Oh boy oh boy oh boy! I have been looking forward to this one :3 I think you guys will really like this! As a matter of fact, this is one of the first scenes that came up into my mind when I started writing this story. So here we go! I seriously think this is gonna be a long one... :D
CHAPTER 14: A MIND IN RUINS
I must admit, I slept pretty damn well. Maybe it was because of the excessive excitement I had received the previous day, or maybe because it had been years since the last time I slept in a proper bed. Either way it was the best feeling ever! However, it was destined to end when Yuka rushed in my room.
"Zale! Zale! Wake up!" She shouted.
"What? What? I didn't do it!" I yelled half-asleep.
"Zale, Mayu is gone! She left a letter!" That woke me up.
"What?" I snatched the letter and read through it. She explained how she didn't want to be a burden to anyone and decided to just leave.
"Damn! We need to go search for her. Wake Kouta up." I said quickly.
After a while we were downstairs discussing the matter with Kouta.
"Poor Mayu..." He said. "Maybe she should move in here..." he said.
"Move in here?" Yuka said in disbelief.
"Why not? Admit it you're just as worried as I am. Besides you invited a guy to move in..." he said giving me a quick glance.
"T-that's different...I-I didn't... It's not like... Whatever! We need to find Mayu, so dress up we're going out!" She said storming off with a bright red face.
"Do you enjoy pissing her off?" I asked him flatly.
"As usual, I just don't get that girl..." He replied.
I sighed and grabbed my jacket.
"Well, tell Yuka I went ahead of you guys."
"Wouldn't it be better to search for her together?"
"I know the streets better than any of you, I can cover more ground than any of you. If I find her I'll let you know."
"Fine then" He agreed.
As soon as I was outside the inn and away from any unwanted attention, I leaped on top of a nearby roof and then jumped on the next one. I could definitely cover more ground in much less time. What was to be done, was checking every spot in the town that could house a runaway. However, even after hours of checking, Mayu wasn't in any of those places. Where could she be? It was starting to get dark and the dark clouds that were in the sky made it easy to tell that it was gonna rain.
"Where the hell did you go?" I said to myself through gritted teeth.
I checked a few more places, but she wasn't there. The rain had started to fall down mercilessly. What to do? Then I realized there was one more place I didn't check: a wood pile shelter on the beach. If she wasn't there then I really had no idea where she could be. I rushed there and thank god there she was. Crying.
"Mayu! Thank god you're alright! Why did you run off like that? Kouta and Yuka are worried sick."
She looked up at me with surprised eyes.
"Why are you here? Why did you come looking for me?"
"Don't be ridiculous..." Then I noticed something was missing: her dog. "Hey, where's Wanta? I don't see him anywhere."
Her eyes turned sad and depressed again.
"His real owner came and picked him up. Now I'm all alone again."
I looked at her with a sad expression. She reminded me so much of myself during my first years living with my uncle. Of course, that was before I grew strong enough to survive the streets. The days were hell.
"Mayu... I have to ask. Why did you runaway from your house?"
Again she looked up at me with confused eyes.
"You see, I also live on the streets. I've been doing so since I was eleven, but I got used to it much earlier."
"You did...?"
It was time to do some painful flashbacks.
"Yeah. My parents were both killed when I was very little. I was left with my uncle. He used to beat me for no good reason, every day. Heh, I still have some bruises to prove it. He would lock me out of the house with no food and I had to learn to feed myself. In the end he gave me away to an orphanage, where other kids would treat you like dirt. I ran way and lived on my own ever since."
She kept looking at me still sad and surprised.
"I'm sorry..." Her voice was weak from all the crying.
"Humph, I can live with it."
A few moments of silence passed.
"My mother..." She started "She remarried some time ago... to a man w-who seemed alright at first. T-then h-he started..." She was shaking.
"Hey easy, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
She continued her story nonetheless.
"He started doing things... He would ask me to take off my clothes and he would..." She started crying again.
Sexual abuse. People like that deserved to die the most cruel death ever. Poor Mayu having a stepfather like that... why didn't she tell her mother.
"And then, I tried telling my mom about it. About the things he did to me. All she did was blame me... blame me because he only looked at me... because I was there he would never pay attention to her... I never meant anything to my mother! I was always alone!" She screamed in tears.
What? Her mom was jealous of her getting abused? How could someone ever do that? How?
"What did I do to deserve this? What did I..." Her sentence was left unfinished as I hugged her as tightly as I could. I don't know why I did that, my body just moved by itself. She stopped crying from the surprise.
"Nothing, you did nothing wrong. There are people on earth who just think of themselves and feel nothing when they destroy someone's life. They make your life miserable for no apparent reason"
My mind raced back at the numerous individuals who kept on tormenting me and Kaede. This girl probably went through a very similar hell. How could humans be so heartless? For some apparent reason I found my self crying as well.
"Trust me, I would know. However, there are those who truly care for you, who wouldn't let any harm come to you. People like Yuka and Kouta. You are not alone Mayu. If you want, I can also be your friend. So you see, there is no need to cry."
I kinda felt ridiculous... an eighteen-year-old crying in front of a teenager. It couldn't be helped though. While surprised from my reaction, the girl ended up hugging me even tighter.
"Thank you." She uttered. That made me smile.
"Come on, let's get you home."
We soon found Kouta and Yuka, who were very glad to be reunited with the younger girl. That night, we celebrated Mayu's fourteenth birthday. Boy was she happy, just like everyone. Heck, even Nyu seemed overjoyed. Another big surprise was Wanta's return, he couldn't live without Mayu either.
The next night Kouta signed all the documents to put Mayu under his custody. Also, Mayu made me promise not to tell anyone of her mother and stepfather. It was incredible that she still cared for her mother after all she went through.
The days went by and it was time for everyone to start school. Yuka had the funny idea of signing Nyu in the school. Me, I had no intention whatsoever to go school.
"Okay Zale, we won't be away for long so try not to make too much damage okay?" Yuka asked me smiling.
"You'd better hurry up, or I'll flip this place over." I replied just as sarcastically.
"See you later then" said Kouta.
"Nyu!" shouted Nyu before giving me one of her best hugs.
"Okay, okay, I get it! I'll miss you too Nyu." I said chuckling. Then they all left.
I was pondering what to do now that I was alone, since there wasn't much left to do in the house. I had enough sleeping, so the most logical thing to do was take a walk. Seeing the whole town again was supposed to give me a nostalgic feeling, but it just didn't. It was simply a constant reminder of what me and my sister had to go through. I constantly remembered how most people in this town would be cruel to anyone who looked different.
Then I thought about being on the look out for Kaede, so I roamed around a bit longer in the hopes of sensing a diclonius nearby. After sometime, I finally gave up. Kouta and the others were gonna be home soon anyways.
"Kaede... just where the hell are you?" I said to myself before heading back to the house.
I only needed to wait a little longer before I saw Yuka and Kouta come back. Weird, Nyu wasn't with them.
"Well hello there, fellas! How was the first day of school?" I said with a grin.
Just then, I took a better look at their faces. Saying they were depressed would have been the ultimate understatement. Their eyes were watery, had they been crying?
"Hey what's with the faces? Aw come on I know school sucks, but it couldn't be that bad can it? Oh and by the way, where is Nyu?" I asked.
Kouta wouldn't reply and, instead, strolled towards the living room.
"Man what's with him? Can't bear first day detentions?" I asked, kinda annoyed by his behavior."
"It's a long story. We'll keep it for dinner, when Mayu's here as well." Yuka said, while putting a hand on my shoulder.
"Okay..." I said half convinced.
During dinner, they explained how one of their professors had revealed to be Nyu's actual uncle. Believing Kouta and Yuka to be kidnappers, he kept the girl with him and forbid the two from seeing her. Poor Kouta, he was pretty attached to Nyu.
"Do you really think he was telling the truth?" asked Mayu.
The question kind of surprised Kouta and Yuka.
"Well maybe it's just me, but the family story sounds a little odd..." she continued.
"Aha!" I shouted "That's a smart girl! Good thinking Mayu, I completely agree with your opinion."
That made the raven haired girl giggle at my reaction.
"Anyways, jokes apart, the story just doesn't feel right." I said in a much more serious tone.
Everyone was silent in the room for sometime.
"Come to think of it, he was acting pretty strange." said Yuka "Like I said, everyone thinks professor Kakuzawa is pretty weird.
I froze in my seat at that moment.
Professor what? What was his name?
"Y-Yuka... What did you say... his name was? I didn't quite catch that." I said.
"Professor Kakuzawa, that's our teacher's name" she replied with confidence.
I heard right.
Kakuzawa.
The name of the person who made my life hell. He was here in Kamakura. So was I.
I darted up and grabbed my jacket, ignoring the many questions the other residents directed towards me. In a few seconds I was out of the house, running at full speed towards the local school.
That bastard was here! He was here! And I was ready to rip him to shreds!
I could feel a small diclonius presence, signifying that the real side of Nyu was desperately trying to awaken. I just needed to follow that in order to find the bastard. I ran as fast as I could, images of what I had to endure because of that man kept going through my mind. Revenge was near, so fucking near! I couldn't wait! I just couldn't wait to murder him! Before that I would ask him about Kaede's location, yes it was important to remember that. I could imagine the man's fearful expression as I closed in on him, his expression when he would recognize that I was Zale and Asuka's son! I was going to make him pay for everything!
I easily bypassed security and reached a door in the underground floor. The diclonius trace had disappeared, I needed to hurry. I slammed the door open and saw a middle aged man with jet black hair in the process of unbuttoning his shirt. My eyes instantly changed color and my fangs and claws appeared, also I performed my most terrifying glare possible. I immediately grabbed him and pinned him against the wall, lifting him up by the shirt.
"W-who are you?" he asked in utter fear.
"You... Is your name Kakuzawa?" My voice a growl.
"H-how did you get in here? Security should have stopped..."
"Answer me!" I roared.
"Y-yes! I'm professor Yu Kakuzawa!"
My eyes widened. It was him. I soon resumed glaring at him.
"So it is you! The monster that's been trapping dicloni and tortures them with gruesome experiments! Including my sister!" I was about to cut him in half.
"H-how do you..."
"I'm going to kill you slowly and painfully asshole!"
"No! You're mistaken! You're talking about Director Kakuzawa! I'm just his son!" He said in sheer terror.
I stared at him in angry confusion.
"Son? He has a son? Why should I believe you?"
"Think about it! If I were the head of an armed facility why would I take refuge in a simple school!"
He was lying. He had to be. Right? He was just making excuses! Was he? What he said made sense. Shit! There's no way, it had to be him! But it couldn't be. Fuck! He was useless! He was not the man I came to kill! He was just professor who happened to...
I suddenly remembered about something.
"Where is she?" I asked, still enraged because of the disappointment.
"Huh?"
"The girl! Where the fuck is Nyu?" I shouted.
"Right there" He pointed at an empty spot beside him.
"I-impossible" he said in shock. "She was right there!"
Just then, a figure suddenly emerged from behind a table. There stood Nyu, completely naked. However, her eyes were different: they were cold and menacing. I could feel her desire for blood just by looking at her. That definitely wasn't Nyu.
"L-Lucy... you were supposed to be asleep" The professor said, sweat was starting to appear on his face.
"The other one's asleep" her voice as cold as I remembered it to be. "I'm the one who's awake."
Her eyes then fell on me. I met them with a glare. I had no reason to, but at that moment I was just angry. Angry at the fact that being so close to knowing where my sister was had been just an illusion. Why? Why was fate being such a bitch with me?
I looked back at the professor. I still wanted to kill him, just to let loose my anger on something. I refrained from doing so, I was better than that.
I rudely let go of him.
"I think she will make you go through much more than I would anyways..." I said, still bearing my fangs at him.
I turned to leave, still feeling the girl's eyes on me.
"What makes you think, that I'll let you leave?" She asked in an emotionless tone.
I stopped in my tracks.
"You have two people in this room, one of them stripped you naked for God knows what purposes. If you want to waste your time on me, then go right ahead. However, I do believe the guy deserves death." I replied.
She gazed at the man in front of her. "We are in agreement."
Professor Kakuzawa started shaking in fear at that.
I got out of the door and proceeded out of the school, still avoiding security. After that I proceeded at a very slow pace. My mind was still lingering on how close I felt to unraveling Kaede's location. Here I was, with still no clue of where she was.
What did I endure this training for?
I deserve to die!
I remember her saying that. I was supposed to always be there for her right?
Alex, you act like a true friend to me. Since you started talking to me I feel happier...
Was I making her happier now? I didn't even know where she was. I didn't even know if she was alright.
Alex can you be my brother?
What kind of brother was I?
You always come first big brother!
I can't bear it.
I'm not leaving you here!
Stop.
ALEX! What did you do to him? Alex wake up!
I can't take this.
Brother! Nii-san!
ENOUGH!
"Gaaaaaaaaah!" I shouted at the top of my lungs at the myriad of flashbacks that were clashing inside my mind.
I sat on a nearby bench and did the only thing I could think of: I cried. As a matter of fact, I don't remember ever crying that much ever in my life. My mind was in ruins.
Hmm. I was actually planning on this to be longer, but then it would end up being too long. Don't worry though, I wanna finish the next part as soon as possible! Man I fell in love with this story and Elfen Lied again :3 I think the next chapter might be even better than this one!