so glad to haf hyou as mah best frend || kitaniji

[Joshua Kiryu]

The Reaper's Game would have to be soon... not that Joshua was overly excited for it. Sure, he got some amusement out of watching people improve but... he was beginning to lose hope in his ability to improve even single people. Forced natural selection should have done at least something to improve the state of humanity. But, it all seemed pretty irrelevant, especially since Joshua could see humanity declining every other week. It was disappointing, but not... unexpected. His goals were large, even for someone like him. Humanity was inherently awful, as far as Joshua could tell, and changing the nature of an entire race would be pretty difficult. But, he wasn't exactly the most excited for the game. Having to issue commands and actually do things was something of a drag.

Joshua had arranged for a meeting with the Conductor, Kitaniji. Kitaniji was the one who did all the hard work during the Reaper's Game and... well, Joshua was thankful for it. He didn't want to do that kind of work himself. It would force him to actually attend to the Reapers and interact with them. What a bore. The only Reaper Joshua had any respect for was Kitaniji, and that was mostly because Kitaniji did all of the Reaper's Game work, allowing Joshua to just sit back and watch the show. Unfortunately, the Game took a bit of planning before they actually did anything. Joshua had some plans for this game, including certain people he'd picked out that would make decent contestants - people who were in desperate need of some sort of improvement.

The Composer had picked out somewhere that nobody would expect them to meet - somewhere in the living world. He'd chosen a small, Japanese cafe, where he'd already ordered coffee. Now, all there was to do was wait... something Joshua wasn't very good at. He was already getting bored, considering that he didn't even drink coffee too often and he wasn't actually in the mood for it. Oh well.

[Megumi Kitaniji]

Originally, Kitaniji had planned to arrive early. Fifteen, maybe twenty minutes -- not a large stretch of time, just enough to ensure he was already there before the Composer arrived. It would, after all, be horribly inappropriate to keep Him waiting, even if only for a minute or two. His time was precious, and He doubtlessly had better things to do than sit idle and bored. Make no mistake, Kitaniji's own time was also precious -- infinitely so, compared to the usual petty rabble trash that inhabited the world, be it this world or the one he was used to. But compared to someone as brilliant, powerful, and absolutely divine as the Composer? Not so much.

But, unfortunately, things don't always work out perfectly. They usually didn't, in fact -- some little thing always so rudely deviated from the plan. And it was never Kitaniji's own fault, oh no. As he stepped into the cafe with casual, measured steps, the first thing he noticed was that the Composer was already there. To think, He had been forced to linger alone for goodness knows how long...such enviable patience.

Patience that would have to hold on just for a moment longer. The reaper briefly lingered at the door, seemingly idle as he scanned the area to ensure their meeting was, in fact, clandestine. If one of the establishment's innocent-seeming patrons secretly harbored desires to eavesdrop, that would be a bit of a pain. Not too much of one. He was sure enough he could demolish any random bystander he needed to, even as the idea of direct, artless confrontation made his skin crawl. (The Composer could demolish them even more soundly, certainly, but..please. He was far too good to sully His hands like that.)

Regardless, the thought was just that; no more than a precaution, that inspired no action. Conveniently enough, the thoughts of those around him were suitably unrelated to the situation at hand, as well as predictably vapid and stupid. Briefly, he frowned -- what a headache scanning was. He couldn't care less about whatever silly and idiotic concerns and emotions the population lingered on, and yet, he had just received a torrent of them at full blast. Relationship troubles and thought of what to have for dinner later and moaning about work later and planning out idle chores and happiness and sadness and worry and anger and boredom and--ugh. It went on forever, and every single bit of the endless stream was absolutely, positively ridiculous.

Regardless, it would get better. Eventually. Save those who can be saved from themselves, and tear apart the rest like the brainless chew toys they are. That was what they were here for, after all. And even though he certainly hadn't expected to be doing anything of value when he first arrived here, mysteriously alive and well - or at least as alive as a reaper could be - the Composer's shared presence in this other Earth meant there was work to be done, and if He wanted to play His games here, Kitaniji would do everything he could to support Him and ensure His magnificent vision came to fruition.

Kitaniji approached the table where the Composer sat, briefly bowing at the waist in greeting. He straightened back up, gently tossing his head to set his hair back in place. Pulling a chair out and then sitting down, he said, "My apologies for the wait, Sir. I do hope it wasn't too much of a burden." Because again, technically being perfectly on time was no excuse to make Him wait.

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[Joshua Kiryu]

Now that Joshua thought about it, it was a little strange that Kitaniji wasn't already there. The Reaper practically worshiped him, as he should, and always seemed to do things to ensure that he was pleased. Of course, Joshua himself was early, but it was still a little off. He wasn't mad or anything, though. Such a trivial thing wasn't enough to spark any real emotional reaction, besides mild annoyance at having to wait for a little bit longer than he thought he would. Joshua idly stirred his coffee, glancing around at the other customers. They were average, ordinary people, also known as boring trash. If anything, he needed to put them all in the Reaper's Game to make them a little bit more interesting. People like these who did absolutely nothing important with their lives were the worst. Killing them would probably be doing society a favor.

Joshua sensed Kitaniji's presence the moment he stepped into the room. In turn, he also sensed that Kitaniji was using his abilities to scan the minds of everyone in the room. That seemed like a bore and an annoyance simultaneously. Reading all the scummy thoughts that ran through these people's minds was enough to give anyone a headache. Joshua took a moment to look Kitaniji over. He was wearing his average attire, nothing that Joshua really had to take notice of. Sure, he could act like he had an abundance of interest in fashion, but in reality he didn't care about it. He liked looking good, of course, but it wasn't something he needed to put thought into or care about, unless he was using it to get some sort of reaction from one of his toys. His toys, of course, being anyone he decided to interact with, outside of the Reapers and certain other Reaper's Game "staff".

Joshua took his eyes off of Kitaniji and directed them back to the rest of the room. Now that he thought of it, it could be... enlightening to look into some of their minds. After all, how else would he find people for his game? Joshua briefly opened up their minds and looked through, searching the crowd for the most deplorable trash he could find.... and there was certainly a lot of it. Joshua winced slightly, his mouth curling into a slight frown. It was times like this where he was reminded of humanity's many, many weaknesses. The Composer shut off his connection, ridding his mind of their basic, human emotions. His expression become neutral once again as he turned to Kitaniji, who had just reached him. Joshua smiled, though it seemed like more of a smirk, as the Conductor sat down opposite him. He lightly pushed the coffee he'd ordered Kitaniji towards him.

"I'll let it go this time." Joshua replied, his voice not telling whether he was joking or not. He lifted his own cup to his mouth and drank. In that moment, he remembered that he didn't care for coffee at all. "You and I have a lot to discuss, don't we?"

[Megumi Kitaniji]

Kitaniji took his coffee as the Composer pushed it to him. "Thank You," he said, stirring it lightly before raising it to his lips and taking a sip. It was a bit bitter -- nothing undrinkable, but a bit too black for his usual tastes. However, given where it had come from, he wasn't too inclined to mess with it or to complain. After all, the Composer had certainly been under no obligation to get him anything; such a selfless act was to be appreciated with unconditional gratitude.

He set the cup back down, listening as the Composer spoke. Thankfully, He didn't sound excessively upset about arriving first. Regardless, His vague tone made the reaper's stomach churn. This time. So then, how would He react if there was a next time? It wasn't just fear of repercussions that fueled the sudden feeling of creeping dread that tugged at the corners of his mind. That existed, certainly, but paled in comparison to the true crisis such a situation would entail: namely, how utterly and completely unacceptable and wrong it would be to displease the Composer, even in the most fleeting and irrelevant manner. His happiness was paramount; one so remarkable, so marvelous and breathtakingly ambitious, deserved to have the world bend to His whims, no matter how small. Such was suitable payment for the faultless plans He graced humanity with. They didn't properly appreciate Him, but that was no excuse for Kitaniji not to. He knew better.

Which is why he told himself there wouldn't be a next time. He wouldn't allow such a blatant trespass to transpire again, and he would more than make up for this one in the coming days, weeks, months, years...however else longer he had the honor of being at the Composer's side. And he would prove to Him that He was right to honor him with such a position.

The current circumstance was the perfect opportunity to do so. There was quite a work to be done for the Game to come, and he intended for every little thing to go excellently. "We do," he agreed. Which he did a lot, thanks to the Composer's rather impressive habit of being incredibly right with alarming frequency. "There's the matter of how to acquire players, given that the dead don't appear to go straight to the UG here..as well as the matter of procuring reapers...as well as identifying candidates. Among other things." Quite a bit indeed. After a short pause, he added, "What would You like to discuss first?" He asked not just because of his own lack of preference - it really didn't matter too much - but because it was the Composer's right to control the flow of the conversation, not his own.

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[Joshua Kiryu]

So much to do and so little time.... At least Joshua knew that he could keep Kitaniji on his toes. Wouldn't want him being too comfortable with his position, would he? Joshua smirked, stirring his coffee again. He didn't even think coffee needed to be stirred, but he wasn't exactly an expert in human drinks... or any drinks at all, really. He wasn't even sure if his human shell had to eat, but he knew he didn't have to when he wasn't using it. At least he knew that it could taste good, so he had it anyway. It wasn't like there was any downside to it for him or anything.

At any rate, Kitaniji was right. There was a lot to discuss, especially since the very nature of the UG had been compromised by the rifts. Well, at least there was a bright side to it. The rifts were bringing in people who were actually interesting, as far as mental state went, as opposed to the regular boring human idiots that he had to take in. They weren't even worth his help, but he had to find some way to amuse himself. Unfortunately, that was all the Reaper's Game had become in recent years - a way to amuse himself. He was starting to give up on humanity, since his help hadn't had any major effect on civilization. Humans were getting too advanced and it seemed that the more advanced they got, the more turmoil the human world was plunged into. It was so confusing, how human nature dictated that they continue evolving... but the more they evolved, the more self-destructive their pursuits became.

Oh, well. At least they had people like Joshua to help them through times like these. Really, though, if he wanted to really help, he figured that he should probably choose someone in a position of power who could easily start on the betterment of society. Unfortunately, though, it was had to even try to kill big world leaders, even for Joshua and his Reapers. They were so well-guarded... well, at least they could use their powers in the human world this time. That should make it easier for them to get to people like that... and the more powerful people coming in through the rifts. Still, it would be difficult to keep track of everyone that came through the rifts that needed help, since basically all of them did. It seemed like everyone had scars and problems these days... other worlds seemed to hand them out without any second thought. The sheer amount of terrible people coming through the rifts was a little distracting - he had to keep track of all of them, somehow.

"I think..." He began, taking his eyes off his coffee and up to Kitaniji. "We should probably start with figuring out how to get people to the UG. If we don't know that, we won't even be able to have a Reaper's Game." And what a shame that would be. This world was, as always, in desperate need of Joshua's kind of help. Thankfully for them, he was happy to provide.

[Megumi Kitaniji]

The Composer was correct; the issue of just how to acquire players was an important one indeed. Without them, there couldn't be a Game at all. What an utter shame it would be for all his their hard work to go to waste due to something so simple. Nevertheless, it wasn't a matter of if they could do it -- it was a matter of how. This was, after all, what the Composer wanted..and He always got what He wanted, without fail. Kitaniji would make sure that remained as true now as it always had been.

"I've thought a bit about that, " he began, lacing his fingers together idly. To be more accurate, he'd thought quite a bit about it -- and about everything else he figure might or might not be relevant. It just wouldn't do to come into this little rendezvous unprepared. "It's simply a matter of rewriting their soul codes, is it not?" Such was, admittedly, a matter the Conductor wasn't very experienced with. He knew the basics of such a task, certainly -- how it worked in theory, and a bit of practical application to transform deceased humans into reapers when it proved necessary, as it often did. But knowledge only went so far, and understanding how something should be done didn't mean he could do it. His talents in such lofty areas rested solely in uses the Composer, in all His overflowing brilliance, had so magnanimously granted him; he may have been infinitely above most of the population in terms of mental facility and general worthiness, that didn't change the fact that he was but a reaper...and a reaper's natural talents only go so far.

"The tricky part would be locating the dead and getting accustomed enough to how their souls work here to rewrite them properly. Unless.." He had an idea. A rather unconventional one, yes, but not an impossible or absurd one. His tone remained dispassionate and casual as he continued. "..we recruit directly from the living." It wasn't unprecedented. The Composer had plucked up His infuriatingly tenacious proxy in such a manner, so carrying that to a larger scale wasn't too far out of the question, right? "We could kill them, and shift them into the UG before they can go anywhere else. Or skip the middle step."

Briefly, Kitaniji's hidden gaze shifted to the side, taking in one other tables in the cafe. A pair chattered about what had to be utter tripe; they were blissfully ignorant of what transpired, as well as of anything even remotely important. He didn't have to know them personally to know that; most people are exactly the same. And for that reason, he had no moral compunctions against his own plan; the only thing that mattered was whether or not the Composer approved. These people - these horrible, self-obsessed, presently worthless people - were going to die anyway. Speeding up their demises made no difference in the long run. And indeed, carrying out such actions in the name of the Composer's will would be a noble task. It would be for their own good. He quickly turned his attention back to the smaller figure across from him - that magnificent paragon of perfection - and awaited His answer.

[Joshua Kiryu]

As Kitaniji presented various methods, Joshua thought each of them over. All of them were legitimate and made sense, but... a lot of them involved more intense work than he was used to. Sure, he could easily rewrite people's soul codes himself but that was... work. As lazy as Joshua was, he figured that if that's what it came down to that's what he would have to do. The Reaper's Game was more important than his own personal needs, after all - and he'd be able to sit back and watch once they got it started. He would only have to rewrite a few soul codes. Yet, the idea was still somewhat flawed. There were way too many afterlives around here - it would be pretty much impossible to find spirits that weren't already claimed by one.

So, they would need something a little more... outside the box. Thankfully, Kitaniji had already voiced another option - this one seemed a tad more appealing. Sure, recruiting from the living was unorthodox, but it wasn't like it hadn't been done before. Joshua himself had chosen his proxy from the living when he needed him. So, it wouldn't exactly be hard to do that... Yes, that was definitely the best option here. Joshua nodded before taking a sip from his drink. As he placed the coffee on the table, he spoke once more. "I like that plan. After all, there's really no better way to improve the living that fix the living." The Composer shrugged, leaning back in his seat and generally seeming more relaxed.

"No, we should kill them before bringing them to the UG. Who knows what could happen if they didn't?" He pointed out, watching as Kitaniji glanced over at a nearby table, which was inhabited by a chatting couple. Joshua ignored them and started on a different matter. "So, do you have any ideas for who we pick?"

[Megumi Kitaniji]

A small smile played across the Conductor's face -- faint, with just the slightest hint of teeth. How satisfying. He had more than suspected his proposal was suitable. It avoided the pitfalls dealing solely with the already-dead in such a diverse world would entail, and it added a level of ambitious industry sure to speed up the Games, the results, and the ultimate inevitability of this world conforming to the Composer's sublime desires. Efficiency, however, wasn't the only important factor here, nor was it the most important. The supreme variable - the most basic point of this operation - was whether or not his unorthodox strategy satisfied the Composer. He deserved only the absolute best, after all. Now that he knew it did, his musings and effort were justified.

"Precisely," he replied, voice gaining a subtle tinge of enthusiasm. His confidence felt deserved. And it generally did. It almost always did. It was exceedingly, startlingly rare for it not to. But having his proposition - or anything, for that matter - approved by the Composer was quite rewarding. Nevertheless, he couldn't dwell on it too long; he reminded himself such mentally. It wasn't as if He had outright praised him. There was still so much more to discuss, and so much more to do.

He lifted his cup and took another sip of his coffee. Still too bitter. Still flawless simply because of who gave it to him.

Killing the candidates, extra step as it may have been, made the plan even more appealing. Purely for selfish reasons -- Kitaniji would rather enjoy an opportunity to sharpen his claws. He so rarely got them, after all. He would, under normal circumstances, be perfectly content with that, but he had quite a few reasons piled on him to want to hone his ability to go for the throat. The humiliation of having lost to a pack of fifteen year old degenerates ranked high on that list, as did the knowledge that here, he would more than likely have to face opponents completely unlike those he'd faced in the past. With that in mind, he could use some punching bags to sharpen his fangs on. It might even be fun. He'd tear them to shreds, leaving no doubt as to his superiority and prowess...he was certain of it. Assuming, of course, the Composer allowed him to personally deliver candidates in the first place.

"An excellent observation as always, Sir," the reaper said. While he wasn't too sure what exactly could happen if they didn't kill them and the situation deviated from plan, he wasn't too keen on finding out. He refused to harbor patience for pointless playing and experimentation -- if it accomplished nothing to entertain the Composer or further His will, then it was pointless, and Kitaniji's time was far too precious to squander away so easily. "Not killing them could be more trouble than it's worth."

As for who exactly to pick? The Composer moving on to that next proved just how insightful He was. Not that there was any doubt of that. It was easily the next important matter -- who went into the Game dictated quite a bit, after all. It would take proper picks, suitably moldable pieces of human clay, to ensure their effort left its mark. With so many new creatures and new perspectives at their disposal, this had the potential to be quite an interesting Game indeed. However, he hadn't quite worked out specifics for that. With so much else to work on, it slipped his radar, pushed aside by matters more immediate and more pressing. "Not yet," he responded. "But I can scout for potential players if You'd like me to. " Doing so wouldn't be difficult. It might require him to actually interact with those intolerable sorts a few times, which sounded horribly unappealing, but he'd do what he had to. "With how diverse the people here are, it shouldn't be difficult to find suitably useful and entertaining candidates." On the word entertaining, a tinge of cruelty rung in his voice.

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[Joshua Kiryu]

It was always nice, having someone around to blindly praise everything Joshua said. Still, he wasn't quite sure if Kitaniji was quite the best one for advising him... he had good ideas, of course, but at the same time it seemed he wasn't willing to go against his own opinions. Well... it wasn't exactly like he needed someone to tell him that his opinions were wrong. What a stupid idea that was - his ideas were basically the ideal to which all people's ideas should be held. Joshua took his hand off of his mug and started resting his head on it, using his other hand to idly stir the coffee. He had spent such a long time in a human shell that it almost felt normal for him to be in one, even one as young as this one. He'd grown accustomed to it and actually started to enjoy it a bit. Running among normal humans was weird and, of course, depressing to see how people consistently failed in all things, but it was a little... amusing, at the same time. They all had such simple minds.

Joshua could see the pleasure Kitaniji got from the prospect of killing their contestants. The Composer was glad to have someone so willing to do the work he himself felt less than inclined to do. He almost regretted killing him after their little game... almost. Kitaniji had defied him, after all - there was nothing else he could do, and feeling remorse over such a simple matter was way too far on the human spectrum of feelings for him to even consider. There was just no reason for dwelling on the matter, since Kitaniji was back from deletion and his punishment had already been administered. The way Joshua saw it, getting such a faithful Conductor back would only make his game more amusing. He couldn't do with someone like Minamimoto, who wanted to take his power so much it was actually pretty funny, or some of the other Reapers doing something so important.

"Well," Joshua began, glancing around the room. "We could start here for inspiration." Even the relatively "normal" people in this room were unacceptable, and they weren't nearly as bad as the really notable people. Joshua would hate to have to read the minds of the people in the room again, so he decided against doing that. He had already experienced enough of that for one day - he had a pretty good idea what was on the minds of these people. "I mean... there are more important people we could put into the Game." Joshua said, before lifting his coffee cup to his mouth and drinking. "Like those... "superheroes" or whatever. That could be fun."

[Megumi Kitaniji]

This very cafe could indeed serve as an excellent place to harvest contestants. It was, after all, exceeding rare for anyone to be without flaw -- in Kitaniji's lifetime, he had only met one individual who fit that description. And were this alternate Earth ideal - were it to operate under the standards their own world did - every person here would likely end up playing sooner or later. It was that or oblivion, and very few of the freshly dead found the latter to be an appealing option. Given that most of them ended up erased in the Game anyway, it was actually quite amusing; they sought to stave off their own demises, and yet they only postponed them, making their inevitable end even more crushing and despair-ridden than it would have been before. How hilariously ironic.

Nevertheless, this was not an ideal world, and concessions had to be made. Picking and choosing candidates may have seemed odd, but it was the best option, especially since they now included the living in their pool of lucky candidates. It wasn't as if they could kill everyone.

..no, they could. It would be like crushing ants.

But that wouldn't be ideal.

They shouldn't. That's far more accurate.

Even if those currently around them were distressingly and tediously mundane - painfully regular, with little to make them stand out from the 6 billion other people on this planet - they could at least serve some purpose. Canon fodder has its uses. Besides, there's always a possibility of someone being a diamond in the rough, appearing useless at first but showing promise once their existence and that which they love both teeter on the edge of oblivion. Often times, a looming threat was all the motivation they required to stop wallowing in their own failure.

Nevertheless, this train of thought proved useless as the Composer quickly changed His mind, opting to focus on those of higher clout. An excellent idea, to top the rest of His excellent ideas. They were dealing with more than just the mundane living. In a world like this, with such an eclectic mix of inhabitants, not everyone had the same potential for impact...to better the whole of society, their chosen needed to be those who could reach the farthest and best inspire those beneath them to strive for greatness. Greatness they would, in all likelihood, never even get close to touching. It's the attempt that matters: it's what makes them easier to push and mold.

"Those types would make interesting Players indeed," he concurred. "The missions will have to be a bit different to accommodate their extra powers, I would imagine. I'd recommend bigger Noise, and more of it...and depending on the abilities of those involved, some tasks might be out of the question entirely. There's little point in telling someone who can teleport to reach a certain area." Given that the very nature of their situation required the Game to be overhauled, however, those sorts of adjustments were to be expected. Depending on how varied their picks were, it may prove a challenge..but it most certainly wouldn't be impossible.

He continued, "There's also the matter of keeping the playing field somewhat even. It would be a shame if an unworthy candidate outshone those more valuable because of preexisting advantages. But there's a few ways to deal with that. Tailoring the missions more personally could work, as could counting points differently for those with more powers. Or something different..or both." As he continued, his tone changed ever-so-slightly. Initially plainly matter-of-fact, with no frills or notable emotion, it began to betray honeyed reverence...even if it still was rather conversational. "Whatever You prefer, of course." At the very least, they weren't starved for options. No matter what changes had to be made, there had to be at least one way to do them that would properly satisfy the Composer. And even if everything that came to mind was far more in-depth and detail-oriented than the previous games had been, no amount of effort and work was excessive when it came to pleasing Him.

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