Falling Skies

Beat sighed and rubbed his neck. He was seriously puzzled by Joshua's actions as of late. He had been avoiding everyone for a few months and Beat was starting to get fed up with it. So was Neku.

Joshua and Neku might bicker like an old married couple, but they were still friends. The guy hadn't even returned his calls or text messages. Neither Neku nor Beat could think of anything that might have caused Joshua's reclusion.

Thus, the two of them were standing in front of the entrance of the Station Underpass, ready to begin their adventure into the lair of the Composer. Neku had thought it would be a good idea to bring an offering of sorts, so Beat had a Tupperware of Shio ramen in his backpack and Neku had chopsticks in his pocket.

Originally, Beat hadn't really been sure if he should come with Neku or not. He'd been pretty damn tired lately, unable to get much sleep (he blamed Marble Hornets for that). But then he had remembered that promise he'd made to Joshua. If Beat was anything, he was someone who kept his promises. Biting back a yawn, Beat shook his head.

'Don't worry, Josh. I'll catch you.'

"Aw, fuck it," Beat growled as he started walking. What did it matter that this was where he had died? He just had to stare straight ahead and he'd be fine. He wondered if his memorial was still there.

Eventually, the two of them found the entrance to the Trail of the Sinner. Beat sped up, getting ready to run all the way to the Dead God's Pad and confront the dead kid about what was going on.

"Hold on, Beat. I doubt it will be that easy. Joshua reset the barriers, remember? Not even you can punch those things down. We should find another way," Neku reasoned, grabbing his shoulder.

"Then I won't punch," Beat muttered. He stormed right up to the entryway and reached out experimentally. To his surprise, his hand went right through the entrance. Beat shot Neku a confused look, which Neku returned before the answer dawned on him.

"We aren't Players any more, so we must not have to worry about the barriers. Still, I doubt we should just storm down this way. If I know Joshua as well as I think I do, he'll have a secret back-entrance somewhere." Neku crossed his arms, thinking.

"I know. I gots a better idea," Beat said. He turned back to the shaded tunnel and cupped his hands around his mouth, taking a deep breath.

"YOOOO! JOSHUA, GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE! I KNOW YOU IN THERE! IF YOU'RE BEING EMO IN THERE I SWEAR I'LL KICK YOUR ASS!"

Beat lowered his hands back to his sides and waited for a few seconds.

Nothing.

Neku stared at Beat incredulously.

"Being emo?" Neku asked. "Well, now that he knows we're coming, he's probably gone somewhere else."

"Do you have to shout?"

Joshua suddenly appeared in the entryway, looking peeved and tired.

Really tired.

His hair was unusually scruffy; it looked like he hadn't taken a brush to it in weeks. There were dark circles under his eyes. The eyes themselves were duller than usual and blinking rapidly. His hands, rather than hiding in his pockets or messing with his hair, were lying uselessly at his side.

"Joshua," Neku said, walking forward.

"Neku," Joshua returned, "and Beat. …Is there any particular reason you thought it would be a good idea to give me a headache? You're very loud, you know."

Beat wasn't really in the mood for beating around the bush.

Neither was Neku, apparently, because before Beat could get a word in Neku had already started to talk.

"You've been avoiding us. Why?" Neku asked. "You've been busy before. I get that. But it's been months, Joshua."

"Straightforward as ever, Neku," Joshua giggled. "I'm honored that you care so much, really. But there is nothing for you to be concerned about. Don't worry your pretty little heads over it, I'll be returning to my flock soon enough."

"Flock? We ain't sheep, Josh," Beat said, blinking dully at the Composer.

"In any case, is there any other reason you've come to visit my lovely little home?" Joshua asked and gave the two of them his signature smirk. The effect was lost as Joshua's eyes remained dull, not gleaming as they usually did.

"Yeah. We brought you somethin'." Beat ruffled through his backpack and grabbed the Tupperware. He pulled it out and tossed it to Joshua.

"Beat, don't throw it!" Neku scolded as Joshua fumbled with the Tupperware in his hands. He got a good grip on it at the last moment.

"Is this…" Joshua started to say before Neku interrupted him.

"Shio ramen, yeah. Here." Neku walked over to him and handed him the pair of chopsticks.

"Why, thank you, Neku." Joshua took the chopsticks and cracked open the Tubberware, digging in right on the spot.

Beat looked at Neku to see him hold up his hands, counting down on his fingers.

Three.

Two.

One.

"Mmhh… I'm in paradise…" Joshua almost purred into his ramen, taking a few seconds to inhale before digging right back in.

"So, Josh, why you been holed up in here again?" Beat asked, scratching his back lightly.

"I told you, there's absolutely nothing for you to worry about," Joshua replied easily, leaning against the wall of the tunnel.

"Yeah, well, you ain't goin' back in there. You're comin' back with us, man," Beat said and wrapped an arm around Joshua's shoulder.

"Of course I am…" Joshua sighed. "Honestly, if you really wanted me to return to the group, you could have just asked."

"Cut the bullshit, Josh," Neku said, giving Joshua a disappointed stare. "You haven't been returning anyone's calls or texts. We haven't seen you around in two months, you look like you just went a round with a tornado or something, and now you think that we'll be happy with a 'there's nothing to worry about?'"

"Well, yes," Joshua said, shifting his weight between his feet.

Beat stared down at Joshua, trying to think of what could possibly be wrong with the guy. "You ain't gonna tell us, are you," he muttered.

"No," Joshua replied. "It honestly has nothing to do with you. There is nothing wrong with Shibuya, if you must know. There's no apocalypse coming, no horsemen riding over the ridge."

"No Orochi runnin' around?" Beat offered, closing his eyes for a second before forcing them open again.

Both Neku and Joshua shot Beat a surprised look at that.

"What?" Beat asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious. "I like myths… the old gods were badass…"

"You have a test soon, don't you?" Neku asked, although it felt like more of a statement than a question.

"Well, yeah…" Beat muttered, scratching at the back of his shoulder blades again. "But that ain't the only reason. Mythology's cool, yo."

"Interesting, Beat. We just might send you off to college after all," Joshua teased, looking a little bit livelier now that he had some Shio ramen in his stomach.

Beat snorted at that. "Yeah, right. I gotta pass my classes for tha' ta happen." He kicked a stray piece of concrete.

"Well, I offered to help you," Neku said as he started walking back to the main districts of Shibuya.

Beat—with his arm still secured around Joshua's shoulders—followed Neku, almost dragging Joshua behind him.

"I can walk," Joshua protested. "There's no need to cart me around like this. I promise that I won't go back to Shibuya River for a while."

Beat ignored him. "There ain't no point in tryin', yo." He let go of Joshua and sighed. "I jus' ain't smart enough for college. I can't write well, readin's borin', math's dumb, and science is jus' plain stupid. 'Sides, what'd I do with a mythology major?"

"Plenty of things," Neku replied, and got out his phone to text Shiki the success of their mission.

"Like…?" Beat asked.

"Psychology is an option," Joshua offered. Neku and Beat both gave Joshua confused looks at that, so Joshua elaborated—in his own way, of course.

"The youths of today and their ignorance… Tsk, tsk. Anyway, myths have a psychological value. They represent different elements of other people's psyches or souls. Some theorists believe that humans need myths to lead a normal, functional existence."

"Yo… I can't see me doin' somethin' like that… I ain't no shrink," Beat said.

"Well, it was a thought." Joshua shrugged.

"Why'd you bring up psychology? I'm having trouble imagining Beat sitting someone down and asking how they're feeling." Neku looked up from his cellphone to give Joshua a raised eyebrow.

"No reason," Joshua replied smoothly and fiddled with his hair. "Ugh, I feel disgusting. Beat, let us travel to your abode. I need to use your shower."

"'Aight."

Around a half an hour later, the three boys arrived at the Bito residence. Rhyme, who was sitting on the couch reading a book, looked up at them.

"Joshua… are you okay?" Rhyme asked, immediately noticing his rather scruffy appearance.

"I will be after I get out of the shower," Joshua grumbled and started for the bathroom.

"Just don't use Mom's shampoo again!" Rhyme called after him. "She's almost out, use mine!"

"…The hell?" Neku looked between the Bito siblings curiously.

Rhyme gave Neku a steady look. "He does this a lot."

Neku looked at Beat. "And you don't have a comment?"

"Used to it, yo. I hate to say it, but it's true," Beat scratched his back again. "I'm takin' a shower too after Joshua gets out. Probably 'bout time I do that."

Beat had been scratching his back a lot lately—particularly his shoulder blades. He wasn't really sure what was going on. Maybe he had allergies…

'Naw, I don't have anything I'm allergic to… maybe…'

Shrugging it off, Beat flicked on the TV, turning on the subtitles and lowering the volume so that Rhyme would still be able to read comfortably. Neku plopped down next to him and they both relaxed in front of a rerun of Takeshi's Castle.

"So, the point of this show is to throw people into an obstacle course and watch them fall over?" Neku looked at Beat, who just grinned widely.

"It's hilarious." Beat nudged Neku in the shoulder with his elbow, earning him an amused look in return.

"Yeah… I kind of like it, I guess. Why didn't I know about this show before?" Neku asked and turned to look back at the television.

"It ended in 1989," Rhyme piped up from her book, having glanced up to discern what the boys were watching. "Well, they did a special revival thing in 2005, but I still haven't seen the show in ages. I don't watch TV that much."

Neku just shrugged and continued watching the show with Beat. After around twenty minutes, the two of them were chuckling—or laughing in Beat's case—as one of the contenders rolled a two on a giant dice. The man's face turned from anticipation to shock, and then he trotted over to a large box sunken into the platform he was standing on.

Neku started chuckling when the man hopped into the box and the lid was put on. The lid had a nice little hole in the top that the man's head was sticking out of. He and Beat laughed even harder when a different man walked over and threw a pie in his face.

"Are you all merrymaking without me?"

Neku and Beat both turned to see Joshua entering the room, in the process of buttoning up his shirt. Rhyme also looked up and upon seeing his exposed and damp chest, rolled her eyes—while she slowly started blushing pink—and looked back to her book.

Joshua just giggled and sat down between Beat and Rhyme, making himself comfortable.

"It's called Takeshi's Castle," Beat said, and explained that it was an old game show.

"I see… and the point of it is humiliation?" Joshua inquired, turning to the television with a raised eyebrow.

"Pretty much," Neku replied. "You sure took your time in there; I was starting to think you'd somehow found a way to drown in the shower."

Beat let out a chuckle that morphed into a yawn.

"I'm not sure if I should be touched that you care, insulted that you think I would drown in a shower, or exasperated by your inability to recall that I am not alive." Joshua fiddled with his hair, running his fingers through it to get a few more of the tangles out.

At that moment, Rhyme leaned over and put two fingers against the side of Joshua's neck.

"Rhyme… what are you doing?" Joshua asked slowly and turned to look at her.

"You have a pulse right now, even though it seems to be a little slow," Rhyme said. "That means that you are, at this point, technically alive. If you weren't you wouldn't have a pulse. You wouldn't be breathing or have any brain activity, either."

At that, Joshua let out something that was some strange kind of mix between a giggle and a laugh. Neku raised his eyebrows at Rhyme and started to speak at the same time as Joshua.

"When did you become a smartass?"

"Nice try, but you're still wrong."

"How?" Rhyme asked, moving her hand away and cocking her head to the side.

"I died, dear. Somewhere, my real body has already rotted away into the soil, becoming one with the earth. I'm sure my bones are still around, but not much else. What you are seeing right now is only a manifestation of how I used to look while I was alive," Joshua explained.

"I see…" Rhyme replied, and Beat didn't doubt that she knew exactly what he had said. Unfortunately, Beat was going to take his shower now. Maybe some soap or something would make his back stop itching!

"Well, I gonna take my shower now," Beat announced as he sat up, "be back in a minute."

Scratching his back roughly, Beat left the room and walked to the single bathroom. The floor was still wet from Joshua's shower and there was a damp towel sitting on the toilet seat.

Beat closed the door behind him and shrugged off his clothes, noting that the mirror in front of him was still rather fogged up. Pulling back the shower curtain, Beat turned on the water. He looked up, hearing Joshua agree to go with Neku to meet up with Shiki and Eri in a few minutes.

"Hey, Beat, you wanna come with Josh and me to see Eri and Shiki when you're out…?" Neku asked through the door.

Beat opened his mouth to say that he would, but before he could say anything a strong wave of nausea and exhaustion swept through his body. Beat's head was swimming and he almost fell into the shower. His back felt like it was burning!

"Naw, man… I'm not feelin' it right now," Beat replied, holding his head. "I'm gonna catch some sleep or somethin'…"

"All right…" Neku answered and Beat heard him walk away. Turning his head to look at the door, Beat couldn't help but see a large patch of black on his upper back from the mirror's reflection.

Beat froze and slowly looked at the mirror, frowning deeply when he couldn't see anything clearly due to the fog. Beat hopped up and sat on the countertop between the sink and the wall and wiped some of the haze off.

Turning again, Beat stared in horror. His upper back was completely covered in black marks, particularly near the shoulder blades.

"What the hell…?" Beat muttered and twisted his head to the other side to get a different angle. Still the same. The marks were right where… where…

Where his Reaper wings used to be.

"What the hell?!" Beat said, louder and jumped off the countertop. He practically threw himself into the shower in an attempt to wash himself off, wash the marks off, wash everything off!

And so he scrubbed, he had to struggle to get a good angle to reach it, but when he did Beat went crazy. Maybe he was going crazy?

"Beat…? Are you okay?" Rhyme's voice drifted out from behind the door. Her voice was fraught with concern.

Beat froze and let the soap fall from his hand, being brought back from his craze by the sound of her voice.

"Beat?" Rhyme asked again, knocking on the door lightly.

"I'm fine, yo," Beat replied, using a lot of his willpower to not sound completely freaked out. This wasn't supposed to be happening.

"Are you sure…? I heard you yell," Rhyme said.

"A' course, sis," Beat answered and got out of the shower, wrapping an unused towel around himself.

Beat heard Rhyme walk away, back to the living room to wait for Beat to get dressed. Beat dried himself off quickly and proceeded to put on his clothes from earlier, exiting the bathroom to greet his worried sister.

After placating her fears that something had happened, Beat decided that he needed to tell Joshua about the marks on his back. He was certain that Joshua would know about what had happened to him. He was the Composer, after all; it was his job to know things.

The panic had begun to set in again, and Beat practically flew out the door in the direction of Shiki's house. He had gotten to the end of his street when his cell phone went off. Without slowing his pace, Beat pulled out his cellphone and answered it.

"Sup?" Beat asked, not even bothering to look at the caller ID.

"Beat, you do know where Joshua and Neku went, right?" Rhyme sighed into her cellphone and Beat stopped running.

"They went to see Shiki and Eri," Beat replied, looking up at the stoplights.

"Shiki and Eri are hanging out around Molco." Rhyme said. "Something new was added to the exhibition space, so they wanted to go see it."

"Cool, I'm headin' that way anyways." Beat started running across the street. He always ran when he had to cross a street: he didn't feel comfortable walking. "See ya, Rhyme."

"Bye," Rhyme replied before hanging up.

Beat ran all the way to Molco, stopping right before the last stoplight. Peering across the street, Beat was sure that he could see Joshua and Neku talking to Shiki and Eri.

'No, that's definitely Phones.' Beat thought as he saw spiky orange hair and a shirt with a large collar. Noticing that the sign across the street telling him to walk, Beat dashed across the street.

"YO! Guys!" Beat hollered as he made his way over to them. He saw Neku and Eri turn, Eri's smile quickly turning to a look of…horror?

"Beat!" Neku shouted. "Look out!"

And then Beat realized, with dawning horror, what was happening.

The car hit Beat like a ton of bricks, sending him flying through the air like a rag doll. The sky was coming at him. He could hear screams from Shiki and Eri, shouting from Neku… other people he didn't know were screaming too.

Then the ground rushed up to meet him.

Suddenly, Beat was awake. He looked around to see that he was completely alone in this room; this white room.

"Wha—where… where am I…" Beat muttered to himself and looked around the room, trying to discern the answer to his question on his own. Everything was spotless. The tiled floor, the walls, the ceiling, the bed…

'Wait… bed…?' Beat thought blearily as he tried to get up, only to find that he couldn't. He was stuck in this bed.

"I'm glad to see that you're awake, little one…"

"Who the… where are you? Where am I?!" Beat called, ignoring the pet name in favor of answers.

Suddenly, the memory of before came rushing back: the car, going flying, everybody screaming… Beat's blood ran cold as he remembered the last time he had been in a place that was completely white.

"I—I'm not dead am I?! I can't be… No, I ain't doing this again!" Beat shouted.

"Don't worry, little one, you aren't dead, not by a long shot. You're in the hospital, recovering."

"Who are you..? What… are you an angel or something'?" Beat asked, relieved that he wasn't dead. It didn't occur to him that this mysterious voice might be lying; Beat was content to trust what it was saying.

All he heard was a soft chuckle.

Then, a strange sort of fog started to come over Beat's mind. It was like everything had gone blurry, and he found that it was getting hard to think. Everything started to feel fuzzy, and he had to blink rapidly to keep himself focused on the ceiling above him.

But even Beat's strength couldn't help him in his war against the invisible force that was causing him to feel like this. Because, all at once, Beat's eyes closed and didn't reopen.

Beat's eyes slowly blinked open and he found himself staring at his sister, mother, and father. They were all sleeping peacefully and Beat couldn't help but wonder what they were all doing in his room. He opened his mouth in a yawn, only to realize that there was a tube going into his nose. The air he was breathing in tasted a little sweet to him.

As he looked around, he noticed that his left arm, both of his legs, and his neck had casts on them. There were a few wires that were hooked up to his body and Beat could hear a steady beeping from the right. There was also an IV drip that was nestled into his arm.

With the realization that he wasn't in his room—he was in the hospital!—Beat tried to sit up to get a better look at himself. However, a blistering pain shot up his spine like a lightning bolt and Beat let out a rather unmanly yelp of pain.

His mother stirred. Opening her eyes, she took in the state of her son's awareness and was instantly on her feet.

"Gorou! Daisukenojo's awake!" Beat's mother shook her husband awake and the two of them rushed over to him. Beat had opened his mouth to tell them both not to call him that, but he had stopped when he had seen their faces.

"Daisukenojo, how are you feeling?" Beat's father asked softly and stared down at him in worry. "Kamiko, get the nurse and tell him that Daisukenojo's woken up."

Rhyme, having slept soundly thus far, finally stirred and opened her eyes. Upon seeing that Beat was awake, she rushed over as their mother left the room. "Bro, how are you feeling?" she asked.

"I feel fine, yo." Beat lied, giving both his sister and his father a smile. "Where's Phones… and Shiki 'n Eri… and… Josh?"

"They aren't family, so they weren't allowed in here," Beat's father answered. "You can see them later, you need to rest up."

"Aw, come on. I feel fine, Dad!" Beat objected. "They gotta be worried…"

The door opened. "I'm sorry, but you do need to rest," said a man in a white lab coat as he entered the room with Beat's mother. "No visitors until you're recovered a little more; only your family is allowed to see you right now."

Beat grunted and closed his eyes.

The nurse proceeded to give Beat a checkup before leaving. He also changed the medication in the IV bag, but Beat didn't understand why or what he had changed it to.

"The doctor said that you're really lucky, Beat," Rhyme said and gave him a relieved smile. "If you hadn't been in that exact place, then you wouldn't have… have…" She couldn't say it.

"Well, Daisukenojo's going to be all right. You heard what the doctor said… it's going to be one hell of a hospital bill, but as long as he pulls through, it'll be worth it," Beat's mother said and wrapped an arm around Rhyme, holding her.

Soon (but not soon enough, in Beat's opinion), Beat was out of the hospital and back on the streets of Shibuya. He still had a cast on his arm, but his legs were functioning well enough. He wasn't allowed to ride his skateboard for a few months, but that was all right.

Looking down at the cast, Beat couldn't help but chuckle. He'd told all of his friends that they could go crazy when they signed his cast, and they definitely had.

There were a few doodles from Neku, a "get better soon, bro" from Rhyme (as well as a few happy faces and the like), a variety of "hope you get well soon's" from both Shiki and Eri, and a long poem from Joshua, who rhapsodized about how beautiful it was to be healthy. Beat had a suspicion that Joshua was just trying to outdo everyone else (because when wasn't he?).

One would think that he'd be bored, having nothing to do but wander the streets. Everyone—including Joshua this time—was busy again.

"Now, Beat, what have I taught you…?" the voice whispered in his head.

"Demons gots mostly two weaknesses, holy water an' iron, but they don't like salt much neither." Beat recited, sitting cross-legged against the wall of the Wild Boar store in the Udagawa Back Streets.

"Good. Anything else?"

"Crosses." Beat added. "An' basically anything holy."

"Yes. Now, how do you identify a demonic possession?" the voice purred. Beat was filled with satisfaction. Finally, there was something that he could do right!

"Well, you gots to say the name a' God, which'll make 'em flinch. If you throw holy water on them, it burn's 'em and you can see steam come off of 'em. Also, if they get real mad, their eyes change to black. But, as long as you got a Prayer on hand, you can exorcise them and send 'em right back t' hell."

"Correct. And how much of the Exorcism have you memorized?" The voice asked.

To be honest, Beat hadn't been able to memorize any of it. He had trouble with this kind of stuff. It might be different if the language itself was in his native Japanese, but how the hell was he supposed to memorize something in Latin?!

Beat did want to please this voice, really, he did. The voice had been speaking to him ever since that accident a few weeks ago. He wasn't really sure who the voice was, but it said that it knew who he was and was helping him.

Incidentally, he'd been getting a lot more sleep lately as well. He wasn't so tired any more.

His back was still irritated, but the marks were gone, much to Beat's confusion. He'd tried to show Joshua the marks, but all he'd gotten was a raised eyebrow and a dismissal when they weren't there. Maybe he had been going crazy…

"Why am I learnin' all this anyway? It's not like there's a Demon in Shibuya. The Composer'd have taken care 'a it already if there was." Beat muttered.

"The Composer cannot always hear Demons. As I told you, Demons do not have Souls, so He hears them as white noise. Or, if that Demon is particularly powerful, He doesn't hear it at all unless He is close in proximity to it," the voice replied, sounding slightly irritated. "You haven't memorized any of it, have you?"

"That don't answer why you wanted to teach me this…" Beat said, cocking his head slightly. He'd liked learning all about this, it was real interesting, and now if any Demon was there, he'd kick its ass.

"There's a Demon in a nearby district, but I'm going to need you to promise me that you'll give me your assistance with it. I'll take a few days to find and—"

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! I ain't leavin' Shibuya! Mom 'n Dad'll get so pissed if I do! I can't leave!" Beat shouted, shocked by the proposal.

For a few seconds, there was nothing but silence. Then, the voice spoke up in an oddly chilling tone.

"I gave you all of this information for a reason, you know. You owe me."

"You never told me that I'd have to travel for days to go kill somethin' for you!" Beat shouted back. He didn't like where this was going, not at all.

No response. Beat sighed and looked up when he heard the sound of a bell tinkling.

"Hey, bro! There you are. I've been looking for you. You haven't been answering your phone." Rhyme smiled widely in relief at finding him. Beat just shrugged and hopped to his feet. He hadn't been aware that his cellphone had been ringing, but then again, he'd been a little distracted.

"Sorry, sis—" Beat was cut off as he noticed a large form behind that of his sister's. It looked more like a silhouette than anything else, but Beat could clearly see the large crab-like claws that hovered at his sister's neck.

"I'm sorry that I have to do this… but you leave me no choice. You will come with me, or I will kill your sister. It's as simple as that."

Beat's eyes went wide as the message echoed through his head.

No…

"Oh, don't bother telling your Composer about me. Before you could even dial the first digit on that cellphone of yours to contact Him—which you couldn't, I've already turned you into a cellphone dead zone—I'll have killed all of your friends… and your family.

"I've been following you, Daisukenojo. I know all about Neku, Shiki, and Eri. And your parents. You should have seen them when they had been called about your accident. You're lovely mother almost died from worry. It was delightful to watch. Now, what will it be? Are you going to be a smart boy and come with me, or be a stupid one and watch all of your friends die, knowing it will be all your fault!"

Beat just stared in horror. No, he couldn't let this happen to his family, to his friends. He wouldn't. They'd all been through too much already to have to deal with his mess-ups. He should have told Joshua about the voice, no… about the Demon.

Because Beat was sure that that's what it was. A Demon.

"Hey, Beat… are you okay?" Rhyme asked, cocking her head to the side in the way she always did when she was confused. Beat saw that the nape of her neck was dangerously close to the claw, its jagged edge almost brushing against her.

Beat knew that Demons could affect things in the Realground, much like the Composer could.

"Fine, Rhyme… I jus' realized that I need to do somethin' important. Would you mind tellin' our folks that I'm gonna be busy for a while?" Beat asked, keeping his rising panic from showing. He wasn't very good at it, since he saw Rhyme about to open her mouth, but then close it.

"All right, bro. I trust you." Rhyme gave Beat a smile and then turned, walking away. Beat tried not to wince at her words as the Demon moved around Rhyme, turning to look at Beat.

"Good boy. I knew that you'd pick the smart decision. Now, let's go," the Demon purred and brushed past Beat, disappearing from his view.

And so, Beat went.

'Damnit!' Beat thought to himself as he walked through the streets near the AMX, 'What the hell can I do to get outta this?! I can't… I can't let anyone get killed 'cause a' me. I already got Rhyme killed once… I…

'This is my problem, and I'll deal with it. I can't let anyone else get hurt… I'm tryin'… damnit!'

Eventually, Beat arrived at the West Exit Bus Terminal. Just as he numbly bought the ticket, he turned around to see Joshua directly in front of him, looking at him sternly.

"And where do you think you are going?" Joshua asked evenly.

"Out of Shibuya…" Beat muttered and sat down on the bench, waiting for his bus.

"I can see that," Joshua snapped. "Why?"

Beat, startled by Joshua's sudden short-temper, looked up at him in shock. Joshua was giving him a narrowed-eyed look with his hands crossed over his chest.

"No reason," Beat lied, and felt immediately terrible when he saw that Joshua's eyes narrowed even more. "'Sides, you still got Phones, don'chu?"

"Neku could never replace you, my dear Beat," Joshua sighed and sat down next to him. Beat noticed that his eyes seemed to soften slightly.

"I jus' gotta do somethin', it ain't like I'm not comin' back…" Beat muttered.

…Would he be coming back? That thought had never occurred to Beat, and he knew that he couldn't ask the Demon if he would be. That thing would be staying as far away from Joshua as it could be, but Beat somehow knew that it was still watching him.

"You don't look like you want to leave, though," Joshua observed, "So, what is making you leave? It isn't me, is it?" Joshua couldn't help but tease, giving Beat a slightly playful look under the seriousness.

"Nah, man. It ain't you. It's me," Beat replied.

"It sounds like we're breaking up, dear," Joshua giggled, staring ahead at the road before the two of them.

Beat just stared at the ticket in his hand. a strong gust of wind blew at it and he had to tighten his grip, lest it be pulled out of his hand. He really hoped that he would be allowed to return to his home. If he couldn't see his parents again… his friends… if he could never see Shibuya again…

Without Beat's realizing it, a small salty drop began to form at the corner of his eye: not overflowing, just lingering.

What if he died out there? Immediately, Beat wanted to tell Joshua all about the Demon, but he knew that if he did, the Demon would see, and then someone would have to die.

'Better me than anyone else here…' Beat thought. All of a sudden, Beat thought of Rhyme and remembered something that he had told Neku. Back when they were both in the Game.

("Yo, I could rob a bank, and she'd still be there for me.")

And, Beat knew that Rhyme was there with him, right at that moment. And then he couldn't hold his tears back because he might never be coming home ever again.

"Beat, are you feeling okay—B-Beat?" Joshua asked, sounding honestly concerned and shocked.

Beat just pulled down his beanie and took a deep breath, not wanting his voice to break.

"I'm fine."

"Beat… you do know that you can talk to me… you said that you would catch me if I were ever to fall. I'd like to let you know that I will catch you as well," Joshua said quietly.

That just made Beat's tears flow faster because he knew that there was no way that Joshua could catch him. If he let Joshua catch him, someone would die, and Beat couldn't be that selfish. Beat rubbed his eyes angrily and clenched his ticket tightly in his fist.

"I gots nothin' to say," Beat replied.

"It's obvious that something is wrong… Beat… please…" Joshua almost pleaded, seeing the arrival of the bus that Beat's ticket was for.

Then, something occurred to Beat, an idea. Maybe if he did go out there and get killed, there could be something of him left behind.

So, he took off his beanie and regarded it, then looked back at Joshua.

"Beat…?" Joshua started to ask, but was interrupted as Beat dropped the beanie on his head. Joshua looked up in alarm, only to see Beat's retreating figure walking toward the bus.

"Beat!" Joshua called, getting up and walking quickly after him. Joshua grabbed his arm and dug his heels into the ground. He wasn't about to let one of his friends, his only friends, leave without an explanation.

Beat just looked back at him and gave him one of his signature grins, despite the tears flowing. "I want you to watch my hat while I'm gone, yo. I dunno how long I'll be, but I'm goin' to come back for it, you hear me?"

Joshua stared at Beat for a moment before the startling realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

"No, Daisukenojo! Please!" Joshua was now clinging to Beat's arm, unwilling to let him go, let him leave. What the hell had happened?!

"Hey," Beat said softly, nudging Joshua's shoulder, "Don' call me that. Name's Beat, man. I said I'm goin' to come back for the hat. You jus' gotta wait for me." And, as much as Beat knew this would hurt, he had to say it. "I know we weren't ever partners, but don't you trust me, Joshua?"

"Being or not being partners doesn't mean a thing. You're alive; you aren't in need of partners any more. We're friends, Beat. Are you honestly just going to leave?" Joshua asked, desperately trying to keep Beat from leaving.

"I got to, man. Sorry…"

And with that, Beat jerked himself free of Joshua and gave the bus driver his ticket, ignoring all the weird stares that he was getting from people, the way they seemed to be shying away from him. Nobody liked to be next to a crying man.

"At least promise me you'll call…?" Joshua ran after him in a last attempt to stay in some kind of contact.

Beat turned one last time before he got on the bus, shaking his head. The doors of the bus closed and the bus started its journey, taking Beat out of Shibuya.

Joshua was left alone on the side of the road, holding Beat's beanie tightly in his hands… Silently, Joshua put the beanie on his head.