tenshinoakuma | In which there are many placeholder descriptions

Cleaning out my notepad with more incomplete stories I don't think I have the time nor the energy to finish at the present moment. Maybe when I flip through my journal 6 months down the track, I'll finish the TWEWY story; it has some potential. These were written while I was in Malaysia, so they're pretty rough since I didn't run them through much editing.

[different font?]

Neku walks through Cat Street, headphones around his neck.
[BLAH BLAH BLAH]

He takes a breath, pushes open the door and... sees Joshua.

Joshua is seated at one of the café's tables and has his back to Neku, a cup of coffee by his right hand and his left elbow on the table. There's no sign of Mr. H at his usual place behind the counter. This shouldn't have surprised Neku, but for some reason, even with the closed sign, he can't imagine Mr. H as being anywhere but here. He feels -- for some reason, and he can't explain why -- that even though Mr. H does leave the Wildkat sometimes, does something other than stand around in a shop all day, Mr. H is supposed to be here, right here and right now. That him not being here is somehow... wrong.

It takes a moment for Neku to swallow the lump of resentment he still feels towards the other boy -- no, Joshua's the Composer, he reminds himself -- and ask, "Do you know where Mr. H is?" When he doesn't receive any response -- and that surprises Neku; he half expected some comment from Joshua about not having the manners to greet him first -- he says louder, almost a demand, "Where is he?"

Neku hears that sigh -- that infuriating sigh he had to put up for one week too many -- before Joshua turns his head. "Not here," is the short response. Before Neku can demand for a better explanation he's sure he won't get, Joshua turns back to his coffee, traces his fingers over the edges of the cup and adds, "He won't be coming back."

"What?!" Neku runs forward, around the table so he's facing Joshua, almost slams his fists on the table. "Just what do you mean by that, Joshua?" he near yells.

Joshua smirks, but Neku can't help but think it's a ghost of his usual infuriating one. "My, Neku, I thought you'd be quicker than that." Joshua's next words are slow and deliberate. "It means he's dead. Gone. Erased."

People handle grief in different ways and no matter how one looked at it, Sanae had made quite an impact on those Players during that Game.

Neku was the first to find out, of course; he was the one with the CAT obsession... and the one who felt most indebted to the barista. The boy passed the news on to the other three, which was met with varying levels of sadness, but it was only short lived; after all, he was just a stranger to them, a distant guardian they knew nothing about.

Neku was the only one who questioned, however. Call it a consequence of having more experience and information at his disposal than the others. There were so many things unexplained to him, and not knowing his meddling and the results, just raised more questiions. How did he know of the Game? Why was he able to do those crazy out of this world things? Who was he? But most of all... Why was he erased?

Those were questions he still doesn't have answers to. Questions he kept from the other Players, but still expressed in the songs he composed but never released to the public.

Turned out the boy had the talent for the music scene, the determination to keep trying even against the overwhelming odds, the imagination to keep everything fresh, but most of all, he now had an inkling of how to look into the thoughts of others through more mundane means. It's hard to walk past a club in Dogenzaka without hearing something Neku has composed... despite not being a club person himself.

Shiki may not have had great Imagination, but that wasn't where her skill lay. Her partner, Eri, was the one with the Imagination, and Shiki's

[beat is a performer]

[rhyme...]

I'd let go of the Wildkat's lease long ago to let a new shop sprout in its place. Back then, I'd hesitated. Was it the right thing to do? Of course it was. Shibuya's nature was change, and to hold on to the Wildkat would cause a part of it to stagnate. But even knowing that, there had been something like regret; nostalgia and memories... letting the café go felt like disposing of the last remnants of my Producer...

... my friend.

But looking at the Imagination that these ex-Players have injected into Shibuya over the decades, I know Sanae would be pleased that CAT continues, in a new form.

--------------------

"What will we call her?" Ness had asked, cradling the baby monster in his arms.

Joshua hadn't seen the point of naming a creature he wanted nothing more than to be rid of. But Ness had insisted, so he had said, "Shibu," before walking out and slamming the door.

[BLAH BLAH BLAH STUFF THAT SHIBU DOES THAT ANNOYS JOSHUA]

He looks and sees the little thing trying to climb up on the chair in order to see what he is doing. Sighing, Joshua puts down his brush and picks her up and puts her onto the chair. Turning back to his work, he puts the paper aside before rolling out a new sheet, watching her stand up on the chair and peer over the top of the tabble out of the corner of his eye. He smacks her paw away, "No, you're not allowed to touch this," before it reaches his work before plucking the brush from its resting place and dipping it into the ink.

"Your name is very special, you know," he says, placing his brush to paper and applying some pressure. As he lifts his brush and writes more lines on the paper, he continues to a curious audience, "You name can be written like this," and he gestured to what he had written.

渋

"Shibu means bitter, the kind of bitterness that comes from eating certain fruits that dry out your mouth." Looking down at the little monster, Joshua says calmly, "I admit, I didn't like you."

Shibu gives out a little whine, shrinking in her seat and looking sad. Joshua ignores her reaction, dipping his brush into the ink and writes another character beside the first.

渋谷

"This character means valley," Joshua explains, putting down his brush. Giving a small laugh, he picks up the monster and carries her in his arms. "You could say I've come out of the valley of dislike for you." He waves a finger in front of her nose and watches her reach out to try and bat at him, unhappiness forgotten. "Your old name isn't very suitable anymore, so you'll now be known as Shibuya, alright?" He pokes at her nose, which makes her recoil with a happy sound before she tries to catch his finger. Her name rolls off his tongue easily, like it was somehow... right. The creature yawns widely, eyes drooping as she begins to doze off. Joshua smiles and moves to put her to her bed, giving her a fond pat on the head. "Do make sure you remember, Shi~ bu~ ya~."

Ness is incredulous. "What? You changed her name? Why?"

There's also a 3rd story regarding Joshua and Ness' rings but... I dunno, it feels kind of too sub par for me to post it up.

In which there are many placeholder descriptions

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