Chapter 5: Let the Games Begin

With a light sigh, she hung up and removed the hot pink cellphone from her ear.

"Something wrong Shiki?" said a voice behind her.

The girl turned to the voice quickly with a flinch, resulting in her ebony locks whipping in front of her olivine optics. She exhaled softly with a slight half smile. The said voice was leaning against the wall of the small office area with an apathetic face. Along with the face, he donned an outfit worn by average hipsters; a white button-up shirt with ¾ sleeves under a black cardigan sweater with sky blue skinny jeans, and to top it off, a pair of black high-top converse. A thin silver chain with a fancy 4-point star hung from his neck with a light shine.

"Holy…Roxas! Don't scare me like that! I damn near crapped a brick!" she squeaked. The boy simply rolled his blueberry colored eyes at her.

"That's cute. And other than shitting out a brick, what's wrong?" Roxas said. Shiki pouted softly as she moved a stray strand of hair from her face and hooked it behind her ear.

"Well do you remember the boy I told you about?" she started.

"Neku Sakuraba, right?"

She nodded. "Right, well he left some healing pins behind and his partner was severely injured before Neku could get to him."

"Heh, such a smart leader you have there…" he mocked.

"Yeah, I know. Neku is most likely helping him get back here and wants us to get the back room ready for their arrival."

He snorted and turned his head towards the window for a glimpse outside. "And by 'us' you mean 'you'."

"Well yes but…" She slowly shifted her gaze to the hallway where the room was. "The room smells like three month old yakisoba…and that smells so terrible…" she winced.

"Isn't there a gas mask around here that you can use, instead of complaining?"

Shiki started but instead shut her mouth. She stood up and bit her lip as she began walking towards the hallway.

As he watched her, Roxas stood up straight and grabbed her arm carefully. The blackette turned to him with an unsettling face. "What is it?"

"Does the smell bother you that much?" he sighed. Shiki nodded vigorously. "Fine…I'll do it under one condition…" he sighed. She turned completely around to heed his words. "Guard the front, and call me if something or someone that seems dangerous comes in. Got it?"

The frown the blackette held lifted in a matter of seconds into a smile as she slapped her hands together in a praying matter.

"Thank you Roxas! You won't forget this! I'll show you the room at least." She stated as she motioned to back area.

'Of course you would…' he sighed. Before they moved, Shiki went back to the office and behind the counter to pull out a first aid kit. They made the short walk to the back where she then pointed to the door. "It's here. I take it that they might need this so just set it on the table."

He nodded with his normal apathetic face and took the kit just as the bell on the door jingled softly, indicating the arrival of a customer.

"Yo Mr. H? You in here man? We could use some friggin service!" a voice called out from the entrance. Both Shiki and Roxas turned towards the door, senses heightening within seconds. The little pudgy 'Mr. Mew' that had discreetly followed behind his owner paused and turned his attention to the entrance with them.

'Someone's here? But the store's closed. Can they not read?' Roxas thought. Shiki turned to walk into the front but Roxas quickly grabbed her arm.

"What are you doing? Don't go out there. It could be a trap, you nimrod." He whispered to her. But she shook her head softly.

"It's alright. I think I—no, I definitely know that voice." She said to him with a sure smile as she strolled to the front. "You really need to lighten up and relax, Roxas."

Roxas looked back with an unsettling face but shook it off and entered the room. It did in fact smell like something died in it, causing to immediately open the nearest window. Ten minutes later, he stared at his masterpiece of a room. The black blankets and sheets to the bed were pulled back so anyone could easily jump in. The first-aid kit that Shiki had passed onto him was opened and the supplies that would most likely be needed were spread out neatly on the small table next to bed. With a sure nod, he walked to the front of the shop but stopped as he noticed the scene in front of him. The ebony-haired Shiki was dangling off the neck of a larger built blonde man with young another blonde girl next to them, giggling. Another boy stood beside them, fidgeting with an orange cellphone. The spiky blonde teen pinched the bridge of his nose with pure annoyance.

"Shiki…please mingle with your boyfriend at a later time that seems appropriate…" Roxas muttered.

Almost immediately, Shiki's olivine pools snapped over to the new voice that spoke in the room, her hair slapping her and the man in the face. The said man she was hooked on to looked over to him with a face of genuine mixture of shock and disbelief, along a twinge of pink airbrushed onto his cheekbones. He pulled the girl off his neck and stepped heavily to the boy, glaring his cornflower blue optics at Roxas, which he returned with the blank apathetic face he had grown accustomed to. The young blonde girl stopped her giggling and watched the two with a slightly worried expression, as did Shiki.

"Whachu say, twerp!? Say it again! I DARE YA!" He blurted. Roxas simply rolled his own blueberry eyes.

"I said 'Shiki, please mingle with your boyfriend at a later time that seems appropriate.'" He simply recited. "Why?

Did I hit a nerve?"

The corner of the man's mouth twitched angrily as he lunged for Roxas's shirt. Roxas, however, was already on the defensive. He twisted around the man's body, grabbing his outstretched arm and jerked it behind his back, pulling fiercely. The larger built blonde howled in pain and quickly fell to his knees in seconds, shouting mercy with all his being. But Roxas didn't let go. If anything, he began to pull harder. Shiki quickly sprinted up to the dominate blonde and grabbed his arm, a pleading expression plastered on her soft face. "Roxas! Stop! This isn't right! We're supposed to be working together, not fighting! Please!"

But her pleas went unheard. He zoned out into his own world with his grip not releasing, only clenching even tighter. "Yo! You got that, man! Get off me!" The man screamed. The other boy towards the door had long been shut his phone to witness the spectacle with a smirk while the blonde girl looked over to Roxas, pleading softly.

"Please…he's my brother…" she said calmly.

Within an instant of hearing that soft voice, Roxas had suddenly snapped out of his trance and released his grip on the man's arm. He sighed almost inwardly as he retraced his steps slightly, stopping by the café side to lean against the counter. The girls had both quickly approached the man on the floor, checking for any possible wounds. The blonde man shook them off and glared at Roxas. "…Little bitch…" he muttered.

"…Takes one to know one, though." Roxas sighed.

Shiki quickly stood and walked over to her partner and latched her arm around his, pulling him towards the hallway connecting to the back. Once there, she pushed him against the wall with a heavy huff.

"Really Roxas? That wasn't really necessary!" She scolded. The younger blonde folded his arms and nonchalantly looked away from her, obviously not trying to listen. "That was so over the top!"

"It was simple self-defense. He initiated it. There's no reason to start tripping balls." he shrugged. The blackette groaned and rustled her hair with her own slender fingers.

"You are SO reckless! We need their help, especially from someone like Beat. He is the strongest person in the group right now, and Neku isn't here so just please call truce until he comes back. Please?" she frowned. Roxas snorted in amusement and turned his general attention towards the window. She watched him for a few minutes then when she realized that a reply from him was not likely, she sighed softly. "Look, I know this isn't exactly what you had expected, but please bear with me…In a way, this is kinda new to me, too. We can work through this together. But you have to trust me, Roxas." she whispered quietly.

'Trust? What did she know about trust…?' he thought. 'So what if some guy told her to trust her partner?

That doesn't mean that she has to force it on me like a religion…'

He nodded lightly, just to remove her from his area. And it worked. Shiki took his nod as a yes and

smiled a bit brighter. Then she returned to Beat and the younger girl. "I'm sorry about him; he's new. Are you ok, Beat?"

The said blonde male had since then stood up, cradling his sore arm in his hand. "Where da hell did you find this ankle bitter? In the place with the dead people and the 'sticks'?" Beat shouted, obviously angry. Shiki tilted her head in confusion then looked towards the younger blonde next to him.

"I think he means the River Styx." She giggled.

"Oh. No! You see, I was on my way to cram school and I found him wandering the scramble with a Player Pin.

So I brought him here. I thought that Mr. Hanekoma would here but I guess he went out to run some errands and since I wouldn't leave someone that was lost unattended, I told him I'd wait here with him." She chuckled. Beat nodded in affirmation while the two unnamed were staring at her curiously. They knew what Beat didn't. And Roxas knew as well. "And he's not an ankle bitter. His name is Roxas. Roxas Strife."

The girl stared at the male that was now leaning against the counter of the café. "Strife? He's American?"

"Possibly. Come here." Shiki beckoned to the girl. They both walked up to Roxas, the younger blonde smiling.

"Roxas, this is Bito Raimu but we call her Rhyme." She then turned around and pointed to the taller blonde. "That is Beat, her older brother." Next, she pointed to the second male in the room, whom he stared at for a while. "And that is Kiryu Yoshiya." He had been so quiet that Roxas had forgotten he had even entered the shop. The pale boy known as Yoshiya Kiryu wasn't that much taller than Roxas; in fact they were the same height. And his outfit looked as if he lost a game of Epic Mickey. His shirt was an extremely faded purple short sleeve button down with white cuffs on the sleeves and collar, while his pants must've been some type of blue before because now they were faded to a steel blue. It also didn't help that his sneakers and belt were also white, which made Roxas cringe slightly. Even his shoulder length semi-curly hair was a faded ashen blonde. The only thing that held vibrancy on the male was his eyes; a curiously dark amethyst. And they were staring right at him.

"But everyone calls me Joshua. You'll call me that too, won't you?" the ash blonde asked with a smirk and a giggle. Roxas rolled his eyes to the male.

"…Not interested…" he stated. But Joshua giggled again anyways.

"He reminds me of Neku." he said.

"Tch. Yeah he do. Back when he was a friggin prick..." Beat shook his head suddenly and looked around the shop. "Oh yeah! Where's Mr. H? We got a problem."

Shiki rolled the sleeves of her bright pink cardigan sweater and lifted herself onto the counter with ease, bracing herself for the oncoming debate. "He's not here. But I think I know what you mean. The fact that we're back in the Reapers' Game?" she asked. Joshua had taken a seat at one of the booths with Rhyme sitting opposite him. Beat remained standing because he and everyone else in the room knew that he would stand up anyways if he got too rowdy.

"You know?" Beat blinked. Shiki opened her mouth to begin, but Joshua snuck a word in before she could.

"Of course she knows. After all, her partner is standing right next to her." He stated. At that point, all eyes were on Roxas.

'Ah…and cue the awkward silence.' Roxas inwardly sighed.

"WHAT?! THIS BITCH PRICK IS YOUR PARTNER?!" Beat shouted towards them. Everyone in the room, with the exception of Joshua and Roxas, cringed.

Shiki sighed. "Yes, Roxas is my partner."

"And you found him by pure coincidence?" Joshua asked, tilting his head.

She shook her head and peered over towards her blonde partner, who obviously did not want to partake in the conversation. "No. You see, around the time I woke up at the school, I have received a text with a weird algebra equation. When I solved it, the answer was 13. I didn't understand it so I began walking around Shibuya, discretely of course so I wouldn't be caught by any Noise. But a little later, the palm of my hand was glowing and it read thirty-one. Then I looked around the corner and there he was. I don't understand it myself but the number in his hand was the answer to my problem."

Joshua nodded slowly while Beat was in the process of scratching his head out of confusion. "So in this game, just having a pin and finding a random player to be your partner isn't enough. Now you have to solve the equation in the text you receive, which when solved, tells you the number you're supposed to partner up with." Joshua concluded.

"But wait. If we know their Player Number, how do we find out our own?" Rhyme asked. Roxas, without speaking, held up his right hand. In the palm, a full sized crimson 13 appeared out of his palm and disappeared in a matter of seconds. He then proceeded to fold his arms over his chest.

"Once the text has been solved, your number will appear in the palm of the hand you use most. The closer you are to your partner, the brighter the number will glow." He stated simply. "That's the assumption we came down to…"

"So we don't get to choose this time? Dat's BULLSHIT! I MEAN, WHAT BOUT RHYME?! I AIN'T GONNA LET HER GO WIT SOME PERV!" Beat shouted. Rhyme flinched at her brother's loud voice and glanced across the table to Joshua, who was once again fidgeting with his cellphone.

"There's nothing we can do about that, Beat. If we don't do it, we get erased for sure. And I don't want to be a Reaper…" Rhyme quietly stated. The older blonde could only slam his fist into the table with a fierce snarl.

"Beat…" Shiki muttered lightly. All eyes were on him as he turned to face the window of the shop. And for some reason, Roxas could understand where he was coming from. Suddenly, a chime sounded throughout the room, indicating a text message. Everyone, with the exception of Roxas and Shiki, pulled out their phones. Then the ebony-haired girl spoke up. "So, who was it?"

"That would be mine." Joshua said aloud. The other four looked over to him as he waved his right hand in the air nonchalantly; a semi-bright medium sized red 80 glowing from his palm. "Whoever it is somewhat close to us." Rhyme and Shiki stared at it, aghast.

"Wait…You're in the game too, Josh?" Rhyme questioned. With a nod, he pulled his hand down to rest on the table. Then Beat opened his mouth.

"Oh hell naw! You mean you really dead? Where's the proof?!" He shouted. "Last time, you was playin' Neku for the whole game, makin' him think you was really his partner. You ain't playin me! Prove it!" During his rant, Beat walked over to Joshua and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. The ash blonde simply sighed as he stuffed his marked hand into his pants pocket, pulling out a small pin, and placed it on the table for everyone to see. The pin was overall black with a single white graffiti-like skull, the official sigil of the Reapers' Game. Both Rhyme and Beat stared at it for a few minutes before staring at each other. Shiki had long since jumped off the counter and was hovering over their shoulders at the pin. And even she gasped softly.

"That looks legit." She muttered. Roxas had closed his eyes and continued to listen to the group's conversation without interrupting.

"That's because it is." Joshua started. Beat removed the grip on the boy's shirt and moved back to his original spot in the store. "During week two, I was the Composer. I was simply doing my job as Composer, which was to check on my Proxy's status. But things were looking rather fishy down here, so I took it a step further and participated with him in the game for a week. I, therefore, didn't need a pin." The girls nodded in understanding with the new information. "But this game is different. I'm not in control of this one so I don't know what to expect. We have to stay on our toes and work together…" Immediately after the blonde had stopped talking, another chime rang through the quiet store. Rhyme pulled her green cellphone from her pocket and opened it while her brother did the same. This time, it was Rhyme. Shiki's olivine pools stared at the screen of the young girl's phone as she recited the message aloud.

"It says: (165 5) - 18…I can't do this without a calculator…" Rhyme muttered quietly.

"(165 5) - 18…" Joshua recited. "Heh, they gave you an easy one. You're looking for Player number fifteen."

Rhyme nodded softly as she closed her phone and in its place was a small dull red fifty-one.

When the door suddenly opened, all conversation came to a halt. Roxas opened his blueberry pools towards the door. 'The sign says that the store is closed…why the hell are people still walking in?!' he pondered. In came two males, one slightly taller than the other. The taller redheaded one wore warm colors, a red and orange long-sleeved shirt and blood red pants, finishing with black high top boots. In Roxas' opinion, the boy looked like a ball of fire or a bomb ready to explode. But the only thing that seemed to contrast his fiery attire was his extraordinary shamrock green eyes. The other male was a complete mystery all on his own, probably due to the black blindfold that hid his eyes. He contrasted with the redhead's bright clothes by wearing dark colors like black and blue; a black skin tight muscle shirt with dark blue baggy jeans and midnight blue Nikes made up his outfit. The only light thing that he wore was a single white arm warmer on his right arm. His hair was just as unusual as the rest of him. Instead of any normal color that many people would expect, it was like fresh snow, totally white.

'He must be a premature gray or something.' Roxas thought.

The olive eyed Shiki smiled at the newcomers and waved to them both. "Hello there! Welcome to Wild Kat. How can we help you?" She chirped happily. The boys flinched at the sound of her high pitched voice, but the redhead carefully spoke up.

"Um…Do you guys work here?" he asked. Roxas scoffed and Beat snorted at the same time then looked away from the boys.

"As If." They both replied quickly. Beat flinched and turned to Roxas, glaring at him with all of his might. The apathetic blonde simply stared at him with his tongue pointed to him. The boy stared between them both as he scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Don't mind them. We are just waiting for a few friends. What brings you both here?" Shiki asked sweetly.

"Well, I'm Axel. Axel Merianes. And this guy is Harada Riku ," he started. "We're lookin' for a man by the name of Sanae Hanekoma. We thought that he'd be here since this was his store, but it doesn't look like he is."

'If you're that smart, then why enter a store they had its closed sign up? ...dumbass.' Roxas muttered in his head.

"He's not, but you both are more than welcomed to stay and wait for him." The young girl offered. "Please do get comfortable."

Axel shook his head. "Thanks." He pulled the silverette's arm and carefully walked him to a pulled-out chair. As they walked, the one called Riku fidgeted with the crème colored bamboo katana strapped to his back, following without a sound. When they made it to the chair, Riku sat down and Axel remained standing next to him. Rhyme walked up to them and held her hand out to the redhead a few seconds later.

"I'm Rhyme. It's nice to meet you." Axel took the opportunity to shake her hand. She took Riku's hand too and shook it, noticing him wince.

Shiki walked up to them and smiled. "And I'm Misaki Shiki!" she pointed to Beat sitting at the window, taking apart a sunflower, petal by petal. "That grump over there is Beat." Next she pointed to the ash blonde boy sitting at the table fidgeting with his orange cellphone. "That's Joshua." And lastly, she pointed to the boy leaning against the counter only a few steps away from them, peering out the window and arms crossed his chest. "And this is Roxas."

Axel looked over from Beat to the spiky blonde. A smile lit up his features as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Hey kid. Why don't you sit over here with us instead of sitting alone?"

Roxas slowly turned his attention to redhead. "Let's get something straight here. My name is not kid. It's Roxas. R-O-X-A-S. Got it memorized?" he ranted. All Axel could do was blink and stare at the boy.

'He certainly has a mouth on him. This could be rather interesting…' Axel inwardly thought, a sly smile creeping onto his face.

Shiki looked around the room quietly. Riku was fiddling with the strap on his katana. Axel was staring at Roxas every few minutes but the spiky blonde was more preoccupied with the outside world that couldn't see him. Rhyme was watching her brother literally destroy a poor sunflower piece by piece, throwing the remains on the floor. The room was so intensely quiet that anyone could hear mice humping between the wall and no one would move. The blackette opened her phone and stared into the screensaver. Two girls were standing in front of a statue of a dog, smiling genuinely. One was Shiki and the one of the left was a girl with bright pink hair. She sighed and closed her phone, stuffing it into the pocket of her black leggings. Just how did they end up in the game once again?

"Well damn! You could cut the tension in this room with a butter knife."

Everyone instantly turned to the voice at the entrance of the shop. At the door stood two people; the older stood about five inches taller than the younger and wore a white collared button-up shirt with rolled up sleeves under a gray vest, black skinny slacks and black sandals. His skin was unnaturally pale and spiked hair was raven black.

The boy to the right of him sported a gray t-shirt and dark green cargo shorts and dark green high-top Vans. The five-pointed star necklace he wore shined dimly under the fluorescent lights. The boy himself looked just like the blonde leaning against the counter; hair, eyes, height, facial features and all.

"Ah! Mr. H!" Shiki smiled brightly. Rhyme stood up from her booth and walked over the older male. Along the way, her cornflower blue eyes caught a glimpse of the gray shirted boy. She released a soft gasp and when Sanae saw her, he smiled.

"Hey there everyone! How's it hangin'?" he said calmly. Beat stood up with a yellow flower petal in hand.

"Yo, we gotta talk, man." He said aloud. Sanae nodded.

"Concerning the game, I assume. Alright, but first…Beat, you're gonna get a broom and sweep my floor." he answered. He patted the look-a-like on the shoulder. "Gotta do the intros. Everyone, this is Ventus Strife. He's new to the game. Ventus, the girl in front of you is Rhyme. The boy that looks like her over there is her brother, Beat. The kid with the orange phone and cynical personality is Joshua...and that girl sitting on my counter is Shiki. Aaaaaand…who's the new guys?" he stopped. The boy next to him perked up when his blueberry eyes skimmed over the room, landing on Roxas.

"Roxas!" he chimed. He quickly sprinted over to the boy and embraced him tightly. The entire room, with the exception of Roxas and Riku, watched the boys with a dumbfounded look. "I finally found you!"

Roxas, with wide eyes, hugged the boy back. "Ven? What're you doing here?" The other smiled lightly.

"Well it's a long story…" Ventus said.

'This is not the time for life stories…' Roxas thought. "Well make it quick."

"Um…ok. Well I woke up by a place called 104 and got lost. Then I got a text with an algebra problem and solved the answer then my hand had this weird looking number in it and started wandering around the place and my hand got brighter and brighter and then I got lost again and then Mr. Hanekoma found me and brought me here. And that's how I got here."

The girls were amazed at how fast the boy spoke, until Shiki snapped out of her trance. "Are you both…twins?" Both Roxas and Ventus turned towards the crowd, shocking everyone.

"Yes." They both said simultaneously. Everyone was in awe as Rhyme spoke up.

"Wait…you said that a number appeared on your hand. What was it?" she questioned. Ventus raised his right hand half way and, sure enough, the bright red fifteen shown in his palm. Then instantly, Rhyme's right hand began to glow with that once dull fifty-one now bright.

"Ah. You found your partner, mate." Sanae chuckled, smiling at Ventus. "Well go on. Make the pact." Ventus was absolutely lost. Things were happening too fast and he was beginning to think things weren't right. He looked back to his brother and even he gave a nod of approval. Rhyme held out her right hand him. With a sigh, he walked up to her and shook her glowing hand with his own.

"Ok...now how do we…? Wait, is it like a blood pact or something? Do I have to cut my arm?" Ventus questioned, shying away almost. Roxas pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Just say that you accept." Roxas sighed.

"Alright...I accept." He said with a bit more courage. Suddenly, a soft blue light surrounded them. He felt surprisingly light as a feather. Then a small 'click' sounded in his head, like a door unlocking. Then just like that, the blue light disappeared. The 'light as a feather' feeling went with it, too.

"Now you both are partners. Work together, alright? You need her." The man said aloud. The boy nodded just as the door opened once more. This time, it was two boys. One boy was walking while the other was being carried on the redhead's back, unconscious. And the amount of blood that covered them both was frightening. Shiki gasped in horror.

"Neku!" She called. Everyone stopped in their tracks to witness the bloody mess that was their leader and apparently his partner. Even Sanae looked shocked. "Oh my god!"

With a huff, Neku walked out the way of the door, hearing it close behind him.

"Can I…get some help here?"

A/N

That's two more fixed up chapters! Moving fast, I like this speed! Might get another one tomorrow! You never know!

~*Psyren*~