Tracked down [Rhyme]

[Raimu Bito]

"No, I'm fine. Wasn't sure if you left me here or not." she told him, smiling as she put her shoes back on. She started lacing them up as she thought about being here. If the two were planning on sticking together (which she hoped they were, she didn't like being alone) they needed a plan. She got up and stood in front of Neku, putting her most serious face on. Somehow though, her serious face still looked quite cute, or so Beat had told her.
"Hey, Neku? How long do are you staying here?And can I stay with you?" she asked, shy in her questioning, since she wasn't as familiar with the redhead as most of the other Players. Well, mostly Beat, but he really didn't count, seeing as he was her brother. But if Neku and her were the only survivors (which she really hoped wasn't so) she'd have to be much closer than she was now. Even closer if either of them cared to. She wasn't really one for dating; her childish innocence had really kept that from happening (or Beat's threatening presence around any boy, she wasn't sure) but she wouldn't mind if it did happen. Maybe it would in this strange world. She didn't know.

[Neku Sakuraba]

"I wasn't planning on staying in this town for too much longer, but we can stay as long as you want to. I don't mind the company," Neku answered, giving Rhyme a reassuring smile as he sat up and laced up his own shoes. Yeah, it was about time to get up, anyways. Brand new day, may as well try to enjoy it. He paused for a second at that thought. Mr. Hanekoma's encouragements were still with him, even in this place. He who enjoys life wins at life.

"Why don't we do what you wanna do today? I don't really have anything planned. I know a guy in a town near here that'll swap your Yen for the money they use around here, so that's our next stop when we leave town. Is there anything you want to do before we decide to go? I'm up for about anything," He said, standing up and putting his 'phones around his neck, not on his ears just yet. Save the music for crowd walking.

[Raimu Bito]

Rhyme smiled back, her serious face now dissipating into a happy one. She wasn't one to look down all the time, and in fact, quite the opposite. She was an optimist, different than what Neku had been. She was different than the Neku she had known before, seeing as he and her older brother didn't get along. Maybe it was because of Neku, though she doubted it. Beat could be hotheaded at times.

Looking up at a corner when Neku said he wanted to do what she wanted today, she tried to remember what she had passed on the way through the town. There was a bakery...she thought, and a store...was it a music store? She didn't remember. Being here for 3 weeks should have left something on her memory, but it didn't. Maybe they'd just explore the city and find something. That was what she thought, at least. Unless Neku had somewhere he wanted to go, she was out of ideas.
"Why don't we just look around...? I mean, nothing really stuck in my mind." she told him, a little laugh escaping her lips.

[Neku Sakuraba]

"Fine with me. We should probably pick up some stuff before we go; no telling how far it is between some of the other towns. We might as well make sure we can get through all right," Neku replied, shrugging and leading Rhyme back out of the hotel (inn) and out onto the streets. It looked like dawn was just starting, but quite a few shops were opening despite the very few people on the streets. Neku always liked the streets of Shibuya more at night and early morning than other times of the day.

The calm was interrupted by a loud shout from somewhere nearby; something that sounded disconcertingly like 'LOOK OUT, IT'S LOOSE', which was never, EVER a good thing. Unfortunately for Neku, his suspicion of the shout was correct, and a monster of some sort barreled around the corner. It looked to have been kept hungry purposely, and it was definitely predatory; sort of like a wolf, but three times as vicious looking. And it had a fin on it's head. A fin. That was just... Plenty of Noise were weird, but a fin on the head was just ridiculous. The monster quickly picked its target, the weakest looking of the street's inhabitants, a particular girl with blond hair and a black hat.

Neku knew well enough what was going to happen, but the speed at which it did was more than he'd expected. This thing was like a speeding car; Neku only had enough time to shove Rhyme out of the beast's way and fire off a bolt from the Psychomancy psych, thankfully knocking the thing out of the way before what looked like razor sharp claws turned him into steak, though it still managed to cut into his arm. "All right, bring it on!" Neku said, more to himself, his left hand glowing a second before a wave of what looked like solidified air blasted at the monster, placing himself between the monster and his friend.

______________________

Neku Sakuraba

[hp=70/100]

Actions: Psychokiness (x2) [Heavy]



Arena Monster

[hp=40/100]

Actions: Dragon Cut [Heavy]

[Raimu Bito]

Rhyme happily followed Neku out unto the sleepy street, rubbing her eyes. She wasn't too awake yet, but hearing screams, she turned. What was it? Something was loose?! Rhyme wasn't ready for it when a fin appeared around the corner. Rhyme started to scream when she was pushed out of the way, by her friend, Neku. He'd saved her...just like she had saved Beat.

She couldn't repay him just that easily. It wasn't a normal thing, he'd saved her life. And, these feelings...(feelings from the past times he had saved her) felt..like..no. They couldn't be. But they were. Admiration, even love for him. Why was that? If he knew..she was blushing, she felt it. But she had no time for that. Using her pin, she hit the monster, though it wasn't heavy damage. Then, she used Holy Strike, hitting the monster once more, killing it.
"Neku...thank you..." she puffed out, looking at his wounds. She looked at him, smiling a bit, and bowed her head. "I don't know how to repay you..."
---------------------------

[Neku Sakuraba]

Don't worry about it, Rhyme. That thing would've killed you if I didn't stop it. I wasn't going to let that happen," Neku answered, casting Cure on himself to stop the three gashes on his arm where he'd been hit from bleeding. God, that hurt... But it would've been a hell of a lot worse if it had it him at full speed. It was a good thing Neku's Psychokiness pin had been working; he needed to keep himself alive. He felt himself getting a bit dizzy. Bad sign; dizzy meant he lost a little too much blood, which had strangely disappeared when he cast the Cure spell. Let's go back to the hotel... I'd rather be on the ultra-fluffy couch than on the sidewalk or a bench somewhere..."

By the time the animal's handler arrived at the scene, Neku and Rhyme were gone, and the man looked shocked at the lack of dead civilians around the defeated creature. They hadn't really gone far from the hotel, so getting back was quick, and the orange haired teen flopped down on the megafluffy couch, dropping his headphones on the table and, after a minute, seeming to fall asleep. His arm was burning under the skin; he never knew using curative magic (Or, he assumed it was magic) could do that, but it was irritating, though his mind was a bit fogged over at the moment. He'd notice the sensation later, probably, but for now that was the last thing on his mind. He was primarily focused on resting enough so that his mind didn't work like molasses on a cold day. He still wasn't quite asleep, though; he probably looked a lot like it, but he was still awake enough to respond to about anything that happened.

[Raimu Bito]

Rhyme helped him up the stairs of the hotel, worried. Yes, he had cast Cure on himself, but he still looked like he was in pain. She didn't like it that he was in pain at all, and she frowned a bit. But when he was finally resting, she decided to let it out.
"Okay...I like you. But you don't know that yet. I don't know if you'll ever need to know. But this feeling..It's different in a good way. It's not the love I feel for Beat. I'm not sure..but I think..I know. I like you."
Saying such made Rhyme feel better. He didn't hear, so he didn't know. It was perfect in such a way that Rhyme herself wanted to smile, and she did. She sat on the bed, starting to drift off a bit herself. Letting off steam was a good way to get rid of secrets, and she knew that. Maybe he liked her back. She wouldn't know.

[Neku Sakuraba]

Neku was, admittedly, surprised by Rhyme's revelation. She didn't seem the type to be brave enough to just announce it like that-- But then, he probably looked like he was asleep, so she probably thought he didn't hear her. It was... surprising, but not unwelcome. It made him stop and think for a minute about his own feelings. Yeah... he guessed he liked Rhyme a bit more than just friends. Most likely. His mind was still fairly foggy at the moment.

"... I think I feel the same way, Rhyme. Good to know," He answered, sitting up and repressing a wince. He felt the burning sensation in his arm now that he was propping himself up on it. Ouch... just.... ouch. It was oddly comforting to know how Rhyme felt, though. He just hoped his having actually been AWAKE when she spoke wouldn't upset her.

[Raimu Bito]

Rhyme's eyes widened. She hadn't meant for him to hear that. Not in the least...he though he liked her, though. She felt her face heating up more as she blushed, trying to supress it, but it didn't work. What was she to say...? This was terrifying. It showed on her face, a deer caught in a headlight. What to do, what to do?

"I....I!" Rhyme was shaking now, her legs wobbly as she got up. Looking at Neku, she couldn't help it anymore. She ran, ran towards the door. Without shoes, without her hat. She ran down the stairs. Breathing, she stopped in the lobby, her back against a cold wall. People looked at her weirdly, and all she could do was look at the floor, embarrassed to say anything, to shaken to do anything.She could only hope the feeling would pass, maybe she could just bring it back.

Or she could accept it.

[Neku Sakuraba]

"... What did I say...?" Neku asked, dropping himself back onto the couch. Sure, normally he would have followed her, but he could hardly push himself up right now. He'd probably fall over and hurt himself worse if he tried to take more than three steps, and where would that get him? Even longer time resting. Still, it wasn't too positive a feeling to see Rhyme just dash out of the room like that right after he, Neku Sakuraba, the guy who NEVER talked about his emotions unless absolutely necessary, had told her he liked her back. It wasn't exactly a normal reaction...

But maybe he'd just scared her. She thought he was asleep, he wasn't, she wasn't expecting him to reply. Judging by how fast she ran out, though, he guessed she probably wouldn't be too eager to come back up... even if she did leave her shoes and hat up here. But then, he mused, this was just his luck at work; someone says to him she likes him, he says so back, she runs away. It probably would have happened with anyone. Neku just sighed and shut his eyes again. If he was going to be alone for what he guessed would be a good while, he may as well focus on de-fogging his mind.

[Raimu Bito]

Rhyme knew that, after what had felt like a good 30 minutes, she'd have to back upstairs. Stumbling up the stairs, she didn't even bother to knock on the door. She knew she needed to give him an explanation, but she wasn't sure how to say it. Taking a seat on the bed, she sighed, then opened her mouth, closed it again, and sighed. What are you supossed to tell him? This is Neku we're talking about. He was so different than other people. Why had she even planned on doing that? It was a Beat-like mistake.
"I'm sorry, Neku. I really shouldn't have said anything. I don't mind if you don't like me back, I guess that I was..just..intrigued by you. And it's my fault for your arm." she sighed, not able to look him in the eyes, scared as hell.

[Neku Sakuraba]

"...Don't worry about it. I'll be fine," Neku replied, looking at Rhyme and noticing she was avoiding making eye contact. That figured. Oh well. "I still meant what I told you, even if you didn't want me to hear what you said. Sorry if I startled you; I didn't think you'd freak out like that."

Well, at least he was honest about it. He gave Rhyme a reassuring smile and looking up at the ceiling. His head was clearing out of its fog now, but he still felt dizzy physically, meaning he still wasn't going to try moving around just yet. If he'd felt like he wasn't going to fall over after standing up, he probably would have reinforced the smile with a pat on the shoulder or a hug or something (He didn't quite know which), if just to make her feel better. "... So... I didn't know anyone would go around to liking someone like me. I didn't really expect it."

[Raimu Bito]

"Neku..." she started, her gaze now looking at him. He was kind, if anything, to her. She didn't understand why he liked her in anyway. She was just a kid. Or at least, that's what everyone else said. And wasn't he afraid of what Beat would do? Apparently not. And, in this case, she wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

"Well, it was a bit unexpected for you to actually like me, to be honest." she told him, then smiled back at him with her signature smile, closing her eyes. Okay, if he liked her, and she liked him, now what? Were they a couple? She wasn't sure. She wasn't even sure she wanted to find out. She didn't need to have another panic attack, though that one may actually be a good kind of panic attack, like the kind you had when someone proposed to you, or you found out you were having a baby you were trying for.

[Neku Sakuraba]

"Please don't run away like I'm threatening to kill you again," Neku said, moving his hurt arm around to work out a bit of the soreness left by the healing magic.The thought of having anything akin to a girlfriend was new to him, but not the unwelcome sort of newness like you get when you meet some creepy hobo on the street. Good new. He wasn't really sure why or how he of all people had come to like ANYONE to the point of having a more-than-friends relationship.

"...Well, we might as well make it an official couple, right?" He asked, and was about to ask the already-mostly-answered question of 'Will you go out with me' or something along those lines, he couldn't will himself to say it. It was too... open. He looked nervous for all of three seconds, shaking his head in confusion. "Uh... You want to ... uh... go out?" He asked, choking the question out. That was way harder than it needed to be; it was like some sort of force from somewhere else had purposely made it difficult for him to ask it. Or maybe he was just nervous; he was glad to be lying on his back right now. From this angle (With his shirt's wide neck contributing to it), Rhyme wouldn't be able to see him blushing like he'd been caught without his clothes on.

[Raimu Bito]

If Rhyme had a drink in that moment, she would have honestly spit it out. Okay...compose yourself, it's just Neku. But the reason why she was so afraid was because it was Neku. It was a guy, and she was a girl...and they were a couple? She could almost hear Sho yelling at her: "It's so zetta simple, you zetta runt!" yes, it was simple, but this was a whole new kind of simple. Rhyme, though smart, could barely think about it without getting a minor headache. It took her a few seconds for her mouth to form a word, she was so flustered.
"Um...yes." she said, barely getting the words to come out. At that moment, she tried to pull her beanie down to hide her blushing face. Of course, when she needed it, it wasn't on her head. Great. So as her face got completely red, she just looked down, hoping to hide it so Neku wouldn't see. Though that probably wouldn't work, knowing her luck today.