Only For Today
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It's one of those ordinary days in Shiki's high school life. And there's also Neku. So where's the rest of the gang? NekuxShiki Somewhat AU with Omake.
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I woke up this mornin' babe
The phone rang.
I woke up this mornin' babe
And rang.
I woke up this mornin' babe
And rang a third time.
One would think someone would answer the phone already. Apparently, think again. This was not a ringtone of the sort. This was not a call. This was an alarm. And there was an alarmed girl nearby or lack thereof.
I woke up this mornin' babe
"Mmph… Five more minutes…"
Enter Shiki. A young and talented seamstress who would follow trends regarding clothes and fashion. Round face and short brown hair that if without her usual hair clip, her bangs would cover her beautiful eyes. Not that it mattered at the moment since she's still adamant on getting some more sleep. Clutched or maybe even flattened by her arm was the adorable plushie affectionately named Mr. Mew. The stuff toy looked as if it was begging its master to wake up just so it could breathe. Its only hope was the song Junk Garage which was hitting a whole new level of annoying.
I believe I'm PHAT 'cause I like it like that
"Give me a break!"
Finally, with eyes still closed, she reached for and grabbed her phone on the bedside table. She hit the snooze button and sighed in relief. She snuggled deeper into her pillow. Right now, she was cursing Eri, her wonderful best friend, for having her stay up all night on the phone. She couldn't even remember what they were talking about last night since it was mostly Eri who did the talking. Her head was getting fuzzier and she felt her mind almost fall out. It's not like Shiki was trying to fight the drowsiness or anything. In a few moments, she already felt the symptoms of what human nature would call sleeping.
Until her phone rang.
I believe I'm PHAT 'cause I like it like that
"Oh, c'mon! Only for today! Let me sleep in longer, please!"
She had overestimated the usefulness of the snooze button and suffered the consequences. She had learned her lesson. After hitting the snooze yet again, Shiki tried to turn off the alarm. Confident that she her body clock would kick in just in case she'd sleep too much, she wanted to go off to where her mind left. At least that was the idea until she actually checked the time.
7:37 A.M.
And her class was… at eight.
No big deal. These things happen. She could still make it. There's nothing to panic about. It's not like there was going to be a surprise pop quiz at the start of class like their teacher always does…
"Shoot!" She jumped out of the bed, dumped her phone somewhere, and dashed for the bathroom. Luckily, her previous experiences with waking up late and the threat of an impending missed quiz had trained her exactly for this. She slammed the door and grasped her toothbrush. "I so need to wake up earlier."
By the time she was out of the bathroom already groomed and changed, in miraculously seven minutes (it felt like seven minutes to her, she estimated), she saw her mom and her bed made. Now that she thought about it, she did forget to fix her bed earlier. She also forgot to get up earlier.
"Try not to be too late." Her mother handed Shiki her eyeglasses, bag, and the usual toast.
"Sure thing, mom. But you coulda like woke me up." Shiki, now with her glasses on, grabbed her bag and held the toast as much as she could with her teeth.
"I did my best but you did your best to sleep in. You're getting better at it." Her hands were on her hips sarcastically.
"Ha-ha, very funny." She sent her a pointed look. After which, she hurriedly started striding but not before saying goodbye. "Look, I gotta go. See ya later. Bye, mom!"
"Take care, dear!" She waited until she heard the sound of the front door closing. The mother headed for the kitchen to confirm her suspicions. And she was right. Shiki had forgotten it. She also forgot something in her room.
(It Is Fashionable)
A lonely phone was left on the nightstand.
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"Made it!" Shiki exasperatedly made her way to her seat.
Right on cue, Eri teased her. "Barely. You got lucky the teacher's late too." It was a close call too. The fact was that the teacher was already there but was held up on the phone. She supposed that much made her lucky.
"Yeah, right. Lucky." She rolled her eyes.
Luckily unlucky. Today started horrible. And Shiki had the oddest sense of passing the blame on Eri. It was her fault for making her stay up all night and a few hours into early morning. Why wasn't she surprised to see her so full of energy even though it was the both of them who chatted out all night. Again, let's not forget that Eri did more of the talking. Shiki was utterly perplexed but even more so exhausted from her morning rush.
"So like did you get my text or what? You weren't replying." Perky as ever.
"Huh? Sorry, when was this?" Her body felt like it was already about to collapse.
"Uh, this morning? Did you even check your phone?" She crossed her arms expectantly.
Instinctively, her hand dug into her pocket. No dice. She checked her bag. Not there. Then again, she couldn't remember ever picking up her phone before leaving. Unbelievable.
Shiki slumped on her desk and whined. "I think I left my phone at home."
"Let me get this straight. You forgot to wake up early and forgot your phone at home?" Eri reprimanded her in full audacity. "I can't believe that my BFF is actually putting an effort to not be the diligent student that everyone knows."
"Not today. I think I'm on a streak." She was so not in the mood.
It was weird though that she woke up late. It was like her alarm was set later than usual. But that couldn't be right. She remembered setting it before hitting the bed. Then she really did sleep over half an hour of her alarm. Was she really that deaf when asleep? After that she went and forgot her phone. She might as well have forgotten herself while she's at it.
Their homeroom teacher finally arrived.
"I feel like there's some sort of conspiracy going on." Shiki groaned.
"Well, let's just hope that you didn't forget anything else." Eri winked.
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"Shiki! Got a sec?"
"Neku? Sure, just let me fix my stuff."
The lunch bell just rang. Not too long after, a ginger haired boy entered the room. It wasn't anything new but it wasn't anything normal either at least not to the class. The badass Sakuraba kid along with the mysterious Kiryu transfer student were infamous for different reasons. Rumors of them taking down gangs of delinquents were the current gossip. They were from a different class so whenever they made their presence, heads would turn. The latter of the two wasn't there today though. As for this section's power pair, someone was missing too.
"I don't see Eri." He scanned the room just to check again. Not here.
"Oh, you know her. Being class rep keeps her busy. So it's just me." And with that being said to her earlier, her best friend just upped and walked through the hallway towards the faculty room. She joked. "Think you and the guys are still open for a slot?"
"Don't think so. Beat and Rhyme are out since they said they needed to sort out something about the family business. They still owe me though. And Joshua's… being a prick and went to WildKat." He wore that scowl he'd always have regarding the prissy. Then he composed himself right after. "So it's just me."
"Oh…" Her face fell. The only thing that registered in her head was that the others were out too. It was rather disappointing. "So I guess it's just us then. You okay with eating here or do you wanna go somewhere else?"
He crossed his arms. "Say that again after I see your food."
"What? You plan on picking off mine?" She laughed and made a grab for underneath her desk…
And got nothing. There were her textbooks but no packed lunch. She quickly thought back. When… Where… The kitchen! She was so much in a hurry in the morning that she just went straight for the exit. Her goal to save money this week just crashed and burned. Tough luck.
Shiki slumped onto her desk. "And I forgot to bring my lunch box."
"No surprise here." Neku placed a familiar bento wrapped in a familiar cloth right in front of her face. "Your mom texted me, said you forgot your phone."
"Oh, that." She winced. "Thanks. Do you have it with you too?"
"Nah, she wouldn't give it to me." It wasn't as if he had the luxury of time to argue with her mother. "Something 'bout punishing you for waking up late."
"It's not like it was entirely my fault!" Shiki erupted defensively. A few heads turned and abashedly, she tried to compose herself. "'Sides, who needs a phone to survive one day?"
He raised an eyebrow at her. "Did I hear right? Who are you and what have you done to Shiki?"
"Really funny, Neku." She mock laughed. Then she went to her bento and undid the wrap, eventually removing the lid. "Well, since it's just us two, I guess we should dig in now… Huh?"
There was no pair of chopsticks. More importantly, there was no food.
Or rather, there were traces of the carnage.
Neku sighed and did a facepalm. "Yeah, 'bout that. Beat ate it."
"Uh, what?"
He sighed again. "Rhyme and me were talking and he ate it behind our backs. Thought it was mine." Although he couldn't possibly think why he'd mistake such a girly piece of cloth as his property. Beat was probably blinded by hunger.
Now it was her turn to sigh. "And how many more unlucky coincidences can I get today?"
Just when she thought that she actually got lucky then it turned out that it was just the opposite. What was up with her today? It wasn't like she angered any spirits or disgraced any shrines recently. Or ever, for that matter. So those bad days really did exist. Unfortunately, Shiki had to learn this the hard and painful way. She didn't even dare to count the already piling up mishaps of today. It was just too depressing.
It didn't take a genius to see that it was getting to Shiki. Neku justified that he didn't want to eat in a bad mood that's why he would say the next lines. "If it helps your case, I got in late since I had to make a detour to your house. Then someone just wastes all that five hours later."
She sank deeper into her hole of depression. "I'm really sorry for being a bother."
He panicked. That was not the reaction he was aiming for. "No, that wasn't what I meant! I mean! Urgh!" He placed away the offensive and emptied bento and replaced it with his own which were two boxes. "Here. Just eat mine. Joshua bailed so you can get his box."
"Thanks again but I can't unless you have an extra pair of chopsticks with you."
"H-Here…" He offered a pair of chopsticks with his head bowed.
Neku was trying hard to hide his face the way he would usually do when he wore his usual collared getup. It took every strength and willpower in him to do this. And Shiki was clueless. Why did it seem that he was embarrassed? It's not like they haven't shared food as friends before. Was there another reason? She was also taking her time trying to decipher what he was getting at rather than taking the damn utensils.
"Look, you either take it or you don't." He barked.
"Guess I still got some luck left." She smiled happily. "Thanks, Neku."
"No prob. Let's just hurry up and eat."
His eyes never left her pair of chopsticks.
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"Ah, it slipped again."
"Hey, stop playing with the food."
Eating was supposedly simple and peaceful. But for some reason, they were having a hard time doing exactly that. Shiki in particular, found that harder to do especially now in regards to the slippery kind. Neku has a way of improvising ingredients so as long as it was edible then it was okay. But Shiki had yet to prove its edibility when she had yet to successfully hold it with her chopsticks.
"I am not! Why would you make something so slippery in the first place?" She pointed her utensils at him accusingly.
He shrugged and held his position without even flinching, "They were on sale. And really? This is free food right here and you're the one who's choosy." He continued to eat.
"The truth shall set you free." She airily quoted. She tried again to hold a piece. And failed. "Dammit."
At this point, even Neku was distracted. He's heard Shiki's share of misfortune for today but that shouldn't seriously apply to food too. Admittedly, she was cute to watch but don't tell anyone he thought of that. Well even he'd be pissed if he couldn't eat properly. He ate another bite. She looked too pitiful, he reasoned, so being a good friend that he was he would help her.
Neku abruptly stood up from his seat. "Effing shit!"
Her mouth opened in shock. "What happe-?!"
A piece of flavored silken tofu was tersely shoved into her mouth.
"There. That wasn't so hard now, was it?" He smirked in victory and sat back down. Works all the time.
She swallowed. "I could feed myself, ya know." By this point she was blushing furiously.
"Yeah, I know. And you suck at it." He teased. And because he was Neku, it didn't look like flirting at all. Not to Neku and not to Shiki. Everyone else thought otherwise.
"Sh-Shut up!" She tried to think of a retort but came up with nothing which prompted laughter from him.
That would be the last coincidence she'd experience for today. Not that she'd mind that much. Shiki was very much enjoying eating with Neku. It was probably the free good food that did the trick but her day definitely looked so much better than how it started. Despite all the bad luck she had, there was something good out of it. She realized that she shouldn't get used to it though.
Something as unusual as just the two of them eating at school was only for today.
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Omake: Coincidences Are Actually Situations
"So where's Shiki?"
"Who said she'd be here?" The pink haired girl retorted.
"Well, this is her house, aight?" The blond guy asked while holding a skateboard on his shoulders.
"Yeah, well she ain't here."
"May I ask then why we are all here and why Shiki's not with us?" The younger sibling inquired.
"Isn't it obvious?" The ash blonde flipped his hair at this. Joshua went straight to the point. "Nekkun's not here too if anyone bothered to notice. I presume we'll be setting them up again."
"Man, again? Can't they just kiss and git on widdit?" Beat dropped his board and rolled his shoulders like how one would normally roll eyes as a reaction. "Anyways, I ain't butting into business that ain't mine."
"You don't have to call it like that. Think of it as us helping them." Eri reinstated the facts.
"Nah, point is I'm tired of yo' schematics."
"I think you mean schemes. But that's where you're wrong." She crossed her arms triumphantly with a matching smirk. "It isn't my idea this time."
"Umm, I'm confused. Who's else is it then?" Rhyme tilted her head. Because in all honesty, who else would know about their small group of friends and at the same time, couple the obvious pair?
"That would be me." The voice of a female adult, no, parent, came from the doorway. It was a woman who in more ways than one, resembled Shiki. "Now you won't deny a mother her fun now would you?"
Mrs. Misaki was elusive. Even though they were aware that she did in fact exist, heck, they've met a couple of times whenever they visited, they never expected her to actually step up and hook up Shiki with Neku. It was just so sudden so out of place that it took everyone by surprise. Eri was of course, ecstatic when she first heard of this and naturally, she would be the first to know. Joshua was slightly amused if not enjoying himself. Rhyme was confounded at the strangeness of it. And Beat was being himself and rode the flow. This was definitely one of their weirder days.
"To be honest, I didn't think my daughter would take interest in the male species. Aside from that Prince fellow but she wouldn't have much of a chance with celebrities." She sighed worriedly like any parent would but quickly regained her bearings. "But I think I see some potential in that Sakuraba kid. No, I can definitely see them with my grandkids."
"But ain't ya reading dis too much? Yeah, Phones and Shiki are tight but tight in that way?"
"You underestimate a mother's intuition." She wagged her finger as if to lightly scold. Then a frown unceremoniously formed. "Besides, Shiki is… a sensitive girl. I don't think she'd take a heart break so well."
"Just to be clear. How sure are you that Neku won't end up doing that? If hearts were like glass then once broken, even when fixed, one would still see the cracks." Rhyme lightly pulled out that issue regardless of its weight.
"Because if he did then I'd beat him up. Kill him. And at the last second, I'd change my mind and let him live. Only to beat him up again. Of course, I'd do it in style too." Eri brightly added her thoughts to the matter.
"Thank you, Eri, that's so sweet." At least in terms of best friends, she was assured that her daughter made the right choice. "And the answer to that Raimu is that I'm not. I can never be sure. But I can trust him."
"I'm sensing there's something you're not telling us." Joshua nonchalantly said.
She did one of Shiki's gestures. One of her more timid ones. The similarity was so uncanny that it felt as if it was still Shiki in front of them only aged and not Mrs. Misaki. "That and you may not know this but I've been putting him past some tests. He had low scores on these two but he did good on the rest. And don't they just look adorable together?" It started out timid and stretched out into really fast talking. The last note was leaning towards a squeal.
"You sure dis Shiki's mom? Looks like Eri's ta me."
"I heard that, Daisukenojo."
"Bwaah?! Sorry, ma'am!"
"I already have the plans mapped out. So are you all in?" She wore her mischievous grin.
It was so non-negotiable and non-debatable that they did not have a choice in this. Firstly, it would have been rude to decline a parent's request in her own household. Secondly, it was not just any parent but Shiki's mother. She's been good to them. Lastly, backing out would look like a betrayal at that point. They were rendered speechless.
And so, to answer her question, silence meant yes.
"This is a classic tactical strategy in relationships." Mrs. Misaki then proceeded to describe the plans. "Pop quiz! Give me the first saying that comes into your mind when it comes to food and flirting. Quick! Five, six, seven, eight!" She clapped her hands to the beat of the counts.
"Huh? Uh, food for the heart?" Eri plucked out of nowhere.
"Good food makes a good couple." Joshua improvised.
"Ain't no food like curry!" Beat, where did that come from?
"The best way to a man's heart is through his stomach." Rhyme smiled at the cliché line.
Joshua snidely remarked silently. "I still prefer that the best way through a man's heart is through his ribcage. It's definitely the fastest route."
His comment thankfully went unheard. "And just as expected, Raimu wins this round. And Bito, do try harder." She clapped once again. "We'll be doing just that. Only the opposite among other things."
"But that would mean having those two eat together."
"Yes, that's the plan. Also, it has to be in school."
"I understand that much but wouldn't it be obvious? If all of us here weren't with them for lunch then they'd know that something is up."
"I've already taken care of that." She reassured Rhyme.
Eri was obviously thrilled by the idea. "C'mon! Can we like just get through with it? This is really exciting!"
"Alright then. First things first, we have to catch Shiki off guard. I'm enlisting Eri and me on this." She patted her on the shoulder. "Eri, try to keep her up as late as you can."
The young cadet saluted dutifully. "Roger. Anything else?"
"I'll do my part first. Since it's usual for me to wake up earliest in this household, I'll drop by her room and adjust her alarm to a later time. That way when she wakes up she'd be too occupied to notice. While she's in the bathroom, I'll be a good mother and fix her bed and also have the things she'll bring ready." A youthful smirk was brimming on her face. "However, and this is crucial, I won't be handing her phone and bento."
"Sneaky, I like it!"
"Eri, what I want you to do is text her. Then when she gets to class, ask her if she got your text. This is a prerequisite to what we're after."
"But what if she got there really late?"
"She won't. I happen to be friends with your homeroom teacher. I think a friendly morning call should do just fine." She winked. Oh, the connections a mother has. "Lastly for you, I need you to exercise your rights as class representative and use that as an excuse so that you won't be having lunch with her. That's all for you."
"And here I thought I'd get to see some of the juicy stuff." She pouted.
Mrs. Misaki just smiled at her antics. "I'll be texting Neku to pick up her bento but not her phone. I'll be confiscating it as punishment. Shiki is a creative girl. I don't want to give her any escape routes." She justified. With that part already done, there was only the matter of fixing the remaining holes. "I've only thought that far so I need your help to fill out the rest. Tell me that you at least know the basics from dramas and animes."
"The what now?"
"The basics. A lunch date is a flag for courtship. They should feed each other at least and at most, there's indirect kissing. Or was it the other way around?" Joshua flippantly supplied while he twirled a lock of his hair.
"Wow, I didn't think you would know so much." Rhyme remarked.
"I play a lot of games in my free time. Some dating ones as well."
Eri confidentally said. "Oh, you mean galge, right?" A romantic game for guys where you try to get the girl(s).
"Actually, they're otome." A romantic game for girls where you try to get the guy(s).
And then there was silence.
"Tee hee, just kidding."
That joke was so out of place that even his giggle seemed mistimed.
Mrs. Misaki not so discreetly coughed. Well, that was awkward. Moving on. "Ahem. That's right. Yoshiya has wonderfully summarized the goals of our operation. But the question is how?"
"I gots dis, yo. Why not let them two use just one pair o' chopsticks?"
"That would solve one problem but it might complicate things more. Where one weed is pulled, three more would sprout. Wouldn't that be awkward especially if they decide to eat in the classroom? Neku would probably just run out to the cafeteria and get a pair there."
"I believe I may be of service to you." Joshua half-bowed. Why? Because kneeling was just too demanding of his energy.
"Your credentials?" Mrs. Misaki raised an eyebrow.
"Dearest Nekkun occasionally cooks for me. In return, I shoulder most of the bill. I've had him prepare for me quite a number of times already that he bought me a separate bento box and a pair of chopsticks." His smile looked cynical. "Our trick would be simple. Just forget Shiki's chopsticks."
"And since Neku has Joshua's chopsticks with him then they would be technically sharing. But I don't see anything special in that."
"The trick doesn't end there. I know Nekkun and he's actually softer than he looks. He wouldn't want my utensils to be used by Shiki so he'll secretly give her his instead."
"Why's that?"
"That is a secret I'll leave up to Nekkun. Without his secrets, he'd be lost." And then his tone just went from sly to ridiculously perky. For a guy. "I think that takes care of the indirect kissing if I do say so myself."
Mrs. Misaki nodded in approval. "You're more conniving than I give you credit for."
"You flatter me too much. I'm simply helping a mother show her love for her daughter." He giggled. Again. It seemed as though he was more excited than he first let show. "Now on to the actual sharing part."
"Ya gotta be kiddin' me, there's more?!"
"I am dedicated when it comes to matters concerning my dear friends. Now where was I? Right, Beat, please corner Nekkun and empty the contents of Shiki's bento. Make sure that it's hers and use your own chopsticks while you're at it. Rhyme, play the innocent girl role and distract Nekkun."
"That way whatever Neku prepared for Joshua would go to Shiki." Rhyme understood where he was getting at.
"Yo, he's gonna diss out on me!" Beat backed up like he would if an actual infuriated Neku was in front of him.
"I'll be sure to cook it extra good." Mrs. Misaki encouraged him with her motherly smile.
And he fell for it. For the food in particular. "Tch, I guess I got no choice but take one fo' the team."
"But what would be Beat's alibi? He can't just attack food."
"I'll leave it up to your imaginations." Joshua lazily stretched but oddly enough it still held a refined grace to it. "I think I've fulfilled all the requirements, haven't I? Well, there's still no reassurance that they would actually feed each other at some point but let's leave that assignment to them." He shrugged.
"Good job, everyone! This meeting is now adjourned." The plans were again briefly and lightly discussed. When there were no questions, they were finally dismissed. "And remember, let's all work hard even only for that day."
Among other things, Shiki forgot about the deviousness of her mother.
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1 unread text message
Fr: Eri
Hope you enjoy your lunch date! ヾ()
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Shinra-ex-SOLDIER
There isn't any released official lyrics of Junk Garage or is there? You could hear the word "fat" but I interpret it as spelled phat: Pretty Hot and Tempting, since that makes more sense. No offense.
Wherein the omake is just as long if not longer than the actual fic. Right-o. Well to be honest, I created this with the idea of the omake first or like, in between segments of the actual fic but I figured this was funnier.
Why did I write this? For the galge/otome joke, of course! Here's something that I had since last year but forgot to put it on paper. I have no idea why it's come back to haunt me now. (The Ghost of Fanfics Past) Oh well, at least it's another fic done. I need to stop making oneshots and actually do series. Help me so.
My glasses got into a car accident. It was brutal and fatal at the same time. So I wrote this fic half-blind, do correct any mistakes. Thanks and paalam!