Concerning the poll, please take a look at it even if you've already voted. The winning decision (so far…it won by a LANDSLIDE) has been written and posted as Darker Than Twilight, since the plot bunny attacked me again, hehehe. Also, sorry for the lack of updates here. I went on a total "New Story High" with DTT, but here I am again. I'll be updating slower since I have 4 active stories now...plus a book I'm editing and planning to publish.

Okay, MAJOR thanks to thekeylessdoor for giving me an idea on the mission for day 4 AND letting me use it. I owe all credit to them. As for the next two missions…I NEED IDEAS. PLZ. I think.

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 Nine: Reunions

"Three down and four to go," Shiki mumbled, staring at her phone. Her experience playing Reaper Creeper with Sora had alerted her to the fact that Neku was indeed playing the Reaper's Game once again. While it was comforting to know that she'd be able to see him again, there was still the possibility that he might be erased. Day four was right in the middle of the week, and when she had gone through the game, day four had a deceptively easy mission: one that had cost Beat his sister.

"Come on, Shiki. Beat's going to worry himself sick if we're late."

Sighing, the girl tucked her phone back into her pocket and turned to Rhyme. "I know, Rhyme, but Cat Street is a bit far. What's he up to there, anyway?"

Rhyme shrugged. "I don't know, really. He was going to stop by Jupiter of the Monkey for some clothes. He says he likes Wild Boar better, but he never told me why he's going there instead."

"Neku always liked J-M," Shiki mused aloud. "When I finally got him to start paying attention to trends, that was the first shop he'd go to for clothes…even if they weren't the current trend."

"Really?" Rhyme asked.

Shiki chuckled and nodded. "Yeah. I still remember when he trekked all over Shibuya one day and made almost everyone conform to that brand…it was kind of amusing."

The two finally arrived at Cat Street to find Beat pacing in front of the store. "You finally decided to show?"

"We got sidetracked," Shiki explained. "So, why are you heading in here, Beat? I thought you shopped for clothes at Wild Boar."

"This place has a reaper decal, right?" Beat began. "Some player's bound to come in here, yo! We could ask them if they've seen Neku in the UG."

I should have figured he'd do something like this, Shiki thought. "Well, as long as we're in here, I'm going to pick up some clothes myself. You could use a new outfit too, Beat. That sleeveless shirt of yours is really getting old…"

Beat began to argue, but Rhyme and Shiki were already entering the store.

Sora and Neku woke up the next morning in a rather odd place: Cat Street. While odd, it was very convenient for them, since they didn't have to walk several miles to go meet with Mr. H. The mission had not come in yet, so Neku decided to drag Sora along with him for some breakfast. Though technically Sora wasn't a coffee person, he told Neku he was still hungry and he'd come along anyway.

Strangely enough, when they entered, they found the store being run by someone whom was not Hanekoma.

"…Joshua?" Neku asked. "Aren't you a bit busy…and young, at that…to be running WildKat?"

"I don't need to be present at a game for it to run, Neku," Joshua said sternly, keeping his attention focused on the rag he was wiping down a table with. "And to answer your second question, no, I'm not. If you're looking for Hanekoma, he's busy today."

"That's fine," Neku replied. "You could probably answer my question just as easily."

Joshua paused, glancing up, and then grinned. "At your service, Neku. What do you need to know?"

"It's about the player pins," Neku said. "Having one keeps someone from scanning you, right? But I scanned Sora just yesterday."

"Oh, you did?" Joshua asked, idly rubbing his chin with one finger. "Well, this is certainly interesting…are you sure you weren't scanning someone else?"

"I know I scanned Sora," Neku replied firmly. "It was the same sort of experience I had when I scanned you. Instead of thoughts, I saw images."

Sora visibly stiffened, clenching one hand.

Joshua sighed and sat daintily on a chair. "Well, player pins don't block other players from scanning you. It simply puts a mental barrier around your mind to keep other people from imprinting on you or reading your thoughts, like the O-Pins and the player pins do. You were able to scan me because I didn't have a player pin, Neku."

"But I have a player pin," Sora replied. "How is it possible that he could scan me?"

"Simple," Joshua replied. "He didn't scan you. Or rather, he did, but it was the wrong you."

Both Sora and Neku exchanged confused glances. "Joshua," Neku began, "There's only one Sora here."

Joshua grinned that same grin he grinned when he knew something that Neku didn't. "I'm quite aware of that, Neku," the boy said. "There is only one Sora…but what you may not know is that Sora is more than one."

"You're making absolutely no sense, Joshua."

"Not now, maybe," Joshua replied. "You'd best be on your way, Neku. The mission will be coming soon, and you two will need to pass if you're going to be brought back."

Neku narrowed his eyes. "And I'm assuming the rules can't be bent because we're special picks?"

Joshua's taunting expression changed immediately to one so fierce it almost caused Neku to flee from the UG entirely. "You know that can't be done," Joshua said. "Only in an emergency call can the rules be bent. I'm pretty sure the heartless haven't grown to be too large of a threat yet to warrant that."

"Because the players are the ones taking care of them," Neku pointed out. "Whose idea was that?"

"The GM, of course," Joshua replied. "And in this game, we're making sure none of the players are erased…especially you two. Now get going."

With no other arguments, Neku pulled Sora out of the store and back onto Cat Street. "I hate him so much," he grumbled, "But he's the only help we've got with Mr. H busy doing who knows what else."

"What he said about me being more than one," Sora began, eyes narrow, "What do you think he meant?"

Neku quirked an eyebrow. "No idea. How about you?"

Sora stared at the ground in silence and shook his head. Neku, noticing his nervous gesture, crossed his arms. He knows something, doesn't he? And once again, he's not telling me about it. I've had enough of his secrets, it's about time that he-

Before Neku could finish his thought, much less carry it out, he heard his phone ring. "Mission time," Sora announced, pulling out his phone and reading the message. "Appease the darkness of AMC. You have 480 minutes. Fail, and face erasure. The Reapers."

Promptly, the timer burned itself into their hands. "Well, I guess we should get started," Sora said, beginning to walk off.

"Not quite," Neku said, grabbing Sora's shoulder and keeping him from walking off. "They're giving us eight hours to do this. Let's relax for a bit before we get going."

"Relax?" Sora echoed. "What do you suggest we do to relax, then?"

"There's a store near here called Jupiter of the Monkey," Neku explained, pointing to a nearby store labeled as so. "I normally shop for clothes in there, but they have a CD rack, too. There's a reaper decal on it, so we can go inside."

Sora shrugged. "Well, we have almost all day. Let's go."

Smiling, Neku led Sora across the street and toward the store. "Remember, people from the RG can see us in here. Don't talk about the game if you can help it."

"Got it," Sora replied.

Nodding, Neku pushed open the door and braced himself for the familiar scent of leather. Jupiter of the Monkey didn't particularly specialize in leather clothing, but they always had plenty of it to sell. With a wide grin on his face, he headed over to the small CD rack near the dressing rooms. "I wonder if there's anything new in today…"

"You like music?" Sora asked.

"More than anything," Neku replied. "That's why I'm always carrying around my MP3 player. Some stores will let you download songs while you're there and add it to your receipt when you're done shopping."

Sora grinned. "Neat. Are there any good ones here today?"

Neku shook his head. "None that I don't already have. I'm a huge fan of the song Twister by 777, but they've…" He reflected on his week in the game with Beat. 777 had helped them, and had been erased as punishment. "…they've been gone for a while. They don't make music anymore."

"That's too bad," Sora lamented. "They've got a lot of popular albums from what I can tell."

"PHONES!"

For a brief moment, Neku felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand straight up from shock. This was immediately overridden when a blur of black and white tackled him to the floor. He shouted in protest until he realized who he was looking at. "Beat? What're you doing here?"

The skater ignored the question. "Phones! You made it! You had us all worried, yo!"

"I'll be able to make it to day five if you let me breathe," Neku protested weakly.

Noticing his error, Beat stood, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry, man…we was just scared you might have been noise food, yo."

"It's good to see you again, Neku!" came another familiar voice. Looking up as he regained his footing, Neku saw Shiki and Rhyme standing near one of the nearby jacket racks. Shiki had a few shirts over her arms, while Rhyme was dressed in a bit of J-M attire.

"Are you on your mission yet today?" Shiki asked.

Neku nodded. "Yeah. They're giving us eight hours, so I thought I'd stop in." To prove his point, he showed them his hand. The timer was still ticking.

"Sounds kind of fishy," Rhyme commented. "Who's your partner this time around?"

"Me," Sora said, stepping forward.

Beat made a fist upon noticing Sora's presence. "You! Aren't you the kid that was talking to us at Hachiko? You died in that alley near the station! How are you here?"

Sora groaned and looked away. "I really don't need a reminder that I'm dead, you know."

"He's in the game with me," Neku repeated, "And he's doing a good job. How have you guys been?"

"We're doing okay," Shiki said. "I'm being offered a scholarship to a fashion design course in a college not too far away. I got a letter just yesterday."

Neku smiled. "Not bad. I knew you'd get in sooner or later."

"What about you two?" Sora asked, gesturing to Beat and Rhyme.

"I finally decided to be a pro skater, yo," Beat said, making a fist and grinning. "Been practicing every day at the skate park near Udagawa."

"He's getting really good," Rhyme added. "I can't wait to see him in the competition next weekend."

"What do you do where you're from, Sora?" Shiki asked.

Sora paused, looking at the ground. "I never really thought about it before," he said. "I haven't been home in a few years."

Rhyme tilted her head. "Why not?"

"Nothing too important," Sora said hurriedly, earning a suspicious glance from Beat. "Normally, though, my friends and I would spar together or run races against each other. We lived on a small island chain in the ocean, and there weren't any other things to do. Some of my friends played sports, but other than that we liked to build stuff. There was a treehouse we made, and a bridge on one side of the island we played on…before we left, we started building a raft, too."

"Impressive," Shiki noted. "Did you ever get to use that raft?"

"No," Sora replied, a bit bitterly. "We found another way to travel. And now I can't go home until…"

There was an odd silence in the store broken only by the rap music being played on the store speakers. Finally, Sora shook his head and turned away. "Come on, Neku. Let's go clear this mission."

Neku watched as Sora shoved open the door and vanished outside. He sighed turning to his friends. "I have to get going," he said. "I'll let you know how I am over the next few days, okay?"

"I guess so," Shiki replied. "You two take care, okay?"

"We will," Neku assured her, walking out of the store after a final wave. Once outside, he found Sora standing on the corner of the street. He approached the boy and narrowed his eyes. "What's wrong with you? Why can't you go home?"

"I just can't, okay?" Sora shot back, looking uncharacteristically miffed. "Not until I finish here and everywhere else."

"Finish what?" Neku asked. "You can tell me."

Sora sighed. "You're not leaving me a choice, are you?"

Neku crossed his arms. Victory. "No, I'm not. Spill it. I know you've been hiding something important, and you haven't been telling me."

"Fine," Sora replied, "But if I tell you, you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone else about it."

"I can keep a secret," Neku said. "Tell me on the way to AMC."

"Well," Sora began, "The heartless aren't like the noise. They don't just erase you. They steal your heart, and I don't mean the one you have as part of your circulatory system or whatever they teach you it's called in high school. They steal your soul more than anything, and then you become one of them."

"I gathered that they were dangerous," Neku mused, "But not that dangerous."

"It gets worse," Sora continued. "People aren't the only things with hearts. An entire world has a heart, too. The heartless go after that heart and steal it, too, and when that happens, that world is…" He cut himself off, his hands balling into fists and his eyes squeezed shut.

"Destroyed?" Neku asked.

Sora only nodded. "My home…the Destiny Islands…it's not a nearby island chain. It's a different world altogether. The heartless came there one day, and they destroyed it…I ended up in a place I barely knew and with none of my friends to be found. There were heartless following me everywhere. I was terrified."

So that's why he never spoke up, Neku thought. I wouldn't want to talk about that sort of thing either. Still, that's really far-fetched. Another world? That basically makes him an alien. To think though, these things can destroy an entire planet… No wonder he's so keen on getting rid of them.

"They keyblade only came to me when I was still at home…right before my home vanished. I had to travel from world to world looking for my friends, only to find out that one of them was with me all along and the other one had been turned against me. When I finally thought I found them…we got separated again. I looked long and hard, and together we were able to get rid of most of the heartless, but now there are more worlds in danger, so I'm travelling around to seal the keyholes of those worlds so the heartless don't do any more damage than they've already done. If a world is destroyed, it's possible to restore it, but doing so is really hard on me and I'd rather not have to go through it ever again."

"I can understand something like that being hard on you," Neku began, "But you still could have told me. Why didn't you?"

"It's against the rules," Sora said simply. "If other people know about other worlds and the threat that the heartless are, it only makes it easier for the world to be destroyed. That, and the heartless aren't the only threats. Whenever a heartless is created, the body they leave behind becomes a Nobody. All Nobodies are under the control of Organization XIII, but I got rid of all of the officers ages ago. The only problem they should really give us is the normal nobodies that run around."

"You've had a lot on your plate," Neku commented. "Don't you ever get tired of fighting the heartless? You sound like you've been at it for years."

"I have," Sora replied, "But I'm the only one capable of sealing the keyholes. Besides, it's fun to see new places and meet new people, so I don't mind."

That could be a plus to it, Neku silently agreed, beginning down the road. "Come on. Let's head to AMC."

And that's it for chapter 9.