And So It Was Decided: Chapter 01
The people on the city streets moved restlessly. They walked and talked, each person in their own little world, and yet each one was conscious of the other moving as a single body with a predictable pattern. It was like a song without words as people weaved in and out of the congested traffic.
"Why…?"
These people, these footsteps, these noises…
"What the hell!"
Neku almost had a heart attack and died (again) when he saw they were all back at Scramble Crossing once more. But the fact he felt that having a heart attack was a distinct possibility, and the fact people were giving him odd looks told him something was different from the last three times he woke up here.
Wait…people were looking at him? They could… they could see him?
That meant they were in the… They were…They were alive! He could breathe and feel the air fill his lungs, and not that odd substitute for 'air' they had in the Underground. He could feel the pavement under his feet and hands, and it felt real. Neku had never been one for tears, in fact after he became a teenager he wasn't one for emotions whatsoever, but as he sat on the ground finally coming to realization the he could feel the sun on his face, and wind in his hair he felt like crying the same tears of joy he used to scoff at.
Next to him was Shiki who was shaking uncontrollably and slowly coming to the same realization as Neku did. Her eyes were wide and to her it felt like this had been the first time she had ever really seen Shibuya. Her heart was beating so rapidly in her chest it felt like it wanted to jump out and feel the air for itself.
Rhyme who had realized where they were and what had happened almost instantly was laughing hysterically. She wasn't sure why this was suddenly so funny, but she couldn't stop laughing. She laughed, and laughed not really caring about the fact people could see her again, and this typically wasn't normal behavior.
Beat who wasn't exactly the smartest kid in the bunch sat on the street with a confused look to his face, and he was trying and failing to figure why his sister was laughing so much and where they were or what was happening. Finally he understood, and began to laugh with Rhyme. His loud hoot mixing with her small giggle, made the two sound like incredibly close siblings.
"We did it," Shiki mumbled, the first to speak. The words caused a heavy silence on the group. After all that, after everything they had been through, it felt almost unreal. Neku expected Joshua to suddenly appear giggling that he got them, shortly followed by searing pain on his hand and a text message saying to get to the 104 building in five seconds or face erasure. But that didn't happen, instead nothing happened, they all just sat there in a daze like state until they were tired of all the odd looks they were getting, and got up from the ground, and brushed themselves off.
"Now what?" Rhyme asked; her voice smaller than usual. She looked to Neku, who had somehow found himself going from antisocial loner, to leader of the group.
Neku who usually just followed the missions they received, or did whatever his current party member suggested said the first thing that came to his mind. "I suppose we could go get something to eat…"
And so it was decided.
Two figures stood on top of a building. One had a human form, though this was not his true self, and the other wore a form far more befitting a person of his rank as the Composer. He had spent quite a lot of time in another form however, and that was very unlike him.
"You know," said a lazy voice of the one sitting down watching the scene play out before him, "this mess is going to have repercussions upstairs."
The white ethereal being was strangely quiet, as if he hadn't heard or wasn't really paying attention. But the older man had known this kid since he had actually been a kid, and knew neither A or B was the correct answer.
"But, hey, at least things are back to normal. Right?"
'Wrong,' said Joshua finally deciding to speak. His voice was not at a pitch a human could hear and his words were not part of any language humans could comprehend.
"What?" asked Sanae Hanekoma, not even looking at his companion and boss.
The Composer paused before continuing. '…I was thinking about doing something foolish, but breaking more rules might call on the attention of The Council, and that's last thing Shibuya needs,' another pause, 'It's really none of your concern'. Joshua obviously had meant it to sound mythical and otherworldly, but Mr. H was far too old and far too wise to see it only at face value. And besides Sanae already had a clue as to what this 'foolish' thing was.
Sanae chuckled and stated what was painfully obvious to both parties, "You seem down."
Joshua refused to acknowledge that statement, and instead ignored his friend to hear the happy little reunion going on below…without him.
"Hey, it's their world…" Mr. H said looking down at the kids, "…they get to decide what to do with it. We just…"
'I don't have time for this,' said the Composer, sounding anything other than composed. If it were possible to sound upset and jealous in the language of Angels then Joshua certainly did. In a blinding flash the young Composer flew up towards the south. Mr. H chuckled yet again…
"Some folks just don't take no for an answer…"
…before allowing his own wings to materialize and catch up with his boss.
They all walked together silently to Sunshine at the Shibukyu Main Store. Sunshine was your run of the mill burger shop at the cafeteria. It wasn't exactly special, but the cheery atmosphere and as some would say "kawaii" or "moe" designs made it popular with the youth. Bright sunny colors littered the walls and the whole thing was kept relatively clean by the hardworking staff. As Neku walked in he saw Hiroko standing in front taking orders like usual. She caught sight of Neku and his friends and waved the group over.
"Welcome to Sunshine! What can I get you for you?" She asked saying the traditional greeting. She noticed the rest of Neku's group and was a bit surprised. Usually Neku only came here with one other person, but now it seemed he brought an entire crowd. Hiroko smiled inwardly; it was good to see her favorite customer was making friends. When he first arrived with that red head girl he had seemed so antisocial and alone…
Neku and the group all placed their orders, and Hiroko promised to add a few extra fries for them as always. The group took a seat at the far right of the restaurant where no one else sat, and they could be alone to talk. Hiroko came up to them with their order…
"So how've you been?" she asked smiling as bright as the florescent walls of the shop.
"Better than ever," was Neku's reply, and he smiled back. It made Hiroko's (who had a small crush on the boy) heart flutter, before she quickly went back to her post silently cursing the fact she was so shy.
Neku stared at his burger, blankly. He had taken a single bite out of it, and yet Neku didn't feel like eating the rest. He wasn't really that hungry, and besides he had too much on his mind to do something as trivial as eat. The rest of the group seemed to share his sentiments, except for Rhyme who hadn't eaten when she was noise (or pin) and was now suddenly starving. If one paid close attention they'd notice she'd lost a bit of weight between her death and now.
"Yo, what's your numbers?" A voice asked, breaking Neku out of his trance with the nibbled burger.
"Oh, yeah…I didn't even realize…" Shiki said her voice wavering slightly. She pulled out her phone; it was a different one from the game, cheaper, and began to rattle out some numbers. Rhyme paused from eating and quickly wrote it down, before telling everyone her and Beat's number. Apparently the two of them actually shared a phone, because their parents weren't exactly the richest in Shibuya. Neku brought out his phone, and immediately put everyone in his contacts list, and was unsurprised to find that besides for his parents it was mostly empty.
Wow, I really was alone back then…
The group fell back into that uneasy silence again. A lot had changed, in such a short time, and no one knew how to…well, act in this sort of situation. And especially when they no longer had the common ground of fighting for their lives and their right to exist.
"…Rhyme do ya know…" Beat began, "…who I am?"
Rhyme looked at him and nodded. "You're my partner…and my …brother…"
Beat got an odd look to his face, and silently tears began to form. The realization finally hitting home that it was over. The nightmare of the last month was over. He had his sister back in more ways than one. He had his life back, but more importantly he had his lil' sister back. Rhyme was alive and well, and they were going to go home…together…
He took a napkin and wiped the tears away. He didn't want to cry in front of her.
Rhyme now finished with her burger began to peck at the fries. Eventually she couldn't hold in the question that had been burning at the back of her skull for some time now and asked, "What happened after I got erased?"
"Rhyme…"
She was having none of that, "Beat. I need to know."
Silently Shiki agreed. She too felt like she was missing some pretty big information. When she finally woke up, the first thing she heard was a rushed explanation that they needed to kill the Composer. The next thing she knew she was being mind controlled, kidnapped in a bubble by a dragon, and some random kid claiming to be the Composer threatening to destroy Shibuya if Neku didn't shoot him. And then Neku deciding not to shoot the kid anyway…
Unconsciously Shiki rubbed her neck. The same one Neku had almost choked to her second death…
Trust your partner.
Shiki put her hands back down on the table and decided to distract herself by eating her fries. And ketchup. Lots and lots of ketchup.
"Do you remember anything from your time as a noise?" Neku asked curiously.
"Somewhat…It's a bit hazy," Rhyme admitted. "It feels more like a dream than anything else."
"Good," Beat muttered.
"Beat I know you want to spare me the details, but I think I deserve to know…You can't protect me from everything," Rhyme looked at her brother "…please Beat."
"…alr'ght."
Rhyme smiled with a big grin. And now with permission everyone began to tell their side of the story to the younger girl, filling in not only the holes for her, but each other too. Neku found himself having the most to say, as he was the proxy, and unknowingly one of the biggest players of the Game. Shiki added a few details about herself and why her appearance suddenly was different from before, (Beat hadn't actually realized the girl with him was actually Shiki the entire time), and Beat told about his experiences as a Reaper. Rhyme recounted some the hazy memories she retained from her time as a noise.
When they were done, it felt as if a huge weight had been lifted of their shoulders. They began to talk about themselves, and what sort of people they were. They talked about funny memories, and parents, and school. They began to talk about their family and plans for the future. They began to talk life real friends.
Maybe even a family.
Eventually Hiroko came over, an apologetic smile on her face.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but we're about to close…" she said, taking off the official Sunshine INC hat.
"Is it really that late?" Shiki asked, looking at the clock for the first time in five hours. Yep, Hiroko was correct. The clock said it was nine, and when she looked outside, it was dark and moon was out.
"Sorry," Hiroko said again. "But I'm glad you have such close friends…honestly I'm a bit jealous." And with that Hiroko went to the back of the shop, as the final patrons left.
The group walked outside, and began to say their farewells.
"So do we just…go home now?" Shiki asked.
"I'm not sure," Rhyme admitted. "Our parents probably still think we're dead, so…"
Aw, crap. Neku hadn't even thought of the possibility that everyone he knew thinks he's dead. He hadn't even considered possible ways to explain his disappearance or any remotely satisfying explanations as to why he hadn't contacted everyone. And if they had found his body after Joshua had shot him…then there'd be no denying the fact he was dead until six hours ago.
Beat cursed under his breath, and Shiki looked distinctly awkward about seeing everyone again. But this is what they had each fought for, and they'd be darned if they didn't see it through.
"Let's meet up tomorrow at noon," Shiki suggested, playing nervously with her short brown hair. "If we can that is…"
"Where?" Neku asked although he already knew the answer.
"At the statue of Hachiko."
And so it was decided.
Rhyme stood outside the door with Beat to their house. A small one story flat in the suburbs of the city. She looked curiously at the older boy, before being hit by a wave of guilt. How could she have forgotten Beat was her older brother? What sort of terrible sister couldn't even recognize her own sibling when they had been together her entire life? In her mind there was no justifying it. No amount of excuses could possibly defend this.
But Beat seemed happy enough to forgive and forget, and he obviously didn't want to discuss the mental trauma he suffered because of her limited amnesia.
So now the two of them stood awkwardly in front of their own house, neither wanting to make the first step and ring the doorbell. Eventually it was Beat who decided to take one for the team.
Knock, Knock, Knock
Rhyme closed her eyes. Beat was the only one who actually knocked at the door instead of just ringing the doorbell. She used to remind him every time they went home not to knock as it woke up the dog, but now it seemed nostalgic and she would almost have been upset if he had just rang the doorbell like a normal person. Her brother was unique and she wanted to hold on to that desperately.
There was no response.
Rhyme sighed and rang the bell.
No response.
For a second Beat hesitated, before knocking again this time twice as hard and twice as loud.
This time there was a response.
The two heard shuffling and a loud mutter that sounded suspiciously similar to 'what is it now'. Rhyme knew there was no way her father could be alerted to their presence and therefore the statement hadn't really been directed at them. Yet in her heart it was bit harder to be sure. Part of her wanted to run away and not face her parents, and not explain what happened, so she reached up and held her small bell of the necklace Beat had bought her for her birthday, last year. Suddenly a feeling of courage washed over her. She could do this.
"What is it?" said a man's gruff voice as he opened the door. Rhyme stared at the man. Her father hadn't seemed to change at all since the time they were gone. He was still tall and intimidating as she remembered.
"We're back." Beat said in a small voice that really didn't suit him.
Their father looked at them weirdly, as if they both just spouted another head. "Yeah…and?"
Rhyme and Beat shared an odd look.
"We've been gone a month…" Beat started to say, but was interrupted.
Their father chuckled, "If a month is now two hours, then sure."
"But he's not joking!" Rhyme shouted in a moment of passion and confusion.
He sighed, "Seriously you two keep making jokes like that and people are going to suspect you're actually related. Really Rhyme I thought you were smarter than that." He gave a glare to his son, and said, "Don't you go corrupting Rhyme here. She gots the brains of the household."
"But…"
The joke had worn thin, and once again their father's face wore his trademarked scowl, "No buts. It's your turn to clean the dishes, and since you both just missed dinner, you'll get to eat after you're done."
And with that he went back in the house leaving the door open. The two siblings hesitated following him as it seemed almost impossible to just walk in and pretend nothing had happened. Pretend that they didn't both die, and sacrifice themselves to save each other and return home. Pretend like they haven't lost important things, or done horrible things to each other. Pretend like they weren't suddenly closer to each other, and understood the other, and saw their sibling in a whole new light.
The two of them had changed, and yet nothing else had.
It was certainly convenient. Something one could easily imagine Joshua doing for them as a parting gift, or perhaps this is what always happens when someone won the game. Rhyme couldn't remember reading a headline about random teens rising from the dead each after a week of being dead. And with the Reaper's game you'd think it'd happen fairly often, so logically winning the game merely meant you reset at your death. This meant they didn't have to explain anything to their parents, and even if they tried they had no proof that anything out of the ordinary had happened.
Maybe it was a blessing, perhaps a curse, but regardless they suddenly felt more disconnected from their past lives than when they had been dead.
Joshua was not one to do things spur of the moment. He was not one to do foolish potentially life (or non-life) threatening things just for a goal every part of his brain said was stupid and unworthy of his time. He liked to plan and scheme, and make sure he knows the outcome of every move he makes. He liked predictability, and he liked making sure everything worked toward his favor. Yet as he sat there with Mr. H, listening and seeing Neku and the others being brought to life for the first time, he sort of wished he had been sitting on the ground getting odd stares from the people around them too. Instead he had to hear Mr. Hanekoma lecture about nonsensical things. 'It's their world' he had said without mockery. 'They get to decide what to do with it.' So what if it was their world? So what if someone of his status shouldn't go mucking around with people in the Realground, and instead focus on his duty as the Composer? He shouldn't be bound to only one world when he could easily balance two. Besides, 'dear Neku' would miss him terribly if they merely ended their…eh…friendship on such a sour note.
Yes, that was it! Joshua could easily use Neku yet again to help him in his newest scheme. Certainly the former proxy wouldn't be thrilled to be used again, and especially to help Joshua. But the truth was it gave Joshua a valid excuse as to why he was spending so much time with humans. The Council couldn't possibly be opposed either, as their goal conveniently intersected with his at present, and erasing him would be more of a hindrance than what it's worth.
One day Joshua really was going to have to get Neku and his friends something as a reward for all the trouble they helped him with. Sure it was all unwilling, and they'd probably shoot him if given the chance (except Neku- who had gotten that chance). Joshua saw the brilliance of his plan slowly piecing itself together, and felt like laughing manically like a James Bond villain. However this was not Joshua's style, and instead he opted out for his signature giggle instead.
He'd need a week to sort out all the kinks and make the proper arrangements, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. Tomorrow he would start planning, and begin putting things to motion. He hoped Neku and the other enjoys their week break, because afterwards… he'd be paying a little visit.
And so it was decided.
"Same streets. Same crowds, too. Yeah, Shibuya hasn't changed a bit," Neku said to the wall. It had taken Neku a week to find the courage to actually come to the site of his death after coming back to life. He felt a bit silly talking to concrete, but it was on the way to the statue where he was going anyway…and a slight detour wasn't too uncalled for.
"But still… I don't think I can forgive you yet. You don't see it, but those few weeks were very hard for me. Learning to trust people. Having that trust broken." Neku didn't feel like completing the sentence, and saying 'by you'. He was confident Joshua (if he was even listening) would know exactly what Neku was referring to. The whole 'I'm really the Composer and lol you just fell into my trap Neku dear!1!11(giggle) BTW I'm totally going to destroy Shibuya and everyone in it if you don't shoot me first1'.
"Trust your partner. And I do. I - can't forgive you - but I trust you. You took care of things, right? Otherwise Shibuya would be gone, and my world with it." And for that Neku was deeply grateful. He didn't really fancy the idea of him being the reason for the end of this city by proxy or otherwise.
"Hey. Did I mention? I've got friends now. I'm going to see them for the first time in a week."
"…See you there?"
End of Chapter 01.
Wow I can't believe I'm actually writing a The World Ends With You fanfiction! Thanks for reading it so far, and as always, I own nothing.
SilverWingedGentleman: Thanks for being the first to review! I agree that Eri's personality was a bit too perfect, but I just wanted to show how Shiki saw Eri, rather than how Eri actually is. Eri's only a flawed human, after all.
