(Author's Notes): Well, after an ungodly delay, chapter nine is up. Sorry to keep you guys waiting.
Time seemed to stand still. The two people in the room might as well have been statues. Ever so slowly, Lucy's head turned, bringing Nana's face into view. She had hoped that this conversation could have been delayed longer, but seeing Nana's expression, she came to realise its inevitability.
"What about?" She asked bluntly, shattering the tension in the air with all the finesse of a sledgehammer smashing through pond ice.
"Lots of things. Like why the hell you're still here, and what your intentions are." Nana replied, equally bluntly. Lucy's eyelids contracted, narrowing down so that the iris expanded. They bore a horrible resemblance to black holes, seemingly sucking in everything.
"I'm here because I was wanted. I do not intend to do anything. Satisfied?" Lucy stated coldly. It was odd; she felt completely indifferent to Nana's hostility. She certainly harboured none of her own. Whether it appears will depend on what happens next.
"The hell you don't." Nana said with venom. I seriously doubt that Lucy is the kind of person to just sit down and do nothing. She has to be up to something.
"You keep referring to hell, but have you ever been there? Hell isn't being shot at, or having your limbs torn off. Hell is when you are judged by other people. I don't expect you to believe what I'm saying, but I'll say it anyway because nobody else will ever hear it." Lucy paused to gather her thoughts. How do I explain? "I don't want to fight anymore. I don't want people to hate me anymore, even though it is an impossible wish…All I want to do is be with the man I love. It's all I have ever wanted. Please, just leave me alone."
At that moment, Lucy's emotional barrier cracked. The tears began leaking out, despite her best efforts to stop them. It seemed that no matter what happened, she was doomed to be reminded of her crimes and failures for the rest of her life. She turned away to hide her distress, but it was too late. Nana had already seen her. Is Lucy…crying? Why? Is she trying to lure me into a false sense of security? She seems genuinely upset…Something serious must have happened.
"And who exactly are you being judged by?" Nana asked, the edge in her voice lessening a little. Lucy slowly turned back around. The tears were gone now, but their trails had marked her pale complexion, making her face seem scarred. Slowly, she raised her hand, the index finger pointing at her own chest.
"Myself."
"I'm sorry…please, could you excuse me for a moment?" Mayu said abruptly.
"Mayu seems a little odd." Kouta remarked after she had left the room. Yuka sighed. Odd isn't the half of it.
"It's all very complicated. Mayu puts on a brave face, but she's been having a lot of problems recently." Yuka's face darkened. I bet that phone call was from the hospital…
"What's the problem? Or shouldn't I ask?" Kouta inquired. He wanted to help, but didn't know if it was really any of his business.
"It's all very complicated," Yuka began. She paused for a moment, then went on, "It's to do with Mayu's boyfriend. They met at the induction day and have been dating ever since. He's a semi-professional track runner, but he comes from a poor family, so he pays for his own education. Anyway, during a routine medical test, the doctor found a large growth under his kneecap. Apparently, it might be cancerous." She finished, her face darkening a little.
"That's bad…" Kouta's voice trailed off, as Yuka interrupted him.
"That's only the half of it. Mayu was devastated, obviously, and when his sponsors heard about it, they stopped funding him. To cut a long story short, he cant pay his university fees anymore, so Mayu decided to give him the money he needed. So now she's juggling jobs, money and education in one hand and her boyfriend, worry and stress in the other. Naturally, the news that he might have his leg amputated was depressing enough for both of them. I expect that phone call earlier was something to do with that."
Kouta sat silently, thinking. If Yuka hadn't told me this, I would never have known. It was just like Mayu. Even when they first met her, she hadn't been the sort of person to ask for help. He hoped that everything would work out for them.
"You know…" Yuka started to say, but trailed off suddenly. Kouta looked at her questioningly.
"Hm? What is it?" He asked. Yuka shifted a little in her seat, looking down at the ground.
"Someone at work…asked me out a couple of days ago." She blushed and looked away. Kouta frowned. Why is she telling me this?
"Um…I suppose it's nothing to do with you, but…what do you think I should do?" She asked, avoiding his eyes. The person in question was one of her colleagues, someone she had known since she started working. He's not a bad person, and I'd feel really bad about saying no to him. Plus, it would make things really awkward.
"Well…I wouldn't really know. It's not really my decision, but…if you think he's a good person, you should at least give it a try. Because otherwise, you'll never know." He replied, faltering a little. Yuka smiled a little. On the one hand, she was sad, because that was the final, decisive proof that Kouta would never see her as anything more than a cousin. But on the other, he had just confirmed what she had thought.
At that moment, Nana returned. She looked a little strange, as if she was deep in thought. She had passed Mayu in the hallway, and noted that she was on the phone. She always seemed to be on the phone these days…
Yuka's assumption had been correct. The phone call had been from the hospital, and the news it brought was not encouraging. They had informed her that they were preparing to scan the tumour to see if it was benign or malignant. Unfortunately, it had developed around some key nerves, so attempting to remove it might mean partial or total paralysis from the knee downwards.
She dialled his number, but there was no response. She dialled it again, and met with the same results. Mayu stopped, and forced herself to calm down. It was no use worrying. If it was really serious, he would have called me. I have to calm down. She took a deep breath, then prepared to dial a third time, just to make sure.
It had started raining outside. Large black storm clouds hung overhead, with the occasional flash of lightning. The sheets of rain worked to Bando's advantage, driving would-be bystanders away from the site where his equipment had been placed. It had been located in the sewer systems, under a conveniently placed manhole cover. He sat there now, opening the cases to see what he had been given. He held his phone up to his left ear.
"Hey, what the hell is this? All of this stuff is regular equipment. Where the hell are the fucking anti-tank weapons?" He spat into the receiver. The cool, collected voice answered him with infinite patience.
"Don't worry, Mr. Bando. I assure you, these weapons contain state of the art technology. Instead of looking at the guns, why don't you look at the ammunition?"
He did so. Seconds later he was back on the phone.
"You fucking…Are you serious? Chemically tipped? With what?"
"A special compound we developed. I assure you, it is one hundred percent effective against those invisible arms that stop most regular rounds." The voice replied, sounding almost amused. Bando grinned.
"Ha. You're shitting me. I cant wait to see the look on her face." He smirked and closed the weapons case.
"We've also left you replacement prosthetics. It should be easy enough to attach them, and they can handle weights far beyond human muscles. That includes gun recoil."
"Excellent." Bando rested his back against the tunnel walls, looking up at the manhole above him. The next couple of days would be fun.
In an unknown location on the other end of the line, the speaker ended the call. He turned to the figure on his left. She sat in a wheelchair, gazing up at the ceiling with an absent expression. She was the last of the numbered units; the rest had succumbed long ago. The speaker smiled, a cold, hard expression on his face. Finally, it was time to act.
(Author's Notes): Sorry to all MayuxNana fans out there, but I dont really support that pairing...sorry! Anyhow, just to reassure everyone, I intend for this fic to continue for several more chapters, so dont worry! See you next weekend!
