The Rising Sun

Shiki walked into the hospital, not quite knowing what to expect. After she'd found out Neku had died and was in the Game again—when he hadn't shown up to their shopping date like he was supposed to—she had imagined that when he came back (and she hadn't allowed herself to think "if" he came back), Neku would be in the hospital, since Shiki hadn't imagined he'd come back from a fourth Game completely unscathed for some reason (though she'd hoped he would).

But Neku had come back perfectly fine, and it was Beat who was in the hospitalized. After Beat had watched Neku die again, he'd just become... lifeless. And had had to be admitted, as he hadn't been eating and drinking on his own.

But now that Neku was back, Shiki was praying that seeing him would give Beat the will to trust in this life again.

So, Shiki was walking to Beat's room now, with Neku right behind her—past the far too white walls, and the smell of bleach when a janitor walked by—so she could prepare Beat for Neku's visit. Since they didn't want the poor guy having a heart attack in seeing Neku so out of the blue, even though it was a miracle.

Shiki was at Beat's room now; and she saw him in bed, sitting up to eat—which was certainly a good thing—and he smiled slightly when he saw her. "Yo, Shik. Thanks for stoppin' by. I ate half a burger today, an' the doc said I can go home if I keep it up. Ain't that great?"

"Beat," Shiki started, for some reason awkwardly teetering on her feet here, and once again becoming the unconfident girl that Neku had had to speak some hard truths into during Week One. "Neku's alive. And he's right behind me, actually, and going to come in to see you right now! And Rhyme told me to tell you she'll be here as soon as she gets out of school!"

And needing no further introduction than that, Neku walked into room three-oh-four and waved at him. "Hey, man... I'm sorry for having scared you like that. Another girl, a bit like Josh, annoyingly needed me to play the Game again, if you can believe it. But I made sure that I'd win again… and I'm back."

And not even caring about all the countless things he was connected to, Beat ripped all of the electronic cords off of himself and ran to Neku. And the skateboarder threw his arms around his best friend's shoulders and sobbed.

Shiki saw outside the window then, that the sun was now rising high into the sky… and she hoped that such a thing would be indicative of Beat's life now. But she was sure that it would be.

…

Later—after Beat had been released from the hospital that day, when the doctors had seen the light return to his eyes—Shiki and Neku decided to get some hospital food before leaving themselves. And as they were there eating the worst food that the two of them somehow liked, they had the following conversation.

"I'm glad Beat's okay now, Neku. Besides Rhyme… I get the sense that you're one of the only good things in his life. So, I can understand why losing you took such a toll on him, when he saw you shot like that… But do you think I should have behaved in such a way?"

And to say that Neku gave Shiki a look, at that self-loathing comment of hers, as he stabbed a few French fries into his ketchup, would have been an understatement. "Don't be dumb, Stalker. The last thing I would have needed, was both of my best friends dying here while I was trying not to die in the UG. You stayed alive, and helped Beat do the same, and that's exactly what I would have wanted from you. It's even what I hoped you'd be doing last time, before those assholes decided to use you as my Entry Fee."

And it was ridiculous that such a compliment from Neku—that was really just stating facts, and Neku having just wanted one of his friends to keep it together some, since even Rhyme had slightly fallen apart—could render Shiki into a blushing and stammering mess. But it did.

So—trying to hide behind her chicken wrap, while she still flushed—Shiki just said, "Th-thanks, Neku," before trying to dip said sandwich in some Ranch Dressing, when she deemed it was safe to look at him again.

"Of course, Shiki." And here, Neku reached across the table and took Shiki's hand in his own… or she had thought he was trying to do that, anyway, but instead it seemed he was trying to give her his own thing of Ranch, since she was having trouble opening her own. It was still sweet, either way. "But if you really think you should do something for me, for not having sobbed at my absence… after we go to the movies with Beat and Rhyme—and maybe even Josh, if I can get him to take his head out of his ass for five seconds—"…I wouldn't mind finally going on our shopping date."

And it was at this point, that Neku seemed to admit the Ranch thing had just been a ruse to hold her hand, as he threw the condiment away from them and just laid his hand atop hers.

And Shiki closed her eyes in bliss and tried not to cry, as the months without Neku finally started to hit her hard. How glad she was, that they were finally over.

"I'll do you one better than that. I'll take you to a store that's going to sell some of Eri and my designs now… you missed some things while you were gone, Neku."

And one of those things, was how bold she now was when he was a constant presence in her life. She wasn't afraid of trying to follow her dreams anymore, and it was all because of his belief in her.

And while Shiki would later tell Eri, it could have been either of them that stood up in their seat and lightly kissed the other on the lips just then… it was Shiki having done that to Neku, as he whispered a new sweet nickname against her chin "Chic".