『桐生・義弥』 Yoshiya "Joshua" Kiryu
(( Backdated to yesterday ))

[ Maybe if he'd remembered that this day, out of all the days of this month, this day in particular, was the one-year anniversary of when he arrive in Luceti, he'd have been expecting something like this. As it was, he hadn't been checking the calendar. A year was a terrifying thought; a whole year separated from his city. It was one of those things he just didn't think about, pushed it to the back of his mind and ignored it for the sake of his own sanity. So he went about his day as if nothing was wrong.

The new pain started as just a burning on his shoulders, high up where his Angel wings connected, so he ignored it. And for a few minutes, it was bearable. Then without warning it pulsed straight down his back, straight down the decay, hit the bottom and seemed to explode outwards, sending pain to every corner of his body. The first pulse stopped him in his tracks. By the fourth, he had collapsed to his knees.

Joshua couldn't remember well pulling himself along and forcing his feet to move. All he knew was that it hurt, it hurt a lot, as he dragged himself off the path and through the trees and made a beeline for one specific building.

He knew what Hanekoma was capable of. That's exactly why he had no choice. As much as he knew what Sanae might make of this and how badly that could end, the terrifying certainty only grew inside of him with each explosion of pain through his body, through his Music, through his Soul. And after the agonizingly long time the short walk should have taken, he stumbled his way into Kat's Kradle just as his vibe reeled, sending his white wings flickering into existence and out just as fast. He went to support himself against a table, missed, and collapsed to the floor with barely any hope of moving again on his own. The white mass of feathers sliding in and out of his vision didn't even seem like his own anymore. The pain was too much to think over, his shirt felt warm and sticky against his back, and somehow, he was absolutely sure that either he or Shibuya was dying. Maybe even both.

Hanekoma was Joshua's only option. ]