Rhyme hurried from the schoolhouse, making sure Beat wasn't following her as she made her way to Dogenzaka. She was determined to bring something for her visit to Shibuya River. Joshua may have said he didn't mind another visit, but he was the Composer. She just didn't think it would be right to show up in his home without a gift, something to stay his irritation.
After asking Ken Doi about what she should get, because apparently Joshua was a frequent customer and a bit of a ramen connoisseur, she settled on a large bowl of Shio Ramen, and made her way to the Shibuya River.
She remembered the ash-blond saying something about Gate Reapers. She hadn't heard that term before, and wondered if he'd implemented them after Sho Minamimoto's assassination attempt landed the math geek dangerously close to the Dead Gods Pad.
She looked for them as she tentatively approached the entrance to the Pad, and thought she saw shadows on both sides of the doorway that lead inside. She shuddered, but walked right in unhindered by the shadows with piercing eyes and black hoods.
Rhyme giggled nervously as, for the first time, she noticed fish in the floor of the lounge space outside the Room of Reckoning. They were only silhuets, but they followed her everywhere, to her amusement.
A squawk made her jump, and she glared at Megumi, who was perched on one of the couches glaring back at her with his Noise eyes, tattoo talons scratching a spot under his beak. He cawed again and flew to the desk, proudly walking back and forth along it. The girl shook her head with a small giggle and entered the inner sanctum that was the Room of Reckoning.
She hunched over, nervous and timid as she saw him upright on his throne, his purple eyes boring into her very soul. They were relaxed, and soft, as was the smile he slowly gave her as he leaned back and crossed his legs.
"You were serious." He said cheerily, relief lacing his tone.
The girl slowly approached him, her hand outstretchjed as she offered the bag with her gift with a cordial bow.
"What's this?" He took it curiously, graciously.
"A...a gift. An offering, really. I...I figured...well, you let me in and...you deserve something nice for letting me in..intrude here."
Joshua opened the lid of the bowl, inhaled deeply, and his face lit up like it was his birthday "Oh, Raimu...what a kingly gift it is too!"
Taking out chopsticks, the Composer tasted the offered ramen. Rhyme held her breath, pleading inside for it to please him. After several seconds, he gazed up at the cealing with a tranquil look on his face.
"Mmmm...I'm in paradise."
Releaved that he was satisfied with her choice of flavor, and relieved that he was not going to vaporize her at the moment, Rhyme began to sit down, when Joshua stopped her.
"Raimu, it is impolite to eat in front of a guest. I wonder...Sanae has dropped off some pumpkin soup. Would you care to join me by also eating a meal?"
She looked at the mahogany table and saw a pitcher of OJ and a rather large pot of soup, still steaming, along with a bowl and spoon. She looked at the 'teen' hapilly savoring his gift from her, not seeming to be in any sort of rush, and shrugged off her nervousness.
"You're very generous" she said cordially "I'd love to!"
He invited her to sit on the chair opposite the throne, and they talked about her day at school, and how she was trying to be the best she could be, for Beat's sake. He expressed genuine concern when she mentioned how one of her teachers seemed to be failing her on purpose, and laughed with her when she told him of Timmy Blackwell's attempt to sing opera in the middle of science class.
After her report, she averted her eyes and asked,
"Not that it's any of my business, but...what was your day like, Joshua?"
She expected a sharp reprimand, or a biting reply. Instead she got a lighthearted, easygoing chuckle, and a quiet, honest tone.
"I spent most of the early morning making sure Neku got to school in one piece. I don't know if you've noticed, Raimu, but people in Shibuya have tended to road rage in the Scramble recently."
Rhyme nodded, "The Noise there are clumped together, almost as if...they're waiting for people to drive through them so they can latch on."
"That brings me to my afternoon." The Composer said, and she noticed him fidget slightly, his eyes were downcast for the briefest second, and he looked away, as if in...shame
"Perhaps I should skip my afternoon, Raimu. The subject seems to upset you, which I hardly blame on anyone but myself. You've been very kind in visiting with me, I don't want to spoil your mood."
She smiled gently, and dared to put her hand on his own. He stiffened, clearly not used to physical contact that soft, "It's alright. I really am curious.I won't get upset, I promise."
He grinned in relief, and said after a sigh,
"All right, Raimu. I will hold you to that. My afternoon was spent with my Conductor, prepairing a new Game. We've noticed the influx of Noise, and unfortunately, my Reapers can't handle them all. When you were in the Game, most Wall Reapers instructed you to clear an area of a set number of Noise. You ever wonder why they didn't just do it themselves? They would get exhausted and get themselves erased."
Rhyme nodded, understanding. She then decided to ask another risky question...one that might actually break Joshua's oddly...chivalrous behavior.
"So, is that the reason the Game exists? Why it's necessary? I thought it was...well Beat says...it's how you...'get your kicks.' And Neku says...it's a 'cruel form of entertainment' wich I suppose technically is saying the same thing."
Joshua had stopped eating. Rhyme braced herself for a blowup, tensed her muscles to run in case she needed to escape his wrath.
But all that happened was a shake of his head as he sighed and leaned back, a hand resting on his chin. A thoughtful look was dancing in his violet orbs
"Is that what you all think? That I initiate the Game when I'm bored just to see Players and Reapers and Noise fight for survival?"
Rhyme hung her head "I suppose so, though I can't speak for Shiki...she tends to avoid the subject all together."
He lifted her chin gently, forcing her to look into his honest gaze as he murmured
"Do you think I'm that cruel, Raimu Bito?"
She chose her words carefully, still wary of his wrath. She begged her fear to not show in her eyes as she stammered
"N...n...no, of...of course not, I just..."
"Given what you went through, drawing such a conclusion is normal." He dropped his hand and his gaze.
"But I'm not that cruel. Not really. I...don't actually enjoy the Game. I can't say the same for the previous Composer. He really was that callous...that insanely cruel. He corrupted its true purpose for his own twisted amusement."
He lay back, a sad tone in his voice as he choked out "It was a disaster for Shibuya. Her music...when I took charge her music was so knotted and broken and...and her Soul was so...so twisted and empty...damn near broke my heart."
He collecvted himself and said after he cleared his throat "But none of that really answered your question, did it Raimu? So let me remedy that by explaining something. The Game isn't just a bloodbath. It never was intended to be so, barring an exeption that I will not delve into today. It has a purpose. Many purposes, in fact. One of which is to purge the insane amount of Noise the RG spits out every month. Another, is to replentish Shibuya's Imagination so she doesn't fall into monotony and shrivel into nothing. You see, the winners I grant a second chance at life to, are given high amounts of inspiration to use in the RG. They start trends, they beautify the city...they, in turn, inspire others to be creative. They keep Shibuya alive."
Rhyme thought for a minute. It made sense. Shiki had come back and had immediately roped her friend Eri into a designing career, and several of their ddesigns even went throiugh to Natural Puppy and Dragon Couture. Even Neku had been dabbling in graffiti art and designs for new murals, like his hero, CAT. She herself had felt a burning passion to help animals ever since regaining her body. Beat...she grinned Beat had a new passion for skateboarding. It all made sense.
"The next purpose may seem...inhuman...but as cruel as the Game is for the Players, it's even more cruel to my poor Reapers. Players equal points for them. Points equal...not being erased. Therefore, as their leader, it's my duty to...provide points for them to continue existing. While they gather points, the UG gets less crowded and it and the RG have less of a chance of merging."
Joshua resumed eating, then swallowed "So you see, Raimu...The Game is a necessary evil. I find it...entertaining and suspenseful, as one would find a whale hunt or a bull fight. But I don't find pleasure in hooking the whale and bringing it down, or making beef out of the bull."
Rhyme found herself curious, and a bit indignant all of a sudden, for reasons she didn't understand.
"Were you ever the whale, Joshua?"
The Composer nearly choked as he snorted,
"I've been Moby Dick, dear Raimu. But that is a tale for another time. Daisukenojo is dangerously close to my Gate Reapers, and I would hate for him to have to suffer their protective wrath."
Rhyme was intreagued, and also curious "How does he keep searching the River for me? He doesn't know I'm here!"
Joshua giggled "Perhaps, when anything upsets him, he automaticly assumes I'm behind it and so, he seeks me out."
Rhyme laughed,
"Beat would do that. Now that he knows what you are, he seems to think you go around making people miserable for laughs!"
Joshua snickered "I can only imagine what he'd do if he found you here..."
He suddenly cocked his head and cleared his throat, taking a chance, the feeling in his chest making him unable to ignore the prompting of a crazy idea.
"Say Raimu..."
