Trust Your Partner

This thought crossed his mind once again when a young voice called out to him, just barely audible through his headphones. Quickly turning around, Neku was met with...

“Joshua-?” Wait... no, false alarm. Not Joshua, but rather... someone who looks terribly similar to him. Almost too similar. If Neku’s ever learned anything, it’s to never trust the ones with white hair that almost always have a smile on their face. But the boy took off his headphones and slid his hands into the pockets of his shorts.

He had actually decided to get some fresh air for a change. Brighten his spirits, feel the cool air against his skin. The temperature in Beach City never became as cold as this! It felt rather refreshing for a change. He had been, though, zipped up in his puffy jacket just to keep himself from getting sick. Even pulled on his rain boots just in case!

Upon a park bench the young guardian made his stay for when he usually plucked at his instrument. People passed and went, the occasional few who actually stopped to listen, even attempted to offer him some spare change from their pockets. All declined of course, for making music was a passion which he did not want to profit from whatsoever. He did it for the good of himself and for others.

Steven stopped abruptly when he heard an unfamiliar voice, looking up to the other with a smile on his face. Gently he began again to strum some chords which did not make up any particular song.

Not the reaction he wanted, but just about as good as he was going to get, probably. Joshua pulled his hand back with a pleased little hum, one rising to play with a curl of hair and the other sliding back into his pocket; too pleased with meeting up with him to really mind. Besides, Neku’s constant ability to go against what he predicted would happen was what made him so fascinating. 

"Aww, I’m hurt. Even after all the quality time we spent together?” His eyes shined with an unsaid joke- or maybe it was just that he was pleased- and he realised a second too late that while he might be thinking of another him with another Neku in a sewer, Neku would probably go back-

Neku would probably go back to the moment he told him to shoot him, and he gave a small quirk of his lip in response. Not quite an apologetic smile, but not a smirk either. 

"That’s good. Otherwise those three weeks would have been meaningless." Besides for Shibuya’s continued existence, of course. "And since we’re here being sappy, I trust you too; of course. You watch my behind and I’ll watch yours, right?" He waited a moment before winking, and paced a small semi-circle around him. He didn’t sense any Composers for the city- which was odd, seeing as how… monitored it’s music was. He’d been to abandoned towns, been to mountains and jungles. Any song without human interaction was wild, beating drums and bass that thrummed through the ground with the sound of life. For it to sound the way it did needed interference, and the fact that he couldn’t quite sense reapers or even angels around was curious.

Unless his powers had been constrained so much that he couldn’t, but that was… near impossible, really. Especially without his permission. It’d be easier to kill him- so that must mean that there just… weren’t any.

He paused again and turned away, 

"Fascinating and deadly romantic past. In your fever dreams." Now he wasn't even trying to hide it at this point. With a sigh of slight annoyance that only Joshua could achieve, Neku crossed his arms in thought. How did he get here?

"To be honest, I don't remember. It's like the Reaper's Game all over again. Except... it's not. No missions, no timers, no Noise, nothing. It's just... a city." Well, this was disappointing. He thought Joshua with all his omnipresent glory would know exactly why they were here. Unless the scientists handicapped him too. Now even more questions popped up.

And.

And he had a completely shameless, obvious favorite.

A favorite that was standing right in front of him now, face its usual stoic arrangement but pinched slightly at the corners. 

How embarrassed, Joshua thought with a small amount of amusement, would Neku be if he knew that he could hear his music? That he’d heard the orchestra (well, band was closer in Neku’s case) take a pause and then restart with a brighter, stronger tune? Probably pretty embarrassed, and a bit infuriated as well. He’d keep that bit of information for himself. 

"Ahh, Neku." He drawled out, face sliding into a chipper grin just a few shades more genuine than his usual ones. He didn’t understand why hadn’t recognised Neku’s tune immediately- the only reason he could think of was the fact that he hadn’t visited Shibuya in a while, and Joshua had issues sensing people inside the green loop in general; nevermind wherever the heck Neku actually lived. “I’ve missed you. Glad to see me?” 

He held out his arms in an open embrace, giggling out of sheer habit at the sight of his favorite bruise-colored proxy. “No hugs for your favorite partner?”

And- well, gay as it sounded in both meanings of the word, hearing Neku so close by felt like having a bit of his Shibuya back. He supposed he could put ‘home’ down too, but that was pushing it.

Because if there was anyone he trusted a bit further than he could throw him, it would be Neku.

If there was anyone he felt could do better than him with Shibuya, it was Neku.

If there was anyone he’d be comfortable being stuck with while being stranded in the RG and missing most of his powers, it would be Neku.

"Yeah, thanks, but no thanks." Neku responded to Joshua's gesture. Neku wouldn't exactly give Joshua what he wants unless he proved himself to have changed since he spared himself and Shibuya from disappearing. But he doubts it. Joshua is Joshua, and that isn't going to change.

But even so... Neku trusts Joshua to an extent. Not as much as Shiki, Beat or Rhyme, but he trusts Joshua. So instead, Neku grabbed Joshua's hand and gave him a firm handshake.

"You know that I can't forgive you for all the trouble you put me through. Trust and betrayal. Losses and wins. But even after all the crap you put me through, Joshua... I still trust you." Neku let go of Joshua's hand, looking directly into his eyes.

What Joshua did was unforgivable. But... he knows that Hanekoma wouldn't want Neku to flat-out hate Joshua. He knows that sparing Shibuya was the luckiest break Neku got, but even then, Neku remembered the final showdown vividly. He couldn't bring himself to shoot Joshua. Even though part of it was from anger and sadness... He didn't want Joshua to die, even if he was the Composer.

When Joshua had stepped out into the city, awe was not one of the expressions that crossed his face. Neither was fear, nor trepidation. In all actuality, he mostly just looked… bored. And he was, for the most part. Vaguely interested, perhaps; but not at all enough to warrant roaming the city with a smile. It was a little irritating, actually- the whole scientist guinea-pig thing they had going on- him, a guinea pig, ha! 

Joshua sighed and stuck his hands in his pockets, letting his eyes slide closed for just a moment before stretching backwards with a small noise; leisurely debating what sort of expression he should wear.

… He wasn’t being honest.

What really bothered him the most about the situation was the city’s music- he could deal with everything else. Not being able to feel his usual frequencies? Okay. Being (most likely) human in the RG? Also okay, he’d done it to himself before on that one week as well. Being stuck in an (now increasingly familiar) city with an inner song that felt so textbook and monitored he could compare it to the steady beating of a vegetative patient’s heart monitor? That grated on him. Shibuya was beautiful with it’s war of clashing ideas and creeds, a glorious roar of a crescendo that both drowned and accentuated the voices that rose out of the Scramble Square. And this place had none of that.

…He didn’t like it here, and wanted to get out as soon as possible, preferably. Megumi and Hanekoma could run Shibuya without him for a few… well, indefinitely if he was being honest- there wasn’t a game coming up soon anyway- but that place was also his, and being away was akin to a shoe with a broken sole. You could continue, but it was a constant reminder, and most of all it was annoying. 

But prove him wrong as he spotted someone in the distance. No. No freakin' way he was here. Impossible. Vigorously rubbing his eyes, Neku stared at the figure again and walked closer. Sure enough, it was Joshua. Neku immediately ran to him, one part of him wanting to hug him out of whatever the hell kind of emotion he felt, while the other part of him wanted to deck that pretty boy in the face for scaring him back then for making him think he was in another Game.

But he only stopped in front of Joshua, Neku's regular expression plastered on his face.

Welcome to the hive, Joshua!

You will be housed in apartment h-2.

You will retain the ability to teleport up to three times per day.

Enjoy your stay!

Character in general: How they play them: The Mun:

Do I:

RP with them: Want to RP with them:

What is my;

Overall Opinion:

He let out a quiet sigh. There wasn’t much else to assess aside from the fact that there was only one direction to walk in. He spared Neku one last glance before marching off, keeping an even pace so that it wouldn’t be difficult for his new acquaintance to keep up. "You’re talking Greek mythology, huh? I never cared for the stuff…" Mostly because it had been declared heresy before his time. 

"Minotaurs, for sure. Probably some other things that I might be forgetting, and let's hope to whatever kind of God up there that we don't come across a Medusa." The boy followed suit, keeping up with Sean's pace. If they are going to come across any monsters, they'd have to defend themselves.

Sean awoke with a start. He glanced around, eyeing the walls of the labyrinth. Then the exposed cables. Well, okay then. Slowly, he got to his feet and dusted himself off. Sean frowned. Bare hands, oh dear. He reached into his pockets and pulled out a pair of gloves which he hastily pulled over his palms. Force of habit. 

"I don't know what's up. That's the least of our problems. But it looks like we're trapped here. And even though I'd hate to say it..." Neku raised his wrist, grabbing the thread with his index finger and thumb. "If what the words I saw are true, this is our lifeline. Our lives are linked. And the only way out... is through." The boy pointed outwards, away from them. Pointed further into the labyrinth.