So…yeah. Second TWEWY fic, second fic ever. Another little one-shot type-thing; I seem to enjoy writing those. I'm really proud of this one, though. It's based off of the idea of parallel worlds in the Secret Reports. Something like: "Life is made up of a string of choices, and the consequences of these choices. With each choice that is made, the options not selected branch off into their own separate realities. This is what forms parallel worlds." I can't remember the exact words, but basically, this is a parallel world where Neku makes a different choice in the final Game, the shoot-out between him and Joshua.

I am aware that they may be slightly OOC in this one; the fact that Neku had even made a decision not akin to that which he made in the game is the first step of being OOC. If he was totally IC, he would've made the same decision, which was not to shoot Joshua. But the excuse here is that this is a parallel world.

It was also kinda loosely based on part of the second verse of Twister. Look up the meaning if you don't get it…

…Okay, I'm done rambling. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own TWEWY. I have a feeling that if I did, none of the characters would listen to me, anyway…

Just Can't Win

"Ten…"

Neku's heart had stopped working.

Or, at least, had ceased functioning properly.

It was beating too loud, too fast, too unsteadily. His heart-rate jerked and wavered and the pounding filled his ears and vibrated throughout his body, like an amateur bass drum player banging out random rhythms.

"Nine…"

He couldn't concentrate, couldn't think; this was just too much to process at once! Betrayal, anger, denial, fear… Even hope: hope that Joshua didn't actually expect him to pull the trigger. But he realized he had to try to make a decision. Everything that was at stake rested on his performance. And everything was at stake.

This revelation sent a jolt through his mind, awakening his senses and enabling him to form coherent thoughts. The first thing he noticed, as his eyes were downcast, was the gun in his hand. And how white his knuckles were, how tightly his fingers gripped the handle. Oh, God, oh, God, this was real! His fingernails dug deep into the heel of his hand, slipping slightly from their dampness from sweat.

"Eight…"

He actually had to kill someone. For real this time; there would be no Mr. H to intervene now. But he could barely move his hand when it was so tense, let alone aim and fire. He relaxed his iron-hold, and managed to glance upward for a couple seconds as he raised the gun.

Big mistake.

There, he saw his…former…partner watching him, pointing a gun at his chest, counting down until the deciding moment. How could he look so cocky, so confident in his ability to win? How was he so sure Neku wouldn't shoot at him?

"Seven…"

Maybe it was a safe bet. How could he pull the trigger? How do you kill someone who's done so damn much for you? His second partner…the one who'd tested Neku's new theories about trust and teamwork…the one who'd selflessly sacrificed himself to save him from Minamimoto's Level i Flare… the one who, above it all, had finally earned his trust just to be ripped away from him like Shiki all over again, he was the one standing in front of Neku, he was the one who Neku had his gun trained on!

"Six…"

Or…was he? Was he that person, the boy Neku knew he could trust with his life? He'd been deceived throughout the entire course of the Game… Strung along to believe that he was winning back his life and the lives of the other Players, but really, he was destroying Shibuya, one mission at a time… And Joshua was at the heart of it all. He hadput Neku through all of this pain, he had been the one to use him as a helpless pawn!

"Five…"

Damn it, he just wanted his life back! How was it fair? How was any of this fair? His life had been stolen, manipulated, used, and just brushed aside in lieu of the bigger picture. He hadn't asked to trade it in for the chance to decide the fate of Shibuya! Life was… It was so much more important to him than it had been at the beginning of the Game! He'd tried his best to expand his horizons, like Mr. H had said, and he'd learned that people…weren't nearly as bad as he thought.

"Four…"

Some may be shallow, or selfish, or inconsiderate, but they all just wanted to live their lives like he did, and it wasn't fair to deny people that right like that! Composer or not, Joshua couldn't just screw around with so many people like it was nothing! Even the shallowest, most self-absorbed among them had a dream… something they wanted to live for.

"Three…"

Something they deserved to live for.

Neku looked again at Joshua, and the gun in his hand, identical to his own. He had almost reached the end of the dreaded countdown. It was now or never. Even as he raised the gun with shaky hands, he felt the tears slip down his face. And why shouldn't he cry? The decision he was making tore apart almost everything he had learned in the past three weeks: always trust your partner.

"Two…"

But he couldn't this time.

Because Shibuya needed to live. As much as he wanted to trust that Joshua would take care of Shibuya (and a part of him still did), he needed to be sure. Sure that all those people got a second chance to prove their worth.

"One..."

So, just as Joshua uttered the final number, "Zero," Neku squeezed his eyes shut, shrugged his shoulders up in anticipation, and…

CLICK.

He jumped in surprise, because he had been expecting a loud bang and strong recoil when he pulled the trigger, so had tensed up accordingly. What was this pitiful clicking sound supposed to do?

He began to jerk the trigger violently with both hands, over and over and over. Still all he got was that frustrating clicking noise.

Finally, he growled in exasperation and glanced up to see Joshua with a hand in his pocket and the gun hanging by his side. Smirking.

Neku finally burst.

"Y-You…you dirty CHEATER! How the HELL am I supposed to shoot anyone with an unloaded gun, asshole?" he shouted in the direction of the still very composed Composer.

"My, my, Neku… You need to calm down. I didn't cheat at all," he said smugly, flipping a lock of hair out of his face. "I simply took what was required."

"What the hell does that—?"

Realization suddenly dawned on Neku. He lowered his head again, and felt his arms go limp as they dropped back down to his sides. The gun slipped from his hand and clattered to the floor.

"You said…my…my entry fee…it was…"

"The bullet," Joshua finished for him, still rather smugly. That smirk had never left his face. He had known he would win no matter what Neku's decision had been.

"That's means I…I failed…all of Shibuya…" Neku whispered.

This time, when the trigger was pulled, the bullet hit its target, and the shot echoed through the vast, cavernous chamber that was the Room of Reckoning.

"You lost, Neku Sakuraba. Game over."