A/N: This chapter is mainly to clear up some other information about Nishi's unwanted meeting with Izumi, and explains Nishi's reasons for choosing his option. There are some parts that link back to my first sequel, but it won't be confusing if you haven't read the first.

Hope you enjoy

Nishi curled his hands into fists inside his pockets. After all this time, all the hard work and pain he had been through to finally earn one hundred points, it had all been for nothing. Nishi wanted so desperately to go home, but what the hell was the point now? Thanks to that confounded man, Shion Izumi, Nishi had changed his mind about what to obtain with his score. The decision wasn't wrong or right, but rather it was logical, and it's not like he was forced to choose a weapon over freedom, well, physically speaking anyway. Nishi had died for those damn points and still couldn't take what he really wanted now that he had them. It was humorous if you thought about it, how much Nishi had suffered, and yet his preceding actions perceived that of which became a result of karma informing him of his impermeable fate like he was destined to die all along. Fuck karma; Nishi never gave a shit about it anyway because he never believed in it even as he stood in front of Gantz, which was now stationary, contemplating the very notion itself. Nishi never lied about who he was, had never hidden his true self from anyone. They either accepted him, or they didn't; it was just that simple. Nishi believed people were only considered good or bad based on someone else's opinion and not just their actions; for example, suicide is supposed to be a sin, and some see it as selfish, hence the bad, while others who are inclined to agree will say what the person committing the act might be going through and felt they had no choice, hence the good. A better example is that Nishi strongly felt that if you didn't let people do things for themselves, you were just perpetuating bad habits, while people like Kato consider continuously aiding someone to be a simple act of kindness, never seeing the true implications it could have on a person. This is why karma never had any meaning to him because whether his actions were wrong or not is only based on an opinion.

Nishi was pulled from his thoughts by an aggressive tug on his jacket from Kurono. "You lying son of a bitch!" Kurono was angry, and Nishi couldn't blame him, but the older teen didn't know the truth about why he was angry. "You told us countless times about how much you wanted freedom, to get out of this place for good, and now that you have them you choose a fucking weapon? You selfish prick!"

Nishi didn't know how to feel in response to Kurono's words because the teen had no concept of his reasons. They were logical, not selfish; okay, if you looked at it like he chose a weapon over resurrecting someone, then yes, that might be selfish, but why would you revive someone just to come back to this? Again that was purely someone's opinion. If anything, if they knew what he knew, they should be grateful that Nishi didn't abandon them and go free anyway; now that would have been considered selfish, wouldn't it? Nishi sighed to himself, feeling as though his thoughts were an unprogressive mess of philosophical determinations, and it gave him a headache. What's the point in explaining anyway? The question was really an instinct of his nature rather than what it meant if he told them or not, so he inwardly shrugged it off. What do I care? They'll find out eventually.

Nishi's eyes widened slightly at Izumi's words. "An alien invasion, are you sure about that?"

Izumi shrugged. "Sure as I can be. The people who came before me told me about it just before they set themselves free, the cowards."

Nishi regarded the tall man skeptically. "And what proof do you have?"

Izumi grinned. "You must know that if you put your finger in the bald man's ear and turn it, you can bring up the deceased, right?" Nishi nodded. "Well, if you push hard at the nape of his neck, it'll show just how long this mundane little world has left until all hell breaks loose."

Nishi gasped. "Are you saying that Gantz has known about this all along?"

Izumi laughed. "I would say so, yeah. My hypothesis is that 'Gantz' has tried to gather as many participants as possible for the end, preparing them by taking down as many other aliens as possible; now, I would understand that Gantz must have felt pretty embarrassed by most, if not all, the players who are transported to the room and used the time of the missions to see who had potential."

Nishi couldn't believe what he was hearing; was this all true? Was Gantz really an entity that molds its players into fucking soldiers made to defeat aliens? Of course, the fact that Gantz brought them back for the exact purpose of fighting aliens wasn't what shocked him because that was just self-explanatory. Nishi had simply theorized the aliens were already living among them, and Gantz was just some kind of technology in giving them another chance at life by killing lifeforms that did not belong in the human world, and he'd be lying if he said that up until now it didn't feel just a bit like a real-life game. Gantz indeed had an ulterior motive. Sure, the players who came to the room were probably of random selection, such as the dog, but Gantz had time to watch them for potential, and the corollary of broken rules gave them an ultimatum he could rely on to prolong the observation, providing they knew or listened.

"If Gantz wants us that badly, then why give us the option to go free?"

Izumi shrugged with a smile. "I guess even Gantz isn't that insensitive, but if you ask me, I think if the person who chose to go free really did have potential, I'd be willing to bet Gantz would find some way to bring them back closer to the time. I've yet to see those before me come back yet, so I guess they really were useless."

Nishi's heart started to hammer in his chest; something else triggered panic in Nishi regarding Izumi's words about Gantz finding ways to bring previous players back, whether it was dead ones or ones living free. Option three was one of them, though probably not the best one in Gantz's opinion, and there was one other. If Gantz really does personally bring players back without consent, does that mean...

"Have you thought about how Gantz might be somehow connected to the future?"

Nishi wasn't aware of his deep thoughts until Izumi spoke again, and he shook off the notion that the man was just in his fucking head. "What?"

"The look on your face tells me you were just pondering that very thought. It's quite some theory, right?"

Nishi almost shuddered because the implications were just too accurate. It might be a theory, but it all makes sense. This means Kei and I were brought back because of Gantz. It wasn't the alien at all! Gantz knew about the time skip because he did it himself! He must have thought we were too important to lose or something, and that's why no one else remembered. It angered Nishi to know that if he had gained enough points after that Suzuki mission that Gantz would bring him back again somehow, and with probably no memory at all since he'd have forgotten everything. But why the time skip? If he wanted us back, why did he go to the trouble? Nishi gasped when he remembered what Kurono had told him about the alien's device. Gantz used that device as a means to cover up what he did, making us believe it was the alien's technology and Kei that caused it. Nishi gritted his teeth. Gantz knew Kei would suggest working cohesively and used us like some kind of recruiters! For some reason, Nishi felt victimized by Gantz because the ball had exploited both his and Kurono's weaknesses and strengths to his advantage.

"Well," Izumi started after allowing Nishi time to process things. "Now you know the truth."

Nishi narrowed his eyes. "And was that supposed to achieve something?"

Izumi huffed a laugh. "Made me feel better."

Nishi's scowl remained. "Tell me why you chose to warn me about this invasion."

Izumi smiled. "It might sound a little antic, but let's just say I owe you one."

Nishi stepped forward aggressively. "Bullshit! I've never met you until tonight."

Izumi's smile formed into a grin. "But I've met you."

Nishi fell silent, and a cold shiver ran up his spine; there was an air of chauvinism around Izumi that Nishi did not like; it unnerved him greatly. Without thinking, Nishi lunged at Izumi and tried to grab him by the throat, but the taller male sidestepped and pushed Nishi up against the wall, forcing his arm behind him. Fuck! Nishi cried out since the arm Izumi had was his injured one.

Izumi sighed, though Nishi knew better than to think it was despondent. "That was kind of foolish, you know, since I already told you I'm not a threat." Izumi pulled Nishi's arm back tighter before saying, "But that doesn't mean I won't hurt whoever is trying to hurt me."

Nishi winced at the throbbing pain in his arm. "I can relate," he managed to say.

"Good. I'm gonna let you go now so please don't try that again and listen to my explanation."

Nishi was released, and he turned around to see Izumi sitting down at the edge of the bed, looking incredibly smug. Bastard. Nishi nursed his arm as he leaned against the wall.

"You should feel honored, anyone else and I'd have killed them by now."

Nishi scoffed. "Yeah yeah I'm touched by the sentiment, now get on with it."

Izumi laughed. "Feisty. Anyway, as I was saying, I've met you already." Izumi held his hand up when Nishi narrowed his eyes. "Let me finish. After I had survived a few missions, a girl taking an extracurricular in my college started to approach me, telling me she had resources suggesting she knew about the black ball. I guessed she was studying to be a reporter, and she was good too, talking about all kinds of leads which were pretty accurate. I got the feeling she had been following me for a while because she felt like I was her strongest connection. As you can imagine, I felt a little apprehensive since I didn't want my head to explode and all that."

Nishi listened to Izumi carefully, trying to piece the information together. A college girl who wanted to be a reporter... Nishi's eyes widened. Yui Kazumi! She was Yoko's reporter friend from college! So that was her massive secret? She was close to figuring out Gantz? Shit.

Izumi tilted his head in amusement. "You know who I'm talking about, don't you?"

Nishi was in a state of shock; he'd never questioned what that massive secret she had planned was for more than a few minutes since Yoko sounded so sure that Yui would have told her. Nishi then remembered the other reporter, Yuuma Daikei, with animosity since he had a personal grudge against him. That's why he was so eager to get back because he thought he could prove his findings, and his whole fucking pacifist act was a cover. But what are the odds of two finding out about Gantz? "Let me ask you, did you ever get approached by someone by the name of Yuuma Daikei?"

Izumi raised an eyebrow. "No, just the girl."

Nishi frowned. Then it could be that the sources were stolen. Kazumi caught wind of Daikei's sources, got jealous, and had him killed so she could steal it from him. Even if she did succeed, that was foolish of her since it wouldn't take long for people to suspect she had stolen them, but since I now know the sources were about Gantz, Daikei probably worked alone. "Could the sources have come from my webpage?"

Izumi laughed. "It's a possibility, but if that were the case, they'd have found the IP address like I did, and questioned you. Anyway, I followed Kazumi's hired assassin because I hoped to make him get her off my back, then someone showed up and ruined that for me." Nishi gasped lightly. "Heh, I guess you can imagine how pissed I was. I was gonna kill you too, but I was curious as to how you knew the assassin, so I dropped a wire inside Kazami's jacket without her knowing when she told me she was going to see a friend. Luck would have it that you were with the friend she was talking about. I heard everything."

Nishi's breathing became heavy, but he tried to remain calm. Izumi was all connected to his past with Yoko somehow; how the fuck was that even possible?

Izumi laughed. "Small fucking world isn't it?"

"Then you knew about me before my webpage, and not after."

"True, but I couldn't be completely sure the one creating the websites and the one who killed the assassin were the same person. That is, until I saw you running from the school and tracked you down to confirm."

Nishi gritted his teeth. Great, now I have a stalker.

Izumi stood up and stretched his arms up. "So, now you know everything. I owed you for helping me get rid of the girl who was hassling me, so here I am. Goodluck I guess."

Nishi stepped to the side to let Izumi reach the door. "One more thing, if you owed me for that which happened just under a year ago, then why have you only come to me now?"

Izumi looked at him with a somewhat annoyed expression, yet his eyes still shone with amusement. "Whether I like it or not, I do have a life outside Gantz you know. I was busy."

Nishi clicked his tongue and watched Izumi walk out of his motel room and shut the door before collapsing to his knees from exhaustion. Shit.

"Nishi!"

Nishi gritted his teeth, becoming annoyed, and shouted, "I have my reasons!" Damn, he wasn't meant to blurt it out that way; now there was evidence of a valid reason. Shit.

"What does that mean?"

Before Nishi could attempt to defuse the nettlesome position that he had placed himself in, a new weapon appeared in his hand, causing those around him to gasp and shuffle forward with interest, their initial confusion wholly forgotten.

"Is - is that your new weapon?" Kurono asked hesitantly.

Nishi turned it over in his hand before releasing the blade within. A sword?

"Whoa, that looks sharp. I wonder what the Gantz version of a sword is," Hojo pondered.

While the rest of the team showed ebullience, Nishi regarded the weapon with disappointment and scoffed. "The fuck? What am I supposed to do with this shit? This is utterly worthless to me." Nishi felt like he'd been cheated somehow; it was bad enough he had to use his points for something other than freedom, and now Gantz couldn't even give him a decent weapon.

"I think it's cool," Kondo commented.

"Me too," Kurono agreed.

The team was just pissing Nishi off even more.

"You know, before my parents died and I ended up in a high school of delinquents, I got the chance to participate in the schools fencing activity," Kurono explained. The taller teen scratched the back of his head sheepishly and huffed a laugh. "They said I had a knack for it."

Despite Kato's attempt to impress, Nishi wasn't amused and merely rolled his eyes. After a moment, Nishi sighed and threw the weapon, now closed, at Kato, and said, "A melee weapon is of no use to me, so knock yourself out."

Kato gaped in surprise; it was probably the most selfless thing Nishi had ever done, or will ever do again, especially regarding Kato. "Thank you. I promise to use it to the best of its ability."

Nishi began to walk away. "Just as long as you kill an alien with it, I really don't care."

Kurono frowned at Nishi's retreating form and quickly told his friends to wait for him before running after the younger male.

Like déjà vu, Kurono caught up to Nishi outside the apartment building. "Nishi stop!"

Nishi regretted not using stealth mode the moment he left the apartment and reluctantly turned to face Kurono.

"Tell me, tell me why you chose option 2. You said you have your reasons, and I really believe it's justifiable, so why aren't you telling me?"

Nishi frowned. "I don't give a shit if you think it's justified or not."

Kurono stalked up to Nishi threateningly. "If it has something to do with Gantz and we all deserve to know about it, you better fucking tell me instead of keeping it to yourself."

Nishi chuckled. "Or you'll what, kill me? Weren't you just angry a minute ago because I didn't choose to go free? What I do with my points is none of your business, and that's all there is to it." Kurono, left in a state of confusion, watched Nishi go without making another move toward him. "By the way, enjoy the halcyon period while you can."

Kurono stared after Nishi feeling flabbergasted. "What the hell does that mean?" Doesn't halcyon mean peaceful? I'm sure I've heard it somewhere before, but - is that the time until our next mission, or something else... Why would he even say that anyway!

Nishi narrowed his eyes when he looked up from the bottom steps leading to his motel room. Why the fuck is he back here? Nishi reached the room, regarding Izumi with irritation as he pulled his key from his pocket. "What do you want now?"

Izumi scoffed. "So unseemly."

Nishi turned to him. "Answer me Izumi, I don't have the patience for you tonight."

Izumi chuckled. "I was curious about your decision, but since you're here, I presume you chose option two?"

Nishi sighed. "So?"

"I didn't tell you this before because I was uncertain you would choose that option, but you might be interested to know there's a rumor going around that Gantz will reward whoever rids the earth of the alien mothership or perhaps their leader, who knows, with what is known to be a 'perfect score.' Imagine the possibilities you could gain with a reward like that; I wonder what kind of options it'll bring. I just bet you could end everything revolving around Gantz."

Nishi regarded Izumi incredulously. "If the alien invasion is stopped, then doesn't that mean Gantz will stop too?"

Izumi grinned. "Maybe, but what if you could become Gantz? And instead of aliens, make them fight each other."

Nishi stiffened but didn't show it bothered him. "If it's true, is that what you're aiming for, or are you just speculating?"

Izumi's grin widened. "What do you think?"

Nishi turned to the door, putting the key in the door. "I think you're deluded."

Instead of getting angry, Izumi laughed. "Maybe, but you can't tell me the thought doesn't just excite you a little."

Nishi frowned. He's a fucking nutcase, and I'm the sadistic one?

Izumi clapped a hand on Nishi's shoulder before starting down the steps, waved a hand behind him, and said, "Good luck, Nishi!"

A/N: I sincerely hope this turned out okay. As I said, trying to follow some manga paths, while at the same time making it different too. Izumi has worse goals in mind than Nishi does this time I think, but I feel my goal for Izumi kinda fit him anyway

Ps. I feel my vocabulary is improving (and hopefully showing) little by little, and I'm super proud

Anyways, thank you to everyone reading this far