"I thought I couldn't see the Composer, though." Neku said as he and Kariya were walking to the Composer's headquarters.
"Well, in the UG, only the Conductor may see the Composer, not players or reapers below the Conductor." Kariya replied. He continued to eat his sucker.
"Yeah, and I'm not the Conductor." Neku said. Kariya gave an annoyed sigh.
"Ah, but based on your explanation of that 'Switch-it Pin', you're neither a player, nor a reaper. Therefore, the rules don't apply to you." Kariya explained. Neku gave a nod. "Well, here you are. Don't take too long."
"You're not coming with me?" Neku asked. Kariya shook his head.
"Nah, I'm sure you'd like to catch up with your old friend. See ya." Kariya said, walking away.
Joshua was sitting on his throne, looking somewhat out of shape. He was in his true form. You could tell that his energy was weak. "I really hope that this will be solved soon..." Joshua's eyes were slowly closing. Joshua felt like falling asleep. As he was half-asleep, Neku ran in yelling, "Joshua!" He jumped in his throne. "Hey there, Neku." Joshua said, still partly asleep.
"Kariya wasn't kidding. You really do look bad." Neku and Joshua shared a laugh.
"So, Neku, how did you get here?" Joshua asked. Neku was surprised at his question.
"If you don't know how I got here, then I guess you weren't the one that gave me... This." Neku said, showing the Switch-it Pin.
"That pin... Even I have trouble getting one of those. I wouldn't give one of those out all willy nilly. Someone else must have given you that pin. You know what it's for, right?" Joshua asked.
"Yeah. It's for switching from the RG to the UG, right? Other than that, it works like a player pin. But there was something else that Mr. H wanted to tell me about it." Neku said. Joshua took a deep breath.
"Not only does it let you switch between the two grounds, but it also lets you alternate between parallel universes." Joshua said. Neku was in shock. A pin that could do something like that?
Joshua then proceeded to tell Neku about the "Tin-Pin Universe". He told him why the Hanekoma from the current universe went to this parallel universe. "Neku, it's time you learn some things. There are things you don't know." Joshua said, pulling out a stack of papers from behind his throne. "I managed to collect all of these. They're Hanekoma's secret reports." Joshua said. He handed Neku the stack of papers. Joshua snapped his fingers and a table and chair popped up out of nowhere. Neku took a seat and started reading.
Neku was sucked into the reports. He read his own name a couple of times, and him being mentioned as "the Proxy". He read other words like, "producer", "angel", and "fallen angel". The last report really struck a blow. In it, Hanekoma states that he is, "the fallen angel that taught Minamimoto how to refine Taboo Noise." Once Neku was done reading, he sat there for several minutes trying to process what happened.
"So, if my guess is correct, then the Hanekoma of this world is responsible for the Taboo Noise? Is he the bad guy in all of this!" Neku said. His rage was growing.
"That seems to be the most likely choice now, doesn't it?" said a voice coming from the entrance to the room. Neku immediately turned towards the voice. The person standing there only made things worse.
"HANEKOMA!" Neku yelled, running towards Hanekoma, who was standing at the entrance.
"Neku, wait! Just hold on a minute!" Hanekoma said, dashing away from Neku.
"Neku, stop! This isn't the Hanekoma of this world!" Joshua said, teleporting in front of Neku and stopping him. Neku barged through Joshua, seeing as his energy is low, but Neku still slowed to a halt.
"Not the Hanekoma of this world?" Neku said, almost out of breath.
Hanekoma explained that the Fallen Angel Hanekoma disappeared into another universe and hasn't been seen since. The reaper's game of the current universe needed a producer still, so they got a replacement Hanekoma.
"I come from a universe where your efforts, Neku, ended up abolishing the Reaper's Game. That's why I can leave my universe without the game being affected. The Hanekoma of this world is corrupt. Not only has he released Taboo Noise on this universe, but all universes where the game still exists. His motives are unclear, but there's no telling if he is the only one plotting." Hanekoma said. Neku continued to think about everything he's learned.
"I still have one question, though. Who gave me this pin?" Neku asked, looking at the Switch-it Pin.
"About that. I have a theory. The Reaper's Game isn't just in Shibuya. There are Reaper's Games everywhere on the globe. Tokyo, New York, Paris, Hong Kong. They're everywhere. This is a fact. In every city where there is a Reaper's Game, the city has it's own 'soul'. The strength of this soul depends on the people in the city. If the people are happy, then it is a strong soul. If the people are miserable, then it is a weak soul. This, too, is a fact. Now, seeing as how you saved Shibuya once before, Shibuya's soul trusts you. Shibuya knows it's in trouble, not only in this universe, but every universe. Shibuya wants you to save it, Neku. There was no person that forced this pin onto you. It was something. It was Shibuya itself." Hanekoma explained. There was dead silence for a moments that seemed like forever. Hanekoma's words echoed through Neku's mind.
"Since I'm the Composer for Shibuya, the city and I share a connection. The people are miserable because of the Taboo Noise. Because of that, my energy is weak, just as Shibuya's soul is. You have to save Shibuya Neku." Joshua said, resting on his throne again.
"So, what? I have to go through parallel universes and try to find the corrupt Mr. H?" Neku said.
"Yes. I suggest bringing your friends along with you. It's good to have allies that you can trust. Just like partners." Hanekoma said. Joshua was already asleep on his throne.
"Alright, I'll need some time to think about this. Can you give me until the end of the week?" Neku asked.
"Take all the time you need. I don't blame you for having this forced on you. Just come down to WildKat when you have your answer." Hanekoma said. Neku gave a nod and walked out. His heavy footsteps woke Joshua up. "That boy can do it. He has to do it."
"His abilities are amazing, I'll give him that, but do you really think he can take the corrupt Hanekoma head-on?" Joshua said, his eyes still closed.
"His ESP is that of an angel. That's why he can control the Switch-it Pin. Even if the people of Shibuya were at their happiest, if Neku really tried, he could actually replace you." Hanekoma said. Joshua opened his eyes, realizing what he meant by that.
"I guess you're right." Joshua said, falling asleep once more.
Bienvenue! Yes, I know that this is a short chapter, shorter than my usual, but everything that was revealed should make up for it. Don't forget to review and tell me what you like and don't like! I accept constructive criticism, but I shun flamers!