(Untitled)

[componere]

Who: OU!Joshua, OU!Neku, other!Joshua
When: two weeks after Neku's Game in Shibuya's time
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: ...Joshua/Neku/Joshua, because clearly, that's how we all roll. And probably variations of the aforementioned pairing. Swearing will be involved, and sex, and the like.
Summary: How about I get back to you on that?

Comments

You'll have to forgive awkward responses. I've never played with another me before~

[god_of_the_game]

Well, this was something he hadn't seen for weeks. Or, at least, since he'd last looked in a mirror. Yoshiya was standing in the center of the Room of Reckoning, and the visitor was, needless to say, an unexpected one.

Still, no one belonged in the Room of Reckoning save for the Composer, and a Composer they both were. The same one. And this had happened before, coming face to face with himself. Another Joshua had never landed into his Room of Reckoning, but he was a welcome guest.

So Yoshiya smiled and tilted his head at the newcomer.

"Mishap?"

Likewise 8|a

[componere]

As expected, the voice reached his ears, if not a bit later than Joshua had expected. A slight exhale left his lips, almost reminiscent of amusement. Slowly, he lifted his gaze up and across the room, feigning complete indifference. A portrait of perfect composure.

"Something like that, I'm afraid," he began with a cordial smile, taking a step forward. "You'd think by now they would have worked out the... quirks."

Or made it impossible to pass between planes unless you were of the Higher Plane status. This was getting old. Fast. Nonetheless, a smirk took form. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything too important?"

[god_of_the_game]

Yoshiya knew that feeling well. It made things rather difficult, and he was starting to get very tired of the Angels interfering in their own indirect and oh-so-subtle ways. His smirk is steadfast despite the contempt that flickers briefly in his eyes.

"Nothing important, no. Shibuya's voice is as chaotic as usual."

It was impossible to set it right, at the moment; Neku's Soul was bright enough to upset Shibuya's entire balance, and the Composer was working overtime trying to keep the harmony. It wasn't working out too well, and the fact that Yoshiya refused to wipe his existence from his ex-Proxy's mind to assist the process was a key factor in Shibuya's discord.

"Jumping dimensions on your own?"

[componere]

"Not exactly, no," Joshua explained, left hand reaching up to push back his bangs, "Call it... an ill stroke of luck."

Subconsciously, the Composer licked his lips, more so out of nervous habit than anything else. His posture was as proper and casual (how that was possible at the same time would always be an enigma) as usual, refusing to betray his inner most turmoil.

"I don't suppose you could tell me about this...Plane while I wait for my ride back?" he suggested, reaching into his pocket for his cell. It was still odd to see the orange device instead of the other device he had grown accustomed to. Strange, strange things.

[god_of_the_game]

Yoshiya knew his own insecure habits well, and watching Joshua made it very obvious what the other Composer was truly feeling. While Yoshiya was impressed with how well all his anxiety would have been hidden, he understood what was really going on in the other boy's head, and his smirk faded into a slightly more serious expression.

"I'm not sure how mine would be much different from yours. This is Shibuya two weeks after Neku Sakuraba's last Game. It's Sunday."

Sunday, which meant that Neku would be waiting by Hachiko for Yoshiya to show up. Which he wouldn't. And he didn't offer to bring this Joshua to Sanae, either, because he was refusing to speak with his Producer at this time.

[componere]

Sunday. Two weeks after? Well, it was good to know that the UG was running properly here, and not askew like in TinPinLand. Although it was a nice hiatus, the lack of construction and reality was disconcerting. Honestly, how did anyone ever get anything done?

"You'd be surprised," Joshua giggled, opting to keep the information to himself, if only to save time. He nodded, though, as if to acknowledge the information.

"Tell me: How did he do? Considering you're still here, he didn't shoot, but that doesn't mean he won." It was a careful game of Chess, because he was fully aware that in many Planes, many Places, he hadn't returned Neku Sakuraba back to the RG. It was a weakness, a sort of attachment, and it wasn't something he would reveal to another self when he wasn't on hometurf. That'd be suicide.

[god_of_the_game]

"He won the Game by not shooting. His gun wasn't loaded, even if he had tried. He returned to the RG, but even though his mind and personality have advanced, he's..."

Not at his best? Worse than he was before he was killed? Yoshiya trailed off, unsure. Violet eyes blinked twice before focusing on Joshua, and by now, the smile was gone.

"He won't move on. I didn't show up at Hachiko when he invited his friends, and he's been waiting for me ever since. He doesn't realize that I'm not going back."

Even though he would.

[componere]

It was peculiar, to say the least. Joshua exhaled again, this time more out of frustration than anything else. He didn't make eye contact with his other, strangely finding the back of the expansive room to be extremely interesting.

"I never knew him to be of the sentimental variety." Either that, or he had never really given Neku a proper chance to express anything apart from hate. It wasn't too bad of a conjecture. He had done everything in his power to upset the teen in order to get him to develop as a person, as a Soul...

"Then again, people change. Or, that's what they say~"

This topic wasn't too much to his pleasure. "I never saw him as the type to get attached. The thought is strangely intriguing, I must admit..."

[god_of_the_game]

It was more than that, more than just an urge to get Neku's Soul back into the right track for an optimum development. Yoshiya had wanted Neku to hate him, in the end, simply so that the redhead wouldn't get attached. It made things difficult that the boy had won the Game and had still gone back to his old ways, waiting for that friend who couldn't and wouldn't show up at their meeting place.

Yoshiya shivered silently, watching his other.

"Intriguing isn't the word I'd use. It's disconcerting. And it's...troublesome."

It made him lonely. And with Yoshiya not on speaking terms with Sanae any longer, he found himself oddly pleased with talking to himself. That was a terrible sign, for many reasons.

[componere]

"Perhaps for you," Joshua reasoned and flicked his gaze upwards for no real particular reason, if only to think.

A Neku who was so caught up in the past that he clung to the chance of seeing the Composer again. It was a strange thought, really, but not a displeasing one. A Neku who was appreciative, even.

"I say...it's rather rude you haven't given him the guilty pleasure of visiting yet," Joshua decided, a devious and all around mischievous smile appearing out of thin air. "You know how impatient he gets."

[god_of_the_game]

Yoshiya smiled at that remark, endlessly amused at the prospect of seeing blue eyes going wide and Neku's jaw dropping.

"Tempting. Very tempting. But I figured I'd draw out the process."

He knew it was going to happen eventually. One of the two of them would cave sooner or later, no matter what. Yoshiya giggled, a slender finger weaving into silver locks and moving his bangs out of his eyes.

"What's going on with your Neku, then?" Perhaps he should share...

[componere]

Draw out the process. A very Joshua move. He could have applauded if he had been in a better mood. Instead, he only gave the other a derisive look before pondering up an adequate response. How was his Neku doing?

"Funny you should mention that," he started, arms rolling into a shrug, "I honestly haven't the faintest. The last I knew, he was expanding his horizons, just as he was told to."

Independent. It was what he had wanted for Neku, right? To be strong and to grow and to stop relying completely on others. So why did it sting.

[god_of_the_game]

It stung because Neku was the only person Yoshiya had known in a hundred years who made any sense to him. Neku had articulated it brilliantly. They'd finally found someone who could understand them. Each other. Only the balance of life and death kept them apart, and maybe Yoshiya's gaze was a bit sympathetic when he approached his other self.

"Still worshipping CAT with every fiber of his being?"

That was one level of cruelty Yoshiya would never allow himself to reach. He'd never tell Neku what Hanekoma had done. Never.

[componere]

Joshua was well aware of the darkness his Producer had brewed, and the consequences such an act would bring about, but it was a matter of keeping the little connections to humanity he had in tact. Besides, he had known the man too long to completely banish him from his thoughts and self.

"Of course. He's such a fanboy, really," Joshua all but cooed, mockingly pressing the back of his hand to his forehead, as if feeling faint. He couldn't help but snicker at it.

"If only he put that much passion into other things."

[god_of_the_game]

Yoshiya knew that, but having died so young, he would never completely grow up. For now, his grudge against his old friend held firm...though he knew he couldn't handle being totally alone. These past two weeks hadn't done much to help the city's unharmonious music.

"Other things? Like getting himself a pretty little girlfriend?"

Yoshiya giggled, pressing the bridge of his index finger to his lips in a display of fake modesty.

"What a cute thought."

[componere]

"Mmm. Such as the Misaki girl?" Joshua speculated, tapping his chin thoughtfully. The two had had similar personalities, fears, and attitudes, to a degree, at least, but whether or not Neku was smart enough, or brazen enough, to pursue a social relationship like that after being a loner for so long was debatable. It was still adorable to think on. If not a bit grating, as well.

"I never saw him as the type to actively pursue anything." An indifferent shrug that was not entirely indifferent.

"Then again, I could be wrong. He is full of surprises."