. Since Players aren't tracked from start to finish, it's hard to evaluate them fairly at the end of the week. We only have any one set of players for a day at most. Generally, anyone who makes it to the end of day seven will be offered Reaper wings in their home UG. It can become a bit of a contest, to see which UG has the most left standing in the end. The games tend to be harder than usual, Reapers eager to weed out foreign players."

"What about the ones that want to come back to life?"

"They'd have to play another week. Usually against fellow survivors that got their wings."

"That's really messed up, you know that?"

"Maybe to you."

Neku tried not to get angry, but he found his fists clenching despite himself. "How can you say that? The game… it's hell enough as it is."

Joshua took a seat, the shadow of the Hachiko statue falling over him. The sun was setting, the sky awash with dying light. After a moment, Neku sat next to him.

"The game might be a lot of things Neku, but it isn't hell, far from it. The game isn't supposed to be kind, accommodating or easy. The world doesn't work that way, and it never has."

"I know that."

"Do you?" Joshua looked at him. "They're already dead Neku. And the only reason they aren't noise from the start is to give them a chance at what they couldn't achieve during their life, to help the human soul along, enhance their imagination that bit more. If they're strong enough, they'll make it through. If not, it isn't that big of a deal."

Neku grit his teeth, but Joshua continued before he could interrupt him. "Becoming noise is far from the end, Neku. If you live long enough, be it in the UG or the Higher Plane, it's possible that you'll run into the same person twice. Noise is an ever transitional state. A placeholder, until the next turn of the wheel."

Neku could only look at him, a thousand words on the tip of his tongue, but what came out of his mouth was, "Have you?"

Joshua's brow furrowed. "Have I what?"

"Have you met the same person twice?"

Joshua giggled. "No, I haven't been dead for quite that long."

Neku was silent for a moment. "Then why?"

Joshua looked at him, waiting for further clarification.

"If death, if people fading into noise is no big deal, then why bring me back?"

"Didn't I answer that question already?"

"Yeah, and it's bullshit. Death is no big deal, remember? If it's nothing, why go through the trouble of bringing us back when we lost? I know it caused problems for you, and I know that's why Mr. H is M.I.A. Even if you felt bad about shooting me, it's no big deal, right? So why?"

Joshua looked away from him. "Because it's different."

"How is it different, Josh?"

"When a player gets erased, they are already dead. They had their chance, and they failed. It's completely different from what I did to you. You may have gotten your chance in the game, but I robbed you of your chance at life. That and…"

Neku tried to catch Joshua's eyes, but the other boy refused to look at him.

"…maybe I didn't want to wait that long. The wheel…it takes a long time."

Neku was quiet for a moment, his thoughts spinning. And then all at once he laughed, Joshua startling and turning to face him with questioning eyes.

"You know, you really could have fooled me. And I just realized, after all this time, you've finally come. You finally met me at Hachiko."

Joshua's violet eyes widened, and Neku found he couldn't wipe the smile from his lips. Despite everything that was going on, he somehow felt better, like a leaden weight was lifted from within him. He felt better than he had in a long time, UG Musical Chairs be damned. All those hours waiting at Hachiko, even though Joshua had never shown up, somehow it seemed to be worth it. It wasn't just him. Joshua had wanted to see him too.

Slowly, Joshua returned a small smile. "Yes, I suppose I have."

At that moment someone coughed, politely and pointedly, and Neku looked up to see a very familiar old man. As the old man walked by, he mouthed what looked to be the words 'about damn time.' He passed a glance over Joshua and then looked at Neku, his very bushy eyebrows wagging suggestively.

Neku found heat rising to his face, and Joshua raised an eyebrow, just catching the tail end of the exchange. In a short time the old man was out of sight, disappearing around a gathering of young people getting ready for a night on the town.

"Friend of yours, Neku?"

"You could say that."

X

After a somewhat awkward goodnight, they parted, the Composer's game starting early the next morning.

That night, Neku dreamed of wheels spinning and spinning, a sky shaded a beautiful violet, and a thousand shadows squirming, reaching for him.

X

They didn't expect anything to happen on day one, seeing as Players wouldn't be shuffled around until day two, so it seemed like a good time for a test run.

After meeting briefly at Hachiko, Shiki and newly appointed Game Master Uzuki went out on Reaper watch. Reapers typically didn't engage in direct battle with players, as only the Game Master was allowed that privilege, and only on the seventh day. If anything out of the norm happened, Uzuki and Shiki would find out about it, and let the others know to brace themselves.

While Kariya and Beat went to the crossing with the intention of keeping tabs on the Players, Neku and Joshua had the unenviable task of shadowing Sho.

It had been decided before Neku got himself involved that the best course of action for Sho to take as LF bait was to attend to business as usual. Sho was unpredictable enough that anything he did was automatically normal for him and unsuspicious. He could walk around the UG dressed as Wonder Woman or a fly swatter and no one would question him.

Naturally, following such a person around whilst trying to look inconspicuous wasn't exactly a walk in the park.

Though Neku was RG bound, his pact with Josh allowed him visibility of the UG. Their pursuit of Sho led them all around Shibuya, and whenever they ran across Players, frightened yet determined to survive, Neku would feel distinctly uncomfortable. Even if erasure wasn't as permanent as he once thought it to be, the cut-throat nature of the game was still hard to swallow, brought back memories of his own time in the game, the desperation. And it bothered him how Joshua could be so blasé about the whole thing. And looking back on it, it wasn't just Joshua or the Reapers. Mr. H was the same way…

"So, what do you think he's doing?" Joshua was propped up against the wall next to Neku, the shadow of the building falling over them as they watched Sho do…something.

Not too far off Sho seemed to be concentrating hard as he stared at a dilapidated alley wall, a hand on his chin. Despite the fact that an attempt could be made on his life at any time, it didn't seem to affect him.

"I don't know, mental math?"

Joshua giggled at that. "Somehow, I don't think that's it."

Not two minutes later he was proved right. They both watched as Sho flickered. Neku was confused for a moment, but then he realized Sho was transitioning into the RG. Sho briefly rummaged through the pockets of his trench coat before emerging victoriously with a hammer. What the hell? Who keeps a hammer on them?

All at once Sho started whacking at the wall. Neku looked around, but the area they were in was pretty deserted, most people preferring to stick to the main streets. There were smatterings of people here and there, Neku and Joshua hanging to the fringes of a group of teens playing tin pin, but witnessing a potentially crazy person go wild with a hammer had everyone discretely leaving the area. It wasn't too long before Sho held a large chunk of the wall in his hands.

"Zetta perfect. This will be my focal point."

Happily, Sho turned on his heel and started heading towards the greater populace. Just when Neku and Joshua were about to start tracking him, he stopped and turned back around, heading straight for the pair.

Before Neku knew what was happening, a hammer was shoved against his chest and his arms came up automatically to keep it from falling.

"What the hell Pie Face, you aren't suppo—" Before Neku could finish, Sho flickered again, and then he was disappearing around a corner of the alley. In the distance, they could hear him laughing.

Neku and Joshua had a moment to exchange a 'what the hell was that look,' and then it all became clear.

"Hey you! What do you little punks think you're doing!" A police officer rounded the opposite corner from where Sho ran off, and Neku was left standing there, a hammer in his hands and a giant hole in the wall. Belatedly, he noticed someone, probably the owner of the business with the recently renovated wall, glaring over at him from the other side, looking like he was about to climb through the wall to get at him.

Joshua trembled beside him, and Neku could tell he was trying to hold back laughter. Neku didn't have time to be irritated though. He dropped the hammer, and then the two of them were running. Playing the game for three weeks had the welcome effect of ingraining the layout of Shibuya into Neku's memory, so it was easy enough to stay on the lam.

When the coast was clear, they stopped to catch their breath, and Joshua couldn't hold it in anymore. He started laughing, and Neku glared at him.

"I'm sorry Neku, but your face was priceless when that cop showed up."

"How exactly was that funny, Josh? We're on a mission and that asshole's screwing with us. What if a Low Freq showed? We could all be dead right now."

"Relax, Neku. It's day one. Just take a deep breath and plan your revenge accordingly. Sho might be a bit on the eccentric side, but he isn't stupid. Let him have his laugh today. Tomorrow's when it starts."

Neku grit his teeth. "Whatever."

It wasn't hard finding Sho again after that. All they had to do was follow the path of destruction. Neku had never wondered how the Grim Heaper went about creating his heaps, but he got a front row seat anyway, seething the whole time.

On the bright side, by the end of the day they both had a solid grasp on keeping track of Sho while blending in with the rest of the Real Grounders. Neku felt a little bit better about their chances of success in their ambush. Hopefully they could end it quickly. And afterwards…

Side-by-side, Neku and Joshua watched as various city workers tried to go about cleaning up Sho's latest master piece. The game had ended, the Player's put on stasis until their next game in another city somewhere. Sho had retired for the night, and Neku felt less and less angry the longer he was gone. Now he was just tired.

They were sitting outside, the sun setting in the distance. A nearby food cart vendor was selling sweets, and the air smelled of cinnamon.

Neku should probably go home, get a good night's rest, but Joshua was a warm presence from where he sat too close beside him, a pleasant heat seeping into Neku whenever their arms brushed. Joshua was uncharacteristically silent, gazing out at the city with solemn eyes.

It occurred to Neku that if things went badly, this could be the last time the two of them would ever be like this again. Together, and at peace. Somehow, he just couldn't leave quite yet.

They would get through this. They had to. Neku had faith.

And afterwards…maybe he could finally get his life going in the direction he'd been hoping for since the fallout of the long game.

X

Consistent with the rules of the universe, their collaborative effort to thwart a likely end of days blew up most spectacularly in their faces with surprising speed and accuracy.

The moment the new batch of players appeared in the scramble, Kariya knew something was wrong. He knew it in the same way he knew something wasn't right when Phones showed up with Pretty Boy as his new partner. No player should have had that kind of presence in the UG. Back then he had jumped to the most obvious conclusion. He had no idea about the larger game at play.

But this time, he knew exactly what was happening.

The player swap was supposed to be completely random. No two players from their home UG should end up at the same UG together again.

But this group of Players…this definitely wasn't good. Kariya motioned for Beat to follow him, and they moved away from the group of Players. At the moment, Kariya deeply regretted their choice to remain in the UG. Beat seemed to pick up on his anxiety and shot him a quizzical look.

Kariya pulled out his phone and quickly dialed Uzuki. When Uzuki answered her phone, Kariya didn't waste any time.

"Bad news Uzuki, you better watch your back."

"I take it the LFs are here then. They certainly didn't waste any time did they?"

"Oh, you have no idea."

"Are you sorting out the Players then?" Uzuki asked.

"That won't be a problem."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean no Players showed up."

Uzuki was quiet on the other side. "How could that happen?"

"I don't even want to know. I'm all for Player erasure but…the Player shuffle is completely random. For them to be twelve for twelve, they would have to have taken out the majority of Players across the UGs in day one."

"Or all of them. Well, all of them except the ones that made it past day one here. Shit, one or two LFs we could have handled, but twelve of them…"

Kariya was seriously contemplating fleeing to the RG, if only that kind of thing would work. But he had no illusions about the reach of the LFs. They would notice their transition, and pluck them right out of the RG and if that happened they wouldn't have a chance.

Uzuki spoke over the line. "I'll let the Composer know. What are you going to do?"

"We're going to get away from ground zero. If they converge on us we're dead. They should split up on their own in order to find the Composer. We can pick them off from there."

"Right. Don't get yourself killed. You still owe me ramen."

"You took the words right out of my mouth."

Kariya ended the call and looked at Beat. Beat was looking over at the gathering of 'Players.'

"Are those really Low Freqs, yo? All of them?"

"Unfortunately."

"So what should we do?"

"Let's clear out. When they split we'll look for an opportunity and start picking them off. Uzuki and your friend will do the same."

"Um, Loli?" Beat asked.

"What is it Skulls?"

"Looks like they split."

"Then I guess we'll…" Kariya looked towards the center of the scramble, expecting to see the LFs taking their leave. He wasn't expecting them to be completely gone. "Right, of course."

X

After ending her call with Kariya, Uzuki sent a quick text to Joshua, letting him know the situation was much worse then what they were prepared for.

She also played with the idea of sending out an alert to the Reapers, but dismissed the idea entirely. At this point in time, the element of surprise was just about their only advantage. The LFs couldn't know they were ready for them.

She was just putting her phone away when Shiki shouted in warning.

"Uzuki, look out!"

She had just enough time to dive to the side before she was bowled over.

"Nice save, Game Master."

Uzuki got her feet under her and Shiki was beside her in an instant.

A man and a woman stood before them. Nothing about then really stood out, they looked like any other citizen of Shibuya. However, something was incredibly off about them, and Uzuki could feel the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. How the hell did they get here so fast?

As the pairs faced off, the city rippled, and Uzuki felt the familiar pull as they were transported to the plane of battle. It was something that always impressed her about the UG, the ability to protect itself from collateral damage. She could feel Shiki through their synchronized connection, and she hoped they'd be able to pull this off.

The male of the pair faced her with a sharp toothed smile, and with her heart in her throat she watched as he transformed into something other.

First his skin broke along his arms, and with sickening wet sounds it peeled its way off his body, revealing blood and black bone. Soon enough he was skinless, and even though a part of her was shocked and disgusted, she really did see this coming.

She moved to attack him before he could finish whatever it was he was doing, and shot off a bolt of pink energy at him.

He wasn't expecting the attack, and it connected solidly with his exposed chest, flinging him backwards in a spray of blood.

He stayed on his back where he fell for a moment, shocked. Then he was laughing, laughing so hard his whole body shook with the force of it. He looked up at her, mirth plain on his face. "Usually Reapers are too shocked to do anything after the skin comes off to do anything but shake in their boots like a soon to be victim in a horror movie. Not you though. I didn't even get to finish and you've already got me on my back. I feel kind of naked right now. Naked and impressed. Does nothing faze you, Game Master?"

Uzuki fired at him again, but the man leapt away, and he was on his feet in an instant. His muscles glistened wetly, and Uzuki decided one hundred percent that this would be a mid-range battle. There was no way in hell she was getting up close and personal with that. Not unless she absolutely, absolutely had to.

As if reading her mind, the man barreled at her, intent on getting his hands on her. Uzuki did her best to keep away from him, shooting at him offensively whenever she could, but he was fast. He threw a punch at her, and even though she dodged cleanly, the force and power of the blow cut into her side even though there was no direct impact.

"Damn." The cut was shallow, but if he had gotten any closer it would have been dire. She needed more distance.

As he came at her again, she shot a blast at him that would circle back if it missed its target the first time. Sure enough he dodged, but just when he thought he could get his hands on her, the blast hit him in the back, Uzuki taking the opportunity to run out of his range.

She could feel Shiki as the girl fought, felt her energy as their synch steadily climbed, felt the power flow between them. So far, the girl was holding her own. While neither Shiki nor herself had a clue about the battle skills of the LFs, her opponent probably wasn't expecting an attack from a stuffed animal.

She really, really hoped they could pull this off. Today, she was Game Master. And if they survived this, the Composer would be beholden to her when this was all over. Everything was looking up. All she had to do was kick some Low Freq ass. Starting with this one. Oh, she was absolutely giddy. She couldn't keep the smile off her face, and her expression must have thrown the LF off guard, because his movements faltered for a split second.

It was all the opening she needed.

X

In the end, it didn't take them long to find Sho. Of course, he wasn't trying to hide.

From their position amongst the RG crowd, Joshua and Neku watched as Sho was followed discreetly. There was six of them, certainly more than they were prepared for, but better then the initial twelve. The others had done well, picking them off.

When Sho got wind that he was being followed, he stopped. Cat Street was as good a place as any.

Joshua and Neku waited, ready to tune into the UG at a moment's notice.

Sho turned around to face his pursuers, a cocky grin on his lips. "What do you hectopascals want? Don't you think it's a little early for you Players to challenge the Composer?"

Neku didn't bothering listening to the response. He looked at Joshua and they shared a silent agreement. The time was now.

Joshua brought them into the UG in one moment and in the next he was pulling the Low Freqs into the battle plane. As they transitioned, Joshua dipped into his Composer powers. Neku could feel it on his side, it was everywhere, singing in his blood and in the air that passed through his lungs, a bright and overwhelming sensation. He almost couldn't take it, felt like his whole body could combust at any moment. But that was okay. This wasn't meant to be a drawn out battle, they didn't have to maintain the sync for long.

Neku fingered his pins: One Jump from Eden, One Skip from Eden, One Hop from Eden, One Step from Eden, Eden's Door, and Anguis, for his kill shot.

Neku raised a hand, the power charging before him faster than he had ever seen, Joshua's power rushing alongside his own.

Before the Low Freqs could get their bearings, before they could understand just what happened, Neku fired, the thin beam of light rushing at the LFs before they could defend themselves. Through their link, Neku knew that Joshua had done the same, smiting the LFs in the same breath as Neku had. The beam hit and exploded, dirt from the ground whipping up and smoke obscuring the targets.

When the smoke settled, there was no one there. Obliterated, just as planned.

…

However, Neku remained in the battle plane. Which was really strange. Usually when the enemy was defeated, they returned to the UG. All at once Neku felt the familiar pull, but instead of going back to the UG, he was suddenly side by side with Joshua, his imagination so radiant Neku could barely make out his face. And he had wings too, white like a dove's and just as fragile looking. This close to him, Neku felt power in every heartbeat. For a moment his head spun, but he shook the overwhelming feeling off the best he could.

"Neku? What are you doing here?"

"Ummm…"

"Ah that was me, sorry." Neku looked up at the voice. On Joshua's side of things, there was one man left standing. He looked to be as tall as Mr. H, but a little bit bulkier. He had short, dark hair and cold blue eyes. All in all, he looked pretty standard, but there was something about him that put Neku on edge. Maybe it was the fact that the guy managed to survive a full on attack from the Composer. "You see, we don't have a noise form like the Reapers do, and I didn't want you to feel left out."

Neku bristled at the man's tone.

"How thoughtful of you. But isn't it a bit reckless, facing us both at the same time?" Joshua asked, and Neku could hear the sound of the curve of his lips in his voice.

The man laughed at that. "Not at all, not at all. Well, I must admit you gave us quite a surprise with the little decoy you set up. I figured a Composer would have more pride than to take such a cheap shot, but then again this is Shibuya, isn't it? We've all heard the rumors. Everyone knows your city is weak."

Neku fiddled with his Anguis pin, getting more and more agitated the longer the man spoke. "Which is why this city was number one on your list. What's the matter, too scared to take on a fully manned UG? You're the ones who are weak. Last time I checked, you were the last one standing. And you won't be standing for long."

The man starred at him for a minute, surprised. Then he started laughing, and Neku felt Joshua tense beside him.

The man continued to laugh, and his whole body started to glow. The glow got brighter and brighter until Neku couldn't make out any of his features, and wings, large white wings sprung from his back.

The Freq was emanating power. And it felt almost like the power flowing through his veins, like Joshua's, but different. Very different. And it felt like it was…more, somehow.

"Tell me kid, does it look like Shibuya will be the first UG I take?"

Neku and Joshua moved at the same time.

When Neku shot out a blast with the Anguis pin, Joshua was right beside him, calling down a beam of light to collide with the LF at the same instant of Neku's shot.

The blowback was instantaneous. Their combined attack glanced off the LF like it was nothing, and Neku found himself being thrown backwards, the wind rushing through his ears and terrible pain in his abdomen. He fell to the ground, stunned. It took him a few seconds to realize the Freq had moved, had delivered a blow to Neku so swiftly he never saw it coming.

He came at Neku again, and Joshua launched a volley of attacks at him to keep him away.

Neku gritted his teeth as Joshua was swatted out of the sky. Shit, this was bad. Joshua was always offensively inclined, and his defense suffered for it. When they were partners during the game, Joshua's guard was absolutely pathetic, but it didn't really matter when their opponents never got the chance to exploit that weakness. The best defense is a good offence and all that. Judging by the ripple of shared pain as Josh was flung to the ground, his Composer powers did not upset the balance of his strengths and weaknesses. Only, this time, their opponent wasn't falling so easily, which didn't make sense. They expected a certain degree of power from the LFs, and the possibility that they might encounter the LF that requested the Composer's Game was considered. That was part of the reason why Neku was involved in the first place, why everyone was involved.

Their pact should tip the odds significantly in their favor, but it wasn't happening. Their combined power, and even their simultaneous attacks weren't leaving so much as a dent.

Neku picked himself off the ground and rushed the LF. He threw his arm back, ready to punch the bastard in the face, but he knew immediately that it wouldn't connect. When the LF made to grab his incoming arm, Neku feinted at the last second, side stepped him and fired an Anguis blast at point blank range.

Neku didn't wait around to see the result, he had a good idea at this point, and odd as the Freq's endurance to their attack was, he knew exactly what they had to do to win.

Joshua was back in the air, calling beam after beam down upon the Freq, keeping him in place. Neku circled around, attacking during the lulls in Joshua's onslaught. Their attacks might not be doing much damage, but they would soon enough. With each attack, Neku felt their bond strengthen, more and more power pooling in his body and in turn launched at the LF. In the meantime, their offensive kept the LF from countering.

All it took was a moment. Neku and Joshua fell into alignment, and Neku felt the stirring power of fusion. The next blow from Neku, a shot to the Freq's chest had him staggering back. Surprised, the LF ran a hand over his chest, and the red of his blood was vibrant and unmistakable against the backdrop of his luminescence. And then it was too much. Neku was no Composer, his body wasn't suited to host that kind of power, and they had maintained their sync for far too long.. His body couldn't take anymore.

Amidst rushing the enemy, ready to end it, Neku faltered. He was still for a moment, and in that moment the LF just looked at him. And even though Neku couldn't make out his face, that look…

Agony took him. Neku fell to the floor at the Low Freq's feet, and his body started to spasm uncontrollably. It felt like his skin was melting right off his bones, like his blood was molten. Their sync snapped violently, like an electrical wire gone wild and livid. It broke from its tether with Neku and slammed into Joshua, the unfathomable force of it striking him down.

Neku's vision started to blur, and the Low Freq walked right by him, like he was a piece of trash on the sidewalk. Weakly, he made to get up, but his body just wouldn't listen to him. He could only watch as the LF made his way to Joshua's prone form.

The LF whistled lowly. "Man, I really underestimated the pact thing, didn't I? Good thing it backfired." He nudged Joshua with his foot. "Wakey wakey. Come on now, this isn't any fun unless you're awake, you know."

Joshua groaned, and the Freq knelt beside him. "Say, do you know what my favorite part about killing a Composer is?"

The LF reached out with one hand and grasped one of Joshua's wings, and the Composer went completely still, tension in every line of his body.

With his other hand, the LF rifled through his coat pockets and pulled out a dagger, his smile every bit as sharp as the blade. Joshua struggled against him, but the broken sync left him powerless and disoriented. His life was on the line, and he couldn't even pull himself off the ground, let alone away from the LF.

"You'll have to bear with me, I've only done this twice before, so it might get a little messy. But I tell you, there's no pleasure in the world quite like taking the wings from a Composer. I can only imagine what it'll be like taking them from the Angels. I get excited just thinking about it."

He brought the knife down, and Neku lost it at the first sight of red. He forced himself up, first on his hands, then on his knees. His whole body shook, and it was only a moment before he collapsed back down, pain searing every part of his body. He bit his lip, fighting back tears.

This was not happening.

Oh god this was not happening.

The ground was cold under him, the gravel of the road rough and unforgiving. Neku moved his arms, and started dragging himself towards Joshua. It was like a nightmare. He could hear the knife as it severed delicate bone, hear the stuttered gasps as his friend tried not to cry out, a muffled sob.

And he could feel. Oh, he could feel everything. Even after their sync broke, Neku could still feel Joshua. His heart fluttered like a Hummingbird's wings, and his fingers scrabbled at the ground, at the Freq, trying to get away, trying to make it stop. And Neku would have done anything, anything in that moment to make it stop. To get Josh away from him.

Neku was at the point pain was just an afterthought, somehow dulled as he felt phantom fingers at his back, as his skin scraped against the ground. Belatedly, he realized he was crying.

Neku made it about halfway to them when he blacked out.

X

When Neku woke up, it was to the voice of Angels.

Light hit the back of his eyelids, and a familiar voice drifted to his ears, not quite registering to his awareness.

"How's Phones holding up?"

"Better than your Composer, that's for sure."

"…"

"We made it just in time. If we pulled them out any later it could have been bad."

"It's already bad. So…how long do you think we have? Before they come."

"Not long."

"I see… do you know what the damage was?"

"Yeah…twenty-eight Composers and counting."

X

TBC