One-shot I wrote based off of an interesting AU prompt. Please enjoy and leave your thoughts in a review! :)

~I do not own TWEWY. If I did, there would have been a sequel out a LONG time ago *shakes fist at a certain company*~

Akio fidgeted nervously as he was called to the Room of Reckoning. He wondered why he was being called to there alone. Had he done something wrong?

As he walked through the Trail of the Judged, he couldn't help but to be awed at the graffiti that covered the walls. This mural was the very fabric of Shibuya and held the soul of the city together. Akio briefly wondered if the Composer was the one who painted it.

Walking a bit more briskly, he finally reached the door that separated the Composer from the rest of the UG. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he slowly pushed the door open.

Beyond the door was a throne room, the Room of Reckoning. Akio gasped as his mind was assaulted with a song- a symphony- that was calling him forward. It was the Composer.

"Welcome Yanagi Akio. I'm sure you are aware of our dear Conductor's ascension. It's a shame, but it appears that we have an open position," the ethereal voice said. "I have heard of your remarkable talent and imagination. Will you take up the role of Conductor?"

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. The Composer, a being far greater than any Akio had met- or would ever meet- was not only praising him, but also allowing him the privilege to work alongside him as his right hand man. It felt like a dream.

"Sir, if you will allow me to do so, it would be an honor."

The shimmering, white figure smiled, "Wonderful."

It had been a month since Akio had been appointed Conductor. During that time, he worked tirelessly, directing the reapers and helping the Composer operate the game so that it could refine a Player's soul to the highest degree.

It was while giving a game report to the Composer that the Conductor realized that he knew nothing about the being he worked for. He knew that the Composer loved games and Shibuya- as would any Composer and their city- but that was it. Akio didn't even know for how long he had been Composer or even his name. The more he thought about it, the more it bothered him. Who was the Composer?

"Akio? Are you awake?" The Composer questioned when his Conductor suddenly broke off while giving his report. When he gained no response, the Composer concluded that the Conductor was off daydreaming again.

Yanagi Akio. An exceptionally talented reaper with a bright soul, not to mention great strength. He was a wonderful Conductor except for his flaw of deep thought. Once his mind was focused on one single strand of an idea, he would pursue it and it would be almost impossible to wake him from his thoughts.

'I'll just leave him here,' the Composer thought with a small giggle. 'He'll have the most amusing expression once he realizes I left.'

'I know! I'll ask Him.' And as Akio snapped out of his thoughts, he realized that he was alone in the Room of Reckoning.

"Sir...? Where did you go..?" The only response he gained was silence.

It suddenly dawned on him that while he was on his little mental tangent, the Composer had likely gotten annoyed and left. Frantically, Akio ran around the room and after a few minutes of panicking and berating himself for being a horrible Conductor did he finally remember that he could search for the Composer's music.

After taking multiple deep breaths to calm himself, Akio focused and searched for the song. He didn't have to look far as he located the melody coming from behind the throne. After a quick search behind said throne, he found a small door that he had never seen before.

This further piqued his interest in the Composer. What was he doing? And why had he never mentioned this door to Akio?

When he opened the door, he didn't expect what he saw.

It was a garden.

Mouth agape, Akio wandered through the garden. There were plants and trees of every kind. A few he recognized by name, like the willow trees, his namesake. Others eluded him and he realized that many were foreign and didn't grow in Japan.

At the center of the garden was a towering tree with silver bark and heart shaped leaves. Underneath the tree stood a teenager. Akio paused briefly. The boy looked roughly around fifteen, had ash blonde hair, and was wearing what appeared to be Pegaso brand clothing. Well, whoever he was, he shouldn't be here.

Before Akio could even say anything however, the boy turned around and spoke. "This is the paulownia tree. It stands at the heart of this garden. It's often nicknamed the Phoenix tree or-" a sudden giggle, "the Princess tree."

The boy swiftly turned and approached another tree. This one was far more familiar to Akio and he instantly recognized the flowers. It was a cherry blossom tree, but the flowers were an strange, almost orange color. The name Neku was etched into the bark.

"This is the Japanese cherry blossom. I'm sure you know of it."

Akio frowned at the boy, "Who are you and where is the Composer?"

The blonde ignored him and continued, "This tree is rather different from most as you can see. It's petals are a bit odd and it shouldn't be blooming right now, but it's rather stubborn, so please ignore that." He then took a few steps back and nodded to the tree that was growing next to it. "Do you know what kind of tree that is?"

Akio irritably glared at the boy as his frown deepened. "I'm not playing games-"

"Oh, are you?" The boy questioned with a small smirk. "Well? What kind of tree is this?" He again nodded to the same tree.

Akio again frowned, but decided to play along with the teen. He would be erased after this anyway.

Looking carefully at the tree, Akio noticed that like the cherry blossom, this tree had a name carved into it as well: Shiki. The tree itself was rather plain looking with simple white flowers.

"It's a pear tree," He deduced.

The teen again smirked and gave a slow, mocking clap, "At long last. Do you you know what pear blossoms symbolize?" When Akio gave no answer, he continued unbidden, "It means a lasting friendship." And then the boy gave a sad smile at the two trees blooming side by side.

"This is fascinating and all, but where is the Compo-"

"These two are rather special. They rely on each other you see," the teen said, as if he had not just interrupted the Conductor. He had once again turned and was now facing two trees behind Akio.

They were both wisteria and Akio immediately noted that they too had names etched into their bark. One read Beat while the other read Rhyme. The tree that had the name Beat engraved was far larger with a thicker trunk while the other was smaller, but they both were tall and strong. They both had bright yellow flowers, a color that surprised Akio. He had never seen them in that color before.

"What do you mean rely on each other?'" Akio asked.

"Oh, you're interested~?" The boy giggled before moving an ashen lock behind his ear. Akio's eye twitched slightly. This boy was grating his nerves.

"Well, when one is watered but the other is not, they'll share the water- even if it's not enough for both of them. They're almost like siblings."

Akio frowned again, "Plants can't do that. That's not possible."

"Oh, but it is in the garden of Eden. The garden of the Composer. Anything is possible." Another annoying smirk.

"Where is the Composer? What are you doing here and who the hell are you?" Akio demanded as the boy wandered back to the first tree- the paulownia.

The teen sat down against the tree and shook his head exasperatedly. "So many questions. Well, if you must know, I came here to relax and enjoy some memories. Oh, and my name is Yoshiya Kiryu, but Mother and Father call me Joshua. I guess you can call me that, too," He added with a charming smile.

"Where is the Composer?" Akio repeated.

The boy ignored his question in favor of humming and leaning back to rest against the bark.

Akio was normally very level headed, but this was all too much. First the Composer disappeared and now some- some child was was taunting and ignoring him. He was at his limit.

In a deep and commanding voice, he growled, "Tell me where the Composer is or face erasure."

The teen stared at him blankly for a full three seconds before bursting out in laughter.

"Do you really not recognize me like this? My, my, you need to listen to my music more, my dear Conductor."

Akio gawked and quickly accessed the music. Indeed, the Composer's symphony was emanating from the boy. As he stood there uncomprehendingly, listening to the teen- no, the Composer- laugh at him, his mind only registered one single fact.

He had been made a fool.

And by the Composer no less.

By the time Akio had finally organized his thoughts, the Composer had stopped laughing and just had a wide smirk on his face. "My, that was entertaining, far more so than a little game report, hmm?"

No response.

"Oh dear, did I break you?"

The Conductor continued to stand stiffly until he finally asked in a quiet voice,"...Is your name really Yoshiya?"

The Composer blinked with surprise at the question, but quickly covered it with a smirk. "Yes, yes it is. But as I said, you can call me Joshua. After all, you are my dear, dear Conductor."

"...Why do these trees have names on them?"

Joshua smiled at him this time- not a smirk but an honest smile. "Like I said, they're memories of years long past. They were players that I knew."

He then turned away, his smile suddenly looking sad. "They were... friends."

"While you were alive?"

A light giggle, "No, actually, most of them hated me for toying with their lives. Of course they eventually got over that. But enough of this, why so curious, Akio?"

"... Do you think that... that I could become a friend as well?"

Joshua stared at his Conductor in bewilderment. He had never had a Conductor didn't fear him or grovel at his feet. One that treated him as a human, not a god.

One that wanted to be friends.

Yet, here his Conductor stood, asking him- Joshua- to become his friend.

The Composer giggled slightly. He knew he had chosen the right one. "Hmmm... maybe. We should get going now. We have a lot of work ahead of us... partner."

Akio chuckled slightly. Partners was enough for now. He just hoped that he would be able to understand this being that he was attempting to befriend. A thought suddenly struck him.

"May I visit this garden occasionally?" He asked.

Joshua raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Whatever for?"

"To talk to your... friends. About you."

An airy chuckle. "Whenever you want, dear."

Yes, for now, partners was enough.

PLANT NAMES:

Yanagi Akio (OC)- Willow Tree

Kiryu Yoshiya- Paulownia which, yes, is called the Princess Tree. Quite fitting, hmm?

Sakuraba Neku- Sakura/Cherry Blossom that was altered by Josh to have Nekky genes xD

Misaki Shiki- Just means blossom, but the meaning of pear blossoms seemed very appropriate ^^

Beat/Rhyme Bito- Wisteria (Akio has some extreme eyesight to pick out the names...)

Original prompt: TWEWY AU where many, many years later, a newly appointed Conductor notices that their Composer has a gardening hobby, and likes to nickname his plants and flowers with the names of previous players that he personally knew.

I had a bit of trouble with the end, but I'm pretty happy with how this turned out.

Please leave a review to tell me how I did! m(-_-)m