Sometimes, reality can be harsh when there are moments that you wish would last forever when you desperately beg the images that you conjure up inside your mind to be real because it's better than the horror of events you're actually living, and you never want to wake up and face the cold reality you've regretfully placed yourself in.

Kishimoto chuckled and tried to move the pencil from Kato's reach, leaning back from him as they sat together on the floor with study guides strewn in front of them. "We're supposed to be studying," she told him in a playful tone.

"I thought we were taking a break," he said with equal humor and reached further for the pencil. Kato lost balance on his hand, and both of them toppled. Kishimoto fell backward as Kato barely caught himself from landing on top of her, the pencil rolling away. Kato laughed. "Now can we take a break?"

Kishimoto smiled up at him, genuine happiness showing in her expression. "Okay," she huffed with amusement. "You're kind of distracting me anyway."

Kato blushed with a sheepish grin and raised a hand to scratch the back of his head. "Sorry."

Kishimoto shook her head and brought Kato's face to hers for a kiss. "I'm happy I have you to distract me." It was true. She had worked so hard to please her mother all her life. To achieve the best results for her mother so as not to embarrass her. Now she could finally work hard for herself, to the best of her abilities, and be proud of her accomplishments no matter what marks she gained as long as she tried her best. There was no pressure anymore, and it felt incredible.

There was a light chuckle that came from the entrance of the apartment. "You two are so silly," the voice said.

Kato and Kishimoto craned their necks to see Ayamu walk through the door, taking his shoes off. The two teens scrambled to sit up in a slight panic before brushing themselves off, small blushes on their faces at the thought of their would-be actions. "Oh, Ayamu… you're back early," Kato stuttered out with a smile as Kishimoto tried her best to stifle her laughter.

Ayamu tilted his head and nodded to the window. "My friends and I decided to come home because it started to rain, and the park equipment was getting slippery."

Kato cleared his throat. "It's raining? I – I hadn't noticed." Kato stood up with a smile. "Thank you for coming home so I didn't worry." Kato turned to Kishimoto. "Maybe Kishimoto wouldn't mind helping you with any homework you might have, and I can start dinner."

Kishimoto nodded with a wide smile. "Of course."

Ayamu hung up his bag. "It's okay, I don't have any homework." The boy turned back with a hopeful smile. "So would you watch anime with me instead?"

Kishimoto chuckled. "Sure, okay."

Ayamu grinned. "Great!" The boy rushed over to the TV and fiddled with the buttons until he found the correct channel before scooting back to sit next to Kishimoto, who glanced up at Kato and shared a contented smile with him.

Both of them unknowingly shared the same thoughts.

I never thought I'd gain such a wonderful life. It's too good to be true.

Reality.

00:15:12.

Tears fell from Kishimoto's face combined with the heavy pour of rain that had begun to fall. The x-gun was held tightly in her hands as she tried numerous times to shake Kato awake. The alien had attacked them with incredible speed, and so suddenly, they had barely time to defend themselves or escape. Kishimoto didn't see the alien's weapon in time when it re-emerged, but Kato did and used the short time to save the only girl he had loved. The blade had sliced through both his legs when Kato grabbed Kishimoto to try and jump away from the assail, but the distance wasn't far enough. Kishimoto regained her composure long enough to shoot the alien while clinging to her partner protectively.

Kishimoto could do nothing to help Kato until the mission was over except try her best to stem the bleeding. In her heart, Kishimoto knew there was a chance she could lose Kato tonight; thoughts of what she would say to Ayamu flooded her mind. "Kato, please! You can't die, you have to hold on – Kato!"

Hojo waved at the camera filming him and smiled at those taking pictures while he wrapped an arm around Sadako's shoulders as they walked out of his studio once he'd finished a shoot. "I'm so glad I have you by my side now," he whispered to her as she shyly waved to the camera. "I can't believe I waited this long to notice you." Hojo turned down a quieter street. "I'm sorry Sadako, I hope I can make you happy."

Sadako tightly gripped Hojo's arm with a smile. "I'm very happy now. I finally have you." She looked up at the model with tearful eyes.

Hojo was surprised to see her tears. "Then why are you crying?"

"Because I…"

00:12:09.

Hojo held onto Sadako tightly as she clung to him, both embracing each other as the Reaper's scythe attempted to tear them apart. The two fell to the ground in one another's arms, their bodies sliced in half. "I'm…glad I got to…know you…Sadako…"

Tears fell from Sadako's eyes before she kissed him. "I love you…."

Hojo closed his eyes, a stray tear falling down his cheek. Reality sucks.

Kurono grinned as he strolled out of school, his bag slung loosely over his shoulder. He could hear his classmates shouting various comments behind him. Although Kurono would never call them friends, they were amusing enough to pass the time, so high school didn't completely suck.

"Ah Kurono! I so envy you man!"

"I can't believe you're dating an older chick!"

"You gotta tell me what your secret is, it's so not fair."

Kurono didn't turn to face them, but he laughed at their comments and raised a hand to dismissively wave it at them. "Sorry! That's for me to know and you to never find out."

Sei Sakuraoka was waiting outside the school gate for him, casually straddling her bike with a helmet hooked over the handle and her own tucked under her arm. She smiled at Kurono when he reached her and threw the helmet from the handle over to him.

Kurono caught the helmet before pressing his lips to Sei's in a deep kiss, laughing to himself when he heard his classmates groan in envious protest. Kurono straddled the seat behind Sei and adorned his helmet.

"While it's kinda fun to make your friends jealous, I've got a couple of friends who might be interested in dating high school boys."

Kurono laughed. "Sure, if they like the really immature types. They're not really my friends, and those guys couldn't handle it anyway."

Sei chuckled. "You mean they're not 'cool' enough?"

Kurono shrugged. "I guess you could put it that way."

Before Sei placed her helmet on, she decided to test Kurono's words and winked at the approaching school teens. "Afternoon boys."

Just as Kurono predicted, the three male teens started swooning and became extremely shy and not in a cute way.

"Hello – err, ma'am…."

"Nice…day?"

The third and biggest one of them just blushed and waved.

Kurono merely sighed. God they're lame.

Sei laughed and lowered her voice so only Kurono could hear. "I see what you mean." She clasped her helmet's strap and revved the engine before riding off.

Sei and Kurono sat on the hillside of their chosen favorite spot where they had their first date. "Well," Sei began. "We know what your friends think of us dating, so what about your parents? Do you think they'll approve?"

Kurono clicked his tongue. "They disapprove of everything I do, so probably not."

"I see."

Kurono chuckled. "Doesn't matter anyway, I've learned that friendships and having a girlfriend can be better than caring what your family think of you." Kurono became slightly embarrassed by his odd confession. "Never thought I'd say that."

Sei laughed. "And not too long ago, you were just a teenager whose only thoughts consisted of sex."

Kurono feigned shocked. "Hey, I'm still like that."

Sei leaned forward with a lustful gaze. "Except now you have a girl to do it with."

Kurono laughed. "Hell yeah, no more nights alone with my right hand for me."

Sei rolled her eyes and then brought him in for a kiss.

Reality.

00:09:22.

Kurono and Sei hid inside an abandoned hut, and although there wasn't much protection from the rain, it did well to allow them time to alter their assail. Kurono gritted his teeth as he peered out from his position, grateful the alien was still visible for now. Kurono pressed the x-rifle to his chest, musing over his soon-to-be reckless decision. I guess it's now or never. I can do it. Cause I'm a goddamn hero.

"What are you thinking, Kei?" Sei didn't like the expression on Kurono's face. She hadn't known him long but was frightfully aware of what it entailed.

"Stay here," Kurono told Sei when he turned to face her. "I'm gonna take care of it."

Sei's eyes widened. "No, not by yourself."

Kurono gave her a side-grin. "Hey, it's me, you know I'm badass."

Without a second thought, Kurono stood up and ran out into the rain, gun held high, ready to fire. "I'm gonna kill you!"

"Kei!" Sei's hand reached out to Kurono in fear for his life; she didn't want to lose him after confessing her love for him in the throes of sex just two days ago. Sei stood up and unholstered her gun from her leg.

Kurono skidded across the asphalt to avoid the alien's scythe as it skimmed through the air, aiming for his torso. Kurono stopped himself and twisted to aim his gun directly at the alien, locking onto its body.

"I won't let you fight alone!" Sei shouted and ran to protect her lover.

Kurono gasped when a quick swipe of the alien's scythe cut his x-rifle in half. "Oh shit!" Kurono discarded the now-useless weapon and tried to evade another assail but was slashed from the waist to his shoulder when the alien swerved the scythe in an uppercut fashion. Kurono fell to the ground with a silent cry of pain, briefly surprised the blade didn't cut him in half.

"Kei!" Sei mistakenly called out before attempting to attack the alien from behind. The Reaper turned and swung the scythe sharply at its attacker. Much like Kurono, Sei moved just enough to avoid getting sliced in half. The blade slashed her abdomen, and she fell with a choke of blood, eyes glistening with tears, fearing she might die.

Kurono lay still as he watched his girlfriend fall, trying to protect him. "Sei… no…" Kurono willed his body to get the hell up, but the deep wound stemmed his movements. "I won't… I'm not gonna die like this…dammit." With the grit of his teeth, Kurono reached down to unholster his x-gun, and, ignoring the shooting pains in his body, he raised the weapon and locked onto the alien before firing multiple shots.

By the time the alien turned after realizing it was under attack, the time lag ended, and it blew apart, splattering the ground with black blood.

Kurono's arm dropped, and the gun fell from his hand. "That's – that's gotta be it… please tell me everyone else got the rest."

Kurono glanced in Sei's direction. "Sei… tell me you're alive over there, give me a sign or something…."

Sei wrapped an arm around her wound and very slowly leaned up on her elbow. "I am…Kei… don't worry."

Kurono's emotional celebration was transient when he turned his head and caught sight of another alien approaching them. Shit, no way. Kurono felt around for his gun, trying his hardest to sit up.

One by one, Kishimoto, Nozaki, and Tetsuo reach the area where Kurono and Sei are struggling. Kishimoto was aghast when she noticed the conditions of her teammates.

Tetsuo frowned when he realized their members were lacking, and as he scanned the area, he found two more aliens left to defeat.

00:06:12.

"We're cutting it close," Tetsuo said fearfully. "Real close."

"Somebody…get Sei out of danger…." Kurono gritted out loud enough for his team to hear and forced his body into a sitting position.

Kishimoto was the first to comply with the request and ran to aide Sei. Sei smiled up at Kishimoto when the younger girl helped her to stand. "Glad to… see you alive," she said honestly.

Kishimoto nodded with a smaller smile, her mind still focused on the man she had to leave behind to assist her other teammates.

When Sei noticed Kishimoto's grave expression, she asked, "Where's Kato?" Kishimoto flinched. "He's alive, isn't he?"

Kishimoto's eyes glistened. "I don't know."

Sei stared in disbelief. "No way…"

"Shouldn't we start shooting before they attack?" Nozaki said, looking at Tetsuo.

Tetsuo huffed. "Best plan I've heard all night."

Before any of them could move, a scythe was launched through the air, aiming for the most threatening players, which at present happened to be Tetsuo and Nozaki. Nozaki pushed Tetsuo to the floor out of harm's way, but before the blade reached him, it was diverted at the last second by what appeared to be a shot from a gun, followed by the vanquishing of the Reaper who threw it.

Togo stood up on the roof above them. "Damn that was close, now where's that over-confident brat gone."

00:16:13.

"I would say rest in peace, but I hope you rot in hell."

Nishi looked at the map, and his eyes widened when he realized an alien had appeared behind him. Nishi span around and lifted his gun to block the scythe before it came down on him; the force knocked him off his feet. Nishi quickly sat up and soon realized his weapon was in two pieces. "Shit, that thing nearly cut my hand off." Nishi stared fearfully up at the Reaper, cursing at his luck when he thought that a sword would be better to attack in a situation like this. "Kato's probably mocking me in his mind right now, bastard."

The alien closed in on Nishi for another attack but blew up at the last second. Nishi turned to see the sniper looming over him, glaring at him with frustration. Nishi smirked. "Nice timing."

Togo didn't look amused but held his hand out. "You're damn lucky I found you when I did, your overconfidence is absolutely ridiculous, and your stubbornness to refuse help will kill you."

Nishi clicked his tongue and didn't like that Togo was scolding him. "I was actually giving you a compliment, but if I knew you were going to insult my actions, I would have kept my mouth shut." Nishi took the offered hand regardless of his diatribe. "For the record, I don't have a problem accepting help, I just prefer to work alone; it's helping others that I detest."

Togo stared in disbelief, unable to grasp the teen's logic. "That's even more ridiculous. How do you expect others to help you if you won't return the favor?"

"Exactly." Nishi started walking away, and Togo grabbed his arm.

"You're an annoying brat, but I'll be damned if I let you die, so stop wondering off." Togo shoved an x-gun in Nishi's hand. "Like it or not, we're partners for this mission."

…

Togo and a reluctantly Nishi found Kato lying on the floor. Togo knelt to the teen and laid his head against Kato's chest. "He's alive."

Nishi rolled his eyes. "Shame." Togo turned to frown at him, but Nishi simply grinned. "Did you expect a cheer?" Nishi walked forward and was happy to find the new weapon he gave to Kato holstered on his leg, so he took it from him.

Togo stood up and shook his head disappointedly. "That's so unethical."

Nishi huffed. "It's not like I'm stealing from a corpse." The boy regarded Kato more carefully. "Although I doubt it'll be much longer."

Tetsuo angrily jumped to his feet. "What the hell was that!" Tetsuo grabbed a fistful of Nozaki's jacket. "Kid, you got a death wish or something you dumbass!"

Nozaki huffed a laugh. "I was paying you back for saving me before, it was a spontaneous decision."

Tetsuo shoved him away. "Stupid."

Kurono glanced over at the last alien and finally, albeit unsteadily, got to his feet. It's not over yet, but I sure as hell hope it's the last one. Adrenaline rapidly overtook Kurono's rational thoughts as his suit bulged with its remaining strength's limit. "I'm gonna end this now!" As Kurono began to run for the Reaper, it quickly disappeared. "What the…"

The team watched in horror when the alien re-emerged behind Kurono.

"Kurono behind you!" Kishimoto cried.

"Kurono! Move your ass!" Tetsuo shouted.

"Kei!" Sei called as she clung to Kishimoto.

Kurono turned to see the alien just a few feet away from him with its scythe descending on him. Before the blade could cut him in two, it stopped abruptly, causing confusion between the players. "What – what's going on?" Kurono stared up into a faceless hood, watching the Reaper struggle to push the scythe any further toward him. "Huh?"

Nishi swung his legs over the bed and smiled when he caught a whiff of what could only be his mother's cooking. Nishi exited the bedroom and walked into the kitchen to meet her smiling gaze as she placed breakfast on the table. "Morning sweetheart, did you sleep okay?"

Nishi nodded and sat down to eat. Emiko suddenly whacked a folded envelope playfully on top of Nishi's head. Nishi looked up with a slight frown, although it probably looked more like a pout. Emiko was smiling, which was odd given what she just did. "You didn't tell me you've been potentially accepted into a private school."

Nishi hunched his shoulder; she wasn't supposed to find out yet. "It doesn't matter."

Emiko did frown then. "Why on earth would you say that?"

Nishi frowned down at his plate, poking his eggs with the fork. "Because we can't afford it, and I don't want to burden you."

Emiko shook her head and knelt, so Nishi had no choice but to look at her. "I am so very proud of you, and nothing is more important than your happiness, and if getting into that school means you won't have to deal with your juvenile, delinquent peers anymore, we will do whatever it takes to make it happen."

Nishi stared at his mother, unable to keep the astonishment from his expression. "I don't deserve this…."

Emiko hit him again with the envelope, but this time to scold him. "Don't ever say that." Emiko reached up and wrapped her arms around him tightly. "You deserve to live a happy life, and don't let anything or anyone take that from you."

Nishi swallowed the lump in his throat. Only his mother could cause emotions to stir from their deep pits. Slowly, Nishi raised his arms to return her hug, wanting nothing more than to embrace her, but subconsciously he knew it wasn't real, and the words left his lips before he could stop them. "I'm sorry…."

00:04:05.

Kurono watched the Reaper confoundedly until the reason for its struggles appeared in a fuzz of static. "Nishi!"

Nishi's suit bulged as he pushed against the blade with all the power it would allow, but it proved to be more complicated than he imagined. The Reaper had surprising strength for an alien with a skeletal body, and although Nishi didn't think the Gantz sword would break, he was concerned his arms might give out if his suit failed. What am I doing… what the fuck am I doing! Why am I doing this!

Kurono was too shocked to move; Nishi saved his life with risk to his own, and Kurono was at a loss as to why.

Nishi was angry; he didn't know what the hell possessed him to defend Kurono, but he had a feeling it had something to do with Izumi and his warnings. Fuck you, Izumi; I won't be part of your Gantz world; I'm going home, dammit! "Somebody fucking shoot it already!" Nishi shouted with desperation. "Useless fucks!" Nishi bared his teeth when the Reaper began to push him back and suddenly felt his arms lose endurance before his suit started to leak. Nishi's eyes widened with fear, and he lost the struggle when the Reaper pushed quickly against his sword and the scythe sliced the top of his arm near his shoulder. Nishi dropped to his knees and cried out in anguish.

Nishi's cry snapped Kurono out of it, and he ignored his injuries, grabbed Nishi, and jumped to a safer distance. "Nishi?"

"Fuck!" Nishi shouted as he gripped the bleeding hole where his arm used to be.

"Are you okay?"

Nishi glared up at Kurono but couldn't stop his eyes from glistening from the pain. "Am I okay? My whole fucking arm is gone! No I'm not okay!" Nishi couldn't hold his weight up and hunched over, groaning in pain. "You guys are useless… that's the last time I help you… why didn't you shoot!"

Kurono frowned. "Well what happened to everyone for themselves huh! You just broke your own rule!"

Nishi seethed in agony; why couldn't Kurono just shut the fuck up. "Most people…say thank you…."

"Kurono! It's coming for you!" Tetsuo shouted.

Kurono stood up and glared at the Reaper alien before using the suit's strength to run at great speed. "Bastard, I'll fucking kill you!" Kurono locked onto the alien and fired multiple times before ramming into it and knocking it to the ground. Kurono flew through the air when the alien exploded but managed to land on his feet, breathing heavily. "Fuck you death, you're not taking me, never."