A/N. As we're plowing out the driveway due to deeeeeeeeep snow, I'm plowing through this story. Which is a good thing. Just so you know.

(I'm sorry we're not update-syncing for this, Jestry, but I can usually throw down a DM in a flash)

-X-X-

Chapter Six

-X-X-

Masks

-X-X-

The following morning was a bright, sparkling one, full of promises. The very air seemed crisp, cheerful, and exceptionally fresh.

Out on the porch of his condo, Joshua stopped to savor the aforementioned morning air, basking in the newness of the dawn, and relaxed enough to just enjoy life in a mortal's body. On some days, he had forgotten its sweetness.

Absently noting the absence of Noise, the young man sipped his tea and watched the shoreline. Waves lapped gently at the sand, coaxing it into the water only to wash the sand back ashore. The endless cycle was soothing- the only certain[certainty] in his disturbingly uncertain world.

So much had changed in the 4 or so years following the end of his Game against the Conductor. He himself had changed- his goals, his outlook on life, his care (and lack thereof) for the people he lived among.

Power didn't have the same old sweetness it had once had. He actually cared about the Souls of the fallen now, as opposed to blindly and distantly 'processing' them. What was more... he was no longer the only person he cared about now. He had let himself care again.

With a faint smile, his mind flashed back to a conversation with Hanekoma when Joshua was still young- before he had gotten his hands on a gun and opted out of the RG...

'Joshua toyed with the pink hearts on the counter at WildKat. Valentine's Day was in full swing, and the Cafe was doing a fair amount of business selling chocolate and little heart-shaped muffins.

"Why aren't you at school, swapping Valentines like a normal kid? " Mr. H's smile was kind as he emphasized the 'normal' for irony. The 13 year old shrugged easily. "Didn't think I'd get anything. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly the most lovable boy. "

"Oh, I think you are. You just gotta let people get to know the real Joshua, and not hide behind that mask you put on every morning. "

Joshua scowled slightly. "Pardon me for not bearing my soul to every shallow-hearted girl who looks my way. "

Hanekoma sighed deeply. "I think you'd be pleasantly surprised what happens when you take a risk and let your guard down… " '

The Composer was jolted out of his reminiscing by the sight of a very familiar female figure walking alone on the beach. Impulsively, Joshua got up, descended the stairs, and followed her.

As he got closer, he was disturbed by the massive amount of Noise flocking around her- a veritable cloud of Frogs, Crows, and denial and guilt's Popguins. Something was wrong.

"Rhyme? " he called softly. She turned around suddenly, the early morning sun catching something bright on her hand. 'Oh, no. Please...no...' There was a moment of dizzy denial, like the teetering on the edge of a cliff- the numb refusal of the inevitable that blocks all reason and slows time.

"Oh, Joshua. I didn't expect you to be up so early. " She started to hide the sparkling hand behind her back unconsciously, but stopped as Joshua replied.

"I'm not usually, " he stated irreverently as he felt his heart shatter. Within seconds, Noise were swarming, shredding his Soul, and he stumbled a little as he turned to face the sea. He was in shock, not even noticing the very real damages being wreaked on his body until a little trickle of blood started to flow down his arm. Halfheartedly throwing up a barrier, his mind spun as his lips continued the conversation like it was a separate being. "Why aren't you home with your fiancé? "

'Fiancé'. The foreign syllables embed themselves like bullets in Joshua' heart.

"Oh, " she replied, drawing in another batch of Noise. Her companion drew in a quick, sharp breath, brushing hair out of his face to conceal a slice on his temple. "So you saw. "

'Fiancé'. The word still echoed in the morning air.

"You were hiding it from me? I wouldn't think it was anything to be ashamed of... if you loved him. " Stress and pain made his voice sharper than he usually spoke to Rhyme.

"Of course I do, " she replied defensively, as Joshua bit his lip and tried to stop himself from collapsing. Noise were reproducing at an astonishing rate, fed as they were by fragments of such a powerful pair of Souls.

'Fiancé'.

Absently, Joshua remembered why one could only truly fight the Noise in pairs. When you're alone, it's much harder to bring yourself out of the depths of depression and despair. When you're alone, it's much harder to hope.

"Then why are you here? " He queried.

"I just came to… to think... " she murmured after a moment, though she sounded like she didn't even believe herself. "I have to save him," Rhyme whispered.

A surge of jealousy, and anger, and pure hatred sped through Joshua's body. Jealousy of Tim, because he wasn't the one watching her sleep and night and holding her hand when they walked together. Anger towards that alcoholic moron who he wanted to tear apart with his bare hands, blood phobia be damned.

"Joshua? " Her voice was soft.

"Yes? " His tone matched hers, purely from weakness.

"...I should go. We're still friends, right? "

"Why wouldn't we be? " Without waiting for her reply, he went back the way he came, blocking his emotions and viciously blasting the Noise away. He could run from a conversation, but he couldn't run from the facts.

Joshua hated himself. He hated himself for not telling Rhyme how much she meant to him; he hated himself for letting her stay with Tim in a relationship that was obviously dragging her down; but mostly, he hated himself for running in the first place, so long ago...

-X-X-

Dun dum dum da dahhhhh! (what is it with me and ending chapters with cliffhangers now?)