The Scythe of Roses

She could feel how her emotions twisted around at what he said. IT wasn’t something she was expecting to hear, especially not after so much time had passed.

It left her to be stuck, looking at him with a blank look as his affirmation bounced in her head. She didn’t even notice his hand reaching for her until it had already touched her head, and in flowed an unwanted voice. It caused her to scoot away and huff at him.

“Well I wasn’t skilled Enough.” Her eyes look away now, and her arms cross in front of her almost like a shield.  “I still ended up as a pawn in someone elses dumb game.”  She doesn’t reach for more alcohol. Instead she chooses to keep a close eye on his hand now. 

“What happens to me doesn’t matter. If It can prevent people from pulling the same crap on me.” 

Amused how she scooted away almost immediately at his touch, chalking it up to a simple dislike of physical touches. Or perhaps because it was him, but he wasn’t going to assume on that one.

“Did you expect that you were going to be the best from the beginning? The only way to get stronger is to get more experience.” Placing the bottle down between them, other hand coming back to settle on his knee. “Besides, you shouldn’t feel that bad. You weren’t the only one that was used.”

A wry smile on his face as he looked away from her, the hand she was looking towards so closely coming into a fist as he spoke. Used, to be tossed away at the end like a broken toy.

It was infuriating.

She could feel her own insides twisting, as her own worries set in. What if he pushed himself to hard trying to find her? What if he couldn’t get to her in time? Sure she had held up fine up to this point, but the future had many winding paths that turned.

No… she would have to hold out. Keep her spirits high, both for herself and for the former union leader.

Her lips tug into a soft smile, doing her best to reassure him that she would be fine. “I will do my best to leave markers for you.” Her head turns as if looking at something unseen. Almost as if an unseen force had caught her attention.

She was waking up, which only caused her heart to beat even faster then before. There was so much more she wanted to tell him.

“I trust you master… May your  heart be your guiding key.”

Just as her thoughts swirled around the concerns of the future, his own mind was a swirling storm of unease. What if he took too long? What if something changed that was outside of his control?

She had already been there so long, who’s to stay she could stay there for much longer?

But that look on her face, that slight smile, a reminder of what he had to do.

The light he had to carry in his heart, the hope that he would be able to save her. For in the darkest moments, they had the strongest weapon of all....

“Alright. Try to make them that only someone like me would recognize. You don’t want to attract any unwanted attention.” Head turning as if he would be able to see what had caught her attention, before realizing why he wouldn’t.

Another reminder that they were so far apart, even if he could see her now.

A rose eyebrow and the girl was tilting her head again, to the other side this time. “Union?” She muttered quietly in confusion, mostly to herself. Was he part of some sort of group or something? And by the sounds of it– sounds like a a group that commonly used Keyblades.

Though, she did notice how the other’s eyes seemed to have softened at the mention of them. A look of nostalgia that she knew all too well about. Whoever he was thinking of… Runa couldn’t help but hope that they were still around someway somehow– for him.

At the change of topics, Runa’s brows furrowed at the mere implication of the person’s words. “If they are, and more and more people are getting these things– I’m afraid of what’ll happen.” The worlds were already dealing with their own internal problems and whatnot, and dealing with it in their own ways–

Bringing a Keyblade into all of it would be begging for conflict.

“I heard.. I heard that a long, long time ago there was a Keyblade War– You don’t think… Another one will come do you..?

A fragment of the past that he wished he could find in this present, but all attempts had come up short. New wielders, with so few old ones. And there wasn’t even mentions of the unions that he’d found.

Thankfully she seemed to understand why he was concerned. The keyblades were useful, yes, but they were powerful. Too many of them in one place was asking for problems, and for situations that would get out of control fast. There was little worse than a lot of people that lots of power that didn’t know how to use it correctly.

The mention of the Keyblade War earned a ‘tch’ from his lips, looking away.

“I hope not. That war...” Shaking his head, eyes hardening as images of a graveyard, of it all crumbling flashed into his head. He could remember it all crashing down, all their efforts, all their-

Closing his eyes tightly, shutting out those thoughts as he took in a deep breath, shoulders rising and falling in the exhale, before beginning to talk again.

                       His words stung, but likely for reasons other than what the Reaper expected. Invincible? Yeah right. Even now, expectations were being unfairly thrust upon him. That’s one of the things he’d hated about people in the first place. Someone, somewhere, was always expecting something of him. It’d been that way his entire life, and the pressure had only escalated upon his re-entrance into the Realground. He wasn’t invincible. He wasn’t a conqueror. He wasn’t a hero. Perhaps he tried a little too hard to play the part at times, not wanting to see anyone go through the things he’d endured, but at the end of the day, he was just a kid, and truthfully? That’s all he wanted to be. He wanted to live his life without people expecting these great, incredible things from him.

Teeth gritted in frustration as he was left without a comeback- or at least, without a comeback that would give him any sort of leg up in the situation. He wasn’t wrong, after all, but hell if Neku was going to admit that. Instead, he simply glared as he watched the man casually amble over to shop’s entrance, flipping the sign to closed. Despite the distance it’d put between the both of them, it didn’t make the teenager feel any better. Though the ringing in his ears had subsided for the time being, his uneasiness was only growing as he felt more trapped in here than ever.

He took a half step backwards as the man offered for him to sit once more, like a wounded animal unwilling to accept help when it was offered to them. Though if it weren’t for the immense amount of stress and mental fatigue he was under at the moment, the thought of Joshua as a Reaper might have been ridiculous enough to make him laugh. Neku doubted he would have lasted even a day if that were the case, but even if it were-

“It’s not the same. He’s…” What was Joshua to him? Even after everything, Neku still considered him his partner, to a degree, but saying that might let too much information slip. “He’s… my friend.” But was he? Friends didn’t kill each other. They didn’t manipulate each other for their own personal gain or stage their own deaths just to show up as if nothing had ever happened and then shoot you with a gun. Again. Friends were supposed to be there for you, and Joshua had made the conscious decision to stay far away from Neku and his ragtag group of friends when they’d all met back up at Hachiko…

Yet, ‘friend’ still seemed like the most fitting word to use. Maybe somewhere deep down, Neku did still care about him enough to call him that- even if he doubted the sentiment would ever be reciprocated. A small, somewhat melancholic sigh left him as he cautiously approached the counter, though elected not to take a seat just yet.

“…‘sides, it’s not like I had a choice.” And when he had, he’d avoided fighting Reapers directly. Hell, he’d even stuck his neck out for Uzuki and Kariya a few times. Maybe this Reaper didn’t know Neku as well as he think he did. That thought allowed him a small moment of relief, as the pink-haired man was left listing off the alleged proof that Neku and the Composer were ‘more than close.’ Eugh. The thought of that made him feel sick to his stomach, despite his deeply buried yearning for something resembling friendship with the guy.

However, as he went on, part of him started to believe that maybe Joshua did care about him to some degree… But he shook his head to himself at the thought. There was no way it was genuine. He could very well still be trying to use him, right? If he really cared he wouldn’t have had to shoot him again before changing his mind about Shibuya. He let out another tired sigh in an attempt to alleviate him of the conflicting thoughts as he hesitantly rested his arms against the counter.

“And what, you’re suddenly not interested in what I know?“ He doubted it. A small pause as he frowned, obvious mental exhaustion showing through in his expression. “…I think I’ll pass on accepting help from the guy that’s been doing nothing but provoke me for the past hour. I can take care of myself.”

Feeling those daggers that were sourced from Neku’s eyes drilling into his back as he walked by, sure he was thinking up some frustrated thoughts at being treated like a set-piece in the background. Even with the sign closed, the pinkette made sure to show he had not locked the door in any way, simply changing it a bit to dissuade new customers from barging in for the time being.

He himself didn’t know exactly what had caused the sudden shift to headphones ‘on’, but he would guess that additional voices likely wouldn’t help with it.

A roll of his eyes at the overly-cautious response to a seat, though he supposed he couldn’t fault him for wanting to comply with someone that was on the opposing side of war he’d previously fought.

“Your friend, hm?”At first, a skeptical eyebrow raised at the word that was used to describe his relationship to the Composer. One might even say it was doubting, seconds passing along in silence, before shaking his head, pink rivulets of hair swaying from side to side. He wasn’t aware of all the details between the two, nor did he think he’d ever truly know, but he could read faces quite well.

And that was the face of someone that was trying hard to understand someone else. “I don’t know exactly what happened between the two of you, but I would hazard a guess and say he probably has lasting memories of your time together as well.” Did that translate to remaining as his friend? He couldn’t say, but it wasn’t his place to put labels on a relationship not his own, anyway.

“You had a choice. The fact that you didn’t think you did is a sign of your strength, you know.” Water that was offered placed upon the counter as the pinkette once more put some distance between the two, walking back behind the counter. Neku seemed to enjoy some level of personal space and barrier between them, at least over physical closeness.

“Not everyone has what it takes to kill, even for their own sake. You might say that you can, but in the moment, not everyone has that strength of will. There are players that are incredibly gifted technically, but don’t have the stomach to finish what they started.” Only made worse when he would confront those with flimsy spines as a person, instead of his noise form.

Watching them realize in horror what they had to do to live again, failing to have that killing intent when aimed at someone that had the face of human.

A hand resting on the opposite side of the counter to Neku, chuckling at the doubting words that were thrown his way. “No, I won’t lie to you and say I’m not interested. I would very much like to pick your brain for all that happened during those weeks. However,"

Hand reaching under the counter to pull a sugar cube between his fingers, tossing it up into the air. “I’m not stupid enough to think I could get away with using you for information. Do you really think the Composer would sit back if I tried? I’m sure I’d be retired quite quickly.”  Catching the cube in his palm, the quiet ‘CRUNCH’ heard as he crumpled it in his palm, the dusted sugar cascading from his hand onto the counter.

“I can’t make you accept my help, but I can tell you that I play by the rules, Neku, for what that means to you.” Grabbing a napkin, wiping the small bit of sugar back into the palm of his hand, tilting it over a trashcan to dispose of it. “I don’t allow for anomalies in my game, from players or reapers. So I do truly mean it when I say that I will take care of anyone that is trying to circumvent those rules.”

Tone the most serious it had been the entire conversation, a clear lack of playfulness that had been present in his earlier provocations.

“Are you that surprised I provoked you, given you now know who I am? I had to see where your thoughts where, what your plans were for the future. If you want to live a normal, regular life...”

The girl blinked as she shoved her hands into her pockets, shifting her weight over to one leg. Runa was an oddly forgiving person in most circumstances, and hey– She was alive and the guy wasn’t making any more attempts on her life.

So, for that, she’s glad.

The brunette couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at the mention he didn’t even remember he had one until some time ago. What could have happened to make you forget something like the Keyblade? Something that she always thought to be so important– she would find herself questioning why it chose her of all people.

“Well, if it matters any, you were a natural back there. So at least you got that going for ya.”

Especially considering, like he said, that there seemed to be more popping out recently. Runa recalled that her own brother had one, along with his friends. But, even with them, there was apparently more. 

“Yeah… Mine appeared couple years ago. Never really asked for it though..” Runa would say, glancing down at the ground, kicking up the dirt a bit. “But can’t really complain about it, right?”

Knowing that look she gave him, of confusion and surprise at such a revelation. For objects that were intended to be connected to the heart of the wielder, to have them suddenly disappear and reappear must sound crazy.

But when you no longer have a heart, why would the keyblade stay with you?

“That’s good. I haven’t lost my touch since being in the Union, I suppose.” A time long lost, eyes gaining a slight wistful tinge upon them as he recalled his time there. Would she understand? Likely not, but he couldn’t expect her to.

But it only made her words of so many keyblades appearing all the more worrisome.

“The universe is handing them out like toys...” Just like they’d been before. More and more prospective wielders, more and more people not understanding the power they actually wielded. 

Was history just a cycle to repeat?

Well THAT sounded like a narcissist, but she’s going to brush it off and shrug at him. She’s too tipsy to care at this point taking another gulp before offering it to him.

“I don’t like feeling restricted. I learned to throw a punch before I learned how to hold a weapon. Thought I was kind of good at it, ya know up until I got dragged into the organization stuff.” She places a hand on her mouth realizing she just let a key detail out. The fact that she felt inferior around other members. Well Shit.

She eyes him for a moment and then looks away with a huff. “I realized that lightning spells come easier to me then the other ones. I can use ethereal energy too, but that one gets more out of control. Especially if I try to use it and my telekinesis at the same time.”

An unfortunate consequence of his imbibing, confidence and pride shining at their highest during times like this.

“So I’ve noticed.” Chuckling as he took the bottle back, rolling his wrist and letting the liquid inside swirl slowly. Gaze raising to look to her, before his free hand reached over and patted on her head once. “Just because you found someone better than you at something doesn’t mean you’re not skilled in it, Xenna.”

An affirmation of skill? Or just platitudes? Her to decide, though the brush of his hand before pulling back might give a bias.

Her stomach twisted as she listened to him. The last time she had any assistance on anything was in daybreak town. Back when everything seemed so much easier to handle.

Back before she was sent to live a life of loneliness. It didn’t matter how adjusted she was to the sad empty feelings. It hurt all the same, almost as if her own war wounds never actually healed. 

He was willing to help. A ghost from her past, someone she looked up to and respected was on her side after all these years. It made her emotions twist and turn. IT was comforting to have a face she trusted, but at the same time it caused her own worries to work their way up.

“O-Okay…” Her voice shakes as she tries to steady herself again.

“B… but please don’t break yourself trying to help me.” She reaches out to touch his arm frowning as he phases through him. “I don’t even know where I am… or HOw I ended up like this. I know it’s the realm of darkness based on observation. But I don’t know how far down I am, Or where I am. Other then the fact that there are parts of daybreak town.”

Something twisting within him further and further the longer his thoughts focused on her. How long had she been down there? How long had he left her there?

It must have been hell.

That upturn of his lips coming close to faltering at her request, looking to the attempted touch at his arm before it passed through. How could he promise that to her? Even if he broke himself down to dust he would keep moving forward, it was all he knew how to do.

Being broken down so many times before, what was one more?

“I’ll do my best.” To save you.

Arms coming to cross over his chest as she tried to speak of her current location, hands clenching at his upper arms as she mentioned Daybreak Town. Of course part of it had gotten relegated to that deep darkness...

It surely felt right at home surrounded by shadows.

“Even that’s enough, just seeing the town. If I know to look for parts of the town, that’ll help limit my search.” Though he’d never seen parts of the town before, when going through that realm. Never diving too far into it, perhaps that was the issue.

    ❝ 𝑰’𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒔𝒐. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝑰’𝒎 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆. 𝑰’𝒎 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒆’𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒘. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒎𝒆. 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒊𝒆. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒆, 𝒔𝒐 𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒎. 𝑨 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒚. ❞

“...I’m sorry to hear that.” To steal away another just because of your own selfish desires...how cruel. Justified perhaps, to themselves, but to others its a wholly selfish act.

“i-I just-” Just what? Every word he spoke only made things worse. The hole he’d dug himself into got deeper and deeper every time he tried to open his damn mouth, but what else could he do? Though Neku was no longer stuck behind invisible walls, he felt more trapped than ever. He felt suffocated, each word another attempt to catch his breath, only for his throat to tighten even more.

He’d come in here with a plan- a vague plan, but a plan nevertheless. He’d just wanted to make sure the man wasn’t up to anything overly sinister. He’d just wanted to make sure his friends stayed out of this. He’d come in feeling so in control, but now? He felt worthless. He was a hindrance to his own cause. All he could hope to do now was try to undo some of the damage he’d done, but even that seemed hopeless.

The shopkeeper wouldn’t even give him a moment to think- to breathe- going on and on, poking holes in every little thing the teenager said. He wanted to scream. He wanted to scream and shout until he just shut up, but he knew it would only bring him some sick kind of satisfaction. He could feel the corners of his eyes burning as his body begged to let him cry out of pure frustration, his heart racing so fast he could feel himself getting lightheaded-

He couldn’t take it.

The shop was dead silent besides the two of them, but everything suddenly felt so loud as the painfully familiar ringing noise flooded his eardrums. His breathing became more rapid, shaky hands grabbing the headphones that lay around his neck and shoving them over his ears, as if they would help to dull the noise. Deep breaths. In, out. Slowly but surely, the ringing subsided, leaving Neku staring at the man in front of him with a pained expression on his face. Whatever he said next, he had to choose his words carefully. He couldn’t afford to mess up anymore. He couldn’t afford to lose.

“…I just trust The Composer, all right? Which is more than I can say about you Reapers. Rules exist for a reason, and I don’t want someone in charge who can’t understand that.” A small pause, as he tested the weight of his words. They weren’t anything too groundbreaking, but he was satisfied with them, at least. “And as for what scarred me, it wasn’t The Composer crushing Minamimoto to death for trying to overthrow him, if that’s what you’re asking. That was nothing.” A little leak of information, but hopefully it wouldn’t be anything useful. He hoped it would deter him from trying right away, at the very least.

“What really scarred me was the bullet He put in my chest when I thought about taking him out.” He really hated talking Joshua up like this, but it was all he could think of to do at the moment. Besides, he technically wasn’t lying. He had considered pulling the trigger. “So yeah, I guess you could say we’re close. Killing someone is probably about as personal as it gets.”

Did he finally understand now? Letting the pinkette’s words dig deep, looking into each action and reply to the point of absurdity. Finding reasons to hate and fight when they weren’t even there, instead happy to slap the title of enemy against someone that happened to be a Reaper without proper reasoning.

Well, proper reasoning outside of past experiences.

Watching the little world that this explayer had concocted, so certain of his whatever plan he planned to enact when he got here, shake and tumble.

Only to see it all crumble away, his frustration and thoughts seeming to rise higher and higher as he was bombarded by words he did not wish to hear, explanations that undermined his understanding and gave away his inexperience.

But it was too much, it seemed, to be so thoroughly spun around over and over.

Eyes staring down in an unimpressed stare, the sight before him one he’d seen many times. Players breaking under the truth of words, learning what really was meant far too late. A staple of his missions, in fact, mission objectives worded in such a way to allow for certain misunderstandings to occur, piling further and further up until those that had made it to the end of the week were a swaying tower.

And all it took was one poke before they would come crashing down.

“...” A sigh, shaking his head as the other clutched to the safety blanket that was his headphones as whatever episode ran its course. “The invincible Neku, conqueror of three consecutive weeks. Unable to take the truth of one man.” Shame, he’d expect his mental fortitude to be better than this.

Why wasn’t it?

Turning as Neku looked up to him, cutting away one source of discomfort as he walked to the front of his store; hand raised to turn the ‘OPEN’ to ‘CLOSED’. “Sit.” Spoken in passing, accompanied by a point to the chair nearest to him, if his word didn’t pierce his headphones. Walking behind the counter, a new glass taken and filled with simple water, walking back around and holding it out for him to take.

If he wouldn’t, it would remain held out, seemingly not taking ‘no’ for much of an answer at the moment.

Eyebrow quirked at that, a roll of his eyes. “And what if that Composer was originally a Reaper, Neku? Would you still be so trusting, knowing that the one you trust comes from the same stock of people you can’t trust?” It was possible that was the case with this Composer, but he couldn’t say he knew. A speculation at best, but it wasn’t as if that was an impossible occurrence.

He knew that there those that could ascend to that higher plane that was still out of his reach.

A wave of his hand at the mention of Minamimoto. “You’ve killed Reapers before. What makes seeing someone else do it any different?” So casual, how he spoke. But there was no fallacy within it. He’d won his games. He’d killed those reapers, ended their own life for the furthering of his own.

It should be expected he didn’t care for the death of yet another Reaper.

And yet, as he spoke on, there was a clear lack of understanding happening. “Close? Oh Neku, you’re more than that, based on this.” Free hand raised up, slowly counting off on his fingers. “The Composer let you have the chance to kill him. Usually, no one would have that luxury unless they fought for it with all they had, and that would only give them the chance.”

Another finger uncurled. “You know his name. That type of information could be very dangerous.”

A third. “He’s let you remain with your memories, your experiences, and your knowledge. While players could normally have that boon regardless....the fact you know as much as you do about the Game itself would usually require some work before letting you back out into the world.”

Smiling, fingers curling back down so that only his index finger was pointing to the ginger.

“If anything, you might be the person that’s closest to the Composer, with how much favor he seems to show you.” Before his hand turned to show his palm. “Which would usually mean people would be very interested in what you know, and might hound you for it, if they ever come to learn it.”

The effects of the Cure spell settled as her body accepted the much needed help. The pain she held eventually faded with the breeze along with the petals, floating off to who knows where.

Running a hand through her hair, she nodded a bit at him. Still, clearly a bit annoyed over the current circumstances.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” The brunette muttered

“… Didn’t think you had a Keyblade..” Runa stated, her hand going to rest on her shoulder. It wasn’t meant to be rude, she was legitimately surprised. Besides– their fight was over (despite how overboard certain moves he used were) she didn’t see the harm in casual conversation. Better that than being left to mull over the lost. 

He didn’t expect her to fully forgive him in any capacity, not after starting a fight and beating her up to the extent that he had.

Would he have forgiven anyone that did the same to him?

....

“Mm, good.”

“Most everyone didn’t.” Least of all himself. “I didn’t...remember I had it until recently. But now that I have...it feels as natural in my hand as if I’d been using it all this time.” Gaze falling to his hand, examining his open palm before looking back to her.

             He stayed frozen in place as the Reaper walked around the counter, breaching the distance that had once been between them, like a snake slithering closer to it’s dinner as it prepared to make its strike. The look of rage never fell from Neku’s face, his ire burning hotter and hotter at every word as the teenager ground his teeth together in vexation.

He was just playing with him, now. Neku could see that, clear as day, but he couldn’t retreat, not after the threat of going after Joshua. Why do you care? Why do you care? The question repeated itself in his head as he spoke, but the ginger kept telling himself that he didn’t. He didn’t care about Joshua- just the city. That is, until-

“I don’t owe him anything.” His voice cracked as he spoke, uncertainty betraying him as it slipped into his tone. He didn’t, though. He didn’t owe Joshua anything. “Not after-” He had to bite back the words to avoid letting him in on any information he hadn’t already been privy to. Alas, it was too late to take back the slip ups he’d already made, and he couldn’t help but swear under his breath, frustrated with his own temper. How much did he know about what had happened? And how much had he learned just from Neku?

“Just… Shut up!” He abandoned his seat completely, raising a fist as if he were preparing to throw a punch. “I don’t trust you.” He spat the words, though the sentiment had been perfectly clear already. “I don’t care what you say you will or won’t do. Shibuya doesn’t need a new Composer. Jo- He-” Shit. Shit. “The Composer isn’t the problem here! If you want a raise so bad, maybe just work for it instead of trying to throw a damn coup! You can’t just force change like that. It has to happen on its own, over time. You can’t rush it all at once. Shibuya shouldn’t be any one person’s to change, to begin with. It doesn’t belong to you. It doesn’t belong to The Composer. It doesn’t belong to anyone.“

Part of him wanted to say that this guy had it all wrong. It wasn’t the freedom that Neku liked about Shibuya so much. Perhaps that had been it once, when he’d shut everyone out and only cared about himself. Do what you want, how you want, when you want- But he didn’t feel like that, anymore. What made Shibuya special wasn’t the ability to do whatever you wanted. It was everything. It was the creativity and the passion. It was the people. And at the end of the day, Joshua was one of those people, too.

This had become far too heated to let it be flung over the counter, and if it all blew past the boiling point, being within arm’s reach to stop it wasn’t a bad idea. Even if his idea of stopping it would likely be met with more than just an angry look.

But that would only matter if it came that far.

The air of complete nonchalance exuded from each step the pinkette took, not even fit to call him a predator that was hunting his prey. No, this was beneath him. He had no reason to eat this little one, and no desire to. Not even registering as food, simply the passing fancy that could be squashed at any moment. 

How would he take a look of complete disregard?

Eyes narrowing just slightly as he slipped already, his anger clouding himself from holding back information that shouldn’t be shared so easily. “And yet, you’re still so adamant that he shouldn’t be replaced~ You must have some reason you find the current Composer is best suited for the place they’re in.” After what? The 3 week incident? Any information on it had been scrubbed clean, but apparently they’d left Neku with his memories of it. Now that...was quite interesting.

Sapphire hues blinked once as if finally seeing the other for the first time, focus nearly drilling down to the ginger through his gaze, a half-step closer made instinctively as he let his curiosity get the best of him; stopping as the sight of the other’s fist raised into his gaze, and taking back the step he just made. At the mention of trust, he rolled his eyes. “Nor would I tell you to trust me.”

The hand he’d rested his cheek against moved as if to try and wave to stop Neku from speaking further, only to jerk to a halt as he spoke more of what he shouldn’t have once more. “Oh~? You’re so close to them, you even know their name? I’m quite jealous~” But, he knew better than to hound him over it. No, he’d let him make the mistake of telling him all on his own.

Hand falling to rest on his hip, he shook his head as he was lectured on what belonged to who. “Oh Neku, I have to wonder how you won those games if your listening skills are this poor.” Smile quirking up at the corner of his lips. “When did I say I was planning a coup? Or that I was trying to rush to become Composer? I said if I had an issue with the rules, I would fix that by becoming Composer. As of this moment, the rules don’t limit me enough for me to want to change them~”

Eyebrow quirking up as he couldn’t help but chuckle. “You’re the one that made the assumption that my saying of ‘wanting to become Composer’ meant I wanted to do it now, and through force. I have no grand plan to overthrow the Composer, and I’m quite happy with my current position as Officer. But really...” 

Her brows furrowed and twitched a bit at the emphasis at “gracious loser”. And her lips went from a pout to an irritated frown at the sight of him bowing. Okay– Did he really have to rub it in so much…?!

Seeing the other hold out his hand, an all too familiar rose sitting in the palm of his hand emitting a green hue that softly held a calming effect to them, Runa’s gaze went back to his. His words were too light and nice for her liking, it was like he was still making fun of her. Which.. he honestly, probably still was.

“Gee… Thaaanks…” He didn’t have to add insult injury– literally. But he did. And considering how beat she was, the young brunette had no other option than to take the damn flower from him. The petals scattering and turning into tiny green and white lights as it began to work it’s magic, healing over the ice burns on her legs amongst any other small injuries she sustained.

What a cute little reaction. Shame she kept showing her reactions so clearly, he had no reason to stop when she gave such a show.

Blue hues meeting hers with nary a blink, a smile at his lips.

“Mm. You’re welcome~” Even though she didn’t care much for it, she was in no position to say no; earning the gentle wisps of wind that circled the petals around her. Some settling onto her as the color drained away from the petals as the magic ran through her, a few minutes needed before all her injuries were just memories of the ache.

Petals white before they peeled from her body and a breeze swept them away.

He stared, refusing to break eye contact as the silence set in between them. He watched as the smirk fell from his face, his motions coming to a stop. Good- he was starting to take Neku seriously. However, blue eyes narrowed in frustration when the man simply shook his head as if the teenager’s words hadn’t carried any real weight, and he grimaced as he went off on another, long tangent.

Neku should have felt relieved at the reminder that he resided in the Realground, now- that no matter what, the Reaper couldn’t lay a finger on him or any of his friends unless they slipped back into Shibuya’s Underground, but for some reason, he didn’t. He felt almost insulted at the comment. What, just because he was in the RG, he didn’t matter?

He blinked to himself in realization. He… didn’t matter. He wasn’t special. Maybe he had been, once, but now he was just some kid. A kid with the uncanny ability to glimpse into the UG, but not the ability to enter it. When it came to the Reaper’s Game, he was less important than even the Reaper lackeys stuck guarding invisible walls all day…

Actions in the UG could influence actions in the RG, but from here, could Nek truly do anything? Perhaps a few things, here and there- leaving behind old pins for new Players to find, trying (and failing) to talk sense into Reapers like this guy, but was that enough? Would that ever be enough?

Though the man’s words were infuriating, and Neku’s confident stare had all but faded away, he felt satisfied, at least, that the Reaper agreed to leave Shibuya be. That would be enough, for now. Neku hadn’t gone through hell trying to save this place just for-

‘If I have an issue with the rules, I’ll simply become Composer myself-’

“…!” Eyes grew wide in a mix of shock and fear, the counter shaking ever so slightly as he practically jumped out of his seat. “Don’t you dare-” He bared his teeth like an angry animal, any semblance of control he’d once had vanishing in a primal display of anger. He couldn’t be serious, right? He was just saying that because he knew it would get under his skin, right?

But why did he care? There was a time Neku thought anyone would have been a better Composer than Joshua. Hell, he’d spent half of that third week planning to kill him himself so Beat could bring back his sister, but once he’d had the chance, he couldn’t do it. He remembered the weight of the gun in his hands, and the way his body trembled as he’d tried to point it. He remembered his eyes stinging with tears as he stood there, frozen, unable to pull the trigger. He remember how he’d failed the city he’d grown to love. If Joshua hadn’t gone back on his word, he and all of Shibuya- his world and his friends- they’d all be…

That’s why Joshua had to stay right where he was. Neku didn’t have to like him for him to trust that he would keep Shibuya safe. Actions spoke louder than words, after all, and the Game Master before him could talk all he wanted about leaving Shibuya alone, but there was no telling what he’d do given the power to destroy it.

So easily could he find a chink in the others armor, giving something while still taking something away. Always leaving some negative aftertaste, but it was all done with proper purpose. To keep a tight grip over the conversation, to ensure that he held that advantage tight without letting go once.

Words taking quite a while to finally sink in deep enough for him to understand what he meant. Yes, he was someone that knew the game, and knew it quite well. He probably had a few pins left, but that enough couldn’t do anything. A haphazard pin left for a player was dangerous, and wholly useless if they couldn’t use it.

Just because he was so talented didn’t mean others shared that gift. And advice from those that failed to understand that distinction could be just as deadly as it was helpful.

The tension melting away between them, the other’s confidence settling back to middling satisfaction.

But then he heard the desires that truly drove the pinkette, and the air between the two changed as quickly as a bolt of lightning cracking between them. 

Where the other jumped up, the pinkette laxly would walk around the counter, gaze breaking as his head fell back and a laugh rose up from his lips; a carefree outburst that showed just how insignificant he viewed the bubbling anger displayed to him.

Stopping a few feet from the coiled ball of rage that was the ginger, his arms unfolded from his chest, holding at his sides down to the elbow before opening outward from his body. An unspoken offer for the other, a place where that anger could find a place, if he would take the chance to try. Happy to soak in every bit of emotion he had, to really see what was going on underneath the surface of this former winner. 

Besides, he was not afraid of what the other could in his own shop. For all his impressive power in the game, he was just a scrawny teenager here.

“Dare what, Neku~? Aim to become something more than an Officer of the Reapers?” Blue hues glinting with malicious amusement, finding obvious joy how the other raised his hackles against him.

“You don’t honestly believe the Composer will always stay the same, do you~? A system with no change will only break down over time, unable to adjust to the changing world. Or...” A tilt of his head, hand coming up to rest his cheek against his palm as his eyes took on a more curious look.

“Do you feel some kind of debt to the Composer because your precious Shibuya is the way you remember it?” Turning his head to look out the windows of his store, a few passing people there before he looked back, lips pulling into a predatory grin that did not hide away from showing his teeth.

The dancer couldn’t help, but study his facial features as he pondered his favorite memory. There had to be a million things that came into his mind.

Her eyes drifted back to his as he revealed the memory, but it only piqued her curiosity even more than before. “Sounds quite interesting. I’d love to hear more about it.”

Inquisitive, but those minds he liked the best. Her interest in his words obvious with the attention she gave, though that interest could be dangerous if it took notice of the wrong things.

“If it has stolen away your interest, I’ll be happy to share until you’re content. It was a quiet place, I couldn’t imagine there was more than a few dozen families total in the town. You could imagine how close they were with one another, and how careful they were of others.” 

A hum.

     ❝ 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒊𝒎. 𝑺𝒂𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒄𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒑 𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒏 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒖𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒑 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒇𝒆. 𝑺𝒂𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒐’𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉. ❞

“Mm...a shame his life is over already. I would have quite liked to meet him.” Share pointers, perhaps. Meeting others as passionate about plant life was a rarity, and any missed chance was one he despised.

Eyes blinked as the other released her from the ice binding her down to the ground instead of doing a certain something else. Wait– What–?

She slowly stood back up, looking over at the other a bit cautiously and definitely a bit confused. Her legs still stung from the cold, causing her to stagger and wince a bit. Taking a moment to process what he had said, her head tilted to the side.

She could– buy into the idea that it wasn’t a fight for her life, if she looked back on things. But, maim on the other hand was a different story. The memory of the Reflect incident made her bite the inside of her lip. Yeah– sure–

Keyblade disappeared in its usual flash of light fashion as Runa crossed her arms over her chest at the other. She did say that didn’t she–

“I guess you’re right then.” She agreed quietly and pretty childishly. “Alright, fine. You… win.” A pout appeared on her face, not liking the words that left her mouth.

Ah, the confusion. Mingled with caution, as her gaze rose to find his own as she found her footing, noting that little wince as she staggered over.

Perhaps he’d gotten a bit too excited in their match.

A smile at those perfect pink lips of his as she mulled over his words, only getting slightly wider as she let her keyblade disappear, his own disintegrating to a shower of petals that the wind stole away.

“Ah, what a gracious loser~ I was right to spar with you.”

Words layered with a teasing undertone made all the worse as he bowed in front of her, only to rise back up with his palm offered towards her, a rose with petals of light green held in his fingers for her to take.

“And in thanks for giving me such a fight, I’ll give you back a prize~ One that you’ll no doubt enjoy.”