Im not sure how much longer I can maintain my true character as some trippy stuff starts to occur from here. As such don't be surprised if I appear excessively heroic or emotional or any of that. So let's resume my story!
3. Sickness
The bionic man took a while longer to register I was the child who interrupted his fight with Lucy/Nyu. Once he did he made a loud grunt and picked me up with the collar of my shirt.
"What are you doing here you little squirt?"
I wriggled and squired in cowardice as I helplessly hung from his hand. "Uh...I'm sorry about disturbing you...carry on with what you're doing."
"Why did you show up on the beach the other night?" Droplets of saliva now sting my face.
"I dunno honestly. The last thing I remember before that was falling from a plane and then-"
"Wait! A plane?" He seems as surprised as the Maple Inn residents did to my story.
"Yeah it broke in half and I was saved by a girl I think."
He dropped me and I appropriately fell on my rump digging my tailbone into the sand. "That was the plane Mariko tore apart with her vectors before she died."
"Huh? Mariko? Vectors?" I am completely bamboozled.
"The only way you could have survived that plane crash is if Lucy, Nana or Mariko caught you with their vectors."
"Please sir I don't know what you mean by vectors."
"Basically boy, vectors made me into this." he pulled up his sleeve revealing his automated cyborg arm. He then pulled off his sunglasses and tapped his eyes which made a clanking noise like glass does.
I step back and almost puke. "How...is that possible?"
"Kid whatever you do don't screw around with anyone by the name of Lucy. She has invisible arms that will literally tear you apart."
My eyes widen and my pupils dilate (much like the way Anime characters do to bad news) "Lucy...can really do that?"
A flashback of the cold hands rubbing my back enters my mind.
Shit!!! That is what vectors are!?
I almost break down in tears. I have been through the kind of traumatic experiences most people wouldn't come to in a lifetime in only a few days. Ever since I hopped that plane… This HAS TO BE A DREAM!!!
Alas it is very much my reality. I tug at the brawny man's leg and stain his pant with my tears. "Please sir you have to save me?" I don't know what has come over me. I feel like a different person. I have lost all composure and feel like I'm losing sanity.
THWUD. I feel a heavy weight impact my head as I fall to the hard earth. "Get a hold of yourself kid! Lucy ain't gonna hurt ya while I Bando am around."
I gather my fallen self and dust off some of the abrasive sand decaying my soul. "R-r-really Bando?"
He seems to forcefully nod. "Yeh. Just stop acting all crazy and I'll protect you from her."
I want to give the man a big hug but a phone rings. It's his.
I stand up and observe his body language as he takes the call. "Hello? What slow down? WHERE ARE YOU!? Hello? Hey Mayu!"
Why did he just say Mayu?
"Drat she hung up." Bando looks very stressed now. "Look kid I'd love to chat but I gotta go. Mayu's in a pinch."
"Hey wait I know Mayu. I know where she lives."
He darts back and picks me up as he sprints from the beach. "HURRY UP AND NAVIGATE FOR ME!!!"
"KYAH WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU SCARY MAN!!!???" Tears trail from the corners of my eyes as the wind pushes my face. "That way! Left! Right! No go back! TRUCK!" I now feel like Yachiru on the back of a docile Kenpachi.
"Hurry up she's in trouble." The biono man of Bando grows impatient.
"Up those stairs." We reach the foot of the long stairs with which the Maple Inn rests atop. I am carried on Bando's back the entire time until we arrive at the door which strangely has been left open.
I call out to anyone inside. "Hello! Mayu! Nana! Yuka! Kouta! Nozomi…Nyu!?"
A shrill scream comes from the hall to the left. I turn and see the back of a tall man in a black leather trench-coat. Her also has a dark hat and appears to be brandishing an object as he crouches to the ground. A then catch the glimpse of the two convulsing legs underneath his frame. The legs are slim and look like that of a schoolgirl.
"MAYU-CHAN!!!"
The man is roused and turns. He adorns a wicked smile and mops of black hair. He looms uncannily familiar to Alucard and has the temperament of him to. "Who the hell are you guys?"
"Who the hell are we? What the fuck are you doing on top of Mayu?" A very aggravated Bando clenches his fist ready to kick some ass.
"It doesn't matter anyway. I don't need you." He aims the strange object. It is a crossbow loaded with spiked balls." It is aimed for the Biono man.
"Watch out Bando!" I impulsively push him away and take the blow of the projectile. The ball seems to explode the very fabric of my clothing and becomes embedded in my right side. Nothing can equate to the amount of pain I felt at that moment.
"UWAHHHHH!!!!"
Swirls of vision take over as pain takes hold. The ball was not a normal weapon. Pain stems from the site but seems to pulse around my body. It is like pain has entered the very vessels of my body and ripped apart my very insides. I pant and heave as action takes place around me. I hear Mayu's screams but they are calling to me.
Ben-san...Ben-san.....BEN-SAN...........................................................................................................
-----
~"You don't belong here!"
AH! A voice startles me. I turn to see a very naked Lucy stand before me on the dark beach. The wave's crash and the sounds pierce my ears. "What! Where am I and why are you naked?"
"We are back where we started aren't we Ben McMullen."
"How did you know my name?"
"You are causing more trouble the longer you stay here in Kamakura. You don't realise it yet but if you stay any longer more people will die."
"What are you saying Lucy you're the one with the vectors. Bando told me-"
"SHUT UP."
I shriek and step away. I can no longer feel the sand beneath but the wave's crash louder and louder till I can barely hear Lucy's voice."
"Ben you must listen before it's too late.....get out....of here.....before......it's too late......enough blood has been shed...........it .........must............cease...............with....................me..................."
The noise is infuriating. The voice of Lucy dissipates.
Make the noise stop! ~
-----
"AGH!!!"
"Ben-san, oh thank goodness you're finally awake." A sweet and familiar voice comforts me from the nightmare I escaped from. My vision clears and the petite face of Mayu is revealed as she gives me a reassuring smile. I notice the ceiling is in front of me. I sit up and observe the feudal bedroom and the golden coloured and patterned sheet covering the rest of my body.
"Wha...whe..." I want to form words but they won't come out."
"Oh Ben. I was so worried that that spiky ball would take you and Nana away from me."
Oh crap! Now I remember...
"I'm...fi...Ma..."
"Na-nee?"
I pull up my now blue buttoned shirt and there appears to be a large bandage wrapped around my entire waist. Thankfully the intense pain form before has stopped.
"Bando helped a little with that." Mayu points to my wound.
"Oh where is he?" I ask suddenly concerned about the biono-man.
"Still yapping are ya?" The rustic voice of Bando catches my attention outside the doorframe. I am astonished to see he too has a similarly dressed bandage around his waist.
"Don't tell me the Alucard-man got you with that as well?"
"I don't get it."
"Oh never mind."
"That pedo did shoot me in the body but I was able to pull it out and kick his arse. In fact one of my punches must have been so powerful I put a hole in his arse literally!" He then laughs in a tormenting manner. I'm not sure who is more evil now out of the two I've just met.
"How is that possible – even with a bionic arm?" I ponder to him.
"Who cares; he won't be coming back."
Mayu giggles for some reason. Doe she think all this is funny? Maybe she should get one of those spiky things into her.
"Say Mayu..." I decide to change topic a little. "Did that man manage to do anything to you?"
Again I seem to have failed in maintaining sensitivities as I snap another string of the violin and trigger her eyes to leak clear fluid. "Oh...Mayu-chan...I'm sorry I didn't realise."
She manages to sniff up her tears and respond. "No it's okay...he didn't hurt me at all." She gives me a very happy smile and I see from her narrowed eyes she is really happy now – at least superficially. "Please don't worry about me and focus on your rest.
Curiosity never leaves my sight. "So are Kouta and the others home?"
"Kouta, Yuka, Nyu and Nozomi-chan should be returning from University soon. Nana-chan is recovering as well. I have already prepared everyone's dinner."
"Wow you are very efficient. You could practically run this house yourself."
Mayu appreciates the comment and giggles again. "Well all of us at the Maple Inn must do chores or the place will fall apart."
"Wow...I envy you guys."
"Oh stop it your embarrassing me." She flips a hand as if flirtingly. I could almost swear she was developing some sort of crush on me. But I must have at least been five or so years older then her. Bugger it I'll ask...
"Say Mayu. If you don't mind me asking...how old are you?"
"About 14 and a half."
"Oh ok just wondering." I was amazed at how long Mayu stayed and chatted with me. Bando meanwhile keeps standing at the door like some sort of Terminator robot, he really creeps me out – yet now since knowing him a bit more I was a bit more comfortable around him.
We chatted idly about various topics ranging from Japanese culture to the current politics on climate change (I'm glad Mayu agrees with me on that one) to a little bit about Manga and Animes. I had to point out the fact that the people here looked like cosplay characters to which Mayu simply laughed and said that 'Japanese people come in a range of looks and styles.' Implying they all don't have black hair and slanted eyes. I became a little less of a generaliser of people that day. If only the comforting moment could stay forever.
"We're back Mayu-chan, Nana-chan!"
It was Yuka's voice. I heard the rustling of bags and the clinging of dropped keys. Footsteps entered the room and three familiar faces popped through the door.
Kouta seemed less than impressed to find me lying down in his pyjamas next to Mayu but was more focused on Bando the Bionic man. "OK sir so who might you be?"
Bando stared into Kouta's eyes like a familiar face. "Hey I remember you now!" But Yuka interrupts as she chirps her way in. "It's good to see you back Ben-san." I'm not sure if she remembered what I did last night but anyway. She notices my bandages. "Oh my! What happened to you last night?
"Last night?" I feel Mayu's elbow indicating the alibi-synthesis. "Oh I was attacked by a ravenous staffy and so ran back here for first aid."
"That's strange cos we don't have Staffordshires here anymore. They were banned five years ago."
"Well uh...it was a bit dark at the time...not sure which breed specifically."
Maybe it was Wanta." Chuckled a voice I hadn't heard since arriving. It was Nozomi's. She seemed very passive and almost fragile in tone like she was constantly nervous.
So Kouta and Yuka and Nozomi were there. Nyu was missing. "Hey guys where's Nyu-chan?"
"Wouldn't you like to know" Stormed Kouta until Yuka hushed him.
"She's still outside having a little walk. Said she had to unwind or something."
It wasn't like Nyu to talk. The way she acted that night I would imagine she would be famous for the worlds most limited vocabulary bank. Unless...
"Thanks guys...gotta go." I jumped out of the bed but inadvertently double over as blood stains my dressings. I guess I did need some time to relax.
"Gee kids settle down a bit." Bando picked me up and lay me on the bed. How caring for such a brutish man.
"How much longer do you have to be here for?" The peeved Kouta asked me.
Yuka instantly scolded him as if she were his wife. "That's not a way to speak to our guest." I felt accepted now as she turned to me. "Ben is welcome to stay here till he recovers from his dog bite."
"Yeah Benny's back!" A childish voice entered abruptly. It was Nana. She rushed over and constricted my chest with a hug.
Kouta signed off. "Okay well we better start eating then. Come out soon Mayu-chan and Nana-chan."
The two young girls simultaneously replied with a 'Hai'.
I remembered hearing Nana was also injured in fact was twice hit with the spiky balls of infinite pain so I was astonished at why she had recovered so fast. "What the hell Nana, I get hit with one of those and you and Bando just jump around like it was nothing."
"I heal very fast that's all." I recall she too is of the Diclonius race. Perhaps vectors have healing abilities as well. Satisfied I just nod and return to a comfortable state. This night may be the first night I get to sleep in a proper bed.
Alas it was to be not the case..........
A loud noise burst through the room outside. It was the mewing of Nyu-chan. Though what appeared to be a normal girl was the deadliest woman on Earth. Bando instinctively pulled out his massive pistol and Mayu and Nana cowered behind me.
"OH NO PLEASE DON'T HURT NYU-CHAN!"
"Nyu!?" Nyu seemed unfazed or perhaps she had no idea what a gun was used for.
Kouta returned with a heroic stance, I could make out Yuka's outline just behind. "Hey man just who do you think-"
Kouta was given a furious pistol whip to the face knocking him down faster than a bowling pin. Yuka screamed for help and was shaking him for a response. I should really do something but my injuries are holding me back. I gain anger inside as seemingly innocent people are being hurt and crying around me. I am so useless. Why did I come here?
"If you stay any longer more people will die..."
If Nyu-chan really was Lucy she could have changed by now yet instead she was being manhandled by a sinister Bando. I could hear her pleas for help shattering my eardrums. The noise retuned and it was much more intense.
"Bando please stop hurting Nyu...Please stop." My pleas were pathetically submissive and he shrugged them off as he barked at Nyu to transform.
"If you stay any longer people will die...UNLESS YOU DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT..."
No that voice was different then? The noise is going to make my head explode. Bando cackles with cruel taunting laughter. Mayu and Nana are screaming in fear. Yuka is helplessly sobbing and the scent of fresh Urine engulfs the house.
The noise must stop!
"ARRGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Bando seems to have suddenly fallen back into a wall. But I didn't see anyone hit him. My feet start walking themselves as I enter a trance I've never experienced before. "Please stop the violence Bando..." I say with a more honorary tone. My body feels stronger and lighter. Hairs rise on my body and I gain a rush of endorphins I would only attain from jogging five straight hours. Bando jumps up and raises his gun to which it flips away. I know I'm confused but my gaze focuses on one target – the Biono man.
"You bastard you're doing this somehow?" He hooks a fist but he stops mid air. He struggles to move past an invisible block. Nyu and Mayu seem amazed at the sight. His fist cracks as knuckles start to break to which he howls in despair. I really seem to have him in a state. I don't know why but it feels like I am using an enhanced arm to wrench his limb but yet my arms are by my very side. My wound has no pain any longer and I managed to pull a grin of delight when I cast Bando's sorry self goodbye.
"You bastard! Ben! I will no longer protect you from her you traitor!"
"Good. Don't come back here either then!" I say again under the influence of my hormonal boost.
"Ben-san." The sweet voice of Mayu grabs my attention. She has puppy dog eyes but not like Wanta's. She sees the very serious and authoritive look on my face and seems unsure of what to do. Nana seems to have the same reaction. Kouta opens his eyes and Yuka seems relieved he's okay.
I speak in a deeper voice as if puberty gave me one last gift. "Mayu...I'm-"
"I love you Ben-san!!!" Before I have tome to gauge a reaction I feel her wrapping her small arms around my leg. What is up with her? Girls in back in Australia don't fall over for me like that.
"What are you saying Mayu. I didn't do anything..." I trail off as the awesome feeling stops. I feel weighed back down to earth and fall to the ground with it in a massive THUD.
-----
I wake up for a second time to see Mayu still by my right side only asleep in her school-clothes. The corridor outside is darker as if it's late but she is still there. She must have stayed here all night. I pat her head of hair, it is soft and thin like a feather-duster (I was never good at similes at school but it felt something liking to that). She moved her arm up so it was touching my left shoulder. I nearly thought tonight was another night in the fishing nets. But perhaps I have now earned my place here. I can now sleep in peace.
Mayu's presence gives me a warm feeling inside. Her hands on my shoulder make me tingle with pleasure. Oh great. I feel the pressure well up around my genitalia as my penis salutes Adolf (if you know what I mean). But it's more inconvenient as Mayu has part of her body resting on it. I must readjust. It wouldn't be right to wake her after such a stressful night.
My feelings of pleasure turn into an ultimate fear – much like when I first landed on that beach. My arm on my left was okay – so too the right.
But now – for some reason I cannot comprehend – A third transparent arm is performing my command...
And so for the third night I wept...but now in a fear of the possible being I had inadvertently become.
Crap! I have a vector! A freaking vector! How is this possible? The vision was right. I am going to cause a lot of trouble. What will happen now that I Ben McMullen - a male human carries a vector? The next chapter will reveal such questions so for now review. Oh and by the way I called that guy before Alucard-man but I have no idea his true name; if anyone can tell me his name in a message or review it may help me out later on on this story so thanks.