Shiki sighs. She crumples up the paper in front of her and tosses it into the nearby bin, which is currently filled to the brim with nothing but crumpled pieces of paper. Neku walks into the room and looks over at the bin.
"Frustrated?" he asks
"A little. Eri and I are working on a new line of clothes, and I just can't think of anything. . ." Shiki explains. "I know Eri's more of the designer, but I never struggle this much. . ." Shiki frowns as she slumps in her chair. Neku walks up behind the chair and wraps his arms around her.
"Want to go out and take a break?" Neku asks. Shiki nods her head a little. Neku smiles and lifts her out of her seat, completely catching her off guard.
"Ah! Wait! I can myself!" Shiki protests. Neku laughs and sets her down upon exiting her office. After getting ready the two leave their house and go for a walk, unlike most of their outings, however, Neku is the one guiding Shiki.
"Where are we going?" Shiki asks.
"Just a place I used to go to whenever I was feeling down," Neku responds. The two go from the relatively quiet housing area to the hustling and bustling Shibuya square, they walk across the scramble crossing, look around central street, walk through AMX, Tipsy Tose Hall, and Shibu-Q Heads, before finally stopping.
"Alright, we're here," says Neku
"Udagawa. . ." Shiki says quietly. The two walk down the backstreets hand in hand, looking through a few of the nearby shops before stopping at a familiar location.
"This is it, this is the spot," says Neku, he leans against a wall before dropping and sitting on the ground on the opposite side of the CAT mural. She takes a seat beside him, and the two look at the mural.
"I'm surprised you still like coming here after what happened," Shiki admits.
"Yeah, it was weird coming back here at first, but even if I did die here, a lot of good came from it," Neku explains. "After all, if I didn't die here in time for that week's reapers game, I wouldn't have met Joshua, or Beat, or Rhyme, or you." Neku rests his head on Shiki's shoulder. "A lot of what happened sucked, but I'm a better person now thanks to you and the game, so, thanks Shiki." Shiki has a hard time finding the right words, but she doesn't take long to respond.
"Well, I wouldn't be happy now if it weren't for you too. I'm happy with myself now, who I am, and that's not something I could say before I met you." Neku laughs a bit
"Guess that means we're even then?" he asks
"Yeah. . ." Shiki says, smiling, she rests her head against Neku's and the two sit there awhile in silence, looking at the mural ahead. Shiki takes in every detail of the graffiti. As she looks at the mural that defined Neku's life at a young age, she felt something strange. She had an idea. She pulled out a small notebook she keeps in her pocket and begins sketching out something, a graffiti-inspired design with her own little twist put in it. She sketches the final line of the rough design and takes a deep breath.
"That looks amazing Shiki," says Neku. Shiki jumps as she remembers that she's not alone.
"Ah! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to ignore you!" Neku just laughs though
"It's alright, you're cute when you focus on something you like." Shiki's face turns slightly red at this, but she manages to smile and laugh it off.
"Thanks, Neku. . . for that, and for bringing me here too."
