So...apparently this story is good? It is according to my reviewers, anyway. I sure hope it is; this is my first TWEWY story. Anywho, here's chapter 2 (which I'm feeling a bit iffy about right now, hopefully it's decent), chapter 3 is on the way.

Summary: An accident sends Neku back into the Reaper's Game, but this time it's more than accomplishing missions or even survival. Neku knows these new creatures aren't noise, and a certain keyblade-wielding teen may hold the answers for him. (Kingdom Hearts Crossover)

Playing For Keeps

By FlikFreak

Chapter Two: Reaper Creeper

There wasn't much amusement to be had in watching Sora look about wildly for him, but Neku walked off anyway, waiting for the boy to exit. The boy was definitely suspicious, he knew that much. After dealing with the people he had dealt with, he could spot big secrets from miles away. Sora had one, he knew it.

As he watched, Neku saw Sora head back inside and hastily finish his food before exiting and heading for the statue of Hachiko. He was going to be here a while, so he had a bit of time to think. Tossing his player pin again, he closed his eyes and stood stock-still, listening in to the radio of people's thoughts and hoping to find something interesting.

Man, why is that guy still wearing that red pin? Those went out of style ages ago.

Neku grinned. The red pin, also known as the "O-Pin," had been used by the game's former conductor for a purpose that Neku didn't exactly approve of. The fact that no one even bothered wearing them anymore was a relief to him, even though they didn't function anymore. He retained his focus, moving on.

Ugh, I'm late for school again. I might as well skip today…

That Ramen Don place has some pretty tasty food! It's a shame the smell drives away so many customers.

Omigawd! The Prince posted on his blog again! I can't wait to go home and read it!

I can't find that manga anywhere! They said they were releasing it today! Maybe they ran out…

Where's Beat? He said he'd be here an hour ago…

Neku stopped when he heard the last thought, snapping his eyes open. He swept his gaze over to the statue of Hachiko to see Shiki standing all alone. He began to approach and call out to her, but he stopped, remembering that he couldn't. He wasn't in the RG; he couldn't interact with her. Sighing, Neku went and stood by her anyway. She still carries around that stuffed animal, he noted, grinning.

"Hey, Shiki!"

Shiki and Neku glanced up in the same direction to see Beat and Rhyme approaching, both still wearing their usual attire that Neku recognized from the time when they were in the game. Shiki would have crossed her arms had she not been holding Mr. Mew, he knew it. "You're an hour late, Beat! What took you so long?"

Beat sighed. "Sorry, yo. We totally forgot, then we got held up at the scramble…"

"Beat forgot where he put the board," Rhyme explained.

"Rhyme!"

Neku chuckled. Beat was always trying to act tough, even when covering up his mistakes, but Rhyme never failed to expose him. He leaned calmly against the statue, listening to their conversation.

"So, you two heard the news?" Shiki asked.

"Yeah," Rhyme replied. "I could hardly believe it…do you think he's going to go through the game again to come back?"

"Even if he does," Beat began, "He's good. He won't go down real easy. I was his partner when he went through the third time in a row…he had some serious skills, yo. He'll be fine."

"I'm still worried," Shiki said. "He'd only been back for so long, and then he ended up going back…he shouldn't have to go through all that again!"

"I'm okay," Neku muttered, even though he knew Shiki couldn't hear him. If only they pulled out Reaper Creeper or something similar, he could communicate with them. He looked up briefly just in time to notice Sora exiting the shop, a confused look on his face. Looks like he finished eating, he thought. Time to test out this meme. Tossing his pin, he closed his eyes once more and searched for Sora's thoughts. They weren't hard to find.

Where'd Neku go? He couldn't have gotten far…people just don't disappear like that.

"Organization XIII," Neku mumbled, the same way he had done before, and crossed his fingers. If this kid was the one he was supposed to be looking for, it would work, and he would hear him.

…what the? Organization XIII… Where'd that thought come from? Augh, what was I doing here again?

Neku grinned. Victory. This was the kid that Mr. H needed. Now all he had to do was convince him to go to Cat Street…but how?

Eh, I'll look into that later. Neku wanted me to do something for him…

Breaking his concentration and opening his eyes again, Neku smiled and watched as Sora glanced over at the Statue of Hachiko and began jogging over.

The day was only getting weirder and weirder as the minutes passed. Sora's first new friend had vanished without a trace, leaving him with free food and a favor to ask. Sora didn't see any harm in carrying it out, so he headed over to the statue slowly while clicking on his communicator. "Hey, Cid. Why didn't you tell me that this place doesn't take munny?"

"Sorry about that, Sora. I was going to convert your cash into yen but I totally forgot…"

"It's okay for now," Sora replied. "Some kid named Neku showed up and paid for my meal. We talked a bit, and he asked me to do a favor for him."

"Like what?"

"He wanted me to tell a friend he was okay," Sora explained. "I don't see how it's important, but I'm still going to do it."

"Just watch your back, Sora. Shibuya's a nice place and all, but there's some bad folks wandering around that'll want you out of the picture, if you get my meaning."

"I'll handle it," Sora replied, hanging up as he neared the group he had spotted. "Excuse me, miss…"

The girl he had approached, whom was holding a stuffed animal, glanced up nervously. "Um…can I help you?"

Sora hesitated. I never was very good on introductions… he cleared his throat. "Would you happen to be Shiki Misaki?"

The girl looked at the other two kids with her and then nodded. "Um…yes. Who are you?"

"I'm Sora," Sora said, jabbing a thumb at himself. "It's nice to meet you. I'm kind of new here, and someone told me to find you…"

"Nice to meet you, Sora!" The younger girl next to Shiki said. "I'm Rhyme, and this is my brother, Beat."

"Whoa, whoa!" The boy cried out. "Take it easy, Rhyme! We barely know this guy, yo!"

"But he knows Shiki," Rhyme argued in a distinctly calm and innocent voice. "And I don't think he's anyone bad."

"Not bad?" Beat echoed in disbelief.

"Oh, knock it off," Shiki said, grinning at the two before turning back to Sora. "So, how long have you been here, Sora? Judging from how you look, you must not have been here long."

"Just got here today," Sora replied. "I'm here to visit someone, but I got asked to come see you."

Shiki quirked an eyebrow. "You were?" She asked.

"Yeah," Sora replied, uneasy. "I met someone in the restaurant just now. He told me to tell you he was okay. His name was Neku Sakuraba."

The three kids stared at Sora like he had grown a third head. Well, the keyblade master observed, At least now I know that the request had some meaning in it. I didn't expect to get a look like that, though. "Is something wrong?"

Shiki hesitated before speaking again. "Sora…Neku's dead."

Sora felt his spine go rigid when the words reached his ears. Dead? Are they kidding? "You can't be serious," he replied. "He's not dead, I was talking to him just earlier-"

"He's dead, man," Beat replied, his face solemn. "Got hit by a car just yesterday. Folks in the hospital said he didn't make it."

"Hachiko is our favorite hangout," Rhyme explained. "We were coming here today to play Reaper Creeper to honor his memory. It was Beat's idea."

Beat didn't have a protest to that, and simply nodded in agreement. Shiki stared at the ground sadly, and Sora felt like running off and never coming back again. To act so casually about someone who was dead made him feel ashamed somehow. "You mean," he began, "That kid is really dead? But how did I see him in that restaurant just earlier? He came in and paid for my meal for me and then he just walked off. I tried to follow him outside but he just vanished into thin air…"

The three friends exchanged glances, and there was an odd moment of silence before any of them spoke again. "Well," Shiki began. "How should we put this…?"

"We don't," Beat interrupted. "We're not supposed to talk about it, remember?"

Put what? Sora thought. What's going on? Didn't they just say that kid was dead? That can't be right, though… If I just saw him, then was he…?

"Some parts of Shibuya are sort of haunted," Rhyme explained. "Maybe you saw Neku's ghost."

"That's positively creepy," Sora muttered, shivering. "Then again, something did seem kind of odd about him."

"Wanna try playing Reaper Creeper with us?" Rhyme offered, pulling out a small piece of paper that had apparently been stowed away in her pocket. She unfolded it and laid it flat on the ground. "We were ganna play, anyway."

Shiki and Beat knelt down after Rhyme did, and Sora followed suit. "How do you play?" He asked.

As though to answer, Shiki pulled out a small coin with the number 10 on it and placed it in the center. "It's sort of like a Ouija Board," she replied. "It's a big fad among most people these days. They use it to supposedly communicate with spirits called Reapers to answer questions or solve problems." She pointed at the three different symbols, which were arranged in a triangular fashion. "You start by summoning the reaper so to speak, and then you ask the question. The coin starts in the middle, and can move to any of the three symbols. The white symbol means yes, the black symbol means no, and the red gate means neither."

Is the occult some sort of huge influence here or something? Sora wondered, but he nodded. "Sounds simple enough. Have you played it before?"

The three exchanged glances. "Not exactly," Shiki replied, "But we've seen it done, sort of…"

"Who's ganna summon the reaper?" Rhyme asked.

"I'll do it," Shiki volunteered. "I've seen it done plenty of times." She double-checked, making sure the coin was in the center of the page, and cleared her throat. "Okay, here goes…"

Sora felt the air temperature drop slightly, but shook it off as his imagination. He glued his focus on the coin in front of him as Shiki spoke, her voice shaky but loud enough to hear. "Reaper Creeper, before we get in too much deeper… If you're here all right, go to white!"

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Sora was about to turn away when he saw the coin budge and move just barely to the left, wavering a bit, but it eventually stopped right on top of the white symbol. Sora saw Rhyme grin. "The reaper's here!" She whispered.

"So, now what?" Sora asked.

"Now you ask a question," Shiki replied, setting the coin in the center again.

"I have one, yo," Beat said hastily. "Okay…Reaper Creeper, we just met someone that says he met Neku. If he's right, go to white."

Wha?! Sora cried inwardly, his eyes widening. How are they going to get an answer to that? Sure, I met Neku, but how can this reaper person be sure?

The coin shifted again, moving to white. Beat stared at the coin with ice cold eyes, while Sora's nearly bulged out of his head in surprise. Shiki gave Beat quick, admonishing glare before moving the coin back to the center. "Anyone else have a question?"

There was silence for a moment while Sora thought. That Neku person was really weird…something just wasn't right about him. These people told me he was dead, but I met him just earlier. He couldn't have been a ghost, otherwise people would have noticed. And why would he only appear in the shop? Maybe… He stared at the coin with all of his focus. "Reaper Creeper," he chanted quietly, barely aware that the other three teenagers were giving him an odd look. "I came here today and went to Sunshine Stationside. Inside, I met someone named Neku. He spoke to me for a few minutes and left the store after telling me to find Shiki. When I tried to find Neku again, he had vanished into thin air. If I'm right, go to white."

For a moment, the coin sat still. There was a slight twitch as it moved upward, toward the red symbol, then it twitched toward the white symbol in indecision. Sora could have sworn he heard someone nearby grunting in frustration before the coin settled on the white symbol. Sora clenched a fist in shock as Shiki nervously reset the coin. But how is that possible? They said he was dead!

"Reaper Creeper," Rhyme began. "Neku was our best friend, and he died yesterday in a car accident. Sora came and sent a message from him. If Neku is indeed alright, go to white."

Once more, the coin fervently but slowly shifted to the white symbol. Shiki reset it again, and took a deep breath, apparently nervous about something. "Reaper Creeper," she began. "We are Neku's best friends, and we're worried about him. He died just yesterday, but he says he's alright. If he's where he went before, go to white."

Where he went before? Sora echoed. What are they talking about…?

To add to Sora's confusion, the coin shifted to white once more. Shiki closed her eyes. "Well, we know where Neku is," she said quietly, sitting up. "I think we're done for the day, Rhyme."

Rhyme nodded, giving the coin back to Shiki and folding the paper up once more. "I don't know how Neku enjoyed this game so much," she said quietly. "It's cool, sure, but it's still creepy knowing who's moving the coin around."

Sora decided not to comment on that. He pushed himself to his feet, brushing off his pants. "This is the statue of Hachiko, right?" he asked, hoping to change the subject. "Do you guys come here a lot?"

"Yeah," Shiki replied. "We all met here, so to speak. Ever since we all became friends, we just sort of come here whenever. It's one of our favorite hangouts."

Smiling, Sora nodded. Neku told me the same thing, pretty much.

"Did Neku tell you about it?" Rhyme asked, earning a sad smile from Shiki and an admonishing yet solemn gaze from her older brother.

"He mentioned it," Sora admitted. "He said if I needed anything, I should come here because he spends a lot of time here. I don't really know what he meant, though." He paused for a moment. "Wait a sec…do you actually believe me?"

Rhyme nodded. "Yeah. I can tell you're not lying."

Sora blinked in confusion, but Shiki just smiled and shook her head. "Rhyme is a really good judge on character. She's really good at reading people…unlike her brother."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Beat exclaimed.

"You jump to conclusions a lot, Beat," Rhyme said, smiling in a completely innocent fashion.

The skateboarder began to protest when Shiki spoke up again. "Anyway, we have to get going. It was nice meeting you, Sora."

Sora smiled and bowed politely. "It's nice meeting you too, guys."

After waving farewell to the three, Sora headed down toward what appeared to be a train station. He pulled out a small charm from his pocket made from familiar thalassa shells. It was woven with a strong thread and arranged in the shape of a star. He remembered the charm well; Kairi had given it to him in Traverse Town two years ago, and he promised to give it back to her. Every now and then, he would pull out the charm just to look at it and think back on his promise.

Looking up, Sora noticed that he had walked into a dark alleyway. Not exactly the safest place to be, he noted, beginning to turn and leave. As he did, however, he saw a stranger approaching him at a fast pace. Sora froze as he took in this person's appearance.

Black slacks. A loose, grey shirt. Near-white hair. Blank, pale blue eyes. In his hand was a shotgun. Running after him was a taller man dressed in black, dark shoulder-length hair whipping behind him as he ran. His own yellow eyes were affixed to the boy he was chasing, and he also had a shotgun.

Sora's first instinct was to run. Two people with firearms approaching at top speed in a back alley was never a good sign. He considered running, but somehow his legs wouldn't respond to his commands. He stumbled, landing on his rear and unable to run.

The younger of the two halted next to Sora and pointed his gun at the boy's head. "You know who this is," he said slyly, "Don't you?"

The older stopped in his tracks. "Wha…you're not going to do it again, are you?"

The boy smirked. "If I have to, I will, whether either of us likes it or not. You don't want a repeat of what Neku dragged you into, do you?"

Sora's eyes widened, and he began to ask the boy how he knew Neku, but he kept his mouth shut. His eyes darted between the boy and the black-clad man. The boy was threatening to kill him, but something didn't seem right about the man, either. Who's the enemy here? He thought. What's going on?!

Gritting his teeth, the man aimed his gun at the boy. "Who gives a digit?!" he snarled. "I can still iterate you and that yoctogram, even if he is one of your proxies!"

The boy smirked. "First of all, he isn't my proxy, and second of all, are you sure you can do that? If I remember correctly, didn't you get smashed under your own garbage heap when you tried to take me on?"

Not giving an answer, the man shot several bullets at the boy. Sora winced, bracing himself for the sound of the boy falling, but heard nothing. Opening his eyes, he saw the bullets freeze in midair and fall to the ground. The boy sighed. "I told you. You can't hurt me." He glanced at Sora. "Sorry about this."

Sora blinked. Sorry about what? You're pointing a gun at me. Within a split second, the keyblade master put two and two together, and scrambled desperately in attempt to flee. At the same time, the mysterious boy pulled the trigger on his gun.

The bullet was faster.

WUT.

I know that's what you're thinking. Anyway, chapter 3 soon!