Joshua couldn't sleep that night. Instead, he sat there in Neku's bed and listened to the soft snores coming from his partner. He couldn't close his eyes and drift away that night. He just couldn't. Every time he closed his eyes, Neku's laughing face appeared. He knew that sooner or later, he won't be able to see Neku's smile again. Glancing over at him, Haruki's words repeated in his mind.
Get rid of your partner he doesn't deserve this kind of abuse.
You can still imprint so erase his memories. It's possible.
Don't you want him to live a normal life?
"Yes, I do," Joshua whispered quietly and walked over to Neku who was still sleeping soundly. Joshua's hand hovered only inches above Neku's forehead. His heart was beating fast but his head was focused.
"You don't know me," he started to say but stopped short.
You behave and we'll go to the beach tomorrow.
Joshua let his hand fall back to his side and got up. He was so close! What had stopped him? Did he enjoy living with Neku like this? Did he enjoy their laughs and fights?
Joshua shook his head. He couldn't believe it; he was willing to risk Neku's life for his own selfish purposes. He sat back down onto the bed and made a phone call to Mr. H. He might as well; sleep wasn't going to come to him anytime soon.
xx.
"Josh! Hurry up!" Neku yelled as he slung a small bag over his shoulder, "We're going to miss the train!"
Joshua slowly walked out of the bathroom in a t-shirt and shorts. "Neku, I don't really feel too comfortable about this."
"Oh stop whining," Neku said and grabbed Joshua's hand, "Shibuya's not going to die if you're not here for at least a day."
"I just never… left Shibuya since becoming Composer." Joshua stiffened as Neku dragged him along the sidewalk. "Maybe we can hang out somewhere else perhaps? You haven't seen your friends in a while right?"
"Oh no need to worry, their coming with us!" Neku said laughing. "But well they're only going to hang out in the beach for a little because Beat and Rhyme need to meet some relatives. Shiki… I think she's going to be dragged along."
Oh great more people to see me drown.
Joshua knew that it was useless to argue but as Neku pulled him onto the train, he had the sudden urge to run out before the doors closed. Instead, he dragged himself to the seat next to Neku and took out the phone Neku had bought for him.
Neku glanced over. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing."
Right before the doors closed, Beat, Rhyme, and Shiki ran in.
"Hey guys," Shiki said in between breathes.
"Yo, man," Beat greeted before sitting down beside Neku.
"Sorry, guys," Rhyme said before sitting next to Beat, "Shiki had to go back to get Mr. Mew."
Joshua smirked and Neku laughed out loud. "Really, Shiki?" Neku said, still laughing, "You went through all that trouble to get that piggy?"
Shiki glared at Neku and hit him with her cat. "It's a cat!"
The group shared their stories about how their summer went. Neku shared most of it but left out the fact that two crazy killers are after him and Joshua.
"Oh my gosh! Joshua, you play the piano? You have to play for us one day!"
Joshua gave Shiki an uncomfortable smile. "Maybe."
As soon as the train passed the borders of Shibuya, Neku felt Joshua immediately stiffen. Of course, this was his first time that he's been out of Shibuya's borders. He could just imagine the discomfort that Joshua felt when they pasted another city.
Neku whispered to Joshua, "So another Composer is in that city?"
"Yea," Joshua replied. His words were forced; obviously, he wasn't too happy about the chance that the Composer of another city might walk into the train.
What they got were two reapers. They folded their wings in and stepped onto the train. When one of them saw Joshua, he made the closest expression to a "o.O" Neku has ever seen. Neku gave him a friendly smile and that sent the reaper running off the train, leaving the other behind.
"Neku," Joshua whispered, "I think you just traumatized him for life."
"Me?" Neku whispered back, "You're the Composer. I was just giving him a friendly smile that's all."
The other reaper gave Joshua a confused look and sat down across from them. She didn't look like she was past her teens; she was probably 16 or 17 before she died.
"What are you doing here?" she asked when the train was somewhat empty.
"Were going to the beach," Neku answered.
"The beach…"she mused, then shook her head. "We don't have a beach here. I've never been to one."
"We're going to switch trains soon," Shiki said joining in, "you should go get your friend and go too."
The reaper gave Shiki a quizzical look and shook her head. "We're in the middle of a Game. The Composer sent me to go get something for him. That reaper was my partner," she sighed, "well, he was until he ran off and left me by myself."
Rhyme and Shiki gave her a sympathetic smile and as the train stopped, the group stood up to leave.
The reaper was staring at Joshua as the Bito siblings stepped off the train. "You're vibe isn't as strong as a Composer's should be," she mused.
Joshua stepped off the train and turned around to face her. "Let's just say that I'm taking a vacation," he said.
The reaper gave Joshua another weird look before the doors closed.
xx.
"The beach!" Rhyme yelled out happily as she ran towards the sand; Beat and Shiki were following right behind her.
"You guys go ahead," Neku yelled to them, "We'll catch up later!" He turned towards a hill right next to the beach and grabbed Joshua's hand. "Let's go."
Joshua let Neku drag him to the top of the hill where he stood there, speechless. "Wow," he said. It was a beautiful view. The water was glistening in the sun and people ran around on the sand. Their faces filled with pure joy as they chased each other around.
"Did I impress you yet?" Neku teased.
Joshua turned to Neku and giggled. "Nope. Of course not."
"Thought so," Neku said and pulled out some sunscreen. He poured out a bit and began putting it on his arms and legs. When he was done, he handed it to Joshua. "Wanna help me put some on my back?"
Joshua nodded and did the same as Neku. When he was done, Neku slapped some onto his back and shoulders. His fingers dragged the sunscreen along Joshua's spine.
Joshua then did the same and as he slid his fingers along Neku's back, Neku shivered.
"You okay?"
"Yea, your fingers are cold though."
"Sorry," Joshua apologized and continued sliding the sunscreen onto his back. Neku flinched and shivered again. "You know," Joshua said, "I'm starting to think that your shivering isn't because of my 'cold' fingers." A smile found its way onto his lips.
"W-what do you mean?" Neku's voice shook a bit.
Instead of answering, Joshua slid another finger down Neku's back, making him flinch again. "Hee Hee did I find Neku's weak spot?" He danced his fingers down Neku's back causing Neku to jump back; his lips were stretched into a tortured grin. "They always say that revenge is sweet," Joshua teased.
"Josh! Stop!" Neku yelled and fell back… onto Joshua and knocking him over. "Ah…Sorry, I-" Neku flipped over to find himself on top of Joshua. Both of them were blushing furiously when they realized the position they were in and how close their lips were.
"S-sorry. I'll get off," Neku said but for some reason, he didn't. He was staring Joshua directly in the eye. Joshua's eyes… They were more like the eyes of an angel. A beautiful angel… a fallen angel…. His head's screaming at him to get off but instead, Neku leaned down and their lips met.
Joshua stiffened but only for a little. Soon, he willingly kissed back and for a moment it was only them. Neku was the only person who ever mattered this much to him. That was until Neku pulled away and got up, his face still red.
"Sorry, I don't know what came over me."
"N-no, it's okay," Joshua stuttered and also got up. Why was he stuttering? Did that kiss mean so much to him? It was just an accident, he told himself. Just an accident.
xx.
"Neku! What took you guys so long?" Shiki yelled over from the water, "Get in!"
Neku jumped in and swam over to them. "Where's the piggy?"
"It's a cat! And Mr. Mew is over there," Shiki said pointing at a pink towel with a stuffed animal plopped on top of it. "And where were you guys?"
"I was just showing Joshua the view. Right, Josh?" Neku turned to find Joshua still on the beach; he stood at the edge of the water but didn't look like he was going in anytime soon. "Josh?"
"Ah," Joshua said, "I'll just stay here."
"Don't tell me," Neku said and smiled before swimming back to Joshua, "you can't swim."
"What? I never said that!"
"You didn't have to," Neku teased, "Ah, the great Composer can't swim. How cute."
"Shut up."
"Here," Neku reached out, "Take my hand."
"Why do I have a feeling that you'll try to drown me?"
"Oh so you don't trust me?"
Joshua rolled his eyes and reluctantly took Neku's hand. They waded over to the group.
"Yo, you okay?" Beat asked, eyeing Joshua who was suddenly clinging onto Neku's arm.
"Y-yea."
"Josh, if you hold onto me like that, we'll both drown. Here," Neku moved away and held onto Joshua's hand, "Stretch out your legs and move them in a circular motion. No, not like that. Yea… slowly… you got it. Now move your arms the same way. No, it's okay I won't let go. Okay good."
In less than two minutes, Joshua was treading water… somewhat.
"You're a fast learner," Neku praised nodding.
"Joshua, nobody ever taught you how to swim?" Rhyme asked.
"Never had the time to learn," Joshua answered.
With Neku's help, soon, the group including Joshua was able to swim farther in near the waves.
"What I'd do to get that third fusion again," Beat said eyeing the waves.
"Yea…" Neku agreed.
Joshua cocked his head to one side and glanced at Shiki and Rhyme who were also eyeing the surfers.
"Hey, guys," he said and suddenly all eyes were on him. "I remember seeing this place that rented surfboards."
"Yea, but they're expensive, yo."
"I'll take care of that," Joshua said and managed to swim back leaving the group wondering how Joshua would be able to afford it.
When he made sure that no one was looking, Joshua took out his phone, texted something, and five surfboards appeared.
He dragged them out into the water and watched as the group, wide- eyed, swam over to help.
"H-how did you…" Neku said amazed.
"How much money are you carrying around, yo?"
"Enough," Joshua replied.
Neku eyed him suspiciously but shrugged and ran towards the waves. "Come on, Beat! Let's do it!"
"Let's start it up!" Beat yelled and jumped into the wave.
"No, let's end it!" Neku yelled back laughing.
Shiki and Rhyme laughed and also jumped in with their surfboards. "Come on, Joshua!" Shiki yelled, "We'll teach you how to surf!"
Joshua grinned and ran towards them with his surfboard. Man this was going to be fun.
xx.
The Bito siblings and Shiki had left to visit their relatives leaving the two on the beach. Joshua had texted something into his phone and the surfboards disappeared.
Neku eyed him. "What did you rent them from www dot text-to-rent-a-surfboard dot com?"
Joshua gave Neku a quizzical look before answering, "Maybe."
Neku smiled and tried to wipe out the sand from his hair. "I guess there would be no point in getting my hair back up."
"I thought you needed gel to do that…"
"I know," Neku said and pulled out a bottle of gel from his bag.
Joshua gave Neku another look before looking back at the still glistening water. The beach had become almost empty as the sun got lower. "It's going to get dark soon," Joshua commented, "let's go."
"No, wait," Neku said, "There's still one more thing I want to show you."
They waited and slowly, the sky was filled with colors as the sun set. Even the waters reflected the sun's gleam and a shade of orange danced along the edge of the ocean.
"I figured, you haven't seen a sunset for a while."
Joshua gazed at the setting sun and shook his head. "Wow," he said amazed.
"So have I finally succeeded in impressing you?"
Joshua smirked. "I guess I'll give you some credit," he teased.
"I can live with that."
xx.
They were back in the train and Neku had fallen asleep. Joshua too was getting tired but he saved
the rest of his energy to make one phone call.
"Hey, Sanae?"
"Hey, J. How are ya?"
"I'm fine. I went to the beach with Neku and them."
"Beach? There is no beach in Shibuya… oh I see. You crossed the borders."
"Yea, I just wanted to say that I made my decision."
"You mean about Phones?"
"Yea… just for once… I felt… like I was really a normal human."
"Are you really willing to throw that all away? You might not realize it but Neku needs you just
as much as you need him."
"He doesn't."
"Yes, he does, J. If you erase his memories of you… well resurfacing them might as well be a bloodbath. You're not only erasing his memories of you, you're erasing his feelings for you."
Joshua softened when he remembered the kissed they shared on the hill. Just an accident. Just an accident. "You're wrong. I'm only doing this to protect him."
"You're not protecting him, you're hurting him! Yea you might be able to keep him away from you if you do that but you won't be able to keep him away from them! They'll use him, J. They know how important he is to you."
The train swerved and Neku's head found its way to Joshua's shoulder. Joshua glanced down at Neku and softened. "I need to do this, Sanae."
"What would it accomplish?"
"Do you have an extra room in WildKat?"
"You're not listening to me, Joshua!"
"I'll be coming over tonight."
"Yoshiya Kiryu!"
Joshua paused and stopped talking for a moment.
"Listen to me, J. If you think that erasing Neku's memories right after you two spent so much time together won't hurt him then you're wrong. He cares about you! Why do you think that he's tried to save you all this time?"
"Because he's my partner."
"What happened to you? You used to try to do everything you can before you give up someone you care about! You used to fight for them! You used to resist losing them!"
"I—"
"But now... you keep putting yourself between them and danger. You think you can save them if you sacrifice yourself but you can't. Ever since you lost Yomi you—"
Mr. H stopped cold and Joshua could tell he that had clamped his mouth shut. "J, that came out wrong… I—"
"I'll be coming over tonight," Joshua repeated, hung up, and placed his phone back in his pocket. He glanced at sleeping Neku and looked away.
He couldn't bear to look at him anymore.
xx.
Joshua had waited until it became apparent that Neku had fallen asleep. He got off the bed and placed his hand above Neku's head. He leaned over and jumped when Neku's eyes opened.
"What are you going to do, Joshua?" Neku asked as if he didn't know already.
"I'm doing what's best for you."
Tears started forming on Neku's eyes. "Why…"
"Because I… don't want you to be hurt anymore."
"It'll hurt even more if you leave."
"No it won't," Joshua whispered, "I promise."
Suddenly, Neku sat up and pulled Joshua into an embrace. "Liar," he said before softly kissing him on the lips.
Joshua immediately pushed away and gave Neku the most pained look Neku has ever seen in his life. Joshua shook his head and stared right into Neku's eyes. "You don't know me," he said, his voice was shaking.
"Joshua… what—"
"Our friendship never existed."
"What are you doing?"
"You've never met me before."
"Jo—" Neku's eyes were glazing over and he began to slump back.
"I never existed in your life or anyone else's. If your friends ask, the imprint will spread onto them. No one in your life knows me."
Finally, Neku's eyes were completely glazed over and he slumped back into his makeshift bed on the floor.
Joshua leaned down and gently kissed him on the forehead. He hesitated but then also gently kissed his lips. "Goodbye, Neku."
cc.
Wow longest chapter I've ever written :P yea I know some of you might probably kill me for this… hehheh… *runs into a corner and hides*
