Sorry, but I still don't own anything from Elfen Lied! Anyways, the descriptions have been whittle down a little more for this chapter to see how people respond. I hope you enjoy!
Chapter I: Morning Rush
Consciousness came in leaps and starts, sputtering to the awareness of something small and warm moving, pushing up against her side. Her limbs were not readily accessible still at this time. All she could do was absently flop an arm or stretch out a leg. Finally, she found that her muscles were under her full conscious control and she lifted the cover to her mattress and with one sleep-hazed eye, looked at what the source of the disturbance was. Cowering beneath the sheets was an obviously distressed Mayu. She raised a finger hurriedly to her lips to indicate to Keade not to say anything.
Keade would have starting asking what was going on but Nana appeared at the door, huffing, her eyes darting about the sparsely furnished room. "Did you see where Mayu went? Did she come in here?" Nana interrogated.
Keade let one glance slip to the little girl whose eyes were pleading back up at her and gave a little shrug to Nana. The purple haired girl turned, exasperated, back into the hall. Mayu and Keade listened as her foot steps took off down the corridor.
"So, would you mind telling me why you're in my bed?" Keade asked with a little, sleep dulled wince as a yawn tried to force its way through.
Mayu put on a big, sheepish smile and, in one breath shot out the explanation: "Nana always tries to help me choose what I should wear to school and it's really nice of her and everything but I really like what I usually wear to school but she tries to make me wear different stuff cause she thinks I'll look cute but I still don't like it so she chases me around the house all morning till she stops and I'm sorry for jumping in your bed Keade-san!"
Keade could follow what she was saying but the whole situation was making her feel like she was having some weird dream. Though, I prefer having more dreams like this than more nightmares. Before either one could say or do anything else, Mayu disappeared down through the foot end of the bed. A look of defeat ran over Mayu's face as she was dragged out by the leg by Nana who was droning on about the cutest skirt she had picked out for her and how everyone was going to be so jealous of how cute she looked.
Keade's brain sizzled, then turned off as she let herself fall back on the pillow and drift a little bit back into a self contained surrealism. She didn't get too far though as twin foot steps raced down the hallway, prompting Keade to prop herself up on her elbows to see what was going on. The light from a rested sun cut through the thin material that covered the windows, causing Keade to hold her hand up to shield her eyes to its brightness.
Chapter II: New Morning, New Call
Kouta awakened to the sound of his door sliding open accompanied by a giggle. He kept his eyes closed, pretending to be asleep. He knew that she knew that he was awake but for a few extra seconds of blissful blackness he didn't care. He was waiting for it, his call to get up. What will it be today? She's become fond of picking me up by the ears so maybe that'll be it. He smiled to himself. It hurt like heck but he wouldn't choose to start the day any other way than with the help and encouragement of his cousin. He was open to the surprise and figured it was par for the course when he felt a weight dropped on the small of his back and his cousin's hand deliberately pressing down on the back of his head.
"You know something," she began coyly, "maybe you're right. Maybe staying in bed is the right way to go. This," she pushed his head into the pillow, "is actually really comfy." She bounced up and down, each time she settle back down, Kouta expressed an outburst of discomfort. Finally he conceded and agreed to get up.
Yuka removed herself from his body and went to cross the room, turning back to tell him something. But, as she did Kouta turned over, the remnants of his REM sleep poking up through the covers.
Yuka's mouth twitched a little, then contorted in disgust. Kouta too realized the unfortunate position he had put himself and turned in the other direction, blush overtaking his face as he tried to explain and excuse himself through Yuka's screams that he was a pig.
"It isn't my fault!" he defended.
"Pervert!" Yuka called back as she slammed the door behind her. Kouta quickly threw on some pants and a shirt and followed quickly behind Yuka. The sun painted the walls in hues of warm white and shadow. He ran by door after unoccupied door until he passed one that was open and showed a groggy but still attractive Keade who was laying back on one elbow with an arm raised to defend her eyes from the intrusive sun. He stopped quickly and greeted her with, "Good morning Keade. Sleep well?"
"Um, yeah, yeah I did." She offered a smile that Kouta mirrored before he took off down the hall again. Slowly, Keade got to her feet and went to the closet. She walked past the green dress that she had folded up the night before. She might try to salvage it but the smell of the beach had become a part of it, mingling with the fibers and the dye. Opening the closet, she saw a few dresses and shirts hung up neatly. Anything would do really.
It was funny though, she didn't see them bring any clothes in last night when they were bringing in her matters and wash bowl. That would mean that… they had left it all there since she had left. Was it to remember her? I could only imagine the kinds of memories I left them with she thought sarcastically to herself. Was it because they were expecting me to come back? People can get the dumbest notions of hope in their heads. A small smile crossed her face as she got out something to wear for the day.
Chapter III: Responsibility Rails or Playing It Down
When Keade got to the kitchen, the day was in full swing. Mayu was darting from Yuka who had just given her a bag that crinkled in her hand as she ran to leave for school.
"Bye everyone," she called as she disappeared down the foyer to the door.
"Do your best!" called Yuka, Nana, and Kouta in harmony.
Kouta and Yuka were busy over the counter, filling their own bags and deciding who should get what. Keade caught fleeting glimpses and smiles between Kouta and Yuka as their hands moved furiously between counter and bag. Keade's attention was taken by Nana who stood next to the table which had on it a plate of scrambled eggs.
"They told me to make you something to eat," Nana said nonchalantly. Keade stood a moment but took her seat when Nana raised a questioning eyebrow.
"Thanks," Keade said quietly.
"I thought you said you didn't see Mayu," Nana said crossly, hovering near the now seated Keade.
"I was sleeping when you came in," Keade covered.
"You were awake before I came in," Nana coolly countered.
"I was half asleep. The side with Nana on it was the side that was sleeping so I didn't know she was there." She kept a straight face despite the absurdity of what she was saying. They stared back and forth for a moment before Keade finally said, "The eggs smell good."
Nana smiled a little but quickly caught herself and turned on her heels just as Kouta and Yuka rushed by. "Bye," they both called out, though Kouta made a point to stop by the table, place his hand over Keade's and add, "See ya later." He could feel the cold glare of Yuka boring into his head and Keade could see from her position that Yuka was not amused by her cousin's small demonstration of affection. He smiled at her as he turned to go.
Keade ate while Nana wondered around the kitchen, tidying up the odds and ends of the morning. Keade loved the taste of actual food. The last thing I ate she absent mindedly mused was…the answer didn't come. She had been so out of touch with everything for so long. She regretted the time spent in agony. All the wasted years amassed in what could equate to a neutron star of loss that filled yet simultaneously made her chest feel empty. She realized she had finished eating only when she looked down and saw a few scattered tidbits of egg near the edges of the plate. Autopilot she thought, bemused.
"Um," she struggled to say her name but then just let it slip past her, "what should I do with this?" She knew from the few houses she had been in that some people had dishwashers that automatically cleaned these, she just didn't know if one of those were around here. Nana turned to address her question, seeing this could be a good time to introduce some chores to her.
"That," Nana said demonstratively, "is going to go in the sink. Then you wash it," she made circles in the air to demonstrate. "Once you're done," Nana tossed back over her shoulder, "you can help me with some chores."
Keade stiffened up as se set the plate in the sink. Chores? She smirked at the idea. Oh well, I'll play along. I'm sure I used to do them before. Or at least Nyuu did. It couldn't be too bad she figured.
She pivoted her head as she heard foot steps come up behind her to see Nana with a frilly apron held out in front of her. Keade's eye brows arched in an, "Are-you-serious?" manner.
"I wouldn't want you to dirt your clothes and it looked so cute," was all that Nana facetiously offered.
Chapter IV: Ravens Nest View
From the roof top, Kouta and Yuka were just another pair of heads that bobbed down the street on the way to whatever it was they were supposed to be doing. Nothing too interesting there. The telescope swiveled a little to the right, refocused on a lone man walking down the street on a cell. Back to the left, refocus, and there is an altercation at an intersection. The man behind the scope laughed as one irate man belted the person he was fighting with.
"Yo, Sasake, check this out. We got some entertainment finally," the burly man gave up his position behind the scope to another nondescript soldier. Nondescript save for the scar running down the back of his neck.
"Oh!" he exclaimed in glee as the man that threw the first punch delivered a savage kick to the gut of the other man who had dropped to his knees after the first swing.
"Poor bastard," he remarked without any conviction behind his words. There was still no sign of the horned girl so that wasn't good. As entertaining as the scene was below, the lack of success in that one little area spelled a lack of success in their primary mission objective. And if they couldn't achieve the primary objective they couldn't achieve the second: search for bait.
Author's Note: I hope this chapter works out for its intended purpose. We are moving past the condensed emotional stuff, there will be more later most likely but for now we'll just play around. Also just to clear some stuff up: Keade is not accepting a subordinate role to Nana. She is offering a type of peace treaty through her actions, demonstrating that she is not the same person she was. I hope enjoyed the bit of ecci I threw in there. I couldn't help it. I hope Yuka fans won't bite me in half.
