RR: Recall

"That…" Yako gaped, staring at Akane who's face seemed to grow more and more annoyed after every second that passed after she had revealed the shocking, unbelievable truth. "That can't be right!"

"What makes you think I'm lying?" Akane asked in a bitter tone, raising an eyebrow. "The news that you're the girl Neuro fell in love with should be fantastic news."

"But…I don't remember any of it!" Yako exclaimed. "If I met someone like Neuro I would have remembered it!" Akane sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose between her fingers.

"Do you honestly think you were allowed to remember?" She asked Yako, looking aggravated. "Wiping your memories clean of Neuro was a crueler punishment than killing you. The fact that the girl Neuro practically went mad over would never recall the memory of him again tore him apart more than you being sent to heaven with those precious memories intact."

Yako stared at Akane, disbelief still heavy in her gaze. Heaving an annoyed sigh, Akane took her by the hand, looking over her shoulder to Higuchi, who was looking on confused.

"I'll be borrowing this for a moment," she informed him, and before Yako could speak against it the air around them became silent, the fading sunlight becoming washed over by a green hue.  At first Akane remained silent, her lips tightly pressed together as she looked angrily at her feet.

"I'm a fool for allowing you to remember these things," she finally uttered, "It's forbidden to restore memories, especially those that Satan himself dismantled. I hope you realize the situation I'm putting myself in."

"Then why are you doing this?" Yako asked. "If you're forbidden to then-" Akane cut her off, covering Yako's mouth with an open palm, eyes gleaming with anger.

"You'll never understand… All those years of watching Neuro suffer because of you… All that time all I wanted to do was find you and punish you for the things you caused!" Yako jumped in fear, Akane's long nails growing ever so slightly in size, their sharpened tips mere millimeters away from piercing her skin and jabbing out her eyes. "But I came to find the only reason Neuro truly suffered was because you weren't thinking of him all those years he was thinking of you. And now he'll be forced against his will to try and tear you apart, and there's a strong chance that will be so…" Yako's eyes widened as Akane slowly lifted her hand from off of her mouth, lifting her arm slightly so her hand now hovered over her forehead, obscuring Yako's vision. "If that happens to be the case I want to ease his suffering in any way I can." Her final words seemed to echo and fade to Yako, who began to feel a sense of dizziness as her body grew numb.

"When you wake up…" she could just barely hear Akane saying. "…What you do from then on is up to you."




"Honestly, Yako, how many tests are you going to skip before you're satisfied!?" Yako could hear Kanae shout as the cold night air rushed by her. Her concerned friend leaned out the window of Higuchi's pick up and yelled over the din to her as she stood in the trunk, eyes blankly focused on the road that blazed passed. Her lack of response got her another frustrated groan from Kanae, who continued her lecture.

"At this rate you're never going to graduate, even with cram school. God knows you don't even bother to try there, too!"

"Kanae, shouldn't you go a little easy on her?" She could hear Higuchi meekly speak up from inside. "I mean, it hasn't been too long since…you know…" Yako tightly squeezed her eyes shut in annoyance, chin resting on the cold metal roof of the truck. It had been slightly over a month since the death of her parents who had met their demise in a traffic accident. The horrific scene was still fresh in her mind, no matter how much time had passed. The crowed of people that circled the accident like it was some sort of street show. The feeling of her heart skipping a beat seeing her parents totaled car, it's mechanical underbelly in the air. The cracking of glass beneath her feet as she ran towards the accident. She could even clearly remember how loudly she had screamed her parent's names as the police dragged her away from the wreckage. She vigorously shook her head, the visions making her feel nauseous.

Now she lived with her grandparents, at least until she found her own place. They had been supportive and positive the entire time, it wasn't their fault she was slowly loosing interest in anything and everything. The absence of the two people who had motivated her all her life to succeed were no longer there to see her move forward. No longer there to congratulate her about her grades and support her achievements. She felt it would be selfish to continue to do so many good things and not have them their to see any of them.

"…It still doesn't mean she should just flunk out!" She could hear Kanae angrily speak up from inside. "We promised to graduate together, remember!?"

Yako sighed, looking back ahead of the car just in time to catch something stumble into the road and right in the path of the truck.

"Look out!" She gasped, smacking the roof with her palm as Higuchi slammed on the breaks and Kanae cried out in fright. The sudden stop almost throwing Yako out of the trunk, she straightened up and looked to see exactly what they had averted hitting. A boy who seemed about their age stood in the gleam of the headlights, sickly blond hair hanging in his face, nothing on but a dirty, oversized hooded jacket. He looked at the vehicle blankly for a moment as Kanae leaned out the window.

"Hey, watch where you're going, crazy kid!" She angrily yelled. "What do you think you're doing!?" The boy continued to stare, refusing to give up a single word as he turned forward again and continued to cross the street.

"Hey!" Kanae called once more, her shout being totally ignored. "What a weird guy… Honestly, people really need to pay attention where they're going!" Yako watched the boy vanish in a darkened ally way, her vision tracing back to where he had stood before. Something catching the glow of the headlights caught her eye. A deep crimson puddle remained where the boy once was, smaller spots creating a trail away from the road and towards where the boy had gone. A wave of concern overcame her as she stared into the darkness where he had stumbled off to.

"Well he's gone now, at least we didn't hit him." Higuchi sighed, seeming extremely relieved.

"True, it could have turned out worse." Kanae agreed, looking outside just in time to see Yako leap from the trunk without so much as a word and ran in the direction the boy had gone.

"Hey, Yako! Where are you going! Hey!"

Yako ran into the darkness, pausing as her eyes slowly adjusted. She could hear the sound of heavy breathing as she slowly made out a figure crouched in the darkness. A quick shiver of fear running up her spine she slowly approached the figure, her terror quickly vanishing once she found the person sitting there to be the boy who didn't seem to realize her presence.

"Are you hurt?" Was what she finally asked as she crouched down in front of him, the boy jerking upward to face her. From behind the hair that hung in his face and even in the darkness she could see his eyes gazing back at her. They were an unnatural shade of green, a color that would belong to some sort of storybook creature rather than a person. She jumped in surprise, almost loosing her balance. She expected him to answer but even though he knew she was there but he didn't say a word, only continued to breath in a painful, labored manner that answered Yako's question.

Her fear melted into concern once more as her eyes ran over the boy's battered body. Dark bruises ban up and down his legs, and a deep, bleeding wound profusely bled from his calf. A closer thorough look revealed a deep red stain on the right sleeve of his jacket, no doubt blood that had been absorbed from another wound by the thick cloth. Dried blood stained the side of the boys face as well and the hair the hung there as his strange green eyes gazed outward in an almost dead way, looking at her but not exactly acknowledging her. Now that she'd seen the extent of his injuries there was no way she was going to turn around and head back to her friends without him.

"Alright, common," she mumbled, shifting around so that she was crouched beside him and nudged one of his arms over her shoulder, firmly gripping it just enough that he would be forced to stand as she did. Much to her surprise he hardly put up a fight and was easily coaxed to walk in step with her as she led him back to the road.

"Yako you-" Kanae's eyes widened as she saw who was draped over Yako's shoulder. "What? Why do you have him with you?!"

"He's hurt." Yako briefly explained, awaiting her friend's approval.

"Yes, but you don't even know him!" Kanae argued. "And how do you expect to drag that past your grandparents?" Yako remained silent, staring down Kanae, who had now turned to Higuchi.

"Please talk some sense into this girl!" She groaned. Higuchi looked over to Yako who looked back at him with pleading eyes.

"If you disagree I can always walk home. I'm not leaving him behind!" Higuchi sat in silence for a short while before sighing in defeat.

"Fine, I guess."

"What? Are you serious!?" Kanae hissed. "That boy is a total stranger and you're just going to let her…" Kanae continued to lecture Higuchi as Yako took the boy around back, lifting him into the trunk of the truck with difficulty before climbing in herself.

"Look, I'm not going to try and pry, but before we get to my place can you at least tell me your name?" She asked him as she sat beside him. He looked downward for a moment, seeming like he was in thought, before looking up and answering:

"Neuro." The name seemed like something he had just made up as opposed to an actual legitimate name, but Yako decided to let it slide.

"Neuro, is it?" She smiled kindly, suppressing a chuckle. "I'm Yako. It's nice to meet you, Neuro."

The two of them sat in silence the rest of the ride until they arrived at Yako's grandparents.

"You're awear of what you're doing, right?" Kanae groaned as Yako walked towards her house. "You're taking a total stranger you don't know into your house. Doesn't that seem odd to you?" Yako didn't answer and continued walking, hearing Kanae groan behind her.

"Fine! But don't come crawling to me when this whole selfless heroin business of yours turns sour!" Kanae shouted as her and Higuchi drove away. Yako sighed, looking over her shoulder at the empty street before turning back to her house. Lightly tiptoeing she ventured onto her lawn and around the side of the house, ducking under windows and stealthily making her way to her bedroom window where she carefully rested Neuro.

"I'll be right back, okay?" she asked him, not expecting him to respond. "Don't go anywhere!" With that she rushed back around to the front, taking a few cleansing breathes, trying to seem like nothing was wrong before she walked through the doors. The entryway could clearly be seen from the family room where both her grandparents were.

"Welcome back, Yako," Her grandma greeted happily. "How was school?"

"It was fine," Yako lied, putting on a fake smile for the two of them as she slipped off her shoes.

"Yako… we got a call from your homeroom teacher…" Her grandpa told her, seeming like he wanted to sound stern but was afraid that a single harsh word would break his granddaughter. "He said you've been skipping your tests and that your grades are slipping…" Yako looked to the both of them sadly. There wasn't any excuse she could give to the both of them about it, they certainly wouldn't understand her reasoning. That and there was the pressing matter that was Neuro who was, hopefully, still outside her window. She didn't have time to make some sort of sugarcoated explanation.

"I'm sorry…I… I have a lot of homework to do, can we talk about this later?" She asked them. They looked between each other concerned.

"A-Alright." Her grandma nodded, a pitying look heavy in her aged features. "You're bath's also ready, if you want to wash up before you do your school work."

"Thank you!" Yako smiled, trying not to seem like she was in a hurry as she walked away from view and down the hallway to her room. Closing the door behind her she waited a few seconds before rushing to her window and quickly sliding it open.

"Neuro!" she quietly called, looking down, half expecting to find he had fled. But much to her surprise he was still sitting under her window, looking up at her with his strange, green eyes. She sighed with relief, hopping out onto the grass and lifting him up again, slowly hoisting him into her room.

"Thanks for waiting," She told him quietly with a smile. He looked back at her, his face blank as usual, slowly giving her a nod.

"I should probably get bandages for your leg," she noted, examining the injury on his calf. Blood still stained his skin but much to her surprise the wound itself seemed to have disappeared. Even the bruises she had clearly seen before seemed to have faded. She looked at his once injured legs in confusion before looking to Neuro for some sort of explanation only to be given the same blank look. He didn't seem as surprised at all that his battered body had somehow healed itself as she was.

"What…" Yako muttered, eyes traveling back and fourth between his once injury and his emotionless gaze. "…What are you?" Before Neuro could answer a low rumbling noise resonated from above them, the faint light from outside becoming blotted out, drenching the two of them in shadow. The strange noise continued, revealing itself to be a deep growl. Gasping in fear Yako looked up to see a horned creature looming above them perched at her open window. Two glowing red orbs looked down at the two of them, narrowing as her eyes met them. Her mouth hung agape in a silent scream as her body froze in fear despite wanting to flee from her room and away from whatever was looking back at her.

"Don't just stand there!" Neuro finally spoke just as the shadowy creature lifted a bulky clawed hand into the air. "Get out of here!" Yako remained, his words not reaching her fear-filled brain as she watched in horror as the creature brought its claws swiftly downward as if to rip both her and Neuro in two with them. She tightly shut her eyes as the scream that finally exited her lips was cut short by a push that sent her flying backward onto her floor. A sickening splash echoed somewhere from the room beyond her tightly closed eyes, followed by a painful grunt. Despite her crippling fear she forced her eyes to open, the welcoming image before her being Neuro standing above her, clutching at his arm which, upon further inspection, was no longer there. She sharply gasped, eyes wide in terror to find his dismembered arm lying at her feet.

"So, you've come to take me back, have you?" Neuro asked the creature, his voice even and calm despite his injury, his face mimicking an emotion of someone who had been given a slight scratch rather than having an entire limb lobed off. The menacing creature growled in response, lumbering forward and readying a second attack. "I hope you know I won't come quietly. I'm no longer afraid of what you intend to do to me…after all…" A twisted smirk crawled across his lips. "…I'm already dead."

"STOP!!!!" Neuro jumped as something jumped in the way of the creature's second assault. It was Yako, her shaking arms spread wide and her eyes tightly shut. "PLEASE, STOP!!!!"

"Idiot-!" Neuro gasped, but much to his surprise, the creatures claws had, in fact, stopped, their blood-covered tips inches away from her face. It gurgled in frustration, its red eyes narrowing as it retracted its hand. Slowly opening one eye and then the other Yako watched as the terrifying creature angrily backed away, throwing the both of them a rage-filled glance before disappearing out her window.

Her quaking legs no longer having the strength to hold her up, Yako fell to the ground, her heartbeat pounding in her ears as someone knocked on her door.

"Yako, is everything alright in there?" She heard her grandma ask from the other side of the door. With a gasp she turned around, the fear that had taken hold of her only growing stronger. Just as she did, however, she watched as Neuro bent down and picked up his arm that had been severed, looking at the dismembered appendage with a look of annoyance rather than pain. The edge of the severed arm seemed to liquefy before her eyes as he brought it back to where it had formally been attached, the skin, muscle and bone reaching out to where it had once been. Awestruck she watched as the arm re-attached itself, not leaving behind a single trace that it had been sliced off in the first place.

"Yako?"

"I…I'm okay…" Yako stammered, her eyes fixed on Neuro, who looked back at her with an equally surprised look. "I fell… there was a spider…" Yako paused before quickly adding. "You don't need to come in, it's fine!"

"Alright, we were just worried." Her grandmother sighed with relief. "That was quite a scream."

"No…I'm fine." Yako sat in silence, eyes still fixed on Neuro, whose attention had moved to his arm, checking to see if everything worked properly.

"I'd close that window if I were you." He finally spoke. "That thing might come back."

"What…what was that!?" Yako asked, her voice quivering. "And…how did you…" her eyes traveled to his arm, still perplexed as much as she was afraid.

"I'm not from this world, and neither was that thing." He explained, standing up.

"Then where are you from!?"

"Hell." Yako looked up at him, eyes widening in fear.

"Are…are you a…?"

"Demon? No, not yet anyway." He groaned, shaking his head. "It takes hundreds of years for a soul damned to hell to become a demon. I'm still surprised I was able to escape."

"Why did you-?"

"For someone who has the ability to stop a demon from attacking you sure ask some stupid questions." He interrupted. "And the reason why I left should be obvious. It's better to be hunted than to suffer for all eternity." Yako watched in confusion as he walked across her room and plopped down on her bed.

"Hey…"

"It's your fault for deciding to be all noble and dragging me here in the first place." Neuro smirked. "I've only seen it once but you seem to be some sort of demon repellent and that certainly isn't something I'm just going to walk away from."

"But-"

"Don't get too worried, once I regain the strength I lost I'll leave you to your pathetic little life." He told her with a grin, almost like he knew just how badly Yako's life had begun to spiral downward. She wanted nothing more than to refuse and tell him to leave. But before she even had a chance to shout the first syllable of her refusal Neuro spoke up again.

"Thank you, by the way." He muttered, almost like the afterthought hurt his pride to say. "That attack would have turned out much differently if you hadn't found me." Yako bit her lip, her resolve wavering before dying completely. A part of her didn't want anything to do with hell or demons, but having someone being dragged back to the underworld on her conscience didn't sound very pleasant.

"…You're welcome." She finally forced out. "But once you've regained your strength, you're gone!"

"You don't have to tell me, I'd hate to be cooped up in this place for longer than I should be." He chuckled, kicking up his legs and lying down on her bed. "The air in this place is so weighed down by sadness anyway. It's suffocating." Yako stared at him for a moment, waiting for him to say something else, but after a few minutes of silence it was clear he had nothing to say to her and upon further inspection it seemed he had fallen asleep. A heavy feeling of oncoming exhaustion washed over her once she realized that this left her nowhere to sleep herself.

"Hey…" She paused, his sleeping features stopping her from forcing him awake. Beyond his closed eyes something about his face seemed sad, pained. She couldn't bring herself to reach out and shake him awake. Instead she backed off, groaning to herself.

"This is going to be one long night…"