Chapter 10

From an open window, the moonlight shines upon the room. Strangled noises can be heard, a sound either from pain or suffering through his laboured breaths. It was the room of Yako's dear friend. An insignia on his arm can be seen glowing visible to any eye in between hot red like his eyes and orange like the sunset.

"...Ya...ko..." he said struggling. "Time is almost...up. I can't control him...anymore. Yako, help me or the future will be bleak for the humans of this world" He said as he struggled again.

"Yako!"

"Huh?" a man called to her. She looked behind her and saw Higuchi.

"Higuchi! What are you doing here?" Yako said astonished.

"Ah, I heard the news. It was unbelievable. I couldn't wait for another second to see if it's true"

"Ahahaha...Oh that news..."

'Another case has been finished. We just came back from our last case. After that, I felt it unbelievable myself together with the rest of them. First was Godai who almost fainted when he saw Neuro again and on this case, the media gone wild as they heard the former assistant of the infamous Katsuragi Yako is alive. Every media were curious about how did it happen. Neuro's busy talking to them now and here I am on the sidelines'

"So, where is he?" he said between being glad and excited.

"Sensei~ who are you talking to? I just took time talking to the media and I see you were gone flirting. My, my how flirty you are sensei~" Neuro said appearing behind Yako, his hand on her head. Yako's expression turning to her usual half-happy face.

"It's not someone you're unfamiliar with, Neuro" she said between her cheeks being pulled sideways.

"Neuro, nice to see you again after a long time" Higuchi smiled.

"Still the same computer rat, I see" Neuro grinned.

"Hehe, there's nothing more I'm good at. It's been a while since the last i've seen you. I knew it wouldn't be the last, it's just Yako's face told me otherwise back then"

Yako's face turned in between silent horror and surprise as Higuchi looked at her. Yako knew Neuro doesn't know anything about what happened in the incident a year ago. Neuro just knows that a false figure took his place and falsely made the world known that he was dead. While deep in thought, She didn't notice that Neuro watched her expressions in curiosity.

"This scene brings back memories. Glad to see you again, Neuro. I'm going back to headquarters before the boss blows a fuse of me running out of the job. See ya!" Higuchi turned immediately as he ran all the way to headquarters. It was silent again after that.

"We're going home, Yako" Neuro said walking forward, passing her.

"Ah, yes. What did you tell the media on what happened after they thought you died?"

"I said sensei forced me to do it and to go into hiding for her personal purposes" he smiled innocently.

'That's seriously going to be misunderstood!' she thought in horror as her eyes were big as saucers in shock. Neuro enjoyed looking at her shocked face. Suddenly, Yako giggled which Neuro took suprise in.

"What's so funny, Louse?" He grinned, ready to torture her if she made fun of him.

"It's just it's been so long since we've been in a case like this like there's no time has passed since you were here. I wanted to welcome you back to the human world, Nougami Neuro" she said smiling but her eyes depict a deep sadness. Neuro looked at her unable to talk, a woman of the human world dare to deem him speechless. His heart ached in many ways than it used to be. A chord in him was struck.

Before Yako knew it, she was carried like a bag on a shoulder by Neuro, jumping to the air.

"Neuro! What are you doing?" she shouted at him from his back. In an instant, they were already on the rooftop at their office. As soon as Neuro landed, Yako has been put down harshly on the floor, closing her eyes as a reaction to the impact.

"Neuro, what?-" as she opened her eyes, Neuro was not with her. "He's gone" She said suddenly worried as to what brought up the unusual behaviour of Neuro. She tried to assess but it was for naught. She went home, going down the stairs, passing the office. She stood at the door. Her hand was an inch to the door knob. 'Maybe, it's good to let him rest' she thought. In the end, she withdrew her hand and went her way to her home.

At the office, Neuro faced the window overlooking the streets below.

He was lost in thought. Akane watched him, somehow worried. She wanted to help his master and tried to wave herself to get his attention and tried to write something.

Neuro heard the noise and after it was finished he looked at Akane and what she wrote.

"Where is Ms. Detective? Did something happen?"

"You seem to be more curious than usual, Akane" He said grinning at her.

Akane wrote again. "You look different as usual, too. Did something happen between you and Ms. Detective?" she waved bravely.

"You're writing too much also. You've grown guts to talk back to your master too in the years I've been gone much like her, maybe I should arrange punishment for both of you" he grinned evilly at Akane that stood unaffected.

"I might be punished but it wouldn't stop me to care for the well-being of my master. SO?" Akane wrote. Neuro's smile faded that he failed to shake the hair on the wall and faced the window again.

"I left her at the rooftop a while ago when we got back, she went home already"

Akane, the hair as she is still can look surprised and wrote immediately. "Why did you do that? That's not really how you treat women more so the one you love"

"Love? There's nothing of the sort" he said grinning confident looking at Akane.

"Is that so? Then, there's no reason for her to leave if nothing happened. I don't mean to intrude but either way she left and she doesn't know the reason for it. I will not hurt to see how she's doing. A women's heart can hold only as much let alone a human"

Neuro read what Akane wrote and looked at the window in thought. In a flash, Neuro was opening the door. Akane watched him.

"Two weeks with no conditioner" he said on the door. Akane knew her punishment would be harsh for a hair like her. "But for serving well to your master, extra consumption for shampoo will be provided." The door closed after him.

Akane was surprised and happy that he considered it as help to him. There's a limit how a demon can understand a human. Akane also thought that it was a long way that Neuro can realize his feelings for the detective. It won't hurt to help him on these kind of things.

Yako was on her home. Her appetite was out of it today so she just went to bed. She was now lying looking at her ceiling. She's still worried about Neuro. She still doesn't know what's the reason on why he left her on that rooftop. She heard a sudden noise from outside her window.

"Neuro?" She said as she stood and went to the window. She opened the window and looked at her surroundings. "Maybe I'm just imagining things" She withdrew from the window and left it open to let the air in, the breeze tonight was comfortably cold. She closed her eyes to reach her bed and breathed deeply. Unexpectedly, her body collided with something hard. She opened her eyes and was met by another body. She looked up and saw familiar crimson eyes.

"Haruse" She stepped back as she whispered his name in shock. "What are you doing here?"

"Yako, What are you saying? I came here to see you" Haruse grinned to her, his crimson eyes looking at her dangerously.

"Haruse, what happened to you? I haven't seen you since our case in the forest...You never did came back after you left me for a few hours..." Yako backed away at the edge of her bed. "I was worried"

"You never cared for that or where I went...You were not worried as long as Neuro was always there for you...But what matters is i'm here now with you" he held her arms.

"But I am worried about you...Haruse I know what you feel for me, we've talked about this...even though I can't reciprocate your feelings for me, you will always be a valuable friend to me, Haruse" Yako said reaching his cheek.

Haruse went silent.

"A friend?" Haruse whispered on her ear and pushed Yako making her lie on her bed. "I'm always been a friend to you, aren't I? But Yako, you've always been there for Neuro but he never understands you or looks your way. I've always been here for you but you don't notice me." He said in a deep voice, rage colouring it.

Yako was horrified at the look of Haruse's face. His back blocked the moonlight on the window. She felt different. This Haruse wasn't the Haruse she knew. He emits an aura of a predator looking at his prey. His eyes were not the gentle red she was used to, his were deeper seeking of bloodlust.

"Ha-ru-se?" Yako sat up on her arms. "Who are you? You're not Haruse. What have you done to him?" she said confused. Haruse bent forward, their faces near each other. He stared at her.

"What do you mean? I'm Haruse." He said moving forward. "Give in to your desires Yako. You will be mine".

"What-" She was caught off guard when his lips met hers. Haruse kissed her aggressively, forcing her to lie down. Yako resisted, she doesn't want where this is going but her will was not enough as Haruse's strong arms pushed her down. She tried to squirm away from his grasp but with no avail.

Yako tried again to resist his strength even to use her legs to kick him but in a second, he sat on her legs between his own. He adjusted Yako up using his other hand making her body close to his. Yako's hand has no choice but to cling to his shirt with the force his other hand was exerting to keep her body close to his to deepen the kiss. She weakly punches his chest to stop. It only made him stop the aggressive kiss that made a small wound on her lip.

"Haruse...stop this...let go of me!" she struggled again from his arms, her breaths laboured. Her pleas were unheard and Haruse started to kiss her neck to her shoulders. "Stop! Haruse, Stop!" his other arm was already on the hem of her top. She continued to tell him but Haruse continued to lift her top. Tired to hear her yell, he grunted and planted his lips again on hers as vigorous as the previous. Her top was now hanging just below her chest. Haruse's right arm started to trace her curves. Unable to do anything, tears came out of her eyes.

Haruse felt something wet on his cheeks and opened his half-lidded eyes to look properly at Yako. She was crying. Haruse stared at her for a few minutes when his eyes suddenly opened widely and broke the kiss instantly from Yako. Yako's sobs were now heard.

Haruse's face blushed and was filled with an expression of guilt that can be seen as he saw what she did to Yako. She got off from Yako and stood in front of her and fixed her top. He removed Yako's tears with his thumbs on her cheeks.

"Yako...I..." He said dumbfounded on what to say, he was filled with frustration. "I'm sorry"

"Haruse? What happened to you?" Yako said, her eyes strong trying to understand him despite her initial fear of him a while ago.

"Yako..." he kneeled in front of her holding her hands, his head down. "The one who did that to you earlier, that was not me. He is my other self"

"Other self?"

"My ability to control my other self is slipping me. It won't be long that I will turn to be completely like him. His goal is to conquer both the human world and the demon world. He wants it all."

"Can't we do something about it? Why does he want that to happen?" Yako said worried.

"I don't know. I don't know fully my other self so I can't figure out who I am. Yako, I'm an experiment made by demons that's why I'm different from other demons. I have more emotions than other like me have and was offered to the king when I was young and grew up from there. I don't know how a human feels even I have human emotions, It was ingrained to me to have the emotions only a demon could know. I don't know what's bothering my other self that he wanted to come out so much. His will is becoming stronger"

"Why do you need my help? To save you? I can't understand demons"

"But you can to humans. Neuro picked you because you have that ability to understand human psychology than everyone else can. As a demon, I don't know about human emotions that is a part of me maybe it is the part that I need to understand, to stop him"

"What if it doesn't work?"

"If there is nothing we can stop him from emerging, I only know of one way"

"What is it?"

"You have to kill me, Yako"

"Kill you? Haruse what are you saying? I can't kill you!" She said almost shouting.

"You have to Yako for the sake of this world"

"Haruse! I won't let that happen, I can't lose another one of my friends! I can't..."

Haruse finally looked at her and smiled.

"Then, it's fine Yako. You don't have to worry about it anymore. I'll try to solve this myself first, it's my problem first anyways" he stood and went forward the window.

"Haruse, how do you plan to do that?"

"As long as you're safe Yako and happy, I will do anything" Haruse said looking back at her for one last time and went out of the window.

"Haruse? Haruse!"

Yako ran to the window to see Haruse to not let him go but as soon as she searched her surroundings, Haruse was out of sight.

A/N: Thank you for reading.