Title—Like a Lady
Author—Chronos Mephistopheles
Fandom—The World Ends With You
Challenge—Birthday Present for Tysonkaiexperiment
Couplings/Characters—Neku Sakuraba, Shiki Misaki, Eri, Beat, Rhyme, Joshua
Warnings/Rating—K/T, nothing bad
Summary—Losing a bet was the easiest was the explain 'it'.
Like A Lady
Neku glared at the person in the mirror, eyes narrowed to little slivers, the iridescent blue of his iris barely seen. The person in the mirror mimed his expression, an unexpected almost coy blush across the figure's cheeks, the ruffles of the skirt fluttering in the circulating air. A light pastel lip gloss and mascara decorated its face, and the blouse fell perfectly around the figure to the waistband of the almost overly-flowy skirt.
The figure crossed its arms the same time Neku did, and if he didn't know better, he could have sworn the figure blinked. The feminine figure. The feminine figure in a dress, wearing a bra, shaved legs, mary janes… the whole nine yards. Neku scratched the back of his neck, missing the comforting weight of his headphones around his neck. He felt lighter without them…
He shook his head, the figure still copying his movements, and he turned away from the mirror. Shiki stood in the doorway, Mr. Mew cradled so lovingly in her arms, giving Neku a smile. "You ready?"
Neku shrugged, grabbing his wallet and cell phone, glancing longingly at the pair of headphones resting on his bedspread, lying next to the mp3 player and a pile of clean clothes. Taking another breath, he glanced at his cell and followed Shiki out of his room. Just before closing the door, he glances back at the figure, returning his stare in the mirror. He shivers slightly and slams the door closed, so he wouldn't have to look at it anymore. But the fact of the matter was, even without seeing the figure in the mirror, Neku knew. He knew beyond all doubt...
How utterly ridiculous he must have looked in the outfit.
"A dare gone wrong," is what he told his mother when she walked in on Shiki showing him how to use shaving cream and a razor on his legs. She stared for a few moments before shaking her head and closing the bathroom door behind her. The parent and child hadn't brought it up since, and Neku's father hadn't been informed; luckily for the boy his father was out of Shibuya for at least another week.
Outside the house, garbed in the clothes Shiki and Eri had picked for him before he even lost the bet, Neku peered at the phone screen once again before Shiki took his wallet, keys and phone, shoving them in a small clutch that matched his outfit and gave it to him to hold. He awkwardly played with the zipper before sliding his hand through the small loop of fabric acting as a hold and letting it dangle there. "So…." He cleared his throat at the look she gave him, his voice coming out a bitch higher pitched, a bit more 'feminine', "What now?"
Shiki gave him a smile. "You don't remember?"
"Remember what?"
"All the terms of the bet?" Neku got a sinking feeling in his chest. And his back was beginning to itch from the bra-strap; how they managed to convince him to wear it was beyond him. Neku was hoping to get this over and done with, and then promptly remove the memory from his mind so he'd never have to dwell on it.
He crossed his arms, biting his bottom lip in nervousness. "…What did I forget?"
She burst into giggles, something she thankfully hadn't done since Neku cut his leg while shaving two days beforehand. He was lucky in the fact he hadn't had to reshave, something that had even Rhyme giving him a semi-evil glare. "You, you…" Her grin was decidedly evil, and made Neku wonder if she had been conspiring with Joshua behind his back. "I'll let you find out on your own."
Neku's eyes narrowed at her, begrudgingly letting her grab one of his hands and lead him farther into Shibuya. As they walked, Neku kept finding more and more things to be uncomfortable. The bra was still itchy, his shoes were too narrow, the skirt seemed to flip up frequently in the small breeze – luckily it was long enough it wasn't too much of an issue – and his hair! The way it fell around his face had him constantly reaching up to push it behind an ear.
Eventually Eri met up with them around 104, her face stuck in a perpetual smile. It was only through much coaxing and the promise of buying her paper for her clothing sketches that Neku was allowed to get dressed with only Shiki's assistance. He knew if Eri was involved, he could have been placed in a gothic Lolita dress, or in something so skinny and tight he wouldn't have been able to breathe, or get by without using padding in his bra to hide his lack of a chest.
"Looking good, Neku," she greeted him after hugging Shiki. "Though we need to give you a different name for today, can't have you running around your favorite stores with the same name. It'd give away your identity." She and Shiki linked arms, leaning against one another, both peering at him with the same gaze, same smile. If he hadn't known better, he would have called the two sisters, or even twins.
"Neida," Eri finally decided. "You shall be Neida-chan for today, and you better call Shiki and me, Shiki-chan and Eri-chan." The glint in her eyes was decidedly evil as the two girls separated before linking their arms with his, lacing their fingers together. "Now, let's go shopping."
Neku, now called Neida, nodded, allowing them to lead him about. Soon enough, it wasn't difficult for the two giggling girls to get Neku enjoying himself, even though he was in a dress. He caught himself giggling as well when they all crammed into one of those instant photo booths and began taking pictures. There was even a point when after they had a quick snack at Sunshine that Eri reminded dear Neida-chan to reapply her lip gloss, and Neku didn't mess up too bad without a mirror in front of him.
And then, came the fateful hour.
The trio of 'girls' arrived at Hachiko, arms all interlocked, and spotted the rest of the group. And then, Neku's smile dropped. Beat and Rhyme appeared to be debating over something, the younger playing with her signature necklace. He didn't understand why he felt saddened that Joshua hadn't bothered to show himself; Neku could have sworn that the Composer would have shown himself, if only to tease Neku over his current outfit.
With a sigh he plastered a smile on his face and ignored the goads from Beat. Rhyme complimented him on his outfit and asked how he was doing. At that moment all the complaints that had been on his mind when he had first dressed like this came to mind: it itches, I don't like the skirt, my hair is all weird, it feels weird to have shaved legs… He took a deep breath, "I can't wait for today to be over."
Beat guffawed, gathering the attention of everyone passing by. Neku rolled his eyes, grabbing Shiki's hand and started to leave the area. "Come Shiki-chan," he managed to coo almost convincingly (if Eri's approving nod and the lack of Rhyme's giggle was any clue), "didn't you wish to get those new D+B pumps? We better go make sure they have your size."
Shiki agreed, "How could I forget, Neida-chan, thank you!" He held one of Mr. Mew's hands while Shiki held the other, allowing the cat to dangle between the two of them as they scurried about Shibuya. The pumps turned out to be unavailable but Shiki found a whole new assortment of accessories that pleased her instead.
While wandering Jupiter of the Monkey, there was a familiar giggle. Neku turned on the heel of his mary janes, hair twirling about his face from the speed of his turn. Joshua was there, leaning against one of the displays, twirling a curl around one of his fingers. "Hello, Neida-chan," his voice was almost sickening sweet.
Neku cocked a hip to the side, crossing his arms. "Hello, Yoshi-kun." The narrowing of Joshua's eyes signaled that Neku managed to get to him. "How are you? I've missed your never-ending sarcasm."
"Oh?" Joshua's smirk made an appearance. "I'm so pleased to hear that, Neida-chan. I've missed you as well." He sauntered forward, wrapping an arm around Neku's waist and holding him close. Neku barely resisted the urge to throw the other off of him, knowing it would cause a scene, and undoubtedly lead to him yelling… and when yelling he didn't sound like a girl at all. "Have you finished shopping? Your friend Shiki-chan left the store minutes ago."
Neku's gaze swept the store, and as Joshua stated Shiki was nowhere in sight. He sighed, opening up the clutch to find his cell phone. Joshua yanked the clutch off his hand and fiddled around with it himself. He grabbed Neku's hand and led him outside, stepping just out of the way of the general flow of traffic. Josh handed over the clutch and offered Neku one of his smug grins. "Are you enjoying yourself?"
"Oh yes," Neku deadpanned. "I'm having the time of my life."
"Glad to hear it." Joshua glanced at the screen of his own phone. "Looks like you are done for the day. You've completed the dare." Neku raised an eyebrow.
"Why don't I believe you?"
Joshua linked his arm with Neku's, tugging him into the crowd. "Why else would Shiki have ditched your side when I showed up?"
"…I hate you."
"Love you too, dear." Joshua giggled. "Oh, and is there anything I can do for you while I escort my dearest Neida-chan home?"
Neku paused in the middle of the swarm. "Actually…" He detangled himself and then proceeded to undo the bra and slip it off, all the while not having removed the blouse. After removing it, he gave a relaxing sigh at the lack of the itch and shoved the bra into Joshua's hands. "You can hold that. I need to get out of these shoes, fast. So many blisters…"
Joshua trailed Neku almost dumbfounded, carrying the bra in his hand for a good three streets before realizing the looks he was receiving and 'just so happened' to lose it. Neku wasn't complaining.