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dragonseattofu · 3 years

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NekuShiki question time! #2 :)

Who said "I love you" first? When?

Do they ever go dancing? How does it go?

Who is more affectionate with the other?

First I love you

The person who I envision to say the first “I love you” in the post-NEO world would be Neku. Pre-NEO I would hands down have thought it would be Shiki, because out of the two I feel like Neku’s more of an awkward sort and wouldn’t know how to put romantic feelings into words. But after NEO I feel like Neku became a little better at conveying his feelings and here’s why:

He watched her exit the elevator. She was talking to someone holding a camera bag, possibly the photographer she had just hired a couple of days ago. He remembered their evening meal yesterday, one he had to pry her away from her work to partake in, relating to her upcoming photoshoot. He learned their usual photographer had double booked and she had to scramble to find a replacement. The replacement looked young, around their age, and seemed to be bowing a goodbye to her before walking towards the exit behind him.

Neku continued to watch her, as she pulled out her phone from her Mr. Mew purse. Shiki tapped furiously at the screen, with speed rivaling Nagi, and seconds later he felt a buzz in his pocket.

After tucking her phone back away, Shiki moved toward the turnstiles situated near the door and finally saw him. It took her a second to overcome the surprise, he didn’t tell her that he was coming to pick her up, but she immediately brightened as she walked toward him at a steadfast pace.

How many days, months, years had he waited and hoped for to see a sight like this? To feel like this? Like his chest tightening in anticipation of her being in his arms, his cheeks warming at her smiling at him for simply … existing? How long had he spent thinking about the life he could have had with his friends, with her?

When Neku was dropped into the Shinjuku UG, he went into shock. Why? Why was he back when he was banned from ever playing the game again? He had just gotten his life back. He finally didn’t feel so alone in the vast seas of Shibuya.

But then he got shot … again.

His cynical side thought, maybe this was his retribution. He didn’t deserve friends, not after what he did to him…

But then he remembered them, and what they had all said to him.

“Let me in! Tell me what you're thinking!”

“Give up on yourself, and you give up on the world.”

“You're not my partner anymore man, you're... my friend. So trus' that yo!”

Come on, work with us. A problem shared is a problem halved!

And then he could have sworn he heard her…

“You finally came back to us … I knew you would.”

“I’m so happy you're back, Neku.”

He didn’t remember her saying that to him, but it wasn’t the first time he felt like he saw things that haven’t happened yet, things that could happen if he played his cards right. Visions of a future that gave him some … hope.

Every battle he fought, every new area he stumbled into, every floating thought he passed, all led to this hope that he would get back to his friends.

When he wasn’t fighting to survive, or when Coco was standing watch so he could rest, he thought about them. Was Beat skipping classes still? Was Rhyme learning how to do those ollies Beat was trying to teach her. Was Shiki … was Shiki hanging out with Eri right now? Was she fixing a stitch on Mr. Mew? Did she miss him, the same way he missed her?

His time in the RG after playing three weeks in the reapers game was short, but nothing less than wonderful. Shiki and Neku went on a couple outings together, just the two of them when the Bito siblings had family errands. It started out a little awkward, especially when familiar restaurant and store keepers thought they were an item already. A specific ramen owner was the worst of them all even though his teasing came from a place of fondness for the pair.

Without him realizing, being with Shiki was almost as natural as breathing, and every moment he spent with her was fun, interesting, precious to him.

Neku didn’t get the time he needed to work out how important Shiki was to him before being plunged into the Shinjuku UG, but three years of company to only the disembodied thoughts of lost souls and an occasional “fairy” reaper gave him the opportunity to delve into it. The conclusion he reached gave him the motivation to keep fighting, to keep surviving. For once, he had someone worth living for.

“Earth to Neku?” Shiki waved her hands in front of his face.

He blinked, bringing himself back to the present. Shiki stood on her toes, trying to look at his face underneath his overgrown bangs. He felt her touch his cheek, concern marring her adorable face.

He hates that he brought so much strain to her life. Maybe she could have been happier with someone else, someone who wouldn’t break their promise to go shopping the next day and abruptly disappear.

But then she smiled at him, having noticed that he simply zoned out. And all of a sudden his negativity stopped spiralling and he felt grounded again. He may not feel like he deserved her, but she chose him nonetheless.

She chose to never give up on him, that he would survive the ordeal he was thrust into. She chose to be the best version of herself that she could be while she waited for him.

And then even after all that time had passed, she still chose to be with him.

Neku didn’t know if there was a word that encompassed the overwhelming emotion he felt whenever he thought of Shiki. One certainly felt close enough though.

“Hey Shiki?” He asked, putting his larger hand over her smaller one that lingered on his cheek.

“Hmm?”

“I love you.”

He couldn’t remember the last time he said that to anyone, if he did at all. Even though Neku had told Shiki almost immediately after his arrival in the RG that he wanted to be more than friends, he hadn’t used that word before. Love was still such a foreign concept that he wasn’t sure he understood it completely, but if there was anyone in the whole world he could associate love with, it would be Shiki.

Shiki’s hand on his face stiffened at the sudden confession. For a hot second, maybe it wasn’t the time or place she expected him to say it. He felt a slight panic from the doubt of her not reciprocating his feelings.

But those thoughts were quickly thrown out when she leaned in and kissed him.

It was a kiss longer than they had ever shared before. She was physically telling him something, but he was a little preoccupied to fully process anything. Shiki pulled away, far quicker than Neku would have liked, carrying the sweetest grin he ever saw on her.

“I love you too, Neku.”

Dancing

Shiki would have this fancy company dinner that she’d have to go to for networking. As friendly as Shiki is, she’s still introverted and the whole event just sounds utterly exhausting. Neku would be her plus one, because even if that’s the last place he would rather be, he’s her partner, and that’s that. She gets well enough along with everyone, but she has to make the rounds and greet everybody, leaving Neku alone at times. Thankfully Eri’s also there, and the girls take turns between networking and keeping Neku company. He surprises both of them when the head designer for Jupes notices Neku’s deep purple button down shirt from Jupes under a Gatto Nero’s half grey plaid - half black solid blazer (it’s visually better in my head than what I just described), and wants to talk to the designer of the jacket. Neku goes full endorsing mode for his girlfriend, and smiles smug when the girls realize they didn’t need to worry about him, much less securing a major deal with a major brand for a collaboration. He’s pretty happy with himself when he hears a version of Someday play on the surround sound. The dance floor opens up, and a couple of people start a waltz.

Neku thinks to himself, it’s an odd thing to have a dance in the middle of a company dinner, but dinners in the fashion industry are often hosted by the most eccentric of people, and he supposes it’s not so peculiar after all.

The melody plays soft and slow, and if he’s honest with himself, it’s a pretty good rendition of one of his favorite songs. He sees Shiki from the corner of his eye, silently asking her to dance as he extends his hand out. She’s surprised at the gesture. Neku’s many things, but dancer’s not one of them. The exaggerated kicks he’s so fond of are sort of hard to move elegantly in. A simple slow dance, he thinks, is enough for him to handle. Her thin finger slipped effortlessly into his hand.

More affectionate

Post-NEO, I feel that both are pretty affectionate toward one another, but in different ways. Shiki’s more physically affectionate, she’s more of a hugger and is always holding his hand, or his clothes, just so she can feel that he’s there. He doesn’t initiate physical touch as often as she does, but he never let’s go, or moves away from it. This happens more naturally as they start dating, snuggles and such.

Neku’s more affectionate verbally. He’s gotten comfortable saying what’s on his mind more often. He’s not shy about complimenting her, she doesn’t need his reassurances but his opinion is important to her nonetheless. He’s a natural flirt; says things that would be considered suave without intention. He would say pick up lines without realizing that they were pick up lines.

Okay, so I’m like not really sure how best to put my thoughts together but here goes:

The Shibuya and Twister kiddos would all be at some fashion function, and the Fret and Beat would comment on how attractive some of the models are. Neku would just be like, “yeah, they are attractive, but they aren’t as beautiful as Shiki.” Him referring to how much he loves her appearance as well as her personality, whereas he knows nothing about these girls so all he is going on is their looks.

And of course Shiki, who has pins in her mouth and is trying to get her models ready, hears this. Her jaw loosens and the pins fall on the floor. She’s essentially flushed and flabbergasted, by what he said and how nonchalant he said it. He looks at her like he said nothing wrong. Then he just smiles at her, and she just stutters out curse words. She doesn’t have time for this.

Notes: I’m so sorry for the late reply. I’m such a slow thinker and writer! But thanks again for the ask! The first prompt sort of snowballed. Hope you like it! @doesitringabell, I added a collection on Ao3 dedicated to you for any/all other prompts that end up longer than I had anticipated. Check out the source content.

Also sorry for any typos and such, let me know if you spot any. If anyone is still interested in my rambling mess of Neshiki fanfics/ficlets, don’t hesitate to send me more asks! It might take a while, but just know that my moments of silence are just me tinkering with ideas (writing something, hating it, revising it, writing again, rinse, repeat, then screw this, just take it.)

#TWEWY #Neshiki #NekuShiki #the world ends with you #NekuShiki question time #ntwewy #neo twewy #twewy neo #the world end with you neo #neku sakuraba #shiki misaki #daisukenojo bito #rhyme bito #eri #coco atarashi #my post #mypost #myfanfiction #myfanfic

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oveliagirlhaditright · 3 years

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Information

Another AU about who I thought Swallow could have been for a hot second:)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/33528064/chapters/83355316#workskin

"Information is the key to victory," Shiki said, as she prepared to send a message to her friend Rindragon--Rindo—about how she was going to get him out of the Game. "And I have the key right here..." Her key being her darling boyfriend Neku, of course: the only one of them who could eventually interfere to save Rindo, she was pretty sure.

Neku was sitting beside Shiki now—as she prepared to send her text to Neku—as he looked at her past messages from Rindo as worried as she had been, she could tell.

"I'm surprised it took him so long to ask if you were in the UG," Neku remarked, thankfully handing Shiki a cup of coffee right now, since she truly was exhausted from often staying up so late all the time, and trying to find some way to save Rindo.

And in another time and place, Shiki probably would have laughed at Neku’s words and said that not everyone could be as forthright with comments as he was.

But right now, when Shiki worried about her young friend being erased every second of every day, she couldn't even imagine doing that. "…I think he didn't want to face the fact that I might be on one of the other teams, and that he might have to fight me that way,” Shiki remarked now, sending Neku a certain look that he shot back at her, with their eyes locked. “But thankfully, I'm not playing the Game, so hopefully it won't come to that."

"...Except it might, Shiki," Neku said, dropping to his knees now, so Shiki could see his eyes better and see how serious he was here, she presumed. And here, she had to bite back tears… even though she knew Neku was being honest and had her best interests at heart. "You know Rindo’s causing the Plague Noise for Kubo... unknowingly, of course. But if he time travels too much, and the bird Noise becomes beyond us, we might have to try and steal his pin from him... And he may be addicted to it at that point, and put up a fight about it... at which point we'd have to battle him, yeah.

"So...." And Neku was pretty much hiding in the shirt collar he didn't have anymore, Shiki saw, because he hated being out of sync with her and having to tell her such bad news and she could certainly understand that. It made her smile… ever so slightly. "It's best he doesn't know who you are... yet. Maybe later, when we can hopefully get him out. But right now, it could be too much baggage for both of you and mess things up."

Neku was right. Of course he was. Shiki knew it well.

Joshua—after Neku had been murdered by Coco and he'd ended up in the UG again—had been kind to Shiki and offered her the chance to ascend to the Higher Plane, that way she'd actually be able to see Neku, since Josh had plans to keep him him here for years.

And in realizing that it would be her only way to see Neku, Shiki had accepted the offer. Especially since as a low-ranking angel, she knew she could keep her life in the RG, for the most part (it helped that she was the unofficial Producer of this Game), and be with Neku in the UG, without having to be a Reaper and erase Players (Neku right now was pretty much a Player without a Game to play--and Josh had been surprisingly good to keep him that—but he was still a prodigy and probably easily had even more power than she did, Shiki thought).

But since Shiki was an angel, she had some foresight… and she knew that Neku was right, but it still hurt.

"Neku… I really thought things would be simple when I befriended Rindragon,” Shiki admitted, getting out of her chair and standing beside Neku now, so they were truly on the same level and he didn’t have to hurt his knees for her. “You and Beat liked to play Tin Pin Slammer a lot, so I decided to try my hand at a game I might like. And then I met Rindragon and we became fast friends. You know the story.

“But Rindo and I clicked so fast, Neku. Which shows that age is just a number, and you can befriend anyone if you really try... But the boy who sometimes hid in his room from his verbally abusive dad, somehow reminded me of the girl who had hid as Eri. That’s why we connected so fast, I think.

"Rindo's a sweet kid. And we've had so many nice conversations. And he's keeping me hip with the kids... you laugh at me saying that at eighteen,” and Neku was giggling at her some a bit, even though he’d clearly been seriously listening to every word she said before this, and choosing not to interrupt her so she could better tell him her story, “but I do think I'm getting out of touch with the underclassmen's slang so that was another reason it was great to be friends with Rindo,... but now. But now this! It's not fair! It's like what I went through when I first lost you, Neku!"

Neku was gone for just a moment after Shiki said that, to hop back over WildKat's counter (which was where the two of them had taken up shop lately. Everyone thought the place was abandoned, and they didn't correct that idea, so Shiki and Neku were thankfully left alone, as they tried to figure out how to stop the Inversion before it happened here). And he came back with an espresso for her now, in surely realizing she was even more exhausted now, and with a cup with nothing in it (though they would pretend otherwise) for Mr. Mew, who was sitting on the counter.

And at that, Shiki had to laugh.. this felt nice. Gosh, Shiki had almost forgotten how to smile or giggle lately, in worrying so much about someone she saw as a little brother.

And before Shiki knew it, she found herself in Neku's arms as he made his way back over to her: always a good place for her to be, Shiki knew, and she wouldn’t trade it for the world. "I know it's tough, Shiki," Neku promised her, with his lips against her hair now. "But we'll figure it out. I promise."

Shiki had to lean in and kiss Neku's cheek, then—relishing in him trying to cheer her up and this overall feeling. "I know, Neku. Thank you. Because when you and I make promises, nothing stops us, huh? We'll rescue Rindo, and hopefully his friends, as well as Shibuya... I know we will."

And when they eventually did get the Twisters out of the UG together, through all the info they found out on Rindo’s third attempt—and Rindo later remarked how cool it was, that Swallow was an owner of Gatto Nero, who seemed as down to Earth as he was—she would realize just how true that sentiment had been.

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pmiller1 · 3 years

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Enter Fee! [N:TWEwY/Neo Zeta Earth]

"Entey Fee?" Fret said, being the one to voice everyone questions, when Neku and his friends had been telling them they experience in there Reaper Game at Hachiko Café. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh right, you guys never payed your fee for the Game." Neku said, "Are ye saying that Reaper Game had be payed in order to played the Game, Lore Neku?" Nagi ask him. "That what it was back in our game." Shiki told her.

"Yeah, I knew Shibuya's Reaper Game had some payment that you’d get as your prize." Shoka explained to them. "Gotta say, I like the concept, shame that never carry over once Shiba became Game Master. Never really had it back in Shinjuku."

"I take it isn't something to do with Money paid in joining a organization?" Rindo ask them, already his phone close by him, already checking the google search about it.

"I wish yo." Beat said "It far worst yo, there take what is most impoted from you?" The other was a little confused by what Beat said, only for Rhyme speck up. "He mean that, they take something that was important, something that you'd value."

"Something that you'd value, eh?" Fret ponder "So what if say Boss was in Shibuya's game, would she not remember EleStra or something like that?"

"Tis must say, it is most be likely that my memory of EleStra would be my enter fee." Nagi said then fix up her glasses, "Elegant Strategy isn't just a Game that I am admittedly obsessed with, tis help me about to understand the very core of a persons, in and out. Without knowing EleStra would be unbearable to me, I cannot imagine, nah, do not want to life in a world where I am remain unaware of EleStra."

"Dang Pinny, that is some deep stuff." Beat said, "And given that you come out and told us that you're under the autism spectrum, I can see why you;d think so." Rhyme said. "You had my think Lady Raimu."

"Of course, I'd hypothesis that if I where in that Game, with my fee being a memory of Elegant Strategy, I'd would had suggest with commutating with anyone, let alone with my so call partner in this would be Game."

"Eh, I sure your partners can handle you, Boss." Fret said "I sure would had handle you if you was my partner." "Tis would be benefited." Nagi said "Given our experience in those three weeks."

"Specking off, what do you think Fret's entry fee would be?" Shoka ask, "Yeah, I bet it would be good look or his liking to older people." RIndo said.

"Dude that is so not cool man." Fret said, "Beside, how can someone take my good look?" "I think this a good time to tell that my enter fee was my own appearance." Shiki said. "Woah, Really? They can do that?" Fret said "How would that work, you’d just had no appearance, did you become a faceless nobody?"

"No. I ended up with another person appearance." Shiki said, "Let me guess, You ended with the other fonder of Gatto Nero, Erica Kanjishii, Or better known as Eri, right?"

"Yep." Shiki said taken a drink then carry on, "In someway is what I wanna to be her and yet, it wasn't what I wanted to be her. It sure make me realised that envy her, And..." She turn to Neku, "If it wasn't for him, I could end up being a Reaper myself. Never knowing how me and Eri needed each other." Neku by that, very to cover his red face. "I see..." Shoka said, giving a small look to Rindo, where he blushing red too.

"Then again, it wouldn't be any of them." Fret said "Seriously though, they could take my whole memory as part of my fee."

"Yeah, Beat told me about your old friend. You must hold those memory dearly." "You know it." Fret said, holding his cheat. "I hold those memory, part of me doesn't want to forget that, even if it hurt. Him and Kanon... There mean alot to me and I just don't want to forget them."

After some short silent, Shoka speck up and ask Rindo, "What about you Rin? What's you think your fee would be?"

"Me?" RIndo ask, giving the time to think. "Well to be honest, it could be you." "Me?" Shoka said. "Well more like, your old account Swallow. You kind of was my 1st friend for those three year, I not sure what to do without you, or without Swallow. Since I never knew you as Shoka."

"That really sweet." She said "Really is a bomber, Since I not really sure what my enter fee would be?"

"But what about you love for Gatto Nero? Or what about me, y’know as Rindragon?" Rindo ask her. "Yeah, those would be my entry fee now, dumdum." She said "I'm taking about before all of that, before I move to Shibuya."

"Like there where a reason why I became a Reaper in the 1st place." Shoka said, having her head with her noodle. "I had nothing in the RG to go back to, I had nothing valuable, I'm not even sure if I would be allow to played in Shibuya's Game if I had to pay for a Fee to even enter."

"If it wasn't for Tsugumi supporting me even if I was a player at the time. I sure I would be a gonna." Shoka said. "Guess she must had saw a bright futures in me and she want me to follow thought with it."

"Wouldn't really pass it with her." Rindo said "I wish she give us full context with those vision she give us."

"I think she couldn't to much with that, send you know, her soul was trap within Mr Mew." Shiki said, holding the kitty doll tight.

"Say, what was you're enter fee Beat?" Fret ask him. "Oh right?" Best said "Like, I didn' know it before, but turn out that Rhyme memory of me was my fee."

"Wait, is that even allow?" Nagi ask "Taken someone else memory as part of ye fee."

"Well I was part of game with him." Rhyme said "I say it was fair game, I only recall having a brother, but not him as my brother."

"Tis is interesting, to say at least." Nagi said "Having a vague awareness of someone you know, but never known who that person one was."

"Good thing it was my fee." Beat said "Hate to think you forgot abou' me."

"Why?" Rindo ask, "Yes, Why is is a good thing that Lady Raimu Memory of you was a good thing, Lore Daisukenojo?"

"BRAWW! At least call me Lore Beat Yo!" Best yelp out. "Very well, Lore Beat."

"If it okay I'd answered that question instead, Nagi?" Rhyme ask, "Sure, if you may." "He just saying that he glad I get to remember him, as opposed to my own enter fee."

"Rhyme..." Neku said. "Nono, it fine, Neku, I already got a new dream after all." Rhyme said, waving the worry look from Neku. "As I was saying, my enter fee was my dream."

"As in you didn't dream when you are sleeping?" Rindo ask. "Yeah, How can you know don't have a dream, when you just wake up in the next day, all those black out are quick to pass the time, y'know." Fret said.

"I think she meant a ideal future of her." Shoka said, "There not wrong." Rhyme said "I didn't remember having any dream. Beat knew that I had dream. And even Shiki start to get that I used had dream."

"That true." Shiki said "You did say you didn't had dream when we talk about it."

"So what?" Fret said "She got them back, she can dream. That all that matter."

"Um... About that..." Rhyme said, as the other three looking awareness toward the four Wicked Twisters. "I've lost."

"WHAT?!" The Wicked Twisters yell out. "What do you mean you lost?" Rindo ask, "Tis telling me that ye didn't reclama your victory?" Nagi said, "Seriously, You lost the Game?!" Fret said. "Doesn't that mean that you got Erased?" Shoka ask her.

"Yep. Taken the one for the team. And I did get erased." Rhyme said, "And before you ask, It was thank to a friend of our, Mr Sanae Hanekoma, he save up her energy into a pin." Neku said "He... one of the higher up."

"Given what my Player Pin did with all those fallen timeline, it wouldn't really pass me." Rindo said "Angel sure are something."

"Guess that mean, that since you lost, you didn't get your fee back?" Shoka ask. "Yep. that fee is now gone for all I know." Rhyme said "But still I got a new dream and it really working out for me."

"Witch remind me." Neku said "Someone tell me why Rhyme became a hacker? Why is that her new dream?"

"You're guess is good as mine." Shiki said, surging, "I only find out once she heck into a up coming game that she wanna to played."

"There make a mistake and I don't want to miss the opportunity." Rhyme said, "Beside, we wouldn't have save Shibuya it wasn't my hacking skilled."

"That and my time travel ability." Rindo said "Of course you and Shiki did your part well. We all did."

"Yeah, you made a right choses, your choses." Shoka said, putter her hand on his shoulder, with Rindo holding onto it.

"I guess it my turn for my entry fees, all three of them." Neku said, "Wait, Three?" Fret said, "Once for each weeks?" Rindo ask. "Hah, thought, you get one week, no loop, I understand that this Reaper Game didn't do points. Just all player wins or all loses."

"Well the last two still count as my enter fee." Neku said, "Right Shiki?" "Y-Yeah..." Shiki sutter, as was heading her face with Mr Mew.

"As for my 1st week, it was my memory, didn't remember anything other then my name." He said. "Man, that really suck." Fret said "And to think, I'd would had no memory in your Reaper Game."

"And it the same reason too." Neku said "I use to had an old friend before he pass away, only I shut off everyone, wild you mask yourself from everyone."

"Oh man, I had something in common with the legendary Neku." Fret said, eyes flowing down with tire. "And what was you're 2nd fee?" Shoka ask.

"Me." Shiki said, her hand up. "I was his next enter fee." "What? As in, they taken you as a person as his enter fee?" Shoka said, looking at Shiki with a blank eyes.

"Yeah. I was taken as his fee." Shiki said "Like I don't blame him for having me as her enter fee, It show how much he care about me."

"Is that even allow, to take a person as a enter fee?" Shoka ask them. "I don't really think so." Neku said, "Nor would taken rest of the other player for my 3th enter fee."

"Come again?" Nagi said, "You mean you was playing solo?" Rindo said. "Yeah, Neku would had been a gonna if I having save his ass." Beat said. "Well, you did made a pack with me, even if it would make you back as a player." Neku said.

"Come now, The Reaper Stuff was Bad. Right Kitten Girl?" Beat said. "Yeah, I agreed with Worm-for-Brain here." Shoka repay.

"That being said, I understand that the Enter Fee was something to help a person into become a better person, to changed them in a way." Shoka said.

"Yeah, I sure had changed sent the Reaper Game." Neku said, "We all did in fact. I wouldn't be where I am without the game, they wouldn't be a Gatto Nero brand." Shiki said.

"In someway we too had changed without the need of the enter fee." Nagi said "Tis could be the fact that our life was in sake in a unfair game. The Ruinbringers sure had make sure that none of the people get another changed."

"Yeah, Boss is right there." Fret said "I sure come out as another person." "You sure about that?" Rindo ask, "You seem like same Fret then before." "Hey, At least trying to put up a facade around you guys." Fret said. "I sure had able to contend with some people other some mar Character." Nagi said.

"And I for once feel like I had a place where I belong." Shoka said. "I glad that get to be with you guy, my world wouldn't be special without my friends." Rindo said.

#Neku Sakuraba #Shiki Misaki #Daisukenojo Bito #Raimu Bito #Rindo Kanade #Tosai Furesawa #Nagi Usui #Shoka Sakurane #Neo The World Ends with You #Neo TWEwY #NTWEwY #Fanfic #Neo-Zeta Earth #Zeta Earth

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stacylaughs · 5 years

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June 14-19, 2019

If I had looked at a map more closely, I would went to Milan at this point, but we’ll get there.

Flixbus from Siena to Venice, 12:15pm-7pm, with two hours in Bologna, for $24.98. And, then, Gio’s Place/House cost me €28.44/night, so for being Italy’s most expensive city, it started off right for me. Though, I would say accommodations were a lot like staying at your grandma’s messy house with 40 strangers, half of them being mosquitoes.

Walking around Venice (aka Venezia) is surreal, with no cars, tiny streets, 117 islands, 150-odd canals, and 400+ bridges (78 of them being private). With more than 20 million visitors a year, on average throughout the year there are 73 tourists to 1 resident in Venice each day.

It’s impossible not to get turned around and/or lost in Venice, but it’s also very walkable, even though the water buses (boats) are really fun, which you can use to get near or far.

Maybe it was a combination of many people, hot days, and cobblestone streets, but I saw some people break their faces, bloody noses and blood splatters on their shirts, from falling. When people fall, they can’t seem to get their hands out in front of them and they land right on their faces. This reminds me of when I split open my knee in Barcelona and I’m again grateful it wasn’t worse.

Anyway, some things I enjoyed:

Spend some time taking in the atmosphere of St Mark’s Square, watching the people and the pigeons. Get lost wandering the winding cobblestone streets.

For €7.50/75 minutes or $20/24 hours you can get a ticket with Alilaguna to just get around nearby or also explore some of the outer islands of Burano, Murano, or Lido to see a different side of Venice. The brightly colored homes of Burano and swimming in the ocean in Lido was my favorite day. People also like buying lace in Burano and you should eat at Trattoria Al Gatto Nero da Ruggero if you can.

Murano is a cluster of 8 small islands linked by bridges crossing the canals separating them. In 1291, Venice required all glassmakers to relocate to Murano because of the risk of fire to the city. The island thus became famous around the world as a center for masterful glassmaking of fine glass beads, mirrors, chandeliers, and other luxury creations, if you’re into that.

Mercato di Rialto is a great place to buy fruit, with my favorite fruit stand being at 220. See the nearby seafood market as well.

The European Cultural Centre (Palazzo Michiel) has free modern art to view and I was really into it.

Libreria Acqua Alta is a bookstore (mostly of Italian books) which stacks books in gondolas and bath tubs, with cats running amuck.

The Penny Guggenheim Museum exhibits some of the most impressive early modern artworks in Europe. You can also take the Vapretto Line to see some of the best sights of Venice from the water.

People are always queuing for this gelato, but I liked SuSo a lot.

Pizzeria Napule restored my belief in pizza again.

Caffe Ai Crociferi is the best place to work on your laptop in Venice. It feels like an outdoor co-working space but you can easily sit inside as well.

Osteria All’Alba and Ruga Rialto are fun dive bars to go to late night. Ask for ombra, a small glass of house wine, red or white. Ombra means shadow, as wine used to be sold in the shadows.

Surprising to me, private gondolas cost up to 100€ for an hour!

The free walking tour, Venice through the centuries (South) with Ricardo.

I also went on a Venice Food Tour: Rialto Market, Cannaregio, Gondola, Food & Wine for $85.83, which was alright but I think you’d be just as well-off finding any Prosecco joint with cicchetti (finger food like tapas) and then al nero di seppia (squid ink pasta) at any restaurant. Afterward, you can have spritz, a popular cocktail with white sparkling wine, sparkling water, and Aperol (sweet) or Campari (bitter and a bit strong) or half & half (mezzo e mezzo).

#venice #italy #Venezia #travel #travelitaly #eurotrip

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dragonseattofu · 3 years

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Spaces Between My Fingers (NEO TWEWY fanfiction)

Summary: Neshiki NEO reunion. NEO TWEWY spoilers. Everyday for two years after Neku’s disappearance, Shiki sits behind Hachiko talking to what looks like herself, her hand securely in another that she can feel but can’t see. Warnings for depression and panic attacks. Check source content for Ao3 link.

Preview:

“Great work on the presentation Misaki-san!”

“Excellent job as always Misaki-san! Have a wonderful evening!”

“See you tomorrow!”

Shiki smiled and nodded at the outpouring of compliments from her staff as they filed out of the conference room. It was her last meeting of the day, and she was exhausted. Never in a million years could she have imagined being the youngest CEO of any clothing company, much less her own brand at the age of eighteen. But, being young didn’t make the responsibilities of a trending brand owner any less tiring. On the bright side, the remainder of the evening was all hers to spend at her own pace.

With that in mind, Shiki gathered her laptop and papers under her arm, turned off the lights and closed the door behind her. She retrieved her messenger bag from the coat rack in her office, pulled the keys from the front pocket, and said a habitual goodnight into the empty space before locking the office for the night.

The soft tapping of rubber on carpet filled the empty hallway on her way to the elevator, the sounds of mindess instrumental music soothed her tired nerves on her voyage down from the eight floor. Slow clicking of gears moving, and the opening the heavy metal doors woke her from her stupor, gesturing light apologies on her way out as more bodies piled into the elevator.

Fresh air filled her lungs as she finally reached the ground level, going westward toward the neighborhood coffee shop where she’s a regular, and the barista started mixing her drink before she could even fish out her wallet. Condensation on the side of the plastic cup collected at her fingertips, leaving a wet smudge on the door as she exited, her sneakered shoes guiding her in the direction of a statue, faithfully waiting for his master that will never come.

Shiki takes a seat behind Hachiko, and looks down at her watch. 19:01. She chuckles, she’s a minute late. She pops an earbud in her ear, and rests her right hand, palm up, on the side of the seat next to her, and waits. She takes another sip of her drink, licking her lips, savoring the overly sweet beverage on the verge of crystallization.

A couple walks by talking about dinner plans, and a group of female students discussing Prince’s recent social media posts pass by as well. A shiba stops in front of her, tilting its head to the side for a brief moment, almost as if he sees something that others can’t, before his owner tugs him along.

Her breath catches and she waits for a split second before she feels a slight shift in the wind around her, an even lighter pressure on her palm. She exhaled, relishing the feel of the spaces between her fingers filling, and she smiled.

“So, I had another productive meeting today....”

She speaks for about an hour into the wind about how her day went, what her last conversation with Eri was like, even about her new not inanimate pet, Mrs. Mew. From afar, most people think she’s talking to herself, those closer assume she’s on the phone. Little do they know that they are both wrong, but that hasn’t stopped her from coming to Hachiko everyday, and speaking into the void as if she’s carrying on a conversation with a long lost friend.

She’s not exactly sure when she started doing this, but it became her way of, well, grieving. After a couple months of blissful dating, getting to know one another outside the confines of a death game, she had sort of … fallen in love.

Only for that love to be suddenly ripped from her with nothing left but a note, from a not so helpful composer. The first couple of days were devastating, she didn’t leave her bed, she wouldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep. The weeks thereafter weren’t much better. Eri, and Rhyme were constantly by her side, making sure she didn’t end up in the hospital for malnuritionment. Beat showed up soon after to smack some sense into her, mostly figuratively.

Beat slammed open her bedroom door, Eri and Rhyme trailing behind yelling at him to calm down. His usual sympathetic expression was replaced with one of impatience and frustration.

“Shiki, enough of this. Get up and go eat somethin’!”

An empty gaze was his only response. He growled, stomping into her room and ripped open the curtains, beams of sunlight showering her floor, her bed, her listless face. In the light he could see that she lost a significant amount of weight in such a short period of time. She was already lean before, now her face began to look sunken in from the starvation and constant darkness. Beat suddenly felt another overwhelming wave of emotion sweep over him.

“This is ridiculous, girl, ya can’t keep goin’ like this or you’ll…” He choked up; he didn’t complete his thought; he just couldn’t. Rhyme and Eri lunged forward to try and hold back the blonde as he grabbed Shiki by the front of her shirt, pulling their faces closer, glaring at her with an intensity he didn’t think he would ever use on her.

Her world shook as droplets fell onto Shiki’s glasses. She could feel Beat shaking from his grasp, his usually clear cerulean eyes were stormy, almost like the sky had broken. A lump formed in her throat. She forgot through her heartbreak that other people might also feel the same pain she was feeling. Sure, she was his first partner, but Beat was also his partner too.

For a tense moment nobody moved, Beat stared into Shiki’s eyes hoping to get his message across wordlessly, Eri and Rhyme holding onto Beat on both sides to restrain him. She had every right to grieve and her pain was more than he could ever imagine, but Beat needed her to know that she wasn’t alone, and that he was there for her, if she would let him. He couldn’t afford to lose her before he got the chance to save him.

Ever so slowly, Shiki moved her one hand over Beat’s. She grabbed a fistful of his jersey in her other hand. For that excruciating week, she went from feeling anxious and depressed to just numb. Now she felt relieved that there was someone else who understood this persistent gnawing ache in her chest. Brotherly simpleton Beat wasn’t being sympathetic to her heartache, but rather empathetic in her mourning.

Her face started to prickle, as the wells that had dried up started to free fall again. She moved to grab Beat, nestling her head into his chest and just … cried. He rested his large hand on her head and hugged her tightly, supporting each other in this moment of catharsis. They stayed like that until Shiki passed out again.

When she came too, Beat, Eri and Rhyme stayed with her that day to make sure she consumed something.

Sometime in the afternoon, Eri decided to attack Beat to get some measurements for a pants design. Big muscular Beat hiding behind tiny Rhyme who was doing little to nothing to protect her older brother from the teen designer wielding a measuring tape going too close for comfort to his ... particular body parts. Shiki graced them all with a smile none of them saw in days.

Big brother Beat decided to have all his meals with her that day forward. Eri said that she could handle this, and found him to be a nuisance, but he didn’t care. Slowly Shiki’s appetite and strength returned, more places ventured outward, even the whirling of her bobbins clicking could be heard throughout the house.

Everytime she had a relapse, a brief moment of chest-tightening, her breath catching, she’d reach out and Beat would be there, embracing her until the panic attack subsided.

With her good days and her bad days, Shiki decided to go back to school after taking a month of absence. Eri got her back into the sewing club, pelting her with designs to keep her busy. The distraction was helpful, almost becoming necessary.

Sometimes she’d go to the skate park, sitting on the bench watching Beat and Rhyme do ollies in front of a setting sun. She would sketch out pieces inspired by the skaters, a little black cat signature adorning each one. Rhyme uploaded some of her designs and completed outfits on a popular social media platform, and named it Gatto Nero with her permission. Sooner than later, Shiki had a following of over one thousand, then five, then over ten approaching twenty. It also helped that her best friend was an influencer and modeled everything Shiki made.

Before anyone knew it, Shiki was approached by the founder of Jupiter of the Monkey, who was impressed by her work, and offered her an intern position while she was still in school. With more tasks to keep her busy, everyday slipped by faster and faster, and the relapses became more infrequent.

A year had passed since his disappearance, and Shiki never really forgot, more so distracted herself with other things to keep her busy on a day like today. After classes, Shiki would go to her internship to work on a couple of assignments and with her last meeting with her supervisor over, she headed out to catch the train home.

She slowed her pace down when she passed the 104 building, mindlessly loitering near the window displays to check out the trends. The Scramble Crossing was busy as usual, and she found herself wandering closer and closer to the statue of Hachiko.

Shiki stared at the bronze canine, her mind drifting to the promise she made quite a long time ago. Realizing she wasn’t in a rush to go home anyway, she took a seat behind the statue.

“Well Neku,” she hesitated, having not uttered his name in almost a year, “it looks like I didn’t keep my promise to be here everyday waiting for you to come back.”

“I-I’m sorry I couldn’t be here sooner.” She could feel her anxiety bubble in her throat, like digging at a wound that had scabbed over and was threatening to bleed out again. Thinking of him was painful, but she realized then that they did have a lot of memories, wonderful, happy memories that she had forgotten in her grief. Memories that were hers to hold onto for as long as she wanted them. Shiki could feel her heartbeat slowing down, the tension in her body subsiding ever so slightly.

“I hope that you’re alright somewhere out there,” she said into the open space in front of her, “I-I miss you.”

Just then a slight touch graced her hands on her lap, but when she looked up, no one was there. The ticking of the crosswalk signs, the pattering of shoes on asphalt, and the shouts of last minute sales continued on as if time and sound hadn’t stopped for a moment. Not exactly sure what she was doing, Shiki raised her hand out in front of her, and a second later, she felt a resistance, an air of familiarity filling the spaces between her fingers effortlessly.

Shiki jumped up in surprise, her bag holding Mr. Mew clattering to the floor before whispering, “...Neku?”

An invisible thumb tapped the back of her hand lightly. She couldn’t hear him, she couldn’t see him, but she could feel him. He was probably in the UG, but for some reason, she could tell he was standing right in front of her.

She sobbed, “Is that really you ---?”

“Shiki! Why ya cryin’? What happened, yo?”

The connection was lost as Beat skated up to her, visibly concerned, looking for some clue as to why his best friend was crying in public. He pulled out a crumpled cloth handkerchief from his back pocket, a gift from Rhyme that came in handy more times than he thought it would.

Shiki continued to stare at the open space, trying to make sense of what had just happened, grasping for what she thought was remnants of a lost love, but the sensation was gone. Whatever was there, it wasn’t there anymore. Even if he was in the game, she shouldn’t have been able to touch anything in the UG. Her mind raced with different jumbled thoughts. What was that? How did that happen? Why now?

“Earth to Shiki!” Beat waved his hand in front of her, successfully snapping her out of her trance.

She looked at him, accepted the handkerchief and dried her tears. Whatever that was, talking about it would only land her another session at the doctor's office. She knew Beat would believe her, but after her long painful year of recovery that he had witnessed, she doubted he would be open to the thought of dredging that wound up again.

Shiki didn’t trust her words, so instead she reached over and hugged him. Without hesitation, Beat returned the gesture. When her sobs had subsided, he gently asked, “let’s bounce?”

In an overprotective brotherly way, he kept his arm around her shoulders after retrieving her bag from the floor.

“Yeah.”

The next morning, Shiki found the day dragging on. She was on autopilot at school, and her assignments at her internship were more clerical in nature, requiring very little brain power. Anything not immediately due would be tomorrow’s problem.

She rushed out of the office building, crossed the scramble and stopped in front of the metal statue. Shiki held her breath as she sat down exactly where she was yesterday. Her muscles tensed as she inhaled deeply.

“So I might be losing my mind, and everyone will think I’m crazy but if you are here, if-if you’re really still here, I’d want you to know that … I miss you Neku.”

For an agonising moment, nothing happened. She wasn’t really sure what she was hoping for. Was everything yesterday just her imagination? Was she just feeling sentimental and willed the tactile sensation into reality?

After a couple more minutes of fruitless imagination, Shiki was about to give up and leave when she felt something, no, someone, grab her hand. Frightened at the sudden contact, Shiki looked down to see that nothing was there, just the fortune lines on her open palm and her silver pinky ring. Yet someone was there, holding her hand in a way she hadn’t felt in so long. She smiled as her eyes began to water.

“It’s you isn’t it.” She said more confidently, though she felt nothing of the sort. A light tap on the back of her hand was her only affirmation.

“I have so many questions for you, but I’ll save them for when you get back. The only one I need to ask is w-will you be back?” She tentatively prodded the air metaphorically, hoping she hadn’t pressed her luck. Another light tap had her smiling once more.

“Beat’s going to kill you if you ever make it out of the UG. Rhyme’s not going to stop him. Eri hates your guts for leaving me.” She chuckled at that. She felt her hand move slightly, almost as if he sat down next to her. He brushed his unseen thumb over her knuckles.

A couple of people passing by looked at Shiki as if she wasn’t having a completely one sided conversation with herself in broad daylight. She honestly couldn’t care less. She rambled on about random things, hoping to catch him up on the entire year he had missed, only the good things because she wasn’t quite ready to talk about the bad ones. She would have continued well into the night if her phone hadn’t rang.

“Girl, why you don pick up ya phone? I’ve been tryin’ to reach ya for hours!” Beat shouted so loudly into her phone she had to remove it from her ear.

“Shiki, where are you?” the smaller girl gently inquired, seemingly having pulled her brother’s phone away from him before he crushed it, “he was about to call the police if you didn’t pick up.”

She could still feel their hands interlocked, but reluctantly replied, “I’m at Hachiko, Rhyme. Tell Beat I’ll text when I leave and get home.”

“Beat wait -- , nevermind he just left. We’ll come pick you up. Just stay there. See you soon!” The phone line clicked.

Shiki sighed, “Beat and Rhyme are coming to get me. It won’t be long before they show up.” She paused, wondering if she could ask what has been on her mind, if the fates were on her side today.

“I’ll promise to be here, everyday, waiting for you to get back to the RG. Until then, can you promise to meet me here, everyday, until I can see you again?” She knew this went against the rules of the game, but the game had dictated her happiness for long enough. If there was any chance of being with him, invisible or otherwise, she would take it.

Her hand moved again, this time their fingers separated, but not completely. His pinky finger wrapped around her silver ring, the same one she wore during the first game, and a new promise was made as they gently shook on it.

And then he was gone. Her hand tingled from the absence of his light touch. She thought she could see faint sparkles from where she presumed he had been sitting. When the Bito siblings found her shortly after, her dazed expression had them both worried, but then a genuine smile broke out on her face as she proposed they go have a light dinner before heading home. Rhyme and Beat looked at each other, communicating through their eyes that they had no idea what had happened, but were glad Shiki’s original spark had finally showed up all the same.

That had been two years ago, and everyday of those two years Shiki spent pretending to talk to someone on the phone instead of an apparition. Everyday for two years of updating his shadow on her daily life routine and not being able to ask him how his day went. This arrangement wasn’t perfect, but just knowing that he was alive, even if they were on separate planes, meant that there was hope she would see him again. Even as the weeks went to months, and months went to years, everyday, he would faithfully show up, and they would hold hands just to exist together behind the symbol of loyalty and patience.

“Tomorrow’s my big collaboration presentation to the executives of Jupiter. Eri and Rhyme are going to be there. We could honestly all use the distraction after what happened with Beat. Please look out for him in the UG? Times like this I really wonder what’s going on with the game now and how many people I have to lose to it before it’s satisfied…”

About two weeks ago, Beat magically disappeared. Shiki was going to his classroom to invite him to lunch with her and Eri when she saw a student in his class hand Beat a pin of some sort. They were trending for a while now, but they reminded Shiki too much of the game to want one for herself. Trauma, bad luck, she wasn’t really sure, but she wanted no part in it.

When the student handed it to Beat though, he vanished into thin air. She dropped her bento and unceremoniously ran into the classroom. Shiki demanded what just happened, when Beat’s classmate just looked at her, his eyes dilated for a second, returned back to normal, and looked surprised. She again pressed on for an answer, to which the student had no idea who or what she was talking about.

It was almost as if Beat’s entire existence was … erased. When she realized that she wasn’t getting anywhere, she ran to the first year classrooms and shouted for Rhyme. Shiki couldn’t imagine why this was happening again. She finally was able to talk to Neku again and now her pseudo brother, Beat, was missing.

Despite the inner turmoil she was feeling, Shiki had enough sense that day to ask Neku if he’d seen or heard from Beat. It was difficult to communicate when the only responses she got were taps on her hand but she managed to find out that Beat was indeed in the UG, even if Neku hadn’t seen him personally yet. Rhyme had a look in her eyes, almost as if she was looking beyond the plane of the RG and was preparing her next move. Rhyme said not to worry, she was going to track down her brother down one way or another.

For the past two weeks, Shiki had a few depressive relapses. Even though she had her coping mechanisms, her rock was gone. Rhyme was working on her military grade computer system to find Beat in the UG, and Eri helped keep her distracted with work. But it wasn’t the same. It helped that Neku was there for her everyday though, like today.

“Well that's all I have for now. Please keep on eye out for the skaterbrain, and wish me luck on my presentation,” she felt a tap on the back of her hand, “till tomorrow.”

As predicted, Shiki was a ball of nerves during her presentation, but she warmed up at least a quarter way through. It helped that she knew most of the execs from her internship days at Jupiter, and were impressed with her work. The collaboration looked promising for the coming days. Eri and Rhyme, both of her founding Gatto Nero board members, ushered her to leave for her date while they settled some details, promising to meet up with her afterward. She felt like she was on top of the world after that meeting, and was bouncing happily to the coffee shop to grab her customary celebratory drink before heading to Hachiko.

What she saw standing behind the statue made her drop her drink and had her flying across the scramble. She barreled into the boy, causing his headphones to fall into his hood. He took a step back to steady them both before bringing his arms around her.

“Hey Shik’s, did ya miss me tha much?” the blond boy flashed a mischievous grin.

“You idiot! I’m so mad at you! I’m going to sew your feet to the ground if you ever do that again!” Shiki screamed at him, throwing fists into his lean chest to demonstrate how mad she really wasn’t.

“Gah girl, when did ya get so strong?” Beat shrieked, trying to hug her again to stop her from hitting him.

“I missed ya too, now stop hittin’ me yo!” She pouted as she squeezed him tight. She had gotten so used to his hugs, she really missed them.

“I got a surprise fo ya.” He pulled away from her so she could see who was behind him.

She stopped breathing. It was like her lungs and heart decided to shut down at the same time, leaving her body to scramble on how to save the rest of her. Her hands tingled from the lack of oxygen as she stared at his face, the one that had matured, but never really changed after three years. He sported his boyish smile, not hidden behind a collar, the ones she admittedly had forgotten about but made her stomach flutter all the same.

“Hey Stalker.”

She could tell that he was nervous, the same nervous energy he had when they started dating years ago. Shiki had dreamed about what their reunion would be like, what she would do when it happened, what she imagined he would say. It wasn’t that, and she wanted to punch him for it if she could just MOVE.

But she felt paralyzed, and he was getting even more nervous from the silent treatment. There were a couple of people she didn’t recognize around them, but all she saw was Neku.

Growing impatient, Beat slapped Neku on the back so hard he fell forward, catching his balance before he could fall into Shiki. When he was close enough she reached out and grabbed his hand, with all the familiarity she had gotten used to for two years. Then he tenderly touched her face, wiping away her tears.

“I’m home.” He said gently.

She managed to mutter, “welcome home,” before he sealed his promise with a kiss she had been waiting too long to return.

OMAKE

“Phones get a room bro! We got kids ‘ere!”

“Yeah Neku-san get some!”

“We aren’t that much younger than you”

“I believe that I am older than all of you. And with that I bid you all farewell as I am in jeopardy of major spoilers. I must get the new EleStra DLC immediately!”

“Boss, wait, we got to celebrate our victory, come back!”

Notes: Full disclaimer, I haven’t finished TWEWY NEO yet, I’m starting the third week now. I’ve spoiled myself, so I sort of know what happens, but a lot of what I do know is out of context. So take this story as you will, it might not make a whole lot of sense, and might be completely off, but I’m excited that when I do finish the game, how my headcannons will have matched up! Or don’t!

That also being said, I starved myself from reading other fanfics on the Neshiki reunion because I didn’t want it to unintentionally change my headcannon and I also wanted to write without feeling like I was copying someone else’s ideas. If my story is similar to someone else’s, it’s purely because great minds think alike. An example of convergent evolution if you will. (I will be devouring those fics very soon though).

Notes regarding the story-wise: I like found family tropes, and I wanted to make it clear that Beat and Shiki’s relationship are purely brother/sister related if I haven’t already. If you have other shipping goggles on, have at it in this judgement free zone. This story was inspired by this idea I had of Shiki sitting behind Hachiko holding hands (I love hand holding. I wrote two other fanfics about that) with Neku, who is transparent being in the UG, just smiling at her while she talks about her day even though she can’t see him. The miracles of love and friendship traverse all planes right?

Anyway, if you’ve read this far, thanks for listening to my Ted Talk and I hope you enjoyed this Neshiki food I’ve haphazardly prepared in like 7 hours.

#The world ends with you #twewy #twewy neo #neshiki #the world end with you neo #neo the world ends with you #neo twewy #shiki misaki #neku sakuraba #rhyme bito #daisukenojo bito #my post #mypost #myfanfiction #my fanfiction #myfanfic #my fanfic

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