BH:Why can't I work on LOVESTRUCK! beats head against the wall This would be SO much easier if SOMEBODY glares at grandma hadn't WASHED my $100 thumb drive!
Rhane:You're the one who left if in your pocket, BH
BH:Did I ASK her to wash my clothes? NO! I don't need somebody taking care of me! I survived on my own forTEN YEARS, and now suddenly I'm expected to put of with her DOTING!
Nathan:Stop griping, BH, and get back to your story. Your readers are waiting.
Christ:sweatdrop As you all can see, BH isn't in the best of moods at moment. Her grandmother just accidentally washed her 5 GB thumb drive full of irreplacable pictures and stories, so please forgive her bad mood.
Rhane:That thing was 5 gigs?
BH:Yeah. One of the guys working at mom's office found it for me on ebay, the best Christmas present I've gotten in three years (other than getting to see Daddy last year) I had pictures of RYOU on there!
Nathan:For the record, Ryou was BH's dog, who her mother had put down right after she got into high school. No particular reason for it, either. He was only two or three, and his hind legs gave out on him, but he wasn't in any pain, and he was just fine using the wheel chair thing that BH buit for him, but as soon as she left for California her mother took it and had it put to sleep. They didn't speak for almost a year.
BH:There's a reason I hate mom's side of the family.
Christ:Let's just get to the story.
Disclaimer: The usual crap, Shin Yami belongs to me, Shinigami's design belongs to the ever-loveable Sanity-kun (one of my beta readers), and Rhythm (yes, yes, puns, I know, very over-used, I know, but I couldn't resist) is based off my life-long best friend, Sean, who we actually got to go to school in the dress Rhythm is wearing.
BH:Oh, yeah, about Shin... well, you guys tell me what I should do with him. And please, don't shoot me for the Rhythm and Blues pun, I know it's so over-used, but it's not a romance at least! I think I'm gonna have Blues become a big brother/father figure for Rhythm.
Life and Death, Light and Dark
Chapter 1
Shin, Shinigami, and Rhythm
"Bye, Momma!" Netto shouts as he sprints out the door, a piece of toast hanging out of his mouth. Haruka sighs, listening to her son shouting "I'm late! I'm late!" all the way down the road.
"Hopeless," she sighs and turns back to the small white strip lying on the kitchen counter then goes back to her own breakfast. She stops and looks back again, "Oh my God..."
Inside his PET, Rockman rolls his eyes and sits back to enjoy the ride, having just spent the last half hour trying to get his lazy operator out of bed ten minutes after school had already started.
"Sorry I'm late!" Netto shouts as he skids into the classroom and dives into his empty seat, or, what had been his empty seat.
"Excuse me, but I think this seat is taken." The class quickly dissolves into giggles.
Netto jumps up in surprise and stumbles into the desk next to his, "So-Sorry, I didn't see you..."
"Good of you to join us, Netto-kun," Mariko-sensei says from the front of the room, "I see you've already met our new student."
"New student?" Netto looks at the boy sitting in his seat and gives a small squeak. A pair of bright, green-rimmed, sky blue eyes blink sweetly back at him, framed by a long fringe of a deep blue-black hair.
"Hi," the boy in his seat stands up and extends his hand to Netto, "My name's Yami Shin. Netto, right?"
Netto nods blankly and takes the offered hand, "Yeah... Nikari Hetto... Uh, I mean..." he shakes his head quickly, "Netto! Hikari Netto!" The class dissolves into giggles again. "Sorry..."
Shin flashes him a dazzling smile and his bright, blue and green eyes light up, "It's alright. I guess this is your seat?"
"You can take it, it's not like-"
"No, it's okay. You were here first," he moves behind Netto and sits in the seat next to his, which is happily unoccupied, "I'll sit here."
Netto tries to sit down but misses his chair and hits the hard ground with a thud. This time the class doesn't bother with giggles, they break into hysterical laughter, all except Meiru and Shin, who dart forward to help him.
"Netto-kun!" Shin gasps, "Are you okay?"
"Fine," Netto groans, turning scarlet, as he climbs into his seat. He can hear Rockman snickering in his PET. "Oh, shut up, you."
"Are you sure?" Meiru asks, "That sounded like it hurt."
"I'm fine," Netto says again, "Don't worry."
\\Love Hurts/
"Ow," Netto moans as he rubs his sore butt at lunch.
"That looked like it hurt," Rockman teases.
"It did," Netto grunts as he gently sits down on the ground next to Meiru.
"Are you feeling better, Netto-kun?" Meiru asks sympathetically.
Netto growls and slumps against the tree behind him, "Sure."
"You've got it bad, Netto-kun," Rockman snickers.
"Got what bad?" Netto asks.
"You were practically drooling at that Shin kid," Meiru growls, suddenly growing annoyed.
"I was not!" Netto snaps, grabbing his PET so he can look directly at Rockman. "Was I?"
"Were too!" Rockman sing-songs.
"Was not!"
"Um, excuse me."
"Huh?"
Shin smiles weakly down at them, "Can I sit with you guys? Meiru-san seems to be the only girl in the school who doesn't melt at the sight of me..."
"Sure!" Netto answers quickly at the same time that Meiru says, "No!"
The two stare awkwardly at each other for a moment, then Netto gives her a pleading look.
"Oh, fine," Meiru grumbles.
"Thanks," Shin smiles and sits down across from them, pulling a bento box from his backpack, "Would you two like some? My mom always packs me extra for some reason."
"Good, because Netto-kun forgot his lunch," Rockman pipes up.
"I did not!" Netto snaps, reaching into his backpack. He withdraws his hand after a moment, blushing, "Oh, I guess I did."
Shin giggles and pushes his box towards Netto, "Here, have as much as you like, as long as you don't mind spicy food. I love curry."
"So do I!" Netto chirps as he dives at the lunch.
Back in Netto's PET, Rockman and Roll sweatdrop.
"He's got it really bad," Rockman muses.
"And Meiru-chan's not taking it well," Roll deadpans, "Look at her face."
Indeed, Meiru was quietly fuming next to Netto, even as he offers her a piece of curry-covered chicken.
"Is that your Navi?" Shin suddenly asks, pointing to Netto's PET.
"Yeup!" Netto whoops, holding up his PET to Shin, "Shin-kun, this is Rockman."
"Hi," Rockman waves, a little surprised at suddenly being put on the spot.
"Hi," Shin smiles. He turns to Roll, who is still standing next to Rockman, "And who's this?"
"My name's Roll," Roll replies, blushing, "I'm Meiru-chan's Navi."
"She's cute," Shin says, looking up at Meiru. Meiru glares back.
"What about you?" Netto asks, "Do you have a Navi?"
It's Shin's turn to blush, "I kinda... forgot her at home. She'll be furious with me when I get back."
"What's her name?" Rockman asks.
"Rhythm, named after my best friend's music obsession," Shin giggles, "Rock, Roll, and Rhythm... now all we need is Blues..."
Meiru snorts. Netto, a mouthful of noodles hanging out of his mouth, sweatdrops.
"Actually," Rockman mutters weakly, "they're out of town right now, but..."
"My rival's Navi is named Blues," Netto finishes lamely.
"You're kidding, right?" Shin asks.
Netto shakes his head, "Nope. Enzan's got a stick shoved up his butt half the time, but he's okay, and Blues is really strong."
"I'm not much into Net Battling," Shin admits, "Rhythm's better with hacking and stuff like that, and music, of course."
"Too bad," Netto whines, "I was looking forward to having someone new to battle with."
Shin smiles, "Sorry. I'm just not the fighting type. I think it comes from having pacifistic family."
"Yeah, that'd probably be it," Meiru snaps, suddenly standing up and collecting her bag, "I'll see you later, Netto-kun." And with that, she turns and stalks off.
Shin stares after her, "Did I do something wrong?"
"Don't worry about it," Netto replies with an offhanded wave, "She's just acting weird. She's usually really nice."
\\Yeah, Life's a Bitch That Way, Ain't It/
"Bye, Shin-kun! I'll see you tomorrow!"
"He's nice," Rockman muses as Netto skates home.
"Meiru-chan's not too fond in him, though," Netto groans.
Rockman sighs, "I think she's jealous of him, Netto-kun."
Netto skids to a stop, "Jealous, why?"
Netto's hair suddenly stands on end. He looks up to see a dimensional area forming around him, "Uh oh..."
Rockman appears in front of him, "This can't be good."
BOOM! A cannon blast sends both of them flying through the air. Rockman hits a wall and slides to the ground, apparently knocked out. Netto hits his Navi's prone body and winces, hearing a sickening crack.
A sharp, high pitched laugh drifts down from the rooftop above them. Netto looks up, but cannot see anything.
"Looking for me, Netto-chan?" A white-gloved hand taps him on the nose.
Netto find himself staring at a tall, busty female Navi dressed in a long white kimono and holding a reaper's scythe. She has long, black hair and bright, blue-green eyes.
"Hello," she greets warmly, a smile crossing her face, "My name's Shinigami, and I've been sent to kill you." She swings her scythe at Netto.
Netto squeezes his eyes shut, amazed that this, of all things, is how he is going to die. But the blow never falls. He looks up to see a familiar mass of long, black and white hair in front of him.
Shinigami giggles and vanishes. The dimensional area vanishes and Enzan turns around and offers his hand to help Netto up.
"I can't take my eyes off you for a second, can I?" Enzan asks, "Who've you pissed off this time?"
"I don't know what I did," Netto grumbles, standing up. He pulls out his PET to check on Rockman.
"Are you okay, Netto-kun?" Rockman asks.
"I'm getting asked that a lot today... What happened to you?"
"I don't know. When the blast hit me, it somehow sent me into sleep mode, I guess. I don't remember anything."
Netto sighs and turns back to Enzan, "I thought you weren't supposed to be home for another two days."
Enzan arches an eyebrow at him, "We got done early." He shakes his head and unconsciously flips his hair away from his face, "You're lucky I had to come by here on the way home, otherwise that Shinigami would have killed you. What were you thinking?"
"She caught me off guard!" Netto snaps.
"You need to pay more attention, then."
Netto snarls and turns away from Enzan, grumbling about 'arrogant bastards', and skates off.
"Idiot," Enzan mutters and turns in the other direction.
"Enzan-sama?"
"Yes Blues?" Enzan asks impatiently.
"With all due respect, since when is the road to Netto's house on our way home?"
"Shut up, Blues."
"Yes, Enzan sama."
\\Enter Knight In Shining Armor Puns/
"Momma! I'm home!" Netto shouts, dropping his bag on the kitchen table, "Momma!" He's starting to worry.
"I'm in here, Netto-kun!" Netto breathes a sigh of relief.
He walks back into the living room and does a double take. Haruka Hikari sits on the floor amidst a pile of pictures and albums, particularly a pile of baby pictures.
"Momma?" Netto asks warily.
Haruka stands up and flings her arms around her startled son, "Guess what, Netto-kun?"
"Momma, I can't breathe..." Netto gasps. Haruka releases him. "So, what's up?"
"You're going to be a big brother!" Haruka shouts delightedly.
"What?" Netto and Rockman ask, completely dumbfounded.
"I'm pregnant!"
Blink. Blink. Stare. Thump.
"Netto-kun!"
"Don't worry," Rockman chuckles, "I think he just fainted..."
"Oh, my! I still have to call Yuuichiro-san!"
\\Make Room For Baby/
"That's wonderful, Netto-kun!" Meiru giggles.
Netto smiles, just grateful to have Meiru talking to him again.
"Do you know when it's due?"
"When what's due?" Netto asks, "Our book report?"
"The baby, Netto-kun," Rockman scolds lightly.
"Oh! I don't know," Netto replies, "Momma's going to see the doctor today."
"Netto-kun! Meiru-san!"
Netto spins around, "Hi, Shin-kun!"
Shin runs up to them and holds out a deep purple PET, "Meet Rhythm-chan."
A child-like female navi with bright blue eyes smiles back at them. She's dressed in long purple dress with a white sash and has long red hair tied up in pig-tails with purple ribbons in them. There's a pair of big orange headphones hanging around her neck, and shewears a music note pendant.
"She's so cute!" Meiru gushes, momentarily forgetting her apparent dislike of Shin.
"Hi," Rhythm greets shyly, playing with one of the ribbons in her hair, "I'm Rhythm."
"I'm Rockman," Rockman says, appearing next to her in the PET. Roll arrives a moment later. "And this is Roll."
Rhythm stares and Rockman for a moment, then turns bright red and looks away, "Hi..."
"Looks like Netto-kun's not the only one with a crush," Roll whispers in Rockman's ear, making the blue navi blush himself.
Shin chuckles, "They're getting along, well."
Netto snickers at Rockman, "Yeah, I think they are."
"Guess what, Shin-san," Meiru giggles, turning her attention to the boy, "Netto-kun's mom is going to have a baby!"
"I thought you didn't like him," Netto mutters weakly.
"Really?" Shin asks, eyes lighting up, "I love kids! When's it coming?"
"Dunno," Netto shrugs, turning pink, "Momma just found out. How long does it usually take?"
Shin and Meiru sweatdrop. "You're really clueless, aren't you?" Shin asks, giggling.
Netto turns even redder.
"Netto!"
They turn around to see Enzan walking towards them.
"What's up, Enzan?" Netto asks, "Aren't you supposed to be at your office?"
"Manabe-san wants us," Enzan replied blankly, "something about Shinigami."
"Oh!" Netto smiled weakly and Rockman returned to his own PET, "I've gotta go. I'll see you guys later."
Meiru scowled, "What about school?"
Netto shrugs, "I'll be back by lunch, I promise."
Enzan looks ready to say something to Netto, but is cut off when Shin moves forward and kisses Netto on the cheek. Meiru makes a sudden, angry noise and storms off. Enzan and Rockman's mouths hang open in shock and Rhythm dissolves into giggles.
"Bye, Netto-kun," Shin says, blushing slightly, and runs after Meiru.
Netto reaches up and touches his cheek where Shin kissed him.
"Enzan-sama," Blues whispers, "your mouth is open."
Enzan's mouth snaps shut and he grabs Netto's arm, "Let's go."
Netto stumbles back and followslimply after Enzan, for once in his life totally silent. Enzan decides that the stupid grin plastered on his face is far more annoying than listening to the boy rant and whine.
Gunshots suddenly ring through the crowded street. Enzan's head whips from side to side and he drags Netto towards the nearest shop. Before they can reach it though, there is another shot and Enzan hits the ground.
Netto snaps back to reality as his friend collapses and kneels down next to him as the gunfire stops. Enzan groans and sits up to examine his leg, which is starting to throw sparks.