Wishes

Fandom: The World Ends With You (TWEWY)

Pairing: Neku/Joshua

Setting: Post-game, takes place after "Purification"

Summary: Joshua knew he would regret making that promise with the almighty daiyoukai, but he wasn't counting on the complications that followed it.

Stage 1 - The Memory

As the sun rose slowly, Joshua slowly woke up, pushing himself up from the bed he was in to stretch out his sore muscles. He resisted the urge to whine, slowly getting out from under the blankets, not caring if anyone could see him walking around butt naked, and staggering his way to the bathroom. He stopped, however, when he heard that the shower was already on. Which could only mean…

"I don't bite, Joshua," came a calm voice from inside, making the youth in question tense. "It's not locked. Come in."

Joshua considered it for a moment, intending to decline and go back to the bed, but his sore muscles stubbornly refused, saying they wanted that shower yesterday. And so he reached out for the doorknob, and twisted it before lightly pushing the door open and stepping into the room, shutting it behind him to keep the heat in.

When he refused to budge after that, the same voice called out, almost gently: "Josh… come here."

The silverette couldn't refuse; he knew what would happen if he did. So he stepped forward, reaching out with one hand and accepting the one held out to him, allowing himself to be pulled into the shower stall. The warm water soaked him in only seconds, and he hissed lightly as the droplets hit his skin.

A soft touch to his shoulder made him jump in alarm, but the touch also prevented him from turning around.

"Does it hurt?"

Joshua bit his lip, not trusting his voice immediately as he just stood there, refusing to look up. The water seeping down the drain was far more interesting.

"…Joshua," came the soft call as a second touch came down on the opposite shoulder. "Does it hurt?

"…no… no, it doesn't hurt…" he murmured finally. "I'm just… sore. That's all."

There was silence for a moment, and then his bangs were moved aside, a gentle touch, even more gentle than the one on his shoulders, placed upon his temple; a kiss.

No words were spoken; it wasn't needed. Joshua just stood there with his back to the other man, allowing him to start massaging his sore muscles, resisting the urge to moan at his expert touch. Once all the kinks were out of his body, he shut his eyes and tilted his head back as he heard the familiar click of a bottle being flipped open. And then strong, deft fingers ran through his hair, covering the silvery strands in the sweet smelling shampoo that he used, working up a good lather.

"…how much longer?" Joshua asked, unable to keep the thought trapped in his head.

"…Hm?"

"…how much longer before you can forgive me, Neku?" Joshua clarified, not daring to look back.

Neku didn't respond immediately, focusing instead on washing the Composer's hair. "…Saa…" he murmured finally in answer, absently shrugging his shoulders.

Joshua wasn't surprised at the (lack of) answer; Neku rarely ever did answer him when he asked that question.

A little over 25 years ago, Joshua had run into a daiyoukai that had been hell-bent on destroying Shibuya, claiming that the city was corrupt. Of course, Joshua–being the Composer–had immediately attempted to stop the beast from destroying his city. With a little help from Hanekoma, they had actually defeated the powerful creature and sent it packing.

Or so they thought…

As it turned out, the daiyoukai had, in a sense, reincarnated itself as a human, so as to remain hidden and to see if Joshua could fix his corrupted city, and also to keep an eye on if its prediction to the silver-haired Composer would come true. It had predicted Joshua would find that his city was as corrupt as it had claimed and that he would wish to destroy it. It also predicted that, when he would realize this, he would seek out the daiyoukai's help in destroying it.

And that human's name had been Sakuraba Neku.

Five years after the game, precisely–which was two months ago now–the daiyoukai had returned for a promise that Joshua had always believed to be an empty threat;

Remember this, Composer! Five years after you realize your city is corrupt, I'll come for you and I swear I'll devour you!

"Hey, step back a little," Neku said suddenly, pulling Joshua from his thoughts. Once he had done as Neku asked, stepping out of the spray of water, the redhead began to wash the rest of Joshua's body, steadily working his way down.

Joshua bit his lip, and dared to look back when Neku crouched down to wash his legs. He still looked like the boy that Joshua had seen long ago, staring up at CAT's mural with such adoration, that there were times when Joshua wondered if he hadn't just imagined it all. Orange-red hair, slightly darker and longer now that he had aged five years, still spiked back along his head, and Joshua wondered if his hair really did grow like that, though right now, the water had pushed it down to rest on his shoulders. His eyes were still a deep blue, slightly darker and tinted with wisdom and experience. He had also filled out a little over the years, not overly much; just enough to be noticed. He used to be considered skinny, now he was average.

When he was in human form, at least…

Joshua knew what power each of Neku's limbs possessed, he knew all too well what power lay hidden in the arms, legs and tails of this powerful daiyoukai–this Ninetailed Fox.

"Right. Done," Neku said simply as he rose back to his feet, making Joshua whip around immediately so he wouldn't see something he knew he'd regret looking at.

Quickly banishing those thoughts from his head, he shut his eyes and brought up his hands as he stepped back under the shower, working to get all the suds out from his hair. It was like this every time in the morning if he stayed over at Neku's apartment. He would wake up, go to the bathroom, find Neku already there, and the Kitsune would silently help him wash up and to relax from the prior night, though the first few times, Joshua had vehemently refused.

After the first time he actually did his shoulders, though, Joshua had found himself being a lot more compliant.

There was a gentle pressure on his back, between the shoulder blades, and then Neku's presence was right by his ear as he murmured: "Don't use up all the hot water," before he stepped away and out of the shower.

The Composer remained silent until he was sure that Neku had completely vacated the bathroom, after which he glanced over to the door to ensure he was really gone… before he abruptly dropped down to his knees, biting his lip and catching his fall with his fists. His entire body was shaking, and he felt the beginning of tears stinging in his eyes, but he'd never admit to that, of course. He panted softly as he reached a hand to his face, covering his eyes while fighting against the urge to cry.

"Damn you… damn you…" he hissed softly, his mind unwillingly rewinding to when Neku had called him to the apartment for the first time.

"Hey Boss, just out of curiosity, did something happen this week?"

Hanekoma's question completely caught Joshua off guard. The Game had just ended and he had just finished judging the remaining Players and sending those who had earned enough points back to the RG, so now he had some time to actually talk to his Producer. "Hm? No, not that I recall, Sanae. Why do you ask?"

The barista merely chuckled. "Ah, no real reason. You just seem a lot calmer than normal. That's all."

Joshua felt his finger twitch in his pocket, and was glad it didn't show on his face. "Oh? Well, I don't feel any different than usual," he said with a smile.

If Hanekoma learned of what had happened the night before the Game… while the Angel could probably help him when it came to Neku's strength, there was NO way he was going to tell the shop owner what had actually happened. Hell, if he could help it, no one was going to know at all!

Now, while the Composer was not someone who got startled easily, after everything that had happened just before the Game began, it was really no surprise that he almost jumped right out of his skin when his phone started buzzing against his fingers (he'd set it to silent a while ago). Thankfully, it didn't show on his face, so Hanekoma had no real way of finding out.

"Hey, Sanae. I'm going to take a walk for a while, so I'll probably be back later tonight, alright?"

"A'ight, Boss," Hanekoma said with a chuckle and they soon parted ways.

Once Joshua was sure he was out of range from the barista, he pulled out his phone and brought the object to his ear. "Hello?"

"Done talking to Mr. H, now?"

He'd expected to hear that voice, but it still made him freeze up momentarily. "…Neku. How did you know…?"

"Heh. Can't tell you that, I'm afraid," Neku said, almost casually. "Say, the Game's done with now, right?"

"…Yes… it is…" Joshua had a bad feeling about this. A really bad feeling.

"Great. Do you think you could stop by my apartment today?"

"…wait… your… apartment?"

Of course he'd had an apartment. Why Joshua hadn't thought of that before, he wasn't sure, but he had somehow had the idea in his head that Neku would at least live with his parents for a while longer. Or did the daiyoukai not consider the people who gave him the body he had now his parents? Joshua really didn't know, and he'd been sure he'd known how Neku's mind worked… but that was before he learned of the fact that he was actually an all powerful daiyoukai who had almost made him destroy his own city.

The building wasn't much to look at from the outside, but it was a good neighborhood and the people were very kind. If he'd gone through with destroying Shibuya, this area would be one he'd have dearly missed.

'…why am I even here?' he wondered as he stopped in front of the apartment door that Neku had asked him to come to. 'I should've ignored him… I shouldn't have even picked up the phone. I knew it'd be him… why did I answer and why did I come here?' His thoughts continued on like that for a long time, unable to find an answer, and his mind was now beginning to scream that he had to run away and never come back again.

And yet, he reached out and pressed the bell.

It took a little while for Neku to open the door. He was dressed in some loose JotM clothes, which wasn't surprising, and—

'Is he… when did he… why is he taller than I am?' Joshua wondered briefly to himself, realizing that he was at least four inches shorter than Neku, even after he had shifted into the body of a young adult (or at least what he'd look like as one).

"Oh, hey, wasn't expecting you this early," Neku said, almost absently as he stood aside to let Joshua inside. "Were you able to find it easily?"

"I know Shibuya's map like the back of my hand, Neku," Joshua pointed out, taking off his shoes and walking further inside as Neku shut the door behind him.

He'd never been inside any of the apartments of the building, but Joshua had to admit that they were cozy enough. The living room, kitchenette and dining room were a singular room, though there was an extra counter placed between the living room and kitchen. A simple leather couch sat in the center of the room, in front of a coffee table and facing a TV set that had seen better days, being an older, more clunky model, unlike the plasma HD TV's circulating the market nowadays. There were some books scattered across the coffee table, mathematics by the looks of it, as well as some English textbooks and a number of notebooks with various notes in it. The majority of the pages were also full of doodles from what Joshua could see. The kitchen appeared to have been cleaned recently, and while it didn't have a dishwasher, Joshua could see a bottle of soap set against the wall by the sink. There was one door on the opposite wall of the living room, which probably led to the bedroom, and if Joshua had to guess, the other door opposite the kitchen was probably just a toilet. The actual bathroom was probably only accessible from the bedroom.

"Working on homework, I see?" Joshua murmured as he leafed through some of Neku's textbooks.

"Yeah… Was hoping to finish before you got here though… Hey, you want some coffee or something?" Neku called out as he took a detour into the kitchen.

"Hmm… you wouldn't happen to have green tea around here, would you?" Joshua quipped with a chuckle as he sat down on the couch.

"Um, actually… I think…" Neku frowned in thought and opened one of the cupboard. "Oh! Here we go!" he called out in victory, reaching inside and pulling out a box of tea packets. "Thought so. Shiki brought some over when she was here last week and forgot to take it with her."

"…Shiki, you say?" Joshua said curiously, feeling a vein twitch on his forehead for some odd reason, watching Neku as he picked up the water heater (looks like he had some heated in advance) and poured hot water into a cup.

"Yeah. Her and Eri stopped by a few times," Neku said calmly, setting the small box away again before he set a cup under his coffeemaker and pressed a button. While the machine whirred, he picked up Joshua's teacup and walked over to the living room. "Here."

"Thank you, dear," Joshua chuckled out, pleased when Neku growled out a "Don't call me that!" before walking back to the kitchen to pick up his own beverage. "So… why would they come here?"

"Nothing serious," said the redhead with a shrug, adding sugar and milk to his drink and starting to look for a spoon. "They just said they're saving up money to go on a holiday to the Netherlands and asked me to model a few times."

"Ooh? And you agreed to that?" Joshua asked, trying very hard (and almost failing) at keeping a straight face at the thought of Neku being used by the two girls as a fashion model. He also had to repress a deep frown that wanted to come on his face as a completely different thought of a different nature dawned on him.

"Well, I gotta. Those two said they'd make some custom clothes for me if I did, so… yeah," Neku said, finally finding a spoon, which, strangely enough, had a small strawberry on the end, before he walked back and sat down on the couch. "Besides, every little bit of money helps in the end, I suppose."

"Hmm? Saving up, are we?"

"No, the girls are. I already said that."

"…They actually have you pay for it?"

"I offered, alright?"

"Oh? And why's that?"

Neku snorted and scooted forward a bit on the couch to get back to his homework. "Isn't it obvious? If there's something I can do to get those two together, then fine."

"Together?" Joshua had a small, thoughtful frown on his face as he brought up his tea. "How do you mean?"

"They intend to get married."

Joshua very nearly choked on his tea just then. "Ex-excuse me?" he coughed out, trying to cover up for the fact that he almost did a spit-take.

"The Netherlands legalized homosexual marriages, so they're planning to go over, have a good time, and then get hitched before coming back home." Neku explained the entire situation as though it was nothing new, not even looking up from his homework.

"Aren't they… a little young to be considering marriage?"

"They're over 18, so legally, they're old enough to decide on their own."

"I… see."

They fell into silence, with Neku working on his homework and Joshua sipping his tea on occasion. And just then, it occurred to the Composer that neither of them had mentioned the actual reason why Joshua was called there. He tried to ignore it, but the more he tried, the more he actually thought about it, to the point where his hands had begun to shake, almost spilling tea over them. He had to grip his cup tightly in both hands to prevent it from shaking as well.

Neku, however, seemed content to just ignore the youth sitting right next to him in favor of finishing his homework.

'…why did I even come here?' Joshua bit his lip as he struggled against the urge to slam his cup down on the table. 'I didn't want to come here… so… why did I…?'

"…Why are you so stressed out?"

Joshua jumped in surprise when the voice was suddenly right in his ear, a soft touch placed on the opposite shoulder. He almost dropped his cup because of it, but Neku managed to save it from meeting its unfortunate demise against the floor

"I'm… I'm not… stressed…" he murmured, but his voice was already beginning to shake as much as his hands were. In fact, his hands were shaking so badly now, that Neku pulled loose his cup lightly and set it down on the coffee table.

"You're shaking…"

"I… I am not!"

Why was he so… close?

Joshua tensed when the touch on his shoulder shifted to his head, forcing him to turn his head. Neku's eyes had darkened considerably, and the pupils had shifted from circular to vertical, indicating that the redhead had begun using his skills as a Kyuubi. And the itch on his left wrist—and the rapid diminishing of his powers—could only mean that he had also activated the seal that would block all his powers as Shibuya's Composer.

"You are…"

"N-no… no, I'm not…!"

But before he could say anything else on the matter, Neku's fingers curled into his hair and pulled sharply, mashing their mouths together in a bruising kiss. The silverette tried to get out a protest of some kind, placing his hands against Neku's chest to push him off, but he forgot that Neku's mouth was over his own, not only silencing his protest, but also giving Neku the opening he wanted. Joshua whined and tried to get loose as Neku's (impossibly) long tongue swirled around his mouth.

Just as he managed to push off against the Kitsune's chest, though, Neku snagged his wrists in one hand and forced him backwards until he lay sprawled out on the couch, hands kept in place above his head.

"N-Neku… st-stop…!"

"Stop?" Neku repeated softly, his eyes half shut and making them seem even darker, as the pupils dilated. "Why would I stop?"

"Be-because… I-I d-don't want this!" Joshua choked out trying to rip his hands loose. "Thi-this is no better than r-rape!"

"…then why did you come here?" Neku asked calmly, making Joshua still in the redhead's grip. Neku had just asked him the exact same question he had been pondering about almost the entire time he was there. "Alright, I asked you to come, but you had the choice whether to come here or not. You knew what was coming when I called you, yet you still chose to come here. Let alone, I let you keep your powers until a few moments ago. If you really didn't want it, then you could have attempted to stop me. So… why didn't you?"

"Uh um… be… because…!"

Joshua tried to speak, but he had no clue what he wanted to say. The Kyuubi was right, after all; he could've not come, he could've attacked and made it clear that he didn't want this… and yet he came without a word of complaint and he had stepped into the daiyoukai's lair on his own accord. Why hadn't he done anything?

"Nothing, huh?" Neku murmured, his mouth curling up into a small, amused smirk. "In that case, you should just lay back and enjoy yourself…"

"N-n-no!" Joshua wailed, resuming his struggles when Neku reached for the buttons of his shirt. "N-Ne-Neku…! S-stop! I-I don't…! Ahhhh…! I… I don't… want… th-this…!"

Neku didn't respond right away, undoing the last button and moving the material aside, letting his fingers roam over the exposed skin as Joshua's breathing sped up. As he reached his nipples, though, Neku allowed a smile and pinched the nub, making Joshua gasp in alarm.

"Maybe… but you need this, ne?" He whispered huskily.

"D-don't be…! Aaaah! Ne-Ne… k-kuuuu…!" Joshua whined as Neku rolled the nub between his fingers.

"Heheh… you say you don't want it… but you're already so hard…" Neku whispered, letting his hand trail down to cup the silverette's groin, rubbing over his erection with his palm.

The Composer of Shibuya whined pathetically, his back arching up on its own, his head flopping back and his hips bucking up. "Ah… ha… haaah…! N-no… please… no!"

But Neku only chuckled, and kept on rubbing, with a little more force, making Joshua moan in appreciation. He was gasping for air, trembling in Neku's grip as the fox continued to rub his hand over the silver-haired male's clothed cock, humming softly at the noises Josh was making.

"Do you still want me to stop… Yo~shi~ya?"

"Ah… ah… n… no… please… please, let me…"

Neku smirked coldly then, and Joshua whimpered when he ran his index finger along the base of Joshua's straining erection. "Oh? If you want it so bad… beg me for it."

"Ne… Nekuuuu…"

"Beg for it, Composer!"

Joshua whimpered pathetically as he wriggled in the Kitsune's grip. He gasped and whined, but Neku's hand knew exactly where it had to be and was slowly driving him insane. He shook his head rapidly from side to side, before he choked on something almost sounding like a sob.

"N… Ne-Neku… sa… ma… please… p-please… ahhh…! P… please f… fu-fuck… me… please…"

Neku allowed a cold chuckle at Joshua's pleas, bringing his body down on Joshua's as he undid the Composer's pants. Moving so his mouth was on level with the silverette's ear, he whispered softly: "Good boy… never forget; until I say otherwise, your body belongs to me."

"Dammit… god…dammit!" Joshua choked out, his body shaking as he recalled how he had begged of Neku to fuck him, and not just once either. He had begged for it over and over again, until the point where he had been unable to stand.

Joshua choked as he felt something dribble out of his body and quickly covered his mouth to stop an indignant cry, feeling his cheeks flare in shame. 'N… no… why… why do I… Dammit…! Dammit dammit dammit! Neku, you bastard!'

When Joshua came out from the bathroom, fully dressed, Neku was packing the last of things for college. The redhead looked up as he stepped into the room, then went back to packing. Once he had stuffed everything in, he stood up again. "There's some breakfast left over in the kitchen if you want it," he said calmly, as though last night had never happened.

"…Okay." Joshua really didn't want to argue or talk too much. Especially not to Neku.

The redhead didn't seem to care much, moving to the door and pulling on his shoes. "Lock the door on your way out, okay? Ja ne."

And then he was gone, leaving Joshua alone in the apartment.

Wordlessly, Joshua walked over to the kitchen. Neku had made some onigiri, as well as a bowl of shio ramen, a glass of fruit juice set beside it. Just simple breakfast, really, but Joshua had half a mind to not eat at all. However, he hadn't actually eaten anything the day before, and his stomach made it a point to tell him just that.

So, he pulled back the chair and slowly sat down, resisting the urge to leap up right away. Shaking slightly from the pain, Joshua bit his lip and reached for the chopsticks next to the bowl. He ate slowly, why, he wasn't even sure. He always expected to want to be out of there as soon as possible, and yet he found himself staying much longer than he should.

"…why do I keep doing this?" he whispered, before stuffing his mouth full of ramen, rather unceremoniously, but he was beyond caring. He took a big bite of the onigiri, swallowed, and immediately took a long gulp of his juice to wash the (much too large) chunk of rice down. "…ugh… how much longer? Does he… intend to keep using me… my body… for years?"

He recalled Neku saying that he had played Joshua's Game for five years, which was more than a little unusual in itself. But the fact that he possessed the feather that Joshua had given to the Neku in the parallel world he had run off to at the end of Neku's second week, made him worry that the Kyuubi could somehow find his way into alternate worlds, and perhaps into the past as well. If so, then perhaps Neku wanted to make him suffer for having to go through the Game so many times.

But no… Neku didn't strike him as the type to hold grudges. At least, he hadn't after the Game had been done. Then again, how much did he really know about the powerful daiyoukai?

"…" Joshua sat up straight and let out a heavy sigh. "Well, no use fussing about it, now," he whispered softly. "At least he'll be satisfied for a little while…"

If there was one thing that Joshua had learned about Neku, it was that he would never call Joshua in two days in a row. There was usually an interval of three to four days, sometimes a little more, but never earlier. Why, Joshua wasn't sure, but he didn't dare to ask.

"Well, I suppose I'd better head back. Sanae's probably worried about where I spent the night again. Heheh…" he chuckled out, getting up from his seat.

But rather than leave, Joshua looked down at the bowl, plate, glass and chopsticks he had used. After a brief moment of hesitation, Joshua picked them up and walked to the sink to wash them. It was a small chore; one that usually only took a few minutes, so Joshua saw no need not to wash his own dishes.

As he washed them, though, he couldn't help but wonder about the Kyuubi's motives once again.

'…haven't you had enough yet, Neku?' he wondered to himself. '…should I even call you that? Did the person called Sakuraba Neku… really exist… or…?'

Sighing in exasperation, Joshua shook his head. There was no use in worrying about it now; the fact remained that Neku—the Kyuubi—could do whatever he wanted with Shibuya's Composer, and Joshua's pride wouldn't allow him to admit to anyone that it was happening. Hell, he had difficulty enough just admitting it to himself!

Setting the now cleaned and dried dishes into their respective cupboards, Joshua finally turned and walked to the door, pulling on his shoes slowly, before he finally stepped out. He closed and locked the door behind him, then put the spare key through the mailbox, and walked away. As he usually did after visiting Neku, he took the elevator down, where he leaned back against the railing and began to think.

'…at least he… didn't make me say it this time…'

Joshua bit his lip and shut his eyes, shuddering as he remembered that one night about three weeks ago.

Normally, Neku would wait until the end of the day and call him out, but there were occasions where he would pull Joshua out from the crowd and drag him into the same dark, candlelit room as where he had taken him that first time. It was rare for him to do so, but when he did, it was usually because he wanted to do things… differently.

"Ah… ah… N-Neku-sa-maaah…!" Joshua whined as he bucked up into Neku's body, his hands gripping at the sheets as he kept his eyes shut tight.

The Kyuubi had pushed his legs up to his chest, his hands holding him by his ankles to keep them there as he pounded into him over and over again, a cold smirk playing on his face, as his nine powerful tails waved leisurely behind him.

"Heh… heheh… hah… hah… say it, Yoshiya… Who do you belong to?"

"Y-you, Ne-Neku-samaaa!" Joshua wailed out, not even thinking about what he was saying anymore. "Only you…! Ah… ah!"

"Again! Say it again!"

"I-I… I belong… to-to… ah! T-to… you, Neku-sa…maaaah!"

"Louder!"

"I-I… belong to…"

"I said LOUDER!"

Joshua gave a cry when Neku's tails moved in on his body, immediately assaulting every sensitive spot they could find, making his body tremble in pleasure.

"I… I…" Joshua whimpered as one of the Kitsune's tails stroked his straining erection, before he opened his mouth again. "I BELONG TO YOU, NEKU-SAMA!" he fairly shouted out, and was rewarded by Neku's deep, rumbling laughter.

"Good boy…" he murmured, moving Joshua's legs over his shoulders and lowering his body down onto the silverette's as his tails moved aside. This effectively folded Joshua's entire body and made the smaller male whine as his cock rubbed against Neku's stomach with every thrust. "One last thing… then I'll let you come."

"Ah-ah…! A-anything! I'll do anything! Just… please, please, please…" Joshua whimpered out, his hands still grasping the sheets as tightly as he could. What Neku said next, though, made his eyes fly open in surprise.

"Kiss me."

"H-huh…?"

"You heard me."

Joshua bit his lip harshly, looking up into Neku's solemn face, the dark eye shadow around his eyes making them seem so much darker than they already were, vertical pupils filling up almost the entire iris, and two long, fur-lined fox ears coming from somewhere in his hair. He almost seemed like a different person…

'But… but…'

Joshua forced as much of his strength into his arms as he could, and quietly pushed up to connect his mouth to Neku's, his eyes shut. The Kitsune hummed, obviously pleased, and pushed back against the silver-haired boy (compared to the Kyuubi's age, he was just a boy, after all) beneath him, using his tongue to urge Joshua's own out to play. And Joshua, unable to refuse, did just that, sighing softly as their tongues moved around each other so gently.

Finally, the Kyuubi moved back, slowly, and whispered in Joshua's ear. "Come for me, Yoshiya."

Unable to disobey, Joshua let out a choked scream as his orgasm hit him, making his eyes roll back into his head. A single tear rolled down his face, but it was quickly licked up by the Kyuubi above him, just before he grunted loudly, his own orgasm filling Joshua up and making the boy choke out as his cheeks flared.

"Hah… hah… never forget, Yoshiya…" Neku murmured as he pulled away. "You're mine… until I say otherwise… this body…" he purred, running his nails along Joshua's chest, "is mine to command."

Joshua whimpered softly, but couldn't say anything, as he felt his consciousness fading away from him slowly.

Ping

Joshua nearly jumped at the sound of the elevator doors opening. Upon realizing he'd reached ground floor, he hurriedly got out and continued his trek.

That had been the first time he had been forced to say that, but it hadn't been the last. Neku seemed to take great pleasure in having Joshua shout that particular phrase, but he didn't always ask—well, demand, really—for it.

As he walked through the streets of Shibuya, Joshua looked around at the people he passed. There were a lot of couples out, he noticed, but most of them were hetero couples. No, actually… all of them were. He didn't see a single that involved two people of the same gender.

"The Netherlands legalized homosexual marriages, so they're planning to go over, have a good time, and then get hitched before coming back home."

Neku's words resounded through his head once again, and he frowned, whipping around with every intent to just ignore them and continue to WildKat.

…but his legs wouldn't move.

As he thought for a moment longer, Joshua sighed as he realized he actually didn't want to see Sanae. In fact, he didn't really want to see anyone.

So he shut his eyes, switched his frequency back to the UG and flew to the top of the 104 building. And there he stayed for the remainder of the day, silently watching everyone down below go about their lives.

And, not for the first time in the past two months, he cried silently.

A/N: Right. This story does have some dark tints, but it's considerably lighter than Purification... This IS going to have a few SM moments, however, but that won't be for a while.

If you don't get what the story is about, read "Purification". It's six stages long, and also explains what is going on a little better than the recap in this chapter, I feel.

Also, if you liked, please review. I'll put the next stages up regardless of reviews, but it's nice to know people are reading what your write.