Sanctuary
They smile at you
I cannot see them.
They are always there, hiding away from sight.
I wear a blindfold over my eyes.
You tug at it.
I tell you to stop, but you refuse to listen.
Look what you've done – it's come undone.
…I can see them now.
I almost forgot what they looked like.
They smile at you and I.
Chapter Seven - Friends
"I always took him for the suspicious type."
"You're so brave, coming back even after he did that to you."
"Some friend he turned out to be."
"I'm telling you. It wasn't me."
"Of course you would say that."
"You don't want to get in trouble."
"I'm telling you the truth."
"Yeah, and we're supposed to believe he did that to himself?"
"It wasn't me!" Neku breathed heavily as he stared at his outstretched arm, having sat right up upon waking. He lowered his arm slowly as he looked at his phone, checking it. At least it was a decent time to get up. When he had dreams like that before, he would always wake up at odd hours of the night and would have trouble going back to sleep.
He hadn't had nightmares for a long time. Was he getting them because he was back in Shibuya?
Or was it because of what happened on Saturday?
"Meow." The mew came from the foot of his bed. Neku blinked as he realised Nimew had been sleeping on his bed. It had done that the night before as well.
If there was one thing that Neku had done yesterday, it was that he had to learn to put up with a cat being around the house. The monster left fur balls all over the place and Neku had to keep cleaning them up. It made his Sunday a busy one.
After going to Miyashita Park, he still hadn't gotten any leads on Joshua.
He hadn't talked to Beat and Rhyme yesterday…and to his surprise Stalker hadn't called him. It had somehow bothered him, even though he was the one who didn't want to talk to people for the past two and a half years.
Well…guess I'll see them at school. It's a Monday after all.
xxxxx
He climbed the stairs up to the rooftop, as he had for the first week of school, and there was one Bito missing from the picture. Feeling that somehow the space next to Rhyme looked too empty without Beat, he abandoned his usual station of sitting separately by the railings and sat across from Rhyme.
She gave him a cheerful smile. "Glad that you're joining me today, Neku. It would be a bit lonely eating by myself with Beat gone. The more the merrier."
Taking out his chopsticks, Neku asked, "Speaking of him, where is your brother?"
Rhyme looked to her right, eyes cast downwards. "He's down there."
He turned to see where she meant and saw that she was right. The soccer pitch was visible from their spot on the roof and he could easily make out Beat standing in one of the goal-posts. He and the other members were doing a training exercise and, from what Neku could tell, all the forwards and mid-fielders were having a go at shooting against Beat.
"They've started practising already, for the exhibition match this Friday." Rhyme brought her attention back to her lunch. "It seems that Taichi was right and there is a match against Odaiba. Ebisu and Odaiba tie a lot during their matches, but since this is the start of the year, this match will be extremely important. Beat says that coach has asked everyone to attend practice every lunchtime and after school for the whole of this week."
"I bet everyone's happy about that."
"You would be surprised. Soccer is the most popular at Ebisu, so everyone in the team wants to keep it that way. I'm sure the upperclassmen are raring to go, and from what I hear from my classmates, all the first years want to prove themselves."
"…" While that was good and all, it didn't change the fact that this game also put Rhyme on the line. Why would she challenge someone like that?
"Taichi was Beat's friend since he was in kindergarten," she said. Neku wasn't sure if she had read his thoughts or she had just started speaking on her own since she sounded so reminiscent. "They'd do everything together. Beat would always insist that I tag along with them because he didn't want me to feel left out, but I was fine with that because it was fun. When I wasn't there, sometimes Beat would come back with what he liked to call 'battle scars'."
She poked at her food, with a frown. "I didn't like it but Dad says that boys would be boys. I don't know what happened, but slowly Taichi started to become rougher – too rough. He and Beat got into a lot of arguments and it usually ended up in a brawl and the injuries got worse. Beat always won though. When Taichi kept losing, he started targeting me. With a…different approach."
"I can guess what kind of approach it was," he said, recalling the events that happened on Saturday.
"Yes…" She nodded solemnly. "Anyway, that was it for Beat. He and Taichi had a fight in the school grounds and Beat got expelled."
"Expelled?"
"Our school was strict on violence. They didn't want to hear, yet alone try to understand the reason why he was fighting," she said. "He had to move from Shibuya Junior High to Ebisu Junior High – it was the only other school near Shibuya that would take him. He moved in the last year of junior high; last year he decided he liked Ebisu and came to this high school."
Well, he wouldn't say that it was totally unexpected. Beat did seem like the type to go on a rampage if he ever found out someone was trying to hurt Rhyme in any way.
"…but even if he fights, it's never because he really wants to. He just wants to protect the things that are important to him." She looked straight at Neku. "If he didn't accept the challenge, a fair one, it would only lead to another fight later. He's stopped fighting, but since its Taichi, he would definitely not back down from another physical fight. I'm sure of it."
She said this clearly, as if it was important that Neku understood that. As if it was important that he understood Beat.
"At least this time it's through soccer. This isn't his usual way of fighting, though. He can't do this alone."
I know where she's going with this…"It's a good thing that he has such enthusiastic team-mates, then."
"Neku, if you joined the team, Beat would –"
"No," he refused instantly. "I'm not doing it."
If she had pestered him some more, it might have felt easier on him. All she did was look at him, disappointed. "…Alright."
xxxxx
Monday afternoon –
He took Rhyme back home, since Beat was staying for practice. She said that she didn't need to watch anymore because she believed in Beat. But the ghost of her disappointment was not gone.
Stalker hadn't called today.
That's strange…she didn't call yesterday either.
Tuesday afternoon –
The rain was pouring down heavily, making it hard to even see a few metres in front of Neku. Still, Beat and his team pressed on, showing no signs of losing motivation. Beat had even seemed more energetic than usual.
Nimew scratched his curtains today.
Still no call from Stalker.
I want to play. But I can't. I know I can't.
Wednesday early hours of the morning –
"You guuuuys! You're going to get super sick if you keep playing in the rain like that!"
"Sheesh, you always worry so much."
"We're fine. If anyone's going to get sick, it'll be this guy."
"What's that supposed to mean, Neku?"
He had another dream. It woke him up.
Of course I can't. This is why I can't.
Wednesday lunch –
Beat showed up for lunch today, but only for about five minutes. He flashed a grin at Neku and Rhyme, promising that he'd win the game on Friday, no matter what.
Why the hell do I feel like I want to help Beat? I said no, didn't I? It's Rhyme who asked for my help, not him.
Wednesday afternoon –
Miyashita Park still didn't make the damned cat respond to anything. Nimew simply chased around a few birds.
Had something happened to Stalker?
It's been too long. Stalker…?
Thursday, early in the morning –
"Hah, I knew that we'd be okay without him."
"You are our ace after all."
"Ehehe, you guys give me too much credit!"
"That guy on the other hand is a lowlife."
"A cheater."
"A traitor."
"A liar."
A nightmare. It was only a nightmare, but when Neku woke up he was still surrounded by darkness.
Right…it's okay…Beat doesn't really need my help.
Thursday lunch –
According to Rhyme, one of the players was off school for the whole week because he got a fever from Tuesday's practice.
It looked like another one had just twisted his ankle. He was not to run for another week too.
They were both the members from last year – one was the ace that had nearly hit Rhyme with that ball.
Damn it. Why is this happening?
Thursday–
The team looked like a gathering of broken spirits. Only Beat stood resolute, shouting at the others to get a grip on themselves.
I don't care.
Rhyme looked worried for the first time that week.
I don't care.
Neku returned home.
I don't care.
He did his homework.
I don't care.
Nimew mewed for food.
I don't -
His phone rang.
…
My phone-!
xxxxx
"…looking for salvation, useless old protection, choked up with emotion, searching for a scapegoat…."
He reached over to his bedside table and sat up. His phone was in his hands in an instant. "Stalker."
"Neku! Wait, wait, it's Shiki now, not Sta -"
"Where the hell have you been?"
She was startled, he could tell. The feeling of being connected to another person's emotions was back.
"I haven't gone anywhere."
"Then what's with you? You say that you're going to call me and then you don't!" He didn't understand why, but he was shouting into the phone.
"I tried." Her voice was raised just as loud. "I've been trying to call you all week but I couldn't get through."
"You should've tried harder!"
"Why are you so upset?" Upset? He wasn't upset. "Yes, you are. I can feel it, Neku."
He opened his mouth, and then closed it again. He gripped his bed sheets tightly.
"I know that we couldn't speak to each other, but your feelings were still coming through to me. You've been on edge for the past few days."
She was right. He had this feeling of dread the whole week. "Okay, you win. Something's been bothering me."
"It's the game coming up, right? Or is it the nightmares?"
He nearly stopped breathing. "You…you know about them?"
"Partly," she said cautiously. "I don't know what they're about but I know you've been having them."
"…"
He didn't say anything. He couldn't say anything. Not about those nightmares.
The silence dragged on, painfully.
"…I remembered a lot of things while we weren't speaking," she started slowly. "I'll tell you about them – and don't interrupt me."
And she really did tell him all about her regained memories, and she didn't leave a single detail out. There were small things, everyday things, such as that she liked the colour green, she wore glasses, she enjoyed shopping at ten-four every day. She wasn't all that good at studying, she liked to make friends but sometimes wasn't sure how.
She liked sewing. No, she loved sewing. It was her dream – her passion.
Who she was started to build up.
Yet at the same time, it was still a mystery. She couldn't recall her last name. She couldn't recall her family, if she had one. No address or anything close to a description to where exactly she lived. She couldn't remember which school she went to.
She still couldn't remember how she died.
It was as if something was preventing her from remembering anything that would lead her to finding out what happened to her.
"Eri. My best friend was called Eri. I think she moved away a while ago." A single person, a name other than her own, but it wasn't enough to find out who she was, completely. "But we were really close. We don't argue a lot." She paused. "Well…there was that one time..."
"Once, Eri and I had a fight. We both took turns at a festival to try and win a toy. Can you guess what toy it was? It was a toy of a black cat, a lot like the Mr. Mew I have here…or Nimew. We won the toy, but we fought over who got to keep him; we were really young. We decided to take turns keeping it, so we did. I kept the cat for one week and Eri did the other. We took turns.
"But one day, she lost it. I can't remember what her explanation was, but I was angry. I wouldn't speak to her. I felt…kind of betrayed. I thought that the cat was a symbol of our friendship. How could she just lose it like that? No matter how many times she apologised, I wouldn't talk to her.
"Then she stopped saying sorry. It started getting lonely. I realised, eventually, that I was just being stubborn, and I was the one who had torn our friendship apart. I didn't want things to end like that…After school one day, I told Eri I wanted to talk to her. I held out a plush doll, one that looked almost exactly like the one she lost, only with a few stitches undone. Haha…guess I was still a bit of a novice, but Mr. Mew did hold out for all that time until now.
"Anyway, she took one look at it and started crying. Then I started crying and before I knew it, we were both hugging and apologising at the same time.
"…What I'm trying to say is…if I hadn't pushed down my stubbornness, I would have always regretted it." She hesitated for a moment and then ploughed on. "Neku, I don't want you to have regrets."
So that was what she was doing. Stalker did what she did best, and talked. She just talked and talked until Neku had calmed down. She was holding her breath, he knew.
"You…talk too much," This time, his tone was teasing, and he felt her relax.
"Glad I could make you feel a bit better."
"You're so full of yourself; I didn't even tell you that I felt better."
"We're not going over this whole mind-reading thing again," she scolded, though he had the feeling that she was smiling.
"You know…" He got off the edge of his bed, and looked out the window. Even at night, Shibuya was never dark. The lighted signs flashed all around, causing the city to glow. "I've been…trying to decide something."
"What was it?" It was an expected question because she really had known that part already.
"Whether or not I'm going to give the whole 'friendship' thing another chance." He didn't want to, but to reasons unknown to him, he cared now, about Beat and Rhyme and he was ready to admit it.
"Really?" Now that question, she didn't need to ask; Neku was speaking honestly.
"I think I've decided now. Your long-ass story helped me make up my mind."
She was refraining herself from commenting on how he described her 'story'. "That's good."
He watched the cars below rush by, all looking like specks of dust from way up high. "…Aren't you going to ask me about my nightmare now?"
"No," she answered. "You're not ready for that question yet, are you?"
"You've shared everything with me…I feel like I owe you."
"Then don't tell me. I don't want you to share all your secrets…if you don't feel like you completely trust me. So when – if – you do really feel like you can trust me with the story…I'll listen to it. Until then, I'm willing to wait." She added as an afterthought, "Though not too long. I'm a patient person, but still!"
Neku chuckled at her. "Way to ruin the moment."
"We were having a moment?" She sounded mock-incredulous. "So what, are we friends now?"
"…"
"Ah, erm, it's okay, you don't have to answer tha-"
"Yes."
"…what?"
"Yes, we're friends."
"Woah. That was easier than I thought it'd be."
"Again, Stalker, quit ruining it."
"Idiot, what friends call each other Stalker?" It sounded affectionate, if anything, so Neku didn't reply.
As Neku looked out over the city, it seemed as if Shibuya started to shine brighter than it had been before.
xxxxx
'Popular' was an understatement to describe how soccer was at his school. It was obvious, by the crowds of people who had gathered on the bleachers, that everyone else took pride in the sport just as much as the team itself did. There was a clear divide between the supporters from Ebisu High, and those who had come from Odaiba High to support their team. Many of the students had red flags and red war paint on their faces, representing Ebisu's school colour, and the support was echoed by the navy blue banners that the opposition's crowd were wearing.
Neku was seated next to Rhyme who had, in all festivity, adorned a red beanie instead of a black one today. He himself wasn't wearing anything red.
Everyone was on edge as both teams got into position. Coach Higashizawa was unmistakable; the great big hulk was standing by the sidelines, arms crossed and looking down over the pitch.
The kick-off started with Taichi, looking as confident as he had last Saturday, powering through the first few mid-fielders.
Ebisu should have had the home advantage, but it was clear within the first ten minutes that this wasn't the case. The possession bounced back and forth between Ebisu and Odaiba but most could tell that Odaiba had a bit of an edge over them.
"GO! GO! EBISU! FIGHT! FIGHT! EBISU!" cheered a brunette girl standing next to Rhyme.
"What a pain," Neku muttered, wincing at the screeching.
"Encouragement is always a good thing," Rhyme said. "We've lost two of our upperclassmen…and one was our ace. I think we do need it."
Thirty minutes into the game, it had not gotten any better. Odaiba was an aggressive team and were tackling the Ebisu players roughly. So roughly that one of the newer members was knocked over, falling on his knee. The referee blew the whistle and the poor kid had to be carried off the pitch.
The Ebisu students booed in protest, crying out for a red card. The referee had only awarded the offender a yellow one, though, so Coach Higashizawa sent a substitute in and the game continued.
To Beat's credit, he had not yet let in a goal. The forwards, including Taichi, had sent in successions of multiple attacks, but he had managed to save each and every one. Their defence was good, in Neku's opinion - the problem was that none of the forwards were quick enough to get past Odaiba's defenders.
"What's he doing?" yelled a boy behind Neku.
"Oh no, he's going to tackle him again!"
Taichi tackled an Ebisu member that was in possession of the ball. The kid tripped over, landing on his side. It was hard to tell that it was because of Taichi that he fell – it looked like he tripped over the ball. No whistle was blown and Taichi pushed on, aiming another kick towards Beat.
It was as if time slowed, as everyone's eyes followed their movements. The ball curved upwards and back down. Beat jumped up to catch it, but his fingers missed by only inches, and the ball rolled slowly, mockingly, into the corner.
The whistle went off resoundingly. The score was one-zero to Odaiba. The students from the academy cheered excessively as the Ebisu students sat down, no longer shouting. Even the girl who had been screaming Neku's ears off was sitting, looking dejected.
Neku observed that Rhyme had her hands on her lap and that they were now clenched and shaking ever so slightly. She stood up suddenly, and flew down the stairs towards where the Ebisu team were taking their break. He found himself following her.
"I – I'm alright to keep going on," said a small, brown-haired member, as he gripped his elbow; he was the one who had been tripped over by Taichi. "I just need a little break. I don't need my arms to play."
"No, Yammer," Coach Higashizawa said. "I don't want any permanently unusable ingredients in my dish."
"Yeah! Yeah! What are we going to do if you get injured some more?" The kid speaking was also had brown hair, but his was styled in spikes that could rival Neku's, and were sticking out over a red scarf he had tied around his head. "Kaito's already out of commission, we don't need you to be carted off too. Leave it to me! They don't call me Shooter for nothing. I'll score us tons of goals in the next half!"
"What he said, aight? We gonna make it!" The two teens, Shooter and Beat, both radiated the same positive energy. "Hey Phones! Rhyme! You guys are here."
"Why's the spicy tuna roll, here?" sniffed Terumi Miura, the former goal-keeper. "I thought he turned down the spot on the team."
"Can it." Beat instantly jumped to Neku's defense. "He's jus' here to tell us good luck and stuff." Brushing off the rest of what Miura was going to say, he spoke to both Rhyme and Neku. "Don't worry. They're only one point ahead. We're gonna beat 'em." He glared past them to where Taichi was watching them. "We're going to beat Taichi."
Taichi grinned at them, while shaking his head from the distance he was at; as if he could hear what Beat had been saying, and decided to put it down.
"I swear. I will beat him." He punched his fist into his other palm. "Alright! Thanks Neku, thanks Rhyme. Les' do this."
He doesn't have anything to thank me for.
Both teams returned to resume the game, but Neku and Rhyme remained standing by Coach Higashizawa.
"Spicy tuna roll," he said all of a sudden.
"I'm Neku Sakuraba."
"Sakuraba," he corrected, looking down at Neku's feet. "You've got your shoes ready."
"…Yes."
Coach Higashizawa flung a red jersey at him. "Go."
Rhyme stared, wide-eyed as Neku took the jersey and started running away from the pitch. "Neku, you're going to - ?"
"WOOOOOOO! ODAIBA!"
Another goal had once again slipped past Beat, and he fell to the ground on all fours, pounding the ground with his fist. "Dammit!"
"No need to worry." Shooter bounced on the spot as he waited in his position for the next kick off. "I'm going to definitely get -"
Taich had stolen the ball before he could finish the sentence, and again, he was speeding down the pitch. Miura stood, as a stone wall between Taichi and the goal. "As Ebisu's greatest former-goalkeeper, you won't get past me!"
"I'll make you eat your words." He tried to dodge around Miura, but he wasn't a defender to be underestimated.
With a frustrated yell, Taichi tackled Miura. Miura, too, fell over, but not before being able to kick the ball out. "Told you." He panted, though he was grinning, and then proceeded to pass out; he had hit his head on the floor.
"No!"
"Miura!"
Miura was carried out off the pitch. Still, the referee did not issue a red card to Taichi. Having a third person down had finally gotten onto the Ebisu team's nerves.
"We don't have any more subs!"
"We're done for!"
"No!" Only Shooter looked like he still had hope left. "We're Ebisu. We won't lose to them."
The whistle blew once again and the referee held up a sign.
"What? They're subbing someone in?"
"Who?"
Wearing his red team jersey, with his headphones safely kept in Rhyme's hands, Neku walked onto the spot where the ball had rolled out.
"Hell yeah!" Beat's face lit up, and he punched the air, looking completely re-energised. "We're goin' to smash this."
"Woah, woah, woah. Coach is letting Sakuraba play?"
"Never mind that, we need someone to fill in for Miura."
"Does it even matter? You've seen how they play."
"C'mon…it's over."
His team-mates began arguing amongst themselves. He wasn't having any of it, this time.
"Hey!" They stopped, surprised at hearing the sound of his voice. "It's not over until I say it's over. You might not like me. You might not want me here. You might even hate me. But I don't give a damn about that." Neku nodded towards the field. "I'm here to play soccer, and win."
"…"
"Heh? What is he? Some kind of big shot?"
"Second years think they know everything."
"Woaaaaah, Sakuraba, that was deep."
Funny how a few words could change things. It was true, though. Even if they didn't all like him, they were all here for one thing and one thing only. To beat Odaiba Academy's Soccer team. The whole team, both old and new, had regained their will to play.
"Eh? How the hell did trash like you raise morale like that?" Taichi wondered loudly, from a few metres in front of him, waiting for Neku to throw in the ball.
"Because," Neku hurled the ball right into the path of one of his team-mates and then ran past Taichi in a rush, "they can tell that with me, we're going to win."
He ran up the pitch, as the ball was passed to him. He dodged one, two, three defenders and was then right in front of the goal. "Ready to lose?"
He kicked the ball, powerfully, right past the goalkeeper's left side; he didn't even have time to react.
The red side of the bleachers burst into roars. "GO! GO! EBISU! FIGHT! FIGHT! EBISU!"
The fight was on. With Neku, now able to break through the defenders, the flow of the game started to change towards Ebisu's favour. Taichi fervently tried to steal the ball off Neku, but it was to no avail. He was just too good, that day.
He had never felt better, playing this game. He hadn't felt the rush of playing soccer for about three years now. He was afraid that he might have been out of practice, or, just like his last team, he would be rejected, but he needn't have been. The drive to win, on both parts, was stronger than anything else.
Beat, whose loud directions from the goal, and nonsensical shouting of "make 'em fly" was another central part to this.
The ball, it passed on the feelings of everyone on his team, and it led Neku to score another goal, tying up the game.
"EBISU! EBISU! EBISU!" The stands went wild with mixed cheers.
No matter how much rougher the other team had got, Ebisu refused to give up.
Five minutes left.
The tie-breaking score was yet to be made.
It looked good for Ebisu – Neku was bringing the ball back up.
Again, he managed to get through the defenders, until he encountered Taichi. He stopped running, holding the ball in place with his right foot. "What's a forward doing all the way back here?"
"My teammates are being useless. I shouldn't have been relying on them so much, they were holding me back."
"You're right."
He looked shocked. "What?"
"Relying on others is really risky. You never know when someone is going to turn their back on you," he kicked the ball sideways to his right, "but taking a risk isn't always a bad thing."
Taichi's green eyes followed the ball. Shooter had run up, and received it perfectly. He brought back his leg. "Ultimate…SHUTO!"
The ball flew straight by the goalkeeper.
The final whistle blew and the referee bellowed."Three-two. Ebisu High wins the match."
The applause was deafening. The crowds were standing and shouting and dancing. Neku found himself in a headlock from Beat. "I knew you were going to come. I felt it in my gut!" He ruffled the top of Neku's head with his fist. "You're the man!"
"I wasn't just going to let you lose."
"Hey Beat, stop hogging Sakuraba!"
"Yeah!"
"And where do you think you're going Shooter? C'MERE."
Neku felt himself being lifted into the air. Yes, he protested. Yes, he tried to kick whoever was holding his legs in the face.
And yes, Neku let himself enjoy the celebration. After all, he was finally back in a team again.
xxxxx
It took a whole hour after the match for all the team members to disperse. Friends had come down to congratulate the team members, and they had to sit through a very food-related victory speech that Coach Higashizawa decided to give. He was a surprisingly emotional man, and Neku had the suspicion that the man was actually on the verge of tearing up.
"Where's Rhyme gone?" Beat asked Neku. There were only two or three other people left around, and Rhyme wasn't one of them.
"She was here just now." She had been the first person not on the team to come and tell them congratulations. "Didn't she say she was running down to the convenience store to get some victory snacks?"
"She did?"
Leave it to Beat to miss out on things like that. "Yes…but that was about half an hour ago."
"…I got a bad feelin' 'bout this." Beat reached across himself his right hand to hold his left shoulder. "Maybe we should go check on her."
The nearest convenience store was only a five minute walk away. They asked a cashier whether he had seen anyone that looked like Rhyme and the cashier only shrugged.
"Talk about bad service," said Neku.
"Beat!" The brunette girl who had been screaming next to Neku on the bleachers walked over. "Congratulations on the match. You too, Sakuraba."
"It was nothin'," said Beat. "Yo, listen. Have you seen Rhyme?"
"Yeah, I did. I was talking to her just now. She was just saying how proud of you she was." The girl nudged Beat. "Haha, what a good big bro you are. Anyway, she just left not too long ago. I went to go grab a magazine, and when I came back she was talking to one of those guys from Odaiba."
"Watchu say?" Beat said alarmed.
"Aw, are you worried? I know how you are Beat, you're too overprotective. If Rhyme wants to talk to guys, it's normal. Besides, the guy wasn't that bad looking. He was a bit of a jerk when he pushed over Miura earlier, but he seemed completely nice when talking to Rhyme. I'm sure he's just competitive – hey! Where are you going?"
Both Neku and Beat were out of the door.
Though Neku couldn't read Beat's mind, he knew what he was thinking.
Rhyme's with Taichi.
xxxxx
There was an alleyway not too far from the convenience store. It had the gloominess and the foreboding that Neku always associated with alleyways. It didn't help that it was approaching almost seven, and the sun would be starting to set soon. It wasn't much of a challenge, finding Rhyme, but it did allow time for Beat to start panicking.
Well, they found her. With Taichi.
"I don't understand what you want with me," they heard Rhyme say as they continued down the alley. Her voice came from around the bend. "Beat's won the bet, fair and square. You're supposed to leave me alone. "
"He just got lucky," Taichi snarled. "I did not lose. It isn't possible that I lost to Beat."
"Winning isn't everything," she said. Neku motioned for Beat to be quiet as they took light steps to get closer.
"It is to me. I can't lose. Ever." There was a loud clang of metal, possibly of him kicking something aside. "It wasn't a one on one fight, it doesn't even count."
They were just at the edge of the corner now. Neku was about to tell Beat that they needed to come up with some sort of plan, but Beat ran past Neku.
"You bastard! I told you to stop getting' Rhyme mixed up in your whole supurity complex!"
Never mind…Neku followed Beat, and saw Taichi, now grabbing Rhyme nearer to him by the elbow and looking at them apprehensively.
"I don't have a superiority complex!"
"Like hell you don't."
"I don't," he insisted, his eyes glinting with rage. "I just want to smash in that idiotic face of yours."
"Oh yeah! Well I'm here, aren't I? Come get me Tai!"
"No!" Rhyme struggled, trying to get away from Taichi's grip. "You can't get into another fight, Beat. What will happen if someone found out? What if you're expelled again?"
"I don't care about that! Whoever messes with my sister, messes with me. And no one messes with Beat." He raised a fist towards Taichi. "Are you ready for a beat down?"
"Now we're talking!" Taichi let go of Rhyme's sleeve and the two teens ran towards each other.
The first hit was dealt out by Beat; he punched Taichi squarely in the jaw. Taichi staggered backward, but then came back with a punch of his own. The blond managed to dodge it, but Taichi had anticipated; he used his other his leg to knee Beat in the stomach.
The scuffle continued and Neku took this chance to get over to Rhyme. "Are you okay? Did Taichi do anything to you?"
Rhyme, who had been standing, frozen as she watched the fight, seemed to come back to her senses. In that moment, she attempted to sprint over to the boys and break up the fight. Unfortunately for her, Neku caught her arm and held her back.
"Don't, that's dangerous," he warned her. "You'll only get caught up in it."
"But Beat…he's…you've got to help him, Neku!"
Neku shook his head. "No. This is Beat's fight. You of all people should understand what this fight is about."
Her brother landed another cracking punch to Taichi's head. Taichi didn't look disheartened though – he was grinning, almost maniacally. Beat, however, didn't look amused, but there was the same kind of fire in his eyes that was present in Taichi's.
"Pride," Rhyme voiced. "They're fighting…for their pride."
Because, through the short time of knowing Beat, Neku could tell that there were two things Beat would definitely fight for. To protect people and to protect his pride.
And there was no one who could take away Beat's pride.
With one last finishing push, Beat delivered a blistering punch right in Taichi's gut. The black-haired boy, landed on his back, completely winded.
"You've lost, yo." Beat stood over him. "Now I don't wanna see your face 'round here."
Taichi breathed unevenly, but to his credit, he managed to sit up.
"Fine…fine…I've lost," he finally admitted. "But you're not leaving here just like that."
"Beat, look out!" Neku alerted him.
He just managed to get out of the way of someone who tried to hit him with a bat. "The hell?" There were now five other boys, all of whom had been in their match against Odaiba.
"You…think…I came…alone…" The grin was back on his face. "Trash him."
His lackeys started assaulting Beat, who was already tired out from fighting Taichi. He let out a yell as one of the guys swung his bat towards his head.
Crack!
Neku had rammed into the guy, the bat flying out of his hand and hitting the wall.
"Neku?" Beat punched another guy as Neku also joined the fight. "What are you," he kicked the side of a lackey, "doing?"
"You can't," punch,"take all of them," smack, "by yourself."
"Heh!" Neku caught hold of a guy's oncoming punch and directed him towards Beat, who punched him in the shoulder.
"Shit." Beat had been taken by surprise by someone who hit him from behind. He fell forward, and only just managed to use his hands to stop his head from hitting the ground.
"Stop!"
The fight came to a shocked halt as they heard a shrill cry.
Rhyme, she was trembling. "Y-you said that this would be one on one."
"Who is that chick?"
"You…you hypocrite." Her voice shook too.
"She's our prize," said Taichi, who had not moved since his accomplices had arrived.
"Guess we'll come and collect her then," said one of them.
This, of course, led to that guy getting one of Beat's hardest punch yet.
"Enough…enough."
"Any of you touch her, and I'll –" One of them had managed to break away from the fight and started heading towards her. "Rhyme!"
"I SAID, ENOUGH!"
A ferocious current of wind tore down on them. It came out of nowhere, it seemed, but it was strong enough to force most of them onto the ground. Except for Beat and Neku.
"Wahh!"
"What is that?"
"A hurricane!?"
"Let's get out of here."
With effort, and terror, they picked up Taichi.
"No! We're not done here," he struggled against his team-mates, though to no avail, in his condition. The wind was working in their favour and pushing them away from Rhyme. "I'm not –"
His eyes met Rhyme.
No one could mistake her expression as anything but fury.
Neku's eyes might have been playing tricks on him, but it looked like the wind was coming from Rhyme. Taichi must have been seeing things too, because he immediately stopped talking. He let his peers help him hobble away as the wind pushed them. He gave Beat one last grim look, and then he was gone.
The wind stopped slowly; at the same time, the fury dissipated from Rhyme's eyes.
She blinked, looking around herself, confused. "Where…did that wind come from?"
"Dunno," said Beat, scratching his head. "Was a hurricane in the weather forecast?"
Neku doubted that a gust of wind that had lasted that short would be classified as a hurricane. It wasn't a usual everyday occurrence that was for sure.
"W-woah!" The older Bito was being crushed in a hug by his sister.
"You're okay!"
"Of course, I am. 'Said I'd beat 'em down, yo." He took off her red beanie and started ruffling her hair, while she maintained her clutch on him. Out turned his head to look at Neku. "Hey…thanks man. I would've been toast without you."
"It was nothing," he said, but not coldly.
"I've always got somethin' to thank you for. You always got my back, yo."
He gave Beat a genuine smile. "That's what friends do."
He blinked and stared at Neku for a moment. Even Rhyme shifted her head so that she could see Neku. They both returned his smile.
"Damn straight! Now! Who's up for some ramen?"
xxxxx
Neku leaned over his balcony, breathing in the cold night air. It was a good way to wind down after the events of today.
"…see where you are, seek what you want, stray as you wish, stay who you are…"
"Hi."
"Neku! You were amazing today. At soccer, you really can play well; you're so fast. It's the same as when Rhyme was in trouble. I was so scared for her, you don't even know…"
"Those guys from Odaiba weren't so tough."
"It's a good thing they weren't. What if you got hurt?"
"So you were worrying about me…"
"What? No! I mean - of course I was. Why wouldn't I be? And I was worried for Beat and Rhyme too. What on earth was up with that wind, by the way?"
"You noticed too. I've got no clue…"
"Weird things always happen around you."
"I'm guessing you're talking about yourself here."
"Hey!"
"It's not like I'm wrong. You can't say you're not weird."
"Yes, yes, whatever."
"…I think I'm imagining it, but it seems like I can see stars in the sky tonight."
"In Shibuya? No way!"
"You just said it yourself…weird things happen around me."
"Oh! I can see what you mean."
They were there. Tiny scattered spots of sparkles, visible along the night sky, even though the lights were as bright as ever.
"Maybe I can see them because I met you."
"Huh?"
"Nothing…just talking to myself."
"…"
It was only just him making guesses, but maybe it was because she opened up to him that he could see the stars. While opening herself up to him, she had, at the same time, opened up his eyes too. Eyes that he had closed shut on his own will for a long time…
"I was thinking."
"About what?"
"You said you loved sewing."
"I do!"
"Then it suits you, you know. Your name."
"My name…?"
"Shiki."
He wondered, then, how much of a positive being connected by feelings was. Shiki seemed to be overflowing with happiness.
It must have been infectious because he was too.
A/N: Tadaa! We have reached the end of the 'Friends' Arc. Well, I've separated this fic into sections in my mind, and although they're not technically arcs, that's what I'll be calling them.
This was one heck of a long chapter, for my standards. I went for a slightly different style for several parts of this fic, and I hope they created the effect I wanted.
There will be no updates until next month, because I have exams all through May and June, and I won't have any time to write new chapters. There is also no preview for the next chapter, but this is because I've included some bonus content (such as a timeline), and omakes at the end (which are basically cracky/supposed-to-be-funny snippets, for those who don't know).
Since this is the end of an arc, I'd appreciate it if my silent readers review this chapter, at least, to let me know what you think of the story so far! Good things happen to those who review :'D
Thanks for putting this on favourites/following: IrateWritreviewer, Shad of Shadow, RagnartheSemiGreen, and Servant of the Underworld.
Thanks for reviewing: Xerzo LotCN, Shinra-ex-SOLDIER, GRX3m0m, Alyss Penedo, ThatSexyAngel RagnartheSemiGreen and cutekitty5597
OnCuzImBored: As you can tell, I didn't quite go for that angle, but I could see that happening too. Thanks again!
dragonpiggy1024: Haha, well it was meant to sound creepy. Although 'pedo' isn't technically correct, because Rhyme not that much younger than Neku, Beat and Shiki. Thank you for your review!
Omega Zekrom: It's more of a Joshua-neko than a Neku-neko, though x3 Also, I'm glad you picked up on that! I tried to make it less complex, since Nimew is just a cat, after all. Thanks for the review.
…oh my, I've reached 50 reviews. Thank you all so much ;-;
Thanks for reading!
- 3 May 2013
Bonus Content
Ringtones from Beyond (All TWEWY OST)
1. None
2. Twister
3. Calling
4. Three Minutes Clapping
5. Owari Hajimari
6. Detonation
7. Satisfy
Pseudo Poem Persepective
1. Neku
2. Joshua
3. Shiki
4. Beat
5. Rhyme
6. Nimew
7. Neku
Timeline
(Chapter 1)
01 -April - Mon - Start of the Japanese school year. Neku transfers to Ebisu High School as a Second Year student. Rhyme joins Ebisu High School as a first-year student. Neku meets Beat and Rhyme.
(Chapter 1/2/3)
02 April - Tues - Neku causes a commotion at Ebisu. He visits Miyashita Park and encounters Joshua. Shiki calls Neku for the first time, reveals that she is dead.
(Chapter 3)
03 April - Weds - Neku has lunch with has Bito siblings for the first time. Shiki calls Neku for a second time. Neku agrees to allow Shiki to call him.
(Chapter 3/4)
04 April - Thurs - Neku visits Miyashita park in the evening. He runs into Beat and Rhyme. They have dinner together at Ken Doi's ramen shop. It is revealed that Neku had lived in Shibuya, prior to now. Third call from Shiki, who pushes the importance of friendship.
(Chapter 5/6)
05 April - Fri - Neku, Beat and Rhyme stay back after school. Beat successfully gets into the Ebisu soccer team. Neku is also invited but rejects the offer. Shiki is on the phone throughout the tryout. Shiki remembers her name on their way back home. Memory triggers a painful head-ache on both sides.
(Chapter 6)
06 April - Sat - Nimew appears, sent by Joshua. Neku investigates Miyashita Park again. He runs into Beat and Rhyme. They are met with Taichi and are challenged.
(Chapter 7)
07 April - Sun - Neku checks out Miyashita Park again. Shiki does not call.
08-10 April - Mon-Weds - Ebisu high trains for an exhibition match with Odaiba High. Shiki does not call.
11 - April - Thurs - Two Ebisu members become unable to play. Neku finally gets a call from Shiki. Shiki remembers and tells Neku about herself. Neku says they are friends.
12 - April - Fri - Ebisu VS Odaiba soccer exhibition match. Neku joins the game in the second half. Ebisu wins 3-2. Taichi brings Rhyme out to lure Beat out. Beat and Taichi fight. Beat wins. Taichi's teammates join in. Neku assists fight. Fight is stopped by a mysterious wind. Taichi and his gang run away. Shiki calls Neku. He calls her by her name for the first time.
Omake
On the Train:
"Why does this kid have orange hair?"
"And blond hair! The other two have blond hair!"
"Maybe they're foreign!"
"We're Japanese," thought Neku, Beat and Rhyme, with a sweat-drop.
I Can See You – Part 1:
"Hey, Stalker?"
"Yes?"
"You said you can always see me."
"Yep!"
"So when I'm using the toilet…"
"Ew! Of course, I'm not looking! I can un-tune myself you know!"
"Good…just checking…"
Joshua is Awesome:
"So besides flying and glowing, what else can you do?"
"Hmm…." He clicked his fingers and a vending machine fell out of the sky. "I can do that."
"Can we get drinks from it?"
"…No."
"…That's just useless!"
Joshua Leaves:
"I've got to go now, which is just too bad because I don't make an appearance from now right through to Chapter Seven."
"Maybe you're not important?"
"Tsk. Tsk. Neku, of course I am."
"Why?"
"Because I gave you a new pet!"
"Yeah…you're useless. Where are you going, anyway?"
"…back to this studio, this cosplay costume is getting itchy."
"…"
"Hee hee. That was a joke."
"That was a lame joke."
I Can See You – Part Two:
Neku tripped on the way back from school today. Luckily no one saw him.
"Oh my gosh, Neku, how the heck did you trip over nothing like that?"
…never mind.
The Adventures of Nimew – Part 1:
The cat frowned as it watched Neku pass his week.
…this kid really had no life.
Maybe he would be kind and give the guy some purpose.
"You demon cat! What did you do?!"
Yes, he ate all the fish from the fridge. Now the boy could go out and buy some more. The kid needed more exercise.
He was welcome.
Shuto 'Shooter' Dan:
"Woohoo! Did you all see my ultimate move?"
"Yes, we all heard it too."
"Exactly isn't it awesome!"
"Not really…"
"You don't think so? Maybe you haven't seen it enough…here we go –"
"Wait, no, the principal is coming-"
"ULTIMATE SHUTO!"
"RUN FOR IT!"
The Adventures of Nimew – Part 2:
"Meoowwww."
"Neku! I think Nimew wants to play with you."
"No way, do you know what time it is?"
"C'mon, just a little while. Look at his cute face."
"…Fine. You owe me Shiki."
"Yay!"
"Meow. Meow. (Big softy!)"
"That's it. We're going to play, 'who wants to sleep outside?' and it's not going to be me!"
…
"Shiki…I think I just got locked out of my flat."
"How? Nimew's a cat!"
"If Joshua is a demon, not an angel, then I was right. Nimew is a demon cat."
"Er, Neku, didn't you just turn the doorknob the wrong way?"
"…"