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Neku is straining his head over his shoulder to stare at Shoka and Rindo who haven’t noticed one bit. They’re buried in their phones, pausing every few seconds to show each other the screens excitedly. Neku feels slender fingers on his head turning his head back to the table. He bats away Joshua’s hand.
“I thought you didn’t want them to know we were here,” Joshua says with a smirk, barely looking up from his phone with no evidence he was just manhandling Neku’s skull.
“I don’t,” he says, and it’s true. “I just don’t want any rogue composers showing up.” Joshua puts his phone down on the table and peers over his large sunglasses at Neku.
“Jealous, Neku?” Neku snorts.
“As if. I wouldn’t be nearly as nice about it if it was Shinjuku’s composer following me around all the time.” Joshua slides the sunglasses up the bridge of his nose with a finger.
“Oh, this is you being nice? I’m flattered, Neku.” he says “But the chances of our little friend dropping in on these two is minimal.”
Neku crooks an eyebrow at that, taking a sip of his boba. “Thought you said there was ‘danger of interference’” he says, making air quotes.
“Maybe I just said that so I could trick you into going on a date with me, hmm?” Neku considers this for a moment, not giving Joshua the satisfaction of an impulsive reaction.
“You could have just asked, you know.” he finally says. Joshua takes his sunglasses completely off at that, setting them down on the table next to his phone.
“And you would have said yes?” Neku shrugs.
“You never know unless you try. The world ends with you, Josh.” Joshua rolls his eyes.
“Yes, thank you Sanae, I remember.” Joshua plucks his drink off the table, taking a long slow sip, not breaking eye contact with Neku. Neku doesn’t look away. “I’ll be sure to ask, next time,” Joshua says finally, breaking eye contact to glance over at Rindo and Shoka. “They seem to be having fun, don’t they?” Neku glances over his shoulder where Rindo is laughing and Shoka is animatedly gesturing. Rindo had told him, shyly, that he was planning on asking Shoka out. Neku thought he had been encouraging but he wasn’t really sure what to say. Beat says that the Twisters see Neku as kind of an older brother figure which is wild considering that a large chunk of his formative years had been isolated in a dead city with only Coco for company. Still…
“Thank you.” he says, and means it, “for bringing her back. Even if the way you did it was… unconventional.” It’s Joshua’s turn to shrug now and he’s avoiding Neku’s gaze.
“It’s not my fault he never checks his phone.” he says snappishly, “The Shinjuku rules are ridiculous in any event. Having them imposed on our UG for so long was irritating enough.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t have to.” Neku says, “Like you didn’t have to bring us back.”
“I’m a benevolent god, Neku, what can I say?” Joshua says haughtily, picking up his phone and pointedly holding it between him and Neku. Neku rolls his eyes. Sincerity has proven to be Joshua’s only weakness and Neku plans on exploiting it as much as possible. Still, he’ll give him a break this time. He turns back to Rindo and Shoka, shading his eyes from the sun with his hand. They’re walking now, not out of sight just yet but walking on the path. They’re still on their phones, Neku guesses they’re playing that game that Rindo loves. He hasn’t been able to get into it himself, it seems like he missed a lot during the years he was in Shinjuku and he’s still trying to scramble for footing sometimes.
Joshua is still pissily flicking away on his phone when Neku turns back, sunglasses firmly in place once more and the broad brim of his sun hat shading his face. Joshua had insisted that they wear a disguise which on his part consisted of oversized sunglasses and a huge floppy hat. Neku thinks he’d seen it years ago in a Natural Puppy ad but doesn’t mention it, slightly worried at what Josh might do if he accused him of wearing out-of-date fashion. For Neku, Joshua had brought a beanie which he thinks is Tigre Punks, and a pair of large-rimmed glasses. “Fake, of course.” he’d said when Neku had eyed them dubiously.
Neku doesn’t particularly think a hat and a pair of glasses really constitute a full disguise but Rindo and Shoka haven’t glanced over at their table once. Neither has anyone else, for that matter. Neku has noticed since coming back that Shibuya clings to him – two sodas will drop from a vending machine when he’s only paid for one, waiters at restaurants will suddenly say that his favorite kind of ramen is on special today, crowds part for him. The opposite seems to be true for Joshua, it’s like the city just slides off of him, people bump into him and then walk away like they hadn’t noticed a thing. Neku hadn’t missed that there are no restaurants selling shio ramen anymore and wonders if a city can be vindictive.
In any event, their two particular energies seem to cancel each other out when they are together leaving them a quiet undisturbed oasis in the middle of Miyashita Park. Neku is grateful for the silence. He loves Shibuya, always will, but the press of crowds and constant chatter is unnerving after so many years of silence.
A cooling breeze blows through the maze of cafe tables set out in front of the restaurant and ruffles Joshua’s hair slightly.
“Why did you mention that Shinjuku’s composer might be here, anyway?” Neku asks.
Joshua puts down his phone and looks at him, grinning. “Neku, I thought we established this, it was all a clever ploy to get you on a date!”
Neku rolls his eyes again, “You must have had some reason for mentioning him.”
Joshua looks thoughtful, tapping his fingers against the table, “Maybe I simply knew you’re not his biggest fan?”
Neku shakes his head. This isn’t entirely a ploy, he thinks, Joshua is trying to tell him something in that confusing roundabout way of his. “That’s not it.”
Joshua narrows his eyes like he thinks Neku’s trying to get away with something and then his features smooth out into a passive mask. He raises his hands in an exaggerated shrug. “He does have a particular interest in our beloved Rindo. Haven’t I mentioned?”
It’s Neku’s turn to narrow his eyes. “You haven’t.”
Joshua smirks. “Ah. I believe Rindo caused a… change of heart, let’s say. About the fate of the game for Shibuya.”
Neku thinks on this for a minute, cogs turning in his head. “Kind of like –”
Joshua cuts him off, “Absolutely not, Neku, I cannot stand you even implying it.”
Neku grins. This is what Josh has been trying to say, what he’s been dancing around, the reason they’re here in silly disguises watching Rindo and Shoka mess around on their phones. “Sure, Josh.” They look at each other for a bit before Neku finally says, “You’re not, anyway.”
It’s Joshua’s turn to look puzzled, eyes questioning when he looks at Neku. “Not what, Neku?”
“Not like him.” Neku answers easily and Joshua glares at him but Neku continues on before he can say anything, “Not anymore.”
Joshua glares at him haughtily for a few seconds before rolling his eyes and looking pointedly away. “I suppose so. You’re quite the influence, Neku.”
Neku snorts. They’ve skirted around this before, Joshua never fully admitting what had changed his mind during that confrontation in the Room of Requirement but never denying it either. When he was in purgatory, receiving only occasional messages from Joshua and Mr. Hanekoma passed through Coco, he wanted to ask – wanted to know if Josh heard him, wanted to know why he didn’t ever come to Hachiko. He thinks he’s figured it out though, Neku has had more than enough time to think about it during his years in Shinjuku.
“You’re sure he’s going to leave Rindo alone?” Neku asks.
“Neku I don’t think I said anything quite to that effect.” Joshua replies, “You’ll just have to make sure we stick close, I think.”
Neku stares, “We can’t be around him all the time.”
Joshua shrugs again, exaggerated and animated, “Hm, I suppose you’ll just have to leave Rindo to his tender mercies, in that case.”
“Isn’t there something you can do? We’re in your city.”
Joshua narrows his eyes and stares down at the table. “I can’t control him.” He looks up at Neku. Neku’s surprised, it isn’t like Josh to admit that he can’t do anything. “He’s quite the freeloader. I assume he’ll go back to Shinjuku at some point but for now, I think we’re stuck with him, unfortunately.”
Neku taps his finger against the table thoughtfully. He’s not sure why the thought of Rindo having a sort of… angelic hanger-on bothers him so much, it’s not like he’s in any position to argue otherwise.
“If it helps,” Joshua offers, “I don’t think he means Rindo any harm. Intentionally, at least.”
“What does that mean?”
“Hmm…” Joshua trails off, looking directly at Neku again, “Not all composers are quite as sweet as me, Neku dear. Hazuki is somewhat. Disconnected, I would say, from humanity. He’s not like us, Neku.”
Neku isn’t sure where he’s going with that. For all his time and all of his knowledge of the inner workings of the game, he’s never really given much thought to what composers are like, as a whole. Seeing the destruction in Shinjuku firsthand primed him against the Shinjuku composer. Joshua is… different. Where there had been clear delineations in Neku’s head between The Composer and Joshua the lines are now blurred, what is Joshua and what is the city coalescing and becoming one tangled web in Neku’s head. Maybe it’s not so different for Rindo, Neku thinks. He should ask him about it sometime when they’re not stalking him and his proto-girlfriend.
“I don’t want him to hurt Rindo,” he starts. He feels protective over the Twisters, feels like he wants to shield them from all of this. They had been so out of their depth there, at the end. “But it’s not… bad. Maybe it will change things.”
Joshua shrugs again, “Who knows? Personally, I don’t think Hazuki is capable of change but stranger things have happened.”
Neku grins, ignoring the contradiction between Joshua’s words and his earlier claims, “Anyone can change, Joshua.”
Joshua pointedly ignores that, finally glancing over Neku’s shoulder at Rindo and Shoka. Neku twists around in his chair to look. They seem to be getting ready to leave. There’s a heartbeat where they’re both standing there, Shoka’s arms hanging loosely by her sides and Rindo’s hands nervously fidgeting in front of him. Then Rindo leans forward, just a tiny bit, and pecks a light kiss on Shoka’s cheek. She goes bright red almost instantly and Neku can see Rindo stammering from across the park.
“Ah, youth.” Joshua sighs from behind him. Neku turns back and Joshua blows him a kiss.
They’re gonna be just fine, Neku thinks.
“C’mon,” he says, standing up and grabbing his empty cup, “Let’s go get ramen.”
Joshua stands as well, waving a hand and disappearing his cup entirely. Neku notices that he’s only taken care of his drink and Neku is still holding his empty cup.
“Your treat,” Joshua says, “You owe me.”
Neku rolls his eyes and walks his cup over to the trash can, certain Josh is following him. “Sure I do. When is it ever not my treat?”
True to form Joshua’s voice comes from behind him right as he slots the cup into the trash bin, “Like I said Neku, you owe me.”
Neku turns to look at him. “For this time, at least.” Joshua nods smugly.
Neku chances one look back at Rindo and Shoka. They are holding hands and sitting next to each other and appear to have given up leaving, at least for the moment. The setting sun slants rays of light over the park and the murmur of the crowd brushes against Neku’s ears.
He’s missed this, he thinks. Shibuya will be alright. The crowd curls around him and Joshua as they exit the park, the people sliding around them like water. They’ll go get ramen and Neku will finally make a comment about Ken Doi moving to curry of all things and Joshua will glare at him like it’s Neku’s fault specifically that the culinary landscape of Shibuya is devoid of all his favorite foods. Maybe Neku can get Ken Doi to make some shio ramen, for old-time's sake.