Week 1 of the Twelve Shots of Summer
Mission Mail: Compose a story on the theme of 'Secret Genius', fail and face mild ridicule and harsh words.

So! Hey everybody, I'm baaack~ :D

I AM working on X Days still, it's not dead I promiiise X'D

But for now, I've been graciously allowed to participate in the Twelve Shots of Summer, (Winter for me- GODDAMN TIME ZON- *Explodes*,) challenge in which we have to write one story per week on a certain theme, (brain-wrenching flashback of misunderstanding 'Prompt'.)

It's hosted by 'le Chaotic Guardian', whose work I recommend you read, and this is my... Late... Contribution... I- I CAN'T-
I'M SORRY *Tears of Anguis*
#ManyPunsWillBeFound

Anyway, let's get right into it!

Composure

A young, pale high-schooler slowly walked down the front steps of Aoyama High School, making his way to Cat Street as he twirled his platinum blond hair between his fingers.

"Hey, hold up...!" Hearing someone call out, he stopped walking and turned around to see who it was, and instantly recognized the new student running after him; Ira Datsuko, a boy from his class, "you... Hah..." Skidding to a halt, he leaned over, resting his hands on his knees while he caught his breath, "you left this in the class-... -room..." Ira gasped out, holding up a bright orange cell-phone in his hand.

"Ah..." The other teenager gave his pocket a few pats to confirm that he was indeed not in possession of his phone, and scolded himself, "really... How forgetful of me; thank you, Datsuko." His lavender eyes glinted mischievously before he took the phone and slipped it back into his jeans.

"Oh... You know my name...?"

"Of course, I enjoy... Watching new people." Grinning again, he chose his words carefully to instil the right amount of anxiety in Ira.

It worked.

"Uh... Right..." Ira replied uncertainly, "w-well, it's nice to meet you; you are...?"
Shifting his sandy hair out of the way with a flamboyant flick, the mysterious boy gave Ira a playful smirk.

"Hee hee... Yoshiya. Yoshiya Kiryu. But mother and father call me 'Joshua'; I guess you can call me 'Joshua', too... Since you're my dear, dear classmate..."
Just another day.

22 hours until his world ends.

22 hours until his world begins.

Yoshiya 'Joshua' Kiryu was not your typical 15 year old.

"Snobby."

"Irritating."

"Arrogant."

"Creepy."

Joshua went to school everyday hearing comments like these, usually behind his back, sometimes to his face. But he never missed single one.
Joshua was exceptional by an ordinary person's standards, but most people didn't realise he was even more extraordinary than even that level. He had a little secret 'gift'.
He was unnaturally Imaginative; a prodigy, worthy of Conducting, and even creating.
Of Composing.

A bloodcurdling scream pierced the quiet afternoon air of Shibuya as Joshua crossed the street

"Honestly... You could at least go out with some dignity." Joshua remarked, irritated by the screech of the young girl lying on the ground in front of him.

"Y-You can see me...?" The girl choked out as she began to cry, "b-... But you're-"
Before Joshua could answer, a swarm of red and black came rushing down the road towards them.

"My my, that's a lot of Noise," He remarked in a carefree manner, "I suppose... Your Partner's gone under?" Joshua asked, but he already knew the answer.

"Ah...! No, stay back!" The girl shrieked in terror as she stumbled up and away from the Noise, running as fast as she could around a corner.

"... Oh, I wouldn't go that way..." Joshua remarked a bit too late; a violent burst of light flashed from around the corner as the girl gave one last, despair-filled cry.

"Ugh..." Joshua placed his forehead into his palm and shook his head, as if trying to clear a minor headache, "Told you."

Ding

Joshua pushed open the door to WildKat, and stood in front of the counter of his favourite café.
Well... 'Favourite' would be inaccurate, the coffee served at WildKat was below Joshua's standards, and he once described the café itself as 'rustic'; there was only one reason why Joshua frequented WildKat.

"Heyyy, Josh! School's out for today, huh?" A tall, lanky man walked out from WildKat's storeroom. His storeroom.
Sanae Hanekoma. He was the reason why Joshua even visited the café in the first place.

"Heh. Hello, Sanae." Joshua gave him a smile, a real smile, not like the fake smile he wore at school.

"J, you gotta stop with this 'Sanae' business..." Hanekoma groaned as he scratched the back of his neck, "It sounds off... It doesn't sound..." He waved his hands through the air, attempting to convey some emotion to Joshua.

"'Fresh', perhaps?" Joshua supplied with a small laugh.

"Yeah...!" Hanekoma's finger lazily made its way to Joshua's direction, "'Fresh', it's not fresh; I need something 'now', something 'in'."

"'Groove King?" Joshua mused as he strolled around the counter and made himself a warm cup of coffee; he'd rather he made it than Hanekoma, "'Hipster Hanekoma'?" He tried again, taking a sip of coffee.
Bitter.

"I guess Imagination doesn't determine imagination." Hanekoma quipped, giving Joshua a dull look.

"Ooh, just about as scathing as your coffee, Sanae." Joshua playfully accented the last word and took a seat.

"I suppose you want the Player count then, Josh?" Ignoring him, Hanekoma posed the question, knowing from routine that the answer was likely 'yes'.

"Yes please, Player count minus one." Joshua sang as he spun his now empty cup on his finger.

"Minus one?"

"Yes," Joshua crooned, "she had a lovely outfit on..." He noted nonchalantly as the cup's spinning finally ceased; Joshua laid it on the table with a 'clink', and gazed out the window, watching the chaos of the Reapers' Game as if it were some TV show, and beamed, imagining what it would be a Player,
"Pegaso if I'm not mistaken."
Just another day.

20 hours left.

Beep, bee-

Click

Joshua awoke precisely 9 seconds before his alarm clock sounded, and was promptly silenced. As per usual.
6:00am.

7 hours left... Ugh.
Since school ended yesterday, Joshua found himself involuntarily thinking about how many 'hours' were left.
Left until...? Not even he knew.

Paying it no mind, Joshua got out of bed, dressed, ate breakfast, brushed his teeth, and departed for school, weaving around the Players, Reapers, and Noise that littered the cityscape.
As if he could touch them.

Finally arriving at school, Joshua went straight to the basketball court; he didn't intend to play, but walking through the indoor court was the fastest way to get to the school gardens, where he could be alone.

Whoosh...!

Ball on the left.
Joshua immediately stopped walking and stuck his hand out in front of him, catching the ball that came whizzing in from his left without looking, the ball would have hit him directly in the head if he had not stopped walking.
But he did stop.

"What the..."

"How the hell did he do that...?"

A few students murmured as he twirled the ball in an untroubled, almost uninterested manner.
They're getting bolder... Joshua observed, he was often a victim of bullying, but it was only since this week in which it had become physical, it was usually just words or theft.

"Dude, he wasn't even looking...!"

He hadn't actually heard the ball, though he did see it coming.
Limited precognition did come in handy.

"'ey yo, Priss!" A rough voice shouted out, the one who had thrown the ball was a strong, though short basketball player, "give it here!"
Joshua slowly turned his head to look at him, before smirking and pitching the ball so that it got wedged in-between the basketball hoop and the backboard, a basketballer's worst nightmare.

"Have fun, shorty." Joshua maliciously taunted with an infuriatingly polite smile on his face before sticking his hands in his pockets and continuing towards the gardens.

SNAP

Joshua could swear that he heard something snap in the athlete's head before he sprinted and lunged for Joshua.

"You-" Right before his fingers closed around Joshua's slender neck...
Fall.
... He tripped and smashed into the ground face-first, Joshua continued walking as if nothing had happened.
Telekinesis also came in handy.

Ding... Dong...

The school bells tolled as the clock struck 9; Joshua gave a disappointed sigh and changed direction, heading for his homeroom.

4 hours left...

Joshua slowly walked down the front steps of Aoyama High School, making his way to Cat Street, subconsciously twirling his platinum blond hair around his fingers as he walked.

7 minutes left... Gah, there it is again.
Joshua flipped his phone open and checked the time: 1:01pm.
Nothing special.

Right?

Deciding to take a shortcut, Joshua cut through some bushes and entered a nearby alley, it was dark, damp, and narrow, but it was excellent for getting to Cat Street extra-fast.

Shotput.
... 'Shotput'?
Joshua tilted his head ever so slightly to the left and raised his right hand, catching the heavy metal sphere that was aimed at the back of his skull; turning around, he saw his assailant wearing a balaclava, and looking a little bit shocked.

"Why hello, Ira." Joshua giggled, much to the masked figure's dismay.

"What... How!?"

Behind.
Joshua didn't even bother to catch it this time, he simply ducked his head to allow the second shotput ball to sail over him and hit Ira in the ribs.

"Augh...!"

"I saw you talking to them," Joshua indicated behind him with his thumb, "before you transferred; it was a safe bet," he smirked, but he was just about fed up with it all, "you may as well all come out now...!" Joshua added in a bored voice.
It was boring. So boring.
Life was boring.

Two other balaclava-wearing teenagers crept out from behind him, he was surrounded.

"Y-... You're gonna pay for what happened to my bro!" The shorter one roared, but he stuttered, he was obviously spooked by Joshua's uncanny reflexes.

"Oh, you again," Joshua laughed, (his assailant flinched upon being recognized,) "your 'bro'? Please," he giggled again, "you mean to blame me for your 'bro' being arrested for assaulting me?" He pronounced 'bro' as if it were a foreign word

"Yeah, well it was your dad who landed him in the slammer."

"Well, when father heard that your 'bro'-"

"Stop that!"

"- that your 'bro' had scarred my pretty face, he just had to get even, you know? He is the head prose-"

"Shut up, just shut up!"

BZZZT...!

He ripped a small, oblique object out of his pocket and pointed it threateningly at Joshua, he wanted to see him afraid.
He didn't.

"Oh... No...!" Joshua raised his arms in front of himself in mock terror, "are you going to get me? Are you going to use your little stun-guns to get me-"

"Arrgh...!" On his command, all three attackers rushed towards Joshua, who just giggled for one last time.

"I think we can help each other here..." He whispered as he raised up a sharp piece of metal with his mind...
Just another day.

1:08pm.

Ding

"Welcome to WildKat!" Hanekoma announced cheerily as he heard the front door open and shut, "where the coffee is hip, and the beans are-... Joshua, kid, what happened to you?" Hanekoma's ordinarily laid-back demeanour disappeared upon seeing the state that Joshua was in, his clothes were torn, his hair was unusually messy, and dirt and grime were all over his body, along with... Blood?
The corners of Joshua's mouth stretched wide apart, and he giggled, unable to hide the happy emotions he was experiencing.

"Oh, I've just... Started over, Mr. H."

"'Mister'-" Hanekoma began, concerned.

"Do you like it? I came up with it on the way here, it could be either 'Mr. Hanekoma', or 'Mr. Hipster'." Joshua's grin grew even larger; contrary to his appearance, Joshua looked the happiest that Hanekoma had ever seen him.

"Joshua...!" Hanekoma's eyes widened as he noticed something about him, "did you... You didn't..."

"Oh, I did," Joshua confirmed Hanekoma's suspicions instantly, "they'll be coming for me any moment now."

"Kid..."

"Hahaha...!" Joshua burst out laughing again as he studied Hanekoma's expression, "Mr. H... Your face is priceless."

7 Days Left.

High-Five for ambiguous endings!

I'm not sure how you'll take what actually happened at the end, but there is a correct answer, so take that, self-interpretations!

Due to circumstances such as my location, life events, and me being a complete idiot, this was both late and written in under 3 hours, so I am SORRY for the quality, (or lack thereof.)

But! I will be on time for the next Prompt, which is...

'Romance Most Contrived'.

...
'Romance'.

...
NNNNNNNNNNFU- *Explodes*

P.S. Check out the Twelve Shots of Summer forum and definitely check out everyone else's work! It is 'emazing'~
(At least, compared to this horror that you've just read :P)

P.P.S. I feel I should mention that 'le Chaotic Guardian' is actually 'Chronic Guardian' XD