The thud of the train slamming against the train. The chattering, the laughter of those standing aimlessly around the dog-like statue. The footsteps and stomps against the white-striped concrete.
The boy breathed a sigh, his indigo orbs taking a quick glance at the pristine, powder blue sky. He spotted the crowds of people standing at the crossing. Smiling, laughing. No longer were the orchestrated sounds just a noise. He didn't clench his headphones, shoving them against his ears, in a futile attempt to drown out the noise.
No longer apathetic. No longer indifferent. He shared that same happiness, a reason to create that same obnoxious noise he once ignored: he now had friends.
Do-doo-do-doooo-do.
That ringtone, however, was pretty much noise. Simplified, second-rate noise.
Do-doo-do-doooo-do.
The boy rummaged around his oversized, khaki pocket. He fumbled with his purple flip phone upon grabbing it, trying to pry it open before it started singing the next notes of that really bad ringtone. He didn't really look to see who was calling; he wouldn't be able to tell, anyways, as the screen was cracked and foggy.
"...Yeah?" he questioned casually.
"Neku! Where are you?"
"Uhh... Scramble crossing. Why?"
"Oh, good! Can you meet me at Ten-Four?"
Neku rolled his eyes. If Shiki was calling him and asking him to go to 104, this obviously meant shopping. That probably meant being tormented by hours of boredom in return for Shiki's delight: thousands of 'does this look good?', many girlish squeals, and she'd probably shove a neatly folded pile of clothes at him, basically telling him that his outfit sucked. He could've easily gone off and done something else; after all, he could've been bold enough to play Tin Pin Slammer. (Unlikely, but...)
The orange-haired boy only smiled.
"Sure."
"Great! See ya there!" She certainly sounded happy.
Neku flipped the phone shut and shoved it back his pocket; he was getting the hang of closing a phone with one hand. He took his steps towards the 104 building, which eyed him off in the distance. Knowing Shiki, she would've taken a while to get there. But she probably would've been running by the time she got there, feeling bad for making Neku wait but anxious to see what new clothes awaited beyond the pristine, metallic walls of the gargantuan shop.
He watched the concrete, fumbling aimlessly with the mp3 player hanging around his neck. He had every intention to head off to 104, probably sneaking off over to Dogenzaka beforehand. The rhythmic beats of his footsteps, and all of those around him, played an orchestration of music as he headed through the street.
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
He nodded his head, subconsciously placed his hand next to his ear as if he were wearing his headphones.
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
It wasn't a noisy beat.
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
He found that, instead of being noise, it blended. Shaping into a simple beat.
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
Something simple...
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
Something so simple...
Thump, thump, thump, th--
His part of the chorus slammed to a stop. His indigo orbs had glanced up, only to spot something. A single thing that disrupted the beat, throwing it into disarray.
A scowl was plastered on his pale features. Arms folded. His violet orbs expressing discontent. Brow furrowed. Even his grey, wavy locks managed to prove that he was, indeed, not at all 'happy'.
I can't forgive you, but I trust you.
"Neku." his snooty voice snarled. "We have a problem..."
It was two months since Neku last saw Joshua. Right at that moment, the orange-haired boy immediately started cursing.
THE price OF playing ; day zero (prince)
A/N: 'Ello Subasekai fic! This is actually the prologue for a fanproject-ish thingy that I'm starting. It's a story that follows the canon characters while also following a group of original characters. Though I would rather post both stories up together, I will post each side of the story separately, so that whomever wants to only follow the canon characters will only follow the canon characters while anybody who's more interested in the OCs can follow the OCs. I dunno how well that'll work, though, but meh.
The basis of this (not the plot, actually...) is that there is going to be others' OCs that show up. This is still the fanproject that I started a couple of months ago but didn't get very far with and that basic point is still going to remain the same. If you would like your OC to take part in this, please leave a review and ask about it. I can give you a link about everything involving this little project.
That's about it! I hope you enjoy the story!