I'm so excited to finally be able to publish this! I've been working on it for a little less than a year and a half, so I'm very excited to have finished it! This was originally written for the twewy bang on tumblr last year, and was finished for the one this year.

TW: Semi-graphic description of torture (able to be skipped though, just skip to the first UwU)

"58...59...60. Alright Azrael, that's enough"

Joshua glanced up at the female angel standing over him with the blood soaked whip. A small grin appeared on his torturer's face.

The glowing form of the interrogating angel seemed to lower himself onto one knee to speak to the crouching composer. "Alright Shibuya, why don't you actually tell us what happened. We already know what has occurred, but as you continue to lie, it shall not become any easier for you."

Joshua grinned up at the faceless glowing figure, his eyes betraying his lack of strength from the torture. "He he, but of course! I attempted to destroy the city I am spirit-bound to protect. Oopsies!" He giggled a tiny bit, and attempted to stand but only stumbled back to his knees. As his hands hit the ground, his blood left an oozing handprint.

The glowing figure rose up to its full height- taller than any human on earth. "I have made my judgment." Azrael walked to the fallen composer and roughly pulled him to his feet. Joshua stumbled, but retained his balance. The composer tried to hold himself defiantly, but his pained posture revealed his true pain.

"Expose your wings."

Joshua gave a dark chuckle. His skin then faintly glowed as a pair of large magnificently feathered wings extended from beneath his shredded shirt.

"I, the Angel Uriel, Angel of Earth and its planes, Judge you, Composer Yoshiya Kiryu of Shibuya. You, Composer, have been selected for Ascension. You will be given three days to prepare a successor to rise up before you shall ascend. The Higher Planes look forward to you joining our ranks" The Angel then seemed to extend a hand, causing Joshua's wounds to quickly mend themselves. Uriel glowed even brighter before disappearing. Azrael stepped forward.

"I'm going to be watching you Shibuya. And soon, all of that attitude of yours will be nothing but an almost forgotten memory. And I'll be waiting there. Waiting for you to come here." The Angel of Death grabbed the wrist of the all-but-shaking composer. "And you will receive from me what you have always deserved." And with that, she extended her own silver-tinged wings and shimmered into a higher plane.

And with that, the composer's lonely plane began to splinter. Joshua adjusted his frequency to his UG just as the plane collapsed.

UwU

Neku Sakuraba, for the first time in his life, wasn't lonely. He actually had friends for once, and he tried to hang out with them at every possible opportunity. His parents were actually around. He even had a small job, making some art for a small exhibition that would open in the next couple weeks.

But, even with all of that, Neku was unhappy. He still had no idea how to proceed with his life after the game. And he couldn't just forget about it, especially when he could still see it. Walking down the street the first day back on the RG had been extremely traumatizing, to be able to watch people running all over being attacked by the noise and being powerless to assist them.

So, to escape the game and the noise and the people, Neku went to the quietest place he knew. Udagawa. Players seemed to be banned from the area, and all of the smart reapers kept away as well. But all the reapers avoided Neku anyways. He guessed that they all still saw him as a threat, or were simply still afraid. Or Joshua told them to keep their distance.

Joshua. Neku closed his eyes as his thoughts turned to the silver-hair composer. Even though Joshua was an insane, trigger-happy, near-omnipotent jerkass, he was still a friend and Neku still sorely missed him.

"Still thinking of me dear? I thought you would have gotten over your crush on me after you figured out that I shot you. Twice."

Neku opened his eyes and quickly spun around, turning towards the voice. And there he stood with his douchey glory. Joshua Kiryu.

"I do understand though. I am very difficult to get over. Nobody ever has and.." He didn't get to finish his ramble before Neku walked up and slapped him across the face. But before Neku could utter a single angered word, he was flying across the alleyway and hitting the ground.

When Neku looked back up at Joshua, the composer's eyes glowed white- a paradoxically peaceful white, much like one would imagine heaven. But just as quickly, the glowing was gone and Joshua was standing over Neku with that smirk.

"What's wrong dear? You look as though you you've seen a ghost?"

Neku roughly pulled himself to his feet and angrily shoved past Joshua. Neku started mumbling under his breath.

"Fucking composer...constantly ruining my life...not today you ass."

Joshua started following behind the angsting teenager. "It's ok dear, I know that you still love me. And my ass."

Neku stopped in his tracks, his anger having reached its peak.

"Why are you even here! I all but beg you to show up, and when I'm finally prepared to BEGIN to move on, you finally show up. Right about when I was wondering if I was SANE or not. And I am REALLY not in the mood to have to storm out of here and see innocent players be erased by the same soulless reapers that tormented me for WEEKS. So I apologize for not acting very WELCOMING towards you."

Joshua was stunned. Neku was still seeing the UG? But how could that be? For that to happen, Neku had to have to be able to shift planes. But for that to happen...

Joshua chuckled. "Ah Sanae, you lovely bastard."

Neku turned around so fast he almost had whiplash, "What? What are you talking about?"

"I think," Joshua quickly grabbed his proxy's arm, "We need to pay my producer a visit."

What Neku felt next was familiar in an impossible way. There was a blinding light and a sharp jerk of all his muscles, followed by a feeling of nothingness. All occurring in the blink of an eye before appearing just outside the front door of Wildkat.

Joshua gave me a sly smirk. "The fact that you aren't dead again right now proves my point quite nicely."

Neku glared, shivering from the shock. "What do you mean dead again? What did you just do to me?"

Joshua shrugged, "I just quickly transported you through a higher plane, which should have killed you. But it didn't, so you can calm down "

Neku's jaw dropped "You would have killed me again, JUST to test a theory of yours?"

The composer rolled his eyes "Yes but I didn't kill you, now did I?" He pushed open the door. "Now please stop making a fuss and follow me."

The boys entered the coffee shop that appeared eerily empty. "Mr. H?" Neku called out.

That's when Joshua froze, staring straight ahead. Then he donned a lazy grin. "Hello again Azrael. Long time no see."

Neku raised his eyebrows in confusion before a girl started shimmering into appearance. She had light colored hair- somewhere between blonde and white- and tanned skin. She had on a short, tight, dress that was white but started fading into gray and black. And on her back was a huge set of white-and-silver feathered wings.

"So Yoshiya, you came to see me!" She had on a huge grin that could only be seen as sinister.

Joshua rolled his eyes, "No, I came to consult with my Producer. But you obviously have done something with him. So if you would be so kind to tell me where he is, everything can remain nice and pleasant."

Azrael threw back her head and laughed. "Oh, that would have been so much funnier if you had been in any way threatening. But I know you're low on power and authority, and I know that I'm much stronger than you. Even if you were strong, you wouldn't take down your new producer."

"What. Have. You. Done. To. Hanekoma?" Joshua growled out. Neku could swear he could almost see the composer's wings angrily flaring out from his back.

Azrael tossed her hair over her shoulder, "I haven't done anything! Shibuya's old producer has been called to the Higher Planes for his trial. No matter the verdict, he shall not return until after you have ascended. Until then, I am the reigning producer of Shibuya."

She took a step forward and turned towards Neku. "And you must be the ever-famous Neku Sakuraba. I feel so very honored to finally meet the one who saved the power beacon of the east. And even more honored that I get to tell you that the Higher Planes chose you to be the new Composer."

Neku was shocked. New Composer? What was happening to the old one? What did she mean by Joshua's "ascension"?

Joshua though, was livid. "I AM STILL COMPOSER. I STILL HAVE POWER OVER THIS DISTRICT. AND I WILL CHOOSE MY SUCCESSOR ON MY OWN TERMS."

Azrael turned towards Joshua, the smile on her face among the most sinister Neku had ever seen in his life. "But you see it and choose to ignore it! Your little proxy here has been appointed Conductor, and you don't even notice! Yoshiya, your powers arefailing!"

She snapped her fingers, and Neku felt a shiver go through him. All his senses felt hyper-aware, and he felt suddenly aware of a new set of appendages coming from his back. Almost afraid to see what lurked there, Neku turned his head. And one of his biggest fears turned into reality. Attached to his back was a pair of the black gate-like wings of the reapers. They were small in comparison to his body, but they were sharp and intricate- more so that the other reaper wings he remembered seeing.

Neku didn't know how to respond. He didn't know ifhe could respond. But Joshua definitely did.

"What did you do to my proxy?" Joshua spoke very softly, the anger in his voice barely registering. Neku was startled by the lack of emotion and even though she laughed, the female angel seemed thrown off.

"I did nothing! I only removed the glamour placed on him by your precious fallen angel. He became conductor all by himself. He did erase his predecessor, and was brought back to life by the composer. That sounds like ascension to conductor to me, and it probably did to the rules of the higher planes."

Azrael pulled her phone out of her pocket. It was a pink phone with a cute chibi keychain dangling off of it. Neku almost gagged at the pure girliness of the phone, especially in contrast to the menacing nature of the grey-winged angel.

The new producer grinned as she read a message on her phone. "Well kiddies, it looks like I'm needed in the higher planes. Remember to be good, use protection, and tell your conductor here about what's going on before I accidentally tell him myself." She gave a mocking grin and a wave before shimmering away.

Neku turned to Joshua. "What does she mean? What else do you have to explain to me? You know, besides the fact that I'm the FUCKING CONDUCTOR."

Joshua gave a low chuckle. It seemed just like every other chuckle he ever gave, but Neku could hear the darker undertone that wasn't. "Well Nekky dear, I would just love to explain everything to you, but I can't right now. It is fairly late, and I require some beauty sleep. And I know you need it too."

Neku sighed. He REALLY needed the answers right now, but if Joshua was as strangely shaken as Neku thought he was, answers would be very hard to get. Maybe sleep would calm him. "Ok then, meet here tomorrow, as early as possible."

Joshua gave a lazy grin. It wasn't happy by any means, but it wasn't as ominous as before. "Alright dearest, it's a date. Make sure you look good." Neku rolled his eyes. He would have had an angry comeback, but Neku was too worried for the Composer to really care what he said.

UwU

When Neku woke up the next morning, he could tell something wasn't quite right. He could hear a quiet buzzing in his ears. He tried to ignore it, but the more he thought about it, the louder it got. And the louder it got, the more distinct of a sound it was. To drown it out, Neku tossed on his headphones for the first time since the game.

As Neku stalked down the street towards the scramble, he tried to focus on his blaring music. The volume was turned up as high as it could go, and it still sounded just like a whisper underneath the now-rhythmic pounding. It wasn't exactly a bad sound, so much as it was very invasive and only continued to increase.

And as the rhythm hit a peak, Neku hit the ground. He could feel the concrete underneath him, and the pain from a body hitting him. He looked up to see a little girl standing above him, staring.

Neku stood up and brush the dust off himself. The girl was still frozen in a stunned stare. Neku cleared his throat "Um are you ok?"

She shook her head, "No, it's just like...How can you see me?" She was a stylish girl, but fairly normal looking. She had blonde hair with a splash of purple and wore a bright pink-eared hoodie. The rest of her outfit could be described as a brightly colored lolita, with a dark spiked choker around her neck.

"Um..Why wouldn't I see you?" Neku uncomfortably responded, pulling his headphones off.

"Because I'm dead! Or not dead, I guess. But definitely not alive. I mean, I haven't been alive for awhile and aaanyways, how can you see me?" That's when Neku noticed her wings. This girl was a reaper. Shit.

"Uhh…" He had no idea

"Alrighty then... Oh! Sorry, I totally didn't see your wings before! Idk how I didn't see them, I mean, they're so large! You're pretty highly ranked, aren't you? I mean, they moved up a lot of people after the long game, so I'm still getting used to all of the new reapers around here."

Now it was Neku who was fairly stunned. Had his wings just...appeared? He could hide them? Had he just switched planes or something?

"I, um, I gotta go" Neku dashed off, not looking back. Not even noticing that the buzzing had stopped the moment that he had talked to that female reaper.

When Neku arrived at Hachiko, he noticed that the area was empty. Where was everyone?

That's when Joshua stumbled in from the Bus Terminal.

It wasn't like there was anything physically wrong with him, but to Neku, the composer didn't seem to have the energy that was always associated with him. He seemed so much older than he appeared.

But that didn't stop Joshua acting as he always did. "Nekky! I was starting to worry you'd stood me up, but it seems you're a very reliable date. Good to know for the future."

Neku rolled his eyes "Cut the shit. Tell me what's going on. What was that girl talking about yesterday? How am I suddenly a reaper, let alone the Conductor? And what was she mean, saying you'd be ascending?"

The silver-haired composer sighed. "I guess I have to tell the entire story. It all started after your game finished. We started a new game, inducting new reapers to replace the ones we lost. That's when an angel came to visit. Azrael, the one you saw before, was that angel. She said that the higher planes were very upset with me for the Long Game, and that I played with the destruction of such an essential section of their planes. So the Higher Planes put me on trial for my actions."

Neku was surprised. He thought that the composer had all the power, and that he was allowed to do what he chooses with the district.

"During my trial, I was whipped and tortured to get my complete confession of what I had done. But ultimately, I only confessed to attempting to destroy the district. Nothing else. Even still, I was given three days until i'm forced to ascend, and someone new will take over as composer. But I need to pass on my power to someone, or the district will be in chaos during the power struggle. That's what Azrael is hoping for. She's the angel of death, so the chaos will add to her power. I have no idea what she wants that power for, but she's entirely prepared to meddle to gain it. That's why I'm planning on passing my power over to you."

"Wait what? You're asking ME to become COMPOSER just because of a side-effect of you putting me through HELL? Do you expect me to just give up the life that I've just rebuilt for myself? You expect me to be OKAY WITH THIS?"

Joshua sighed impatiently. "No Neku, I didn't expect you to be okay with this. But I expected you to understand that I have no other choice. I have six more days, and I have to give my power to somebody. My options were you or her. And she would rip this district apart, leaving it wild and stripped of its power. I know what she has done. She ascended because she was a problematic composer with too much ambition for power and potential, just like what they think I am. The Higher Planes couldn't afford to destroy her, but she was extremely violent. All the art of her district became violent and dangerous, and the people there hurt and killed each other. Some of her reapers led a rebellion against her, but she erased them all. She then tried to run the district on her own. It got so bad, the Higher Planes had to step in and appoint a new composer. She ascended because the had a truly creative mind, no matter her ambitions."

"But why do you need me? You could choose one of the trusted reapers that were already reapers. Like Kariya or Kitaniji. You could even pick tabooty!"

"But I need to pick someone who will keep my vision for Shibuya surviving. You embody everything I want this district to be, and you are the only one who cares enough about me to keep what I created alive. I trust you enough to do that." Joshua spoke quietly, his mocking tone nowhere to be found. Not for the first time, Neku wondered the composer's true age.

"See, I trust you Joshua" Neku was surprised at how calm he was. "But I don't trust you enough to be sure that you're not screwing me over."

Joshua gave a sad smirk. "I wish you trusted me more. It would be lovely to spend the last of these memories with someone who trusts me. But no matter, I'll still need to teach you about your new powers. I assume you've felt a buzzing in your head."

"You did that? I was about to lose my sanity because of that buzzing."

Joshua sighed. "Yes, that buzzing is what causes some of the mental instability of many composers. That sound is the song of Shibuya. If you listen closely, you can hear the song of any person, and you can compose new parts to that song. Try listen for my song."

Neku closed his eyes and let the buzzing fill his head. the closer he listened, the less it sounded like buzzing and the more it sounded like muffled music. It was like if you were playing music through speakers covered in thick blankets. Neku utilized this metaphor, imagining that he was taking the blanket off of Shibuya. As he imagined this, the music exploded into his head.

The music was unlike anything Neku had heard before. He couldn't even describe what he was hearing. It was a loud mix of nearly every instrument ever invented- plus a few that he wasn't sure existed. The music was loud and somewhat mournful- and there was a strong emphasis on piano.

Letting the music envelop him, Neku began to imagine Joshua. Neku mentally sketched out the composer's face. The angular structure of his face, his softly curling hair, his pale yet emotional eyes, and his ever-present smirk. Then the music shifted. It was an extremely sorrowful piece that sounded like a cross between an angsty rock song and a classical violin piece.

Neku opened his eyes. Joshua was still standing there, and gave a tiny smile right as the music hit a high note. Neku could see that Joshua was proud, even if he wouldn't ever verbalize it.

"Well done dearest. You could hear my music. Personally, I prefer your music, but I guess I can't actually compare. I've never actually heard my own music."

"What? Why?"

Joshua chuckled, "Only the most powerful of composers can hear their own music. I've only met one person who could, and he was the composer of Brooklyn. Speaking of Brooklyn, she's throwing a party tonight. And we're going to attend."

"Wait what?"

"I need to announce my ascension and show off my successor. And you need to get some allies before you rise up in rank. Because if a nearby composer decides to try and take over or the reapers stage a coup, you'll need allies. Being composer is much more than being a powerful being, it's being the true leader of your district. You're a spiritual leader as well as a military leader on the spiritual plane."

Neku rolled his eyes "Whatever… The party's later. What do we do now?"

Joshua gave a grin, "Now is the time where I teach you how to use your powers to fake your own death."

"Why do I need to die? Are you sure that this isn't all an elaborate plot for you to shoot me again?"

"If I really wanted to shoot you again dear, I would have done it by now. Honestly! Such little trust!"

Neku felt slightly safer, but not much. "You didn't answer my first question. Why is it so essential that everyone believes that I'm dead?"

Joshua shrugged, "It's the easier option. You could also erase yourself from everyone's memory. But if you choose that, you would erase your own legacy and all your friends would forget you ever existed."

"I would never do that. After having my own memories removed in in the first week of the game, I could never do that to anyone but especially my friends."

"You're going to have to do it to others though. You have to do the entrance fees. You will take away what is most precious to a person, and possibly destroy it. You'll have to be able to deal with that fact, or this will all be for nothing." Joshua angrily shimmered into another plane. Neku knew he could try and follow, but it wouldn't be worth it. Joshua had so much more experience. And besides, they both needed a chance to think.

UwU

Neku stalked down the street, his hands in his pockets and music blasting through his headphones. He tried to process what had happened in the last 24 hours. In the st time, he had become a powerful creature of myth-a reaper- and become set to take over as the god of Shibuya.

Before he really knew what he was doing, Neku had pulled out his phone and begun a mass text to his friend to meet him at the 104. Almost immediately, Shiki responded that she was already there, and would meet everyone out front. Beat then responded that he and Rhyme were on their way. Eri was out of town for a European fashion show, and Neku was never happier for that fact than that moment.

As he walked in that direction, Neku tried to plan how he would tell his friends of his situation. "Oh, I'm currently the head reaper and I'm set to take over as composer from the jerk who killed me and who's helping me fake my death. And also, he is going to essentially die. How's your week been?" would not pass. Completely lying wouldn't work either.

As he walked through the crowd, the music of Shibuya rose around Neku. Loud sounds of a guitar and some other unidentifiable string instrument were in a crescendo, while piano sounds slowly faded into a vague drumbeat. The sounds were eclectic and confusing, but strong and beautiful. But most of all, it was overwhelming.

Neku slowly closed his eyes as he walked, allowing the music to enter his mind and engulf his senses. But before he could lose himself in the sound, he arrived at 104.

Hands in his pockets, Neku stepped through the door and looked around for Shiki. He quickly found her fawning over a dress on a display. As he walked towards her, Neku noticed that Beat and Rhyme were chatting in the same area.

Neku took a deep breath. Time to do this. He had to do this.

Moving forward slowly, Neku allowed a small smile to grace his features. His friends were happy. They might not stay that way, but they were happy right now. And that was important.

Rhyme noticed him first. Her eyes lit up, and ran and embraced him in a hug. Neku awkwardly patted her head, but smiled a little wider. Beat had a foolish grin, but didn't attempt any physical affection, which was perfectly fine with Neku. Shiki also noticed he had arrived, and walked over with a large grin.

Neku cast his eyes downward. Why was he doing this? Why did he have to ruin their lives? Rhyme seemed to be the first to catch on that something was wrong. She grabbed Neku by the hand and pulled him outside. Shiki and Beat seemed startled, but slowly began to follow. When they were all outside, Shiki spoke up "Neku, what's going on? You asked us all to meet, then you show up late, and then you're nervous and won't even make eye contact!" He was late? Neku hadn't even realized that.

"It's The Game. Joshua is been sentenced to ascension. I'm supposed to take over for him. I'm set to become the new Composer." There it was. Out in the open. And he still couldn't meet their eyes.

"Whaa? Prissy kid has been sentenced? Who even has the power to do that? I thought the composer was all powerful and shit." Shiki reached over and slapped the back of Beat's head. "Ahh! What was that for?"

"Neku is clearly upset by this, and instead of trying to comfort him you decide to question his friend who is essentially sitting on death row!" She leaned over to hug Nekuk. "I get it. you have a friend that's dying and now you've gotten a whole lot of pressure put on your shoulders. It's tough. But we'll be right here to help you however we can."

Neku finally looked up and met her eyes. He allowed a small smile to appear. "But it's even more than that. Josh is ascending, not dying. I may not know much about Ascension, but one thing I do know is that death is a much better option. And Josh plans to fight back. He hasn't said as much, but I know he's gonna try. I just..." He trailed off. There wasn't really a good way to explain how he was feeling. Terrified was probably a good place to start.

"Well hey, it's like Shiki said 'Phones. We're here to help you and we'll fight if we need to."

"Is this why you have Reaper wings?" Three shocked faces turned towards Rhyme, who shrugged. "Well it makes sense!"

"Rhyme, I hadn't even mentioned that I had wings. I hadn't even mentioned that I'm a reaper now." Shocked faces were turned back towards Neku. "How did you know I had wings?"

Rhyme spoke softly. "From seeing the planes. I know you could do it too. Since the Game."

Neku spoke carefully "Yes, but that's only because I'm a reaper."

UwU

When Joshua appeared the next morning at Hachiko, Neku was quiet. He had been prepared to accuse Joshua of making Rhyme a reaper, but how Joshua was looking was hard to watch. The formerly energetic composer was haggard, with deep circles under his eyes and his formerly luxuriously silver hair now appearing a dull grey seen most commonly among the elderly.

"Well dear, come along. We've got a party to get to." Joshua's smirk may have appeared confident, but Neku could see in his eyes a fear and weakness that had never been before. It made Neku wonder, how long had it been since Joshua had been truly afraid. Had he ever been truly afraid?

"Come on dear…" Neku snapped out of his musing. He followed joshua's lead, cracking his neck and shifted up the planes.

Shifting planes was already a really strange feeling, but continuously doing so, to the point where Shibuya could no longer be seen. And suddenly, they were in a party.

The party was not exactly what Neku expected. He wasn't sure if he had expected a nightclub or a dinner party, but this was neither. There were people standing around in groups, reminding Neku of cliques he had seen common in western tv shows. And the people themselves were an eccentric collection. There was a young boy with dark skin and colorful paint covering his face and shaved head. Next to him was a tall pale woman with a shockingly bright blue scarf wrapping around her head, down her arm, and finally dangling loose at her wrist. Sitting on another woman's lap was a woman with thick, curly blonde hair wearing a dress transparent enough to see the scars on her back shaping into wings. And there were even more people that Neku couldn't even begin to describe, with every color of skin, hair, and clothing. And they were all staring at him.

"Welcome Shibuya!" Neku turned to see a girl walking towards them. She was not too much older than he was, and she was very clearly American. But the most interesting part about her was the contrast of her extremely dark skin and the bright rainbow of the tight braids streaming out from her scalp.

Joshua put on a small smirk. "Hello Brooklyn. And may I introduce to the group my Conductor who, within the week, shall take up his role as Shibuya's Composer?" A shocked hush fell over the group. Joshua rolled his eyes. "I'm sure you all have heard of what has happened within my district, so you really shouldn't be so surprised that I'm being punished for it. I have been sentenced to Ascension." The group erupted into worried whispers.

Joshua turned back to Neku, his face suddenly very harsh and serious. "Do not use your name. You are now only Shibuya. Only give anyone here your name if you completely trust them. Names have power, and the possibility of giving powerful people more power can be very dangerous." His face then shifted to his usual smirk. "Have fun, go and mingle Dear." Joshua leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Neku's cheek, before turning and immersing himself into the crowd.

Neku scowled. What right did Joshua have to treat him like that? And what the hell was that kiss for?

"So you're the new guy." Neku turned and saw a woman towering over him. She was a tall woman wearing a long dress that seemed nearly sheer covered entirely with silver crystals. Her perfectly neat blonde hair contrasted with her tanned skin and bright pink eyes. "We'll probably be seeing lots of each other." She extended her hand. "I'm Hollywood."

Neku nervously shook her hand. "I'm Ne- uh.. Shibuya."

Hollywood gave a shining grin. "Oh honey, I know who you are. Everyone here knows who you are."

UwU

When Neku hit the RG, he could feel Joshua's song beginning to splinter. Joshua's power is slowly fading, and shifting planes for the party had taken a large toll on him. Neku could see the time and effort wearing down on Joshua's face. Joshua only did have about a day left. And that very thought terrified Neku.

"So Neku, what do you think of your new peers? Find some powerful allies?"

Neku rolled his eyes "Some. They were all more excited to gawk at 'Shibuya's new boy-toy'. What the hell was that?"

Joshua sighed, suddenly looking much older that the teenage facade he put on. "It's more strategic for you to slowly gain their respect. And needed to claim you in front of them." Neku froze, his face in an expression of complete shock. Joshua rolled his eyes "It stops them from flirting with you. And besides, you were never going to make a move. I'm going to essentially die. Just allow me this small indulgence."

Neku stared at Joshua. The composer seemed exhausted- mentally, emotionally, and physically. And he seemed almost sadly resigned. His music was a melancholy tune being played on a broken piano- sad and painful together in a song.

Neku shook his head, trying to clear the doubt in his mind. He couldn't believe he was going to actually do this. Well, it's too late now. Neku stepped forward, and kissed Joshua.

When Neku's lips met Joshua's, he felt surprised at how warm they were. Joshua had always been such a cold person that his temperature had to match, and Neku supposed he had subconsciously thought that the fading power would take heat with it. Evidently not.

Neku felt his hands tangle themselves in the silver hair that had always tormented him for that exact moment. He began to pull Joshua closer, only to be pushed away. The connection broken, Joshua began wheezing. "Thank you for that lovely surprise dear but-" he paused take a few more deep breaths "I actually require oxygen at this point. I know you don't, but I do. Turning back human will do that to you."

"I- uh- didn't realize I didn't need to breathe anymore." Neku could feel a blush beginning to to form. Oh kissing Josh was a horrible idea. Like, really not good. Why did he do that?

"Oh isn't this sweet! Young lovers finally kiss, knowing that they can never really be together. So tragic. So beautiful." Neku could have sworn Joshua growled when Azrael decided to reveal herself. "Oh don't be so mean little Yoshi! I'm just here to check in on you and Neku here. And it looks like you were having a little bit of fun!" The grey angel gave a wide-mouthed grin "And Joshua honey, you aren't looking too good. Are you sure you can make it until tomorrow? You don't look like you'll last too much longer."

"I can keep myself on this plane as long as I need to Azrael. On the other hand, I do believe that you should be the careful one. I may be low on power, but Neku is not. And as you know,he has some of the most raw, creative energy that the city has ever seen. He defeated me, and that was before he was even a reaper. I would fear him if I were you."

Neku thought he saw a flicker of doubt in the Angel's eyes. "he may have the power, but I have the training and the advantage of knowledge. I know what he is capable of but he has no idea what I can do . But I shan't bother you only have a day left." The nearly demonic face strangely softened." You should make sure to spend your last day with your loved ones."

With that Azrael spread her wings and flew off, shifting herself into a higher plane. Joshua rolled his eyes. "She's just so melodramatic sometimes." And with that comment, the composer collapsed.

UwU

It had taken Neku a while to drag Joshua to the dead god's pad (way too long if you asked him), but by time they had arrived Joshua was awake again. With less than 24 hours left, Joshua was stressed. Even Neku 'I don't get people' Sakuraba could see that.

Joshua scowled "That damn angel, trying to kill me early. And for absolutely destroying that moment." He turned to Neku with a smirk. "But you really did seem to enjoy that moment though dear. Very enthusiastic." Neku could feel heat rising in his cheeks again.

"Well I just-"

"Just stop. Don't give me an explanation." Joshua's face was now serious, sad even. "Please, just allow me this one memory. Hopefully it's a memory strong enough to survive ascension."

Neku sighed "How?"

Silver eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "How what?"

"How can I save you from this?" Neku gestured at the withering composer, his voice sad and quiet "From this depression, this situation, this I don't even know what I want to save you from. I just don't understand how you've just given up."

"I don't want to give in, but it appears that I have to. I have no plan and no powers. My powers are slowly seeping into the district, which is something that should be sudden not slow. Shibuya is growing restless, and I can't do ANYTHING about it. I NEED to be able to-" he cut himself off, surprise showing on his face. "Oh. Visible anger. It appears that I really am becoming a human again."

"Ok, then what can I do to make sure that Azrael doesn't take over."

Joshua gave a sickly smile. "Make sure she doesn't erase me. If she erases me, she takes over."

"Why does she need the power of a composer? Doesn't she have more power as an experienced angel?"

"Yes, but angels aren't human. Composers are a mix of angel and human. And being even a little human gives you true free will. She may be pretending she has free will, but she doesn't. My guess is that someone even higher up thinks she'd be better here than you would. Clearly, they were misinformed."

Neku crossed his arms, "Flattery is great but not the point. How can I protect you from her?"

Joshua fiddled with a strand of his hair "I already told you. Don't let her kill me. Let time run out and allow me to ascend. Or…." He trailed off, looking at Neku directly "Or you could kill me instead. Allow the true flow of power. You could.."

"NO!"Neku was furious "You can NOT make me do that. I couldn't stand to kill you before, what makes you think I could do it now?"

Joshua looked down, his voice a near whisper, "Because it's the best option, and you don't have the power to fight her off if she tried to attack. You may be strong, but not strong enough to take on an angel of her rank. The only reason that you took Sanae because he didn't want to win. This is the angel of death. She would not hold back, and we both would die." He now spoke barely above a breath "She would kill you first and make me watch. And I can't do that."

"I can't do that. I can't kill you. I can't-" Neku couldn't bring himself to finish what he was saying. So he ran.

By time Neku figured out what he was doing, he arrived at Hachiko. And there, just a plane below him, were his friends.

"You miss your old life too?" Neku turned to see to the teenaged reaper that he met the other day. She appeared sad, sharply contrasting the bright colors of her outfit. "I've only been a reaper for a couple months, so I still kinda miss my old life and my friends. I can still see them wandering around."

Neku had no idea how to react to that, so he gazed forward at his friends gathering. He could see them talking about something, then stopping to laugh. Neku was tempted to walk over and join them, but couldn't bring himself to do so. They were happy and destroying that would ruin everything he had built with them. He couldn't.

"Don't think about that." He turned towards the girl. "I know what you're going through and what you're feeling. But don't give in to the sadness! You have potential! you're a reaper! you help create the art of shibuya! You bring inspiration to those around! It's a new start, not a destruction of your past."

Neku chuckled "You really don't know what I'm going through, but alright." He turned towards her. "I'm Neku Sakuraba. Conductor. I was the one who played the long game."

Her eyes went huge. "Coco Atarashi. Reaper. Support class. Became a reaper a week after the long game. And I thought that Kariya was conductor? He's the one who's been putting together the week's assignments."

"Makes sense. I may have been a reaper since the long game, I only found out a few days ago." Neku swears he didn't mean to sound so bitter, but no one would say it didn't come off that way.

"How did you not know? I would think something like that would be pretty obvious."

"Jo-The composer kept it from me. Seeing him was my final entry fee. It's really complicated."

"Explain it to me."

UwU

Neku was terrified. When he had arrived back at the dead god's pad, Joshua was nowhere to be found. After a moment of panic, Neku dashed off towards the room of reckoning. Because of course Joshua would choose to make his final stand there.

And when Neku got there, he nearly fell over. The music in the room was chaotic. It was a mashup of loud music that did not want to mesh together. Like someone took death metal, dubstep, and every other genre you could think of, shoved it in a blender, and left it chunky. The music was loud and overwhelming and generally powerful.

As Neku regained his focus, he noticed Joshua was sitting on the floor. He seemed to be… Meditating?

Joshua spoke without even looking up. "Oh Nekky dearest, I'm glad you're here. I'm almost gone from here, so i'm very happy you arrived in time. Come here." Neku stepped forward apprehensively. Joshua's voice seemed very… gone. Like his brain had already ascended.

"Do you feel it? The power in here?" Neku gave a sharp nod. Joshua still didn't look up. "I can't. But I know it's here. The power of the composer- what used to be mine- clings to this room. Laying in wait here in the throne of Shibuya."

"Stop talking like this Joshua. We still have a chance!"

Joshua chuckled darkly, finally looking Neku in the eyes. "No we don't. You do. The Higher Planes can't afford to let me remain here. I'm either erased or ascended. Use me as an example of why you need to take real care of your district. That's an important lesson for you to remember Neku. Take real care of Shibuya." Joshua moved to stand up, struggling to his feet. Neku reached out to help him, but the former composer slapped his hand away.

"I can't hear it anymore. I can't hear Shibuya and I can't hear your song. My hope is long gone but here is yours." Joshua stuck his hand out, offering Neku the item on his palm. A gun. One of the very same guns used in their final showdown. One of the very same guns used the last time Neku was in that room.

"Josh I-"

"Take it Neku. Just…" Neku took the gun softly from the outstretched hand. It was just as heavy as he remembered, and the cool metal sent a shiver down his spine.

"Well, well, well. It looks like you have set the stage for me already." Joshua and Neku both turned to see Azrael striding towards him. "A gun won't defeat me sweetie. We're beings of noise, that's the only way a true fight should go down here."

"But that's not how it's going to go down." Neku spoke coolly, surprising even himself with how calm he was.

Azrael lifted an eyebrow. "Oh? And how do you think it will then?"

"In three simple steps."

The female angel laughed, "Oh do please enlighten me. how do you think you can win in three? This isn't chess."

"No, It's not chess. But it still is just another game. Move One. Ready." Neku stepped forward and kissed Joshua, trying to memorise the moment.

"Move two. Aim." He took to paces back and lifted the gun, aiming at the person who had killed him twice. The person he loved in ways he didn't understand and couldn't describe. His partner.

"Move three. Fire."

The music in the room flared, and then died.