TWEWY Book of Oneshots

Stitched Crescendo

Prompt: Joshua realizes that he doesn't want to die.

Spoilers for the end of The World Ends With You.

Why does no one talk about the fact that Composer's have clairvoyance? "Normally, the Composer possesses a certain degree of clairvoyant foresight" - Secret Report 6. 

He sits on his throne in the Room of Reckoning, listening to Shibuya and her song. Her beauty expertly weaved together in perfect harmony shown by the masterfully played chord progressions. The music flowed from the city into his soul before returning to the city to find more notes from the city's Imagination and people.

His eye twitched. An entirely off-key staccato sounded again. When he had first heard the note, he had thought he had misheard it, but his ears and perception had never deceived him before. These notes have become more frequent lately. Notes from individuals who differed so differently that harm was being caused. The notes inspired more of the same. Shibuya's once flawless harmony was breaking.

He had tried to fix the melody before, personally finding the offender and stitching the music back into the melody, but, well, he wasn't a master at repairs. The note continued to tear away from the composition, pulling more notes with it, like tearing out seams in clothes. They pulled at the makings of the entire city, pulling and plucking out notes at its leisure. At this rate, the entire melody would be scrambled, unpredictable, and be a poor representation of nails on a chalkboard as the people's Imagination collided and clashed against each other before nothing was left behind.

He wondered what caused Shibuya's decline. Was it the people who gradually became more defined over the years as people became more accepting of each other? Or was it himself, unable to hold together all the pieces of the city, overlooking possibilities that created the whole distortion of Shibuya that resonated within him?

He knew how important music was to each city. It was the foundation of the people's daily lives and of how well a city flourished. And such sour notes were an inspiration and could affect the board, dooming others to take the fall with Shibuya. And that would result in disaster.

Well the solution was obvious, wasn't it? When everything was falling apart, you merely had to start from scratch.

He regrets the decision he has to make because, well, starting over includes everything including the people in both Underground and Realground.

Joshua stands and calls for his Conductor. When he arrives, he informs the man of his decision. Poor Megumi (the man knows his name, Yoshiya Kiryu, but is overly devoted to referring to him by his title. He has a suspicion that Megumi doesn't even remember what his name is) is overwhelmed by his grief of his decision to erase the city the man loves with all his heart. He explains and dear Megumi comes to the understanding of the music being poisoned by the people.

He sees the desperation in Megumi's eyes as the man thinks. Well, he thinks, perhaps his Conductor could fix this with an approach he hadn't thought of.

Joshua sighs and takes a glance into the future of the city with his foresight. Shibuya still stands, but something strikes him as different than before. He sighs and brings himself back to the present. Megumi is asking him if he'd change his mind if the people changed. Well obviously yes, that would be ideal, but the people in Shibuya are too stubborn, and it's much too late at this point. However, Megumi seems willing to try to save Shibuya, and Joshua supposes there's a small amount of time before it's crucial that the city is shut down.

He gives Megumi a month and gives himself the appropriate handicaps for the game he issues between them. If he's gonna die in a little over a month, might as well make it enjoyable.