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Neku was looking at the new apps on his phone. He was shocked to see how many new games and new things there were.
A lot of things happened in the three years he was trapped in the UG.
He walked past the Scramble Crossing as he went back to Hachikō.
He tried texting to see if Shiki was free, but he knows work is keeping her away. He hopes they can find the time to go on a date sometime soon.
Neku just looked up as he saw at 104, and thought about how the Shibuya he knew had changed.
He sighed, wondering where he should go to in Shibuya.
“Hey! Is that Neku?” He heard a familiar voice walk up to him.
“Oh. Hey, Fret.” Neku greeted his friend. “You waitin’ on somebody? It’s great to see ya!” Fret said, as he leaned against the rail.
“Nah, just wanted to clear my head a little.” Neku explained, as he smiled. Before he thought of something. “Oh, hey Fret…you’re keeping up with Shibuya’s trends all the time, right?” He asked.
“Hm? Oh yeah, why? You lookin’ to up your drip?” Fret asked.
“My…what?” Neku asked, awkwardly. “O-Oh, sorry! I was just talking about your fashion.” Fret rose his hand up.
“What do my clothes have to do with dripping?” Neku asked.
“It’s a turn of phrase, man, don’t sweat the details!” Fret smirked, “But hey, I’ll run the new slang by you and we can look around Shibuya a little more!”
Neku nodded, “Okay then. Lead the way.” He said, kindly.
Fret gave a quick thumbs up, “You got it, boss! Just don’t let Nagi know I called you boss!” Fret said.
Neku laughed and put his hands in his pockets. “You got it. We’ll call it a “non-disclosure agreement”, then.” Neku joked with him.
(Later)
Neku wasn’t surprised by all the new fashion lineups, but they had such similar designs to trending brands when he was younger.
“You seriously could influence the brands whenever you fought Noise?” Fret asked, “Dude, I’m jealous! I wish we had more missions like that…”
“Yeah, but I wasn’t really as invested into fashion like Shiki was.” Neku said.
“Really? But you coordinate your outfit so well!” Fret said.
“I didn’t really pick the outfit, I just had it in my time in the UG.” Neku said, shrugging his shoulders.
Fret gave a cringey smile, “That explained why you didn’t know Gatto Nero…” he said.
Neku sighed, “Oh come on. Please let that go. Shiki didn’t let up when she saw I was wearing her brand…” he said. He felt ashamed for not recognizing her fashion brand.
“Uhh…anyways, I know a lot of your brands have changed a lot, but I think you’ll like this!” Fret said, holding up a Monocrow brand t-shirt.
Neku smiled stoically as he looked at the design. “I mean…it feels nice, but I dunno if this is really my style anymore, Fret.” He said.
“Really? I mean, you have that cool kid vibe goin’ on. You look a little brooding sometimes, like Rindude.” Fret said.
“I HAVE been known to angst on occasion, does that count?” Neku asked.
“Hahaha! Man, I take it back. You’re a lot more upbeat than I thought, Neku.” Fret said.
Neku then looked around at all the other merch. “Hmmm…What about that backpack right there?” Neku said.
“You want it?” Fret asked, “I guess I’ll buy it.”
(Later)
Neku then walked into Miyashita Park and walked alongside Fret to go try that ice cream from fluffy ‘n’ sweet.
“I can’t believe you only really love that one cone, where’s the variety?” Fret asked him.
“I mean, you can’t go wrong with a simple cone, Fret.” Neku said.
“Gotta feel bad for Beat, he REALLY hates those.” Fret then joked.
“I think he really hated that potato swirl too, right?” Neku asked.
“Ohh, that made him scrunch up too, hahaha!” Fret joked.
“Maybe I should ask Shiki if she wants to come here.” Neku said.
“You totally should, dude! This place is definitely good for a date!” Fret encouraged.
Neku smiled, “Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks, Fret.” He said, before taking another bite of his ice cream.
“What’s this? I recognize you, sir.” A voice had walked up to them.
A blonde man wearing white had walked up to him. “I see you’ve coordinated your outfit much better than before.” He said.
Fret was starstruck. “N-No way…”
“Um, do I know you, sir?” Neku asked, awkwardly and confused.
“Y-You don’t know him? He’s the Prince!” Fret said.
“Ah, you’ve forgotten me. Well, it truly gladdens me you haven’t been wrapping your youth in that spicy tuna roll.” Eiji had said.
“Spicy…tuna roll?” Neku was still seriously confused.
“Neku, have you met the Prince before?!” Fret asked.
“I mean, I do have a familiar feeling soon as he said “spicy tuna roll”…” Neku said.
“Aww, this’d be so easy if I still had my powers…” Fret said. “Uh…C’mon think…” he muttered.
Though Fret’s former powers didn’t help Neku remember. “Oh, I remember now. You were talking to me and Shiki at 104.” Neku explained.
“Ah, so you do remember me. I’m delighted. Let’s see…” Eiji took another look. “Truly stylish! Gatto Nero’s all the rage this season. You’re truly adding the right spices to your curry.”
“And you are quite fashionable yourself, young man.” Eiji said.
“O-Oh my gosh, the Prince said I’m fashionable…” Fret said, as though it were a miracle.
“I thought he was talking about curry…” Neku said, confused.
“Well, that’s all I wanted to say. Tell that friend of yours I said hello, and that I hope you and she have continued success.” Eiji Oji had said his goodbyes.
“Y-You know the Prince and you didn’t tell me, Neku?” Fret asked. “I don’t really know him. He just said my outfit sucked one time. Why? Are you one of his fans?” Neku asked.
“I mean, uh…I haven’t been a fan for a while, but we ran into him multiple times from the UG. We helped him while he was in the RG.” Fret explained.
“Oh…Well, I’m glad you got to meet him at least.” Neku said.
“I’M glad he picked up something! He said you’re picking up fashion a little better.” Fret said.
“Hmm…I guess that means I’m picking up Shibuya’s new trends a little better than I thought.” Neku said.
“Hell to the yeah, man! Though, you got me real curious about when you used to be in Shibuya.” Fret said.
“Oh?” Neku had a questioning look.
“If you don’t mind, I wanna know what kinda thing you liked to do before the game!” Fret said.
“Oh…You…wouldn’t like hearing that.” Neku said, shameful of his past. “But I can tell you the game I used to play. It was called Tin-Pin Slammer.” Neku went on.
Neku and Fret understood each other a little bit better after that. Going on about their favorite trends and their best memories.
They may have met in the Reaper’s Game, but their new friendship was built to last.
They understood each other a whole lot more than they knew, though.