Chapter 3: The Need For Friends
"Nyu?" Nyu asked in her hospital bed.
"Nyu, Nyu, Nyu," Kouta started, annoyed, "Is that all you ever say?"
"Nyu!" Nyu cried. Kouta sighed. He was sitting on a chair next to Nyu, and had been for hours. The doctor had told him earlier that Nyu had been shot, for whatever reason, and asked if she could remember anything. Kouta, of course, had to explain to the doctor that all Nyu said was her name, which puzzled the doctor quite a bit. Even so, the doctor shrugged it off. So, Kouta sat alone with Nyu as she smiled to herself in her hospital bed. What a bother, thought Kouta, I go away to cool off after Nyu had some temper tantrum, and she runs off and gets SHOT. I mean, seriously? How much trouble is this gonna get me into now? Kouta sighed softly, and laid back on his chair. He closed his eyes, thinking of his cousin Yuka. Her, he thought, She's gonna go on a frenzy. She'll definitely tell me I won't be good enough for her if I let Nyu go running off. Crazy women. She'll probably be like, 'Kouta! How are you going to raise our children if you can't keep track of Nyu, huh?' Then I'd tell her how sorry I was, and that Nyu ran off on her own, and that I don't NEED to take care of her, and then she'll interrupt me, saying stuff like, 'That's not the point, Kouta! You need to start acting like a man, and fall in love with me!' And I'll be confused, cause she says random stuff like that, even though she's only my cousin. Kouta sighed, and kept playing the scenario of Yuka shouting at him in his head.
Suddenly, Kouta heard a loud clatter in the hallway. Just as he was about to get up, Yuka stormed in with Mayu, their adopted child.
"Kouta!" Yuka growled, "What were you thinking?!" Here it comes, thought Kouta. Yuka marched over and grabbed Kouta by his shirt collar.
"You idiot!" she cried, tears in her eyes, "You just let Nyu go off like that, and then you stumble around the city, and nearly get yourself killed?" What is she talking about? thought Kouta, I reported Nyu was missing, and a police officer told me he found her like, two hours later! Before that, I just walked around town cause I was bored. Crazy woman. Kouta sighed, and let Yuka continue on.
"The police man told me you just walked around town after reporting Nyu was missing! Don't you know there's a murderer around? Mayu told me there was a murderer around, and you just go out like an idiot?! Not only that, but Nyu probably almost got killed by that murderer! How am I supposed to raise our children if you get killed, huh?!" Yuka blushed, realizing she just said something wrong, and let go of Kouta. She stumbled back, and sat down on a chair, tears in her eyes.
"I mean..." she whispered, "What would I do without you? How could I raise Mayu, huh? Jerk..." Kouta sighed. That woman is so critical, he thought, Always talks about how she is so worried about me, then goes back to thinking about marriage, and that her cousin is the only one she can get cause all the other guys think she's a psycho. I just wanna live alone in a nice house, away from all this trouble and-
Kouta's thoughts were cut off by Mayu attempting to talk to him.
"So, Kouta," she said timidly, "How's Nyu?" Kouta looked at the ceiling, boredom in his expression.
"Fine," he replied, "The doctor said that the bullet missed her stomach, that it only hit a lump of tissue. Or, something like that. He said she could afford to have lost that part of her tissue, cause it wouldn't cause any damage in the future." Mayu held her hands in front of her in a V shape, her knees shaking, and glanced to the side.
"Well," she whispered, "At least this is only the first time you fought about me." Kouta and Yuka looked up.
"What? I didn't catch that," they both replied. Mayu shifted her eyes to the floor, and narrowed them.
"Nothing," she said in her sweet tone, reaching for the hospital room's door, "I was just saying that I was going to go out to eat something with the allowance you gave me." Mayu smiled weakly at her adoptive parents.
"Fine by me," Kouta murmured. Yuka was more concerned.
"That's fine, Mayu," she said, reaching for her purse and taking out her wallet, "But don't use your allowance. Here," Yuka walked over and handed Mayu a twenty dollar bill. "Here's twenty dollars. Give me the change when your done, and don't stay out for more than two hours, or we'll come looking for you." Mayu smiled.
"Sure, Yuka," she replied, and walked out the door. Once out, she paused in the hallway, and looked around for any passerby. Seeing none, she comfortably leaned against the wall. Nyu this, Nyu that, she thought, No one ever thinks about me. And they don't talk to me much, either. They only care about feeding Nyu, about talking to Nyu, about having Nyu speak, and all of those stupid things. Mayu sighed, and looked up at the ceiling. Her eyes closed softly, and she thought, I just want a friend.