"This is the place." Josh said as we stood outside a high-end apartment complex.
"I'll get the door." I said, opening the door to let Josh and Mr.H in.
As they did, Sanae held V closer to him, careful not to hit her head on the door frame on the way in. I followed after them. The lobby was a wide, open room filled with black and white furniture and abstract paintings. The front desk was unattended, probably because it was almost 2 in the morning. We walked over to an elevator.
"What floor?" I asked out of curiosity
"Top" Josh replied as he pressed the button with the highest number. But instead of going up the small letter display flashed 'KEY REQUIRED'.
"Oh right, I almost forgot." Joshua reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver key. He then inserted it into a keyhole right by the button he pressed.
"Glad I remembered to bring that."
"How's V holding up?" I looked behind at Mr.H
"She was shaking a bit earlier, but I think she's calmed down now." He replied looking down at her.
"That fight must have really knocked her out..." Josh added
"I just hope I didn't hurt her too badly." I added, noting the scratches and bruises on her exposed legs.
"I'll check her for injury when we get to the room."
The door dinged and opened. We walked out.
"We're here."
We were greeted by an open penthouse apartment. It was a pretty fancy one at that, filled with shiny leather furniture and the latest flat screen TVs
"You can check her up in the bedroom. It's up there on the loft and down the hallway, first door on your left." Josh pointed at the upper loft and to a window with a bedroom on the other side.
"Gotcha." Mr.H walked up the black metal stairs and into the bedroom. He laid V on the bed and closed the curtains. We could no longer see them.
"So, I guess I should head home..." I muttered heading towards the front door.
"Wait, Neku!" Josh grabbed my wrist. I jumped a bit and turned back to look at him.
"I...think it would be better if you stayed the night..."
"Are you sure? My house is only-"
"Yeah, I...I just..." Josh breathed in as he looked to the side "It would be better if you stayed here tonight."
"Is...Is there enough room?"
"Yeah, there's two bedrooms here. I can sleep on the couch."
"No, no. I'll sleep on the couch. It's your place after all."
"Alright...If you're sure. I'll go get some blankets for you after Hanekoma is done with V."
"Yeah, sounds good."
We walked over to the couch. We sat on opposite ends.
"So...Do you really think V is a girl or just like one of those guys who look like a girl?" I asked him.
"I don't know, It's really suspicious how he...or she...never takes off that mask."
"I guess they have a thing about people seeing their face..."
"Really?" Josh perked up "Strange...I wonder why. I didn't really get a good look at V's face on the way here. I'm kind of concerned why V goes by a fake name and why he wears a mask 24/7."
"I think V might be involved in some shady business. Like, illegal stuff."
"I think it's totally possible. I think V might be involved in some illegal hacking business."
"What..what makes you think that?"
"V has the same phone number as that 'Shibuya Hacker' guy."
"Shibuya hacker?"
"You've heard of him, right?"
"Yeah."
"I don't know, it might just be a coincidence."
Josh went strangely silent.
"But...I'm more concerned about something else..."
"And what's that?"
"I think V is our age..."
No response from Josh.
"How does he get away with this shady business? Where are his parents...? Does he even have parents...?"
"Why are you so concerned about him? You barely know him, You don't even know his real name."
"I know, I just..." Words got stuck "I don't know why but...I just feel this weird connection to him...like deja vu."
After I said that Mr.H came out of the hallway and walked down the stairs, holding what looked like a pile of clothes in his arms.
"How's V...?" I asked
"Just a few scuffs and scratches on the knees. Should be alright to go by the morning."
I sighed out in relief.
"Is V awake now?" Josh asked.
"Nope, She's completely knocked out."
"Wait, 'She'?" I perked up. Joshua's interest peaked too
"Yeah, V's a girl." Mr.H confirmed.
"So it's official?" Josh asked.
Mr.H nodded.
"Also, Josh, You got a laundry room here?"
"Yeah, it's across from the kitchen."
"Kay, I think it would be good to wash her clothes." He laughed out loud "Heaven knows when this thing was last washed!" He brought the hoodie to his nose and recoiled in disgust "Ack! Smells like sweat and teen angst. Anyway, after this, I'm gonna head back to WildKat and give Beat and Rhyme the load down on the situation."
"Alright, thanks." I smiled at him.
Mr. H opened a door across from the kitchen and went inside.
"I'll go get you some blankets and pillows." Josh said before walking up the stairs and going right.
It's 3 in the morning. I can't sleep, might a well check my messages. I flipped open my phone and turned it on.
! 14 MISSED CALLS !
! 5 NEW MESSAGES !
! NEW EMAIL FROM: yoko.aoki@brovomodeling.com !
Yoko? Who the hell? Why am I getting an email from a modeling agency? I opened the Email.
yoko.aoki@brovomodeling:
Subject: Composer Responsibilities
Greetings Neku Sakuraba,
Before I begin, I must say congratulations on becoming Shibuya's composer and your release from the hospital. My apologies for not being able to visit you during your hospitalization. July is, unfortunately, one of my busiest months. But setting that aside, I'd like to meet with you on Sunday the 12th to discuss your responsibilities as a composer. I'd be glad to meet you at Spain Hall. I'll have my assistants Miki Akemi and Akira Futabatei meet you at the Scramble Crossing at 12:30 PM.
Hope to see you there
-Yoko Aoki
sakurabaneku@mail.com :
Subject: RE: Composer Responsibilities
Hey Ms.Aoki,
I'm not sure how you got my email address but I'd be happy to meet you at that time tomorrow. See you there.
Sent. I curled up in the blankets and shut my phone and placed it on the nearby coffee table before slowly fell asleep.
YOU ARE READING
A New Game (EDITING)
Hayran KurguIt's been about a month since everything has happened. I'm a completely new person than I was before the game. Everything's been normal, its almost as if nothing has happened. But I can't shake the feeling that something is about to happen. Somethin...
