Linkinparkfan9799 Stories
Elfen Lied-Anime
Rated T for Gore and Cursing
Minori
Chapter Twelve
Park: Minori
I tap the tree I stand in front of.
"HELLO!" I shout at it. Nothing comes out of the hole in the wood. I pout and try again. "HELLO!"
"And that's enough," Lucy picks me up from behind, holding me in burping position. "Don't want to disturb the squirrels, do we?"
Days have passed since Hanta came to the inn. If my counting is correct, it is now my twentieth-second day. Kota and Yuka have school, and so does Mayu, so Nana, Lucy, and I wanted to do something different other than play in the yard. We came to a park, where the grass is green and the birds are loud. Some other people are here, but I don't think we're supposed to talk to them.
Nana is climbing a tree, sticking her tongue out at Lucy. "Look! I can climb this tree!"
Lucy blinks, looking bored. "And I care…why?"
"Because you're not climbing one!" She makes a funny sound when her tongue sticks out farther. "So neh~"
My feet touch the grass when Lucy sets me onto the ground again. She stomps over to the tree and starts climbing it, grunting every time she pulls herself up higher. I waddle over and shrink next to it. The height is really-really big, like the Pork Monster. He's actually really nice, but not many people know that because he's so big and mean-looking. It makes me sad thinking of how many tears he cries when people confuse him with the Veggie Monster and call him a rapist and what not.
Something snaps and Nana screams. She falls down on the ground, another snap following. "Nana, be careful of the sticks on the ground!" I hurry over, rolling her onto her belly.
She glares at the grass brushing her nose. "That. Was. Not. A. Stick." Her voice is as chopped up as vegetables in Miso soup.
Lucy drops down from the tree and lands on her hands and feet. A little popping sound comes from her fingers, but that can't be anything major, right? "Oh my word," Lucy sighs. "You gloat about climbing trees, yet you fall off harder than an egg splatters against concrete from the Tokyo Tower." Her eyes roll as she says this.
"Oh stop nagging and get me to a damn hospital!" Nana shrieks. Her face twitches as if something is wrong with her speaking.
A what? "Are you an idiot? You go there and you die!" Lucy snaps. "The only thing we can do is do it ourselves…"
"You better get some ice before you dare move my ribs around!"
Now I am officially confused. "Ribs?" I ask. "But you didn't bring any food with you." 'SLAP' sounds out as Nana slaps her forehead. Does she like pain or something? "Do you like pain or something?"
Nana turns to me with some cross between a tired expression and a giving up one. "All things come from somewhere, right?" she asks me. I nod. "Where do you think ribs come from?" I glance at her chest, then at her head, and then at her chest again. I scream and she flinches. "Yeah. That's what I thought."
"Lucy!" I cling to the elder. "We have to help Nana!"
She gives me a look of thought and sighs, patting my head. Apparently she does not like her choice (whatever that may be). "Okay, I will. You, however, stay right by this tree. Do NOT move away from it. Not for play mates, not for ice cream, not for anything. You understand me?" The strong tone of her voice forces me to nod. "Good. Okay Nana, this is gonna hurt…"
"Oh joy," Nana grumbles. She yelps when Lucy pulls her up and carries her on her shoulder. "YOU'RE DOING THIS ON PURPOSE AREN'T YOU?!"
Lucy hugs Nana closer to her shoulder. Even at this distance I can hear something scratching together. "Whatever would give you that idea?" Lucy yawns, patting her mouth.
I giggle, personally. It's just so funny, you know? So I sit against the trunk of the tree, like Lucy said to. I pat down my hat and play with each strand of grass, wondering about what the use of grass is. Maybe it's a way the Earth can protect itself? Maybe it's just pretty? Eh, who knows? I guess I'll just ask Lucy when she comes back…My eyelids start to get heavy, so I lie on the grass and start to roll around. For some reason, I find it fun, but the bugs that keep clinging to my dress are left to be unwanted.
Since everything is spinning, I start to feel sick and stop. I don't want to have to leave early because I barf up my guts and things, you know? People stare at me oddly as I sit, waiting for my belly to settle down and relax so I can walk again. "So odd…" "I know, right?" Why must people judge when they don't know me?
"I'M TELLING YOU I DON'T KNOW YOU!"
…Lucy?
"LET ME GO YOU CRAZY BASTARD!"
That doesn't sound real good, now does it? I hop up and run in the direction of Lucy's cries. People stare at something, but the ring of bystanders is too much for me to get through. "Stop it, you freak!" Click-clackity-click!
"GET THESE HANDCUFFS OFF ME BEFORE I SUE!"
"SHUT UP!" WHAP!
My tiny arms push at everyone's knees. They refuse to pay attention. "E-Excuse me!" I yelp. "Please g-get out of the way!"
WHAP! WHAP! SLAP! WHAM! CRUNCH! SLAP! WHAP! CRACK! OOMPH! "Fight! Fight! Fight!" some slightly older people chant.
"NO! No fighting!" I yell. The others start to whisper and murmur and chatter, so I am not heard. CRACK! CRUNCH! SLAP! OOMPH! WHAP! WHAM! WHAP! SLAP! CRUNCH! AIIIEE! "CUT IT OUT!" I blackout for a second. Next thing I know I'm choking a man wearing black glasses and holding Lucy's face away. "NO! NO FIGHTING! FIGHTING! IS! BAD!" Well, I might have not wanted to be in this position, but might as well roll with things, right?
Lucy glances at the stranger, than me. She does this again. Nana is on a bench a bit of a ways away, a pack of ice pushed against her lower chest by white pieces of what looks like cloth. She looks as well, her eyes narrowing (probably can't see real well from there). The elder sighs and pats my head, standing herself while tugging at some metal rings around her wrists. Are these the handcuffs she mentioned? "You people are ruining this!" she yells at the man. "I try, honest to God try, to show Minori a relaxing time, and you bastards keep mucking things up! SO CUT IT OUT! I DON'T KNOW YOU PEOPLE!"
I shrink and crawl to Nana, clinging to her leg. "M-Man…" I gulp. "Lu-Lucy can be scary."
Nana giggles and pats my cap. "Tell me about it…Hey Lucy! There's an ice cream stand nearby!"
Lucy glares at the man for a bit longer before coming over and tagging us over to a white cart. The old man there seems to be worn out. "Hey, three vanilla cones, please," she says. He refuses to budge from his seemingly sleepy-time. "Hey!" She starts snapping her fingers in front of his face.
While she tries to get him to wake up, I glance back to see the same man still watching us, a little silver key in his mouth. A shudder goes through my body and I hug Lucy from behind. Bando and this stranger are equally weird in my mind…
