Always There: Chapter 9

Set in Motion

It hurt.

Both the physical and emotional implications of what she had done were sending shockwaves of pain throughout her whole body. With that one swift motion, she had completely destroyed the happy façade she had surrounded herself with all these years…and the deep gash that traveled up her forearm would be a constant reminder of the day he had ripped her heart clear from her chest. Tiny rivets of darkly shaded crimson liquid were rapidly beginning to pool on the deep mahogany floorboards…yet she didn't care. Salty tears fell from her dusty brown eyes, colliding with thepuddle of blood at her feet.

She had to do something about the mess, particularly if she didn't want him to see. But her jealousy was at its peek, and even the sticky red substance oozing from her open wound seemed to carry within it the very essence and likeness of her, making the brunette internally cringe in disgust. She waded through the mass of broken wood, glass, photo's and blood on her knees, searching for anything that would cover up her arm. She honestly couldn't look at it any longer. Eventually she came upon one of her summer dressers tucked neatly away in a corner. Tearing of the hem of the beautifully embroiled piece of clothing, she carelessly wrapped it around her dyed skin as tight as she could manage.

Crying again to herself, she went about pushing the mess into her laundry hamper in the corner of her room. She always did those chores, so no one would come looking for clothes…she hoped.

'What am I going to do…?'

Whilst piling the dangerous material into the cloth bag, she caught a glimpse of a photo of her, Kouta, Kanae and her uncle laughing together at the summer festival all those years ago. It used to be her favorite time of year; the time in which she would look forward to the beginning with such excitement and anticipation, and would mourn the ending with just as much sadness and anxiety.

For the first time that night, she smiled weakly, running her still bloody fingertips over the fragile image as if savoring the feel of it. If only things could go back to the way they were then. If only he would go back to feeling the way he did…she'd be content with everything. She studied the photo closely…she really did miss her younger cousin and uncle…who were both smiling exuberantly at each other, lost in the joyful bliss of the moment.

And Kouta…Kouta was…what was Kouta doing? Or rather, what was he looking at…?

He was smiling, but warily, as if trying to hide something. She followed his eye line curiously through the mass of the crowd…and almost jumped back at what she saw…

Red hair. Red eyes. Horns.

It was her! But how…? Why…?

'I met this really strange girl in the woods…she was so lonely.'

She remembered. Nyuu was indeed the little girl he had met in the woods all those years ago. If only she had stopped him. He had made her promise not to tell his father about him sneaking out of the house to 'paint' or else he would refuse to accompany her to the summer festival that was to be held in the small town within the next few days. The young brunette had known that her beloved cousin was up to no good, but didn't push the issue further as she lamented too much the idea of being rejected.

She would have objected had she known that this was what he was hiding. But now it was too late. It seemed that it was already too late the moment he had met her. Sighing hopelessly to herself, she continued to rummage through the debris, carefully placing the remains in the most concealed and hardly used areas of her room. Nobody ever came in here, so with any luck nobody would find anything suspicious.

There was a knock on the door. Yuka froze.

"Yuka? Are you okay? I heard something smash and-"

Just the sound of his voice was enough to bring tears of anger to her eyes.

"Go away you jerk!" She screeched from her huddled position on the floor, hoping that her tone of voice would be enough to scare him off and drop his prodding.

He persisted.

"I know that you're upset Yuka, but if you're hurt then I have to do something. I'm coming in!" And without any hesitation he boldly flung the door open, slightly wincing as he waited for the 'punishment' to arrive at its usual destination: his face. But nothing came, and he was just as surprised as she was when he saw her sitting there, surrounded by the glass. Yuka was merely staying still out of the fear of having to explain the mess.

"Wha…what happened here?" He asked, completely dumbfounded. The young female college student simply shrugged as she fiddled nervously with her hair, trying to hide the real reason for her actions. It was a vain hope…that he would just simply leave of his own accord. He continued to stare her down in hopes of getting her to explain, but she opted to avoid his gaze and continued to shuffle around in the mess, delaying the inevitable.

She didn't want to look at him, she didn't want to touch him…she couldn't even stand knowing that he was just there…only a mere two meters away. But she had neither the strength left in her voice nor the resolve to send him off at the moment. The only thing she had any vigor for right now was crying…real crying. The mourning that she had done previously over their relationship, (which at one point seemed to be imaginary due to Kouta's memory loss) had been hindered by hope. Hope that, when his memory did indeed return, he would remember and she would finally be happy with him. So she had bottled herself up for so long, waiting for it to happen…and it never did. Now that she knew his real feelings, she could let it all out. It actually felt…good.

Really good.

"Yuka…let's get you out of here," Kouta said suddenly, misinterpreting her crying as shock and pain from her gashes. He made his way towards her, awkwardly shifting between the muddle in an attempt to not bring injury to himself. He bent down to examine her as she pitifully sobbed into her hands, tears pouring out from the cracks in her fingers. He almost immediately noticed the blood stained tattered cloth tied around what was obviously the wound.

"How did you manage this?" He asked skeptically, pulling her arm away in order to examine it more closely. Yuka was never one to be described as clumsy. Even in an accident she never hurt herself this badly. Looking at the surroundings Kouta noticed that it was all only photographs and broken frames…of him and her. He knew how bad his cousin's temper was and he had a fair idea of what had happened.

He should have figured she'd do something like this. Only Yuka would completely demolish everything out of something as petty as jealousy and grudges.

Sighing inwardly to himself and giving the brunette no time to respond, he whipped her up in his arms and hauled her out of the 'battle ground' and down towards the bathroom. The abrasion on her arm really needed dressing.

He wordlessly got to work; placing her down carefully on the counter as he sorted through various cupboards searching for the right materials and utensils. Eventually he found what he needed and did away quickly with the pathetic excuse for a bandage already in place. Yuka winced at how rough he was being and immediately sought to reprimand it.

"That really hurt you idiot!" She screamed, possibly overreacting as she slapped him hard across his exposed cheek. She breathed furiously through her nose, trying to calm down whilst for the moment Kouta simply subdued to her anger and continued to clean her gash as if nothing had ever happened. Soon enough he had finished, and Yuka had cooled off for the most part; allowing him to efficiently put everything back in its rightful place.

"Thank-you."

Kouta momentarily stopped half way through his sorting to cast a glance over at the now composed girl sitting on the bench, taken aback by her rather random display of kindness. He watched her for a moment from his place a good distance away as she twiddled with the rogue strings, not really paying attention to anything.

"Kouta?" She whispered so softly that he almost missed it.

"Hmmm? Yeah?"

"I'm sorry." She mumbled through a tight throat, her eyes once again welling up with tears. Her head bolted upright then, finally facing him. Her sobs seemed much louder as they echoed off the bathroom walls. "I…I-I just wanted…"

He hastily put everything on the floor as he made his way over to console her, gently rubbing her head in an attempt to soothe; just like he did when they were kids.

"I'm sorry too, Yuka," the raven haired man admitted solemnly, casting his gaze downward at the tiles. Underneath his palm, the adolescent male felt her head shoot up in curiosity and confusion and he immediately tried to explain himself.

"What I mean is…"

A creaking of the stairs interrupted his speech. He waited for more movement but was greeted by only silence. Growing impatient and ignoring the sound, his cousin instantly tried to coax him to continue.

"What you mean is…?" She repeated forcefully, inching closer towards his face, staring him down intensely. He opened his mouth but then shut it again as yet another groan in the floorboards above forced him to delay what Yuka was hoping to be a significant explanation of what he had been up to recently. The sounds continued until they both head someone step off the staircase and down the hall.

It was Yuka who reacted first, helping herself down off the bathroom counter and out into the rest of the house to greet the intrusion into her very important and critical conversation with her beloved cousin. Either Nana or Maiyu were about to get a rather big scolding at being up so late…and although she couldn't see them, she decided to make her presence known anyway.

"You're up too late you know that?" She whispered a little more harshly then intended. "Get back to bed now…we have a big day tomorrow and I don't want you complaining that you're tired."

No movement towards the second floor was made by the shadowy figure, and this only made the brunette even angrier. "Go!" She said more vigorously this time, hoping to get some kind of response.

"I'm not going back to bed." Came a blunt, disembodied voice from the darkness, "and I don't plan to either." Footsteps began to echo louder and louder in Yuka's ears and she instinctively backed away whilst saying nothing, knowing all too well who it was. The mysterious figures identity became known when she stepped past the stationary form of the girl blocking her path and into the pale, dim light emitting from the bathroom's weak bulb.

"Nyuu!" Kouta noted surprised, "what are you doing awake? I thought you had gone to-"

"I'm going for a walk," she intercepted frankly. "And you are staying here."

"Going for a walk? At this hour?"

"Yes. And you are staying here." She repeated in a more controlling tone, hoping to get her point across, but Kouta obviously couldn't help but be ruthlessly logical. It was early morning… not more then 2-3 am…she was still weak from her encounter with the storm, and while it had died down, there would indeed be a few 'unpleasant' individuals who would surely seek to do her harm. Going out now was, to be blunt…a little more then idiotic.

"You can't go now…not at this hour anyway."

"I have to," she replied simply with a shrug of the shoulders, making her way past him and towards the door. He automatically stepped in front of her, unable to let go of his anal parental habits. "You're crazy! You're not going anywhere you hear me!"

"Let her go," came a voice from the hallway, its tone uncharacteristically serious and condescending. Kouta already knew who it was, but was definitely in no mood to deal with trivial rivalry right now. Answering her back would only provoke, so he simply ignored her and tried a different approach to the situation seeing as Lucy obviously had no intention of relenting.

"Why the sudden urge to go out?"

"It doesn't concern you. Stay here."

"Why?"

This was now reaching far past the threshold of annoying…and that stupid idiot would be here soon if she didn't lead him away. Kouta didn't realize…nobody did. If she stayed here they would all certainly die.

But this time, she had every intention of coming back…there was no question about it, she would come home and nothing would stop her.

"I'll be back in a few hours…goodbye." She zigzagged her way past him once again and opened the door. Surprisingly, no protest came and for that, Lucy was thankful. He obviously did care for her, but he clearly saw that it was fruitless in bargaining with her as well…which was good. She didn't have the time to deal with his constant worries, and so with one last glance at him, she stepped out into the cold blanket of night and made her way down the street.

"Do you sense anything?" A stereotypical lab assistant fiddled with his glasses on the bridge of his nose as he stared his candidate down waiting for an answer. This one was difficult, but after the loss of both Lucy and Number 35, she was as close as they could get in terms of which one had strong vectors.

The adolescent girl spared him a quick glance before sighing in exasperation. It was a pity. Her first time in the outside world away from those men in lab coats, who often camouflaged themselves behind thick panes of glass as they implemented one painful experiment after another on her tired body…and this is what she had to do. Track down the so-called 'Queen' of her species and serve as a distraction until the swat team could effectively get into place whilst this 'supposed' leader…Kakazawa, bargained with her.

She was beyond annoyed, since this ever inquisitive man seemed duty bound in preventing her from even taking a simple pleasure in the view from outside the small, dirty window she was sitting next to.

"No…" she replied finally with a sigh. For all intensive purposes, she would never see anything as beautiful and infinitive as the sky again. Noticing the dust on the window, she selected a finger and began tracing very plain patterns as she carved through the grime, creating a somewhat twisted version of what was intended. Pulling her face away slightly to admire her work, she couldn't help but giggle. The bubbling noise escaping her lips instantly intrigued everyone on board the helicopter.

The gun that was being used as a method of compulsory co-operation was forced harder into the back of her neck, immediately bringing a halt to her mirth, but she grinned mischievously in reminiscence. "What the hell is so funny, Number 19?"

Her expression once again turned to one of feigned innocence and naivety as she directed the geek's attention to her sketch. She struggled to hold back her laughter as she talked him through it.

"This is you…and this is me," she directed his attention to the sketch of him, and he was instantaneously insulted. She had drawn him as an overly exaggerated fuming stick person. Number 19 saw his reaction and smiled…just what she had wanted to happen. She flicked her long pale blue locks before continuing, a few errant strands catching on her ivory colored horns. "I don't like angry people." Her voice had gone low and venomous as she spoke, "…so here…I cut your head off!" She screamed excitedly, finally bursting into fits of unbridled hilarity.

Of course, she was the only one who found any of this amusing.

Wasting no time, the swat team member who was currently holding the barrel of gunpowder to her head reached in front of himself and grabbed her by the hair as he pulled her up and around to face him, the weapon placed delicately under her chin. Tears began brimming at the corners of her eyes as she felt her hair being pulled out by the roots.

"Just remember…I can pull this trigger without warning if you keep this up. So you had better shut the fuck up you bitch, or you'll soon find a bullet in your skull!"

"Am I supposed to be scared?" She asked calmly, although her voice was a tad hoarse from the pain, she began to laugh again, staring the masked man down intensively. "The same goes for you too. With the use of only one of my vectors…your head could now be rolling up and down the floor as this flying thing moves. If I were you, I'd be the one to watch it."

Without out word, the gruff man threw her back into her chair as he spat on her face. The girl couldn't help but wince at the act as he walked away into the back of the flying machine. Once she had recovered from the blow, she popped her head over the edge of the seat to make sure he was gone before promptly sighing in happiness and sitting back down again.

'This is going to be fun…come out, come out where ever you are Lucy.'

"And there you are…" she announced playfully as she felt the familiar throbbing at the back of her mind. The lab assistant's head suddenly shot up when heard her words and his anxiety could be heard through his voice. Truth be told, no one liked getting caught in-between these 'monsters.' Anyone who did almost guaranteed death for themselves, hence why people in these positions were very well paid; but to many, life was considered to be more valuable then any currency.

"Where is she?" He asked uneasily, but was ignored completely as the diclonius beside him focused all her attention on communicating with her target.

…

"Wanna play with me?"

…

"So, it's not just that idiot I have to deal with is it?"

…

"Hehe…do you really have that stronger death wish?"

…

"You can't beat me…I'm your mother after all."

…

"We'll just have to see about that then won't we?"

…

"No one shall interfere anymore…least of all you."

…

"I found her," Number 19 finally announced. "She's heading towards the beach." As soon as conformation of her whereabouts had been received, the previous uneventful but tense atmosphere erupted into chaos as soldiers ran about in flurry of panic trying to organize themselves for what had been assured as a very dangerous fight.

"I can't kill her…can I?" The blue haired assassin asked; the question aimed at no one in particular. Everyone was taken aback for a moment, not by her request but by her tone of voice. She was clearly disappointed…and it was enough to put the men on even more anxious and unnerving terms then they were to begin with as the full ferocity of the things involved was brought into full view.

"No…" A grey haired man said, stepping up from his secluded position right up the back of the helicopter. "If you kill her, I'll kill you." He said sternly, squeezing her shoulder as a reminder. She merely shrugged in frustration.

"Awww…bummer…can I play with her at least?" She pleaded, finally facing the man beside her. "Hmmm? You're the boss aren't you?" He looked down at her and smiled…generally amused by her child-ness. "Yes I am," he said finally, "and you can play with her as much as you want…just don't kill her, I wouldn't want to have to kill you too."

He gave her a pat on the head as her expression turned to one of extreme excitement. "Yay! This is going to be fun!"

'Finally…I'll accomplish what I want, and Lucy will be the key to completely remaking the world…it's just a matter of time now.'

Something was wrong…Nyuu wouldn't just get up and go for a walk in the middle of the night for absolutely no reason.

He had to find out why and the only person who could tell him was…

"Nana! Nana wake up!" He whispered callously, shaking her in a desperate attempt to get some kind of response.

"Papa…" she grumbled, turning over on her side and ignoring Kouta's desperate pleas. He had do something…he really needed her advice.

"Oh Nana…Yuka's just made breakfast…" He whispered temptingly to her sleeping form and soon enough, received the kind of reaction he had been waiting for although, he hadn't predicted her movements.

"Breakfast? Where?" She exclaimed eagerly, bolting upright from her horizontal position and promptly smacking her adoptive father in the head, causing him to fall away from her, holding his jaw in momentary agony. The short, pink haired diclonius lazily rubbed the sleep from her eyes as took a brief minute to gain her wits before throwing back the covers of her futon. It was only then did she notice Kouta lying on the floor.

And that was also when, she felt it too…

The all too familiar throbbing of a diclonius' presence at the back of her mind and although it wasn't as strong as Lucy, it was still very noticeable. "What's another one doing here? I thought they had all gone and would leave us alone!" The raven haired university student stumbled to his feet when he saw Nana's reaction, meaning that he had guessed right. It was indeed just like the last time they had both run off…

…But like hell was he losing Nyuu again!

"Nana tell me, where is Nyuu? You told me once that you can sense each other, so where is she?" He held her by the shoulders, he grip tightening slightly in trepidation with every second that passed in which the young horned girl said nothing. Nana tried to focus on Lucy's presence, which proved to be quite easy and soon enough she was ready to give her answer.

"She headed for the beach," she said shakily, wrapping her arms around her in a pathetic attempt to soothe, "and so is the other one."

"Other one?" Kouta muttered quietly to himself, "that must be why she left."

Without a second thought, Kouta sprang up, out of the room and started down the stairs when he heard a familiar voice call out after him. "Kouta wait! You can't go by yourself, they'll surely kill you!" It was Nana who had followed him and was trying to make him listen to reason. "I'm coming too."

"No you're not."

"Why?"

"I saw what they did to you last time, Nana. I won't let it happen again. Besides, what kind of father would I be if I did put you in that situation? We all love you Nana…I need you to stay here in case someone comes here alright? You need to protect Maiyu and Yuka for me, can you do that?"

Nana began crying almost straight away as she averted her gaze down toward the floor. "I suppose," She admitted weakly, "do you really love me?"

"Of course we do…" He smiled. "Of course I do…you mean a lot to all of us."

She smiled in return, grinning through her tears. "Then, I won't let you down!"

"Good," she nodded, satisfied. "Oh and tell Yuka not to worry. I'll be back in awhile!" He said over his shoulder as he headed for the door.

"Kouta?" Nana asked timidly, just before he stepped out.

"Yeah? What is it?"

"Be careful…and make sure you bring Nyuu home with you too!"

"I will." He said enthusiastically before walking out and closing the door, confident he could rely on Nana to protect the two remaining members of their family.

'Don't worry Nyuu…I promise that you will come home.'

Bando had noticed his pray sometime ago, a solitary figure walking along the street in darkness. He had been trailing her so far without being caught (or at least, that's what he thought.) As he had seen, she was heading towards the beach, obvious aware by now that either the facility or him was on her trail. He figured that by now, she was smart enough to know it was both.

As he watched her take the dirty cement steps down onto the polluted sand, he dived in a small patch of shrubs that ran along the pathway overlooking the ocean and watched her from there. She eventually came to a stop and made no attempt to look around…it was almost as if she was waiting to be attacked, and whilst Bando did think that this was the perfect opportunity to take a shot, he knew better then to open fire on her without waiting for the personnel from the facility to arrive for back up. He needed to make sure that this time, that bitch really did get what was coming to her. The faint murmurs of a plane-like engine could be heard in the distance and upon glancing up at the horizon; a lonely black helicopter was coming into land with the sunrise.

A sign that today…was surely the beginning of the end…blood had been promised to taint the azure ocean tonight.

Bando reloaded the barrel of his gun and smiled.

'Time to die you fucking bitch!'

A/N: Go me! Another update! This would have to be the longest one yet (although the final chapter promises to be longer!) Yes that's right, the last chapter is indeed the next one –cries- But I will put up an epilogue if people request it. Now although I cannot reveal the ending to you, I can honestly say that Lucy will not die. I did not go through this entire sequence of events to have Lucy be killed because that would just be stupid, in my opinion. But, I can also assure you that I am planning a big twist in which I hope you will all like, because it will definitely be considered original. ;)

I would just like to say thank-you to all my reviewers; I love you guys so much!

And also to everyone on the forums for their constant support!

Last chapter up soon, look forward to it. Again if you peoplewant an epilogue, just ask!

Please Review!

Warui-Usagi