ARGH this idea has been bugging me for ages, and I FINALLY got it up!

Also I haven't written for a while, so this is kinda practice. Both with the words themselves and keeping people in character. So if anyone notices any flaws with this please let me know!

Disclaimer: I don't own TWEWY. Never have, never will.

I had to re-edit this whole thing cause FF cuts out 'Mr.' and 'Hakenoma' when I put them together... *grumbles*

Neku sat under the statue of Hachiko, staring aimlessly out over the sea of people that buzzed all around him. Eyes scanned over the chatter, searching for something, anything… but nothing was there.

He hasn't shown up today either…

An irritated sigh escaped his lips as he got to his feet, absentmindedly stretching up above his head as he cast one last glance over the masses. It just made no sense! He'd though Joshua would've appeared by now… Then again, it had been two weeks since the Game had ended, maybe he'd forgotten? No, he was always obnoxiously precise and organised. So maybe…

Neku bit back a hiss as his thoughts chased themselves around his head, firing off reasons faster than one of his rapid-fire pins. Why did Joshua have to be so bloody complicated? There had to be a reason why he hadn't shown up… and as far as Neku was concerned, the idea that he was brushing them off simply wasn't possible.

He knew that the others believed it; with Beat storming off after the third day followed by Shiki during the fifth, until even Rhyme quietly left on the seventh with an apology and sympathy in her eyes. But Neku continued, waiting for half an hour each day after school.

It turned out that he and Shiki went to the same school, much to his delight. Neku just never noticed due to his sheer determination to shut the world out. And so he'd settled into a routine: leave school with Shiki and Eri, meet up with Beat and Rhyme at the Wildkat café and muck about, then Neku would go wait at Hachiko while everyone went their separate ways. Mr.H was more than happy for the extra business, and Eri has settled into their little group quite well. Shiki had of course told her everything, so she didn't get mad when Neku occasionally mixed the two of them up…

Wait.

Mr.H!

Sanae had known Joshua for ages, even worked with him. Surely he'd know something Neku didn't! Without a second thought he spun on his heel, bolting towards Cat Street and the likeable designer that lived therein.

"So let me get this straight." Mr.H hummed as he fiddled with his coffee, pressing the right buttons to create what he had learned was Neku's favourite blend. "You want to know about Joshua so you can figure out why he hasn't shown up yet, and how to fix it."

"That sounds about right." Neku nodded in thanks for the steaming cup that was placed in front of him, sighing appreciatively as he cradled it in his hands. "You told me earlier that he used to drop by, back when he was living in the RG."

The older man simply nodded, easing himself down in the chair opposite. "Mm, he did. That doesn't mean that I know everything."

"Well, you've definitely been around him longer than the one week I have!" Neku laughed as he spoke, already wrapped up in the likeable aura that seemed to follow CAT's true face everywhere. "Besides, the two of you seemed to get along. And it's not like Joshua was born the Composer or anything." Neku deliberately pushed aside the uncomfortable revelation that Joshua must've killed the old Composer in favour of focusing on his companion.

"Heh… You've certainly thought this through!" Mr.H chuckled, regarding the ex-player with genuine amusement. "All right Phones, I'll tell ya what I know if you can answer one thing for me." Neku simply nodded, puzzled. What on earth could he possibly know that Mr.H didn't?

"Shoot."

"Why do you want Joshua to come back?" Neku blinked at that. Well, that was easy.

"…He's my friend. I invited him and he didn't show up, and I wanna know why. Also he can't get away with leaving me hanging like this!" Neku's joking tone only seemed to exasperate the designer, uneasily scratching the back of his neck.

"Okay, lemme try that again. Joshua lied to, manipulated and killed you, but you still consider him a friend and want to understand him. Tell me, what is driving this endless trust? Why do you want Joshua to come back?"

Ah.

Neku stared into his coffee, Mr.H's question racing around his head. Why did he want to see Joshua so bad? He knew that he was stubborn, but… Most sane people would push themselves away from their would-be killer, and yet here Neku was, chasing after the kid that actually did end his life. It did make you wonder. He must've been silent for a while as Mr.H sighed deeply, shifting in his seat.

"Well, you don't have to answer it now. Just keep it in mind, okay?" The designer grinned at the ex-player, attempting to bring back the light-hearted mood from before and snap Neku out of his brooding. "Let's see… Joshua. Ah, where to start?"

"At the beginning would be nice." Neku's mouth twitched upwards, taking a sip of his brew in a bid to forget the uncomfortable questions Sanae had put forward. Luckily said male seemed just as eager to move on, so the soul-searching was quickly forgotten.

"Well then, Joshua was born in Shibuya hospital at 3 am on the…"

"Not that far back, you dolt!" he couldn't help it, Neku just burst out laughing. He had good coffee, good music and good company. What else could he possibly need? Mr.H flashed him a lopsided grin, kicking up his feet to rest on the table in front of him.

"Whoops, my bad! Let's see... Joshua staggered in here one day, covered in bruises and sopping wet. Turned out he'd gotten lost on his way home in the pelting rain. So I, being the handsome gentleman that I am, gave him coffee and helped him warm up. It was then that he said the strangest thing."

"What?"

"He said 'They're waiting for me outside.' He murmured it so quietly I thought I'd misheard him, but he obviously hadn't noticed he'd said it aloud, so I let it slide. Thought maybe he'd caught hypothermia or something, hallucinations and all that.

So he stayed inside until the rain stopped, quietly thanked me, and left."

"That's it?" Neku had expected something a bit more…dramatic. Explosive. Over the top. Something that sounded more like Joshua. The designer glared at Neku, obviously unimpressed by the interruption.

"Phones...He came back the next day, idiot. Shuffled in awkwardly with a few muffled words of gratitude and change to pay for the coffee I gave him. It was the first time I got a good look at him, and lemme tell ya, he looked nothing like he does now." Now that got the ex-player wondering. Was Joshua secretly a brunette? Did he dress like a hipster during his spell in the world of the living?

"What, did he have long hair or something?" Mr.H just snorted at that, waving away the question without a second thought.

"Not physically different, per se, more like... well, you know how Josh always looks confident?" He paused to give Neku time to nod. "There was none of that self-assurance in his face. He looked exhausted, miserable, shut down." Neku couldn't believe it. Since when was Joshua any of those things? I mean, sure, he was sorta shut down in his own way...but miserable? Please.

"Are we talking about the same person?"

"Fraid so, Phones. Anyway, there was one physical difference, and I think I mentioned it earlier. The kid had so many bruises and cuts that it looked like he'd been put into a tumble dryer filled with rocks. He had a bunch of bandaids all over his face as well...You had to wonder what this kid did in his spare time, but he was way too scrawny to go around starting brawls.

He hung around for a bit after that, hiding in the corner with a cuppa joe and a biscuit. To be honest, he was so quiet I kinda forgot he was there! A far cry from our current Joshua, eh?" Mr.H chuckled, taking a swig from his own brew before continuing. "It was when I was clearing the tables that I heard a second tidbit from our kid, who was staring intently out the window at the time. He mumbled something along the lines of 'They're not coming in after me...I wonder why?'

At this point I thought Josh was loony. I was getting all prepared to call the police; there's a kid hallucinating inside my café! But before I could grab the phone he abruptly stood up and walked out, shuddering violently as soon as he set foot outside. So I peeked out after him, and lo and behold Josh was possessed by a horde of Noise!"

"WHAT?!" Neku screeched, making the designer wince. "Is that even possible?!"

"Pipe down! Yeesh... remember that we're talking about when Josh was still human." That seemed to calm the ex-player down, much to Mr.H's relief. "Back on topic, I immediately assumed that the sheer number of Noise had taken their usual 'let's make this kid miserable' into 'let's drive this bloke insane'. And of course, since my café repels Noise, it explained why he felt like 'they' were waiting outside. His sanity returned once the Noise was off him."

"That's stupid. How could you possibly not realise he was talking about the Noise?"

"Gimme a break Phones, Josh is the only kid ever who could see Noise without being part of the game, at least the only one I'm aware of. It was common knowledge that it was impossible for any live human to see or be aware of the UG, so I'm afraid the possibility never crossed my mind. Now, if you've finished interrupting..." Neku took the hint and nodded, awkwardly waving for him to continue.

"Good. So anyway, I had a moment of compassion for the Noise-horde kid, so I stuck my head out the door and yelled at him."

"Wow, you showed some real compassion there, yelling at a possessed minor."

"Shut it, Phones. What I said was the important bit."

"Well, by all means, continue."

"I don't appreciate the sarcasm, kid. The gist of what I yelled was 'Oi, I can see you aint feeling so hot, but if you ever wanna talk, or if you just feel like company, I'll keep a cuppa Joe waiting.' ...Or something along those lines. I forget. But it was then that I saw a miraculous thing."

"Like what?"

"I saw Joshua smile."

Neku just rolled his eyes, unimpressed with Mr.H's so-called miracle. So what; Joshua smiled all the time. Usually when he was plotting death or mocking something.

"So?"

"No, I don't think you understand." The designer insisted, making an effort to catch Neku's gaze. "I don't mean that smarmy grin he always wears, I mean an honest-to-God, happiness-displaying, real smile."

"...Shit." As much as the teen hated to admit it, he was dumbstruck. Joshua...giving a true smile? Good God that would be a sight to behold. Neku found himself in awe, and just a little bit envious. The awkward questions from before suddenly reared up and Neku had to beat then back down with a mental stick, already knowing the answer but like hell he was going to acknowledge it. Was he in denial? Yup, and he was going to stay there come hell or high water.

"Exactly." Mr.H nodded, satisfied that his point had been driven home. "He made an effort to drop by after that. I found out that his name was Yoshiya, that he had a fondness for word and logic puzzles, and that he was a real wiz with numbers. Looking back on it, I also started to see some of the real Joshua."

"What, all smug and obnoxious?"

"Nah." The designer shook his head. "I mean his dry sense of humour, those strangely polite yet witty remarks he's so fond of. Backhanded compliments and the like."

"I see. And?"

simply grinned, taking a draw of his coffee to relish in Neku's impatient tapping. Finally the teen could stand the forced silence no more.

"Fine, I'll bite. What happened next?"

"What happens next is that you go home, cause it's closing time."

"What?" A quick glance outside confirmed his suspicions; the street lights were on. "Shit!" He had homework to finish… Mr.H grinned at Neku's sudden panic, standing up to cheerfully slap him on the back.

"Aw, Don't worry! I'll tell you the rest of Josh's tale tomorrow. Now scram." He didn't need any further encouragement, Neku bolting out of that store faster than you could blink. Maybe Shiki would let him copy her maths out of pity again. Joshua would have to wait for another day.

I feel like this is confusing. Sorry...

Crappy ending is Crap~ well, originally chapters 1 and 2 were the same chunk of writing, but I'm not gonna make you guys read though 5,000+ words at once. Please forgive the stupid split attempt!

Reviews are loved~