(hmm… I think I forgot to point out where Joshua lived in the prologue…)
CHAPTER 2
Young Joshua looked up at the statue of Hachiko, trying to imagine what the dog would look like in real life. His thoughts suddenly drifted to thinking about Maiya. It had been months since he left Paris France, and now being in a new and different environment, he wished he'd never left at all. He found Shibuya loud and noisy; there wasn't a place where he could have some solitude, besides home.
He checked the time and sighed, then looked back at Hachiko again, "looks like it's almost time for my appointment with Doctor Quack again," he said in an unenthusiastic tone. He felt a chill in the air and he shivered at the fall breeze that came around, "Maiya… I don't think I can take this. Nobody, not even my parents understand me like you do."
As he walked towards the scramble, his eyes followed the excitement in the UG. There was a particular group of two that he found interesting, and so decided to follow them.
They ran towards Cadoi City and having less stamina than the older kids, Joshua lagged behind fast. The two kids became a speck, and Joshua, who couldn't seem to go on any further, stopped on the side of the road to catch his breath, "those players, must have to run a lot," he breathed quietly to himself. Suddenly, he heard a loud scream from the far end of the road. He stood up looking ahead, watching the tattooed like forms quickly gathering there. He remembered that it was just like that time in the woods and remembering the death of the player and his partner.
He froze there for a while longer, then slowly and gradually started running. He didn't care how exhausted he is, he knew that he had to be there fast, thinking that he could save someone this time. He dodged the people walking on the streets while following the tattooed animals. The scream got louder and louder, ringing in his ears as he got closer and closer-
"JOSH,"
Snapping his eyes open, he lifted himself from his bed, breathing heavily.
"Whoa there, you looked like you were having a bad dream."
Joshua saw Hanekoma standing beside him with his hands in his pocket, "sorry Josh, but I had to wake you up," Hanekoma said, putting his hand at the back of his neck.
Joshua, who's breathing had become steady, looked around the small room and remembering where they are. They were at the café and thankfully the old place is two-stories. He let out a relieved sigh and closed his eyes, "I guess this is the first day of the first week." Hanekoma nodded then walked towards the door. He turned back to Joshua, "you okay?"
Joshua didn't answer him and instead he glanced over towards the pin that was resting on the side table beside the bed. He took the pin and held it up, examining it once more, "I don't understand the point of this. I honestly don't even know what it does,"
"She gave it to you for a reason, ya know," Hanekoma chuckled, "breakfast is downstairs, better eat fast if you want to get to the Shibuya river on time," he said before he made his way out.
Joshua looked at the clock and sighed again, "five-thirty."
Ssssssssssssssssssss
Hanekoma locked the door to his café and along with Joshua; they headed towards the Shibuya River. There weren't very many people walking on the streets, which in Joshua's case, a few is better than many.
It was six forty-five when they arrived at 'Trail of the Sinner.' With the limited power he has, Joshua used up some of it to seal the path, so that nobody may enter and go further down, "finished," he said, taking a few steps back. "Hold it; lemme put a little magic just for extra protection," said Hanekoma.
"It's fine Sanae. You don't have to do anything to it," said Joshua in a rather serious tone. Hanekoma paused for a moment, wondering what the sudden change of attitude was about. He shrugged it off and left it alone, "I just wanted to make sure it's well protected, just in case-"
"Anyways," he interrupted, "we're going to be in the RG for a while. I guess in the meantime I could just loaf about, it would be nice to do absolutely nothing for a change," he took out the pin and stared at it. He then smiled and tossed it behind his shoulder, aiming for the river. Seeing this, Hanekoma gasped as he ran forward to catch it, "geez Josh,"
"What? Pins are only useful in the UG the last time I checked,"
"There's a reason why this is one of a kind. Besides, she gave you an order to protect it at all times,"
"And what do you think I'm doing?"
"… Drowning it?" Hanekoma replied sarcastically.
Joshua sighed and shook his head while smirking, "Sanae, Sanae, Sanae. Try to understand, if it hangs around with me, it'll get lost," he walked up to Hanekoma who was holding the pin up between his index finger and his thumb, which made it easy for Joshua to flick it into the dirty water, lost in the liquidly abyss. Hanekoma did try to catch it again, but missed this time. He slouched a little, feeling like they already failed on their duty. Placing a hand on the back of his neck, he stared at Joshua with a serious expression, "ya know Josh, you should be grateful that she's giving you a second chance. Really, this could be your last, if you end up failing such an easy task for the three weeks of your punishment you could wind up getting erased this time,"
"Relax Mr. H," said Joshua, still having that smirk on his face, "on the last week I'll come back to retrieve it, and look, the water is still. It's not like the pin's going to sprout arms and legs and swim away," he faced the other direction and started walking. Hanekoma could only sigh as he followed behind him, I hope he knows what he's doing, he thought.
Hanekoma and Joshua went their separate ways, watching Sanae teleport himself; Joshua promised the hip café owner that he'd be at the barista before dark and proceeded towards the station underpass, thinking about what he was going to do next.
Ssssssssssssssss
Neku yawned as he made his way to the statue of Hachiko, having gotten a call from Shiki so early in the morning about who knows what kind of problem she's having that would require him to meet up with her half asleep, he felt like he was going to regret this, thinking that her biggest problem would be not having enough sewing materials.
He is half way towards Hachiko now, and seeing a figure standing right in front of the statue, Neku immediately thought the person was Shiki. He was about to call her name but as the figure came into view, he realized that it was someone else. He noticed the long dark blonde hair, bangs on eye brow level. She wore a red headband, a white short sleve button up blouse and a red checkered ruffle mini skirt. He tilted his head slightly, watching her as she kept staring at Hachiko.
"Neku!" he heard someone call behind him. Neku turned and saw Shiki run right up, "s-sorry I'm late,"
"No problem," he said as he turned back to the girl, "someone else was here before us."
Shiki leaned to look past Neku and saw the girl, "hey, I know her,"
"You do?"
"Yep, she goes to my school, Eri introduced me to her. She's really smart and totally creative. Honestly, that girl's got such an imagination, but she always looks so… sad sometimes,"
Shiki and Neku watched at her for a while, he wondered what she was so sad about, and out of all the things she could be looking at, it was Hachiko. He decided to ignore it, knowing that whatever her problem is, it wasn't meant for anyone. He turned back to Shiki and was about to say something when he noticed her giving him the look. Neku blinked then took a few steps back, shaking his head, "oh no, I hope you're not thinking what I think you're thinking," with that, Shiki grabbed his arm and pulled Neku towards Hachiko, waving and calling her name, "Hey! What's up Maiya?"
The girl looked in the direction where she heard her name being called, "oh! Hello Shiki… and who might this be?"
"Maiya this is Neku, Neku this is Maiya," Shiki said, introducing the two. Maiya smiled, "hello,"
"Hey," Neku greeted.
"So you're the great Neku I've been hearing about from her, Shiki told me all about you. It's nice to finally meet you,"
"Really, Shiki told you all about me?" said Neku while glancing at Shiki who began to blush. She looked away feeling embarrassed, "h-hey, I talked about Beat and Rhyme too," she stuttered and Neku could only smirk at that. He quickly changed the subject thinking of the two Bito's, "Did you invite those two too?"
"Well um… no," Shiki said still blushing. It was only suppose to be Neku and herself, thinking that this day would be a great day to tell him her feelings towards him. But since Maiya was around, she held it back and thought of another reason why she would tell Neku to meet her up at Hachiko, "actually… I ran out of sewing materials. I kind of forgot to ask if you had any so that you'd bring them with you… and such."
Figures, Neku thought, tugging a strand of his hair.
"Hey! I have an idea! Maiya, Neku, you two must be hungry. Why don't we get something to eat at Ramen Don, it'll be my treat, and then do a little shopping for sewing materials afterwards,"
"What? The last time you did that-"
"I promise I won't make you try on outfits, it's sewing materials and only sewing materials that I need,"
"You said that last time… the last BILLION times," Neku crossed his arms. Shiki looked at him with those pleading eyes, "pleeeeeeeeeaase?"
Maiya giggled at the both of them, "I'm game, if Neku is. It'll give me a chance to get to know you a little more,"
"That's exactly it!" said Shiki with her eyes now sparkling. Neku sighed and tugged a strand of his hair again, two against one, if Beat and Rhyme were here… actually, they'd probably take her side too.
"Ugh, fine. But you better be true to your word this time," he said facing the other way. Shiki jumped in delight, taking both of their hands and walking straight to Ramen Don.
Sssssssssssssssssss
Above the 104 building, two dark figures stared down at the ever growing crowd. They scanned the area as if looking for something, something valuable to them. One of them grumbled and suddenly vanished, warping to another area in Shibuya. The other shadowy figure looked back at the mindless people walking below before vanishing.
Down below, well hidden in the shadows of the buildings, Hanekoma emerged glaring at the top of the 104 building. He had seen the two and immediately knew that something strange was going on. He couldn't see their faces, but he knew they were bad news. In fact, speaking of bad news, Hanekoma could feel Shibuya's vibe shifting back and fourth slightly, and this worried him, Josh, I hope you can feel it too. If not, then I hope you realize it soon.
Ssssssssssssssssssss
The time had gone by quickly as the morning sun was now about to set in the horizon. Neku was satisfied by how well the shopping went, with Shiki keeping her word all throughout the day, and getting to know a new friend. The trio headed back to Hachiko, talking and laughing on the way there. Neku heard his phone beep, and so took it out and checked the text message, "looks like the siblings are on there way here." Shiki heard her own phone beep and saw the text message too, "yep, looks like they want to hang out for awhile. You staying Neku?"
Neku nodded, closing his phone and putting it back in his pocket. Shiki smiled, "I'll tell them we're here already. Maiya, would you like to join us too? You'll get a chance to meet Beat and his little sister Rhyme."
Maiya held her hand up in an apologetic manner, "I'm sorry, but I have to be home before dark. My apologies, I really wish I could," she turned to take a good look at Hachiko, sadness enveloping her once more. Shiki tilted her head and wondered what was with the gloomy atmosphere all of the sudden. Maiya closed her eyes and then turned back at them with a cheery look on her face, "hey! we should do this again next time, I really would love to meet the siblings," she bowed her head, "thanks Shiki and Neku for a really awesome time today and it was nice getting to know you. I hope you and I become good friends."
"No problem," said Neku, "and you don't have to do that," he placed a hand around his shoulder, rubbing it slightly while glancing away. Maiya nodded, "well, I'll see you later then," she said running past them. Shiki and Neku waved to her and her doing the same as she kept on running. Suddenly, something had caught Neku's eye as it swiftly dodged the crowd, at what it looked like to be at top speed. His eyes widened then looked back at Maiya who was oblivious to it all, but as soon as she turned around, it hit her or rather, accidently ran into him.
Maiya blinked realizing she's on the ground. Or was it?
"Watch where you're going," she heard someone groan underneath her. She gasped and pulled herself up muttering apologies, "I-I'm so sorry I didn't mean to run into-" she slowed her sentence to a stop as she saw him. They stared at each other, realizing something about the other that they recognized. Time was still for the two of them and in that time, both of them were only able to say one word.
"…wow."