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 Twenty-One~~~
~~~Previous~~~
Yako's face is blank as she looks on in shock. "Impossible...just from something as small as this, how did it turn into something like this?"
"You should expect it by now," I comment, sighing.
Neuro clicks his fingers, gaining Otsuka's attention. "Imperfect."
"What?' Otsuka demands.
"This level of merging, you can't say that it's perfect. To achieve that, you must merge with all the furniture."
As soon as Neuro stops talking, the ground begins to shake. "Eh? Earthquake?"
"Nope, it's my 777 Tools of Demon World. " Neuro comments.
I hear shouts from outside. "Hey, aren't you going a bit overboard?" Yako queries.
"It's true." Neuro agrees. "This one isn't worth me activating the Tools of Demon World, but..."
" Tools of Demon World?" I question.
The ground breaks open. "777 Tools of Demon World! Evil Tree." It is a large tree with snake-like creatures. Neuro walks towards Otsuka. His face glows before his true face appears. "Itadakimasu." He lunges forward, and his beak is placed over Otsuka's head.
The weapon disappears, leaving a large hole through all building floors. Yako looks over the edge from the other side of the room as I stand next to Neuro. "Now, he's one with much more furniture." Looking down, there's a lot of furniture on his chest and legs.
~~~Next Day~~~
~~~At The Office~~~
"It didn't have anything to do with Sai. It's all because of your scrappy instincts. I've wasted my power." Neuro scolds.
Yako makes a sound of agreement but continues to type away on her computer. "But that had to be Sai."
"Anyways, it's not bad to get this table for our payment," Neuro comments as he has his feet resting on top of Troy, the red table. I see Neuro narrow his eyes and rest his right hand over his left.
I see Yako get out the notebook she got from Sasazuka and gaze at it. They both must be thinking about Sai. He has disguised himself as someone else already and is wandering around undisturbed.
~~~Present~~~
~~~3rd POV~~~
In a foggy park, a man is jogging. When he gets near the turned-off street light, he stops when he sees something in the bushes. He looks closer before his eyes widen, and he screams before turning away and running back in the other direction.
A woman is lying on the grass, her face burnt, so you can't even see any of her features. With the way she is, it is obvious that she is dead. It isn't long before the police arrive on the scene.
"The corpse was found around six this morning. The person who found her was a male jogger from the neighbourhood. The victim was killed by something like a knife cutting into her artery. Her face was also burned with sulfuric acid." Ishigaki states with a cloth over his mouth and nose.
"A body without a face," Sasazuka repeats.
"The identity of the victim is still unknown," Ishigaki adds.
"Start investigating the victim's identity now." Sasazuka orders. "Also, try and reconstruct the destroyed face."
"Understood." Ishigaki agrees.
~~~Yuuki's POV~~~
I change into my crimson red and black princess dress and light red coat before heading to the office. Yako has gone out with her friend Eri, as she wants to have plastic surgery. Yako went with her as she was worried about Eri.
~~~3rd POV~~~
Yako and her friend, Eri, appear outside the plastic surgery building. Yako looks at the building before turning her head to look at Eri. "Hey Eri, maybe we should reconsider it…"
A smile appears on Eri's face. "It'll be okay. Let's go in."
Yako reluctantly follows her inside. My classmate Eri decided to do plastic surgery. I followed her because I was worried. Why did she want to have plastic surgery? I don't understand.
The pair sit down before Yako looks around. "Eri, just let it be…"
"No, it took me a long time to get mentally prepared." Eri narrows her eyes. "The more beautiful a woman is, the better she'll be."
"Hoshino-san!" A female voice calls out.
Eri looks up as she stands. "Yes."
The pair walk over to the desk. "So, you are Hoshino Eri-san." The woman lifts her head. "Sorry for the wait. Please go in." The woman looks at Yako. "Oh, are you that piggish detective?"
A strained smile appears on Yako's face. "People normally call me the female high school detective…"
"Really? I'm so sorry." She apologises with a smile.
"No problem." Yako acknowledges, a strained smile still on her face. The smile disappears as she gazes at the woman. "So beautiful…"
Eri wants over to her. "You think so too? She is the doctor's wife." Yako looks at his wife. "She's his standard! After the surgery, you'll become somewhat like her!"
"Are you serious?" Yako asks, surprised.
"I heard that the piggish detective came!" A man says as he pops his head around a door.
Yako lowers her head with a sigh. "I'm the female high school detective…"
The man moves around and over to Yako. He looks at her before placing his hands on her shoulders. "Beautiful material."
"Material?" Yako queries confused.
Eri lifts her hand. "The doctor is an artist. He imagines everyone's face as a piece of canvas."
"If the canvas is not good, then you cannot paint a good painting." He comments.
"Told you," Eri says happily as she lowers her hand.
Yako looks surprised before a strained smile appears on her face. "Thank you…"
Eri is taken inside by the doctor, and the surgery begins while Yako continues to wait outside. "Detective-san." The doctor's wife calls out. Yako turns her head to look. "Yes?"
"You look bored waiting. Would you like a cup of tea?" She offers with a smile.
"Tea?" Yako repeats.
"Also, some cocoa macaroons" She adds.
A large smile appears on Yako's face. "There are cocoa macaroons, too?!" Stars appear in her eyes. "Please let me try some!"
The wife looks at Yako, surprised before she lets out a soft laugh.
~~~At the Police Station~~~
"Senpai," Ishigaki calls out. Sasazuka looks at him as he gets close. "The facial reconstruction of that unknown dead body is completed." He holds out a photograph. "This is it!" Sasazuka takes it. "How is it? It's a beauty, right? She looks so good even though it's just a reconstruction image."
~~~Back at the Plastic Surgery Clinic~~~
Yako follows the wife into a greenhouse, where she is given some tea. Yako looks around at the flowers. "There is morning glory, even in the winter?"
"Yes, they are my favourite type of flowers. Aren't they beautiful?" She questions.
"Yeah." Yako agrees before she takes one of the macaroons. Yako notices the wife looking at her, and a smile appears on her face. "Don't stare at me like that." She laughs awkwardly.
"I'm sorry, you looked like you enjoyed eating those." The wife says with a smile, causing Yako to let out another laugh.
"You both can work in such a good hospital together. I feel a bit envious." Yako admits.
"Really?" She queries as she lowers her hand. "It wasn't easy, coming this far. Even if my husband is called the Superman of plastic surgery, the times before this were hard…I met him while we were both interns in a university." She closes her eyes. "We supported each other during hard times."
Yako lowers her gaze slightly. "So, that's how it is."
The wife snaps out of it and looks back at Yako. "I'm daydreaming in front of you. I'm sorry."
"It's okay." Yako denies. "But it's great to see you both so happy now." Yako takes another macaroon.
The wife looks away again and closes her eyes. "Maybe…" Yako looks at her. "He has been coming home fairly late nowadays. Maybe he has another woman…"
"Are you talking about cheating?" Yako queries. "Is there a need to cheat if you have a beautiful wife like yourself? It's impossible." Yako encourages.
"You really have some mysterious powers." She praises. "Making someone feel relaxed…or more like making people to not worry." She looks at Yako with a smile. "That's the feeling you give me."
"Well, I've worked with people who've had complexes before, so…" Yako trails off. She has another macaroon.
"Exactly, that's why the name 'piggish detective' suits you very well." She comments.
"I am the female high school detective…" Yako points out with a sigh.
Yako drinks her tea when footsteps head towards her. "Yako." A voice calls out. Yako lifts her head, and her eyes widen when she sees Eri's head wrapped in bandages.
Next to Eri is the doctor. "The surgery is finished. You can take the bandages off after ten days. You'll start a new life then."
Yako moves back, looking at Eri hesitantly. "Eri…"
~~~Yuuki's POV~~~
Neuro is sleeping when I get there, so I sit down next to him and stay quiet to not disturb him. Yako pops in before leaving. I follow after her to let Neuro rest in quiet. Yako stops as she walks past a convenience store and stares into the window.
"Yako, is something the matter?" I question softly.
Yako snaps out of her daze to look at me. "No, nothing."
The convenience store door slides open, and Sasazuka walks out. "Sasazuka-san!"
"Yako-chan, Yuki-chan, perfect timing." He walks toward us and takes an image out of his pocket. "Have you heard about the faceless murder case? The victim's reconstruction is done. We're collecting information about her identity now."
Yako looks at the photo, surprised. "This face..."
Sasazuka's eyes widen. "Do you know her?"
Yako takes us to the place where her friend had plastic surgery. Through the window, we see a lady sitting at the front desk on the phone with the same face as the victim. "Look, it's the person who's on the phone."
"I see, so this is how it is..." Sasazuka trails off.
"It's the same face." I softly comment.
"But what will she think if she looks the same as the victim?" Yako queries worried.
~~~At The Police Station~~~
Soon, a second victim with no face appears, and Sasazuka calls Yako and me to their station. We crowd around the computer to look at the second victim's reconstructed photo. "This is the second victim's reconstruction."
"Ehh? This face is the same as the previous victim. " Yako points out, leaning forward.
Sasazuka has both images appear next to each other. "They are a different age, but they look alike."
"They really look almost identical. Right, Yuki-nee?" Yako queries.
"Hmm, yeah, almost too identical." I agree.
"It's like we're looking at dolls," Ishigaki comments, causing Sasazuka and Yako to glare at him.
Sasazuka turns his gaze back to the screen. "But there's a big difference between this time and last time."
"What's different?" Yako questions.
"This time, the body shows signs of going through plastic surgery. But last time, the body was totally natural." Sasazuka comments.
"Plastic surgery?" I question.
"We got her identity immediately after checking through her dental records. A student from a local university, Tokunaka Kaori. It seems like she went to the Kuroo Clinic." Sasazuka adds.
"Kuroo Clinic?!" Yako exclaims, surprised.
"Also, the first victim is identified. Full-time housewife, Iijima Reiko." Sasazuka states.
Ishigaki walks toward Yako and takes out his black notebook. "Listen carefully, don't get surprised. It seems like Iijima Reiko wants to hide the fact that she was Dr Kuroo's classmate."
"Classmate," Yako repeats, looking down.
"In other words, these two cases are related to Kuroo." Sasazuka points out.
I sense Neuro's presence as he walks through the door. "Isn't that interesting, Sensei, Yuuki?" Neuro places his hand around Yako's head, squeezing her cheeks. Ishigaki and Sasazuka look around, surprised. "That's not very nice, Sensei. Doing this sort of investigating in secret."
"No...This is because..." Yako stutters.
Neuro places his left arm around my waist. I place my hands on his arms and use my magic to give him more energy. He looks at me surprised, before looking at Sasazuka. "Detective-san, do you have any other hints?"
"Yeah, I was investigating where the sulfuric acid came from." Sasazuka acknowledges.
"Sulfuric acid? I see..." Neuro trails off.
~~~Back At the Office~~~
Akane writes on the whiteboard. "The first and second victims look exactly the same as the doctor's wife."
"It's the opposite," Neuro states. "The doctor's wife is modified to look exactly the same as his high school classmate. That's how it is."
Yako places her finger on her chin. "The wife has been through plastic surgery. That means Kuroo Sensei's perfect image of a woman is not his wife, but his high school classmate."
"It seems like it, doesn't it?" I query.
Neuro grabs some of Yako's hair with his left hand while he taps the side of her head with his left fist. "Your brain is not capable of deriving that."
"Does his wife know about this?" Yako questions before lowering her head sadly. "There's no way she knows. But that's way over the line! He's such a bad husband!" Yako suddenly yells, surprising Neuro as his eyes widen, and he stops tapping the side of her head.
Neuro closes his eyes with a smirk and lowers his right arm. "But this can't be his motive for the serial killings." He lets go of Yako's hair, and she falls to the ground. Neuro turns to the side and crosses his arms over his chest. "It seems like we need to investigate their past. If she has been through surgery, she must have a record. We can find clues from that."
"No other choice…it's the only way." I agree thoughtfully.
Yako sits up and looks at Neuro, confused. "Yako, sneak into the hospital."
~~~Back At the Kuroo Clinic~~~
Yako goes back later that night, pretending that she wants plastic surgery done. Not long after Yako enters the building, Godai climbs up the electric pole (in a blue jacket, trousers and white gloves) and messes with the system, shutting down the electricity inside.
Kuroo Sensei storms out. "Hey, you!" Godai looks down. "What the hell are you doing there?"
"Fixing the power supply." Godai lies easily.
"I never heard about something like this. Look what you did during my important surgery. Fix it ASAP." He orders.
"Right, right," Godai comments sarcastically.
I apparate inside and help Yako search for more information inside the office.
~~~Next Day~~~
~~~Back At the Office~~~
Neuro is sitting at his desk reading the information we found last night. "What messed up hobbies...It even contains pictures after the surgery and her job."
"That's an ugly fetish." Yako comments.
"Every time after the surgery, it seems like she totally changed." He flicks through the pages. "Race queen, nurse, maid."
"That's unforgivable! Not only did he change his own wife's face so many times, but made her face look like his own classmate; it's unforgivable!" Yako says angrily.
"What is it, Servant Number One? What is making you furious?" Neuro queries.
"Because doesn't love mean accepting everything about the person?" Yako points out.
"You're not supposed to change who they are to suit their needs," I commented softly.
Neuro opens his right eye to look at her. "What use is it telling me this?" Yako looks to the side, upset. "This is her original look." He shows us a picture. "Hey, Servant Number Two! Investigate this woman's social connections. Also, investigate her relationship with the first victim. Do you understand?"
Godai tch's as he walks to the door. "Don't order me around all the time!" He slams the door shut as he leaves.
Later on, Godai rings. He picks us up and heads to a bar. Godai is looking toward Kuroo Sensei with his binoculars. "That bastard, he's hanging out with yet another woman."
"Is the relationship with his classmate clear?" Neuro queries.
Godai lowers the binoculars. "That's easy. A man always chases after the woman of his dreams."
"What does that mean?" Yako questions confused.
Godai holds up a photo. "I've got their dating pictures." Neuro takes it. "It's from some other detective agency."
"I see." Neuro comments.
"She was trying to get him to buy her a car. It looks like she came back to him for the cash. That woman really has motivation." Godai adds.
"But according to just this, we can't tell if this woman is Kuroo's classmate. Do you have any information on his wife?" Neuro questions.
"Who do you think employed that detective agency?" Godai points out.
"I see. So, the employer is his wife." Neuro acknowledges.
"You're lying!" Yako denies.
"It's true," Godai states, looking at her.
Yako looks surprised before looking before her with her head lowered and fists clenched in her lap. "His wife already knows that he is cheating with someone who looks exactly like her."
"That's how it is." Godai agrees.
"She must have been upset when she found out." I offer. Yako looks at me and nods her head in agreement.
"Anyhow, this mystery is on the tip of my tongue," Neuro states with a smirk.
~~~Next Day~~~
~~~At The Kuroo Clinic~~~
We head to the clinic along with Sasazuka and Ishigaki. We head inside, and Neuro opens the door to Kuroo's office. "You are...The female high school detective."
"The murderer is...YOU!" Yako points in Kuroo Sensei's direction.
"Kuroo Sensei, you're blocking the way," Neuro states, confusing Yako. "Sensei is pointing behind you." He moves to show the photo and him and his wife. "Where is your wife?"
He looks at Neuro. "She's not at home."
"Sensei, let's wait until she gets back." Neuro comments.
"What is happening? Why is my wife a murderer?" Kuroo demands.
"Sensei, it seems like she also has her reasons. We'll explain it while waiting for your wife to return." Neuro states.
"Yeah." Yako agrees.
Neuro starts. "We've investigated your wife's past. Before she married you, she was part of a road gang. According to her companions, when you were a trainee that time, you were finding test subjects to operate on. A weirdo..."
Kuroo adverts his gaze. "That is because..."
"And then one day, after a bike accident, your wife was brought in because of a face injury. You were the main doctor at that time, so you used your own hands to save her. From that day on, she vowed to follow you. Before you were famous, your test subject was always your wife, Yoshino-san. Every time after surgery, your wife never said anything. But Kuroo-san, from the beginning, your dream woman was someone else."
Kuroo has his head lowered with his eyes closed and fist clenched in his lap.
"After becoming famous, that woman appeared before you again. During your reunion, you liked her so much that you brought her a car. But you didn't know that her motive was just your money. That was the first victim, Iijima Reiko."
He looks surprised. "Murdered?"
"Your wife knew about the relationship between you and Reiko," Neuro adds.
"That's all just an assumption." Kuroo's wife states from behind us. She is standing at the door with her arms crossed over her stomach. We all turn to look at her. She wears a black top with orange roses along the rim, a long-sleeved turquoise top, a long purple skirt, and beige high heels.
"Madam," Yako exclaims surprised.
"Then you're saying that I killed that woman out of jealousy?" She queries.
Neuro looks at her as he continues to talk. "We've discovered that you purchased a large amount of sulfuric acid. After pouring sulfuric acid on the woman who shared the same face as you, you killed her. You felt that your face finally belonged only to you. But you discovered that in Kuroo-sensei's patients, there was another one who looked exactly the same. 'Only one copy of my face is needed.' So, you purchased a large amount of sulfuric acid."
The wife begins laughing. "Do you have any proof that I did it?"
"We have videotapes of you in the drugstore," Ishigaki states.
"That isn't me." The wife denies it. "There's tons of people who look just like me."
Kuroo-sensei lets out a gasp of surprise as Sasazuka speaks. "Sulfuric acid cannot be disposed of easily. It should be hidden somewhere in this hospital."
"I already found out the place where the sulfuric acid is hidden. Right? Sensei, Yuuki." Neuro comments. "There's something different in the garden, right?"
We turn to look out the window. "What is different?" Ishigaki questions.
Yako is silent before her eyes widen. "The morning glory colours are different!"
"They are red when they are meant to be blue," I add.
"Morning glories appear blue when the acidity is low, and when high, red. We can probably find traces of disposed sulfuric acid in the soil." Neuro acknowledges.
The wife covers her lowered face with her hands. "Flowers never lie. They don't need to lie."
"Madam." Yako trails off.
"You cannot judge a human by their looks; that's a lie." Ears and tails sprout out from her body. She removes her hands, which now have long nails, from her face to show that it has become fox-like. "Your appearance is everything. Your appearance affects what you think within." Her tails move past her face, and each time, she has a different appearance. She tilts her head back and covers her face with her hands. "Which is my face?!"
Kuroo-sensei stands up. "Yoshino!"
"The owner of this face tried to get close to my husband because of the money. The women after that are also the same." She removes her hands and lifts her head. "How can the owner of the face be like that?" She clenches her fists as she leans forward. "Everyone sharing the same face. It's unforgivable! That's why I killed them all." She covers her face again. "As long as my husband continues to produce this face, I will kill every woman who has this face." She removes her hands as she crouches on the ground.
Yako takes a few steps forward. "Madam, you really love your husband. If you just wanted to be the only owner of the face, you could've just simply killed your husband. But you didn't do that." The wife lifts her head and looks at Yako.
"That's the proof of your love," I add softly.
Both the wife and Kuroo-sensei gasped at the same time. Kuroo-sensei takes a step forward. "Yoshino...I..."
"It's all too late. I've already killed two people." She opens a bottle and moves it near her mouth. Neuro slaps it out of her hand before she can. The bottle smashes on the ground, and fog fills the room.
"Neuro!" Yako yells as they all, apart from me, cover their faces.
"It'll be messy if you die now because it's hard to find an eatable mystery. Itadakimasu." Neuro eats the mystery.
The fog disappears, and the wife has a normal appearance and is resting on her knees. Sasazuka is the first to break the silence. "Can you perform an operation one more time?" Kuroo-sensei looks surprised and looks at Sasazuka before looking back at his wife. "Change her back into when you first met her."
Kuroo does.
~~~A Few Days Later~~~
~~~After Yako Finishes School~~~
I meet Yako as she leaves her school. She doesn't look happy, but that is due to her friend Eri and the surgery she went through.
"Yako-chan, Yuuki-chan, finally found you." I hear Sasazuka say as he puts his hand on our shoulders. We turn to look at him, surprised. "Sasazuka-san!/Sasazuka!"
"Listen...listen to me calmly. Your Kaa-san has been arrested somewhere in South America and is charged with murder." Sasazuka comments.
Yako and I share a look of surprise. "Our Kaa-san...?"
"Your Kaa-san went to South America because she wanted to solve the mystery of your Otou-san's death. But it seems like she got dragged into something."
"Otou-san's death? Why is it South America?" Yako questions.
Yako and I share a look before nodding our heads. We leave Sasazuka, get all our items packed, and fly to South America instantly. Nothing will be solved until we take our first step there.
~~~To Be Continued~~~
/Thank you for reading this chapter. Please leave a review. Your opinions are appreciated.\