Hey there fans! I'm happy to see that people are enjoying my story :D

I just wanted to let you know that this will be a longer story with many chapters so hang in there with me!

Also, I'm going to be starting school next week so there will probably be a gap of time in between my posting of chapters. But I'll be writing as often as I can!

I love hearing feedback, if you've got things you really like or things you hate, I want to hear your opinions please!

Okay, enjoy!

Chapter 10

It wasn't often that Rhyme was able to leave their apartment without her brother accompanying her, but in the mornings, when Beat was still fast asleep, she liked to go out by herself. Rhyme liked the morning air, which, even in the city, seemed so much more fresh than the rest of the day. As she walked cautiously along the sidewalk, careful to avoid the streets now, a lovely aroma caught her attention.

The smell of coffee hung all around Cat Street, its source being the Wildkat café, which belonged to Sanae Hanekoma. Rhyme didn't know this, of course; she didn't even know who Hanekoma was. And although she didn't enjoy coffee, the smell of it was almost as enticing as the smell of the morning air. As she stepped through the door of the café, she wondered if it was even open yet, for the place was completely empty.

"Hello?" Rhyme called, still standing in the doorway.

"We're open!" a man's voice called from a back room. "Go on and sit down, I'll be with ya in a moment."

Hesitant, Rhyme stayed where she was, deciding not to move until she saw the owner. She leaned against the doorframe, propping her foot to the door to keep it open. As she waited, she played with the pendant around her neck, her stomach rumbling at the smell of the coffee.

"You can have a seat," a voice told her.

Rhyme looked up for the source of the voice, which was different than the man who called to her before. Across the counter, sitting at the seat furthest away from the door sat a pale boy, who looked a bit older than she was, with his face buried in a book. She hadn't noticed him before, he seemed to blend in perfectly with the design of the café. He looked trustworthy enough, so Rhyme walked through the door and approached him.

"Hello," Rhyme smiled as she took a seat next to him. "I'm Raimu, but you can call me Rhyme."

"I know, dear," the boy said. He set down his book and picked up his cup of coffee, drinking down the entire thing. His thin, pale fingers tapped impatiently on the countertop as he flipped a page in his book.

"What are you studying?" Rhyme asked, her curiosity peaked by the strange boy.

The boy turned to look at her, his violet eyes seemingly lost in another world. He looked completely exhausted, and Rhyme could guess that the boy had stayed up all night. "Things beyond your wildest imagination," he smirked.

"Hey, another customer!" the owner chimed as he returned from the back room, a pot of coffee in his hand. The man stopped when he saw who the little blonde girl was, though. He lowered his shades as he set the pot of coffee down. "Aren't you a little young to be at a coffee shop?"

"I'll just have some orange juice, please," Rhyme smiled, digging through her pockets for loose yen coins.

"Please, save your money," the boy spoke up as he tapped Rhyme's arm. He pulled out a couple 500 yen pieces and tossed them to the owner. "This man overcharges, and I wouldn't want you to become another victim of his highway robbery."

The owner grinned sourly at the boy, but accepted the yen, placing it in his back pocket. He refilled the boy's coffee and went back to get Rhyme's juice.

"Make it a large," the boy called. "And throw in a muffin, make sure it's fresh, Hanekoma."

"Thank you. You didn't have to do that for me," Rhyme said, playing with the bendy straw that was stuck into the lid on her orange juice. The blueberry muffin, which was bigger than her fist, was still warm as it sat on the plate in front of her.

"Of course I did," the boy smirked as he set his coffee down after taking a long sip. "I kind of owe you."

"But we just met," Rhyme giggled softly.

"Of course we did…," the boy sighed, returning his attention to one of the many books he had laid out in front of him.

Rhyme's phone beeped in her pocket. After taking another sip of juice, she pulled it out and flipped it open to see a text message from her brother. 'Rhyme where u at?' She giggled to herself a little, for as she read it, she had imagined her brother's voice saying it. She typed back 'In the café on Cat Street. Care to join me?'

She knew that her brother wouldn't reply to her message, and that he would just show up to get her as soon as he could. Rhyme loved her brother more than anything, but sometimes he was a little too overprotective of her. Waiting for her brother's arrival, Rhyme managed to finish the entire giant muffin, as well as all of her orange juice.

"Thanks again," she said, smiling up at the strange boy.

"Don't mention it," he smirked, turning to her. "Like I said, I owed you."

Rhyme still didn't understand what the boy meant by that, but she dismissed it. He seemed genuinely nice, and it made her feel sad that he was alone here. The bell over the door rang out as Beat stepped through.

"Yo, Mr. H!" his voice boomed through the café.

"Already forgotten about me?" Rhyme giggled, sending a little wave to her brother.

"Course not," Beat said with a grin. "I knew you was safe here. Though we never told ya bout Mr. H. Heh."

Beat walked towards his sister, but stopped when he spotted the boy she was sitting next to. "Yo, Rhyme," his voice shook slightly as he beckoned his sister.

"Hm?" the boy looked up at him, and a smirk appeared across his face. "Oh, hello there."

"Listen you prissy ass, if you laid a hand on her, I finna mess you up so bad you gonna wish you never knew me," Beat yelled as he approached. With a hand on Rhyme's shoulder, he pulled his sister behind him.

"Is that supposed to be a threat?" the boy scoffed as he set down his book. He stood up and crossed his arms, looking unimpressed.

"Don't even start, pretty boy!" Beat yelled.

"Beat, calm down," Rhyme begged as she pulled at her brother's shirt. "He's a nice guy. He bought me breakfast."

"What'd ya do, poison her?" Beat yelled at the boy, ignoring his sister's pleas to calm down.

"I paid for the food, I didn't cook it," the boy giggled as she shrugged.

"Oh, that's it!" he yelled. Beat slammed his hand into the boy's chest and pushed him hard against the wall.

"Hey, hey, what's going on?" Hanekoma yelled as he ran in from the back room. He saw the scene before him: Beat about to pound Joshua's face in, Joshua seemingly unconcerned about his own physical safety as he egged Beat on, and Rhyme standing back not knowing what to do. "Alright, everyone just chill!"

Beat stopped his fist in midair, turning to look at Hanekoma. He let go of Joshua, shoving him aside as he did so, and turned away. "Why the hell's he here?" Beat demanded. "And why the hell did ya let him near Rhyme?"

"I don't recall doing anything wrong," Joshua shrugged. Suddenly faced with a vicious look from Beat, he smirked and added, "Today."

"What's going on here?" Rhyme questioned, approaching her brother again. "Beat?"

Beat looked down at his sister, her puppy dog eyes pulling at his heart. He put a hand on his sister's shoulder and gave her a small, sad smile. "Rhyme, that guy…," Beat turned to Joshua. "That's…uh…look, jus' don't worry bout it."

"Listen, Beat," Hanekoma spoke. "I've got to ask you guys to go. I'm closing up shop, got some things to do."

"Yeah, a'course Mr. H," Beat said, leading his sister to the door. "We was just leavin' anyway."

"Come on back any time, though," Hanekoma grinned. "I mean it."

"Yea, sure we will," he said, glancing back at Joshua.

Once they had left, the Composer took his seat again, readjusting his disheveled clothes. Hanekoma, looking less than impressed, took a seat next to him and sighed. "When are you going to learn?" he asked.

"I didn't do a single thing wrong," Joshua said as he flipped open his notebook. "That Neanderthal came at me. I didn't even throw a punch."

"You were encouraging him," Hanekoma said, turning to him. "You're human now, you've gotta watch yourself. If you get hurt, you can't just heal yourself. And I don't think you have enough money to pay off a hospital bill."

"That child would not have sent me to a hospital," scoffed the Composer. "Anyway, would you review this for me?"

Joshua held out his notebook to Hanekoma, who took it with a sigh. He removed his shades as he looked down and read it over. "What language is this written in?" he asked sarcastically.

"Ignore my terrible handwriting, please," Joshua said, sounding exhausted. "Just tell me if I've got the equation right."

Hanekoma set the notebook down on the countertop and looked intently at Joshua. "I don't understand why you're still trying to work through this," he said. "You can't do it. It's impossible."

"It is possible," the Composer said, taking his notebook back. "If you're not going to help me, then-"

"No, boss, I'll help," Hanekoma sighed. "Why do you wanna do it though? You decided before not to destroy Shibuya. Why are you still working on a plan to do it?"

"I don't want to destroy Shibuya," Joshua said as he stared down at his equation, tapping his pen against the paper. "I want to destroy the UG."