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“I’m scared… What happened?”
“The city is… gone…”
“N-no… Someone, help… Save me! I don’t wanna die!”
“It hurts…”
“Ugh! GTFO already! Neku—do something!”
A loud crash of thunder split the air, and Neku’s eyes burst open. Beads of sweat ran down his cheek as he scrambled to his pocket for a pin, only to find it empty. There was nothing there, no way to protect himself from…
From…
…Huh?
He pushed himself up, his breath scratching the back of his throat as his tired eyes studied the space around him. It was dark, but colorful—and still in one piece. No cracks or debris, and the temperature didn’t drop below mild. He knew this room… It was his room…
Neku’s stomach twisted as he slumped over to his nightstand. He could feel the slosh of his dinner earlier turning, threatening to come back up as his sweaty hands fought to unlock his phone. Shiki, Beat, Rhyme—anyone would do. He had to make sure.
His messages from earlier lit his screen, casting a faint lavender glow over the bunched up bumps in his sheets.
< where u at yo? rest of us r at hachiko already! been waitin for ya >
< yeah neku, hurry it up… yo. >
< ey rhyme u mockin me?! >
< Well you are kinda rushing me. Didn’t we agree we’d meet up at 4? It’s only just now 3:58. >
< wait it is?! >
Neku scrolled past a laughing cat sticker, skimming over the siblings’ playful bickering. He was part of that conversation. It wasn’t just empty words lost in the void.
There—the last member of their group chat… and the one whose very name made Neku’s breath hitch.
< guess we all got here early. but don’t worry, take your time! we’ll be here… always. >
'Always'…
Neku tapped on her name. She was just a phone call away, somewhere he could finally reach. He didn’t have to endlessly scribble her face down just to see her smile one more time, or replay old messages stored in his voicemail to keep her sound burned into his ears.
His finger hovered over the call button. He wanted to hit it—so bad. To hear her voice again, to know she was here, that he wasn’t facing the Noise alone. But…
2:18. What did those numbers even mean? He saw them, but his mind couldn’t register them. He’d seen something similar recently, though. Wasn’t it in the group chat?
The last one changed. 2:19. Was it a code? Some sort of trick to get through a mission, or through Shinjuku, or…
…or, right. Time.
That mattered now. People had schedules to adhere to, with jobs that depended on sleep. Shiki had a job that depended on her getting enough sleep. This wasn’t like Shinjuku, where all that mattered was survival regardless of time. He couldn’t call her now. He couldn’t call any of them. Beat and Rhyme had classes tomorrow, same for the Twisters. Not that he particularly wanted to unload on them. They all had their own crap to deal with, especially since they hadn’t even found Shoka yet…
No, he’d just have to figure this out himself. This wasn’t any worse than the nights taking refuge in some random rundown apartment in Shinjuku, hoping he could actually get a full night’s rest before the Noise found him. Hell, he trained for this—for controlling his emotions so they wouldn’t find him. So he could actually investigate without interference… He was better than this. Stronger than this. He had to be—
Calling, someone is calling…
Neku jumped, his gaze snapping back to his rumbling phone.
That number… Shiki was calling him?
He eased the phone up to his ear. “Hello?”
“H-hey, um… Sorry for calling so late.”
No song could compare to the sweet melody of those first few seconds on call. Her voice was so beautiful, every note seeping into the brittle cracks of his soul.
“No, it’s fine,” he replied. “I was up anyway.”
“Really? Couldn’t sleep?”
“Not exactly…”
The thunder roared overhead, reminding him of what’d woken him from that nightmare. The rumble messed with his head, and he gripped his phone like a lifeline. A Rex Noise, maybe? He’d have to figure out what type—and use some long-ranged pins. He couldn’t afford for it to snatch him up in those huge jaws.
“Neku? You’re still there, right?”
Yeah… Yeah, that was Shiki. He was talking to Shiki… Idiot. He was in the RG now. There were no Noise, just the distant claps of thunder.
“S…sorry… Did you say something?”
“…Hey, can we meet up?”
Meet up? His eyes drifted to the window, drenched by the patter of rain.
“You mean tomorrow? What time do you—”
“No… Now.”
Neku hesitated. “You sure? Don’t you have to work in the morning?”
“It’s fine… I want to see you,” Shiki said. “Please…”
From the sound of it, he wasn’t the only one feeling terrible tonight.
“Can I come over?”
“No, my parents will freak if they see you.” Even though Josh gave him a new life here, that ‘new life’ didn’t come with his own place, sadly. “Stay there—I’ll come to you.”
But Shiki had her own place. She’d gotten a modest apartment overlooking Hachiko—a small, but hard-earned convenience to help her wait out these past three long years without him.
“Okay… Just don’t get too wet.”
“I won’t. See you soon, okay?”
Neku hung up, keeping quiet as he threw on his jacket. Pocketing his phone and wallet, he crept down the stairs. No sign of his parents—and not like his dad would notice if he wasn’t there first thing in the morning. He’d just text his mom later about it.
Reaching the entryway, he slid on his usual sneakers and grabbed his purple umbrella, careful not to disturb the plants his mother had placed just off the stoop. He then exited out into the storm, gingerly closing the door behind him.
Hachiko was only about ten minutes away if he hurried. The thunder in the distance wouldn’t stop him now. He couldn’t let it. Shiki was expecting him, and she’d already done enough waiting to last her a lifetime.
In some ways, Neku liked the rain. It didn’t rain like this in Shinjuku. Nothing ever changed in Shinjuku. He could do without the thunder, but the refreshing mist on his face and his occasional splashes through the puddles helped cement that he was alive and awake, free of illusions and false surroundings. Back in Shibuya, where he truly belonged.
He passed by a few chatty people, likely out for a late night drink. Shibuya never fully slept, and the neon glare from the bars served as a beacon to guide him further away from his nightmares—one step at a time.
One step at a…
A flash streaked across the horizon, drawing his eyes up. But he didn’t see any clouds. Instead, that ominous, metallic liquid swallowed the sky. It stretched out everywhere, trapping him and everything beneath it in an iron cage. The buildings faded into darkness, pierced the boundary, then shattered, disappearing, being engulfed…
Rain—there was rain here, just now. Where was it?!
It was from the sky. The gray liquid poured down, the splotches landing on the ground around him. They morphed into transparent Noise—Plague Noise. They were back to hurt his friends, to hurt Shiki…
The bitter cold hit his scalp, soaking him as his umbrella slipped from his hand. It was all over him—the metallic ooze, the Noise. Frogs croaked as he stumbled back. He knew this scene, an echo from years ago as his supposed final week began. Uzuki’s shrill laughter leaked out from the depths of his memories.
“Ten! Nine! Kariya! You owe me ramen for this. Eight!”
Her countdown merged with another. One all too familiar to him.
“Seven. Six. Five…”
The droplets of metal pooled into Neku’s hand, forming into a gun. Joshua stood there, opposite of him, yet the reflective substance covered his body from head to toe. Like he, too, was being inverted.
“Four… Three… Two…”
The inverted rain formed another figure—and another gun. Coco’s frantic frame aimed it forward, itching to pull the trigger.
“One—”
“Neku!”
Just as the lightning exploded overhead, her voice called out.
“Go, Mr. Mew!”
Piggy appeared in front of him, bathed in light. He effortlessly drove away the shadows haunting him as shelter came, shielding him from the heavy rain.
“Are you okay?” Shiki’s worried eyes stared up at him, and she hoisted her green umbrella over the two of them. “Why were you just standing here?”
She asked that, but Neku could tell she already had a hunch. He looked back over his shoulder. Neither Mr. Mew nor the Plague Noise were there. Even the metallic sky was gone. It was all just so… normal.
“S-sorry… guess I zoned out.”
“I’d say.” She passed her umbrella to him before picking up his. She shook it out, then closed it up. “You’re going to catch a cold like this… Let’s get you cleaned up.”
She wasn’t about to take ‘no’ for an answer. Her firm grip wrapped around his open hand, and he had to struggle to keep up with her—and keep her under her own umbrella. Any other couple would’ve been the picture of romance in this scenario. Not them, though.
“Why’d you come out here? I was almost there…”
Her hand tightened. “I just… wanted to see you…”
“You couldn’t have waited one more minute?”
He was glad she hadn’t. Comforted by her touch, his hand closed around hers, too. He needed her—more than she realized. Her impatience might’ve just saved him from his own renegade mind.
That same mind finally relaxed as they entered the warm ambience of her apartment building’s lobby. But damn, he really was soaked, and the AC threatened to chill him to the bone. Shiki barely gave him enough time to close up her umbrella as she yanked him over to one of the elevators, jamming her finger to call it.
“Slow down a little,” he said with a slight laugh. “We’re not on a timer here.”
“Yes we are,” she shot back. “I’m not about to let you get sick on my watch!”
“I won’t get sick that easily. Besides, I don’t have a change of clothes…”
“I know. I have clothes for you.”
Uh—she had what now?
The elevator opened, and Shiki pulled him on. Seventh floor, of course—because that number was practically integrated into their lives now.
“Pretty sure I’m too big for any of your clothes,” Neku said.
“I know that.” She looked up at him with those rich brown eyes. “I’m talking about Gatto Nero clothes. I have some I was working on. I just need to take a few pins out, fix some stitches—but I can do that while you’re in the shower!”
Of course, her clothing brand. He internally kicked himself for not thinking of that. He’d been so thrilled when he first learned about it. She’d done it—she’d made her dream come true. And her threads had found their way to him, even in Shinjuku.
Guess he still wasn’t totally with it yet.
The elevator dinged, and she whisked him down the hall. Actually, he hadn’t been inside her place yet, had he? Though, knowing Shiki, if he had to guess what kind of place she went for…
Yep, knew it. She flicked on the lights to reveal a sleek, modern apartment with an open floor plan. The kitchen was set off from the living room by only a countertop and a dip in the floor. The fashion posters, floral-themed furniture, and fabric helped the place feel cozy—and very Shiki. And, just as she’d told him before, the large window covering half the wall looked right out over Hachiko, a small breakfast nook placed next to it so she could watch it even while she worked.
So this is where she’d been waiting, hoping every day that he’d come back…
“Um, sorry, I don’t usually have so much fabric everywhere,” she quickly said, letting go of his hand so she could take off her boots and hurry to clean up. “Just—we’re working on some new designs for a shoot coming up.”
“It’s okay,” he assured her. “I don’t mind.” He kicked off his shoes, though he didn’t leave the entryway. “Where should I put my jacket?”
“We can throw it in the wash. Your PJs, too.”
Neku blinked, looking down at himself. Dammit, he was still wearing his pajamas. He’d kinda forgotten to change in his rush out the door, and it was something of a miracle that Shiki hadn’t picked on him about it.
She gathered a basket, then beckoned him to follow her to the bathroom. “Honestly, how were you not embarrassed leaving the house like that? You could’ve at least put on a proper shirt and pants.”
There it was. Wouldn’t be Shiki if she didn’t give him hell for his horrible fashion sense.
“Guess I just wanted to see you that bad.”
That was meant to tease her, but it came out more sincere than he’d realized. From the blush that dusted her face, he’d lost the fun back-and-forth banter. But hey, her flustered reaction was pretty adorable.
He slowly cupped her cheek as his heart picked up speed. She stared back, pure and perfect. He wanted to lean down—to kiss her for the first time.
They’d already decided. They didn’t want to spend their lives not knowing anymore how they both felt. They didn’t want to take another moment together for granted… but they were also both so new to this. They had to figure it out at their own pace—and they would. They wouldn’t lose each other ever again…
“Thanks, Shiki,” Neku whispered, “for calling me… and for coming for me.” He settled with a forehead kiss, not pulling her too close so he wouldn’t get her clothes wet. “I’ll be quick.”
“Y-yeah…” She smiled up at him, holding the basket for him to take. “You can put your dirty clothes in here and start washing them after… I’ll crack the door to leave your clean clothes on the sink when they’re ready—but I won’t look! Promise. Oh! And there’s a stack of towels inside the closet there. Use whichever one you want.”
“Sure, thanks.”
“Alright… I’ll see you after your shower.”
With that, Shiki stepped out, shutting the door behind her. Sounded like the storm was moving on, too, so maybe he could finally get some peace and quiet here. Neku opened up the closet, chuckling as he pulled out the top towel. If nothing else, the Mr. Mew print on it would protect him if the Noise decided to screw with him again.
Either way, he was safe. Time to take care of himself before he really did get sick.
* * * * * * *
A nice, warm shower had been more relaxing than he thought it would. He’d probably spent a little too long just letting the water wash over him, carrying his fears down the drain with it. But he couldn’t stay in there all night—Shiki was waiting for him.
True to her word, she’d left a change of clothes for him on the edge of the sink, but that wasn’t the only surprise he found. As he pulled the pants up, a black paw darted out from under the counter to swipe at the moving fabric.
Neku lowered himself down, and the puffed up creature slunk back into the shadows with a hiss.
Thought so. Shiki had mentioned it before, but this was his first time seeing her pet cat. She still looked young—maybe only a year old, and she watched Neku with wide bluish-green eyes.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he crooned, offering a hand. That just got him another hiss, though.
He backed up, giving the cat space so he could put his shirt on. “Alright, have it your way,” he said with a grin. Finally dressed and ready, he opened the door back into the main apartment.
Shiki looked up from the little window nook, mug in hand. “Hey… How are you feeling?”
“Much better now,” Neku said. “Thanks…”
“I know you probably need to sleep soon, but I made some tea—chamomile, so hopefully it’ll help you relax.”
She said that, but she was already crossing the room to check his clothes and make sure they fit properly. She straightened out the wrinkles, checking the seams—even testing how loose it was with a thoughtful hum.
“So do I get to have some of that tea, or do I have to model for you first?” Neku teased.
“Hold still—you’re going to get your clothes wet again,” Shiki scolded, not even waiting for his response as she lifted the towel up off his shoulders. She pushed herself up on her tiptoes to reach his head, rubbing the towel to try and dry his hair.
She’d moved so fast that Neku froze, unsure of how to react. His mind reeled back to the nightmares, only to realize they couldn’t touch him right now. Not while Shiki was here taking care of him… It was like her very presence created a protective barrier around him, keeping the bad memories at bay.
She lowered the towel, fluttering her eyelashes. Then, she snickered. She tried to catch herself, holding the towel over her mouth in a poor attempt to conceal the curled grin that’d spread across it. The attempt failed, though, a few stray giggles making it out despite herself.
“…My spikes are all over the place, aren’t they?” Neku cringed, immediately trying to fix them. Normally he wouldn’t care, but this was Shiki staring at him.
“Just a bit,” she said after reigning in her amusement. “It’s kinda cute, though.”
He poked her forehead. “Don’t you mean a disaster to my self image? A personal fail of fashion?”
“Well, you can’t go out like that, but I guess you already got seen in public in your PJs. You can’t get much worse than that.”
Seriously? Couldn’t she forget about that already?
“But you just admitted this is cute,” Neku pointed out, not ready to lose quite yet. “Does that mean you’d put up with me if I went out like this?”
“Definitely not,” she quipped. “You better clean yourself up before any of our dates, mister.”
“I get another date so soon? I haven’t even asked you out again yet.”
“W-well, yes, but—” She nervously brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “A-anyway, tea!”
With that self-imposed reminder, Shiki hurried to the kitchen to select a mug. Huh, not all the mugs looked like her style. Actually, the red skull mug and pink and black one next to it looked more like their friends’.
“Beat and Rhyme come here often?”
“Yeah,” Shiki said as she poured the tea. “Beat likes being away from home. My place has sorta become one of our hang outs.”
“He still having problems with his dad?”
“Yeah, off and on…I don’t think it’s ever fully going to go away, not while his dad’s so stubborn. But Beat’s trying. He just needs some space away from it sometimes, too.”
She offered a mug, and Neku gladly took it. The sweet and flowery aroma was reminiscent of Shiki, which just made the smooth taste even more soothing.
“I kinda get that,” he said as he savored it. “It isn’t easy to adjust. You’ve changed, but the people around you haven’t…”
Not just then, either. Sure, his friends had grown, but they were still the same goofballs he remembered.
His eyes wandered to a display shelf against the wall. It had pictures of them—of Shiki, Beat, Rhyme, and Eri, growing over the years, having fun, hanging out together…
All the things he’d missed.
And yet, sprinkled in, he saw the few pictures they’d gotten of his fifteen year-old self. Awkward, tentative, yet wholehearted as he posed with them inside a photo booth they’d all crammed into. He barely recognized that version of him now. Even though that him had survived three weeks of the Game, he still looked so innocent and bright-eyed back then.
“You should’ve been here with us,” Shiki uttered, following his gaze. She approached the shelf, picking up the photo booth picture. “That whole time, you should’ve been adjusting and enjoying life with us…”
He should’ve been, and he wished that were the case. It would’ve been nice to go to school, to have joined them on trips during their breaks. To have had fun at festivals, and to have graduated with them. But that wasn’t what happened.
His fingers locked around his tea, his knuckles threatening to turn white. His time with them had been stolen away, and these photos still held the proof of that, plain as day for anyone to see. They had a normal life these past three years, while he just… didn’t.
Shiki set the picture down. “Hey, you know… I didn’t really call you out of nowhere.” With her hands clasped around her mug, Shiki led the way to the living room and took a seat on the couch. “I had a dream earlier that Mr. Mew’s threads snapped again. Like… well, the day you disappeared…”
Their shopping trip. He’d never forgotten how he’d missed that, even after three long years.
“So that’s why you called?”
Shiki nodded. “I know it’s late, especially to invite you over, but I just got a bad feeling, and then your voice was all weird, and then you totally zoned out on me…” She placed her steaming mug in her lap. “And then… I found you out in the rain like that…”
The liquid in her cup sloshed around, unsteady as her hands trembled.
“You aren’t going to leave again… are you?”
“Of course not,” Neku replied right away. “I chose to come back here—to be with you… I don’t think Josh will go back on this one.”
“I don’t just mean to the UG.” She looked up at him, concern coating her face. “Neku, are you… okay? If you need to talk about anything…”
That question weighed on his shoulders, and he slid down next to her.
“This isn’t the first time I’ve seen you zone out, or you’ll fall asleep so suddenly sometimes… And well, you’re so cool and collected now—way different from how you were even after we came back three years ago… But that ‘cool and collected’ part also kinda scares me, y’know?” Shiki stared into the void of her blank TV, her eyes just as distant. “Like… You have another wall up…”
A wall? Had he put up another wall? That couldn’t be right, though. He tried so hard to be open and honest with them, telling them about his day, voicing his thoughts and opinions, supporting them…
“Shiki, I’m not trying to shut you out,” he said. “I swear I'm not.”
“No—I don’t mean like the walls you had when we first met,” she quickly corrected, but even the wave of her hands couldn’t stop her tears from forming. “More like… You don’t want to burden us, I guess?”
That… huh. Sometimes she seemed to know him even better than he knew himself. He hadn’t realized he’d had those thoughts.
“I know you saw a lot in Shinjuku, and you had to fight these past three years, plus play way more Games than all of us… and I don’t want to push you on it if you’re not ready to talk about it. But I don’t want you to hide your true feelings away from me, either, Neku. I want to be here for you and support you… I don’t know how, though, and I’m scared—scared that I’ll lose you…” A tear tumbled down her cheek. “So just… tell me what you need, or when you need to get away… Anything…”
Neku reached over, catching the tear before it fell.
“Sorry,” he whispered. “I wasn’t trying to close myself off…”
With a small nod, Shiki wrapped her fingers around his. “I know—really. It get it’s hard for you to talk about it when none of us were there with you… Just promise me you won’t suffer alone…”
“Of course I won’t.” He tried his best to smile, but now that she’d called him out, he could feel it. It was one hell of a fake smile.
His mouth squirmed a few ways as he tried to sort through his own feelings, and he ran a hand through his hair. She was right—he had to talk to her, to open up to her. To tell her what she was thinking… right?
“I guess it’s a habit now,” he admitted, quiet and uncertain. “There were so many Noise in Shinjuku, and not like the passive ones we saw in our week together. With no other people to tempt them otherwise, my negative emotions were like a huge red beacon leading them right to me… I had to get control of them, or I would’ve been erased.”
“Neku, that’s…” Shiki lowered their hands into her lap, her thumb rubbing against his skin.
“I missed you guys—so much that it hurt. I missed being able to buy sewing supplies with you, chilling with Beat at the skatepark, the plans we had to help Rhyme find her dream again, seeing the movies we all promised we’d see together… Every day, I hated that I couldn’t get back there—to just have one more day with my friends. And especially… with you…”
His fingers fastened around hers, his gut instinct to hold his tears back. He couldn’t let them loose. He couldn’t let that sadness surface… even though he’d just seen her cry.
“I had to hide it all away. I had to survive… so I could get back and see you. But I guess… I changed after three years away, huh?”
“A bit, but it isn’t bad,” Shiki said. “You’ve really gotten sweeter… In some ways, I think this is more of the real you finally shining through. But in others, I know you’re suffering in silence…”
“Yeah… Maybe I have been…” He glanced over to Shiki’s cat as she peeked around the corner, stuck to that black field of fur. “I didn’t mean to make you cry, and I definitely don’t want to be the reason you keep crying. I haven’t fully adjusted yet, though. Not like you guys…”
“Well, we’ve been here a lot longer than you, so we’ve had time…”
“I know. You’re all used to life here in the RG and making the most of it. And I’m proud of you all for it… I want to be like that, too. But I think part of me’s worried that I’ll distract you or drag you down, even though I know you won’t think that.” He sighed, trying to beckon the cat over with a finger, but to no avail. His hand fell short, his fingers curling up alone on the couch.
“Mmm…” Shiki drew out her hum, studying him. She then poked his cheek, garnering a confused look from him. “Yep! You’re still the same Neku.”
“H-huh? The hell?”
“You know, it’s funny, and I never fully got it back in our Game together.” Shiki swung her legs, sinking back into the cushions as she spoke. “I mean, you were so cold when Rhyme got erased, but then you admitted that you were sad about it, too, even though you’d only known her a few days. Less, really. I thought it seemed weird, seeing how you didn't want to get close to anyone. But then I realized, the you that pushed people away, that tried to confine yourself to your own world? That wasn’t the real Neku.” She set her mug down on the coffee table, shifting so she could peer up at him through her glasses. “The real Neku’s kind and always worrying about his friends. You just don’t always know how to show it, so you try to protect us in whatever ways you know how. Even if it means being a dummy sometimes.”
Was he the same? He couldn’t really see it, but looking into her eyes now, seeing the way his image reflected off of them, he could tell that she saw him. All of him.
“You're not wrong,” he muttered. “I never forgot everything you guys taught me, though.”
“Then don’t shut me out, even if you’re worried,” Shiki said. “We’re partners, aren’t we? I’m here for you—to listen and help you, no matter what you’re dealing with. Covering each other’s weaknesses is what we’ve always done, right? We just don’t have our psychs to fight with anymore.”
How could one person be this wonderful? He nodded, pulling her into a hug. “Can’t argue with that…”
“Of course you can’t—because you know I’m right,” Shiki joked, far more caring than serious. As he moved away, she tenderly clasped his hand. “So let me help you… Let me support you, even if it just means being a good listener. Anything you need so that one day, you can dream good dreams again, too.”
Neku took a deep breath, his fingers playing with hers as he mulled over how best to start. It was harder than it should've been, but she was here with him and ready to listen to all of it, no matter how long it took. Maybe now that that his reality no longer resembled the horrors still fresh in his mind, he could let himself be vulnerable for the first time in years.
“The truth is, before you called tonight, I had a nightmare about it… About Shinjuku, and the lifeless souls I saw there.”
Shiki tilted her head, giving him her full attention. “Wait, but didn’t you say that Shinjuku was empty?”
“It was, but it also wasn’t. It’s like the people were in stasis, with parts of them lingering just past the UG,” Neku said. “In a way, they were closer to ‘ghosts’ than the actual dead people running around the UG.”
Shiki bit her lip. “Thaf sounds… creepy…”
“It was, at first. But the more I got used to reading their souls, the more it just became… sad. These people were lost and terrified… They didn’t know what’d happened to them, just that everything was gone, and there was nothing they could do.”
“That’s horrible,” Shiki whispered.
Nodding, Neku continued, “Between that and facing Noise for three whole years, well… It got to me. I freak when I don’t have any pins on, I feel like I’m back there… Hell, sometimes I can’t even keep it straight in my head. Standing in the rain back there, hearing the lighting strike, it all just blended together. Shinjuku, the Shibuya inversion, even the first three Games and my showdown with Josh… I seriously thought I was gonna get shot again…”
There it was—everything he’d held back on. Everything he should’ve said before, all laid out raw and bare for Shiki. And as she listened to every word, she tapped his hand, stroked his arm—even ended up lying her head on his shoulder. Anything to show him that she was still here.
“That’s too much for anyone to go through,” Shiki said, her voice soft and understanding. “It’s no wonder you’re struggling… It was hard enough adjusting to life again after just one week, but after all you’ve seen and been through? I can’t even imagine…”
“It’s probably better if you don’t…” Neku sighed, resting his head on hers. “Maybe I should file a complaint with Josh. Tell him to hook me up with some UG-based therapy for all the crap I had to go through—‘cause regular people sure as hell won’t know what I’m talking about.”
“Seriously though, it’s the least he can do if he won’t even show up to our meetings.”
He glanced down, only to see the most adorable pout on her face. She blinked as she looked up, her eyes once again meeting his. Those were eyes he could get lost in, but more importantly, they helped him with one thing in particular.
“I know I keep saying it, but thanks, Shiki,” he murmured. “Weird as it is, I’m glad I met you when you were in Eri’s body.”
“Huh?! W-wait—what? Why?! I mean—that was totally not me, and you’ve said you like this me better—right?”
Neku laughed, grabbing her free hand to stop it from flailing about.
“Yeah, definitely. But you ground me, you know. You help remind me that I’m home, in the RG… because it’s only here that I get to see your beautiful face the way it should be.”
Shiki turned a few shades of red, slowly sinking down like she might melt into the couch’s upholstery.
“Neku!” she protested—though not in a serious way. “That was so cliché. You’ve turned into a total sap, you know!”
“It’s true, though. I can’t be in the UG if you’re here talking to me.”
She hugged his arm, sitting up so she could nuzzle his cheek. “Then I’ll be there to talk to you whenever you need.”
“Even at three AM?”
“Even at three AM,” Shiki promised. “I’ll even set a special ringtone for you and turn it all the way up so I hear it.”
“Okay, but if it’s not Twister…”
She laughed, playfully pushing him away. “You’re such a dork, Neku.” Leaning around in front of him, she asked, “Does that mean you’re feeling better now?”
“Lots,” he replied. “Think I might even be able to get a good night’s sleep. You probably should, too. I’ve kept you up long enough.”
“I don’t mind. I’m just glad you’re okay…”
“Yeah, I am. Though, hope you don’t mind if I crash on your couch. Might be a little too late to go home now.”
“You sure that’ll be comfortable for you? I can see if I have a futon, or…”
“No, this is fine,” Neku insisted, patting one of the pillows to fluff it up. “Just give me a blanket and I’ll be good.”
“Okay, if you’re sure…” She got up, her cat following her feet as she retrieved a blanket from her room. The cat, however, stopped short when she returned to Neku, still wary about this strange young man in the house.
“You never did tell me your cat’s name,” Neku noted as he propped his legs up, making himself comfy.
“Nanako,” Shiki answered. “She’s a little shy at first, but she’ll get used to you.”
“Nanako?” Neku raised an eyebrow. “You mean you didn’t go for a name like Ms. Mew?”
Shiki giggled, lightly whapping him with a pillow. “I wouldn’t name a cat that!”
“You named a pig that, so…”
“He’s a cat! Geez.” She picked her precious doll up off the shelf, where he had his own crocheted spot below the pictures. “And here I was gonna let you cuddle with him.”
You could cuddle with me instead, he found himself thinking, only to push those thoughts back. Much as he wanted to just fall asleep on her shoulder, he didn’t want to come off as too forward.
“Too bad. Guess I’ll have to befriend Nanako, then.” Neku gestured with his hand to call her over, but the small kitten just backed away, hiding behind Shiki’s legs.
So much for that.
“Maybe tomorrow,” Shiki teased, setting the doll next to him anyway. “Here—Mr. Mew will fight off any Noise in your dreams tonight.”
“So what, I get the Piggy Protection Protocol?”
“Don’t make me regret it.” Shiki giggled. She adjusted the blanket over him, making sure he was all tucked in. “I’ll see you in the morning, Neku.”
“Yeah…”
Right, the morning… Maybe if he woke up before Shiki, he could fix her some breakfast. Mixed rice, some eggs. The whole nine yards. Anything to make her happy, to give her the world and more after all she’d endured and done for him.
“Night, Shiki,” Neku mumbled, his fatigue finally catching up with him. “You really are a good listener.”
“Mm.” She leaned down and gently kissed his cheek. “I’ll leave my door open… And if you have any more nightmares, come get me. Any time, any day—even if you have to wake me up for it.”
“Don't worry,” he said. “I will.”
Shiki gave him one last smile as she turned off the lights.
“Sleep well, Neku… Hope you have some sweet dreams.”