don't be a stranger! ♡

“what the hell you s'posed to be?”

he stares at the girl dressed like a clown that he randomly met on the streets. he is most definitely casing around the area, finding out how this place operated before he looks for a weapon to go take out some of the anger that had built deep, deep inside him since coming here. zack longed for a kill, longed for a thrill. 

      in fact, if he got his way, this girl would be his very first victim. she looks like she’ll be begging for her life. 

“you a clown or something?” he asks, at her top, middle, then bottom. he’s quite clearly judging her brightly colored outfit (even though his is definitely not much better). with a sigh, already done with this world and his inability to do anything fun here, he mutters under his breath–

“crazy.”

he really wants to kill something right now.

Before he opens his mouth she’s smiling very pleasantly, running over ways to introduce herself without pointing out that this guy looks like a walking freakshow-- because she’s just that polite, y’know?-- but the moment he does her entire demeanor shifts. Who does he think he is?

In his aimless very heroic and important wandering, Chiaki spots a tiny head in the crowd, seemingly wandering the same as he is, and starts towards her instantly. What can he say! When a hero’s instinct calls, you never ignore it.

“Excuse me!” He calls, looking to get her attention. “Are you lost? I couldn’t help but notice you didn’t have anyone with you, and…” He strikes a rather silly pose, hand placed on a flexed bicep, and winks at her. “Thought you could use the help of a hero! ✩ Can you not find your way home?”

“Are you, like, talking to me?” Coco would be a lot more annoyed if he wasn’t cute-- but she’s still pretty annoyed. Sure she’s kinda short, but she died at fifteen, not eleven. She cocks her head to the side, hands planted firmly on her frilly hips. Explaining what she is to this guy would be a hassle, but she can at least clarify one detail.

‘I’ll keep that in mind.’ There’s no doubt that she could push him over the edge to make him do something. Something that he may regret in the future most likely. But he may as well try his best. Instead of just walking away, Neku did want to know the answer. The motive she had. It’s probably something so simple for her and yet so complex for him to understand. Even Joshua’s reasoning was difficult to understand. Do these Reapers or Gods think that toying with human lives is fun?

“…” That reasoning… it wasn’t satisfying at all! Resolve anger couldn’t be contain for long, finding the time to explode his own frustration to words.

“The hell is that suppose to mean!? So you thought killing me was the best choice? That’s bullshit! Do you think messing with my life is some kind of game for you? Do you have any idea what you put me through? Hell, you even dragged Beat into all this. My life is MY life. It’s not for anyone to mess with.” Neku took in a breath, turning away from Coco, unable to even stare down at her. He rather just lock himself up for a while to get all this sorted out. “Good to know killing me was all for nothing.”

“--Were you, like, even listening?! I just said it wasn’t my idea!” Actually, you didn’t say it in those words. Be more specific! “I’m not the kind of freak who’d just off you for kicks-- you didn’t even do anything to me! But it wasn’t my choice to make--”

Something about that last bit absolutely incenses her, even though she was trying to apologize in her own roundabout way. Brings back a life in the RG of staring at the walls of her room, trips to the doctor, silent rides home. Fifteen hollow, wasted years-- but she never thinks back on that! So what’s with this? There’s a shift in her tone and she leans forward, sneers at his back.

Hmm.

New people showingup was a common occurrence. But Lotus always liked to look aroundwhen the eclipses reared their heads. If not for the hope of somedaysetting his eyes on his sister, then for the view of the unknownstrangers.

But this girl –pretty great style too, he thought – was carrying some weird objects. They vaguely reminded him of his bunny pin, except ofcourse not as cute as it. (Nothing was!)

“Heeeey…”Lotus waved towards Coco, looking interested. “What are thosethings you got? Can I see?”

Coco tips her head to stare down the oncoming boy, eyes extra-wide for added harmlessness points. Hey, he’s pretty cute, isn’t he? Great hair! And the pins are useless here anyways, so showing off the ones she never used is no trouble....

“Like, theeeese?”

The timing was almost too perfect. It wasn’t long ago, Neku’s final memories came rushing back to him. he would have like to give that Reaper a piece of his mind. Now that she’s hear… it was a bit harder to go through with what he thought. Seeing her made him angry, upset about what happen to him, just as when he was beginning to enjoy his own life. For it to suddenly be cut short.

“… Awkward doesn’t even begin to describe how I’m feeling.” He rather just avoid her all together if that was possible. However, she was stuck in this city, just like everyone else he came across. Nothing they can do about it. “I’m not some low kid to just punch you. I’d look like the bad guy here. But I rather you don’t find yourself comfortable around me. Just…”

“Why did you shoot me?”

Try as she might to act nonchalant, it was impossible. The plan had been to put off seeing him again for as long as she possibly could, once she’d revived him a partner-- but would time have done anything to ease the guilt in her chest? 

“... Right.” There’s no sugary inflection to it, just resignation. “If anyone saw us, I’d just tell’em what I did. Nobody could hold that against ya, y’know...? Offer’s still on the table.” Don’t get comfortable? That’s fair. Honestly, the fact that he’s speaking to her at all is more than just fair-- he really is a sweetheart, huh? And Coco’s gone and ruined his life a second time. The least she can do is be honest.

He’s not totally surprised she’s here, too. It seems like just about everyone he knows is getting sucked into this mess, so Coco coming along for the ride? She might as well. Besides, this might be a nice little opportunity to get to know her better; figure out what it is she’s up to and what she’s keeping secret.

“Not even a hello? I’m hurt, missy. It’s good to see you, too, though,” he replies, casual and friendly as ever as he gives her a little wave. It sure took her long enough to realize who she was talking to. Cute. “As for where we are and why I’m here, well. Your guess is as good as mine.”

He does know a bit, courtesy of the helpful little pamphlet they’d given him and some friendlier sorts filling him in, but he’s not ready to go giving Coco the kind of info she wants. After all, what better bargaining chip is there for information than more of the same? She likely knows this as well as he does. Still, he’s not gonna leave her totally out to dry; he’s not that mean.

“What I can tell you is that I’ve got nothing to do with it, not that I think you’ll believe me.” He’s not sure why she’s been so hellbent on distrusting him- his attempts at foiling her little psudo-Shibuya schemes aside -but it doesn’t particularly bother him. She’ll either come around or she won’t. “S’alright, though, I won’t hold it against you. I ain’t got the heart for holdin’ grudges.”

While she’s glaring, it dawns on her that it might not hurt to be a little friendlier. Definitely not because he radiates an impossible-to-ignore reliable aura, or anything lame and childish like that-- he just probably has a much better idea of what’s going on than she does! That’s all. “Don’t be dumb! What would you want a hello from me for? I’m practically, like, a wanted criminal!”

Coco does mellow out enough to listen (while pouting), and take in the fact that even this guy seems to be confused... assuming he’s not lying. But what could he possibly gain from lying to her? As carefully cultivated as her plot-spoiling grudge is, it hasn’t made her blind. It’s also a little tough to keep up, when he’s this demonically calm....

“Mm, I’m Rhyme – Beat’s younger sister, that’s right.” Rhyme nodded, a gentle expression on her face. Coco was a rather… interesting person, even simply based on this first interaction.

… But she wasn’t exactly surprised that a Reaper would know of her. After all, she was friends with a rather infamous former player, right?

“It’s nice to meet you, Coco?” Regardless, it wasn’t as though she needed to be tense around reapers, right? This wasn’t a game, so…

“Heh-heh! You’re uber cute, so I recognized you right away!” Coco paused, raising a finger to her lips. “Not that I’m saying your brother is... well! NVM.”

Coco frames him with her fingers like she’s looking to paint him later-- then draws one hand back to mime squeezing his head between her thumb and index.

“...” For once, she doesn’t have words planned. How do you talk to the kid you gunned down in cold blood? Maybe not ice cold, but what’s done is still done. What’s she supposed to say to him? A “sorry” might be a start, but she isn’t sorry enough to explain her reasons and risk being the next one staring down a barrel. 

“Omigosh, thank goodness somebody else is here-- I’m, like, BIG lost right now. It’s like I caught some Z’s back home and woke up here?” Coco’s been so caught up in her bubblegum theatrics that she hasn’t properly laid eyes on the man she’s talking to, even as she moves closer. “Like, where IS here, anywa--”

“Heyyy! I know you!” Without further ado she’s traipsing over, taking great care not to waste her powers on being sneaky. (Even if it’s what she’d prefer!)

COCO ATARASHI ♡ THE WORLD ENDS WITH YOU