Beginnings and Endings. von abgemeldet ================================================================================ Kapitel 1: Sakuraba Neku ------------------------ Sakuraba Neku. Beginning. „Outta my face.“ „Hey!“ The schoolgirl almost tripped, when someone pushed her away from behind. She looked after her „attacker“: A young teenager, ca. 14-15 years old, red hair, giant headphones. „WOH! What are you thinking, you’re doing?! You could have hurt me, you know?!“ The boy ignored her and went on. Her friend came and helped her up. „Hey, Momoko, are you alright?“ „Yeah… That guy just, like… what the hell is he thinking?!“ „What?... Oh. It’s just Sakuraba Neku-senpai.“ „You know him?“ „Well, a lot of people know him. He’s not bad-looking and neighter unpopular with the girls… but he...“ Neku just grabbed his MP3-Player turned up the volume. The last thing he needed to hear was a pair of girls goshiping about him. Even if it was true. He had gotten love-letters from girls almost regulary. He always ignored them. And not only the letters… „So… That’s this one boy, the other’s were talking ´bout, Ai-chan?“ The girl was holding her cellphone in her hand, it looked like she was going to shot a photo any minute. „Yes, he’s that one guy from the other High School...“ „He looks pretty cute, doesn’t he?“ „Yeah, but don’t get to close to this guy. He’s got some serious ishues, I hear.“ „Ah, he can’t be THAT bad!“ Mina took a cell down and walked up to the stranger. „Hello!“ Neku took a quick look. Then, he broke up the eye contact and turned up the volume once again. Mina smiled: „Hey, I wondered if you could tell me the way to—„ „Scram.“ „Huh?“ Neku went away, without paying Mina a single glimpse more. „Ouch… That was quick…“ „Yeah, told you. My friend over at the other High School says, that he’s been like this ever since this great car-accident a few years ago…It was in the newspapers, remember? I heard a friend of him was involved.“ „Ohhh….. And now he’s s cold?.... WHAAA! DON’T YOU EVER DIE ON ME, AI-CHAN!!!“ Mina jumped and hugged Ai in childish fear. Neku sighed. The volume was at the highest level, and he could STILL hear those chicks through his Phones. //I ought to get headphones with a louder bass…//, he thought by himself. Ai laughed: „OK, OK, I won’t! Hehe!“ //As if YOU could promise that to her…“//, Neku thought. //It’s not like you could decide when you go. It just happens. There is nothing, you can do about it... Nobody can change it. People aren’t coming back from the dead. Better not getting too attached to them... It just hurts.// Neku entered the AMX-store.... Yeah, noisy as ever. If they just would all shut up... Neku looked through the regals, until he found the Single, he’s been locking for. He went to the counter and payed. “Hey, you didn’t let me stamp your costumer-card!”, shouted the shopkeeper, but Neku just went on. He had no time for putting up anymore with that guy and his stamp. “Huh? A costumer, who doesn’t let his card get stamped? Well, that’s new!” “It’s not just that! He comes here every Monday and buys. I can tell you, his taste is great... But the tracks he buys are mostly sad and full of loneliness and despair and such stuff...” “And that’s a suprise to you? I mean, just look at him. That attire just shouts “lonely wolf”!” “Yeah, you’re probably right.” //If they could just stop talking...// Neku went on. He hated it when people where talking next to him and he even more hated it, when people were talking ABOUT him. It was his world, his feelings. They had no right to even try to enter it. He wanted to lock the world out of it. To tune it out with his headphones. The world he grew up in was such a noisy place... Well, except... Neku walked down the Dogenzaka. “Irasshaimase! Don’t you want some good Ramen, boy? It’s good for growing children like you!” Volume up. Ignore the guy. Walk on. Neku to the next turn right... He went up the stairs... There was it. “Ahh... Great as always!” For the first time today, Neku switched his MP3-player off. Silence. Calm. He looked up the big mural. The graffiti on it showed a cat, among various other smybols. Neku smiled. “Enjoy the moment... right, CAT?” He reached out his hand for the graffiti: “How could I not enjoy this awesomeness? Even though it happened here... Even though I was here, when I lost him... Your art always gave me hope. Thinking that you were standing here once, some time ago.. Wow. That feels so great... I just wish, you would show your face... I would like to talk to you... About so many things... So baddly...” Neku kept looking at the grafitti. He hesitated to touch it... Then, a voice broke through the wonderfull silence in Neku’s world. “COME BACK HERE, YOU YOCTOGRAM!” “Hehe! If you’re as great as you claim, how come you can’t even catch a child?” “Huh?” Neku turned his head around--- A boy with silver hair came run. Past the corner. In his hand... A GUN?! Neku just starred... speechless. He swore, he heard the boy say: “Ah, there you are!”, as a loud PENG, almost shattered his ears. He fell to the ground. ... The silver-haired boy smiled. He was holding the pistole very coinfidently. Neku’s heart was beating fast. He was alive. Not even hurt. But... the shot... Where did it go— “Ah- I blew it...” “What?!” Neku turned around. A man was behind him. Another gun. The man raised the gun. Neku closed his yes. Another PENG. ... Again, the shot didn’t hit him. The boy... The buletts where hovering in the air, right before him! He... stopped them?! Neku gasped... Then, he heard steps... The man was runing away. Neku turned around again: “Hey, what is going o—“ He couldn’t end the sentence. The silver haired boy was standing right in front of him now. And his gun was pointing... At Neku. “See you in the UG.” “W-“ PENG Neku’s eyes closed. He fell down onto the hard floor... Why.... here? Of all places... here? With the last of his energy, Neku opened his eyes again. In a blurry view, he could see the boy, still smiling. He was holding something tiny in this hand. “Just don’t screw this up. You have all my faith, Neku.” The boy let the little thing fall, right onto Neku... And right before it touched him, Neku could feel his consciousness beeing ripped away... out of his body... And suddenly, everything he ever knew just fadded into a unrecognizable blurr. ....I would have never found this silent loneliness anyway, right? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ending-Beginning Since this, weeks had passed. Four very important weeks... Neku switched his MP3 player off. He was almost there now... “Hey!” “Over here!!” “He he...” Neku smiled. Beat and Rhyme were already waiting for him at Hachiko, waving. “Hi, guys!” He went up to them. “What took you so long, Phones?!”, asked Beat. “We’ve been waiting halfa eternity!” Rhyme laughed: “He means, we just got here ourselfs!” “Hey!” Neku bowed down a bit, to be on eye-level with her. “Good to see you back, Rhyme! And... You’re alright now?” “Yes, I’m fine. Well... I suddenly gained some strange obsession with hazlenut-flavoured deserts, but , aside from that, I’m back to normal, I guess!”, she giggled embarassed. “That’s good!” “Ohhh.... Come here, Phones!” Beat grabbed Neku jokingly: “Don’t ya get that close to my sis’! Haha!” “OK, OK, hehe, just let me go!” Neku looked up: “Sooo... what are we gonna do? Just roaming the streets, or...” “CURRY!”, shouted Beat. Rhyme smiled: “Hmm, I feel more like Ice-cream!” “So, we’re going to eat CURRY-ICE-CREAM!”, said Beat, perplexing Neku. “Err... What?” “OK, Curry-Ice-Cream, case closed! Can we go now!?” A mousy voice started to giggle. “Hehe... You’re not forgetting about me, are you?” “Huh?” Neku feeled somone touching him from behind. He turned around. A girl with short, black hair, a blue skirt and a green west smiled at him. In her arms, she held a plushie, resembeling a black pig---errrm, cat. “Shiki! Hi!”, ssaid Neku “How’s it going?” “Hehe, great, thanks! I made up with Eri yesterday, so, it’s all Ok now!” Beat looked pretty surprised: “Woah, that’s what I call some change!” Shiki blushed: “Yeah.... Is it OK?” “Hey, ya pretty cute!”, answered Beat. “Phones, tell ya girl, she looks cute!” “ “My girl”?” “Ya know what I mean!” Neku and Shiki both laughed. “OK, Shiki, you look cute!” “Hehe, thanks!” “The only thing, I don’t get is...uhhm...” He looked Shiki’s clothes. They were pretty much the Untrendiest thing, you could Mix and Match. “Uhhmmm.. And you’re sure that you’re the same girl, who lamented over a loose button on my pants?” “Oh—Those are...” Shiki blushed once again. “Well... I have different ones of course.. but... they are in the laundry... this were the only ones.. I mean...” “You were not shure, if the clothes you like fit you, hm?” Shiki turned all red: “Yes... I mean... I don’t have the figure... and those glasses don’t fit with anything... and I got problems with my feet and...” “Just wear, what you want, the next time you come, OK?” “Huh?” “You said you’re not pretty, remember? Well, I think, you are. And you have no reason to force yourself into tha clothes, just because you’re afraid that someone wouldn’t like your body! You like it, and that’s all that matters, right?” Shiki smiled: “Thanks, Neku.... OK...” She had a weird look on her face, like something was wanting to come out, something she kept inside a long time: “If it’s like this... I’M GONNA GIVE MYSELF A MAKEOVER NOW! OF TO 104!!!! YEAY!” //Does poor piggy get a makeover too?//, thought Neku smiling, while looking at Mr. Mew... Then , he backed off. Was it just him, or did that Plushie just WINK at him? “NO WAY!”, lamented Beat. “We’re going to eat curry!” “I’m still thinking, Ice-cream would be great...” “But I want to go shopping!” “Curry!” “Uhhm... Ice-Cream, anyone?” “Neku, tell Beat, that we’re going shopping!” “Hey, I’m not going to carry your bags!” “YOU brought me into the mood!” “....Hazlenut Ice-cream? Hm?” Neku backed of and started laughing loud: “Wow, who would have thought, that we would end up fighting because of stuff like that? I mean, we survived THE game! HAHAHA!” “And it did do a lot to you!”, noticed Shiki. “I can’t recall to have you ever heard laughing like this before! I didn’t even now, you could laugh that loud!” “Beat’s a baaad influence!”, giggled Rhyme. “What? I ain’t laughing like that!” “Neku in Mus Rattus clothes.” “MUHAHAHAHAHAHA!” “See?” “Arghh... You got me...” Beat smiled: “Everybody! HIGH FIVE!” “OK!” The four jumped laughing, even Rhyme, who was way to small to even reach the other’s palms. And... for the first time in years, Neku started to realize again, what made life so great... Friends. And they’ll always be there. Even if you lose them, their love for you and your love for them never fades. And new bonds can always be formed. Just... one thing was missing... Hey, Josh... Can you see us? Doesn’t it look like fun? Well I, for my part, am having the time of my life. Jealous? Well, if you don’t want to come, poor you! And on top the highest building of Shibuya, two men sat and watched. “Hey. It’s their world... They get to decide, what to do with it! We just..” But the other man just closed his eyes: Neku... You know what? You got me jealous. Very jealous. Wanna have my job? Don’t want it anymore. Really. Hosted by Animexx e.V. (http://www.animexx.de)