A fight.

It's odd to think about them being in a fight. Shiki and Eri, they're the 'dynamic duo'. The two peas in a pod. All of those other funny terms for best friends. At least, that's what she thought until Eri said what she said.

She dreads seeing Eri at school again because she practically ran out of the room, without letting Eri get another word in. Shiki doesn't know what Eri's going to think.

With that fight pending its conclusion, she doesn't expect to be in another fight so soon after that.

"What do you mean 'watch where you're going'? You're the one who didn't hear me when I said excuse me," she says, in response to the stranger currently glaring her down.

'Glaring down' might be a bit of a stretch.

The guy isn't that much taller than her if she discounts the height that his orange spikes give him.

She isn't sure what his deal is.

Usually, when someone bumps into you, causing you to drop whatever is in your hands, you apologise and then move on with your day. She knows common courtesy…mostly. She'd just say 'Sorry, it was my bad!' and they would both just leave.

Even if it's someone snappy, they'll usually say their oh-so-great rude one-liner and then disappear.

But for some reason, this guy is just…looking. He's got his arms crossed. He's tapping his finger against his sleeve forearm like he's agitated.

She wonders why he's wearing a sports jumper in the middle of summer, she knows she would overheat if she wore something like that right now - thank goodness for summer school uniforms.

Just when she thinks this guy is just a weirdo, he bends down to pick up Mr Mew from the floor. He dusts it off. Despite his tone, his movements are oddly gentle. His piercing blue gaze shifts from Shiki to her plushie.

Suddenly she also feels self-conscious.

She doesn't know what compelled her to bring him along today (no, okay, she does, it was the fight) but she hasn't brought him around after she finished working on him at school. He's her first ever completed plushie and she doesn't want him to get tattered.

"What's his name?" he asks, which startles her.

"Mr. Mew," she mutters quietly, knowing that it's not the most creative name out there. But it's cute!

He nods at her, not reacting to the name at all, even. Then hands it back to her.

She takes it back, cautiously. "Hey, aren't you going to say sorry for bumping into me?" She still demands an apology because it's not right for him to blame her for them colliding when she saw that he was going to walk right into her.

He takes another look at her and then looks out at the crossing. She follows suit.

Shoot, she's been taking too long with this, she missed her opportunity to cross and now cars were zooming by again. Sigh. She's not going to be late but she is going to have to wait another minute or two before the pedestrian crossing light goes green again.

"Yeah, I'm sorry." He even bows his head at her, the headphones hanging around his neck swaying. "I'm sorry."

"Oh…well. Okay." She's happy to get the apology she wanted but she's not sure what to do with a bow. He seems like he's around her age. That's a bit excessive.

She turns her body to face squarely towards the road.

…Uh, why's the guy still here?

She can sense that he's returned the staring at her.

It's a bit disconcerting, she can't lie.

The girl fidgets and rocks on the balls of her feet, willing the traffic light to turn green again.

"I mean it," she hears him say from behind, "watch where you're going, Shiki."

"I will, I will," she says in a hurry, feeling relief as the sign finally signals that it is okay to cross. She makes a dash for it and she doesn't see the dude following her so that's a plus.

She's already on the other side of the road when it clocks in that he said her name.

Huh? Does she know this guy?

Does he know her?

Is that why he was staring?

There's a clear view of the side of the road she came from but the guy is gone now.

She feels unease settle into her stomach.

That was creepy...she just hopes he isn't some kind of stalker or something.

xxxxx

Neku takes the viper drink handed to him.

It's delicious and he doesn't know where his newfound friend has got it from but he knows it's expensive and he appreciates it.

"Hm. The Neku where I'm from hates that stuff," says probably-Joshua. "So interesting to observe the differences up close and personal.

"You said that the Neku from your world also wouldn't have stopped Shiki from crossing. So, I think he's just got bad sense in general."

"I wouldn't go that far. He has his own reasons for disagreeing with my methods to clear this mess we're in. But you're on board, right?"

He holds the side of his arm, feeling the corruption that has spread from his shoulders almost to his wrists. "Of course. I won't let my Shiki go through this."

"'Your' Shiki, huh?" There's a tease in Joshua's voice but it doesn't faze Neku at all.

"Yes, she's important to me. We're important to each other." Even if they're at a point in time in which she's unable to remember that, it's still true.

"That's consistent with the Neku I know, at the very least." He snaps his fingers and a crack tears through the air. "We should move on now."

Tossing his finished drink into the bin, Neku, without hesitation, follows Joshua into the void.

Shiki should be safe for now.

"Oh? I'm actually surprised, for once. Howdy!"

The void, the passage between the worlds that's supposed to be empty, is decidedly not.

Two people stand in their way.

Another Neku.

Another Shiki.

Another obstacle.

Whether he can keep his Shiki safe is another question but it won't be for a lack of trying.

A/N: Tadaa! Day 1 for Neshiki Day 2023 is down! We've got 'Alt first Meetings | Fights and Forgiveness' as our prompts which I've combined here. So yeah! Nothing super fancy but I just enjoy writing this type of thing so hope you guys liked it too.

- Dina (01/12/2023)