Well, here we go. Chapter eight. This has been going along really slowly, I'm sorry about that. Since I finished with school for the year, I've been really bad at remembering to write.
Anyway, here is the next chapter.
Neku turned onto his back, staring up at the dark ceiling. He knew it was late, but he knew he'd feel worse if he turned to look at the alarm clock lying next to his bed.
"Great. Now I can't even be a normal person. I'm up all night worried about otherworldly creatures instead of test."
"Talking to yourself Neku?"
"You can't sleep either then Joshua?" The former Player sat up in bed, looking across the room to Joshua.
"Something feels wrong Neku. There have been these attacks by Noise, but none of them have really threatened us all that much." The Composer stroked his chin, thinking. "Sure, the horde in the mansion yesterday looked like a threat, but even non-players were taking them out in a couple of hits." Neku briefly remembered the poor flattened frog Noise.
"Either we're really good, or we're being played with…"
"Same thoughts I had Neku."
"So, when do you think your new Conductor will attack?"
"Soon, in the next couple of days." Neku sighed.
"Promise me you'll make sure your next Conductor isn't like this."
"I already made myself that promise to myself. I'm sure I've mentioned I don't like getting so sweaty. I'm planning on giving Kariya, or maybe Uzuki the job. The other Reapers do like them, and they do have the right moral for the job. They're at least going to become generals."
"They do seem like good Reapers." Neku thought it over. "Pinkie needs some management though."
"Exactly." Joshua sighed. "I'm wondering if it was worth the hassle of becoming Composer. It's not the job I'd thought it would be."
"Can't you retire?" Neku looked curious.
Joshua shook his head. "The last Composer has to be killed for a new composer to take their place. So you see, I can't. I'm stuck with it until someone better than me comes along."
Neku yawned, glancing over at the alarm clock next to him. 2:31. "Sorry Joshua," Neku said. Joshua chuckled.
"Don't worry. You sleep, and we'll plan it all out tomorrow. Have a nice rest."
"Thanks." Neku laid back on his bed, closing his eyes.
"Bring your pins tomorrow. We're going to need to plan all this out." Joshua disappeared as suddenly as he arrived, and Neku fell into sleep.
"Where did you get these Joshua?" Neku asked, looking up from the map of the town Joshua had given him.
"Do you remember that friend Amber I mentioned? She managed to get me all of these. I couldn't tell you how, she made me swear not to tell." Joshua looked down to the plan of Ouran Academy spread in front of him. Neku looked over briefly.
"Since when was there a hill there?" Neku asked.
"It shows up whenever there's a fight scene going on." Hunny spoke up from his place around the table, the remains of a strawberry shortcake in front of him.
"So it seems," Mori added.
"So what can this Natsuki do anyway?" Haruhi asked, looking up from the floor plan of the local shopping center.
"Knowing the enemy is the best method of victory," Kyouya commented. "It's true in both business and battle."
"Natsuki's one of the best Reapers in Shibuya, at least since Kitaniji and the Generals were taken out," Joshua shrugged. "Her scores rivalled Konishi's, aside from planning. She can teleport herself and other objects."
"What about offensively?" Neku asked.
"She tends to fight at a range and have regular Noise do the close combat. She mainly uses Force Rounds. Bullets, basically. Neku can explain them." The Hosts looked over to said teen expectantly.
"Oh, come on..." Neku sighed, standing up as he looked into the tin. After a few moments, he pulled out a pin and held it out for them to see. "This pin has a Force Round psyche. When I use it, I send out a bullet of energy in any direction in front of me. How strong it is and how many times I can use it before it needs to recharge depends on the pin."
"Hey, what does this pin do?" Hikaru was holding up another pin.
"Shockwave. That's a close combat attack. Like martial arts." Neku gave a sigh of frustration at the sight of the twins rooting through his collection.
"Why is this one in a protective wrap?" Kaoru asked.
"That's a Pegaso pin!" Neku yelled. "It's expensive!"
"Someone's defensive," Joshua smirked. Neku glared at him. "All right, all right..."
"Shouldn't we be planning?" Neku asked.
"Right." Joshua looked back to the pile of papers on the table in front of them. "We need to avoid places with too many people, but the Academy is the one exception to that. After all, we can't skip school with an excuse like this. No one would believe us."
"The hill is a good place to get her to appear." Hunny commented, pointing to it's place on the map.
"Too open," Joshua replied. "There are raven Noise, and she could even bring out a dragon or mammoth Noise there. It needs to be inside, but not too small. Something like this room."
"I still want to know what these pins do." Hikaru looked to Neku with an annoyed expression. The ex-Player sighed, beginning to explain the pins the Twins were browsing through.
"There's a shed in the Ootori mansion's garden that's around this size." Kyouya mentioned.
"Too many potential weapons and no offence intended, but I would prefer not to have to owe anything to the Ootori family." Joshua smiled politely towards the Shadow King. "Even though I am in charge of the Shibuya UG, I do not get all of that much of a wage."
"What's this white pin?" Hikaru asked, looking at it carefully.
"It's called a Fusion pin. It's a team attack that Joshua has to power up before I can use it. How much Joshua powers it changes which level psyche it has." Neku took the pin from Hikaru's hand. "That is a pin I have no plans on losing."
"Sorry I'm late!" Tamaki burst through the doors. "How has the planning been going?"
"We've decided this size of room is the best battleground for us," Joshua replied. "Also, if you see anyone unusual, run. Especially if she's giggling to herself."
There was a sudden maniacal laughter, then the sound of a powerful engine and Renge emerged from the floor. "Oh, so that's what's going on!" She laughed.
"Renge?" Joshua looked surprised for once. Neku was annoyed he didn't have a camera on him.
"Yes, I was listening. I know the whole story!" She pointed towards the two dramatically. "Joshua, the ruler of a cruel, hidden world, saw a person in the world that hid his own. He knew that the two of them could never be together unless he changed something, so in a fit of passion he killed his romantic interest so that they could meet in his world!" Renge giggled manically. "But he was too late to claim his partner, so he followed him until the time came when he could team up with Neku and the two could finally be together!" Renge squealed, tears running down her eyes. "It's so cute!"
"Right..." Neku looked away from the crazed fangirl.
"The strange part is that she is surprisingly accurate..." Joshua muttered.
"Take out the romance, and it does sum it all up."
"Isn't this the Suoh second mansion?" Tamaki asked, looking at one of the maps on the table.
"I needed all of the plans," Joshua shrugged. "A friend of mine got them all for me."
Hunny looked at Joshua for a moment. "You shrug a lot, Josh-chan."
The Composer thought for a moment. "I do, don't I?"
"Isn't she going to be coming for you, not the other way around?" Tamaki asked.
"That's true, but we might as well figure out where to avoid so we have as little of a disadvantage as we can." Joshua looked around, catching Neku's eye.
"It's gotten dark in here." Neku said, standing.
"What's going on?"
"Well well well, looks like the little Composer has been telling people things they shouldn't know."
"Natsuki." Joshua spoke levelly. "It's been a while."
"It has been, hasn't it?" The Reaper was short, a little over five feet tall. She had short, black hair with two streaks of green and blue. Her nails were long and pained a deep purple, and she wore a tight leather bodysuit. Mori covered Hunny's eyes.
"Get out, all of you," Neku hissed, keeping his eyes on Natsuki. "And get everyone out of the school as well."
"Right." Tamaki replied quietly, as everyone slowly moved towards the exit, even Renge quiet.
"You've been fitting in really well around here," Natsuki commented. "Feel like retiring? You've been Composer for a good twenty years now."
"As much as this is a stressful job, I prefer it to being erased."
"Any of you notice me here?" Neku asked as he heard the door close behind him.
"You must be Neku," Natsuki smiled. "Joshua there talks about you all the time. He's always staring at you, or that picture of you and him he keeps in his pocket. It's so obvious he has a crush on you!" The Reaper giggled, sounding almost maniacal. Then again, that's what she was.
Joshua gave a small wince, but Neku noticed. "You have a crush on me?"
"So what if I'm gay, can this wait until later?" Joshua looked towards Natsuki, pulling out his phone.
"Right." Neku nodded, getting into his stance.
"Well, looks like your precious Blue is fighting along with you Pink."
"What?"
"Long story. We really ought to fight."
"Right."
"Well then, why don't we start?" Her eyes lit up in excitement. "Little kitty's going to get scratched!"
Well, here we go. The final battle is coming up next time. Which really won't take nearly as much time.
I'm really sorry this chapter wasn't the longest. And that it was mostly dialogue. I hope you enjoyed it though. Next time, it's the final battle. See you then.
And yes, I will actually update again this month.
