Atonement

Stage 3 - The Game

"A… game?" Joshua questioned incredulously.

"A game," the demon fox confirmed. "That's what you do, isn't it? You play games and decide the fates of the souls who dare to play them if they lose."

Though Joshua was a bit ticked at having the Reaper's Game described as nothing more than a source of entertainment for him, it wouldn't be wise to mess with a youkai that could just as easily bite his head off. Besides, this could actually work in his favor. He never lost a game. Ever.

"What kind of game?"

The fox still grinned icily as one of its tails lashed out at the air like a whip, several strands of silver hair shooting from its tail – and then a pure silver katana drilled itself into the ground just inches away from Joshua's foot.

"Simple; it's merely a small game of skill," said the Kyuubi as its shape began to grow smaller, until it was roughly the same height as Joshua, its body almost humanoid as it stood on its hind legs, before a dark kimono materialized on its body and a white kitsune mask, adorned by red and black wavy lines, appeared on its face as it seemed to turn fully humanoid, except for the ears and tails. One of its tails moved over and it used one arm to pull loose a blade that had nine hooks attached to it, making it look even more dangerous than the blade already was. "He who immobilizes the other first, wins. If you win, I'll leave and you'll never see me again. But if I win, I'll do as I promised and devour you!"

Joshua frowned in worry, glancing over to Neku from the corner of his eyes, before he asked: "What about Neku?"

"Hmm… Well, win or lose, I'll let him walk and do whatever he so pleases. Is that acceptable?"

Joshua considered his options, but he knew he had no real choice if he wanted both Shibuya and Neku to stay safe, so he wordlessly took the katana in his hands. It was a little heavy, but he had expected that; there was no way the Kyuubi was going to make this easy on him. He knew better than to complain though, and simply brought up the blade.

"Fine. Let's play then."

"Hehe… Game start!"

The Kyuubi was good, that much was clear; it handled that blade with ease as though it weighed next to nothing, and Joshua would not be surprised if it didn't. The fox would lash out with well-aimed swings that could easily slice off his head if the youkai had been trying. Joshua himself wasn't as proficient with a blade, but he knew enough to be able to block the fox's attacks and keep the blade in his hands. However, the sheer ferocity of the Kyuubi's assault didn't provide him with much opportunity to attack in return.

And suddenly he was forced to jump back when one of the daiyoukai's tails came out of nowhere. Joshua lashed out at the powerful limb, making the fox pull its tail away.

"Foul play. Using your tails is against the rules."

However, Kyuubi merely smirked.

"Is it now? Did I ever say what was allowed and what wasn't? This is a game of skill, Composer! If you want to win, then come at me with all you've got!"

And then four of the fox's tails were coming at him from all angles, and Joshua did the first thing that came to mind. He brought up one hand and launched a beam of silvery-white energy to deflect the tails as they rushed for him. And then he had to backpedal to avoid a lash that would've sliced right through his skin. Instead, now it only ripped through his shirt, which was a minor problem.

'He's right… He never did say what's allowed in this game and what isn't. All he said is that it's a game of skill…' As that thought registered with Joshua, though, a small smirk played on his face. 'Well, fine. If that's how you want to play, then that's how we'll play.'

Joshua might've been several centuries younger than the Kyuubi, but there was no way he was going to go down without a fight. Once the Kyuubi had revealed that using skills other than those with a blade weren't prohibited, Joshua was pulling out everything he had and was actually standing on equal footing with the powerful youkai. But he knew that that wouldn't be enough to deal with the demon, meaning he had to finish this quick.

Using another burst of energy to deflect the tails, Joshua rushed in and managed to grab the daiyoukai by the neck with his free hand and force him down to the ground with a yowl.

"Got you!" Joshua roared out, rearing back his arm with the blade to stab forward–

"Nope!" the Kyuubi cackled and, with a poof of smoke, the daiyoukai was gone from under the Composer, almost making Joshua fall flat on his face.

Quickly, the silverette climbed back to his feet and look around, searching anxiously for the Kyuubi, but, no matter where he looked, the daiyoukai was nowhere to be seen. This was both a relief and worrisome. A relief because it was possible it had left, but worrisome because Joshua didn't know where it had gone.

After a few more moments of searching for the daiyoukai, Joshua shook the matter off ad ran to Neku's side. He shook Neku by his shoulder in an attempt to wake him up while calling: "Neku… Neku, wake up! Wake up, Neku!"

The redhead groaned wearily after the call/shake, and blinked his sleepy eyes open. "…whuh… Josh…?" he moaned out as he spotted the Composer of Shibuya through half-lidded eyes. "Wha… what just happened…?"

Joshua resisted the urge to sigh in relief when he realized Neku was fine (or appeared to be, at least), and shook his head. "Nothing, dear," he said simply, as he held out free hand Neku. "You just passed out. That's all."

Even with him being half-awake, Neku looked like he didn't believe the silverette's poor excuse, but he didn't say anything about it and merely grabbed Joshua by his wrist, allowing the Composer to pull him back to his feet. He stumbled a bit, but Joshua was able to keep him on his feet before he tumbled down the steps.

"…Josh, why are we here?" Neku asked suddenly, as he looked around in confusion.

"Hm? Oh, we've been here a while already," Joshua chuckled out, deciding that playing it cool was the better option right now. "Did you forget already, dear?"

"Don't call me that!" Neku snarled out, before his gaze seemed to be drawn to something behind Joshua. "Huh…? Who's that?"

The Composer of Shibuya paled and whipped around in response. And when he did, he spotted the Kyuubi he had fought mere moments ago, leaning against one of the massive pillars in the room, appearing almost casual. His sword rested beside him against the wall and he had his arms crossed. And while he couldn't see the fox's real face, Joshua could hear the smirk as the daiyoukai spoke:

"You seem to be enjoying yourself, Composer… should you really be so lax in your guard, though?"

"…Joshua, who…?"

"Ssh…" the Composer hissed. "You're the one who turned tail and ran, aren't you? Were you planning too just give me a victory?"

The Kitsune chuckled icily. "Oh, I wouldn't dream of it."

"…So… shall we continue?"

"…Heheheh…" Joshua blinked as the fox chuckled, before he said simply: "No."

"…no?"

"This match… is already over."

The Composer wasn't able to question it, because just then, a set of arms coiled under his arms and linked the hands behind his neck. The position forced Joshua's arms back (plus it made him drop the katana) and didn't allow him to move in the slightest, especially with the person holding him pressed up firmly against his back.

"Wh-wha?!" Joshua choked out, while the Kyuubi brought up his hands briefly and clapped almost casually.

"Very nice. Very nice indeed… You're a very good actor, Neku. You almost had me convinced."

Joshua froze in a combination of horror and surprise, as he tried to look back over his shoulder, but the position he was in made it impossible. "N… Neku?"

"Shut up, Kurasa," the Proxy in question snarled out. "Just take over, will ya?!"

The Kyuubi laughed as he walked toward the pair, one of his tails picking up his sword as he went. "A'ight, a'ight, I'm coming. No need to get antsy on me there," he said simply, before four of his tails snapped forward and coiled around Joshua's limbs.

The second he had a good grip on them, Neku released him and stepped back at the same time as the demon fox lifted the Composer up into the air.

"And I do believe, Composer, that that makes this my victory," he said coldly, as Neku stepped around the bound silverette to stand beside the fox.

"H… how did… W-why is…?" Joshua choked out, attempting to struggle against the restraints. Unfortunately, the youkai had a very tight grip on him. Let alone, for some reason, his powers as Composer seemed to be eluding him, rendering him virtually defenseless.

"Hm? Why Neku is helping me? Is that what you want to know?" the Kyuubi asked, an amused tone underlining his voice. "Well, I could just tell you… but where's the fun in that? It's much more entertaining to leave you guessing and grasping at straws. But, let me tell you one small thing; he's the reason I was able to put that seal on you."

When the Kyuubi spoke those words and pointed to his right (Joshua's left), Joshua gasped and snapped his head to the left to stare at his left wrist. Even with the tail that still kept him up, he could see the black magatama-like markings that circled his wrist. It wasn't a seal he recognized, but he could guess what it was for. And, sure enough, when he tried to summon some of his energy into his limbs, he felt nothing besides a sting in his wrist. The energy refused to center on him, even if Joshua could still feel it running through his body.

"…you son of a…!"

"Ah-ah, let's refrain from using that particular line, shall we?" the fox quipped as he clicked Joshua's mouth shut with his thumb and forefinger. "We Kitsune take that insult rather personal, alright?"

Joshua resisted the urge to snarl as he pulled back from the Kyuubi. "I… I don't believe you!"

"Heh, if you don't believe me… why don't you ask him yourself?" the Kyuubi chuckled out. "Though I really doubt his answer will please you any."

The Composer's glare faltered briefly, almost unsure, before he turned to face Neku. "N… Neku?"

"…" Neku shut his eyes for a moment and lowered his head, seeming to be almost in thought, before he gazed up to the silverette with a look that was neither kind nor angry. It was… almost accusing. "…He's telling the truth," he said coldly. "I helped him… on my own accord."

"What?! But… but why?!"

"…Ask your soul… if you still have it, that is…"

"Wha… I… why do you…?"

"If I may interrupt this small lovers' spat," the Kyuubi said suddenly with a small chuckle, "I do believe this should make it obvious that this boy is on my side. Does it not, Composer?"

Joshua clenched his fists tightly, almost shaking in a combination of disbelief and anger. Disbelief over Neku turning against him, even though he should have expected some sort of rebuke from the Proxy (though he would have never expected this), and anger over the Kyuubi's actions. "That… that was cheating, Kyuubi."

"Excuse me? Didn't we cover this before? I never said it was forbidden to call in help from a third party, now did I?" the daiyoukai chuckled. "Oh, and before you even try… don't bother calling your Producer. He's a little… shall we say, 'tied up'."

Upon hearing that, Joshua's eyes widened in alarm and he barely got out: "Sanae?! Wh-what did you do to him?!"

"Well… if I'd listened to orders as I should've…" the Kitsune said thoughtfully, rubbing at his chin, "then I would've been heading home with his head on a silver platter."

The Composer was unable to respond, since Neku beat him to it, glaring at the Kyuubi no Kitsune. "Kurasa! You promised!"

"I said 'if', did I not?" said the Kyuubi casually to the boy, before turning back to Joshua. "You're lucky that Neku's such a big fan of CAT or I wouldn't have even considered letting him off with little more than a rebuke for all he's done."

"…wha…? What do you mean with 'all he's done'?" Joshua asked slowly, fearfully.

"That, I'm afraid, you'll have to ask your Producer," the fox said with a shrug, though the smirk was not gone from his voice yet. "Although… you should be worrying more about yourself right now, rather than your Producer."

Joshua actually gulped when the daiyoukai said those words, as he gave up his futile struggle against the fox's powerful limbs. There was no way he could get out of the fox's powerful grip with his powers sealed as they were. As he remained there, staring in horror at the two redheads, he came to a horrifying conclusion;

He had lost, and the Kyuubi had him right where he wanted him.

Yeah… this is where things start getting interesting. Also, "Wishes" will be slightly delayed because I'm working on one particular scene, and it's not working out the way I want it to work out. So sorry.