Disclaimer::::
I do not own Harry Potter or Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro characters. Only my OC Character (s).
I don't make any profit from any of my stories on this website.
Rated M for future sexual content and language
"Characters Speaking"
Characters Thinking
/Author Comments/
~~~Chapter Ten~~~
~~~Previous~~~
Neuro walks up to where the man is breathing heavily, almost panting. "Not bad...Human music can attract someone like this..."
"Aya...Aya..." He repeats as his body shakes.
"But you are a pest. If you came in when I'm about to solve a mystery, my meal would be screwed. I should use what I've learned...Using music to cure you. 777 Tools of the Demon World, Evil Stringer." Neuro grabs a hold of the man's head. "Let me give you a different present."
I don't see what Neuro is doing until the man starts screaming and kicking out his legs. "What's happening? He went crazy all of a sudden." Sasazuka questions confused.
Yako lets out a sigh. "Again...Using some weird tool..."
"Yeah, one to do with music, by the looks of it." I agree, sweatdropping.
Aya walks past us towards the man as he goes silent. "Become the one I love most? Impossible. Even if you're by my side, I can still sing."
Yako lets out a quiet gasp as she gazes at Aya's back. She is finally catching on...ever so slowly.
"What happened to that guy?" Sasazuka questions, standing in front of him.
"I don't know, seeing Aya-san with his real eyes...maybe he got over-excited? Sasazuka senpai, after hearing what he said, do you think it has a relationship with the suicides?" Ishigaki comments as the pair of them walk towards the man.
"I think so; bring him back to investigate." Sasazuka orders.
Aya walks over at the same time Neuro walks over to Yako and me. "Yako, Yuuki, the pest is now gone. It's time to find a good place to feast on the mystery."
Yako follows Neuro's gaze toward Aya. Aya feels Yako's gaze and turns with a smile. Yako lets out a low gasp before Aya turns away and walks off.
This case isn't solved yet, and I know Aya is involved. But it's time for Yako to evolve herself this time.
~~~Present~~~
~~~3rd POV~~~
"Stop it…" The man shouts, his hands on his head. "I don't want to listen to music anymore! I only wanted my own music before, but now I just want to rip my eardrums out!" He begins crying.
Sasazuka and Ishigaki leave the room, and Ishigaki gets some coffee from a vending machine. "What happened, senpai?"
"I can't tell what happened from what he said. "Sasazuka admits. "He doesn't seem to be responsible for killing those two."
Ishigaki lowers his can. "So, it means they committed suicide?"
Sasazuka looks away and closes his eyes. "Who knows?"
~~~Yuuki's POV~~~
The next day, I head straight to the office after getting dressed (antique fuchsia and black princess dress, light purple coat, and black pouch bag). Yako does the same when she can.
Yako heads straight to the computer and begins her research behind Aya and her music on her website. I pull up a chair and sit beside her silently, reading the same information.
~~~Yako's POV~~~
The suspicion in my heart is increasing…I tried to read the reports, attempting to find an answer…Doing so would confirm my suspicion.
~~~Yuuki's POV~~~
The office door is slammed open. Godai is there, looking quite cheerful. "This is great! I got the tickets for Aya Eishia's live show tonight! Even though I took it from the people who owe me money...I'm so lucky!" He walks towards Yako, tickets in his hand. "So...do you want it?" He leans down. "If you want it, beg me...What? Are you deaf?"
Neuro swipes the tickets from Godai's hands and drops them out the window. Godai lets out a yell. "What are you doing!? It was hard to get!"
"If you're feeling depressed, then just go and fetch it." Neuro pushes him, and he falls out the window with a shout. There is a crash outside, Godai hitting the ground with a thud.
I watch as Neuro walks up behind Yako. He takes hold of her face and twists it, gaining her attention. "Ouch..."
"Talk about it, your thoughts about this mystery..." Neuro orders.
Yako rubs her neck. "You already know the real suspect, right? You too Yuuki-nee?"
"Of course." He states smugly.
"I do," I admit softly.
"The suspect is..." Yako trails off as Neuro opens his eyes to look into hers.
Neuro opens his eyes to look into Yako's. "Your eyes are telling me that you have a certain degree of confidence. The stare of a person who knows the truth."
"You worked out that much by yourself, Yako." I praise softly.
Yako looks away. "But...I never looked at the info Sasazuka-san provided...She has a perfect alibi." She looks back at Neuro.
"I'm not expecting you to overturn her alibi. But I think I've underestimated you...I've always looked at you as if you're an amoeba." He closes his right eye, holds up a finger, and smirks. "But you should be happy; you just ranked up to a woodlouse."
"Amoeba...woodlouse...Which one is bigger? I feel really pitiful after thinking about that." Yako comments, crying.
Neuro grabs Yako's head simultaneously; he helps me out of my seat. "Ok, it's time to go, Yako, Yuuki."
Yako struggles to lift her head. "Where are we going?"
"There, huh?" I comment.
"A high-class restaurant, the best place to feast on mysteries," Neuro states with a large smirk.
~~~At Aya's Live Show~~~
"Why are you guys asking to see Aya? She's busy preparing for the live show." Aya's manager points out.
"Sensei says that she really wanted to hear her singing, so desperate that she would go through the back door. Please forgive her. Come sensei, apologise." Senseigrabs Yako's head and pushes it down.
"I'm sorry for being so shameless..." Yako says, slightly sarcastically.
He does let us in, however, and we stand in the front of the crowd, close to the stage. Neuro looks bored, standing with his arms crossed. "What kind of weird plan are you thinking of?" Yako questions.
"What are you talking about?" Neuro queries.
"It's not normal for you to go to a live show." Yako points out.
"I just want to eat it raw, to eat the voice of the woman who can make people go into a daze," Neuro admits.
The light turns off as the music starts. The lights on the stage turn on, lighting up the stage. Aya walks down the stairs towards the microphone and starts singing. During this, people begin collapsing, and Yako has tears in her eyes.
I smile sadly. How foolish of her…and yet…maybe not.
It isn't long until she stops singing. Neuro picks Yako up, throws her on the stage, and hits the microphone. The audience makes confused sounds, and even Aya looks surprised. "Detective-san..."
"The murder is...You!" Yako points at Aya. Yako lowers her arm. "Crap...I said it...in front of so many people."
Aya's manager collapses in surprise. "You little girl...What are you doing?" The man next to Aya's manager demands.
"This is a live show." Another state.
"Restrain her!" Another yells, pointing at Yako.
"Wait," Aya says before looking at Yako. "Are you certain, detective-san? That means...I killed both of them and made it look like a suicide?"
"That..." Yako trails off.
"Now, I'll explain it for sensei," Neuro comments as he helps me onto the stage before stepping on himself. "Even if it is sensei, she will be Senseis in front of so many people. In these two cases, the victims seem to have no connection except for the company they work at and the method of death. But in reality, they have a connection. The first person to discover the body was Aya-san."
"Yes, that's right." Aya agrees, her eyes closed. She opens them before looking at Neuro. "But have you seen the report on the autopsy? Both of them died 1-2 hours before I discovered the body. Then, subtract 3 hours from when the body is discovered. First, it's the live show; then it's the recording. No matter which one it is, I couldn't leave because of what I was doing at that time. Also, I'm a woman. How can I lift them up and hang them with my weak hands?"
"Being a woman has nothing to do with it." I point out with a sigh.
"That was obviously planned beforehand so that you won't get suspected. There are also other connections. The crime scene." Neuro holds up a finger. "The first point is the structure of the room. Both rooms have pipes on the ceiling that can easily hang them." He holds up a second finger. "Second point is the rope used. Both of them have hooks so they can be hooked onto the pipes." He lowers his hand. "Why wouldn't they just be tied into the pipe? And the last point is...Both rooms have a sink. In front of the sink, there are plastic containers and a hose. Next, Aya-san...I will reveal it to you. Your entire murder plan."
She stays silent, so Neuro continues. "You strangled the victim's neck, then after they lost consciousness, you immediately placed the hooks on the rope, then you hung it up on the pipes. On the other side of the rope, you tied it to the plastic containers, and then you put the hoses inside them. After turning on the tap, the setup is complete. While the containers are getting filled, it pulls the victim up, but I'm afraid that before they reached the top, they've already died. Around the time of your live show, right? Because of this, the time of death is set perfectly after the start and before the end of the show. By the time you went to the scenes again, the victims' bodies were already hung up. After hooking them to the pipe, you cut the useless portion of the rope off and finally released the water from the container that acted as weights. Using this method, you wouldn't have to hang the victims yourself and also create an alibi at the same time. This wouldn't have worked if you weren't the one who discovered the corpses first. The unnatural and reasonless suicide or a planned homicide, which can happen in these two rooms, is a connection. These all indicate that you are the murderer, Aya-san. That's what Sensei said. "
AyaSensei at Yako before closing her eyes with a sigh. "Amazing, I have no way of proving you wrong anymore." The audience and staff let out a shocked gasp. Aya looks back at Yako, interest in her eyes. "Detective-san, how did you know that I was the murderer?"
Yako looks up at me, and I nod with an encouraging smile as I stand beside her, giving her the strength to do what she needs. To confront Aya.
Yako pushes herself off the ground and stands up. "I've seen the website your fans and co-workers made. I've also read the reviews and ratings on your records and live shows. The show three years ago didn't receive a good rating, but on the last day, everyone responded positively. Then, the album from a year ago. Using time to separate them, you didn't use the songs that were finished but recorded new ones instead. That album kept its amazing sales. The final day of the show was the day when the producer died. The new album was made right after the manager's death, a perfect chance where you can receive good ratings. When you lose someone important, making you all alone. You killed the people who were important to you because you wanted to use your voice to affect people who shared the same pain as you."
Yako clenched her fist down by her side. "But I still don't get it...I've also experienced the pain of losing someone important to me. But why...Why did you have to kill them with your own hands?"
"Impressive, detective-san." Aya praises. "My plan and reason are exactly as you've deducted. Yes, it's because they are both irreplaceable people. That's why I have to kill them. I will not let anything infect my soul. A lonely and empty soul, crying in the cusp of darkness, allowing my music to reach its peak. Dajima Takuro is the first person to understand my music. Oizumi Hibari is the first friend I ever had. Both of them loved me more than themselves. We laughed together, we cried together...When I realised that the darkness in my soul was overtaken by the warmth and light they gave me. My voice couldn't reach the audience anymore. My songs couldn't affect their brains. The more they love me, the more I feel that I'm not alone, the more my music loses its brightness and power. That's why the more I love them, the more I feel the need to get rid of them. If I'm not alone, I can't sing...Because I need to get back the darkness within me...I went back to my sealed world, back to the cold world."
"You're an amazing artist...you have such talent! Even if you're alone, even if you don't get swallowed by the darkness, I still think that you can produce beautiful music." Yako comments.
"How about you? I don't think you are as alone as you think you are. You have a strong determination, something that I don't have." Aya admits.
"Aya-san..." Yako trails off.
Aya turns around. "I'm not going to regret because I will become alone again. The way I am now...filled with melodies and rhythms that represent love...Even if I go to hell, I will sing until then. "
"Liar." Yako denies bowing her head. "You are suffering from your sins...If that's not the case, then why did you try so hard to hide it from the police? You didn't need to employ us."
"You loved the pair of them dearly, after all. You are judging yourself for what you have done." I add softly, letting out a sad smile.
Aya bows her head, a small smile on her face. "You really have seen through everything. It doesn't matter if you reveal the truth or not; I decided to believe in destiny. Gambling my only chance to receive forgiveness; employing anyone will do. But I was lucky that I chose you." Aya turns to look at Yako. "Maybe I was attracted to you..."
With that done, Aya confessed to the police and the case was finally closed with a different conclusion.
We walk home in silence. Neuro is the first to break it. "It wasn't a mystery worth eating. I thought I should celebrate after it was solved, but I never expected there would be someone like her."
"Aya-san is satisfied with this, right? It doesn't matter what I say; I couldn't save her or the victims." Yako comments.
"You gave her what she needed, Yako," I add softly.
"Who knows? But to me, you've proved to be useful this time." Neuro praises, causing Yako to look up shocked. "You gained her trust on the stage. The ability to persuade is something important and crucial to a detective. Being human and having the power to capture the hearts of others..." Neuro is hanging from the arch. "Feel proud, Yako...This is something that only you, Yuuki and that lady have and something I don't have."
"Neuro..." Yako's eyes widen, and Neuro disappears, his voice heard as he does. "Come back to work tomorrow like any normal day. If you're late, I will break all the joints in your body..."
The next day, I watched with Neuro as they removed all the posters that had Aya on them.
/Thank you for reading this chapter. Please leave a review. Your opinions are appreciated.\