the13tharcana | IC contact post for Adstringendum

Hopefully not!

[As in, no, Ryoji didn't think so. But, yeah, well... Enjoy digging your own grave now, Josh.]

Then again, we could always meet like this without any kind of reason, couldn't we?~

[... he'll cross that bridge when he comes to it.]

Oh, I suppose. I did enjoy our walk in the rain.

[...Josh, you were making him blush again, and this time Ryoji wasn't even sure why. Just by saying something like that...]

Really? [There was genuine surprise in his voice.]

...All this time, I thought you didn't have very pleasant memories in regards to that.

[Oh, he's only telling you the truth, Ryoji. It isn't his fault if you blush.]

Mm... I suppose you could say I've gotten over that.

[Ryoji knew it was his fault for bringing it up out of the blue like that back then. But sometimes, it made him wonder...]

Was it really that much of a shock for you?

I have to say, I wasn't really expecting it.

[He can admit that much.]

[Hmm...]

Well, speaking of unexpected things... May I ask you something?

[... stop making him nervous, Ryoji.]

What sort of something?

[Feel Ryoji's pain a bit, Josh.]

It somehow hasn't even crossed my mind to ask back then...

[Or maybe he simply took it for granted. But lately, after having talked to a bunch of people... he supposed had a hard time overlooking that kind of possibility.]

I won't ask further if you say 'yes,' just... I simply wanted to know.

[He pauses for a short moment, staring at Josh.]

Is there someone else? ...That you're interested in in that kind of way, I mean?

[... and here Joshua stands in silence for a moment. Hm. So that's... what has Ryoji worried? He tilts his head, considering.]

... unless a city counts toward that.

[And now... Ryoji is a bit confused.]

A city?

It's nothing.

[A smile. He wouldn't expect Ryoji to understand anyway.]

No, there isn't anyone.

[Well, Ryoji would lie if he said that he wasn't relieved to hear that. Although... the way Josh shook off the city thing just now? It made him wonder all the more.]

...Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?

[You could always try him, Josh. You already knew that Ryoji had a very vague understanding of what was normal and what was not. Chances were, something like this wouldn't really surprise him that much.]

I wouldn't mind listening.

[And hey, everybody had their kinks, right?]

[... a kink. Where in the world would you...]

... well, you already know more than most. I suppose it wouldn't hurt, if you're curious.

[He turns, glancing away at the water flowing beneath the bridge, but his smile never fades. If anything, the more he thinks about the topic of discussion, it both grows and softens.

Ryoji already somewhat understood. Maybe this would go over easier than he thought.]

I am Shibuya. Shibuya is me. I can hear the thoughts of the people within it, I can feel when the city is in harmony and when it isn't. I can change things as I see fit, to make the city stronger and even more beautiful than it already is.

Here, I can barely feel even a thread of my own city.

[And that... Wow. Just wow. Ryoji found himself staring. Because Josh, the way you looked and sounded happy while explaining that just now has left him in complete awe.]

Then... the connection you have with Shibuya seems like something far more deeper than what I have with the Universe. --Actually, this and that are probably not even anything close to one another. I don't really have that kind of influence on anything. It's rather... the other way around in my case, really.

But you, Joshua-senpai-- That needs to be an amazing feeling.

[He pauses for a moment and stares up at the sky, as if trying to imagine it.]

Though, here... You probably feel as if something was missing, huh?

[Ryoji could relate to that feeling somewhat, too, truth to be told. As far as missing a part of oneself went.]

At least now I can understand why you're looking for a way back.

[Ah, Ryoji had hit the nail right on the head. That was exactly the problem. With only that small thread of Shibuya existing here, everything felt... empty. He wouldn't admit to it out loud, though. But during the event, when he'd been convinced that ten years had passed...

At one point quite early on - within a year of the current time, actually - he'd fallen into a depression because he hadn't been able to return.]

I've been attached to Shibuya in some form or another for one hundred and forty years.

[Well, if Ryoji knew that, he'd definitely be worried. Especially since... there wasn't really much they could do about that here, could they? Unless Josh would be able to find some kind of substitute for Shibuya, but... that would be either far from easy, or not possible at all to accomplish. And it probably wouldn't be the same, either.

And, hmm... So that ad back then wasn't lying about Joshua's age, either, huh.]

That's a long time to get used to something. So it's really no wonder if you feel off without it now.

Though from what you just said, am I to understand that Shibuya itself had an influence on your own feelings in return? Like people's negative thoughts, for instance?

[Because simply knowing about those was one thing. Being influenced by them was another. Josh said that he was able to change the city, didn't he? But while being connected to it like that, it would be only logical to conclude that the city could also make changes in him. Unless this was a one-sided thing, after all, somehow.]

[There wasn't a substitute for Shibuya. There never would be. During the event, he had found a way of keeping himself busy, working on things to the point of distraction. But even that would only last so long.

But that thought... hm. Joshua tucks a bit of hair behind his ears, feeling it slide back out of place a moment later.]

Typically, the state of the Composer affects the state of the city, but... I suppose the opposite can happen, too.

[After all, natural disasters... did tend to drain things considerably.]

[If Josh seemed doubtful about it, then Ryoji already had reasons to believe it was the truth. It made him turn more serious all of a sudden.]

So it's probably a very good thing that time stands still back in our worlds while we're here, huh. Otherwise Shibuya might have had a problem without you being able to watch over it like you used to.

[And then there would be the possibility of Josh returning home... only to find not necessarily a pleasant surprise back there.]

And you would have an even bigger problem if it were still to affect you here in return, while there wouldn't be much you could do about it.

Or can you still feel things changing, even while here?

[Because Josh did say that he wasn't completely cut-off from it.]

[Don't... even make him think such a thing, Ryoji. Really. The headache isn't worth it.]

Actually, if time didn't stand still in our worlds... someone likely would have already taken my position from beneath my feet.

[Without a Composer or a Conductor in place... really, the UG was free game, if things hadn't been paused. With things the way they are, he can at least maintain his position while not being there at all.]

... what I can feel is more or less the equivalent of one track on a CD, set to repeat over and over.

[The small period of time from which he'd left, from which any of them had left, spanning from the moment Rhyme had been Erased to the moment Neku had met with Shiki, Beat and Rhyme at Hachiko. The melody of the track that spanned those three weeks, the changes that it goes through... from out of harmony and slightly foreboding, to a near-perfect harmony, the notes happier, lilting. Content.]

[This was yet another difference in their cases. Since Ryoji didn't really have anyone that could... take over his place. But that was also something he was born with, not something he had to strive for, meaning that he didn't even have a saying on the matter. And just thinking about going back to his home world now... terrified him more than he would led on, to be honest.]

So you say... Can just anyone become a Composer?

[Since... Josh was a normal human being once upon a time as well, wasn't he? He's told Ryoji about having died, after all. And yet here he was - angel wings and amazing kind of powers and all.]

...Is it a good kind of track, at least?

[Unfortunately, the threat of someone eyeing his position is more frequent than Joshua would like. Case in point, Minamimoto had just been trying himself not long before Joshua arrived here.]

Anyone can try. But it takes a particularly strong Soul to succeed.

[After all... it isn't just anyone that could take on the Composer and win.]

... it gets better near the end.

So you must have had a strong Soul if you managed to accomplish something like that.

[That thought alone made Ryoji smile.]

Does that mean that the city was changing for the better before you left?

You could say that.

[Of course, at the time, he had some help.

At that, Joshua smiles, glancing up to the sky.]

... yes. It was.

[Ryoji... found himself staring yet again. He honestly couldn't remember seeing Josh being so happy before. Both happy and proud. It managed to put a soft smile on his lips.]

The way you talk about it, Joshua-senpai... it makes me wish I was able to see that city of yours for myself someday.

[Even if something like that wouldn't be really possible, most likely... he could always wish, right?]

--Oh, wait, now that I remember it... All the friends back from your world who said that they come from Shibuya as well? Rhyme-chan and her brother, Neku-kun, and ah... Shiki-chan? [Did he remember the name right? He was sure she's been here twice by now, but they somehow never got the chance to talk more than once each time.] And Sanae-san as well? Oh, and there was also that guy... you've gotten into a fight with... once... [Ryoji trailed off a bit, wondering how he could have forgotten such a thing to begin with. And why was he remembering it just now, for that matter.]

Are they all residents of your city?

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