#rixareth

"There is only one bed."

"An astute observation, dear." As usual, Joshua doesn't bother giving away more than the absolutely has to. Neku doesn't need to know how long he's had this flat, that Joshua procured it so he could safely stash Neku away in case of outside interference. Precisely such as the one happening right now.

"If you need clean clothes, you'll find some in the wardrobe."

For whatever reason, Neku doesn't appear to appreciate the reminder of the bloody hole torn into his shirt. He looks down tiredly, twists and stretches out the gap in the fabric. Though the wound is closed now, faded as all marks of death do in the UG, the damage to the fabric remains.

Instead of asking the important questions, such as "how did we get here" or "where even are we", not to mention the "why did you shoot me, again?," Neku just inspects the clothes.

"So that's where they went. I should have known you were the magpie." Neku's face turns to a grimace when he sees the Lapin Angelique limited editions stashed away. "Of course."

Despite the situation, Joshua finds himself smiling like old times. He shrugs. "What can I say? They suit you."

"Whatever you say, bunny boy." Ah yes. He too remembers the too-comfortable purple sweater, it seems.

"Not everyone can be a natural puppy, dear." Unfortunately, nice as it is to have the last word with Neku - who looks about ready to jump him, not in the pleasant way - they have business to attend to.

"Kitchen's over there, it's stocked with non-perishables. Shower is behind that door. If you're bored... find something to do. I would advise against going outside for a while." There is nothing but the void outside, after all, partially stabilised by Joshua's presence. But once he leaves, the only thing standing between Neku and his erasure will be the sigils Joshua has kindly asked Hanekoma to carve into the walls, and they cannot protect Neku past their bounds.

Which is simply unacceptable, after all the trouble Joshua went through to bring him here.

He follows Neku's gaze when it flickers to the window. It displays nothing but bright, white light. The glass rattles beneath the pressure of a thousand disjointed voices, a roiling mass of thoughts and feelings unrestrained, intent on crushing all that's left of Shinjuku's soul into blessed homogeneity.

What a waste of potential.

The voices still when Neku's eyes find his again, his quiet determination pushing out the noise. "Alright," he simply says, an admission of trust as natural as breathing.

The sudden lack of outside pressure, as Neku Sakuraba's soul harmonizes with his own, almost sends Joshua to his knees; after hours of being constrained tightly into his corporeal form, it feels like he could fall apart with every breath now.

Neku's imagination is getting too powerful. Joshua needs to go.

Attuning to a higher plane, beyond the writhing mass of unwound souls, is easy now; power thrums and whirs beneath what passes for his skin. He doesn't say goodbye; sentimentality doesn't suit them, and Neku knows this.

He simply turns, and leaves.

Or. Well. He tries to, at least.

In a blur, Neku crosses the short distance between them, grabs a hold of his wrist. The imagination singes his skin, anchoring in reality what Neku shouldn't even be able to see. And yet.

"Where do you think you're going?," Neku asks, his face cycling too quickly through several complicated emotions for Joshua to catch them all. This close, he feels more than sees them, hurt and anger and longing flickering through Neku's soul, impossibly bright.

His touch burns.

"Back," is the simple answer, the quick answer, because Hazuki and his reapers have sought shelter in Shibuya and there are accommodations to arrange, borders to enforce to ensure the purification doesn't spread.

'Away,' he can't say, a word too feeble to resist the gravity Neku is using to pull him back down into reality.

"You just came back into my life. Death? Whatever. Did you think I'd let you leave as easily as that?" There's a challenge in Neku's eyes, the slight of several declined invitations to hang out clearly not forgotten.

Intriguing, that Neku has sharpened his imagination to the point of being able to reach into higher planes. If given enough incentive, Joshua briefly wonders, could he tear down the heavens? A slow smile spreads on his lips, the possibilities unfolding before him endlessly.

"And don't tell me that it's urgent. Pinkie and Lollipop can handle the game better without you."

With his one available hand, Joshua shrugs. "Arguably, it went rather poorly before. But that might just have been because of extenuating circumstances and the fact that I was stuck in an alternate reality."

It's fun to see Neku pale, frown, and furrow his brows in rapid succession, trying to decipher whether Joshua is messing with him or not. His grip on reality - and therefore, on Joshua - wavers, his fingers phasing through solid light into air.

"Running away didn't work out great for you, then." Neku glares, digs his fingernails in with renewed vigor. Perhaps the concept of alternate realities isn't too shocking, after what he's already been through. Neku has always been surprisingly resilient, even able to withstand the strain of being the composer's game partner. Or maybe he's just got other, more pressing concerns.

"Come on. Are you really too much of a coward to stick around for an hour? At least last time I got a week."

That's the problem with Neku. He no longer takes things lying down, doesn't accept his fate. That is, perhaps, Joshua's fault, but makes it all the more intriguing what Neku will do next.

"I don't owe you anything." No answers, no gratitude, no living. Not even to be truthful with himself. Because it wouldn't be an hour, or even two. If Neku drags him into his orbit, it would be difficult to leave again.

He's just too entertaining to observe.

"I disagree. I know you were watching, all this time." Neku smiles, now, sensing the shift, knows he's almost got what he wants. "You told me to find something to do. I think," he says, putting on the charade of a thoughtful face for just a moment, "that if you organize a sleepover, you should at least provide the entertainment."

And with that, he steps back and yanks on Joshua's wrist, sending them both tumbling into bed.