I've gone ancient. I went on an RV trip, then couldn't find a good inspiration... I feel like I want to do a Joshyme. LOL! So... Here. I took a while...
Joshua: Mm? Oh, I'm in this one?
Me: *Pokes him with a stick* Yes, now do what I want you to, or face the wrath of my pokey stick.
Joshua: Mm, alright. Upon the Rocks doesn't own anything whatsoever. Now stop poking me. *Super Jesus Meteors the stick*
Me: Thanks. I think... Oh, and this one connects slightly to Wrong. Therefore, you can read it, but you don't have to. Just saying... Now, thank you for reading, and thus begins the show. *bows and curtain raises to (hopefully) applause*
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As loud blaring music shot out of door that lead to the swamp known as Beat's room, Rhyme lay on her bed, her feet swinging in the air slowly, but in slight rhythm with the loud noises known as music. The door out of Rhyme's room was slightly open, but enough to let in the sounds of the music. Raimu's beanie was off, but the rest of her clothes remained, her salmon colored shirt with a black skull, her khaki shorts. Her hands were lightly holding a book, her eyes skimming the pages as she drew closer to the climax of the book. The song began to stop as Rhyme turned the page. Her eyes continued to read as she heard the next song come on, with a slightly softer beat, but still hard rock anyway.
She began to hum along, not noticing the ruffle of leaves as someone dropped in.
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The Composer was bored.
He had taken out a Taboo noise that was supposed to be harder than it really was. He was completely underwhelmed and slightly annoyed. He might have to replace some Reapers after this. Definitely. His hands crept down onto a branch that he stared at, examining each indent and crack as he made a small sigh. He looked up at the sky before he noticed it was rather quiet.
Suddenly, his ears were blasted with a loud guitar. He sat up a little fast and whacked his head on the branch. As he rubbed his forehead, he glared at the house from which the sound was coming from. Ah. That's why it was so quiet. Before he turned back though, he noticed a pair of slightly pale feet, moving back and forth. As he moved a slender hand over the slight bump on his forehead, it disappeared with a small blue glow. Joshua jumped off his perch before he went into the UG. He hovered up to the window and almost collapsed again. Rhyme, in all her glory, was resting with her feet swinging from side to side. However, what surprised him more was the fact that she was listening to this.... noise. Any more of the noise and he would create a noise to tell the tale of "Hard Metal."
As he stared at Rhyme, he looked at the window and walked through, shivering at the feeling of walking through walls; one never got used to that. Joshua walked up by Rhyme with his head by her ear.
"Boo," he muttered, making Rhyme jump up and sending her book flying out of her hands with a small "Eep!" Joshua giggled as he pulled back, looking at her with a smirk on his face, his hand perched by his face, like it was holding his head in place, otherwise it might roll off. As he glanced around, the room seemed extremely organized, nothing out of place or lying around. It felt cold, but Joshua guessed that was from the bad heating. The bookshelves had few books, but from the looks of them, they were old and had been read until the spines were creased many times over. As he glanced back at Rhyme, she was staring at him as if she had seen a ghost... Oh, wait. Never mind. She had seen a ghost.
"Ahh...Hah..hah... You scared me!" Rhyme said, her left hand over her heart and her breathing skyrocketing. Her right hand clutched the book as loosely as she could, which was rather tight. The pages were crumpled slightly as she put it on her nightstand, her back against the headboard. The singer in the music shouted a little too loud for Joshua's likes, making him flinch slightly and frown at the door that lead out to Beat's room, where the named brother was jumping around, bobbing his head as he...well, we'll call it dancing. Fortunately, Joshua didn't have to see him, nor did he have to punish Beat with a powerful noise to linger around him, ruining his day.
"How do you listen to this stuff?" Joshua asked, his voice a near shout. Rhyme frowned and tilted her head. She suddenly opened her mouth, letting out a small "Oh!" that was muffled by the sound of the thrashing music. She sat up and grabbed the handle of the door, shutting it slowly. The music was quieted, but the ground seemed to pulse very slightly from the large thrashing.
"That? You get used to it after a few months," Rhyme said, her smile back as she brushed a strand of hair from her face. Joshua bent over and took a look at Rhyme's face, frowning as he looked at her messy hair. A few strands peeked out every once in a while off her golden head, which was fully visible now that her cap was off. Joshua bent forward, looking at her hair, frowning as her hair fluttered with each breath he took.
"Uhm, Joshua? Could you move back a little- Ah!" she began, the small gasp coming out as Joshua brushed a strand of her hair from her forehead, thinking about the feel of her hair in between his fingers. Joshua smiled, his purple eyes glinting in satisfied curiosity, like a scientist who had just figured one thing out, but wanted to find out another.
"Mm, I'm just wondering why you still wear that..... intriguing hat," Joshua pondered as his arms slowly trailed from strand to strand, Rhyme's breath becoming slightly faster with each touch of her skin. Joshua leaned back and stood up, looking at Rhyme's curious form with slight amusement and more curiosity. Rhyme smiled as her breathing became more normal now that she had a little more room. However, Rhyme's breathing grew erratic as Joshua bent forward and put a hand on her stomach, tracing a line down to her feet.
"Why can't I wear that hat? I like it," Rhyme pouted slightly, her voice surprisingly calm as Joshua leaned back and smiled, his hands retracting back into his pockets.
"Yes, but it seems so different than what I would expect you to wear, although I can see your brother wearing it," Joshua said, his smile back as he perched his right hand on his cheek again, thinking of Rhyme's brother wearing the familiar hat.
"I suppose, but I've worn it all my life," Rhyme reasoned, her body relaxing as she ventured back into common ground. Joshua let out a small giggle before leaning forward again, looking at the young girl's hair again. Rhyme began breathing harder again, her face heating up again as Joshua continued to watch her with uncaring curiosity, not noticing the ending of the music from Beat's room.
"Nice beat, eh Rhyme?" Beat called, his voice barely audible through the door. Rhyme instantly turned her head, looking at the door as sounds of footsteps made its way to the door. "Rhyme? You in there, yo?"
"Joshua, get out!" Rhyme whispered, turning back to where Joshua was once, however, she came up with thin air. Joshua was still there, just not in the RG. As the door swung open, Rhyme looked at Beat, her face still slightly red.
"You ok Rhyme?" Beat asked, one of the few times the skateboarder spoke in proper grammer. Rhyme cleared her throat and smiled, pulling her book over.
"Yeah, I'm fine Beat. How about you listen to your music, I think I'll listen to some of mine," Rhyme said, her book flipping open to her last page as the skateboarder nodded and slammed the door a little too hard. Rhyme looked around and walked right "through" Joshua, slipping a disc of music she had gotten from Shiki and Eri into her music player she had gotten for her birthday, like Beat's. The player was a simple disc player, older than she was. As she put it on the nightstand, Rhyme turned around and looked right at where Joshua last was. Which was where he happened to be at the time.
"Joshua?" Rhyme's voice just barely above a whisper. Joshua blinked his eyes in surprise and smiled, slowly fading into existence, as if the wind had blown a wall of white dust away to reveal the Composer. Rhyme smiled and looked around, grabbing an old disc and blowing the dust off. Most of the writing was scratched off, but the part that contained the music was fine. Out of the faint scratches, Joshua could see the letters, "-y-r-- Th--ry" After a few more blows, two more letters came out, spelling, "Hy-r-d Th--ry." As Rhyme popped the disc into the player, a few scratches came out before a song started playing. It still contained traces of the hard rock music playing in the room beside, but there were also traces of rap and a couple other elements at work in the music. However, the Composer still didn't enjoy it.
Rhyme tapped the fast forward button a few times, coming to one song that began with a combination of a piano and techno sort of sound. As the lyrics began, Rhyme sat on the bed, looking at Joshua with her patented smile, making him think of whether or not she had some sort of quota to complete.
"Mm? Still in this kind of music region?" Joshua asked, his ears still ringing with each guitar strum. Rhyme made a small frown and tilted her head, turning her head to the music again.
"What's wrong with this kind of music? I like it," she questioned, tapping the music player as it stuttered. As Rhyme pulled the music out of the player, she wiped it on her shirt, blew some dust out of the disk reader before putting it back into the music player, tapping the button to get the song playing. Once again, it began stuttering a few minutes in. Rhyme pushed a button, ejecting the disc and making the music stop.
"Well, for one, it had a little more swearing than I would like," Joshua said, frowning as he looked out the window. The branch he had been sitting on was completely invisible, making it a good hiding place for when he came back to spy on her again......
Wait, again?
"Well, Beat does a little of that, so I think I've gotten used to it," Rhyme reasoned, putting the disc back into its case, slipping it back up into the bookcase. As she turned back around to the bed, a ghost of a frown was on her face for a split second before she went back to her cheerful self. She sat on the other side of the bed, looking at Joshua with a curious expression on her face, her chin tucked down a little closer to her right shoulder while her eyes looked up at him.
"So, what are you doing here, anyway?" Rhyme asked, her eyes staring right at Joshua. Joshua smiled and shrugged, his eyes closed and his hands level with his head.
"I was in town, so I decided to drop in. Besides," he explained, looking at Rhyme's blue eyes with his violet ones. "I couldn't exactly let your brother pollute the neighborhood with his music. Why don't you listen to some other kinds? I'm sure you could find something you'd like that is a little..... calmer."
"I suppose, but where? The music store is pretty far away, and I don't have that much money to spend," Rhyme reasoned, looking around at the different music albums around her, each one similar to the last in that they had strong rock essences and loud singers.
"I'll lend you some money," Joshua giggled, smiling as a few stacks of yen appeared in his hand with a light blue glow. Rhyme tilted her head as she stared at the yen, her eyes taking in the money, but confused at the same time.
"Why not just create some music here? It would be easier," Rhyme questioned, her eyes following a bill as it fell to the ground. Joshua stood up and walked around the bed and held the money out, that smug smile still on his face.
"Yes, but I would have to summon a number of different discs, and that would just be a pain. Besides, you should get out a bit, it's bad to stay cooped up in here with your brother," Joshua said, gesturing for Rhyme to take some of the money. She ignored the comment about her brother before reluctantly took the money, slipping it in her pocket before looking back at Joshua.
"But how will I get out?" Rhyme asked, watching as the Composer slowly disappeared as if a veil of white dust seemed to descend upon him.
"Improvise. You'll think of something," Joshua whispered before disappearing completely and walking out of the room to the front door, where he waited outside.
Rhyme looked at the door and grabbed her socks and her beanie, putting them on and tucking some of her hair beneath the hat. She was about to leave when she thought of the words Joshua had said, how she still wore the "intriguing" hat as he called it. Rhyme looked around and slid the hat off slowly, slipping it in her pocket before walking to the door. She opened it slowly, hoping to sneak out without anyone noticing.
"Raimu?" a voice rang out. Rhyme turned and looked at where the voice came from, down another hallway where her parents were.
"Yeah mom?" she called back, still looking down the hallway as she walked to the door.
"Are you going somewhere?" the voice called back, making Rhyme smile at the fact that her parents were still worrying about her; she was old, she could take care of herself.
"Yeah, but I'll be back, don't worry," Rhyme called before opening the door and walking out, closing the door after she heard a small "Goodbye" from her parents. As she let out a small sigh, Rhyme turned around and looked around for Joshua. As she turned her head left, Joshua was standing right by her, deciding to play a small trick on Raimu Bito. She turned her head right, then back left again. One second he wasn't there, the next he was. Rhyme jumped back a few inches, not letting out a noise though.
"Mm? Oh, you didn't shout? How sad, that's the fun part," Joshua pouted, walking down the steps of Rhyme's porch and cutting off her reply. The cold air blew softly, with the smell of exhaust and the sound of cars driving by filling the senses. The sun was covered by clouds, but the gray sky didn't dampen either of spirits.
As they walked to the record store, they talked about the Reaper's Game, school, Reapers, and how Neku and the others were doing, alternating in subjects.
"You're not wearing that hat?" Joshua asked abruptly about halfway to the music store, making Rhyme look up from their last topic. She looked in her pocket and made sure the hat was there before turning to Joshua. She slipped it out of her pocket and brought it out in between the two of them.
"I have it here in case I wanted it or it started raining, but yeah," Rhyme said, putting the hat in her pocket without another word. Joshua looked at her for a second before looking around and resuming their ordinary gossip about Shiki and Neku, what Joshua had been doing, and Beat's failing of school. When they arrived at AMX, Joshua held the door open for her as she glanced around, gaping at all the music. There was a strange hum as the fans cut through the air, but beyond that, a low piano and guitar tune was playing, loud enough to be heard well, but not so loud as to overlap with music one would listen to with the headphones. Each album was inviting, showing colorful designs or pictures of the artists, but they all held a different kind of song, no matter how similar they looked.
Rhyme looked at the money before walking over to a section of rock that was almost identical to everything that Beat had at home. Joshua scoffed and grabbed Rhyme's hand.
"Joshua! What are you doing? I wanted to buy some of those," Rhyme said, following Joshua still as he pulled her over to some of the calmer and quieter music. Joshua stopped in front of some light blues and looked at Rhyme smiling as he put his finger up, wagging it slightly as he let out a small tsk.
"I'll only let you pick out some of those if you pick some out that aren't as.....loud as those," Joshua said, looking her in the eye. Rhyme sighed and turned to the music frowning at most of them. She looked at the sampler and slid a disc in, popping the earphones on and listening. Joshua inched closer to the headphones, trying to make sure she wasn't sneaking a disc of hard rock in somewhere. Satisfied, he went off to look at some of his music, curious about how different the music had gotten. He began to listen to an album by someone called Coldplay (apparently the disc had been listened to a lot, there were a few scratches on the cover) and popped it in, listening to it for a few minutes and closing his eyes as the tune began to play. It started quiet, but got louder as the music continued. There were many different instruments, all sounding appealing to the Composer's ears.
"Joshua, how's this?" Rhyme called, turning to see the Composer with his eyes closed blissfully as the music seemed to surround him. She was about to show the tracks she had picked, a mere couple from the tall rack with dozens of tracks, when she smiled at the Composer's enrapture in the music he was listening to.
How ironic, the Composer is stuck listening to music.... Rhyme pondered, walking over to him to tap his shoulder and ask whether or not she could go and look at her own music again. She had liked to look at different music, but nothing could replace her old kind of tunes, the kind that she grew up listening to with Beat. As Rhyme's hand hovered over his shoulder, she began hearing the light music coming from the headphones. The lyrics were unrecognizable, but as the music slowed to a stop, Rhyme got curious. She tapped Joshua on the shoulder and smiled. As Joshua turned around and slipped the headphones off his pale hair, Rhyme pointed to the black sound producing equipment, pausing the music for now.
"Can I listen as well?" she asked, taking a glance at the music. It couldn't be that bad, it looked rather interesting, based on the cover. While Rhyme pondered whether or not she could judge music by the cover, but not books, Joshua was taking another glance at the music. The album was called Parachutes and the next song was supposed to be called Yellow. Thinking about what the next song might be about, he popped it in and extended the headphones, motioning for Rhyme to come forward a little.
"What are you doing?" she asked, leaning down and thinking Joshua would slip the headphones over her head. However, Rhyme began to feel something right on her left ear. Thin, light, and white strands mixed with her own, Joshua's cold ear crushed up against Rhyme's warm ear, and getting warmer from their position. Joshua slipped the headphones over both of them and pressed the play button, making the light guitar begin to play. As the guitar grew louder in their ears, Rhyme slowly calmed down as Joshua's head lay by hers, the music quietly, or at least compared to the music she liked, began to string out lyrics, each word following the last in perfect harmony. Rhyme closed her eyes as her imagination took her flying, using the words of the song as its base. As the song continued on, Joshua took occasional glances at Rhyme, making sure not to slide the headphones, lest he wake the "sleeping beauty" up.
When the music slowed to a stop, Joshua slipped the headphones off and looked at Rhyme, who was also sitting up with her hair sticking up slightly from the headphones. Joshua looked at her hair as Rhyme's eyes opened, just noticing that the music had stopped.
"That was good," she whispered, her arm reaching out to grab the disc from the stand. As she glanced at the album name and the song number she had listened to, she memorized it; the album named Parachutes and the song, Yellow. As Rhyme slipped it into her collection of new songs, she noticed her hair dangling in front of her eyes, a little too close for her taste. As she brushed a strand away, Rhyme sighed as the strand fell again. Joshua noticed her fiddling with the single strand of hair, but ignored it, tapping her on the shoulder.
"Are you going to buy that yet?" he asked, pointing to the music under Rhyme's arm. Rhyme looked at him and smiled, nodding as she pulled out the money to buy the tracks with. As she walked out of the store, he noticed her flicking at her hair again.
"This is one of the reasons why I wear my hat. My hair gets in my way," Rhyme said, her face a little childish and rather cute from Joshua's perspective. Joshua giggled and took the hat from her pocket, twirling it on his finger.
"But you look so cute without it on," Joshua reasoned, making both of them laugh, Joshua from his comment and Rhyme from slight embarrassment. Joshua stuffed the hat into his pocket, even though it didn't seem like it would fit, and motioned for Rhyme to follow. As they wandered back, Rhyme continued to talk about the music she had gotten, a few different types of blues and a couple of lighter music that seemed to be similar to a type of nu metal. As they talked about the different kinds of music, the Composer inwardly laughed at the fact that most of the music she liked was similar to the names of Noise that seemed easier to defeat than others. Yoshiya just listened, telling his opinion on certain music when it was wanted. As they arrived at Rhyme's house, Rhyme looked in through the window, making sure that no one was there.
"It's clear, I'm going to head in. Thanks for taking me Joshua," Rhyme said, turning and coming face to face with nothing. Joshua was gone again and Rhyme was alone as far as her eyes could see. Rhyme took a quick glance around before opening the door and walking in her home.
"Raimu?" her mother called.
"I'm home," Rhyme said, walking slowly to her room. After hearing a small ok from her parents, she closed her door and turned around, plopping on her bed and reaching up to grab her hat, only to grab a fistful of hair. "Eh?" she said, turning around and looking for her hat in her pockets. As she looked in her clothes, Joshua reappeared behind her, tapping her on the shoulder.
"Looking for this?" he asked, making her turn around and yelp at the sudden voice. Rhyme looked at the hat in his hand and sighed, realizing when he took it away from her.
"Thanks a lot for giving it back," she said, reaching for it with a smile on her face. Her smile dampened when he snatched it back quickly.
"Ah ah ah," Joshua said, wagging his finger as he looked at her in the eye. "Why should I give it back? I think you look better with it off." As Joshua pulled it back again, Rhyme thought about the last time she needed to get something. However, when she got it she had to......
No.
Besides, Joshua wouldn't play keep away for that long. Would he?
As Rhyme reached for the hat again, Joshua pulled it away once more. Yeah, he probably would.
"What's wrong? Giving up already?" Joshua asked, grinning as he looked at the blonde. Rhyme snapped for the hat one last time before letting out a large sigh.
"Joshua, please? I really want my hat back," Rhyme said, looking up at Joshua with eyes that would normally make almost anyone hand over the hat. However, if the Composer fell for something like that each time, everyone would be brought to life.
"Mmmmm.... Nope, sorry, no can do," Joshua said, giggling at Rhyme's attempt to get on his good side. If he had one. Rhyme, meanwhile, was reconsidering what she had done last week. As she reached for it again, the hat was snatched out of her reach. Rhyme reached again as Joshua brought it closer, only to lose her balance as it was taken again. As she fell forward she put her hands forward and stopped herself on Joshua's body. As Joshua held the hat away from them, Rhyme stared at Joshua's purple eyes, making his mouth creep open a little, making a small oval. Rhyme's thoughts were scrambled when she felt Joshua's warm breath waft down and send small shivers through Rhyme's body. As they slowly inched forward, Joshua quickly leaned forward, catching Rhyme in a small kiss.
There was no tongue strangling, but their tongues didn't sit still either. Rhyme's tongue was slowly resting on Joshua's bottom lip, relishing in the warmth of their kiss. The mere innocence of the timing made it all seem so strange, but perfect at the same time. Joshua's right hand, holding the hat, slowly brought it down, hiding their kiss from the door. Joshua's left slowly hooked Rhyme and brought her closer, leaning against the wooden backboard with a creak. As they closed their eyes, the two of them relaxed into it, making each of them dive into deeper bliss.
With a last gasp of air, Rhyme broke off, panting as she looked at Joshua under the shadow of the hat. As Rhyme looked to her side, she grabbed the hat and slipped it out of Joshua's hand in a slow movement. As she slipped it onto the bed, Rhyme leaned forward and kissed Joshua one last time, a quick meeting of lips that lasted for a few seconds, but felt like an eternity. When they parted, Rhyme let go and slipped her hands behind her back.
"Ummm, thanks for giving the money to buy the music," Rhyme said, scratching her rather warm cheek as she talked. Rhyme looked at her hat and smiled her serene smile to Joshua, her cheeks a little more red than usual.
"Don't mention it," Joshua said before teleporting to the UG to leave. Joshua however, stayed as he noticed Rhyme walk up to her hat and pull it close to her face, taking in Joshua's smell, before noticing one last thing Joshua had left for her.
A new CD player. Rhyme leaped over and picked out the disc the two of them had listened to and popped it in the tray, sitting down on her bed. As she hummed and sang along, Joshua sat on the other end, listening and singing as well. Both could swear they could hear angels singing.
Look at the stars,
Look how they shine for you,
And everything you do,
Yeah, they were all yellow.
I came along,
I wrote a song for you,
And all the things you do,
And it was called yellow.
So then I took my turn,
Oh what a thing to have done,
And it was all yellow.
Your skin
Oh yeah, your skin and bones,
Turn into something beautiful,
You know, you know I love you so,
You know I love you so.
I swam across,
I jumped across for you,
Oh what a thing to do.
Cos you were all yellow,
I drew a line,
I drew a line for you,
Oh what a thing to do,
And it was all yellow.
Your skin,
Oh yeah your skin and bones,
Turn into something beautiful,
And you know, Id bleed myself dry for you,
Id bleed myself dry.
Its true, look how they shine for you,
Look how they shine for you,
Look how they shine for,
Look how they shine for you,
Look how they shine for you,
Look how they shine.
Look at the stars,
Look how they shine for you,
And all the things that you do.
"I love you."
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Ah, that felt good. Now then, thank you again for reading.