CHAPTER 2:

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ELFEN LIED.

--Author's Note--

Arcia Moonsway – Thank you for your review punkgrl326! I do appreciate feedback from my readers, so if you be visitor or a member on , please leave your thought of words behind. Well enough of my blabber, on to the story!

CHAPTER 2:

HUMANS OR MONSTERS

After that night there was an awakening; a kind of awakening that does not pass too often in the realm of humans. Or in the very least this particular snap, in the view of the world, had never been my particular goal in life. I was always by her side, either by coincidence or choice, I did not know. What I did know was my intentions – I was to protect her at any cost. It scared me that I had allowed myself to care, but something pushed me forward. That something would continue to haunt me the rest of my life.

"Kazua, why do you stand up for that freak?" It was Toumo.

I eyed the boy with an icy fierceness I had never quite unleashed; he winced slightly at the gesture, but still he stood.

"I mean she's not even human!" He stated making all the kids point and laugh at Lucy.

I gave him the same cruel glare; I could not pounce on him just yet, the timing had to be perfect and I had to maintain my calm. He looked on, annoyed that I would not answer his questions as Lucy and I continued with our lunch. He frowned in disappointment and walked away, but I knew the battle had not ended – it had barely begun. His wrist flicked and he looked ahead with eagerness as the object he threw flew straight towards its target. I was prepared for this and shot out my own hand to intervene with the red orb he had thrown; he shouldn't have carelessly wasted his apple. My reflexes were extraordinarily quick, as the apple made contact with my palm. Toumo looked shocked and I smirked back. Without any warning I threw the apple back, with as much force as I could harness into the small, rotten apple. It met its target, dead on and without any interference; that was sure to leave its mark for some time. He howled as the apple hit his forehead.

"Try that again Toumo and I'll throw it back twice as hard." I stated nonchalantly as he scowled and walked out of the room which was filled with his humility's laughter.

I stood up to leave and I knew she would follow. We walked to the outer woods of the orphanage; that was the only place where peace could be found. The lush green leaves were inviting, compared to the plain, white walls of the orphanage and the brisk, fresh air was comforting to the lungs. I sat near a tree and so did she.

"You know, I really am not human." Her voice broke the bird's song.

"I suppose that's why I get along with you then." My replies were always those of unsurprised motives. "What would you be, if not human?"

"I don't know. I have these horns." I looked at the objects she was referring too; they reminded me so much of something, but what?

"Either humans are monsters, or we're surrounded by monsters and haven't quite met a decent human yet." I proposed out loud. "Who knows…" I muttered and rested back on the tree, face looking up towards the sky.

"You're a decent human." She always saw something in me that wasn't exactly true.

"Lucy, how many times do I have to tell you that I'm not some angel that came down from heaven?" I gave her my annoyed look; she had grown accustomed to it.

"Maybe not an angel, but you are different from them." She sat closer to me, leaning her head on my shoulder; I didn't have the lack of a heart to push her off.

"I wish I could agree." I stared down at her burning pink eyes. "You know what's kind of sad?" I asked with a smirk.

"What?"

"You may be my first friend, or the closest thing to a friend, anyways."

"Friend?"

"Yes, you know someone to talk to and trust. Not that I talk to you much, but you get the main idea." I commented as I continued to look up at the tall trees.

"Why?" She always sounded so insecure.

"I think I'm somehow connected to you." I muttered, annoyed that I did not even know the true answer. In all honesty, she reminded me of something, but my mind always fuzzed at the exact memory. "Don't worry about it."

I relaxed my shoulders and leaned my own head on her pink hair; always mindful of her horns. I noticed as she tensed her posture, so I removed my head and rested it back on the tree. I scowled at myself for allowing such a gesture.

"You can lean on me." She said almost gruffly. "I just wasn't expecting it from you." She explained.

I smiled slightly and chuckled slightly.

"You didn't expect if from me?" I asked, questioning what she meant by that.

"I've noticed how you don't want to get close to me." Her tone was sullen.

"It's not for the reasons you think." I replied, sighing as I looked straight at her. "To be truthful, I'm scared that I feel a certain responsibility over you. It was much easier, when I didn't have to care about anyone." The truth had to come out some time.

She stared at me; her big, pink eyes moist. I smiled once more and slightly nudged her on the shoulder.

"Don't get too soft on me just yet." I added playfully.

She smiled back and wiped away any excess moisture that had escaped her lids. She stood up and looked back towards the orphanage; then she frowned.

"You won't be staying here much longer, will you?"

I winced at the question; before, I would have smiled.

"I'm turning 17 in a couple of weeks; next year they will get rid of me." Ms. Ren had been reminding me daily.

"And I'll still be here."

"Maybe, you never know." I had been thinking about that certain problem as well. I would soon be gone from this hell; I would soon be free to graduate from the tyranny of the orphanage to the tyranny of the world – how lovely. But I could not just leave Lucy here. Could I? I looked at her small, fragile figure; they would surely destroy her, if I was gone. It tore me on the inside to leave her, and so I thought of taking her with me. Of course, the chances of that were slim.

"No one will adopt me, I know that for sure. No one wants a kid with horns coming out of their head. They all think I'm weird because I don't act like a normal kid." She spat these words as if they burned her tongue.

"I would adopt you." I blurted out but then quickly caught my tongue. "If I could, that is." Once again her eyes widened at my words.

"You would adopt me!?"

"I was just saying if it were possible, I would." I muttered uncomfortably. "I wouldn't leave you here."

Without any more words, she flung her arms around me. At first I was going to shrug her off. I wasn't sure if I could live up to my words and really adopt her, but I would try when the time came. I relaxed at her embrace and cautiously placed my own arms around her small framed back. She was so easy to hold on to. I slowly stood, breaking the embrace, but I smiled back down at her.

"Guess we should be getting back." I stated and looked towards the orphanage. "Ms. Ren wanted me to go out and buy groceries; she's probably mad that she can't find me."

"You're allowed to go out?" It was one of the many rules, for the orphan children to not wander far from the orphanage.

"Because I'm older and I'm going to have to look out for myself soon, I have various tasks assigned to me. I'll be out for awhile today. Usually I get things done very early in the morning, or very late at night." I explained as we walked down the path to the orphanage. "Maybe I'll bring you with me sometime." I suggested.

She nodded in agreement and we continued the walk in silence.

When we arrived at the orphanage, I noticed Ms. Ren pacing about like a predator keenly searching for its prey. I approached her without fear and her gaze burned through me – she had been waiting.

"Kazua, where have you been?" She asked most sternly.

"Out for some air."

"I told you that today we needed groceries." She shouted; I was surprised I had not yet gone deaf.

My eyes remained calm as I bore my gaze on to her face. Her brows wrinkled with fury and created the sternest 'v' shaped brow I had ever witnessed. I struggled to keep my laughter down as she continued her shouting lecture, of which I was paying no attention to; her brow was far more entertaining than anything her tongue produced. As she blabbered on I noticed she caught eye of Lucy who was cowering behind me.

"Oh so now you have a friend?" Ms. Ren asked with sweet poison etched on her lips.

My mood shifted immediately from one of annoyance to one of distress. I looked down at Lucy, hoping she would be smart and leave my side immediately, before Ms. Ren would see that she was my one weakness. Lucy registered my distress but had no idea where to go.

"She's not my friend; she just won't go away." I turned back to Ms. Ren quickly and replied with as much haste.

"Oh really." She knew she had me cornered. "Go get the groceries Kazua; that'll give you some free time from this pest of a girl. I'll make sure she doesn't bother you anymore." I bit my lip as she spoke these words; I knew I would only make it worse if I reacted violently.

I walked away, hoping Ms. Ren would be fooled by my nonchalant behavior; it had never failed me, but as I turned back to watch, Ms. Ren was overshadowing Lucy. That was the first time I felt my own eyes feel watery, as I watched Lucy become her prey and felt Lucy's gaze go straight to me – fear eminent in her eyes. I continued to walk, the fire of regret and failure burning deep within me. I was to always protect her and I had failed so soon. I walked faster, hoping that I could get the groceries quickly and return before too much damage was done. With the thought of saving her from the claws of human cruelty, I sprinted away, hoping to return in time. I would come back for her and when I did come back, I would have a plan to take my vengeance on those who had dared to hurt her. Madness ran across my mind as I formulated plans on how to evaluate my revenge and I knew that nothing could save those that earned a name on that list.

--Author's Note--

Whew! Took me awhile to post up another chapter and I apologize for the wait, but I'm rather over worked most of my days. I'll begin working on the next chapter, which will be a bit darker now that Lily has had enough of Ms. Ren, and there will definitely be a deeper connection between Lily Kazua and Lucy in the next chapter, when Lily returns to orphanage. Hope you enjoy the story thus far.