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Traverse Town was like a dream—yet one Shiki couldn’t wake up from.
Things had quieted down since their friends’ departure. The silent stone streets no longer roared with the hoards scattered by their Light Puck, yet the lack of noise settled in with its own somber solitude. Hours stretched on as long as days, with morning, noon, and dusk dominated by nothing but eternal night. It never changed. Not even a little. The stars overhead were much brighter here than Shiki ever saw back in Shibuya, but their sparkle, these warm street lights, the short buildings… They weren’t bad. Just different.
Different enough that Shiki could hardly just enjoy the beautiful vistas anymore. For whatever reason, this whacky Game had whisked them off to another world entirely, far from home, far from anyone except the five of them. And they couldn’t even be together properly. She’d left Beat back on the other side, hoping that by switching with Rhyme, it’d let the siblings reunite. Meanwhile, she was here with her own precious partner, completing missions in a desperate routine that didn’t bring them any closer to home.
The Nightmares never fully went away, either. Without the mission’s target here, the creatures had simmered down some, but they always lurked, ready to jump out at any given moment. Sometimes, she and Neku still came across huge groups of them while exploring.
It didn’t matter how many they beat, though. None of the Nightmares here would relieve them of their mission. The big boss had fled.
“I’ll go after it. C’mon, I’m not an actual Player. Can’t I bend the rules?”
Sora’s words were their only ray of hope, and Shiki wanted to believe in it. She wanted to believe in both him and Riku, that they’d finish the mission for them, like they swore they would. But even if she believed in them… The thought of fading from existence in this lonely, far-off place still terrified her.
Sitting alone on the edge of the plaza fountain, Shiki peered at the timer painted across her other palm. It ticked down every second in signature clicks, shrinking closer and closer towards zero.
Shiki balled her fist up, hugging Mr. Mew tight. “I hate that we can’t even do anything,” she whispered. “And where’s Joshua been? He’s supposed to help us…”
Plus there was Beat and Rhyme. They were separated by the “other imagining” of this world, as Joshua called it, and the most she and Neku could see of them were holograms. They had yet to find any sort of portal beyond the one forged from Rhyme’s missing dreams, which of course only Joshua could use, so that was out. To think someone as powerful as Josh didn’t have a more convenient portal at the ready…
A Dream Eater poofed next to her in a swirl of pixels and smoke. Shiki tensed, Mr. Mew lurching up to defend her. But neither him nor the Necho Cat moved to attack.
Wait a sec. She knew this one. It was Neku’s little friend. Strange... Hadn’t he released it when they met up? Why was it here now?
Either way, it didn’t seem hostile. More like the tameable Spirit Beat had shown her. It curiously tipped its head at Shiki, both ears perked.
“Um, hey there,” Shiki greeted. She had no idea if it could understand her, but it didn’t hurt to try. “Thanks for watching out for Neku for so long. Were you looking for him? He went to grab food, but he should be back any minute now.”
The cat chimed, bouncing up next to Shiki. Its music note tail flicked each way as it curiously sniffed her doll.
“Are you interested in Mr. Mew?” She held the doll out so their noses touched. “He’s not a Dream Eater like you, but he still packs a punch!”
The Necho Cat chirped in a singsong tone. It was pretty adorable, actually. She was kinda jealous, in a way. Though not in an ‘I want to be Eri’ way like before. She hadn’t even thought to tame a Dream Eater, and here Neku and Beat had each gotten some help from these cute little guys no problem.
And then as soon as they were reunited, Neku released it. Like a dummy.
“We don’t really have a mission to work on now—I mean, we do, but our target kinda flew away, so… We’re just hanging out. Hoping Riku and Sora can finish the job.”
Could they, though? They were strong enough to fight even without Spirits, but that Nightmare thing, the way it hopped between planes—or whatever this was—and then left this world entirely… Defeating it wasn’t going to be easy. This mission almost seemed rigged against them.
“What’s that thing doing back?”
Shiki’s heart leapt into her throat upon hearing Neku’s voice so suddenly. She swung her head around to see that familiar orange hair and signature sulky attitude. She might’ve missed that a smidge.
“She decided to come say hi,” Shiki said as Neku joined her by the fountain.
“‘She’? You sure it’s a she?”
“Well, not exactly… It’s just a feeling?” She couldn’t really explain it. She’d just said it so naturally. Tapping Neku’s nose with Mr. Mew, she added, “Just like how you and I had the same plan even when we were worlds away!”
“Tricking someone isn’t anything to brag about,” Neku mumbled. “That jerk tried to hurt Sora—and your friend, too.”
“You mean Riku?” Shiki placed a finger on her chin. “I guess you never did get to meet him since you were always in this plane… Weird how Rhyme and I were able to switch that one time, but Sora and Riku can’t.”
“Isn’t that because Josh did something?” Neku pointed out. “Sora seems like a weird case in general. I mean, what was with that glowing keyhole in the sky?”
“No idea… He used the same sort of powers as Riku, but without a partner. I wonder if Riku also summoned that sky keyhole.”
It was subtle, but Neku stiffened, tugging his collar up over his mouth. From the way his glare drilled into the ground, though, something was definitely bothering him.
“Neku? You okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“You sure? You don’t look very fine.”
The Necho Cat sang out a high note in agreement.
“See? Muse Meow agrees with me!”
Neku leveled a deadpan stare at her. “Muse Meow?”
“That one too long? Should its name be Meowsic? Oh, or maybe something cute that rolls off the tongue—like Kitty Note!”
Rolling his eyes, Neku stole the Necho Cat right out of her lap. “Okay, no more names. Your rights are revoked.”
“Huh?! Wait, but—aww, Neku, that isn’t fair! You don’t even have a pact or whatever with her anymore!”
“You’re right. Which means she came here on her own, huh?” Neku hummed. “I might have to dub her the new Stalker.”
As his suggestion settled on her, Shiki lightly whacked his arm with Mr. Mew, drawing a small laugh from her partner.
“You can’t call her that!” she huffed.
“Why not? It’s free now, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but you just can’t! She deserves a cute name, not that!”
Also, that was his name for her once upon a time.
Neku leaned over, a slight smirk peeking out from under his ridiculous high-collar. “You want the name back? Could always call you that again if you don’t wanna share it.”
Somehow, she felt called out, even though she knew she shouldn’t. That name wasn’t nice to begin with—her feelings about it were just weird.
“Try it and you’re going in the fountain! Ugh, why was I looking so hard for you, anyway?!” She turned away, holding Mr. Mew close. He could be so infuriating sometimes. That’s what she told herself, yet she didn’t actually feel all that upset. Not like she would’ve been when she first met him. And why were her cheeks so warm? Yeah, he never got close like that, but…
“You should’ve seen him. He looked everywhere for you!”
‘Everywhere’… Such a huge flip from how he tried to ditch her when they first met.
But wasn’t it just because they were partners?
Maybe, but also maybe not. He did have this Spirit to fight with him, so it wasn’t like he’d been completely hopeless.
Something rustled next to her, and she glanced over. He was holding out a bag—the food he’d promised. She’d completely forgotten.
“Here,” he said. “They didn’t have much, but it’s at least something familiar.”
Curious, Shiki took the bag and opened it up. The savory aroma of takoyaki flooded out from it, skewered and ready to eat.
“Where’d you even get this? It’s not like there are any shops here with actual workers. Haven’t seen any Reapers, either…”
“There is one place,” Neku said as he took a bite. “There’s this creepy floating doll by the colosseum. Looks like the sort of thing you might make.”
Like she might’ve made, meaning… Wait—creepy?!
“Hey! Mr. Mew isn’t creepy!”
As she said that, her trusty doll moved in tandem with her.
”You seriously mean to tell me that isn’t creepy? He looks like he might jump at me any second!”
“Because you called him creepy!” Shiki pouted.
“Technically, I called the other doll creepy.”
“But you implied it was like Mr. Mew! I swear, maybe I was wrong. Maybe you are super dorky still!” She munched on her food, her mind winding back to her meeting with Sora again. Neku was still a jerk in some ways, but…
“Hey, Sora, stop talking!”
“Huh? But you said you needed her. That’s a good thing, right?”
He needed her. She didn’t know why, but hearing confirmation of the very thing they both knew was enough to make the butterflies inside her flutter. Whether it was because they were Game partners or not, that didn’t matter so much anymore.
Her gaze drifted down to her hand—and the timer on it. Looked like the minutes were down to single digits.
“Hey… Do you think Sora and Riku will clear the mission?”
Neku spent a good minute chewing on the end of his stick before setting his takoyaki down.
“Don’t know about Riku, but Sora’s our friend,” he said. “And… I trust him.”
A small smile lit Shiki’s face. “Wow, Neku. I think that’s the fastest you’ve made a friend yet!”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he fixed his focus on some of the 4th District’s stolen CAT tags. “…What about that Riku guy? You talk about him a lot… Must’ve left an impression.”
Shiki leaned back. “Well, he did kinda save me. He was totally awkward, though. You should’ve seen him. He’s somehow even more socially out of touch than you!”
Wait, did Neku just get even more stiff? If she didn’t know any better, and considering the way he worded that…
“You’re not… jealous of Riku, are you?”
Neku pulled his collar up higher. “Of course not,” he mumbled in the most unconvincing voice ever.
Uh-huh. Shiki swung her feet, somewhat happy as she said, “Did I tell you? He saved me from a bunch of Nightmares, then escorted me around! He was a perfect gentleman—like a knight in shining armor!”
Neku scoffed. “Don’t care.”
Says the one who brought it up, Shiki thought. She wasn’t about to drop it yet. Not until he understood her true feelings—and maybe not until she learned exactly how he felt, too, especially after finding out about his second entry fee. But how to unlock that…
She had an idea.
“He was so sweet, even after learning that I made a deal with that hooded guy. He really knew the key to a girl’s heart!”
“Great. Lovely. Maybe you should go back to his side of things,” Neku grumbled, returning to his takoyaki.
Shiki scooched closer to him, setting her finished stick down. “Too bad for him, though.”
That caught Neku’s attention, and he looked back at her.
“Because… He’s not the one who saved me from myself.”
As if reacting to her statement, the water shot up in the fountain behind him, the lights shifting to a purple shimmer. The cool mist rested on their skin as they stared at each other, too captivated to look away.
“He isn’t my partner,” she murmured. They were alone, like nothing else mattered. Like this world was only for him and…
And… her. The way she was now…
She tore her eyes away. “A-anyway, I don’t like him like that, if that’s what you mean,” she clarified, deciding to come clean now. Even as she did, she couldn’t stop her heart from drumming against her chest. This totally didn’t go as planned.
“I…I wasn’t exactly saying that,” Neku mumbled, unsure.
“You kinda were. In the same way you called Mr. Mew creepy earlier.”
Neku grimaced. He couldn’t really argue that, though, and she knew it. She beamed in pride—
Until he pushed the brim of her hat down over her face.
“H-hey!”
“You better not fall for some bozo you met in this whacko world,” Neku said. “Otherwise, I might judge you a bit. Besides…”
Shiki lifted her hat back up, only to see a soft smile on his face.
“He doesn’t know the real you. Right?”
Neku said that as if it were something to brag about. Still, she knew what he meant. Only Neku had seen that side of her, and every side of her. Those embarrassing shades of envy that’d confessed to every fear and dark thought running through her head. And… only Neku had accepted it.
“Yeah. You’re still the only one,” Shiki said, tempted to lean on his shoulder. She couldn’t, though. It wasn’t like they were really like that with each other right now, plus she was still like this…
But maybe one day, when they were home safe and recovered their lost entry fees… Maybe then she could truly tell him how she felt.
For the time being, she settled with spending each day in this empty town with him, hoping to one day reach the end of this twisted game.
“Still, Riku’s my friend,” she finally said, “and I think he’ll help us, just like Sora will.”
“Hope they hurry it up,” Neku said, holding up the palm of his hand. “We only have a few minutes left.”
He was right. Their time was limited, and they had no way to complete the mission themselves. They had to rely on Sora and Riku to find and fight that thing in some other world beyond here.
“Hey, Neku?”
“Yeah?”
Shiki rested a hand on the Necho Cat’s back, but its silken fur did little to ease her worries.
“What happens if our timer reaches zero? Will we get erased…?”
Neku hesitated, his lips twitching as he tried to work out an answer that wouldn’t take form. His fingers curled, concealing the red numbers they both wished they could forget about.
“Sorry,” he said, his volume barely above a whisper. “If I hadn’t gone again—if you were just back home, then…”
Shaking her head, Shiki moved her hand to wrap around his.
“I’m not going home ‘til you do.”
“Shiki…”
“And don’t you dare tell me to go on ahead of you again. We’re in this together—now and forever!”
Slow and awkward, Neku nodded, his fingers interlacing with hers.
“I can’t get erased ‘til I see you as you.”
“Mm… I want to meet you in Shibuya like that, too.”
And maybe… to hold his hand again like this when she was back to being herself.
“How much time do we have?” Neku asked, nodding to her timer since his was preoccupied. She flattened it out for both to see.
“Just a few more minutes…”
Neku gripped her fingers like their lives depended on it, a fire burning in his eyes with nowhere to go. They couldn’t do anything. The subject of the mission was so far out of their reach, and they hadn’t even seen Josh since Sora left.
“We’ll be okay,” Shiki said, clutching her skirt. “Let’s trust them…”
Even she couldn’t bat away the anxiety creeping up on her, though. This could really be it. This could be the end for them. And they didn’t even get to see Josh or Beat or Rhyme—or even Eri again.
Or… tell Neku that he was her most important thing now, too… If they got erased here, that’d be it. No more them, no more chances to do it right. Just nothing. And their fate relied on two people so far away…
“I think I know what I want to name her.”
That caught Shiki so off-guard that she jumped. Confused yet curious, she glanced over to see Neku petting the Necho Cat with his free hand.
“R-really? What?”
“Blossom,” he said, his eyes flicking to her and then back to the dream eater. “‘Cause… That’s part of your last name, isn’t it?”
Did she hear him right? Shiki placed a hand over her hammering heart.
“But… w-why my name?”
“You said she deserves something cute,” he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
But it wasn’t. Shiki’s mouth hung open as she processed it. Anything she could say dried up in her mouth as a nervous swell built up in her. He wasn’t usually this sweet—
“…and she stalks me like you do,” Neku added.
—unless he somehow managed to botch it two seconds later. Couldn’t he have just kept the nice moment?!
“Neku!”
Laughing, Neku said, “But it took your mind off the timer, didn’t it?”
Oh, right! That was a thing. Wait, then how much time did they have…
Less than a minute now. Did Sora and Riku fail? Was this…was this really it?
Even Neku’s shoulders fell, like he expected the result to be different. He moved their hands into her lap, scooting closer so he was right up against her. “S-sorry, I just…”
“Mm-mm.” Shiki shook her head, moving her finger up to his lips to silence him. “At least… I’m here with you,” she murmured. “No matter what happens, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else…”
Neku’s cheeks flushed pink as he ducked his head. “Y-you sure? I mean, there’s always…”
“I’m sure,” she said, quickly cutting him off. “Unless you don’t want to be with me?”
“…Maybe at one point, back when I would’ve loved an empty town like this…” He rested his head on her shoulder, nestling against her neck. “Not anymore, though. Truth be told, I’m glad I’m with you, too…”
Shiki could've melted right then and there, his tender tone and touch sending sparks through her. She wanted to just stay like this with him forever, even if that was impossible.
“B-but I’m not even the real me,” she protested, trying to calm herself down.
“Maybe not on the outside.”
He looked up at her, his sapphire eyes peering straight past her visage into the depths of her soul.
“On the inside, though? You’ll always be Shiki…”
All doubt completely vanished from her mind. In an instant, from just that one simple statement, it couldn’t so much as scratch her, not with Neku here beside her. He truly saw her for everything she was, both good and bad. As she stared at him, she barely even noticed him taking her free hand and turning it palm up.
“Timer’s gone.”
Shiki blinked, looking down to find that he was right. It was blank.
“Guess they did it… Sora and Riku, I mean. They completed the mission,” he mumbled, not moving from his spot.
They…they really did it. And they were still here. She was still here with him.
Shiki threw her arms around Neku, pulling him into a tight embrace as relief washed over her. “W-we’re… okay… We’re really okay…!”
“Y-yeah,” he said, having to catch himself after almost falling. He clearly wasn’t used to hugs, or any sort of affection for that matter, but he caught on quick, soon holding her back. “We can rest easy now—at least ‘til the next mission comes in.”
Tears had started to cling to her eyelashes, but she wiped them away as a smile took over. “Hey, next time Sora and Riku drop by, let’s do something nice for them—to thank them.”
“Sure. Though hopefully next time, we’ll meet in Shibuya.”
Shibuya seemed like such a distant dream now—but one she couldn't wait to dive back to, alongside him and all their friends.
“Yeah, definitely,” Shiki agreed, nodding as she stretched her arms. “We’ll make it back home no matter what!”
With the relief came more energy than Shiki even knew what to do with, and she hopped to her feet. She grinned down at him.
“But for now, let’s celebrate, Neku!”
Neku chuckled, pushing himself up. His Necho Cat circled around his legs, her tail flicking as she prepared to follow. “Got something in mind?”
“Don’t I always? Come on—I saw a fun area to explore when we were running through here before. If we’re lucky, it might even lead us to Beat and Rhyme.” She snatched his hand, dragging him behind her. “Let’s go!”
Even if they didn’t belong here, even if they were all alone, they were together. They were alive, and they’d keep fighting until they made it home.
And then… when I have my real body back…
…I’ll tell you how much you mean to me.