Saturday was Neku Sakuraba's favorite day of the week. No school to annoy him, he could sleep in as late as he wanted, watch cartoons all day, maybe play a few video games, then go to bed at 3 a.m. So why was it that this Saturday, was the day he hated most?
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8:00 a.m.
"NEKU!" Neku jolted awake from his deep sleep, falling off the bed in the process and proceeding to hit his head on the floor. Hard. "OWW FUCKING-!!!" He sighed, annoyed. "YES DAD?" He yelled back, rubbing the back of his head. "SOME KID NAMED JOSHUA IS HERE TO SEE YOU! SAYS HE'S YOUR FRIEND!" Neku's eyes widened at the mention of Shibuya's composer. "TELL HIM I'M DEAD!" He yelled downstairs, only to hear a giggle that sent shivers down his spine. He felt his blood run cold as he turned his head to look into a pair of amethyst orbs.
"Heehee, you're not dead Neku. Or you'd be playing my little game in the UG." Neku shuddered at the sound of the boy's voice. "I can't, I'm not allowed to play anymore." Neku said coldly, glaring with as much hatred as he could muster with the throbbing pain in his head making it hard to think too much.
"Didn't I tell you I collected your entry fee for the last game we played?" Neku rolled his eyes and stood up, a bit unsteady. "Yea, but nothing changed. You must have li-" "I didn't lie Neku." Joshua said, a small frown replacing his usual smirk. "You never wanted to play the game again, to deal with me again. That's what you valued the most, the life you'd have never again worrying about being in the UG." Neku blinked, not understanding any of this. "What the hell-?" Joshua placed a hand over Neku's mouth.
"You can play the game again."
-
9:30 a.m.
Neku walked out of the kitchen, carrying a bowl of cereal, stopping dead in the hallway when he saw Joshua watching the Secret Saturdays. It wasn't the fact that the silvernette was watching such a strange show, or that he was watching anything at all that made Neku stop. It was the look on Joshua's face. It was a look Neku had never seen on the boy, and he could feel the heat rising to his face.
Sitting in the floor Indian style, hands grabbing his ankles loosely, smiling; eyes wide and leaning forwards slightly, for once the composer looked genuinely innocent. Joshua didn't even notice Neku walk out of the kitchen; he was to wrapped up in the show to notice anything really. So it really wasn't surprising when Neku tapped his shoulder and Joshua jumped up, falling over and hitting his head on the couch. "Oww... Neku, what did you do that for?" Josh asked, frowning and rubbing his head.
"Get over it." Neku said coldly, his blush gone now that Joshua was back to his old self and no longer looked like a sweet, carefree child. Joshua pouted and crossed his arms. "Are you still mad about the UG thing?" He asked, crossing his legs. Neku glared at him, and turned off the TV. "Yes." He answered, words dripping with enough venom that even uncaring and collected Joshua flinched.
Neku felt a pang of guilt, looking at the composer's face. He looked almost scared, almost confused. He looked hurt. Neku sighed and put his cereal down on the table, crouching down beside Joshua. "Sorry, I just... Don't want to play that game again..." Joshua's hurt look only worsened and he looked at the ground. "You don't want to deal with me anymore you mean..." He mumbled, just barely audible.
Neku sighed again, and turned Joshua's face to face his. "That's not true... As much as I hate to admit it, you're my friend Josh." Joshua stared into Neku's eyes, as if searching them, trying to find the lie hidden in his words. After a moment that seemed to last an eternity, Joshua wrapped his arms around Neku's waist and buried his head in his chest, like a scared child. Neku hesitantly wrapped his arms around the boy's frail figure, not really sure what to do.
A few minutes passed, with them sitting like that, a comfortable silence surrounding them. Joshua was the one who broke it; his words soft and quiet, a tone Neku had never heard escape those lips before. "Neku?" He asked. "Yea?" Neku answered him with the same questioning tone. Joshua gripped Neku's shirt tighter, and didn't say anything for a moment. Then-
"Thank You."
-
11:45 a.m.
Neku sighed, wondering why he was doing this as Joshua dragged him along, smirking as usual. "Come on Neku, hurry up!" Joshua said, quite loudly, getting a few looks from bystanders. Neku tried to get his hand out of Joshua's grip. "Josh, let go, people are staring." Joshua pouted, and looked at him over his shoulder. "So? Who cares what they do, they're not important." Neku rolled his eyes. "Nothing is important to you Joshua." Joshua smiled and turned his head to face forwards again. "That's not true." He said, then lowering his voice so he couldn't be heard he whispered, "You are."
Neku raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean it's not true, you never care! Wait no never mind, you're important right?" Joshua giggled. "That's right Neku, very good!" Cringing, Neku finally managed to pull his hand away and walked beside Joshua. "You have a creepy ass giggle you know that?" Josh shrugged, and continued walking. "Maybe I'll giggle more often then, if it annoys you so much." Neku face palmed himself, not noticing Joshua slip his hand into his own, and grip it loosely. "Where are we going anyway?" Neku asked, realizing he had no idea where Josh was taking him.
"Wild Kat of course." Joshua said with another giggle, causing Neku to shudder. "Yea, because that was so obvious." Neku replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Josh merely shrugged and continued walking, swinging his and Neku's hands. Neku noticed his hand swinging and looked down, blushing when he realized why, and quickly pulled his hand away.
"What the hell Josh?!" The composer merely smirked, shrugging slightly, quite amused by the red color his proxy's cheeks had turned. Neku mumbled something under his breath as they approached the coffee shop, blush still clearly visible on his cheeks.
"Hey Boss, Phones!" Mr. Hanekoma greeted as they walked into Wild Kat. "Hey Mr. H!" Neku replied happily, sitting down at the bar, smiling. Josh sat down next to him, smiling his odd, mysterious, and unsettling smile. "Hello Sanae, I see the Café is empty as ever." Neku rolled his eyes at the smiling composer. "Wow Josh, kind as ever." He muttered, smiling faintly as a cup of coffee was placed in front of him. "Thanks Mr. H!" the orangette smiled, taking a sip. The older man smiled back, genuinely happy to see the former player again. "No problem Phones, you looked a bit tired."
Neku glared at Joshua, who paid him no attention, simply taking a small sip of his own coffee. "Yea, I wonder why that could be…" Glancing at him for a moment, the smaller boy giggled. "Wonder as do I my dear proxy~" He then took another sip of coffee, looking away from the slightly annoyed teenager.
"…Ass…"
-
1:50 p.m.
Joshua was sat on his proxy's bed, flipping through a dirty magazine he found hidden beneath the fish and coral covers of the teen's bed. "Tsk Tsk Neku, naughty aren't you…" He mumbled, a slight, amused smile playing over his lips as he turned each page. The mentioned boy happened to be downstairs; trying to fix the headphones Joshua had 'accidently' broken. Josh of course, simply smiled and escorted himself up to the younger's room and made himself at home.
A loud crash was heard from downstairs, as well as a short, but loud, yell of surprise and possibly even pain. The composer blinked, as the house went dead silent, and all he could hear was his own breathing. Slowly, he walked over and opened Neku's bedroom door, poking his head out to stare down the steps. "Neku…?"
No response, just a very quiet sound of movement could be heard from the computer room, as Josh made his way downstairs and to the main floor. Walking closer to the room, he could make out a few softly hissed curses, and a metallic smell seemed to strengthen with every step the boy took. Stopping at the doorway, the silver haired boy stared at the many boxes piled on the floor, a knocked over chair, and a few red droplets on the white carpet that shimmered in the afternoon sun. "…N-Neku…?" Joshua asked hesitantly, a hint of worry mingling with his quiet, high-pitched voice. He got no answer, once again. Biting his lip, he took a few steps into the room, almost scared by the silence.
Joshua jumped, as a box moved slightly, and a small sniff was heard from somewhere inside the pile of cardboard. Walking over to the boxes, he began to move them, sighing in relief when he heard a quiet "Joshua, I can do it myself!" snap at him. "Of course you can dear, I just enjoying helping my sweet little proxy~" He sang the last word, moving a few more boxes so the said boy could stand up.
Neku glared at the smiling angel, hiding his hand behind his back. "Yea whatever…" He mumbled, wincing slightly as his hand brushed against the fabric of his clothes. Trying to brush the pain off, and hoping Josh didn't see him wince, he tried to push past the silvernette.
No such luck.
"Neku, why did you wince?" Neku shrugged, glaring at Josh as he grabbed his wrist. "Let go, I don't want your germs on me." A flicker of hurt seemed to show in the boy's amethyst eyes and he let go. "Let me see your hand." His tone was soft, his words seemed more like a question than a demand, and the younger hesitantly held out his hand. Joshua stared at the blood running from the boy's hand, red coating his pale skin as it seeped out through the cuts all along his soft flesh. "How did you…?"
"I slipped when I was reaching for something, cute it on some glass. No big deal." A frown formed on Joshua's face, staring at the blood covered skin. "It is too a big deal, you're bleeding…" He murmured quietly, gently taking Neku's hand in his own, ignoring the boy's hiss of pain as a green glow surrounded the composer's hand. Every cut on the former player's hand disappeared, all blood gone as well. Staring at his hand in disbelief and surprise, he missed the words spoken from the small angel.
"You're welcome."
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A/N- This story should have at least 14 chapters, if not more. It's 1 week of Neku having to put up with Joshua, each chapter containing half a day. Rating may go up at some point for later chapters, but we'll see.
Please Review and tell me what you think, and sorry if the characters seem a bit OOC
For any grammatical errors or spelling mistakes, I apologize.