Prologue

"Hey, Neku…that girl over there…is she watching us?" Shiki pointed to a girl standing near the entrance to the Statue of Hachiko. Indeed, it seemed as if the girl was tentatively observing them.

"Hmm…think she's a Reaper?" Neku suggested. She certainly didn't look like one. In fact, she looked more like an angel, if anything. She had long, sweeping silver hair that fell down her back, stopping around her waist. Her eyes were a sparkling crystal blue, looking at them with interest. She wore a simple white dress that swept around her knees, and equally simple ballet flats. A white messenger bag was slung over her back, and a light blue cell phone was hanging off her wrist by way of the strap. But Neku knew you couldn't judge people by their appearance. If she was a Reaper, that meant that a wall was nearby, and that they needed to talk to her to at least get an idea of how to get through.

"Maybe. We should talk to her, anyway." Shiki said. Neku grudgingly nodded, and the two ran over to the girl.

"Why are you watching us?" Neku asked abruptly. The girl tilted her head quizzically.

"Are you…Players?" She asked. Shiki nodded in response. At that, the girl gave a large smile.

"I thought so. You were acting strange, running from place to place. And the fact that no one else seems to notice you…well it was a pretty obvious conclusion." She explained enthusiastically.

"Umm… are you a Reaper?" Shiki asked attentively. The girl shook her head.

"No, I'm a regular living human. I've always been able to see the Underground, ever since I was a child. My name is Celeste. Pleased to meet you." She said cheerfully. Neku glared at Shiki, clearly indicating that they should now move on. But Shiki ignored him, smiling at Celeste.

"I'm Shiki Misaki. This is Neku Sakuraba. Nice to meet you. Neku's a little…stand-offish. Just ignore him if he offends you." Shiki laughed. Neku didn't speak, but continued to glare at Shiki, perhaps even more fiercely.

"Oh, it takes a lot to offend me." Celeste giggled, covering her mouth as she did so. "Are you on a mission? I can help you if you need it." She offered.

"Actually…we're on a mission to lift the statue's curse. I thought it must be talking about Hachiko, but there's a wall blocking the way. Any ideas?" Shiki tilted her head. Celeste brought a hand up to her cheek.

"Hmm…did you try scanning that statue over there?" She pointed to a sad looking semi statue in the corner of the district.

"Oh! I didn't notice that. That's gotta be it." Shiki exclaimed. "Thanks!"

Celeste giggled again, in the same way as before. "It's not a problem. I hope that the two of you get to the end. If you ever see me again, don't hesitate to ask me anything. I'll help you if you need any help." Suddenly, the cell phone hanging from Celeste's wrist beeped. Quickly, Celeste opened it, and read the message.

"Oh! I've got to get to the studio! Well, good luck! Maybe I'll see you again." She blurted, shutting the phone again.

"Bye!" Shiki called as Celeste ran off. She then turned to Neku.

"Wow, you were pretty stand-offish, Neku." She remarked.

"Hmph. Who knows if we can trust her? She could be a Reaper in disguise. I mean, have you heard of anyone being able to see the Underground?" Neku argued. Shiki sighed.

"Why would she lie? We should check out the statue anyway. It's all we've got, after all."

-6 Days later-

"Oh! Are you guys heading to the underpass?" Celeste looked up at them cheerfully. Neku nodded.

"We're going to challenge the Game Master. We're the last players left, so we've gotta do it."

Celeste smiled." I hope you guys win. You deserve it. Come find me if you do, okay? Maybe we can hang out."

Shiki nodded "Yeah! We totally will!"

"…Maybe." Neku said grudgingly. Celeste laughed.

"That's practically a guarantee from you, Neku." She said lightly.

"Whatever…"

"All right. Good Luck!" She called as they ran off.

-Two Days Later-

"Oh, you really did come to see me! Honestly, I didn't expect you to, Neku. Is this your friend? Or brother?" Celeste's eyes lingered on Joshua, who put his hand under his chin and gazed at her curiously.

"..I didn't win last week. But don't worry, I've gotten another chance. This is Joshua. He's my insufferable partner this round." Neku scoffed at Joshua.

"Really, Neku, you shouldn't be calling your own partner insufferable." He said quietly. Celeste nodded in agreement.
"He's right. You have to trust each other. It's very important. Your partner is your life in this game, after all." She said with conviction.

"How can you see us?" Joshua suddenly asked. Celeste's crystal eyes drifted back to Joshua's lilac ones.

"I've always been able to see the Games, and the Underground. I helped Neku and his old partner last game." She sighed. "I'd like to follow you around, to be honest, but I've got a recording to do."

"Oh? Are you a singer?" Joshua asked curiously. Celeste nodded.
"It's only because I want to sing. I don't get paid very often for it. I don't do interviews or anything like that. That's the CAT way, after all." She giggled. Realization hit Neku like a ton of bricks.

"No way…Are you... Angel?" He gasped. Celeste nodded. Neku gaped at her, and she giggled again

"Are you a fan, Neku?" She asked, twirling a finger through a lock of her hair. Neku nodded quickly.
"Oh my God…You're practically all I listen to! Your songs are amazing!" He blurted out. "I am so sorry I was so rude to you before…man oh man."

Celeste giggled again. She seemed fond of doing that. "Really, now, you don't have to treat me any differently. We're friends. In fact, here." She pulled out a CD from her messenger bag, and handed it to Neku.

"This is the first recording of my next single. Can you tell me if you like it?" She asked cheerfully. "Honestly, okay?"

"Y-Yeah, sure." Neku beamed. Joshua smirked.

"And I don't get anything, my dear? That seems very rude." He said teasingly. Celeste gave a smirk herself, and grabbed Joshua's cell out of his hand.

"…What are you doing?" He asked, oddly sounding unconcerned.

"Oh, just giving you my number." She said, as if that were the most natural thing in the world. Neku flinched.

"Wh-" He started, but Joshua cut him off.

"My, my, you're very forward, aren't you darling?" He smirked. Celeste giggled.

"Oh, not with everyone. I have a very good, and selective, judge of character." She handed the phone back. "You can text me when Neku's being a jerk." She added. Neku looked as though he'd just had all of his dreams crushed. Celeste laughed and ran inside the studio.

"Hmm? Jealous, dear Neku?" Joshua smirked. Neku let out a sigh.

"She's one of the most creative singers in the world, you know that?" He rubbed the back of his neck. "Damn, this just isn't fair."

Joshua's smirk had fallen, and suddenly his face gave way to one of concern. "I may actually give her a call. She seems like a…interesting person." He murmured. Neku frowned.

"Why are you saying that in that tone?" He asked curiously.

"Think about it. Every day she would see the Reaper's Game. Every day she befriends people, and then watches most of them get erased. Perhaps even friends or family. Yet, you wouldn't be able to tell at all by her demeanor. She acts as though she hasn't a care in the world. I would be lying if I said I wasn't interested." Joshua confessed.

"Oh…I never thought of it that way." He said softly. Joshua suddenly lifted his head up.

"Well, no use thinking about it now. We should get going."

"R-Right."

-Five Days Later-

Joshua heaved as he teleported back onto the scramble crossing. He didn't have much time; the next game was to begin tomorrow after all, and it was already fairly late. He stuffed his hand in his pocket to feel that his gun was still there. Good. If he was going to be in the next Game, he would need a partner with a lot of Soul to survive. Of course, getting into the game illegally would, again, prove difficult, but Joshua was sure he was up to the task. Thinking quickly, he raced towards Udagawa, running through the crowds of people like butter. Finally, he reached the mural, and only one girl was standing there, running her fingers over the graffiti. Joshua realized with a jolt that she had an absurd amount of Soul, far more than even Neku, and that she was also someone she had met before. The singer, Celeste. He hesitated a moment. No. He couldn't afford to pass this up. She could probably win five games for him, with all of that Soul. Just as he was telling himself this, she turned to him. Her eyes lit up with both confusion and delight.

"Joshua? What on Earth are you doing here? It's still game day." She said inquisitively. At that, Joshua hardened his resolve, and raised the gun. All the delight at seeing him was gone from her eyes, but the confusion remained, even intensified.

"Joshua?" She whispered. Joshua made himself smirk.

"Sorry, but I kind of need you to be my partner."

And with those fateful words, a bang resounded.

A/N:
So, the rest of the story will be almost entirely from Joshua's POV. Most of this was objective POV, which I detest, but I felt it was necessary, unfortunately. 'Angel', in this case, is Celeste's alias as a singer who sings most of Neku's favourite songs, which play throughout the game via his headphones. I wanted to give Celeste a connection to Neku like that, because it will be important later on.

I wrote this story mostly because I felt so sorry for Joshua at the end of TWEWY, because everyone seems to misunderstand him (in game, of course) even Neku. I won't get into my theory on Joshua's motivations now, because it will be a big part of the story. Anyway, reviews are appreciated!