A big thanks to those who reviewed my first chapter – I know it wasn't very original, but I felt that I just had to include that last magical scene…it's just too important to any Elfen Lied story to be left out. I'll come up with my own, new, fresh stuff from now on. Quadruple cross-my-heart pinky swear promise. Also, I wasn't planning on taking this long to post another chapter, but I had a whole lot of unexpected work magically appear under my nose.
Oh, and I don't own Elfen Lied. If I did, the series wouldn't have stopped at thirteen episodes and one OAV.
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"Oh my…"
Yuka looked at the devastated kitchen in awe. A thick black layer of smoke was everywhere; it stung her eyes and tore at the inside of her throat, making her give out an ugly. hacking cough with every deep breath. Crouching down under the foul fog, Yuka marveled at the huge mess. It was if someone had torched the room with a flamethrower – the curtains and napkins she had left out had scorch marks all over them. Puddles of bubbling water covered the floor and charred strips of starch plastered the walls, the counters, everything. On top of the stove, a large pot was belching its scalding contents with surprising velocity in all directions.
"How did this happen?" she wondered aloud.
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Earlier that day
"Hurry up…I'm hungry!" Nana was staring intently at the large iron pot, willing the noodles inside to cook. Hurry up…Hurry up…Please hurry up… As if to add emphasis to her thoughts, Nana's stomach gurgled unhappily. "Ugghh…I'm soooo hungry…"
Nana was starting to get used to home-cooked meals – back in the laboratory, they had merely injected nutrients (along with other strange substances, she was sure) directly into a vein; but now, her stomach seemed to be attempting to make up for lost time. She ate more than anyone else at every meal, and it was always a new experience. Every food brought a brand new taste with it and Nana looked forward to each dinner with the enthusiasm of a child waiting for Christmas morning. Sometimes, together with Mayu, she had even made a few dishes – and they had been pretty good (at least she thought so). Nana was particularly excited about today's gift – Yuka had prepared them the ingredients for something she called soumen, a chilled treat made with noodles. Yuka had said that, on a hot summer day, it was perfectly refreshing and very tasty.
Today will be perfect…it's hot…Nana thought to herself. The air was sticky and warm; another strange thing Nana had never felt. In her old home, it had been kept at a 'comfortable' seventy-five degrees year 'round, but it had always been very cold for the horned girl. When the humans in the white coats left her chained and alone, the only feeling the air had ever given was damp cold…Nana still trembled when she thought about it.
Although she was sweating, Nana welcomed the hot sun's rays that were shining through the nearby window. They will help me enjoy the soumen. She thought, smiling to herself.
…Gurgle…
"Which is taking way too long!" Her little grin turned into a scowl as her stomach let out another very urgent growl. Nana felt that the stove was mocking her, taking its sweet time and laughing at her hunger. She turned away from the spiteful hunk of metal and sighed…Yuka had told her it wouldn't cook if she kept watching it, but the hungry girl just couldn't help it. Normally, Mayu or Wanta would be there to take her mind off of the upcoming meal, but they had gone off on a walk together. Nana had wanted to go, of course, but she had kept her wish to herself…her horns would attract unwanted attention, and she didn't want to cause trouble for her friends. They would be back soon, but Nana couldn't help but feel a little lonely. Yuka would gladly talk to me, but she's cleaning the hallway, and I'd just keep her from getting anything done. Maybe I could talk to Kouta, but then he would see that I'm not doing anything to help out…
"I know!" Nana's face suddenly lit up as an idea began to form in her head. "I can help out by speeding up dinner!" She let out a gleeful squeal at the thought of everyone's happy faces looking at a perfectly cooked meal that she had helped make. "They'll all be so surprised, and it will never get done at this rate…" She muttered, glancing over at the evil pot. "Now let's see…" Nana's eyes ran over the dials on the old oven. "Timer…Oven temperature…The bottom burner!" She studied the strange round knob and thought back hard to what Yuka had told her about the strange contraption. "Umm…the little arrow is pointing to 'medium'…so if I want it to cook faster…I should turn it higher!" She rotated the knob to the left at first, lowering the heat, but she soon corrected her mistake and turned it up as far as it would go. "There! It should start cooking now!" she stated, triumphantly placing her hands on her hips.
"We're home, everyone!" Mayu cried from the doorway, giving the now tired Wanta a little pat on the head.
Hearing her friend's voice, Nana ran out of the kitchen with a huge grin – the large pot lay forgotten.
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Yuka had managed to reach the oven without getting pelted by a burning hot ball of water, and had safely turned the thing off. Now she was focused on cleaning it all up. After opening all the windows, allowing the smoke to filter away, the young woman had taken out a mop and started the huge task of cleaning up all the scalding broth. It was a surprisingly dangerous job; one false step and she might slip or get burned.
Yuka was still bewildered to how this could have happened…she had put the noodles in the water and set the heat to medium, but when she returned, the knob was set on the highest setting, and the meal was ruined. Who could have done this? She thought, picking up a handful of the charred starch and placing it in the garbage with a heavy heart. Mayu was out walking Wanta, so she couldn't have done it. And this doesn't seem like something that Kouta would do; I mean, sure he can't cook, but he has enough common sense not to do something like this…she mentally crossed their names off of her suspect list. That just leaves Nana, unless our puppy decided to help with the meal. she thought, almost laughing out loud at the thought of Wanta climbing up to the oven and attempting to turn the knob with his little paws. It must have been Nana. she concluded, with a deep sigh.
Yuka's heart really went out to the little horned girl. She seemed to want nothing more than to help out and be useful to the household, but she was so inexperienced with life's intricacies that she, more often than not, failed with every attempt at helping. It was amazing how little Nana understood about everyday life. Already she had burned money for warmth, brushed her teeth with a comb, given Wanta a full steak dinner with all the trimmings, and used the garden hose as an "easier way to use the bathroom." Sometimes she and Kouta grew frustrated with her, but Nana was always sincere in her apologies, and quick to learn the correct way of doing something.
"She will have to be taught the correct way to cook soumen, then." Yuka said, to no one in particular. She had her mind made up that this was something that would have to be done soon, food seemed to be getting more expensive every time she went to the store. Thanking God that she had thought to buy extra noodles, Yuka called out Nana's name as loud as she could manage.
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Kouta had left his dining room chair; it was really starting to fill up with horrible smelling smoke in that room. Despite the formidable heat, Kouta was now actually sitting outside, in the shade of a small tree. Kouta's back yard may have been uneven and ugly, but at least it was large and full of life. It seemed that every day there was another bush or shrub poking out of the ground and, every once in a while, a rabbit or two would take shelter in them. The many trees housed many birds, and the air was always full of their song. Butterflies were a common sight – the word had spread that Kouta's lawn held the best flowers and the best nectar. It was always quietly buzzing with the chatter of tiny things, and one felt like a part of something bigger when he sat down in the soft grass. It was a good place to think.
That was exactly what the young man needed: a place to relax, a place where he could, for the thousandth time, attempt to sort out his thoughts. Although it shouldn't have been a very difficult sorting job – there was only one drawer open in his mind to sift through.
Why can't I just forget about her…just push her to the back of my mind and move on… dwelling on her like this isn't going to help anything…he scolded himself. She's gone and she isn't coming back. She's gone and she isn't coming back. She's gone and she isn't coming back. Kouta kept repeating the words over and over again in his head. She's gone and she isn't coming back. So why can't I…
Kouta let out a sigh, realizing that his thoughts were bringing him nowhere new. It didn't make any sense to him; when his sister had died, he had mourned, he had mourned for a very long time, but he hadn't spent every waking moment thinking about her.
Because I had seen her die with my own eyes. Kouta had seen his sister brutally hacked up, and although he hid the memory, the undeniable knowledge of his sister's death had never been packed away. He had known, without any doubt, that Kanae was dead. He hadn't seen Lucy die…
But, of course she's dead. She's gone and she isn't coming back. She's gone and she isn't coming back. She had left to die, and if she planned on her death, she would be dead. She's gone and she isn't coming back. So why can't I stop! Kouta flopped onto his back, and attempted to push all of his thoughts from his head, his attempt at trying to sort them an abysmal failure.
The truth that Kouta didn't realize was, although he kept telling himself that Nyuu was dead, he didn't actually believe it. In his heart, he wouldn't – couldn't believe that she was lost.
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"Mommy, who's that?" A little brown-haired girl tugged on the hem of her mother's long black skirt, her starry, innocent eyes focused on the severely wounded diclonius out in the street, slowly walking towards them. "She's acting like a zombie…Halloween isn't for a while though, is it?" The naive child marveled at the amazing 'costume' she saw on the pink-haired girl.
"Who are you talking about…" A wrinkled, middle-aged woman looked down at her daughter with an exasperated sigh. The little girl just pointed to Lucy with her index finger. The mother's gaze slowly followed in the direction that her daughter had pointed out… "Oh my god…" The blood ran cold in the woman's veins when her eyes reached on the disturbing sight…she was young, thin; probably would have looked pretty except for the fact that she was covered in… "Oh my god…" she repeated.
"Is anything wrong, Mommy?" The child's voice held a little concern now; her mother's words had disturbed her slightly.
"We have to leave…" The woman grabbed on to her daughter's small hand with hers, and began to lead her away, tugging quickly and urgently.
"What is it…is that girl in trouble?" The small kid looked back at the mysterious woman just in time to see a red geyser bubble from her head. She had never seen any costume do that, and she distinctly heard a faint moan. The child, in her innocence, didn't recognize the severity of the situation, but she did recognize that the sound that came from the red girl was one full of sadness and pain. "Mommy…shouldn't we help her?"
She might have some horrible disease; she might be a sick, homicidal maniac… something like this certainly can't mean anything good. Maybe, if I was alone, I would offer to help, but I won't endanger my child…- at least that's what the mother told herself. She was, of course, greatly concerned with the well-being of her daughter; but to tell the truth, she was frightened for herself as well. The slowly approaching, bloody girl was the most unnerving thing she had ever seen.
"Mommy, shouldn't we at least call for help?" Sure, the girl was a little scared, but she felt bad about the obvious grief that the mystery woman was in. "We can't just leave…"
"Somebody else will have called already…" the mother said, tightening her hold on her daughter slightly.
"But, you don't know that!" Her mom's actions were confusing the girl. "What if everybody said, 'somebody else will do it'? Then she'd never get any help…" Her mother didn't even respond to this; she just continued to lead the girl away. "What if no one helps her?"
"Someone will…" The mother turned into another street and the bloody vision disappeared behind the corner. She suddenly felt a desperate need to go inside, and the nearby Ice Cream Parlor was as good a place as any. "Now then…how about some Ice Cream?" she posed, smiling weakly at her daughter.
"Really!" Large green eyes lit up with the pure joy that can only be expressed by those under ten years of age. "Can I get a Coca-Banana swirl? With sprinkles, and butterscotch, and… "
"Yes, yes, you can get anything you want…now let's go inside." The bribe had worked perfectly – the happy child skipped happily towards the store.
"Yippee! I love you Mommy!" The mystery woman was forgotten, and though the little girl would dream of her for nights to come, the 'zombie' would always be forgotten by morning.
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It's so close…the inn was only a block away now, but it seemed to grow farther away with every step Lucy took. Both of her broken horns were now trickling blood, and every once in a while, a miniature geyser of crimson would shoot out; a volcano that produced nothing but hot, liquid pain. She knew that something was terribly wrong; her head was spinning and she couldn't focus her eyes, but she did her best to ignore it. Every muscle in her body screamed at her to stop, to sit down and rest, but she did not heed them. She just kept placing one foot in front of the other again and again; and again…and again. Each step was becoming a task in itself; her legs seemed to weigh more and more with each movement.
She attempted to whistle her tune; it always helped her escape the current situation: she could always slip back into the relative comfort of her memories when she heard it. However, it was impossible – she couldn't even find the strength to purse her lips. Yet, somehow, she lifted her legs up and down without pause or vocal strain. It didn't matter how much her legs weighed to her now, they could have been sixteen-ton boulders; she still would have lifted them. Nothing was going to stop her from reaching that building…
To a regular passer-by, the ten-bedroom building wouldn't have been anything to even spare a second glance to. It had been deserted for quite a while; and although the current owners did their best to clean it, cobwebs still hung on the outer walls and the gutters were still full of many seasons worth of leaves and dirt. The huge gardens had been growing by their own accord, and were scraggily; overgrown (The daunting task of weeding had been put off so many times, it was uncertain that it was ever going to be done). The uneven lawn was covered with dead cherry blossom petals and leaves from last fall – it still had a long way to go before it could be considered "well-kept" by someone from the sidewalk. To Lucy, however, it was Eden – A wonderful haven where, once reached, the most severe wounds would be healed. The cobwebs were spun gold and silver; the overgrown gardens filled the air with magic instead of pollen, each fallen leaf held a precious memory.
Her legs were dead; devoid of all feeling. Not even pain could be felt now, but she kept walking. If the flames of hell had leapt up between the diclonius and her goal, she would have laughed at the pathetic attempt to stop her. Every last fiber of her being was wholly focused on reaching her home.
Lucy had been so focused on getting there, that when she arrived its gate, she didn't know what to do.
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What fun! Kind of short, yes, but I wanted to update. Once again, sorry it took so long to get out. Oh, and if you reviewed me, then you are now on my favorite author list. I love you.
Time to shout out!
Fantasia-spirit: You gave me my first review…(sniff) Thank you. About my review…don't mention it. Your story was great, and I'm glad you still stand by your beliefs. The Elfen Lied section would be very boring if everybody thought the same thing. You're also right about all of the things I can fill in…my mouth waters at the thought.
ZionCross: Mouth left 'agap' at your review Wow…9/10. I rock. Although…I don't know what a 100-series is, so I didn't get the joke (sorry!).
An Elfen Lied Fanatic: I will, I will, I will. Wait, I already have.
Katrina-chan: Thank you so much! It's so wonderful to hear that my characters emotion's are down. It's pretty obvious that their feelings are going to be important in any good EL fic, so it's great to hear I'm doing okay with them.
Rion: Grasias man. Nice to hear I'm not alone with my exasperated 'why-aren't-there-more-elfen-lied-fics' attitude.
Valkan: That was beautiful. A speech like that…you are like, the Martin Luther King Jr. or the Patrick Henry of the EL section. You rock! And I really appreciate the little smiley face at the end. :D
Tiger5913: It's such an honor to have such as esteemed writer review me…I was checking out your profile – man, is it long. 74 stories authored! I'm honored that you took the time to read mine. And, yes, I know they didn't reunite quite yet, but they will. (please don't hurt me…)