Story: Mind the Gaps (French version available : "Intervalles")

Date: posted the 10 of May 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 strike a coup and Joshua loose a lot of powers. He still try his best to make the city survive.

Trigger of this chapitre: None I can think of


Enjoy your reading!


"Thank you, see you soon!" Smiled the young woman behind the counter. Joshua waved his hand, his lips already occupied with his ice cream. No wonder she was happy, Joshua thought, she didn't get many customers in late January. Still, ice cream was always good, no matter what the weather. Besides, he was supporting the little shops in Shibuya this way and that was definitely a bonus.

But it's true that, unlike humans, it's not as if Joshua was worried about the cold. Firstly, because he was who he was and secondly, because his partners had done everything to keep him well covered this winter. In addition to the thick coat Eri and Shiki had made for him last year, he'd received a scarf and a hat knitted by Rhyme (her hobby of the month) for this Christmas which had made Joshua much happier than he should have been. Last year, it had taken him a month to return the scarf Beat had lent him when he didn't really need it. And even then, Joshua could admit it now, he'd done it reluctantly. Rhyme must have realised this because she had proudly handed him the set with her trademark mysterious look. The one where it looked like she knew all the secrets of the universe. Whereas if anyone among them should have been that person it was clearly the Composer himself.

Enjoying his ice cream, Joshua strolled through the streets, observing the inhabitants. The general mood was quite good despite the Executor's best efforts. Lately, he had been taking great pleasure in closing down businesses one after the other. Sunshines had already moved twice in as many years and had unfortunately ended up closing a month before. Eri had been incredibly outraged at this news but had been quickly distracted by the new Bubble Tea business that had appeared. Because yes, if the Executor was doing his best to close shops, Joshua had made it his life's goal to open twice as many. The idiot had had the audacity to go after Angelic Rabbit and Pegasus, targeting Joshua's favourite brands first. There was no way he was going to let that happen. It was with sadistic pleasure that he watched the dark circles and wrinkles grow on the Angel's face a little more each week.

Even though he was supposed to be able to control his appearance as an Angel, Joshua could have sworn that the Executor had aged ten years since he was in 'his service'.

Petty revenge was an incredible incentive for Joshua.

Smiling grimly, the Composer made his way up the steps of Spain Hill to Parco. As he sensed, Uzuki and Kariya were in deep discussion near one of the pillars. For less than a second, he even caught the Reaper's eye, but neither of them lingered. Even though the two Shibuya Reapers were currently in the RG and thus it wouldn't have been suspicious for them to see each other, Uzuki and Yashiro were still closely watched by Shinjuku. Even a year and a half later, it was still a known fact that Uzuki was the former Conductor and had some hold over the old Shibuya Reapers. In fact, one of the new Wall Reapers under the command of one of the Shibuya Officers was constantly watching them, making it difficult to make contact with the Composer. Still, Joshua always liked to keep an eye on them, in case an opportunity presented itself, as it had several times in the past few months.

That wasn't the case now, however, and Joshua continued on his way without a final glance. He was walking down Inokashira-Dori towards Tipsy Tose Hall when he came across Tenho and Hanako pushing bubbles of Players. The latter, carefully unconscious, were happily floating in stasis past the Wall Reapers towards their starting point for the next day's Game. Although today's Game had been over for a good five hours, it was not surprising to see Wall Reapers still at work. With the new administration and the heavy workload, Officers tended to push their boring duties onto the Wall Reapers. Fortunately, relocating Players was usually one of the last tasks to be done, being one of the least important. Joshua had no doubt that they would be able to rest afterwards, which was unfortunately not the case for him.

As they reached the junction leading to Udagawa, his phone beeped and Joshua sat on a bench for a second to read it. As he had hoped, it was a reply from Minato's Composer. It contained greetings, customary thanks, and confirmation that his agreement to extend Coco Atarashi's transfer had been considered. Joshua pursed his lips at the sight of the name before quickly sending a polite email back. It had been a long time since his anger had subsided over her. Two years was a long time, and while he obviously cherished his grudge, it was hard to conjure up a rage as strong as when she'd dared to take Neku away from him. Not when he had more pressing and dangerous problems on his hands. It also helped that Coco had done her best to get out of his sight.

The Reaper had taken advantage of Father's visit when he'd returned from Shinjuku to go straight back to Minato. Clearly not the time to break the rules again so soon, Joshua had not bothered to go looking for her, nor to order her immediate repatriation either. Ending their exchange agreement abruptly would have inevitably led to questions that Joshua had a vested interest in not answering, especially in the weakened state he had been in after the Shinjuku reversal. Minato's Composer tended to admire Joshua, but it was best not to tempt the devil, as other Composers helping him were less cordial. While Joshua had a healthy rivalry with Nakano and knew that, despite their many disagreements, if there was any real trouble the Composer would do her best to spare him, if only to laugh at him afterwards, this was not the case for all districts. The Shinagawa Composer, for example, hated his guts. Oh, Joshua returned the favour, but he was still not in the best of shape at the moment and had to use strategy to get through it. Which meant curbing his desire for petty revenge as much as possible. A shame, really.

Anyway, Joshua had washed his hands of the whole affair, preferring to ignore Coco as long as the Reaper didn't set foot in his domain. Unfortunately, it had to be said that Mikagi had been right about one thing: the Shinjuku Reversal had greatly stabilized Shibuya and, more importantly, Minato. After four years of hard work, with the help of a few high-ranking Reapers from other cities, the Inversion and the critical support of the Tuners, Minato had somehow managed to get back on track. They had even overtaken Shibuya in the rankings, which was unfortunately no longer a feat considering the efforts of his "right hands". In the process, Minato had no longer explicitly needed his borrowed Reapers and the Atarashi-shaped problem had once again surfaced on his desk. Joshua had, in fact, given it a lot of thought. On the one hand, he had a terrible urge to erase her and nothing would stop him if she dared to show her face again in Shibuya, on the other... well, as a Composer, there was no denying that Atarashi was an incredible asset. Especially considering her problems with Shinjuku. It would be so easy to let her do what she did best, wouldn't it? It would be enough to show her the puppet her friend had become and... Well, there was also the more minor reason that Neku wouldn't be too happy to find his temporary partner from the Shinjuku Game wiped out upon his return.

If he returned. When he returns.

In any case, this indecision had made him offer Minato to keep Atarashi for another year. Of course, Minato's Composer had been only too happy to accept, and all that would be left for Joshua to do was sign the papers to postpone the whole issue again. This was typically the kind of business Joshua would have discussed with Sanae over an overpriced cup of coffee. But Sanae wasn't there and the thought only deepened his frown. Rising to his feet, Joshua slipped his phone into his pocket and continued his rounds at a brisk pace, as if he were trying to leave his sinister thoughts behind.

He then spent the next half hour cataloguing the types of Noise currently in the area. Not a very fun task, but a necessary one that had the advantage of distracting his mind. He was walking down the street, having roughly finished with the top, when he felt a strong Vibe close to him. It was a Reaper from Shinjuku, the girl who had helped little Hanako when Tsugumi had tried to rebel. She was sitting on a bench, wrapped in a thick coat, a scarf covering half her face and the hood of an jumper pulled firmly over her hair. Her eyes and fingers were the only parts of her at the mercy of the biting wind, and the latter were firmly holding a phone. She seemed lost in an endless cycle, her fingers tapping the keys at the speed of light before she lowered her phone and discreetly looked up at a boy standing across the street. The boy, blond, maybe fourteen at the most, was incredibly focused on his phone and invariably smiled every few seconds before typing a message himself. The Reaper's phone would then vibrate and her eyes would fall back on her mobile, starting the cycle again. While it was obvious that the two young people were both talking, it was clear that only the Reaper was aware that they were facing each other.

Curious about this exchange, Joshua turned left, walking lazily until he found himself leaning against the wall, a few feet from the boy. From what he could sense, he was clearly human. There wasn't a note referring to another plane in the music of his soul, but on the other hand... Oooh, the boy seemed to have enormous latent potential. Not as strong as Neku's but more than Beat's and comparable to Rhyme's. Joshua let his eyes slide over his surroundings, barely lingering on the Reaper in front of him. Was Shinjuku planning something nefarious? Or was it just a coincidence that this Reaper had a connection to such an interesting human? Joshua would wince at the idea of coincidence, but even if the Reaper was surely not powerful enough to sense the boy's potential, it was not entirely out of the question. Indeed, humans with high potential, with a stronger than average Vibe, tended to attract, even unconsciously, beings from the higher planes.

So, a possibility, but not one Joshua was willing to bet on.

Swallowing the remains of his ice cream cone, Joshua rubbed his hands together before pushing himself off the wall and continuing his rounds of Shibuya, making a mental note to keep an eye on this Reaper and human.


Think about letting a review on your way out and see you the 20th for the continuation!