This story follows the Favor series. Nana's child , Mariko, and Lucy's child, Kanae, lead the way in another possible 'future' of the Elfen Lied saga. Unlike their parents, Mariko and Kanae go to a special school : The Yukaita Community Center for their first years to lean how to control their 'mind hands'.

Mariko was excited and a bit nervous about her first day in public school. She would be attending the very same school her older sister Mayu had gone to. At breakfast, she went over all the 'do's and don'ts' with her Papa and Mama Yuka. With her bright red wool cap on and her book bag hanging at her side, she walked to school with Mama Nana.

On the way, Mariko noticed the few children she saw walking ahead of them slowly grow, like tiny streams gathering to form larger streams. As they approached the school, the numbers swelled. Instead of just a few younger children like at the community center, here many ages of kids came from the street and walked toward the huge building in a stream. There were a few smaller children than her, and many larger ones also. It was like every child in the city was coming here to learn. The streams became a river of children flowing into schoolyard gates.

"Wow, look at them all! I bet I can make a lot of friends," Mariko cried happily.

"I bet you can," Nana replied in the same happy tone. "Don't forget, wait for me here by the entrance when you get out, OK?"

"OK, bye, Mama Nana, see you later!" Mariko said and waved as she ran in.

"Have a good day!" Nana said, waving back.

Moving with the streaming mass of other children, Mariko found her classroom, again expecting there would be only a few students in each room. Even in her classroom, there had to be twenty other kids here! The rows of seats were filling up. Liking the sun, Mariko went to the window row. A boy at his desk near the middle of the row by the window row was turned around and talking to the boy behind him. He looked up as she approached.

A smile lit his face. He called out, "Hey, cool hair color! My name is Hisoka,what's yours?"

"Mariko, hi Hisoka," Mariko said with a smile.

"Sit here!" Hisoka said, pointing to the desk beside him.

Mariko took the seat across the isle, which was by the window.

"Where did you find dye that color?" the boy Hisoka was talking to asked.

Mariko eyed him and asked, "Dye?"

"Yeah, no one has purple hair," the boy stated.

"I think it's a cool color," Hisoka said as he grinned at Mariko.

Touching her hair, Mariko said, "This is my hair color, I don't paint my hair."

The boys laughed. "It's called dye," Hisoka said with a giggle.

"That can't be, it has to be dyed," the other boy stated.

"Toma," Hisoka said frowning at him, "Maybe it is her real hair color. Look at her eyebrows, they are the same."

"Eyebrows can be dyed too, you know," Tomo said, and stuck his tongue out at Hisoka.

"Class, take your seats!" the teacher announced. She watched everyone get settled then raised the projector screen and pointed to her name on the chalkboard. "I am Miss Iwata. To get to know all of you, I am going to pass around papers for you to put your information on. Be sure to fill everything out, and if you have trouble, feel free to ask." Handing a some papers to the students in the front row, she instructed, "Take one, and pass the rest back."

The papers came back to Mariko. She took one, but on trying to pass them back, the seat behind her was empty. The next seat back, a boy grinned and held his hand out. Mariko floated the papers back to him on a mind hand, placing the papers in his hand as his eyes went wide.

"Did you see that?" the boy said in a gasp.

"See what?"

"She gave me the papers!"

"So? Isn't that want she's suppose to do?" a girl by him asked.

"But ... she didn't get up, she just ... floated them back to me!"

"Oh, Hiedeki, stop it! You're just upset because she tossed them to you instead of getting up like you wanted her to," the girl said with a roll of her eyes.

"Nice toss, Mariko," Hisoka said with a crooked grin.

"No talking, fill out your papers please," Miss Iwata said sternly.

Mariko filled out the information. It was easy, it only asked for her name, her parent's names, the phone number, address, and if she had any problems or special needs, which she didn't. Once everyone was done, the papers were to be passed back to the front.

"Hey, come get mine," Hiedeki called to Mariko and held his paper out to her.

"You lazy bum, just give it to her!" the girl beside him said in a growl.

"I want to see her do that again," Hiedeki replied.

"Mr. Fukuyama, get up and pass your paper forward." Miss Iwata said firmly.

Hiedeki let out a huff and got up and handed his papers to Mariko. Just before she grabbed them, he let go. The papers dropped a few inches, then hung in the air. Mariko plucked them from the air and passed them up.

"She did it again!" Hiedeki exclaimed as he pointed to Mariko.

Tomo's eyes opened wide in mock surprise as he said, "OH YEAH! Mariko handled the papers again, isn't that something?" Which brought a round of laughter from the class.

"Mr. Fukuyama, is there a problem?" Miss Iwata asked as she eyed him.

"No, Miss Iwata, but ... nothing," he finished with a sigh and went back to his seat.

Mariko listened to Lady Iwata as she went over the class rules and schedules. As she did, she sensed something coming at her from behind. Not thinking, she blocked it with a mind hand and kept listening. Not long after, another tiny object sailed at her. After she blocked the third one, she turned around to see where they were coming from. The boy Hiedeki sat watching the teacher intently with his hands folded in front of him.

"Eyes front," Miss Iwata said.

Mariko turned back to listen to her. Soon, another tiny object sailed at her. Becoming irritated, she sent it back the way it came faster.

"OWW!" Heideki cried, as he slapped a hand over his right eye.

Miss Iwata glared at him and said, "Mr. Fukuyama, exchange seats with Miss Okudara," as she pointed to the front, center desk.

Heideki got up. "But Miss Iwata! That girl hit me in the eye with a spitball!" he complained as he pointed to Mariko.

The girl beside him stood up and stated, "She did not, Heideki was the one shooting spitballs at her!"

"Front and center, Mr. Fukuyama," Miss Iwata said sternly. "It is the first day of school, do you want to go see the principal so soon?"

"A- ha," came soft calls from Tomo and Hisoka as Heideki passed by them.

The rest of the morning went smoothly. The girl, who's name was Suki, came back to sit right behind Mariko. The lunch bell rang. Hisoka was eager to go have lunch with Mariko, as was Suki and Tomo. Mariko got up to go have lunch with her new friends.

Miss Iwata stopped Mariko with a, "May I see you for a moment?"

"Sure, Lady Iwata," Mariko said.

"It's Miss Iwata."

"I'm sorry, at my last school, the teachers were all called "Lady, or Sir," Mariko explained.

Miss Iwata offered her a smile, then showed Mariko her information paper. "You seem to have been confused. You put down three names for your mother. I only want your mother's first name in this spot."

Mariko looked at it. "That's right, those are my mothers," she said confidently.

Miss Iwata stared at her, then said, "Dear, I only want your mother, not your aunts or stepmothers."

"What's a stepmother?" Mariko asked curiously.

"A stepmother would be the woman who is married to your father, but did not give birth to you. The name I want is the woman who is living at home with you now."

Mariko thought for a moment, then said, "Mama Lucy and Mama Nana went to the community center, Mama Yuka had shopping to do today. If anyone is home, it has to be Mama Yuka."

"So your Mama Yuka is the one who lives with you?" Miss Iwata asked.

"Yes, but we all live together."

"All three of your mothers live with you?" Miss Iwata asked, not believing it.

"That's right."

Miss Iwata frowned and asked, "Dear, you put down here that you live at the Maple Inn. Are there several families living there?"

"No, just us," Mariko said confidently.

Miss Iwata shook her head and took a deep breath. "I know that you all may feel like one big family there, but which of your ... mothers, is your father married to?" she asked.

"All three."

Miss Iwata grew a frown and said, "Go to lunch, dear. We'll talk about this later."

.

Lucy sat waiting by the principals office, tapping the arm of the chair with a finger. Coming straight from the community center, she still wore her white button down shirt and mid length blue skirt that marked her as a teacher there. She had also donned a matching blue cap to cover her horns. Although they were no longer being chased by the government, keeping her horns from view kept people from staring at her.

A teacher went in, then the secretary called her in. As Lucy entered the principals office, the teacher who was sitting in one of the two chairs facing the sour looking principal eyed her and asked with a smirk, "Which of Mariko's mothers are you?"

"I am Lady Lucy. Is there a problem with Mariko?" Lucy asked as she sat down.

Showing her Mariko's information paper, the principal said, "We do have a problem here. Mariko is under the impression that she has three mothers living with her."

Lucy nodded and said, "And?"

"It also seems Mariko just jumped into the fifth grade. There are no other public school records for her," The principal added.

"Mariko went though the first four grades at the Yukaita community center. It is registered as a private school," Lucy explained.

"Wait! I've heard of that place. That's where those mutants are," Miss Iwata said, wearing her own sour face.

"Excuse me?" Lucy asked and glared at her. "Are you calling our little girl a mutant?"

"Miss Iwata means that only ... special children go there," the principal said quickly. "It's said that they go there because they cannot face the difficulties of a normal school."

"From what I understand, that school takes care of deformed and violent children not suited for public school." Miss Iwata said.

Lucy planted her hands on her face and took a few deep breaths. "I'm going to hurt someone. Yuka should be dealing with this," she said in a growl.

"Please understand, we're only looking out for Mariko to be sure she gets the best education," the principal said soothingly.

"You morons," Lucy said in a low tone. "Those children as just as intelligent as any others. They go there for special training to develop skills that you could never do, maybe even not comprehend. They go there to keep themselves and their families safe until they can fully understand what it is they are capable of."

"And what kind of skills would those be?" Miss Iwata asked in a sweet/sarcastic tone.

Lucy eyed her malevolently and growled, "That's it, demonstration time."

Miss Iwata let out a yelp as she was lifted into the air and pinned to the wall. The principal also yelped out in surprise as he was pulled out of his seat to be pinned to the wall beside Miss Iwata.

Lucy rose and walked over to them. Pacing in front of them as they hung a few inches off the floor, she said, "Listen up! We have powers that when children are young, can be very erratic. Think of it like a baby flailing his arms around. Only in this case, those arms are very long, very powerful, you can't see them, and if they hit you, you go SPLAT! into a bloody mess on the floor. Mariko spend her first four school years at the center being taught how to control her mind so accidents like that will not happen."

Lucy let them go. They dropped to sit on the floor. Eyeing them, Lucy continued. "Yes, Mariko did have special needs so she won't kill you by accident. If I were you, I would watch carefully to be sure she's not bullied. She may do as she was taught, and not touch anyone with her mind hands. But then again, if pressed by someone who will not leave her alone, she may decide to chop a limb off, or rip their head off to escape the problem." Seeing they gapping faces, Lucy asked, "Are you getting this?"

Miss Iwata nodded, despite her dumbfounded look. The principal just stared at her open mouthed.

"Mariko is a bright, happy girl," Lucy added, "There are only a few students at the center, and she needs more socializing. Now, besides the fact Mariko started school outside the public school system, is there anything else?"

"What about having three mothers?" Miss Iwata asked weakly.

"Mariko does have three mothers, myself, Yuka and Nana. With what I've just told you, I am sure you can appreciate the need for constant vigilance over the young children. Having three of us right there helps ensure no accidents happen. I would really hate to loose my husband or one of the children from not keeping an eye on what is happening. Now, is there anything else?"

"MY god, can... Mariko do what you just did to us?" the principal asked.

Lucy grew a smirk and said, "That's the tip of the iceberg. As I said though, she has been taught well to keep her mind hands to herself, or else she wouldn't be here."

"Three women ... with the same husband?" Miss Iwata asked.

"Did I stutter?" Lucy asked in return.

"That's not legal," the principal said.

"Look at the law closer," Lucy said, shifting her hard gaze to him. "Members of the Yukaita sect are allowed to have polygamous marriages due to the very reasons I have just told you. Any other questions?"

"No," the principal said weakly.

"Then we're done," Lucy stated and walked for the door. Grabbing the knob, she paused and looked back at them. "If I hear anything else about Mariko being called a mutant, I'll be back and I won't be happy. Good day."

.

In the school yard, Mariko yelped with glee as she ran from Tomo, who was 'it'. Tomo chased her, then suddenly veered to the side and slapped Heideki. "You're it!" he yelled, and ran away.

Seeing Mariko as an easy mark, Heideki ran straight for her. Mariko squeaked and shot to the side in a jump. Heideki tried to follow her to tag her, but again she jumped to the other side, making him miss. He turned as if looking for someone else, then again, dove at Mariko to tag her. Standing with her back to the monkey bars, she couldn't get away this time. Heideki spread his arms to tag her no matter which was she tried to go.

Mariko jumped straight up, then kicked off the monkey bars to fly behind him. Heideki looked up at her and ran into the monkey bars.

"That was AWESOME!" Hisoka cried.

"YAY, MARIKO!" Suki cried.

Untangling himself from the monkey bars, Heideki spun around and gapped at Mariko. "How did you do that?" he asked wide-eyed.

"Mariko must have martial arts training!" Hisoka announced as he squeezed a fist. "I bet she can kick some serious butt!"

Mariko wasn't sure what they were talking about, so she just smiled. The bell rang, ending their play time. As she went back in with her new friends, she saw Lucy coming down the hallway. "Hi, Mama Lucy!" she called and waved.

"Hi sweetie, how's your first day?" Lucy asked.

Mariko clapped Suki on her shoulder and merrily said, "Great! This is my friend Suki, this is Hisoka, Tomo, and Heideki. I'm having a fun time making new friends."

"I'm happy for you, hon. I have to get back to the center. See you at home."

"OK, Bye, Mama Lucy!" Mariko said with a wave.

"You call your mother by her first name?" Suki asked as she watched Lucy depart.

"Don't you?" Mariko asked curiously.

Suki giggled and said, "My mom would be mad if I did that!"

"Mine too," Hisoka agreed.

"Yeah, you're really strange, Mariko," Heideki said, eyeing her.

"She's not strange, she's cool!" Hisoka said as he smiled at Mariko.

Other girls came up to Mariko, amazed that she was allowed to dye her hair like that. Mariko told them she hadn't dyed her hair, but no one believed her. At the end of the day on the way out, Mariko walked to the entrance with Suki and Hisoka. Suki was still insisting she had to have dyed her hair.

Becoming irritated, Mariko said, "I didn't! The only thing I paint are my horns."

"Horns?" Hisoka and Suki asked at the same time as they eyed her.

Mariko's mouth hung open. Letting out a nervous giggle she said, "Nothing, I was kidding," as she blushed. Seeing Nana outside the schoolyard gate she waved. "Hi, Mama Nana!"

Nana's face broke into a bright smile. "Hi Mariko, how was your day?" she asked as she waved back.

"I thought your mother's name was Lucy?" Suki asked.

"Yeah, you said that other lady was your mom," Hisoka said.

"She is! This is my Mama Nana," Mariko said cheerfully.

"These are your new friends?" Nana asked.

"Yeah, this is Suki, and this is Hisoka. We're in class together. Hiedeki didn't come out yet, he had to go talk to a teacher," Mariko explained.

"Happy to meet you, Suki and Hisoka," Nana said, giving each of them a slight bow.

"Are you Mariko's mom, or is that Lucy lady her mom?" Hisoka asked.

"We both are," Nana said with a smile.

Hisoka's face opened up in a wide grin as he looked at Mariko. "Wow you got two mothers?" he asked.

"Three, Mama Yuka is my mother too," Mariko said with a smile.

"Can I meet her? You're just way too cool, Mariko!" Hisoka cried.

Suki scrunched her face up and said, "I bet having three mothers means you get yelled at three times as much."

"I don't but sometimes my little brother does," Mariko said with a giggle.

"Does he have purple hair like you and your mama Nana?" Hisoka asked.

Mariko frowned and asked Nana, "I'd say his hair is more orange, right, Mama Nana?"

Nana tipped her head and said, "Orange-ish. It's not really orange."

"Ohh, where do you live, I want to come to your house!" Hisoka cried as he bounced up and down.

"I'd like to see that too," Suki added.

"We live down this way, just past the cemetery," Mariko said, pointing the way.

"I live on this side! Let's go to my house first and ask my mom is I can come play," Hisoka said eagerly.

Suki frowned and looked the other way. "I live down there, darn."

"Maybe you can come over tomorrow," Mariko said.

"I'll ask. Bye everyone, see you tomorrow," Suki said, waving as she went.

A chorus of "Bye Suki," sounded, then Mariko started home with Mama Nana and her new friend Hisoka.

Skipping along, Mariko was happy her first school day went so well.