The original manga storyline belongs to Matsui Yuusei.

Thank you, fellow readers and authors for your time.

"Yako," he began slowly, smoothly, "I thought you have evolved. You told me the mortal world had more to offer to me now. Though, once again it was nothing for me. There's still not a puzzle on the surface I cannot solve."

"...Partner."

—Wasn't that the word he chose? Wasn't that the label he addressed her with, before he left nearly two years ago?

Partner. Colleague. Associate. Comrade. Equals; that's what all of those terms portrayed. That was what all of those terms were supposed to mean.

Yako stared at him, steadily, unimpressed, and slightly revolted. He still considered himself the solitary genius here? And she thought things would have changed thus far. Bah!

These days, she was a clever and well-known detective. Not only a demon's small shadow. She had created an image for herself totally without him. She was twenty-one of age, and Yako was so over being treated like a slug, or a mindless slave a while ago. She had a social life on the outside to save the rest of her energy for and she had no time right now for his complaints.

Of course, in their line of work, Yako had met a wide variety of criminals. She had acknowledged their state of mind, learning all the angles of human psychology had to offer. But the one thing she grew most aware of overtime was that a person didn't have to be exactly a criminal to come to a breaking point. Highly dramatic or rather subtle characters, everyone, (humans in general) had their moments.

Although tonight, this time around, Yako was not about melt into a tearing-spell and run out on him until her feet grew sore, half-praying she would never lay eyes on him again and half-wishing that he would chase after her. Oh no, Yako now sat silently, seething. It was the type of anger that drove humans to act on impulse, blinded by their simmering passion, to do something that they felt was right...even when it could be seen as a big mistake by others.

Yako glanced back at the office clock. Well, it was meant to be her night off, no matter what Neuro believed otherwise. Yako worked hard day after day and she deserved some space (from him), just for one night at least. She'd made plans with Kanae soon. To feel the music, to go dance, to have a drink and naturally, to eat a healthy meal.

Furthermore, whether Neuro had accepted the fact or not...Yako was basically immune to his sadistic nature by this point. She didn't fear him whatsoever, not like she had in the very beginning of...well, everything.

Therefore, this was the time to show him not to mess with her, especially when she wasn't in the mood for it.

So, with that, Yako logged off her laptop, scooted her away from her desk, swung her book bag over her shoulder, and approached him ever so casually. "I'm checking out for the weekend."

She threaded her fingers through his hair, leaning in closer with her eyes closed, and fully pressed her lips to his, as if it was nothing to it. And like she had partially expected, his jaw went taut, either by inner disgust, or he was simply caught off guard.

Yako inwardly counted to five and then withdrew from him to meet his green, cool, searching shimmering glare.

And before she turned on her heel, strolling towards the door, Yako smirked triumphantly. For he loved to toy with her mind, to test its limits, to inspect how much it could truely process.

(Simply put, two could play that game from here on.)

"You wanted something to dwell on some much? See if you can figure that one out, Mister Know-it-all."

Excuse her for the pun: but there was no chance in Hell he'd completely comprehend what she had just done. That (kiss) was a humanistic pratice, and that was not her demon's area of expertise yet.

Sure, it may drive him mad, and confuse him to no end, and he may threaten to cut her life short unless she filled him in on the answer. But, currently, just observing his reaction, his near-childlike frustration would make it worth dying for. For now, she could revel in the fact that she had something to hold over his head.

Yako guessed she would just have to wait until the weekend was over to analyze the results.