67 - Vignette- Post-Game
xxxxx
Results Day
Sometimes, Neku wondered what the Japanese Ministry of Education was thinking. Why would he be thinking about something like that? Well, it was because of –
"Yes! Yes! Sumire-chan, look, I'm in."
"No…no way…my name's not there."
"Wow! Kogure-kun, your name is in the top ten!"
that.
Whose bright idea was it to post the results to high school entrance exams up on a public board? Wouldn't it be easier to post it online or send out an e-mail? Neku found it a pain because he had to go to the high school he applied for just to see the results. Not to mention how crowded it was; he was tempted push some people out of the way to get to the board.
Maybe a few months ago, he really would have pushed the others away, but he was a lot more tolerant now.
So he waited for the group of people in front of him to leave; some of them left with their mouths upturned in smiles and others looking dejected and downcast. He made to move into the space quickly before anyone else could take it up, but he hadn't been the only one with that idea.
"Oof!" Looks like he just crashed into someone.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, are you oka – Neku?"
Huh? "Shiki?"
"What are you doing here?" she asked him.
"What else would I be doing here?" he said. He pointed to the board behind them. "I applied for the high school here."
Shiki smiled sheepishly. "Right. That was a stupid question."
Ack, did he make her feel bad? "Sorry, didn't mean to snap at you. I might be a little worn out from standing around here too long."
"That's alright. You didn't tell me you were applying here, though."
"I don't think you asked."
"True. How come you applied to this high school?"
"I wanted to go to high school near Shibuya. Guess you did, too?"
"That…and the girls' high school uniform is super cute!"
Neku sighed – should've known.
…
…Was it him or was Shiki staring at him?"
"You know," said Shiki, eyes twinkling, "you look pretty good in your uniform."
How was he supposed to respond to that? He was just wearing a gakuran. He didn't think he looked especially nice in it. But Shiki never lied about clothes so…
Damn it, he hoped he wasn't blushing or something stupid like that. He turned his head away, running a hand through his spikes.
Glancing over at Shiki, he realised that this might be the first time he'd seen her in her school uniform. Her middle school had a white sailor-styled uniform with a black collar and ribbon. She looked pretty cute.
Er, was he supposed to tell her that? Would it be too weird? Shiki could naturally complement people, but he was useless at saying things like that.
Before he could decide, his ears picked up on something two people behind them were saying.
"Argh, I hate waiting."
"Don't be such a grouch. Hey, we could be going to the same high school together! Aren't you glad you get to stay with your dear boyfriend for another three years?"
"Sure, sure, whatever you say, Kei."
"Aww, can't you be more loving. Look at the couple over there! Can't you look at me with lovey-dovey eyes too?"
"You mean the girl wearing glasses and the orange haired guy?"
"Yes!" Sigh. "Must be nice to have a sweet girlfriend."
"I could just dump you."
"Nuuuu! Don't leave me Ren!"
"I won't if you buy me chocolates."
Now Neku's face did turn red. Did he and Shiki really look like a couple? He hoped Shiki hadn't heard them – oh her face was red too. She definitely heard them.
"A-anyway. We should look for our numbers."
"Y-yeah."
It didn't take him long to fine his number, though when he saw it he did still let out a breath or relief. "I'm in. What about you Shiki?"
She didn't respond, causing him to turn to her. She was gaping at the board, frozen. Uh-oh, did she not make it?
"Shiki, I –"
"I made it!" She exclaimed suddenly, flinging her arms around Neku's neck. "I did it! I did it! I did it! We get to go to high school together."
He couldn't help but grin too; her joy was contagious. He hugged her back wordlessly.
When she pulled away, Neku noticed that there were tears threatening to spill out of the corners of her eyes. Despite her cheerfulness earlier, she must have been really nervous about the results.
"Okay, okay, congratz." It was the girl from the couple Neku had overheard. "Now will you please move?"
"Don't mind her! She's just grumpy 'cause she's hungry," her boyfriend cut in, to which she glared at him for. "Yeah, anyway, maybe couples have good luck today, so hopefully we'll both see you next spring."
Ah, no, wait, he was misunderstanding…that hug wasn't –
"Thank you! Good luck!" Shiki said.
Oh well, Neku guessed it didn't really matter.
Shiki hummed as they walked out of the school gates. "I've got to call Eri and tell her."
Eri? "Actually, how come Eri didn't apply here with you?" Neku thought they were inseparable.
"Mm. At first I wanted to apply to the same school Eri did, but I thought I would try and spread my wings a bit and try to not rely on her too much," she said. "I was kind of apprehensive about going to a school without her but it turns out I've got you, so there's nothing to worry about."
"I – you - r-right."
"Hey, I'll call Eri now but we should head to straight to Hachiko after this and give Beat and Rhyme the news," she suggested. "Hehe, bet Beat will be in shock that the two of us are going to go to the same high school."
"…"
"Neku?"
What was it with him and being unable to speak coherently to Shiki? It was like something had got caught in his throat. Perhaps it was the prospect of going to the same high school with a friend. He would have cared about it before, but now he was just as happy about it as she was.
He should probably express his feelings to her, he didn't want her to get the idea that he wasn't pleased about it.
"I'm…" he started very quietly, "happy that we'll get to be together."
"M-me too."
Great, now he had made her feel embarrassed, her blush betraying her.
She turned around and picked up the pace. "A-aside from that," she began to ramble, "I'll get to wear a blazer! I can't wait to wear our new uniform. I need to make sure I get the right size, or I'll have to turn up on the first day without wearing it. Which would be a real shame because it would look super cute. I mean, not specifically on me but the uniform itself is cute."
There she went again, downgrading herself. "You already look cute in your uniform," he protested, not liking when she did that.
"Oh um…thank you."
"Ah…I…you're welcome."
They walked the rest of the way to Hachiko in silence, and when they got there the first thing Beat asked them was both if they had fevers since their faces were so red.
A/N: Tadaa! Now the response is either 'boos' or cricket noises, depending on if anyone will still read this collection. I have been putting fanfiction on hold for about half a year now…I could give you guys more excuses but nevermind, the point is that I am back and shall attempt to update more frequently. I didn't realise how much I missed writing these two until I write this chapter. Gosh, they are still my OTP ;-;
Thanks to Xerzo LotCN, B.A.G-GOMEZ, Fireminer, Crow's Gamble, foggraven, ElementLegend, Trajectory of Simplicity, I'll Break Your Heart for their reviews on the previous chapters!
And thanks to Anakin Rose the Hedgehog for what I think was a prompt. I'll work on that soon! Speaking of prompts, cutekitty5597 said something questioning Japan's results day system, and I got inspired to do this chapter, so thanks to her too.
- Dina (27 February 2015]
