Mayu suppressed an urge to check corners with the gun at her waist as she opened the front door, home at last. The feeling of home and safety had suddenly become an alien concept in the short time she was away.
She felt numb, with none of the attendant happiness that should have come with finally returning home. Bando had kept his word, taking her as far as the front door. Well, not quite the front door. Really he had only gone with her until the inn was in sight, then they said their goodbyes, after a fashion. There had been no tears that time, for Mayu felt drained of them. There had not even been actual goodbyes spoken aloud for that matter. They had already said them the night before. There was merely something unspoken that passed between them in that final moment. One last look, last touch, last kiss. Then he was a shape on the horizon, getting smaller and smaller, turning a corner and vanishing as though he had never existed. She felt like a large part of her had been forcibly ripped from her and cast away.
It was only after his image was no more that she had turned around and walked the rest of the way home. She hoped Bando was right, and she would run into Nana.
Turning back to the door, she slid it shut, "Hello? Kouta? Yuka?" she called out before turning around. When she did, she jumped at the sight of the room's single occupant.
"Lucy?" Mayu began, realizing her mistake almost as soon as she had said the name aloud. The woman before her was clearly not Lucy. She had the unmistakable physical traits of a Diclonius, though her hair was more red than Lucy's. She also possessed the characteristic horns as well. Viscerally, Mayu felt simply by looking at the woman's posture, dress, and small smile, that unlike Lucy who tended to keep her darkness on the inside, this woman likely preferred to wear it on the outside. And with pride.
"Angel," the woman corrected, taking slow steps towards Mayu. It reminded Mayu of a predatory animal, which greatly unnerved her.
"You would be Mayu," she said in a quiet voice, smiling wider when Mayu's back suddenly touched the door. She hadn't even been aware of backing away from Angel.
"How do you know that?" Mayu said, resisting the urge to reach for her gun. It was obvious by Angel's manner that she was a guest here, not an intruder. Or at least she carried herself like a guest. All at once, Mayu realized that she recognized the woman as the one she had seen during her escape from the Institute. She then remembered the horribly mangled corpse she had seen upon exiting the interrogation room.
"Because you clearly aren't the other one…Nana. The hair is all wrong," she said with a wink. The gesture was clearly aimed at lowering Mayu's guard. She could almost hear Bando's response, if he had been here, and drew upon his strength and no nonsense demeanor now.
"Don't fuck with me," Mayu said roughly, the expletive sounding strange leaving her lips, but undeniably empowering. She felt she understood now why Bando swore so much.
"Maybe Kouta and Yuka know you," she surmised, "but I don't. This is my home. A real answer this time please, stranger," Mayu said, emphasizing that last word.
Angel only stared at her, then slowly, looked over Mayu's head to a random direction.
"She'll be here soon though," Angel said, "I can feel her…getting closer."
What? Nana?
"Wait," Mayu said, forgetting her question, "Nana? She's really coming back here?"
If Bando had not already predicted Nana's arrival at Maple Inn, she might have questioned Angel's claim at sensing her approach. Hope surged in Mayu's breast at the possibility. She hoped Angel was not…
…wait.
"You're playing with me," Mayu said, recognizing the distractive tactics of a manipulator. It reminded her of her goddamn bastard stepfather. He acted in a similar fashion as he calmly told her mother lies and half truths that Mayu knew she wanted to hear.
"Playing?" Angel said, returning her gaze to Mayu, "I suppose I was. Forgive me, old habits die hard."
"Or they don't."
"Clever," Angel said, her smile seeming to falter somewhat, "but you're obviously too old for games."
Flattery now. This was also familiar. Mayu had had enough. She did not like what she saw in this "guest". Not. One. Bit.
"Is that what you're doing here?" Mayu began, once more drawing on Bando's strength and letting it reinforce the strength he had helped her find in herself, "playing games?"
"I think…"
"You know what? I don't care what you think. If you do anything to hurt my family, there's a bullet in this gun with your name on it. I don't care how strong you are."
Angel's eyes darkened suddenly and it was like her whole face had changed. It chilled Mayu to the bone. It was even worse when Angel suddenly smiled, and began walking towards the door. Mayu stepped to the side, out of Angel's way.
"I should be going anyway," Angel said, "I expect your friend, Nana, will react similarly to my presence here. Perhaps when Lucy returns and has a chance to explain things…"
"Yeah…perhaps."
Angel slid the front door open as Mayu heard footsteps approaching from further inside the house. Just before Angel stepped outside, she turned to look at Mayu, who ruthlessly suppressed an overwhelmingly strong desire to draw her gun. Those eyes…
She just knew it in her heart of hearts. That woman wanted to kill her. Right there in that second. Mayu could almost feel Angel considering it. She desperately hoped Nana or Lucy returned home soon. There was something terribly wrong with that woman, and she should not have been allowed to enter their home. Mayu blinked, realizing Angel had left, and shut the door behind her. She breathed a sigh of relief now that Angel was gone.
Kouta arrived in the room at that moment and Mayu turned to look at him; her happiness at seeing him again washing away her gnawing anxiety.
"Mayu!"
He was a sight for sore eyes. Wordlessly, she walked quickly towards him as he approached her, wrapping her arms around him when they met. Kouta hugged her tightly, almost painfully.
"Mayu, I'm so glad you're alright," he said.
She allowed her guard to finally go down, and the supreme relief she felt made her realize just how long she had that guard up. Silent tears fell from her face at being home, and seeing Kouta again. She allowed herself to feel, just for a little while, that simply by being here, everything was going to be alright again.
"Not so sure of that," she said in a voice that cracked as she spoke, "but at least I'm alive."
Kouta stepped back, gripping her shoulders and holding her at arms length.
"Where's Nana and Lucy? Aren't they with you?"
"What?"
"Yuka told me that Angel, which you'll meet by the way, told her that Lucy had found you all, and that you were coming back together."
Mayu stared at him.
"Kouta…I didn't even know Lucy was looking for us. I never saw her, I got here on my own."
Why would Angel say something like that?
"Kouta…I already met Angel on the way in. I don't like her, there's something really wrong with that woman. Why is she even here?"
"Well," Kouta said, "Lucy brought her here. She came from the same place that her and Nana did."
Somehow, in a very fundamental way, Mayu doubted that severely.
"What do you mean there's something wrong with her?" Kouta asked, "besides the obvious trauma of…"
"No Kouta, she's not a victim, I don't care what she's been through. This woman isn't like Lucy or Nana. Don't ask me how I know that, but you have to believe me, she's a wolf in sheep's clothing. Frankly, if you ask me, she's not even bothering to wear that sheep's clothing. How can you not see that? You can't let her back here."
"Mayu," Kouta exclaimed, "what's gotten into…"
Kouta's attention was drawn to Mayu's waist.
"What is that?" he asked.
"Look Kouta…"
"Is that a gun!"
"Please listen," Mayu said, raising her voice, "I know I have a lot of explaining to do, and I'm going to tell you everything, I promise."
She had almost forgotten her purpose for coming back home. She had to warn them about what was about to happen.
"I really need to talk to you and Yuka, right now," Mayu said, "where is…"
Yuka stepped out into the foyer, clad in one of the simple yet elegant dresses she was so used to seeing her wear.
"Mayu!" Yuka exclaimed. Mayu stepped away from Kouta and hugged Yuka in greeting.
"We've been so worried," Yuka said, stroking Mayu's hair, "are you alright? Where's Nana? Why isn't she with you?"
"I'm fine, and I think Nana's not far behind me," she said, remembering what Angel said. Despite how she felt about the woman, Mayu still believed that her claim had been truthful.
"Look, I need to talk to you guys. I need to tell you where I've been, and what's been going on."
"Of course Mayu," Yuka said, motioning her towards the dining room, "I'll put some tea on and…"
"No," Mayu said, perhaps a little forcefully, "sorry, just…I'm not. I don't want any right now."
Mayu sighed, why was she refusing to say the words?
She knew of course. She was going to uproot their lives, and telling them would make it real. She didn't want to be the one to do it. She briefly gave in to a childish wish for Bando to have been there to do it for her. But he wasn't here, she was, and she had to be strong like he would have been. He would be disappointed in her if he saw her like this. With that thought in mind, she exhaled once more to steady her nerves.
"We're in a lot of trouble," she said, "this whole city is in a lot of trouble and we have got to get out of Kamakura. Tonight."
"What!" Kouta exclaimed, "Mayu, what are you talking about? Leave Kamakura? Why?"
Mayu walked past them, heading to the dining room.
"Let's sit down," she said, "I've got a lot I need to tell you, and we don't have a lot of time."
Nana watched as a new blanket of clouds began to slowly shroud the morning sun which had previously shone down upon her and Daisuke during their walk to Maple Inn. She could smell the rain in the air already. It seemed like the weather lately had only two speeds. Bad, and worse. She sighed and hoped it would not rain before they got back to the inn.
Cars occasionally passed them by as they walked together, but Nana had no fear of either one of them being recognized. Daisuke had removed much of the tactical dress he had worn, and he didn't see how anyone would remember his face to connect him with S.A.T. At least not without taking a long look, which passing motorists wouldn't be able to do, if they even bothered to look in their direction. Daisuke told her that considering how slick the roads were, he didn't imagine there would be a lot of drivers looking at anything but the road. The only thing that might make a person look at him, was the fact that without the clothing which would have identified him instantly as a soldier, he wasn't left with much else. It was freezing outside, and Daisuke was down to a gray, short sleeved shirt. While the more exposed shape of his muscled body certainly made him more pleasing to the eye, it was offset by Nana's distress at knowing how cold he had to be. He shivered occasionally and insisted that the cold didn't bother him.
She, on the other hand, still wore her heavy dress, which was quite warm. It might have been considered an identifiable article of clothing for her, if it were not that there were plenty of other women walking the streets in similar garb. It was funny how the dress, which held significant sentimental value for her, was largely non-descript. Her hair was almost completely wrapped up in a headband which Daisuke had on his person so that she would not be identified by her peculiar hair color. Or the horns, of course. As far as anyone making a cursory examination would be concerned, they were just two nameless citizens of Kamakura. Nothing to take note of.
They had walked in silence for a while, both quite nervous that their rudimentary efforts at being incognito, would be fruitless. As the sun rose, that anxiety became ever more pronounced. Maple Inn was just too far away to spend the entire trip sneaking around. If they did that, all it would have taken was one person to see them darting around suspiciously in back alleys, or behind houses, and local law enforcement would bring a sudden end to their trip. After a while however, they had occasionally broken the silence with casual conversation. The more they spoke, the more Nana had begun to relax.
"Ever think about dying the hair?" Daisuke said, choosing another random topic to talk about, "you wouldn't have to wear that thing on your head. Well, maybe still for the horns, but you wouldn't have to wrap your head in a sweaty headband."
Nana smiled, "I don't mind. Besides, I like my hair this way. I always thought the color, and my horns, were kind of cute."
"And they are," Daisuke said, "I've met girls before who spent a good deal of money to come up with that look you've got going on there."
Nana laughed, "I don't think they'd want the trouble that came with having them naturally."
"You clearly haven't come across any of the girls I'm talking about."
Nana laughed again, trying to imagine the person who would willingly trade lives with her for a few physical features. It seemed incomprehensible to her. Not that she disliked her own life, but there were definitely some things she wished she'd never had to go through.
"Can I ask you a question Daisuke?" she said.
"Of course. Ask me anything."
"Why did you become a soldier for the Institute? I've been wondering that since I met you. That place doesn't seem to suit you at all."
Daisuke sighed, and rubbed his arms against the cold, raising his hands to his face and breathing hot air onto them.
"I guess the same reason a lot of the guys wound up doing it. My dad did it. Institute's not really big on the 'outside hire', so they preferred to encourage the enlisted men to consider their kids as potential soldiers. I guess I can see the logic, keep everything in house. Institute pays damn good and treats its private security forces very well. Everyone has better medical benefits than pretty much every other occupation in the world because we had access to the latest technology, and most highly trained doctors in that field. Then there's the fact that local law enforcement tends to look the other way when 'indiscretions' happen with Institute employed soldiers. There were a lot of advantages to working for them. Sure, there's the potential risk of facing an existential threat, but that ship is usually run so tight, that a lot of guys got through their service without ever being called to duty. It's actually a pretty sweet gig, all things considered."
A series of cars drove by, creating too loud a din to talk over, so Daisuke waited until they had passed, and it was relatively quiet again.
"My dad leaned pretty heavy on me to take on the 'family business'. I can understand why he pushed it so hard. The Institute encouraged it anyway, and he knew I'd be set for life if I did. It was his way of taking care of me, since I think he didn't really know how to do it otherwise. We didn't talk much, my dad and I."
He went silent for a few moments. Just long enough for Nana to understand that it was likely a sore subject with him. She decided not to comment on it just yet.
"Got to travel sometimes," he continued, "not too often, but I did. It was interesting work, and it was really top secret. I guess all the secrecy that surrounded us created something of a brotherhood among the guys. A lot of em stayed on just for that reason, they didn't care about the money."
She heard a longing in Daisuke's voice as he said that last bit.
"Like you?" she ventured.
He turned slightly to look at her, then after a moment, let out a huff of laughter.
"Either you're that good, or I'm that easy."
"It's hard feeling like you don't have anyone," Nana said, "growing up in the Institute, I clung really hard to papa because he was all I had. It's funny…I used to think I was the only one who really knew him. Turned out I didn't know him at all."
She smiled sadly, "didn't matter though. I knew I loved him. I think sometimes, you don't have to really know a lot about a person to find out what really matters. Sometimes, you just…know. You feel it, deep inside."
She felt Daisuke put an arm around her shoulders, and she leaned into him as they walked.
"When he died," Nana continued, "I felt so alone. I never knew a person could feel so alone. I didn't know what to do. Not even my new family was enough for me. I felt like I lived in a world they couldn't see or touch. Papa had been the only thing that had kept me from being totally alone. I held on so hard to his memory for that reason, and it made me blind to what I had gained in the meantime. I had to learn that it was ok to let go and move on."
"I think I know what you mean," Daisuke said.
"I thought if I was able to just know more about him somehow. Find something he'd written, or recorded, that it would complete me. I did wind up finding something, and it made me feel really happy for a little while, but…it didn't last. I almost let myself be killed because it wasn't enough to carry me when things got really hard."
She thought of Mayu, who had killed for her. It was strange to think of something so terrible being an epitome of a person's love for someone else. The world was a strange place.
"It wasn't a memory that saved me. It was Mayu, the first friend I had ever made, who saved me. I think I realized that she, and the rest of my family, was my papa's real legacy. They are what he wanted for me. What I found out in the world, my new family, and the happiness they gave me, was what he had risked so much for me to have. I realized I didn't need to know anything else but that. I think I understood then that living happy was how I could best honor his memory. He had told me to live happy; that was his last wish for me, but until now, I didn't know how to do that without him. He wanted me to have something he knew he could never give me himself."
"He sounds like he was a hell of a guy."
"Maybe. We didn't talk much…my papa and I," she said, the corner of her lips turning up in a smile as she looked slyly at Daisuke.
He raised his eyebrow at her, as the significance of what she was saying dawned on him.
"Ok," he said, "I've made up my mind. You're just that good."
She smiled and shook her head, "no, you're just that easy."
They laughed together and he squeezed her shoulder affectionately. She began to recognize some of the sights around her, and silently cursed their appearance. She didn't want this walk to end just yet.
"It's only because I think we're a lot alike," Nana said, "I had a feeling about it. I think that's why…"
She blushed.
"Yeah," he said, "me too."
They walked in silence for a while longer, merely enjoying one another's company. She knew once they reached Maple Inn, that it would be like walking back into the turmoil of their present problems. This journey home had felt a lot like they both had taken a rest from their worries, for just a little while. As much as she wanted to see Kouta and Yuka again, she didn't want this to end. Not yet.
"So, is your father still around?" Nana asked, "and what about your mother?"
Daisuke sighed, "well, dad says my mother left when I was still young. I guess my dad had some issues with expressing his feelings, both to her, and to me. He wasn't very good with them, and the fact that he was always working at the Institute didn't help matters. It just led to a lot of problems at home. I was old enough to remember the fights, but not enough to know what they were about. I always wondered why she could have just left without looking back or even wondering how I was doing, her own kid. I still do sometimes. Personally, I always believed there was more to the story than that, or perhaps a different reason other than the one my dad gave me, but I never found out what since…well."
He paused for a moment, "my dad's not around anymore. You know how I was telling you that most guys could make it their entire career without being called to duty or perform operations?"
She nodded.
"Well, dad wasn't one of those. The problem with being officially recognized as S.A.T is that if the city needs you, they can lean on the Institute for support troops if, and when, they need it. Well, there had been some killings in an apartment loft, and they requested some of the Institute soldiers as point men…my father was one of them."
He looked at her strangely before continuing.
"She was just a small child. Dad had no way of knowing she was dangerous. He was trying to comfort her, thinking she was just some traumatized kid who had witnessed the murders. He was the first one she killed. Took his head right from his shoulders…"
Diclonius. Nana, suddenly felt very self conscious about what she was. She was surprised Daisuke didn't despise her utterly.
"I guess I should be glad it was quick for him," he continued, "he didn't suffer. Some other people weren't so lucky when Number 3 escaped containment."
His eyes darkened somewhat, "I can't deny feeling a certain sense of satisfaction when I heard Professor Kakuzawa gunned her down. I never had so much respect for a man then the one who had gotten vengeance for everyone that girl had murdered. But afterwards?"
Nana began to step away from Daisuke, feeling even more self conscious. He tightened his grip upon her, preventing her from doing so.
"I was barely into my teens then, but I was already in the training program. They didn't always tell the soldiers what it was they were guarding. Need to know basis, but they told me because it was my dad who was killed. After I had spent some time being angry, I wanted to know why it had happened. I wanted to know more about the Diclonius. I never got much information, and I didn't really get to see any of the test subjects…"
He grimaced, "sorry. I mean, I never got to see any of the girls often. Mostly it was when they were in transit. I remember how I felt when I'd see them like that, boxed up so they couldn't move, in this thing that looked like an upright coffin, completely shut off from the outside world. I couldn't shake this feeling…that they seemed just so…utterly alone. It would cut through the hate I felt, and it was hard for me sometimes to hold on to how angry I was. I didn't get to know any of those girls, and the distance that was maintained between us, and them, made it easy to imagine that they didn't have feelings like the rest of us. I think that was the very reason the Institute insisted upon that distance. If it hadn't been there, a lot more guys might not have been able to kill them if and when they had to."
"Daisuke…I…"
"Have nothing to apologize for," he said, practically reading her mind, "I'm past that phase where I hated all of your kind for what one of them did to my father. I'm glad I met you Nana. I needed to meet you. For years, I wanted the chance to meet one of your kind. I think deep down, I was hoping you would prove me wrong about the Diclonius. Push me off the fence, you know?"
He turned to her, offering her a smile, "I just never expected to…"
Nana looked back at him and smiled, "yeah," she said, "I know."
Daisuke laughed softly, "world's a strange place, huh?"
"Wonderfully strange," she said in reply. They were getting much closer to the inn, and arrive any time now.
"Daisuke," she said nervously, "could I…I mean…could you…"
She wasn't very good at this kind of thing. Daisuke was the first guy she had ever been attracted to, and she cared a lot about him. They seemed cut from the same cloth in a lot of ways and she felt very comfortable being with him, but when it came to intimacy, she wasn't sure exactly how she was expected to act.
Daisuke stopped walking and turned to face her. She stopped as well, simply watching him. He reached up with one hand and pressed it against her cheek. His hands were cold, but so was the exposed skin on her face, so it did not bother her very much. raising one of her synthetic arms to press her own hand against his, she wished she could feel the touch in her fingertips.
"Anyone ever tell you how beautiful you are?" he asked, "I mean…that was a stupid question wasn't it? I bet you get that all the time. "
He seemed nervous. She found his nervousness cute and couldn't help the small laugh that issued from her lips.
"Actually, I don't," she said.
"Oh, well…you are,"
He laughed nervously, "I'm not really so good at th…"
Stricken by a sudden urge, Nana stepped closer to him until she was close enough to feel his warm breath upon her face.
"Kiss me," she whispered suddenly. It had helped tremendously to know that he had been feeling just as nervous as she herself was. It made her feel less shy about asking him to kiss her, something she had been wanting him to do for the majority of their walk. It was also enough to make her forget that this would be the first time she'll have ever been kissed. For a few moments, Daisuke had stared at her, the breath caught in his lungs.
He finally bent his head slowly towards her and her eyes slid shut the moment his lips pressed against her own. In that moment, the world disappeared and was filled only with disembodied, ambient sounds of wind and passing cars. Even those sounded like they were worlds away, shut completely out by the lightening shock that went through her as Daisuke slowly kissed her. She felt his arms encircle her waist and she felt faint, almost as if she would sink to the ground if he were not holding her up. There was nothing hurried about the kiss so she very quickly found herself able to return it in the same way, the reciprocation being as natural a movement as breathing, which she had to remind herself to do from time to time. She could hear people in passing cars yelling out at them as they drove by. She couldn't comprehend the words, and she didn't care. When the kiss had finally ended, Nana felt almost like complaining at how brief it had been, but realized that they had indeed stood for quite a while doing so. It was fascinating to her how such a long period of time could seem so fleeting.
She looked deeply into his emerald green eyes as they parted, recognizing the passionate storm that lay within their depths. She was utterly speechless, which frustrated her, feeling as though she ought to say something. Instead, she simply rested her forehead against his shoulder and he wrapped his arms more tightly around her.
"These people you live with, Kouta and Yuka. They must be wonderful people to deserve your love and respect. I can't wait to meet them."
She stepped away from him, smiling happily at the thought of her Kouta and Yuka. She hoped they would like Daisuke, though she couldn't see how they would not.
"You will soon, we're almost…"
She almost screamed.
Clutching her head with her hands, she dropped to her knees as she felt the most horrible, terrifying sense rip through her mind like a hurricane of knives. She knew well that she was particularly sensitive to Diclonius auras, more so than Lucy certainly, and she knew she was sensing one now, nearby. What she felt in that moment was a hellstorm of frenzied rage, and a bloodlust so sickening that she wanted to vomit on the sidewalk. Just as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished as though it had never been.
It had come from Maple Inn, there and gone in a moment.
"They're in trouble!" Nana screamed.
"What?" Daisuke exclaimed, reaching behind him for the pistol she knew was there.
"I…come on! We have to hurry!"
She got to her feet and broke into a run, Daisuke following behind. It had to be that other one that Lucy mentioned, Angel.
If THAT was what lay within her depths….
Oh God…please be alive Kouta…Yuka…please don't be dead…
This woman, Angel…she was no friend. Of that, Nana was absolutely certain.
Kouta just couldn't believe everything he had heard. He couldn't believe the terrible things Mayu had been through in the past few days.
As she had spoken, Kouta simply couldn't get over how different she had sounded. In only two days, she had become an almost completely different person, her speech direct and sometimes caustic. Her eyes were harder and she spoke with an almost calm detachment as she relayed the various terrors that she had gone through with Nana.
Probably the worst bit was when she had told them of a man she had shot and killed in the Institute. It had been the only time Kouta thought she was going to cry. Yuka's horror had been visibly extreme as she had raised shaking hands to her mouth. Mayu had not looked at either of them as she told that story, and when she had finished, suddenly stared at them in a way that almost dared them to condemn her for her actions. Mayu had clearly misunderstood their horror, thinking that they had been horrified by her, and not the fact that she had to face a situation as terrible as the one that had forced her to make such an awful decision. Kouta had been quick to make Mayu understand their true feelings, and that they were not condemning her. Mayu had cried then, but silently. Tears slid down her cheeks, but she would not allow herself to wail or sob. That, perhaps more than anything else, was a testament of what she had gone through. Kouta felt horrible for her, and was extremely glad she was back home with them.
Kouta understood Mayu's overwhelming sense of urgency as she spoke. He had no reason to doubt the truth of all that Mayu had told her about the Institute's doomsday weapon, and the coming citywide quarantine. Much of that information had been deductions from an Institute soldier that Mayu spoke of almost constantly during her speech. A man named Bando, who had protected her for the entire time she had been away. Kouta had plenty of questions about that, since it was obvious that she had known this man for far longer than just the past two days. Mayu spoke of him almost reverently, which amplified Kouta's desire to meet this man and get a sense of him. Despite his curiosity, and instinctual protectiveness, he was grateful to the unknown man for helping to get her home.
Kouta had tried to stop her during her speech when she had mentioned Arakawa, a woman he had met before. The memory had been difficult to hang on to, as it had been one of those he had suppressed, but he remembered her for sure now. He had often wondered what became of the jumpy scientist who had obviously covered for him when they had both stumbled across Professor Kakuzawa's body. If she had not covered for him, he was sure the Institute would have come looking for him long ago. He was glad to hear she was still alive, but not so glad to know she was back under the Institute's control. It seemed wrong to think about running when there were people out there he knew, that needed help. Mayu had simply told him that this soldier, Bando, was taking care of it. Mayu seemed so absolutely sure that he would succeed that Kouta did not think of it any further. To Mayu at least, it seemed Bando was quite unstoppable. He was glad that a man like him would be on their side.
When Mayu had stood up after finishing her story, Kouta marveled at how she carried herself now. He could feel an iron will radiating from her, but it had not completely replaced her gentle demeanor. He had been planning to talk to her about the gun she was carrying, but it seemed like a silly thing to do now. She had quite earned the right to carry it, but it didn't mean he had to like it. Guns made him nervous, and that wasn't likely to change for any reason.
"Alright," Kouta said, "so we grab whatever we can take, and we leave tonight. I'll call what family I've got in Hokkaido, and we can head there for a while until whatever's happening in Kamakura ends. But, what about…"
There was a sudden loud sound at the front door. Kouta and Yuka stood up in a panic. Mayu drew her gun.
"Stay here," she commanded. Kouta blinked in surprise at her tone. Before Mayu could leave the room however, they all heard a shouted voice from the front door. "Kouta! Yuka!"
It was Nana! Mayu's eyes lit up instantly, and she put her gun away, rushing in the direction of the front door. Kouta and Yuka quickly followed behind. When Kouta reached the foyer, she saw Nana and Mayu in a tight embrace, both girls crying with happiness at being reunited. Behind them, at the open door, stood a man who looked about Kouta's age, rubbing his bare arms against the cold. He smiled warmly upon seeing them.
"You'd be Kouta and Yuka? Nana's told me about you two. It's good to meet you."
Kouta noticed again the fact that he was wearing a short sleeved shirt. The shock of seeing Nana returned to them had completely made him forget that fact.
"You must be cold!" Kouta said quickly, "come in, shut the door."
He understood that this man had come with Nana. In a dim corner of his mind, he recalled Mayu's words of warning against another stranger that had come home with a member of their family. He knew he probably ought to be more suspicious of strangers, but he decided to suspend his judgment for the time being. After all, this man was outnumbered, and in a room with an armed woman, and a Diclonius. Kouta was pretty sure they'd be safe around him.
"I'm Daisuke," the man said as he stepped inside, closing the door, "I came here with Nana, but I guess that's pretty obvious huh?"
Nana disengaged from Mayu and walked over to Kouta and Yuka, hugging both of them in greeting. Yuka brushed tears from Nana's eyes.
"I'm so glad you're safe," Yuka said, clutching Nana in another hug.
Kouta walked towards Daisuke and noticed Nana watching him from the corner of his eye.
"Well yeah," Kouta said, answering Daisuke's question, "it is a little obvious. So you're friends with Nana?"
"I am," he answered, "and…" he paused looking at Nana, "do they know about…?"
"They do," Nana said, "you can tell them." Kouta was confused. Daisuke looked back at him.
"I'm a…former Institute soldier. I'm sure you don't have a whole lot of nice things to say about them, and you'd be mostly justified in your opinions. I promise you though, I'm not so much of an asshole."
"I heard about you," Mayu interjected, "from a soldier Bando was…talking to. They're not happy with you defecting."
"No kidding?" he said with a smirk, "and here I thought I could use them as a reference for my next job. Oh well, shit happens I guess."
Mayu laughed, and Kouta relaxed. He found himself taking a liking to the stranger. It was different from when he had met Angel. That time, he felt as though he were under a spell. He didn't get a sense that there was anything under this man's sleeves. And on that note…
"I don't know if you have any other clothes," Kouta said, "but I have some jackets that might fit you. You're a bit stocker than I am so I'm not sure if they will."
"I'd be grateful," Daisuke said, "feels like I can't clench my damn fists I'm so cold."
"Daisuke, we could have found something for you on the way back," Nana said, walking back over to him, "I didn't realize it was so bad for you. I don't feel the cold as much as others, so I forget what it's like."
"Come on Nana, I was kind of busy trying to show you what a tough guy I am. What was I supposed to do? Complain?"
"You're complaining now," she said, smiling.
"Well that's because you like me now, so I think it's safe to spring it on you that I'm a big baby. That's not a deal breaker is it?"
Nana laughed and shook her head. Her face suddenly fell, as if remembering something.
"Kouta, where is Angel?"
The ember of dread that Mayu had put into him flared up again.
"I…don't know. She just left a little while ago."
"So she hasn't hurt you guys?"
Kouta thought he saw Yuka shifting uncomfortably. Probably his imagination.
"Why would she do that?" Kouta asked.
"Because she wants to," Nana said gravely, "I felt it on the way back here. Something terrible…"
"Nana…I met her on the way back here," Mayu said, "I know what you mean. There's something wrong with her and we can't let her come back here."
All at once, Kouta remembered the edge in her voice and darkness in her eyes when they had first met. Angel had looked at him as if she had known he saw those things in her. It occurred to him then that she had somehow managed to avoid him for much of the time she had been staying at the inn. Kouta did have a talent for seeing into the depths of a person's being. Could she have been afraid of him finding out what lay within hers?
First Mayu, and now Nana. Both of them were saying the same thing; Angel was trouble. He believed them. He wondered why Lucy had not been able to see it, but then again, neither had he or Yuka.
"What do we do if she comes back?" Kouta said, suddenly frightened at the prospect of her return.
"I don't know what she left to do," Mayu said, "but hopefully, we can be packed, and gone, before she does come back."
Daisuke stepped forward.
"I know a little about this Angel person you're all talking about. Lucy filled in some blanks…"
"You met Lucy?" Kouta exclaimed.
"Yes…I did. That's a scary woman by the way. Have to hand it to you Kouta, you've got nerves of steel being with her."
"Not my nerves that make it possible," Kouta said, "is she alright?"
"She's fine. She went looking for a guy who knows a little about that other Diclonius, Angel. Guy named Erich Vanith."
Kouta and Yuka exchanged shocked glances. There was that name, Erich.
"Who is he?" Yuka said, almost shouting.
"He's a director from an Institute in Rome, Italy. He brought that Diclonius with him a few days ago. Before I defected, priority one for S.A.T was the tracking, and termination of that woman, by order of Erich Vanith."
Ice crawled down Kouta's spine. So he had been looking for Angel, all this time. That had to be it. His "daughter" indeed. What a fool he had been. An Institute director, right under their nose…under their roof…
"He was here…the other night," Kouta said out loud, almost to himself.
"What!" Daisuke exclaimed, "what did he look like? Are you sure it was Vanith?"
"He didn't give his last name. He had short hair, and had been wearing glasses when I met him. Seemed very well kept and well dressed…"
"Christ," Daisuke said.
"…he looked really shaken up by something."
"I fucking bet he was," Daisuke said, clawing his hands through his hair, "he had been with a strike force to take Number 5...er…Angel, down. None of them reported back in, so they're probably all dead. If Vanith is still alive, that must be because she wanted him to watch. I can't think of any other reason why she wouldn't kill him too."
"Kouta…" Yuka said in a shaky voice, grabbing his shirt with one hand. He placed a hand over hers.
"It's going to be alright Yuka, we're going to get out of here."
"And if we're all going to cut and run," Daisuke said, "which I personally think is an amazing goddamn idea, then we need to step on the gas with that. Not only does that monster know where you live, but if Vanith knows, so does the Institute. Does he know that there are Diclonii living here?"
"No," Kouta replied, "he doesn't."
"Well that's a relief, but it still means he'll have one hell of a lead to track them back here if he gets any information about any of you."
"Then we don't have any time to waste," Kouta said, "let's pack what we need and get out of here as fast as we can," Kouta stepped forward and gripped Daisuke's shoulder, "thank you for…just…"
"No need for that," Daisuke replied, "I'm doing this as much for me as for you. Let's just get the hell out of here. You can thank me when we get out of the city."
"Oh!" came Nana's voice from behind him. Kouta turned around to look at her, "Lucy wanted me to tell you that she loves you and she'll be here by nightfall."
Kouta noticed Yuka turning slightly away, and her hands twitch as Nana said the words. Despite that, Kouta's heart filled with pleasure at the words, and relief that Lucy would return soon. He wanted to see her very badly right then.
"Thank you Nana," he replied. He very much hoped Lucy came back before Angel.
He was sure he did not want to know what would happen once Angel returned…
