Lucy of the Leaf

Author's Notes: You all have no idea how long this has taken to get ready. It seems like it was in planning for at least a year, and I started getting ready to write it more or less right after I uploaded The Brother's Zala. Oh god, how long has it really been since then? I felt that it was rather slow going, but I never realized just how slow. Now it's done, I want to add a further new story before I loop back and add a chapter to Daddy's Disappointment. I'll have more to say about that later, so if you're interested, be sure to read my post-chapter author's notes. For now, here's the story.

Oh, and before I forget, a note on plurals. I don't know what you are all used to, but I will be using for the plural of Diclonius: Diclonii, since this remains true to the latin word. Also, I will be using for the plural of Ninja: Ninja. The reason may be purely personal choice, but I hate it when people say 'ninjas.' Think about it. You wouldn't normally say samurais, Pokémons, or jedis, would you? (and you certainly won't hear many Star Wars fans uttering the unique bacterized plural 'jedises,' but that's a private joke between Darth Malak, Necrophiliac666, and myself.) You won't hear many intelligent people saying "those peoples is all Japaneses, They's Japaneses, I tells ya" would you? I didn't think so. Moving on…

Disclaimer: All canon characters, places and names belong to their respective copyright holders.
Gundam Seed belongs to Sunrise
Elfen Lied belongs to Lynn Okamoto.
Any and all original characters belong to me.

Summary: After escaping the imprisonment of a secret research facility, Lucy is washed away by a storm to sea, to wash up on the shore of a faraway land, where she wakes, lost, confused, amnesia-stricken, and alone – until she is discovered by the most unlikely person imaginable; Uzumaki Naruto. Contains violence, offensive language, lemons. Naruto/Lucy

Vector I: The Signs of Abuse; Seen and Unseen

Chief Kurama walked outside, to be faced with the pressing wind that inconsiderately blew in his face. He raised his index finger to the bridge of his nose, readjusting his glasses, a nervous habit he had picked up somewhere earlier in life.

He was late. Kurama didn't like it when things didn't run like clockwork. When there were delays, it was often an open invitation for things to go wrong, and in his line of work, when things went wrong, they often proved fatal.

He wondered what this man could have been wasting his time on that morning that was so important it couldn't have been avoided, that was so important it resulted in the man's tardiness. Did he even listen to the briefing he should have been given? Did he take it seriously at all, or was this one going to be another vain idiot, blinded by his ignorance, thinking this to be an easy job?

If this were a simple job, his presence would not be needed, yet every time a new guard arrived, nothing would stop their mind from being blown away by the truth of this place.

Kurama hoped this man wouldn't be just another copy of his predecessor. That kind of thinking, Kurama did not want. That kind of thinking, Kurama could not use. That kind of thinking, Kurama did not need.

Finally, the wind began to pick up even more, signifying that the new arrival was at last here. Kurama looked up from his position beside the heli-pad to see the large flying machine's descent. He tried to keep his concerns locked deep within, but they were just that, concerns. As such, they kept bubbling up, but Kurama would not allow them to surface.

Of course, he had every right to be concerned. This would be the third new arrival in a month. Two security guards had come and gone in less than four weeks. Those were not good numbers. If this one didn't sharpen up and show a vast improvement over the others, he'd be nothing more than the next on a long list of fatalities.

As the helicopter touched down and their awaited passenger stepped off, Kurama was able to get a look at him. He didn't look anything special, and Kurama sincerely hoped that the man would be up to the task.

Physically, he was of standard height and build, probably weight too. He had lightly tanned skin and short layered black hair. His young brown eyes shone with inexperience.

"Chief," he assumed, holding out his hand for Kurama.

"Do you know why you are here?" Kurama asked, ignoring the young man's hand and adjusting his glasses once more. He spoke in a cold formal tone.

"Um, yeah. I'm your new guard."

"Do you know what this place is?"

"It's some kind of prison, right?"

"It is a top secret facility."

"Then why are you telling me," the young man jested, his smile faltering as he caught a glimpse of Kurama's unamused face. "They told me I'm supposed to be guarding some girl. I can't wait to get started. When can I meet her?"

"What have you been told of Lucy?"

"So that's her name? They just told me she's some badass teenage girl locked up in a maximum security instillation."

"And that excites you, the fact that you could die?"

"Hell yeah it does! Nothin' makes me harder than a bloodthirsty chick who won't hesitate to kill." He was smirking as he said these words, much to Kurama's disdain.

"I see… As expected, you are a fool who knows nothing."

"Excuse me," the young man asked, his grin once again fading.

"If you plan to survive here, you will be in need of a serious attitude adjustment."

"Hey, what's wrong with being amped up for my new job?"

"Your predecessor was equally excited about this post at first. The thrill quickly wore off. He got careless and it cost him his life. Ensure you do not end up like that unfortunate man."

"Hey, you've got nothing to worry about. I'm a million times better than that guy. I'm the best there ever was and I'm the best there'll ever be. That's why I'm here, right?"

"Indeed… I suppose you know that you're the third arrival this month?"

"Third?"

"All were assigned to guard Lucy, just as you have been."

"So you've been saving the best for last."

"I only hope that we are not yet scraping the bottom of the barrel."

"What!"

"There's something you need to understand. Lucy is not just some girl. She is… special. She is a cold blooded beast. If you let down your guard for even an instant, she will not hesitate to kill you. Remember that. If you let down your guard with her, you will die. Come with me." With that, Kurama walked off, leading the way inside.

"Why do I have to work for this stiff," the man uttered under his breath in complaint about Kurama's overly professional attitude. He moved to follow the man to what he assumed would be his post. As he walked, he noted the same monochromatic grey everywhere. Yep, this is a prison alright, he muttered to himself. Where else could one find such demoralizing colors?

When they finally arrived, the young man found himself in what appeared to be a large empty room, the center of which was a large void. Lining the perimeter were cots and medical equipment, as well as a few computers and other such devices.

"Hey, what is this?" The man asked. "I thought we were going to meet the girl."

"Not yet. There are still things of which you must be informed."

"Oh, come on! I've been briefed on the situation already!"

"Not to my level of satisfaction you haven't," Kurama replied, crossing the room. Now, If you'll turn your attention to this," he said, flipping a switch, illuminating a set of X-rays that appeared to be of someone's brain and skull.

"Oh, this is ridiculous, you are wasting my time," the man complained.

"I assure you I am not."

"I already know what my head looks like, thank you Mister University."

"Then may I may direct your attention to this second set for the purpose of comparison," Kurama replied, toggling yet another switch to illuminate a second set, this one also of what appeared to be a human brain and skull, yet this one was different somehow.

"What is this," the young man demanded. "What's with that X-ray?"

"Yes, please do direct your attention."

"What the hell is this?"

"I told you that Lucy is not a regular girl, that she is… special. What if I told you she were both result and cause of a hereditary virus?"

"A virus?"

"Yes, a genetic disease intended to wipe out all human life."

"And you're saying that this girl is infected with that virus?"

"Not quite… but we can use that take on it for now. The virus causes a physical mutation from birth. As you can see from this X-ray, the mutation takes physical effect in the form of two temporal protrusions emanating from the skull, as well as unique pigmentation of the hair and irises."

"Unique?"

"Unique for them. This is not a set rule by any means, but the hair and eye color of most Diclonii are exceptionally high in red pigmentation in particular. Human beings don't naturally have such coloring."

"So, red hair, red eyes, and horns."

"That is simplifying it a great deal, but yes. It stands to reason that they stand out in a crowd."

"So this virus, it's not contagious, right? I mean, I can't catch it, can I?"

"Actually, it is highly contagious. Simply being in close proximity with a Diclonius could potentially put you at risk of contamination."

"But you said it was a genetic virus present from birth."

"Yes. It will not affect you personally, and you may not even know you have been tainted until it is too late."

"Too late… do you mean it is fatal?"

"Not directly," Kurama explained, "but once infected, you will not be able to have children, for any offspring you sire will be born with two horns."

"And that is the mark of the disease?"

"That is the mark of a Diclonius."

"That word… I'm not familiar with it. What does it mean?"

"It is merely the name used to identify them."

"Wait… so you find people with this virus and lock them up, never again to see the light of day?"

"It is necessary to further the human race, to protect ourselves and also to learn what we can from them."

"Great, so you experiment on these unfortunate people too."

"You sympathize for them?"

"I could be wrong, but what you describe sounds inhumane."

"I see. So you really think these people are human?"

"What?"

"Diclonii are a new species, a competitor of our own. Actually, they pose very real threat to us. We are the weaker creatures here. The Diclonius is the next rung on the evolutionary ladder. If unstopped, they threaten to wipe us out and take dominance over the earth from us, as we did from the dinosaurs and lesser creatures. The very survival of their species depends entirely on the destruction and elimination of our own."

"This is kind of hard for me to believe."

"There is more," Kurama stated. "Note the enlarged pineal gland in the X-ray of the Diclonius, compared to that of the Human."

"It's… big."

"Yes, it is, isn't it? It's roughly the size of an egg."

"Why… I mean, does it serve a purpose?"

"We believe that the pineal gland, along with the horns, control the diclonius' special ability. Their sixth sense, if you will."

"Special ability?"

"Yes, we believe them to be the central processing center for the Diclonius' vectors."

"Vectors, huh? And what do those do when they're at home?"

"Think of them as invisible hands, as capable of anything as your own, and more. I have personally seen Diclonii penetrate and tear through human tissue, break bones, and even decapitate their victims in an instant."

"So, they're equipped with powerful weapons… they have them from birth too?"

"We're not sure. We don't know much about the actual development of vectors yet. We do know that their power and range increases through age, until they are fully matured."

"Range, you mean like the length of their arms?"

"Exactly."

"Do you know when their vectors first show up?"

"All our specimens have been picked up from age three onward."

"Three year old psycho killers… huh."

"Of course, Silpilets tend to mature at a faster rate than that of humans or the Diclonius Queen."

"What the hell are silpilets?"

"Silpilets are Diclonii born from the carrier of the vector virus." We believe their purpose is to spread the virus. That would explain their accelerated growth rate."

"I see, but how is it spread? Through bodily fluids like blood? Or is it skin contact?"

"Through their vectors."

"I see."

"If you are touched by a vector, your genetic integrity could be compromised. As I said, simply being in the vicinity of a Diclonius is enough to put you at risk of infection… or death. Fortunately, all diclonii have a limited range, the reach of their arms as you put it. As long as you stay out of her effective lethal range, you bare no risk of contamination. That being said. Do not be so foolish as to let down your guard. Situations can change and you could still be killed, especially if there are any weapons she can use."

"Weapons?"

"Any loose objects in the vicinity can and will be used by Lucy as crude projectile weapons. Even something as trivial as a pen can become a lethal weapon in her 'hands.'"

"What is Lucy's range?"

"Two meters."

"So, stay two meters away, got it."

"And whenever possible, make sure to keep all objects two miters away from her at all times, don't make the same mistake as your predecessor," Kurama remarked reflectively.

"What about my predecessor," the young man enquired. "You said Lucy killed him, didn't you?"

"Yes, she was the direct resulting cause, although she is not at fault, not completely. He has only himself to blame."

"How, what happened?"

"It was his arrogance that killed him. He got too close, got careless, let down his guard. Prey you do not make the same mistake.

"Damn this is boring," the man complained. He had been pacing back and forth in the large grey cavern-like room for god only knew how long. There were no clocks in here. For what purpose that was, the young man truly had no idea. It all seemed pointless to him. The bitches with the horns would be unable to see, assuming they even had the ability to read time.

If his job were to be a guard, why then did it seem so much more like he was the one incarcerated?

He looked over to the girl in the cage. "You don't talk much, do you?"

There was no verbal response, but the girl tilted her head slightly so that she was looking at him. At least, the man assumed her to be doing so. The helmets they made these horned girls wear covered their entire heads, even concealing their faces.

Even should she speak, she would not be heard, and even if she were, her words would come out as little more than a muffled noise. She never spoke, not even a word, not even a mechanical moan or pained murmur escaped her lips or even her throat when the researchers in charge preformed their experiments for the sake of science.

"So you're the queen, huh? Forgive me for not bowing, your majesty." He drew out the title with contempt, but as expected, there was no response. There never was with this one. "You probably think you're one cold bitch, don't you," he said, walking closer to the girl, approaching the two meter radius, standing on the edge of safety. "I guess I can respect that, but don't forget. You're in a human's world. That's why you're in that cage, where you belong. We keep wild animals like you locked in cages."

This remark was met with the sound of pounding. She was slamming her vectors warningly against the concrete below. She pounded it again, and again, creating a rhythmic tapping sound.

Tap –

Tap –

Tap –

Tap –

The incessant tapping of her vectors, the pounding, the crude loudness. The man smirked.

"Is that supposed to be a threat? Come on then, do it. Attack me. Kill me. You want to, don't you?" In response, the frequency of the tapping increased. "Come on and do it, freak. Maul me like the untamed beast that you are. But you won't," the man continued, "will you?" He turned around and walked away, turning his back on the queen as he went. "You're pathetic. Would you believe I was actually excited to get this post? What a joke, right? When they told me I'd be guarding a girl, I was thrilled, you could even say I was ecstatic, but that wore off once I realized what you were. It's not the same. You're not even human. It's like being sent to watch over an animal's enclosure. I'm supposed to be a security officer, not a fuckin' zoo keeper."

At that moment, the pounding stopped.

"Aw, what's wrong, did I hurt your feelings, your majesty? Do you want my head on a pike? Or are you gonna cry?" The man reached for the pen in the breast pocket of his shirt, only to find it empty. "What the hell? Where did I put that?"

"I found it…" a hoarse whisper informed him, bringing his frantic, futile search to an abrupt end.

"The fuck did you say," the man asked, turning around, but then he saw it. His pen, lying on the ground… inside that horned bitch's cage. Should he reach in for it? Or was that what she wanted? Maybe she hadn't noticed the object, but she'd surely see his hand, wouldn't she?

No, she had seen it, she had even said so… she had spoken, or… had the man simply imagined it? Perhaps his mind was playing tricks on him. This one never spoke, did she? Could she? Perhaps she was simply incapable of speech. Mute, like a mindless beast, incompetent to manage even the grunts and squeals of pigs and other stupid animals.

Just then, his worst horrors were realized as the pen slowly lifted from the ground, levitating, floating in mid-air.

"Shit –"

"You want this… don't you?"

"Y-you talk now?"

"Were you not searching for it?"

"Fuck me, fuck me, wha'do I do?"

"I'll give it… to you." To the man's horror, the pen moved. From its relaxed position with the ballpoint facing the ground, it now turned up to face him like the barrel of a gun. After all, in this bitch's hands, it may as well have been. His pen was now a lethal weapon. A tool for execution. As his eyes remained transfixed ahead, he could not have mistaken it. Although it had happened so fast, it all seemed so slow. The last thing he saw was the approaching pen.

"Fu-"

"This is it," Kurama stated as he directed the man to his assignment. They stood before a massive metal door, it's only distinguishing feature that it had none. As Kurama pulled a switch, the man heard a loud mechanical whirring from within, and slowly, the massive vault door began to open.

As they walked into the enormous dungeon-like room, the young man's eyes were drawn instantly to the girl in the center of the room, completely nude, unconscious; bound by her wrists, shoulders, elbows, knees, ankles, waist and even several ways along the trunk of her body. Suspended. Incapable of moving, save for her head. Long pink tresses trailed down to the small of her back; and protruding from her scalp, two horns, shaped almost like feline ears.

"She's the one I'm supposed to watch?"

"Yes," Kurama answered. "There is usually a cage marking a radius of two meters around her to prevent anyone foolishly getting too close, but that has been temporarily dismantled for the purpose of today's tests."

"Tests?"

"Yes, we periodically test the strength and range of her vectors. Since she will soon be moving to a more secure holding facility, we think it best to test her vectors now."

"Now, I thought you said they stopped growing once she matured."

"Yes, however, this one is different. Most of our Silpilets have fully matured by now. Lucy however, is not a Silpilet. She is still developing. It is believed that she has been around since before the first reported cases of diclonism. It is possible that she is the first. As such, we have dubbed her the Queen."

"Queen, that's a little overdramatic, don't you think. These things are mammals, not insects."

"Yes, however they breed like insects."

"I thought you said they breed though spreading the virus with their vectors, that they were otherwise infertile."

"Yes. The queen, however, is a special case. She is the only one capable of breeding. If she were to escape, it would spell out the end of humanity as we now know it."

Several men stood around her, spraying her with a soapy liquid from a hose, coating her entire body with a white, foamy substance.

"What is that?"

"It is a strong disinfectant," Kurama replied. "We dowse and wash her every day before feeding her. There is no sense in allowing their health to deteriorate. We do not require data from a sick Diclonius, at least not at this time."

"Not at this time, what do you mean by that?"

"In the future," Kurama absentmindedly began what would probably be a halfhearted explanation, "such experiments may come in useful, but for now, we need them all to remain at a certain level of wellbeing."

"Then why don't you let them run around for a bit," the man joked. "They can't possibly get much exercise chained up like this."

"That would only lead to chaos," Kurama seriously argued.

The young man turned his attention back to the suspended girl, taking in her appearance. Her lithe frame, her long pink hair, her red eyes, her deathly pale skin – likely from being kept underground for most of her life. Even the horns did little to diminish her appearance. On the contrary, he thought they added to her look. They made her seem more exotic, more interesting, more attractive, in a way.

"She's… perfect," he breathed.

"Yes, she is, isn't she," Kurama replied, not realising that the two men were speaking from completely different perspectives. "If she were to escape…"

"I know what you mean." Kurama looked to the man, picking up on the excitement evident in his voice.

"I do hope your over-eagerness does not promote you do anything foolhardy."

"Foolhardy? She's hardly a danger to me tied up like that. I think she's the one you need to worry about. She's in more danger than I am."

"Remember my warning. Lucy may look human enough once we affix her helmet, which will cover her horns, after her daily maintenance, and you will be left alone with her. The cage also, will not be going up. With all these factors to consider, I urge you not to get too close, even If she should seem harmless at the time. She will not hesitate to kill you."

"Yeah yeah, you told me already."

"I only hope it has sunk in, unlike with those who came before you."

Several more men approached the young lady with hoses, spraying her with what could only have been water at a much higher pressure. The way the girl reacted told that she was suffering. Her expression also told her struggle to hide such an affliction from her incarcerators, as though too proud to willingly give her captors the satisfaction of seeing her in pain. After all this time, they had not broken her. Her spirit was still alive. She had not yet given up hope. Certainly, something was driving her. A goal, a passion, a reason to survive this hell. Just what that was, nobody but she herself knew.

"Begin the tests," Kurama ordered the men with hoses. "Come with me," he said to the young new guard, leading him away.

"I… see."

"I'm sorry, Chief Kurama. She doesn't seem to have made the improvements we were expecting."

"Yes. It is not your fault, perhaps this means that Lucy has finally reached the peak of her development. In any case, get her cleaned up and fed while you have the chance." The men around him complied and got to work, washing her down once more, cleaning her of the congealed blood that had amassed on her throughout the day's tests and experiments.

The Experiments of which these horned people were forced to endure. The nature of them. To say they were shocking was a gross understatement. The young man truly had no idea of what really happened here. He had merely been told that it was an institution of some kind, that dangerous criminals were incarcerated here; that he would be guarding a girl, a minor who had killed.

He truly had no idea. These people were tortured to within mere inches of their life. Why not simply kill them? Would that not be quicker and more merciful?

Hours passed and Lucy hadn't moved. She had yet to regain consciousness. There was a clay bowl filled with a synthesized gruel-like substance. Perhaps it was due to being here for so long, neglected by the unconscious Diclonius, but it was ice-cold. The man wondered whether it had been to begin with. Would they even bother to warm these creatures' source of nourishment?

Pushing that thought aside, he crossed the now invisible barrier between safety and potential death as he made his way over to the bound creature. She was suspended at an ideal height, that the guard would be able to stand before her and look directly into her eyes, had they been open.

He reached up to stroke the girl's cheek. She looked so much like a human, only those horns existed to differentiate the two. His hand moved down the nape of her neck, down over the front of her shoulder, down to her breast.

She filled his cupped hand and he brushed his thumb over her nipple before moving back up to play with her bottom lip with his thumb and forefinger. He couldn't take his eye off those lips, so soft and relaxed, pink and natural, unlike the made up faces of the particular Japanese women of whom he usually associated.

"For such a hard life," he breathed to the unconscious diclonius before him, "your skin is so soft." He leaned into those sumptuous lips, dry but soft, her unconscious form offering no resistance to his invading tongue.

The feel, the taste, the experience… her unconscious submission… it was all so…

The young man found himself unable to finish his thought. Something felt wrong.

He opened his eyes to see a pair of scarlet irises peering into his own of chocolate brown. He broke the kiss and backed away… only to find that he couldn't move.

Suddenly, he was struck with realization. "Her vectors…"

"You're new," Lucy stated, her voice barely a whisper. Her eyes, they held no anger. Her expression was utterly neutral, as was her tone. If anything, she seemed curious, though perhaps that was all in the young guard's imagination.

"Uh, yes, I am. I'm assigned to guard you."

"Why did you do that?"

"You mean… kiss you?"

"Yes."

"I… couldn't help myself."

"You seem very bold for a mindless animal."

"Hey, I had no idea you'd look like this. That Kurama guy's description didn't do you justice."

"You have precious little time to tell me what you are doing so close to me, and why I shouldn't kill you." The man's eyes widened.

He was right… "You can't kill me!"

"I can, it's as easy as moving a blood vessel in your brain. My slightest touch can kill you."

"No, I mean… you can't. I just got here. This is probably going to be the best job I've ever had!"

"Why, do you like being a zoo-keeper? Do you enjoy staring at the strange animals in cages all day?" This animal, this mindless ape, he was digging his own grave.

"Yeah, if that means looking at you. You're the most beautiful creature I've ever seen."

"If you want to live, you are not helping yourself."

"Wait, listen. I have a plan… a Plan! I can get you out of here. I can free you. Isn't there anywhere you want to be? Even if there isn't, wouldn't you rather be anywhere than here?" Lucy's eyes widened, as did the grin on the guard's face. This was perfect.

Lucy removed her vector from the young man's head, from his brain, from his now infected pineal gland. He then began talking quickly to the girl, explaining his plan. Unfortunately, at that moment, Kurama happened to check up on him from his monitor in the observation room.

"Oh, damnit, that idiot got too close!" he exclaimed, setting off a security alert and sending all guards to Lucy's cell. Even if that new guard survived this encounter, he could never again leave this facility. He may have been infected. The risk was simply far too high.

The sunlit sky, warm ground, empty hearts, closed minds. It was a gathering of the worst kind. Striding legs brought curious eyes and accusing minds to the place of gathering, the town market.

The streets were filled with people going about their day. As such, the enraged cry of a merchant was easily heard by the busy masses who, despite their chockablock schedules, found time to gather around.

All around was tense. Even the gentle swaying of the wind seemed to have ceased. The brown of the earth, the blue of the sky, the birds that flew in the eternal cloudless sky. All were seemingly forgotten, taken for granted by the crowd, the gathering, the heartless angry mob.

As they stood around, they created a box formation; they barred any kind of release, any kind of escape for the accused. The boy had been found guilty. Arrested and tried, all that remained was his sentence. Coincidence was not something of merit. Perversions of justice did not exist in such a case as this, for one to whom the punishment needn't fit the crime.

He needed no verdict, needed no warning. He was guilty as sin, his very existence an inexcusable crime. Such vermin, such filth, why did it exist in this world?

"Hey, what was that for!" the young boy bellowed, his spiky blonde hair setting him apart from the others as much as the prominent whiskers on his cheeks.

"I don't take kindly to thieves in my store. You'd better pay up." The boy, who had been ungraciously knocked to the ground, could only stare up at the man, utterly incredulous.

"Are you joking? I just paid you!" Whether or not it was the truth, none would give him the benefit of the doubt. None of them believed him. They opted to side with the greedy merchant rather than the victimized child.

"He could at least make the effort to come up with a more believable lie," one of the bystanders chastised.

"He's not even trying," another added.

"Just pay up and be done with it, boy," another voice instructed, this one male and gruff, coming from somewhere behind him.

"I can't! I don't have any money left!"

"Oh, so he admits it. He has no money, why else would he be stealing?" a haughty woman judged.

"I thought he did it for fun, you know, the thrill?" another countered, "It's what these juvenile delinquent types commonly do to pass the time. It's probably a hobby of his, a game. He's always causing mischief. There's no surprise there."

A murmur passed around the crowd like a hat filled with donations as each member of the mob added their agreement. Each felt content, no, compelled to add to the injustice of the day. Not only did they not help, they participated in the hurt. They helped the wrongdoer, the greedy merchant, the one who should have had furry pests sneaking food from him in the first place.

Instead, the villagers banded with him, against this strange, mischievous young prankster. They blocked his entry. Were he to get up, he would find himself cornered, caged, like a tamed beast, wild and free no-longer.

"So, Naruto," the merchant asked, leering down at the defenseless young boy who still lay where he had fallen, where he had been pushed, where he had been thrown, crumpled like paper. He was unwanted, thrown down, thrown away like trash. "Will you be paying me now, or will I have to make an example of you?" His apathetic tone implied that he honestly didn't care which option the boy took. If he did, he likely would not have given the boy an option in the first place.

"What are you, deaf as well as stupid!" the boy demanded, "I told you, I don't have any money left. I spent it all on the food I just bought!"

"The food you just stole, more like," a voice accused.

"Oh, right, I don't have any money because I spent it all stealing? That makes sense," the boy dryly defended, but the cold-hearted villagers would have none of it.

"Silence, thief. Your kind has no rights."

"My kind?"

"Your petty crimes and pranks are a pox on our streets. You should be taken away, so we needn't deal with them."

"There's only one way to deal with a brat like you," the merchant said, rolling up his sleeves threateningly, the gesture making his intention clear as he advanced on the grounded boy.

The boy backed away, trying in vain to put distance between he and the older man who leered down at him ready to pounce. Any distance would help, but none of it did. None at all, for the man moved one step closer for every retreating scoot the boy could make, and soon enough, he found himself trapped between two forces that wanted to pummel him, to beat him to within a mere inch of his life. He was trapped between two sources of malevolent vibrations, two massive forces of malicious intent. They wanted to harm him, as they often did.

What would start, and what would be. Two things, yet one and the same. The scene appeared to the boy, to be occurring in slow-motion. Although he was himself, a central character in such a scene, it all seemed so much more like he were merely a spectator, someone watching this violent pantomime from safety in the audience, from a ring-side seat of this tragically unfunny, frightfully real circus. This was his life, and yet it seemed so surreal to him.

The punches and kicks came for him, hands and feet driven by the emotions of hatred and rage. While certainly painful, the boy remained numb, unfeeling. He felt as though he were dreaming.

The next thing the boy noticed was a stream flowing freely from his nostril. Feeling for the stream with his hand, his fingers were stained with liquid crimson, it was warm to the touch, like any other freshly spawned bodily fluid. His nose was running like a tap, though this profuse flowing was neither water nor mucus, but something else. A prize the villagers seemed to work for.

"Well, even the brat bleeds," the merchant announced as though making a scientific discovery. The boy strained his pained muscles, trying to lift up his neck, only to be met with a contemptuous glare.

As the farce went on, the crowd joined in, their kicks and stomps becoming harsher, adding to the boy's bruised and scarred flesh. They knew they were pushing this to the limit, they knew their time was short, but it mattered little. They knew what would happen before long, and happen it did.

In a silent instant, and a swirl of leaves, two men appeared, clad in black, their faces obscured with white masks. The moment they did, the crowd immediately dispersed. They all knew what this meant and what would happen, were they to continue this public display of aversion.

"Alright, show's over," the merchant called out, shooing the crowd away as though having switched sides to the boy's defense. Of course this wasn't the case. He merely wished to get the spectacle away from his shop. He turned to the men clad in black. "Take this brat away from my store," he instructed the men, one of which silently nodded. The other simply looked at the boy, glaring at him through his mask.

The first man bent down to pick up the boy, and then was gone.

Well, as you can see, not much happens in this chapter. In the manga of Elfen Lied, the first chapter is used to get explanations of what a Diclonius is, out of the way; whereas the anime cuts that informative introduction out, opting to drop viewers right in on the action. What ensues is what some have described as the bloodiest and most shocking first seven minutes or so of an anime series. (I'm talking about intros, people. First impressions are everything! It's just too bad I'm not good at them XD) I didn't want to go that route, as you can see. Now this chapter is done with, I'd like you all to help me decide which story to do next. The final decision will be down to me, but know that your opinions will be valued and very much appreciated.

Shameless Advertising Segment #1: The first story you can pick from, is the first entry of a trilogy I've come to know as 'Sorry.' You may note that I've mentioned it a few times before. The next choice is an FFVIII AU story where SeeD is hired to protect Rinoa from someone who has murdered her parents. I know it's a bit of a cliché, but I like to take used ideas and add my own twist to them. The next option is an FFVII story focusing on Zack, following his career in SOLDIER. Although it was inspired by me playing Crisis Core last week, it will be slightly AU. (the mass desertion doesn't happen, and most of the story focuses on a rivalry with an OC I will come up with.) The next is a Gundam Seed historical story… by that, I mean it will be set in the past, although I'm thinking of mixing different periods, such as mixing the Fuedal era with Victorian England to create my own fictional time and technology level. While this may not constitute as historical, I can't really call it fantasy either, since at this point at least, it won't have the elements of fantasy such as monsters and magic. It will have swordplay however… eventually. I'll be doing it in two halves, and the first halve may not have a lot of action, so to speak, of, and if there are any shota fans out there, I'll be including a Gil/Rey pairing. My second favored shota pairing, my first doesn't work except for in an AU context. For a hint of what it is, just mosey on over to my C2 and take a look at the pairings contained therein. Anyway, this story will be entitled 'nowhere' and is partially inspired by a story entitled 'A Maid's Tale.' I'm not trying to steal people's ideas or anything, I just came up with it after having read that. The next story is a new one that came to me from a dream a few days ago. It's a Gundam Seed story in which a twenty or so year old Kira seems to be investigating what might be a student's death when he meets Lacus, who is kept under house arrest by her overbearing parent/guardian. Kira more or less breaks her out and they then set out to find her mother, whom Lacus is convinced is alive and well, out there somewhere. I had a title, but I may have lost it. I'll check on the bulleted list I made. There may have been one or two more stories, but I can't remember them right now. If you'd like more information on any of these, or if you have a preference, feel free to let me know. I'd love to hear your opinion, but please refrain from saying "I think you should work on what you've got now." While I'm sure such sentiments are sincere, I do have a plan, and rest assured, nothing will be neglected.

Shameless Advertising Segment #2: If any of you read chapter two of Scary Clowns, you may have noted the author's notes where I mentioned a short story competition. Maybe none of you are particularly interested, but I did enter that competition. I had a problem. I didn't know which category to enter, but fortunately, I read the rules and discovered that while only one entry may be made per person per category, nothing is stopping an entrant from entering every category, so long as they did not win said category the year before, and so long as they meet the requirements, for example, the young writer category may only be entered by those attending secondary school. The downside to this, I only had the time and inspiration for a single entry, and this grew too long to be entered in the armature writer's category like I was planning (which is for people who have never had their writing published or broadcast,) so I had to enter it in the main award category, meaning I could be up against seasoned writers competing for a much grander prize … oh dear. Actually, my entry was reaching the 4900 word mark, and the absolute limit for even that category was 5000. I think I may have been lucky just to keep in within the word limit… anyway, winners will be contacted in November. Losers won't, apparently. Maybe I'll strike lucky and there'll be something in my inbox in a few months' time. I'll let you know when I find out, and if I don't… well, I think you can probably guess what that would mean.