(Riiiiight, I'll remember it next time.) Hanekoma sat at the front counter to his shop, lazily stirring his coffee with a spoon as he looked over the intelligence report Joshua had handed him earlier that week. It detailed their run in with the fallen angel Kabe Sobi-Sha. Hanekoma gave a worn sigh as he leaned back in his seat.

"Fallen Angels…man, I was hoping to avoid this much heat. Those kids really attract the worst kind of attention." Hanekoma was brought out of his thoughts as a bell rang, indicating someone had opened the door to his shop. From the doorway stood a man large enough to completely take up the door frame. He wore a large black coat that did nothing to hide the booming muscles that threatened to tear his coat and green shirt apart. He stomped in with his combat boots and sat down at the counter, sitting up straight and still towering over Hanekoma. His eyes were a piercing yellow that stood out from his darkened skin. Even with his intimidating figure, Hanekoma seemed unfazed as he quickly slid Joshua's report under the counter and leaned forward in a casual manner, "Welcome to Kat Café. What can I get you?" The man responded with a powerful, deep voice.

"Black Coffee…one spoon of cream." Hanekoma moved back, prepping his coffee maker with the appropriate beans and waited.

"Not a very common choice for coffee." The man sat there quietly. A look of indifference across his face, "Although I did get a lady in here a few days ago. Seemed discouraged by something. Kept mumbling about something to do with a bunch of kids." Hanekoma took a quick glance back, noticing the large man had clenched his fists, "Guess she could handle a bunch of former players…so much for an angel's power." The sounds of a fist hitting the counter had Hanekome turn around to face the very angry customer.

"WHERE IS HE?"

"Not sure what you mean big guy. Now why don't you enjoy your coffee, you're paying for it after all." He looked down to see his coffee order was sitting on the counter; he hadn't even seen him pour it. The large man pulled out exact change for the coffee before picking up the Styrofoam cup and walking out of the café, "Seems Phones just keeps digging himself deeper in this hole…good luck kid."

Neku idly sat in class watching as his classmates tried to decide on a theme for their Halloween party. The school had come up with the idea a few months back in order to get the older kids who were a bit too old for Trick-or-Treating into the festive mood. As such, on Halloween night, each class would have a fun party theme for their rooms while a more generic party took place in the gymnasium.

"How about a haunted house?" Beat offered. Neku and his friend were all crowded around his desk coming up with ideas of their own.

"Did you scrape that idea off of your shoe?" Joshua asked mockingly. "At least four other classes are going to be doing that."

"Alright, then what's your idea pretty boy?"

"I'd propose a fun little game room. A trick or treat style one."

"I'm intrigued." Eri said intently listening.

"I'm worried." Shiki said.

"Nothing dangerous, just a row of tasty treats and candy. But one third of them are filled with various food poisonings. Laxatives, spices, the works." (Remind me never to invest in your food ventures.) Rhyme was quick to speak up.

"I don't think we'll get many people willing to try that after they see the first group run for the bathroom."

"But what a glorious first few minutes it will be."

"It sounds like a quick way to get the teachers involved." Nina brought up.

"Fine…Neku?" Joshua turned the attention to the currently unfocused boy. (Damnit, I was trying to stay out of this.) "Come on, I'm sure there's a twisted idea in that head of yours."

"Nothing more twisted than your ideas."

"That's a good thing in this case." Rhyme said. Neku grumbled slightly before thinking about a good theme. (Alright, Joshua's idea wasn't too bad…if not a bit dangerous. But we need something better to frame it around. A horror theme also isn't too out of the question…we just need something with enough scare factor.)

"…Joshua, I'm going to need to borrow your video camera." Joshua gave him a mischievous smirk.

"That's my proxy…let's talk about my lending fee." (Damn opportunist.)

Konishi took a deep breath before sipping from her coffee mug. Why the principle had agreed to let the students come up with Halloween themes confused the poor assistant turned dead-end teacher.

"Wasting their time on foolish celebrations…I should be doing more with my time then playing babysitter." She reclined in her chair as she looked down at her desk in the teacher's office. The tests she'd collected from her class sat in a pile, unchecked but assuredly riddled with D level completions as far as she was concerned. But unknown to her was the two students hiding just behind her desk.

"I thought you said she wouldn't be in here." Beat whispered to Neku.

"I didn't think she would be." (I figured she had a hobby. Like strangling small creatures or something.) "We can work with this. Saves me a day of prepping anyway."

"Well let's hurry. I don't wanna get caught!" Both boys tensed up as they heard the doorway open, followed by slow footsteps. Konishi gave a heavy sigh as she swiveled around to face her worst ire of the day.

"Sup Konishi? Enjoying the mundanities of life?"

"You know I'm not Minamimoto." She replied in the most stable manner she could muster when talking to him.

"Of course not. These miligerms aren't worth our energy."

"And yet we got stuck in this position for our loss…although I wonder why we were penalized instead of erased."

"Please! I am larger than god! If he thinks he can erase me- CRUNCH! -I'll add him to the heap." Konishi gave him a scathing scowl.

"Your obvious delusions of grandeur are not comforting."

"They weren't supposed to be. As far as you should be considered, your just the formula overflow that was caught in my perfect equation!" Konishi stood up and slammed her hands on the desk, sending the tests scattering to the floor from the impact.

"I swear Minamimoto- I will be the one to tear you to shreds if I ever regain my power!" Minamimoto let out a hearty laugh before turning around.

"Please. That privilege is reserved for only for the truly god-like. But if your nice I'll let you be my assistant." Minamimoto made his exit with those words before Konishi threw her mug at the door he had just closed, shattering it.

"I am going to kill that man one of these days." She took a deep breath, calming herself and quickly picking up the scattered test. She stopped as she reached for Neku Sakuraba's test paper. She gave a low growl. She still found it infuriating how her first loss had been to this child, and now she was tasked with his education. "What a sick joke…I need a break." She turned towards the employee fridge next to the coffee pot. She opened it and scanned for her favorite lunch…only to find it missing; and in its place was a note from Neku. A screech echoed through the room as her sharp nails scrapped against the metal of the fridge.

Beat let out an exasperated sigh as he took a seat at his desk.

"That was too close man." Neku sat down and set the bowl of Absolute Shadow Ramen on his desk. The rest of the group crowded around in confusion.

"You got ramen?" Nina asked.

"Um…Neku, I'm not sure Ramen is very scary." Shiki said.

"The owner of it is scary enough." He said.

"That shop owner is a blithering coward." Joshua brought up with a smirk. "Seems our Neku is a bit of a scaredy cat." (You KNOW that's not what I mean.)

"Wait a minute…" Eri tensed her face in thought before going almost white faced at the realization of what this was. "Th-This is something even I wouldn't touch."

"Yep." Neku replied. "This is the Iron Maiden's lunch." Whatever conversation that was happening in the classroom came to a dead stop at that sentence.

"Neku…are you suicidal?" Rhyme asked. Joshua chuckled.

"If you wanted to die then we could just play a game. You didn't have to go out this way." He gave a smirk as he said that. (Screw you.)

"You wanted my idea for this Halloween theme, right? This is it."

"While your gruesome murder is horrifying, how about a bit more detail." Joshua asked.

"She just had a…'heated' discussion with Minamimoto. Her nerves are at an all time high, and this was to push her to that snapping point."

"So you wanted her full wrath?" Rhyme asked.

"Every bit I can get from her." He turned to Shiki and Eri.

"You two set up the cameras right?" They both nodded with Eri giving a peace sign. He then turned to Nina. "The mic is at the front podium right?" Nina nodded.

"It should pick up everything…although if she slams on the table then we could have a small issue." (I'll have to be careful then.) With a deep breath, Neku stood up.

"Alright everyone…you might want to leave…this will be ugly." Beat put his hand on Neku's shoulder as people made a hasty exit.

"It's been an honor knowing you man…good luck in your next life." (I'm not going to die Beat…hopefully.)

Konishi threw open the door to her classroom, making it rattle slightly at the excessive force. She stepped in and was surprised to find her lunch sitting on the front podium. She stepped up but before she grabbed it, she looked to find Neku standing at the other end of the classroom.

"SO…YOU DECIDED TO ACCEPT YOUR DEATH." (Holy crap! I did not expect this level of rage just from her lunch.) She reached for the nearby yard stick.

"Well…maybe I just thought that you could use the exercise before eating." A harsh snap rattled through the air making Neku stand up straight as Konishi dropped the two pieces of the yard stick to the floor.

"Somehow…you kids just keep getting more annoying. I wouldn't give it much thought if I wasn't dealing with it…EVERY…SINGLE…DAY!" Her shout bordered on shriek that almost had Neku run for the door. (Damnit…this better be worth it.)

"That must be why you're still single."

Neku's friends stood near the door, waiting for whatever plan Neku had come up with to take effect.

"What do you think he'll do?" Rhyme asked.

"I'm not sure. He said he was going to push her to her breaking point but how can he do that?" Shiki mused.

"He could insult her." Nina suggested.

"He'd need to say something really scathing to set her off though." Eri informed them.

"Wonder if he knows what to say." Beat said.

Everyone but Joshua scrambled away from the door as a banshee like scream rang through their ears, soundly filling them with fear and dread to the point of running. Joshua chuckled at his distraught companions.

"Seems he knew exactly what to say."

A few days later the Halloween party was set up. The room was changed to a small spooky themed room, but the clencher was the ambient sounds that ran through the place at all times. Aside from the banshee like Konishi scream that set everyone off every time, there were also low laughs and muffled arguments that kept the place feeling a bit off. The topper was the offsetting music that played quietly in the background.

"Not bad Neku." Joshua complimented. He was wearing his normal clothes, but on top of his head was a pair of devil horns and in his hands was a pitchfork, "Where did you find that music?"

"Nina found it." Neku said motioning to the girl currently wearing a simple angel costume.

"I-I found out about this frequency that makes people uncomfortable. So I applied it to some music."

"Science can't scare me!" Beat said jumping into the conversation.

"It can confuse you though." Rhyme said. She was wearing a pink weasel suit with small stubby arms.

"Rhyme! They don't need to know that!"

"Nothing we didn't already know." Neku added.

"Neku!" From the nearby door, Eri burst through it. She twirled around, showing off her witch costume and giving a pose. "How do you like my costume?"

"Not bad…I don't think witches ever wore short skirts." Eri just giggled.

"I am a girl more than a witch. Fashion is very important." Behind her, Shiki fidgeted slightly in her full body Mr. Mew suit.

"Nice pig costume." Neku said and Shiki playfully stuck her tongue out.

"Your costume isn't too bad either Neku." Eri said moving closer to examine him. Neku was wearing a vampire costume with a cape and suit. In the corner of his mouth were two protruding fangs with a little red on the very ends of them. "I'm almost hypnotized by those eyes." (Weird.)

"His eyes are very dead. I'd believe he's a vampire." Joshua added.

"Bite me." Neku shot back.

"I think you're better equipped for that Neku." (…Damnit.)

"What are you even?"

"Your standard devil." (Lazy devil is more appropriate.) "Speaking of costumes though-" Everyone turned to Beat, "-I cannot figure out what you are Beat."

"What do you mean? I'm Tony Hawk!" Everyone just stared at him. Aside from him not wearing his ski cap, he seemed to just be wearing his usual clothes.

"…Are you sure?" Shiki asked.

"Come on! Just look at me!"

"We are." Neku said. "You're dressed pretty much the same as always."

"I told you this was a bad idea." Rhyme told Beat.

"Man. You're all blind!" Everyone laughed before the banshee scream went off making everyone jump.

"Doesn't matter how many times I hear that, it's frightening." Shiki said still shivering slightly.

"That's what I was going for." Neku replied.

"On that note-" Joshua started. "-how did the Iron Maiden take your little…emotional envoker." (Eugh…that's right.)

"Not good. In fact I've got detention for a week…including after the party." Eri gave a small whine at this news.

"Awww…but I was going to do a horror movie watching party. Where's the fun if I don't have someone to cling to if I'm scared?" (Damn…a horror movie party does sound like fun.)

"Well unfortunately I've got something more terrifying to deal with."

"Should have agreed to my idea then." Joshua said.

"Food poisoning is not a scary theme!" Suddenly the classroom door slid open forcefully, making the entire room go quiet as an ominous shadow stood in the doorway.

"Neku…it's time for your detention." Neku shivered as his name came from Konishi's lips. A scream quickly followed.

"IT'S THE BANSHEE! RUN!" The more skittish guests in the classroom ran out in a panic, and Konishi's eyes just intensified their glare on Neku.

"Man…you're dead." Beat said simply. (SUPRMELY dead.)

Neku followed Konishi down the hallway towards the teachers' office where he would spend his Halloween night assisting Miss Konishi in grading tests, sending out dry emails, and getting her cups of coffee. (Maybe I should get a part-time job as a secretary.)

"I hope your stupid prank was worth it." Konishi spat at Neku. "You children are completely intolerable even at your best."

"Kind of our thing." Neku shot back. "It's not just about getting ahead in life."

"Easy for you to say. Had things gone my way I would be Conductor…maybe even Composer if I played my cards right." (what good is that?)

"And that would have made you happy." Konishi seemed to clam up at this comment.

"Possibly…at least then I wouldn't be teaching two of the three people in the world I can't stand." (Doesn't take a mathematician to guess who the third person is.) "…How did you do it?"

"Huh?"

"Beat me. I worked tirelessly to ensure my strategy was flawless. In my game you two were nothing but pawns towards my goal. And yet I couldn't beat you or the chimp. So how did you?" (That's not exactly an easy question to answer…it's not like we actively did anything underhanded or sneaky to beat her…we just fought with everything we had because we didn't have a choice. It's was either win, or be erased…but I think she did forget about one thing.)

"You assumed we would STAY pawns." Konishi raised an eye brow at this comment, "Maybe if you had gotten us at the start, we wouldn't have been able to stop you…but we made it to your end of the board and we changed by the time we got there."

"…Don't throw my idioms back at me boy." (Fine, I'll say it out right.)

"You underestimated us because we were children. And when it came time to deal with us it was already too late for you to stop the power we had attained." Konishi turned to face Neku, crossing her arms and staring at him…but she didn't glare at Neku. Her eyes seemed to just rest on the boy, analyzing him from head to toe.

"I truly detest children…they always ruin my plans." (Always?)

"We weren't the first?"

"No. Another before you was equally infuriating. Back when I was just a Harrier. They stomped up to the reaper hierarchy and right through it. Blowing past me in no time and up to the rank of Angel." Her hand tightened around her arm, "My plans were dashed when they made that leap. Positions were filled, I was stuck as a Harrier for another three years until I became a Game master…but at that point my best chance was Composer…after what they did I didn't have a chance at becoming an angel."

"Why not." Her scowl came back.

"They almost brought down the entire department of Angels." Neku was a bit shaken at this news. Joshua had described how powerful a force they were dealing with was, but to think it could almost be destroyed from the inside was still a bit shocking. (What the hell kind of situation did you get us caught up in Joshua?)

Before either of them could realize, the wall next to them caved open as a large hulking figure smashed through it with his bare fists. Konishi and Neku stepped back from the rubble as the creature stepped toward them. He was massive, towering over even Konishi and looking down at them with dark silver eyes. He gave an uninterested glance at Konishi before turning to Neku. He grit his teeth and balled his hands into a fist as he stared at the boy before swinging down, making Neku leap out of range and tumble to the floor as his fists shattered the linoleum plate on the floor and cracked the concrete underneath.

"You are the one who defeated Sobi-Sha…I WILL MAKE YOU PAY!" He rushed at Neku as he yelled. (Who the hell is this guy!?)