The World We Live In:

I do not own The World Ends With You, Square Enix does!

Written for Twelve Shots of Summer - Week 6…

"Focus!"

With little force, Kazumasa pushed back Takeshi with his katana. "Be ready at moment's notice!"

The younger boy, dark orange haired and a bit gangly, toppled to the ground upon his stumble. As the young boy's sword flew from his grasp, Kazumasa couldn't help but sigh.

Takeshi had been so eager to learn from him Kazumasa had to wonder if the boy was admiring his technique rather than parrying his blows. It was times like these that he felt Takeshi would never fare well as a Reaper one day...

Kazumasa grimaced. It was avoidable, but allowing Takeshi a seat with the Reapers would be the only way to guarantee his existence. If they took much longer in delaying his ascent to Reaper, there would be suspicion, there would be riots... just because one denizen from the Underground wasn't working for their existence…

Takeshi would never be an exception.

Cancelling his Psych, he placed his cane down. He adjusted his grip before he strolled over, ignoring the clacks it gave out. "You weren't paying attention..."

"It was hard..." came the 9 year old's reply, now sitting up as soon as Kazumasa came to tower over him. "Y'know, with your left hand..."

"Just because I use my left hand," started Kazumasa as he helped the boy to his feet, "doesn't mean you shouldn't lower your guard, Takeshi..."

"But it's true!" protested the boy hotly, yet his tone was filled with slight awe."Your left handed technic is... hard to avoid! Can't you just... use your right hand for a bit?"

"It would be the extent of tying my hand behind my back, Takeshi..." grunted Kazumasa as he bent down to collect the fallen weapon, firmly gripping the katana as he lifted it up before he flicked his wrist to make the weapon's handle face the young child. "It would be useless, impractical..." He met Takeshi's green eyes."Don't you agree?"

It was a while until the 9 year old shrugged. He took the sword with both of his hands, doubling over slightly before he soon found his balance with the sword

Takeshi was still naive, Kazumasa reminded himself as he watched the bright-eyed boy. The world was waiting for the child to explore it to discover many of its wonders and skeletons... However, it was useless the very child was dead. Takeshi was still in the premature age of awareness, having a childish sense of the world… If he didn't understand by now it was kill or be killed, erasure would await his arrival.

The child fell down when Kazumasa finished his blow, his glasses falling off his face. As soon as the child pushed himself up to his feet, he scowled briefly at the ground before scooping up his glasses to place them on his nose. "C-Could we take a break, Mister Kazumasa?"

Kazumasa sighed, returning his cane to normal and tapping it down. "With all these breaks you could be getting stronger, Takeshi..."

The boy lifted his rapier, the fine sword that Kazumasa could see the boy was adapting to quickly. He blinked his light-coloured eyes before he whined, "But I can't keep up! You keep giving me different swords to use!"

"You can, you will..." responded Kazumasa firmly as he summoned his Psych again, adjusting his katana as he faced the orange haired boy. "Once you find your weapon of asset, you will succeed."

"Succeed?" Takeshi pointed his rapier down, slumping his shoulders. "What do you mean?"

"I'm sure you're aware of how the Reapers fight for their survival..." explained Kazumasa as the boy looked away. "To live, to survive... is to take from others-"

"But I don't want to!" squeaked Takeshi in frustration. "It's- It's wrong!"

"No, only a child like you would think that..." mused Kazumasa in disappointment, watching as the child scowled at his rapier in hand, which he now clenched hard. "I apologize for this, Takeshi... but it's how this Plane works-"

"I don't want to hurt people! It's wrong!" shouted Takeshi louder as he shook his head.

"Then how else will you survive?" asked Kazumasa sternly when Takeshi threw him a scowl. "Reapers need to defeat Players in order to collect Reaper Points... their currency for survival! If you can't fight, how else do you expect you will?"

"I don't want to be a Reaper! I just-" Takeshi's speech faltered slightly, becoming shakier as he closed his green eyes. "I..."

No sooner did Kazumasa take a step towards the boy was when Takeshi threw the rapier, making Kazumasa instantly draw his blade up to deflect it. For a second or two the older man stared at the fallen weapon before glancing at the boy, who flinched at once. Half a moment later the glasses-wearing boy let out a shaky exhale, then sniffled.

Kazumasa sighed, he cancelled his Psych again and meandered towards the 9 year old.

By now Takeshi was crying, rubbing his eyes with his little hands. Kazumasa couldn't help but hesitate as he heard the child breakdown. He was not a man who knew how to take care of children, Diana was more of that. When she was still alive she used to always tell him how she wished to have her own children, despite her inability to bear them after an accident that happened many years before her coming of age. So he couldn't find any words to console the child before him, merely waiting for Takeshi to calm himself down.

As Kazumasa walked down the hallway, he felt a hand wiggle into his own. He stiffened at first; slowly turning his head down to the 9 year old who was desperately trying to catch up and match his pace. He soon halted when Takeshi began to tighten his grip.

"Takeshi..." he grunted sternly.

"Yes, Mister Kazumasa?" asked Takeshi innocently as his eyes peered up at him brightly.

"Could you stop doing that."

At once Takeshi frowned, his green eyes shifting into confused pools. "What do you mean?" he asked quietly.

"Holding my hand, first of all." He blinked as Takeshi turned his head away to the ground. "And to not call me by that nickname."

"B-But..." Takeshi bit his lip, refusing to let go despite Kazumasa's request. "Why?"

Kazumasa merely sighed. "Takeshi, it's unprofessional…" he explained wearily.

"But I…" Takeshi made a little squeak before he pointed towards a group of Reapers, crying out with disbelief, "They call you Kazumasa! I don't understand why I can't!"

"You may not understand now… but one day you will, Takeshi…" explained Kazumasa as he noticed how the Reapers were watching them now. He suppressed the urge to grimace and merely smiled politely with a nod, getting nods in return as he turned away to amble, only to have Takeshi grip his hand harder and scurry to follow.

After a few minutes of walking he noticed how Takeshi merely was allowing him to lead them, not even meeting his gaze when Kazumasa looked down upon the child's face.

It was amazing, how a child such as this one managed to survive a week of the Reaper's Game… only at the expense of losing his sister… Kazumasa never had siblings, as far as he heard of at least, but he couldn't help but feel a strange emotion creep over him as he watched Takeshi. If Takeshi was the only survivor amongst him and his twin, what would it matter if it was his sister, Mika, who survived rather than him? Either child would be going through the same hardship if they lost each other... as far as Kazumasa could assume.

The day Takeshi lost Mika was a tragic day, even when relying on older Players they managed to lose each other… it had been the final blow of the week that did it. The Gamemaster had unleashed an attack that would have consumed all of them, herself and the Players, throwing away everyone's existence for the sake of defeating the Players that week… But then Mika was the one to push Takeshi away from her, out of range of the attack, out of range to save her… Kazumasa even remembered how it sent Takeshi into shock for the next few hours, how Diana couldn't bare to subject her judgment onto him… Was it her empathy towards children or the very tragedy that allowed her to offer mercy to the child was something Kazumasa still didn't understand to this day, even when he asked her several times over the course of the month for why she allowed a child to survive and not be plunged back into the hardship of the Reaper's Game.

For all Kazumasa knew, erasing the child who won by default was not in Diana's nature… But allowing the child to survive, when hopes of survival in the Underground were slim, was something his mind could never wrap around. To him, the child should have been erased when they had the chance, to at least spare him from experiencing an erasure from something that wasn't as merciful. In the end, there was very little chance at survival for the boy in question. However, Diana was certain by training the young boy he would be ready to face the Noise and Players head on one day...

But could Takeshi really?

The thought left a bitter sensation in Kazumasa.

They soon arrived at one of the spare rooms they had, one that was given to Takeshi for the very moment. Kazumasa opened its door, waiting for the boy to release his hand so Kazumasa could go on to work… However, the child merely turned to him, puffy eyed as his tears fell silently down his flushed face.

"What's wrong?" Kazumasa asked in confusion as he noticed how Takeshi didn't speak or indicate what he felt. Kazumasa could feel a tinge of sympathy as he knelt down, searching the boy's eyes.

The puffy banged child sniffled, "W-Why am I h-here?" after a second or two he frowned as his little body shook. "I-I don't understand… I j-just wanna go h-home… to the o-orphanage… w-with M-Mika…"

"You can't go home…" Kazumasa said sternly. Soon he had to set down his cane, finding it was now uncomfortable to hold while kneeling. So he gave a steady stare to the boy, ignoring how his one knee wanted to give out. "At the moment, there's no way to-"

"B-But I want to!" shouted Takeshi sharply as his eyes flashed, narrowing in anger as his other hand balled into a fist. "I-I don't w-want… I don't want to be here! N-Not fighting… n-not hurting people… Y-Yet… yet you keep trying to m-make me!"

With a sigh, Kazumasa blinked as a harsh sob escaped Takeshi. "It's the only way for you to survive…"

"N-Not without Mika!" Takeshi sniveled, shaking his head, not seeming to care that his curly bangs were hitting his face. "I-I can't… I-I can't…" Finally he lowered his head, shaking as he sobbed, "Wh-Why should I… b-be here? Sh-She needed me… y-yet I… I…"

It didn't take long for Kazumasa to realize the boy had blamed himself… For a child as young as Takeshi, the world at the moment made no sense to him. Everything that had happened during that week made no sense, as far as the boy was concerned... Sure, the boy showed signs of intelligence beyond average children his age, but considering the situation that was subjected to him, Takeshi was still a child who needed guidance… Not forceful, not relentless… patience and support was needed. Even if Kazumasa wasn't one for children, he could at least provide to the best of his abilities.

Despite how he viewed sitting on the ground was uncouth, he sat down (just this once, he promised himself) and pulled Takeshi towards him. Kazumasa knew his suit and pants would need dry cleaning after this, but he had to worry about that later…

"Don't worry, you're here for a reason," he said quietly to the young boy. "If you let me, I can help train you, train you so you can defend yourself..." At once the boy squeaked and shook his head fervently. "And those who are dear to you."

"B-But M-Mika…"

"I can help you through this." Kazumasa felt how the boy gripped his suit harder. "I can help you become stronger… You need to trust me, and I will make sure you will survive, for both yourself and your sister. She saved you, Takeshi, you need to make sure you cherish the chance you gained from her."

"What chance?" Takeshi cried out dolefully. "Sh-She's gone! My sister is gone!"

After a moment or two Kazumasa inhaled, closing his eyes as he replied solemnly, "Yes, your sister is gone, there's no hiding that. But, that is how life is... People come, people go. As painful as it is to watch them leave you behind, you must move on."

"M-Move on?" Takeshi sniffled, his tears kept rolling down his cheeks when Kazumasa opened his midnight blue eyes. He noticed how the child looked up at him in confusion. "But she..."

"I am familiar with moving on myself, Takeshi," said Kazumasa as memories filled his mind, he inhaled as he tried to not grimace. "I lost my parents at a young age as well." That caught Takeshi's attention at once, but Kazumasa didn't pay much attention to it. "I do not remember them as clear as I want to, but it took a while for me to find the resolve to continue on with my life. I do not even remember if I had siblings, for all I know I was an only child. But if it had not been for the Composer's household... I might have died at a younger age than I had as a young adult. For the age I lived in, medical technology was not as advanced as it is now."

For a while Takeshi was silent, his sobs decreasing as he merely clung to Kazumasa. But then he spoke, his voice shaky as he sniffled, "Wh-What happened?"

The very question was a familiar one, many had asked him that for many years. For a man as young looking as him, many of the Reapers probably wondered why he held a cane with him. In fact, Kazumasa never meant to tell Takeshi about his life, but the spur of his memories prompted him to do so. It hit him that if he didn't at least enlighten the boy the rest of his tale, the healing process for the boy's heart would take longer. And what did it matter if one more denizen of the Underground knew about him...

Kazumasa merely looked at his knee. "My parent's house collapsed in on itself during the night..." he paused before he added in painfully, "And when I tried to escaped, my leg was nearly crushed."

At once Takeshi looked at Kazumasa's knee, frowning as Kazumasa went on sadly, "I was fortunate the Composer was my neighbour... I could have died if she had not woken up and roused her parents from their slumber to clear away the beam that held my leg down. I could have lost my leg that day, but I had not. And while I had survived, my parents had not. It took a long time until I had gotten over their deaths. But every time I use my cane, its a constant reminder of that day."

Takeshi merely looked away, it didn't seem like he wanted to look at Kazumasa. But Kazumasa couldn't blame him, the story was painful to relay, but over time the pain that had stung his heart horribly became a tinge on the old scar.

"...Do I have to move on?" asked Takeshi finally, catching Kazumasa by surprise at how firm his tone was at the moment. "It just... sounds so hard... So how can I move on? Is that what you want from me, Mister Kazumasa?"

"Yes... yes it is, Takeshi," replied Kazumasa with a nod.

"B-But why?"

It took a while until Kazumasa could formulate a response to the question, "…It's just how the world works. The Realground's, the Underground's… it's required in any of them. Sometimes, the world may be against you, but if you abide to its rules…" Kazumasa blinked as a swell of uncertainty filled him. "You may be given the chance to see the world in a brighter light."

"But that makes no sense…"

Kazumasa smiled at that. "It will, one day…" he said firmly.

- End -

I hope you enjoyed the story! =3

…

EeveeGen9988: Wow... I didn't know how hard it was to edit using an iPad until now... So I'm sorry if the story isn't entirely polished as my stories usually are... *shakes paws in the air* Oh the woe of not having my laptop! Oh the woe!

Yeah, I made another one-shot with Kazumasa in it... with Takeshi! *looks around the room* Y'know, Takeshi? What, don't recognize him? Well, I don't blame anyone for not recognizing Takeshi... because this is his first appearance! =D Hahaha... (yes, I pulled that!)... Not happy with that? Hmm... considering how he's going to appear in one of my stories soon... why not? *EeveeGen9988 shrugs*

This time I took [Master and Student]... Yeah, I don't know if everything fell apart or not in the end... heh... But still, it's clear that Kazumasa will have to teach Takeshi about everything in the Underground. So Kazumasa is the [Master] and Takeshi is the [Student]... Whether or not Takeshi will understand what it means to move on, only time will decide...