By 8:48, Yako finally drowsed off. At 9:30, her cell phone went off.
“Nooo...” The girl moaned, flipping over to her side. She cuddled closer to her pillow, trying to ignore Akane’s gentle poking. The ponytail kept sliding it’s tip up and down the girl’s arm, making her skin tickle and itch.
“Okay, I get it,” She groaned, sitting up. “Forget the shower. Luck has it I’ll be covered in blood before the night’s over.”
Akane shakes her ‘tail in sympathy. Yako smiled at her disembodied friend, picked up the cell phone and asked, “Akane, what do you think of Neuro?”
Tap tap tap went the texting.
A little strange, but he’s a good guy, She said. I trust him.
It wasn’t exactly the answer Yako was looking for. “Tell me, what does he do when I’m not there?”
He searches for new mysteries on the internet. He also reads a lot.
“Really? He reads books? Human books?”
Mystery novels. He never finishes them, though. He always figures it out the criminal before the book ends.
“Hmmm…”
Why do you ask?
“I…” She closes her mouth. “I don’t know. It’s just…I guess it’s because I don’t really know Neuro. Beyond his need to eat mysteries and his torture of me, I don’t know any of his likes or dislikes. Does he like music? Does he like movies?”
That is something you’re going have to ask him yourself.
Yako resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Yeah, but will he give me a straight answer?”
You’ll be surprise how much he depends on you.
“As a cover,” She said.
As a friend, Akane sharply tapped in. The only time I’ve seen him comfortable is around you.
Yako had to laugh bitterly. “You’re telling me when he’s bullying me, he’s comfortable?”
You’re the only one he shares intimate details of his life with. You, he trusts. He enjoys his time with you, even if he doesn’t want to admit it.
Yako pulled her knees up her chest and rested her chin on them. Exactly, what is the answer she was looking for? Neuro trusts her. So what? Kanae trusts her. Sasazuka trusts her. Godai, more or less, trusts her.
Yako guesses after a few months, she wanted more than just trust. She wanted to be friends with the demon, not just a slave or public front. Maybe that’s what these dreams mean: wanting a more intimate relationship with Neuro the demon.
Akane was prodding her in the arm again.
Get ready! You don’t want to repeat last night’s performance, do you?
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She didn’t bother to dress nice. If Neuro was going to solve the case tonight, then it’s a good idea to wear something she didn’t mind getting ruined. A pair of jeans and an old shirt. Not the most attractive outfit, but at least she won’t mind if this one gets covered in blood.
Learning from her mistakes, she waited for the demon and Godai on the steps of her porch. She’ll be damned if he caught her off guard again.
“You ready?” Godai asked her in his usual foul mood.
She stood. “Yes.”
A foot materialized out of nowhere, caught her by her left ankle, and the girl slammed on the ground with a shivering crunch. From high above, she heard her boss lightly speak, “Watch out for those steps!”
This is Neuro comfortable?
Tonight’s atmosphere was much different from the previous night. Unlike last time, the air was so thick with tension, you could cut it with a butter knife; nobody spoke this time around. Godai, who never spoke except when to complain, took his place walking in the far back. Yako, who didn’t feel like talking, mutely followed Neuro. The demon in question did not speak; only looked excited in anticipation of tonight.
They got to the club in record time. Yako thought because of the riot, people would be hesitant to come. She was wrong. As soon as the florescent lights of Dante’s came into view, people by the
Dozens stood waiting in line. Some, bored by the waiting, starting dancing in the streets. A few from what Yako could see, bore bruises and black eyes.
They followed the demon right up to the door, ignoring the yells and insults of the other waiting patrons. When the (new) bouncer placed his hand on Neuro’s shoulder to stop him, Neuro slapped his hand on the bouncer’s wrist. He twisted the wrist, and the poor bouncer flipped over Neuro’s head and fell into the street.
Walking into the club, Godai let himself smile at Neuro’s technique. Even Yako had to admit, it was pretty funny.
“Welcome to Dante’s!” The go-lucky girl greeted them on the inside. “Here are your free drink cards!”
Yako stepped forward to grab them, but amazingly, Neuro was the one who took them. He gave two of them to Yako. “Get whatever you want.”
There was still one card in his hand. “What are you getting, Neuro?”
He grinned his toothy grin. “I’m peckish for the Crimson Bloody Mary.”
Godai and Yako exchanged looks. They knew what that meant. As they made their way towards the bar, Yako shoved the remaining card drinks into a dancer’s hands. The girl noted the Phantom was not the bar keep tonight.
“Hi,” A busty red haired girl said softly to Neuro. “What can I get you?”
Neuro returned her smile. “The Crimson Bloody Mary, please.”
“Sure thing, honey. We got a fresh supply in just today.” She pulled out a wine glass, placed a celery stick in it and poured the blood in slowly. Yako had to swallow to keep her stomach down.
The bar keep turned to the high school girl and her sweet smile disappeared. “You want something?”
Is that any way to treat a customer? “No.”
“Then step back, please. Other people want to buy drinks.”
“I wondered what happened to the Phantom…” Yako muttered sourly as she followed Neuro and Godai through the crowds.
“Well demon?” Godai said as the three stood in a corner. “Are you going to drink that? Because if not, give it to me.”
Neuro suddenly smiled so large, Yako almost flinched. The demon tapped his lips in a thoughtful manner then said to himself, “No, no, that’s too cruel.”
Yako did flinch at his comment. What can be so awful that even Neuro finds it cruel?
“This will stay with me,” Neuro slipped the wine glass into his coat. Defying all laws of physics, the glass did not spill or made a hump on his coat. He might as well have slipped a business card into his breast pocket.”Slave number two,” He clapped his hands together. “Riot.”
Godai glared at him. Then shrugged and said, “At least this time, it’s on my terms.” He threw himself into the dancing crowd.
Chaos ensued. Trying to make herself heard over the screaming, Yako yelled, “Neuro, we can’t go to the back of the bar again! Li Shiroyama might be there already!”
“We’re not going to the bar.”
A screaming Yako flew through the air, slamming hard against the door with the words, “Employees Only” printed across it. “Good job, louse,” Neuro picked up her limp form off the ground. “Help me find Li Shiroyama’s office.”
The office was easy to find. Neuro picked the lock and went inside. He went straight for the file cabinet. “Look for any strange receipts. I want to know where he gets his alcohol from.”
He wasn’t talking to Yako. A thousand little blue spiders crawled out of his ears and went into the massive file cabinet.
Yako turned to Shiroyama’s desk. She wigged out for a few seconds. Then something caught her eye. Sitting on the desk were stacks of papers. Curiously, the girl came around to look at them better.
It was medical information on the employees. Some of them had check marks next to their names, others had X’s. Now why would bar owner need medical information for? “Neuro, is this what you’re looking for?” She showed him the files.
Neuro eyed her with somewhat an impressive look. “Do you understand what this means, Yako?”
She had always suspected but wished it wouldn’t be true. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She paled. “Yes.”
“Good,” He placed the files back to its original spot. “Let’s get out of here. The police should be here soon.”
“How do you know?”
The wicked grin came back. “Because, I called them.”
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Even though Yako knew by through their actions, they were putting a murderer behind jail; but she still felt rather bad when she saw the state of Dante’s after the rioters were arrested. Tables and chairs were flipped over, broken glass covered the floor, spilled drinks gave the illusion of mirrors were on the ground, and one of the poor skeletons from the ceiling had fallen down. Why me? It seemed to scream.
“Officers!” Li Shiroyama yelled to Officer Sasazuka. “Arrest these people! This is the second time these hooligans started a fight inside my club!”
“Calm down,” Sasazuka said, taking a puff from his cancer stick. “I’m a homicide detective; I’m not here to arrest people for misdemeanors. I’m here because-“
Neuro smashed Yako’s head into the ground. “Because Sensei asked you to! Sensei solved Gin Kanan’s murder!”
Shiroyama snorted. “Murder? The boy ran off. It was a close and shut case.”
The strange but familiar sensation of green aura surrounded Yako’s arm. She allowed it to rise up and her finger dramatically pointed out, “The culprit is you!”
The aura dispersed, leaving her arm to feel cold. Her finger still pointed at Shiroyama who looked a little worried, but not much. “Culprit?” He said. “What’s your proof, what’s your motive?”
“Sensei has suspected you for months,” Neuro shoved Yako out of the way. “To unwind, she likes to come to this club. And she has noticed over the past few months, you have gone through over fifteen employees.”
Shiroyama shifted his weight nervously. “So? Most of them kept trying to steal my liquor. So I fired every one of them.”
Sasazuka stepped forward. “Yako chan, these are some very serious allegations. I don’t remember your assistant giving me any files on Gin Kanan’s autopsy. Is there even a body?”
Shakily, Yako’s erect finger pointed elsewhere. Up towards the ceiling where several other skeletons were hanging.
Ishigaki gave a terrified squeak. “Oh gosh, you’re telling us those fake skeletons are…”
“Real,” She finished for him.
“Oh, this is bull!” The now shaking Shiroyama yelled out. “You can’t prove those skeletons are real! And besides, I won’t give you permission to check! You need more proof, little girl.”
“Sensei does have proof,” Neuro brought out the glass of blood from his coat. “It’s this. This glass contains the blood of possibly one of your victims up there. Sensei was smart enough to buy one and not drink it.”
“No…” Shiroyama watched in horror as Neuro passed the glass to Sasazuka. “You can’t…I won’t give permission-“
“You don’t have permission,” Sasazuka said, carefully handing the glass over to forensics. “If Yako bought the drink, legally it’s hers to do with it as she pleases.”
“You sir,” Neuro said to the now trembling owner. “Are a vampire. You kill your employees, then drain them of their blood to sell as drinks. I’m sure if we look at your freezer, we will find the mutilated bodies of your victims, Sensei says.”
“Gin Kanan said you were vampire,” Yako continued. “But he didn’t have any proof. My guess is he came back to get some and you killed him. This is why you are so protective of the back- to make sure we wouldn’t get that proof. Well…am I wrong?”
Forensics came back. “Sir, the blood tested out to be human.”
“Well,” Sasazuka snuffed out his cigarette in a nearby water bottle. “That’s enough for a search warrant.”
And like most of Neuro’s crazed criminals, Shiroyama wasn’t going out without a fight. “GET BACK!” He yelled wildly. He brought a lighter and flicked it on. A little yellow flame danced as he said, “If anybody comes near me, I’ll drop this lighter and we’ll all go up in flames!”
Ishigaki gave another squeal as everyone noticed they were all standing in spilled alcohol.
“Those stupid little brats!” Shiroyama screamed hysterically. “I started my business out as a sports bar! I wanted people to come to enjoy beer and talk about football! But no! All these damn kids wanted was a dark gloomy place with rock music and obscure lousy drinks! So imagine their surprise when I reveal to them months later that they’ve been sucking down actual human blood! Is that dark enough for them? HA!”
“Put down the lighter,” Sasazuka had his gun out, pointing the barrel straight at Shiroyama’s head. “Don’t force me to kill you.”
“Hmmm…” Shiroyama considered it. “Nope. I think I rather take you all down with me.”
He dropped the lighter.
A girl screamed. Only in the last second in which Yako lost conscious did she realize the one who screamed was Ishigaki. A blinding white flash filled her eyesight then a smoldering darkness overtook her.
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It was a dream.
Never mind how she knew. What matters is that she is aware. And the first step of taking control is awareness. From the moment she opened her eyes, she knew right then and there she was in a dream.
The windows were drawn open and a soft ocean breeze fluttered through. It gently made the white lace curtains to flap. Bright sun light filled the room and far off in the distance, Yako could hear the crashing of ocean waves. In a far corner, against the light peach colored walls sat a vase filled with bright flowers. The pillow she laid had a scent of plumeria.
That was just the environment around her. What held her attention was the person sleeping in front of her.
She couldn’t have come up with this scenario in her wildest fantasies. It was too farfetched.
Neuro faced her, his eyes closed and his breathing slow. He always looks at peace when he’s asleep. No sharp fangs, no cutting remarks. His sleeping habits reminded her of a little boy.
The more Yako studied him, the more certain aspects about him stood out. One hand stuck out from underneath the blanket that covered them. He did not have his glove on. There were no claws, only fingernails and peach colored skin.
His hair was different too. It was one color: blonde. His triangle clips that was the focus of his demonic energy was gone too. His hair was untouched, soft and smooth. Yako’s eyes went wide in fascination.
Is this what Neuro would look like if he was human?
Yako’s heart fluttered. She was always afraid if Neuro became too human, he would be too weak to protect himself and die. But…if this is what he would become if he lost all his demonic power…Yako might not mind.
This is a dream right? That meant…she could anything she wanted…right?
With a shy smile creeping on her face, Yako snuggled closer to Neuro’s sleeping form. “Neuro…” She spoke softly, gently soothing him out of his sleep.
The former demon opened one eye. (Pale green) “What?” He spoke.
She came closer. “Kiss me.”
He closed his eye. “No. Sleeping.”
“Please…?”
He turned over and showed his back to her. Determined, Yako placed her hand on his bare shoulder. “C’mon…”
What happened next was probably expected. Neuro suddenly grabbed Yako by the hem of her nightgown, grabbed her pillow and politely shoved it in her mouth. He then booted her out of the bed, stole all the blankets, curled up and went back to sleep.
On the ground, cold, miserable, and a pillow stuck in her mouth, Yako had one singular thought:
Oh god! Even in these dreams he tortures me! I’m never going to get away from that, am I?
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Yako gave a painful moan as she woke. Her legs were aching as well as her head. Were her dreams going to inflict actual damage on her body? If so, she’s never going to sleep again.
“Are you okay, Yako chan?”
Yako blinked and saw Sasazuka looking down at her worried. Behind him, she could see somehow everyone found their way outside. The bar, Dante’s, became an inferno. Fire trucks were trying their hardest to put out the flames.
“What happened…?” Yako said groggily as Sasazuka helped her to her feet.
“I don’t know,” He admitted. Ash covered his face and his coat had a few singes around the cuffs of his sleeves. “I thought we were done for but the next thing I knew, we all were outside with little injury. My guess the blast was so strong, it knocked us all out before the flames got to us.”
Yako could see even he thought such an explanation was piss poor, but there was no other way to explain it. Everyone, even Li Shiroyama, escaped with little injury. Yako herself had burns on her legs, but they were as serious as a bad sunburn. A little aloe lotion should help.
Standing not too far away, watching the firemen douse out the flames, stood Neuro. He had a smudge on his cheek and a satisfied grin on his lips. By his feet, was Godai. He was completely covered in black soot.
“We’re taking Shiroyama to jail,” Sasazuka said to Yako. “Bones won’t melt in fire, and your assistant assured us the evidence in the freezer is protected from the flames.”
“That’s…ah…good…” She didn’t want to think of cooked meat.
“There’s just one thing left to go over. Do you know who started the riot?”
“It was him,” Neuro pointed to the dark Godai.
“WHAT!” The poor yakuza man yelled. “You son of a-“
“If you want proof, I have photos here,” Neuro flashed out a few polaroids and gave them to Sasazuka. They were photos of Godai jumping into the dancing crowd and punching some poor innocent dancer.
Yako’s eyes bulged out of her head. “Where…?”
“Arrest him,” Sasazuka ordered Ishigaki.
Godai turned and ran. He screamed at the top of his lungs as seven police officers tackled him, “I’LL KILL YOU, YOU MOTHER FU-!”
“I’m sorry,” Yako said in a silent prayer. She hoped the police wouldn’t rough him up to much. She also hoped Godai would cooperate. She knew these prayers would go unanswered. As most of them did.
Done for the night, Yako and Neuro left the smoldering mess once known as Dante’s to go home. It was now past three in the morning and Yako had to get up at six. “Aw…I might as well skip morning classes tomorrow. I don’t think I’ll be able to get up in time.”
“Ah…that mystery was quite satisfying,” Neuro said fondly, tapping his stomach. “Shiroyama certainly had a lot of pent up energy.”
“That’s nice to know,” Yako muttered sourly. She yawned. “I’m going home. Goodnight Neuro.”
Fact: When Neuro repeat his tortures, he always does them in different situations.
Yako gave out a yell as she fell over the demon’s shiny leather shoe. Her nose gave a satisfying crunch as it connected to the asphalt.
“Just one last thing,” Neuro purred, picking the girl up so she faced him at eye level. “Your mystery…give it to me.”
Yako rubbed what was once called her nose. “Eh? What?”
The demon brought her closer to him. “Your mystery,” He said again, a little more dangerous now. “I want it.”
Was there a way out of this? No. Neuro always gets what he wants and he doesn’t mind using obscure techniques to get it. She thought by talking to Kanae, the mystery will disperse. Apparently things don’t work that way. She wasn’t ashamed by the dreams anymore, but talking about them to Neuro, to the very person who became the subject of them, is embarrassing enough. She didn’t want to give it to him. She didn’t want to explain to him what they were.
So, why should you? Came the voice of her friend. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to. Like the dreams Yako, he has no real power over you.
Yako took in a shuddering breath. Her next words, she said with no fear. “No.”
Neuro was taken back. “No?”
“No…You’re not getting this mystery Neuro. Not now, not ever.”
Neuro brought her so close to his face, had Yako choose to do so, she could easily kiss him. The hand that wrapped around her head slowly transformed into a multicolored claw. She felt it clamp on her skull a little tighter as a threat. “You sure you want to do that, Yako?”
Amazingly enough, instead of faltering under his threat like always, Yako suddenly smiled. “If you want this mystery Neuro…then solve it. It’s what you’re good at.”
He frowned. “You know I have no understanding in human psychology, slave.”
Yako wiggled out of his grasp. Landing comfortably to her feet, she turned her back on the demon, hiding her very satisfied smile. “Then…evolve.”
Walking away, she resisted the urge to pump her fist into the air. Maybe she wasn’t upset because she barely knew Neuro; perhaps she was upset because she spent so much time trying to figure him out. So what if she didn’t know what his favorite movie is or if he liked music- she was going to find out one day. She was willing to.
Now it was time for him to figure her out. If wants this mystery, he can work for it.
In her pocket, Akane made a little thumbs up motion. Yako smiled down, then laughed.
She had finally won one.
The end.
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A/N: Epilogue in the next chapter, peeps. Hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it. IT WAS SO HARD! (I’m not a hundred percent happy with this chapter, but I wrote this thing like, four times. It’s not a bad chapter, I just feel I could do better if I spent another month on it. But I don’t want to wait another month. And I seriously doubt you guys want to too.)
R/R!
