TWEWY: A Fall Into Honour:
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! =3
Hello everyone, I'm back!
Sorry for the wait, I was on a trip for a long time and away from the computer. I mentioned this in my other story, TWEWY UF, but I didn't want to copy and paste the same message... *Shrugs* meh...
I spent some time writing out the next few chapters on paper (before I left half of the next chapter is electronic and now the other half is still on paper) so I will be revising from paper to computer for who knows how long... even though I had intentions to avoid writing on paper *grumbles* It takes awhile, a long while to retype what I wrote sadly =C But I hope to do this faster than I had last year, and I wrote up to chapter 48 or 49 I think... Originally I wanted type it up on my device... but when you're at a beach drinking a nice cold Slurpee, it's not fun walking to and fro to the car to charge it when it runs out of juice with your head full of inspiration... *Sigh...* not fun at all...
Anyways, glad to be back! Enjoy reading =3
Fun fact: Original chapter title: Negative Daze Faze Dance, Stage 1. Yeah, now that I think about it... it wasn't the best title at the time (sounds utterly stupid now!) and I couldn't come up with a better one at that time... heheh...
Week 2, day 2:
Chapter 42: Phase Traced:
"They control us."
Ayumu's words haunted Joshua throughout the time he and Mayu searched for Aoi, he could barely focus and often he missed anything Mayu mentioned along the way. He felt horrible inside, wondering if the real reason the Composer never granted any of them a second chance was because she wanted to use them like toys in the Reaper's Game she ran.
"Joshua?" A hand rested on his arm and he looked at his Partner, he felt a little startled despite her gentle gesture. Mayu's pretty turquoise eyes gazed at him, filled with concern. "A-Are you okay?"
With a sigh, Joshua shook his head.
He knew he wasn't fine; lying to Mayu wouldn't terminate how he felt at that moment. He couldn't stop thinking about how much Ayumu made sense of something Joshua never really thought about before or had a solution to. On the other hand, he saw how Ayumu had changed ever since they died.
The boy he knew wouldn't just act like reason wasn't important. The boy he knew wouldn't just tell him to not care about his feelings and insult him in front of anyone. Ayumu valued his opinion and always openly stated it, standing up for what he believed was wrong. He wouldn't just throw it all away; he wouldn't let things go easily. Above all, his young half-brother wasn't some insensitive, cruel person! He was kind and was a gentle boy, mindful and smart despite his arrogance... Ayumu wasn't malicious!
However… Ayumu's lack of emotions was tampering with his true nature. This made Joshua feel sick from guilt. 'I'm so sorry Ayumu... You wouldn't act like this if it hadn't been for me... or... because of her!'
The memory of that Composer made his blood boil...
How she didn't seem to care about keeping Ayumu's emotions hostage!
Acting as though Ayumu having emotions measured equally to the lowly Noise becoming your friendly and playful pet...
It made him sick! Sick from anger and sick from disgust! He had to wonder how a woman like her was the Composer in the first place! She clearly wasn't meant for her role if she didn't have a speck of compassion, sympathy, or sense in her bones! She was a cruel, cruel hag! She deserved to run around headless in the Reaper's Game as a Player instead of how she caged Joshua, Mayu, Ayumu, Izo, or Rei in her playground! She shouldn't even exist! Personally if it wasn't illegal in the UG... he'd erase her without a second thought or doubt! Free the Reaper's Game from a incompetent hag!
If he was the Composer... he'd right every injustice! He'd try to be more reasonable! He wouldn't be cruel... he would be nicer! He would be on a more levelled, on earth basis with any Player! Feel as equal as them when the seventh day of the Reaper's Game came! Overall, if he was the Composer... he would do a better damn job than her any bloody day! He had no fucking doubt about it!
Mayu frowned sadly at him as she drew her hand away from him. "Is there anything I could do?"
Joshua shook his head, trying his best to calm himself down before he forced himself to smile. "Don't worry, I think I can handle it. I think working through the mission can allow me to think clearly." he laughed a little as she smiled weakly in return, "Thank you, Mayu. You always seem to keep me on track, huh? I think you're getting a hang of what to do now."
Her face burned crimson as she stuttered, "Y-You're w-welcome, Joshua… A-And th-thank you!" he giggled as she fixed her hair a little nervously.
'Mayu is so nice... I'm lucky to have her with me.' He smiled brightly as she looked around with a cute expression. 'She's quite different than any girl I talk to. I love how observant she is, it really has helped us so far... I wonder if I could help her work on her fighting?' He shook his head wildly, unable to determine why he got so distracted so easily when he thought about his Partner. 'Oh dear! I should focus!'
Thus they continued on, caught inside the same silence he wanted to avoid.
He soon caught sight of the Reaper Creeper board nearby, surprised that it was broken. He ran over to it to find that someone must have stomped on it, close to the little red gate that he pushed the token to.
His heart dropped. 'He must have done this...' Guilt stabbed at him as he remembered his cluelessness to this game, he acted too recklessly and caused this mess. If he had some idea to how it worked, maybe the situation could have turned out better...
His Partner gasped just as she stepped beside him, she dropped to her knees and picked up the largest 2 pieces. They were splintered and Joshua took them away from her as fast as he could, he didn't want Mayu to get splinters! She only looked at him confused and shocked by his actions.
"This is crazy..." murmured Joshua as he showed the board pieces to Mayu. "Over just some board game...?"
She frowned as he returned them to the ground, her bangs drifted over her face partially. "He... he loved her... didn't he?"
"I suppose so, Mayu..." Joshua half closed his lavender eyes. "I've heard it's great to have someone special to spend your life with, yet it hurts when they leave you..."
His Partner stared at the broken game for a while before she quietly replied, "It... m-must be nice..."
"Yeah... someone who loves you and accepts you for who you are... Someone who understands you as you do for them... It's nice... to actually have that..." Joshua never understood why he was confessing this suddenly and easily to Mayu, though he felt like she would understand what he meant yet it baffled him completely when he thought of that.
They just met yesterday... yet he trusted her completely already. He was so puzzled by how he felt when he was with her.
It wasn't like when he met Rei for the first time. He remembered that she seriously suggested for Ayumu to wear sunglasses and carry a cane with him like any stereotypical blind person you would see on TV! That first impression of her didn't make him trust her off the bat.
But Mayu... He couldn't place why but he already felt like they known each other for a long time... In fact, he liked it when she shared things about herself. It excited him to hear about her life, just to see how happiness shined through her eyes in a way that defeated her reserved personality. She really was a nice girl... and spending time with her made him feel almost... free... confident... and content...
Suddenly he saw Aoi come back in a sulk, he bent down and picked every piece up before he dumped it in the nearest trashcan.
Joshua was surprised by their luck, yet he noticed the dark blond looked gloomier than he had been a few minutes ago. It gave him an amiss feeling about this.
"Just because she left me doesn't mean I should leave it around like that." He dropped the last piece in before he leaned against the trashcan, only to send it crashing to the ground. "Gah!" Half a second of hesitation passed before he began to fix the mess he made. "Why!? Why I am so clumsy? She wouldn't have left if I weren't like this!?"
Joshua gagged as he watched the guy preform, he thought it was gross the teenager kept wiping his forehead and nose that was runny. 'EW! Does anyone have a clue about being hygienic!? The nerve of doing that! THE NERVE!'
He felt Mayu tug his sleeve gently and he saw Aoi sit on the ground and lean against the trashcan, sending Joshua to hysterics by this display, and sobbed, "Why would she leave me...? I do everything she asks, put up with her insults, and be flexible for what days she wants to do things... Why...? Why am I such a horrible boyfriend!?"
An eerie sound caught his attention; he recognized the familiar disharmony that hurt his ears. Yet he couldn't see them.
He saw Mayu quiver beside him; she suddenly clutched his arm and leaned near him. Joshua blushed as Mayu stayed like that. 'Um...' to him Mayu probably felt safest with him. He felt a bit awkward, but a happy and warm inside also. 'O-Okay...' He wasn't used to this sort of thing, but he strangely liked it.
"W-What is th-that?" Mayu squeaked fearfully as she tightened her hold on him, she closed her eyes as she continued to quiver.
Joshua inhaled deeply before he responded awkwardly, "N-Negative N-Noise." he felt like he could hardly breathe because of his Partner oddly enough. It sort of embarrassed him how Mayu held onto him.
He reached into his pocket and took out his Player's Pin, staring at the white skull emblem before he looked at his Partner. "C-Can you let go of me for a bit?" He hated how his voice's cracked high and squeaky suddenly, normally Ayumu would experience this sort of this thing when he became too flustered and embarrassed.
Mayu let out a squeak before blushing deeply, she let go and took a small step back.
Joshua felt better that his heart wasn't drumming against his chest, yet without Mayu holding onto him swept a feeling of hurt and sadness into him. Why was he yearning for her to return to hugging his arm escaped him... but he missed the feeling... It felt nice and appropriate...
He scolded himself mentally as he cast those thoughts away... regretfully...
"Thank you." He looked back at the Pin before he clenched it, trying his best to refocus on the situation at hand.
His ears deafened then buzzed as his vision filled with royal blue, he looked around as he saw thought bubbles bounce over people passing by, including the dark blond. Yet unlike everyone else, yellow Noise Symbols quivered back and forth around the guy's head.
Joshua narrowed his eyes at them, remembering how they nearly erased him and almost destroyed Mr. Don's love and confidence for his ramen business.
He focused on the guy's distressed mind. "Why do I even bother? I need her! I love her! But she'll never take me back!"
Suddenly Joshua saw something flow out of the man, it looked like orange particles but it was as though they were glitching.
At once Negative Noise almost went crazy as they circled him, it was as though they were absorbing whatever it was. Joshua couldn't understand what was happening, but it seemed like the guy grew more depressed the more the Noise took in that energy.
Joshua felt hatred towards the Noise; he knew for one thing they weren't doing something good… they were harming the guy!
He reached towards the Noise and screamed, "Get away from him!"
The Noise immediately froze in midair, slowly turning their attention to him hovering jittery before zooming in to attack.
Joshua pulled himself out of the Scan before he looked at Mayu. "Get ready! We need to erase the Noise!"
She meekly nodded before the Noise Symbols appeared, sending them into the light.
As soon as Joshua recovered from being blinded, he met a Mink Noise they named Thrash Mink, due to Thrash music and the fact they always thrashed him and Ayumu last week.
He jumped back to dodge its slices at him, ducking and sidestepping until he was far enough away to activate his Transflaration Pin.
Cobalt fire flared up in his hands promptly, cool to the touch before he compressed them into dangerous hot bright orange flames. He levitated them skillfully the moment he threw them up and blasted the green Mink.
It howled in agony before twirling around becoming a blur, blowing out the flames and rendering them ineffective.
Joshua groaned; he raised his hand to send an extra helping when he heard Mayu scream. He sent a glare at it before he abandoned the Noise for now and turned to search for his Partner.
An Electro Popguin and J Popguins following it were attacking her, causing Joshua to quicken his steps as fear gripped his heart. They all slid at her on their stomachs, tripping her each time she got up. By the time Joshua arrived she was nearly in tears.
"Hang on!" Joshua scanned around him the moment he saw she had nothing to attack with; he saw a car and darted for it. He quickly found a loose pipe and melted it off with his Transflaration Pin before he threw it to Mayu. "Use this!"
It rolled nearby and she reached for it, only for one of the J Popguins to push it away.
Joshua let out a groan before he activated his Breezifreeze Pin and showered a hail wall around his Partner. He charged at the Popguin and used his Thrash Splash Pin to bash at it.
Once it was erased he let down the hail and ran over to Mayu. He helped her up and handed her the pipe. "Here- think you can use it?"
"Y-Yes!" she squeaked with a small nod, Joshua pulled her behind him the moment the Electro Popguin appeared in front of her.
He unluckily received a face full of its slapping fury, he felt his cheeks sting and hurt far more than Rei's slaps or clipboard whacks. His cheeks were numb the moment Mayu slammed the pipe into its tiny head and halted its battering assault.
Joshua could barely see for a moment and felt like his eyes were swelling up, but he casted Rosetta Restore on himself to fix that.
Right away he ran to Mayu's side just as she blocked the Electro Popguin's slaps with her pipe, blow by blow.
The ashen blond wondered if Mayu was on a sports team or had a trainer... Her fighting style made him realize she attacked physically opposed to his long-ranged Pin Psychs, except Thrash Splash and Rosetta Restore of course. And he was glad she could fight this way when she was unable to use Psychomancy like him, this would cover up his weakness of having one close-ranged Pin when fighting Noise like the Lo-fi Strix Noise (who nearly erased Ayumu if it hadn't been for the creation of the Thrash Splash Pin).
He used his Thrash Splash Pin instantly to shield his Partner's back from the J Popguin. His attacks were fluent and swift the moment gleaming water engulfed his body, easily battering the Noise to erasure. Just as static particles departed from it, so did the Electro Popguin.
The ashen blond grinned at Mayu as she blushed a little. "E-Exciting... right?" he panted and wiped away a sweat drop he was grossed out by.
"It's... s-scary." She suddenly pointed jerkily towards the Thrash Mink. "Oh! W-We should f-finish that one!"
"Do you want to do it?" he asked curiously as she watched it inching towards them with uncertainty. "Good practice if you ask me..."
She flinched a little before waving her hands in a fluster. "A-Ah! N-No... you c-can if you want, J-Joshua."
Joshua grabbed her hand and shook his head. "You need more practice, more than I do..." he squeezed her hand lightly. "Go on... I'll be there with you, Mayu." He smiled warmly at her.
It took a few moments until she tightened her grip on the pipe.
He let go to allow her to turn to the Noise, her eyes flashing with fright before hardening with concentration.
She started to walk before quickening her steps as she went for the green Mink, she twisted away as it nearly slashed her before she sidestepped and jabbed into its back before it could react.
At first she cringed when it screeched in pain, making Joshua feel as though she didn't have the heart to erase the Noise, before finally slamming the head of the pipe into the Thrash Mink's.
It crashed to the ground, twisting and squirming on the spot, then it slowly went motionless and faded away.
"Great job, Mayu!" Joshua called feeling proud of his Partner; he giggled a little as the light consumed his vision. "I couldn't have done that better!"
They watched as the guy groaned a little, pressing a hand to his temple as he glanced around confused.
"What... I...?" He grimaced before he looked up at the sky thoughtfully. "Weird...? Why do I feel... calm?"
Joshua looked at him confused. "Eh? Shouldn't he feel heartbroken still?" Normally it took a long time to get over a breakup, from what his mother told him. It made sense that he would still feel horrible inside.
"I don't know..." Mayu looked at him innocently, she blinked her pretty eyes before she tapped her chin gingerly. "I've never..."
"Dated? Had a boyfriend?" suggested Joshua politely without thinking, tilting his head to one side. When she flushed instantly he facepalmed himself. "Oh- Oh no! I didn't mean to ask that!" Joshua widened his eyes as he scolded himself. 'Great job, Yoshiya Kiryu! That's way too personal and private to ask that! Argh! Stupid!'
She meekly drew a tiny invisible circle on the ground with her foot. "It-It's o-o-okay, Joshua!" she waved her hands at him in a fluster with wide eyes. "R-Really." Instantly she hid her reddened face in her hands after that, squealing in embarrassment.
He had no idea how long they were like that until he noticed the guy still slumped against the trashcan, staring blankly at nothing.
This made him curious.
By now his Partner recovered thankfully, he nudged her a bit and she noticed the guy's strange behavior as well.
She blinked slowly before she meekly pointed at him. "Is he... okay?"
"I'm not honestly sure..." He held his chin and thought about it. "But maybe there's something else?"
"Something... else?" She seemed confused as him. Suddenly she closed her eyes and sighed sadly. "If he knew how mean she was... he'd let this go..." When he looked at her curiously, she suddenly waved her hands at Joshua franticly and squealed, "N-Not that I th-think sh-she's horrible- it's just he needs to 'let it go'!"
A jingle sounded for Joshua and someone else's phone.
He realized Mayu unlocked a Meme when he checked his phone to find: Let it go.
His Partner seemed confused as she took out her pale rose pink and white detailed cellphone; it looked like it was a newer version of his own. As she timidly held her phone for him to read the same Meme, she asked quietly, "Joshua... w-what is this?"
"A Meme." he replied cheerfully as he showed her his phone. "And I didn't know you had the same brand's cellphone as me. We sort of match now!" he grinned at her and she smiled weakly. "We can be cellphone buddies!"
Okay... he knew that sounded like something Rei would definitely say... But he couldn't help but feel undaunted by what he said, noticing how amused Mayu was when he said that. His heart swelled with happiness, wishing lighthearted moments like this could come easier between them during the rest of the week. It was more preferable to him than the awkward silence they shared frequently.
Soon they stared at each other before Mayu blushed, looking down with a sheepish smile.
"My dad bought it for me... for my birthday..." She gazed at her flawless cellphone soon. "He wanted to make sure I had a way to stay in touch in case I needed him or was w-worried..." Joshua thought she seemed saddened when she spoke. "Or i-if I n-needed some-someone to t-talk t-to..."
She sniffled.
"H-Hey… are you okay?" Joshua reached out to rest his hand on her shoulder, he felt concerned as she sniffled more. "Mayu...?"
She turned away after nodding, wiping her eyes with her jean jacket's sleeve. "I'm okay..." her voice was so soft he barely heard her.
The ashen blond couldn't help but worry, he couldn't tell if she meant that as he caught sight of her cheeks glistening a little. But Joshua wanted to honour Mayu's privacy so he left her to calm herself down. Despite his decision, his heart strangely protested against it.
It was a little while until Mayu was better, that was when he decided to give her an explanation about Memes. He was hoping that the mission could draw her attention away from what was making her sad, but he felt like it was heartless for him to do that once he was done.
He glanced at his timer before he sighed, he knew they had to finish Aoi's problem and run off to Molco soon.
So he backed up a bit, phone in hand as he used his Player Pin. Again he met the blue abyss, but this time not hesitating as he looked at the buzz above Aoi's head and concentrated on it.
At once Aoi's whirling thoughts entered Joshua's head, "What… I don't understand… Shouldn't I feel something? Anything!? Noa just dumped me! I should be feeling broken down and distraught! That's how anyone should feel about it! Why don't I feel like that anymore!?"
Joshua slowly pointed his phone towards Aoi, flipping through his phone until he found the Meme he needed in his texts. He chose 'Let it go' before bracing himself.
The Imprint worked immediately, causing Aoi to yell out, "Let it go!"
Joshua canceled his Player's Pin's Scanning ability, wincing in pain. He couldn't help but grimace, his efforts to protect himself failed… His head ached slightly and he swore mentally. 'Aw come on! Can't anyone whisper the Meme!?'
The Imprint effects evidently distressed his Partner; she had jumped back only to crash into a stop sign.
"Mayu!" Joshua right way ran over to his Partner's aid, helping her up while she whimpered in pain. He understood she must have felt just as shocked as him, so he cursed to himself for leaving that significant information out when he discussed Memes and Imprinting with her.
He used Rosetta Restore with no second to spare, deciding afterwards to hug her a bit until she calmed down.
As he drew away, Joshua questioned himself about his constant gifting of hugs lately. He knew Ayumu was the type to hug people a lot, not Joshua. Joshua never willingly hugged people; he knew they carried germs almost on every speck of their body. If someone cried nearby... he would normally feel awkward and move away from the person as subtly as possible. Understanding now that would be anti-social... But for some reason, Mayu seemed like she needed his hugs and he didn't want to turn away from her.
He sighed, rubbing his temples to ease his faint headache. 'I must be growing soft… I just hope my intolerance to germs isn't fiddled with next…'
Soon he noticed his Partner was blushing a little, smiling to herself. He smiled as he watched her, knowing that she now wasn't as terrified as she was before. It made him feel delighted.
"Let it go…?" Joshua's eyes flickered to Aoi when he unsteadily got to his feet, the dark blond now had a strange look on his face. "Hmm… sounds a bit cliché but…" He was silent for a bit.
"D-Did it w-work?" Mayu looked at Joshua shyly and folded her hands together.
"I think so." Joshua knew they only had to wait and see.
She simply nodded before watching Aoi again.
"Let it go?" Aoi grimaced, wiping his eyes. "How can I? Noa has always been there… but… now that I think about it…" he inhaled deeply before letting out a sigh. "I've only been following the hope she'd love me back, not love. I-I think it died long ago when she began being mean to me. Wow, aren't I a wimpy sucker..."
A tall, strongly built man stopped beside the guy. "Who are you talking to?"
Aoi flinched and looked at the man baffled. "Huh? Wha-"
"You seem stressed." said the man and he crossed his arms in a casual manner. "Hmm..." he gave a small nod. "Indeed, stressed."
'Who is this guy?' thought Joshua suspiciously as he observed the newcomer. Clearly Aoi didn't know who the man was... so the question of why the man was talking to him now pricked Joshua's interest.
What really caught his attention was that the man had long black hair that had purple streaks in it; Joshua wondered why in the world someone would dye purple streaks in their hair, along with insipid emerald eyes that looked creepy... It didn't seem like he was in any way blind like Ayumu, but staring at those misty eyes for a long length of time didn't sit well with him.
Joshua noted he was well dressed; wearing a light mint grey suit with matching dress pants, had a lilac dress shirt, and had a dull red tie that was clumsily tied. This sort of reminded him of Kazumasa who was well dressed as well. Seeing the man made him think he ran a business, despite looking quite young. To Joshua, he might have been 18, even though he was very tall.
In a way... Joshua noticed that he looked different than most people in Shibuya... He seemed to appear Chinese... but Japanese almost at the same time...
"I think it's obvious due to the fact you are talking to yourself, trying to flesh out your emotions wastefully. Plus, you look like you got caught between a target mark and arrow." the odd eyed man remarked with a deep toned chuckle, smiling slightly with his teeth peeking out. "Am I... correct?"
"I-I… guess…?"
"I'm relatively certain something happened, in my humble point of view personally... but I think yelling about it will make things harder." He pointed in the direction of a gathering crowd. "Internal battles seem to be the trend these days." he sighed, shaking his head. "People tend to stick their heads in peoples' businesses when they ought to just let others be."
After a trice he added, almost muttering to himself darkly when he turned away, "Why can't we just be left alone? Not pressured by society..." It didn't seem like the comment was for Aoi.
Joshua sighed, slapping a hand to his forehead and inwardly groaned, 'Yet our mission forces us to make things worse it seems… fantastic!'
The man seemed ready to leave, well... more like ready to run, when Aoi grabbed his sleeve. "W-Wait, mister!"
Right away the man cringed, he regarded the dark blond by looking down at him. "Pardon?"
"You said, we should let others be. Right?" Aoi said frowning as he let go. "You mean, not focusing on them, but yourself?"
The man sighed, smoothing down some of his hair, as though soothing himself. "I think that was the gist of it… but, you need to sort your feelings. Don't take it from me; I'm not the one who is driving your life. You are, you drive your life." He then turned and began a brisk walk away, but Joshua could tell the man seemed to want to leave desperately.
Joshua watched the man slowly leave his sight, wondering why the man looked chary now as he began to run. You would think he was hiding from someone, almost like a criminal… But he could only dismiss this; clearly the man wouldn't be starting up a conversation with a local then run away if he was a criminal. No criminal would want to let themselves be known to the public.
Mayu said nothing about this, but Joshua could tell she wanted to.
A sudden jingle startled Joshua enough to jump, making him almost fall down if Mayu didn't try to catch his arm. He felt her fingers curl to hook around his wrist and he steadied himself, not wanting his Partner to tumble down with him again like previously.
To say the least, he felt a bit disconcerted having to act like that. He wasn't too used to a jingle like this in the middle of a mission.
It took a while for him to check his text. For one, Mayu held onto his main arm, and second, he was desperately trying to calm his nerves. So when he finally took out his phone and flipped it open, he didn't see a message, he instead saw a grotesque image with something twinkling near the top right corner.
"I don't understand this…" Joshua shook his head before scrutinizing at the screen. "What is this?"
Mayu was looking at her phone, frowning slightly as she whimpered, "I-It's too dark and blurry…" Suddenly, she flinched before she began to use the little keyboard rapidly, letting him go finally to focus on her phone.
Joshua wasn't quite sure what his Partner was up to, but he was sure she would let him know soon. But then again, he reminded himself Mayu was reserved when it came to what she wanted or thought.
Suddenly after a minute or two Mayu looked at him nervously, she barely met his eyes as she softly asked, "C-Could I see th-that map, Joshua? P-Please?"
The ashen blond tilted his head in confusion, but he complied knowing that his Partner knew something he didn't. If she wasn't going to voice her notion, he wasn't going to judge her for it.
As he took out the pamphlet he pocketed earlier, he noticed something odd. It felt as though it was being ripped away by an invisible force, and he had to let go before he tore it if he didn't. So he passed it over to his Partner, yet at the same time it was as if it zipped out of his grasp.
'Eh? How odd...?' He shook his head, dismissing it as a mere hallucination created by his headache.
Mayu held her phone above the pamphlet before she lowered her phone, letting it hover over the map. Suddenly a bolt of light flashed from Mayu's phone to the map, striking Cadoi City's location.
His Partner nearly dropped her phone yelping, instead letting the pamphlet sail down to the germ infested ground.
Joshua leaned down and picked the pamphlet up, holding it carefully with a grimace. He couldn't tell what parts of this useful pamphlet was contaminated, but he knew he had to go through a rigorous washing with plenty of soap afterwards as soon as he could... Maybe he should buy some latex gloves just to be sure he wouldn't touch anymore germs when handling the pamphlet... yeah, he knew he should.
Quickly he made a mentle reminder for the much required items.
As he stood up, his Partner whimpered timidly, "W-What happened?"
"Let's see…" The ashen blond shook his head and examined the pamphlet, he immediately frowned when he noticed a amber dot on it. "Oh? Looks like Cadoi City has been marked?"
It made no sense! Phones never would be able to zap light out to mark objects like that! Unless it was a high tech one from sci-fi movies… but he very much noticed he was in the Reaper's Game and not a movie!
The only reason he could figure out for this phenomenon would be because of the Reaper's Game bending the laws of humanity and logic… yet again… Those were three things his young half-brother hated hearing about.
He grimaced before he let out a heavy sigh. 'It feels like the game is teaching us to break the laws we've known… opposite of what that Composer told us not to do two days ago… Argh… it makes no sense!' he handed the pamphlet to his Partner, continuing to ponder about this confusing phenomenon, '… I-Is this what she is trying to prove? To try and resist using an upside down scale!? To try to twist reality!? Or…' He paused in his thoughts, soon to finish them in a bitter note, 'Is she teasing us…? Teasing us and using us as toys for her amusement? Argh! I don't understand what's going on!'
"I'm so sorry!" Mayu squeaked meekly as she examined the map, her bright blue green eyes tearing up. "I th-thought it looked like the map… s-so I tried to z-zoom into the image just to be s-sure… b-but-"
"Mayu… this is helping us…" Joshua murmured as he gave her smile, she merely gave a weak smile back. "By zooming in… you focused on that point on that hideous exuse for a picture. You, Mayu, marked the map for us!"
"I-I didn't mean-" She shook her head, staring at him in disbelief. "I-I-" Abruptly she did the same bow she did when they finished their first battle together. "S-Sorry! F-For putting up w-with me!"
Joshua flinched, slightly frowning. 'She's… bowing to me... again…?' Right away he felt sweat roll down the sides of his face. She didn't really have to do that bow again… yet it did seem cute, now that he thought about it…
He gave himself a slight slap on both of his cheeks after turning away from his Partner. 'Gah! Stop it! Stop thinking that way towards a girl you've gotten to know for two days! Two, DAYS!' he grabbed a wad of his scraggly side bangs and tugged a bit, clenching his eyes shut. 'Argh! Control your thoughts Yoshiya Kiryu! Control, your, thoughts!'
After calming himself down, he turned to stare at his Partner. He felt a light blush dust his cheeks as his leftover embarrassment churned inside him. 'Focus… She's your Partner! Part-ner… An equal here!'
"You've never been a bother, Mayu." Joshua said finally, trying to fight off the shakiness in his voice as he carefully and gently pulled her hands into his. Slowly he made her rise from her awkward bowing to stand up quivering in front of him, he gazed at her warmly as her blue green orbs timidly met his lavender. "You should really stop believing that everyone we meet, and myself, think so little and poorly of you… I believe you are holding yourself back too much, not letting yourself bloom and show the world how great a person you are…"
She stared at him in surprise, blushing a rosy red.
It took a while until she closed her pretty eyes, tilting her head slightly away from him. "I-I…" She shed some tears. "D-Don't have the strength you have…" she sniffled as she opened her watery eyes again. "I-I d-don't…"
Joshua let out a sigh, soon giggling as he squeezed her hand. "Well, then allow me to share it with you… Partners help Partners… and Partners trust their Partners…" he grinned at her. "Right?"
All Mayu could respond to that was that same, weak smile…
To be continued… hope you enjoyed the chapter =3