"Kariya, please."
"No. I said it once already and I mean it. I will not become the Composer."
The statuesque man stared at the smaller, less imposing one who stood before him, his crimison eyes glinting defiantly. Yoshiya Kiriyu knew from this that Koki Kariya was definitely the right choice for his successor. As the Composer, he would have to have a forceful enough personality to make even the most willful Reaper listen, and Kariya fit that profile wonderfully. A languid grin spread across Joshua's lips.
"Kariya, I know how you died."
The orange-haired Reaper started, looking suspiciously up at the shrouded man before him. His entry fee had been his memories of a certain person, and with them, the knowledge of his death. He had been fine with it, but she hadn't taken it so well. Noticing this, the Composer's smile widened into a grin. He cracked the hermit's shell.
"Do you want me to tell her?" he asked, stretching out his hand, ready to summon the one most precious to Koki Kariya.
"NO!" Kariya yelled, stepping forward. A lollipop dropped to the floor, forgotten. Angrily, the Reaper field agent approached his superior, his eyes glinting with fury and pain. Hands grasped for a shirt past the whirling shroud. Tears dropped to the floor. The orange-haired man shook.
"Please. You can't do that to her. Seeing it once was bad enough." He dropped to the floor, his hands splayed in front of him. Joshua looked down on the man, his violet eyes intense.
"Will you become the Composer in my stead?"
The room filled with an empty silence. A moment that seemed endless passed, and still Kariya lay crouched at Joshua's feet. Finally, the Composer let out a hollow laugh, shaking his head.
"Then you leave me no choice." With a wave of a hand, Joshua let out a summons for Uzuki Yashiro. Kariya jumped up, once again grabbing at the other man's shirt.
"No! Composer, sir, ple-" His words were cut off by the appearance of a digital portal used by the Reapers in emergencies. A pink-haired Reaper stepped out, her face beaming.
"Sir!" she cried, approaching the Composer smartly. Her pale eyes took in the sight before her, alarmed, and she attempted to move forward.
She couldn't.
"Kariya, what the HELL is going on?!" she shrieked, her eyes bulging as she struggled to move. Kariya stared at her, his face pale and drawn with horror. Joshua's hand raised, poised ominously towards Uzuki.
"This is your last chance, Koki. Will you become the next Composer?"
Uzuki quit struggling. Silence passed before she sighed, opening her mouth slowly to speak.
"Kariya, if you don't say yes...I swear..." she strugled for words as tears began to swell in her eyes. Her head snapped as she looked at him, eyes full of rage. "You never accept anything for what you do! You say that you like being a field agent so much, and yet you always seem so bored! Why you gave up your promotion...is beyond me. It's all I ever wanted!" Her pink eyebrows furrowed as she made another attempt to move. Much to her surprise, she did, and she stumbled up to Kariya's side.
"Say yes or I will never buy you another bowl of ramen."
Kariya stared at her blankly. Joshua sighed. A finger moved-
"Fine."
The unisyllabic utterance made the room feel heavy. The Composer smiled.
"And so it shall be."