2. "Twister"


Neku leaned up against his locker, watching the other students walk along the hallway. There was a good half hour until class started, but he wanted to be early. He was waiting for Shiki, who was going to explain where she saw her. His dead sister, Rika. There hadn't been much of a chance when they had found out, but she had promised to explain it all when they got back to school.

He yawned, covering his mouth to mask the sound. 'Of all the places, the Game?' he grumbled to himself, 'It makes sense, considering she's dead, but she wouldn't have been old enough to face something like that at her age. But Shiki said she appeared our age, even though she shouldn't have aged at all. …Geez, it's gonna take a while to make sense of all this.'

Across the hall, someone opened a locker, the squeak attracting his attention over the chatter of a group of girls passing by. There was a mirror hanging on the door and it was at the right angle from him to see himself. He was tired, dark lines under his eyes from his sleepless nights. His hair was messier than usual, sticking out at the top as well as the front and back. Even his clothes were a mess, wrinkled and worn, but not enough to attract Shiki's concern. He blinked, trying to wake himself up a bit, but it only made him want to sleep more.

The locker swung shut and the owner of it leaned up beside it. "Checking yourself out, Neku? Looks like you need to."

Neku sighed as Eri walked over and leaned up next to him. Ever since he returned from the Game, he had to start coming here, and here just happened to be the same school that his friends went to. Shiki had introduced him to Eri as soon as she found out they were going to the same school, and they had developed a casual friendship, talking to each other occasionally. Coincidences continued when he found that her locker was directly across from his.

Neku quickly ran his fingers through his hair, clearing out the messy spikes on top. "No, it's not like that. Just haven't been sleeping well."

"Looks like it. You look like me when I think of a design in the middle of the night," she chuckled, adjusting her bag on her shoulder, "Speaking of which, any idea what you're wearing to the dance next month?"

'I completely don't care…' He sighed. "It's a month away… I haven't given it any thought. Knowing you, though, you're all set."

Eri grinned. "Of course. I already have it all planned out. Oh, and don't tell her, but I've got something ready for Shiki, too. I'm so excited to see what she turns out."

"Yeah, I'll remember to keep my mouth shut when I see her," Neku nodded. 'When she gets here… which will hopefully be soon.'

"Great! See you in History class!" Eri called, waving her departure before she took off down the hall.

Neku closed his eyes and growled to himself. 'I don't think I can take waiting much longer. Shiki better get here soon, or I think I'll go out of my mind.' Suddenly, the bell rang, announcing the beginning of class. Neku stared around, hurriedly searching for Shiki, but she was nowhere in sight. Frustrated, he stalked off to class, hands buried grumpily into the huge pockets of his shorts.


In class, Neku slumped into his seat in the back row and stared at the board as the rest of the class filed in. Trigonometric ratios were scribbled in chalk all across the board, long descriptions of each function and its various practical uses jotted down underneath. His eyes narrowed and he shuddered involuntarily. 'I'm never taking Trigonometry again after this year. The memories are too… fresh… for me to forget.' A few of his classmates waved and wished him a good morning, which he returned brightly.

Finally, the teacher walked in with his briefcase and closed the door. "Good morning class. As you can see, we'll be starting Trigonometry today, and we'll be continuing this until the end of the year. All of this material will be on the final exam, so take good notes if you expect to pass. Now, to begin, I'll be explaining-"

The click of the doorknob interrupted his lecture and Shiki stepped in sheepishly, her bag tucked under her arm. "Sorry I'm late, Mr. Linch."

He gave her a disappointed look. "Good of you to join us, Miss Misaki. Your timing couldn't be better. Pop quiz: What's the square root of 153.8?"

Shiki blinked sheepishly. "I …don't happen to have a calculator with me, sir."

The entire class burst out laughing and Shiki snuck off to her seat next to Neku as Mr. Linch struggled to call the class back to order. She quickly unpacked her backpack, tucking Mr. Mew carefully back into her bag when he slid out with her textbook. Shiki carried Mr. Mew everywhere now, the little black cat even coming with her to school. She kept him around as her promise to be true to herself and her dreams, and to remind her friends not to mistake Eri for her by accident.

Neku leaned towards her in his seat. "You're late," he whispered.

"Sorry," she shrugged, flipping open her notebook to a blank page, "I slept in."

Neku began to write down the notes, still glaring at the board. "It bothers me."

"My lack of punctuality annoys you that much?"

"Not that. The math."

Shiki stopped and stared at the board as the rest of the class began copying. "Trig, huh? It's been a while since we came across it…"

"Not long enough for me," Neku grumbled, glancing back down at his page. "I wish we didn't have to learn this."

"I hope you two are having a pleasant conversation back there," Mr. Linch reprimanded, looking at them.

"Sorry," Shiki replied sheepishly, returning to her notes.

Neku stopped and stared at the board. 'It hasn't been long enough for me. I haven't gotten over it. Not yet. Not after all that…' An image flashed through his mind and he cringed silently, his hands tightening into fists. An image of a pale hair boy aiming a gun at his head, a relaxed smile on his face.


Neku dropped into his usual seat at their lunch table outside, narrowly avoiding being run over by a ninth grader on a skateboard. Beat was already half way through his lunch, and Rhyme was offering him half of hers, which he adamantly refused.

"Is something wrong, Neku?" Rhyme asked, still pushing her desert towards Beat, "You look a little more down than usual."

Neku sighed. "Nothing at all. We…just started Trig in Math, and it's getting on my nerves."

"I get that," Beat mumbled, his mouth full, "The subject is wack anyway."

"Not because of that," Neku grumbled, looking up from underneath his hair.

Beat got the significance then. "Bwaah! That's what you're at! Damn, but Pi-Face had it comin', whether it been from us or-"

"Don't remind me," Neku cut in, pressing his forehead against the table.

Shiki walked up with her lunch tray and sat down. "You're going to have to face it if you want to follow this lead, Neku. We don't really have another choice."

"Let's start from the beginning, then, and see where we stand. It's best to analyze your options before you go jumping to conclusions," Rhyme suggested, folding her arms in from of her on the table.

"What she said," Beat added, pushing the desert back towards Rhyme, who immediately shoved it back.

"Here's what I know. I saw her enter the store, and I pretty sure I saw some of the psych pins on her, including a weird one I had never seen before. I ignored her for a while, but when I was leaving, she left ahead of me and one moment she was there, and she was gone the next," Shiki explained, "I walked in the general direction she was headed in, but I came to a dead end street and stopped. When I was walking back, I saw her in a store. It was an abandoned store… on Cat Street."

Neku's head snapped up. "You mean…?"

"Exactly. It was what was left of Mr. Hanekoma's store, but it's been repaired, but I went back the next day, and the door was locked. It looks like no one is using it, but I can't be sure. There are tables and chairs in there; new ones, but it looks like they're only there collecting dust."

"So, what's the plan?" Beat muttered, finally digging into Rhyme's desert, "We goin' or not?"

Neku thought for a moment. "I think we should go. It's worth investigating, even if we turn up nothing."

"I think it's a bad idea. We have nothing to do with the Game anymore and, even if she is your sister, there's no way to know for sure. We've been though enough," Shiki replied, looking curiously out of the corner of her eye at him as she started eating. "Especially after how you've been reacting to anything related to it."

"You were the one who said I had to face it sometime," he retorted quietly.

Rhyme nodded. "It's better now than later. Our only lead may grow cold if we wait too long, and then it'll be as useful as no lead at all."

"I'm in," Beat slurred, licking his lips.

Shiki sighed. "I'm coming too, then. Someone has to keep you out of trouble, and I don't think Rhyme can handle both of you, no matter how persuasive she is."


As soon as the final bell had rung, Neku, Shiki, Beat and Rhyme made their way through Shibuya towards Cat Street. It was hard for Neku not to remember all the things that had happened to him during the Game in these places. The Scramble Crossing, where he had awoken many times on the cold, hard pavement; Shibu Department Store, where Shiki had demonstrated her anger at Neku's unkempt pants by forcibly pulling them off him to fix them; Cadoi City, where he and Beat had first met a Taboo-powered Minamimoto; Towa Records, where Rhyme had been erased saving Beat from a vicious Noise; Miyashita Park Underpass, where Beat and Rhyme had met with their entrance into the Game… head first; and Miyashita Park, where him and Beat had been trapped by Kariya and his partner, Uzuki, to stall for time in Konishi's plan. All of these places held too much connection to the Game from him to feel comfortable, but an unexplainable chill ran down his spine when they entered Cat Street. The front of Mr. Hanekoma's former store, WildKat, was in much better condition than it had been the last time he had seen it, after Minamimoto's angry rampage had torn the place up corner to corner.

"Someone did some remodeling," Rhyme noted, walking up to the door. "From what Beat told me, the place was wrecked last time you were here."

Neku walked up beside her, looking into the windows at the empty café. "Seems like it. It might even look better now than it did before…"

"Should we knock?" Shiki asked, glancing around cautiously.

Beat walked up to the door and took a firm hold of the doorknob. "The best way to make an entrance is with force!" Pulling hard, he tried to yank the door out of its lock, but the unlocked door, combined with his force, only resulted in him flying five feet backwards, where he hit the ground with a loud thud.

Shrugging, Neku lead the way into the shop, followed by Shiki, a sore Beat, and Rhyme, who was trying her best to contain her giggles. The lights inside were all on, illuminating the clean white plastic tables and woodprint covered plastic chairs. The counter was a white marble, with a cash register sitting on top at one end. Other than these things, the place was deserted, not even a single sign of a living being present.

"The place is really deserted. There's nothing there," Shiki muttered, looking through the door behind the counter. "There aren't any appliances back here either."

Neku sighed. "There goes our lead. There's nothing and no one here. But then again… why would anyone come here if there's nothing?"

"Your mind isn't as sharp as I remember, Neku. You're not thinking carefully."

Startled and afraid, Neku's heart stopped and he spun around. Beside him, Beat jumped and got into a defensive position, Rhyme standing behind him. Shiki held Mr. Mew tighter in her arms. Standing in the doorway was a fifteen-year-old boy Neku had been waiting to see and yet, was deadly afraid of, dressed in jeans and a light blue shirt, fair haired, staring right at him, smiling.

All of Neku's breath left his lungs and he gasped. "Joshua."