Other Fan Fiction ❯ A Push in the Right Direction ❯ Chapter 6
[ 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: 8.7K | Visits: 385 | Status: Completed
Miscellaneous: Other Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Drama / Fantasy / Mystery / Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 07.23.2012 | Pages: 6 | Words: 8.7K | Visits: 385 | Status: Completed
A Push in the Right Direction: Case VI
Mystery 32: Explanations
There was another loud sneeze from Neuro and before he could reach to blow his nose on Angelus' clothes again, the platinum haired angel backed away. "Perhaps it is best if I take my leave. Miss Yako, I will tell Lady Yukari that you are well; until we meet again."
"Thanks for everything, sorry to cause trouble, bye!" Yako said her goodbyes, caught up in the rush of information. It was too much too fast and she was certain that it wasn't a simple matter of not being able to piece the puzzle together with Neuro's skill, but rather that she didn't have all the pieces like he did. Nevertheless, the detective had spoken his famous line, which signified the coming of the mysterious feast.
"No trouble at all, farewell," Angelus took his leave, exiting via the window and disappearing into the skies of a new day.
"Will you eat the mystery now? I'm ready to point out the culprit!" Yako tried to be casual, though she knew it wouldn't work.
"Is that your pathetic attempt to distract me? The traitorous, ungrateful slave not only left her master's side, but also dared to rebel and attack. You must be punished!" Neuro was not happy to see that his menacing look was met with puzzlement in the eyes of Yako; she was supposed to be terrified. "Focus, louse, your life is in danger," he rubbed the sides of her head harshly.
"Ow, ow!" Yako placed her hands over the affected areas as soon as Neuro let her go. "I was just thinking. There's this thing that's been bothering me." Yako let the subject drop; it wouldn't do any good to confess her curiosity. Maybe it was a merely senseless feeling in the back of her mind with no real grounds on reality, even if it felt real.
"What?" Neuro demanded.
"When I had part of the angel cookie, I remembered something strange. It must have been a dream, so I guess it doesn't really matter..."
"Tell me."
"It's nothing."
Neuro gripped Yako's neck, hard enough to cut the flow of oxygen to her lungs, "your master gave you an order."
Yako struggled to get the words out when Neuro finally loosened his grip slightly. "I remembered becoming a toddler and giving you a hard time when you were trying to take care of me. It must have been a dream because you didn't kill me for it." There was silence and Yako's eyes went wide, "the cookie I got from the silver haired man... It really did turn me into a three year old!"
"So you confess that you also held back on that information? Judging by the timing, it must have happened on the same day you claimed to have been attacked by Quemar," Neuro deliberated.
"Yes..." Yako didn't deny it, "thank you for taking such good care of me when I was a child. Speaking of children, where is Mystery, he's with you, right?"
As if on cue, Godai arrived with baby Mystery, "the door's wide open you know. How long am I supposed to baby-sit? I need a break, but the kid was pretty useful."
Yako received the baby from Godai and took a good look at him, "Mystery, your teeth grew out!" It was amazing, the child only had a few teeth before, but just like that, he got a mouth full of sharp looking pointy teeth overnight. "Smile for me... Aw, you're so cute!"
Godai stared at the scene of Yako and the baby, then looked back at Neuro and muttered, "must have hit her head too hard."
"Enough of wasting time, slave number two, the evidence," Neuro extended his hand and in it, Godai placed a manila envelope containing several pictures of the same man. "This filthy creature," Neuro held up a picture of a silver haired man in which he was seen with white angel wings. The mafia could obtain anything, even blackmail for an angel.
"He's the one who gave me the cookie; he's the culprit, ow!" Yako's accusation was silenced by Neuro's first on top of her head.
"This filthy creature," Neuro continued, "was trying to protect someone."
Yako's eyes widened in surprise, though she told herself she should have known. "Of course, he's an angel after all." Yet there was the issue of the cookie and how in the world that could possibly be translated into protection. Then she realized it, "he wanted to hide me. He turned me into a toddler and left false clues for the antidote so that you would leave Japan and take me with you."
"You really are stupid," Neuro pulled Yako's ear and yelled into it, "you're wrong!" With her ears ringing, Yako continued to listen to Neuro's conclusions. "The winged piece of trash wanted to protect the baby; you were merely a device used to set the events in motion so that the baby would be taken away from this area. Then that same worthless being created the rain that would hide Mystery's scent when he went off on his own."
"He went out alone?" Yako was a bit surprised at that because Mystery was still a baby, although not a human baby.
"After his teeth grew out, the little hatchling's appetite increased and he went out to find food despite the rain. Slave number two coincidentally saw him devouring raw meat at a store and miraculously had enough sense to notify me. I left him to watch over the baby, while simultaneously going out to gather information in secret. I went out and made sure to make myself visible so that if the being came out of hiding, it would follow me instead of the hatchling, Akane was with me to relay information while I fought, if it came to that. However, the rain seemed to be sufficient to confuse him," Neuro explained.
Yako tried to take everything in. "I think I understand it," she began to summarize it all. "Mystery was sent here for his protection, to hide him from the being that was after him. The explosions that happened when he first arrived were to create confusion in case that being followed him here. You suspected that and tried to draw him out by making me famous, in a bad way."
Godai listened closely, hoping to fully understand everything this time around.
Yako continued, "I think the being after Mystery was unable to follow him until later; that explains why it took so long to draw him out. When he was ready to go after Mystery, the silver haired angel sent to protect Mystery, used me to get you to move away from Japan and take Mystery. When we came back, he used the rain to hide Mystery."
"It took you long enough to understand that much," Neuro voiced.
Yako finished her summary of the events, "there are still things that haven't been revealed, the identity of the being after Mystery, the story behind the silver haired angel and Mystery's origin. I take it the reason Mystery is being hunted down is because of his ability to consume your kind's energy, right?"
Neuro looked unimpressed, though he had noticed that Yako's deductive capabilities were improving at least a little.
Yako took Neuro's silence as a positive answer and concluded, "your plan now is to go out and draw the being who is after Mystery in the open to face him directly. This will get the attention of the silver haired angel and we'll be able to get the rest of the answers then."
"Worthless louse, you must stop underestimating your master!" Neuro pinched Yako's face, pulling it left and right. "I already know of Mystery's origins, the identity of the one after him and the reason why his pursuit was delayed." Neuro conveniently let out the fact that the silver haired angel was still mostly an unknown factor, but it didn't matter, he would have his answers and his meal soon. "Let's go, it's time to face him."
Neuro, Yako, Mystery, Godai and Akane all left the apartment and got in the car parked out front; then headed to the outskirts of the city.
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Mystery 33: Dangerous
As the car headed further away from the city to prevent unnecessary involvement by curious people, Godai went on and on about his day taking care of baby Mystery, though the only one fully listening to him was Akane. Yako tried to listen, but she was a bit distracted, unsure of where her relationship with Neuro now stood and knowing that restoring it once the situation was resolved would not be easy. There was also the matter of the upcoming battle against a powerful opponent unknown to Yako; a non-human opponent.
Flashback
Godai was walking down the street clutching his umbrella. He wanted to stay home and sleep in, but he knew better than to skip out on work. He walked past a store where the screams of the employees echoed out to the deserted street. Surely there was a robbery or something like that, nothing that concerned him, though Godai's curiosity proved too strong and he had to take a look.
What Godai found was very unexpected. There was baby Mystery, unsupervised by neither Yako nor Neuro, devouring all the raw meat he could get and consequently terrorizing the humans in the store, though not on purpose. Godai wasn't sure what was going on, but he resolved to call Neuro and inform him of what he saw.
"Your job for the day is to take care of Mystery, but don't slack off on your investigation, search for information in secret. Is that clear, slave number two? Don't go out in the open." Neuro had not even waited for Godai's answer, which came in the form of a complaint, before ending the call.
Seemingly satisfied, at least momentarily, baby Mystery crawled away, then spotted his uncle Godai at the door and extended his arms to him with a smile that would have been adorable, if not for the mouth full of pointed teeth the child had.
"Um... right..." Godai stood there for a few seconds, occasionally glancing back at the employees from the store. Fortunately, there were no customers, so that reduced the number of witnesses to two, one of which was currently unconscious after having fainted. "This was all a dream so just forget about it!" With that said, Godai summoned all his courage and picked up Mystery, making sure not to lower his guard for a second, and continued walking down the street.
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Godai made it to the repair shop where his car was being fixed. He let himself in and listening to the muttering in the backroom while he waited for the mechanic to come by. Sure he was supposed to be investigating, but he couldn't go around from one mafia hideout to another without his car.
The echo of gunshots came as no surprise for Godai, who shifted startled on the dirty waiting room couch, more so because of the sudden noise than because of its cause. The man who owned the place was not only a very good mechanic, but also an arms dealer for the mafia. He must have been testing the merchandise. Though it was daytime, the weather was dark and rainy so no one would be near by to see him.
"That takes care of him," a gruff voice that Godai didn't recognize was heard and an unknown man walked towards the door, stopping to look at the surprised Godai. "What do we have here? A witness?"
Realization washed over Godai, the mechanic was dead; apparently he dealt with the wrong people. Godai stood, holding Mystery in his arms. "Who are you?"
"I don't think you're in any position to ask questions. I have no time to deal with possible tattle tales so you'll have to go. I have no use for children, so it seems this little one will have to die young." Serial killer or not, the child's glowing eyes unnerved him, the sooner the weird kid was dead, the better.
Suddenly, Mystery jumped out of Godai's arms and bit into the gun. The surprised killer shook him off and Godai caught him. A crunching sound was heard, then Mystery spat out the chewed up metal he didn't really like. He looked at Godai with his big glowing green eyes and made a little baby babble complaint. "Don't worry; I'll get you some real food soon." Godai grinned at the enemy, mocking his fearful expression.
The man stared at the useless handle of his gun in shock. The baby had bitten the barrel right off and the metal was now a crippled, half-melted mess on the floor. "That child..."
"Is a lot deadlier than any weapons you might have, so I suggest you give up!"
In a panic, the man ran away, screaming something about a monster summoned by vengeful spirits. He would be forever haunted by those glowing green eyes.
"Kid, you're pretty cool," Godai decided not to push his luck and after getting his car, which was thankfully fixed, he fled the scene, off to get more food for the baby.
End of Flashback
The car stopped in the outskirts of the city, where Neuro used the most ridiculous tool yet. "Evil Smell!" The tool looked like a pair of glasses with a huge nose attached and a silly fake purple and blond mustache.
It took both Yako and Godai tremendous efforts not to laugh and throw away their lives. With stiff frozen expressions, they swallowed their sounds of amusement and watched as Neuro took the baby from Yako, sniffed him, then handed him back to Yako. Neuro then spread his wings and flew up. Once at a sufficient altitude, he took a deep breath and blew out a tremendous gust of wind. Then the tool disappeared, having served its purpose, and Neuro landed.
"Evil Smell can copy any scent and mass produce it. Humans might have trouble clearly perceiving it, but Mystery's scent is now all around the city and the surrounding area. The trail leads here and it's too clear to be missed. No one can hide Mystery anymore; it's about time I got rid of whoever is after him. Besides, he is finally here." Neuro was confident that not only the enemy would show up, but also a strong ally of his own kind.
Yako tried to read into Neuro's words. He wouldn't want help from Angelus or the silver haired angel. Yet this 'he', judging by Neuro's tone, was apparently a welcomed ally. Who could he be? There were still loose ends to tie. It was an odd sensation, Yako felt as if she knew the answer, is if it was all right in front of her, yet at the same time it eluded her. Clearly, Neuro had it all figured out.
A few minutes passed and everything was quiet. A violet feather was blown in the wind, slowly falling near Yako. Mystery caught the feather and giggled. Everything was silent, save for the distant sounds of the city, it was almost eerie. Akane reattached herself to Yako's hair in preparation and Godai held a gun, though it might be of little help, if anything, it might serve as a distraction.
Just when Yako and Godai were starting to wander if the enemy would show up any time soon, Neuro looked to the skies, as if he saw something no one else did. "I understand..." he whispered. Then suddenly the ground was shaking and cracks began to open, with geysers of boiling lava. It was raining ashes when Quemar appeared, and his master soon followed.
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Mystery 34: Family
"It was foolish of you to reveal your location, boy," the being was a large purple bird, about twice the size of Neuro in his true form, it's beak and claws far longer, his eyes a dull gray with a threatening darkness.
Neuro didn't stop grinning, his green eyes glowing brightly, he had his mothers eyes, "I take it you have a problem with the consequences of my choice, father?"
Yako and Godai were in shock and so was Akanem though she showed it with movement instead of the wide eyed, open mouthed expressions Yako and Godai wore.
"The child is dangerous; such a creature should not exist. To mix the blood of our proud kind with that of a lowly gluttonous human, what a disgrace! Do you not see what disaster came out of that? The boy can consume our energy! Our worlds are separated and they must remain that way, perhaps the treaty was for the best in that sense."
"The agreement with the germs from upstairs was that our kind would not terrorize the world of the humans any longer, not that our worlds had to be separated, I remember it quite clearly from history class. I know, humans have little use if they cannot be taken as slaves, and too much of that will catch the attention of the dirty feather dusters. But the mysteries they create are delicious." Neuro's mouth watered just thinking about it.
"Are you going to take such risks for the sake of food? It does not matter, I dim that child dangerous; one who is part human should not be allowed to possess such potential. Quemar, do your job and finish the female, erase the boy's existence," Mr. Nogami ordered.
"Yes Master Nogami," Quemar approached Yako, who remained frozen in shock.
"Is he saying that... Is that Neuro's father? Does this mean that Mystery is... Are Neuro and I..." It was too much too fast and Yako's brain barely processed it, then her face turned bright red and a random memory surfaced urged by self-preservation, as Quemar approached with his flames.
Neuro was standing beside her, looking threatening, though Quemar had no choice but to attack because if he backed down, he would have to face Mr. Nogami.
Yako, who had remembered the portion of the angel cookie she still had, took it, stood in front of Quemar, much to Neuro's curious surprise, and shoved it into his mouth before Quemar could understand the human's sudden burst of bravery. Quemar collapsed in pain, the flames he held evaporating. He was far weaker than Neuro and deeply affected by things such as the cookie. "Um... Neuro... What he said, Mystery is... did you know all along?"
"I might grant you the honor of listening to your brainless incoherent rambling later, slave. Right now I'm busy," Neuro stepped forward. "Well then, if it's a fight you want..."
"You'll get it," another Neuro joined the first.
"Neuro and Neuro?" Yako stared in shock.
"Oh no, there's two of them!" Godai couldn't take this; one Neuro to boss him around was more than enough.
"That's Neuro of the future," Yako and Godai turned towards the new voice of a person who had, at a time unknown, come to stand near them. The blonde woman, a twin of Yako, held out her arms to the baby, which the present Yako gave her. "Kaiyo-chan I've missed you."
"You're... me?" Yako stared at her mirror image, her hair an inch or two longer and her clothes more detective-looking. She still had her hairclips, those hair clips that she loved and fit her so well, though now she had a violet feather clipped on one of them.
The future Yako smiled, "I'm sure you, I, we, are full of questions." All the while, Godai remained a frozen statue of shock.
The feeling of heat and the shaking of the ground below their feet, called their attention towards the battle. Mr. Nogami fought against the two versions of Neuro present and future, who now in their true forms, dodged quickly and counterattacked. Though Mr. Nogami had the experience and power of a long time warrior, it was Neuro who had the highest level of energy and agility, despite having gained certain human-like aspects. Plus he fought without the stiffness that came from recently awakening after a long sleep.
It was long ago when they invaded the human world, humans retaliated, though despite their great number and surprising adaptive capabilities, they were unable to win and thus were enslaved and the earth burned. Yet somehow, regardless of how they were treated, humans would always rebel, always survive and always continue to exist.
Then help came and the ones known as majin were sent away, before the time of Neuro's birth when Yougan Nogami was still young. The earth was cleaned with a massive amount of water and humans along with other living creatures were left to start over, the majin forbidden from enslaving them again, least they wish to provoke the anger of the tenshi.
Not that Neuro ever cared for history, he only cared for mysteries. It was years later when he was still young and his sister even younger, that Yougan Nogami grew tired of his routine and decided to take a long nap, soon to be joined in slumber by his wife, Phoenix. Yougan had the same violet colored feathers that his son inherited, his hair a dark purple that some would debate looked black at times.
Phoenix had not been part of the battle with the tenshi, she personally enjoyed watching humans and was amused by their antics. She would assure that they were the most brainless creatures she ever saw, but that was part of what made the little bugs funny, it would have been a pity if their existence ceased, but she resolved to step back and let what was to happen, happen. Phoenix was covered in red feathers, her long hair was blond and her eyes the most brilliant emerald green. She carried a certain elegance to her that knew no equal, as Neuro's humans companions were about to find out.
"What a nice nap I had, but as expected, everything falls to pieces without me, such lovely chaos," were the words spoken by the woman who stepped out of a portal that had recently opened. "How convenient that the time travel spells have finally been mastered, they were so troublesome before, causing so many delays."
The two Yakos, Neuro, Akane and even Kaiyo were curious about this lady. She appeared disguised as a human, despite the show her husband and son, or sons, were putting on. She was dressed in a bright red kimono with an orange waist bow and flame designs, her long blond hair flowing down her back, she did not hide the glow of bright green in her eyes.
Phoenix always spoke in a delicate and cheerful voice, taking care to use a polite tone, despite her choice of words. She was the type of person who could insult with a smile and make it sound as if she was giving a compliment. She pinched the future Yako's cheek and declared, "you have such an idiotic face, I bet you're infinitely amusing, my dear."
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Mystery 35: Resolution
"May I have your attention, please?" Phoenix stood below the battle in the skies, looking up at her husband and the two versions of her son, locked in fierce combat. "Excuse me!" Her voice echoed, no doubt being heard all over the city. She sighed, they were not listening, why did men have to be so stubborn? Phoenix returned to her true form, a majestic bird of fire with glowing green eyes, "take cover, lovely weaklings."
Godai stared open mouthed at the fire bird that might just be the one spoken of in legends, she was amazing. "That's a phoenix..." Then he snapped into attention and stammered "the car," as he signaled for the two Yakos to get on. Once they were all in, Godai drove away, hoping to get to a safe distance on time.
Fire rained from the skies, knocking down the three purple birds, who crashed to the ground and rolled around desperately. They remained on fire for several minutes, rolling on the ground and flapping their wings wildly, until the fire was finally put out, the scent of roasted chicken lingering in the air. "Mother, why did you do that?" The future Neuro protested.
"Because you, you and your father never listen. Now stop being such a cute little idiot and properly introduce me to your lowly mate," Phoenix returned to her human form.
Grumbling under his breath, the future Neuro headed for the approaching car, which was returning, now that the danger was seemingly over. "Mother, this is Yako," future Neuro yanked future Yako out of the car, "Yako, this is my mother, Phoenix."
"Good boy, I knew you could manage to do at least this, even with your tiny brain. Now the cutie pie," Phoenix smiled sweetly, ignoring her husband, who was insistently tapping her on the shoulder.
"This is our son, Kaiyo," future Neuro held the baby for his mother.
"How cute! You my little darling, have your granny's brains, I can tell by the look in your eyes, besides, if you have a brain you must have inherited it from me, because none of your other relatives have such a privilege." Kaiyo giggled and bit Phoenix's hand when she tried to tickle him. "Such a fierce little one, I'm glad he's not a wimp like his grandpa."
Yougan frowned, "honey, that child is dangerous; he could kill us all."
"You're such a coward. Wouldn't it be grand if he came to visit and terrorized our world? That would be so amusing! But I suppose he must grow up first. Yako creature, you make sure to feed Kaiyo a sufficient amount of food, because if he's anything like Neuro, he'll be a terrible glutton," Phoenix handed back the baby.
"Yako is the glutton," both Neuros protested at unison.
Phoenix yawned and stretched her arms. "I'm not quite ready to end my nap; I was having such nice dreams. I'm going home now, come Yougan, let's leave them be, don't be such a nosy nuisance, though I know you can't help it but to be a nuisance."
"But dear, the boy is dangerous and you intend to leave him like this? Our son mated with a human, are you not horrified?" Yougan insisted.
"Shut up!" Phoenix commanded.
"Yes, mistress!" Yougan blurted out automatically.
"Well now, we will be going back to sleep. Come by when little Kaiyo is old enough to cause some lovely chaos in our world and don't forget to wake me up. Try not to be so pathetic my dear useless sons," Phoenix ruffled both the Neuros' hair. "Yako, do your best to evolve into something less hideous, though perhaps I'm asking for too much from such a little piece of trash."
The Yakos laughed nervously, with the future one mumbling, "I'll try."
"What about me?" Quemar, who had been forgotten as he rolled around in pain, crawled over to Phoenix.
"Ah yes, you should be returned to your true form," Phoenix waved her hand and effortlessly broke the spell that disguised him. His true form looked like a tiny dragon; his body was long, red and scaly. "I'll heal you up at home." Phoenix picked him up and changed to her true form, opening a time portal and returning to the future. Yougan pouted and followed his wife, the portal closing behind him.
"I guess this means everything is alright now?" Future Yako asked unsure. It had all happened very fast.
"Yes, things are okay, but it looks like your past self's single brain cell might die from thinking so much so I might as well explain the entire story." Future Neuro began his narration. "In my time, my parents awakened because a certain nosy pixie decided to help us by telling them they were grandparents."
"The pixie!" Present Neuro was outraged, "that stupid bug is still pestering us in the future? I need to squash it the next time I see it."
"Pixies should all die," future Neuro agreed. "Father wasn't happy about Yako being a lowly human, so he came to investigate, then he started worrying about Kaiyo because of his ability to consume energy. I sent Kaiyo to the past with a time traveling spell to keep him safe. If memory serves, there were a lot of explosions and chaos when he got here, that was a side effect because time traveling spells are tricky. That's also why I couldn't come here right away, our kind is the hardest to transport through time, but Kaiyo is part human so I could send him. Mother likes to be amused, it's hard to tell whose side she's on sometimes. She sent Quemar to the past, he's just a newt so he wasn't too hard to transport."
"A newt? Wasn't he a little dragon?" Present Yako curiously inquired.
"No, he's a newt from my world," future Neuro replied, "dragons are much bigger and very hard to domesticate as pets. Now keep quiet and don't interrupt, lesser evolved slug. I sent Sai to the past to keep an eye on things while I practiced the time travel spell enough to be able to come here myself and-"
"Sai!" The present Yako once again interrupted.
Present Neuro grabbed her head with his clawed hand and squeezed it. "Shut up and listen to the future me, slave!"
"As I was saying," future Neuro continued, "Sai is part human so he wasn't too hard to send back."
"Did someone say my name just now?" The mysterious silver haired angel landed near by and changed his appearance to Sai.
"Sai! You're an angel?" Present Yako curiously asked, despite her time's Neuro trying to keep her quiet.
"I copied the angel appearance from Angelus in the future, but angels are very hard to copy so it turned out a bit different," Sai explained. "The rain spell I used was actually casted by future Angelus, he contained it in a magic bottle and all I had to do was release it, I can't really copy angel magic. How was my acting? I had you completely fooled, didn't I Yako-neesan?"
Present Yako smiled, "you got me and I'm happy to see you're doing well in the future. Was the cookie made by Angelus too?"
"Yes, but Yukari likes to tell everyone she's the one who bakes, she made me try her real baking once and I never want to repeat that, I don't even want to know what those cookies were made of," Sai glanced over at Yako's future self. "Of course, Yako-neesan still ate them all."
"I wanted to encourage Yukari!" Future Yako made up an excuse.
"Right," Sai grinned, "Yako-neesan is such a bottomless pit."
"Stop it Sai! He's always teasing me," future Yako pouted.
"It's nice that we're more like siblings in the future," the present Yako smiled, but then she remembered something. "Sai, has Neuro been picking on you in the future? You called him master before."
At this, future Yako's face turned scarlet, "he only calls Neuro master to pick on me!"
Sai laughed, "Kaiyo is lucky he sleeps like a rock, but I'm a light sleeper and the walls are too thin. Yako-neesan, you really need to sound proof your room!" Future Yako stomped on Sai's foot, while her present self caught on and blushed furiously. "Neuro is rubbing off on you."
Present Yako changed the subject, "I'm curious why don't you tell me a little more about the future?"
"Like if I still put people in red boxes?" Present Yako's mouth hung open at the future Sai's question, while her future self elbowed him. "That's not necessary anymore, because I figured it out, I know what I am. Besides, I barely remember those times anymore."
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Mystery 36: Secrets
"Whenever we ran into each other, you always tried to talk to me," Sai began, "I didn't listen often, but I fought Neuro a lot, I still do, but not to kill him. I forgot a lot of things, but I didn't forget what you told me about Seiren, I remembered all the conclusions you revealed, I was able to hold on to those memories. I still had questions and still put people in red boxes now and then. To know what I was, I needed to know what Seiren was, but she was long since dead, so I searched for clues in the people who were left in this world. You'll figure out the answer and tell me eventually, I can't tell you now," future Sai left the mystery at that.
xoxox xox xoxox
It was a time in the future, when Kaiyo was just recently born. Sai snuck into his room and looked at the baby sleeping in the crib. He picked up the child and looked at him curiously, "wake up..."
The boy opened his glowing green eyes and looked at Sai with matching curiosity.
"You're Yako and Neuro's son. Just what are you made of?" Sai was taken by surprise when the baby bit him and even more so when he began to consume his energy. Sai drew his hand back and the baby laughed.
"I guess he likes you," Yako stood at the door.
"Is Neuro coming to fight?" Sai inquired.
"No, I told him I wanted to talk to you. No fighting inside the house, okay?"
Sai nodded and handed Yako the baby. "How come he ate my energy?"
"It's part of his special power. Neuro says that he gave Kaiyo power and I shaped it. He was hoping Kaiyo would pick after him completely and kept saying my DNA can be dangerous. Neuro's power and my appetite..."
Sai looked at the baby, "he's lucky to know where he came from and what he is. He's not fully human, but at least he'll know why. It's strange, I came here determined to see what he was made of, but I can't, he feels too familiar."
Yako's eyes widened; her expression in deep thought, "familiar..."
"Relax, I didn't hurt him and I don't want to anymore. Even if I can't explain it, I'd sooner protect him."
"Wait..." Yako thought about it some more, "yes, it all fits, it fits Sai, I have the answer!"
"What do you mean?"
"Kaiyo feels familiar because he's the same as Seiren. Seiren must have been half human, but she was abandoned in the human world without explanations. She was regarded as a witch and pushed away, so she tried to hide her power and blend in with humans. She was weakened by the magic of the temples but that wasn't all, she hated the power that made her different, so she refused to show it, no matter what."
Sai listened to Yako in shock.
"You inherited your power from Seiren, and she was also the one who shaped it. You can change your form because of her desire to fit in and you lose your memories because she wanted to forget the bad experiences in her past. Your memories fade away faster because you're tired of searching, but you hold on to Seiren's memory because it's the truth you were looking for, so there is some comfort in that. If you lived peacefully, if you found some happiness, then your memories won't fade away, it's the sorrow you accumulated that makes you forget the things that make you sad, deep down, you regret-"
"Stop..."
"Sai?"
"Yako-neesan... I believe you."
xoxox xox xoxox
In the present time, though Yako was curious to know what answer she would come up with for Sai in the future, she didn't press the subject, reasoning that it was something she would figure out when the time was right.
There was a moment of silence until the future Yako pointed out, "the people of the city must have noticed something was going on. They might come here to investigate soon."
"I'll go erase their memories, let's go past me." The two Neuros took off, to erase the supernatural events from the memories of the people of the city.
They wouldn't remember anything about the fire bird in the distance, the battle of the violet birds, the hair demon that was said to roam the city streets at night, or the baby who that ate so much raw meat.
After the city was cleaned of suspicions, one more thing had to be done. Future Neuro announced, "it's time to erase your memory, lesser evolved slug!"
To which Yako gasped in surprise, "why?"
"Because you're not ready to know this yet," the future Neuro accepted no arguments, but he did not truly erase present Yako's memory, he only locked it temporarily.
Though the true purpose of apparently erasing present Yako's memory was unknown to Neuro's present self, he observed with suspicion that Yako's future self did not protest. With Yako unconscious in his arms as an unexpected, and possibly intentional, side effect of having her memories locked, present Neuro watched his future self open a portal, which he, future Yako, Kaiyo and future Sai used to return to their own time.
Godai, who had been silent the entire time, finally spoke, "what about my memories? Isn't anyone going to erase them? I'll have nightmares if I have to remember this!"
xoxox xox xoxox
Yako woke up on the couch of the detective office. Godai wasn't there, most likely out handing flyers, Akane was at her usual spot on the wall and Neuro sat behind his desk. She took note of the crayon drawings all over the walls, but didn't remember how they got there, with so many of her memories having been locked.
"So you're finally awake, slave," Neuro greeted, as would be expected of him.
Yako got up, feeling a little light headed and disoriented. "Why am I here? Did you bring me here Neuro? Nothing you do will work, I broke up with you and I don't want to be around you, I'm quitting being a detective!"
Neuro glared, just how many memories did Yako lose? "Where do you think you're going, slave?" He stopped her from leaving out the door.
"I already told you, no matter what, I won't go back to you, even if you hurt me, even if you torture me, nothing will work," Yako was full of determination, like when she ran away. She didn't clearly remember the source of her anger, but she reasoned it must be the way Neuro treated her, that was certainly enough to upset anyone with a shred of sanity.
"Not this again... Idiot," Yako assumed the insult was directed at her, as it usually happened, but this time, Neuro was complaining about himself. His future self could have allowed Yako to keep her memories, it would have been easier that way, whose side was he on anyway?
Yako escaped Neuro's grip and opened the door to find her mother rushing down the hall towards the office. "Yako!" She hugged her daughter, then stepped back and smiled. "I'm glad you're alright."
"Mom!" Yako was surprised by the visit, "what are you doing here? Are you coming home?"
"For a while, your graduation is soon."
Yako's eyes widened, she still had a lot of work to do. She nodded and tried to hide her distress, "yeah..."
"It's strange, I remember being upset for some reason, but I can't remember why. I guess I just missed you." Yako's mother must have already been in the city when future Neuro erased everyone's memories.
"It's good to see you, let's go eat together and catch up." Mother and daughter left the building, where an ignored and frustrated Neuro remained.
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Mystery 37: One Step Forward and Two Steps Back
After having broken up with Neuro and quitting the detective business, Yako was surprised to find that Neuro didn't attempt to contact her. He was probably waiting for her to go crawling back, which she did not intend to do. Instead, Yako occupied herself in catching up with academics so that she could graduate on time.
The home economics teacher looked at the stuffed animal Yako made as part of her project. Her cooking was good, if the teacher was fast enough to try it and grade it before Yako ate it herself, but she still needed to turn in a sewing project. "The beak is big, but I suppose some parrots could look like this. The stitches are well done and strong, good job on the wings. Congratulations, you passed."
"Thank you!" Yako was proud of herself for this, though she didn't know why in the world she made a doll of Neuro's true form of all things. In her own defense, she could reason that, since she spent so much time studying for the written tests and left this project for last, she simply wasn't thinking as she should and her brain went numb, allowing her hands to move automatically without thought. It didn't matter, her make up work was over, her tests have been graded, all her projects were turned in and graded, it was over, Yako was going to graduate.
xoxox xox xoxox
The graduation ceremony went without anything unusual happening. There was a multitude of black robes and a disarray of flat hats being thrown into the air, as it generally happens in such events. The flashes of cameras were constant, accompanied by teary goodbyes and victorious cheers among the congratulations and hugs.
After the ceremony, the students, now graduates, got ready for the party. Yako was wearing an elegant sky blue dress with bare shoulders and a flowing skirt. Her makeup was subtle but highlighted her features. Her usual hairclips were absent, being replaced by two sapphire clips, which matched her delicate earrings and necklace.
Yako was, predictably, at her table stuffing her face, while her friends danced. "Yako, when you're done with that, would you like to dance?"
She looked at the one who had spoken; she recognized that voice, "Higuchi!" Yako had not expected to see him there. "Sure, just a minute, I'll be done really quick."
Higuchi, having forgotten his terrifying experiences, was ready to pursue Yako with renewed determination. She finished stuffing her face unlike a lady, though she did clean her mouth gently with a napkin, checked her make up and reapplied her lipstick like Kanae taught her, then took Higuchi's arm, allowing him to lead her to the dance floor.
Yako did her best not to trip on her dress or step on Higuchi's feet. Inevitably, she stepped on him on a few occasions, apologizing each time. "It's alright Yako, don't worry about it." Higuchi smiled, he had heard the rumor that Yako recently dumped her boyfriend, this was his chance. "You look beautiful tonight..."
xoxox xox xoxox
From behind the crowd, Neuro watched Yako and Higuchi jealously. Godai wisely decided not to comment on the fact that Neuro was jealous, opting for the safer option of pretending he didn't notice. Akane was perched on the yakuza's shoulder looking limp, a fact which did not escape Godai. "I think there's something wrong with Akane."
"Have you tried giving her something to write on?" Neuro reminded.
"Oh yeah, I forgot," Godai held up his cellphone for Akane.
The braid typed quickly as always, explaining that the party made her feel nostalgic.
"It's never too late to enjoy your afterlife, I'll leave this up to slave number two after his job is done," Neuro replied.
"What?" Godai was puzzled.
"Dance with Akane," Neuro ordered.
"I can't, she's a braid of hair!" Not only did Godai had to dress up all fancy to blend in, now he had to dance with hair, it was too much.
Akane shook, as if trying to tell Godai he didn't have to, which made him feel guilty.
"Don't be sad, I'll dance with you... in private," Godai really didn't want to be seen dancing with a braid of hair. At least Akane was satisfied.
"Did you wire it?" Neuro got to the point.
"Yes, I'll be able to control the lights from here," Godai assured, holding up a small controller.
"When I get close, turn the lights off, give me five minutes and turn them back on but keep them dim," Neuro ordered, "you can leave after that."
"Got it," as long as his job was over soon, Godai decided not to question it.
Neuro walked away through the crowd. His usual blue suit had been replaced by a black tuxedo; he kept his eyes dim and wore a mask that gave them a violet tint. His golden clips were absent, his hair was brushed back and was completely blond.
Neuro spotted Kanae and walked over. If he left someone with Higuchi while he got away with Yako, that would delay his pursuit, at least until the lights came on. He couldn't keep the lights off for too long or people would start going out in search of the moon's light outside, humans generally disliked darkness. "Miss Kanae?"
"Yes, how do you know my name?" It wasn't every day that Kanae saw such a handsome man, let alone one who mysteriously knew her.
"I know you're Yako's friend," Neuro decided to leave a little clue, not that he expected humans to catch on to him any time soon. "Would you like to dance?"
"I would love to," Kanae agreed, while searching her memories for the man's identity with Yako as her only clue.
When Neuro and Kanae were close to where Higuchi and Yako were dancing, Godai turned off the lights. In the middle of the confusion, startled yelps and complaints, Neuro switched the two girls and led Yako away.
xoxox xox xoxox
"There's a full moon so there's some light out here," once outside, Yako noticed that the man that led her there was not Higuchi. "Um... it looks like there was some confusion."
"Not at all, Yako," Neuro smiled, teeth perfectly disguised to look human.
"How come you know my name? Who are you?" There was something very familiar about this man, but Yako couldn't quite place it.
To be Continued
Disclaimer, I don't own Private Evileye Nogami Neuro. Special thanks to Unknown D Flamerose, who suggested the name Kaiyo for the baby.
Sai's personality change in the future is due to having lost most of his memories from his former self and becoming calmer, enough to move in with Yako and Neuro, after he learned of his origin. Sai's origin is different in the anime and manga. I am basing the story on the anime where Sai is a boy, Yako's half brother on her father's side and the son of Seiren, the mysterious woman said to be a witch. Sai's fate is left in a cliffhanger in the anime, so I came up with an explanation to fit the story. Sai calls Yako 'Yako-neesan' instead of 'Yako-neechan', even if he is older, judging by the time frame in which Yako's father was with Seiren. The explanation to this is that, since she took care of him and helped him become more human, he sees her as a big sister figure.
Mystery 32: Explanations
There was another loud sneeze from Neuro and before he could reach to blow his nose on Angelus' clothes again, the platinum haired angel backed away. "Perhaps it is best if I take my leave. Miss Yako, I will tell Lady Yukari that you are well; until we meet again."
"Thanks for everything, sorry to cause trouble, bye!" Yako said her goodbyes, caught up in the rush of information. It was too much too fast and she was certain that it wasn't a simple matter of not being able to piece the puzzle together with Neuro's skill, but rather that she didn't have all the pieces like he did. Nevertheless, the detective had spoken his famous line, which signified the coming of the mysterious feast.
"No trouble at all, farewell," Angelus took his leave, exiting via the window and disappearing into the skies of a new day.
"Will you eat the mystery now? I'm ready to point out the culprit!" Yako tried to be casual, though she knew it wouldn't work.
"Is that your pathetic attempt to distract me? The traitorous, ungrateful slave not only left her master's side, but also dared to rebel and attack. You must be punished!" Neuro was not happy to see that his menacing look was met with puzzlement in the eyes of Yako; she was supposed to be terrified. "Focus, louse, your life is in danger," he rubbed the sides of her head harshly.
"Ow, ow!" Yako placed her hands over the affected areas as soon as Neuro let her go. "I was just thinking. There's this thing that's been bothering me." Yako let the subject drop; it wouldn't do any good to confess her curiosity. Maybe it was a merely senseless feeling in the back of her mind with no real grounds on reality, even if it felt real.
"What?" Neuro demanded.
"When I had part of the angel cookie, I remembered something strange. It must have been a dream, so I guess it doesn't really matter..."
"Tell me."
"It's nothing."
Neuro gripped Yako's neck, hard enough to cut the flow of oxygen to her lungs, "your master gave you an order."
Yako struggled to get the words out when Neuro finally loosened his grip slightly. "I remembered becoming a toddler and giving you a hard time when you were trying to take care of me. It must have been a dream because you didn't kill me for it." There was silence and Yako's eyes went wide, "the cookie I got from the silver haired man... It really did turn me into a three year old!"
"So you confess that you also held back on that information? Judging by the timing, it must have happened on the same day you claimed to have been attacked by Quemar," Neuro deliberated.
"Yes..." Yako didn't deny it, "thank you for taking such good care of me when I was a child. Speaking of children, where is Mystery, he's with you, right?"
As if on cue, Godai arrived with baby Mystery, "the door's wide open you know. How long am I supposed to baby-sit? I need a break, but the kid was pretty useful."
Yako received the baby from Godai and took a good look at him, "Mystery, your teeth grew out!" It was amazing, the child only had a few teeth before, but just like that, he got a mouth full of sharp looking pointy teeth overnight. "Smile for me... Aw, you're so cute!"
Godai stared at the scene of Yako and the baby, then looked back at Neuro and muttered, "must have hit her head too hard."
"Enough of wasting time, slave number two, the evidence," Neuro extended his hand and in it, Godai placed a manila envelope containing several pictures of the same man. "This filthy creature," Neuro held up a picture of a silver haired man in which he was seen with white angel wings. The mafia could obtain anything, even blackmail for an angel.
"He's the one who gave me the cookie; he's the culprit, ow!" Yako's accusation was silenced by Neuro's first on top of her head.
"This filthy creature," Neuro continued, "was trying to protect someone."
Yako's eyes widened in surprise, though she told herself she should have known. "Of course, he's an angel after all." Yet there was the issue of the cookie and how in the world that could possibly be translated into protection. Then she realized it, "he wanted to hide me. He turned me into a toddler and left false clues for the antidote so that you would leave Japan and take me with you."
"You really are stupid," Neuro pulled Yako's ear and yelled into it, "you're wrong!" With her ears ringing, Yako continued to listen to Neuro's conclusions. "The winged piece of trash wanted to protect the baby; you were merely a device used to set the events in motion so that the baby would be taken away from this area. Then that same worthless being created the rain that would hide Mystery's scent when he went off on his own."
"He went out alone?" Yako was a bit surprised at that because Mystery was still a baby, although not a human baby.
"After his teeth grew out, the little hatchling's appetite increased and he went out to find food despite the rain. Slave number two coincidentally saw him devouring raw meat at a store and miraculously had enough sense to notify me. I left him to watch over the baby, while simultaneously going out to gather information in secret. I went out and made sure to make myself visible so that if the being came out of hiding, it would follow me instead of the hatchling, Akane was with me to relay information while I fought, if it came to that. However, the rain seemed to be sufficient to confuse him," Neuro explained.
Yako tried to take everything in. "I think I understand it," she began to summarize it all. "Mystery was sent here for his protection, to hide him from the being that was after him. The explosions that happened when he first arrived were to create confusion in case that being followed him here. You suspected that and tried to draw him out by making me famous, in a bad way."
Godai listened closely, hoping to fully understand everything this time around.
Yako continued, "I think the being after Mystery was unable to follow him until later; that explains why it took so long to draw him out. When he was ready to go after Mystery, the silver haired angel sent to protect Mystery, used me to get you to move away from Japan and take Mystery. When we came back, he used the rain to hide Mystery."
"It took you long enough to understand that much," Neuro voiced.
Yako finished her summary of the events, "there are still things that haven't been revealed, the identity of the being after Mystery, the story behind the silver haired angel and Mystery's origin. I take it the reason Mystery is being hunted down is because of his ability to consume your kind's energy, right?"
Neuro looked unimpressed, though he had noticed that Yako's deductive capabilities were improving at least a little.
Yako took Neuro's silence as a positive answer and concluded, "your plan now is to go out and draw the being who is after Mystery in the open to face him directly. This will get the attention of the silver haired angel and we'll be able to get the rest of the answers then."
"Worthless louse, you must stop underestimating your master!" Neuro pinched Yako's face, pulling it left and right. "I already know of Mystery's origins, the identity of the one after him and the reason why his pursuit was delayed." Neuro conveniently let out the fact that the silver haired angel was still mostly an unknown factor, but it didn't matter, he would have his answers and his meal soon. "Let's go, it's time to face him."
Neuro, Yako, Mystery, Godai and Akane all left the apartment and got in the car parked out front; then headed to the outskirts of the city.
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Mystery 33: Dangerous
As the car headed further away from the city to prevent unnecessary involvement by curious people, Godai went on and on about his day taking care of baby Mystery, though the only one fully listening to him was Akane. Yako tried to listen, but she was a bit distracted, unsure of where her relationship with Neuro now stood and knowing that restoring it once the situation was resolved would not be easy. There was also the matter of the upcoming battle against a powerful opponent unknown to Yako; a non-human opponent.
Flashback
Godai was walking down the street clutching his umbrella. He wanted to stay home and sleep in, but he knew better than to skip out on work. He walked past a store where the screams of the employees echoed out to the deserted street. Surely there was a robbery or something like that, nothing that concerned him, though Godai's curiosity proved too strong and he had to take a look.
What Godai found was very unexpected. There was baby Mystery, unsupervised by neither Yako nor Neuro, devouring all the raw meat he could get and consequently terrorizing the humans in the store, though not on purpose. Godai wasn't sure what was going on, but he resolved to call Neuro and inform him of what he saw.
"Your job for the day is to take care of Mystery, but don't slack off on your investigation, search for information in secret. Is that clear, slave number two? Don't go out in the open." Neuro had not even waited for Godai's answer, which came in the form of a complaint, before ending the call.
Seemingly satisfied, at least momentarily, baby Mystery crawled away, then spotted his uncle Godai at the door and extended his arms to him with a smile that would have been adorable, if not for the mouth full of pointed teeth the child had.
"Um... right..." Godai stood there for a few seconds, occasionally glancing back at the employees from the store. Fortunately, there were no customers, so that reduced the number of witnesses to two, one of which was currently unconscious after having fainted. "This was all a dream so just forget about it!" With that said, Godai summoned all his courage and picked up Mystery, making sure not to lower his guard for a second, and continued walking down the street.
xoxox xox xoxox
Godai made it to the repair shop where his car was being fixed. He let himself in and listening to the muttering in the backroom while he waited for the mechanic to come by. Sure he was supposed to be investigating, but he couldn't go around from one mafia hideout to another without his car.
The echo of gunshots came as no surprise for Godai, who shifted startled on the dirty waiting room couch, more so because of the sudden noise than because of its cause. The man who owned the place was not only a very good mechanic, but also an arms dealer for the mafia. He must have been testing the merchandise. Though it was daytime, the weather was dark and rainy so no one would be near by to see him.
"That takes care of him," a gruff voice that Godai didn't recognize was heard and an unknown man walked towards the door, stopping to look at the surprised Godai. "What do we have here? A witness?"
Realization washed over Godai, the mechanic was dead; apparently he dealt with the wrong people. Godai stood, holding Mystery in his arms. "Who are you?"
"I don't think you're in any position to ask questions. I have no time to deal with possible tattle tales so you'll have to go. I have no use for children, so it seems this little one will have to die young." Serial killer or not, the child's glowing eyes unnerved him, the sooner the weird kid was dead, the better.
Suddenly, Mystery jumped out of Godai's arms and bit into the gun. The surprised killer shook him off and Godai caught him. A crunching sound was heard, then Mystery spat out the chewed up metal he didn't really like. He looked at Godai with his big glowing green eyes and made a little baby babble complaint. "Don't worry; I'll get you some real food soon." Godai grinned at the enemy, mocking his fearful expression.
The man stared at the useless handle of his gun in shock. The baby had bitten the barrel right off and the metal was now a crippled, half-melted mess on the floor. "That child..."
"Is a lot deadlier than any weapons you might have, so I suggest you give up!"
In a panic, the man ran away, screaming something about a monster summoned by vengeful spirits. He would be forever haunted by those glowing green eyes.
"Kid, you're pretty cool," Godai decided not to push his luck and after getting his car, which was thankfully fixed, he fled the scene, off to get more food for the baby.
End of Flashback
The car stopped in the outskirts of the city, where Neuro used the most ridiculous tool yet. "Evil Smell!" The tool looked like a pair of glasses with a huge nose attached and a silly fake purple and blond mustache.
It took both Yako and Godai tremendous efforts not to laugh and throw away their lives. With stiff frozen expressions, they swallowed their sounds of amusement and watched as Neuro took the baby from Yako, sniffed him, then handed him back to Yako. Neuro then spread his wings and flew up. Once at a sufficient altitude, he took a deep breath and blew out a tremendous gust of wind. Then the tool disappeared, having served its purpose, and Neuro landed.
"Evil Smell can copy any scent and mass produce it. Humans might have trouble clearly perceiving it, but Mystery's scent is now all around the city and the surrounding area. The trail leads here and it's too clear to be missed. No one can hide Mystery anymore; it's about time I got rid of whoever is after him. Besides, he is finally here." Neuro was confident that not only the enemy would show up, but also a strong ally of his own kind.
Yako tried to read into Neuro's words. He wouldn't want help from Angelus or the silver haired angel. Yet this 'he', judging by Neuro's tone, was apparently a welcomed ally. Who could he be? There were still loose ends to tie. It was an odd sensation, Yako felt as if she knew the answer, is if it was all right in front of her, yet at the same time it eluded her. Clearly, Neuro had it all figured out.
A few minutes passed and everything was quiet. A violet feather was blown in the wind, slowly falling near Yako. Mystery caught the feather and giggled. Everything was silent, save for the distant sounds of the city, it was almost eerie. Akane reattached herself to Yako's hair in preparation and Godai held a gun, though it might be of little help, if anything, it might serve as a distraction.
Just when Yako and Godai were starting to wander if the enemy would show up any time soon, Neuro looked to the skies, as if he saw something no one else did. "I understand..." he whispered. Then suddenly the ground was shaking and cracks began to open, with geysers of boiling lava. It was raining ashes when Quemar appeared, and his master soon followed.
xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox
Mystery 34: Family
"It was foolish of you to reveal your location, boy," the being was a large purple bird, about twice the size of Neuro in his true form, it's beak and claws far longer, his eyes a dull gray with a threatening darkness.
Neuro didn't stop grinning, his green eyes glowing brightly, he had his mothers eyes, "I take it you have a problem with the consequences of my choice, father?"
Yako and Godai were in shock and so was Akanem though she showed it with movement instead of the wide eyed, open mouthed expressions Yako and Godai wore.
"The child is dangerous; such a creature should not exist. To mix the blood of our proud kind with that of a lowly gluttonous human, what a disgrace! Do you not see what disaster came out of that? The boy can consume our energy! Our worlds are separated and they must remain that way, perhaps the treaty was for the best in that sense."
"The agreement with the germs from upstairs was that our kind would not terrorize the world of the humans any longer, not that our worlds had to be separated, I remember it quite clearly from history class. I know, humans have little use if they cannot be taken as slaves, and too much of that will catch the attention of the dirty feather dusters. But the mysteries they create are delicious." Neuro's mouth watered just thinking about it.
"Are you going to take such risks for the sake of food? It does not matter, I dim that child dangerous; one who is part human should not be allowed to possess such potential. Quemar, do your job and finish the female, erase the boy's existence," Mr. Nogami ordered.
"Yes Master Nogami," Quemar approached Yako, who remained frozen in shock.
"Is he saying that... Is that Neuro's father? Does this mean that Mystery is... Are Neuro and I..." It was too much too fast and Yako's brain barely processed it, then her face turned bright red and a random memory surfaced urged by self-preservation, as Quemar approached with his flames.
Neuro was standing beside her, looking threatening, though Quemar had no choice but to attack because if he backed down, he would have to face Mr. Nogami.
Yako, who had remembered the portion of the angel cookie she still had, took it, stood in front of Quemar, much to Neuro's curious surprise, and shoved it into his mouth before Quemar could understand the human's sudden burst of bravery. Quemar collapsed in pain, the flames he held evaporating. He was far weaker than Neuro and deeply affected by things such as the cookie. "Um... Neuro... What he said, Mystery is... did you know all along?"
"I might grant you the honor of listening to your brainless incoherent rambling later, slave. Right now I'm busy," Neuro stepped forward. "Well then, if it's a fight you want..."
"You'll get it," another Neuro joined the first.
"Neuro and Neuro?" Yako stared in shock.
"Oh no, there's two of them!" Godai couldn't take this; one Neuro to boss him around was more than enough.
"That's Neuro of the future," Yako and Godai turned towards the new voice of a person who had, at a time unknown, come to stand near them. The blonde woman, a twin of Yako, held out her arms to the baby, which the present Yako gave her. "Kaiyo-chan I've missed you."
"You're... me?" Yako stared at her mirror image, her hair an inch or two longer and her clothes more detective-looking. She still had her hairclips, those hair clips that she loved and fit her so well, though now she had a violet feather clipped on one of them.
The future Yako smiled, "I'm sure you, I, we, are full of questions." All the while, Godai remained a frozen statue of shock.
The feeling of heat and the shaking of the ground below their feet, called their attention towards the battle. Mr. Nogami fought against the two versions of Neuro present and future, who now in their true forms, dodged quickly and counterattacked. Though Mr. Nogami had the experience and power of a long time warrior, it was Neuro who had the highest level of energy and agility, despite having gained certain human-like aspects. Plus he fought without the stiffness that came from recently awakening after a long sleep.
It was long ago when they invaded the human world, humans retaliated, though despite their great number and surprising adaptive capabilities, they were unable to win and thus were enslaved and the earth burned. Yet somehow, regardless of how they were treated, humans would always rebel, always survive and always continue to exist.
Then help came and the ones known as majin were sent away, before the time of Neuro's birth when Yougan Nogami was still young. The earth was cleaned with a massive amount of water and humans along with other living creatures were left to start over, the majin forbidden from enslaving them again, least they wish to provoke the anger of the tenshi.
Not that Neuro ever cared for history, he only cared for mysteries. It was years later when he was still young and his sister even younger, that Yougan Nogami grew tired of his routine and decided to take a long nap, soon to be joined in slumber by his wife, Phoenix. Yougan had the same violet colored feathers that his son inherited, his hair a dark purple that some would debate looked black at times.
Phoenix had not been part of the battle with the tenshi, she personally enjoyed watching humans and was amused by their antics. She would assure that they were the most brainless creatures she ever saw, but that was part of what made the little bugs funny, it would have been a pity if their existence ceased, but she resolved to step back and let what was to happen, happen. Phoenix was covered in red feathers, her long hair was blond and her eyes the most brilliant emerald green. She carried a certain elegance to her that knew no equal, as Neuro's humans companions were about to find out.
"What a nice nap I had, but as expected, everything falls to pieces without me, such lovely chaos," were the words spoken by the woman who stepped out of a portal that had recently opened. "How convenient that the time travel spells have finally been mastered, they were so troublesome before, causing so many delays."
The two Yakos, Neuro, Akane and even Kaiyo were curious about this lady. She appeared disguised as a human, despite the show her husband and son, or sons, were putting on. She was dressed in a bright red kimono with an orange waist bow and flame designs, her long blond hair flowing down her back, she did not hide the glow of bright green in her eyes.
Phoenix always spoke in a delicate and cheerful voice, taking care to use a polite tone, despite her choice of words. She was the type of person who could insult with a smile and make it sound as if she was giving a compliment. She pinched the future Yako's cheek and declared, "you have such an idiotic face, I bet you're infinitely amusing, my dear."
xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox
Mystery 35: Resolution
"May I have your attention, please?" Phoenix stood below the battle in the skies, looking up at her husband and the two versions of her son, locked in fierce combat. "Excuse me!" Her voice echoed, no doubt being heard all over the city. She sighed, they were not listening, why did men have to be so stubborn? Phoenix returned to her true form, a majestic bird of fire with glowing green eyes, "take cover, lovely weaklings."
Godai stared open mouthed at the fire bird that might just be the one spoken of in legends, she was amazing. "That's a phoenix..." Then he snapped into attention and stammered "the car," as he signaled for the two Yakos to get on. Once they were all in, Godai drove away, hoping to get to a safe distance on time.
Fire rained from the skies, knocking down the three purple birds, who crashed to the ground and rolled around desperately. They remained on fire for several minutes, rolling on the ground and flapping their wings wildly, until the fire was finally put out, the scent of roasted chicken lingering in the air. "Mother, why did you do that?" The future Neuro protested.
"Because you, you and your father never listen. Now stop being such a cute little idiot and properly introduce me to your lowly mate," Phoenix returned to her human form.
Grumbling under his breath, the future Neuro headed for the approaching car, which was returning, now that the danger was seemingly over. "Mother, this is Yako," future Neuro yanked future Yako out of the car, "Yako, this is my mother, Phoenix."
"Good boy, I knew you could manage to do at least this, even with your tiny brain. Now the cutie pie," Phoenix smiled sweetly, ignoring her husband, who was insistently tapping her on the shoulder.
"This is our son, Kaiyo," future Neuro held the baby for his mother.
"How cute! You my little darling, have your granny's brains, I can tell by the look in your eyes, besides, if you have a brain you must have inherited it from me, because none of your other relatives have such a privilege." Kaiyo giggled and bit Phoenix's hand when she tried to tickle him. "Such a fierce little one, I'm glad he's not a wimp like his grandpa."
Yougan frowned, "honey, that child is dangerous; he could kill us all."
"You're such a coward. Wouldn't it be grand if he came to visit and terrorized our world? That would be so amusing! But I suppose he must grow up first. Yako creature, you make sure to feed Kaiyo a sufficient amount of food, because if he's anything like Neuro, he'll be a terrible glutton," Phoenix handed back the baby.
"Yako is the glutton," both Neuros protested at unison.
Phoenix yawned and stretched her arms. "I'm not quite ready to end my nap; I was having such nice dreams. I'm going home now, come Yougan, let's leave them be, don't be such a nosy nuisance, though I know you can't help it but to be a nuisance."
"But dear, the boy is dangerous and you intend to leave him like this? Our son mated with a human, are you not horrified?" Yougan insisted.
"Shut up!" Phoenix commanded.
"Yes, mistress!" Yougan blurted out automatically.
"Well now, we will be going back to sleep. Come by when little Kaiyo is old enough to cause some lovely chaos in our world and don't forget to wake me up. Try not to be so pathetic my dear useless sons," Phoenix ruffled both the Neuros' hair. "Yako, do your best to evolve into something less hideous, though perhaps I'm asking for too much from such a little piece of trash."
The Yakos laughed nervously, with the future one mumbling, "I'll try."
"What about me?" Quemar, who had been forgotten as he rolled around in pain, crawled over to Phoenix.
"Ah yes, you should be returned to your true form," Phoenix waved her hand and effortlessly broke the spell that disguised him. His true form looked like a tiny dragon; his body was long, red and scaly. "I'll heal you up at home." Phoenix picked him up and changed to her true form, opening a time portal and returning to the future. Yougan pouted and followed his wife, the portal closing behind him.
"I guess this means everything is alright now?" Future Yako asked unsure. It had all happened very fast.
"Yes, things are okay, but it looks like your past self's single brain cell might die from thinking so much so I might as well explain the entire story." Future Neuro began his narration. "In my time, my parents awakened because a certain nosy pixie decided to help us by telling them they were grandparents."
"The pixie!" Present Neuro was outraged, "that stupid bug is still pestering us in the future? I need to squash it the next time I see it."
"Pixies should all die," future Neuro agreed. "Father wasn't happy about Yako being a lowly human, so he came to investigate, then he started worrying about Kaiyo because of his ability to consume energy. I sent Kaiyo to the past with a time traveling spell to keep him safe. If memory serves, there were a lot of explosions and chaos when he got here, that was a side effect because time traveling spells are tricky. That's also why I couldn't come here right away, our kind is the hardest to transport through time, but Kaiyo is part human so I could send him. Mother likes to be amused, it's hard to tell whose side she's on sometimes. She sent Quemar to the past, he's just a newt so he wasn't too hard to transport."
"A newt? Wasn't he a little dragon?" Present Yako curiously inquired.
"No, he's a newt from my world," future Neuro replied, "dragons are much bigger and very hard to domesticate as pets. Now keep quiet and don't interrupt, lesser evolved slug. I sent Sai to the past to keep an eye on things while I practiced the time travel spell enough to be able to come here myself and-"
"Sai!" The present Yako once again interrupted.
Present Neuro grabbed her head with his clawed hand and squeezed it. "Shut up and listen to the future me, slave!"
"As I was saying," future Neuro continued, "Sai is part human so he wasn't too hard to send back."
"Did someone say my name just now?" The mysterious silver haired angel landed near by and changed his appearance to Sai.
"Sai! You're an angel?" Present Yako curiously asked, despite her time's Neuro trying to keep her quiet.
"I copied the angel appearance from Angelus in the future, but angels are very hard to copy so it turned out a bit different," Sai explained. "The rain spell I used was actually casted by future Angelus, he contained it in a magic bottle and all I had to do was release it, I can't really copy angel magic. How was my acting? I had you completely fooled, didn't I Yako-neesan?"
Present Yako smiled, "you got me and I'm happy to see you're doing well in the future. Was the cookie made by Angelus too?"
"Yes, but Yukari likes to tell everyone she's the one who bakes, she made me try her real baking once and I never want to repeat that, I don't even want to know what those cookies were made of," Sai glanced over at Yako's future self. "Of course, Yako-neesan still ate them all."
"I wanted to encourage Yukari!" Future Yako made up an excuse.
"Right," Sai grinned, "Yako-neesan is such a bottomless pit."
"Stop it Sai! He's always teasing me," future Yako pouted.
"It's nice that we're more like siblings in the future," the present Yako smiled, but then she remembered something. "Sai, has Neuro been picking on you in the future? You called him master before."
At this, future Yako's face turned scarlet, "he only calls Neuro master to pick on me!"
Sai laughed, "Kaiyo is lucky he sleeps like a rock, but I'm a light sleeper and the walls are too thin. Yako-neesan, you really need to sound proof your room!" Future Yako stomped on Sai's foot, while her present self caught on and blushed furiously. "Neuro is rubbing off on you."
Present Yako changed the subject, "I'm curious why don't you tell me a little more about the future?"
"Like if I still put people in red boxes?" Present Yako's mouth hung open at the future Sai's question, while her future self elbowed him. "That's not necessary anymore, because I figured it out, I know what I am. Besides, I barely remember those times anymore."
xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox
Mystery 36: Secrets
"Whenever we ran into each other, you always tried to talk to me," Sai began, "I didn't listen often, but I fought Neuro a lot, I still do, but not to kill him. I forgot a lot of things, but I didn't forget what you told me about Seiren, I remembered all the conclusions you revealed, I was able to hold on to those memories. I still had questions and still put people in red boxes now and then. To know what I was, I needed to know what Seiren was, but she was long since dead, so I searched for clues in the people who were left in this world. You'll figure out the answer and tell me eventually, I can't tell you now," future Sai left the mystery at that.
xoxox xox xoxox
It was a time in the future, when Kaiyo was just recently born. Sai snuck into his room and looked at the baby sleeping in the crib. He picked up the child and looked at him curiously, "wake up..."
The boy opened his glowing green eyes and looked at Sai with matching curiosity.
"You're Yako and Neuro's son. Just what are you made of?" Sai was taken by surprise when the baby bit him and even more so when he began to consume his energy. Sai drew his hand back and the baby laughed.
"I guess he likes you," Yako stood at the door.
"Is Neuro coming to fight?" Sai inquired.
"No, I told him I wanted to talk to you. No fighting inside the house, okay?"
Sai nodded and handed Yako the baby. "How come he ate my energy?"
"It's part of his special power. Neuro says that he gave Kaiyo power and I shaped it. He was hoping Kaiyo would pick after him completely and kept saying my DNA can be dangerous. Neuro's power and my appetite..."
Sai looked at the baby, "he's lucky to know where he came from and what he is. He's not fully human, but at least he'll know why. It's strange, I came here determined to see what he was made of, but I can't, he feels too familiar."
Yako's eyes widened; her expression in deep thought, "familiar..."
"Relax, I didn't hurt him and I don't want to anymore. Even if I can't explain it, I'd sooner protect him."
"Wait..." Yako thought about it some more, "yes, it all fits, it fits Sai, I have the answer!"
"What do you mean?"
"Kaiyo feels familiar because he's the same as Seiren. Seiren must have been half human, but she was abandoned in the human world without explanations. She was regarded as a witch and pushed away, so she tried to hide her power and blend in with humans. She was weakened by the magic of the temples but that wasn't all, she hated the power that made her different, so she refused to show it, no matter what."
Sai listened to Yako in shock.
"You inherited your power from Seiren, and she was also the one who shaped it. You can change your form because of her desire to fit in and you lose your memories because she wanted to forget the bad experiences in her past. Your memories fade away faster because you're tired of searching, but you hold on to Seiren's memory because it's the truth you were looking for, so there is some comfort in that. If you lived peacefully, if you found some happiness, then your memories won't fade away, it's the sorrow you accumulated that makes you forget the things that make you sad, deep down, you regret-"
"Stop..."
"Sai?"
"Yako-neesan... I believe you."
xoxox xox xoxox
In the present time, though Yako was curious to know what answer she would come up with for Sai in the future, she didn't press the subject, reasoning that it was something she would figure out when the time was right.
There was a moment of silence until the future Yako pointed out, "the people of the city must have noticed something was going on. They might come here to investigate soon."
"I'll go erase their memories, let's go past me." The two Neuros took off, to erase the supernatural events from the memories of the people of the city.
They wouldn't remember anything about the fire bird in the distance, the battle of the violet birds, the hair demon that was said to roam the city streets at night, or the baby who that ate so much raw meat.
After the city was cleaned of suspicions, one more thing had to be done. Future Neuro announced, "it's time to erase your memory, lesser evolved slug!"
To which Yako gasped in surprise, "why?"
"Because you're not ready to know this yet," the future Neuro accepted no arguments, but he did not truly erase present Yako's memory, he only locked it temporarily.
Though the true purpose of apparently erasing present Yako's memory was unknown to Neuro's present self, he observed with suspicion that Yako's future self did not protest. With Yako unconscious in his arms as an unexpected, and possibly intentional, side effect of having her memories locked, present Neuro watched his future self open a portal, which he, future Yako, Kaiyo and future Sai used to return to their own time.
Godai, who had been silent the entire time, finally spoke, "what about my memories? Isn't anyone going to erase them? I'll have nightmares if I have to remember this!"
xoxox xox xoxox
Yako woke up on the couch of the detective office. Godai wasn't there, most likely out handing flyers, Akane was at her usual spot on the wall and Neuro sat behind his desk. She took note of the crayon drawings all over the walls, but didn't remember how they got there, with so many of her memories having been locked.
"So you're finally awake, slave," Neuro greeted, as would be expected of him.
Yako got up, feeling a little light headed and disoriented. "Why am I here? Did you bring me here Neuro? Nothing you do will work, I broke up with you and I don't want to be around you, I'm quitting being a detective!"
Neuro glared, just how many memories did Yako lose? "Where do you think you're going, slave?" He stopped her from leaving out the door.
"I already told you, no matter what, I won't go back to you, even if you hurt me, even if you torture me, nothing will work," Yako was full of determination, like when she ran away. She didn't clearly remember the source of her anger, but she reasoned it must be the way Neuro treated her, that was certainly enough to upset anyone with a shred of sanity.
"Not this again... Idiot," Yako assumed the insult was directed at her, as it usually happened, but this time, Neuro was complaining about himself. His future self could have allowed Yako to keep her memories, it would have been easier that way, whose side was he on anyway?
Yako escaped Neuro's grip and opened the door to find her mother rushing down the hall towards the office. "Yako!" She hugged her daughter, then stepped back and smiled. "I'm glad you're alright."
"Mom!" Yako was surprised by the visit, "what are you doing here? Are you coming home?"
"For a while, your graduation is soon."
Yako's eyes widened, she still had a lot of work to do. She nodded and tried to hide her distress, "yeah..."
"It's strange, I remember being upset for some reason, but I can't remember why. I guess I just missed you." Yako's mother must have already been in the city when future Neuro erased everyone's memories.
"It's good to see you, let's go eat together and catch up." Mother and daughter left the building, where an ignored and frustrated Neuro remained.
xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox xox xoxox
Mystery 37: One Step Forward and Two Steps Back
After having broken up with Neuro and quitting the detective business, Yako was surprised to find that Neuro didn't attempt to contact her. He was probably waiting for her to go crawling back, which she did not intend to do. Instead, Yako occupied herself in catching up with academics so that she could graduate on time.
The home economics teacher looked at the stuffed animal Yako made as part of her project. Her cooking was good, if the teacher was fast enough to try it and grade it before Yako ate it herself, but she still needed to turn in a sewing project. "The beak is big, but I suppose some parrots could look like this. The stitches are well done and strong, good job on the wings. Congratulations, you passed."
"Thank you!" Yako was proud of herself for this, though she didn't know why in the world she made a doll of Neuro's true form of all things. In her own defense, she could reason that, since she spent so much time studying for the written tests and left this project for last, she simply wasn't thinking as she should and her brain went numb, allowing her hands to move automatically without thought. It didn't matter, her make up work was over, her tests have been graded, all her projects were turned in and graded, it was over, Yako was going to graduate.
xoxox xox xoxox
The graduation ceremony went without anything unusual happening. There was a multitude of black robes and a disarray of flat hats being thrown into the air, as it generally happens in such events. The flashes of cameras were constant, accompanied by teary goodbyes and victorious cheers among the congratulations and hugs.
After the ceremony, the students, now graduates, got ready for the party. Yako was wearing an elegant sky blue dress with bare shoulders and a flowing skirt. Her makeup was subtle but highlighted her features. Her usual hairclips were absent, being replaced by two sapphire clips, which matched her delicate earrings and necklace.
Yako was, predictably, at her table stuffing her face, while her friends danced. "Yako, when you're done with that, would you like to dance?"
She looked at the one who had spoken; she recognized that voice, "Higuchi!" Yako had not expected to see him there. "Sure, just a minute, I'll be done really quick."
Higuchi, having forgotten his terrifying experiences, was ready to pursue Yako with renewed determination. She finished stuffing her face unlike a lady, though she did clean her mouth gently with a napkin, checked her make up and reapplied her lipstick like Kanae taught her, then took Higuchi's arm, allowing him to lead her to the dance floor.
Yako did her best not to trip on her dress or step on Higuchi's feet. Inevitably, she stepped on him on a few occasions, apologizing each time. "It's alright Yako, don't worry about it." Higuchi smiled, he had heard the rumor that Yako recently dumped her boyfriend, this was his chance. "You look beautiful tonight..."
xoxox xox xoxox
From behind the crowd, Neuro watched Yako and Higuchi jealously. Godai wisely decided not to comment on the fact that Neuro was jealous, opting for the safer option of pretending he didn't notice. Akane was perched on the yakuza's shoulder looking limp, a fact which did not escape Godai. "I think there's something wrong with Akane."
"Have you tried giving her something to write on?" Neuro reminded.
"Oh yeah, I forgot," Godai held up his cellphone for Akane.
The braid typed quickly as always, explaining that the party made her feel nostalgic.
"It's never too late to enjoy your afterlife, I'll leave this up to slave number two after his job is done," Neuro replied.
"What?" Godai was puzzled.
"Dance with Akane," Neuro ordered.
"I can't, she's a braid of hair!" Not only did Godai had to dress up all fancy to blend in, now he had to dance with hair, it was too much.
Akane shook, as if trying to tell Godai he didn't have to, which made him feel guilty.
"Don't be sad, I'll dance with you... in private," Godai really didn't want to be seen dancing with a braid of hair. At least Akane was satisfied.
"Did you wire it?" Neuro got to the point.
"Yes, I'll be able to control the lights from here," Godai assured, holding up a small controller.
"When I get close, turn the lights off, give me five minutes and turn them back on but keep them dim," Neuro ordered, "you can leave after that."
"Got it," as long as his job was over soon, Godai decided not to question it.
Neuro walked away through the crowd. His usual blue suit had been replaced by a black tuxedo; he kept his eyes dim and wore a mask that gave them a violet tint. His golden clips were absent, his hair was brushed back and was completely blond.
Neuro spotted Kanae and walked over. If he left someone with Higuchi while he got away with Yako, that would delay his pursuit, at least until the lights came on. He couldn't keep the lights off for too long or people would start going out in search of the moon's light outside, humans generally disliked darkness. "Miss Kanae?"
"Yes, how do you know my name?" It wasn't every day that Kanae saw such a handsome man, let alone one who mysteriously knew her.
"I know you're Yako's friend," Neuro decided to leave a little clue, not that he expected humans to catch on to him any time soon. "Would you like to dance?"
"I would love to," Kanae agreed, while searching her memories for the man's identity with Yako as her only clue.
When Neuro and Kanae were close to where Higuchi and Yako were dancing, Godai turned off the lights. In the middle of the confusion, startled yelps and complaints, Neuro switched the two girls and led Yako away.
xoxox xox xoxox
"There's a full moon so there's some light out here," once outside, Yako noticed that the man that led her there was not Higuchi. "Um... it looks like there was some confusion."
"Not at all, Yako," Neuro smiled, teeth perfectly disguised to look human.
"How come you know my name? Who are you?" There was something very familiar about this man, but Yako couldn't quite place it.
To be Continued
Disclaimer, I don't own Private Evileye Nogami Neuro. Special thanks to Unknown D Flamerose, who suggested the name Kaiyo for the baby.
Sai's personality change in the future is due to having lost most of his memories from his former self and becoming calmer, enough to move in with Yako and Neuro, after he learned of his origin. Sai's origin is different in the anime and manga. I am basing the story on the anime where Sai is a boy, Yako's half brother on her father's side and the son of Seiren, the mysterious woman said to be a witch. Sai's fate is left in a cliffhanger in the anime, so I came up with an explanation to fit the story. Sai calls Yako 'Yako-neesan' instead of 'Yako-neechan', even if he is older, judging by the time frame in which Yako's father was with Seiren. The explanation to this is that, since she took care of him and helped him become more human, he sees her as a big sister figure.