"You're so stupid! How could someone like me possibly like someone like you?!"

"What are you talking about?! H-Hiroshi?!" A bright white light blinded the girl and she shielded her eyes.

"Isn't it obvious? I only put up with you, because I pitied you. Besides, I deserve better than the likes of you."

The boy disappeared into the light, leaving the girl to fall to her knees and cry to only herself.

Day 5
-

"Hey, Katsumi. Are you all right?" Neku asked as said girl woke from her slumber. Just like in her dream, tears were running down her cheeks. She showed no intentions of replying. "Oh, uhmm... That's okay. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." He said awkwardly.

Katsumi sighed. To her, that last nightmare actually seemed like something that would happen. And she was sure if she were to ever see Hiroshi again, it would. And that would be enough to make her commit suicide a second time.

Of course. I'm so stupid! She thought, We're two completely different people. He's perfect in every way and me... Well, I'm me... Just a waste of human flesh... There's nothing special about me... How could I possibly think we could actually get along? We don't even live in the same type of world. She pulled her knees to her chest and rested her forehead on them. God, I'm so... Pathetic... At least... Once I'm out and erased from this game... I'll really be gone... Then no one will have to deal with me anymore. All I do is bring everyone down around me, anyway. Don't need father to prove that fact, I guess.

"Hey, are you all right?" Neku asked again, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You're trembling."

"I'm... Fine..." She tried to say it but her voice was still a little shaky from crying.

"You don't sound like it." He stated, taking her other shoulder, also, shaking her. "Come on. Look at me." He needed to see that she was really okay. Hesitantly she lifted her head, showing her now puffy pink eyes. Neku's gaze softened. " Tell me why you're crying."

Now she looked at him sternly and said, "Then tell me what was bothering you yesterday..."

He looked surprised, but only for a moment before he smiled, sighed, and dropped his hands, "Hah. I guess that's only fair, isn't it..." He moved himself directly next to her so that they both were leaning against the phone booth behind them. He closed his eyes and sighed. "That was probably one of the worst dreams I've had in a while." He said, pulling his knees to his chest, almost mimicking her position. "The worst part is that I know it could and will likely come true." Katsumi laid her head back down while she listened so that she couldn't see that he was now looking at her with sad eyes. "Do you remember Beat from a couple of days ago?" He asked.

She nodded her head slightly. "He's a hard character to forget." She stated with a bit of a smile.

Neku chuckled a bit, but returned to his depressed stare. "Well, he's my best friend... He said that he's the game master for this week. On day seven the game master and the players must try to erase one another... ... ... Meaning one of us has to be erased and the other has to live with the thought that they erased their best friend. In my dream, day seven had come and we were fighting him. But Shiki was there, too, fighting with us. She was also a player... The thought... Of that actually happening... It scares me! I don't want to have to play, again. And I most certainly don't want to have to fight Beat or Shiki or make her play a second time, either. The whole situation is just hell to even think about..."

As he said this, Katsumi slowly sat upright and gave him apologetic eyes. "That... Sounds terrible..." She said, trying to understand completely. "I can't imagine how terrible that would be."

"Now it's your turn..."

Katsumi's gaze dropped and she looked away. "Yesterday..." She began, "When I ran off... I did it, because I saw someone I knew and I wanted to catch up with him and apologize for... Some things... But I had interrupted him and his 'girlfriend'. He had told me before that he was just trying to avoid her and that she was annoying, but she explained how it was the other way around and that it's actually me that he hates... Not exactly thrilled to know that the one person I trusted and told everything to only tolerated me because he pities me... In my dream, he was being more elaborate with his words and definitions of what he meant. As he talked, I could actually feel my heart tearing inside my chest." She held her hand close to her chest where it hurt.

"I-I'm... So sorry... But... You said you got to talk to him...?" She nodded in response. Neku went silent.

"W-why?" Katsumi asked nervously.

Neku sighed and put his head in his hands. "Only people involved in the game can interact with others that are also in the game. So your friend... Must be one of the other players. Along with his girlfriend..."

W-what?! Katsumi thought, I-if Hiroshi is really a player, then... That means he's dead, too! B-but... He's perfectly healthy! Was there an accident? Or maybe... No, he's not the type to do that... Then again, I don't seem to actually know who he is anymore... He's like a completely different person, now... ... ... I guess there really is no reason for me to come back to life, now is there...

"Is there... Something else that's bothering you?" Neku asked, seeming to already know the answer but wanting an explanation. She didn't reply. He pulled into himself more. "Shiki. The girl who was in my dream. We got into a bit fight about a week ago. She started dating someone who I know is no good for her. I tried to tell her that he is just going to hurt her and break her heart, but she just wouldn't listen. She got really mad and said that I was just jealous of him, because it wasn't me that was with her anymore. We broke up a long while ago, but I still love her and she knows it."

"I'm sure she doesn't mean to hurt you." Katsumi comforted, surprised that she spoke. But she continued anyway, "You're too great to be mean to like that on purpose." She blushed a bit saying this.

"Hah. Thanks." He said, "Your turn, again."

Katsumi hesitated. Was she really about to tell him everything? Would she even be able to tell him just a little? Well, now she had to. It was only fair. "My parents..." She began, "They hated me. Thought I was nothing and was worth nothing to them. They had lost their 'precious Joshua' who they seemed to care so much for in exchange for my life... Of course losing him for that reason made them hate me even more. They would completely ignore me unless they were given the chance to insult and degrade me in some way... And it wasn't just them. Everyone else, too. Hiroshi was the only person I was able to become friends with. Everyone else thought I wasn't worth their time. Or so I thought until yesterday..."

She looked at him with tears in her eyes. "I hated life then so much that... I killed myself... I wanted to get back at everyone for treating me the way they did and..." She looked down at the ground, hiding her face from him with her hair. "I jumped off the bridge... And now that I know even he hates me... There's absolutely no reason for me to live anymore... I have nothing to come back to life for. I don't know why I was put in this game to give me a second chance when I was the one who took mine away in the first place. Someone like me doesn't deserve a second chance. There's just no point in even trying..." She looked back up at him, tears now streaming down her face, and smiled weakly, "But don't worry... I'll still help you win... It wouldn't be fair if you lost just because of the likes of me..."

Neku was speechless. He reached out and took her into a comforting hug. After a second, he said, "It's okay... Thank you. I understand... You say you don't have a reason to live? Well, let's see if I can give you a reason." He pulled her away slightly so that he could look her in the eyes. "We're friends, right? When we come back why don't we meet up and do something together? Without all the rules and descriptions of this game..." He hugged her, again. "If you'd like, I could become your replacement for Hiroshi. I won't mind."

Katsumi couldn't believe what she was hearing. She wanted to believe what he was saying, she really wanted to, but something inside of her didn't wanting to let her. This boy in front of her was willing to be her friend. She wanted to hold him close and cry on his shoulder, but she could not.

Then he added, "Minus the whole... Lying to you thing..." Her walls were higher than ever at the time, and he saw this, so he said, "I know what you're going through. Give this some time and think about it?"

Katsumi was about to say something along the lines of 'I don't need time to think about it', but then she stopped herself. It seemed too unlike her to say that. She felt like she could trust Neku, for the most part. However, her judgment on who she can and cannot trust hasn't proven to be very good. So she settled for a smile and a nod instead.

Their rather pleasant moment was then interrupted by their phones and that damn buzz. To Katsumi, it barely even hurt anymore. Neku sighed and pulled out his purple cell phone and checked the mission. 'Dear players, make your way to the station underpass. You are given 180 minutes. If you fail worse than yesterday, you will be erased. You have been warned!'

"Three hours?" Neku questioned, "That seems like a bit much. Oh well, shouldn't complain." He shrugged. "I guess we can take our time, but we should still get going." He stood up and held out his hand to Katsumi and helped her to her feet, and then they were off.


A/N: I was going to wait till Day 5 was finished, but oh my god it's taking me forever. (Clearly, considering how long it's been [like, over a year], which I am terribly sorry about.) So now here I am, giving you this poor excuse of an update instead.

So the biggest problem I am having, really, is coming up with little side missions that they need to complete to get past a wall. It wouldn't be such a problem, but the thing is I need a lot of them, and I am running out of creative ideas. And therefore, I am basically posting this shitty update to give you guys a little something more and admit that I need help with this.

SO. If you have any ideas that you would like to share, and don't mind me using, let me know. I'm trying not to use the same ideas over and over again and trying not to use too many that the game would. (I've also had my copy of the game, along with my 3DS, stolen and therefore looking up pins and noise and all those things is a bit more of a hassle now…)

Now, about the next update… I have no idea when it will be ready, as it is currently only a third or so of the way finished. (*sigh*) However, that also means that is will likely be larger than what I would usually post, which is a good thing?

Again, I am so terribly sorry about all of this, and I feel kind of pathetic that I'm actually coming to you guys for help, but… Well, at this point I'm getting a bit desperate, I guess.

Sorry.