There is an infinite number of universes, and an infinite number of possibilities. While there is never one where Neku pulled the trigger, in these worlds, there is or has been at some point a Sakuraba Neku and a Kiryuu "Joshua" Yoshiya.
With this, it is surmised that these two are forever destined to be bound in some way, through any circumstances.
But being together does not necessarily have to be a happy promise, or even a mutual one.
A story of a Composer obsessed with power, a man who wants to save his home, and of a boy who got what he wished for, but for a price he was never willing to pay.
The sky was dark and stormy. Bundled up in a heavy blanket, fifteen year old Sakuraba Neku watched through the window as lightning flashed in a brilliant purple display. In the kitchen, his friend Shiki was preparing two cups of hot cocoa, the both of them preferring the bitterness of that over hot chocolate, to go with their bowls of carrot and walnut soup.
"Guess someone took a whizz in His cereal today," Neku said with a frown. It'd been like this since sometime around 3 in the morning. It was now noon, and the weather showed no signs of letting up.
No doubt the Composer was angry.
Being at the edge of Shibuya, in the Residential Grounds (RG), they were relatively safe (which was more than could be said for those in the United Ground (the UG) and the Highest Grounds (HG- the capital of Shibuya) and Neku didn't even want to think about the high priest and the Oracle, who were closest to Him), but still, they'd decided to stay inside to wait it out. Rhyme and Beat had already eaten, and were in the basement with Eri, laughing about something.
"Yeah, sure seems like it," Shiki said, setting a tray down beside her friend and housemate. She then grabbed another blanket from the closet and curled up beside him.
"...How long do you think it'll last?"
"...I dunno. I've never seen Him this angry before."
They quieted down as a burst of thunder sounded, followed a few seconds later by another bolt of lightning close to their home.
OoO
Neku suddenly appeared in Shibuya escorted by two Harriers- Kariya and Uzuki, two of the higher Reapers- with no knowledge of how he'd even gotten there. They were going to bring him to the Composer to see what should be done with the amnesiac stranger who'd abruptly appeared in the middle of their patrol route, but were intercepted by High Priest Hanekoma.
"Take him to the RG and see if anyone would be willing to take him in. Only if no one is found will you take him to the Composer."
So the two Harriers took him to the RG, where Shiki, her friend Eri, and the Bitou siblings had offered to share their crowded living space with him.
It was strange at first, being surrounded by so many people, but Rhyme told stories, Beat cooked the best food, Shiki sewed warm clothes, and Eri was always able to cheer them up when things seemed bad (and they often did).
Once upon a time, Neku wondered why things were this way. So Rhyme told him about the Composer.
He was a god. The god of Shibuya. The god of music, and art, and creativity, and imagination. The god of death.
He came to Shibuya thousands of years ago, at a time when the land was less than it was now, and when humanity was plagued with Noise- monsters born from the fears of mankind. When He came, the Noise abruptly vanished, and He claimed to have absorbed them into Himself, stealing their energy and giving them new lives as the soulless denizens of the forests around Shibuya.
Thankful, the people of Shibuya worshipped Him, praying for His blessings and bestowing all their problems unto Him, so that He could feed from their negativity and gain more power to Erase the Noise. And for many years, things were peaceful, and what the Composer took from humanity's negativity, He gave back threefold in bountiful harvests and victorious battles.
But then, some time after fending off a hoard of strange dark creatures (not Noise, but not anything else anyone recognized), things changed. It was as if the Composer, in the fight, had lost all sense of mercy and light. He demanded tributes to be sacrificed. He demanded offerings- two thirds the yearly harvests, and any and all precious metals and stones that were to be found in Shibuya. He demanded temples and churches and statues built for Him, and that all people of Shibuya gather three times a day to worship Him. There would be no books, music, or art unless the creators got His approval, and to do that, they must have had to place Him throughout at least half the book or musical piece, while any art was to make Him the centerpiece. And all of this was to portray Him as a beautiful, benevolent, holy figure.
To disobey meant death.
OoO
"Hey, it's almost time for the tribute ceremony, isn't it?"
"Yeah. But we won't be able to do it till the weather gets better."
Neku nodded his head as the sounds of laughter moved closer, up to the main living area.
Even though this would be the third ceremony since his arrival, he'd never actually been to one before. He'd been told to stay home, since it was the common belief that foreigners, until they came to accept Shibuya as home, would unintentionally produce a music inharmonious with that of the rest of Shibuya. It was expected that the integration process would take at least three weeks, with the belief that foreigners would at least grow curious about the ceremony (which took place every Sunday), and would aspire to become a part of Shibuya for that reason, at the very least.
So, it'd been three weeks. In that time, Neku, with no memories of where he'd come from, didn't have much of a choice outside integration. Especially not after Shiki and her friends had so generously taken him in- because who knew what the Composer would do to him otherwise?
As the storm lightened up a little, Neku turned to Shiki.
"Hey...how do the ceremonies work, anyway?"
The bespectacled brunette held up a finger in thought, as she decided on the best way to explain it.
"Well, first, the Oracle- or the Conductor, as some call him- comes out to the RG- since only RG citizens can be tributes. Then, we all go to meet him at the gate separating the RG from the UG. The Conductor gives a speech, then the Composer speaks through him and declares who he wants to be the week's tribute. The Conductor then takes that person with them, presumably to the HG, and then-"
"That person is never seen or heard from again, and the Producer comes back next Sunday," an especially girlish voice finished. Eri came up and moved to the kitchen to wash the dishes.
Shiki pouted.
"Eri! You ruined it!"
"Sorry!" She called back over the sound of the running sink faucet, though she didn't sound sorry at all.
"Hmph. Whatever."
Leaving the two to their friendly banter, Neku slid his headphones on. They were all he had with him when he arrived, along with an old flip-up cell phone that really only worked to play music. Speaking of which...
When he'd first felt the phone in his pocket and looked through it, before running into those Reapers, there were only two songs on it- "Calling" and "Twister". But as soon as he'd accepted Shiki and Eri's offer to stay with them, his phone rang and when he checked it, there were several new songs that had been added to his default playlist that certainly weren't there before- "Tatakai", "Long Dream", "Make Or Break", "Give Me All Your Love", "Run Away", and "Shibuya", just to name a few.
Maybe it was just some weird Composer integration power...or something.
But despite the many songs that'd been added, Neku found himself content, this time, to just listen to the muffled sounds of life around him- of Shiki and Eri playfully squabbling between the kitchen and the living room, of Beat and Rhyme practicing their comedy routine in the basement, and of the rain pitter-pattering against the house.
These were the sounds of home.
OoO
Gradually, the weather softened, so by the time Neku and the others left the house for the weekly ceremony, it was just a light drizzle.
Standing on stone pedestals at either side of the gate, the golden statues of the Composer in His winged and omniscient glory watched over everything, shining as brightly as ever. Standing atop the left pedestal, directly in front of the statue, the Conductor seemed like a speck of black from Neku's position somewhere in the middle of the crowd.
The hooded figure bowed his head with his back to the audience and clasped his gloved hands. He began to lead them in the tributary prayer.
"Good Composer; He who has created our souls, and who shall judge us and allow us to join in His eternal music, we pray for Your forgiveness for our sins, and ask that You bestow upon us Your blessings for this, the choosing of a soul that might best satisfy You."
The crowd followed up with a collective "Amen", and the Conductor turned away from the statue to face them again.
"People of Shibuya, for thousands of years, we've lived under the protection of our generous Composer, and so, it is the least we can do to obey Him and worship Him as He deserves. And so, today, like every Sunday, we who live in relative separation have joined together once more, to worship Him as one, and to offer ourselves to Him, so that He, our heavenly Shepherd, might continue to rain His blessings upon us, who are His humble sheep."
A reverent silence overcame the crowd, and Neku almost asked what was going on- but refrained, not wanting to break it.
The Conductor fell to his knees, his expression one of ecstasy, and tilted his face skyward.
"Composer! Do with this body what You will, and tell us, Your flock, what You desire, so we may properly worship You!"
As he spoke, the clouds above him parted, and a golden light shone down from the heavens, enveloping him.
Then, silently, stiffly, robotically almost, the Conductor stood up. His eyes glowed, piercing through the darkness and shadows of the Conductor's hooded face, and Neku felt them staring into his very soul.
He fidgeted where he was pressed against Shiki in the mass of people, but if she even noticed, she didn't say.
There was another moment of dramatic silence, until finally, the Composer, in the Conductor's body, came to a decision.
"I demand Sakuraba Neku as tribute."