Aww you guys are just wonderful! Thankies for all the reviews and I'm happy that you like the story. Major secret found out in this chappie so read and enjoy! Oh and review, reviews are so very nice. :)
"Well, now I guess I understand why all the Deadmen have bird names. This is just freaky." I was in a small cage, barely big enough to fit one person inside, I can't imagine how Senji must feel. My head almost hits the top; he must have to hunker down until he's let out. I must say though, knowing that this is about to take place in a giant multicolored birdcage...as I've said before, it's just freaky.
"Alright, you know the rules, Peacock. Oh wait! There are no rules, no official ones anyway." The guard pressed a button and the cage immediately began to descend to the colorful floor below. I could see the other cage through my bars and inside it looked to be like there was a young boy. Heh, he even kind of looked liked my brother, but that's insane. He's not a Deadman, I would have noticed him using his powers before.
"Laaaaaaaaaaadies and Geeeeeeentleman! I am here to welcome you to Caaaarnival Coooooooooorpse! We have the rising star Woodpecker and the new girl Peacock! Before we let them out how about a round of applause!"
Glancing up I saw a giant, no that can't be right. "Is that a chicken for the loudspeaker? This place just keeps getting weirder and weirder." I said while placing a hand to my forehead and already dreading this match.
I also happen to notice that there was no real audience; rather they were disguised by faces of animals with their names below the picture. I did hear an applause though, they must be watching from a separate room or something.
"Alright ladies and gentleman, here we go. Deadmen, step out of your cages and begin!" I heard the lock to my cage click and I pushed the door open, breathing heavily as I did so. This may look like a boy but he's a deadman, he could probably rip me to shreds if he wanted to. Not even going to lie, the nerves were already getting to me and nothing had happened yet. But I can't show fear to this person, I must stay strong and win, otherwise the punishment game...oh I cringe just thinking about it.
"Well, aren't you going to come out?" I took the tips of my fingernails, I always kept them a little sharper than normal for this reason, and pricked all ten of my fingertips. Blood immediatly flowed out to about three feet, shaped like long straight knives. I know, it's not the mist destructive power, but hey it works.
"I-I'm working on it! The cage is stuck!" Wow this boy didn't sound that old at all. He sounded like a young teenager, if so how was I supposed to win against him? I mean, if he's younger than me isn't that kind of considered wrong? Abusive maybe?
In a flash, I saw the door to the cage burst open and his foot sticking out, must have kicked it open. "Alright I'm out! Now-"
He stopped talking and I couldn't understand why, I couldn't see what he looked like either, he was still masked by the shadows of the cage. "Y-You died...in the accident...Y-You were never found! Mai...it's me."
He stepped from the shadows and for the first time I saw his face. Woodpecker, my opponent, my little brother. How am I supposed to do this now? "Ganta. Ganta!" I raced forward, forcing my blood back into my body and wrapped my arms around him. He had grown up so much, and I had missed him. "Look at you, you're so tall." My heartbeat was erratic and my eyes grew watery from the salty tears daring to burst forth.
"Mai, you died! They never found your body! What are you doing here!" He screamed, his own eyes already brimming with tears, as he held me as tight as I held him. But I don't know if they were tears of joy and tears or pain. He believed me to be dead all these years but I have always been around. I squeezed him tighter with every word he spoke.
"No, No Ganta I never died. I, when the accident occurred my powers came out. I was so afraid, afraid that if I were to be around you then I would lose control and hurt you." Telling him this was one of the hardest things to do. I felt like I had betrayed him somehow by not returning. I kept him alone all those years.
He pulled away and wiped his eyes, looking up into my own. Man, when did I start crying? "But, you left." He choked out, bringing up his arm and continuing to wipe away the tears.
"Ganta, just because you never saw me, it doesn't mean I was never around. I was always there watching over you. When I found out you were sent here, I got myself thrown in. Ganta I'm going to pay off your sentence and my own, and we'll go home. Together, like it use to be."
"Woah ladies and gentleman! It seems we have a brother sister reunion going on here in the Carnival Corpse!" Boomed the announcer. He just doesn't know when to shut up does he?
"Oh will you shut up you stupid announcer!" I screamed up at the...chicken. I was happy when he went silent and the audience gave a slight giggle though, must be amusing to see such a sappy girl get angry in such a touching moment.
"Ganta listen to me. You listen to me right now. What is your power?" He looked down to his hand and then back toward me. I could tell that this was all a big shock to him and he didn't really know what to do. If you want to know the truth I didn't know what to do either.
"My branch of Sin? I shoot bullet like projectiles from my hand." Bullets huh, man this is going to hurt him as much as it hurts me. "Show me."
He gave me a curious look but did it anyway. Biting his thumb, I watched as his blood flowed out and formed a small ball in the middle of his hand, swirling and begging to be released onto something. Grabbing that same hand I pressed it against my chest and eyed him seriously.
"Fire Ganta. Win this Carnival Corpse, please. Don't ask me to hurt you, not when I just found you again." He tried to break free and pull his hand away but I kept him in place. "Ganta, please."
"No! No I won't do it! I won't do it Mai! You'll go to the punishment game and...I won't do it!" He screamed, making the audience laugh from the supposed comical sight before them. Brother and sister fighting, what's so funny about that?
Feeling a new stream of tears make their way down I gripped his hand tighter against my chest. "Ganta, don't make me beg. Do this for me...please. I will go to the punishment game, yes, I am prepared for it. You are my younger brother and it's my job to protect you, even if it's from me. Now please fire and win. Earn cast points, live a luxurious life while you're here, or better yet, pay off some of your sentence."
He looked at me with hardened eyes. I knew he didn't want to do this, but I remember Senji saying that there is one kind of rule...there's no forfeits. "Mai...I'm so sorry." A swirling feeling was felt beneath my clothes and I closed my eyes, waiting for him to take his shot. In a moments flash I felt an immense pressure on my chest as I was sent flying backwards, landing harshly on my back and out of breath.
"Will you look at that ladies and gentleman! The brother fired away on the sister with his Ganta Gun! She's not moving, unable to get up, and the winner is Woodpecker!" The loudspeaker cheered. I heard many footsteps rushing toward me but my vision was starting to blur, my hearing was starting to fade, I was falling unconscious. Great.
"Mai! Mai!" Ganta, you silly little boy, be happy...you won. Something warm intertwined itself with my hand as I felt myself being lifted up onto what I guessed to be a stretcher. The warmth in my hand slid away and I lost it and my world went black. "Maaaaaaaaaaai!"
"Mai...Mai...time to wake up now...Mai. It's time to play a game now." Wha-who is that? Sounds familiar. My eyes fluttered open and I was blinded with the intensity of many lights. I tried to rub my eyes but my hands were strapped down to something.
"Ah, there you are. I was starting to think that you were actually dead." Is that Rei, the doctor? Yes, that did sound like her voice, but where am I, and why can't I move? "Come on sleepy head, time to wake up now, you have an exciting few minutes ahead of you."
After a few moments I shook my head and was fully awake, able to take in all of my surroundings. I was in a room and standing in front of me was the doctor and...A slot machine. "The punishment game."
"That's right, let's hope your luck has improved. Though you didn't seem to win on luck did you? Risky move you pulled in there, it made the audience go wild though, let's hope you live to do it again." She pulled the giant lever and I watched as it turned and turned and turned until finally it stopped. Well, at least me and Senji will have something in common now.
"Well look at that, the right eye." She said. Immediatly I felt the chair I was in starting to go back as well as a hoard of doctors pushing shiny tables in my direction. They tightened up my straps and the left me and Rei. She looked down at me, a weird thing holding my eye lid open so my actual eye was in full view. The snapping of her glove and that sadistic smile was enough to make my heart jump out of my chest.
"I'm really sorry about this Mai, but this is Deadman Wonderland and this is the rules we go by." She reached down for a tool that literally looked as though it was going to scoop my eye out. I waited and waited for someone to shoot me up with morphine or something but they never did.
"Without medication." Senjis voice tolled through my head as fear finally set it. I guess it was always there but the reality of what was about to happen finally sunk in. I felt the metal against my eye and I tried to squeeze it shut, but no matter my efforts, nothing happened.
The pain was like nothing I had every experienced before, I think this would have childbirth beaten by a long shot. I tried to thrash my head but I couldn't move. I was subjected to this pain, at least it wasn't Ganta. Rei. I knew you were sadistic, look at you. Grinning from ear to ear as my blood splatters on your cheek, good grief you're even blushing. I clawed at the metal of the arms and arched my back to the best of my abilities. This limited moving made the pain all the worse.
Scream after scream ripped through my system until I felt her give a final pull, ripping my eye from its socket and leaving a bloody waterfall dripping back down onto me. Heavy breathing and silent shaking is what I was doing that very moment. The multitude of doctors rushed back and began to 'clean me up'. They wiped the blood away and patched up the fresh wound so it wouldn't get an infection. They even put an eye patch over me so no one would have to look at this hideous hole in my face now.
Through all of this though I would not cry. I may have screamed to my hearts content, but I would not cry. Ganta may be watching and I would not show him that I was crying from pain. I put myself in this position, and I accept the consciences.
"Alright Mai, you're finished. You can go back to your cell now. Oh and swallow these, they'll numb the pain a little." Rei tossed me two small pills and I gulped them down dry, no water needed. I was a little wobbly at first, but I managed to regain my footing after a few minutes. My head pounded with a fury I didn't know existed and I felt as though I was about to puke any second.
"I just want to get back...to the cell. Senji...you better be up." I whispered to myself, not really in the mood for actually talking right now. Walking to the cell was a lot harder than I thought it would be, using one eye for vision, it was strange and it was hard. It would take awhile to get use to.
Finally after what seemed like hours, I made it to the door. Knocking, I was relieved when it slide open and Senji stood there with an expression that I couldn't really place. I walked in the room and he shut the door behind us, reaching an arm over my shoulder and sliding it shut.
"Mai...you, uh, you alright?" He seemed to be at a loss, not really the type of person to comfort, let alone comfort a girl in a situation like this. I was a wreck, I felt sick and the tears were starting to flow like a waterfall from the one remaining eye I had left. In all my mixed up feelings, I needed comfort. I needed something, and Senji happened to be that something right now.
I wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my head in his chest, he was a lot taller than me, and I let the tears run free. Sobs echoed through my body and even though it was awkward for him, even though he is the world's number one shy man, he did the best he could.
A large hand was placed on the back of my head while the other wrapped around my waist, holding me the best way he knew how. "C-Come on now, s-stop crying." 'He stuttered out. Stop crying? How was I supposed to stop crying in a situation like this? I lost my eye; my little brother has clearly had to go through this several times and...and...I don't even know what else.
"I-I'm so sorry S-Senji." I pushed myself away from him and rubbed the tears away with the back of my hand. "I-I shouldn't p-p-put you in a-a position l-like t-that." He gave off a small chuckle before placing a large hand on top of my head, ruffling my hair a bit and being careful not to hurt me and my fresh wound.
"Don't worry about it. Come on, it's late. We should go to bed." I saw him as he grabbed a pillow from the bed and brought it over to the couch, plopping himself down after taking off his shoes, socks and coat.
"H-hey. What are you doing?"
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm going to bed." He put the pillow behind his head and closed his eyes, preparing to fall into a blissful sleep.
"But you're on the couch. No, this is your room, you can sleep in your own bed and I'll sleep on the couch, it's only fair." I said while walking over to him and watching as he squinted an eye open.
"I don't think so. You've had a rough first day here, I'll take the couch for tonight and you can take the bed." He closed his eyes again and tried falling asleep, but I wasn't about to let him sleep on that couch. Besides, it looked hard anyway and it obviously didn't pull out into another bed or he would have done that already.
"No." reaching down I grabbed the pillow from under his head and threw it back onto the bed, placing my hands on my hips when I was finished. "Now that was uncalled for."
He got up from the couch and went to retrieve his pillow, giving me the prefect opportunity to take the couch for myself. Tomorrow we would have to go to the store and see if they had an air mattress or something.
"Oh you think you're real smart don't you. Well, you may not be able to pick me up, but I can pick you up easy." Before I could protest he came over and scooped me up, taking me back over to the bed and started to set me down before I spoke up.
"Senji, we can do this all night, but one of us is sleeping on that couch and I know it's not going to be you. So you might as well just put me back and go to sleep, it'll make this a whole lot easier." I told him, giving a small glare but regretting it as soon as I did. I couldn't exactly make many facial expressions right now due to the immense pain that was still running through me and my head.
"If you're not sleeping on the bed, and I'm not sleeping on the bed then we have a problem." He glanced over to the bed and then to the couch before looking at me with a sigh. "Women sure are troublesome, is that what you're wearing to bed?"
"I don't even feel like changing so yea, this is my pajamas for tonight. Now put me down, I'm tired and I want to sleep this headache away." Squirming around, I tried to put my feet on the ground but he was so much taller than me and just wouldn't put me down. Instead he waked over to the door and lifted a foot, turning off the light and then throwing me down onto the bed.
"H-Hey I told you-"
"Just shut up and scoot over. And stay on your side of the bed." The bed dipped down and I scooted over to the wall as much as I could, putting myself under the covers. "Seriously...stay on your side. This is awkward enough so having you all snuggly against me will just make me-" I heard him give off a small cough and the heat coming from him was enough to set the room on fire. For a tough guy he sure can be cute when he wants to be.
"Please don't let anyone barge in, in the morning. That's bound to start all kinds of rumors." I giggled out. Laying my head against the pillow, I waited for him to get settled underneath the covers as well. Once we were all comfy and cozy I reached over and toughed his arm, getting his attention for a minute before he completely dozed off.
"Senji?" He gave off a small hum, letting me know that he was listening. "Thank you."
"Heh, you're a strange woman."