A/N: This chapter of FaaD brought to you by: procrastination.

mysteriousguy898: Heh, well, that's why it says AU, doesn't it? Don't worry, I'm pretty sure it becomes obvious soon what's going on.

Ugh, my head. Where…?

Neku opened his eyes. His location was unfamiliar- it wasn't Ten-Four, the crossing he had first woken up in, or the dog statue where he had met Stalker. There was graffiti lining the walls, dim lighting, and he could hear the dull roar of trains. Some kind of underpass?

He got to his feet, looking over to where Stalker was standing. She seemed distant, staring vacantly at her phone. Neku walked over to her. "Hey," he stated flatly.

It was immensely satisfying to see her jump, startled, a small gasp of surprise escaping her. "S-Sorry, Neku," she apologized, breathless. "I didn't see you there."

He shrugged, not really caring. "Has the mission arrived yet?" He wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible- the sooner the pressure was off, the sooner he could actually stop and think about the situation he was in.

Stalker began to shake her head, just as their phones beeped. "Oh, well, there it is." She read the mission aloud, as she already had her phone out.

"Set the cursed sculpture free. You have 60 minutes. Fail, and face erasure. -The Reapers"

Right on cue, the timer from yesterday appeared on Neku's palm, red numbers glaring up at him. He cringed at the pain it caused, spitting a curse, but quickly turned his thoughts to the mission.

Cursed sculpture? he wondered. What could it- wait a minute. He had pulled his own phone out to see if there were any clues in the text (there weren't), only to notice something. The date on my phone's changed. He mentioned it to Stalker.

"A day must have gone by," she shrugged, not seeming too fussed. "I guess we fell asleep after the mission." It was a perfectly logical explanation, but one detail didn't add up.

"...How?" Neku deadpanned. "We were in the middle of the street in broad daylight."

Stalker paused, thinking about it. "I guess it must be part of the Game," she replied. Neku was not satisfied with that answer, but before he could state this, she continued. "Anyway, I guess the statue must be Hachiko."

"Hachiko?" he echoed. Stalker nodded.

"It's that statue where we met yesterday," she explained.

"Oh." He paused. "Where are we now?"

"Miyashita Park Underpass," she replied promptly. So he was right- they were in an underpass.

"So which way to Hachiko?" he queried, tilting his head. He didn't like being dependant on the girl, but he had no choice from what he'd gathered. He didn't want to know what happened when those timers hit zero.

"It's this way," she replied, walking off to the left. Neku followed her silently. However, they didn't get far before they ran into the wall from yesterday.

"What now?" Stalker fretted. He ignored her. We got past the wall yesterday… is there some kind of trick? He looked around the area, noticing a figure by one of the pillars. He was partially obscured by the shadows, so he hadn't noticed him before. He was wearing a red hoodie. It's the guy from yesterday… what's on his mind? He glanced at the white-skulled pin he had attached to his collar. I'm going to try scanning him.

The scan itself was easy- coaxing thoughts from the figure wasn't. All he was met with was a white expanse blanketing their mind, an impenetrable wall.

Weird. He withdrew from the figure's mind. By now, Stalker had noticed his staring. "Neku, what are you looking at?" She turned, spotting the figure. "Do you know him, Neku?"

Neku ignored her. Suddenly, she gave a little gasp. "Neku, he's coming towards us!"

Really? Neku thought sarcastically. I never would have guessed, Captain Obvious.

"You," the figure rumbled, "erase all the Noise in the area."

Neku frowned at the hooded figure. Are those the conditions to move on? he wondered.

"Huh?" Stalker questioned. "But I don't see any Noise."

"The world is more than what you see," the figure replied, before retreating back to his post.

The world is more than what you see…

"There aren't any Noise here," Stalker sighed, turning to him. He ignored her for a moment. Maybe…

"Yes there are," he corrected. "We just have to scan for them." To prove his point, he projected a scanning field. Sure enough, Noise of the frog variety were crawling all over the area.

"You're right!" she realized after she did her own scan. "But, uh, Neku… shouldn't you try some other pins?"

"Pins?" he echoed, turning to her.

"Yeah, they should've given you a whole bunch," she confirmed. At her words, Neku searched his pockets, the only place on his person that could carry something. He discovered she was right, several pieces of metal brushing his fingers. He pulled them out- they were pretty self-explanatory, thanks to the icons.

He turned back to the Noise, sliding the pin marked by a hand into his grasp. He was pretty sure it was some sort of psychokinesis pin. He turned to see two frogs milling a little too close, and swept his hand towards them, focusing his mind on a nearby signpost, sending it crashing into them. They spasmed several times before fading away.

The rest of the frogs (six of them, if he was counting right) turned, having been aggravated by the erasure of their kin. They didn't attack due to the pact, but once he used an offensive pin, that would change.

He slipped a pin marked by lightning into his hand, before directing his energy at one of the frogs. Zap it, he commanded, pausing only to confirm the bolt had hit before repeating the process with another frog.

The four remaining frogs surged towards him, and Neku leaped back to avoid one of them latching onto his thigh. He switched to some kind of shockwave pin, moving towards the offending frog and swiping the hand holding the pin through the air in front of him. The frog was cut in two, as though it had been slashed by an invisible blade- which, in a way, it had.

The light ball from yesterday descended upon him, and he welcomed its invigorating strength. He changed to the final pin he hadn't tested- some kind of plasma bullet, he assumed.

Neku held the pin out towards one of the frogs, summoning forth its power. He turned out to be correct, a ball of blue-white energy erasing the Noise it connected with, another meeting the same fate. Now, where was that last frog…

He turned a second too late, the final Noise sinking its fangs into the skin just below his knee. He let out a pained yelp, firing a bullet at the frog. It fell to the ground, but the blast has also nicked Neku, and he let out a string of breathless swears.

He avoided the temptation to probe the injury, knowing that doing so would only cause it to sting more. Instead, he just looked around for Stalker, who had mysteriously vanished again.

She was walking up behind him. "Wow, you can use all the pins! You really are a psych genius!" she praised.

"So? Using a few pins doesn't make anyone a genius," he replied. It's not like you can't- oh.

"Remember the pyrokinesis pin I gave you?" she began to say, but he had figured it out.

"You couldn't use it," he stated. "I get it. Certain pins only work for certain people. I've got to try them all and see." He glanced at the small collection of pins in his palm.

"Neku… you have two Player Pins," Stalker noticed. "You only need one."

Why do I have any of them? he wondered sullenly. I don't know why I'm here, and I have no clue what's going on. Aloud, he simply said, "So?"

"I m-mean, it doesn't really matter," Stalker added frantically, shaking her head. "T-Two are better than one, after all."

Neku was silent. You're the person who said I only needed one. Seriously, you need to pick one opinion and stick with it.

"Neku, are you listening to me?" Stalker huffed, folding her arms. He shook himself out the reverie he had worked himself into. "Honestly, Neku. You should take off those headphones. It's rude."

"Would you shut the hell up!" Neku hissed, eyes flashing in anger. He was pleased to see her flinch- she deserved it.

"You don't have to yell…" she murmured. When he didn't reply, she sighed, pulling out her cellphone and mumbling something too quiet for him to hear.

Now she's playing with her phone? Neku thought incredulously. Forget this. He turned towards where the wall had been, finding it gone. He started walking, half-hoping Stalker wouldn't follow, although he knew she would.

"H-Hey, wait up!" Stalker called in alarm. Neku ignored her. If she wanted to follow, she could start walking.

Stalker caught up with him just as they exited the underpass. "What's the big idea, Neku?" she demanded. "We're partners-"

"Gotchu punks now!" They both turned at the intrusion of a new voice. The speaker was a blue-eyed blond male wearing a black and white hat, looking very annoyed. "You got us good yesterday."

"What are you talking about?" Stalker asked, echoing Neku's thoughts.

"Don'tchu play dumb wid me!" the new arrival snarled. "If you need a hint, go ask your friends!"

"Friends?" Stalker asked in confusion. "Neku, do you know this guy?"

"Don't insult me." Why would she even think that he was acquainted with this guy?

The guy didn't seem convinced, and looked like he was ready to attack them. Neku tensed, preparing to defend himself if the boy made a move.

"Beat, they're not Reapers!" The boy's aggressive posture fell away at a young girl's voice. Neku turned his head to see the owner of the voice walking towards them. She had the same blonde hair as the boy. "They're Players, like us."

Oh. They're Players. Well, it explains some things.

"It's okay," Stalker told the boy after he apologized. "My name is Shiki." She looked at Neku expectantly.

"...Neku."

"I'm Beat, and this is my… my partner, Rhyme," the blond boy introduced.

"Oh, do you guys want another pin?" Rhyme asked. She showed them a pin marked by some kind of soda can. "We think it's a healing pin. Neither of us can use it." Neku shrugged, taking it. Might as well. If it really is a healing pin… He glanced at the burn on his leg. It was still sore, but he'd managed to push it to the back of his mind.

"Thank you," Stalker told them, probably on his behalf. "So, today's mission… the sculpture's gotta be Hachiko, right?"

"I assume so," Rhyme replied. "Hey, we should team up and work together! Two heads are better than one, so four will be even better!"

"That's a great idea!"

Neku decided to stop her right there. "We just met you. We're not teaming up with you," he said flatly. When Stalker's expression changed to one of shock, he added, "If I had my way, I wouldn't be working with you, either."

There was a long silence.

"...C'mon, Rhyme, le's bounce," Beat announced, breaking the silence, his annoyance clear in his tone. "Phones don't want us here." He started to walk off.

"I'd better go," Rhyme told them apologetically. "See you around!" She quickly followed her partner.

Stalker turned to Neku, fuming.

"Look what you've done, Neku!" she complained. "We could have gotten extra help!"

"Whatever," he shrugged, not really caring. "I stand by what I said."

Stalker made a noise of frustration. Neku just kept walking, knowing any ensuing conversation would be boring and repetitive. Predictably, Stalker followed a moment later.

They walked in silence, until they reached another wall. By this point, they had both figured out how to clear them. Sure enough, Neku found a red-clad Reaper standing nearby.

"Want past this wall?" he asked. At Neku's nod, he continued. "Then lift the statue's curse."

"Lift the statue's curse?" Stalker repeated discontentedly. "But that's the mission, and the only way to Hachiko is through here."

"They wouldn't have set an impossible goal," Neku stated. "We've just got to think." With that said, he started looking around for something related to their goal. He noticed a guy standing next to a stone head, mumbling to what appeared to be thin air. That guy… who's he talking to?

He crept closer, trying to catch what the guy was saying. "C'mon, you can tell me what's ailing you. We're not all made of stone." What? That doesn't make sense.

"Neku, give the man some space," Stalker reprimanded gently, coming up behind him.

He rolled his eyes. Space? It's not like he can see us anyway. Regardless, he complied with the request, another idea coming to mind. I'll just scan him. See if it sheds any light on what he was going on about.

He projected the scanning field, only to have his attention drawn to the stone head beside him. Various Noise clung to it, emitting general feelings of negativity.

"Hey." He nudged Stalker. "What's that stone head thing? It's crawling with Noise."

"The Moyai?" she asked.

"Like on Easter Islands?" he questioned. "What's a Moai doing here?"

"Moyai. With a Y!" she corrected crossly. "But… if there's Noise on it, we should erase them."

"Sure," he agreed- it was a perfectly logical idea, compared to some of the other things she'd come up with. He turned back to the Moyai, taking note of the Noise- a couple of frogs and wolves, as well as what looked to be a hedgehog. He slipped three pins onto his collar next to the Player Pin- the pyrokinesis pin, slashing pin, and healing pin. He hadn't forgotten about the burn on his leg, and he knew it would be an obvious target for the Noise.

He activated the healing pin, watching the burned flesh heal over, leaving no trace of the injury that had once been there. However, the energies of the psych had attracted the attention of the Noise. The element of surprise had been lost.

The frogs would be easy to deal with. The wolves were only slightly more problematic. The hedgehog was the new enemy, and therefore it would be safest to assume it was the strongest.

He decided to use the slashing pin first, knocking the Noise and outright erasing the frogs. He then switched to the pyrokinesis pin, a burst of flame incinerating one of the wolves. He then stepped out of the reach of the other wolf- only to have underestimated the hedgehog's range.

The quills shot out, pricking him all over, blood bubbling to the surface. He froze for a second, but that was all the wolf Noise needed. Neku was tackled to the ground, the beast sinking its teeth into his arm.

Neku cried out in pain as he felt fragile bones snap under the pressure. He pressed his other hand up against the creature, instinctively summoning forth a flame. The wolf whined piteously before it was consumed.

Using his uninjured arm to help himself up, he quickly took note of the damage. As well as the broken bones, there was blood gushing from the actual bite mark. Neku gritted his teeth. He still didn't know the extent of his healing pin, so if this didn't work…

Thankfully, it did. The bite mark vanished, and his bones seemed to mend. Sure, his arm was still sore as hell and caked in blood, but it was better than nothing.

Turning back to the hedgehog, Neku switched back to the slashing pin, activating it twice in rapid succession. The remaining Noise froze, still for several long moments, before breaking off into particles of light.

"Neku, are you alright?"

Turning around to face a concerned-looking Stalker, he realized he was still holding his sore arm.

"I'm fine," he told her, letting his arm drop to his side. Not letting her respond, he added, "Was that all the Noise?"

"Yeah, I think so," she replied with a nod.

"Let's go see if the wall's down," he suggested. Looking over, he suspected that it was- he couldn't see the Reaper than had been there previously. True enough, when they walked over, the wall was gone. Hopefully we won't encounter any more interruptions. We don't have time for this…

Finally, Stalker stopped running. "Well, here we are."

Casting his eyes around, Neku noticed the dog statue- Hachiko- from yesterday. He projected a scanning field around Hachiko, but found no Noise. "There's nothing here," Neku informed, confused. Is this the wrong sculpture? he wondered. Then again, what do I know? Nothing, that's what.

"Then what's the curse?" Stalker questioned.

You're asking me? Neku thought to himself. "What makes you think I know?" he asked. "Still, we should investigate."

They moved towards the statue. Neku couldn't see anything wrong with it, but Stalker had a small frown on her face.

"You know, now I look closer, Hachiko seems less… loveable?" Less… loveable. Right. How do you measure an object's loveability? Neku thought to himself.

"He looks different to when I saw him at Hachi Fest," Stalker added.

"Hachi Fest?" Neku echoed.

"Yup!" Stalker nodded, a fond smile crossing her face. "It's a blast. There's a certain spot that if you find, you get good luck. But if you touch the wrong spot..."

"You explode?" Neku guessed.

"You get cursed!" Stalker corrected him crossly.

"Oh," he replied dismissively. Why did I even ask?

A few minutes later, Neku figured that they weren't going to get any more information from staring. "Let's look around for more information," he suggested. "We're not going to lift the curse just standing around here."

"That's true," Stalker admitted. "But where do we look?"

"I don't know," Neku replied, before remembering the man at the Moyai. Wait… was he talking to the statue? "Maybe scanning will turn something up."

Stalker agreed that it was worth a try. They retraced their steps, arriving at the area with the Moyai. Where is he… ah, there we go.

Spotting the statue man, Neku quickly scanned his thoughts. You feel better now, don't you? Hachiko's been looking down lately, too. He could use a good polish.

Crazy statue man has a crazy idea. I should've guessed. Still, it's the only idea we have. "When you said Hachiko seemed less loveable, did you mean he was dirty?" he asked Stalker.

"Well, now you mention it, I did notice these strange blue markings, but I didn't think to mention it."

Strange blue markings… ah. Neku had seen them too, but he hadn't known if they belonged there. Clearly, they didn't.

"Maybe that's the curse!" Stalker suggested.

Or maybe someone just went crazy with a marker, Neku thought with a shrug. Still, it's the only idea we have- it can't hurt to try.

"So… we're going to polish Hachiko?" he asked. At Stalker's nod, he added, "What with?"

"Um… you could try rubbing it?" she suggested. He stared at her in amazement. Did she really just- you know what? Don't even question it. Just try her idea. Unless you come up with a better idea, it's all you have.

By the time they arrived at Hachiko again, Neku had decided he was done with walking. Then he remembered it was only the second day of the apparent seven. Oh, joy.

He approached Hachiko, focusing on the strange blue markings. Carefully, he rubbed at the edges of the lines. Dust fell away to reveal more markings. He trailed a finger down the marks, slowly uncovering odd, jagged shapes.

Suddenly, he heard a growl. He paused, looking around- nothing. Neku returned to his task, dismissing it as imagination.

Soon he had cleaned the entire statue of dust. Stepping back, he observed the pattern of the markings. They covered most of Hachiko, forming a structure much like the outline of a wolf.

Suddenly, he heard the growl again. It dawned on him where it was coming from and he leapt back. A moment later, a wolf Noise stood in the spot where had had been. Well, that's the curse.

Flames flickered at his fingertips as she prepared to fight. I should've expected this, he mused, directing the psych at the wolf. In any case, this Noise isn't difficult to defeat. He switched to the slashing pin. True to his point, his next attack erased the Noise.

"Did we do it? Did we lift the curse?" Stalker questioned anxiously. It was easy enough for Neku to check.

"Looks like it," he confirmed, when he only saw blank skin on his palm.

"Nice work, Neku!" a familiar voice praised. He tensed, the energy contained within his pins rushing to his fingertips. "Of course, I wouldn't expect anything less from you."

He turned. The speaker was an adult female with bright pink hair, dressing in a black corset and white knee-high boots. "What are you talking about?" he demanded, recalling what Stalker said the day before about the Reaper seeming to know him. But that can't be right. I've never met this woman before in my life.

"Sorry, can't say," the Reaper replied cheerfully. "Boss' orders, you know how it goes." Before Neku could respond, however, she continued. "Anyway, you're not enjoying the Game, are you?"

"Is it that obvious?" he deadpanned.

"Oh, dear! How awful!" the woman replied, her tone so sickeningly sweet it made Neku want to throw up. "Still, maybe we can compromise. How's this: I give you a mission. If you complete it, I'll let you out of the Game. Sound good?"

There's gotta be a catch. "What's the mission?" he asked warily.

"Sorry, I won't tell you unless you accept," she told him, faking an apologetic look. "Don't worry, I promise it's reeeal easy. Okay?"

"...Fine," Neku decided. "I accept."

"Your mission is to destroy that plushie your partner's carrying around. You have one minute."

"W-Wait a minute!" Stalker exclaimed in a panic, clutching her plush tightly. It was a pitiable sight, though Neku had already tuned her out, slipping the psychokinesis pin into his palm. Did he regret what he was about to do? Yes, of course. He wouldn't admit it, but he felt absolutely awful. However, the cost seemed reasonable enough- it wasn't like the Reaper had asked him to kill her.

One tug was all it took to pull the plushie out of Stalker's grasp. Stalker reached for it desperately, her panic and distress obvious in the little noises she was making, but Neku was holding it too high. Neku tugged on it simultaneously from all directions, trying not to look, stretching the limbs out as far as they would go. One of the seams ripped slightly, a small amount of cotton falling out.

"N-Neku, please!" Stalker exclaimed, tears welling up in her eyes, choking on her speech. "D-Don't destroy Mr. Mew!"

"I have to!" he responded, preparing to give the plushie a final pull.

"Neku!" Stalker cried again, as more cotton fell out.

It took all of Neku's willpower to ignore her desperate pleas.

"Hey, what are you doing?" an unfamiliar voice called.