Here's Chapter 5! I had a bit of trouble writing this one, but here it is! Chapter 6 is already done, but I'm making sure to review it thoroughly before I post it. R&R please!
"What do you mean someone stole the Angel Player?"
"Someone must have gotten into my room while I wasn't looking." Kenta gasped "The perfect chance would have been while my body was recovering from dying. The only one who knew I was dead was the guy that killed me, he wouldn't have hesitated to slip into my room since there would've been no danger!"
His theory was solid. The pieces fit together perfectly.
Kenta eyes widened, and he began breathing heavily. Unable to stand, his knees collapsed beneath him and he tumbled onto the floor "Otonashi... If I'm right, and the guy who killed me took my Angel Player. What could he possibly do with it. He was already powerful enough to take me out easily. What sort of strength would the power of an angel grant him."
Otonashi choked. True, Kenta wasn't a born fighter, but his abilities gave him an immeasurable edge over normal opponents. For someone to be able to match him, and to gain the very same powers he had... Otonashi shuddered at the thought.
"What do we do?" The angel asked fearfully.
"We need to recover the program at any cost. The sooner the better. Until we retrieve it we have no idea what sort of insane things they could do with it."
The two sat in silence, trying to plan a course of action.
Meanwhile, the SSSII was in the gymnasium, preparing for a sparring exercise.
Everyone had chosen a partner save for Neku. Neku stood wondering what he would do, when Joshua walked into the room.
Crap.
The platinum haired boy looked around, saw Neku, and performed his signature chuckle before speaking "Looks like we're partners again, dearest Neku."
On second thought, maybe this won't be so bad.
Neku smiled. He had an excuse to beat Joshua to a bloody pulp. Selecting a wooden sword roughly a foot and a half in length from the rack, he spun to face Joshua.
Joshua strolled over and selected a wooden sword for himself. The two took positions opposite one another, blades at the ready.
Neku flicked his wrist so he could wield his shortsword in reverse.
Josh made the first move, charging Neku and going for a stab, which the orange-haired boy deflected with his own weapon. Joshua hopped back, putting some distance between the two.
Since I'm holding my weapon in reverse he's trying to stay out of my shortened range. Not bad…
Neku closed the distance and aimed for a horizontal strike. At the last possible moment, he dropped onto his hand and used his legs to perform a spin aiming at the platinum-haired teens' legs. Joshua jumped and evaded the strike, leaving it to only cut air. He retaliated with a downward stab- however, Neku was quick and easily rolled out of the way.
Both teens eyed one another, their violet eyes glaring at their opponent.
Josh and Neku simultaneously swung, their weapons sliding off of one another. Taking advantage of the opening with his grip on the weapon, Neku stabbed forward. The strike nearly connected with Josh's abdomen. Josh turned, allowing the blow to harmlessly pass by him, following through on the spin and striking Neku on the shoulder. Sweat flung from Josh's face as the spin halted.
Neku winced slightly, the impact of the wooden weapon stinging.
He's no pushover, he almost seems to be playing with me.
Continuing their fight, Neku ducked as Josh swung for his head, aiming for a fatal strike. The boy rolled forward and turned to face Joshua.
"Not half bad Neku. You may be some fun after all."
He clenched his teeth, grunting loudly as he altered his grip on his weapon, now using a traditional forward grip. Neku rapidly swung, his attacks being parried effortlessly, clicking and clacking with the other wooden weapon. Tired of this, Josh went on the offensive, advancing on Neku and slashing repeatedly. He carefully blocked each strike, only with seconds to prepare for the next as his face became flushed from all the movement.
He's totally playing with me. He can swing faster he's just choosing not to.
The two traded assaults back and forth, neither gaining an edge over the other. By this time, all the other members had stopped their matches and were watching the fight play out.
I can't let this bastard win!
Neku stopped mid strike, and instead fell back giving himself distance between him and Josh. Once again flicking his wrist, Neku now held his weapon in reverse.
The fighters treaded carefully, moving in a circular pattern around an invisible center while waiting for his opponent to make a move.
All that could be heard was their heavy breaths, or rather, the deep breathing from Neku.
Sweat fell from both fighters, splashing gently onto the floor below. Everything went quiet for a moment, and neither one looked like they would make a move.
Joshua stepped forward twice, grinning at his foe. He thrusted his weapon forward at Neku's chest which Neku redirected with his own.
Neku's eyes narrowed; now was his chance.
Seeing his opening, Neku closed in, and his weapon found itself beside Joshua's neck indicating victory.
"Looks like I win." The teen triumphantly stated.
Joshua giggled "Neku, my dear. Look again."
In his haste to close the distance, Neku carelessly ended up redirecting Josh's sword. Because of his mistake, it was now poised for his throat.
"So it's a draw then," Minako declared. "Impressive display you two. I've never seen such a close fight like that before."
Murmers could be heard from the group, mainly consisting of how glad they were that these two were on their side.
Joshua hastily left, seemingly happy that the session had finally come to an end.
Neku grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat off his face, exhausted from the spar.
"That was really cool you know."
Neku looked up to see the girl Shiki in front of him.
He smiled "Thanks. I just really wanted to kick the crap out of him is all."
The two laughed.
"Hey Neku, wanna go get something to eat? I'm pretty hungry."
Before he could protest, his stomach growled loudly.
Looks like I don't have a say in the matter.
"I'll take that as a yes!" The brunette said, giggling.
Neku grabbed his headphones and the two were on their way.
In Otonashi's room.
"I was surprised that the president of the student body would call me to his own room, for a private meeting so I just had to come and sate my curiosity."
Across from Otonashi sat the SSSII leader, Minako.
"I didn't have a choice. Something sure has happened."
Minako listened, curious as to what could be so bad that he felt the need to call the one that swore him as their enemy on such short notice.
"What do you want me to do about it? Last time I checked, my group and you disagreed on a few things." The blonde said coyly "It would be in my best interest not to help you."
"Someone has found a way to harness the same powers as the Vice President. What's more, he could easily defeat Kenta without even putting up much of a fight. We fear he may have violent intentions and wanted your cooperation in handling the individual."
"Kenta? So that's the real name of the angel we've been fighting huh?" Minako said, redirecting the topic. She wanted to toy with Otonashi.
"Miss Minoru, I don't think you understand how serious this is. If this person truly has the powers of an angel, they could wreak havoc in this world. He'll come for Kenta first, and then myself, and if we can't handle him, what hope does your group have? Our only choice is to call a truce!"
"I see your point. Even then though, if our enemy is so powerful, how would we even fight them in the first place? I see no feasible means of fighting them."
Otonashi's phone rang. He excused himself, and checked the number, recognizing it as Kenta.
"Hello?"
"Otonashi, I found the program. It was in my drawer underneath the instruction manual."
"So you misplaced it then"
"No. I checked there before. Besides when I opened it, a hair was inside. I think I know who had it."
We've got them!
"I want to see the hair for myself. Hide the program somewhere extremely safe to prevent further tampering. We need to make sure nobody can get hold of it again especially with what we have going on now."
"Yes Otonashi. I'm on my way."
Otonashi set the phone down.
"We've got an idea of who it was." Otonashi turned to Minako. "If you're willing to help us, I have a plan to apprehend them."
At the cafeteria, Neku and Shiki had just finished enjoying their lunch. The pair cleaned up their mess, and began to talk.
"So Shiki, have you gotten your memories back?"
The girl frowned "Nuh uh, not yet. But you did right? It must be great."
"Eh, it's alright. I don't feel too different than from before." Neku lied. Just because he knew the nature of this world, doesn't mean she had to yet.
Shiki and Neku departed from the cafe. A voice called out to them.
"Yo! Phones, Shiki! Wait up!"
They turned to see Beat running towards them. "Since when am I called phones?"
"Since you started wearin' them phones all the time."
It's true, once gaining his memory back, Neku was never seen without his purple beats. It felt unnatural NOT having them perched atop his spiky orange hair.
"Anyways, did you need something Beat?" Neku crossed his arms.
Defensively "I didn' want nothin'! I just thought maybe I could chill with you."
"Well of course you can! Right Neku?" The bubbly girl answered.
What?I didn't say that!
Shiki pouted at Neku pleadingly.
"...Come on." He turned and began walking, expecting the other two to keep up.
"So whatchu' think 'bout this place, huh Phones?" The blond boy asked.
Ugh I can't believe Shiki seriously made me agree to this guy tagging along. His speaking skills make me want to rip my ears off.
"Well it's certainly interesting. An angel and god and everything. Never thought I'd see anything like this in my lifetime, but I guess this isn't really my lifetime."
Shiki's jaw dropped, and then she began to giggle "Did you just make a joke Neku? That's so unlike you, maybe you're growing soft."
Neku chuckled lightly "I dunno. Maybe. Anyways, how long have you been here Beat?"
The grammatically challenged teen pondered for a moment "I'm not sure. I ain't been keepin' track of how long I been here, you feel me?"
"Yea I understand. About as much as I'll ever understand anyways."
The trio walked off in unison, talking and laughing together.
Meanwhile, Otonashi, Minako and Kenta all went to the SSSII HQ.
Walking into the room, everyone took a defensive stance upon seeing not only Raphael, but the student body president as well.
"Minako what's going on here?" Megumi shouted. "Why are these two in our HQ?"
Joshua stood in the corner curiously watching the events before him.
"Someone has managed to acquire the power of an angel. Someone dangerous. They single handedly bested Rap- I mean, Kenta, and that was without the power. I fear this individual may be on the prowl, and is extremely dangerous, so for our best interests I have decided to call a truce between these two and to join with them to eliminate this enemy."
The whole room was in whispers. Nobody seemed sure what would happen now, and had no idea what should be done.
"Does that mean we have another enemy?" Hikaru questioned fearfully "What are we gonna do?"
The quiet teen Yori spoke up "Otonashi, I'm sure you have a plan of some sort, right?"
He nodded "For safety's sake, we'll round up all the missing members at the moment. That means Neku, Shiki, and Beat. Once we've contacted them, we'll attempt to confront the enemy." Otonashi announced. It was apparent how he had gotten into his position, the boy possessed leadership skills. "We still have no idea who the enemy could be. It could be anyone at this moment, so we'll have to narrow things down somehow."
"Are you crazy?" Ichirou asked "That's insane! How are we gonna fight someone who we don't even know the identity of?"
Aina squealed "Yea, what do you expect us to do?"
"I expect you to fight." The flame haired president bluntly stated.
"I expect everyone to be prepared for perhaps the toughest battle we have ever endured. No holding back guys." Minako attempted to motivate her companions.
Everyone armed themselves and Yori spoke again "What if we run out of ammunition?"
Otonashi replied "We'll be taking a trip to the guild in order to stock up on supplies. Carry with you only what you need, the trek back is going to be rough."
They all marched out, Otonashi waiting for everyone to exit the room before following behind. As Joshua walked by, the two locked eyes for a split second.
Otonashi shut the door behind him, his plan now put into motion.
Neku, Shiki and Beat sat on the rooftop and were all talking. Somehow, the topic of Joshua came up.
"Yo man, I hate that prissy kid Phones. Like, what's his deal yo?"
"I think he's just naturally an asshole." Neku replied.
"Beat, what was your life like?" Shiki asked innocently.
Neku grinned nervously. He didn't know anything about the life the teen led, but he was sure if he was here it couldn't be too good.
"I'm sorry Shiki, I jus' don't feel comfortable talking 'bout it, you feel me?"
The brunette frowned, disappointed "Okay then."
"I'll tell you one thing though." Beat said "I died because someone shot me yo."
Beat was shot too?
"Hey Beat, does the name CAT mean anything to you?"
"CAT? Where I come from he was a mad popular artist. I really digged his work, man. That stuff was crazy, like he could speak with his art."
"Beat, where'd you grow up?" Neku asked curiously.
"Well Phones, I grew up in the city of Shibuya."
No way.
"Really? That's insane. I did too."
"You fo' real Phones?"
Neku replied smoothly "Yea. I knew all about CAT, and he was an inspiration. It's weird. I died the same way as you did."
Shiki merely sat listening to the two boys go back and forth talking about Shibuya and a whole bunch of stuff she was clueless about. Even though she had no idea what they were talking about, being there felt... right.
Neku's walkie talkie spoke "Neku, where are you? Are Shiki and Beat with you?"
"Yup, what do you need Minako?"
"We've got a problem, where are you guys?"
"We're at the rooftop near the athletic center."
"Good, meet us at the entrance to that building and make it quick! We have no time to spare."
They hastily made their way downstairs, and exited to see the entirety of the SSSII waiting for them.
Not only them though, with them was Yuzuru Otonashi and the angel Raphael.
"What's going on here?" Neku shouted "Why are you guys working with them?"
Minako replied "We have no choice. I'll allow Otonashi to explain.
"Neku, this is the problem. Someone has managed to acquire the same powers as Kenta has now. And we fear the intentions that they could harbor." Otonashi went on "We needed to join forces to even stand a chance, this person was able to strike him down without even breaking a sweat."
"Do we have any idea who it is?" Neku asked.
Minako approached Neku, handing him a handgun and a broadsword
"Guard Skill: Distortion" Kenta called out.
"We know exactly who it is." The blonde turned, raising her weapon and aiming at Joshua "They found a silver hair in Kenta's belongings. Care to explain that?"
The platinum haired teen grinned "Not too bad. I stole the program that gives the "angel" his power. I studied it, learning its inner workings and how to manage those powers. Why wait though? If you knew it was me, why would you wait so long to bring it to light?" Josh questioned
"Because" Otonashi began "If we had done it earlier, you would have fled after killing us all. If we got everyone together, we all stand a better chance of apprehending you."
Joshua grinned maliciously. Neku clenched his teeth.
This son of a bitch. What's he planning?
"Thanks to your program, I've not only gained your abilities but I've developed my own."
"To what end does this serve you?" Otonashi questioned "Why are you doing this?"
There was a silence. Tension ran high in the air, and the sound of a heartbeat could be heard.
Joshua cackled maniacally, breaking the silence "What's wrong with a god reclaiming his power?"