Thought I'd offer up one of my old fics I deleted and cleaned up in honor of the fifth of November. This is from an era when I used to RP regularly with a Minamimoto and Hanekoma so please forgive me for the probably blatant OOC-ness of Neku, I didn't know anyone who RP'd him. It was written post-game so he's not as much of an ass and with Sho having miraculously survived somehow because I needed an antagonist.
Also this is unbeta'd so I apologize for any mistakes.
Neku hadn't meant to stay out as late as he did. Beat had insisted on a few more rounds of the new fighting game he had just bought and Neku wasn't one to turn him down. He checked his phone -dammit, it's already after eleven!- and kept up the quick pace home, praying his mother was already in bed so that he could slip in unnoticed.
Quickly turning into a backstreet as a shortcut for his house, Neku found himself hitting a rather solid mass, causing him to take a few steps back to regain his balance. As he rubbed his face, which had taken the majority of the hit, and cursed his luck, it seemed the mass he had hit was doing the same.
"Factoring hectopascal! Watch where you're goin'!"
Wait… did he just hear that right? Allowing his eyes to adjust to the shadows of the alley, Neku felt the pit of his stomach drop as his eyes confirmed what he didn't want to be true. Standing not two feet away was the math-crazed Game Master, Sho Minamimoto.
What he was doing in the RG, Neku didn't know nor was he going to stick around to find out. He ducked his head, hoping to avoid being noticed by the Game Master, and mumbled out a "sorry" as he tried to walk around the Reaper and get out of the alley as soon as possible.
However, Minamimoto apparently had other plans.
A hand latched at the front of his shirt, halting Neku in his tracks and pulling him up to dangle a few inches off the ground in front of the now smirking Minamimoto. "Hold it right there, Radian, you're the Composer's pet variable, aren't ya?"
Neku gulped and gripped Sho's wrist with both hands, attempting to free himself from Sho's grasp as the older teen leaned closer, a vicious glint in his golden eyes and those sharp canine teeth glinting in what light the alley allowed.
Shit… The grip seemed to only tighten on his clothing the more he struggled and the outlook of getting out of the backstreet unscathed was looking more grim by the moment.
"Look, I'm in a hurry," Neku attempted to convince Minamimoto with as much a glare as he could muster. "How 'bout you save this for another time and I'll get back to you?"
"Not happening, Hectopascal. You and that factoring trinomial threw unexpected variables into my equation before I could calculate my desired solution." The smirk widened and the free hand was pulled back in a fist, ready to strike. "It was a minor miscalculation, but now that I've checked the facts, you're a variable easily factored out of the equation."
Neku couldn't hold back the flinch as he tightly closed his eyes and awaited the impact of the fist, even if he had defeated Minamimoto in the Underground, the Grim Heaper was obviously stronger than him in the physical sense.
The hit never came.
Instead, an irritated growl came from Minamimoto's throat and the hand holding him off the ground was shaking slightly as if strained. Neku chanced cracking open an eye only to see his attacker's attention at the opening of the alleyway, glaring down a figure standing there.
A ridiculously dressed figure.
Was that… a Guy Fawks mask? And what was with the black clothes, cloak, and conical hat? Last he checked, Halloween was a week ago and this guy was obviously late to the party.
But something about him had caught the Grim Heaper's attention -not that Neku could blame him, he was still trying to figure out what exactly the person was wearing- and Neku suddenly found himself dropping to the ground, a sore backside his only problem as Minamimoto took off towards the stranger.
Neku wasn't exactly sure what happened. Minamimoto struck at the shorter figure but they managed to side-step the attack, countering with a palm pressed to Minamimoto's chest and a shove to send the taller man flying into one of the walls. As the Grim Heaper was still recovering from the shock, a long dagger was produced from the stranger's belt and the tip held to Minamimoto's throat in victory.
A growl came from the Game Master's throat as he glared at the dagger before turning his gaze up to the masked stranger. They stayed like that for a while, Minamimoto glaring and the masked man unmoving, until the dagger was lowered and sheathed back in the belt.
That was when Minamimoto chose to strike.
Quickly standing, he drew back his fist and swung it at the stranger's mask. However, the man appeared to anticipate the attack and managed to sidestep the attempted assault once more. Thrown off balance, Minamimoto had no time to dodge the man's hand as it grabbed onto his forehead and slammed his cranium back against the wall.
Minamimoto crumpled back against the wall unconscious and Neku couldn't help but stare at the scene with wide-eyed amazement. He had never seen someone take down the Grim Heaper so effectively.
There was a soft laughter from the masked person as he turned to Neku, his voice low and slightly muffled from the mask, "'Spare the rod, spoil the child.' A fitting axiom for this situation, no?"
"Who are you?" Neku found himself asking as he stood from the ground, trying to gauge whether or not this person was dangerous.
"Who?" the man repeated in a curious tone with a tilt of his head, "Who is but the form following the function of what, and what I am is a man in a mask."
Neku gave the man a flat look, resisting the urge to smack his forehead from the statement. "I can see that."
"Of course you can," was the reply from the deeper voice, "I'm not questioning your powers of observation. I'm merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is."
The man was quickly reminding Neku of a certain Composer of Shibuya who so easily got under his skin. Maybe they're relatives? he mused with a dark smirk in the back of his mind, though pushed away the thought as the man started speaking again.
"But on this most auspicious of nights, permit me then, in lieu of the more commonplace sobriquet, to suggest the character of this dramatic persona."
Really, this man could pass as Josh's twin just from his ability to give Neku such a headache so quickly. As much as he preferred the man to stop talking and leave him alone, it seemed to Neku that he wouldn't be leaving the alley without hearing the explanation. So, with a quick rub to his temples, he gave the man a nod and reluctantly gave him his attention.
"Voila!" the man cried as he lifted his arms to spread the cloak and show off the set of daggers on either side of his belt; probably more for show than anything, Neku concluded.
"In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished."
Neku barely managed to force back a groan at the vocabulary onslaught and the dramatic arm movements the man appeared to like to use as he spoke. As if he wasn't late enough, why was he actually sticking around to listen to this man? For all he knew, he could be worse than the unconscious Grim Heaper over on the ground a few feet away…
"However," the man continued, unaware of Neku's inner-musings, "this valorous visitation of a bygone vexation stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice, and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition."
While Neku's head was still swimming from translating the alliteration the masked man was fond of into normal speech, the words only seemed to rile the stranger. As he stopped to catch his breath, he quickly drew a dagger from his belt and sliced two slanted lines in a nearby Def March poster, making a messy "V."
Neku jumped at the sound of the dagger dragging along the brick wall, tensing slightly as the masked man slowly turned to look over his shoulder at the teen.
The man's voice was dark, tinged with anger and perhaps some insanity, "The only verdict is vengeance, a vendetta, held as a votive not in vain, for the value and veracity of such, shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous."
As the man slowly approached Neku, the latter took a few steps back, watching the man for any sudden movements. If he could take out Pi-Face, it was obvious Neku would be no match. However, the masked man stopped after a couple steps and laughed lightly, most likely at the worried expression growing on Neku's face.
Definitely somehow related to Josh… Neku crossed he arms and gave the man a stern look in an attempt to cover up his anxiety.
"Verily, the vichyssoise of verbiage veers more verbose," the man said with a shrug before reaching up to take the conical hat off his head and placing it to his chest, he deeply bowed. "So let me simply add that it's my verily good honor to meet you, and you may call me V."
Once the man rose from his bow and placed the hat atop his head once more, Neku had finally found his voice. "So… you're an escapee from the loony bin." It was a statement, not a question.
The man, V, laughed good-naturedly adjusting his hat before giving a small shrug, "I'm quite certain they'd say so. But to whom, might I ask, am I speaking?"
After mulling about it for a moment the teen relented, "It's Neku. And I'm seriously late getting home so if you're done talking, I need to get going."
"Of course, I will not deter you further, my good lad," with a small bow, V stepped out of the ex-player's way, allowing him room to pass by. "I assure you safe passage home without hindrance and a peaceful evening ahead. A good night to you."
Neku gave him a questioning look but shook it off, sprinting his way home without another glance at the man. And as promised, he arrived home without a problem; his mother had been sound asleep in her bed as he walked by her room. It looked like he had dodged that bullet.
Back in the alley, the masked man known as V knelt beside the still unconscious form of Minamimoto Sho as a vested man walked into the alley, rubbing the back of his neck with an easy grin on his lips.
"Have yer fun, J?"
V turned his head to the new arrival and stood, reaching up and pulling off the conical hat, wig, and mask to reveal his face to the man. Lavender eyes glinted with mischief and a knowing grin was on his lips, "It's 'V,' Sanae, but yes. Thanks to the voice changer in the mask, I'm sure Neku-kun will have quite a few questions about the 'asylum escapee' he met tonight. I will most certainly need to pay him a visit in the next few days."
He giggled, handing the items to the barista, before glancing over his shoulder at the unconscious Game Master. "Though, I must say, I was surprised when I found out he had run into Minamimoto. I was worried my actions would give myself away during the fight but it would seem Neku-kun didn't quite catch on."
Hanekoma grinned lightly, reaching over to tousle Josh's ash-blonde hair, "Just remember, this was a one time only deal, boss. Next time ya wanna borrow it, it'd better be for Halloween."
"Of course, you know I only use your devices for good," Josh responded, giggling again at the eye roll he received in return, glancing once more at Minamimoto before starting out of the alley. "Since I doubt Minamimoto will be too pleased to see me upon awakening, I'll take my leave here. I'm sure you can deal with him, Sanae."
"Sure thing, boss."
And with that, Shibuya's Composer disappeared into the Underground, most likely heading back to his home of the Shibuya River, leaving the barista alone.
With a small shake of his head, Hanekoma looked at the awakening Game Master shifting his gaze down to the mask smiling up at him in his hands, a chuckle escaping his throat, "Really, that kid is all play and no work."