The World Ends With You

CAT's Mural

Fifth Tag Color: Gold

This time when Rhyme came to, she was sitting up. She was cradling her head in her hands and whispering, "I'm sorry," over and over, her voice weak and fading out. Once she had a real conscious thought tickle through her head, she silenced her cracking voice and lifted her heavy head. When she stared out around her, all she saw was that damning darkness, pressing in all around just as before. It was eternal and devastatingly still.

She studied it for a while, that overwhelming, opaque darkness. It seemed calming almost, the way it stifled everything except for a tiny space around Rhyme. In a way, it forced Rhyme to step back and take a good look at herself without any distractions. So… Rhyme did just that.

What had she done yesterday? She had killed Neku in cold blood, taken his life just as carelessly as the bastard who had shot her only days before. Rubbing her face, she wasn't surprised to feel dampness against her palms. She was crying again. How could she have suspected Neku of shooting her? He was in the same situation as her! Someone had shot him, too. She should be focusing on helping him get through the missions so they can find out who brought them back into such a hellish shit-crock, and then pay the bastard back thrice-fold.

Leaning back against the wall of the Miyashita Park Underpass, Rhyme stared off into the darkness, but looking beyond it rather than trying to stare through it. She brought from her mind the image of CAT's mural, recalling the swirls of color, the rough texture of the wall, the way the paint still held a faint smell… And she remembered Shiki. Ooh, that brunette was foxy all on her own, never mind the borrowed form she had used during the first Game! Faintly Rhyme smiled at this thought. Personally, she liked the shy brunette better.

Her hair, oh, it smelled like sunshine and was as soft as clouds… Well, what Rhyme imagined clouds felt like. Mm, and she remembered the way the older girl's lips tasted, the way they felt against her tongue. Before Shiki had finally taken her on the second last night of her life, Rhyme had been the one with the frisky wandering hands. Hey, Rhyme was a curious girl, and Shiki didn't seem to mind the attention.

She would always remember the very first kiss she had shared with Shiki…

Rhyme stumbled off of the train and almost fell with a surprised cry. The older girl grabbed her arm and helped to steady her. In the process, Rhyme leaned in against Shiki a little more than she had intended, and the two girls shared a rather profound look. Their eye meeting was brief, and left both girls turning away to hide small blushes.

Ah, yeah. Rhyme recalled all of the awkward moments she and Shiki had shared before their relationship had deepened. If she were looking back at these moments with Shiki, it would almost be a little humorous, but given Rhyme's current circumstances, thinking about it alone stabbed at her heart. She went on anyway, because she knew it would be the only thing to keep her going…

"Careful there, Rhyme," Shiki chuckled, staring at a crowd of loud teenagers nearby. Rhyme purposefully stared up at the sky, straightening the black beanie on her head as she replied, "Yeah, yeah…" With that awkward silence in place, the two girls proceeded on their usual route from the train stop to the Udagawa back streets, and CAT's mural.

All around Shibuya was lit for the night ahead. The place that the two girls were headed was usually an empty spot, well lit enough to see the detail of the painting but closed in enough to make it feel like a private sanctuary. As usual, they were the only souls around the back alleys of Udagawa, but it was just the way they preferred it.

Walking over to the wall, Rhyme lightly rested her fingertips on the cheek of the Ghost Cat, studying its image. Shiki stood a few feet behind her, watching Rhyme while the younger girl traced along the curving mouth line of the cat's head. She could tell that there was something on Rhyme's mind, but she would wait for the girl to find the words herself. After a few quiet moments, she did.

"…It was a dark time, wasn't it?" Rhyme whispered, keeping her eyes on the mural but her quiet tone obviously directed at the older girl. Shiki approached, standing beside the younger blonde. In her mind Rhyme pictured herself wrapping an arm around that shyly hidden but sexily curved waist, but physically she simply let her hand drop from touching the wall. Those thoughts were best left alone, she figured.

From the corner of her eye, Shiki could see Rhyme's shoulders sagging with a rarely seen weight. Rhyme was usually the girl to lean on, taking everything with a smile and always full of hope; but now, with the two alone, Shiki could clearly see that Rhyme hurt just as much as any other person, and needed someone to draw strength from too. "Oh, Rhyme," Shiki said, pulling Rhyme into a tight embrace to the younger girl's surprise. Holding her close, Shiki cradled Rhyme's head in her hands. She could feel the smaller girl starting to tremble with all of the unshed tears.

"It's okay; you don't ever have to hide your pain from me. Tell me all about it, I'm listening," Shiki said, pulling the black hat from Rhyme's head so she could roam her fingers through silken blonde hair. The two sank to sit on the ground, leaning against CAT's mural while the young girl finally found someone to confide her soul in. She didn't bother to hold back the tears as she confessed her thoughts through gasping whispers, telling Shiki how the whole event had made her feel, back then and how it still haunted her even now.

She didn't stop there, letting her worries carry over to those little dark thoughts that Rhyme catches herself having throughout the days. Shiki listened to it all with open ears and an open heart, keeping her silence until the younger girl had finally become quiet and still, lying on Shiki's lap while Shiki continued to caress her hair. Once the calm had become comfortable on an almost intimate level, Shiki said, "You know, Rhyme, your hair is beautiful. It shines like gold and it's really soft. I love it…"

The way Shiki trailed off caused Rhyme to lift her head and finally meet the older girl eye to eye for the first time since they had stepped off of the train. She saw the small, gentle smile on Shiki's face, and then she saw her dark glistening eyes, wet with tears. Somewhere during the eye contact, Rhyme comprehended that Shiki understood a lot more than she was letting on about. Softly, Rhyme caressed one of Shiki's damp cheeks, the moisture of her tears coating Rhyme's fingertips…

Rhyme realized that she was holding a hand against her chest. Underneath her fingertips, she could feel her heart pounding hard, racing just as fast as it had in those moments leading up to their first kiss. It was a bittersweet memory; it was beautiful as it was painful. Subconsciously Rhyme lifted a sleeved hand to wipe away the tears, but when she pulled the fabric back, she was a little shocked to see that it was dry. It seemed that she had cried all of her tears, and there was nothing left within her but a comfortable numbness. Whether she won this Game or not, it appeared as if her heart no longer cared about the outcome.

Sighing a little, she let her head hit the wall and shut her eyes tight. It was no good. Even with her eyes closed, she could still feel that damn crushing darkness pressing in all around her, trying to suffocate her very soul. What the hell do I care anymore, she thought numbly, opening her eyes and looking to her right. Lying on the ground next to her, Neku was still sleeping. How long have I been awake…? No. It was better to not think about it. There was no point, really.

"Hey, Neku," Rhyme muttered, shaking the older boy. She figured that she had sat in quiet remembrance long enough, and it was time to get on with the mission. "Neku, wake up," Rhyme said, shaking him a little harder. Finally he sat up, groaning a little and rubbing his eyes. Meeting Rhyme's dusty blue eyes, he faintly recalled the last day they had lived through. It made his head hurt and his chest tighten.

Getting to his feet, he attempted to dust himself off, but just like Rhyme, he was covered with grime from waking up on the dingy streets. For a moment Neku paused and studied the younger girl, taking in her rag-tag appearance. Her face was smudged with dirt, tear stained trails down her cheeks, and more dirt on top of that; however, when Neku studied her eyes, they were completely tear-free.

She stared up at him in silence for a moment, watching him. He wasn't sure if he should say something, or if he should be nervous. Rhyme had snapped yesterday. She had been poisoned by some fucked up bug thing, and who knew if the poison was still effecting her or not. She seemed fine, although she was eerily silent.

"So… I wonder what happens today," Neku said after a moment. Rhyme sighed and finally broke her unwavering gaze on him. Her behavior clearly stated that she wanted to say something, but for one reason or another was hesitating. She gazed into the inky blackness. Neku crossed his arms. He would be patient, and wait. Rhyme always found the words she wanted.

"Yesterday, when you were… when you were gone for a while, I met Joshua…" Rhyme began in a low murmur. Her voice grew a little in volume as she continued to explain everything she had been told by their mysterious glowing guide. It was the number one rule for survival in any Game, after all. Trust your partner. Neku needed to know as much as possible if they were to have any chance of returning home again.

Finally, Rhyme ended by letting Neku know that their mission set ahead for them that day was to defeat the Angel Joshua. An utter and complete silence followed these words, but only for a moment.

"Shit."

Neku growled, reaching into his pocket to take a quick stock of his Pins. This time the sick rules of this Game had be gracious; Neku was blessed with six Pins for battling. A healing Pin, a Pin used for instant teleportation, a Pin with a rather nasty powerful red beam sword, a Pin that gave Neku the ability to shoot lightning, one for laying time bombs, and a Pin that would create blue fire with constant concentration. It wasn't a bad lot, but Neku seriously wondered if they would be able to hold up against the Joshua of the HG.

Attaching the teleportation Pin Walk On, Walk Off to the bottom of his shirt, he carefully tucked the healing Pin, the bomb Pin, and the lightning Pin into one pocket, and the sword and blue flame Pins in another. "Rhyme, what Pins do you have on you?" Neku asked, coming to her side to see. Slowly she reached into the front pocket on her hoodie and mentally counted what she felt against her fingers before pulling them out.

When she held out the six Pins, both her and Neku looked at them with a bit of surprise. "Whoah, wait a second… I've heard Mr. Hanekoma talk about these. 'When six dark planets align…'" Neku said with a touch of wonder, looking down at the six dark Pins. Black Mars, a Pin with a burning black fire Psych; Black Jupiter, a Pin that shot forth deadly black lightning; Black Uranus, a devastating icicle blade; Black Venus, a projectile Pin; Black Mercury, a Pin used to create orbs of dark water; and Black Saturn, a Pin that emits a black healing barrier.

Rhyme shook her hand a bit, moving around the Pins so she could take a look at them all. Each one bore a different piece of CAT's famous graffiti art, each one brilliant. How did Rhyme end up with the Pins of darkness? She shuddered at the implications and quickly stuffed them away. "Uh, I suppose I can give those a try if somehow my Psych is blocked by Joshua…" Rhyme said, letting her words die on her lips when she uttered the horrible and very possible idea. She wasn't even sure if she could use the Pins at all. That thought was even more stomach churning than the last.

The only way for her to have a chance at surviving was to somehow win this fight against Joshua with Neku at her side. She certainly would have no chance if she gave up before the fight even started. Right, she had to try to find strength. It was the only way she would make it…

She didn't want to be afraid anymore. Deep down, Rhyme always felt a little shaky, a little terrified. She was always anxious, although she could usually cover it up with a smile. Even now, her heart was racing hard and her breath was frozen with her apprehension. She feared Shiki, because, for some reason, she wanted to love her. Rhyme couldn't find a rational reason for the way she felt. The only way she could explain it was simply that it was just supposed to be that way.

The older girl was intoxicating. In the silent, still moment that Rhyme had somehow been blessed to experience, she paused before the plunge, taking in the delicate scent of Shiki, close enough to smell her tears. Her skin was soft against Rhyme's fingers where she still held Shiki's wet cheek, and her dark eyes were… Oh, they were mesmerizing and beautiful, like rich and rare chocolate.

In the dim light Rhyme could still see that Shiki was blushing lightly. Her breathing was quick, and her eyelashes fluttered wildly from the contact of Rhyme's fingertips on her cheek. Was she as curious – and as frightened – as Rhyme? There was one way to find out.

Moving her fingers from Shiki's cheek to her glasses, Rhyme found that her hand was shaking hard, but it was too late to hesitate. Somehow she managed to gently grasp Shiki's glasses and ease them off. As soon as she moved them, Shiki was the one to close the distance between the two. At last moist, trembling lips met in the first bitter kiss…

Rhyme was jarred away from her memory detour, brought back to her horrible reality by the sight of a growing light. It formed into the all too familiar pair of wings, nothing more, and gave a lazy flap. Her eyes met Neku's and he could clearly see her fear, her terror. He felt his heart tighten with pain and he had to look away. There was no more time for thinking.

With a brilliant flash of blue, the wings took off. It was going to be a very long run to the Room of Reckoning, but Neku was already exhausted with what lay ahead. He couldn't help but think that the odds were heavily stacked against them, and judging from the way Rhyme was carrying herself, she thought much the same.

The darkness was overbearing.

It pressed in on them from all around, the glow of their guiding wings hardly putting a dent into the oppressive nothingness. The bit of street they could see when they looked down at their feet gave little clue to their location. All they could do was run and follow those wings, to what possibly might be their everlasting end. Rhyme couldn't bear to think about it.

They said absolutely nothing to each other, all of their breaths spent for the effort of their bodies. If Rhyme forced herself to stare off into the darkness hard enough, she could almost see straight through it and into her memories again. The image of Shiki came almost at once, surprising Rhyme a little with how easy it was to recall, and with it continued the mental play of their first kiss.

Surprised at the audacity of Shiki, the younger girl let out a small gasp against the kiss. Her dusty blue eyes closed while her mouth parted to Shiki's tongue. The older girl was only more than ecstatic to oblige to Rhyme's eager tongue. Their tongues met in a hot, wet embrace, sharing their breath for several heart pounding moments. It was all Rhyme could do to keep her hands to herself.

She could taste the bitterness of their tears in that kiss, hers as well as Shiki's. It was a flavor that would forever stay with her. By now she had given in to the itch of her hands, and her fingertips were caressing the older girl's soft stomach, underneath her clothes. Rhyme wasn't sure when she had moved to straddle Shiki's lap, but she became aware of this when she felt a thigh lift up to graze between her spread legs. Her body trembled at the teasing touch.

Eventually the curious hands and timid intimate touches came to an end, and they parted from their long, lusty first kiss. Eyes opened and met in a silent, joyous agreement. There would be no hesitation, no holding back now. They had given curiosity a try, and the results were no less than explosive – in Rhyme's case anyway. "We shouldn't take it too fast… even though I want to," Rhyme breathed, trying to hide the tremble in her thighs.

Shiki gave a quiet nod, but she gently grasped Rhyme's head and pulled her into another kiss, softer and quicker this time. "Don't worry, we will," Shiki whispered back, and gave Rhyme another soft kiss. They stared into each other's eyes for a while, and fell into one more long and passionate kiss. After, they finally untangled from one another. They had to hurry to catch the last running trains to their homes; it was a late hour.

Rhyme tripped and sent herself into a painful skid against the rough floor. Once she had come to a complete stop, she simply lay there, gasping and panting from the long hard run. She looked up to see Neku standing beside her, but he wasn't looking at her. Following his eye path, she saw that the wings had finally come to a stop. This was it then. The Room of Reckoning.

Getting to her feet, Rhyme ignored the burning pain on her palms and knees. She watched, as silent as Neku, as those wings turned, and in the turn Joshua showed himself. "Wow, I'm surprised you actually kept up with me that whole way. Very impressive. What do you say I let you catch your breath before we get this battle underway, hmm? I won't be holding back, so be ready," Joshua sang, and let his entire form vanish from sight completely.

Darkness settled in around the two solitary Players. Neku looked at Rhyme, but she wouldn't gaze in his direction. He could tell that she was silently suffering, but she was trying to keep it under control. He could relate; he was feeling much the same. Joshua was confident, and he had all right to be. It felt impossible to win, but somehow they would have to.

Neku poised himself, holding a few choice Pins from his current collection. From his right hand, the red sword initiated itself from the Pin, quietly charging power. Rhyme nervously chimed her bell, hesitating at the thought that it might not sound for her like it had before. However, this time its serene soft ring called out, making her aura visible as she tapped into her Psych, and she almost felt like she could cry in relief.

Before the two Players, a light formed. From this small, solitary light, the darkness vanished away completely, leaving behind a pristine white and gold room. The brightness about blinded Neku and Rhyme, and they both cursed under the same breath. This was just another disadvantage to them; after several days of such intense darkness, their eyes burned and would need time to adjust.

This was going to be a quick battle in either direction, Neku figured. If Rhyme's power couldn't somehow cripple Joshua, Neku didn't think they would survive for long themselves.

The small light rapidly grew and took shape, flaring up into a huge fifteen foot tall ball of blue tipped white flames. The light was so bright that Neku and Rhyme both had to shield their eyes, until it had dimmed enough for them to somewhat see again. Once they could somewhat make out the form before them, Rhyme felt a little weak in the knees.

Standing before them now was a tall fiery Phoenix, nearly ten feet tall from its talons to its flaming head. Its fire burned so hot, it was white and blue in color. The Players both knew that to be touched by that flame would be the worst sensation in existance, if they even survived. The mighty bird stared down at them with humorous silver eyes, then let out a hellish shriek of screaming flames in their direction.

Neku and Rhyme dove in opposite directions, the ball of white fire exploding into the gleaming marble floor. Rolling back onto his feet, Neku traded his sword for the lighting Psych. Thick jolts of lightning erupted from his palm, aimed straight for the white Phoenix. The bird screamed as it was hit by the attack and engulfed in an explosion of white blue fire.

For a moment Neku thought it was already over, but his blood froze when he realized how wrong he was. His attack hadn't hurt it at all; rather, it had helped the Phoenix. Its ever burning fire had consumed the lightning and expended the energy all across its body. Now, it was easily over twenty feet.

"Oh, shit," Neku breathed, looking wildly around for the girl. She had landed a little less gracefully than Neku, and was picking herself back up. The Phoenix saw this as well, and with a scream headed for Rhyme with talons ready. Without another thought Neku vanished as the bird reached Rhyme.

Sharp talons flew for her head, but they were stopped against the edge of a blazing crimson sword. Neku now stood between Joshua and Rhyme, his speed instant thanks to the Pin he had equipped earlier. He gritted his teeth against the force of holding the tall monster back, but the bird won the fight of strength and sent Neku flying away. "RHYME!" Neku cried, twisting his body in the air to land on his feet.

The girl was already up and on her feet, running away from Joshua. She clutched the bell tightly in one hand, staring over her shoulder as she aimed with the other behind her. With a shout from the rush of adrenaline, Rhyme released one of her powerful beams of purple aura.

Unfortunately she had not seen Neku when he had shot the Phoenix before, making it grow with his attack. Just as before, Joshua absorbed Rhyme's power and reflected it like a mirror, quadrupling in size with another huge explosion. Rhyme and Neku both were thrown back from the force, Rhyme close enough to get burned on her hands and face some, her clothes singed and smoking a little. It was obvious at this point to both Players that attacks of that manner were not working. Neku assumed his fire and bomb Pins would also yield a similar effect. They had to think of something else!

Extending its wings that were now over one hundred feet in length, the white Phoenix jumped into the air and soared high. It flew high, high, and higher still up into the endless expanse of the Room of Reckoning. As it circled above, it released mighty majestic cries.

Neku transported himself to Rhyme's side. "We have to try to think," he said, holding out his Pins. He quickly healed Rhyme's burns, his healing Pin just happening to have a bonus for burns, and the girl thanked him while freeing her own Pins from a pocket.

"Well…" Rhyme mused, staring up at the giant bird of fire. "Well, Joshua is a humongous fucking bird on fire. Hitting him with more fire like this is only going to make it worse…" She fell silent as Joshua unleashed another huge ball of screaming white fire, aimed right at them. Without hesitation Neku scooped Rhyme up in his arms and disappeared, out of the way of the huge explosion that left a crater in the marble floor.

They appeared again quite a distance away, Neku using Walk On, Walk Off until he had expended it. It needed to reboot, but Joshua had already unleashed another fast moving ball of fire at their new location. They wouldn't be able to move out of the way, and the Pin wouldn't reboot quick enough. Rhyme stared up at their certain end, but one of the Pins she still clutched in her hand activated.

From her still visible aura, her purple turned into a chilling black and expanded around both her and Neku. Black Saturn glowed in her hand, its protective barrier of her now dark aura forming just before the fire hit. The white fire exploded and expanded around the entire round barrier. White and blue flames were overcome by darkness, and the energy of the attack was transformed into a dark healing power that filled both Neku and Rhyme with strength. The two Players shared a surprised look between them. One of the dark planet Pins had worked for Rhyme. Would the others?

The dark aura faded from the barrier, melting back down to hugging right around Rhyme's body again. However, her purple shade didn't come back. Her light stayed black. She was worried about the change of color, but she had zero time to dwell on it.

Up above the Phoenix had let out an annoyed cry when it saw that its attack had failed to turn the two Players into ash. It circled around, starting to drift lower and lower. Joshua was toying with them now.

Squinting down at the other Pins in her hand, Rhyme selected two of them based on a hunch. Joshua was just as she had described him: a humongous fucking bird on fire. Fire was an element, and like all elements has a weakness. "I need him to be on the ground again. I have an idea…" Rhyme said to Neku, holding up the two Pins for him to see. When he understood their meaning, he smiled and finally set her on the ground.

"Leave that to me," he said, looking up at Joshua. The bird was coming closer anyway; Neku just had to lure it in the right place. "Get ready to attack. I'll bring him to you," Neku said before vanishing. Walk On, Walk Off had already rebooted itself. Rhyme mentally ran through her strategy one more time and started to prepare herself. She knew that there would be no room for error, thanks to Joshua's immense size adding to his explosive power. At close range, there would be no chance for survival, even with a barrier.

Neku appeared once more, just below the Phoenix. He extended the glowing red sword from the Pin and waved it up at the Phoenix, taunting it to come get him, making it look like he wanted to tango with Joshua one on one.

He knew that Joshua's constant itch at wanting to test out the full extent of Neku's possibilities would be too much to resist. Just as he thought, the bird landed on the marble floor, blazing eyes and complete attention on the boy. The Phoenix fully extended its wings, further exaggerating its already giant size.

While Neku approached with crimson blade held in battle stance, Rhyme got as close as she could without being noticed. Even from far away, both Players could feel the blistering heat from the white hot fires of the Phoenix, but they both set their jaws against the growing, burning pain and went on.

Joshua towered above Neku, glaring down at him with blazing silver eyes. Extending a long, slender neck, the bird's head shot forward, sharp beak aimed for Neku's heart. The boy blocked it with his sword, but the force of the attack still sent him flying through the air. He spun his body to land on his feet again, digging his fiery red blade into the white marble floor to stop the skid.

With a mighty battle cry Neku ripped the sword out of the marble and charged forward, blazing crimson held high above his head. Behind the Phoenix, Rhyme was trying to figure out how to activate the power of the dark planet Pin Black Uranus.

After a moment she stopped squinting at the actual Pin with concentrated effort, and instead turned her attention to Joshua. Holding her bell in one hand and holding the Pin she wanted to use out in the other, she gave the bell a small ring. It let out a dull metallic clank rather than its usual beautiful and mystic sound, another detail that worried Rhyme but would have to wait until later, but the Pin still glowed in response.

The floor under the bird rumbled, low at first, but it quickly grew force. Losing balance, the white Phoenix stumbled around, flapping its wings to try to steady itself. From the marble a huge, jagged, and sharp icicle broke through and shot upwards. Instead of tearing right through the middle of the giant creature like Rhyme had intended, it impaled one of its fiery wings. This time when the Phoenix screamed, it was a sound of pain. The black ice had penetrated through the flame covered feathers of its wing.

So Joshua wasn't invincible.

To Neku, that was the best news in the world second to discovering CAT's true identity and knowing the man personally. It meant that they had a chance, and Rhyme held the key that would save them against their angelic white death.

Before Joshua could tear free of the cutting ice, Rhyme was already initiating the next step in her strategy. Now holding Black Mercury tightly in her right fist, she glared at the blindingly bright Phoenix and hit her bell.

It gave a metallic clank, and Black Mercury started to glow. Its Psych activated almost instantly, and from her hand a swirling globe of eerie black water grew. The bubble of water grew fast, but it didn't get very big like Rhyme was praying it would.

When she realized that it wasn't going to get any bigger, she cursed and left it hovering in the air by the Phoenix. She began to run along the giant Phoenix, quickly making another orb of water and leaving it in her trail. She continued to do this while at last Joshua pulled free of the ice.

The Phoenix shrieked in pain and swung its injured wing. The movement sent the wing crashing into the orbs of dark water Rhyme had left floating in the air. The orbs burst, black water quickly running all over the Phoenix's already hurt wing – and extinguishing the flames on it.

Left in the wake of the water that refused to evaporate, the once flaming white wing now looked soggy, the feathers grey from the water that still clung to them. The area that the ice had impaled showed obvious signs of trauma: many feathers broken and out of place, the wing arching in a sick direction that wasn't a typical shape of the bird's anatomy, and blazing blue-white fireblood oozing down the feathers.

Try as it might, the Phoenix could not get the wing to reignite. The black water was almost like a sticky substance, keeping the flames extinguished. With an aggravated cry that quickly turned into a scream of pain, the Phoenix flapped its broken wing to try to shake the water off. Rhyme and Neku grinned in the same instant.

Flashing his crimson blade, Neku again started towards the Phoenix. The bird swung its head around, rage and pain blazing in its silver eyes. It aimed its beak again for Neku's chest, but just before impact the boy vanished. The bird rammed its beak painfully deep into the marble and got it stuck.

Neku reappeared by its broken wing, swinging his sword. The white Phoenix struggled to free its beak, but its talons slipped and scratched at the floor in futile effort. This time the bird's scream of pain was muffled by the floor, Neku's blade making a successful cut.

Grey feathers and splatters of fireblood flew in the air, the bird again foolishly flapping its broken wing. Rhyme continued making her path around Joshua, leaving more orbs of dark water. The more the Phoenix struggled, the more its body was coated in black water. Rhyme kept running and leaving orbs until the Pin had been expended and needed to reboot.

Neku had pulled away, needing a few seconds to cool off from being so close to Joshua's intense heat. He was panting for air, sweat starting to roll down his face. Rolling his wrist to spin the red sword, he grinned and vanished.

The Phoenix was swinging its other, still flaming wing, trying to bat Rhyme and her water away. Its neck strained with the effort of trying to free its beak from marble, and with an inelegant flap managed to at last pull free.

It gave a triumphant cry as its wing hit something that wasn't wet, but its cry faded out into a gurgled gasp. Neku stood behind the bird, his crimson sword deeply embedded in its spinal cord through a patch of wet extinguished feathers from one of the orbs.

Letting the red light vanish, Neku took a step back and watched Joshua fall. The Phoenix hit the marble floor with a wheezing cry, broken wing jutting out at a gawky angle. Neku looked around to share his grin of victory with Rhyme, but the girl wasn't nearby like he thought.

"Rhyme…? Rhyme… Rhyme!" Neku spotted the girl laying quite a distance away. She wasn't moving. Inhaling a sharp, painful breath, Neku vanished and instantly appeared by her side, kneeling down on the marble floor. He could smell burnt flesh and his hand froze midair to reach for Rhyme. Oh God Neku thought numbly.

When his hand touched her shoulder, the girl let out a high pitched scream of pain. His hand flew away from her, and feeling a little woozy Neku whispered her name. She replied with a strained whimper. Neku pulled his healing Pin from his pocket, ignoring the flash of light from where Joshua's Highground form lay. Without rolling Rhyme over to assess the damage, Neku instead just used the Pin's Psych, thankful that this particular Pin had an additional bonus for fire burns.

A dark, cool shade of red emitted from his hand and enveloped Rhyme. Her painful whimpers finally came to a stop, and that sick odor of burnt flesh disappeared, although Neku would remember it for the rest of his days. The girl moved, sitting up and meeting Neku's eyes for a moment.

Her sight flashed to the Phoenix to see what it was doing, unaware that Neku had already defeated it, and she hissed, "Where is he?!" Neku turned to look, and saw that the giant white bird was gone.

Shooting straight up to his feet, Neku's eyes scanned in every direction, but all he could see was the crumbled remains of a once pristine white hemmed with gold marble floor. He looked up, but saw nothing in the endless expanses of the ceiling.

Rhyme stood beside him, searching for the bird as well. When they heard the sound of debris being moved, they both looked in the same direction to see the same mind boggling sight. Picking his way through the chunks of broken marble and heading in their direction was Mr. Hanekoma.

When he saw that they were both looking at him with the same shocked stare, he gave them a friendly wave and said, "Hey there boss, Rhyme. That was one hell of a fight you two put up. I'm impressed." Behind him, flexing and lazily flapping as he stepped this way and that, was a pair of angelic wings, just like Joshua's but with one big difference. Mr. Hanekoma's feathers were black, not white.

Rhyme was speechless for a moment, then she flew into a spitting rage, her still visible black aura flaring out in anger. "Impressed? Impressed?! We just barely survived, and you're impressed?! You know what, Mr. H? You can just go fuck yourself, because I'm tired of playing these sick, fucked up things you call Games! Game over, shut the power off, I'm done!" She threw her hands up in the air while she spat the last sentence and let them fall down to her sides again in her silence.

For a moment both Mr. Hanekoma and Neku looked at her with some surprise. The first to come out of it was Mr. Hanekoma, and he said, "I completely understand your rage, Rhyme, trust me I do, but there's something you gotta know. This isn't just any ordinary Game that everyone who dies gets a chance to play; this is a very special Game. I can't give you all of the details up front, but believe me I want you to know what's going on.

"The only thing I can tell you is that this Game is a kind of test for you, and you're going to have to trust each other and pull through. Today you took on Joshua, an Angel on this plane of existence, and you won. You beat him on his own frequency.

"Tomorrow, however, you're going to be facing me." His words left a very heavy silence. Rhyme sank to her knees, her legs too weak to hold her up any longer. Mr. Hanekoma? In a battle? They had only managed to beat Joshua with supreme luck, but against Mr. Hanekoma they knew luck would never be enough.

The Fallen Angel let out a breath. "Listen… Tomorrow, if you defeat me, I can tell you the whole reason for why you're both here, in this Game. The higher-ups won't let me give away too much until they are absolutely certain of their choices, so you beat me, and I get to talk," Mr. Hanekoma said. Neku gave a small nod, but Rhyme sat on the floor as her black aura faded, drawing up her knees to cross her arms on them and bury her face.

"Make no mistake though," Mr. Hanekoma continued in a deadly serious voice, "that despite the fact I want to help you, I will not be holding anything back tomorrow. We'll meet on the roof of Pork City, and you will be using the same Pins you had today. Take some time, think some strategies over. I guarantee you will need them." Again Neku gave a small nod, and Rhyme's shoulders sagged.

With that out of the way, the hard expression on Mr. Hanekoma's face softened. "I'm sorry about this guys, but believe me, it's worth the price," he said. Rhyme lifted her head to meet him eye to eye, the tears still unable to fall from Rhyme's tired blue gaze. She shook her head at him, slowly, somberly.

"No, there's nothing at all worth the price I've paid. Nothing."

-End Day 4