Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro. No profit has been earned off of this story. The story and the anime all belong to the talented mangaka Matsuei Yuusei.
Hi there my dear readers! As I've promised, here is the 4th installment of Dominance! It took me a while to write this since... it's bigger than my first three chapters put together( about, give or take). The next chapter should be up... sometime next week I believe, or maybe this weekend depending on how it goes. I've already started on the next chapter. Really, I've originally planned to have a bit of next chapter in this one but then thought that it would be too long and the flow of the story would be disturbed.
Also, I would like to ask the readers to go to my profile and answer the question that I put under Story update!. I'm quite curious as to see who would be interested in that genre of story if I do write it.
Special Thanks to: My lovely Beta Readers that caught all my grammatical mistakes, typos and left out words. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Now without further ado, please enjoy Dominance Chapter 4!
Yako was going to kill Neuro.
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No, cross out that idea. She was going to whoop his ass so badly that he won't be able to sit on it ever again. THEN she was going to kill him. That, or she was going to staple his stomach (effectively disabling him from eating anything bigger than a bite sized mystery), beat him to a mutated, bloody, demon pulp, then proceed to slaughter him in a most revolting manner that would make even the Devil blush with pride.
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The author feels that it should suffice to say that Nougami Neuro was a very, very, very dead man/demon and that his chances of becoming road kill were skyrocketing exponentially with every second that passes.
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But let's rewind the tape shall we? How ,exactly, did the current situation of the feeble human female called Yako swearing to slay off the hell spawn called Neuro come to be?
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Earlier that day
Today was not going to be a good day. Yako could tell as she glanced almost dispassionately at the large gaping hole that barely laid an inch from her nose. Without a doubt, Yako thought to herself, waking up to the hissing and spurting of acid burning through your pillows and its putrid odor did not even begin to define her ideal morning. She passively considered hiding under her non melted pillow, curling up into a ball and ignoring the odd scenario that had just transpired, but then she remembered that she had not written out her will just yet, nor had she invested in life insurance. Yako always felt that if she did die, someone should benefit from the tragic event- at the very least her mom or Kanae. Since the preparations haven't been made just yet she would just have to suck it up and face the cruel and ugly reality that she had entitled Nougami Neuro. Granted, not before she made a mental note to meet a lawyer and trustworthy insurance company to discuss the situations following her demise as soon as possible. That way, she could die whenever the mood conveniently hits her- which, by the way, was becoming disturbingly frequent.
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Mind made up, Yako shifted her body so that her view would align directly with Neuro's, who, she had a nagging suspicion, was currently dwelling on her ceiling.
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Sure enough, her sleepy eyes came to greet the sight of her cockroach like boss defying all laws of gravity as usual, while sporting his signature sickeningly sinister grin . Newton, Einstein and Hawking would have been devastated if they knew that the very foundations of their theories were being razed to the ground so absentmindedly on a daily basis.
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Yako suppressed a weary sigh that was quickly rising from her throat. She took a quick glance at her hamburger shaped alarm clock on her bedside table. 7:00 AM it read in large, angry, red digital fonts.
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Wonderful. Neuro had been kind enough to wake her up in time for school, Yako noted, mental thoughts dripping with sarcasm.
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Her attention refocusing on Neuro, Yako decided that she had put off the inevitable long enough. She might as well try to start the day off on a good note-with Neuro anyways. Yako was unsure if her morning could still be salvaged as the hole beside her hissed again.
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"Good morning, Neuro. Slept well?" Yako asked with a tone entirely too upbeat for the early hours of the morning. She winced slightly.
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Neuro responded by widening his Cheshire cat smile, all of his razor sharp teeth exposed. Then he dropped down from the ceiling, promptly kneeing Yako in the guts while doing so.
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Yako was thankful that her stomach was empty for once as the breath was knocked out of her.
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"I-I'll ... take...that wheezeas a gasp yes." She croaked. So much for starting things off on a good note. Good graces were evidently wasted on Neuro. Why did she even bother in the first place? Oh, that's right; she was a proper, civilized and SANE individual.
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In this part of the universe there is great injustice, as Yako had come to discover- often the good suffer, and the wicked prosper, and one hardly knows which of those is the more annoying. But if Yako could put in her two cents, she would say the part where to the good suffer was more annoying. After all, she never did anything to deserve this. If the wicked had to prosper they could very well do so without bothering her. Was that too much to ask for?
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"Rise and shine, maggot! I'm feeling absolutely ravished! If you don't get up soon, you might just lose your head!" Neuro cheerily exclaimed with an oh so innocent expression and glistening claws. "Not that you had one to begin with, of course."
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Yes, apparently that was too much to ask for.
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After being thrown into the washroom to wash up, then thrown into her closet to change (To be fair, it wasn't even a walk-in closet. However, Yako prefer cramped space over exhibiting what little feminine attributes she possessed to another male, much less Neuro, any day.), then thrown into the wall and onto the ceiling several times just for the heck of it, Yako finally managed to crawl to her beloved dining table. She was amazed that her body had become so durable. Truly, it was astounding that she had survived this long under Neuro's wing. Any other female would have long taken their life by now.
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Not even ten minutes after she had woken up and already her body was riddled with bruises and aches- a brand new record. By no means was she keeping any score seeing how the old ones keep getting broken at a breakneck speed. Nevertheless, she was still disgruntled over the sad state of her body.
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Moving onto happier and slightly more agreeable things, Yako decided to opt for something speedy and nutritious breakfast-10 bowls of cereal, a whole loaf of bread, a pitcher of orange juice, and a box of pop tarts. After all, it was never a wise move to make Neuro wait long. Moreover, he had given her a time constraint of just under five minutes to "ingurgitate filth" as he had so delicately put it. Quickly shoveling as much as she could, as fast as she could, into her mouth, Yako peered at Neuro who was currently studying her with a bemused expression.
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"I do believe that proper dining etiquette has never been imparted to you. Or did your meager mental capacities prove insufficient in grasping such a simple yet graceful art?"
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Yako only narrowed her eyes slightly at the blatant insult. She didn't dare glare at Neuro, not with her mouth full of food anyway. The many torturous scenarios that could result from such a provocation was something she was more than willing to avoid, especially this early on in the day. She concentrated on her food instead, good, safe, sane, familiar, nice food. Oh woe is Yako for eating breakfast with her demented boss. Really, nothing in the girl's life had ever gone right after he forced his way into her life.
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It didn't take long for the mountain of food to disappear. Fortunately, she managed to finish her breakfast within the time constraint that Neuro had given her. There was still thirty minutes left till she had to leave for school. She was running early after all. There was going to be a mid term exam today in two of her courses. Maybe she should go to school early to do some last minute review. Yako had stayed up quite late last night just going over the textbook and the in-class notes. However, she was still unsure if she was completely ready. Which brings her back to the matter at hand: why exactly had Neuro come today, so early too? Usually, he would just wait for her at the office. He knew that today was a school day. What could he possibly have planned? Surely, as insane and inconsiderate as he was, he wouldn't expect her to skip school for a mystery, right?
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Giving Neuro another glance, Yako was starting to have second thoughts. This was Neuro after all. His life revolved around his stomach. Yako was included in his life-as his property nonetheless. The asshole might just have extended that thought to having her life revolve around his stomach too. She wouldn't put it past him to do something so outrageously selfish. To reiterate, this was Neuro after all.
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Already, she could feel her face pulling into a tight knit frown. She sighed.
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"Mystery is it, Neuro?"
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"My, my, you have become surprisingly perceptive today slave. Pray, tell, is it because of the early hours or is it because of my lovely wake up call?" Neuro inquired with that stupid, stupid smirk of his.
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"Neuro, I'm not in the mood. I happen to have TWO very important tests today at school and I would REALLY prefer NOT to skip out on them. I might not get the chance to make up for it. If that happens, I might fail the two courses." She almost whined with exasperation. Yup, her day was officially ruined.
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That thought was cut short, however, when a clawed hand encircled her delicate neck and applied minimal pressure.
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"Oh? I could have sworn that I just heard an insignificant little arthropod stating that their life is much more important than mine. I must have heard wrong. What do you think Yako?"
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The last of Neuro's words came out in a hiss. Without Yako noticing, he had closed the space between them dangerously. His face was only a few inches away, so close that Yako could feel his hot breath ghosting over her cheek. She gulped as she stared directly into his swirling magnetic acid green eyes. Beads of cold sweat rolled down her back.
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"Yako?"
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The hand around her neck tightened slightly, almost as if teasing the pliable skin underneath its sharp edges.
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"Y-y-yes?..I mean... NO! No there were no bugs ... N-n-none at all! Erm I'll just callinandtellthemthatIhaveimportantdetectivework" Yako squeaked out hurriedly as she broke out of her stupor. Her hands shot up in between them, futilely trying to create a barrier between his searching eyes and her. She had never been comfortable in close proximity with Neuro. It always either meant her brain cells were in danger of becoming extinct, or her life was dangling on a thread. Basically, being close to Neuro was never good news for both her mental or physical well-being.
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She gasped with relief as the claws retracted and the pressure lessened slightly. Yes, she will definitely go look up life insurances and lawyers today after work. It might be the only way to deliver her from this insanity.
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"Hmm, just as I thought. Of course, I'm never wrong." Neuro purred with mirth. "Now Yako, we should really be on our way. If we take any longer, the mystery might be overripe by the time we arrive. Now, we certainly don't want that to happen, do we?"
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Yako only managed a weak nod. Neuro's hands were still encircled around her neck even with the claws gone.
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"Good pet."
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With that said, Yako was dragged quite roughly out of her house to wherever the mystery awaited them-by the neck.
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Scenery and buildings rolled past the double paned windows of the train as it sped along the tracks. Yako gazed indifferently outside. It was a cloudy day. The darkening skies warned of a rainstorm up ahead. There was a slight chill in the air too. Since it wasn't quite winter yet, the train's heating system hadn't been turned on. The girl shivered slightly as she half curled up into a ball in her seat. Good thing that she had decided to wear her heavy brown winter coat today despite the warm weather that had been relatively consistent. She could use a scarf but it wasn't all that bad. Yako rested her head tiredly on the window, feeling the occasional bumps in the train's motion as it chugged along.
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Neuro had told her that today they were pursuing the mad terrorist that had recently popped up all over the news. Apparently, he had taken up residence in one of the smaller villages in the countryside. The man was wanted by several nations worldwide for his acts of terrorism. Along with his rather unstable nature, the man had a bizarre fetish for destroying buildings or landmarks with explosive bombs that emitted poisonous gas. Many innocent lives had been claimed all for the enjoyment of one individual. In any case, it would be a dangerous chase for the both of them. Although Yako understood that human weapons had very little impact on Neuro, she wondered if poison gas could harm him at all. Usually, the very things that harm humans were beneficial to him. There was also the more pressing issue-her safety. Hopefully, she could come out of this confrontation unscathed. She was slightly disconcerted that they were acting without support from the police. However, Neuro had insisted on this course of action saying that the terrorist was very much aware about the police's movement. If the police force so much as move a kilometer in his general direction, he would flee. That was how the terrorist had evaded justice for so long. He was incredibly up to date with all the monitoring of the law-enforcers. It couldn't be helped if they wanted to catch the culprit. The two of them must move by themselves to attract less suspicion. Moreover, they weren't any government officials so the terrorist shouldn't be monitoring them at all. The man would be taken by surprise. At least, that was the plan.
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Currently, she and Neuro were in their very own cabin. It was quite comfortable, actually. The dark polished cedar finish gave the room a refined look. The benches themselves were covered with a deep, rich, maroon velvet. The window was wide, offering a scenic view of the passing landscape. Yako would have enjoyed the ride if it weren't for the reason why they were on it right now. Moreover, she could possibly be failing two of her more important courses at the moment.
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She had phoned into the school and briefed them very, very lightly about her situation. Her teacher had remained unconvinced that she truly had something important to do and thought that she was making up an absurd excuse to skip the tests. No matter what she said, her teacher had remained stubbornly inconsiderate about her situation. Neuro, who had decided that she was taking too long on the phone, had grabbed the phone away from her and told the teacher that if she wanted proof of 'sensei's' honorable deeds, she should just read tomorrow's newspapers and had then calmly hung up on Yako's teacher. After that, he had tossed Yako's cell phone back to her carelessly, disregarding her stupefied open mouth expression. Of course, Yako had been irritated at his rudeness and outright disrespect for her teacher, but then again he had saved her a lot of trouble in explaining exactly WHAT she was going to do. So Yako was left with no choice but to brush off the incident.
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Looking up at the ceiling of the cabin, Yako studied Neuro with a disengaged interest. Apparently, he had thought that the benches were too small for his lengthy body and had decided to settle on the ceiling instead. At the moment, he was going through a book of sudoku puzzles. Before getting on the train, Neuro had said he was too hungry and wanted a light snack so he had dragged her off to a bookstore and bought a big stack of sudoku puzzle books-expert level. It goes without saying; she was the one who was forced to carry the hulking amount of books. She had been none too happy about it, but obeyed anyways. Currently, he was on his fifth volume. Yako gazed apprehensively at the demon; worry was still eating at her.
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"What is it, slave?" Neuro asked, still keeping his attention on the book.
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Yako hesitated for a moment, but she gulped down her nervousness-might as well confront her fears now rather than later.
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"Do you think that we will be able to pull this off safely? I mean this man is very dangerous. Moreover, he has quite a spontaneous and erratic behavior. I'm a bit worried Neuro, especially since we're acting without any backup." Yako confessed with a concerned voice. Her brows furrowed together in a light frown.
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Putting his book down, Neuro shifted his position so that he was directly over top of Yako. He regarded her with a solemn look.
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Yako fidgeted uncomfortably for a moment under Neuro's penetrating gaze.
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However, her edginess was quickly replaced with exasperation as Neuro's expression switched to his blank open eyed stare- the one he made whenever he was mocking her. Very slowly, a silver drop of Neuro's acidic saliva drooped out of his mouth and inched ever so treacherously towards Yako. How the demon managed to keep the drop of drool intact was something that Yako would never know-not that she wanted to find out although she was very thankful for it. She shrunk back into her seat, as far as she could away from the offensive and potentially fatal liquid.
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"Do NOT threaten me with your various bodily fluids Neuro. That's just plain vile and downright low, not to mention extremely disturbing." Yako shuddered with disgust. "And answer my question seriously for once! I am very concerned about my safety! I know that you can take care of yourself just fine but don't forget that I will be there too."
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After a few more painful moments of wondering whether Neuro will melt her with his highly volatile spit, the demon had the audacity to slurp his drivel back into his mouth, causing another wave of shudders to run down Yako's back. Really, Neuro enjoyed torturing her way too much. He should look into other avenues of amusement for the sake of her sanity. Maybe she should introduce him to DoTA or maybe Warcraft. Wasn't that the new fad for teenagers nowadays? She heard from Higuchi that some people can spend entire days in front of the computer playing regardless of hunger or fatigue. Days where Neuro wouldn't come harassing her to go off in search for mysteries with him? Sounds like a dream. She must most definitely give addictive mmorpgs a try. If all works out, she could possibly bypass writing her will and putting her food money into life insurance. Yako was quickly shaken out of her reverie, however, by the deep baritone voice of her boss. Not to mention, he had abruptly swung down and was hanging with his face right in front of hers.
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"Really, impertinent wood louse, you should have more faith in your master's abilities. I'm a man who had conquered the hell's inferno. Whatever pathetic tools you humans dish out can't possibly hurt me. I'll make sure to keep you out of harm's way seeing how you're perfectly incapable of protecting your worthless life. Besides, the criminal will most likely be aiming for me so I don't see where this fanatic worrying of yours germinated from. Now get some rest or be quiet. I don't like to be disturbed when I'm snacking." Neuro ordered with a tone that allowed no argument. Then he readjusted himself to his previous position on the ceiling before Yako had disturbed him.
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Not convinced, Yako wanted an assurance from Neuro.
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"So you promise then?" she inquired.
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"Promise you what, maggot?" Neuro was now regarding her with a slight edge of annoyance. He had been interrupted once again in his sudoku solving.
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"That you'll protect me." she insisted.
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Instead of offering her a verbal response, Neuro opted for a physical demonstration of his answer. After all, actions spoke louder than words. In the very next second, Yako found herself encased in his claws, two of them dangerously close to piercing out her eyeballs.
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"ALRIGHT I GET IT ALREADY! LET ME GO! LET ME GO! I'LL BE QUIET! PLEASE!" She shrieked, nerves on edge.
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Satisfied, Neuro morphed his hands back into that of a humans and went back to his puzzles.
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That JERK! Yako was absolutely furious; adrenaline was still coursing through her veins as blood pounded in her ears. All she wanted was a simple yes but he couldn't even offer her that much. She fumed for a few more minutes. One of these days she WILL exact her revenge and he WILL suffer. However, since he didn't say no to her question, she would just take his less than appreciated response as a yes. Yako sulked. Why must karma hate her? She sighed.
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Neuro's claws shot out again.
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Biting down an indignant scream, Yako decided instead to sleep off her fury. If luck favored her at all today, she might just live to see the sun again. She flopped onto the warm soft bench and dozed off.
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Really, Yako thought to herself, the boy didn't look anything like a terrorist. From his angelic face down to his short and awkward stature, one would have never guessed that such an individual had committed countless heinous acts. He was wearing the same deer-in-headlight expression that every criminal wore when Neuro explained 'in her stead' the intricate mechanics of their crime, the flaws, and the footprints left leading back to them as the culprit. He was shaking now, near his breaking point. Yako could tell that the puzzle was about to be released. She was thankful that the ordeal was coming to an end. At the present moment, she still remained unharmed. The boy had been too distracted by Neuro's flawless reasoning to rebut at all. Yako couldn't wait to arrest the boy and hand him over the police; he was as unstable as a ticking bomb. From the very first glance, she could tell that there was something very, very wrong beneath the boy's seemingly innocent exterior. Maybe it was the slight crinkle in his mouth, the abnormal dilations of the pupils, or the bizarre manner he carried himself. Whatever the reason, the boy had an echo of Kaitou X's maniacal aura around him- nowhere as intense or potent, but still present nevertheless.
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She was scared.
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As soon as Neuro and Yako had gotten off the train, they had spearheaded their way to the culprit's hideout and caught him off guard. The boy lived in a little abandoned house. A passerby would not have suspected anyone dwelling in that establishment if not for the trashcans filled up to the brim beside the dwelling. It was a shabby and rundown little shack that offered little to no warmth, the air was much too damp and smelt of mildew and rot. The carpeting had been half removed, exposing the cracked concrete floor underneath. On the walls, the wallpaper was slowly peeling off due to the moisture and the decades old paint was flaking off. To say the least, the place gave Yako the creeps.
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For such a high profile criminal, she was surprised that the boy didn't instill any protection around him except for a few spy cameras and an identification system. Neuro had easily bypassed all his defenses, leaving the boy at his mercy. As usual, Yako had pointed at him, delivering her catch phrase "The culprit is... YOU!".
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Now as she stood several meters behind Neuro, Yako wished that the demon would just hurry it up. She could see that his drool was about to overflow from his mouth as the boy finally collapsed in defeat. "Itadakimasu," she heard him say in that dark whisper of his as she felt something get sucked out of the atmosphere like a vacuum. She sighed with relief; it was finally over.
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They boy laid in a despondent heap on the ground as Neuro turned towards her with that childlike expression of his that he always wore after a good meal. She offered him a weak smile in response.
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"Excellent work, Sensei! Now I think that we should call-" Neuro started.
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But Yako wasn't listening anymore. Her eyes had caught the slight twitch in the boy's fingers as Neuro focused his attention on her. She saw the boy reach out from behind him, grabbing ahold of something that looked like a bazooka launcher All at once, time seemed to stop for a moment as Yako's eyes widened in unadulterated surprise. Her mouth opened in a silent scream as the weapon was aimed at her. She only had enough time to shut her eyes and bring her arms up to shield herself in vain before the world fell around her.
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Only one thought coursed through her mind then:
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Neuro lied.
777 Tools of Hell: EVIL CLIFFHANGER!
Dun dun dun!
'author gets shot by mobs of angry readers'
Nooooooo!
Well, really, all silliness and grudges against cliffhangers aside, please review! I appreciate them very much and need feedback for future chapters. Any suggestions, ideas, comments are welcome. Please don't hesitate to provide your input. I would love to hear how you wish the story to go. Cheers! Until the next chapter!