"Still can' believe this is yer third time in the game, yo," Beat stretched his arms, flexing a muscle or two. Neku sighed and shrugged.

"Yep."

"And they really took Shiki as your entrance fee?" Beat asked, unable to hide a cheeky grin. Neku's cheeks burned, but he forced himself to focus on the fact that the reapers had stolen Shiki, which kept his face stoic.

"What of it?" he challenged. The dare behind his steely blue eyes and growled words was enough to silence anyone with half a brain.

Beat, not having been blessed with even that much common sense, plowed right on ahead.

"Well, you know they take away what matters most to you, an' they don' care who gets in they way," the blond added, pulling his skull cap down further on his head. "Like Rhyme, yo."

"..." Neku was sure that Beat would go for a dig, but it seemed that the former reaper was leveling with him, making a point of how the two actually faced a similar problem. Both had lost a girl very important to them, and they hated the reapers for it. They could band together and bond over this, fight for this, stand together. Neku couldn't help smiling a little; making a pact with Beat hadn't been a mistake in any way. He might be spontaneous to a foolish degree, unpredictable, violent, and brash, but Beat had a good heart and was more sensitive than Neku had given him credit for before. Maybe he wasn't such a blockhead after all.

"So, you an' Shiki a thing, man? That why they took her? Cuz she your main squeeze?" Beat grinned at Neku, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

...Or, maybe he was.