The game's story follows Neku over the course of the three weeks that he plays the Game, paired with partners Shiki, Joshua, and Beat for each week, respectively. Neku is confused at first, lacking knowledge of how he died or how he arrived at the UG. As he develops friendships with his partners, he starts to understand the rules of the Game. After the first week, only Shiki is allowed to return to the living, and she promises to meet Neku at the statue of Hachiko. He also recovers his entry fee, which was his memories, except for the events leading up to his death. However, Shiki has become what Neku values most, and she is used as his new entry fee for the second week; in addition, Beat defects to the Reapers hoping to find a way to revive Rhyme after she sacrifices herself to save him. During the second week Neku recalls small details of his death; eventually, he recognizes that he was shot at by Sho Minamimoto, one of the Reapers he faced during the Game. At the end of the second week, Joshua seemingly sacrifices himself to save Neku from an explosion created by Minamimoto.
