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

Date: posté 10 december 2022

Beta: None

Fandom: The World End With You

Avertissement: No, I don't own TWEWY and I'm not making any profit from this story.

Résumé: 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.

Trigger du chapitre: Evocation of grief


Well, I finally made a calendar (after writing 23 chapters, yes, that was a bad idea) and on the one hand, having it all organized is a good thing because I know where I'm going, on the other hand it's a bad thing because I know where I'm going. And I remind you that 44 chapters was not the goal at the beginning, the goal was a little one-shot to motivate me to write again. And yes, it seems that it worked but damn, I have other projects! So I don't know if I'll get to the end but on the other hand, I've already written 23, more than half of them so... Yeah, we'll see.

Enjoy your reading!


"Kiryu!" Shouted a voice from the sewers. The girl had been calling the name periodically for almost ten minutes, carefully sitting on a folding camping stool. Clearly, Joshua thought sarcastically, she had come prepared. She had placed herself incredibly well, or rather poorly, depending on how you look at it. She'd managed to get herself right in the middle of the door leading to the Dead God Pad and already two Wall-Reapers were waiting with their arms flailing in front of her, unable to get in and unsure what to do. It wouldn't have been a problem if Shiki was totally in the RG but unfortunately for Joshua, Neku wasn't the only one whose Vibe had been deeply messed up by the long Game.

Knowing full well that this next discussion was going to give him a headache, Joshua would have dreamed of making her wait a few more hours. Unfortunately, Misaki Shiki was attracting attention, and while that wasn't a problem for the two Wall-Reapers from Shibuya currently present, it didn't bode well if any Reapers from Shinjuku noticed her.

Using a meme, he insisted that it was no use, that Joshua wouldn't show up, and the girl stood up and packed her things. Soon, Shiki passed the end of the tunnel and found herself in Shibuya Hikari. The two Wall Reapers entered the Dead God Pad and Joshua appeared in front of Shiki, knowing full well that otherwise she would come back to attack again. Why hadn't he erased her memories, again?

Ah yes.

Neku.

"Kiryu!" Shiki Misaki exclaimed as she finally noticed him.

"You really shouldn't come here, you know, it's dangerous to go near the UG when you're not a part of it. You wouldn't want to participate in another Game, would you?" He said in a drawl, playing with a lock of hair.

Misaki turned white as a sheet but quickly pulled herself together. Too quickly. "I wanted to talk to you."

"I would never have guessed." He replied sarcastically.

The girl flinched at his less than positive tone but continued nonetheless. One could not say that she lacked courage. "We wanted to invite you to come with us for... for Neku's birthday."

Joshua blinked in surprise. "Neku's birthday? But he's..."

"I know! It's just... since he... for the past two months, we've been getting less and less together as a group so this would be the occasion and this way, somehow, he's kind of with us? And... and then Rhyme offered to invite you and we thought it would be nice to get to know you too?"

Joshua sighed before answering, somewhat irritated. "I've already told you all I can about Neku's condition. There's been no change since then."

This time Misaki didn't flinch, lifting her chin and looking at him over her glasses. "I'm not going to lie and say we weren't expecting news, but that doesn't stop us from really wanting to get to know you."

"And why is that?" Joshua asked, letting only boredom show rather than the deep confusion he felt.

"Because you're Neku's friend and you helped him when we couldn't. And I want to understand why he still considered you as such after all you did to him."

"Consider. He's not dead, after all." Joshua corrected, careful to ignore the last part of her tirade.

"Yes, that's right, he's alive." She smiled but he was a little shaky. Joshua wasn't sure if Neku's friends would have believed him if Sanae hadn't been there to corroborate his claims. Even with it, Beat was still ready to throw his fist. "So, can we count on you?"

Joshua should really say no. With the Shinjuku Reapers in full assimilation and his new chain of command, he had more than enough on his plate. But in a way, he was a little curious about his... partners. That was the word, theoretically.

"I could probably drop by for a bit." He replied nonchalantly, showing nothing of his own desire.

"Great! Thanks a lot! We were thinking of meeting up at Hachiko and then going to eat at Ramen Don and take flowers to Neku's parents. Is that okay with you?"

"Her parents?"

"Oh, uh, yeah... We'd only met them a few days before... well, you know, and her mum called me afterwards to warn me even though... well, I know a lot more than she does." Shiki muttered sadly. "Their son's birthday is probably going to be really hard for them, much harder than it is for us, because they don't know he's still here. So we thought we'd try to support them a little. It would also make Neku feel better to know that we're there for them."

"Certainly." Joshua nodded. "That's fine with me, but does Beat know I'll be there? I doubt he'll be very happy about it."

"He was fine with us asking you, but, uh, I think he thought we wouldn't be able to get in touch with you, or at least that you'd say no." Admitted the girl.

"How unfortunate, I feel bad for disappointing him." Joshua sighed dramatically and Shiki laughed softly before stopping short, surprised at her own reaction.

They didn't stay long after that and soon Misaki Shiki disappeared around the corner after making him promise again that he would come to their little meeting. Perhaps it was because he was already focused on their pact but another glimmer caught his eye and he soon found himself watching Beat near the old border with Shinjuku, doing his best to get inside. Not that he could, of course, this plan was totally inaccessible to him without outside help but then again, the Long Game and his brief stint as a Reaper had changed his Vibe enough for him to realise that something was wrong. It was far from the first time he'd noticed Beat near here but... Joshua had never bothered to do anything about it before. And he didn't really want to do it now either. But Shiki had a point, Neku wouldn't want Beat to ruin his life for nothing. So with another soul-splitting sigh, Joshua made himself visible at Beat's side.

"BWAAAH!" the boy shouted as he jumped back, his hands in front of him as if to protect himself.

Without so much as a greeting, Joshua got into the thick of things. "I already told you that you couldn't reach him. And even if by some miracle you could, he's in no condition to wake up right now and I can't resurrect him anyway."

"Yeah, I know I get it! But it's not like I can move on either!" Beat shouted before clenching his fists and going on more quietly. "It stinks to leave him like that. If it was me... he would have found a way. But I'm so stupid, it's the only way I can see."

Self-hatred was suffocating in the air. And even though it was a familiar emotion to Joshua, that didn't mean he knew any better how to deal with it, especially in others. Once again regretting his life choices, Joshua tried anyway. Especially since Beat was making an effort not to try to rearrange his face for once. "There's nothing you can do about it. There's nothing I can do about it. The only thing we can do for him right now is wait for him to get better. Stop looking for him, Beat, and get on with your life. If it helps...I promise to let you know when he wakes up."

"You would do that?" He muttered incredulously, and seeming to see some semblance of truth in Joshua's eyes, he slumped, tired. "Yeah, okay... But... it feels wrong to go on without him, yo." Beat repeated, head down, in a tone emphatically opposite his usual strength. Joshua thought of Sanae, of Neku, of the dozens of Reapers and players wiped out without logic in his own attempt to disappear and...

He had nothing to say to that.


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