Author's Notes: I'm really on a role with this story! I can't stop thinking about it, and whenever I sit down to type on it, the words just flow out. I wouldn't be surprised if I finish chapter 3 later on tonight. Oh, and I lied, there WILL be some fluff in this story (minimal, yes, but it will be there) just because I can't help myself. XD Enjoy!


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Chapter 2

Right Behind You

In all honesty, Neuro had expected (and hoped for) a fight, not a human child's game. Yes, this man-slayer was stronger than he, but Neuro would have welcomed a battle anyway. At least things would be decided much faster that way, whatever the outcome. Neuro was impatient to get back to his old life in the surface world.

The man-slay Hitokiri, however, was holding all the cards; Neuro's headquarters, his number one slave, and most importantly, his feeding grounds. Therefore, Neuro was in no position to begin making demands. He would have to play along for now, at least until the moment he gained to upper hand. When that time came, he take all that was his back, and he would make this monster from Hell suffer for challenging him.

There was only one problem with this plan of Neuro's. He had no way of making an eternal claim to Katsuragi Yako. He'd tried to get her to become his slave body and soul time and time again, but somehow she'd never faltered. Neuro could play tag all he wanted, but he couldn't win this game until he found a way to get Yako to surrender to him.


"… the police still have no clue as to the whereabouts of the seventeen people that have gone missing over the past month. They seem to leave no trace…"

The silver light of the television screen provided weak lighting for the little living room, illuminating the sleeping form of Katsuragi Yako spread out over the couch. Around her on every available flat surface were the remains of full-sized bags of chips with not a crumb left inside, about ten empty bowls that had once held popcorn, and two spotless ice-cream cartons. It appeared that after this "light" midnight snack, she'd fallen asleep to the sound of the news. How many times had this happened now? Perhaps it had just become a habit now.

This occasion, however, was different from any of the previous, because tonight, the dozing Yako wasn't dreaming about food. Instead, she saw in her dreams a creature from the Underworld, one she had not seen in what seemed like a very long time. There was another creature there too, one she had not seen before. He slithered in and out of the edges of her dream, always there circling, but not striking. Yako frowned and shifted uneasily on the couch, unnerved by the nightmare but unable to wake up just yet. This creature was dangerous. It had come to hurt her, to hurt Neuro.

"Neuro's not here…" she sighed in her sleep. "Go away… Go…"

Suddenly, pain shot through her dream, startling her out of sleep. That had been real, physical pain. Sitting up, Yako squinted around the dark room, her heart still pounding fast against her ribs. She saw nothing, but that only disquieted her more. There was someone else there, she could feel it.

Slipping quietly off the couch, Yako tiptoed to the hall leading to her bedroom. It was dark and still. She turned to the doorway that led to the kitchen. That room was also quiet. Feeling the sudden urge for another snack, Yako shuffled cautiously over to the refrigerator. There was something watching her, she knew it. She could feel their eyes on her, following her movements, studying her, but every time she turned around, she saw nothing. Still raking the kitchen with a nervous gaze, Yako opened the refrigerator door.

"Still hungry, human?"

Letting out a scream of surprise and fear, Yako whirled around. There was no one there.

"You have quite an appetite don't you?"

It was coming from behind her again, and Yako spun around to see who was standing at her shoulder. No one.

"We have that in common…"

Snatching the large black flashlight off the counter beside the fridge, Yako raised it as a weapon. She'd barely gotten it ready to swing when there was a sharp pain in the back of her head. The flashlight hit the ground as she screamed again. But this scream died away almost instantly, as did her fear. No… it couldn't be…

The grip on her head was so familiar, even after five years, Yako almost cried with relief. There was no danger after all, no scary monster from her nightmare in her kitchen. After all this time, it seemed just as unreal, but she knew it was fact. It was Neuro.

Her demon boss jumped down from the ceiling, still gripping her head, and Yako twisted around to see him. Whenever she'd imagined him returning (she always knew he would, after all), he'd never looked any different from when she first met him. And she'd been right. The same shockingly blue suit, the same white scarf, the same yellow triangles in his hair, which was still blond with black bangs, and the same acidic green eyes, which were glowing eerily like a cat's in the darkness. Some things never changed, and Neuro was the best example she'd ever come across.

A hundred thoughts and emotions took over Yako's brain at once. She was happy to see the demon again, relieved that it had obviously been him talking before just to scare her, confused as to his whereabouts for the past five years, and even more confused as to why he chose now of all times to turn up again. But his vice-like grip on her head was giving her a headache, making it hard to process any of these.

"N-N-Neuro…" she began, but it seemed Neuro wasn't listening.

"Your single-celled brain has gotten softer during our time apart, louse," he commented, kneading her head painfully with his long fingers. But the comment seemed distracted. Yako noticed Neuro's eyes scanning the dark kitchen thoughtfully, searching. Her heartbeat quickened. Was there danger after all?

"Ne-" Yako tried again, but Neuro's other hand took hold of her lips between the index finger and thumb and squished them together painfully, warning her to keep silent. A long minute passed, then another, and still no movement in the shadows, no other sound but Yako's own pounding heart. Finally, Neuro gave final tug on her lips and released them, signaling that it was okay for her to speak.

"Neuro, what was that?!" Yako immediately demanded. "What were you looking for?"

"Just a playmate of mine," Neuro replied casually. He'd been tense only a few seconds ago, but now he was completely relaxed. Whatever it was he had been searching for, he was apparently very confident that it wasn't there.

Yako, however, was not so sure. She felt even more nervous now; any 'playmate' of Neuro's was bad news for her. "W-Was that who was talking earlier?"

Neuro was immediately tense again. The hand on her head flew down to cover her eyes, but not before Yako saw a pale figure shooting out of the shadows. Neuro's other arm wrapped around her waist, and before Yako knew what was happening, the sound of broken glass filled her ears, and they were falling from her apartment window. The wind whistled past their ears for only a second as Neuro twisted in midair, shifting Yako from his arms onto his back. She instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, and a second later his head transformed into his bird form and his arms became enormous purple-feathered wings. With a jerk, they were rocketing skyward.

A unearthly screech sounded from behind them. Yako almost turned to look, but Neuro veered off to the left sharply, almost throwing her off and making it impossible to see. Another screech, closer this time, and then the drumbeat of large wings against the air, closer still.

"Neuro, what's chasing us?!" Yako screamed above the wind. He didn't answer. "Neuro-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!"

Neuro went into a steep dive, pulling in his wings so that they picked up speed at an alarming rate. Yako felt her insides do backflips and her heart rise into her throat. They were approaching the top of a skyscraper at breakneck speed. At the very last second, Neuro pulled up, skimming over the rooftops without slowing down. Still Yako could hear their attacker closing in.

Suddenly, Neuro skidded to a stop and landed on a wide rooftop. Yanking Yako off his back with his now human arms, he dragged her around so that she was standing in front of him. Whatever was chasing them was upon them now.

"777 Tools of the Demon World; Evil Pressure!!" Neuro announced. An enormous machine sprouted from the back of his demon-form head, a beam shooting out of it and capturing their assailant in its grasp. A piercing screech filled the air, then an enormous thud as the monster landed on the roof behind them, muscles torn beyond use.

Yako couldn't see anything. Her face was being pressed into Neuro's shirt so hard she was suffocating (obviously his plan).

"777 Tools of the Demon World; Evil Full Face," Neuro said, much softer this time. Immediately they were surrounded by a smoke screen. Neuro snatched Yako up by the back of the shirt and lifted her onto his back again. As they took off through the cover, a hissing, spluttering voice followed them.

"You haven't won just yet, Nougami Neuro… You've only completed part of our game. Don't worry though, I'll be right behind you…"

Shivering hard, a reflex that had nothing to do with the chilly night air flying past them, Yako tightened her arms around Neuro's neck to keep from slipping off, back into that fog where who-knew-what was waiting. Despite the thickness of the smoke, she had a feeling that whatever it was could still see them, predator eyes following as they disappeared into the night sky.