Mr Reaper

by EeveeGen9988

A young Reaper set in his ways has enough of seeing Shibuya being left unprotected from criminals, and finds himself leading those of common interest to take action. If only he knew how one step to betterment would lead to another he would take alone... Written for [Shibuya Operation - Story Storm 2019-present] and [Twelve Shots of Summer 2019].

10. Mr Sorrower

Mr Reaper

I do not own The World Ends With You, Square Enix does!

Mr Reaper Part 9 was written for Shibuya Operation - Story Storm (SOSS) 2020/21; previous chapters (Parts 0 and 1) were posted during Twelve Shots of Summer (TSoS) 2019 and Parts 2 to 8 were posted during Shibuya Operation - Story Storm (SOSS) 2019/20 and 2020/21.

...

Part 9 - Mr Sorrower

---

Months Ago...

---

"I went there today. …Things didn't look good."

"…"

"I tried to find it, but nothing's present. It's gone. I honestly tried anything I could think of but it's already lost."

"…"

"I can understand why it happened now, why you're like this… It makes me angry to think about why it was missed, why it was gone- missing- broken off!"

"…"

"There's no way for you to get better. You're not going to stop breaking apart. I was a fool to think…"

"…"

"No. I'm not going to give up on you, not after all this time. I'm going to make sure you will get up again- not be lost! I'm sixty-six percent going on one-hundred… and I will get you to that one-hundred! Even if the numbers are skewed, no one will know the difference if I present you as finished tomorrow."

"…"

"If I don't tell anyone… if I don't tell anyone…"

"…"

"If I'm the only one who knows, everything will be fine. I'll take it to my final erasure if I need to. I can't stand this, but my hands are tied and I'll work out what I got."

"…"

"A puzzle without all the pieces can still be marked as complete. I'm not going to give up on you."

"..."

"...You won't be missing these. You won't be missing these, trust me…"

---

- 1975 -
Present Day

---

Alone inside the room, the Harrier sat on the edge of the bed as his head hung low. He'd been like this since his frenzied return, having been able to curb his emotions to a sullen despondence while his thoughts and heart remained heavy. The passage of time was lost to him, even when he heard the door open as he realized he already missed the usual announcement of Andy's banging fist entirely.

However, that fact had no-account, letting him barely acknowledge how Andy had situated herself in the area a distance in front of him. She soon broke the dreary quiet he was nursing with a hefty sigh.

"Yaa werre therre…" She strode over briskly before stopping a few inches from one of his jutted knees, ducking her head until it twisted into the space of his vision to frown at him. "Why werre yaa aoutt therre?"

The Harrier curled his fingers into his palms. "Does it really matter?"

With a wrinkle of her nose, she croaked plainly, "Yaa taook mah staugff."

"Does it really matter?" The Harrier closed his eyes, slowly sucking in a tentative breath. He felt her shifting on her toes somewhat, somewhat relieved she was providing some form of distraction for him. But even still, it wasn't enough to lift his mood, he found.

Andy stomped down a foot and sharply eyed him with her glare. "Yaaw'rre naott aah lecaorrd- staop aahnd aahctuaalree taarlk ta meh!"

"Does it really, matter?" he hissed loftily as he finally gritted his teeth, heaving in a large breath before he clenched his hands harder. He shook his head roughly as he bit out miserably, "Jimmy's friends are gone, Andy, gone forever because of my stupid hiccup-"

"Whaatt, nao- daon'tt beaatt yaawrrserlf aup!" she retorted as she clenched her hands. "Eit's naott yaawrr faaurltt!"

He shook his head frantically. "They were trying to fend him off so I wouldn't have to- I essentially Erased Jimmy's friends-" He stopped abruptly in a hasty pause then half-shouted out, "Fuck!" He threw up his arms upsetly as he felt his eyes well hotly. "Don't you understand!? I fucked them over- all of them over, dammit!"

As he shakily breathed to regain his breath, finding that Andy was now regarding him with a worried furrow of her eyebrows, he all but felt his emotions die quickly before waves of lament pulsed through him. He hung his head as he drew his hands up to clasp his head, exhaling harshly as he mumbled out anxiously, "There's no undoing this… I screwed up."

"Th-Therre's aahrlwaays aah chaance they'rre gaoing ta LePlaocess themserlves?" Andy pointed out as quickly as she took a seat beside him, immediately placing a hand almost over his shoulderblade only to withdraw it at his flinch. For a few seconds, she remained silent then spoke again in an uncomfortable manner, "AI'm… surre aof eit?"

"You don't sound certain, you're only teasing me," he mumbled out tersely as he pinched his lips. "And you're forgetting the fact they very much will not be back!"

"Yaa daon'tt knaow thaatt- rett's waaitt aahnd see!" Andy then exclaimed sharply.

The Harrier finally turned his head to scowl towards her. "Oh yeah? Go to the Scramble then-" He rotated his hand palm up in a flick of a wave as he scoffed on, "Go there, come back… and tell me when they do if you're that certain!"

"Whaatt's aup with yaa?" she retorted in annoyance, squaring her shoulders as she fixed him a tetchy leer. She jabbed her finger at him and growled, "Yaaw'rre being augree- jaustt raooking aahtt this wlaong faorl nao leaasaon!"

Instead of protesting, or tactfully making a comeback, even when his emotions were heightened in immediate, raw anger, it dissipated rather quickly as he turned his head forward again and his body slumped. "That Player Killer…" He licked his lips uneasily as the said person's face came to mind then continued with a sigh, "He was only going after me, and they were only in his way..."

When Andy fell silent at that, he half-closed his eyes as he lowered his gaze dolefully. He had his fill for explaining this to Andy, deciding to tackle another topic to cull his rising guilt hopefully. "D-Does Jimmy know?"

As his friend took time to mull it over, from how he hadn't even gotten an instant answer yet, she eventually resettled herself. Probably facing forward like he was now, if the shift of her weight on the bed told him enough. "When aI gaott herre," she said straightforwardly.

Grunting to acknowledge her answer, he drearily kept his eyes on his feet, somewhat feeling the sensation of shame squirming at him when he realized he'd forgotten to take off his shoes when he stared at his Scampers. The confirmation that his apologies he spilled on to Jimmy when he arrived didn't do zilch only made the hollow feeling in his chest claw further into him, making him see that he may have been just a mess to whoever was looking at him lately. Yet the urge to right that wrong on his feet rung stale in his chest.

In the grand scheme of things, it didn't matter. It didn't matter because, if he were to be fucking frank with himself, it paled in comparison to the events that unfolded earlier. It wouldn't bring back the Erased, it wouldn't even bring back the Player Killer to torment him more… It only was insignificant, through and through.

Exhaling through his nose, the Harrier shook his head. It brought a curious reaction out of Andy at least, he noted, when he went on to ask solemnly, "Did the Player survive?"

He didn't see Andy shake her head, but that was all he needed to feel more like shit. If it weren't for that Player's quick thinking, the Player Killer would have gotten to the Harrier more than just the trauma. The Harrier didn't even thank the guy; it tore a hole inside him that he was so absorbed in escaping, he left almost everyone who aided him to waste in the dust. He wasn't even certain if the last of Jimmy's friends survived, but he could only safely assume the poor guy bit the dust as well from the wounds he saw on the Support. After all, it was what he had been doing since he shut himself in and Andy never even denied it or corrected him.

Rolling his shoulders back as he let himself fall backwards, his body bouncing once before he lay on the mattress listlessly, he didn't even bother to fix his hood when it was dislodged slightly. He expelled another sigh, "I ruined everything… that's all I ever do."

"Daon'tt bee pessimistic...!" Andy scolded disapprovingly while shaking her head. She drew her body over, looming over his motionless form as her eyes darkened. "Thaatt Wlaongdaoerr waas fuccking evelreething aup!"

"Only because he was going after me, and- by extension- means me," he mumbled half-heartedly as he lowered his eyelids gradually. "Could you just stop trying to convince me I didn't do jackshit to the fragile structure of things. We both know these chain of events have me embedded in each vital turn and step of the way…"

"Nao!" He tiredly blinked up as Andy thumped her hands onto her hips, curling her lip with displeasure as she scornfully scrutinized him. "Yaa've haad sheitt aon yaa praate faorl Weeks!" She shook her head as she leaned her upper-torso backwards. "Give yaaserlf aah bleaak faorl aonce aahleaadee! Eit's naott yaawrr faaurt yaaw'rre being punished!"

"Finally realizing the universe is out to get me?" He promptly pursed his lips. "Good."

"Fucck yaa- thaatt's naott whaatt aI meaant aahnd yaa knaow eit!" Andy yelled out in aggravation, abruptly springing off the bed edge to swerve and pivot to face him rigidly. She crossed her arms as she huffed in disgruntlement, "Jaustt- argh!" Her face contorted in her exasperation as she cried out, "Caan'tt yaa bee aopteimestic!? Like yaa used ta bee!?"

As she waited on his response, the Harrier absently stared back at her as he grimaced. 'Optimistic? When have I ever been optimistic?'

While his head drew out the fact that he may have been at one point, like Andy just was telling him… he couldn't help but feel like that very word was foreign to him now. There could have been times when he was during certain moments as a kid, but now? He'd like to think optimism would have been beaten out of him by now…

Andy stomped down. "In order to walk ahead, we must plan ahead?" The Harrier blinked in bemusement at her English, frowning as she eyed him critically when she lowered her arms. "Crime stops for no one?"

As the Harrier hoisted his body up to sit, he furrowed his eyebrows as he mumbled, "What are you doing...?"

Andy, for some reason, had her face light up as she waggled her eyebrows and smirked. "C'maon… daon'tt maake meh lepeaat maorre…"

All the Harrier did was tilt his head and sigh, "Andy, just give it a rest. How is that supposed to make the situation any better?"

The dirty blonde immediately slumped on the spot, having a long face as she now dejectedly regarded him. "Yaa used ta terl meh thaatt aahrl the time…" As he quietly drank that in, knitting his eyebrows as he tried to recall if that was true, Andy suddenly drifted towards him.

When her hands landed on his shoulders, causing him to seize in alarm, she frowned sadly down at him. "Yaa used ta bee aopteimestic…" As her hands tightened around them, his growing stress intensified. "Yaa used ta bee caonfidentt…" As he startledly flicked his head up while an uncertain frown crossed onto his expression, he exhaled unsteadily as her amber-brown eyes shined either tearfully or passionately. He couldn't find the difference in them as she pressed desperately, "Thaatt waas aahrl yaa… Yaa caan'tt bee serliousree bee terling meh thaatt thaose werre ries!"

The Harrier's frown deepened as he held her gaze, soon lowering his chin as he sighed once more, "They weren't." He could tell she perked up, but he sadly had to burst her bubble. He dolefully put in as he curled his fingers around the fabric of his dark green pants, "But that was then, this is now." He felt her hands start to loosen. "There's nothing left for me to get excited by…"

As he shrugged, dislodging the rest of her sagging grip, he closed his eyes as he mumbled sullenly, "What do you think I should do... watch others reap Wrongdoers for me?"

When a resounding silence greeted him, Andy's sudden hearty laughter made him look up in puzzlement.

Andy stepped back to hug her abdomen. "Maake aotherrs waorlk faorl yaa!? Haah-" She fell into deeper laughter as tears nearly ran down her face. "AI'd raove ta see the Caounducctaarr's faace when hee sees yaaw'rre sitting aon aah bench with aah baook aahnd raooking aahtt him clueress when hee trlies ta recturre yaa faorl daoing naothing!"

As the Harrier was about to correct her about pronouncing love again, to his surprise, he instead found himself snickering at that. His smirk almost vanished when he happened to imagine the same scenario, only to broaden when a laugh escaped from him too. He dropped his head while giggling, imagining the disbelief the Posh Bastard would be having. Would it be enough to make the finely-dressed man lose his grip on his cane and suddenly start gaping like a koi, or would he be demanding exasperatedly that there would be consequences for the Harrier?

Before he knew it, he was laughing harder as he heard ugly keens come out from him until the sound of a door abruptly brought his gaiety to a sheer halt. He started gasping deeply as he turned his head towards Nakai, who was peeking his head in.

Gulping in greedy amounts of oxygen, the Harrier took a bit until he was able to actually acknowledge the Support properly. "N-Need something…?"

As the Support started to wring his hands, he nervously spoke up, "A-Are you o-okay? We heard weird noises in here…"

The Harrier could only furrow his eyebrows as Andy slapped a hand on his shoulder before patting it idily. "He's jaustt aah hyenaa wheen he's haappee."

"I wasn't being…" His response was cut off when he watched Nakai nod before he slipped out, deftly shutting the door before the Harrier was left to his confusion and Andy in the room. He turned his head to his friend as a frown formed on his lips, but Andy's hand was already off before he mumbled, "Happy?"

"Yes." Andy squared him a small grin.

The Harrier shook his head in bafflement. "No, not you-" He tipped his gaze down to his lap. "Why did you think I was happy?"

Andy lost her smile and quickly raised an eyebrow back at him. "Yaa werre aah hyenaa… Laaughing leike aah hyenaa!" She grinned again, snickering excitedly as she clapped her hands, "Yaa laaughed leike aah hyenaa!"

Whatever effect she was expecting from him, he'd say she only got the opposite. He immediately grimaced in embarrassment. 'I laugh like a hyena!? Hyenas don't even laugh- What the fuck- what's wrong with me!?'

As much as he adored Andy's antics, she still didn't get her facts right when she should. Contrary to people's belief, a hyena's 'laugh' was merely to showcase fear, frustration, or excitement, as he had studied for a Science assignment once in his Senior High School. He was not any of the above, so he considered the case was closed about the subject.

He doubted a hyena would communicate guilt or lament like that, after all.

The moment he focused on Andy again, who was gaping at him with a frown and a wordless question in her gaze, he hastily cleared his throat then inhaled. He sniffed matter-of-factly, "You can have your own opinion... but I do not sound like a hyena."

"Yeaah yaa dao," Andy said while shrugging.

"For your information-" The Harrier scowled at her as he retorted, "I certainly do not!"

While Andy half-closed her eyes and casually blew a raspberry, he hunched his shoulders and sulked sullenly. Despite how it was a nice reprieve from feeling shitty about what happened, it was very much unwarranted. He didn't want to have the opportunity to laugh when Reapers were Erased for no reason; that was the last thing you should do in such a situation. It was, put simply, disrespectful.

Eventually, after instilling the silence there should be to not fall back into joking around, he mumbled in frustration, "Anyway... it's not like that would be plausible, so just let me get back to my earlier point-"

"Yaa meaan yaawrr maoping?" Andy asked dryly.

"Call it moping all you want, it's still my fault Jimmy's friends are gone," hissed the Harrier irritably as he soon felt his expression fall. He absently drew his hands back onto his lap as he sighed, "Just... check on Jimmy, Andy. "

"Daon'tt push meh aahwaaay…" Andy groused in her protest. "Eit's leike yaa waantt meh ta gao…"

He blinked as he pursed his lips. "Is it working?"

For a few seconds, Andy didn't respond. Even more passed before she sighed as well but grumpily, "Fine." She started to walk off but stopped close to the door. "Bauutt sttaop kicking yaaserlf!"

"No promises." He shook his head as she opened it. "Bye."

Andy hesitated after he said that, lingering longer until she stepped out. "...Bye."

When the door had shut, the Harrier finally released a breath he just realized he had been holding before letting himself fall back onto the bed. He lay there quietly as he mulled over why Andy was being so stubborn about denying he was to blame, her blind faith in him not rocking when it had every reason to…

Then the absurd imagery Andy painted earlier broke his self-possession again, making him struggle to recompose himself from nearly laughing out.

He hated how inappropriate it was in light of the circumstances.

---

The next time the Harrier had gathered the will to leave Jimmy's room for a bit, he drearily was dragging his feet as he soon took in absently how fretful the living room was. He almost didn't want to join the chatty Reapers, immediately wanting to turn around to hide in the room, despite the progress he made in getting to this point of leaving it, until he caught sight of Jimmy in the kitchen.

If the Harrier were to still insist he was a mess lately, Jimmy easily took away the crown from him.

The curly haired Reaper, despite holding a pencil as he clearly was intending to work out his finances, did nothing but stare tiredly at his sheet of blank paper at the middle counter. He once and a while tapped the dull lead against the white, rolling it around loosely in his fingers as he either was humming in a gravelly voice or was making some kind of noise in his throat that the Harrier was at a loss to decipher. The Harrier had noticed this as he remained at the lip of the hallway, keeping the small distance between them as he tensely watched the lankier Reaper.

After he reluctantly came closer, he dolefully watched as Jimmy slowly drew his head to the Harrier, fully realizing it may have been a bad idea to approach him from how dull the Support's grey eyes were.

Jimmy gazed at him for a while until he blinked with a low groan, apparently groggy from the sound of it, then kept staring. It was unnerving how Jimmy wouldn't turn his eyes away…

"G-Gidday…" eventually said the New Zealander.

Physically wincing at how hoarse and raspy Jimmy's voice had become, the Harrier felt a part of himself feel worried as he grimaced.

"H-Hey…" he softly returned hesitantly. He skirted his gaze down as his uncomfortableness grew and bit his lip. "D-Did you sleep?" It wasn't a stupid question, he told himself nervously.

Jimmy didn't do anything but answer, "Nah."

"O-Oh." The Harrier shifted as a wave of uneasiness hit him, half-closing his eyes as he let out a heavy sigh. "S-Sorry."

"T'is all good…" Jimmy mumbled as he finally moved one of his hands, bringing it up to rub at his eyes that were surrounded by crustiness. He barely made a blink when he asked, "How long have I been…?" He tried to blink again then screwed his face up, confusion filling his watery gaze. "When did Annee get back again?"

The black-hooded Reaper frowned sadly as he noticed Andy wasn't even present, soon bringing his attention back to the taller Reaper as he quietly murmured, "N-Not sure…"

"All good." The way Jimmy said it made the Harrier internally cringe. It was too chaste, too unbothered; Jimmy must have been taking it worse than him.

Pressing his lips together as his concern waved harder through him, the Harrier eventually sighed again as he decided to fold his arms on the surface and rested his weight on them lackadaisically. He focused on the dark and mottled unblemished surface, only partly displaying signs of use from unchecked grime scattered upon it, as he tried adjusting to the silence they were sharing.

He didn't know what to say to Jimmy… Obviously conversation was a miss, and trying to cheer up the New Zealander wasn't precedented when the Harrier caused him trouble again and again…

His eyes had closed at some point, finding himself feeling wearier than he had been since he came back here the longer he remained by Jimmy's side. 'I really am a fuckup… Andy can challenge me on it all she wants… but I truly am a fuckup… Nonfuckups don't accidentally cause others' friends' Erasures…'

It was then that he decided what he should be doing about this. He should have done it a long time ago, but now the answer was clear.

"...I'll leave as soon as possible," the Harrier mumbled as he exhaled through his nose shallowly.

Jimmy's gaze fell on him again. "...What?" he croaked slowly.

The Harrier dug his teeth into the inside of his lower cheek, playing and wiggling them against the flesh until he felt it tingle. "I'll leave." He poked a set of teeth around part of the inside lip again and worked his jaw to put pressure between them as he felt the flesh protest more. He then shook his head very slightly. "I don't want to bother you anymore… not after what I've done."

When he felt an unsteady hand grab his forearm, it broke his concentration of his teeth briefly. As his gaze instantly darted to Jimmy, he could almost say Jimmy was actually looking at him for the first time. An alertness had entered his eyes, making them look less like fluid and more like eyeballs. "Wh-Why do y'want to leave!?"

Was that panic now? Why was there panic in Jimmy's voice?

The Harrier numbly stared back as his lips parted, yet he found he had nothing to say. While saying it outright felt right at the time, he couldn't help but feel conflicted now over what he had decided as he took in how upset Jimmy appeared. But why would Jimmy be upset when the Harrier could finally be out of the New Zealander's hair!?

Again, he tried moving his lips, still not creating words but the sound of air leaving his throat was made. His throat felt constricted, making him lightheaded as he gave a hard, disbelieved blink at Jimmy then another as he gritted his teeth as his face contorted in confusion…

The grip on his arm increased. "St-Stop makin' rash decisions, B-Bro…" As the Harrier screwed his eyes shut and his breath hitched nervously, Jimmy continued with his voice cracking, sounding as if he was in pain, "J-Just stop it already- Y-You're only goin' t'keep gettin' hurt…"

He was getting hurt!?

The Harrier harshly breathed out as he miserably mumbled in dismay, "I-I shouldn't be what you're concerned with right now-" He bit down hard on the insides of his cheeks again, digging his teeth in more and holding them in place. He only finally released them to half-wail at the New Zealander, "Y-You just lost your friends, because of ME!"

For a second, Jimmy lost his grip on the Harrier, then it formed again as he shook his head tautly and narrowed his gaze. He rose to his full height and pulled the Harrier into following him, the Harrier's alarm being the thing to make him not resist as he dumbly let the other guide him towards the bedroom.

The moment the door was opened, Jimmy let go and his hardened eyes pinned the Harrier in place. "Gear up, we're goin' for a tramp."

"Wh-What-" The Harrier numbly stared back in confusion. "B-But-"

"I can't yack to you in here, I need to have a walk with you!" Jimmy sternly told him as he frowned. He still kept his gaze intense before he closed his eyes with a huff, "Fresh air will do us primo."

While the Harrier momentarily hesitated, he eventually slipped into the room and closed the door.

No sooner had he come out as a Support-Harrier did Jimmy move almost in a stomp towards the door, the silently conveyed message to follow as the Harrier tentatively did so. He merely waited for Jimmy to put on his shoes while shifting uneasily as he eyed his already worn Scampers, soon coming into a sheet of rain the Harrier didn't realize was there before that Jimmy didn't pause at entering.

"Bro, I want you to listen to me," tersely said Jimmy in quiet as he was pulling on his hood. His already dripping curled bangs nearly rolled out from it as he briskly set the pace for the two of them. "We're Bros, eh?"

"Y-Yeah…?" The Harrier trudged after him as he stuffed his hands in his pants pockets.

"Then why do you keep separatin' 'em and yourself all the time?" asked Jimmy in tart weariness; his steps starting to slow to a moderate speed that allowed for the Harrier to travel at his side. While the Harrier half-closed his eyes at that, the New Zealander shook his head as droplets sprinkled off the red fabric. "You're just as much my mate as 'ey were."

The Harrier dropped his eyes to the sleek pavement; his shoulders drooping. "How can I be your friend when I'm the reason why they're gone?"

That prevented the Support from answering for a while. He turned his hood towards the Harrier as he halted eventually, his hands starting to curl into each he sighed drearily, "Annee said 'ey protected you…"

"That doesn't excuse it!" the Harrier protested bitterly. His eyes were stinging when he went on wretchedly, "I-I still am the underlying factor, Jimmy- don't try to soften the blow for me. If I hadn't left your house, nothing would have happened to them!"

Jimmy shook his head again. "I-I miss 'em… but I don't hate you, Bro..."

"Why not!?" snapped the Harrier vehemently, the heat in his eyes making it all the harder to scowl at Jimmy. "Things would've been better if the Posh Bastard done me in… or better yet, before I started up the Petition- I wouldn't be causing all these hassles for everyone, who I know or don't know- if I wasn't around to further blunder everything in the Underground!"

Once again, and it was really starting to annoy him, Jimmy shook his head. The Harrier couldn't help gritting his teeth as Jimmy murmured while averting his hood, "I would only miss you too."

"I don't know why you would…" muttered the Harrier as he closed his eyes. "We shouldn't have met in the first place…"

That silenced Jimmy for a while, which the Harrier took as his victory over the subject.

If Jimmy hadn't met him, Jimmy wouldn't have lost his friends to distrust then to Erasure, nor would Jimmy have been caught up in all the bullshit the Harrier pulled. The Harrier couldn't say if he should be glad he met Jimmy if this was the result of it; ruining the New Zealander's existence because the Harrier existed in the universe that hated him so it decided to punish him further by attacking those around him by using the Harrier to hurt them himself!

He opened his eyes a little when he thought that, soon becoming aware of his dreary, grainy surroundings again as he harshly tried to breathe in chilled air.

"Bro." As Jimmy's hands rose to disappear into his hood, the Harrier felt them rubbing the Support's face as he groggily groaned out, "You keep makin' rash decisions, but that doesn't mean you're a bad person-"

"No!" The Harrier bristled. "It's like I'm a stupid catalyst that lights fire to everything I touch-" He set his narrowed gaze on Jimmy as he muttered out illy, "Bad luck is all you're going to get from me… you'll one Day understand and finally catch the hint to abandon ship... Don't you feel awful you'll never have a chance to laugh, to cry, to enjoy their company anymore because of me? I know you're grieving, so stop with the shitty rationalization you're having for yourself and see reason!" He shook his head tautly then hissed dejectedly, as he took in how Jimmy was lowering his head, "I'm sick of being treated like something people need to project themselves onto. If you want to mourn, don't hold back around me. I get it."

His shoulders rose when he added bitterly, "I get it because it's my father's death again..."

With that, the Harrier closed his eyes again, releasing a shaky breath as he welcomed the returning silence from Jimmy. He took the time to peruse his thoughts about how everything he just said held true; how ridiculous Jimmy was being in trying to not hold him accountable when he was justified to do so.

He drew out his hands from his pockets and left them at his sides, hanging his head as he stared down while the rain pelted his figure. He could feel the chill they gave off as the hoodie was starting to become damp, shy of drenched as he sullenly mused of how standing in the rain was befitting. Everything was inching to despondency in the Underground because of every little thing he did.

Putting a wedge in his and Andy's friendship over the failure of their legalization...

His hopes and dreams being spat in the face because he rushed into accomplishing them when they held no achievability or wantability...

Causing Yellow Noise to rampage, destroy and force Reapers from the Barracks, all because he neglected the importance of turning in faulty Taot Papers… making himself the enemy of all affected parties...

Bringing a previous Player into madness and murder, eventually creating a threat for not only himself but for the whole Underground from their previous transgressions he originally hadn't had a thought he had a hand in causing...

Being the root cause for why Jimmy and Michito lost their friends, causing the Erasure of an innocent Player, because the Harrier was a coward, through and through…

It was all he was, a fucking coward, an utter fuckup, an asshole- the scum of the Underground... He was the cause of all bad things considered; no one should have an ounce of compassion or acceptance of one who only flips around the natural order of things as the universe's number one scapegoat…

If anything… the best method to solve those issues was to have gone with his earlier plan to end himself.

"Shit." The Harrier felt every part of him freeze at the sheer distress Jimmy had. "Bro, the Conductor's here-!"

...What!?

As he was aware of how his body prepared itself to jolt violently, he now could feel and hear the telltale clacks of the infamous cane and the almost uneven footfalls taken by the Posh Bastard himself. It completely supported how his mind was slowly starting to launch into panic as he felt vertigo pass through him.

But then, surprising himself, he felt the sensations wane. An idea had crossed into the forefront of his thoughts. 'I-I can get through this…'

Without hesitation, he whipped his head towards the Support. "Pretend I'm Michito- he won't know the difference-" hissed the Harrier hushedly and hastily. When Jimmy's eyes had broadened from under his hood, the Harrier added as an afterthought, "If the real Michito comes, we'll worry about it then!"

Jimmy nodded mutely as his gaze slid back to the Posh Bastard and also another Support Reaper, who was carrying and protecting the Posh Bastard from the rain with an umbrella, then back at the Harrier with another nod but with assertiveness.

They both turned towards the pair. The Harrier silently scowled as Jimmy called over to the two sternly, "Gidday, Sir."

The Posh Bastard gave a gradual bow in response. He adjusted his grip on his ivory cane when he straightened his back after rising. "Mr. Calristein." His neutral midnight-blue gaze then flickered to the Harrier. "And who may you be?"

It took all of the Harrier's strength to not visibly react with a bristle while Jimmy replied plainly, "My mate, Michito."

"Michito…" The Posh Bastard's drawl was thoughtful as his gaze became curt and critical. Crap, did Michito have a surname!?

Jimmy once again answered for that, "Just Michito to you, Sir." His tone was awfully cagey, yet was also annoyed. Oh, that's right. Jimmy said he didn't like interacting with the Posh Bastard.

The Harrier felt the need to pull at his hood, to hopefully cover his barely-poking out face more as a stern look of disapproval settled over the Posh Bastard's previously 'civil' facial features. He was now frowning, his gaze appearing calculating as they still regarded the Harrier.

It made the Harrier wonder if the Posh Bastard was seeing through their bold-faced lie.

While the Support Reaper accompanying the fawn-haired man adjusted the umbrella they were holding for him- bastard probably relished forcing their indentured labour for that petty task- the Posh Bastard soon smiled fauxly.

"Mr…. Michito," came his dry yet courteous greeting. He then raised his chin as he politely murmured, "If the conditions are favourable on your end, I would like to have an audience with you, Mr. Calristein. Regarding the recent event as of late, you see."

The Harrier kept staring at the man, nearly shaking his head in incredulity as the man went on smoothly, "I was hoping to conduct it at your house-" The Harrier didn't like how the man's inflection turned stilted at that last word. "- but I believe that would have been unkind and uncouth to infringe a visit such as that. Therefore, this will not take long. I merely wish to share my condolences with you."

Jimmy straightaway twitched. His face twisted into affronted disbelief; his lips deeply frowning as his eyes took on a hardness regardless of his evident exhaustion. The Harrier, on the other hand, wanted to shift uneasily at the prospect of Jimmy being approached like this. But he also felt a condensed ball of ire rise and swallow up his heart at the contempt he was hearing.

The Posh Bastard wasn't here on a good-natured crusade, he was here to twist the already upsetting situation and probably make Jimmy's existence even worse. Jimmy was grieving for fuck's sake! The Posh Bastard was only helping to bucket in more water into a sinking ship- pretending all that he had done was sit there watching it and looking pretty as it disappeared into the depths, never to be seen again.

"Condolences…?" Jimmy's tone had an edge to it as he lowered his head.

The Harrier turned his hood towards the Support, pursing his lips unhappily as he silently regarded how the Posh Bastard was probably beginning to congratulate himself early on something that wasn't even wanted. He nearly wanted to scream and tell the bastard to take a hike as he then saw the accompanying Support move their hood towards him from the corner of his gaze.

…No, the Posh Bastard definitely wasn't here on pleasantries. He had no reason to bring an uninvolved party with him even if he was.

Narrowing his gaze to slits, the Harrier kept his hood towards Jimmy to feign that Michito was more worried about his friend's welfare than the Posh Bastard's presence. It wasn't far from the actual truth, but the Harrier couldn't help but stomach the thought that the Posh Bastard's business actually regarded him, and the dastardly man was only using Jimmy to get through to the Harrier…

"The rain is lightening up," said the Posh Bastard pleasantly then. The Harrier regarded him silently with his ears, but he could only feel his head turn on its own accord towards the man when the Posh Bastard smiled. "You may lower your hoods, Mr. Calristein and Mr. Michito."

Breath in his chest left his mouth, none-too-quietly as he felt his eyes widen. His eyesight started to rock back and forth, lightheadedness coming to him as he could barely manage to prevent himself from quivering. 'Shit.'

If the Harrier didn't do what the Posh Bastard 'suggested', he would only be quickly outed as the Reaper the man was looking for. All the disguises, all the effort to keep him hidden… gone! He didn't want to do it, especially when many others could see him, not only the man staring at him patiently; expectantly…

He felt queasy. He wasn't queasy; he was nauseous. No, he wasn't queasy nor nauseous; he was completely ready to puke in the face of all who lay witness...

But he had no choice.

As he bit his lip, feeling his heart thump terribly as the faint sounds of the mizzling continued, he gradually dipped his head despite his sheer reluctance. His new breaths came out as stutters as he shakily brought his hands slowly towards the top of his head, aware of how the Posh Bastard stared at him as he was doing so. Then his vision bleared as he felt dizzier and dizzier and dizzier as his fingers gripped the fabric, ready to tug it back despite not wanting to, hating to, ashamed to as he was reduced to a near shudder as a cold, creeping tendril started wrapping itself callously around his rapidly drying throat…

Then a hand clasped around his left wrist, rendering him shocked.

The Harrier absently heard Jimmy speak sternly beside him, "Michito doesn't have to. He just lost his Game Partner, we lost our friends… just give him a break, Sir. He's gone through enough."

Blinking dazedly as he gulped in his gracious relief of deprived oxygen, the Posh Bastard merely frowned skeptically. For some reason, the accompanying Support promptly nudged their shoe against the side of the man's unblemished, rain-protected dress-shoes, yet the Posh Bastard didn't even chide them for it.

Eventually, the man dipped his head, silently conceding as he murmured curtly, "Very well. Please pardon my discourtesy." His darkened gaze said otherwise.

The Harrier could have sworn the accompanying umbrella-wielding Support had just nodded. But more importantly, was it him, or was the Posh Bastard acting like a kicked dog? While the Harrier had no answer to his question, Jimmy reminded him that the New Zealander was still there as Jimmy finally withdrew his hand.

After letting go of his hood, the Harrier's movements were more rigid than before. He charily eyeballed the Posh Bastard, who returned to a proper posture but still held his stiffness, as he thought, 'Th-That was close…'

The Harrier merely did nothing, still knowing his voice was a dead giveaway, as the Posh Bastard soon spoke again in a less ruffled manner, "As I was discussing with you afore..." The pompous bastard couldn't even justify he could feel remorse. "My inactions to cease a perceived threat cost you your fellow Reapers' existences." Wasn't even going to make it private; the insufferable prat was probably using this as a publicity stunt. "And for that, I owe you my sincerest apologies. You are due for compensation for the wrongfully handled event." Ugh… the words were probably a speech he had his nobles write up for him. The Harrier could do a better one- no, the Harrier could see how the conversation was going to go…

Stifling his scoffed sigh, the Harrier pretended to be affected by the Posh Bastard's 'moving' words by hanging his head to 'despondently' listen. ...Wish he had popcorn, though.

"I don't need compensation," said Jimmy stiffly, his voice thick with distraught ire as he shook his head roughly. "I won't forget that this was 'cause of how you missed a hiccup… I-I can't." The Posh Bastard frowned as his eyebrows furrowed, appearing displeased as Jimmy went on upsetly, "I don't regret Processing the killer, Sir, I only regret believing you wouldn't have let the Wrongdoer run free."

"You have misconstrued my purport, Mr. Calristein," implored the Posh Bastard with stubborn civility, or trying to be civil, as his gaze lit up with offense. His left hand shifted on the head of his cane to clasp it tighter. "While, yes, you did your duties to Process him as a Dead due to your circumstances and venturing lining up with the event happening as it had… the Underground is no place to cast our own justice, our discernment on to those who are meant to participate in the Game in all fairness to be judged in that and that alone. It is inhumane to simply Erase those who had done their wrong on the other Plane, and goodness has it been that this instance of misconduct will stem in due course as it seems unnecessary murder is no longer a topic to be invested in or to be involved in. Player behaviour and protocol does not extend to maltreatment unless Reapers are in need for self-defense, or doing duties as you should."

While the Harrier could only gawk in dismay at all the moronic sentences coming from the finely-dressed man's preaching, Jimmy was gradually, soon quickly starting to tremble angrily, as the Posh Bastard raised his chin in his pause. His gaze was hard yet confidently gleaming smugly as he then mused, "Your fellow Reapers chose to establish their stance when they blindly initiated an attack on said Player. Their folly is only to blame."

'They were protecting me…'

"However, it is still in my interests that I offer condolences for their losses. And, I fully intend to not overstep my boundaries when you are clearly still hurting."

'You don't even care about Jimmy's friends- or Jimmy! You feel they've lasted their use, and now you're brushing dust off your hands while delivering the final nail in the coffin to disrespect their bravery-!'

"I only wish I could have foreseen the consequences of my judgement before it had been had," said the Posh Bastard in a melancholic manner. A fine shitty rendition of one, mind you, as he dipped his head 'politely'. "And for that, I offer my apologies."

A rawness of disgust made him leer openly in loathing at the despicable excuse of a person, making him start to harshly breathe on his own accord as his mind narrowed completely on the aversive words he had been forced to hear. His eyes stung horribly as scalding tears started to slip out while his jaw locked when he barred it in an ugly, hard frown and felt his body quake in utter rage.

For the first time in Weeks, he remembered how much he wanted the man to fade away and never see the Posh Bastard's face again.

With how fed up he was with the moronic fool, he snagged Jimmy's arm despite having the strong urge to run up to the Posh Bastard and lob him in the face several times with that stupid cane. "He's not worth it," he grounded out vehemently in a low growl, not waiting for Jimmy to respond as he roughly yanked Jimmy with him to stomp away from that shit.

The Harrier didn't look back, not caring to know how the Posh Bastard reacted, not even feeling as if he was up to enjoying the man's 'appall' as he stalked further. "Where do you believe you are going?" The Posh Bastard could wallow in a pit of Noise, dammit! If the man couldn't perceive what he had done godawfully wrong, the Harrier wasn't going to turn back and spell it out for him to understand. After all, the Posh Bastard wouldn't understand anything! "I had more to share with you-"

Biting down on his tongue to styme his aggravated snarl, the Harrier tugged harder on Jimmy, knowing they had to get away. The Posh Bastard didn't deserve any more time out of their Day to further patronize them!

Jimmy seemed to share the same belief, as he said nothing and merely let the Harrier drag him to safety.

---

The Harrier didn't know how long ago it had been when he began dragging Jimmy away, but by the time they stopped in Cadoi City, the Harrier's fury still hadn't died down.

He finally let go of Jimmy to release the growl he'd been withholding from his throat, stomping around to let off steam and tire himself out until halting to punch a nearby building. He harshly inhaled and exhaled as he left his hand there, ignoring the pain pulsing from his knuckles to his fingers as he shut his eyes tightly. 'The nerve of him- Who the fuck does he think he is pulling that stunt!? How dare he fucking say those things!'

As his hand shook, he felt his body quickly copy it before he released a gusterous breath as defeated subjugation waved into him. '...Wh-What the heck…' He drew in stuttered air as he lowered his head in downcast as he gritted his teeth in his grimace. 'The first time I see the Posh Bastard in ages… and this is what I see? His smugness over lost Reapers that only wanted to protect a fellow Reaper from the threat he allowed to fester!? What the fuck is wrong with him!?'

While he knew no answer to that question, it was a stupid one to ask. The Posh Bastard was the dumbest man he's ever come across, and apparently, insensitivity was another thing to add to the list of vices the man had.

The Harrier's breathing slowed down, allowing for him to frown and soften his features as he turned his head to Jimmy concernedly. The New Zealander hadn't left the spot the Harrier left him at; his own breathing was sharp and shuddery as his eyes were reddened and wet from his streaked cheeks. The Harrier immediately widened his eyes and hurried over, stopping a couple steps away as he murmured out hesitantly, "Jimmy…?"

Jimmy tensed up before he gazed at the Harrier upsetly, a ragged breath expelling out when he mumbled quietly in dolefulness, "...Wh-Why does he not give a shit!?"

Blinking back as he frowned deeper, the Harrier realized, from the anger he caught from the Support's cracked voice, that Jimmy was still taking the interaction terribly. But instead of answering him, the Harrier pinched his lips together as he hung his head.

"Doesn't that make you angry!?" asked Jimmy as his eyes hardened, bringing out the Harrier's surprise as Jimmy shook his head fraughtly then growled, "That stink fulla dissed 'eir Erasures- he thinks of my mates as dirt-" He threw down his hands as he wailed out, "You were right, Bro!"

The Harrier felt static shoot through his nerves, immediately stepping back with a jolted jump as ice struck the ground in a prickly grouping of icicles. The Harrier released a breath he hadn't known he was holding, only to slowly bring his eyes back up to see Jimmy's horrified look before it appeared torn with guilt as he choked out a sob.

"Is…" The Harrier flattened his lips then murmured more in surprise, "Is that why you're so calm?"

The curly haired New Zealander eventually let out another harsher sob as he hung his head. The Harrier became aware of how stiffly he was holding himself, so he tried to relax as he took a step closer. Jimmy didn't need him to be scared.

Anything to distract Jimmy seemed to be the best approach. And if Jimmy's reaction to his powers gave him enough information, then perhaps calming the other Reaper would do some good. And from the Harrier's clearance to peruse reports of Psychs, he knew that, by the power of Imagination, the more creative you were, the more likely you won out on better-than-decent Pins.

The Harrier sighed yet smiled bittersweetly, "What else can you do?" He reluctantly placed his hands into his frontal hoodie pocket as he shifted his feet to poke at the Psych ice. "You have to have a bottomless supply if you're an artist, right?"

Jimmy didn't say anything at first, but when he did, he grimaced with a watery smile. It was a stark contrast to his previous emotiveness. "J-Just five…" He gave a sniffle when he sighed with a shrug, "N-Not sweet as."

"If they're not cool in your book, then I'll be the judge of that," the Harrier said in wry sternness. He whisked his hand to gesture pointedly around the empty area they were in. "You either want to spare my feelings or you're lying."

It appeared his attempts to cheer up the Support did little so far. But as Jimmy sighed, stepping down on the patch of icicles to crush it into seafoam green particles, the Harrier felt he may have struck a cord of some kind with the taller Reaper.

As the Harrier began to take steps back to give the Support room to work, he curiously watched as the other padded into the middle of the road. The New Zealander inhaled with a couple more sniffles before he turned around with a slightly happier smile; he swung up his hand.

From the tips of his fingers, tendrils of frost lassoed into the air to flutter about whimsically, glittering in the rays of partial sunlight as the receding droplets of the rainfall touched them. The Harrier couldn't help but gasp quietly in awe as the breeze was making the frost dance gracefully as a rainbow peaked through the crystals, eventually falling down sharply to sprinkle the ground with hoarfrost.

"When I don't have a target, 'ey do that, Bro," said the New Zealander with what the Harrier thought was a hint of pride. "It makes me wonder if I'm not that compatible with the Psych sometimes." Then when he shot the Psych onto the ground at point-blank, the grown spiky patches had their return as Jimmy added with a noncommittal shrug, "Icicles if 'ey hit one."

The moment Jimmy's Psych particles left the ground, the Harrier blinked in intrigue as he leaned down to watch them fade. "Nifty." He smirked a little afterward. "Got a name?"

"Frostmation," Jimmy chuckled. Once the Harrier was standing again, he barely had time to lunge forward for the Cure Drink can that Jimmy tossed. Upon catching it, he pushed himself up with the force of his lowered leg.

He raised the can up in the air once he was standing, murmuring as he faced the Support again, "Didn't need one."

"You wanted a show," said Jimmy with another chuckle as the can promptly vanished from the Harrier's grip.

"True." The Harrier dipped his head. "And as such... I, the audience, should hold my applause until the end."

Then for the next few minutes, Jimmy proceeded to showcase the rest of his arsenal.

Medium-sized clay balls that Jimmy would chuck and burst on impact was Argil Mines.

A wide spray of flecks of metal that would flow to whichever direction Jimmy commanded it to was Rusty Weather.

Then, after telling the Harrier to keep back, Jimmy finished with a slash of his arm to send a beam of light in the form of his movements to slice into a tree. Yet from the way Jimmy cringed, it was enough to say that wasn't intentional.

As Realgrounders started to investigate why the bark of the tree had a gash on it now, Jimmy backed away slowly until he got to the Harrier's flank. Because the motion had thrown off his hood, the Harrier easily saw how Jimmy grimaced uneasily at the defaced tree. "...Sword Lash."

"...Suits it." The Harrier grimaced in return as he gazed back at the crowd. He tensed at the sound of the coming commotion then even more at the bodies phasing through him. "Although, it might… be a good idea to go somewhere else!"

Without any delay, the Harrier began to forge into speed-walking the other way.

Jimmy didn't hesitate to agree.

After escaping into the next district, the Harrier realized that going this direction had been a bad idea rather quickly as his body seized at the familiar scenery. Any will he had to keep going crumbled as Jimmy shot past him, only to twist around with confusion when the Harrier numbly stuttered out the remaining air in his lungs.

Molco…

It didn't matter if they didn't happen upon a Mission or Vultures here, flashes assaulted him as if they were poised for ambush.

He shook his head wildly at how bodies flickered into the streets, compressing and boxing him in as Reapers wailed out in horror at the particle-bleeding Support. Then he could almost see himself in Spain Hill behind the wall of red hoodies as the Player Killer screamed at them. Then the Player Killer was kicking him, kicking him, pushing him into the Wall as it protested back and struck him with agony-

Then he gasped in deeply as a shudder went through his body, fishing him back to the road he was crouching on.

Jimmy was patting his shoulder with firm smacks and voicing his worry when the Harrier looked up with wide eyes. "N-Not here-" the Harrier gasped again. Jimmy's hand had stilled from another pat then recoiled the moment the Harrier stood to spin around, to stumble back towards Cadoi City. "C-Come on-"

He violently winced during his skidded stop when his shoulder was snatched. "That's where 'ey pushed up daisies…" The Harrier's panic quieted slightly at Jimmy's heartsick tone. "Isn't it?"

With a quivery inhale, the Harrier's shoulders drooped as his head hung down. "J-Jimmy…" he mumbled nervously.

The Support was silent for a long time, leaving the Harrier to believe there wasn't much else to say. But that didn't erase his uncomfortableness as Jimmy hadn't removed his grip yet, even the Harrier's apprehension as the lanky Reaper spoke in an odd tone, "I want to take a look-see, Bro."

Alarm immediately spiked through him again; the Harrier writhed out from the hand to face Jimmy in horror. "Wh-What?"

The dangerous look he now saw in Jimmy's eyes momentarily rendered the Harrier frozen in speechlessness. He had never seen Jimmy look this serious before.

"I want to pop over there," tersely said Jimmy. His glower turned to the shaded area after he had spoken, staring off at it for a while until he began moving stiffly towards it. "I have to…"

The Harrier watched uneasily as Jimmy's hands balled up, flickering his eyes at Jimmy's back as the Support grew further and further from him. He could only gather up his courage before following after the Support at a tentative distance.

When he got to the maw of the tree shade, he hesitated as he watched Jimmy surveying the area with a piercing look and frown. The Harrier could only bring his gaze down to nervously stare at the darker pavement, biting his lip before toeing onto it.

"Jimmy…" he said again, ignoring the way his heart seized with trepidation as his eyes yawned out to the other end of the small district. The flash of seeing himself being pinned down had vertigo sway him, blinking hard until the imagery disappeared with a deeper frown. As he promptly glanced at the New Zealander, who was returning to his vision, he gulped as he took a step back, "A-Are you sure you want to be here?"

The way Jimmy returned his stare made the Harrier exhale unsteadily upon finding himself of the subject of a glower. "Why don't you want to be here, Bro?"

Straightaway, the Harrier felt the need to concede by tipping his chin down. However, he managed to muster control back into himself as he mumbled back quietly, "I can't stand being here..."

He said something wrong; Jimmy was angrier when he said that.

The Support shook his head before sharply looking away as he pointed at the ground. "Was it here?"

"Wh-What?" The Harrier blinked rapidly as his lips parted.

Jimmy pointed at another spot, as though it was randomly picked. "Or was it here?"

The Harrier furrowed his eyebrows worriedly then scowled. He tightened his fingers against his palms as he retorted, "Does it really matter? The Player Killer would have been drawn into an Inter-Plane to fight them."

Or at the very least, he hoped Jimmy's friends had done that. He wasn't entirely certain after seeing the Player Killer stalk freely into Molco.

"Here?" Jimmy stubbornly pointed at a new spot, but that only incensed the Harrier as he hardened his look. "Here?"

"Jimmy-" His face tightened as he bit out in a growl, "Does it really matter? The Player Killer would have been drawn into an Inter-Plane to fight them!" He briskly sped forward until he reached Jimmy to send an immediate glare. "It doesn't matter where they were- They were Erased, but it wasn't on this damn asphalt!" He stomped down hard.

The New Zealander merely glared as he retorted, "'Ey pushed daisies nearby each other- 'ey may as well've been!" He shook his head before exclaiming vituperatively, "Especially when you gapped it!"

As much as that stung, as much as the Harrier knew Jimmy was right about how the Harrier hadn't cared enough to lend them aid, knowing he was stronger despite cowering before his adversary... the Harrier could only regard the other's words with costive remorse.

"...I should have stayed to help them," said the Harrier tersely and dolefully as he narrowed his eyes. "But now... now I regret thinking they could have handled the Player Killer. I regret being too scared to handle my own problem! To have stopped this from happening to you!"

"You weren't the one who caused this! 'Ey hadn't pushed daisies 'cause of you, the stink fulla gave no rat's ass 'bout a Wrongdoer who killed you in the first place!" spat Jimmy coldly then shook his head as he shouted, "No one cared 'bout it enough! That stink fulla meant it!"

The Harrier gritted his teeth, forcing back an ugly retort as he stared at Jimmy while he growled, "Even so... you don't deserve to suffer because of the consequences." He clenched them more as he went on, "Does it really matter now if he magically appears to rue about what he hadn't done!? He made it abundantly clear we're nothing- everyone is nothing to his hoity-toity ass!" As Jimmy was going to reply, the Harrier went on vitriolically, "At the very least you and I care enough to mourn unlike the rest of them- those stupid Vultures aren't even caring because they never had a reason to care! If you're going to be angry at anyone-" He thumped his chest hard. "- be angry at me!"

"Bro-" retorted Jimmy back in exasperation as he took a step forward.

"I mean it!" spat the Harrier sharply as he didn't move from Jimmy's prompt advance. He scornfully continued, "The Player Killer wouldn't have even had the thought cross his mind to target them if it weren't for me! Your friends only were Erased because they were good people, good people you knew and those who didn't deserve to be Erased as they had! Now their memory is being tarnished by the very Undergrounder who would never care for specks like us!"

After a few seconds, he shook his head, clenched his hands at his sides before breathing out harshly, "What would it have mattered if it happened in Udagawa or at your doorstep- it changes nothing that they got Erased anyway, Jimmy!"

The Support's expression darkened as he held his hardened eyes at the Harrier, silent as his lips were pinched in a frown that was making them pale. The Harrier didn't relent with his own look, feeling his fists shake as his irked agitation continued to churn in his chest.

Yet the Harrier was the first to realize getting angry over this wouldn't solve anything.

Despite feeling his form relax, he kept his hard gaze on Jimmy as he stayed where he was. He didn't want to say anything else he would regret, but he must've made the right decision. Because no sooner did a minute pass, Jimmy's shoulders shook as his eyes looked red again; distraught clear in them as his grey eyes lost their intensity when he backed away stiffly from the Harrier. The New Zealander's immediate choice to glance around only proved to make the fatigued Reaper look frail as he whimpered; his eyes bulging as they shined with ready tears...

Then he choked on his hitched breathing, giving out a harrowed howl as he abruptly fell to his knees. The Harrier sighed to himself sorrowfully as he listened to the start of Jimmy's anguished bawling, averting his gaze to the side on the pavement as it was all he could do when faced with this.

But this shouldn't have happened. None of this should have happened. And yet... it had.

The Harrier mulled over how much he hated how things were going to shit, especially with recent events only confirming how messed up the Underground really was. Not messed up, but messed up with how it was being run. If the Posh Bastard didn't overlook the Wrongdoer's actions when he had, in spite of how it was a normal response from him... Jimmy wouldn't be breaking down over the loss of his friends right now, nor would the Harrier have been attacked to launch the circumstances of their Erasures…

He supposed it was like looking at a bowl of rice. You would start to dig in, but whoever the cook was snuck in ingredients you hadn't actually considered would be in there. You couldn't ask for substitutions to be made because that's what you paid for. You wanted to eat it, so you had to settle with what you got, even if you despised the flavour…

The Underground was what he initially perceived to be the place to run away to, to escape the torture of his shitty life… Yet, after several months of living here, he was slowly discovering the hideous truths hidden in it.

Privately, he thought back on the Posh Bastard's bastardization he showered them with. Just recalling the way he dismissively described how he viewed how the Underground worked, how he saw Jimmy's friends' sacrifices as worthlessness…

It made the Harrier seethe.

He would have ignored this had he not thought of all the ways of what the dastardly man could have done, or failed to do… And all he drew upon in multiple conclusions was why it would have turned out differently if the man wasn't so selfish, so cowardly, so stupid-

If the Harrier was in charge, he would have demanded for the Player Killer's immediate Erasure. Their death was by no means deserving of that sliver of commendation for the mercy of fair play. On the Posh Bastard's part, he failed the test of basic common sense. He could have handled the threat, but he held no agency to respond properly. He probably wanted the Player Killer to nick off his forces and the man would still pretend he held no fault. It was useless to convince him to get his head out of his ass and take action as he should.

No one would twist his head any way… no one will get through to him… because he was the second highest in power; his word goes. He wouldn't see it any other way for himself to remain on top if it was to ensure he would be the one to enjoy the massacre if it ever ended...

There was no way the Composer wanted this. There was no way the Composer would allow for this. There was no way the Composer would sprout justness in explaining to him Wrongdoers should be ignored if vice versa was happening on the very soil He ruled…

The Harrier's sight shook.

Unless… was there even a Composer to begin with? Or was the Conductor the only one in charge?

Was Andy right...? Was the Composer dreamt up...?

No, he got a response from Him! But then why was He doing nothing? Why was He letting His Conductor make the decisions that only damaged His society?

Where did the Harrier even hear about the Composer? Where was it? When was it?

His eyes closed as a shaky breath left him. Was the Composer only a fable? A fabrication meant to scare Reapers into submission to ensure they wouldn't put their foot out of line? Wouldn't go into desertion? Was the Harrier silly to think the Composer was an actual person?

For the briefest moment, his head emptied, clearing his thoughts as he felt his heart make an odd palpitation.

The Composer was real. They had to be real… right? Someone told him about the Composer; he knew that somehow, as a distant familiarity tinged his heart upon that thought. The man running the Underground was real, but why was He letting it go to shit?

Or did the Conductor convince Him all was well?

An intense lividness filled him as he set his jaw rigid. That had to be it. The Posh Bastard planted a fake response to fool the Harrier; the despicable man never delivered the letter in the first place. He knowingly watched the Harrier's deterioration from the shadows, waiting for the Harrier to bend to his wishes because he believed the Harrier to be just that; a fool.

The Harrier lowered his head as he breathed harshly, shaking his head as he scolded himself for falling for that. Perhaps the Posh Bastard only wrote down what he knew would strip the Harrier of his will, his aspirations, his reason for being… But the Harrier had news for the pathetic shit: The Harrier wasn't going to let the Posh Bastard get away with this, nor was the Harrier going to bow down without a fight!

If the Posh Bastard wanted the Harrier to stop, the Harrier would. At least, not in the way the foolish shit thought the Harrier would.

The picture Andy painted in his head previously solidified, sending new thoughts to course through his mind, creating fluids and fluids of vigour to shoot across his veins and into his systems as he eventually started to smirk.

That's right… Wouldn't it be funny if the Harrier wasn't the one at fault for once?

As the Harrier looked back at Jimmy after contemplating this, his expression fell as he didn't hesitate to close the distance between them. He pushed past the uncomfortableness of hearing Jimmy weeping and inhaled, feeling his resolve strengthen as his gaze hardened.

"It doesn't have to be this way," he said firmly to the Reaper on the ground. The Harrier wasn't quite sure if Jimmy was paying him attention, but he still persisted, "What the Posh Bastard had or hadn't done, what happened is still wrong. I won't tell you to stop grieving or to speed it up... I know what it's like, not just with Honoka." He shook his head slowly. "We can't bring any of them back."

He closed his eyes as he heaved out his next breath. "But I know what we can do."

All Jimmy did was hiccup as he cast a red-eyed look up to the Harrier finally. The Harrier met his gaze solemnly and straightened his back, feeling his anger rise again as he held it dearly. He couldn't afford to let it go now, not when he needed it for what he had decided for himself.

"I know you like to not let your emotions get to you, but you need to now. We can't let this go." The Harrier didn't dare to look away as he narrowed his eyes. "Before, I was fine letting the world burn and orbit without me. Now? I'm just tired of waiting around for something to happen, to change… But nothing will ever change, Jimmy, not unless we do something."

The lanky Reaper frowned in confusion where he sat, as he soon began to wipe at his eyes with his sleeve. "...Wh-What are you yackin' 'bout, Bro?"

As the Harrier took in how he had Jimmy's attention now, he didn't dwell on the fact too long. "We will make things right." His eyes darkened as he spoke lower, "But I need your help."

He turned his hood from side-to-side to check around before he faced Jimmy again. "No," he mumbled after a thought hit him, feeling his face contort as he continued, "I need more than just you. I need as much help as I can find."

While Jimmy's face told him the New Zealander wasn't completely trusting, the taller Reaper still regarded him as he sniffled, "Wh-Why?"

At first, the Harrier didn't answer him. He instead brought his eyes to the greyed sky, ignoring the fact stronger rain than before pelted his jaw and neck as he felt the cold bite him in this district. He couldn't help but think it fit the situation, even the mood of what transpired, as he collected his next words. "I got an idea, but it won't be easy to carry out. Not like my last plan."

Jimmy frowned at him with despondence. "Plan?"

The Harrier kept his gaze up. "One that will piss him off."

It was silent for a bit before the Harrier heard choked noises from the Support again. He nearly took a look to check on Jimmy but it soon became clear that laughter had now started to come out from the Support. It was a welcome sound even when mixed with leftover sobs, so he let his worry rest as he crossed out the idea that Jimmy had reached hysteria from how a gladsome smile formed on his lips when the Harrier did look.

"I'd like to see that…" the Support finally said in a subdued tone. His sore throat made it sound hoarse, but his smile remained as he wiped away his lingering tears. "What's it?"

The Harrier didn't smile back and merely raised a palm up. "Since I don't plan on getting sick, I'll have it set once we get back. Are you okay with that?"

He felt his gaze grow misty as rain collected in his held hand, just like how it did for Honoka once. He didn't want to think about the comparison or the recollection, but knowing that it rained that Day too made it challenging to.

Blinking as he allowed the water to stay, he focused back on his friend.

Jimmy gave one last look around from his spot on the pavement, frowning openly as the Harrier watched him with interest and concern. The Harrier could understand the other's reluctance to leave, especially when the wounds this place created were still raw. He wouldn't mind it if Jimmy needed more time in the district before they had to go, even if they didn't want to attract unwanted attention. But when the taller pulled himself up to stand, soon facing him as Jimmy sniffled once more, the other Reaper nodded firmly with steadiness in his eyes.

Not only that, the Harrier couldn't be more happier to see that a part of Jimmy had returned from how strongly they glowed with assurance. "I'll see you right."

---

"The Posh Bastard has gone too far!"

That was the first thing the Harrier said after him and Jimmy removed their shoes when inside Jimmy's home. Upon passing the living room, they received several startled, if not shocked glances.

While Jimmy remained with the other Reapers, the Harrier stalked over to the bedroom to change, catching snippets of words being exchanged from the other side of the wall while trading in the Support hoodie for his own. He did so shortly so he could return swiftly to stand a little past the right hallway wall, to glower in the general direction of the living room and crossed his arms in his fume.

He didn't let himself feel uncomfortable when the speechless Reapers turned their bewildered attention to him, shedding them sullen looks in return as his eyes passed over each of them before he rigidly set his jaw tight.

While he wasn't in the mood to pamper them with an explanation, he knew they at least deserved one.

"For your information, the Posh Bastard sees nothing wrong with how a Realground killer took out some of our own," he brusquely huffed as he pursed his lips. When some of them reacted with appall gracing their now pale faces, he sighed grouchily, "Because he just told me and Jimmy how it was Jimmy's friends' fault they were Erased by said alleged Player Killer." He shifted his shoulders. "Thought you'd like to know it directly from the source, not the honeyed bullshit the other Reapers will be likely served and lapping off of."

Sadorume shot to her feet. "No."

He inclined his head coolly to her. "I'm afraid so."

She shook her head, as her peers shared wordless looks then gawked at the Harrier with disbelief. One of her hands clenched as she growled out, "He said that?"

"Yeah," Jimmy confirmed with a stiff nod; his grey eyes hardened as he pinched his lips. "Straight-up."

"And had the gall to say he only wanted to offer apologies and condolences to Jimmy," added the Harrier bitterly.

"The nerve-" Itoh slammed his fist down on the sofa hard, alarming his neighbouring red-hooded Reaper while trembling furiously. "That's bullshit!"

"Complete bullshit!" growled the female Harrier louder in a screech. "He expects us to accept that!?"

"Apparently so…" mumbled the Head as he dipped his head. He started to hear the three other Tenants express their aggravation or dismay to themselves while he cast a jaded look to Jimmy.

The New Zealander seemed just as weary and angry as the Harrier was, leaning the back of his lower half against the counter to rest against it as he silently brooded. The Harrier felt the need to join him after all that happened, and he was about to do so when the front door opened without warning.

...They must've forgotten to lock it.

Fantastic.

"Hey, y'aahrl!" As Andy kicked off her boots wildly one at a time then strode in with a wide grin stretched across her face. However, her joyful trot promptly reduced in speed and her cheeriness drained into bafflement when she took in the mood of the other Reapers. Upon her halting, the Harrier watched her frown deeply until she finally had the idea to take a look at him and Jimmy. Her face was further puzzled as she breathed slowly, "...Whaatt…'s gaoing aon...?"

The Harrier scoffed out sharply. He sadonically applauded her mentally for having now arrived, now forcing him to re-explain everything…

"Nice of you to join us, Andy," he callously greeted her, instantly earning an affronted glare from her. "You'll join the Pissed-Off Club soon."

"Whaatt aahre yaa-" she began to ask.

"Posh Bastard," retorted the Harrier icily.

"Aoh…" Andy grimaced, nodded, then scowled knowingly as she nodded more vigorously. "Gaott eitt…" She lost her expression a few seconds later to blink at him skeptically with a raised dark dirty blonde eyebrow. "Why…?"

"Posh Bastard thinks it's great Jimmy's friends were Erased by the Player Killer and had the gall to say to me and Jimmy he was only there to express condolences and apologies to Jimmy…" hissed the Harrier in a scornful tone of frustration as he threw his head back in annoyance.

Andy leered as she snapped furiously, "WHAT!?"

"Thought it was 'ey're own faults for bein' Erased," Jimmy put in moodily.

For a few seconds, Andy stood there positively trembling in rage. Then, abruptly, she pivoted back towards the door while screeching banshee-ishly, "AI'M GAOING TA KIRL HIM!"

It took ten painstakingly long minutes to persuade Andy to join the other Reapers situated near and/or on the sofas to not do her declaration. Even though the Harrier mentally felt it was a suitable way to deal with the issue, he had enough sense to know that it would spell absolute Erasure for Andy if she had exited the door.

So as Andy sat hunched on the sofa facing the kitchen, while vibrating from her withheld wrath, the Harrier coolly regarded her with his narrowed eyes as he huffed, "Okay, as much as it's great that we're in agreement, Andy… we have to think rationally."

"Rlaatunaahrlee aahin'tt gaonnaa cautt eitt!" Andy snapped back crossly. She grumpily curled her lower lip as she snorted, "Hee's sao stuuped!"

"And terrible," the Harrier agreed.

Andy nodded curtly. "Aahnd aah lreely-liverred cheeicken!"

"Love it," the Harrier breathed as he started to fold his arms again. He closed his eyes as he sourly grumbled, "But back on topic…" He inhaled slowly before exhaling, "We need a plan."

Andy's amber-brown eyes blew open. "...Whaat?"

"I mean," said the Harrier a bit sheepishly as he glanced at the other Tenants nearby Andy. "If you don't mind keeping a secret from the Posh Bastard."

While Andy repeated what she said, Sadorume was the first to respond as she sighed then cracked a dry smile, "When it regards you, it's kind of easy to ignore."

"...Right." The Harrier pretended he wasn't hurt by her bluntness before bringing a hand to his throat whilst clearing it. After no more than a quarter of a minute, he continued in a wearily miffed manner, "If you're interested in doing something about this, and won't rat it out to the Posh Bastard... would you care to join me in bringing the band back together?"

Before he could react, Andy practically threw herself off the sofa, giving him little time to react as she sprinted at him to halt skiddingly in front of him then seized his face cheeks with her hands. His breath had hitched when she had done that, staring wide-eyed at her glowing beam as she piped gleefully, "Mah sawheet paumpkein eis baack~!"

Sputtering out his breath as he felt her gnawed nails dig into his skin, he choked out a response, "Le' gow ov my facce, Anndy…"

The moment she drew back her hands to still give him her beam, he didn't miss how she wiped away tears- probably that of joy- from her eyes. He caught a warm shine was in her molten gaze, and it somewhat reduced the amount of umbrage he felt from having his face grabbed.

A small smile soon curled onto his lips.

He turned back to face the three Tenants again, turning his head to Jimmy and Andy before deciding to move over to stand by the clay mat to fully regard the residents properly. It was a better vantage point, he found, as he inhaled while raising his chin. "As you may know, our exploits failed Weeks ago to initiate the Legalization of Recruitment." He folded his hands together in front of him as he continued with a sigh, "The Composer rejected our proposal with His own reasons, which I have respected wholeheartedly since we gained our answer."

When did he become less uncomfortable with talking to the Tenants? He didn't know. But what he did know was that as words flowed from his mouth, he couldn't help but feel they held power, authority, as he felt his confidence seep through while opening his arms out. "I do not plan to break my word, but the troubling circumstances has made me reconsider the fact we can't ignore them anymore."

"Sao baack ta Recruiting?" asked Andy excitedly as she gave a lopsided grin and wink.

The Harrier frowned as he dipped his head. "No." Andy's face quickly displayed her disbelief as he waited for her to get over her shock, soon addressing the room again as he retracted his arms. "That's no longer an option, Andy.

"We can't go back to how things used to be," the Harrier explained coolly, as his eyes gained a sharpness. "We tried to get our foot in the door the proper way… but I'm afraid it no longer pertains to fair play." He smiled crisply then. "I'm thinking more of how things will go back to normal… in the worst way possible." As he was granted blinks of bewilderment, silence overtaking the residents as he checked on each of them, he soon murmured, "Because we won't be doing the Recruitment."

"What the hell are you talking about?" exclaimed Itoh as he looked baffled on the sofa. "You just said we'll be taking action!"

"But someone else will," the Harrier reassured him smoothly, tilting his head slyly as he chuckled, "If everyone does their part."

Jimmy frowned as he finally spoke for the first time in minutes, "I know you mentioned we can't ignore this on the way back, but how?"

"Glad you asked, Jimmy." The Harrier smiled pleasedly then nodded. "Because what I'm about to offer all of you depends on group work… but more importantly, how well you can strive to make it pay off."

"Which eis…?" Andy breathed with a big frown.

He cleared his throat and closed his eyes. "What if we're not the ones at fault? What if there's someone else at large?" When silence returned to him again, he smirked. "Someone nobody will catch?"

The Harrier welcomed the more puzzled looks he was receiving as he was placing his hand over his heart. "My fellow Reapers... we will create a killer and walk scot free. But little will they know… that killer isn't real. They will see the evidence one does exist... but nothing will line up, nothing will point to anyone… because they'll be hidden in plain sight. After all, it could be any Reaper."

Andy's posture went from slouched to alertful, her amber-brown eyes glittering as if she was catching on. Or, maybe, she just found the idea amusing. The Harrier wasn't certain. "Aah settaup?"

He smiled contentedly at that. "An elaborate setup."

"Aooh~ haow daoes eitt waorlk?" Andy eagerly chirped as she began rubbing her hands together, a tooth peeking out of her lips. Andy was on board, as he had earnestly known she would.

"It'll not be easy, so it will require the utmost care and dedication to pull it off," he said simply with a note of wariness as he then turned his head between the other Tenants and Jimmy. "I won't force you to go along with it if you're not comfortable about committing. I know you have your own existences to attend to, and I don't expect you'll abandon them on a whim for the sake of a wild goose chase…"

"...And we won't get caught, Bro?" asked Jimmy as a hint of apprehension entered his vocals.

The Harrier smiled warmly. "With what I have in mind, your task will make you the least suspicious." He dipped his head. "And you'll get your own profit off of it."

When Jimmy gave him a quizzical look, the Harrier told him, "Imagine this: In order to really save Saddleback Mana from running into the ground, you, the desperate shopkeeper, is at your wits end. You do a last ditch effort to keep yourself afloat with a brand new ware that you only have hopes will be popular enough to spread word across the city, and for Yen to land in your lap to save the shop from eviction or repossession."

The New Zealander now had a thoughtful yet troubled expression as he frowned. Yet the desire, the interest he saw deep inside his grey gaze, told the Harrier enough. He continued calmly after he noted this, "For a while now, a killer has a thing for dropping momentos at the corpses of his or her victims, different objects they like but hasn't grasped a solid decision on what to use yet. Then they overhear a new fad going on and they go to investigate, discovering the subject of their curiosity and they're instantly enamoured. They begin dropping said wares on their dead victims, finding the solace they've sought for all this time..."

He then raised a finger smartly. "However, eventually... the Posh Bastard will catch wind and realize where they're coming from. He'll send Reapers to go investigate your shop only for them to find nothing out of the ordinary. And, if I have your permission-" He nodded at Jimmy and began gesturing between them. "Then they'll either find you or me at Saddleback Mana, manning the sales and obviously nowhere near the crime scenes."

"An alibi…" breathed Itoh in wonder.

"S-So cool…" added his jittery neighbour.

Sadorume stared at the two critically for a while then crossed her arms. "And they won't think Jimmy's the one if he made the ware in the first place?" Her tone was reproachful yet terse. "It's ridiculous to think anyone will buy that if they know where they're coming from."

"But since Jimmy has a history of never killing Wrongdoers, his only act of Processing the Player Killer will be pardoned in the time to come," he replied with a surprised furrow of his eyebrows. It made sense to him, but he could see what she was getting at. If Jimmy was their supplier, then it only would lead to Jimmy being outed if enough evidence was amassed.

When she still gave him an unpersuaded look, he sighed tiredly, "I know it may sound stupid, but I believe after enough visits that reap nothing, the Posh Bastard will have to drop his suspicions and look elsewhere. After all, why keep looking in the wrong places? It'll be a waste of time and resources, not to mention it would only look bad on his end if the public sees him tasking Reapers with nonsensical work. They'd think he's pessimistic and drop interest quickly, maybe even their respect and faith in him if we're lucky."

"Are you saying we're going to paint the Conductor with bad publicity too?" asked Itoh, but the Harrier couldn't help but focus more on the malicious thirst in the Support's undertone. "That's hilarious!" he then laughed heartily to the Harrier's satisfaction. "He already failed to deal with that Player Killer, then now he'll only be digging himself a deeper grave!"

The Harrier let out his own chuckle then smirked tenderly. "We got to hit where it hurts, right?"

As the laughing Support was busy with his big, agreeing nods, Sadorume's expression had softened marginally as she sighed lightly, "I wouldn't mind seeing him get his dues…" The Harrier blinked curiously at her in anticipation until the female Harrier nodded. "That'll show he doesn't know what he's doing, and hell does the other Reapers need to see that."

The Harrier clasped his hands together and hummed contentedly, "Yes, by creating a divide between the Posh Bastard and the Vultures, it'll only be difficult for him to delegate search parties if the investigation yawns on for too long. Vultures will eventually go back to their existences instead of worrying about something that'll never change or be dealt with... then the uncatchable killer's work becomes a staple, a norm in the Underground for Weeks, months, even years to come…" He snickered a little before adding, "With no leads and no updates, I have hopes that the idea of Recruitment will no longer be challenged."

"But for those who hate killings, they might not let up, Bro," Jimmy spoke cautiously.

The Harrier grimaced only for a second then let his face settle. "Progress doesn't happen in a Day, it'll only occur over time. The longer we keep at it, the more it'll become routinized. It'll be like muscle memory or white noise." He gave a shoulder shrug and held it. "You've done it, heard it, and seen it so much that it becomes part of the background set. You'll eventually start to ignore it and move on with your everyDay existence."

"Saounds faairr," said Andy as she nodded. A grin was still on her face as she added brightly, "Aahnd eitt's leike whaatt yaa saaid Weeks ago. Wee keep daoing eit, wee daon'tt staop."

"Exactly." He pointed at her whilst wryly smiling. "We get Recruitment up and running… and the Composer may even reconsider what He told us before."

At least, privately, he hoped so… if the Posh Bastard was the letter culprit to begin with.

"Then whaatt aahrre wee waaiting faorl?" Andy croaked gleefully, raising a fist in the air. "Lett's dao eitt!"

While the Harrier experienced his surprise inwardly at the agreeing uproar in silence, he waited until it was almost done settling when he spoke up mildly, "Hold your horses- Before we do anything, since I'm still working out the kinks… I have yet to explain the process."

Many disbelieved eyes turned to him as the quiet came back.

"B-But I thought you just told us what we're doing," mumbled Nakai in dismay.

Smiling tightly, the Harrier wordlessly shook his head. He slipped a hand towards his face to scratch at the side of it. "There's more to it than meets the eye on the surface, to be frank…"

"Which eis…?" Andy gave him a rapturous grin.

The Harrier backpedalled mentally before taking the time to inhale to brace himself for what he was about to say.

"It's a given that the Posh Bastard will naturally look to me," he coolly started as he watched Andy blink at him with a knowing look. He turned his gaze back to the rest of his audience. "But we can't let that happen because…" He hesitated for a bit until he was ready to deliver the catch. "B-Because I won't be responsible for any of the Recruitments or Erasures."

Again, the silence he received was only starting to confirm his anxiety from the looks he was getting. Now he had his chance to feel uncomfortable under the heat of them, shifting as he struggled to not squirm on the spot as he set his gaze down.

He pursed his lips in wait, knowing what would soon follow… Then kept waiting... until he chanced a baffled glance up.

The other residents in the home, he quickly realized, were waiting for him.

Clearing his throat flusteredly as he drank that information in, he tried his best to collect himself. "I-I mean, to be frank, it's to be expected…" he diffidently titted. He felt how sweaty his palms had become in the meantime, having clasped them together to fidget as he went on uneasily, "It's the norm the Posh Bastard knows, and-"

"Yaa waantt ta blreaak aoutt aof thaatt naorrm…" Andy murmured with a glint in her eyes, momentarily freeing him from his freak out as he regarded her carefully. "The jaoke yaa maade! Yaa waantt thaat jaoke ta bee rleaarl!" she then proclaimed giddily while clapping her hands merrily.

After shaking her head in good faith, she nodded hard with a smirk. "AI leike eitt."

His chest deflated from immense relief without a moment's notice. "Y-You're not mad?" he gasped incredulously.

Andy frowned in confusion. "Maad?" She lit up as she piped, sounding carefree for some reason, "Why waourld aI bee maad aahtt thaatt?"

"I thought you'd be sad, or mad, or wonder why I wouldn't take part-" he began anxiously.

"Eitt's brliaant," she rebutted with a shrug. Her eyes emitted a tender glow to him as she tilted her head, poking a finger at her chin thoughtfully. "When haas hee naott gaone aahftarr yaa firlst?"

As an unsteady smile solidified on his lips, he breathed out in more relief, "That's right… he hasn't."

"Then yaa gaottaa bee caarrefaurl," she added sternly while nodding, soon gazing at him resolutely. "AI knaow yaa waantt ta naott kirl aahnee maorre, sao yaa gaottaa dao this."

While touched as he was with her support, he knew asking much more than that was selfish. And yet, with what he had in mind to kickoff their scheme… she probably wouldn't react positively to it.

"Before we actually start with the process, there's actually one last thing we have to establish first," he began nervously as he took in a hefty breath. He held it for a while, trying to grab his liquid courage...

Pivoting straight at Andy, finally fighting his nerves off, he spoke firmly in his released exhale, "Andy... we need to burn bridges with each other."

The dark dirty blonde's eyes were saucers as she cried out in one gutted word, "WHAATT!?" Her lips opened and closed stupidly for a while like koi before she breathed out panickedly as she started inching towards him, reaching her arm out with despair, "Bautt wee jaust maade aup-!?"

...Okay, he had to admit. That definitely didn't go as well as planned.

"Relax, I didn't mean burn bridges actually. At least, not in the literal sense," he said with a sigh and head shake. Her eyes only leered at him afterwards, making him breathe in slowly as he explained seriously, "For the knowledge that the Posh Bastard has, you and me are a set pair. If one is running around, the other is probably around too."

Andy crossed her arms grumpily. "Bautt wee haaven't lraatelree…" she groused in her grumble.

"Yeah, but it's a done deal known by all," he tersely replied with an eye-roll as he raised his head, flattening his lips. "Once I'm back on the scene, Vultures will be expecting us to be joined at the hip. So unless we want to have everything go to shit early... we have to, at least in the public eye, cut ties."

The dirty blonde now knitted her eyebrows yet said nothing.

"Having ties means compromise," he told her firmly. "And compromise means we've fucked up, which, incidentally, means the end of our operation." Andy grimaced then nodded with understanding.

He then gave her a measured look as he soon explained, "So in order for us to proceed smoothly, I believe we will need to sell the fact that you and me are no longer friends."

Not only that, this was also a way to safely test the waters for interest in their future scheme.

Andy nodded again but grimaced. "Bautt haow?"

"From the way I see it, this won't be a cakewalk." He looked up as he placed a hand over his chin, blinking for a bit before murmuring, "Saying we're not friends isn't enough to convince the crowd. So in order to do so… we need to show proof we're no longer connected."

Checking on Andy to see if she was following along with it, she appeared to be rapt as she gestured with her tanned hand for him to go on. That was all that he needed. "I suggest we put on a show for them, a staged argument. Not a real one, just one to have fun with as we pull wool over their eyes. We'll put on a spectacle where we 'officially' break ties, but even that won't be enough. So afterward, we have to keep drilling it into their skulls by showing ourselves distanced from another until it appears our relations have crumbled completely. So, by my alibi, and your task I believe you'll enjoy upon accomplishing this…" He gave a nod. "It will appear our existences no longer match up anymore, making things easier to assume my renouncement of my old ways holds true and true."

"Bautt whaatt eif wee faairl?" she asked worriedly, scrunching her face as she choked out, "Yaa knaow aI'm terlibrle with aahcting!"

"Then how about we do it the usual way," he then said with a small smirk, folding his arms calmly. "I lead, and you're the background dancer. I'll try to cue you in and you make up shit to blow the audience." He shrugged with a chuckle, "As long as you don't give away our plan, it'll be all good, my friend."

Andy gave him a long look, her eyebrows knitting until he pressed softly, "I can't do this without you." She appeared even more conflicted until he breathed out with a smile, "And nothing will fail unless you believe it will. Be confident in yourself, Andy, I know what you're capable of. Trust me."

She hesitated longer until she eventually had warmth enter her amber-brown eyes. She gave an easy smile in return. "Aahrllightt."

As his chest swelled from the comfort she wasn't doubtful now, he couldn't help but smile tenderly back at her as he inhaled. 'Thank you, Andy… I won't let you down. If it comes to failure, I'll ensure you won't be thrown under.'

The last thing he wanted was to put his best friend in danger, even if she would do the same to ensure he didn't suffer the same fate. He wasn't going to use her as a pawn, nor any of them as pawns… but delegations were vital in the plan he had.

It wasn't controlling someone if they were willing to listen and choose, after all. He was going to make sure he had the consent of any before he drew them in. He didn't want to ruin their existences over his own grievances for the Posh Bastard, even if that meant he had to waggle his conscience's policies around to benefit his current needs.

...The Harrier will worry about the implications later, though. He still had more ground to cover.

"So before we dirty our hands, that'll be our Step One," he proclaimed as he faced everyone again. "And depending on how Step One goes, we will then progress to a Step Two, then Three, then Step evermore…"

"But what will we do until the Step Two?" shrewdly asked Sadorume, looking to her sofa peers as she mused, "Twiddle our thumbs as we continue to shirk our duties?"

The Harrier brightened up as he grinned small. "Glad you asked." He turned his attention to Jimmy then the Tenants again. "I was thinking maybe, perhaps, while me and Andy show off on stage... Jimmy can try to think up something popular while, if you three so accept, can try to see if you can garner interest from other Vultures into joining."

"Wouldn't that be risky?" asked the assertive Harrier then, raising an eyebrow. "Letting in those who may sell you- us out?"

The black-hooded Reaper took a moment to ponder that.

It was true. By inviting others in so early, they ran the risk of premature retirement. Or, to be frank, unwanted discovery. While he knew these Reapers had their beef with the Posh Bastard, hauling in newcomers who may still have an ounce of loyalty left would be the same as introducing poison to a water supply.

It was treacherous to not be vigilant.

He hummed for a bit then mused, "Good point. You guys will have to be careful then, using your best judgment to weed out the wrong crowd…" He put his hand on his chin he lowered. "Although… I have an idea."

When the three blinked at him in wait, he crisply smiled as he spoke to them curtly, "When me and Andy finish our full-out 'spat', you three can wait a bit then try to find interested parties by gleaning whether or not their distaste for the Posh Bastard holds true. Simply talk about current events, then when the right moment comes... sneak in the question of what they think about the Posh Bastard, or if things should be handled differently." He nodded expectantly. "And if they seem legit, tell them you heard other Reapers were thinking about congregating to discuss their dissatisfaction with him and what they want to do going forward."

As they nodded, the Nakai appeared uncertain. The Harrier added with reassurance when he noticed that, "As long as you act natural, things may go well."

"A-Are there certain Reapers, err- Vultures? - you're looking for?" asked the said jittery Support.

…Still confusing his terminology, huh?

"Any Reaper except Officers," he told him sternly then eye-rolled. "We can't expect the whistleblowers to abandon their 'ruler' oh so easily, so it's too dangerous to expect they hold any ill will towards him. Not to mention-" He sharply held up a finger then huffed tersely, "An Officer joining could just as easily arouse suspicion from the Posh Bastard, since it's a given to assume all of them are loyalists to have gotten into that rank in our society."

"That's probably for the best, seeing as other than Gamemasters, they have no reason to Erase Players themselves," said Sadorume with a nod.

"Glad we're on the same page," he threw back at her contentedly while pointing his fingers. "No Officers."

When he returned his attention to Jimmy, the Harrier couldn't help but frown immediately at the troubled look the New Zealander had. "Is something the matter?"

Jimmy let out a sigh then sadly regarded him. "I doubt I'd be able to come up with somethin' popular, Bro." As the Harrier's eyebrows furrowed, the Support hung his head and shrugged. "I've come up with so many thin's, yet none of 'em stoked heaps of blokes before."

The Harrier frowned then pressed his lips together, breaking away from where he had been standing to go to the Support. The moment he stood in front of the other, he inhaled before reluctantly placing his hand over the lanky Reaper's shoulder. "Jimmy... I've seen many good things you've created. I have no doubt you'll be able to create something spectacular."

"But I don't know where to start-" Jimmy's gaze clouded over with anxiousness.

"Then start off small," The Harrier said simply then tapped the side of his hood. "Any great idea can come from a brainstorm." He paused when seeing Jimmy look less confident and frowned, letting out a sigh. "But don't sweat having it done for now if that's where your concerns lie. We're still in the planning stage after all."

After the lanky Reaper relaxed partially, he gave a firm nod. "...I-I'll see what I can do."

The Harrier nodded back appreciatively then pulled his hand off, hoping he hadn't held on to the Support's shoulder too long as he watched the taller Reaper smile. 'Perfect…' He pivoted to walk back to his earlier position then regarded the other Reapers again. 'That should take care of everything for the moment…'

Taking a few moments to gaze at his fellow residents, he couldn't help but smile broadly. 'The stage is set, scripts have been handed out…' He blinked as he nodded to himself. 'All that's left is to raise the curtain after dress rehearsal…'

"Well then, my fellow Reapers," he started breathily in ardour, whipping out his arm with a snap to the side as he exclaimed jovially, "Feast your eyes- we're putting on a show!"

When the outburst of equally energized cries met him, he embraced it wholeheartedly as warmth filled his chest.

---

It was a couple Days later that the Harrier saw the light of Day again, after discussing and prepping with Andy to finalize the plan for the ordeal. The Tenants of Jimmy's home helped to give him intel of where Reapers were likely to dwell after the Day 6 Mission, so by the time the Harrier left the home, not in disguise but in his usual Ligres and cherished black hoodie… the Harrier couldn't bring himself to feel stage fright after so much preparation."

Although, being in his typical getup was the only thing to get on his nerves. He wasn't scared about showing himself this time, knowing he had to advertise his presence if he were to be seen and known, and the plan wouldn't work without Reapers knowing who he was. So by all intents and purposes, he told himself to walk tall and proud despite his misgivings on the matter.

It was his plan after all; no sense in sabotaging it from the get-go.

They went down the streets together in silence; the Harrier led the charge as he let his eyes drift from under the cover of his black hood. Despite the head turns they were garnering, the countless heat of gazes settling primarily on him, it wasn't enough. At least, not yet, he told himself. They needed to gain more traction if they were to kick off the show properly… not to mention, he already had an idea of where to go to gain that traction.

Beside him, he was aware of how Andy was almost inching closer to him, her nerves revealing themselves as she was clearly on edge while she boldly kept her alertful eyes forward. He knew he couldn't break character as of yet, as he had to keep the act together for the both of them. She would depend on him as much as he would depend on her to get through this.

So even if he wanted to stop to reassure her now, he couldn't. Slipping up was the last thing they needed.

He led them closer to the Scramble Crossing, knowing decisively if there were any district to be that could be swarming with Vultures at this hour, it would be that district after a Mission. As he had expected, he saw more globs of them spread out in the distance, making him almost feel the urge to quicken his steps at the sight but held himself back just as he needed to.

The Harrier had to not be excited, instead nonchalant and poised before unveiling the scene…

Subtle nods caught his awareness; the Tenants were in position as they said they would. Before him and Andy left, they went ahead to secure themselves seats to the show. It was the simplest way to ensure they didn't have to find him later to know what happened, as being the after-show required them to know that information as soon as possible to frame it right. But he promptly carded his pride away about the ingenuity of that, because he knew patting himself on the back would distract him because their performance was imminent...

Just as he was entering the intersection, sunlight pouring over his clothing as his hot spotlight, he drew in a breath to brace himself. 'Time to shine…' He exhaled gradually as he gathered his confidence. 'Let's put on a show…'

"...I already told you, Andy," he started in a 'louder-than-necessary' hiss to test the waters, flicking his eyes to check to see if they attracted attention. When all he got was a few head turns, others appearing more focused on their conversations than his, and probably oblivious to their Reaper Hunt's wanted's presence, he pursed his lips as he realized he had to kick it up a notch.

Increasing his speed to break formation from Andy, to stride in hops ahead of her, he was nearly in the centre of the road when he swerved to face her. "Would you knock it off already!?"

While that gained eyes to look in their attention, as Andy's previously startled face now had a glint of recognition to acknowledge him when she slowed to a halt a couple feet away, he tried to not let himself be rendered anxious as the familiar yet terrible sensation of burning began to swell on his body. He had to embrace it, even when it tormented him for the sake of the plan, enough for him to not squirm on the spot as he caught mumbled words from onlookers that were relevant for being posed on him.

Almost smirking but allowing himself the privilege to frown as he actually wanted to, the Harrier 'bristled' as he set a scowl on Andy. "As much as I appreciate your saving of my ass…" He balled up his hands to fists as he stiffly twitched his shoulders up. "It was very much unwarranted."

While more and more eyes landed on him, he kept his body- to a decent degree- the same as he waited on Andy. He hoped what they went over was still fresh in her head. If she didn't get with the program now, already their skit would fall flat on the stage they were on.

Andy served him a scowl of her own. "Excause meh!?" Her sharpness managed to bring in more interest from the crowd. "AI ded whaatt aI haad ta, aahsshaolle- Yaa waourld haave died aahgaain!"

In spite of how flat her anger came out, he knew there was no time to redo her mistake. He shook his head curtly as he growled out, "Might I remind you I'm done talking about this-" He clenched his hands harder and raised his voice. "As I had for the last few Days!?"

"Wee need to talrk aahbaoutt this!" Andy's eyes narrowed as she stomped down. "Rlightt naow!"

The Harrier glanced from side-to-side, noting how some Vultures were pointing at him as they said things to their neighbours, some drawing closer with hunched shoulders… They knew it was him; good.

He lowered his voice to exhale his 'concerns', "Not here-"

"Then wheen!?" The Harrier had to hand it to Andy, she knew how to make that delivery authentic this time. Her amber-brown eyes blazed passionately as she yelled out, "Yaa vaaneished aon meh aahftarr aI saaved yaa- yaa caonstantrlee eignaorre meh- Jaust tarlk ta meh aahlreaadee!"

Savouring how fluid her words were, he glanced around one last time before forcing his body to go rigid.

Preambles over; on to Act 1.

"You want to talk?" he asked as bitterly as he could, bringing his gaze down as he smiled in his amusement. "Because from the way I see it... you've been on my ass for far too long, Andy." He tried putting more oomph into his growl, "I hate it."

"Then rlet's gett eit aoverr with!" she shouted back as she frowned, pinching her lips in a less-than-ideal fashion as she growled, "Whaatt's wlaong with meh waorrying aahbaoutt yaa!?"

"You want me to spell it out for you?" he scoffed disdainfully as he rolled his head and eyes, shaking it soon as he huffed, "Fine. How about we first go over how stupid it is you thought I was hunting Wrongdoers… To finally get it straight how you assumed wrong when you saw me bleeding out in front of a man who lured me in to kill me."

He knew he was only stating stale facts so far; this was much too tame for a 'falling out'. If he continued the way he was, the Vultures would only witness the second rectification of his and Andy's friendship.

But the Harrier knew Andy wasn't getting angry enough either; it was her paltry effort that was continuing to sculpt this. Despite knowing what would incite her, not to mention overstep acting and earn most definitely her loathing… he had to do it.

"Shizarou." Her face twisted into incredulousness as he narrowed his eyes, mentally praying she'll forgive him after. "I didn't need you to save me, nor was what you did legal. The Composer does not condone killings... especially the killing of that Player Killer."

When it seemed Andy was finished zoning out, her immediate reaction was what he dreaded to provoke. Her eyes seethed with frustration, ire, rage… it went further than that as she screeched out on the top of her voice, "AI AM ANDY, YAA FUCCKARR!"

Roll with it- roll with it-

"Not only that, what the hell were you thinking when you had to pull that stupid stunt in Molco," he sneered coldly, setting his jaw hard as he tried to brace himself the more and more he saw her aggravation swell rapidly on her livid expression. He took a step back and bunched his shoulders as he continued carefully, "The Posh Bastard deliberately said that the Player Killer was supposed to go through the system like the rest of the Players… Why the hell would you blow his brains out in front of all those Reapers, Shizarou!?"

He had to mind his manners; calling Reapers out as Vultures wouldn't be so kind on his end and would only further paint himself as the asshole who previously jeopardized their living situation. ...Okay, that was the plan for the moment, but manners were still important.

"When ded yaa staalrtt ta caarre aahbaoutt whaatt the baastaarrd thinks!?" Andy snarled out as she took a stiff stomp forward, her ruddy-orange boot's thud echoing around them. She then threw up her arms and yelled out louder, "Yaa nevarr haave caarred aahbaoutt the fucck hee saays befaorre! Yaa nevarr risten ta him- yaa nevarr-"

"Maybe he was wrong." The Harrier tried to keep his voice audible and curt enough to be heard, but he knew angering himself in his acting would only have things spiral out of control. Out of the two of them, he had to remain collected to frame the politics precisely for the onlookers. "I wouldn't know, because I haven't been in the River for Weeks!" he told her as he raised his voice to a good degree. "But what I do know is that Reapers were Erased that Day-"

"Yaa dedn'tt knaow them!" Andy sneered coldly, causing him to involuntarily twitch as she growled out more, "Why dao yaa caarre!?"

The Harrier drew his eyes back up to her and hardened his gaze. "I may not have known them, but that's not really the issue here-" He pursed his lips, inhaling to brace himself again, as he went on sternly while spreading his arms open, "Reapers are gone because of the Player Killer and Posh Bastard- They're both at fault, Shizarou, but you can't just make me out as the bad guy when I-"

"Yaa shaourld haave daone saomething, aasshaorle!" He blinked at that coolly, giving her an unimpressed look she interrupted him while her body rolled with her harshly expulsed breaths. "Yaa werre therre- aI knaow yaa werre therre!" Her sharply jabbed finger made him narrow his eyes at it, soon scoffing lightly in pointedness as she added ill-temperedly, "Yaa caourld haave staopped eitt!"

As eyes rapidly pinned on him, their gazes thoroughly judging, critical, curious and/or shocked… he knew it was time for Act Two.

"I already told you." He pursed his lips more as he grumbled firmly, "I don't do it anymore." He stepped closer to her as he added, "How many times do I need to repeat myself that killing Wrongdoers is no longer an option for me! I'm done with it!"

"Nao yaaw'rre naott!"

"Yes, I am!" he retorted waspishly as his hands shook as they dropped to his sides. He gritted his teeth as he spat, "Why can't you get it through your thick skull that I don't want to do it anymore!? It's been several Weeks, Shizarou! Weeks!"

He held himself stiffly as he jutted his shoulders up, scowling as she shook her head 'stubbornly'. "Yaaw'rre lrying!"

"I'm being perfectly frank with you, dammit!" he retorted sharply as he shook his head and gestured his hand to her in a conciliatory fashion. "Or should I repeat myself?" He whisked his hands left-to-right in the direction of the audience. "So everyone in the last place I wanted to be in can be a part of our happy conversation?"

"Yaaw'rre jaust staarling when yaa knaow yaa waant ta dao aour waorlk!" she hissed in a low tone and shake of her head. "Saoonerr aorr laataarr yaaw'rl crlaarl baack ta meh… aahcepting yaa maade aah big fauss aoverr naothing, yaa fuccking baabee!"

The moment her words fell over him, something felt like it snapped in the Harrier.

"How am I a baby for trying to get on with my existence!?" he yelled out furiously. All pretenses of his anger were dropped as a newly fueled fire filled his heart, making him actually glare at her as he continued hotly, "How am I a baby for trying to do something else!?"

He abruptly whipped up a finger, shaking it as he growled coldly, "I may not necessarily agree with the Posh Bastard, and I still hate him… but that doesn't change how he didn't handle the issue brilliantly. Leaving a fucking killer alone with a group of Players he himself brought over is not only irresponsible, but dangerous to not only the structure of the Game, but as evident by those Reapers deaths-" He leered as he clenched his hand, feeling it tremble in the tightness of his curled fingers. "The Posh Bastard was still liable for the Erasures he dismissed, but he believes they should have tried harder to survive!"

Act Three did what he hoped to see when his ire dwindled enough. The audience had adopted appalled, disbelieving looks from those who had their hoods down.

The longer he studied their reactions, the more he was able to rein in his temper in order to see the situation in a calmer, satisfied light. 'Surprise, surprise… Bet you want to know the juicy details.'

"I heard it from two Reapers who were apparently close to the Erased," he began to explain in a stilted voice, trying to find little indications the Reapers felt the full-force of the shocking revelation. He lowered his hand, uncurling it to open his arms out again as he sympathetically explained, "Two Days ago, straight from the source, a Reaper by the name of Jim Carlistein and his friend Michito were approached by the Posh Bastard, who came in search for them on the tidings of consolation, condolences and apology."

In front of him, despite her rigid posture and intense expression, Andy didn't speak. He was grateful she realized he moved on from the earlier Act, or this would be awkward with her screaming at him while he was trying to regale the audience with a terrible, sad story.

He slowly drew a hand to rest over his heart, feeling its faint beats as he murmured dolefully, "I-I had no idea he would stoop to pretenses… that he would deceive the two of them into conversation. A conversation in which he took advantage of their mourning and twisted it into a session of conceited insensitivity."

A Reaper nearby looked ready to interrupt him, so he continued bitterly as he lowered his head before they could, "But what he told them… I can't stop thinking about it. Those Supports said that the man even tried to see if Michito was me-" The Reaper from before closed their mouth as ripples of shock waved around him. "- like he thought Carlistein was hiding me… But to know that the man looked down at the Support enough to disrespect the Erased by saying there was nothing wrong with letting Wrongdoers be, that he wasn't at fault for their inability to defend themselves, even though Caristein and Michito were still in the thick of their grieving…" He frowned deeply as he growled, "It disgusted me."

He waited a bit then sighed crestfallenly, "Carlistein said the man appeared to think it was appropriate to smear it in their faces, having the gall to torment them mentally when the visit was meant to have been one for confessing he was in the wrong…" He smirked at the louder exchanges, full of outrage and scandalization, before he mused aloofly, "If that's not screwed up, what's to say he doesn't think of the rest of us as shit under the stick he uses?"

As Andy's face looked contorted with her own loathing of that, the Harrier regarded her fully again. "He told you, didn't he?"

Before she could respond, a nondescript Reaper started to stalk towards them. "How dare you dream up that shit! The Conductor wouldn't-"

Both him and Andy whipped towards them. "You're not part of this!" His stern warning was swallowed by Andy's louder, intenser yell, but it seemingly was enough to ward them off. In fact, they halted abruptly under Andy's glare then didn't dare to come closer.

Upon looking back at Andy, the Harrier huffed, "I suppose you think it's justified that the Posh Bastard acted out on Carlistein then, Shizarou." Her eyes sharply glowered back within moments as he sighed, "Like that'll make me get back on the shitty bandwagon…"

"Yaa jaustt expraained eit!" she scorned back in rebuttal, causing him to frown again as she sneered heatedly, "Why aahrre yaa heerling faorl the aone thaatt daoesn'tt caarre aahbaoutt Leaapurrs!?"

The Harrier gradually gravitated himself sideways to put distance between himself and the outspoken Support, yet carefully brought his eyes on Andy when she growled furiously, "Haow caan yaa taulrn yaawrr baack aon meh wheen waorlk needs ta bee daone aahbaoutt thaose fucckarrs!?"

"Not anymore," he coolly told her quietly, but loud enough to be heard by the quickly piqued crowd. "If the Posh Bastard has no common sense to deal with Wrongdoers on his domain, everything is only going to go to shit from here on out. What does dealing with them matter if that's only going to lift responsibility off his shoulders and let him continue to stomp down on our esteems? What does anything matter anymore when anything I do has me criticized by everyone?"

Andy seemed to fumble momentarily with her next lines before she executed them. "Eit's naot aahbaoutt yaa- eitt's aahbaoutt gettting the Wlaongdaoerrs!"

As he sensed a perfect leeway, he knew he could either continue the charade or idyllically settle the whole 'argument' with a nicely done-up bow. However, one option appeared more ideal than the other…

Preparing himself for his next delivery, he eventually steeled his expression slowly as he grumbled, "If you care more about the Wrongdoers…" He spun around as he narrowed his gaze. "You have no room for me."

"Whaatt!?"

Waiting a few more seconds, letting the atmosphere gather its tension, he lingered in the silence a little longer until he pierced it with his pungent scoff, "I doubt lugging around a deadweight will do you favours, Shizarou-san. Find another moron to do your happy-triggering with."

With that, he pivoted to right stage, pushing himself into walking as he brushed past the outspoken Reaper. He left Andy nothing more to grasp on; he let the curtain fall...

However, it seemed to not work as he had intended.

He nearly halted when Andy began to rush towards him, only to quicken his steps when he realized Andy missed the entire point of her cue to stop. 'Fuck-'

"Get away from me-" he blurted out in a mid-hiss of frustration, as he pushed harder on his feet. Yet an uninvited dread began to swallow his thoughts as she continued for him, rendering him with nothing to do but swerve back to catch her forearm as he growled out in vexation, "Quit following me-!"

Her expression only told him he may have been crushing her arm, yet he couldn't bring himself out of his stress as he continued to hold her appendage roughly.

However, before he could get himself to let go, he cringed when, in his distraction, another Reaper had the opportunity to grab his shoulder. He felt his grip loosen unconsciously as he heard a growl behind him, "We've had enough of your drama, Blackie! You're coming with us!"

'What!?' As his hand released Andy's forearm completely, he was stricken with the alarmed realization that, in all the planning he haphazardly did, he'd briefly forgotten about the fact how he wouldn't have easily had a clean exit in the first place. He was still a wanted Reaper! 'Dammit-!'

"Let go of me!" he spat as he twisted his body around, wincing painfully instead when the other Reaper hadn't relented in his grip, as abrupt dizziness came over the Harrier from having his shoulder rolled. Yet he refused to let that stop him from speaking his mind. "I'm not going back to the fucking River!"

The mustard hood may have concealed the other's face but not his vicious sneer. "Should have thought of that before you strolled around with that garbage-talker!"

As the Harrier's face contorted with fury, he tried to swing a punch at the offender that dodged before trying to squirm away in distress from another hand. "Let go of me, fucker-" He tried tearing his body away but it wasn't working either!

Even his improv self-defense was hapless to stop the other hand from clamping on to his other shoulder, making him groan out in pain when it felt as if the other capturer wanted to crush his poor shoulder!

Wincing with a low cry, he was shoved down involuntarily to his knees, soon to his stomach as another hand put pressure against his back. His mind raced as that only meant they didn't have a Pin to incapacitate him-

"We need to knock him out- who knows what Pins he has!"

"Does anyone got anything!?"

"A Sleep Psych would do wonders right now!"

"Anyone have a Sleep Psych!?"

"Will a Totter Til You Drop Pin work!?"

"No Sleep Psychs!?"

"That's a rare Psych, why would anyone possibly have it!?"

"Do you think a Daze Psych could hold him long enough instead!?"

"It'll work in the meantime, I think!"

"Yeah, it's good enough! Just bring it-"

"Bring it here!"

"Quickly! Before he gets free!"

'Fuck!' He tried struggling as hard as he could, pushing energy into Ignis Swarm to faze his ecstatically malicious captors. Yet as the smoking fireflies fled out of his hands, the Reapers didn't even flinch! He was only wasting time before they could make his existence ten-times-harder to escape! There wasn't enough time now to create a Shadow's Play body double from his immediate choice in Psych, nor did throwing his arms around to blind these Vultures with Shinin' Spotlight would work, so that only left him with his only other escape Psych-

All he had to do was get enough arm room to tap Cripplecheck's Pin! And once he did, things will be easier to-

He was awashed with a feeling of nausea and vertigo suddenly; his vision was spinning in a circle as he gagged and sputtered out what he hoped were profanities. His limbs felt like they were floating, making him float too as he swayed and continued to gag and spit out words he couldn't check to know if they were coherent or not.

Laughter made his ears ring, rendering him miffed at how they bounced everywhere. He gagged some more as he heard an odd assortment of words.

"Easy too-"

"Jokes him right-"

"Get 'im there-"

Too many colours were torturing his vision; too many sounds were banging on his brain-

Cripplecheck… which of his Spins were Cripplecheck!? Didn't he put the Spins on his face, or were they on his shoes...!?

In any case, he felt as if he was flailing his hovering arms, earning more chortles that put him in a bad mood. He couldn't wait for Dizzy A Lot or whatever the Psych's name was wore off- He had to get to the River- no, away from the Stream!

Screwing his face up as he felt like retching could be the solution to this problem, he tried moving his highly restricted range of motion arms until he was scrabbling his hands against something soft- His hoodie- thank fuck!

'Take loads of this, fuckers!'

He kept energy flowing in his body as he patted probably any part of his chest until he felt his body fall. He was collapsing on the sky- ceiling?- when his eyes dazedly made out the muted tones he willed for.

A relieved groan slowly released from his lips as he lay there, waiting for the unwanted effects strewn on him to fade. The moment he felt less like he was gagging and more like he was actually keeling, he eventually made out a Moyai statue and sighed in annoyance. 'They almost had me… Fucking almost had me… Shit.'

As the leftover feeling of swaying coursed through him, he realized his arms were really numb and his shoulders felt terrible… He gave a look over his shoulder and saw the warped Kanji were floating around three frozen Reapers, glowering straightaway as he huffed with vitriol. 'Fuck you…' Minding his distance, he staggered past them dizzily, wrinkling his nose as he headed off in the opposite direction.

The Harrier didn't cancel his Psych as he got further from the River, away from the Posh Bastard...

He could only hope he wouldn't retch until he got to Jimmy's grannyflat. He just had to hold Cripplecheck's Reflection Time Psych together until then.

---

Year and Months Ago...

---

"S-So would you please consider being my boyfriend!"

The eighteen-year-old's breath was caught in his throat as he stared back in shock at the other student.

He had been caught off guard when she asked to see him as he was leaving the school for work, but this was something he should have assumed was the case. He'd often seen the before and afters of girls leading males away on school grounds, so now that it was happening to him… he wasn't quite sure how to respond.

The student didn't even know her, so he knew at least part of what he had to do. Yet the whispers from behind him would make it harder to accomplish; he gulped at the thought of how quick he could be to avoid them.

Slowly he frowned and sighed, shaking his head as he clasped his hands uneasily as he resigned himself to the task. "I'm sorry… I-I can't."

Keeping his head down helped to soften the blow for him when it hadn't done the same for her gasp. The wetness of her breathing told him how badly she was taking it. He simply stood there awkwardly until she shoved past him to run off, as harsher whispers came from the direction she'd taken.

And instead of waiting for the owners of those voices to show themselves, he quietly steeled himself as he walked past them briskly.

They sent jeers his way.

He didn't waste time to change out of his school shoes before exiting through the gate, joining the remaining students who weren't on cleaning duty for the day or were late in their own departure. He usually was ahead of them. If it weren't for that girl, he'd already be well on his walk to the konbini. Yet as they scrambled towards the station, he stayed on course when arriving at Shibuya's station alone.

Now that he finally had a moment to himself, he sighed heavily as he quietly took in the rustles of the leafless branches, chilly air that came in today, and faint chatter in a street elsewhere. His shift started around five, so even with the sudden confession, the eighteen-year-old had time to amble without any sort of worry.

However, what happened earlier weighed on his mind while he was waiting for the moment to cross the Scramble Crossing's six-way intersection.

It wasn't wrong that he had to say no, the student reasoned with himself as he resisted the urge to pick at his dark chestnut-brown school blazer. The two of them didn't even know each other- in fact, the whole school didn't know him other than the fact he sat at the top of the exam score board in Room 3-04, and he didn't think that girl was even in his class. And even if she knew him, she'd know he couldn't be in a relationship because it wouldn't be fair to her as much as it wouldn't be fair to skip work to be with her and lose out on finances for the house…

Even if what he contributed wasn't necessary. His mother's pension and father's life insurance covered the house payments since he was at the brim of age thirteen.

He sighed again as he began treading through the car-vacant area.

When it came down to working part-time… it wasn't like it had a chokehold over him. His mother originally resisted the idea of him getting a job two months ago because she thought they still had enough 'blood money' from his father's death, but his reasoning to bank more Yen for the house for future bills was just as important as going to Senior High School. His parents had wanted him to go when his father was alive. He couldn't deny that he wanted to turn it down and start working full-time the moment he graduated from his previous school, but it was just... life. Eventually he would have had to scrounge for one after Senior High School, so having one already secured his future. After all, if he did a good enough job before he graduated this Spring, he could try to persuade them to make him a full-timer because his parents never said he had to go to university.

Therefore... everyone wins.

By the time he arrived at Green Green Bodega and changed, he immediately clocked in to help out with menial tasks in the konbini until his shift began. Then when his shift was done, he didn't clock out until he was certain the Gotorutsus were okay with what hadn't been done yet.

He bowed in his goodbye before turning towards the door, yet Mr. Gotorutsu's voice called over when he was almost in front of it, "Be careful out there-" Their employee halted and waited for one of his bosses to continue, "Sonny. While you were busy with the inventory, I could have sworn there were flakes of snow out there."

"O-Oh." Their employee blinked in bewilderment. The man was indeed true when he checked the windows for himself with a glance. "B-But i-isn't it too late in the season for it? Spring is nearly here..."

Especially flower-viewing season.

His chest tightened painfully from the sudden reminder.

"Do not fret, boys, it will become slush," murmured Mrs. Gotorutsu mildly. She was pulling on a coat when he glanced back at the couple. "Do you have an umbrella with you-"

Their employee grimaced internally at the pause.

He tried to be as passive as possible when he politely returned her question, "We've had warm weather until today and my house isn't too far. It won't be a problem for me, Mrs. Gotorutsu."

Her husband shook his head immediately. "Pah! Even if it was not cold earlier, it will melt on you and soil your school uniform! Go back and put your work uniform on and I will turn a blind eye tomorrow and pretend that it is squeaky clean!"

Their employee nearly grimaced at that yet awkwardly smiled back. "If I time it right, I can use the awnings to avoid being drenched. But thank you for the concern." While neither of the couple outwardly shared his optimism, he merely bowed and said his goodbyes as he put that plan into action.

After nearly forty minutes later, he shivered fiercely as he undid his shoes. He exchanged them for his slippers then unlocked and opened the door. "I'm home!"

"Welcome back," said his mother softly as she turned her head towards him. Her forged smile flipped upside-down as her chocolate brown eyes widened. "Why are you wet, my son!?"

Her son sheepishly ducked his head as he drew his quivering hand back to squeeze his nape. "It snowed, mother."

"Do not hurt your neck!" she then chided strictly as she went to stand up. "How many times do I have to tell you!?" He flinched and let go of his nape straightaway as she padded up to him, her crossness fading as she stopped to examine him.

He shyly kept his head down until she clicked her tongue disappointedly. "...Take a bath-" She spun away abruptly to walk back to her cushion. "And after you have your dinner, do your homework."

As his heart sank, he belatedly realized halfway to the bedroom his bag wasn't with him. He inwardly shrank as he faced his mother again anxiously, "I-I forgot it at the bodega-"

She merely nodded with a frown and sighed, "I know you did." He frowned dejectedly at that as she added with her voice clipped, "As you had the last few weeks, the month before-" Each time the instances were named it caused her son to cringe, feeling even less chipper as her own frown deepened. "Working is detrimental if it interferes with other aspects of life."

As he mused over what she said for a bit, he soon stared at her sadly as he quietly asked, "Is that why you retired?"

His question only made his mother stiffen, causing him to fleetingly feel panic over realizing that it may have been a terrible topic to bring up. Yet before he could apologize for overstepping his boundaries, she inhaled deeply and pursed her lips.

She raised her chin as she spoke tersely, "...No. I was not happy with it." She half-closed her eyes as she shook her head. "As soon as I worked long enough for my pension, your father convinced me his employment would be enough to support the three of us." He noticed her eyes glistened as they soon welled. "He said… he said by the time you graduated an university… we would have more than enough money."

Her son exhaled unsteadily in shock as she started her crying, soon lowering his gaze remorsefully. "I… I didn't know that." His heart ached at the thought that everything was set up so nicely for them, yet now…

"I-I'm sorry-" He immediately walked over to the chabudai and hastily sat across from her. "If you need me to quit, I could-"

"Do not quit if you want this," she said wetly as she tried to smile back. Her lips were wobbling and it made him freak out internally.

"I only want to make sure everything's okay!" he blurted out as he reached over to her folded hands. His hand halted when she quickly drew them out of range, making him gawk at her hurt look before he brought his arm back apologetically. He sighed sadly as he felt heat behind his gaze, "Nothing's… nothing's been the same without him."

She curtly nodded glumly. "It has." As he watched her miserably as she began to thumb her tears away, he bit his lip as he shivered again.

He didn't think when he should have… If he had, he wouldn't have made her cry. He didn't know her retirement was related to his father; he would have said nothing if he knew. Yet now he screwed up a normal interaction and he couldn't do anything about the reopened wounds...

...Just like he had with that girl confessing to him.

He could have made her happy if he accepted. Even if it was doomed from the start, down the line she could have figured out it wasn't working- But that was an excuse. It would be wrong to lead her on like that in spite of stroking her happiness. It was a total jerk move he heard other male students had done to use it as a platform to joke and laugh about with their friends… and it wouldn't make him any better if he were the one to initiate it as well.

Yet he had no time for love; its promises were not for him. The only promises he cared about was supporting the household and taking care of his mother. If he could make her happy like he could have with that girl, he wouldn't be so worried...

But… wasn't there a way to do that?

Closing his eyes as a sniffle left her mouth, he made his decision.

As his hands awkwardly folded on the chabudai, as he sat up taller, settling his expression with his resolve, he faced her openly as he mumbled, "It's been years since that night… but shouldn't we be looking to the future?" She didn't look at him but she didn't need to, as he lowered his chin and gaze briefly. "Mother… maybe you should start dating again."

Her eyes immediately leapt to his when he looked up. She was starkly staring at him in dismay as her slight wrinkles crinkled when she choked out, "That is out of the question!"

Despite his original insistence on the matter, he felt himself fold rather quickly as he responded timidly, "I-I know you may not like it, but please consider it, Mother." He half-closed his eyes as he added dolefully, "I just want you to be happy…"

It looked like she wanted to argue with him, to shout at him, to wail out in anguish as her eyes welled up again… but suddenly, her gaze grew glum as she frowned. Her expression fell as she almost looked shy at that moment. "I do not know about this…" she murmured nervously.

As soon as she said that, her son understood. It wasn't that she was against the idea, she was probably contemplating it but wasn't certain. A part of himself related to that. If she started dating out of the blue without him knowing, he wouldn't know how to react or feel about it. But it wasn't about him… this was about her.

His lips squirmed until they loosely formed a smile as he spoke meekly again, "Then this can be an…" He smiled harder as he tried to be chipper. "Ex-Experiment!"

"Experiment?" she echoed uneasily.

With two nods, her son inhaled and let his chest remain inflated for a moment before he exclaimed out, "Y-Yeah, an experiment!" He whisked his hand up as he added brightly, "See if you like it, try it out… An experimental thing!"

Her expression grew worried as she breathed out, "Experimental thing?" She didn't sound too happy, to her son's disappointment, but he knew he couldn't let her waver on this. He had to do his best to make her understand she needed to do this!

What better way could she be happy unless she had someone else? The source of her grief revolved around being widowed, so her son knew this was the only way to patch it up. From what he knew, being in love made her happy… so if she had the chance to fall in love again, she could be happy.

...At least, that was the best weapon he had to use for this.

As he quickly realized maybe he was pushing this on her too strongly, he felt himself backpedal at her mixed expression. He knitted his eyebrows as he bashfully mumbled while taking a moment to squeeze his nape, "Er… like a trial run?"

After he had spoken, his mother simply blinked as she drew in a deep breath, soon shaking her head as she fixed him a look. "Sweetie, this is not a topic to joke about." He knew that; of course he did... but he didn't think she would resist the idea so much. A part of him thought she'd grab it at once, but alas, it looked like his fumble cost him his persuasion. She looked down as she murmured on in upsetness, "Going out with random men just to see if I am happy with one of them makes no sense!"

He grimaced at that part as he nodded, hesitating for a bit before he supplied his awkward response, "B-But how could you say that without actually seeing if it works?"

Even after he had spoken, he knew that was such a dumb way to address it. If he couldn't accept the confession of that girl, why did he think the same would apply differently to his own mother? Was he a hypocrite for thinking that it may work out for his mother when it couldn't for himself?

While he regarded his mother again with apt interest, she looked rather concerned. Her eyebrows knitted when she next spoke, "Th-This is not like you, my son."

He mentally scolded himself and internally shook his head. Of course she would think he was mad for coming up with this idea randomly. Or at least, randomly in her mind. While he felt as if the idea was perfect to some extent, hearing her reluctance only nailed in the notion that maybe he shouldn't be so bold as to push her forward like this. In fact, he wasn't usually like this, so he wouldn't blame his mother for thinking something was wrong with him.

His hands squeezed themselves as they remained together; he felt himself panic over what he should say next. By this time, he would have already conceded on the idea of continuing with it… But at the same time too, this seemed too important to pass up. So as he juggled his options, he decided one last attempt to convince her was all he would do. If it didn't work, he'd drop it, go to his room and wish he had his homework to work off the awkwardness he caused between him and his mother. ...Especially the awkwardness of this day and the circumstances that led to this point.

A shudder went through his body. 'I shouldn't have done this in the first place…'

He sadly stared at her finally as he frowned. "I-I just want you to be happy…" That was all he wanted. "C-Could you try it out… for me? T-Tell me I'm wrong to think an experimental thing could work out if you just give it one try, Mother?" He lowered his head as he shook it, keeping his gaze on his hands as he continued meekly, "I-I won't bother you with it again if you just give it one shot- I promise you…"

The longer he gave her an imploring look, the more he felt his fragile confidence become more shattered. He stood up, ready to leave the room to give her space, especially after screwing up their poignant moment with a crazy scheme, as he gave her one final look. He expected to see her look devastated, for her eyes to fill with grief as they always had in these past almost six years…

Yet he couldn't help but feel utterly confused about why her eyes looked thoughtful, not misty as they should be. "...I will consider it, I suppose."

Blinking once, twice, then once more, he felt his jaw slacken as it dropped. "R-Really?"

"Yes, my son." As he stared at her disbelievingly, she nodded quietly as her expression grew neutral. "I will consider it, as I had said just now."

Her son didn't know what to feel at first. A part of him knew he should be ecstatic, or at the very least, drown in his shock as she usually never went with his ideas, as she thought they weren't useful. He couldn't help but feel his heart stutter with glee soon when it occurred to him she did in fact take his idea and it wasn't just his imagination this happened.

A smile rose on his lips as he stammered out while raising his palms at her, "...Y-You won't regret this-!" He shakily breathed before his eyes fluttered as he grinned awkwardly when a thought hit him. "Um, ah- m-maybe you might if it doesn't go well, but believe me-" He closed his eyes as he soon murmured mildly with a bit of laughter, "It won't hurt to give it one good try before you're certain I'm wrong!"

As he stood there, feeling his elation swell in his chest, he felt almost dizzy when he heard his mother respond, "I suppose you are right."

When he opened his eyes, he couldn't help but feel drunk on his happiness upon seeing her small smile. He couldn't remember the last time she smiled, only that more times than not she was pensive, dolefully silent, or openly sobbing when she thought he wasn't awake at night in their exchanges over the years. But this… this was different. This was good! This was great!

She could be happy again… that's all that matters!

His grin grew larger as his eyes teared up.

After all, this was just an experimental thing. It wasn't like she would replace his father if she was just dating. Dating was harmless and it would make her happy.

And if she was happy, he was happy. Nothing else mattered.

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To be continued… hope you enjoyed the chapter! =3

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EeveeGen9988: Hello! It's fantastic to finally get this chapter out, and boy was it crazy this time around for editing. *wipes sweat away*

At one point all my progress got lost, so it was pretty scary having to redo edits I did before with two-thirds of my memory working for what changes I did before. Even the author's notes I had before were lost, so what you're reading now is Author's Notes 2.0, heh. But I'm glad I was able to recover mostly everything I changed. =D

I also got paranoid about a lot of sections in the final edit, so it took a little longer to finish but I'm happy with the results! It's funny how you think everything's fine in your head, then the next thing you know, you're shaving away at what you thought was perfect then had to perfect it again. XD

Part 10 will be coming out at some point, but I don't know when. But be assured, it will be released before this December. :D

...Oh wait, before I go- I would like to inform you found extra content again! You must be an expert!

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NEW LETTER THREAD CONTENT HAS BEEN [SUCCESSFULLY] CREATED

DATE_OF_CREATION = 3/06/27/PM/MON/18/JUNE/1975

GAME_DAY_SEQUENCE = DAY/06

THREAD_TYPE = [PRIVATE [HM to ?]]

ENTRY_NO = 1

LOG_NAME = RI

DOCUMENT_ALIAS = Rulemaster Inquiry - Entry 1

INCOMING RESPONSE [SUCCESSFULLY] RETRIEVED

DATE_OF_RETRIEVAL = 4/30/49/PM/MON/30/JUNE/1975

GAME_DAY_SEQUENCE = DAY/06

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Rulemaster Inquiry - Entry 1
DOCUMENT CONTENT IS AS FOLLOWS

Dear to whom it may concern,

I don't know if you got my message or if I got it to the right person, but I've been stuck in a rut over a topic and the person I regularly respond with has cut off the Letter Thread we were using to communicate less than a Week ago. I tried making new ones but I think they got deleted each time they were sent out so I cant contact them. I think it had to do with the fact that I may have tried talking more about the topic and they didn't want to discuss it further, and I know I should be doing my duties instead because they said I have to, but I just want answers because I feel like I'm the only one who doesn't actually know about this matter I stumbled upon.

I know you're probably very busy, but I would really appriete answers.

Hoping this wasn't stupdi,
Hiraku Maeda

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Response #1? to Rulemaster Inquiry - Entry #1
RESPONSE CONTENT IS AS FOLLOWS

Dear, Rulemaster,

I have read your submission. What matter are you speaking of?

My ears are open to your concerns,
[Failed Identity Retrieval]

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Response #1HM to Response #1? to Rulemaster Inquiry - Entry #1
RESPONSE CONTENT IS AS FOLLOWS

Dear person I am talking to,

To be quite honest, I'm panicking. I'm panicking really badly. I didn't say this to the previous person I was talking to (I'm not saying their name because I don't think they would be happy to talk with me more for talking to you) but ever since they talked about this thing called broke Psyche or fractured Compost, I've just been feeling really tense. And to be honest, I have this thing where when I feel something's off, I can't help but freak out and feel on edge until whatever it is isnt putting me on edge.

So like I said, I don't know what a broke Psyche or fractured Compost is.

I thought I'd sned you a message because you're kind of also like me from what I hear because you spearheaded this system of having Rulemasters watch in the Lower Grounds.

I hope I'm not bothering you like I had with the other person!
Hiraku Maeda

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Response #2? to Response #1HM to Response #1? to Rulemaster Inquiry - Entry #1
RESPONSE CONTENT IS AS FOLLOWS

Dear, Rulemaster,

As I understand it, from what I have heard, you are the currently established Angel we have seated in the Lower Grounds. You are facing a problem where you do not understand a subject because of a supposed denial of being supplied information. If so, I believe the person you are in communication with, or were in communication with, could have cut you some slack and given you said information. From what I know, the information is not forbidden from knowing.

A broken Psyche and fractured Composition is what you were referring to, correct?
[Failed Identity Retrieval]

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Response #2HM to Response #2? to Response #1HM to Response #1? to Rulemaster Inquiry - Entry #1
RESPONSE CONTENT IS AS FOLLOWS

Dear person I don't know,

I'm relieved that I'm not breaking a rule from what the other person said, and also releeved that it's okay for me to know! I usually get berrated by them whenever I stray off topic or freak out too much! Thank you for not deleting the Letter Thread yet!

I was talking about that, I just don't always spell the best. The person I talk with doesn't like it, I think, but I can't help it.

Once again, thank you for not deleting the Letter Thread yet!
Hiraku Maeda