[Subaseka;prose] aftermath
Hanekoma Sanae, Kiryuu Yoshiya (Joshua)
Spoilers for end of Subarashiki Kono Sekai/The World Ends With You + Secret Reports.
He expects the cold wave of anger when he tells Joshua of what he had done during the last Game, as well as the faint undercurrent of hurt and betrayal, and Hanekoma only has enough time to scoop the other children up before Joshua bars the way to the Room of Reckoning. At first, he is afraid that Joshua is really going to destroy Shibuya after all, but then he hears the discordant melody of Shibuya changing, almost imperceptibly. Not getting erased, but shifting, losing some chords but gaining new ones, and Hanekoma feels his worry lift.
Shibuya will be alright. Somehow, Neku has affected Joshua enough that even his infraction, something Hanekoma is sure the old Joshua would have taken great offense at, had only earned a veritable snub. Hanekoma thinks that this ending is the one he least deserves, for all his meddling, but he's glad all the same that it's come to this.
Joshua ignores his offerings of food at first, but Hanekoma persists, knowing that even though Composers have less of a need in fulfilling physical wants, what Joshua is doing now, resetting Shibuya, that would tire even the most imaginative of Composers. At the end of the second day though, the meal trays set at the entrance of the Room are eaten, and Hanekoma feels a sense of relief that at least Joshua's forgiven him, even if it's just a little.
In the meantime, he watches over Phones and the others while they sleep in his cafe, recovering from the ordeal of playing. It's strange being in this silent Shibuya, it's inhabitants frozen in time while the Composer rewrites his symphony. Hanekoma tries to take advantage of this time to walk through the streets of Shibuya, to observe the people and draw inspiration, but the eerie silence is too much for the Producer. Shibuya is not meant to be a grave, and Hanekoma doesn't want his work to be tainted by such despair.
On the sixth day, Joshua arrives at WildKat, a lot thinner, a lot paler, but he holds his head high even as he leans against the entrance for support. Hanekoma knows better than to offer help, Joshua's forgiveness has not extended that far yet.
"Do you want to come in and have a seat?"
"It is done," Joshua says, and Hanekoma knows that the children sleeping peacefully in his studio are already gone, returned alive to their proper places in the RG. Shibuya is restored and kept whole and not destroyed. He gives Joshua a grateful smile.
"Well. I shall turn myself in then."
"Wait."
"I think an extra week of freedom is being merciful enough, not to mention the restoration of Shibuya," Hanekoma says, and turns away. "After all, I broke the Code, gave Minamimoto access to the Taboo sigil, and tried to orchestrate your death as well."
"You could have left me in the other world." Joshua's voice is cool. "Waited until Neku killed Megumi, and with the absence of a valid Composer Neku could have ascended to that throne instead, and I would have lost my position. But you brought me back."
"I did."
"I could have destroyed Shibuya anyway. Neku would not."
Hanekoma tries not to laugh, and fails. It's always been his defense mechanism. "You could have. It was a gamble." He shrugs his shoulders. "And somehow, I always end up winning."
"Even if you lose."
"As they say: Lose the battle, win the war."
Joshua's hand rests on his shoulder. Hanekoma thinks of all the different things he can do at the moment, laugh, cry, apologise, try to explain why he did what he did, or even run, but in the end he settles for a quiet, "I do love Shibuya, Joshua."
It's as close as an apology as he can give, and the snort behind him seems to indicate that Joshua is willing to accept as much. The Composer takes his hand.
"Let's go, then."
Spoilers for end of Subarashiki Kono Sekai/The World Ends With You + Secret Reports.
He expects the cold wave of anger when he tells Joshua of what he had done during the last Game, as well as the faint undercurrent of hurt and betrayal, and Hanekoma only has enough time to scoop the other children up before Joshua bars the way to the Room of Reckoning. At first, he is afraid that Joshua is really going to destroy Shibuya after all, but then he hears the discordant melody of Shibuya changing, almost imperceptibly. Not getting erased, but shifting, losing some chords but gaining new ones, and Hanekoma feels his worry lift.
Shibuya will be alright. Somehow, Neku has affected Joshua enough that even his infraction, something Hanekoma is sure the old Joshua would have taken great offense at, had only earned a veritable snub. Hanekoma thinks that this ending is the one he least deserves, for all his meddling, but he's glad all the same that it's come to this.
Joshua ignores his offerings of food at first, but Hanekoma persists, knowing that even though Composers have less of a need in fulfilling physical wants, what Joshua is doing now, resetting Shibuya, that would tire even the most imaginative of Composers. At the end of the second day though, the meal trays set at the entrance of the Room are eaten, and Hanekoma feels a sense of relief that at least Joshua's forgiven him, even if it's just a little.
In the meantime, he watches over Phones and the others while they sleep in his cafe, recovering from the ordeal of playing. It's strange being in this silent Shibuya, it's inhabitants frozen in time while the Composer rewrites his symphony. Hanekoma tries to take advantage of this time to walk through the streets of Shibuya, to observe the people and draw inspiration, but the eerie silence is too much for the Producer. Shibuya is not meant to be a grave, and Hanekoma doesn't want his work to be tainted by such despair.
On the sixth day, Joshua arrives at WildKat, a lot thinner, a lot paler, but he holds his head high even as he leans against the entrance for support. Hanekoma knows better than to offer help, Joshua's forgiveness has not extended that far yet.
"Do you want to come in and have a seat?"
"It is done," Joshua says, and Hanekoma knows that the children sleeping peacefully in his studio are already gone, returned alive to their proper places in the RG. Shibuya is restored and kept whole and not destroyed. He gives Joshua a grateful smile.
"Well. I shall turn myself in then."
"Wait."
"I think an extra week of freedom is being merciful enough, not to mention the restoration of Shibuya," Hanekoma says, and turns away. "After all, I broke the Code, gave Minamimoto access to the Taboo sigil, and tried to orchestrate your death as well."
"You could have left me in the other world." Joshua's voice is cool. "Waited until Neku killed Megumi, and with the absence of a valid Composer Neku could have ascended to that throne instead, and I would have lost my position. But you brought me back."
"I did."
"I could have destroyed Shibuya anyway. Neku would not."
Hanekoma tries not to laugh, and fails. It's always been his defense mechanism. "You could have. It was a gamble." He shrugs his shoulders. "And somehow, I always end up winning."
"Even if you lose."
"As they say: Lose the battle, win the war."
Joshua's hand rests on his shoulder. Hanekoma thinks of all the different things he can do at the moment, laugh, cry, apologise, try to explain why he did what he did, or even run, but in the end he settles for a quiet, "I do love Shibuya, Joshua."
It's as close as an apology as he can give, and the snort behind him seems to indicate that Joshua is willing to accept as much. The Composer takes his hand.
"Let's go, then."