Chapter Text
The only thing guiding Neku towards the backstreets of Shibuya at this moment was a text on his phone, one flashed up on his screen that he couldn't help but continue to reference the further into town he got.
"Find me by Udagawa. I think it's high time we meet again. :)"
No recognizable sender address, but Neku could easily tell who it was just from the wording. They may not have met in person for very long, but Neku would be damned to forget the scar this man left behind. Perhaps quite literally.
Neku didn't really believe that this was going to end well for himself in any capacity. But, despite it all, Neku still trusted him enough to follow through with the request regardless. After all, if it wasn't for him, Neku wouldn't have been able to be where he was today... and there's a good chance Shibuya would have been lost to time all the same.
So he trucked onward, up the stairs towards the remnants of CAT's mural, clicking the button so his phone's screen would darken before sliding the device back into his jacket pocket. Sure enough, the moment he looked back up, the exact face he was expecting to see leaning up against the nearby wall, expression laced with a hapless smirk as knowing violet eyes remained visible behind some tousled ash blond locks...
"What do you want, Josh?" Neku sighed.
The Composer chuckled, twisting his fingers aimlessly through his own hair, though not before displacing his own cell phone out of sight. From the looks of it, his other hand remained shoved in his back pocket as it usually did. "Geez, Neku. You really kept me waiting," he teased.
"It's been about five minutes."
"And?"
Neku just rolled his eyes. For better or for worse, he took a few steps closer, lifting himself up off of the stairs and ending up only a few feet in front of Joshua. "You still didn't answer my question."
"Well..." Joshua's smile twisted, somewhere between that intentional "I'm about to be really annoying," and the insincere "Please don't be mad at me." Neku's already-tired expression faltered further, his shoulders sulking briefly before he opted to fold them over in frustration, albeit not arguing before Joshua could finish what he was saying. "It's a proposition you might not be exactly happy with, heehee..."
"I figured that much out already," Neku surmised. "Just spit it out."
Joshua hummed. "Are you interested in Playing another Game?"
"Not particularly," declared Neku.
"Aww, but I've been working so hard on it," Joshua pleaded, his smirk only growing by the second. "I had to make a new one, after all, once those Shinjuku Reapers were done having their fun."
"What was wrong with the old one?" Neku prefaced, taking a brief pause... before ultimately adding, "Aside from all of the obvious."
Joshua chuckled, letting his fidgeting hand fall to his side as he tipped his head, gaze averting towards the painted-over graffiti. "It was growing boring, really. If I could be frank with you, I haven't hosted a Reapers' Game of my own since you left. The way you Played was simply too exciting-- I don't think anyone could have ever improved on the existing format." His violet eyes flicked back towards Neku, completely locked on to those bleak navy ones that waited with baited breath. "Then, when the refugee Reapers of Shinjuku took over, well, who would I be to quash their fun?" Joshua continued. "Although, I also expected you to show up a little earlier than two years into their rather extensive Game. But maybe I'm just your biggest fan."
Neku growled softly, slouching more as Joshua rambled about seemingly nothing. "Can you get to the point already?" he snapped.
Joshua simply hushed him. "Patience, Neku. We haven't spoken in a year, can't I take some time to catch up with you, dear partner?"
Although still thoroughly annoyed, Neku held back his anger within a mere eyeroll.
"Better, but you're still so uneasy..." Joshua noted, words practically frothing with ill-intended sweetness. "Perhaps that's my fault for asking you to meet me where you've died multiple times before. But I thought it might be a good spot to meet for old times' sake, heehee."
Neku huffed, his line of sight immediately clinging to the hand that had been tucked behind Joshua's back this entire time. There was a small pang of panic in his chest, but it was so quickly mellowed out by how ridiculous this whole charade was that Neku really couldn't bring himself to care anymore. "It would have been easier if you had just shot me when I showed up, honestly," he complained.
"What?" Joshua burst out laughing. "Do you really hate me that much?"
"I didn't say that," Neku corrected. "You just really don't need to keep dancing around what you're trying to do here. You asked, but you're not giving me an option, are you?"
"Well, I could hold off for about a week or two," Joshua negotiated. "I know you have a life to get back to."
"Really?" Neku scoffed. "You aren't acting like it."
"Is it wrong of me to ask an old friend to look over my work?" Joshua persisted, smiling despite the falsely hurt tone to his voice. "All I wanted was to have you test-Play it. Who better than someone I know will push the Game to its very limits?"
Neku sighed. "What's the difference this time?" he mused, feigning interest, although his sarcasm was not hidden in the slightest.
Blatantly ignoring such, Joshua grinned widely. "I'm so very glad you asked, partner," he sang. Neku grumbled quietly. "I do have to say, I was a little inspired by those Shinjuku Reapers. Although there are many things I don't like about those rules, there are some parts that I thought could be interesting in a slightly tweaked setting. I believe they were too focused on making the whole thing purely for sport and entertainment... well, aside from the fact they were buying themselves time to do nefarious things."
Joshua twisted his heel, turning briefly towards the partially-defaced mural as his eyes scanned it over indefinitely. "For one, I intend to bring back the entry fee. Without it, I feel as though people become too reliant on their same crutches from life. It's much more difficult to grow when you have a soft cushion to lean back on, don't you think?"
Neku didn't comment, but he did raise an eyebrow. Joshua accepted this as enough of a response, offering his partner somewhat of an eerie soft smile. "Had your memories not been taken from you, would you ever have learned to trust Shiki? After all, you were so desperately clinging to the miniscule pieces that remained of someone long gone that it prevented you from seeing the world around you."
Although finding discomfort in the observation, there wasn't a single part of it that Neku could argue with.
Eyelids fluttering shut, Joshua's smile withered faintly. "But I digress. Anyway, within my new Game, I also decided to include a 'team' option of sorts, inspired by that of Shinjuku," he continued. "Players can form pacts with as few or as many others as they would like, even remaining alone if they so desire -- or are forced into such a corner. It won't impact the usage of psychs, but it would impact the power."
"Let me guess," Neku mumbled, "the larger the group, the stronger the power?"
"Precisely -- well, to an extent," Joshua corrected. "Ideally, the group's power level would be determined by combining each individual's Imagination -- and frankly, yours alone could be stronger than some groups of even four or five other Players. But I can't imagine you'd have any desire to Play alone after everything you've been through..."
"You're not dragging other people into this, are you?" Neku interjected hastily, his brow furrowing.
Joshua simply laughed, his grin so wide it began to squeeze his eyes shut. "Goodness, no. What kind of serial killer do you take me for, Neku? You're the only one I'll kill, heehee."
Neku narrowed his gaze, not looking impressed in the slightest. Seeing his joke did not land, Joshua waved the statement aside.
"Shibuya is a very large city, Neku. People die here frequently-- from accidents, crimes, suicide, illness... There's usually not enough to host a Game every week, but it's not hard to collect enough lost, whole Souls that haven't quite moved on every so often." Suddenly, Joshua raised a finger, a moment of surprise grasping his eyes. "Oh, and I almost forgot," he announced playfully. "I changed how pacts work slightly, as well. The initiation is the same, of course. But I decided that, if one person is erased, their partners can remain, the group's power would simply be cut down. Players can make new pacts, too, of course, but this was already an established rule in my original Reapers' Game."
Neku hummed, although appearing a bit confused. "Doesn't that... not help?"
Joshua tipped his head to the side, his hair sifting partially over his eyes in the meanwhile. "Whatever do you mean?" he pressed.
"'Trust your partner' doesn't really apply as well, would it?" Neku mumbled. "If their life isn't dependent on them, then... what if that person just takes out the competition?"
"Hm?" Joshua pondered the thought, although even that mere action felt as though it were sarcastic from start to finish. "I suppose it might be possible. But I can't imagine most people would be like you and try to kill their partner only two days in, don't you think?"
His tone made Neku uneasy. Not even because of the topic that Joshua mentioned, although it wasn't particularly something Neku could say he was proud of, either. No, the way he said it... Josh was definitely hiding something. Neku had dealt with that tone far too much to not recognize it by now.
... but it wasn't worth arguing. Not right now. Neku simply conceded with a reluctant sigh.
Seeming content with the lack of further reaction, Joshua took it upon himself to continue speaking. "I didn't bother with any team ratings or points or anything like that, though, speaking of such concerns. It promotes too much division," he added. "There's still some internal rankings for those who win, but it's as visible to Players now as it was for your first week. I just find that pitting Players directly against each other is not exactly the best way to find those destined to inspire humankind."
Neku went to argue, but Joshua cut him off before he even so much as got a sound out. "Yes, the intention of the Reapers' Game is to inspire. Well, of my Reapers' Game. It's simply that not many had what I was hoping to find... aside from you, anyway, dear Neku."
Neku's parted lips sealed themselves back up without vocalizing a single thing. His eyes trailed across Joshua's expression, scanning over his body language, struggling to determine whether or not Josh was being completely honest with him or not. He really didn't seem like the type to care about anything like that...
"And you're in luck, that's the end of my spiel!" Joshua interjected. "What do you think of the changes, Neku? Got any comments right off the bat?"
"Mostly just... kind of surprised that's all you changed," Neku gaped, voice quiet, restraining the rest of his suspicious thoughts to himself.
"There's some other little things here and there. Most of them apply strictly to the Reapers, though." Joshua explained, his fingers once again twirling through his hair. "We haven't had any Games that you missed, don't you worry your pretty face, but I lost quite a bit of my staff during my little Game with Megumi. Luckily, there were a few promising-looking Souls floating around in the UG. I thought I might give them a chance."
"Floating around?" Neku pressed, narrowing his gaze. "You mean something like in Shinjuku, after it was Inverted?"
"Something like that," Joshua agreed dully, smiling. "Whenever there isn't a Game, all the Souls who linger between life and death reside in the UG. Ones who can't quite pass on yet, who still feel as though they have unfinished business. Kind of like ghosts, if you will." He bared his hand out like a very vague claw, as if to make a jovial spooky gesture amongst the serious discussion. Neku did not react, leaving Joshua to simply frown as his hand fell back to his side. "It was my original idea to present the concept of the Reapers' Game, giving those Souls a chance to do something else with their remaining life force. So many have such great potential, after all... it would be a shame to let it go to waste."
"If I didn't know the dogshit experience that is the Game, I'd almost think you were doing them a favor," Neku noted, crossing his arms over his chest.
Joshua simply laughed. "You wouldn't be here if it wasn't for my 'dogshit Game,' Neku," he reminded.
"Yeah, and I wouldn't have been in the Game at all had it not been for that gun you've got behind your back," Neku argued.
"Heehee... You do have me beat there." The Composer smirked, finally lifting his hand forward to indeed reveal what Neku had already long figured out. The deep black metal of the barrel reflected off of the sunlight that faintly peered over Tokyo's skyline, piercing its reality into Neku's heart. He had known it was there, and he had known coming here was a death sentence, but it still didn't feel good to see it laid out right in front of him regardless.
But he didn't move. He didn't fight it, he didn't argue, he didn't even take a step back.
"So," Joshua hummed, carelessly twirling this pistol in his grip, "are you willing to Play this week?"
"You could have at least given me the chance to say goodbye to Shiki," Neku groaned, speaking as though this was a mild inconvenience more than anything else.
"You're very welcome to do so. I never said you couldn't," Joshua corrected, gesturing to the phone sticking out of Neku's pocket as he let the back of the gun recklessly rest against his shoulder.
"It's fine," Neku mumbled, shaking his head. "It wouldn't be the first time, anyway."
Joshua smirked, but something about it was off. Without warning, he swiftly plucked the purple-clad phone straight from Neku's pocket, swiping it open with ease even though Neku had never told him the password to access it.
"H- hey, what the hell are you doing?" Neku grabbed at the stolen device, only for Joshua to hold it precariously above his own head. Neku tried for it again, only to realize in this moment-- "When the hell did you get so much taller?!"
"I don't have a clue what you're referring to, Neku," Joshua snickered.
"Ugh, whatever, just-- give me my damn phone back!"
"Ah, ah, ah," Joshua teased. "We're partners, remember? Just trust me for a moment. I promise I won't do anything that'll hurt you."
Neku scoffed, gesturing to the gun.
Huffing as he rolled his eyes, Joshua simply shook the obvious phone between his fingers playfully. "With this, Neku. But I'll do my best to make your next death as painless as I can, too."
Although still not satisfied in the slightest, Neku ultimately backed off, impatiently waiting for Joshua to do... whatever it was he was trying to do. Truthfully, it didn't take long at all, but it felt like a millennia given the circumstances.
"Annnd... sent! See, now that wasn't so hard, was it?"
Joshua panned the phone's screen over so Neku could see. He leaned in, glancing over the open text messages to see a new one he didn't recognize, sent to one Shiki Misaki.
"Be back in a week. ♡"
"What's with the heart?" Neku mumbled.
"Was it too much?" Joshua frowned. "Hm, I would have assumed the two of you were together by now."
"'By now'? What the hell does that mean?" Neku snapped. "For someone 'omniscient' or whatever you call it, you really have no idea what you're talking about."
Joshua's smirk held back intense giggles as he offered the phone back to Neku. "Or perhaps I know more than even you, dear Neku."
Neku just growled, snatching the device as he shoved it back into his pocket. "Just shoot me already," he blurted. "You're so frustrating to be around."
"I appreciate the honesty," Joshua stated without the slightest bit of insincerity, aside from his typical hapless smirk that had oh-so graciously returned. He finally aimed the gun out in front of him, burying the muzzle in the fabric of Neku's shirt. "This should be quick enough to not hurt too much, I'd imagine."
Neku gave an indignant hum. "Can you not shoot through the jacket? Shiki made it for me," he requested.
Joshua raised a brow, the corners of his mouth curling with great intrigue. "After all this, you're most concerned about your clothes? Don't give me such filthy ideas for your entry fee, Neku..."
"I'm sure you already had one in mind," he commented plainly.
"Touché." The gun backed off, instead now comfortably resting within Neku's temple. The ice cold, sleek metal pressing against his bare skin sent a shiver down Neku's spine.
Click.
"Though," Joshua began, his gaze focused intently on the trigger, "I can't guarantee the fabric won't get soaked with blood. And the jacket is such a nice white..."
"What's your point? I'm not stripping in public," Neku answered.
"It wouldn't be your first time," Joshua teased.
"That time was a little different." There was fury lacing every word at the unwanted reminder.
"Heehee... just thought I'd give you the option." He buried the muzzle further, Neku's head tipping slightly as a result. To Joshua's surprise, Neku didn't move an inch out of his own volition, merely standing still, if not borderline calm even though his fear hadn't wavered in the slightest.
"It's fine," Neku mused, his navy gaze fixated on the Composer before him. "I trust you, partner."
BANG.
The sound echoed through the streets. Crows cawed as they scattered and flew off, fleeing the scene as fast as they possibly could.
The life within Neku's eyes had completely vanished, that intently focused demeanor entirely absent as nothing more than blue-tinted orbs remained in its place. His hair was, frankly, ruined, as half of his skull has been shattered to pieces. Bits of bone and blood already began to pour over his remaining face, which Joshua very hastily wiped away with his own hand to prevent it from so much as grazing the fabric of Neku's clothes, balancing his partner's body within his grasp.
"Ugh, you know how I hate getting dirty, Neku," Joshua complained loudly, as if he were expecting the Soulless body to respond. "The things I do just for you..."
> NEW GAME START
chapter end.