I saw the trailer for the anime adaptation of The World Ends With You, and I've got to say, I'm excited. Sorry I ended up switching projects before I finished this world arc. This will be the denouement of the Shibuya story, and the next chapter will be the epilogue to the TWEWY characters, after which we'll move on to another world (which I promise will have some substance, rather than how KH3 pulled it off).

Chapter 126

Second Chance

Sora and Neku woke up in Scramble Crossing. The usual crowd passed through the intersection as usual, as if there had not been a devastating battle for the fate of the city only the day before. Evidently, the Reaper Officers had been able to clear away all memory and evidence of the crisis.

"Day seven. Almost over," Neku mused.

"Hey, I just realized something. You've been in the UG all week. What is your family thinking?" Sora asked.

"Oh, I told my parents that I was working on a project with CAT and I'd be staying in Shibuya with a friend all week," Neku explained. "Which is technically true."

"You don't live in Shibuya?"

"I live in Setagaya. It's to the southwest."

"Do the Reapers run the afterlife over there, too?"

"Yeah. I've been told that they do things a bit differently over there; they follow their own set of rules. Mr. H wouldn't tell me anything else, since he said that they would rather not have me know how they operate."

"Makes sense." They each heard a beep and checked their phones in response. "Here's the mission."

"Yep. 'The Game Master awaits you at the freeway. You have 600 minutes. Fail and face erasure. -The Reapers,'" Neku read. He and Sora felt a sting on their hands, and they checked to confirm that they indeed had ten hours to complete the mission. Huh. That's where my first "final exam" was, against Higashizawa. Is that just the basic spot for it? Like the first mission always being to get to 104 with your new Partner? I wouldn't know. Things went pretty off the rails in my second and third weeks, he mused.

"Where's the freeway?" Sora asked.

"It's just beyond the station underpass," Neku replied. "It was actually where we met the Reapers yesterday."

"Okay. So, I guess we're heading there."

"Yup." With the matter settled, they began to make their way to the location of the final test.

Don't worry, Kairi. I'll see you soon. I promise, Sora thought.

As they passed the statue of Hachiko, Neku thought of something. "You know, Sora, I've been thinking. Maybe Joshua didn't just bring you here for the extra muscle," he said.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"Maybe he wanted to see if you were really as pure as he'd heard," Neku suggested. "He's still trying to see the bright side of the people of Shibuya, the good in their hearts. Maybe he wanted to see your optimism and altruism for himself, see how truly good-natured you were. Maybe he wanted you to help him see that it really is a wonderful world."

Sora considered Neku's words. "Huh. If that's true, then I'm glad that I could help," he said, smiling. After a pause, he dropped his grin and crossed his arms crudely. "But I still don't like him."

"Oh, I can't imagine you would," Neku replied.

"He shot me in the head!"

"That's not really something that even you can forgive."

"Murder isn't something that can just be forgiven, never mind the intentions."

They started laughing. After a few minutes, their laughter died down, and they decided to keep moving.

"Why do you think Coffee Man called us, yo?" Beat asked when he and Rhyme caught up with Aqua, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. Mr. Hanekoma had contacted them, asking them to head over to WildKat; he had contacted Beat and Rhyme by cell phone while he sent a Reaper to pass the message on to the world travelers.

"I don't know. He asked Naminé to head over last night. Said he had a 'special project' for her, so she and Riku are over there," Aqua said.

"He said that he had something to show us. Maybe it has to do what he needed Naminé's help with," Rhyme guessed.

"I'm excited to see what they were doing," Goofy said.

The group entered Cat Street and approached the coffee shop. Riku leaned against the side of the building, and he smiled and waved when he saw them.

"Hiya! What have you and Naminé been doing?" Mickey asked as the group caught up to Riku.

"Mr. Hanekoma wanted to work with Naminé on some graffiti art," Riku explained. "They've been at it for most of the night." He led them inside, where they found Naminé at a booth, asleep. She was wearing a smock, boots, and gloves, all recolored with spray paint. Riku smiled at the sight, thinking that she looked sweet, at peace.

"Looks like she had a busy night," Aqua said. She, Riku, Donald, and Goofy sat down with her. Beat and Rhyme went to order coffee, while Mickey pulled a chair up to the booth and took a seat.

A few minutes later, Naminé began to stir. She yawned, stretching her arms upward. Blinking groggily, she noticed her friends gathered around her. "Morning," she said. "How long have you been here?"

"Not long," Donald answered. "Mr. Hanekoma called us over."

"Did you sleep well?" Goofy asked. Naminé nodded.

"Would you like some coffee?" Riku asked.

"Sure. Café Latte, please." Riku went up to the counter and ordered for her and himself. He returned with two cups of coffee.

The group drank and talked. A few minutes later, Hanekoma stepped out of his office and saw that everyone was present and that Naminé was awake. He walked over to them and waved hello. "Morning. Thanks for popping by," he said. "We've got something to show you. You ready, Naminé?" Naminé nodded. "Okay. Before we go, anyone else want a drink?" Aqua ordered a caffè mocha while Mickey and Donald declined and Goofy admitted that he was allergic. When Aqua had received her drink, the group stood up and followed Hanekoma outside. He led them outside, down the street, and up an alleyway. They stopped when they approached a wall that had been recently painted with graffiti. Splotches of paint were spattered on the asphalt.

Everyone stared in amazement at the artwork in front of them, aside from Hanekoma, Naminé, and Riku (though he still looked on appreciatively). The centerpiece of the work was a large white heart shape, with tips that curled inward toward the top. A yellow crown hovered above the heart and the white outline of a keyhole on a black background sat inside the heart. Nobody and Heartless symbols flanked the heart, positioned to appear as reflections to one another. Simple key shapes were placed around the mural as well. In the upper right corner, written with a paintbrush in kanji, was a slogan that said: "Follow your heart to find what you need".

"Wow. Naminé, did you make this?" Aqua asked, astonished.

"Yes," Naminé replied, smiling proudly.

"Gosh, this is amazing," Mickey said.

"It's real pretty," Goofy agreed.

"Uh-huh," Donald added.

Naminé giggled. "Thank you."

Hanekoma smiled. "Riku and I lent her a hand, but this is all the work and inspiration of my new CAT apprentice,"

"CAT apprentice. Has a nice ring to it," Rhyme said.

"This is awesome, yo!" Beat said, giving Naminé a pat on the back.

"That's a nice quote. 'Follow your heart to find what you need'. Where'd you get that?" Goofy asked.

"I learned it from Sora," Naminé replied. "Maybe it's a code I can follow going forward."

The rest of the group continued to admire the painting, but Riku's gaze was directed at Naminé. He smiled, happy as he read into the implications of her statement. It sounded as though she was open to spending more time as her own person, rather than simply sitting back inside Kairi's heart.

Sora and Neku walked through the station underpass. They listened to Neku's music to stave off boredom, Neku having disconnected his music player from his headphones so Sora could listen at normal volume. They walked through the tunnel, passing the site where they met with the Reapers, and into the freeway. As they went on, they started to hear a sound echo through the tunnel. After a few minutes, they came upon Takagi, who was bouncing a ball against the wall to pass the time. When he noticed them approaching, he dropped the ball and stood up, stretching his arms and legs.

"Hey. Thanks again for the help this week," the Game Master said. "So, you ready for your last challenge?"

Neku plugged his headphone jack back into his music player. He and Sora took on battle-ready stances. "I'm kinda itching to have a pulse again. Let's get this show on the road!" Sora replied.

Takagi clapped his hands together. "Okay. Let's begin."

Glowing symbols materialized and circled around them as the surrounding area faded into a white void. Black Reaper wings grew from his back. His ears rose up to the top of his head, extending into triangular shapes. His skin grew orange and black fur. His fingernails extended into claws, and his head reshaped to form a fox's head. A black tail formed out of floating tattoos.

Takagi, in the form of Vulpeus Cantus, chuckled. A copy of the freeway appeared around him and the Players, and the Players noticed that they were in separate zones. The battle had begun.

Vulpeus Cantus ran at Sora and slashed at him. Sora dodged to the side and retaliated with Pyrokinesis, but he realized that the enemy he was targeting was actually a glowing afterimage, whereas the real Vulpeus Cantus had run off to the side after generating his double. Sora cast a bolt of lightning to strike his foe, but he shifted his energy and phased through it. Vulpeus Cantus threw himself at him and slugged him across the room, leaving an afterimage behind where he had stood. Sora recovered and fired energy bolts, only for the Noise Reaper to shift his energy and turn green, letting the bolts pass through him completely. Seeing that he was still green, Sora had an idea. He shot another energy bolt, then conjured flames around Vulpeus. Sure enough, the Noise Reaper was visibly hurt by the flames while the energy bolt still passed harmlessly through him.

"Not bad," Takagi commended. "But try this!" He ran around, leaving three more afterimages. Then, he rushed at Sora with tremendous speed, and the afterimages threw themselves his way as well. Sora conjured a ring of electricity around himself, charged his fists and feet with the Shockwave Psych, and jumped around, dodging the afterimages while throwing himself at Vulpeus Cantus. Vulpeus shifted himself to a yellow frequency to protect himself from the electric ring, but fell victim to his Shockwave-charged punches. While Vulpeus shifted to a purple frequency the moment Sora stopped, the teen finished the assault by blasting him away with a Nexus Ray.

Neku caused chains to appear, dividing the space, knowing that they would limit Vulpeus' range of movement, and if he shifted his energy to bypass them, he would leave himself vulnerable to all of his other attacks. Takagi seemed to determine that if he dedicated himself to trying to defend himself against his attacks, he would be a sitting duck and would not be able to attack. As such, he shifted into a gray frequency and attacked with his speed and his afterimages, putting more emphasis on dodging attacks rather than trying to shift to a frequency that passed through them. When he attacked Neku directly, the latter countered with Shockwave punches and kicks; when he ran away to set afterimages, Neku shot energy blasts, conjured fire, raised icicles, and brought down bolts of lightning. The super-fast Noise Reaper dodged some of the attacks, but he was hit with the rest.

The fight continued in that pattern for some time, but it finally came to a close when Vulpeus Cantus, suffering from beatings in both zones, stumbled and collapsed to the concrete. Sora and Neku stopped their assault, Neku even allowing his chains to dissipate.

"What are you doing?" Takagi asked. Despite speaking as casually as usual, it was clear that he had no more fight left in him. He was barely able to maintain his Noise form.

"Clock's still ticking," Neku said. "Do you yield?"

"Does this have to end like, you know?" Sora asked in his zone. "I'd prefer it didn't."

"Nah. Erasure isn't the required ending. If the GM isn't too proud to give in, and if the Players aren't too proud to spare him, or if they just think to do so, then it counts as a mission won if the GM admits defeat," Takagi explained.

"So? Ready to call it a day?"

Takagi chuckled. "I yield," he said in both zones. There was a flash of light, and all three were back in the UG. Takagi had reverted to his humanoid form. He pushed himself to his feet and snapped his wings out. The timers on Sora and Neku's hands vanished. "You put up a good fight."

"You too," Sora replied. He handed Takagi a Cure Drink, which he downed.

"This was the first time I really had to make full use of my energy-shifting Psych as a Reaper," Takagi admitted. "Most Players can only use one Psych, and I think it's not fair to just shift and pass through everything they do without any effort. But today, today was fun."

"So, it's all over? We can return to the Realground?" Sora asked.

"With your Entry Fee regained. You were already promised, Sora. And Neku, you, Shiki and Eri were never dead to begin with, so you'll just return to your bodies and wake up. As for the other Players, that'll be up to the Conductor."

"He was the big guy with the laser eyes, right?" Neku checked.

"Yup. That's him," Takagi confirmed. "I'll go back to the Pad and let him and Joshua know that the Game's over. We need to tally up the points, so it will be a couple more hours before we call you up. Do what you wish in that time." He bowed, then ran through the tunnel in the blink of an eye, leaving behind a glowing afterimage, which faded after a few seconds.

Sora crossed his hands behind his head. "Well, there's a bit of time before we go back to the RG. You want to see what our friends are up to?" he asked.

"Sure," Neku replied.

Within the hour, they had reunited with Shiki and Eri, who had decided to leave the fight to them and instead chose to go to the mall, as well as their living companions, and they had all gone to a Sunshine Shibukyu fast food restaurant for burgers, and a salad for Donald and minestrone for Mickey. Sora, Neku, Shiki, and Eri had seen Naminé's mural and paid the proper commendations when they saw her. They ate, talked, and laughed. Since they no longer had to prioritize figuring out how to deal with the Taboo Noise crisis, they were happy to talk about normal things. The residents shared stories about life in Tokyo, in Shibuya as well as the other wards they live in, while the world travelers talked about the worlds they were from

After some time, the Players heard their phones beep. They checked them and saw the same text message: "Come to the Shibuya River beyond the freeway to reap your rewards. -The Reapers".

Sora faced his friends and grinned. "Well, see you on the other side," he said. He turned to focus directly on Naminé, undeterred by the fact that when he and Kairi returned, she would go back to resting in Kairi's heart. "I'll see you soon, too. Face to face, no backing out."

Naminé giggled and nodded. "Okay. One day," she replied.

"Hey. Don't you have something else to say to her?" Riku interjected. Donald and Goofy looked at each other in confusion before they realized that he was referring to the promise to thank Naminé.

Sora thought about it, crossing his arms as he did so, before shaking his head. "Not yet. When we're all here." He waved good-bye, and, after paying for his share of the meal, left with Neku, Shiki, and Eri.

The four of them, soon joined by the other surviving Players, made their way through the tunnel system. They came upon a stream of sewer water, which Eri and another girl protested to crossing. Sora scooped Eri up and carried her across, while the other girl's partner did the same. Everyone else crossed on their own with minimal complaints. Some people expressed disbelief that the passage existed in the city they were familiar with, but Neku explained that everything beyond the freeway only existed in the UG, and the space did not exist in the RG.

They proceeded onward until they saw a doorway. When they drew near, it opened on its own, and a bright white light shone through. They stepped through, and the light faded to reveal what appeared to be a barroom with a transparent floor under which an aquarium filled with fish was situated, two cream-colored sofas, a foosball table, a jukebox, and a dartboard. Takagi stood behind the bar pouring drinks while Uzuki and Kariya were playing foosball and Yoko was throwing darts. Two Support Reapers sat in front of the bar, drinking beer or soda. Atukaze stood off to the side, patiently awaiting the Players' arrival.

"Welcome to Dead God's Pad," Atukaze greeted. Sora and Neku wondered how he could keep a straight face while saying the name of the Reapers' domain; it was clear that Takagi could barely keep himself from cracking up. "I will convene with you all in pairs to discuss your final score." Atukaze raised his hand, and the world shifted around him and the Players. Looking around, Sora and Neku saw that the other Reapers, as well as the other Players, were nowhere to be seen. Atukaze positioned himself so that he was directly facing them.

"I would once again like to extend my gratitude for your assistance in overcoming the Taboo Noise crisis," the Conductor continued. "Sora, it is my understanding that your resurrection has been guaranteed by the Composer. And Neku Sakuraba, you did not enter the Underground by way of death in the first place. This warrants investigation, although I will let the breach in rules slide this time. Your soul will return to your dormant body and awaken shortly after. Sora, you will be restored fully to life, and you will awaken tomorrow morning in Scramble Crossing."

"Can I at least get a sleeping bag?" Sora complained.

Atukaze let out a huff in amusement. "After today, our involvement will come to a close. Sora, your Entry Fee will be restored. I regret that your friend had to be dragged into the pit through this, but that is how the rules work here." He cleared his throat. "Do you have any remaining questions to ask before I bring this meeting to a close?"

"Um… Oh! There was one thing that I was wondering, sir. Neku said that, before Players wake up in the Scramble on the first day, they are given an orientation. But I don't remember it, and Neku had to explain everything to me. Do you know why that is?" Sora asked.

Atukaze considered the question, reflecting on when he had first seen the boy. "It is a peculiarity. You were indeed at the orientation, but it seemed as though you were spacing out. At the same time, when I was collecting your Entry Fee, it seemed… how should I put it… jumbled. As if the Noise could not decide what to select, or as if there were two identities with different values. Perhaps the identities were jumbled when you were killed and appeared in the Underground."

Sora wondered what the cause could be, but he soon realized that he did have someone whose soul would have ridden with him. "Roxas," he muttered. "My Nobody. Of course. When I died, he would have died as well. And he was stuck with me the whole week."

Neku looked at him, confused. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

"It's best not to open that dam," Atukaze advised.

"Roxas, I wonder what was taken from you?" Sora mused. After a moment of pensiveness, he shook the thought out of his head and faced the Conductor directly. "Okay. I'm ready to return to life."

Atukaze nodded. "Very well. I wish you luck on your quest." He offered him and Neku a bow, which they returned. Suddenly, everything went black, and the Players lost consciousness.

Awakened by the sound of disorganized, overlapping voices, Sora opened his eyes to see the feet of people walking around him. Pushing against the asphalt, he stood up. It was the morning of a new day in Shibuya, and he was once again in Scramble Crossing.

"Good morning," one pedestrian cheerfully greeted. Sora realized that the people could see him, and were casually moving to avoid him as they went on their way.

I'm back, he thought.

"Hey, Sora!" a familiar female voice shouted. He turned in the direction of the voice and, beyond the dense crowd of passerby, caught glimpses of his friends standing on the sidewalk corner: Riku, Goofy, and a smiling redhead dressed in pink.

"Kairi!" he shouted in delight. He made to run to her, but found himself having to navigate through the crowd. "Oh, sorry. 'Scuse me." After he had cleared the throng, he ran the last ten feet and pulled Kairi into a tight hug. Giggling, Kairi hugged him back.

"Good to have you back," Riku said.

Sora looked around and saw that Riku, King Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Aqua were all there, along with Neku, Shiki, Eri, Beat, and Rhyme. As he had predicted, Naminé was nowhere to be seen, but that did not worry him; he knew that she was fine and content.

After a minute, Sora and Kairi released their embrace. "Riku and the others filled me in on what's been going on, but I still don't quite understand all of it," Kairi said. "So, I was your 'Entry Fee'?"

"The Entry Fee is the one thing most important to the Player," Shiki explained.

Kairi giggled and looked up at Sora with a teasing smile. "So, I'm the thing most important to you?"

Sora laughed. "Was there ever any question?" He leaned forward, tilting her head up, and kissed her on the lips. She reciprocated, kissing him passionately. Their friends smiled, hearts warmed by the sight.

Their lips separated and the couple stepped apart. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment, smiling.

The moment was interrupted when Sora heard his phone ring. He took it out and, seeing that the call was from Hanekoma, picked up. "Hey, Mr. H."

"Morning, Sora. Glad to have you back among the living," Hanekoma greeted. "Listen, can you guys pop by WildKat? I've got a parting gift for you and your friends."

"Sure," Sora replied.

"Alright. Catch you then." Hanekoma hung up.

The party went to WildKat, though they took a detour so that Kairi could see Naminé's graffiti art, which she absolutely loved. When they entered the café, Hanekoma called them back into his office. Once inside, he opened a box on his desk, revealing six phones identical to Sora's, with the only difference being in color.

"There you go. Now you can keep in contact with each other if you get separated, or if you want to talk to some of your friends on other worlds," Hanekoma said. He explained the Lifestream Reception that he had built into the phone plans. "Sora can show you how to use them."

Riku took the gray phone; Kairi took the pink phone; Mickey took the bright red phone; Donald took the light blue one; Goofy the green; and Aqua the deeper blue one. Sora showed them how to turn their phones on, call others, and check and send text messages. They checked their contacts and saw that they all had the contact information for their Shibuya friends, Leon and the gang, Zack, the Turks, and all of the relevant addresses on Destiny Islands and in Disney Town built in.

"How did you…?" Riku began to ask.

Hanekoma chuckled. "Trade secret," he replied.

"Just like all of your other tricks," Neku remarked.

"Thanks, Mr. H," Kairi said.

"Oh. And I also want you to have this." Hanekoma grabbed a coffee machine and dumped it in Sora's hands. He then handed a container of coffee grounds to Goofy, who cautiously passed it off to Aqua.

"Uh, thanks?" Sora said, confused by the gesture.

"Take good care of it. And drink up. It'll give you a good morning boost."

"I'm actually allergic," Goofy admitted.

"Okay. That's fair," Hanekoma said sheepishly. "Well, I guess that's all I have for you. Take care, kiddos."

"You're leaving?" Shiki asked, disappointed to see that her new friends would be going away.

Sora nodded. "Yeah. We have to keep the worlds safe from our enemies and their plans."

Kairi looked at Sora quizzically. "You told them?" she asked.

Sora turned to her and waved his hands defensively. "That was Mr. H! I mean, I actually tried to keep it on the down-low unless I needed to," he explained. Donald beamed at him proudly.

"It was really nice spending time with you all," Aqua told the Shibuya crew.

"Hey, wait a minute. Maybe we can stay here for a little bit longer," Kairi suggested. "I never actually got to hang out with you guys.

Riku nodded. "Okay. I guess we can stick around a little bit longer."

"Right. We'll just drop this stuff off in our ship, then we'll be back," Sora affirmed.

The world travelers and the Shibuya gang spent the day strolling around, eating ramen, shopping, playing Tin Pin Slammer, and all in all having fun. Kairi got along quite well with Shiki, Eri, and Rhyme, and she found Beat to be a big softie despite his "tough guy" exterior, to the latter's mild embarrassment and to the girls' amusement. At the end of the day, they said their good-byes. Before he and his friends left, Sora said that if Neku and the gang needed help with something, or if they wanted to hang out or chat, to give them a call.

Back on the Gummi Ship, Mickey, Donald and Riku surveyed the world map and tracked the villains' movements. After picking a direction and flying for a few hours, they decided to call it a night and head off to bed.

In the recreation of the White Room in her Dive to the Heart, Kairi taped a memory photograph depicting Naminé's graffiti art to the wall. "This is a keeper," she said.

"You have to thank Riku, too, for helping me put it up," Naminé said. She held up a Gatito-brand pin with one of CAT's symbols for the design. "And look at this. Certified CAT Apprentice."

Kairi smiled warmly. "You look like you had fun this week," she noted. "Do you think you'd like to do it again sometime?"

Naminé tapped her crayon to her chin. "Hmm… I think so." She continued drawing in her tablet, humming to the tune of a song she heard in Shibuya.

Kairi peeked over her shoulder to see what she was drawing. "Is that you… and Riku?" she asked. Naminé nodded, with a slightly cheerful "Mm-hmm." Kairi picked up on the tone and beamed as she put two and two together. "OMG, Naminé, do you like Riku?"

Naminé paused in her art as she was left at a loss for how to respond. Could that be the case? She considered her connection with Riku. He was always nice to her during the year she spent putting Sora's memories back together. He never held what happened to his best friend against her, and he did not fault her when she ran into complications and the restoration process came to a halt. When he returned from a scouting mission, or after she received a stern and cold lecture from DiZ, he would visit her and ask how she was doing. He was a good listener, and he was also able to confide in her about his feelings and insecurities. He made her feel comfortable; whereas DiZ would often remind her how she was not meant to exist, Riku would make her feel like she had worth. And when she suddenly found herself with autonomy in Shibuya, having no idea how to handle herself in a group, Riku made sure she was comfortable and was able to adjust and engage with the others. While she had always felt that she had a connection with Sora, Kairi, and Roxas, she would probably consider Riku to be her best friend.

"Maybe," she said simply.

Kairi wrapped her arms around her Nobody. "That's great."

Naminé, though momentarily taken by surprise by the hug, smiled, and continued drawing, thinking about the time she spent with Riku.

Sora tossed and turned in bed, something inside him roused and shaken. It was as if something was put into his head, or put back into his heart, and he was left disoriented, trying to process it. Or, rather, a part of his being, a heart within him, was disoriented, trying to process it. Suddenly, he woke up, catapulting to an upright position, and blurted out a single word, though it was in Roxas' voice, as he was at the helm this time.

"Xion!"

See, Defender31415? I do know how to spell Xion.