Ok, now after getting less than five hours of sleep due to planning this story, I can freely admit that the sole purpose of writing ISW is to make Neku explode in a giant ball of emo hormones.

We're gonna kill this boy. Bwa ha ha. ...Sorry.

By the way, a Bento box is kinda like a lunch box, except that the food it contains is often dyed/cut/shaped to form, say, a landscape or just animals. Google it- some of them are really pretty. xD

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Chapter Eight

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Shibuya itself seemed to be having a good day- the sun was shining, the air was warm but breezy, and there was just a general atmosphere of good will and harmony. Except for at Rhyme's table.

"Good afternoon, Rhyme, Beat," Joshua greeted them in a rather malicious sounding sing song voice, setting down an expensive-looking Bento box and taking a seat next to the younger Bito at their typical table. Shiki and Neku were already there and eating in a slightly tense silence. Which Joshua did not, at all, help.

"My goodness, you all seem tense." He smirked, pulling out a pair of bamboo chopsticks and picking up a roll of sushi. "Rough night tutoring each other?"

Slamming his bottled water down, Neku glared at Joshua until Rhyme thought both boys were going to burst into flames. "Shut up. I went home alone last night."

"Mmm, such a pity. But don't worry; you'll get your chance eventually."

Giggling evilly and scooting closer to Rhyme and thus out of Neku's reach, Joshua resumed his meal. She tensed when his leg brushed against her own, but he seemed either not to notice or not to care.

I wonder what he's talking about, 'You'll get your chance.' She gasped involuntarily. Oh no, what if he didn't tell Neku he invited Shiki to the lock in? That would be terrible because I'd be the one responisible! I gave Joshua her number!

"Something wrong?" Joshua tilted his head to the side, eyes sparkling with some kind of mischievous, but not unkind, curiosity. Rhyme broke eye contact and stared at her small, pathetic bowl of ramen. "N-nothing."

A kind of truce seemed to settle over the small group as they continued with their lunch, most of the members absorbed in their own private thoughts - even Beat, who was staring at his math homework as if he hoped he could make it vanish.

"Man, why has Pi-Face got to be such a hard ass all the time, yo? Lookit this," and he thrust the calculus homework in Neku's face. The orange haired boy seemed to snap out of a daydream and lashed out.

"I know, Beat, I got the same thing." The aggressive look in his eyes died quickly, and he slumped forward onto the table. "Sorry, Beat. Didn't sleep well last night."

At Joshua's smirk, he added, "Not like that, you freak. Some people actually have trouble sleeping that has nothing to do with sex."

"I didn't say anything," the silver haired and silver tongued teen chuckled, but his smirk only widened. "Hey, Shiki?"

A sudden tingle of foreboding made Rhyme stiffen as the tutor glanced up. "Hm? What?"

"Have you ever had smoked salmon on rice?" he purred, toying with his food, caressing it with his chopsticks.

"Um, I don't think so."

Neku's eyes narrowed as Joshua laughed softly. "Would you like to try some?"

"I... guess?"

"Excellent." White teeth flashed. "Open your mouth," he instructed, then placed the delicate treat in Shiki's mouth with a smooth flourish. "Well?"

She chewed thoughtfully, a smile starting to come across her face. Then as she caught the movement of Neku's fingernails scraping the top of the table, like a tiger readying to pounce, she swallowed quickly.

"P-pretty good, I guess."

Oh, Joshua, Rhyme flinched as Neku's eyes narrowed to glowing blue slits, why do you have to be such a pain?

It's like that classic puzzle problem, about getting a wolf, a goat, and a cabbage across a river, she thought suddenly, and grabbed Joshua by the elbow. "Hey, I just remembered I was supposed to help Mr. Kariya set up in art class, can you take me there?"

"Why, of course I can, my dearest Raimu," he practically sang, and the pair headed quickly for the school.

"That was close," she sighed, slumping against the wall once they were both inside. The school was quiet and still, in a sort of secretive way. More mischievous people would have been seized with the urge to snoop or perhaps do something a little more typical for an adolescent, but Rhyme was just happy to have stopped a conflict before it started.

Of course, it was only now, as he leaned on his elbows beside her, wearing the most sadistic and gleeful expression she had ever seen on a human being, did she remember that Joshua was such a person. And she had just run away with him into the empty school.

No, he wouldn't do anything with me, right? I'm too plain and Beat would kill him if Neku didn't.

"So."

Despite her own assurances, she jumped slightly at the sound of his voice. "Um, what?"

"Why'd you bring me in here?" He was leaning on his shoulder now, one leg relaxed and bent as he faced her. "I have some theories, but they're rather farfetched and I'd like to hear your reasons before I start making assumptions."

The way his voice dropped as he chuckled the last word made her blush a little and start to back away- like lighting, he reached across her and anchored his free arm beside her far shoulder, caging her in. His faint smirk never faltered, and he made no other move.

"I just didn't want you to get in a fight with Neku," Rhyme almost squeaked, all the vague horror stories of the male gender imparted to her by her brother rushing back to battle with her typical trusting nature.

"Ah," his smirk lost a bit of its danger, and he withdrew his arm. "You little meddler."

She blinked in bewilderment - his words were poisonous, but his tone was almost affectionate. "Is that a compliment or an insult?"

"Would I insult you?" he questioned, leaning down to peer up in her face innocently. "Tch tch."

The sudden ringing of the bell caused both teenagers to back away. Saved by the bell, Rhyme concluded, as Joshua vanished with one last brilliant smirk.

So why do I feel like I miss him?

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"Hey, you sure you don' mind going home with Mr. H, righ'?" Beat hovered around his sister as their classmates parted around them like a river after school. "Cuz, you know, I don' hafta go skatin'."

Rhyme giggled, the warm sunlight making her feel unusually cheerful. "Yes, I'm fine. He told me he was on his way, so I won't have to wait long. Shoo," she smiled, almost pushing him towards the gates. "You're losing daylight. Enjoy the moment, right?"

As her brother waved goodbye before joining his peers - all of whom were decked out in Wild Boar enough to be models of the brand - Rhyme caught sight of Neku and a girl she didn't recognize on first glance.

A second glance informed her it was Shiki, wearing a considerably shorter skirt than she had that morning. The tiny band of navy blue hugged the older girl's hips, revealing her slender, pale legs in a rather startling way.

"She's really working that, isn't she?" A smug voice reached her ear, and Joshua was at her shoulder, giggling like a child who had just stolen from the cookie jar. "I love it."

Does he...? She frowned slightly, glancing from the bickering pair to the rich boy at her side, and back again. I could see her as his type, I guess, but...

"It certainly makes her less invisible," Rhyme relented after a moment. "I don't think Neku approves, though."

Joshua smirked. "Oh, he approves all right. He's a leg guy, if you know what I mean." He snickered again. "It's like the perfect recipe for driving him crazy."

"So then, you 'love' her skirt because..."

"Yep," he chuckled as a familiar dark-haired man neared the students. "Oh, my ride's here."

"Mr. H. is picking you up, too?" Rhyme stiffened in shock - Joshua paused and gave her a mildly confused look as Hanekoma came into hearing range.

"Hope you don't mind a tag-along, Josh," the café barista chuckled as he leaned against the gatepost. "I promised Beat I'd walk her home."

"Not at all." The silver haired teen beckoned Rhyme forward. "Ladies first," he chuckled as Rhyme fell into step between the two males, following the familiar streets to Shibuya.

"You mind if we stop by a couple of places and shop?" Sanae smiled down to the first year girl. She shrugged. "I'm game for whatever you throw at me."

Joshua smirked as Hanekoma chided her teasingly, "Be careful what you say around ol' Josh, Miss Bito."

"Did you just call me 'ol' Josh'?" The silver haired boy huffed, though his smile stayed put. "You make me sound like a dog or something. Besides, you're old enough to be my father by quite a bit."

Their banter echoed over her head, and Rhyme sighed in contentment as they followed the crowds along, soon turning into Shibu Department Store's distinct - some called it 'eccentric' - shop, Mind and Body Foods.

The faintly wrinkled gentleman at the counter raised his eyebrow as the threesome entered; then as he met eyes with the blonde, he broke into a smile. "Ah, Raimu-chan, my grandson was just looking for you. And Hanekoma-sama, it's been a long time since you were in my shop." Banzai Ayanokoji bowed, dressed in a brown symphony of traditional garb. "Who is your friend?"

Joshua bowed back, showing a surprising amount of genuine respect. "I am Yoshiya Kiryu, Ayanokoji-sama. Hanekoma-san is a good friend of mine," he murmured, slipping easily into the more traditional Japanese speech.

Banzai dipped his head, then Rhyme was attacked by what appeared to be some kind of dwarf ninja. "Fellow slammurai," it shouted, then pulled off a mask and beamed up in the girl's face.

"Hey, Shooter," Rhyme greeted him cheerily, hugging the store keeper's son with equal enthusiasm. He was only a year younger than her, and they had bonded closely in middle school; she was the only female Slammuri fan in her graduating year, and almost as good as Shooter himself.

The silver-haired senior standing by himself by the door and looking rather neglected as Hanekoma and Ayanokiji bartered over mushrooms cast both friends a disdainfully curious look. "..Slammurai? They actually still play that?"

Shooter smirked. "Yep, and I'm the best in the city. Hey, Rhyme," he turned back to the girl in his hug," wanna see what pins I've won since last week?"

"I'd love too!" She smiled, and then cast Joshua an uncomfortable look. "Um, Joshua, do you want to-"

He raised his hand and shook his head, threads of shimmering platinum hair falling into his face like loose spider webs. "No, I have to be getting home anyway. Have fun, Rhyme. Shooter," he finished coolly before slipping out of the store with one last nod to the adults.

"He seems like a jerk," Shooter commented as he dragged Rhyme to the back of the store. "Is he?"

"A little," she relented, still watching him vanish into the crowds as if he was part of the city itself. "But he's also so much more."

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