to unbranded

[jesustree]

[ so they're standing in dead god's pad, joshua standing in front of neku with his hands in his pockets and wearing the same old smirk that must be etched into his face now. neku's presence here is a carefully orchestrated gambit and it's not a repeat of those important three weeks that fatally changed him. neku's not here to play the game.

rather, joshua has a little something different on his mind this time. ]

"However did you get yourself killed again, Neku?"

Comments

deaaaath iiis misleaaadiiingggg

[unbranded]

[ to say he's upset would be the understatement of the year, seeing as neku's fists are clenched so hard he can feel the skin bursting into little crescents beneath his nails, eyes focused on the ground.

after their mini-adventure back in the RG, he's already riled up enough as it is, knowing full well that joshua isn't joking. he is, once again, in the dead god's pad.

there's nothing he can say, only managing to spit out josh's name like it's poison in his mouth, like it might kill him.

oh, wait. ]

"...You..!"

when i faAAAAAlll asleeeep

[jesustree]

"Me?"

IM UPSET WITH YOU

[unbranded]

"You know damn well what you did! What the fuck is wrong with you!?"

[jesustree]

"Please explain to me how what I did was wrong if no one found your body."

[unbranded]

"I'll explain it to you when my foot's up your ass, you selfish prick! What could you possibly gain from me dying?"

[jesustree]

"I'll come right out with it, Neku. Become my Conductor."

[ that's not a request that's an order. ]

[unbranded]

" Hell no! I already told you I'm done with your games."

[ and here we are, not giving a shit. ]

[jesustree]

"Do you see any other way out of your situation?"

[unbranded]

"I wouldn't have a 'situation' if it weren't for you in the first place."

[jesustree]

"Doesn't change the fact that you're still dead, does it?"

[unbranded]

"The fact that you killed me does!"

[jesustree]

"Enlighten me. I'm afraid I don't quite see how."

[unbranded]

"Being an asshole doesn't raise the chances of me agreeing to take the job."

[jesustree]

"Not answering a request doesn't reduce the chance of me being 'less of an asshole'."

[unbranded]

"And why not offer it to a Reaper, then? I'm sure Pinkie would love a chance to operate the Hellhole for once."

[jesustree]

"I'd like to recruit someone who I know a bit better. If you catch my drift. "

[unbranded]

"I'm starting to doubt whether you really know me at all. Most people would have caught on that it's a no-no to kill others for their own selfish needs by now?"

[jesustree]

"The end justifies the means."

[unbranded]

"There isn't going to be an end if you don't let me go back to the RG."

[jesustree]

"You can let yourself back into the RG once you say yes."

[unbranded]

"Being a half-dead ringleader of the dead isn't appealing to all of us, Josh."

[jesustree]

"All of us, Neku?"

[unbranded]

"'All' being whatever poor kid you tried to talk into this last time, myself included."

1/2

[jesustree]

"As I recall, Megumi was quite happy with the position."

[jesustree]

" 'An Honour', he called it."

[unbranded]

"A religiously-devoted psychopath isn't exactly on my list of things I want to be when I grow up."

[jesustree]

"Oh, you never know. He wasn't always like that."

[unbranded]

"And look how that one ended up. Betting something with you and getting killed, as per usual."

[jesustree]

"Ye of little faith. I, on the other hand, believe in you."

1/2

[unbranded]

"Oh, right. Forgot that I'm 'His choice', as Shades called it. Some honour that turned out to be."

[unbranded]

"Was this the plan all along, then? Me being your proxy, then killing me thrice over until you tried to corner me into being Conductor?"

[jesustree]

"You being Conductor was never part of the plan. After you played the game, however, it became an inevitability."

[unbranded]

"I don't want to be responsible for making people go through the same thing I did, inevitability or not. It's not happening no matter what."

[jesustree]

"You can decide that, when you become Composer."

[ is this the bomb
did he drop it? ]

1/2

[unbranded]

[ detonation lag. processing.. ]

[unbranded]

"Are you out of your fucking mind!?"

[jesustree]

"I know. Sad, isn't it?"

[unbranded]

"Don't you live forever? There is no 'when you become Composer' involved if you're immortal."

[jesustree]

[ Waiting for you to get the memo. ]

[unbranded]

[ it may or may not be evident that he's paled significantly. ]

"No. A thousand times no. There's no way."

[jesustree]

"I'm afraid when the time comes, you won't have a choice."