Welcome to the sequal to Rain's Requiem! Full disclaimer here, I own everything you don't immediately recognize from SE's library of awesome. Sue and face erasure. Also, you may review if you feel so inclined.

The sun shown gently in Shibuya. The district began to wake from what seemed a very fitful, stormy sleep. In an apartment complex, a series of rays broke through the window of one particular flat, landing on a couch with one sole occupant.

That occupant immediately hacked up phlem all over the carpet, groaned, stretched, and smirked. It then took out an orange flip phone and pressed a series of buttons, causing the shower upstairs to get very cold. Now, this wouldn't have seemed all that big a deal...except that a certain carrot-top was contentedly bathing himself in hot, relaxing water…

The resulting shriek caused the guilty party to laugh until he had to cough again, while the aforementioned redhead swore many profanities at him from the now icy confines of the bathroom shower. His response to this was to wretch onto the floor and curl up tightly, shivering while trying to hold in a chuckle or two.

Despite having been forced into this position by the Higher Council over two months ago, Yoshiya 'Joshua' Kiryu, Composer of Shibuya...was decidedly not getting any better. His bones were healing quite well, but as for the sickness that plagued him, it didn't show any signs of going away. However, the ash-blond did note that it also wasn't getting any worse. As puzzling as this was to most mortals (and immortals...Kariya was increasingly curious) involved in his life right now...he himself didn't blink at this strange phenomenon. Joshua Kiryu had always been sickly. Such a situation was nothing new to him.

It didn't make him any less annoyed with his Proxy's insistence that rest was the best thing for him right now. The Composer was getting increasingly antsy, and longed to actually do what he was supposed to be doing as the ruler of his district. The other Composers already jumped down his throat that week by spamming his phone with insulting and rather demeaning messages and demands that he get back to work before the district went up in flames. They then jabbed at him saying he'd prefer it did, making him hang up after singing a nasty swear melody through the phone. He spat out threats and hollered at his Proxy to get his gun (he'd get it himself but Neku took it after he shot several holes in the ceiling on one of the days the boredom just was too much.) But Neku stubbornly refused, and was wearing his Player Pin, so imprinting was out of the question.

Now the ginger was in the shower hollering amusing profanities and death threats at his house guest, and Joshua felt less bored. He then pulled on a string his proxy so thoughtfully tied to the window so the Composer could 'let in Shibuya' when no one was around to do it for him, and breathed deeply as the smells, Song, and sounds of the district he cherished washed over him.

Yoshiya...my Yoshiya...you've come into reach again! The city seemed to say, and though he knew it to be impossible, he could swear that he heard an actual physical voice on the merry wind. The odd thing was...he somehow had heard it before, but that was an illusion...a Song sung while he took his final breaths of life as he lay on the steps of Kiryu Industries. He'd scoffed at it, thinking it was his daft Mother trying to call him back from the abyss, before realising that the strange, soft tune was actually beckoning him into the UnderGround. Except the more he listened, the less the melody sounded like a tune, and more like the soft whisper of a calm, clear voice.

Yoshiya….My Yoshiya...Welcome home!

He remembered as clear as day, he'd followed the Song through the Abyss, past the pain, out of his body and into the UG. As he closed his eyes, he could almost feel a warm, soft touch as the melody of the district wrapped him in its embrace as he recalled a similer feeling as he passed from RG to UG. He was in bliss...relaxed...utterly content to sink into the Music and let it sooth his aching body.

"The hell are YOU?!"

The feeling didn't vanish, much to the ash-blond's relief., but instead grew stronger. He approved, and eased more into the embrace. A soft chuckle filled the Music and the air, and the feeling of very soft and very expensive silks and satin suddenly made themselves known. Joshua also noticed with increasing annoyance that something was tickling his face.

"Who am I, Neku Sakuraba?" The Voice chimed with a tinkling giggle that almost didn't register as a sound, but a musical tone.

"I am Shibuya!"