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Who: Joshua and Neku
What: Neku trying to figure his way out of the forest while Joshua ~~mocks~~ helps him.
When: After Neku arrives
Where: Forest
Summary: Neku isn't so great with nature... he need a little help finding his way around Luceti. And who better to help than Joshua?
Rating: PG :D

Neku had finally worked all of the kinks out of his back and muscles before he started walking through the forest. Even though Joshua had said to head east to get out of the forest, he wasn't exactly sure which way exactly was east, so he was really chancing it now. Hopefully, he wouldn't wander so far out of the way that he ended up getting eaten by something out here. Now wouldn't that be his luck? And of course, he wasn't even in the clothes he had been wearing before being whisked off to Wonderland, so his cell phone was nowhere to be found.

Annoyance crossed the teen's features as he made his way over tree roots and through dangling branches with dense foliage. Was he getting deeper into the forest or not? Finally he noticed that the trees were indeed started to thin out, and he relaxed a little, hoping that that was a good sign for him. Joshua said he'd be waiting on the outskirts of the forest. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to call out to him and see if he was close.

"Hey! Joshua!" Short and to the point... it wasn't exactly how others would go about calling for help, but Neku wasn't just anyone else. If the other was nearby, at lest he'd know it was definitely Neku.

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Joshua caught wind of the voice, glancing around the edge of the forest and spotting, after a moment, the familiar figure of Neku in the distance. Smirking to himself and stuff his hands in his pockets, he heads over, chin lifting to nod in greeting. "Long time no see, Neku."

Looking up, Neku finally spotted the other boy just a few feet away. He was really here, after everything that had happened. Neku reached up out of habit to adjust his headphones and then remembered they weren't there, so he let his hands drop. "Hey," he answered, it was about all he could say.

It was hard to make eye contact. Despite still trusting Joshua and listening to his advice and information, it was still difficult for Neku to forgive all that the other had done to him. But he hoped that maybe by seeing him again now, that he could forgive him in time. It's what was right, after all.

"How'd someone like you end up in a place like this?" he finally asked.

Joshua smiled in that same, secret way he always did, lifting his shoulders a little. "The same way you did, I expect," he mused cryptically. No sense in revealing that he had little idea of what was going on either. From the look of it, Neku's wings were a lovely pure white. How charming.

He turned around, gesturing vaguely in the direction he was walking. "Come on, you can stay with me while you get yourself settled. Luceti isn't a very friendly place, after all."

"Uh huh..." Neku was going to let it go for now, but he was still curious as to how the Composer of Shibuya had been kidnapped like some child lost in the park. Sighing, he rolled his shoulder and his wings twitched, he was never going to get used to these things. Where was his music when he needed it?

As Joshua began to walk away, Neku walked after him, catching up and walking alongside him. "You have a place here?" Now that he could actually see the village, there were houses and other building in the distance. So those were the residences? Nothing at all like Shibuya in any way, shape, or form... this was going to be fun. "What? Does this place bite if you don't pet it the right way?"

"Mm, yes." Joshua smiled again, glancing sidelong at his new companion. "I've been here for about a month. Despite what others are experiencing, I seem to have avoided their current 'experiment', but I'm sure I won't be able to avoid them all. Luceti is apparently a holding ground for us, the little lab rats-" he gestured to their new wings. "Unfortunately we're not as mindless as rats, else we'd have fewer issues and more offspring." His lips curved into a more wry smile. "Though the Malnosso are trying their best to fix that, it seems."

"These experiments sound like something out of a Sci-fi movie. Hard to believe it's all real." He couldn't believe Joshua had been here a month already, it didn't seem like that long at all since they had had their final standoff against one another. Or maybe Neku was losing track of time. Shrugging it off, he continued to listen to Joshua and look around the village.

"What do you mean by that? What's going on now?"

"A fair number of the current inhabitants are apparently much younger than they ought to be." Joshua shrugged like he didn't care - and really, he didn't. "No one has any explanation besides the Malnosso having a bit of fun with our lives, as usual."

"That... doesn't even make any sense. What point is there in that?" Having seen a lot of pointless crap in his life, Neku couldn't exactly be completely surprised, but still. And he could tell that Joshua really wasn't all that impressed either. "Nobody should have so much control over other people's lives."

Neku was starting to feel a little tired, his legs were sore and so was the rest of his body. He silently hoped they'd get to Joshua's place soon so he could flop down on a bed or something for a little while. Whatever these Malnosso jokers had done to him, they sure had man-handled him along the way.

"No one ever says games have to make sense," Joshua chuckled, glancing over at his comrade. "You of all people should understand that."

It wasn't long before they reached the community housing, Joshua leading the way up the stairs to the floor that held the room he'd claimed. He prodded Neku inside in no time, gesturing vaguely before booting the door shut again and stuffing his hands back into his pockets. "It's small for two, but I'm sure you'll manage. Better than Shibuya, hmm?"

"Hmm..." Not much of an answer, but it conveyed that Neku did indeed understand what Joshua was saying. The Reaper's Game had been completely off the wall sometimes, this place shouldn't really shock him after that.

When they came to the apartment and Joshua nudged him inside, the brunette was more than glad to stumble into the quiet and cozy looking space. This village was definitely less crowded than Shibuya, he could get used to the space that he was now free to roam in. Neku went over and sat gratefully on the couch, sighing and resting his elbows on his knees as he bent his head. "Yeah, this place will be fine."

Joshua smiled musingly, moving to stand close by Neku's seat, arms crossing in front of his chest. "So, will you be staying here, then?"

It was a rather amusing image, the idea of living with Neku, considering their... history. But he had no objections - it would be nice to at last have some company and... well. Maybe he could earn a little forgiveness though hospitality or something.

"I ... think so. It'll be better to have a fmailiar face around this place than being on my own." Joshua had been his partner once, he still trusted him even if things between them were awkward. For once in his life, Neku didn't want to be alone, and Joshua was the one friend here he'd found so far. He'd deal with anything else that came up as it faced him.

Reaching up, Neku scratched at his ear. "Uh... thanks for letting me stay here." Thank yous were not Neku's strong point, but he figured it dind't hurt in this situation.

Joshua lifted a brow, still smiling the same way, and plopped down on the couch beside Neku. "Better than letting you wander around the village unsupervised," he murmured, chuckling to himself. "Who knows what unsavory type would have picked you up and offered you their own hospitalities?"

Neku rolled his eyes, a little surprised at Joshua just sitting down right beside him. "I'm not a kid, Joshua. I wouldn't have wandered off with a stranger." And he wouldn't have gotten lost or hurt by himself either, because even if this wasn't Shibuya, he wasn't dumb. He could take care of himself. "What kinds of people live here besides us?"

"All kinds," Joshua gestured vaguely. "Most people keep to themselves. They tend to complain a great deal when the Malnosso start their experiments, which means this-" He lifted his journal before tossing it on the table in front of the couch, "Tends to get rather dull and noisy. I haven't cared enough to investigate the people - it's the situation that is my priority right now."

"So everyone gets to hear each other whine when the bad guys start messing with us. This should be fun." Neku pondered the types of people he'd meet here, resting his chin on his hand and looking at the wall across from him. He glanced down at Joshua's journal then and dug into his pocket for his own. He fished it out and opened it, looking at soe of the pages and noticing that Joshua was right. A lot of people seemd to be asking when this newest experiment would end.

Finally snapping the journal shut, the brunette looked back over at Joshua. "That's usually how you do things anyway, right? You think about what to do, not the people along the way." It almost came out sounding bitter, and Neku tried to bite back the tone in his voice. But it slipped out a little regardless. Hopefully Joshua would let it slide for now.

Joshua shot Neku a sidelong glance, silent for a moment, then smiled again, brushing a hand casually through his hair. "I won't deny it. I do what I have to in order to accomplish my goals. Most people are like that, after all. Aren't you the same way? You didn't hesitate to clear out my Reapers in order to win the Game."

He didn't mind Neku's tone. He deserved some bitterness, he supposed, considering their history. To be perfectly honest he was surprised Neku didn't sound more angry. Had he been forgiven a little?

"That was... different." Neku looked away, thinking about what Joshua had said. In the beginning that may have been true, he had only thought about getting out of the game. Whoever came along was just in the way, his partner, the reapers, the Noise... they were all pains he could clear out to win. But he was different now, and he didn't really want to be like Joshua.

He hated that the other boy could be so cavalier about everything, that he could hit raw nerves in Neku so easily. It probably came from the fact that he wasn't a normal boy at all, but the Composer of Shibuya. Knowing this still made Neku uneasy. Finally, he closed his hands into fists and shook his head. "I'm not the same way. Not anymore."

Joshua watched Neku's expression carefully, unruffled. "I suppose not," he mused, arms crossing a bit lazily in front of his chest. "But you know... I might have changed too, Neku. You should stick around and see."

Perhaps he hadn't done much to prove it, but Shibuya was still standing, wasn't it? That was proof enough.

That statement made Neku glance up and eye Joshua from beneath his bangs. Had the other changed at all? Or was he yanking Neku's chain as he was known to do? No, that wasn't it, he wasn't smiling that impish grin he usually had. He looked serious now. Not uncomfortable in any way, but definitely not like he was toying with the orange-haired youth. Neku's lips pursed together for a second and he sighed, "I'll do that. I'll have to see with my own eyes what you've done with your own world."

Still, Joshua had let Neku go home. He had seen Shibuya, in tact and been able to meet Beat, Rhyme, Shiki by Hachiko like they had promised. Maybe Josh had changed from the person he had been originally. Well, Neku would have to wait and see. At least Luceti would give him an opportunity to get to know Joshua all over again.

Joshua smiled again, arms stretching casually above his head, and he sat up a little. "Well, with that out of the way, teasing you has made me rather hungry. I think I'll make some dinner - are you interested in helping, or do you just want to rest for now? As a newcomer, you're still in pain, right?"

He stood, lowering his arms back to his sides, and glanced back at Neku, awaiting his answer.

"I'm fine, I don't really need to rest. Besides, I'm actually an okay cook despite appearance." Neku had cooked for himself a lot at home. His parents worked late on several occasions, and so he ended up making his own dinner a lot of nights. "Just let me know what you plan on making."

He stood and stretched, pushing blood through his veins to speed up any repair to muscle damage that may have occurred while he was out. He'd get some extra sleep later, but for now he wanted to stay awake and look around. After filling his stomach, that is.

"Hn." Joshua didn't give much more than a gesture in response, indicating that Neku should follow him into the kitchen, in that case. The next room over was small but functional, and Joshua immediately went to work fixing up something simple to eat, leaving Neku to his own devices for the most part. If he was interested in helping, he'd catch on and find himself a job.

"I should warn you, Neku-" he commented idly, an amused smile crossing his lips, "I never expected to take on a roommate in this place. As such, there's only one bedroom."

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