Neku's headphones are red, now, Joshua notices. They clash with his outfit, and he wonders if he's wearing them on purpose, or if it's a subconscious thing.

(Or maybe it's Joshua's fault, sometimes he can't help how he changes things and it makes him hate himself to think that but what if--)

Joshua comments on it, How fitting, for the new Conductor, but Neku just looks at him oddly and he doesn't get it in his thoughts either.

(Joshua hates himself for checking, he should trust Neku more, but it's just habit now and--)

It's such a small thing. But something about it makes Joshua want to hurt him, to cast him out from the seat of Conductor, it's not his right to wear those.

It's stupid, and childish, and he is anything but a child.

Even knowing that doesn't make the feeling go away.

xxx

Uzuki gets promoted, and Kariya follows. He refuses to get promoted before her, even though he is always, always eligible first. When she gets promoted, within a day he is as well, and they're partners in crime again.

It make her mad, it makes her want to shake him by the shoulders and scream at him, he should be trying to go as high as he can as fast as he can so they can fix this system faster, faster, faster. But he won't leave her behind. We're partners, he says, oh that is such bullshit. Come on, don't tell me you couldn't handle work without me, Uzuki tells him. Details, and is that all he can ever say?

It pisses her off, more than anything, and one day she realizes why. It's not just the system getting fixed faster.

(it's that, she just, she just wants him to do well.)

And he won't leave her behind.

It occurs to her what that might mean. She doesn't like it, much. They're holding each other back, and for what?

Uzuki's pretty emotional, always has been, but never in that way. And dammit, she will not start now, not with so much work to do.

But later, when she's at the top…

xxx

Kariya, well—He's always known, or at least he has for a long time. But Uzuki can be blinded by her ambitions, and he knows that. He'll wait for her to figure it out. He likes to just go with the flow, and Uzuki is like a city street in a flood.

In any case, Kariya, he's a hell of a lot more patient than Uzuki.

xxx

Shiki and Eri become famous, as a team. Eri and Shiki, rather, that's how it always is. Designer and seamstress. Shiki doesn't mind, not really. She's learned her lesson. And she designs things, too, they both do the designs for their own line.

The stupidest thing of all is, Eri dies. Falls of the roof of the building they do their work in.

Shiki sits in their workroom--

(it feels so empty without Eri there)

--and refuses to cry. Eri will come back.

She doesn't.

xxx

Eri will never be as good as Shiki, she knows, her sewing just isn't up to par, all she can do is design, and nothing will ever change that.

It hurts, god it hurts, and it used to be fine but after so long she just can't stand it.

She takes a step forward, and—

xxx

Neku and Beat and Rhyme, they try to comfort her, but Shiki will have none of it. She talks to Neku, late one night, and tells him that really, she's angry. Joshua, he did nothing. He could have, she knows he could have, weren't they supposed to be friends after all that?

He could have saved her, she knows, and he did nothing. Shiki will never forgive him.

Neku, he wants to give her a good reason for why he didn't, and try as he might, the reason, it just won't come.

xxx

The reason is this:

Joshua understands Eri, maybe not better than anyone, but pretty damn well, and he won't go against her choice. If she found nothing worth staying the RG for, well, Joshua knows what that's like. He won't deny her that choice. The building thing, well, he liked to pride himself in being more imaginative than that, but, hey, he did turn out to be the Composer. It's not surprising she has less Imagination that him.

And the thing is, she won the game. She's a reaper now.

xxx

Neku confronts him, because what else can he do? Shiki is hurting, and hurting bad, and he'll admit it, Neku is fucking pissed.

Joshua just smirks, Oh, Neku, and it takes all his self-control not to punch the smug bastard right then.

Joshua can see it, the rage, it leaks through Neku's vibes, and for once he decides perhaps a straight answer is best. Semi-straight, at least.

It was her choice, Neku. I think it would be ill advised to tell Shiki that, but it's the truth. And the girl is a reaper now, which I think Shiki would also rather not know. You see the problem?

Neku was still pissed, but what, what in the world could he do?

xxx

Shiki did get over it, eventually. She couldn't sew or design anymore, it hurt too much, and she started writing magazine columns on fashion instead.

xxx

Rhyme found new dreams, and Beat found some as well, and who knew he really could become such a great skater. He left Shibuya, eventually, and Rhyme went with him. Neku and Shiki, they missed them, and they never lost touch, but they did grow apart, in all those years.

xxx

And life, as it tends to do, went on. And all of them, they died, eventually. That's just how the world works.

Shiki played the game, and won, and chose reincarnation, because she thought maybe she could find Eri again. Joshua and Neku would have intervened, had they known the reason, but they did not.

Neku could not play the game, not again, but Joshua took into account his performance in his previous three (two) games, and asked him to be the new Conductor.

Neku agreed.

xxx

Minamimoto, he's got so many back up plans it just really, really isn't funny. Having a Fallen Angel helping you does help, a bit.

He still wants to be Composer, more than anything.

xxx

Mr. Hanekoma is about the same. It's all in a day's work, for him.

xxx

Neku, he likes being Conductor pretty well.

The red headphones, he figures out why they both Joshua so much, after a while. It occurs to him, out of the blue, as so many epiphanies have a tendency to do. He understands what it's like, losing someone you care about, and he goes back to blue. Joshua notices, and it's like a burden being lifted from his shoulders. Kitaniji, he's gone now, finally. He's stopped lurking from the shadows, and Joshua, maybe he still feels guilty, but it's nothing he can't handle.

xxx

And that, pretty much, is that.