"Let me in. Tell me what you're thinking."

"Only by allowing strangers in can we find new ways to be ourselves."

"Okay, so we can't be partners. Why don't I just help you out as your friend?"

"I'm scared. Scared of getting a second chance."

"Listen up Phones, cause I ain't askin' twice. Please, help me. You gotta help me save her."

"Neku Sakuraba. That's a mouthful!"

"Neku. That's the first time you used my name."

"But Neku, I thought you couldn't afford to lose. Give up on yourself, and you give up on the world."

"You're not my partner anymore man, you're… my friend. So trus' that yo!"

"Once you see the real me, will we… still be friends?"

"When it really mattered, you stood up for me. And besides — we're friends. Right?"

Neku paced his way through the crowds of the Shibu Department Store. It was Sunday, and was a busy day just like any other Sunday. He had changed, no longer was he separating himself from the crowds, yet he wasn't trying to blend in with them either. Today, for the first time in months, he was going to go meet up with friends. His new friends.

It had only been one week since the Reaper's Game ended, and in the 7 days that had passed, Neku was playing catch up on life. He had been gone, dead, for 3 weeks, then when he came back it was like nothing had happened. Like he had taken a long break without anyone questioning why or where he'd been. Neku wouldn't be the only one though. Shiki, Beat, Rhyme, they were revived too and would definitely be going through the same.

Neku turned the corner off of Center Street, coming to the edge of one of his home city's most famous areas. Scramble Crossing. It held memories both good & bad… But a lot had been on Neku's mind lately, especially about Joshua. He couldn't forgive the Composer, but somehow he still trusted him. You had to trust your partner after all, no matter what.

But that wasn't all… Neku had been having these weird dreams lately. Something he couldn't figure, no matter how hard he tried. It was… a scattered dream, yet it felt like some far-off memory. A kid in red, whose face he couldn't place at all, in a town nothing like Shibuya… Who was this guy? Why did he seem familiar? Where was that place in the dream? Was this all just… in his head?

"YO~!" "Over here~!" Familiar voices snapped Neku out his trance. Lost in deep thought he had already reached his destination, the courtyard of Hachiko's statue. Slightly earlier than he'd expected to arrive, but it seemed that his friends were here already. A large hand waved in Neku's direction, above the heads of the many who were gathered here. It belonged to Beat, and Neku broke his stride into a jog to meet up with the brother and sister, waving as he went.

The Composer stood on the very top edge of the 104 building. In the distance below him was the courtyard where the Hachiko statue diligently stood, and in that courtyard stood four young friends who were nothing but strangers a few weeks ago. They had endured hardships, all in the name of a Game, and a bet. The Composer had won of course, but as one of those young friends had proved to him, even the worst can change for the better.

"You know, this mess is gonna have repercussions upstairs." The voice of one of the Composer's closest friends & allies spoke up next to him. Sanae Hanekoma, the Producer, sat on the edge overlooking the same scene below through his shades. "But hey, at least things are back to normal." He chuckled lightly. "Right?"

The Composer said nothing. It was true that this would indeed cause difficulties, but not, he suspected, for the reasons that Sanae thought. His attention switched from the headphone wearing boy, to the young girl in a peach sweater. The cost she had had to give was irreplaceable, and the Composer wished there had been any other way. A quick chuckle came from Sanae, "What? You seem down." The Composer could only respond with a silent smirk at this, while Sanae followed his friend's eyes down towards Neku Sakuraba and his three comrades. They were laughing, having a good time down there.

"Hey." Sanae continued, "It's their world, they get to decide what to do with it." The smile faded from the Composer's face as his eyes shot upwards, sensing something. With a surge of energy the Composer shot off into the sky, becoming an orb of light, determined in it's location. Sanae was left laughing, not realising the urgency of the departure of his comrade, before he to spread his angelic wings and chased off after him.

Neku smiled. It was something he had rarely done until the last four weeks. When he had met Beat, Rhyme & Shiki, and they were his friends. The group had decided to go walking, having compared their stories of the last week. "I'm tellin' ya guys, it's like we weren't even gone. Even our underpass memorial ain't there no more." Shiki nodded as she hugged Mr. Mew to her chest. "Same here. Eri missed me, but not like I had died." Neku followed alongside her. "Our 'deaths' were erased then." Rhyme remained quiet, walking nearby Beat. She was very calm & intelligent for an 11 year old, and seemed deep in thought.

Shiki picked up the discussion. "So we just continue with our lives?" Beat grunted, skateboard resting on his shoulder. "Kinda tricky after all that crap with the Reaper's Game yo." The four of them were all dealing with the consequences what was probably one of the oddest stories to be told. Still, Neku felt like not all of it had been told to them. Those dreams. That kid in red. "I still think we're missing something important." Beat shot a confused sideways look at Neku. "Like what Phones?" Shiki too turned her head to Neku.

"I had hoped He would show today." Neku slowed his pace, and the others adjusted to his speed. "There's something bugging the hell out of me." Even Rhyme was somewhat curious as to where this was going. "During the Game, do any of you remember some kid in red?" The group had come to an abrupt halt in the middle of the courtyard outside of Towa Records. Beat & Shiki stared at Neku, causing him to grab his subconsciously clutch at his elbow in unsure discomfort. "Hell you talkin' bout Phones?" Shiki shook her head. "Sorry, I don't remember anyone like that."

"Actually, I do." Three heads turned towards Rhyme. She hadn't spoken much since the conversation steered towards discussing the past few weeks. "You do?" Rhyme nodded. "I don't know his name, but I sorta remember him, another boy, and a to-" Beat interrupted her, scratching his cheek confused, "But Rhyme, you'd been…" He struggled for the words, "…a pin since that day." The day in question was Day 4, Week 1 for Neku. The day that Rhyme was erased. "No, it was before that." There was a stunned silence before Beat spoke up again. "We were partnered Rhyme. I didn't see this red guy."

Neku closed his eyes, attempting to figure what was going on from the new information. Thinking back to that day, he could see the trap spring… then suddenly Shiki & he were fighting off the Shark Noise. In-between those images of memory there was only blank space, like he had blinked and missed a day… Maybe more. Neku could only come to one startling conclusion. "Part of my memory is still missing." The others looked to him. "I can't clearly remember the ambush that erased Rhyme… Something happened, and I think He doesn't want us to remember it."

The spectral light soared through the sky, with another following close behind it. The pair had been flying furiously for a few minutes, but then the Composer came to complete halt high above Shibuya. The two lights changed back to their humanoid forms, as their respective wings kept them elevated above their city. "Whats wrong?" There was no initial answer to Sanae's query. The Composer simply stared below looking for something. This was his world, and since he had decided to spare it from his destructive whim, he'd chosen to protect it alongside like minded individuals like Sanae. The Composer looked up to the heavens, and came to a realisation. Something was very wrong. "Our boarder has been breached." As if in reaction to the Composer's words, the blue of the sky shifted into the deep dark of night…

Though at first confused by Neku's statement, all of them had tried to remember back to that day. No-one was successful. All that could be remembered was the sleeping feeling before Neku & Shiki were suddenly fighting the Noise, and Beat was with Mr. Hanekoma. Shiki hugged Mr. Mew tighter, "So did Joshua keep some of our memories?" Beat punched his palm, an annoyed look on his face. "That's sick yo! Still screwin' with us." Neku shook his head. There must be a reas-

Suddenly the atmosphere changed around them, like the world had gone on mute. The sky, which had turned black as night, suddenly casted darkness alongside an eerie faded glow from the new moon down onto the city below. "The hell?!" Beat instinctively placed his hand on Rhyme's shoulder while Shiki and Neku franticly looked around them.

It had been nearly noon a second ago, and now in this darkness a thin mist crept in, swiftly gathering up into a thick yellow tinted fog. Struggling to see, Neku then shivered as a high school girl he somewhat recognised phased through him, taking a few steps before vanishing back into the fog. "…What?" Despite the difficulty, Neku could barely make out the silhouettes of some Shibuyans who passed nearby them, before they too disappeared into the obscurity of the fog.

Neku and Shiki were now back to back with Beat and Rhyme. "You awright Phones?! The hells happening!?" Beat's question barely even echoed. The absence of sound ate up any noise they made, adding to the sheer creepiness of the situation.

The silent Shibuyans just carried on with their lives like nothing was wrong, unaware of the fog. For Neku and his friends, this was all adding up to one thing they knew. Neku didn't wan't to say it, but… "I think were back in the UG…"

Author's Note: Well, this is my prologue chapter to test the waters. I'm new and this is gonna be my first public fanfic.

Also yes I do know this is categorised under the Kingdom Hearts and Persona tags, but I could only choose two. Persona has the bigger cast of characters to be involved, so it wins on that front. Doesn't mean I love TWEWY any less. Besides since DDD, technically TWEWY is a part of the KH-verse anyhow. (^—^)

Reviews, theories & speculations are welcome/encouraged in the comments. I'd love to know what you think of this story.