A/N: Sorry this took me so long everyone! I've just been really really busy and then when things finally seemed to calm down, my room started its renovation process. I've also been kind of lazy when it has come to writing. To be completely honest though, I just haven't been in the mood for doing it. I've taken a rather lengthy break and I suppose that it's time to throw myself back into it again…and what better way to do that then by finishing my Elfen Lied fanfic.

Yep, that's right! After this, only one chapter to go! Woohoo! If you're upset though don't worry, I've got another one well on the way! (I've been writing that rather then this, sorry!) It's also another Elfen Lied fanfic, titled 'If You Only Knew' and this one takes on a whole new perspective which I'll hope you'll all enjoy as well. Anyway, thanks again for everyone's wonderful support! Over 5000 hits and 97 reviews so far makes me very happy! I couldn't have done it without you guys and I hope you enjoy this second last chapter of 'Always There'!

Always There: Chapter 10

Destiny's Consequences

"Something bad is going to happen, I just know it." Nana sat huddled at the table, staring blankly at the small cup of green tea in front of her. It was dawn, and the originally cold room was now beginning to bathe in the wondrous, rich light of the early morning sunrise. The sight calmed the nervous diclonius somewhat—the faint sound of birds chirping and Wanta's early morning yaps brought a comforting familiarity that she had recognized as the sounds of home. The place that had become so dear to her; the place she wanted to protect more then anything…

"Good morning Nana."

She jumped at the notion, surprised that anyone had been up this early. She gradually swiveled around and her cherry-pink orbs soon came upon a most recognizable brunette; eyes shining brightly with a sort of cryptic hope that Nana could never wish to fully comprehend.

"Good morning Yuka," she greeted happily, making her way into the kitchen. "Would you like some tea?"

"Sure."

Nana had become quite…capable with kitchen chores. Whilst there were a few things that still remained slightly difficult, she had managed to eventually master the art of cooking simple meals as well as boiling water and gathering utensils. She happily indulged herself in helping out as best she could—which always seemed to make everyone happy. And to be honest, it made her feel good too; when her adoptive, misfit family would often comment on how good the food tasted that she and Maiyu had worked so hard to prepare…she often felt quite proud of her subtle achievements.

"Here you go," the horned girl said simply, handing her 'mother' the piping hot beverage. Yuka whispered a 'thank-you' before Nana took her spot again at the other end of the table. The young college student was looking unnaturally happy this morning, and she couldn't help but wonder why. It was then that Nana couldn't decide whether to tell her the truth or, just for Kouta, tell a little white lie so that he would be saved from being engulfed in his cousins' fury.

To bad anyone could read her like a book…

"Hey Nana, do you know where Kouta is? I went to wake him up and he wasn't-"

"He's gone out," she replied a little too quickly and nervously to sound convincing enough. Yuka only eyed her curiously over the rim of her cup as she took a sip. "What I mean is…" Nana started, correcting her rather hasty and obvious mistake, "he went down to the beach…said something about…going to get some food for breakfast."

It was only after she had said it that Nana realized that Lucy would also be missing, and after the events of last night, she guessed that Yuka probably wouldn't want to wake her up; meaning that she didn't know she was gone…

Now, Nana just had to keep things that way until they returned…easier said then done really. With that one simple and small fib, she had made her appointed task of watching over the family that much more difficult.

'I just have to keep her out of Lucy's room…hopefully though, Yuka won't have any desire to go in there…I hope.'

"Oh? But I did the shopping yesterday; I thought I bought plenty of food…" She trailed off thoughtfully, once again scanning the innocent expression across from her for any more information.

Nana then decided to elaborate a little more…

"Well, I know and I told him that," she lied, again. "But he said something about wanting to get us something really…special for…breakfast today. But he didn't say why or what it would be…I think he said something about it being a surprise."

'He probably won't come back with any food and she'll probably be angry with me for lying but, I guess it's better then having her run off and dying…'

Hopefully that would lead her off the track…and it did, but not in the way that she had expected.

"Really!" Yuka suddenly exclaimed, her features broadening into a huge smile. "You know, I was beginning to think that he'd of forgotten after all this time…I mean, with the memory loss and everything, but he didn't! Oh I'm so happy!" The brunette suddenly jumped to her feet and ran over to Nana and enthusiastically began dragging her up until she stood, before grabbing a hold of both her hands and spastically beginning to dance in joy of the revelation. Nana was more then a little confused (and scared) as she watched her; unable to pin point the source of her apparent happiness.

"Uh…Yuka…what's…going on? What…did Kouta remember?" She was having a hard time keeping up with her rapid, uncontrolled and unpredictable movements but the mood was definitely infectious, causing Nana to smile in spite of all the joyful chaos.

Yuka stopped then, looking down at the horned girl guiltily before backing away slightly. Of course she wouldn't understand why she was so happy about what her cousin was doing—it was the critical information that she had left out and forgotten completely once caught up in all the excitement. She merely smiled before deeming it the time to reply.

"It's my birthday today!"

Nana just stood there, still puzzled about everything…a birth-whatever…that's why she was so happy?

She looked back at the older woman, who was finding it hard to know if the information had registered yet.

"What's a birthday?"

Yuka sighed…it obviously hadn't.

It was going to be a long day…

It was quite a brisk morning Kouta noted as he made his way down towards his destination. He was also surprised to find that quite a few people were already up and around at such an early time of the day—shop keepers organizing their goods, people walking their dogs or exercising. Although it was bizarre, it did make him worry…Nyuu was obviously caught up in something bad again, and with all these people around it would make witnesses hard to protect from casualty.

Eventually, the blockade of shops hiding the sun disappeared and he stepped out into its brilliant, warm glow; stretching out over the azure ocean and bathing the terracotta sand in all of its glory.

It was also when he saw her—a lonely, stoic figure staring out over the horizon…staring at the black omen approaching through the rays…threatening to take her away from him once again.

He only considered for a second before reacting; any energy Kouta may have had was suddenly forced together all at once as he took of into a sprint along the shoreline, eyes scanning frantically for the steps. He had to reach her as fast as he could. That was all he knew, that was all he planned. It was all that he could hope for…

It was just too bad that nobody seemed to be on his side today…

His feet abruptly lost their footing, catching on a heavy, brown…stick that was indifferently hanging out of the small worn shrubs lining the concrete retaining wall above the beach. He fell— landing hard on the concrete and only realized how much it would hurt a second before the impact.

"Ah! Fuck! What the hell just fell on top of my leg!"

Bando reached around to inspect his aching limb, noticing all too well that there was something on top of it. He honestly believed that someone had thrown a ton of bricks on it and for a minute, he was sure that it was broken. But upon ducking out from under his 'camouflaged' position, he realized that it was actually a someone on top of him; not a something.

Then he understood that it wasn't just anyone sprawled out on top of his leg—the boy was eerily familiar…then he remembered…

"You!" Bando spat loudly, instantly moving completely out from under the vegetation. Unfortunately though, Kouta was too dazed from the fall and only moaned in recognition of the assassins' presence—if that could be taken for acknowledgement at all. A thin, mischievous smile adorned Bando's lips as he saw what an advantage he was at if he took the boy as a hostage and used him as a bargaining chip…

"You're good at getting yourself into trouble aren't you? Stupid bastard…anyway," Bando started, scrambling to his feet and bringing Kouta with him. He lowered his face closer to the raven haired man and whispered. "Guess what you're going to do?"

Kouta's eyes fluttered apart instantly and everything suddenly came into a sharp, bright focus. It was that solider from the beach, the one who had attacked both him and Nyuu on the day she'd first arrived. His facial expression held a malicious grin, awaiting his reaction. His throat instantly tightened in fear as he soon became aware that he was definitely in a lot of trouble.

"W-what?"

Bando's grin broadened. "You're going to help me kill your girlfriend!"

Kouta's eyes widened in horror as the murderer began dragging him down the concrete stairs and onto the sand. He tried to struggle, doing his best to wrench himself free from the iron grasp, but it was futile, and his actions were obviously irritating his kidnapper, as he abruptly swung around and smacked the young man in the stomach with his rifle, knocking all the air out of his body in the process.

"Don't screw with me punk! I may not be able to kill you yet, but don't think that I can't beat you within an inch of your life! I don't need you conscious when I kill her y'know." Kouta coughed and spluttered as he tried to regain his wits—the pain had so far prevented any kind of recovery, as well as allowing any oxygen to enter his lungs.

"Shit!"

Bando had come to an abrupt stop just behind the stair well as he noticed that the helicopter with the facilities associates had landed, sending off a number of swat teams to obviously dispose of his already self designated target. He cussed under his breath, and decided then that it would be best to wait until she had disposed of everyone and tired, and then he would make his move.

Once again Kouta was left helpless. Bando had not said anything in case of alerting the other troops, but the university student had deciphered the blunt and horrid message sent in his direction through flailing signals and gestures. He knew from first hand experience that he would be stupid to take the rouge soldier's warnings lightly. Kouta nodded dully once he got the point, and with his bait secure, Bando decided to enjoy the surely gruesome events that were about to unfold.

'Here we go…'

It somehow seemed fitting to the cherry haired girl that she would dispose of the constant interruption to her attempted peaceful life on the beach where it all began. Those who had sent her body plummeting into the ocean would die in exactly the same spot where she was given a second chance at life. She was just returning the favor—a favor she was more then happy to return, actually.

She didn't move as the soldiers gathered and organized themselves into ranks. They could do whatever they wanted…nobody could harm her. This had happened countless times before…and it would play out like it always did—everyone would die. She harbored no ill will against these men; after all they were only following orders. But the more dominant part of her mind assured her that they were part of what was interfering in her life with Kouta…an unforgivable intrusion that threatened his very existence.

And that would not be tolerated on any level.

Just that thought alone was enough to allow her to summon her vectors. She usually gave the soldier's their chance and enjoyed playing with them, but she didn't want to play anymore…she didn't want to kill anymore. She didn't want to do anything…she was going to hell just for breathing. So why bother prolonging their fate?

'I'm sorry.'

And before any of them could look up to see what would kill them, her invisible appendages got to work—quickly and effortlessly cutting through their flesh. Blood poured from the corpses and drenched her face and clothes in the sticky tell tale liquid, but she wasn't one to notice…this happened every time, it was all so familiar…perhaps even a little too familiar.

Guns went off. Men began trying to repent and seek revenge for those of their comrades that were already dead. It was hopeless…they should know that. She did. The weapons went silent within a minute; her vectors seeking out the last one alive. She hadn't moved the entire time. Her see-through arms dove over her back and caught the last one by the throat as he tried to pathetically escape. She could hear his desperate whimpering despite the pressure on his throat as he hung there in the air, struggling fruitlessly.

"Please…" he heaved, tears of terror pouring down his cheeks. "I…I-I don't…I don't want to die…I don't want to-"

"Then why are you here?"

And without even a single glance, a single thought…she ended his life. The inhumanly strong fingers of her ghostly limbs easily slicing through his skin and arteries—he was dead…instantly and painlessly…gone. It probably should have been her just then considering the circumstances. By staying alive, she was ensuring the survival of her species and also guaranteeing the destruction of the human race…

She was killing Kouta…

Perhaps. But she had had a taste of life with him and now it was too late. The minute she fell into his arms upon stumbling back to the Kaede house it was too late. And, being the selfish, vengeful creature that she was; anyone who dared try and destroy her new-found happiness was an enemy and would suffer the exact same fate as the mutilated, bloodied men at her feet. Deliberating that fact was, in short, absolutely pointless.

She then turned to face the helicopter…noticing another figure immerging from its depths. As the shadow emerged into the harsh morning light, she recognized him almost immediately…the same person who had kept her locked up all those years…the same person who had examined her just after she was first captured…

He smiled when he saw her.

"It's good to see you again Lucy. The facility just hasn't been the same without you. I can see that you've been causing quite a lot of trouble here, but the fun's over. It's time to come home now."

She wasted no time in summoning her deadly limbs; reading herself to decapitate him straight away. And as her arms rushed towards his neck at a horrifyingly rapid pace she noticed that he didn't even seem to blink. She allowed herself a small smirk…that would all change it a matter of seconds.

Or so she had hoped.

Just millimeters from his throat, her arms were stopped by an, at first, unseen force. But as she focused her crimson orbs, she could see that it was indeed another vector in her way. Or rather, another diclonius…the same one she had sensed earlier. The dull throbbing at the back of her skull had been there for the entire duration of the fight, but it was only now that it was coming into view. Lucy could sense that she was vicious, but also, no match.

In other words: a distraction.

She growled under her breath, impatient as she recalled her arms and awaited the appearance of another one of her kind. She was eager to end this now and return to Kouta as quickly as possible—before he came after her.

Not to Lucy's surprise, her opponent came skipping off the aircraft, looking as innocent as humanly possible. Her brilliant azure hair was brushed up into pigtails pinned on the side of her head with yellow ribbons to cover her horns. She was incredibly thin and pale, but then again, all her kind were from lack of exposure to the outside elements and proper nutritional care. Her simple pleated purple skirt danced in the breeze as she twirled; whilst her upper body adorned a simple cream blouse…she didn't look anymore then maybe ten years old.

Her dancing abruptly ceased after a moment and Lucy was instantly on guard, awaiting her move. But the young girl merely turned to face the 'Queen' with her eyes sparkling with her own genuine excitement about the challenge.

"So you're supposed to be my mummy are you?" She asked simply, eyes seemingly pleading with curiosity. But Lucy had no intention of humoring the girl.

"You can cut the childish crap, I know you don't care," she stated bluntly. The young girl's face instantaneously fell into a frown at her suggestion.

"Awww, I wanted to have a little fun first," she pouted. "Why do you have to be so mean, mother's are supposed to love their daught-"

But she didn't finish…Lucy had attacked straight away, taking advantage of the calm atmosphere and catching the girl off guard, punching her hard in the mouth. The impact sent her stumbling slightly and when she arched back up, a small trickle of blood poured from her lip. Without even looking, she wiped it away and grinned.

"Is that all you've got?" She coaxed, summoning her vectors too, letting them dance menacingly in the air surrounding her body, awaiting her enemy's offense.

Lucy smiled slightly. "Don't you know that your mum is always the boss?" Hopefully, if she could stir her anger up, it wouldn't last too long.

And it worked—the blue haired girls' expression instantly turned grim as she lurched forward to attack, taking the bait. Lucy jumped out of the way quickly, meaning that her attacker's appendages hit the sand instead, whipping it up into a small, blinding cloud.

With the battle underway, Kakazawa made his way back into the aircraft to gather ammunition for the next step in his plan…

"Now they're going at it!" Bando exclaimed from his currently safe position a safe distant away from the battle. Kouta assumed that he meant Nyuu and someone else and it made him worry. He couldn't see of she was still alright or not. Another explosion came from where he knew Nyuu was but this time it was closer. It hadn't escaped his notice either that Bando's grip on his wrist had significantly loosened. And whilst he would have like to try and escape he knew that even now he couldn't…not yet anyway. He'd be caught.

He just had to bide his time a little longer…

"Fuck!" The next blast was now in line with where they were sheltered, causing Kouta's assailant to instinctively cover his head in defense as the sand thrashed up about them.

Now was his chance!

Fumbling to his feet, he sprang back up the stairs and along the concrete retaining wall as fast as his feet could carry him. As he ran, he looked down onto the beach, his eyes confirming what he had first thought—it was Lucy down there fighting and for now at least, she seemed okay. But Kouta knew that Bando would be hot on his trail within the next few moments…he had to find a way to defend himself because there was no way that he could out run him. He'd catch up in no time.

He had no time to go the whole way around…

"Hey! Get back here!"

Oh no…

'Dammit!… He's going to catch me unless I…'

Kouta quickly looked back over his shoulder, assessing the chances of his success— he had to admit, they weren't good. If he wanted to get away from Bando, he would have to jump, there was no choice. Luckily, the two diclonius were fighting at the lower end of the beach, which meant he wouldn't land straight in the middle of their brawl. The only problem was, was that it was a good eight feet between him and the sand below…and Bando was gaining fast.

That was it, there was no choice.

Taking a huge breath and a few steps back, Kouta prepped himself for the plummet, praying to any deity that might exist that it wasn't like the cartoons he'd watched as a kid—that there was no splat when he hit the bottom.

He ran…then he jumped…

'Nyuu…I'm coming.'

He landed, tumbling onto the sand, but otherwise physically sound…he hoped. It took him a few moments to regain his wits and wait for the sand under his body to stop spinning, but eventually it did. For some reason, the ground where he sat was dyed a deep, red and he couldn't understand why. At first, he had assumed that it was just from his fall, but soon after he realized that he was sitting in someone's blood…

A Soldier's blood.

It didn't take a genius to figure out who made this mess, and Kouta couldn't help but shiver violently at the mangled corpses laying only a few feet away. It was hard to believe that the girl he cared for more then anything was capable of this kind of carnage, but then again, it wasn't. It was also the same girl who had done away with his sister and father. But he suppressed those thoughts and moved on…there was no point dwelling on those unpleasant memories…nothing could be accomplished from doing so.

He shakily rose to his feet, remembering that Bando would be on his way down here, ready to take him out for sure. He saw a gun lying not to far from where he was, and so he made a reach for it. It was heavy in his relatively weak arms and he struggled to bring it up with him as he stood. He lent into the face of the wall for support, doing his best to make sure he could move it as freely as possible to give himself the range he needed.

It was then he noticed a grey-haired man stepping out of the aircraft; caring with him what looked like a…large pistol? He wasn't sure. But he was sure that he knew who the weapon's intended target would be…

Nyuu…

"Grrrr! Stop jumping out of the way!" Number 19 screamed. She was now officially infuriated and was shooting blind in hopes of actually hitting her target. Lucy was smiling but wary, making sure that she kept a good eye on her opponent's movements. Why she was toying with her she didn't know, especially after she had vowed that she never would again. Maybe it was because she didn't like killing her own kind, or maybe it was because she just looked so innocent, and after the incident with Kouta's family, she didn't like to hurt young children…

No, it was all a lie…

She was enjoying it.

'You have to end it now…the longer you spend out here, the more likely it is that Kouta will come looking!'

Her smile disappeared…she had to finish this now.

Suddenly, Lucy's vectors flew at the side of the young girls head, grabbing a hold of both her horns and ripping them clear off her skull. She screeched in pain, blood pouring down her face as she collapsed, eyes rolling into the back of her head, leaving white pools of nothing in her sockets. She was weakened and stunned, but far from dead. Hopefully, it wouldn't have to come to that.

As the field initially cleared, Lucy's surroundings came into view…and it wasn't exactly what she wanted to see. Standing there, up against the wall was…

"Kouta…" 'No! What the hell are you doing here?'

Without even thinking she ran towards him, hoping that nothing would harm him within the eight valuable seconds required to reach him.

"Stop right there!" An all too familiar voice bellowed in the distance.

She froze in her pursuit, following the voices' orders. Slowly she turned to face the original spot where the voice had alleged from. She gritted her teeth in fury when she saw who it was…she'd completely forgotten during the fight that he was here.

"I need you alive Lucy," Kakazawa announced, his projection overly confident. He raised the gun in his hand to the range of her head, a wicked smirk adorning his features. "And I will use whatever means necessary to get what I want."

"Don't you touch her!" Another voice threatened, causing Lucy to wince when she heard it; not because it scared her, but because it meant that Kouta's chance of surviving this whole ordeal just decreased by at least ninety percent.

The grey-haired man only chuckled under his breath. "Stay out of this boy!" He warned, not taking his eyes of Lucy. "It's the girl I want, not you. But if you try and get in the way, don't think that I won't hesitate to take you out as well."

Kouta persisted.

"Well that's too bad," His voice was shaky, struggling to hold any kind of assurance or intimidation whatsoever. "…Because I want her too."

The head of the facility had to look at him now, just to know if he was serious about his declaration or not. And judging by the look of pure determination on his face, he apparently was.

He had to give the boy some credit.

"That's very noble of you," he said in a rather condescending tone, keeping an eye on his red-haired target. "But what in your right mind makes you think that I would give her up so easily to someone like you?"

Kouta raised the machine gun in his arms with a groan of effort—it was incredibly heavy.

"I'll kill you if you don't." 'I won't let anything else hurt her anymore—I promised.'

"Kouta! No!"

But this threat hadn't held the kind of impact that Kouta had wanted. Instead, he merely laughed. "You're going to kill me?"

The raven haired man swallowed hard; trying to stop himself from hyperventilating…he couldn't let this guy see how scared he really was.

"Yes. If you try and hurt Nyuu I will."

"Well let's put that to the test shall we?"

Kakazawa loaded the gun, ready to shoot. So did Kouta.

Two guns fired.

Lucy had already summoned her vectors, ready to protect her body from the ripping speed of the bullet. But she soon found out that Kakazawa had used a fifty caliber rifle—the ones that were specially made to pierce through a diclonius' invisible shields. Whilst her arms did slow it down, they didn't stop it from making it's mark—tearing through her skin and embedding itself in the centre of her shoulder near her collarbone.

The pain was enormous; forcing her to fall to her knees. She immediately called a hand to the wound, only to find that when she inspected it, it was drenched in her own blood. She heard someone else collapse as well, and although she couldn't see, she was sure it was Kakazawa. After all, they were the only two with weapons, right? That meant that Kouta was safe…

At least, for now.

This was bound to happen, and it was all her fault. She shouldn't even be alive right now—that she knew. It was her fault that Kouta was caught up in this mess and as long as she continued to live he would always be in danger.

She should have died that night she tried to say goodbye.

As the sand settled, through her blurry vision, she was soon able to survey her surroundings…

Her eyes widened in utter horror. If she had the energy to do so, she might have screamed, but her attempt at doing so only came out as a raspy, pathetic squeak.

"Kouta…no…"

Kakazawa was still standing…

Kouta was the one who had collapsed…

And standing above Kouta's limp body up on the road was none other then…

Bando.

Yes. These truly were destiny's consequences for staying alive this long…this was the price she had to pay: 'For my kind to live Kouta, you're going to have to die.'

She had told him that just before she left…And she despised herself for it.

She wished at that moment nothing more then to have died when she should have…and she would…soon. The majority of her blood was already staining the sand.

But Kouta would die too…

'No…Kouta! You can't…you can't die! I'm so sorry!'

'Truly…I'm sorry.

'Kouta…I love you…'

A/N: And…-drum roll- finished! Phew! So what did everyone think? Bet you didn't see that coming! I know I lied in my profile for those of you who have read it. This isn't the last chapter. I decided to cut if off here because the next part just didn't seem to join very well. That means that the last chapter is half done and I just have to figure out how to make to sound better at the beginning and stuff. It'll be up by the end of the week. So I hope you guys like this!

Please Review!

Warui-Usagi