TWEWY: A Fall Into Honour:

This story is about how Joshua became the Composer. The story is from Joshua's point of view, and others if the story needs to. This is a prequel of the game The World Ends With You. TWEWY is made by Square Enix. And I own the OCs. This is a FAN FICTION and not the real prequel. Enjoy! =3

Week 2, day 3:

Chapter 56: Collision:

Joshua was having lunch with his mother and father, enjoying his day off from school. Though it was mainly his mother and him speaking, his father sternly chewing food as though disgruntled he had to grind up each morsel in his mouth, it was pleasant for once.

"Did father really go through with that?" asked Joshua with amusement, giggling at the scowl his father's face developed. "You have to be joking."

"Oh no, he was a real wild guitarist," laughed Mitzuki with mirth, resting her chin on her raised palm dreamily as she went on, "He could create riffs that always caused the crowd to swoon from sound impact. And, as much as it sounds crazy…" She bopped Joshua's nose gingerly with one of her free hand's fingers before turning to gaze at his father tenderly. "Your father once was a hot, dreamy stud."

Joshua blinked at those words, taking a moment to mull them over before snickering, "A hot, dreamy stud?" In response, his mother eagerly nodded and Joshua couldn't control his laughter, "M-Mother- quit joking about this- hahaha!"

"Oh no, no, no… Yoshiya." Her mother took on a coy smile, twirling a strand of her curly ashen blonde hair. "If only you knew how much money his back tattoo cost to remove…"

Joshua merely guffawed, "Father would never get a tattoo!" He glanced at his father, only to continue laughing when he realized his father hadn't even denied any of his mother's claims, "Wait… haha… So it is true!?"

Hinata gave a curt sigh, coolly placing his chopsticks aside as his disinterested blue green eyes met Joshua's lavender. "It was a mere phase, just to be clear, Yoshiya." As Joshua snorted in amusement at that, wiping tears from his eyes as he tried to recover from his laughing fit, Hinata went on with a more intense tone, "I disregarded what my true potential was for a hapless mistake, and my father helped me back on my feet for what I should have been doing."

"Wearing stuffy suits and living in boredom in a prison known as the 'office'?" suggested Joshua with a little smirk, snickering before feeding himself more sushi, "Until Sanae freed you?"

"Proper employment, Yoshiya," sniffed Hinata. "Proper employment."

The eleven-and-a-half-year-old couldn't stop himself from falling back into laughter, only able to watch as his father got up to put his food away while his mother quietly went back to eating, wearing a gentle smile. His father would always be a stick in the mud, not some ambitious recently turned eighteen-year-old with long wild blond locks chaining guitar chords for hours on end. His father never touched a single instrument in his life! The only music his father showed interest in was his mother's violin recitals and classical music- which was gently playing until his father turned the radio's volume up promptly as he was leaving the room.

Joshua now understood partially why his father looked so different in photos when he was a younger adult.

"Joshua…"

Just as Joshua was finishing his meal, taking a moment to glance at his mother to respond to her, the wall phone rang, cutting through a melodic piano section in the current song. Immediately, the ashen blond got up, turning to his mother with a smile. "I'll get it."

"Alright, sweetie." His mother's lavender gaze softened as she smiled warmly back. "It's probably Chise."

The youngest Kiryu went over, lowering the volume of the radio as he reached for the phone. As he rested it against his head, he spoke with well-practiced politeness his father would be proud of hearing, "Kiryu residence, this is-"

"Josh."

Blinking at how breathless Sanae sounded, Joshua furrowed his eyebrows. "Sanae?"

Unsteady inhales and exhales met his ears, making Joshua shift from concern, Sanae spoke once more, "...Ayumu's hit."

Joshua rolled the words around in his head, trying to make sense of the meaning. Eventually, he gave a small laugh when he couldn't figure it out, "Hit what? A ball, a wall, a-"

"Josh, th-there was a-an accident." The boy frowned, cocking his head despite the man he was speaking to wasn't going to see it. "Y-Your half-brother… he j-just ran out- then there was a car-" A strange laughter expelled from the phone, confusing Joshua even more. "Oh man… whoo, I didn't think it would be this hard to explain to you! Hahaha..."

"Explain what?" Joshua murmured, frowning more.

"The car… Ayumu got hit by a car."

Joshua widened his eyes, gripping the phone hard, feeling his stomach drop. "...What?"

"I-I don't- oh man, sorry for not making it easier on you to hear, but Ayumu's at the hospital- the one in Pork City, I think. I came along with the ambulance, and I didn't pay much attention, but I should have… Just tell your father work is canceled today, and have one of your par-"

The boy let go of the phone, not paying attention to the fact he hadn't even bothered to put the phone back into its receiver. He rushed past where his mother was seated at the table, heading straight for the door.

"Yoshiya?" she called, and Joshua didn't even take time to take heed of the worry her voice held. "Who was-"

"Father doesn't have work, mother!" he shouted shrilly, pulling his shoes on and walking before he had them on correctly.

As he opened the door, he stiffened when a warbled sound started to course through his ears.

Joshua was shoving the hospital doors open, haggard after searching for the building in the district without a clue to get there. He was downright exhausted from running over here, but didn't care that his legs were screaming in agony and wanted to drag him to the ground. His chest really hurt right now, almost like it was ready to cave in, but that didn't matter! He halted, breathing harshly as he looked around frantically before spotting the familiar black-haired man.

"Sanae!" he cried pitifully, fighting against his stiff legs to run over as the man snapped his attention to him. "Sanae! What do you mean Ayumu was hit!?" he sobbed, trying to not cry in front of the man when he had to focus on where his half-brother was.

The usual warm glint in the barista's dark grey eyes was occupied by an odd somber sadness, something Joshua couldn't imagine seeing on the man's face. Instead of answering, the man guided Joshua to sit beside him when it seemed the man sensed Joshua's exhaustion, which Joshua was partly thankful for as his legs finally were given relief. As the boy panted, feeling his hair glue to his forehead as gross sweat suctioned it, he stared dizzily at the man who was frowning back. It was a few seconds later before Sanae gave a heavy sigh, "I know it's making you distressed, and I'll explain-"

"Where's Ayumu!?" He nearly got out of his seat, just not wanting to sit here if Sanae was planning on being painstakingly long with his response, if it hadn't been for Sanae placing a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Why isn't he here!?"

"He's being treated, Josh. J-Just relax-"

"They should have been finished by now then!" protested Joshua in aggravation, wildly meeting the man's gaze. "When did Ayumu-"

A warmth filled his shoulder, crawling towards his head. Joshua froze, soon feeling his muddled mind clear before his racing heart died down. He frowned, blinking before Sanae rubbed the back of his head. "I didn't mean to Imprint you, but please just take a moment to relax so I can tell you."

Joshua mutely nodded, slightly awed by the fact Sanae did that and still utterly confused about why Ayumu would ever get hit by a car.

"Wh-Why would he…?" Joshua half-closed his eyes, feeling a few welled-up tears roll down his face before the unshed ones seemed to vanished. He shook, shaking his head as he whimpered, "A-Ayumu knows…"

"I'll tell you why he did later." The man grimaced. "But he directly went into the path of a vehicle."

"What!?" Joshua widened his eyes, gaping in appal. "Ayumu would never do that!" he shrilly cried.

Sanae sighed, shaking his head. "'Fraid so…"

As Joshua tried to process what he heard, he heard an unfamiliar voice ring through the barely empty waiting room. "Ki, Ayumu?"

"Joshua…"

Sanae stood up, raising a hand in the air before the woman adjusted her glasses with a nod. She soon walked over, carrying a simple clipboard with various pages scrunched under the clamp it had and faced them when she was in front. "Are you one of his guardians?

"No." The woman raised an eyebrow at that before Sanae explained, "His parents are not here yet, but I just informed his father before Josh got here. I can call Mitzuki Kiryu right now, as she's with Ayumu's mother so Chise can talk to you if there's something to be discussed."

"That would be lovely, as there are things that need to be discussed for the sake of the surgery." She pursed her bright red lips. "And I can only assume you were present when the collision occurred?"

Sanae nodded.

"Okay, call her up. I have some questions for you after I'm done speaking with her."

As Sanae did the deed, Joshua furrowed his eyebrows, wondering if this was a doctor, surgeon, or nurse who was speaking to them. Joshua hardly been to hospitals, so he couldn't say he knew the difference. They all seemed to wear these ugly scrubs, which probably still had bad bacteria from the last patients they took care of. He wrinkled his nose at the thought, moving a seat away to keep some distance between him and the formal woman.

The last time Ayumu had to go to hospital, that was when he was six, he had to have someone check up on his broken arm. Ryou broke it from pushing Ayumu off the jungle gym, and Ryou had accidentally fell off as well and landed on Joshua's half-brother after losing his balance… but Joshua imagined Ryou did that on purpose to hurt Ayumu even more. That was the first time Ayumu was bullied by Ryou and Sora, and Joshua couldn't believe they still kept up the torment for all these five years. He scowled at the memory, looking intently back at the formal woman again.

Whatever the woman was speaking about to Auntie Chise, he couldn't tell, it was all confusing medical diction he didn't know. It was frustrating, not knowing what was going on with his half-brother. But he remained quiet, listening keenly in case he caught something he did understand.

"A-"

As the woman ended the call, handing back the phone, she sat down opposite to Sanae and clicked a pen. "Now then, I would like to know details about the collision if you're able to recall them. It's mainly for the doctors to read over when assessing the boy's surgical options, as well as when he's done being treated in the emergency room."

"So Ayumu will be okay?" Joshua cried hopefully, earning a neutral expression from the woman. "Will he!?"

"I can't confirm that information with you currently, only that he is unstable." The woman shifted, blankly blinking. "I don't want to have your hopes dashed if anything goes awry."

Joshua sank in his seat, crestfallen. 'I just want him to be okay…' He clenched the fabric of his smooth dark grey pants. 'I can't lose him!'

"What is his birthday?" she asked.

"December 5th, 1989," Joshua spoke up quickly.

When the woman peered back at the ashen blond again, Sanae explained softly, "This is Ayumu's half-brother. He knows a lot more about Ayumu than I do."

With a nod, she jotted down on the paper before continuing, "Any allergies?"

"Uh…" Sanae rubbed his stubbled chin at that.

"Cats!" Joshua pulled out Ayumu's spare epipen, frowning as he showed it to her. If all he could do now was sit here, then he had to at least help his half-brother by answering these important questions for him! "Ayumu loves cats, so I have to have one of these handy in case he comes in contact with one."

Nodding again, she seemed to capture what Joshua said as well. "Past medical history?"

"Does a broken arm count?" Joshua asked nervously, sparing a glance to Sanae who shrugged.

The woman merely took a second to scratch her pen on the page, soon proceeding onto her next question. "Blood type?"

Joshua grimaced, giving a shrug.

"We'll have to do a blood typing test then, I'm afraid…" With a quick scribble of her pen, the woman looked back at Sanae then asked firmly, "Where and when did the accident occur?" Her voice softened slightly. "Please explain anything you may know. I know that trauma may be hard on witnesses, so try your best to remember anything that had happened."

Sanae was silent for a while, his dark grey eyes closed before he reopened them as he spoke, "I think it was nearly noon… if I remember it right. Between Towa Records and Cadoi City." Sanae scratched his chin again, frowning with uncertainty as he went on, "The kid was upset about something, so when I went over to check up on him, as I knew him because he is the other son of my employee, Ayumu acted spooked and ran onto the road."

The eleven-and-a-half-year-old raised his eyebrows at that, frowning deeply. 'Ayumu was spooked!? But why…?'

As the woman scratched down on the paper, she looked up. "How did the car hit him?"

"It was going in the direction of the Scramble Crossing, so it struck his right side. Ayumu directly entered the driver's car path just as it was trying to zoom past the kid… so the driver didn't have time to stop until after he was hit." Sanae grimaced, looking paler a second later. "I-It really looked painful if you ask me."

"And do you know if there were any other factors we should be aware of that caused Ayumu Ki's visit to our hospital."

"Nothing, ma'am. I only know that he was spooked by something, but I don't know what." Sanae shook his head before he hung it.

"Thank you for your time and information, that's all I needed to know." The woman stood up, clicking the pen again. "We will inform you if there's a change in your employee's son's condition."

As she left the room promptly, Joshua slid back to be beside Sanae again. "Why would Ayumu be spooked by something and run out on the road, Sanae?" he asked anxiously, furrowing his eyebrows as he stared at the man.

Sanae sighed, "I'll tell you when we're alone." He promptly placed his sunglasses back on and fell silent.

"Josh-"

"Ki, Ayumu?"

Joshua turned his head, blinking as his sleep was disturbed. He watched wearily as Sanae raised his hand as someone who looked much more like a nurse walked over, bowing before she spoke perkily, "He's stable now, so you may see him. But he's currently not conscious, just to let you know." She looked around for a brief moment, confused. "Are his parents not available?"

"They ran into car trouble, so they're trying their best to reach the building on foot."

Joshua cocked his head, now noticing it was three in the afternoon. He took a moment to ponder when he fell asleep, or how he missed any details about his parents and Auntie Chise's status. He pursed his lips, looking back at Sanae and the apparent nurse.

"Oh, so would you like to still see him?" she asked sweetly.

The words finally hit him.

Joshua gave a grin. "Yes!" He hopped off his chair, waiting for Sanae to get up as he felt relief gush through him like a waterfall he saw on the internet. 'Ayumu's alright!'

"B-!"

The nurse opened a door, and Joshua sprinted in without a delay, barely focusing on how surprised she was when he shot past her. "Ayumu!" he cried desperately, soon facing Ayumu.

It broke him immediately when he noticed how Ayumu had a tube connected to his wrist, giving shallow breaths from how the translucent mask on his face was clouded by puffs. He was in a hospital garb, but his right leg was elevated for some reason even though Sanae said Ayumu got struck on his right side. Ayumu's face appeared swollen on the right, with bandages circling around the left side of his head, but it didn't look too bad.

Joshua at first stood stalk still, unable to comprehend his brother was in such a state. The ashen blond felt lucky that he didn't see any missing limbs or anything, so he gave in finally (just this once he told himself) to the tears he felt cascading down his face. "Oh, Ayumu…" he murmured sadly, walking up slowly to a chair already placed beside the angled bed. "This shouldn't have happened to you…"

As he sat down, not focusing on what Sanae and the nurse was talking about, he wiggled his hand into Ayumu's. "I'll make sure you're okay…"

"Joshua…"

When the door clicked shut, Sanae pulled another chair over, soon sitting beside Joshua while Joshua concentrated on Ayumu's small, feeble breaths.

"Josh…" Sanae ruffled his mohawk, pausing as if collecting his thoughts before speaking once more solemnly, "I hate to tell you this, but… I have to." The eleven-and-a-half year old slightly turned more to the man. "I'm the reason why Ayumu got hit." Joshua stared blankly at the man, and soon the man spoke again anxiously, "I was the reason why Ayumu got hit by that car, Josh."

Widening his lavender eyes, Joshua shook his head. "N-No..." He frowned deeply, shaking his head again. "D-Don't blame yourself, Sanae..."

"I lied to the nurse, Josh," said Sanae firmly as he frowned. "I am the reason why Ayumu was hit by that car."

"D-Don't say that…" Joshua said quietly, numbly staring at the man. The boy tried to decipher the true meaning that this terrible attempt at making Joshua feel better was about. "Ayumu was spooked!"

"He was spooked, but I didn't give the whole story." The man pulled off his sunglasses, his dark grey eyes hardened. For some reason, the air felt wrong... Joshua shuddered as the man, who shared everything about the Underground with Joshua, suddenly felt so unfamiliar and scary and Joshua had no clue why! If Sanae thought this was a joke, he really didn't seem to understand this wasn't what a joke was supposed to be like! "You may deny it all you like, but I am being honest with you. You need to listen to me... listen to me because you deserve to know as much as it may hurt you."

The ashen blond felt like he couldn't breathe. "Wh-What do you mean...?" he almost whispered, uncertain about what he was hearing.

For a while, Sanae stared him down, soon slipping his sunglasses to hook on the breast pocket of his vest. For whatever reason, Joshua felt he could finally relax as the strange tense air disappeared.

"I just…" Sanae halted to sigh, placing a hand on his cheek. "Ayumu was angry about something, so I went over to talk to him. But, your half-brother, you know, hates me… so he seemed to direct his anger onto me." Heisitating as he locked gazes with Joshua, the boy noticed the man's lip quiver before he continued, "I'm not sure why your half-brother got angry in the first place, b-but I noticed a Negative Noise was latched onto him."

"Wh-What's a Negative Noise?" asked Joshua in confusion, shakily breathing. "Wh-What do you mean it was a-attached to him!?" He trembled, tightening his hold on his half-brother's hand. "You told me Noise can't come into contact with the Realground, Sanae!"

"I'll leave that explanation for later, but all I'll tell you for now is that those Noise bring out the worst in people that they are already feeling, and milks it out to make them feel even worse." Sanae took a moment to rub his eyes, shaking slightly. "I was about to phase over to the UG to deal with it when I realized…"

"You realized…?" Joshua echoed quietly, unsure of what Sanae meant, and gave the black haired man his full attention.

Sanae closed his eyes. "...Ayumu saw my aura change."

Joshua blinked, his eyes going wide moments later when it occurred to him. "He saw you-!?"

"He saw the change, I sensed he did." Sanae grimaced. "I tried switching back before he freaked out, but he just did- and ran onto the road to get away from me- then that car came a-and hit him." Sanae cupped his hands over his face, hanging his head. "I just- froze! I noticed the Noise trying to consume the rest of Soul, so I went to stop them and took out that Negative Noise- then when I returned… I-I couldn't bring myself to go over and see if he was okay until the driver was calling out if anyone who knew him was around…" Sanae sighed heavily, "I-It was terrible..."

Joshua frowned, watching the usually upbeat man breakdown before him. He now understood why Sanae didn't explain this to the woman who asked questions, or Joshua until they were with Ayumu. No Realground person could understand the Game like Joshua and Sanae did. Joshua was sure the woman would've taken a second look at him and thought Sanae was hysteric or something if he told her exactly what happened. But…

"Ayumu saw you?" Sanae nodded when Joshua spoke cautiously. "So, does that mean he saw-"

"I was in the middle of transitioning to my Angel form when he got spooked by it," replied Sanae. "You have to remember, Josh: No RG citizen is supposed to see that sort of thing. It's beyond their comprehension."

Joshua gave his attention back to his sleeping brother. "Ayumu saw you, then that means…" He brightened up. "Ayumu can't deny that the Reapers' Game is real!" Sanae didn't respond to that, giving Joshua the leeway to go on, "Th-This is… This is great! Ayumu won't tell me then that I'm lying, or try to tell me I'm just making up stories for him-"

"Josh, hold on for just one second," Sanae said seriously, making Joshua whip his head back with a beam. The man was frowning down at him for some reason. "Ayumu shouldn't… he can't…" He sighed, shaking his head.

"I know he can't see it or sense it like I can, but I'll help him understand it like you did for me, Sanae!" Joshua chirped, giving a laugh. "So don't worry about having to re-explain anything to him! You can fiddle with your coffee beans and leave it to me!" Joshua grinned, showing his teeth to Sanae.

But Sanae didn't smile back, not even when Joshua searched the man's face thoroughly for the same excitement Joshua held.

"Look… it's not up to you to decide that." Sanae looked away, his expression looking pained for some odd reason. "I know you've been waiting for this day for who knows how long, but you have to understand the implications of allowing Ayumu to remember this."

Joshua frowned. "Why?" He scowled, shaking his head in anger. "There's nothing wrong with knowing it exists!" He gritted his teeth, shouting out, "I see it everyday, and you didn't tell me I shouldn't know this when I met you!"

"But for Ayumu, there will be problems." The man's voice was stern, making Joshua even more frustrated as he growled under his breath.

"If it's about being called crazy for making up 'stories', I go through the same thing!" retorted Joshua bitterly, glaring as he continued on furiously, "Are you telling me I have to be the only one who knows about the Underground- th-that I can't even have someone close me to relate to the things I see and hear!? That my own brother is supposed to continue to reject that what I see is real, only to mock me about how I'm too old to still be playing make-believe!? Are you seriously trying to cut off my chance at having him understand me!?"

"That's not it, Yoshiya!" snapped Sanae, making Joshua gape in shock as the air grew tight, he couldn't breathe, and Joshua felt scared again. For a while, Joshua could only stare in terror at the man, wanting to desperately inhale but couldn't. Joshua panicked, releasing his grip on Ayumu to press his hands to his throat, and as if that was the trick to stopping this awful pressure that had enveloped the room, it faded as Joshua dizzily watched Sanae adopt a sad, rueful expression. As Joshua gasped for air, trembling terribly, he droped his arms to let them lay slackly at his sides. "It's not that…" the man said quieter after a few heartbeats, slowly putting his hand on Joshua's shoulder (which he realized was tense now). "Ayumu might… Ayumu might not react the same way as you did. There are things that people go through, things that are a lot worse than what you've faced everyday. To put it simply: Ayumu may think he's gone mad."

Joshua's breath hitched. "...M-Mad?"

"Insane. Crazy. Mad." Sanae frowned deeply.

Shaking his head, Joshua narrowed his eyes as he spat, "B-But he hasn't!"

The black haired man fixed him a blank look. "Your half-brother might."

"Then what could you do to prevent that?" scoffed Joshua, closing his eyes after he turned his head in the direction of Ayumu. "It's not like Ayumu's going to forget this anytime soon…"

It was silent for a while, and Joshua felt his point was established enough and cradled Ayumu's limp hand in his own. It was slightly cold, so Joshua held onto it tighter in his grasp as he willed for Ayumu to receive Joshua's warmth. When Ayumu woke up… Joshua would be there for him, just as Joshua had promised that snowy day almost a year ago. As much as Joshua trusted Sanae, Joshua knew what Ayumu needed. He knew his favourite foods, how to administer the epipen in any contact Ayumu had with cats, how to cheer him up… Sanae didn't know those things; the man admitted it himself a few hours ago. Unlike him, Joshua always would.

"Joshua…"

"Stop standing-"

"I know you are adamant about this, but I have to rewrite his memory." Sanae's voice was firm.

Snapping his eyes open, Joshua whipped his head to Sanae. "Wait, what!?"

"Haven't I taught you about Imprints yet?" asked Sanae, an amused tone hidden in his voice that only Joshua could perceive. As the ashen blond turned his interest to the man, he went on, "It's kind of like… suggestions. Something to nudge an RG citizen into a different view or an idea to inspire them with. As long as it's something that the individual wouldn't want to be forced to do, it's as simple as distracting a cat."

"You mean… you can brainwash people?" inquired Joshua keenly.

"Brainwash!?" Sanae fell into a howl of laughter. "Oh man, Josh… that's just gold!"

"But it's essentially brainwashing." Joshua knitted his eyebrows, confusedly meeting the man's eyes. "Right?"

"No, no… don't think of it like that," said the barista mildly, bringing up a hand to wipe away his tears that suddenly appeared. "More like passing on an idea that's so good you shouldn't ignore it. It used to be only available for Angels and Composers before the art started popping up in Players, who were Interns during that point in the Reapers' Game."

"Interns? That sounds like a boring name."

"Well, Reapers used to tease them that they're players in their game, then eventually after some time... the Composer and Conductor couldn't stop that name from sticking," explained Sanae with a shrug, and Joshua smiled slightly with a snicker. "Anyway, remember what I did earlier?"

"You mentioned you 'Imprinted' me, right?" Joshua pressed his lips together, pondering the information he was feeding upon. "Is that the same thing?"

"Yup, but thought-altering Imprints are not as concentrated and complex as memory-altering Imprints. You wanted reassurance and to feel at ease that your half-brother was okay, so I may have offered you a good opportunity to relax a little. It's not the exact feeling you wanted, but you weren't as frenzied about the situation as you were beforehand."

Joshua nodded silently.

"Players and Reapers don't have the same refined Imprinting skills as Angels, Composers, or Producers. There are some Reapers capable of flawless Imprinting, but most of the time, they are not talented at the art. So, there are several kinks where their target might shout or scream what is suggested." Sanae gave a chuckle, smiling crisply. "You have no idea how many pedestrians get odd looks when you see it in action, Josh."

Joshua mentally made a note of that, but wasn't sure if the information would stick entirely. There was just so much to learn about Imprinting… so he would have to gather more information on it later.

"There are four main Imprints, which are Emotional, Thought, Inspirational, and Compelling Imprinting. But Compelling Imprints are the strongest, complicated, and authoritative Imprinting that can be done to individuals." As Sanae got up, he sighed, "So I need you to step away from Ayumu for the time being, I don't want to accidentally affect you as well."

Shooting up straighter, Joshua protested in disbelief, "But, Sanae-"

"There's dire repercussions if you intervene, so please… step aside." The man's dark eyes took on an unfamiliar, dangerous glint.

"You can't just do this- I've been waiting for several years for this moment!" he spat indignantly, sending a glare Sanae's way when the pressure returned, but fought against it this time. Whatever it was, Joshua couldn't let it stop him from standing up to Sanae! "What if he never discovers this again!? What if I'm stuck listening to him lecture me that the Game is not real!? You can't do this to me!"

"Joshua…!"

"Josh, listen to yourself," murmured Sanae, his eyes soft and nervous. "Think about Ayumu's wellbeing… you have no clue how selfish you just sounded."

"Can't I be selfish then!?" retorted Joshua, getting to his feet to face the man defiantly. "I am always thinking about Ayumu's wellbeing!"

"Then let me proceed with-"

"If you're so set on messing with his memory, why don't you Imprint me out of your way!" yelled Joshua bitterly, breathing heavily as he saw the barista flinch.

"Josh, you shouldn't say that." Sanae bit his lip.

"You heard me!" spat the eleven-and-a-half-year-old boldly. "Imprint me out of your way, Sanae!"

"No, you don't understand-"

"All I understand is that you have the power to force people to do things, and I could have been Imprinted to go to washroom so you can do with my brother however you wanted!" furiously screamed Joshua as he leered coldly at the man.

"Imprinting needlessly like that leads to the risk of fracturing the Soul's Composition, Yoshiya Kiryu..." finally said Sanae in defeat, the pressure vanishing as he sagged while Joshua widened his eyes. "It's like working with glass… If you try to force it the way you want, without thinking of the mistakes you can make, you will shatter it. Imprinting works best when you ease it in naturally, like it was supposed to be there to begin with. If I'm to Imprint you to make you move out of the way, when you clearly want to stand in my way, I'm breaking your will with my own to do it! The damage is irreplaceable- and it would break part of your psyche." He unsteadily breathed, shaking his head. "RG citizens are not supposed to see an Angel's true form because it's beyond their mind's comprehension! That broke Ayumu's psyche, Josh, why do you think he ran out and got hit!? His mind had a difficulty interpreting what he had saw, especially when he watched my transition unfold before his very eyes. So he only tried to flee! If I rewrite the situation right now before your half-brother wakes up… I might be able to reverse the current and further damages before they happen." Sanae inhaled shakily, soon gasping out, "Does that make sense to you?"

Joshua numbly stared at the man, gaping as he felt a chill go down his spine. "I-I…" He glanced to his injured half-brother, shooting his gaze back and gasped out, "I'm not sure! It's all strange to think about and just… unworldly!"

"If it makes you feel better, I'll let you help me make a scenario that suits Ayumu the most to act as he had." The black haired man relaxed, walking over. He seemed to hesitate as soon as he stood in front of Joshua, soon moving his hand to rest cautiously on Joshua's shoulder before giving it a pat. "You know Ayumu the best, and I k-kinda wish I knew him better myself, heh."

"...But you've known him almost as long as you had known me!" said Joshua breathless and quiet. "What are you talking about?"

"I don't feel as included in knowing him as I do for you, Josh," said Sanae sadly, almost as if he was struggling to frown or smile. "I don't know what he likes, hates, or anything he does on a daily basis. It could be because he hates me, of course, but I'd love to get to know the kid and understand him. A part of that could be that I'm an Angel who hasn't really kept up with society in decades… so I don't have a reason to know every citizen of Shibuya…" He closed his eyes, shaking his head. "But to at least know the people I hang out with would make me feel better."

"Huh… I didn't take you for a non-social butterfly, Sanae," Joshua remarked, slightly surprised by the information he was given.

"It's easy to focus on what's in front of you and not the horizon, Josh."

Joshua nodded, blinking as he churned the words in his mind. "Maybe you should use it as a new slogan or something. It's really… resonating."

"Resonating?" echoed Sanae in confusion.

"Yeah, like it's really invigorating to think about!" chirped Joshua, nodding eagerly. "And it's good advice- despite, uh, how I don't think I'll use it. But if I did, I would since a lot of people outside our family snub me and Ayumu."

For a while, the man was silent, blinking slowly before he spoke with awe, "Like… uh, expand your horizon or sumthing?"

"Yeah- something like that!" Joshua widened his lavender eyes.

"Well, ain't you as bright as always. That could totally work." Sanae grinned, his eyes finally rekindled with their normal warm sparkle. "Expand your horizons- reach out to those you are not familiar with and just go for it! Grow from it!"

Joshua chuckled sheepishly, "I'm only a kid, leave the pitching to my father."

"You are your father's son."

"I beg to differ…" Joshua frowned, shaking his head. "We're hardly the same."

"But enough 'bout that, we should rework what happened to Ayumu," said Sanae as he ambled over, placing a hand carefully over Joshua's half-brother's forehead. Sliding it slowly to the petite blond's left temple, he seemed to heed the bandages before lightly touching it.

Joshua went up to create distance from Ayumu, despite feeling utterly concerned about this, but knew Sanae would not do harm now. "Am I far enough?" he asked, cocking his head and watched Sanae shake his own. With another step back or two, the boy was given a thumbs up.

"I just need a moment to tap in, then we can get started-"

"Joshua!"

"Br-"

Joshua ignored the odd warbles, focussing on how Sanae drew his hand up as though levitating something invisible.

"I just need to find it first, then we'll get to business," explained Sanae, weaving his hands as though doing a magical spell… which seemed likely to Joshua. "You keep watch so no nurses or doctors burst in- I can't have any distractions or witnesses."

The boy nodded, stepping closer to the door and keeping an ear close to it. "What if they open it without warning?"

"I'll allow them the chance to check on another patient." Winking, the man went back to work. "They simply forgot that patient had more pressing issues than your half-brother does.

"Brat!"

Joshua blinked, wondering what that was. He looked around, frowning as he didn't find who had spoken. Maybe another patient in the next room was being difficult to deal with? He shrugged, and refocused to listen for any doctors or nurses.

"Is there anyone or anything that scares Ayumu?" asked Sanae suddenly, his voice sounding almost distorted before returning to normal. "An angry dog? Phobias? People?"

Joshua felt odd for some reason, but chalked it up to stress as he furrowed his eyebrows. "Mmm… Ryou and Sora might do?"

Sanae gave him a puzzled grimace. "Who are they?"

"Bullies of Ayumu," Joshua supplied simply.

"Really?" Sanae scratched his stubble in thought. "I didn't know the kid had that happening to him."

"Oh no, it's the every day school norm we have to deal with. Unless... Ryou or Sora get sick." The boy shrugged. "I make an effort to warn Ayumu when I first spot them each day."

"Man… that's rough," mumbled Sanae with discomfort, returning his gaze to his hands. "I don't have a clue what they're like, so this is going to be a messy job."

"Can't you look up a memory of them in Ayumu?" asked Joshua, rolling his lavender eyes with a scoff, "It's a no brainer."

"Hold your horses, kiddo. This geezer hasn't done this in ages," warned Sanae jokingly as he shook his head with a tut. "You can't rush perfection..."

"I know." Blinking, Joshua gave his attention to the door, hearing scuffs and thumps from faraway. "...Be careful with Ayumu."

"I will."

"Joshua…"

It was two days later when the usual beeping the heart monitor gave changed, alarming Joshua that something had to be wrong with his half-brother. Sanae had stepped out for a moment, having to speak with Hinata for the tasks to be done that day without Sanae, and that gave Joshua privacy with his half-brother. Joshua had been dozing to the rhythm of the constant sound, only becoming more aware of his surroundings when he noticed it was different. He immediately went to press the button to notify the nurses desperately, when a sharp hitch muffled from nearby made him whip his head towards it.

The vapour from Ayumu's breath shot out skinny, and Joshua was aware of how Ayumu's eyes were fluttering. The hand (for the arm that didn't have the IV, he learned) wiggled while it tried grasping the pristine bedding, and soon Ayumu's head lolled slightly to the petite blond's right.

After another breath, shaky and deep, it hit Joshua that his younger half-brother was awake.

"Ayumu!" he cried out in surprise. He dragged his chair he was seated on closer to the bed, and watched as Ayumu's head rolled sluggishly towards him.

"J-Josh…?" sounded Ayumu quietly, his voice weird under the breathing mask. "Wh-Where… Wh-What is…"

"You're in the hospital- you got hit by a car!" explained Joshua quickly, blinking wide-eyed as Ayumu gave a shuddery breath. "But you're okay now- so don't worry!"

"I don't… did I actually?" Ayumu weakly slurred, furrowing his eyebrows. "I-I feel… weird?"

"...What do you mean?" asked Joshua worried, frowning as he subtly reached for the nurse button. "H-How do you feel?"

"Like… like I-I'm floating."

That bubbled out a laugh from Joshua, smiling warmly as he thought how cute Ayumu sounded just now. "You're on IV fluids."

"Why?" Ayumu breathed more, his right hand shifting. "Is that why my hand… Is the IV thing there?"

"Yeah, I think it's mostly for pain killers." Joshua knitted his eyebrows as he thought about whether or not he had that information correct. Ayumu wouldn't like it if he thought Joshua was blatantly lying to him. "They said something about taking off your mask and adding another one through your nose for eating... and I think another one for breathing if it took you a long time to wake up."

"Ew… why would I want to eat through my nose!?" Ayumu whined with dismay, making Joshua chuckle at that. "That's just gross!"

"I'm totally against that too, Ayu," replied Joshua smoothly, making a gagging sound. "I'm already developing into germaphobia, and I wouldn't want a tube in my nose that's probably poorly cleansed from germs either."

"I'm not a girl, first off." Ayumu made a face at that, his mask shifting. "And isn't that paranoia, not germaphobia?"

"Same thing." Joshua shrugged. "Bad bacteria are everywhere, Ayumu."

The younger boy slightly looked down. "Paranoia."

Rolling his eyes, Joshua smiled sweetly. "Germaphobia."

Ayumu moved, finally bringing his arm to his right wrist to paw at the IV. As Joshua watched him slide his thumb across it, Ayumu asked softly, "How long was I here?"

"Two days..." The ashen blond reached over, drawing Ayumu's hand away from the tube. "And you shouldn't be playing with that."

"So that's the IV then?"

"Uh-huh."

"Huh…" Ayumu's pewter grey eyes blinked lazily. "Do you think they'll take it out?"

"Well, you must have been in great agony or something for them to slit your wrist to put it in," said Joshua with a sigh. "You're only lucky your side was struck." After a few moments, they became silent. Joshua nibbled his lip, slipping his hand from Ayumu's before he opened his mouth again. "...Do you remember anything?" he asked nervously.

As the slightly messy haired blond closed his eyes, he grimaced. "Ryou and Sora… I knew they were coming my way, so I just ran." He paused, frowning. "I just… I just didn't think when-"

"When…?" Joshua raised an eyebrow, remembering the distinct instruction to not prompt anything specific about the collision. It was stupid, but apparently he wasn't supposed to squeeze any desired information out from his half-brother… The doctor, he finally was able to differentiate from other staff members, said it might disrupt Ayumu's thought process if there were any brain damage they weren't aware of. So, Joshua knew this would be a tedious waiting game.

"Was… Sanae there?" Ayumu grimaced harder. "It's a bit fuzzy…"

"He was. But... you seemed to be angry at him, from what he told me."

"I don't remember, but if you say he was, I guess?" Ayumu sighed quietly.

"Well, I'm not supposed to tell you what you remember, Ayumu," stated Joshua gently, smiling sadly. "Doctor's orders."

"But that sucks…" Ayumu said in disappointment, turning his head back to Joshua. "How am I supposed to know what happened if everything is just-"

The door drew open. "Heya, I thought I heard sumthing in here!" Ayumu whipped his head forward, frowning immediately. "Oh hey, so you're awake, kiddo!" Sanae walked in, smiling sheepishly as he stood at the foot of the bed. "I thought Josh was supposed to tell the nurses when you've roused yourself."

Ayumu turned to Joshua, hissing in hush, "Why is he here!?"

"He was a part of the noble entourage who escorted you to the hospital! Via ambulance if you want the facts straight," Joshua whispered playfully back, beaming as Ayumu's face morphed into disgust. "What's with your face, Ayu~?"

His younger half-brother shifted, shrilly crying out, "I'm not a girl-"

"Josh."

As the weird sound garbled through the air, Joshua blinked as he made note of the weird acoustics of the room, getting up as he chuckled, "Well, how about you play nice with him, as I was supposed to go find a nurse."

"You can't leave me in here with him, Josh! He's a weirdo!" protested Ayumu, upsetly snorting as the man rubbed the back of his neck, "Don't leave me alone with him!"

"You'll be fine~" Joshua sang. He patted Ayumu's head, which earned him a scowl from Ayumu, before briskly heading for the door. "It's not like he's going to kill you, and I won't be long, dear brother!"

Ayumu started to yell out again as Joshua was slipping out of the room, the wounded blond's voice becoming softer as Joshua closed the door fluently.

"Josh."

Joshua sighed, his teacher's words failing to reach him while he thought about Ayumu. He knew abandoning notetaking was reckless, but he couldn't put up the energy to flick his wrist as he posed his pencil over the blank paper.

It had been a few days since he last saw his half-brother, and if it were up to Joshua, he would have ditched class already… However, he would have done that if it weren't for how his father would heavily disapprove of that kind of action. In fact, it was his father who had forced Joshua to go to class today, but it wasn't fair in Joshua's mind. How could his father expect him to apply himself in his education when all he could do was sit at his desk without having the motivation to do anything?

He swept his gaze across the classroom, noting Ryou was furtively eying him with a smirk. Joshua hardened his eyes, knowing well that Ryou was probably gloating silently about how Joshua's half-brother wasn't present at school. At least… Joshua expected that would be the case. Ryou usually didn't pay him much attention unless he was cooking up a new plot to harrow Ayumu, and Joshua always made sure to take any suspicious actions that Ryou conducted during class into account to ensure Joshua could try to prevent Ayumu from being tormented.

Joshua frowned, feeling his grip tighten and stared at his blank notes. 'I doubt they would try anything right now… Ayumu's not even at school.' He half-closed his eyes, shaking his head. 'It's likely everyone saw the news about Ayumu, so I guess that's all the more reason to ensure that they don't pose a threat at the hospital if they try to find Ayumu…'

If he told the hospital staff to bar Ryou and Sora from absolutely reaching Ayumu's room, that might work. He hummed internally, nodding slightly at the idea. The last thing Ayumu needed was seeing the very people who 'scared him into running onto the road where he got hit'...

"Snap out of it!"

"We need y-"

After the bell rang, Joshua checked the time, and belatedly realized it was lunch time. Zoning out for two classes wouldn't make his father happy, but Joshua found that he didn't care. The world could care less about whether or not he was paying attention in class, and the Earth would always keep orbiting around the sun even if he slept forever… It just didn't matter right now.

Placing his papers away, he opted to stay in his homeroom and eat here. Usually he would seek out Ayumu, as Ayumu usually was lonely at this time... but without his half-brother, Joshua didn't see the point of getting up. He merely poked at his bento, not feeling up to eating. Maybe if he stared at it long enough he could get an appetite, if it weren't for how he didn't want to even touch a single disgusting morsel that was packed into the black box. Even if he did try anything inside it, the thought of eating didn't bode well when he thought about how he couldn't do Ayumu the honour of taking the umeboshi out of his bento… Quite honestly, he couldn't figure out why Ayumu didn't like the salty plum, but that didn't matter if Ayumu wouldn't have to eat something he hated. Often times, Joshua would spare Ayumu the trouble by mixing and rearranging their bentos' contents to ensure both of them got to eat what they wanted… There were times that Ayumu would just swap bentos with him if all Ayumu had was rice and umeboshi, which Joshua was happy to do. His own mother never quite made a bento that Joshua was willing to eat without altering it, so it was a sound practice. And even though Ayumu wasn't quite accepting of the idea at first, the gradual progression into their bento ritual over the years allowed for the both of them to benefit off of each other in the end…

He absently poked at his unappealing noriben, plucking it apart mentally. He supposed his mother had forgotten that he hated everything that she put in for lunch. He grimaced, musing gloomily that perhaps her concern for Auntie Chise was the cause. Not that he could blame his mother... Auntie Chise was sparsely seen by him since Ayumu got hit, so he figured Ayumu's injuries had devastated her. After all, he knew his mother wouldn't allow for Auntie Chise to suffer alone at a time like this, but did his mother really expect him to eat five slices of nori and the array of vegetables stuffed inside the bed of rice!?

Joshua leaned backward into his chair with a scowl, ultimately deciding the trash would eat his noriben.

"Oh, my, god…" Joshua ignored the obnoxious drawl, letting his mind wander back to thinking about Ayumu. If it were only so simple to tune out Sora whenever she came over for her daily scheming sessions with Ryou. "I just saw the news- thank you for giving the heads up, Ryou!"

"I'm glad you took the time to do that," snidely returned Ryou, and Joshua pressed his eyes closed with a groan. "Now you know why I told you school just got boring…"

"Argh... it's not that bad!" the bratty girl scoffed in a whine, and Joshua (upon opening his eyes slightly) caught sight of her from the corner of his eye. She slumped into the chair in front of Ryou, facing the wrong direction as she propped her boney arms onto her accomplice's desk, curling her lip. "Just imagine who could have hit him- they should have shown the licence plate during that coverage!"

"And why would you want a rando's license plate?" scoffed Ryou, his blond eyebrow merely raising with mild curiosity.

Joshua narrowed his eyes when the blonde girl smacked her arms down, leaning precariously towards the boy. "Uh? To show how grateful I am, Ryou!" Immediately, Joshua went rigid, staring at his bento so intensely he felt like he might burn a hole in it. "I mean, c'mon, that guy did us a favour…"

Ryou promptly hummed, and Joshua peeked back just as Ryou was nodding with a snake-like smile adorning his lips. "Of course he did; the Freak's 'ittle Freak brother deserved it anyway…" He leaned back in his chair, raising fingers up as he drawled out sinisterly, "Being blind, annoying, pitifully weak, never fighting back…" He raised his pinkie finger sharply when he put in, "Oh! And being related to the Freak as always…" He snickered afterward. "Man, who knew someone was looking out for us, Sora!"

"God... he's just easy to hurt, I'm surprised this hasn't happened sooner…" moaned Sora as she pursed her lips, smacking them before crowing, "We don't need two freaks in school, so I hope one of the nurses gives him extra painkillers just for the heck of screwing him up more!"

"Better yet- they should have let nature run its course!" Ryou proclaimed haughtily, placing a hand on his chest as his voice rose with brio. "Should have just left him to die the moment they got to the scene!"

"Joshua!"

The ashen blond found himself standing beside Ryou's desk, feeling his mind whirl from muzziness. He wasn't sure when he arrived at the foul boy's desk, but that didn't matter right now.

"Don't you dare talk about my brother like that!" Joshua spat venomously, soon grabbing a hold of the snake-like boy's torn shirt collar and pressing him against the wall. Joshua saw the boy's eyes narrowing as his mouth curled into a smirk, hearing distantly Sora squawking something while he faintly picked up shouting on the other side of the classroom.

"Oh, what do I deserve to be manhandled like this, Freak?" sneered Ryou as his brilliant emerald eyes directly looked into Joshua's lavender. "If you know better, there's no reason for you to be hurting me right now…"

Joshua heavily breathed, becoming aware of clicks and taps of shoes entering both sides of the classroom. Whispers amid both sides of his hearing didn't distract him from dealing with the sorry excuse of a person before him, and he knew backing down now was out of the question. If he did… he would lose the opportunity in asserting his displeasure of Ayumu being badmouthed when he was struggling to adjust to his hospital bed, or having to be careful of his movements now that the doctor took him off his painkillers.

"You're such a snake, you know that, Ryou…" growled Joshua coldly, feeling eyes on him as he tightened his grip. "Crowing over how my brother should have died when you know nothing about how grievous it was for him to go through that… having not even a shred of empathy that your favourite punching bag is now suffering." When Ryou offered a scoff, Joshua pressed harshly, "Ayumu can barely tolerate the pain, Takakera, but I bet you love to hear that!"

If there was anything to get under Ryou's skin, it was his surname. Because of the apparently hard pronunciation, many people mistook Ryou's last name as Takekera, when it was really Taketera. Joshua had the joy of discovering that this school year when Ryou's surname was called incorrectly for the first morning roll call they had with their new homeroom teacher. When Ryou started screaming bloody murder, Joshua soon realized upon whispers in the hall the reason why. Joshua had no trouble pronouncing Ayumu's male bully's surname correctly, but ever since he learned about Ryou's weakness, Joshua tended to abuse it often than not when defending Ayumu this year. And boy, did it drive the Ryou crazy each time...

Ryou glowered at him darkly, but Joshua didn't give the boy a chance to share more of his spite. "I bet if Sora was the one in hospital, you would be laughing right now with one of your other cronies that she's out of your hair for the day." Joshua released the boy, stepping back as Joshua balled up his hands. "You have no idea what it's like nearly losing someone important, and I wish you could have a chance to actually experience that!" Joshua rolled his eyes. "Not that it would do you any good, I suppose."

As Joshua turned stiffly, avoiding the gazes of bystanders that wandered into the room, Joshua growled loudly, "After all, the great Ryou Takakera has nothing better to do than badmouth those who aren't here to defend themselves because they're lying in a hospital room in agony... condemning them because they hadn't died! If anything..." Joshua closed his eyes tightly, preparing himself for what he was about to say. "I think, you should have tried a bit harder when you scared him into that driver's path."

A collective gasp spread through the bystanders; immediately afterward, an angry wave of whispers rose up from them.

"I scared him into getting struck?" scoffed Ryou with a bitter laugh, and Joshua pressed his lips into a straight line. "Oh what a dream it would be to do that… as if that were true."

Joshua knew he had to continue planting the fake seeds to ensure that Ayumu's Imprint wouldn't unravel when he returned to school. Even though what really happened didn't quite work out like that, Joshua had to go through with this.

"Then maybe you should ask my brother why you did that," finally said Joshua curtly. "Unlike you, Ayumu isn't afraid of explaining things as they were." He shook his head. "Maybe you should do the same for once, Takakera."

Sniffing, Joshua had said his piece, and that was enough satisfaction when he heard frustrated murmurs and outraged cries after he had spoken. It was so good to get it off his chest when-

"Watch out, its going to hit-!"

Suddenly, Joshua turned the moment the voice spoke. The students and his surroundings blurred into almost a distorted watercolour landscape for some odd reason, and when he fully faced Ryou's direction again, it was to see that Ryou was swinging his fist at Joshua. To Joshua's appall, the other boy looked bizarrely like he was meshing into the background as his incoming punch was rippling as a half-blurry and half-sharpened shape.

'What the-' Joshua widened his eyes as the hand appeared to scatter into a million pieces only for his surroundings to return to normal when Joshua found himself staring in the direction he was facing before. Before he could think about what just happened, the strike finally met his back. As the pain coursed through his stomach instead (although he could have sworn he was just struck in the back), the horror he felt slipped away... the imagery he witnessed faded-

"Then maybe you should ask my brother why you did that," finally said Joshua curtly. "Unlike you, Ayumu isn't afraid of explaining things as they were." He shook his head. "Maybe you should do the same for once, Takakera."

Sniffing, Joshua had said his piece, and that was enough satisfaction when he heard frustrated murmurs and outraged cries after he had spoken. It was so good to get it off his chest when all these years Ryou was nothing but a jerk to him and a bully to his half-brother. He internally praised himself, about to return to his desk when something jabbed him in the spine, and he instantly tripped over the chair of the desk in front of him. Just as his legs tangled with the chair, feeling the wind being knocked out of his lungs when he met the ground, he heard people sporadically talking in alarm as the impact flooded his body with agony.

...But a single voice pieced through the noise.

"Joshua!"

Joshua was walking down the street, his mind drifting back to his half-brother. He overheard some little kids screaming as they used one of those toy Tin Pin Slammer Boards Ayumu begged Joshua to get. He paused, noticing one of the kids was bawling while the other bickered at the former.

"Ya're no fun-!" cried the bolder child.

"But you keep winning!" protested the sobbing one.

"So?" the brown haired child chirped. "Ya win too like me soon!"

"But you won, Shuto!"

"Hey, hey- you can win too! Don't worry!" said a black haired teenager in a flashy, Anime-like attire who seemed to be watching them. He knelt down, petting the upset boy's hair. "Everyone starts off not great, you just have to keep trying."

"Big Bro right, Yammer!" squeaked the other toddler, beaming at his little friend. "I show my masterful shots to ya! Then ya no lose no mor'!"

Joshua turned to walk away, pondering. 'I should have been more encouraging when Ayumu wanted to play with me, but how could I when it's a stupid game?' As Joshua continued on down the sidewalk, feeling his mind settle miserably on the thought. 'But I could have lost him as well… I didn't protect him from being hit, even though I promised him I'd be there for him.' He sighed, stopping. 'Isn't there something I could do to make it up to him?'

"Joshua!" He screwed up his face, surveying his surroundings for the person who called out for him. When he didn't find them, feeling the sidewalk waving under his shoes, he edged backwards to press his back against a building to steady himself when a thrum of a dizzy spell danced through his skull.

'I must have imagined it,' thought Joshua dumbfoundedly. 'I should go to bed earlier tonight… I must be more tired than usual after recovering from Ryou's attack.' Thinking back to a week and a half ago, Joshua felt he was only lucky to get no more than some nasty bruises from the encounter. As well, he was certainly lucky that their homeroom teacher had returned at the right time to stop Ryou before he could have landed any more hits. Joshua thought it was a plus to hear that their principal gave Ryou a suspension, and that was shortly after Joshua returned from the nurse.

Rubbing sleepily at his eyes, he started walking again, intent on finding the usual store he got bus tickets at. It irked him that his tickets from last month expired, especially now that he had to trek out to the department store to get them. And that meant it would delay his daily visit with Ayumu today…

As he entered the despicable little store he had to go to after weaving through the Shibu Department Store, Bel Airplane, he narrowed his eyes. 'If only bus tickets weren't available through a commercial maze…'

"Oh, it's the snooty consumer baby."

Joshua directly sauntered up to the counter, raising his chin up to meet the disdainful gaze of the bubblegum chewing princess. "If you didn't have tickets, I would be out of your hair."

"Cute." The slacking shopkeep smacked her teeth, blowing a pink bubble that popped. "Did you lose your daddy or mommy again, little stinker?"

"Hah… I'm old enough to make a transaction, so what does it matter?" Joshua dryly shot back, cringing internally as he could clearly hear the smacking of teeth and sloshing of disgusting spit in her mouth as she rolled her gum. "You're still getting my money for the sake of our economy."

"I'm comfy with getting a salary from the economy," she sniffed rudely. "That means, you disgusting fly, that you're spoon feeding me my Yen on a silver platter."

"Only because you can't afford to go to high school," quipped Joshua snarkily, smirking when her teeth grounded sharply together. "Oh, and you might never have to- the Yen I'm serving you will only go for your dental care."

"Buzz off…" She slapped the bus ticket on the glass counter, disturbing the fragile jewelry that rested in it. "We better discontinue the damn tickets- I don't want to have another soul waltzing in and asking for a plane ticket!"

Placing down the right amount of coins, he winked at her. "For your dental care."

He dodged the needlessly gaudy jewelled purse that was chucked his way after scooping up his tickets, nonchalantly whistling as he departed unharmed.

That annoying teenager was right, unfortunately… Bel Airplane sounded like the type of store for traveling intentions, but all it had to offer was shameful wares for egotistical women. Joshua could only imagine the only reason why they had bus tickets was to shoo away those who clearly misread the purpose the store was advertising itself of, but it was definitely not helping them. So, he sent a nice little plea for people to badger her for plane tickets today; at least it would give her something useful to do in society rather than making a cruel game of harassing poor preteens like him.

Chuckling, he sauntered in better spirits now that he had the item he had sought for. Shopping was the worst gruesome quest anyone could delegate themselves on, so he was pleased he had such a wondrous tale to share with his cooped up half-brother of Joshua's safe return. Ayumu, unfortunately, didn't share his distaste of shopping, and instead harboured a fascination in the art of shopkeeping. It wasn't like Ayumu was going to be working in a store one day, so it was pointless to have that curiosity. Ayumu was going to be going to the best university or college in all of Japan, and Joshua would ensure Ayumu world have that.

Smiling at the precious thought, Joshua slipped the tickets into his jacket pocket.

As he was about to exit from the hub of shoppers, he heard someone call out.

"Hey- boy!"

Halting, Joshua swerved to see an elderly man in a muddy traditional robe peering at him from inside a homey little shop. He looked around, wondering if that man meant for Joshua himself before slowly giving a mindful look to the old man.

"Pardon, but do you mean me?" Joshua called out politely. He saw the point that even though the man was a shopkeeper, which usually were disrespectful snobs, that shouldn't deter him from respecting an elder such as this one.

The sooty haired man gave an intense grunt and nod, gesturing merely with his slightly curling thickset fingers for a silent invitation for Joshua to enter the elder's domain. Mulling over the pros and cons of seeing what the shopkeeper needed him for, he couldn't help but amble warily over the threshold.

Coming up to the man, he cocked his head as he asked, "Did you need something, sir?"

Joshua couldn't ignore how the man gave off an intimidating aura. His bushy eyebrows were resting over his ashen coloured eyes to complete his stern expression, a hedge-like mustache sat over his mouth, and Joshua felt that he maybe didn't actually belong in this store at the moment.

"I was curious how your companion was faring." For a split moment, a softness settled in the elder's gaze. "I've haven't seen you around with him in weeks."

"You mean my brother?" Joshua asked with disbelief, flinching. Has the old man been spying on them or something?

"Just because I'm old doesn't mean I'm blind or deaf, boy," gruffly returned the muddy-robed man, placing his clasped hands on the counter. "I notice what's going on around me, hmph."

The ashen blond sweatdropped. 'Oh… did I actually say that out loud?'

"I happened to notice the boy was being strapped to a gurney when I was on my stroll nearly two weeks ago, so don't regard my interest as being nosy." The man narrowed his eyes, muttering, "Kids these days are not observant… We used to have to dodge the trolley cars whenever we were walking along the railways, and one of my old friends almost got hit because he wasn't careful."

Joshua nodded mutely in respect, but he felt odd that he was being told this.

The elder grunted, closing his eyes. "Just make sure you keep a better eye on him."

Joshua's lip quivered, and he gave a shaky nod. "O-Of course…"

"I know it's not my place to say it, but family is the only people you truly got when you're alone." He shifted, tucking his hands into his loose brown sleeves before locking his gaze with Joshua's. "You have to protect them, or you will lose them."

Feeling heat behind his eyes, Joshua willed himself not to cry right now.

"Hmph, but I didn't invite you here to be telling you off, boy," continued the man with a shake of his head. "How is he?"

Biting his lip, Joshua slowly found his voice after a while. "Ayumu's… Ayumu's been on strict bed rest, b-but it shouldn't be long until he can practice moving around if everything turns out well."

"Does he mind it?"

"He's been a bit stir-crazy, but wouldn't anyone bound to one room be like that?" asked Joshua quietly.

"Hmph." The elder closed his eyes. "Indeed he would."

"And it's not like I let him get hit by that car, it's just that I was at home with my parents for lunch and wasn't aware that he went out on his own at that time." Joshua grimaced, wondering why he was spilling out this information so freely to an old man who has only seen him with Ayumu.

"It's not your fault."

Joshua frowned. "Ayumu didn't deserve to be hit."

"And you weren't there."

"I guess I should have been there," said Joshua as he raised his voice in fret, throwing his arms in the air. "Then he wouldn't have had chemicals administered into him from a tube that might not be properly cleaned!"

"What could you have done then?" asked the man gruffly, not even opening his eyes.

"I don't know!" cried Joshua, a little hysteric laugh escaping into his tone. "What do you think?"

"That you shouldn't feel guilt of what you had no control of…" stated the man finally. He shifted, opening his eyes to rummage around for something behind the counter. Joshua was left to watch, calming his unsteady breathing as he waited for the big reveal of what the man was looking for. ...Of course, the man could have actually ended their odd conversation to go back to his tasks for the store at that time, quietly hinting that Joshua should leave him alone now-

But then the man placed something before Joshua. "He may like this."

Joshua raised his eyebrows incredulously, peering down at what looked to be a magazine. Except, it wasn't...

Tin Pin to know - Ultimate Guide

A flashy action-based illustration of a multitude of spinning colourful pins sprawled across the cover, stemming to the back as Joshua finally got over his awe of it to lift it up.

"I may be running a shop for the old and ail, but that doesn't mean I can't offer an alternative for the young," grumbled the shopkeeper, slipping his hands back into the safety of his sleeves. "Have at it, boy."

"Oh!" Joshua blinked in surprise, frowning as he asked unsurely, "How much do I owe you…?"

"Hmph." The man closed his eyes. "Pretend you have no reason to walk out with your pockets still full."

When Joshua was about to ask what the man meant, the book was pulled from his grasp, scanned, and a price was rung up on the til's screen. The cash register's drawer rocketed opened before it was slammed shut. After a few seconds, the book was handed back with a receipt, one that declared it was paid for.

Joshua widened his eyes. "Wait, you're-"

The man drew a single tanned hand out from a sleeve, whisking to shoo the ashen blond off.

For a few moments, Joshua stared blankly at the man, then he slowly backed away awestruck into the streets with his 'purchase'.

"Joshua…"

Doors slid open, allowing Joshua to shuffle off the bus and gather his thoughts now that he had arrived in Pork City. Despite how difficult it had been to find bus lines that could allow him to travel on over from school, he managed somehow. He was just glad he didn't have to wear a stuffy uniform like the junior and high schoolers did, or he would have to change in the hospital…

As he traced his familiar steps to the second floor, he soon heard someone calling.

"Josh!"

Turning, Joshua widened his eyes in surprise as his brother was limping towards him with crutches. "Ayumu?" As Joshua took note of how a nurse was following close behind, a pleased smile broke upon his face then he walked over to meet Ayumu. "You're walking again!"

Ayumu paused in his hobble, grinning slightly. "The doctor thinks I should try to exercise my muscles now, so I have to move around every day." Ayumu tried to move closer, nearly keeling over onto Joshua with a yelp.

"As long as he's able to so without being in pain." The nurse dipped his head. "Or falling over…"

"Ah," Joshua murmured quietly, helping Ayumu back up awkwardly to stand. "Then you shouldn't have pushed yourself just now…"

"I wanted to hug you…" said Ayumu embarrassed, hanging his head slightly. "I didn't mean to fall on you, Josh."

Slowly turning his head to the nurse then to Ayumu, Joshua forced himself to wrap his arms around Ayumu gently, withdrawing slightly upon the soft hitch Ayumu made when his hand brushed Ayumu's right side. As awkward as hugging made Joshua feel, it would make Ayumu happy at least… He didn't want his younger half-brother to feel down right now, especially when he was finally walking around for the first time after the accident.

"I'll take him back to his room." Joshua met the man's eye, and the older man smiled sadly. "You must have exhausted him by now."

"But I've only walked for fifteen minutes," Ayumu mumbled in a whine, and Joshua promptly released the pewter eyed boy. "It's not enough!"

"That's too long to walk," Joshua tutted into a chuckle.

"To you, that is…" returned Ayumu with a frown. "You're not the one who's injured, Josh."

"I'll check up on him in a few minutes then," said the nurse calmly, and Joshua gave a nod. "He's done enough for today."

Ayumu sadly looked towards the man, soon hanging his head. As the nurse departed, Ayumu gave a sigh, "I don't feel tired... I can walk further..."

Stepping to flank his brother's injured side, listening to the subtle pants Ayumu gave, Joshua shook his head. "Still, no person should walk that long, even after getting injured." Joshua smiled at Ayumu. "Let's get you back to bed."

The petite blond hung his head. "'Kay..."

As Ayumu hobbled along, Joshua would often steady Ayumu more often than not. The petite blond made complaints once and awhile, but Joshua ignored them as they neared the room.

"You can't keep balancing me, I'm supposed to do that by myself."

"Ayumu, am I really supposed to pretend you're okay to walk on your own yet?" dryly asked Joshua, opening the door for Ayumu.

"Yup." Ayumu didn't even bother waiting for Joshua to close the door, heading for the bed before turning himself around. As Ayumu managed to sit down on the edge, gripping the seats, he paused and made a face.

"Then I suppose I should pretend you're okay to get back in bed on your own." Joshua shut the door, smirking when Ayumu grimaced. As Joshua sauntered over, the door opened again, and he smiled. "Oh good to see you again!" he chirped when he turned to see the nurse closing the door. "He can't get into bed."

"Josh."

After the nurse helped Ayumu up and left as soon as he arrived, Joshua waited for the door to shut before he sighed, "Don't pretend you're capable of doing stuff on your own when you can't, Ayumu…"

"...I know." Ayumu's sightless gaze drifted elsewhere, continuing to frown as he shifted where he laid against the mound of pillows. When Joshua heard his brother hiss in pain, he tried to assure himself Ayumu was okay when he noticed how Ayumu soon lay still without any complaints. It was hard watching his half-brother struggle like this, but he knew Ayumu was set on the road to recovery. Joshua knew, fairly soon, that Ayumu wouldn't need help getting in and out of bed... Just for now, Ayumu had to rely on others.

"Comfy?" Joshua asked curiously after a minute of silence.

Ayumu gave a muffled response, "Yeah."

"Don't worry," Joshua murmured as he drew closer, about to place his hand on Ayumu's left shoulder. "I'm sure this will fly over quickly, and-"

"...I can't take another day being poked at and forced to swallow icky medicine!" Ayumu grumbled as he threw up his arms halfway without warning, startling Joshua as he recoiled and widened his eyes. He wanted to say something to ease Ayumu's agitation, but his half-brother turned his head to glare at Joshua before raising his voice. "I just want to go home, Josh!"

"Ayumu, I brought you some of your books from home." Joshua bit his lip nervously, and glanced at the tall pile that hardly shrunk from yesterday's visit. "So you're hardly missing it."

The eleven-year-old shifted stiffly. "I already read them twice, and the nurses won't stop complaining about them."

"Because they can't find it within themselves to stop an avid mind from reading?"

"...When they have no room to put my meals down," Ayumu softly said, hanging his head.

"You do realize I'm not going to make an effort to take them home until my mother or father chauffeurs me back to my house." The ashen blond shook his head, putting his hand over his chest as he felt his rapid heart rate starting to relax. "I'm ill-equipped for the task until then, so I'm sure a third read is hardly the trouble."

"I want to be home, not here…" Ayumu sniffled. "I don't want anymore books, medicine, or needles- I just want to be home!" He pressed his palms into his cheeks, his fingers fanning over his eyes as he sniffled once more.

Sensing the distress his half-brother was sharing with him wasn't going to go away with a few consoling words, Joshua knew it was time to bring out his secret weapon. He was going to just leave it alone with Ayumu after visiting hours were over, but Joshua didn't want to be thrown out because the nurses mistook Ayumu's homesickness for Joshua harassing him.

Taking his usual spot on the chair, Joshua set his bag on his lap and unbuckled it, sliding out the long, thin book. "I know you do… but you need to stay until you're ready to go," started Joshua slowly in a coo, hearing Ayumu sniffles as he went on, "But, I think I have something that might help you through all this, as much as I hate it."

Ayumu blinked, his hands falling to his sides, raising his head towards Joshua before slightly tilting it. "Huh?"

Joshua grinned slyly, giggling, "But… you said you don't want anymore books, so I doubt you want this."

"What is it?" Ayumu asked curiously, if not more frantic as he set his blind pewter gaze clearly on Joshua.

"Nope, not saying anything." Joshua nearly fell into laughter when Ayumu gave a whine. "I'm doing what you said-"

"Josh." Ayumu tried to reach out for it, but Joshua pulled it from his reach. "Josh!"

"Do you want this?" Joshua teased with fake confusion, raising his eyebrows. "But I thought you said-"

"Yoshiya, please…" Ayumu pouted angrily. "I want to know!"

"Fine, fine…" Joshua tsked with a shake of his head. "I guess I'll tell you because you're being as fickle as always."

Ayumu crossed his arms, but his eyes were bright as Joshua giggled before gently placing the book down. As Joshua sat back, smirking as Ayumu slowly unraveled his arms to pick it up, Ayumu tilted his head cutely in his bemusement.

"When did you buy this?" asked Ayumu in awe.

"My, you can't tell when you're holding own book?" asked Joshua playfully, watching Ayumu's face morph into frustration.

"I know my books, Josh, and this isn't one of them," shortly stated Ayumu, reminding Joshua of their father. "It doesn't even have braille!"

"How about you open it up, and I'll tell you what it is later?" suggested Joshua cheekily, earning a scowl from his half-brother. "Promise?"

Ayumu pouted again, but instead of complaining, flipped it open with the grace of holding fancy china. As Ayumu thumbed the page, seeking the little bumps as his thumb sailed to and fro across, Ayumu's hand met the paper Joshua paperclipped to the top.

"What's this?" Ayumu asked wearily.

"I don't know…" Joshua slurred, smirking as he prayed for Ayumu to do the thing Joshua hoped the blind boy would. "Why don't you check?"

"Yoshiya, I'm not a five-year-old," Ayumu said curtly. "What is it?"

Sighing over the fact Ayumu was being too prickly to cooperate, the older boy eased Ayumu's hand into his own and dragged it to the dotted paper. As soon as Ayumu started waving his thumb to the top, soon rubbing it slowly across the braille, Ayumu soon froze.

"Josh."

"I may have wasted hours of the last week translating it for you, but that's only because my homework is boring…" drawled Joshua as he watched Ayumu's eyes widen. "And I'm pretty sure stapling the paper to the poor thing would ruin it for those who can see…"

"Y-You… th-this is-" Ayumu finally brought his thumb to the back of the cover, soon thumbing the paper and gasping, "No way!"

"There was this old guy who sort of committed fraud when he didn't charge me for the purchase, so don't go crying to me if your Tin Pin to know - Ultimate Guide is seized by the authorities for theft." The ashen blond chuckled, "And don't expect because I-"

Ayumu struggled where he lay, shifting haphazardly to try to face Joshua more. When Joshua leaned over the bed, he had hands nearly clawing his back as Ayumu half-hugged him.

"I thought you said it was a stupid game," whispered Ayumu, nearly sobbing.

"It is a stupid game, but you like it for some odd reason," replied Joshua with a slight shrug, although he tried to not let it unhook Ayumu from hugging and sobbing (to his disgust) on him. "I had to read the entire thing to get the braille down for you, but that doesn't mean I had to like it."

As Joshua slowly guided Ayumu back onto his bed comfortably, Ayumu beamed as he looked down. "Thank you…"

"You're welcome, Ayumu," said Joshua brightly, watching as Ayumu returned to thumbing the braille. "What's in-"

"Josh."

Pausing, Joshua furrowed his eyebrows as Ayumu spoke excitedly, "Oh, it has all the chapters on everything!"

"Oh really...?" Joshua breathed, unsure about why Ayumu interrupted him. 'What the…'

"Josh."

A bizarre feeling that something was amiss filled his gut, and Joshua thought it was odd that Ayumu didn't let him finish his question before answering. He could have sworn Ayumu's voice sounded odd, and that the ground was rumbling, and a distant roar bounced around his head from his ears…

"Josh."

Something didn't feel right, as if his body was fighting two different emotions he should be feeling right now. But he knew he should be happy about his-

"Josh."

Ayumu's mouth hadn't moved.

"Josh."

Joshua tensed, a coldness crawling from under his skin, feeling belatedly as if his body felt wrong and awkward to control.

"Josh."

Ayumu was supposed to be happy about his gift, not sounding as if he didn't have-

Joshua widened his eyes, standing up as his surroundings warped and buzzed. Everything froze in place, including his younger half-brother, as if time stopped when he had his realization.

"Josh, do you hear me?"

Ayumu's hollow voice… that was Ayumu's voice! It wasn't the unmoving one before him, it was from the Ayumu he knew nowadays! Ayumu didn't have emotions- the Composer stole them! That was the true Ayumu!

Right then and there, the younger Ayumu glitched and blurred, making Joshua stumble and fall over his chair. As he sat petrified on the ground, the chair twitching and twisting warply… Joshua's breath hitched.

He wasn't supposed to be eleven-and-a-half right now- he was supposed to be fifteen! He looked at his hands, shaking as he watched them shifting back and forth from small to normal. Joshua was supposed to be dead, neither Ayumu nor Joshua were alive anymore!

'These were the events that happened when Ayumu got hit by a car almost four years ago!' he concluded in horror, placing his hands over his mouth. 'I was stuck in my memories this whole time!'

At once, Ayumu's right temple had blood oozing from a small hole, causing him to dissolve and glitch out more than ever. Joshua let out a shrill scream as he felt his own blood rush down his own as the white walls were becoming distorted, flashing between the dark alley way they died in and the hospital room. 'No- why is that memory conflicting with this one!?' It was as if his realization were causing his memories fight against him, as if this was a sick last ditch effort to pull him back in! But Joshua knew better- even if the memories were true until this point, he concluded that people were trying to draw him out of them yet he didn't spare much attention to them until now. He knew that his time here was fake the whole time, he had to get out of his amok memories. 'Our deaths didn't happen right now- this isn't real!' he mentally yelled out in frustration. 'Leave me alone!'

The ashen blond with appall watched as the room darkened drastically and the walls were twisting. Instantly, his body nearly felt disconnected as he was shot into a seizure of his life flashing and deteriorating before his very eyes, feeling himself slump through the fake blood-stained ground resting below him from the phantom pain in his skull...

Everything went bright.

To be continued… hope you enjoyed the chapter!