spaztastic | [IC/OOC] Voice Mail

[Hey! B| Alex is a classy dog, Joshua. Shiki raises an eyebrow at the smile, seeing it so many times before made her slightly wary when seeing it now.]

Good. [Sighs. Shiki soon follows suit, Alex seemingly taking this as his cue to lie down on ground, panting.]

Thanks... I guess. [Tucking a short stray lock of hair behind her ear.] You... still look the same.

[And now we have awkward.]

[ Hi awkward...!!!!!!

Well of course he looks the same. Of course he does because he's the Composer and he doesn't really age and -- Ah, that may be a good starting point.

He crosses his legs, resting his elbow on the crossed knee casually, gaze settling on the girl across the table. ]

You're free to ask whatever is on your mind. [ Not like he'll answer completely but uh :| hm. ]

Gladly.

[Nice to see you again!

And now she doesn't know which is more awkward: talking to Neku or talking to Joshua. She doesn't know which question to ask from her very, very long laundry list of questions. Some might even make her lose her temper right then and there. Might have to tread carefully here.]

[Cracking her knuckles.] You know that it took four months and a personality switch card for Neku to tell me the truth about you?

I suppose he figured it'd be best to hear it from me directly.

Either that, or he never found a good place in conversation to mention it.

[ And look, even with how things have played out, he's still very subtly playing Knight for the three of them. In his own, messed up way. A frown, though, and he shifts his gaze, humming indifferently. ]

But yes, I remember that card. [ :| HE HATED THAT CARD OKAY. ]

Edited 2012-07-15 17:17 (UTC)

[snort] Like you'll ever tell me the truth if I asked. And he choose to tell me after I had a nightmare about the Game.

But what really, really got to me then that a card, [She hated that card too] a stupid card, that's what it took for him to tell me the truth!

[ You're underestimating him, ok? He's a cryptic asshole but he's not Soul-less. If he was, he wouldn't be Composer. But that's another story entirely, now isn't it? Nonetheless... he's furrowing his brows, watching Shiki with a careful, guarded expression. ]

You act as if Neku is the most upfront individual we know... [ Don't get him started with how many times the other has had issues saying things to him or mentioning things. ]

And oh...? Try me. [ Just a small challenge 8D ]

He might not be upfront but he's honest!

And why should I? You're so damn cryptic! I'm not gonna get a straight answer!

[ A pout ]

You haven't even bothered to ask. Hmm, which I think is really your problem. You don't think to ask and just assume the truth is going to be given to you at random.

You think I'm gonna get a straight answer if I went "Hey Josh. Are you the one responsible for making our lives hell for three weeks?" two years ago?

I wouldn't necessarily call it hell...

[ Just a coy little grin. ]

Though...

Apart from Neku, you and the others got yourselves into the Game by dying. If it hadn't been for the Game, there would be no second chance and you all would have been Erased without a thought. [ Shrugging ]

Of course you wouldn't!

[Sadist.]

Neku got killed! He got killed for your little bet with your Conductor! [And now the patrons are looking at Shiki funny, having yelling the word "killed" at the top of her lungs.] He was a little pawn for your game! I'm even surprised up until now how he can trust you even after you screwed him over! TWICE!

Edited 2012-07-15 17:39 (UTC)

[ School'd...! He's blinking in honest surprise. He hadn't been expecting Shiki to go off quite like that. Hm.... ]

And he saved Shibuya in the process. [ A shrug and as a second thought: ]

All of your efforts were what saved the City, to be frank. [ A looong sigh. ]

Neku and I have sorted out that, however.

[Two years of bottled up rage, Joshua. It can do that to a girl who usually has a sweet deposition like Shiki. Alex can be heard whining under the table. He sits up, raising his paws and putting them and his head on Shiki's lap. Whatever Shiki wanted to say died in throat, focusing on reassuring her dog. Her expression softens, her hands stroking the canine's head gently.]

Shhhh. I'm sorry, Alex. I'm okay.

[Another whine from the dog, making Shiki smile a tiny smile. It does look like he's not convinced his master was okay. :< The more Shiki petted Alex, the more calm she was starting to feel. This was probably one of the reason why she brought him with her in the first place.]

[ He's quite for a long while, simply watching, simply observing. It's really baffling how worked up both Shiki and Neku got over these things. But then again, perhaps he could accredit that to how out of touch he was with the real world. Even after being here so long...

There's a rather frustrated sigh - and it's at himself really - dragging a hand through his hair. ]

If you're fishing for an apology... I'm not sorry for what I did, not when it spared Shibuya. However... I am sorry for the pain it seems to have put both you and Neku through.

Not fishing for an apology but--[Deadpanned and not looking up from Alex.]

BUBUUUUUU! Apology denied.

Edited 2012-07-15 18:21 (UTC)

[ ......... :| what.

Just.... a huff because oh god what do you want from him woman. He's sighing, cocking his head to the side, leaning his cheek further against his palm. ]

Very well, then. I'm not going to grovel. [ A pause. ]

What is it that you want, in that case?

[Gee, a more sincere and heartfelt apology would have been nice. The kind that actually makes it seem you do feel some kind of empathy and compassion, and you really tried to reflect on what you did. 8|]

Not expecting you to. We're not the only ones who suffered. Beat and Rhyme did too. And every other Player who got sucked into the Game.

[She pauses on her end, reassuring Alex that she was calm and that he can sit down on the ground again. After the dog obliges her request, Shiki faces Joshua again.]

As twisted as this sounds... I actually want to try and understand you, Joshua.

[ ... that's what you want, Shiki? Well that's a bit perplexing. Yet again, the Composer's eyebrows lift up and behind his bangs, a bit taken off guard. No one, barely even Neku, had ever said that they wanted to understand him. He figured his presence was grating enough, suspicious enough, to drive others away. Not that he minded: it was better alone, wasn't it....? ]

Given your importance in Neku's life, [ And that Neku was a remarkable judge of character, but that went unsaid, clearly implied... ]

...I don't see the harm.

[ A tip of his head and a small, small smile. ]

I figured you wanted me out of the equation entirely.

... You do realize we were friends at some point, right? [beat] Unless that was completely bogus too.

Edited 2012-07-16 18:33 (UTC)

... I even had to force you to hug me!

[She does, or at least she did, care that much about you, Joshua. Even though she's really pissed off, Shiki isn't vindictive enough to want that.]

Edited 2012-07-16 18:38 (UTC)

No, it wasn't faked.

[ an exasperated sigh as he drags his hand back through his hair, lost in thought. or it looks that way, anyway. yes, there was a considerable length of time where he and shiki got along, and that he even helped the girl out with her sewing and designing. hm... of course, that had all been before the truth of his identity was revealed, but really... ]

You overestimate the amount of people I come into contact with as Composer.

Apart from Conductor and Producer, the number is very slim. [ He's lazily leaning back now in the chair, avoiding eye-contact, feigning nonchalance when really... everything he's doing is giving away that he's uneasy and completely at a loss, here.

Neku wasn't the only person who just didn't get people. He was socially inept.

But yes, there's your answer, Shiki: a bold admittance of his position in the UG.]

Edited 2012-07-16 21:20 (UTC)

Oh... [That might have been an answer for both of the things Joshua said. Shiki had to admit that a tiny part of her was relieved that their friendship wasn't a lie. She shifts in her seat slightly before speaking again.]

I, um, kinda figured before you were lonely...

[ Lonely... Ahaha... lonely. That...stung and hit far too close to home. He won't forget, can't forget, that feeling he had felt when watching the group of friends at Hachiko. It was miserable, painful, empty... is that what loneliness felt like? ]

It's hard to tell, really, after living for so many years. [ in that isolation, he means to add on, but he shrugs. The fact he didn't wave it off speaks volumes, likely. Good going, Shiki, you pegged it! ]

Hmmn... [Shiki nods absently, kind of just staring a Joshua, like that'll make her be able to understand Joshua better.

Yup. Just staring. Jiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii--]

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