This is a sort of epilogue to the events in Shibuya. I don't believe we'll be visiting this world again in this story. Enjoy, and please let me know what you think in a review.

Chapter 127

Expand Your World

Seven days later, in Shibuya…

Neku, Shiki, Beat, Rhyme, and Eri gathered at the statue of Hachiko. They spent a few minutes chatting before taking a stroll around Shibuya. High up, on the roof of the 104 building, Joshua sat, watching his friends hang out from afar. He smiled wistfully as they laughed at something funny Beat did. He was glad that, even after everything they had been through, everything that he had put them through, they were doing alright.

He heard the flap of wings and the soft sound of feet setting down gently on the roof behind him. He glanced back to glimpse his visitor. "Hello, Hiroto," he greeted.

Atukaze nodded. "Yoshiya," he returned. He retracted his Reaper wings back into his body. He stepped forward so that he was standing at the edge of the roof next to Joshua. "Checking up on your friends?"

Joshua nodded. "Perceptive as always, Conductor."

"It appears as though someone is missing from the group," Atukaze commented.

"What do you mean?" Joshua stared down at them, perplexed, but it slowly dawned on him that Atukaze was referring to him. "You know I can't."

"I have seen them. I have heard how Neku spoke of you to Sora. They still care about you. In spite of the sins with which you still weigh yourself down, they still think of you as a friend."

Joshua paused, considering Atukaze's words and accepting that they were true. "Even still, they're better off without me," he insisted.

"One could see it that way," Atukaze shrugged. "But are you better off without them?" Joshua raised an eyebrow at that. Atukaze cleared his throat. "Forgive me if I am overstepping my bounds…"

Joshua let out a chuckle. "Don't apologize for that," he assured his second-in-command.

"No existence should be a lonely one," the Conductor said plainly. "If you isolate yourself from those you care about, you miss out on the ultimate experience. And in our line of work, you would lose sight of what you work toward."

"I can't say I'm really fit for that."

"Once upon a time, I might have seen your point. In the past, you had lost sight of the light in the hearts of the people of Shibuya. You projected your loneliness and insecurity onto the rest of the world, unable to see the good in people. You wanted to Erase Shibuya. But do you know what happened? You made friends. You met someone who had every reason to despise you for your attitude and actions, but didn't. While he still has not come to forgive you, he could not bring himself to cut you down even if the alternative was the destruction of the city he loved, and he found reason to trust you. As such, you saw what you thought was missing in the city, and you changed your mind.

"Are you fit for it now, though? Personally, I believe you are. And it seems that your friends believe it, too. Neku appeared to believe that you were deserving of friendship. As did Sora. He believed that you could use that strength to power the Harmonizer Pin, and indeed you did. They see the untapped potential within your heart. All you need is to see it for yourself.

"You should spend time with your friends. Take some time off from work and unwind. Have some fun, and find that light you have been seeking." Joshua turned away, evidently deep in thought. Atukaze cleared his throat. "Good day, Yoshiya." He spread his wings and flew off.

Joshua contemplated Atukaze's advice. He could always rely on him for guidance. Megumi Kitaniji had served at his right hand since he became Composer, and he had always viewed him as a good and wise friend. After he was Erased, Hiroto Atukaze was the only Reaper he thought would be worthy of filling his shoes. Indeed, he showed himself to be an excellent Conductor, both as a director of operations and as an advisor. He was professional and formal to a fault, but he always knew what needed to be said. He understood the importance of the Reapers' Game, for Players and Reapers alike, as well as anyone, perhaps even more so than he did.

Perhaps Atukaze was right. Perhaps he should take the chance, give himself the chance. Or maybe he should not. Maybe it was better for everyone if he stay out of mortal affairs.

He looked back down at Neku and his friends as they walked up Dogenzaka street and entered Ramen Don. He smiled softly.

Perhaps it was worth it to give it a try.

He flew down and entered the noodle restaurant. He scanned around to find Neku and the others, and saw them sitting together at a table. For a moment, he developed cold feet, and he almost gave up and retreated. However, when the teens saw him, they beamed and waved, inviting him over. He allowed himself a quiet chuckle of amusement before making his way over to them and sitting down. Beat initiated a conversation, and Joshua joined in with everyone.

A young man strolled down CAT Street, deliberately making his way toward WildKat. When he entered and approached the bar, he told the barista that he had an appointment with the manager. The barista informed Mr. Hanekoma, who invited the young man in.

"So, what brings you here?" Hanekoma asked as he prepared coffee for his guest. "You're not too busy playing with toy robots in your ward?"

The young man had pale skin and light silver hair. He appeared to be in his early to mid-twenties. He was dressed in dark khakis, black fingerless gloves, and black boots. He wore sunglasses that obscured his eyes. He took the Styrofoam cup that Hanekoma handed to him and sipped. "Why did you give him the artifact?" he inquired. Despite the fact that he slouched in his chair in a relaxed manner, he took his business seriously when it was necessary.

"I had a feeling you'd pick up on that," Hanekoma remarked.

"You told me that when your time passed, you would leave it to me to watch over, and you gave me the means to locate it in case you couldn't hand it on to me in person," the visitor recalled. "Then, last week, you handed it to that Keyblade wielder. Aren't we supposed to make sure people from other worlds don't get their hands on it? Why did you give it to him?"

"First off, you should know that he is trying to keep all of them safe, and out of the hands of those who want to use them for nasty reasons," Hanekoma explained.

"And it's not safe here, under our power?" the young man argued. "You couldn't just say it was secure and keep it that way, maybe giving him a clue to help him on his way?"

"I didn't say that. Of course, I had to play a few tough tricks to keep the Angels from finding out it even exists, and an elaborate shell game so that whoever's tracking them wouldn't be able to realize it was here."

"Then why give it up, even to someone like him?"

"Maybe keeping it safe isn't enough. I've been getting this feeling that something is coming. And when it comes, the World will need to be ready."

The young man laced his fingers together and looked Hanekoma in the eyes. "And as for Sora?"

Hanekoma nodded. "I believe that he's the right person to get the World in a state where it is ready to handle what is to come," he answered. "And to do that, he will need to use the power that the artifacts protect."

The young man finished his coffee, then removed his sunglasses, allowing Hanekoma to properly meet his gaze and look into his mismatched eyes, a blue iris on the right eye and a red iris on the left. "Well, let's hope you're right."

Like I said, we will probably not be returning to Shibuya, and I have no intention of writing a sequel to this fic. But I will be peppering the story with teases for future events such as this one, as a way to say "the adventure continues" and to encourage you, my dear readers, to imagine what these teases could possibly indicate. In other words, go nuts.