The Kiryu Estate.

More like Castle Kiryu.

The white, multi-million dollar 'house' sported elegance rivaling any fairy-tale building of grandure. The foyair alone was as big as a two-story building, and the rest of the house was riddled with so many rooms it resembled a luxury hotel. The gardens out back were literally the size of a small park, and the shell of a barn aluded to the fact that there had been equine guests at one point in the property's history. The grandness of the building was like a giant golden goblet in the midst of shoddy clay, cracked teacups.

This was a bit of a problem to Rhyme. The simple fact of the matter was that she was intimidated by the grand estate.

"Joshua..." she said, voice shaking

The Composer snorted, "Rather pompous isn't it. Father and Mother were frivolous with our fortune. I never thought it was necessary. After all, you can't take it with you once you enter the UG, and you don't have time to live in luxury while fighting Noise for your right to exist."

His flippancy made the tension ease a bit, and the young girl relaxed a little.

That is until she asked tentatively, boldly, and fearfully,

":Joshua...did you and your parents...were they really horrible to you?"

Joshua's face made about five different expressions. Rhyme shrank back a bit as each emotion flickered across the Composer's features. Anger, hatred, understanding, bitterness, and finally, a lonely hurt. This was hidden instantly with a shaky smirk and a flip of his hair.

"Why, Raimu...what ever are you eluding to?"

The girl folded her arnms and cocked her head, fixing him with a boldly disapproving glare.

"Don't treat me like a delicate flower, Joshua. You know what I can take, don't shelter me! You wove some interesting imprints, I just want to know if some of them are actually true."

Joshua fidgeted, clearly uncomfortable before he took a deep sigh and said coyly "About eighty percent of the imprints concerning my parents are true. Including the fact that my father almost entered me in the Game via drowning. I wasn't quite ready to play though."

He led her through the 'house', the grandure boring to him now, and continued as he entered a treasury like room.

"My bedroom should have been here, for all they valued me." He spat bitterly "Oh, they acted like they cared, but I knew what I was to them, Raimu. I was valuable as one of these trinkets is valuable. Just another trophy to display. Neku wonders why I'm so callous."

Rhym looked at him, curious yet slightly frightened as a sardonic, humorless chuckle bubbled out of the 'boy' before her.

"If it hadn't been for Sanae, Shibuya would be dust far before Neku was even born. But you don't need to dwell on my past."

The girl fixed him with another brave glare "No."

His eyebrows went up "No, Raimu?" The voice was an amused yet dangerous tenure, eyes flashing white for a split second.

"I won't drop this, Joshua. You've been neglected to the point that you starved yourself just to play the Reaper's Game and become Composer, a position that is lonely and hurts your Soul. You need to tell someone your hurt, or you'll become bitter again."

She reached out to him, only for his wirey frame to shy from her touch. "Raimu." He said simply, his voice betraying a warning growl. "I wouldn't spoil this experience, if I were you. Not tonight."

The girl was once again reminded of who she was actually standing next to, and dropped the questioning with the air of one who was cowed for the moment, but would bring the topic up again later.

Their conversations became less intrusive as Shiro was let into the house, following the ash-blond closely, never leaving his heels. This made Joshua chuckle and comment lightly

"That is another thing about dogs, Raimu. They are content to follow whoever is declared alpha, and will do so at a loyal distance. In a way, they are much like a Conductor. However, as soon as their alpha shows weakness, they pounce and rip his throat out, establuishing themselves as the new leader, much like any Conductor who is not Kariya would do if their Composer proves inept for the role. Even Megumi, under the right cercumstances, would have turned on me eventually had I given him any indication that I was dimwitted enough to let him, or showed in any way that I was less powerful than he perceived me to be."

Rhyme nodded her understanding before asking "Why is mister Kariya the exception?"

Joshua giggled, flipping his hair with a smirk on his lips.

"He just can't be bothered to exert the effort it would take to knock me off my throne."

That made the little Bito chuckle for a long time after, commenting that indeed, exerting no effort yielded no reward.

After a few more hours mosing about the estate, Joshua graciously took Rhyme home himself, leaving the lazy Conductor to eat his promised ramen in peace.

TWEWYTWEWYTWEWY

It was still daylight, the sun having not set quite yet, and so it was suprising when Rhyme entered her house, she was greeted by an irate Beat. Her brother often skated until dark, so his presence here could only mean that he knew she hadn't just been at the Clinic.

She looked up at him with soft, innocent eyes "Hey Beat!" she greeted cheerily.

The rock that was Daisukenojo Bito did not smile back.

"Dat was Prissy Boy's car, wasn't it?"

"Yes." She shrugged "We popped by his house and hung out for a few hours before he brought me home. No big deal."

"Rhyme, Prissy's dangerous!"

"I know." She shot him a glance "But he won't hurt me. At least not...unprovoked."

Beat was many things, including dimwitted at times, but even he saw the shiver of fear his sister subconsciously emitted.

"Rhyme...he threated you! I'll KILL HIM! I'll make minced curry outta his skinny-"

"It was my fault!" Rhyme interrupted "I pushed a button I should have left alone until he trusted me a bit more."

"Why you pushing Prissy's house's buttons in the first place, yo?"

She shook her head "No, Beat...I pushed him into a corner. I provoked him. It was my fault."

He scrathed his head "That ain't no excuse, Rhyme. He coulda seriously hurt you., and I woulda come and snapped his twig neck. I ain't losin' you again. I just aint! Say you's gonna leave Priss be, Rhyme. Please?"

His sister shook her head

"No. He opened up to me. He let me in when he only let Neku see him vulnerable. I won't betray his trust in me by shunning him now. I got into this, Beat. I'm going to see it through."

As his sister ran up to her room to get changed for dinner, Beat made a physical note to 'have words' with a certain Composer after school. He took out his phone and sped dialed for backup. The dial tone rang for a few minutes before a groggy voice greeted him.

"Yeah?"

"Hey Phones...I need a solid."

I aint losing you again.