'Ello folks! Sorry for the delay in the next chapter. Family things, sure you can imagine. Well, without further ado, I present to you the continuation of Joshua screwing up everything!

SLAM. The force of a large body behind him, and Joshua found himself crumpled in a heap at the bottom of stairs. A strong part of him wanted to remain there groaning and looking pitiful until someone helped him, but then he remembered the reason for his flight.

Panic time.

He scrambled to stand, or at least he tried, but there was a sharp shooting pain in the forearm and elbow he had used to protect his head.

Footsteps.

Run.

The pain in his arms faded to a dull throb. He attempted to rise, but he reached him first.

"J? Shit, J, you all right?"

Arms dragged Joshua to his feet. Concerned and guilty eyes with only a tinge of anger looked him up and down. "I was trying to-I wasn't trying to… You okay?"

"You're not mad?" Joshua said incredulously.

"What, 'bout you telling Jun the truth? Shoulda done it myself. You just," Sho paused, smiling at Joshua as if he were a child as blameless as Jun. "You didn't know how to break it to him like I would. I just need to give him T plus X, and then I'll explain it to him later. Don't worry about it."

Joshua absentmindedly rubbed his elbow. It didn't seem to be broken, thankfully. His jealousy and anger seemed to have been shoved out of him at the top of the stairs, and now he just felt like a moron. Here he was trying to get back at Sho just for caring about his brother, and yet, his partner wasn't even mad at Joshua for turning his brother against him. What was he even thinking? Sho may be his partner, but unlike in the past, he didn't have his friends all to himself. He needed to accept that.

Sho's smile had faded as Joshua sunk into a reverie. He was probably considering whether or not he would need to haul Joshua over to the hospital. "I'm fine."

Sho didn't look 100% convinced, but he nodded. "'Kay. Then let's bounce."

The two Reapers slipped into the UG. As they left the rickety house, Joshua snorted as he noted that Sho's stepfather hadn't moved an inch. He meant to comment on it, but then he remembered what he really wanted to talk to Sho about.

"Sho. Remember what we were talking about with Kariya?"

"Yeah, that the trial lasted zetta five days. And it sounded like no one else knew where we were, right?"

Joshua grinned. "So, you do remember."

Sho adjusted his cap. "Well, now that you mention it, s'not too clear."

"Do you remember the girl?"

"The curly hectopascal? Yeah, I remember her. She was out of her vector. Thought she was going to snap our necks if she had the chance. And what was she trying to do to you?"

"To me?"

"Yep, she would give you this crazy intense stare and then get all frustrated like something wasn't working."

Joshua fiddled with the pin Mr. H had given him. "I remember that too. Sho, do you know what the Composer is?"

Sho waved his pointed fingers in front of his face dramatically as he hummed.

"Not quite," Joshua said with a giggle, "that's the Conductor."

"Thanks for the music lesson, radian."

"Pay attention, this is actually important." Both boys tried to put a serious expression on, but both failed as Sho continued to mimic a melodramatic conductor.

Joshua covered his mouth to stifle his laughter. "Okay, okay, listen now. The Composer is in charge of the UG. Remember when Mr. H… Explained about the music in everything?" Sho nodded. "Good, so the Composer both creates and controls the music."

The older boy caught on immediately. "So Curly was trying to iterate you with the music again. She's the Composer."

"I believe so. And I suppose her ranting and raving about her Conductor's erasure explains why she has a beef with two new Reapers." Joshua crossed his arms, "but this still doesn't explain everything. I can't remember the end of the trial, any decisions made… I don't even know if we're in danger."

"Don't look at me. That's all I remember."

The partners stopped and thought for a moment. Not sure who came up with the first, but it was Joshua who spoke the name in both their heads.

"Megumi Kitaniji."

"He'd have to remember the trial-it was 'bout him."

"And, as the second highest ranking Reaper, his job is to be in contact with the Composer."

"Thanks to your bad ass threatening skills, that yoctogram owes us a favor anyway."

"He could protect us."

Joshua and Sho smiled at each other before heading off to the Shibuya River. The trip was fairly uneventful, other than Joshua's grumbling he should have remembered to change shoes before charging through the sewers. At least, that was the case until they reached the fancy wrought iron door.

"Finally." She nearly purred, but it was most definitely not a friendly sound. She stood in front of the door glaring and yet still somehow smiling at them both. "Do you know what I have gone through to search for you boys?"

"Out of our way, factoring hectopascal."

"Imbecile. Don't you think you should be apologizing?"

"We need to talk to Mr. Kitaniji." Joshua said with a slight bow of his head.

Mitsuki seemed much more receptive to Joshua's forced submissiveness. "Well, that's not allowed. Mr. Kitaniji is an important meeting right now."

A shout came from the other side of the door, but Mitsuki did not even flinch. After a few moments, Mitsuki's phone beeped. "You've come just in time. Wait right here." She opened the door just a crack and slipped through.

Joshua sighed. "Do you really think she'll let us see him?"

"Irrational. I get the feeling she wants us for somethin' else."

Soon, they heard the creak as the giant door opened again, and the blonde Reaper crept back out the door. For a second, Joshua detected surprise and a tinge of revulsion in her eyes. Yet as Mitsuki's stare met that of the boys', all emotion disappeared.

"Congratulations. I have a mission for you straight from the Conductor himself."

"That's nice, but it's vital that we talk to the Conductor."

Mitsuki pushed her glasses up her nose. "It's possible you may have an audience with him once you complete your mission."

"Whaddya need from us? The next game doesn't start for another two weeks." Sho grumbled.

Mitsuki laughed derisively. "What, did you think that Reapers sat around slurping Ramen and buying clothes on their days off? Do your job, and do your mission. Do I make myself clear?"

"What is this mission?"

"You are to exterminate a Reaper."