What do mysteries taste like?

Sometimes, Yako wonders.

Do they taste of victory? The triumph of a puzzle solved?

Or is it the taste of defeat, a victim's last despair as it's devoured?

Sometimes, Yako wonders what specific mysteries tasted like.

Did Aya Ajia leave an aftertaste of regret, relief, her own pain alongside the pain of the people she killed?

When Neuro ate the mystery behind the death of a harried sculptor, did he recognise the taste of betrayal, of a family secret?

Does Neuro know more about her family, her father, than she does?

He investigated and solved the mystery of his death.

He saw her tears as she thought of him.

He noticed the secret resolve to avenge him that had built-up in her heart.

Sometimes, Yako wonders how much Neuro takes from the people he solves.

The complex build-up of energy inside of them, emotionally charged, must be a rich combination. All of those emotions, this energy, is drained away from the criminals suddenly. Yako thinks she can understand the emptiness in their hearts that would follow.

Maybe, she thinks, when he is eating, revelling in this blend of energy and motives and the grand reveal of secrets, for a split second -- maybe he understands it. Every emotion he gorges himself on -- maybe right then, in that one moment, Neuro understands the human capacity to feel.

And, just then, perhaps his victims understand him, too. Perhaps they see into the depths of his mind, even hours, days, months, years later when he's no longer there; perhaps they understand him through the mere afterimage of his green, hypnotic eyes, full of hungry intent.

Maybe that's why so many of them go insane.

Or, Yako occasionally thinks, does she have it all wrong? Is she complicating the issue? Do mysteries taste like chocolate, rich and cloying; like lemons, leaving a bitter taste? Like mundane little human things -- maybe that's what human mysteries taste like.

But what's most important, what Yako wonders about most often, is the effect they have on Neuro.

When the meal is done and he has said his thanks, is he satisfied? Does he leave the table sated or is his hunger, like her own, insatiable? Does it rage inside of him, angry when it's not appeased?

Is the aftertaste of a mystery even pleasant?

Sometimes, when she sees him looking desolately out of their grey office window, Yako wonders if they taste of anything at all.

Disclaimer: MTNN belongs to Yuusei Matsui, who I am not.

Like the Hand of God in Go, I don't think the Ultimate Mystery exists. It's bleak, but I can imagine Neuro getting tired of human mysteries, just like he tired of the ones in Hell. I can see him slowly realise, after years and years go by, that if he'll only settle for the 'best' then he'll never be properly fulfilled. And I can see Yako watching him all the while, never quite managing to ask him about it.

I hope you enjoyed. All feedback appreciated and desperately hoped for. ^_^