XI

Unexpected

The warm rays caressing her face felt so good. She was almost tempted to stay in bed if not for the nagging feeling that it was just about time. Rolling over, Nana let out a soft moan as she opened her eyes. Even though her vision was hazy, she became all too aware that someone was staring at her. She couldn't really get a good sight which promptly led her to start rubbing her eyes in an attempt to get rid of the haziness, eventually, she chose to just simply lie on the bed.

'… It was just… getting so… good…'

Staring at the ceiling she asked herself what time it was, though it had to be pretty early considering how tired she still was. Of course, she didn't manage to get all that much sleep anyway with all the stuff that had been going on yesterday. Having spent most of the night talking to Mei hadn't helped all that much either.

Nonetheless, she giggled to herself thinking about how much fun she had. Mei was a really nice person and she was somebody with whom one could have a lot of fun with. If she had even one friend like that, school wouldn't be such a terrible place. Mayu was lucky.

'… Mayu… you are… so lucky… having friends… having fun… going out…'

Besides, she would also get to see the others more often, and the idea of being in the same class as the others sounded so good to her.

'… Yeah… that would… be… so much… fun…'

Her thoughts went back to Mei. To the discussion they had about both their parents. It was strange but liberating being able to talk so openly to someone outside the family.

'She accepts us… for who we are… she doesn't care… about our horns… she just sees us like normal people… I really like her… I wonder… what her family… is like…?'

Looking to the side she wanted to know if Mei was still asleep, but found an empty futon. Nana really shouldn't have been surprised. After all, Mayu had always been better at waking up. Turning her gaze to Mei, she fought back the urge to giggle louder, but failed at the sight of Mei drooling yet still looking so cute. It took a while, but Nana finally noticed that she was also mumbling something too soft to decipher. That was the last straw, and the giggles she'd been fighting escaped her lips, waking Mei. The other girl gave her a strange look.

Mei, somewhat sleepy, was staring back at her though her head still rested on her pillow. "… Good morning Nana-san…" She yawned and struggled to get out of her futon. "… Oh… its way too early… to get up on a Sunday… can I sleep a little longer… I don't want… to get up… yet… just five more… minutes… please…?"

Nana knew exactly how the poor girl felt. To be honest, she wouldn't mind a few more minutes herself. Perhaps closing her eyes for just a few more minutes couldn't hurt. After all, what could go wrong with just a few harmless minutes of extra sleep?

"… Yeah… a few… more… minutes… that… is… all…"

The mood in the garden was good if not outright delightful. Kyou had made up with Mako and after having talked to Dai, they agreed that the barbeque could go on. The girls were all excited by the news, as they had been looking forward to the event.

"I guess I'll get everything checked out," Kouta grumbled with a dramatic sigh, as now he would be forced to set up everything he'd just taken down the day before..." So when do you all want to eat? Do you have a time in mind for it? "

Everyone paused and looked at each other- that was a good question. Given that it was already Sunday and most of them work or school the following day, it made the most sense if they were to start the barbeque early.

"What do you girls say we start at around four in the afternoon? That should give you plenty of time to have some fun or, provided you behave yourselves, go out on the town." Yuka suggested as she cast a glance in the direction of Dai and Mako, both who were tending to little Sei.

Another condition was added, but the girls agreed despite having been banned the use of their vectors and assigned a chaperone.

"O-Oto-san…" Kyou started before quickly shutting her mouth, the events of yesterday still clearly on her mind.

An uneasy silence started to settle until their attention was drawn by a knock on the front door. "I will get it." Yuka stated simply, interrupting the silence. "That is probably Nozomi-chan coming back from the bakery. I asked her if she could go and get some freshly baked bread. Who's up for some yakisoba-bread?"

"HAIIIII!" A chorus of cries was her answer. It seemed like the girls were hungry and were ready to start breakfast already."WE DOOOOO!"

Yuka just prayed that Nozomi had the foresight to buy enough, seeing the way the girls were starting to resemble starving wolves instead of people.

"Now remember to keep your manners. I don't want to have to go and clean noodles off your faces." Mako chimed in as she looked at both her daughters sternly. "Yes, I'm looking to you both. Also, if you go out, behave and be back home in time so we can pack up our stuff and go home. I don't want to impose on Kouta's and Yuka's time tonight."

Kyou and Ryou nodded in agreement, understanding the secret message their mother was sending them. While they could go with the rest of the girls, it would probably do them best to stay behind and pack. They'd expected such a response from their mother, but it was still something they weren't looking forward to. The weekend was finally coming to an end and it was once again time for the two of them to be stuck in the house.

Letting out a soft moan as she thought about that Kyou looked to Ryou as she shook her head slightly. They had to make the most of what was left of their weekend before it officially ended.

Noticing the reluctance of the sisters Dai leaned in closer. "Don't worry, if you behave then you can come on over and play next weekend as well. Don't get all hung up about having to stay at home, you will only ruin it for yourself. Go and enjoy yourselves."

Kyou and Ryou couldn't help but agree. If they allowed this to ruin their weekend then it would be a real shame.

"Good morning everybody," Nozomi said cheerfully as she walked into the garden holding up the bag for everyone to see. "Yuka-san is already taking out the plates but if you guys could go and help carry the rest then we can have breakfast together."

Not needing her to say that again, Kyou was already rushing into the house with Saeko quickly following her. Ryou let out a short giggle as she saw them running, clearly relieved and glad that things were better. With that she turned her head a little to have a look at the other person at the table, their little sister Saori though the word little felt strange to use on her given that she looked older than any of them.

"Myuu… myuu… myuuu…"

As if sensing her, Saori turned her head to meet Ryou's gaze with a childlike expression. Even so, nothing could distract Ryou from all the burns that were clearly visible even on her face.

Luckily most of her face was hidden by the hood she wore, her clothes were wide so as not to constrict themselves around her body as with her burns it was all too quick for normal clothes to start to hurt her skin. They had to be of a light fabric and wide which meant that for the most part it was just a simple robe and very little else for her. Not that she had a choice.

There was little else that could be done for her, Ryou had been informed by her mother that the burns were really severe and would never go away; Saori was going to remain scarred for the rest of her life. As a result, the pain would never go away entirely for her.

Feeling herself grow more depressed as she thought about this, Ryou searched her mind for a question to distract herself, although she didn't think she'd get a proper response either way. "Are you feeling excited about this, Saori-chan? Looking forward to the barbeque this afternoon?"

As expected, Saori barely acknowledged the question. Still, with all the food that was being brought in, she probably got the idea already.

"… Myuu… myu… myu… myuu…" she whistled as her attention refocused on the house where Yuka, Kyou, and Saeko were emerging, each carrying plates and other utensils.

"Alright everybody, we can have breakfast-." Yuka started before stopping abruptly as she noticed something. "Say... where exactly are Nana-chan and Mei-chan? I haven't seen them yet."

Suddenly, everyone's eyes landed on Mayu. After all, if anyone would know where said girl was, it should be the person who'd slept with her the night before.

"I-I don't know," she replied nervously as she got up from her seat. "I thought they were still busy getting themselves ready. I'll go check on them, you can start without me." She said before she disappearing from sight.

The girls quickly returned to their previous activities, not paying the interruption any mind. With sizzling bacon and fresh eggs calling for them, they were starting to get into the best mood they've had so far this weekend.

"Itadakimasu!"

"Nana-san! Wake up!" Mayu called out as she shook her friend. "Nana-san! You're going to miss breakfast! They're already starting on it!" Having gotten to her room and opening the door, she couldn't believe her eyes as they're both Nana and Mei were still sound asleep with neither of them showing any signs of waking up any time soon.

It didn't seem like the commotion was reaching Nana and Mei, so Mayu increased her efforts. If the two didn't wake up soon, they'd miss the barbecue.

"Nana-san! Please wake up! Nana-san! You need to wake up now!" Hearing her keeping on snoring she wondered what it was going to take for her to wake up, for that matter what had she done in order to be in such a deep sleep.

Even Mei wasn't responding as she kept on snoring, oh not her as well. Well this was not what she had hoped for, what was she going to do now.

"Nana-san! We're having yakisoba-bread! Nozomi-san brought yakisoba-bread for us with her! Yakisoba-bread!"

Screaming it out loud she was hoping that mentioning what was for breakfast would wake them both up, finally after having to repeat it several times Nana finally started to wake up and with a bit of groaning slowly opened her eyes.

With half-lidded eyes and severe bed head, Nana looked like she'd just been asked to answer a difficult question. "… Oh… uh… Mayu… eh what's going on…?"

"Nana-san…" Mayu sighed. "You've overslept. Everybody is already in the garden having breakfast. Nozomi-san has come back from the bakery with Yakisoba-bread."

"SHE HAS WHAT?!" Shooting up, now fully awake, Nana looked around not believing her ears. It was supposed to have been a few minutes, how could she have overslept? "WE ARE HAVING WHAT?! WHY DIDN'T YOU WARN ME EARLIER?! WE HAVE TO GET UP NOW!"

Nearly stumbling over her legs as she surged to her feet in an effort to wake up Mei as well, she was halted by Mayu.

"Nana-san, please be careful. You don't have to be so worried, they brought enough for everybody. Go on and get yourself dressed; I will go and wake up Mei-chan."

A soft voice came from behind her. "… Don't bother…. I'm already… awake… somewhat…" Mei yawned as she looked the both of them in the eyes. "… Nana-chan… you make… too much… noise… in the morning…"

Then she noticed something. "… Wh-why… are you guys… looking at me…?" Not fully awake, she couldn't understand why the two girls were staring at her like that.

Mayu, who was starting to blush, pointed to her face slowly. "Ehm Mei-san, you're drooling…"

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHH!" Mei shrieked as she desperately wiped her mouth. "DON'T LOOK AT ME! EEEEHHHH!" Jumping up from her futon, she sprinted out of sight towards the bathroom, leaving Mayu and Nana behind, stunned by the sudden outburst.

Now with Mayu, Mei and Nana having joined the rest for their breakfast in the garden, Mako took a moment to have a more private discussion with Yuka seeing that they had both finished early. She didn't want any prying ears.

"Did you have a chance to discuss what I told you with Kouta-kun yet?"

Yuka shook her head. With everything that had happened, she simply didn't have the time or the moment to do so.

"I understand. There hasn't really been an ideal moment for it has it? Well with your approval I would like to give him a call and find out to what degree he would be willing to help us. I promise not to reveal why and for whom, and I don't believe he's aware of the Diclonius; which is luckily in our favor."

"I agree." Yuka knew what she was talking about.

Since the entire Diclonius affair had been kept under wraps for the most part and only a few people outside of those directly involved knew that it had ever existed, this man had also likely never heard of the name Diclonius or the clandestine research conducted on them.

"We can always try and see if he can actually help, and if he can't it would save us the trouble from having to go to …."

Yeah it would be a long ride indeed, though Mako was under no illusion that she could forego visiting him at all. That way she could avoid having to discuss some of the more sensitive details over the phone. "Just try and discuss this with him as soon as you can; I would feel better the quicker this is resolved. I will plan a day off next week to go and pay him a visit."

Yuka was surprised to say the least. "You're planning to go regardless? I… don't understand why, besides is it even safe for you to go all the way out there?"

Mako understood that she was concerned, but the reaction still seemed a little overboard. Still, she smiled at the girl in front of her to put her at ease. Before she could say anything, however, they were interrupted as Kyou, Ryou and Nozomi entered the kitchen carrying their dishes and glasses.

"Oh please don't mind us, we're just going to clean our dishes if it's alright with the two of you?"

Yuka gestured for them to just place the dishes in the sink, as she and Mako would take care of cleaning them up.

"Go on and have some fun. It's going to take some time before we can get the food ready anyway. We will take care of it for you."

Nozomi wasn't sure what to make of it. "Are you sure? I would feel bad to not help."

Mako reassured the girls that it wasn't a problem at all, taking that she and the girls left.

Waiting until they were certain again that they were alone Mako continued. "Don't worry yourself needlessly. No one's going to be aware of it. And besides, I won't be going alone. I'll ask if our friend Bando-san can keep me company- I know what you are going to say."

She held up her hand before Yuka could interrupt. Mako was all too aware that Yuka, and Kouta too for that matter, always had their reservations whenever Bando was involved. It wasn't that they questioned his skill, but rather that he still was not that good with people.

"I'll take the materials we have on the device with me. At least that way he can study it right away and offer some suggestions. I will be honest in that I don't think he can give us an answer right away. He will likely need a few days to study it, so I will leave him my number so he can contact me."

"I'm still nervous about this, but for her sake... I mean I just don't know what it will come to if that man can actually help us. Is it possible to have it done in the clinic?"

If they were going to perform what appeared to Yuka as a rather complicated surgery and were going to find the right location for it, they certainly couldn't do that here.

"Personally I have my doubts, but we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves. Let's first see if he can help us in the first place. Then I will see if we can find a suitable location."

Yuka sighed in defeat. "… You're right, we should take it slow. Well I guess we've finished discussing this then. The only then left now is to get things ready for this afternoon."

Leaning back in the chair, Kouta was satisfied that the barbeque was starting to heat up relatively quickly. "Wow, I can't believe how fast the afternoon's gone past. Well, I guess with everyone so busy lately it shouldn't come as a surprise."

Dai poked him. "You should keep your attention on the barbeque and make sure none of the meat gets burned. You know how much Kyou hates burnt meat."

Kouta chuckled nervously, remembering the last time he'd served her charred meat. It hadn't been pretty. It would be a shame if they had to cancel the event now.

"You should go inside and tell them we are ready. I will start grilling."

A laugh came from Dai. "You have no idea how eager they've been waiting for you to say that." He glanced over at the door and Kouta followed his gaze to make out the curious eyes of Nana, Kyou, Ryou and even Mei staring back at him. Guess Dai had not been kidding when he had said the girls had been eager to hear him say that.

Faster than he could comprehend, they all rushed to take their places at the table.

"Onii-chan I want those!" Holding up one of the plates, Kyou pointed at exactly what she wanted first and she wasn't shy about letting them know it. "Onii-chan! These!"

Behind him, Kouta heard Yuka chuckle as she approached the group. "Look whose hungry. Actually, we're all pretty starved so just put all the meat on."

As if to emphasize Yuka's point, Kyou shoved her plate closer to his face.

"Okay, okay. I get it. You all want these first, then." picking up a piece of raw meat, he dropped it onto the hot plate and immediately heard a delicious it all in he did have to admit that they smelled nice even if they were still raw, perhaps that was due to the herbs used on the marinade for them.

"Yuka?" he called out. "Could you go and tell the others they can come at the table as well, these won't take long before they are done you know."

Barely had Yuka called them out or they all came rushing towards the table and faster than any of them could blink their eyes they had already taken their place at the table. While everyone's attention was on the food, Saori hesitantly appeared, hiding herself.

"It's alright dear," Yuka gestured, with a friendly smile, that it was fine for her to come. "We've saved a seat for you. You want some as well, don't you? And also to spend time with your sisters?"

Even if Saori was in her other persona Yuka felt rather cautious about approaching her, the last thing she wanted now was to have her revered to her normal persona.

Gently taking her by the arm, Yuka carefully guided the girl towards where Saeko was sitting. If anything Saeko could help keep her calm or which was the case now to be a bit more at ease. For some reason Saori appeared to be more jittery than normal which was even more odd given her current persona. "Go on dear, sit down and I will bring you a plate."

"… Myuu. Myuu. Myuuu… " Saori mentioned with a cheer as a plate was placed in front of her, the smells of the food already making her mouth water.

Mei felt confused at how normal everyone was reacting to the scene in front of her. She poked May and whispered discreetly.

"I-Is that normal with her? Isn't she a grown woman? So why is she acting like a kid? And also what's with the hood?" looking again, even her not being able to eat like the rest of them was odd. Mei continued, "Did she have some kind of accident or something? It is really weird."

Mayu was left with a dilemma after hearing that question. How was she going to explain it when she herself didn't even know all of the details? She didn't want to lie to Mei, but she also couldn't tell her the truth. Silently, Mayu thanked the heavens that Mei wasn't aware of the burns across Saori's body. Then there would be even more uncomfortable questions.

"It's very complicated. We'd rather not talk about what happened, but she went through some very painful times." By this point they'd attracted the attention of Nana.

"Mayu is right, bad people did something to her."

Mei's eyebrows climbed into her hairline. Nana's explanation only piped her interest.

"Did she get molested by people? Oh the poor thing. I understand why you guys don't want to talk about it. It's fine, I won't ask for details." Fortunately it seemed that Mei's curiosity was sated for now.

"Now, now. Less talking and more eating," Dai mentioned as he brought them a plate piled high with vegetables. "This food isn't going to eat itself, you know. Don't you guys dare leave behind any leftovers. Take Kyou for example, she's going to leave with a belly full of food and half out table."

Everyone looked over to said person and they could see that just like Dai had said, Kyou was not wasting time as she practically inhaled her food.

Mei giggled. "Wow, not only is she pretty but she also eats way's faster than most boys I've seen. She'd be a great catch if guys aren't intimidated by that."

Not to be outdone by Kyou, Nana decided to start digging in herself.

Mei laughed louder when she noticed the competition and started to cheer them both on. "Oh, wow! Look at Nana-chan! Go Nana-chan! Go Kyou-chan!"

Ryou let out a sigh as she grabbed the last of her belongings, not believing that the weekend was already over but also glad that she was able to have so much fun. "Onee-chan? Are you finished with your stuff?"

Closing her bag Kyou gave a quick look at her sister. "Yeah, I'm done. Still a shame that we have to go home. I really would have liked to stay a little longer, but I guess with onii-chan and the others needing to get up early as well there isn't much choice for us."

Ryou nodded in agreement as she would not have minded being able to stay a bit longer, even if would be just for a couple of hours. "Maybe next weekend? We should ask our parents."

"You really think oto-san and oka-san will allow that? I think they'd make us do the extra homework first and I'm not interested in finishing it this week to come again."

"B-But onee-chan? Y-You can't say that, we n-need to study if we ever want a chance to go to school like them. We can't stay at home for the rest of our lives… I-I want more…"

"This world has more to offer but not to Diclonius like us. Most bugs won't even accept us for who we are. For us this world doesn't have all that much to offer… we are trapped…" Kyou sighed as she gave it some thought. As long as they had their horns they would always be picked on or be discriminated against.

"Not everybody is like that, onee-chan. We've met people that like us even if we have horns. That friend of Mayu-san was really nice, she knows about these." Ryou said, pointing at her horns. "And yet she treated us like any other person, I hope there are more people out there like her."

"I wouldn't mind that, she was pretty fun and helped us. People like her are good, not like those other dumb bugs. Still... that won't mean that I fully trust her; not until she proves that she isn't a bug."

Downstairs Mako was calling for them to come down and Dai was already taking their belongings to the car. Well that really meant that the weekend was over, all that was left was for them to say goodbye, and neither of them was in a particular rush to do so.

With another sigh, Kyou was the one to take the initiative. "Come on, Ryou, we need to go. The longer we stay here the more difficult it is going to be, you know that as well. Let's not keep Oto-san and Oka-san waiting any longer."

A quick nod from Ryou and down the stairs they went, only to see the others already waiting for them at the main entrance save for Mayu, Mei and Nana who had already left earlier despite an offering from Dai to drive them home as well.

"It was nice to have you all over for the weekend. Let's see if we can do it again soon, seeing that it's spring again and we can enjoy the garden." Kouta smiled as he stood there along with Yuka, Nozomi, Saeko and even Saori.

"Bye bye," Kyou mentioned as she walked past them and waved. "It's been a lot of fun and oh, onii-chan," she turned her head to wink at Kouta. "I'll be coming for you real soon. You'd better have a nice present to make up for not having one this weekend!" Casting a scowl she made her intentions clear to him.

"A-Ah. O-Onee-chan. You can't say that to them." Ryou hurried over to apologize for her sister, but it wasn't needed seeing as Kouta knew how Kyou was and had already come to expect that from her. "It's alright Ryou-chan, you take good care of your sister and parents." He petted her on the head and didn't miss the frown from Kyou.

"Alright, you can get one too." He looped his left arm around the other girl and began petting her as well, though Yuka was pinning him down with an icy glare.

Whistling tune after tune, Mei was in the best mood she'd been in a while. "Oh this was such a great weekend! Mayu-chan, I want to thank you so much for having invited me. This is probably the best weekend of the whole year."

Mayu and Nana laughed as she continued stating how much she had enjoyed herself despite the little family issue. "I don't even want to return to school, but then again we shouldn't complain about that. Am I right, Mayu-chan?"

"We shouldn't." Mayu agreed as her eyes darted in Nana's direction. "There are some people who can't go to school despite wanting to, so we should be glad we have the chance at all."

"You're right. Say Nana-chan, if I may ask, what school do you go to? You're actually older than Mayu-chan, am I right? I haven't really seen any uniforms in your room either."

Nana didn't know what to say, nor did Mayu. She wondered why of all the questions she could have been asked it had to be this one. Struggling to come up with a suitable answer, both girls avoided Mei's gaze for as long as was possible.

"Oh how silly of me. Of course you go to school! I'm guessing you would be in your senior year, am I right? Or do you go to university already?"

There was no point trying to avoid the subject. Mei's curiosity was raised, and Mayu knew that she wasn't going to let the topic drop like she had done earlier with Saori. Nana, on the other hand, was turning red as she tried desperately to come up with something.

Finally noticing the tension, Mei apologized and backtracked. "Its fine, you don't need to tell me what's happened to your sister. I just don't want you guys to lie to me. We're friends and friends shouldn't lie to each other."

Mayu let out a sigh of relief, but realized that Mei hadn't been fooled about Saori's situation like she thought she had. "We're sorry Mei-san, we didn't mean to insult you."

Mayu bowed before her, letting her know how sorry she felt about having done it. Following her example quickly Nana did the same.

Mei smiled. "You're already forgiven, I don't want to stay mad at my friends. I care about you guys too much so please don't do it again, alright? My parents already lie to me too often."

Neither Mayu nor Nana knew how to respond to that, as it was obvious she was hurting from her parents' actions. Instead, they simply nodded.

"Let's get moving. It's still a way to go, you know. We don't want to stay out here."

Soon after, their walk ended in front of Mei's house. Mayu and Nana were surprised to see that it was completely dark inside, but Mei brushed it off as she's already said that her parents weren't home.

"So... I guess this is where we get to say goodbye. Mayu-chan, Nana-chan I want to thank you both again for having invited me. It really means a lot to me to have been able to spend the weekend with you and your family. I hope we get to do it again sometime soon."

Giving them both a big hug, the sisters could feel that there was a certain hesitance on behalf of Mei. Somehow, it felt like a painful goodbye.

"Don't cry Mei-san, I will see you tomorrow at school." Mayu whispered when she heard her starting to cry. Both she and Nana just stood there, comforting the sobbing girl and not wanting to leave her like this. It was going to take a bit longer before they'd be back home, but right now they were fine with that. It could wait.

"Alright Saeko-chan," Yuka started as she closed the door. "Time for you to start packing since you'll be going back to school tomorrow. I've discussed this with your aunt and she agrees that it's best if you go."

Saeko nodded though she felt reluctant about having to go tomorrow but then she had made a promise that she would after the weekend as over. "… I understand Yuka-san." She sighed. "Is it alright for me to help Saori-chan first? I would like to give her a bath before I go."

Yuka pondered it; Saeko did have a point. "Well you won't have much time to do so in the next few days, so I guess you can give her a bath while you still can. Just make sure the two of you are in your futons in time and have your stuff packed for school. I'll go make your bento for tomorrow."

With a nod, Saeko left to set things up in the bathroom. Afterwards she'd bring Saori, hoping that there would be no complications.

Yuka shook her head as she watched the young Diclonius leave, already she offered a little prayer that tomorrow wouldn't turn out to be one of those days when she came back with tears in her eyes.

"I hope your sensei will look after you… please don't come back sick again…" She quietly whispered as Saeko disappeared around the corner, the last thing she would need now was to be sick again from being scared to go back to her class. If that did happen, it wouldn't be long before someone at school noticed Saeko's absence. That would lead to more complications. "You don't deserve more trouble; you deserve a happy life. I'll pray for you tomorrow." With that, she turned around and headed towards the kitchen since there were still two bentos that needed to be prepared for tomorrow.

The buzz of her alarm clock woke her up. Yawning like she usually did in the morning Saeko rubbed her eyes. She glared at the time, but couldn't do anything but drag herself from bed and get ready for school. 'It is that time again? I really wish I didn't have to go…'

Saeko was having mixed feelings about the day, desperately not wanting to return to school but also having promised it to Yuka and Mako. 'I don't like the people in my class, nobody likes me. They all think that I must be a freak or something. If they were to ever learn about my horns…'

It was one of her biggest fears, and one that she carried with her every single day she went to school. Literally. It would only take one wrong move and her secret would be exposed.

'… I did promise, and breaking my promise would be bad. I don't really like the thought of having to go but I must. Well perhaps I will get sick for real today. I wouldn't mind that…'

Pushing herself up she shut off the alarm and turning around, was glad to see that Saori was still sleeping.

Leaning in close Saeko wished that she could stay here with her but gazing once more to the clock she knew that that was no option for her. "Sleep tight Saori-chan, I'll be back soon I promise you." She whispered as she rubbed the sleeping girl's cheek.

Walking on her toes to keep as quiet as possible, she headed down to be greeted by the voices of Yuka, Kouta, and Mayu. It appeared that they were also getting themselves ready for to school. Still, that would leave Nana and Saori all by themselves until she got home, a thought that didn't sit well with Saeko. However, with Saori's other personality present, there was a lower chance of the two getting into a fight.

"Good morning, Mayu-chan." She greeted the refreshed and fully dressed Mayu, as expected.

"Good morning to you too Saeko-san, I'm glad to see you up. I was worried you might not come today so I'm happy we get to go to school together again. Shall we go and get something to eat?"

"Hai." Breakfast would be quick and Saeko rushed to get dressed before realizing that she'd forgotten to pack her bag last night."Oh no," She nearly cried as the situation dawned on her. She would need to go upstairs again to pack her bag.

"No. No. No. No." She nearly yelled, not believing that she had forgotten such an important task. Somehow, she'd lost her thought last night when she had been bathing Saori.

"Don't worry about it, I know that Yuka-san already prepared it for you while you were changing last night." Mayu filled her in quickly as she noticed how distressed Saeko had become all of a sudden. "It's all ready, no need to go back upstairs."

Saeko breathed a sigh of relief. "… Thank goodness..." She whispered under her breath as they walked into the living to get their breakfast. "… Thank you Mayu-chan…"

Mayu replied with a smile. "Don't mention it, you would have done the same for me. Say, Saeko-san, there is something I wanted to tell you. I'm really sorry, but unfortunately I can't join you in the canteen for lunch. Our club has an emergency meeting and I have to be there. I know how much you hate being alone though, and I really do wish I could be there."

She could already see Saeko's disappointment, but nothing could be done about her obligations to the club. It wasn't like Mayu wanted this either.

"But we can still walk together to school Not only that, I will be waiting for you when your classes are over, and I'll see if Mei-san can come with us as well."

It was pleasant to hear, but that didn't take away the disappointment and resentment Saeko was feeling about being alone during the lunch break. She was already starting to hate her day.

"My work here is never done!" Arakawa wailed miserably as she stared at her watch, she decided to call it a day for now, she felt exhausted and rather worn down as well. To think she'd pulled an all nighter trying to obtain the answers but still have nothing to show for it was frustrating to say the least. It was already morning.

She yawned as she pushed herself away from her desk. "… Oh this is too tedious…" No, it was about time she went and grabbed herself some well-earned rest along with a bath after she woke up. Yet the excitement of her discovery was compelling her to push herself just a bit more. She also wanted to discuss this with Mako seeing as it did concern her niece.

"Maybe I should give her a call? Hopefully we can have a private meeting because it's best if she sees this in person.

For that matter, she also needed to rethink on how she could document this better; the notes she had made during the weekend were a mess and hardly readable.

"… I will do that later…" There was still plenty of time left in the day anyways and tomorrow was also an option. First things first; she needed to eat and drink something.

She couldn't just go and sleep without having had something to eat, after all she had spent precious little time on eating anything else other than several packs of instant noodles.

Yeah, she was definitely going to need something better unless she wanted to faint from starvation. She made a mental note to start being more cautious with her diet.

"… Starting tomorrow I'm going to live healthier… but first, a quick snack and then some sleep… being healthy will come tomorrow…"

She could kill for a cup of coffee but given she actually wanted to sleep she decided against it as the caffeine would just keep her awake. No it was going to be better to have something that would make her sleepy, then with a good rest she could go back at work.

Stretching her arms and back, Arakawa started to slowly make her way to the kitchen for a quick snack before she would continue and make her way towards her bedroom, really some noodles weren't all that bad actually, maybe even some ramen ones. "… hmmm… tasty." Still, there was a certain feeling of excitement in the air. If her breakthrough really meant what she thought it did, the implications would be nothing less than groundbreaking. But how in the world was she ever going to present this finding and not run into the same mess she had gotten before with both the Diclonius vector virus and anti-virus. She halted in her steps. "Oh god, anything but that."

She shuddered as she thought back to the events that took place after the confirmation of Lucy's death. The plethora of inquiries, interrogations, and constant government surveillance had been vexing to put it lightly. And in the end what did she have to show for having gone through it all, absolutely nothing. The virus and anti-virus were both taken from her against her will.

Next thing she knew, she was being treated like an outsider and a pariah; no longer granted access to any of the research material or the equipment. All of her work was basically stolen. Her chance for fame and glory was destroyed without her notes to prove the work she'd done. Also, if the rest of the world were to find out the extent of her involvement with the vector virus, then god knows what they'd do to her.

"I could kiss ever setting foot in the lab goodbye. Hell, I would likely be thrown in jail and left to rot." The more she thought about it, the more depressed Arakawa became. Really, what she was doing right not was hardly a befitting job for someone of her caliber, but what else could she do? Whatever the case, she knew for sure that she'd earned her sleep.

The bell had already gone off, signaling the start of the main break. It was just another usual day for Saeko, and as expected, her classmates were already filing out of the classroom without a second glance her way.

She just wanted to keep to herself, as she had come to accept the fact that there would be no way for her to ever make friends in this class or even school for that matter. Even if she did find someone through a miracle, it would only be a matter of time before they'd find out her little secret.

"Who would ever… want to be… a friend with somebody… like me…?"

It was actually for the best that everyone was leaving. Mayu couldn't be with her during the break anyways, so there was no point going to the canteen and eating by herself when she could do it here. Her books were already neatly packed and she was about to grab the pencil pouch when she accidentally knocked one of the pencils off the table. With a loud sigh, she pushed herself back and got on her hands and knees, peering under the desk to search for it.

"I don't like… this school… this class… it is so… lonely…"

Just as she was about to reach the pencil, Saeko bumped her head against the bottom of the table and hissed in pain as her notebook and ruler dropped as well. Another slight movement and the pencil pouch followed, it's content clattering across the floor. She sighed at her misfortune.

"This isn't funny… I hate this day… I want to go home…" she whimpered.

At least no one was present to witness the incident. No doubt her classmates would have found even more reasons to tease her. It was then that she became aware of just how quiet the empty room was.

"Hey girl, you wanna grab some lunch?" A voice called out to her suddenly. Saeko felt a shiver ran down her spine. Somebody was inside the classroom. Had they seen what had happened? A big lump was stuck in the back of her throat and made it hard to swallow. The feeling only grew worse once she realized the owner of the voice was standing behind her.

"So what do you think?" So she hadn't heard wrong the first time. Was someone really talk to her? Or perhaps it was a cruel joke. Slowly turning her head around, she met the gazes of two girls smiling at her. With a yelp she shot up straight but they didn't even giggle at her gesture. She swore she'd never been more nervous, and that stubborn lump still wouldn't go away, preventing her from speaking.

"Look Yuzuka-san, I think you scared Isuzu-san." The girl on the left said, breaking the silence. The other girl, Yuzuka it seemed, giggled into her hand.

"Ah sorry about that."

"Anyways, we were wondering if you would like to have lunch with us?" The other girl mentioned with a kind expression on her face.

Saeko's mouth fell wide open. "W-W-With me?!" She stammered, not believing her ears. Why were they asking her of all people? The room was empty, but surely they didn't mean her? A massive feeling of unease washed over her. Something wasn't right. What was she going to do?

Still smiling, the two girls nodded their heads in unison and Saeko allowed them to lead her out of the classroom in her state of shock.

Auhor's note: The next chapter, enjoy it and have a good weekend. Take care folks.