*warning* this one does get kinda dark. Take this as Joshua get's his revenge on Kubo and it isn't very, ah, pleasant. Nothing explicit, but still. It's there.


Kubo doesn't expect to wake back up after getting enveloped within Hazuki's attack. But he does. And it's dark, and it smells so goddamn awful that he's sure that he's never stepped foot into wherever the hell he is a single time in either his life or afterlife.

But if he was put in here then he can get out, angelic and demonic powers or not.

The only features he can make out are the purple black and white scrawling beneath him and the sound of a rushing river nearby. He inspects what's below his feet.

Well, whaddaya know? It's a damned refinery sigil. Usually used for making those taboo Noise abominations, and, very occasionally, summonings and revivals. And it's a damn advanced one, too. Capable of reviving whoever its intended target (him, obviously) over and over, even after exorcisms.

Speaking of exorcisms, when he sees that Hazuki brat again, he'll be taking his revenge. Footsteps approach and Kubo turns to walk toward them, except for one thing.

He can't take a step off the sigil. Even just the thought of it causes his body to cease all movement. Only those from Shibuya were ever capable of Imprints of such strength.

He crosses his arms and scowls as the Higher Plane's most famous rulebreakers step into view. Sanae Hanekoma and Yoshiya fucking Kiryu.

"Why, fancy seeing you down here, Kubo," Kiryu drawls and Kubo has to resist the bloodthirsty urge to break all of the kid's bones at once. In front of his mentor no less.

Instead, he turns to Hanekoma. "Impressive work on that there sigil. Too bad you forgot to tweak it to a limited number of revivals."

"Shame," Kiryu says.

"That sigil was designed by the Orchestra itself."

"The Orchestra? Didn't think they had it in 'em."

"They know about your crimes, Kubo."

Kubo stops at that. It's impossible. No one could have known.

"You fell for the same reasons I did," Hanekoma says. "You gave a being knowledge that wasn't necessary for your task. I imparted the knowledge of Taboo Noise creation to Sho Minamimoto in order to defend Shibuya. You imparted the powers of Dissonance to Shiba Miyakaze in order to trigger Shinjuku's Inversion. There were other options, other paths we could've taken, and the Higher Plane doesn't allow exceptions. So, you accepted the stigma of Fallen Angel."

"So what? I fell. And yet I was treated with an exorcism and yous wasn't. Did they believe they overly punished me and decided to make things right?"

"'Believe,'" Kiryu repeats, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "Now that's an interesting word to use. So you believed that an exorcism was the proper punishment? You don't believe you deserve a lighter sentence?"

"You really believe there's somethin' more to it?"

"I do. I believe that you were aware of your next actions, and the consequences that occur when an Angel willingly breaks multiple core rules. I believe that you chose your actions, ignoring your inevitable fate, naively thinking that you wouldn't get caught. That's where you slipped."

"You were ordered to trigger Shinjuku's Inversion per the agreement between its Composer, Hazuki Mikagi, and the Higher Plane in order to find a solution to its impurity. However, instead of returning to the Higher Plane when the job was complete, you selected your next target: Shibuya," Hanekoma said, voice cold.

"Shibuya wasn't destroyed," Kubo snapped. "An Inversion was never triggered."

"It almost was," Kiryu snaps back.

"The intent was what mattered," Hanekoma cut in. "You gave Rindo Kanade the power to travel through time. Whether that was of your own doing, or awakening a stronger version of his latent ability is unknown at this point. What mattered was that action set Shibuya on a path to an unauthorized Inversion."

"I gave him those powers as part of our Game," Kubo defends. "The city's downfall was his own doin'."

"Rindo was my proxy," Kiryu cuts back. "There was no need for you to interact with him or grant him such powers for our Game."

"What matters," Hanekoma says. "Was that you broke more rules. You fell to another plane. Your wings were stripped away. You were marked with the stigma of Demon. That is why you were exorcized in the first place."

"Then why're any of us here?"

"Because you haven't been properly punished," Kiryu says, a smile on his face.

"Hazuki hadn't been authorized to exorcize you. He only interfered because the city would have been destroyed otherwise," Hanekoma explains. "And so, we are here to carry out your punishment: revival."

"Into a painful exorcism," Kiryu finishes. "Though, anything in between is up to us."

So these goddamn brats were going to kill him? They knew he was a Demon. Even just the stigma of it gave a boost in power.

"I am the Composer of Shibuya," Kiryu says, stepping forward. "I hear everything. So, tell me. When you told my Conductor that you would capture Neku Sakuraba under the clause of being able to do whatever you wanted with him, what exactly did you have in mind?"

He was going to die. Be wiped out of existence in every concept of the world, from every single parallel world. Might as well get to see how much of Kiryu he can break.

"Read my mind and maybe yous'll find out."

Kiryu frowns and does so. Kubo can feel how purposefully invasive he's being about it, despite being capable of performing such an action without disturbing anyone. He sees the moment Kiryu finds it, sees the cold fury in his very being.

Kiryu swipes his arm at him, and a holy ray of light, hot and angry, strikes down upon him. Everything goes black for a moment before he's getting back to his feet, the sigil glowing. He'd been revived. Kiryu had killed him in one blow.

"Shame, then, that you won't be able to do any of that for the rest of your pathetic existence," Kiryu near hisses. "You have tried to wipe out my city, even after all they've done to keep it safe."

"Deep breaths, J," Hanekoma murmurs, not having moved from where he's standing.

"Why, would you like a turn, Sanae?"

"He's all yours, kiddo."

So that snot-nosed little brat thinks he could bring him suffering? Kiryu thinks he's scared of dying when he'll be revived anyways?

"You will be begging for release when I'm done," Kiryu says. "You are going to pay for what you've done to my city. To Shibuya."

Kubo laughs, even as he's killed again anyways.

They're gonna have to keep reviving him for eternity if they want that result.