Apollo slammed his fist into the wall. The material crumbled at his power, splintering off into millions of tiny pebbles that embedded themselves into the street and the other walls. He sneered and sat in an alley, milling over the newest development with a sigh and a clenched fist.

He had been so close!

The mind of the Higher Being was twisted and full of dark, disturbing thoughts. All of those making him smile and forget his disappointment most days, but today had been quite the eye opener. Today, he'd been reminded just how strong-willed the skinny ash-blonde Composer of Shibuya really was. Today, he'd seen his carefully constructed plans start to unravel. True, there was a time that he'd relish letting the boy's hope get too high, just so he could dash it into the rocks of despair again.

But today showed him that his methods were too lax when it came to the spirit of Yoshiya Kiryu.

He was reminded of the very last Game Yoshiya had played before the Battle of Supremacy. The teen had been drunk off his own ego, thinking he could do nothing wrong. Thinking the spotlight was on him and him alone, that he was more unique than any being out there. He sacrificed everyone and everything for his goals, and it cost him nothing, not even his pride! The eyes and energy of his Kiryu back then...they were disgustingly over-confident to the point of narcissistic insanity.. As if he were challenging fate itself to be ready for his ascension. An ascension not even guaranteed let alone achieved!

"You're wrong."

The Higher being looked up, his eyes blazing until they locked with silver orbs that scowled at him in indignation. He cocked his head and observed the female Angel as she perched on a light post above him, then chuckled lightly. "Haineko. A pleasure as always, my dear."

The wings of the Guardian Angel flexed slightly, and she snorted and folded her arms "You're wrong, Apollo. Yoshiya did pay a price for his eighth Game. A price that stung him deeply, until you decided to rip that hurt, and all other deep feelings, out of him."

"What did it cost him that made such an impact? I saw nothing during the Game that suggested anything had made any impact."

"He lost me."

Apollo was stunned at the soft voice that caressed the silence. He was the most surprised by the lack of bite, the total absence of bitterness or anger. After a short laugh that masked his suprise, his cynical voice asked mockingly "Is that so? From above it looked like he betrayed you and left you to die, my dear."

"You know nothing, then." Haineko snarled and flew down to get eye to eye with him She clasped her hands together and smiled as she felt the energy surging across the district, reaching out a hand to feel the breeze and the soft, invisible threads weaving in and out of the area. She turned her attention back to Apollo with a frown,

"Yoshi was devastated when he left me behind. He never betrayed me, Apollo. If anything, it was I who betrayed him. I broke our promise. I shoved him to safety and refused to follow, and it was I who closed the door to the Noise Plane so he couldn't retrieve me. You see? Oh, but I forgot. You're not really interested in punishing him for what he did duuring his Games, are you, bastard."

Her tone shifted to a bitter sneer, "I know what you really want, Higher Bastard. I saw inside your head when he brushed past. I couldn't interefere, but I saw exactly what went on in there. You sick, twisted man! Your time is coming, that's all I'm going to say. Oh, and oone more thing...I'm his Guardian Angel. Any more stunts like the one you pulled with his wings, and I have permission from Seraph himself to kick your ass! Consider yourself warned."

She flew up, and glared down at him, her fiery temper flaring and wings fully spread in a clear show of 'pissed-off' as she warned him again, the threat very clear as she hovered,

"Karma is going to come collect your debt, Apollo, and his name is Neku Sakuraba. So you better make sure you balance your actions from now on, mark my words!"

The Higher Being chuckled darkly "We will see. You are assuming that I will allow Sakuraba to have an opportunity to lay even a single attack on me once the real fight begins. Of course, I could toy with him as I toyed with Yoshiya during our Battle…"

Haineko snorted "Look where that got you. Something tells me Neku isn't going to be as sporting nor as merciful as Yoshi was if you do that this time. The proxy seems to have as much tolerance of your treatment of the Composer as I do, which, make no mistake, is NONE AT ALL."

Before leaving, the Angel folded her arms again and said snarkily, her voice dripping with a pride and assurance that left no room for doubt, as well as a snide confidence that leaked over the words she spoke,

"By the way, Yoshiya Kiryu didn't think he had the spotlight...he knew he did. He never thought he was unique, he KNEW he was one of a kind, destined for greatness. Guess what? Shibuya agreed. In fact, she practically imprinted the idea into his very soul from the day he was born!" She smiled ferally "Make no mistake, he'll reclaim everything you stole from him, and gain even more, returning to his rightful place on the Throne of Shibuya. The question is...Are you ready for it?"

As the Angel disappeared, Apollo fought a very large and powerful urge to destroy half the block he was on in utter contempt. Those few words reminded him of the arrogance of his Kiryu.

"I'm gonna be a legend when it's said and done. Are you ready for it?"

He clenched his fists. There was work to be done if he was to destroy any hope of his Kiryu regaining his true self and destroying all the progress he's made to break him. He would have that skinny neck in his clutches once again. He was going to grab that lithe body with both hands and twist until bones snapped, one after the other. He vowed to himself to win. Nothing was going to stand in his way.

"I was born for this!"

"Now you'll die to it, My Kiryu. It's your turn...to be ready."