Chapter 6: Dual-Edged Blade

From a distance, she watched the two boys cross the underpass. She had followed them for a few feet to check if any of the several graffiti creatures on the area had approached behind them. But no one did.

And, with a sigh of relief, she walked off in the direction she came from: Towa Records.

"We're going to be moving to Shibuya, they said…" she muttered to herself quietly. In the corner of her eye, the girl spotted a swarm of graffiti-like creatures scouting for something. More or less, for her. Upon quickly surveying her area, she found an auburn awning that wasn't low to the ground; it was perfect enough to hide upon and scan the area from a higher angle. With a quick jump, she caught hold of the awning and flipped backwards, landing on her feet. Above it was a higher ledge that she had to jump up and grab with both hands and quietly hoisted herself up. When she turned around to see that she was just across from the Towa Records building. Then she turned back to the roof she was on. The rooftop was filled with all types of rugs; long, small, big, fuzzy, flat, and more. The girl crawled over a few of the rugs and sat in the middle of the rooftop to stay hidden. She removed her black fingerless glove from her left hand and stared into the palm. A semi-bright number nine glittered for a few seconds but then disappeared. "It'll be fun, they said…" She flipped her light brown tipped ebony bangs out of her violet eyes and put her glove back on.

"Need some help there, little girl?" A woman's voice said behind her. She spun around quickly to a pair of suspicious looking characters, both of which were watching her with sly smiles. They both sported sunglasses, slacks, trench coats, gloves and boots; all of which were black. They had hoods on their heads and one wore a visible faded yellow silk scarf around her neck. It was impossible to see their faces but she could tell that they weren't on her side, much less anyone's. "If so, I'm sure we could oblige."

She stared at them both, her brows furrowed. "I don't think so…I'm sure there's another lost Player around here somewhere. You can go "help" with them, instead." The woman's nose twitched with slight anger. The man of the duo simply sighed and moved his attention elsewhere.

"I don't consent to terrorizing newly 'born' Players on the first day, however…" The man started. As he spoke, he pulled a glowing pink rose, fully intact to the stem and thorns, from his pocket and sniffed it. While wearing the outfit, he looked like any other lowly brute, but with the rose, he looked almost elegant. "I have no qualms against terrorizing first day Players when I'm bored."

It was when he started talking that made her change her mind for the worst.

"…You're both Reapers…" Rose Guy chuckled softly while Scarf Lady cackled wildly like the witch she was. Then, without a single look between each other, the duo stretched out their black graffiti devil wings in unison. As they approached her, she backed away slowly. The girl had to stop when she reached the edge of the rooftop.

Both of her supposed captors were ready to pounce.

"You're smart. And on the first day, we can take out anyone without a partner." Scarf Lady explained. "And if we don't take out that said Player, then the Noise down there will do that for us. But oh, how I would love to erase you myself." The girl turned around to the ledge to see a horde of Noise on the streets below, of all different colors and equally as dangerous as the next. She gulped softly to herself and thought about taking a step back, but remembered her Reaper 'friends' were behind her. "So what's it going to be, kid? We don't have all day."

The girl had two choices. Choice one was turning around to where Scarf Lady and Rose Guy were, and allowing them to finish her off. She wasn't sure what it was like to be erased but she surely didn't want to know. Choice two was to jump off the roof and into the horde of graffiti Noise. There was a possibility that she could outrun some of them, but not all of them. She was more than likely unable to fight back, and due to not having a partner, her theory would prove true. It would've been the end of her.

Suddenly, her left hand started to glow bright in those few seconds of thinking.

"What in the hell was that?!" Scarf Lady shouted. Rose Guy noticed as well, and he frowned.

"Our fun is about to be spoiled. It seems that her partner has found her." He simply stated. The girl continued to ponder her current situation before she allowed his sentence to ring in her head.

'It seems that her partner has found her.'

Her partner has found her.

"Dammit! Grab her Marluxia!" Scarf Lady shouted. They both began to quickly. The girl scanned the ground for anyone that looked even halfway decent until she locked eyes with a pair of glacier blue pools. It was a boy…or man. She couldn't tell at her height. But she was convinced that it was someone that could help her, simply because ever since they locked eyes, he hasn't averted at all. In fact, he was rushing toward her. So either he was a medium or he was an actual Player. But nevertheless in her head, she suddenly came down to a third choice.

She could run to him.

But before she could jump off, her right arm was grabbed and pulled back harshly, almost making her fall backwards on the moldy carpets. "Let go! Get off!" She screamed. She couldn't turn around, but the screeching Scarf Lady was loud enough to alert the girl that she was the one who grabbed her. And when a bright gold and cyan blue throwing knife was pressed to her neck, she ceased all movement.

"Where the hell do you think you're going!? You are MY catch!" She sneered. When the time allowed it, she elbowed Scarf Lady harshly in her stomach, giving way to an escape. The girl moved fast and ducked down behind the knife, taking a deep breath and jumped off. Wind pushed past her body rapidly as she dropped, almost making her breathless, much less move. She looked around frantically for the boy she saw before she fell, but to no avail. She was running out of time, and the hordes of Noise were right beneath her. And for a moment, she wished she had let the duo of Reapers finish her off.

That was until someone took hold of her arm. Instead of falling, she was suddenly dangling below her savior. He was kneeling on the awning she had jumped upon only moments earlier and gripping the light post next to it for support. "Hey. Are you alright?" he called down to her. The girl nodded in relief and released the breath she was holding before she jumped. She looked upwards to the boy and gasped slightly when she noticed who it was. The boy above her had sheer blonde hair that was layered wild and the clearest glacier blue eyes she had ever seen.

"It's you…" she muttered. The blonde nodded and squeezed her left hand tighter so she wouldn't slip.

"Yes and you're my partner, I assume? Or else my hand wouldn't be glowing like this if I were near you." He questioned. He stared in her violet eyes for a few seconds and waited for her to answer. She gripped tighter as well.

"I accept!" She said abruptly. He was slightly taken aback by her sudden outburst but dismissed it simply because this wasn't a moment for fraternizing. He nodded. Suddenly, their hands began to shine bright, creating a bright blue light that surrounded them. In the girl's position, her body felt extremely light. She easily lifted herself on to the awning and sat face to face with the boy that had saved her. With a small 'click' the blue light disappeared along with the zero gravity feeling. The boy stared at her for a minute before speaking.

"You don't seem like you're up for a fight…we should just run." He suggested. She didn't hesitate to nod her head.

And he didn't hesitate to move. "Let's go!" And with that, they both jumped off of the awning and began to run, with Noise at their heels. They both slid around corners and through alleyways, anything to get away from the pursuers. Once they both reached 104, the Noise began to fall back. The duo ran into a D+B clothing outlet and paused at the door to catch their breath. It wasn't until they calmed down that the girl noticed that they were still holding hands.

"Oh…"She stuttered. "Um…you're still…" The boy looked over to her and smiled softly. With a small tinge of blush on her cheeks, she quickly pulled her hand away.

"Rinkashi." He said. The girl tilted her head to the side curiously and he chuckled at her expression. "My name. It's

Yoroido Rinkashi ….and you are…?"

"Oh…I'm Masahiro Suzume…" She said softly. Those moments of the world around her finally slowing down was the first time she actually got a good look at her partner. And Suzume couldn't help but to blush even harder. Rinkashi donned a black and sheer blue striped shirt with a black V-neck collar, a pair of faded cyan baggy pants, a gray parka with white short sleeved cuffs and hood and a pair of blue and white sneakers. Around his neck were white and electric blue stereo headphones. Surprisingly enough, his outfit actually brought out the color of his eyes.

"It's a pleasure. So now that that's over, what should we do?" The blonde questioned. The blackette simply shrugged. What were they supposed to do now? The text said only to find their partners, and even that proved to be a challenge. It didn't give any other clue or mission statement. They were dumbfounded.

"Maybe we could walk around outside." she said. Rinkashi stared at her, muddled.

"You mean go back outside, right after we just came inside to avoid the horde of Noise that were chasing us?" he started. "Why don't you just go outside and scream 'peekaboo'?" Suzume rolled her eyes and faced the glass doors.

"That's cute. Listen, I'm convinced that we could get away with it. Earlier, I saw these two boys walk down past the underpass and one of them was unconscious with blood trailing him. And the cars that passed never stopped to help them. So I tried to scan them but I couldn't, which meant that they probably were Players too." The girl explained.

"And how exactly do you know that? You can't scan Reapers either."

"That's true, but the younger one was attacked by Noise moments before."

"Is there a point to this other than he got fucked up bad?" he sardonically stated. She nodded.

"I'm getting there. You see, there were a few Noise in the area when I scanned but they weren't attacking. In fact, they were ignoring them, as if they didn't even exist. So my logic is that if they can walk around together without being attacked as partners, then maybe we can too. We might even make a friend or two around here." She finished. Rinkashi crossed his arms in thought. "I mean, it's worth a shot."

"And what if it doesn't work? We shouldn't base logic off of experience we don't have." Rinkashi sighed.

"And that's why we need we find someone who knows the rules. The one carrying the injured boy acted like he knew what was going on, like he already knew the concept of this game. He took out the Noise that attacked his partner in a matter of seconds. " Suzume argued back. "We could ask him." Rinkashi quietly thought about his options and stared through the glass doors. There was nothing lingering outside and they were being stared at by other customers. But they were safe for the most part. After much thought, he sighed and gave in.

"Fine. But if this doesn't work, we do things my way, meaning we either fight our way through or hide. Got it?" he spoke. She nodded and also looked towards the doors. "Let's go." With dual sighs, they both walked out the shop and into the bustling streets of Shibuya. They waited for a few minutes and surveyed the area for any suspicious characters, Noise and Reapers alike. When no one approached them, they turned to each other and nodded. Suzume started to walk forward and Rinkashi followed without conflict. "So…" the blonde started. His partner turned around to face him with a quizzical brow. "Do you know where these two kids are that you mentioned?" he asked. Suzume nodded sternly.

"Cat Street."

August 23, 2011

"Hey Naminé...?"

The young blonde glanced up from her sketchbook to look at the boy sitting across from her in a white swivel chair, donned in a black and white horizontal striped shirt and sweatpants. He wasn't even looking at her, but was staring at the floor. "Do you think this is OK? I mean, Leon hates parties..."

The girl giggled and placed her notebook on the open space of her bed. "Everyone else believes this is a good idea. Leon has done a lot in the past eleven years." She said, patting her white sundress for wrinkles.

"Well everyone else is high off of sugar, so I don't trust their thinking at the moment." Sora sighed. Underneath his calm demeanor, he was scared. Not only was a party being thrown for someone who completely despises parties, but he was also supposed to be home cleaning the entire house from top to bottom. He tried to go home early but under Kairi's orders; he was hauled to Leon's house after school and thrown upstairs by Xion into the youngest triplet's room while Selphie continued eating sugar packets. With the inability to leave without the girls noticing, the poor brunette was forced to be held prisoner in the room with the calmest girl in the house. She wouldn't stop him from leaving like the others, but would simply continue drawing whatever it was that she was drawing. And knowing how Sora was, he would always want to watch her draw. Even if she was the youngest by five minutes, she was surprisingly keener and more conniving than her older sisters and Selphie, combined.

"Well. I think this is one of the few ways to show Leon that we love him. We're all thankful to him and he deserves this more than anything. If it weren't for him, the others would still in that orphanage and I with my foster parents and not together." She explained. Sora could only hang his head low.

Leon sure was a trooper. After coming home from the army, he bought his own house and started going to college for Nursing and Mechanical Technologies. But being in the army took a terrible toll on his life, making it impossible to sleep at the very home he bought. He tried to have Sora live with him. His brother was up for it, but his step-father Ansem wasn't. And that sparked a custody battle that Leon lost. He and Sora both knew that there was no winning, especially when it was Ansem that had paid off the judge. He was awarded nothing, not even visitation hours. Leon had no choice but to adopt. He went to Bright Destiny Orphanage and found Xion, the most reluctant of the triplets. Selphie Tilmitt was also there and instantly found a connection to Leon. It was Selphie that convinced Xion to go with him. And she did; after the bubbly brunette convinced the man to take her too. So with newly adopted two daughters, Leon brought them home and allowed them to choose their rooms. It was a month later that Xion found Kairi, her older sister by three minutes, in the same orphanage she came out of. And without conflict, Leon adopted her, as well. It was when he brought Kairi home that she told him about the youngest triplet, Naminé, and about her abusive foster parents. Knowing more than he should about abusive parents, Leon swore to the twins and Selphie that he would look high and low for her. A few months later and various times of returning to the orphanage, Leon found and adopted Naminé. Finally all together and out the clutches of orphanages and foster homes, the girls swore that they would pay him back somehow. Leon, being the lion he was, shrugged it off and told them all to not worry about it.

Well…today was his birthday.

"Sora." Naminé called softly. The brunette picked up his head and stared at her. She smiled gingerly at him. "Don't fret too much. Leon will be happy to see you on his birthday. And your parents shouldn't be home for a while. If you want, we can also help you with your chores—"

"NO!" he shouted, causing the blonde to flinch. He didn't realize how loud he was until he watched her pull away with worry. The brunette sighed lightly and scratched the back of his neck. "Sorry…I don't want you all to get in trouble with my parents…They're still angry about me coming home late yesterday…" Sora grabbed his own side unconsciously. The brise underneath didn't heal yet.

Naminé didn't say anything else about the situation. She simply stood up and walked over to where Sora was. "You know that we only want to help you…don't push us away so fast." She said, patting his head.

Naturally, the boy would melt under her cool touch but today they both knew that things could get progressively better and considerably worse. And it all mattered on time; the very thing they couldn't control.

Unexpectedly, the door flew open and a trio of gigging girls strolled in. The one in the middle, presumably Kairi, had short, unnaturally red hair while the girl to her left, Xion, had black. Selphie's hair was longer, brown and flipped up on the sides and in the back. All three wore sun dresses identical to the younger blonde's; only they were in sky blue, pink and yellow, respectively.

"WE'RE DONE!" Selphie screamed. With little effort, she made both Sora and Naminé flinch.

"With the party decorations?" Naminé questioned. Selphie smiled at the two across from her and ran to them both of them. In a fit of joy, she grabbed both of their arms and pulled them at towards the door.

"Yeah! C'mon!" she chirped. All three girls grabbed their arms and pulled them both downstairs. When they all hit the last step, both Naminé and Sora stared at the entire living room, sighing and coughing respectively. The room was covered in brightly colored balloons and streamers, each placed, curled and looped in decorative places. The table in the kitchen bore a colorful tablecloth with various cups, plates and a giant double tier vanilla cake. There was a large banner with a 'Happy Birthday Leon' scrolled along it hanging above the entrance of the kitchen.

"O-Oh my…" The blonde said, clearing her throat. Sora had to squint his eyes from the bright colors penetrating his view.

"He's going to kill us…" he mumbled. And just as he finished, the jingling sound of keys followed by the front door opening scared everyone stationary, except for Selphie who pushed Sora behind the three of them. Through the door came Leon, dressed in black suit attire. His black tie was loosened and the first three buttons of his light blue shirt were unbuttoned at the top, exposing his pale chest. He looked exhausted thoroughly until he looked up, his expression changing to one of extreme confusion. The 'party planners' gleefully smiled at him.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEON!" they screamed. Naminé and Sora both flinched from the sudden exclamation, as did Leon himself.

"Now before you start yelling, yes we know you told us to not pay you back for finding and bringing us all back together. But this we wanted to show you that we can at least TRY. You mean a lot to us, Leon. We just wanted you to have a great birthday. We did this all for you." Kairi explained. The older brunette simply placed his items on the couch next to him.

"Well I knew you three weren't going to listen to reason." He sighed pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'm just surprised that you're also involved, Naminé…"

"Oh no! She wasn't completely involved like we were. She just held the present upstairs!" Selphie giggled.

"Present?" He questioned. Then with a bright smile, Kairi and Selphie both pulled Sora from behind their backs and pushed him into the living where Leon stood. The older male went wide eyed and nearly breathless. "Sora?" the brunette smiled brightly and ran to him, hugging Leon tightly. Leon embraced him tighter with a look of disbelief. He looked at the girls. "How did you…? When did you…?"

Xion stepped up to speak. "We knew Sora since kindergarten. Just a few months ago, we asked him about his necklace since we never asked him before. He told us that you gave to him for his twelfth birthday. So we put two and two together and thought that since your birthday was coming up, we should bring him to you."

For the first time in a long time, Leon smiled.

"Thank you." He said.

Sapphire eyes fluttered open slowly as all of Sora's senses began to return to his being. His sight was extremely hazy as were his memories while his ears were lightly ringing. The smell of coffee surrounded him and his head once again was thumping impractically. But through the ringing, he heard voices.

"…He almost looks like you…."

"I know right? I found it strange how he and Neku both had spiky hair."

"I guess we aren't the only twins here, huh Roxas?"

"Damn, you got a twin, brah?"

"Ugh…will you four shut up already? You'll wake him up."

"No help needed. He's already waking up on his own."

Sora quietly sat up to collect his bearings. His sight was finally beginning to clear as his throbbing headache once again began to subside. He stared at owner of the voices of which were staring back at him, a flood of uneasiness and confusion settling in the pit of his stomach. The black haired girl sitting beside him placed her hand on his shoulder. His gaze switched to her, a bit of a smile resting on his face. "Xion"?

The girl smiled wryly at the boy and shook her head. "Unfortunately not…sorry..." Sora's smiled quickly faded as he quickly pulled away from her, flying to the other side of the bed. This girl wore a hot pink knitted cardigan and black leggings with dark brown low top converse. In her lap was a black stuffed cat that waved back at him. The girl wasn't Xion at all. Xion would NEVER wear pink. "My name is Shiki ." All of his worries nearly skyrocketed as Sora gazed around the room to many unfamiliar faces.

"…Where am I…?" he questioned the room. When they didn't answer him, he freaked out even harder. "WHERE AM I?!"

"Wild Kat."

"Huh…?" Sora turned his attention to the voice. He suddenly felt calmer than he was five seconds ago. Leaning against the wall on the other side of the bed was Neku, his partner.

"You're at the Wild Kat; it's a café on Cat Street. You're safe here, Sora." Neku repeated. Suddenly, everything he remembered from their meeting rang a bell.

"…We shouldn't talk here…I can explain everything when we get to Cat Street. We'd be a lot safer there than we are here."

Sora plopped back into his spot on the bed and sighed lightly. "I'm…sorry for yelling at you all…" Rhyme approached the bed and smiled lightly.

"It's alright. We don't blame you. You were just scared." She said. "I'm-"

"Rhyme! I remember you." he nodded and looked to the older blonde. "A-And Beat, you too…"

"You all know each other?" the girl named Shiki asked. Rhyme smiled and nodded briskly.

"Yes. We met Sora when he first got to town. He was lost so Beat and I walked him to his house." She explained.

"Perhaps introductions are in order then."

Everyone looked to the door and found Hanekoma leaning against the door frame; much like Neku was the wall. Sora stared at him with confusion. "First off, my name is Hanekoma Sanae. And these little misfits are my workers." Neku rolled his eyes at this. "You obviously know Neku, Rhyme and Beat so allow me to introduce the others. The girl next to you is Misaki Shiki . The kid on the phone is Kiryu Yoshiya , but everyone calls him Joshua." They waved and nodded, respectively. "The twins in the corner are Ventus and Roxas Strife. If you can't tell them apart, Roxas has a four-point star necklace while Ventus has a five-point star."

Ventus looked surprised as he nudged Roxas, earning his attention. "How did he know that?" he whispered.

Roxas shrugged.

Hanekoma continued. "The fireball over here is Axel Merianes and the kid in the blindfold is my nephew, Harada Riku." They both nodded lightly. "And you are?"

"I'm Sora Leonheart, sir." He answered.

Hanekoma chuckled and nodded towards the bed ridden teen. "It's nice to meet you, kiddo. And I know it's unfortunate, but welcome the Reapers' Game. You're officially a Player, just like these guys. And trust me; it's not an honor to hold." He turned and began to walk off into the other room, leaving Sora slightly confused.

'Oh… the game…' Sora thought to himself. "…So…we're really in the game…aren't we?" he sighed lightly. Rhyme confirmed his fears by nodding towards him, sadly. Rhyme strolled over to the edge of the bed and sat down.

"I'm really sorry Sora. We know how rough it is when you first enter the game. Just stick with us; we know the rules." She started. She then turned to the others. "So what do we do know?" Everyone with the exception of Riku turned their attention to Neku. He shrugged lightly at the crowd.

"For now, we'll just stick around, think of a new plan. I assume that since everyone here has a partner, we can continue on with missions without being erased individually." Neku started. Everyone nodded in conformation. He continued. "Day One is complete. There's a saying that someone great once told me, something I follow to this day. He told me, "There's only one way to stay alive in Shibuya. Trust your partner." That means that you absolutely need them, whether you like them or not. You need a partner to survive this game."

"Try to understand me when I say this. But this isn't your Shibuya. Right now, only other Players and Reapers can see you. Those people on the street can't see you, can't hear you, and they sure can't help you. You're on your own. The only people you can trust are your partner, other Players if you so choose, and Mr. H. Beat, Rhyme, Shiki, Joshua and I are what you can call veterans; we will help you the entire way." The twins looked at each other, Ventus staring with a worried look. Then he raised his hand slowly. Neku noticed and nodded. "Yeah?"

"Um…I don't want to be separated from Roxas. Can I stay with him?" Ventus questioned. The spiky redhead shook his head.

"Unfortunately, you can't just go with him. You would also have to ask your partner if they're alright with it." Neku answered. "However, it would be better if we all stuck together. I'm sure that Beat would want to stay with Rhyme and after hearing Axel through, he would want to stay with…uh…Riku, right?" He questioned towards the silver haired kid. The boy nodded slightly, fidgeting with the bamboo katana once again. "But if a mission arises where we have to split up, then we're gonna have to do just that. I don't run the game, so I don't know what to expect in the future. Just…put your trust in me when the time comes, alright?" Roxas, Ventus, Axel, Riku and Sora all nodded. "I'll try to answer questions honestly and to the best of my ability. Anybody got one?" he finished.

"Um…I do…"

Everyone turned their attention to the back wall of the room where Axel and Riku stood. The redhead shook his head and point to his companion. The voice was so deep and subtle that Sora found himself entranced by it. It soothed his soul from the heartache it had endured moments earlier. "How long do we have to play this game?" Riku asked. Neku cleared his throat.

"A week." He stated. Axel smirked softly.

"Only a week? This is gonna be so easy."

Neku shook his head. "As simple as that may sound, it's not at all easy. The Reapers' Game was made to be physically, mentally and emotionally challenging. This game could make or break you and if you aren't careful, you'll get erased. The first day, you're expected to find a partner. The next five days after that, the missions get harder and harder. These Reapers have a quota of Players they can kill in a day. And each day it gets higher. On the seventh day, if you're still alive that is, you have to defeat the Game Master as a mission. The Game Master is the one that runs the game for a week. So to win the game and get back home, we have to take them out. Does that answer your question, Riku?" The boy nodded. Then Ventus raised his hand again.

"I have another question!" he announced. Neku acknowledged it with nod. Then, the blonde turned his head to Riku. "Uh…why are you wearing a blindfold and why did you bleach your hair white?" he asked. Roxas immediately smacked him upside his head and sighed.

"Ventus, that was rude." He scolded apathetically. The questioned boy chuckled lightly.

"No no…it's alright. I'll answer." He started. "Well the reason I wear a blindfold is because I'm blind, plus I woke up with it." The entire room, except for Neku and Roxas looked rather shocked, as if they all had hit an extremely soft spot on the boy. "And I didn't bleach my hair. I'm partially albino. I was born without pigment in my hair and very little amounts on my skin." He concluded. Roxas once again smacked his twin upside the head.

"Ow! Why?!" Ventus shouted.

"He answered. Now apologize for putting him in that position." The other blonde ordered. Ventus sheepishly scratched the back of his neck, with a sad expression.

"I'm…sorry…" he quietly said. Riku simply shrugged.

"It doesn't bother me, but it is a rather good conversation starter." The albino said, chuckling once again. Neku cleared his throat.

"Are there any more questions about the GAME?" he sighed, exasperated. The entire time, Sora had been thinking about questions to ask. He was as perplexed as to what he should ask about that he began to zone off, thinking everything he has been through in the past few hours; if he could even call them hours. In a matter of seconds, he remembered something that could be useful.

"Um…" Sora began. His partner acknowledged him with a nod. "Are…are we really dead?" Neku sighed lightly while Joshua finally stood up from the chair he was sitting in for majority of the meeting. He lightly cleared his throat and closed his phone, putting it in his right pants pocket.

"That we are. It's the only way we can play this game. The entire object of this game is to see if you're worthy of life. If you are, then you will do what you have to do to win. But, what Neku here didn't mention is that if you get erased, your partner has about seven or so minutes before they get erased as well. This game isn't for the light of heart." He stated. The room was quiet. Ventus looked about the somber room but stopped when he noticed that Rhyme's cheerful expression had instantly vanished, replaced by a sullen, dark look.

'I wonder what could've made her upset…' he thought to himself.

"Well, as long as you stick with us, you won't be erased!" Shiki said, standing out of her chair. "Right, Neku?" The boy nodded and rose from the wall. He dug into his pocket as he walked over to Joshua. Once he reached him, the redhead pulled out 20,000 Yen and placed it in the blonde's hand.

"That's enough to fill everyone up." Neku stated. "Why don't you guys get something to eat? You'll need your strength if you wanna win." Everyone nodded and quickly filed out of the room, quietly chattering amongst themselves. Once the room was cleared, Neku strolled over to the chair Shiki sat in and stood in front of it. Sora had blanked out a while back and was staring at his hands. At some point during the meeting, the boy had reached up to scratch his forehead and realized that it and his arm were bandaged up. His white jacket was folded up on the table next to him. The look in his eye was that of everlasting despair, an expression that could drive any innocent person to the brink of destruction. The brunette sighed lightly and turned his attention to his partner, despair still very evident on his face.

"Thanks…for bringing me here…" the brunette quietly muttered.

"I'm not like those Reapers; I wouldn't leave you there to die. Plus, you're my partner…I had no other choice but to bring you with me. We made a pact." Neku answered back. The other slowly folded the black sheets from his body, throwing his legs over the side of the bed. Neku quietly placed his hand over the boy's left shoulder. "Can you walk?"

Sora nodded and stood up slowly, grabbing his jacket from off of the stand next to him. He put his arms through the sleeves and shrugged it on, all while looking towards the door. "Well then…shall we?" Neku followed his gaze towards the door. They both made their way towards the hallway, Neku closing the door behind them. Once they walked into the café, the smell of freshly brewed coffee perked up Sora's senses. The Players were doubled up at the tables near the counter, all with some type of food or beverage in front of them; Rhyme and Beat both sitting next to each other while Roxas and Ventus sat opposite them. At the table adjacent them, sat Shiki, Joshua, Axel and Riku. Neku caught sight of Joshua and strolled over to them. Shiki looked up, smiling up towards her former partner. Joshua handed the boy his change and returned his attention to his orange cellular phone, clicking away at the buttons. Shiki shifted her gaze to Sora and, with a shy smile, beckoned him over to their table. He slowly made his way over to the others, gripping his right wrist.

"Y-yes?" said the brunette quietly.

"We ordered you a pumpkin soup. Is that alright?"

The boy thought about it for a few seconds and then nodded softly. "I suppose so…" And just as he made his conformation, a brisk voice chuckled behind him, causing him to turn around. Standing behind both Neku and Sora was Sanae, with a steaming bowl of soup.

"One order of pumpkin soup!" he announced. He happily shoved the bowl into the boy's hand and pushed him into the chair next to Shiki. "Eat."

Sora stared at the bowl for a second before he picked up the spoon. He dipped it in and lifted a small portion, tasting the meal. The texture was thick with minor hint of pumpkin but highly explosive with flavor. While eating, he found a smile crawling onto his face.

"This is great!" he beamed.

"Good. That ought to raise some of your energy." Sanae smiled and laughed heartily as he walked back to the counter. Neku pulled up a chair and sat next to the boy, watching him carefully. The brunette in his care didn't utter a word as he ate, almost as though he was trying to forget everything that happened. Then Shiki tapped on the redhead's shoulder.

"Hey did you want something?" she asked. The boy shook his head.

"Nah. I ate a little earlier." When he noticed her plate, he smirked. "Another salad? Since when does Mr. H serve salads?"

The girl gasped and stuck her tongue out at him. "For your information, salad is healthy for you! It's not good to eat burgers and fries all the time, Neku." Sora's head popped to watch them as they spoke. Beat cackled loudly from his seat.

"Bet they taste hella better!" Beat said. Shiki huffed at the cackling boy.

"You're gonna be obese if you keep eating like that! I wanna be able to get out of bed and not roll!" she defended. She heard a giggle next to the boy. Then she felt a solid hit her in the face. When she looked down, she almost hurled a chair. It was a french fry. "EWW OH MY GOD! THAT'S DISGUSTING, BEAT! DON'T PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD!" she squealed with anger. Sora could almost compare her to a small elegant kitten going feral.

"I ain't do it!" he chuckled. Rhyme giggled in her seat while she took a sip of her decaf coffee. The group laughed as the blackette rose from her seat and damn near strangled the muscled blonde. Sora returned to his bowl and stared into it. He was half way done but couldn't dismiss the churning in his stomach. He was a participant in the Reapers' Game. If he didn't play, he'd be erased. If he played the game and wasn't careful, he'd end up getting himself and Neku killed.

'What should I do...?' he thought.