Story: Mind the Gaps (French version available : "Intervalles")
Date: posted the 20th of February 2023
Beta: None
Fandom: The World End With You
Disclaimer: No, I don't own TWEWY and I'm not making any profit from this story.
Summary: Just after the Long Game, Joshua saved and resurrected the rest of the Hashiko gang but was condemned by the Angels for his actions: He is confined to Shibuya and half of his powers have been sealed. Neku dies again but without his powers, Joshua cannot resurrect him. He takes him to safety anyway, which leads to M.H being banished by the Angels. Joshua is left alone to manage Shibuya, well not quite since he's got Shinjuku's scum on his hands. Months pass, Joshua is struggling to manage the UG without Sanae and Kitaniji and Shiki and the other reach out with an offer of friendship. But Shinjuku's Reaper are a lot of troubles until...
Trigger of this chapitre: None I can think of
Shiki's chapter!
Enjoy your reading!
"Joshua." Called suddenly a plaintive voice and the Composer looked up. It was a faint voice, barely a whisper and alone as he was in the judgement room, he should not have been able to hear it. But it was not through his ears that he had perceived it, but through his pact. Knowing his latest questionable experiences, it didn't automatically give him an answer, but it certainly narrowed the choice.
Forgoing his latest Reaper problem without much regret, Joshua mentally mapped Shibuya, trying to find his partners. Neku was... well, nowhere to be found, just as he'd gone out of his way to make sure he was. So everything was fine. Normally. But surprisingly, considering the middle of the day and the fact that they should most certainly be in their respective schools, the other three were in the same place, 104, to be exact.
What the... Oh, the fashion show.
With the Conductor's latest motion to duplicate Noise's presence in the Games, Joshua had been as busy as could be. Because yes, Noise was naturally created by negative emotions and in turn, promoted them. But it also meant that wanting more than the normal amount of them meant consciously depressing the inhabitants of the RG. Which, of course, impacted Shibuya. Because it was difficult to create and therefore to feed her when getting out of bed seemed already too difficult. And as the Noises called the Noises they ended up with even more people on the verge of burnout. Which created even more. And who was supposed to limit the population when the entire player base was wiped out on the second day? Yes, the Reapers. Reapers who were also on the verge of a nervous breakdown, overworked as they were.
Anyway.
All this to say that he had more or less left out the first fashion show of Shiki and Eri. It wasn't as if they were on their own, Gatito's technical staff were with them and they'd done this a thousand times before. So Joshua wondered why Shiki was whispering his name in such a sinister voice. She must have been terribly worried to have unconsciously managed to call him through the pact, using her own limited Vibe in the RG to convey her intent across distance and planes.
Interesting...
Joshua didn't think Shiki had developed enough during her Game to be able to use her Vibe, even unconsciously. Unlike Neku and Beat who had refined their souls for three weeks and Rhyme who had done the same in her time as Noise, Shiki had only played for a week. Enough to make her grow and give her a new chance at life. Not enough to evolve beyond humanity. Well, normally.
Then again, maybe an active five-way pact with an Angel in all but title had more consequences than expected. Perhaps.
Incredibly curious all of a sudden, Joshua decided to go see what it was all about. It would be more interesting than his current Noise problem anyway and a break would do him good. Without another glance at the judgement room, he rushed towards 104, flapping his wings until he landed on the building. Cursing for the thousandth time the limitation of his powers preventing him from simply teleporting there, he entered through the service entrance. Not bothering to go through the RG again for the moment, Joshua made his way down the stairs until he reached the exhibition floors where the fashion show was held. It took some searching but he eventually discovered Shiki curled up in a ball behind a curtain in the corner of one of the storage rooms.
He didn't even have to announce his presence: he had hardly gone down into the RG when she raised her head. She could sense him! Joshua realised with excitement. Of course, he hadn't been trying particularly hard to be discreet, but she hadn't seemed so attuned to the auras the last few times. His cheerful mood faded somewhat, however, when he saw her tear-streaked face.
"Joshua?" she whispered, wiping her eyes. "What... what are you doing here?"
"You called me." the Composer remarked as he tilted his head, his fingers absentmindedly playing with a lock of hair.
"I called you?" She murmured confusedly, the flow of tears seeming to dry up slightly under her surprise.
Having absolutely no desire to tell her about the pact, Joshua hummed something softly without much meaning before leaning against the wall next to her. "So?" He asked, crossing his arms. "What are you doing, hiding in a wardrobe instead of being in the dressing rooms dealing with your first show?"
Shiki didn't answer right away. Breathing slowly, she fiddled with a red ribbon, tying and untying it between her fingers. "Could I have done it?"
"What?" Joshua asked as he looked down at her, his eyebrows furrowed.
"Gatto Nero." She murmured before finally lifting her head to meet his gaze. "If we can be here today, doing this parade with Eri while we're still in high school... I know it's because of you that we're here but... Could I have done it by myself?" She asked, her voice clear of tears, her eyes firmly planted in his.
"Of course not." Joshua replied with a scoff and the girl's face immediately fell. "Has the Game taught you nothing?"
"What?" She hiccupped and Joshua crouched down, putting a knee to the ground to get to her level.
"Of course you couldn't have done it on your own. How would you have done it without Éri and her designs? Rhyme who learned how to make a website just for you? Without your Models, Beat and Mina? Without Miss Tatsuki and her legal advice? Without Sanae's workshop?" He enumerated, losing his passion somewhat midway through his tirade. Because it was familiar, too familiar. "Sure, you're smart and resourceful, you could have made an attempt." He added more softly, but now... he was talking to himself as much as to her. "And maybe it would have even worked after a while. It might even have gone on for years. But if you're doing everything on your own, that also means that at some point if you fail, then everything falls apart with you."
"Oh..." Shiki breathed, her eyes wide open before she suddenly looked at the door as if she could finally hear the ruckus going on behind it.
"Right now Eri and the others are doing their best to make sure that everything is fine. So that when you're ready to leave this wardrobe, your dream will still be waiting for you, so that you'll just have to make it happen. So yes, I gave you a hand, as did others, and you didn't make it on your own, but is that so bad? Isn't it even better, this dream, with all these people helping you to achieve it?"
"Yes." Shiki replied with a wet smile before lowering her head to rub the tears out of her eyes. "Yes, it wouldn't be my dream anymore if I didn't have Eri by my side. Or Rhyme, or Beat or... or you." she added, hesitantly before meeting his gaze again, her trademark calm well back.
"So, ready to get back in the action?" Joshua replied, pointing to the door with his chin.
"I have to, Eri and the others aren't going to be able to do the final costume touches for me." She smiled before biting her lip. "I know you're very busy but... are you going to come see it?"
Joshua hesitated. It would be best if he went and sorted out this Noise problem without delay, he'd had a long enough break already. And it wasn't as if all the advice he'd just given Shiki applied to himself. He had no one to help him with Shibuya after all. Kitaniji had become an Angel, his other former officers on the prowl or erased and Sanae... and Sanae would make him a cup of coffee and slyly imply that of course he had to supervise the first fashion show of a future famous fashion designer. For the sake of Shibuya, of course. And he'd promised him he wouldn't go on alone. "I suppose now that I'm here, I might as well stay and see what all the chaos is about."
Shiki smiled at him. Slowly but surely, she stood up and, standing in front of him, without breaking their gaze, she extended her hand. "Thank you, Josh."
Looking at the trembling fingers in front of him, Joshua absentmindedly reflected that it had been months since he'd had anyone call him by that nickname.
He took the hand.
Think about letting a review on your way out and see you the 30th for the continuation!
