Dulcis Venemum (Sweet Poison)
Summary: "It always started with a pat on the head, a lopsided smile plastered on his porcelain face as he weaved his way to my heart..."
A/N:I got positive feedback from you readers! :D Hence, here's chapter two. :3 (iz so happeh~) Oh, and to Btch, Neuro is a human in this story. :D
Chapter 2: Liber, Child
"Seconds, please!"
"...I think you should say, 'twenties', dear. That's the twentieth time."
The girl laughed, "But mama is the same!"
Yako smiled and ruffled those strands of ashen blonde, "Of course!"
She served her daughter her twentieth plate, and served herself her thirtieth plate. They were running out of plates. And rice.
"Mama? Where's papa?" she asked as she munched on her piece of chicken. It was already 6 o'clock, he should've gone home at 5:30, but it was already 6 o'clock and—
Yako let herself breathe a sigh as she drank her tea, it would not do her any good to panic like this, and so she mustered her most cheerful voice she spoke, "He'll be here. He said he'll be late tonight. I've already saved his food, just so we can't eat it accidentally." She didn't really know whyhe's late. He never comes home late. There's a first in everything, she supposed.
The child hummed and absently stared at her half-empty plate, her mouth masticating the piece of chicken skin, "In the meantime, can you tell me what happens next in your story? And why are you two on the first name basis on your first meeting? Were you two already that close? Mama, I want to know!"
"Oh, you and your inquisitive mind! Do I really have to tell you that?" she whined. Sometimes she blamed her genes for being passed on to her daughter's blood.
"Of course! Mama started it! She should finish it!"
"...Why do I feel like I've heard that line somewhere before? Oh, and don't finger point. It's rude."
The child only laughed.
Since that incident, I could say that I feel comfortable with him, despite his verbal abuse and his forehead-biting episodes. The kidnappers were found and jailed after a few months, leaving everyone, including your grandmother and grandfather, relieved.
As for the question why we're on the first name basis, I still question that up to this day. I guess it's all because of his dominating behavior that got me calling him on his first name. As to why he called me on my first name on our first meeting, I blame his arrogance for anything and everything.
...I must not tell him that.
"Sit with me."
"B-but I promised Kanae that—"
"She has her own friends. Look at her! She's practically surrounded! And I'm here all alone with a simpleton and sorry excuse for a girl to entertain me!"
"Th-that's because—"
"Don't stutter, you slug. I can't understand you."
I didn't have the heart to abandon Kanae's invitation to the newly-opened ramen stand near the bus station that day, but I also didn't have the heart to leave him alone. He was already bad at making friends, I couldn't just leave him.
"The food joint!Kanae! Station! After school!"
"Oh, dear. Have you crushed your skull this morning? Or have you gone completely stupid with your sentence formation? Or maybe both?"
He never got out of that insulting habit of his. Some of my classmates were worrying for my sanity on how I've managed to deal with his comments and forehead-biting and finger-bending every single day. I only smiled and told them he's really a good person despite his nasty quirks. They never believed me.
"Neuro, th-that hurts!"
He hit my head with his bento box and lectured me on how to form coherent sentences while he dangled a piece of tempura on my nose. He said that I should explain everything to him properly. Should I do it properly, he'll give me that tempura.
I accepted his dare. Naturally.
"There's this new ramen shop near the station and she told me that its first customers on its first day will have three extra bowls for free!"
"Meh. That's all?"
"Why are you looking at me like that again?"
"I still don't understand where in your flat lands of a body is storing all that food you eat."
"Before, you told me they're all in my hips."
"Oh? And you actually believed that?"
"B-but you—"
"There you are again with that finger-pointing of yours. How many times will I tell you that it's rude to point?"
"You're being rude to me!"
"Heh. No, I'm not, you pillbug."
His behavior was insufferable, no one lasted being with him for a few seconds.
"Yes, you are! And—ah! My tempura!"
"That was originally mine, you pug."
"You gave it to me!"
"Correction. I dangled it in front of your snouty face. I didn't give it to you. Your short-term memory loss is quite amazing."
"I don't have short-term memory loss! And I'm not a pug! Give me another one!"
"But that was the last one."
"Aww."
"...Would you rather have it covered in a bit of sauce, then?"
"Yes, please!"
"Wait. Let me barf it for you, it has a real nice coating of sauce and saliva—"
"On second thought, I don't want it, after all."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sur—hey!"
His way of saying and doing things irked me every time I'm with him—and he did that forehead-chewing to me again on that day.
Although—
"You really want to go there?"
"Of course!"
"All right. I'll go with you."
—his rare acts of gallantry surprised me every time.
"You will?"
"Meh. Kind of. I've heard of a new bookstore opening there today. Might as well check it out."
I learned something new about him on that day.
"Oh? I didn't know you like books, Neuro!"
"You never asked, you dolt."
"When will you ever grow out of that barrage of insults of yours?"
"When you will grow a brain."
"Again with the insults!"
Insufferable, haughty little boy. That's what he was.
"Yako! Are you coming with us today?"
"Uh. Y-you see—"
"—She'll be with me for the whole day so I don't think she'll have time for anyone right now. Right, Yako?"
"Uh. Right. So—"
"—So she really needs you to go now so she can finish her ten-course meal! Can't have her going hungry now, can we?"
...I could swear Kanae and my other friends' faces turn pale. It was either because of his presence behind my back (or maybe it was the way he put his hands on my shoulders with that "friendly" smile of his) or it was because of his way of describing my eating habits. Either way, I wanted to hide my face in the mud and never to look at anyone for the whole day at that time.
They all knew I transferred from my orginal class to all of his classes. Kanae demanded to know exactly why. I told her nothing. He had already been subjected to being the topic of discussion by his (and my) classmates on a daily basis. I wouldn't want her to get the wrong idea, too!
"Uh, yeah! She needs her food, after all. W-well, then! I guess we'll see you around tomorrow?"
"Y-yeah. Tomorrow. (Neuro, say bye to them!)"
"(Hm?) Oh! Bye-bye, Yako's friends! See you tomorrow!"
Those little hands never left my shoulders even as they left, with what I assumed were looks of pity for my situation. I could swear I heard someone whisper something along the lines of, "evil kid" as they left us. I wanted to cry at that time, for what reason, I never knew. It must be pity, I assume. Pity for my friend that the people couldn't understand. Even though he acts like a bully (and bites foreheads on a day-to-day basis), he's kind, was what I thought.
I guess you really could never please everybody. In his case, he couldn't please anyone. Period.
And I cried. Even though I told myself not to.
"...You're sniffling."
"...No, I'm not."
"Well, if that's not a line of snivel that's running down your nose, then it's safe to assume that that's a weirdly-colored tear that comes out of your nose. And it looks sticky, too."
"Oh, shut up!"
"See? You smiled!"
"That's because you're fooling around again!"
Dominating. Bossy. Demanding. Sadistic. A cruel little boy.
And yet—
"...What's that?"
"It's a handkerchief, stupid. I thought even you of all animals would know this type of object. I guess I overestimated your bacteria-sized brain."
"I know what a handkerchief is, dummy. I meant what's it for—ah!"
"It's for your nose, Snout Face. Obviously."
"I can wipe my nose myself, Neuro!"
"But you don't even know what a handkerchief is, let alone its purpose for mankind! I should teach it to your non-existent hygiene—"
"My—hygiene is just fine!"
"Nope. I'm going to wipe out the tiniest bit of snot on that tomato face of yours until you're squeaky clean. Then I'll smudge your face with mud to make you look like a pig again—Now, blow your nose."
"Hhrghpfffft!"
"See? That wasn't so bad now, was it?"
"I gesso. Grhpfft!"
"...I suppose you're going to have to clean that. That is mine, after all."
"'Mkay. I'll give it back to you tomorro—"
"—No. Clean it now. With your tongue."
"..."
—and yet at the same time, he could be the most charming person I have ever met, despite his flaws (and his uncanny way of talking to about anyone). It was a good thing he didn't ask why I cried back then. Even if he did, he'd only huff and ridicule my "inept emotions", his words.
"The bookstore comes first. You can eat your ramen later."
"Yay!"
"You're quite easy to please, aren't you?"
"Dunno!"
"Acting dense again, I see."
He accompanied me that day, just as he promised. His still bruised hand holding my own. It was one of the rare moments that I consider him a gentleman.
...Now, if only he treated me like a real person from the very beginning...
"It's crowded today."
"Ugh. Yeah—ah! Neuro, look!"
"What?"
"Cakes!"
"You and your gluttonous stomach—don't give me that puppy dog look, it doesn't suit your piglet of a face, that look only works on me—all right, I get it! ...I'll treat you later, just... Let's go to the bookstore first."
"Okay!"
I learned how to copy his pitiful look, it didn't look well on me (at least, that's what he told me). I learned how to tolerate his crude insults. He learned how to tolerate my incessant hunger. We're even in that aspect.
"Oh? You like detective novels?"
"Un. They're nice to read."
Looking at him from a close angle, I noticed how his green-black eyes would widen and gleam whenever something would pique his interest. I also noticed that his eyelashes were longer than mine. They would flutter and close whenever his eyes would hastily read the words on the pages.
Not fair. He has eyelashes longer than a woman's!
"I'll get this one. I can pinpoint who the murderer is on the first chapter. Hm. Not that much of a challenge, but I'll give it a try."
"Y-you can tell who the culprit is by reading only the first chapter!"
"Yup. Although, I'm sure that there are two culprits in this story..."
His deduction skills have always been superb. I always wished he could give me some of his talent. Though every time I say that to him, he would only pinch my nose until I turn blue.
"Would you like to borrow it after I'm done reading it?"
"Ah! You'll really let me?"
"Of course. I want to see who will be your guess on the criminal's identity. It might help you grow as a person."
"Oh, I knew you had some generosity in you—"
"—Though I'm sure you won't be able to think properly with that non-existent intelligence of yours. You're already brain-dead enough as it is."
"You're not generous at all!"
I remember some of the people were looking at us—at our bickering—and it was hilarious! And get this, it was the first time that I saw him angry, too. It was not directed at me, though (thank goodness!).
"Would you like a cover for that book?"
"No, thank you. Yako, let's go."
"Ye—"
"Oh, look at how adorable they are!"
Both of us searched for that high-pitched voice. And when we found it—
"You two look so much alike!"
—a woman suddenly appeared in our line of vision, startling both him and I.
"Um, th-thank you, ma'am—?"
"I'm guessing you with the brown eyes is the younger sister!"
The two of us looked at each other. His eyebrows raised and he shrugged as he looked back at the woman with black hair.
"Sister?"
"Yes!"
I had been the one doing the talking this time. I could say he was speechless. His eyes were wide and he was tight-lipped.
"Ma'am, you think we're sisters?"
"Of course! How can you two not be sisters! Look! You're holding her han—"
"I'm a boy, you tick-brained ugly old hag."
His potty mouth strikes again! And th-that woman was suddenly speechless! Haha!
"O-oh, I see—"
"Next time, don't go around randomly asking kids if they're both girls, you idiot."
If only I had a camera at that time! I would've taken a picture of that gaping face!
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't kn—"
"Of course you didn't know, you lizard-faced broad. You don't know us, so how will you know if we're both related or not? And why did you come up to us like some pedophile, by the way? Normal people, if they think someone's adorable or has a certain beauty for them, will only gush from afar and let their voices be heard to their object of admiration. You, on the other hand, personally came up to us and practically breathed our faces with your stinky breath, making us cringe and uncomfortable and asked us if we're related (which we're clearly not). Surely, you have some sick motive for your intrusion of private space and your questioning of unnecessary questions? Well, then. Let's hear it! What's your motive, you disgusting piece of crap?"
To say the least, I was completely speechless, too—those were words I'm not used to hearing, even from him. It was the first time I hear him say such things.
By that time, the people were reallylooking at us. I kept on tugging the sleeve of his shirt. He was using the most derogatory form of "you"—and his insults and his voice suddenly held a stinging bite, something that I'm not used to. He never insulted me that way. I was glad that I was not the reason for his burst of anger.
"I-I have no motive, really...!"
"Really?"
"Uh, yes—"
"So you're saying that that bag of candy you've been holding behind your back the whole time you were talking to us had nothing to do with your motive?"
"Ah—"
"(Neuro! That's going too far!)"
He ignored my pleas, but—
"Cashier-san, could you please check what's the contents of that candy bag? I'd like to know if there's really candy in there. If there is, I'd like to take a good look at it."
"But—"
"Please?"
—his bruised right hand that held mine—was shaking.
He was scared. And yet he held my hand tighter as he purposely widened his black-green eyes towards the cashier—it was to make him look like an innocent boy, of course. He squeezed it so tight I thought my bones would break.
The cashier complied with a little sound of, "aww". If only she knew that that beneath that angelic face lies a face of an imp.
"All right, little boy. Um, yes. Right. Um. Could you please do what the little—boy—requested?"
"Why, the nerve—!"
"Oh? So we're the ones at fault now, aren't we? Shouldn't that be our line, you broad? Surely, there's nothing to be apprehensive of if you're not hiding anything in that bag, right? I'd like to see you prove me wrong."
"...You disrespectful little—"
"Don't hurt him!"
I couldn't stop myself. She was about to hit him in the face and—
"Yako!"
In his place, because I shielded him, I got hit instead—with that candy bag.
What was inside of it was no candy, though. Its contents of it were hard enough to make my forehead bleed. And I had a hard time regaining my vision. I felt dizzy then. He came up to me and shook my shoulders.
"Yako! ...Why, how low of you!"
"It was her fault! She blocked my way!"
My ears throbbed at that time for some reason. It must be because of the blood.
"You snail! You didn't have to do that!"
"But you were going to be attac—"
"I can take care of myself! You're a woman! You're weaker! And you old bag! You're paying for this!"
The woman had taken a step back as he had snapped. And no one was able to stop his barrage upon barrage of insults on that woman. I felt his hands tremble, and he whispered something about me not taking care of myself enough.
Oh, and as soon as I regained my vision, I saw him pointing his middle finger at her, too. I didn't know whether to smack him on the head for his show of disrespect to the elderly or to laugh at that woman's face.
"There's a gun in there, isn't it?"
"No, there's—"
"If it's not a gun, then it must be something that's really hard enough to break skin. Otherwise, that must be some really hard candy!"
He smiled that wide and toothy smile of his, mischief glinting in his eyes as he stood.
And with no hesitation, he threw his newly-bought hardbound novel at her face.
"Police! Police!"
Everything happened so fast, and before I knew it, people were lying face down and were hunched together, cowering in fear as she took out the pistol inside the candy bag. Some were hiding behind the bookshelves and boxes of books.
As for us, we stood still. Well, it was him who stood still, he stood in front of me. I was still kneeling on the floor as my forehead bled. Adrenaline flowed in me, ears alert should she try to harm either of us.
"Try to call them one more time and I'll shoot your rotten mouth!"
"Heh. Try me."
"Neuro! Don't provoke her!"
Bang!
A gunshot was heard inside the bookstore on that lazy afternoon.
The bullet was not in either of our bodies, though.
"Hands up where I can see them!"
"You dirty little—"
"I said, 'Hands up'!"
The police came just in time. Whoever yelled for help earlier really saved us all.
She was then caught after a fierce struggle. Her glares that were directed at us seemed to burn our faces.
It turned out that she was related to one of the kidnappers before. She tried to avenge her husband who got beaten up in the eye. (I think I know who did it.) Thus, the reason why she approached us was because her husband described us as, "a weak, little blonde girl with a strong, little blonde girl with a potty mouth" during the time she visited his jail cell. Right before she got dragged inside the police car, however, he hollered at the woman. She turned, so did the police, and he raised his middle finger at her again. He really needed to change his manners.
"That's for damaging what's mine, you ugly monkey."
I smiled at his words for some reason. And the dull ache in my forehead seemed to disappear.
And then, out of the blue, someone appeared beside me, his hand stretched out to my hand, his smile wide as he spoke to me.
"Can you stand?"
"Why, thank you, Neu—you're not Neuro."
I forgot that he was still standing by the door, his arm and middle finger waving happily about at the woman.
It seemed that I was already used to his presence.
"I know. The name's Higuchi, by the way. The one who called the police earlier."
"Oh... Oh! That was you? Thank you so much!"
"Don't mention it! The man in the green jacket was my dad, by the way. He's a police officer."
"Oh, so that's why!"
That little boy in the green overalls with big, round eyeglasses smiled at me. I smiled back.
"Oh! By the way—here, I have some dressing for your wound."
"Ah, th-thank y—"
"I'll do it."
"Neuro!"
He popped out of nowhere and grabbed the dressing and antiseptic from his hands. How rude.
Then again—
"This will hurt, maggot."
"Well, try not to dab it on too mu—ah!"
"Don't speak too much, either. You might bite your tongue."
"You're doing it on purpose!"
"Heh. No, I'm not."
"Hey, you're hurting her! Let me do it—"
"Don't touch her."
—I could sense that he was becoming defensive. His shoulders were stiff as he twisted that little boy's hand away from my forehead.
"Hey, what's your problem?"
"You're touching my property."
"...What."
He had always been possessive—too possessive, in fact—of me. I remember him glaring holes in his face. And I swear he almost growled.
I didn't know whether I should be pleased or petrified.
...I decided to be pleased.
"Clean your ears, you numbskull. Didn't you hear me? I said, 'don't touch her'."
"Why are you—"
"Neuro, let go of it, already. He didn't mean any har—"
"If one of those incidents ever happen again with you on my watch, I'll rip off your forehead with my finger. Don't be too soft. Don't defend him. We don't know who he is."
"...'Mkay."
"Good. Now, bite this. And Glasses Boy, stop staring."
"What's that for—!"
"Just bite it if you don't want to lose your tongue."
I looked at that stunned little boy, then back at him. He made me bite his arm, for some reason. At that time, I didn't know why he made me do it, but—
—if he hadn't made me bite his arm, I would've gotten gangrene from biting my tongue off.
"Hey, you're hurting her again! That's no way to treat a gi—"
He glared at that black-haired boy. And he silenced himself reluctantly.
"Hrrmph—!"
I closed my eyes in pain from that antiseptic. It stung my skin. That lady hit me too hard.
"Just a little more... Don't bite me too hard, maggot. You'll chomp my arm off."
"Hrrm—"
"Good. Just grab my arm. Hold still—back off, mister—you too, lady. I can handle her—all right, you can let go of me now, Snout Face."
"...Is it over?"
"I'll just put the bandage—you. There's no poison on this, is there?"
"Wha—Why would you assume that, you dumbo?"
"We barely even know you. Don't expect me to trust anyone after what she had been through. And you just called me a dumbo. If I'm Dumbo, then you're a glasses-wearing, property-touching lunatic."
"..."
I had dared to take a peek as I released my teeth and my hands from his arm.
His eyebrows were furrowed at the bandage, smelling it and staring at it for a long time, before taking a deep sniff of it again—"for any signs of poison" was his reason.
I could tell he still hadn't gotten over that kidnapping incident. After all, when he found me in that building, I was put inside a large and transparent plastic bag.
It must have shocked him, back then.
...So, even he has a fear, was my thought that day.
"...There. All done."
He smiled at me, then at his handiwork. He looked proud, I should say. ("I was once a boy scout in my first grade, you know! I just got kicked out of the team when I went to put super glue on the captain's hair when we were out camping once. I thought it would be fun," he would say.)
"Now, stand up, maggot, you're making the floor dirty with your germs."
"H-hey, that's not the way to talk to her!"
"Oh, you're still here? I thought you had gotten back from wherever hole you came out from. And how I talk to her is my business, not yours."
"Neuro! At least try to say thanks! The bandage and antiseptic you used were his, after all! He helped us!"
"...Hm? Oh! Well, then. Let me remove that bandage you have on your head and I'll shove it back to his face so you won't owe him—"
"That's cruel! It's not my fault if you didn't have a hanky with you—"
"So you'd rather have me bandaging you with my handkerchief filled with your green snot? Have you forgotten that it was in your possession? You said something about cleaning it—"
"—You threatened me to clean it with my tongue—"
"It's a faster way!"
"—But then I'll have mucus on my taste buds!"
"That's your problem, not mine."
"Pf—Pfft—!"
"...What now, you ugly fly?"
"Y-you two act like my mom and dad! Haha!"
"What!"
It took me some time to think of what he said, and when it dawned on me, I looked around us.
And certainly, the customers and the clerks and the manager around us were giggling, whispering something about "those little children being sweet and adorable".
I wanted to cry for the second time that day.
"N-Neuro! Just—let's go to the ramen store already! This is embarrassing..."
"Let me get my novel first."
He was really calm despite the whispers of the people around us, only seldomly taking a quick glare at that giggling boy whenever he thought that I wasn't looking. And when he retrieved his novel—it now had a dent from where he had hit the woman earlier—he went over to me and dragged me again.
He didn't speak even once on our way out. Not even when that little boy in the green overalls, Higuchi-san, called us to at least properly tell us our names.
When I was about to reply, he tugged on my arm even harder. I decided not to invoke his wrath by not replying. Instead, I smiled and waved as we walked away from the bookstore.
The sun was slowly setting at that time, and the rays were hitting his hair nicely, making it a soft shade of orange and yellow. I didn't comment on it, though. If he was already thatangry at being mistaken for a girl, then I wouldn't want to think how he would react by me saying that his hair looked beautiful in the sun. In his vocabulary, the words, "beautiful" and "man" shouldn't be together in one sentence.
"Neuro, what was that for?"
"What was what for?"
"You know what I mean! Why didn't you tell him our names?"
"If you were to do that, at that distance, then people would overhear it, gaining access to our names is one of the first steps of stalking. I don't want anything like that to happen again."
He was protecting me, in his own ambiguous way.
Thus, I nodded and stayed silent. I didn't say anything anymore about the incident in the bookstore.
"So! About the treat—"
"I'm thinking about it."
"Oh, all right. You're—hey. You said you're going to treat me! No time to think!"
"Oh? Defying me now, are we? Just because you met that greasy-haired boy doesn't mean that I'll let you go."
"Wha—"
He turned at me, his green eyes almost swirling in the sunset colors.
He grinned, and once again, I saw those two pointed teeth of his.
"You're my maggot. Mine. And I don't share what's mine. Remember that."
I was speechless. For a seven-year-old, he was quite possessive.
And for some unfathomable reason, I felt happy—that he was there to protect me, that is.
"So? Mama, does this friend of yours really likes you? I can tell from the way you speak of him."
"Well, I guess. I mean, we did get to know each other throughout the years and in time, we m—oh! Welcome back!"
The door to the dining room revealed a tall man in a suit. Hair spun in ashen blond with ebony highlights and a fair complexion that rivaled the colors of the wall were as defined as the sun. Eyes as green as the lush forest and as black as the shadows looked at the pair sitting in front of the table. An innocent smile was painted on his face as he eyed Yako.
"Hello, maggots."
I love Neuro. Period. 8D Oh, and I'm getting a hang of this story. XD And thank you for reviewing~! ;A; OwO