Sanctuary
Numb.
That's how I'm feeling.
I feel like I don't understand anything.
But I'm also glad -
I won't have nightmares anymore.
"I'll be at the end of this path if you hold them off long enough to come after me."
Before Neku could give chase, the group was alerted to the increase of hooded figures that seemed to pop up from behind trees – other Reapers that were there to hold them off. They outnumbered Neku's group with a four to one ratio. Uzuki, Kariya and Minamimoto, all of whom radiated more power than the rest were excluded from this count.
Beat, Rhyme, Joshua, Shiki and Neku found themselves drawing closer together, forming an outwards facing circle, all prepared to start fighting.
"Yo, looks like we're outnumbered, but we can take them."
"Divide and conquer. That'll be how we win."
"Hee hee. Let's make this an interesting fight."
"We have to win, no matter what."
"That's right. Let's do this!"
Chapter Twenty - Clash
Beat charged forward.
Thirteen? Fourteen? No, it had to be at least sixteen more Reapers besides the three biggies that were just standing over there. It was all he could do not to freak out when they those three flew in. He had never seen anything like that before. Rhyme, Phones and Priss did do some weird things around him, but since he hadn't see what was going on, he hadn't thought that it was that weird, or anything.
But woah. Wings. They could fly. Not just kind of float like Rhyme did, but fly.
It didn't matter how many there were or what they could do, though– he would take 'em all down!
He glanced down at the pin he had attached to his shirt. Priss said that it would help him fight, too. Well, he would see about that.
Throwing his skateboard to the ground, he jumped on it and whizzed towards those flying creeps. Heh, after practicing he could do this –
Beat tilted the front of the board upwards and sparks started zapping out of the wheels from the friction. With all the force he could get, he jumped right up and managed to get to the level where one of the Reapers were hovering.
"You're finished, yo!" Aiming a punch right at the Reaper, who let out a cry out of surprise, Beat was about to let out a victory yell when he went right through his target. With his built-up reflexes, he just about managed to land the board on the ground, skidding to a turn.
"Hey! How come I had to fight the dud? This guy's useless," said the Reaper before it turned to go attack the others.
Bwaah!? That ain't meant to happen! His opponent couldn't just skip out on him. Yo, they were in the middle of the fight!
The boy looked over the battle.
Phones and Shiki were in perfect sync – Phones directed Shiki to the best place to start Mr. Mew's attack from. Phones was even able to land a hit on the guy every now and then. Hey, how come he can do it an' I can't – oh, Priss said somethin' about it. Beat, to tell the truth, hadn't really been paying much attention on the way here to what Priss was saying. He kinda remembered something about Phones being able to hold Shiki's hand? Oh yeah…he said if Phones can touch Shiki, then he can probably deal some damage out to these bastards even if they're not touchin' him first.
Rhyme was doing her best. He could see the black sand that they told him about. She was using it more to block herself, then to actually attack. It still looked like it hurt, when the Reapers rammed into the hardened sand of wall she would suddenly put up.
Priss looked like he was…having fun. Someone would have to threaten Beat before he admitted it, but Priss scared him sometimes. Especially now, when he was using his wind powers to bash together two of the four Reapers he was fighting.
Okay, is it jus' me or are they getting' further away from me? Hey…weren't they moving towards the direction where the Boss ran off from?
Taking his eyes off his victims, Priss looked at Beat and gave him a smirk and what Beat thought was a nod.
That's right! He ain't got time to just stand around and watch everyone else fight. Maybe he didn't have any cool superhuman powers like the others did but he had more than what he thought he would have in the first place. I can see 'em and if they take a swing at me, I can get them right back!
He was the group's supporter.
Pushing forward again on his skateboard, Beat circled around the fight to the front where he stopped. He took a deep breath then boomed, "C'mon! Come at me! If you slow-asses can even catch me!" He rode the board away from them.
There were a few who were still fighting the others but some of them, who had been temporarily on the ground due to being beaten, looked up at Beat's voice. After a few moments, they gave chase,
They're only comin' 'cause they'll think this'll be an easy fight, but they're wrong about that!
Beat took a moment to look back and he was doing well. The others had less pressure since they were fighting fewer numbers and the rest were still chasing after him. An' they call me stupid!
It was going smoothly until he jammed his foot down to stop himself. They had reached the crossroads and those three more powerful looking Reapers were just lingering around that place, looking from a range of bored to amused to see him.
Bwaaaah! When'd they get there? He hadn't noticed at all that they had disappeared from the other scene earlier. Beat was never one to run away from a fight, but somehow he just knew that he would be outmatched if he tried to fight the three of them as well as the fast-approaching Reapers flying closer and closer.
"Ooh, a distraction. Nice tactic there, kid," said the one with the lollipop in his mouth.
Pinky laughed. "Nice? You mean, plain stupid. Does he really expect to beat us all?"
"Finishing him off will be as easy as 3.1415926535897932384626…" The third Reaper continued on for a while, reciting the following values of Pi. Uh, I think that he's saying Pi. Either way, it didn't sound good.
He needed to find a way to get out of this problem, and fast.
Think. Think. Think. Nothing brilliant was coming to him.
"Screw it!" He cried out causing the Reapers to all show varying degrees of surprise. Getting back on his skateboard he pushed off as hard as he could and took the left turning. Yeah, he was running, but he couldn't think of anything else to do!
The Reapers who had already been after him turned too but the Lollipop, Pinky and Pi-Face stayed where they were standing. Bet they're picking who to come after me.
It didn't matter! He had no time to waste.
As he approached the end of the path he grinned. The ramps coming into his vision was a welcome sight. This was his turf now.
He jumped onto the ramp, skating right to the top and then getting off at the platform that was there. The Reapers following him flew up to his level.
"Heh, you guys are the small fry! Betchu ain't good enough to even fight me," he taunted.
"Is this punk talking down on us?"
"It sounds like it. But isn't he the weak one? We shouldn't waste our time on him."
Beat laughed. "You wimps, scared of me or somethin'?"
"Piss off."
"Make me, ass-holes!"
"When we're through with you, you're going to wish you were never born."
Thumping his fist against his chest, he mocked them, "That's my line!"
With an angered shout, one of the Reapers zoomed straight towards him, punching the air out of him and knocking him back into the railings on the platform. With a grunt, he grabbed the arm that was in contact with him. His other hand was touching the pin Joshua gave him. "The Beat is on!"
He punched the Reaper, who was hurled all the way down, where he crashed into the ground with a loud crack.
The Reapers looked between the figure on the ground and the boy standing before them. They must have been pissed to see that a normal kid like him could defeat one of their own.
"Aight. So, who's next?"
They all speared towards him at once. Before they reached him, he did a running jump onto his skateboard, initiating a slide down the ramp just as they reached the side of the ramp that he had just been on. Confusion hit them for a few seconds and then they dove downwards to go after him. He had picked up speed, though, and was heading back up the curve. Reaching the top, he grabbed the side of the ramp, lifting his feet and skateboard up so that he was vertical.
His power was activated now. It's all or nothing.
He was on a descent back down the ramp again, just as the Reapers started flying up. One had his fist straightened out, and it drove right into his stomach. There was a sharp ache but Beat could feel his power too. His fist collided into the Reaper's face. With his abnormal increased strength, the Reaper fell atop of another Reaper, and they all crashed down to the ground one after the other.
Beat got down and skated to the railings, stopping to see who was left. Only three managed to shakily get back upright. Hell yeah, I can do this.
At that moment Beat winced. The pain in his stomach got a lot sharper. Is the pin almost out of juice?! He had to finish this quickly.
"Is that all you've got?" He shouted.
"You little shit!" The remaining Reapers were beyond livid now.
Two of them flew up high above Beat. Whaa?
Circling him, they headed back down with lightning speed. He didn't have time to react and they both caught one of his arms each.
The third Reaper who hadn't flown up simply walked over to Beat, laughing triumphantly. "That's what you get for disrespecting us."
He punched Beat's head, as the other two held him still, even as he tried to break free from them. It hurt like hell and his head was spinning. Even worse, he felt like the pin's energy was really going to run out soon. The bastards even kept enough distance so that he couldn't kick them from his position.
He couldn't use his arms and he couldn't use his legs.
Hold it! Yeah I can!
Not knowing if this would work or not, just as the second blow was about to arrive, Beat slammed down on the edge of his skateboard that was underneath his feet. It was sent spinning powerfully towards the Reaper who had punched him, connecting with his head.
The sheer force of it caused the two other Reapers to let go and in that split second drew in he pulled in his arms then punched them both at the same time, sending them flying.
This time, no one got up.
"I did it! Hell yeah, I did – arghhh!" He, too, collapsed, as the pin's effects wore off and pain surged towards the areas where he had been injured. He clung onto the railings for support with one hand, the other arm covering his stomach.
'Least I got them all. He stared down the path he had entered from. If either Lollipop, Pinky or Pi-Face had come after him, he would be done.
He had a feeling they weren't coming anymore, though.
Guess my job as support's done, then.
XXXXX
Rhyme stepped back.
She hadn't missed her brother's departure from the battle. He provoked the Reapers they were fighting into following him. It was such a Beat thing to do, that it brought a smile to her face. I have to do my best, too.
Three of the four Reapers she had been battling were already lying on the ground, black wings twitching in defeat. The last one standing was getting closer and closer, trying to get a close range attack on her but she had mastered control over her Soul Energy and her black sand. She used her sand to act as a cuff around the Reaper's leg, flinging him upwards before slamming him against the tree. She winced at the grunt he made as he too, was rendered unable to battle.
She looked over at Neku, Shiki and Joshua; they were all still occupied with their opponents. Neku and Shiki were battling seriously, though Joshua looked like he was taking his own sweet time.
Deciding that it would be best to go after Beat, Rhyme encompassed herself with her sand and used it to propel her in the direction he ran off to, the swirling black shooting her forward like a rocket.
She was brought to a halt when she realised that two of the three more powerful were standing idly by the crossroads.
"Oh, look, here's Skull Jr. She must be chasing after Skulls."
"Heh, he might already be divided if Uzuki's got to him already." Minamimoto made the mistake of looking down one of the paths, because Rhyme conjured up her tornado of sand as soon as he did and headed down that direction.
Halfway down the path that she knew led towards the skateboard area, she found the pink-haired Reaper leisurely proceeding on her way.
As Rhyme landed, the Reaper stopped walking. "So are you going to play with me?" She cackled as she turned, her eyes surveying the smaller girl. "Don't want me going after your weakest link, huh?"
"When the going gets tough, the tough gets going." She said slowly. "Beat's not weak."
"I don't know about that. He didn't look like he had even a smidgen of useful Soul. I was only going to make sure the others did their jobs right," she said.
If this Reaper was trying to anger her in order for her to slip up, she picked the wrong opponent to use that strategy on. Rhyme was not worked up easily and she was not the hasty type. It should not come to anyone's surprise, due to her qualities, that she hated it when Beat fought. She hated that he had to fight now.
But she realised that this had to be done. For their friends' sakes.
For her friends, she was willing to fight.
She closed her eyes momentarily, gathering up her Soul energy. Opening her eyes, she moved her sand into small spheres that surrounded her to make up a larger sphere. They were circling around her and the enemy raised an eyebrow.
"Trying to hide behind that? You sure are underestimating me." Uzuki's hand glowed red and she flew towards Rhyme ready to strike.
"It seems like you're the one underestimating me," said Rhyme. The sphere she had created wasn't just for show. The spheres gathered closer to the spot that the Reaper was about to penetrate in, and extended into a sharp blade that would have surely damaged Uzuki badly if she had not dodged at the last second. "The best defense is a good offense."
"Oh, you think you're so smart don't you! Let me tell you something about me, I am Uzuki Yashiro and I never lose against anyone," she proclaimed. "Especially not to someone like an itty bitty girl like you."
She attempted to get through again, from different angles but each time, Rhyme thankfully managed to predict where she would come from and direct her sand accordingly. She had no intention of taking any hits in this battle. Though Rhyme's attacking power was great, Rhyme could not say that she would last long if she actually got hit. While her Soul Energy was abundant, her actual physical body was not that strong.
Uzuki flew up and crossed her arms, her nails digging into her clothes. "Arghh! You little pest! Why don't you just let me hit you?"
Rhyme stared at her blankly – of course she wasn't just going to do that.
"You piss me off so much. Alright, I'm done playing with you. I'll give you the privilege of seeing me at full power." The Reaper laughed as she started to gather red into one of her hands. Instead of attacking Rhyme again, though, the red matter formed a shape akin to one of a gun.
The moment she saw that, alarm bells rang off it Rhyme's head. If she was moulding it into the shape of a gun, it would mean that the Reaper would most likely try and shoot spurts of harmful Soul Energy at her. Just as she came to that conclusion, Rhyme was proved right when the Reaper furiously shot at her as she circled Rhyme. Unlike before, she didn't have enough time to react as the shots were released at a faster rate than she could see.
Predictably, she was hit by a powerful shot and was flung forward by the impact. Taking action quickly, Rhyme directed the sand in front of her to lessen the force to which she fell.
"Now that you can't just stay in your little ball, why don't you try and attack me for once. Unless you're scared to." Provocation would not work on her but she saw no other option.
She wanted to get to Beat and make sure he was alright as soon as she could.
Her sand was already gathered at her feet, so she used it to form a platform to bring her up to Uzuki's level in the air. The remainder of her sand was used to form square blocks in front of her. She wasn't sure what Uzuki's next move would be, so she needed to tighten her defence against those energy shots.
Wasting no time, Uzuki raised her energy-gun and shot at Rhyme from afar while Rhyme moved closer to her, her sand-shields protecting her as she accelerated forwards. There was a pause in the shots and Rhyme took the opportunity to change her sand squares into a sharper form. Her sand lances manoeuvred through the air towards Uzuki and the Reaper gasped.
"Just kidding!" Suddenly she wasn't in front of Rhyme anymore.
What? Where is she – behind me! Rhyme realised a second too late as Uzuki got a hit with her fist against Rhyme's back. She spiralled towards the ground but her sand managed to cushion her fall again. Still, she had taken a big blow just now.
"Haha, looks like I got you," mocked the Reaper.
She had gotten Rhyme. She hadn't anticipated her to switch back to trying to use her fist when she had brought out her gun. Expect the unexpected, huh? That was careless of me…
It was also important to note how although so far Rhyme had managed to defend from Uzuki's attacks until this moment, the girl had not actually landed any hits on Uzuki. It seemed even if she did, it might not make a strong enough mark.
"Looks like the little girl is scared. Just like her brother. Running away from us like a rat runs away from a cat." Another devious laugh.
If Beat indeed ran away, it would be because he knew he was outmatched. He may not be the smartest person out there but Rhyme new that even Beat knew his limits. As much as it irked her to accept, Uzuki was starting to get on her nerves.
However, even if Rhyme did feel a bit angry, this wasn't going to help the Reaper. Rhyme was the type of person who could take her emotions into account and yet still act rationally. That was what made her Rhyme. Perhaps this what made her the perfect opponent to match someone like Uzuki.
"Avoiding unnecessary talk can prevent disaster from falling upon one," she warned. "…For you, it's too late for that." Her tip of her fingertips brushed against the pin on her beanie.
"What does that even me-?!"
There was an explosion of sand that was emitted outwards from Rhyme causing Uzuki to shield her eyes with her arm. As she lowered them, Rhyme greeted her with the sight of her holding onto a scythe made of sand.
The sand under her feet bolted her towards the Reaper and with a loud battle-cry, Rhyme slashed at her, the contact extracting a cry of pain. Before the Reaper could recover, Rhyme reversed the scythe, and used the pole to push Uzuki back until she crashed into a tree.
Yep, it was just as she had thought. If the enemy got too engaged in the fight, they wouldn't have the quickness of mind to disengage their ability to touch physical things when they needed to.
She eyed the sand scythe; she didn't know why the sand gave her this form but it seemed to have worked for her. Maybe it's because it's the Reapers who must be reaped.
She could not personally sever their Pacts, though. As was explained earlier on by Joshua, only a Spirit could sever the Pact of another Spirit. For that, the rest of them needed to keep the path clear for Neku and Shiki long enough for them to get to the origin of the Pact. Her role was to help keep the other Reapers out of the way.
Her hand raised, she directed the sand into tendrils that wrapped around the tree, binding Uzuki to it as it did. The Reaper struggled but to no avail. With the last of the pin's power, Rhyme used it to solidify the sand. With her remaining Soul Energy, that should keep Uzuki tied up long enough for the others to get going.
"Arghhh! Let me go! Get this wretched sand off me!" The Reaper demanded noisily, sending death glares towards the young girl.
"Sorry. I can't do that. We have a mission to complete," said Rhyme, her body bowed ever so slightly. "It was a good match, though. Thank you."
"You -!" The Reaper's movements stopped and let out a frustrated groan. "This sucks. Definitely not the way I wanted to go." She looked up, through the gap between the trees at the vast wide sky. "At least it wasn't raining."
Uzuki continued to stare up, even as Rhyme started to leave her. Her sand would remain as long as she wasn't too far away from it.
Rhyme could not fully sympathise with the Reaper, after hearing what she did to people she wanted as potential Pact-keepers. Nevertheless she thought she could understand. The will to keep on living and to live each day like it was her last.
Her footsteps sounded against the pavement as she ran towards her destination. The area was littered with defeated Reapers and Beat was also unconscious.
Unconscious and snoring like a baby.
She smiled as she bent down to poke at her brother's head, looking back in the direction of the battle.
Make it count, guys.
XXXXX
Yoshiya flew up.
With a final flap of his white wings, his wind currents brought the last Reaper down to the ground.
He had defeated the lesser Reapers faster than he could snap his fingers together. Too easy.
"Joshua!" The voice that called out to him was Neku. The other boy didn't look worn out but he did look more tired than he did when he started out. The same could be said for his Spirit, who brought Mr. Mew to stand closer to her.
Hmm, so they were done here too. Beat and Rhyme had disappeared early on. Perhaps Yoshiya had taken longer than he had thought; he did spend a bit of time, testing out his abilities. Time passes when you're having fun, I suppose.
He felt a slight heat from his chest and knew that his eyes had started glowing white. 'Careful now, Yoshiya. If you do not stay on task, I may be forced to handle this aspect of the battle.'
I think I understand that, Joshua.
Yes, he had made an odd deal with his other half. The Angel part of him would share his power with Yoshiya – this would enable an enhancement of the wind that he could control for himself, as well as give him the wings that Joshua liked to use so much.
"Joshua, did you hear me?" Neku asked, his hands cupped around his mouth.
"Of course I did, dear," said Yoshiya, having momentarily forgotten that Neku was addressing him.
When he was talking to his other self, Yoshiya used his real name while the Other used the name that his mother and friends were so fond of calling. It was confusing, even for him. He didn't mind the nickname and it was growing back on him. But in the end, he was still Yoshiya Kiryu and it was in the name of Kiryu that he would defeat the Reapers.
Indirectly, of course, since he was going to leave the important bit to Neku. Details, details…
He landed gently and eyed the boy in question. "Hope you're not too exhausted from that. You looked like you were having a hard time."
Neku scoffed at him. "We were doing just fine. A little help would have been nice, though, since you found that so easy."
"Mm. I thought you would like to see the extent to your abilities, as you and Shiki have progressed so much." He smirked at Shiki. "So, how was it?"
She gave him a thumbs-up. "We're working together perfectly! Our teamwork has never been better." She gave Mr. Mew a few hops. "Our attacks are stronger too. I think Neku even managed to punch one of the Reapers at one point."
Neku nodded, with a grin. "Being able to make contact with Spirits has made things a lot easier."
"That's good news." They could now progress on to the next battle. Yoshiya looked about himself – he really doubted any of the Reapers here would be getting up anytime soon. "Shall we move on then?" He swept his hand towards the way forward.
Both Neku and Shiki gave him a firm nod and they ran down the path. Yoshiya could have flown if he felt like it; it would seem like the easier option but in actual fact, flying gave him more fatigue than this running. That wasn't to say he was pleased with having to run either.
At the centre where the paths crossed, a lone Reaper stood, looking quite bored. He was the one with the tall orange hair that rivalled Neku's in height. If memory served Yoshiya right, his name was Kariya. He also, strangely enough, still seemed to be sucking on a lollipop.
"Looks like the party's arrived," he commented as he spotted them. He withdrew his hands from his pockets to remove the lollipop from his mouth.
"Weren't there more of you?" Shiki scanned the area but there wasn't any other Reaper around. Yoshiya couldn't sense them being closeby either.
"They're busy at the moment. They're fighting your friends." He pointed down to his right. "That way."
Neku and Shiki were about to run down there when Yoshiya stopped them. "Wait. Don't go after them."
"What?" Neku gave Yoshiya a hard look.
"They're trying to buy you time to go after Kazemaru, so you two should go and find him. He's not down there." Yoshiya's eyes moved over to the path to the middle one. "From the energy I'm picking up, I'd say that your target's down there."
"Zing! The guy with the fluffy hair gets it right." Fluffy. Hmm.
"There's that then. Go get him."
"But what if Beat and Rhyme need our help?" Shiki protested, concern in her voice.
"I'm sure they're fine. I'll go check how they're doing after I beat this one."
"You talkin' about me?" Kariya looked amused at his confidence.
"There's no other Reaper around."
Yoshiya gave Neku a resolute look and the boy reluctantly left, tugging at Shiki's arm for her to follow him. He gave Kariya a glance, most likely expecting the Reaper to stop them and Shiki but that didn't happen.
That's interesting…
"Aren't you going to chase after them?" Yoshiya queried.
"Nope. I thought I heard ya challenge me to a fight," he said; he was easier to understand without that lollipop in his mouth.
"I did, but…" said Yoshiya, dragging the last word out. "I don't really feel like fighting you."
The Reaper's eyes looked thoughtful for only a second, then he shrugged. "Well, we don't have to fight if you don't want to."
…oh? "Wouldn't your Boss have something to say about that?"
"Maybe." Another shrug. Kariya plopped the lollipop back into his mouth again.
'It may seem that we found another person that is just as unbothered as you are to fight.'
Fighting is so much hard work. The Reapers before were fine, since they're small fry. This guy however…Yoshiya could tell that the Reaper before him was not one he should let his guard down around.
The two stayed standing there, silent and the minutes ticked by. Neither he or Kariya were in the mood to have a battle, it seemed. It was as if Yoshiya got his lucky day.
'Yoshiya. You must have felt that.'
Yes, if Yoshiya actually planned on just standing around it would be lucky. However he wasn't just 'standing'. He was 'waiting'.
What was he waiting for?
That was Rhyme's pin activation, wasn't it?
'It was.'
Yoshiya had been looking out for that. He felt Beat activate it before but he didn't tell Neku or Shiki about it, so Kariya would not suspect that his own comrades were losing. Now that Rhyme had activated her too, whoever she was fighting against must have been in a tight spot by now.
This meant that it was time to join Neku and Shiki.
"It's been fun, but I do need to go now." Yoshiya took his steps past the stationary Reaper. "Do try to take care."
He only blinked and yet Kariya was now standing directly in front of him, blocking his path. "Sorry kid, but you're not going anywhere."
"Why ever not?"
"It's part of the Boss' plan," he said. He still had a casual expression on his face but Yoshiya saw something in the look of his eyes shift.
"Oh, really, now? Earlier on today, you didn't want to follow his orders, though," he pointed out.
Kariya shook his head. "Not me. If Uzuki and Minamimoto want to get ahead of themselves, I couldn't just leave them alone to do that." He muttered something under his breath but Yoshiya didn't manage to hear it.
"Uzuki. She's the one with the pink hair." In effect, she made him what he was today. It would have pleased Yoshiya to go deal with her. If not for himself, then on behalf of his mother. However, Yoshiya refused to be rash in a crucial moment like this – he would control himself. If Neku severed the Reaper's Pacts, then his justice would have been served. One thing though… "And Minamimoto is the one that speaks in maths."
"Yeah. They're a rowdy crowd to hang with."
"So, who's the strongest?" He pierced Kariya with a serious gaze.
The Reaper only smiled lightly. "Who do you think?"
He reached out to push Yoshiya. It looked gentle but Yoshiya was sent hurtling several metres back. He extended his wings to slow catch the wind and slow him down.
"I didn't want to fight. Really. It's such a chore. However, I can't let you past through here."
"Then we have a disagreement here." He rose upwards. "I'll just have to make you move."
Without another word, Yoshiya closed his eyes, holding both hands out as he increased the velocity of the wind moving around him. He created a torrent of tornados on either side of him, a shrieking melody emitting from the force of them. 'Yoshiya, you do not strain yourself.' The warning from his other was ignored.
He giggled, looking down at Kariya. "Being inside of one of these is not a pleasant experience, I'll have you know. Inside them, a dark, cold world awaits," he released them and they approached the Reaper at a supersonic rate, "and you're going."
The Reaper was engulfed into the swirling dark gusts of wind as they trapped him from either side of him, converging into one massive tornado.
'You will not be able to maintain this for long.'
I know that.
Yoshiya didn't want to bother with a prolonged fight where he would have to come up with a strategy or dodge a few attacks here and there. It was just too much of a pain. He would rather just crush the Reaper with one attack that was so powerful it would leave him unable to fight.
'The Soul Energy that you lent out to your friends was taken directly from you. You have not yet recovered.'
Joshua. Be a dear and just watch.
Letting out a huff of effort he brought his hand up, facing the tornado and clenched his fist. It instantly closed in on the Reaper. That's that, then.
He descended back down to the ground, waiting for the air to dissipate. As it did, he got a view of Kariya; with one knee on the ground, he was holding himself up with his hand planted on the ground. His wings were closed down around him, though Yoshiya didn't think it would do any good, with its thin skeletal features.
"Okay…okay…you got me…I give!" The Reaper winced. "I gotta hand it to ya, that was like a whole new world."
"Hee hee. I told you, didn't I? Well, I'll just be on my way now – ugh." He staggered forward and he too, fell into a kneeling position, panting for breath.
'I told you. Did I not?'
Be quiet. Perhaps Joshua had been right after all. He did give quite a lot of extra power to his friends.
"In a way, I think I've won," Kariya mused. "I didn't have to fight and you're not gettin' past me." He picked up the lollipop that had fallen out of his mouth, though he didn't attempt to get up.
"Not for long. Once I've – hah – recovered…I'll…just walk by you."
"You can try."
A silence would have fallen between the two if Yoshiya didn't speak up again, "You…you should enjoy your last moments here. Neku is going to deal with your pitiful Boss very soon."
Kariya raised an eyebrow at him. "Pitiful?"
"Yes, I saw his Soul."
His eyes did not betray any disdain, but his tone was laced with warning. "Don't call him pitiful."
"Hmph."
The Reaper held Yoshiya's gaze evenly. "Your eyes kept switching between white and violet. Why's that?"
"Oh, white's the colour of my other personality. It matches him, you know. He's kind of like a blank piece of paper, sometimes."
'Flattering.'
Isn't it?
"Your other personality, huh?" Kariya looked behind him, frowning. "Then like I said, don't associate pity with Kazemaru. If you're going to pity anyone, it would be the pair that ran past me, just now."
"And why's that?"
Kariya's gaze went back to Yoshiya's. "I pity anyone who has to deal with Minamimoto. That Spirit is a bit of a special case. He can do things that some of us can't."
So the third Reaper wasn't with either Beat and Rhyme. He didn't want to take Kariya's words at face value but…
"You answered my question from before with one of your own, which I thought was rude of you," Yoshiya started, "but if I had to say – the one you call Minamimoto seemed to be the strongest out of all of you."
"We've got a winner here!" Kariya said. "I think that deserves a prize. Want to know a secret?"
Yoshiya wasn't listening. With Minamimoto being the strongest, Neku and Shiki would have to be prepared.
Be careful, you two.
XXXXX
Shiki ducked down.
That was close! She had only just managed to narrowly escape being hit in the face with a piece of scrap metal.
Guess these piles of junk aren't just here for decorations. When she and Neku had finished climbing up the tall stairs to reach this area of the park, she didn't think that they would be met with rubbish stacked up on top of each other. There were about five or six piles.
Neku had voiced his suspicions about the objects just happening to be here but she could not sense anyone here. It was only when they tried to walk past them that the things seemed to come alive and start to attack them.
"It's raining rubbish!" Shiki yelled, using Mr. Mew to deflect away anything aiming at her or Neku.
Her friend was agile enough to dodge out of the way of a few on his own but the junk was relentless and this was getting ridiculous. "Gee, thanks for the update. I didn't notice that at all."
"Really? Now's not the time to be sarcastic!" Is that a bicycle? Woah! She directed Mr. Mew into a more powerful slash as a shiny red bicycle attempted to take her head off. "How is this even happening?"
"It's gotta be a Reaper," he called back. Shiki let out a soft squeak as he grabbed her forearm to pull her out of the way of an incoming fridge. How did they get all this stuff?
"Now that was really close. Thanks Neku." She in turn used Mr. Mew to defend Neku from an old broken computer.
"No need to thank me – hey! Can't you just go through all of this?"
Oooh. Riiiight. "I knew that." Well, they looked scary, so she couldn't help but dodge, could she?
"Wait, ignore that. Seeing as how another Spirit is doing this, you can't rule out the possibility that it can hit you too," Neku reasoned.
"I knew that, too."
"Sure you did."
Fine, she really hadn't thought about it at all. This was why Neku was the brains of their Pact. It would be bad if she really could get hit –
Shiki was hit.
It was only a tin can, so it didn't hurt that much. At least she knew that she could be hit.
The duo were doing an awesome job at avoiding any of the things that could cause some real big damage. She made sure that Neku's safety was a priority – while it took out energy from her if she was hit, Neku could be severely hurt if any of the things made contact with him.
There's something wrong….here…Yeah, there was also this odd sort of feeling that she had been sensing – it felt a lot like when she was about to remember something. It could be because she had never been to this area of the park when she was with Neku.
However it also felt like whatever the memory that was associated with this place was, it did not want to resurface. It was starting to hurt her head, though.
"Do Reapers not know how to clean after themselves?" Neku said. "I'm pretty sure this junk won't give the parks appearance any points."
"This is art, you zetta sons of digits!" When did he get there? The Reaper with the tacky clothes was sitting on top of on top of one of the pieces of 'art'.
"I don't see anything but garbage," Neku retorted.
"This world is garbage," Minamimoto spouted out. "It always needs me to come up with more complicated formulas to make things more interesting!"
Neku did not say it but Shiki sensed that he wanted her to stick closer to him. Yeah, this creep looks lame but…I think he's strong. Ouch…it hurts…She needed to contain it to herself – she didn't want Neku to be distracted by a headache during their fight.
"Hey, digit. What's your name?" He pointed at Shiki.
"Me? I'm Shiki." She answered, due to being startled. This isn't good…
"Shiki? Another interger to be added to the Reapers!" He then showed her a toothy grin. "How about you substitute your Pact now before we have to subtract your partner, there?"
"I've had this discussion before. No. Thanks," she declined sharply.
"Tch, even after I went through all that effort. Do I have to do an iteration on him?"
"Don't touch him!" Shiki said fiercely, and made to stand in front of Neku. Whatever that guy wanted to do, it didn't sound good. Definitely not good. Have to keep him away from Neku or else – arghh.
"Shiki, what's wrong?" Neku's whisper was low. Crap, he knows! Of all the times to get a memory…
"It's alright, I'm fine," she said back.
"Hold on a millisecond." Minamimoto stood up, looking at the two pensively. "You remember me don't you?"
"Hmph, not in particular," was Neku's reply, "because you all hid your dirty faces from me."
"I'm not talking about that! Shiki Once Heard Children Arguing How To Orderly Act." He looked at the girl as if that was supposed to be meaningful to her.
"What the heck does that even mean?" Her head was hurting even more now that he was confusing her. She held her head, praying that it would stop.
"Crunch! We'll ignore that for now. I'll just get rid of your Pact. In a simplified way, of course."
He gave out a roar and rubbish from all the piles simultaneously rose. All at once, they were on a course to destroy her and Neku.
My head -! But I need to protect us! I can't -
"Die, radians!"
"ARGHHH!"
xxxxx
A memory.
Her memory
A blue car.
A lorry.
A crash.
Shiki stood frozen in the spot as the scene of death a destruction happened before her eyes. It all happened in slow motion as she watched the lorry collide with the car. Move, move , move.
"Meow…" It was a tired mew. She looked down and saw a black cat sleeping on the curb.
Noise invaded her ears as the crash happened in slow motion.
Move!
She picked up the cat and ran, just as the car was pushed back right into that spot. She managed to invade the impact just by going just into the entrance of Miyashita Park.
She heard screams. She should have called for help. But she only watched, shaking as the hour went by. Police cars, ambulances and eventually even newspaper vans arrived, people swarming around the scene.
Someone else had called them all, yet she had done nothing but stand and tremble helplessly.
She didn't even realise it when a journalist tried to get attention.
"You," said a harsh voice, "Were you here since the start of the accident?"
"…Y-yes."
Maybe the woman could see Shiki's fear, because her voice softened.
"Are you alright?"
"I…I…all those people…I didn't help…I…"
The journalist peered through her glasses at the cat she was still tightly holding. "Did you save that cat?"
Right…I…She looked down at the black cat. "I…did."
"See? You did help." The woman drew herself up. "I am not a high class journalist just yet, but I shall make it to the top. For now, would you like to tell me what exactly happened?"
Shiki simply stared.
"Talking it through will help. And you don't have to give me your name if you don't want to."
So she did. She recounted what she saw in excruciating detail. About how it felt like when she saved the cat, thinking she would die. How it felt when she saw the first body get taken away by the ambulance.
Strangely enough, she did feel a bit better after telling the journalist about it. "That's…all…Was that…alright?"
The woman smiled. "'Girl saves cat from painful death' sounds like a very heroic title, if you ask me."
She only nodded slowly.
"We should call your parents and tell them what happened. Do you have your phone with you?"
Shiki made to reach into her pocket. The movement, though, caused the cat to wake up. With a growl, it leapt out of Shiki's arms and ran into the park.
No! Don't leave me! In her shocked state, Shiki couldn't think well and chased after the cat.
"Wait!" called out the journalist.
"Konishi! Get over here!" Shiki faintly heard another voice say.
"But there's a girl – "
"Do you want your promotion or not – " Conversations from the scene faded as she followed the cat's path.
Arriving at the junction, she realised that she didn't know where it went next. Left for the skating area…right for the fountain…straight on for the other exit. Exit. She should get away. Home was closer from that exit anyway.
She ran down the path for a long way until she met the stairs. Reaching the top, she suddenly heard voices. She didn't know what it was that urged her to crouch down behind the nearest tree but it was perhaps because it sounded like a conversation she didn't want to be discovered overhearing.
"You skip school a lot nowadays. And…it's not just because you're bored, is it? What's going on?"
"Nothing's going on. You're just overthinking things."
"…Does it have to do with them?"
"I told you, you don't need to worry about them. They're not here, anyway. I told them not to listen to our conversation."
"…I still don't understand this whole 'Pact' thing. Kaze-kun, is it safe? If it's not…please, stop being around them. "
"It's kind of like a contract."
"You didn't answer me. Sometimes…it's like I don't even know you anymore. Don't lie to me this time, Kaze-kun. Just tell me, please."
"Like I've been saying, just forget about it. And hey, it's getting dark. We should get going – c'mon, I'll walk you home."
A long stretch of nothing.
"…Okay."
She heard their footsteps as they left. Once the sound quietened, she peeked behind her hiding place. I wonder what they were talking about…Sounded a bit fishy, if someone asked her.
"Haha…that variable thought I wasn't here? Doesn't he know he's never alone, by now?" Another voice? The speaker sounded like he was talking to himself. "Hey. Who do we have here?"
W-what? The person she heard speaking was now standing just next to her. She stood up and backed away, running closer to the stairs. "W-what do you want?"
"It's about time for another one, but Boss doesn't want to take another one. He's a zetta bore, but we'll have to stick with him for now." He laughed to himself. "His 'excuse' is that there 'aren't enough inputs around'. Well, Spirits are hard to come by."
Move! She felt an even more impending sense of danger than she had felt when she saw the accident. She turned to run down the stairs, she was a halfway when she heard him right behind her. "Guess we've got to make more? Your Soul looks like it'll fit the formula for Spirits. Besides, what the Boss doesn't know won't kill him."
She felt a hand push her with an unbelievable force and her voice failed to make a sound as she found herself falling forward.
"Make this easy and die, Radian."
And then there was nothing.
xxxxx
"Shiki!" Opening eyes that she had not realised were shut, Shiki found herself face to face with Neku, who had both hands gripping her shoulders and shaking her. Shiki was slumped down on her knees – she didn't remember getting into that position.
What happened? The world around her had been transformed. Much to her surprise, it was not them who had been defeated and lying on the floor. Minamimoto was among his trash, looking worse for wear.
"We…won?"
Even then…with her new knowledge, she couldn't look at Minamimoto without shuddering. He had…he was the one…it wasn't the accident…
Suddenly letting go of her, Neku covered his face with a hand.
"Neku?"
"Thank God…" He let out a long breath of air. "I thought I lost you there. You just…stopped for the whole time. I had to use one of our pins right away because we would've been toast if I hadn't."
Shiki nodded. "I'm sorry…I….I remember now. About how I died."
He let his hand fall and gave her a hard look. "Are you alright?"
"…Not really," she admitted, her eyes flitted over to Minamimoto for only a second. "I'll tell you about it later…we need to go get to Kazemaru and finish this."
She felt that he understood her. There was also a faint sense of worry lingering there.
"I think you should probably rest for a bit," he suggested.
She was taken aback by that. "What? But I don't need to –"
"You do," he said. "Besides, we're going after Kazemaru now. We've gotta show him that the Reapers aren't the only one that get launch surprise attacks."
She looked around for Mr. Mew and saw no sign of him.
"See," said Neku, "you don't have enough energy at the moment. I think it's partially my fault but in any case…give yourselvef a few minutes to recover."
"But recovering means that I should cut off our line. What if you get into danger again? I don't want you to have to cover for me all the time."
"I'm not covering for you. I just want to keep your safe." Neku brushed a loose strand of hair out of her face. "You can call back when the time's right. I'll answer it right away."
She couldn't find it within herself to say anything against Neku. Not least because of his gentle gesture.
"I'll be back soon." She watched as he hung up on her.
Back in the darkness…
She hugged Mr. Mew to her floating form, tuning in to Neku's vision.
He was running to their final destination.
After all of this, she would tell him what she had remembered. It was not the time or place to burden him with news like this. She wouldn't give him a reason to succumb to anger when he had managed to overcome it – they needed to focus on the task at hand.
Neku…it'll be over soon.
XXXXX
Neku spun around.
His eyes followed the objects that were about to fly towards him and Shiki. Mr. Mew jumped up above them as he pulled Shiki down. The plush cat twirled around and around, causing the objects to bounce off him.
"Good job, Shiki," he said, praising the move.
There was no reply. In fact, there was not even a twitch. Shiki was dead still, her eyes looking empty and her body limp. He immediately knew something was off.
"Shiki?" Still, nothing.
This was not good. Not good at all. By Neku's guess, whatever that Grim Heaper had said to her, triggered a bad reaction from her. Is she remembering something?
Usually, it would be him who would be the one who would not lose consciousness. This memory must be something different.
In any case, they were in a troubled situation. This Reaper most likely also had the power to sever Neku's Pact.
He eyed Mr. Mew, who was still punching away all the objects that wanted to hit them. That's good – looks like Mr. Mew can still move even with Shiki like that.
Perhaps Shiki's subconscious was letting Mr. Mew fight. He eyes were still open after all, even if they looked blank.
He needed to defeat Minamimoto now. The longer Shiki was out of commission, the more at risk they were both at.
"I guess I don't have a choice…" He touched the first of his two pins. He could fight by himself now. It was his turn to protect Shiki.
He felt his body grow lighter and as he ran towards the Reaper, fist raised, he knew he could do this. It was almost like he had disappeared and reappeared behind the Reaper. Landing, multiple hits on his back and by his neck.
He stepped back, wanting to gauge how much of an affect it was.
Minamimoto cocked his head to the side, cracking his neck. "Is that the total value of your attack?"
It didn't do much!? The Reaper looked over his shoulder, grinning at Neku like a hungry lion.
But I'm using the Pin! According to Joshua, his Pin would last longer than the other ones because he put in extra Soul energy in them but at this rate, would it do any good?
At that point, Mr. Mew had joined Neku and scratched at Minamimoto, managing to cause him to let out a yell of surprise. That was -! Mr. Mew's attack was definitely more powerful than usual.
I get it. When he activated his pin, Neku had to share the power with Shiki, due to the Pact. That was not a good thing, though, at the moment, because he really needed to handle Minamimoto by himself. Mr. Mew was indeed useful, but its movements were more random without Shiki concentrating on exact movements.
Indeed, it was attacking Minamimoto, who started insulting it using maths terms but it didn't land direct hits as hard as that first one, now that Minamimoto could see it coming.
At least he's distracted…but if my own hits won't work. What could Neku do?
The answer came to him as he surveyed their battlefield – weapons were lying in wait for him all over the place.
"Shiki!" He shouted. "I don't know if you can hear me but I need you to give me all the power from the pin."
Shiki did not stir. Neku gritted his teeth. Of course that wouldn't work.
In mid-attack, though, Mr. Mew stopped moving. It then just poof-ed out of the air.
"What the factor?"
Now! Using the surge of energy that Neku felt zap into him, he used his increased speed to go around from pile to pile, punching objects from the tops of them in Minamimoto's direction. Rushing to another pile, he twisted into a powerful kick, sending a chair flying towards the Reaper. His speed had gone up by leaps and bounds – so much so, that Minamimoto got pulverised by each and every one of the objects. How do you like a taste of your own medicine? "Ahh!" Not a lot, it appeared.
While the Reaper was disorientated, Neku got right up to the Reaper.
"You -!"
A punch right to the head sent the Reaper tumbling down into the trash.
Minamimoto did not get back up.
Rather, he started mumbling numbers absently. And then, even that stopped.
This was the perfect opportunity to sever Minamimoto's Pact but Neku couldn't do it himself.
He walked over to the stationary Shiki; she had been ignored by Minamimoto for the last part of their fight because of Mr. Mew and Neku's efforts. Bending down, he put one hand on her shoulder. "Shiki?"
"W-what do you want?"
She didn't seem to be speaking to him, with her eyes still not seeing anything.
Her tone sounded afraid. He could feel the raw fear she was emitting and it sent down chills right through to him too
"Shiki – wake up!"
A growing fear, one that was going out of control.
Then, nothing.
He couldn't feel anything from her – that couldn't be happening.
Neku grabbed her other shoulder, squeezing tightly. "Shiki, are you in there? Shiki!"
Nothing. There was nothing coming from her.
"Shiki! Shiki, you can't leave me now. Not like this." The panic was spilling over in him.
Why had she been so afraid? Why had she ceased any emotions coming through? What's wrong?!
He shook her once again.
"Shiki!"
And then she was back. He felt it before he saw her open her eyes.
Her confusion showed as she looked at everything around them.
"We…won?"
She saw Minamimoto, defeated and Neku felt her shake under his hands. The sight of him like that must have shocked her quite a bit. Shocked…but here…
He let go of her using his hand to cover his face.
"Neku?"
"Thank God…" He didn't realise that he had been holding his breath – he let it out slowly, trying to get his breathing back to normal. "I thought I lost you there. You just…stopped for the whole time. I had to use one of our pins right away because we would've been toast if I hadn't."
"I'm sorry…I….I remember now. About how I died."
He let his hand fall, looking straight at her. So that was it. That's why she was so scared. "Are you alright?"
"…Not really." She looked away for a moment. "I'll tell you about it later…we need to go get to Kazemaru and finish this."
Oh…She didn't want to talk about it right now. It must have been hard, remembering her own death. Well, he would give her the time she needed. And she was right – they had a job to do.
There was still something that wasn't quite right about her, though Neku couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. She seemed…exhausted.
"I think you should probably rest for a bit."
"What? But I don't need to –"
"You do," he said, not taking any of her protests. "Besides, we're going after Kazemaru now. We've gotta show him that the Reapers aren't the only one that get launch surprise attacks."
She looked around once more and Neku could tell she was trying to find Mr. Mew.
"See, you don't have enough energy at the moment. I think it's partially my fault," said Neku, thinking about the pin energy, "but in any case…give yourself a few minutes to recover."
"But recovering means that I should cut off our line. What if you get into danger again? I don't want you to have to cover for me all the time."
Always thinking about others…"I'm not covering for you. I just want to keep your safe." His hand moved on its own, brushing some hair out of face. "You can call back when the time's right. I'll answer it right away."
"I'll be back soon." A bit reluctant, but a compliance all the same.
Neku clicked the end call button and watched her disappear.
He needed her to have time to recollect herself. He didn't want to make her fight if she wasn't ready for it. After all, she would have done the same for him.
No point standing around here. He started running deeper into the park, feet carrying him as fast as he could go.
He knew that there were no other Reapers left. Kazemaru would be on his own. If he could catch Kazemaru, severing his Pact would be a cinch.
xxxxx
Kazemaru wasn't alone.
"What are you doing here?" Kazemaru was shouting angrily.
But not at Neku. Coco!?
Neku had pressed himself against the back of a tree, able to watch Kazemaru and Coco from his hiding place without being noticed by the two.
Is that his Soul!? It must be because of his pin's residual power, but Neku could see both Kazemaru and Coco's Souls. Coco's was like what Joshua described as a normal Soul – it was coloured a very light sky blue.
But Kazemaru's. It was…There were multitudes of smaller Souls circling around the centre of his heart. They were all a deep dark blood red. There were two ones that stood out to him, a pink one and a slightly larger orange one. Through all of that, though, his sight from Kazemaru's actual Soul was obscured.
The girl had her arms crossed, trying to look defiant but Neku could see her shaking. "You and Ne-kun are going to fight, aren't you?"
"Yes, I am. But that's not the point – why are you here? I told you not to come!"
"I had to…I've met Neku's Spirit. She's not like your Reapers."
"What are you trying to say?"
"Don't sever her Pact. You don't need any more Spirits with you…don't you have enough?" If all those red Souls were his Reapers, then Neku agreed with her.
"Enough?" Kazemaru laughed but it was more bitter than amused. "Yeah. I think so too - " His laugh turned into a pained groan as he clutched at the place where his Soul would be. "What are they all doing…?"
Coco looked like she wanted to run over and help Kazemaru but she also looked like she was trying to hold herself back. "Is Ne-kun winning?"
"That's impossible. He can't win."
"Ne-kun is…" She said firmly, "Ne-kun isn't weak."
"Yeah, don't you think I know that?" He twitched again, taking a step back. "But he can't win." He looked up at Coco. "You're a pain. Leave."
That…bastard…Saying that directly to Coco would leave her heartbroken. But then she would leave…It would be better if she was not caught in the line of fire.
"No. I won't."
"Coco, why don't you just get it?" Kazemaru's Reaper Souls started expanding in and out at a pace, like a heartbeat. What's going on? "I don't want you here."
"Kaze-kun…don't say that…I don't want to."
Kazemaru snapped. "Just go. Do you really want me to say it? I hate you. Always trying to stick around me. You even want to save me? I don't need saving. I need you to leave. I need you to go away." His words rained down on her. "I don't need you!"
Neku was about to jump out and attack Kazemaru right then and there but Coco spoke again.
"You know…you always lie to me," she said quietly, shaking more than ever. "You always lie. You've lied to be so many times and I've been fooled so many times." She even braved herself to take a step forward. "But there's one lie I will always be able to see through. No matter what. And that's when you say that you don't need me."
Coco and Kazemaru stared at each other and Neku could not understand what exactly it was that passed between them.
Kazemaru looked down. "And you're always like this, aren't you? Always." He clenched his fists. "You're supposed to hate me. I've given you every reason to hate me. If you were anyone else, you should hate me. You're supposed to just leave me alone. Why can't you be more like Sakuraba and just leave, already?"
At the mention of his name Neku felt his chest tighten. What was…what was that supposed to mean?
"Because I understand you," Coco's voice was louder. "Because we've always been together. Always."
"If you understand…" Kazemaru's voice unexpectedly breaks. "If you really understand. Then listen to me and just…please…leave."
Neku's eyes widened. He knew what Kazemaru looked like when he was acting. Or I thought I knew. He wasn't acting this time. This plea to Coco – it was real.
"It's the yoctogram again!"
Minamimoto!? Kazemaru echoed Neku's thought. "Did you do it then? Are we finished yet?"
The Reaper had flew in from above and remained floating above the two. He didn't have his hat or bandanna on anymore, but other than that, he looked unscathed. So I didn't really defeat him…
"No, that digit tried to get me. Crunch! But I'll get him back." His eyes flitted to Coco. "Look what we have here. It's the girl. How come Kariya and Uzuki get to see her but I don't?"
"You didn't beat them?" Kazemaru voice revealed every bit of disbelief. "Then why did you come to me?"
"Do the maths. Why else would I be here?"
Kazemaru's expression changed. Is he scared? "No. No. You can handle Sakuraba yourself. You don't need to – "
"C'mon. It'll be fun. It'll be a more artful way to beat them!" He nods his head over to Coco. "Besides, that one has been making your Soul zetta boring!"
Neku only blinked and Minamimoto was standing beside Kazemaru. The boy gasped, "Not again. Especially not in front of her. Don't – "
"Haha. You make it sound like you have a choice in this." Minamimoto struck Kazemaru's chest. "It's not like you have anywhere to run to."
"Coco. Coco. Remember when you asked if this was safe? It's not. Not for you. Listen to me and leave now. I'm – "
There was a burst of black and red light, sending shockwaves everywhere. Coco shielded her eyes. Kazemaru let out a strangled scream.
Neku tried to keep his eyes open. No way… The Reapers' Souls had expanded so much that they were now circling almost around Kazemaru's whole body. The pink and orange one were orbiting the area around his chest too but even closer. And now Neku could see Kazemaru's Soul. It was a light purple – but it had a grey one not going around it but attached to it, and it was bigger than the purple one. He could only watch as the grey one engulfed Kazemaru's Soul completely.
Kazemaru stopped screaming.
"Doesn't that feel better?" Minamimoto released Kazemaru.
Minamimoto looked different. He looked more powerful. His coat was torn, revealing black markings on his chest, which had also been extended from his hands to his elbows.
He wasn't the only different one.
"Yep. A lot better." That frightened look that had been on his face was non-existent, left only with a deadly smile. Kazemaru turned his head to look at Coco. "Did I ask you to leave? I don't know what got into me. You can stay, of course. I bet you want to watch me beat Sakuraba, don't you? Yeah, he's horrible. Aren't you Sakuraba?"
His line of sight went straight to where Neku was standing.
"How did I miss that you were there? It's so obvious!"
"…Somehow I hate see you lie and lie, I know how dumb I am but so are you…"
So, Shiki thought it was about time to come out.
"…Sometimes I want to laugh and cry at once…explain to me what is justice what is right?"
Neku answered the call and both he and Shiki stepped forward at the same time. This was it – he was facing Kazemaru. Is that even you, anymore?
"Oh nice job, man! No wonder you don't want to give her up. She's kinda cute." He waved at Coco. "Ah, not as cute as you though, Coco. Don't worry."
In another time, Coco might have been pleased but she just shook her head, staring at Kazemaru as if she didn't know him.
"Say Boss, why don't you use that thing?"
"That one?"
Kazemaru raised his hand and something was materialising in his hand.
It was a gun.
"That's…" Neku's insides twisted as he recognised the object.
"Looks like you remember this! Haha, you should've seen the look on your face when I pointed this at you. You really thought you were gonna die, huh? It's a good thing this can't kill you because that would've been a real mess to clean up." He titled his head. "Oh, but you hit me before I could actually try it out. I need to pay you back for that."
The gun reshaped itself so that it covered his hand like a glove, similar to the way Minamimoto did. It then sparked as his other hand materialised the same substance too.
"A gun's too impersonal. Since you beat me with your fists, we might as well have a one on one battle! Doesn't that sound cool?"
"What about the other hectopescal?"
"Keep her busy. I'll knock Neku out so you can sever the Pact from him."
They're so…strong…
Assurance to Neku came in the form of Shiki's determination radiating from next to him. Yes, there was something that had been off from her but now it seemed to fuel her.
"Coco," he said, addressing the girl for the first time. "You should," he was about to say 'leave' but stopped himself, "get to somewhere safe."
He thought she would argue with him like she did with Kazemaru, but she didn't. She didn't exactly go far, but she was standing so that she was out of the way. It would do…
"Are you ready?" Shiki asked him."
"If you're ready, then I am too."
With their hearts and mind synchronised, they both had one goal: they needed to sever the Pacts before their opponents could sever theirs.
He waited for her to nod, then he touched the second pin he had.
Power exploded within them.
Mr. Mew appeared looking more energetic than it had ever been.
"Neku, c'mon!"
Neku felt his own hands glow with a green light. This was their shared power.
Shared – not something forced.
"Right behind you!"
With loud battle cries, Neku and Shiki launched into an offence.
Shiki let Mr. Mew into a flurry of furious attacks, its pause growing bigger and its movements becoming more aggressive. Minamimoto dodged and tried to attack Shiki from behind, but Mr. Mew changed course and hit Minamimoto.
"Where do you think you're looking?" Kazemaru's taunt brought Neku's attention to him.
Shiki will be fine.
It was a clash of green and black as the two exchanged blows. Kazemaru grabbed Neku's arm, flipping him over with his enhanced strength. Neku had his speed, though, and managed to land on his feet, going back straight in for another punch.
"You're better at this then before," Kazemaru commented in between exchanges. "Did you get into fights after you left?"
"Not really." Neku kicked him, sending Kazemaru crashing into the ground. "Well, you should ask your Reapers about that."
"Maybe I'll do that." He got back up and charged again. "After I beat you, that is."
Kazemaru grabbed his neck lifting Neku up, choking him.
Neku pulled at his arms. "Kuh – so, which one is the real you?'
"I don't know what you mean."
The Kazemaru who lied. The Kazemaru who isolated him. The Kazemaru who was concerned about Coco's safety.
The Kazemaru who was doing this to him.
He had a very clear view of Kazemaru's Soul from here. Within the grey area in seemed to be bouncing around the edges, as if trying to escape.
He didn't know if this would mean anything but he had to try…
"You know, Coco loves you. She really does. She believes in you. Though, with you acting like this, maybe she really will hate you." He glared at Kazemaru. "I used to believe in you too."
Kazemaru laughed, the most manic one Neku had heard from him so far. "Do you think that I care?"
…Then why are you crying?
Because there were tears. Despite the expression that would show that Kazemaru felt nothing but joy about this situation, there were tears leaking out of his blazing eyes.
The purple Soul was moving more violently within the grey one.
"Kazemaru…I'm the one who was supposed to be suffering. Coco was the one who was supposed to be suffering," he struggled to say. "Then why…then why…Why the hell is it you who's crying!?"
Neku forced Kazemaru's hands away from his neck and punched him back, causing him to stagger back.
"Who do you think is crying? I'm not – " He reached up to his face and it was only then that Kazemaru realised they were there. "Oh, you're right. Looks like it. If you're asking why then I don't know."
"You don't know?" Neku punched Kazemaru's chest, right where his Soul was. "You don't know!?"
With the green glow of Neku's hand brighter than ever, Neku managed to hit his Soul.
The grey area was still there yet it looked like the Soul inside it had stopped struggling, instead it was sparking.
"Nooooooooooooo!"
The sparking Soul sent a large shockwave and Neku was thrown back.
Kazemaru had crouched down into a ball, pulling at the spot at his chest. "Ahhhhh!"
At the same Neku saw Shiki being falling down, Mr. Mew arriving too late to block against Minamimoto's blow.
"Shiki!" Neku ran over to her before he knew what was happening. Minamimoto, too ran towards him.
He prepared himself for a collision course but the Reaper ran straight past him, to Kazemaru's side."Inverse matrix!"
Minamimoto poked Kazemaru and the boy let out another shout.
"Hah! You broke him! That's what you get if you try and reject our fusion too much." He stood up straight, and pointed his arm right them, his hand glowing red and the energy drawing to him at an alarming rate. "But it's a good solution to a way more interesting problem. This means he can't hold back any of his power anymore. I can even sever your Pact from right here. When this hits you, then boom. It's sayonara for your Souls."
Neku tried to move Shiki, but he couldn't. The most she could do was sit up, but she couldn't make another move either. The shockwave and the run over to her had taken all his remaining energy out of him.
I could end the call…but no…I can't run anymore. He'll hit me wherever I go.
"No more…" That voice? "No more!"
Coco had ran in front of Neku, spreading her arms out.
Minamimoto let out the shot – the shot that would devastate any Soul.
It did devastate a Soul.
It was Kazemaru's.
At the last second Kazemaru had grabbed Minamimoto's arm so that the shot went right through his own Soul.
"Hectopascal! How can you still move?"
"I…don't…know…"
If Kazemaru's screams had been loud before, his ones now were even louder and sounded even more agonising. He fell onto the floor.
Neku could see the Pacts dissolve, the red ones fizzing out faster and faster.
"Aarghhhhhhh!"
"No! No! This is not the right solution!" The Reaper looked furious. He raised a hand, looking as if he was about to hit Kazemaru, but something punched him back.
The other Reaper? It was the Reaper who Joshua had been fighting with him.
"I think its game over for us. Relax and enjoy your final moments."
Minamimoto roared at the orange-haired Reaper. "How did he move? The probability of that outcome should have been zero!"
"You're the one who tried to take over his Soul," he pointed his lollipop at Minamimoto, "You should have been able to tell. The moment that Coco leapt in front of those two, there wasn't any way Kazemaru wouldn't be able to move."
"Kariya! Why didn't you stop him? You denominator! You won't exist anymore either if we don't do anything."
"That's alright. I was only hanging around until you left. I didn't want to go and leave the kid only with you." He looked down at Kazemaru. "This would've happened earlier if I hadn't stuck around."
"And that's how it goes." Joshua? "Seems we had an ally in the Reapers all along."
Before he knew what was going on, Joshua had started pulling he and Shiki back up, dragging them over to Kazemaru's side.
"It's too bad my Pact, or any of the others is strong enough to sever yours. You had to do some damage to it yourself. " Kariya then looked at Neku. "Thanks kid, Minamimoto would have never gathered that much power in a shot without you. And after the fight with you he's too weak to do anything else"
He watched the pink one disappear.
"Uzuki's gone." The orange one started to fizzle out. "And that's me…We need to finish things, quickly."
Finish things. Neku understood.
Not needing an explanation, Neku and Shiki both joined Kariya in kneeling down and pulling at the grey Soul. With one last effort, the grey Soul shattered and Minamimoto's existence ended right then and there.
Kariya put a hand on Kazemaru's distraught form as his own Soul stopped revolving. "Kazemaru, you're stronger than you think. Remember that."
He too, disappeared, leaving only the lollipop on the floor.
Yet Kazemaru was still screaming.
Joshua looked away. "His Soul is in shock."
Coco ran over and knelt down, too. "They're gone. Kazemaru, they're gone now! They're all gone."
"Who?! Who's gone!? What…arghhh!" Miraculously, his screams subsided.
"Her Soul…it's calming his down," Joshua mused. Neku could see that too.
He stopped screaming but he was now muttering things that made no sense.
"Grandpa, you're too old for this! No, no I don't want any. One year ago? Or is it two? I don't know. Maybe it was yesterday."
He looked up at Coco as if she just realised she was there. "Oh. Hi. You look like someone I know. Her name's Coco. We're going to watch a movie today. It's not a date but I'm kinda in love with her so I'm actually nervous." He grabbed her arm. "Don't tell her! Don't tell her!"
It seemed to be too much for Coco. She broke down, crying into Kazemaru's chest.
"Why're you crying? You're weird."
Then he noticed Neku, who flinched when their eyes met.
"Sakuraba? There you are. What took you so long? Soccer practice is in ten minutes. We gotta hurry! How else are we going to achieve our dream! We'll be the best soccer players in Japan!"
"…that was my dream."
Kazemaru blinked and then reached up and lightly punched Neku's arm. "Wise-ass! You know what I mean. Since we're best friends, we can share our dreams too. Right?"
He then shuddered and lost consciousness, his head rolling over to his side.
Neku felt numb.
It was over but he was even more lost than before.
"Yo! Phones!" Shiki, he and Joshua looked up to see Beat with his arm draped over Rhyme's shoulder, who was assisting him in getting to them. "Did we win?"
Coco was crying and Kazemaru seemed to have lost his mind.
Neku was battered and bruised both physically and emotionally.
But the Reapers were gone.
Joshua, Beat and Rhyme were tired but at the same time, relieved.
Shiki was still here – her Pact was still safe.
"Yeah…we won."
A/N: Tadaa! This chapter. OTL I knew exactly what was going to happen in it, with all my previous plans and such, but it took a longer time to write than I expected. I get no points for time management. I'm pretty sure this is and will remain to be the longest chapter of this fanfic. Yay.
Different POVs ftw! I don't know if I managed to make their 'voices' sound different enough but I think I didn't do too badly.
Reapers = O Beat 8D Rhyme ^-^ Joshua :3 Shiki . Kazemaru D: and/or ;-; Coco :'( Neku T-T and/or :'D - If any of your emotions matched these emoticons at any point then I've done my job. Also if you're confused, then that's cool too – I'll cover that later. I swear I keep doing this to you guys. One day it'll all make sense and you guys are just gonna be like 'okay finally.'
Also if you noticed the foreshadowing for Shiki's actual cause of death before this chapter came out, then yay! Because I suck at noticing foreshadowing OTL It's cool if you didn't either, 'cause that makes it fun too.
Thanks to those who put this on their favourites/alerts: anomaly.1, Servant Xander and HalcyonLife
Thanks to my lovely, lovely reviewers: RagnartheSemiGreen, ElementLegend, B.A.G-GOMEZ, Faliara, Xerzo LotCN, Prussianess, I'll Break Your Heart, Omega Zekrom, Michael Mario, Chronic Guardian
Jt: -super hug- And now that 'pitying' comment has a double meaning. xD Thanks!
Primo: That is true indeed. For Neku and Shiki it's still a bit of a mystery at the moment. Thank you!
Anonymous (Guest): You are absolutely right! I can't believe I never realised. It might be because even though we didn't know her name, everyone pretty much knew it was Shiki (since it's quite obvious), so not a lot of people pointed it out. (or I did and forgot to change that). In any case, thank you!
Chocolate Kiss: The fight is on, indeed! Or was on. Yep. Thank you!
Content Notes:
'Easy as 3.1415926535897932384626…"- Translation: 'Easy as Pi' Pun Translation: Easy as Pie. GEDDIT!? –shot because that's not punny, yo-
'That's my line!' – Shonen manga/anime always uses this phrase and I always wanted to use it too so I did. Thanks for being the way you are, Beat.
'Shiki Once Heard Children Arguing How To Orderly Act' – SOH CAH TOA. I'm sure you guys got that one but I just had to point out how proud I am for managing to scrape that. Plus it makes sense.
Also, I apologise for the amount of typos that must be there but this chapter was so long and this time I really couldn't bring myself to proof-read it. I'll go over it again later when I'm mentally ready to xD
We're really almost done with this fanfic now, guys. Get prepared for the end!
See you next time!
Dina (1/12/2012)
Chapter Twenty One – Dreams
Sakuaraba? Is that you?
"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!"
So it is, you.
"Let's go sightseeing – just the two of us!"
If you hate me, then that's good.
"I don't want you to go."
I think you'll be better off that way.