TWEWY: A Fall Into Honour:

This story is about how Joshua became the Composer. The story is from Joshua's point of view, and others if the story needs to. This is a prequel of the game The World Ends With You. TWEWY is made by Square Enix. And I own the OCs. This is a FAN FICTION and not the real prequel. Enjoy! =3

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EeveeGen9988: ...Well, it's been a long time since I posted anything, but I'm finally finished this chapter. =3

A lot of stuff happened to postpone this chapter: a family member killed last May, a family member injured last May from the same occurrence, losing motivation because of all the drama happening because of the two former reasons happening, some days no inspiration, going back to post-secondary and having to keep up with schoolwork, losing self-esteem several times and trying to get myself out of those funks, and having a load of extra chores to do while my family member recovered from the accident... But, I digress, I'm going to try to post more in the future and try to get more stuff done for my stories. After all, one of the things I promised myself when I started fanfiction over six years ago was to never fall into the category of abandoning any of my stories.

Even if I don't post right away, or seem like I'm never going to post ever again, I'm not going to lead you guys to believe I'm abandoning any of my stories. I can promise you guys that. I can only imagine that the only way for me to ever abandon my stories is if I get so injuried I can't write my stories anymore or if I'm dead (but I'm sure I would find someone I trust the most before that happened to finish what I had if that were to occur). *rubs back of head* So, I want to apologise for not being as active as I used to be, and thank those who have kept up with the chapters and stayed hopeful for updates. I appreciete all the support people have given me over the years, and it's one of the things that has kept me afloat in writing my fanfiction. =3

Also, I recently got the remix of TWEWY for the Switch, and I got to say: IT'S SO AWESOME... A fun fact is that that the DS TWEWY got me out of a time where I wasn't really feeling happy, and the characters, story, and every single thing about the DS TWEWY was so refreshing that it got me out of that funk! Without watching playthroughs of that game, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction today. XD

(As well, I just wanted to let people know that there will be a coverart contest being held between two fanfiction authors I know *cough* Aviantei *cough* Chronic Guardian/CG *cough*, so expect that the current cover will be replaced in the future. I'm very excited to see what they're going to come up with! And you should check out some of their stories if you feel like it, because they're two very awesome fanfiction authors! =D)

So voila~! =D

Week 2, day 3:

Chapter 54: Dear Reapers:

Joshua kept his gaze forward, trying to ignore how Izo strutted ahead of him. He couldn't help but feel ashamed that the Noise made him spill out his frustration towards the dark blue haired teenager; it really made a mess of the fragile relationship he had with the boy…

As soon as they found Izo, they tried to explain the real reason for why Joshua had said those things; however, Izo didn't respond all too well to Joshua's sincerity. It made Joshua feel even worse about what he had said... Already, Joshua knew Izo was having a horrible day; so saying all those nasty things to him must have fractured the blue haired boy's trust in Joshua.

When they tried to get his opinion on the name to call ferret Noise, all Izo did was give them a glare. Joshua felt as though the subject must have been too touchy for him, so they left him alone. Although, Joshua eventually decided that the name for the Noise was perfect. Mayu had come up with the name Bounce Ferret for the Noise, mainly because of how it bounced at him, and that there was apparently a bounce music genre. Joshua could hardly believe there was one, and he could only be amazed by how well it fit the Noise.

So, as he walked, he wrote down everything that he knew about the Bounce Ferret in Mayu's notebook. He put down its attacks, its appearance, and he even put down a little blurb describing it. And when he was almost done writing down his experience with the Noise, he felt someone tap him on the shoulder gently. With a smile, he turned to Mayu.

"Oh, did you need something, Mayu?" he asked curiously, tipping his head slightly as he paused in his writing.

"I was wondering how it's coming along," Mayu murmured as she walked beside him, looking to her right to look at Ayumu as she guided him along. It was nice enough she was taking a turn with guiding Ayumu at the moment, seeing as Izo wasn't in the mood of spending time with them. In fact, when Joshua thought Mayu wasn't looking, he noticed how she seemed to enjoy helping Ayumu through the streets.

"I'm just about done." He scribbled down another note before he regarded Mayu again. "I have almost everything down about the Bounce Ferret."

"Do you think Izo mind will its name?"

The ashen blond grimaced, looking down at the page he saved for the Noise. He gave a heavy sigh, twiddling the fountain pen idly as he kept his lavender gaze on the notebook. "He probably won't speak of the Noise again, Mayu. Unless he asks to see what we have here, he won't. Not to you, not to Ayumu..." He bit his lip, frowning. "And especially not to me; not at all from what I told him..."

"Please don't blame yourself..." she said quietly, turning to face forward as Joshua caught her looking at Izo. "The Bounce Ferret m-made you say that stuff, it wasn't your words."

"I... I kind of thought about it, and I think I did feel that way towards him," whispered Joshua dolefully, earning a gasp from her. "It was a mild form of it, but I never would have gone to that extreme to hurt him," he mumbled. "Ryou and Sora would stoop to that level, and I can't believe that Noise pushed me do the same thing. It never crossed my mind that I was under some kind of influence from the Bounce Ferret. And if I did, I probably could have tried to resist." He stopped, closing his eyes. "But, I might not have been strong enough to do that."

"Don't say that, you are strong," she said with alarm, grabbing and curling her fingers around his hand that held the purple fountain pen. "A-And it wasn't your fault..."

"But how could the Bounce Ferret know about how Izo's an orphan, how he's a jerk to people, or how he's antisocial!?" he cried with fraught as he shook his head, clenching the fountain pen harder. He felt Mayu's hand shift on his own, and he relaxed his grip. For a while, he stared down absently at the blurb, barely able to think about anything but the Noise's influence on him. "That Noise shouldn't have known what to make me say..."

"It could have had the ability to read your mind, Josh."

Joshua gave a glance to Ayumu, widening his eyes as he asked in shock, "W-Wait, how could it?"

"You said it jumped on your head first," explained Ayumu apathetically as he let go of Mayu's hand briefly, breathing in slowly before he added, "You would think it would have at least jumped on your wrist first, making you say all those things to Izo. So then, why would it need to jump on your head?" He silently blinked, staring past Joshua for a while until he spoke again, "It must have read your mind, then it used your knowledge, and yourself, to try to Erase Izo. It might not have been strong enough to fight, but it must have known either of you would be able to take the other out."

"And it saw me arguing with Izo..." noted Joshua as he tapped the pen against the notebook, frowning as he thoughtfully mused, "And it had been sniffing the air, so it could have smelled our emotions, I guess...?" He regarded Ayumu for a brief second. "Maybe… my anger towards Izo?"

"B-But why didn't it use Izo?" asked Mayu quietly, closing her eyes halfway as she frowned. "Izo's... pr-pretty angry, so why not him then?"

"Did you want Izo to attack Josh, Mayu?" asked Ayumu with a tilt of his head.

"N-No!" cried Mayu in alarm, shaking her head frantically as she raised her hands. "I-I just thought that s-since Izo's so angry all the time, the B-Bounce Ferret could have thought he would be a b-better person to use!" Joshua stared at her for a while, watching as her face heated up in a deep blush when she cried out, "N-Not that I want Izo to suffer like that!"

"I don't expect you to want that, Mayu," said Joshua with a bemused frown. "It doesn't seem like you, so why do you think we'd believe that?"

Mayu stared at him for a while in shock; her lip seemed to quiver before she shook her head. "Y-Yeah... i-it doesn't..." She timidly gave a weak smile to him then chuckled sheepishly, "…I-I'm just being silly, a-aren't I?"

Joshua continued to frown at her, wondering about her odd behaviour. Mayu usually was meek and nervous, but she was obviously coming to a conclusion about what he thought of her that was indeed foolish. Just the idea of her purposefully wishing harm to Izo made him cringe, especially when she was the nicest person Joshua has ever met... other than Mrs. Sato, Joshua's mother, Auntie Chise, and Ayumu of course.

"Maybe the Bounce Ferret thought that Josh was a better fighter, and gone with him instead," suggested the slightly messy haired blond. He patted his own chest, soon finding the Player Pin he wore on his shirt and then he tapped it a few times. "You do have a lot of Pins with different Psychs, so it's possible that if it thought your abilities weren't worth it, it could have jumped onto Izo to see if it could use him instead."

"Huh…" Joshua gave a hesitant nod at that, drawing his lavender gaze back to his dark cobalt haired friend. "Are you… trying to say that the Noise knows Izo's weaker than me?"

"No, I'm not saying he is, even though you are a strong Player." As Ayumu's blind eyes bore no direction, Joshua could feel his skin prickle from hearing that. "It's just that I don't believe Izo has the same fluency of his abilities that you have, Josh. Even though he uses his threads to manipulate his enemies, I sensed he had nothing else to attack with." Ayumu blinked, pausing for a second before he went on, "So, I expect that the Noise felt it wouldn't want choose a Player with limited abilities to attack us with to control. I'm not going to tell you're better at fighting though, only that Izo wouldn't be its first pick."

"Ayumu, Izo has his ice." Joshua frowned, confused by his younger half-brother's speech. "I don't think you-"

"Izo likes to be in control of his variables, not controlled by his variables."

The ashen blond grimaced. 'I thought we were past your cryptic messages this week, Ayumu.' He sighed, continuing after the oldest boy. 'But... I guess not.'

Even if he couldn't glean what Ayumu meant, it didn't make Joshua feel better about their situation.

They entered Spain Hill fairly soon, and Joshua right away felt a little unnerved by the sudden shift of lighting. From the looks of it, Spain Hill really was shady, more so than Udagawa... so he couldn't help but feel as though he would rather be somewhere else in the city entirely. Although... it didn't have the dreadful coverage Udagawa did, so the atmosphere was more dismal. Joshua couldn't figure out any other way of putting how this place made him feel...

Suddenly Izo came to a halt, making Joshua confused as for why. So he stopped as well, pushing his hand into his pocket as soon as he stashed Mayu's notebook away. He was going to ask Izo why he stopped, but Joshua instead pressed his lips into a flat line the moment he spotted some Reapers close by.

He recognized Megumi straightaway, along with the yelling Reaper that nearly caused him to be deaf. However, there was another Reaper he had never seen before.

She was shortest of them with smaller, intricate webbed wings than her companions, and had fiery dark red hair that was slightly curly. She had been currently talking when her pine green eyes flickered to him and glinted, letting a smile slide onto her face as she turned to Joshua and his companions.

"So you finally arrived," she said softly, immediately adjusting her fancy scarf that was underneath her orange blazer. Her coppery pencil skirt that went to her knees bounced while her ebony foots with a fancy feathered design on the side clicked at each step she took towards them. The moment she stopped, she put her hand on her freckled cheek as she mused brightly, "Wow, I thought you guys would've been here sooner. But I guess you pulled a surprise on us, huh?"

"You were expecting us then?" asked Joshua with surprise, blinking as he studied the woman in front of him. "I could have sworn status checks weren't part of the Mission?"

"Ah, well... you're right. They aren't." She nodded, letting out a chuckle of amusement. "But we're here on business, and I'm just making sure we stay on schedule." She whisked her hand in the air, smiling contently. "Nagisa's orders and all."

Joshua furrowed his eyebrows. 'Nagisa? Hmm, I wonder if it's another Reaper she's talking about?'

"Speaking of business," Megumi spoke up clearly, setting his sunglasses towards the four of them as he smiled. "Our business is with Mr. Shuuito."

At once, the female Reaper shot Megumi a look, and Joshua was confused for why she seemed irritated from the way her hand clenched instantly. "Yes, yes it is," she said in an almost strained voice, immediately turning back as her eyes seemed to focus on Izo. "We would like you to come with us for a moment or two, Shuuito."

"Feh, I'm not espousing my Soul over to you," growled Izo as he narrowed his eyes into slits, snorting rudely as he snarled, "You can forget about that!"

The female Reaper flinched, blinking her widened green eyes as she shook her head. "Wait- we really do need you for a second, and it won't be bad-"

"This is not obligating me into your care! Deduct me from whatever crackpot bargain you're holding!" snarled Izo as he clenched his fists. "Heed me, you solicitors will not plague me another moment of my subsistence!"

"Tsk, this is zetta lame..." yawned the Reaper who shook his head with disbelief. "This hectopastal was never going to fit into the solution anyway..."

"Sho, give him time, he will." Joshua could clearly tell the female Reaper was losing control of the situation, seeing how her small wings trembled as she faced Sho. "He needs to, or-"

"I don't think he will, seeing how bad you're making this look to the Players," interrupted Megumi as he shook his head. "Why don't we see the Players later on then ask for his presence?"

"Megumi, please," said the slightly curly haired Reaper with frustration, frowning as her voice tightened. "I'm in charge right now. I appreciate your suggestions, but it would be great if you could observe for now."

"Well, you're doing a fabulous job then," replied the black haired man with a slow clap, soon staring back at her as he inhaled. "This is taking longer than you said it would."

"Yeah! So zetta slow!" piped Sho into his microphone, instantly causing Joshua a slight headache from the absurd volume it threw out at them. "This wasn't a part of the equation!"

"Their teamwork is lacking." Joshua gave a glance to Ayumu as he spoke, "We might as well slip past them before we run out of time."

"Well, if they want Izo-time, they might track us down later and lose more of us ours," replied Joshua flatly with a sigh, frowning as he heard the Reapers' bickering continue. "Although, they could start this up all over again..."

Izo snorted, glaring at Joshua as he growled, "I'd rather sit in a band of Noise then deal with these brats!"

"If you guys would just let me-" The female Reaper had raised her voice, her hands were clenched hard.

"Oh, you're still chatting with them?"

Right away, the dark fiery haired Reaper relaxed slightly, stepping away from Sho and Megumi, who also stopped arguing when the person spoke. "...Yes, I guess we are still chatting with the Players," she said weakly in a strained voice. "Heh…"

"I hope you don't mind if I offer a hand then, if that's alright."

"Oh no." The female Reaper smiled, her eyes lighting up as her still tense shoulders sagged in relief. "You go ahead."

Joshua turned his head to see a tall man with round black glasses standing nearby, frowning at the three before he strode past them as his long lab coat swished in the wind. He stopped in front of them, granting Joshua a chance to catch sight of his long, dark orange hair that was tied in a wavy low ponytail while his shorter bangs remained free and wavier as puffy locks above his eyebrows. He wore a dark brown turtleneck, dark jeans, and dark grey dress shoes... as well, Joshua noticed that the white lab coat's lapels brandished a colourful set of six Pins. Three each were stuck to a lapel in an outward curving line, and Joshua instantly knew the young man had the ability to use Psychonancy like himself. From a glance, Joshua could only estimate the man was eighteen.

However… Joshua couldn't quite tell why this man was hanging out with Reapers. He seemed to carry the air of common knowledge that Joshua slowly accumulated over his childhood, and Joshua couldn't place the reason why a Player like this would. After all, Joshua was the only person he knew who'd seen the Reapers' Game before he died... At least, he had thought so until he was thirteen-and-a-half.

Auntie Chise had a new client two days after Ayumu beat up Ryou and Sora and received his suspension from school. Apparently, the ten-year-old was traumatized from seeing something horrific happen in the Game, and was unable to cope with what she saw and her family thought she went mad in the middle of their weekly ramen dinner pickup. From what was further explained to him by Auntie Chise, the girl's father sought Auntie Chise's help thinking there were unjust spirits messing with his daughter and wanted Auntie Chise, since she was psychic, to cleanse those 'demons' from his child. Of course, Auntie Chise was at a loss since she never handled something like this, being the simple fortuneteller she was, so she asked Joshua to speak to the girl. The descriptions of what the girl saw matched the 'tales' Joshua tried telling his younger half-brother years ago, and Joshua was somewhat touched that she remembered this. She promised to not speak a word to his parents about the case he was called upon to assist her with, so Joshua was in the clear of not having his parents whisper about sending him to a therapist when he accepted his honourary aunt's plea.

The ashen blond was ecstatic there were those who did see them like him, but was disappointed that the girl feared the Noise rather than be fascinated like he was. Sanae offered to help after Joshua informed him about the girl, and the barista sat down to speak with her as well before he relieved Joshua of helping further. Thus, Joshua never knew what happened to that girl. All he was told was that it wasn't his place to venture further into the subject by Sanae, and that Joshua shouldn't go out looking for more people like him because it wouldn't look good to his family... especially reminding him of Ayumu's case. Already there was tension from Ayumu's terrible choice of actions in school, and how Ayumu had to live in Joshua's household, which frustrated Hinata, until Auntie Chise's current client's case was dealt with. Joshua understood the reasons behind that seeing how nosy Joshua's half-brother was being during those days, and how Ayumu kept acting out because of his suspension. Joshua could only focus half on that and half on the outcome of the girl's situation.

Joshua found it was certainly frustrating, especially when he knew now that there were those who were like him. But, he told himself as he pushed those memories away, the others weren't exactly like him. Sanae was Joshua's faithful resource and link to the Game, and no one else had that. He couldn't care if one day they all popped up in Sanae's cafe to swap war stories of what they have seen... or, at least before he died, he didn't care. He liked to pretend they didn't exist, seeing as he hadn't come across another ever since he met the girl he couldn't remember as well as he used to. Even the idea of someone else seeing what he saw quite frankly made a bad taste form in his mouth... He actually liked the idea of meeting someone else like that at one point, however, being stripped of what made him special didn't make him feel good as he pondered about this. He prodded at the idea that the ten-year-old killed herself at some point, and that's why Sanae didn't disclose any more details about what became of her.

Focusing back on the man in front of them again, Joshua raised an eyebrow as he thought, 'Whoever this Player is, the Reapers must have bought his trust in them. I've never seen a Player who has openly spoken with them like this before...'

"I'm sorry about us using up your time like this," the man in the lab coat said with a smile, blinking as he regarded Izo who glared back at him. His bright, light green eyes appeared to twinkle for a moment before continuing on in a chirp, "But it would be excellent if you could come with us. I know how anxious you must be, but I can promise you it won't impact your Mission too much."

"And why do you deem your pleasantries will amass me over than their banal endeavour?" snorted Izo as his maroon eyes coldly narrowed more, briefly glancing at the trio who watched them silently.

"Hmm, you make a good point," remarked the man, his wavy bangs shifting as he put his hand on his chin and closed his eyes. It was almost a minute later that he snapped his fingers before placing his hand on his chest. "Ah yes, I believe if you don't come with us then you're making a fuss over nothing. We really mean no harm, so I really think it would be wise that you should get it over with by taking the medicine head on!" he said brightly.

"Nostrum?" growled Izo suspiciously as he raised an eyebrow, taking a step back immediately. Joshua raised an eyebrow at that; unfamiliar with the term. He had to wonder if the man would have his control over the situation be offset by Izo's choice of words.

"Oh no, no, no…" replied the dark orange haired man lightheartedly. "You're not getting medicine, don't worry." He curtly nodded afterward, although Izo didn't appear to be moved.

Joshua widened his eyes. 'He understood that!?' Although, when Joshua stopped to think about what the man said, Joshua had to admit his lack of vocabulary shouldn't have stopped him from half understanding what that word meant. He simply sized up the fact that the man's earlier comment would have been enough to evaluate the word Izo used. Swallowing his embarrassment for overreacting, Joshua turned his attention back to the conversation.

The lab coat man looked slightly flustered for a moment, grimacing in a slight smile before resuming his composure. "I only mean it's better to do it now than later. We're not poisoning you or injecting you with any sort of serum if that's what you're worried about." He paused briefly, blinking before he slowly spoke, "Unless… you didn't take kindly to having sampling done in the Realground."

Izo coldly glared at the man, curling his lip. "Hmph."

"It won't be an issue," the man said with a slight frown, adjusting his round black glasses idly as he went on, "...As long as you don't mind having a little spell with us."

Joshua frowned. 'He keeps… referring to himself as though he's friends with these Reapers. It's as if he doesn't view himself as a Player, but that couldn't be right… Whoever his Partner is must not know about how he's hanging around Reapers, but-' It then clicked, and he tensed. 'He's not… he's-'

"Wait- you're a Reaper!?" asked Joshua in shock.

The dark orange haired man blinked, turning to him as he mused with amusement, "Oh? I thought it was obvious seeing how I'm interacting you."

"B-But you don't have wings!" cried out Joshua. "Reapers have wings!" From where Joshua stood, he frantically searched the man's figure to try and spot the tattooed structure, thinking maybe he glossed over that detail originally... In the end, all he could do was frown and gape at the man, soon wondering if the wings were too small for Joshua to see them currently.

For a few moments, the man was silent, then his eyes lit up as he gave out a short lived mirthful laugh. After he was finished, he explained mildly, "Not all of us have wings, which can be a bother when we need to set off on foot."

"Then why-" breathed out Joshua as he stared at the man in confusion. "How come you-"

"I'm strong, that's why," the man supplied simply.

"Well, that certainly doesn't answer my question..." muttered Joshua as he shook his head.

"Oh, well... Reapers of higher status don't need to do legwork, is all I'm trying to say. We leave that to the Harriers," explained the wingless man, smiling as he gave another laugh, "And how strong Reapers are lie within the size of their wings." He raised a hand, whisking his hand fluently as he closed his eyes. He went on in a more mild manner, "To set aside your confusion... As many Players would believe, you'd think a strong Reaper would have large, powerful wings like our Supports do... When really-" He opened his eyes, a warm gleam was now present in them. "It's virtually the opposite." He inhaled, pivoting slightly as he turned his head back to the Reapers. "You will never see a Support with small wings- unless their performance has knocked them down the ranks. Reapers with smaller wings are strong, and you would only expect a Harrier close to an Officer promotion would have pretty small ones... like Seiki Washisa here."

A gasp sounded from the dark fiery red haired Reaper, "I'm getting a promotion!?"

"What are you talking about? A lot of the higher-ups have been talking about it for weeks, surely they-" Immediately, the lab coat man frowned slightly, and his eyes grew round with disbelief. "O-Oh, w-wait... I guess they haven't informed you yet..." He shook his head seemingly flustered, frowning deeper. "S-Sorry, I should have paid more attention than to say that aloud."

"To be honest, I didn't think we were allowed to discuss such information with the Players," Megumi said with a small smile. While the microphone Reaper was waving his hand in front of the stunned female Reaper's face, the black haired Reaper dipped his head towards the wingless man. "Please disregard my own confusion..."

A pained expression fell over dark orange haired man's face. "Um... err..." He scratched his head before he bowed it towards the black haired Reaper. "I will approve of your disregard, Megumi Kitaniji, with no penalizations against you." He raised his head again, straightening slightly before his light coloured gaze traveled back to Joshua. "For Reapers without wings... now that doesn't really give you a clear idea of how strong they are, does it?" Joshua blinked, about to ask what the apparently wingless Reaper meant when he elaborated with a good natured shrug, "I guess... expect a hard fight, is all I can say."

For a few seconds, the puffy banged Reaper stared at Joshua before he chuckled, "Although, it's surprising how you don't know that, Yoshiya Kiryu."

At once, Joshua's breath hitched. "H-How do you...?" he began to ask breathlessly.

"I usually organize the Player Files whenever it needs to be done," he said lightly. "With all the fuss going around about you, I guess my curiosity got the best of me."

"You..." Joshua shook his head, giving Mayu a look before he breathed out slowly in awe, gazing back at the man, "…You're an Officer Reaper."

Joshua couldn't believe it; he was face to face with an Officer Reaper. From all the times Sanae told him about Officer Reapers, he expected them to be stuffy sticklers who went to work unhappy and came back home wearing the same emotions as they left it... like his father did everyday. Maybe even that one Reaper, who broke that Natural Puppy brand loving Reaper's heart yesterday, who seemed to be as fun as a plank of wood. He didn't have evidence that she was an Officer Reaper, but now knowing this Reaper in front of him was one made Joshua wonder if he simply had preconceived notions all this time. Or, he told himself, maybe Sanae's intel wasn't as accurate as he had thought.

The long ponytailed man was silent for a while until he smiled pleasantly. "How about you come along with us, Izo Shuuito, and the rest of you can go on ahead."

"Wait, what do you mean?" asked Joshua as he frowned instantly in disbelief, keeping his lavender eyes focused on the wingless Reaper in front of him. "Ayumu will be Erased!"

"Ah-ah, don't worry about that," chirped the man, reaching into one of his lab coat's pockets. Within seconds, he withdrew an envelope, holding it up for a few seconds. Soon he reached forward, holding out the envelope to Joshua as he explained, "With this, you will slide on by without having much of a fuss from the others."

Joshua stared at the envelope, biting his lip as he furrowed his eyebrows before looking the man in the eye. "I don't follow what this is?" said Joshua warily.

"Think of it as a permission slip from a teacher." The wingless Reaper blinked before he gestured with his other hand. "If another one catches you in the hall, presenting it to them will let them know you're not skipping class... From what I've heard."

"Feh, so you were cultivated in your abode?" growled Izo icily.

"If you mean home-schooled… I guess you can say, yes," replied the man with a nod, chuckling softly. "Know that this letter is self-explanatory, so I suggest that you give it to any Reaper who crosses your path and watch what happens." He closed his eyes. "I guarantee you that you're safe until Shuuito has returned to you."

"And what if we keep it after that?" asked Ayumu emotionlessly as he tilted his head to one side. "Can't we keep using it for the rest of the week."

"Ah, no… you won't be able to." The dark orange haired Reaper simply kept smiling when he shook his head. "It'll be rendered useless, that's all."

"So you'll take it back from us?" mused Joshua mindfully. "Yet we could lie saying we lost or got it destroyed, but keep using it, and you wouldn't know the difference."

"Oh no, that won't happen at all," responded the Reaper warmly, shaking his head gently. "Trust me, it will be rendered useless." He flicked the white envelope with a few quick rotations of his wrist. "So, I'd like for you three to enjoy the benefits while it lasts, alright?"

After the Reaper held it out again, Joshua this time took it and studied the envelope briefly. 'Hmm... he seems confident in our sportsmanship.' The ashen blond glanced back at the wingless Reaper. 'It wouldn't do to test it now, I guess.'

"Do we keep it closed until we meet any Reapers?" asked Ayumu as he blinked.

"I think it would be best to keep it closed," replied the Reaper with a nod. "A letter keeps better when you don't have the envelope ripped open, and putting it in and out can ruin the quality it has. So, if you want to keep it as neat as possible... don't open it or pull the letter out until you need to."

"We'll keep that in mind then," said Joshua with a nod, putting the letter in his shirt pocket carefully so it wouldn't get crumpled. "We don't want to tamper with its first impression."

The Reaper chuckled at that, his light green eyes shined from mirth. "With that settled, would you please follow me, Shuuito."

"I never said I'd partake in your entreat!" snapped Izo as he crossed his arms, turning his head away sharply. "Or are you deaf!?"

The Reaper sighed, closing his eyes briefly before he mused, "I didn't want to say this, but..." He looked back to the three other Reapers before he said quietly with worry, "On the way here, the plan initially was to attack you if you refused right away."

"What!?" spat Izo as his maroon eyes widened, frozen on the spot before he resumed his grumpy self. He snarled harshly as he narrowed his eyes into slits again, "You're purely conveying that to discombobulate me into your custody!"

"Oh no, I'm not lying," said the Reaper with a shake of his head, turning back to frown. "I was the one who put forth the idea to not attack unless you proved to be set on denying your assistance." He smiled uneasily. "And, well, I think they may soon decide that you really need to be beaten up first."

"So... is he coming with us?" called over the female Reaper. "Or will we need to deploy Plan B?"

"I so zetta want Plan B!" crowed Sho as he smacked his fist into his open palm. "I'm going to hurl him into the moon!"

Izo's frown became a flat line.

"I'm... not really a fan of fighting," admitted the Reaper sadly with a sigh, shaking his head as he blinked. "So I'd rather end this peacefully."

"Then how did you become a Reaper?" asked Joshua suspiciously as he stared at the Reaper hard. "Or even get through a round as a Player?"

"Oh, if it's Noise, I'll fight definitely." The Reaper nodded, inhaling deeply a second later before he put in, "But people... I rather avoid that at all costs. With only a few exceptions, of course." Clearing his throat, the Reaper spoke again but in a firmer tone as he faced the dark blue haired teenager, "But enough about me, we require your cooperation, Shuuito. The faster we get this over with, the faster you can finish your Mission."

Joshua glanced at Izo, noticing how livid his face was becoming, then Joshua sighed, "Izo… why don't you go with them and catch up with us? It doesn't seem like they'll leave you or us alone until you do."

"Feh." Izo shook his head, having his dark blue bangs fall over his right right again as he growled, "You would cogitate considering how they are hounding us in the contemporary moment we are persisting in."

"Izo, we really can't spend too long here," said Joshua as he met Izo's visible maroon eye, narrowing his lavender eyes as he mused, "I'm sure it wouldn't hurt for you to allow them a chance, so we'll wait up for you near Towa Records."

For a few seconds, Izo glared at him, then he let out a few grumbles as he turned to the bright-eyed Reaper. He gave out a snort, looking completely exasperated as he crossed his arms, "Hmph..."

Joshua gave a smile, giving a wave gesture to the Reaper as he chuckled, "He's all yours. Don't keep him from us too long, dear Reapers."

"Don't worry, we know what we are doing," replied the dark orange haired Reaper brightly, giving a smile back as he turned to Izo. "Now then, if you would follow me over here, Shuuito..."

Joshua tugged Ayumu away, soon aware of Mayu sliding in on his other side as they crossed the district. He could faintly hear Izo growling about something, but he ignored it. Izo would be fine; it wasn't like the Reapers were intentionally drawing him away to Erase him. Or, at least he hoped that wasn't the case.

Shaking his head, Joshua entered into the bright streets of Molco as he breathed in, and took in how people were walking about as well. He turned to Mayu, seeing that she seemed relaxed now, and he had assumed she was nothing but anxious when the Reapers came. So he smiled at her, receiving a small smile back as she caught his eye.

"D-Do you think I-Izo will be okay with what they w-want from him?" she asked gently, she then briefly looked back over to the district they came from and frowned.

Letting go of Ayumu's hand for a moment, Joshua ran his hand through his scraggly hair after he had shrugged a little. "I'm not quite sure what it is, but I'm sure it's not an attempt on ending his existence, Mayu," he replied lightly, closing his eyes as he breathed out. "Besides, Reapers can't harm Players until Day 7, or unless they've lost their Partner."

"I-I see," she said softly, giving a small nod. After a few seconds, her pretty eyes blinked as she sighed, "I-I just h-hope he's okay…"

Joshua frowned at once, and wondered why it was bothering Mayu so much. In fact, he had to wonder why Mayu seemed so worried about Izo. He had been nothing but rude to her these past two days, and she was scared of Izo even before they had spoken... so the reason escaped Joshua. There was a chance that Mayu normally cared about anyone who she met, but Joshua figured since the three of them were the closest people to her at the moment, so they only mattered to her because of that... That idea made Joshua feel strange inside when he considered it, so he dismissed the thought quickly.

"We should really get going." Joshua gave his attention to Ayumu as he spoke, "You did say we'd meet Izo at Towa Records, Josh."

The ashen blond gave a giggle, instantly placing a hand on Ayumu's shoulder as he murmured, "Ah, what's the rush? We're free of Izo for the moment, why not bask it all in while we still can?"

"Either way, Izo will return and we might as well be ready at the next location," said Ayumu emotionlessly as he blinked his pewter eyes. "Since the next two districts are beside each other, we can strategize for the next Noise we need to face."

Joshua couldn't help but give Ayumu an affectionate ruffle of his blond hair, letting out a giggle as he mused, "Hehehe… you're no fun, Ayumu."

"We don't need fun." Ayumu didn't even bother moving away from Joshua's hand. "The Mission comes first."

Joshua grimaced for a second or two, then he shook his head at Ayumu. 'Do you really have say these things, Ayumu?'

"I think we should," suggested Mayu timidly as she walked ahead, turning around to look at them as she frowned. "I-I mean, I don't think Izo would be pleased if he found us here..."

"We shouldn't just do things just because of Izo," grumbled Joshua stopping as he closed his eyes. He let out a sigh before he mused, "If he's going to be angry, he's going to be angry. If he's going to be grumpy, he's going to be grumpy." He then hissed bitterly, "We shouldn't be bowing down to his wishes at all..."

"Is that so?" asked Ayumu as he tilted his head. "Then what you said earlier was true..."

At once, Joshua opened his eyes in alarm, shaking his head at that. "What- no!" He grabbed Ayumu's hand, pulling him along as he sighed, "I-It's... it's not that..."

Mayu looked at him with worry as she joined him in walking, fiddling with her hands as she whispered sadly, "Th-Then why would you say that about him?"

Joshua felt his heart constrict suddenly. "Mayu, I-" He tried to look away from Mayu as he replied quietly, "Look, I'm just trying to say that we shouldn't just go with what he wants all the time. Every one of us has good ideas, but..."

"But you sounded like you hated him just now, Josh," Ayumu noted, making Joshua freeze in place. He clenched his eyes closed, frowning as he stood there, trying to pretend he hadn't heard what Ayumu had said.

"I-I... I don't hate Izo, Ayumu," said Joshua weakly as he tried to smile, hoping his tone hid the frustration he felt. "Really. I don't."

"If you say so, Josh," said Ayumu as he blinked. "I just noticed that you seemed very angry at him, and that what you said…"

"Ugh, the Bounce Ferret made me feel and say that, I would never say those things to his face," grumbled Joshua, taking ahold of his brother's hand roughly and walked past Mayu. He slowly relaxed his grip around Ayumu's hand and rubbed his thumb over his brother's skin, silently apologizing as they continued to walk, and soon reached the other side of Molco where the Reaper guarded the Wall.

"Hold up, someone's missing a Partner," said the Reaper instantly as he raised his hand to stop them. "Which one of you doesn't have one?"

"That would be me." Ayumu raised his hand up, causing the Reaper to look at him. The Reaper without warning grabbed his hand, making Ayumu's palm face upwards as he spoke, "He wasn't Erased, some Reapers are talking to him about something."

"Tsk, you don't have the seven minute timer... but I'm afraid I won't let you pass unless I see your Partner." The Reaper let Ayumu's hand go and crossed his arms, shaking his head before he stared at them. "Unless the two of you want to go on," he added as he nodded to Joshua and Mayu. "I'm not letting down this Wall."

"Oh, that won't do," said Joshua with a click of his tongue. He drew out the letter and held it out to the Reaper, sighing as he met the Reaper's eyes. "I was told this letter would explain our situation..."

"Hmph, who's it from?" asked the Reaper gruffly.

"I don't know, some Reaper without wings gave it to me," admitted Joshua with a shrug, letting go of the letter the moment the Support Reaper took it from him. "He told me to show it to any Reaper we come across..."

"Pah, that must have been an Officer Reaper then," grumbled the Reaper as he opened the envelope carefully, drawing out the folded pure white letter with a fluent motion and opened it up. He stared at it, mumbling to himself for a while before he turned stiff. Joshua was surprised when the Reaper looked up from the letter, noticing how his face was pale, his mouth was agape, and his wide eyes were anxiously scrutinizing them. "Y-You... th-this... H-How did you Players get this letter!?" he cried in dismay.

"We got it from the Reaper," replied Ayumu as he turned his head a bit, his sightless eyes almost searching for something. He blinked before he went on, "Josh told you that."

"B-But th-this-" The Reaper was trembling on the spot. "Wh-What was the Reaper's name!? Tell me!"

Joshua heard Mayu let out a squeak of fear, and Joshua frowned deeply at the Support Reaper. "He never said. He had a lab coat with Pins, and he had no wings." Joshua cupped his chin in thought. "Although… that doesn't help you, does it?"

"Th-There's only one Reaper who dons a lab coat, and I don't believe you have met that Reaper," said the Reaper crossly, his arm was shaking as he handed back the letter and envelope. "Th-That Reaper... n-never leaves the Shibuya River. N-Never."

"But I do believe we have, seeing how he did wear a lab coat, dear Reaper," explained Joshua with a sigh, shaking his head as he carefully put the letter away. "But why does it matter? It's just another of you Reapers, so what's so special about that one?"

The Reaper shuddered; his hood cast downward as he spoke nervously, "Th-That Reaper, is special, because this letter is from the Conductor!" The Reaper's head shook hard, his voice coming out shakier. "I-I can hardly believe I even held that letter!"

"Oh!? It is!?" said Joshua with surprise, nearly dropping the envelope that contained the supposedly sacred letter. He stared at the Reaper wide-eyed as he mused, "My, that actually makes sense why you're shaking like a leaf, dear Reaper?" He gave a shrug. "But what's so important about that Reaper anyway? Anyone could deliver a letter."

"That Reaper has special ties to him, and is rarely seen." The Reaper's wings stiffly twitched, his hands clenched when he shook his head. "B-Believe me, that Reaper is not just any Reaper! He's anything but that!"

'Okay... this is starting to become weird,' thought Joshua uneasily as he stared at the Reaper tremble before him. 'That Officer Reaper seemed friendly, but the way this Reaper is describing him is as though he's describing a myth... I guess some Reapers freak out over the most simplest of things.'

The sound of a door unlocking alerted him, and he saw the Reaper leap into the air to fly away. As he watched the Reaper flee, he frowned bemusedly. 'Okay... that Reaper must have issues, or Reapers must have such a profound respect of their Conductor that they become paralyzed with fear from a mere memo from him...'

"Uh..." Joshua rubbed the back of his head, frowning as the Reaper faded from his view. He turned to see his Partner join his side from behind him, her expression almost mirroring his own as she stared at the sky. "That was some reaction..."

"Yeah, for someone making a fuss over a letter," said Ayumu with a nod, tilting his head to one side. It wasn't until he blinked a few times that he put in, "I don't see how that he could be so important."

"That's exactly what I thought," agreed Joshua as he crossed his arms. With a sigh, Joshua closed his eyes. "But, I guess he wasn't kidding when he said the letter was self-explanatory."

"Th-That Reaper mentioned it was from the C-Conductor, right?" Mayu was gazing at him when he opened his eyes, and he nodded curtly. She clasped her hands near her abdomen before asking quietly, "Wh-What's a Conductor, Joshua?"

"Oh-" He mentally scolded himself, seeing as Mayu would have been clueless about that during the previous conversation. "The Conductor is the Composer's second-in-command," explained Joshua simply as he saw her widen her eyes at that, uncrossing his arms as he went on, "He takes care of giving orders to the Reapers and acts as the Composer's link to them, only because the Composer apparently can only be seen by certain individuals." He inhaled, half-closing his eyes. "From what I, uh, heard from a good friend."

The smoky black haired girl gasped, her pretty eyes becoming owlish as she raptly gazed at him. "It's mirroring music!" she squeaked with surprise, her eyes suddenly sparkling as she blurted out, "The Composer creates music, and the Conductor directs it! Th-That's... that's amazing!"

"Um..." Joshua scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "The Composer doesn't exactly do that here... but I get what you're saying."

It did make sense, as he pondered over what she said, seeing as the Game appeared to follow a theme of music in some way. The Noise, the Composer, the Conductor, Frequency... He didn't quite get how the Reapers fit in with the mix, but he could only guess there was some reason for why they were called that. But either way, he was glad that Mayu was linking these sorts of things together, which would help her learn more about the Game. He couldn't help but admire how quickly she was grasping these concepts thus far, especially when he never made these sorts of connections himself when Sanae taught him.

"Mmhmm..." She nodded, smiling as she blinked at him. "It feels better when you understand something, rather than having no clue about something."

"Yeah, it kind of does," remarked Joshua, chuckling at that. "I can imagine that the other Players took longer than we had to figure it out."

Mayu suddenly tilted her head to one side. "What do you mean?"

The ashen blond smiled, sheepishly shrugging. "Well… I may have had more time in pounding in the finer details of the Game." He whisked his hand slightly. "A few sleights, but that's not really important to talk about."

Her blue green eyes continued to stare at him, and naturally he could understand he may have been acting suspicious. But, he knew telling her that the Producer taught him about the Game when he was still alive would break the promise he made with Sanae long ago. As long as he didn't suggest the connection he had with the Producer, Sanae said he could use the knowledge as he saw fit. Although, now that he thought about it, he was surprised he hadn't gotten a handicap from having excessive prior knowledge about the Game when he first entered the UG…

Unless, the Composer thought taking away Ayumu's emotions as Joshua's Entry Fee was enough damage to be done to Joshua.

Noting how Mayu was patiently giving him her attention, he wondered if she was waiting for him to explain further about what he had said. But he ignored her, guiltily occupying himself by drawing the envelope in front of him, sliding the letter out. Unfolding it carefully, he held the piece of paper with his other hand to read to himself:

Dear fellow Reapers,

The Player by the name of Izo Shuuito will at some point during this day be required by a select few of your peers, so I bid you a regard to pardon the Players, Yoshiya Kiryu, Ayumu Ki, and Mayu Akimori; who will be accompanying Mr. Shuuito for the mission, from participating in clearing the Wall as proof of this missive, and permit them passage. May it that you do not pardon these Players, know that I will personally reach you to discuss why you chose to disobey this edict.

Sincerely,

Kazumasa O.

Putting the letter back in, Joshua carefully put it away. 'No wonder that Reaper was so scared, he must have been scared about disobeying a direct order...' thought Joshua amused, barely stifling his giggle. 'I guess for now we have a 'free card until Izo gets back.'

"What did the letter say?" asked Mayu timidly, flinching immediately when Joshua glanced at her. She frowned, shifting her clasped hands slightly. "I-If you don't mind me asking?"

"Here, you can read it for yourself," said Joshua gently as he passed it to her, watching as she gazed at him briefly before looking down at it. In less than a minute, she shot him a look as she breathed out, "So we can go past the Reapers?"

"Yes, which is pretty great if you ask me." Joshua smiled at her, grabbing the letter when she gave it back.

"What does it say exactly?" Ayumu asked, and Joshua proceded to read it to him. After Ayumu nodded, Joshua stored it away in his shirt pocket carefully. "Then I guess we should get going."

"Of course," Joshua said, looking at his Partner. "We don't want to deal with the Reaper again if he decides to return to his station."

"Mmm." Ayumu nodded. "Touche."

His Partner nodded at that as well, walking alongside him the moment Joshua started guiding Ayumu forward.

As they watched the next Reaper flee, Joshua could only feel as though the Conductor must have held a lot of sway over the Reapers. One glance through the letter was all that took for the Reaper to leave after the Wall was let down, which was pretty amusing to watch as they tripped over themselves screaming in terror. Joshua heard of the extent of the Conductor's authority over the Reapers from Sanae's teachings, but seeing it take place before him was the icing on the cake. Having it in his own grasp made Joshua feel an immense swell of pleasure of holding that power, even a spurt of giddiness waved through himself as he returned the letter to its sleeve.

"Looks like we know the secret to telling the Reapers to go away," remarked Joshua with a giggle, whisking the letter airily as he closed his eyes and smirked. "If all Players had something like this, it would be easy to say: 'My dear Reapers, please go away and leave us to ourselves. We require no more of your presence in our existence.', if we waved it in their faces each time..."

Mayu gave a small giggle from that, slightly covering her mouth while Ayumu didn't react.

Inhaling, Joshua smiled as he mused, mostly to himself as he held the letter tenderly to his chest, "Although… I suppose many would abuse this sort of power, wouldn't they?"

He led his Partner and half-brother into the next district, humming as he dwelled over the fact it might be better if they cleared a path to the next area now before waiting for their absent companion. But would that be pushing the privilege of handling this letter too far…? Joshua took a moment to think over the possibility, merely shaking his head. 'It's not like it would do us harm… This is for the sake of our Mission, so I doubt there's nothing wrong with using it as much as we can.'

Shrugging internally, Joshua turned to his companions. "Would you excuse me for just a second…?"

"O-Oh!" Mayu sent him a surprised look, merely blushing as she quietly spoke, "Um… do what you need to do?" Her eyebrows knitted with confusion, but Joshua paid no heed to that.

"Beautiful!" Joshua chirped, smiling. "I won't be-"

"Where are you going?" Ayumu asked, and Joshua tried to repress the odd squirming he felt in his stomach from the question.

"I don't know what you mean, Ayumu..." sang Joshua, slowly taking steps away. "I'm just doing a little errand, and won't be long."

"Even though I don't have a way to sense what you're planning, I know you're doing something clearly wrong."

Stopping briefly, Joshua closed his eyes. "Oh, Ayu… you have no need to worry-" A tinge of pain filled his heart from knowing there was no way for Ayumu to worry, making Joshua pause only to soon pick up his merriness the best he could. "Just stay put with Mayu, dear brother, and I shall return."

After that, Joshua fully turned and briskly walked away before Ayumu made his attempt at pretending his nickname bothered him. If Ayumu had his emotions, Ayumu would be making more of an effort to lecture him when he did these sorts of things…

Joshua recalled when his father bought a treadmill for Joshua... Joshua's father was trying to motivate Joshua into exercising after Hinata voiced his irritation of Joshua's constantly poor Physical Education marks, and they had a fight about it. He couldn't persuade his father from doing the deed, and even voiced his opinion on the matter to Ayumu… who was in agreement with their father to Joshua's dismay. Considering how Joshua didn't want to be forced into the torture of physical exertion, Joshua secretly tweaked the settings of the unused exercise machine a few hours before his father returned home from work that summer day. Joshua hoped his father would understand that the machine had to go after Joshua's inevitable treadmill session..

But… that had also been the same day he had gotten permission to have Ayumu over. Ayumu wanted to try the machine soon after he arrived, and it slipped Joshua's mind about the changes he made until Ayumu had him turn it on. Joshua couldn't stop the machine from running haywire, and Ayumu had struggled to stay on before being hurled off. They were only lucky their father had arrived home shortly after the mishap conspired, and took Ayumu to the hospital to his disgruntlement. It then wasn't hard for Joshua to argue his case that the machine was a bad idea to begin with, and Joshua was pleased to see the terrible machine leave. Ayumu was only lucky that the extent of his injuries were a few broken ribs, a concussion, and a bruised tailbone... Joshua could hardly feel his apologies to Ayumu were enough to sate his remorse. And in the end, Ayumu had unfortunately developed a new sense of telling when Joshua was planning to do things that weren't always the most 'moral'.

Frowning at that memory, Joshua pushed his way to the Reaper and tried to cast the uncomfortable feeling away. It was his fault that Ayumu got injured, so knowing that the familiar constant nagging created from that day was now reduced to hollow words from Ayumu caused Joshua's heart to ache. All the reactions and norms he shared with Ayumu over the years were slowly deteriorating into nothing but memories… and Joshua couldn't stop himself from hating it.

Plastering his best smile for show, Joshua pleasantly spoke as the Reaper crossed their arms and cocked their head, "Hello, dear Reaper… I have a letter that pertains to me and my companions' current situation." He gestured to Mayu and Ayumu in the distance, and proceeded to giggle as he brandished the letter, "If you would please read…"

The Reaper merely sighed, offering a hand as Joshua placed it in. Instead of receiving the last two results, the red hooded person nodded before opening the Wall. As he was handed back the letter, the Reaper merely spoke, "Don't get too attached to your letter, you'll regret it."

"Oh, worry not, I doubt I have any separation issues." Joshua felt himself smirk, congratulating himself on securing a path to the final location for everyone as the Reaper shook their head at him. "Have a nice rest of your day, dear Reaper."

"Why do all the Players have to be cheeky when they get privileges from the higher-ups…?" muttered the Reaper as they left, and Joshua wished he could have heard the rest of the grumbling the Reaper was putting on their plate.

Joshua drew the letter back, barely keeping himself from grinning giddily as he silently thanked the letter for its good deeds. He felt tempted to hide away the letter as soon as Izo returned, despite how in his head the words 'cheater' and 'don't do it' fluttered inside it. He knew cheating a game like this one was unforgivable, especially their given situation… As much as he would rather not give it up to pretend it was a trivial paperweight he would be using for good luck, he knew the letter would be collected in a timely fashion soon.

He sorrowfully gazed down at the letter, slowly frowning. All he had to do was play nice, avoid pushing the boundaries of the Game like he did last week… and the Composer would return Ayumu's emotions. It was already sick how she was withholding them as leverage in making sure Joshua didn't step out of line... At least, that's the only thing that came to mind for why she would do it. Even the idea of surrendering any kind of advantages just to ensure that felt stale to him. But, if that was what it took to guaranteeing that his half-brother became his normal self again… Joshua knew sacrificing this letter was one steppingstone towards recovering what Ayumu had lost.

He tucked the letter back into his shirt pocket, sighing heavily. 'If that's what you want me to do, I'll do it.' He shifted his gaze towards his companions, and began ambling back to them. 'For Ayumu…'

As he came up, he nodded to Mayu and held his composure the best he could. "We won't have a problem with getting to the next district," he said mildly. "All we need now is Bluey, and everything will be a walk in the park."

"O-Oh!" She widened her eyes, frowning slightly as she asked quietly, "Did you ask the Reaper to let down the Wall?" Joshua hummed and nodded again, watching as she slowly smiled and clasped her hands. "That's great to hear!"

"You know, you could have told us that earlier, Josh." Ayumu slightly managed to look at him. "You made it sound like you were going to do something-"

"All I did was secure us passage, and I thought it wouldn't be necessary for all of us to wave the letter at the Reaper at the same time," Joshua returned smoothly, cringing on the inside that Ayumu would have been right had Joshua decided to keep the letter. He brushed his ashen blond bangs, and chuckled, "I mean, it's not like it would be bad to speed things up a little…"

"Uh-huh." The younger boy blinked. "And you usually don't use that tone when you're doing something questionable."

Joshua gave a snort of laughter, pretending sarcasm actually bled into that statement. He couldn't help himself from ruffling the downy blond hair of his half-brother, and smiled. "Ayumu, give it a rest." Ayumu didn't say anything, but Joshua wasn't turned off from that. Even if Ayumu was emotionless, it was good to see that Ayumu's mannerisms weren't entirely lost.

When he withdrew from Ayumu, Joshua became acutely aware of something: Mayu was quiet. When Joshua realized this, he glanced at her from the corner of his eye. He saw how her turquoise gaze was distant and gloomy, causing his smile to vanish as he furrowed his eyebrows. "...Mayu?"

She flinched, rapidly blinking her widened eyes when she quietly breathed, "Y-Yes, Joshua?"

"Is something the matter?" he asked when he fully turned to her, noting how tense her body seemed to be. "You seem… sad?"

"O-Oh- I was just thinking about-" She shook, and soon her pretty gaze lit up. "Izo's been gone a long time, that's all…"

As the ashen blond scanned the area, he frowned upon confirming that Izo, in fact, hadn't arrived yet. "Maybe Izo's giving them more trouble than they're used to?" Mayu didn't seem to respond positively to his suggestion, and Joshua felt a flicker of frustration that all Mayu seemed to gravitate towards right now was whether or not Izo was okay. She didn't have a reason to worry about Izo, not after all the terrible things Izo said about her. It wasn't healthy; he knew it wasn't! From all the times Ayumu was picked on by Ryou and Sora, Joshua knew a bully victim from a glance. Even if Mayu kept hiding what happened between her and Izo earlier, Joshua knew Izo did something to her.

It was similar to how Ayumu percieved the first few instances of his own bullying, and Joshua's blood boiled when he recalled what Ryou first did to Ayumu. Ryou had shoved Joshua's half-brother off the playground equipment, then fell on top of Ayumu after losing his own balance. Ayumu had one of his arms broken, which infuriated Joshua that this occurred, but not as much as how Ayumu thought it was an accident. Ayumu wouldn't stop trying to play it down, even when Joshua told his naive half-brother several times that Joshua literally saw Ryou shove Ayumu over the edge as he was climbing up while Sora crowed in laughter when Ayumu squealed in agony upon hitting the gravel. Even when Ryou and Sora kept harassing Ayumu daily, Ayumu kept making excuses for why the terrible duo weren't bullying him. As kind and gentle as Ayumu was, protecting his bullies was the worst thing Ayumu was using his compassion on! It wasn't until Joshua had to step in to protect Ayumu when Joshua finally caught them in the act, striking Ryou hard because of how exhausted Joshua was of how Ayumu was being treated, that Joshua got through to Ayumu that he was being bullied.

It was something that Joshua couldn't forget: that a common symptom of bully victims he's seen was the denial that it was happening... and Mayu was displaying it as well. But Joshua knew bringing it up now wouldn't be a good idea unless he was alone with Mayu, thus, he had to wait for the chance to present itself. Even if it angered him so much right now... he would wait.

"But don't stress about him too much, Mayu," he went on, giving a faux smile as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure Izo will be here soon. After all…" He checked his timer, noticing how the red imprint in his hand became an hour and thirty-five minutes. "We have enough time, and all we have to do is Erase two more Boss Noise." He closed his eyes briefly. "It's just going to be a cakewalk for all of us."

When he opened his eyes, Mayu was smiling slightly as her blue green gaze seemed to glimmer at that. He felt his cheeks warm and his heart start to race, so he drew back. Upon leaving contact with her dark jean jacket, he used his hand to run through his hair to calm himself. 'Why are her eyes so beautiful…? I don't know why, but it's so easy to just get lost in them.'

Shifting in a different direction so that he could focus on something other than his Partner, Joshua idly viewed the mural from where he stood. It was on a wall tucked in the corner of the district, but he couldn't see the image as well as he hoped. He thought he saw two brown parts of an arch that created a heart in the middle, barely picking out the details of ears and eyes supported by dark blue and pink limbs. If he were closer, he would be able to identify the Noise they would be facing… Maybe he should take a peek before-

"O-Oh!" Mayu soon brushed his back like the breeze, aware she grew closer to him. "Izo's…"

The ashen blond turned, soon watching as their missing companion stalked stiffly up to them. His taut expression made it evident that Izo was aware of the fact a sheet of ice was slithering behind him, and Joshua chose not to comment on the fact that he already felt numb from the frigid blast he was subjected to.

"Good to have you back," Joshua breathed, giving a brief shiver as he went on, "We have everything set up, so we can just finish the Mission without any disturbances."

"Feh." The dark blue haired boy merely thumbed a spot on his arm, his face hardening further. "Bon débarras."

Joshua raised an eyebrow as their aloof poet continued to rub circles, grumbling. "Is… something the matter?" he asked curiously. Izo's sole maroon eye burned lividly into Joshua, and the well-dressed boy grimaced from the response he was given. "...But I guess you don't have to talk about it." Joshua, choosing to forgo poking the bear, turned to the graffiti and smiled loosely. "You won't believe how brilliant it was having you go with the Reapers, though." He slowly reached into his pocket as Izo crossed his arms with a disgruntled snort, and soon Joshua gave a light chuckle, "The letter that Reaper gave us was-"

Before Joshua could slide out the letter, he noticed a wisp of black slip through his vision before feeling himself tense. 'What the…?' A second later, pain shot through his chest and he gave an alarmed shriek.

"Joshua!?" Mayu cried out, who was nearly careened into when Joshua backed away unsteadily. "Wh-What's-"

"Something's wrong!" he screeched as he widened his eyes, the agony burning and building up from inside his shirt pocket as his fingers became numb from how it felt like angry needles were lapping them. "It's-" As he clumsily managed to fling out the partially crisp envelope, black smoke blew up in his face and slammed him to the ground. The next thing Joshua became aware of was how his head was thrumming as he was captured in a spell of vertigo.

He scrunched his eyes as his vision wavered and felt something moving his arm, trying to focus through the pain the best he could. Fairly soon, he blinked, noticing how he was pulled into a sitting position and that his chest ached.

"What was that?" spat Izo irritably, grimly scowling down at Joshua as he felt the hand on his arm loosen. "A firecracker you botched to detect?"

"The letter blew up!" retorted Joshua through his grounded teeth as he inhaled heavily, trying to regain a semblance of calm as he repeated breathlessly, "The letter just… blew up."

"Hmph, so you detonated it on yourself…?" Izo shook his head, snorting with disdain, "Bravo, Aleck."

The lavender-eyed boy opened his mouth, gasping out a sound before he fell silent. He slowly took in the fact embers sprinkled the sidewalk around him, glinting as bits were blown into the breeze, his gaze soon settled on his shirt pocket… which was simply stubby flaps of singed fabric.

How could the letter have done that!? It was just paper and ink! Nothing more than a permission note that Joshua fervently flourished for the past few minutes! There was no way something as trivial as a letter could just… explode.

As he anxiously mulled over this, trying to find a reason why this had occurred, he helplessly watched as the evidence that such a letter existed disappeared. He bit his lip, baffled, and couldn't help but feel himself enter a daze until he heard his younger half-brother speak.

"You know, that Reaper did say it would be rendered useless." Ayumu apathetically blinked.

Joshua blanched as he placed his injured hand over his ruined shirt pocket, realization coursing over him like a vat of glacier water. 'It'll be rendered useless…' Slowly, faintly hearing a cry from Mayu as he flopped back onto the ground, he pressed his eyes closed with a groan. 'It'll be rendered useless… because the letter was going to blow up.'

To be continued… hope you enjoyed the chapter! =3