Disclaimer: I don't own Elfen Lied.
Another installment of The Fight Game is here: Tooth and Nail.
Tooth and Nail
"But Yuka-chan, we've got to do something about it!"
"Kouta-kun, you know she won't follow through with it! She may look like she knows what she's doing, but Nana's just a little girl. She is known to have those kinds of outbursts. She's probably cooled off by now."
Kouta and Yuka had just finished their day at the university. The two cousins were busy arguing about where to go. Or more like, what to do about the obvious problem. Yuka was ready to go back to the Kaede Inn and rest before making dinner. However, Kouta, with his soft spot for girls, wanted to head to the graveyard. Even though the two rivaled diclonii weren't there to kill each other, he was also aware of the possibility of serious injury. Serious injury spelled out a trip to the hospital. A trip to the hospital spelled out possible extermination. The cover that the residents had managed to successfully keep for three weeks would be blown. He and Yuka could be sought by the SAT. He knew that he couldn't talk the two girls out of fighting. It would be nuts to verbally reason with a diclonius with a temper. There was only one thing that anyone could possibly do: watch. The pessimistic thought sickened Kouta to the stomach. He was going to the graveyard, with or without Yuka.
"Okay Yuka, you go on back", Kouta said as he took off his backpack. "I'm going to make sure that no one gets hurt, too bad", he finished before breaking off into a full sprint.
"Hey wait!" Yuka yelled after him, but stopped after seeing it was useless. "Kouta, you jerk", she sighed as she picked up his bag and walked.
Kouta continued to run as fast as he can towards the cemetery, panicked thoughts still racing though his mind. Within a couple of minutes he arrived at the foot of the stairs to the graveyard before collapsing from sheer exhaustion. Moments later, another man approached and saw the incapacitated Kouta lying on the ground.
At Kamakura High School…Nana packed up the last of her schoolbooks and closed her locker. After letting out a deep sigh, she stoically walked down the hallway towards the school's front entrance.
"Hey Nana-san", Mayu greeted as she ran up to join her.
"Hi Mayu-chan", Nana said as she forced a smile.
"What's wrong? You look stressed", Mayu noticed.
"Yes, I am. That test we just took, you know", Nana said in an attempt to cover up what was really bothering her.
She compulsively checked her watch for what must have been the hundredth time that day: 4:06. Due to current autumn season, nightfall came earlier. Consequentially being, dusk would also be sooner. Her eyes widened and she felt Lucy's presence nearby. Seems like her opponent was already heading for the graveyard early. It seemed odd to Nana that Lucy would be going to the agreed place an hour in advance.
"What is she planning?" Nana thought aloud.
"Who's planning?" Mayu asked, giving a concerned look to her friend.
"Oh nothing, I'm just pumped about, well, you know".
"Well, don't worry about it just yet", Mayu advised. "You've got to be in good mental shape when you fight. You've got about fifty minutes before the rematch, don't you? Dusk is about an hour later. We can still head back to the Kaede Inn to rest a bit, or we can pass by one of the street vendors in the area for a snack. In fact, I know a great place where there are some tasty crepes!"
"Does it have to do with a man with a blue rag on his head?" Nana asked without looking at her.
"Are you talking about the owner of the business?" Mayu asked with uncertainty. "I know him very well! He's so polite!" she added with a grin.
"Then forget it!" Nana harshly responded.
"Wha-What?"
"Mayu-chan, I'll have you know that bastard is evil, forgive my language. Pure evil. Remember the night that you first met me?" Nana finished as she looked up from the pavement.
"Yes, what does that have to do with him?"
"I was released from the facility that evening. After my run in with that soldier at the beach, I headed for that crepe shack, expecting something to quell my hunger. You know what I get? A look of contempt! Don't get me wrong, he was still obliged to give me what I wanted, but come on! Just because of my horns! Being the good girl I am, I didn't think of decapitating him then and there, I just wanted one measly chocolate crepe! Then again, I guess it was partially my fault. After all, I didn't know what 500 yen looked like back then. Aww, forget it, Mayu-chan. Just forget I said anything. Besides, I don't want to think about what he'll do if he sees another horned creature within five feet of his business."
"Oh, gomen nasai, Nana-san!" Mayu apologetically replied. "I had no idea! Maybe we can pass by Kaede Inn instead?" she suggested by changing the subject.
"It's okay", Nana accepted. "Reminding me of that time actually helped me. Now I won't be tempted to take my frustrations out on that crepe merchant. Instead, I'll take them out on Lucy!"
Mayu slightly nodded, but looked the other way soon afterwards and winced. She knew deep down that Nana was as scared of fighting again just as much as Lucy was, but her horned friend's anger the night before showed just how serious she was. Mayu wasn't the kind of person who would condone violence. Then again, so were Kouta and Yuka. Speaking of the two, what were they going to do about this rivalry? Kouta and Yuka were always looked upon as the "parents" of the household. They should've intervened more strongly and tried to make an effort to convince Nana from fighting Lucy. But looking at the situation in terms of personal power made more sense. Brute force from any vector would crush even the most stern of reprimands. Mayu couldn't blame her guardians because of that. This wasn't going to be an ordinary catfight. She had learned that long ago. However, Nana counted on her as an only friend. And that only friend was caught by the pressure to stand by Nana as she had always done. For now, all Mayu could do is hope that Nana's empathy would kick in and reduce the chance of seriously injuring Lucy in an abhorrent rage. And vice-versa, of course. If nothing else, then encouraging Nana on the sidelines would have to do.
She was snapped out of her deep thought when Nana stopped and clutched her head in agonizing pain.
"AAAAARGH!" Nana cried out.
"Nana-san, what is it!?" a panicked Mayu asked.
"It's…her…Lucy", Nana grunted after regaining her composure. "I knew she was already there!"
"So?"
"She's probably sabotaging the place in her favor!"
"Nana-san, I think you're getting a bit paranoid there".
"Oh, yeah, sorry. Let's keep walking".
The two girls walked along the quiet roadside towards the local graveyard. The sky was beginning to grow ominously dark…
At the Kamakura graveyard…Lucy meditated quietly at the center of the cemetery. She had arrived early in order to familiarize herself with the place. It was still a very disorganized looking place despite that fact that she had been there three weeks ago.
"The graveyard, huh?" Lucy talked to herself. "Well, it does look like the perfect battleground".
Her one-sided conversation was briefly interrupted when she heard footsteps coming from the graveyard platform staircase. It didn't feel like Nana. Lucy turned around to see who it was. It couldn't be! Bando approached and faced her, Kouta lying in his arms. The sight alarmed her.
"The soldier from the beach", she fearfully whispered.
She immediately readied her vectors, but as in doing so she felt a wave of physical weakness. It was enough to cause the diclonius to fall on all fours in an attempt to stay up.
"Damn, looks like the damage to my horns is worse than I thought", she thought. "All this time you had and you didn't bother to practice using your vectors?"
Still though, she wasn't taking any chances with this man. Twice he came to kill her, and twice she managed to defeat him. Lucy didn't even want to think of what he was up to.
"Whoa, is this the thanks I get for saving your boyfriend?" Bando asked as her placed Kouta on the ground. "Put those arms down, I'm not here to fight.
Kouta immediately stirred from his unconscious state and sat up. Lucy lowered her vectors and slowly regained the strength to stand up.
"Lucy? How did I get here? I remember falling just at the foot of the stairs…"
Lucy motioned her head in Bando's direction.
"Wha…the soldier from the beach!?" Kouta shockingly acknowledged.
"Kuso", the former SAT soldier cursed. "Look you idiots, I'm not here to kill any horn-headed freaks today! The only reason why I came here was to watch a fight that was supposed to happen around this time. So where the hell is all the-"
"And how did you know about this?" Lucy interrupted.
"That other kid. Nana, I believe the kid was?"
"Nana…" Lucy whispered under her breath.
"So, where's the fight, kid?"
"Sir?" Kouta stepped in.
"Lieutenant Bando, kiddo", he introduced with an informal salute.
"Uh Bando, could you let her and me talk in privacy for a while?"
Bando nodded his head and sat down before lighting a cigarette.
"Are you sure you want to follow through with this?" Kouta asked Lucy. "Your horns are still healing and you might not be in the condition to fight".
Lucy felt her horn stubbles. Then she turned her attention to Kouta.
"Look, if you're still worried about the blood splattering and the killing, don't worry. I'm just going through with that girl's request. I won't kill her. You have my word.
"That's good to hear".
"Besides, I'd be more worried about her killing me. You remember what happened last night."
"Still, are you absolutely sure that you're up to it?"
Lucy tried to summon her vectors to show him and successfully did so, but an acute pain and weakness shot through her again so she ended up having to withdraw them. Kouta's eyes widened in fear, but not in even more horror, when he heard footsteps coming from the staircase. It was Nana, and Mayu followed behind her closely.
"I'm ready!" she growled after taking off her hair ribbon.
"Good luck, Nana!" Mayu called.
"Nana-" Kouta tried to say.
Lucy placed a hand on his shoulder and shook her head. It wouldn't do much good. Nana had been waiting for this very moment for a long time and nothing was going to stop her, not even those who cared about her.
"Remember what I said kid, don't get cocky!" Bando advised.
"Okay, do your worst", Kouta resigned as he sat down next to Bando.
Lucy nodded and approached Nana, keeping at least three meters away from her.
"Do you really want to fight me?" Lucy nonchalantly asked her.
"Didn't I already make that clear?" Nana answered back with a serious look in her eyes. "I'm ready when you're ready".
She backed up her words by adopting her fighting stance. Lucy did likewise. Here goes nothing.
"Round 1!" Bando called out. "FIGHT!"
At said word, Nana brought out her vectors and grabbed several rocks.
"Bite this!" she snarled after hurling all four of them.
Lucy succeeded in blocking the attack, but every time she summoned her vectors, the debilitating weakness would continue to rack her body. But now was not the time to give up. She followed up by grabbing a graveyard picket with a free vector and throwing it at Nana.
Nana was caught off guard and fell backwards after slicing the thrown picket in half. Splinters of wood flew everywhere as Lucy continued to pummel Nana with more pickets.
"Come on Nana, you can do it!" Mayu kept encouraging.
"Aww yes", Bando exclaimed. "Finally some brutalizing action!"
Bando reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a bag of rice crackers. He began chomping on them like popcorn. Kouta was too busy wincing at the blows until his eye caught the snack package.
"Are you going to share those?" he asked.
Bando grunted and held the bag in his direction. Kouta grabbed a handful before continuing watching the fight unfold.
Using the help of her vectors, Nana back flipped to dodge the last of Lucy's pickets. Now it was her turn. Nana used the brute strength of a vector to grab onto one of Lucy's arms. Lucy tried to retaliate, but her vectors were one meter short.
"You can't hope to defeat me with such short arms", Nana said.
Lucy remained unfazed and she grabbed a nearby boulder, hurtling it with all of the mental strength that she had left. Dead on. The boulder struck Nana and she fell backwards again. By now, the commotion was increasing and the harsh sounds of broken objects and heavy blows filled the air.
"Kouta!" cried a familiar voice.
Kouta saw Yuka run towards him from the cemetery entrance.
"Yuka?" he asked. "What are you doing here?"
"The same thing you're doing! On my way back to the inn, I head some racket coming from here. I had no idea that it was going to be this bad-"
CRASH!
Nana had ripped a sizeable branch off a nearby cherry blossom and threw it at Lucy. Lucy was already too weak to fight back and she tried to brace herself against the impending blow. It didn't do much good as the branch smashed across her face, drawing blood.
Kouta couldn't take the sight anymore. He had to intervene now.
"Nana!" he screamed as he ran towards Nana. "Stop it already! Please stop!"
Lucy recognized those words. She still remembered them from the subway where she had murdered Kouta's sister and father, and it still hurt to hear them. She was hoping that the same three words would be enough to break Nana's emotional barrier.
But Nana showed no sign of stopping. She turned in Kouta's direction and knocked him in the stomach with a vector, causing him to reel backwards in pain. Kouta immediately backed off. He was too scared to even notice the different look in her crimson eyes: her pupils were contricted and glazed over, showing that her killer instincts were active. Lucy immediately recognized them. Bando also caught a glimpse of it.
"Whoa, she's out for blood!" Bando exclaimed as he popped another rice cracker in his mouth.
"What!?" asked Mayu, Yuka, and Kouta in unison.
"I've seen them before. Whenever silpelits are about to kill, they get that scary look in their eyes".
The whole audience watched in horror as the endgame approached.
Lucy was already down and Nana was beginning to walk towards her. If she didn't find the strength to defend herself, it would be game over for her. There had to be a way. And there was.
"Nyuu, looks like you'll have to take over", she sighed.
The plan that she quickly formulated wasn't too good, but it would buy her some time. She was planning on letting Nyuu switch over. Lucy was banking on the hope that Nyuu would at least be able to fight back, but not once was her other side able to use her vectors though. Not to mention, Nyuu could be completely oblivious to the current situation that she would be switched into. It was a gamble that Lucy had to take.
"Okay, you're up", she whispered as she concentrated on switching personalities.
A few seconds later, Nyuu appeared, characterized by her gentle eyes and lighter facial expression.
"Nyuu?" she uttered.
"C'mon Nyuu, evil Nana is about to kick you in the face!"
Lucy was trying to talk to her from the subconscious part of her mind. It proved to be very difficult.
"Face, kick?" Nyuu confusedly asked as she looked up. Nana now towered over her, the menacing look still in her eyes.
"I'll show you what pain is!" Nana screamed as she kicked her in the face with repressed rage.
"Aaaaah!" Nyuu cried out.
Nana followed up with a roundhouse kick to the stomach.
Nyuu fell on all fours, blood dripping from her face.
"Haha!" Nana exclaimed as her killer instincts subsided. "Even with my bare prosthetic limbs, I can still beat you!"
But she had no time to celebrate her victory, for Nyuu was now completedly aware of what was going on.
"NYUU!" she yelled. Nyuu had caught Nana by surprise and pounced on her, pinning down all four of her limbs.
"Hey let go!" Nana yelled, trying to thrash with no avail.
Lucy was still completely aware of the situation and watched through Nyuu's eyes.
"Yes, that's it!" she goaded. "Rip off her limbs!"
"Yes!" Nyuu snarled in acknowledgment after taking one of Nana's prosthetic arms off.
"What did I tell you kid?", Bando reminded Nana, "Don't get cocky!"
Nyuu's eyes narrowed to match Nana's angry look. Nana wasn't fooled, however. She could still sense Lucy, barely though. Nana came to the conclusion that her opponent has switched sides, possibly to influence her into going easier. What treachery! It was enough to push Nana over the edge once again. She felt a fresh wave of rage overcome her, and unintentionally her killer instincts took over.
"W-Wha-What's going on!?" Mayu stuttered in panic.
Yuka cowered from the scene, hiding behind a gravestone for what cover it may provide. Kouta stared wide-eyed at the scene. The thought of the unlikely combo of Nyuu and aggression shocked him even more. Bando, on the other hand, watched intently and even yelled out random comments to the duelists.
"Yeah, kiddo!" he cheered on Nana. "Beat that bitch beyond recognition!"
Nana paid no mind, for her killer side was still on the field. She countered Nyuu's grab with a quick head butt. The recoil stunned Nana, but it was enough to make her opponent let go.
"Guess strategy is the only way I can take her down", she thought in a short moment of rationality. "Maybe I can fool her, just like she tried on me. All right. This one's for my limbs, bitch! Wait-AAAAARG!"
The silpelit was slipping in and out of saneness and killer instinct. It didn't seem to matter anyway. Both of her sides were hell-bent on revenge in this rematch. Her more rational side popped in again.
"What is this!?" Nana asked, slightly frightened.
It was a familiar feeling that she had felt moments before. It felt more powerful and strangely homicidal. No matter how angry she was at Lucy, she would place some restraint on her combat methods. But this new side was concentrated on only one thing: killing. At first Nana was befuddled, but decided to follow through with her plan after seeing that even in this mode, she still had control.
Nana dropped on all fours, as planned, in order to fake weakness. Nyuu stood up and charged at her, ready to deliver a retaliating blow. Lucy immediately recognized the trap.
"No Nyuu! Don't-!"
It was too late to stop Nyuu. Nana immediately grabbed her stray arm with a free vector and hurled it square at Nyuu's face. Nyuu fell back in excruciating pain, unable to fight anymore. Lucy immediately reverted back. Nana reattached her prosthetic arm and walked up to the fallen Lucy, clarifying her victory.
Lucy's eyes immediately widened in horror. Nana's killer instincts were still active. Who knows what she could do?
"Look familiar?" Nana asked, intentionally using Lucy's words against her.
"Do something!" Mayu pleaded Bando. "She's going to kill Lucy!"
"What? Why? I'm enjoying the sweet revenge right now!"
"Just do it now!" she said after showing him his cell phone number.
"Kid, need I remind you that you've already expended my favor? I could've kicked your butt back on the beach-"
"God damn it, stop her! That's an order, soldier!" Mayu yelled at him, shaking a fist.
"Oh pfft…fine! Kids these days."
Meanwhile, Lucy had managed to come up with one final plan.
"What do you have to say for yourself now you pain in the ass?" Nana taunted.
"Absolutely nothing, but I would like to ask you something".
"What?" her opponent retorted.
"Does it hurt now?"
At that moment, Nana's eyes filled with tears that she tried to hold back. Her killer instincts had finally subsided.
Deep down, it really did hurt. She shouldn't have even thought of brazenly fighting Lucy in the first place. What was she doing? This rematch shouldn't have mattered. Winning didn't even matter as much as it sounded. Lucy was like a close relative to her. Lucy was a close relative. Almost like a sister. Nana suddenly came to the realization that she nearly killed Lucy. The guilt began to set into her.
"Are you suffering yet?" Lucy added.
"No…" Nana whimpered. "Please no…no more!"
Bang!
In that instant, a .50 tungsten bullet barely grazed Nana's skull by a millimeter. She felt a paralyzing jolt in her head and fell the ground, unconscious. Bando triumphantly raised his pistol in the air, confirming his success.
"Game…over…", Lucy whispered before fainting.
"NOOOOO!" Mayu wailed, unable to take the stress anymore. "What the hell did you do that for!?"
"What?" Bando asked dumbfounded. "It took a tungsten bullet to snap her out of it before, and it took another one to do it again!"
"Nyuu! Nana!" Yuka cried out as she ran to the two fallen duelists.
"Are they dead!?" Kouta begged to know.
The four onlookers approached the horrifying sight. Yuka checked Lucy first: a quick check showed that she was still breathing and was unconscious.
"You and Mayu, take Lucy back to the Kaede Inn", Kouta told them. "I'll take care of Nana".
Mayu nervously nodded and aided Yuka in placing Lucy on their shoulders. Within moments, they were gone.
Kouta turned to Nana next. Her eyes were slightly open, fresh tears still falling. A trickle of blood fell across her face when Kouta turned her face up. She was still awake, but barely. It looked like Nana had snapped out of her killer mode long ago.
"K-Kouta-san", barely moaned Nana as she tried to reach up to him.
"Don't talk, you need to rest", Kouta calmly assured her as he placed her arm around his shoulder.
Hoisting the girl in his arms, Kouta looked in Bando's direction. The man still stood by, observing the scene around him. Night had arrived.
"We'd better leave soon", Bando said. "Looking at all the chaos we've caused here, this would be enough to attract the attention of the SAT".
Kouta wholeheartedly agreed, and they immediately headed for the Kaede Inn. He still wasn't done talking though.
"What did you do to her?" he firmly asked Bando.
"It sounds strange kid, but bear with me", Bando started. "On the night that she was released from that facility, she went all killer instinct on me".
"Why? What did you do?"
"Well, um, not much. Except for, uh, trying to shoot her twice, and kicking her, and telling her all about the bad side of diclonii".
Kouta gave him a disturbed look, but continued asking questions.
"Then what?"
"Then her eyes got that scary look. She nearly killed me on that beach. That is until I shot her with this".
Bando tapped the .50 pistol inside his coat pocket.
".50 custom-made tungsten bullet", he added. "Their vectors have much difficulty in blocking these rounds. I'll be honest with you; I was trying for a headshot after she pinned me down. But all that I managed to do was graze her skull. Then she returned to her normal, childish self, all crying and stuff".
"And that's what you just did to her?" Kouta finally asked.
"A perfect SAT marksman!" Bando exclaimed to him. "But don't worry, it shouldn't be lethal".
"Kouta…", whispered Nana as she tried to stay awake. "Gomen…nasai…are…you…mad…at…me?"
"I don't know why, Nana, but I have a feeling that it's not all your fault", Kouta replied. "It's okay, I'm not mad at you".
Nana blinked once more before closing her eyes. Bando and Kouta continued to walk along the roadside, back to the Kaede Inn…
So ends the fight, without a victor. What now? Until the next chapter: Game Over. R&R please!
