Chapter One

Neku had never actually thought he'd fall for anyone.

See? Neku had some sort of disability where he saw everyone by their hair colors and not by their eyes: the window to the soul or whatever. But even then… he'd never really been moved by anyone's hairstyles.

Neku maybe had been by his brother Joshua's doll that had rainbow dreads. But that was the thing: it was a doll. And no one would ever really have hair like that, Neku thought, so how was he supposed to connect to anyone.

And he went most of his life thinking that he never would… until he met her. Shiki Misaki.

Though it certainly wasn't love at first sight.

Shiki had been listening to some crap that combined "Sugar, We're Going Down Swinging" and "Kung-Fu Fighting", and Neku had wanted to push her out a window for it.

It was at school that Neku ended up meeting Shiki—university, to be exact—and, yeah. That was her name. For whatever reason, their professor decided to treat them like they were kindergarteners, and have them do show-and-tell on their first day of class, to try and get to know each other, since Mr. H thought that technology was keeping people from connecting or some shit.

And, for the most part, Neku respected Mr. H (he also appreciated that the man let them call him "Mr.", as opposed to "Prof", proving he wasn't ridiculously arrogant like every other professor in the world), but Neku thought he was whack for having come up with this.

Anyway… Shiki did her show and tell… which was when she was showed off her new favorite song, that Neku hated it. But her saving grace, was that she had the sickest pair of headphones that Neku had ever had the pleasure of seeing. Even better than his own pair.

They were clearly made my CAT (and he wondered if this made her rich), which instantly made Neku jealous. And if he were a lesser person, he would have been thinking about stealing them from her. But instead, he thought about becoming her acquaintance, so she could let him borrow them. Not friend, because friends were for losers, but maybe he could do acquaintances. Maybe.

So, Neku—shocking even himself—went up to one Shiki Misaki that day. He sat down next to her when she was getting lunch, and pointed out her headphones with a fork while he ate his lasagna. "Those headphones are tight," he said, hating how much he sounded like some wanna be YouTube trend setter, as he tried to get into Shiki's good graces, but seeing no other way to go about doing this, either. "Periwinkle is always a good choice. And I dig the crown on the one side of them, too."

Shiki blinked at Neku a few times, as if he hadn't spoken in a language she knew at all, but then she seemed to find her voice. She smiled at Neku and extended a hand his way. "That's so nice of you to say. I'm Shiki Misaki, by the way… But I'm sure you already know that. And I've seen you look up headphones for some projects we've had to go to the computer lab for, in other classes we've had together.

"…Neku, what are you giving me that look for? We have had other classes together before this. Did you not notice? …Maybe you didn't," Shiki quickly figured out, as Neku glared at her. And he sort of felt like a dick for being mean to her—and having the poor girl feel so self-conscious—just because he'd been unobservant for a change, but it was better than making himself feel bad, wasn't it? So, what was he to do?"

"Anyway," Shiki continued on where she'd left off, as if nothing had happened. Bless her. Neku might not have been cut out for this acquaintance thing, either, but it was clear that she was. And now maybe it would be smooth sailing in getting her to let him borrow her phones… "I guess it makes sense that this would be the thing to finally bridge the gap between us, Neku! I'm glad!"

This Shiki girl was so… cheerful. So bright. And saying so many words, that despite how he'd been feeling literally just a second ago, it was almost becoming too much for Neku. He blamed his sensory issues on it, he really did.

He was even about to pull his chair away from her, thinking that this was all too much, when she began speaking once more, with a hand to her lips, "If you don't mind me saying… you have some sort of learning disability, don't you, Neku?"

"Yes," Neku snarled, resisting the urge to hit her here. "What's it to you?! Don't you know that no one in the twenty-first century gets away with saying that shit to people? And here I thought you were nice. I guess no one is. Huh."

"It's just," Shiki replied, reaching out to put a gentle hand on Neku's arm, that was too soft for her own good and made him want to stay. He blamed the grape flavored moisturizer she must have been using, that he could smell all over her now, as he reluctantly decided to give her another chance. Neku just liked purple things, alright? And maybe he was a tiny bit touch starved. "It's just that I sort of see the world in muted colors, too. But it's different for me. You know that this is a rich town, right Neku? Well... one of my ancestors was a robber, and he stole so much money from the wealthy here, that it isn't even funny. And somehow, that's still public knowledge and everyone blames and hates me for it. I try not to let it bother me, but it's hard sometimes. Y'know?"

"...I'm sorry, Shiki, that sounds rough," Neku told her, while he removed her hand from his arm. Because even if he was trying to be sympathetic here, he didn't want her to get the wrong idea here. There would be no happy ending for him and a girl—or boy—ever. He was too fucked up for that.

Also, Neku had to wonder if he'd entirely meant what he said to Shiki. There was a heartless part of him that wanted to agree with everyone's idea, that if Shiki had such a family… then maybe she should bear the sins of her fathers, because perhaps the apple didn't fall far from the tree.

But then Neku hated himself for that, and found that he'd really meant the sentiment he'd just told to Shiki here, since people always seemed to think the worst of him for some reason, so he got what she was going through somewhat, maybe.

"Really?" Shiki asked, looking deeply into his eyes, the brave girl. Didn't she know that he had a reputation for being a jerk because of his condition, even though he tried not to be?

And Neku didn't consciously think it at the time. But later, he would look back and remember how beautiful her brown eyes had been in that moment, as chocolate had gotten lost in ice. "Don't take this the wrong way, Neku… but you always seem so… cold to classmates. You respond to classes eagerly enough, but I guess I never thought you'd be talking to me like this. Or offering me a leg up. So, thank you. Truly!"

"Don't mention it, girly" Neku told her, hiding behind his shirt collar, because things were getting a little heavy and serious here and Neku was embarrassed, despite himself (though no one would ever know), and he didn't know how to feel about it.

And it dawned on him again, that he'd started this whole conversation with Shiki for her headphones, and he wasn't even entirely sure if she was going to let him borrow them. And he really didn't have anything to add here, if she wasn't. Neku wasn't exactly loquacious, after all. So probably best to end this now before Shiki expected anymore of him.

"Anyway, see you," Neku said suddenly, getting up, and not giving Shiki anymore reason sudden desire to vacate the premises as fast as humanly possible than that.

It was for the best, he knew.

After all… someone out there was probably better suited for befriending a tragic girl like her, but it certainly wasn't him. Neku knew it well.

And a dumb part of him that had no right to be wishing or hoping wanted the gal with bad luck with her family to find some happiness somewhere, whatever that was worth.

Author's Note: Truthfully, I did not start this for Shiki's birthday. I started this a while ago, as some epic NeShiki AU I'm trying to write (though it was supposed to just be a long oneshot). But I didn't really like what I wrote for Shiki's birthday, so I guess I'll upload this for it and just have it be a story that's a few chapters long. -shrugs-

I hope you all like it:)