DISCLAIMER: I do not own in any capacity TWEWY, SquareEnix or any FF references that pop in to this work of fiction that will come up. That honor belongs to Tetsuya Nomura and the people of SE, Jupiter Corporation, or h.a.n.d.
Beta-read by: None, currently looking for a willing reader.
Warnings: Yaoi, Yuri, LGBTQ community in general, mentions of sexual relationships (nothing explicit, I like having my account here), mentions of suicide, Death, mentions of abuse (full spectrum of it), mentions of phobias, crossdressing, swearing, OC's abound(got to have players and other Regions of course).
This will be a slow build story. I have plans for it to go beyond 10 chapters (not counting the prologue) and I wish to expand upon the Game a little more with ideas that I've seen loosely touched on as well as things that I have plotted out. I will do my best to not copy anyone else's works, but it will be a little hard to keep too many ideas from clashing.
A/N: REPOST AND REVISION is currently going on, I noticed a few inconsistencies and I intend to fix them up before I post anything else. I will also be removing the Disclaimers at the beginning of each chapter after this one as it is superfluous and why have it if it's not needed?
If anyone else notices anything missing or overlooked, please let me know as I still don't have a Beta reader! Hit me up if you are interested!
Without Further ado, please enjoy my first posted work of fanfiction:
Conducting a Symphony.
Prologue: Changes of weather brings sights unwanted.
It was odd. This was one of the few times in the city that the weather was gloomy for days- 6 to be precise. Neku fiddled with his mp3 player as he watched the rolling clouds grow heavier with the oncoming rain that had been predicted once again. Sitting in the school, his classroom after hours to work on homework wasn't really helping as his mind kept wandering all over the place rather than the math homework in front of him.
For one, he didn't know what was going on with the weather either, he wanted to believe that it had something to do with the UG and the Higher Plane, but he wasn't going to stick his nose into it if he didn't have to. He could still see the Players and Reapers when the Game was going on and it left him confused, but reluctant to approach Joshua or Mr. Hanekoma for answers. One reason was because he was still angry, and the other because he didn't know how to answer a question he had been given when he had made that mad dash to Cat Street upon waking up in the middle of Scramble Crossing in panic.
"What would you be willing to trade, if it meant staying in one piece Neku?"
It was an odd question to be asked, but he had left after getting a few round-about answers from the Producer regarding what had happened after Joshua had shot him again in the Throne Room. Everything had been 'Reset and Rearranged' to make up for the influx of those who lost the Long Game being reborn. Neku could tell that he had remembered everything about those three long weeks. He was unsure about Shiki and Beat remembering everything, but they said a few things that caught his attention every now and then. Rhyme vividly remembered every moment up until she was Erased. He remembered a few weeks after he finished the Game the short girl coming up to him and quietly asking him about it, asking if it really had been real and not a lingering nightmare. Confirming it having happened had poor Rhyme closing in on herself for a day or so before she bounced back with a vengeance, burning determination erupting in place of her former Dream.
Being alive again was more than a little unnerving. To be dead initially, then suddenly being thrust back into the RG where countless people he had known, before he played the Game, asked him how his vacation had gone for him. He needed a damned real vacation.
A vacation, it made the most sense. People in the RG simply had their memories altered into whatever floated the Composers boat regarding those that had known and interacted with the successful players. Everyone was back that he played with, even the ones that had died in the second week like Nao and Sota. Seeing the pair happy and unknowing that they had once been dead was a relief that they had been given a second chance to live.
When he had calmed enough and gotten through the shock of being alive once more he, had gone back to Hachiko on the day they promised and when he saw Shiki, Rhyme, and Beat there he was elated for the first actual time since his last friend had left him behind; to see all of them together, he had no fear of being labeled as anything but friend to them. Shiki and Beat would always be his Partners of course, but he was first and foremost their friend.
He could however tell that the Game had taken a toll on all of them, in good ways and bad. For Shiki, she had broken free of the leash of the envy holding her, she was less likely to shy away from confrontation now, her strengths had only increased, and she was far more open with Eri now. Beat of course had learned to think a little harder before jumping into action. That had saved him a few times already in regards to his and Rhyme's parents and their attitude towards him. Rhyme however, as she had lost the Game initially her Fee was lost to the City and it had made itself known early on. It didn't stop her though, she kept changing her mind, trying to figure out what she wanted to do, but she learned to stand on her own feet when Beat wasn't around.
What did put him off though was the fact that all three of them had vague memories of the Game. Some things were clear and others were either blurred or completely nonexistent to them. None of them remembered Joshua at all and it bothered him slightly. He kept his mouth shut though about him and went along as if he had another partner between the pair that didn't succeed in being revived with them.
The sound of large rain drops hitting the window had him snapping out of his train of thought to watch the slowly increasing downpour. He grimaced at the thought of running back to his apartment off Dogenzaka in this, but he knew it would need to be done, before it got any worse. Making up his mind he stood up and gathered his things; books, pens, notebooks, etc., - and shoved them all into his bag before grabbing his jacket and throwing it on. Waving goodbye to the teacher at the school entry, when he was called after, he took off running once he hit the rainfall.
20 or so minutes after he left he got to his place and fumbled with his keys, dropping them to the ground, while blinking his wet hair out of his face. "Dammit… stupid weather."
Reaching down to pick them up he grabbed them and straightened back up to open the building doors. The door opening was a relief, as the awning over the door wasn't helping thanks to the strong wind that was blowing the water at an inconvenient angle, once he was inside he shut it quickly, trying to reduce the amount of water already inside. "Jeez… I didn't think the rain would get this bad…"
He looked back out the window by the door, nudged to do so by some unseen force, and startled at seeing a pair of teenagers bolting through the downpour towards the Ramen Don down the road to seek shelter. What had caught his attention though was the fact they were clear to his sight, even through the downpour and the glint of a certain pin on their collars was a certain sign.
The Game was being played once more.
He was Seeing the Game again.
-LINE BREAK-
A few days had passed since he had seen the two teens running through the rain, and while the weather had cleared up quite a bit-still cloudy and gloomy, but less rainy- he was still in a little put off, he had hoped that he wouldn't be able to see the Game anymore after a certain point.
Neku remembered very clearly what had been told to him and Shiki about the game;
"Now listen up, this Shibuya ain't your Shibuya. It's the Composers Shibuya, which Reapers use to run the Game. No matter what happens, people won't see you, won't hear you, - and they definitely won't help you."
Mr. Hanekoma had been right. No one had helped them, except for the occasional Reaper during his 3rd week when things had started going downhill.
So why did he see the two Players that day, did something happen to him again and he hadn't known? How often did the Game even happen in the first place? He was confused and it was bugging him to no end. When he had visited with Shiki, Beat, and Rhyme yesterday the three of his friends even noticed his distracted thoughts. Thankfully they didn't press when he had told them that he had no idea what was going on, but he could tell that Shiki was put out.
He didn't want to worry them, he knew he should trust them enough to tell them- he did of course! -but this was something that he was worried would influence them if it truly involved the Game once again. Either way, he didn't want to drop this weight on their shoulders. They didn't need to deal with this on top of their own worries and projects.
Being roused from his thoughts at the sound of a scream Neku's head whipped up and he turned looking for the source of the sound. His face paled and he started to move towards the sight of the two teens he had seen that day. One was fading out slowly while the other panicked and tried to use a pin he recognized as a high-level healing, Peace Full he believed. Seeing that it wasn't working he picked up his pace and unconsciously shifted his Vibe to a lower level, by the time he reached the pair, the girl, now supporting her fading partner, was sobbing while the male apologized softly and weakly.
Hearing the words that was said he stopped moving and listened to them.
"Satoshi, why didn't you tell me you were getting weak?!"
"I thought that we could make it… I was wrong, Hitomi, I'm sorry… Promise you will find me wherever we end up?"
Neku could tell that there was very little time left for either player, but he couldn't do anything to stop what was going to happen. He looked down at his feet and clenched his hands, hating that so many people lost their chances to Noise that were too strong, or trigger-happy Reapers getting twitchy for points. He wanted the Game to end, or at the least change to a better result for people who did try, and for people who did change. There wasn't anything he could do though and he looked back up only to freeze as he met familiar eyes standing where the pair had once been.
"Well now, isn't this a surprise Neku-dear…" Joshua was watching him with a knowing smile, eyes never wavering from his own. The two players had faded out, the girl likely Erased by Noise that sensed a new piece of prey, and now here was the Composer himself, standing in front of him with that annoying smile still on his face. "I think it's time you and I had a long over-due talk."
-LINE BREAK-
A/N: This is a starting point for a fic that I have bouncing around in my head. I've only seen a few different versions of this sort of Conductor!Neku and I wish to explore it in my own way. I haven't written anything in a long time and this just sort of started to spill out last night and I already have the first actual chapter at least halfway written out with thoughts being made for the next one or two.
I have no clue how long this will be in terms of chapters, but I am hoping at least 10 or so.
A/N 2: Before I forget! I would like to have a Beta-reader if anyone is willing to, sends me a request to be one. I can only catch so many of my own mistakes, the same goes for my program!
Please Read and Review!