Title: Logical Requiem
Characters: Reincarnated!Sho/Reincarnated!Neku (Father/Son relationship—not pairings!)
Rating: M-Mild Violence
Warnings: Spoilers for end of the game. Takes place 300 years after the official game.
Summary: Sho tries his life anew as a math teacher aged 22, after completing his course in Uni. With the present and past holding a missing link, it is soon evident that his life so far, had been hurdles that even he can't recall. One day, he finds Pi-Face's cap beyond the Shibuya River, only then does his life as an unwilling trouble magnet begins, the first signs being that a familiar student with headphones and a sketchy past enters his first session...
Notes: Co-written with Houkai-Amplifier. (DeviantART)
Known Characters involved in this Chapter: Sho, Neku.

First day of work. First day of work.
First Day Of Work!
That was the only clear thought that ran in the new teacher's head. Last summer he had aced his University course. The Japanese culture didn't celebrate Christmas, but that's what he did. Then came the New Year. He felt happy to clean his new apartment, which was in Pork City. Before summer could come around, Sho had been searching for work. He got in, but the maths he was to teach to his new class was way out of his comfort zone. So much for 'Sine, Cosine and Tangent'.
A month before he found his place in Shibuya, or not so far from Pork City, Sho had ventured into the sewers and found a peculiar cap. He had kept it in his suitcase ever since, seeing that he liked the dirty cap, and it somehow reminded him of another time.
Another time, in the Underground...
Now where did that come from? He could not remember.
Sho decided not to mingle with the staff, yet. It was the principal's office to get his timetable, and then off to his first assigned room. The bell went, and Sho waited at his desk. He decided to skip assembly, have his stuff ready to go and teach. As he read through the role, his eyes stopped at one name; Neku Sakuraba. Now where did he hear that name before? Right on time, the noisy students have entered their first room for the day, and among the crowd was a familiar boy with blue earphones. As not to be rude, the boy removed them as he took his seat.

A brief scan of the classroom was enough for Neku. Another year... Same kids... Same scenery... These were the thoughts going through Neku's head, as he looked out the window, his head resting on his hand, fidgeting with a pacer on his desk. Not even 10 minutes into the lesson and he had subconsciously began to space out, ignoring everything around him.

Sho was quick to act on his part in his career, already ordering students to get out their books and find the right page. He kept writing on the whiteboard, pacing back and forth in his own boredom, describing his less desired half of maths, 'the advance stuff', he would label it. But he made it as clear and as easy as he could. And he was happy to see most students were keen on following his instructions. They understood him clear as day.
But he was also quick to notice the familiar student not paying a damn nanosecond of his time. Sho hated being ignored. It boiled him up inside.
"Hey you!" he scowled, snapping his fingers to get the student's attention. No response. Sighing, he walked over to Neku's desk, and got to his eye level, his own piercing golden eyes leering at the nonchalant boy.
"You're so zetta zoned out." he smirked, getting a slight response, "Not one student really wants to get a zero in an exam, unless you really don't give a bloody digit about it. But that, too, is understandable."

Snapping out of it quick, he gave the teacher a weird look. "Yeah?" he said with a tone of aggressiveness. He couldn't care less about class at the moment. He snapped at the teacher without thinking, half out of pure curiosity, half annoyed. "Who the hell are you?" The classroom goes awkwardly silent; the other kids all looking at Neku. Neku stops and looks away, as if he was hiding. D-did I say something...? Ah, who cares... This jerk isn't worth my time.

Ignored while working was one thing; a rude retaliation was another. And this was not the attention, or the response he wanted.
Sho narrowed his eyes, "So, if you're going to be rude, what are you doing here, in my class..." he paused, before slipping in an unfamiliar remark, "Radian?" He stood up straight, and waited for a reply. He also did a quick study before filling the silent gap, completely unaware of the other students. "You seem... troubled. Hard work, hard school, and a rough background that you will not share? I'm not even surprised if that's the case. But I have met guys like you, and I won't tolerate any garbage you throw my way. Heh... one could say I can turn garbage into a fine sculpture worthy enough for Top Arts." he smirked an unfamiliar smirk that made himself, and surely the student he was confronting, really uncomfortable.
"Anyway, if you paid attention earlier, I said my name was Sho. Sho Minamimoto." the Maths teacher took a step back, looking at the other students whom have not broken free from their staring trance. "I didn't say stop!" he barked. That brought them back into their working habits.

Neku slumps back into his chair, avoiding eye contact. He seems to have been caught off guard. "W-whatever..."
...This guy has some nerve...
He picked up the pacer and started to half take down notes, however his attention shortly broke and he started to scribble things until the end of the lesson. At the first sound of the bell, Neku shot up and grabbed his things in one fell swoop, putting his headphones back on and hurried out before Sho could grab his attention.

Sho quietly watched Neku leave in such a great haste. Not so zetta slow after all? But you and me... like it or not... we're on the same page and that's it. Unspoken words, to an invisible audience who won't even listen.
Throughout the day, the new teacher had been on edge. He'd snap at the other teachers, he liked being alone, and simply refused to mingle with the staff unless it was an important meeting. But come lunch break, he began to rummage through leftovers commonly found in woodworks and mechanic classes, and constructed a small metal pig, almost life sized. It looked awfully familiar, but could not recall it. At all. But he liked his monster of an artwork, unaware he was watched by the same rude student who dared to show his face in his maths class.
"Yeah... my maths class, my art... that's all I need to thrive in this stuffy environment." he muttered to himself. He didn't care about what other students said; priority one, himself. He didn't see Neku as he walked passed, keen on leaving the grounds for the day.

Crossing his arms and standing amongst a crowd of older grades, Neku cynically watches Sho pass by. "…He won't last here." he murmured to himself. Having nothing else better to do, he waits until Sho has left before casually walking against the crowd, in the direction Sho came from. Oblivious to the weird looks from some of the younger grades going home, he stops by the metalwork room, a curious object catching his attention. He leans into the small window on the door to try and get a better look. Unable to catch a glimpse, he jiggles the door handle, which to his surprise is still unlocked. He looks around to make sure no-one is around and enters once the coast is clear. He wanders over to the object and scratches his head. This... Is this a pig? He crosses his arms and leans on the desk behind him.
After taking a while staring at the strange object, he stands up. "Let's see what he does without his weird-ass pig here." he murmurs again before picking it up and just managing to fit it into his shoulder bag.
Closing the door behind him, he makes his way into the breaking dusk to the subway, which he takes day in and day out to get to school.

The new teacher knew very well that he did not leave a good impression on his first day. He slowly made his way back to Pork City, dropping his gear off, getting changed into something more comfortable and chilled out on the lounge sofa. Sure, he loved maths on both areas, but would rather teach what he would prefer. If he did kick in a bit of good behaviour over the next few years, who knows? Sho could also start teaching visual art, accounting and metalwork, but by the time that happens, Neku would be long gone. Wait… why did he care about Neku? All he was is a familiar face, and a rude student.
He sighed, pulled out his suitcase again and got the old cap he found in the sewers. What am I doing wrong? he thought sadly to himself, Why do I feel as though I've known it for so long? How could this be important to me? he sighed, placed the cap back into the case, grabbed a bit of yen and went to the Ramen shop not far from Pork City.
But what took him by surprise was that one of the shop's new employees was none other than the unpredictable Neku.