Chapter 2: The Girl in the Crate

"So, you just found this crate outside. No delivery man or nothing?"

Murdoc nodded at Russel.

"That's what I said, Russ," the former muttered.

Russel scratched his bald head and went to observe the crate. He ran his large fingers across the wood and gave it a light knock. 2 seconds later, there was a knock from inside! It made Russel's glowing white eyes widen.

2-D yelped like a puppy and backed away a few steps, his fingers trembling.

Raising one thick, black eyebrow, Russel ran a few tests. He knocked twice, and the same thing happened again, expect with two knocks this time. He knocked "Shave and a Haircut" and then whatever was inside responded with the "Two Bits" knock.

Russel turned to face Murdoc and 2-D. Murdoc tilted his head and 2-D gulped, obviously still scared of whatever was inside the crate. Then Murdoc nodded once, giving Russel the signal to open the crate.

The black man took in a deep breath, obviously nervous about what the contents of the crate were. Not as nervous as 2-D, but still on edge.

Using his immense strength, he pried the crate top open and peered inside. It was evening out, and so, there wasn't much lighting for him to see at this angle. So, he took a leap of faith and opened the crate all the way. 2-D yelped again, while Murdoc tensed up.

But Russel's expression merely softened when he saw what was inside.

"Russel! What is it?! What are we dealing with?!" Murdoc snapped, holding an empty bottle of Moonshine ready to strike.

The white-eyed drummer turned around and said:

"A little girl,"

Murdoc raised the bottle higher but once his half sober brain processed what Russel had said, he looked clueless. Was he mishearing what the larger man said?

"A… what?!" Murdoc demanded, his voice even more scratchy than usual.

Russel stepped aside so he could see. 2-D stood up straighter and opened his eyes so he could see the girl Russel claimed was inside.

A little girl with messy black hair that hung above her shoulders peeked out from inside. She was clearly from some Asian country, they could tell from her slanted eyes. She was only wearing a gray t-shirt that was at least twice her size, and there was a faint bruise on her forehead, possibly from bumping her head on the crate.

The small girl looked around at the three individuals surrounding her. She saw the shirtless Murdoc much more clearly now and saw that his hair was black like hers, but much more greasy and short. She looked over at 2-D and was confused at his eyes. Why did he not have pupils or irises? It was almost creepy.

She then looked up at Russel. Compared to her, he seemed like a giant from a bedtime story. His eyes were also strange; no pupils or irises and they looked like they were glowing, too.

She almost wanted the crate to be closed again.

She shrunk back down a little and blinked.

"Stand down, guys, I think she's frightened." Russel told his bandmates.

Murdoc smirked.

"Well, I am pretty frightening, heheh…" the Satanist chuckled darkly.

Russel glared at him; he was not helping in any way, shape, or form. But he shrugged it off and turned back to the small child. The drummer knelt down to appear less intimidating, even offering a warm smile to the small Japanese child.

"Hey, there, little one. Are you okay?" he cooed.

The tiny girl felt her heartbeat stop racing a little. This man appeared to be friendly and even father-like. Still, she couldn't understand the bizarre language he was using? What was he saying?

"Watashi o kizutsukenaide kudasai, sensei…" the black haired girl pleaded softly.

Russel raised his eyebrows. He could only understand a few of the words the girl uttered.

'Sensei… often meaning teacher or doctor? Or "sir" maybe?' he thought, trying to make out her language.

Well, no use keeping her out here in the crate. Better bring her inside and see if they can figure something out. He only hoped the child would let him touch her. Worth a shot!

"Hey, little girl, why don't you come inside with us?"

While he said this, he made gestures to try and make her understand what he was trying to convey. He gestured to himself and the others. Then he held out his hand, trying to make her okay with physical contact before picking her up.

She looked at him for a minute then at his large hand. She knew he could easily crush her if she wasn't careful, but he didn't seem to want to hurt her? He looked friendly despite his inhuman appearance. Gulping and sighing, she shakily reached her tiny hand out and rested it on his palm.

Russel smiled and nodded once, knowing she was okay now.

He carefully reached under her arms and picked her up in his arms, being careful not to crush her scrawny form in his immense strength. The small Asian girl inhaled his scent once he was close in proximity. He smelled like meat and a warm kitchen, and this was somewhat comforting to her.

She moaned in sleepiness and comfort and snuggled into his shirt.

Russel held her closer and supported her bottom with his hand. He turned to Murdoc and 2-D, who remained speechless the whole time.

"I'll take her inside and get her fed, she feels kind of thin. You two carry the crate inside so we can study it."

After carrying the half-sleeping child into Kong, Murdoc and 2-D looked at each other. Both of them were very tired and ready to go to sleep at that moment. Most definitely not in any mood to carry some heavy crate inside. Not to mention 2-D still felt spite from being near Murdoc.

Murdoc growled and bared his inhumanely sharp teeth at the singer. He also hated this very predicament. It was almost 9 p.m. and he was in no mood for the bullshit happening right now. Let alone the bullshit that happened a week ago with his nose being broken.

2-D said nothing to Murdoc but wore a hateful glare as he went over to the crate. It wasn't as heavy now that the girl was out of it, but still pretty heavy. Plus 2-D wasn't the most fit or even well rested at the moment, so, he almost dropped the crate a few times.

Murdoc grew annoyed with the clumsy blue haired man and gave him a hand with the crate. He would much rather hit him over the head and break his arm, but then he'd suffer Russel's wrath. And he already had a broken nose; he REALLY didn't want a broken spine or arm.

But despite the obvious hatred the two men held for each other, they both were thinking the same question:

Who the hell is this girl and why was she sent?

Meanwhile…. Inside…

Russel wasn't sure if the girl was allergic to anything, but he couldn't just let her starve any longer. So, he took a leap of faith with at least one thing from each food group. He gave her a small steak he never finished, a bowl of carrots, a plate of pineapple slices, and a buttered piece of toast.

Upon seeing the food that was set in front of her, the girl's stomach grumbled even more. It almost gave her pain because of how hungry she was. She couldn't remember the last time she ate anything. And she had limited rations in the crate, but also a large bottle of water. She must have traveled for almost a week before getting here.

She wanted to go for the steak first, since it smelled the most appetizing for her. But she was having trouble cutting it. Especially since it was just a fork she was trying to use. Russel spotted her distress and almost face-palmed himself when he realized that this little girl probably didn't even know how to cut her own meat.

"Hold on," he said, even though he knew she didn't speak English.

He quickly grabbed a steak knife, perfect for cutting meat of any kind. Not just steak. Russel pulled the plate towards himself and cut the steak into tiny bite-sized squares for her. This made it easier for the tiny girl to eat the steak. After just one bite, she quickly devoured the rest of the meat.

Russel chuckled at her in amusement. She was like a hungry little pup who quickly gobbled up its meal in fear of other animals coming to get it before she could even take a single bite.

After finishing the steak, she quickly reached for the toast and carrots, taking bites of her toast and then the carrots. One after the other.

"Wow, she's a hungry 'lil gal, isn't she?" a middle pitched British voice piped up.

Russel looked back and saw 2-D. He had set the crate down in front of him and huffed. Murdoc was also beside him, but quickly walked away from the bluenette.

"So, where do you recon she came from, lards?"

Russel glared at the bassist but restrained from beating the tar out of him in the company of the child. He scratched his shiny, bald head.

"Well, she's obviously from Japan. I recognize some words as Japanese ones, but who sent her and why, I have no clue." he admitted.

Murdoc hummed in thought. Since his voice was scratchy, his hum sounded gravelly and like he had phlegm in his throat. He looked at the Asian child who had just finished the toast and carrots and was currently on her last piece of pineapple. He couldn't tell if the oversized t-shirt was really all that oversized or if it was because she hadn't eaten and was obviously thin.

"So, what are we gonna do with 'er?" 2-D asked.

Russel rubbed his chin in thought. That was a tough one… What WERE they gonna do with this tiny girl. They couldn't just send her on her way, she was obviously very confused and didn't know where she was. Of course, they couldn't just keep her either! This studio wasn't the ideal place for a child to live; especially one who couldn't read or speak English.

Besides, they wouldn't be the best "parents" for her…

Russel was brought out of his thoughts when he felt a tiny tug on his baggy pants. He looked down at the girl who looked at him with pleading eyes.

"Toire... Shite kudasai…" she said.

Russel looked at her in confusion.

"Huh? What, what is it?" he asked, kneeling down.

She groaned in discomfort and pressed her legs together, holding her hands over her groin area. Suddenly, Russel understood. She needed the bathroom.

Later…

2-D and Murdoc were still in the living room, but as far away from each other as possible. Russel had taken the girl to the bathroom, and was actually taking a little while to finish up with her. How long does it even take a child to use the bathroom?

'Well, she was in a crate… I can't imagine how long she was holding all that in.' 2-D thought.

Murdoc had gotten himself a fresh bottle of alcohol, but it was whiskey this time. He had already polished off half the bottle in the 10 minutes that had passed since the girl left the room. The girl had him befuddled. Why did she get sent to them? They didn't order a little girl. In fact, Murdoc was sure he never wanted to be around a kid. Not that he hated them, of course, but since he never had any of his own, he wasn't sure what to make of some random, Japanese girl just showing up at their door.

It was a puzzler… a REAL puzzler indeed...

Done! I was gonna end this chapter off much earlier, but I decided to make it longer. And yes, Noodle is wearing an over-sized shirt. I feel like Mr. Kyouza, her mentor, would wanna dispose of any clothing she wore when he erased her memory.

And, yes, Noodle did have food in the crate, but not much. And she was wearing a Pull-Up, in case she had any accidents. But I'm sure she held a lot in so she wouldn't feel "uncomfortable".

R&R!