Other Fan Fiction ❯ A Push in the Right Direction ❯ Chapter 5
[ 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: 6 | Words: 8.8K | Visits: 314 | Status: Completed
Miscellaneous: Other Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Drama / Fantasy / Mystery / Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 07.23.2012 | Pages: 6 | Words: 8.8K | Visits: 314 | Status: Completed
A Push in the Right Direction: Case V
Mystery 26: The Fairy Tale Falls Apart
The high pitched cries of "chicken!" echoed in the crowded restaurant where all eyes rested on Higushi and his little guest. The waiters ran back and forth between their table and the kitchen, bringing dish after dish featuring a variety of recipes centered on chicken. Yako ate it all and resumed her screaming, while Higushi pulled out his hair in desperation, the girl wouldn't stop eating chicken, when she finished, she would yell for more and they were running out in the restaurant, not to mention that this was all very expensive.
Though Higushi swore not to improperly use his hacking skills again, he would make an exception if there was a big enough emergency. Tracking Yako had been an emergency and paying the restaurant bill was the next emergency. People wouldn't miss a few pennies out of their accounts, a little from here and a little from there could amount to a lot.
Higushi's torture was never ending, he took Yako from one restaurant to another, where she devoured dish after dish, all of them containing chicken since that's what she apparently wanted. Eventually, Higushi offered Yako some turkey and she ate it. Then he offered her fish, which she also ate, and he went on to feed her fruits, which she continued to eat. She kept yelling for chicken, but Higushi discovered that she would eat anything, even if it didn't have any chicken. The day went by like that, Yako yelled and Higushi fed her, then she yelled for chicken again and continued to devour all sorts of foods, chicken or not.
xoxox xox xoxox
That evening, Higushi returned to the hotel to speak to Yako. He was exhausted and seriously frightened by the black hole of a child who looked so much like Yako and was named after her. Maybe Yako wasn't an ordinary human either. Sure she was special, but maybe that special something was not a human something. Whatever was going on, Higushi wasn't ready to face it. He wouldn't give up on Yako, but he had to do a temporary retreat. "Is Yako here?"
Neuro had opened the door after hearing the knocks and stood smugly. "You just missed her, do you want to baby-sit some more? I'm sure you must have had a lot of fun."
"I just remembered there something I need to do..." Higushi watched as little Yako clung to Neuro's leg happily. He had lost that battle, but after a strategic retreat, he would be back to fight the war.
"My slave," little Yako giggled.
Higushi mused that victory was in the eye of the beholder and went on his temporary retreat, hopefully when he came back to try to win Yako over, he would be strong enough to face the challenges of alien children. "I'll be back..." with that promise he left.
While Higushi retreated and Neuro closed the door, little Yako pulled his pant leg up and bit his ankle. She had tasted many things that day, but nothing was as good as the taste of her spicy roasted chicken slave.
xoxox xox xoxox
The challenger didn't show up, the one responsible for this mess was out there, but Neuro couldn't find him. He decided to return to Japan and booked their flight. Except this time instead of heading straight to the other side of the world, the airplane would fly over Europe. They would make several stops to switch airplanes so Yako could have enough food while flying. For the longest non-stop flight over the Atlantic Ocean, Neuro made sure to pack lots of food.
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The trip back to Japan went by surprisingly well. Neuro's plan to provide Yako with plenty of food worked perfectly and she was kept calm and quiet. Mystery was easy enough to take care of, he never caused trouble, at least not yet, though Neuro had a feeling that the hatchling's mischievous side would show up sooner or later.
Feeling frustrated, angry and ready to bite someone's head off, Neuro headed back to the office with the children. Godai was there, watching TV and not paying attention to who went in and out of the office. "Slave number two, stop being lazy! You're working extra."
Godai nearly jumped in surprise and had no time to reply before Neuro left as suddenly as he came.
xoxox xox xoxox
It was very late when Neuro returned to Yako's home that night. Mystery was sleeping soundly in one of Neuro's arms, as if bottling up his mischief for later and Yako was sleepily clinging to Neuro, held in the other. Neuro put Mystery in his crib, then attempted to pry Yako off and put her on her bed.
Yako woke up for a short moment with a demand, "kissy, night-night."
"No."
Yako pouted, she wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Kissy night-night chicken slave!"
She wouldn't shut up and Neuro knew it, he missed the older Yako that knew it was best not to provoke his anger. "Stupid, annoying, little brat." He gave her a kiss on the forehead to make her stop complaining.
"Night-night!" Yako fell into a deep sleep and Neuro sensed magic at work, but it was going backwards. Yako was growing back to her normal age. That was all it took, a kiss, just like in a fairy tale.
xoxox xox xoxox
Yako woke up and yawned loudly, she didn't know where her pajamas went. She was wearing a shirt, which she unconsciously kept tugging down, but it wasn't long enough. She was confused, very confused.
"Beg for forgiveness slave, you've been very troublesome," Neuro was there, glaring with glowing green eyes.
"What do you mean?" Yako knew Neuro often said things like that, but she wasn't sure if there was more of a meaning to it this time.
"You should know, stupid slave, even your single brain cell should remember." Neuro wasn't sure if he was angry or grateful that Yako didn't remember what happened.
"I did have a strange dream," Yako admitted.
Neuro thought that Yako might be on to something, perhaps she concluded that the events that occurred while she was under the spell were too strange to be real and assumed it was all a dream.
"In my dream you flew away with me to a flying saucer and took me to your planet, rich in delicious food. Then we got married and lived happily ever after as the king and queen of an advanced alien civilization of professional chefs." Yako sighed happily, such things could only happen in her dreams.
"Wrong answer," Neuro growled menacingly; then the phone rang with an odd timing.
Yako thought Neuro was just being his usual self. She was disoriented, but slipped into a relatively normal routine easily, at least normal for her. "I should answer that." Yako got out of bed, tugged her shirt down trying to stretch it into a sort of mini dress, took her robe from the closet, put it on and rushed to pick up the phone before it stopped ringing. "Hello?"
Neuro followed Yako and observed her reaction; her expression was shocked, sad and heartbroken. Her lips quivered and she swallowed empty air, her voice wasn't working and her eyes were watering. She didn't like what she was hearing on the phone.
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Mystery 27: Broken
Tears welled up in Yako's eyes, she was unable to speak; she could only listen. Her mother was crying over the phone, she was disappointed, alarmed and worried about the rumors. Yet she displayed no anger towards Yako, instead she reproached herself for not being there for her daughter, having left to investigate her husband's death and continuing her travels. Hearing her mother blame herself with such intensity, hurt Yako even more then being scolded would. She wanted to tell her it wasn't her fault, she wanted to say it was all a misunderstanding, but she couldn't find her voice.
Yako knew the press had tarnished her reputation, she knew that there were people who had gotten into trouble for trying to help her, she knew there were risks that came with her very precense right now. She didn't know the extent or ever evolving content of the rumors and gossip surrounding her, but she was aware that her dignity had been shredded in the public eye. She could bear it, she was strong, but she couldn't stand to cause her mother misery.
"Slave, are you listening to me? I didn't give you permission to talk on the phone, or listen, how dare you ignore me? If this isn't about a case, then you better hang up right now. Why are you crying? Is it because you know what's coming? You should fear!"
"I'm sorry," Yako whispered into the receiver and listened for a short while longer until her mother hung up.
"Louse," Neuro knew the apology was directed at the person on the phone and not at him. "You shouldn't be apologizing to your fellow filth, whoever it was, you should be begging for my forgiveness!"
The tears continued running down Yako's face while Neuro tugged at her hair and pulled her ears, poking here and there, hard enough to hurt. He allowed this to happen; no, he caused it. Yako couldn't take it anymore, she felt used, Neuro didn't care, he couldn't care, maybe it wasn't in his nature, all he knew was to inflict pain; love was a word without substance for him. "It's over between us."
It took a moment for the words to register for Neuro and even then he was certain he heard wrong. "What did you say?"
"I'm breaking up with you," Yako glared up at Neuro, her eyes filled with a fury that he had never seen before, even in his homeland.
"Who do you think you are?" He grasped her neck tightly and held her up to his eye level.
Yako's expression remained unchanged as she struggled to speak with what little oxygen she could obtain. "It's over, you can torture me, injure me and even kill me, but you'll never have the satisfaction to make me go back on my words. I'm done being patient with you, I can't forgive you anymore, I... I can't love you. I hate you Nogami Neuro!"
Thunder crashed outside and rain began to fall, it was a gloomy morning that refused to welcome the sun. The stormy day looked as if the night had never ended, consumed by darkness. Neuro released Yako, and watched as she picked herself off the floor after falling. Surely those words were a desperate attempt to feed her starving lungs, she only wanted him to let go. Soon enough she would deny it all and beg for forgiveness.
Yako got up and ran away. She didn't care what Neuro did, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of giving in. If he wanted mysteries, he would have to find another slave to play detective. She could endure pain herself, but she couldn't tolerate bringing pain to her loved ones through her connection with Neuro.
Yako ventured out into the storm, leaving Neuro standing in her house alone. "Is this some kind of bizarre human ritual? Slave, I don't understand your foolishness."
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Yako ran aimlessly until she was too tired to go on, tears mixing with the rain, she still had her shirt turned mini-dress on, but she didn't notice or care, not that there was anyone out there to see her. Even if there was work or school waiting, no one would be crazy enough to brave the storm, just as it would be unthinkable to love someone of Neuro's world.
When Yako finally examined her surroundings, ignoring the loud growls of her empty stomach and the noisy pounding of her broken heart, she noticed that she was in front of Kanae's house. Her body felt frail and her delayed survival instinct finally kicked in to remind her that she needed shelter, thus she knocked.
A shocked Kanae opened the door, just barely catching the sound of Yako's knocking over the heavy rain and fierce thunder. With wide eyes and a shaken expression, Kanae quickly led Yako inside and took her to her room.
Kanae's parents were sleeping, having given up on facing the storm, they stayed home from work. Kanae in turn, also stayed home from school, though she forced herself to get up despite the irresistible need to stay in bed, she had finals to study for.
Once in Kanae's room, the two girls sat on her bed, with Yako crying on Kanae's shoulder, the latter held her friend protectively and tried to soothe her pain. "Yako, what happened?" Kanae finally asked when Yako was a little calmer.
"I broke up with him," the words left a foul taste in Yako's mouth; she couldn't believe what she did. "My reputation, all of this, mom heard and blamed herself, it's Neuro's fault for letting the rumors get out of hand, he started this mess, he hurt mom by giving me a bad name."
Kanae got a towel from her closet, which she gave to Yako. "Isn't he a victim too? You're the most famous, he's just an assistant, but people are talking about him too. The press wants you to turn against each other, don't let them ruin your relationship! You need to sit down and talk to him, tell him how you feel and then you can both support each other and I'm here for you too. I'm sure your mom will understand, I'll be with you when you talk to her if you want, I'll be your alibi if need be. Yako, you're amazing, admirable and strong, nothing can bring you down, I'm sure of it, don't give up!"
Yako wrapped the towel around herself, only then realizing that she wasn't properly dressed and she was soaking wet. She observed Kanae's expression, she was hurting too; she was in pain because Yako was suffering. 'Kanae, not you too, please don't be sad because of me.' Yako took a deep breath, she was used to forcing herself to smile and so she smiled. "Thank you, I feel better now and I know things will work out, I'm not sure what came over me." Of course, Neuro was still the good guy in everyone's eyes and Yako couldn't blame them, she would not break that illusion, that would only make them worry more.
"That's the Yako I know!" Kanae smiled as well, a forced smile, hers more obviously false than Yako's. Kanae knew when Yako's smiles were real and when they were fake. She knew Yako had been putting up an act since her father passed away and it wasn't until she opened that detective agency that she started to truly smile again. Had the origin of her newfound happiness turned into a source of suffering?
"Do you mind if I dry off and..." Yako trailed off in her attempt to change the subject and somehow fall into a somewhat casual conversation, her current situation was not the usual.
"Go ahead and here are some clothes," Kanae handed Yako some comfortable clothes and watched her go to the bathroom, "take your time."
"Thanks," Yako gave another forced smiled and closed the door behind her. She showered, dried herself and dressed in the borrowed clothes, thankful to see her extra toothbrush still remained. Yako often slept over at Kanae's house and though that had become far less frequent after she became a detective, she still had her own toothbrush there.
Yako took a deep breath and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She curved the edges of her mouth up like she used to do every morning before going out to face the world, she didn't remember when she stopped doing it, but it looked like she would fall back into the habit of a practiced smile and she didn't like that.
She sighed and tried to look at the situation from a different perspective. She could understand people, but Neuro was a special case. If he needed her to interpret humans for him and was only starting to pick up certain human traits himself, then maybe his knowledge wasn't sufficient to comprehend this situation. Perhaps the only way to teach Neuro that pain was bad, was to show him pain.
"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," Yako wasn't sure when or where she had heard that quote, but she had a theory to test.
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Mystery 28: Separated
Yako exited the bathroom composed and full of determination. She smiled at Kanae and casually spoke, "I have a lot of work to make up for during my absence at school, I hope I can be excused and given the chance to turn in the work I missed. I'm going to call the school about it."
"Yes, you should do that," Kanae knew that Yako was trying to put up a calm front for her, but if Yako wasn't ready to face's life's social challenges at the moment, then Kanae would help her face the academic challenges for the time being.
The conversation with the school principal went better then Yako had expected, mostly because, unknown to her, she had solved a case for a relative of the principal, which allowed her to be seen in a positive light despite her recent long absence from school and the negative propaganda from the drama-creating media.
With a relieved smile, Yako announced, "they're letting me turn in the work. I'm supposed to receive a list of assignments by email in a few minutes. Can I borrow your computer, Kanae?"
"Sure, go ahead," Kanae had a pleasant sense of deja vu, this was just like one of those days studying together, except it was still quite early and the weather was more disagreeable than usual.
Yako paused midway typing in her username, her stomach was growling so loudly it was making her forget her email's password. "Um..."
Kanae laughed like old times, "I know, you're hungry. How about we take a break from all this work and go raid the refrigerator?"
"Yeah!" Yako cheered.
xoxox xox xoxox
As always, Kanae ate a normal amount of food and Yako ate a lot, later apologizing for emptying Kanae's refrigerator. They returned to their studies after the meal and Yako read the list of assignments from her email. "It looks like I'll need to do some research and type a lot," Yako sighed.
"If I'm overwhelmed with school work, I can only imagine how much they gave you. Just take your time little by little and I'll help too. Here, let me get started on your math, I know you don't like it," Kanae offered.
"But you don't like math either, and besides, I can't ask you to do my homework," Yako replied.
"Don't worry, I was going to do practice problems anyway, so I might as well do these, then I'll explain them to you and we'll both get some practice out of it. Everyone knows the first thing is to get homework done, then you try to understand it afterwards. The points you get from turning in the work are more of a sure thing than the points you'll get from an exam, you never know what could be in it. It's basic student survival, get the easy points first and don't let them go to waste."
Yako laughed, allowing her mind to become almost fully immersed in the trials and tribulations of being a student. "Yeah, you're right, thank you. I'll get started on my essay," that one had to be written in her own words, thus there was little help she could receive, aside from constructive criticism on style, spelling and grammar.
xoxox xox xoxox
Yako's apartment was a mess and in the middle of the overturned furniture and empty drawers was Neuro. "Mystery? Mystery! Come out, I'll give you food!" It was no use, the little hatchling had disappeared. After the ungrateful slave stormed out, Neuro had decided to occupy himself in feeding the baby, then going off to vandalize Yako's room and set up traps for her. However, he didn't get to the point of traps or vandalism because Mystery had disappeared.
Neuro knew Yako didn't take the hatchling with her, she was alone when she ran out insanely and he would have noticed if she came back to get him. One thing was for sure, Mystery was nowhere to be found in the apartment and the unusual rain outside made him nearly impossible to track. The rain was covering up the scent of all creatures not of the human world. Who brought forth that rain and for what purpose, Neuro didn't know. Yako picked a fine time rebel, she hasn't returned as he expected and she could be relatively far away by then, plus he couldn't locate Mystery.
Neuro hated not being in control of the situation, this puzzle was mocking him. Then a thought occurred to him, slowly he had been learning more about the hatchling, recognizing his puzzling scent hidden in the scent of mystery. The boy was of his kind, or at least half, and the child's scent was strangely similar to Neuro's own with something more added in, a scent similar to Yako's. No doubt the boy was connected to them, but if that was the case, could Mystery's disappearance be a consequence of Yako's departure? Did that mean she wasn't coming back? Was it a warning that she would be hurt, or even killed? Neuro was tired of all of this; he would find Yako and keep her close even if he had to chain her to him.
xoxox xox xoxox
The morning rolled by quickly and Yako finished a lot of her school work, emailing essay after essay to her teachers. Other than the research needed for her school work, she had also researched legends and myths that she suspected held more truth than most people could imagine.
Among the myths, she found one that caught her eye. It was a sort of recipe, one that would result in pain if consumed by Neuro's kind. She took note of the ingredients and decided to get them when they went out to lunch, she would make up an excuse about the strange cooking materials and surely Kanae wouldn't look too deeply into it. However, there was one ingredient that Yako knew she couldn't find in the grocery store or even in a specialized culinary market, an angel's feather.
Yako held no memories of her time as a toddler, but she did remember a silver haired man giving her a cookie and things became blurry after that point. The unknown man had mentioned that the cookie was made by an angel, but also said Yako's cousin Yukari baked it. Yako was certain Yukari was no angel and it was highly unlikely that she had any connections with angels given her life style, but this was her only clue, so she wrote an email and hoped her cousin saw it soon.
'Dear Yukari,
How have you been?
I know this may sound like a strange request, but I need you to mail me something as soon as possible. If you can obtain it, please send it to my friend Kanae's house...'
Here Yako paused and looked at her friend, "Kanae, could I please borrow your mailing address to receive a package from my cousin?"
Kanae found the request to be strange, but complied without questioning it, "sure."
"Thank you," Yako included Kanae's address in the email and continued.
'The item I need is an angel's feather. If you truly have no idea what I'm talking about, please ignore this request, but if you have access to a real one, please mail it as soon as you can. I'll find a way to repay you for this favor.
Best wishes,
Yako'
xoxox xox xoxox
It was late in the evening when the rain stopped completely and the doorbell rang, interrupting the song Kanae's mother was humming in the kitchen while she cooked dinner after Yako and Kanae ventured out to go grocery shopping for edible necessities.
Kanae's father, who was in the living room, being closest to the door, answered it to find the mailman, though this was not the usual one. He was wearing a uniform, but he wasn't the same surfer style young man with orange hair, tanned skin and honey-brown eyes. This man was rather pale, with very light platinum-blond hair and blue eyes. "Excuse me," the new mailman's voice was melodious, "I have a package for miss Yako Katsuragi."
Kanae's father blinked, then smiled fondly. In the past, there had been talk about taking Yako in so she wouldn't be alone at her apartment while her mother was away, but Yako had politely refused, insisting that she didn't want to impose, though Kanae often talked her into coming over. Yako had become like a second daughter to Kanae's family. "Ah yes, she's here. Yako, you have a package!"
Yako rushed down the stairs, thanking Kanae's father and the angelical-looking mailman, whom she also noticed was not the usual one. She signed for the package and held the small box to her chest, silently thanking Yukari. Although, Yako still wondered if there truly was an angel's feather in the box or a random expensive ornament crafted by humans to look like one. She had a feeling she would somehow know when she saw it, thus she hurried back to Kanae's room to open the package with great curiosity.
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Mystery 29: Hurt the One You Love
"That was fast," Kanae had heard about rush deliveries being made by the next day, but if this was the package Yako requested from her cousin a few hours ago, the speed of the delivery had reached a new record. The sender's name on the box clearly read Yukari Katsuragi and from what Kanae had heard, Yukari was always traveling in far away lands.
"Yeah," Yako rushed to open the package, ripping the wrapping apart ferociously.
"Is there food in there?" Kane laughed.
"Huh? Oh, no," Yako laughed nervously, only food could make her open a box with such extreme need. Than she saw them, not one but a dozen beautiful pure white feathers nestled in a sky blue silk handkerchief with a note between them. Yako recognized Yukari's handwriting right away.
'Hi Yako!
I don't know how you found out about my connections, but keep it a secret. We'll have to talk about this; you're better informed than I thought. I'll go visit sometime.
Love,
Yukari'
"They're beautiful!" Kanae gasped, awe by the gorgeous feathers.
Yako took a feather and gave it to her friend, "these are angel's feathers, keep this one as a lucky charm."
Kanae held the soft feather, everything about it was perfect, the shape, the soft texture more pleasant than anything she had ever felt and even the gentle scent they held was ideal. "Thank you, it's so beautiful I almost believe it really came from an angel."
Yako smiled knowingly, those feathers really must have come from an angel; an angel disguised as a mailman perhaps. She would have a long talk with Yukari sometime and find out how she met that angelic man. Yako wondered what Yukari would say if she knew about Neuro. It was ironic, if anyone saw the two cousins, they would guess that Yako would be the one to befriend the angel and Yukari would end up finding the most mischievous of Neuro's kind, but that's not how it took place, perhaps opposites attract.
xoxox xox xoxox
That night, while Kanae surrendered to an exhausted deep sleep and her parents were also in slumber land, Yako borrowed the kitchen to prepare the strange concoction that would serve as the device for her vengeance.
"Let's see, peal and mash the banora," Yako wanted to eat the fruit herself, those blue apples were rare and expensive, but she followed the recipe nonetheless. The banora had left her emergency savings account in zero after spending the amount which translated to seven hundred and seventy-seven euros on it. She didn't know what she was going to do about living expenses for the next couple of months, but she let the rush guide her and purchased the uncommon imported delicacy.
"Add three spoons of sugar and seven spoons of honey. Put the angel's feather in the mix and it will dissolve into it with the heat. Place the recipe in the oven at seven hundred and seventy-seven degrees for seven minutes." Yako followed the instructions flawlessly and when she opened the oven, there was a lovely cookie where she had previously left a pile of white mush.
She waited for it to cool off, but found it was unnecessary, since cookie itself seemed to sooth the temperature around it to a pleasant level. The cookie was a pure white, as if it were made of cream or sugar, though the consistency seemed spongy like a cake. It was about half an inch thick and three inches wide and tall, perfectly circular.
Upon closer examination, Yako noticed a beautiful feathery pattern engraved in the ivory cookie. The scent was beyond anything she had ever perceived before. It took every ounce of self-control she didn't even know she had to resist eating it. This was for Neuro, it was for his own good, so he would learn to be nice, yet all thoughts of vengeance and anger disappeared when taking in the scent of the cookie.
Before she changed her mind, Yako set off to find Neuro, leaving a note for Kanae in case she didn't return before her friend woke up.
xoxox xox xoxox
Yako first checked the office but found it empty, neither Godai nor Akane were there. That was odd, since Akane was usually in the office if not with her.
Yako then headed to her apartment to find the place in chaos. She began to straighten up the mess, but stopped when she felt a presence watching her and turned to stare into a pair of menacing glowing green eyes.
"You have been quite troublesome slave," Neuro growled.
Yako could feel Neuro's temper heating up, she should have been frightened, but the scent of the cookie somehow escaped the sealed plastic bag in her pocket and calmed her. She wondered if Neuro could smell it, how could she get him to eat it? Furthermore, what if the cookie said to have miraculous healing properties in humans caused more than just pain to Neuro, what if the effects were fatal?
"I... um..." Yako took the plastic bag from her pocket and opened it, holding up the cookie. "This is..." She neglected to form a plan, maybe because deep down she knew she could never do anything to hurt Neuro, she was too nice, too merciful, too forgiving.
Neuro recognized the scent of the cookie, banora mixed with an angel's feather, flavored in sweetness. Didn't Yako know what such a thing did to his kind? Did she have the guts to try to make him eat it? No, it didn't look like she was going to attempt to force the lethal cookie down his throat and condemn him to seven days of fragility and agony, during which he would not only suffer, but also be exposed to be easily killed even by her limited human strength. He was strong; a lesser being would die instantly after ingesting such a dangerous device.
Even if she didn't go through with it, Yako still deserved a scare for going as far as having the cookie in her possession. Neuro took a piece of the cookie, breaking off a perfect fourth of it. "What a mysterious scent this cookie has, but cookies are human food; you should eat it and tell me how it tastes."
He brushed the piece of cookie against her lips and that's all the motivation Yako needed to voraciously bite it, nearly biting Neuro's fingers in the process. To say the cookie was heavenly was an understatement, it was beyond words. Yako was in pure bliss, her body felt in perfect health and the exhaustion of a day of studying was completely gone. She was energetic, calm, in a good mood, perceptive and in absolute joy.
Then Neuro kissed her, which increased her happiness even more, but also brought confusion. Yako didn't understand; had her break up with Neuro been forgiven? Had that been enough to teach him a lesson? He was Neuro, Yako knew him better than that, how could the thought of losing her affect him that much? Was that even possible?
When they parted, Yako felt Neuro's weight, as if he was using her for support. "The taste of the cookie was still in your lips, what a strange taste; it makes me curious about what it could be..."
Yako's eyes widened. She sealed the plastic bag with the remaining three fourths of the cookie and shoved it in her pocket.
"Yako... Something doesn't feel right..." Neuro closed his eyes and collapsed in the arms of a panicked Yako.
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Mystery 30: Antidote
"Neuro!" Yako desperately tried to wake him. Was the angel cookie so potent that even the slightest remnant taste could make Neuro collapse? This was too much; Yako wasn't even going to go through with her plan. "Neuro! Neuro, wake up!"
Neuro slowly opened his eyes to the panicked, crying girl, "Yako... Were you trying to kill me?"
"Of course not! I just wanted to..." to say she only wanted to hurt him didn't make the excuse sound that much better. "I'm sorry," she hugged him with all her strength. "You're going to be okay, right? You'll recover."
"I have until dawn to live, unless I drink a special elixir, but I don't have it and I don't think I can gather the ingredients myself," Neuro struggled to speak.
"I'll get it for you even if I have to dig a hole to the center of the Earth to find it!" Yako assured.
"I will write a list of ingredients," Neuro, still pretending to be weak, allowed Yako to help him sit and received the notepad and pen she hurried to get. He wrote the list and handed it back to Yako. "I don't think you can gather everything on time, but even if you fail, come back here before sunrise so I can see you one last time."
"I won't fail! I'll save you!" Yako felt a tickle on her ankle and saw that Akane had somehow crawled over. "Akane, you're here, come with me." Yako placed Akane on her hair; the braid then attached herself and became blond. "I'll be back before dawn!"
"Good luck Yako," Neuro dramatically spoke, "and don't forget that I love you..."
Yako's tears had not stopped the entire time, "I love you too!" She ran as fast as she could, out of the apartment and into the street, to start the crazy scavenger hunt she had to finish before daybreak.
Akane went along, attached to Yako's head. She wished she had a voice so that she may express how similar this was to a terrible soap opera. Though Akane was certain that Neuro would not be happy if she pointed out that his acting had been awful.
Yako quickly wrote an email to Yukari from her phone, it was short and to the point, since she didn't have time for more. "Emergency! Please have the angel find me and bring me a volcanic stone grinded into dust."
Akane perceived the message; she could somehow see and hear what was happening around her, despite being a braid of hair who did not posses eyes or ears, at least none that were currently attached to her, since her body was still a corpse in the wall of the office. She wished to warn Yako that involving more people in this matter was a bad idea, but she could not do so before the message was sent.
"Rotten meat, rotten fruit, that's not too hard, I can find it all easily," Yako rushed to a restaurant she knew, and pounded on the back door.
"Yako, you're crying?" The owner came out looking surprised. "Is that a wig?"
"No, I mean yes, I mean, there's an emergency!" Yako stumbled on her words.
"What's wrong?" The restaurant owner had never seen his best customer so panicked.
"I can't explain right now, do you have any rotten meat and rotten fruit you're going to throw away?" Yako urged.
"Yes, at the end of the day I always get rid of the food that's gone bad, I was just about to do that."
"Good, could you put it in a bag for me please? I know it sounds strange but..."
The man grinned, "way to go Yako! That's how it should be!"
Needless to say, Yako was very puzzled by his reaction, and she could only voice a simple, "huh?"
"Did those mean paparazzi pick on you? I don't believe a word the press says, but you shouldn't have to stand for it. I know I shouldn't be encouraging this, but I'll help you make all the stink bombs you want! It's about time you stood up for yourself; a little vengeance can be good."
Revenge was what got Yako into this mess and she didn't intend to make such a mistake again. "Yeah, right..." However, the stink bomb story was the only semi-sane excuse she could count on. "Actually, I have everything almost ready, I just need those ingredients, the rotten meat, the rotten fruit and... do you have any chilly peppers and wasabi?"
"That's going to be a mighty stink bomb!"
xoxox xox xoxox
After obtaining the first four ingredients, rotten meat, rotten fruit, chilly peppers and wasabi, Yako rushed to find a taxi, despite having no money to pay for it. "Akane, please cover my face."
Though Akane didn't like where this was going, she complied nonetheless and observed as Yako rushed towards a taxi, parked down the street waiting for passengers, and got in, "to the Moon Farm, hurry!"
The cab driver didn't question the orders from the lady with the very long hair. He assumed her hair was blown on her face by the wind and made no comment on not being able to see her face as he started out towards the farm.
xoxox xox xoxox
Along the way, Yako kept rushing the cab driver to go faster, until they got to the outskirts of the city. The other ingredient Yako needed was a freshly laid, stolen egg, which made her discard the possibility of snatching one from a store since those were laid too long ago. Though she didn't like the idea of taking something that didn't belong to her, surely the farmers wouldn't mind giving up an egg if a life was at stake.
"Wait here, I'll be right back," Yako got out of the taxi and began to climb the fence next to the chicken coop.
Witnessing that, the cab driver could no longer remain silent. "What are you trying to do you crazy lady?"
Yako ignored him and tried to focus on climbing the fence, but she lost her grip and nearly fell. At the last moment, Akane held on to the fence, stretching to the limits and placing Yako on the other side.
That was too much for the cab driver to bear, "you're not human!" He started the engine and made his escape, the yellow taxi quickly disappearing in the distance. No one would believe him, but he would forever tell the tale of the night when he was nearly killed by a hair demon, always ending the story with the pun of having escaped by a hair.
"Oh no, there goes our ride and I think we traumatized him." As sorry as Yako felt for that poor man, she still had a mission to accomplish which took priority over anything else. She snuck into the chicken coop and took an egg, but just as she was leaving, the lights came on and two people were seen at the door.
There was a man and a woman, siblings Yako would guess. They wore identical blue jean overalls, red shirts and brown shoes, additionally the man had a blue cap. They were both still young, between twenty and twenty-five, the light was too dim to tell. He held an axe and she held a hammer, both tools far larger than anything Yako thought could be handled. She wondered how they could even carry them when they looked so heavy. The lethal tools seemed to be made of pure gold.
"I'm sorry!" Yako ran for dear life, assisted in her desperate escape by Akane, who helped her jump over the fence.
Without looking back, Yako ran towards the city, holding the egg as gently as possible in one hand, and the bag containing the rest of the ingredients in the other.
xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox
Mystery 31: Lurking in the Shadows
Yako pushed herself to run faster, the vitality obtained from the piece of angelic cookie she ate was wearing out and in her hurry, she completely forgot she still had a portion of it left. She was out of breath, she was tired and she was hungry, but she didn't stop running.
Yako rushed into the city and dashed down the streets, she took a shortcut to her apartment, hastily making her way down a dark alley she wouldn't dare venture into if she wasn't so desperate.
"Where are you going in such a hurry?" Yako could hardly see the man's face, but the large knife he was holding shone in the moonlight.
"I have no time for this!" Yako seemed unfazed by a situation that would certainly frighten her if her system wasn't flooded by adrenaline. "I'm sorry, I hope you're able to get over this experience one day, think of it as punishment for your misdeeds and change for the better. Akane, please help!"
Akane extended herself, picking the man off the ground and throwing him aside, then Yako ran away, while the terrified man's screams about a hair demon became an echo in the distance.
xoxox xox xoxox
Yako made it back to her apartment just as the sun began to rise. The trip back from the farm was extremely time consuming. "Neuro, I'm back! I'll have the elixir done soon, hold on!" Yako began to mix the ingredients she had, hoping that Yukari's angel friend would arrive with the dust of a volcanic stone on time; she had no hopes of obtaining such a thing on time, so she had to rely on him. Surely Neuro would be angry to be assisted by his kind, but there was no other choice.
"This has to work, it has to!" Yako furiously combined the ingredients together. "I won't lose Neuro, I love him, no matter what, I still love him and I know he loves me too." Yako continued to ramble as she mixed, then like a lightbulb turning on above her head, something came to her attention. "Neuro loves me..."
Yako stopped mixing, poured the incomplete so called elixir into a cup and washed her hands. Akane was confused by Yako's sudden change; she looked a lot calmer now. "Thank you for your help Akane," the braid's fusion with Yako was released and she rested on the side of Yako's head attached to one of her clips, her dark color standing out on Yako's blond. Yako took the cup to Neuro and gently lifted his head, "here's the elixir."
"It's incomplete..." Neuro knew it had to be, there was no way Yako could get all the ingredients on time.
"This was the best I could do, please drink it, maybe your life will be extended anyway and I'll have more time to find what's missing. Please Neuro!" Yako insisted.
"Alright..." Neuro moved his hand towards the cup and in a split second, Yako dropped to the floor and the cup with the foul blend flew over her and crashed into a wall, dripping down grotesquely. "You dodged it."
"I can't believe it took me this long to realize you were acting," Yako admitted.
"What gave it away?" Neuro's question had a well hidden undertone of amusement.
"Your lines about wanting to see me before dying and that you loved me, it was all too sweet. I should have known right away it was an act, but I was too worried about you to think," Yako revealed.
"You still need a lot of evolution, nonetheless you have dared to challenge your master and you'll have to pay for that." Neuro's eyes glowed as he held Yako's wrists in an impossible to break grip and moved closer, pointed teeth bared, then he sneezed right into Yako's face, much to her annoyance.
"Ew, Neuro, cover your mouth!"
"Excuse me," Neuro looked towards the new arrival who just spoke, the man had platinum hair, blue eyes, majestic white wings and was dressed in elegant white robes lined in gold. "I have a delivery for miss Yako Katsuragi."
"Is that so?" Neuro's statement was finished with a sneeze. "Tell me slave, since when have you been associating with his kind?"
Yako tried to explain, "he's a friend of my cousin. I knew I couldn't get all the ingredients for the elixir on time by myself so I asked for help. He's here to deliver the volcanic stone dust. I'm so sorry Mr. Angel, I was tricked, the recipe for the elixir was a trap and there was no real emergency after all. Neuro, please stop sneezing on me." Yako shielded herself, knowing Neuro wouldn't listen, though she didn't understand why he kept sneezing like that.
"It's his fault," Neuro pointed at the angel accusingly, "I'm allergic." Neuro walked over to the angel and proceeded to blow his nose on his robes.
"Please refrain from doing that, it is most unpleasant," deep down, the angel knew his words would not be heeded. "As for my scent, my apologies for causing you discomfort. Though I am thankful to say your scent does not represent a source of distress for my respiratory system."
"Do you even need to breathe?" Yako curiously asked.
"Yes, we all need to breathe, albeit neither of us breathes oxygen," the angel explained. "Will you be keeping the grinded volcanic stone? I'm afraid I have no use for it and do not wish for it to go to waste."
Neuro snatched the jar and emptied its dusty black contents over Yako's head, then let the jar fall to the floor where the glass shattered. "I have a question for you, filth," another sneeze followed.
"My name is Angelus," the angel pointed out.
"What do you know about that strange rain we had?" Neuro inquired.
"I can tell you that the rain that hides the scent of nonhumans was indeed caused by one of my kind. Albeit I am capable of casting the spell, I am not to blame for it. I have also noticed something very suspicious, a powerful force of your kind lurking in the shadows, as if waiting for its prey. It is almost as if the rain was meant to hide that prey and protect it. Regretfully, this is all the information I have," Angelus testified.
Neuro sneezed again, then grinned victoriously, "this mystery is on the tip of my tongue!"
To be Continued
Disclaimer, I don't own Private Evileye Nogami Neuro, Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core or Harvest Moon. In Mystery 27, the quote "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," was suggested by LuvStarWars and Yako's mom finding out about the baby was an idea I got from by yorushihe. The fruit called banora is a reference to the dumb apples of Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core. The Moon Farm in Mystery 30 was a reference to Harvest Moon and the two farmers were Jack and Clair with their golden tools.
Mystery 26: The Fairy Tale Falls Apart
The high pitched cries of "chicken!" echoed in the crowded restaurant where all eyes rested on Higushi and his little guest. The waiters ran back and forth between their table and the kitchen, bringing dish after dish featuring a variety of recipes centered on chicken. Yako ate it all and resumed her screaming, while Higushi pulled out his hair in desperation, the girl wouldn't stop eating chicken, when she finished, she would yell for more and they were running out in the restaurant, not to mention that this was all very expensive.
Though Higushi swore not to improperly use his hacking skills again, he would make an exception if there was a big enough emergency. Tracking Yako had been an emergency and paying the restaurant bill was the next emergency. People wouldn't miss a few pennies out of their accounts, a little from here and a little from there could amount to a lot.
Higushi's torture was never ending, he took Yako from one restaurant to another, where she devoured dish after dish, all of them containing chicken since that's what she apparently wanted. Eventually, Higushi offered Yako some turkey and she ate it. Then he offered her fish, which she also ate, and he went on to feed her fruits, which she continued to eat. She kept yelling for chicken, but Higushi discovered that she would eat anything, even if it didn't have any chicken. The day went by like that, Yako yelled and Higushi fed her, then she yelled for chicken again and continued to devour all sorts of foods, chicken or not.
xoxox xox xoxox
That evening, Higushi returned to the hotel to speak to Yako. He was exhausted and seriously frightened by the black hole of a child who looked so much like Yako and was named after her. Maybe Yako wasn't an ordinary human either. Sure she was special, but maybe that special something was not a human something. Whatever was going on, Higushi wasn't ready to face it. He wouldn't give up on Yako, but he had to do a temporary retreat. "Is Yako here?"
Neuro had opened the door after hearing the knocks and stood smugly. "You just missed her, do you want to baby-sit some more? I'm sure you must have had a lot of fun."
"I just remembered there something I need to do..." Higushi watched as little Yako clung to Neuro's leg happily. He had lost that battle, but after a strategic retreat, he would be back to fight the war.
"My slave," little Yako giggled.
Higushi mused that victory was in the eye of the beholder and went on his temporary retreat, hopefully when he came back to try to win Yako over, he would be strong enough to face the challenges of alien children. "I'll be back..." with that promise he left.
While Higushi retreated and Neuro closed the door, little Yako pulled his pant leg up and bit his ankle. She had tasted many things that day, but nothing was as good as the taste of her spicy roasted chicken slave.
xoxox xox xoxox
The challenger didn't show up, the one responsible for this mess was out there, but Neuro couldn't find him. He decided to return to Japan and booked their flight. Except this time instead of heading straight to the other side of the world, the airplane would fly over Europe. They would make several stops to switch airplanes so Yako could have enough food while flying. For the longest non-stop flight over the Atlantic Ocean, Neuro made sure to pack lots of food.
xoxox xox xoxox
The trip back to Japan went by surprisingly well. Neuro's plan to provide Yako with plenty of food worked perfectly and she was kept calm and quiet. Mystery was easy enough to take care of, he never caused trouble, at least not yet, though Neuro had a feeling that the hatchling's mischievous side would show up sooner or later.
Feeling frustrated, angry and ready to bite someone's head off, Neuro headed back to the office with the children. Godai was there, watching TV and not paying attention to who went in and out of the office. "Slave number two, stop being lazy! You're working extra."
Godai nearly jumped in surprise and had no time to reply before Neuro left as suddenly as he came.
xoxox xox xoxox
It was very late when Neuro returned to Yako's home that night. Mystery was sleeping soundly in one of Neuro's arms, as if bottling up his mischief for later and Yako was sleepily clinging to Neuro, held in the other. Neuro put Mystery in his crib, then attempted to pry Yako off and put her on her bed.
Yako woke up for a short moment with a demand, "kissy, night-night."
"No."
Yako pouted, she wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Kissy night-night chicken slave!"
She wouldn't shut up and Neuro knew it, he missed the older Yako that knew it was best not to provoke his anger. "Stupid, annoying, little brat." He gave her a kiss on the forehead to make her stop complaining.
"Night-night!" Yako fell into a deep sleep and Neuro sensed magic at work, but it was going backwards. Yako was growing back to her normal age. That was all it took, a kiss, just like in a fairy tale.
xoxox xox xoxox
Yako woke up and yawned loudly, she didn't know where her pajamas went. She was wearing a shirt, which she unconsciously kept tugging down, but it wasn't long enough. She was confused, very confused.
"Beg for forgiveness slave, you've been very troublesome," Neuro was there, glaring with glowing green eyes.
"What do you mean?" Yako knew Neuro often said things like that, but she wasn't sure if there was more of a meaning to it this time.
"You should know, stupid slave, even your single brain cell should remember." Neuro wasn't sure if he was angry or grateful that Yako didn't remember what happened.
"I did have a strange dream," Yako admitted.
Neuro thought that Yako might be on to something, perhaps she concluded that the events that occurred while she was under the spell were too strange to be real and assumed it was all a dream.
"In my dream you flew away with me to a flying saucer and took me to your planet, rich in delicious food. Then we got married and lived happily ever after as the king and queen of an advanced alien civilization of professional chefs." Yako sighed happily, such things could only happen in her dreams.
"Wrong answer," Neuro growled menacingly; then the phone rang with an odd timing.
Yako thought Neuro was just being his usual self. She was disoriented, but slipped into a relatively normal routine easily, at least normal for her. "I should answer that." Yako got out of bed, tugged her shirt down trying to stretch it into a sort of mini dress, took her robe from the closet, put it on and rushed to pick up the phone before it stopped ringing. "Hello?"
Neuro followed Yako and observed her reaction; her expression was shocked, sad and heartbroken. Her lips quivered and she swallowed empty air, her voice wasn't working and her eyes were watering. She didn't like what she was hearing on the phone.
xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox
Mystery 27: Broken
Tears welled up in Yako's eyes, she was unable to speak; she could only listen. Her mother was crying over the phone, she was disappointed, alarmed and worried about the rumors. Yet she displayed no anger towards Yako, instead she reproached herself for not being there for her daughter, having left to investigate her husband's death and continuing her travels. Hearing her mother blame herself with such intensity, hurt Yako even more then being scolded would. She wanted to tell her it wasn't her fault, she wanted to say it was all a misunderstanding, but she couldn't find her voice.
Yako knew the press had tarnished her reputation, she knew that there were people who had gotten into trouble for trying to help her, she knew there were risks that came with her very precense right now. She didn't know the extent or ever evolving content of the rumors and gossip surrounding her, but she was aware that her dignity had been shredded in the public eye. She could bear it, she was strong, but she couldn't stand to cause her mother misery.
"Slave, are you listening to me? I didn't give you permission to talk on the phone, or listen, how dare you ignore me? If this isn't about a case, then you better hang up right now. Why are you crying? Is it because you know what's coming? You should fear!"
"I'm sorry," Yako whispered into the receiver and listened for a short while longer until her mother hung up.
"Louse," Neuro knew the apology was directed at the person on the phone and not at him. "You shouldn't be apologizing to your fellow filth, whoever it was, you should be begging for my forgiveness!"
The tears continued running down Yako's face while Neuro tugged at her hair and pulled her ears, poking here and there, hard enough to hurt. He allowed this to happen; no, he caused it. Yako couldn't take it anymore, she felt used, Neuro didn't care, he couldn't care, maybe it wasn't in his nature, all he knew was to inflict pain; love was a word without substance for him. "It's over between us."
It took a moment for the words to register for Neuro and even then he was certain he heard wrong. "What did you say?"
"I'm breaking up with you," Yako glared up at Neuro, her eyes filled with a fury that he had never seen before, even in his homeland.
"Who do you think you are?" He grasped her neck tightly and held her up to his eye level.
Yako's expression remained unchanged as she struggled to speak with what little oxygen she could obtain. "It's over, you can torture me, injure me and even kill me, but you'll never have the satisfaction to make me go back on my words. I'm done being patient with you, I can't forgive you anymore, I... I can't love you. I hate you Nogami Neuro!"
Thunder crashed outside and rain began to fall, it was a gloomy morning that refused to welcome the sun. The stormy day looked as if the night had never ended, consumed by darkness. Neuro released Yako, and watched as she picked herself off the floor after falling. Surely those words were a desperate attempt to feed her starving lungs, she only wanted him to let go. Soon enough she would deny it all and beg for forgiveness.
Yako got up and ran away. She didn't care what Neuro did, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of giving in. If he wanted mysteries, he would have to find another slave to play detective. She could endure pain herself, but she couldn't tolerate bringing pain to her loved ones through her connection with Neuro.
Yako ventured out into the storm, leaving Neuro standing in her house alone. "Is this some kind of bizarre human ritual? Slave, I don't understand your foolishness."
xoxox xox xoxox
Yako ran aimlessly until she was too tired to go on, tears mixing with the rain, she still had her shirt turned mini-dress on, but she didn't notice or care, not that there was anyone out there to see her. Even if there was work or school waiting, no one would be crazy enough to brave the storm, just as it would be unthinkable to love someone of Neuro's world.
When Yako finally examined her surroundings, ignoring the loud growls of her empty stomach and the noisy pounding of her broken heart, she noticed that she was in front of Kanae's house. Her body felt frail and her delayed survival instinct finally kicked in to remind her that she needed shelter, thus she knocked.
A shocked Kanae opened the door, just barely catching the sound of Yako's knocking over the heavy rain and fierce thunder. With wide eyes and a shaken expression, Kanae quickly led Yako inside and took her to her room.
Kanae's parents were sleeping, having given up on facing the storm, they stayed home from work. Kanae in turn, also stayed home from school, though she forced herself to get up despite the irresistible need to stay in bed, she had finals to study for.
Once in Kanae's room, the two girls sat on her bed, with Yako crying on Kanae's shoulder, the latter held her friend protectively and tried to soothe her pain. "Yako, what happened?" Kanae finally asked when Yako was a little calmer.
"I broke up with him," the words left a foul taste in Yako's mouth; she couldn't believe what she did. "My reputation, all of this, mom heard and blamed herself, it's Neuro's fault for letting the rumors get out of hand, he started this mess, he hurt mom by giving me a bad name."
Kanae got a towel from her closet, which she gave to Yako. "Isn't he a victim too? You're the most famous, he's just an assistant, but people are talking about him too. The press wants you to turn against each other, don't let them ruin your relationship! You need to sit down and talk to him, tell him how you feel and then you can both support each other and I'm here for you too. I'm sure your mom will understand, I'll be with you when you talk to her if you want, I'll be your alibi if need be. Yako, you're amazing, admirable and strong, nothing can bring you down, I'm sure of it, don't give up!"
Yako wrapped the towel around herself, only then realizing that she wasn't properly dressed and she was soaking wet. She observed Kanae's expression, she was hurting too; she was in pain because Yako was suffering. 'Kanae, not you too, please don't be sad because of me.' Yako took a deep breath, she was used to forcing herself to smile and so she smiled. "Thank you, I feel better now and I know things will work out, I'm not sure what came over me." Of course, Neuro was still the good guy in everyone's eyes and Yako couldn't blame them, she would not break that illusion, that would only make them worry more.
"That's the Yako I know!" Kanae smiled as well, a forced smile, hers more obviously false than Yako's. Kanae knew when Yako's smiles were real and when they were fake. She knew Yako had been putting up an act since her father passed away and it wasn't until she opened that detective agency that she started to truly smile again. Had the origin of her newfound happiness turned into a source of suffering?
"Do you mind if I dry off and..." Yako trailed off in her attempt to change the subject and somehow fall into a somewhat casual conversation, her current situation was not the usual.
"Go ahead and here are some clothes," Kanae handed Yako some comfortable clothes and watched her go to the bathroom, "take your time."
"Thanks," Yako gave another forced smiled and closed the door behind her. She showered, dried herself and dressed in the borrowed clothes, thankful to see her extra toothbrush still remained. Yako often slept over at Kanae's house and though that had become far less frequent after she became a detective, she still had her own toothbrush there.
Yako took a deep breath and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She curved the edges of her mouth up like she used to do every morning before going out to face the world, she didn't remember when she stopped doing it, but it looked like she would fall back into the habit of a practiced smile and she didn't like that.
She sighed and tried to look at the situation from a different perspective. She could understand people, but Neuro was a special case. If he needed her to interpret humans for him and was only starting to pick up certain human traits himself, then maybe his knowledge wasn't sufficient to comprehend this situation. Perhaps the only way to teach Neuro that pain was bad, was to show him pain.
"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," Yako wasn't sure when or where she had heard that quote, but she had a theory to test.
xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox
Mystery 28: Separated
Yako exited the bathroom composed and full of determination. She smiled at Kanae and casually spoke, "I have a lot of work to make up for during my absence at school, I hope I can be excused and given the chance to turn in the work I missed. I'm going to call the school about it."
"Yes, you should do that," Kanae knew that Yako was trying to put up a calm front for her, but if Yako wasn't ready to face's life's social challenges at the moment, then Kanae would help her face the academic challenges for the time being.
The conversation with the school principal went better then Yako had expected, mostly because, unknown to her, she had solved a case for a relative of the principal, which allowed her to be seen in a positive light despite her recent long absence from school and the negative propaganda from the drama-creating media.
With a relieved smile, Yako announced, "they're letting me turn in the work. I'm supposed to receive a list of assignments by email in a few minutes. Can I borrow your computer, Kanae?"
"Sure, go ahead," Kanae had a pleasant sense of deja vu, this was just like one of those days studying together, except it was still quite early and the weather was more disagreeable than usual.
Yako paused midway typing in her username, her stomach was growling so loudly it was making her forget her email's password. "Um..."
Kanae laughed like old times, "I know, you're hungry. How about we take a break from all this work and go raid the refrigerator?"
"Yeah!" Yako cheered.
xoxox xox xoxox
As always, Kanae ate a normal amount of food and Yako ate a lot, later apologizing for emptying Kanae's refrigerator. They returned to their studies after the meal and Yako read the list of assignments from her email. "It looks like I'll need to do some research and type a lot," Yako sighed.
"If I'm overwhelmed with school work, I can only imagine how much they gave you. Just take your time little by little and I'll help too. Here, let me get started on your math, I know you don't like it," Kanae offered.
"But you don't like math either, and besides, I can't ask you to do my homework," Yako replied.
"Don't worry, I was going to do practice problems anyway, so I might as well do these, then I'll explain them to you and we'll both get some practice out of it. Everyone knows the first thing is to get homework done, then you try to understand it afterwards. The points you get from turning in the work are more of a sure thing than the points you'll get from an exam, you never know what could be in it. It's basic student survival, get the easy points first and don't let them go to waste."
Yako laughed, allowing her mind to become almost fully immersed in the trials and tribulations of being a student. "Yeah, you're right, thank you. I'll get started on my essay," that one had to be written in her own words, thus there was little help she could receive, aside from constructive criticism on style, spelling and grammar.
xoxox xox xoxox
Yako's apartment was a mess and in the middle of the overturned furniture and empty drawers was Neuro. "Mystery? Mystery! Come out, I'll give you food!" It was no use, the little hatchling had disappeared. After the ungrateful slave stormed out, Neuro had decided to occupy himself in feeding the baby, then going off to vandalize Yako's room and set up traps for her. However, he didn't get to the point of traps or vandalism because Mystery had disappeared.
Neuro knew Yako didn't take the hatchling with her, she was alone when she ran out insanely and he would have noticed if she came back to get him. One thing was for sure, Mystery was nowhere to be found in the apartment and the unusual rain outside made him nearly impossible to track. The rain was covering up the scent of all creatures not of the human world. Who brought forth that rain and for what purpose, Neuro didn't know. Yako picked a fine time rebel, she hasn't returned as he expected and she could be relatively far away by then, plus he couldn't locate Mystery.
Neuro hated not being in control of the situation, this puzzle was mocking him. Then a thought occurred to him, slowly he had been learning more about the hatchling, recognizing his puzzling scent hidden in the scent of mystery. The boy was of his kind, or at least half, and the child's scent was strangely similar to Neuro's own with something more added in, a scent similar to Yako's. No doubt the boy was connected to them, but if that was the case, could Mystery's disappearance be a consequence of Yako's departure? Did that mean she wasn't coming back? Was it a warning that she would be hurt, or even killed? Neuro was tired of all of this; he would find Yako and keep her close even if he had to chain her to him.
xoxox xox xoxox
The morning rolled by quickly and Yako finished a lot of her school work, emailing essay after essay to her teachers. Other than the research needed for her school work, she had also researched legends and myths that she suspected held more truth than most people could imagine.
Among the myths, she found one that caught her eye. It was a sort of recipe, one that would result in pain if consumed by Neuro's kind. She took note of the ingredients and decided to get them when they went out to lunch, she would make up an excuse about the strange cooking materials and surely Kanae wouldn't look too deeply into it. However, there was one ingredient that Yako knew she couldn't find in the grocery store or even in a specialized culinary market, an angel's feather.
Yako held no memories of her time as a toddler, but she did remember a silver haired man giving her a cookie and things became blurry after that point. The unknown man had mentioned that the cookie was made by an angel, but also said Yako's cousin Yukari baked it. Yako was certain Yukari was no angel and it was highly unlikely that she had any connections with angels given her life style, but this was her only clue, so she wrote an email and hoped her cousin saw it soon.
'Dear Yukari,
How have you been?
I know this may sound like a strange request, but I need you to mail me something as soon as possible. If you can obtain it, please send it to my friend Kanae's house...'
Here Yako paused and looked at her friend, "Kanae, could I please borrow your mailing address to receive a package from my cousin?"
Kanae found the request to be strange, but complied without questioning it, "sure."
"Thank you," Yako included Kanae's address in the email and continued.
'The item I need is an angel's feather. If you truly have no idea what I'm talking about, please ignore this request, but if you have access to a real one, please mail it as soon as you can. I'll find a way to repay you for this favor.
Best wishes,
Yako'
xoxox xox xoxox
It was late in the evening when the rain stopped completely and the doorbell rang, interrupting the song Kanae's mother was humming in the kitchen while she cooked dinner after Yako and Kanae ventured out to go grocery shopping for edible necessities.
Kanae's father, who was in the living room, being closest to the door, answered it to find the mailman, though this was not the usual one. He was wearing a uniform, but he wasn't the same surfer style young man with orange hair, tanned skin and honey-brown eyes. This man was rather pale, with very light platinum-blond hair and blue eyes. "Excuse me," the new mailman's voice was melodious, "I have a package for miss Yako Katsuragi."
Kanae's father blinked, then smiled fondly. In the past, there had been talk about taking Yako in so she wouldn't be alone at her apartment while her mother was away, but Yako had politely refused, insisting that she didn't want to impose, though Kanae often talked her into coming over. Yako had become like a second daughter to Kanae's family. "Ah yes, she's here. Yako, you have a package!"
Yako rushed down the stairs, thanking Kanae's father and the angelical-looking mailman, whom she also noticed was not the usual one. She signed for the package and held the small box to her chest, silently thanking Yukari. Although, Yako still wondered if there truly was an angel's feather in the box or a random expensive ornament crafted by humans to look like one. She had a feeling she would somehow know when she saw it, thus she hurried back to Kanae's room to open the package with great curiosity.
xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox
Mystery 29: Hurt the One You Love
"That was fast," Kanae had heard about rush deliveries being made by the next day, but if this was the package Yako requested from her cousin a few hours ago, the speed of the delivery had reached a new record. The sender's name on the box clearly read Yukari Katsuragi and from what Kanae had heard, Yukari was always traveling in far away lands.
"Yeah," Yako rushed to open the package, ripping the wrapping apart ferociously.
"Is there food in there?" Kane laughed.
"Huh? Oh, no," Yako laughed nervously, only food could make her open a box with such extreme need. Than she saw them, not one but a dozen beautiful pure white feathers nestled in a sky blue silk handkerchief with a note between them. Yako recognized Yukari's handwriting right away.
'Hi Yako!
I don't know how you found out about my connections, but keep it a secret. We'll have to talk about this; you're better informed than I thought. I'll go visit sometime.
Love,
Yukari'
"They're beautiful!" Kanae gasped, awe by the gorgeous feathers.
Yako took a feather and gave it to her friend, "these are angel's feathers, keep this one as a lucky charm."
Kanae held the soft feather, everything about it was perfect, the shape, the soft texture more pleasant than anything she had ever felt and even the gentle scent they held was ideal. "Thank you, it's so beautiful I almost believe it really came from an angel."
Yako smiled knowingly, those feathers really must have come from an angel; an angel disguised as a mailman perhaps. She would have a long talk with Yukari sometime and find out how she met that angelic man. Yako wondered what Yukari would say if she knew about Neuro. It was ironic, if anyone saw the two cousins, they would guess that Yako would be the one to befriend the angel and Yukari would end up finding the most mischievous of Neuro's kind, but that's not how it took place, perhaps opposites attract.
xoxox xox xoxox
That night, while Kanae surrendered to an exhausted deep sleep and her parents were also in slumber land, Yako borrowed the kitchen to prepare the strange concoction that would serve as the device for her vengeance.
"Let's see, peal and mash the banora," Yako wanted to eat the fruit herself, those blue apples were rare and expensive, but she followed the recipe nonetheless. The banora had left her emergency savings account in zero after spending the amount which translated to seven hundred and seventy-seven euros on it. She didn't know what she was going to do about living expenses for the next couple of months, but she let the rush guide her and purchased the uncommon imported delicacy.
"Add three spoons of sugar and seven spoons of honey. Put the angel's feather in the mix and it will dissolve into it with the heat. Place the recipe in the oven at seven hundred and seventy-seven degrees for seven minutes." Yako followed the instructions flawlessly and when she opened the oven, there was a lovely cookie where she had previously left a pile of white mush.
She waited for it to cool off, but found it was unnecessary, since cookie itself seemed to sooth the temperature around it to a pleasant level. The cookie was a pure white, as if it were made of cream or sugar, though the consistency seemed spongy like a cake. It was about half an inch thick and three inches wide and tall, perfectly circular.
Upon closer examination, Yako noticed a beautiful feathery pattern engraved in the ivory cookie. The scent was beyond anything she had ever perceived before. It took every ounce of self-control she didn't even know she had to resist eating it. This was for Neuro, it was for his own good, so he would learn to be nice, yet all thoughts of vengeance and anger disappeared when taking in the scent of the cookie.
Before she changed her mind, Yako set off to find Neuro, leaving a note for Kanae in case she didn't return before her friend woke up.
xoxox xox xoxox
Yako first checked the office but found it empty, neither Godai nor Akane were there. That was odd, since Akane was usually in the office if not with her.
Yako then headed to her apartment to find the place in chaos. She began to straighten up the mess, but stopped when she felt a presence watching her and turned to stare into a pair of menacing glowing green eyes.
"You have been quite troublesome slave," Neuro growled.
Yako could feel Neuro's temper heating up, she should have been frightened, but the scent of the cookie somehow escaped the sealed plastic bag in her pocket and calmed her. She wondered if Neuro could smell it, how could she get him to eat it? Furthermore, what if the cookie said to have miraculous healing properties in humans caused more than just pain to Neuro, what if the effects were fatal?
"I... um..." Yako took the plastic bag from her pocket and opened it, holding up the cookie. "This is..." She neglected to form a plan, maybe because deep down she knew she could never do anything to hurt Neuro, she was too nice, too merciful, too forgiving.
Neuro recognized the scent of the cookie, banora mixed with an angel's feather, flavored in sweetness. Didn't Yako know what such a thing did to his kind? Did she have the guts to try to make him eat it? No, it didn't look like she was going to attempt to force the lethal cookie down his throat and condemn him to seven days of fragility and agony, during which he would not only suffer, but also be exposed to be easily killed even by her limited human strength. He was strong; a lesser being would die instantly after ingesting such a dangerous device.
Even if she didn't go through with it, Yako still deserved a scare for going as far as having the cookie in her possession. Neuro took a piece of the cookie, breaking off a perfect fourth of it. "What a mysterious scent this cookie has, but cookies are human food; you should eat it and tell me how it tastes."
He brushed the piece of cookie against her lips and that's all the motivation Yako needed to voraciously bite it, nearly biting Neuro's fingers in the process. To say the cookie was heavenly was an understatement, it was beyond words. Yako was in pure bliss, her body felt in perfect health and the exhaustion of a day of studying was completely gone. She was energetic, calm, in a good mood, perceptive and in absolute joy.
Then Neuro kissed her, which increased her happiness even more, but also brought confusion. Yako didn't understand; had her break up with Neuro been forgiven? Had that been enough to teach him a lesson? He was Neuro, Yako knew him better than that, how could the thought of losing her affect him that much? Was that even possible?
When they parted, Yako felt Neuro's weight, as if he was using her for support. "The taste of the cookie was still in your lips, what a strange taste; it makes me curious about what it could be..."
Yako's eyes widened. She sealed the plastic bag with the remaining three fourths of the cookie and shoved it in her pocket.
"Yako... Something doesn't feel right..." Neuro closed his eyes and collapsed in the arms of a panicked Yako.
xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox
Mystery 30: Antidote
"Neuro!" Yako desperately tried to wake him. Was the angel cookie so potent that even the slightest remnant taste could make Neuro collapse? This was too much; Yako wasn't even going to go through with her plan. "Neuro! Neuro, wake up!"
Neuro slowly opened his eyes to the panicked, crying girl, "Yako... Were you trying to kill me?"
"Of course not! I just wanted to..." to say she only wanted to hurt him didn't make the excuse sound that much better. "I'm sorry," she hugged him with all her strength. "You're going to be okay, right? You'll recover."
"I have until dawn to live, unless I drink a special elixir, but I don't have it and I don't think I can gather the ingredients myself," Neuro struggled to speak.
"I'll get it for you even if I have to dig a hole to the center of the Earth to find it!" Yako assured.
"I will write a list of ingredients," Neuro, still pretending to be weak, allowed Yako to help him sit and received the notepad and pen she hurried to get. He wrote the list and handed it back to Yako. "I don't think you can gather everything on time, but even if you fail, come back here before sunrise so I can see you one last time."
"I won't fail! I'll save you!" Yako felt a tickle on her ankle and saw that Akane had somehow crawled over. "Akane, you're here, come with me." Yako placed Akane on her hair; the braid then attached herself and became blond. "I'll be back before dawn!"
"Good luck Yako," Neuro dramatically spoke, "and don't forget that I love you..."
Yako's tears had not stopped the entire time, "I love you too!" She ran as fast as she could, out of the apartment and into the street, to start the crazy scavenger hunt she had to finish before daybreak.
Akane went along, attached to Yako's head. She wished she had a voice so that she may express how similar this was to a terrible soap opera. Though Akane was certain that Neuro would not be happy if she pointed out that his acting had been awful.
Yako quickly wrote an email to Yukari from her phone, it was short and to the point, since she didn't have time for more. "Emergency! Please have the angel find me and bring me a volcanic stone grinded into dust."
Akane perceived the message; she could somehow see and hear what was happening around her, despite being a braid of hair who did not posses eyes or ears, at least none that were currently attached to her, since her body was still a corpse in the wall of the office. She wished to warn Yako that involving more people in this matter was a bad idea, but she could not do so before the message was sent.
"Rotten meat, rotten fruit, that's not too hard, I can find it all easily," Yako rushed to a restaurant she knew, and pounded on the back door.
"Yako, you're crying?" The owner came out looking surprised. "Is that a wig?"
"No, I mean yes, I mean, there's an emergency!" Yako stumbled on her words.
"What's wrong?" The restaurant owner had never seen his best customer so panicked.
"I can't explain right now, do you have any rotten meat and rotten fruit you're going to throw away?" Yako urged.
"Yes, at the end of the day I always get rid of the food that's gone bad, I was just about to do that."
"Good, could you put it in a bag for me please? I know it sounds strange but..."
The man grinned, "way to go Yako! That's how it should be!"
Needless to say, Yako was very puzzled by his reaction, and she could only voice a simple, "huh?"
"Did those mean paparazzi pick on you? I don't believe a word the press says, but you shouldn't have to stand for it. I know I shouldn't be encouraging this, but I'll help you make all the stink bombs you want! It's about time you stood up for yourself; a little vengeance can be good."
Revenge was what got Yako into this mess and she didn't intend to make such a mistake again. "Yeah, right..." However, the stink bomb story was the only semi-sane excuse she could count on. "Actually, I have everything almost ready, I just need those ingredients, the rotten meat, the rotten fruit and... do you have any chilly peppers and wasabi?"
"That's going to be a mighty stink bomb!"
xoxox xox xoxox
After obtaining the first four ingredients, rotten meat, rotten fruit, chilly peppers and wasabi, Yako rushed to find a taxi, despite having no money to pay for it. "Akane, please cover my face."
Though Akane didn't like where this was going, she complied nonetheless and observed as Yako rushed towards a taxi, parked down the street waiting for passengers, and got in, "to the Moon Farm, hurry!"
The cab driver didn't question the orders from the lady with the very long hair. He assumed her hair was blown on her face by the wind and made no comment on not being able to see her face as he started out towards the farm.
xoxox xox xoxox
Along the way, Yako kept rushing the cab driver to go faster, until they got to the outskirts of the city. The other ingredient Yako needed was a freshly laid, stolen egg, which made her discard the possibility of snatching one from a store since those were laid too long ago. Though she didn't like the idea of taking something that didn't belong to her, surely the farmers wouldn't mind giving up an egg if a life was at stake.
"Wait here, I'll be right back," Yako got out of the taxi and began to climb the fence next to the chicken coop.
Witnessing that, the cab driver could no longer remain silent. "What are you trying to do you crazy lady?"
Yako ignored him and tried to focus on climbing the fence, but she lost her grip and nearly fell. At the last moment, Akane held on to the fence, stretching to the limits and placing Yako on the other side.
That was too much for the cab driver to bear, "you're not human!" He started the engine and made his escape, the yellow taxi quickly disappearing in the distance. No one would believe him, but he would forever tell the tale of the night when he was nearly killed by a hair demon, always ending the story with the pun of having escaped by a hair.
"Oh no, there goes our ride and I think we traumatized him." As sorry as Yako felt for that poor man, she still had a mission to accomplish which took priority over anything else. She snuck into the chicken coop and took an egg, but just as she was leaving, the lights came on and two people were seen at the door.
There was a man and a woman, siblings Yako would guess. They wore identical blue jean overalls, red shirts and brown shoes, additionally the man had a blue cap. They were both still young, between twenty and twenty-five, the light was too dim to tell. He held an axe and she held a hammer, both tools far larger than anything Yako thought could be handled. She wondered how they could even carry them when they looked so heavy. The lethal tools seemed to be made of pure gold.
"I'm sorry!" Yako ran for dear life, assisted in her desperate escape by Akane, who helped her jump over the fence.
Without looking back, Yako ran towards the city, holding the egg as gently as possible in one hand, and the bag containing the rest of the ingredients in the other.
xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox
Mystery 31: Lurking in the Shadows
Yako pushed herself to run faster, the vitality obtained from the piece of angelic cookie she ate was wearing out and in her hurry, she completely forgot she still had a portion of it left. She was out of breath, she was tired and she was hungry, but she didn't stop running.
Yako rushed into the city and dashed down the streets, she took a shortcut to her apartment, hastily making her way down a dark alley she wouldn't dare venture into if she wasn't so desperate.
"Where are you going in such a hurry?" Yako could hardly see the man's face, but the large knife he was holding shone in the moonlight.
"I have no time for this!" Yako seemed unfazed by a situation that would certainly frighten her if her system wasn't flooded by adrenaline. "I'm sorry, I hope you're able to get over this experience one day, think of it as punishment for your misdeeds and change for the better. Akane, please help!"
Akane extended herself, picking the man off the ground and throwing him aside, then Yako ran away, while the terrified man's screams about a hair demon became an echo in the distance.
xoxox xox xoxox
Yako made it back to her apartment just as the sun began to rise. The trip back from the farm was extremely time consuming. "Neuro, I'm back! I'll have the elixir done soon, hold on!" Yako began to mix the ingredients she had, hoping that Yukari's angel friend would arrive with the dust of a volcanic stone on time; she had no hopes of obtaining such a thing on time, so she had to rely on him. Surely Neuro would be angry to be assisted by his kind, but there was no other choice.
"This has to work, it has to!" Yako furiously combined the ingredients together. "I won't lose Neuro, I love him, no matter what, I still love him and I know he loves me too." Yako continued to ramble as she mixed, then like a lightbulb turning on above her head, something came to her attention. "Neuro loves me..."
Yako stopped mixing, poured the incomplete so called elixir into a cup and washed her hands. Akane was confused by Yako's sudden change; she looked a lot calmer now. "Thank you for your help Akane," the braid's fusion with Yako was released and she rested on the side of Yako's head attached to one of her clips, her dark color standing out on Yako's blond. Yako took the cup to Neuro and gently lifted his head, "here's the elixir."
"It's incomplete..." Neuro knew it had to be, there was no way Yako could get all the ingredients on time.
"This was the best I could do, please drink it, maybe your life will be extended anyway and I'll have more time to find what's missing. Please Neuro!" Yako insisted.
"Alright..." Neuro moved his hand towards the cup and in a split second, Yako dropped to the floor and the cup with the foul blend flew over her and crashed into a wall, dripping down grotesquely. "You dodged it."
"I can't believe it took me this long to realize you were acting," Yako admitted.
"What gave it away?" Neuro's question had a well hidden undertone of amusement.
"Your lines about wanting to see me before dying and that you loved me, it was all too sweet. I should have known right away it was an act, but I was too worried about you to think," Yako revealed.
"You still need a lot of evolution, nonetheless you have dared to challenge your master and you'll have to pay for that." Neuro's eyes glowed as he held Yako's wrists in an impossible to break grip and moved closer, pointed teeth bared, then he sneezed right into Yako's face, much to her annoyance.
"Ew, Neuro, cover your mouth!"
"Excuse me," Neuro looked towards the new arrival who just spoke, the man had platinum hair, blue eyes, majestic white wings and was dressed in elegant white robes lined in gold. "I have a delivery for miss Yako Katsuragi."
"Is that so?" Neuro's statement was finished with a sneeze. "Tell me slave, since when have you been associating with his kind?"
Yako tried to explain, "he's a friend of my cousin. I knew I couldn't get all the ingredients for the elixir on time by myself so I asked for help. He's here to deliver the volcanic stone dust. I'm so sorry Mr. Angel, I was tricked, the recipe for the elixir was a trap and there was no real emergency after all. Neuro, please stop sneezing on me." Yako shielded herself, knowing Neuro wouldn't listen, though she didn't understand why he kept sneezing like that.
"It's his fault," Neuro pointed at the angel accusingly, "I'm allergic." Neuro walked over to the angel and proceeded to blow his nose on his robes.
"Please refrain from doing that, it is most unpleasant," deep down, the angel knew his words would not be heeded. "As for my scent, my apologies for causing you discomfort. Though I am thankful to say your scent does not represent a source of distress for my respiratory system."
"Do you even need to breathe?" Yako curiously asked.
"Yes, we all need to breathe, albeit neither of us breathes oxygen," the angel explained. "Will you be keeping the grinded volcanic stone? I'm afraid I have no use for it and do not wish for it to go to waste."
Neuro snatched the jar and emptied its dusty black contents over Yako's head, then let the jar fall to the floor where the glass shattered. "I have a question for you, filth," another sneeze followed.
"My name is Angelus," the angel pointed out.
"What do you know about that strange rain we had?" Neuro inquired.
"I can tell you that the rain that hides the scent of nonhumans was indeed caused by one of my kind. Albeit I am capable of casting the spell, I am not to blame for it. I have also noticed something very suspicious, a powerful force of your kind lurking in the shadows, as if waiting for its prey. It is almost as if the rain was meant to hide that prey and protect it. Regretfully, this is all the information I have," Angelus testified.
Neuro sneezed again, then grinned victoriously, "this mystery is on the tip of my tongue!"
To be Continued
Disclaimer, I don't own Private Evileye Nogami Neuro, Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core or Harvest Moon. In Mystery 27, the quote "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," was suggested by LuvStarWars and Yako's mom finding out about the baby was an idea I got from by yorushihe. The fruit called banora is a reference to the dumb apples of Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core. The Moon Farm in Mystery 30 was a reference to Harvest Moon and the two farmers were Jack and Clair with their golden tools.