Other Fan Fiction ❯ A Push in the Right Direction ❯ Chapter 2
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: MikariStar 
Miscellaneous: Other Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Drama / Fantasy / Mystery / Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 07.23.2012 | Pages: 5 | Words: 9.4K | Visits: 246 | Status: Completed
Miscellaneous: Other Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Drama / Fantasy / Mystery / Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 07.23.2012 | Pages: 5 | Words: 9.4K | Visits: 246 | Status: Completed
A Push in the Right Direction: Case II
Mystery 09: A Happy Little Family
You could cut the tension with a knife as Neuro, Yako and the baby waited in line to pay for the needed supplies. Yako watched the baby chew on the teething ring while he sat on the shopping cart's baby basket, he seemed content enough and with no intentions of crying or tossing the teething ring away any time soon. Thus Yako turned her attention to the varied assortment of baby supplies on the cart.
They had picked up diapers, extra baby clothes, baby food, toys, baby hygiene related products, milk, bottles, everything except a crib. Yako counted the items and added up the prices in her head, she was sure she didn't have enough money to pay for everything and she better speak up soon, because it would be worse if their turn to pay arrived and the cashier discovered her lack of funds after adding up the items on the register.
Yako felt the curious stares of the people behind her burning the back of her head. Random shoppers slowed their pace as they walked by to look at the young couple and their baby. All in all, it was making Yako nervous, she feared that someone would recognize her and it would cause a scandal, then she wondered why Neuro put up this family act without thinking of those consequences. Maybe he wanted a scandal?
Feeling her stress level reach even greater highs, Yako pushed the thoughts away and focused on tackling one problem at a time, the most immediate one being of economical nature. "Neuro," her voice was barely a whisper and if Neuro had been a regular human, he might have not heard. "Do we really need all this?"
"He does," Neuro replied simply and to the point.
Once again Yako noticed that Neuro had stopped calling the baby 'it'. "Well yes, but we, I mean I, have to pay for it and I don't think I can afford it." Yako's voice was soft enough so that the people behind her couldn't make out her quiet murmurs, but Neuro's sensitive ears could hear her just fine.
Though Neuro did hear Yako's concern, he did not reply, which caused Yako to softly call his name again, receiving nothing but a brief glare that came and went so fast that only she caught it. Thus Yako sighed and remained quiet.
The store front was filled with advertisements for their latest offers. As it is common, the counters near the paying area were filled with magazines and candy, as if hoping that people would get the urge to buy them while they waited in line. Yako found several candy bars that looked very appetizing, but she couldn't even afford all the baby's things, let alone a snack.
Finally, while Yako was off in her own little world, worrying about her current situation and all its possible consequences, their turn to pay came and Neuro unloaded all the products from the red and silver shopping cart into the black conveyor belt. The cashier, whose nametag read 'Mary' started adding all the items, the red light of the scanner blinking and beeping with each one.
As the numbers displayed in green became larger, Yako's eyes became wider. The baby supplies were far more expensive than she thought, "Neuro, I don't think I can..."
"That would be two hundred and fifty-seven dollars with thirty cents, I manually added in the price of the teething ring," Mary announced before Yako could finish her sentence.
Nonchalantly, Neuro retrieved a credit card from his pocket and handed it to the cashier who swiped it and handed Neuro a number pad. He quickly imputed the needed access number and was given a receipt which he signed in Godai's name.
Yako's jaw nearly hit the floor. For a split second she actually thought Neuro was paying, though he would probably want her to pay him back later, but her theory was wrong; it was actually Godai who ended up with the bill to his name.
Neuro kept up his nice act until the bags were taken to his car outside and the trio was on their way back to Yako's house. The expensive red convertible reminded Yako of the color of fresh apples, strawberries and cherries, making her stomach growl loudly. Neuro would say the car was the color of blood. The baby she held on her lap curiously stared up at her, his baby sounds muffled by the teething ring he was still chewing.
Yako laughed nervously, almost embarrassed, though she was used to her stomach's sudden noises by now. She then breathed deeply and finally asked, "did Godai's credit have anything to do with this car too?"
"This was purchased with the money obtained from the mysteries I consumed, not that it's any of your business, worthless slave." Neuro's insult felt distracted, as if he was focused on figuring out the latest mystery.
"We didn't get a baby car sit," Yako's hand flew to her mouth and she shifted in the soft black passenger seat. "I mean... I wouldn't want to trouble Godai any further."
"I shall send slave number two to purchase all the things that your tiny brain forgot to get." Neuro slammed on the breaks.
Yako felt thankful that she was wearing her seatbelt, she clutched the baby protectively, but the child seemed unfazed by the sudden stop. "Neuro, that was dangerous." It was then that she realized how fast Neuro was driving, though it shouldn't surprise her, and that they were already at her place.
Ignoring Yako, Neuro retrieved the bags from the car and went into Yako's house, using a key she didn't even know he had. Yako followed with the baby and watched as Neuro carelessly tossed the bags on the couch and was silent for a moment, before finally saying, "this mystery is on the tip of my tongue!" He gave her his usual grin.
"Just as I thought, you're planning something. That act at the store wasn't something you did to blend in; you wanted to get people's attention, but why?" The entire situation worried and confused Yako.
"Your lonely brain cell must have died of disuse if you can't figure that out." Neuro grabbed the top of Yako's head and twisted her neck harshly towards the window.
A man wearing a regular t-shirt, jeans and sneakers, but with a with a large Indiana Jones style hat that made him stand out more so than it helped him hide, was running down the street. He was happily clutching a black camera with long binocular-like lens against his chest, laughing as he ran. He was a paparazzi.
"The mystery will come to me," Neuro's grin turned wider and his emerald eyes glowed brighter. Yako bit her lip, her reputation was doomed.
As the tension continued to pile up on Yako's shoulders, something unexpected occurred. The baby got tired of his teething ring and spat it out with an amazing force. The teething ring went flying to crash against Neuro's face, though luckily he caught it easily before it reached him, and Yako breathed in relief.
Neuro held the teething ring between his gloved thumb and index finger. Yako observed the baby chew toy and immediately noticed with shock that it had been torn to shreds and she didn't see Neuro do it. "What in the world?"
"Louse, the kid will need another of these, I don't want him yelling again." Neuro threw what was left of the teething ring at Yako, hitting her on the forehead, though she remained unaffected immersed in her surprise as the torn teething ring bounced off.
Yako looked at the seemingly indifferent Neuro, then at the shredded teething ring that fell at her feet, and finally at the mysterious baby. The child giggled and smiled at her, revealing three little inhumanly pointy teeth.
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Mystery 10: Bath Time
"Is that a pathetic attempt to burn all the excess calories you consume everyday, louse?" Neuro was not an expert on human anatomy, but he knew Yako was a special case.
The young blond with the large appetite had given the baby to Neuro, quietly, gently and slowly, in such a natural motion that he was taken by surprise and automatically took the child. Yako then proceeded to take a few steps back and stare at the image of Neuro's curious look, and the baby's identical curious look, both pairs of green eyes glowing with a mischievous light. She opened her mouth to speak; right hand raised, index finger pointing, then turned around abruptly and began pacing while muttering something incomprehensible. Yako was in shock.
"Stupid slave, don't ignore your master!" Yako looked up at Neuro and noticed the scratches on the dull white paint of her house's ceiling where he stood. The baby was not bothered by the upside-down position and appeared to be quite content with Neuro.
"You knew," Yako concluded in an almost accusing tone. "You knew the baby wasn't human, and you know what's going on, you know about everything..."
"I'm very pleased that your one and only tiny brain cell has finally exercised enough to recognize my absolute genius." But Neuro didn't know everything, not that he would correct Yako on that. If he really knew everything, there would be no mysteries left to eat. Furthermore, he wasn't even fully aware of what was going on now, or about the baby's full story. "Let's review slowly so your lack of intelligence can handle it," Neuro jumped down from the ceiling in an abrupt motion.
"The baby! Yako called out instinctively before shaking her head at herself, "never mind."
"You really are an idiot," Neuro grinned. "As I was saying, I knew this child wasn't a normal human, but his true scent was deeply masked by the scent of mystery. As soon as the scent of mystery dissipated a little, I realized that the boy is something from my world, but because he is deeply involved in this current mystery, the scent of mystery is still present in him. If I could get rid of a little more of that scent, then I would be able to figure out exactly what he is, based on his true scent, and I'll be a step closer to consuming this mystery."
"But it's impossible to get rid of the scent, right? And what about the paparazzi?" Yako inquired.
"Don't underestimate me!" Neuro held the boy with one hand and Yako's throat with the other. "There are people after this boy; I'll tell them were he is and they will come to me. As for the scent of mystery, I intend to wash off as much as possible, or even better, you as my slave will take care of the work."
When Yako was finally released from Neuro's deadly grip, she could only gasp for air, leaving her no room to complain.
xoxox xox xoxox
Neuro's idea was simple, it was so simple in fact, that Yako was certain it would fail, though she had no intentions of stating her opinion. Then again, the scent of mystery was something that her human nose could not perceive, and thus something that she would probably never understand. Even so, it seemed pretty far fetched that the scent of mystery could be washed off, or at least diminished with common soap and water.
Yako had a previous experience in babysitting, during which she had to bathe a small child. She thought it would be easy, but she ended up soaking wet and learned that kids never stay still in the tub and any water near a child will become a play thing. She had also learned that it was best to let the child splash around instead of trying to cut bath time short, or else much screaming would ensue.
Thus Yako gathered the necessary supplies and headed to the bathroom after changing into a yellow two piece bathing suit, if she was going to get drenched, she might as well be prepared. The bathroom was the same as always, from the cool tiles, to the fuzzy rug. Yako had brought a couple of towels, a change of clothes for herself and the baby, a new diaper, baby soap and baby shampoo, she had also brought a chair to comfortably sit while allowing the baby to play in the water for a while after the bath was done.
Making sure the water wasn't too deep, Yako gently placed the baby to sit in the tub and closed her eyes as the water was splashed into her face as expected. Overall, the child looked normal enough, save for his growing pointy teeth and the occasional glow in his green eyes. The bath went by uneventfully and the baby was allowed to play, until the novelty of the water wore off, and Yako took him out of the tub without any complaints.
Yako set the baby on the pink plastic chair she had previously occupied, and began to gently dry him off with a soft mint green towel. Everything appeared to be going well, until Yako suddenly felt someone pick her up and throw her into the unusually deep tub. "Neuro!"
"That's what you get for taking so long! Can't you even clean a hatchling without taking forever?" In her quest to stay afloat with Neuro pushing her down, Yako did not take notice of Neuro's new way to refer to the baby, which meant that the bath had revealed a little more of the child's scent, enough for Neuro to at least determine his nature being bird-like, though there was something still preventing him from fully recognizing the boy's scent.
Of course Yako was more concerned with getting some oxygen into her thirsty lungs. "Neuro! Stop it!" Yako had her eyes closed tightly and she clung to whatever she could to avoid drowning, just as the depth of the tub returned to normal. Yako realized she was clinging to Neuro, who was in the tub with her, laying beneath her in the now cramped space.
Then the bathroom door was suddenly opened and there stood Godai, his unexpected presence unexplained as of yet. He completely missed the baby hidden in the bundle of mint green towels on the chair, as his shocked eyes focused on the couple in the tub. Godai knew he had intruded in something he was not meant to see, and his mind flew in every direction making it out to be so much more than it was.
"Nothing happened!" Yako jumped out of the tub.
"Sure, that's why you're both in a tub together in underwear," Godai could hardly believe his eyes.
"Bathing suits!" Yako corrected, while taking a peek at Neuro from the corner of her eyes, having been too busy trying to survive before. Neuro didn't say anything; he would enjoy the show for a little while longer before having the last word. "What are you doing here anyway?" Yako asked as naturally as the situation allowed, inevitably making an otherwise simple question come out in a heavy tone of awkwardness.
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Mystery 11: Name it and you'll get Attached
"I ah..." Godai struggled to find his voice. He wanted to leave and he wanted to leave fast, but he somehow remained rooted to the spot, unable to move due to sheer shock alone. Then he cursed quietly but strongly, directing the colorful words towards a pixie that was no longer there.
"Godai..." Yako muttered, shifting uncomfortably. Sure she wasn't showing any more than she would show at the beach, but they were not at the beach.
"I came here to ask you if you knew where he was," Godai finally replied to Yako. "My credit card went missing," the explanation came in a grim but automatic voice, "and you know that when there's something wrong, a certain demon is always at the center of it. I wanted to ask you about it, since I couldn't find Neuro."
Neuro, nodded eagerly as Godai explained, his face at first in serious concentration, then adorned with a wide grin. "That doesn't explain why you had to intrude in our private time." Yako looked mortified enough as it was, but Neuro liked to torture her, thus he decided to promote her shame by fueling Godai's incorrect conclusions. The mystery eater emphasized his point by wrapping his arms around Yako, who let out an indignant and embarrassed squeak, but could not break away from his iron grip.
"It was that damn pixie's fault!" Godai insisted. "The door was open so I came in. Then I saw a floating light in the living room and thought it was strange so I followed it. The light flew really close to me and made a giggling sound, that's when I saw it was some kind of pixie." Godai never thought he would see one of those, if they even existed, but in retrospect, he had seen stranger things. "It opened the door." Godai decided that no further narrations were needed past that point.
Though Godai's arrival could be seen as random, Neuro, having the special senses he had, was able to smell him coming. However, the pixie had somehow slipped by undetected, they were such tricky creatures. That's when Neuro's mood took a turn for the worse. If Godai had randomly arrived for no reason, and it happened to serve to embarrass Yako and amuse him, then Neuro wouldn't have minded too much. But that pixie had gone too far before, and if she was involved, the incident was unforgivable. "Where is the pixie?" Neuro asked darkly.
"It got away," Godai answered in annoyance, he too would have liked to squish that pixie like a bug for the trauma it had caused him.
"You're useless, slave number two! I order you to go out and search for that disgusting pixie this instant!" Neuro yelled, with a dark aura of anger growing around him.
Godai had no desire to stay any longer, and thus he presented no protests to leaving when he was told. Though he would not embark on a wild goose chase of a pixie hunt, as he somehow knew it would be useless, he was happy to have an excuse to leave swiftly and without further explanations. In his shock, even if he had momentarily remembered it while automatically narrating the events that brought him to Yako's home, Godai forgot about his credit card and left without inquiring about it any more.
After Godai was gone, the baby made a few sounds of complaint, demanding attention. Yako picked up the baby and dressed him in a blue baby set with yellow star decorations. At some point during this process, Neuro disappeared from the bathroom and Yako took the opportunity to dry herself and get dressed with a pair of light gray shorts and a pink tshirt, then put on her pink slippers and went off to locate Neuro.
"Neuro?" Yako came into the living room to find Neuro sitting on the couch, fully dressed in his usual attire.
"Stupid creatures like you really need to exercise their single celled brains just to state the obvious," Neuro remarked.
Yako sighed and sat down beside Neuro, with the baby on her lap. "We should think of something to call him."
"Hatchling," Neuro replied, clearly suggesting it as a general term rather than a specific name, which he didn't think was needed at that time.
"First 'it', then 'cub', and now 'hatchling'?" There was something about the pattern, especially Neuro's last choice of word for referring to the baby, that caught Yako's attention, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"He is the only hatchling here and needs no other way to identify him," Neuro reasoned. "Only someone with your lack of intelligence could be confused."
"That's not what I mean," Yako leaned back on the old but especially comfortable couch. A multicolored quilt covered it, with a variety of different squares of fabric; it was something from her grandmother to make the place homier, despite its frequent emptiness. "He needs a name, we don't know his real name, and we can't ask him since he's too small to talk, but we should think of something to call him." Yako paused in deep thought, then smiled when she came up with an idea she thought Neuro would like. "How about we call him Mystery, since he's so mysterious and all?"
Neuro's look was a mix of disbelief and amusement, he shook his head and listed a few mean adjectives that he thought described Yako, mostly criticizing her intelligence, or lack there of; ending his speech with, "only you would name a child after food."
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Mystery 12: The Way to a Woman's Heart
When Neuro announced, "get ready to give the mindless idiots something to talk about, we're driving out the culprit!" Yako knew that it would mean trouble.
Thus the young detective, who was actually the enslaved assistant, ended up being dragged off to a restaurant by her master, who was the actual detective. Of course, Yako didn't know where she was going at first, so she could do nothing but dread their unknown destination during the entire ride on Neuro's luxurious car.
Other than becoming increasingly worried about the near future, Yako occupied herself muttering about the lack of a baby car seat, since Neuro refused to put such a thing in the car, only to realize, even before Neuro rudely alluded to her lack of intelligence again, that since the child was not human, a baby car seat wasn't really important for safety, but it would help them keep up appearances.
After the uneventful car ride was over, Yako came to the wonderful realization that they had stopped in front of a restaurant. Her eyes shone with anticipation and she held the baby tightly in her arms. She should have known they would end up somewhere elegant when Neuro insisted, "try to look presentable my ugly slave, I know it must be hard for someone so hideous, but give it your best insignificant effort."
That was how Yako ended up in a red spaghetti-strap dress, which she mysteriously found in her closet when she went to change and was certain was brought by Neuro, possibly at the expense of Godai. The dress had been too elegant for a regular investigation, but since Neuro knew Yako loved restaurants, she never thought he was taking her to one, she simply concluded the tortures that awaited her were to be worse than usual so she had to be dressed up for the occasion.
Looking back on it, it was a silly notion and Yako laughed at herself for it. Then she smiled as Neuro led her inside the restaurant, maybe he wasn't so inconsiderate, maybe he could be sweet, maybe this relationship was all for the best after all. Though Yako did feel a bit odd going on a date to such a place with a baby, and she was certain it would make rumors fly, which was what Neuro wanted in order to bring out more about the case; either way Yako didn't care, she would only focus on enjoying her dinner that night. Besides, Neuro did look handsome in that black suit, and seeing him like that was already a big reward in itself.
Upon entering the restaurant, Neuro just had to drop the classic line, "can you take us somewhere more private?" For someone who wanted privacy, he was certainly loud in declaring it, loud enough to make several heads turn in the tables closest to the entrance and from the passing waiters and waitresses.
The receptionist smiled widely, and Yako noticed that she had red lipstick on her pearly teeth, which made her giggle. The baby giggled as well, even if he might not understand Yako's amusement, and she was reminded once again of how the three of them must look to all those people, but now it only made her smile.
The peach colored carpet was plush and elegant, masking the sound of their footsteps perfectly. But despite the quietness of their steady pace, people seemed to follow them with the corner of their eyes, most refusing to look at the trio of guests led by the receptionist directly. Never mind the customers waiting at the entrance, the receptionist, daughter of the owner, had taken the job for the night specifically to receive those guests, the famed detective, her assistant, and their child, because one could only assume as much, and the press encouraged it. The exposure for her family restaurant would be grand, and they couldn't blame her for a few pictures and videos, after all, the cameras were there for security reasons, and it would only be an accident if any of the footage slipped.
Quite frankly, the owner's daughter, and her father, did not care about the detail of explaining how their videos ended up in the open, because the fame of their restaurant would be more than enough to make up for any small loss of reputation, which would be drowned out by the fame itself and the news of the happy couple. In fact, even if the detective said that she did not authorize any of the scenes taking place at the restaurant to be published, the press would not believe it, they would most likely think it was an original way to announce her relationship, a way to tease the paparazzi and amuse themselves; that made a better story anyway.
Neuro knew about all those circumstances that would surround their time at the restaurant and he counted on them. He needed to attract attention towards the child to motivate whoever was after him to make a move. A child doesn't pop out like that for no reason, Neuro concluded that the boy was sent away, and the logical explanation was someone being after him. The particulars were still unknown to him, but this plan should speed things up. Neuro would soon tire of the game of cat and mouse; he wanted to uncover this mystery directly.
On the other hand, Yako had no idea of the extent of Neuro's plan. She knew that this was a plan to attract attention, but she knew nothing about the possibilities of such a multitude of pictures and videos.
The polished wood walls of the restaurant seemed to glow with a gloss that reflected the light from the overhead chandeliers. The chandeliers were very elegant, with lovely crystals that glowed like diamonds, cascading in the shape of inverted pyramids.
Yako didn't recognize most of the paintings, though she thought she had seen a few in similar styles in a museum before, during one of the cases she and Neuro had to solve. Either way, she knew the paintings were expensive and there were so many, lining the polished surface of the walls between the marble columns that framed the glossy wood. The frames of the paintings were lined with gold, and Yako realized that, though it was already night time, the shades of the restaurant's decor reminded her of a peaceful sunset.
The trio was led to a table on the rooftop of the restaurant, after finally getting there when Yako, with some difficulty, managed to stop the baby, whom she had named Mystery, from squirming in her arms and nearly breaking free, because he wanted to play with the elevator buttons. Fortunately, they only had to go up three floors to the rooftop, so the elevator ride wasn't too long, and Mystery stopped trying to escape after the tempting buttons were out of sight.
The table was beautifully set up in a corner of the rooftop, allowing them a comfortable access to a lovely view of the city and night sky. The balcony was lined with peach and yellow roses in the same soft tonalities all around. The crowd of spoons, forks and knives lined up at the table were golden, and the tablecloth was white, with golden petals edged at the end, finishing with a golden line at the hem.
The chairs were elegant, made of polished wood, with soft peach cushions making them quite comfortable. There was even a baby chair in the same style, the restaurant was clearly prepared to receive them, they got everything ready from the second they received Neuro's reservation, and they had no idea they were doing exactly what he wanted them to do with the hidden cameras.
"I hope you enjoy your evening," the receptionist had finished her speech by the time Yako snapped out of her daze. She faintly remembered placing Mystery on the baby seat at some point during her trip to a romantic wonderland buffet, but everything else was a blur of elegance.
However, the scents were clear in Yako's mind. She took in every delightful smell of the food being served and eaten around her, while her imagination flew further into a blissful ecstasy. It was too good to be true, there had to be consequences later, Neuro would have to get back at her or expect something from her, after spoiling her this much; but Yako didn't care, she would enjoy the lovely dinner and eat to her heart's content.
As she was handed a menu, Yako was suddenly overtaken by fear. What if Neuro had no intentions of letting her eat and was only showing her all this to leave her with a great disappointment for his own cruel amusement? Could he be so heartless? If that were so, Yako would be so hurt that, regardless of the grave and possibly life threatening consequences, she would seriously consider dumping Neuro on the spot and storming off in frustrated grim anger. But she pushed the thoughts away and breathed deeply, faintly catching the waiter's inquiry about if she was ready to order. Yako had no idea who the young man was, and in what point in time the receptionist had left them in his care, Yako had missed both her exit and his introduction.
With her mind so preoccupied, Yako hardly remembered either of the two existed, the receptionist or the waiter. She faintly recalled that the receptionist had the glossiest brown hair she ever saw, falling down her back in soft waves, but Yako probably remembered that only because it reminded her of chocolate. The receptionist's eyes, which had been a sapphire blue, did not stand out in Yako's memory.
The waiter had dark hair, it didn't remind Yako of anything except maybe the black skies above, but as pretty as the many shining stars were, they were not food. The waiter's eyes stood out greatly in a brilliant green that would have been impressive, but wasn't to Yako. To his credit, such exquisite emerald eyes could only be defeated by astonishing eyes from another world, like Neuro's eyes.
Yako didn't know for how long she sat there in silence, staring at the menu absentmindedly and not actually reading it. She blushed and tried to push out a reply. "I would like..." She had been so caught up on her thoughts that she didn't even have the chance to really examine the menu as she should. Chances like this did not come often, so Yako had to make the right choice and pick the very best dish, even if they all looked wonderful in the colorful pictures of the menu, making it very hard to choose.
"Let's start with some appetizers," Neuro finally replied with a hint of amused impatience and Yako could only nod energetically. "Bring all of them, we'll decide on the main course after the appetizers are finished." At Neuro's request, Yako nodded even more, which made her looks like a ravenous and enamored bobble-head.
"Right away," the waiter bowed and left to give the information to the kitchen.
It was after the waiter was gone that Yako managed to pry her eyes off the beautiful menu and smile sheepishly at Neuro. "You're a truly pathetic creature," he concluded, then caught himself. They were being recorded and he couldn't insult Yako at his leisure, so he quickly added, "I love you!"
Yako blushed brightly and cautiously looked around. She knew when Neuro was putting up an act, but couldn't detect where the spy was located, the cameras were very well hidden in the roses. Taking a deep breath and reaffirming her resolution not to let Neuro's alternate plans get in the way of her enjoyment, Yako smiled, "I love you too." Such sweet declarations of affection, albeit useful to Neuro's plan, would no less annoy him, since he was not one to let the sweet talk run wild without purpose, and even with a purpose. Yako would truly enjoy this, even more so if she had the chance to get away with annoying Neuro, and in such an endearing way none the less.
xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox
Mystery 13: Gluttony is Lust for Food
She knew it would backfire, she knew it all too well, but she enjoyed what came before it did. After the multitude of delicious appetizers was consumed, Yako was left at her leisure to enjoy all the dishes she wanted and devour them to her heart's content.
She was focused on the food and didn't notice the odd looks from the waiter, as he took away the empty plates and brought more culinary works of art to the table. Yako was living up to her name of the piggish detective, but she was in too much bliss to care.
Then she choked. Yako's face turned slightly blue and she placed one hand around her throat, while she frantically searched for a drink with the other.
"Pathetic weak creature," Neuro handed her a cup of wine, which Yako hastily drank.
"Thank you," Yako breathed in relief and she then continued eating, focusing her full attention on the food once more.
Neuro watched her for a few moments, before handing Yako another glass of wine. "I haven't given you permission to die yet, so don't choke again."
Yako muttered a muffled thank you and drank the wine. The action was repeated several times, until the main course was over, after Yako had consumed every dish on the menu.
Then there came the time for dessert. Yako began devouring a chocolate cake, paying no mind to the fact that Neuro had not eaten anything during the entire time, which was normal given that his food were mysteries, but would not be seen as normal by the waiter. Then again, Yako's immense appetite was probably far more unusual than Neuro's lack of need for human food.
A huge glass bowl was brought to the table, elegantly crafted with star carvings. Upon the bowl there stood a multicolored mountain of ice-cream with chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and several other flavors. It was decorated by strawberries, bananas, peanuts, rainbow sprinkles and chocolate syrup. The drunken Yako had to pause in the process of devouring her seventh cake, a cheesecake, to stare at the mountain of ice-cream.
Neuro grinned evilly and whispered, "more wine, worm?" His breath warm on Yako's ear.
Yako nodded automatically, blushed and swallowed the wine, while still staring at the ice-cream mountain. Then something clicked in her mind, she was drunk. It was dangerous enough being with Neuro when she was sober, but being anywhere near Neuro when what few defenses she had were numbed by alcohol, was almost suicide. "Um... Neu-ro... hum... hic..."
Yako shook her head and clapped her hands on her cheeks, trying to wake up. She knew nothing she could say would make her sober, and her incoherent mutters didn't sound very reassuring to herself, so she kept quiet. She had been so excited about the food, she lost herself like a savage beast, lacking the evolution which Neuro always tried to push on her.
"Try this, it'll make you feel better," Neuro's green eyes glowed with mischief, as he offered Yako yet another glass of expensive wine, he had ordered quite a variety. This time, he slipped an odd purple dust into the liquid, which made it turn black instead of its previous pale color.
Yako stared at the cup Neuro had given her. She knew drinking anything from Neuro would be a bad idea; it was a bad idea from the start, though she had been choking on that first occasion and had no choice. She should have asked the waiter to bring some kind of juice without alcohol, but Neuro had been ordering, and the waiter neither dared to question him, nor asked Yako if she wanted something else. It didn't help that she had been so caught up with delight that Yako did nothing, except nod like a bobble head.
"Drink it," it was not a request, it was an order, Neuro didn't request anything.
Yako knew that it was a bad idea to comply, but even more so she knew that Neuro would have his way. Rather than having the liquid forced down her throat, Yako guided the cup to her lips with unsteady hands and drank. As soon as she had finished emptying the cup, she was fully awake and completely sober, without the burden of a hangover.
"Feeling better, slave?" The mischievous grin never left Neuro's face; in fact, it grew with each passing second.
"Yes, thank you," the entire time, Yako kept doubting Neuro, but he kept proving her wrong.
"Let's give them a good show," Neuro sat back and waited calmly, but with great anticipation, for his latest torture.
Yako tilted her head curiously, if Neuro expected her to do something stupid, wouldn't she be most likely to do it while she was drunk? But she was sober now, and fully alert, so what could Neuro be plotting? Yako's brain went around in circles with the possibilities, until something snapped in the back of her mind, her self control, and she climbed over the table and through the ice-cream mountain, tackling Neuro.
Neuro pushed Yako back on to the table and tickled her for show. But it wasn't long before Yako started using her fingernails, scratching at Neuro like a wild cat, yet he only laughed, similar to one who is too deep in insanity to ever be sane again.
The crash of refined, artistic glass shattering on the floor, announced the presence of the waiter, who dropped a second ice-cream mountain, this one composed of less classic flavors, including blue, green, yellow and orange ice-cream, with multicolored gum drops, chocolate-chip cookies and honey syrup all over.
Yako's head whirled towards the source of the sound and she roared loudly at the waiter for the unforgivable crime of wasting good food.
Though Yako was fully human, and if anyone was to be called a demon it would have to be Neuro, the waiter saw nothing but hellish wrath in Yako's glare and correctly concluded that his only hope for survival was running for dear life, screaming at the top of his lungs.
After the waiter was gone, Yako turned her attention back to Neuro and was about to jump on him again, when she came to her senses and her face turned scarlet, "Neuro!"
Following Yako's scream of terror and humiliation, there was a deep silence, which was only interrupted by the amused giggles of Mystery. The child had been eating raw meat, secretly ordered by Neuro, while Yako was too focused on eating to notice.
Yako's eyes widened, "Mystery!" She took the child in her arms and nearly panicked, until she reminded herself once more that the boy was not a normal human baby, so the raw meat wouldn't hurt him. "I want to go home, please," Yako begged.
Neuro was still laughing like a madman, but complied none the less, since Yako asked so nicely, clearly not expecting her request to be granted, and Neuro was in a mood to surprise her tonight.
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During the car ride, Yako took note of the torn state of her dress and Neuro's suit, accompanied by the scratch marks all over him, which she knew he could heal instantly but wouldn't, if only to annoy her. She understood why she had been allowed to eat so much; it was to survive the aftereffect of that strange dust Neuro added to her drink. Right now, Yako felt like she was starving and her stomach growled loudly.
Everything was part of Neuro's plan, and Yako knew there was more to come, she just didn't know how much. However, Yako was still curious to know exactly what was that dust, she didn't expect an explanation, but she had been receiving things she didn't anticipate lately, so she asked anyway. "What was that stuff you put in my drink?"
"The essence of one of the seven deadly sins, I had to use a potent version since gluttony is so strong in you and hard to overpower." Neuro didn't say which sin it was and anyone would guess wrath, but Yako knew exactly what it was and it wasn't wrath. "It only amplifies, it does not create." That last bit only served to further Yako's already overwhelming embarrassment, she was without words.
Looking out at the passing streetlights, and trying to survive her starvation until she got home, Yako mused that maybe it was about time she got used to the constant mortification, especially if she intended to continue pursuing a relationship with Neuro. She contemplated the uncertain, yet certainly difficult, future, as she watched Mystery sleeping in her arms. Then a random thought occurred to Yako, as if her subconscious was trying to make her look at the silver lining, it is better to have eaten and digested than never have eaten at all.
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Mystery 14: Silent Treatment
Yako dragged her starving being into her house, put Mystery to bed and crawled to the kitchen where she proceeded to empty the refrigerator's content into her stomach. Once that was done, Yako dragged herself to the bathroom, took a shower, cried stressing about the multitude of rumors Neuro would create to draw out an unknown criminal and finally composed herself.
Neuro watched the scene with mild interest. He didn't understand human rituals. He watched as Yako went to check on Mystery, speaking to the child in soft loving whispers, even if the boy was already sleeping. The hatchling didn't need any reassurance; the boy wasn't frightened or even awake, so Neuro found the act to be a useless and stupid one.
In truth, Yako was trying to comfort herself. Sighing deeply and trying to be strong, because dealing with Neuro was never easy and Yako knew it would only get harder, she leaned down to the sleeping baby and gently kissed his forehead, adjusted the blanket over his small body and turned away to go to bed.
"I saw that," Neuro spoke in a low voice from the shadows in a corner of the ceiling. "The hatchling may have been temporarily called Mystery, but he is not food."
"Huh?" Yako was confused.
"I saw you tasting him," Neuro silently hopped down from the ceiling and grabbed the top of Yako's head, holding her face close to his.
"Neuro, that was a kiss, I wasn't tasting him," Yako explained.
"Don't lie, slave!" Neuro dragged Yako out of the room and pushed her against a wall in the hall. "What's next? You'll try to eat your own master?"
"Isn't it enough for one day? The rumors will blow up in my face for sure. I shouldn't have gone to that restaurant," but Yako knew she had no choice either way.
"Just as I thought, human trash like you doesn't know her place. You are plotting to eat your own master!" Neuro's green eyes glowed brightly.
Yako's mind was too preoccupied with the coming consequences. She felt that she should have done something about it, but there was nothing she could do. Dealing with a crazy being from another world like Neuro, was next to impossible. "Good night, Neuro." Yako slipped away from his grip surprisingly easily and went to bed, falling into restless slumber.
xoxox xox xoxox
Yako didn't go to school the next day. She knew it was a bad idea, she feared the rumors that would come and decided not to go. Besides, it would take her all day to clean up the destruction that Neuro left in her house. Everything was a mess when she woke up, the furniture was ripped apart, there was purple and fluorescent green paint everywhere and she had all sorts of less than nice things written all over her face in marker.
It seemed that Neuro disappeared, as Yako confirmed when she called Godai. "Alright, thanks, if he comes back please give me a call right away." Godai had sounded distracted; he was probably stressed about the debt Neuro left in his name. The evil detective probably told him about it, just to rub it in his face.
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It was the middle of the day and Yako was still cleaning, while at the same time keeping an eye on the baby. That was when the doorbell rang and Yako went to open it. To her surprise, Sasazuka and Ishigaki were there. They looked left and right, then pushed Yako in, entering the house and closing the door behind them.
After observing the poor state of Yako's home, Sasazuka began a speech that was all a blur to Yako. From what little she could gather in her sore hangover state, the rumor was all over town of her relationship with Neuro and the events that took place in the restaurant. The press had tried to find her at school and had to be forced out, due to the disturbances they caused for the classes.
In the process of receiving all that information, Yako fainted from the mix of physical and mental exhaustion. When she woke up, she found Ishigaki fussing about some of his toys, which Mystery apparently ate, though Sasazuka was surprisingly amused.
After assuring the two that she would take care of everything and apologizing for the situation in general, Yako gave her thanks and goodbyes.
"I know it's all Neuro's doing," Sasazuka said as he headed out the door. "I don't think badly of you, but you can't get away from him if you don't want to." That last part echoed of criticism and even more so of pity.
Yako tried to put on a happy face, laughed nervously and saw the policemen off with a forced smile. She made sure to lock the door and closed the windows in case the press arrived at her house. When she wasn't at school, they must have assumed she ran off somewhere far away and someone at school might know where she went. They would never guess she was hiding in the most obvious place, her own house.
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In the afternoon, Yako took a small nap and when she woke up, she smelled smoke. The pile of broken furniture she had set aside to throw away later was burning. Panicking, but acting fast, Yako ran to get the fire extinguisher and luckily put the fire out. She noted that only the old furniture had burned not the floor or walls near the area, as if the fire was enchanted not to spread, she could only blame Neuro.
Yako cleaned away the ashes and observed the state the room was in. There was no paint this time, but there was furniture that was not there before. The new furniture was very elegant, in deep shades of crimson and black, the only problem was that it was upside down and Yako had to strain herself to turn it right side up. She got Mystery after the furniture arrangement was done, set him down on the new couch and collapsed next to him.
Yako closed her eyes for a moment, to be awakened by Mystery's bored little baby noises. She turned the TV on, a brand new big screen, and was about to look for some cartoons to keep Mystery entertained when the news came on and Yako saw the end of her performance in the restaurant, catching the anchor mid sentence, "and that was the video, sold to our news network exclusively by," Yako changed the channel. At least the suffering of Godai's credit card had stopped; the furniture must have been purchased with the money from the sale of that video.
Flipping the channels for a while, Yako found some cartoons and left the TV there. She dozed off, until the sound of pounding on her door woke her. Yako curiously approached the door, but wasn't dumb enough to open it, she could hear the buzz of the press outside and her only plan was to call Sasazuka and have him escort the press away. Sasazuka clearly knew more than he let on about the situation, though Yako was shocked when either he or Ishigaki left a book on her doorstep as they took the press away.
She saw the book from the window and curiously stuck her hand out, grabbed it, then closed, locked and bolted the door again. "How to exorcise alien mind control in ten easy steps," Yako laughed for the first time in what felt like an eternity. The situation was no laughing matter, but the book was of the kind that no one would believe in, not even someone who knew of the existence and nature of Neuro, or perhaps especially someone who knew that Neuro wasn't so easy to get rid of. Yako had a pretty good idea which of the two had left the book.
The sound of the cartoons in the background ended and the voice of a reporter was heard, "this is a special bulletin," Yako rushed to the TV, this time making no effort to hide from the situation by changing the channel. "We have received a letter with a testimonial signed by Yako Katsuragi, confirming that the baby she was seen with was a child left in her doorstep with a note asking her to care for him. We are yet to confirm the validity of the note; it has been sent to the police laboratory for investigation. More news bulletins will be released every hour with the latest news. We now return you to your regular programming."
"Life is complicated," Yako voiced to no one in particular. Another cartoon show came on and Mystery stopped pouting, looking amused once more. Yako sat down and stared up at the ceiling, it still had purple and green stains, she would have to clean and re-paint the ceiling later.
In the middle of all that chaos, Yako wondered where Neuro ran off to and if there was a reason why he avoided her. The mess with the paint and broken furniture was his doing, the fire was his doing and so was the upside down new furniture, Yako was certain, but where was Neuro? Why didn't he pop out of nowhere to point and laugh at her misfortune while she cleaned the mess he made and nearly broke her spine turning the furniture right side up?
Even the refrigerator had been refilled with food and there was no one there to push her face into a cake she was trying to eat, throw her sandwich on the floor or spill juice over her head. Yako certainly didn't miss any of that, but she was worried about Neuro. There was a sense of normalcy in the little annoyances of their everyday routine, she feared something big, bigger than the recent disaster, was about to happen.
Then a memory came into her mind and it all clicked. Neuro had accused Yako of tasting Mystery when she kissed the baby's forehead. He had even theorized that she was plotting to eat him. Was that some kind of twisted form of alien flirting from another world? Was Neuro trying to say he wanted her to taste him with a kiss? Was he angry because she didn't and was giving her his odd version of the silent treatment? Yako shook her head; that couldn't be it, or could it?
To be Continued
Disclaimer, I don't own Private Evileye Nogami Neuro. Credits to Unknown D Flamerose, for the idea of the baby being abandoned in Yako's doorstep, first mentioned in Mystery 14.
Mystery 09: A Happy Little Family
You could cut the tension with a knife as Neuro, Yako and the baby waited in line to pay for the needed supplies. Yako watched the baby chew on the teething ring while he sat on the shopping cart's baby basket, he seemed content enough and with no intentions of crying or tossing the teething ring away any time soon. Thus Yako turned her attention to the varied assortment of baby supplies on the cart.
They had picked up diapers, extra baby clothes, baby food, toys, baby hygiene related products, milk, bottles, everything except a crib. Yako counted the items and added up the prices in her head, she was sure she didn't have enough money to pay for everything and she better speak up soon, because it would be worse if their turn to pay arrived and the cashier discovered her lack of funds after adding up the items on the register.
Yako felt the curious stares of the people behind her burning the back of her head. Random shoppers slowed their pace as they walked by to look at the young couple and their baby. All in all, it was making Yako nervous, she feared that someone would recognize her and it would cause a scandal, then she wondered why Neuro put up this family act without thinking of those consequences. Maybe he wanted a scandal?
Feeling her stress level reach even greater highs, Yako pushed the thoughts away and focused on tackling one problem at a time, the most immediate one being of economical nature. "Neuro," her voice was barely a whisper and if Neuro had been a regular human, he might have not heard. "Do we really need all this?"
"He does," Neuro replied simply and to the point.
Once again Yako noticed that Neuro had stopped calling the baby 'it'. "Well yes, but we, I mean I, have to pay for it and I don't think I can afford it." Yako's voice was soft enough so that the people behind her couldn't make out her quiet murmurs, but Neuro's sensitive ears could hear her just fine.
Though Neuro did hear Yako's concern, he did not reply, which caused Yako to softly call his name again, receiving nothing but a brief glare that came and went so fast that only she caught it. Thus Yako sighed and remained quiet.
The store front was filled with advertisements for their latest offers. As it is common, the counters near the paying area were filled with magazines and candy, as if hoping that people would get the urge to buy them while they waited in line. Yako found several candy bars that looked very appetizing, but she couldn't even afford all the baby's things, let alone a snack.
Finally, while Yako was off in her own little world, worrying about her current situation and all its possible consequences, their turn to pay came and Neuro unloaded all the products from the red and silver shopping cart into the black conveyor belt. The cashier, whose nametag read 'Mary' started adding all the items, the red light of the scanner blinking and beeping with each one.
As the numbers displayed in green became larger, Yako's eyes became wider. The baby supplies were far more expensive than she thought, "Neuro, I don't think I can..."
"That would be two hundred and fifty-seven dollars with thirty cents, I manually added in the price of the teething ring," Mary announced before Yako could finish her sentence.
Nonchalantly, Neuro retrieved a credit card from his pocket and handed it to the cashier who swiped it and handed Neuro a number pad. He quickly imputed the needed access number and was given a receipt which he signed in Godai's name.
Yako's jaw nearly hit the floor. For a split second she actually thought Neuro was paying, though he would probably want her to pay him back later, but her theory was wrong; it was actually Godai who ended up with the bill to his name.
Neuro kept up his nice act until the bags were taken to his car outside and the trio was on their way back to Yako's house. The expensive red convertible reminded Yako of the color of fresh apples, strawberries and cherries, making her stomach growl loudly. Neuro would say the car was the color of blood. The baby she held on her lap curiously stared up at her, his baby sounds muffled by the teething ring he was still chewing.
Yako laughed nervously, almost embarrassed, though she was used to her stomach's sudden noises by now. She then breathed deeply and finally asked, "did Godai's credit have anything to do with this car too?"
"This was purchased with the money obtained from the mysteries I consumed, not that it's any of your business, worthless slave." Neuro's insult felt distracted, as if he was focused on figuring out the latest mystery.
"We didn't get a baby car sit," Yako's hand flew to her mouth and she shifted in the soft black passenger seat. "I mean... I wouldn't want to trouble Godai any further."
"I shall send slave number two to purchase all the things that your tiny brain forgot to get." Neuro slammed on the breaks.
Yako felt thankful that she was wearing her seatbelt, she clutched the baby protectively, but the child seemed unfazed by the sudden stop. "Neuro, that was dangerous." It was then that she realized how fast Neuro was driving, though it shouldn't surprise her, and that they were already at her place.
Ignoring Yako, Neuro retrieved the bags from the car and went into Yako's house, using a key she didn't even know he had. Yako followed with the baby and watched as Neuro carelessly tossed the bags on the couch and was silent for a moment, before finally saying, "this mystery is on the tip of my tongue!" He gave her his usual grin.
"Just as I thought, you're planning something. That act at the store wasn't something you did to blend in; you wanted to get people's attention, but why?" The entire situation worried and confused Yako.
"Your lonely brain cell must have died of disuse if you can't figure that out." Neuro grabbed the top of Yako's head and twisted her neck harshly towards the window.
A man wearing a regular t-shirt, jeans and sneakers, but with a with a large Indiana Jones style hat that made him stand out more so than it helped him hide, was running down the street. He was happily clutching a black camera with long binocular-like lens against his chest, laughing as he ran. He was a paparazzi.
"The mystery will come to me," Neuro's grin turned wider and his emerald eyes glowed brighter. Yako bit her lip, her reputation was doomed.
As the tension continued to pile up on Yako's shoulders, something unexpected occurred. The baby got tired of his teething ring and spat it out with an amazing force. The teething ring went flying to crash against Neuro's face, though luckily he caught it easily before it reached him, and Yako breathed in relief.
Neuro held the teething ring between his gloved thumb and index finger. Yako observed the baby chew toy and immediately noticed with shock that it had been torn to shreds and she didn't see Neuro do it. "What in the world?"
"Louse, the kid will need another of these, I don't want him yelling again." Neuro threw what was left of the teething ring at Yako, hitting her on the forehead, though she remained unaffected immersed in her surprise as the torn teething ring bounced off.
Yako looked at the seemingly indifferent Neuro, then at the shredded teething ring that fell at her feet, and finally at the mysterious baby. The child giggled and smiled at her, revealing three little inhumanly pointy teeth.
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Mystery 10: Bath Time
"Is that a pathetic attempt to burn all the excess calories you consume everyday, louse?" Neuro was not an expert on human anatomy, but he knew Yako was a special case.
The young blond with the large appetite had given the baby to Neuro, quietly, gently and slowly, in such a natural motion that he was taken by surprise and automatically took the child. Yako then proceeded to take a few steps back and stare at the image of Neuro's curious look, and the baby's identical curious look, both pairs of green eyes glowing with a mischievous light. She opened her mouth to speak; right hand raised, index finger pointing, then turned around abruptly and began pacing while muttering something incomprehensible. Yako was in shock.
"Stupid slave, don't ignore your master!" Yako looked up at Neuro and noticed the scratches on the dull white paint of her house's ceiling where he stood. The baby was not bothered by the upside-down position and appeared to be quite content with Neuro.
"You knew," Yako concluded in an almost accusing tone. "You knew the baby wasn't human, and you know what's going on, you know about everything..."
"I'm very pleased that your one and only tiny brain cell has finally exercised enough to recognize my absolute genius." But Neuro didn't know everything, not that he would correct Yako on that. If he really knew everything, there would be no mysteries left to eat. Furthermore, he wasn't even fully aware of what was going on now, or about the baby's full story. "Let's review slowly so your lack of intelligence can handle it," Neuro jumped down from the ceiling in an abrupt motion.
"The baby! Yako called out instinctively before shaking her head at herself, "never mind."
"You really are an idiot," Neuro grinned. "As I was saying, I knew this child wasn't a normal human, but his true scent was deeply masked by the scent of mystery. As soon as the scent of mystery dissipated a little, I realized that the boy is something from my world, but because he is deeply involved in this current mystery, the scent of mystery is still present in him. If I could get rid of a little more of that scent, then I would be able to figure out exactly what he is, based on his true scent, and I'll be a step closer to consuming this mystery."
"But it's impossible to get rid of the scent, right? And what about the paparazzi?" Yako inquired.
"Don't underestimate me!" Neuro held the boy with one hand and Yako's throat with the other. "There are people after this boy; I'll tell them were he is and they will come to me. As for the scent of mystery, I intend to wash off as much as possible, or even better, you as my slave will take care of the work."
When Yako was finally released from Neuro's deadly grip, she could only gasp for air, leaving her no room to complain.
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Neuro's idea was simple, it was so simple in fact, that Yako was certain it would fail, though she had no intentions of stating her opinion. Then again, the scent of mystery was something that her human nose could not perceive, and thus something that she would probably never understand. Even so, it seemed pretty far fetched that the scent of mystery could be washed off, or at least diminished with common soap and water.
Yako had a previous experience in babysitting, during which she had to bathe a small child. She thought it would be easy, but she ended up soaking wet and learned that kids never stay still in the tub and any water near a child will become a play thing. She had also learned that it was best to let the child splash around instead of trying to cut bath time short, or else much screaming would ensue.
Thus Yako gathered the necessary supplies and headed to the bathroom after changing into a yellow two piece bathing suit, if she was going to get drenched, she might as well be prepared. The bathroom was the same as always, from the cool tiles, to the fuzzy rug. Yako had brought a couple of towels, a change of clothes for herself and the baby, a new diaper, baby soap and baby shampoo, she had also brought a chair to comfortably sit while allowing the baby to play in the water for a while after the bath was done.
Making sure the water wasn't too deep, Yako gently placed the baby to sit in the tub and closed her eyes as the water was splashed into her face as expected. Overall, the child looked normal enough, save for his growing pointy teeth and the occasional glow in his green eyes. The bath went by uneventfully and the baby was allowed to play, until the novelty of the water wore off, and Yako took him out of the tub without any complaints.
Yako set the baby on the pink plastic chair she had previously occupied, and began to gently dry him off with a soft mint green towel. Everything appeared to be going well, until Yako suddenly felt someone pick her up and throw her into the unusually deep tub. "Neuro!"
"That's what you get for taking so long! Can't you even clean a hatchling without taking forever?" In her quest to stay afloat with Neuro pushing her down, Yako did not take notice of Neuro's new way to refer to the baby, which meant that the bath had revealed a little more of the child's scent, enough for Neuro to at least determine his nature being bird-like, though there was something still preventing him from fully recognizing the boy's scent.
Of course Yako was more concerned with getting some oxygen into her thirsty lungs. "Neuro! Stop it!" Yako had her eyes closed tightly and she clung to whatever she could to avoid drowning, just as the depth of the tub returned to normal. Yako realized she was clinging to Neuro, who was in the tub with her, laying beneath her in the now cramped space.
Then the bathroom door was suddenly opened and there stood Godai, his unexpected presence unexplained as of yet. He completely missed the baby hidden in the bundle of mint green towels on the chair, as his shocked eyes focused on the couple in the tub. Godai knew he had intruded in something he was not meant to see, and his mind flew in every direction making it out to be so much more than it was.
"Nothing happened!" Yako jumped out of the tub.
"Sure, that's why you're both in a tub together in underwear," Godai could hardly believe his eyes.
"Bathing suits!" Yako corrected, while taking a peek at Neuro from the corner of her eyes, having been too busy trying to survive before. Neuro didn't say anything; he would enjoy the show for a little while longer before having the last word. "What are you doing here anyway?" Yako asked as naturally as the situation allowed, inevitably making an otherwise simple question come out in a heavy tone of awkwardness.
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Mystery 11: Name it and you'll get Attached
"I ah..." Godai struggled to find his voice. He wanted to leave and he wanted to leave fast, but he somehow remained rooted to the spot, unable to move due to sheer shock alone. Then he cursed quietly but strongly, directing the colorful words towards a pixie that was no longer there.
"Godai..." Yako muttered, shifting uncomfortably. Sure she wasn't showing any more than she would show at the beach, but they were not at the beach.
"I came here to ask you if you knew where he was," Godai finally replied to Yako. "My credit card went missing," the explanation came in a grim but automatic voice, "and you know that when there's something wrong, a certain demon is always at the center of it. I wanted to ask you about it, since I couldn't find Neuro."
Neuro, nodded eagerly as Godai explained, his face at first in serious concentration, then adorned with a wide grin. "That doesn't explain why you had to intrude in our private time." Yako looked mortified enough as it was, but Neuro liked to torture her, thus he decided to promote her shame by fueling Godai's incorrect conclusions. The mystery eater emphasized his point by wrapping his arms around Yako, who let out an indignant and embarrassed squeak, but could not break away from his iron grip.
"It was that damn pixie's fault!" Godai insisted. "The door was open so I came in. Then I saw a floating light in the living room and thought it was strange so I followed it. The light flew really close to me and made a giggling sound, that's when I saw it was some kind of pixie." Godai never thought he would see one of those, if they even existed, but in retrospect, he had seen stranger things. "It opened the door." Godai decided that no further narrations were needed past that point.
Though Godai's arrival could be seen as random, Neuro, having the special senses he had, was able to smell him coming. However, the pixie had somehow slipped by undetected, they were such tricky creatures. That's when Neuro's mood took a turn for the worse. If Godai had randomly arrived for no reason, and it happened to serve to embarrass Yako and amuse him, then Neuro wouldn't have minded too much. But that pixie had gone too far before, and if she was involved, the incident was unforgivable. "Where is the pixie?" Neuro asked darkly.
"It got away," Godai answered in annoyance, he too would have liked to squish that pixie like a bug for the trauma it had caused him.
"You're useless, slave number two! I order you to go out and search for that disgusting pixie this instant!" Neuro yelled, with a dark aura of anger growing around him.
Godai had no desire to stay any longer, and thus he presented no protests to leaving when he was told. Though he would not embark on a wild goose chase of a pixie hunt, as he somehow knew it would be useless, he was happy to have an excuse to leave swiftly and without further explanations. In his shock, even if he had momentarily remembered it while automatically narrating the events that brought him to Yako's home, Godai forgot about his credit card and left without inquiring about it any more.
After Godai was gone, the baby made a few sounds of complaint, demanding attention. Yako picked up the baby and dressed him in a blue baby set with yellow star decorations. At some point during this process, Neuro disappeared from the bathroom and Yako took the opportunity to dry herself and get dressed with a pair of light gray shorts and a pink tshirt, then put on her pink slippers and went off to locate Neuro.
"Neuro?" Yako came into the living room to find Neuro sitting on the couch, fully dressed in his usual attire.
"Stupid creatures like you really need to exercise their single celled brains just to state the obvious," Neuro remarked.
Yako sighed and sat down beside Neuro, with the baby on her lap. "We should think of something to call him."
"Hatchling," Neuro replied, clearly suggesting it as a general term rather than a specific name, which he didn't think was needed at that time.
"First 'it', then 'cub', and now 'hatchling'?" There was something about the pattern, especially Neuro's last choice of word for referring to the baby, that caught Yako's attention, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"He is the only hatchling here and needs no other way to identify him," Neuro reasoned. "Only someone with your lack of intelligence could be confused."
"That's not what I mean," Yako leaned back on the old but especially comfortable couch. A multicolored quilt covered it, with a variety of different squares of fabric; it was something from her grandmother to make the place homier, despite its frequent emptiness. "He needs a name, we don't know his real name, and we can't ask him since he's too small to talk, but we should think of something to call him." Yako paused in deep thought, then smiled when she came up with an idea she thought Neuro would like. "How about we call him Mystery, since he's so mysterious and all?"
Neuro's look was a mix of disbelief and amusement, he shook his head and listed a few mean adjectives that he thought described Yako, mostly criticizing her intelligence, or lack there of; ending his speech with, "only you would name a child after food."
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Mystery 12: The Way to a Woman's Heart
When Neuro announced, "get ready to give the mindless idiots something to talk about, we're driving out the culprit!" Yako knew that it would mean trouble.
Thus the young detective, who was actually the enslaved assistant, ended up being dragged off to a restaurant by her master, who was the actual detective. Of course, Yako didn't know where she was going at first, so she could do nothing but dread their unknown destination during the entire ride on Neuro's luxurious car.
Other than becoming increasingly worried about the near future, Yako occupied herself muttering about the lack of a baby car seat, since Neuro refused to put such a thing in the car, only to realize, even before Neuro rudely alluded to her lack of intelligence again, that since the child was not human, a baby car seat wasn't really important for safety, but it would help them keep up appearances.
After the uneventful car ride was over, Yako came to the wonderful realization that they had stopped in front of a restaurant. Her eyes shone with anticipation and she held the baby tightly in her arms. She should have known they would end up somewhere elegant when Neuro insisted, "try to look presentable my ugly slave, I know it must be hard for someone so hideous, but give it your best insignificant effort."
That was how Yako ended up in a red spaghetti-strap dress, which she mysteriously found in her closet when she went to change and was certain was brought by Neuro, possibly at the expense of Godai. The dress had been too elegant for a regular investigation, but since Neuro knew Yako loved restaurants, she never thought he was taking her to one, she simply concluded the tortures that awaited her were to be worse than usual so she had to be dressed up for the occasion.
Looking back on it, it was a silly notion and Yako laughed at herself for it. Then she smiled as Neuro led her inside the restaurant, maybe he wasn't so inconsiderate, maybe he could be sweet, maybe this relationship was all for the best after all. Though Yako did feel a bit odd going on a date to such a place with a baby, and she was certain it would make rumors fly, which was what Neuro wanted in order to bring out more about the case; either way Yako didn't care, she would only focus on enjoying her dinner that night. Besides, Neuro did look handsome in that black suit, and seeing him like that was already a big reward in itself.
Upon entering the restaurant, Neuro just had to drop the classic line, "can you take us somewhere more private?" For someone who wanted privacy, he was certainly loud in declaring it, loud enough to make several heads turn in the tables closest to the entrance and from the passing waiters and waitresses.
The receptionist smiled widely, and Yako noticed that she had red lipstick on her pearly teeth, which made her giggle. The baby giggled as well, even if he might not understand Yako's amusement, and she was reminded once again of how the three of them must look to all those people, but now it only made her smile.
The peach colored carpet was plush and elegant, masking the sound of their footsteps perfectly. But despite the quietness of their steady pace, people seemed to follow them with the corner of their eyes, most refusing to look at the trio of guests led by the receptionist directly. Never mind the customers waiting at the entrance, the receptionist, daughter of the owner, had taken the job for the night specifically to receive those guests, the famed detective, her assistant, and their child, because one could only assume as much, and the press encouraged it. The exposure for her family restaurant would be grand, and they couldn't blame her for a few pictures and videos, after all, the cameras were there for security reasons, and it would only be an accident if any of the footage slipped.
Quite frankly, the owner's daughter, and her father, did not care about the detail of explaining how their videos ended up in the open, because the fame of their restaurant would be more than enough to make up for any small loss of reputation, which would be drowned out by the fame itself and the news of the happy couple. In fact, even if the detective said that she did not authorize any of the scenes taking place at the restaurant to be published, the press would not believe it, they would most likely think it was an original way to announce her relationship, a way to tease the paparazzi and amuse themselves; that made a better story anyway.
Neuro knew about all those circumstances that would surround their time at the restaurant and he counted on them. He needed to attract attention towards the child to motivate whoever was after him to make a move. A child doesn't pop out like that for no reason, Neuro concluded that the boy was sent away, and the logical explanation was someone being after him. The particulars were still unknown to him, but this plan should speed things up. Neuro would soon tire of the game of cat and mouse; he wanted to uncover this mystery directly.
On the other hand, Yako had no idea of the extent of Neuro's plan. She knew that this was a plan to attract attention, but she knew nothing about the possibilities of such a multitude of pictures and videos.
The polished wood walls of the restaurant seemed to glow with a gloss that reflected the light from the overhead chandeliers. The chandeliers were very elegant, with lovely crystals that glowed like diamonds, cascading in the shape of inverted pyramids.
Yako didn't recognize most of the paintings, though she thought she had seen a few in similar styles in a museum before, during one of the cases she and Neuro had to solve. Either way, she knew the paintings were expensive and there were so many, lining the polished surface of the walls between the marble columns that framed the glossy wood. The frames of the paintings were lined with gold, and Yako realized that, though it was already night time, the shades of the restaurant's decor reminded her of a peaceful sunset.
The trio was led to a table on the rooftop of the restaurant, after finally getting there when Yako, with some difficulty, managed to stop the baby, whom she had named Mystery, from squirming in her arms and nearly breaking free, because he wanted to play with the elevator buttons. Fortunately, they only had to go up three floors to the rooftop, so the elevator ride wasn't too long, and Mystery stopped trying to escape after the tempting buttons were out of sight.
The table was beautifully set up in a corner of the rooftop, allowing them a comfortable access to a lovely view of the city and night sky. The balcony was lined with peach and yellow roses in the same soft tonalities all around. The crowd of spoons, forks and knives lined up at the table were golden, and the tablecloth was white, with golden petals edged at the end, finishing with a golden line at the hem.
The chairs were elegant, made of polished wood, with soft peach cushions making them quite comfortable. There was even a baby chair in the same style, the restaurant was clearly prepared to receive them, they got everything ready from the second they received Neuro's reservation, and they had no idea they were doing exactly what he wanted them to do with the hidden cameras.
"I hope you enjoy your evening," the receptionist had finished her speech by the time Yako snapped out of her daze. She faintly remembered placing Mystery on the baby seat at some point during her trip to a romantic wonderland buffet, but everything else was a blur of elegance.
However, the scents were clear in Yako's mind. She took in every delightful smell of the food being served and eaten around her, while her imagination flew further into a blissful ecstasy. It was too good to be true, there had to be consequences later, Neuro would have to get back at her or expect something from her, after spoiling her this much; but Yako didn't care, she would enjoy the lovely dinner and eat to her heart's content.
As she was handed a menu, Yako was suddenly overtaken by fear. What if Neuro had no intentions of letting her eat and was only showing her all this to leave her with a great disappointment for his own cruel amusement? Could he be so heartless? If that were so, Yako would be so hurt that, regardless of the grave and possibly life threatening consequences, she would seriously consider dumping Neuro on the spot and storming off in frustrated grim anger. But she pushed the thoughts away and breathed deeply, faintly catching the waiter's inquiry about if she was ready to order. Yako had no idea who the young man was, and in what point in time the receptionist had left them in his care, Yako had missed both her exit and his introduction.
With her mind so preoccupied, Yako hardly remembered either of the two existed, the receptionist or the waiter. She faintly recalled that the receptionist had the glossiest brown hair she ever saw, falling down her back in soft waves, but Yako probably remembered that only because it reminded her of chocolate. The receptionist's eyes, which had been a sapphire blue, did not stand out in Yako's memory.
The waiter had dark hair, it didn't remind Yako of anything except maybe the black skies above, but as pretty as the many shining stars were, they were not food. The waiter's eyes stood out greatly in a brilliant green that would have been impressive, but wasn't to Yako. To his credit, such exquisite emerald eyes could only be defeated by astonishing eyes from another world, like Neuro's eyes.
Yako didn't know for how long she sat there in silence, staring at the menu absentmindedly and not actually reading it. She blushed and tried to push out a reply. "I would like..." She had been so caught up on her thoughts that she didn't even have the chance to really examine the menu as she should. Chances like this did not come often, so Yako had to make the right choice and pick the very best dish, even if they all looked wonderful in the colorful pictures of the menu, making it very hard to choose.
"Let's start with some appetizers," Neuro finally replied with a hint of amused impatience and Yako could only nod energetically. "Bring all of them, we'll decide on the main course after the appetizers are finished." At Neuro's request, Yako nodded even more, which made her looks like a ravenous and enamored bobble-head.
"Right away," the waiter bowed and left to give the information to the kitchen.
It was after the waiter was gone that Yako managed to pry her eyes off the beautiful menu and smile sheepishly at Neuro. "You're a truly pathetic creature," he concluded, then caught himself. They were being recorded and he couldn't insult Yako at his leisure, so he quickly added, "I love you!"
Yako blushed brightly and cautiously looked around. She knew when Neuro was putting up an act, but couldn't detect where the spy was located, the cameras were very well hidden in the roses. Taking a deep breath and reaffirming her resolution not to let Neuro's alternate plans get in the way of her enjoyment, Yako smiled, "I love you too." Such sweet declarations of affection, albeit useful to Neuro's plan, would no less annoy him, since he was not one to let the sweet talk run wild without purpose, and even with a purpose. Yako would truly enjoy this, even more so if she had the chance to get away with annoying Neuro, and in such an endearing way none the less.
xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox
Mystery 13: Gluttony is Lust for Food
She knew it would backfire, she knew it all too well, but she enjoyed what came before it did. After the multitude of delicious appetizers was consumed, Yako was left at her leisure to enjoy all the dishes she wanted and devour them to her heart's content.
She was focused on the food and didn't notice the odd looks from the waiter, as he took away the empty plates and brought more culinary works of art to the table. Yako was living up to her name of the piggish detective, but she was in too much bliss to care.
Then she choked. Yako's face turned slightly blue and she placed one hand around her throat, while she frantically searched for a drink with the other.
"Pathetic weak creature," Neuro handed her a cup of wine, which Yako hastily drank.
"Thank you," Yako breathed in relief and she then continued eating, focusing her full attention on the food once more.
Neuro watched her for a few moments, before handing Yako another glass of wine. "I haven't given you permission to die yet, so don't choke again."
Yako muttered a muffled thank you and drank the wine. The action was repeated several times, until the main course was over, after Yako had consumed every dish on the menu.
Then there came the time for dessert. Yako began devouring a chocolate cake, paying no mind to the fact that Neuro had not eaten anything during the entire time, which was normal given that his food were mysteries, but would not be seen as normal by the waiter. Then again, Yako's immense appetite was probably far more unusual than Neuro's lack of need for human food.
A huge glass bowl was brought to the table, elegantly crafted with star carvings. Upon the bowl there stood a multicolored mountain of ice-cream with chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and several other flavors. It was decorated by strawberries, bananas, peanuts, rainbow sprinkles and chocolate syrup. The drunken Yako had to pause in the process of devouring her seventh cake, a cheesecake, to stare at the mountain of ice-cream.
Neuro grinned evilly and whispered, "more wine, worm?" His breath warm on Yako's ear.
Yako nodded automatically, blushed and swallowed the wine, while still staring at the ice-cream mountain. Then something clicked in her mind, she was drunk. It was dangerous enough being with Neuro when she was sober, but being anywhere near Neuro when what few defenses she had were numbed by alcohol, was almost suicide. "Um... Neu-ro... hum... hic..."
Yako shook her head and clapped her hands on her cheeks, trying to wake up. She knew nothing she could say would make her sober, and her incoherent mutters didn't sound very reassuring to herself, so she kept quiet. She had been so excited about the food, she lost herself like a savage beast, lacking the evolution which Neuro always tried to push on her.
"Try this, it'll make you feel better," Neuro's green eyes glowed with mischief, as he offered Yako yet another glass of expensive wine, he had ordered quite a variety. This time, he slipped an odd purple dust into the liquid, which made it turn black instead of its previous pale color.
Yako stared at the cup Neuro had given her. She knew drinking anything from Neuro would be a bad idea; it was a bad idea from the start, though she had been choking on that first occasion and had no choice. She should have asked the waiter to bring some kind of juice without alcohol, but Neuro had been ordering, and the waiter neither dared to question him, nor asked Yako if she wanted something else. It didn't help that she had been so caught up with delight that Yako did nothing, except nod like a bobble head.
"Drink it," it was not a request, it was an order, Neuro didn't request anything.
Yako knew that it was a bad idea to comply, but even more so she knew that Neuro would have his way. Rather than having the liquid forced down her throat, Yako guided the cup to her lips with unsteady hands and drank. As soon as she had finished emptying the cup, she was fully awake and completely sober, without the burden of a hangover.
"Feeling better, slave?" The mischievous grin never left Neuro's face; in fact, it grew with each passing second.
"Yes, thank you," the entire time, Yako kept doubting Neuro, but he kept proving her wrong.
"Let's give them a good show," Neuro sat back and waited calmly, but with great anticipation, for his latest torture.
Yako tilted her head curiously, if Neuro expected her to do something stupid, wouldn't she be most likely to do it while she was drunk? But she was sober now, and fully alert, so what could Neuro be plotting? Yako's brain went around in circles with the possibilities, until something snapped in the back of her mind, her self control, and she climbed over the table and through the ice-cream mountain, tackling Neuro.
Neuro pushed Yako back on to the table and tickled her for show. But it wasn't long before Yako started using her fingernails, scratching at Neuro like a wild cat, yet he only laughed, similar to one who is too deep in insanity to ever be sane again.
The crash of refined, artistic glass shattering on the floor, announced the presence of the waiter, who dropped a second ice-cream mountain, this one composed of less classic flavors, including blue, green, yellow and orange ice-cream, with multicolored gum drops, chocolate-chip cookies and honey syrup all over.
Yako's head whirled towards the source of the sound and she roared loudly at the waiter for the unforgivable crime of wasting good food.
Though Yako was fully human, and if anyone was to be called a demon it would have to be Neuro, the waiter saw nothing but hellish wrath in Yako's glare and correctly concluded that his only hope for survival was running for dear life, screaming at the top of his lungs.
After the waiter was gone, Yako turned her attention back to Neuro and was about to jump on him again, when she came to her senses and her face turned scarlet, "Neuro!"
Following Yako's scream of terror and humiliation, there was a deep silence, which was only interrupted by the amused giggles of Mystery. The child had been eating raw meat, secretly ordered by Neuro, while Yako was too focused on eating to notice.
Yako's eyes widened, "Mystery!" She took the child in her arms and nearly panicked, until she reminded herself once more that the boy was not a normal human baby, so the raw meat wouldn't hurt him. "I want to go home, please," Yako begged.
Neuro was still laughing like a madman, but complied none the less, since Yako asked so nicely, clearly not expecting her request to be granted, and Neuro was in a mood to surprise her tonight.
xoxox xox xoxox
During the car ride, Yako took note of the torn state of her dress and Neuro's suit, accompanied by the scratch marks all over him, which she knew he could heal instantly but wouldn't, if only to annoy her. She understood why she had been allowed to eat so much; it was to survive the aftereffect of that strange dust Neuro added to her drink. Right now, Yako felt like she was starving and her stomach growled loudly.
Everything was part of Neuro's plan, and Yako knew there was more to come, she just didn't know how much. However, Yako was still curious to know exactly what was that dust, she didn't expect an explanation, but she had been receiving things she didn't anticipate lately, so she asked anyway. "What was that stuff you put in my drink?"
"The essence of one of the seven deadly sins, I had to use a potent version since gluttony is so strong in you and hard to overpower." Neuro didn't say which sin it was and anyone would guess wrath, but Yako knew exactly what it was and it wasn't wrath. "It only amplifies, it does not create." That last bit only served to further Yako's already overwhelming embarrassment, she was without words.
Looking out at the passing streetlights, and trying to survive her starvation until she got home, Yako mused that maybe it was about time she got used to the constant mortification, especially if she intended to continue pursuing a relationship with Neuro. She contemplated the uncertain, yet certainly difficult, future, as she watched Mystery sleeping in her arms. Then a random thought occurred to Yako, as if her subconscious was trying to make her look at the silver lining, it is better to have eaten and digested than never have eaten at all.
xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox
Mystery 14: Silent Treatment
Yako dragged her starving being into her house, put Mystery to bed and crawled to the kitchen where she proceeded to empty the refrigerator's content into her stomach. Once that was done, Yako dragged herself to the bathroom, took a shower, cried stressing about the multitude of rumors Neuro would create to draw out an unknown criminal and finally composed herself.
Neuro watched the scene with mild interest. He didn't understand human rituals. He watched as Yako went to check on Mystery, speaking to the child in soft loving whispers, even if the boy was already sleeping. The hatchling didn't need any reassurance; the boy wasn't frightened or even awake, so Neuro found the act to be a useless and stupid one.
In truth, Yako was trying to comfort herself. Sighing deeply and trying to be strong, because dealing with Neuro was never easy and Yako knew it would only get harder, she leaned down to the sleeping baby and gently kissed his forehead, adjusted the blanket over his small body and turned away to go to bed.
"I saw that," Neuro spoke in a low voice from the shadows in a corner of the ceiling. "The hatchling may have been temporarily called Mystery, but he is not food."
"Huh?" Yako was confused.
"I saw you tasting him," Neuro silently hopped down from the ceiling and grabbed the top of Yako's head, holding her face close to his.
"Neuro, that was a kiss, I wasn't tasting him," Yako explained.
"Don't lie, slave!" Neuro dragged Yako out of the room and pushed her against a wall in the hall. "What's next? You'll try to eat your own master?"
"Isn't it enough for one day? The rumors will blow up in my face for sure. I shouldn't have gone to that restaurant," but Yako knew she had no choice either way.
"Just as I thought, human trash like you doesn't know her place. You are plotting to eat your own master!" Neuro's green eyes glowed brightly.
Yako's mind was too preoccupied with the coming consequences. She felt that she should have done something about it, but there was nothing she could do. Dealing with a crazy being from another world like Neuro, was next to impossible. "Good night, Neuro." Yako slipped away from his grip surprisingly easily and went to bed, falling into restless slumber.
xoxox xox xoxox
Yako didn't go to school the next day. She knew it was a bad idea, she feared the rumors that would come and decided not to go. Besides, it would take her all day to clean up the destruction that Neuro left in her house. Everything was a mess when she woke up, the furniture was ripped apart, there was purple and fluorescent green paint everywhere and she had all sorts of less than nice things written all over her face in marker.
It seemed that Neuro disappeared, as Yako confirmed when she called Godai. "Alright, thanks, if he comes back please give me a call right away." Godai had sounded distracted; he was probably stressed about the debt Neuro left in his name. The evil detective probably told him about it, just to rub it in his face.
xoxox xox xoxox
It was the middle of the day and Yako was still cleaning, while at the same time keeping an eye on the baby. That was when the doorbell rang and Yako went to open it. To her surprise, Sasazuka and Ishigaki were there. They looked left and right, then pushed Yako in, entering the house and closing the door behind them.
After observing the poor state of Yako's home, Sasazuka began a speech that was all a blur to Yako. From what little she could gather in her sore hangover state, the rumor was all over town of her relationship with Neuro and the events that took place in the restaurant. The press had tried to find her at school and had to be forced out, due to the disturbances they caused for the classes.
In the process of receiving all that information, Yako fainted from the mix of physical and mental exhaustion. When she woke up, she found Ishigaki fussing about some of his toys, which Mystery apparently ate, though Sasazuka was surprisingly amused.
After assuring the two that she would take care of everything and apologizing for the situation in general, Yako gave her thanks and goodbyes.
"I know it's all Neuro's doing," Sasazuka said as he headed out the door. "I don't think badly of you, but you can't get away from him if you don't want to." That last part echoed of criticism and even more so of pity.
Yako tried to put on a happy face, laughed nervously and saw the policemen off with a forced smile. She made sure to lock the door and closed the windows in case the press arrived at her house. When she wasn't at school, they must have assumed she ran off somewhere far away and someone at school might know where she went. They would never guess she was hiding in the most obvious place, her own house.
xoxox xox xoxox
In the afternoon, Yako took a small nap and when she woke up, she smelled smoke. The pile of broken furniture she had set aside to throw away later was burning. Panicking, but acting fast, Yako ran to get the fire extinguisher and luckily put the fire out. She noted that only the old furniture had burned not the floor or walls near the area, as if the fire was enchanted not to spread, she could only blame Neuro.
Yako cleaned away the ashes and observed the state the room was in. There was no paint this time, but there was furniture that was not there before. The new furniture was very elegant, in deep shades of crimson and black, the only problem was that it was upside down and Yako had to strain herself to turn it right side up. She got Mystery after the furniture arrangement was done, set him down on the new couch and collapsed next to him.
Yako closed her eyes for a moment, to be awakened by Mystery's bored little baby noises. She turned the TV on, a brand new big screen, and was about to look for some cartoons to keep Mystery entertained when the news came on and Yako saw the end of her performance in the restaurant, catching the anchor mid sentence, "and that was the video, sold to our news network exclusively by," Yako changed the channel. At least the suffering of Godai's credit card had stopped; the furniture must have been purchased with the money from the sale of that video.
Flipping the channels for a while, Yako found some cartoons and left the TV there. She dozed off, until the sound of pounding on her door woke her. Yako curiously approached the door, but wasn't dumb enough to open it, she could hear the buzz of the press outside and her only plan was to call Sasazuka and have him escort the press away. Sasazuka clearly knew more than he let on about the situation, though Yako was shocked when either he or Ishigaki left a book on her doorstep as they took the press away.
She saw the book from the window and curiously stuck her hand out, grabbed it, then closed, locked and bolted the door again. "How to exorcise alien mind control in ten easy steps," Yako laughed for the first time in what felt like an eternity. The situation was no laughing matter, but the book was of the kind that no one would believe in, not even someone who knew of the existence and nature of Neuro, or perhaps especially someone who knew that Neuro wasn't so easy to get rid of. Yako had a pretty good idea which of the two had left the book.
The sound of the cartoons in the background ended and the voice of a reporter was heard, "this is a special bulletin," Yako rushed to the TV, this time making no effort to hide from the situation by changing the channel. "We have received a letter with a testimonial signed by Yako Katsuragi, confirming that the baby she was seen with was a child left in her doorstep with a note asking her to care for him. We are yet to confirm the validity of the note; it has been sent to the police laboratory for investigation. More news bulletins will be released every hour with the latest news. We now return you to your regular programming."
"Life is complicated," Yako voiced to no one in particular. Another cartoon show came on and Mystery stopped pouting, looking amused once more. Yako sat down and stared up at the ceiling, it still had purple and green stains, she would have to clean and re-paint the ceiling later.
In the middle of all that chaos, Yako wondered where Neuro ran off to and if there was a reason why he avoided her. The mess with the paint and broken furniture was his doing, the fire was his doing and so was the upside down new furniture, Yako was certain, but where was Neuro? Why didn't he pop out of nowhere to point and laugh at her misfortune while she cleaned the mess he made and nearly broke her spine turning the furniture right side up?
Even the refrigerator had been refilled with food and there was no one there to push her face into a cake she was trying to eat, throw her sandwich on the floor or spill juice over her head. Yako certainly didn't miss any of that, but she was worried about Neuro. There was a sense of normalcy in the little annoyances of their everyday routine, she feared something big, bigger than the recent disaster, was about to happen.
Then a memory came into her mind and it all clicked. Neuro had accused Yako of tasting Mystery when she kissed the baby's forehead. He had even theorized that she was plotting to eat him. Was that some kind of twisted form of alien flirting from another world? Was Neuro trying to say he wanted her to taste him with a kiss? Was he angry because she didn't and was giving her his odd version of the silent treatment? Yako shook her head; that couldn't be it, or could it?
To be Continued
Disclaimer, I don't own Private Evileye Nogami Neuro. Credits to Unknown D Flamerose, for the idea of the baby being abandoned in Yako's doorstep, first mentioned in Mystery 14.