74 - Vignette - Post-Game [Final Remix]

xxxxx

Shelter

It wasn't always obvious and Neku didn't like to admit how long it took for him to catch on.

Plenty of things went by unnoticed at first.

Shiki would clutch onto the sleeve of his arm before crossing a road. A car would zoom by a few moments later, running the red light and causing the pedestrians to curse under their breaths. On another occasion, she left him a note on the dining table, 'make sure to stop by Beat's before coming home today' scribbled messily on it, the 'sure' underlined three times. He took the note's advice, ended up staying a little longer at Beat's place since Rhyme turned up to visit. When he came home that day, he passed by red and blue sirens and an ambulance. There had been a theft in the area and the victim had been roughly shaken down.

Those were only two of the many instances where Shiki had said or done something to prevent him from coming in close contact with potential disaster. He had always chalked it up to keen observation, or even coincidence.

Until now.

"Trust me, Neku, I don't think we should go to Akihabara today," Shiki was insisting.

They were standing in their flat, Neku was just about to put on his shoes to leave when she stopped him.

It didn't make sense; she was all for going there just a few days ago. Hell, she was the one who wanted to check something out there in the first place.

"Why?" This was Neku repeating his question – Shiki seemed so hesitant to answer him and he couldn't figure out why.

"I have a bad feeling about it."

The way she played with her hands, fingers interlocking together, nails digging into the back of her hand, leaving faint half-moons. She was a lot tenser about this than he had initially thought.

He took her hands into his, rubbing his thumb gently in circles. She slowly loosened the tight grip she was holding.

"I think there might be a Game going on in their UG this week," she murmured.

"You think – you what?" He didn't release her hands, not wanting to seem overly surprised. Though he was surprised. "How can you tell?"

"I don't know exactly but I have a similar feeling to when…you know, just before you went away," her voice grew even quieter.

That wasn't a moment either of them loved remembering. For both, that was the last moment that they spoke to each other, for a painfully long period of time.

"That bad?"

"No," she shook her head. "It's definitely not as bad but it's the same sensation."

It was also the same look.

One that he hadn't been able to discern the true meaning of before. The look she got before giving her small warnings. He realised now that she must have been masking some of it beforehand because the fear behind those eyes was palpable.

He looked down at their hands – when had she moved them? Right now, she was the one clasping onto his hands.

Don't leave again.

She didn't have to say it but he heard her loud and clear.

"Can you always tell? When something bad might happen?"

"Usually," she said, "but I can always sense it more when it comes to you."

He felt a coldness wash over him.

Neku didn't want this.

He couldn't stand the thought of Shiki always being on edge, on always second-guessing their plans and whether they could keep safe. They were in the RG, dammit, they were supposed to be safe. They couldn't be entirely safe all the time, he knew. Especially if she had the ability to sense when they weren't.

Neku opened his mouth to say –

Say what?

To say that he wouldn't leave her again. Could he promise her that?

No, he couldn't. He'd thought that he was done with the Game the first time – who was to say he wouldn't be whisked away back to the UG again.

Shibuya's Composer certainly hadn't made any promises on that end. Neku would be able to give him an earful but what about in other wards? He wasn't familiar with those UGs, they may have whims that would pull him into another Game.

He didn't want to promise her something and end up lying.

"I'm sor –"

"But don't worry, I'll protect you."

His apology was cut short by her declaration. Her hands tightened again but it felt like they had a different purpose.

"If the UG wants you again they can't have you." To his amazement, the sadness in her eyes shifted almost entirely. Instead, they burned. "They're going to have to go through me and if it insists then I'm coming with you and we'll get out of it together."

"I – "

Damn. He had gone through learning how to speak aloud out more but Shiki was always leaving him speechless.

"So. No Akibahara today. Got it?" she said, sternly.

He couldn't help the smile creeping up his lips. "Got it."

With their outing cancelled, they opted for a cosy movie night instead. They held hands all the way through, Shiki holding on as if letting go would inhibit her ability to protect him.

He still hoped to reassure her. To make her fears go away.

But maybe that would only come with time.

What he could do, right now, was to keep holding onto her too.


A/N: Tadaa! Happy neshiki day! I had done my neshiki amv but had also wanted to do a fanfic for today too. Honestly started out with wanting to tackle Shiki's mental connection she seemed to have with Neku in A New Day in final mix and then it turned into this. I wanted to write something neo related but uhh didn't have time for any of my ideas which would definitely turn out to be longer, so here you go. I hope you enjoy reading!

- Dina (24/08/2021)