Sorry it took me so long to upload, but I didn't feel like writing for a while. Please don't kill me : P

Disclaimer: I don't own Elfen Lied or any of its characters. I do own Torashi Torichi.

Yuka lay in what used to be her bed. The stumps of her arm and leg hurt like hell, but it couldn't be helped. Nana had crippled her for life. She was incredibly angry. Her attempt to kill Lucy had ended in the amputation of her right arm and leg, not something she had planned for. But she had regained consciousness soon enough to hear the doctor's prediction. Lucy would probably die, and then she would have Kouta to herself. In her mind, which was still clouded from the blood loss, she actually thought that Kouta would forgive her. With a smile, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Kouta went outside, to talk to Mayu and Nana. When they saw him approach, they walked to him.

"How is she? Will she be okay?" Mayu asked.

Kouta sighed and said, "The doctor said that there is a very big chance that Lucy will die."

Mayu and Nana looked shocked. Lucy had returned from the dead, and now she was going to die after all? It couldn't be.

"No way. Nothing can kill Lucy-san," Nana said.

"I don't like it either, but we have to accept the possibility that…Lucy will…die…" Kouta's voice broke when he said those last three words.

Nana shook her head. "No! No! Lucy won't die because of something like this!" Nana yelled.

Kouta was surprised by Nana's outburst. At first, Nana had wanted to kill Lucy, and Lucy had wanted to kill Nana. But after Lucy had returned and said she didn't want to kill anymore, Nana had begun to like her. Mayu had remained silent, but Kouta knew that she was taking it hard. Mayu had always liked Lucy, or to be more accurate Nyu. But because Lucy wasn't going to kill anymore, Mayu liked Lucy a lot too.

"Mayu, are okay?" Kouta asked gently. Mayu just nodded, but Kouta could see the tears in her eyes. He felt really sorry for her and Nana. You see, it was his task to comfort them, but he felt so screwed up himself that he couldn't. He couldn't bear the thought that Lucy might die. He shook his head, and mentally told himself to snap out of it. Lucy wasn't dead yet, and she wasn't going to either. But still, Kouta couldn't stop thinking about it.

"I'm going out for a while. Will you two be okay?" Kouta asked.

Mayu nodded and said, "Yeah. We'll be fine..."

Kouta realized again that he should try to reassure Mayu and Nana, but he didn't even have one positive thought. He left the Maple Inn and walked to the stairs where he and Lucy had said goodbye, before she had walked to her death. At first, he didn't even realize where he was going, but when he got there, he realized he had gone there for a reason. Here he could think without being disturbed. He sat on the steps, on the exact same place as that night. He thought about the day he had first met Lucy. She had seemed so lonely that it had hurt Kouta, even before he knew her. He remembered that she hated her horns, and wished they were gone.

He felt a stab of pain at the irony of it. All her life, she'd been treated like crap because of her horns, and now that they were gone, she was going to die. Kouta felt the tears burn again, but he blinked a few times to get rid of them. He wouldn't cry anymore. But even though he didn't cry, he still felt miserable, and being here, on these stairs, made things worse. There were too many memories.

Kouta didn't think about the death of his sister and father, he didn't want to think of the bad times, he only thought about all the fun Lucy and he had had together, both when they were kids, and the short time they had had now. He looked at his watch, and saw to his amazement that he had been here for nearly three hours. He sighed and stood up; Nana and Mayu were probably wondering where he was.

When he got back to the Inn, he noticed it was unusually quiet. Normally, when Mayu and Nana were home alone, there would be incredible noise. Stuff falling over, Mayu's desperate pleas to Nana to watch out, but now, there was nothing. Not even the slightest sound.

Kouta stepped in and yelled, "I'm back!"

Mayu walked up to him from the hallway and whispered, "Sshhh. Everyone's asleep. I'm the only who's still awake."

"Asleep? But it's only six o'clock," Kouta whispered back, sounding surprised.

Mayu nodded. "I know, but Nana said she wasn't hungry and went to bed. Lucy and Yuka, well, it's obvious that they're asleep, especially Lucy, considering her fever hasn't gone down." Kouta was Troubled by Mayu's words. Nana had never passed up on dinner.

"I hope Nana is okay. I don't want her to get sick as well," Kouta said.

"I don't, either. That's why I insisted to check her temperature. She didn't want to, but I kept nagging until she gave in. She doesn't have a fever, so I guess she's just a little depressed."

Kouta was amazed by Mayu. She was way more mature than her appearance suggested.

"Good thing you checked it out. If she's just depressed, she'll probably get over it when Lucy gets better. We have to keep an eye on her though. If she keeps refusing to eat, she'll get sick too."

Mayu looked troubled. "Should I get her for dinner?"

Kouta shook his head. "It won't hurt her if she skips dinner this once, but be sure to leave something in the fridge for her. She might get hungry tonight and decide to eat something."

Mayu was relieved that Kouta thought that Nana would be okay; she really wouldn't have known what to do if Nana had been sick as well. Kouta and Mayu ate their dinner in silence. They were too worried about Lucy and, to some extent, Nana. The reason they didn't worry about Yuka was that doctor Torashi had said that she would be okay, and Mayu had brought her something to eat. Mayu knew that Yuka wasn't able to cut her food, so she had done that for her.

After dinner, both Kouta and Mayu went to bed. Kouta lay in his own bed at first, but he couldn't sleep, so he took up his stuff and went to sleep in Lucy's room. Lucy was fast asleep, and her fever, as Mayu had said, was still as high as it had been. But despite that Kouta felt better being the same room with her, and eventually, lying right next to her, he fell asleep.

The next day, Lucy was constantly in pain. Even though she was unconscious, she felt it in her feverish dreams. The rare moments that she was awake were even worse than the dreams. Her head felt like someone was ramming a spike into it. The rest of her body hurt like hell too, but compared to her headache, the rest of her body felt like it was being massaged. Kouta was by her side constantly, trying to lower her fever with wet, cold towels.

Nana had come out of bed to eat again, but most of the day, she was lying in bed, leaving all the chores to Mayu. Kouta didn't like that, so he told her to go and help Mayu, something she only did reluctantly. It was like that for two days.

On the third day, Lucy's pain had reached new heights, and her fever had risen with one degree Celsius. (Don't know how many Fahrenheit) Everyone was in Lucy's room. Kouta was completely panicked. He thought that this would be the end. Lucy was conscious now, and despite the pain, was telling Kouta to be strong for her.

"I don't want to die while you're crying Kouta. Be strong. For me." Then a spasm of pain ran down her spine. "Kouta...I love you...Aaagh!"

Kouta looked at her, tears streaming down his face. Nana and Mayu were as white as ghosts, but they didn't cry. "Lucy...I love you too, keep fighting. You never lost a fight, don't lose now!"

Tears of pain and emotion streamed from Lucy's eyes. Every second, the pain got worse. Memories flashed through her mind randomly, and she heard the soft tones of the Lilium music box in her head. Those tones symbolized all her happy memories.

"Lucy..." Kouta couldn't speak anymore; he was so nervous, no, scared by what he saw and felt, that he could hardly breathe. After what seemed like an eternity, Lucy cried out for the last time; a scream of pain and sadness. As her mind darkened, she thought, 'Farewell, Kouta. You were the best friend I ever had. I love you more than life...'

Kouta looked at Lucy. She lay completely still and didn't seem to breathe. "No...no...NO!" Kouta yelled.

He bent over Lucy and cried. But then... "Kouta! Look! She's breathing!" Mayu stared at Lucy disbelievingly.

She was still alive. Kouta rubbed his eyes and looked at Lucy. He saw that Mayu was right. Lucy was breathing, but with short, choked bursts. Almost as if she was panting. But at least she was alive. A wave of happiness washed over Kouta. He knew that he might be celebrating to early, but he didn't care. Lucy was still alive. A couple of hours later, Lucy's breathing was regular again, and her fever had dropped with 1,5 degree (Again, Celsius) It gave Kouta, Mayu and Nana new hope.

Three days later, Lucy woke up. Her head still hurt like hell, but the pain in her body had disappeared completely. The first thing she realized when she woke up, was that Kouta lay next to her, sleeping. Lucy gently shook him to wake him up. As soon as Kouta was completely awake, he realized that Lucy was up too. "You're better!" he yelled.

"Not completely, my head still hurts, and my fever isn't completely gone either," Lucy said.

Kouta didn't listen. "This is great! Come on, we have to go tell Nana and Mayu!"

Even though Lucy had an enormous headache, she couldn't help but smile at Kouta's happiness. He was acting like a little kid. But she didn't care, in fact, she would've joined him if she hadn't been sure she'd collapse from her headache. She stood up, slowly, and followed Kouta to the room of Mayu and Nana.

"Lucy's awake! She's okay now!" Kouta yelled.

"What? Is the house on fire?" Mayu asked, sounding really sleepy.

"I'll get up, five more minutes..." Nana mumbled and turned around in her bed.

"No you sleepy heads, Lucy's awake!" Kouta yelled again.

Lucy really amazed herself over Kouta, she'd never seen him so hyper before. Now Mayu and Nana were waking up. "What? Lucy is awake? Where is she?" Mayu asked.

"I'm here," Lucy said.

"How are you feeling?" Lucy smiled a little and said, "I've felt better, but I've felt worse as well. I think I'll be okay soon."

Mayu smiled when Lucy said that. "I'm glad to hear that. But shouldn't you be resting instead of walking around?"

Lucy shot a look at Kouta, who sweatdropped, grinned sheepishly and said, "Maybe you're right, Mayu. I guess I got carried away a little..." Everyone laughed at Kouta, who was getting redder with each passing second.

Lucy grew serious again and said, "Mayu is right. I should be resting. I doubt I'm already fully recovered, so I'm going back to bed. Besides, it's the middle of the night. You should get some sleep as well, because somehow I get the feeling that you haven't slept much the past few days."

Kouta nodded in agreement. "I was up most of the time; I wanted to be there for you when you woke up, and I didn't want to fall asleep because I thought something bad would happen."

Lucy couldn't help but smile. Kouta had been even more worried about than she'd thought. To give up all his time to be with her...he really was a special person.

Meanwhile, Yuka had woken up form all the noise. She had listened to the conversation through the thin walls and was furious that Lucy was okay again. 'What do I have to do to get rid of her?!' she thought. 'With only one arm and leg, I couldn't do much even if she was still sick. Now that she's okay, she won't hesitate to slaughter me if I try something.' Yuka tried to think of something, anything, she could do to kill Lucy. When she hadn't thought of something within an hour, she decided to go back to sleep. She'd find a way to kill her; there was always a way.

The next day, Kouta, Lucy, Mayu and Nana visited Dr. Torashi in his hotel. It was a huge, luxurious building, and the rooms in it weren't small either.

"Welcome, my friends, to my temporary home," Torashi said.

The group was so struck by the hugeness of the hotel room, that they didn't reply immediately.

Torashi grinned. "Surprised by the size of this room? I told I wasn't poor," he added to Kouta with a wink.

Kouta sort of regained his composure and said, "We came to thank you. You saved Lucy's life, and on top of that, you treated Yuka as well."

Torashi waved his hand dismissively. "I told you, for me it was an oppurtunity to test my dream. Thanks to you I feel like I've paid my debt to Kim."

Lucy stepped forward and said, "You've known a Diclonius?"

Torashi nodded. "Yes, I told you when I was treating you, but I guess it didn't stick in your feverish state. She was shot by a cop who thought she was a demon."

Lucy looked bitter. "Humans are fools...treating everything and everyone who's different like crap. Fortunately, there are also people who aren't so stupid," she said, and smiled at Kouta and the Doctor.

"I'm glad you saved Yuka, I don't want to be a murderer..." Nana said, looking at the floor.

"You did the only thing you could do, Nana. If you hadn't reacted I would've been dead now. Besides, she only lost an arm and a leg, you didn't stab out her eyes or something like that," Lucy said. Nana wasn't completely reassured, but she looked a little less troubled now. They spent the rest of the afternoon talking with Torashi. Before they had left home, Mayu had left Yuka food and something to drink, so she could take care of herself.

When they got home, Lucy sensed something strange. When she realized what it was, she relaxed. They entered, and leaning against the wall, stood Yuka, holding a makeshift crutch (a plank from her bed) under her arm and in her hand a knife. Lucy calmly extended a vector and pulled the knife from Yuka's hand.

"Go ahead, kill me! That's what you want to do, don't you?!" Yuka screamed in madness.

"As much as I may dislike you, I don't wish your death. The other way around is more accurate, I think. I won't deny that I can't stand you, but I won't hurt you. I don't want to cause Kouta any more pain," Lucy said.

"So if Kouta wasn't there, I would be dead now?!" "If Kouta hadn't been there, I would have killed every human being on the planet and not give a damn about it. However, Kouta has taught me something that is stronger than violence: Love. He showed me that it is possible to love someone under the most unlikely circumstances. I killed his family and he still loves me. For him, I've given up killing, and I don't even want to any more."

Yuka looked at the floor bitterly. "I will kill you, Lucy. One day, I'll kill you."

Kouta couldn't believe this. Even after having her arm and leg cut off, Yuka still wanted to kill Lucy. "Yuka, how can you say something like that?! No, don't say anything, I don't even want to know. Tomorrow, I'm bringing you to a mental institute. You're too dangerous to stay here."

Yuka looked up, seemingly terrified. "No, Kouta, you can't do that! I love you!"

Kouta shook his head in disgust. "If you love me, you'd want me to be happy, even if that means that you can't be with me. Instead, you try to kill Lucy hoping that I'll fall in love with you. That will never happen." Lucy knew that Kouta didn't find it easy to tell this to Yuka, but she was glad that he did it anyway. That night, Lucy and Kouta slept together again for the first time in nearly two weeks. (A/N no, they don't do perverted stuff)

The next day, Kouta took Yuka to a clinic. After explaining what had happened, with some small changes as to the cause of her injuries, Yuka was taken in.

"Don't worry sir, we'll give her a thorough check, and do everything we can to get her back to normal as soon as possible."

Kouta thanked the doctors, and went back home. When he got there, he noticed that there was an unusual amount of activity in the inn.

"What's going on here?" he asked Lucy.

Lucy grinned and pulled a letter from her pocket. She waved it before Kouta's eyes and said, "Doctor Torashi is inviting us on a holiday, on the edge of his old town. We're busy packing our stuff."

Kouta's eyes widened and he said, "Show me that letter."

'Dear Kouta, Lucy, Nana and Mayu,

I'd like to invite all of you on a holiday in my chalet on the outskirts of my home town.

The environment there is beautiful, and everything we need can be bought in the city. I'm

not going to tell you the name of the city yet, that will stay a surprise until we get there. I'll

come over tomorrow to pick you all up.

Regards,

Torashi'

Kouta grinned and said, "Well, I'd better get packing." He smiled at Lucy, who smiled back, and started packing for their holiday.

Well, that's it. Hope you all liked it : )