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[ Three years may have passed, and Yako may have grown, but for Neuro, it had been nothing more than the blink of an eye, and when he returns, he's much the same as ever. The only thing changed is his battered appearance - it's as though he'd never been injured at all, nor spent a year draining his abilities - and, perhaps, just maybe, a slight change in his behavior towards her, though with Neuro, it's hard to tell. A less controlling hand; an occasional sense of pride towards her. Little things that couldn't be clearly quantified. And they're even more uncertain coupled with the fact that the number of attacks and beatings hasn't changed at all. Still, there's a faint sense that he sees her differently, as minor a shift as it may be for a stubborn old demon. Less pillbug and more partner, though he seldom decides to honor her with any nickname nicer than "slug."
And though he still insists on dragging her into absolutely everything. Case in point: she's just had a good chunk of her bank account vacated to buy two tickets onto this luxury cruise liner. Almost meeting his death in the water clearly wasn't enough to scare Neuro away from it. After two of this line's ships went missing out in the Pacific Ocean without a trace, a more serious investigation was called for - not looking for the ships or the bodies, of course, but the criminal behind it. According to Neuro, it's not an accident. Also according to Neuro, the culprit should be aboard this ship, and the mystery should be quite sumptuous!
Well, he's excited.
They're nearing the end of the first day aboard, and, evidently, the mystery is stil "ripening," according to him. As such, there hasn't been any serious investigation yet, although there's little doubt that Neuro's minions are scuttling about the ship. The sun is starting to set on the deck, and the view is quite stunning. The other passengers are watching peacefully. Predictably, Neuro is ignoring it entirely. ]
Look, Yako. I have found a drinking straw made in your size. [ instead, he's prodding her face with one end of a pool noodle. ]
And though he still insists on dragging her into absolutely everything. Case in point: she's just had a good chunk of her bank account vacated to buy two tickets onto this luxury cruise liner. Almost meeting his death in the water clearly wasn't enough to scare Neuro away from it. After two of this line's ships went missing out in the Pacific Ocean without a trace, a more serious investigation was called for - not looking for the ships or the bodies, of course, but the criminal behind it. According to Neuro, it's not an accident. Also according to Neuro, the culprit should be aboard this ship, and the mystery should be quite sumptuous!
Well, he's excited.
They're nearing the end of the first day aboard, and, evidently, the mystery is stil "ripening," according to him. As such, there hasn't been any serious investigation yet, although there's little doubt that Neuro's minions are scuttling about the ship. The sun is starting to set on the deck, and the view is quite stunning. The other passengers are watching peacefully. Predictably, Neuro is ignoring it entirely. ]
Look, Yako. I have found a drinking straw made in your size. [ instead, he's prodding her face with one end of a pool noodle. ]
no subject
Since there isn't any mystery-solving to be had at the moment, Yako's decided to make the best of it, and has chosen to sun herself by the poolside. Naturally, Neuro isn't tolerating any such nonsense, and Yako squints blearily at him from where the noodle is digging into her face before she pulls away, letting the noodle spring free. ]
I think I'll pass. [ The tourists are oohing and aahing over the view; if any of them have heard of the disappearing boats, they certainly don't seem to be worried about it. It's a little unsettling, but Yako supposes anyone with half a brain would have cancelled their tickets and moved on.
It's not so bad if you pretend you don't know about the very real danger they're in. ]
... I wish they'd let us go fishing...
no subject
That said, Neuro being full of positive energy is sort of a danger in itself. For the moment, he lets her wriggle away from his juvenile harrassment, smiling down at her in that vaguely malevolent way of his. ]
You cannot? I suppose that you would need a very long fishing rod for that. [ a brief pause. ] Ah. I could lower you down discreetly using one of my demonic tools, and then you could fish to your heart's content by hand. Would you prefer an intestinal rope or a millipede rope?
[ waving the noodle at her as he speaks. if they weren't in public, he'd do something more fun, but he's supposed to be careful. ]
slowly crawls back to this
[ The response is flat and instantaneous, though Yako knows better than to think that it will serve as much of a deterrent -- if Neuro finds suitable reason to, he'll manage to continue harassing her for his entertainment, one way or another.
Really, his entertainment is just about the only reason he needs. Looking around, she directs her attention towards the people instead. They're of various nationalities, and she can hear the chatter of several languages in the air, some of which she can understand and other which are still foreign to her. She's not sure yet, if it's relevant where the people on this boat come from, but it's certainly something to think about. ]
It's hard to imagine how someone could make all of this disappear.
wags tail!!!
Similar to her, he can't understand most of the languages being spoken; things like that, he tended to learn as he needed, and he'd only really needed Japanese at the time. Yako probably knows more than he does by now. Her comment draws a noncommittal 'hm' from him, and he glances out at the ocean again. ]
Hm. You shall not have to strain yourself imagining it for long. Soon, our culprit will be attempting the same thing. [ unceremoniously, he drops his foam pool noodle to the side, a black-gloved hand darting into one of his pockets and pulling out what appears to be a piece of paper. Neuro holds it out to her between two fingers. ] Starting here.
[ upon closer inspection, it's an invitation, written on stiff cardstock with fancy gold borders. It might look familiar; most of the other passengers have them, too.
Join us for a celebration of our line's quarter-century anniversary.
Promised are drinks, dining, dancing, and live music and entertainment, folllowed by fireworks - all very formal, of course. It seems like there's going to be a big party on the ship tonight. ]
i'm sorry for my failures as a tagger...
She takes the card cautiously, still half-expecting a trick. ]
A party? [ It makes sense, she supposes. It's a way of getting as many people in the same room as possible so if you were going to try anything, it would be there. But that presents a rather immediate concern. ]
I don't have anything to wear to something like that. They probably won't let me in. [ Not that it surprises her that Neuro would miss a human social cue like that, and once the words are out of her mouth, she realizes it was probably a mistake to voice them. Going naked is probably a better alternative to subjecting herself to whatever Neuro might come up with for a solution. ]
waits for you like fry's dog
Which is why Yako's comment about her not being let in draws a blank look from him. Obviously, this wasn't even something he'd factored into the equation. ]
What. [ flat. ] You appear to have a rotating wardrobe of various stupid schoolgirl outfits, but you do not have anything suitable when my food is at stake. What kind of failed woman are you?
[ at least she wasn't called a bug?? small victories. It's almost 100% guaranteed Neuro is raking her over the coals for fun rather than being actually troubled by this development, but it does mean they'll have to think of something. Or, rather, she will. ]
Then I shall have to provide for you. My Evil Attire can fit any shape of demon. It may try to strangle a human to death or leave permanent welts all over your body in its attempt, but it is a small price to pay, in the end...
SURPRISE I'M STILL TAGGING TIHS
Any sense of upset, thought, swiftly vanishes with the alarm of Neuro's proposed solution to her predicament, which makes her instinctively taking a few steps back, as if the distance is any sort of effective shield from Neuro's evil devices at all. ]
No thanks. [ She says firmly, instead, managing to look even more hunted for a moment. Knowing how Neuro's fashion choices tend to look, it's probably going to be covered in eyes, disturbingly organic looking ... and Yako would put that may try down as definitely will. Instead of further arguing the point, she tries to race towards a different solution: ]
They can't be expecting all those guests to come without needing to prepare for it. [ She starts, thinking out loud. ] We could learn more if I get among the servers first, to see if there's anything unusual going on.
ME TOO time for arts
ART WITH THE RIGHT ACCOUNT THIS TIME