(Gotta put our head together, you feel me?) Beat grinded down the railing on his board, taking off at the end with a kickflip trick before landing on the pavement of the Udagawa backstreets and finishing with a No Comply before stopping. Eri and Nina clapped in admiration as Shiki and Rhyme followed up in support. Neku just looked at Beat with a dead-panned expression as Joshua sat lazily on the stairway checking his phone.

"That was amazing!" Eri yelled. "How did you do that!?" Beat rubbed his nose with a smug grin as he slammed his foot down on the back end of his board, sending it flying up so he could sweep it under his arm.

"Pretty sick right? This board is my bread and butler!"

"Try again." Neku said and Beat thought for a moment.

"Bed and Butler." (Not right, but somehow better.)

"Just wondering Daisukenojo-" Joshua started. "Did you drag us all here just to show off your skateboarding? Seems very childish is so."

"Don't use my name pretty boy! It's Beat." Joshua gave a small chuckle, "And naw, I ain't that selfish. But my folks are getting on my case about my future…and it got me thinkin." (…)

"About what?" Shiki asked.

"About maybe having a back-up plan you know? I thought I'd look around Shibuya and see what other kind of careers are out there. Thought you guys might want to tag along or somthin."

"I'd love to!" Eri replied. "I already know what I want to be, but getting a look at all kinds of professions will really improve my skills. What better way to know what people want to wear then to know how they live, right Shiki?"

"Definitely!" Shiki replied with an equal amount of enthusiasm. "It sounds like the perfect spark of inspiration we need!"

"I-I haven't really spent a lot of time around Shibuya." Nina added. "I'd like to see more of it."

"Sounds like a lot of fun!" Rhyme said cheerfully.

"Alright! Let's roll out!" Beat started marching down the path with the girls in tow. Neku looked at Beat quizzically for a moment before standing up and following behind.

"Poor Daisu." Joshua said with a small smirk. "Let's see how this plays out."

"We're helping him." Neku said and Joshua sighed.

"Fine…but I can't make any promises on if the results will be what you want." (We still have to try.)

Beat's first stop was his usual meal stop, the Ramen Don in Dogenzaka. Stepping inside, Beat gave a wave to the owner, Ken Doi, who gave a wide grin back.

"Hey kid. Brought a full party with you this time I see!"

"Course man! I'd recommend this place anytime man!" Ken gave a hearty laugh.

"You want your usual?"

"You know it!" Beat took a seat at the largest booth as the others did the same.

"You brought us here first?" Neku asked with slight surprise.

"We can't go around town on an empty stomach." Beat replied.

"Seems appropriate for Beat." Joshua replied.

"…I can't tell if that's an insult."

"Probably better not to know." Rhyme replied.

"Whatever…anyway, I wanted to ask what everyone is interested in."

"Career-wise right?" Nina asked.

"Naw, just…something you really like doing."

"Well-" Eri started. "-I'm in love with designing outfits."

"And I love creating them." Shiki added. (Geez, when they talk about their passion it's like looking at a two headed person.)

"I'm a fan of managerial work." Joshua said. (Surprising no one.) Nina thought for a moment before responding.

"I-I've always been interested in the physics of time." Everyone turned to look at Neku.

"…I…have always been interested in culture sphere." Everyone gave him a confused look. (This is why I don't share this stuff.) "CAT dominated Shibuya with their brand. Everything they made; music, clothing, accessories, they all dominated and thrived in Shibuya. Their stuff is great, don't get me wrong. But that's not enough to account for its rapid growth. So…it intrigued me. Influence is powerful, I just want to understand it." Everyone except Joshua looked slightly aghast at his answer.

"That was…more than I was expecting." Shiki said and Neku slumped into his seat, sliding down as to hide the growing tinge of pink in his cheeks. Beat turned to his sister.

"What about you Rhyme?" Rhyme looked down at her lap in thought.

"…I'm not sure. I'm good at school but…I'm not sure I know what I'm interested in. It kind feels like…going through the motions." She clutched her shorts and shook slightly. "I…don't know what I like to do." The table got uncomfortably quiet before Ken came with a bowl of ramen for everyone.

"Enjoy!" Everyone wordlessly took a bite out of their ramen. Shiki, Eri, Nina and Neku all sputtered and hacked before looking down at the content of their bowl.

"Is this curry!?" Shiki asked.

"Yeah! It's one of my newer creations!" Ken replied proudly. "Don't like it?"

"N-No no! Just wasn't expecting the spicy flavor." (Some of us were apparently.)

"Mmm. My compliments to the chef." Joshua said with a wave of his hand.

"Thanks. I've been working hard on it."

"So ramen is a pretty big passion of yours huh?" Neku asked taking a more well-informed bite of his meal.

"Heh, I guess you could say that. But I've been considering stepping away from Ramen." This made Beat sputter.

"What!? You can't do that! Not with Ramen this bomb!"

"Heh. Glad you enjoy it so much. But I think I've done all I can with it. I was thinking of switching my focus to curry."

"You're still going to cook?" Nina asked.

"Couldn't get me to stop cooking. I went through a lot of other avenues before I took up cooking. I was even a toy maker for a while…but then I found cooking. Best thing I ever switched to."

"Sounds like hell." Neku said bluntly. Ken just laughed.

"Yeah, it was not an easy road…still, glad I ended up here despite everything. Every little thing I did brought me here. Can't complain with those results." (I suppose not…although you are switching to curry.)

"Well, I'll make sure to be your first customer then!" Beat said making Ken smirk.

"Thanks Beat…and who knows, I might keep that curry ramen on the menu." (And he's drooling into his bowl.)

The groups next stop was the 104-tower mall. The girls were currently browsing through the D+B shop with the guys reluctantly in tow.

"Neku, what do you think of this piece?" Shiki held up a denim blouse to Neku who looked at it quizzically. "You're right…I don't think it's my style." (I don't know a lot of people who would wear a denim blouse.) "Oh, how about this?" The next item Shiki held up was a Vest-blouse combo…Neku looked away bashfully and Shiki gave a soft giggle.

"Oh! This is to DIE for!" Neku and Shiki looked over and both turned red as a tomato as Eri held up a Satin Camisole. (Jesus!)

"E-Eri! D-Don't you think that's too much?" Shiki asked averting her eyes from the item in question.

"But it's adorable!" (Not the word I'd use.)

"Was there anything else you were looking at?" Neku asked trying to change the subject.

"Oh, I was looking at swimsuits and found this perfect piece." She reached over and pulled out a Black Bikini. (…This is too much for me to handle all at once.)

"Oh, I definitely F that piece!" All three turned around to see Eiji Oji standing behind them. Eri looked on the verge of fan-girl screaming as Shiki stood there dumbfounded. (Great, him.)

"Ohmygosh! Prince! You think this piece is F worthy?" Eri asked. He ran his hand through his hair dramatically.

"Yes. It just screams F worthiness!" (What does that even mean!?) Eri squealed as she clutched the piece.

"Yo, what's with all the noise over here?" Beat asked as he and Rhyme made their way over. Rhyme gave a small gasp and rushed up to Eji.

"You're The Prince, right?"

"Yes, little flower. A pleasure to meet you." He looked down and noticed the pendant around her neck, "Ah, one of the so desired bell pendants. I'm glad to see someone as innocent as yourself was able to get one." She giggled.

"Thanks! My brother got it for me." Everyone turned to Beat who looked flabbergasted for a moment before scowling.

"What!? A guy can't do something nice for his sister?" (No…sounds about right for you.)

"Such brotherly devotion…I definitely F that!" (Ugh…)

"Hey, Prince." Neku said catching his attention.

"Yes Spicy Tuna Roll?" (…)

"What do you do for a living?" Eiji chuckled before throwing his arms out.

"Can you not see? I am a taste maker! A savant of what is desired and what is not. I know what stands at the top of the cream of the crop, and what toils at the bottom in obscurity."

"…Shiki?"

"He's an influencer." She said plainly. "People pay for his opinion since so many people see his opinion as valuable." (Right…I remember now. He was behind the Shadow Ramen place exploding during the Reaper's Game.)

"How'd you land a job like that?" Beat asked.

"I cultivated my pallet. Expanded my horizon to every edge of Shibuya. Examined every brand and tried every morsel of food I could in order to find what I found to be truly worth others interest and time."

"Sounds like you got lucky to me." Neku commented.

"I will admit that my first post was a stroke of luck. But everything after was an uphill battle to make sure others knew I had something worth listening to. Even now, under scrutiny from some truly unruly brands, I have to maintain my personal standards. If I just write whatever they want me to say on my blog, then it is not mine anymore, I am just a puppet for them to control." (Well…damn…didn't expect that out of him.) "It is a struggle at times…but worth it to see the smiles on the faces of those I influence. Even little ones like the flower before me, and yourself Tuna Roll." He then turned to Shiki and Eri, "And finding true artists with an eye as discerning as mine is just a cherry on top of the whole thing. Who knows, maybe you two can become trendsetters yourselves." He turned around with a flourish and started to walk away, "For now I must bid you adieu. For there is always something new, and I must find out if it is F worthy." Shiki and Eri squealed as he exited the store.

"Man, guess even the weirdoes like him have important jobs." Beat commented. Rhyme looked down at her pendant for a moment. (…)

"Hey Neku." Joshua's voice had Neku turn around to see him holding up the Satin Camisole. "What do you think?" (I think there's not enough bleach in the world to rinse away the image you just put in my head.)

Their next stop was the CD store in AMX. Joshua and Eri looked through the bargain bin at the front of the shop while Beat and Rhyme checked out some of the new punk music. Neku and Shiki had decided to introduce Nina to some of their favorite bands.

"Not a lick of music?" Neku asked and Nina shook her head.

"M-Mom said that it was a distraction."

"Well we're changing that right now!" Shiki said reaching for one of Def March's CDs.

"M-Maybe not them." She switched to reach for a pop CD.

"Oh, these guys are great! A nice bubbly sound and upbeat lyrics." Neku reached for a different CD.

"Twister isn't too bad. It has the same energy as a pop band but with a bit of a slanted edge to it." Nina looked at him quizzically. (Music isn't the easiest thing to explain.) "You'll enjoy it."

"Thanks." Nina replied with a smile.

"Music is kind of weird isn't it." Shiki said looking around the shop. "There are so many genres."

"Lots of ways to express yourself." Neku explained. "It's another form of art."

"Yeah but it's not something I always had a firm grasp on. The only time I've actually played an instrument was a recorder in elementary school."

"I was put on drums." Beat said as he and Rhyme made their way over to them. "They couldn't trust me with delicate stuff.

"I actually played a trumpet." Rhyme added with a smile.

"You ever thought of doing music?" Neku asked.

"I'm not sure…it was a lot of fun, and I was pretty good, but I don't really think I could see myself dedicating my time to music for that long." Neku looked over at Beat who seemed to have tensed up slightly.

"…That's fair. You're pretty smart, maybe you could try something scientific."

"Maybe…" (She's harder to crack then I think Beat realized.)

At this point the group was wandering aimlessly around town, following Beat wherever he led them, until they all came to a stop at Miyashita Park.

"Beat, where are we going?" Rhyme asked slightly exhausted.

"We're um…hitting up…"

"You don't have a plan, do you?" Joshua asked looking a bit sour from the unproductive wandering.

"Shut up! I got a plan…it's just…more difficult then I guess I first thought it would be."

"Seems you're no close to figuring out a back-up plan then when you started." (Okay. This is enough.) Neku grabbed Joshua and Beat by their shoulders and pushed them over to a secluded spot of the park.

"Beat, I think we need to stop this."

"Stop what? I'm thinking about my future!"

"No, you're thinking about Rhyme's future." Beat clammed up at this comment. "Which, is admirable…but I think it's doing more harm than good."

"What'd you say!?" (Has he been blind?)

"Haven't you noticed that Rhyme only became more conflicted as she kept thinking about what she wanted to do when she grew up? You've been stressing her out since the Ramen Don."

"But…"

"Yes, you seem to be putting more wounds on her then what you're attempting to sew up." Joshua commented.

"WELL IT'S YOUR FAULT!" Beat yelled at him. "If…If you had just givin Rhyme back her dreams then I wouldn't be trying to do all this!"

"…So what if I did?" Beat grabbed Joshua by his collar. "Even if I did take her dreams, what would all this solve?" Beat balled up his fist, ready to sock Joshua before dropping him and stepping back.

"I know hittin him won't solve anything…it would make me feel better…but it wouldn't help her." Neku put his hand on his shoulder.

"I know you're trying to look out for her but didn't your parents try to push you to? And what did that do?"

"It…made me lash out…act even worse than I was…damn."

"Rhyme's a smart kid. She'll find what she wants to do in her own time…that's how it works for everyone."

"Yeah…yeah, she will."

"Just be there for her. That's what she'll want." Beat chuckled at this comment.

"Thanks Phones." He then turned to Joshua, "And uh…sorry for…you know." Joshua just smirked and made his way back to the group. "Man, it's still weird to think that Pretty Boy controls Shibuya."

"Loses it's awe when you spend a full week with him as your partner. More an annoying quality than anything else." Neku and Beat made their way back to the group.

"Where we headed next?" Eri asked.

"Ah, screw this back-up plan BS. Let's do somethin fun!"

"Agreed." Neku added. "Any ideas?"

"I heard them talking about something happening at Tipsy Tose Hall." Nina spoke up. "Maybe something interesting is happening there."

"Sounds like a plan. Let's go." As the group started walking, Neku pulled Joshua back for a moment. "I've been wondering…was Rhyme's cost for the game her dream?" Joshua just gave Neku his signature smirk.

"Like I said earlier, does it matter?" (…)

"I guess not."

"That girl will be fine. After seeing her reign in her brother for a while, she can handle a little uncertainty for a while." (…Can't talk honestly, can you?)