[jsr & twewy] I don't even know
More. For moonsheen.
While Hanekoma calls Neku, Joshua makes a call of his own. He's mildly surprised when the other end picks up.
"Shibuya," says Yoyogi, formal and cool and laced with intent.
"I'm giving you one chance to back off," Joshua says.
Rokakku has the nerve to laugh. Static spits off of Joshua's line, startling him into jerking the phone from his ear to stare at it. When he presses the phone to his ear again, Rokakku's uproarious laughter has died down to a chuckle.
"Very well," Joshua says. "But you only have yourself to blame when you lose this war."
"Oh, little brother," Rokakku says. "You always assume it's about you."
"When your Players are tagging my Producer's work, you'd best believe it's about me." He's not smiling, but his tone is saccharine-sweet.
"I'm just looking for something. It's of value to my Game. Once I find it, you'll never hear from me again."
If only Joshua could believe that. "It was nice knowing you, Yoyogi. I wonder what your throne feels like."
Rokakku starts laughing again, bursts of static cutting through, and Joshua hangs up. He stares at his phone, pensive, until Hanekoma clears his throat; he looks up with a smile. "How is Neku?"
"His wit is as razor-sharp as ever," the Producer replies, sighing. "He'll meet you tomorrow morning at the cafe."
"Not soon enough. I'll visit him tonight," Joshua decides.
Hanekoma cocks an eyebrow. "What are you thinking?"
"You worry too much," Joshua chides. "Besides, you have your work cut out for you." He waves his hand at the ruined mural. "Have fun painting, CAT."
*
Neku goes to sleep in his bed, in his pajamas. He takes sleeping in a bed - in pajamas - for granted, up until he wakes up and finds he's haphazardly dressed and standing in front of Hachiko.
"Okay," he says. "What the hell."
He spends a brief moment entertaining the idea that this is just a really vivid dream before Joshua says, "Hello, Neku," and hops down from his perch atop the statue. Then he's not sure, because Joshua is a dick and also a god. There should be a rule against being both at the same time.
Not much of Tokyo has an active night life, because most people have to get home before the trains stop running. Downtown Shibuya is an exception, because it bumps up against a heavily populated residential zone and has more than a few night clubs. There are people everywhere, but they sound weirdly muted to Neku, almost as if he's hearing their thoughts instead of their words.
"This had better be a dream," Neku growls at Joshua.
Joshua looks exactly like he did in the game - is even wearing the same clothes Neku first met him in - and he giggles in the exact. Same. Irritating way. "I imprinted you to dress and come to Hachiko. Humans are so suggestible in their sleep."
Neku doesn't grab Joshua by the lapels and shake him, mostly because he remembers that Joshua is the Composer. Instead he shakes a fist. "You son of a--"
Joshua clicks his tongue. "Such language! Of course you're dreaming. Sharing a dream, really."
Neku takes a moment to absorb this, then looks around at all the muted people, talking but their words not syncing with their lips. "What, so ... these are all dreaming people?"
"Lay back and think of Shibuya," Joshua says in a thoughtful way, gazing the same direction Neku is before he snaps his intense gaze back to the teen. "Anyway, they're not important. I need you to do something for me tomorrow."
There's something already happening tomorrow, but it takes Neku a strangely long time to recall it. "... I'm going to meet up with you tomorrow," he says blankly. Wait, is he dreaming about Joshua because he's going to meet up with him for the first time in months? Is he making all this up? He's never dreamed about Joshua before, but--
"Forget that. Tomorrow you're going to Yoyogi. I'd prefer it if you took along Shiki," Joshua says, interrupting his thoughts. "And your sketchbook, or a camera. Take pictures of all the graffiti you see."
"Woah, woah," Neku snaps, holding up a warding hand. "Since when am I your errand boy?" When Joshua just smirks at him, Neku groans, "Don't answer that."
Joshua pouts. He pouts very prettily. "But you were such a good prox--"
"Shut up, shut up," Neku hisses. Damn it all, if he's dreaming this up, can't Joshua be slightly less infuriating? "Seriously, give me one good reason why I should just take a day trip to Yoyogi because you said so."
Joshua cocks his head. "Don't you trust me, Neku?"
Neku hates, hates that question, because he hates the answer, so he ignores it. "It's a pretty simple question," he growls. "And while I'd believe it if you said you'd melt if you answered something straight up, I need you to try to make it make sense. Just this once."
To his surprise, Joshua's amused little smile fades. "It's better if you don't know. It's something I need done, and that should be reason enough for you, seeing as you belong to me."
It's not said in a joking manner; Joshua is completely serious about this being his reasoning. Neku's mouth falls open in enraged shock. "... No."
"'No'?" Joshua asks in a tone so mild it makes the hair on the nape of Neku's neck stand up.
The thing that makes Joshua so creepy is ... well, the list goes on and on, could probably circle the globe twice, but at the moment Neku is standing on the wrong end of a gun because of a god's game, and Shibuya is on a knife's-edge because said god wants to start from scratch, and none of this would have happened if Joshua didn't regard Shibuya and everyone in it as his possession.
Possibly Neku most of all, which is just creepier.
He licks his lips and stands his ground anyway. He's relatively sure Joshua can't kill him for real in a dream. "Screw that. Why should I go to Yoyogi?"
At first he thinks Joshua is going to go Composer on his ass, but quite abruptly the Composer giggles. "Oh, Neku. You're so manly."
"What--!?" Neku's fingers twitch and he grits his teeth.
"You might be interested to know that earlier today, a gang from Yoyogi tagged over CAT's mural in Udagawa," Joshua says.
That stops Neku's anger right in its tracks. He can't imagine anyone wanting to tag over CAT's work. "What?" he repeats, feeling as if the wind has been knocked out of him.
"It was quite a surprise," Joshua admits, looking not very surprised at all. "Needless to say, Mr. Hanekoma is very interested in who did it. As am I. I just thought you might be willing to do your favorite artist a little favor, but perhaps ..."
Neku resists the urge to punch Joshua in the jaw. "You could have just told me that from the beginning!"
"Oh, what's the fun in that? And I see you so rarely," Joshua teases.
"Hah hah hah," Neku deadpans. The real question is, why do you care so much about CAT's art? "So if I figure out what gang did it, what are you going to do about it?"
"Dear Neku, you really should just stop asking questions while you're ahead," Joshua says with teeth.
"Does it involve shooting people? Because I think you've done that enough for one lifetime."
"Would you let that go?" Joshua asks, rolling his eyes.
"Uh, no," Neku shoots back, scrubbing his hands back into his hair.
Joshua sighs dramatically. "Then goodnight, Neku," he says, with a dismissive handwave.
"Hey. Hey, I'm not coming and going at your beck and--"
"--call," Neku finishes to his bedroom ceiling.
tbc or something
While Hanekoma calls Neku, Joshua makes a call of his own. He's mildly surprised when the other end picks up.
"Shibuya," says Yoyogi, formal and cool and laced with intent.
"I'm giving you one chance to back off," Joshua says.
Rokakku has the nerve to laugh. Static spits off of Joshua's line, startling him into jerking the phone from his ear to stare at it. When he presses the phone to his ear again, Rokakku's uproarious laughter has died down to a chuckle.
"Very well," Joshua says. "But you only have yourself to blame when you lose this war."
"Oh, little brother," Rokakku says. "You always assume it's about you."
"When your Players are tagging my Producer's work, you'd best believe it's about me." He's not smiling, but his tone is saccharine-sweet.
"I'm just looking for something. It's of value to my Game. Once I find it, you'll never hear from me again."
If only Joshua could believe that. "It was nice knowing you, Yoyogi. I wonder what your throne feels like."
Rokakku starts laughing again, bursts of static cutting through, and Joshua hangs up. He stares at his phone, pensive, until Hanekoma clears his throat; he looks up with a smile. "How is Neku?"
"His wit is as razor-sharp as ever," the Producer replies, sighing. "He'll meet you tomorrow morning at the cafe."
"Not soon enough. I'll visit him tonight," Joshua decides.
Hanekoma cocks an eyebrow. "What are you thinking?"
"You worry too much," Joshua chides. "Besides, you have your work cut out for you." He waves his hand at the ruined mural. "Have fun painting, CAT."
*
Neku goes to sleep in his bed, in his pajamas. He takes sleeping in a bed - in pajamas - for granted, up until he wakes up and finds he's haphazardly dressed and standing in front of Hachiko.
"Okay," he says. "What the hell."
He spends a brief moment entertaining the idea that this is just a really vivid dream before Joshua says, "Hello, Neku," and hops down from his perch atop the statue. Then he's not sure, because Joshua is a dick and also a god. There should be a rule against being both at the same time.
Not much of Tokyo has an active night life, because most people have to get home before the trains stop running. Downtown Shibuya is an exception, because it bumps up against a heavily populated residential zone and has more than a few night clubs. There are people everywhere, but they sound weirdly muted to Neku, almost as if he's hearing their thoughts instead of their words.
"This had better be a dream," Neku growls at Joshua.
Joshua looks exactly like he did in the game - is even wearing the same clothes Neku first met him in - and he giggles in the exact. Same. Irritating way. "I imprinted you to dress and come to Hachiko. Humans are so suggestible in their sleep."
Neku doesn't grab Joshua by the lapels and shake him, mostly because he remembers that Joshua is the Composer. Instead he shakes a fist. "You son of a--"
Joshua clicks his tongue. "Such language! Of course you're dreaming. Sharing a dream, really."
Neku takes a moment to absorb this, then looks around at all the muted people, talking but their words not syncing with their lips. "What, so ... these are all dreaming people?"
"Lay back and think of Shibuya," Joshua says in a thoughtful way, gazing the same direction Neku is before he snaps his intense gaze back to the teen. "Anyway, they're not important. I need you to do something for me tomorrow."
There's something already happening tomorrow, but it takes Neku a strangely long time to recall it. "... I'm going to meet up with you tomorrow," he says blankly. Wait, is he dreaming about Joshua because he's going to meet up with him for the first time in months? Is he making all this up? He's never dreamed about Joshua before, but--
"Forget that. Tomorrow you're going to Yoyogi. I'd prefer it if you took along Shiki," Joshua says, interrupting his thoughts. "And your sketchbook, or a camera. Take pictures of all the graffiti you see."
"Woah, woah," Neku snaps, holding up a warding hand. "Since when am I your errand boy?" When Joshua just smirks at him, Neku groans, "Don't answer that."
Joshua pouts. He pouts very prettily. "But you were such a good prox--"
"Shut up, shut up," Neku hisses. Damn it all, if he's dreaming this up, can't Joshua be slightly less infuriating? "Seriously, give me one good reason why I should just take a day trip to Yoyogi because you said so."
Joshua cocks his head. "Don't you trust me, Neku?"
Neku hates, hates that question, because he hates the answer, so he ignores it. "It's a pretty simple question," he growls. "And while I'd believe it if you said you'd melt if you answered something straight up, I need you to try to make it make sense. Just this once."
To his surprise, Joshua's amused little smile fades. "It's better if you don't know. It's something I need done, and that should be reason enough for you, seeing as you belong to me."
It's not said in a joking manner; Joshua is completely serious about this being his reasoning. Neku's mouth falls open in enraged shock. "... No."
"'No'?" Joshua asks in a tone so mild it makes the hair on the nape of Neku's neck stand up.
The thing that makes Joshua so creepy is ... well, the list goes on and on, could probably circle the globe twice, but at the moment Neku is standing on the wrong end of a gun because of a god's game, and Shibuya is on a knife's-edge because said god wants to start from scratch, and none of this would have happened if Joshua didn't regard Shibuya and everyone in it as his possession.
Possibly Neku most of all, which is just creepier.
He licks his lips and stands his ground anyway. He's relatively sure Joshua can't kill him for real in a dream. "Screw that. Why should I go to Yoyogi?"
At first he thinks Joshua is going to go Composer on his ass, but quite abruptly the Composer giggles. "Oh, Neku. You're so manly."
"What--!?" Neku's fingers twitch and he grits his teeth.
"You might be interested to know that earlier today, a gang from Yoyogi tagged over CAT's mural in Udagawa," Joshua says.
That stops Neku's anger right in its tracks. He can't imagine anyone wanting to tag over CAT's work. "What?" he repeats, feeling as if the wind has been knocked out of him.
"It was quite a surprise," Joshua admits, looking not very surprised at all. "Needless to say, Mr. Hanekoma is very interested in who did it. As am I. I just thought you might be willing to do your favorite artist a little favor, but perhaps ..."
Neku resists the urge to punch Joshua in the jaw. "You could have just told me that from the beginning!"
"Oh, what's the fun in that? And I see you so rarely," Joshua teases.
"Hah hah hah," Neku deadpans. The real question is, why do you care so much about CAT's art? "So if I figure out what gang did it, what are you going to do about it?"
"Dear Neku, you really should just stop asking questions while you're ahead," Joshua says with teeth.
"Does it involve shooting people? Because I think you've done that enough for one lifetime."
"Would you let that go?" Joshua asks, rolling his eyes.
"Uh, no," Neku shoots back, scrubbing his hands back into his hair.
Joshua sighs dramatically. "Then goodnight, Neku," he says, with a dismissive handwave.
"Hey. Hey, I'm not coming and going at your beck and--"
"--call," Neku finishes to his bedroom ceiling.
tbc or something