Jack Frost, Guardian of Fun and personification of Winter, was on his way to Burgess, the long route, when something caught his attention. Sailing on Wind through the atmosphere of Tokyo, Japan, the wide-eyed Guardian of Fun noticed something odd happening in the streets of the busy, hip, and wild streets of the Shibuya district.
Jack normally avoided Shibuya. Last time he'd been here, Hiccup had gently warned him off by reminding him that Tokyo was not known for snow, and the people would not take his presence there very well.
But the personification of summer wasn't here.
And something else was. Something that didn't belong out and about if he read his Shibuya Lore right...wich he had because Bunny threatened to kick his ass if he didn't read up on the customs of the places he wasn't familiar with because he was either not welcome or not able to go because of his elemental nature being susceptible to the climate.
The Something...was an ash-blond boy with a lavender-white shirt, with wings only Jack could see aparently, talking with a spikey-haired kid in indigo and blue with headphones on his head.
"Hmmm...trying to shut out the world? Beleive me, kiddo, it doesn't work." he said as he flew close.
He was stopped when he realized the other 'boy' was staring right at him. Not through him...AT him.
"Can...can you really see me?" he asked the boy.
The ash-blond giggled and simply gave a nod, lifting a hand grandly. He then gestured to his friend and shook his head, then pointed Jack towards a sewer system and made a five with his hand. The Winter Spirit nodded his understanding and headed to where he was directed.
He slightly shook as he entered the Dead God's Pad. He was trespassing in a place where he had never been welcomed, and now, he was pretty sure he was going to regret it.
"Well well well, this is a bit of a suprise. It isn't often that you Seasonals actually dane to make your presence known, especially here in Shibuya. Your plane is a mystery, even to the higher ups. So tell me, Winter personified….what's a spirit like you doing in our neck of the woods? Is it really time for another Astral Meeting?"
Jack whirled around, a slight bit of fear creeping into his being as he once again looked at the skinny 'boy' that had apeared out of nowhere. He brandished his staff in habit, placing the crook in front of himself to ward off any attack the other being might launch at him.
"I'm...I'm sorry I just was passing through…" he stuttered. "Didn't m,ean to cause trouble, I swear!"
The other being chuckled and made the 'calm down' gesture with both hands. "Clearly. Now then, I see introductions are due. My name is Yoshiya Kiryu, but mother and Father call me Joshua. I guess you can call me Joshua too, since you are a fellow Ethereal and all. I'm the Composer of Shibuya, as I'm sure you sense, as I sensed your Seasonal vibe. You simply had no name for my type of power, as I'm sure is attributed to the fact that Seasons and Composers don't interact all that much., if at all. You simply know the title, as your face betrays, as a title carrying with it immense and terrible overpoweredness. But I ramble. You know my name, stranger. However, though I know what you are, I can't seem to recall who it is who got the job this time."
Jack was floored for a second, but recovered quickly and lowered his staff "Um...I'm...Jack Frost."
"Nice to meet you, Jack Frost." Joshua grinned and gestured to a door that had appeared nwhile they were talking, "Shall we?"
The door opened, and Jack had to stop himself from backing away as the immense strength emitting from the inner sanctom slammed into him like a massive truck. This was clearly the heart of Joshua's kingdom, a place used soley by the Composer himself. Jack had read that the diety running a district had powers beyond anything imaginable, even governing life and death. He became increasingly nervous as he stepped through the door and got embraced by the heavy fog of pure power. The 'boy' beside him seemed to breathe easier, and to his frightened suprise, began to change form into his true shape.
Joshua was tall, and glowy. Power crackled around him like a thick coat of lightning, the brightness blinding. Two large angelic wings sprouted out his back, also alive with the blinding flames that snapped, flared, and licked the air around them. Jack was forced to one knee as the pure energy cut through him like a wind through the trees.
"Welcome to my inner sanctum, Jack Frost." The voice was echoing, the tone still as snarky, but filled with authority that put North's scolding tone to shame. "Here I sit on my throne and manage the whole of Shibuya, UG and RG, UnderGround and RealGround, the afterlife and the living world. The Noise plane is somewhere in there but I don't bother with it. It is I who grant life, I who shepherd death, I who manage the district's Imagination, vitality, heart, and melody. It is I who write her notes, shape her destiny, keep her expanding and improve her symphony. With a snap of my fingers, I can destroy entire sections of this district if I so choose. Yet with another smap, I could restore the lives of thousands."
Jack listened with awe, his cold hands beginning to sweat as he took in every word, each declaration more frightening to him than the last. He felt even more like an ant beneith a magnifying glass, even more fearful of the being before him who now sat on an ivory throne that was a bit big for him, legs crossed as he leaned to the left, a hand on his chin, looking at the Winter Spirit with...curiosity? Jack realised somethig then, something he hadn't thought possible coming from such a powerful entity. He grew bold suddenly, stepping forwards with noticable fear, yet determination as he finally began to understand Joshua's actual reason for bringing him down there.
"Yet even with all that power...you're lonely. No one sees you. No one looks for you. No one can talk to you, not the true you. You have to actually lower yourself to their level so they can even touch you. But no one visits, because no one can, at least not unless you let them. It's a one-man job doing what you do...and no one else understands the burden you bear because no one can. You're lonely...like I used to be."
Joshua smirked "Yes. Though only partly. I used to be much more lonely, Jack Frost. But then, I met Neku. He changed me and saved Shibuya. Even after everything I did to him...he became my friend. Yet...not even Neku can understand the depths of my real pain. How can he? He may have become less of an introvert, but when he was one, he still would never feel the emptyness of a Composer's solitude."
Jack twirled his staff, slowly becoming more at ease with the godlike being he was standing in front of.
"We may have major power gaps, but we're kinda the same, Joshua. I may not be welcome here in Tokyo, but maybe...with your permission of course...maybe I could visit now and then. Keep you company, you know? Lessen that loneliness...for both of us."
Joshua giggled, twirling a lock of hair and leaning back.
"You would do that?"
"Of course. I know what it's like...not being seen. Not being able to really interact with folks you want to acknowledge you. It sucks."
"Well" Joshua said, raising his chin and cocking his head "I see no problem with a friend coming to visit my district. I would like the company, now that my dear Producer is running errands for the Higher Plane this season and his presence is already missed. So I thionk I'll take you up on that offer, Jack Frost."
"Cool!"
"In return, I shall convince the Seasonal Court to ignore your tresspass today, and will grant the youngest children of Shibuya the ability to see and interact with you. After all, it is your duty to protect them, is it not?"
The Winter Spirit's eyes widened and Joshua laughed, waving a hand. "Do not look so surprised. I scanned your mind. I know exactly what you are, Jack. You are about to make my job easier to deal with, so why shouldn't I returtn the favor?"
Jack had no answer for that, and he was sure that there really was none. He gave a small grin, and rubbed his neck with his staff bashfully.
"So...mind showing me some of what you do?"
The Composer giggled and raised both hands in a shrug.
"I don't see why not. As long as you show me your work after."
"Deal!"