Well, all of you people…. Thanks for reviewing and being with this crappy story till the end! I'd like to thank anyone who read, review, put a story alert, favorite this story. You're all awesome in my book. BY THE WAY, anyone going to the AX on July 1-4? IMMA GOING! It's my second time going and it's going to be awweeeessome. I'm going on the Friday, Sunday, and Monday.

Some Important notes:

Wah, my scrolling bar looks smaller. Good, you're looking at twenty six pages of pure awesomeness, crack, unnecessary shit, saliva, and time spent on Microsoft Word.

You LIED! I apologize for the lateness. I was trying to make this chapter as long as possible but when I was closing the progress down for the day, when I wasn't looking, my mom came along and deleted it. Yes, she knows how to use a computer. However, she does not know that my story was on a FLASH DRIVE. You have no clue how much that pissed me off. I could not restore it and I have to rewrite…again. My mom calls it, "I'm doing a favor for you by taking that story off your hands." …And I was so close to writing the end too…so I had to rewrite 25 pages of this story. I apologize of some parts seem rushed.

Crack? Of course, my pretties. Pass these crack cookies around. I baked them just yesterday.

On an even more important note: I'd like to thank Chronos Mephistopheles, mochiusagi, totallycraz4anime, orangeducttape, flairina, Animeluver4evertimes2, Frostii, Fenriz, Lega, Nayunari 'Ayu' Tsuki, and m33p01 for gracing me with their lovely words and presences, reenergizing me to finish this story up with the finale it deserves, once and for all. You guys all deserve cake. Take these crack cakes; they're fresh from the oven.

Warning: I want to act like a storyteller who tells the events to make it seem as warm and sweet sounding and informative as possible. Unfortunately, now that I reread this…my crack phase has appeared. A lot. I apologize.

Disclaimer: I don't own TWEWY or manga. Or obscure Pokemon references. Or Yu-Gi-Oh. Or poptarts. Or Shinjuku or Minato. I just own my OCs.

/

Mr. Mew's Psychology

The black-haired stuffed cat sat on a desk, facing the "crowd." He waved one stump of an arm at the "crowd." Mr. Mew nodded before making gestures with his hand. Hello there, people. Do you remember me? I'm here to update my dictionary of people analyzing as shown in the intermission before. I will tell you my new updated definition of Neku. Apparently, seeing how these events unfold in the last weeks, Neku has somewhat changed my opinion of him. I shall speak now of him. Mr. Mew placed his paws in his lap as he continued. Before, in my opinion, I thought that Neku was your average emo Cloud-wannabe who couldn't have enough balls to face reality itself. However now, I see this boy as a strong young person, able to withstand the horrors of cross-dressing and dresses for two weeks, and in public too no less. Also, with this new data, it crosses my mind that Neku is a secret closet gay who loves nothing more than to cuddle up with the Composer, the poster child and idol of gay people everywhere. Although he will never be the man his mother was, he can accomplish and jump over many obstacles in his life for the sake of money and friends when he's forced. I'm Mr. Mew, a young doctor with a PhD in psychology, reporting out. Farewell,, my fellow friends. Mr. Mew waved goodbye.

0.o.0.o.0.

It was an extraordinarily sunny day in the ever so busy city of Shibuya. People bustled and shoved others to the ground to get to their destination. Ah, yes. It was perfectly normal. It was not quiet but just the same-

"Ow! Stop it already, Eri!" Neku scowled in his fake voice, rubbing his throbbing cheeks. The happy fashion designer just pinched his cheeks for the fifth time outside. They were waiting in front of the Hachiko Statue. The Bito siblings were not here yet.

"You're ugly."

"Excuse me?" Neku stopped leaning against the statue to turn to the pink-haired girl in an indignant manner. He squirmed a little under her intense gaze and pulled the blue fabric down more over his knees.

Eri shook her head in a disapproving way before glaring at him. "Smile, girl. Smile. And stop pulling on your dress. It's not going to get magically longer."

The fashion designer should have really expected no less when the dress clad boy stuck his middle finger at her. Shiki giggled lightly as Neku did a very unladylike gesture. It was so contrasting with his whole appearance and screwed up voice. Her laughter died away quickly when the boy swiveled his unnerving glare onto her.

"Where is Beat and Rhyme anyway? They were supposed to meet us ten minutes ago." Neku questioned out loud, looking both ways for the two. There was a massive horde of people walking both ways but the two siblings were nowhere in sight. The orange-haired boy sighed, thinking that he shouldn't be too surprised if Beat got distracted by food on the way here.

"You seem quite eager today. Ready to show off your new threads?" Joshua hopped off the statue and patted the boy lightly on the back.

"Shut up, gay boy." Neku retorted effortlessly before turning to ignore the Composer.

"Hypocrite." Shiki murmured under her breath.

"What did you say? Because if-"

"Nothing!"

Neku did not press into the matter and found it surprising that no one so far had questioned his gender. He sighed in relief. He guessed that Eri's and Shiki's handiwork on his face and clothing was a success. He was not proud that he was put in a feminine piece of clothing but he was relieved that nobody recognized him. The fact that his mother went out to buy some clothes was a plus. He did not need his mother to see him like this. The prospect of his mother seeing him like this made him queasy. The fact that Eri and Joshua will probably make him stay out here much longer than "two hours" threw him over the edge. His stomach turned unpleasantly, prompting to let out an emotionally melancholic noise.

"What's wrong, dear?" Joshua immediately noticed the other sighing as if he was displeased with something.

"I don't feel so good." The other mumbled. The Composer rolled his eyes. He could sense that the boy was just unnecessarily pessimistic. Again. For the umpteenth time. Smirking, he decided to do something else. Joshua softly raised his hand and stroked Neku's face gently, relishing the scarlet face he brought onto the other.

"I think you feel good. It's smooth….Like velvet." Joshua whispered in an unnecessarily sultry voice. He resisted the urge to burst out laughing when Neku spluttered out indignantly and shoved him away immediately. He almost tripped on his heels. The Composer shook his head disapprovingly.

"Neku, walk like a lady. Right now, you're walking like a bloated elephant."

"I don't walk like a lady because I'm not one!"

"With that attitude, anyone could tell that you're male within being five minutes in your presence. I must teach you some more feminine rules to mask your masculinity."

"Are you trying to say something about us girls?" Eri turned her head, offended at Joshua's statement. Neku ignored the somewhat sexist statement before shooting him a deadpanned look.

"Oh, you would know how to act like a lady, Josh."

The four waited for five minutes longer then finally, a familiar beanie boy appeared with his complementary little sister tagging behind him.

"Yo! Yo! YO! What's up, yo!"

"Hey there, everyone!"

Neku couldn't help but smile at Rhyme's little wave gesture. It did not last though. He threw an irritated look in Beat's direction. The dumbass was late.

"You're late, Beat."

Beat guffawed loudly. "Heh, I saw the most bestest skateboard I have seen in mah life, yo!"

Neku's irritation melted away and he nodded knowingly. His blue eyes glowed with smirking mirth. Beat had the attention span of a fly when it came to skateboards. Wait, Neku took that back. Beat never had a very focused attention span overall. "Alright, you're off the hook this time, Beat."

"Thanks, Phones. Wait, you're not Phones! Who the heck is this chick?" Beat pointed an accusing finger in surprise at the "chick" in front of him. His crappy memory failed him. Said "chick" sighed in irritation and glanced at Joshua. The Composer nodded and twitched his fingers slightly.

"It's me, you dumbass." Neku replied in his normal bored and deep voice.

"Bwhaaa?" as expected, Beat's reaction was total shock and disbelief before turning into guffaws and incoherent gibberish. "Y-you….dress?...Bwahahaha! Aww, Phones, you killing me!" It was amazing of how fucking thick Beat's skull was.

"Why do I even try…?"

"Well, that's good, right? If you were able to fool Beat, you can fool everyone else. You almost fooled me too." Rhyme piped up optimistically. However, Neku did not feel less unnerved.

"This is Beat. He can be fooled by pretty much almost anything."

"Hey! I can hear you!"

"Anyway, let's get this over with already. People are starting to stare at us." Neku commented, nonchalantly ignoring the other's outburst.

"Why you ignorin' me?"

"I find it amusing that despite the disadvantage our lovely 'Sora' is at right now; she managed to still gain the upper hand with little effort." Joshua teased lightly, making Beat complain boisterously.

Neku cleared his throat impatiently and tapped one high heeled foot rapidly. "Are we going to leave now? I want to get this bet done and over with."

"Ha! I bet you won't even last an hour, Phones! That yen is MINE!"

"I plan not to lose, Beat."

"Well, neither do I, Phones! I already know what I'm gonna do with that amount!"

"I already knew what I wanted to buy since day One."

"Aww, shaddup, Phones."

"Says you."

The two boys glared at each other, willing for the other to lose. A lot of yen was on the line after all. Shiki tried to thin the tension between them.

"H-hey, anyone hungry? I could go for some late lunch! It's two after all!"

Eri pumped an energetic fist in the air before bursting out in happiness. "Yes! We go to Ramen Don first! I'm starving!"

The group started to walk into the familiar busy Scramble Crossing. Ten minutes later, they reached Dogenzaka. After exchanging greetings with Ken Doi and waiting for a couple minutes, the six were eating. Nothing interesting happened when they were eating. Nobody looked at them as if the group were out of the ordinary. Joshua was still making his weird sounds with the shio ramen while Beat was arguing with Ken Doi of "What the hell? What kind of restaurant does NOT have curry? FUCKIN' CURRY, MAN!" After some yelling from the owner, Rhyme pacified both of them and brought Beat back and the two joined eating as well. Eri was busy picking all the carrots out of her rice and placing them neatly in a napkin. Neku made sure to take painful advantage of Shiki's promise of free shio ramen for a month. Shiki could almost hear her wallet wailing pitifully as she bought Neku his fourth bowl of shio ramen.

"You're the best, Shiki." Neku smiled warmly as he wolfed down another bowl of his favorite food. He knew quite well that Shiki's wallet was suffering painfully. He laughed mentally in cruel glee. The other customers stared in awe as the seemingly skinny "girl" gobbled down another bowl before wiping her mouth quietly. Joshua shook his head disapprovingly and turned away from his food to try cajoling the boy to eat more ladylike. The Composer only received a look that clearly said, "Screw off, pansy."

The glasses girl looked at her own bowl of food then back at Neku. She felt a pang of envy. Neku's rapid metabolism prevented him from getting fat any time soon.

Shiki glanced at Joshua. She was not really sure of where Neku stood with Joshua but she was sure that they went through a lot. After all, Joshua managed to draw emotions out of Neku that even she could not bring out. People thought that Shiki was the first one to bring out emotions like caring and love out of the antisocial boy and she is happy to take credit for that but Joshua brought out some of the more stronger emotions that Shiki could never bring out.

Neku's relationship with Joshua impacted him the most. Joshua was someone he thought he could relate to and with some difficulty, Neku was able to learn how to accept and trust him. However, Joshua shattered those feelings during the last Week. Shiki could never forget Neku's expression. It showed everything that Neku never showed on his face. It impacted him so much that Neku started crying; something that Shiki could've never brought out. However, despite the circumstances, Neku couldn't bring himself to shoot and kill Joshua. That was a sign that Neku, indeed, cared for him.

The brown-haired girl took some small bites of her food and nodded solemnly to herself. The chances of Neku and Joshua getting together are pretty big. She closed her eyes then sighed.

"Oi, Shiki. Something wrong?" Neku asked in a concerned manner. When Shiki started to look around wildly in confusion at the sudden question, the boy threw her a blank and knowing look. "…Should've expected it."

The six continued to eat in silence before Beat got really bored. He was really, really, really bored. He didn't have enough money to buy another bowl and he didn't want to ask Eri or Rhyme for money. He was still hungry and he only had rice after eating the meat. Everyone knows that you can't eat plain rice without CURRY. So, he drummed his chopsticks on the table until Neku told him to quit it. The skateboarder leaned against the table before slowly smirking as an idea formed to mind. Taking his chopsticks and picking up some rice, he flicked it at Neku's head. A soft audible pat was heard as it made contact with Neku's cheek. Blue eyes turned at his attacker in confusion.

"Beat, what are you doin- Stop it!" Neku guarded his face with his arms as Beat flicked some more rice at his face. The orange-haired boy felt his arms being pelted with sticky rice. This continued for a few more times before Neku scrunched up a napkin and threw it at Beat's head aggressively.

"Yeah, now we talking, Phones!" Beat crowed energetically as he flicked more rice with his chopsticks. Neku tried to aim another napkin at Beat's head but the cloth landed in Shiki's bowl. The girl gasped in surprise before giggling and throwing a soy sauce packet at Neku. He laughed and elbowed Joshua by accident who in turn poked him in the cheek with his one of his chopsticks. Soon, Eri joined in and she and Beat teamed up to flick rice at Neku. In the midst of all this, Rhyme, being the good girl she was, was sweet and content, eating her soba noodles.

"Take the rice like a true Asian, you! Take it like you live in Japan!" (1) Eri hollered loudly as she flicked more white rice at Neku who guarded his head and threw a scrunched up chopstick wrapper. It was pretty fun, having a mini food fight. That is, until Ken Doi got fed up and threw them out.

0.o.0.o.0.

The group never finished eating but they were lucky enough not to get banned. They decided to head to the 104 Building next. Eri apparently got a text message that the Prince will be gracing his heavenly presence onto the place. Neku expected no less from her when she started squealing and pulling them towards the building. Rhyme dragged Beat into the nearby Wild Boar store when said boy began to get jealous of Eri's stolen attention.

Dragged into the Edoga the Shop, Neku was immediately hit with the casual yet stylish clothing. Just as the text message said, in front of him, the Prince was busy inspecting a pair of tight jeans. To Neku's left, he saw a gaggle of girls hiding conspicuously behind a small clothing rack. They were all staring in admiration and infatuation. Eri and Shiki were no exceptions except they gazed at the Prince out in the open. Neku realized he was going to be stuck here. For some time. Stupid pretty boy idol. How dare Eri compared him to this guy.

The boy decided to use one of the few advantages of using a handbag that Eri oh so conveniently procured out of nowhere and stuck on him as soon as they stepped outside his house. He zipped it open. He scowled when he pulled out a bottle. A makeup remover. He threw it back in and looked through his bag. He was surprised to see his regular shoes, compliments to Eri for a change, and became tempted to wear them while chucking out the heels. However, he refrained and pulled out a manga volume instead. If he was going to be stuck here, he ought to spend his time wisely, updating on his manga. He was glad that they passed by a store that sold manga on the way to Hachiko Statue. He leaned casually against a wall near the exit, opened his book, and delved into the story.

He was so immersed into reading the first few pages that he almost did not hear Joshua's sudden snarky and intentionally detrimental comments.

"Oh? What's this, manga?"

"Shut up, Josh." Neku muttered with his eyes still glued onto the attractive black and white pages.

"Is it a good manga?"

"Yes, quiet now."

"Is it Loveless? Heard that was pretty good."

"Never heard of it."

"What about Junjou Romantica?"

"What the hell is that?"

"Oh? It's such a fine manga. I thought an otaku like yourself would know."

"I'm not an otaku."

"Says the person who copies hairstyles from manga."

Neku closed his book shut and placed it back in his bag irritably. He reluctantly turned his head to the Composer. The Composer gave him waggish expression in response. Neku opened his mouth to throw back a snide remark of his own until-

"AH! F this! F this to the high heavens!" Eiji Oji has famously 'F'ed yet another thread. In an ostentatious motion, he held up the pair of jeans. As if on cue, the girls cheered him obsequiously. As he set the pair of jeans down, he noticed the group staring at him. Eiji walked towards them before looking at Neku appraisingly.

"That's quite an outfit you have there. What brand is that?" he asked, rubbing his chin in thought.

"Well…"

"It's my design, P-Prince!" Eri blurted out suddenly, bowing in respect. Shiki nodded vigorously.

Eiji grinned warmly before staring at the dress admiringly. He threw his famous white coat over his shoulder. "Quite a simple but demure design. It looks nice. But, it looks like its handiwork was done by a professional. Did you hire someone to make it for you?"

The brown-haired girl's face flushed tenfold as she stuttered incoherently. Shiki pushed the glasses up the bridge of her nose and looked down in embarrassment; fidgeting with Mr. Mew in her arms. Eri was frozen solid, gazing fixatedly at the Prince. Neku sighed and decided to step in.

"My friend, Shiki. She sewed it herself."

Eiji looked surprised before congratulating the two girls by patting them on the backs. "You are both very gifted. I hope to see more of your work in the future. I'll put a good word for you to Makoto, hmm?" With a charming smile, he strutted out of the store with éclat. The girls in the store swooned, enamored by him. Eri and Shiki were no exceptions as they were reduced to a puddle of sighs and whatnot.

As soon as he left, a blur of hot pink went by and snatched up the pair of pants that the Prince just christened. The other girls remonstrated in anger.

Chewing her bubble gum loudly, the girl smirked and glared challengingly to anyone who dare try to take the pants away from her. Protests died out quickly. Neku, Shiki, and Joshua recognized the girl immediately. They watched in trepidation as Uzuki Yashiro walked up to the shop counter, flaunting the holy pants. Eri did not know who Uzuki really is other than the fact that she was the enemy of the Shibuya's White Angels so she turned her nose upwards and dragged Shiki towards another clothing rack. She was determined to ignore the fact that Uzuki won the holy jeans.

Neku sighed before kneeling down to fix his high heels. His heels were crying in anguish. Neku was sure that blisters will blossom soon. Just great. He massaged his heels and was in the process of snapping his heels back on until he saw a pair of white high heel boots click and stop in front of him. Neku did not want to look up. However, to keep the flow of this story, Neku was undoubtedly forced to raise his pretty head to meet eyes with the pink-haired Reaper.

"Well, who's this little kitten…or should I say, tomcat?" she cooed sarcastically.

Neku smoothed his dress and shot her a bored look. "My name is Sora."

Uzuki burst out in snickers. "Your appearance and voice can lie but your horrible and inferior personality is as clear as day."

"I am Sora. You got me confused for someone else...beeyotch." Neku muttered at the end under his breath. Luckily, Uzuki did not hear but she still pressed on. Joshua stifled some amused snorts.

"So…like, why are you dressed up as a girl anyway, kid?"

"I AM a girl." Neku gritted out in response. This bitch was pissing him off.

Uzuki snorted indignantly and crossed her arms, tapping her foot impatiently. "Come on, you're practically famous in the UG. I wouldn't be surprised if the Composer of Shinjuku heard of you. It's the same stupid and smelly aura. It sickens me."

Neku glanced to Joshua, as if, asking, "DO something, you stupid asshole of a god." However, Joshua kept his amused face plastered and did not raise a finger.

Then, as if for the first time, the Reaper noticed Joshua. Her eyes widened in shock. "You're…you're that kid who played the Game….alive. Mr. H said that you were a special case or something."

The Composer flipped his hair out of his eyes casually with a hint of arrogance. "You are correct. I AM special."

"Kinda high and mighty, aren't you? So, why are you here with Sora anyway?"

"I'm able to play and see weekly competitions among the dead while still being alive. That's pretty special, don't you think? Sora reminds me of my dear old partner." Joshua answered with a sugar-coated princely smile. He giggled and twisted a pale lock of hair. He enjoyed messing with people's minds.

Uzuki could see where Joshua earned the nickname, "Petit Prince." Angered at the bold comment, the Reaper made a move to retort but-

"Hey, the beat wagon is back!" boomed a familiar voice. Beat walked back in the store with Rhyme trailing behind him. He looked elated as he carried a skateboard under his arms. Neku could predict the poor skateboard to last at least a week before it breaks under the other's extreme skills. Beat's happy mood was dampened slightly when he saw the familiar Reaper who played with them during Week 3. "Hey there, Pinky. Still with the crazy hair color, I see, yo."

"Leave my hair out of this!"

"Tough, yo."

Letting out an outraged noise, Uzuki bit her lip and stomped her foot in frustration. Neku and Beat glanced at each other in a blank manner while Joshua still beamed in an unsurprised manner. They were not new to the frequent tantrums that Uzuki threw upon them during Week 3. Suddenly, another familiar Reaper stepped into the store.

"Well, those two got you good. Guess you lost the bet, eh, Uzuki?"

"Shut up, Kariya." Uzuki grumbled.

Koki Kariya walked towards them and sucked on his bean paste lollipop casually. He adjusted his shades and nodded faintly in respect towards Joshua before greeting Neku and Beat. He turned to Uzuki who was still in the after moments of her tantrum. "Another free ramen week."

"Ugh!" she moaned in unhappiness and anger.

"Eh, what going on?" Beat asked, befuddled.

Koki grinned and shrugged his shoulders lazily. "Oh, nothing much. We had a little bet. If Uzuki could get Neku to admit that he, indeed, was cross dressing out loud, I would buy her ramen for a month. But if she couldn't, she buys me ramen for a week. She lost." He took another long suck from his amber colored lollipop.

Beat let out a series of guffaws and snickers at Koki's statement, earning a murderous glare from the Pink Reaper.

"To think that you can't win against normal people, how will you survive against normal Players, Uzuki? You'll never get your so-called promotion at this rate." Koki sighed and shook his head in mock disappointment while holding his arms out lazily. The other clenched her fists tightly. Koki took no heed to her mood and continued. "Anyway, I'm starving. Let's get some food."

Uzuki screamed and pointed accusingly at Neku as if, he was the cause of her misery. Well, he was but you know what she meant. Koki shoved his hands inside his parka and grabbed Uzuki by the collar to leave the store. On Koki's way out, Joshua tapped his shoulder before softly whispering in his ear, "That promotion is still open, you know."

Koki smirked and shook his head. "I'm quite satisfied with my position…Yoshiya Kiryu." Then, the two Reapers left. Just like that.

Finally, after a long while, Shiki and Eri came back with a bag full of clothes. The pink haired girl stopped in front of Neku and stared at him like a fish.

Naturally, Neku became unnerved and slowly took a step back. "…What?"

Nobody could see it but the orange haired boy was whimpering and crying inside as Eri rubbed her hands together, chuckling darkly.

"Shiki and I found the kee-yutest outfit ever! And…we want you to try it." She drawled out innocently.

"Wha-what? No!"

"Aw, come on. This is the last day. And I have probably less than one and a half hours to savor it. Have a little pity for a poor fashion designer, Sora. Besides, you and our old model have the same body size. I want to send her dress since I just realize that I never properly thanked her for her contributions. Plus, her birthday is coming up."

"Are you saying that I have a woman body? And what's wrong with making an outfit at home? Where no one can see you?"

"Eh, Michiko never looked that girlish but that's her charm. She's a tomboy. She's got a nice svelte figure with not that many curves but she's a natural. Kinda like you. You're both comely in your own special way, rare in modeling. Shiki was too busy making stuff for you and Michiko's birthday is in a few days. She won't have time to make an outfit. So, like yeah, try it on."

We will skip this part because it is too predicable. To summarize it, Neku protested. Eri pressed on. Beat was too stupid to realize anything but supported Eri. Rhyme supported her brother. Joshua encouraged Neku. Shiki pulled out the sad puppy dog look that sealed the deal. About a couple minutes later, Neku found himself stuck in a dressing room, wearing a puffy blouse and a skirt. It effectively massacred his manly dignity. Surprisingly, our main character did not protest loudly as he twirled for the two girls. He was too busy thinking if he should blame Shiki for being his soft spot, Eri for forcing him to do this, or that Michiko girl who friggin left which implanted the idea in Eri's brain in the first place. After much deliberation, Neku decided to blame Michiko. Wherever that girl was, he cursed her. He cursed her, not to the Prince's beloved high heavens, but to a place where she will be trampled into a pancake by a group of shiny pink unicorns that shits sparkly poptarts. Dear lord, Joshua's influence was rubbing off on him.

Eri was drowning in mirth when the group left the store and headed for Cadoi City. Shiki wanted to shop for some threads at the Natural Puppy store. Upon reaching and entering the store, Neku and Beat literally gagged at the pure sweetness of the store. Beat reluctantly stalked behind Rhyme who wanted to see around the store. The things the skateboarder did for love sometimes…

Joshua cleared his throat and slapped Neku's shoulder.

"What?" Neku questioned in confusion.

"Respect the fashion. I had to wear it during a mission, remember?" Joshua said sternly. "Natural Puppy is quite an influential brand. Their colors are soft on the eyes."

Neku's mouth twitched upwards into a smirk. The Composer twitched his eye in response before sighing wearily. "Sora, if you can't handle it, leave. The store members are starting to stare. No normal girl wrinkles their nose and gags in disgust at possibly the most popular female brand in all Shibuya."

"That's because I'm not a girl."

"Oh, but you don't want people to know that, hmm?"

Joshua had a point. Hikaru Koike, the shop owner, stared at him oddly behind the counter. Neku turned with his orange locks flying behind him to head down to another store. The Composer smiled triumphantly. The two would be alone in Mus Rattus, possibly for more bonding time. Unless-

"I'm going to go down to Le Grand then. The candy sweetness is getting to me. I want to be in the store nearest to the exit when it's time to leave. You coming?" Neku asked bluntly as he walked down the stairs carefully to avoid tripping on his high heels.

The Composer's smile twitched in irritation. Of course, it HAD to be Le Grand. The ONLY store that has a shop keeper who's bi. And flirts with HIS proxy. He opened his mouth to persuade Neku to go for a different store but the dress clad boy was already gone…

The passerby glanced and whispered at the seemingly innocent pale-haired boy, standing in place with a calm and sweet smile. They did not miss the cold and dark aura surrounding him.

Well, fu-

0.o.0.o.0.

"Hey there, hon! What's up?"

Neku nodded politely before going to clothing rack to pretend to inspect some shirts. HT Masuoka leaned against the counter, scrutinizing the customer in his gaze.

The girl had a really slender body. Her orange hair looked sort of natural. The blue dress she was wearing hugged her hips. It didn't look like she had a curved body but the dress did a good job of giving the illusion that it did. The customer's eyes were not exactly pretty. Pretty wasn't the right word. The shopkeeper leaned against his left arm and observed her some more. Her eyes were soulful and…bored. HT Masuoka realized that the whole girl's face, though attractive, was bored and uninterested. He smiled to himself. Her whole being reminded him of that other boy who used to come here. She was attractive like that boy too. Maybe they were siblings or something.

Smirking inwardly, the owner made his move. Stepping out of the counter, he walked towards the "girl." With his hands in his pockets, he greeted her with his most charming smile. "Hey there. Find everything you're looking for?"

The "girl" turned to him and shrugged. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Oh yes, this girl was definitely someone interesting to play with.

HT Masuoka put his hands on his hips and grinned eagerly. "You know what would look good on you?" He took out a shirt. "This shirt would flatter your figure pretty well. It's guaranteed to be worth a buy."

For some unknown reason, the "girl" twitched her eye in what looked like irritation before muttering quietly, "I'm fine."

The owner was taken back and he scratched his head sheepishly before stuttering out his apologies. He retreated back behind the counter, observing the comely "girl" from afar.

Meanwhile, Neku continued to stare at a Hip Snake shirt. He did not realize how many stray threads were littered in the seams of the shirt. He stared some more. He was not sure if it was because of Shiki's influence on him or it was because he stared fixatedly at this shirt for more than three minutes.

"Why couldn't you go to a store like Mus Rattus or something?" a voice suddenly asked from nowhere.

Neku jumped slightly and turned in surprise before scowling. "Jeez, Josh, scared the hell out of me, would you?"

Joshua made an exasperated noise before whispering. "Just why this place?"

"I told you already. I don't- Wait, are you…paranoid of this place or something?" Neku asked in an incredulous manner. He snickered smugly. A very ironic image considering his whole appearance.

"No, I am not. I simply do not like this place." The Composer hissed venomously. "…Or rather the owner."

Neku snorted softly and crossed his arms. "What's not to like about the store owner? He's just like any other store owner."

The pale-haired boy stared at him blankly. "…Have you not paid attention to his thoughts during the Game?"

"No, I do not. I'm not nosy like you and prod through everyone's privacy and minds."

"Says the person who tried to read MY mind. More than twice." Joshua replied cheerfully. He mock sighed before reaching out and fingering an orange lock. Neku stiffened as he became slightly flustered. Joshua smiled sweetly and turned his eyes fleetingly towards the owner who was doing his best to look discreet. "Anyway, that guy…he likes you…I can tell. I just don't want anyone to steal my dear, dear, proxy away."

"Joshua, stop bitching out nonsense. I can tell the store owner is doing his best to hide his face under his magazine but he's eavesdropping." Neku batted Joshua's hand away.

Sure enough, HT Masuoka was glancing from the magazine to them. Joshua blinked for a moment and turned to the owner to smile charmingly at him. Neku's eyes widened, asking, 'what the hell are you doing?'

With a cute wave, Joshua cocked his head. "Hello there! I would appreciate it if you kindly stopped eavesdropping!"

The effect was almost instantaneous. The owner stuttered and gaped as he dropped the magazine on the cashier counter with frozen hands. Neku frowned and stomped on his foot. Joshua's smug grin was quickly replaced with one of agitation.

"I can hear his thoughts. He sees me as 'that weird kid who bothers the hot one.' He was clearly checking you out. He also believes I have a fetish for stalking orangettes." The Composer crossed his arms and nodded sagely. "Gosh, he is SO off."

Neku gazed at him for a moment before snapping rudely. "You ARE a weird kid. And- Wait, he called me 'hot'?"

For the first time, the orange-haired boy saw the other scowl in response. Then, for some unknown reason, it made him laugh. Neku let out a small chuckle. "R-really? Liar!"

"I'm serious."

"No, I don't believe you. That's just…too awkward."

"I'm not lying."

"You're mock sighing as if you are being bothered. It's so obvious, Josh."

"It's because there's another suitor to your affections, dear. A clearly inferior man who is a waste of air, paper, and ink." What the hell?

"You sicken me. Seriously, you're acting the same way to Shiki like before. Well, I guess that was pretty reasonable but now, really? I mean, you antagonized Shiki because she liked me for a short while. Then, you still hated her after she got over me! What makes you think that this situation is any different? This is a waste of time if you're still going to antagonize the poor guy!"

Joshua turned to him with oddly determined and condescending eyes. "Oh, dear, I shall prove it to you."

Neku dusted off the imaginary particles from his dress. "Suit yourself. I can picture yourself plastering a smirk on your face to hide the fact that you experience your second loss in a game to me."

Suddenly, Joshua slowly put a face. Neku noticed it immediately and did not like it one bit. He knew that face. Neku saw this face a few times but this was the face that Joshua put on when he was contemplating something for real, usually for some screwed up entertainment or game. Joshua leered at him mischievously. The face was a prelude to a vicious, almost sadistic, and gleeful mode that Neku did not like at all. In that instant, the other knew that he was in for one fucked up ride.

"Say, if it turns out that my prediction isn't correct and he does not have a thing for you after all, what do you say to hmm…a limited edition of CAT's art scrapbook? There is only one in the world after all." The Composer nearly laughed when he saw Neku's blue eyes bulge out of his face.

Unfortunately for him, Neku was not stupid. The orange-haired boy pondered for a moment and cautiously thought it over. Joshua seemed pretty confident and as far as Neku was concerned, Joshua rarely lost to any game. Ever. The offer was pretty tempting. However, Neku was pretty sure that the store owner did not have a "thing" for him. Nevertheless, for his safety, the dress clad boy answered to the other's proposition with a firm "No."

Joshua made a smug noise under his breath. "You're scared. Alright, no matter. I will prove it to prove you wrong for my own entertainment pleasure." Then, he went to sit down at a bench near a window.

"…What are you doing?" Neku questioned.

"Oh, waiting. You can't catch a mouse by forcing it into a mouse trap. You have to wait." Joshua laced his fingers and let out a waggish giggle. "Go along and make yourself ravishing." Then, he added in a low and venomous voice, "Just like you always were. In his undeserving eyes."

Neku shot him a weird and disgusted look. "Your god complex is seeping through again." With that, he turned his heels and began to inspect the clothing in a casual manner.

At this time around, HT Masuoka recovered from his stupor and sauntered over to attempt to court the pretty "girl", seeing that the other boy was nowhere in sight. He pulled out a Spring Breeze Rhapsody overcoat from a nearby rack and approached his target.

"Hey, don't mean to intrude or anything but if you're looking for something to flatter your appearance, you should try this on. You look kinda lost." The owner gave Neku a grin.

This time, Neku gave the overcoat a hasty look before asking, "You think?"

HT Masuoka grinned and nodded his head vigorously. He was getting a reaction out of his target. Neku looked at the coat appraisingly again. Then suddenly, a thought slammed and wrenched itself smoothly into his head.

'He eyes you like a piece of meat, Neku.'

Neku had to resist rolling his eyes. 'He does not, Joshua.'

"Want to try it on?" the owner asked in an almost too friendly manner.

What was the harm of trying on a coat? Neku nodded carelessly and the owner opened the coat. The orange-haired teen slowly placed his arms into the coat arms of the overcoat. It was pretty warm and comfortable over all until he felt a body pressed against him from behind. He stiffened as he felt arms curling around him while something rested itself on the top of his head. It was the shop owner's head.

"What...?" Neku trailed off, dumbfounded. He couldn't move from shock. This touch was too foreign. It wasn't like Joshua's at all. He did not blush but rather, he paled and ossified like a fossil. He saw himself and the store owner embracing him from behind in the mirror next to him.

"Your hair smells of strawberries."

"Uh…"

"What is your name, kit?"

"…Why are you holding me like this? Can you let go?"

Much to Neku's relief, the owner's too friendly hold loosened. However, the owner turned him towards him. The owner cupped his chin delicately.

"You are quite attractive, you know. Won't you at least, tell me your name?"

"What importance does it make?"

"A pretty girl must have a pretty name."

Neku bristled at this statement slightly but the store owner did not notice.

"…Sora." The orange-haired boy gritted out.

"Sora…you look similar to this very charming boy who I saw before. Perhaps, you are related to him?"

"Um…"

"Hello there, not that it's my business, but it seems that you are bothering her." Joshua suddenly appeared and stepped in with a threatening yet angelic smile on his face. The smile on the store owner's face vanished immediately.

"What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I just remembered this really nice scarf and came back to buy it, only to see you harassing a customer." Joshua replied offhandedly, twirling a pale lock with his finger.

The owner hung the coat on a clothes rack stiffly. "I was not harassing her."

"Your hands were certainly quite grabby."

Purple eyes glared condescendingly as it zeroed onto its victim.

"Hey, I was just helping her." HT Masuoka held his hands up defensively. However, Joshua's glare did not waver. Neither did his fake smile.

It had started. Neku recognized his mode immediately. It was Joshua's patented, "I shit holiness. Worship me, inferior mortals. Hahaha, bow before me." This was one mode that should be avoided and Neku knew this. One of Joshua's weaknesses was the "god complex problem," a trait that the Composer dearly dubbed as his "protective play mode." This mode is usually triggered when someone does something that upsets or is not aesthetically pleasing to his standards. In the mode, Joshua goes off on his yellow unicorn to a place that should not be seen by children. Neku needed to haul ass. Fast.

"Uh, I'm going to use the bathroom." He walked briskly away from the rising tension that threatened to suffocate and murder him.

"No, h-hey," the store owner trailed off before gazing in the boy's direction. "Don't go-"

"Hello there. I was still talking to you." The Composer was still smiling but anyone with a brain could sense the rising tension surrounding him. HT Masuoka was no exception.

"H-hey, dude."

"I appreciate it if you refrain from touching my friend. She does not like it."

"I-it wasn't like I was forcing it onto her." HT Masuoka replied defensively, shoving his hands in his dark shirt pockets. "She wasn't complaining either-"

"I will not repeat. Will you stop bothering her?" His amethyst eyes stared challengingly into the coal eyes of the other. Joshua wasn't threatening him; there was no need to. The Composer was rather playing with him in an extremely condescending manner. It was mischievous but a bit dangerous. His smile turned into more of a smirk.

'This frail looking kid is looking at me as if he was a god or something...he sees me as an annoying fly. He's not taking me seriously.' The store owner thought in wariness. How ironically accurate his thoughts were.

"Who are you anyway, kid?"

Joshua's expression became one of pleasant surprise. He stuck out his hand in mock embarrassment. "My apologies. My name is Joshua. I like sampling hair conditioners and shampoos, discussing books and chick flicks, playing games, and making several not-so subliminal references to my sexuality. Nice to meet you."

"Uh…" If Neku was still here, he would face palm himself.

They stared at each other for another few moments.

"Why are you worried about her? What happened to that other kid who used to go here?" HT Masuoka ventured to ask in a slightly wobbled tone.

Joshua stood his ground, unaffected. His smile was gone. "Why should it concern you? Do you and me a nice favor and spare yourself the trouble of trying to court Sora. In other words, back the fuck off." The deadly tone was so heavily placed that HT Masuoka got the message. Deafeningly loud and crystal clear.

Then, the Composer smiled again. It was a I-will-cut-off-your-balls-and-put-them-in-a-blender-with- vodka-and-water-before-forcing-you-to-drink-it smile but it was a smile nevertheless.

The owner was speechless and stuttered some incoherent noises before stumbling back, clearly flabbergasted. This kid didn't seem the type to use vulgar argot. The sickeningly sweet expression on the angelic boy's face pushed the other aggressively away. He was definitely not someone to be messed with or defied.

Finally, "Sora" stepped out from the restroom and approached them. It was almost as if "she" sensed the tension was thinning away.

"We should probably check on Shiki and Eri. They're probably looking for us." Neku commented, eager to slice the awkward tension into pieces. Joshua gracefully tore his gaze from HT Masuoka and smiled warmly with a tint of smugness at the other.

"I bid you adieu, kind sir." Joshua nodded his head courteously. Neku sighed in relief and turned his heels to leave after thanking the owner for help. He hoped that Joshua did not scar HT Masuoka much. His black heels made audible noises as it clicked against the hard floor to the exit door.

Suddenly, Joshua's hand shot out and slapped the store owner's face once. The poker smile was still glued to his face. The sound of the hit resonated throughout the store. It was within Neku's hearing range as he turned in surprise and shock.

"Wha-Why did you slap me?" The bitch slapped victim held his face. The frail boy lacked in strength but the slap still stung nevertheless.

"I did not slap you. I merely high five'd your face. Consider a friendly peace-making gesture." The pale haired boy let out a cute giggle and poked the dumbfounded owner's nose playfully like a curious girl. A flicker of smugness and triumph passed over his face briefly before disappearing quickly. "I hope to see you again, HT Masuoka."

Neku promptly high five'd-er, face palmed his own face right after. Joshua walked, no skipped, towards him in a rather gay manner. "I feel so happy."

"You are one sad little delusional child." Neku shook his head as they exited the store.

Joshua sighed and smiled harmoniously. "It saves me from the urge of jesus-beaming his face off every time when I hear his thoughts about you in the store."

The orange haired boy just looked at him and his shoulders sagged in defeat. Joshua bitch slapping someone was much, much more lenient than the jesus-beam treatment. Neku felt content that Joshua refrained himself from doing something so overly brutal when he could get away with it. The two walked back to Natural Puppy.

"By the way, did you enter the men's bathroom? Just wondering."

The heels froze in place. "Ah, shit."

A disapproving sigh. "Since I don't hear any nearby thoughts wondering why they saw a girl in the bathroom, I will safely assume that your careless and almost fatal mistake was luckily unnoticed."

"…I think there was a kid…"

"Oh, dear…"

Totter, totter. "Mommy, there's that weird girl from the potty I was talking about! She had a pee-pee like me!"

"Oh gawd…."

"Shut up and walk, dear. Shut up and walk."

The heels clicked against the ground twice the speed. It was accompanied with an agonizing sigh and a snap of the fingers. A mind imprinting was placed upon the little boy.

0.o.0.o.0.

"I-It was so p-pink and l-light…T-then, a unicorn appeared, and I…Oh gawd…" Beat trembled in his little sister's embrace before bursting out in loud and pitiful whimpers. Prolonged exposure to Natural Puppy proved to be detrimental to Beat's already diminished brain. Eri glanced at the shaking boy in pity before turning to Neku. Before she could even speak, Neku shook his head firmly.

"I'm not trying on another stupid outfit." he said brusquely. His icy blue eyes glared daringly at the now intimidated fashion designer.

"But-" she started but Neku shook his head again and interrupted her once more. He will not yield to this a second time.

"Eri, we need to get Beat out of here. He looks like he's about to vomit rainbows any minute. And it won't look pretty either."

"Oh, Sora, you don't want to wear the pretty dresses that Eri-"

"Shut up, Joshua. Just shut up."

Eri gaped and made a move to protest before Shiki put a hand on her shoulder. The glasses girl nodded and decided to have a little mercy for Neku. And Beat. "Come on, Eri. Beat is shaking right now. It's already chivalrous enough that he stayed with us despite the exposure. He doesn't look like he could handle it anymore."

"Bwhahaha! What you talkin' about? I'm fine! I'm totally aight! Men don't run! Men stay and fight!" Beat was laughing hysterically as Rhyme rubbed his back before helping him up.

"Big Brother, don't beat yourself up like this. Eri and Shiki found and bought everything they needed." The petite girl walked awkwardly, guiding Beat towards the exit and down the stairs. She shook a little to keep Beat's weight from swaying from side to side on the stair railing.

Eri made a defeated noise at the back of her throat and beckoned the rest of the group to follow Rhyme and Beat reluctantly. The rest of the group followed and exited the Natural Puppy store. Outside, Beat and Rhyme sat down on the ground, against the wall of the Cadoi City stores. The skateboarder seemed to be recovering smoothly from his trauma. Neku leaned against the wall as well; his dress floating gently and slightly in the wind.

"So, why is Beat so worked up of being inside a feminine store?" he questioned casually. Beat flinched a little, making Rhyme glare lightly at Neku. However, she turned back her gaze to Beat in a concerned and resigned manner.

"It happened when I was around three. I'm not really sure but our mom went to shop for some clothes or something. She took us with her and Beat somehow wandered off in the store." Rhyme recounted the story slowly, pointing her eyes toward the sky. "Our mom didn't notice that he was gone until after she had paid, left the store, and walked home. When she realized it, she walked back and found Beat shivering in the hands of some teenage girls who called him, 'cute.' They started asking him several questions like, "where was his mommy?" and stuff. I think Beat got lost in the store and was stuck in there for an hour. He was crying when our mom came to pick him up. At least, that is what our mom recalled and all."

Neku felt a pang of pity for the skateboarder. Beat must be beating himself up for showing weakness, especially in Rhyme's and Eri's presences. Eri kneeled down to Beat's eye level and patted him sympathetically on the back. She stood back up and dusted off her green shorts.

"We're heading to Molco next, Beat." Eri started to suggest. Beat's face raised in interest. The pink haired girl continued. "I heard the Mexican Dog was nearby and I'm kinda hungry for a snack so…"

"Aight! Let get a move move movin' people!" The skateboarder was reenergized and jumped up excitedly. Eri smiled at his regained confidence.

The group gathered their bags and walked to Molco. The first thing that Beat did was dragging Eri into the direction of Spain Hill. The fashion designer laughed and complied happily. Neku heard a holler of, "We be back in ten, yo!" Rolling his eyes, the orange-haired boy felt happy for his friend who just scored effectively with a girl. He gazed in their direction.

Shiki tugged lightly on Neku's dress strap. "Come on, Sora, I got some clothing hunting to do. Eri wanted to go to Molco to see this cute outfit she saw but…well, now I have to do it."

Neku nodded in response and felt a little respect for the designer who sacrificed her clothing expedition to make one of his other friends happy. He followed Shiki into the Molco stores into Funky Fashion a.k.a. the Sheep Heavenly store.

"Hiya! Glad you're here!" The store owner, Anna Aoi, greeted energetically as the group entered the store. Rhyme smiled back fondly. This was the store where Beat got her the bell pendant. The small girl raised a baggy sleeve covered arm to palm the pendant hanging around her neck softly before letting it drop against her chest. The pendant rang softly against it.

"So, you got anything in particular you're looking for?" Anna asked cheerfully, leaning against the cash register. "We got a sweet new line that came in just this morning!"

The brown-haired girl smiled politely and shook her head before walking to a nearby clothes rack to inspect some brightly colored skirts. Neku sighed and walked begrudgingly towards her. He didn't have Eri to keep Shiki company and Rhyme was more into checking out jewelry than clothes so he had to stay with Shiki this time. Shiki giggled as she pushed her glasses up in a flustered manner. She took Neku's hand and guided him to a bench in front of the dressing rooms with Joshua trailing behind them. The seamstress placed Mr. Mew carefully in Neku's hands. Blue eyes widened considerably in surprise.

"Wait here and watch Mr. Mew for me, okay?" Shiki instructed before giving him a stern look. "Since you obviously don't like shopping, you can wait here with Joshua and Mr. Mew. Make sure that you don't call Mr. Mew a pig or whatnot. Mr. Mew does not like that. I also want to use this as an opportunity for you two to get along. So far, you keep antagonizing him. Stop it."

What the hell? Neku looked down at the stuffed animal. The black stuffed animal stared back at him with its white thread eyes. For a moment, Neku could have sworn Mr. Mew trembled slightly in his hands as if, it were laughing and taunting him. He twitched his eye in disturbance. This is creepy…

"I should be back in ten minutes to check up on you. I don't want Mr. Mew to suffocate underneath the amount of clothes I'm going to buy." Shiki explained before leaving him, Joshua, and the demented stuffed cat alone.

After a moment of silence, Neku spoke.

"I hate this fucking pig."

Joshua smiled in amusement. "That has been established quite a lot. Better make sure that Shiki Misaki doesn't hear you say that, dear."

The other snorted in response and squeezed the head of Mr. Mew experimentally. "This stupid animal gives me the creeps."

Your homely face gives me the creeps.

With a yelp, Neku dropped the stuff animal and kicked it with one of his high heels. His face lost color as he stared at the stuffed animal. Did that animal talked?

I would appreciate it if you took me off the floor, you crossdresser freak.

Oh gawd, it did! Neku held back a scream while the pale-haired boy to his right watched in interest.

The stuffed animal did not move but Neku could hear it talk. Loud and crystal-fucking-clear. And it scared the living crap out of him.

"It-It talked!"

Neku was not afraid of anything much. He could handle bugs, the dark, scary movies, roller coasters, ghosts, murderers, scissors, names, and being left alone. However, he could not handle stuffed animals. They either pissed him off or scared the living shit out of him. It made him restless and paranoid. He remembered crying as a little kid because of the stuffed animals. His stuffed animal phobia was the result of a traumatizing nightly visit from his formerly beloved, stuffed animal, "Mr. Beary."

It was not helpful or cute that his mother tried to correct his so-called "warped sense of animals" by using "Mr. Beary" as a medium. It took him years to realize that his mother was the one who made it look like that Mr. Beary was moving in the dark at night. It certainly did not help that Mr. Beary flew and attached itself to his face, screaming that "he was a bunny, not a bear!" As a six-year-old, it frightened him so much that he couldn't stop crying every time he saw a stuffed animal in the store. He felt lucky that he grew out of that habit when he was nine. Then, about four years ago, his mother took out the old worn out Mr. Beary out of the storage closet when she felt it was the right time, feeling that her son matured. Instead, Neku could recall clearly that he snatched the bear, took it outside, and lit it on fire, watching it burn slowly in the barbecue. It was probably one of the happiest times of his life. Gosh, he was such a happy camper.

Neku clenched his fist and glared at Mr. Mew. It was a tragedy that he liked Shiki enough to be courteous not to stomp on Mr. Mew even though it was agonizingly tempting. To kick or not to kick. That is the question. The Composer stood up and picked up the black stuffed cat gingerly before clicking his tongue disapprovingly at Neku.

"It is not good for your health for you vent out your anger on harmless black stuffed animals." Joshua scolded playfully. "Shiki would be ashamed of you."

Neku still glared at the stuffed animal as if, it was the current cause of his misery. Well, it was at this moment. The white thread eyes of Mr. Mew seemed to glare right back at him.

Oh it was on.

"Gimme the pig."

"Why? And he is not a-"

"Joshua, shut up and give me the pig."

"For the safety of a lovely sewn stuffed animal and your safety in general if you anger Shiki, I will not."

"Josh…I want-"

Joshua sighed in agitation and swiveled his pale-haired head towards him, fiddling with Mr. Mew's arms. "If only you could sigh like that when we kiss."

Suddenly, Neku lunged towards Joshua and wrenched the stuffed cat out of his hands. Joshua gaped at his sudden strength before shaking his head.

One thing that Neku had superior to Joshua's own was physical strength. The orange-haired boy did remark how much of a pansy the Composer was before when the pale-haired boy couldn't lift a stack of heavy textbooks. It was a pet peeve Joshua had. The Composer liked to take down others with wit and tried to avoid using his powers as much as possible. However, when it came to physical challenges like running and lifting up heavy things, Joshua was forced to reside to cheating methods which usually led to Neku accusing of said activity and snickering at his weakly body. The Composer sometimes felt unsatisfied with his frail teenage body, knowing fully well if he was in his real form, he could pick up Neku and slam him against the nearest wall.

Neku narrowed his eyes, examining the stuffed animal for some hidden voice box, prodding at every seam and squeezing its body in a vice grip. Joshua couldn't help but feel a little bit of pity for the poor creature. Mr. Mew was not just a stuffed animal as far as the Composer was concerned. He had thoughts of his own. Joshua could hear them. Putting a pale lock behind his ear, he leaned back against the wall. He wondered if he should save Mr. Mew-who was currently screaming obscenities most inappropriate for a stuffed animal-or stand watch to see what the outraged stuffed cat would do. After a few moments of contemplating, Joshua took the latter but said a few words to Neku.

"You know, if Mr. Mew could move, he would surely pick up the nearest clothes hanger in range and strangle you."

Neku did not look at him as he examined the stuffed animal, muttering something along the lines of, "Stupid fucking animal…haunting me in the UG…haunting me now in the fucking store too…"

Then, when Neku turned Mr. Mew to the side, making the cat's face turn towards Joshua. Mr. Mew took the opportunity.

Hey, you! Get this Cloud wannabe away from me!

Joshua turned to him and cocked his head with interest before sending a thought back. "I wish I could but Neku will use his pretty mouth to bite my fingers off if I try to take you away from him."

Joshua laughed as the stuffed animal trembled again. Probably from frustration.

Composer, your taste in guys is sick and disgusting. Your mind is just as dirty.

Amethyst eyes glowed honorably and playfully in response. "Thank you, I try."

About a few minutes of prodding Mr. Mew and coming to the conclusion that the pig was possessed and out to get him, Neku handed the stuffed animal back to Joshua and inched as far as he can on the bench away from him.

Shiki came back with her bag full of Sheep Heavenly threads with a hopeful look and Rhyme behind her. However, the look quickly went away at Neku's tragic and blank expression and Joshua's calm look. She hunched her shoulders in defeat. Neku must've gotten into another fight with Mr. Mew. Again. For the…five hundred and seventy fifth time. When will he learn? She will never understand the prejudice that Neku had for her beloved stuffed cat.

It was for her own good when she glanced at the two of them before sighing. "…I'm not even going to ask what happened." Rhyme giggled while Shiki thanked Joshua for watching over Neku and stopping him from ripping her beloved Mr. Mew to shreds when she was out. The Composer raised his hand in acknowledgement. As Shiki took back Mr. Mew, Neku looked in her direction and locked eyes with the menacing animal. The message was clear in both of their eyes.

This battle is not over.

However, this story is not meant to be centered on Neku's and Mr. Mew's raging battle with each other. So, this matter will be left unresolved and it is HIGHLY unlikely that our favorite character and stuffed cat will get along. Ever. This point is to be made extremely clear.

The four walked to the exit of the store only to meet up with Eri and Beat.

"Yo, yo! We back!"

"Oh my gosh, Shiki, is that the…Retro Dot One-piece I've been looking for? Thanks!"
The group chatted loquaciously until Neku bumped into something. Or, rather someone. He stumbled backwards and saw another familiar person.

"Ow! You made me drop my Red Kaiser pin! Look at it, it's broken!"

Oh gawd. Not this kid. Shiki and Joshua resisted a laugh as they sensed Neku's growing irritation. Eri rolled her eyes while Rhyme smiled silently. Unfortunately, while the rest of them knew that ignoring the small boy and apologizing was probably the best thing to do, considering Neku's sanity and anger issues, Beat did not sense the tension at all and before all of them knew it, he asked the most fatal question.

"Uh…who's the kid?"

And all hell was unleashed. All seven of them.

"Whattya mean, 'who's this kid?' I'm Shuto Dan! Or Red Shooter! I'm the best Tin Pin player in the whole WORLD! You should know who I am! Red Kaiser is my partner! I'm going to be the Tin Pin master! Wait, I'm already am! You dare not know me?" the fifth grader rambled on and on. Neku tried to tune out but it proved to be extremely difficult without headphones.

"Well, that is nice, I guess." Shiki tried to pacify, leaning down to the kid's height. "We're sorry for your broken Red Kaiser. We'll pay for it if you want-"

It was fruitless. Red Shooter was mad.

"You broke…my spirit! You must pay by offering up your own! Money can't substitute my Red Kaiser!" The boy pointed accusingly at Neku. The accused other snorted and tucked a lazy strand behind his ear, ignoring the zealous boy.

"But she has no Kaiser pins though..."Shiki tried to reason. "Couldn't we just pay you-"

"I challenge you to a Tin Pin match, lady! And you won't back down!" Red Shooter interrupted with eyes blazing wildly for a fight. Or in this case, a Tin Pin Slammer.

"I would like to take a rain check on that, thank-" Again, the boy interrupted.

"No! You MUST take it! Be a man and fight with your spirit!" It was almost ironic. In this type of situation, Neku would gladly retort that statement with a full hearted "I'm a woman!" but his dignity, Joshua, nor Beat will never let him live it down. Geez, Lady Luck must have it out for Neku with the amount of trouble she's dragging him into.

With a reluctant sigh, Neku succumbed to his fate and agreed to play Tin Pin Slammer with a ten year old.

"Ha! Me and my Red Kaiser The Second will beat you!" Red Shooter hollered energetically before running into the direction of Molco. "Follow me to Molco, fellow challenger!"

Wait, what? So, what was that talk about paying for the broken Red Kaiser? This kid…really? Neku twitched his eye in irritation and prayed to get this over with as quick and painless as possible before trudging to follow the kid. This was just fantastic. Just bloody fantastic.

0.o.0.o.0.

If anyone asked, there was NOT a sixteen year old girl competing in a glaring competition with a fifth grader over a Tin Pin Slammer battle table. They were definitely not gripping their pins (Rhyme had her pins on conveniently and lent them to Neku) like it was their lifelines or anything. A group stood to the side, waiting patiently for the storm to blow. In fact, it was quite comical seeing Neku get worked up by a little kid. Joshua giggled to himself mentally. This was probably one of the quirks that Neku and his other selves share in alternate universes. They all get extremely hyped up over Tin Pin Slammer, determined to win no matter what.

"I choose you, Red Kaiser the Second! Avenge your brother spirit!" Red Shooter yelled out before setting his pin out for battle.

Neku shot a determined look at his opponent before setting out his own pin, Wolf, out to battle. (2) The two began to battle with their pins, slamming their pins against their other. Hehe, pins. And slamming their pins against each other… Okay, that was some disturbing innuendo. Moving on…

"Red Kaiser the Second, use Hammer!"

Neku bit his lip in frustration as his Wolf pin was stunned then promptly shoved off the table. He summoned his next pin, Tin Pin Fire. He tried to sting the other pin and did a little victory dance inside when he succeeded. However, the Kaiser pin recovered quickly and immediately bombed the other with quick and deadly accuracy. After four seconds, Tin Pin Fire was shoved off the table. Neku used the hand as a save but Red Shooter had another trick up his sleeve.

"Red Kaiser the Second, use Stinger!" The Kaiser pin stunned the Tin Pin Fire pin by turning into a black spiked ball. Again, the pin was shoved off the battlefield.

Why was he losing to fifth grader? Neku was quite embarrassed but he was determined to win. It did not help that the random Pokemon references Red Shooter was making were distracting him.

When Neku was on his third pin, Blast Warning, he managed to finally push Kaiser the Second off the table. He bristled in annoyance when Red Shooter made a big deal out of it.

"Aww, Red Kaiser the Second, return! Go! I choose you, Red Kaiser the THIRD!"

Oh, this was going to be a agonizingly long battle.

Neku was struggling. He really didn't want to lose against a fifth grader. Beat will never let him live it down. But, as much as he hated to admit it, this kid was good. Too fucking good. He voiced his thoughts out loud. "Why can't I win…"

Unfortunately, Red Shooter pulled out another TV series reference in answer. "It's cuz you don't believe in the heart of the pins!"

Eri blinked and leaned towards Shiki, whispering something quietly. "Wasn't it, 'believe in the heart of the cards?' Or something?"

The brown-haired girl shrugged and watched in pity as Neku struggled to win against the ten year old, only to lose his Blast Warning too. Joshua just watched on, smirking all the way.

Neku growled in aggravation and set out his Rhyme pin. Unfortunately, in the span of ten seconds, it was thrown off too with Beat's cry, "RHYME!" with the real Rhyme shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly.

He managed to push the Kaiser the Third pin off with his sixth pin, Orichalum but he cried inside when Red Shooter summoned Red Kaiser the Fourth with a battle cry, "I choose you, Red Kaiser the Fourth!"

Neku already used six pins and Red Shooter was only on his third. He was in trouble. Just when he thought that he couldn't stand for it much longer, Red Shooter had a technical problem. A very familiar problem. His pin did not eject. Oh the surprise. Where did Neku see that before? The orange-haired boy turned to Joshua who cutely waved back at him. He saw a screwdriver poking out behind Joshua's back. Red Shooter was too busy, trying to force his pin out to notice.

"Come on, Red Kaiser the Fourth! Avenge your brother spirits! You can do it!" The boy yelled at the pin desperately. However, the pin was stuck in place and Red Shooter lost his pin by default. When the champion tried to take out his last two pins, he stumbled on upon the same problem.

"Guess this means I win, kid." Neku answered, crossing his arms in subtle triumph.

Red Shooter dropped to his knees and let out a keen cry of defeat, pounding his hands into the ground. "Why….Why?...After what me and Red Kaiser had been through…"

The other did not know how to react to his now fallen opponent. He contemplated whether to comfort the poor kid who looked like he was about to kill himself over a kid's game or leave out of awkwardness.

"Um…" Neku was truly lost. The kid was crying for gods' sake! The orange-haired boy stared at the small boy like a deer in headlights. The group stood silent for a few moments, listening to Red Shooter's cries of "losing his spirit." Finally, the ten year old stood up again and put a solemn expression. He held out his hand to Neku.

"You are a worthy opponent, lady. Battling you has shown me that I still have a long way to go to become a true Tin Pin master." Red Shooter stated with a serious look. Neku did not know how to answer. "I will train further so that I may be a Tin Pin player of your caliber."

"…Sure, kid."

After dodging the kid's fiery questions of how Neku got his "pro skills in Tin Pin," Neku managed to leave Molco with Red Shooter behind, jumping up and down, shouting, "Rematch, lady! I want a rematch!"

And Neku had no plans of associating himself with that demon kid in the future. So, he mostly ignored him, speeding the pace of his walking.

God, what was wrong with that kid?

0.o.0.o.0.

"Well, our last stop is the WildKat café." Eri announced, checking her phone. She turned her brown eyes up to the sky in thought and content. She felt like she was forgetting something though. Nevertheless, she pushed the thought away.

The group walked through Cadoi City, Towa Records, Miyashita Park Underpass, Miyashita Park, and all the way to Cat Street. Neku felt his body stir in anticipation upon reaching the WildKat. Although it did not look like it, his heels were screaming. In agony. Blisters were already starting to form and the sheer pain of it made Neku absolutely uncomfortable. The mere prospect of sitting in one of the chairs in the café was enough to make the boy cry out in extreme happiness. He could barely contain himself when Eri opened the glass door to reveal the stylish café interior. Never has sitting looked so good.

Sanae Hanekoma was busy talking behind the counter. There were two people sitting on the stools in front of the counter. The two had their backs to the group. Sanae was talking to…What the hell were the Grim Heaper and the Iron Maiden doing here? The two former GMs looked too busy to notice the group. Sanae raised his eyes briefly and slightly, acknowledging the group at the door. Beat shrugged and plopped himself in the chair. The rest of them followed suit.

"Anyway, according to my calculations, Mr. Hanekoma, if we unleash 1.5 times more Noise, it could pose a more serious challenge to the Players so they would take the Game more seriously. We should put one barrier here…" Mitsuki Konishi pointed to some red circled points on a piece of paper that looked like a map of Shibuya. She tapped her sharp manicured nails against the counter as her manipulative green eyes searched and analyzed the map carefully. Sanae looked totally lost, laughing sheepishly and rubbing the nape of his neck. Neku couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for him.

Neku turned to Joshua and whispered. "Why did you bring Iron Maiden back from erasure?"

The Composer let a small amused expression grace his lips before answering. "The very same reason why I brought Sho Minamimoto. They shouldn't be a threat to me anymore if all goes well. I took away Sho's ability to mess with Taboo noise after all. Without Sho as a threat for power, Mitsuki shouldn't be able to use him as her own. Even though they're people with bad intentions, I hate to admit it but I require their services."

"What services? Didn't you see the trouble they caused in your Game?"

"Yes, I did, dear. However, Sho's ability to create whimsical and interesting missions amuses me and it's one of a kind. I needed Mitsuki because she did most of my paperwork. If I didn't have her, I would be stuck in a pile of papers."

"Oh." The two turned back to Sanae. He looked confused, trying his best to keep up with Mitsuki's Noise report. His shades fell to the bridge of his nose as he furrowed his brow. Placing a mug of coffee on the counter, he finally spoke.

"Yes, Mitsuki. But, that is way too cruel to the Players. And the Reapers for that matter. Maybe-"

"I think she got one great factoring plan!" Sho interrupted. "If we could just add some beautiful sculptures, here-"

Sanae sighed in aggravation, pinching his brow before taking another sip of his coffee. "Sho, according to your contract, you are strictly and specifically forbidden to create another trash sculpture. Joshua hates it."

The former GM scowled before pounding his fist into the counter in frustration. The faint remnants of the Taboo Noise tattoos were still visible on his face and arms. Sho stabbed another piece of his pancakes with his fork and shoved it in his mouth. "Well, you go dell him daf he eh one bigf facdoringf hecgdopasgal. Inderrubdingf my dade widf Mifsugi…"

"Mr. Minamimoto, we are not on a date."

"Aww, don't be like that. You totally dig me."

"Quite the contrary. You are a menace and a problem to-"

"Problem? I wish I was so I would be hard and you'd do me-"

"Please refrain from using your vulgar math argot."

"You're just cranky cuz that son of a digit barged into our date with some stupid request for a Noise report."

It was amazing that Sho and Mitsuki were still too immersed in their argument to notice the group of teenagers standing behind them with their mouths agape. Behind them at the counter, Sanae flickered his shade covered eyes to meet Joshua's at the table for a moment. The Composer got the message immediately. Purple eyes glimmered mischievously for a second. Help me out here, Joshua.

"Hey, yoohoo. Any service here?" Despite how gay it sounded, no one could expect less from the Composer. The pale-haired boy twirled a silky lock in impatience.

The two Reapers turned around frantically at the all too familiar voice that threatened their lives almost a year ago. Mitsuki pushed her glasses up in respect while Sho crossed his arms and glared at him.

"C-Composer, how pleasant to see you today." The Iron Maiden struggled to keep her composure.

Joshua drummed his fingers lazily against the counter, resting his chin against his left palm with a playful expression. "Back to you, Mitsuki. Are you finished with those reports I assigned you?"

"She is, you zetta son of a digit." Sho snarled. The Composer turned his head into Sho's direction. Neku could've sworn he saw a flicker of irritation in his purple eyes. Sho was just one of those people who managed to Joshua not angry, but irritated.

"Well, alright then. I-"

"Why the factor are you here?"

"Why are you glaring at me?" Joshua sighed tiredly as if he was talking to a small bratty child.

"Why would I waste my time glaring at a hectopascal like you? I'm glaring at the wall. You just happened to be in front of it. Stop messing with my calculations, you digit!"

Sanae who, like everyone else, noticed the building tension, slapped his hands down to get everyone's attention. "H-hey, Sho, you're done here. Why don't you…take Mitsuki out somewhere else?"

Sho snorted but complied as he stood up in his stool and nodded Mitsuki over. "Come on, we're free today anyway. I'll take a rain check on this." He took the paper plate of half eaten pancakes with him and turned to leave. However, on his way out, he gave Joshua a look that clearly said, "This isn't over, you binomial." The Composer merely let out one of his signature giggles in response. The two Reapers left anyway.

"Yo, Coffee Man! What up?" Beat slammed his fists into the table rhythmically.

"Pretty good, Beat." Sanae chuckled, rubbing the nape of his neck with one hand while drinking coffee in the other. These kids were really his soft spot. He set his cup down and tucked the map away in a counter drawer. He let out a breath of relief as he took out a dish cloth and started to wipe the counter. "Thank gods you kids arrived. Mitsuki spent about an hour trying to convince me to let loose some more Noise. That woman…she's a sadist, I swear. Oh, and Beat, I ran out of pancakes. Sho made me cook the last two boxes."

"Bwahaaa?"

"Yeah, tough luck, Beat. I'll get you some biscuits instead. Anything you want, you guys- Oh god, Phones, didn't I tell you not to come back in here dressed like…like that?" Sanae's calm eyes landed on his favorite customer sitting on the right of the table with surprise. It took almost everything the fallen angel had to stifle his laugh. Neku looked absolutely embarrassed and cranky.

"Guess….the girls did a nice job of dolling you up, eh, Phones?" The café barista commented lightly, covering his amused smile with a hand.

"No one recognized me today so I will assume so I guess…" Neku answered before jumping slightly as his voice slowly went back to its deeper range. He turned his head to see Joshua set his finger back on the table. Well, no one is here and the store was probably planning to close for the day so he guessed it was okay. He avoided Eri's curious gaze at his sudden voice drop.

Sanae rolled his eyes as Joshua giggled slightly at Eri's befuddled expression. The pink haired girl stared at Neku's throat, poking it and trying to find how he did the vocal "trick."

The barista went into the storage room for a moment and back out to pull out a bag of biscuits and muffins. He flipped on the switch of a coffee machine before calling out to the group. "House Blend, you guys?" The twenty year old did not turn his head but the others could tell he was addressing them.

"I could really go for one. Thanks, Mr. H." Neku called out, rubbing his forehead and trying to tug the wig off. The wig was starting to really itch and the bobby pins were scratching his scalp. Cool slender fingers covered his own and clamped down, preventing him from taking off the wig.

"Neku, dear, don't do that. This wig is too lovely to take off."

Slap. "Get your hands off me, Josh. Why should I keep the wig on when I'm no longer a model?"

Then, suddenly, a light bulb went off in Eri's head. Oh, so that's what she was forgetting! She dove frantically for her bag on the table and dug into it. With a flourish of the hand, Eri held up a silver camera. The pink-haired designer sighed in relief and patted herself on the back mentally for remembering. Her finger pressed the camera power button while she cleared her throat. Neku and Joshua both turned to her.

"I believe I wanted some shots of you two." Drawled Eri with a twist of the finger. "I nearly forgot about it."

Neku became rigid and mulled darkly. He knew it was too good to be true. He glared at the girl as she put her small hands on her short green shorts in impatience. He was about to try to tell her off per usual until-BAM! Something foils him again!

"Come on, Neku. It's the last day. Lighten up a little and have a little mercy." Shiki chirped up unexpectedly. Rhyme nodded in response.

Oh, crap. Shiki. One of the few people who were able to make him do things willingly. Most of the time. Neku refused to meet eyes with her. He knew he would crumble the minute he met gazes with her.

"Neku? Come on, look at me."

Don't look at Shiki's eyes. Don't look at her eyes. Don't look at Rhyme's eyes. Don't look at her eyes. Don't look at her eyes. Don't look at her eyes.

"Hello?" Shiki walked over and waved a hand over Neku's face. Immediately, Neku turned his head to avoid eye contact.

Don't look at her eyes. Don't look at her eyes. Don't look. Don't look. Don't look-

"Oh, Neku, look at me." Shiki held his face and turned it towards her. Her eyes softened. "Do it for Eri. She's not even asking you to model. She just wants a picture posing with a guy. A, Neku! That means one!"

CRAP! He looked! Blue eyes met with pleading and soft doe-like eyes.

The next thing he knew; he was shoulder-to-shoulder against Joshua in front of a table. He set his right hand on the table lazily. Joshua grasped his other hand tightly in his own. Their fingers were interlaced. Neku's face became scarlet and turned to his right to avoid the camera's gaze.

The pink haired designer grinned happily but instead of bitching Neku out, she held the camera up and adjusted the focus. After all, Neku suffered enough during the two weeks. The camera lens zoomed in and out in a twitching motion before stilling. A bright orange light blinked on the top of the camera.

Then, at the last second before the silver camera snapped a picture, Joshua roughly grabbed Neku's chin and forced blue eyes to meet purple eyes. Neku's eyes grew as big as saucers in surprise. His breath hitched in his throat. Their lips weren't touching but their faces were so close. The orange-haired boy felt their noses brushed briefly as the flash of the camera assaulted his eyes briefly. He could only acknowledge himself and the Composer.

Too bad he did not notice Shiki stuttering out in embarrassment and Rhyme trying to peel off her older brother's hands off her eyes. The little girl could faintly hear her brother's grumbles of something like, "For gods' sakes, Phones…try to keep your lovefest in your room, yo…" Sanae slapped a hand on his face and shook his head tiredly. Ah, Joshua was still the same as usual.

As soon as the flash dissipated, Neku jerked his body backwards and coughed, gasping for air. Joshua did not look as shocked as him as he turned to Eri.

"Good enough?"

Eri scratched her head as she examined the picture on her camera. It was a bit much for her but it was enough to be considered as picturesque. She was no yaoi fangirl. However, she approved of her "models'" realistic expressions so she tucked camera safely in her jacket with the picture kept nicely in her memory card. "Yes, thank you."

Her mouth curved into a soft and serene smile. A "thank you" was not enough to amount what Neku did for her. Despite her ruthless and somewhat insane and sadistic behavior towards Neku, she couldn't help but admire his endurance. The girl held the boy at a very high pedestal of respect. As Neku conversed/argued with Shiki and Joshua, Eri could see why her best friend loved the surly boy so much. Despite the many persevering difficulties the boy put up, he diligently helped Eri.

Eri could find no one with as much modeling talent as the boy. Her heart glowed in admiration and gratitude.

These two weeks that stemmed from a problem with a missing model had blossomed into something greater that made Eri closer to Neku. She owed too much to him. For being a perfect picturesque model. For putting up with her insane demanding personality. For embarrassing himself on her orders. And for taking care of her best friend.

She closed her eyes in silent thought. We should definitely meet again, Neku Sakuraba.

With her closing sentimental monologue, she joined the others to talk again. Soon, they were immersed in conversation. Neither any of them noticed that one and a half hours passed by them. It was six. It was time to leave and call for the night.

Beat stood up his chair, groaning in relief as his body stretched. He cracked his knuckles and jerked his head to his little sister. "Come on, Rhyme. Fun day but we gotta bounce. Our folks want us back by six-fifteen, yo. See you, guys."

The girl got up from her seat and nodded but did not move. Her older brother blinked in confusion and scratched his head. "Uh, Rhyme?"

Rhyme giggled in response before chirping sweetly. "Beat, don't you have something to give to Neku?"

Shiki stopped eating her biscuit in realization. She stood up as well. "Oh yeah. Beat, the bet! The 13805 yen!"

The effect was instantaneous. Beat's mouth dropped agape with a clearly disbelieving expression. His eyes grew big in shock. His body went rigid. "B-bwhaa?"

Eri laughed good naturedly. She stood up from her chair and patted Beat on the back in sympathy. "Tough luck. Neku got you good."

Beat blubbered incoherently as his hands trembled in disbelief. His head turned to the others then to Neku then to the others. "H-how…This isn't possible!"

It was reward time finally for his painful two weeks of torture. Neku was way too elated over his triumph to slap his face at Beat's slow remark. Instead, he fluttered his eyes in an overly girly and mocking way in Beat's direction and held out his hand with a triumphant smirk. "Pay up, Beat."

The skateboarder was too shocked and still babbled incoherently. Neku frowned and walked in front of him, slapping him lightly on both cheeks. "Oi, Beat?"

"Neku, allow Beat to regain his senses. He just lost 13805 yen. That's a lot of money." Rhyme chimed in.

"I…I-I…" Beat stuttered out, unable to form a coherent sentence. Neku sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Beat…do not tell me that you don't even have that yen. I will throttle you if you don't pay up."

Beat snapped back in reality and laughed in a forced manner. He patted his short pockets frantically and grunted sheepishly. "Eh…I-I have it! Just gimme a sec…"

Neku's heart dropped in dread. Beat probably does not have the yen-

"Hehe! Yeah! Here it is!" Beat held up a bag and shook it in too much relief. Neku peered at him suspiciously before taking the small bag. He opened the small drawstring bag to reveal thirteen thousand yen pins, a five hundred pin, three one hundred pins, and a five yen pin. It was the exact amount that Neku and Beat betted on in the first place. Blue eyes locked on the yen in disbelief.

Neku's, as well as everyone else's, nagging thoughts about Beat's neglect for the yen quickly popped unexpectedly. No one expected Beat to conjure the money from his pockets. Apparently, neither did Beat as his expression contorted into one of shocked surprise and sheepish embarrassment. It was like the yen magically appeared in his pockets.

"E-eh, well, there your money, Phones." Beat rubbed the nape of neck sheepishly. His slow mind struggled to process of what the hell just happened.

Neku blinked and stammered out, surprised. "Y-yeah, thanks. Beat…Where did you get the money anyway?"

An awkward silence passed through the shop. Then, suddenly (and thankfully), Rhyme broke the tension with her high and angelic voice. "Beat, aren't we supposed to be heading home right now?"

"Y-yeah. We go now…See you guys…Thanks, Coffee Man…." Beat trailed off, leaving the heavy and suffocating awkwardness of silence with Rhyme. The petite girl waved back cheerfully and left the café with Beat. No one spoke a word even after the glass door clicked close.

"Well…that was awkward, was it not?" Joshua spoke out.

As if a spell was lifted, Shiki laughed in relief and sat down, packing up her stuff. "Anyway, me and Eri should get going too, right?"

Neku scratched his left ear. "Yeah, I better get going too. It's been…a long day, I guess."

"Yeah…" Eri shrugged and went back to the table to get her stuff.

Bending down to gather her shopping bags from underneath the table, Eri nearly jumped in the air when a slender hand tapped her shoulder lightly. She turned to face Joshua. "What?"

"I suppose I never formerly introduced myself. We only met by accident at this café. However, I have to thank you for watching over my dear Neku." The Composer complimented warmly. "I could see why Michiko and the others admire you."

Eri blushed slightly at his compliment. "Well, I could've never got Neku under control without Shiki's help too. You're a good guy, Joshua…despite the circumstances of which I met you in. But I can't get that nagging feeling that I have met you before…before the…well, you know, that café storage room encounter." The designer smiled at him. It was a sign of a strong friendship. "I thank you for helping and taming Neku as well."

She only got a giggle and a flip of the hair in response. Joshua's eyes turned upward in thought as he rubbed his chin coyly. "Well, it's a small world. We might've. I'm not too entirely sure. I like your designs, Eri. They're so innovative and…well, I believe that with your unique mindset, you're able to go very far in life. Probably even acquire some jobs you could never imagine." Like being a GM in training, for example.

Eri laughed and waved off Joshua's veneration in embarrassment. "Ha, I'm not all that but I do appreciate your compliment." She held out her hand. "You seem like the type of person who I could work with in the future. I do hope this is not the last time we meet."

"My thoughts, exactly, Eri." Joshua accepted her hand and graciously raised it to peck it softly. "We shall meet again."

The girl did not blush and merely giggled before turning to Neku with a calm and serene expression. She took both of his hands in hers and gazed at him with grateful eyes. "…You have no idea of how grateful I am right now."

Flushing over her intense gaze, Neku turned away and grunted. "…I was forced to. But…you're welcome, I guess."

"I am bound to get that internship to the fashion school I wanted. All because of you, Neku." Eri continued on, still grasping his hands tightly. "You are truly a wonderful person and…I respect you. Thank you so very much. You just made a girl very happy."

"Eh." Neku forced himself to meet Eri's glowing eyes in embarrassment. Eri leaned in and quickly kissed his cheek.

"See you. Oh, and by the way, I'll take that handbag back. It's a limited Dragon Couture edition. You can keep the dress if you want to. Consider it a little thank you gift." Well, that ruined the nice mood. With that, Eri let go of his hands and went to the glass door after picking up the bag and emptying out Neku's things on the table on the way. Neku snorted at Eri's apparent little regard for his stuff. Shiki smiled softly and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. It was her turn.

Neku groaned with a sheepish smile. "Oh no…your turn with the whole sentimental comments of how great I am?"

The brown-haired girl laughed, cradling Mr. Mew in her arms. Her brown eyes sparkled in admiration and love for her friend. "Yup! Thank you for making Eri so happy! She's never been this happy ever in her life." She stepped in and enveloped Neku in her arms. "I knew you were such a softie." The other hesitantly hugged back.

"Sure…Shiki."

Stepping back, Shiki nodded faintly at him. She felt like this excruciating experience served to open Neku's world up even more. Neku matured even more, accepting others and taking difficult things in a stride. He just succeeded cross dressing in public and modeling for the sake of her best friend. She could only hope he felt the same. With that comforting thought of Neku's heart warming up more, Shiki left and waved good bye.

Neku and Joshua were the only ones left in Sanae's café. Neku's shoulders slumped down as he plopped himself in a chair, taking his fallen phone. He stared at it, overwhelmed with emotion. So much happened in two weeks after all….And Neku had to say, he did not really mind….It was….fun. Neku closed his eyes briefly as he sorted out his emotions. Those two weeks were not like any other in his life. He will never ever forget them.

He pressed buttons on his phone.

"What are you doing?" Joshua asked.

Neku continued to dial the numbers on his phone. "What else? I'm calling my mom. I need to tell her that I should be coming home in fifteen."

The other leaned against a table lazily. "Oh, right."

"Mmmhmm." Neku absently scratched his face as he dialed the numbers. He was surprised to see a faint blue coating his fingers. The eyeshadow. His eyes landed on the small bottle of makeup remover lying on its side. He set his phone down on the table and turned to Sanae. The barista was currently making himself yet another cup of coffee behind the counter.

"Hey, Mr. H."

Sanae looked up from his bean brewing. "Shoot, Phones."

"You have a bathroom or something? I want to clean this off and change out of these things."

Sanae rolled his eyes in a knowing manner and stretched an arm. He pointed to the door on his right, opposite to the storage room. "Yeah, I got a bathroom for you. Go on the farthest room to your left in the hallway."

"Thanks, Mr. H." Neku forced himself to get off from the chair and gathered his clothes and the makeup remover. He went to the room Sanae directed him in and advanced down the dimly lit hallway before reaching his destination. Shutting and locking the door behind him, Neku set his things on top of the counter. He grunted in slight pain as he tried to untangle his natural hair from the wig attached to his head. After pulling out several bobby pins, the deed was done. He sighed as his scalp lightly tingled from being freed from the wig. He scratched his head gently. After shaking his hands through his hair in a fast motion, he found it back to its somewhat usual style, dampened by the hairspray. He'll have to get rid of that with a shower.

He picked up the bottle and read the directions briefly next. Then, he began to use it to wipe the blue eye shadow and blush off his cheeks as his body leaned into the mirror. He sniggered in disgust as smeared blue and pink markings appeared on the toilet tissue. Scrunching it up and throwing it away, Neku moved to his clothes next. He snapped his heels off.

He shrugged off his jacket and bend down to throw the dress over his head before pulling it off completely. He changed back to his usual blue tank and baggy white shorts easily. He touched his collar area absentmindedly, feeling cloth instead of skin. He sighed in happiness as his legs were adorned with his familiar white shorts and his neck was covered by the all too familiar tall collar. He slipped into his comfortable shoes and gathered his stuff, checking if he left anything behind. Then, he unlocked and open the door. His default scowl activated when his blue eyes zeroed in on Joshua who stood before him, leaning against the opposite wall.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing much." Joshua smiled casually as he placed his hands in his pockets calmly. Neku knew something was up.

"You know something."

"Of course, I do, dear. When have I ever not?"

Neku glared at him, making the other sigh. "Josh…"

"Fine. I overestimated you. Did you really think Beat had the money, Neku?"

Letting a thick lump go down his throat, Neku shook his head. "I didn't want to believe it but I knew it was you in an instant."

Joshua beamed back cordially. "Of course you did. You know money is never a problem for me."

"What do you want anyway?" Neku leaned against the doorway of the bathroom.

"I want many things, sweetheart.-"

"Joshua…" Neku cut to a warning tone, earning a giggle from the boy.

Finally, the Composer gave him a knowing smirk and brought up something from his back that made Neku's eyes immediately widened. "It's a thank you gift for making two weeks of my boring life more interesting."

In his hands were Neku's trusty blue headphones with an Mp3 to go with it. It looked exactly like the pair that Beat broke. Neku stared at it in disbelief.

"I got Sanae to fetch you another pair and sign the back of the Mp3, knowing that you had too much pride to ask for an autograph yourself. " Joshua remarked, turning the Mp3 to reveal a shiny black permanent marker signature of "CAT." It glinted proudly in the light. Neku's breath hitched in his throat.

"O-oh…"

"You can use the money for something else, Neku." Joshua placed the headphones over Neku's ears and hung the Mp3 over his neck. He looked at him amusedly. "Did you really think you could find another pair of Gatito signature headphones like yours?"

Neku did not expect to find another type of headphones exactly like his but he wanted the money to get revenge on Beat and he held onto that tiny shred of hope that he could find another pair of his beloved headphones. The boy was silent. His body shuddered slightly at the reunion with its lost companion which rested safely on his head. Neku muttered something.

"Hmm? What was that?"

"…Thanks."

Joshua offered him a gentle smile before smirking. "By the way, you never thanked me for becoming your saving grace at Tin Pin Slammer. You never paid me back for saving your behind from being kicked by a fifth grader."

Neku stiffened and avoided eye contact with him harshly. "Y-you did that yourself. I was doing just fine."

Unfazed and all too used by the boy's rough behavior, Joshua lowered his purple eyes in amusement, flicking a stray lock out of his face. "Oh, really? I think not." Neku's face went ablaze. "I distinctly remember your desperate furrowed look as you hunched over the Tin Pin table. You look like you were about to kill yourself if you lost. So, naturally, I wanted to swoop to your rescue."

The other narrowed his eyes and glared venomously at him. "Joshua, I know you. You don't help me out of chivalry. You help me because you want something from me. Help is just your excuse. Spit it out."

Joshua's amethyst eyes shot up slightly in surprise. He let out a snicker before replacing it with a sickeningly sweet smile. "Of course. I want you."

Before Neku could ask "What?" or any variation of that, the orange haired boy found himself slammed against the wall. Joshua snorted as he pressed the boy against the wall.

"Composer powers have some use sometimes."

"Wha-Mmph!" Neku froze as his lips were covered by Joshua's. He could not move his body to make an attempt to push the other off. He felt his face heat up quickly.

Joshua gazed through his long eyelashes to capture Neku's surprised eyes. He nipped and licked at Neku's lips, obviously asking for entrance. He felt a slight shiver from Neku as he tried to suck on his bottom lip. Resisting a sigh of irritation at the other's lack of reaction, Joshua let his hands trail to his proxy's behind and squeezed, eliciting a gasp of surprise from the boy. The Composer took his chance.

He plundered the other with his tongue, mapping out the inside of the mouth. With expertise, he let his tongue drag languidly against Neku's teeth as if, asking the other to come out and play.

Joshua let his hands rest lazily on Neku's hips as he hummed slightly in his mouth. The Composer felt a rare stir of pure joy when the other's tongue hesitantly brushed against his briefly. He could barely contain his stoic and playful expression.

It didn't help that he felt Neku's hands limply dropped before shakily fisting his Dragon Couture shirt. While that made him happy, the Composer was slightly displeased at his now wrinkled shirt. He made a mental note to iron it as soon as he was done ravishing his proxy.

Joshua let his tongue stroked the other a few times briefly before making a move to pull his face away. However, the Composer saw a hand shot up and felt it violently press him back against his proxy. Joshua hissed at the slight pain as their lips collided once more. He had to train his proxy to control such brute strength.

Wet appendages slid against and over one another in an erotic fashion. It was like as if they were dancing gracefully against each other. Joshua heard a faint groan spill from Neku's lips. The Composer felt his own body shiver in response. He felt the other's hands grasping his forearms and dragging him closer.

Letting out a growl from the bottom of his throat, Neku pushed Joshua back slightly for breath. His face was flushed with need. His lips were swollen and clearly ravished thoroughly. An almost transparent string of saliva connected their lips. "Quit sucking my lips like a baby, you dumbass."

Joshua smirked before replying in a husky and snarky tone. "As you wish, my dear proxy."

The orange-haired boy let out a surprised yelp as a cool hand trailed itself upwards underneath his shirt. He shut his eyes in embarrassment as Joshua leaned in and bit his ear gently. The Composer smirked as he felt the boy give off a satisfying shiver when he dragged his tongue over the appendage.

Neku trembled as he felt the cool hand stroke his sides sensually. He felt his whole body go up into flame. He bit on his lip to prevent mewls and moans spilling out from his mouth. It took everything he had to resist reacting shamelessly to the other's pleasurable ministrations.

It was almost agonizingly painful when he felt Joshua's lips trail down his neck, pulling at his collar. The Composer suckled painfully at the junction of his neck, making Neku gasp. Neku scowled in embarrassment as Joshua knowingly smirked against his neck.

However, both parties gasp when their hips pressed oh so pleasurably against each other. The two were too lost in their own world to-

"Eh, um…Joshua? Phones?" Sanae cleared his throat awkwardly. Not again. What has he done to deserve this? Neku's mother called him, asking about her son so he wanted to check up on him. Instead, as soon as he opened the damn door, he sees his boss pratically dry humping the other, sucking face.

What the hell?

Neku made a strangled noise and pushed Joshua violently away from him. His face was truly red with embarrassment. "Mr. H!"

"Sanae…" Joshua staggered backwards; his shoulder hitting the wall from Neku's sudden push. He winced painfully. He felt a headache coming on

Sanae did not miss Joshua's pissed off aura. The barista laughed in a forced manner, scratching the back of his neck. "Um…uh….I guess you two are fine. Neku…your mother…she called."

"Yeah…thanks, Mr. H. I…" Neku looked at the ground, ashamed of himself. He was too mortified to meet Sanae's eyes.

Sanae, you are a bastard.

Okay, so Joshua was extremely pissed off. And that was all it took for Sanae to leave to escape the cockblocked Composer's growing temper and the heavy aura of awkwardness. The fallen angel left in a haste manner and let the door close behind him.

The heated and romantic mood was effectively slaughtered. The two both knew that. Goddammit

Neku refused to meet eyes with Joshua. His blue eyes searched fleetingly along the ground as his mouth pressed into a thin line of irritation.

The Composer sighed and massaged his shoulder. "Well, that was a horrible distraction."

"Gods, what have I done…" Neku mumbled softly.

"Well, I slammed you against the wall and I-"

Neku's head swiveled towards him in a snapping manner. "I know what we did! Just don't…Oh gawd."

Knowing that it would probably be wise to avoid the topic, Joshua sighed and walked over. "It was a good two weeks, no?"

Neku hesitantly locked eyes with him. He was relieved for the topic change. "Yeah…I had…fun. It wasn't that…bad."

Joshua's mouth curved into a gentle smile. "Of course. Must've been exhausting, right?"

Neku nodded in agreement. His eyes flew fleetingly in the hallway. "J-joshua?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks for everything." Neku dropped to his knees and sighed heavily. "…I feel so overwhelmed…"

Joshua felt as overwhelmed as Neku. He showed a rare sign of surprise. Neku never thanked him for anything before. Purple eyes stared at him in disbelief.

Neku awkwardly smiled at him. "I don't like the things you do. However," He took a deep breath. "I don't necessarily hate you."

Purple eyes still stared at him. Neku's shoulders slumped. "What I'm trying to say is that I don't dislike you. And…when you offered your help two weeks ago, my first instinct was to trust you and take your word for it."

Joshua was silent. So, Neku continued. "I guess…trusting you is still a habit I had. I knew it was wrong but I still did anyway. My mind was reluctant but my heart wasn't. These two weeks…." He let out a dry laugh. "They were really something. With you, I thought everything would become worse. To my surprise, they didn't."

"Neku…" He was speechless at Neku's confession.

"Instead, they turned out for the best. I never thanked you for that."

The Composer felt his whole being washed over with Neku's little speech. Joshua bended down and enveloped Neku in his arms. He felt the other hesitantly hugging back.

Joshua closed his eyes and smiled. "Such an impact these two weeks had on you, hasn't it?"

"Something more or less of that, I guess."

Joshua laughed softly. "Your explanation is so screwed up. It's quite stupid of how two weeks and a worthless bet can get you to admit those sorts of feelings."

Neku mumbled nostalgically in his hold, tightening his grasp around Joshua. "I'm surprised myself. Well….those were two weeks of stupidity, weren't they?"

0.o.0.o.0.

"So he was like, 'Oh my gosh, Joshua, I love you so much. I will be your proxy forever and ever!" Joshua chirped happily to his two friends, staying in his Composer Pad for a "ttlly awsome sleepover". He laid on his white couch in a lazy manner and opened his mouth to continue until-

Beep.

Beep.

The Composer blinked for a few moments before fishing out for his orange phone in his pockets. He flipped it open and his face contorted into a look of amusement. It was a text message from his dear proxy.

Oi, pansy. Eri invited us to lunch to celebrate her scholarship to her stupid fashion school. Get your ass over at Ramen Don tomorrow at twelve. Neku.

Joshua resisted a laugh. Instead, he snickered.

One of his two friends turned her head languidly from her laptop. She was perched gracefully on the floor, kneeling at the table in front of Joshua. "Was that something from your 'dear proxy?' Seriously, Josh?"

Joshua giggled and nodded, turning his gaze to the girl in front of him. Purple eyes met playfully with cobalt black eyes. "Yes, my friend."

The girl twitched her eye and tucked a stray lock of raven black hair behind her hair. She sighed and turned back to her laptop. "Of course…how typical of you."

Joshua shifted his body and lied on his stomach, leaning against his elbows. He giggled lightly. "Oh, must you be such a downer?"

The fourteen year old girl snorted and resumed to typing on her laptop. "Sure, Joshua."

The Shibuya Composer cocked his head and scrutinized her with a knowing gaze. "I trust that you had a nice year long vacation in my world?"

"It was nice." She did not stop typing.

"You're wearing that blouse and skirt that Eri gave you, aren't you, Michiko?"

Michiko's typing faltered. "Shut up, Joshua."

The other laughed and shot her a sickeningly sweet smile. "Aw, should the Composer of Shinjuku be like that? Especially after I graciously offered you my home as an escape to be away from your duties for so long?"

Michiko scowled and turned to face Joshua. "I simply do not like troubling myself with the Game. I hate games."

Joshua sighed. "You are a liar, dear Michiko. You simply find writing slash stories your cup of tea and wanted to escape your own home so you could ditch your duties."

"Damn right I wanted to. Hey, give me a synonym for 'moan?'" Michiko answered emotionlessly before turning back to her laptop.

Joshua grinned before tapping his chin in thought. "Hmm….Mewl? Groan? Let out a pleasured noise?"

"Oh stop, Yoshiya. Don't encourage Michiko. It's already bad she's corrupted." Spoke from another.

Joshua met eyes to the male sitting at the edge of the couch, reading a novel with his feet propped up on the couch, next to Joshua. His tousled mahogany hair nearly curtained his glasses covered eyes. He looked no older than eighteen.

"Must you be a party pooper too, Naito?"

The Composer of Minato flushed timidly in embarrassment and buried his head in his book. "Cousin, my Mother told me to watch over Michiko. She told me not to get her into any trouble."

Joshua snorted in response while Michiko laughed. "Oh, dear cousin, Naito, your deceptively submissive personality can't fool me. You love games as much as me and her. I am merely doting on our cousin as payment for her stirring up some events to make my boring life a bit more interesting."

"You're welcome too, Joshua." Michiko called out, still typing her slash story.

However, Naito spluttered indignantly. "Wha-what? How dare you accuse me, Yoshiya!"

Joshua clucked his tongue and changed his body position into one sitting on the couch. "See? You're not so timid."

"You insulted me!"

"Your ears were twitching. You were listening to my engaging story of those fabulous two weeks I spent with my beloved proxy."

"I was curious!"

"Curious to see if my proxy and his dear friends ever figured out that Michiko was a Composer."

"That doesn't say anything about me!"

"You always act uninterested. I know you aren't, cousin."

Michiko sighed and shook her head as her two favorite cousins began to bicker. After a few minutes, they quieted down. Naito ignored Joshua halfway through their argument and buried his nose in his novel once more so Joshua gave up and began to talk to Michiko. "So, what did you think of Eri?"

The raven haired Composer smiled and turned back. "She's very creative and friendly. I like her." She suddenly scrunched up her nose in distaste. "Why do you always get the good souls?"

Joshua giggled. "Don't be selfish, Michiko. There's plenty of interesting people at your home too. Give them some credit."

The two Composers talked some more until Naito closed his novel, apparently finishing it. He straightened his glasses and peered at them. "I find it a little silly that we came here just because we like to exchange stories about our homes. Is this some sort of contest?"

Joshua laughed amiably. "You may call it that, cousin. You're just jealous that I always have a field day with my people."

Naito pouted in distaste while Michiko turned to Joshua and stuck out her tongue.

"If you want my opinion, your stories are utterly ridiculous." Naito remarked sternly. "You're mature, Joshua. All of us know it but you just need to show it a tad bit more often."

It was Joshua's turn to pout in distaste. He whined mockingly. "But life would be so boooriiiing that way."

Michiko giggled and closed her laptop. "Since I have nothing else better to do, may I accompany you to that gathering your proxy was telling you about?"

The Composer of Shibuya only nodded and leaned back into the couch. "Of course, Michiko. Eri would be so glad to see you."

The Minato Composer sighed and pinched his brow. "I seriously do not see how you two can be so amused by your own people's antics."

The other two could only giggled in response.

This was the life for a Composer.

/

1. Inside joke, FTW!

2. You're looking at my own Tin Pin deck.

Urgh... this ending was a flop...anyway, to the people who still read it, thank you for sticking with this crappy author and complementary story. You're all awesome. I thank everyone who reviewed, faved, and alerted this story. This story has closed and I want all your comments about it. So, please, please, REVIEW!