A/N: Awesome, I came up with this story the other night while trying to sleep. I hope you guys like this Joshua/Neku fic! I personally think it's a nice change from angelic Joshua. By the way, this is all from Neku's POV. And this starts off from when he's only 8 years old. Enjoy~
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story.
Demon Inside
Chapter 1
I wandered through the smoky park, my headphones hanging loosely around my neck as I tried to find anything familiar. I couldn't remember much, except that I was told by someone before I woke up to stay alive and safe. I had woken up about an hour ago, not knowing where I was and how I got there. I didn't remember anything except my name. My name is Neku Sakuraba, and I'm lost. Only eight years old, and I felt scared for my life.
Tears started to form in the corners of my blue eyes, and I finally sank to my knees, the panic starting to set in. I was honestly fearful that I was gonna die, if the noises that were sounding around me were any hint. They were growls, snarls, screeches, screams, etc.
As the silence around me broke when I sobbed, I clenched my eyes shut tight, crying hard. Suddenly, I heard quiet footsteps approaching, and I froze, terrified. My body trembled out of pure fear as the steps stopped behind me, and I stiffened. I felt a small touch on my cheek, making me flinch violently, not expecting the gentle caress.
"Easy, I'm not gonna hurt you," a voice said, and I whimpered softly. "Come on, open your eyes. I'm not going to harm you." Cautiously, I obeyed, peeking one eye open to look at the person who was behind me. When I opened my eyes, I was shocked to see a boy, who looked at least eight years older than me, standing over me. He had silver hair that fell in slight curls around his face, and his violet eyes studied me curiously.
"Wh-who are you?" I stammered.
"My name is Joshua," he said. "What's a human like you doing here?"
"Human? But aren't you human, too?" I asked, relaxing a tiny bit. Joshua giggled.
"No, I'm a demon," he told me. He suddenly flared his black, leathery wings slightly, and I gasped, beginning to tremble again.
"Aren't you going to kill me?" I whimpered.
"No, demons don't kill unless instinct kicks in, we're hunting, or we need to. None of which are active right now," the silverette answered. "Why would you think I would kill you?"
"I…don't know, to be honest," I mumbled. Joshua raised a brow at me.
"Really now?" he stated. "Well, anyway, I told you my name, what's yours?"
"Neku," I whispered, still nervous, but starting to relax. "Neku Sakuraba."
"Right. Nice to meet you, Neku," he said to me. "Now, let's get you back to my home, and we'll get this ash and smoky cleaned off from you."
"Um…okay," I murmured, and allowed Joshua to help me up, but I was shocked when he picked me up, bridal-style, and carried me to his home.
"Neku?" Joshua said after a few minutes of silence.
"Hmm?"
"Why were you by yourself back there?"
"I really don't know. I woke up alone, and I remember a voice in my head telling me to stay alive and safe," I admitted. "Otherwise I don't remember anything except my name…"
"Really? Never seen that one before," Joshua murmured to himself. "Well, you'll live with me from now on. I'll keep you alive and safe."
"Thank you…" I whispered.
"No worries, Nekky," he giggled. I blushed at the nickname, but didn't protest out of fear that he could still kill me. Joshua carried to his home, a small house near a forest. Joshua opened the door once we were there, and went inside, taking his shoes off once we were through the front door.
"Hey, Joshua?" I said, looking at the silverette as he took my own shoes off.
"What's up, Neku?" Joshua responded.
"Why were you at that park, anyway?" I asked. The silverette suddenly stiffened, and I shook my head. "Never mind…"
"No, no, it's okay," he assured me. "I was part of a group of demons that had to take out another village of demons that had threatened our lives. How you ended up there, though, I don't know."
"Neither do I…" I muttered, turning my head away slightly.
"Sorry, Neku…" Joshua apologized. "Look, I'll help you to try and regain your memory, but only once you're older. If we try and do it now, who knows what could happen."
"…All right…" I mumbled, my eyelids starting to droop closed. I yawned as the silverette giggled again.
"Okay, let's get you settled in bed," Joshua told me with a small smirk. "You're exhausted, so you need to sleep. You can sleep in my bed for now. I'll join you later."
"Mkay," I sighed, and he carried me to his room, where he placed me onto his bed. Josh covered me with a blanket before leaving. Shortly afterwards, he crawled into the bed with me as I fell asleep. As I slept, though, I dreamed.
In my dream, I was older, about 16 years old, and I stood on the edge of a ridge where everything burned below. Yet I was eerily calm in the dream. I had large, black, leathery wings like Joshua's, and flames covered my hands. When something made a sudden noise behind me, I whipped around, an animalistic snarl rising from my throat. My wings flared wide, and I glared at whatever it was. But my body immediately relaxed when I saw it was Joshua, and I calmed myself. Then the dream ended.
I woke with a slight start, somehow managing to not wake Joshua. It was so odd, I thought to myself, but I just dismissed it. I just shrugged it off and fell back to sleep, curling into Josh's chest. It worked out, seeing as he faced me while he lay on his side next to me.
X*X(8 Years Later)X*X
I was now sixteen, and I had been living with Joshua since he had found me eight years ago. I had grown, and was now about the same height as him. I had grown into a quiet teenager, introverted to everyone but Joshua, but I still kept some things from him. Like that dream I had had my first night here. I hadn't told anyone about it, not even Joshua, and I confided everything to him.
Another thing I had kept from him was that I liked him. As more than a friend, mind you. I had fallen in love with the demon, but I didn't think he would return my feelings. After all, I'm just a human, and he's a powerful demon…
Speaking of his power, I had witnessed his great power back when I was starting to live with him. The other demons in his group, Shiki, Beat, Rhyme, and Sanae Hanekoma, who I called Mr. H, had been pretty angry when they saw me outside of his home, just sitting against a tree. They tried to attack me, but Joshua was quick to stop them. He had heard my screams and cries for help, and swiftly defended me.
Joshua had attacked the four, fending them off, and snarling at them like an animal. He had yelled at them about how they shouldn't dare to attack me, seeing as their leader had saved me, and had decided to keep me alive. I had realized then that the silverette was the leader of these demons. He apologized to me later about the display, but I forgave him easily because he had protected me and I knew I would be safe with Joshua.
He kept me safe all these years like he had promised, and I had fallen for him. I was having a harder time pretending I was okay with each passing day. It was tough, though. I didn't like having to hide my emotions from him. Hopefully I would be able to find it in me to tell him soon…
A/N: What do you guys think? Do you like the fic? I certainly hope so! R&R, peeps!