Rhyme smiled as she walked to school. Today was monday, and Monday was usually a good day, full of new beginnings, new hopes, and new opportunities.

Today was also the twin's birthday. Apparently it was also Joshua's day to be absent, as the Composer had failed to show up even halfway through the day. This wasn't a good thing for Rhyme, she would admit, but it could mean that Joshua was doing various things for the UG, and thus was keeping Shibuya standing as best he could.

However, something about the way the other students reacted to the tycoon's absence worried her a little. The popular crowd whispered conspiratorially, and the Jock Squad laughed behind their hands. The teachers were even tense and on edge. Rhyme closed her eyes and opened them to the Noise Plane, a technique she had learned from Joshua to help her manage how she interacted with the plane. The sight she beheld made her gasp.

Noise were indeed everywhere. On teachers, students, even the few stray cats that were around the area. They mostly hung around the staff and the Jock Squad, in fact most of them sprang from both parties.

"Oh no…"

She slowly backed up, and found both her arms grabbed from behind! She struggled, until a familiar voice said softly in her ear, "Hey."

Her struggling stopped and she relaxed "Neku!"

"Yeah." his calm voice never wavered, "You ok? What spooked you?"

"There's a lot of Noise. More than I've ever seen around here. Oh, Neku...Where's Joshua when we really need him? This could be really bad for Shibuya!"

Neku cocked his head. He had felt something odd in the air ever since he arrived at the school that morning. However, there was a problem with Rhyme's assumption. He'd felt this before. The orangette put a reassuring hand on the girl's shoulder and gave a very small grin.

"Naw. This isn't a Shibuya thing. I'm pretty sure the Noise are just releasing all their tension from this area. It happens after Josh vacates an area he's been in for a long time. His Vibe alone scares em off. He's not here, so out they come. Everyone feels it, and some of the teachers are even worried about him. That damn guy...to effect the RG this much without even being here…"

"But where is he? Neku this isn't like him." Rhyme said, worry starting to creep in as she realised Joshua's absence might not have been voluntary. But that would mean..."What if the Higher Plane…?"

"Don't. Shibuya would be dust right now if he were really gone. If they took him...upstairs permanently. No, I have a feeling that wherever he is, he went there of his own free will."

Rhyme pushed him away and her eyes narrowed as she looked at the Jock Squad and focused, reading their Noise. She shook her head and began walking hurridly away from the grounds, Neku on her heels. "Rhyme wait!" Neku panted as he kept pace with her.

"Do you honestly think those idiots could even lay a hand on Joshua?! Come on Rhyme even in his current state he could blink and they'd disintegrate!"

"Not if he wanted to stay here!" the girl shot back "The Jock Squad's Noise were too satisfied, Neku. They're responsible, I know it! I'm going to find him."

Neku was about to reply when Rhyme disapeared into the entrance of the Kiryu Estate. The giant house made the Proxy snort in jaded knowledge that the Composer would of course reclame his old home while in the RG, if just to highten his already bloated ego.

However his cynicism soon dissolved as it became clear that Joshua was home...and not doing well. The tipoff was that the Composer's vibe usually caused him intense migraines just being near him...and though Neku felt a bit of pressure, it wasn't as intense as it usually was at Josh's base RG vibe.

The second tipoff was the sprawled body of the ashblond on the floor of his immense bedroom, looking like he'd been literally thrown against the carpet like a ragdoll. There was vomit several places, and even some blood spatters on the desk. Wait...Josh bled?! Closer observance showed glass on the hard surface, and the source, a glass bottle, on the floor under the table, broken with its contents sloshed out on the floor.

"Whatever happened, he clearly was alone in here." Neku observed. "Question is...where the hell is Kariya?"

"It's a Game Week." Rhyme said softly, dropping to her knees beside the wheezing Composer. "That isn't the right question. What we should be asking...is how this happened. He's in an RG body yes, but nothing should effect him like this...no RG poison should be able to effect him, right?"

"You said it yourself, he's in an RG body. So maybe things effect him now." The redhead cocked his head "All the symptoms match. But again, who could even get in here to do that? He's got a guard dog, and part of this place is impassible to the people of the RG who aren't us."

"What if it was done before the bottle even got to his house?"

"Mmmm. Still wouldn't explain why he would have downed a swig, since prior tampering would have been obvious once the bottle was opened." Neku scowled "Unless he knew what would happen...and is pulling our legs!"

"Neku!" Rhyme scolded "Look at him!"

"I am looking at him. I thought I looked at him disintegrate in front of me too, at the end of my second week. Found out he just pissed off to another dimension."

"He's right here and he's...Neku he isn't breathing…"

"Josh doesn't need to breathe, Rhyme." Neku said, suddenly understanding what the conniving Composer was doing, and slightly hating himself for being right. "Clever you prick. Couldn't get rid of them on your own so you brought in an alibi that would be just as condemning. I see how it is. Rhyme! Call the cops. And an ambulance."

TWEWYTWEWYTWEWYTWEWYTWEWY

The results were exactly how Joshua thought they would be. The Jock Squad was punished severely for attempted murder, he got several days off from school and work (both jobs), and the focus of his fascination was closeby at all times. It had been the perfect birthweek, and he only regretted it for a few hours while Rhyme let off steam that he hadn't put her in the loop from the getgo.

"Now now, Raimu, I couldn't let you get involved. It would have been quite dangerous. Besides, as with my current situation, the illusion had to hold. If you knew about it, then it would have not been as successful."

Rhyme snorted and sighed, "Don't do that again. It frightened me."

Joshua looked at her curiously, her earnest innocence once again baffling to him. A twinge of...guilt?...welled up inside him and he found himself unable to look her in the face. His plan had gone smoothly, but a bit of him was hurting seeing the impact his actions had on the young Bito. What was this feeling? He should be happy with the results, but he felt...guilty.

"I do apologize." he said bashfully, twirling a lock of hair around his finger "Upsetting you was not in the original plan, I assure you."

"I know" the girl said as she sat next to his hospital bed, a wry grin spreading across her face that made her eyes twinkle. "If you ask me, though...you went a little far. I mean really, it's not like they're going to be let go anytime soon. You might as well have entered them in the Game now, rather than make them wait. It would have been kinder."

Joshua narrowed his eyes "I'm not a merciful being, Raimu. I prefer them to suffer, especially after I read their minds. I do not tolerate even slight thoughts of willful harm to your person, especially when the sole reason for that desire is your proximity to myself."

Although she was touched by the Composer's protectiveness, Rhyme also was slightly worried. The Jock Squad weren't the only threat to her, and knowing the lengths Joshua was willing to go to protect her gave her a sense of forboding. If the Composer found out about her living situation...She shuddered to think what he'd do. No doubt his amethyst eyes were already on her home, as his omniscience would allow. Did he know already and was just waiting for the right moment to act?

Whatever higher beings there are, please be lenient, whatever he does...