Chapter 7
"Shiki!" Neku yelled as he ran up to the statue where Shiki was sitting. He paused before her to catch his breath. "Sorry I'm late."
"No problem, Neku," Shiki smiled. She stood up and smoothed out the pale pink dress she was wearing.
"Was I, uh, supposed to dress up?" Neku looked self-consciously down at himself. He had on a plain black t-shirt and a pair of shorts that may or may not have been clean. Instinctively, he reached for his headphones, which rested around his neck.
"You look fine," she laughed. "Well, do you want to get something to eat?"
"Sure," he answered, letting his hands rest in his pockets. "But where Rhyme and Beat?"
"Oh, I didn't tell them to come," Shiki blushed as she spoke. "I thought maybe just you and me could hang out for a while."
Neku felt his face grow warm. He brought his hand to the back of his head and looked up at the statue, trying not to think of the dream he had earlier. "Y-yeah, that's cool," he said, trying to sound indifferent.
The ramen shop was surprisingly busy for once, so Shiki had suggested that they go to Wildkat instead. Neku agreed, thinking that it would be nice to see Mr. H. again. He had to thank him for all his help during the games, even if he had to pay for an overpriced cup of coffee. The place was completely empty, as usual.
"Hey, kids!" Hanekoma greeted them as they walked in the door. "Didn't expect to see you back so soon, I would've made some fresh soup! For you, Phones, only 600 yen. But I'll give ya the stuff from yesterday for only 550!"
"Haven't changed a bit," Neku sighed as he and Shiki sat at the counter.
"Hey Mr. H. How have you been?" Shiki smiled.
"Eh, pretty busy…that last set of games was rough, well, you kids know that," Hanekoma laughed a little. "I've been working on keeping the new temp Composer in line, which is always a challenge when you've got fresh meat."
"A new Composer?" Shiki asked, clearly confused.
Hanekoma nodded as he placed two cups of coffee on the counter for them. "Yeah, Joshua's been suspended," he said as he set down a crystal glass bowl filled with sugar cubes. "I haven't seen him in a few days, but he's somewhere in the RG."
Neku dropped a few cubes of sugar into his coffee and watched them dissolve into the blackness. He picked up the hot cup and took a sip, burning his tongue. He didn't care, though. He just had to keep quiet about Joshua. If Shiki found out that the Composer was currently his roommate, well…
"J-Joshua is…here?" Shiki stuttered. She clutched her coffee cup, the scorching heat of it not phasing her at all.
"Yeah, that was his suspension order," Hanekoma explained as he poured himself a cup. "Three weeks in the RG to think about what he's done and get straightened out. The punishment isn't too severe, so that's good. If he had ended up destroying Shibuya, they probably would've stripped him of his wings and made him a lower level Reaper."
Hanekoma laughed at the idea, because apparently Joshua being a low level Reaper was hilarious…Neku had to admit, though, seeing Josh in one of those red hoodies would be an entertaining sight. Neku picked up another cube of sugar and rolled it between his fingers before dropping it into the cup. Suddenly, he remembered the question that had been burning him up yesterday.
"Mr. H, why did Joshua decide not to destroy Shibuya?" Neku asked.
"Well, Phones," Hanekoma looked down at him, more serious than he usually was. "I really can't answer that for you. You'll have to ask Josh for the answer to that one."
"But…he didn't tell you?" Neku stood up, getting frustrated. "You were there, when he shot me…you two must have gone off after that, how can you not know?"
Silence hung in the air. Neku knew he shouldn't have yelled, and feeling guilty, he sat back down, staring into his coffee. The café door swung open and two girls walked in. They sat at the counter a few seats away from Neku and Shiki, and Hanekoma attended to them.
"Neku…," Shiki whispered.
"What?" he hissed. He really wasn't in the mood to talk now, still frustrated with Hanekoma, and pissed at Joshua.
"I think those girls are Players," Shiki said. Neku looked up at them. One of them looked to be about his age, and the other looked a few years older. The older girl had her arm around the other as they spoke to Hanekoma. The younger girl was looking down at something in her hand…it was a Player Pin.
"You're right," Neku said, sitting up straighter. He wished he hadn't left his own Player Pin at home. He didn't like the idea of those girls scanning him and reading his thoughts like Joshua constantly did. Having that pin with him would stop other Players from being able to scan him. The girl's eyes widened, and she looked up at him. Damn…did she read me? Neku looked back down at his coffee, feeling uneasy.
"Are you okay, Neku?" Shiki whispered in between sips of coffee.
"Y-yeah, just fine," he lied.
"Is it them?" she asked, glancing up at the girls. "I understand it must make you nervous, Neku, but that's no reason not to be friendly. Besides, I'm sure they could use some advice from an expert like you."
"I am not gonna just go up and start talking to strangers," Neku said as he clutched his headphones. If Shiki weren't there, he would put them over his ears and blast music through them, but he knew that would just upset her. Having them around his neck as a security blanket would have to do for now.
Shiki sighed and stood up, pulling Neku along with her. Just as Hanekoma went into the back of the shop to get whatever the girls had requested, she dragged Neku over to them. "Hi there," she smiled sweetly. "My name is Shiki, and this is Neku. We're partners."
"Partners?" the older girl asked, hitching an eyebrow.
"Not like that…," Neku said as he straightened up and pulled his arm away from Shiki's grasp.
"You two are Players, aren't you?" Shiki asked, her voice full of innocence.
Neku never wanted to hide his face as much as he did now. Or better yet, just disappear from existence. Shiki could be so embarrassing, always talking to strangers and trying to help them out. It was a sweet quality in her, but sometimes it just got out of hand. Like now, for instance…
"Yeah," the younger girl said as she sat up straight. "But you two aren't."
"How do you know about the game?" the older girl asked defensively. "Are you Reapers?"
"No, no!" Shiki waved her arms in the air as she denied their claim. "We've been through the game before, and we won. We came back to life."
We didn't exactly win, Shiki… Neku sighed and avoided eye contact with any of them as he shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Wow…that's impressive," the older girl said. "Well, my name is Mai, and this is my partner Kairu."
"It's nice to meet you both," Shiki smiled as she shook Mai's hand. "We just wanted to tell you that if you've got any questions about the game, we would be happy to help."
Great, now she's offering our services as guides through the Reaper's Game?! This is getting ridiculous…I had hardly any help through three games in a row, and I survived. These girls can get through one game by themselves. Neku gazed out the window as he thought, finding himself missing the taste of his coffee.
"Three games?" Kairu asked, staring up at Neku.
Shit. Neku looked down at her. "Uh, yeah," he tried to respond. "Kind of."
"How did that happen?" Kairu questioned.
"It's a long story…," he said, turning away again. "Anyway, you heard me. I survived, so you guys can too. Just, ya know, trust your partner…"
Neku felt Shiki's hand intertwine with his, her fingers wrapping around and grasping his tightly. She smiled down at the girls. "And never stop trusting your partner," she added. Neku felt himself blushing, and he squeezed Shiki's hand back.
Just then, Hanekoma returned to them carrying two plates of muffins. He set them down in front of Mai and Kairu. "There ya go, ladies," he said with a wink. He looked up and saw Neku and Shiki, their hands still locked together. "So, Phones, you never told me-"
"Can it," Neku said, dropping Shiki's hand. He crossed his arms as he walked back to his spot at the counter, where his coffee, which was now at a drinkable temperature, waited for him.
"Aight, no need to get touchy," Hanekoma raised his hands up.
Shiki returned to her seat next to Neku and picked up her coffee as well. Neku couldn't tell if she was upset that he had left her standing there. He did feel guilty about it. Quickly, he remembered the reason why he wanted to come to Wildkat in the first place. He sipped his coffee and looked up at Hanekoma.
"Look, Mr. H, I wanted to say thanks for all the help you gave us during the game," Neku said, wanting to get it out.
"Don't mention it, kid," Hanekoma grinned. "It's what I do."
