Wishes
Stage 10 - The Answers
As Composer, one was entitled to abilities and skills that permitted one to properly keep track of the UG. Of course, not everyone working in the UG could know about what kind of abilities their "almighty leader" had, and even the Producers weren't 100% privy to knowing what the Composer was truly capable of if they put their mind to it.
The same went for Joshua.
Once he had become Composer, Joshua had soon discovered that, while he was asleep, he was able to tap into the dreams and thoughts of people. Of course, the dreams or thoughts had to be fully focused for him to be able to do anything with it, but it wasn't something he could do consciously to begin with. That was why he tended to spend the night either at WildKat or in the Room of Reckoning. Either one of those locations blocked his "dream walking", as he called it.
Unfortunately, he wasn't at either of those locations, leaving his mind free to wander and find a dream to link to…
And it soon found one…
Joshua blinked his eyes open, groaning, and was a bit surprised at the lack of light, and the fact that his voice sounded… strange. Like it wasn't his own…
But as his eyes grew adapted to the darkness, he could just make out the blurred edges along his vision, and he understood that he was in someone's dream. He never liked waking up to find himself in someone else's dream, and he wouldn't be able to wake up until the other person did just so, which was one of the major setbacks of this skill.
He sighed mentally, knowing he was trapped, for the moment at least, and looked around briefly with his 'new body'… and what he saw sickened him.
Whoever he was in right then, he estimated him (one look down confirmed that) to be around 7, maybe 8 years old, the child's clothes had been ripped off with only a few strips of cloth still clinging to sinewy limbs that had almost no meat on them at all. This kid took the term "just skin and bones" a little too literal, but Joshua was disgusted with it, and the long nails were ripped in jagged edges, possibly from clawing blindly at something, and the left pinky was even missing its nail entirely, a bloody scab indicating its removal had been utterly painful. The skin was so pale, even in the darkness, Josh could see this kid had barely gotten any sun at all, which made the large, hand-shaped bruises that much more visible, as well as the dark brown ropes that kept the boy tied up by his wrists and ankles.
Joshua wanted to actually curse and scream and he was just about ready to rip whoever had done this to the boy to shreds, but he then remembered there was no way for him to do either.
Just then, there was the sound of a door opening, and the boy's body tensed sharply in something that could only be alarm… and fear…
The boy began to tremble then, and briefly looked to the side before he whimpered and tried to crawl away, which was not an easy feat when both hands and feet were bound as they were, but that failed and he howled out in agony when he was violently dragged backwards. He started to claw at the ground, as though seeking for leverage, but the loose gravel offered no such thing.
As he was trapped in the boy's body, the child's thoughts almost immediately filled every corner of his mind… and they almost made him sick…
Nooooo! No please! Not again! Please no! Please no no no no no no! Stop it! Please stop! It hurts! It hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts!
And then the boy gave a loud, horrendous scream that sounded like a canine howl and Joshua could feel the horrible agony and despair that clawed at the boy, as the boy's thoughts became an endless litany…
NOOOO! PLEASE! NO NO NOOOO! IT HURTS! IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS! MOMMY DADDY HELP ME! PLEASE HELP ME! IT HURTS! IT HURTS SO MUCH! SOMEONE… ANYONE… HELP ME!
Joshua could only watch as the boy clawed at the ground in desperation, not caring that he was ripping off pieces of his own nails to the point where he almost had nothing left to protect his fingertips. He could barely hear someone talking, hear someone laughing maliciously as the boy's body was rocked back and forth with enough force that Joshua feared his jaw could be lodged out of joint at any moment, but the boy's frantic thoughts and pained howls droned it all out. The Composer could only watch as the boy clawed at the stone beneath the gravel, breaking off the nail of his right index finger entirely, causing blood to pour from the digit to stain the gravel a dark red.
It seemed to take an eternity before his movements finally ceased, but the boy's body continued to shake from the agony, even when he was bodily thrown away to land further in the room, smashing hard against the wall with his back, making him wail in pain. Since his eyes fell shut, Joshua's vision was lost as well, but this allowed him to hear another voice, one that spoke in a cold, icy tone.
"No one will come 'save you', brat! You were abandoned, so you should learn to enjoy this place!"
And then the door slammed shut.
Joshua was beyond furious then, completely forgetting it was only a dream, and he wanted to rip that bastard to shreds and then obliterate every shred until there weren't even atoms left. But when he heard a choked whimper and felt the small boy's body shaking so horribly, his anger dissipated briefly as worry and concern began to gnaw at his mind. The endless plea of "help me" and "why?" echoed through the boy's head and Joshua, as much as he hated to deal with kids, couldn't possibly leave this boy like that.
And so, he focused all of his strength and forced his consciousness to separate from the boy's body. He'd never actually done something like that before with the intent of actually helping someone, though he had done it at times when he had wanted an outside view on a person's dream. Finally, his consciousness and the boy's had disconnected and Joshua could look down at the damage done, though he almost jumped when he saw what kind of child he was looking at.
The boy was definitely small, but from this angle, he couldn't possibly be older than 6, with short, dirty red hair with white ends, a pair of tiny fox ears peeking out from his hair, with one of them having a rather big piece ripped off of it, and a small, quivering fox tail was curled around his feet as his body shook violently, blood trailing by the shivering limb, and Joshua shuddered to think about its source.
'Is that… then… a-am I… n-no… it… it can't be…'
Slowly, he walked forward and then crouched by the boy's hands. He debated on if he should say anything, but he reached out carefully and placed a tender hand on child's bound wrists.
The result was instantaneous, and if Joshua hadn't instinctively grabbed him, the boy would've backed away with a terrified wail, but as it was, he only tried to do so. Joshua gasped as the remains of the boy's nails almost scratched open his wrist, but he kept his grip light enough to not hurt, yet firm enough to keep him in place.
"Calm down! I'm not going to hurt you! I'm just trying to get these ropes off of you!" he called out to the boy, but the boy's panic was genuine and he tried with all his might to get away, crying and wailing as he tugged feebly at the loose grip. Joshua bit his lip briefly in thought, wondering if he dared to confirm or negate his thought, before he slowly opened his mouth. "Kurasa, calm down! I swear I'm not going to hurt you!"
The boy immediately stopped struggling and his head snapped up, looking up at Joshua with startlingly, ice-blue eyes that were brimming with tears. "…h… how… w… who…?"
Joshua almost tightened his grip in a mix of rage and sadness, but he quickly remembered he was still holding the boy's wrists, so instead, he brought up the small fox's wrists and worked on undoing the ropes that kept him bound. Once those were gone, he carefully moved to undo those on his ankles as well.
And only once all of those were gone, did Joshua dare to reach out and – carefully – pull the small Kitsune into his arms. Of course he tensed, he'd expected that, but pretty soon he gave a tiny whimper and snuggled deeply into the Composer's grip, as though wanting to disappear in him, whimpering and shaking like an abused puppy.
Though… maybe that wasn't even that far off.
"Ssshh… ssshh, it's okay, ssshh… I'm here… it's okay now… sshh…" he whispered, gently rubbing the boy's back, taking careful note of the boy's bruises, as he rocked him softly. The boy whimpered and sobbed quietly, his body shaking violently as he clutched onto Joshua's shirt. Josh couldn't even care if his bleeding finger dyed his shirt red; all he cared about was comforting the small boy.
How could anyone dare to hurt such a precious child?
"Kurasa…" he whispered softly, placing a tender hand on the boy's head. "Listen to me… this isn't real… it's just a dream… a bad dream… you can escape this… you just have to wake up…"
The boy whimpered and shook his head, clinging to Joshua as though his life depended on it. Joshua bit his lip and was torn between waking the boy up and keeping him close for as long as he could. But he knew he couldn't do what he really wanted to. This boy… had to wake up.
"Kurasa… Neku… it's just a dream… you have to wake up, dear… please…"
"…d…don't… c-call…"
Joshua smiled sadly, as he pulled the boy even closer to him. "I know, I know, dear… but you have to wake up… Wake up, dear… wake up…"
And as the blurred edges of his vision expanded further inward, he knew that he'd succeeded; he was waking up.
When Joshua opened his eyes again, he was still dead tired, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He knew that, if he channeled into a person's dream, he'd always wake up later than the actual dreamer, meaning that…
When a sakura petal fell on his cheek, he immediately realized where he was and quickly sat up. He was already fully dressed again, which was strange in an off itself. Normally, when Neku brought him there, it was to wash up. So why was he already dressed? Or did he sleep through it this time…?
'Wait… where's Neku?'
The Kyuubi in question was nowhere by his side, while at normal times, he would never stray too far from it.
Still, it didn't take Joshua long to find him; the redhead was sitting on his knees inside the spring, facing away from the Composer and seemed to be washing himself quietly. Which made Joshua wonder… did Neku always wash himself after he was done with Joshua, or…?
Joshua blinked as he noticed some distinct markings on Neku's back. Ones that looked like…
"…Neku, are you alright, dear?" he called out, making sure to put just a little bit more emphasis on the nickname.
In response, Neku tensed briefly, pausing in what he was doing for a few moments as his ears twitched in the Composer's direction, before he went back to what he was doing, still not looking at Joshua in the slightest. "…I'm fine…" he said finally as he proceeded with what he was doing.
And the lack of response to the nickname was enough for Joshua to deduce that Neku was not fine.
So, being careful so as not to make a noise, he removed his own clothes, and slowly walked into the water toward the Kyuubi. He wasn't embarrassed about Neku seeing him naked; he'd seen it plenty of times before, after all, so he had nothing to hide. As he approached, he saw just what the markings on Neku's back really were and it instantly made him wince.
Scratch marks… and a lot of them.
"Neku…" he murmured softly as he carefully crouched down behind the fox, being mindful of the nine tails that were resting in the water around him. He hesitated for a moment, but then he carefully placed a hand along a particular bad-looking batch of scratches, which caused Neku to tense sharply. "I'm sorry… does it hurt?"
"…no… I'm fine…"
'No, you're not…' Joshua thought to himself, taking in how his voice had hitched, and how Neku's body was shaking ever so subtly. His hunched over position reminded Joshua of that dream he had tapped into by accident. However, judging from Neku's responses, he was starting to think that, just maybe, it wasn't a dream… but a memory…
And, unbidden, words he had not heard in eons resounded through his head sagely.
"We're all struggling in our own way. We all have things in our past we want to forget, but it's those things that shape us into who we are."
If those words were true, and he didn't doubt them, then even the powerful Kyuubi had gone through something traumatizing before becoming the daiyoukai he was today. And as much as he hated what Neku did to him (at times), what he had seen in that dream/memory… was something he would not wish on anybody.
Not even Neku…
He scooted closer and – before Neku could say or do anything – pulled the Kyuubi backwards to him by his waist, making him gasp in slight surprise, and began to, delicately, place soft kisses along every scratch he found. Of course, that caused the fox to freeze up, which he had kind of expected after what Joshua had just witnessed. But that wasn't meant to last for long and soon enough, Neku began to try and get Joshua to let him go.
"J-Joshua! Let me go!"
"…No," the Composer stated simply, tightening his grip to ensure he wouldn't be brushed off (though he had a feeling that wouldn't matter if Neku really wanted him to let go). "Just relax… it's not like I can really hurt you, can I?"
Even the scratches he had dragged over his back… Joshua doubted it really hurt the Kyuubi, but he had a feeling that him doing so had triggered those horrible memories with the Kitsune. So, while it hadn't hurt him physically, it had struck him hard mentally.
"Th-that's not the point!" Neku hissed as he tried to remove Joshua's hands, but Joshua held tight, pressing one more kiss to a scratch right between Neku's shoulder blades. "Nrgh…! St-stop that…!"
"Sssh… just relax, dear… it'll be alright, I promise…" the silverette murmured in between kisses. "It's over now… it's all over…"
Those words seemed to strike something in the Kyuubi, because he tensed and he stopped trying to get Joshua to let him go. And again, the nickname flew right over his head, but Joshua supposed that that didn't even matter right then. Instead, he focused on what he was doing, dipping his head further down to reach the scratches along his sides and his back.
'God… there's so many of them…' Joshua thought absently, and a little guiltily.
Suddenly, Neku's body began to shake a little less than subtly, and he almost curled up in himself, a peculiar sound escaping his throat. Joshua frowned, because he knew that sound, but he was unable to place from where he—
And then it hit him like a ton of bricks.
"Neku…?" Joshua murmured, pulling away and trying to move around the Kyuubi to look at his face, but Neku turned away from him almost immediately. "Neku, look at me…"
No response, but Joshua could tell from the tightened jaw that Neku was probably biting down on his lip, and quite hard.
"Neku… dear… look at me… please…"
Even the quiet endearment didn't have the effect that Joshua was hoping for, and this was beginning to gnaw on Joshua. This was just wrong… wrong on so many levels that the Composer had no idea where to begin.
Okay, yes, Neku was an all-powerful daiyoukai who had threatened his city with erasure long ago.
Yes, Neku had fooled him into believing that he had always been a human, while he had been anything but.
Yes, Neku had forced him into so much that Joshua would have never agreed to in any other situation.
But despite all of those things… he still trusted him. And… in a way… he actually considered the redhead to be a friend…
Softly but firmly, Joshua took hold of Neku's shoulder and forced him to turn around. The sudden motion had startled Neku enough that he didn't have the chance to move away…
…and because of that, he didn't have the chance or the time to wipe away the tears that were streaming down his face.
For a few long seconds, the pair stared at each other, remaining deathly silent, before Neku pushed him away and covered his face with both hands as he seemed to duck into himself. And then he almost whimpered out: "Don't look at me! Don't… look at me!"
Joshua's heart twisted painfully in his chest, almost unable to believe that this was the same Kyuubi who had been making his (after)life miserable for the past 2 months. It was just so hard to believe that one trip into his own dark memories could turn a powerful daiyoukai into a shivering, harmless little fox cub.
And yet…
Slowly, Joshua reached out, taking hold of Neku's wrists and tugging his hands away. "Neku… look at me…" he urged, lightly rubbing his thumbs along the inside of his wrists. "Please… look at me, dear…"
The Proxy hiccupped once from his attempts to keep his tears at bay, before he blinked once, and raised his head just enough so that he could look at the Composer from under his own lashes. And Joshua couldn't help himself when he saw the expression on Neku's face, a combination of pain, fear, and actual sadness; he pulled Neku to him, wrapped his arms around his shoulders and held on tight, ignoring the startled gasp from the fox. He couldn't care if this surprised, or even confused, the Kyuubi; that wasn't important now.
"It's over… he won't hurt you anymore… I promise…" he whispered, adjusting his hold just a little. "It's over now… it's all over…"
Joshua felt it coming long before it happened, as Neku's entire body trembled and his irregular, though quiet, breathing caused his chest to brush against his own, before the fox dared to reach out and wrap his arms around Joshua in turn, and then he buried his face in Joshua's shoulder and cried. And Joshua merely held on, gently rocking him as he murmured over and over that everything was okay now, holding him so tenderly like a mother would hold her child after a horrible trip.
No matter who or what you were… no one deserved to go through the horror Neku must've withstood as a child…
"…say, Jin."
The brunette didn't look up from his drawing in the slightest, but he hummed once to let Ruka know he heard him and that he was listening.
"So how long have you been able to… 'see' those things?" asked the long-haired man.
"…I've seen them since forever…"
"Really? Huh… okay…"
Silence befell the room for a long time, as Ruka sat on the windowsill, looking outside quietly.
It was already dark, and Ruka had once again shown up outside of Jin's room on the fire-escape. And while it hadn't been raining, Jin had opened the window wordlessly, granting the silver-haired man access to his room. Ruka had then perched himself where he sat now and hadn't said a word for the last two hours as Jin worked on his drawings.
"…why're you even here?"
"I'm getting distracted, that's what," said the man casually as he leaned his chin on his knuckles. "I'm supposed to be getting that foolish little brother of mine home, and I keep getting distracted by your Imagination whenever I'm in the area…"
"…is he the same as you?"
"Ooohhh, so you did notice," Ruka said with a small chuckle. "Bright boy. And yes, he is."
Jin glanced back at Ruka for a moment, his eyes watching him with a blank look. He already knew that what he saw was something not everyone could see, but he had never said a word until now. Possibly because he just didn't care enough to comment on the nine swaying shadows that always surrounded the silver-haired male.
"…whatever…" he mumbled finally and went back to his drawings.
And Ruka only chuckled, briefly shaking his head before he turned back to the world outside. He'd known from the first moment he stepped into the room that there was something special about the boy. Humans would call him either socially awkward, or just plain antisocial, but Ruka called him cautious and weary. Of course, he'd never say that to Jin's face; he didn't feel like messing with Jin's powerful Imagination, after all.
'Hmm… the little one would no doubt say he's got talent… and I admit; I quite agree. However, how would one offer it? Hm… decisions, decisions, decisions…'
Ruka briefly shut his eyes and took a deep breath, then let it out slowly and opened his eyes… his pupils slashed vertically across the iris.
"…I know it's probably silly of me to ask… but do you want to talk about it?" Joshua asked as he carefully smeared some lotion over the many scratches on Neku's back. The Proxy said it was an ointment that would speed up his natural healing (which was already fast to begin with), but it surely had a nasty odor. He couldn't even begin to think how Neku was taking the smell with his nose.
"…no…"
"…Alright."
Joshua had expected that. Neku might be a daiyoukai, but that didn't mean he had lost his pride, which he now appeared to be desperately scraping together again after he'd let his emotions go like he had. When the Proxy had been able to calm himself down, Joshua hadn't said anything, as much as he wanted to, and had only held on until Neku had lightly pushed him away, stating that he was okay now.
"…Can I at least ask who…? I know it's probably useless since he is probably…"
"…do you remember… what Kamui said…?"
"…about?"
"…the person who murdered my family…"
"…" Joshua paused in his actions for a few moments, breathless, before he managed to speak. "…that… was a Composer…?"
"…from before the name 'Composer' was created…" Neku said slowly. Joshua nodded once, and then he continued smearing lotion over the scratches carefully. "…they were called 'Overseers' then… and they had… more authority to do as they pleased…"
"…so… that was why…?"
"…yes…"
"…Neku… I'm—"
"Don't," Neku interrupted. "…you had nothing to do with it… there's no reason to say it…"
"…"
Joshua remained silent, unable to say anything in response. He could only imagine what Neku had to live through, though in all honesty, he really didn't want to. Just thinking about it made him sick.
"…There. That's the last one," he said finally as he finished the smearing the lotion over the last scratch.
"…ah, thanks…" Neku said slowly, before he reached up and placed his hands on his opposing shoulders. After taking a deep breath, which he held for a short moment, the Kyuubi then whispered: "…hatsukei. (*)"
Joshua didn't have the chance to question it, since he was distracted by a pale light coming from the juncture between Neku's shoulder blades, gradually expanding until it covered both shoulder blades and at least half of his back. The glow made it very difficult to determine what it was exactly, but whatever it was, the glow spread to the scratches on his back. And, gradually, the glows—and scratches—faded away.
As the glow faded entirely, Neku groaned and almost tipped forward, but Joshua grabbed him by his shoulders and ensured he stayed upright. "Urgh… dammit… hate doing that…" the fox mumbled softly, a soft growl underlining his voice.
Joshua didn't even hear the words; his attention was drawn completely to the emblem that was now emblazoned across Neku's back. Right in between his shoulder blades along the spine, rest the image of a fox that appeared ready to pounce, and nine long tails curled around it, four on the left side and five on the right, positioned in such a way that they actually resembled wings.
Slowly, he brought up a hand and traced one of the tails with a finger. "…Neku… what is this?"
"…hm? Oh, that?" Neku asked in turn, placing one hand on his shoulder, his nails just missing the emblem. "Two things; a seal, and proof."
"Proof?" Joshua repeated curiously.
"That I reached the nine-tailed stage."
"I see… and what does it seal?"
"…Stuff," was all Neku replied to that, as the emblem slowly began to fade back into the skin. "What exactly isn't important…"
Joshua sighed exasperatedly. He should've known Neku wouldn't give up all his secrets so easily. "If you say so, dear."
"Don't call me that."
Joshua allowed a small half-smile at the familiar mumble, even as he ran his fingers slowly along the Kyuubi's back. There wasn't even one scratch remaining, and the skin was perfectly smooth beneath his finger pads. The Proxy didn't respond to the touch much, besides how he leaned back just slightly, breathing quietly.
As much as Joshua enjoyed the quiet serenity, though, there was one more thing he wanted to know…
"Say, Neku?"
"…hm?"
"I'm curious… just who are 'Ichi' and 'Hachi'?"
The silence that followed was something Joshua had expected already, but finally, Neku sighed heavily, and reached up to rub his temples. "…guess I got no choice…" he grumbled softly. "…Fine. They're memories."
At that, Joshua blinked, twice. "…Memories?"
"Memories," Neku confirmed with a small nod, before he dropped back against Joshua, making the Composer yelp softly in surprise. Once the Kyuubi appeared to have settled with his head on Joshua's shoulder, he turned his head up so that he could face Joshua properly. "More precisely; they're my memories."
"…I'm not sure I follow, dear," Joshua murmured, and yipped when Neku reached up and flicked his forehead.
"Don't call me that. And it's like I said; they're my memories, only with a physical shape. Simple as that."
"…how is that simple?" Joshua questioned, making Neku groan.
"Do I actually have to explain everything? Urgh…" The Kitsune rubbed his temple in slight annoyance before he spoke again, though he refused to budge from where he was now resting his head on Joshua's shoulder. "Fine. It's a skill of mine. I can manifest my memories into a physical shape and, to everyone seeing them, they will appear to be who they're meant to represent. So Ichi would be able to take my place if I wasn't feeling up to it."
"Ooooh… so that's where he came from," Joshua said, finally starting to understood.
"Yep. I had him go to school in my stead."
"Isn't that… cheating, however?"
"How is that cheating? He knows what I know, so even if there was a test, he'd perform just the same as I would."
"Oh?"
"Yes, and I'm done discussing this…"
Joshua debated on pressing the matter, but he supposed it didn't matter. It probably wouldn't get him anywhere. "Very well, dear."
Surprisingly, Neku snarled and sat up straight before he turned around to face Joshua properly. "How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that?"
"Awww, but why?" Joshua giggled out, moving some of his hair out of his eyes. "The expression you make is sooooo cute."
Joshua was expected a growl, maybe even a snarl, but what he wasn't expecting, was for Neku's lips to slowly turn upward into a smirk. "Oh really?" he purred out slowly, and Joshua did not like that expression in his eyes just then. Sadly, he couldn't get far, since he just realized that one of the fox's tails had wound itself around his waist when he wasn't paying attention, keeping him in place as Neku waded closer to him. "That actually makes me wonder…"
"Um… w-wonder what exactly?" Joshua got out, cursing himself for stammering. He'd given up on getting away, knowing he had no chance of fleeing with the fox so close.
Neku hummed for a moment, seemingly in thought, before his smile returned, though it seemed almost a tad cheeky. "Wonder how you would respond to something like that… sweetheart."
The moment Neku finished the endearment, Joshua could feel his face flushing bright red, and he even felt it running down his neck. For some reason he couldn't explain, that single word sent a rush of warmth throughout his body, and that seemed to be exactly what Neku wanted.
"Oooooh… very nice… that looks very good on you, sweetheart…" the fox crooned.
"D… don't c-call… m-me th-tha—mmph!"
Joshua could only moan when Neku locked their mouth together as he pulled the silver-haired Composer up against him. As much as he wanted to object, he couldn't do it as the Kyuubi's fingers trailed along his sides and his tongue played with his own. Unable to resist, Joshua brought up his arms to wrap them around his Proxy's neck, both deepening the kiss even further and preventing Neku from breaking away. He could vaguely hear himself moan out Neku's name through the kiss, but he couldn't care in the slightest.
Despite his grip on Neku's neck, the fox pulled back eventually and began to kiss, lick and suckle all along Joshua's neck and throat, making him whimper softly. "Ne… Neku…" he gasped out, gripping onto Neku's shoulders tightly.
"…mine…"
Joshua blinked once when he heard the soft murmur, but then he wailed and threw his head back as Neku pinched his nipple.
"…mine…"
The Composer groaned as Neku sucked long and hard on the juncture between his neck and shoulder, no doubt leaving a very large hickey on that specific spot. And yet he couldn't care one bit…
"…mine…"
The word was no more than a whisper every time, but Joshua heard it and felt it against his throat, accompanied by the soft rumble of Neku's purr.
"…mine…"
Joshua whimpered, before he whispered out softly: "…yours…" as Neku moved from his throat to his chest.
"…for how long?" Neku breathed out, tenderly, as his fingers slipped along Joshua's spine.
"…wh…?"
"…for how long?" the fox repeated softly, just as he thrust two fingers inside of the boy without warning, making Joshua cry out in surprise.
"Ah! N-N-Ne… k-kuuu!"
"For how long?"
"F-for… for… e-ever… forever…" Joshua moaned out as Neku's fingers spread apart and turned inside him. "For… e-ever… aaaah…! Ne-Neku…!"
The Kyuubi didn't respond to the words, but he did remove his fingers and adjusted his hold on the Composer, lightly holding his hips. "…ready?"
The silverette gasped harshly for breath for a few seconds, before he nodded once. "…please… do it…"
No more words were spoken, and Joshua exhaled as Neku lowered him, letting his muscles relax completely, and then he moaned as he felt the Kyuubi's cock pulsing inside of him. They remained like that for a long time, but finally, Joshua breathed softly, into the Kyuubi's ear, so softly only he could hear: "Please… move…"
And he did, and Joshua moaned as he held on tight, fighting back against the waves of pleasure that rushed along his spine, but for a different reason than before. He wanted it to last, just this once, whatever for, he didn't even know. There was just something different that made the Composer wish to prolong this feeling for as long as he possibly could.
He breathed the Kyuubi's name over and over again, wishing and praying secretly to never let this end…
(*) I did a quick search for Japanese words meaning "release", and this was the closest I found to what I wanted. "発勁 [はっけい]", pronounced as above, I believe, means "release internal power", which is pretty much what Neku just did. If I'm wrong with the pronunciation or if there's a better way to say it, let me know.
A/N: I wanted to add more to this chapter, but I ran out of ideas. I really don't want to give too much information about Neku away just yet. I'm saving that for later.
So anyway… Neku's getting even with Josh now for the "dear" nickname, so that should prove to be interesting in the long run. And it seems Ruka might not be merely who he appears to be.