Disclaimer: The World Ends With You is the intellectual property of Jupiter and Square Enix. My wallet is not getting any fatter for having written this story, so show me love!
His Love Flashed Before His Eyes
A Sota and Nao Tribute
"You okay?" Neku rushed beside Sota, his partner Joshua trailing behind him. The usually energetic Sota was shaken and heartbroken, but accepted Neku's hand nonetheless and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet.
"Yeah…" He replied. "You saved my ass. Heh, for now, anyway. I lost Nao…I don't have much longer. Nngh…" Neku's face fell as Joshua looked away with a strange mixture of pity and respect on his face.
"If…if we'd gotten here sooner—" Neku tried to apologize, but Sota cut him off with a raised hand.
"Ain't your fault, dawg," Sota weakly muttered with a small smile. "I wasn't strong enough. End of story." Recognition hit him as he carefully observed his saviors. "Neku and Joshua, right?"
"Yeah."
Sota grinned at destiny's many ironies. Who knew it would have been these two to save him? But it was too late. "You two survive. Get your old partner back. I hope all three of ya get back safe." Neku pounded at the ground in his unexplainable grief as Sota faded into nothingness. As he closed his eyes, accepting his fate, a blinding light consumed his being, and a gentle, tanned hand reached out to him, clasping his with a glorious familiarity. He gasped and whispered the one word that could always make anything right.
"Nao?"
"Nngh! More of 'em?" Sota groaned as Taboo crabs converged around the couple. Why were these bastards even attacking them unprovoked in the first place?
Nao fell to the ground, coughing blood. "Sota, sorry…I can't…"
"Nao! Stay with me!" Sota demanded. "We're finishing this thing together!"
"I'd…love to…but it…doesn't look like I can. Sorry…Sota…"
"Nao!" Sota cried in anguish, but it was too late. Nao faded into nothingness, leaving Sota surrounded by the loud Noise, clicking their claws menacingly as they closed the gap. Struck by hopelessness, they were completely unnoticed by the heartbroken street punk.
"Dammit…DAMMIT!" Sota wept, falling to his knees in absolute surrender.
"This is, like, such a drag!" Nao complained as they strolled through Shibuya. "Why can't anyone see or hear us?" Sota shrugged, but held Nao's hand as they looked around. He recognized the mathematical language behind that text, but he couldn't bring himself to tell Nao, nor to even admit what he had seen with his own eyes. They had been killed by his former best friend, Sho Minamimoto…
"Babe?" Nao looked at him concerned. "You okay? You're, like, so white right now…"
"Yeah," Sota lied. "No need to worry. 's all good."
"Sota…I know when you're lying to me," Nao clung to his arm tearfully. "Why can't you tell me?" Sota felt a shiver of guilt come over him and he fell to the ground in helplessness. Nao looked surprised but hunched over him and pulled his head to her breasts in comfort. "Shh…" She whispered, stroking his hair.
"Nao…we're dead," Sota choked, tears pouring down his face. "And we was killed by Sho…at Miyashita Park…" Nao held her hands to her mouth as she gasped in surprise.
"Are you…are you sure?" She whispered, but Sota nodded. There was no mistaking what he had seen.
"Positive...that would explain why no one can see us..."
Nao frowned. "So…that weird Reaper with the orange hair and lollypop and the chick with pink hair…they were talking about entry fees…what do ya think ours was?"
"Well…I don't really know…but I think I know at least one of ours." Sota raised Nao's hand up and she stared in surprise at her naked hand.
"My…ring." She looked at Sota sadly.
"I'm…sorry," Sota apologized just as sadly, but Nao began laughing, much to his surprise.
"Oh, Sota!" She exclaimed. "The most important thing was, like, the opportunity to get married to you. But we're already married in our hearts, baby!"
"Nao?" Sota stared at her as she raised her head to his level, laughing and sobbing simultaneously.
"I wanted…I wanted to be married to you, Sota. I wanted to be, like, a respectable, married woman. But…what if you had been my entry fee? What if our love had been my entry fee? Oh, Sota…I'm so happy that you're here with me…" Sota wrapped his arms around her, disbelieving but knowing her words to be true.
"I think it was similar with me…all the money I saved to start a life together with you…it's gone, but I've still got you. We're together, babe…I've still got you…"
The duo fell to the ground, kissing and hugging, sobbing and laughing at the irony that their entry fees took away their chance at a reality and left only fantasy…
"We'll get through this together." Nao's eyes were sparkling as they moved apart.
Sota nodded. "For sure. Let's beat this frickin' mission. Together!"
The couple never saw it coming, and as the two shots penetrated their hearts, they toppled over the edge, hand-in-hand. Sota stared up, his mind going blank as the murderer stepped out into the light. Sho Minamimoto.
"You…bastard…"
"This is, like, such a beautiful place," Nao sighed wistfully as they sat around Miyashita. There was not another person in sight, but they could see so much of Shibuya below them.
"Damn straight," Sota grinned as they got near the edge. "This is where I got gypped last year."
"And you never took me here before," Nao said accusingly.
Sota chuckled. "I wanted to save it for somethin' special."
"Like our one-year?" Nao smiled, but her eyes widened in surprise as Sota, as if in slow motion, bent a knee as he reached into his pocket. "What are you doing?" Nao stared at Sota with her mouth wide-open.
"Nao…I love ya," Sota looked up at her sincerely, pulling out a small, black box. "I want to have a million different dates with you for the rest of our lives, and I hope you do too. In front of this entire city, I'm gonna ask you this now. Will you marry me?"
Nao was quite as death for a moment, before she stood up and screamed. "YES! YES! YES! YES! A MILLION TIMES, YES!" Sota stood up and caught her surprised as she jumped into his arms, smothering him with kisses. He slid the ring on the ring finger of her left hand, and she stared at it in admiration.
"It's beautiful," she whispered.
"It's Pegaso," he chuckled. "Those tightwads are tough to bargain with…"
"I bet, baby." Nao kissed him again. Closing his eyes, Sota immersed himself in his fiancée's lips and did not even notice the rustling sound in the nearby bushes.
Sota nearly tripped on the marble floor as he ran out of the shower to answer the anticipated phone call. "Hey, baby! Where do you want to go for our anniversary?" He asked enthusiastically. Was it possible that an entire year had already passed since he had first started dating Nao?
"Anywhere. Like, literally anywhere is okay, as long as I'm with you," Sota heard on the other end. He chuckled and heard his love laugh with him. It was fun being cheesy.
"Well…what say we meet at Miyashita Park so I can give ya that first date I wanted to?"
"Sounds good to me!"
Sota and Nao slumped against the coach together, fingers intertwined as the romantic comedy slowly played out. Sota had never been into such things, but if a chick flick is what it took to slow down time with Nao, he would happily watch one every day for the rest of his life.
"Hey, Sota? Like, whatever happened to your friend?" Nao asked drowsily. Sota flinched as he thought back to his fight with Sho. Did he serious have any malicious intentions or was he just provoking Sota.
"Sho? I guess I outgrew him…"
Nao frowned and cupped Sota's chin. "Is it because of me? You used to be, like, best friends, right?"
"Used to be," Sota confirmed as he smiled and kissed Nao on the neck. She closed her eyes blissfully as Sota gently made his way to her shoulder, where he remained.
"You should really make up," Nao muttered, but she was fixated by the sight of Sota gently massaging her shoulder. What had gotten into him?
"Maybe so, but no one talks trash about my woman without an assbeating."
"You fought him for me?" Nao asked sharply. Sota flinched, but nodded.
"He wasn't a real friend if he couldn't see how important you was to me."
Nao took a deep breath as silence sank in. She had never meant to come between them, but Sota smiled and kissed her gently.
"Don't sweat it, Nao. You're the only thing in this world that matters to me."
"We're finally dating, bro!" Sota enthusiastically told Sho at the dance. His voice was drowned out by the music, and Sho held his hand up, prompting Sota to continue after he began the next song.
"Waddup, hectopascals! Did ya enjoy that one?" He howled over a megaphone. Not very traditional, but the enthusiastic high schoolers did not seem to notice. "This is DJ Sho, reminding you that anyone can dance as long as you're feeling the algorithm. Grab some pi and get as irrational as you want with this next one, dedicated to the ladies!" The ladies swooned as Sho set the next song off, provoking an eruption of cheering and applause. Motioning to Sota, the duo retreated to a corner of the dance floor.
"You? A DJ?" Sota chuckled.
Sho cocked his head slightly. "I'd love to be a Composer, so might as well start somewhere."
Sota had no idea what he meant but shrugged. "Anyway, me 'n Nao are dating now!"
"Doesn't matter," Sho replied. "I'll still get her begging for my digits."
Sota stared at his friend confused. "What're you talkin' about? You can't do that; she's my girl!"
"What's your point?"
"Are you freakin' kidding me?" Sota narrowed his eyes. "Friends don't go after other friends' girlfriends!"
"Friendship is garbage!" Sho cracked his hands menacingly. "CRUNCH! Add it to the heap!"
"Hey!" Sota stepped forward. "Back off, dawg!
"What you gonna do about it?" Sho taunted. Without a warning, Sota swung his fist, catching the surprised mathematician off guard. Sho went tumbling into the crowd, followed by an enraged Sota who catapulted himself straight after Sho. Fists went flying and chaos ensued.
"Get this zetta idiot off of me!" Sho howled enraged. As spectators separated the two, the dance came to a complete halt. Sota had a bruised lip, a black eye, and was breathing heavily, nostrils flaring, as he stared down his opponent who, needless to say, was in far worse shape. Blood stained his clothes and his nose looked to be broken. Sho growled, but he was as well-restrained as Sota by a fair portion of the attendees.
"You just miscalculated," Sho breathed. "You're dead."
"Like, wow! Who knew Shibuya had so much to see?" Nao beamed as Sota escorted her around the town. Sota scratched his head embarrassed. Exploring the town had been a good idea, but he felt pretty cheap, particularly with no knowledge of high-class dining restaurants in which to take Nao.
"Yeah…my bad 'bout this, Nao…I spent all last night plannin' how to do this, but I wasn't expecting the park to be closed for maintenance…"
"Sota, it's fine!" Nao enthusiastically grabbed his hand. He smiled and kissed hers in exchange. Even with her tan, a very clear blush came over her.
"Nao…you're special to me," Sota confessed. "You've been special to me, ever I first laid my eyes on you. Please…be my girlfriend?" Nao stared up at him with tears in her eyes.
"Yes…Sota, yes…" Sota could see every tear that clung to her thick lashes as he pressed forward and locked his lips with hers. As they pulled away from their first kiss, a sense of innocence surrounded them that beguiled the public bystanders. Unbeknownst to them, however, Sho Minamimoto was watching them with a smirk, invisible to them as he carried out his duties in the UG as a Harrier Reaper.
"Double life equals double fun," he muttered with a sinister grin.
"Nao…right?" Sota shyly asked the blonde beauty. Sho was snickering in the corner as he played on his phone. Five weeks of sitting next to Nao in class had done nothing to make the muscular loudmouth any less timid to the object of his affections.
"Like, you can call me Nao-Nao for short," Nao said innocently. "But you know that, silly! I've been at school with you for, like, a month!" Of course Sota knew. Nao had been the ONLY thing on his mind for the last month.
"I guess…" He mumbled modestly. Nao peeked behind him and noticed several of Sota's friends whispering and pointing at him. She grabbed him by the arm, startling him greatly.
"C'mon! Let's, like, dodge around the corner so we have some alone time!" Sota allowed Nao to steer him away from the scrutiny of his friends, running down the hall and hiding between two rows of lockers. They stood pressed together closely as Sota's friends ran past. She looked up at him breathlessly.
"This is fun!" She giggled. "Oh…" She pressed her ear to Sota's chest. "Your heart is beating so fast!" Her lips curved into a smile, but did not laugh at Sota's expense.
"You…do this a lot, yeah?" Sota was certain a girl like Nao had tons of guys chasing after her, but she shook her head.
"Not too many guys go for the whole "ganguro girl" thing…but, like, this is who I am, and if they can't accept that, I don't need to worry about it, ya know?"
"I know," Sota smiled down at her. "Nao…would ya wanna go out with me tomorrow?" Nao let out an ecstatic cry in Sota's arms.
"Like, super yay! I can't wait!"
"Just look at her," Sota muttered. "Absolutely beautiful…"
"She ain't nothing special," Sho extended his legs out across several desks. Ogling the new girl was nothing new, but this ganguro girl was provoking a variety of mixed reactions from her classmates, ranging from contempt to obsession. Sota Honjo, sitting in the back of the class with his best friend Sho Minamimoto, fell into the latter category.
"Bro…I didn't believe in love at first sight until this moment…but there's no way a girl like her would go for a guy like me."
"I'll make her beg for my digits!" Sho bragged, prompting an angry reaction from his dazzled peer. "Aww, don't be so sine-sitive!"
"Whatever," Sota muttered, jumping up with a start as the teacher assigned the gorgeous transfer student to a seat beside him. Her blonde hair breezed past Sota's face as she took a seat to his left, black eyelashes fluttering as she smiled at him.
"Well, hey there. What's your name?"
Sota felt his heart flutter as he tried to answer, but found his voice stuck in his throat. "I'm…I'm…" She smiled at him sweetly, but he couldn't say it. His gaze was apologetic, but she gripped his hand gently.
"I'm Nao. Nice to meet ya! I hope we become, like, good friends!"
Nao…Sota would remember this name for the rest of his life.
Author's Note: I know Sota and Nao did not have a huge impact in the story, but they were two very real characters that played out stereotypes and surpassed them through their love and good deeds. I felt that they deserved a tribute from me. I got my inspiration for this from Amulet Misty's "Rewind." Check that out if you enjoyed this! This was my first one-shot that I have published, so please review and favorite it if you liked it!
Crow