31 - Vignette- Reaper's Game - Week 1 - Day 4
The Shopping Trip
She feels kind of glad to tell Neku what her dream is. He doesn't roll his eyes sceptically like she expects him to; if she's not imagining things, he even looks slightly impressed, no matter how he tries to hide it.
Holding back a giggle, she moves around the shop, practised eyes scanning over the clothes rack, instantly noting what outfits would look best on her.
It then hits her while she's passing around a corner where a tall mirror stands. It's not her own reflection she sees, of course. It's Eri's.
Her smile falters - is there any point looking anymore? Everything looks good on Eri, she can just pick a random item from the shelf and it's sure to suit her -
She finds herself somehow tripping and heading straight for the floor. To her utmost surprise, she sees Neku move towards her to catch her by her shoulders, holding her up.
"O-oh. Thanks Neku," she says immediately, taken aback that he could even bother to help her.
His eyes show no concern, just annoyance though, and she bites her lip. She should have kept her mouth shut.
But is he not glaring at her? He seems to be aiming his gaze behind her.
She turns around to see that two teenage boys were sweating buckets, caught like deer in the headlights under his cold expression. They gulp and then exit the store quickly, without another glance back.
"What...just happened?" she questions out loud.
Neku shakes his head at her.
She looks between the door and then back at Neku. "C'mon, why did you chase them off?"
He gives her what she recognises as his 'are you stupid?' look.
"Seriously. For once could you just tell me? It's not like I can read minds." She pauses. "Well, I can, but I can't read your mind so..."
He turns his back on her and she is ready to believe that it's the end of the conversation when he speaks again, "You need to be more careful. They were the ones who tripped you up."
"Oh..." But why? She's in Eri's body, why would those boys want to -
"You should wear a longer skirt."
Ah. Alright. She gets it now. They wanted to get a glimpse up her skirt. She doesn't usually wear such short skirts so she didn't think about that.
She doesn't take his advice, because frankly, it's easy to move around in battle. And it looks cute.
She just hopes that his act of consideration is because he holds some decency, and not that he just noticed the other two because he's been doing the same.
Shiki believes the former because she wants to have a better opinion of Neku. She wants to trust him.
Trust your Partner, right?
A/N: Tadaaa :D It's update time! Hehe, I was going to title this 'Short Skirts' but the title 'The Shopping Trip' popped up and it's a pun. So of course I went with that. xD
I've been very inspired this week because of all the wonderful Neshiki fics that have been springing up. There's 'Tissues, Popcorn, and Chocolates' by Coolgal342, 'written on his hands' by shikiku and 'Texting and Holding Hands' by I'll Break Your Heart. They're all very good reads and you should all go read/review 'em. They make my Neshiki soul very happy.
Oh, and reviews on this fic itself make me happy too ;D Have awesome days everyone!
- Dina (9/8/2013)
