( another update. It has been a long while hasn't it ^^"

i was working on another twewy fanfic that I had recently come up with, so I had been going back and forth from this one to the other one. Enjoy : ) )

CHAPTER 9

Not a sound came from either of the kids sitting around the table; instead, they were all staring suspiciously at one in particular, except Rhyme.

Now in the spotlight, Joshua closed his eyes and thought for a minute. He was placed in a difficult situation. Now if Maiya weren't around, he would have played around with the group, especially Neku. But with her around, things would go downhill if any of them accidently mentioned the games or who he is for that matter, Maiya wouldn't be able to understand. Then again, maybe she would. A long time ago, she had believed Joshua about seeing players and reapers back in France. But did she? Did she really believe him? Or was she just saying that to make him feel better. Whatever the reason Joshua knew he had the power to find out now, but first he had to deal with Neku and his friends.

He cleared his throat, then smiled, I'll have to play nice for now, "so... what's goin' on?" he asked politely and as figured, nobody answered, tough crowd, he thought again. He shrugged off the silence and continued on, "come on, what's everyone looking at me for? Do I have something on me?"

Silence, once again.

… I am about three digits away from imprinting on all of them, he thought as one of his hands gripped his open cell phone under the table. He tried holding a smile, no matter how impatient he had become. Maiya was already starting to look concerned but he kept his composure and told himself to stay as calm as possible.

Rhyme sighed, feeling the tension in the room; she cleared her throat and began to speak, "Joshua right? Thanks again, for saving my brother, Neku, and the others."

He glanced at the younger sibling, then smirked triumphantly, now that is more like it, "you're very welcome, Raimu,"

"How did you do it?" she questioned, having learned what happened from Shiki.

"I took up on martial arts when I was in the U-" he paused for a moment and thought it over, "when I was under the age of twelve,"

"You must be really good then,"

"Practiced everyday," he lied making Sanae roll his eyes.

Maiya giggled, already figuring it out, "is that so?"

"People can change overtime,"

"… I can see that," she whispered, causing Joshua to glance back at her.

Ssssssssssssssssssssss

The table became livelier and the gang stayed for a long while conversing with each other, changing from subject to subject. While Maiya is around, Neku avoided his curiosity, they were questions that were meant for Joshua and the last thing he'd want is to cause confusion, I guess it's suppose to be a big secret anyways, right? He assumed since Joshua hadn't said a thing about the UG or the games, and neither did Hanekoma.

He glanced over to the composer and caught him glaring over at the counter. Neku tilted his head to the side then looked to where Joshua was staring at. He looked from the counter, then to Joshua, and back, and then fixed his gaze to him, what's gotten him on edge? He thought, realizing that the composer looked tense.

Joshua stared hard at the back room, visible behind the counter and all the way past the kitchen, at least from where he was sitting. He was frustrated by the mix of vibes he's been feeling. He knew that besides him, Hanekoma, and Neku's group, there was someone else in the café and whoever it was, that persons vibe was worrying Joshua. He glanced over to Sanae who was drying some of his mugs on the far end of the counter with his cloth, suspecting that he had something to do with this. Then he sighed, closing his eyes and letting the voices of the group fill him in. he smirked and ran a hand through his hair, "do you want to make me blush that badly, Neku?"

The rest of the gang stopped and turned to the orange spiky haired teen, "… freak, that's what you are," he replied giving him a death glare, worrying about Joshua seems so alien to him now.

"That hurts Neku, and after all I've done for you,"

This kid, Neku crossed his arms and decided to change the subject, "so, should we head for the park today?"

"Definitely! That reminds me… There's something I'd like to show all of you there," said Shiki who then turned to Neku, "I'm sure you're going to like it."

Neku blinked and looked at her with curiosity, as did everyone. Sadly, Rhyme wasn't so sure about going anywhere, at least, not when her Brother is hurting, "I'm sorry guys, but I think its best if we go home,"

"WHAAA? Yo Rhyme-"

"Beat, what your body needs is rest; you can't just go running around after a big fight, it'll cause too much stress and fatigue. Plus, it looks like they've got you good, better to be safe than sorry,"

"You've got nothin' to worry about sis, I'm just fine,"

Rhyme sighed showing great concern for her older sibling. Beat on the other hand, knew she was right. As a small wave of pain crawled up his arm, he lightly gripped it, hoping it would soothe the pain a little, "don't worry," said Shiki, "if we can't go today, then how about the weekend? I'll call."

Beat glanced down, feeling disappointed, "not you guys too," he mumbled. Neku stood up from his seat, placing his hands in his pockets and standing idly next to Shiki, agreeing with her and Rhyme, "no big deal, it's not like the park is going anywhere."

Beat stayed quiet, defeated.

Scooting in their chairs, they bid farewell to Sanae and headed out the café. Joshua stood near the entrance, watching the Bitos and Shiki head back to the bridge, along with Neku, and Maiya. Next it was Maiyas turn to say her good byes. She turned to him and smiled, "hey you, we should hang out sometime," she giggled making him chuckle.

"Then how about the two of you join us then, this weekend," Joshua stopped and looked at Neku blankly. He kept a straight face while searching Nekus for any sign of nervousness or fear though it was interrupted by Maiya's voice, "sounds good! I'll definitely be there, thanks for inviting me. And you?" she said looking back at Joshua. He blinked, and for the first time, he didn't know exactly what to say. During his next few days, he was planning on keeping an eye on things in the UG. Even if he couldn't do much about the unknown vibe, he knew that it can't be avoided; he needed to find the source, and keep a good eye on it if he does, forgive me, but I have to decline the offer.

"I guess it's a yes!" said Maiya before Joshua could decline, "see you there Joshua, and don't be late," she giggled then left the two. He watched her with a surprised expression, then sighed and scratched the back of his head feeling a wave of disappointment wash over him, looks like I'm going after all, he thought again. He spared Neku a glance, and then walked back towards the doors of the café. His hands reached out for the handle, until he heard Neku from behind, "see you there?"

He paused staring down at the handle, me? He thought. Not sure of what to think of this, he nodded his head slightly and waited for him to answer back. Seeing Nekus reflection on the glass door, Joshua couldn't help but smirk when he saw his face light up. He opened his mouth to say something snarky, but was cut off, "great, I'll be waiting," said the orange haired teen.

At that moment, Joshua was secluded in his own thoughts again. He knew what Neku felt about him, even if he didn't show it, he saw that behind that mask was a sort of hatred for what he did. Joshua sighed and should have known to erase any trace of memory of him from them, thinking that it would have made matters a lot easier. So why didn't he? During the second week of the game, his goal wasn't only to hijack Shibuya, but to share some of his perspective on the corrupted city and how important it was to shut it down, knowing that by the end of the games, he'd have to reveal himself one way or the other. And when he did, he hoped that the teachings Neku learned from him would be understandable. It, however, had gone the other way around and heading in a completely opposite direction.

Joshua snapped back to reality and turned to find no one. Neku had already left. He grumbled as he stepped inside the café and was greeted by Hanekoma, walking out of the kitchen, "who's in the back?" Joshua said, the bitterness evident in his tone, "take a look for yourself boss," Hanekoma pointed the way as he threw a cloth over his shoulder and Joshua wasted no time and headed his way there. He stopped in front of the door and closed his eyes, "something's not right," he half whispered, feeling faint waves coming through it.

He reached for the handle and opened it, revealing the severely injured reaper lying on the table, a small pillow placed under his head. His eyes widened, then turned to Sanae, "Rhyme found him all scratched up and stuff," he told Joshua in a hushed voice, "he'll be fine now, she got him here just in time. It's best to let him rest for now. Rhyme told me that he said someone was trying to track him down,"

"Interesting," said Joshua as he crossed his arms, glancing back at Kariya, "it's rather strange that I don't see Uzuki around,"

"Hopefully when he wakes up, he'll be able to tell us everything,"

"Right," Joshua let the door gently slide to a close and as he turned to face Sanae, he was caught off guard as something flew its way towards him. Quick to react, he caught it just in time. He unraveled his fist and found the blank pin, resting in the palm of his hand.