129Melamin (私の愛)
Notes: I imagine some of you are quite confused but you'll find out kinda what transpired in this chapter.
Opening: Me Against the World-Nightcore
Chapter Two: I'm Married?!
"I hope you'll be ok on your own now," Kensui said, leaving Mela behind. "I've gotta go home." He walked a little ways only to find that she was following him. "You….go….home!" he said, pointing in the opposite direction, hoping she could understand him. He turned around and began walking home again and heard footsteps behind him. She was still following him.
"You…stay…here!" he said[,] pointing at the ground where she was standing. "I…go…home!"
She looked at him blankly and then pointed at her ring. "Verno', " she said pointing at him. "Verne'," she pointed at herself.
"I don't even know what you're saying," he said, turning around. Why did I have to help her? I should've just left her lying there. I'm a loner anyways. What was I thinking? He began to walk off again and heard a twig snap behind him. His left eye twitched.
"Why do I even bother?" he asked, as he walked home followed by the pretty girl.
"I guess I can give you a place to stay for the night," he said, letting her into his apartment.
"Waara," she said, looking around in disgust at the mess his house was. She walked in and began picking up soda cans and dishes. She then looked at him questioningly.
"Hey!" he shouted. "What do you think you're doing?!" She continued to clean. He shrugged dejectedly. "It's not like you're going to listen to me anyways, are you? I guess I better help."
After they were done, he looked around. "I have a table?" he asked, seeing the table in his living area. He continued to look around. "I forgot how big this apartment was. It's always so messy."
The truth was he didn't actually pay the rent or the bills. His big sister worked two full-time jobs so she could afford her bills and his. So he didn't actually keep it in the best of states.
Kensui cooked dinner and sat it on the table. He sat down on the floor by the table and dished the food out for him and her both, giving them both a nice portion of meat, mashed potatoes, green beans, and a roll each. Tears came to her eyes at the sight and smell of the meat. She ate the other things and left the meat alone.
"What? You don't like ham? Fine," he said, taking her meat. "More for me." She stared at him like the devil incarnate as he ate both pieces.
"Kelvar!" she sniffed, sticking her nose in the air.
"Somehow, I think I've been insulted," he said, slumping his shoulders a little.
"I'm taking a bath," Kensui said as they finished dinner and put the dishes in the kitchen sink. He got up and went into the bathroom and closed the door. There were soon sounds of water running coming from the room.
She walked in to see what the sound was and looked in amazement at the water running into the tub. The elf also noticed he was stripping. He noticed her too. "Do you mind?!" he said, trying to cover up parts of himself. She only giggled and left the room, closing the door behind her.
Kensui sat in the bath, thinking about the evening's events. Yusuke sure was going to beat the tar out of me. But somehow that girl changed and beat up 6 guys all by herself. Now, somehow, she seems attached to me. He looked at the ring on his index finger. And what is this all about? What does it mean? He finished up his bath and got dressed.
He walked out into his living room to see the girl and two adult people there, one male and one female. The male had orange hair, olive skin, and looked to be of muscular build. The female had red hair and red eyes, also with olive skin, and looked rather thin and streamlined. They both had ears that came to a point right below the tops of their heads.
"I think you two have the wrong apartment," Kensui said.
"Nope," the male said. "We have the right one. Either that, or our daughter here is at the wrong house."
"What?!" Kensui yelled. "She's your daughter?!" A relieved look came over his face. They can get her to leave.
"I'm Lakilea," the male said.
"And I'm Estela," the female said.
"And we're elves," they both said in unison.
"Right," Kensui said sarcastically. These two are completely nuts. "And I'm the tooth fairy."
"Really?" Lakilea asked, his eyes widening.
"Aren't you a little young?" Estela asked, squinting her eyes suspiciously.
Are they completely insane? Kensui thought to himself, his eye twitching.
"Lakwen," Mela said, pointing at him.
The two elves chuckled.
"Why does she talk like that?" he asked. "What language is that?"
"That, my dear boy, is Elven," Lakilea said.
"Oh, yeah," Estela said pulling something out of her pocket. It was a band with a silver plate on the front. It was then that Kensui noticed the two elves were also each wearing one. "You left your translator at home."
"Translator?" Kensui asked.
"Yes. It allows her to understand and speak your language," Lakilea explained as Mela put the translator band around her neck.
"Finally!" Mela said exhilarated.
"You can talk with me now?" Kensui asked. Why does she make me want to talk to her for some reason?
"Sure can," she said.
"So," Kensui started, "I've been wondering why you were lying in that park?"
"I had just transferred over to your world," she explained. "I've been sent here because the Elven Star, the source of our magic and livelihood, has gone missing and our sources say it came here. I was chosen to come after it."
"More like volunteered," Estela said.
"As princess of the Elven people, it is my job," she said.
"Y-y-you're a princess?" Kensui stammered.
"That's correct," she answered.
"That would mean that you two are…" he said, pointing at the two adult elves.
"King and Queen of the elves?" Lakilea asked for him. "That would be correct."
"And being married to our daughter, that would make you a prince," Estela said.
"MARRIED?!" he yelled. "HOW THE HELL AM I MARRIED?!"
"You're wearing the ring, right?" Lakilea asked.
"And did one not appear on Mela's finger?" Estela also asked.
"Then that means the wedding ritual was completed," Lakilea explained. "By elven law, you two are man and wife."
"Not by our laws," challenged Kensui. "Why should I pay any attention to yours?"
"Because elven law is also the law of nature," explained Estela. "And ignoring those can hold dire consequences."
"Did you give Mela anything when you first met?" Lakilea asked.
Kensui thought. "She was cold, so I gave her my coat."
"Ah-ha!" exclaimed Estela. "By elven ritual, the act of giving someone a present or object from the opposite sex constitutes a marriage proposal."
"I thought it was an earth custom," Mela chimed in. "So I gave him the marriage ring and he put it on. I figured that it was natural for someone to propose to someone they had just met. I was flattered, so I figured I would bring honor to him and his family by accepting since he did help me."
"What if I gave the ring back?" Kensui asked innocently.
Lakilea jumped up with a roar, grabbed Kensui by his shirt, and yanked him up to where they were face-to-face. "You would dare dishonor and disgrace my daughter like that?" he roared. "To do so would label her as a failure as a spouse. When the Season of Matrimony comes around, the male elves would pick someone else, no matter how pretty she was, because she had been separated from a previous marriage. There is a chance she would never marry again. After three Matrimony Seasons of not being picked, she would be shunned from the kingdom, exiled as a failure!" He tightened his grip on Kensui's collar. "You would dare subject her to that?!"
Kensui looked at Mela. Tears were welling up in her eyes. "I-I-I guess not," he admitted. Why should I care though? It doesn't affect me yet for some reason, I feel sorry for her. A panicked look crossed his face. And how do I explain this to Harumi?
"Good," Lakilea said, dropping him to the floor. "Then we should get along just fine. But if you really want to be single again, I will look into the elven laws and see if there is a way to separate the two of you without causing her any disgrace. Until then, please don't let anyone know that she's an elf. Our existence is kind of a secret. That's why you found her in human form. On top of that, she was already promised to Lord Astald." He turned away not seeing the disgusted look that crossed Mela's face. "Ready Estela?"
"It is getting rather late, isn't it?" Estela asked. She looked at Mela. "If you need anything, dear, remember we're a jingle away." With that, the two simply vanished.
Kensui sighed. "Guess you'll be staying here awhile. By the way, why didn't you eat any meat at dinner?"
"Because," she answered, "elves do not eat meat. We live off the plants of the land. The land provides for us. Animals are our friends, not our food."
"What do you do for clothes?" he asked.
"We sing them from the trees," she said, sounding like it was so obvious.
"Whatever," he said. "I'm going to bed."
He walked into the bedroom, changed into his nightclothes, and laid down on his futon. A few minutes later, she laid down beside him. "What are you doing?" he asked, jumping up. "Girls don't just get in bed with guys!"
"We are husband and wife, aren't we?" she answered. "Is it not customary to sleep together?"
He yawned and laid back down reluctantly. "This is really going to take aq lot of getting used to," he grumbled. "Honestly." Soon, he fell into a deep sleep.
Kensui was woken up by the sound of knocking at his front door. "C'mon Kusinagi," a familiar voice yelled. "Answer the door already!"
He got up and walked to the door and opened it. Standing there were Satomu, Harumi, and Harumi's best friend, Ushio Kaonji, a girl with pink hair and glasses.
"Hey, Kusinagi," Satomu greeted. He blushed seeing Kensui in his nightclothes. "How are you today?"
"What are you guys doing here?" Kensui asked, looking back into the apartment. Please don't see her, please don't see her.
"Well, we have the day off from school today," Harumi answered. "So we thought we'd ask if you-"
Just then, Mela revealed herself from behind the door.
Harumi's eyebrow twitched. "What is this girl doing in your apartment, Kensui?"
"Well, you see-" began Kensui. "It's not what you think. Ummm...uhhh..." I'm screwed. What do I say?
Mela held out her hand. "Hello friends of Kensui. My name is Mela. I'm his wife."
Closing: Listen to Your Heart-Nightcore
Uh-oh! Looks like Kensui's got some explaining to do. How can he clear this up without revealing that Mela's an elf. Find out next time.