A/N: Happy birthday to you, MagnaVictoria. May the grass forever feel like pants.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any part of TWEWY. That honor goes to the fabulous people at Square Enix :D
Pants
"Outta my way!" yelled Beat as he barreled through the crowds on his skateboard. He screeched to an abrupt stop in front of Hachiko, just barely avoiding a collision with it. Panting, he looked at the two friends that walked up to him. "Am I late?"
Shiki exchanged a glance with Neku, who in turn checked the clock on his phone. "Nope. You're perfectly on time," he replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
"I was worried for a sec there, yo! I was held up for a while back home. Almost thought I wasn't gonna make it here!" Beat smiled, completely failing to notice Neku's tone of voice.
"Hey, where's Rhyme?" asked Shiki, scanning the area for Beat's sister. Beat blanched.
"BWAAAAH! I musta left her behind or somethin'!" He hopped on to his skateboard, ready to bust anyone that stood in his way. Right before he could take off, a slender hand tapped him on the shoulder.
"I'm right here, Beat. No need to worry," Rhyme said, calm as ever. The straw yellow hair that peeked out from underneath her beanie was slightly disheveled, as if she had just been running.
"Oh man, sorry for ditchin' ya back there, sis!" Beat rubbed his head sheepishly as he apologized. "Dunno what I was thinking. Just wanted to get here on time."
"That's quite alright. Just remember, haste makes waste." She turned to the other two bystanders. "Sorry we were late. Mom was telling Beat off for not changing his underwear for three days in a row. Again."
As the others cringed, Beat reddened. "Hey, I thought we agreed we weren't talking about thi- wait, I thought Phones said that we were on time!" At this, everyone facefaulted.
"Ahem." Shiki cleared her throat, attempting to change the subject. "So, how was your weekend? I spent mine with Eri working on these cute new accessories for Mr. Mew!" True to her word, Mr. Mew was now clad in a miniature jacket and hat.
Neku shrugged. "No matter how much you dress it up, it still looks like a piggy to me."
"He's a cat," Shiki automatically corrected. "Since you were so nice to speak up, why don't you go ahead and tell us about your weekend?"
"Uh… I didn't really do much, I guess," answered Neku, unusually flustered. Shiki smiled evilly.
"Are you sure? I do recall seeing you at that Molco Tin Pin tournament, where the grand prize was a golden Halo Kitten pin…"
Now it was Neku's turn to blush. "It was limited edition," he mumbled in protest, desperately hiding his face under the collar of his vest.
Beat chuckled. "Wow, Phones. Didn't know you were into girl's pins." Just as he was about to say something, a confused look passed over his face. "Project?" he stated aloud, more to himself than anyone else. Then, recognition kicked in. "CRAP! I've gotta start a history project that's due tomorrow! Gotta go guys!" As abruptly as he came over, he jumped on his board and left, leaving a trail of stunned people in his wake.
Rhyme sighed. "Excuse me," she said apologetically, giving a tiny bow. At this, she ran off in pursuit, calling out, "I told you this would happen!"
"HEY! GET BACK HERE!" shouted Neku. "YOU HAVEN'T ANSWERED THE… question… yet…" He trailed off at the end as he realized that his attempts at catching Beat's attention were futile. He looked at Shiki. "Guess it's just you and me again."
"Lighten up, Neku!" Shiki shoved him playfully. "Maybe we can spend this time to go clothes shopping! I want to see if you remember anything I taught you about trends…"
"Oh heck no!" snapped Neku. "You already convinced me to do it last week, and I regret every moment of it! As long as I live, I'm never setting foot in a Lapin Angelique store again. Ever." He shuddered as he remembered: the two giggling schoolgirls, the approving looks of Princess K, and the lace. Oh god, the lace. Never again would he let Shiki and Eri shove random articles of clothing onto him: especially if it was designed for the opposite gender.
Neku was wrenched out of his self-pity when he heard Shiki mumble something. "What?" he asked, wondering why Shiki was staring at him so intently.
"Pants," she murmured under her breath just as Neku noticed something. He froze as Shiki looked him in the eye. "Your pants… You've got a loose button…"
"Ah." Neku stood there for a moment, unable to form any words for a good while. "Shiki… You DO know we're in the RG now. Everyone can see us."
"Pants off. Now. No exceptions," Shiki ordered, ignoring his words as she rummaged around her bag.
"Shiki… now's not the best time for this…" warned Neku, starting to feel uncomfortable.
"Nonsense! This won't take too long!" Shiki was now brandishing a needle and a spool of thread. Eyes dead set on the button, she started to slowly advance on him. "Hold still for a moment, please?"
"N-no!" yelped Neku as he stepped back, desperate to avoid her reach. What did he ever do to deserve this? As he inched away from his impending doom, the answer presented himself to Neku in a brief flash of pale hair and an all-too-familiar giggle. Neku gritted his teeth in annoyance as the pieces fell together.
...
Safely invisible in the UG, Joshua laughed as he watched his dearest proxy scream his name in vain as Shiki descended upon him.
First fic. Review please!
Quick clarification note: My headcanon is that Neku didn't give up his 'phones for good at the end of the game. He just uses them more for background music and less for shutting the world out, hence why Beat still calls him "Phones". So yeah.