Thereās something in hearing a voice as familiar as Sanaeās, nowhere near the type of cool and defended as Joshuaās, but just as fluent in that careful dance of nuances and subtleties heād always tiptoed his way through.
In no way does that mean Joshuaās convinced heās dealing with the original, however. He may touch ground and lower his hands, but his acquiescing is not without caveat: for as much of a shadow he may be now, the Composer knows heās been here longer, knows how this all works. Besides, if Sanae hasnāt gone to rip his face off yet, then thatās at least one reason to believe in the man before him.
You canāt blame him if he keeps his distance, though.
āYou know, youāre really bad at picking me up in a timely manner.ā Joshua pauses, resting his cheek in the palm of his hand, then closes his eyes. Takes a deep breath and lets out a dreamy sigh as a peal of screams bounce their way through the streets. āI was just about to settle down and see myself getting old here. Itās a shame, actually.ā
But the screaming barely stops, echoes barely fading before a new round takes its place. Heād love to stay and chat, since thereās a whole world Joshua needs to relay, but he knows thereās an order to these things. Pleasantries will have to wait.
āSo, whatād you get saddled with? They only gave Neku his Player pin and I canāt imagine what help that is right now.Ā Tell me what Iām working with here so I know how much of a handicap I have.ā
āYou, settling down? Thatāll be the day,ā he jokes, lowering his arms to instead cross them loosely over his chest. With the imminent threat of Joshua blasting him into static at least mostly passed, heās relaxing a bit more now. āGotta say, though, you sure picked a fine place to retire. Creepy atmosphere, hoards of the undead... Talk about paradise.ā
The loud screams echoing through the city streets only serve to highlight the sarcasm in his statement. A part of him wants to go help whoever it is crying out in fear, but he knows heād be unfortunately useless. All they can afford to do right now is worry about themselves. He sighs, shaking his head. Joshuaās question is certainly on the nose, as per usual. He does note, however, the casual mention of Neku being around. Heāll get to that later.
āMight as well be a Player with only a single pin for how much Iāve got going.āĀ Except even then, a Player might still have some offensive options. It would almost be a little concerning perhaps, feeling so close to mortality, if he couldnāt tell fundamentally that nothing about himself had been altered. Heās out of tune and his powers are out of reach, but heās stillĀ himself. āIf we got attacked, Iād wagerā¦ I could protect you all of about once.ā
Not that Joshua seems to especially need protecting. Heās looking like he fares much better in the strength department than Hanekoma does right now, which is good for both of them. At least this means theyāre not both sitting ducks, though it does mean heās almost entirely dependent upon Joshua for the time being. First time for everything, he supposes.
āAnd thatās only assuming we donāt run into a bunch of the creeps. So if we want to continue this touching reunion somewhere safer, itāll all be on you, boss.ā
