Disclaimer: I do not own The World Ends with You/ It's a Wonderful World or any of the characters/places/or concepts within. They're owned by Square-Enix and Jupiter, respectively, and are not being used for profit. The plot and any characters/places/ or concepts not used in said game belong to me and may not be used without permission.
In the back of his mind Neku wondered if he had tried thinking of social interactions in something resembling video game mechanics sooner, if he would still be practically friendless today.
When Mr. Hanekoma had first brought up the idea of "syncing", Neku had brushed him off as being to sentimental. After all, the Café owner WAS heavy on the love and peace line, so it was kinda expected. So when that green aura of energy began passing between him and Shiki, and that blank pin started to glow, he was understandably surprised. But damn if it didn't help things. Every time that glow reached him he could feel his attacks growing stronger, and every time he brushed his fingers against that pin he knew that if needed he could bring down hell on the half-graffiti monsters that were after his skin. It was… comforting in a way. Like carrying a nuke in a bad neighborhood.
At least, with Shiki it had been.
How quickly and easily he had synced up with Shiki had been kinda scary, in hindsight. Hell, he had HATED her at first. And he didn't kid himself into thinking it was anything less then her doing. SHE was the one who had reached out, SHE was the one who had worked so hard to be more then a necessity to him. And by the time he had realized what she really was to him, she was gone.
Joshua had been a very different kettle of fish.
Shiki had come so naturally, that trying to sync with Joshua had been quite a jolt. It was like trying to win a three-legged race with someone who was playing with a potato sack instead. They were just in different areas completely. And to be honest, he hadn't cared enough to try. Joshua was an insufferable prick with, in his mind, not a single redeemable quality outside being able to kill things with a cell-phone. Until the end anyway. Apparently Joshua's sync to him had been stronger then his to him… and Neku wondered if he could ever forgive himself for that.
In turn, he had expected his third partner to be an even bigger handful. But what he expected and what he got were both the same and as far off from each other as just about any two things could be. Just his luck.
"Yo Phones, you gonna eat dat?"
Neku glanced up from his half eaten chicken nuggets, only to come eye to eye with Beat, who apparently had decided to start leaning over for his fries before getting an answer. Beat grinned sheepishly at him, holding one of the golden treats up, arching a brow.
"Yeah. Sure, go at it. Whatever." Neku replied with a long suffering sigh. But if his hint was noticed by his partner, it sure didn't stop him. What had to be at least ten fries vanished in one gulp, and Beat pulled what was left across the booth table and closer to his never ending maw.
At least there was one upside to having a guy like Beat as a partner: He was easy enough to keep happy. It seemed every time they stopped to eat the "puck", as Beat had so eloquently called it, moved faster and easier. Simple pleasures for simple minds.
Neku watched Beat chow down, his chin in his hand. On the flip side of easy matenance was the fact that he really had no idea of how to TALK to the other boy. The small shopping bag next to him in the booth needed to be brought up, but he really didn't want to lose what little progress he had made with the food. Beat was worse then a hormonal teenage girl sometimes: If he explained things the wrong way he was apt to stomp off in a tantrum and they would be right back where they started. With Shiki he would have at least TRIED to explain, and with Joshua he would have just shoved it across at him and cleaned his hands of it.
So he went with a middle ground.
"Beat. Catch." He called just before chucking the small plastic bag across the table. Beat jerked in surprise, but managed to snag the bag before getting hit square in the face with it. Instead of looking pissed he simply blinked at Neku in surprise before looking inside.
"Huh? What ya buyin' me bling for? You trying to hit on me? Wanna be my boyfriend or som'ing? I keep telling' ya man, I ain' inta-"
"Oh just shut up." Neku cut him off before he really got started. Ever since Day 1 Beat had gotten it into his head that Neku was gay. He blamed Joshua's flirting the week before. After all, Beat HAD been charged with stalking the pair, and wasn't really known for keeping things in perceptive.
Beat looked at him, confusion obviously written on his face as he reached inside the bag and pulled out the heavy golden chain that was nestled inside. Neku personally thought the thing was cheesy as all hell, but Beat wore a fricking SKULL around his neck, so he doubted tackiness was an issue.
Neku watched the taller boy handle the necklace, his eyes focused and slightly glazed. Neku had found out that first week that some objects held… extras. Little powers that would be helpful to a desperate Player. But finding those tidbits wasn't always easy. Now it was time to wait and see if Beat would figure it out.
He knew for sure that Beat had figured it out when the chain was chucked back onto the table and an enraged Beat was already halfway out the door, a half-yelled "No!" trailing behind him. 'Shoulda expected this.' Neku thought tiredly as he jumped up to follow his overdramatic Partner. Said Partner was already across the street, his jaw set and his arms crossed, looking into some richy shop or another. Neku paused for a moment, pondering how to go about this. Chasing and yelling at Beat was just a good way to make it worse, he had learned that pretty early. He groaned, pinching his nose. Sometimes he really wondered if he would have been better off just doing this partner-less like the Game had intended. Hell of a lot less stress.
He looked down at the chain clenched in his hand, glaring at it like this was all it's fault. He really didn't see what the big deal was. It was just another item. Hell, it was supposed to HELP! But Beat was taking this all so damned personally-
He looked up suddenly, only to see that Beat was GONE.
With a tired groan Neku took off, looking over his shoulder for any random Taboo Noise that might decide that a lone Player might make for a tasty snack. Stupid Beat, stupid Partner system, stupid EVERYTHING! He wasn't supposed to be playing babysitter for someone how was technically OLDER then him. He jogged back towards the Scramble, just in time to see Beat arguing with a Wall Reaper. He jogged up, grabbing the taller boy by the shoulder and spinning him around mid-rant.
"What the hell!? Are you trying to get killed? What if a Noise had-"
"Screw you, man! I don' need you, I can save Rhyme by my self, yo!" Beat yelled right back, closing the distance between them untill they were practically nose-to-nose.
"What?! What's your problem? I didn't DO anything to you-"
"You don' GET it! That's… that's fricking CHEATING!" Beat finished with a bellow, showering Neku with spit before turning back to the amused looking Reaper.
Neku really didn't have a response for that. He stood there for a few moments, trying to make some sort of logic out of what Beat had just said, but nothing was popping up. It just made no sense. So instead of ponder it any farther, he just grabbed the back of that goofy black chain and dragged him into a side alley, and away from the snickering Reaper.
"Okay, what the hell was that!? What do you mean cheating?" Neku demanded, shaking Beat slightly by the chain.
Beat glared at him for a moment, but his rage slowly seemed to fade to just sulleness. "Don'… don' worry 'bout it, kay? Ain' nothing', less just go." He finally grumbled. But Neku wasn't quite done yet. This was all just too random to simply forget.
"No. Spill it or we're not going anywhere." He said, finally dropping the chain.
"…don' look at me like dat man. Ya look like my old man. S'creepy." Beat replied, blanching a little and pulling a face.
"Then talk."
"Fine, yo! Dat chain… s'possed at make me not mad, ya dig?"
"Yeah, I 'dig'. So what?" Neku said with a slight groan. What was the point of this?
Beat looked at him like he was crazy, then started to open his mouth only to close it again. He paused for a second, then tried again. "You're supposed at get it, yo."
"…."
"Nah, I'm serious!" Beat stalled again in his explanation, looking confused and pissed. Neku was starting to think this was his default. "You… you can' use stuff to do that, yo!"
Neku blinked, then sighed as it finally clicked. Beat thought he was being used. Hell, he guessed he could understand that. But-
"You're supposed at get this stuff Phones!"
Neku snorted, glaring at Beat. " What? Why should I?"
Beat sighed, then rubbed the back of his head. "I dunno… we're Partners, right? Partners are supposed to get each other, right?"
Neku gave Beat an eye roll at THAT one.
"I mean… with me an Rhyme it was easy. We'd fight da Noise and it was quick and flowed, ya know? S'not da same wit you. I dunno where ya at half the time. S'confusin'."
Hearing his own worries echoed back at him made Neku pause, and his glare softned. He shrugged. "We… really don't have much in common, do we?" He offered, looking at his feet.
"Nah.. Not really. At leas' you an' Priss fought. Dat's some'ing."
Neku looked back up, scratching the back of his head. "Well… there's Rhyme? We ARE trying to save her. We have that."
There was a long silence between them, and Beat laughed a little. But it didn't sound very happy, to be honest.
"No man… we don', yo. She ain… not for you." He paused again, that confused look coming back, only to suddenly break apart into a smile. "But you gots Shiki."
"Huh?" Neku blinked, cocking his head to one side. Beat was going off on a tangent again, and he had to fight to keep up with his broken logic.
"Yeah… we both.. We both lost da important thing. Shiki… she's like yer Rhyme, yo. " He looked at Neku, his eyes gleaming like he had just found something shiney and wonderful. "We got dat…." He trailed off again, chewing his lip. "You understand… how it is. Mos' peeps don'. Ya know?"
Neku nodded slowly, blushing a tiny tiny bit at Beat's assessment of his relationship with Shiki. But why argue with the truth? " Yeah, I guess we do."
"So why we sitting 'er bawling at each other! We gotta find Iron Face!" Beat said with an exaggerated laugh and back clap, nearly sending Neku sprawling into the alley wall. Before he had a chance to straighten himself up Beat was off and running towards the Wall Reaper, and Neku rolled his eyes, a tiny smile on his face.
He tossed the chain in a nearby trashcan before jogging after. Sometimes things just weren't that complicated.