A Push in the Right Direction
Mystery 36: Secrets
"Whenever we ran into each other, you always tried to talk to me," Sai began, "I didn't listen often, but I fought Neuro a lot, I still do, but not to kill him. I forgot a lot of things, but I didn't forget what you told me about Seiren. I remembered all the conclusions you revealed, I was able to hold on to those memories. I still had questions and still put people in red boxes now and then. To know what I was, I needed to know what Seiren was, but she was long since dead, so I searched for clues in the people who were left in this world. You'll figure out the answer and tell me eventually, I can't tell you now," future Sai left the mystery at that.
xoxox xox xoxox
It was a time in the future, when Kaiyo was just recently born. Sai snuck into his room and looked at the baby sleeping in the crib. He picked up the child and looked at him curiously, "wake up..."
The boy opened his glowing green eyes and looked at Sai with matching curiosity.
"You're Yako and Neuro's son. What are you made of?" Sai was taken by surprise when the baby bit him and even more so when he began to consume his energy. Sai drew his hand back and the baby laughed.
"I guess he likes you," Yako stood at the door.
"Is Neuro coming to fight?" Sai inquired.
"No, I told him I wanted to talk to you. No fighting inside the house, okay?"
Sai nodded and handed Yako the baby. "How come he ate my energy?"
"It's part of his special power. Neuro says that he gave Kaiyo power and I shaped it. He was hoping Kaiyo would pick after him completely and kept saying my DNA can be dangerous. Neuro's power and my appetite..."
Sai looked at the baby, "he's lucky to know where he came from and what he is. He's not fully human, but at least he'll know why. It's strange, I came here determined to see what he was made of, but I can't, he feels too familiar."
Yako's eyes widened; her expression in deep thought, "familiar..."
"Relax, I didn't hurt him and I don't want to anymore. Even if I can't explain it, I'd sooner protect him."
"Wait..." Yako thought about it some more, "yes, it all fits, it fits Sai, I have the answer!"
"What do you mean?"
"Kaiyo feels familiar because he's the same as Seiren. Seiren must have been half human, but she was abandoned in the human world without explanations. She was regarded as a witch and pushed away, so she tried to hide her power and blend in with humans. She was weakened by the magic of the temples but that wasn't all, she hated the power that made her different, so she refused to show it, no matter what."
Sai listened to Yako in shock.
"You inherited your power from Seiren, and she was also the one who shaped it. You can change your form because of her desire to fit in and you lose your memories because she wanted to forget the bad experiences in her past. Your memories fade away faster because you're tired of searching, but you hold on to Seiren's memory because it's the truth you were looking for, so there is some comfort in that. If you lived peacefully, if you found some happiness, then your memories won't fade away, it's the sorrow you accumulated that makes you forget the things that make you sad, deep down, you regret-"
"Stop..."
"Sai?"
"Yako-neesan... I believe you."
xoxox xox xoxox
In the present time, though Yako was curious to know what answer she would come up with for Sai in the future, she didn't press the subject, reasoning that it was something she would figure out when the time was right.
There was a moment of silence until the future Yako pointed out, "the people of the city must have noticed something was going on. They might come here to investigate soon."
"I'll go erase their memories, let's go past me." The two Neuros took off, to erase the supernatural events from the memories of the people of the city.
They wouldn't remember anything about the fire bird in the distance, the battle of the violet birds, the hair demon that was said to roam the city streets at night, or the baby that ate so much raw meat.
xoxox xox xoxox
After the city was cleaned of suspicions, one more thing had to be done. Future Neuro announced, "it's time to erase your memory, lesser evolved slug!"
To which the present Yako gasped in surprise, "why?"
"Because you're not ready to know this yet," the future Neuro accepted no arguments, but he did not truly erase present Yako's memory, he only locked it temporarily.
Though the true purpose of apparently erasing present Yako's memory was unknown to Neuro's present self, he observed with suspicion that Yako's future self did not protest. With Yako unconscious in his arms as an unexpected, yet possibly intentional, side effect of having her memories locked, present Neuro watched his future self open a portal, having mastered the spell, and future Neuro, future Yako, Kaiyo and future Sai returned to their own time.
Godai, who had been silent the entire time, finally spoke much too late, "what about my memories? Isn't anyone going to erase them? I'll have nightmares if I have to remember this!"
xoxox xox xoxox
Yako woke up on the couch of the detective office. Godai wasn't there, most likely handing out flyers on the street, Akane was at her usual spot on the wall and Neuro sat behind his desk. She took note of the crayon drawings all over the walls, but didn't remember how they got there, with so many of her memories having been locked.
"So you're finally awake, salve," Neuro greeted, as would be expected of him.
Yako got up, feeling a little light headed and disoriented. "Why am I here? Did you bring me here Neuro? Nothing you do will work, I broke up with you and I don't want to be around you, I'm quitting being a detective!"
Neuro glared, just how many memories did Yako lose? "Where do you think you're going, slave?" He stopped her from leaving out the door.
"I already told you, no matter what, I won't go back to you, even if you hurt me, even if you torture me, nothing will work," Yako was full of determination, like when she ran away. She didn't clearly remember the source of her anger, but she reasoned it must be the way Neuro treated her, that was certainly enough to upset anyone with a shred of sanity left.
"Not this again... Idiot," Yako assumed the insult was directed at her, as it usually happened, but this time, Neuro was complaining about himself. His future self could have allowed Yako to keep her memories, it would have been easier that way, whose side was he on anyway? Was there a reason for this; a purpose for history to take this course? If so, what could possibly be accomplished?
Yako escaped Neuro's grip and opened the door to find her mother rushing down the hall towards the office. "Yako!" She hugged her daughter, then stepped back and smiled. "I'm glad you're alright."
"Mom!" Yako was surprised by the visit, "what are you doing here? Are you coming home?"
"For a while, your graduation is soon."
Yako's eyes widened, she still had a lot of work to do. She nodded and tried to hide her distress, "yeah..."
"It's strange, I remember being upset for some reason, but I can't remember why. I guess I just missed you." Yako's mother must have already been in the city when future Neuro erased everyone's memories.
"It's good to see you, let's go eat together and catch up." Mother and daughter left the building, where an ignored and frustrated Neuro remained.
To be Continued
Disclaimer, I don't own Majin Tantei Nogami Neuro.