Explain Yourself [Neku/Namine/Lea/Tifa]

[Lea]

He was cleaning glasses at the bar when his senses picked up the overwhelming scent of demon.

Not the scent of a halfer, which was far less threatening and far more common here in Veil, but the pure, unadulterated smell of demon, capital-D demon if he was any judge.

He turned, his fists clenched, fangs bared, eyes slit.

Then he blinked, stepped backward slightly, at the sight of the people who walked in the door.

"...Neku?" he asked quietly. "Namine...?" His voice was louder, still incredulous. "What are you doing here? Who's that? I swear, when I get over there, I'm gonna...!"

[Namine Joy LeBeau]

"Hold on, Lea, hold on," I say holding up a hand. "There is a very logical explanation to all of this... But first we gotta take this to the back room and... I need coffee and popcorn. Also this guy? He's a friend, part of what we need to talk to you about."

[Lea]

Lea looked at the dark-haired boy, who was looking around with tourist-y awe, immediately saw the marks of demonic heritage on him. So he must be where the scent of demon was coming from.

He nodded. "Alright." He fetched the requested items, then opened the door to the back room, waving them inside.

As soon as everyone was comfortably in, he slammed his hands on a table.

"Alright, Neku, I've kept my cool. Now I get to have some answers. You made me the Head, fine, I'm the Head now. You'll tell me why you left and then you, not me, will do whatever we need to do with your demon friend, here."

The kid blinked.

"How'd you know I was a demon?" he asked.

Lea looked at him. Blinked.

"It's kind of obvious," he said. "Pointy ears, fangs, both obviously not human heritage. Plus, you reek of demon."

[Neku Sakuraba]

Rin reeked of demon? Not...

Lea didn't realize it. He thought there was only one demon here. I didn't breathe a sigh of relief.

"Look, Lea. He needs your help. The people in his cell tried to..."

Lea whirled on me.

"No, Neku, he needs your help if he needs anyone's. But you ran off without a word and took Nami with you. Tifa is ticked off, I don't even want to know what she's gonna do to your ass. Well, she's going to have to wait in line because I have it first, and your ass is ash."

I winced, took a step back.

"Wow," I heard Rin mutter to Namine, "you were right, this is pretty entertaining..."

[Namine Joy LeBeau]

I nod, holding out the popcorn, sipping on my coffee. Watching with a careful gaze I allow whats to happen... happen.

[Neku Sakuraba]

Namine was obviously not interested in backing me up, so I took a deep breath.

"Lea," I said quietly, calmly.

"'Lea' my ass!" he yelled, glaring at me. "You could have at least called, Neku! You should have called! You could have given me a fucking reason why you can't run the Network! And now you bring in a demon and ask me to help him?! Like suddenly you're just an ordinary Watcher? And what is he even doing here anyway? He smells enough for two demons!"

I closed my eyes, grit my teeth. "Lea," I said again. "Take a deep breath."

"I will NOT take a deep-"

"LEA!" I yelled, clenching my fists. "Will you just shut up and use your brain for once? Take a deep breath and listen to what your senses are telling you!"

[Lea]

I opened my mouth to respond, but Neku's eyes flashed green. I looked around - nothing had moved. Nothing was moving.

He was angry. Really angry, and I coldn't put my finger on why, or why his eyes had changed color... and stayed that way.

So I did what he'd suggested, and took a deep breath.

Demon. I could smell it, everywhere, but...

No, the blue-haired boy didn't smell as badly of demon as I thought. There was...

That was impossible. There couldn't be another demon in the room; where were they?!

I looked around again, and then I heard Neku say again, "Lea, tell me. What do you smell?"

I closed my eyes. I didn't use my Halfer senses very often on purpose - they were useful, but I didn't like them. Sometimes they told me far, far too much.

Myself. Halfer. A three-quarter demon scent, coming from the guy I'd assumed was a powerful demon - but he also smelled... demonic. Higher-up. Something was weird about that guy, but I filed it away for now. Human, with an overtone - that was a smell I'd smelled before, Namine.

And a full demon.

I didn't.... I couldn't smell Neku anywhere, and yet...

The demon smelled like... and the scent was coming from...

My eyes snapped open, and I looked at him in confusion, not really sure of what my place was supposed to be here, not sure of the ground I was standing on anymore.

"A demon who isn't a demon, a human - Namine - and..."

I paused.

"...a second demon, where my best friend is supposed to be standing."

He gave me a sardonic, twisted smile, shrugged.

"What happened?"

He looked away. "I.... It's a really long story..."

[Namine Joy LeBeau]

Welp.

That's my que.

I hand the other guy the popcorn and down my coffee before walking over to Neku. I place a hand on his shoulder and look at Lea with a careful gaze, "Like... Life long story, Lea... We just found out as well..." I frown and then sigh. "I don't... I..." I glance to Neku.

I can tell him everything if you want, love.

[Lea]

Namine must've said something to him that I couldn't hear, because he reached out, took her other hand, shook his head.

"No... it's alright. I can... I think I can tell it."

Then he turned back to me, transferring the hand on his shoulder into his own, squeezing it for comfort.

"I..." he started, then looked away, confused, trying to decide how to continue, I think. "....I was never human, Lea. I just didn't know it."

How... how did that work? My mind reeled, but it latched onto something, started slowly putting things together.

"Your lost memories."

"Exactly," he said.

"But, how? How didn't you know, how didn't I know before now?" It was hard to accept, hard to understand. I noticed, vaguely, the guy who had come in with them looking at him with anticipation, paying complete and total attention.

"Because..." Again, another pause. "Because my mother asked Izaya to take it all away from me and leave me completely human, to save me from the people who were hunting me." He shook his head. "Then she died. And Izaya... Izaya had to either take something important from me," he squeezed Nami's hand again, "or give it back. And I... I was tired of not being whole anymore."

I closed my eyes. That couldn't have been an easy thing to figure out, to understand - to cope with.

"So that's why you dumped the Network on me," I said.

He nodded.

"Well.... you're still an idiot!"

[Neku Sakuraba]

I blinked.

That was not the response I'd been expecting. "H-huh?" I asked.

He scoffed. "Okay, yeah, I get your reasoning behind dumping the Network on me. But I'm your best friend, Neku! Whatever you are. You know that. Thick and thin, high and low, up or down, best friends forever. You could have at least told me what was going on!"

I looked away. "I... I needed time to think, Lea... I had to get away from everything, figure out who I really was..."

"So you dropped everything, used the code phrase, and disappeared off the face of the planet. You're lucky the search parties didn't find you yet. I've been out of my mind with worry for both you and Namine! You didn't think I'd stop being friends with you because you were a demon, did you?"

I winced.

He sighed.

"Neku....!"

I winced again.

He stepped forward one step, two, three. Then he reached out and slapped me upside the back of the head.

[Namine Joy LeBeau]

I frown at Lea, "Oh now I know why he has so little brain cells... Note to self, find new method."

[Neku Sakuraba]

"Hey!" I yelped at both of them. "I'd appreciate it if you did find a new method, and I have not lost any brain cells!"

Then Lea started laughing and I gave him a confused stare.

"Yep. Proof, right there, that you're still Neku." He ruffled my hair. I glared. He chuckled.

Then his face became completely serious. He looked me over, head to toe, closed his eyes for a long moment; opened them and continued analyzing me.

"What is it?" I asked, confused.

"Just..." He paused, shook his head. "I was wondering... if you could show me."

"Show you?" I asked, though I had a feeling I knew what he was talking about. "You mean..."

"What you look like," he said, quietly. "I think... I deserve to know."

i stopped, looked at Namine.

Do you think I should? I asked, my hand tightening around hers. My mind filled with what-ifs and worst-case scenarios; I felt a sudden panic as memory I had never had suddenly filled my brain with the problems that had happened before with people who had seen my wings.... and that had been as a small child. I... I don't know... Noctis saw them, but that was because I was being careless. Can I afford to show Lea? What if he really does get scared of me...?

[Namine Joy LeBeau]

Neku.

"Lea is your brother, love," I give his hands a squeeze. "Its okay... Besides... You look bad ass." And I smirk.

Plus hot, can't forget hot... Hotter than Lea ever will be~

[Lea]

I saw Neku take a deep breath; nod. I really couldn't blame him for being nervous.

He let go of Namine's hand; took a step back. Took another deep breath, then...

There was a slight green flash as... something disappeared, and something else reappeared. It was like... it was hard to describe. I didn't really catch the whole sequence of events, but...

Neku stood there. His skin was darker, slightly shaded with a reddish-tan color. Spiral ivory horns grew out of his forehead to curl around his face, framing pointed ears. His eyes were a deep green color and slitted like mine got sometimes. His hands were tipped with claws, just like mine, and two, gigantic black wings unfurled from his back, flapped once - sending a gust of air through the room - and then settled down.

He looked up, locked eyes with me for a brief second, then looked away.

"This is who I really am," he said quietly. "This is who I really should have been all along..."

[Haraken]

Rin watched, impressed once more by the other boy's true form. And his story, too.... something about him just gave off an inner strength.

He looked between the two of them, the two best friends, and stepped forward.

"Hey, it doesn't matter, right?" he said to Neku. "I know how you feel. I used to think I was human too, remember? But you used to be the Head of the Network, I mean, heck, you made this guy the Head and he's a Halfer. I don't think he's going to have any problems with you being what you are, right? He's your best friend, right? So no matter what, he's going to stick with you! Namine called him your brother! Brothers don't abandon brothers, ever."

Rin felt... a little twinge of guilt at that. He and Yukio had had their falling-outs, but Yukio had followed him wherever he went. Until now.

"You told me that this guy'd be able to fix my problem, to help me with what's wrong. You got mad when you heard what that guy did, you said this guy, Lea, would get just as mad. If he would get that mad protecting a demon who's a total stranger like me, then he'd definitely get even madder if it came to protecting you."

He shook his head. "You trusted him to take care of me; why wouldn't you trust him to take care of you?"