Chapter 1

Neku looked over the barrel of the gun as his shaking hands struggled to aim it straight. Across from him was Shibuya's Composer, Yoshiya 'Joshua' Kiryu, looking as calm and collected as ever. The Composer held his arm straight, his stance unwavering as he aimed at Neku. There was a pang in Neku's chest. What was it? Fear? Uncertainty? Or…was it just the bullet?

As his arms dropped at his sides, Neku kept his gaze focused on the Composer, his mind strangely calm in the situation of such panic and distress. Why…why… Neku struggled to form complete thoughts, but was too distracted by the pictures floating though his mind. Images of Shibuya, his home, his parents, his school, Shiki, Beat, Rhyme, all of his Psych pins, and Joshua…his headphones, the posters of his favorite artists, and the artwork of CAT, and Mr. Hanekoma…his mind reminded him of Christmas, when it was snowing and he would sit outside and catch the flakes on his tongue; of his first crush, and his first kiss, and his first heartbreak; of the funeral of his old best friend…

Why…Joshua, just…why?

The Composer smirked as he watched Neku crumple to the ground. All of the life slowly drained out of his deep blue eyes. In his state of dying, his mind was vulnerable. The Composer hardly had to try as he rummaged through Neku's most personal thoughts and feelings and memories. It was very entertaining to see what this boy had been through in his mere 15 years of existence. And yet, there was something in him that the Composer could not ignore.

As Neku drew in his last shaky breath, he finally realized what his dying meant. And he realized that he didn't care about himself dying at the hands of Joshua…that had been done before, anyways. No, this time, his death meant the death of Shibuya. The destruction of the city and all the people in it. Shiki, Beat, Rhyme…his parents…all of the strangers he ignored every day…they would all be gone, dead, because of Neku. Because of his death. Because he couldn't bring himself to just pull the trigger…

I'm…sorry…Shibuya…

His last thought was one of selflessness…the sadness for the loss of the city and of strangers rather than of his own life. Had Neku Sakuraba really changed that much in the past three weeks? And, was he right? Was humanity worth saving? The Composer wondered to himself as he lowered his arm and dropped the gun to the ground.

"Well…looks like you won," Sanae Hanekoma said, suddenly appearing beside the Composer.

"So it seems," the Composer sighed.

The skies of Shibuya grew dark as thunder clouds rolled overhead. As rain began to trickle down from the sky, Joshua hardly noticed. Being the Composer, he could have easily willed the rain not to fall on him, but he didn't. He allowed the rain, welcomed the wetness cooling him. It may as well have been like a farewell to his temporary humanity. In a few moments, he and Hanekoma would ascend to the Higher Plane and work out the details of this ending plan. Although, as each raindrop felt its way down his skin, the Composer grew more torn at his decision.

"Ready to go?" Hanekoma asked, clearly trying not to look at Neku's lifeless body.

"In a moment," the Composer said. He walked across the cold, hard ground to Neku's body. There was more blood than he imagined there would be. It grew in a pool beneath the body, and Joshua discovered that he was standing in it as well. Though the rain had watered it down, it was still a deep crimson. This boy…he had changed so much in only three weeks. He had learned to open up and trust other people…to trust his partner. Trust was not something that the Composer took lightly, even with his own proxy in his own game. But time was ticking. His actions would be discovered soon. He had to make a decision. "Okay, Hanekoma, let's go."