Here's chapter four! Chapter 5 is the start of day two, and there's a surprise in store for Sora...

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 Four: Scanning

Even though he had long since gotten over the fact that Joshua had been the one to send him into the Reaper's Game the first time, Neku still hadn't forgiven him. He did, however, trust him, but the music-loving introvert couldn't say the same for Sora. Neku clenched his fist and glared at Joshua, doing his best not to shout a snide remark. Why the composer had to be someone so disgustingly egotistical?

"You're that kid I met in the alley!" Sora said, his eyes wide. "You and that weirdo in the black outfit…"

Joshua gave his trademark laugh and shoved some of his hair out of his face. "I really must apologize," he said smugly. "It was a slight miscalculation on my part, but now that you're here this might get easier for all of us."

Snot, Neku thought, glaring at Joshua. "Quit beating around the bush, Josh," he said, his patience already running thin. "Just tell us what we're here for. We've already cleared our mission, but we only have so long until we get to pass out until tomorrow."

Sora looked about ready to comment, but Joshua thankfully interrupted and saved Neku the trouble of answering the umpteenth question that day. "It's Yoshiya Kiryu. You can call me Joshua." His smirk faded and he crossed his arms, taking on a serious tone that was rare for him. "Mr. H met with someone weird the other day. He was telling us about dark creatures that kept appearing everywhere."

"At first we thought this guy was referring to the taboo noise left over from when Minamimoto tried to wreck the game," Mr. H added, "But when some of the creatures he described showed up and attacked us we figured out pretty quick that they weren't noise."

"Dark creatures," Sora echoed. Neku glanced over and saw him deeply contemplating something, and judging by how the boy screwed his eyebrows, it was something very important.

"This guy told us to find some sort of key," Joshua continued, "And he gave us a hint. We were going to wait until the game started and get the players to help us out with it, but when Neku got in that accident I thought we might get a head start on looking for him."

"And that hint was the meme you gave me?" Neku asked. "The one about some organization?"

"Wait a sec," Sora interrupted. "By organization, would you happen to be referring to Organization XIII?"

Neku nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

Sora shook his head. "I'll tell you later. Keep going."

"There's not much else to say, really," Mr. H said. "Only that the so-called key is the only thing capable of getting rid of this threat. The meme we sent out would have really worked on anyone, Neku, but its real purpose was whether or not the person you imprinted it on would recognize it."

"And Sora recognized it," Neku concluded. He glanced at Sora. "So, what is Organization XIII?"

Sora sighed, sitting back. Apparently, he wasn't fond of the subject. "They're basically a group of incomplete people who want to be whole. They may sound like a good enough group, but they try to pull off their goals in some pretty twisted ways. If you ever see any of them, it's in your best interest not to trust them. They usually run around wearing black trenchcoats, so they're not hard to spot."

"We'll keep that in mind," Joshua grumbled, eager to get back on the subject. "Neku, Sora, we're pretty sure that Minamimoto is behind all this, but getting rid of him probably won't get rid of those monsters."

"Let me take a wild guess," Neku began, disgruntled, "And say you want me and Sora to get rid of these things for you."

"Very good!" Joshua said in mock praise. "That's precisely what I need you to do. Of course, Sora's going to be the one that really gets rid of them."

Sora gave Joshua what appeared to be a death glare. While Neku noticed that the expression was rather out of place on Sora, the sentiment was rather powerful. "Then why are you dragging Neku into this?" Sora demanded. "There's no sense in getting him hurt, too."

At this comment, Neku was taken by surprise. Sora wasn't that experienced with the Reaper's Game, sure, but no one had ever been that thoughtful about him, especially since he was practically a stranger to the newer player. Either he was thoughtful...or he just didn't want Neku in his way. Somehow, however, Neku got the feeling that Sora wasn't the type to go for the latter of the two reasons. He just didn't seem that way. He sort of reminds me of Beat, Neku mused, Only he doesn't put up the 'tough facade.'

"You're in the UG," Mr. H reminded them. "We'd bend the rules for you if we could, but we can't. Neku's in this whether any of us want that or not. Besides, the monsters aren't in the RG, so this is the only place where they can be dealt with. We should all be thankful that they're not in the real Shibuya wreaking havoc and probably killing people."

Neku saw Hanekoma's point right off. While he didn't particularly agree with the whole reaper's game being woven into the whole mess, the monsters were only in the UG, and Sora's mission was to keep them from working their way up.

"Since the rules still apply, you need a partner for the game," Mr. H continued. "You can't survive without a partner, and without a partner you can't complete the missions or fight the noise, either."

"So that's why," Sora muttered. Again, Neku found his curiosity rising, but he made a fist and pushed back the urge to ask about it.

"We were worried we wouldn't get any decent players this round," Joshua said. "Luckily, Neku showed up when he did, so we made arrangements to wake up all the other players much later so you two were a fixed pair."

Getting killed isn't supposed to be an event to celebrate, Neku grumbled angrily in his mind before speaking up. "The only reason it's fortunate is because Sora needed a decent partner."

"You're one of the best players the game's ever had," Hanekoma pointed out. "If you two can't get us out of this mess, no one can."

Neku had no disagreement with that statement. Grudgingly, he cast a glance at Sora, whom had eagerly taken in the information. Something about that kid just came off right. They had something in common, Neku knew it. Sora simply gave off a good vibe. Whatever it was, Neku felt like he could trust the boy. It's kind of weird, actually, he thought. I don't think anyone's rubbed off on me like that since I met Hanekoma…

Casting the question aside, Neku returned to the conversation with a hint more enthusiasm. He made a mental note to talk with Sora a bit more once they had some free time.

Cid swore and slammed his fist on the side of his keyboard. For an entire day, he had been trying to reach Sora, but the keyblade master wasn't answering. The signal was still going through, but there was simply no answer.

"Not getting anything, I'm guessing?" Yuffie asked. The young ninja was currently going through an absurdly high pile of papers in the corner, and had paused when Cid had his outburst.

"Still nothin'," the engineer replied. "Just a few minutes ago, he was talking to me like normal. Now, he just isn't picking up. Something's wrong."

Yuffie narrowed her eyes. "It's not like Sora to just not answer," she said. "He knows how to send a distress signal. If he was in trouble, he'd do it."

"Unless something got to him before he could," Leon said, striding in the door with his gunblade over his shoulder.

"Don't say that!" Yuffie cried. "You're going to jinx it…"

"There's no jinxing it if it already happened," Leon protested calmly and coldly. "I just got back from the king's place. I've got some pretty bad news for you guys…"

By now, Sora had figured out why he couldn't summon the keyblade earlier. In this "Reaper's Game"…whatever it was…he was helpless unless he had a partner. The keyblade was probably bound by the rules as well, and he couldn't summon it until he made a pact. While he was thankful that now he had someone helping him out, Sora couldn't help but feel that something wasn't right. The feeling only got worse as he continued on, and for the first time Sora simply couldn't shake it off.

The two had left the café with a warning that they had only two hours until the game would be ready to proceed. Neku had apparently decided that, with that time, he would teach Sora to use his player pin. When Sora asked why, the boy rolled his eyes and said, "You could go deaf or insane if you prefer that instead." After having gotten over the boy's bluntness, the two stood in the center of Cat Street.

"Isn't someone going to see us and think we're nuts?" Sora asked.

"Only other players will see us," Neku replied, "And they won't be waking up until about an hour from now. When you're in the UG, you can see everything in the RG, but the RG can't see anything in the UG. It's sort of like one of those one-way windows."

Simple enough, Sora thought. "But this pin scans people's thoughts, right?" Sora asked. "Does it scan everyone?"

"Everyone but other players," Neku stated. "Basically, if you don't have a player pin, you can't get scanned, so don't worry about scanning me. You can't scan reapers or the games' officials, either."

"How do you know?" Sora asked.

"I tried before," Neku replied, his voice stiff. "It just doesn't work."

Sora shrugged. "I guess that'd do it. So, how do I do this?"

Neku pulled out his own pin. "It'd probably be easier if I did it first so you can see."

As he watched, Sora saw Neku pull his headphones up over his ears, his pin still in his hand. A pulse quickly swept through the air and he held both hands just over where his ears were hidden behind his headset. For a few moments, Neku stood stock-still, eyes closed and hands hovering in one spot. Sora blinked several times, staring in awe at the boy's concentration, before the silence finally broke again. Neku opened his eyes and pushed his headphones back "There. Not very hard."

"When the pin worked for me I thought I'd go deaf," Sora commented. "How can you just stand there with all that sound?!"

"Practice," Neku replied simply. "Three weeks of it. The thoughts on someone's mind are a lot like the channels on the radio. You can tune in using this pin and hear what they are. If you're not good at scanning you end up listening to everyone at once. I don't think I need to tell you what kind of headache you'll get from that."

Sora nodded, remembering what had happened when he accidentally activated his player pin just hours ago. "I'm pretty sure I already know."

Neku nodded. "Your turn," he said. "As long as you can keep your focus and not panic, you should be fine. If it gets to be too much for you, don't be afraid to pull out."

"Okay," Sora replied, pulling out the pin from his pocket. Well, here goes. Focus, Sora. Focus. Clutching the pin in his hand, he closed his eyes and felt a somewhat familiar sensation emanating from the pin in his hand. All at once, the voices began to enter his mind.

Omigosh, the whole world can see my-

The prince updated his blog! I can't wait to go home and read it.

When is that movie coming on? I should go set my recorder at home…

I'm so jealous; my friend got a copy of Final Mix right when they sold out! Maybe he'll let me play it…

Sora winced initially and grit his teeth as tight as he could. Come on, Sora. FOCUS! Sora clutched one hand into a tight fist, directing his thoughts into a narrow stream. Finally, he was able to look at a single person's thoughts without bouncing to another.

Hmm…did I lock my door when I left the apartment? The more I think about it, the more it worries me. Maybe I should go back and check, but it's a two-hour round trip…

Almost sighing in relief, Sora went to someone else's thoughts and focused on them.

My book is ready to publish, finally! I just need to find someone to do the cover art, and I'll be ready! The problem is, I don't know the first thing about publishing…oh, well, I can look it up on the internet when I get home.

He moved on to the next.

Yeesh, that guy in the herb shop is such a jerk. What's the point in selling medicine if yo-KKKKRRRRRRRRRRSSSSSSSHHHH!

Sora's eyes snapped open at the unexpected static sound that assaulted his mental eardrums. His vision around him was surrounded by three red, pulsating symbols much like the ones he had seen the previous day. The area around them flashed and dimmed, the static clamor echoing about and the people disappearing. Neku backed against Sora, fumbling in his pocket. "Noise!" he cried. "I hope you can fight, Sora!"

So that's why they're called noise, the keyblade master observed, grudgingly recalling the static he had heard. "You bet I can!" he cried as the symbols formed into large kangaroos. Neku let loose a stream of lightning while Sora summoned the keyblade and smashed into another. Neku recoiled back and summoned what appeared to be a sphere of energy in his hand, but Sora saw a car glow with the same color as the energy and suddenly hurl itself across the street to crush the opposing monster.

The remaining noise made a lunge for Neku, but Sora leapt on top of it and strangled it with the shaft of the keyblade, toppling it over before rolling to the side. With a cry, Neku sent a stream of white bullets soaring through the air and slamming into the kangaroo, demolishing it. The area around the two brightened again, and the people resumed their business as normal. Sora and Neku both weren't particularly gasping for breath, but they were a bit surprised. "You okay?" Sora asked.

"Just a few kangaroo noise," Neku replied. "They're not that hard to deal with. How about you?"

"I've fought worse," Sora replied, standing. "Where'd they come from? I remember scanning and suddenly a bunch of static wormed its way into my head."

"Noise won't attack unprovoked if you make a pact," Neku said. "But they will come in through a scan if you're not careful. Taboo noise don't necessarily follow that rule, though." He stretched his arms and took a deep breath. "Wanna try again?"

"We've only got ten minutes left for today," Sora pointed out, checking his phone for the time (and still wondering how he even got one in the first place). "I think by the time I'm able to focus again we'll have our next mission up and running."

"Good point," Neku said, eyeing the keyblade. "But as long as we're standing here, could you tell me what that is?"

"It's the keyblade," Sora replied, deciding to be straightforward. When he had visited some other worlds, he tried to hide the keyblade to help keep order, but in this place such a thing didn't seem to foreign. I can always leave out the specifics on what it is, anyway, he thought.

"Fitting name," Neku observed. "Is it your psych?"

Sora blinked. "Excuse me?"

"What you use to fight noise with."

"Oh…yeah, it is."

Neku crossed his arms. "Kinda weird. I had some weird partners in my last three games. A stuffed animal, a cell phone, and a skateboard…this is the first time I've seen anyone use anything remotely similar to a weapon."

"What do you use?" Sora asked.

"Pins," Neku replied shortly, holding forward a small button similar to the player pin. This one was red with a graffiti-like flame picture drawn on it. "All players have to use pins one way or another to channel their psyche to be able to fight the noise. Certain ones only work for certain people."

"Weird," Sora said. "I didn't use any."

For the first time, Sora saw Neku's eyes widen. "You didn't use a single pin?"

Sora shook his head. "No. Just the keyblade."

"That's strange," Neku replied. "I've always been able to use just about any pin thrown at me, but no one else seems to be able to do that. Some people can only use one or two. For you to not use any and be so good at this…where are you from, anyway?"

The question caused Sora to freeze. He had hardly ever been asked that, and it was always a touchy subject for him, world order being kept or not. "…eh?"

"You've got to be from somewhere in Tokyo," Neku said, "And I know you're not from Shibuya. Shinjuku, maybe? Are you from there?"

"Er…no," Sora replied. "I'm not from anywhere in Tokyo. I'm not from anywhere remotely close to here. I'm from a chain of islands in the ocean."

"You've got to be kidding me," Neku replied. "You fit into a big city like this perfectly."

Sora shrugged. "I've gone to tons of places. I just learned to adapt after a while, that's all."

Neku then gave Sora a funny look. Whether it was suspicion, disbelief, disappointment, or something similar, it was hard to tell. Eventually, however, Neku turned around and rubbed his shoulder casually. "Come on. We're probably going to be out of time in a few minutes. We should at least be ready for whatever day two throws at us, whether it's easy or not."

Nodding, Sora followed Neku toward the park. The foreboding feeling hanging about him still wouldn't leave, and Sora was finding it harder and harder to ignore as the moments passed by. Something was wrong…something was very wrong…and he knew it had nothing to do with heartless or nobodies. I just hope I can find out what it is before it's used against me…

Hmm! I wonder what that foreboding feeling is...?