Do not own these characters, and not sure if I'd want to risk being eaten, both out of money and, uhm, brains. (I don't have enough of either as it is...)

Yako stared at the clock. Ticktockticklytock. It was broken – moving too fast. It had to be! Neuro had been gone for a long time. Too long. Unusually long. It was already hours past the time she would've normally returned home. Then again, what's normal when you have a Neuro dragging you around at any odd time of day?

Tick. . .Tock. . .Tick. . .Tock.

She knows staying here to wait for him is a stupid, stupid thing to do. And she knew how Neuro dealt with stupidity, she had the bruises and footsteps on her head to prove it. But when was the last time he had left her to go investigate alone? He always dragged her along, whether she wanted to or not, unless...it was dangerous. Unless he was dealing with something less than human.

Tick. . . Tock.

A swift glance over to Akane, who was swinging slightly at her desk. Akane who was not quite human herself. Would sentient hair braids sleep? Neuro had once said he very rarely slept in the demon world, but the lack of miasma here made him drowsy. The human world lacked the atmosphere Neuro needed. And yet, he still came, searching for puzzles to satiate his mental hunger. Yako almost laughed at the irony. In reality, he and she were really quite similar.

Tick. . .click. . Tock.

Yako leapt up, staring at the door. It stayed half-open, and she thought, a little disappointed, a little relieved, that it must've been the wind. Until a foot slid in. Little yellow triangles hanging from strands of dark and gold hair. Neuro, with a face strained impassive, walking only slightly unsteadily into the office.

"...Why are you still here?" Like all his questions for her, it wavered between inquiring and demanding. One hand was held to his chest, as if he was trying to support it himself. The other hung loosely by his side. There was something odd about it; out of place, like it wasn't quite a part of his body. It was different, uncertain. She felt almost relieved when he handed her his jacket and passed by without looking at her – she was used to that, she could deal with it. Then she saw the small rips in his white vest.

red, red, like –

Her fingers brushed against the holes she hadn't noticed in the blue jacket. It was still wet, a little warm.

Why did it have to look so real?

"Neuro..." she looked over at him, lying on the couch. His almost fluorescent green eyes were closed, pain crinkled the edges of his mouth. Yako felt the beginnings of anxiety.

Wasn't he supposed to be inhumanly strong? Wasn't he supposed to be able to withstand anything? Wasn't he supposed to last...forever?

You're not supposed to be weak, Neuro. You're not supposed to be human.

She couldn't be angry at him for abusing her. He was a demon after all, different. It was reasonable for her not to feel angry at him. But if he was not a demon, it would make no sense if she was not angry at him. It would be strange for her to be fine with his abuse.

"Yako." Said girl looked up. A long, gloved finger moved slightly. Almost intuitively, she moved to his side. He opened one eye at her, unmoving, unblinking. For a long moment, only the sounds of a clock hand moving was heard.

Palms starting to sweat, she tried to stare back. Bright, bright green at the same time dark, magnetic and something that spoke of fearlessness. Yako couldn't look anymore. That expression on his face set the goosebumps shaking on her arms. It didn't say Slave or Mystery or Wood louse as they usually did.

Follow me, and I'll show you the world.

Yako couldn't look. It was just like—

Who do you think I am? I am the man who has devoured all the mysteries of Hell.

Don't be so arrogant, Neuro, she'll say, silent like, because she doesn't want hands, claws, gripping her head, pain. She doesn't want that warmth, so much taller than her - that her neck hurts trying to meet his eyes as he towers overhead. She'll blush, she knows from experience, at his proximity, that fanged voice whispering orders into the crook behind her ear.

Despite Neuro's shallow emotional intelligence, he still has a mental capacity far greater than any human. If he ever found out he could affect her in a much more amusing way than torture, she'll never hear the end of it. She'll be lower than a wood louse, sinking further than the likes of single-celled organisms. She might even make it to the ranks of fodder – crushed wood, coal. The humiliation, and at the hands of Neuro, the natural master of crushing insults, would be almost too much for even the world's best takoyaki to recover. It would be so much easier if he stayed in his true form – a man with an oversized, fanged, purple parrot head. At least then she could just snicker in the secrecy of her own mind.

Yako decided Akane was suddenly very interesting. She could still feel Neuro's gaze on her, heck, even in her peripheral vision she could see a flash of lime green. Akane was very still. Very, very still. If not for the slight hint of life in her, she would've looked just like she did the day they moved into the office. Since Akane didn't have any visible eyes, Yako had no idea whether she was watching them. For all she knew, Akane could be a fan of midnight drama shows.

Should she chance it? Yako stole a blink at Neuro with the corners of her eyes. He was sitting half-up, head resting on one hand. With both eyes open now, and that smile on his face that only appeared when there was a mystery to be eaten and don'tlookdon'tlookdon'tgetpulledin, Yako decided it might be a good idea to go home soon. In fact, maybe immediately.

"Jeez, it's really late, Neuro. My mother's going to be worried if I don't make it home soon! She might...ground me!" Lies, Yako, lies! Her mother-who-publishes-magazines would be so ashamed.

Neuro's smile widened to the degree that Yako felt like she was about to get a candle attached to her head and hung by a gasoline tank - again.

Yako was getting worried. What was he planning? Was he angry? God forbid Neuro's anger. Even she hasn't seen anything more than amused scorn. She tried to appeal to his logical side.

"I-If she gets worried, I mean, midnight is no time for a young girl to stay out, err, she might not let me partake in the whole detective thing again!"

He paused, that look lost, if only for a moment. "You have a point." Yako almost let out all her breath in relief. "Not to worry! If that happens, I'll just use the Demon tool for creating second skins. And the acid wears off in only one hundred and forty years!" She stared at him in horror. "Though you'll have to live in excruciating pain for all that time. That's ok, right?" He grinned with that blank face she's learnt to avoid like the plague.

"I'll...I'll make sure she'll let me continue." She replied weakly. She supposed she should feel mortified at her leniency. But, this was Neuro. Neuro. The name itself should be enough.

Her guards let down at his habitual behaviour, she had almost forgotten he had been badly hurt moments before. It wasn't too hard to remember though, when he started sneezing bullets out his nose.

"Neuro! What's wrong?!" Her hands tried to pry into his clenched fist and there was a small scramble as she fought a futile battle.

"What? You thought mere bullets would hurt me? Foolish wood louse. Know your place." A large hand landed on her head; bullets rained around her eyes. When faced with unbeatable odds, the mind sometimes has an epiphany. Yako's was, If Neuro wants me to evolve, why does he always do things that reduce my brain cell count? It was quite obvious she was still a way away from evolution.

But it was over in a moment, and Yako was soon aware of other things.

Firstly, his other arm which had looked rigid and painful was now rigid and braced comfortably next to her ear. Secondly, she felt like he was trying to push her, somehow, into the couch, and – how had she ended up on the couch? – and she noticed that – you're always with him, how can you not notice – he was so, so, so much taller, broader and muscular than she had thought – maybe it was because he was just wearing his ves – Yako, get out of this situ – face getting uncomfortably close – hey, he had no irises! – Yako, ge – and so maybe his eyes weren't that bright of a green – or is it just because there are shado – oh good lord no, he had that look – and – and – and...

Neuro was smiling.

Yako's thoughts had frozen.

He leant down, as he did when issuing an order, and murmured with just a hint of playful smugness, "I smell a mystery..."

A/N: This is my first attempt...at trying to make this couple loveydovey. As you can see, I have failed, quite horribly. Oneshot! You can decide for yourself what happens afterwards. :D

If anyone ever finds a good, in-character, fluffy/romantic fanfic with those two, please tell me so I can commemorate it. It can even be a challenge, if you like! ...And it's not a subtle attempt at getting more MTNN fanfiction. -cough-