A/N: Another chapter, another world and by the title you can probably guess which one that is. I'm still waiting for that sequel, Square. Also, to the review asking whether we'll be seeing the return of certain characters once thought 'gone', I can't reply personally to your review since you're a guest but I'll neither confirm nor deny that. I'll allow you to interpret that however you will. For now though, let's start off with the conclusion of Beast's Castle.


Chapter 10

Shibuya Calling

From the East Wing to the West, from the gardens to beyond the castle's safety, Sora, Luna, Riku, Prince Adam and Belle searched and searched throughout the day for their missing friend, but it became clear by evening that any further effort would be meaningless. Xion was gone. Missing. Like she had never been there in the first place.

Riku wrapped his hands on the bars of the gates leading to the courtyard and shook it violently. "Why would she do something like this?"

"Maybe something bad happened to her. Like she was kidnapped or something," Sora suggested.

"You know that's not possible. She didn't leave by the door and the windows to her room can only be opened from inside. It doesn't look like there were any signs of forced entry either so unless Xion willingly let her kidnapper in through the window then no, she climbed out," Riku barked.

"If she really did this of her own accord then she must have been suffering inside. She probably felt like she couldn't confide with us what she really felt. I knew there was something about her smile. It seemed unnatural. I don't think anyone that traumatised by the things she's gone through should be able to smile like that right of the bat. She was doing it to make us happy, even when she wasn't," Luna said, looking down at the ground in front of her. "I should have said something to her sooner but I didn't bring up. I couldn't bring myself to bring it up because… if she didn't want to remember-"

"Luna, you can't blame yourself. You were being considerate, as any good person would be," Belle said.

"Right. These things take time. Maybe she felt she just needed to be by herself for a while to figure things out," Adam agreed.

"True, but even so… to leave without even a word? It makes me really anxious. Riku, what exactly happened in that asylum?" Sora asked.

"That's not exactly something I want to talk about," Riku said. His eyes rested on the courtyard and he rested his forehead against the cool iron bars. "This is where Xion and I first met. It wasn't under the best of circumstances. At the time I wondered why she had your Keyblade and it was only through fighting her that I realized it wasn't yours."

"That was back when she was in the Organization, right?" Sora asked.

"Yeah. Sora, Xion can't look at me. She doesn't want to talk to me. What if she left because… because she doesn't want to be around me?"

"Riku, that's not like you," Sora muttered.

"To be honest with you, I don't really know who me is right now," Riku murmured. His voice was weak and he seemed defeated. Sora was about to reply when sparkles popped into existence like fizzing bubbles. The sparkles soon disappeared to reveal the Blue Fairy.

"Ma'am, what are you doing here?" Sora asked. Riku turned around upon hearing Sora speak to someone else to see her.

"Ah, you must be Riku. It's always a pleasure to meet one of Sora's friends. I am the Blue Fairy," she introduced. A frown appeared on her face. "Dear, what ever happened to your eye?"

"It's nothing. It's a pleasure to meet you too," Riku said with a nod.

It's hardly nothing. Dude, you lost an eye. Don't go acting all cool, Sora thought with mild annoyance. He thought he had briefly caught sight of the Blue Fairy glancing at him and chuckling, if only for a split second. She couldn't possibly have… no, Sora must have imagined it.

"Anyway, I take it your mission has been successful?" the Blue Fairy asked.

"Not exactly. We did rescue Riku and Xion but we think Xion's run off. We've searched all day but we can't find her anywhere inside or around the castle," Luna informed her.

This information left a ponderous look on the Blue Fairy's face. "I see… that is troubling indeed. Well, we can only hope your friend is somewhere safe. You imagine that she couldn't have gotten too far but if you've been searching for a good while now, I imagine it would be difficult to find her. I do wish I could do something to help but I'm not quite sure what I could do in this situation."

"It's alright. You don't have to stress out over it. Like you said, we can only hope Xion's safe. We'll probably do a bit of scouting in the village tomorrow morning before we leave to see if anyone's seen her," Sora said.

"Leave?" Luna asked. "Where are we going?"

"Well, I think it's about time we go see Neku, Coco and the others… and him," Sora said.

"Shibuya it is then," Luna said with a laugh. Refraining from saying Joshua's name had become something of an in-house joke for Sora and Luna, though neither of them were quite sure what feelings would surface when they finally met again. She turned her attention to Riku. "Are you coming along, Riku?"

"Sorry. I have something of my own I need to do first," Riku said. He seemed to be purposefully avoiding Sora's gaze.

"Riku… you can't you're-"

"I'm going after Janus," Riku said.

"By yourself? Riku, are you insane? Don't do this," Sora said.

"Think of me what you will. You told me those people working for him mentioned Middleton, right? Then that's where I'm headed. I won't let him get away. I won't let him harm innocent people like he did back in Belle's hometown. The least I can do to help you guys is keeping him and his goons off your tail anyway. I'll be chaos and you'll be harmony. Do what you need to do, Sora."

Sora didn't know what to say or even if he should say anything at all. Riku seemed satisfied with the silence however and smiled. Did he feel the need to smile to show Sora that he was still his old self, or was he doing it for his own assurances? Was Sora thinking too much about this? Probably, but there was cause for concern. When they next crossed paths, how well would either of them be able to smile?

It was because Sora feared he would never see a smile like this again, whether Riku was faking it or not, that he pushed his doubts to the side and forced a smile back. It hurt to be so aware of how fake it was.


Braeburn Town, Eden

From the hill they were on, it looked like the sky was on fire. Orange flames reflected across the sky and beneath, thick smoke poured from the rubble that had once been the headquarters of Moira's Crescent. From afar, June Caster could see people starting to arrive on the scene. She turned back and walked over to her superior, General Sabbat, who was hunched over the surviving member of Moira's Crescent.

"So how does it feel to lose the ones you care for? Excruciating, isn't it?" Sabbat asked, placing a hand on Alfonso's bloody cheek. "Whatever you were hoping for, be it wanting to play the hero or perhaps you chose then and there to relish in some sort of sense of self-righteousness, just stop. You don't have to put on a brave face. Only one in ten thousand of us in this world can be shepherds. You and I are but one of many that follows the will of those shepherds. Without them, this world will inevitably consume itself as it almost did once before. Master Irva is one of those shepherds. He will guide us into the future this world truly desires. And what about you and your ilk? Where are your friends now? Do they lead this world as Master Irva does? No, your friends are dead. If you wish to join them, I will not grant you that escape. That is up to the Master. You will meet him, and you will learn that the beliefs that you've long since held are nought but lies, deceptions you've told yourself out of belief you could lead the many towards salvation."

Alfonso shut his eyes tightly and clenched his teeth. June frowned and looked up at Sabbat.

"Stop taunting him, Sabbat. I think he's suffered enough," Caster said.

"Getting soft, eh, Caster? Scum like him don't deserve pity."

"Scum like him are the very people we've vowed to protect. We don't shame them, we help them. It seems that through your entire length as general, you yourself have yet to learn or respect Irva's will," June said. She stepped up to Alfonso and placed two fingers on his shoulder, smiling at him as she did so. "I hear… you have an attention for detail. One far beyond most. Perhaps you can find what we cannot."

"And why would I help you with that?" Alfonso asked lukewarmly.

"I'm sure we'll find a way to convince you," June replied. She looked over to the other knights nearby and nudged her head. "Oh, you can get rid of the other guy. Might as well."

"Noooooooo! Please, anything, ANYTHING but that!" Hook pleaded. He scurried over to June and latched onto her legs with both arms, crying out. "I'm not with them. I was held prisoner by them. I'll do anything ye ask so please spare me."

June sighed. "Well this is annoying. General, what do we do?"

"Why ask me? Just so you know, if you do decide to take him with us, he's your responsibility," Sabbat said.

"You've got me in a bit of a pickle there," June said, rubbing her temple. She looked down at Alfonso and asked, "He said you held him prisoner? What did you do with him?"

"Can't say I care to answer that," Alfonso said, hiding his smile by lowering his head.

"Hmm. Fine, you can come along with us. I'll let you sort out all the paperwork I guess," June said.

"I can't decide if that's a promotion or a demotion," Hook murmured.

"Was that complaining I heard?"

"N-no, ma'am. Aye, paperwork it is," Hook answered quickly. He let go of June's leg and stood up, extending his hook. "I think this will be the start of a prosperous endeavour, wouldn't ye say? Maybe you can even help me get back me ship after all is said and done."

"I can't see that happening but who knows. I've been surprised before," June remarked.

Meanwhile, a few feet below street level, Salome allowed herself to take air into her lungs after being swallowed whole by the rushing waters that had attacked them as they were climbing down. She couldn't say that she wasn't happy that she had taken the faster way down, but still, it had been too close for her liking.

"Well, that was enough water rides for a lifetime. I'm thoroughly satisfied, and soaked," Lysander's voice came from behind her.

"This coming from a boy who apparently doesn't understand what a hosepipe ban is during the dry season. I'd say you had this coming for a while," Desiree said. "I only wish I had not been dragged down with you. Ugh, this stench! I will just die if I can't get this out of my clothes and hair."

"Urgh, aren't you exaggerating just the tiniest bit?" Lysander asked.

"Fair point. I will kill you instead," replied Desiree with a simple smile.

"Er- no, t-that's not quite what I meant," Lysander retracted, his face a tinge of discomfort.

"Hey, you guys. Rhea's not doing so well," Vyce called to them. Salome moved along with Desiree and Lysander and arrived in front of Rhea. She wasn't unconscious but she wasn't doing all too well either. Of everyone who had been engulfed by the flood, Rhea was the only one of them who had sustained an injury. A trickle of blood poured down from her right temple, not a particularly bad injury but still nasty to look at.

"I'm sorry, I think I hit my head against the ladder on the way down," Rhea said.

"Why in the world are you sorry for that? How do you feel?" Desiree asked.

"A bit lightheaded… and soaked," Rhea answered, letting a small chuckle escape at the end.

"Here, I'll help you up," Vyce said. As he reached to help her up, loud footsteps in numerous quantities that weren't theirs echoed across the tunnel walls from behind them.

"Do you think they've followed us down here?" Salome asked.

"Probably want to make sure they've finished the job. Keep moving, I've got Rhea," Vyce crouching low so Rhea could climb onto his back. Salome exchanged a quick look with Desiree before starting to move again. They had barely even recovered and they were already running for their lives again.


104 Building, Shibuya

The Gummi Ship trembled as Sora slowly stared it around the ward of Shibuya. Being the massive urban district it was with a dense population, Sora found it difficult to land the Gummi Ship anywhere that wouldn't attract attention.

"Think we can land one of these rooftops, because otherwise I don't see how we're even going to land," Sora said.

"Well if you do, I expect we'll have a lovely view of the area. This place is breathtaking. I'm not sure what I was expecting but it wasn't this," Luna said.

"It's good when you can't expect things I find. Makes it more fun," Sora said. As he scanned the many buildings for a place to land, he finally found one in a building near a busy scramble crossing called the 104 Building. "Alright, I'll land over on the building over there."

The Gummi Ship slowly moved towards the building's roof until it was idle, and then Sora lowered it onto solid ground. He flicked off the engines and exited the ship with Luna to greet the cold morning air.

"Nothing like the outdoor air," Sora said, exaggerating his stretches.

"You know, I've just realized something. How exactly are we supposed to find Joshy-boy? This is a pretty big place," Luna asked.

"Well I'm certainly not in any rush. It's good to finally see one place that doesn't look like it's been invaded," Sora answered. "I'm wondering more about how we're gonna find Neku and the others."

A sudden vibration in Sora's left pocket where his PHS was caused him to jump slightly. He cautiously went into his pocket and pulled out the phone, staring at it intently. On the screen were three simple words followed by a smiley face.

Welcome to Shibuya :-)

"Err, Luna?" Sora called for her. He was sure it wasn't anything to fear and yet for some reason he was still absolutely terrified. The device had never even done something like this before.

Luna peered over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow. "That's a thing, huh?"

"What do I do?" Sora asked.

"Um, reply to it?" Luna replied.

"Right. Of course. Reply… err, let's see," Sora murmured, fumbling around with the device away from Luna's eyes. He soon figured out the basics and began replying:

Who is this?

A simple reply to a strange message. Satisfied, Sora pressed the send button and stared at the screen in anticipation. An ellipsis followed which shortly disappeared and became another string of characters.

A friend ;-) If want to meet them, come to Hachiko's statue.

"Them? And what's Hachiko's statue?" Luna asked. Sora shrugged and replied to the message, asking about these things. They waited for about a minute but no reply came. Luna slumped back disappointedly. "That's a bummer. Looks like our mystery person likes to make things as ambiguous as possible. So should we do as they say?"

"Not like we have any choice. But first, let's find a way down from here," Sora said. He and Luna started their search and it was not long before they found a roof access door that would lead down. Sora unlocked the door and they headed down the stairs, leading to a narrow walkway with a door just up ahead. Hearing the sound of loud crowd noises coming from the other side of the door, Sora unlocked the hatch and slowly pushed the door open, creating a wide enough gap that he and Luna could slip through.

They were in a department store with many of the shops selling fashionwear ranging from many different brands. There was a recurring motif that they did notice however as they went from store to store.

"Everything's so-"

"CUTE! It's so cute, oh wow, Sora, check these boots out!" Luna squealed, running towards the shoe store next to them where a pair of white combat boots with black laces had caught her eye.

"And my nightmare begins," Sora croaked to himself, rubbing at the bridge of his nose, hoping that he could somehow attain powers of invisibility.

"Irasshaimase, I see you happen to be interested in those shoes there. They are beautiful, aren't they? I have a pair at home," said a female assistant, her eyes glimmering in delight. "And… yep, they would look absolutely amazing on a beautiful girl like yourself."

"Beautiful? Oh, no. I'm just average, really," Luna said shyly.

"No no no! You mustn't think like that, though I'm sure your handsome boyfriend over there has already told you that plenty of times," the woman said in an annoyingly cheerful voice.

Don't bring me into this, Sora thought as he turned around to look elsewhere. It seemed the demographic that frequented this department was mainly young women. It wasn't much of a stretch, then, to assume that Luna was going out with him.

"That's sweet of you. How much are they?" Luna asked, holding up the boots.

"2,000 munny."

"Hmm. I'll take it!"

"Excellent! Will your boyfriend be paying?"

Sora's eyes grew big. "What?"

"Oh, Sora, dear, would you be a sweetheart and help me pay for these?" Luna asked in a sing-song tone.

Sora spun around. "What?"

"Come on, Sora. The least you could do is treat your girlfriend every once in a while. I know I'd just find it adorable if you did," Luna said, stepping her game up by batting her eyelids at him.

"You devilish little-" Sora caught himself however upon seeing the store assistant stare expectantly at him. He had been trapped. Reluctantly, he gave a nod and took out his money pouch to pay. The sales assistant soon disappeared into the stockroom and returned with a box containing the boots which she put into a bag for them.

"Thank you, have a great day!" waved the sales assistant as they left.

"Wow, she sure was lovely, huh?" Luna asked.

"Right. Yeah. Sure," Sora said, feeling more than a little dead inside.

Luna laughed and playfully pinched his cheek. "Aw, I'm sorry. I just wanted to have a bit of fun. Hey, do you mind waiting while I head back to the Gummi Ship to change into these. I don't want to be carrying a bag around the entire time I'm here after all."

"Sure, but you owe me one," Sora said. Luna smiled before heading off back for the door to the roof. When she next appeared in front of Sora, she was in her new boots that matched well with her polka dot dress.

"How do I look?" Luna asked.

"Your debt is repaid," Sora said evoking a giggle from Luna. Sora moved in and quickly linked arms with her. When she looked at him in surprise, he grinned. "There. How's that for stopping you from running off to another store and making us broke."

"You drive a hard bargain there, Sora. But I guess I'm willing to go along for now," Luna replied. With that, they both set off to the pumping music that engulfed the entirety of the building. The interior of the building was like a conveyor belt in design, seeming to spiral upwards like a coil all the way up to the eighth floor. Rather than going through opposing human traffic, Sora and Luna decided to take the elevator all the way down to the first floor in order to leave the building.

After walking for a minute down the street, they arrived at a scramble crossing filled with the hustle and bustle of people going to and fro. The number of people crossing, be it those in business attire, teenagers or just the average person in general was quite mesmerizing. This was not the only thing that was striking, as Sora took in the buildings surrounding them, taking in their height, their many advertisements and finally their closeness to each other. It was all too much for him to take in.

"Sora, breathe," Luna said, chuckling at him.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. Guess I got carried away for moment," Sora said. "I uh- I think I need to sit down for a moment."

"It's a lot to take in, isn't it? Why don't we get a photo in while we're here? I kind of want to show this to Aunt Kit when I see her again," Luna said. Sora nodded and got in close to her. He made sure part of the crossing was behind them with its myriad of people before taking the shot. He took a separate shot of the 104 Building in the background before putting the phone back in his pocket.

"Alright, so how do we find Hachiko?" Sora asked.

"We ask, I suppose," Luna said. As they were about to start walking, Luna caught sight of something and tapped Sora on the shoulder. Sora turned to where she was pointing to see someone wearing a gas mask and handing out leaflets.

"The end is upon us! We must all pray for our salvation. The stars have died out because of our reckless abandon of consuming resources that harm this world. The government allows big companies to release these poisonous toxins into the atmosphere and we are all now seeing its effects. The next time the government says it's serving on behalf of us, ask if we ever asked for the stars to die out!"

"Looks like the ball of yarn is unravelling even over here. Keep on keepin' on guys," Sora said.

"People are going to be people. Whether anyone believes or not is up to them. Of course, from how many people are avoiding her, she doesn't seem to be having much success so far," Luna said. "But whatever actually caused the stars to disappear is definitely something to worry about. We need to do whatever we can to bring them back."

"Well, at least we know we won't be asking her about Hachiko," Sora said. The two of them ended up asking a couple by the names of Sota and Nao (who apparently preferred to be called Nao-Nao for short) who helpfully pointed them towards their destination.

"You just keep heading that way and you'll come 'cross a statue that looks like a dog, you hear me, dawg?" Sota asked.

"Err, yeah. Thanks… dawg?" Sora replied.

"Hey, you guys are, like, tourists or whatever, right?" Nao asked. Sora almost laughed out loud. She had the same valley girl accent as Coco did. "So, like, do you know the story of Hachiko?"

"No, do tell us more," Luna encouraged with a beam.

"So for a decade, this dog, Hachiko, waited on his master in front of Shibuya Station every single day. Unfortunately, his master had passed away but poor Hachi didn't know that. In the end, it was his loyalty to his master that, like, totally earned him celebrity status here. That's why the surrounding area where the statue is is called Hachiko Square," Nao explained.

"Aw, that's such a heart-warming and yet sad tale at the same time. I'd love to meet Hachiko," Luna said.

"Yeah. I guess, in a way, Hachiko's kind of now eternally looking over the town. His gift for being so loyal," Sora said.

"So pure of heart, man. Most people nowadays can learn a thing or two from him," Sota agreed, almost like he was about to tear up.

"Now, now, Sota. It's like Luna says. He is so, like, looking down on us with that faithful smile of his right now," Nao comforted.

"Well, we better head off. Thanks for helping," Sora said.

"Oh man, I almost forgot. We gotta move if we wanna catch The Prince. Let's hurry to Molco, Nao," Sota said, taking hold of Nao's hand and setting off with her in the opposite direction.

"Don't be strangers, 'kay?" Nao yelled before they disappeared into the crowds.

"Well, weren't they a lively carefree pair," Luna commented with a grin.

"Ha, I wish we had that luxury. Well, time to be going ourselves," Sora said.

Shibuya Station was to the north-west of the Scramble Crossing and Hachiko's statue adjacent to it. It was just below this bronze statue of the dog that Sora and Luna were easily able to identify the 'them' that the text had mentioned.

"Luna! Sora!" Rhyme was the first to point out. Everyone else turned around at the mention of their names. Rhyme, Beat, Shiki, Coco and Neku, their friends from a year ago were all there to greet them.

"This is like a dream! It's so good to see you guys again," Luna said, throwing her arms open as Shiki ran into them.

"I was wondering when I'd see you again. How are things going, Luna?" Shiki asked.

"Awesome! Guess what?" Luna leaned in and whispered something into Shiki's ear. Her eyes seemed to brighten up at this and she looked at Sora.

"Wow! Congrats, Sora. You better treat her right, okay?"

"Haha, it's good to see you too, Shiki," Sora said. When he felt something latch around his arm, he looked down to see a beaming Coco dressed in a cute pink and blue dress. Like last time, Coco liked wearing her bear ears hoodie over her head. "Are you ever going to take that off?"

"Hehe, Sora, I thought you totally promised me we were going to marry one day. What a bummer," Coco said.

"Yo, Spikes, crushing on little girls? Nah man, that- that ain't right," Beat said with a wary look on his face.

"Now hold on, Daisukenojo Bito, yeah I remember your name, I promised no such thing," Sora hurriedly said, hoping to avoid whatever warning glare was on Luna's face at the moment.

"You so did," Coco shot back.

"No, I didn't."

"Oh. Must have been in my dreams then. Oopsie," Coco said, sticking her tongue out.

"You've been… dreaming about me? Wait, on second thought, don't want to know." Sora brushed it off before looking at Neku.

"You cut your hair?" Neku asked.

"There goes Neku stating the obvious, the genius," Shiki murmured, causing Luna to laugh.

"Well, you know how moms are," Sora said.

"It looks good on you. You look more mature," Neku said. He walked up and raised his hand, meeting Sora's in a clasp of hands.

"So why are you guys here? We were told by someone anonymous that we were supposed to meet her for some reason," Rhyme said, showing Sora and Luna her phone. Her message read:

Hachiko's is the place to be if you want to see them ;-)

"Same here. I'd ask for some idea as to who it was but I think I can guess," Sora said, showing them the texts he was sent.

"You think the same then? It has to be. If we're talking about someone who knows of our connection the only other person who was with us during the Reapers' Game was the mastermind, Joshua," Rhyme concluded.

"Man, that's whack. I don't wanna feel like I owe Joshua of all people somethin' and yet he brought us together. Argh, I'm so conflicted!" Beat threw his hands back and clutched his head as if he were in pain.

"Where is he anyway?" Sora asked.

"Not sure. We haven't seen him ever since Traverse Town. We've searched for him, irregularly mind you since we all had lives waiting for us, but every now and then we'd come together and search Shibuya and not once did we find anything," Rhyme told them.

"What's he playing at? He says he needs to see us and when we arrive, he just hides away," Sora said.

"Well, I'm just glad we got to see you guys again. Let's find somewhere to eat and talk there. I'm starving! How does ramen sound to start of your Shibuya experience proper? Dogenzaka's the best place for restaurants and other shops during the day, and in the night it dramatically transforms into an entertainment mecca. You'd have to see it to believe it," Shiki said. "So off to Ramen Don we go. Neku's paying!"

Neku reached out as Shiki took off down the road. "Hey! I never agreed to… that."

"Aw, Neku, you're too kind," Luna played along, giving him a cheeky grin before skipping off to join Shiki and the others.

"People. I just don't get them," Neku said. Despite his words, he seemed to have a small smile on his face. Sora grinned at this and together, the two of them hurried up to join their friends.