TWEWY: A Fall Into Honor:

This story is about how Joshua became the Composer. The story is from Joshua's point of view, and others if the story needs to. This is a prequel of the game The World Ends With You. TWEWY is made by Square Enix. And I own the OCs. This is a FAN FICTION and not the real prequel. Enjoy.

Also I have a poll up on my profile page, feel free to vote for your favorite Player in the story so far if you want to =3

Fun fact: Izo's name was going to be Genji, but I felt like it didn't fit his character or appearance so I found and chose the name Izo. Immediately I felt something about the name clicked with the appearance and his nature.

Week 1, day 6:

Chapter 26: Noodle Shop Blues:

Joshua tapped his foot and checked his timer, they had 40 minutes left.

The Reaper beside him said nothing; though he shifted from time to time as if bothered by the awkward silence between Reaper and Player. Joshua didn't mind at all.

That was when Rei came back with a shopping bag; she had a smirk on her face as she passed the bag over to the Reaper. "Okay… I got the three Cozy Downs, two Durable Leathers, three Sparkling Silvers, and four Stunning Crystals. Are we good, Reaper?"

As she spoke the Reaper shifted through the bag, nodding as she spoke. After he looked up he took out his Keypin to open up the Wall, "Yep."

Just before they left Joshua looked at the Reaper and delved curiously, "Say… Why do you need these materials, Reaper?"

The Reaper looked away as he spoke steadily "I like doing crafts, nothing wrong with that."

Joshua gave him an amused expression as he laughed "Oh. That wasn't what I expected from a Reaper, how can you make something from these most unusual supplies?" he blinked his lavender eyes as he added, "Almost makes you seem… mundane, or even normal."

"We're still people," countered the Reaper calmly as he picked up one of the Cozy Downs to study and rub it."Don't judge us poorly."

'Very anomalous,' thought Joshua before he walked quickly over to Rei who was calling for him.

While they were leaving, Joshua remarked snidely once he knew the Reaper wouldn't overhear him, "Isn't it weird how that Reaper wanted items to craft with? I always thought Reapers were dedicated to their duty, not their fun."

"I wonder that too," admitted Rei as she glanced around Dogenzaka. "Ah… Home sweet home."

She sauntered around a bit until she stopped by what appeared to be a shop with a banner as its sign, a stark contrast to the various neon and otherwise more permanent signage surrounding it. "Hey looky at this!"

Joshua walked over to read the name on banner sign: Ramen Don. But then right under it was another sign that said: Just opened.

"It doesn't look new," Joshua noted dryly to Rei who walked to it and placed a hand on the wall. She seemed to be studying the shop intently for some reason.

"Any reason that you are so fascinated in it, Rei?"

His partner-for-the-day whipped around and gave him an excited expression, "Oh yeah! You see, Aleck, this Ramen shop isn't all that new. It opened roughly the first day of this Reaper's Game."

She smirked, as Joshua looked at her puzzled. "How do you know that?"

"Simple!" she sang as she took in a deep breath, "I read the thoughts of the UG and heard about it. Also, before I died I was so psyched about the opening that I even marked it on my calendar." Her smirk faded as she sighed looking downcast now. "But I never got a chance to see what the shop was like, I died before that even started."

Joshua blinked. "How?"

"You see," Rei spun around to look at a nigh skyscraper and Joshua looked as well. She pointed at it with a poignant smile, "That building there is the Pork City Tower. I was on an elevator with Izo one day, we were exploring the place. In retrospect it was a kinda stupid decision. That place is so dull, I know, believe me! But then something wrong happened. I dunno what precisely." She hung her head and sighed. "The power went out and the elevator ceased moving, that's when it started to shake. The next thing I know-" she gestured her hand in a wave in front of her, "-I'm here in the UG."

Again she sighed before she tapped her foot on the sidewalk as she smirked slyly at him. "Ok, ok. Maybe we ought to just do this mission, it's a bit too unclear for now and we're bound to figure out something if we do some recon."

'Did Rei just… Did Rei just open up to me?' Before he could inquire regarding it, he heard Rei giggle a bit before she went into the shop in front of them. Joshua shrugged and sighed, "Oh well…"

He moved into the shop to find Rei beaming in admiration; she kept staring at the tables, the seats and the menu. Overall, she had a smile that seemed so bright it could light up the 104 building. She gave a thumbs up as she winked, "Whoa! This place looks amazing. Glory to who the owner is."

"Why thank you." Joshua turned to see that a middle-aged man had come up to the counter from the kitchen to beam at them. He wore a blue bandana with white lined swirls and Joshua could partly see his dark brown hair peeking out from under it. He had on white simple clothes with a blue shirt underneath. In front of his grey brown eyes were wide black oval glasses that added an extra glimmer of merriment to his gaze. "I value the complements, miss."

Right away Rei walked up to the counter and did a wave. "Hello there. I take it you are the owner, sir."

The man chuckled heartily as he beamed, "Quite right! My name is Ken Doi, Ramen Master extraordinaire!"

Joshua giggled at that last part.

With a hurried nod, Rei blinked as she spoke happily. "Nice to meetcha, Mr. Doi. My name is Rei Shuuito; I've been meaning to come check out this place for ages. Haha…" she looked behind her at Joshua who did a wave gesture. "And that's my... pal, Yoshiya Kiryu."

"Call me Joshua, Mr. Doi," said Joshua politely as he walked up to join Rei and the proprietor. His lavender eyes shone as he observed the man, "So, this shop is new?"

Ken nodded as he sighed slightly crestfallen. "Aye, but only a few customers have come here to check it out; and no one has really bought any ramen yet."

"No way!" yelped Rei as she widened her bright brown eyes. She bit her lip before she stated, "Dogenzaka was born for ramen, this district is what you could call a ramen sector for crying out loud!"

Joshua didn't really see what was wrong. Typically from his understanding, when something new happened it took time for it to fully occur to the fellow citizens of Shibuya. Why Rei and Mr. Doi couldn't see this was nothing short of baffling.

He cupped his chin as he remarked aloud, "It'll take some time for it to become something spectacular. Don't lose faith."

Suddenly Ken's glasses flashed and Joshua couldn't see the ramen shop owner's eyes, "That's right! My shop just needs some acknowledgement!" He raised his hand up high as he avowed, "I need to find a way to bring in customers."

'Hmm… I don't think that's quite what I meant…' Joshua sighed before he looked at the now fired up owner. "Uh… Mr. D, pardon? But what I intended was-"

"Thank you, Joshua-sama," said Ken, bowing at Joshua before he clenched his hands with grit. "I must search for a way to make my shop a success!"

Then he left the counter and the shop in a hurried stride.

Joshua blinked dumbly as he felt a bit guilty; he had a good idea that this wasn't going to end well. He adjusted his shirt collar before he looked at Rei who gave him a dazed expression, he sighed and nodded towards the door. "Well… that was unexpected. We might need to tail him and fix this."

Rei gave a low mutter before she hummed, "What else can we do?"

Once they exited Ramen Don, Joshua began to scan his surroundings for their target. For some reason he couldn't even catch a familiar glimpse of the man, this confused him. So he groaned just as two RG kids ran past holding popsicles. "He's fast for his age. Where did he go exactly?"

A cold wind started to pick up when dark clouds hovered over the paling sky, Rei fastened her jacket more when the cape part of her jacket ruffled fiercely behind her. "I dunno." Slowly she smirked as she watched the kids. "Looky at the kiddies, who would even try to eat a cold treat on a chilly day like this?"

Before Joshua could say anything she walked onto the road as a RG car whizzed through her.

Joshua watched as she took out her clipboard and pen then slanted her head up to the sky, she squinted her eyes and raised her crimson pen in the air for a second. Then she fiercely scribbled down something, in a flash she put the pen between her teeth and skimmed through the pages that her clipboard held nodding. The very next second she spat out her pen for it to land on the clipboard that was slimed a bit by her drool.

Her drool seemed sordid to Joshua, he even grimaced at the sight of the glistening saliva. 'Ugh, yuck!'

"0 degrees," she declared as she grabbed her chin and her eyes sparkled. "Due to snow in about…" she lingered, closing her eyes before slamming her foot down, "11 days. But the winds are just drifting a bit in the colder end, southeast, so there could be a slim chance that winter will come early this year. Yes!"

Joshua just stared at her in awe as he remarked, "Wow… What are you trying to prove, Rei?"

"Weather, my good ol' chap," said Rei suddenly as she walked over and patted him on the head gently. He could see how bright her bright brown eyes really were now when she exclaimed, "The elementary is exotic! The weather patterns I've been following for the last month have come true. Two weeks ago I made a theory that it would be 0 degrees and it would be cloudy today; and now poof! As you can see, I was right!"

She whipped her hand away when Joshua tried to push it off his head; above all he hated it when she used his head as an armrest. She was still an expert at grinding his nerves, but that didn't make her observations any less incredible. Despite himself, he wanted to ask.

So he did in an awed voice as a wisp of mist came from his mouth, "You're into weather?"

"Yep," replied Rei simply with a smirk, she patted her chest proudly. "I've always wanted to be a weather reporter."

In an instant Rei snagged his collar and yelped, "Crap! We need to find that Ramen Don owner!"

She started to drag him along and he sighed, 'Quick and impulsive, keen and sly. Rei is a very uncanny lady.'

A little while later, they found him.

Ken Doi was standing in front of a 12-year-old golden blond boy and a 7-year-old golden blonde girl.

The blond boy had a black beanie that looked ready to slide over onto his face; he had basically a bright blue sleeveless shirt and mottled dark brown cargo shorts.

His dark blue grey eyes seemed to sear into the Ramen Don owner.

Seemed odd for the boy to wear a sleeveless shirt when it was, as Rei said, zero degrees*.

The blonde girl had a bright green dress with little linings of flowers designs on it, she wore black pants under it and a bell attached to a string that rested around her neck. She also had a beanie but it was white and fit much better than the boy's.

Her bright blue grey eyes instead seemed to flash alertly, making it apparent that she was timid of the same shop owner.

Joshua stopped right behind the two just as the golden blond boy spoke a bit in an ardent manner, "Yo! You sayin' we git a f'ee meal at 'dis ramen place but only 'f we buy a bowl of noodles? Whatcha mean man?" he threw up his hands as the younger child hid behind him.

"Exactly little one," replied Ken happily as his grey brown eyes brightened, he pointed back towards where Ramen Don was as he explained, "Bring family and friends, ramen is for everyone who takes a moment to enjoy it."

The younger child peeked from behind the older boy. "You mean it's good, sir? Is it tasty?"

Ken nodded with a chuckle. "Aye, the tastiest in the district."

The blond boy sighed before he looked at the younger child then at the man again. "Eh, mayb' some other time. I'll think 'bout it, ya know?"

In response Ken did a little bow and smiled. "Alright. Have a nice day, and a safe journey home young'uns. You mustn't worry your family."

Just as the boy started guiding the young girl away, she gasped as she exclaimed when her eyes flashed in alarm, "Beat! Your-"

The boy known as Beat looked at his hand that held a stick that was surrounded by red dripping liquid, for a second Joshua thought it was blood until he realized what it was, the popsicle.

Those were the two kids he saw before.

"I'm bleedin' Rhyme!" yelped Beat releasing the stick in terror. Right away he began to scurry around madly.

This was until Rhyme giggled, closing her eyes, and smiling warmly at the agitated boy. "Silly. It's just the popsicle."

At that moment Beat stopped "Oh? Uh…" he wiped his hand on his pants before he sighed, "This bites… Mom is gonna 'ill me, Rhyme."

Joshua winced right away as he exclaimed indignantly, "Ugh... That's gross, who would even think about doing that? Yuck!" Using pants in lieu of a napkin was just absurd, not to mention unsanitary.

Rei smirked slyly and giggled. "Hehehe… He's just 12 Aleck, give him a break."

The ashen blond lowered his eyes to look at the ground as he grumbled, "I never did that at that age. It's gross!"

"Oh?" said Rei. Chuckling darkly, she held her head high and put her hands on her hips, as she sneered, "no wonder you grew up to be a weirdo."

Joshua groaned in response before he mumbled "Ayumu always got sick, even when I warned him…" he cringed and shook his head indignantly to cast away the thought before he snarled, "What am I even saying about my half brother!"

Rei bopped him lightly, almost like a pat on the head, with her clipboard snickering, "Ah! There's one condition of this sickness's cure. You, my poor, prideful friend, are receiving what is called, love and regret."

He right away swiped at her clipboard and roared "No way! Your ears are full of wax Rei!" he folded his arms and scowled irritably when her smirk grew bigger "Hmph! How can I feel regret and love for him after he erased a Reaper? That's not valid! It's lunacy!"

'And this game lacks any madness, because it is madness to someone who's a newcomer to it. I like it that way.' he huffed before he suddenly detected that Ken looked crestfallen again. Soon after a while, he looked at Rei as he grumbled huskily, "Let's forget that and pay attention to this guy, the sooner we fix this mess the better."

His ally's smirk dropped to a straight line as she shrugged, "Alright. But I won't forget this case, believe me. Alright?"

"Sure." replied Joshua in a bored tone, "Torment me more."

They went over exactly beside Ken as he kept the same downcast attitude; it was hard to tell what he was thinking right now. The lavender-eyed teen glanced at Rei as she began to circle Ken like she was a tiger ready to attack its prey. "So, now what? He's become a living rock." His last words became growls before he snapped his head to look away as he put in, "how do we figure out this guy's motives if he just languishes on the spot?"

She blinked before she jotted something down on her black clipboard that he could've sworn she wasn't holding a second ago. "Hmm… A decent quip! 'Hey what do we do?' That is indeed the question… not that it'd be much of a mission if it were an easy one."

Joshua cupped his chin to hold it when he began to ponder. For a while he did that until he breathed, "We just need to get in his head. Ayumu seems to do that all the time- argh!" With a shake of his head he went on, "Wait…" he took out his Player's Pin, "maybe there is an easy way out of this."

Rei cocked her head to the side and shut her eyes. "What a one-sided conservation," she tossed up her hands shrugging, as she smirked. "But at least we have a lead."

As Joshua carefully took out his Player's Pin, he felt for a second the cold touch of Ayumu's unused cellphone. He froze right away and gave a frown. "Isn't it odd that Ayumu and Izo haven't gotten a mission yet? It's at least been half an hour!"

Just as he said that, both of the two partners-for-the-days' timers began counting down from 30 minutes.

The lanky lady widened her bright brown colored eyes just as she took out her Player's Pin from her pocket. "What?" her expression changed into what Joshua thought was Rei's stern look. As she scowled while furrowing her pale eyebrows she blinked in a second before she commented in a quiet voice, "That's right… You have Ayumu's cellphone; am I correct, Aleck?"

With a curt nod he took out the dull green and white cellphone that looked so mint conditioned compared to Joshua's orange one. It made him jealous and annoyed that he kept Ayumu's cellphone undamaged, while his own had chips.

For a moment he was reminded that it was Ayumu who did that to his phone.

He clenched his hand still holding Ayumu's phone while he raised it up for Rei to get a closer look. "Here you go, Rei."

The ashen haired girl wrenched it out of his hand to begin checking it all over before opening it. "Crap, this phone is clean!" exclaimed the lanky lady as she gave him a curious look by raising an eyebrow. "Aleck! Ayumu's phone hasn't gotten any texts!? Isn't that creepy?"

After a minute or two, she put it gently back into the palm of his hand and Joshua growled in annoyance. 'Why couldn't she be that careful with mine?'

Before she could even pry more about this matter, Joshua stuffed it in his pocket and snarled taking an aggressive step forward, "It's not like he needs any!"

A slap silenced him and he scowled at Rei when she spat, "Would you just stop bullying him when he's not here! That, is, low. Even for you!" When he opened his mouth to protest she grabbed his shoulders and shoved him towards Ken Doi. "Argh! Just scan him, Twity! You've perfectly killed my mood!"

He widened his eyes as he heard the word he detested: 'bullying'.

Joshua walked out of school happily; grade 5 wasn't as tough as he thought it would be. Being smart was turning out to be a good thing for both his psych and his health.

He was wearing an aquamarine and pale gold striped winter coat with a very dark teal scarf and dark grey boots. His mittens were dark grey as well.

As the small white crystals of snow began to fall down again to bring unwanted cold and misery, he looked up and shivered. 'Brr… I should get home fast before I freeze! My feet are already numb!'

His gaze swept through the nearby area as other kids covered in thick and comfy bundles of clothes happily ran out screaming and cheering in bliss. Some were already being picked up by their parents, some running home being naïve and ignorant of the ice hidden by fresh snow; perhaps some had already slipped and fallen, and some were just being stupid by trying to eat it as it fell.

Who would want to eat snow? It was bothersome! Who knows what was in the water that settled in the cloud that made the snow?

None of this seemed relevant to him right now; nothing else mattered but the absence of one child; one of his dearly loved kin that he treasured.

His younger half brother, Ayumu Ki.

As wisps of mist escaped his mouth he wondered in confusion, 'Where's Ayumu? He said he would meet me here when school ended. He doesn't even have a lot of stuff to grab, since he carries it with him all day.'

Since Ayumu was blind, all of the teachers allowed him to not have a cubbyhole. Seeing that Ayumu wouldn't be able to sense where his possessions were.

He looked around as his aquamarine and pale gold coat protected him from the cold when worry began to grow inside him like a shallow pond slowly becoming encrusted by ice, and he wondered if Ayumu was still getting ready to go or not.

"I'll ask Ms. Sato," he murmured even he heard doubt shake his voice.

She was Ayumu's homeroom teacher; she was really helpful with teaching Ayumu because of his blindness. She was a really nice woman, but at the same time was respectful and stern.

So he ventured back into the school, feeling like a fish going upstream against the outward current of fellow students. Once or twice, kids would brush against him making him nearly slip on the stairs due to the slick rime.

The school in Cadoi City was the closest one to Cat Street, secluded far within the district and from the stores that drew in citizens, and Joshua hated that his mother and father always made him walk to school. He had poor stamina and would almost collapse halfway through the journey. Luckily he could share the hardship of exercise with Ayumu. The one thing he was mystified about was why Ayumu liked walking; he said it allowed him to explore the city better. One thing that the two half brothers were complete opposites of.

Plus Chise couldn't drive due to her own genetic blindness.

'If only he would save me a trip and come right out instead of making me go looking for him,' Joshua thought sourly to himself as he slunk through the hallways, already ruing the added exertion. When he caught sight of the room number, 146, he walked a bit faster and went in.

He saw that Ms. Sato was still in the room so he was relieved letting out a sigh.

Ms. Sato seemed to be a normal height compared to the other teachers. Her auburn hair was put into a bun and her half circle glasses were in front of her brown eyes. Today she wore today black denims and had a purple and brown sweater covered by a white spencer.

She looked surprised when Joshua walked up to her as she was getting ready to leave. For a moment she eyed him with bewilderment as she spoke softly, "Hello Yoshiya, I'm still surprised that a student is still dwelling in this territory of knowledge." She let out a chuckle, apparently enamoured with her own speech.

What made her unique were the big, confusing words she used when speaking to everyone.

"Ayumu's not here?" he asked, worried when he didn't see the petite figure of his half brother.

She shook her head. "He ran out almost exploding with excitement. He forgot his belongings two times and nearly crashed into the doorway thrice." She pulled on her thick jacket as she went on, "When I asked him why he was so antsy, he explained that he was to meet you right at the toll of the bell."

Joshua's stomach churned as he vexed over where his half brother was.

He gave her a nod and politely spoke, "Thank you."

Quickly, he left and stood frozen in the abandoned halls, biting his lip as he thought, 'He's not here!? Where are you Ayumu? Brother!?'

He took a different route to get out; he hadn't run into Ayumu coming in, so the odds were that his brother was at the back exit. Even if he wasn't though, this whole situation already smelled of trouble.

It occurred to Joshua that the extra walking would not be his only added exercise for the day.

Just as he used all his strength to open the door, he heard the sound of laughing and the whump of snowballs hitting their mark.

Snowball fights weren't something he liked. It was dumb.

He was about to go check the playground when he heard a squeal that was louder than the laughing, "Stop it! Please stop!" The tone and pitch made it clear that the person was distressed. And he knew who it was.

Sprinting over to where the source came from, he was horrified to find kids from his grade pelting snowballs at one person. They were tormenting Ayumu.

Ayumu was sitting with his back to a wall sobbing and wailing at them as he hugged his legs to his chest and hid his face in them from the frigid barrage, cringing as each snowball hit him.

His younger half brother was wearing a pure white winter coat with a silver scarf that drifted in the breeze.

It seemed heartless what method the bullies were using this time. Throwing snowballs at Ayumu when they knew he was blind. This had to stop.

Without a warning, he launched himself at Ryou who was leading the assault. He managed to bring the blond down with himself onto the cold snowy ground. The others stopped and began to attack the ashen haired boy while Ayumu stayed where he was sobbing still and hyperventilating.

Ryou glared at him as he managed to get Joshua off and grab the very dark teal scarf Joshua was wearing. For a moment his air was cut off and he gasped silently, black splotches dancing through his vision. Ryou's emerald green eyes flickered with anger as he threw a punch at Joshua's jaw before shoving him down into a snowdrift. "Yoshiya, the freak to the rescue!" the larger boy spat, "The younger freak must feel so happy for you to come."

His jaw throbbing from the blow, Joshua issued a painful grunt and glared back. One of his dark grey mittened hands touched gingerly his jaw for a brief second. He got out of the bitter cold pile of snow before he snarled, "Leave Ayumu alone! He doesn't need this, Takatera!" He wanted to spite the blond with his surname.

Ryou's best friend and partner in crime Sora Yunito sneered at him, "How heroic, trying to protect your 'ittle blind half brother from the snow. Must be such a burden trying to help a pathetic baby who deserves this punishment for being blind, weak, and moody."

Ayumu didn't look up, but Joshua heard him snivel.

"Shut up!" He couldn't stand how these bullies acted like his brother was an animal or something. "Don't you have something better to do than hurting others? It's the last day of school. Why don't you go rot your minds on television or something?"

Ryou and Sora sneered at him with sinister grins, "No."

He shook as anger boiled through his body, he was about to attack the two when a hand was placed on his shoulder and a strict voice rang out in a bark, "What are you all doing here?" Ms. Sato was now fully dressed for the outside cold and he saw her lips pursed. "I've had enough of these skirmishes between students. Especially you two again."

Sora and Ryou said nothing, but glared at the teacher.

She pointed and gestured to all of the students as she scolded, her expression was stone cold and her brown eyes were hardened. "Haven't you two learned that fighting is wrong? You two- no… all of you gave me a reason to report you all to your parents. I'd have liked to be already on my way home, but now…"

Ms. Sato gave a growl as she snapped, "All of you, come with me now! Do you children want to freeze?! Don't make me wait…"

Joshua felt a little scared of her when she spoke to him, "Yoshiya, get your half brother." For a moment, he had a feeling she meant it to be kinder, not harsher, but apparently her anger had overridden it completely.

He did a meek nod and moved carefully towards Ayumu.

The petite blond was still sobbing and shaking; he didn't look up as Joshua held out a hand.

"H-Hey. Lets go."

He only jumped in shock as Ayumu slapped it away and screamed, "Leave me alone!"

'Not this again…' He shot a nervous look at Ms. Sato as she stood nearby tapping her foot waiting for them crossly. 'Ms. Sato will not be happy if Ayumu doesn't come with me soon.'

As Ayumu sat on the cold snowy ground Joshua poked him lightly as he murmured, "Calm down… You'll freeze at this rate, and Ms. Sato doesn't seem too happy right now about allowing us to stay here."

For a moment Ayumu's head poked up a bit, enough for Joshua to see his red, puffy, pale-pewter-grey eyes that were half closed and bright from crying. "Now?"

"Yes now! She wants us now!" said Joshua quickly as his lavender eyes darted to their teacher.

The petite blond sat there silent for a stretching moment, he shivered suddenly once in a while, but Joshua was determined to stay with his half brother until he was ready to leave. And Joshua felt a bit uneasy because Ms. Sato was starting to look impatient, even though he knew she was fair in Ayumu's case of being blind.

When Ayumu sneezed he gave a shudder before awkwardly getting up. Joshua clearly saw that his tears were frozen on his face, glittering from the dim light of the sun. After shivering more Ayumu blinked. "Josh…"

Joshua grunted to let him know he was listening as he gave him a warm smile. "Yeah?"

"You don't need to always do this…" A sharp stab in his heart made Joshua frown just as Ayumu went on sadly, "I know you care about me a lot… but this has to stop."

Right away Joshua put a hand on the younger's shoulder as Joshua exclaimed, "Don't say that! They won't stop harming you-"

He stopped just as Ayumu gave him a gentle smile. "I'm alright. I-I-I… You should worry about your life, not mine. Dad will keep getting angry if you get in trouble for me, so…"

As Ayumu tried to leave Joshua stopped him, as he spoke, "It doesn't matter!" Ayumu turned around with a surprised expression as Joshua gave him a smirk. "Being a big brother means to be there for your siblings when they're in need of help, right? It's a responsibility I can't refuse. I'll be by your side until they decide to grow up for once. It's a promise! Don't try to tell me no, Ayu. It's my decision to protect you, and mine alone."

"Don't call me Ayu," mumbled Ayumu in irritation now as he started to join Ms. Sato, "It's always been Ayumu."

Joshua violently shook his head desperately. He had to force anything related to Ayumu out of his head so that he could focus on the mission.

He didn't care if Rei gave him an odd expression, because he didn't care if she cared.

Clenching his Player's Pin, he closed his eyes to reopen them to the blue abyss of Scanning.

He saw that there was an eerie buzzing around Ken Doi's head as Joshua heard his thought 'Maybe I'm not cut out for owning and running a Ramen Shop… I should go back to being Eiji Oji's chef. My dream is just too shamed… They all said that it wouldn't work and I'd be unhappy. They were right.'

Suddenly Joshua let out a yelp of shock as he saw a Negative Noise symbol swarming around the disheartened ramen master's head; just like that same looking Noise symbol did when he was feeling wretched.

Joshua gritted his teeth, feeling not only anger for Ayumu, but anger towards the Noise. The Noise was feeding off the negativity, forcing on a downward spiral which just felt so wrong to Joshua.

He roared in anger at it, "Leave Mr. Doi alone! Pick on someone who can erase you away for good!"

It's floating wavered a bit before it dove at him letting out distorted noises that sounded like glass and ice shattering at the same time.

It even felt like his ears were splitting apart.

Joshua cut off the connection to the Player's Pin and growled, "Rei! It's a Negative Noise. It's making Mr. Doi stay trapped feeling this way. Get ready for a brawl."

Rei took out her clipboard and smirked. "I was hoping for a blast Aleck. Don't you disappoint me now."

The Noise symbol appeared before the dazzling flurry of lights.

To be continued… Hope you enjoyed the chapter =3