(Sign, Cosign, TANGENT!)
Neku gave an audible groan as he stepped into his math class. Standing at the teacher's desk was the math man himself, Sho Minamoto. (Great. First the Iron Maiden and now the Grim Heaper. As if I didn't have enough problems with my life.)
"Everyone, sit down!" Minamoto shouted. Neku looked around the room, his eyes landing on Rhyme who discretely waved him over. Neku slinked in and sat next to Rhyme as Minamoto looked over his notes with clenched teeth and narrow eyes, "Useless garbage!" He tossed the notes away and slammed his hands down on his desk. "That goes for every one of you hectosites!" (Hectosites?)
"Hecto is one one-hundredth of a decimal-" Neku started.
"-and I'm guessing he was using the ending of parasite." Rhyme finished with a sigh. "It's the only word that makes sense if he wants to cut us down." (Yeah…makes sense with his moon sized ego.)
"Listen up! The world you live in is garbage! The same can be said of you unworthy lower lifeforms! Luckily, I am state obligated to teach you my knowledge! So pay attention, unless you want to be added to the heap. CRUNCH!" (Yeah, you're coming across as a stellar teacher you psychopath.) "But to keep up with me, I'll have to break that useless brain of yours! Let's start off with simple trigonometric equations, making sure to write out the full answer down to the last decimal…and no calculators. (You want us to turn back time while we're at it!?)
The bells ring made everyone in the math class give a relieved sigh as the lesson came to an end. Neku looked down at the work he had put into the hand out and was both disappointed and relieved that he had not even made it past the first problem. (Like I even had a chance.)
"Neku," Rhyme said, getting his attention, "Is our teacher insane?"
"Yes." Neku replied almost as quickly as she asked. (Too demented for any asylum to handle at the least.)
"My genius is just too much for your insufficient mental capabilities to handle." Minamoto answered, walking up to the two students. (Sure, let's go with that.) "Doesn't matter anyway, I'll be out of here before any of you can come close to my genius."
"Yeah, somehow I doubt that. Considering you have tenure." Neku retorted.
"Tenure means nothing. I'll add it to the heap! CRUNCH!"
"You've been ejected from the Reapers. There's nothing you can do." Minamoto chuckled.
"That doesn't mean anything. If the outcome is not possible, I just have to change the formula." (Then it seems you've substitute reaper powers for blind denial.) "Now if you'll excuse me, it's lunch time. My genius needs to be fed!" Minamoto strolled out of the room confidently, leaving Neku and Rhyme at their desks.
"He's a weird man." Rhyme commented.
"You said it earlier. He's not weird, he's INSANE."
Neku and Rhyme made their way to the cafeteria, passing by a few different rooms and seeing kids with normal teachers. (Lucky.) The cafeteria was filled with different second year students all enjoying their food and friends. Neku looked around and eventually found Joshua, Shiki, Eri and Beat all sitting together at a table close to the exit of the cafeteria's serving area. The duo moved over to the group and Joshua was the first to give them a short wave.
"Nice of you two to show up. Enjoy your math class?"
"Yeah, I had a blast. It's fun being tested by a guy who makes sculptures of junk in his off time." Neku returned sarcastically.
"Junk?" Shiki asked.
"Well, everyone should have a hobby." Joshua replied with a smirk. (Ass.)
"Trash…" Beat said scratching his head before yelping, "You mean you ran into Grim Heaper!?"
"Yep." Neku replied. "Just as full of himself as always."
"You know that teacher too?" Eri asked and everyone but Joshua clammed up. (Crap that's right. She has no clue about the Reapers game.) Joshua just shot Neku a smile that said, 'Honestly, how could you forget about that?'
"We met them during the summer. Ran into them while picking up school supplies." Neku quickly came up with.
"R-Right!" Shiki added with a nervous smile. (Come on Shiki don't flatter. I need confidence for this lie to work.) Eri shrugged before turning to Neku.
"So Neku…would you like to go grab lunch with me? I hear it's supposed to be pretty good." (Good cafeteria food?)
"That sounds unlikely." Neku said.
"That's what I said but other students vouch for it. Want to find out together?" (…I am hungry.)
"Sure." Eri's smile just got bigger at his agreement. With a quick rise and swoop, Eri grabbed Neku's arm and dragged him over to the back of the line. (Gah! Little miss fashion has a strong grip!)
Shiki felt slightly fidgety as she watched Eri drag Neku towards the lunch line. She didn't like the feeling of watching the boy she liked be dragged away from her by her best friend.
"Feeling left out?" Joshua asked in his usual condescending tone.
"Kind of…" Shiki replied, only paying half attention.
"Seems like you're a bit jealous." That caught her attention.
"N-No! I just…I'm just curious about the food too."
"Sure you are. Enjoy standing on the sidelines at their wedding." (Wedding!?) Shiki's eyes darted back to Eri and Neku and she felt her anxiety shoot up at the ideas swirling in her head.
"…I think I'll go grab lunch too."
"You do that Shiki." Joshua replied as she rushed over to the pair in the line.
Neku, Shiki and Eri entered the pick-up area and Neku came to a quick stop at the hulking figure that was handing out todays lunch. (…Somehow, the third time around doesn't pack as much of a punch.)
"Neku." Shiki whispered. "Is that who I think it is?" Neku looked down the figure to find a ram belt buckle around his waist. (Only one person has a ram on his crotch.)
"Higashizawa." The bulky mass of man looked down at the two of them and grunted.
"Children."
"What's on the menu?" Eri cut in.
"…Sushi rolls with a rice side dish and green tea." (Sounds too fancy for a school budget to allow.)
"Fancy!" Eri replied. Higashizawa just stared at her for a moment before handing her a tray of food, "Thank you." He turned back to Neku and Shiki.
"…Tenure?" Neku asked and Higashizawa nodded. (Originality must be dead.) He simply handed them their food and brushed them forward so he could serve the next people in line.
"This looks absolutely amazing!" Eri commented on her platter, "He must know presentation and cooking really well." Shiki shivered at this comment and Neku pat her shoulder sympathetically.
Once they sat down, Eri bit into her meal and gave a small squeal. She practically started wolfing down her meal with enthusiasm after that.
"It's delicious!" Neku took a small bite. (Not bad.)
"Woah!" Shiki said in appreciation.
"It's like a party in my mouth!" Beat yelled, his plate almost empty. Neku set his spork down and looked over at Joshua who seemed content to watch everyone enjoy their meals.
"Joshua." Neku said making Joshua turn to face him.
"One moment Neku. Eri?" Eri set down her food to turn to Joshua, "Would you be a dear and fetch me a bottle of water from the vending machine in the hallway?" Joshua pulled out a yen bill along with a photograph, "I'll even throw in this if you do this." Neku squinted to get a better look at the photo and was shocked to find it was one of his baby pictures.
"Where did you get that you freak of nature!?" Joshua just chuckled.
"You really should take better care of your photo albums. Keeping them in a dusty closet just doesn't do them justice."
"Deal!" Eri yelled swiping the bill and photo from Joshua before rushing out of the cafeteria. (God damn stalker!)
"Don't give me that look Neku. You wanted us to talk. I just used the proper means to give us privacy from prying ears." (That doesn't mean I'm happy about the methods used.) "Besides, that was just one of the copies. Not the original."
"You made copies!?"
"Man, sucks to be Phones right now." Beat said chuckling.
"Don't make Joshua mad Beat." Rhyme said. Meanwhile, Shiki moved in to sit next to Joshua.
"You have copies?"
"We'll talk business later Shiki."
"You will not!" Neku yelled.
"Your questions Neku?" Joshua asked with a smile. Neku just growled before calming down. (Right, can't lose focus…despite the humiliation.)
"Why are the game masters at our school?"
"Punishment."
"Shouldn't they be on ice?" Beat asked.
"Under normal circumstance. But considering the nature of what they were up to under Megumi's authority, I decided on an alternative. A rather fitting one if I do say so myself."
"Even Higashizawa?" Shiki asked.
"Trust me, that chef had his hands in more pots than he should have." (Given his underhanded tactics in the game, I can agree with that.)
"…Is that the only reason?" Neku asked, sure of Joshua having an ulterior motive. Joshua just replied with a cheeky smile. "Fine. Don't tell me. I'll find out eventually."
"Find out what?" Eri's voice cut in making Neku jump.
"Nothing." Neku replied. Eri just shrugged before sitting back at her seat.
The lunch period continued on in mostly silence. Shiki and Eri both talked about various trends as Beat wolfed into his food as Rhyme went over her some of her notes. Neku quietly enjoyed his meal and kept his eye to the side, watching as Eri scooted closer to him every few seconds until she was only a few centimeters from being squished up against him. (Two words. Personal. Space.)
"Hey you!" A voice yelled behind Neku. Neku turned to see a group of male students looking down at him. The one addressing him had blonde hair slicked back and dark blue eyes that looked down at him, trying to intimidate Neku. (I've gotten that look too many times from teachers for it to be effective.)
"What?" Neku replied bluntly.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Eating my lunch." The boy responded by knocking Neku's tray to the ground. (Yep. Of course, this is happening.)
"You don't seem to understand how things work around here." (Then please enlighten me, future janitor.) "See, I'm the top dog. And the top dog doesn't like it when the top woman is hanging out with the mutt of the school." Neku looked over at Eri who just chuckled nervously.
"Are you seriously upset because Eri is hanging out with us?"
"Seems more like she's extending a branch of pity."
"SHE came to US." (Ugh, why am I trying to play logically with this meat head?)
"Why don't you and your reject crew just beat it."
"Someone call for me!?" Beat said rolling up his uniform sleeves before Rhyme quickly interjected to stop him.
"Just back off dude." Neku said keeping his tone as monotone as he could. "I'm sure you don't want a fight either."
"Like I care. My father will just make it seem like it's you and your group who were at fault…ladies excluded of course." Shiki scowled at that line. (Great. Trust-fund daddies boy…wait, then I might be able to catch him in a loophole.)
"Alright, then how about we play a game for Eri?" Neku could feel Joshua's coy smile curl even more at the way he was talking. "In fact, it's one you probably know since you live here." Neku reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of pins. The boy started laughing.
"Tin-Pin Slammers!? What a child's game!" His cohorts joined him in laughing.
"Guess you're just scared then." That stopped his laugh dead.
"I'll take you on. Nobody can beat me." (We'll see about that you prideful bastard.) The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a dusty Tin-Pin Golem Pin.
"My dad got this for me. Said it was the best pin on the matter." (Like that ever stopped me from whooping someone with my set.)
"Alright, one pin match. First person knocked out losses. You lose, you leave Eri alone about who she hangs out with."
"And if I win?"
"We leave her alone for the rest of the school year. Vacations included." The stuck up boy just gave a toothy grin. (That's right, take the bait.)
"Get ready to lose loser." (Not on your life!)
"Slam On!" Neku sent out Shockwave, sending it flying at Golem. The boy sneered before launching his pin directly at Shockwave. Neku quickly spun his pin to the side to avoid the oncoming hit. (Thanks for taking the bait.) With a swift action, Neku activated stinger and slammed into the Golem Pin.
"Wah-!" The boy was visibly surprised by this move as Neku gave a small smirk and slammed his pin off the board. Hand activated, flicking the Golem pin back onto the table. The boy growled before he activated Hammer and swung it at Neku's pin who attempted to weave out of range, only to be struck by the attack. (Damn!) Golem slammed into Shockwave, sending it flying off the board only to be brought back by hand. The boy recklessly moved in to slam Shockwave off as it landed back on the field only to be met by Neku activating Bomber and putting up a shield that Golem ran into, stunning it.
"Nice try." Neku threw out making the boy go wide-eyed as Shockwave slammed against the pin, sending it off the board and clattering to the cafeteria floor.
"That's game!" Neku yelled confidently. The boy looked completely shocked at this turn of events.
"You cheated!" He yelled, finally coming back to his senses. "That was the best pin in the game. How could you beat me!?"
"Because I understand the game better than you. I know how to play with more than just brute force, which I'm guessing you were planning on using the whole time." The boy just continued to glare at Neku. "Now, you lost. We're done here. Or do you want dear daddy to find out you went crying to him because you lost a game?" The boy clenched his fists, knowing he had no way to retaliate.
"…You haven't seen the last of Hokori Yama. We will face off again Neku Sakuraba." With those final words in the air, he walked off with his cohorts in tow. Shiki's face went pensive as she thought about him.
"Yama…where have I heard that name before?"
"The Yama family." Joshua said catching the groups attention. "One of the major contenders in the bid to rule the economic structure of Shibuya. I'm sure all of you know their branding tag, 'As strong as a bull and as sturdy as a mountain'." (Bull…wait-)
"They're the ones behind the D+B brand!?" Neku said in shock and Joshua smiled. (So much for my respect for that brand.)
"Damn, who knew there was an evil root in fashion." Beat said.
"Ask literally ANYONE who works for a company and you'll find that out." Neku said. He turned to look down at his lunch which was spread out on the lunchroom floor and sighed. (So much for lunch.) Picking up on this. Shiki looked down at her own food and scooched closer to Neku's right side.
"Hey Neku…" Neku turned to look at Shiki who's cheeks were slightly pink, "I-If you want…I can share some of my lunch." Eri quickly slid onto Neku's left side almost crashing into him in the process.
"Oh! I don't mind sharing too!" She held up a small scoop of rice to Neku, "Say ah!" Shiki panicked, stabbing into a bite of sushi and holding it to Neku.
"Here, eat this." (What am I, a baby bird!?) They both inched closer, making Neku lean back before he fell from his seat and collided with the floor. Beat gave a laugh as Joshua snickered and Rhyme giggled. "Neku! I'll help you up!"
"Me too." (Back off! I don't need to be thrown out a window too!)
As Neku's free period came around after lunch he saw his friends off to their respective classes. The only person who didn't go anywhere was Beat, who seemed content to loiter in the cafeteria.
"You got a class?" Neku asked.
"Nope, this is Beat time." He replied putting his feat in the table.
"So were you serious about being a boarder?" This seem to rattle Beat.
"Well…Iunno. When I told Rhyme that, it was just the first thing that jumped into my head. I figured I might as well stick with it and see where it goes." (That's not a very smart way to live your life…but that is very Beat.)
"I don't have room to judge anyway. Just make sure you know what you're getting into." Beat gave him a confident grin.
"Don't sweat it man! I know what I'm doin!" (I doubt that but I know you can come out of any hole you dig yourself.) Neku smiled back.
"Yeah, I know." They gave a quick fist bump before Neku noticed a shadow quickly pass by the entrance to the cafeteria. Neku rose from his seat and moved to the doorway, finding a grey feather left where he saw the figure. Neku looked down each side, noticing the shadowy figure make a turn down another hallway. (Who is skulking around the school?) He rushed to catch up and when he turned the corner it noticed Neku and started to run. (You're not losing me that easily!) Neku broke into a run and made every turn the shadow took in an attempt to keep up with the strange figure. On the next turn, Neku was met with a split in the hall. (Damn, which way did they go?)
"Ah!" A girlish scream had Neku move down the left hallway to see the figure on the ground, trying to get back up with a small girl sitting nearby with her books sprawled out. Neku moved in and helped the girl back up, surprised to find she was much shorter than he expected for someone in high school. (Is she a middle schooler?) She wore the school uniform but stood about five inches shorter than Neku. Her hair was a dark brown tied into a low ponytail that went down her back. Her eyes were a soft light green that seemed to match her soft expression.
"You okay?" Neku asked and she nodded.
"Th-Thank you. Who was that?" (Good question.) Neku moved over to the figure and pulled the cloak back, finding only the floor under it. (Damn, they must have gotten away while I was helping her.)
"They're gone."
"S-Sorry."
"Don't sweat it. Are you hurt?" She eyed herself for a moment before shaking her head.
"No, I'm fine. Oh, my name is Nina Giman by the way. I think we have homeroom together." (I vaguely remember that name.) "You're…Neku right?"
"Yeah." An akward silence hung in the air as Nina tried to find the words to say.
"Anyway…I'll see you later." She quickly gathered up her things and scurried off. (Must be shy.) Neku looked back at where he had thrown the cloak and found it had disappeared as well. (And there goes any evidence they were here. Wait…) Neku reached into his blazer pocket and found the feather he had picked up. (Guess they couldn't collect everything. I'll have to show this to Joshua later.) Putting the feather back into his pocket, he made his way back to the cafeteria to enjoy the rest of his free period. Slightly regretting the fact that he was eager to show Joshua what he had found.