Chapter 14
Ellen decided to go out on Sunday that day with her casual clothes. She went to the bookstore and got a few new books including the next Iron Shield. She looked at the book with delight thinking to herself "Finally! I get to figure if Aveline finds the killer before it's too late save the noble's-"
Her thought stopped when she notice that same boy who tried to ask Yukiko out stare at her. She sighed and looked at him with straight face saying "You got something to say?"
The boy freaked out a little and said "U-Uhhhh no, I...I was just-"
"If you got nothing to say then get out of my way." Ellen said about ready to walk away.
"W-Wait! I do have something to ask..." the boy said.
"Then say it."
"Um...boy or girl?"
"...What?"
"Are you a boy or a girl? It's a stupid question I know, but you have the body of a girl but, the attitude of a boy and well, it's been bothering me. So which is it?"
"...*sigh* You're right. This is a stupid question to ask. I am a girl and I find your analysis to be very flawed, for one I have yet to find one boy who has the same likes and perspective as me and two, I find that fact that you have wasted god knows how much time figuring this out to be baffling. So the next time you want to ask someone a question, don't let the topic of gender be one of them. Good day." Ellen said as bluntly as she could.
She then left before she could slap him. She thought to herself as she went to Junes "What kind of moron thinks a question like that!? "Are you a boy or girl? You have the body of a girl but, the attitude of a boy." My god I want to slap him and send him to Pluto! I can't believe I meant someone who has the mind set of brain dead monkey!"
When she made it to Junes, she couldn't take it anymore and started to smack her head on the window as hard as she could. She thought she did it for a good five minutes until someone tapped her shoulder and said "Umm...you ok?"
She stopped and saw it was Adachi. "Oh, hello Adachi-san." Ellen said as if nothing had happened.
"You know, the more you keep doing that, the more you're going to hurt yourself and that's no fun, right?" Adachi said smiling a little.
"I can think of worse ways of hurting myself..." Ellen thought to herself thinking about the TV world.
"It's ok, Adachi-san. I'll live. I just got to let something out and this always helps." Ellen said.
"...You want to talk about it?"
"Don't you have work to do?"
"Taking a break. C'mon I'll buy us some coffee and you can let it out in a more healthy way, K?"
"...Coffee sounds nice."
They sat at a table up stairs while Ellen thought to herself "He can't fool me. I know he's doing this so he doesn't get yelled at by Dojima...oh well, coffee sounds too nice to point that out."
They got coffee. Ellen liked cream and sugar in her's. "So, what's been eating you?" Adachi asked.
"...I was asked a very stupid question today by some guy from another school." Ellen said while taking a sip of the coffee.
"What? Did he ask you out?"
"No, that wouldn't have been as annoying. It would have been more of a waste of my time but, no he asks..."
Ellen tries to mimic the guy's voice saying "Are you a boy or girl? You have the body of a girl but, the attitude of a boy. So which is it?"
She drinks her coffee as Adachi said "Wow, that is pretty stupid..."
She puts the drink down and said "Now I wonder if he has a mind set of a brain dead monkey on purpose or if there truly are some people that dumb in the world."
"I get what you mean..." Adachi said remembering some of the assignments he got from people.
He then said "But, hey I got a question."
"It's not about my gender, is it?"
"N-No, no, I was wonder...what does your mom do for a job?"
"Huh? Oh, that's right. Dojima made that comment...my mom works with traders. She makes sure everyone does their jobs to make things go smoother."
"Oh? So why did Dojima say that I should be grateful?"
"My mom is a...perfection. In that line of work, everything must be go perfectly and she makes sure of that."
"Oooooh...That makes more sense."
"Yeah, I'm guessing she was like that as a kid too, but she's not a bad person."
"Oh no, I wasn't thinking that. I'm just thinking what she does to keep the workers in line."
"You don't want to know...Anyway, thanks for the coffee."
"Oh you're welcome. Figured it be better than smacking your head on a window. I'd better get back to work, but don't sweat the small stuff. People are people. Well, see ya!"
They both left and she went home thinking "People are people...huh?"
The next morning as she was about to head inside the school from the rain, Yukiko came up to her saying "Good morning."
"Morning." Ellen said.
"It's raining...It's not going to last past nightfall, thought Every time it rained while I was "over there", you must have been...Oh, I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be gloomy. I know! Golden Week starts tomorrow, right? Do you have any plans?"
"I'm having a family-outing." Ellen said.
"I-I see. That must be tough." Yukiko said.
"Not really. I like the challenge." Ellen said thinking of the boxed lunches.
"Well, at least it looks like we're going to have clear skies all week. It'd be nice if it could stay peaceful like this, but the mystery hasn't been solved yet. Perhaps we should visit "over there" once in a while so we can become stronger."
They soon went inside and after a pointless lecture from Mr. Morooka, Ellen was about to go to the library when she saw Chie still sitting at her seat. "Something wrong, Chie?" Ellen asked.
"Oh, I'm fine. I'm just glad Yukiko is safe but, still the test..." Chie moaned.
"That's right. Midterms are coming up soon..." Ellen remembered.
"Hey, umm...think you can tutor me for a bit?" Chie asked.
"Sure." Ellen said.
"Alright! Let's head for the library!" Chie said in excitement.
They went to the library where Ellen tutored Chie. It was mostly math but, Ellen was able to more studying done like this with Chie.
Later that night, Ellen was watching the news with Nanako as the announcer said "An Inaba Credit Union ATM to the north of town was destroyed today by an earth mover, and all cash inside was stolen. The vehicle, which was abandoned at the scene, had been reported stolen by a local contractor. Since the culprit was able to act quickly before the security guards arrived on the scene, the police have..."
Nanako looked down, looking depressed and said "Dad's late..."
Then the phone rings and Nanako answers saying "Hello, Dad? Yeah, I'm okay...Yeah...Yeah...Okay...Alright."
She then gave Ellen the phone saying "He said to give you the phone...He can't take those days off."
She then runs to her room. Ellen moved the phone to her ear hearing Dojima say "Hello? Sorry, but I'm going to be late tonight. Make sure you lock up before you go to sleep and about that time off on the 4th and the 5th...One of the younger guys got sick...and, well, that case he's handling, we can't just let it sit...Looks like I'm the only one who can take over for him."
"...You think those younger guys would have better immune systems." Ellen said thinking this was stupid.
"Yeah, no kidding...Sorry to spring this on you all of a sudden...Um...How's Nanako holding up?"
"Not that great..."
"Would you mind comforting her for me?"
"Yeah..."
"...Thanks. All right then, see you."
The phone was hung up and she put it away and went to her room feeling bad for Nanako.
The next morning, Ellen in her casual clothes, saw Nanako sitting in her spot watching TV like always. "Oh, morning." Nanako said.
"Good morning." Ellen said.
The door bell then rang and it was Chie at the door. "Oh, cool, you're home. Hey, if you're free today, wanna go somewhere? Yukiko's coming, too."
Chie then turned to Nanako and asked "How 'bout you, Nanako-chan? Wanna come?"
"U-Um..." Nanako said not sure how to answer.
"Yeah, come with us." Ellen said.
"Huh? I-I can come?" Nanako asked.
"Of course you can!" Chie said.
"Yeah, it's better than being home, right?"
Nanako seemed happy and they all soon went to Junes and met up with everyone. "Why'd you bring poor Nanako-chan to a place like this on Golden Week?" Yosuke asked.
"Where else is there to go?" Chie said.
"I love Junes!" Nanako said with a happy smile.
"N-Nanako-chan...!" Yosuke said touched.
"But we were supposed to go on a real trip somewhere. We were going to make boxed lunches..." Nanako said disappointed.
"Wow! You can make boxed lunches, Nanako-chan?" Yukiko asked.
She shook her head and looked at Ellen and Chie said "Oh, so you're the family cook? Pretty impressive, "big sis"!"
"Big...sis." Nanako said looking at Ellen still.
"Whoa, I know you can cook but, I didn't you can cook that well, but you do seem to be great with your hands-Um, never mind." Yosuke said.
"I-I'm a pretty good cook too, you know...Probably. If you'd asked, I would've whipped up some boxed lunches. Easy as pie! Yeah..." Chie said not sure of herself.
"Uhh, lemme think about-No." Yosuke said.
"What makes you think I can't cook!? Let's have a cook-off and see for ourselves!" Chie said.
"My, my, doth the lady protest too much? And hey, I never said I cooked, but I have this weird feeling...Like I'd win anyway..." Yosuke said.
"Ahaha, I can understand that." Yukiko said.
"What the-Yukiko!?" Chie yelled.
"Here, Nanako-chan can be our judge. I bet we'll make something that ranks up there with your mom's cooking, Nanako-chan!" Yosuke said.
But he was met with a death glare from Ellen that was clearing saying "Idiot!" as Ellen knew about what happened to Nanako's mom from her own mom.
Nanako then said "I don't have mom. She died in an accident."
"Hey, Yosuke..." Chie said.
"I-I see...Um...Sorry, I didn't know..." Yosuke said regretting what he said.
"It's okay. Even if I don't have a mom, I have Dad with me...and now I have a sister, too and I'm having a lot of fune today! I love Junes!" Nanako said blushing.
"Y-Yeah? That's good." Yosuke said.
"We'll play with you anytime you want, Nanako-chan!" Chie said.
"Yeah, we should hang out more often." Yukiko said.
"C'mon, Nanako-chan. Let's go get a soda!" Yosuke said.
The two left while Yukiko said "She's a strong girl..."
"Yeah, she makes me feel like I'm the little kid here. That's it, I'm gonna go get something for Nanako-chan too!" Chie said.
Then they left as Ellen thought of making a nice dinner tonight for Nanako, as Nanako came back asked Ellen "Do you want something too?"
"...Sure." Ellen said smiling.
She got and the two went together as Nanako asked "Wanna share some takoyaki?"
"Sure, and also I was thinking of making some nice for dinner. How does that sound?"
"That sounds really good!"
They went to get food together. After having a fun timing and "convincing" Yosuke to pay back his favor, she got what she needed for dinner and headed home. After eating, Ellen said goodnight to Nanako and went up to study and go to bed.
The next day she got a call from Yosuke as he said "Yo, it's me! This might be kind of weird to ask after we hung out yesterday, but do you wanna hang out again today? I'll see if I can find someone else to come along with us."
"Sure." Ellen answered.
"Sweet! Oh, hey, why don't you bring Nanako-chan with you? Let's all hang out together."
He hung and soon she and Nanako met up with Yosuke who brought Kou and Daisuke. They went to Junes and roamed around the electronics department. Yosuke soon said "Nanako-chan sure loves this place. The first thing out of her mouth when I asked where she wanted to go was "Junes!"
"Who could blame her? this place has everything...It's like a storehouse of magic. I can see why she likes it. Anyways, isn't she cute? I have a younger sister too. I wish she was cute like Nanako-chan." Kou said.
"I-I'm not cute..." Nanako said.
She then blushed and hide behind Ellen. "Oh, did I hurt your feelings?" Kou asked.
"Don't worry, you're not cute." Daisuke said.
"That's going kinda far...!" Kou said.
"Are you stupid or something!?" Yosuke said.
"That's the Daisuke I know..." Ellen said also thinking if he was stupid.
"Heheh, don't flatter me like that." Daisuke said smiling.
"Trust me when I say that's never a compliant." Yosuke said knowing Ellen when it comes to her words.
Nanako held Ellen's hand and said "B-Big sis...That TV is huge..."
She pointed at one of the large TVs and Daisuke said "I feel like if I watched sports on a TV like this, I'd get sucked into the screen."
Ellen and Yosuke looked at each other a little worried and Yosuke said to them "C-C'mon...Like that could happen."
They had a fun day and soon after Ellen and Nanako went home. Ellen then studied that night and went to bed.
It was the last day of Golden Week and Ellen had no plans today so she decide to go to somewhere she didn't usually go, the Shopping District Shrine. She realized she hadn't done much pray lately. She went over there and no one was around. The shrine didn't look well-maintained...she prayed for peace to the shrine and was about to go home until she sense someone watching her. She looked up and saw a fox with a heart filled, red, apron on the shrine roof. The fox jumped in front of her having an "ema" plaque in its mouth. It nudged the ema into her hand. Ellen took it and it read "Please help Grandpa's legs get better. -Keita."
"It looks like someone's wish...Why did the fox give it to me?" Ellen thought to herself
She looked at it more and saw an unusually shaped leaf stuck on the back of the ema. The plant did look local. The fox then ran off and Ellen then saw an elderly man come in and said to her "Oh, not every day you see young'uns like you around here. Nobody lives here anymore. I come by to tidy things up once in a while, but lately my legs are so achy, I just can't do it. I've been tryin' to get this place up to snuff, but there just isn't enough money to go around. Well, I s'pose I'll pay my respects. If my legs don't heal, I can't maintain the shrine. That, and...I won't be able to visit Keita anymore. He's my grandson, y'know."
"I'm sorry to hear about the shrine but, do you think this leaf can help with your legs?" Ellen asked showing him the leaves.
"Hmmm!? Could it be...!? That leaf...! That's it! Way back when, my grandmother always used to say a leaf shaped like that was the best kind of ache remedy out there! Ah, what memories! But how'd you get your hands on this!? I didn't think you could find those in the mountains anymore. P-Please, young lady! Can I trouble you to spare me that leaf?!"
"Of course." Ellen said giving him the leaf.
"Ooh, this is it, this is it...Now let's see here..." the old man said as he stuck the leaf onto his leg.
Then he said with glee "Oooh, I can feel it! It's working! Amazing! The pain I've been feeling for who knows how long-it just up and vanished! Hm...? Hrmmm...? Why, I feel better than I have in years! You really helped me out, young lady! I'm so grateful! Now I can go visit my grandson! I'd better pay thanks to the shrine for bringing us together like this!"
He paid his respects and left and Ellen was left to marvel at the amazing results thinking "Wow, those leaves are incredible...It restored everything."
The fox came out of the hiding with a contented expression. The fox then peered into the offertory box as if to check the contents. The fox then came back to Ellen and yipped at her. Huh...this is a petty smart fox...it must like me or something." Ellen thought to herself.
She then saw that the fox had more of the leaves in its mouth. It yipped again and expressed that it could help with a fee. It than ran off and Ellen saw it was late and went home.
Later that night, Nanako and her were watching the news with the announcer saying "The prime suspect in yesterday's ATM robbery in northern Inaba was arrested earlier today. The alleged thief is Pumena Sushin, a 26-year-old former employee of the company which reported the stolen vehicle. According to the police investigation, Pumena Sushin was..."
They then heard Dojima come and Nanako went to him while he said "I'm home. *sigh* How many days is he gonna call in sick? These rookies lately sure are-"
"Welcome back!" Nanako said smiling.
They came in and Dojima said "Nanako...I'm sorry I broke my promise again..."
"Oh, um, my big sis and her friends played with me instead." Nanako said.
"I see...Thanks." Dojima said to Ellen.
"Yeah, anytime." Ellen said.
"Oh, that's a Junes bag! What's in it?" Nanako asked noticing the bag Dojima brought in.
"Haha, good eye. Well, today is Children's Day...So I brought you a present." Dojima said.
Then he pulled out a t-shirt out of the bag and Nanako said "Yaay! Ooh a t-shirt."
"Haha, itt took me a while to decide what to get you. You like it?" Dojima said.
"Oh wow, there's a picture on the front! That's so funny! Ahaha, yay!" Nanako said in delight seeing the platypuses on the front of the shirt.
"I got you one, too. Not that your a child or anything, but fair's fair." Dojima said Ellen.
Then he gave her a two piece black swimsuit. Ellen...wasn't sure what to think of it. It was a nice gift but-
Dojima then explained "Um...funny story exactly. I wasn't sure what to get you when it came to this so I called up your mom. The first thing she says when I half explain it to her she says "So you have a girlfriend now? Good for you!" and then I got to finish and she told me what I needed to know."
"Thank you but, can ask if the two piece was my mom's idea?" Ellen said.
"Y-Yeah, how'd you guess?"
"My mom tries at every turn to get me in this kind of stuff. "Her little princess" she still calls me hehehe but, this is a really nice gift. Thank you."
"Don't mention it." he said smiling happy she didn't get mad or something. He had to talk to her for a whole hour to get what he needed.
"I thought you might need one soon. Well then...let's eat."
"Okay!" Nanako said.
Ellen had a pleasant evening with the Dojimas then she studied and went to bed.
