Warnings: Don't think I need any for this theme.

Author's note: I'm not sure what I was doing with this theme, but I like the premise of it. Let me know what you think?

74. Are You Challenging Me?

Joshua never cared for the way certain reapers liked to challenge his ruling, his abilities. He didn't like how they plotted to take his title and his way of un-life. So when Kitaniji, Konishi, Minamimoto and Higashizawa were taken out for the most part during the Three Week Game, the Composer cackled gleefully. They got what they deserved, and that was what mattered.

And then, Neku began challenging him.

It was with little things, pieces of music score spread about for him to find. Sometimes it was little mentions of having a coupon for Ramen Don. Things that people would view as stupid things, but they managed to get Joshua's attention. Once Sanae managed to catch Joshua ranting about them in the Dead God's Pad, causing the angel to retreat until the rant was complete. When Joshua asked the Angel his opinion on the matter, Sanae was of no assistance.

"You know his price, J, you can't revoke it without drawing the attention of the Higher Ups."

"Sanae," Joshua scowled, sitting in the WildKat, "He's challenging me. I can't let it go unanswered."

The two angels had a small staring contest, the Composer coming out as the winner in the end. Sanae sighed and poured himself some coffee. "Very well, do what you must. Just remember he cannot see or interact with you directly."

The smile that spread across the Composer's face was absolutely malicious. "Of course, I wouldn't dream of doing otherwise."

The next challenge Neku sent was an mp3 player filled with newly composed songs from a basic laptop, words interspaced and mixed in. Joshua took one listen to it and translated the meaning. He reorganized the song, the beat and lyrics making much more sense, and had Sanae give it back to Neku when he visited.

Joshua sat in the shadows, his lilac eyes peering at the redheaded proxy intently. Sanae handed the mp3 player over and Neku blinked, taking it and hooking it up to the ear buds he had wrapped around his neck. He clicked "play" and his eyes widened as the sound seeped into his ears. His normal soft smile he had spread into a grin, and his eyes sparkled with glee.

The Composer frowned, it wasn't supposed to be something that had him smiling. It was an acknowledgement of Neku's challenges. It was a sign that Joshua knew what Neku was up to. He continued to watch as Neku paid Sanae for a cup of coffee he hadn't even touched and practically skipped out of the café.

Sanae peered at Joshua over his glasses, "I hope you know what you're doing, J."

Joshua blinked, and the other angel continued to clean glasses and drink his coffee.

The next challenge came in the form of a haiku, random characters and symbols in place of words. It took Joshua a few times attempting to read it before the meaning registered. He responded in kind, the words and syllables spelt with music notes. This time too, Joshua was within the WildKat watching Sanae deliver the response.

Neku stared at it in confusion, his vibrant eyes running over the page over and over. Joshua watched as the realization dawned, and the teenager burst into laughter. He laughed so hard and so long, worry spread across Sanae's face. Neku cried, leaning against the counter to stay upright. He pocketed the response and once again had another wide grin on his face.

"Thanks for delivering this, Mr. H." Neku said, eyes searching the store for any sign of Josh. The Composer in response literally slid into the shadows and became the darkness so Neku could not spot him. At no sign of him, Neku's smile drooped a little bit. He stood and left the café, offering Sanae a wave and a small smile.

It was three whole weeks before Joshua received another challenge, this one small and almost not worth his time during the running Game. He barely spared it a glance before marking "No" and sending it back to Neku.

And then it was a text message, sent to the number of the cell phone he had used when playing 'human'. Joshua stared at the cell blankly. He wondered how Neku managed to get the number when there had been no reason for the two to exchange them during the Game. The text read two simple words, and it had the Composer stare.

The words shouldn't have influenced him so much, they shouldn't have caused him to stop mid-order, or to cause him to choke on air. But Joshua knew, with those words, Neku had won the challenge.

Miss you.

Joshua hit the reply button and froze. He had been specifically ordered that he could not revoke the price, that he could not have contact with his proxy. Not direct contact anyway. But what did "direct contact" mean?

The Composer mused over these words for hours. And finally, he responded.

Miss you too.

I might come back on another day and edit this, add in specifically what the challenges were or how they're phrased.