[[Holly: OMG IT'S AN ACTUAL STORY.
L: As opposed to another OGAMM.
Mello: Because no one wants to read more of those.
Holly: They so do.
Matt: They're only reviewing to make you hate yourself slightly less.
Holly: Thanks, guys. You're real pals.
Near: You're welcome! :3
L&Mello&Matt: SHUT UP NEAR.
Near: 3:
Holly: Sigh. Here we go: an epic battle of...um...ambiguously gay versus math fetishist!]]
So much 2 do, so little time.
Sho Minamimoto was too excited to let any other emotions get the best of him. He was so zetta close. All his dreams were right in front of him. Such a simple equation. Subtract Yoshiya Kiryu, and the result was Sho, the Composer. He'd left those brain-dead binomials, the proxy and the renegade Reaper, with Konishi, who by his calculations was more than capable of erasing them. But he had a job to do. A Composer to erase. He didn't have much time- Konishi would (presumably) be back soon, and he wished to dispose of Joshua before she came back. He didn't trust her, and was not at all sure that she would take his side in a two-on-one fight. Besides, he would be erasing Konishi on his own terms. She'd serve as a Conductor, true. But he'd rather not have a Conductor at all.
He felt no fear. The Composer was right there, in front of him. How weak he looked, in his human form, how childlike. He knew better than to underestimate him, of course. He wasn't as powerful as he might have been otherwise, but he was certainly quite strong. But he was stronger. He had an army of Taboo Noise on his side, and he had all his own power. What did Joshua have? Nothing. Sho's contempt for Joshua grew every moment he contemplated him.
Joshua, for his part, just smiled a lazy smile. An uprising. How quaint. Terrible timing, of course- to happen in the middle of his and Megumi's little game was quite unfortunate. But perhaps it was necessary in the grand scheme of things, in order to get his proxy to change. He wouldn't know- he was, perhaps, somewhat omnipotent, but not entirely. Perhaps he could ask Hanekoma. He would probably know. Minamimoto was fun to keep around, anyway, pest that he was. He was...entertaining.
But that didn't matter right now, he chided himself. The murderous grin on Sho's face was clearly the beginning of a challenge. He felt no fear. He was the Composer, after all. But with the Taboo Noise on his side, Minamimoto was stronger than ever.
But what kind of Composer would he be if he let a mere GM beat him?
"About time, Minamimoto. I've been expecting you. Come, sit down, perhaps I can get you some coffee?"
Minamimoto scowled. How dare this zero talk to him so condescendingly! He would pay for his arrogance with his life, not that he'd been planning on sparing Joshua, even if he had surrendered. But he quickly masked his irritation with a grin.
"I'm not thirsty, Joshua. I'm just here to divide."
Joshua raised an eyebrow.
"Divide?"
"Divide this zero out of my equation!"
Minamimoto entered a battle stance. Joshua didn't move. He only laughed.
"What's so zetta funny, you factoring hectopascal?!"
"You can't divide by zero, Sho. Honestly, you'd think you'd think your mathematical references over a little more."
Minamimoto growled. He knew that, obviously, and it was entirely irrelevant, obviously, and Joshua was just trying to get under his skin, obviously. He couldn't let him get to him. That was practically like losing, even if he killed Joshua- when he killed Joshua. He wouldn't kill him without breaking him. Minamimoto's pride couldn't take it.
"You're not gonna crack me, you idiot integer. Your poor little proxy is being subtracted as we speak, and where does that leave you? Food for the Taboo Noise!"
Joshua tilted his head, looking thoughtful. He was thinking of Neku, of course.
"Neku's here? With who?"
"That Reaper radicand and our sainted Iron Maiden. She thinks I'll make her my Conductor! Ha! There's only room for one perfect number here, and that's me!"
Joshua shrugged. He wasn't worried about Neku in the slightest- he knew that him and Beat were quite capable of taking out Konishi, especially with Beat holding a grudge against her. Of course, that meant that they would be coming this way shortly, and Joshua didn't plan to be here when they arrived- he'd be further in, closer to Megumi. That meant he'd have to dispose of Minamimoto, in short order. But he wished to learn more of his plan, first. It would be...interesting, if nothing else.
"Who would be your Conductor, if not Konishi?"
Minamimoto laughed, smirking.
"Conductors are garbage. CRUNCH! I'll add them to the heap! Didn't you hear me the first time, you stupid segment?! There is only one perfect number! The equation is being reduced. All that'll be left is X = X. And that's infinity- in other words, me!"
Joshua couldn't say he was surprised. Minamimoto always seemed like the type to work alone. Of course, his plan was ludicrous. A Composer without a Conductor? Or, presumably, a Producer? The Angels would never allow it. Minamimoto was clearly on a power trip. Had he thought through his plan, perhaps he'd realize that he needed Konishi. Particularly if he wanted to take down the Composer himself! Perhaps the two of them together could have done it. Joshua laughed lightly, under his breath. Very unlikely. Minamimoto by himself, of course, had absolutely no chance, though by the clear defiance in his voice and on his face, he didn't know it.
Minamimoto, for his part, only saw the amusement on Joshua's face. He scowled again. Why was this annoying apothem so cocky? Joshua must have known now that Konishi would come soon, and- he was becoming more sure of this, as he spoke- she would fight on Minamimoto's side. Him and Konishi together would have very little trouble disposing of Joshua, he was sure of that. He laughed, openly, defiantly. He would end this soon. But first, he wanted to see just a chink in Joshua's armor. The smallest crack, and he would strike.
Joshua raised an eyebrow again, calm as you like.
"Oh, Minamimoto, so confident! You'd think you'd already won. Are you aware that you're still just a Reaper? A renegade. Not even a Game Master anymore. If you had a rank, it would be Harrier. Do you honestly believe you can kill me? Even with your newfound abilities, I'm still the Composer. I'm still...the infinity, if you like."
"Quiz time, Joshua. How many infinities can exist?"
"One, of course. Or two, really. There's positive and negative infinity."
"Correct! That's you and me, of course. You're soon to be negative infinity! Hope you enjoy oblivion, you factoring fractal!"
Joshua laughed lightly.
"So, what does that make you, right now?"
Minamimoto's eye twitched. Oh, killing Joshua was going to so very, very fun. He moved to enter a battle stance before realizing he had been standing in one all along.
"You don't get it, do you, yoctogram? You're about to be subtracted and you're just sitting pretty, like nothing's gonna happen. You know what, Joshua? I'm sick of your factoring face. I really am."
Joshua had to hold back his laughter as Minamimoto picked up his megaphone and held it to his mouth. Dramatic to the end, he was.
"Attention, you cocky cotangent! Divide infinity by zero and what do you get? Cranial combustion- like the battle between you and me! (It's x 2) die, Composer!"
He made a complicated pattern in the air with his right hand, repeating it several times. Five giant black bears, covered in tattoos, appeared before him. He grinned. The Taboo Noise were fantastic tools. Even in small numbers, they gave Reapers problems. And the grizzlies were particularly tough. Five would be quite a task even for the Composer. Not that he expected them to kill him- Minamimoto wanted to take Joshua down himself. He expected the grizzlies to weaken him considerably, though. He looked at Joshua, hoping to see fear in his face.
But Joshua hadn't even moved.
"Wall of Grizzlies, Minamimoto? That's the best you can do? No matter."
Joshua's feet, suddenly, were no longer touching the ground. It was a strange sight- what seemed to be a normal teenage boy (a white-haired one, admittedly) floating above the ground. He was holding his cell phone. Minamimoto knew better than to underestimate the power of said cell phone.
The beams came, quickly. Minamimoto sent the grizzlies after Joshua, but it became clear pretty quickly that it was hopeless. The white beams of light, coming from nowhere, engulfed the bears, killing them one at a time before even one could touch Joshua. Minamimoto twitched.
"Sad, Minamimoto. Quite sad. Is this the best you can do?"
Joshua had to admit, to Minamimoto's credit, that he hadn't been expecting anything quite as potent as Trance Rhinos. Five of them, in fact- nearly twice as strong as the bears and three times as hardy. A trickle of sweat dripped down Joshua's face. Minamimoto didn't allow that to go unnoticed.
"So Our Holy Composer Ain't Holding Till Old Age! You're not gonna let a few rhinos get you down, are you, you cofactor?"
Joshua didn't let his composure slip again. He let loose with his beams, and the rhinos went down fairly quickly. One did succeed in injuring him, cutting his arm, before he struck it with another beam of light, erasing it. Minamimoto cawed in triumph. Joshua, for his part, let his feet touch the ground. This was going to end, very shortly. Only Minamimoto had no idea.
"Ha! So gods can bleed, after all! You're being subtracted here and now, Joshua. Wipe that smile off of your factoring face!"
But Joshua didn't stop smiling. He held his cell phone in one hand, his head cocked at Minamimoto, blood dripping from the wound in his arm. Minamimoto stood in a ready position, suspicious of Joshua's good cheer.
"...Happy now? If a little scratch like this thrills you so much..."
Joshua's finger moved towards a button on the cell phone. Minamimoto stood crouched at the ready.
"...You're going to love the real blood."
He pushed the button. With an audible growl, Minamimoto began to move forward, before he saw the glint of light, coming from the space above his head. He was unable to resist looking up. That moment was fatal.
A bicycle. A street sign. A traffic cone. Things were falling from the sky, random junk, garbage , the very kind of things that Minamimoto himself made art from. He found himself on the ground, quickly, a vending machine toppling him over. He felt the pressure building on him as more items hit the stack. He was quite aware of the irony- he was being attacked, essentially, by a heap. His vision was swimming, and he became achingly aware of the blood rushing from him, threatening to fill his mouth. He spat. Somehow, none of this felt quite real to him. He couldn't be dying, not so easily. He couldn't fall to Joshua. He was so close...so close. So close...
Joshua watched the proceedings with a small smile on his face. Unfortunate, almost, that this should end so quickly. Minamimoto never had a chance. He'd have toyed with him a tad bit longer, but Neku and Beat would be arriving soon. Besides, Minamimoto had managed to scratch him. He couldn't allow that to slide so easily, now, could he?
Minamimoto's vision was flickering, now. Even when the world was visible to him, everything was far too dark. He became aware of a strange sensation crawling over his back, and realized he was lying in a puddle of his own blood. He wanted to surrender to the sensation that was enveloping him, an overwhelming need to sleep, to find peace. But he didn't know whether, if he allowed his eyes to close, he could ever open them again.
Joshua strolled over to the body of the fallen man. He was unsure whether or not Minamimoto could hear him, or see him. He wasn't even sure whether he'd killed him- Minamimoto had proven himself to be quite difficult to destroy in the past. But Joshua didn't have time to find out- Neku and Beat were on their way, he could tell. He had to leave. But he couldn't help but say one final thing before leaving Minamimoto to his fate.
"...Crunch, Minamimoto. You've been added to the heap."
He smiled, almost sadly, before walking away. Joshua had things to do. A game to complete. He had no time to deal with renegades.
Minamimoto held on to consciousness, grasping, desperate. He knew it was hopeless. Darkness threatened to overcome him at any moment. He allowed his body to relax. He was unsure whether Joshua was still present- he'd thought he'd heard footsteps. When he spoke, though, he wasn't speaking to Joshua. He wasn't speaking to anyone, except perhaps himself.
"...Attention, you...fractals. When you add...positive infinity...and negative...infinity...all that remains...is zero. QED. Class is...dismissed..."
Sho Minamimoto closed his eyes, and spoke no more.
Holly: Anyone who caught the reference in there gets so many points. Anyway, R&R, this was extremely fun to write, though I think I made Joshua kind of...mean.