Ugh, sorry guys I suck at being a consistent updater :/ For all of you waiting patiently I'm once again very sorry. Real life has to come first so this story has been on the backburner for a long time. Not to mention I've moved on to new fandoms (Modern Warfare ahhh yaaa) and I've almost completely lost motivation for this story.

But do not fear, for I will finish this thing. Or die trying.

So umm, yeah, I don't own TWEWY and hopefully after this shorter chapter I can move on to some action and carnage and stuff. It's a shorter one 'cuz I'm a horrible person who takes forever and I just wanted to give you guys something.

Enjoy~(pleaseloveitandtakeitasmyhumbleapologyforsuckingalotimsorry)


She bid Sanae a farewell before slipping out the door. Sanae watched her go silently before rubbing his eyes. Maybe he would take his own advice and close the cafe early to catch a few hours of sleep.

Joshua found that trying to clean up the blood stains on the carpet was good exercise for him. He hadn't been able to exert himself the last few days in fear that he would reopen his injuries but now that they were almost completely healed up, he could start to slowly work his body back into shape. Just scrubbing away at the carpet left him gasping for breath. Leaning back on his heels, he focused on slowing his breathing down.

"I've only been out of commission for a few days. What's wrong with me?"

He groaned in frustration as he continued to clean. He would push past this like any other obstacle in his way, as if it was just another building to climb or gap to jump across.

"Speaking of gaps to jump...," Joshua began aloud as he stared up toward the ceiling absentmindedly, "that jump I pulled off when I was escaping through the window was epic."

He grinned pridefully. Yes, epic was the perfect word for it. That had to be the widest distance he had ever covered in a jump. And also the most terrifying. He laughed, a mixture of mild hysteria and amusement, as he remembered that moment.

"Next time I do a jump like that though, I would prefer to not get shot at while I'm attempting it."

Still smirking, he continued his mission to clean up the carpet.

When Neku got back from work in the evening, he was surprised to find Joshua sitting against the wall in the hallway, fast asleep.

"You know they're these wonderful things called beds that we use, Josh," he called jokingly as he set his bag on the ground and kicked his shoes off. Joshua opened one eye to look up at him before mumbling, "I'm too much of a rebel to go with society's norms, Neku."

Neku let out a sarcastic laugh before sliding down against the wall to sit next to Joshua.

"Notice something different?"

Neku raised an eyebrow in confusion at the question before looking around them. His gaze finally settled on the carpet in front of them and that's when he noticed that the blood stains on the carpet were barely noticeable.

"You...cleaned up the carpet?" Neku asked, incredulously. "I didn't know you were my maid now."

"Hmph, I don't even get a thank you? And I am not going to wear a maid outfit even if you beg, Neku," Joshua scoffed, puffing his cheeks out in irritation.

"W-why would I want you to wear a maid outfit!? But seriously Josh...thanks."

Joshua smiled warmly, feeling elated even though he was exhausted. "You're quite welcome."

Neku grinned in return before getting to his feet and offering a hand to Josh. "Here. Let's go find something to eat."

Joshua let himself be pulled up, ignoring the aches and pains. "Sounds good. I'm starving."

Joshua followed Neku into the kitchen. He ended up walking right into Neku when he stopped suddenly.

"Oof! Why'd you stop?"

Neku didn't reply right away, only turning to stare at him blankly.

"Josh, this is what you call cleaning up the kitchen?"

Joshua looked around Neku into the kitchen. What was wrong with it?

Neku folded his arms in front of him, glaring. "You threw out half the contents of my fridge. And you left a bunch of stuff on the counter."

"Hey, it's all organized on the counter. Don't I get points for that at least?"

"No."

Joshua pouted. "Aww, come on. I did my best. I still cleaned the carpet for you."

There was no response for a moment. Joshua swallowed nervously.

"Well, guess we're ordering supper tonight."

Joshua blinked in surprise. "Really? You're not going to send me to my grave early?"

Neku raised an eyebrow, obviously still peeved but slightly amused at his fear. "Why would I do that after going through so much effort to keep you alive?"

"You know my fear is justified with you and your explosive temper, Neku."

Neku made a scoffing noise but didn't object to the statement. He couldn't deny his anger issues.

"I can't believe you're afraid of something like that of all things. You didn't seem horribly fazed when I found you full of bullet holes in that alley," Neku said instead with a smirk.

Joshua shrugged. He actually had been terrified but he had gotten good at hiding that feeling. Well, except when it came to Neku's rage.

"Meh, I can deal with some bullets. But like they say, 'hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn'."

"It's, 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned', and are you calling me a woman?"

"Maybe. Oh, but don't worry, you're a very pretty woman, Neku. And also very kind when you're not mad at me."

"Joshua."

"Haha okay. Shutting up now."

Joshua rolled over on the couch, staring out the window. He could see the night sky in between the buildings but for once he wished he could see it in its fullness.

Neku had retired to bed after eating a few slices of the pizza he had ordered, leaving the rest for Joshua to devour. Neku had looked so exhausted that Joshua insisted he take his own bed back.

"You look much worse than me now, Neku. I'll be fine on the couch," He had insisted. The prospect of sleeping in his own bed seemed very appealing to Neku so it didn't take much to get him to cave in and agree.

"You'll wake me up if you need me though, Josh." Neku's worry stunned Joshua. All he could do at the time was nod weakly.

He couldn't bear to say that he was leaving.

The thought had been plaguing Joshua all day ever since it had first came to his mind. He had spent too long here already and they needed him back at the cafe to continue their work. The worry of them finding him here also gripped him. Neku didn't need to be dragged into this mess and Joshua would do his best to prevent it from happening. And the way Neku kept pestering him about how he'd gotten himself riddled with bullet holes and who exactly he was, he was bound to accidentally let something slip and then Neku would be on him like a ravenous dog for more information.

He sat up, stretching a bit to help with the stiff feeling in his limbs, then pushed himself to his feet. He moved to the window silently, placing his fingertips against the cool glass. He couldn't see very much in the darkness, since there weren't many streetlights. That kind of worried him; it was hard to navigate in the dark and he wouldn't be surprised if there were some shady people hiding in the dark of the alleys, waiting for an idiot like himself to walk by.

But Joshua couldn't stay here anymore. He had been here for too long and the fear of them finding him here made his heart race and his head spin. It made him want to curl up into a ball somewhere far away from anything and it had been a long time since he had been assaulted with these kinds of feelings.

"I'm sorry, Neku," He whispered out loud, his breath fogging the glass. His stomach churned, as if the words set in stone that, yes, he was leaving now. He wasn't sure if the apology was for leaving without saying goodbye or if it was for getting him into this situation in the first place.

He stopped himself there. Putting all of his feelings on the back burner and ignoring them was what he did best and he would do that right now too. The fog in his brain cleared and his body relaxed, his heartbeat slowing soon after.

He slipped into the bathroom for a moment, flicking the light on and closing the door silently. He briefly looked himself over in the mirror, noting how much healthier he was looking. Though unfortunately his clothes were a different story. He was still wearing his own clothes, having turned down Neku's offer to borrow some of his clothes; Joshua thought Neku's choice of clothing was atrocious. His sweater and pants still had blood stains and were ripped in spots so, sadly, he would have to say goodbye to his favorite sweater once he got back to the cafe.

He slipped out of the bathroom and retrieved his shoes from the entrance before returning to the bathroom. Sitting down on the floor cross-legged, he reached inside his right shoe. There was a small opening in the fabric inside the side of his shoe, and he pulled out his pocket knife from it. Sanae had insisted on him keeping one hidden on him in case of an emergency and Joshua felt a little safer with the blade now in his sweater pocket, ready if he needed it. He just hoped he wouldn't have to use it.

He slipped his shoes on, flipped his hood up, then headed to the entrance again, all ready to head out. His hand rested on the handle as he hesitated. Maybe there was still one more thing he had to do here.

It was a rough trip back to the cafe. Joshua was already wheezing and he was only a block away from Neku's apartment. Leaning against the wall of the building, he focused on slowing his breathing down. He hated feeling weak. Not even a week ago, he could easily sprint to the cafe when he needed to and now even walking wore him down fast. He would have to work himself back into shape after he got back.

He continued at a slow walk, limping on his bad foot. It was unnervingly quiet out, with no traffic in this area of Shibuya and no stores open. Joshua was at least glad that he hadn't run into anyone. Having to fight off some thug out to steal his wallet didn't sound like a fun time to him. Also, any person who watched the news enough would recognize him as that criminal who broke into a company, destroyed property, and assaulted some of the workers. Well, that wasn't the actual truth but there was no reason for these people to question what they were being told.

Not many people actually knew that it wasn't just a normal company building that went by the name "RLD Inc." but was actually, as Joshua called it, Trayford's lair. The people who did know the truth were either forced into silence by various methods or spent the rest of their lives hiding from Trayford's men and attempting to strike back. Sadly, though, most attempts were quickly dealt with and not much leeway had been made in the last few years. If the only way to end the corruption was to put a gun to Trayford's head and pull the trigger, Joshua wouldn't hesitate to do it; he had already lost almost everything and he wouldn't mind going down with the man he despised the most.

He staggered suddenly, his bad ankle giving out on him for a moment. He managed to catch himself before he had a glorious wipe out, using the wall of the building beside him for support until he could put weight on his foot again. Hopefully Sanae would know what to do about his numerous injuries when he got back to the cafe. Ignoring the exhaustion starting to creep up on him, he instead daydreamed about the many pleasant memories he had had at the cafe as he continued to make his way down the street.

Joshua found it a lot easier to ignore his pain when his mind was focused on the pleasant smell of Sanae's coffee and of his friend's laughter. He ignored it when he heard Neku's laugh join them.

When Sanae heard a knock at the door at 2 in the morning, his first thought was maybe they had finally found him. Trayford's men had finally tracked him down and were here to put a bullet through his head and make it look like a normal robbery gone sour.

But that was only one possibility that his sleep deprived brain had thought up and it continued to spew out nonsense as he stiffly stood from the chair that he had somehow managed to fall asleep on and moved towards the entrance. He hesitated, mind still alight with paranoia, but he reassured himself that it couldn't possibly be Trayford's men.

His brain was still trying to convince him otherwise when he opened the door and saw Joshua sitting on the step.

"Sanae."

Joshua's voice was calm and collected as he looked up at him with his trademark smirk. Sanae could easily see through the kid's facade though, and he saw the weariness in his downcast features and the relief in his eyes. He tried to say something but his mind was still in a bit of a haze so instead he found himself helping Joshua to his feet then throwing his arms around him.

It probably wasn't a good idea to hug Joshua with his diversion to physical contact but Sanae wasn't thinking about that; he had to know that he was really here, not just some desperate illusion that he had conjured, but the Joshua he had taken in as a kid. The Joshua who he had come to love like the son he'd never had.

Joshua froze like a deer caught in headlights but surprised Sanae when he returned the gesture, arms wrapping tightly around him before he slumped against him, exhausted.

Sanae decided it was wise to not make a comment about the fact that his shirt was now wet where Joshua's face was buried into it.

Likewise, Joshua said nothing about how Sanae's arms around him had begun to tremble. He understood that moments of weakness were totally acceptable.

"I'm sorry I took so long, Sanae." Joshua's voice was muffled in the fabric of Sanae's shirt.

"It's okay, J. But don't expect Shiki or Beat to be so forgiving."

Uh oh. He hadn't thought about their reactions.

Maybe, Joshua thought with growing dread, maybe he should've just died instead of having to come back and face Beat's and, even more horrifying, Shiki's wrath.

He mouthed a silent prayer as Sanae led him inside to clean up.


(sarcasm) Maybe I should just have Beat and Shiki maul Joshua to death and end the story. What do you guys think? (/sarcasm)

R&R unless you hate this story and me cuz that's okay too and I accept it.

Also if you want to be terrified for the rest of your life go and download Imscared. Just a suggestion.