"Are you ready Josh? They're probably still waiting in the front area of WildKat where I asked them to," Mr. Hanekoma said as we steadily approached the cafe where the curtains were pulled over the windows, blocking our view inside. We would immediately be back in the RG as soon as we entered through the doors. Sure enough, as we made it to the glass front door, two Reapers sat at the counter, their wings shining in the cafe lights overhead, showing the intricate designs on each one. They seemed to be in a conversation with each other as Kariya leaned back in the stool, twirling his signature lollipop in his hand.

At the chime of the bell as Mr. Hanekoma opened the front door, their heads snapped up to attention and stared at the three of us.

"So which one of you is going to explain about that Nikolai fellow? He's not your average... person... is he? And I see that you two have some injuries," Kariya said, keeping his attention on the lollipop in his hands, before glancing at Joshua with his amber eyes. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Mr. Hanekoma slip into a backroom, leaving two Reapers, a Composer, and an Angel left in the room. I glanced at Joshua who shrugged at the mention of the wound on his shoulder.

"How observant. It wasn't the wings that gave it away was it?" Joshua asked. Yashiro's eye twiched and I could tell she was struggling to hold herself back from punching Joshua or something along those lines. The atmosphere in the air was thick before Joshua finally let out a sigh and looked at both Reapers. "Well, if he didn't introduce himself like a proper gentleman, his name is Nikolai. He's an Angel. An Angel of Death to be specific, although that's his former title. He's a Fallen Angel now. Surely you both know about the Higher Plane and the Angels that reside there because of him."

Kariya nodded. "Heard of it either way, but yeah. The 'angel' wings did give it away. Is that where she comes into play? You must be (Y/n)," he said as he looked at me. "Nikolai mentioned you. He mentioned you and the Composer quite a bit in the beginning of our little, fight. I must say, I didn't expect for you to be an Angel. You knew about the Game, but refused to speak anymore about yourself."

"Oh? So you two have already met?" Joshua asked. I nodded my head as I placed a hand on the back of my neck, feeling a pressure weigh down on my shoulders from the attention being brought to me.

"More than once... And Nikolai doesn't learn when to shut his mouth if you want me to be honest, but yes. That is why I know about the Reaper's game. And you won't have to worry about him again though. He's being taken care of by my superiors," I said. Yashiro looked at Kariya, before switching the attention to the rest of us, letting her eyes glance back and forth between everyone in the room.

"Am I the only one who had no clue about this 'Higher Plane'?!" Yashiro asked, running a hand through her short pink hair as she inhaled and took a deep breath trying to calm herself.

"It seems so. But you seem like something's on your mind. Care to share?" Joshua asked. Her head snapped up from Joshua being on point.

"Well, it's just that I thought you were Erased but here you are, claiming to be the Composer. Only the Conductor is supposed to see you, yet here you are talking to two Harrier Reapers as if it's no big deal. Anyways, I wanted to apologize for how I acted towards you when you were playing the Ga-" Joshua silenced her by the mere gesture of raising his hand as he smirked. She pursed her lips and looked down as she crossed her arms, seeming to have a lot to say, but not being able to find the right words to do so.

"Honestly, it touches that you want to apologize, but I don't need it. Most people get annoyed with me anyways. And I have no problem talking to you both. It's not that uncommon for a Composer to be worried for Reapers. Besides, with Nikolai as your opponent, I'm relieved that you both didn't die. He's a tricky enemy to put it simply. Would you rather me leave you to die? Because those arrangements can be made," Joshua mused. Yashiro almost seemed to be caught off guard by that statement and could only respond with a stutter, unable to form even a single word. Even Kariya seemed caught off guard by what Joshua said. Joshua merely waved his hand in the air as he made a gesture with his hand. "Relax. I'm only joking."

"While you have a conversation down here, I'm going to go. You seem to be doing just fine answering questions on your own. And can you at least refrain from actually doing anything to them? Just don't do anything stupid," I said, although my words were geared towards Joshua who shrugged and waved me off.

"That's a lot to ask for. But if you are asking, then I suppose I can't say no," Joshua answered with an exaggerated sigh. That answer was enough for me as I turned on my heel and disappeared up the stairs in the back of the cafe. It wasn't like I wanted to abandon Joshua with Kariya and Yashiro, it was just that I didn't feel like answering anymore questions than I already have and a lot was running through my mind. As I reached through the top of the stairs, I noticed Mr. Hanekoma leaning against the wall as he looked at me. His eyes glanced down towards my leg as he gestured for me to follow him into the bathroom, where I sat down on the lid of the toilet seat, not needing for Mr. Hanekoma to tell me to, as he pulled out a first aid kit from underneath the cabinet.

"Mr. Hanekoma, I can do this myself. You and Joshua both do way too much for me and a simple thanks doesn't suffice. I mean, I appreciate you doing this, but you've done way more than I've ever done to help you or anything. I could've tried harder at your trial and maybe you wouldn't be labeled as a Fallen. There's so much I could've done. I probably just cause more problems by being here," I said as my eyes drifted off towards my injured leg as I moved it into the bathtub in the room, pulling up the pant leg to reveal the wound. Turning on the faucet as I winced at the sudden icy water that raced down my leg. I ran a cloth sitting on the counter over the injury, being sure to rinse it out and get rid of the dirt and pieces of rock that got stuck in it from the fight.

"I'm not worried about that label and you know that. And I didn't have to take you in, I chose to. You being here is because I want you here, where I know you would be safe. Your parents would want that too. Besides, you and I both know that Josh would lose it if he heard you saying that. He's very protective over you and can't stand when you're hurt. In case you haven't noticed, neither of us are bothered with what's happened. What's important is that now everything's over, and there's no one that I can think of who would want to harm you now. With that kind of mindset you won't be able to achieve what you're meant to," Mr. Hanekoma said. I attempted to smile, only to find it falter as I dried off my leg and turned off the water running in the tub. Mr. Hanekoma then continued to clean and wrap the injury up as I subconsciously gripped the closed toilet seat I was sitting on.

"But I nearly killed Joshua... How can he still stand to be around me like nothing happened?! If you hadn't stopped me, I would've..." I trailed off as I placed a hand on my head as I leaned on my knee.

"Because he knows that you didn't mean to. That was when Nikolai had that sigil on you."

"It doesn't change the fact that I still attempted to." In the midst of our talking, Mr. Hanekoma had finally finished up wrapping up the injury as I stood up and flexed my leg. He placed the kit back under the sink and turned towards me as he rubbed the back of his neck. He walked up to me and wrapped his arms around me as I leaned into his embrace.

"I don't know what is with you saying all of this, but you have people that care about you, you know. Just one action like that isn't going to make us all turn our backs on you. Especially Josh. If you're really worried, talk to him about it," Mr. Hanekoma said, before he let go of me as he fished for something in his pocket, revealing a piece of paper. He placed it in my hand.

"This was left by your mother. I came across it in one of her books. It's addressed to you. Kariya and Yashiro have already left." I nodded and walked out of the bathroom with him as he turned down the hallway, disappearing into one of the rooms. I turned and bumped into someone's chest.

"S-Sorry," I said as I looked into violet eyes. I placed the piece of paper in my pocket before realizing who I had ran into. My face heated up as I remembered the last time we were this close as my legs seemed to numb and turn to jelly.

"Well, since you don't seem to be doing anything important, come with me. There's something that needs to be cleared up between us." Joshua's hand found mine as he led the way towards my bedroom where he opened up the door, closing it as we were both inside. My heart beat even harder against my chest as Joshua placed his hand on the wall next to my head and held my wrist in the other, successfully pinning me to the wall. I felt as if I was going to pass out as I felt Joshua's breath brush against my ear, ever so slightly as the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. My thoughts jumbled as I opened my mouth to speak, only to have incoherent noises come out from the start of unfinished words.

"Dear, I don't think it's right to hold this back from you. I think I just might go insane if I hide it a moment longer. I wouldn't call any of those other kisses we've shared real. But believe me when I say that it pains me to see you hurt and I can't help but get this burning feeling in my stomach whenever someone says something bad about you. I'm drawn to you the way a moth is to light, always pursuing but never being able to get close enough until now. I had forgotten how to feel until I met you, and felt my heart skip a beat when I first laid eyes on you. I believe this is what it feels to be in love," Joshua whispered as my breath caught in my throat as I heard those words come out of his mouth as my legs were about to give out on my and send me crashing onto Joshua. I had wanted to hear those words come out of his mouth for so long and as he said them now, I had no idea how to react as my heart was going to leap out of my chest.

"J-Joshua," I stuttered, my face only reddening at the mention of his name. Said boy smirked and leaned in close to my ear again.

"Shh, you don't need to say anything. I know how you feel. Just don't utter a single word, for I fear you may just faint. But since I know the feeling's mutual, I suppose that means I can finally do this without being interrupted or in a death situation."

Joshua crashed his lips onto mine as I was nearly thrown off by the sudden pressure on my lips as they moved in sync with each other in a passionate trance as my body acted on its own from the feelings that had been welled up deep inside of me beforehand. The moment was different from the kiss when fighting Nikolai, as this one was more gentle and the one before was rushed and sloppy. This moment was perfect as his hand that was on the wall had made its way around my head and supported it as the previous grip on my arm loosened, allowing me to snake my arm around his back and twirl the ends of his soft hair around my finger as my other arm wrapped around his slender waist. He pulled my body closer to his as he deepened the kiss.

The moment was entirely bliss as it felt like the world around us stopped as time ceased to flow, leaving just Joshua and I in each other's arms.

An eternity seemed to pass before we both pulled away, panting for breath as I looked into Joshua's mesmerizing violet eyes that were softened as he looked at me as I placed my hands on his chest and leaned on him as he kept his arms around me, effectively keeping my body stabilized as my legs were entirely numb. I closed my eyes as Joshua gently rocked our bodies back and forth.

"I love you too Joshua..."