The World Ends With You, Too

Kairi gave Sora the letter and he read aloud "Traverse Town is being protected by a new group of kids. I'd like you to visit them, for their world was lost too. Oh, and Sora, there's this Sakuraba kid. I want you to take special care of him."

Amaya's Note:

Fufufufu, I gots chapter two! Yay! Thanks so much for everyone who reviewed because it's greatly appreciated! And remember in the last chapter how I said I'd try to incarcerate my need to put Joshii-kun in the story without the fangirl impulses, I lied. He's in this chapter…

Ehh, 'nuff said.

.:Disclaimer:.
I also forgot to do this in the first chapter. All characters are owned by Square Enix and Jupiter. Only Ashley and this plot is owned by me. 'Cause you know if I did own TWEWY and/or KH, there would be strongly implied yaoi (please don't let that change your mind about the story!)

//responsibilities\\

"Look, I don't care what you say about your freakin' key stick whatever or riding on some gummy bears, I'm staying here in Traverse Town!" Neku yelled back. The room had subconsciously divided into two halves: one side being the recipients of Shibuya and the other being the Keybearers. Kairi was going to say something, but Riku shushed her. Why force something onto him…especially if he didn't want to?

Sora was going to let Neku think. Just think. Letting Orangeylocks decide for himself was an entirely different affair.

Neku's glare was intended for Riku, who did force the speech onto him, but it deeply disturbed Sora. Shiki, Neku's close friend-who-happens-to-be-a-girl, noticed the tension in the air and winced. These three strangers just walked into the town and suddenly they're taking Neku away. But the concept they imposed seemed to explain the reason they ended up in Traverse Town. Maybe asking them to reiterate what they were trying to say would help. "Riku, right?"

"Yeah, Shiki?" He turned to her, and the fierce look in his eyes almost made her scream.

"Can you explain…it all again, please?"

"I could, but Sora can do it better." Riku motioned to his brunette friend, who was staring intently at Neku, who was freaking out a bit because of that.

"Uh, y-yeah, I like sea salt ice cream." He said passively without removing his gaze at Neku.

"Hey, Keyboy, what's up? Answer the question." Neku sternly asked (or rather demanded.)

"Umm, nothing." Sora shook his head out of any other irrelevant trances and finally explained. "The world you lived on, Earth, was most likely overrun by Heartless, those creatures you saw earlier, Neku. They are creatures whose hearts were stolen and blindly thirst for more. The stronger the heart, the stronger the Heartless seek it out. Earth was really big, and so its world heart must've been humungous. The Heartless eventually reached the world heart, consumed it and Earth fell apart into darkness."

"W-what happens to the people on that world?" Eri timidly asked.

Sora was quiet for a moment. No one had been able to find his parents after he came home. They could've been…he didn't want to admit it. "Some of them make it here, to Traverse Town." And he left it there.

"What about the people who…don't?" The designer pressed.

Sora didn't answer and Kairi could see that it was a sensitive topic for her friend. She hadn't seen her parents either, only her grandmother. And who knew where she was now? "They…don't make it to Traverse Town. I think that's enough said." Realization spread on Neku, Shiki and Eri's faces. Those who didn't make it to Traverse Town most likely died.

"Is it possible that people don't make it to Traverse Town but they can still survive?"

"Yes." Riku calmly answered. Everyone turned to him again, and he was sitting with his eyes tightly shut. "I made it to Radiant Garden."

"But c'mon, Riku! Brighten up! We made it back together!" Sora said. Was it the right time to ask Riku what was wrong? "Riku…you've been acting really strangely ever since we got onto the gummi ship."

"Sora, I think you need to finish explaining to Neku and his friends."

He took the hint that he wouldn't be getting any answers out of the silver haired friend. Sora sighed in defeat and hardened his face to tell them the honest truth. "About two years ago, I defeated a Heartless of a decoy Ansem who was going to control the ultimate heart, Kingdom Hearts. His Nobody, Xemnas, then tried to become whole again by taking the hearts there a year later. I…there was a group of other Nobodies Xemnas lead, Organization XIII. Now…the work might not be done."

"Let me get this straight," Neku said, trying to wipe off any confusion on his face. Kairi looked at his calm façade and had to admit, looking at Neku was scary. Seeing Sora's bright and cheery eyes on a face that was scarred emotionally just…didn't seem right. Neku noticed this too, and continued faster than necessary. "Xemnas is fake Ansem's Nobody, right? What was this Organization for?"

"They all came together for a come reason." Sora told him. He froze though, because those weren't his words. Roxas was talking, not him. "We wanted to become whole again. Have a heart beating in our chests, be able to care for someone, and actually feel it. We could act as if we were human, but inside, that only fed out need to actually be able to do what you guys can."

"We?" Shiki questioned.

Sora sighed again, giving into the sensation of Roxas taking control. A bright blue radiance shown over his body and Roxas' visible features appeared. He liked doing this; although it was Sora's, Roxas could feel a beating heart, as if it were his own. But the Somebody didn't enjoy getting pushed to the back of his own mind, so Roxas would have to be quick. "Not Sora, me, Roxas."

Neku's eyes bulged to what may have seemed a good foot out of his head. "Who—what happened to Sora?"

"I'm Roxas, Sora's Nobody. He's in his head…where I usually am." Roxas informed them. Neku crossed his arms, and the Nobody knew exactly what he was thinking. "Sora, Riku or Kairi won't tell you this, but Sora was turned into a Heartless in Radiant Garden, back when is was still Hollow Bastion. He was able to turn back to the light, but when that happened, I was created."

Shiki gawked. Roxas laughed a bit at that, but also because of the glares he received from Riku and Kairi. Riku really didn't like the Nobody all that much. I mean, Roxas was the last component to bring Sora back, but he made it difficult to do so. And Kairi? She'd barely met the dude. But Shiki was able to put two and two together. "Wait, so you're only like what, two years old?"

"Pretty much. My first year was with the Organization, and I've already spent my second with Sora." Roxas could feel Sora tugging impatiently. And he smirked, knowing he was probably leaving Neku and his friends in more questions than answers. "I have to make this swift, so talk to you later?"

They didn't have time to respond when Roxas started to fade back to Sora's familiar face. He exhaled deeply, jerking his limbs around to get the feeling in them again. Riku sat solemnly, as Kairi looked ready to tackle the Keyblader. "Kinda like the saying two heads are better than one."

"Talking about two heads," The Princess of Light started. "Where's Donald and Goofy?"

"Ahyuck! Right here!" The two sidekicks crashed through the door with a loud amount of unnecessary commotion. They received a defiant stare from the shop owner, but he softened up when he recognized the faces now sitting in his lounge. Everywhere they went they got the same reaction. It was as if Donald or Goofy were continuously thinking why don't we go crash a wedding? They'll forgive us anyways, 'cause heck, we saved them! Sora doubted it, but wouldn't be surprised if he caught wind of his friends doing so. Goofy stood panting next to Neku, who was freaking out, again.

And Donald ran up to Neku, flailing his wings helplessly. "What did you do to your clothes Sora?"

Neku grumbled, twisting the end of one of his hair spikes. "Not. Sora." He said bluntly.

Sora laughed, raising his hand to signal his presence. "Over here guys. That's Neku Sakuraba, the one with the cat is Shiki Misaki and the last one is Eri Sato." The girls nodded their heads respectively, but Neku was still grumbling incoherent words. "Neku, Shiki, Eri, meet Donald and Goofy."

"Wait, you're Neku?" Goofy questioned, suddenly catching his breath. "Gawrsh, too bad we let 'em leave, Donald. Neku, I think we met a guy lookin' for you."

Neku cocked an eyebrow. "Me? Who?"

"What was it? It was um, something his mother and father liked to call him. Yuki…no, uh, Yoshi?" Goofy brainstormed to himself. "Oh! Yoshiya! And he was with a girl who was carrying around a cup of coffee."

"J-Joshua's here? With Ashley?" Neku turned to Shiki and Eri, whose faces were equally, if not more than, astounded. He knew all too well how to describe the Composers. Only Joshua would lie about having a mother and father, despite him outliving them by a few hundred years. And Ashley had been ranting about trying new coffee ever since their first encounter. "How'd we miss them in the Shibuya headcount?"

"Oh, and they said they're leaving soon to look for ya!" Donald quacked.

Sora smacked the two of them on the backs of their heads. "Then why didn't you say so earlier?"

"I was getting there!" Donald and Sora were caught in their own bicker as Goofy walked over to Neku.

"Joshua and Ashley weren't joking around at all. They really needed to find ya Neku. Something…something in the way they spoke just set me…off edge." Goofy nudged Sora, and instantly, the brunette noticed the uneasiness on his face. Goofy never was…not goofy unless it was serious. "Sora, we need to help 'em get to Neku."

He looked like he was ready to plead and beg on all fours if he had to. Sora wouldn't, no, Sora couldn't say no. Besides, he was under an obligation. He saved the worlds, but had to clean up the mess left afterwards. And there was suddenly this new threat, the Decoders. If they weren't striving for Kingdom Hearts, then exactly what was their goal? And Neku…what did he have in all of this? The king knew something and obviously, it wasn't much. Neku was joking with Shiki, Eri, Donald, Goofy, Riku and Kairi, but his veneer covered something deep.

"Neku?"

"Hm?" He turned, a bright smile still plastered on his face from a previous tale.

"Are you ready to find Joshua?"

//~*~\\

Explain that again?

Sigh…it's not that complicated, is it?

I'm new to this. Sue me for not knowing.

It's the Director's Cut. You know, when someone dies and goes into the Reapers' Game, win, then come back to life, it's a little weird. I mean, they've been dead for a week. Why die and then start walking around again in seven days? The people who were close to the person that died will start wondering why that happened, and sooner or later, they're going to find out about the Game. If they've been through it before, it's okay. But sometimes there are a few people who haven't died that discover the Game. Kinda like you saying you were able to see the Game while you were alive.

And this Director?

Find Neku, then I can tell you.

//~*~\\

"First key-sticks…"

"Keyblade…"

"Now intergalactic travel on gummy bears…"

"Gummi ship…"

Neku continued to list all the things he would never get used to. And as he went, Riku corrected him. But hey, you can't blame him; why don't you live in your hometown for the first fifteen years of your life then suddenly meet a giant key holding boy whose hair defies all gravity, then tell me what you think. When the Traverse Town World Gates were opened, Neku nearly stumbled at the sight. The dark abyss was studded with trillions, if not billions, of twinkling stars. The forced just seemed to make him lurch forward, Shiki and Eri, too.

After hearing Goofy's pleads and Sora's invitation, Neku finally gave in. He would go with the Keybladers, but only to look for Joshua. The edginess Goofy mentioned was clearly reflected in his face. But wait…Neku finally knew Joshua and Ashley were safe, but what about Beat and Rhyme! He whipped his head to Shiki. "Did you see Beat or Rhyme anywhere?"

Comprehension dawned on her face. "Did you, Eri!"

"I—I don't think so…" She said, shaking her head and suddenly searching through the various crowds in Traverse Town. When Earth had fallen, its entire people had been dumped in various places. The majority was clearly here in this makeshift world, caught between the Dark Corridors, and it was easy to get lost in the multitude. But still, places like the Second District remained lightly decorated with people, and the Third was scarcely. "Think they're okay?"

"Hope so…"

Sora turned to the gate where a girl was walking through. Shiki sighed in relief and Eri tackled her. Neku's eyes were furrowed together as he glared at her. And Sora couldn't help but feel something weird when she arrived. It was…unimaginable, unspeakable…unusual. It wasn't the fuzzy sensation he got with Kairi, but at the same time, he could say it was. She was tall, almost Shiki and Eri's height, wore blue clothes and a matching hat that concealed slick black hair. They knew who she was, and that was enough to know she wasn't dangerous. She turned to Sora, dark brown eyes nearly scaring the crap out of the cobalt ones. "You're Sora, right?"

"Yeah. You are?" He answered slowly.

She sighed in relief. "That's good. My name's Ashley Secaria, Composer of the great San Fran. Sora, when did you meet Neku?"

This time, the proxy talked. "Just a few hours ago, Ashley. Where's Joshua?"

Ashley twitched a bit and held the side of her head. "He's at the Castle. I would've gone with him but I got…uh, dizzy during the flight. So I came here instead, looking for Neku while he stayed to talk to the Queen."

Neku, Shiki and Eri all tilted their heads to the talk of royalty, but Sora, Kairi and Riku knew exactly what Ashley was talking about. "No King?" Riku asked.

"Out looking for the Decoders. Which brings me to this, Neku…" Ashley dug into her pocket and tossed Neku a piece of paper. "You need to read that."

"What is it?"

"Your…responsibilities."

chapter two

.:responsibilities:.

//closed\\

Wow…I feel accomplished. I finished chapter two and my novel (Traces of the Phones) on the same day. While watching Camp Rock! And eating dinner! And beating Megumi! At different times! Whoo! This chapter was supposed to end way differently, with Joshua actually showing up…but hey, I finally overcame my RJFD. Which is Rabid Joshua Fangirl Disorder. There's also Type 1 RRFD, which is Rabid Riku Fangirl Disorder and Type 2 RRFD, Rabid Roxas Fangirl Disorder! And I'm suffering from all three!

Ohhh, pity I'm sick like this…tee-hee~

.:amaya out:.