Okay, as far as timelines go, this isn't before or after the game, it's a rewrite…sort of. There are a lot of differences. I hope you enjoy! Reviews will be rewarded with cookies. And blueberry pancakes.

1:Twist

Joshua had followed me to work. Again. Like Wild Kat wasn't busy enough without him bothering me all day. He'd wait outside in the morning, spend all day in the kitchen, and he'd never. Shut. Up. I never had a spare moment; it was either work, or police interrogation. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

My name is Ren Hanasaki. I work at Wild Kat, the coffee shop on Cat Street in Shibuya. It's something to keep food on the table, and being older than my brother made that my job. Even if this job makes me question my sanity from time to time. When you wish you had your annoying, 13-year-old brother hanging around all day, losing your sanity was a legitimate fear.

"Okay, let's say that you're surrounded by a group of thugs." Great, here come the questions. "They have guns, and every intention to kill you. You're unarmed, what do you do? " I wondered how he could ask that so nonchalantly, like he was asking what my favorite color was. Might as well humor him.

"Well, I'd cause some groin pain via my foot, and run for my life." He smirked.

"They're girls."

"I'd give them hangnails and laugh? Have you seen any female thugs in Shibuya?"

"You're the closest thing." He grinned at me darkly. It was hard to keep my eyes from darting to the knife block on the counter.

"Sanae! Either get rid of the knives, or get rid of Joshua! I don't want a murder record!" I yelled to my boss. He poked his head into the kitchen.

"Josh's our best customer. You can't kill him." Can't? He was pushing my limits.

"Then get him out of the kitchen so I can finish working."

"You mean you didn't check the calendar Ren? You get off early today. And we don't have enough customers for me to pay you overtime." Oh yeah, I forgot that this café was about as rich as I was. I wasn't about to argue about free time though. I hung my apron on a peg and swung my string bag over my shoulder. Before I could walk out the door, I felt someone grab my hand and pull me back inside.

"Joshua, what is it?" I was about to smack the guy. I wasn't on shift; I didn't care who the best customer was.

"I had one more question. Have you heard of Cyco Records? " I just nodded my head to keep from yelling at him.

"They got some new CDs in stock today. I was going anyway, and I thought you might want to come." I opened my mouth to respond when the door opened.

Thank whatever God's listening that I have a brother.

"Hey, Ren, you're done already?" Kyou had a natural talent for bursting into rooms at the wrong moment. For once in my life, I was thankful for that.

"Yeah, I'm done. Mr. H's going to go bankrupt if I work overtime. Anyway, Joshua just invited me to Cyco Records – you want to come?"

"What, that shady place in Udagawa? Wasn't someone killed there last week? Saku-something?" He looked at Joshua. "You're kidding right?" The smirk returned to Joshua's face.

"Well if you're scared Kyou, nobody's making you come." I rolled my eyes. They got kicks out of bothering each other. Kyou snarled a bit.

"Fine, I'll go." He paused before continuing. "But first…" He leaned across the counter and shoved a coffee mug onto the floor. It shattered into ten pieces.

"Thanks, right after he leaves early, you try to get me fired! Why do you always break Mr. H's stuff?"

"Because it's fun. Now let's go before he breaks a blood vessel."

"What, and miss all the entertainment?"

"Joshua, don't encourage him!" I pushed them out the back door and headed for Udagawa.

The Udagawa back streets are dangerous for anyone. They're full of drug dealers, gangs, killers…it was scary to think you couldn't take a walk anymore without fearing for your life.

I noticed some guys staring after me, and one even dared to whistle. I watched in shock as Joshua pulled a gun out of his pocket and aimed it at the man's head.

"If you want to walk away with your small brain intact, you'll apologize to my friend." The man nodded and muttered something along the lines of 'Sorry, it won't happen again.' and ran off. We walked to the CD store in silence, because neither of us would've put it past Joshua to shoot.

I walked out of the store with my MP3 on full volume in my ears. I had downloaded a few new songs for it, and Kyou had bought some new CDs. I had to admit, it was strange for Joshua to bring us here, and the scene with the gun had scared the crap out of me. But, the music made it worth it.

I paused the song when I noticed a man with dark hair and a black cap pointing two guns at us. I tried to run, but my feet were rooted to the ground. Before I heard the gunshots, a stream of questions ran through my head. Who was this guy? What was so special about killing me? Hadn't I known not to come here? Did he set this up? If my vision wasn't clouding with red, I could swear that Joshua was smiling.

Aight, chapter 1! I'll update when I get the time, and remember: reviews earn you pancakes and cookies.