Operation: Purification

Chapter 3: Bitter Chocolate

Disclaimer: The chances of me owning Elfen Lied is equivalent to the chances of me wearing a mini-skirt and dancing to country music while balancing watermelons on my head. In other words, Not gonna happen. (And I really like watermelons too. sigh...)

Act I: Outburst

Setting: Maple inn

"You! You're the Target! You're Lucy!" Adam yelled. His voice was cold and harsh like ice, it was riddled with cruelty. Yet his voice retained its low and husky property, as if he was choking the words out. His pale eyes were wide and filled with anger. His grip was on her flowing bright pink hair as he continued to yank it roughly. "You won't trick me! I know it's you!" Even when attacked, Lucy's presence was nowhere to be found. His mind began to panic, how is this possible? She couldn't have vanished. That's impossible! This HAD to be Lucy! Why won't she attack me? What's going on?

"Nyu! Nyu! KOUTA!" Nyu yelled in protest her hand covering her head as the tears continued to fall down, drenching her shirt. "Kouta!"

"Stop it!" Adam yelled, "Stop trying to trick me!"

"What is he doing to Nyu?" Mayu asked hiding behind Nana.

"Adam, wait! That's not Lucy!" Nana yelled fearfully. This was a mistake... this was the same thing that happened with her, when she assaulted Lucy. If this continued... then... Her gaze fell on Kouta. He's going to be angry...

"Kouta! Kouta Help!" Nyu shrieked out once more.

Kouta stood up from where he fell. This stranger was thin, his body weight wasn't that strong and thus didn't hurt much. Kouta was taken by surprise. The grandfather clock in the hall seemed to have ticked faster and louder... Kouta's eyes were now wide with anger at this stranger. Nyu just woke up and now she's being attacked! Every yank, every scream she made, Kouta couldn't control himself. All that optimism he felt before... it dissipated in mere seconds. His hatred aimed at this pale guy who was hurting Nyu. Not only was he yelling in confusion, but he trespassed in their house! Who the hell let him in?

Nana's eyes widened when she spotted Kouta getting back up to his feet. This wasn't good... Mayu covered her eyes, and Nana yelled out. "Kouta stop! Adam!" Her desperate cry became a shriek. "Eek!"

Her voice was cut off with a loud slam, Kouta punched Adam across the face with all the strength he could muster. His knuckles felt little resistance as it hit the boy's jawbone, the bone was weak, easily penetrable. The pale boy fell back immediately, the impact made his legs collapse as he toppled backwards. His thin body hit the wooden table, knocking it over and the tea cups fell on the floor with a loud clatter. One even fell on Adam's face, shattering as hot tea was poured down his face... Adam brushed the bruise on his face... the purple internal wound slowly disappearing. He tasted his own bitter blood in his mouth. However the shock hurt more than the blow... he began to think a little clearer now.

Nyu whimpered as she hid behind Kouta... The human's eyes were wide and filled with anger. Kouta walked over to Adam, "Kouta!" Nyu gripped his arm, telling him not to go but he ignored it. Instead he went on top of the boy... Adam's legs refused to stand from such a sudden attack and the weight now on his abdomen pinned him completely. Kouta raised his fist and slammed it once more at Adam's face. Mayu covered her eyes again, she could hear the crack of Adam's bones. Nana merely stared fearfully.

"Who the hell are you?" He yelled laying down a punch. "How dare you come here and attack Nyu!" More punches fell across the pale boy's face. "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" More punches followed. "WHY? WHY DID YOU ATTACK HER!"

There was now blood all over his fist... but he continued to attack. "WHY ARE YOU IN OUR HOME?" He yelled. Adam accepted the blows without resistance, he couldn't feel the harsh blows but his eyes were shut as he listened to the snapping of his own bones. Like him before, he was overcome with confusion... and now that he realized what he's done, he had to accept the punishment.

"Stop it Kouta! You'll kill him!" Nana shrieked finally. Kouta ignored her.

"Kouta!" Nyu pleaded pulling his arm. "Kouta! No!" He once again ignored her.

For every punch that hit him, Adam remembered random moments in his life.

The boy watched from the door, staring at his younger sister and his mother. The girl was tugging her mom's sleeve as she asked a question. "Where's daddy? Where did daddy go?" She would ask. Her mother merely shook her head... "He's gone, honey... he left."

"Come on, Adam!" Eve giggled as she pulled her brother. "Momma says we can play in the backyard. Let's go play hide and seek in the trees!"

"Whatever anyone says... you two are special." His mom whispered as she held them both. "My special little children."

"Momma! Momma!" Eve shouted as tears came down her eyes. She gripped their mother's dead body... she was shot in the head instantly. Adam stared dumbstruck... tears didn't come down his eyes at all. Was this normal? The men in black suits grabbed his sister's wrist and dragged her away, the other lifted him up as well. "Adam!" She yelled, her eyes flooded with tears, she began to flail around. They both tried to reach out to one another, but it was too late. They were both knocked out in a second.

Tears came down his eyes... did that mean he failed his mission? He continued to hear the crack of his bones and the impact on his flesh.

"I'm home!" Yuka's voice called from the hall. "Did someone leave the groceries outside? What're you all- Mayu? Nana?" She held the fallen grocery bags in her hands when she spotted the two girls. Mayu's eyes were covered as she hid behind Nana. Nana's eyes were just wide as she held open the door... the hallway was dark, light was only seen from that one room. "What's the matter you two?" She walked over looking down at Mayu.

"Let it be over, let it be over." She murmured.

"Oh my god, Kouta!" Yuka gasped as she covered her mouth. Her school books fell on the floor as well as the bag of groceries. Kouta's knuckles were bloody as he continuously struck the stranger in the face. "Kouta what the hell are you doing? KOUTA!"

"He won't stop." Nana said to Yuka. "He won't stop..."

"Kouta!" Yuka ran up to them, shoving Kouta off of Adam. "What the hell has gotten into you?"

Kouta's eyes widened as he shoved Yuka back in retaliation. The adrenaline forced her against the wall. "Ah!" She collapsed against the wall, Nana and Mayu ran up to her. Now that was going too far! Nyu was no longer behind Kouta, instead she was huddled in the corner. Kouta grabbed Adam by the shirt, his legs were still not cooperating, so he was on his knees as the human lifted him up.

"Well! Are you going to answer my questions or not?" Kouta demanded. "Who the hell are you? What are you doing here? And Why did you attack her?"

"..." He was silent. Instead, he faced away.

Another fist struck him.

"I knew it..." Adam said. "You humans are all the same... selfish creatures..." He felt his face, it was swollen, from so many blows it'll take a while to heal up. "I knew your kind couldn't be trusted..."

"Stop it! Stop it now!" Nana yelled, her vectors shot out as it seperated the two, Nyu grabbed hold of Kouta as he attempted to grab Adam once more instead he toppled over. Adam crawled backwards, He accidentally fell against Yuka and mayu near the door, there he broke into a run. Gently moving them aside as he ran out of the inn. Wanta barked as he ran past, abandoning his groceries that fell on the floor. Before they knew it, he was gone.

The residence of Kaede's Maple inn was silent... Nana was silently fixing the room up, it was a mess. There was also blood stains on the floor which she attempted to whipe clean. Mayu was shaking violently, but Yuka helped her up as the two headed for the kitchen... she persuaded her to help with dinner to keep her mind off of it. None of them spoke to Kouta who was breathing heavily in the center of the room... his adrenaline rush was slowing down. Even Nyu ran off to somewhere else in the house. So it was only Nana and Kouta in the room, the little diclonius girl didn't even look at him.

"Wha... What happened?" Kouta asked. "Where'd that guy go? And Nyu? Is she okay?" He looked at Nana for answers... but the girl continued with wiping the blood and spilled tea off the floor. Her vectors picked up the fallen broken pieces of the tea cups on the floor. "Nana! Answer me!"

"Don't worry." She replied. "He's gone." She got up and walked out of the room to the kitchen to throw away the rag and the broken shards. Kouta stared at the blood on his knuckles... for a guy so pale, his blood was really bright colored. He then stared in shock... he hit a guy... no, he savagely hit a guy. He's never done that before... He felt confused. What did that guy want? And who the hell was he?

Looks like... we're not the only dangerous ones. Nana thought. I never saw Kouta THAT angry... when he hits us, it's momentary... but...

Setting: Beach heights

Where? Where did she go? Adam's mind was frantic. Lucy. I can't find her presence anywhere. Where is she? Was that Lucy? No... it couldn't be. Adam bolted down the streets and found himself running down the steps that overlooked the ocean. The night sky was clear and the stars all looked down at him... he hasn't seen stars since before he was taken to the institute. He could smell the salty ocean... and the wind rustled the trees. Suddenly he felt his long legs become tangled as he fell down the cold stone steps, he was extremely accident prone.

Once again, he tasted the blood in his mouth. It was disgusting... bitter, salty and strong. It could've choked him easily. He collapsed slightly...

"Damn..." His eyes dimmed, "I wasted too much energy..." This place was too strange, other people were so strange. For once, he wished he could be back in the institute... where he could be secure... where he could be safe. To be in the same place as his sister... Humans were scary, other people were scary. He missed the doctor, he missed that white room... his hand clenched into a fist... "No... I can't fail... sister..."

"Adam... I knew you weren't ready for this." A familiar voice broke the silence. He raised his head to see the familiar face of his doctor... it was the one and the same. The same doctor that would come into his isolated cell to talk, to feed him and to do his weekly inspection. Asher wore his usual lab coat, his dark hair tied back, and a friendly, yet sad smile. He held his hand out and hoisted the thin boy over his shoulder. "You look terrible... Lucy didn't do this to you, did she?" The boy shook his head. His clothes were heavily stained with blood, and dirt... and his face was still bruised. They walked down to the beach below, seating him on the sand as they looked out at the ocean.

"Why are you here...? And how did you know where I-?" Asher pointed to the small black band around his wrist.

"We can moniter your location, your pulse rate... I can only imagine that you encountered Lucy, is that right?" He pulled out a long needle and injected it in the boy's arm. He then retrieved a bar of candy from the boy's pocket and handed it to him. Adam didn't wince, instead, he took the bar of candy and began to chew it slowly. The doctor sighed and sat beside him. "I got new orders to assist you... once in a while, understood? Lucy... and those in her company are dangerous."

The boy nodded. He failed his doctor... and he failed his sister. At the moment he was recollecting his thoughts.

"You feeling any better?" The doctor asked.

The boy nodded. He then stopped chewing... the taste of blood was mixing with the taste of chocolate. "It's bitter..." he said continuing to consume the sugar. "It's really bitter..."

Woof Woof!

Act III: A cold dinner

Setting: Maple Inn

Dinner was silent, all that could be heard was the ticking of the grandfather clock. No one dared to speak, Mayu and Nana were able to tell Yuka about the incident, but not even Yuka had a clear reaction to the problem. There was a hint of, that boy deserved what he got, but then again... Kouta went a little too far. They couldn't look at Kouta straight in the face, that huge outburst was scary enough as it is. Nyu was absent from dinner... she was in her room upstairs. Feeling a wave of tension, Yuka broke the silence...

"Nana, Mayu, now that school's over, what would you like to do over the summer?" She asked, "Perhaps we can have a picnic on the beach... and how about the festival in a few weeks?"

Mayu nodded, and placed a smile on her face. "Yeah... that would be great. I'd like that alot..."

"What about you, Nana?" Yuka asked.

She snapped out of her thoughts and looked up at the girl. "Uhh... yeah..." She took a small mouthful of rice and soup... "This is... really good." She said with a smile.

"Who was that guy?" Kouta asked out of nowhere. All three girls looked at him. He hadn't eaten his rice, instead he just mixed it into a mess with his chopsticks, pondering. "What did he want? And why did he hurt Nyu?" The three girls were silent... Mayu merely continued to eat.

"Hey... let's not think about it right now." Yuka said soothingly. "It was a frightful shock, we just need time to think... that's all. But... don't you think you were a little harsh? I know I'm in no place to say but... when I came in, you were hurting that guy... maybe it was too much."

"Of course not!" Kouta shouted defensively. "He attacked Nyu first!"

"That's childish. If you wanted answers you should have asked questions then." Nana replied coldly. "Instead of hitting him like that... if he was normal, he'd be dead." She wasn't as close to Kouta as the others... frankly, the only reason she stayed was to keep an eye on Lucy, because Mayu was her friend, and becauseYuka's cooking tasted good... also she had no place to go.

"It was self defense." Kouta said slamming the chopsticks down on the table.

"Hey come on you guys, let's not argue." Yuka said hoping to remediate the situation. "It's no one's fault, alright? So let's not point fingers and handle the situation at hand. Kouta, I'm surprised at you."

"Sorry Yuka, it's just confusing." He said with a sigh. He finally took a few bites of his rice. Yuka, Nana and Mayu having finished the meal all stood up.

"Nana, Mayu... how about you go feed Wanta? I'll clean the table, and Kouta, when your done go upstairs and help Nyu, okay?" Yuka suggested. "We all just need some time to clear our heads." The two girls wordlessly walked out of the inn, leaving Yuka to do the cleaning. Silence fell upon them once again... this time it was more heavy, but once again Yuka broke the silence with a sigh.

"You really surprised me today, Kouta." The girl picked up the last of the dishes.

"Sorry Yuka... I haven't been pulling my weight around lately." Kouta's voice was low. "With Nyu unconscious, and well... all this chaos, I'm sorry. I don't even go to classes anymore, and... you know."

"It's alright..." Yuka said with a small smile, "I don't mind, really..." She opened the sliding door. "Afterall... I knew all along you chose Nyu over me. I guess I can move on now." She closed the sliding door before Kouta could respond, walking down the hall to the kitchen. No tears came out this time... there was nothing she could do to change that. Kouta loved Nyu. She began to wash the dishes in silence, when her eyes trailed to a small envelope on the counter. She placed it there so it wouldn't get wet from the soapy water.

"It's okay, Kouta." She said softly. "I don't want to hold you back anymore. Besides... school taught me one thing. There's other guys out there."

Setting: Maple Inn (Lucy's room)

It was no longer Nyu sitting in the cold room, fearful at Kouta's violent reaction. Nyu hoped to never see it again, she always saw Kouta as a nice person who helped her, comforted her, played with her. But those angry eyes and the blood that coated his knuckles was too frightening for her eyes. Instead it was Lucy... she sat with the window open gazing at the night sky. She too, was wondering who this mysterious assailant was. Perhaps she should ask Nana and Mayu about it... but that was highly unlikely. A grim smile appeared on her face... she should just kill this foolish perpetrator. Afterall, she had no problem killing her enemies before. The invisible vectors appeared as she looked at them both... that boy, she was going to rip him apart limb from limb.

Knock Knock

"Nyu, are you in there?" Kouta asked opening the door. He peeked in to see Lucy sitting by the window.

"Kouta..." She looked at his concerned face. "That boy didn't hurt you did he?" She asked.

"Nah." Kouta said raising his hand. His knuckles were raw from his last outburst. "I'm fine. Are you alright? He didn't hurt you too bad did he?"

She shook her head. Her hand touched his bruised up knuckles... she could still smell the scent of that boy's blood on Kouta's hand. "I'm sorry... about everything." Lucy felt herself say. She almost felt like crying... but tears wouldn't appear at all. "I'm sorry to cause so much trouble.. .and to worry you."

"Of course I was worried!" Kouta said taking her hands in return. "Really... you should stop getting into so much trouble. You know it's safe here with us... we're family. Or closer."

A real smile appeared on Lucy's face, now the tears began to pour from her eyes. She embraced Kouta, resting her head against his chest. Surprised, Kouta smiled in return... he gave a small kiss on her forehead. His hand petting her on the head comfortingly... "You know I'll be here... always."

"Wanta!" A voice called from outside. The two looked out the window to see Mayu and Nana calling the dog's name. "Wanta! Where'd you go, Wanta?"

"He's not here." Mayu said sadly. "That's strange... Wanta would never miss out on a meal."

Nana walked over to the gate... she then noticed the fallen grocery bag on the floor. It was still filled with meat... Adam didn't pick it up when he left. She leaned forward picking up the fallen articles and placing them back in the grocery bag...

"Wanta!" Mayu called again. No reply. She slipped on her shoes and walked out of the gates. "I'm going to look for Wanta, Nana."

#7 Nodded. She too stood up. "I'll go with you." Before Kouta could call out to them, the two girls already sprinted down the stone path... "Foolish children..." Lucy muttered but Kouta stood up, heading out the door.

"Kouta." Lucy took his arm. "I'll go look for them."

"But... Nyu..." Kouta said with concern in his voice. "Are you sure...?"

She nodded as she smiled softly. Her pink hair bouncing. "It's the least I could do..."

To be continued...

Ehhh... Not so cliffhanger-ish. XD Thanks for the reviews everyone!
This chapter seemed longer than usual. Oh well I hope you all enjoyed it. I always wondered... if a guy moved into Maple inn (or stepped in) would Kouta be as friendly as he is with the other girls? I doubt it. So this is like a 'what if' for Kouta. And if you notice in the anime/ manga, he doesn't seem to have friendly relationships with any guy what-so-ever. Makes me think... oh well... Next chapter:

Short summary:

As Nana and Mayu hunt for the missing Wanta, they once again encounter Adam... feeling a sense of dread, Adam once again senses the powerful presence of Lucy, this time coming his way! Giving her the question that may save his sister's life... will she comply with being "cured", or will a bloody battle commence?