NIGHTS OF THE THE WEEK BEFORE
DISCLAIMER: I do not own TWEWY and its characters, just so all of you would know, they are all copyright of Square Enix. Now, I did most of this in a rush and in a not-so-quiet environment, so what I wrote may have strayed a little bit from the original storyline, so I hope you don't mind. The Regina and Morgan in here may be considered OCs since I included them personally in this fanfic but they do not appear in the original game. Thank you.
THE 4TH NIGHT - CLOSE SHAVE
"Precisely. This spot."
I was on the phone, standing in front the mural at the Udagawa district. The area was deserted so far - I had picked the right time to discuss my other plan with a fellow comrade.
"That place?" came the irritated voice. "Aw, come on. That place is zetta - "
"I had a change of plan. The other areas were Conductor territory. This area will be closed off for many days this month, and the only day this area is accessible is tomorrow and next Thursday. No one will be around to report you or anything, Minamimoto."
A sigh from the other end of the line. "6789786544523. Alright."
"Do you still remember the steps?" I asked.
"Yeah, of course. Drew a diagram, square roots and all. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got another errand to run. QED. Goodbye."
"Whoa there," I interrupted. "Hold it. One more thing - I advise you to watch it with - "
"Geez, old man, I know! Stay away from the Composer. Can't help me, but I'll try. That factoring hectopascal does tempt me sometime, though. But it'll depend on my mood. Gotta go."
He hung up before I could ask him what he was up to the night before. Keeping my phone, I frowned. Sho Minamimoto and I had been secretly working on another plan to change the Composer's mind about erasing Shibuya - an inverse matrix, he would call it - and to do so, I had taught him how to create a special kind of Noise, more deadly and ferocious than the rest. Noise that could erase both Players and Reapers on sight. Yes, it was contradicting the plan Joshua and I had discussed from day one, but still we had to protect the city.
I thought of Minamimoto's absence yesterday. If anything happened to Joshua, it's be half my fault as well...
"This way!" cried a voice.
Startled, I slipped into the shadows. I was even more surprised when the Players who came running into Udagawa were no other than Joshua and Regina.
"There!" Regina called to Joshua, and I saw that she was pointing to a stray Noise they had chased into the back streets, one of the Fox Noise. She flipped a pin in her hand, conjuring a gust of wind that blew the Noise into the air. Laughing, Joshua erased it.
"We're done!" gasped Regina in delight. "That was fun, chasing after the 'flying fox'. This week's Game Master is really good with words."
"You don't say," Joshua smiled, standing beside her.
Morgan came running towards them. "Is it gone?" he panted. "Man, that thing nearly took off with my beanie."
"It's taken care of!" Regina exclaimed, holding up her hand. The timer was gone.
Morgan breathed a sigh of relief. "Gosh, that was a long run. All the way from the scramble? My thighs can't take it."
"I thought you were a street fighter, Morgan?" asked Regina, giggling. "Street fighters run a lot, don't they?"
"Whatever," Morgan moaned. "But let's take a break here."
They sat down near the mural and I tried my best to stay hidden. While Morgan was dusting his beanie, Regina turned to Joshua. "Hey, have you heard of this song?" she asked, whipping out a pure white cell phone.
She clicked a button, and the song played. It's never too late to make the choice, to speak your voice, to face it. It's never too late to cross that road, to step it out, to change it. The world is right is right in your hands, the universe there at your fingertips. It's never too late if your heart is set, to conquer your fears and your life with it.
"Hmm. Maybe I have. But it's rare," Joshua said.
"It is. I found it in my dad's laptop. It sounded nice, so I downloaded it. I just don't really like the part about the gun."
As if on cue, the song played the aforementioned lyrics. The gun is right in front of me, but I let those bullets fly. Maybe if I had the heart to do it, to stop them I could just try...
Joshua's face paled for a moment. "What's so wrong about the part with the gun?"
Regina sighed. "Not that I hate it. But... I just feel that it sounds funny, like..." She paused.
"It bothers you?"
Regina looked a little sad. Then she took a shaky breath. "Fine, let me tell you something..."
Just then, my phone rang. Uh-oh, I thought. I checked the caller. Sho Minamimoto. I shook my head. What now? I couldn't answer the phone straight away. The others would hear me. But then I saw the fence. Breathing a sigh of relief, I climbed over it.
Later, I was back in the cafe, cleaning up and waiting. I thought back about Regina. She seemed quite outgoing, it wasn't surprising Morgan, who didn't know her at all, could become her partner. I cleared a table of my paperwork from the past few days. Just then, someone knocked on the door.
"Coming!" I called. It was bound to be Joshua. I opened the door.
It was Joshua, all right. But injured. His leg was badly scarred, his shoulder bleeding profusely from what looked like a severe bullet wound. There were cuts and tears in his shirt where someone must have slashed at him. Other than that, his face was flushed with perspiration.
Immediately, I jolted and brought him to the back of the room, where I managed to bandage his wounds.
"What happened?" I asked, struggling to find some medical equipment.
He told me Minamimoto had launched a surprise attack on him straight after the mission with Regina and Morgan, after they had left, and that he had no time to evade it. He picked the right time, all right, I thought. When Josh was alone.
"I managed to block his final blow - deflected it, in fact. Hit him hard. He shouldn't be - Ah!" He winced as I dabbed at a scar with some ointment.
"Hold still," I said, then putting on the final bandage, "I don't think you're in any shape to join them tomorrow."
"...bothering me now," he continued. Had he heard my statement?
"This is serious, Josh," I stressed. "You don't need any distractions. At least try to focus."
I thought he would say she is NOT a distraction. But he didn't.
"Stand up," I ordered.
He did as I said, not before crumpling down again.
"There, you see?" I chided. "Take my hand."
I walked him upstairs and entered the spare bedroom there. All the times he'd been here when he was younger, I'd gratefully let himspend the night in there. The walls were plain, the carpet musty. But I knew it was home to him.
I sat him down on the bed. "You are not going anywhere tomorrow. Just for a day, the others won't worry about you. It's for your own good. You hear me?"
He nodded, then lay himself down and turned away from me. I stood there, watching him. So I was a little mad at him for nearly getting himself killed. But deep down, I wished he hadn't gotten himself into his mess. That was the reason for my other plan - to get him out of harm's way. Deep down, I felt for him.
An hour later, thunder boomed and lightning struck outside the cafe. I quickly closed the blinds. The room was silent, save for Joshua's slow breathing. Under the pale moonlight and the light of the occasional lightning flashes, I could make out Joshua's face, peaceful in slumber. Silently hoping that the cuts and wounds would heal quickly, I sat in the corner of the room.
In the dark, I took in the events of the day. From the time I first met him, Joshua had always been alone - at least, until now. But now he had friends, right? Somewhere in me, I felt, well, happy for him.
That moment, Joshua turned slightly beneath the covers.
Then I heard it.
Joshua had muttered something in his sleep. A name.
Regina.
Message: This chapter was actually shorter when I first wrote it. So when I made it longer on the spot, without any arragements, just the basic plot in my head, I took a really long time to get it done. Also, the song in here - I simply thought of it and wrote the lyrics down. Thanks for all your support though~