Seriously guys, I'm really sorry about this delay. I've just had no idea how to write this chapter, and have been focusing way too much on my Digimon collabs for this fic's health. And progress. Although I have also had exams recently, so I've had even less of a chance to work on this chapter.

Anyway, let's get this chapter done with. Best way to write something you have no clue about, start on it anyway.

The two cars drew up outside the Suoh Second Mansion, each depositing two passengers. Neku and Joshua headed towards the main entrance together, still muted from Joshua's earlier nonchalance. Tamaki climbed out of the other car, Kyouya following him out. The two friends followed the two Shibuya residents towards the mansion. The doors opened for them, ad the four teens headed inside.

It was going along fairly well, until Tamaki had an idea. As with all of Tamaki's ideas, everyone else knew that something bad was going to happen because of it.

"Right. Study group!" He shouted, stepping quickly forwards as Neku headed for the stairs and grabbing the collar of the unfortunate redhead, dragging him towards the lounge. Kyouya gave a slight sigh as he and Joshua followed the two. "I'm going to go and get some books from my room." Tamaki effectively threw Neku onto one of the sofas and walked out as Joshua sat next to the redhead. Kyouya sat on the sofa opposite, adjusting his glasses slightly before reaching into his bag to pull out a book.

"And so, the idiot strikes." Neku muttered, annoyed as he pulled a copy of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night from his bag and began to try to read the English text. Joshua pulled out his own and began to quickly read through it, sometimes commenting on the events to deaf ears as Neku tried to concentrate. Kyouya, meanwhile, was pulling out books.

Neku looked at the foreign symbols for a few more seconds, then closed it and stood. "Anyone want a drink?" He asked, mostly to Kyouya as the only person who never annoyed him.

"I'll have some water." Joshua replied, not looking up from his book.

"I will as well. There is a bottle in fridge. The one furthest to the left." Kyouya told him.

"All right." Neku's hands found their way to his pockets, where he began to fiddle with his pins. He headed through a door to the small (relative to the others, it was still big enough for a restaurant) kitchen next to the sitting room. He walked over to the fridge Kyouya suggested, and pulled it open.

It took him a moment to register the small, frog Noise sitting on one of the shelves. By the time he had, he'd heard a rather feminine scream and Tamaki ran in. There was a second frog tangled in his hair, but he was being chased by a mass of even more of the frogs. "Great." Neku sighed. "Joshua!"

"I see them! Kyouya, if you can't fight then run now!"

"I know some things." Neku heard a knuckle crack, then saw a sofa fly across the small section of the room he could see through the door.

"Go ahead and use your Psyches Neku! No way to otherwise!"

Neku pulled his pins out of his pocket, grabbing the frog in Tamaki's hair and throwing it against a wall. Tamaki hid behind Neku for a moment, then grabbed a pan that was hanging above the oven and beginning to hit the Noise with it.

The redhead activated one of his Psyches, sending a bolt of electricity into the mass of Noise to destroy them, but the space vacated was quickly refilled by more frogs. "Is it just me, or are there a lot of these?" Joshua called from the next room. Neku glanced at his pins, noticing how the white pin looked.

"Get Kyouya safe!" Neku grabbed the bottle of water from the still open fridge and threw it through the doorway, where Joshua pulled the lid towards him. The top fell off, and the water flew out and surrounded Kyouya with it. As Joshua did so, Neku surrounded Tamaki with a fiery barrier, burning a Noise that was trying to attack him. Then Neku activated the pin.

Fire filled the kitchen, incinerating the Noise even as they piled in. In the doorway, a cloud of steam formed as the fire met the ice filling the sitting room. The fire quickly died down, though the metal in the kitchen was glowing brightly, and the last few Noise to enter the two rooms were erased quickly.

Nobody was injured much, luckily. Kyouya had gained some minor scratches when the barrier of water had frozen and shattered, and Tamaki was a little singed, but neither was hurt much. Neku passed his Cure Drink pin around, Joshua ensuring it would still work for the two non-Players.

"Looks like it's time for some cleaning." Joshua commented, looking around the room. Ice covered every surface, some of it melting. Several pieces of furniture were in completely the wrong place.

"Shima will ground me if she sees this..." Tamaki moaned.

"You could always help." Neku stated, using the Flame Barrier Psyche to begin to melt and evaporate the ice as Kyouya opened the windows. After Neku had managed to clear enough of the ice, Joshua and Tamaki began to righten the furniture. It didn't take long at all to clear the room of any sign of battle, the kitchen being left to cool as little damage had been done. Although the inside of the fridge had been burned to a crisp.

It didn't take long at all to set the room right, not with the advantage of the Player's Psyches. The four went back to work silently, each deciding not to bring up the events.

But Tamaki had a lot of questions to ask.

"So what was all that?"

Neku blinked, standing from Joshua's lap now that the other teen had released him. Joshua had an iron hold on him, and Neku swore he would have bruises later from it. Joshua just looked mildly entertained as Neku rubbed his sore arm.

"What was all what?" Neku asked, looking at Tamaki confused.

"He is refering to what happened at the Suoh Second Mansion yesterday." Kyouya didn't look up from his notebook, continuing to write whatever it was he wrote in it.

Neku glanced around quickly. Mori had stood infront of the door out of the club room, Hunny sitting on his shoulds. The door to the Black Magic Club room didn't seem to be there today, apparently tormenting a different club that afternoon. A glance at Joshua showed that he wasn't going to be of any help, and Haruhi had begun to call someone on her phone. "Hey Dad. I think I'm going to be late home tonight. There's some..."

"What happened there yesterday?" The twins asked, looking over the back of one of the velvet sofas.

"Joshua already explained the Noise to you guys." Neku sighed.

"But what about the fire? The ice? The lightning you shot out of you hand Neku?" Haruhi stopped halfway through the message to her father at that.

"Looks like we have to explain it all Neku." Joshua gave a slight smirk.

"What are you smirking at?" Neku gave a weary sigh. "Fine, but you do it. You're the expert on it."

"Can we see the lightning?" The twins were ignored.

"Fine, I'll explain." Joshua shugged as he spoke, sounding almost nonchalant.

"Really?" Tamaki sounded surprised. He hadn't been expecting the two of them to give so easily.

"Shut up and listen." Neku gave an irritated sigh before turning to look at Joshua.

"When someone dies, they can come back to life if enough people die in a short time period in a city, about a week. If they manage it, they avoid the event that killed them and live on."

"So people who die can get lucky and come back to life?" Hunny asked.

"Not quite. To come back to life, they have to play through a game, in a sort of ghost realm, with the ability to influence the real world but not be seen or heard. They have to survive seven days, and clear a mission each day. If they survive, they can return to life. The Noise attack and have to be erased in some missions. Others just tell you to go to a place or solve some problem. In other cities, the Game is different, but th reward and the time frame is still the same." Joshua smiled. "I'm normally the one who runs the Game in Shibuya, but someone's trying to jack it, by killing me. The higher powers that oversee the Games make no input on it, but I am hoping that they'll act seeing as Natsuki's sending noise into your world."

"And Neku?" Kyouya asked, spotting the missing information.

"He made me his unknowing proxy for three games." Neku ran his hand through his hair. "Joshua had plans to destroy Shibuya since it was too powerful. I proved it was good by changing, but it took a lot of people being erased to get to that point."

There was a long pause. Then the twins broke the silence. "Are we supposed to believe that story?"

"There is no evidence to the contrary." Kyouya commented.

"How do we know they don't just practice witchcraft?"

"Do I have to regret saving your life?" Neku asked.

Hunny yawned suddenly, and Mori looked up concerned. "We should go home."

"It's that late? I have to go!" Haruhi picked up her bag and was about to run off when Mori stopped her.

"We'll take you home."

"Thanks Mori-senpai."

"Well, I'm off as well." Joshua said. "I'll see you tomorrow Neky."

"Great. Nobody wants me to like them." Neku sighed sarcastically. "Please try to keep your hands to yourself tomorrow."

"Not if our guests want a little show." Joshua grinned, then left with a smile before Neku could respond.

"We're off too." The twins called, walking away together.

"Could I talk to you in the car?" Tamaki asked. "I want to know some things."

"Why not? I couldn't lose more brain cells sharing a car with you than shopping with Shiki…" Neku began to walk towards the door, Tamaki smiling out of his sight.

"I wasn't the one in a shop for half an hour looking at pins."

"Shut it before I regret agreeing to this."

Note that not all of what Joshua says is canon. The ideas that I put in are little theories of my own about the Reaper's Game. Like the higher powers, and the 'ghost realm' comparison. And the 'avoid how they died' bit.

Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this. Not very long, but it is an update and any more would make this story too short. See you next time!