I own nothing. Happy Halloween. This chapter is a personal favorite.

Chapter 4: Saving You

Beat was not an idiot.

Sure he talks loudly, isn't all that quick on the update, and spends more time then he liked to admit wiping tears from his eyes and damnit no, he was not crying. There was just something in his eyes.

But Beat is not an idiot.

He died young. Far too young. While he hates the fact that he died, he doesn't hate the circumstances under which he passed away from. After all, he managed to play the knight in shining armor by rescuing the love of his life and then went on save the person he considered to be his best friend. Not that the bastard would admit it.

When he first arrived in Shibuya, surprisingly he didn't enter the game right away. Rather he got to explore the city, and lo and behold, saw his appearance for the first time. 'Huh, I look like sensei,' he thought. Strangely, Beat is okay with it. After all, there is no other person that he admired more than his sensei. It's sad that Beat thinks of his sensei more like a father then his biological one.

Soon a sister shows up. Beat doesn't know where she came from... or why he has a sister. But it's okay. Rhyme reminds him of her. It isn't the same though. For while Rhyme is gentle, caring and shares the same smile, Rhyme is not her. Rhyme, while strong in her own right, lacks the healing hands that she had. Of course, that doesn't stop Beat from doing everything in his power to protect her.

So when Rhyme pushed him out the way to save him, it horrified him to no end. It's so strangely reminiscent of his own death, that the shocking reality of what could have happen hits him hard. That was why he so desperately searched for a way to bring her back.

After all, Beat is not an idiot. He knows full well that the game is much more then it seems. He hasn't forgotten his own training and while it's taken him much longer then he expected, he has pieced together quite a bit of an understanding towards it all.

Becoming a Reaper (even though it was only for a week) confirmed it for him.

Of course it was hard to face Neku and "prissy pants". Beat would normally laugh at the bitter irony of it all. Before his death, was he not the one preaching about not abandoning teammates? His best friend would call him a hypocrite. Of course the choices did come down to save his (not real) sister (but she's still someone! Even if they're not really related!) or save himself and Beat couldn't live with himself if he didn't do something.

Then there was Neku. Goddamn Neku and his damn blue eyes.

If Beat didn't believe in a higher power before, he did now. Said higher power was a cruel, cruel person. When Beat first meets Neku, his outright cold personality is so reminiscent of his bastard best friend that Beat is ready to smack the headphone wearing boy hard on the head. Parallels between his best friend and Neku are so frickin' scary that Beat is half expecting Neku to tell him that his father committed suicide.

Beat is tempted to not do anything, content to leaving Neku alone as he wished. He had tried to alter his best friend's life for the better and died in the process... so yes he has every right to be hesitant! Then all he has to do is look into Neku's blue eyes, the same blue eyes that Rhyme looks at him with, the same blue eyes that he currently possesses, and then remembers what sensei said to him. Beat then grumbles and begins to thinks of way to help Neku out.

So when Neku invites him to meet them at Hachiko, warmth spreads through Beat's heart. It makes him both sad and happy. Happy for he managed to do something right for once, sad because now that he knows the truth, he'll have to eventually leave. It isn't that Beat doesn't like his new friends, quite the opposite really, he loves them. But... given that his best friend didn't react well to his father's death, Beat can only imagine what his death did to him. No matter how many years have pass, he had to go back to make sure he was doing alright. Only he isn't quite sure how to do it...

Beat makes a mental note to track down lollipop the following day. He would know after all. He always knows everything. Sensei was just that awesome. They would figure it out.

After all, Uchiha Obito never abandons his teammates. Especially not the ones he calls family.

I'm sure you people saw this one coming a mile away. After all, I dropped the hint back in chapter 2.

R&R