ceiling_cat | [01 | voice, Japanese]

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[01 | voice, Japanese]

...Well, now, that's funny.

I could've sworn I was back in Shibuya for a couple seconds there. Guess my mind was playin' tricks on me. That lovely lakeshore sure isn't anything I'd expect in Tokyo.

Sure isn't anything I'd expect in my apartment, either, and I recognize this little note they left me.

Hey there, Discedo.

Lemme guess - it's been a while?

I'd appreciate somebody fillin' me in while I make my way back to less soggy ground. Just how long has it been? Seems a bit colder than the last time I was here.

By the way, if anyone listenin' to this thing has a hand on the controls of whatever you use to drag us here, leave me a bit longer next time, won't ya? I could've grabbed a bag of beans.

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Yeah, probably. Hell if I know what it is.

[He dropped his voice to a mutter, realizing Mr. H probably didn't have a clue what had happened while he'd been gone. Hell, it had been weeks, and it was still pretty damn surreal to Neku.]

You missed a lot, okay?

Oh?

[Eyebrows soared. "A lot," huh. Maybe it hadn't been just the bits about Angels and Taboo Noise that Joshua had been telling the kid. A moment of very thoughtful silence indeed, and the corners of his mouth curled up with amusement.]

Isn't that interestin'.

[He uncrossed his ankles, getting more comfortable. He wasn't going to be getting anything useful out of Joshua, which meant he'd have to tread lightly here. A little honesty couldn't hurt.]

...You know, Neku, arranging for the best Composer comes with my job. I've never done it that way before, but I've also never known a Composer strong and stubborn enough to take the whole district with him when he stagnated in the position.

Setting Minamimoto up to go after Joshua.... It was a long shot, but I thought it was the only chance for Shibuya to stay in one piece.

Not my best call.

["Not my best call." Why'd he do it, then if he thought that? Still...] ...I guess there was nothing else you could do. Joshua changing his mind probably wasn't something you predicted, huh?

[Not that that made any more sense to Neku than it had a few weeks ago. He was trying to wrap his mind around it, when he wasn't avoiding thinking about it altogether.]

[Hanekoma ran a hand ruefully through his hair, ruffling it even more towards the vertical.]

It wasn't. That's where I screwed up, Phones; I didn't expect Josh to change.

[He waved a hand at the other end of the couch.] Quit lurkin' over there, you're going to give me a cramp in the neck.

[Neku pushed off the wall and sat at the other end, straightening his headphones absently.] ...Did he change?

Edited 2009-12-29 11:19 (UTC)

[Well, of course Josh wouldn't have talked to the kid about that.]

If he hadn't changed, you wouldn't be sitting there.

.........

Guess not.

[He leaned back, crossing his arms, and considered asking what had really been bothering him for a while.]

...Do you think it's going to happen again?

[Hanekoma glanced away, face going thoughtfully blank. Good question, that. One he'd been trying to address.]

[If he were putting money down on it, though, he'd know which side to bet on. Especially given whatever it was that had been going on in the last three months. Looking back at Neku, he smiled.]

Ya know, Neku, the district reflects the Composer. Shibuya was goin' downhill a month ago back home - stagnating, bad enough that Josh thought destroying it would be better than letting it fall apart.

After the Game, it was the best possible Shibuya that could be.

Can't say if it'll happen again. But the odds are pretty low.

[And he would be alert to it if things threatened to deteriorate again.]

............

[Muttering.] If you say so. [It was still hard to believe that Joshua could have changed that much. Especially because of...]

Josh didn't seem as confident. It came up a while back. He didn't seem convinced that anything had changed.

Might be harder to spot it from the inside.

[Joshua had said that? The trade secrets were sounding less and less important by comparison. Who would've thought?]

[Well, he'd had a hunch, but he hadn't had faith in it.]

...I guess.

[If it happened again, would he know? Could he stop it? Probably not, and that was the scary part. And if Mr. H had to stop it, Joshua would probably end up dead.]

Long as things keep going the way they are, it won't happen again, Neku.

[It better not. He might not shoot Joshua, but he could punch him. In the face. Repeatedly, if necessary.]

...You have a place to stay?

I hear somebody took my old place, but I can always find an empty room. Shouldn't be a problem.

[He glanced thoughtfully at the door.] Anyplace empty on this hall? Not that I mind walkin', but it'd be convenient.

No idea. Uh, I think 412 is empty...

I'll give that a look. Thanks, Phones.

[He paused, glancing over at the boy again. Neku looked calmer; but....]

Anythin' else you wanted to ask me?

[Like this day hadn't been weird enough already.] Not right now.

[Neku got up off the couch and slid his headphones down around his neck.] ...I saved some of your stuff. If you want it. Pi-Face took the paints before I could head back down there, though. [Since the whole Joshua thing chose that moment to happen. Great timing there, Josh.]

Edited 2009-12-29 12:06 (UTC)

That so? Then I definitely owe ya one - don't worry about the paints, I wasn't expectin' em to last till now. What'd you get?

[He heaved himself to his feet, then paused. One more thing to say before he let the subject go.]

Don't talk about the Angel thing over the communicators, Neku. That information is strictly limited to Composer rank and above.

I know. He told me. ...Sorry.

[Neku moved over toward his room.] I got whatever paintings I could find. I think Joshua just stole your food.

Keep it in mind. Spreading it around could get you both in trouble.

[He shrugged away the serious moment, grinning again.]

If it's just paintings, keep 'em, Phones. I can't do much with those with no supplies.