it took a lot more pleading than he anticipated. maybe a bit of a white lie to follow about there being an emergency and having to leave as soon as class was over. before he knew it, he was rushing down the hallway down the stairs towards the lockers. nearly tripping and running into other students, he clipped the wall and held onto the edge of the row of lockers that he and hazuki were assigned at the beginning at the year. the teen needed to catch his breath, leaning over his knees, panting heavily like he'd been in P.E.

❝ dude, i got some of my allowance yesterday. do you want to go to the arcade?  ❞ he's leaning on hazuki's desk after class let out. neku had been chosen to help with cleaning duty today so he'd be stuck cleaning for at least thirty minutes before he could go to his lockers. he wanted nothing more than to have his own shoes back. uwabaki were always so uncomfortable at the end of the day. he probably needed to buy a new pair for school soon anyway. maybe on the way home.

"Duh! Like you even have to ask?" Hazuki plants his chin in his hand as he rests his elbow against his desk, peeking up at Neku, "Hey, wait... aren't you stuck on cleaning duty today?" He doesn't want to wait that long, and he could very easily just leave Neku to do his work and wait for him at the arcade, but... he wouldn't ever do that to him.

She was determined to never let anyone else go through the things she has.

She pauses at his question, though. Was that...really something he'd thought about all this time? Of all things?

"Uh... Yeah, it's still there. Lots of Reapers will go hang out there when they don't have a lot to do. Sometimes we'll have meetings there. There's some other areas connected to it as well, there's a few hallways, I've got an office down there since they let me be GM again. Gotta have somewhere to get my paperwork and stuff done. I could...show you around, if you want?"

❝  i guess that makes sense. ❞ he'd never really considered it a base of operations until now, but it lined up perfectly based on what he understood for things. the reapers game management had to happen somewhere and if mr.h could have a cafe, then it was as normal as anything that the reapers would have a bar.

❝  i'd like that- if you're okay with it. i don't exactly know right now what i am and am not allowed to know, but no one has said i can't go there. ❞ he was feeling awkward in his own right. uzuki used to terrorize him and his friends years ago. she was different now. so was kariya, sort of. it wasn't bad by any means.

❛  you're attempting to bore me.  ❜ ❛  maybe we're all insane?  ❜ ❛  i see you enjoy this.  ❜ ❛  i'm feeling much better, my friend.  ❜ ❛  never again will i give in.  ❜ ❛  now fight, unless you're willing to die.  ❜ ❛  this is the moment i've been waiting for.  ❜ ❛  no doubt or fear, my view is now clear.  ❜ ❛  i've never felt so alive.  ❜ ❛  i still remember the way you said goodbye.  ❜ ❛  no matter how hard i try, i can't forget about love.  ❜ ❛  until the end of me, you'll be the death of me.  ❜ ❛  i dare you to cross the line again.  ❜ ❛  i'm waiting to be broken inside.  ❜ ❛  nothing from the past ever happens quite the same.  ❜ ❛  but i never expected that i'd underestimate my love for you.  ❜ ❛  i guess i'll spend another lifetime searching for a new hope.  ❜ ❛  it's impossible to look away.  ❜ ❛  i'm astonished by your absolute beauty.  ❜ ❛  set all your fears aside.  ❜ ❛  is this the part where we start our lives?  ❜ ❛  here comes the part where we start our lives.  ❜ ❛  i feel i've already been here.  ❜ ❛  so why does nothing make us wanna try?  ❜ ❛  just one touch, you can change my mind.  ❜ ❛  i can say the process is painless. that'd be a lie.  ❜ ❛  i don't have the strength to let you go.  ❜ ❛  deep within my soul, i've always known that you're everything i've ever needed.  ❜ ❛  just say the words and i'm all yours.  ❜ ❛  i'm scared to death of living this life without you.  ❜ ❛  how can this be wrong when it feels so right?  ❜ ❛  would you give me one more night?  ❜ ❛  i'll show you everything that you've ever dreamed of.  ❜ ❛  will you find your way home?  ❜ ❛  don't give up on me, i'm giving this my everything.  ❜ ❛  i still believe in you.  ❜ ❛  i'll fight any war with you and for you.  ❜ ❛  i wonder why i waited for you.  ❜ ❛  there's not a harder thing a man can do than pretend he's not in love with you.  ❜ ❛  i've been lost for a little while but i feel free.  ❜

"Neku, we wouldn't still be here if it weren't for you. And your friends. They're just as important, and I think some people forget that part. But you've done a lot that the rest of us could never do."

She sighs.

"I know you're just a kid underneath it all. And I think you deserve a lot better than living in the UG with the rest of us." She wished she could send him home. But that was far beyond what she could do. She was just a Game Master, only able to adjust rules as they pertained to the Game itself, and only able to send home the Players she felt had done well.

She shakes her head, trying to not dwell on that. She could definitely start rambling about why she thought he should have gone home if she did.

❝  i'd argue to say they did most the work. i wasn't exactly easy to deal with back then. ❞ or now. he'd grown (supposedly) but even then, a lot happened and he had to learn how to cope with his emotions. shinjuku forced him to compartmentalize things. he was still upset. still angry about being killed by coco. still angry about being lied to by so many people but.... he wouldn't let it cloud his judgement. it was merely his perspective given what he lived. he didn't have the whole picture. there were still moment he'd get angry and yell, but it took a lot more to get him to that point.

❝  i guess so. the more mr. h tells me about the UG, the more i wonder how everyone gets anything done. it sounds like a real pain of a system, even if it makes a weird amount of sense. ❞ he shoves his hands into his pockets, looking over the reaper to whom he was formerly at odds with. in this weird way, he was sort of like estranged coworker to her.

he wasn't a player. he wasn't a reaper either, but he was still involved in the UG's dealings.

❝ ... ❞ The silence, albeit brief, processing Neku's words and the predicament he's put Joshua in concludes with an exaggerated sigh. Resigning himself to the fact Neku is probably not going to budge, lest he stray from his idol's instructions (and Joshua knows Neku would sooner drag him out himself than go against CAT's orders). He creeps into view, flicking lights as he approaches, violet eyes locked on and sizing his former partner up. What could he do... manipulation? Seduction? Violence? No, any of those options would end disastrously, and in him getting chewed out. Fine. He'll pick his battles. ❝ Didn't take him for the kind of guy to exploit his apprentices by making you his errand boy. ❞ With a devious titter, he's back to his default mode, all smirks and coquettish wiles. Hooking his curl with his pointer finger as he slowly walks circles around Neku.

❝ It's alright, dear. Take a load off on the couch. I'll be quick, unless... I don't need to be. ❞ No doubt Joshua would prefer to take his sweet time. He pauses behind the boy to inspect the collar around his neck.

his body tenses under joshua's gaze as he sees the shift in the room and he makes his approach. he felt like a prey animal right now, but rather than have a fawn response, he stayed in place to show joshua he wasn't going to let himself be intimidated by him.

he didn't know what joshua was thinking. he didn't really need to either with the look on his face. what he wasn't expecting was the subtle difference of his former partner. joshua was older.

by at least a decade the more visible he was and slightly taller than the last time he saw him. more mature, at least physically. emotionally he'd shown to be the same prick. neku wasn't able to really hide the surprise in seeing him like this in a robe- but this day had already been full of surprises.

he was in CAT's apartment with joshua-- the composer, in his bed who was closer in age to his idol than he ever looked as a presumed teenager.

a plethora of questions ran through his mind all at once. just how much about joshua did he really know? was this his real age? was he older than this? was it like this all the time?

❝  he was busy with something important, according to him. so he sent me. i wasn't expecting this. ❞ he says in his own defense. he didn't even want to be here doing this, but mister hanekoma had told him it'd really help him out. he wanted to help- but now he was second thinking that..... okay, no he wasn't. it was just not what he expected.

hilary duff sentence starters

❝  i dont know about that. ❞ being the favorite or doing things wrong. it felt like everything was still nucellar. the situation might be different but it was still shibuya in panic mode since the first time this happened with him. he felt like if he breathed wrong, it'd trigger something.

❝  i don't get this whole.... favoritism thing with people towards me. it's weird. i dont think i did anything worthy of the praise people give me- it's not like i really knew what i was doing. i just.... ❞ he wanted his friends to be safe and to go back to the Real Ground. he wanted a normal life but- how was that possible for someone like him at this point. every time he went back to the RG, something in the UG pulled him back in. now, the RG feels too mundane for him. he wouldn't be able to live a normal life even if he wanted to.

not with everything he knows now.

[Text 11:40]: slacking off hmmm??? heheh jk! caramel macchiato pweaseee w/ extra whip. [Text 11:40]: & extra caramel  [Text 11:40]: & you have to share some donuts w me 🍩╰(▔∀▔)╯

It’s not exactly the most nutritious meal, but her sweet tooth was relentless in life as it was in death. (Plus, this way, she could make sure he didn’t skip lunch either.)

[Text 11:41]: thank you partner! ♡♡♡

he reads the message first before going to look to see how many donuts were left. even if they weren't technically supposed to eat the shop goods until after hours, both he and mr.h did break the rule occasionally. it wasn't like the cafe was overly busy. most of the clientele would he showing up in the evening anyway, after he himself was off.

the morning was very slow, but there was still some of a dent in what was available. they had a couple glazed and old fashioned and some that had cat prints with chocolate icing. he was learning to draw the prints today before the icing set so while they weren't the best, they definitely weren't impossible to figure out.

██ │which donuts you want? ██ │im gonna set the donuts aside for my lunchbreak and come see you.

he looked up to the man typing at the counter, writing something down on a piece of paper. it was wild, seeing CAT at work. it wasn't street art, or music, but another facet of the mans work and it was interesting to watch him work. if customers came by, they didn't bother him unless he initiated it.

She's giggling and smiling at her phone. Cut to Eri beside her, smirking and rolling her eyes.

To: @legendaryplayer

[11:36]: then you're getting a hug (whether u like it or nottttt!) ヘ(^o^ヘ) [11:37]: i owe you some nuggies! [11:37]: .................or a tuna roll (╹∀◠)

still with those nicknames. he considers for a moment, glancing across the cafe where hanekoma was typing away at the red laptop working on some coding project. hanekoma didn't care if he texted during work hours, so long as he wasn't on his phone with customers around unless it was an emergency. today the music in the cafe was a little louder than usual so he must be a little more focused on the thing he's working on.

A new Game, huh? Don't worry—I'm here to help.