It had been two months since The Game.
Neku was... Getting better at being sociable, Shiki and Eri became the dynamic duo once more, and the Bito siblings had learned to play nice with Mommy and Daddy.
And good ol' Josh? Well...
Neku never saw Joshua since their final showdown. Sure, he was a pain, but, that didn't mean he didn't miss the royal prick. He was his friend after all, right? At least, for Neku he was a friend. Who the hell knows what really goes through Joshy's fluffy head?
...
Well, there is one person...
Mr. H was cleaning his coffee cups behind the counter of the WildKat Cafe, suspiciously whistling a tune very similar to "Call Me Maybe" when it all happened.
What happened, you ask?
Well, during this time, a separate Neku from Our Neku in a separate place from Ours was being made fun of for being caught with his hair ungelled. In an alternate universe, Shiki was picking the sock fuzzies out from between her callused, corny toes while talking to Eri about Ms. Twister's "totally fabulous" outfit last night that the Prince himself F'd! (Squee!)
But right here, right now, Our Joshua walked through the café doors, vibe lowered, (so he looked like his usual, bratty self) and unusually quiet... The Barista didn't notice this however, being distracted with his cups.
"Sanae..." Spoke the ashen blonde, obviously in a great amount of pain.
"Hey J! Come by for a cuppa joe?" It's been awhile since the kid last came by here... Hope he's not planning somethin' fishy... Mr. H, lost in thought and in cup cleaning still neglected to look up to see his usually-frequent-but-not-frequent-as-of-late visitor/friend.
"..." It... Hurts... I can't see very well... Sanae, please... Look at me. I'm bleeding, I think. I hate blood. It's disgusting... I... I...
The café was deathly quiet, and the only sound that could be heard was a limp body hitting the floor.
"J?" Mr. H looked up, and regretted it immediately. "Josh!"
Said boy was lying on the ground, not unconscious yet, but close to it. He tried to reach out with his bloodied, bruised hand, but failed. I... can't... breathe... Help me... I can't stay awake much... longer...
The sight was truly gruesome. The usual silky, silvery hair that covered the usually snarky boy's head, was matted and covered in blood and grime, his face devoid of any mischief or malicious intent. He was shaking, and looked pained. There were huge gashes in a number of places, and blood covered him. It soaked his clothes, stained his hands, dripped down his pale, slightly ill looking face... It was everywhere.
...And he kinda smelled like sewage. But, that's not important.
Oh my god... Mr. H numbly stared at his younger friend, shaken by his appearance. "Joshua... W- What happened to ya kiddo?" He smoothed the boy's hair back with his hand. He looked terrible...
Josh smirked with a bloody mouth and the darkness in his eyes served as warning not to press the matter any further. "Does... it matter?" He was struggling to speak. Mr. H didn't want to argue to get him to spill the beans, so he just let him have his way.
Joshua groaned sickly and grimaced, ignoring things like composure and his surroundings for a moment. My head... I'm fading... I feel sick. Am I gonna be sick? I think I might... Or maybe- Wet hacking noises erupted from Joshua's throat as he coughed up fresh blood to mix with the already drying crimson liquid around his mouth. G-R-O-S-S. Ew. Oh my god. Now I'll really be sick. Ugh... Wait... Is Sanae saying something...? I can't hear you... I can't hear anything... I... My... Head...
"Josh!" Joshua had gone under. Mr. H tried to shake him (practically throw him around like a rag doll) awake in vain. "Joshua! God damnit... I can't exactly go to the higher ups about this... Who can I call...?" Wait... What if I called... Nah, Josh would hate me. Mr. H looked at Josh's pathetic body that was now in his arms being carried to the back of the café. Well, he's not really capable of hating anyone right now, huh? The café owner pulled out his cell phone...
Neku was with his friends at the Ramen Don. Beat was sticking straws up his nose, and getting scolded by Rhyme for it. Shiki was giggling, Eri was texting, and Mr. Doi was having a laugh behind the counter mumbling something about them that they couldn't hear.
Neku smiled to himself. Even though The Game was hell, he met some amazing people. (And his idol (!) CAT)
Speaking of CAT, Neku could barely contain his squeal of totally manly delight when his phone started ringing and said man's number popped up on it. OH MY GOD. He's CALLING me. Oh jeez... Wait, do I answer? What do I do? What if... While Neku was worrying himself with all the things that could go wrong this phone call, he almost forgot to answer it.
"Mr.H? H- Hello?" Neku's friends all quieted down and listened, Eri especially straining her self to hear the conversation on the phone.
"Neku." Jeez... He sounds grumpy... Maybe he hasn't got any customers lately and he wants me to stop by!?
"Yeah, what is it?" Stay calm Neku... Don't freak out... Play it cool. You've got a life, you can't just show up cause he asked you to... Gotta make sure he knows you only go where you wanna go. Oh, but I wanna go so bad!
"It's about J. Meet me at the café ASAP." The line went dead.
"Mr. H...? Mr. H!"
Wait... What?
Author's Note: Hey! So, this is my first fanfic ever... (Therefore criticism is completely welcome... and probably necessary.) Anyways, yeah... This isn't gonna be yaoi, or lemony... Or anything like that. Hope y'all liked it. Reviews would help me very much since I'm just starting out. (And no, the whole story isn't gonna be Josh-Josh out cold like my Grandpa on Saturday nights... He gets better) Okay, welp, goodnight readers! (Thanks for reading, btw, it means alot!)