Maddening Attraction

Chapter 9: A Lover's Grace

The scent grew stronger as every step brought him closer to the park. With Yako tapping quietly behind him, he braced himself for another easy meal. Unfortunate for him, Sai had prepared tonight's feast. Walking into the silent, black park lit only by the lamps, Neuro held his shoulder as it throbbed. "The wounds are about halfway healed," he muttered to himself.

"Will you be okay after this?" Yako asked, gazing at the large building in the center of the park.

"No. This mystery isn't rich. A simple, petty crime to say the least. Most likely a murder of hatred or envy" explained the demon as he scanned the area for a possible criminal. His then heart slowed. "The mystery vanish."

"What? How can I mystery vanish? Unless…" Yako said, remembering where Neuro's food originated from. If a mystery disappeared that meant the criminal disappeared.

"You fell for it," Sai happily said, sitting atop the towering park office. His legs kicked up and down in a childish manner, accompanying the deceitful smile on his pale face. "If you're looking for the mystery, it's gone. But you can still have the criminal if you want." Pulling an infamous Red Box from behind him, the mutant held it over the edge of the building and dropped it. Shards of glass flew above the grass, red with the blood that oozed out from the shattered container. Gallons of blood slithered along the blades of grass and painted the park surface a gory red.

"The criminal was a lure?" Neuro smirked, cracking his wrist. "You must have planned this out then. I expect this battle will be different then."

"Why do we have to fight?" Sai grinned, placing his head between his palms. "We can always talk like civilized people. I get to play with Yako and you get to hire her when she is free. I won't take up a lot of her time. We'll go on dates and nibble on each other and maybe toss a Frisbee."

"To kill off a criminal with a mystery and then grind him into a pile of blood, stuff him into a box and shatter that box before my feet is the equivalent of stealing my dinner and tossing it to the ground," Neuro calmly said, removing both of his gloves and folding them into his pocket. "Every time you think you grow but you mutate more. I suppose you lose more brain cells each time as well."

"Things are different Neuro!" Sai chuckled. "I'll find my identity, keep my woman and defeat you." The demon was already running along the walls of the building, leaping towards Sai. The mutant flipped back, landing on his hand and spinning to launch a kick at Neuro. It missed. Turning to his right, Neuro dove in for Sai's chest with his claws. Grinning with victory, Sai's body split in half and fell to the roof's cold surface but rejoined as liquids. Slithering across the roof as if a snake, hiding away under the exterior pipes.

Neuro waited, waited for the sign or sensation that would warn him of Sai's predicted attempt to surprise him. "I got you Neuro!" Sai cheered, dashing at the demon with a blade sharp hand. Lunging for the kill, Sai felt nothing. Neuro vanished from the spot. "You've lost," Neuro muttered, suddenly appearing behind his prey. Before completely facing him, Sai felt himself lifted off the ground. Neuro tightly squeezed the boy's throat, forcing all air out. With a sadistic laughter as his warning, Sai watched as Neuro's claw glow. "I won't be merciful this time," Neuro grinned. "777 Tools of the Demon World! Evil Lavender!" The claw bloomed into a flower bulb wrapped in two large petals and decorated with a spiral cut around its purple skin. The demon lunged the weapon at his target. "Die, Phantom Thief!"

"Sai!!" Yako screamed, hearing the boastful yells of the puzzle eater. "Don't kill him Neuro!! Please!! Don't kill him!!"

CRACK!

Neuro was caught by surprise. The Evil Lavender never stabbed through Sai's flesh, rather it shattered apart against the rock hard body Sai surprisingly wielded. Next was his grip on the monster's throat, it was loosening as Sai held onto Neuro's wrist and pulled it back, freeing himself from what appeared to be certain death. Falling to his knees, he rubbed his neck and panted heavily. "Your attack didn't work Neuro," the white haired boy devilishly grinned. "Because I'm not the same Sai you've fought before."

Cracking the bones in his fingers, Sai deeply chuckled as Neuro grunted in frustrated bafflement. What had changed? "I'm different…because I've already seen some of your insides," Sai explained. "The attack in the hotel. I ripped into your muscles, bones and skin. I analyzed those cells. And now, I altered my own to imitate yours."

Neuro stepped back. The instant he heard cells his hidden suspicions were confirmed. Sai's hands transformed into claws, not talons or nails, but a claw similar to Neuro's! "I'm a demon too! Our cells are really similar too, at least by half. You and I are both designed to transform and change appearances. Other than that we're different. I never did get some of your brain cells though….those would be nice. Maybe as an early Christmas present," Sai chuckled.

"Using demon cells?" Neuro smirked, leaping into the air and shifting to his bird form. He stretched his wings out as he glowed brilliantly. "Then I'll finish this quickly. Having my cells mean nothing. Our power is too far apart to use microscopic cells for comparison. 7 Weapons of the Demon Emperor! Evil Aqua!"

"I don't think so," Sai confidently said. "Ai!! Do it now!!"

Yako nearly leapt of the ground as she realized the purple haired woman was behind her. She nodded to the command, pressing a remote button in her pocket. The entire building exploded, shattering the foundation for the battle and sending large debris through the air.

Before he could complete the summoning, Neuro was struck by the oncoming rubble. A crack echoed from his arms. He could feel his bones slip and slide from their sockets. "It's over now!" Sai cheered, kicking himself off of the falling debris and launching himself towards Neuro in mid air. Grabbing the demon's now shattered arms; Sai placed them behind Neuro's back and wrapped himself tightly around the demon. Leaning past the blonde hair, he placed his lips near his prey's ears. "Neuro…I'm not going to kill you. Make a sudden move and I will make my bones extend and stab through the entire body," Sai whispered. "We're too different. I don't have dark energy or whatever and besides shifting, our cells are too unalike. Leave me and Yako alone. You can still use her but she will ultimately be mine."

"I don't like to share my toys either," Neuro grinned, feeling the blood leak from his lips. The sounds of wings rustling among each other began to sound. Sai could only recognize a white blur behind Neuro before realizing he had to get away. "Evil Torture!" Neuro declared, ordering the wings to first constrain Sai. They wrapped tightly around his arms, ensuring his blood circulation would cease to flow. "Now enter his mouth, nose, and ears. I will destroy your brain from the inside."

Already feeling the demonic monstrosity slip into his mouth and burrow into his nostrils, Sai began to panic. Looking everywhere, something, some answer to save him, he saw it on the ground. Though his ear was muffled by the wings' tips entering his ears, he knew what Yako was screaming out. "Run away! Give up!"

Sai's chest pounded less and less as the fear drifted away. "I'm not running away," he mentally exclaimed. With the wings only inches away from his brain he melted into green goo, slipping out of the tool's grasp. Neuro wasn't going to allow his escape to be so simple. "Evil Aqua!"

The cannon rose from the ground once again and aimed at Sai. There wasn't enough time to escape! The cannon launched a titanic beam towards the ground, shaking the very park itself. Neuro remained in the air, his arms broken and blood sliding down his face. His green eyes kept to the ground. Where Sai once stood there was a large, white wall. Cracks traveled about it but it stayed pointed towards the Evil Aqua. Taking a closer look, Neuro realized what it was. Sai had expanded the bones within his arm in order to create a shield. Despite the defense, the pressure had pushed the mutant against the ground, damaging his body using the conflicting battle of resistance versus strength.

"Sai!!" Yako panicked, horrified by the blood mask on his face. The pale color of his soft skin vanished under the large amount of blood that rolled down his face. Her eyes began to water just at his pathetic breaths and pants. "Sai…no….I have to do something."

"Master," Ai murmured. "I can't go to him or else the demon will shoot again…but the demon is weakened as well. Perhaps one or two more blasts before he stops. Yako…I have an idea."

"You're….you're his assistant right?" Yako nervously asked.

"Yes. Do you wish to save Sai?"

"Yes! I have to!"

"Run to him. I'll be back briefly."

Yako couldn't understand the strategy. Neuro would just snatch her away and kill Sai from close range. What could change? What could be done? What could save Sai? Yako quickly looked at the dying boy and then at Ai. Ai nodded and ran from the scene. Yako's feet then took charge. She didn't order them to move but they did. As she ran towards Sai she somehow felt this was the perfect option. She gave her body complete control. Running to him, she wrapped her arms around his waist and lightly rested her head on his shoulder. "Sai…"

He didn't answer. He couldn't. "Just stop this. We'll get through it somehow. Ai has a plan."

"Yako." Neuro loudly called out from the sky. She didn't respond. "Tonight I will destroy Sai once and for all. Clearly he is human to have evolved so much since our last fight. The longer he exists the more of a threat he is to me. Move."

Yako didn't answer. Sai's bone wall cracked further. Finally it collapsed. A jolt of terror went through Sai's body. "I must be human…" he thought, shivering as his thoughts sped through. The world around him blurred and the strength felt as if it were dripping out of his entire body. "To be this scared is human right? I'm going to die…with nothing to show for myself. I'll lose Yako and my identity is lost. Neuro is nothing like me. There goes my shot. If he weren't, would I kill Yako to find out? No…that doesn't seem right. Yako….Yako…"

Neuro flew towards the boy, activating his Evil Chainsaw. He couldn't move his arm but he could at least turn his body to whip the chainsaw around. Sai's final sensation in this world would be that of his head flying off next to the buzz of a chainsaw. Yako held tightly onto Sai, apologizing for holding him so roughly. Suddenly a car howled into the park, driving through the playground. Yako could see Ai behind the driver's seat. Curving up to the two, Ai hit the brakes and opened the back door with a push of a button. "Put him in!"

Yako nodded, gathering all the strength she could to drag Sai and jump into the back seat. Neuro landed where the two stood, now noticing the car that picked them up. Yako slipped her foot under the door handle and pulled, slamming the door shut. "Go!! Go!!" Yako screamed. Ai rammed the gas pedal and left the park covered in flying grass and car exhaust. Neuro was silent. "Willing to do anything for him?" he muttered. "I can see she'll try to make a decision no matter what. Can't be a good slave if she doesn't obey…" A pain surged through his shoulder, sending him to his knees.

"Sai! Sai…it's going to be alright. We can…we can do something!" Yako said in a fluster. Her cheeks were soaked in his blood; her hands trembled as the warmth had left his body.

"Look under the seat," Ai said. "There's a first aid kit specifically designed for Sai. One I made myself." Yako quickly grabbed it and opened it.

"Can…can he survive? Will this do it?!"

"Settle down. Do not nurse him unless your mind is calm," Ai suggested, breaking the speed limit as she passed a red light. "I will instruct you."

"O-okay….I'm calm." Yako said. "Tell me how to help him."

"Good. Pull out the bandages and the bottle of medicine you see to the upper right," Ai started. Sai battle between blurs and darkness. He gave in to the darkness, closing his eyes. The one thing he felt before passing out was the caring touch of a forgiving girl-a lover's grace.


Author's Note: I'm pumped now. This fanfic will be updated quicker now after this chapter. I got excited as I typed this one and the ideas came pouring in-not that this fanfic will be a long one, I'm trying to avoid that. Just expect some good ol' quick updates again!