100 Lifetimes: Life 1 + 2
Title: 100 Lifetimes
Author: Soshite on ff.net/yami-to-hikari on lj
Summary: There are many different worlds out there, that branched out from one single place; each one special and unique. However, no matter where one would look, those two were always inextricably linked to one another. Joshua and Neku drabbles.
Rated: T
Pairing: JoshuaxNeku
Life 1
Dare You To Move
Here they were, standing face to face, each of them holding an oversized gun with a single bullet inside the barrels. They were enemies and friends - no, that was much too good a term to use on the likes of them. They had been partners, Neku thought, no matter how shallow a description that was. It had all been a Game to this person, this wretch of a human in front of him.
Or maybe Joshua had never been human in the first place.
This was the endgame now; all of Shibuya depended on Neku's ability to lift the gun and shoot Joshua dead. All the orange-haired teenager had to do was pull the trigger and that would be that. Shibuya would be space dust, Neku could go back home with his friends and he didn't have to think about the Reaper's Game ever again. Never have to look over his shoulder to see if a Reaper was tailing, never have to worry about being in some twisted freak's mind games or never have to wonder what it was that made Joshua smirk at him the way he did now.
Do it, Neku! You have to save Shibuya!
Everyone was depending on him; the pressure was higher. Saving Shiki had taken everything out of the teen already and the subsequent week by Beat's side only made the boy want to break down and sob like a little kid again. The last three weeks had been literally Hell and it was about time to emerge from the flames with gun on hand. This Game was going to be over any minute now. All he had to do was hold up the gun to Joshua's had and pull the trigger to win it all. Joshua smirked still, his arm having been raised a long time ago; he seemed at ease with the deadly weapon in his pale hand.
Neku secretly wished he was that confident. Where had the drive to do what he had to do to survive gone? Three weeks ago, he had no problem using his Psychs to almost erase Shiki from existence, when a Reaper had lied to him about letting him out of the Game, if he did. Although it hadn't sit well with him then, he raised up a hand, feeling the flow of telekinesis rush from the pin through him as his first partner was lifted into the air, by her throat.
That moment felt so long ago and so foreign. Had that really been Neku, then? Had that arrogant boy been him up until now? He couldn't believe it.
The teen couldn't believe how much he had changed since then, either.
Trust your partner.
There were no partners to help him now.
It was just Neku and Joshua and two guns, in the middle of the Room of Reckoning.
His heart skipped a beat.
He raised the gun and pressed on the trigger. He would make it quick, he decided. He had to remember, this was for all of Shibuya. He could do it.
Joshua chuckled and Neku faltered.
He couldn't do it, could he?
I've changed too much.
That was his realization then and he knew that he had lost the Game. He had failed and Shibuya would take the brunt of his inability to defend the place he loved the most. Yes, he loved his Shibuya. It was loud, noisy, with the same old tall sky scrappers and busy streets filled to the brim with people jostling him all the time and annoying the hell out of him...but he still loved it all the same. It was also filled with people he cared for, like Shiki, Rhyme and Beat and with all the things he was passionate about - that he only realized too late that he had a passion for - music, the differentiating views of the fast paced town, the graffiti art of his most admired artist. If he could keep them safe, then he should, because Shibuya had become an integral part of his life! And had always been so and now it had more to offer him than just a stifling air and crowded streets.
But...
He couldn't shoot Joshua.
He could never shoot Joshua, because...
Joshua was everything Shibuya, wasn't he? He ruled over Shibuya and was, in essence, kind of like Shibuya's soul, right? He had the will and power to keep it all together without things coming apart at the seams; he kept the flow of Soul going and guided the city for what it was worth.
Joshua had also been his partner, who he had trusted, even if the bastard had been as suspicious as Hell. There were times when he wanted to strangle him, others where he was simply glad that the boy had chosen him to be his partner, above all else. Prissy as they came, he had been obnoxious, annoying and the most frustrating person he had ever met.
But he had been interesting and helpful and he still owed him for shielding Neku from getting hurt back during Pi Face's attack, even if it had been for an ulterior motive.
He still owed him one, didn't he? Yes, that was a good way of putting things. Much better than the feelings of sadness and pain the ripped through his entire being when he thought of that supposed last moment with the pale-haired Composer. Neku wouldn't have to think he felt sorry for allowing his partner to get hurt like that, for allowing his partner to get into such a dangerous situation because of him. Neku had already lost Shiki at that time; losing Joshua had been the proverbial straw on the camel's back.
Neku put the gun down, trying to keep himself from turning tail and running for his life. He had to stay and take responsibility. If all of Shibuya was going to fall anyways, he might as well take his due punishment like a man...even if he felt like a very small boy then.
I'm scared.
Trust your partner.
Maybe Joshua would understand why he was doing this, why he was giving up when there was so much on the line. Maybe, just maybe, the Composer would understand his sentiments right now and do the right thing when he was gone like so much Shibuya space dust.
Maybe, in some alternate universe, they could have been real friends and not just partners.
I won't forgive you, Joshua, for what you're about to do...but I trust you.
A tear fell and a shot rang loudly through the Room of Reckoning.
Life 2
Last Kiss
Ring! Ring!
"Huh?" Neku blinked, stopping in his tracks.
Ring! Ring!
Perplexed at first, he soon realized what was making that sound. It had been a while, since he had pretty much shut-off the volume on the thing since 'The Incident'.
"Oh, my cell..."
The orange top pulled out the little device from his pocket and flipped it open, not saying a word as he found out that someone had sent him a text message.
Beep!
"...A chain text?" Neku mused aloud, wondering who had sent it and what it was about. It read:
Dear friend,
Did you know that if you hiccup 100 times, you die? It's true! Watch out!
A concerned friend
The teen stared incredulously at the weird text in his phone for a good two seconds after he had finished reading it. He checked the message details and, strangely, found no sender or number attached to the text.
Must be a private number, he thought.
Without wasting another second, he deleted the useless message and continued heading over to Wildkat where his friends were waiting for him today and they were all going to hang out and it was going to be great. No point in worrying over a dumb urban legend like that, after all.
Neku had no idea that his day was going to shift from 'pleasant' to the realm of 'waking nightmare'.
When he arrived at the cafe known for being utterly devoid of people, even during the lunch hour rush, the teen saw that Shiki had already arrived and scored them the best seats in the house (which, admittedly, wasn't a particularly hard feat to accomplish at Wildkat). Beat and Rhyme had yet to make their appearance, but it would seem that someone had already taken up a seat next to Shiki at the counter...
And it wasn't Eri.
"Oh, why hello, Neku dear."
There was Joshua, sitting ever-so-nonchalantly at the counter, a mug of steaming hot bitterness in his slender, effeminate hands. That same old smirk was on his lips, but those violet eyes...they were the tip-off to some great trouble. Neku had learned over time that whenever the Composer's eyes looked at him that way, it meant that he should be running away in the opposite direction, as fast as his legs could take him. It was almost nostalgic, this feeling of horror mixed with irritation at the sight of Joshua.
Just like old times, Neku thought sardonically.
On a whim, Neku checked his back for a knife-or a 'kick me' sign. Never knew when Joshua was going to stab you or punk you somehow, after all.
"Joshua. What brings you here?" Neku asked, choosing the seat next to Shiki that wasn't taken.
Joshua gave a little shrug and sipped his coffee.
"Isn't it obvious?" the Composer drawled, much in a way a long suffering teenager spoke to his parents when they asked him if he had done his homework or not (and he usually hadn't, but the answer would always be 'yes', because god forbid a teenager ever told their parents the truth). "I'm having a coffee break."
"Composers can have coffee breaks?" inquired a familiar male voice, drawing the attention of the group of assembled teens. Hanekoma grinned in greeting to the kids as he came into the shop proper, having been re-arranging stock in the back. Or something like that. "Heya, Phones. So, what'll it be today?"
Neku scowled down two seats. "Got any pesticide?"
Hanekoma laughed. "Fresh out, I'm afraid."
Neku sulked. "Coffee, then. No milk or sugar; just black." Nodding, the barista of the WildKat went to brew up some of his special black magic. The girl on the boy's side giggled.
"Aaaw...are we in a bad mood today, Neku?" Shiki asked, smiling in amusement. The animosity still felt by her friend towards Shibuya's Composer was still apparent and very obvious. From space you could clearly see some things: The Great Wall of China, Stone Henge and Neku Sakuraba glaring daggers at Yoshiya Kiryuu. Although she thought it was a little mean, Shiki thought it was funny to see the two interact the way they did. Joshua, acting all calm and cool (and not just a little snotty, truth be told); Neku spitting and hissing like a cat being threatened.
Ring! Ring!
Shiki was startled at the sound of her own ringtone and quickly picked it up before it bothered anyone else. Not that the pale-haired teen on her left seemed at all fazed from the noise. Neku nearly fell out of his chair and actually started to hiccup as she opened up her cell to read a text message inside.
"Oh, Neku dear. Sounds like you've got the hiccups," Joshua stated smoothly, with a little smile on his lips. He rested an elbow on the countertop and cradled his chin in his hand, watching as the orange haired boy on the other side of Shiki hiccupped a few times. "Did you know that if you hiccup a hundred times, you die? Isn't that right, Shiki?" The dark haired girl nearly jumped out of her seat in surprise when the Composer's attention was suddenly fixed on her. So surprised, in fact, that she nearly dropped her phone onto the floor (and possibly breaking it), had Neku not been swift enough to catch it.
Laughing nervously, Shiki swiped her phone back from a blinking and still hiccupping Neku.
"Oh, y-yeah. Right," Shiki said. There was a pause where no one said anything and the girl got a little anxious, especially since it seemed that quite a few in the cafe were waiting for her to say something else. And so, she said only what could be said at the moment. "What?"
"That's-hic-it?" Neku asked.
"What else did you expect me to say?" Shiki posed back. All the orange top managed was a few more hiccups just as Hanekoma came back with his ordered cup o' joe, which, despite being very hot, Neku downed in record time, much to the horror of the seamstress-girl. "Neku!"
Slamming the cup down on the counter, Neku gasped for precious air as Joshua looked on and giggled. A glare was sent the Composer's way (and was nonchalantly brushed off), glad that he had stopped his sudden onset of hiccups. Growling, he said, "I'm okay. I think I just burned off my taste buds." He paused a moment. "Hiccups are gone, though."
"Well, that's too bad. Here I was, ready to come to your rescue," Joshua stated with a little chuckle.
"I don't need any help, especially from you of all people," snarled Neku.
Before Joshua had a chance to make a snappy comeback (with an equally snarky return rally from Neku) Shiki cut in with a quick flail of her arms, bodily getting in between the two boys.
"O-oh! Um...Neku! Beat and Rhyme say they're not coming today."
"Huh?" said Neku.
Joshua took on a pensive look that had a hint of disappointment in it. "Oh? Well, that's too bad. I was hoping to be able to hang out with 'the gang'."
Neku snorted. "'The gang'? Seriously?' the boy asked, sounding quite incredulous. Boy, Joshua sure liked to use dated terminology. Then again, he had never been sure of the Composer's true age and he wasn't sure he wanted to know. Last thing the teenager wanted to think about was that he could possibly be hanging around the ultimate pedophile or something like that. Knowing Joshua like he did it just might be possible.
Especially when he started smiling the way he did now.
"Ah, well. Can't have everything, can we?" the pale teen said with a cheerful air. "It'll be just the three of us. My pretty Shiki -" Shiki blushed cutely at this, causing Neku to momentarily experience that faint warmth he always felt whenever she was happy (no matter the source of said happiness). "- and my adorable, Neku!"
The drawl in the way Joshua pronounced the orange-haired teen's name made said teenager's skin crawl. Joshua was up to no good again, he knew. There was trouble ahead and he could imagine all sorts of nasty things happening to him: getting shot, being forced to cross-dress, getting shot, eating weird herbs and roots, getting shot and did Neku mention getting shot and -
Hiccup!
Oh, no way. His hiccups were back.
"Oh, my," Joshua began, a delicate hand close to his mouth as he feigned shock. "It would seem that your hiccups have returned."
"No - hic - really - hic - Captain Obvious?" Neku managed, in between jumps of his diaphragm. He glared balefully at the other boy who just shrugged nonchalantly, before smirking, as if Neku's little episodes were entirely his doing.
Considering the nature of Shibuya and its Composer and Neku's own self-imposed paranoia that resulted from Joshua's past actions, the orange top had every right to suspect the oh-so-innocent looking pale boy. It was hard to be even remotely angry with him, though, because his hiccups kept distracting him from his slow burning rage.
"Neku, try holding your breath," Shiki suggested, face expressing concern for her friend.
"Count to ten while you do," Joshua added with a coy smirk.
The teen tried that, but it didn't really work and his hiccups were getting worse. It hadn't progressed to rapid fire succession yet, but now a hiccup would come in between every other word and it was frustrating. While Shiki (and eventually Hanekoma) tried to help the poor boy to stop his hiccups, the Composer seemed to be having a ball watching his favorite native Shibuyan suffer, while counting how many times he was hiccupping.
"…78…79…80…"
Shiki actually shot Joshua a glare. "Joshua, you could do something other than count."
"Ah, but if I don't, we won't be able to keep track of how many times Neku here has hiccupped. Don't wanting him to croak again, now do we?" The pale boy as smiling from ear to ear, privately laughing up the situation as Neku realized what he meant and was panicking a bit more and that meant he was hiccupping faster. No way in Hell was he going to die young again!
Shiki was also panicking. "Mister Hanekoma, get a paper bag! Hurry!"
"On it! Just hang on, Phones!" The older man was off, though his pace was irritatingly slower than it should be. Obviously, he didn't believe the myth of hiccupping to death. Then again, no one had really ever hiccupped long enough to actually know for sure.
"…89…90….91…"
"Oh, god!" Shiki cried, frantic. Neku was, too, but he couldn't even manage a word now. He whipped his head about wildly, wondering if there was anything he could use to stop his hiccups before they reached 100.
His eyes met Joshua's, who was still calmly counting down.
"..95…96…97…"
Do something! Neku mentally begged the Composer. And Joshua…sneaky, smirking, mind reading, evil Joshua...
…Grabbed the teen and pulled him in for a good, wet French kiss that surprised the hiccups right out of Neku. The orange-haired teen froze as he was giving the tongue-lashing of a lifetime as his first ever kiss and it was by one of the people he both called friend and enemy. It lasted a good minute before Joshua deigned to let go, walking away as he licked his lips, a spring in his step.
"Oh, would you look at that. No more hiccups," Joshua stated with a slight sing-song tone. "Sadly, I am needed in the Underground right now, so I'll take my leave. Ta-ta, Shiki...Neku."
With an infuriating giggle, the Composer left, leaving the two teens and the returning barista alone in the Wildkat.
Shiki was rubbing her friend's back comfortingly, face slightly pink from what she had just witnessed. She kept her eyes somewhat averted from Neku's horror-frozen face as Hanekoma happily announced that he had found the paper bag.
"Neku, you okay?" Shiki inquired, rather bashfully.
Neku blinked, coming out of his catatonic state to look down at the dark-haired seamstress, noticing the pinkness of her cheeks. Normally, this would have served to make Neku feel pleasantly happy and warm, but it only served as a reminder to what just happened seconds ago. He brought his hands up and slapped them onto his face.
"…Why do I trust him so much?" lamented Neku.
"On the bright side, Neku...your hiccups are gone!"
And so went another day in Shibuya.
Author: Soshite on ff.net/yami-to-hikari on lj
Summary: There are many different worlds out there, that branched out from one single place; each one special and unique. However, no matter where one would look, those two were always inextricably linked to one another. Joshua and Neku drabbles.
Rated: T
Pairing: JoshuaxNeku
Life 1
Dare You To Move
Here they were, standing face to face, each of them holding an oversized gun with a single bullet inside the barrels. They were enemies and friends - no, that was much too good a term to use on the likes of them. They had been partners, Neku thought, no matter how shallow a description that was. It had all been a Game to this person, this wretch of a human in front of him.
Or maybe Joshua had never been human in the first place.
This was the endgame now; all of Shibuya depended on Neku's ability to lift the gun and shoot Joshua dead. All the orange-haired teenager had to do was pull the trigger and that would be that. Shibuya would be space dust, Neku could go back home with his friends and he didn't have to think about the Reaper's Game ever again. Never have to look over his shoulder to see if a Reaper was tailing, never have to worry about being in some twisted freak's mind games or never have to wonder what it was that made Joshua smirk at him the way he did now.
Do it, Neku! You have to save Shibuya!
Everyone was depending on him; the pressure was higher. Saving Shiki had taken everything out of the teen already and the subsequent week by Beat's side only made the boy want to break down and sob like a little kid again. The last three weeks had been literally Hell and it was about time to emerge from the flames with gun on hand. This Game was going to be over any minute now. All he had to do was hold up the gun to Joshua's had and pull the trigger to win it all. Joshua smirked still, his arm having been raised a long time ago; he seemed at ease with the deadly weapon in his pale hand.
Neku secretly wished he was that confident. Where had the drive to do what he had to do to survive gone? Three weeks ago, he had no problem using his Psychs to almost erase Shiki from existence, when a Reaper had lied to him about letting him out of the Game, if he did. Although it hadn't sit well with him then, he raised up a hand, feeling the flow of telekinesis rush from the pin through him as his first partner was lifted into the air, by her throat.
That moment felt so long ago and so foreign. Had that really been Neku, then? Had that arrogant boy been him up until now? He couldn't believe it.
The teen couldn't believe how much he had changed since then, either.
Trust your partner.
There were no partners to help him now.
It was just Neku and Joshua and two guns, in the middle of the Room of Reckoning.
His heart skipped a beat.
He raised the gun and pressed on the trigger. He would make it quick, he decided. He had to remember, this was for all of Shibuya. He could do it.
Joshua chuckled and Neku faltered.
He couldn't do it, could he?
I've changed too much.
That was his realization then and he knew that he had lost the Game. He had failed and Shibuya would take the brunt of his inability to defend the place he loved the most. Yes, he loved his Shibuya. It was loud, noisy, with the same old tall sky scrappers and busy streets filled to the brim with people jostling him all the time and annoying the hell out of him...but he still loved it all the same. It was also filled with people he cared for, like Shiki, Rhyme and Beat and with all the things he was passionate about - that he only realized too late that he had a passion for - music, the differentiating views of the fast paced town, the graffiti art of his most admired artist. If he could keep them safe, then he should, because Shibuya had become an integral part of his life! And had always been so and now it had more to offer him than just a stifling air and crowded streets.
But...
He couldn't shoot Joshua.
He could never shoot Joshua, because...
Joshua was everything Shibuya, wasn't he? He ruled over Shibuya and was, in essence, kind of like Shibuya's soul, right? He had the will and power to keep it all together without things coming apart at the seams; he kept the flow of Soul going and guided the city for what it was worth.
Joshua had also been his partner, who he had trusted, even if the bastard had been as suspicious as Hell. There were times when he wanted to strangle him, others where he was simply glad that the boy had chosen him to be his partner, above all else. Prissy as they came, he had been obnoxious, annoying and the most frustrating person he had ever met.
But he had been interesting and helpful and he still owed him for shielding Neku from getting hurt back during Pi Face's attack, even if it had been for an ulterior motive.
He still owed him one, didn't he? Yes, that was a good way of putting things. Much better than the feelings of sadness and pain the ripped through his entire being when he thought of that supposed last moment with the pale-haired Composer. Neku wouldn't have to think he felt sorry for allowing his partner to get hurt like that, for allowing his partner to get into such a dangerous situation because of him. Neku had already lost Shiki at that time; losing Joshua had been the proverbial straw on the camel's back.
Neku put the gun down, trying to keep himself from turning tail and running for his life. He had to stay and take responsibility. If all of Shibuya was going to fall anyways, he might as well take his due punishment like a man...even if he felt like a very small boy then.
I'm scared.
Trust your partner.
Maybe Joshua would understand why he was doing this, why he was giving up when there was so much on the line. Maybe, just maybe, the Composer would understand his sentiments right now and do the right thing when he was gone like so much Shibuya space dust.
Maybe, in some alternate universe, they could have been real friends and not just partners.
I won't forgive you, Joshua, for what you're about to do...but I trust you.
A tear fell and a shot rang loudly through the Room of Reckoning.
Life 2
Last Kiss
Ring! Ring!
"Huh?" Neku blinked, stopping in his tracks.
Ring! Ring!
Perplexed at first, he soon realized what was making that sound. It had been a while, since he had pretty much shut-off the volume on the thing since 'The Incident'.
"Oh, my cell..."
The orange top pulled out the little device from his pocket and flipped it open, not saying a word as he found out that someone had sent him a text message.
Beep!
"...A chain text?" Neku mused aloud, wondering who had sent it and what it was about. It read:
Dear friend,
Did you know that if you hiccup 100 times, you die? It's true! Watch out!
A concerned friend
The teen stared incredulously at the weird text in his phone for a good two seconds after he had finished reading it. He checked the message details and, strangely, found no sender or number attached to the text.
Must be a private number, he thought.
Without wasting another second, he deleted the useless message and continued heading over to Wildkat where his friends were waiting for him today and they were all going to hang out and it was going to be great. No point in worrying over a dumb urban legend like that, after all.
Neku had no idea that his day was going to shift from 'pleasant' to the realm of 'waking nightmare'.
When he arrived at the cafe known for being utterly devoid of people, even during the lunch hour rush, the teen saw that Shiki had already arrived and scored them the best seats in the house (which, admittedly, wasn't a particularly hard feat to accomplish at Wildkat). Beat and Rhyme had yet to make their appearance, but it would seem that someone had already taken up a seat next to Shiki at the counter...
And it wasn't Eri.
"Oh, why hello, Neku dear."
There was Joshua, sitting ever-so-nonchalantly at the counter, a mug of steaming hot bitterness in his slender, effeminate hands. That same old smirk was on his lips, but those violet eyes...they were the tip-off to some great trouble. Neku had learned over time that whenever the Composer's eyes looked at him that way, it meant that he should be running away in the opposite direction, as fast as his legs could take him. It was almost nostalgic, this feeling of horror mixed with irritation at the sight of Joshua.
Just like old times, Neku thought sardonically.
On a whim, Neku checked his back for a knife-or a 'kick me' sign. Never knew when Joshua was going to stab you or punk you somehow, after all.
"Joshua. What brings you here?" Neku asked, choosing the seat next to Shiki that wasn't taken.
Joshua gave a little shrug and sipped his coffee.
"Isn't it obvious?" the Composer drawled, much in a way a long suffering teenager spoke to his parents when they asked him if he had done his homework or not (and he usually hadn't, but the answer would always be 'yes', because god forbid a teenager ever told their parents the truth). "I'm having a coffee break."
"Composers can have coffee breaks?" inquired a familiar male voice, drawing the attention of the group of assembled teens. Hanekoma grinned in greeting to the kids as he came into the shop proper, having been re-arranging stock in the back. Or something like that. "Heya, Phones. So, what'll it be today?"
Neku scowled down two seats. "Got any pesticide?"
Hanekoma laughed. "Fresh out, I'm afraid."
Neku sulked. "Coffee, then. No milk or sugar; just black." Nodding, the barista of the WildKat went to brew up some of his special black magic. The girl on the boy's side giggled.
"Aaaw...are we in a bad mood today, Neku?" Shiki asked, smiling in amusement. The animosity still felt by her friend towards Shibuya's Composer was still apparent and very obvious. From space you could clearly see some things: The Great Wall of China, Stone Henge and Neku Sakuraba glaring daggers at Yoshiya Kiryuu. Although she thought it was a little mean, Shiki thought it was funny to see the two interact the way they did. Joshua, acting all calm and cool (and not just a little snotty, truth be told); Neku spitting and hissing like a cat being threatened.
Ring! Ring!
Shiki was startled at the sound of her own ringtone and quickly picked it up before it bothered anyone else. Not that the pale-haired teen on her left seemed at all fazed from the noise. Neku nearly fell out of his chair and actually started to hiccup as she opened up her cell to read a text message inside.
"Oh, Neku dear. Sounds like you've got the hiccups," Joshua stated smoothly, with a little smile on his lips. He rested an elbow on the countertop and cradled his chin in his hand, watching as the orange haired boy on the other side of Shiki hiccupped a few times. "Did you know that if you hiccup a hundred times, you die? Isn't that right, Shiki?" The dark haired girl nearly jumped out of her seat in surprise when the Composer's attention was suddenly fixed on her. So surprised, in fact, that she nearly dropped her phone onto the floor (and possibly breaking it), had Neku not been swift enough to catch it.
Laughing nervously, Shiki swiped her phone back from a blinking and still hiccupping Neku.
"Oh, y-yeah. Right," Shiki said. There was a pause where no one said anything and the girl got a little anxious, especially since it seemed that quite a few in the cafe were waiting for her to say something else. And so, she said only what could be said at the moment. "What?"
"That's-hic-it?" Neku asked.
"What else did you expect me to say?" Shiki posed back. All the orange top managed was a few more hiccups just as Hanekoma came back with his ordered cup o' joe, which, despite being very hot, Neku downed in record time, much to the horror of the seamstress-girl. "Neku!"
Slamming the cup down on the counter, Neku gasped for precious air as Joshua looked on and giggled. A glare was sent the Composer's way (and was nonchalantly brushed off), glad that he had stopped his sudden onset of hiccups. Growling, he said, "I'm okay. I think I just burned off my taste buds." He paused a moment. "Hiccups are gone, though."
"Well, that's too bad. Here I was, ready to come to your rescue," Joshua stated with a little chuckle.
"I don't need any help, especially from you of all people," snarled Neku.
Before Joshua had a chance to make a snappy comeback (with an equally snarky return rally from Neku) Shiki cut in with a quick flail of her arms, bodily getting in between the two boys.
"O-oh! Um...Neku! Beat and Rhyme say they're not coming today."
"Huh?" said Neku.
Joshua took on a pensive look that had a hint of disappointment in it. "Oh? Well, that's too bad. I was hoping to be able to hang out with 'the gang'."
Neku snorted. "'The gang'? Seriously?' the boy asked, sounding quite incredulous. Boy, Joshua sure liked to use dated terminology. Then again, he had never been sure of the Composer's true age and he wasn't sure he wanted to know. Last thing the teenager wanted to think about was that he could possibly be hanging around the ultimate pedophile or something like that. Knowing Joshua like he did it just might be possible.
Especially when he started smiling the way he did now.
"Ah, well. Can't have everything, can we?" the pale teen said with a cheerful air. "It'll be just the three of us. My pretty Shiki -" Shiki blushed cutely at this, causing Neku to momentarily experience that faint warmth he always felt whenever she was happy (no matter the source of said happiness). "- and my adorable, Neku!"
The drawl in the way Joshua pronounced the orange-haired teen's name made said teenager's skin crawl. Joshua was up to no good again, he knew. There was trouble ahead and he could imagine all sorts of nasty things happening to him: getting shot, being forced to cross-dress, getting shot, eating weird herbs and roots, getting shot and did Neku mention getting shot and -
Hiccup!
Oh, no way. His hiccups were back.
"Oh, my," Joshua began, a delicate hand close to his mouth as he feigned shock. "It would seem that your hiccups have returned."
"No - hic - really - hic - Captain Obvious?" Neku managed, in between jumps of his diaphragm. He glared balefully at the other boy who just shrugged nonchalantly, before smirking, as if Neku's little episodes were entirely his doing.
Considering the nature of Shibuya and its Composer and Neku's own self-imposed paranoia that resulted from Joshua's past actions, the orange top had every right to suspect the oh-so-innocent looking pale boy. It was hard to be even remotely angry with him, though, because his hiccups kept distracting him from his slow burning rage.
"Neku, try holding your breath," Shiki suggested, face expressing concern for her friend.
"Count to ten while you do," Joshua added with a coy smirk.
The teen tried that, but it didn't really work and his hiccups were getting worse. It hadn't progressed to rapid fire succession yet, but now a hiccup would come in between every other word and it was frustrating. While Shiki (and eventually Hanekoma) tried to help the poor boy to stop his hiccups, the Composer seemed to be having a ball watching his favorite native Shibuyan suffer, while counting how many times he was hiccupping.
"…78…79…80…"
Shiki actually shot Joshua a glare. "Joshua, you could do something other than count."
"Ah, but if I don't, we won't be able to keep track of how many times Neku here has hiccupped. Don't wanting him to croak again, now do we?" The pale boy as smiling from ear to ear, privately laughing up the situation as Neku realized what he meant and was panicking a bit more and that meant he was hiccupping faster. No way in Hell was he going to die young again!
Shiki was also panicking. "Mister Hanekoma, get a paper bag! Hurry!"
"On it! Just hang on, Phones!" The older man was off, though his pace was irritatingly slower than it should be. Obviously, he didn't believe the myth of hiccupping to death. Then again, no one had really ever hiccupped long enough to actually know for sure.
"…89…90….91…"
"Oh, god!" Shiki cried, frantic. Neku was, too, but he couldn't even manage a word now. He whipped his head about wildly, wondering if there was anything he could use to stop his hiccups before they reached 100.
His eyes met Joshua's, who was still calmly counting down.
"..95…96…97…"
Do something! Neku mentally begged the Composer. And Joshua…sneaky, smirking, mind reading, evil Joshua...
…Grabbed the teen and pulled him in for a good, wet French kiss that surprised the hiccups right out of Neku. The orange-haired teen froze as he was giving the tongue-lashing of a lifetime as his first ever kiss and it was by one of the people he both called friend and enemy. It lasted a good minute before Joshua deigned to let go, walking away as he licked his lips, a spring in his step.
"Oh, would you look at that. No more hiccups," Joshua stated with a slight sing-song tone. "Sadly, I am needed in the Underground right now, so I'll take my leave. Ta-ta, Shiki...Neku."
With an infuriating giggle, the Composer left, leaving the two teens and the returning barista alone in the Wildkat.
Shiki was rubbing her friend's back comfortingly, face slightly pink from what she had just witnessed. She kept her eyes somewhat averted from Neku's horror-frozen face as Hanekoma happily announced that he had found the paper bag.
"Neku, you okay?" Shiki inquired, rather bashfully.
Neku blinked, coming out of his catatonic state to look down at the dark-haired seamstress, noticing the pinkness of her cheeks. Normally, this would have served to make Neku feel pleasantly happy and warm, but it only served as a reminder to what just happened seconds ago. He brought his hands up and slapped them onto his face.
"…Why do I trust him so much?" lamented Neku.
"On the bright side, Neku...your hiccups are gone!"
And so went another day in Shibuya.