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! =3

Week 2, day 2:

Chapter 47: The Game All Of Us Follow:

"Wha…" The brown haired child rubbed the side of his head. "What happened?"

Joshua watched as the twins from before were trying to edge away, the taller one still trying to protect his sister. When Shuto looked at him, Joshua saw the flaming autumn orange haired boy scowl and spread his arms beside him as the shorter twin shook in fear.

For a few seconds Shuto looked confused, but then widened his eyes. "Oh! Uh… we were playing Tin Pin, right?"

Instead of replying, the boy twin led his twin away frowning. They didn't even collect the Pins they owned.

Joshua felt bad for them, if he didn't suggest playing Tin Pin Slammers with Shuto, they wouldn't be acting this way. All Joshua hoped was that they would be okay, but at least they didn't get more injured than they had been… or worse… He gave a shudder.

He took a quick glance to find they had 9 minutes left. From the looks of it, the problem still remained unsolved. It worried Joshua that within this time frame they could finish the mission or fail miserably if either brother didn't find each other and make up in time. He resisted the urge to bite his nails as his heart raced anxiously.

Suddenly Shuto fell to his knees and began to cry.

Joshua was shocked and scared at the same time. If Shuto didn't reunite with Tatsuya soon, erasure would smile down on them and shake their hands smugly.

"W-Why would I even think that!?" wailed Shuto as he punched the ground. "I don't want Tatsuya to leave… I don't want him to give it all up… Why is he doing this to m-me!?"

"Shuto!"

Joshua flinched and turned around sharply to see the black haired teenager dashing towards them… wait, make that Shuto.

Slowly Shuto looked up sniveling as Tatsuya ran through Mayu, Joshua caught her before she nearly fell down, to crouch down to Shuto's level. Shuto continued to sob and hiccup as his older brother grasped his shoulders, "T-Tatsuya…?"

"What were ya thinkin', bro!?" Tatsuya scolded and shook Shuto's shoulders lightly. "Runnin' off like that!? Ya scared me!" Shuto looked away, but Tatsuya shook him again briefly. "Look at me, Shuto Dan." When Shuto timidly obeyed, Tatsuya continued in frustration, "Ya…" he shook his head before sternly speaking, "You made me sick with worry!"

Joshua was surprised. Tatsuya was speaking in proper grammar! Maybe using proper grammar only applied to Tatsuya in situations like this? Though, it was weird how he didn't before when he found out Shuto was by himself… Joshua grimaced. 'Unbelievable… is his Slammer talk for show?'

"You could have gotten hurt or kidnapped- argh! Why!?" Tatsuya glared at Shuto soon in silence causing the child to stiffen and fidget nervously. But then, the younger Dan brother narrowed his eyes and glared at his older brother.

"I got sick of it!" he squeaked out angrily, clenching his tiny fists as his voice soon shook, "Hearing you tell me… tell me how good it is you're leaving me! G-Giving up on Tin Pin-"

"I'm not giving up on Tin Pin, Shuto!" snapped Tatsuya as he scowled. "I told you that I'm just retiring it for a while until I'm done collage." Shuto puffed out his cheeks as he looked away. "I won't have the time for it for a while… but when I do, I'll play with you as many times as you want…"

Shuto sniffled, and soon sobbing overtook his anger, "L-Liar…" Tatsuya opened his mouth to continue, but seemed to halt the moment tears started down the younger brother's cheeks. "Mommy and Daddy are always busy… a-and th-then you'll be busy… just like them… You w-won't… w-won't be here anymore…"

At once Tatsuya's eyes widened, silent, as Shuto seemed to stubbornly wipe at his face to hide his own tears. Slowly he withdrew his hands, staring at his little brother for a while as his eyes clouded over in sadness. Joshua could tell now that Tatsuya seemed to understand why his brother was upset, why he ran away… It would seem Shuto didn't want to be abandoned…

Just watching the two of them interact like this... was familiar to him. No, what Joshua was watching was almost like the time Ayumu left his house... And how Joshua reacted back then... was akin to how Tatsuya was acting...

Joshua's own heart was tugged as that memory wove into his mind, causing him to close his eyes tightly.

"Ayumu!"

The ashen blond shivered, tucking in his cream scarf as he glanced around the district. Joshua could barely breathe, he could feel his legs protesting even as he waited for the walking signal. It was chilly enough this morning for him to forgo his search, but he couldn't! He needed to go on!

"Ayumu! Where are you!?"

He had to find Ayumu!

Earlier this morning, when he arrived at his half-brother's house to check up on him, considering how Joshua's luck yesterday was pressed into the road after their argument, Joshua had a plan to surprise Ayumu with breakfast to make up for what he had said. Yet that plan fell apart rather quickly...

He couldn't believe it when he found the front door was already unlocked. He knew Ayumu never got up this early, unless it was for school, so this seemed a bit awry for him. And he was right to be worried about this, he couldn't find Ayumu anywhere in the house. Not even Ayumu's own room, this time it was vacant unlike the other times Joshua visited it over the course of the month. This room was the only place his half-brother confined himself in ever since the day Auntie Chise died. So Joshua immediately headed for Sanae's café to check if he was there. Sadly, Sanae mentioned Ayumu never came here, so they at once split up to find him, leaving Joshua to trek through the chilly morning for his missing half-brother.

Joshua knew he shouldn't have tried to force Ayumu to go back to his usual self! Joshua was just tired of seeing Ayumu slowly die inside as he grieved heavily each day, and Sanae even told Joshua to give Ayumu time to heal. But Joshua was just impatient, only because he couldn't bear to spend another day watching his brother give up on life and blame himself for Auntie Chise's death.

Instead of getting the results he predicted he would, within moments he knew they were arguing. It started out simple: try to help Ayumu get over his new fear of crossing the street and make him become his cheerful self again, but then Ayumu started to cry and wail about how Chise wouldn't have died if it weren't for him. Joshua tried to reassure him it wasn't his fault, for at least the 22nd time, however this time, Ayumu started to yell at him and it drew Joshua into the fray. For a while Joshua was filled with rage that Ayumu acted like Joshua didn't experience the same loss as him, and Joshua tried to tell Ayumu that he was disregarding the life he had, however it came out wrong and made Ayumu storm off.

Sanae was none too pleased with him when Joshua went over to WildKat to cool off, he got scolded for what he had done and was reminded of the fact it was far too hasty and reckless for him to do this to Ayumu. Even worse, Sanae cut off leeway for a UG chat session yesterday because of Joshua's actions, which really made Joshua furious with him.

At once Joshua hastily crossed the street, ignoring how his exhaustion tried to stop him. He strode forward; cursing inwardly for how Ayumu had to go missing, yet couldn't find it within himself to halt because of what happened yesterday. He hated how cold it was this morning! He would rather sit inside Sanae's café to learn about the Negative Noise than to have an early morning jog for finding Ayumu, yet the idea that he would lose Ayumu stirred him on. He didn't want to lose Ayumu…

Why did Ayumu have to go missing? Joshua couldn't understand why after so long of languishing in his own room, neglecting his health and wellbeing, that he got up and left his house on his own finally. It made no sense to Joshua, and he knew it couldn't have been the argument… but if it was, Ayumu wouldn't have ran away, he was too scared to cross the street on his own. Lately, Ayumu would wail and sob the moment Joshua tried to get him near the road, screaming shrilly like he was being murdered…

Joshua halted, widening his eyes. 'No…' His bangs brushed against his face as the breeze chilled him, more than how his heart began to rapidly beat as painful clutches twisted and squeezed it. 'He… wouldn't…' At once he pushed himself into a dash, franticly trying to spot the familiar figure of his half-brother. "Ayumu!"

After all these years, being bullied, constantly getting into trouble nowadays… Ayumu wouldn't do this! He wouldn't kill himself!

Soon he reached the Scramble Crossing, huffing and wailing on the inside how sweat secreted across his face and not having found Ayumu yet. He shook, slowly throwing his head around and squinting his eyes when sunlight burned them. It took a moment to recover before he noticed there were many Chump Noise in the area, which meant from what he recalled from his last discussion with Sanae, that a Negative Noise had been here recently. They were supposed to chat more about Negative Noise yesterday, but the argument with Ayumu ruined it! Hopefully Sanae would alleviate the punishment today… they never spoke about Negative Noise until now due to Sanae's decision of not letting Joshua know about it until he was ready and old enough to take in the information… As much as he wanted to observe the Chump Noise though, and sulk about the punishment that hindered him from acquiring more knowledge about the Underground's vicious creatures, he had to find Ayumu.

Just as he was about to cross the street, he noticed someone sitting on the bench, a new bench crafted after the last one was destroyed last month that was dedicated to their parents. However, he widened his eyes and dashed forward, not taking one of the accustomed pedestrian lanes towards it. Cars honked at him, and he narrowly evaded them and the cranky yells of the drivers, but that didn't matter now!

As soon as he reached it, he cried out in a tone he couldn't quite define at this time, "Ayumu!"

His brother stiffened, rubbing his eyes as he turned his head away from the spot their parents once lay as corpses to Joshua. Joshua scowled as he noticed Ayumu was wearing his light blue grey pajamas, slightly shivering as he sat up the moment Joshua called out his name. "What are you doing here!?" Joshua felt anger wave through him as he grabbed Ayumu's shoulders, clenching the silky fabric as he wheezed, "Why are you- How could you leave!?"

"I-I didn't leave..." Ayumu's eyes half-closed as he inhaled, frowning as he murmured faintly, "Where- Where…?"

"Don't play dumb!" His lavender eyes narrowed as he shook Ayumu, causing the petite blond to squeak. "You should know how you got here! Don't you know where you are!? You're in the Scramble Crossing! Tell me why you're here- sitting in nothing but your pajamas- probably outside all night long!? You could have froze! It's nearly winter, Ayumu!"

"Josh-"

"What were you thinking!?" Joshua's throat felt sore as he stared hard into Ayumu's eyes, shaking as he tightened his grip. "You could have been hit by a car! You could have died! Died like our-" He stopped himself, realizing what he could have said just now.

He soon found himself sliding onto the spot beside his brother and pulled him into a hug, feeling heat behind his eyes as he listened to Ayumu's breathing. "I-I'm sorry…" He bit his lip as he wrapped his arms around his brother's form more, feeling awkward despite how it was comforting that he was safe. "You… you don't understand… I'm just…" He couldn't stop his tears; they fluently landed on Ayumu's shoulder.

It was a second or two before he heard Ayumu's soft voice, "Josh… I'm sorry…" he felt Ayumu's soft-skinned hands shift over his back and clasp onto his jacket. "I… I haven't been myself lately… it must have worried you…"

"Y-Yes, it did," Joshua murmured, somewhat surprised that Ayumu wasn't depressed as he should have been. "Y-You scared me… you weren't in your house… a-and I didn't know where you were…" He didn't know why, but he felt dizzy and breathless, unable to find words to describe how he felt. The relief that Ayumu was within his arms made his anger ebb away, causing him to feel puzzled as to why he was angry in the first place.

"I… I don't know how I got here…" Ayumu's timid voice sharpened Joshua's senses, at once he pulled back from the hug as he saw Ayumu stare at him with a frown. "I felt tired, I felt happy… I don't understand why I'm here…" Ayumu shook as he closed his eyes, fidgeting as he tilted his head to one side. "Why are you so worried?"

Joshua gazed at him, furrowing his eyebrows as he felt his heart quicken. "What?"

"I never knew how peaceful the mornings were…" Ayumu said suddenly as he smiled slightly, somewhat bashful as he blinked. "I feel a lot better than I have been lately… my heart doesn't hurt anymore… …But that's great! Isn't it?"

"…Don't tell me you left your house, just so you could spend the night in the Scramble Crossing to find out how peaceful mornings are!?" screamed Joshua in frustration as Ayumu flinched, shrinking away a bit as Joshua scowled. "Ayumu, don't lie to me… What were you thinking?" Ayumu was never a liar; his honesty flowed like a river. There were times that Joshua suspected Ayumu was lying, but most of the time the pressure would get to Ayumu enough for him to spill out the truth.

The petite blond blinked again, frowning as he locked eyes with Joshua. "What do you want me to say?"

"I just want you to tell me why you would pull this stunt!" Joshua cried out as he hardened his eyes. "What did you come here for!?"

Ayumu was quiet for a bit, closing his eyes as he inhaled deeply. "I… came to say goodbye…?"

"To who?" Joshua frowned, wondering why Ayumu was acting so bashful suddenly. Forget that, why did Ayumu seem baffled?

"It… I don't feel bad that Mom is gone…" Ayumu said quietly, shrugging a little. He started to play with his hands as he met Joshua's gaze. "In fact, I'm a bit confused why I feel like this… I must have sleepwalked here or something… and I don't mind how…" he slightly grimaced for a moment, bashfully smiling as he sighed. "But it's alright, isn't it? She's in a better place, right?"

Joshua didn't understand where Ayumu was going with his response, but he could only sigh and ruffle Ayumu's bedhead. "You're making no sense, you must be tired…" Ayumu made a face, swatting Joshua's hand away feebly as Joshua chuckled a little. At least Ayumu responded to the gesture for once.

After a heartbeat, Joshua noticed how Ayumu continued to shiver. It hit him at once and he widened his eyes, quickly unzipping his coat and slipping it off before he grabbed Ayumu's arm to slide it in.

"J-Josh-" Ayumu squeaked out as his cheeks dusted into a blush. "What are-"

"You must be freezing," Joshua said shortly to cut him off, tutting as he drew Ayumu's other arm through the other sleeve, "We should get you home before hypothermia settles in…"

As Ayumu's cold fingers brushed against his the moment they came out of the sleeve, Ayumu looked away as he muttered in irritation, "Josh… people could be watching! I'm not a little kid anymore!"

"After all the worry you gave me, hardly," Joshua sighed with a slight smile, softening his expression as Ayumu continued to protest feebly when he slid the zipper up to the very top which caused Ayumu to flinch at once. As soon as Joshua drew his hands away, Ayumu's hands flew to the coat collar and zipped it down a bit. Joshua couldn't help but giggle at Ayumu's finicky behavior. "So what if people are watching… It doesn't matter right now, and I don't care, Ayu…"

"I am a boy!" hissed Ayumu as his eyes blazed angrily. "And I care! Quit it!"

The ashen blond giggled again, feeling a bit giddy that Ayumu was becoming normal… until he noticed Ayumu's gaze returned to rest on the space in front of the bench as he frowned. He also frowned, joining his brother in the small sentiment until he sighed.

"She's in a better place, Ayumu." Joshua let his eyes flutter close as he snaked an arm around Ayumu's shoulder, drawing him closer and feeling Ayumu flinch. "I'm pretty sure she wanted you to be happy, not as depressed as you have been."

"Y-Yeah…" Ayumu smiled at that, soon grinning at him as he chirped, "I can't believe how long I felt horrible…" With a snicker, he remarked with giggles, "I missed out on learning!"

"What!? How could you think about school!?" Joshua gawked at him, immediately lunging to fully hug Ayumu tightly in order to deliver a noogie on his head. "Seriously? You're more worried about learning?"

"Hey- Josh- stop!" Ayumu protested weakly as Joshua laughed hard, not relenting as his petite half-brother squirmed and thrashed. "STOP!"

"I don't want to~" Joshua sang as he laughed hard. "You're going to brush your hair anyways~"

"YOSHIYA! It doesn't matter! I hate when you do this! STOP!"

It made him happy that Ayumu wasn't wailing and sobbing about his dead mother, and it had been a long time since he heard his brother laugh. Even as Joshua forced them to take the bus home; despite Ayumu's pleas for walking, taking him to Sanae's café; despite how much Ayumu hated that place, he was glad his half-brother was no longer grieving. He hoped his half-brother could never be miserable again, he would make sure of it. Joshua knew he would make sure Ayumu was safe, no matter the cost…

Joshua pulled himself back to the present, just as Tatsuya snaked an arm around Shuto slowly then drew him in close for a hug. "I… I'm sorry, Bro…"

Shuto's breath hitched, he stared at his older brother with surprise. "B-But why?" he squirmed in the hug as he cried out, "Y-You hate me!"

Tatsuya loosened his hug a bit, just so he could stare at his little brother as he asked in a shaky voice, "W-Why would I hate you? Why would you think that?"

"Y-You're leaving me! You'll leave and I-I don't know where you're going! Then you'll be like Mommy and Daddy!"

It was silent for a few seconds until Tatsuya sighed. "I don't hate you. You're my favorite bro in the world."

"Then why are you l-leaving?" Joshua heard Shuto's voice grow soft in confusion, it seemed like he starting to calm himself down in order to listen instead of continuing to accuse his older brother. "W-Why?"

"I have to bro," replied Tatsuya glumly, drawing back and pressed a hand to his vest then slapping it onto Shuto's head. "I know it's confusing… but if I don't go… I lose the game!"

Shuto pulled down Tatsuya's arm with his small hands easily (though Joshua thought Tatsuya let him) then put a hand on his head. Joshua walked around them to get a better view because he was curious of what Shuto had in his hand a second later. When the little boy opened his hand, Joshua spotted a Pin. "W-What game?"

"The game of life, Shooter," explained Tatsuya with a smile. "We've been playing this game since the day we were born. And if we stop playing… not focusing… we lose. If I don't go to collage, I don't learn the skills to improve my gameplay."

"S-So you lose if you don't go?" asked Shuto in a squeak as his eyes widened and became bright, staring at his older brother curiously but worried at the same time. "You lose!?"

"That's right, I lose." Tatsuya nodded with a sigh, his mouth grew into a firm line. "One day you'll go to university or collage… and then you'll have to learn new rules and skills to better your gameplay in life. But it's not as fun as you may think, heheh…"

"Is Mommy and Daddy forcing you, Tatsu?" Shuto narrowed his eyes. "Is that why you tell me this?"

"No, no, Shuto… They're encouraging me to improve my gameplay," explained Tatsuya firmly. "I didn't want to tell you before because I had to focus on my studies to make sure I got in. I never, never intended for this to hurt you, Shuto…"

Shuto looked down and mumbled, "B-But you're still goin'…?"

The bandana wearer laughed and placed his hand back on his little brother's head. "Yep, I need to. But it's not like I'll never come back. When I'm done I'll come back to work from scratch for Tin Pin. And…" As Shuto found another Pin had been placed on his head, Tatsuya patted his chest. "I need you, Shooter, to aim for the stars! So, you can have my Pins!"

"B-But they're yours!" protested Shuto sounding upset as Tatsuya continued to slap on Pins on his little head. "I-"

"Nope! Yours, Bro!" chirped Tatsuya in a hearty laugh. "Be brave! Be brave, Shooter! The road to being the Tin Pin champ is steep, hard, but I need to find someone I am proud of to be on the throne when I come back, right?"

Shuto's brown eyes lit up as he puffed out his chest. "You proud? Ha! You'll shake when I have a crown of Pins on my head! I'll be the bestest best of all, like you! No, no-" he bounced as he cried, "Better!" He clenched his fist, stepping forward which caused the Pins to slide off. "Shooter will blow over everyone, even dust!"

"A squirt like you?" The black haired teenager put his hands on his hips and chuckled, "We'll see…"

"What do you mean!?" protested Shooter as he puffed out his cheeks, popping on a grin in a flash. "I'm gonna be the Tin Pin King!"

A jingle alerted Joshua to take out his cellphone, soon finding the same grotesque image again with a ruby dot near the corner this time. Joshua saw that they had four minutes left, but that didn't stop him from rushing to zoom into the image.

"The map!" Joshua ran over to his Partner who flinched, searching her pockets franticly until she had it out. Joshua hovered his device over Molco's location, watching as light zapped to it. Then the 3 corners lit up, lines crawling from the colours' points to meet each other to form an obtuse triangle. As Joshua looked at his palm, the timer slowly faded away. "And… we're done!" chirped Joshua with a grin as Mayu smiled weakly back. "Great job, Mayu!"

She meekly looked away and blushed. "Y-You too, Joshua…"

For a while they were silent until something occurred to Joshua.

Tatsuya was bound to return to Molco Main Centre to met up with them now that the search was done, unless the late teenager decided to head home after what had happened. But just in case… Joshua told Mayu they should head to the meeting area he requested.

Joshua sat near the vending machines while Mayu was deciding on her beverage. It had been 10 minutes since they finished the mission and Tatsuya still hadn't made an appearance, but he wouldn't be disappointed if Tatsuya never came or forgot.

When he heard dull chinking and clunks from Mayu progressing in getting her choice of drink, that he paid for, he couldn't help but notice how calm she was. She may have been reserved most of the time during the mission, but he could tell how confident she tried to be after their discussion about trusting each other.

But, what she said about giving up her second chance still daunted him. Why would Mayu give up the chance? Why would she when there was a prospect of returning to her father, mother, and twin sisters? He wanted her to get that chance; he didn't want to see her suffering through another week of mission after this… She just… wasn't ready yet.

As soon as Mayu received her melon soda, she glanced at him shyly. In response he raised an eyebrow as she hesitated before whispering, "J-Joshua… you s-said you would l-like to show me Shibuya?"

At once he sat up taller, giving his Partner his full attention. He smiled warmly as he nodded, chirping happily, "I'd be glad to. Anywhere at any possible break we have, Mayu." He gave her a wink. "Yoshiya Kiryu is at your service…" Her face became red instantly, but she still smiled weakly as he added promptly, "I'm glad you want to… I hope I didn't pressure you or anything…"

"Not at all!" she gasped as she took a seat beside him. "You're a f-fantastic person, Joshua… I w-wouldn't want anyone else, and I-I thought it would be nicer if it was you."

The ashen blond felt his heart quicken as excitement built up, not only that, he was looking forward to it. Exploring Shibuya with Mayu… the thought made him want to dance around and cheer.

"Well then," he said chuckling as he raised his orange soda, his lavender eyes gleamed. "To you, Mayu… for being a great person and being a resourceful Partner!"

For a moment, she gaped at him astounded. But then she smiled warmly and raised her beverage meekly. "R-Right! To you being kind and supporting me when I nearly gave up, Joshua!"

Gently they chinked their cans before laughing together. His chest filled with warmth as they opened their cans and began to drink. His mind filled with thoughts of his Partner as they celebrated while waiting for Tatsuya to return.

To be continued… hope you enjoyed the chapter =3