First, everything was dark. Not dark as in it was completely dark and Beat couldn't see, but dark as in he could only just make out his surroundings. Beat knew he was in a cave of some sort; how he had gotten there wasn't really important. What was important was how he was getting out. So, he started forward, the only sounds coming from his shoes as they hit the ground.

Clip, clip, clip…

Beat frowned at hearing that noise. Was there someone else in here with him? Suddenly, Beat's breath caught in his throat as a strange, inexplicable panic set in. He needed to get away; he needed to get away right now!

But something was driving him forward: he couldn't turn around. He had to keep going. The noise was getting louder and louder, and Beat found himself starting to hyperventilate. The room was getting darker and the sound had sped up.

Huhn, huhn, huhn…!

Without warning, the sound terminated in a high-pitched giggle. Beat was finally able to stop breathing so fast—he guessed that it was probably because his blood had frozen solid. He recognized that voice—he could recognize it anywhere! He stared straight ahead, unwilling to show her how afraid he was.

But when Mitsuki Konishi brought Rhyme's pin out of her pocket, Beat's façade shattered completely. Seeing nothing but red, Beat charged for her because he would not let this happen again. To his utter horror, Konishi dropped Rhyme's pin to the ground and lifted her foot. He screeched to a stop. Beat wanted to shout at her not to do it, but he found that he couldn't say anything, only wave his hands frantically and shake his head. No, no, no, no!

Konishi looked back up at him and gave him a chilling smile, her foot still hovering ominously over the pin.

((This is all your fault, you know))

Beat was still just standing there, despite the fact that he was trying to move, trying to save Rhyme, and trying not to fail because he'd done enough of that already. He reached out to the pin, hoping that by some miracle it would fly to him so he could keep it safe.

((And it will always be your fault))

Konishi giggled again, and brushed her hair out of her face. With that wicked grin, Konishi brought her foot down sharply and shattered the pin—shattered Rhyme!—into a thousand pieces, and fragments of her slid across the ground and rested at his feet.

((Failure))

With a jolt, Beat woke up. He was panting and a thick sheen of sweat covered his body. His heart was pounding rapidly in his chest and his face felt wet…

Beat sat up sharply and looked around wildly, not recognizing his surroundings. Where was he, where was he?! Then it all came back to him. Traverse Town. He was sleeping in the Hotel that Neku and Rhyme had found. That was where everyone slept.

Beat slowly reached up and touched his face, only for his fingers to come away wet.

"Shit…" Beat whispered, although it sounded like a whimper to him. He took a long and shaky breath, and then began rubbing his eyes. Beat wasn't going to let anyone know that he'd been crying from another nightmare.

Everyone had nightmares, Beat knew that. But he thought that he might be—no—Beat was absolutely positive that he was the only one who woke up crying still. A part of him just wanted to let it all out, though, to just bawl and let it all out—but he couldn't. He had to be strong. If he cried, that meant the nightmares had beaten him, and he wasn't going to allow that.

He needed to get out of here. It didn't matter what time it was; Beat just needed to get outside, run around in a place that wasn't Shibuya, and force himself to stop crying. It didn't matter that he was still wearing a pair of pajamas; Beat just wanted to stop thinking about Konishi's coming back and killing Rhyme, his being completely unable to stop her, it's your fault, it's your fault, it's always your fault!

"Fuck…!" Beat sobbed, rubbing his face again. He quickly got up from the bed and rushed to the door to the hallway. Flinging it open, Beat charged down the corridors and ran outside. A small chill descended upon him from the air, but he ignored it. Choosing a random direction, Beat took off running.

It was what he'd always done when his parents had upset him. He'd run off. But one can't run away from nightmares. They always follow close behind.

"Beat, what on earth are you doing up at this hour?" a familiar voice chimed from above. Beat, however, didn't stop to talk. He needed to keep moving, or everything would catch up with him. In any case, Beat couldn't deal with Joshua right now. So, he just ran by, ignoring the other kid completely.

Beat whirled around a corner and rushed into the Third District, only to see Joshua standing in front of him.

"It's rude to ignore people, you know," Joshua told Beat, giving him a disapproving stare.

"What d'you want…?" Beat glared at Joshua.

"I want to know why you're acting so weak right now," Joshua scoffed, brushing his hair aside in a prissy fashion. Immediately, Beat's eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms tightly over his chest

"The hell are you talkin' about?" Beat snarled. "Jus' get outta here, Joshua, I ain't in the mood." With that said, Beat spun around and started to run the other way, only to be intercepted by a fish-looking Nightmare charging him. He barely hopped out of the way.

"Running away isn't going to solve anything, Beat," Joshua piped up from behind him. Beat's breath caught for a second, and then he balled his fists tightly.

The Nightmare in front of him charged again, snapping widely. It didn't look like a simple fish to Beat. It looked more like a shar—

"Beat!" Joshua snapped, pulling him out of the way of the attack, "get ahold of yourself!"

Beat looked down at Joshua sharply, and then shook his head to clear it. Several different Nightmares had already popped up and surrounded them.

"Are you honestly going to let some shark look-alike Dream Eater defeat you?" Joshua asked, still looking at Beat. "Don't you think it's time for a beat down?"

Beat's eyes widened at the use of one of his phrases. For a second, all he could do was stare. Then he spun around to face the nearest Nightmare and delivered a ferocious punch.

Beat plopped to the ground, breathing heavily. He leaned back against the wall and started to work on getting his breathing back to normal. After a while, he glanced up to see that Joshua was still there, looking at him.

"Think I'm weak now?" Beat asked, too exhausted to be truly worked up over it anymore. Waking up in the middle of the night and then fighting Nightmares would have made anyone tired.

"I never said that," Joshua murmured. "I said that you were 'acting weak.'"

"What d'you mean by that?" Beat asked, frowning at Joshua now.

"Exactly what I said," Joshua replied. "Moping around never solved anything."

Beat scowled at that. "Go to hell, yo. I ain't mopin'. Now, lemme alone."

"Well, aren't you being nice…" Joshua said and rolled his eyes. "By the way, if you wanted to conceal the fact that you've been crying, you're going about it all wrong. The puffy eyes are a dead give-away."

"I wasn't cryin'," Beat said harshly. "I've told you before, I ain't scared a' nothin'!"

"You were scared…?" Joshua asked, giving Beat a level stare. At those words, Beat just sat up. He was getting angry again. Not wanting to say anything that he would regret later, Beat immediately started heading back to the Hotel. He'd lock his door and—

"Running away again?" Joshua asked, not making a move to follow. Beat halted and turned around to face him.

"I ain't running, yo! Why won't you shut up an' go screw yourself?" Beat objected, even though he knew that he was. He didn't want to admit it to Joshua, though.

"Because, I need another me to do that," Joshua replied smoothly, a small smirk gracing his features.

"Whatever, man," Beat sighed. "Go do what you want. 'S what you do anyway."

"Well, aren't you a Negative Nancy. Where did your usual bravado go?"

"Why do you care?" Beat asked, fiddling with the chain around his neck.

Joshua shrugged. "Why can't I? Is there some hidden rule that I wasn't informed of?"

Beat went quiet at that, not sure what to say in return. An awkward silence fell over them. After a while, Joshua spoke up again.

"You do realize that what happened was not your fault, right?"

Beat had to fight to keep himself from flipping Joshua off. "Don't give me none a' that bullshit." If Joshua pitied him, if Joshua pitied him, Beat would definitely want to punch something. The idea itself made Beat's stomach hurt.

Joshua rolled his eyes again. "You think I pity you? Beat, I don't pity people."

"Then tell me what the hell you want!" Beat shouted, clenching his fists again and gritting his teeth. He felt the overwhelming need to punch Joshua in the face. To sock him, maybe knock out a tooth. It was starting to sound more and more appealing.

Joshua simply let out a weary sigh and massaged his forehead. Then he looked up with a strange sparkle in his eyes.

"How about a race? If you can beat me to the First District, then I'll tell you whatever you want," Joshua said, his infamous smirk spreading across his face.

Beat thought for a second, then gave a curt nod. "A'ight."

Joshua's smirk widened briefly before he walked over to stand beside Beat.

"All right," Joshua said. "On your mark..."

Beat shook his head frantically to clear some of the weariness out. He knew he couldn't run right if he was tired.

"Get set..."

Beat leaned forward, eagerly awaiting his victory. Joshua might be powerful, but a runner he was not.

"Go."

At hearing that word, Beat immediately sprinted forward and quickly reached the Second District. Breathing deeply, Beat felt the oxygen energize him. The straining of his muscles and the pounding of his feet against the ground drove him forward.

Seeing the entrance to the First District before him, Beat jumped up to the platform, and ran to the door. He hastily pulled it open and dashed to the main area of the First District.

To Beat's complete surprise, Joshua was waiting there for him, leaning against one of the lamp posts.

"Oh, hell no!" Beat declared, looking shocked. "I was way ahead a' you! You better not have warped or somethin'!"

"Of course not," Joshua scoffed, "You simply went the wrong way."

"I did not!" Beat said, offended at the notion. "I went through the Second District right to here!"

At that, Joshua let out a small chuckle.

"Beat, follow me." Joshua motioned for Beat to follow him and walked over to a large door. After a second, Beat recognized what it was.

"Duuuuuude, tha's not fair!" Beat objected as Joshua smiled cheerfully, opening the door slowly to reveal the Third District.

"While you were running and breaking a sweat, all I had to do was walk through this door, my dearest Beat," Joshua explained gleefully. Beat suddenly wondered if Joshua got off on doing stuff like this.

"Now, it's time for me to reap," Joshua giggled, "my rewards."

"Dude, no," Beat admonished him before he could say anything else. "Jus'...no. 'Sides... I'm the one who used t' be a Reaper. So I'd be the one reapin'."

Joshua, smirking now, continued with what he was saying earlier. "Puns aside, my winnings shall be your telling me exactly what you're afraid of."

At hearing that, Beat froze and stared at Joshua. Joshua looked back levelly, looking more serious now.

"Why do you care?" Beat asked, feeling a sense of déjà vu swamp him.

"Sorry, I can't say anything. You didn't win, remember?" Joshua said. Beat let out a frustrated noise and pulled his beanie down slightly more. Joshua was still looking up at him, his arms crossed. After Beat continued to not respond, trying to think of a way to explain exactly what he was afraid of in a way that wouldn't sound stupid, Joshua started walking over to the café across from them.

"Come along, Beat," Joshua called. Beat watched him walk for a few seconds before following.

"Why're we goin' here?" Beat asked as Joshua pulled a chair out and sat down at the table. Beat did the same and continued to look at him with a puzzled look.

"Oh, several reasons. First of all: I wanted to sit down. Second of all: I've obviously taken a romantic interest in you and decided to date you, don't forget our anniversary, dear. Our lovely wedding is going to be next week—"

"BWWAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Beat shouted and tried to jump back, only to get his foot caught under the leg of the table and fall down. "No, no, no, NO!"

"Beat, I—"

"I mean, we can't get married, yo! Too fuckin' young! I don't even want to date you, what the hell, I'm not gay! No way, man! Gay marriage ain't legal either, so no, no, no!" Beat continued to sputter his objections, his face quickly turning red. He couldn't help but think about what would happen if he tried introducing Joshua to his parents, oh stop!

"Why, Beat, are you blushing down there?" Joshua teased, leaning forward. "Oh, you must be attracted to me."

"I am NOT!" Beat shouted, wishing he could be anywhere but here.

"Are you sure? There seems to be a lot of blood rushing to your face. Oh dear, I'm starting to worry that your poor feet aren't getting enough blood now," Joshua giggled, leaning over the table to look at him better. Beat pulled his beanie down farther, trying to cover his face more.

"Oh, Beat, do you know how incredibly adorable you look right now?" Joshua asked.

"Sshhhhhuut uppppp!" Beat groaned and sat up, turning away from Joshua now.

Joshua's teasing continued for a bit until Beat's blush faded.

"My, my. You blush easily," Joshua said lightly as Beat directed a glare at him. "It's not like I said anything particularly graphic, or talked about how erotic our honeymoon would be."

"Dude, stop!" Beat ordered. He suddenly felt a newfound respect for Neku, who had to put up with Joshua much more than he did.

"All right, all right. I was only joking, Beat." Joshua waved his hand, as if dismissing the earlier notion of marriage.

"Dude, you got some balls pullin' this shit," Beat humphed, sitting back down on the chair.

"So you noticed," Joshua smirked, propping his head up on the table with his arm.

"A' course I noticed. I always notice stuff like that, y'know?" Beat answered honestly.

"Beat, I thought you just said that you weren't gay. How could you take explicit notice of my genitalia and not be?" Joshua teased, seemingly enjoying himself very much.

Beat looked at Joshua with a stunned look on his face, then, carefully and calmly said "Fuck you."

"Name the time and place, dear," Joshua retorted.

"A'ight, tha's it. I'm done with this, man," Beat said as he got up. He turned to go back to the Hotel and hide under his bed for the rest of the week. He heard a loud sigh behind him.

"Wait, Beat. Hold on," Joshua protested. "You still haven't told me what it is you're afraid of."

"Dude, after what you jus' did, no way in hell," Beat replied.

"Beat, you did lose, remember? That was the deal. Are you not going to go through with our wager?"

Beat turned to look back at Joshua, who had a look on his face that Beat couldn't describe. It was at that point that he remembered what Rhyme had told him about Joshua. The time he'd tried cheering Joshua up when he was moping around in the Fountain Plaza. To make Joshua feel better, Beat had challenged him to a race through the Post Office.

Beat then remembered that Joshua had challenged him to a race this time. Beat knew that Joshua could be lazy when it came to physical excursions, so why would he challenge Beat to a race?

And why did he want to know about what scared Beat so badly? Beat would have to ask Neku about it later.

"Beat, listen, I'll let you go back to your room now," Joshua said. "I'll even let the subject drop, all right?"

What? What the hell was wrong with Joshua? It unnerved Beat to see him like this.

"Dude, you ain't lettin' me do nothin'," Beat grumbled, "I do what I want."

Joshua opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. Seeing that, Beat walked back over to him.

"Hey, you got somethin' t' say, say it." Beat crossed his arms and cocked his head. He wasn't as upset about Joshua's flirting anymore. Joshua flirted with everyone, so it didn't really bother Beat. There was something reassuring, knowing that Joshua wasn't actually being serious about what he said sometimes. It also felt better knowing he wasn't the only one getting flirted with by Joshua.

But if he ever found out Joshua was flirting with Rhyme behind his back, Beat wouldn't hesitate to deck him.

"Say, Beat, why did you take time out of your oh-so-busy schedule to 'drag me out of that corner?'" Joshua asked.

That? Was that what this was all about?

"'Cause I wanted t'..." Beat mumbled, shuffling his feet quietly. "I mean, I couldn't jus' leave you there all by yourself. 'Sides, Rhyme would've wanted me t' help."

"Beat, that... why wouldn't you want to leave me on my own? If you tell me why you cared about me back at that time, I'll tell you why I care at this moment..." Joshua trailed off, then scowled harshly. Beat thought he looked like he was mad at himself. Both of them were quiet for a while. Beat wasn't quite sure what to say. He wasn't sure why he cared.

"Dude... don't be gay," Beat joked, attempting to alleviated at least a little bit of the tension between them.

"Beat, don't be homophobic," Joshua countered. "Also, don't try to change the subject."

"I ain't homophobic! I'm a'ight with gay guys, I just don't want 'em flirtin' with me!" Beat frantically replied. "An' I ain't changin' the subject... jus' tryin' to make things not awkward..."

"T' answer the question..." Beat continued after a bit of silence, "I cared 'cause you was jus' alone, man. I didn't wanna leave you there 'cause then I'd be an ass. It's like this sayin' I found on the Internet, yo. 'You don't mind bein' alone, but you hate feelin' alone.' Tha's what you reminded me of. You looked like you was feelin' down, so I wanted t' cheer you up. We all in this together, y'know? None a' us are alone."

Joshua stared at Beat, and Beat couldn't help but feel uncomfortable, like Joshua was judging him.

"Well...?" Beat murmured. "What about you? You promised you'd tell me, yo."

Joshua regarded him carefully. "You cheered me up back then, so I figured I'd return the favor."

"So you'd have left me alone if I hadn't helped you...?" Beat asked, a little stunned. He'd figured that Joshua had just wanted to make an ass of himself again. But he'd actually wanted to help him? Beat blinked blankly a few times, computing this new information.

"Most likely," Joshua answered truthfully, shrugging. "Which was why I wanted to know your fears. I figured that you needed to overcome them."

"Why didn't you jus' say so, man?!" Beat walked over and smacked Joshua lightly on the back, causing Joshua to stumble forward a little. Joshua directed an annoyed look at him.

Beat didn't care, though; he just grinned down at the Composer and ruffled his hair. He was already feeling better now that things made sense. Actually, he'd been feeling better about his nightmares ever since that race earlier. It was at that point that Beat realized something about what Joshua had said.

"Wait, wait, wait, you only doin' this cause you think you owe me one?" Beat cocked his head to the side. Joshua nodded.

"Bravo, Beat," Joshua purred. "I'm proud of you."

Beat frowned at hearing that. "Hey... you didn't need t' pay me back. Didn't expect you to."

"I dislike owing people things," Joshua explained. "You helped me, I helped you."

"First of all, you pissed me off more than helpin' me. Second of all, didn't you hear me? I didn't do it so you'd owe me one. Did it so you'd be okay. Joshua, I..." Beat trailed off, noticing the confused look on Joshua's face. It faded quickly, replaced by Joshua's usual arrogance.

"Whatever the case, I still won't rest until I've helped you. So, I shall be sticking to you like glue," Joshua smirked.

"A'ight, help me by not helpin' me," Beat said frantically. The idea of having the Composer in his debt was a startling prospect; Beat was uncomfortable with it. Joshua's smirk grew wider, as if he were enjoying the sight.

"Oh, no, no. I won't have you modestly denying my newest mission. Here, I'll even give myself a time limit," Joshua drawled. "Beat, dear, do you have a pen on hand?"

Beat simply gestured to himself. He was still wearing pajamas, after all. Where did Joshua think he'd keep a pen?

"Drat, well, hold on." Joshua walked back into the café, only to return a few minutes later with a pen. Beat watched as Joshua started to scrawl something onto his palm, only to show Beat moments later.

24:00

"There," Joshua said decidedly, "I have one day to make you happy. This shouldn't be too hard."

A.N.: HAHAHA... Wow, this wasn't supposed to be this long. Or turn into a two-shot. But Joshua had to go and make everything complicated and here we are. Of course, we all know that Joshua and Beat are complicated.

~IMPORTANT~

I should probably elaborate right here. Okay, the fanfictions Contemplations and Underground take place in the same universe as this fanfiction. They're all interconnected. Obviously, Underground takes place a while after this, since they're on better terms with each other. I just thought that I should clear that up.