Linkinparkfan9799 Stories

Elfen Lied-Anime

Rated T for Gore and Cursing

Minori

Chapter Twenty-Five

Voices: Lucy

I hate everyone.

At this point, I don't even give a damn ounce of care for plumming. God dammit, pipes are supposed to stay in the system, not nearly decapitating babysitters! I should be a plummer if shit like this is going to happen…It would sure save us some money, and I bet it would really come in handy someday.

In the meantime, we have to eat in my room. Why my room? Because Yuka said Minori would get todecide where we eat. We all know Minori is practically glue on paper (me being the paper). It is only natural that she would want to eat in my room. Now, here's where we get to the "I hate everyone" reasoning.

Yuka is hugging Minori like a security blanket. She doesn't care if Minori can't eat properly, no; why should she? For fuck sakes lady, let the girl eat! Then there's Nana, glaring at said girl with caution. Mayu's okay, but I cannot understand how she's so calm! Finally Kota is eying my dresser. The fucking pervert is eying my dresser. And he wonders why Yuka complains about him so much!

Tonight's dinner is pizza, seeing as the kitchen is out-of-order until further notice. Logic states that I should work another job just so that we're not in debt, but I've found that begging on the streets is mildly effective. That, and Yuka's mom has agreed to come over and see whether or not she should pay for the repairs. She ought to, seeing as the place is hers in the first place! Just for hoots, Yuka should squeeze out meal-money from her mom too. Pizza ain't cheap, you know.

"Lucy," Minori squeaks. "What's on your peet-sa?" Yeah, she pronounces it a bit weirdly. She says that's how her mom said it.

Looking down at my slice, I eye the pepperoni. It doesn't surprise me that she hasn't seen it before; she is just that kind of person. "It's pepperoni," I inform. "Want some?"

Minori nods. Picking off a piece, I offer it over. Yuka, for one, does not want Minori to have pepperoni and swipes it. "Lucy!" she whines. "Pepperoni's spicy!"

My eyebrow shoots up with question. Wasabi's spicy, but Minori has that with her sushi when we get it! "I'm pretty sure she'll be fine," I snap. "Minori's a tough girl, after all." Nana bursts out laughing. After giving her a hard kick to the side, I continue. "At least I think so…"

"I'll be fine, Yuka-chan!" Minori giggles. Stuffing the rest of her pizza into her little mouth, she wriggles away from Yuka and waddles over to me. I pluck off another piece and she takes it, plopping it into her mouth. Minori then bursts into a round of run-around-the-Lucy while giggling. "Tasty!" she shouts.

Groaning, I grab her and sit her on my lap. She giggles and squirms, adding to my annoyance. Tonight is just not a night I think people should be happy on. "Stand still, you hyper midge…" I mumble, trying to get her to sit still. All Minori does is continue giggling and hugs me. It's something.

Mayu laughs at us. "That's so cute!" she cheers. Minori seems proud of it. "Hey, Lucy, were you like Minori when you were younger?"

Kota and I stare at her. We know well that I was not really happy as a kid. Mayu should know too, since I told everyone my story after all the freaking drama about a year ago. "…Not really," I sigh. "I was more of a Grinch."

Minori blinks and tugs on my hair. Ow. Ow! OW! Ow! "Lucy, what's a Grinch?" she asks.

Kota detaches her hands from my bob of pink (yay) and sits her down in front of him. He doesn't really seem amused, yet he's smiling. "The Grinch is a monster who'll steal your presents on Christmas," he explains. "That's why Santa comes through the chimney and not the front door." It makes no sense whatsoever, but I think rolling with it is my only option. If I don't, Minori'll think Kota's a liar and things just get ugly quick in this inn, as proven by the hospitalized babysitter.

The little diclonius tilts her head. "But Christmas is in December," she blinks. "Lust isn't always in December."

"How do you know?" I chuckle. I regret it when her eyes widen and she starts thinking. After some thought, she grips her head and falls sideways (smart kid; don't show them panties to Kota!). "…Minori, I was-"

Minori shoots up, holding a face of confidence and superiority (yes, I took that line from a newspaper; sue me). "Hold up!" she declares. "That last part makes no sense to me, but I know one thing!" She waits a bit as if wanting someone to say 'what?'. "Lucy isn't a monster, so she can't be a Grinch!"

A slight smile breaks into my cheeks. Sweet kid, that Minori. She always says the nicest things to me…It makes me wonder sometimes. True, other people occasionally say nice stuff, such as "Don't eat Nana's cooking, we'd like you to live" (said by Kota, whom in turn was scolded later by Yuka). Yet, Minori rarely says anything mean to me. In fact, I can't remember the last time she did!

Sighing happily and patting Minori's head, I take a quick glance at everyone. Yuka is watching Minori with a smile. Mayu and Nana are giggling (God knows what for). Kota is grinning at me, his eyes glittering with laughter and warmth…

…Okay, there's vodka in this pizza, I swear it.

I chuck the rest of my pizza into a trash can, confusing Yuka and Mayu. Minori glances at the can and waddles over, staring into the bin. She scratches her head at the crust and puffs her cheeks out in even more thought. "Well, that's enough for me," I yawn. "Now get out people."

"Aw, but I'm not done," Yuka sighs.

Kota faces me, laughing nervously. "Can't we just stay a little longer?" he asks.

Heat rises up in my cheeks. Crossing my arms, I turn away and shut my eyes so I can no longer see his face. "'Ch, fine! But I'm not staying in here with you!" My feet automatically run for the door and I slam it. Jeez, I hate it when he does that…It only takes a few steps down the hall for Minori to come out and stand in front of me. Her legs and arms stretch as she reaches up towards me. I pick her up only to get my cheeks yanked apart. "Ulch!" I snap, prying her hands away from me. "Minori! That hurt!"

She shrinks, whimpering. "I'm sorry…" Oh great, she looks about ready to cry!

Sighing, I start patting her head again in the usual spot: between the horns. "It's okay…" I mumble. "…Let's just take a nap, okay?" She nods and hugs my head, making the trip to her room more difficult that it should. It takes even more effort trying to get her in the mat. Once she's asleep, I lie next to the mat. "Night-night."

I lie here, awake. My eyes are burning with my want for sleep. As Minori fidgets next to me, I lie still. If I sit still long enough, I'll go to sleep eventually, right? A rumble in my stomach causes me to sit u and wrap my arms around it. "How long has it been from dinner…?" I mutter to myself.

"An hour." A world of black, a second me: the world of my head. "Kids are such brats, you know?"

My first reaction is to feel around for Minori; nothing. Glaring at my DNA, I curl my body into a tight ball. "Leave me alone," I snap. "I hate you."

"You hate yourself," it says. "You hate Nana. You hated Mariko. Why is it that you hate all of us but Minori?"

"Minori's a good kid," I state. "Nana's a little imp and Mariko was a bitch. You, for one, are just an ass."

The DNA shakes her head, tsking. "Tsk, tsk," she mutters. "I thought you'd be nicer to yourself."

"You're not me," I snap. "This, this right here…" My finger gabs into my chest. "This is me. You're just an inflated part of my brain that should be cut out, stomped on, and dropped into the water!"

Her glare is scarier than it should be. Hopefully this cold feeling running down my spine isn't the same one Minori gets when she sees that girl. "This, this right here, right HERE." She grabs my hand and stabs the finger into her bare chest. "I AM YOU."

"Get away from me!" I scream, yanking my hand back. Slowly, she stands up with her face down. Because of this, her expression is hidden. Meanwhile, I'm panting. All I want is to go back to reality. "You're not real…YOU'RE NOT REAL!"

"Open your eyes," a new voice giggles. This voice is so familiar that it kills me inside. "Either you accept this voice of yours…or die. Simple as that. Teehee~ I'll have fun with you, won't I?" Turning around, there is a girl. This girl only has one eye and one horn that is visible. Some patches of skin and hair are lit, sure, but it's not enough to be able to tie her to any particular Diclonius. She disappears with a small flash. That's when I realize my horns are burning.

My DNA looks up, glaring with clear hate and annoyance. "Kill…I'm not dying. You're not dying. We're not dying. Kill…Kill…

"…Kill her before we die…"

Her. We've already been through Nana; she's not the 'her'. Yuka and Mayu aren't Diconii; they're not 'her'. That only leaves one. So, knowing that, I snap. "I'M NOT KILLING MINORI!"

"…Lucy?"

I squish my eyes shut and open them up, panting and sweating like a pig. (Frankly, I didn't know pigs could sweat, but let's roll with it). Everything is dark, and my eyes feel like their being pushed into my skull. Slowly, I lift my head back to see my knees were carrying my eye-sockets. Stinging pain is in my scalp; my hands feel coarse strands of hair. Eyes burning and wide, I tilt my head to the side to face Minori, looking worried while holding my shoulder with one tiny hand.

There's a bigger, warmer hand on my other shoulder. I tilt my head that way to see Kota, also worried. "Lucy…You okay?" he asks.

Someone is whispering by the door. Another head-and-neck adjustment shows Mayu whispering to Yuka, and Nana staring at me with lifeless pink circles. My horns are prickling; she's going into her DNA. "…I'm fine…" I mouth. My throat feels too dry to put effort into speaking. "…Ju…Just a little panic attack."

"What's a panic attack?" Minori sniffles. Guess the 'attack' part alarms her. "Is Lucy hurt?" I shake my head. Now she looks confused.

Standing up, I nearly trip over air going to the door. Kota flies up to help, but I push him back. I stumble past Yuka, Mayu, and Nana. Pat pat pat. Minori's following me. I go into my room to see the trash can filled with empty plates. The pizza box is on the floor. Next second, it flies out the window. Pat pat. Shuffle-shuffle. The sounds stop behind my door; Minori listening in. I hold my horns and scream, objects flying and glass crashing. Whimper-whimper. Minori is confused and doesn't know what to do.

I'm sorry Minori.