Chapter Three: A Night at Harry's

Koji sat in Harry's basement with the Remnants. Harry's basement was one of their favorite spots to hang. The adults of the house, even Harry's seventeen year old brother, hated staying down there. Koji sat on a beat up couch that had been duck taped together in several spots. He was playing chess with Axel who stood on the table in front of him, to small to truly play without stepping on the board. A pool table was pushed of to a corner with boxes of old photos and baby toys. A few old deer horns from a grandfather hung on the walls along with random pictures. Roxas lay on one of the pillows randomly thrown a crossed the room, fiddling with a loose string.

True boredom.

Harry was gone doing something and everyone lay waiting. Koji shoved his impatience away and pushed a chess piece forward. "Check."

Axel studied the board. "No way, where?"

"There." Koji said without emotion. "You got to move now."

Axel glared at the chess piece. "Well then I'll move here."

Koji gently picked up a piece and placed in another spot. "Checkmate."

"What? How?"

Koji jerked his thumb at the king. "Look closer."

Just then, Harry came flying down the stairs and slammed a box on the table. Chess pieces went flying everywhere shocking both Koji and Axel. Especially Axel who had been about to step onto the board. Just one more second and...

"Guess what!" Harry said excitedly.

"What?" Koji asked in the same, but more sarcastic tone.

"I found this cool board game to play! You want to try?"

"Uh, no." Koji said even more sarcastically. "Just look at it. It just screams kindergarten at you."

Axel finally slumped to his knees from the shock. He was pretty sure being a Remnant was his last life line. Roxas walked to the edge of the table and looked up at them. "What is it?"

Harry looked at the box for a few minutes. "I don't know. My grandma just told me to be careful with it. The name is all scratched out." He popped open the box and looked inside. "It looks really old though. It came from antafrica or something."

Koji picked up a small wooden place marker from the box. "Would that be Africa or Antarctica?"

"Shut up." Harry snapped. Harsh words but a playful meaning. "I pass my classes."

"With a D- average."

Harry pulled out the play board and set it on the table, pushing the chess game off. "Please play? You weren't doing anything anyway."

"I'm still alive right?" Axel asked Koji.

A small laugh came from Roxas. "Of course you are."

"Good, because Harry's butt was about to become haunted!" Axel glared at Harry who twitched when his eyes locked with his.

"Uhh... okay..." He slowly backed away.

Koji sighed. "Fine." He grumbled and set the piece on the board.

At that moment, after a yell was heard upstairs. "Harry your dad is here!"

Harry dropped his Fanta. "Aw, Snap!" He quickly picked up his dropped beverage and jerked his head towards the basement door. "You got to go! Now!"

"Why?" Koji asked.

"Because my dad is embarrassing!"

"So?"

"He asks my friends the weirdest questions ever!"

"Because?"

"His hobby. He's way into the supernatural! He thinks if he gets a huge break through he can quite his job."

Koji remained where he was sitting. "I can handle it."

Harry shook his head. "There's a reason you're my only friend now. Everyone else thinks I'll be as weird as him or something!"

A small pause of silence was left between them before Koji said, "Harry, you're already weird."

Harry watched Koji pick up the dice. "Fine..." He groaned. "Just don't take him seriously."

His dad came down the stairs as Koji let his dice fall onto the board. "Hey Harry, who's your friend?"

"No one..." He whispered. Axel and Roxas quickly hid under the couch, making sure to keep their existence known to a minimum amount of people.

He came down and sat by Koji. Koji cocked his head away from him to give him the hint they were a little to close. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Koji..." He said slowly, as if he was a little slow.

"Could I ask you a few questions?" He asked.

"Dad, don't you do enough of that at work?" Harry shook the dice, his hands tight for he didn't plan to let go soon.

Koji shook his head. "Whatever. Hit me."

His dad pulled a notepad seemingly out of no where. "Have you seen anything unusual lately?" He asked.

"No." Koji told him as he reached for his soda.

"Nothing? You know, dragons, werewolves, ghosts, fairies--"

Koji shook his head to everything he said, drinking his soda at the same time.

"--Nobodies?"

Dr. Pepper erupted from Koji's mouth and rained all over the game before him and Harry. His Remnant's squeaks were concealed from the noise of spraying liquid.

Harry slowly brought up his hands and gave them a shake of disgust. His dad didn't even seem to notice the reaction.

"Nobodies?" Koji asked, his voice shaking.

He nodded. "You know, monsters that were born from imagination."

Koji calmed down. Wrong Nobodies. He laughed nervously. "Not at all."

Harry's dad nodded, disappointed. "Okay then. Tell me if you do." He said and left.

Roxas and Axel crawled out of their hiding place. "Weird..." Roxas muttered.

Koji smiled. "You do remember we are camping in the backyard right?" he asked.

Harry nodded. "Of course."

Later that night they were all ready for the night and were in the middle of very important game.

"Fifty-two card pick up!" Harry yelled and chucked the deck at Koji, which burst into many directions.

"Gah! Hey!" Koji laughed and grabbed a handful for himself to throw. Harry tried to grab some to throw back but Koji tackled him, sending themselves rolling into a pile of cards.

"Hey you two!" Axel laughed and pulled them apart. In a tent big enough for ten, there was plenty of room and privacy for two full grown Nobodies. Even rowdy ones.

Roxas decided not to be the lone one out and tackled Axel. Harry gave a final throw of cards at them and sat back laughing. Axel pulled a sleeping bag over Roxas's head and sat up, brushing himself off.

"Is this anyway someone your age should act?" He asked with a smile.

Harry, Koji and Roxas glanced at each other and both said in unison, "Yes!" They sat back laughing until a small sound interrupted their fun.

"Mew?" a kitten walked into the tent and sniffed at Axel's hand. He smiled and pet it with a finger. Another kitten walked in and jumped up onto Harry's lap.

"How cute!" He grinned wildly like a fangirl would over an anime character.

Koji turned to see another cat slide in. This one was terribly fat and sniffed at Harry's books. A kitten walked up to it and gave it a small, "Mew?" The fat one ignored it and the kitten pushed it with his nose. "Mew?"

"MEH!!!" The fat cat yelled, not even a cat-like meow anymore from it's size. The kitten scrambled for safety behind Axel.

"What was that!?" Harry exclaimed. The fat cat let out another 'meh!' and grabbed his homework with his mouth. "That's mine!" Harry lunged at it, but the cat ran out faster than you could think a cat that fat could go. "After it!" Harry shouted and ran outside. The four of them ran out through the dark after the cat that was slipping away from them.

Koji saw the cat crawl under a bush and he dived in after it. The cat ran out in surprise, still holding the homework. It then escaped under a house which they all stopped at the edge of the yard.

"I'm not going under there..." Axel said, holding up his hands in his defense.

Sighing. Koji walked a crossed the yard. "I will..." He got down on his hands and knees and crawled under. Soon enough it got to low and he was sliding a crossed the dirt, pushing away cobwebs. The cat hissed and ran past his reach, going out the way it came. Koji came flying out from under the house soon enough and was on the chase again.

"Where did he go?" Roxas asked after a few more chases and dives. They had finally lost the cat.

The streets around them were an empty void. All was silent except for the heavy breaths of the four. Well... all was silent until a dark laugh cut through the silence. They weren't alone.