savetheearth | (no subject)

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(no subject)

Who: Neku and Van
When: 01/23/14, after school
Where: Starting out at school, and then maybe some tunnels...
What: Van and Neku go on an ADVENTURE! Though maybe not an intentional one.

Neku leans against his locker, sending off a quick text before shoving his phone in his pocket. He had been about to leave, but before he can make that decision he spots a familiar face coming down the hall. "Hey, Van," he says, pulling himself away from the wall to greet the other boy, "What, no practicing today?"

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There were other things on Van's mind. Usually, yes, he would be practicing his batting until there was that text telling him to come home. This afternoon, though, was about something else entirely. His older half brother had done something completely reckless - nothing surprising there - and it must run in the family... As Van was already mentally scolding himself for what he would be doing.

His eyes darted up at the sound of his name. Neku... Shouldn't he be out practicing as well? "I can afford one day. What about you?"

"Cancelled. Coach is sick, and no one was able to find our assistant one." Basically, just kind of a mess so everyone just decided to take the day off. "You doing anything today?" Without practice, he's... kind of bored.

"Maybe he skipped out too," Van offered, the barest twitch of lips betraying his amusement.

Though that died the moment that Neku popped the next question. Van usually only responded to the network with text replies. Once with his handwriting, but he doubted that was something damning. It wasn't really something the other teen needed to get involved with. Getting himself into trouble was one thing. Dragging someone down with him was another - someone potentially outside of the network at that.

His lips twisted though, smirking. "Don't tell me the neko-chan is bored..."

"Oh don't you fucking dare." He has avoided that nickname in America for the past sixteen years, you are not giving it to him now. "But since practice is cancelled, yes, I am bored."

That got a laugh out of the younger teen. "It's so obvious. I thought that someone would have called you that before."

Neku. Neko. There was only one letter difference. The guy kind of had a personality of one too. Or, at least, a certain one that Van knew.

"So, what? You were hoping that I'd have something for you to do?"

"Most people don't know enough Japanese." At least, not the people Neku hung out with. 'Neko' was one of the more basic words, for those who actually did want to learn the language.

"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out, dumbass." Yes, clearly this is the way friendship works.

"My last name didn't give you a hint?" As, seriously, Kururugi was a mouthful within itself. Pretty straight forward on its origins though.

Neku wanted to hang out. Good thing his personality didn't exactly chase Van off. It was probably something that he actually enjoyed about the other guy. An attitude of snark was always appreciated. However...

"I was planning on going somewhere today."

"I wondered, but there are enough people with Japanese names that don't understand a word." Japantown is pretty big and all, but that doesn't mean eveyrone actually speaks the language.

There's nothing inherently suspicious about Van's answer. Neku has no reason to think he's on the network, after all. (And, unlike some other people, Neku actually likes this guy so he won't invade his privacy by reading his mind.) "By yourself, I'm guessing?"

"Spoilers: I wasn't born in the States," Van said. It wasn't a big secret or anything. Van just didn't talk about it.

By himself. Yeah. It was best to do reckless things without other people. "Yeah. Just doing some walking around town. Checking out rumors. Stuff like that."

"Well, that makes two of us." Neku doesn't remember anything about actually living in Tokyo, but he was there for three years.

Though... the bit about rumors gets him curious. "What rumors?" Hopefully not network ones...

What Van remembered was very little. More like bits and pieces and obviously Suzaku's face. He also remembered the wake, but that wasn't all that important. Unfortunately, Van didn't really do deceit. Sure, he was capable of making an angry face to startle people off. Shooting people looks. That was different than, uh, blatantly lying to someone that would be somewhat considered a friend.

"Just regular stuff people talk about?" Real convincing, that.

Yeah, Neku is clearly not buying that, judging by his crossed arms and arched eyebrow. If it were any other time than this, Neku probably would have let it go, but he's been extra paranoid recently. "Doesn't sound very exciting."

Great, that look. Van sighed in response, rubbing the back of his neck while looking away. "Alligators in sewers maybe?"

................Neku thinks he knows where this is going, and he doesn't like it one bit. "Uh, maybe that's one you shouldn't pursue." Seriously, stay away from the sewers.

"Why? There's nothing really down there," came Van's reply. He leaned against the wall, interested in Neku's answer. It wasn't going to change his mind, but maybe...

"Do you seriously want to be going down into the sewers, even if there isn't?" And for the record, there totally is. Neku just doesn't want to say so for fear of looking crazy.

"It can't smell any worse than some of those metro tunnels," Van shrugged.

"You aren't going down into a sewer by yourself." Neku is not letting him get his ass killed.

Wait a minute. Neku was going to come with? Van wouldn't have any of that... "Oh c'mon. You're saying you're going to go with even though you really don't want to?"

How silly.

"If it means there's a chance of you not getting your ass killed by dangerous rumor alligators, then yes." There's an element of sarcasm in the statement, but Neku is legitimately concerned.

"I'll be fine, Neku," Van insisted. He didn't know what kind of person his past self was... The one thing he did know was that he had been some kind of fighter. Van was light on his feet and, if anything from trying out some kendo with Suzaku, there was some skill with a weapon. He was sure he'd be fine.

"Seriously."

"Too bad, coming with you now." Sorry dude, but he doesn't know you're a network person and even if he did... what you have probably isn't enough.

"Neku."

There was that edge to his voice. A warning one. Usually reserved for when someone seriously just pissed him off, Van was trying to get through to Neku that that wasn't going to happen.

Neku's a little surprised by the tone- that was something he was expecting to take up with Van, if he was really going to stupidly run off like that. Having it thrown at him seems a bit... backwards. "...What else is going on?" he asks, cautiously. There has to be something.

"There's nothing going on. You should just stay out of it," his warning continued. Van was getting into his stubborn mode.