He's just a partner at first. Just a person. Shiki's far too wrapped up in ideas of succeeding, of Eri, of surviving, to even think about him much. They have a mission. He's obviously not interested in being friends with her, but he needs her. She needs him. That's fine.
Then she asks for his name. When he answers, softly, her breath catches.
For the first time, he looks unguarded. Instead of a frown, his eyes are...almost expectant. She knows he's not smiling, even though she can't see his mouth, but she also can tell he's not scowling.
Neku. She wants to try it, and as she stares at him, caught up in a single second while a thousand thoughts rush through her mind, a pang stabs her heart and she feels a rush of blood. All the people on the street seem to just disappear. It takes her a second to realize that it's attraction momentarily driving her crazy, and she quickly throws out a reply: "Cute name."
The moment is over. He's back on his guard, but later, when he doesn't know she's watching, she sneaks a glance at him and smiles. Since when can a boy like him, who can barely dress himself decently, make her dizzy?
Later, she finds herself teasing him more. "Wake up and smell the orange juice, Neku!" she berates him after a brief battle. "We have to stay on our guard!"
His brow furrows slightly. "Orange juice?" he repeats. "Isn't it usually, I dunno...coffee?"
She finds her mouth quirking into a smile, and she doesn't make an effort to stop it. "But I like orange juice."
The second day, Neku does something nice for her, for the first time.
Her hand is on the bathroom door, but something makes her hesitate. She doesn't want to leave yet. There's a mirror, an indoors mirror, and some vain part of her wants to admire the body that's not hers.
Eri's body isn't as perfect as it seemed before she possessed it, she notices. A zit is starting to erupt on the side of her face, but she only sees it when she pushes her hair away. Shiki hopes, in her stupid shallowness, that it will stay that way.
When she exits, she stops dead still, hesitating for a different reason this time. It's almost as though her eyes are lying to her. Neku is casually sitting in a two-person booth, by himself. Sipping on some soda or other. None of that is surprising.
What is surprising, however, is the clear cup full of orange juice sitting opposite him. Waiting for her.
Slowly, she approaches. He's pretending not to notice her, and she indulges him. "You remembered," Shiki murmurs.
"Hm? Oh. Yeah."
They sit there for a few more minutes, playing make-believe that nothing has changed between the two of them.