exsilium | [00:00:01] text

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[00:00:01] text > video

[Computers aren't out of the ordinary in Shibuya, but whatever this is, it's like some weird sci-fi movie device, and not anything Neku is used to. He has a computer at home that he barely uses, and it's a big, clunky thing. This thing is tiny and delicate-looking, and honestly, he feels like he might break it if he sneezes at it or something.

Typing on this... might be slow.]

so i guess no one here is from shibuya huh

[He doesn't type anything else for a few seconds, because... really, what is he supposed to say? He doesn't exactly use computers for social things.]

im neku

[--and then the video comes on, rather abruptly as his finger slips after pressing enter. There's a face visible, bleached-orange hair sticking down in front of a pair of wide blue eyes that are quickly narrowing.]

Rrgh... Where'd the text box go? Who even makes a keyboard this tiny...

[Hopefully no one gets ill from motion sickness easily, because the video suddenly skews all over the place, clearly being moved. It's over before long, though, with the video finally settling to show the front of a blue and black shirt. And just as quickly as the video feed started, it ends with the closing of the netbook.]

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I dunno, movies are kind of like this sometimes.

[Not even touching personal experience. Not. Touching.]

Come on, somebody would've clued us in if we were in a movie.

Nope! Gotta be real.

[Just... keep telling yourself that. He's not going to argue. He'll just keep hoping he'll wake up in a minute.]

Yeah, okay.

Okay!

[Lea wins. Awesome.]

Hey, Neku, want to go look for your friend? This place is pretty big! I explored some of it the other day, but I could use some time looking around myself....

[It's not a win if you didn't convince him. Totally not.]

... huh? Uh. [... it wouldn't hurt.] Sure, I guess...

[It's a win if he thinks it's a win -- and he usually does think he won....]

Cool. You said you found your room -- are you still in the dorms? I'm by my room, so I bet it's pretty close if you are.

Yeah, I'm still here.

[He'd sort of just been hanging out here... for lack of motivation to do anything, really.]

... room 102.

I'll be over in a few!

[102, huh? He can manage that, he's pretty sure. Over and down a bit-- he tucks his netbook under one arm and dashes off.]

... okay.

[Great. What is he getting himself into? Just... closing his netbook now. ... hey, these big pockets are coming in handy for something.

He'll just... be here.]

[And in a couple of minutes, Lea'll be knocking on the door, double-checking the number before he steps back and tries to fit his own netbook in his pocket. It's kind of a tight fit, but he bets he can manage, and if he doesn't he'll be stuck carrying the stupid thing anyway...]

Hey! Neku! It's Lea, are you there?

[Cool. In that couple of minutes, Neku has had a chance to remove himself from the only free room in this apartment and look around a little! ... and he's pretty sure he lives with a girl. He didn't look in anyone's rooms, but it just... doesn't feel like a guy lives here. Plus, it kind of smells girly. And things are actually kind of neat and tidy.

Great. Just his luck.

He's pretty close to the door when he hears that knock, so it doesn't take him long to open it.]

Hey.

Hey!

[He steps back, waving an arm in a grandiose gesture at the hallway.] C'mon out. What's your friend look like, anyway?

[... jumping right into it, aren't you? He steps out, and... uh, right, he should probably close the door, at least.]

... Shiki? Short brown hair, glasses... she always carries around this stuffed cat, but it looks more like a pig.

[He jumps right into everything. You'll get used to it one of these days, Neku, promise.]

Brown hair, glasses, sounds like we ought to be able to spot her! ...Oh yeah, by the way, if you see a guy a little taller than me with kind of long blue-gray hair and a blue jacket, point him out to me.

[He pauses.]

How does a cat look like a pig, anyway?

[With his luck, he'll be long gone before he has the chance to.]

Sure.

[But that... that's kind of a hard question to answer without a visual.]

You'd just have to see it. It's got this... piggy kind of nose on it. And the ears look like pig ears, too.

Sounds like a weird-looking kind of thing to me. [Really weird. Lea pulls a face, then shrugs, cheerful again.] So let's go! Uh -- that way leads to the big market area, I'm pretty sure....

Yeah. It kind of creeps me out. [Mostly because he's pretty sure that thing is possessed and that it's just watching and waiting for the right opportunity to do something. But whatever.]

Market area, huh. Guess that'd be a good place to start.

[He grins.] So I'll recognize her by the creepy cat doll, got it!

[-- and he's totally telling her how he heard all about it when they find her, Neku; watch out.] There's usually a lot of people around there. At least when I found it there were.

... yeah.

[... something is telling him that describing it that way is a bad idea.]

Then we'll start there. [Not like there aren't a ton of other places to try if he can't spot anyone there.]

Sounds like a plan! [He dashes ahead, grinning.]

Wha-- hey!

[Dammit, don't just run off and leave him like that, he has no idea where he's going! He's chasing after.]

Come on, Neku, hurry up!

[Last one to the market's a rotten egg!]

[Well, you know what? He got a lot of practice in running during the Game. So hopefully he's at the very least catching up...?]

[He's catching up fast -- Lea's not trying too hard to outdistance him after the first burst of speed. He grins at Neku, slowing down to a speed he can talk at (still a jog, okay, but a reasonable one).]

Hey, not bad! Do you do a lot of running back home or something?

[And they're still running why? Why can't they just walk or something? You know, like normal people?]

... sorta.

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