Wishes

Stage 8 - The Sound

Roughly ten minutes later, Joshua and Neku were sitting in the subway leading toward the hospital. Joshua had finally consented to letting Neku go out, but on the condition that Joshua went with him to make sure he didn't drop dead from his illness (which was obviously not a cold like Neku claimed). They sat on one of the benches, away from other people, which wasn't hard, since the tram was practically deserted.

When Neku coughed again, Joshua glanced over briefly. The redhead was dressed in some simple jeans with a dark purple sweater, over which he also wore a coat and a blue scarf, the latter of which had been tucked into his jacket. Anyone looking at him could tell he was not feeling too great, and not just from his dress code; his face was flushed and he was shivering badly, as though he were freezing even though he was dressed so warmly, and he was huddled up in himself in an attempt to stay as warm as he could.

However, he said absolutely nothing about it, possibly because he refused to give in to his own weakness, which wouldn't surprise Joshua one bit. Despite that Neku definitely did not look too well, Joshua wasn't about to say anything just yet. Not until Neku spoke first, that is.

Of course, he didn't, and a few minutes later, they arrived at their stop.

As they stepped out, a rush of cold air assailed them and Neku immediately flinched with a hiss, pulling his jacket closer around himself. Joshua frowned slightly, before he said, doing his best not too sound too concerned: "We can still go back home and get you back in bed, you know?"

"No… no way… we're already here and I'm not going back after getting this far…" Neku choked out.

"Sigh… okay, Neku. Just don't blame me if you collapse again."

They moved up the stairs leading up to the streets, and then started along the path to the hospital about 10 feet away. Once they were inside, Neku seemed to grow almost unnaturally tense, but he shrugged off whatever was bothering him and walked for the reception desk, Joshua following close behind.

"Excuse me…" he said to the woman behind the desk, making the girl look up curiously. "I… I was told my mother was brought here about 20 minutes ago… Would you be able to… to look up where she is right now for me?"

"Oh, yes of course. What's her name?" the girl, Maki, according to her nametag, asked kindly as she turned to her computer.

"Sakuraba Meiko," Neku said without a hitch.

Joshua watched the girl work for a moment, his hands stuffed in his pockets. After a moment, he began to pick up a slight wave of negativity from her, stemming from what he believed was sympathy, but he wasn't fully sure.

"Ah… she's still in the ER on the second floor. I can ask someone to take you there, if you wish…"

"Please do… I… I want to see her as soon as possible," the redhead said, before he had to cover his mouth to cough. "Sorry…"

"It's okay. One moment…" she picked up her phone and quickly dialed, then spoke to whoever was on the line. Finally, she hung up and said: "She'll be here in a few moments. You can wait over there if you wish. Would you like something to drink while you wait?"

"N-no, thank you…" Neku mumbled, looking away.

Joshua didn't blame him for being hesitant about the drink; he probably didn't want to risk losing what little food he had in his stomach again.

Solemnly, the pair walked into the waiting room to wait for their guide. As they sat there, however, Joshua realized that Neku was shaking, however subtly, and his eyes darted every which way, as though he was expecting something to jump out and bite him.

Then again…

Joshua looked around. He wasn't a big fan of hospitals, either, mainly because it was a prime breeding spot for Noise. The atmosphere was, more often than not, dreary, and the only ones who seemed capable of lifting the mood and clearing the Noise were the children who came to visit those who were ill. Whether people were aware of it or not, the Music that young children produced was often a good remedy against Noise possession. The children that came to visit their family or friends were, to many there, a godsend.

But there was another reason; a hospital was a place filled with death. No matter how much you fought to stop it, there would always be those who caved in under the strain of the negative energy of the building and perished.

Joshua really hated hospitals.

And Neku didn't seem to like them that much, either.

He sat there in silence, his eyes darting left and right at every sudden movement, and his shaking had yet to abate, for whatever reason. He was also keeping his hands interlocked, as though this gave him some sort of feeling of security.

After what felt like forever, a nurse finally approached them. "Sakuraba-san?" she asked politely, making Neku look up briefly, before he seemed to realize who she was and he stood up shortly after Joshua did.

"Is… is my mother alright?" he asked slowly, his voice sounding a little hoarse from all his earlier coughing.

She allowed a small smile. "She just came out of ER, but she's doing just fine. She's stationed in the ICU right now. I'll show you there."

"Thank you…" Neku got out with a small nod.

Joshua watched the redhead for a few moments, before he wordlessly followed after him and the nurse, silently hoping to get out of here ASAP.

After a short walk down the hospital's almost endless white halls, they came to the ICU, and Joshua immediately spotted Neku's mother, laying on one of the hospital beds. She looked almost no different from when Joshua had first seen her 18 years ago, with the exception of a few wrinkles beginning to form by the edges of her eyes and mouth, though they were not so bad from a distance. Her dull orange brown hair had been cut almost entirely, bandages secured around her head, possibly to prevent the stitches from breaking. She had been hooked up to both an IV and an oxygen mask, though that didn't hide the sagging right corner of her mouth, making her seem almost tiny on the seemingly too large bed.

By her side, clutching the hand not hooked up with the IV with both of his, was a man of roughly the same age as the woman, his dark red hair sticking out at the back at odd angles, with several longer strands hanging down his back and over his shoulders. He also had a few wrinkles, a little more obvious, but maybe that was because of the worried frown on his face, making his deep green eyes seem that much darker. He was dressed in simple black jeans and shirt, but he also wore black boots, as well as a long black trench coat, custom made by the looks of it.

The nurse left them shortly after, but Neku didn't move for a long moment, and when Joshua looked over, he noticed how the redhead's expression seemed almost… sad.

After a moment more, though, he took a deep breath and walked over to where his parents were. As he came in range, he said softly: "Dad…" causing the older man to look up in surprise. When he spotted Neku, he almost looked ready to cry, but, miraculously, he kept his emotions in check as he stood up from his seat and gently released his wife's hand, setting it down on the bed. In three long strides, the man had stepped around the bed and up to Neku, where he pulled the redhead into a hug, which was silently returned, no questions asked.

Joshua merely watched from the doorway, hands in his pockets and leaning with his shoulder against the doorframe. He had to admit; he could see the resemblance between Neku and the other redhead. They had the same sharp facial features when it came to their mouth, nose and eyes, but Neku's cheekbones were situated just slightly lower and his eyebrows were longer, as his dad's eyebrows seemed to stop above the center of his eyes, let alone they were thinner than Neku's. but there was something off about the man… though it was something Joshua couldn't understand.

"Sorry I'm late, dad…" Neku mumbled softly, his voice partly muffled by the other man's shoulder.

"It's fine… don't worry 'bout it," the man said softly, before he seemed to notice Joshua and pulled away briefly. "Hm? Friend of yours?"

Neku turned to Joshua and nodded in response to the question, before he gestured for the silverette to come over. Joshua hesitated briefly, but finally he walked over to them. "Dad, this is Kiryuu Yoshiya."

Neku's father looked to Joshua for a few moments, seeming to measure him up, before he allowed a small, slightly forced, smile. "Kiryuu-kun, huh?" he mumbled, before he held out his hand, which Joshua accepted with a small nod. "Name's Sakuraba Reachi. Good to meet you, though I wish we could've met under better circumstances."

Joshua returned the nod, and while the name actually made him wonder about where his parents got it from, he figured it was a question that could wait, for now. "Pleased to meet you as well, Sakuraba-san, though I share your sentiments about the conditions of our meeting."

Neku rolled his eyes briefly at Joshua's quip, but he said nothing of it, while his father only nodded. The man seemed almost weary, and Joshua could feel the waves of anxiety and sheer worry that almost made his Music sound like a some sort of cacophonic disaster, yet he somehow managed to keep it from going that far.

"Well, anyway, let's save catching up for later, arrite?" Reachi said with a small dismissive wave shortly after, as the three of them walked over to Neku's mother—Meiko, was her name, right?—who had yet to wake up, even after her husband had left her side for a moment to greet their son.

Again, Neku's expression turned almost sad, but he wiped it off as he took the seat his father had occupied earlier, reaching out to take his mother's hand. "Mom… mom, wake up…" he whispered, as his dad reached out and placed a hand on the woman's shoulder, gingerly shaking her just a little.

Joshua stayed back for the time being, knowing that this wasn't something he should be intruding on. He merely watched as Meiko's eyelids twitched and then slowly fluttered open against the influence of the narcotics or whatever they had used during the surgery. When she finally managed, though her right eye was unable to open all the way, she attempted to smile when she spotted both her husband and her son, trying to speak, but her voice was weak and raspy, let alone she could barely form any proper words.

Reachi actually allowed himself a grin when she woke up and tried to speak, as he moved over and planted a small kiss on her temple, making her smile contently, even if the right side of her face wouldn't move to match the left side. Neku was also smiling, but there was still that far-off look in his eyes that belied his sadness, though you would really need to strain yourself to find it.

And as Joshua watched, he couldn't help but wonder what kind of childhood Neku must've had, and what it was that could've driven him to complete seclusion from everyone, especially with parents like his own. Despite that he was all-powerful as the Composer, he could not look into a person's past unless they had perished and agreed to enter the Game to find that which they cherished the most, and since he had not been in charge of the Game when Neku had played, he was still left in the dark about the matter. And he doubted Neku would tell him about it even if he asked…

After a moment more of watching the family's (rather onesided) conversation, Joshua quietly stepped out of the room. Just to give them some space and time to themselves. It wasn't because he was jealous, of course.

Composers do not get jealous, after all.

But despite that, Joshua could not lessen the pain he felt in his chest… nor could he stop the tears that rolled down his cheeks…

It took almost half an hour (which was enough for Joshua to get himself back under control) before Neku finally exited the room, though he seemed surprised that Joshua was still there.

"…I thought you already left," he murmured softly.

"Oh, I was debating…" Joshua said, a small cheeky smile on his face, "but I couldn't let you go home alone when you're sick, now can I? Wouldn't want something awful to happen to you, hm?"

"Shut up…" Neku mumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets as he began to walk off, Joshua following after shortly.

"…So… how is she?"

"…Weary… but they say she'll be fine… though she's going to have trouble moving her right arm from now on…"

"Ah… I see… Was she right-handed?"

"Thankfully, no. She's left-handed, so that's not the biggest loss… but it's still not pleasant…"

"Hmhmm… So… when can she go home?"

"Few days… given that her veins don't burst again… which they shouldn't…"

Joshua merely nodded, but he said nothing else. He really had no clue what to say at this point, and Neku didn't seem ready to offer any other info on the matter unless asked. And Joshua had no idea of how much he wanted to know.

"…hey, Josh."

Joshua paused in surprise when he was suddenly grabbed by his wrist, before looking up to the redhead. He did not like that glint in Neku's eyes just then. "…Yes?"

"…come this way for a bit…" the Proxy said quietly, taking one of the side paths of the hallway and making his way through the practically empty halls.

No, Joshua didn't like this one bit.

He was used to Neku pulling him aside for some 'fun' by now, but he wasn't sure if he really wanted to do it here in a place that was steeped with death. The very idea of that made him feel… uncomfortable.

Before long, however, Neku stopped, though he did not release Joshua's hand. "…We're here."

"…? Here where?" Joshua queried.

Neku looked to Joshua for a moment, and the silverette was startled when Neku smiled at him. It wasn't his normal smile, however; this one seemed almost a little forlorn, but at the same time… incredibly satisfied. Instead of answering, Neku brought up his hand and pointed ahead of them, making Joshua look instinctively…

…and found himself staring through a large window into an even larger room, over a dozen small beds placed in a neat pattern throughout the entire room, each of them occupied by tiny figures that would probably fit into the palms of his hands.

"…the maternity ward?" the Composer of Shibuya asked slowly.

Neku merely chuckled as he released Joshua's wrist and looked ahead as well. "Cute, aren't they?"

"…I suppose," Josh murmured thoughtfully. He wasn't really into childrenthat much, but even the mighty Composer felt like he'd melt when looking at a few of the babies resting in that wide, spacious room.

"…Hard to imagine that every human starts out this tiny, huh?"

This certainly wasn't what Joshua had been expecting to hear from the Kyuubi, but he surely wasn't complaining. He chanced a glance over to the man in question, before placing his hands in his pockets again and turning his attention back to the slumbering infants. "Hmhmm… what makes it even harder is knowing some of these might end up becoming thieves, criminals, or even murderers…"

"…yeah…"

They stayed like that for several long moments, but finally Neku moved again; placing a hand upon the barrier of glass that separated them from the babies resting on the other side. And when Joshua looked over again, he was surprised at what he saw in the Kyuubi's eyes…

A strange kind of fondness mixed with something that could only be described as longing.

"Hmm… correct me if I'm wrong, dear, but I could almost swear you're looking to have kids of your own," Joshua chuckled out, twirling a lock of hair between his fingers.

"I am."

At those words, two simple words, Joshua froze. It wasn't the fact that Neku had completely ignored the nickname that he loathed, but the fact that the daiyoukai had just admitted to wanting kids of his own (a concept that slightly scared Joshua, to be brutally honest).

"…y-you do?"

"Yeah…"

"…if… if I may ask, why?"

"…Well…" Neku paused briefly, as though thinking about how to properly phrase what he was thinking. "I suppose… because they… well.. they're so tiny…" Neku finally breathed out. "Just look at them… arms, legs and a head… yet they can't walk, they can't really hold on to anything, and they can't talk… They need someone to look after them no matter what, because they can't do it themselves." At this point, he paused again, and a small smile played along his face that was… simply breathtaking. "They don't even know what it means to trust someone… and yet they have no choice but to trust the adults around them to take care of them… until the time comes when they can care for themselves…"

Joshua could only stare at the redhead, but Neku didn't seem to notice as he finished with;

"I want to know what it's like… to raise a child that you helped bring to life…"

Joshua had never seen Neku like this, not even during the time when his memories of being the Kyuubi had been locked away. There had always only been so few things that could make Neku crack a smile, and even those smiles were never anywhere close to that fond smile that was now playing along his lips. It was almost as if he was someone else entirely…

Suddenly, Neku blinked, his expression fading in the same split second, as he turned his head. When Joshua looked over as well, he both saw and heard what was happening; a group of doctors and nurses was running down the hall, pushing the hospital bed of a woman who, judging from both her facial expression as her swollen belly, had just gone into labor.

"Huh… speak of the devil…" Joshua chuckled. "Why don't we go see how this one pans out, hm? Just for fun."

"…no."

Joshua could only blink. "'No'?"

"…I don't want to see… I don't even want to hear what's going to happen…" was all the redhead said, as he quickly spun around and made to walk away.

"Whoa now, Neku!" the Composer called out, grabbing hold of Neku's wrist. "I know that labor takes a few hours usually, but you were the one who said you wanted kids, right?"

"That has nothing to do with it! Josh, let me go!" Neku demanded, trying to pry the Composer's fingers loose, but his illness made it a bit difficult on him.

Joshua sighed theatrically. "Really now, Neku. Nothing bad's going to come out and bite your head off. Now come on," he said, starting down the hall and practically dragging Neku with him.

"Ah…! Joshua! Stop already! I-I don't…!"

"Oh quit acting like a brat, will you? How old are you, really?"

"You don't understand! It won't go the way everyone wants!"

"…? What are you talking about?"

"I-I'll tell you later! Just please! Don't make me go there!"

Joshua knew that Neku never actually begged for anything, meaning that something was seriously up, but he couldn't understand what. At the same time, though, he wanted to get back at the Kyuubi, still, and this seemed to work just fine.

"Hmm… Nope. If you can tell me later, you can also tell me now," he said simply, still pulling Neku along with him.

"Joshua! Let me go!" Neku cried out, trying to somehow wriggle his hand free, but Joshua only held on tighter.

"C'mon, Neku, don't be such a-"

But before Joshua could finish what he intended to say, a scream echoed through the hall… but it wasn't the scream of a baby.

Almost immediately in response, Neku's hands shot up to his head to cover his ears and he screwed his eyes shut. The scream turned into something akin to a horrified wail that was almost animalistic, and it was a sound that sent chills down Joshua's spine and made his skin crawl. It was a sound that he couldn't place right away, but he knew one thing for sure; he wanted it to stop and he wanted it to stop now.

And he wasn't the only one…

"No… no no NO!" Neku wailed out and just as suddenly spun around and bolted down the hallway.

"He-hey! Neku!" Joshua cried out, hurrying after him quickly, but in a way, he was glad to be away from that sound.

That horrible, horrible scream of a mother losing her baby…

Joshua knew that Neku was fast, what with him being a daiyoukai, after all, but he had not expected Neku to outrun him this quickly. Thankfully, he had a rough idea of where the redhead was going, which was most likely away from the noise and out of the hospital as fast as he could. Which was darn fast…

The problem came, however, when Joshua found himself outside. He remembered then that Neku could have easily made it back to the subway before Joshua had even exited the building, but would he have?

Calling his name would have no effect, he knew; even if he was in range, the redhead would simply ignore his call.

'…call… wait a moment…!'

Allowing a smile at his own idea, Joshua reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. After a brief moment of scanning the few contacts he had listed, he selected Neku's number and pressed dial.

'And now I wait…'

"Caaalling
You hear the caaalling
Caaalling…"

"Found you," Joshua chuckled after he had walked into the small park set up just outside of the hospital, from where he had heard the familiar ringtone come from.

He hung up once he spotted Neku sitting with his back pressed up against a tree, his knees pulled up with his arms wrapped loosely around them, his head hung low to hide his eyes in the shadows of his bangs. And Joshua, once again, couldn't help but recall Neku from 18 years before, sitting just the same against the back of Hachiko, sad, alone, and abandoned.

Slowly, he walked around the tree and then dropped down so that he was kneeling in front of the young man, who, given how he was sitting, looked more like a small boy than a man. Joshua waited for his presence to be acknowledged, but Neku showed no signs of that he knew Josh was there.

"…Neku?" he called out quietly, reaching out and running the back of his index finger along Neku's cheek – and he almost withdrew immediately when something wet touched his finger. When he realized what it was, though, he reached up to the corner of Neku's eye to wipe away the tears that were steadily rolling down. Neku made no noise, but the tears were coming nevertheless, and they didn't seem inclined to stop any time soon. "…Neku… it's okay…"

But even as he said that, he knew it wasn't true. It wasn't okay. In fact, it was FAR from okay…

Neku probably knew that Joshua was only trying to cheer him up, since he didn't even respond to the words. He just sat there, unmoving and unresponsive. Even when Joshua moved his hand to rest it on top of Neku's head, there was no response whatsoever, whereas normally he would've attempted to bite his hand off.

"Neku…"

Joshua sighed, briefly shaking his head before he moved forward and settled besides the redhead, placing his arm across the other's shoulders. While there was still no reaction, at least the Proxy allowed himself to be pulled sideways so his head landed on Joshua's shoulder. Of course, he kept his gaze aimed downward, but that was fine, for now.

And for a long time, that was how they stayed…

"…hate… noise…"

Joshua blinked and looked to where Neku's face was resting against his shoulder, though still shrouded by his own hair. "Excuse me?"

"…I hate that noise…" Neku repeated softly. "She… she'll never know… never know that child's voice… its laughter… its tears… nothing… She'll never know… what it's like to raise that child…" A powerful shudder ripped through Neku's body just then that was impossible to miss, especially if you were as close as Joshua. "That sound… it makes me sick…"

The Composer of Shibuya had no idea what to say. What could he say? Even if that woman managed to move on, she'd never forget about how she lost her first child, how she was unable to save her child, her first baby. Even if she got another child, she would never forget… never…

So he said nothing and instead lightly squeezed Neku's shoulder, offering him his support even if he didn't know what words would make things better again. Though Joshua had a sinking feeling in his gut that there weren't any that could make this any easier. And if he had to make a guess… those words would never come to anyone, either.

If Joshua had been paying any attention to his surroundings, however, he would've noticed that they were being watched from halfway across the park. The person watching them was currently gritting his teeth and clenching his fists so tightly that blood was steadily dripping to the ground from where his nails had dug into the skin. Icy blue eyes were narrowed angrily, the pupils slitted down to paper-thin lines, and, were it humanly possible, he would have burnt Joshua until not even ashes remained.

He looked ready to pull out one of the katana's he carried with him, but just as he was about to, a dog's bark snapped him out of his little anger induced stupor. Though still angry, as the barking came ever closer, he knew that he had no choice and ran away, throwing back an angry glare as he did.

"Bark bark bark!"

"Hey, Risa! Shush already!" Eri hissed out, trying to keep the madly barking shiba inu quiet.

She hated having to walk Risa; she was the family dog and Eri would normally leave walking her to her brother, but since the brat had sprained his ankle during Gym class last week, that job had been passed on to her. She was almost certain he had planned it so that she couldn't meet with Shiki, since he never did like how the two of them were best of friends. And if she didn't know any better, she'd say Haku was trying to separate the two girls in more ways than one.

"Ugh, Risa, we're at a hospital park! You're supposed to keep quie-hm?"

Eri blinked when she spotted a certain pair of young men propped up against a tree some distance away. And it only took her a moment to grin and start over to them, the overenthusiastic copper-furred dog she was walking hurrying after her happily with her curled tail wagging.

"Neku! Joshua!" she called out (quietly and only when she was within range).

Joshua looked up first, though he almost appeared to have been startled awake. Neku took a little longer.

"…Oh, Eri," the redhead got out, reaching up briefly to rub at his eyes. "Wasn't expecting you here. You doing okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. How 'bout y-"

"BARK BARK BARK!"

"Gah! Risa!" Eri yelped out, quickly snapping her dog's muzzle shut while also keeping her from lunging for Neku. "Be quiet!"

"Hihi… having some trouble, Eri?" Joshua asked, and Eri shot him a look.

"Unfortunately… So sorry, Neku. I know I said I'd said that I would work on it, but…"

"It's okay, Eri," Neku said with a small smile. "I guess I'm just not popular with dogs that much…"

Eri offered another apologetic smile as she finally managed to get Risa to quiet down, though she was still growling in warning. "Maybe… But what brings you out here? Is someone you know in the hospital?"

At those words, Neku winced and lowered his head for a moment. "…my mother suffered a stroke a while ago…"

"Urk! Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! Th-that was insensitive of me…"

"Don't worry about it," the redhead said with a small smile of his own. "She's doing better. The doctors say she'll be okay in a few days' time."

"Really? Okay… phew…"

Joshua didn't mingle in the conversation at the moment, seeming to be content enough just listening. Of course, that wasn't meant to last, and soon enough, the silverette smirked cheekily and quipped: "So, Eri… I heard you and Shiki were planning to go on a special trip together soon."

"Eh! Where did you—Neku, you told him, didn't you?"

"Hey, everyone else already knew, so what's the big deal?" Neku asked casually with a light shrug of his shoulders.

"True… though you shouldn't just tell that to everyone you meet, you know?" Eri grumbled, before she shook it off. "Anyway, yeah. We're hoping to go around the end of the year."

"Oh? Going for the winter selection then, are we?"

"Hmhmm! Plus, there's several places there we really want to see! …Oh! I almost forgot! Neku, we were gonna call you later today, but since you're here anyway… do you want to come with us to karaoke tomorrow night?"

Neku blinked curiously, before he allowed a small smirk. "Yeah, sure. You're really set on getting me out of breath, aren't you?"

"We'll get you this time, mister! Just you watch!" Eri said with a smirk of her own playing on her face.

"Heh. You're free to try," the other redhead said simply.

"Just watch us! Oh! Joshua, why don't you come, too?"

"Hm? Heh… well, sure, why not?"

"Great! We'll see you boys at the usual place at 8 tomorrow! Kay?"

"Sure thing."

"Hihi. You got it."

"Cool! Well, I better get home before mom and dad start to think I drowned Risa… See you tomorrow! Ja ne!"

Both boys waved after her as she hurried off again, small smirks on their faces, though those fell once she was out of range.

Neku took a deep breath and let it out slowly, reaching up to run a hand through his hair.

"…You okay now?"

"…for now…" Neku mumbled – right before he had to cough. "Urgh… dammit…"

Joshua sighed. "Well, c'mon. Let's get you home then."

Neku looked over briefly, before he nodded and allowed Joshua to help him up to his feet. The redhead allowed Joshua to lead him back to the subway so they could head back to Neku's apartment. As they went though, there were several other people who were in the middle of walking their dogs… and not one of them failed to bark at Neku and try to lunge for him.

"My goodness… All these puppies trying to bite you. Hihi… you really aren't popular with dogs, are you?" Joshua giggled.

"…they can smell what I am."

"Hm?"

"Kitsune are born shape shifters and yet… we can fool humans into believing we're like them… but we can't fool a dog's nose," Neku said solemnly without looking at the Composer.

Joshua had nothing to say to that. Of course he knew that; Kitsune only had two real known weaknesses, after all, and that was alcohol and dogs. Alcohol makes it difficult for the Kitsune to maintain their human from, whereas dogs can sniff them out and warn their human masters of that they're not dealing with humans.

As they got on the subway, Neku coughed again, so violently, in fact, that Joshua feared he would cough up his own lungs. However, he knew that it wouldn't do him any good to address this matter, since Neku would just shrug it off. They managed to find some seats, which was good, since Joshua knew all too well that it would get very crowded soon enough.

"…hey, Josh…"

Joshua blinked in surprise. He hadn't been expecting Neku to speak up, at least not at this point. "Yes, dear? What's wrong?"

"…the Bible says that… if a baby dies when it's not baptized… it goes to hell anyway… even if it's a miscarriage or stillborn… is that true?"

At those words, Joshua's eyes widened in alarm, and he managed to stifle the gasp trying to wrench itself loose from his throat. The fact that Neku had still been thinking about that shouldn't have surprised him, but it had, not to mention the fact that he seemed to fear (very much so) what had become of the baby's soul. And as much as he wanted to say that it wasn't true, in all honesty, he didn't know. He really didn't know…

"…I don't know, Neku… I think… well, I hope not. That would be cruel, after all… to punish a child for something it couldn't have prevented. Like you said earlier; they can't do anything on their own… Without adults… they're completely helpless…"

Surely… surely the Angels weren't that cruel… to punish a babe for something it could not have prevented? Surely…

"…oh…"

Joshua winced; the tone with which Neku had just said that one word was… in a way… disturbing. It wasn't normal for Neku to behave like this…

So, Joshua did the only thing he could in this situation; he pulled out his phone and called Sanae.

"Yo, Boss. 'Sup?"

"Oh, not much, Sanae," Joshua said, doing his best to sound casual and well aware of Neku's eyes watching his every move. "I was wondering if you could enlighten me about something I've been curious about, that's all."

"Oh? Like what?"

"Well… say, if a woman gives birth to a child, but the child is stillborn… what happens to the baby's soul, exactly?"

"Hmm… well, since babies don't actually have a 'criminal record' or any real… personality yet, they're retrieved by the Angels and sent to be born again at the soonest possible chance."

Joshua resisted the urge to sigh in relief, but he gave Neku a small, reassuring smile that seemed to get the message across as the Kitsune allowed a fragile smile of his own. "Really? That's good. I was almost worried that they'd be sent to hell."

"For something they couldn't have prevented? That's harsh. I dunno who it was that came up with that theory, but Heaven isn't so cruel."

"Hmhmm. Good to know. Thanks, Sanae. Oh, and I might be out for a few days. Just so you know."

"A'ight, Boss. Glad to be of help."

Wordlessly, Joshua clicked his phone shut again, and once he had, he sighed heavily in obvious relief. He turned to Neku again, and smiled a little brighter. "They're set aside until they can be born again."

"Ah… I… I see… that's good…" Neku murmured, smiling briefly, before turning away again.

Joshua merely shook his head and reclined back…

"…so he's already reborn, too, then, huh…?"

…until Neku mumbled under his breath and drew the Composer's attention. "Hm? 'He'? Who do you mean, dear?" he queried cheekily.

Neku, once again, ignored the nickname, and took a long time to respond, but when he did, Joshua froze up.

"The boy who should have been called 'Sakuraba Neku' in my stead…"

A/N: Right, a few things; both of Neku's parents are actually based off of other (video-game) characters. His mother is based off of "Sakine Meiko", a fanmade Vocaloid with MEIKO as base. As for his dad… well, why don't you guys guess?

And about the thing with unbaptized babies going to hell… I'll be honest, the first I heard of this was when watching "Dante's Inferno", and I couldn't help but thinking "That's too cruel!"

Anyway, next chapter I'll get back to the 'action'… which includes a certain pair of doubles.