Hello. I haven't updated this story in a decade. Truth is, it was already finished when I posted the first chapter, since I had written this story for an assignment in 2009. However, while posting it on this site, I decided to extend this fanfic and add additional chapters in between. I eventually lost motivation for that, and moved onto roleplaying instead of fanfiction writing.
But, in the honor of TWEWY Neo coming out, I'm now going to post the rest of the story and finally mark it as complete. So here is the original version of the rest of it, unedited from the way it was in 2009. (So, it's terrible, as it was written by a 14 year old, lol)
One week later, Neku stood in front of his mirror, making sure he looked his best. He didn't appear formal; the party was a casual one, but he still looked his definition of hot. To complete his look, he slipped on his all-famous purple headphones. He just wouldn't be Neku without them. He smiled contently, pleased with the way he looked, and grabbed his cell phone to call up Shiki.
"Hey Shiki."
"Hey."
"You coming to the Christmas party?"
"Yeah! I'm so pumped. Maybe Alec will be there!"
Neku grimaced. "… Um, yeah. Maybe. Well uh, I'll see you there."
"Okay. Bye!" Shiki hung up.
Neku blinked at his phone, a bit disappointed.
Don't worry, Neku. You'll get that kiss tonight—even if it KILLS you, he thought, making his way out the door.
Later, Neku arrived at the party, looking around.
There was a food table, dancing people, a Christmas tree, some annoying Christmas music... Everything seemed to be in place, except for one crucial thing. He scoured the ceiling, looking for that hanging mistletoe.
"HEY NEKU! Wanna sign up for the Christmas present drawing? There's a winner every hour! It's gonna be AWESOME!" exclaimed Shooter, seeming to appear from nowhere with a shoebox and some fill-up forms.
Shooter was a very juvenile 5th grader that had an intense passion for tin-pin, a game famous among the teens. He loved to shout and make something small completely dramatic and life-sized, especially if the matter involved tin-pin. Neku particularly disliked him, often getting in his way, but he could be cool... sometimes. And when he had got in Neku's way during his important mission, it was not one of those times.
Concentrating on the importance of his plan, Neku muttered, "Yeah, yeah, sure, whatever," as he shoved Shooter aside. Shooter replied "OKAY!" as Neku walked away, focused on finding the mistletoe.
Where did they put it this time? He growled to himself.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the mistletoe, randomly hanging above a certain spot in the room by the use of a small, thin string attached from the ceiling to the mistletoe itself. Smiling mischievously, he began his quest to search for Shiki as he casually walked under the mistletoe as if he wasn't aware it was there.
Attempting to act innocent and casual by whistling with hands in his pockets, he scoured the room, trying to spot the one and only Shiki, the girl of his dreams, the person who won over his affection. He was successful, for he spotted Shiki over by the fruit punch bowl, laughing it up with Eri.
"SHIKI!" yelled Neku, waving one arm in the air to try and snag her attention. He failed, and Shiki continued to socialize. Neku felt the urge to leave his spot, but the entire point was to get Shiki over to where he was, right under the mistletoe.
Growling, Neku tried again. "SHIKI!" he bellowed, finally snagging her attention. He was triumphant, and basked in the glow of his success by smiling brightly as he made an action to signal Shiki to come to him. Shiki placed her punch on the food table, and made her way through the crowd.
This is it, Neku tittered. I'm… I'm finally going to do it. At last… at last… after a year! Wait… what am I going to say to her before I point out there's a mistletoe and that I should kiss her?... Whatever, Neku. Just wing it.
Shiki came over, eager to talk to Neku.
"Yeah?" she asked, pushing a strand of her beautiful brown locks behind her ear.
Neku took a breath, and attempted to gather the most casual conversation topics in his mind.
"Uh… nice to see you here, Shiki," Neku said, smiling sweetly.
"Nice to see you here too. I already told you I was coming though…," replied Shiki, giggling slightly. Her bubbly personality put Neku under a love spell, melting his heart like strawberry ice cream on a hot day. Luckily, he manages to hide this reaction from her, and sometimes, from himself.
"Uh… right. Yeah, well… um… it's… still nice to see you here. So… yeah," Neku stammered, rocking back and forth uncomfortably.
"You're acting kind of weird today, but I like it," Shiki commented, smiling tenderly. Neku's ears turned a bright red, very much embarrassed. He had a secret agenda, and to him, Shiki had just pointed it out. At a loss for words, Neku just gazed into Shiki's beautiful green eyes, losing sight of what he had to do.
"Neku?" Shiki asked, slightly concerned.
"What?" replied Neku, remembering why he had called her over there in the first place. He took a breath, ready to casually "notice" the mistletoe, and then point it out.
"And the hourly Christmas present drawing winner is…," boomed a heavy-looking man into a bullhorn, cutting off Neku just as he was about to release that breath of air into the form of a word. A timid squeak was the only thing that managed to escape his mouth as he turned to see the balding but cheery man holding his bullhorn. This man stood next to a Christmas tree surrounded with presents, cringing as he attempted to read a small looking card that he held in front of his awkward-looking glasses.
"Nuko Saka—…uhh…" The man took another look at his card, this time with his face even closer. "Sakaburba!" he finished.
Neku gasped, and the crowd went wild. To him, this was all some sort of nightmare; he was just about to have his big moment. Vienna, the young lady whose house was the location of the party, and also an acquaintance of Neku's, emerged from the roaring crowd started pushing him up to where the Christmas tree was. He frowned; he didn't want some stupid gift, he wanted Shiki! He looked back at Shiki, horrified. Shiki seemed to be enjoying the moment though, and appeared to be happy for Neku.
"I DON'T THINK THAT'S EVEN ME!" he yelled amidst the thunderous crowd. "MY NAME'S NOT NUKO SAKABURBA! IT'S NEKU SAKURABA!" He would have tried anything to get out of the situation—plus, he hated it when people messed his name up. The nickname "Phones" was already quite common for him because headphones were always attached to his head, but "Nuko Sakaburba" just added to his aggravation.
Neku awkwardly stood next to the Christmas tree and the man with the bullhorn, not exactly enjoying the spotlight. Even though he had changed from how he was two years ago, he still leaned towards shutting himself out from the world—to be hidden. Being noticed wasn't exactly something he craved for, and at that moment, it was probably the last thing on his mind. He looked down at Shiki, wishing he were kissing her, and not standing next to some weird-looking man.
"Okay, Nuko!" boomed the man, putting his hands on his hips.
Neku raised an eyebrow disdainfully. "It's Neku," he retorted, also putting his hands on his hips. "Neku SAKURABA."
The man gave Neku a surprised look, and started searching all around him. To the side, to the front, behind, and in a full circle, until he found a card sitting on a stool next to the shoebox that Shooter was holding earlier, which was right next to him. Taking the card, he attempted to read it again.
"Oh, my bad, but this looks like Nuko Sakaburba," the man replied, squinting his eyes at the card.
"SORRY, MY MAN! I HAVE TERRIBLE HANDWRITING! And probably some bad spelling too," came Shooter's voice from out of nowhere, like a bolt from the blue.
Neku sighed, aggravated. "Whatever, let's just get this over with," he grumbled, and the man awkwardly bent down to select a random present under the Christmas tree. Neku winced from watching him; it looked overly painful watching the oafish man bend over like that. Plus, it appeared as if his pants were going to split right down the middle.
However, Neku's expression lightened up when he saw the man making his way to select one of the larger packages wrapped in shiny Christmas paper, and it was even toppled with a pretty bow, unlike most of the gifts. His hands moved closer... closer...
"WOOOO!" roared the crowd, and Neku looked over to see the commotion. In that split second, Neku felt as if his heart stopped beating.
"ALEC! SHIKI! KISS, KISS, KISS, KISS, KISS, KISS..." the crowd chanted, gathering around Shiki and Alec, who were caught under the mistletoe. Flabbergasted, Neku stood there, unable to move, unable to breathe.
Something inside him malfunctioned; it sparked, fizzed out, and stopped working. How could this happen? How could his perfect, fool-proof plan be completely ruined by that... that JERK? Shiki was supposed to be his! That moment was supposed to be his! People would be chanting for him and Shiki to kiss, not Alec!
Neku looked over at Shiki's angelic face, and noticed how bright she was blushing, and how giddy she seemed. This made his heart sink even lower than it already was. It fell to a new rock bottom, a rock bottom never thought possible.
Just as Neku felt like things couldn't seem to get worse, Alec pushed away a strand of Shiki's beautiful brown hair, tucked it behind her ear, and kept his hand on her cheek. Watching this made Neku want to commit suicide, but he couldn't look away. It was like a horror movie; no matter how bad the movie may seem, he was unable to stop watching.
Alec began to lean in, and Neku's mouth just gaped wide open, unable to accept the reality of things.
"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" cheered the crowd once more as Alec's lips made contact with Shiki, with his hand caressing her bright pink cheek. He pulled away, leaving a speechless Shiki standing there, too elated for words.
Neku stood there as a whole, but his soul was in pieces. The cheers and roars of the ear-piercing crowd seemed to fade away from him like a distant dream. This time, it wasn't just something inside him that died; it felt like a whole lot of things. Enough to shut down his entire system. Enough to make him... cry.
But no, seeing as this was Neku, tears were unable to escape his eyes. He channeled all of those heartbroken feelings of hurt into feelings of hatred, feelings of loathing, envy, disgust, and detestation. And all this concentration of horrible energy was directed towards Neku's new official nemesis: Alec Takahashi.
The cheering and the outside world all rushed back to Neku when the heavy-looking, balding man with the bullhorn poked him in the arm, handing him a small package wrapped in a dullish looking red paper. Neku looked over at it, forgetting that he even won the Christmas drawing, and took it. His memories came back to him, and he remembered the brief little moment before the tragic event: the man was going for the larger package.
What the HECK happened? What happened to the larger package? You were going for the larger package! Why the HECK did you hand me this piece of CRAP?! GAHHHHHHHHH! screamed Neku in his mind, glaring at the package with such burning intensity that if he continued to do it for a few more minutes, the package would spark up, burst into flames, and burn into ashes.
Normally, something as small as receiving a tinier package than what was expected wouldn't have affected Neku that much. But in light of what had just happened with his most prized possession, Shiki, Neku would have punched the lights out of somebody who didn't hold the door open for him.
Neku grumpily sat down on a lone chair next to the snack table. He scowled at the package.
I hope this present makes me feel better. My day could not get any worse.
Neku unwrapped the package, revealing a brown box. He timidly opened the brown box, and inside was what appeared to be a pack of of tube socks.
Neku gaped at the pack in disbelief.
Tube. Socks. YOU. HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. WHAT THE HECK?! WHAT THE FREAKING CRAP IN THIS FREAKING WORLD OF STUPIDITY?! I was wrong. My day could get much worse. Much worse. I hope this lighting fixture above me falls on my head. I hope I suffer a 3 year coma, and fast forward to a day that ISN'T today. I bet you anything nobody will even notice that I'm gone. Nobody. Not even Shiki. No. She'll be in the arms of ALLLEC.
HOW DID HE EVEN DO THAT? I... I don't believe it. I do not freaking believe it. I was SO close. I was going to point out the mistletoe. That moment was supposed to be mine. I can't believe he stole it. That EVIL LITTLE THIEF! Just because I won the contest, he took my spot. Out of all of the participants of that stupid contest, I had to win. It was my fault. I shouldn't have let Shooter enter my name, then everything would be fine. But even so, it was technically these STUPID SOCKS that cost me Shiki. THESE STUPID, WORTHLESS, GOOD FOR NOTHING SOCKS!
Neku slammed his fist on the snack table beside him, earning a few weird looks from snack consumers.
He buried his face in his hands, with the happy music and chattering of the people aggravating him even more. Trying to appease himself, he stuffed his face with various goodies from the snack table, and practically drank up the entire fruit punch bowl. He tried to avoid looking over at Shiki and Alec together, dancing like it was the last day of their lives. But yet, he was too weak to do so, and looked over at them anyway.
Neku was upset, torn down, in pieces, in shambles. In this condition, watching everyone else be merry and having a great time irritated him extremely, in a way too great for words. But then came the time of the night where everyone had to take a partner and slow dance.
He groaned, making sour and brokenhearted faces as he observed guys gather up their girls and share enchanted moments with each other on the lightened dance floor. He was certain that Shiki would have been slow dancing with Alec.
Neku gave up. That was it. It was officially too much to bear. He would leave the party, and leave without saying goodbye, "Merry Christmas", or anything else to anyone. To him, the tube socks he won were a curse, a bad memory, and a bad luck charm all at once. So he left the socks and the package next to the snack table, and stormed his way out the sliding back doors, where Shooter wouldn't catch him sneaking out.
He slid the glass door shut in a forceful way, but not strong enough to produce a loud noise that would be detectable over the slow, romantic music playing inside the building. He took one last look through the glass, scouring for Shiki and Alec, but failed to find them amongst the scattered waves of slow-dancing couples.
Neku breathed in the chilly night air, cooling his lungs, and exhaled a foggy mist. Turning to start his journey back home, he managed to separate his eyes from his shoes and looked up to see the beautiful, enormous backyard that he found himself in, adorned with many rose bushes enhanced with glimmering frost, and in the distance, there was a rather large fountain, spewing out a sparkling ribbon of water. But what snagged his attention almost instantaneously were not the frosted rose bushes, not the magnificent fountain, but a certain someone sitting at the rim of the fountain, leaning over with their elbows on their knees and their face buried in their hands.
Curious, Neku quietly rushed over to get a closer look at the person. Their hair shone brightly in the moonlight, and Neku took a few hushed steps closer, approaching cautiously, but stepped on a twig. The person managed to hear the crackling over the spewing fountain's noise, and they looked up, revealing piercing green eyes. Neku stumbled a bit, alarmed he had been detected, but managed to take a quick glance at their face.
"Sh-Shiki?" Neku stammered, stepping closer. He could recognize those enthralling green eyes anywhere.
Shiki squealed, and sat upright. "Neku! What are you doing out here?"
"What are YOU doing out here?" Neku asked, genuinely bewildered. He could have sworn that she and Alec were already having the night of their lives. He took a step closer, and Shiki dropped her expression into a mournful frown.
"Uh...," she mumbled, slumping over again, and looked away from Neku. Concerned, Neku took a seat next to Shiki on the fountain's rim.
"What's wrong?" asked Neku, but Shiki just gave him a quick glance and kept quiet. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, unsure what to ask her. Looking around, he thought of ways to omit the blanket of silence tossed upon the environment, with the gushing fountain being the only thing audible. He realized that to ask about the deal with Alec might have been inappropriate at the time, so he tossed the idea aside. But his curiosity and confusion overtook him, and he managed to blurt it out anyway.
"Why are you out here, and not in there dancing with Alec? You got your big break with him... this is supposed to be your special night," Neku whispered, trying to hide his heartache.
Shiki looked over at him sorrowfully, and Neku feared that he may have made her feel worse. She sighed, and bit her lip. Neku felt this surge of guilt overtake him.
"It's okay, you don't have to tell me."
Shiki looked up at him. "No, no, I'll tell you. It's, well... I mean, I finally got to kiss him right? I mean, how lucky was that? I thought it was fate that we ended up together under the mistletoe," started Shiki, glancing over at the sliding glass doors. Neku cringed, remembering that it was his original plan to lead her under the mistletoe, and Alec just happened to steal his spot. To him, it was definitely not fate.
"And, you know, I thought it was just... awesome, and after he kissed me, we were having so much fun that night. We were dancing, and I was just living the dream," continued Shiki. "And then... you know what he tells me?"
"What?"
"Well, he tells me that after the party, he wants to take me out on a movie, stop over at his place, and possibly hook up. I was so excited."
Neku cringed even more. "Okay, well, isn't that good?"
"No," replied Shiki. Neku was completely bewildered.
"Uh, why?"
"Because after he told me that, he said something along the lines of that he has two girlfriends already, and they're not happy with each other, so I need to keep it quiet because they would be really mad if there was a third girl involved. Then something about me being 'hotter' compared to them, and that I would make a great accessory to him when he goes out in public."
Neku sat there, speechless.
Shiki continued. "And so... I mean... that's like total pond scum level. He only wants me because apparently, I'm 'hotter' than the other two. He doesn't even like me for who I am. This idiot just sees me as a piece of meat, and he just wants me to add to his collection, like trophies to collect, or like, his accessory so people will think he looks 'hot'. How do those girls even manage to stay with him? I doubt they feel special, considering there's another girl involved. What a jerk."
Neku was slightly relieved by all of this, to see that Shiki and Alec failed to get together successfully. But to realize how much of a jerk he was to Shiki and how much he probably hurt her, Neku's hatred for him increased.
Wow. This jerk does not deserve someone as awesome as Shiki. I feel so bad for her. How could he do this to her? How could he treat her like a piece of meat... like she's just one of the other girls? She's worth way more than that. Man, she must feel horrible knowing that to him, she's just some pretty accessory, and nothing more. Shiki probably still likes him... but she deserves much, much better. I just wish she'd see that.
Neku put his hand on Shiki's shoulder.
"I'm sorry... your dream guy turned out to be such a jerk. I'm pretty sure you feel brokenhearted.. That's got to suck."
You and me both, Shiki.
Shiki smirked slightly. "I don't really feel brokenhearted. I'm the one who rejected him after I saw how overly shallow he was, so I'm not sad that I didn't get to be with him. To get someone like him is what I would call rotten luck. I came out here because I wanted to get away from him, and the only reason I'm upset is because I hate myself for being so stupid and liking someone as shallow as that idiot. I mean, that probably means I'm not worth that much if I managed to like... THAT."
Neku nearly choked on his own spit. "SHIKI! Don't say that!" he exclaimed. "You ARE worth that much. It wasn't your fault that you liked Alec in the first place. It's not like you knew he was some stupid jerk who only sees girls as a piece of meat. If you weren't worth as much as I'm telling you, you would be just like those other two girls, and agree to be with him even if you already knew about the other chicks, just because you're overly shallow and want someone with freaking alien muscles. But you're not." Neku lost his head, and continued to ramble on, not only because he was trying to make Shiki feel better, but because he couldn't help himself.
"You're above that. You're like, one of the coolest girls I know, and probably in the entire universe, so you deserve much better. You deserve someone who can see that you're worth more than a piece of meat, someone who truly understands you, and someone who likes you for who you are. Someone who realizes... how awesome you are. And like, ANYONE can see that you're truly awesome, so Alec must be a real fool if he can't see that. All he managed to see was how beautiful you are. "
Shiki started blushing, but Neku was too busy babbling on and on with his flattering words to even notice her facial reaction.
"You deserve someone who appreciates your looks, but can also look past that, because that's not the only thing you're about," Neku continued, making constant hand movements. But then, his eyes managed to make contact with Shiki's... and Neku, once again, began to get lost in the glimmering pool of green.
"Though, it would be hard to find someone who can actually look past your looks... because... you're just too... beautiful."
Neku squeaked slightly, realizing what he just said.
CRAP! I shouldn't have said that! I didn't even mean to! It slipped out... I hope she doesn't think too much of it...
Shiki managed to blush so brightly that her face was now this neon pink, illuminated by the reflection of the shimmering fountain water. She was basically speechless, and just smiled softly the entire time. Neku was very much embarrassed, so he just stared down at his shoes. Luckily, his pink ears were covered up by his bulky purple headphones.
"Well...," Shiki managed to blurt out, shattering the silence. "You know what?"
Neku looked up at her, swallowing to appease his dry throat. "What?" he asked.
"You're right. I guess I do deserve better. I deserve someone who really understands me, someone who gets my jokes... who knows me inside out, like the back of their hand."
Neku blinked, not exactly sure what to feel at that moment.
Shiki grinned. "Someone who can look past my looks, no matter how pretty I look that day, or if I'm in my pajamas with facial mask and 'Bride of Frankenstein' hair. Someone who can have a great time with me, whether if we're just shopping or playing video games..."
Shiki took a deep breath, as if she was hesitating to go on. "And most of all, someone who really cares about me and will always be there for me, whether if I'm feeling suckish, hanging over a huge pit of boiling lava, or going through... I don't know, three weeks of some horrible 'game' ran by Reapers, they'll always comfort me, come to save me, or win the game for me."
Neku's eyes widened, anxious to know where she was going with this.
"Someone who's been one of my best friends for like, two years. Someone like... you."
Neku was speechless. To him, this was mind-blowing, and he didn't know what to think. Then again, he didn't even have time to think, for Shiki moved towards him, slightly hesitating at first... but then rushed forward. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she gently pushed her soft lips against his. A chill went down Neku's spine, tangoed about in his stomach, and out across his limbs. He melted in her arms, and blushed brightly in the cheeks for the first time in his life.
Shiki... she's... she's... oh... wow...
He stared at her, wide-eyed and unable to come to reality, for the world just spun around him in a doozy of all things enchanted and magical. He slowly closed his eyes, and gently snaked his arms around her waist. All the things that had malfunctioned and died inside of him jolted alive with intense ecstasy. Everything no longer existed. Nothing did, nothing but him and Shiki. And to Neku, a simple moment such as that was the best Christmas present anyone could ever ask for.
Shiki gently pulled away, red as a radiant rose. But to Neku, that just made her even more beautiful. They shared a moment of silence, staring into each other's eyes.
"Shiki Misaki...," started Neku, disrupting the hushed atmosphere.
"Yeah?" replied Shiki, a glint of curiosity flashing in her eyes.
"I love you."