A Push in the Right Direction
Mystery 06: One Hell of a Kisser
The explosion had taken place in a building at a considerable distance, to which Neuro rushed, running wildly through the streets towards the edge of the city. The entire time, he pulled Yako along ignoring her protests to slow down. "Neuro! You're going to pull my arm off!" The plea fell upon deaf ears, as Neuro continued running towards the peculiar scent of mystery.
The scent intrigued him far more than any other mystery he had ever sensed, and he truly thought he was a few steps away from finding the ultimate mystery. He dashed down the busy streets, pushing people aside and many times causing Yako to bump into them as well. Some got angry and others recognized the famous duo of detective and assistant, assuming they were rushing to an important case.
Neuro's eyes glowed and all sounds, be it Yako's complaints, the protests of those he pushed aside, or the noise of the city, were lost on him. His smile was large and twisted, his fangs were showing and those who passed by and had the change to glimpse at his face would most likely have nightmares of being devoured by a similar beast.
Suddenly, Neuro stopped on the hot black pavement, a few steps away from the sidewalk, where people backed off and stepped aside to put some distance between them and the crazed man, but remained within sight, curious about what he would do. The humans muttered and whispered among themselves, some claiming that it was the heat affecting the tall man with glowing green eyes and a crazed expression, few recognizing him anymore, in such a deranged state.
A horn was heard and just as suddenly as Neuro stopped, he moved on, not because of the noise he didn't even notice, but because the scent of mystery had been disturbed. The trail vanished momentarily and then reappeared, awakening his instincts once again.
Yako saw her life flash before her eyes as Neuro unknowingly pulled her out of the way of the speeding truck just on time. Fearing he may hit the pair, the truck driver had harshly stepped on the breaks and the large gray cargo box collided with the red truck that pulled it. The impact shook the cargo box violently and caused it to fall to the side, pulling the truck with it and crushing a passing car on the lane beside it.
"Mystery! Mystery! I can't let it escape!" It was as if Neuro was truly crazed. He didn't notice the large accident, he didn't hear the terrified screams, and he didn't realize that for a portion of the way, he had been literally dragging Yako along and her jeans were torn and ripped all over, one of her sandals lost in the mayhem.
Neuro finally arrived at the building where the explosion took place, only to hear another one occur, this time in mid air above the same building with the many glass windows. It was strange, but whatever the phenomenon was, it had caused the tall white office building to be emptied, with a multitude of people in black and navy business suits pouring out of all the exits in a panic.
When Neuro stopped at the foot of the building for a moment, Yako tried to catch her breath. Neuro still grasped her wrist with such a force it was beginning to swell and her hand was pale from the obstructed blood flow. "Neuro!"
"It's here! It's here!" Neuro finally released Yako's wrist, but before she could recover, he picked her up by the waist and threw her over his shoulder, then started climbing the building, attaching himself to the wall with his claws.
Most people were more concerned with escaping and paid little attention to the claws, some assuming they were special gloves and shoes, while others didn't notice Neuro at all. Yako was panicked, holding on to Neuro for dear life, and trying not to look down. Nothing she would say would make him respond, she had never seen him in such a state before.
Another explosion took place, shaking the building to its foundation. The multitude of clear glass windows shattered and the sharp pieces of glass rained down, but Neuro did not desist in his climb. Far from being discouraged by the impending danger, Neuro sped up as a series of additional smaller explosions happened in random floors, the latest one on the top floor, the twentieth.
Neuro entered the twentieth floor from one of the broken windows and frantically looked around after tossing Yako aside. He took almost desperate deep breaths as if he was losing the scent of the mystery that led him there. Then he dashed out of the room and down the hall.
"Neuro!" Yako ran after Neuro, sincerely worried for him. By then the building had been completely evacuated and the security department's explosive specialists had not yet moved in. The girl caught a glimpse of Neuro heading down the emergency stairs and followed as fast as she could.
Neuro stopped at the seventeenth floor, on time for another series of explosions to start, quite different from the last few. Instead of simply blowing things apart with a loud noise, those final few explosions were sparks coming out of thin air, and rather quiet in comparison. This consequently happened all over the building until it was ablaze.
"Neuro, we have to get out of here!" Yako finally caught up with him. The desks around them were in flames, causing the room to fill up with smoke. Yako was already having difficulty breathing. "Neuro!"
Neuro stood still for a moment, as if he was waking from whatever took over him. "What was that? What was that power? What was that scent? Where did it go?" It puzzled him to no end.
"Neuro!" Yako yelled in his face and shook him as hard as she could. "We have to get out of here!"
The situation sunk in all at once for Neuro, like a ton of bricks thrown on his head. He jeopardized his disguise, and he endangered Yako; in fact, she was still in danger. What were that strange power he sensed and that irresistible scent? This wasn't like any other mystery.
"Neuro..." Everything was taking its toll on Yako, the stress, the worry, the strain, the pain, the ache, the heat, the lack of oxygen. She felt herself losing consciousness, unable to breathe.
"Yako?" Neuro set the rest of his concerns aside for the time being. Yako was suffocating and he had to do something about it. He held her close and kissed her, breathing life into her body.
Yako was immediately alert as her senses registered what was going on. Somehow, against all logic, she didn't feel like she was suffocating anymore, and she found the will and energy to wrap her arms around Neuro and respond to the kiss. The building continued to burn and fall apart, but Yako didn't care anymore.
Though Yako was in the middle of a blazing inferno, she felt like she was in Heaven, and it all gave a new meaning to the phrase one hell of a kisser.
End of Mystery 06
I couldn't resist and had to take the chapter's title literally. XD What's happening and why did it affect Neuro so much? More about this mystery is to come, along with the aftermath of Yako and Neuro's kiss and an extra dose of fluff and humor. Disclaimer, I don't own Private Evileye Nogami Neuro, or however you want to call it, you know what I mean.