Oh, what fun to write. ^_^ Did anyone notice the new artwork for the story? Drawn by yours truly! (Okay, it's not as fabulous as I was imagining, but it'll do until I can summon up the patience to draw another, better one.) As promised: Next chapter!
Carla: I shall update very very soon! *looks around* …now. Yes, I shall update now! Psychic like that! J Thank you for reviewing yet again!
A little heads up: The chapters might be posted a little… irregularly. Reason being: recently, I fell out of my desk chair (wasn't paying attention), and hit my head pretty hard on the bed post… anyways, I seem to be getting migraines much more frequently. My migraines are weird because once they hit, I lose my vision one eye at a time, then capability to control my arms, then vocal chords etc. I'm sure all that wasn't very important. The main point is, it's getting hard to look at a computer screen for multiple minutes at a time, so I can't get the fanfictions out as quickly. I'm feeling great right now so I'm writing my heart out with my eyes closed. (Sounds weird, but it's very possible.) Sorry for the inconvenience! Please join me in glaring at the gravity fairies.
I sincerely apologize and hide away in some sort of zombie and/or fanfiction reader-proof shelter for all the tension and such in these past few chapters, but I'm trying to lead it all to one big finale! I love you all; everyone gets hugs, Merry Christmas and, as always, thanks for sticking with me this far! ;)
"Sorry to leave this early, but we'd better hit the showers." Neuro chirped, his voice as fake as his face. He grasped Yako's hand and guided her away from the two, waving goodbye as he hurriedly left the court. Yako didn't protest, but she kind of wanted to, especially when she noticed he had no intention of going back to the room. He turned a few corners and soon, Yako found herself in a theater playing some random romance/ghost movie.
'Random much…' Yako thought to herself and looked up at the demon. He wasn't even paying attention to the movie. His eyes were closed, and one of his little eye bugs crawled around in the palm of his hand, clearly as bored as its master. Yako put her hand out and the strange tool crawled into her hand. It started making circles in her hand and Neuro's eyes opened, glancing at Yako. She met his gaze and held her hand out. "S-sorry, do you want it back?"
He shook his head. "There are five more behind us." Yako was slightly surprised as she turned her head around the seat. There were two at the door that she was able to spot, almost like they were keeping watch. She didn't bother looking for the other three, she just sat back in her seat and watched the one in her hands. Neuro let out a sigh and rested his head on the top corner of Yako's theater seat and his arm on the armrest between them. He looked down at the slightly entertained bug in Yako's hands, then at her.
Yako sat back and watched the bug for a while, thinking about when the mystery would come to end. When they were back at the office, it would all go back to normal… she thought. Was there really a reason to worry, or to feel excited? Neuro was going to be exactly the same as before they left - rough with her and Godai. There wouldn't be any difference… even after the many times she woke up in his arms or curled up into his chest. He'd be the same – unreachable and relaxed behind the wall he put up between him and the humans. Then again, as a demon, maybe the feelings of victory, anger, pride… maybe that was all he knew, and maybe that's why he put up a wall… to keep away from the unfamiliar feelings of the human world. Yako had no idea why she was even thinking about all this, but for the most part, she was right… she still had no idea though… that Neuro let his wall drop when she met his gaze in the dark of the theater. The bug in her hands laid still while Yako's heart did the opposite. Maybe it was the light from the screen, but Neuro's gaze seemed so much gentler. Yako's heart burned with uncertainty and curiosity, staring up at the demon with an equally unreadable emotion in her eyes.
'Haven't you ever wanted love?!' The character in the movie screamed. A look of unexpected shock inched onto Neuro's face. This movie… Yako instantly recognized it as the movie she'd watched with Godai back at the office. She wasn't really focused on that now, just the way Neuro was looking at her… such a look of longing that she held in her own eyes as well. Neuro protested in his mind. No way was he going to show any kind of… annoying emotion for Yako… no way was he going to lean forward like he was doing now. No way were his eyes going to soften as she leaned toward him.
Just what he didn't want to see… through the eye of his Evil Friday bugs as they scattered into the shadows, someone he wasn't in the mood to see. He grasped Yako's shoulders and dragged her down to the ground into the shadows of the theater seats. She sat between his legs with her back to him, completely surprised by the sudden movement. "777 tools of the demon world… Evil Blind." He whispered to himself, and a green aura enveloped the two. He watched the other woman in the theater stop in her tracks. Yako stared up at the figure as Neuro covered her mouth with his hand, making sure she wouldn't make a sound.
'Kyoko…?' Yako recognized the beautiful girl, turning her head from side to side like she was looking for something.
'Not good…' Neuro thought to himself. He wrapped his free arm around Yako's waist and dragged her closer to him. Kyoko was searching intently for them, he knew, and this wasn't the time to deal with that. She took a step into the row, her foot unknowingly close to Neuro's. He tried to scoot back silently and he managed to get to his feet, though still keeping low. Evil Blind unfortunately was not a perfect mask, so he tried to stay under her line of vision, dragging Yako with him as he took a few silent steps back, displeased when Kyoko seemed to follow. At this point, he didn't feel like he had much of a choice. Kyoko interfering with his plans… it was just something he would not allow. Pulling Yako a little closer, he bolted for the theater door, knowing she'd probably noticed. Soon enough, fast paced footsteps were following them through the halls.
Yako slid Neuro's hand from her mouth and looked up at him. "Neuro? What's going on?" She whispered. He opened the door to their room and released her.
"Lock the door." Yako did as she was told as Neuro stood in the middle of the room with a troubled look on his face. "We can't have Kyoko messing up the mystery… not like this."
"H-how could she mess up the mystery? What could she do that…"
Neuro put his hands on either side of her face and got down close to her, cutting her off. Yako could feel her face going red, up until she noticed the demonic glimmer in his eyes. "She's very capable of messing with the mystery, and if worse comes to worse, Yako… you'll be her target, not me." Yako couldn't do anything besides give him a concerned look. She wasn't catching on with any of this. Neuro released her and walked over to the bedside, glancing around the room as he could hear approaching footsteps. "Yako." He called. Yako was reluctant, but she walked over to him. Neuro's large hand forced her onto the bed with one quick gesture. He cursed under his breath out of paranoia as he jerked his shirt off and threw it to a random forgotten corner of the room and crawled on top of her, throwing the covers over them.
"N-Neuro, what are you doing?!" She whispered.
"Shut up, louse." He dropped down onto her chest and pulled her closer with a strong arm, just in time to hear the lock on the door slowly giving in to the intruder. Neuro rested beside Yako, but couldn't help but feel tense. He hated that he had to stoop to such a low level to avoid appearing suspicious. The doorknob clicked and the door creaked open slowly. His little robotic eyes watched her from the corners of the ceiling, acting as Neuro's eyes. He felt Yako tensing underneath him, but at least she was doing a decent job at faking sleep. The steps walked toward the two and stopped right at the bedside where Neuro was.
"Neuro." Kyoko called in a soothing voice. He wondered if she really thought he'd respond. He made a conscious effort not to flinch when he felt a cold, slender finger traced his shoulder blades. "Your presence here makes me nervous, dear boy. What could you be hiding? Something about you… makes me uneasy." Her finger moved down his spine then back up to the back of his neck. Her breath was hot on his ear as she whispered to him. "And that girl… is she so important that you would protect her? I can see it in your eyes – how tense you are when I'm near her. Such a pretty face she has. It'd be horrible, really… if that face of hers was covered in her own blood." With that she stood up and happily trotted to the door. "Behave yourself, Neuro-tan." She chirped as she left the room, shutting the door behind her.
Neuro's eyes opened when he could no longer hear her footsteps. He half slid off Yako, making her even tenser when she lost that contact. Something about that threat scared her. She'd dealt with much scarier criminals before who threatened her in much more severe… detailed ways. Something about Kyoko herself… it was like the way she felt when she first met Neuro, that feeling of being near a greater being and her instincts screaming at her to get away. Yako stared up at the ceiling, hands shaking as Neuro slipped off the bed to retrieve his shirt.
"Well, where would you like to go next?" Neuro asked, his voice close to monotone. The question itself came as a surprise to Yako.
"W-What? But… Kyoko just-"
"I know. There's nothing we can do about it at this point. We'll just have to wait it out for a few hours."
"N-Neuro!"
The moment his shirt was back on, he looked over his shoulder and stared her down with shimmering green eyes. "What are you thinking is going to happen, slave?"
Yako crossed her arms over her chest, almost like she was trying to pull herself together. "Something about Kyoko is just…" At this point, she refused to make eye contact with the demon that watched her with acid-colored eyes. "K-Kyoko…" She didn't realize how shaky her voice was becoming. Any and all fear she kept bottled up was being released right then and there. 'W-why does Neuro have to watch me like that? I don't want him to see me… not freaking out like this… he'll just tease me…' She thought to herself, staring at the white bed sheets.
Before Yako could notice him move, Neuro was staring at her as he steadied himself on the ceiling, his face inches away from hers. "Are you really thinking you're going to get injured?" She studied serious expression, unable to find the words to answer. "We've solved many mysteries. You've been in dangerous situations, but how much danger has really come to you? This time will be no different."
"N-Neuro…" Was this his way of saying he would protect her? Yako hoped so, even if it would hurt if she found out it wasn't, she really hoped he was trying to reassure her.
This time when Neuro registered how close their faces were, he didn't let the moment last. He released the ceiling and landed swiftly on his feet. "It's about time for lunch."
"…Can we skip it?" Yako whispered after a short silence. Now that was something Neuro didn't expect to hear. Where was the girl who always complained about not being able to eat? He knew the answer, but for once, he didn't expect the ship to be that big of a deal. Yako looked up at him pleadingly as he stood in silence. He nodded and let out a sigh as he flopped down onto the bed. "I'm going to go take a shower." She commented, and slid off the bed to gather a change of clothes. Once she was in the bathroom, Neuro rubbed his temples and listened to the sound of running water. He started wondering if he could use the fact that Ishigaki was onboard to his advantage.
Yako soon came out of the bathroom (mostly because the ship was rocking back and forth a little more than what was normal) and threw her clothes in her suitcase. Neuro stole a glance at her as she slowly approached the bed, completely focused on her footing. The demon forced back a smile as he looked away, a small voice in the smallest corner of his mind commenting on how cute she looked. She crawled under the covers as Neuro got up to take a shower as well. Yako was getting tenser and tenser. Thoughts of Kyoko and the mystery rushed through her head, accompanied by the annoying, forceful sway of the ship. She wondered if there was a storm outside… and her imagination started getting the better of her. She didn't notice Neuro come out of the bathroom until he sat on the bed. The moment the bed moved, she let out an involuntary, quiet whimper as she gripped the bed sheets.
"Yako." He whispered her name. She glanced over her shoulder at him and returned to her position on her side, facing away from him. She shut her eyes tightly, hoping he wouldn't notice how tense she was. Neuro scooted under the covers and Yako felt two strong arms wrap around her waist. He pulled her close, up against his chest. Yako's eyes went wide with surprise and worry, wondering what was happening. His arms curled around her, and as if in an attempt to bring her even closer, his leg hooked around one of hers. He took a deep breath and let out a sigh. Yako felt his breath on the back of her neck and felt like her heart was going to explode, but she couldn't help but relax a bit against him. Months ago… no, days ago, she wouldn't have felt so safe in his arms. She would have been scared and struggling to get free, but this time, she felt herself slowly relaxing with every breath she took. She wondered if he could feel her heartbeat, even if it was her back against his chest. She wondered… if that was her heart or his that she could feel, pounding so rapidly.