Filum Fatalis
Summary: Threads have always been used to sew and patch ruined clothes. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart.
A/N: So I checked Aomi Zera's profile on the MTNN wiki and—le gasp I didn't know that she was a HE! DX Major mistake over here. During the whole time I was writing Dulcis and Filum, I imagined Zera to be a manly-looking female. I had referred to him as a she the whole time. OMG I've been trolled. Maybe if I had only read the Japanese scans, I would've known, but... Ugh. *insert mad face here* ...Never mind. I'll just fix this major mistake in one way or another. OTL Gawd, I fail at this.
Chapter Two: Ornamentum
Sugar, spice and everything nice. These have always been used to describe the ingredients that would make the perfect little girl. But for one tall, intelligent―and possessive―boy, these ingredients meant nothing to him.
"Excuse me," he said cheerfully to a salesperson near one of the stalls in an accessory shop, his smile as sweet as candy as he slightly bowed in (mock) respect. "What do teenage girls like nowadays?"
The salesperson, a thin, middle-aged woman with large eyes and had the face of a bored and lazy person, merely shrugged as she thinned her lips at the widely smiling man.
"Meh. All those yappity hormone-filled girls nowadays only wants a good head," she grimaced. And with that, she merely turned her back on him and walked away.
Neuro raised an eyebrow, his expression thoughtful as his middle finger stroked his chin, the words she uttered had a certain ring to it.
...That wasn't a bad idea, actually.
But that wasn't really the answer to his question, he mused.
"Stupid old hag," he mumbled with a grunt―and the woman heard it, and yet she only glared at his back, not before muttering something about the rudeness of today's youth.
Deep green eyes scanned the shelves upon shelves of different trinkets―I really like your stupid smile! she had once claimed (with a stupid smile on those ketchup-stained lips, Neuro thought with a smirk) during their grade school days. His smile only widened back then, exposing his two, fanged teeth to her. They were only eight years old.
So why not give her something that would be a constant reminder for his (stupid) smile?
"Hm..."
Left and right, left and right his eyes roamed―from different colors to different accessories to beauty products, his eyes scanned them all.
And there!―he grinned as he took a pair of hairclips from the rows of hair ornaments on a rack. He found them perfect for his favorite dishrag.
"...It's not really a gift," he reassured himself with a soft voice. "It's only an obligation," he reminded himself.
No, he wasn't taking what he would give her to heart.
It was just an obligation for him, after all.
"Neuro, dear! Would you like to go with us to the beach?" Haruka asked as Neuro came into view in the kitchen to get some lemonade sitting on the table. Over the years, he became more than welcome in the Katsuragi household―You saved our daugther from harm's way in more ways than one! You're not a guest anymore! You'll be my baby's suitor in the future!―and became a close family friend of sorts to the only child in the house, no matter how much Yako would deny it.
Katsuragi Haruka―as Neuro observed over the past few years―always seemed to have a penchant for letting people eat insane and inedible things, whether it be wood (As substitute for sugar!) or cement (For icing!), she would whip up whatever things she could grab and throw it on her cooking. He was surprised that no one had died in the household yet.
...Katsuragi Seiichi must have had a stomach of steel for all of her shenanigans.
...The same goes for his Little Louse.
He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead.
It was the time of the blistering summer heat, the air humid and arid in the atmosphere, the cicadas singing their tunes through their wings on the sanctuary of the warm trees, and the cherry blossoms fluttering their roseate petals in the summer wind. It was the time when cool refreshments became a staple on the table. It was the time when the ice cream parlors throughout the country would thrive seemingly without end―
―Yako would love that.
Neuro smiled, his eyes wide and pure as he regarded Yako's mother with the face of an angel.
"I'd love to, Katsuragi-san! But I think I need to ask for Yako's permission first before I act," he chirped with a child-like smile and a little shrug of his broad shoulders.
Haruka, not following his train of thought (as she was trying to bake some home-made cookies, Neuro almost shuddered), glanced back at the still smiling teen, her thoughts unsure on how to respond.
"Why would you need Yako's permission?" she finally asked after a few seconds as she threw some eggs, along with their shells, and peanut shells in the batter (So they'd be crunchier! And chocolate chip cookies are brown! Peanut shells are brown! Oh! It needs more soil!).
The 16-year-old, noting the way his pillbug's mother was looking at him as a sign of interest (all the while completely ignoring the bubbling monstrosity in the bowl―Is that a dung beetle in there?), merely smiled and laughed.
"That's because I might be a nuisance to Yako's presence, and because I'm a man, she might feel awkward around me," and he scratched his head and smiled shyly, imitating the abashed smile that Yako sometimes sported whenever he would―at rare times―compliment her on his expected standards.
And Haruka gasped and her eyes nearly watered.
"Oh, you poor thing! Don't think that she's being awkward around you! It's just that you're too much of a gentleman―my daughter must be adjusting herself to your chivalry, that's why!"
A small―and uncharacteristic―"oh" left his lips, and he (purposely) widened his eyes and put a thoughtful forefinger to his chin, making sure that a tiniest hint of a tear would be visible from one edge of his eye.
He made sure that when Haruka finished reassuring him, Yako, who was only a room away from him (most likely munching on a huge bowl of buttered popcorn on the sofa, no doubt), would overhear what he would say next.
He purposely whined and sniffled, "But Yako once told me that she'll hit me with a French bread if I don't ask her permission to do whatever it is that I want!"
In a matter of seconds, a loud gasp, followed by a loud crash of what he assumed was the bowl of popcorn, were heard from the living room. And sure enough, heavy footsteps and mumbled grunts soon echoed and almost tickled Neuro's ears.
He grinned.
"I so did not say that! Mother! Don't listen to him!" Yako shrieked as she pointed an index finger at his blankly grinning face.
Though the damage has already been done, as they say.
Haruka let go of the drill she was using for the batter (Yako and Neuro were already used to her strange tools for cooking and baking). She wiped a tear from her eye and sniffled.
Neuro's grin only widened.
"Oh, Yako! I didn't raise you to be cruel! Especially to your future husband! And he's such a nice man, too!" and she started to bawl.
Whatever reason that Yako wanted to say (yell out) flew from the window as her mother turned her back on her with a sob.
Instead of arguing—And he won't be my husband!—she could only twitch her eye and point a shaky finger at Neuro's widely-grinning face.
You... You demon...!
He only stifled a chuckle.
"Zera, what do you think? Should I go?"
The (wo)man, Neuro's caretaker, smiled.
"As much as I want to permanently drag you back home so you wouldn't have to stay over at that girl's place so much, I think you should do what you want. I've never seen you so bright-faced ever since your parents told you you can live in Japan."
"Don't drag those two in this."
And (s)he fell silent, clamping wide lips shut. Those bulging eyes carefully observed his (not-so-little) master's recent behavior.
Oftentimes, he would lock himself in his room, humming all the while. And every time Zera would take a peek inside, (s)he'd see tiny white puzzles pieces and puzzle boards littered all around him. He would smile throughout the whole process of putting which piece goes to which board.
He once remembered Neuro saying (with a wide, amused smile as he threw an encyclopedia on her—his—forehead) that the white puzzles were gifts from the "stout dust bunny down the block."
It didn't take Zera long enough to think that it was from that little girl he once saved.
(S)he turned around and hid a smile from the teenager.
The caretaker once heard that boys would do anything to capture the attention of their object of affection, oftentimes teasing and making fun of girls to get them riled up.
To Zera, it looked like the teen had been in that stage for quite some time.
"The cold-hearted and high and mighty Nougami Neuro is finally in love, I see," the caretaker said with a grin.
In a quick response, Neuro—who was in the middle of solving a Rubik's cube while lounging on the couch—swiftly grabbed the nearest book on the floor and threw it to Zera's smiling face.
Zera decided not to speak after that―it was another bruise on 'her' already swollen lips. And a hardbound dictionary being thrown on my face really hurts!
"I'm not in love," he hissed.
Zera stared at him, listening to his words while soothing the pain away from 'her' bleeding lips (and gums).
"I'm not in love."
Neuro was sure, that after he stood up and walked away, his caretaker muttered something about denials.
He only shook his head.
"...What on earth are you wearing, Snout Face?"
The aforementioned "Snout Face" turned around sharply, her reflexes as quick as a cat as she threw a towel on the intruder's face.
The intruder's reflexes were quicker, though, as he, in return, threw his slipper to her face.
And Yako fumed.
"Neuro! Can't you knock first? This is not even your house!"
He only smiled blankly, his teeth white and gleaming as he stared at the flustered girl, "Heh. No. And for your knowledge, you belong to me. Thus, this house—in a way—belongs to me."
She huffed, and turned away from him, her arms crossed over her chest.
"Snail. You didn't answer my question."
With her nose still stuck in the air, her almost bare back (from Neuro's point of view) still facing him, she answered. "It's a swimsuit, obviously."
His eyebrows rose, his eyes widened and he blinked as he cocked his head.
"...You're going out to the beach wearing underwear? Look, I know you're dumb and you have a brain that's more primitive than that of a fly and all, but have you completely lost your mind?"
At this, Yako turned around, her mouth agape and her cheeks flushed at his words as she stomped her tiny feet.
"A swimsuit is not an underwear, Neuro!"
"Hah! If that thing is not an underwear, then pray tell what kind of indecency is that? Showing your body in extreme levels to the public—and I thought you were smart enough not to do that. I guess I overestimated your pea-sized brain."
Yako huffed her russet cheeks and glared at his (slightly) offended countenance.
And they argued.
Needless to say, Neuro won.
"Yako? What happened to your swimsuit?" asked Kanae as she stuffed her things in the back of the vehicle.
The sky was dark and the air was warm. Today was the day that the Katsuragi family, plus Neuro, Zera and Kanae, would go to the beach. All of them had been shuffling around arranging their respective things since early dawn—save for Neuro, who simply sat in the van while reading a book (he let Zera do all the work), and Yako, who only pouted and ignored Kanae despite being questioned about her newly-bought two-piece swimsuit.
A few days ago, she had received some rather—interesting—text messages from her schoolmates. Something about the "Infamous Forehead-Biter" and the "Infamous Plate-Biter" finally being an item. She already had her suspicions since she saw the two walking down the school corridors together with an air of calm—and since then, the eyes of the students had been focused on them. The two of them together always seemed to have an impact to the people around them, and they were rarely seen separated from each other. Kanae always wondered why. There was something that had always been a constant between her best friend and her best friend's best—
—well, on what term does Katsuragi Yako consider her relationship with Nougami Neuro?
Her unchartered thoughts were interrupted at she heard a grunt from the pouting girl inside the van. Yako only huffed and looked away from the calmly smiling man beside her, opting to hum and turn a page of his book instead of answering for the girl.
Kanae, sensing that something was wrong with her friend, looked at the humming male in hopes of getting a hint of an answer to her question.
She looked at him. He simply ignored her and never met her eye, despite him feeling those inquisitive eyes on him.
And the brown-haired girl sighed and gave up, stuffing the last of her things in the bit of space in the van.
Yako remained pouting and crossed her arms, her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at the window, completely ignoring Neuro who was almost leaning on her side.
Instead of wearing her frilly pink swimsuit beneath her yellow baggy sweats and knee-length khaki shorts, she wore a denim vest with a pair of denim shorts (that reached mid-thigh) beneath them, her favored bikini being left behind in the deepest corners of her closet.
She blamed Neuro for it.
There was a sound of a shuffle of paper, and Yako glanced at those slender fingers that were touching the tip of a page as he turned a leaf, "You'll thank me for it later, worm."
And Yako groaned.
"The sea is really beautiful! Neuro! Neuro! Come take a look!"
Yako only heard a small grunt and felt a familiar elbow grinding on top of her head. She tried to ignore the pain.
Neuro smiled all the while as his dark emerald eyes calmly regarded the sea, his elbow digging deeper into Yako's scalp. He grinned at the soft sensation of the grainy and scratchy sand beneath his pale feet. It was warm, and he always liked his surroundings warm.
"I thought you said you were going to ignore me on the whole trip?" he asked as he looked down on the wincing face of the girl. He smiled.
"W-well," she began, willing the pain away from her scalp. "I can't really ignore you for the rest of my life, now, can I?"
He chuckled, and he leaned his chin on top of his arm that rested on Yako's head, that little smile widening at the slightest as he heard the familiar voices of Yako's parents calling them.
"For once in your unsightly and boring life, you made an excellent decision, snail."
Yako smiled in return, her eyes looking at the sparkling sea as her hands tried to remove the arm and chin resting on her head.
Indeed, somewhere along the trip, Yako darkly mumbled to a grinning Neuro that she'll never talk to him for the rest of their stay in the beach.
It seemed that it didn't work.
"I still want to wear that bikini, though."
And Neuro's reply was a chuckle and a quick shove of his three fingers to her mouth.
Yako, after eating her fill of her stomach―which consisted of ten plates of lobsters, 25 bowls of rice, 30 plates of fatty tuna, 25 servings of crab paste, 16 plates of oysters, 11 servings of shaved ice and 26 watermelons (and as she ate, Katsuragi Seiichi's wallet cried)―laid her self on the warmth of the sun beneath the wide blanket of white sand, and she squealed like a child when Neuro threw a bucket of starfish (that he had found while looking at the different species of sea creatures on the seashore) on her face.
She whined as Neuro laughed.
"Fix the parasol, snail."
"You do it."
"Oh ho? You dare defy me?"
Silence. And then―
"...Yes."
Neuro cackled as he let his body fall on Yako's form.
And her reaction was what he expected.
"N-Neuro! G-get your stupid private parts off of my face!"
He ignored her—he also ignored the passersby looking at them weirdly; he harrumphed. Instead, he marvelled at the view that his eyes were currently feasting on.
"Hm. I rather like the view here, even though it's being obstructed by your shapeless potato sack of a garment. I wonder what would happen if I remove this string―"
"It's your fault that I can't wear my swimsuit and have to suffer wearing these khaki shorts! And don't pull on that string!"
He removed his self from her, and Yako almost breathed a sigh of relief until she felt Neuro's breath on her face.
She fell silent upon seeing those deep emerald eyes.
"You'll thank me for it, you worm. I don't want you parading your sad excuse for a body in this beach. It'll only serve as an eyesore to the tourists."
Yako only looked away, the tiniest hint of a pout present on her slightly reddened face.
"Don't think of me as a nuisance, piglet. Be grateful that I'm protecting you and your thin and frail bones."
Yako only crossed her arms as she looked at him again, her awareness on high alert at the close proximity of Neuro's shirt-clad chest just inches from her che―
―What was I thinking again?
As she pondered over her tumultous (and dangerous) thoughts, Neuro simply looked at her. Neuro, having studied Yako's facial expressions and her behavior for far too long over the years he had known her, noticed something strange in the way his little pillbug looked at him.
A glassy look on those caramel eyes. Her mouth trying to babble like a fish. Her cheeks dusted with a rosy tinge. Her hands suddenly feeling a bit cold through the warmth of his shirt. Her breathing becoming a tad too shallow for his liking.
And it dawned on him.
As much as he tried and failed (sadly) to understand the complexities of the female mind, even a feeble-minded person could know what his little guppy was thinking through that cobwebbed mind of hers.
He grinned.
With a wide smile and his face just millimeters from her flushed face, he breathed in, taking in the scent of her hair. It smelled like strawberries to him.
It must be from the shampoo, he mused.
"Are you falling for me?" he finally asked with that wide grin of his, his two fanged upper teeth gleaming as he marvelled at her reaction.
And Yako, in an instant, put a starfish on his grinning face as a reply.
"Wow! Father, you never told us we'll be staying here for a week!" exclaimed Yako as she happily trudged down the carpeted floors of the hotel they were staying in. She twirled and giggled upon seeing the shiny chandeliers hanging on the gold-trimmed ceilings. It reminded her of the vast sky laced with beautiful stars. A five-star hotel! A five-star hotel!
Seiichi laughed. He watched as his daughter hopped down the golden-hued and glazed halls and plush carpeted floors with a childish squeal, a huge smile was painted on her lips as she happily dragged Neuro along, the latter complying with a wide smile of his own.
"Ah! Neuro! Look! Food!"
"It's always food with you, isn't it?"
She laughed.
Haruka and Seiichi looked at each other quizzically. Kanae looked at Zera—who looked at Neuro's smiling face.
Sure enough, no matter how many times the Nougami caretaker could see about the noisy exchange between the young man and the girl, he could see a certain quirk about Neuro that hadn't been there before he met the "little louse," as he once put it.
The fair-haired (wo)man blinked at the male's reaction.
He actually looked―
"I saw a cotton candy stand near the hotel and―Neuro! Come with me, please?"
―dare (s)he say―
"Heh. Bow before me, Yako."
―happy?
"Neuro!"
"Ah! Yako tripped again, Katsuragi-san! Heh. Clumsy Yako. Come here!"
(S)he remembered once on how Neuro had described her on the day that he met her.
"A pitiful and insignificant sorry excuse for a human being that's in a form of a skinny piglet with the shape of a trash can―oh. And she's a glutton," were his exact words back then.
And he was smiling during the whole time he had described her, those jade eyes were bright and wide while he looked at afar (towards the sky blue-colored walls was his farthest distance, and yet he longed for more... more of what?Zera asked himself)―that searing gaze filled with a certain amount of fondness along with a tinge of pride. Those insults that he said that day held an emotion that the caretaker could not quite place.
Zera held a palm to his lips; he covered a smile as he watched his not-so-little master cheerfully dragging Yako along by the arm.
You're falling for her, Nougami Neuro.
"...So that's three rooms for the―uh―six of us? Isn't that a bit too little for such a price that we paid?"
It was Seiichi who talked to the receptionist, his face sported a little frown and his brows met together, creating a little crease on his forehead. Haruka also frowned, not liking the arrangement of the rooms. If the arrangements were to be made that way, then―
"Isn't there another way?" asked Zera, who was quite perturbed at the sudden turn of events. Clicking his tongue, (s)he lazily twirled a stray lock of hair from his eyes, and he looked at the yawning male beside him.
"Are you feeling bored?" (s)he asked, silently taking note of the way Neuro rested his arms and chin on top of the Katsuragi girl's head―the girl didn't seem to mind though, as her thoughts were too busy on finishing her chocolate-flavored popsicle. He had bribed her earlier, as what Zera observed. ("Carry my luggage, worm. I'll give you a treat later on.")
"I'm feeling tired," he muttered as he leaned his chin further on Yako's head. It seemed that she was already used to his treatment. What a brave girl. Or maybe she's just thatoblivious just as what Neuro once said?
Haruka shifted her gaze, and she looked at her daughter―who was smiling while licking the last remains of the moist lolly stick. On each shoulder, Yako held her bags, along with Neuro's luggage. Curiously, she asked her daughter (all the while trying to ignore Neuro's chin resting peacefully on her daughter's head—he looked calm as he closed his eyes).
"Yako, dear. Why are you bringing all of his things?"
Neuro's eyes widened, and, as Haruka looked at his blinking little louse, he removed his arms and chin from her scalp and smiled.
"Yako wanted to carry my luggage because I felt tired. I tried to coax her that she shouldn't do such a thing, but she was adamant 'til the end! And so I let her carry my things—since she looked like she really wanted to (even though I never wanted her to)," he said. And he laughed "shyly" as he scratched his blond and black locks, ruffling it in the process. His eyes remained wide and clear as he smiled—and Haruka couldn't help but to smile at both of them.
"Honey, that's so sweet of you, really. But don't push yourself! If you need help, just ask Neuro!" and she patted her daugther's head. She turned to the green-eyed male and smiled, a soft sigh emitting from her lipstick-painted lips as she spoke.
"I know she can be quite hard-headed sometimes but I assure you she means no harm..."
Yako's eye twitched at her mother's words, biting back whatever comment she was about to sputter as Neuro eyed her with a grin.
There was a pause, and then—
"...Just make sure she eats well—you know how she is."
Neuro laughed, "Yes, yes, I'll remember that."
"Mother! I can hear that quite clearly even if you tried to whisper it!" she pouted and groaned just as she felt those familiar green eyes looking at her face. Haruka waved it off with a laugh, and opted to return to her husband's side with a barely hidden smile.
Yako's ears reddened as she pointed a finger at his nose. The action only made Neuro chuckle. "This is your fault and... and don't laugh at me!"
Neuro only patted her head with a little smile, the touch familiar on Yako's senses.
It's nighttime.
"Oh, silly Yako. I'm not laughing at you!"
He's always calm during the night.
Yako only turned away from that endearing expression on Neuro's face.
A beautiful starlit sky. The warm breeze of the night. The crystal lights illuminating the streets. The calm silence settling in the air as the grains of time slowly ticked away.
Yako curled her toes beneath her socked feet and smiled.
The room arrangements had been arranged by her father. One room for her parents, one room for the househelps and one room for the three of them. "I swear I'm a woman!" Zera had yelled at Yako earlier during the arrangements because the girl had pointed out that Zera was a man and therefore should notbe with Sonobe, and Neuro had responded by making Zera swallow his newly-bought shoes—courtesy of Yako's money. Yako had hid herself behind Neuro as soon as she saw Zera glaring at her, which only made Neuro even "happier", and had decided to shove his foot down his throat, with shoes and all—and he did it all while making sure that none of the Katsuragi household aside from Yako, and her friend was looking at them. How nice. Each room had two beds, a couch, a flat-screen TV, an air-conditioner and a computer. It was more than what Yako had wished for―now, only if their room had a fridge...
Yako stretched her arms over her head, and she distinctly heard her shoulders popping a few bones. Not that she minded much.
Kanae had already put their things inside the room, and was now cleaning her face puffed with barely-there make-up.
Yako turned around, looking at the interiors of the room they were staying in as she breathed in the breeze. Her eyes then fell on a large bump on the couch covered with a thin blanket. She blinked. Her caramel eyes then settled themselves on the stack of things (hardbound and paperback books, mostly) near the spacious leather couch. Her eyebrows furrowed.
"Neuro? Why are you setting your things there?"
The large lump on the couch hummed, and the edges of the blanket were lifted to reveal a jade-hued eye. He smiled.
"Silly Yako. I'm sleeping here, obviously."
Kanae, who heard his explanation, then piped up, a wad of cotton nestled on her lap as she spoke, "But that will be too cramped up!"
Green eyes looked at the brown-haired girl, and he almost scoffed―only if it weren't for him trying to keep up appearances.
With a cheery smile, he chuckled, "I can't sleep over there in those beds with you one of you two in it, can I? It would look inappropriate." And Kanae looked to her left with a knowing smile as she clamped her lips shut upon hearing those words. (Right. He's a man. Remember that.)
And Neuro swore he heard Yako mumble something about him "being as indecent as always."
He smirked.
"...Unless of course, Yako would invite me to her rather large and spacious bed with open arms and legs―"
Yako gasped.
"That sounds so wrong coming from you!"
Kanae only laughed.
It was around 2 o'clock in the morning when Kanae blinked away the lights from her sleep-induced eyes.
...Lights...?
She blinked. And stared at the glazed brown walls.
There was a figure looming in the shadows right behind her. It was looming, hunched over the bed and―
―and yet she felt no weight beside the softness of the mattress.
With brown eyes darting around her left, her head turning the slightest and trying not to gulp―she acted as though she were asleep. As she turned to her left side, she clutched a pillow close to her chest, and slowly, she squinted her eye open.
There, on the far side next to her bed, was Yako's bed.
And there, sitting beside her best friend's sleeping form, was the looming and crouching figure in the shadows.
It was Neuro.
And Kanae almost sighed. She relaxed instantly. Her tense shoulders slumped and her hold on her pillow loosened as she closed her eye once again.
Her mind could finally be at ease.
Though her curiosity was peaked the moment she laid her eyes on Neuro sitting beside Yako―and it was on an ungodly hour, too!
Why was he notsleeping again?
She strained to open a single eye once again, and she saw that he was smiling at Yako's open-mouthed face. It amused him, she thought.
She tried not to gulp at the sight of the tall man leaning (a little too) close to Yako's sleeping face―his smile as wide as the half-moon looking from the sky as he almost, almost pinched her nose.
Kanae ignored Neuro's actions for almost pinching her best friend's nose. He must be greatly amused at the look on Yako's face. Instead, she focused on the expression on Neuro's face as he stared at the sleeping girl.
Had he always looked at Yako with that smile? And those eyes!
Illuminated by the soft and warm glow of the bedside lamp, Kanae could see those deep and dark green eyes, those eyes that were forever looking at Yako's countenance with a calm smile like a man contented with his life.
He had always looked at her like that, hadn't he?
Just as when she thought she'd die from not breathing precious air because of the unfolding scene before her―Your face is too close to Yako, Nougami-san!―Kanae suddenly heard Neuro whisper, bypassing Yako's lips (Thank goodness you didn't molest her!), as he mumbled softly to her right ear.
"Evolve into my woman someday, Yako."
And Kanae saw Neuro placing something on Yako's pillow.
With a smile, he leaned away from her, and with a soft pat on Yako's head (he knew very well she was a deep sleeper, unless she smelled food in the air), he stood up, turned off the light with his candle-like fingers, and walked away from the bed, probably to return to sleep on the couch, Kanae mused.
In that moment, Kagohara Kanae concluded that Nougami Neuro was in love with her best friend.
She smiled as she closed her eyes, her thoughts finally drifting to dreamland as she wished them well.
Yako's all grown up!
"―and then I found this lying on my pillow!"
Haruka giggled while Seiichi only scratched his head. He didn't know what to say to that.
Apparently, Yako had woken up late in the morning feeling a bit sore on the right side of her cheek. Thinking that Neuro might be behind it (He must have pinched me again!), her eyes darted towards the couch where Neuro was supposed to sleep in―only to find it empty, save for the neatly-folded white blanket on the black leather cover. She had asked Kanae about his whereabouts, but she only shrugged as she put on her eyeliner, a vague indication that she did not know where he went. Her attention had then shifted to the two hairclips lying on where her pained cheek had been. Had she rolled over it during her sleep?
"Oh! Maybe he gave it to you as a present! You know how sweet he is, dear," piped Haruka. And Yako felt her eye twitch.
Mother. You don't know how un-sweet he is.
Just as she was about to contemplate further on the "smiling" red and white hairclips (as she so aptly dubbed the moment she saw them) on her tiny hands, she felt a familiar touch leaning against her shoulder.
"Did you like it?"
Yako gasped.
"Neuro! I've been looking for you, dummy!"
He only smiled and tilted his head, his eyes wide and bright as he looked at her. He ignored her apparent "insult." It didn't bother him the slightest. In fact―
"Oh? You were searching high and low for me? Why, how marvelous!"
―he was, in fact, quite happy.
He pinched her cheek playfully, and he smiled at the redness of her face.
Yako grimaced as her daily torture started once again. She could swear that her skin had became somewhat numb to his touches—
—that didn't sound right.
"Shtop—pinchshing—meee!" whined the girl as she tried (in vain) to remove those constant painful fingers on her beloved face. Neuro only chuckled, his eyes smiling as he pulled her closer to his torso, never once letting go of her cheek.
"Oh, Yako! You could be a little more appreciative about his efforts! And Neuro, dear—"
"Yes, Katsuragi-san?" asked the blond male, his smile wide and innocent for them to see (all the while trying to stifle the bubble of laughter upon looking at Yako's reddened face—and she was starting to drool!)
"—Oh! Please don't be so formal with me anymore. You're practically a part of the family!" chimed Haruka, and Neuro's smile widened even more at her words.
"Call me 'Mother'!"
A bit of dribble made its way from Katsuragi Yako's mouth as she looked at her smiling mother, the feeling of numbness on her poor cheek ignored altogether.
"Mother, y'did not jusht shaid tha'!"
Neuro grinned and he pinched her cheek even more.
"Oh, why, all right, um—Mother."
"Nmooo!"
"Neuro, are you not feeling well?"
"Why do you ask, leech?"
"Well, um. It's raining―and—you have my blankets... again."
"Feh. Silence your mouth and eat that pizza before I throw it on the wall."
"You are sonot going to throw my triple cheese Hawaiian Supreme pizza!"
He chuckled as Yako pouted. He didn't need to look at her to know that she was pouting―that whining voice of hers was proof enough for him.
Sounds of chewing could be heard in the silence of the room.
It was their second day in the (Gaudy, too huge, too flashy, unnecessarily luxurious and library-less!) hotel. And it was raining outside.
"...And it's summer, too. Why couldn't it wait to rain after we return home?"
A shuffle of paper was heard. The tall male was leaning on the couch, his feet hanging awkwardly from the armrest (as he had long legs) and his hand lazily turning a page of his newly-bought sudoku puzzle book―courtesy of his "constantly hungry piglet"―all the while being covered in the thick bedspread that was previously on Yako's bed.
She assumed he was cold.
He only hummed.
"Ask the heavens for that. Or better yet, go home so you won't be able to complain."
Yako only pouted at his answer, her mouth filled with the tastes of cheese and pepperoni and tomato sauce as she spoke.
"But then I'll be alone."
"Not my problem."
She swallowed her last piece of pizza and licked her fingers clean of the small smears of sauce. Yako hummed and bit her lips. There was no point in arguing with him. He'd always win.
"Um. Thanks for this, by the way," she gestured to her hair, the chestnut locks being adorned by the red and white hairclips―they really resembled his smile, in a way. After much struggling earlier in the morning right after they ate their hefty breakfast, Neuro had managed to put the hairclips on Yako's hair while she was looking at some shaved ice near her empty plates―much to her chagrin.
...And he almost glued them on my hair, for crying out loud! And no one even noticed him! How does he do it successfully every time?
Yako secretly wondered why Neuro kept her words up to this day―
"I like your stupid smile!"
―and she idly wondered what entered her mind to say such a thing in the first place (And it was such a long time ago, too!).
"It's an obligation. You and your meager amount of money bought me many things," and he flipped another page with a huff, his pen held in between spidery fingers.
Yako tried to argue that it was him that forced her to buy things for his amusement―but any form of argument died on her lips as she looked at that barely-there smile and those warm green eyes.
She held back a giggle.
Yako looked at the dark gray sky, the drops of rain were pattering on the windows and on the veranda. Her gaze then fell on the cold and empty bed next to her.
"Kanae-chan's taking a long time. She must have been stranded in the rain."
"Hn."
She stared forlornly at the now empty pizza box, the tiniest traces of bread crumbs and bits of sauce now gathering at the edges of the brown box. Neuro didn't want to eat a slice, stating that "whatever you eat, your germs will get to me and should that happen, I'll never let you hear the end of it"―whatever that means.
She stood up and threw the box away in the (absolutely large) trash bin near the front door. Yako returned to her bed, sighing as she plopped on the mattress.
"...It's still cold."
"It's quite warm in here, actually," Neuro said with a lazy smile as he finished another difficult-level sudoku puzzle book―he was now reaching for another one. Surely, he'd get bored with doing that, right?
"That's because you took my coverlets again, dummy."
Silence. A soft hum. Yako blinked. No nasty reply? At all?
There was a sigh from the blond man as he started to fill in the missing numbers in the puzzle.
"Buy me another one of these tomorrow. No, wait. Make it a dozen."
...Nope. Neuro won't get bored of it.
There goes my money again.
And she curled up to her bed, hugging herself in a fetal position in an attempt to keep herself warm.
"And it's not my fault you're wearing those tiny, 'unfit to be called clothes' clothes."
"Neuro, you know very well it's summer. I have to wear comfortable clothes!" Yako piped as she suddenly sat up on her barely warm bed, brown eyes glaring at the calmly smiling man on the couch. Neuro ony raised an eyebrow at her outburst.
"Hn. I suppose I should be in my underwear, too, then? That sounds comfortable―to you, at least. Do you want me to strip for you now?"
"Don't want!"
"Heh."
"Cocky bastard," she muttered to herself as she buried her face in her pillow, her tiny feet thrashing in the process. It vaguely reminded Neuro of a starfish that he had thrown on her face yesterday.
He smirked.
Her ears met silence, save for the pattering of rain outside.
Why was it raining again? Moreover―
If Kanae-chan were here, he wouldn't be treat me like this―
Her thoughts were cut short as she felt a slight weight on the small of her back―
―and oh goddess of sweet cakes what is that warmth and―
She tried to move. She couldn't move. She tried to raise her head to see what was happening―
―only to end up seeing a hand covering her vision.
"Wha―"
She felt the onslaught of warmth, which was very much like the coverlets that belonged to the bed she occupied (and it was), and with a squeal, she thrashed in the hold of the familiar figure straddling her strained back.
Neuro only smiled.
"I thought you wanted warmth," he happily cooed as he jumped on Yako, "so I decided to give you what you want! Isn't that nice of me?"
Her response was only a cross between a whine and a groan―along with another butchered version of pronouncing his name from beneath the coverlets.
He didn't mind it at all.
"Oh! Did you just say, 'Thank you, O Great Neuro-sama?' Why, I'm flattered!"
At this point, he had already shoved four fingers in her mouth, muffling any sort of retort she was about to sputter.
And no, he did not mind that his fingers were being coated in his maggot's dribble. And no, he did not mind that his maggot-dribble-coated fingers were being bitten by his maggot.
On the contrary, it amused him very much.
A wild idea popped in his mind, and with a wide smile, he leaned over close to one of her now cherry-hued ears, and whispered.
"Trying to rebel against me, eh?"
He was only met with a hum coming from Yako's throat―he assumed as such (Or maybe it was another complaint?)―and a timbre of the smallest of laughs made its way to his smiling lips upon feeling the strange sensation.
He removed the hand that covered those caramel-hued eyes and stared at them with a glint of amusement.
As much as he hated to admit it, he (begrudgingly) concluded that he rather liked that fierce look in those usually warm brown eyes.
Hm.
That piercing glare that Yako mustered remained on him, and Neuro's response was only a wide smile of his own and a rumble of a laugh.
Yako bit his fingers again.
In response, he bit her pinkish ear, making sure his two sharp teeth bit her well.
And her reaction―try as he might to comprehend such a response with his superbly intelligent mind―was not what he had calculated in mind.
She―
―what was the term again?
Oh, yes.
She moaned.
Needless to say, Neuro suddenly became estatic upon discovering such a reaction from his ragdoll.
"Oh ho? What's this? Did my ears deceive me? Did you actually just―moan?"
Because his fingers were still in her mouth, she could only garble an incoherent reply and shake her head vigorously.
A wolfish grin took over his wide smile, those dark emerald eyes became large and feral and impish.
So that's her weak point!
He was about to prod her further―prod those buttons that only Neuro alone could push―his mouth almost came in contact with her other ear until―
―muffled voices from the other side of the door were faintly heard.
He cursed. Yako squirmed and tried to wriggle herself free from his grasp. She could bite his fingers until they bleed, but―
―she shouldn't do such a foolish act, should she? That would practically cost her her life!
The sound of knocking was heard, and Yako pleaded at the blond man with her large brown eyes. Neuro stared at them, then at the door. He could lock it, but doing so would make things look suspicious.
Just as Yako contemplated about kicking him in the back (though she couldn't actually do it, her limbs being bound and all), they heard the distinct sound of the doorknob turning―and Yako panicked.
What if it's Mother and Father? What if it's Kanae-chan? What if it's the bellboy that I ordered food from earlier? (And what's taking him so long, anyway? Where's my food!) Oh sh―what if it's the police?
The knob turned. Yako froze and she felt Neuro stiffen. He leaned back, away from her. At least she knew he wouldn't molest her or anything, she knew that much, but―
Darn it, Neuro! You're still sitting on me!
"―and then I have a close friend of mine who's really nice and sweet and―Yako? What are you doing?"
She had her eyes closed, barely realizing that the door had already opened (And it's Kanae-chan, too!).
"I―uh―"
"Oh, Yako's friend! Welcome back!"
...Wait.
"Oh, hello, Nougami-san! (Still not remembering my name, I see...) Sorry. I had to go to the nearest mall earlier, you see―"
"Oh, why, that's all right! It's not like we've cooped ourselves here all day because of the rain! I spent my hours with Yako the whole day, so it's fine!"
...What.
The movement in her body was back, and she realized that he was not sitting on her back anymore. With a startled gasp, she bolted right out of the cocoon of blankets that Neuro had wrapped herself into.
"Neuro, how could you―eh?"
Her eyes roamed where that sing-song voice could have been, and there, lying comfortably on the couch with a book on one hand, was the man who had set her back aflame (for painful reasons), looking as though nothing had (almost) transpired between them just a few seconds ago.
And she lied to herself believing that nothing really happened (But nothing did happen! Honest!).
Kanae, noticing that something was out of place, looked at Yako and hummed, "Yako? Do you have a fever? You're quite red."
She quickly huddled her body deeper into the (Nice and cozy!) blankets and waved a hand. Was she really looking red in the face?
"N-no, of course I don't have a fever, silly! It's just the weather! It's too humid!"
Her eyebrow rose, "As far as I can tell, it's still raining, Yako. Rain has never been warm."
And the awkwardly laughing female on the bed heard the sound of a cough she knew all too well.
Neuro was smiling―grinning!―at her through his reading material! She could tell! That hardbound novel could never conceal those bubbly-looking cheeks and those glinting eyes!
That demon!
"W-well, I must be having a fever, then. Sudden weather mood swings and all. Haha."
Kanae only hummed and eyed her friend like a hawk. Something was not right. Something definitely happened after she left. A woman's intuition had always been her weapon on knowing things―and she was always right on her intuitions. Something had―
"Yako's friend! Who is that person behind you?"
Snapping out of her reverie and her muddied thoughts, Kanae blinked at the smiling and clear-eyed Neuro. And her lips formed a little circle, all the while trying to control herself not to yell at the man to make him remember her name (for the umpteenth time).
"Oh, right! I almost forgot! Yako, Nougami-san, I'd like you to meet Higuchi-kun. I met him yesterday on the beach! Hi-kun, these are my friends, Yako (she's the best friend I ever had since we were kids), and Nougami-san, (he had always been by Yako's side, no matter what). These two are really nice, so I know you three can get along really well!"
Yako's eye twitched. Neuro only tilted his head and smiled.
She could already interpret what that tiny bit of response from Neuro meant.
A territorial being, he is.
...And the name sounded familiar to the 16-year-old's bitty ears. Where have I heard that...?
"Well, nice to meet you, Higuchi-san! I'm Neuro, by the way. And I don't share my things!" he chirped as he threw his book to the floor and stood. Everyone fell silent as he droned on. Yako, having understood what he really meant, only groaned as she slapped her palm on her face.
"So if you don't mind, I'll be taking my possessions with me for the moment! Excuse us," and with that, he dragged Yako away from the comfortable confines of her bed (not before getting his jacket from the couch and throwing it on her face), his ears intent on hearing nothing about her whines of protest. He ignored the curious look on Kanae's eyes and the gaping mouth of "whoever-the-hell-you-are-you-foul-creature-on-this-planet." Good.
Let them know he was not joking around when he said he "doesn't want to share."
The door slammed shut.
Neither Kanae nor Yuuya spoke for ten seconds.
"Um... Uh..."
"That was..."
"Awkward?"
Silence.
Then the sound of the door opening was heard.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" cheered Neuro as soon as he bursted into the room once again. "Yako!" he called from the door, and a tiny hum resounded from the halls. "Where do you keep your clothes?"
Kanae gaped at the bluntness of his question. Shouldn't he have a bit of decency to―
"At the bottom of the bed! Inside the red bag!" Kanae heard her yell.
And she didn't even hesitate to answer him!
"Got it."
Neuro strode into the room and took out a pair of pants from Yako's bag, then slammed the door once again as soon as he glanced at Yuuya.
Silence reigned in the room once again.
"Why did you make me wear this again?"
"So no one would see your stick-thin body, stupid. Imagine the looks on the people's faces if they see me walking with a living skeleton!"
Yako pouted and harrumphed (those jeans were too baggy for her), and yet―
"Why are you still holding my hand?"
She remained silent at the question. And when she received a pinch to the cheek, she finally mustered a response.
"You told me to not let you go, dummy."
He hummed, that lazy smile etched on his face as they walked down the damp ground. He was satisfied with that answer.
The rain had let up a few minutes ago, and Neuro had returned to his normal, abnormal self.
They walked towards their current destination―a souvenir shop―their hands loosely intertwined as they browsed the stalls.
And for some reason, Yako felt content.
"―and then there was this warm cup of coffee that I―oh! Neuro, look!" and Yako ran towards her current train of fascination. Neuro thinned his lips. What was it with women and their love for breakable things such as trinkets?
"I like these bracelets. They look, um―what do you call it?"
"Ugly?"
"No, silly!" she laughed as she mulled over the word that she wanted to say with an index finger poised on her chin, her thoughts getting none. She ignored Neuro's blankly smiling face―He's thinking about creating new insults again. Or maybe about the new ways on how to torture me. Or maybe both. She shivered.
Unable to hold his tongue any longer, Neuro quipped.
"Stop thinking and just buy that thing if you really want it so much. Don't bother with the issues of pondering. That's my job, not yours."
She pouted, and mustered a half-hearted glare towards the blankly grinning man.
"I don't know whether I should feel comforted or insulted."
"Heh. Try both."
And so Yako thought over the grooves and edges of the design―it should look cute and cool at the same time!―all the while looking at Neuro from the corner of her eye.
His hair had always looked that way―those shoulder-length black and blond locks framing his almost pale face. His eyes always held the most startling shade of ebony and emerald meld together, and Yako often wondered if Neuro had mixed blood with someone from a distant European country.
"Something on my face, Piglet?"
"No. Nothing's on your face."
And her gaze returned to the bracelets.
Tiny and sharp triangular yellow beads formed the trinket. Each bead's sharp edges were prickling her skin as she tried it on. It vaguely reminded Yako of Neuro's two fanged teeth.
This would match with his hair, I think.
"Louse, you're taking too long to make a decision on buying that piece of trinket. Is it too much for your cobwebbed brain to manage?"
She swallowed a groan. Expect him to make everything difficult for her poor life.
"I'm thinking if I should buy you one, too," she finally said as she glanced at his inquisitive stare. Neuro only furrowed his eyebrows as he regarded her as though she was a lunatic.
"And?"
This time, it was Yako's turn to raise an eyebrow, "'And' what?"
"Surely you're planning something inside that never-used brain of yours? I assure you that whatever it is you're planning, I can return it to you tenfold," he said with a grin. And for further emphasis, he leaned closer to her face, deep green eyes scrutinizing for a hidden motive behind those warm, brown orbs with a small frown. He found none.
Better yet, he couldn't find what he was looking for.
The mechanics and complexities of the body language had never been Neuro's field. That was Yako's expertise.
"I don't have a hidden motive, you know. I just want to buy you a present."
He leaned back and hummed as he tilted his head with his arms loosely crossed, his eyes large as his mind tried to reel in possible questions to her rather questionable answer.
"Wouldn't that make it counter-productive, though? I already bought you those little things you call accessories, and now you're attempting to buy me one, too. Should I buy you another one to compensate for your unnecessary purchases?" and he blinked.
Yako paused and looked at Neuro.
Surely, he must be joking at that, right?
She looked, stared, at the blinking man, and those warm green eyes truly held no malice.
...So even he has his moments of innocence.
"You don't have to buy me something again, it's all right with me, really. It's not counter-productive at all."
He only stared and blinked at her. A small pout graced his lips as he looked at the pair of bracelets in between Yako's fingers.
And he slapped his hand to her nose, that blank smile gracing his features as Yako tried to slap him back.
"What was that for!"
"You were thinking of me as a pitiful being, you dishrag."
She only puffed her cheeks.
So he knew what I was thinking! How does he do that?
It was around ten o'clock when they returned to the hotel.
Zera, seeing that his master and his "supposed love (Does the master even have that word in his vocabulary?) interest" were heading back to their room, ran up to the two to greet them.
"Master! Yako-sama! You're back, I see."
"Yes. We're back," he murmured as he eyed his servant curiously. Yako cheerfully greeted Zera.
Surely, something was strange...
"Were you waiting for us to return?" he asked, his brows furrowed as he looked at Zera's tight-lipped mouth.
A clipped, "No" and a furious flail of arms served as his answer.
Neuro, seeing that Yako was about to blab about whatever "insignificant thoughts she had on her mind," suddenly grabbed her by the head and dragged her back to their room, shutting the door loudly in his caretaker's face before he could say anything else.
So much for greeting them with a smile.
...And were those matching bracelets on their wrists?
Surely, there was Someone―whoever that Someone was―who was watching over the people, right? This Being they called God.
And surely, there was no such things as "coincidence", right?
Apparently, they were wrong―from a certain green-eyed man, that is.
"Hi!"
Neuro fell silent, trying to control his burning urge to throw the nearest trash can to the smiling person's face. Yako blinked as she stared at her left hand that was slowly being crushed to bits (no thanks because of the taller man's utterly painful hold on her poor bones). Neuro was thinking of murderous thoughts again, Yako mused.
"Higuchi-san?"
"Hi, Katsuragi!"
Neuro's eye almost twitched―did he just call her―
"Good day, Gankyou-kun!"
Yako groaned towards the sky.
Another insult? Really?
"Um―"
Neuro smirked, "Do you happen to have spare rooms for mixed baths?"
At this, Yako and Yuuya whipped their heads at the seemingly innocent-looking and smiling Neuro, their voices squeaking in unison as their eyes widened. Neuro only smiled a friendly smile.
"What?"
Long chapter is long. XD "Gankyou" can mean two things: one for "spectacles", and one for "stubborn". In this case, Neuro used both to insult Higuchi. XD