ELFEN LIED 2 (ENGLISH VERSION)

by GVITA1995

Continuation of the Elfen Lied anime. With this story the circle closes. In this story are there some elements of the manga, combined with some elements of my fantasy, new characters. Who was the figure behind the door? What project did Kakuzawa intend? What will become of the diclonius? In this story you will know everything. Happy reading everyone.

ELFEN LIED

2

This story is a continuation of the "Elfen Lied" anime, taken from the eponymous manga by Lynn Okamoto. Why do I make this story? The ending of this cartoon is very different from that of the manga; moreover, it is an open ending, leaving many question marks, and with this story the circle is closed. In this story, new characters and new events are part of the manga combined with some elements of my imagination.

I warmly thank you all those who will read this story, also because this is my first book I write. I hope you enjoy the story, but if you didn't like it, it doesn't matter.

Good reading to all.

OS IUSTI MEDITABITUR SAPIENTIAM, ET LINGUA EIUS LOQUETUR INDICIUM.

BEATUS VIR QUI SUFFERT TENTATIONEM, QUONIAM CUM PROBATUS FUERIT ACCIPIET CORONAM VITAE.

KYRIE, IGNIS DIVINE, ELEISON

O QUAM SANCTA, QUAM SERENA,

QUAM BENIGNA, QUAM AMOENA

O CASTITATIS LILIUM

CHAPTER 1

THE RETURN AND CHANGE OF LUCY

Suddenly, the broken clock rang.

"What? " Said Kouta, "does it work? " .

"Evidently someone must have fixed it, " Kouta said. Then he added: " I'll see him later. Now let's go to open the door "; and went towards it. When he was just a few centimeters from it, mentally said, " Who can it be? " . Then he opened the door. And he was surprised. It was Lucy. And they embraced, crying. Lucy had some sand on her clothes, but Kouta didn't care. He just wanted to hug her. Meanwhile, Nana, Mayu and Yuka arrived, intrigued.

"Then, who came to visit us?" Asked Yuka.

"Yuka... it's her..." Kouta said crying.

"She who?" Replied Mayu.

"But ... it's Nyu!", Said Nana.

And they all embraced Lucy. She too, in tears, embraced them. Then he said, " c.… can I return... to you? I... I have no other place to... where to go... ".

Kouta and others looked at each other. Then everyone smiled at each other. And Kouta said: " yes... you can stay with us... welcome back! " .

"Welcome home! " Said Yuka, Nana and Mayu. Lucy, touched, didn't know what to say. He started and hugged everyone. And saw Mayu's little dog, Wanta, barking so happy and stroking it. Soon after, Lucy bent her legs, leaning on the ground, looking very tired.

"I am very hungry and very thirsty... do you have food and drink?" he said to them.

"but of course. Come," they said. Yuka said, "why do you have sand in your clothes?" "I'll explain... later on," Lucy said, very tired.

"agree," Yuka replied.

Before entering the house, they helped Lucy take off some sand, as she was very tired.

They entered the house and Nana and Mayu prepared food for Lucy too.

Kouta had seen a few days ago Lucy for the last time, when she was trying to do the harm the police team was on her trail, accepting his destiny. Shortly after Lucy and Kouta separated, he met Nana and took her home with Mayu and Yuka. During these days, Kouta explained everything to Yuka and Mayu, telling the truth about what happened to her sister and her father. N Despite this, they forgave Lucy. Even Kouta was actually taken by the desire to forgive her, but that pain was still very strong. But he loved Lucy, because they were little together, they had fun and they were good together. And now, remembering all the good times, later, Kouta, the desire to forgive, grew slowly, more and more, as time goes on, until the end, even if he decided to forgive, because he remembered that she had had very difficult life because of her diversity from normal human beings. Lucy could find a bit of peace. So, slowly, managed to overcome the shock. Now that Lucy had returned, he could finally tell him.

They sat down to eat. While Mayu and Nana prepared lunch for Lucy, while waiting for her, Kouta, Yuka talked a little.

"Welcome back again," said Yuka.

"Thanks", Lucy said with a slight smile.

"I missed you, Nyu". Lucy looked at Kouta and tears came to her eyes.

"I thank you…" Lucy answered. then he wiped the tears from his eyes and said, "I couldn't wait to get back to you after these days of loneliness ...".

"Since we separated, have you been alone at this time?" said Kouta.

"Yes."

"damn it," Yuka added, "what happened to you these days?"

"you see, it is a long story…".

"would you like to talk about it?" Kouta told her.

"yes, I think it's right".

"Start now, we'll listen to you," said Yuka.

A second before Lucy started, Kouta noticed that Lucy had no longer had horns on her head. He was so pleased to have found Lucy again that he didn't notice this detail.

"hey, but... you don't have horns anymore ...".

"It's true," Yuka added.

"I still have them," said Lucy, "they are only partly broken."

"Broken?" said Kouta.

"you. And the remaining part is covered by my hair. G uardate and touch." And they looked over Lucy's head and saw, after Lucy had pulled up her hair.

"but how were they reduced?" Kouta said curiously.

Lucy was about to speak, but then Nana and Mayu arrived, bringing Lucy's lunch. And they began to eat. during lunch, Lucy ate and drank a lot.

As they ate, Yuka said, "ok Nyu, you can start, we're curious to know what you've been through this time".

"you can also call me Kaede".

"Kaede?".

"yes, if you want you can call me that".

"why?" said Mayu.

"it's my real name. But ... you see, long ago, they used to call me Lucy in the laboratory where they were holding me."

"Did they keep you locked up in a laboratory?" said Yuka.

"yes, then I'll explain why."

"So they called you Lucy? And why?" Kouta told her.

"I don't know for sure, but maybe because of us locked up in that lab gave us specific names for us, but this is just my theory."

"Ah, I understand," Kouta replied.

"I was so called for five years," Lucy continued, "though I didn't tell anyone this, but if you want to call me Nyu too, since she and I are the same person. Choose you, it does nothing"and smiled.

"yes, indeed it is true". Nana said.

They finished eating. Then Yuka said to Lucy: "Are you better?"

"Yes, thanks".

"You are welcome".

"but tell us" said Mayu "where have you been these days?".

"and how did you survive alone?" Kouta added.

"Do you remember what you did immediately after you separated from Kouta, Lucy?" said Yuka.

Lucy looked at everyone. P began: "yes, I remember everything very well".

"Please, start now," said Kouta.

Lucy took a deep breath. then he began: "you see, as soon as I separated from Kouta, I went to the bridge of the city, where the soldiers were looking for me to capture me. I

had decided that I had to accept my destiny. When I arrived at they were there and they had come to me, they had come, ready to recover me. "

"to bring you back to the laboratory?" said Mayu.

"Yes."

"And what did you do after you arrived on the bridge?" Nana said.

Lucy answered: "in the end they surrounded me and shortly after they started shooting me all. And I fought against them".

"And how did it end?" Nana told her.

"I managed to repel their attacks, but they weren't determined to give up and they kept shooting me."

"Do you remember how many men were shooting at you?" Nana said.

Lucy said: "maybe they were about fifteen in total".

"How did you manage to push back so many?" said Yuka.

"with my vectors".

"vectors?" said Kouta.

"Yes."

"and what would they be?" said Mayu.

"they are additional parts of my body".

"what do you mean?"

"they are invisible arms, I have them since birth".

"invisible arms?" said Yuka.

"Yes, there are four arms that I can stretch to few meters and they are very fast and strong limbs, enough to stop the bullets".

Excluding Nana, the others were quite surprised. A lthough Kouta, even though he had seen in the past what Already Those arts could do, but I Knew exactly what they were.

"look" Lucy said. And, with one of his vectors, he took the chopsticks to eat on the table and raised them in the air. It was as if the wands were flying, they had risen from the table by themselves. Everyone except Nana gasped. Then Lucy laid her chopsticks on the table and said with a face and a rather sad voice: "please, accept me as I am, do not consider me a monster".

Kouta, Mayu and Yuka looked at her normally.

"You see, because of my diversity, I suffered a great deal in the past. The many traumas and abuses I had to endure, made me bad and bloody and, for this, completely taken by fury, I killed many people", and they came tears in his eyes.

The others remained silent. Tears began to drop from Lucy's eyes.

"but ... during these last days ... I have changed".

The others became curious.

"during the battle with the soldiers on the bridge, while I was repelling their attacks, I was injured; while I was fighting, one of my two horns also broke, while the other one snapped a little earlier ... because of of another fight ... ".

"and how did you survive?" Nana said.

"I survived because I ... intended to change ... my existence".

"sorry, what are you meaning for?" said Kouta.

"see Kouta", and he turned his head towards him "when we separated, I was going to kill myself and I wanted to go and join the security team to commit suicide, to end my hellish life. But ... very little before to reach the military ... I realized ... of all the evils I did during my life ... now I regret everything I did ... then I had the feeling that ... I was still in time for ... to remedy ... all the evils I did ... do good to someone ... help someone ... "and began to sob.

"I ... surrounded by the military ... only at that moment ... I was totally taken by the desire to do only good ... and I decided to reject them ... with my carriers ... but without killing them ... because I don't want to kill anyone anymore ... ".

"And then what happened?" said Yuka.

"while I was repelling their bullets ... I was injured ... in my left leg ... they took me and brought them ... they wrapped my head ... I also lost blood because my my other horn ... then at the lab, where they kept me locked up, they wound my leg wound ... then I felt a slight pain in my right arm, as if something had stung me ... on my arm ... but I didn't see anything ... because my eyes were closed by the pain of the wound ... ".

"really?" said Kouta.

"Yes".

"And then what happened?" said Mayu.

"afterwards I lost consciousness ..."; he sobbed more and more.

"Calm Lucy calm," said Kouta.

Upon hearing these words, She calmed slightly, even though the tears continued to drop from her eyes.

"And what happened next?" said Mayu.

"I don't know how long I fainted ... then I woke up ... in the water ... they probably threw me into the sea from the lab ... and I swam with a lot of effort ... I couldn't move my body ... I don't understand why and besides ... I still felt a lot of pain ... I swam towards the beach ... I managed to get there, but ... I didn't move well ... I had strange effects ... for example my heart was beating fast ... and I kept feeling so much pain and, at that moment ... I remembered something ... something I never did ... "

"what, Lucy?" said Yuka.

"I can ... use my life energy to stimulate healing processes ... using my vectors ...".

"really?" said Kouta.

"yes, I didn't want my life to end without ... fixing it, and so, driven by the desire to do good to someone ... I managed to heal myself completely". As he spoke, he calmed down more and more. Then he resumed: "but it is very expensive for me ... I recovered, but ... immediately afterwards I suddenly felt very weak, I almost couldn't stand up. And in the end I collapsed from fatigue on the sand" .

Lucy wiped the tears from her eyes with her hands. Nana brought a handkerchief and gave it to her.

Then Lucy continued: "I lay unconscious, perhaps, for a few days ... I don't know for sure".

"I understand," said Kouta.

"when I woke up, I got up with difficulty, I was very hungry and very thirsty, I took off the bands and threw them away in the sand. Then I started walking and in the end, with great difficulty, I managed to find your way back to your home. Arrived at the door first, only the thought of being able to fix it and seeing you again and being with all of you gave me the strength to remain standing.

They all smiled at her. then Kouta said "wait a minute". He got up and went to get the music box and returned to them, put it into operation. The music box played the melody that Lucy liked so much.

"But ... this is ..." Lucy said.

"yes, I kept it for you".

a few seconds of silence, then Kouta said with a smile: "welcome back Nyu ... Lucy ... Kaede".

Tears came to Lucy's eyes.

"Kouta ... Nana ... Mayu ... Yuka ... my friends ..." and put his hands on his face, covering it.

Then Lucy added: "I ... I'm sorry for all the harm I've done ... to you and ... to everyone else ... I'm terribly sorry ... I don't ... want to kill anymore ... ... I don't want to shed any more blood ... I beg you ... forgive me ... don't send me home ... I don't have anyone in the world but you ... ".

Kouta and the others smiled at her.

"you know, Lucy," Kouta said, "in these days of absence, I thought back to all the good times I spent with you when I was a child. And I was born with the desire to forgive you. Unfortunately, you weren't there in the previous days and I couldn't tell you. But now that you've come back I can tell you: I forgive you. And you can stay with us forever. "

Lucy took her hands off her face and looked at Kouta.

"r... really... forgive me?"

"Yes".

"And can I always stay here beside you?" "but of course," said Kouta, smiling at her.

"Kouta...". and they embraced.

"We forgive you, Lucy. Of course you can stay with us," said Yuka, with a smile.

and while the music box continued to play the melody, Nana, Yuka and Mayu got up and went to embrace Kouta and Lucy.

"still welcome home," said Nana. Lucy cried out, moved.

"from now on we will always be together," said Yuka.

"...like... a family?" said Lucy.

"Yes, like a family," replied Mayu.

"Nothing will separate us, that's a promise," said Kouta. and everyone embraced strongly.

After a few minutes, they cleared the table while Lucy washed herself, then went to rest, since she was very tired; he slept for about three hours while Kouta, along with Nana, Yuka and Mayu cleaned the house. In total it took a few hours. while they were cleaning the house, when Kouta came near the clock that had been ringing a few moments before opening the door to Lucy, he noticed it and saw that it worked very well. he stared at him for a few seconds and Nana, who passed by him, seeing him staring at his watch, said to him, "Is something wrong, Kouta?"

"no, quiet. only ... first the clock rang, but before that it hadn't played for a very long time, at least that's what Yuka told me."

"Ah understood".

"did any of you repair it in the last few days?" "really not, we haven't even touched it".

"then why did he play ... I can't explain ...".

"really strange".

"it does nothing. We continue to clean our house".

"ok," Nana replied with a smile. and started cleaning again.

when it was time for dinner, everyone helped each other to prepare food. Mayu also prepared food for Wanta. When everything was ready, they brought food to the table and Mayu brought the dinner for his little dog too. While they ate, they spoke a little.

"Listen to Lucy," Mayu told her.

"Yes?" she answered.

"Today, at lunch, did you say you were kept in a laboratory?"

"exact".

"And that the soldiers wanted to recover you to bring you back there?"

"Yes".

"But ... why did they want to take you back to that lab?" Yuka told her.

"because they wanted to experiment on me".

"ie? can you explain yourself better?" said Kouta.

"you see, in the past I stayed in that laboratory for a few years and during that time, they subjected me to terrible experiments and torture".

"damn... " said Mayu.

"I've been there all my life, until I came to live with you," Nana added.

"And have you suffered those things too?" said Kouta.

"Yes".

"oh Nana... Lucy... I'm so sorry," said Yuka.

Nana and Lucy looked at her smiling.

"now it's part of the past, let's enjoy the present" said Nana.

"right," Lucy said.

when they finished dinner, Kouta said, "Nana, if you've been in that lab with Lucy, does that mean you're like her?"

"Which is?" Nana answered.

"in the sense that you also have the vectors?"

"yes, but I can't use them like Lucy".

"why?" Yuka told her.

"because ... at the lab they deprived me of all my limbs ... because of the experiments". then after a few seconds, he continued: "oh yes, my legs and arms are actually prosthetics and I use my vectors to control them. when I'm still, I can free two vectors, but when I move I need all four of them for make the prosthesis move ".

"oh Nana... I'm so sorry..." Yuka said.

"It hurts, I know, but I can live well with these prostheses," he said with a rather cheerful air. And tears came to everyone's eyes with emotion. and everyone embraced her.

"you will not suffer as in the past" Kouta told Nana and Lucy "is a promise". Then they cleared and got ready for bed.

Lucy told everyone before going to sleep, "thanks for getting me back home."

"there's nothing to it, Lucy". said Yuka.

Then Lucy called Nana.

"What is it, Lucy?"

"Can I talk to you for a minute? In another room though".

"of course".

when they were inside a room, Nana told Lucy: "What do you want to tell me, Lucy?"

"you see... I.…" and felt like crying. then he continued: "I apologize to you too" and cried in a low voice and covered his face with his hands.

Nana understood very well what Lucy meant.

"It's for that, isn't it?" Nana told her smiling. "for having deprived me of the limbs?"

'y…yes... ".

"Lucy, it's part of the past now," Nana always said, smiling.

In fact, in reality, Nana had not lost the limbs in the laboratory, but had lost them at the hands of Lucy, in a fight between them.

"I'm so sorry...".

"Quiet".

"b.… because then you first... said that ...".

"Why did I tell that lie?" Nana answered. "Simple. Because I didn't want you to suffer again. I didn't want anyone to know that I lost my limbs because of you. You know, I noticed, first, from your astonishment, that you suspected something."

"Nana..." Lucy said, still sobbing softly.

"Don't worry. I forgive you, just like Kouta, I forgive you too," he said, still smiling. and they embraced.

"...thank you ..." Lucy said through tears. Then she continued: "I promise ... I will find a way to ... for ...".

"for what?".

"to remedy ... what I've done to you all. I'll find one in the future." Nana continued to smile at her.

"ok", Nana told her "now let's go to bed". And Lucy nodded in tears.

Then they went to sleep. Everyone fell asleep early enough.

Nana and the others then decided to forgive Lucy, although she had done a lot of bad things to them. They knew that forgiveness was the right thing, both for them and for her. Of course, it was far from simple, but once the final decision was made, life would have been much better for everyone. But besides this reason, they, particularly Kouta, were impressed by the words of Lucy, that she was really sorry and that she intended to change her life, trying to turn herself into a good person, after committing murders on murders. her tears and sobs seemed to prove what she was saying and that she wasn't lying at all. besides, Kouta, Mayu and Yuka, having understood that Lucy had a very sad past, or that she had suffered during her life humiliations about humiliations, teased about teasing, experiments in that laboratory like Nana, and almost all of her life in solitude, they decided even more to accept Lucy's apologies, to welcome her back home, as if she were one of a family that was lost but had finally been found. As for Mayu, she too had a negative personal past, but since she lived with Kouta, Yuka and Nana, her life had become quite right but she still had difficulty forgetting the past. when Lucy returned and feeling the warmth of a family from everyone else in hugs and not, Mayu had less and less difficulty in forgetting her past. Everyone, putting all their negative past behind them, decided to just look ahead. Thus began a new beginning for all of them, so as to make their lives better than they had hoped.

The next day, the first to wake up was Yuka. later, the others also woke up. the day was beautiful, clear skies without even a cloud.

"Look at that beautiful day," Yuka told everyone.

"Yeah, you're right," Kouta said.

They all looked at the sky for a few seconds, then Nana said, "are we going to have breakfast?"

"Yes," said Mayu. and they went to the kitchen to make breakfast. a little later they brought everything to the table.

while they were having breakfast, Kouta said to everyone: "So, did you sleep well?" "yes" they replied.

"I'm glad," replied Kouta. He then asked Lucy, "How are you Lucy? Did you recover?" "Enough," he replied.

"well".

Then, shortly after they finished having breakfast, Lucy said, "hear" addressing everyone.

"What is it, Lucy?" said Mayu.

"I wanted to thank you again for welcoming me again with you".

"figured" they said with a smile.

"you...".

"Yes?".

"here ... you are the best and dearest people I have ever had in my life". They smiled at her.

"if something bad happens to me in the future... ". Silence for a few seconds. the others were waiting.

"...I will do everything not to lose you and stay with you forever, because I don't want to lose the people who have loved me so much, or my family". they were impressed by his words. and they went to embrace her.

"Thanks again. I love you ..." Lucy said as she hugged.

"quiet Lucy, quiet".

"thanks to you... I will be able to have some peace in my life, because you love me".

"I too, with all of you, will be able to feel good," said Nana.

"I too," said Mayu. and everyone embraced.

"Let's put the past behind us and turn the page all together," Kouta said.

"Yes!" said Mayu, Nana, Lucy and Yuka, moved.

The new beginning of their life began with a hug and love. Better than that, it couldn't begin.

CHAPTER 2

KAKUZAWA'S PLANS

A few days before, the security team, called S.A.T. (Special Assault Team) after it captured Lucy, he returned to the lab on a helicopter. Meanwhile, the founder and general manager of the laboratory, Kakuzawa, was in his office working. Moments later, someone knocked on his office door.

"Mr. Kakuzawa, can I come in?"

"come on in."

The door opened. She was a laboratory scientist. She went to the desk.

"what's up?" Kakuzawa said.

"I wanted to inform you that we have contacted the team, it is returning at this moment with the diclonius Lucy. She was captured, but she is injured, but from what we have been told is a wound not very serious, it should survive".

"thanks for the information. Tell the team to take Lucy to the vault number four immediately after they land".

"as sir wishes". And he contacted the team and told them what Kakuzawa had told her. Then after a few seconds, the sound of a helicopter was heard, and Kakuzawa rose from his chair and looked at the helicopter of the team that was about to land at the lab heliport from the large glass wall of his office.

"Now he can go back to work," Kakuzawa told the doctor.

"as you want".

That said, the doctor left the office closing the door. Then after a few seconds,

Kakuzawa also left his office and called three scientists on his cell phone; all three were genetic engineering experts, and they were among the best in the lab.

"Lucy has been captured. Go to the vault number four, they have arrived. Take some gloves, a bandage and a syringe, I'll explain everything later," Kakuzawa told them. Subsequently, the general manager of the laboratory went to the designated vault and arrived there within a minute; his office, in fact, was not very far from that room. A few seconds later, the three scientists arrived, wearing gloves, a bandage and a syringe.

"Here we are, director," said one of the three scientists.

"well," said Kakuzawa. Listen: Lucy has been captured, but she is injured. Now let's wait for someone from the team to come along with you, after which you can proceed to bandage his wound first, then you will proceed as I told you before the S.A.T. intervened, understood? ".

"Yes sir," they said.

After about a minute, a member of the S.A.T. that he was carrying Lucy on his shoulder. Wounded, Lucy screamed in pain. Subsequently the member of the S.A.T. he said: "here it is, we brought it back".

"nice job," said Kakuzawa. Then he opened the vault, typing an access code and the bedroom doors opened.

"come," said Kakuzawa. And they entered the vault. Inside the room, there was a metal machine, connected to a computer to see the health of the person on which he was standing. The machinery was structured so that, once activated, the person could not move and when Kakuzawa and the others entered the room was placed horizontally, as if it were an iron bed.

"Put Lucy in that device too, then you can go," said Kakuzawa to the member of the S.A.T., which he immediately did, and then left the room.

Lucy screamed more and more from the pain, the wound she had remedied was not small. After the soldiers wounded Lucy, they ceased the fire, took it and took it to the helicopter. On the way, Lucy lost blood not only from the wound in her left leg but also from her head, as she had lost the other of her horns from the fight and the soldiers tried to stop the bleeding by any means possible; Kakuzawa, in fact, had ordered Lucy to be brought back alive and in the helicopter the soldiers managed to reduce the bleeding a little, using the helicopter's first-aid box, trying to wrap up the wounds. They managed to stop the bleeding from the wound on the head, the same thing not for the other wound.

When they arrived at the laboratory the situation had improved, but not sufficiently enough; Lucy still was blood.

Director Kakuzawa activated the machinery. As soon as she was activated, Lucy was blocked by metal parts of the machine, prevented her from moving, and continued to scream, her eyes closed. Kakuzawa told the doctors to change the bloody bandage that the soldiers had put on Lucy in the helicopter.

"In your opinion, is it better for the machinery to stand vertically?" the scientists said.

"It's not necessary. Kaito, you go to the computer, while Sosuke and Aritomo will take care of the rest," said Kakuzawa.

While Kaito went to the computer to analyze Lucy's health, the other two scientists put on gloves, took off the bandage all wet with blood, changing it with the one they had taken. While wrapping her wound, Lucy kept screaming; he still felt so much pain. After a little more than a minute they wound her wound. Aritomo said: "now he should not lose any more blood". Kaito, observing Lucy's data on the computer, said: "he has lost a lot of blood, but he will manage."

Then Kakuzawa said, "well. Now proceed with the syringe."

"Yes sir," said Sosuke and Aritomo. They took off their gloves almost totally stained with blood and took the syringe. Lucy, still with her eyes closed, no longer screamed, but breathed heavily. Later, they put the syringe in Lucy's right arm and took a quantity of blood that was just over half the cylinder, then removed the syringe from her arm. Lucy, later, exhausted by pain, lost consciousness. Sosuke, rather strangely, said: "but ... is she dead?"

Kaito, seeing Lucy's health on the monitor, said after a few seconds, "no, she just fainted".

"in fact she is very pale..." said Aritomo.

"Well, it doesn't matter," said Kakuzawa "what matters now is that we have his blood." Then he said to Aritomo, with the syringe containing Lucy's blood in his hand: "put the blood in a test tube, then take it to the analysis room".

"agree sir". And so he did. He left the room, went to get a test tube and put Lucy's blood in it. After that, he took the test tube to the lab's analysis room and then returned to room number four.

"Done, Mr. Kakuzawa, the blood of the diclonius is in the test room in a test tube."

"very well".

Lucy had always fainted. Sosuke said, "now that we have his blood, what do we do with Lucy? Are we taking her back to her cell?"

"No. I had said before that he would get what he deserved, obviously after taking some of his blood from her."

"and what?".

"a punishment: we will throw it into the sea".

"What if he wakes up in the water?"

"We will first inject you with a paralyzing substance, so that it cannot move, even if it wakes up in the water," said Kakuzawa.

"I understand. But why do you want to get rid of Lucy?"

"she is an uncontrollable diclonius, it can only be a threat to my future plans".

"Can we know what plans you're talking about?"

"I'll let you know everything later. Now let's think about Lucy, inject her with a paralyzing substance."

"Yes, sir".

The two scientists Sosuke and Aritomo went to take a new syringe and a paralyzing substance; then, after about two minutes, they returned to room number four.

"Sir, we only have pancuronium as a paralyzing substance," said Sosuke.

"OK. Go ahead".

"agree, sir".

They put a good amount of pancuronium in the syringe and then gave Lucy the injection, still unconscious.

Then Kakuzawa said, "well. Now you can proceed as planned. We'll be back in my office in twenty minutes, I have to talk to you."

"as you wish, sir," they said.

Kaito, still on the computer, deactivated the machine, while the other two scientists took Lucy.

Kaito was the first to leave the vault. The other two scientists, after they took Lucy, left the lab and went to the cliff. Director Kakuzawa was the last to leave the vault, closed it by typing the code again and then went to his office. Sosuke and Aritomo arrived on the cliff within a few minutes, and threw Lucy into the sea. They watched Lucy's body in the water for a few seconds, then returned to the lab and went to the manager's office. As they walked, Aritomo said, "Sosuke, what do you think the director is going to tell us?"

"I really don't know, we'll see," said Sosuke.

Arriving at the door of Kakuzawa's office, Kaito was also waiting for them.

Sosuke said, "is the manager in his office?"

"Yes, he's waiting for us," Kaito said.

Aritomo knocked. And subsequently the three scientists entered. Kakuzawa sitting at his desk.

"Did you throw Lucy into the sea?" the director said to Sosuke and Aritomo.

"yes sir" said Sosuke "we did exactly as he told us".

"well".

"First he said he had to talk to us ..." Aritomo said.

"exactly, I have things to tell you."

"But first we can know why we had to take some blood from Lucy? She, after the whole SAT intervened to capture the diclonius, warned us that once caught we would have to take some blood, but she didn't tell us the reason ... "Sosuke said.

"in fact I was going to tell you this too".

"ah, I understand".

"So what should you tell us?" Kaito said.

"what I want to talk about is about my future plans, it is right for you to know, because you are the most experienced and best scientists in the laboratory. But in the next few days I will also tell all the other scientists of this structure".

"What would your plans be?"

"Now I tell you everything. As you well know, this structure can contain a total of fortyfive diclonius, and each of them is in a numbered cabin."

"exactly sir," said Sosuke.

"I said contained, because three of them are gone, or Lucy, Nana and Mariko".

"Yes sir," Kaito said.

"I guess you know the history of the diclonius well, or how it all began ...".

"yes sir" said Sosuke "I know all about this story ...".

"me too" said Kaito.

"I know something, but not all of it ..." said Aritomo, who then continued saying: "you must forgive me, but I know very little about these beings called diclonius for the fact that I have never seen one live and in action and so I don't know what these beings can do ... to me it has always been only entrusted the task to study and to deepen the analyzes of their tests ... I know however that they have something different from the normal humans, but I don't know well how let those parts be called on the back ... ". Aritomo was the youngest of the facility's scientists, only twenty-four years old, and had only been working in the lab for a short time. Being very good and expert in genetic science, he was discovered by Kakuzawa not long after Lucy's escape from the laboratory and was convinced to work for him, but he didn't know much about diclonius, due to the work he had to do. While studying the tests, he remained incredulous: how was it possible for a human being to have horns and additional parts? Since nobody told him very much, he couldn't find an answer.

"then I take this opportunity to tell you this whole thing, you must know this story, because you are part of the staff of this structure," said Kakuzawa to Aritomo.

"I would be honored," said Aritomo.

And so Kakuzawa started telling him everything he should have known.

"The diclonius are humans mutated by a virus," said the director.

"humans modified by a virus?"

"Exactly, you've got it right. Diclonius differentiate from normal humans for two particularities: they have two horns on their heads and have additional limbs to their body, fast as thought and very powerful, with the name of vectors. The vectors of diclonius can stretch of a few meters. They are arts so strong as to repel bullets.

"really?".

"yes, but carriers can do a lot more".

"what do you mean?".

"if used all together, they can lift a car or damage a armored vehicle very much".

"but it's impossible...".

"not for them, the diclonius are very powerful beings. However, the carriers also have weaknesses".

"what would they be?"

"vectors can be countered by vectors of other diclonius and fail to repel heavy weapon bullets well."

"probably for this reason Lucy was injured ...".

"Exactly. I had ordered all the S.A.T. to intervene with heavy weapons, and in the end he gave in under many blows".

"in general, how many vectors has a diclonius?"

"four, but someone had more, as Mariko, the diclonius number thirty-five, had twentysix".

"twenty-six?" Aritomo said rather stunned.

"yes, but it is a very rare case".

Then Aritomo said: "I do not understand how these modified humans were born ...".

And Kakuzawa said: "a few years ago, when the virus appeared here in Japan, human births occurred only in this area of the world. We called these modified humans, precisely, diclonius and a secret association was born in Tokyo, the 'anti-diclonius association, made up of very specialized scientists and soldiers; only the government of Japan is aware of the existence of diclonius, but we decided to keep the rest of the world in the dark from this story. modified humans, it was decided to use every means to capture every diclonius and after being captured, it was subsequently for a few it was decided to keep it to study it, while others we took them just born, all the families of these newborn modified humans thought that they only had a common malformation in the skull, but at the same time, they didn't want them in the family and so we brought them to this laboratory ".

Aritomo remained silent, continuing to listen to Kakuzawa.

"Later, the virus spread to other areas of the globe due to the displacement of people on the planet. The areas where the virus spread, however, were not many in the other continents; thanks to the technologies that the association developed, we succeeded. to identify the diclonius both here, in Japan, and on other continents, and the anti-diclonius association sent hundreds of special men around the world to identify and take the modified humans The association suffered losses due to the powers of the diclonius , so it was decided to use every strong means to take them, both in Japan and in the rest of the immediately killed them, others took them to Japan, while for others it was decided, by the association, to build other laboratories in the world, where they remained and are still locked up In collaboration with other states, the government said it wanted to build medical centers to develop research, thus masking history and in a short time, in less than two years, other laboratories were built. While waiting for them to be completed, all the captured diclonius were taken to Japan, then once the workshops were completed, we transferred the diclonius caught in the laboratories of the continent of origin. Later, there were no longer any births of modified humans, either in Japan or in the world, thanks to a vaccine that the association created to stop the virus, masking this story with the spread of a simple epidemic and, subsequently, the the association was dissolved, but the peoples of the whole world never knew anything about this story. I repeat, only the rulers of Japan know about this story, but if they are excluded, no one on the planet knows that diclonius exists, only those who work in laboratories know about all this ".

"How many labs are there in the world?"

"There are six in total, one for each continent. This where we are, located off the coast of the city of Kamakura, represents that of Asia and all six laboratories are connected to each other via technology. This where we we are the largest of all, because it was built in the world zone where more diclonius were born, but not by much compared to the other five ".

"And where are they positioned in the world? Are they also in an island?"

"the other laboratories were built in an underground base, so as to be even less visible in the eyes of the world. It was the anti-diclonius association that decided where they were built. The other laboratories are located in these countries: for that of the Oceania was decided by the association to build it in New Zealand, not very far from the city of Auckland, for that of South America it was decided to build it in Argentina, a few kilometers from the city of Posadas, for that of North America, it was decided to build it in the United States, in northern California, a few miles from the city of San Francisco, in Europe, the association took the decision to build the laboratory in Germany, quite close to the city of Hamburg; Africa, it was decided to build the laboratory in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, not so far from the capital Kinshasa For the Asian continent, the choice of Japan was easier, in qu indeed, more diclonius births occurred here than in any other part on other continents. Furthermore, only this laboratory contains forty-five diclonius, the others contain a slightly lower number ".

"I see".

"there is another thing you need to know".

"what?".

"the diclonius are all females but they are all sterile, therefore unable to reproduce but, Lucy was the only one able to procreate, to give birth to a diclonius, the queen of her species".

"why?".

"Probably, when Lucy was born, the nature of the virus was changing. The virus was stopped just a short time after Lucy was captured. Lucy was a particular diclonius: in addition to procreating, from tests, from experiments and from the analyzes we did on she could use her vital energy to stimulate healing processes ".

"incredible ... but I still don't understand one thing ...".

"what?".

"how was the virus born?"

"We don't know. The origin is unknown. We are still doing research to find a plausible answer."

"I understand. Well, thank you."

"Now," said Kakuzawa, referring also to Sosuke and Kaito, "I would like to talk to you about my future plans."

"Yes sir, as you wish," Kaito said.

"I would like to involve all three of you in my plans, because you are among the best in the structure".

Sosuke, Aritomo and Kaito remained silent, listening to Kakuzawa. "I asked you to take Lucy's blood to make a diclonius that can give birth."

The three scientists were rather surprised.

"with the secret laboratory technology, combining Lucy's blood, a diclonius can be created that can procreate".

"Why is he going to do such a thing?" Kaito said curiously.

"I intend to do new tests and experiments on a diclonius that can procreate, but that is controllable".

"Why then did he want us to get rid of Lucy? She could already procreate ..." Sosuke said.

"I already told you: Lucy was an out-of-control diclonius, she could have destroyed all my plans, she only cared to kill and wipe out the whole of humanity".

"I understand," replied Sosuke.

"Another reason why I intend to do this is to study the nature of the diclonius even better; in this way, you could find out even more about them, such as a cure. To accomplish this, I would have need skilled scientists who are very expert in the subject and you are among the best at the facility ".

"It sounds interesting ..." Sosuke said.

"in this way," said Kaito, "we could go into even more about this story."

"exactly," said the director.

"When would you like to start creating this diclonius?" said Sosuke.

"first we need to analyze the blood of Lucy that we took before and wait for other scientists to bring me both the results of the blood tests and those of the Miyu, Ayaka and Kinuko tests, the diclonius number forty-three, forty-four and forty-five".

"What do you need the results of the blood tests and tests of those other diclonius?" said Kaito.

"I need them to compare them, to see if the nature of the virus that changed all of them is different from when it changed Lucy."

"I understand," Kaito replied.

"Are you going to tell all this to all the other scientists in the laboratory?" said Aritomo.

"Yes".

"and when?".

"in the next few days, but for now just say that Lucy is no more. I'll tell you the rest." "agree, sir".

"Good. Now I would like you to go and analyze Lucy's blood that you took a while ago. Bring me the analyzes when they are ready, I now have to go back to work."

"and the blood tests and tests of the other three diclonius?" said Sosuke.

"other scientists will think about this, they are currently working on it."

"as you wish, sir".

And after saying these words, Aritomo, Kaito and Sosuke left Kakuzawa's office and went to analyze Lucy's blood,as the director had told her to do to them. Meanwhile, Kakuzawa thought, taking a few steps around his office. Then he went to the glass wall behind his desk. When he was a few centimeters from the wall formed of glass, he observed the sea for a few seconds, then sat down, resuming work on the studies on the diclonius of his laboratory and of the other five who, through computers, had arrived, and which he had made print.

While working, he made some reflections, observing and analyzing the results of the experiments on all the diclonius of his laboratory and those of the other laboratories. Each diclonius of each laboratory was called first with a number and then, later, with a normal name.

"the diclonius ..." he said in his mind "they are incredible beings, who can change this planet". He studied and continued to analyze all the results for the next six hours, he was used to working at night until at first light, someone knocked on the door of his office.

"go ahead," the manager said. The door opened. She was a laboratory scientist holding papers.

"sir" said the scientist "we have the results of blood tests and diclonius tests number forty three".

"Please, let me see them as well."

The scientist gave him the papers. He analyzed them.

"well" said Kakuzawa "apparently our Miyu is making progress with its carriers".

"Already, from the experiments that we did, her vectors are already capable of doing very serious damage. Very strange, given her age," said the doctor.

"if we compare it with the diclonius of its age in this structure there would be no game. it is only nine years old, but it proves to be a diclonius different from the others" said the director.

"there was a similar case with the diclonius number thirty five".

"or Mariko".

"yes, it had many more vectors than the other diclonius, a rare condition for them".

"exactly. But it could have happened and it happened to her".

"well. So what do you deduce from the analyzes of number forty-three Miyu?"

"I think that, in a short time, Miyu can become one of the strongest living diclonius. If he can do these things at his age, growing up his four vectors can become even more powerful and do much more damage than others."

"I see".

the scientist then, observing Kakuzawa rather tired, said: "she also worked this night ...".

"Yes".

"why don't you rest a little? after all, rest can only do you good".

"maybe he's right. I haven't actually slept in almost twenty-two hours".

"then go to rest, so there is no hurry for anything".

"all right, I'll go to sleep for a few hours".

"agree then". Subsequently it was communicated through a loudspeaker, that the scientist had to return to her post, to collect and analyze data on other diclonius.

"I think I have to go back to my job," he said with a smile.

"Go ahead, I'll go and rest now. Leave the door open too, so soon I'll go to my room."

"yes sir" and left the office. Shortly thereafter, the manager Kakuzawa took the keys from a drawer, left his office and locked the door. Then he went to his room.

CHAPTER 3

MIYU, AYAKA AND KINUKO

Kakuzawa's room was not far from his office. Arriving, he opened the door of his room and entered it calmly. entered, locked the door. Inside the room there was a bed, a desk and a bookcase. Behind the desk there was a picture hanging on the wall. Finally, the room also had a window, where the ocean could be seen.

Subsequently, the manager hung his jacket, the hanger and sat on the bed, quite thoughtful.

"let's wait the results of the experiments on the diclonius number forty-four and fortyfive, their blood tests and also Lucy's and then we will move on to the next step," Kakuzawa said in his mind.

He slept for a few hours. When he woke up it was around 13:00. He picked up his jacket from the coat rack, walked out of the room, locked the door and walked around the lab to see how the experiments went on. He wandered through the lab corridors, crossing scientists and scientists.

The laboratory stood on an island off the beach of the city of Kamakura, far enough to prevent it from being seen from the beach. It could be accessed via a boat, or by helicopter. The structure was called DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE and had belonged to the Kakuzawa family for a very long time, to the point that it became the director's ancestral home. The electric current of the structure was fed by a small power plant, built on the islet. The laboratory had a total area of more than two thousand square meters, being in fact the largest of all and it was the only one among all six laboratories that had an external part. Externally, however, one could not see very much; in fact most of the laboratory was underground, built inside the island. On the outside, there were rooms where analyzes of diclonius were analyzed using computers, microscopes and other technology; offices, where scientists studied computer analysis results; a conference room where scientists and scientists gathered for meetings but the room was usually used also for insights on diclonius, and through a projector you could see images or videos on the analysis of diclonius. Finally there was an infirmary, while the office of the director Kakuzawa, inclined his room, was on the first floor of the external structure. The whole laboratory was dotted with cameras, whose images that were taken were transmitted on the monitors in the command and control center, located on the second floor of the external part. The very many cameras had replaced the guards; it was a decision made by the director Kakuzawa to prevent the word from spreading outside the laboratory. The external part of the structure was connected to the underground part by elevators and stairs. In the underground part, there were all the vaults of the structure, inside which the diclonius were locked, one in each vault. The vault was numbered and each diclonius, in addition to a name, also corresponded with a number. The cabins were accessible through armored doors that always remained closed, only a code could make them open; on the armored doors was printed the number and the name of the imprisoned diclonius. Kakuzawa knew all the codes by heart; all the scientists had also learned the code to open the door of each vault, thanks to the many analyzes and experiments they had to do on the diclonius. Once the code was entered, the armored doors opened and remained open for only a few seconds. Each cabin was composed of walls of reinforced concrete and very solid steel and the diclonius were chained to a machine that prevented them from escaping, but they could only move for a few centimeters; the diclonius, moreover, were wrapped in bandages for the body, except for the arms and feet. The machinery they were chained to was connected to computers that analyzed health and data on the imprisoned diclonius; the machine was made of very resistant material and kept the diclonius standing or lying down, so that scientists could take its blood through syringes, analyze it and study it. But at the same time, they could also, through mechanical tools, do other things, to experiment with new research. Furthermore, the diclonius could not use its own vectors, because the machinery blocked them through mechanical equipment; if a diclonius tried to react with anger and strength, it was touched with an electric discharge, whose current was fed by the machinery. A very short distance from the diclonius, there were lots of sensors and cameras that recorded every movement of the diclonius if it managed to free itself. If this happened, from the command and control center of the laboratory they had the cabin armored, trapping the diclonius, and from the walls, through ducts, came out a gas that made him sleep for a few tens of minutes; after Lucy's escape from the laboratory, in fact, he had taken every possible means to prevent another diclonius from escaping, and the laboratory had undergone some changes, both internally and externally. All the laboratories also had very secret technologies, all related to diclonius.

While the director Kakuzawa wandered through the corridors of the underground part of the laboratory, the scene was not the same for all diclonius. Some were angry, and made movements to try to free themselves from chains and machinery, others cried because of the pain of their physical suffering, others still shouted, with their eyes closed. They suffered a lot, some of them had part of their bloodstained body because of the experiments. Sometimes it happened that Kakuzawa came in, even if only for a few seconds to see some diclonius, but each time he showed himself impassive, as if he cared nothing for the suffering of the diclonius. When he arrived at the booth of the diclonius number forty-three, or Miyu, he entered and he observed it. Miyu was lying and sleeping. She was a little over a meter tall and had long blond hair. After observing it for about twenty seconds, the director went on and went to the diclonius booths number forty-four and forty-five. arrived at booth number forty-four, that of the diclonius with the name of Ayaka. Subsequently, Kakuzawa entered Ayaka's vault and noticed that there were two scientists trying to take some of his blood to analyze it. Ayaka was held up by the machinery. Kakuzawa observed that the doctors had trouble trying to take his blood; the diclonius number forty-four, in fact had the reputation of being very restless, but above all very much angry. Because of his character, he had undergone some experiments much harder than many other diclonius and this meant that within Ayaka a much deeper hatred towards scientists and everything else developed, more than all the diclonius that they felt resentment and hatred for all the staff. But some of them had an untarnished temper of anger like Ayaka; they were the diclonius of smaller age. One of them is Miyu. This is because they, unlike the older diclonius that were captured and brought into the facility, have always lived in the lab, trying to see scientists as someone from the family. Despite the terrible experiments, the smaller age diclonius accepted their destiny and that's it, hoping for a better future. For those who were older, the speech was different instead. Having been captured when they were a few years older, they were not used to experimental torture, and for all of them only hatred and anger developed. One of them was Ayaka, whose experiments and torture only added to her hatred.

Noting that the scientists failed to take Ayaka's blood due to the fact that she became too agitated and that therefore the operation could not go well, Kakuzawa came closer and closer.

"then" he said "what do we have here?"

"Oh, it's you, director Kakuzawa," said one of the two scientists. Later, the other said, "we can't get her blood, she's too agitated but also angry."

"I see".

Later, he went to the diclonius Ayaka and came up to stand by her a few inches away. Ayaka was seventeen years old, about five feet five inches tall and had long dark purple hair. He looked at Kakuzawa with hatred and anger.

"Ayaka" the director said in a very severe tone "now you are good and we take blood".

"so you are the director Kakuzawa" Ayaka said in an angry voice "you know, I have often heard you speak by these and other scientists, but I did not know who you were. so you are the one who wants me to make me do those terrible things".

Kakuzawa said nothing, continuing to observe her. then Ayaka resumed: "if one day I will be able to free myself from this damn device and escape from this damned cabin, you will see what will happen to you!" He finished speaking, starting to shout the last words, furious with the director. subsequently the machine gave an electric discharge to Ayaka, But she did not calm down, on the contrary, she seemed even more angry. The doctors' subsequent attempts to take her blood were of no use.

"scoundrels! I hate you all!" and moved trying to break free.

"I understand," said Kakuzawa. he stretched his left arm toward the two scientists and made a sign, as if to say "let's use it". Scientists understood. They took a syringe with a paralyzing substance, all while the director continued to observe Ayaka, more and more angry. When the doctors gave him the syringe, Kakuzawa stuck it in Ayaka's right arm. She screamed for just over two seconds. The manager said nothing and injected the substance with the syringe and, slowly, she became still. he could barely speak. And the doctors took advantage of it to take her blood.

"stay calm" said Kakuzawa to Ayaka "it will only last ten minutes". then the director told the scientists: "analyze his blood, then as soon as the analyzes are ready, bring the results to my office. I need this data as soon as possible".

"Yes, sir". then the manager went to the cabin doors.

Ayaka wept for a few seconds.

"m ... you will pay me ... a g ... day ... all of you ...", Ayaka said in tears, as loud as she could, while the doctors took blood. But Kakuzawa said nothing. Arriving at the door, he entered the code and left the cabin, going towards that of the diclonius number forty-five Kinuko. It was a few tens of meters from the previous cabin.

Arrived, there was a scientist outside the cabin, holding a vial with blood in it.

"oh manager" said the scientist "what a combination. I was just about to go to her office to show her that I took some blood from the diclonius number forty-five".

"I understand. However, if you like, you can call it Kinuko."

"Kinuko".

"is his name. Do you see?" and pointed to the number forty-five on the tight door.

"Ah, you know, I've never noticed."

"does nothing. but, did he take his blood when he was Kinuko was awake?"

"no, she was already asleep. I was more than lucky, usually Kinuko is very irascible, her character is not very far from that of the diclonius number forty-four".

"ok. Now analyze it. I need your data as soon as possible. take them to my office when they are ready".

"yes, director". and the scientist went to another room where she could analyze Kinuko's blood.

Kakuzawa, meanwhile, entered the vault and watched Kinuko asleep. Kinuko was also seventeen, like Ayaka. She was six feet tall and had black hair.

"I miss only the results of your blood test, those of Ayaka's blood and those of Lucy's blood," the director said in his mind.

Then he returned to his office and resumed work, studying the results of the analyzes on all the diclonius in the laboratory, especially those of the diclonius number forty-three Miyu, waiting for his scientists to bring him the results of those of Kinuko, Ayaka and Lucy. From Miyu's analysis, Kakuzawa drew the fact that she was the strongest diclonius of his age of the whole structure. Not only that, given that he was very young, his carriers would become even stronger with time. He also studied some data on some diclonius from other laboratories, printing them through the laboratory computers. In his office there were also two lockers, containing numbered folders. Each folder represented a diclonius; on the cover there was written the name and number of the diclonius and there was attached, through the glue, a small photograph depicting the face of the diclonius and inside the folder there were both the results of the diclonius blood tests and the results of the experiments . The folders reached up to the number forty-three with regard to the results of the blood tests, in fact, those of Ayaka and Kinuko were still missing, while as regards the results of the experiments, the picture was complete. Kakuzawa was quite satisfied with the results of all the analyzes. After about two hours of study, they knocked on his office door.

"come on," said Kakuzawa.

The door opened. A total of three people entered, one of the scientists who took blood from Ayaka, the scientist who took the blood from Kinuko and with them was Kaito. All three had papers in hand.

"sir" said the scientist "we have the results of the blood tests of diclonius number fortyfour and forty-five".

"And me those of Lucy's blood," Kaito said.

"very well. let me see it".

Scientists gave the papers to Kakuzawa. He began to see first the results of the diclonius number forty-five Kinuko. It took about a little over a minute to see all the sheets.

"ok, now let's see Ayaka". and took the sheets on the diclonius number forty-four.

After about a minute and a half, he placed the papers on his desk.

"and now Lucy," he said, taking the papers on Lucy.

The scientists observed him remaining silent, waiting for the manager to tell him something.

"very good gentlemen" said Kakuzawa "I thank you for bringing them to me in a short time".

"imagine, sir," they replied. Then, after a few seconds, the scientist asked Kakuzawa:

"take away a curiosity from me, sir".

"tell me well".

"Why did you want us to quickly carry out analyzes on the Ayaka and Kinuko diclonius?"

"Yeah, it's true, I'd be curious to know," Kaito said.

"since I study the results of the previous experiments on diclonius number forty-four and forty-five, I have theories".

"Theories?" said the scientist.

"Yes".

"can we know them?"

"for now it is a private matter, but you will know it very soon, perhaps tomorrow".

"agree," he said.

"well. Now if you'll excuse me, I should go deeper into the analysis of these three diclonius".

"yes sir, we let her work", and subsequently, all three scientists left her office.

Kakuzawa said in his mind: "first, let's see if the analyzes confirm my theories about Ayaka and Kinuko".

He began to study the blood tests of Ayaka and Kinuko. As he saw the results, he nodded.

"yes ... it is all confirmed" he said in his mind "the results confirm what I thought about Ayaka and Kinuko".

"Now let's see those of Lucy", and take the sheets containing the results of her blood.

After having deepened them and compared them with those of the other diclonius, Kakuzawa had the confirmation on what he had said to Kaito, Aritomo and Sosuke, or that the nature of the virus was changing. From what the analyzes said, both Ayaka and Kinuko, despite being diclonius like Lucy, could have had many more vectors than her, even more than Mariko, while Miyu always had four, exactly like Lucy, but when he had the age of Lucy, or eighteen years, her carriers would have been stronger. In other

words, Miyu, Ayaka and Kinuko were always diclonius, also sterile, but their nature was more evolved: the virus was changing its nature, but was stopped by the vaccine before it could continue to evolve. Continuing to analyze Lucy's analyzes, the director hypothesized that perhaps she too could have had a very large number of vectors, probably this was due to the fact that the virus had transmitted part of its nature that was also changing to Lucy; not surprisingly, in fact, Lucy was only a year older than Ayaka and Kinuko and could stimulate the healing processes. In fact, Kakuzawa noted that among the results of Lucy's analysis, she could heal herself and someone else with her vectors; the idea that the diclonius could heal itself in water came to mind, but to him, at the same time, it was impossible for Lucy because since it was an expensive process for her, she could not have had the necessary strength to swim, and also to Lucy had been injected with a paralyzing substance. The thing that tormented Kakuzawa was that while on one hand Ayaka and Kinuko could have more than four carriers immediately, on the other, as far as Lucy was concerned, perhaps more should have been expected, but after a few minutes he ignored all this, as he had convinced himself that he had got rid of Lucy. As for Nana, she was very young, so very little was born before the virus was stopped by the vaccine. She also had something extra: she could disable the vectors of any diclonius. Lucy knew about this, because in the end in the fight with Nana, she had disabled her vectors. Kakuzawa remembered all this but he also ignored this matter, as Nana was no longer part of the structure.

In total, Kakuzawa studied the results of the four diclonius for about three hours. When it was over now it was evening. He put the results of the blood tests in his folders, Lucy's put them in a transparent plastic bag, turned off the computer, then got up from the chair, took the number forty-three Miyu folders, number forty-four Ayaka and number fortyfive Kinuko and transparent envelope, then left the office, locking the door. As he closed it, one of the scientists who brought him the analysis a few hours before passed by, was one of those who took blood in Ayaka.

"are you going to his room?" the scientist said.

"Yes, right".

"he rests well, he needs it".

"Thank you". After that Kakuzawa went to his room. When he arrived at the door, he took the key and opened it. Entering his room, he put the folders and the transparent envelope on the desk and sat on the bed for a few minutes. then he said in his mind: "now that I have also the results of Lucy, there is the green light to create a diclonius that can procreate. With our technology it is possible. We will start in the next days". And then he went to sleep.

CHAPTER 4

COMMUNICATION AND THE SECRET OF KAKUZAWA

The following day, Director Kakuzawa woke up quite early, around 8:00 am. Then he left his room and went to tell his secretary to send an e-mail to all the scientists in the laboratory to go to the conference room for a meeting at 9:00 am. He had, in fact, intended to communicate to all scientists, the fact of wanting to create, with laboratory technology and with Lucy's blood, a diclonius capable of giving birth and that his theories about Ayaka and Kinuko were true. now designated, all the scientists were in the conference room. Director Kakuzawa was the last to enter the hall. Entered, all the scientists and scientists got up.

"Good morning to all," said Kakuzawa. Soon after, he said "you can sit". And all the scientists sat down. Thus began the meeting. Some scientists had a pad of paper to take notes.

"first of all thank you all for being here. I have called you all because I would have things to tell you". Scientists were at full ears.

"let's start with the diclonius number forty-four and forty-five, namely Ayaka and Kinuko. Yesterday their analyzes arrived, but from before I was brought, I had theories about these diclonius and the analyzes did nothing but confirm them."

"What are these theories?" asked a scientist.

"they concern the virus responsible for the birth of the diclonius. Shortly before he was stopped by the vaccine that the anti diclonius association did develop, it was changing its nature."

"What does this mean, director?" asked a scientist.

"the virus was evolving".

"can you explain yourself better?" another scientist asked.

"simple: it means that it would have given birth to diclonius with other potentialities. Ayaka and Kinuko have some of this new nature of the virus". Silence fell among the scientists. Some took notes. Then one of them said, "what potential does he refer to?"

And Kakuzawa replied: "the diclonius forty-four and forty-five can have many more vectors than a normal diclonius, even more than the diclonius number thirty-five Mariko. The key to this is knowing how to use to the fullest their own potential. However, they are not the only diclonius to have something more: I also refer to the diclonius Lucy, Nana, and Miyu Lucy, as you know, from our experiments on her, we discovered that she could stimulate the healing processes with her vectors, so she also had to have nature She had only four vectors, but it is likely that she could have a very large number of vectors too. Now she is no more, but we will talk about this later. Scientists listened, some took notes.

"we speak of the diclonius number forty-three, or Miyu. She is very young, in fact, she is only nine years old and has only four carriers, like a normal diclonius. But her vectors, as you well know, are not like the others of the other diclonius : in fact, from the analysis I had the confirmation that its vectors are much stronger than those of a normal diclonius that is nine years old, and over time they will become even more the diclonius Nana, as you know, was slightly different from the other diclonius, in fact, possessed the ability to disable the vectors of any other modified virus was, therefore, modifying itself and, in my opinion, as time passed it would have become increasingly violent, making humans truly veritable unstoppable war machines ".

"Are you saying, therefore, that all the very young diclonius of this laboratory and of the others can be like number forty-three, forty-four and forty-five?" asked the first scientist.

"it is very probable" replied the director "only by continuing to experiment will we know more".

"I understand, thank you".

"imagine. Now let's talk about something else, something related to the diclonius Lucy. As you know, the other day we had the SAT armed with heavy weapons to capture it and bring it back here. The mission was successful: Lucy she was captured and brought back here. But not to keep her prisoner again, in fact, as you know, she is gone, I imagine some of you will wonder why ... ". The fact that Lucy had been thrown into the water had spread throughout most of the lab, but no one knew why. Aritomo, Sosuke and Kaito had not said this by order of Kakuzawa.

"After Lucy had been brought back here, I had no intention of holding her prisoner, but of taking her blood. The reason is to create a diclonius that can give birth."

Almost all the scientists were stunned. Almost all of them, because among them there were also Aritomo, Kaito and Sosuke who were aware of this fact.

"Why are you going to do something like this?" asked a scientist.

"And why isn't Lucy here anymore?" he asked for another.

"Be quiet, I'll explain everything to you now. As you know, Lucy was an uncontrollable, unrestrained diclonius, could not be appeased, if she wanted, she could exterminate every human being on the planet. She only cared about that. Besides, as I said before, she could also have had a very large number of carriers, which means that if she learned to control her potential, there would be nothing left for humanity to do within a few days. Lucy would have been just a threat. For everything and for everyone, I would like a diclonius to be created that can procreate but that is controllable, that has a character like the younger diclonius like Miyu, all this because I intend to continue experimenting to better understand the nature of diclonius , perhaps even to develop a possible cure ...

".

Upon hearing these words, the scientists seemed to calm down; however many of them remained rather confused, while others, after listening to Kakuzawa, were in favor of this plan by the director.

"We will use the technology of the laboratory and Lucy's blood to create a diclonius able to procreate, so we will have a character like all the younger diclonius of the structure, which will have the same treatments as everyone their".

During the meeting the scientists took many notes. Some of them even did some operations to calculate already how long it would take to create the diclonius able to procreate. The meeting was ending, and Kakuzawa, shortly after explaining other things about this plan, said: "the creation of the diclonius with Lucy's technology and blood will be commanded by the scientists Aritomo, Sosuke and Kaito, who are the most experienced of genetic engineering. You will help each other to create the diclonius. Well, and with that I finished telling you what I had to tell you. The meeting is over.

You can return to your work. "

The scientists rose from their chairs and quickly evacuated the conference room. In a short time the hall was empty, only Kakuzawa remained. In fact, he was the last to leave. He closed the door and then returned to his room and picked up the folders from Miyu, Ayaka and Kinuko and the transparent envelope containing the results of Lucy's blood tests, left his room, locked the door and went to talk to the three scientists Aritomo, Kaito and Sosuke. As the director walked along the corridors, he came across scientists and scientists. In the laboratory we worked all day and all night; the scientists took turns, so the activities never stopped: the importance of experiments, tests and analyzes on diclonius was too great.

Aritomo, Kaito and Sosuke worked very often together; being all three very good and experts in genetic engineering, it was decided that in this matter they had to work together.

Director Kakuzawa first went to Kaito's office. When he arrived, the door was open and he entered the office. There was Kaito who was working on the computer.

"ah, she's the manager. Do you want to tell me something?"

"I would like to talk to you and with Aritomo and Sosuke. You can suspend your work for a few minutes."

"okay, there are no problems". And he got up from his chair and followed the manager. Together they went to the offices of the other two scientists Aritomo and Sosuke. But they were not in their offices, but in another room; they were working on the results of experiments on other diclonius. When both noticed Kakuzawa and Kaito, Aritomo took the floor: "Director Kakuzawa, should you tell us something?"

"as I said before, you will direct the creation of the diclonius".

"As you wish, sir," said Sosuke.

"you will help the scientists and you will be helped if you have any difficulties".

"Yes, sir," said Aritomo.

"When you are done with what you are now working on, let me know how long it will take to create the diclonius. You will find me in my office."

"Certainly, sir," Kaito said.

That being said, Kakuzawa went to his office to further investigate the Miyu, Ayaka, Kinuko and Lucy diclonius. He stayed to work for about an hour, when, subsequently, knocked on the door of his office.

"go ahead," the manager said. The door opened. It was Sosuke, who said: "sir, we have calculated the time it takes to create the diclonius".

"How long will that take?" asked the manager.

"according to our calculations, it will take no more than three weeks".

"All right. There's no hurry anyway. Thanks for the information".

"imagine, sir".

"well. Now you can go back to your job".

"Yes, sir". And Sosuke left Kakuzawa's office. Then the manager resumed studying the analyzes. After about fifty minutes, he got up from his chair and looked at the ocean from the glass wall. As he looked at the sea, he reflected. Then someone knocked on his office door.

"Please come in," said Kakuzawa.

The door opened: it was the Arakawa scientist.

"Do you have to tell me something?" Kakuzawa said.

"I was really curious about one thing".

"tell me well".

"the other night he told me he is starting now ... a project".

"ah, yes, I remember".

"could I know what it is?"

"it is only a new beginning".

"a new beginning?".

"exact".

"of what, sir?"

"for the moment I don't have to say anything else. but don't worry, in a short time, you will know everything about this matter, as well as all the other scientists".

"ok, as you wish".

That said, the doctor was about to leave the office. just before touching the door handle, he said, "ah, I forgot to ask you something else."

"please, say".

"but is she a diclonius too?"

"Why are you asking me this question?"

"You know, I worked a lot that day and maybe I had a hallucination that night when I spoke to her, because I seem to remember seeing her with ..."

"I'll tell you again: you will soon know everything".

"ok" and went out, closing the door.

Later, after a few minutes, he went to his room. Once inside, he locked the door. Then he touched his hair, took a lock and pulled them; he actually had a toupee, which hid a particular cranial condition; the director, in fact, had a secret: his family had, for generations, a genetic mutation that caused a bone disorder in the skull, similar to the horns of the diclonius. In addition to this, they had other peculiarities, but over the years, they diminished more and more and finally only the bone disorder in the skull remained. Because of these differences, for years the director's family Kakuzawa was scorned by normal humans and was eventually hunted and isolated at the point where the laboratory was built. When, then, the diclonius appeared, Kakuzawa built the structure and the diclonius were captured to be studied and investigated. A few hours before Lucy's recovery, she had shown her real appearance to the Arakawa scientist, stating that the project was beginning.

Kakuzawa, with his real appearance, went to the library in his room and, among the books, took a folder containing particular sheets, sheets on which were written very secret topics, to which he had been working for years. He put the folder of papers on the desk, then sat down.

"this folder" the director said in his mind "contains what I need to make my project begin". He opened the folder and read the sheets in total for about an hour.

"perfect" the manager said in a low voice "now we can move on to the next step".

CHAPTER 5

LOVE AND COMPANY

It had been a few days since Lucy returned and had been welcomed back to Kouta's house by the others. These days, everyone stayed together, helping each other prepare food and fix the house. All were good and loving with Lucy, but each one understood the suffering past of the other and each of them embraced to show his closeness to his suffering history. Sometimes he recapitulated that Lucy, in private, asked for forgiveness again, despite the fact that everyone had already forgiven her, and always received a positive response. As time passed, Lucy, having found some peace, was getting better and better, but at the same time, she almost always thought about how she would solve her promise, or find a way to remedy what she did to the others. But for the moment, he couldn't find anything. but he did not give up at all.

"there will be a way. I will find one," he said in his mind very often.

It was a rather cloudy day. Kouta and the others had finished eating for a few hours. Kouta was reading a book while the others were resting in their rooms. Kouta had been reading a history book for a short time, but in the last few days he had no time to read it. Now he finally had a little and immediately started reading it again. read for about an hour. when he decided to quit, there was not so much time to have a snack. In fact, he began to get a little hungry. He decided to eat an onigiri. he went into the kitchen, but there were no more, they were finished. At that moment Yuka came and said, "what's up?".

"I would be a little hungry. I wanted an onigiri but they are finished".

"ah, well, if you want later, I'll accompany you to buy some."

"I'd appreciate it".

"agree. towards what time would you like to go out?"

"if that's okay with you, it would be useful in about ten minutes".

"that's fine, no problem".

"ok, so let's get ready to go out".

"immediately".

And they went to get ready, each in his own room. as they prepared, Lucy, Nana and Mayu went to the kitchen, they were hungry too. Meanwhile, both Kouta and Yuka finished getting ready to go out. noticing Yuka who was putting on the jacket,

Nana asked her, "do you have to go out?"

"yes Nana".

"And where do you go?".

"I go with Kouta to buy some onigiri, since they are finished we will buy some."

"Ah OK"

Lucy and Mayu also arrived. Nana told them that Yuka was going to go out with Kouta to buy onigiri.

"Do you want us to buy you something?" Yuka asked all of them.

"could I have taiyaki?" said Mayu.

"okay, quiet".

"A simple onigiri is fine for me," said Nana.

"for me too," Lucy said.

"agree".

"See you later," Lucy said.

"See you later," Yuka replied with a smile. and Yuka went to the front door, where Kouta was also. "Well I'm ready," said Kouta.

"me too" replied Yuka.

They put on their shoes and went to the nearest grocery store. while they were going together, they talked a little bit about the current situation.

"then Kouta" says Yuka.

"Yes?".

"How are you getting along with Lucy, since she came back to live with us?"

"I'm doing fine".

"I'm happy and ... feel". "tell me".

"regarding that fact ...?"

"Are you talking about the fact that I decided to forgive her?"

"exact".

"I think it was the right decision, even though he had done something very serious. The right decision was for her and for me; right for her because she realized what she did and why she found some peace given her dark past, and right also for me because, despite being very hard, it is right that I look ahead, but I love her anyway, like a family. "

"Like you, I also lose it. You are a good person, Kouta".

"thank you".

"you're welcome".

"we always give love to Lucy, Nana and Mayu. They have had a very difficult past.

They deserve nothing better, okay?"

"I very much agree".

"they will be together forever with us".

"quite right".

Meanwhile, they arrived at the grocery store and bought onigiri and taiyaki for Mayu. They didn't spend much.

When they left the shop, Kouta noticed that it was starting to rain.

"damn!".

"what's up?" Yuka said, holding the envelope with the onigiri and taiyaki in it.

"it's starting to rain and I forgot to bring an umbrella".

"it doesn't matter, our house is not very far from here".

They began to walk home, but as the minutes passed the rain increased in intensity.

"It's better if we run to avoid getting very wet," Kouta said at one point.

"Okay," said Yuka.

and they started to run, obviously covering the envelope, to prevent the onigiri and the taiyaki from getting wet, with the rain increasing more and more.

they arrived home in a short time. meanwhile, the storm came. Kouta and Yuka didn't get very wet.

"Here we are," said Kouta.

"We brought you your snack," Yuka told Mayu, Nana and Lucy. they were happy.

"Please eat well," said Yuka, while Kouta had gone to dry herself and change her clothes.

"No, go dry yourself so we can have a snack together," said Mayu.

"Oh thank you, what a nice thought," Yuka replied.

And so Yuka, like Kouta, went to dry herself and change her clothes too. Then they all gathered and had a snack together. Mayu took Wanta into the house as it was raining heavily, and he prepared the snack for him too. while they ate, Lucy said, "can I tell you something?"

"Please tell me," said Kouta.

"something that I forgot to tell you, but don't worry, it's nothing serious".

"We are at full blast," said Nana.

"Do you remember that when I was here with you in the past, you called me Nyu because, even though it was always me, was it like I was another person?"

"certainly," said Yuka.

"behold ... now Nyu is no longer in me".

"ie? what would you like to say?" said Kouta.

"in the sense that by now I no longer become her, I can control my true personality, but it does not mean that I become again as before, that is bloody and evil; I am just saying that by now Nyu's personality no longer exists in me, but I repeat myself : I don't want to do horrible things anymore, from now I just want to do good ".

"ah, I understand," said Kouta.

"but if you want" resumed Lucy "you can also call me Nyu, after all she is part of me".

"There are no problems for me," said Yuka.

"but do you think" Nana said "what is this thing due to?"

"It is probably due to the fact that my horns have both broken, because they are connected to the activities of my brain. In fact, since then I have not become Nyu again, but this is just my opinion".

"I understand. So is it okay with you if it happens sometimes that we also call you Nyu?" said Mayu.

"Absolutely yes. She was my alter ego, so it is right that you call me even so."

"You can say that Nyu lives the same in you," said Kouta.

"Well, in a sense ..." Lucy said, smiling.

They finished snacking. it was just after 5.30pm and the storm was not slowing down. Mayu and Nana played together, while Lucy was with Kouta and Yuka. they talked a little.

"then, Lucy," said Kouta.

"Yes?".

"I was thinking of something".

"tell me".

"tomorrow I should make some purchases. And I would like to go to Tokyo by train; you know there are more shops in a big city. I would like to have lunch there, spend some time tomorrow in the big city and capital of Japan. You would like to accompany me to take new clothes for you, for Nana and for Mayu? Tomorrow it should not rain ".

"It would be a nice idea," said Lucy, who then said "at what point in the day are you going to go out?"

"I thought of going out around noon".

"I think I will come".

"So now you have recovered well, haven't you?" said Yuka.

"Yes, I'm fine now. If I use my life energy to heal myself, it takes me a few days to recover as much as possible. Thank you".

"I figured."

"But take my curiosity away," Kouta said.

"tell me."

"since when can you stimulate the healing processes?"

"here, I know this thing for a long time, but I can apply it thanks to my vectors, but I never had the opportunity to use this skill of mine, until I almost died a few days ago. I hope to use it one day even for somebody else".

"Can you also heal another individual?" said Yuka. "Yes, I can. But it's always very expensive for me."

"Ah understood".

At that moment, Nana and Mayu arrived with Wanta. Nana and Mayu said, smiling, "what are you talking about?"

"a bit of varied stuff".

"guy?" Nana said.

"of Lucy's ability, which can heal herself and also another individual".

"Another individual, too, didn't tell us," Mayu said to Lucy.

"It's true, I forgot, sorry. It must have been the fault of too much fatigue."

"Don't worry," said Yuka.

"You know, I have something like that too," Nana said.

"really?" said Mayu.

"Yes".

"And what would it be?"

"I am able to ... disable vectors".

"so you can deprive of capacity ... I understand correctly?" said Kouta.

"Exactly. But please ..." and was saddened.

"What is it, Nana?" said Yuka.

"as Lucy said a few days ago, don't consider us monsters ... we are made this way...".

And like Nana, Lucy also bowed her head. it seemed they had started crying and in a few seconds they saw very clearly that they were crying; they cried for their diversity. Kouta, Yuka and Mayu understood that.

"No, don't do this ..." Kouta said.

"It's all right, all right," said Yuka.

"don't cry, calm," said Mayu.

Nana and Lucy covered their faces with their hands.

Kouta, Yuka and Mayu went to hug them.

"Quiet. We will never consider you monsters," said Kouta.

" ... really?" Nana and Lucy said.

"of course," said Mayu.

"quiet, calm," said Yuka

" ... thank you ..." Nana and Lucy said.

They embraced them for about a minute, giving them all the love and all the necessary company, they didn't need anything else. Then Yuka took a box of handkerchiefs and gave one to Lucy and one to Nana. They wiped away the tears and calmed down.

"rest assured, ok?" said Kouta.

"Don't think about it. You will always live with us," said Yuka.

They nodded with a smile. Later Kouta said: "Listen to Nana".

"Yes?".

"Tomorrow I'm going with Lucy to Tokyo to buy some new clothes for her, for Mayu and also for you. Would you like to come with us?"

"towards what time do you go out tomorrow?"

"I think about noon".

"leave me some time to think about it?"

"of course".

"thank you".

"I figured."

While Nana thought, Kouta said to Mayu: "Do you want to come with us to Tokyo tomorrow to shop?"

"I wouldn't really want to. Is it okay if I can come again?" he said in a sweet and sad tone at the same time.

"quiet. There will be other occasions".

"Ok".

"You know Kouta, maybe I won't come too. Do you mind?" Nana said.

"stay calm. if you don't feel like coming, you'll come again".

"Ok".

"If you want, I'll come with you to keep you company," said Yuka.

"All right, Yuka," said Kouta.

"Then we'll come, you and Lucy. Ok?" said Yuka.

"Yes, that's fine," Lucy said.

"then tomorrow we will go to the station and make three tickets."

So they agreed for the next day. Meanwhile, the storm diminished. Nana and Lucy played with Mayu and her little dog Wanta, while Kouta and Yuka read, until dinner time, and as the hours passed, the rain stopped and the weather improved. They all prepared dinner together, soumen, which Nana and Lucy liked very much. They ate together and they all went to bed pretty early.

The next day they all woke up around 11:00. It was a rather calm day, with few clouds in the sky. they all had breakfast together. Then they changed clothes and Kouta and Yuka prepared to go out, to make purchases, accompanied by Lucy.

"we'll be leaving soon, ok?" Yuka said to Nana and Mayu.

"ok" they said.

When Kouta, Yuka and Lucy were ready, they greeted Mayu and Nana and went to Kamakura station.

CHAPTER 6

GIFT FOR NANA, LUCY AND MAYU

Shortly after crossing the house gate, Yuka and Kouta noticed that Lucy was quite scared.

"Lucy" said Kouta "what is it?". She said nothing, 59ita t showed that she was a little worried.

"What's wrong, Lucy?"

"Is that …" Lucy said.

"Yes?" they said.

"I'm scared".

"about what?" Kouta said, touching her right shoulder with her right hand.

"I'm afraid of being mocked again for my diversity".

Kouta and Yuka understood.

"Nothing will happen, don't worry. And even if something happens, let us do it, don't worry," said Yuka.

"I know … but …" Lucy said.

"Calm down, Lucy," said Kouta.

"I … I want to show that inside me there is no longer any desire to do what I did in the past, and I fear that if something happens, I will lose my temper and I will once again become the one before … understand me , please…".

"we understand you Lucy. quiet," said Yuka.

"I repeat: I have really changed, I don't want to go back to the same one and I will find a way to prove it".

"We believe you Lucy," said Yuka.

"Nothing bad will happen 60ita t someone tells you something, you ignore it. We'll take care of you, don't worry," Kouta told her.

Lucy calmed down.

"quiet, nothing bad will happen," said Kouta. and Lucy nodded. And started walking towards Kamakura station.

As they walked, Lucy said, "you know, I'm glad to go out, because I can't always be inside."

"Yes, it's true," said Kouta.

"one day I would like to go out with you all, I would like very much".

"It would be very nice," said Yuka.

"He will arrive very soon that day," said Kouta, smiling.

It took them about twenty minutes to get to the station.

"well," said Kouta, "now let's go and make tickets.

"yes" said Yuka and Lucy.

They went to the ticket office and took three tickets to Tokyo. They also took three return tickets to Kamakura. They would be in Tokyo all afternoon, and they would be back around dinner time. They had obviously told Nana and Mayu to prepare dinner for them too.

"we are lucky" said Kouta observing the train schedule "our train will arrive not long".

"well" said Yuka "let's sit down".

And all three sat on a bench waiting for the train that would take them to the Japanese capital.

After about twenty minutes, the train arrived. They got in and took three seats available.

Lucy stood by the window. The train left about twelve minutes after Kouta, Lucy and Yuka went up there. As at the station, there were not many people on the train. Shortly after leaving, Kouta said, "How long is the journey?"

"about ninety minutes," said Yuka.

"well". Then he asked Lucy: "How are you?"

"pretty good, but I still have some worries …".

"relax, everything is fine. Enjoy the scenery".

"OK thanks".

"I figured."

On the way, Lucy calmed down, looking out the window. Yuka and Kouta discussed what to do once they arrived in Tokyo.

"arrived at the Tokyo station, we buy maps of the city; they can always come in handy, then we take the subway, which will take us to Ikebukuro, a commercial area of the city, okay?" said Kouta.

"yes, all right".

"we will eat there, then we will make the purchases, we will take the subway and return to the station at 6.00 pm, where our train will leave ten minutes later".

"okay, no problem".

Then they rested a little.

After about an hour and a half, they arrived in Tokyo. When the train stopped at the station, Yuka, Kouta and Lucy got up from the seats. As they were leaving the car, Kouta said, "you will see Lucy, everything will be fine".

"quiet, okay?" said Yuka.

"Yes, ok," Lucy replied.

They got off the train and Yuka said, noticing the many people: "I beg you, we are all close, because otherwise we could lose ourselves".

"For safety's sake, let's hold hands," said Kouta.

"Yes, right," Lucy said.

So, they joined hands and walked to the station bookstore and bought a guide and a couple of city maps. They then went to the subway station. When they arrived, they took six tickets, three for the outward journey and three for the return journey. After about fifteen minutes, they arrived in the Ikebukuro neighborhood. It was 13:00 in the afternoon.

Kouta said, "it's lunch time. Are you hungry?"

"yes" answered Lucy and Yuka.

"ok, in these parts there are also restaurants. We go to eat, then we will think about our purchases".

"agree".

So they went to the nearest restaurant to have lunch. They went in, sat down, and ordered food.

In the meantime, Lucy said: "I'm glad I came with you".

"We are pleased, Lucy," Yuka said, smiling at her.

Not long after, the waiter arrived and brought them what they had ordered and started eating. When they had finished, Kouta said to Lucy and Yuka: "are you okay now?"

"A lot, thank you," they replied.

"Well, now I'm going to pay and we can go and buy clothes."

"ok," said Yuka.

Kouta got up and went to pay while Yuka was with Lucy.

"Everything is alright?" Yuka told Lucy.

"Yes, thank you," Lucy said in a calm voice.

Shortly thereafter, Kouta returned, who said, "here, we can go."

"ok" Yuka and Lucy said, getting up from the chairs. And they left the restaurant to buy clothes for Lucy and Nana.

"listen," said Yuka.

"Yes?" said Kouta and Lucy.

"I would say going to a mall, so there are more stores to visit in one area. What do you say?"

"maybe you're right," said Kouta.

"See on the map where the nearest shopping center in the area is," said Yuka.

"right away" replied Kouta.

And he consulted the guide. While Kouta leafed through it, Yuka said to him: "you were right to buy that guide and those maps. You were right".

Then, after a few seconds, Kouta said, "here, I found".

"well. What does he say?" said Yuka.

"so … according to the map, the nearest shopping center from the point where we are is the Sunshine City, it is in this street" and put the index on the road drawing. "take a look. I consult the guide on this mall."

"in agreement", Yuka took the map and Kouta consulted the guide, to find the street where the mall was. Lucy, meanwhile, was watching everything around her; she had never been to a big city like Tokyo.

"we're lucky," said Yuka.

"Which is?" said Kouta.

"we are not far from the Sunshine City, it is right next to this road where we are".

"well," said Kouta.

"come on," said Yuka, smiling at Lucy and Kouta.

"ok" they said.

And they started walking. As they walked, they held hands. Then Kouta said: "I saw on the guide that the Sunshine City is a very large complex and contains, in addition to dozens of shops, also an observatory, a planetarium and an aquarium. All in a sixty-story skyscraper".

"really?" said Lucy.

"Yes".

"Wow, I didn't know …" Yuka said.

"Yeah, neither do I," said Kouta.

It took them about ten minutes. Arriving at the entrance to the skyscraper, Kouta consulted the guide so that they could orient themselves.

"how tall he is …" Lucy said.

"Yeah, you're right, Lucy. This complex is like a small town," Kouta said.

"Which is?" said Yuka.

"in the sense that it contains a lot of places of every kind".

"Ah understood".

"therefore", Kouta said, consulting the guide "the first nine floors are all dedicated to shopping, the floors from the tenth to the fifty-seventh are devoted to offices, while the third last and the penultimate to restaurants".

"and the top floor?" said Yuka.

"you can look at the city from above".

"OK thanks for the info".

"I figured."

"Now let's go buy clothes for Lucy and Nana."

They went to the commercial area of the building. On the second floor, Yuka said: "Who knows where the clothes shop we are looking for will be …" Yuka said.

"Well, there are two ways to find out," Kouta said.

"Which is?" said Yuka.

"or explore the whole shopping center, or look for a map of the building".

"You're right," Lucy said.

"I would say to look for the map, in this way we already know where we need to go".

"Well said. Let's look for the map of the shopping center," said Yuka.

They looked around and took a few steps but did not separate, as there were many people. After a few seconds, they found her. It was inside a bulletin board hanging from the wall, protected by glass, not far from where they had entered.

"Well, here's the map," Kouta said.

They looked for a clothes shop, consulting the map of the shopping center. The map showed all the shops on all floors of the mall.

"The shop we are looking for is on this floor," said Kouta, pointing to the third floor.

"ok" Yuka said smiling "let's go get the clothes". And they went to the clothes shop on the third floor. Once inside, they saw some clothes for the store; all together, they chose clothes for Nana and Mayu, 66ita t66 was Lucy's turn.

"ok Lucy, choose clothes, the ones you like best," Yuka told Lucy, smiling at her.

"Yes," Lucy replied.

Lucy consulted some clothes, wandering around the store. While Lucy was choosing,

Kouta said to Yuka: "You know, I'm glad Lucy came with us."

"me too" replied Yuka.

"how do you see it?"

"I see her rather quiet, unlike this morning. Perhaps our words that we told her, before leaving to come here to Tokyo, gave her strength".

"I was thinking so too. You know, the fact that she is afraid because of her diversity makes me very sad for her. I think Nana also has this thing in her heart. If I think about it, I am very sad".

"I too am sad when I think of this thing".

"I wonder why Lucy and Nana are a little different from us … I just can't understand …".

"I can't tell you, my cousin. 66ita t66 probably remain a mystery."

"maybe you're right …" and bowed his head, looking down. Yuka noticed it.

"What is it, Kouta?"

"Here …".

"Yes?".

"I just wish … that one day Lucy and Nana would find peace in everything".

Yuka took his hand.

"I know, Kouta. I would like this too. I wonder if something will happen in the future to clarify this story."

"I hope so".

Meanwhile Lucy had chosen her clothes and returned to Yuka and Kouta.

"here, I chose these clothes" he said "I like them very much".

"Good. Now let's go pay," said Yuka. And they went to the cashier. After paying, they put clothes for Nana, Mayu and Lucy in envelopes, after which they left the shop.

Yuka looked at the time, not long before 3.20pm.

"Listen," he said, "it's still a bit late at 6:00 pm, are you going to do anything else?" "I would like to continue exploring this mall, I like these stores," Lucy said.

"That's fine with me, we still have time," Kouta said.

"ok, then let's see some other stores," said Yuka, smiling. That said, they started seeing other stores for the mall. After about forty minutes, they had seen about a dozen stores, between one floor and another, but they had not bought anything else. Coming out of another store, Lucy said with a smile: "I like to see the shops with you".

"I'm happy," said Kouta, smiling at her.

"I too" said Yuka, smiling too.

Later Lucy told Kouta: "first you said that on the top floor of this skyscraper you can see the city from above, right?"

"Yes".

"I'd like to see it …".

"it's OK for me".

"also for me," said Yuka.

"OK, so let's go see Tokyo from above," said Kouta, smiling.

And so they went to the top floor. They took the elevator instead of the escalator to do first. The top floor was structured in this way: there were quite large windows and in front of them there were comfortable sofas that made the Sunshine City unique. When Lucy, Kouta and Yuka reached the sixtieth floor, they immediately saw the view of Tokyo from above. They approached and sat down on a sofa.

"What a beautiful view from up here," said Yuka.

"It's really true, cousin," said Kouta.

Lucy was amazed.

"It's beautiful …" he said.

They stood looking at the city for a few minutes, moving around the floor too, to watch Tokyo from other angles.

"I've never seen anything like this in my life … the view from up here is wonderful …" Lucy continued.

"We're glad you like it," said Yuka.

They were still a few minutes to observe the city, then Kouta said: "What do you say, do you feel like having a snack?"

"It's fine by me, it's almost 4:00 pm," said Yuka after looking at the time.

"It's good for me too," Lucy said.

"OK. Listen, where are you going to have a snack? Here at the Sunshine City or outside?"

"I think it's better to have a snack here," Lucy said.

"I think it's better this way," said Yuka.

"It's fine. Let's go get something."

"yes" they replied.

They decided to go to the penultimate floor, the 59th, where, along with the third to last, there were restaurants and bars. They took an elevator. Arrived at the fifty-ninth floor, they went to the area where they ate.

"what do you take for a snack?" said Yuka.

"I take an onigiri," said Kouta.

"Me too," said Lucy.

"I was also going to take one, actually they are very good," Yuka said with a smile.

"Yeah," said Kouta.

"very well, then let's take three onigiri".

And so they went to buy three onigiri. After paying, they went to 69ita t a table. They chose one very close to a TV. From every seat seated at that table one could see television very well. Lucy and Kouta sat together. And they began to eat their snack.

"it's 4:14 pm" said Yuka, looking at her watch "when we're done with a snack, we'll go to the station, okay?" continuous.

"Yes, all right," said Lucy and Kouta.

"then, how have you been?" said Yuka.

"I very well," said Kouta.

"you, Lucy?"

"I also had a great time, thank you".

"figured" Yuka replied, smiling at her.

They finished snacking. Then Lucy said with a smile: "it was very good".

"Yes, it was just delicious," said Yuka.

"Good. Now we can go," said Kouta, "let's go home."

Kouta got up first and almost immediately after, Lucy and Yuka did the same. He looked at them smiling. They also smiled at him. After that, they went to the exit. Then they went out to the subway to go to the station. They arrived just before 5:15 pm, so a little early. They waited for their train and arrived there. When they sat in their seats, Kouta said softly to Lucy: "Did you see that nothing happened? Everything was fine".

"Yes, you were right, indeed: you were right," said Lucy, referring also to Yuka.

The train departed shortly after and after an hour and a half journey, they arrived in

Kamakura, then returned home and arrived there at about 19:54. They were upset. At the front door, Kouta knocked. After a few seconds, Mayu opened the door, while Nana was in the kitchen.

"Welcome back!" said Mayu with a smile "Come, it's almost ready to eat".

They entered the house, greeted Nana and sat down at the table. Yuka showed Nana the envelopes containing the clothes for her. Nana and Mayu, after distributing food for everyone, told Yuka: "Can we see the clothes you bought now?"

"but of course you can, we chose them all together," said Yuka.

And so Nana and Mayu went to see their new clothes. They all really liked their new clothes, to the point that they were moved. And they went to embrace Kouta, Lucy and Yuka.

"Thank you … thank you …" they said as they embraced them.

"It was a pleasure," they replied.

Then they ate and Kouta, Lucy and Yuka talked about how they had spent the day in

Tokyo. After they finished eating, they cleared the table. Then Kouta, Lucy and Yuka went to bed early, they were very tired. Even Nana and Mayu didn't go to bed late that night.

CHAPTER 7

THE TORMENTS AND DESIRES OF LUCY

The next day, Kouta and the others woke up around 11:20. They all had breakfast together. After finishing, Yuka, turning to Nana, Lucy and Mayu, said, "you know, I'm really glad you liked the clothes we bought you in Tokyo."

"I liked them very much," said Nana, "thanks again."

"I also liked them very much. I also thank you," said Mayu.

"I loved them too, I also thank them," said Lucy

Yuka looked at them with a smile and, with Kouta said, "please, we did it with pleasure".

Then, very happy, they went to put them on. The new clothes for all three were really very good.

Kouta and the others spent that day all together, at home, playing. It was a beautiful day for all five. At dinner time, they all prepared food together, helping each other. They ate together and went to sleep rather early, around 10:00. Kouta brought a book to her room, she wanted to read a little before going to sleep. When Kouta started to read, all the lights in the house were off, all was silent. Kouta read for about thirty minutes, when suddenly, the door to her room opened slowly. The door was opened by Lucy.

"Kouta ..." he said in a low voice.

"Lucy, what's wrong? Is something wrong?"

"sorry to bother you...".

"no disturbance, quiet. What is it?"

"is that ... I can't sleep ...".

"why? What's wrong?"

"here you see...".

"Yes?".

"is that ... I can't sleep because... I'm a little disturbed...".

"Disturbed?".

"yes, and for this I would like ..."

"what?" Kouta said softly.

"if that's okay with you, I would like ..." and stirred a little. It was noticed.

"calm, calm. Don't get upset," Kouta said, rising from the bed.

"I would like ... to sleep next to you tonight ...". Kouta, on hearing these words, softened. In fact, he understood that Lucy, being upset about something, just needed peace of mind. He couldn't say no.

"but of course, of course you can, Nyu," he said smiling and calling her that. When these words were heard, tears came to Lucy's eyes.

"t... thank you ..." and covered his face with his hands.

"Quiet, peaceful," he said, embracing her. She also hugged him. Then Kouta said to her:

"Do you want to talk before you sleep? This way you could be a little better ...".

"yes ... okay ...".

"come on, let's go to bed and talk".

In bed, Lucy seemed to calm down a little. Then Kouta said to her: "Then tell me: what is it that torments you?"

"I ... I'm afraid for my future ...".

"for your future?"

"Yes. You see ... I am afraid to leave the house ... I am always afraid to leave the house ... as a child I suffered many traumas and abuses ... the fault was all of my horns ..." and He started to cry.

"I'm very sorry," said Kouta "but it is now part of the past. We must look ahead". Then he said: "it went well two days ago in Tokyo ...". Lucy said to him: "Yes, it's true ... but who knows if it will always be so ... I would like to go out and confront the world ... but not ... not ...". He sobbed more and more.

"no, don't cry ..." Kouta said "don't cry". In Kouta, hearing Lucy so worried, sad and crying, a tear of emotion descended. Then Lucy seemed to calm down, slowly.

"I ... in Tokyo ... I lived almost every minute with terror of being mocked or bombarded with insults ... like when I was a child ... if someone had looked carefully ... he would have noticed what remained of my horns ... and he would have teased me or treated me badly for my diversity ... I then, I'm not going to do any more harm because I realized that what I did in the past was wrong ... I would love people to see me ... that ... "

Kouta listened to her in silence, more and more sorry for her. Then, suddenly, Lucy hugged Kouta, and burst into tears. While crying desperately, he tried to speak as low as possible not to wake Nana, Yuka and Mayu.

"I would ... t-that the p-people could see me ... that ... I am ... also human ... I have only ... de-horns and ... vectors ... b- but ... m-my body ... is ... is ... human ... I ... d-don't know b-because I'm ... like that ... but .. . I wish there o-out ... the world accepts me as I am ... I'm not ... a monster ... or a demon ... I'm human too! ".

Kouta, hearing all these words, most of them uttered with difficulty due to Lucy's crying, hugged her and caressed her, giving her all his love. As he embraced and caressed her, he thought about Lucy's future, trying to find a solution. Even for Nana the situation was the same, so Kouta thought of a solution that was both for her and for Lucy. Something had to be there, it could not exist that Lucy lived the rest of her life in terror of teasing and being considered something inhuman.

"We will find a solution, Nyu," said Kouta, still embracing and caressing her. She, meanwhile, continued to cry desperately.

"I'm ... afraid! Fear! ...hold me tight ..." Lucy continued.

"do not cry, we will find something for the sake of your future, I promise you" told her a never so tender Kouta, always continuing to hug her and caress her. Lucy quietly calmed down, though the tears kept coming out of her eyes.

Silence for a few seconds. Then Lucy said with difficulty: "t... thanks Kouta ...".

"quiet, you will see that we will find something together for the sake of your future". Lucy calmed down more and more. After a few minutes, Lucy was better.

"I'll always be next to you, don't worry. We'll find a solution," Kouta told her.

"thank you...".

"are you feeling better?".

"Yes enough...".

"well".

Then Lucy said: "I would always like to be near you ... with you ... I feel good inside ...". Kouta smiled at her. Then Lucy continued, saying: "Kouta ... my only friend when I was a child ... the only one who treated me well when I was a child ... the only person I was good with when I was a child ..." .

"Quiet, peaceful," replied Kouta.

"I ..." Lucy continued "with you, I am always well inside ... I would always like to be near you ...".

"we will be Lucy".

"But I ... I mean ..."

"what, Lucy?"

"here ... one of my wishes would be to ...".

"Yes?".

"you see ... I feel good with you, that you are my family ... but I, as a child, have always dreamed of living and being with the person who gave me the most love in my life ... or you...". Kouta remained silent, always listening to her.

"with no one I was as good as with you ... I also love Nana, Yuka and Mayu, but deep in my heart ... you ... Kouta ... occupy a special place ...".

"Lucy ..."

"I love you very much...".

"I love you too," Kouta replied. And they embraced. Then Kouta said to her, "How are you, Lucy?"

"much better ... thanks ...".

"Imagine. Try to fall asleep peacefully. You'll see that everything will be fine," he said, smiling.

"thank you ... Kouta".

After that, Kouta turned off the light and not long after, still hugging each other, they fell asleep.

The following morning, Lucy and Kouta were the first to wake up, while the others still slept. They woke up early. Kouta and Lucy decided to prepare breakfast together, both for them and the others. Meanwhile, Kouta said to Lucy: "Did you sleep well tonight?"

"Yes. Thanks for making me sleep next to you," Lucy replied.

"Do not mention it".

Shortly thereafter, Nana arrived and said, "Are you already awake?" "Oh yes. We're making breakfast for you and the others too," Kouta said.

"Oh thank you," said Nana.

"you are welcome."

Not long after, Mayu and Yuka also arrived. And they all ate breakfast together, then Mayu prepared food for his little dog Wanta. Later, they dressed and together they decided that it was time to clean up the house. While they cleaned it, they all helped each other.

The love of a family felt very good among all of them.

CHAPTER 8

TWO NEW FRIENDS

It had been a little over a week since Lucy returned and she was welcomed home by Kouta, Yuka, Nana and Mayu. Things were going well for each of them; in fact, everyone was happy to live with the other. Despite this, Nana, but especially Lucy, were a little upset about their future: in fact, as happened to Lucy with Kouta a few nights earlier, Nana also started to worry about her future. Of course, she too had had a dark past, but compared to Lucy a little less, but this didn't mean that she didn't have to worry because of her diversity and in fact, thinking about this, during lunch, she didn't eat much, she also stayed bad with the stomach and a few hours later, she had to vomit. Kouta, Yuka, Mayu and Lucy managed to calm her down. Shortly after, however, Lucy was also a little sick with her stomach, still thinking about her possible future, but she too was calmed.

"rest assured, we will find a solution" said Kouta to Nana and Lucy. These words were very comforting to them.

The afternoon of that same day, all of them decided to talk a bit all together. They gathered in a room, then Yuka took the floor and said, "Lucy, Nana, are you better? Have you caught yourself?" "yes, thank you" they replied.

"Do not mention it".

"listen," said Kouta, referring to Lucy and Nana, "I understand that you have been hurt in the past, and I am very sorry. But you cannot always be inside, you must also go out". It had been a few days since Lucy had gone to Tokyo with Yuka and Kouta, but from that day on she was no longer leaving home. The fear of being teased or considered something else because of its diversity was too strong. The same thing also occurred to Nana.

"but I" said Nana "I am afraid. And if I found those in the laboratory again? I don't want to go back there ... to undergo other experiments ...".

"this will not happen" said Yuka "because we will not stop protecting you from those horrors and if they find you again, we will do everything to prevent them from bringing you back there. Now you, together with Mayu, are family."

Lucy, Mayu and Nana were moved, and they went to embrace Yuka and Kouta. Then he, as he embraced them, said to Nana and Lucy: "You can't always be inside the house. Try to go out, let's see what happens". Then he said to Nana: "you have been inside for so many days, you can't go on like this forever".

"but ... how ... I can hide my horns ..." Nana said.

"listen, I'd say to put a cap on your head. This way no one can see them," Kouta told her.

"I know but...".

"try to go out. If you have any problems, come back here immediately".

"It's ... okay ..." Nana said a little worried.

"Can I accompany you?" said Mayu.

"There are no problems for me," said Kouta.

"All right, prepare Nana. Let's go for a walk," Mayu continued.

"d ... agree ...".

"Good Nana," said Yuka.

"listen" said Mayu to Lucy, Kouta and Yuka.

"yes Mayu? what is it?" they replied.

"while I'm out with Nana, can you look after my little dog, please?"

"but of course, no problem," said Yuka.

"thank you".

"Imagine," Lucy said.

Subsequently, Nana and Mayu prepared to leave. Yuka went to look for a cap, found one after a few minutes. When, then, Nana and Mayu were at the front door, Yuka put the cap on Nana's head. The cap covered her horns. Then Yuka hugged Nana, she did the same.

"you will see" said Yuka "everything will be fine".

"thank you, Yuka". After that, Mayu and Nana crossed the front door. Thus began the walk through the streets of Kamakura. The day was clear, ideal for going out. As they walked, Nana was a little agitated, Mayu noticed. They stopped.

"Quiet, Nana. It's all right," Mayu told her, taking her hand.

"It's hard ..." Nana said.

"I know, my friend, but everything will be fine".

These words were very comforting to Nana. She calmed down. Then they started walking again. They arrived at the city bridge.

"look at Mayu, this is where Lucy fought the soldiers, was injured and was captured ...".

"already...".

They walked on the bridge. There were not many people. While crossing the Kamakura bridge, Mayu and Nana held hands. Then they stopped and leaned against the railing of the bridge, watching the sea. They stood looking at the ocean for a few minutes, talking. Nana seemed to reassure herself more and more, then decided to continue the walk.

"Do you feel like going to the beach to see the sea up close?" said Mayu.

"OK," Nana replied.

They crossed the whole bridge and went to the beach. They came very close to the water. The sea was very calm.

"the sea is so beautiful ..." Nana said.

"It's really true," said Mayu.

"you know," Nana continued, "I wish my fear for my diversity would disappear forever one day ... so that I, but also Lucy, can live better ..." and tears came to her eyes and she covered her face with hands.

"Nana ...".

"who knows if ... that day will come ..." and tears came out of her eyes.

Mayu hugged her. Nana cried and hugged Mayu.

"everything will be fine, my friend, everything will be fine".

"Hold me s-squeezed ..." Nana said, crying.

They hugged each other for about a minute. Then Mayu said: "Do you want to stay another little or do you want to go home?"

"I would like ... to go home ..." Nana said, looking down.

"Okay. For today it may be enough. Come" and Mayu put his hand on his shoulder, for comfort. And they started walking again, holding hands. When they arrived almost at the end of the beach, they heard a voice calling to them: "hey, you!" Nana and Mayu turned around. A boy had called them, a few dozen meters away from them. Having noticed that Nana and Mayu had stopped, the boy approached them. He was a boy with blond hair, about the size of Nana. When he was a little over a meter away from them, he said, "is there something wrong?" Nana said nothing, still rather sad, as Mayu shook his head.

"sorry" the boy said "is that, first, I saw you hugging and she was crying ..." referring to Nana. Then the boy continued: "Are you sure everything is going well? Can I help you?"

"No, you can't ..." Nana said, rather lowly. The boy became curious and asked Nana: "Why were you crying first? What happened?"

Nana was silent, then Mayu said, "see, it's a long story ...".

"would you like to talk about it? I'm available if you like," the boy said, rather worried. "It is something that concerns only you, between us," said Mayu to the boy, saying to Nana in a tender voice, "do you want to talk to him?" Nana remained silent, but made a slight "yes" with her head. She was pushed a little by trying to talk to someone she didn't know.

"ok" the boy said smiling "come, let's sit down there with him" pointing to another boy about thirty meters away. It was very close to water.

"OK," said Mayu.

As they walked, the boy said, "sorry, I didn't show up. My name is Takeshi, I'm fifteen years old, very pleased to meet you" and he gave them his hand. Mayu and Nana replied doing the same.

"my name is Mayu and I am fourteen years old".

"I ... my name is Nana," he said in a rather low and sad voice.

"It's a real pleasure," Takeshi said. Then they arrived at the designated point and Takeshi said to the other boy: "Koichi, would you like to talk to us and stay with them?"

"It's fine, no problem," Koichi said.

"Good. Let's sit down," Takeshi replied. And everyone sat on the sand. Then Koichi said: "nice to meet you, I'm a friend of Takeshi's and as you heard from him, my name is Koichi. I'm sixteen."

"very pleased," said Nana and Mayu. Then they also presented themselves to Koichi. Koichi had brown hair and was a little taller than Mayu.

"then Nana," said Takeshi "why were you crying earlier?"

"what's wrong?" Koichi said. Nana remained silent. Then Mayu told Takeshi and Koichi: "see, it's a very delicate thing ...". "I'm sorry," Koichi said, "but is it serious?"

"well, in a sense ...".

"Can we help you, Nana?" Takeshi said. Nana began to water again. The two boys noticed him.

"No, don't do that ..." Takeshi told her.

"don't cry, Nana ..." Koichi said.

"you must forgive her" said Mayu "is that it is something that has an immense weight for her". The boys worried. Then Koichi said, "quiet, it's all right."

"There's nothing to forgive, it's all right," Takeshi said.

"if you don't feel like it, it's okay, let's talk about something else if you want" Koichi said with a smile.

"It's true, there are so many other topics. For example, I like cooking," said Takeshi. After hearing these last words, Nana looked at Takeshi.

"do you like cooking?" Nana said wiping tears from her eyes.

"Oh yes, and a lot," Takeshi replied.

"I too like to prepare food ..." Nana said with a slight smile.

"and what more?"

"I like to prepare everything ... there is no specific dish, I love preparing everything ...".

"apparently we have one thing in common," Takeshi said, smiling at Nana and touching her right shoulder with his left hand.

"Oh yes ..." Nana said with a slight smile. And they started talking about so many kitchen topics. She seemed to get better by talking to Takeshi. While the two of them were talking, Koichi said to Mayu: "And what do you like so much?"

Mayu replied: "I like animals ... in fact I have a little dog".

"really? and what's its name?"

"it's called Wanta".

"Blessed are you who have a little dog. You know, I would like to have one too ...".

"and why don't you have it?" asked Mayu.

"because my parents don't want it ..." Koichi said sadly.

"I'm sorry".

"who knows if one day I can have one myself ...".

"in my opinion, if you keep asking your parents, maybe they will convince you one day".

"who knows ... it's possible ... we'll see".

"anyway, if you like, one day we will meet again and take Wanta with me and play with him ...".

"really?" Koichi said.

"Yes".

"oh it would be nice".

And all four of them continued to talk to each other for about an hour in total. Later, shortly after sunset, Takeshi looked at his watch and said, "oh, gosh, it's almost 6:00 pm. Koichi and I should go home ...".

"already?" Nana said.

"oh yes, time flies when you're having fun".

"no, wait, stay another little ..." Nana said holding his hand.

Takeshi looked at Koichi and he said to Takeshi: "we can stay another ten minutes, no problem". And Takeshi looked at Nana with a smile and nodded. Nana, having understood that she was still there for a few minutes, was very happy. And they kept talking about other kitchen stuff. Then after about ten minutes, Koichi said, "Takeshi, now we have to go."

"OK," he replied. Then he said to Nana: "it was great to talk about cooking with you".

"Oh, for me too," Nana replied, smiling.

"if you want we can meet again in the coming days, always here on the beach.

"OK for me. But where do you live?" Nana asked him

"I live near Kamakura station".

"and where do you live Koichi?" said Mayu.

"I live not very far from here. And you?" "we live together with three other people".

"I see".

"if you want, I'll introduce them to you the next time we see each other".

"It would be a pleasure," Takeshi said.

"It was really nice to talk all together," said Koichi "I was very good with you."

"Me too" said Mayu. Nana initially stood in silence, then said "me too".

Then they shook hands, said goodbye and separated. Mayu, but especially Nana, were very happy. As they walked home, Mayu said to Nana: "They are two good boys, aren't they?"

"Yes...".

"What is it, Nana?"

"is that ... I am happy ...".

"me too. Maybe there is hope for your future ...".

"But if he saw that I have horns, how would you react in your opinion?"

"don't think about it now, enjoy this moment".

"agree".

When they got home, it was dinner time and he was ready to eat. While they ate, Nana and Mayu told Kouta, Yuka and Lucy everything.

"I'm really happy," said Kouta.

"we too" said Lucy and Yuka.

"Listen," said Mayu, "can we invite Takeshi and Koichi to our house in the next few days? You will also get to know them ..."

"but of course," said Kouta, smiling at them.

Nana and Mayu were very happy. "thank you thank you!" they said.

Two days later, in fact, Nana and Mayu went out together again, this time in the morning, and they went back to the beach and found Takeshi and Koichi. They were invited by Mayu and Nana to their home.

"today we have all day off, so we can stay with you" said Takeshi and Koichi. Nana and Mayu were overjoyed, so they returned home with the two boys. When they arrived home, Takeshi and Koichi were greeted by Kouta, Yuka and Lucy.

"very pleased," the two boys told them, shaking his hand. When I gave it to Lucy, she got excited; she was not, in fact, accustomed to such situations.

"pleasure is ours. Welcome!" said Yuka and Kouta.

They all stood together and talked to know each other better. Nana and Takeshi cooked both lunch and dinner together, while Mayu and Koichi played almost all day with Wanta.

All day, Nana put on the cap. The fear of showing his two horns to his horns was too great, but she didn't think much about it, as she had a lot of fun that day. Lucy, instead, didn't need it, the remains of her horns were covered by her hair. Shortly after dinner, Koichi said, "now we have to go, it's getting late."

"All right. I hope you were well," said Yuka.

"Oh yes, very much, thank you," Takeshi said.

"you're welcome". So Yuka and Kouta accompanied them to the front door.

"Thanks again!" the two boys said.

"It was a pleasure," said Kouta.

They greeted each other. Then Takeshi and Koichi left and Kouta and Yuka returned home. Then Yuka asked Lucy, "Have you been fine with them?"

"Yes thanks".

"I'm happy".

Nana took off her rather sad cap. Kouta asked her, "What's wrong with Nana?"

"is that ... I would like them to see me and accept me as I really am ..." and hugged Kouta.

"I know Nana, I know," Kouta replied, embracing her, "everything will be fine. Now don't think about this thing, go to bed in peace."

"ok ..." he replied.

"My quiet friend," Mayu told her.

And then everyone got ready to go to sleep.

CHAPTER 9

KAKUZAWA'S PROJECT AND AYAKA'S ESCAPE

The morning of the following day, at the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, the director Kakuzawa, with the hairpiece on his head to cover his real appearance, was doing his job in his office. He worked for about two hours, then got up from his chair, left the office and wandered around the corridors of the laboratory. While wandering in the corridors, he passed the scientist Sosuke.

"Good morning, Director Kakuzawa," said the scientist.

"hello. How is the work on the creation of the diclonius proceeding?"

"is progressing well, all according to our calculations".

"So how long will it take? Just to know, there's no hurry."

"according to the plans it will take another two weeks and a few days".

"well. Work with care and calmly".

"Certainly, sir. Now I was going to take some of Lucy's blood to proceed with the next step."

"very well," replied Kakuzawa.

"now you can return to your job"

"as you wish, director". That said, the manager went to his private room, while Sosuke went to get Lucy's blood. It was kept in room number four, and was contained in a test tube, where there was attached a sticker with the name "Lucy" written on it. Room number four also contained the blood of all the other diclonius of the structure, guarded in the same manner as that of Lucy.

When Sosuke entered room number four, he took the test tube containing Lucy's blood, and poured it into a small cylindrical plastic container he had brought with him, which he kept in the right pocket of his coat. After doing this, he closed the container with the lid, put the tube back in its place, left the room holding the cylindrical container in his hand and went to room number three. Sosuke, Aritomo and Kaito were working in room three of the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, the room containing the secret laboratory technology, sufficient to create the diclonius. It was a very large room, one of the largest in the whole structure and was the only one in the whole structure, inside which there was a particular cabin, where the diclonius was being created. When Sosuke arrived, he showed Aritomo and Kaito and other scientists working on this project Lucy's blood in the cylindrical container.

"Here I am with Lucy's blood," said Sosuke.

"Good. Now let's proceed," Kaito said. And all the scientists continued their work.

Kakuzawa, meanwhile, had come to his room. It reflected. Then he took from the library the folder containing the sheets of a very secret topic, but which, according to Kakuzawa's intentions, would become public in the not distant future. After taking the folder, Kakuzawa sat down at the desk and looked at the various sheets. On the cover of that folder, an adhesive label was stuck, with the words " .D. project" written on it. It was such a private matter that not even the governors of Japan, who knew of the existence of diclonius, knew about it.

"For years my family has been humiliated and mistreated," Kakuzawa said in his mind as he looked at the sheets "but in a short time things will change. With my project everything will go according to my calculations and my family will no longer suffer humiliation and it will no longer be mistreated ". After a few seconds, he stopped looking at the papers and got up from his chair. He took a few steps around the room.

"the human species will soon be changed and the diclonius that scientists are creating, guided and helped by Kaito, Sosuke and Aritomo, will be fundamental to my project," he said in his mind. Subsequently, Kakuzawa left his private room, locked the door and went to his office, to continue investigating further. He stayed in his office for about four hours, then got up from his chair and looked at the sea from the glass wall of his office. As he looked at the ocean, he said in his mind "the world will enter a new era".

A few hours later, towards the end of the day, at 11:30 pm, Director Kakuzawa was in his private room, while all the other scientists continued their specific work. Two of them were studying the results of part of the new experiments on the dyclonius Ayaka. They were working in the same office, with two computers. One of them, was one of the scientists who took blood in Ayaka, with Kakuzawa and, later, he said, "well, and with this I finished studying the analysis of this part of the diclonius number forty-four. Now I'm going to analyze his blood, I need to continue to deepen better "and got up from his chair and left the office. As he was leaving, the other scientist told him: "OK. I still have to go deeper into these results." The scientist then went to room number four to take Ayaka's blood for analysis. When he entered the room, he noticed that the tube containing Ayaka's blood was almost completely empty; in quantity, only a few millimeters of blood remained. They had almost completely analyzed it by order of Kakuzawa in recent days.

"It's too little to analyze now," he said in his mind as he looked at the test tube. "I have to take a little more to deepen his nature". He did remember, however, that when he took the blood from Ayaka, first they had injected her with a paralyzing substance, being she very quick-tempered and full of anger. So he went to get a paralyzing substance and two syringes, one to put the paralyzing drug and the other to take the blood. Then he went to warn the other scientist, telling him that he would go and get some blood from the diclonius.

"Do you want me to come with you?" he told him. "no, you keep studying the results. I'm going by myself."

"as you wish, but be careful".

"quiet".

Later, with the syringes and the paralyzing substance, he headed into the diclonius cells, towards that of Ayaka. Arrived, the scientist entered the code and entered it. Ayaka, imprisoned by the machinery, was crying, and her head was turned downwards. Feeling the armored door open and the scientist's footsteps, he slowly raised his head, his eyes soaked with tears.

"I'm back here, Ayaka" said the scientist "do you remember me?"

"you?" answered the diclonius number forty-four with the choked voice "what do you want?"

"Don't worry," replied the scientist, giggling, "I just have to take some blood again."

"but you took me some days ago ...".

"I still need it." And he prepared the paralyzing drug to inject them to prevent them from getting agitated. After preparing it, he told Ayaka: "Now stand still, or I inject you with this substance".

Ayaka said between tears: "Enough ... I can't take it anymore ...".

"I'm sorry," said the scientist, "I'm not giving the orders. Now stand still." Ayaka didn't have the strength to get angry. Destroyed by experiments and torture, she only had the strength to cry. Then the scientist said to her: "I think I will inject you the substance anyway, I can't risk you getting angry and getting upset too much". Ayaka was slightly surprised. Then the scientist, holding the syringe containing the paralyzing drug, came closer and closer to the diclonius. As he approached, he said, "it won't take long, you'll see." With the needle of the syringe getting closer and closer to his skin, Ayaka seemed to resign. A moment before the scientist injected the substance, there was a fairly sinister noise coming from Ayaka's machinery. The scientist, unsuspected by the noise, went to the computer to see what had happened. From what he saw, the scientist was amazed: the computer monitor connected to the machine, in fact, showed that the machine was losing energy. Ayaka felt that the parts that chained her to the machine, were slowly loosening and as they loosened, the diclonius forty-four could move more and more. The same thing was true of his vectors; Ayaka could now move them and as soon as he moved them, they heard crunches, always coming from the machine. Ayaka, after an infinite number of tortures, saw the definitive possibility of freeing herself from that infernal machinery that had kept her prisoner for years; her strength returned and with her vectors she was freeing herself from the machinery. The scientist, seeing Ayaka who was freeing himself, looked for a solution to the computer, trying to reactivate the machine to stop Ayaka, but if the machine lost more and more energy, even the computer had some problems: he didn't answer the commands, he seemed blocked; the monitor marked "ERROR".

"but ... it can't be ..." the scientist said in amazement, watching the monitor. Ayaka, meanwhile, freed himself from the machinery, destroying it almost completely. When the diclonius forty-four, still with his eyes wet with tears, turned his gaze to the scientist, he was filled with terror and took two steps backwards. The alarm that the sensors and cameras should trigger would not sound. Something was wrong. It was as if the whole cabin of Ayaka was isolated. Ayaka approached the scientist, threatening.

"s ... stay where you are ..." said the scientist "if you get too close, I inject you with this substance!" showing her the syringe with the paralyzing drug.

Ayaka stopped. Subsequently, with one of his vectors, lengthening it, he took the syringe from the scientist's hand, ripping it from his hand. Being the invisible carrier, the scientist did not notice anything, and could do nothing, while the syringe was as if suspended in the air. Then a creak was heard, the syringe was crumbling. Ayaka was destroying her, crushing with her carrier. The scientist, seized with terror, took a few steps back. Ayaka dropped the remains of the syringe, then moved closer and closer to the scientist. When he was very close to him, he said in a threatening voice: "open that door".

The scientist said nothing, he was too afraid.

"OPEN THAT DOOR NOW!", Shouted the diclonius. The scientist nodded in terror.

And, slowly enough, he headed for the cabin door, with Ayaka behind him following. The scientist typed the code fairly slowly, with trembling hands. Then the door slowly opened. Ayaka wanted to kill the scientist, remembering all the horrors and sufferings suffered, but seeing more and more the terror in his eyes, he was taken by a feeling of pity and in this way, he chose to spare him and later, she hit him on the head scientist, and he lost consciousness. Ayaka came out of his cabin and soon the armored door closed. Thus the diclonius forty-four set off in the corridors of the various cells which contained the various diclonius in search of an exit. No scientist was in the corridors of the cells that contained the diclonius. Ayaka decided to use an elevator to get to the other side of the building. In front of the elevator, he pressed the button to call him. When the doors opened, he noticed, near the emergency hatch, a small surveillance camera, which he destroyed with one of his carriers. Fortunately for him, that elevator took her not far from the emergency exit of the structure. As soon as he stepped out of the elevator, in fact, he noticed from afar, of the armored doors that led to an emergency exit. He looked around. There was no one. All the scientists were in their offices working. Ayaka noticed other cameras in front of her. With his vectors he destroyed them all and managed to get to the gates. Being blocked, he smashed them with his vectors and ran as fast as he could, reaching the cliff. Arriving at the point where there was no more land in front of her, she initially stopped. Then he looked back, taking a last look at the

DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE and then dived into the water. And he swam to land as fast as he could. He swam for about half an hour and eventually managed to reach Kamakura beach. Exhausted, Ayaka fell to the ground, in the sand. When she opened her eyes, she noticed that she was on a bed in a room, in a house.

"Hi," a little girl said to her, smiling.

CHAPTER 10

A NEW BEGINNING FOR AYAKA

"who are you?" Ayaka said, rather sleepily, looking at the child. After two seconds, Ayaka looked around, looking at the room and said, "and where am I?"

"quiet, you're in a room in my house," the girl told her. She was nine years old, had black hair and was six feet four inches tall.

"Who brought me here?" asked Ayaka.

"Me and my mother. We saw you lying on the beach thanks to our flashlights; you know we were taking a walk on the beach at night. We tried to wake you up, but you kept staying on the sand lying down. We couldn't leave you there, so we brought you with us here, at our house "the girl replied, smiling at her.

Ayaka was a bit puzzled. Then he asked her, "How long have I been here?"

"two days. Now it's nine in the morning".

Ayaka on the bed was wrapped in blankets. The diclonius, lying down, sat on the bed. He noticed that the bandages that the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE had put into them no longer had them. He was wearing pajamas.

"you only had bandages on you" the little girl told her "first we took them off, then we put those pajamas on you. I hope you like it ...".

Ayaka looked at him. She didn't mind at all.

"is very cute...". Then Ayaka looked at the little girl with a rather tired look.

"what's up?" the little girl told her.

"is that ... I am hungry ... so hungry ...".

"No problem. Come on, I have to have breakfast too. Let's do it together!" The child seemed very happy. And he left the room. Later, Ayaka got out of bed. He felt weak, he needed to eat and drink. She also left the room and heard voices from another room, where she went. The voices came from the kitchen, where the little girl and her mother were.

"Mom! Mom! Here it is!" the little girl screamed.

"Good, don't scream," said the mother in a calm voice to the girl. Then he turned to Ayaka and said, "Good morning, would you like to have breakfast with us?"

Ayaka was silent. Then after a few seconds her mother said to her: "Do you like boiled rice?" The diclonius said: "here ... I ..." then he leaned against the wall, slightly bending his legs. The little girl and her mother went to meet in Ayaka. He was very weak physically.

"what do you have?" the mother said.

"I ... have ... so much ... hungry ..." said Ayaka.

"quiet, now let's eat," said the girl. And they accompanied Ayaka to their living room, where they would have breakfast. Then the mother said to her daughter, "Aiko, stay with her. I'm coming with the food now."

"Yes mom".

After a few seconds, Ayaka said to the girl: "your name is ... Aiko?"

"Yes," replied the little girl, smiling, "what's your name?" Ayaka was about to speak when Aiko's mother arrived with breakfast. They started eating. Ayaka ate and drank a lot. While they were eating, her mother said to her, "I hope you like it ..." Ayaka looked at her, nodding slightly, but sufficiently to approve. When they finished having breakfast, Aiko's mother said to Ayaka: "Are you better now?" Ayaka nodded yes. Then the mother continued: "but tell us, we found you two days ago on the senseless beach, what happened to you?"

Ayaka remained silent. Then Aiko said to her in a sweet voice: "Don't you want to talk about it?"

"I don't think you'll believe me if I told you," Ayaka replied.

"But ... did something serious happen to you?" asked the mother.

Ayaka replied in a rather grumpy tone: "Well, I felt so much, but so much pain." "Oh, I'm sorry," said Aiko's mother.

"Come on, say it, we are curious," said Aiko with a tender voice, "if you want, we promise that we won't tell anyone." "what's your name?" said Aiko's mother.

"Ayaka" replied the diclonius.

"Do you feel like talking about what happened to you, Ayaka?" the mother said in a calm and sweet voice.

Ayaka closed her eyes and began to weep. Aiko and her mother noticed him.

"No, don't cry Ayaka ..." Aiko told her.

"Quiet, peaceful," her mother told her. But it was useless. In Ayaka tears fell from her eyes and she covered her face with her hands.

"I'm going to get a handkerchief," her mother said, while Aiko stood next to her.

"do not cry, calm". Ayaka stopped covering her face with her hands, her mother came with a handkerchief and some water. "here, drink," he said. Ayaka first wiped her tears with a handkerchief and then drank the water. The mother sat next to Ayaka, on her left, while Aiko was on her right.

"Is it better now, Ayaka?" said Aiko's mother.

" Yes thanks...".

"quiet. Judging by how you reacted, something very bad must have happened to you ...". The diclonius nodded. Then Aiko asked Ayaka: "And what did they do to you?"

"Can we talk about it at another time? I don't feel it now."

"ok, okay," said Aiko and her mother. Then Aiko's mother said, "If you want you can go, I'll take care of it here. Aiko, show Ayaka your room and the rest of the house. Then do what you want."

"Yes mom". Aiko stood up and took Ayaka's hand and said, "Come, I'll show you the rest of the house." Ayaka got up and went with Aiko to see the rest of the house and then Aiko's bedroom. He had puppets that he was very fond of and games like lego constructions. Subsequently, Aiko said to Ayaka: "would you like to play with me?"

Ayaka replied: "Can I ... wash myself and change me first?"

"Yes of course. Come". And they went to Aiko's mom. The little girl told her that Ayaka wanted to wash and change and so the mother said, "no problem, Ayaka. Don't worry about clothes, when I finish washing the breakfast, I'll go buy some clothes for you. Aiko, take the towels and prepare them the bathroom and remember to put hot water to prevent her from indigestion ".

"Yes mom". And so he did. Then, while Ayaka was washing, Aiko's mom went out to buy clothes for Ayaka. He returned while Ayaka was drying his hair. He showed Ayaka his clothes and asked if she liked it. She nodded. Then he dressed. When she showed herself to Aiko and her mother, they said to her: "You look great!"

"Thanks," replied Ayaka.

Then Aiko said to her: "now would you like to play with me?"

"OK ..." and they went into Aiko's room and played a little together. Ayaka, who was not used to playing with someone, did her best, with Aiko telling her what to do or say with her puppets. Then they played with legos, building everything, and then with more. They played until lunchtime. Aiko had a great time. Subsequently, Aiko said: "thank you Ayaka! I had so much fun!" and went to hug her. Ayaka was very struck by this gesture of Aiko; even in this, in fact, Ayaka was not at all used to it.

"You've been fine with me before ..." said the diclonius.

"Oh yes! So much! You know, it's been so long since I played with someone," said

Aiko, looking at Ayaka. The diclonius replied: "yes ... it was beautiful ...". Ayaka still didn't realize what Aiko had just done to her; after years of suffering, he felt something that was positive.

Then they went to eat. After lunch, Ayaka and Aiko still played throughout the afternoon, until dinner time. Aiko still had a great time and when they finished playing, she hugged Ayaka again. As he hugged her, Aiko said to her: "How nice to play and be with you. It's beautiful". Ayaka was again struck by Aiko's gesture and this time, to her embrace, Ayaka answered and did so, hugging her, stroking her head. Then Aiko said: "I always wanted to have someone to play with so much ..." and started to cry moved.

"But ... have you ever had friends?" asked Ayaka.

"I haven't had them for a long time ..." Aiko answered. Ayaka was saddened for her.

"I'm sorry. Look ... did you really have fun with me today?"

"so much ... so much ...".

Then they went to eat. After dinner, Ayaka said to Aiko and her mother: "Look, could I stay with you a little longer? I have nowhere else to go ...".

"but of course you can" replied Aiko's mother.

"really? Ayaka can stay with us mom?" said little Aiko.

"Well, yes," his mother replied. Aiko was very happy. "How nice! I'll finally have someone to play with in the future!" and went to embrace Ayaka.

"it seems that Aiko has already become fond of you, Ayaka" Aiko's mother told her.

"Already ..." Ayaka replied with a smile. Then Aiko's mother said: "Aiko had long wanted someone to play with ...". Ayaka replied with a smile. After eating, Ayaka wanted to go to sleep, she was tired. Aiko and her mother arranged the bed in the room where she had been unconscious for two days. Then he went to sleep. During the night a violent storm broke out and Ayaka was awakened by someone. It was Aiko.

"Aiko, what is it?" said Ayaka.

"I'm afraid of thunderstorms ... I can't sleep ... can I sleep next to you?" Ayaka was struck by a sense of tenderness and said smiling, "all right, come on".

"thank you ... thank you ..." said Aiko delightedly.

In bed with Ayaka, Aiko seemed to calm down more and more. Then there was a very loud thunder. Aiko shuddered.

"I'm afraid ..." the girl said.

"Aiko quiet," Ayaka told her.

Subsequently, Aiko embraced Ayaka. The diclonius was increasingly affected by the gestures of the little girl Aiko towards her and so, she hugged and even stroked Aiko. As the minutes passed, although the storm did not stop, Aiko calmed down and calmed down.

"I feel so good next to you, so safe, in your arms ..." said little Aiko. And a little later he fell asleep. Ayaka was moved. And not long after, she too fell asleep.

Ayaka and Aiko played and stayed together for the next day. On the evening of that day, after having dinner, Aiko said to Ayaka hugging her: "thank you, I enjoyed it again today ..." and cried. While crying he said: "I don't want you to go away one day ... stay, please ...". Continuing to embrace her, at hearing these words Ayaka did not know what to say. He was incredulous. And he kept hugging and caressing little Aiko.

"Would you like me to stay with you forever?" Ayaka told her.

"It would be ... beautiful ... you know, I've always wanted ... besides a friend, a big sister ...". Ayaka remained at his ears. Aiko continued: "a big sister with whom to stay ... next ... close ... I don't want any more ... to be alone ... stay please ...".

Ayaka was more impressed by these words of Aiko than by her hugs. Someone who wanted him to be next to her, something like this had never happened to her. Subsequently, the child wiped her tears with a handkerchief and calmed down after a few seconds.

"you know," said Ayaka, "I haven't had a day like this for a very long time. I too have been alone for a long time ...".

"would you like to talk about it?"

"alright then". Then, Aiko said to Ayaka: "Look, I wanted to ask you before ... but ... what do you have in your head? Are those things decorative objects?" Ayaka looked at her sadly and said, "they are part of me".

"as part of you?" said Aiko "can I touch them?"

"go ahead". And Aiko touched Ayaka's horns, pulling them even a little. Then he said: "but they are ... attached to your head ...".

"yes, and besides this, I also have other hands".

"other hands?"

"Yes. Look" and with one of his vectors, he took an Aiko puppet and raised it in the air. "I'm not a human like the others". Aiko was surprised. Then Ayaka put the puppet back where he had taken it and said, "I'm like that. Please accept me as I am," he said, looking at Aiko with a sad expression. Then the diclonius continued, even starting to cry: "I never had friends ... and my parents didn't want me because of my diversity ...". Aiko listened carefully. Ayaka continued to say: "I barely survived ... until they caught me and took me to a laboratory".

"And what did they do there?"

"they tortured me and ... made horrible experiments ... in the end I managed to escape and, when I reached the mainland, exhausted I collapsed from fatigue on the sand in that beach ..." and began to cry strongly, covering the face with hands. Aiko went to hug her.

"I don't care how you are, I want to be with you forever," Aiko told her.

"really...?".

"yes, for me you are more than a friend ... you are like a big sister ...".

"Aiko ..." Ayaka said, moved. And they embraced. Then they went to sleep.

CHAPTER 11

THE INTERVENTION OF KINUKO AND MIYU

Meanwhile, two days earlier, at the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, while Ayaka was fleeing the laboratory, they could not understand from the control and command center why the monitors connected to the cameras in Ayaka's cabin suddenly did not show anymore nothing. When Ayaka dived from the cliff and started swimming as fast as she could to reach the mainland, from the control and command center, noticing that other monitors were not broadcasting anything over the minutes, suspecting something very dangerous immediately alerted the team special, who scanned the entire laboratory; all the soldiers found were the remains of some cameras on the floor in some corridors. After reporting this, they received orders to go to Ayaka's cabin. Thus the team immediately went to the cabin of the diclonius number forty-four. The cabin door, however, was closed; thus, the soldiers had to call a scientist to open it. Just at that moment, fortunately for them, the scientist who had to take some blood in Ayaka came curiously.

"she happens at the right time" said a soldier of the special team to the scientist "we must open the door immediately".

The scientist said "what happened ...".

"we will explain everything later, now open this door".

"Okay, okay," replied the scientist. And he entered the code. The armored door of the cabin opened. The soldiers entered it; what they found inside was the destroyed machinery, the computer connected to it now broken, with the monitor that marked the word "ERROR" and on the floor there was the unconscious body of the scientist struck on the head by Ayaka. A soldier from the team called the scientist who had opened the armored door and, with his help, went to revive the unconscious scientist. When he recovered his senses, he was helped to get up and was then accompanied by his companion out of the diclonius cell area, to the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE infirmary, to be visited. While they were going towards the infirmary, the scientist struck on the head by Ayaka, was questioned by his companion: "but what happened to you?". And he, rather bewildered, replied: "I had to ... take some blood in Ayaka, to do more analysis, remember?"

"yes, I remember".

"here, I don't know why, but just when I was about to take it a little, the machinery that kept it ... started to break ...".

"to break?".

"it ... lost power". "how was this possible?" "I have no idea".

"And then what happened?"

"I tried to find a solution, but even the computer was gone. I can't understand why. And so the diclonius broke free, destroying the machine and for some strange reason, the alarm that it should have triggered didn't sound. Then he ordered me to open the security door ... and then he hit me and I lost consciousness ... ". Meanwhile they arrived at the infirmary. His companion said: "ok, here we are. Now let us visit. I, meanwhile, am going to try to understand better this matter".

"okay ... okay," the other scientist replied, still a bit dazed. So, after accompanying him to the infirmary, his office partner returned to Ayaka's cabin to find out what had happened. Meanwhile, the special team had received the order to continue patrolling the entire structure. The soldiers, following the remains of the cameras on the floors, had arrived at the emergency exit, whose doors had been broken by Ayaka. Subsequently, the team went through the emergency exit and arrived at the cliff, he understood that Ayaka had managed to escape. They immediately returned to the facility to report everything to the director Kakuzawa. He had left his private room to see what had happened. In a corridor, he met the soldiers of the special team, who told him everything.

"so Ayaka managed to escape ..." the director said.

"Yes sir, unfortunately it went like this," said a soldier on the team.

"Thanks for letting me know. You can come back, I now have to hold a meeting to communicate everything to the other scientists and decide what to do."

"As you wish, sir," replied the soldier. And the team left the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE. Meanwhile, the scientist had arrived at Ayaka's cabin. He entered the code again to enter and looked at the remains of the machine and the computer.

"but how could it have happened ..." he said in his mind. Later he went to take a look at the computer, whose monitor still marked the word "ERROR". He tried in every way to unlock it, but failed. So he decided to shut down the computer and restart it. After a few seconds, the monitor resumed transmitting images. What he transmitted was another writing, which read: "WARNING! SOFTWARE INFECTED". The scientist, at this point, began to understand what had happened: from what he saw, the computer had been infected by a computer virus, which was destroying the software and consequently, even the machine, being connected to the computer, had been damaged. from the virus. Then he remembered what his companion had told him as he accompanied him to the infirmary, or that the alarms had not been triggered. So, noting the cameras in Ayaka's vault, the scientist thought for a few seconds, then he said in his mind: "if the alarms didn't go off, the cameras and sensors didn't work, which means that evidently the whole cabin of Ayaka is been infected by the virus. There is no other explanation ... ". Then, suddenly, he wondered if by chance the computer virus could have expanded for the rest of the laboratory; this could have meant a catastrophe, or that all the other diclonius could escape from their cabins as Ayaka had done. In a hurry, he went to his office and connected to the general diclonius cell system at the computer. On the monitor, only that of Ayaka did not appear. The virus had only infected Ayaka's cabin. The scientist breathed a sigh of relief.

"then how is it possible that he only infected one cabin? And why exactly that of the diclonius forty-four?" the scientist said in his mind. Later, a colleague of his went past the door of his office and said, "the director wants all the scientists in the conference room within ten minutes."

"ok, okay" he replied turning off the computer. And later, he, like all the other scientists at the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, went to the conference room. After a few minutes, the room was full; the last to enter was the director Kakuzawa. A few moments after entering, Kakuzawa said, "ladies and gentlemen, I have called you all here to tell you that the diclonius number forty-four, Ayaka, managed to escape from the facility." Most scientists and women scientists were appalled, some of them already knew it; was already circulating in the laboratory, the rumor that Ayaka had managed to escape.

"As I told you not so many days ago," Kakuzawa continued, "Ayaka is a diclonius who can have many more vectors than a common diclonius. This means that, if Ayaka were to control her own abilities, given her anger, it would be a catastrophe ". The scientists remembered what the director told them at the last meeting and they understood his words.

"what can we do now?" said a scientist.

And Kakuzawa replied: "Ayaka cannot have gone very far. I will order the special team to search the waters surrounding this island, part of the team will be by helicopter, another part will be in a boat".

"And if Ayaka had managed to reach the mainland?" asked a scientist.

"in this case, we will intervene the diclonius number forty-three and forty-five, or Miyu and Kinuko".

"why, director?" asked the same scientist.

"because Ayaka can at any time use many carriers and, if he did it immediately, only a diclonius that is at its height could stop it and Kinuko and Miyu are the strongest diclonius currently in the structure".

"Are you saying that you intend not to recover Ayaka? Then to eliminate the diclonius forty-four?" asked a scientist.

"more or less, these would be my intentions".

"Why are you going to eliminate it and not bring it back here, director?" asked another scientist.

"I think that eliminating Ayaka is the best solution for the fact that she too can be a threat to everyone, exactly as Lucy was. Ayaka could, with her anger and her numerous carriers, only generate chaos".

"I understand, but don't you think that by making the diclonius Miyu and Kinuko intervene, in this way can they escape too?".

"impossible".

"why?"

"simple: Miyu has lived in this structure since she was a newborn, and therefore she has never seen the world outside this structure, so we will tell her that it is a simple operation to be performed outside the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE. instead Kinuko, we will force her to collaborate ".

"how?".

"since Kinuko can also have the same abilities as Ayaka, or many vectors, she, being irascible, as soon as we release her, she can take advantage of it to escape, so we will do exactly as we did with the diclonius number thirty-five Mariko: we will put explosive devices in the body , connected to a remote control. If you made a joke or something, you will operate the explosives. "

"agree director, as he wishes".

"Good. But first you need to make sure if Ayaka has managed to reach the mainland. Soon, I will tell the special team to start research immediately. As for the diclonius you are creating, go on without worries. The work will always be led by Sosuke scientists , Aritomo and Kaito ".

"Yes, sir".

"now you can decorate your work". And the scientists and scientists rose from their seats and soon the hall was empty. The last to leave was the director. He closed the door and went to call the special team to start searching to find Ayaka. The S.A.T. he immediately set to work; part of the team went to a boat, another part by helicopter. They were ordered to split up, so as to try to gain time. They searched for the next two hours, but did not find the diclonius. During the research the boat approached the mainland; At that point, orders were given to the soldiers on the boat to take a look at the beach to see if there was the diclonius. The boat stopped at about thirty meters and with the lifeboat, three soldiers, armed with heavy weapons, went to the beach to inspect. After walking for a few minutes, they found a bandage of Ayaka on the sand. At this point, he was sure that Ayaka had reached the mainland. They immediately communicated it to the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE and the order was immediately given to the team to return to the base.

The next day, Kakuzawa ordered the diclonius Kinuko and Miyu to intervene. The scientists carried out the orders. The forty-three and forty-five dicloniuses must have intervened together on the same day, not one first and then the other. The operations immediately began to put the explosives inside Kinuko's body. Scientists first put Kinuko to sleep with gas, then injected her with a paralyzing poison to prevent her from reacting in a very rebellious way should she wake up. They worked in the cabin of the diclonius number forty-five for a few hours. When they had finished the operation, only one scientist, by order, remained in Kinuko's cabin and woke her up. She was still under the effect of the paralyzing poison.

"I... I can't move ..." Kinuko said.

"We have injected you with a paralyzing substance," said a scientist.

"why...?".

"to prevent you reacting in case you woke up while we were doing the operation". Doubts immediately came to Kinuko. And he said, "operation?" "Yes, right".

"What have you done to me?" the diclonius said in astonishment.

"simple: we put explosives in your body". Kinuko was surprised. "c ... what? Why?" He said.

"the diclonius forty-four with the name of Ayaka managed to escape. You, being among the strongest diclonius of the structure, need us to make it out. If you try to do your own thing, we will immediately activate the explosives. For this we have put them there" .

Kinuko's gaze was lost in the void. Then tears came to her eyes.

"tomorrow we will make sure that you and the diclonius number forty-three will get into action to find it and take it out, and then we will bring you back here and remove the explosives." Kinuko started to cry. Then the scientist said: "it is useless to cry, it would solve nothing. Now come with me, and remember: try to make a single joke and you will end badly". Kinuko, in the throes of terror and sadness, could do nothing but obey. Later, she was brought to be prepared to go and find Ayaka with Miyu.

In the previous hours, while those scientists were working on Kinuko, 2 other scientists went to Miyu's cabin. When they entered, Miyu was asleep. Then they woke her up. "Hi Miyu," said one of the two scientists.

"Hi ..." answered the rather smiling diclonius.

"listen, have you ever wanted to see what's beyond this structure?"

"I ... to tell the truth ... yes ...".

"Well," said the other scientist, "you'll see it in not so many hours." Miyu was surprised. Then he said, "really? Will I be able to see what's out there?"

"yes, but on one condition: with Kinuko, you will have to find Ayaka, who has fled. If you obey, we will give you so many caresses". Miyu really liked caresses, being still a child.

"really? Will you give me caresses?" said the forty-three diclonius.

"yes, sure. Now come with us, we will prepare you so you can go out" and the scientists freed Miyu. They had no fear because Miyu did not have a short temper like Ayaka or Kinuko. The number forty-three diclonius, in fact, having always lived in the laboratory, did not dislike scientists, on the contrary: he saw them as a family, having always seen only them and besides, Miyu had never raised his voice during the experiments as Ayaka had done instead , Kinuko or other diclonius. Miyu, delighted to see outside the

DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, followed the scientists into a room, where they dressed her and covered her horns with bows. The same thing the other scientists did with Kinuko and the next day, the number forty-three and forty-five diclonius were ready to go and track down Ayaka.

CHAPTER 12

COMBAT

It was 9:00 am. The day was clear, there wasn't even a cloud in the sky. At DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE Kinuko and Miyu, after being dressed and covering their horns by scientists, they were ready to go and look for the diclonius number forty-four Ayaka. Director Kakuzawa decided to have the number forty-three and forty-five dicloniuses transported by boat and not by helicopter and that, once in Kamakura, Kinuko and Miyu had always to be kept an eye on the special team. Of the two diclonius, Kinuko first came out of the structure, accompanied by soldiers from the special team and a scientist, who was equipped with the remote control that could blow explosives into Kinuko's body, charged with going with the diclonius, to keep an eye on it . In fact, while they were going to the exit of the structure to go to the boat, the scientist told Kinuko: "I will come with you and the soldiers. Try to make some jokes and your body will blow up". On hearing these words, Kinuko shuddered, continuing to walk following the soldiers towards the exit. A tear of suffering descended. They then left the building and went to the boat. Then it fell to Miyu, she too followed soldiers, but was accompanied by more scientists. The number forty-three diclonius was very curious, having never seen the outside world.

"prepared Miyu" a scientist told her that he held her hand while they were walking "soon you will see the outside world".

"I'm so happy," said the diclonius, "but is it beautiful?" "oh yes, and also a lot".

"but ... when I come back ... will you give me caresses?"

"only if you do as requested". Miyu felt a little sad, then asked: "What if I can't do it?"

"You'll make it, don't worry. You also have Kinuko with you, who will give you a hand."

"all right".

"good Miyu".

In the meantime they had arrived at the exit door of the structure. As soon as they entered the exit door, Miyu looked at the sky and the sea in amazement.

"It's beautiful ..." said Miyu. She was very surprised by the blue sky and the waves of the sea.

"I told you. Now let's go on towards the boat," the scientist replied. In a short time they reached the boat, where Kinuko, the scientist with the remote control and other soldiers had already boarded, after which Miyu and the other soldiers also boarded. The scientists who had accompanied the forty-three diclonius remained on the ground. Miyu told the scientist who held her hand: "You don't come with us?"

"no, I have to go back to my job".

"you will give me caresses if I do this, right?" said Miyu with shining eyes.

"Yes, calm," replied the scientist. Subsequently, they turned on the engine of the boat and then it left, towards the beach of the city of Kamakura. While the boat was traveling, the diclonius Kinuko and Miyu were always kept in mind by the soldiers. Miyu wandered around the boat, watching the sky and the sea, more and more astonished, fascinated and happy to see the outside world, while Kinuko took just a few steps forward and a few steps back, and was very sad. Kinuko had a short temper, but before he was captured, he hadn't killed anyone. She, like all the other diclonius, had also been abandoned at birth. It grew barely, as did Ayaka, and like the diclonius number fortyfour had killed no one in life before it was captured and taken to the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE. Like Ayaka, Kinuko had immediately teased and had been treated badly by other people, but both had always been held back by the desire to kill, despite her anger and sadness. Of course, the past of Ayaka and Kinuko was not very far from that of Lucy, although Lucy had suffered much more trauma and abuse and therefore she exploded becoming bloody and violent.

The boat took about two tens of minutes to reach about thirty meters from Kamakura beach. When they were around that distance, they used the lifeboats to reach the mainland. There was no one on the beach. Kinuko and Miyu, accompanied by four soldiers and a remote control scientist, looked around the beach to study the surrounding environment.

"Good," said a soldier to the diclonius forty-three and forty-five "your task begins from now. You will look for Ayaka, we will stand behind you, hidden, to avoid attracting attention. If you find her, take her out immediately. Go ahead; get to work ".

Kinuko and Miyu began to walk towards the road, after which they began to patrol the city of Kamakura. As they walked, they looked around them and were followed by the soldiers and the scientist, who always hid themselves as the diclonius advanced. Not many people crossed; although it was a beautiful day, there were not many people. Miyu and Kinuko walked for about an hour on the streets of the city, but found no Ayaka. When they were in an isolated place, they stopped, but received the order not to stop and continue to look for it and started walking again.

Ayaka, meanwhile, had woken up around 9:30 am. He had breakfast with little Aiko and his mother. He was fine with them, they had given him a lot of love, something he had hardly ever experienced in his life. It was a free day for Aiko. After having breakfast, Aiko said to her mother: "Mom, what a beautiful day? Take me to the playground?" "I'd like to take you there, but I'm busy, child. Try to tell Ayaka".

"all right". Thus, little Aiko, went to Ayaka's room, where the diclonius was sitting on the bed.

"Ayaka! Ayaka!" the girl said.

"yes? what is Aiko?" answered Ayaka.

"have you seen that day? Take me to the playground? Why can't mom ...".

"but I don't know where the playground is ...".

"quiet, I know where it is. Are we going together? Please ..." Ayaka got up from the bed, then said, "OK, I'll go with you". Aiko jumped for happiness and then hugged Ayaka, saying "how nice! How nice! Thank you!" Ayaka also hugged her. Then the little girl called her mother and after she came, Aiko said, "Mom! Ayaka takes me to the playground!"

"I'm happy" he said with a smile "so get ready". And so they did. Then, when they were ready, Ayaka said to Aiko: "You wouldn't have a hat? You know, I'd like to cover my head for ... well, you know ...".

"but of course," said the girl. And he went to get a hat and Ayaka immediately put it on his head. Then they greeted the mother who told Aiko: "you are always close to Ayaka, please".

"quiet mother". Then they left the house. Then Ayaka told Aiko: "Tell me where we need to go, since I don't know where the playground is".

"of course!" the little girl said, smiling. As they walked, they held hands. They arrived at the playground after about ten minutes and there were few people.

"Look, Ayaka! This is the playground," said Aiko.

"he is not very far from home ..." the diclonius answered.

"oh yes. Come on, let's go!" and Aiko started to run towards the swing. Then he sat down and said to Ayaka: "Will you give me a push, big sister?" Ayaka softened and pushed her. Aiko was on the swing for a while, she enjoyed herself so much, while Ayaka looked at her arms folded, smiling. Then Aiko went to the slide and had a great time here too, then went on a carousel. Later, Ayaka sat on a bench not far from Aiko. Watching Aiko enjoy herself, the diclonius enjoyed her. He was happy to be with her and Aiko was happy to be with Ayaka. Both Aiko and Ayaka had quickly become one help for the other.

"I'm happy for you, Aiko ..." Ayaka said in her mind, smiling. Then someone threw a pebble at Ayaka. He turned around but no one was there. Two seconds later, Ayaka felt her hat pulled away from her head; they had been two bully boys of the age of ten.

"Why are you wearing this hat?" asked one of them.

Ayaka covered his horns with his hands.

"and why do you have your hands on your head?" the other boy said.

"It's none of your business! Give me back the hat!" answered the diclonius.

"otherwise? Forward, take your hands off your head, what are you hiding?"

One of them went behind Ayaka and threw a stone on her back and she, not resisting from the pain, put her right hand on the point where the stone hit her, leaving the right horn exposed. The boy in front of her said, "Ah that's why you had your hands intact, you wanted to cover those horns!" And they started laughing. The laughter of the two boys caught the attention of the entire playground and as they laughed, they said: "you have horns! You have horns!". The laughter increased, as the seconds went by. Even some adults giggled. Ayaka said nothing. Aiko, who had seen it all from afar, intervened and punched the bully kids who kept laughing.

"leave my big sister alone!" shouted little Aiko, while in Ayaka tears came to her eyes and then she covered her face with her hands and ran away from the playground, crying. Aiko, after shouting to all the people very heavy words, followed Ayaka and came to an isolated place. The diclonius was crying heavily, covering his face with his hands. Aiko embraced her.

"I'm so sorry, big sister ... Please ... don't do this ...". But Ayaka did not calm down. She was crying more and more, and then hugged little Aiko, with her who continued to hug her very hard. Later, after a few seconds, a voice was heard, saying: "Here you are, we finally found you". Aiko turned her head to see who had spoken and said, "Ayaka, who are those two girls?" They were Miyu and Kinuko, who had found the diclonius fortyfour. Ayaka, with eyes soaked with tears, turned and was surprised.

"you? What are you doing here?"

"do you know them?" Aiko said to Ayaka.

"we are here for you" said Kinuko "we came to kill you".

Aiko stood in front of Ayaka with her arms wide open to defend her.

"Aiko, what are you doing?" said Ayaka.

"Don't you dare touch my big sister or you'll see!" Ayaka was amazed to see how little Aiko loved her.

"big sister? what is this story?" Kinuko asked. But Aiko was silent, still with her arms wide open.

"listen" Kinuko said approaching Aiko "you should take off, I say it for you". Aiko nodded her head, determined more than ever not to let go of her position. Miyu meanwhile watched the scene without saying anything.

"no Aiko! Get out of here!" Ayaka said to Aiko. But she didn't move. When Kinuko was inches from Aiko, the number forty-five diclonius, he put his hand on her shoulder and pushed her away to his right, knocking her to the ground. Then Kinuko said to Ayaka: "I'll take you out now". Ayaka and Kinuko were face to face, then Kinuko, with a carrier, hit the diclonius number forty-four in the stomach. Ayaka replied trying to punch her in the face, but Kinuko dodged her. Ayaka was still quite upset by what happened before. He decided to use the vectors, but Miyu, behind him, blocked Ayaka's vectors with his vectors. Kinuko at this point, punched Ayaka's stomach again. Aiko, who had seen Kinuko beat Ayaka, intervened and rushed at Kinuko.

"let her be!" scream. And he gave Kinuko with all his force of blows.

"no Aiko! Run! go away!" yelled Ayaka. But Aiko, with tears in her eyes, kept giving Kinuko hit, saying, "Don't touch my sister! Don't touch my sister!"

"I've had enough of you!" Kinuko said. And the number forty-five diclonius slapped little Aiko. The slap was so strong that Aiko lost consciousness. Ayaka was paralyzed by what she had seen. And tears came to her eyes. And he bent his head down, with Miyu always blocking her carriers.

"and now let's get back to us," said Kinuko, who approached Ayaka.

"No, you didn't have to do this ..." Ayaka said in a low voice.

"sorry, what did you say?" Kinuko said. Then Ayaka, in a rage screamed: "YOU

SHOULD NOT DO THIS!" Blinded and mad with rage at seeing the stricken Aiko, Ayaka released more than twenty-five carriers. With some of them he freed himself from the vectors of Miyu, while with others he threw himself against Kinuko who pushed her to the ground and punched her in the face, causing her to lose blood from her mouth. Miyu intervened, and with his very strong vectors, initially his intervention was successful, but then Ayaka, in the grip of fury, used all his vectors on Miyu; with some he stopped her, with others he gave her a few punches, wounding her too. With the diclonius Kinuko and Miyu on the ground, the soldiers of the S.A.T. they came out into the open, but Ayaka, very rapid, took their weapons with her vectors and destroyed them.

"retreat! Retreat!" one soldier said, and the soldiers fled. The scientist with the remote control, instead, remained hidden, but not enough to escape Ayaka's eyes. Discovered, he raised his hands and said, "I give up! I give up!"

Ayaka, noticing that he had the remote control in his hand, said: "What are you holding?"

"I nothing...".

"throw what you have in your hand if you care about your skin!" The scientist dropped the remote control.

"and now go away!" yelled Ayaka. And so did the scientist. Later, Ayaka calmed down and ran to Aiko, trying to revive her.

"Aiko? Aiko, can you hear me?"

She opened her eyes again a little.

"b ... big sister ...?"

"It's me ... Aiko ..." Ayaka said with a smile, and picked her up. Then he said,

"Everything's fine ... I'm here."

CHAPTER 13

CLARIFICATION

Ayaka, with little Aiko in her arms, sat on a bench, not far from the site of the clash with the diclonius number forty-three and forty-five. Aiko had regained consciousness, but was still a little dazed by the blow that Kikuko had given her. After Ayaka sat on the bench, he smiled and said to Aiko: "How do you feel?"

"... I ... feel ... a little better ... but I am still a little strange ...".

"quiet, everything is fine ... I will no longer allow anyone to hurt you ... I promise ..." said the diclonius forty-four with shining eyes.

"... big sister ..." and little Aiko embraced Ayaka. The diclonius also did the same; both embraced, their eyes closed and shiny. They loved each other so much, the love that united the diclonius Ayaka and little Aiko was really big and strong. Meanwhile, not far from them, the diclonius Kinuko and Miyu, rather battered and losing some blood from their mouth, rose from the ground, staggering a little; Ayaka had given them many strong shots. Miyu went to Kinuko and when he reached her, they both watched Ayaka and Aiko while they were embracing.

"Do you see them? Ayaka is very fond of that child and vice versa ..." Kinuko said.

"Yes, I'm seeing ..." Miyu answered.

"He defeated us for this ... for love of that child ...", continued Kinuko.

"yes, it's really true ...".

"Look..." Kinuko said.

"Yes?" replied Miyu.

"I would now like to talk to her... explain why we were commissioned to kill her, but I'm not going to fight with her again...".

"why?"

"I didn't ... never wanted to kill her ... I acted ... just because I was forced ...".

"yes, I didn't want it too ... it's true, I wanted to see the outside world ... but I didn't want to do it outside ..." said Miyu.

"So come with me to talk to you?" Kinuko told her.

"all right". And still staggering, the forty-three and forty-five diclonius went to Ayaka, who still embraced little Aiko. When Ayaka noticed that Kinuko and Miyu were quite close to her and Aiko, she shouted at them with a look of defiance: "stay back! Woe to you if you touch Aiko again! Have I been clear?" Kinuko, stretching his arms, said: "no wait ... we don't want to fight again ..."

"so what do you want?" Ayaka said in a rather loud voice. Aiko stirred a little and noticing Kinuko said to Ayaka, embracing her with fear: "s ... big sister ... I'm afraid ...".

"quiet, quiet Aiko. I'm here. Nothing bad will happen to you ..." Ayaka said, watching Kinuko with a rather angry look. And he released five vectors, ready to use them in case I diclonius had attacked them by surprise.

"it's not like it seems ... let us explain ..." Kinuko told Ayaka. The number forty-four diclonius frowned and withdrew its vectors. Then he told Kinuko and Miyu: "I hope you have a good reason, because I tell you: I am very, very angry with you for what you did to me but especially to Aiko!".

"Don't worry ... we don't really want to kill you ..." Miyu told her.

Ayaka was slightly surprised. Then he said to them, "so why are you here?"

"we were imposed ..." Kinuko said.

"ah yes? and for what reason?"

"They told us you were a threat, but believe us, we didn't really want to kill you ..." Miyu said. Ayaka was rather confused, then Kinuko said to Aiko in a sweet voice: "if I heard right first, your name is Aiko, right?" Aiko, with tears in her eyes, nodded. Then the number forty-five diclonius stretched his hand toward the head of little Aiko. The child, paralyzed by terror, closed her eyes. But Kinuko stroked her head and Aiko slowly opened her eyes. Kinuko said to Aiko: "please forgive me first ... I really did a very bad thing ...". Aiko said nothing, watching Kinuko continue to caress her head.

"I'm very sorry, Aiko. Does it still hurt you?" Aiko answered no with her head. Then Kinuko told her, "well. I hope you can excuse me." Then he turned to Ayaka and said, "I'm sorry Ayaka. Excuse me too ...".

"I'm sorry too ..." Miyu said.

Ayaka initially didn't know what to say, then he said to Kinuko and Miyu: "but ... what does it mean? I don't understand ...". Kinuko and Miyu remained silent. Then Ayaka said, "would you like to explain this to me?"

Tears came to Kinuko's eyes, then she said, "they forced me to try to kill you because ... because ..." she felt like crying more and more. Ayaka remained silent. Then Kinuko continued, covering his face with his hands: "they put bombs in my body ... and they said that if I didn't execute the orders ... I would have been blown up ..." and he cried a lot. Even in Miyu he had shining eyes. Ayaka was surprised and felt compassion and sadness for Kinuko.

"I ... I'm sorry ..." said the diclonius number forty-four to Kinuko. Then Miyu said: "I wanted to see the outside world ... that's why I accepted these orders ... I've always been locked up in that room ... but I didn't really want to kill you ..." and she cried too. Ayaka, understanding the fact that Miyu and Kinuko didn't really want to kill her, became more and more sorry for them.

"if things really are like this ..." Ayaka said to Kinuko and Miyu "I'm really sorry for you ...". Kinuko and Miyu kept crying. At this point Ayaka, after politely asking little Aiko to move for a moment, got up from the bench and hugged Kinuko and Miyu.

"I'm so sorry girls ... I'm really sorry ..." Ayaka said to Kinuko and Miyu who kept crying bitterly. Little Aiko looked at all three of them and then said to Ayaka: "big sister ...".

"yes Aiko?"

"But these two girls ... were they with you in the lab?"

"yes Aiko ... and like me, they suffered torture too ...". Then Aiko noticed that there was an object on the ground, not far from all of them, he approached it.

"Where are you going, Aiko?" said Ayaka.

"Wait a little sister," the girl said. And he picked it up. Then he took him to show it to the three diclonius and said "what is this, big sister?" said little Aiko.

"I don't know ... it looks like a remote ..." Ayaka said.

Upon hearing these words, Kinuko felt the chills; he turned his head and noticed that Aiko was holding the remote control that could have triggered the bombs inside her body.

"... please ... don't pre ... press that button ..." Kinuko said trembling.

"Don't tell me this remote ..." Ayaka said.

"Yes ... this business can blow me up ..." Kinuko said. Aiko became frightened, then Ayaka said to the child: "Aiko, stay still, don't move". So did the little girl. Ayaka with a vector calmly took the remote control from Aiko's hand and destroyed it, squeezing it. Kinuko was surprised, as were Miyu and Aiko; only Ayaka had a different look, of ice.

"here" said the diclonius number forty-four "in this way you will not be able to blow up again".

"But ... why did you do it?" Kinuko said.

"because I didn't want you to have such an atrocious end. It's true, you still have the explosives inside you, but now they can't be activated anymore." Tears came to Kinuko's eyes with emotion.

"I ... I don't know what to say ..." said the diclonius number forty-five "I don't know how to thank you ...".

"Don't worry," Ayaka replied with a smile. Later, little Aiko said to Ayaka: "big sister, are we going back home?" Miyu said, "big sister? Why does she keep calling you that?" "see" Ayaka replied "after I managed to escape from the laboratory, I managed to reach the mainland, but, exhausted, I lost consciousness on the beach. Aiko and her mother found me and took me to their home. In these last days, I was always with Aiko and her mother, this wonderful little girl gave me so much love, feeling emotions that I almost never felt in my life, and that I hadn't felt for a very long time, she always wanted to have a sister more great, that's why she calls me that, I feel very nice with her ".

"I too with her!" said little Aiko, taking Ayaka's hand. The diclonius number forty-four smiled at the child.

"You could say you found a family ... blessed are you ..." Kinuko said. And she still had to cry.

"a family ..." said Miyu "what is a family?"

"oh, the family is a very, very beautiful thing ..." said Ayaka "a thing with which you experience emotions and beautiful sensations, together with warmth and love ...".

"really?" said the diclonius number forty-three.

"yes, and I hope that, as I have also tried it, you too will experience this one day, you deserve it and you need it," said Ayaka to Kinuko and Miyu. Later, Ayaka embraced them. Then he said to them: "Aiko and I should go home now, her mother is waiting for us. I am very sorry, but unfortunately Aiko's house cannot accommodate more than three people, because if it were not so, I would have proposed to her mother to do you too can welcome ... ".

"What do you think will happen to us? Where are we going to end up?" Kinuko said with tears in his eyes.

"Everything will be fine. You will see that everything will be fine. You just have to think positively, always looking forward and never backward. Trust. As I found a family, you too can find one."

"it goes ... all right ..." and they started to say goodbye. Kinuko gave Aiko a kiss, telling her: "I'm still sorry first. I hope you can forgive me one day." Aiko smiled at her. Then Ayaka greeted Miyu and Miyu greeted Aiko. So Ayaka and Aiko went home.

"And now what do we do?" Miyu told Kinuko.

"We will begin to build our lives. Would you like to live with me or do we part?" Kinuko answered.

"here ... I ... would like to be with you ...".

"that's fine; the two of us will be together".

CHAPTER 14

CASUAL MEETING

Shortly after Ayaka and little Aiko left enough to disappear from their sight, the number forty-three and forty-five Miyu and Kinuko diclonius began to walk, taking a different path than that taken by Aiko and Ayaka. Shortly after he started walking, Miyu said, "you know, Kinuko ..."

"Yes? What is it?"

"now that we're alone, I'm starting to feel a little scared ... how are we going to build our lives?"

"to be honest" Kinuko replied "I'm afraid too ... but every time we get this emotion, we always have to think about what Ayaka told us a little while ago, we always have to look ahead and always think positive".

"yes, I know, but how will we ...".

"we will find a way, quiet. A solution will come out, I am more than sure," Kinuko told her smiling.

They walked for about twenty minutes. They met nobody in their path. Although it was a beautiful day, there were not many people on the street. They arrived at Kamakura beach. On seeing the very calm sea and the reflection of the sun on the water, Miyu said: "how beautiful ... it is a spectacle ...".

"Yes, the sea is really beautiful," said Kinuko.

"Can we get very close? I would like to see the sea very close ..." Miyu said looking at Kinuko.

Kinuko thought about it for a few seconds, then said, smiling, "but of course, let's get closer too." Miyu, very happy, ran towards the sea, going to the beach. Kinuko stood behind her quite slowly. When Miyu came a step away from the water, he stopped and watched, smiling, with his mouth open, in front of her, the whole expanse of water and the small waves of the sea. Seconds later, Kinuko joined her. A sea breeze blew not very strongly on Miyu's face. She closed her eyes and breathed the sea air. Then he said: "it's great to be here, I like it very much ...".

"I'm happy," said Kinuko "yes, you're right, it's nice to be here". Immediately afterwards they sat on the sand, first Miyu and then Kinuko and watched the sea.

"you know Kinuko ..." Miyu said "it was always that I wanted to get out of that room ... I wanted to see what was beyond those walls ... But I never thought that what was beyond them , could be so beautiful ... ".

"I understand you Miyu" Kinuko replied "I understand you very much".

They stood talking for a few minutes, always sitting on the sand. Then, Kinuko said to Miyu: "What are you saying, are we going?"

"OK," said the number forty-three diclonius smiling. They got up and after taking a last look towards the sea, they started walking towards the road. They arrived there after a short time.

"And now where are we going?" said Miyu.

"let's explore, then see what happens," Kinuko replied.

"Okay," Miyu replied. They started walking around the area. They walked continuously for about ten minutes, not meeting anyone on their way, until, at a certain point, Miyu stopped. Kinuko asked her, "What is it?"

"I ... I'm hungry..." said Miyu "for a few minutes...". KInuko answered her a little disconsolate: "in fact, I too would like to go hungry ... but I don't know what to do ...". KInuko had nothing with him, not even a little money to buy something. At the Diclonius Research Institute, in fact, it was not expected that things with Ayaka would go as they went, so the director Kakuzawa had ordered not to give anything to Miyu and Kinuko if not the clothes.

"I'm hungry... I'm hungry..." Miyu repeated.

"Miyu ... I...", Kinuko was about to continue when he was hit by someone. Immediately, Kinuko turned to see who he was.

"I'm so sorry, I was distracted. I'm sorry," he said. It was Takeshi.

"it doesn't matter" said Kinuko with a half smile "but he pays more attention".

"stay calm. I often have my head in the clouds while I go for a walk ... I will try to change".

"well," Kinuko replied.

"ok, bye" said Takeshi, saluting with his right hand. And he walked away slowly from her and Miyu. Seconds later, Miyu said to Kinuko: "Can we ask him if he can give us something to eat? I'm hungry ... so hungry ...".

"in fact maybe he can help us ..." Kinuko told her. He thought about it for a few seconds while Takeshi moved farther and farther away, but he didn't disappear from sight; she was tempted to turn to him to help them because they were both very hungry.

"All right, come with me," Kinuko told MIyu. And they started running towards

Takeshi. As they ran, Kinuko called to him, saying "wait!" After not many seconds, Takeshi turned and, noticing that Kinuko and Miyu were chasing him, curiously stopped. When they joined him, Takeshi said to them: "Yes? What is it?"

"sorry, can you help us?" Kinuko said.

"What is it about?" Takeshi said putting his arms folded.

"and that we ..." KInuko was a little intimidated. "we are very hungry and we have nothing to eat". Takeshi raised his eyebrows. Kinuko continued: "we have no bad intention, I assure you, we are only very hungry". Then Miyu said, "Can you help us, please?"

"Don't you even have money to buy something?" asked Takeshi.

"to tell the truth ... no," Kinuko replied.

"I understand," Takeshi said. He thought for a moment, then the boy said, "OK, I'll buy you something to eat." KInuko and Miyu, when they heard these words, smiled a lot. "Thank you, thank you," they said to Takeshi, who then said to them, "Come with me." Takeshi went on, Kinuko and Miyu stood next to him. They went to a bar, walking for just under twenty minutes. Arrived, Takeshi said to Kinuko and Miyu: "wait for me out here, now I'll buy you something to eat".

"ok, okay," they said. And Takeshi entered the room, bought some onigiri, three for each of them and two small bottles of water. After about two minutes Takeshi returned to Kinuko and Miyu, with an envelope containing the onigiri and little bottles. Kinuko and Miyu had sat on a bench a few meters away from the restaurant.

"here I am," he said with a smile. He sat on the bench next to Kinuko, He gave the envelope to Kinuko, saying; she, after looking inside the envelope, told Takeshi: "I don't know how to thank you".

"Oh, it's a pleasure, don't worry. We can say that I repaid now when I hit you first," he said with a smile. Kinuko smiled at him. Then Miyu said to Takeshi: "What did you get?"

"a little water and three onigiri for each of you".

"onigiri? And what would they be?" Takeshi was very surprised. And he asked her, "don't you know what I am?" and Miyu nodded his head. Kinuko took an onigiri and gave it to Miyu and she tasted it. Meanwhile, Kinuko told Takeshi: "the fact is that she has never seen many things has tasted many foods ...".

"oh sorry" said Takeshi "why on earth?"

"see, it's a long story ...".

"I see". Immediately afterwards, Miyu said in a rather loud voice: "it's very good! I love it!" Takeshi smiled at her and said "enjoy it calmly". Later, Kinuko also began to eat. While Kinuko and Miyu ate, Takeshi asked them, "but tell me something."

"Yes?" the diclonius answered.

"Why didn't you have money to buy food? Did something happen to you?" While Miyu continued to eat the onigiri, Kinuko said: "we had to carry out a mission and then we had to go back to where they had sent us, but things did not go as planned, so we asked you for help".

"mission?".

"yes, more than a mission ... let's say, a task ... but even this is a very long story ...".

Immediately afterwards, Miyu said smiling with closed eyes: "how good they were! I am better now, much better!"

"I'm happy," said Takeshi, "and you? Are you better off with your stomach?" turning to Kinuko.

"Yes, thank you," Kinuko replied with a smile.

"well". A few seconds later, Takeshi said, "What a careless person I am! I didn't show up, sorry. My name is Takeshi," he said, extending his hand to them.

"oh sorry, we didn't show up, too," said Kinuko, shaking hands with the boy "my name is Kinuko".

"very pleased," said Takeshi, who then turned to Miyu, saying with a smile, "what's your name?"

"Miyu", answered the diclonius forty-three and gave him his hand. After that, Takeshi said to them: "It was a real pleasure to have met and met you. Do you feel like becoming friends?"

"It would be nice," said Kinuko smiling. "You know, I don't remember how long I have no friends, so, too much time has passed ..." these last words told her sadly. Takeshi noticed the sadness in his words and said "I'm very sorry". But Kinuko, remembering the words that Ayaka had said to her and to Miyu, or that we must always look ahead with confidence, said: "but now it is the past. Yes, I would like to become your friend!". Miyu, who had never had friends in his life, since he always lived at the Diclonius Research Institute, heard this conversation in silence and was a bit confused; he did not know, in fact, what they were friends, at most he had tried a little bit of "family love" with the scientists in the laboratory, since they were the only people he had seen before Kakuzawa ordered him to take Ayaka with Kinuko.

"very well," said Takeshi "from now on we will be friends!" Then he turned to Miyu, saying: "Do you feel like making friends with me?" Miyu was confused. Kinuko said smiling at her: "by the Miyus, you too become a friend of his". The number forty-three diclonius looked at Kinuko, who then told her: "then I'll explain everything to you". Miyu looked at the boy and with a slight smile, nodded yes.

"very good" said Takeshi very cheerful "from today I have two friends more, I'm really happy".

"we too" said Kinuko.

"you know," Takeshi added, "I have a few friends, but hardly any friends, I'm really happy to have two more from this day. I think my only friends I had before I met them not long ago, they also live not very far from here ".

"Did you really have very few friends?" said KInuko.

"Yes," replied the boy.

"And what are their names?"

"their names are Mayu, Yuka, Nana and Lucy". Upon hearing these last words, Kinuko became very suspicious. She stood for a few seconds, to the point that Takeshi said to her, "hey, are you all right?"

"...yes, all right," replied KInuko, who then said: "but out of curiosity, can you describe them to me? Just out of curiosity".

"Well" said the boy "Mayu is a little girl, she will be a little over twelve years old, but Yuka will come of age, while Lucy and Nana will be your same age and are about the same size as you. pink hair ... ".

"by chance," said Kinuko, "do Lucy and Nana have any ... er ... hair ornament on their heads?"

"Lucy no, while I saw Nana always with a cap on her head ... but why do you ask?"

"oh, nothing, just out of curiosity". KInuko had no more doubts at this point.

"ok, thanks. Just to get a good picture of them ...".

"Yes, I understand," Takeshi said. Then the boy looked at his watch and said, "Wow, how much time has passed! Now I have to go. Luckily I live near this area. Where do you live?"

"here, around," said Kinuko.

"well then I'll see you again often"

"Yeah," said Kinuko. Then Takeshi said, getting up from the bench: "it was very nice to meet you, see you in the next few days", he greeted her with his hand, the diclonius responded in the same way and, with the passing of the seconds, the boy moved away from them. KInuko, after Takeshi disappeared from his sight, got up from the bench and looked behind her, where the sea could be seen.

"Kinuko, are you all right?" Miyu said, looking at her.

"My suspicions were well founded," said the number forty-five diclonius.

"What suspects? What are you talking about?" Miyu said, getting up from the bench and standing next to Kinuko.

"Lucy is still alive, she managed to survive".

"Lucy? Who is Lucy?"

"she is like us, a diclonius, but a very particular diclonius". Kinuko had known Lucy's story throughout her life at the Diclonius Research Institute from what the scientists had told her during the experiments. Driven by curiosity, the number forty-five diclonius wanted to know from scientists who Lucy was and they told her everything, before and after her alleged death. Kinuko, so he learned of Lucy's wickedness and his powers, would spare no one, not even the diclonius. So he told Miyu everything.

CHAPTER 15

THE CATCH OF KINUKO

Kinuko spoke to Miyu about Lucy for about twenty minutes. He told her everything he knew about her. Miyu listened without saying a word, curious to know who Lucy was. After Kinuko finished speaking, Miyu said, "so Lucy is a diclonius who can give birth?"

"Yes, exactly," replied Kinuko.

"And can he use his vectors to heal his wounds and those of others?"

"Exactly, you understood correctly."

"and is still alive ...".

"Yes, from what Takeshi told us I have no doubt. But there is one thing I can't understand ...".

"what, Kinuko?" asked Miyu.

"Lucy is famous in the lab for her wickedness, I don't understand how Takeshi made friends with her ...".

"maybe it's another Lucy ...".

"no, impossible. He said he has pink hair ...".

"it may be just a case ...".

"I don't think so, I still think that her friend is Lucy I told you about."

"if you say so ... anyway, now what do we do?" asked Miyu.

"Come with me, let's continue on our way. As I told you before, we'll find a solution for our future," Kinuko replied.

"agree Kinuko". Subsequently, the number forty-five diclonius took the envelope containing two other onigiri and the water bottles. Kinuko said: "since we don't have much to eat, we keep these two onigiri for later, okay?"

"Yes, all right," Miyu replied. Kinuko held the envelope with his right hand and with his left he held Miyu by the hand and then started walking. Meanwhile, two hours had passed since their confrontation with Ayaka had ended. After their task failed, the soldiers and the scientist who had the remote control in hand that could have operated the explosives inside Kinuko's body, returned to the Diclonius Research Institute. They spent about an hour in total. Kakuzawa and all the scientists waited nervously. If for scientists the wait did not disturb their work, for the director it was not so: the wait was so unnerving that he could not work well. He spent these last hours in his office, but did not concentrate much, his thoughts turned to the elimination of Ayaka and his project. During these hours, Kakuzawa also learned to what extent the creation of the artificial diclonius was; Sosuke, in fact, informed him in his office. And after a while, someone knocked on his office door again.

"come on," said the director. The door opened. he was a scientist who, immediately after entering, said: "Sir, the soldiers and the scientist sent with them in a few minutes will come back. If you wish, you can wait for them at the entrance to the laboratory."

"OK, I'll be there. Thanks for the information".

"imagine sir," replied the scientist. And he left the office. About a minute later, director

Kakuzawa also left his office and headed for the entrance to the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE. Arrived, he waited for about two minutes, and then the soldiers arrived with the scientist. Noting that the diclonius Miyu and Kinuko were not with them, Kakuzawa became very suspicious.

"Where are the diclonius number forty-three and forty-five? Why are they not with you?" asked the director. The head of the soldiers replied: "Director, unfortunately we have bad news" and told him everything he had seen. Kakuzawa seemed very upset. After the chief of the soldiers finished speaking, the scientist said: "Ayaka forced me to throw the remote control down, threatened to kill me and so I escaped ...". Silence for a few seconds.

"so Ayaka defeated Miyu and Kinuko ..." Kakuzawa said later; then turning to the soldiers he said: "go back immediately to Kamakura to look for the diclonius Kinuko and Miyu, bring reinforcements with you, you never know. Once you find the diclonius, do your best to recover them, use the heavy artillery to counteract the their vectors, once captured, bring them back here, and then we'll think of a new plan for Ayaka. Now you can go. "

"All right sir," said the chief of the soldiers, who subsequently went away.

"As for you," said the director, turning to the scientist "come with me".

"Yes sir," replied the scientist. As they walked, the scientist told Kakuzawa: "Excuse me sir, but where are we going?"

"in My office". Arrived and entered, the director Kakuzawa told him: "I wanted to let you know at what point is the creation of the diclonius with Lucy's blood, so that later you communicate it to all the other scientists; I can't do it, because I have from do".

"Did they tell you at what point the creation of the artificial diclonius is?"

"Exactly. The project is almost completed, little time yet and we are there". "I understand. As you said before, do I have to let everyone else know?"

"exact".

"then I will communicate this news to all the other scientists through a brief conference".

"Okay, do this. Now you can go."

"agree sir". That said, the scientist came out of the director's office. Later, Kakuzawa returned to work. Meanwhile, the head of the special team of the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, gathered almost all the soldiers; very few stayed at the lab. He and his team, made up of twenty-five men with heavy artillery, returned to Kamakura with the same boat. Arriving at the beach, the chief said to all of them: "very well. Now let's split up for the city, in this way we can more easily find those diclonius".

"Yes sir," they said. And after reaching the road, the special team split into five groups, each group consisted of five men and took a different path from the other. Thus began the hunt for Miyu and Kinuko.

It was a little after three in the afternoon. Kinuko and Miyu were walking holding hands. Not many tens of minutes had passed since they had resumed their journey, after Takeshi had greeted them. During their journey, they had met few people.

"Kinuko ..." said Miyu. And they stopped.

"What is Miyu?"

"Will you give me some water, please?"

"Yes sure". And Kinuko took a small bottle from the envelope and gave it to Miyu. The number forty-three diclonius drank a lot of water. In fact, he was very thirsty.

"are you better now?" Kinuko told her.

"Yes, thank you," replied Miyu.

"Do not mention it". Then Kinuko took a small piece of onigiri and ate it; in fact, he felt the pangs of hunger a little longer. Then he took the other bottle and drank some water too. Then the diclonius resumed their journey, in the hope that something positive would happen, like what happened with Takeshi. They walked for another fifteen minutes when they arrived in an inhabited area of the city of Kamakura, not far from the sea. It was very hot and they had walked a lot, so Kinuko said: "What do you say Miyu, do we want to stop for a while to recover some energy?"

"yes, all right".

"OK, let's sit here," Kinuko said, pointing to a bench a few meters away from them. The diclonius sat down and rested. For about a minute there was silence, when Miyu said, "do you think Ayaka is doing now?" "Well, he will definitely be with Aiko."

"already, I think so too".

"Ayaka was very lucky to find a family, who knows if we'll find one too ...".

"only time can tell us, Kinuko".

"But we must always think positively, never give up. Is it okay?"

"yes, Kinuko".

"well, we must always do so". They talked for a few minutes, always sitting on the bench. Subsequently, Kinuko said: "What do you want to do now Miyu? Do you want to stay here a little bit longer or continue? You decide".

"Well, I'd say I rested a little, so let's go ahead".

"agree". Just when they were about to get off the bench, a voice was heard with a very high tone, which said: "still! You are surrounded!". The diclonius turned to those who had shouted those words. He was the head of the laboratory's special team; a soldier had found them for a few minutes, then hid from their sight, calling for reinforcements. Within seconds, all the soldiers came out into the open and with heavy artillery aimed at the diclonius. The soldiers were all before their eyes. The chief approached Kinuko and Miyu and when he was a few meters from them, he said, grinning: "bye. We are back to pick you up".

"to bring us back to that lab, right?"

"good, you guessed it. And you better not make jokes, we have heavy artillery". Miyu, since he had discovered the outside world outside the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE and heard these words, came forward and said almost crying: "I don't want to go back there ...".

"I don't care. You now come with us with Kinuko".

"no Please...". The leader of the team, at this point, took out his heavy weapon and pointed it at Miyu, saying: "you force me to use strong manners, eh?" Miyu started to cry.

"what a pathetic scene!" said the team leader. "Stop and obey, little brat!" Upon hearing these words, Kinuko released two vectors and tore the heavy weapon from the team leader's hands, smashing it on the ground, reducing it to a thousand pieces.

"So that's it, eh? Do you want war?" the team leader told the diclonius, who then went on to say: "all right, we will force you with force! Soldiers, fire!" and ran to his team of soldiers. Very quickly, Kinuko freed more than seven carriers and took heavy weapons from some of the soldiers, before they could fire and threw them violently on the ground, damaging them greatly and thus rendering them unusable. Other soldiers fired at Kinuko, and since they were more than ten soldiers firing, moreover with heavy artillery, Kinuko managed to repel them with five carriers, but struggling and weakening. Noticing this effect, the chief shouted: "keep shooting!". Miyu, noting Kinuko's difficulty, intervened and with his four very powerful vectors, he managed to repel the bullets almost without any problem. The leader of the team, at this point, shouted to the team: "spread out and keep shooting!". The soldiers moved around the diclonius, in an attempt to succeed in putting them in difficulty, but Kinuko, helped by Miyu, managed to free more fifteen vectors and the diclonius rejected all the bullets. The soldiers subsequently ceased firing; they seemed to understand that they could not make it. At this point, the soldiers disarmed by KInuko decided to use hand grenades. After activating them, they launched them towards Miyu and Kinuko. The number forty-five diclonius, with six vectors, drove the bombs back to the point where they had been launched. The soldiers escaped from that point and a few moments later, the bombs exploded. Fortunately there was no civilian in the area. Realizing that they had no hope in the face of the powers of Miyu and Kinuko, the soldiers who had been disarmed by Kinuko beat a retreat, while those armed resumed the fire, but it was all in vain; Miyu and Kinuko rejected all the bullets. Some soldiers ran out of ammunition, and they too fled. On the battlefield, in addition to the diclonius, fewer than ten soldiers remained, who still had some ammunition and continued to shoot. Meanwhile, the leader of the team, during the battle, managed to disappear from the sight of the diclonius, but his was a strategy: while his soldiers were shooting moving around Kinuko and Miyu, he moved not too far from them, but the distance was enough to keep the diclonius from disappearing. He stood at a distance of about ten meters behind Kinuko, lowered himself and pulled out a gun, aiming for the number forty-five diclonius. Suddenly, the remaining soldiers, noticing their leader behind the diclonius, stopped firing. Miyu barely turned and saw the leader of the team and at this point, discovered, he shot Kinuko, hitting her in the left leg. Kinuko screamed in pain for a few seconds and slumped to the ground, losing a lot of blood.

"no! Kinuko!" shouted Miyu. Subsequently, very quickly, Miyu with a carrier removed his gun from the chief's hands and destroyed it. the team leader was now completely disarmed.

The soldiers approached Miyu with their heavy weapons. Kinuko said to Miyu: "run away, Miyu! You can't do it alone! Or they'll take you too!"

"But Kinuko ...".

"KEEP IT AWAY! NOW!" And tears came to Miyu again. But he obeyed and started to run. One of the soldiers said, "come back here!" But the team leader said: "let her go, we'll go back to look for her in the next few hours. Now let's bring Kinuko back to the lab, and let's hurry up, until he feels pain he can't use his vectors".

"I agree, sir, as you wish," replied the soldier. And he took Kinuko, wounded and screaming in pain, on his shoulder. While returning to the beach, the soldiers gathered on the beach a few meters from the boat through the receivers. They took the number forty-five diclonius to the boat and injected it with a paralyzing substance that was in a small box. A soldier in fact had it delivered before they left for Kamakura, after which they bandaged the wound with the boat's first-aid box. In a very short time they returned to the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE.

CHAPTER 16

THE INTERROGATION

Director Kakuzawa was in his office when the team returned to the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE with Kinuko captured and wounded. A scientist knocked on the door of the director's office; entered, the scientist said: "sir, the team has been back to the lab for a few seconds, the boss wants to talk to you".

"very well, now I am coming". Kakuzawa left his office and went to talk to the head of the team, intrigued by how things turned out. When the director reached the team leader on the ground floor of the laboratory, he asked him, "What should you tell me?" The team leader replied: "after we returned to Kamakura, we were able to find the diclonius Miyu and Kinuko after a very short time. We tried to convince them to go back to the lab, but it didn't help. The diclonius Kinuko he destroyed the weapon and so we opened fire ".

"and then?".

"those diclonius rejected all our attacks and destroyed almost all the weapons of the team, until with a strategy, I managed to hurt Kinuko, so we captured it and then paralyzed it with a substance, to prevent it from creating problems" .

"And what did you do with the diclonius Miyu?"

"that little girl ran away, we'll go back to look for her in the next few hours".

"Yes, you will do exactly that. Now go ahead."

"as you wish, director". And the head of the lab team turned away from him.

Subsequently, Kakuzawa called a scientist and ordered her to treat Kinuko's wound and then put it back into the machine in her cabin. The scientist immediately got to work. They took Kinuko to a medical room and the scientists treated her wound, all while the number forty-five diclonius had fainted from pain and paralyzed by the substance. It took them less than two hours, then Kinuko, still unconscious, was put back into the machine in his own cabin.

An hour passed. The day was now at sunset. Kinuko woke up, opened his eyes slowly, holding his head with his eyes to the groin.

"but where am I ..." he said rather bewildered.

"you're home," said a voice. Kinuko looked up. It was Kakuzawa, standing before her. "Welcome back, Kinuko," the director continued.

"she? What does she want from me," asked the diclonius.

"oh, nothing in particular" Kakuzawa replied "I just want to ask you questions". Kinuko looked at him rather intrigued.

"Why do you want to ask me questions? And about what? Haven't they already been told all those people who caught me?"

"Yes, the head of the team told me a few things, but I would also like to know something more from you and you should work together, I recommend it."

"what do you mean?"

"What do I mean? Simple: if you refuse to cooperate, you will be tortured."

"to ... tortured ...?" Kinuko said a little afraid.

"Exactly. You will experience an electric discharge of many volts, so you should be very good," the director replied. A kinuko, hearing these words, was very angry. Kakuzawa noticed it.

"but ugly ...". And the electric discharge started, driven by the computer that was connected to the machinery, controlled by a scientist. The shock lasted about three seconds. Kinuko screamed in pain.

"Let's start well, eh?" Kakuzawa said with a slight wicked smile, which then continued: "you are very stubborn, Kinuko. If you don't want me to increase the volts of electricity, you should obey". Kinuko was breathing hard, from the pain caused by the electric shock. Then he looked at Kakuzawa with shining eyes.

"Come on, let's start. What exactly happened with the diclonius number forty-four Ayaka?" Kinuko, still breathing heavily, did not answer. He didn't want to tell him everything that had happened.

"do not say anything?" said the director, who then continued: "I have to deduce from it that you don't want to collaborate. All right, worse for you". The volts increased and Kinuko suffered another electric shock for another three seconds. His scream of pain was stronger. Subsequently, Kakuzawa told her: "yet you are not stupid, you should have understood that I am serious. So, do you want to talk or suffer other stronger and stronger shocks? The choice is yours". Kinuko, at this point, decided to speak.

"okay ... okay ... I speak ..." he said, breathing more and more frantically.

"you finally understood. I ask you the question: what happened with Ayaka?" And Kinuko, bowing his head and in a rather low voice, began to speak: "having arrived in the city ... Miyu and I ... we started looking for her with the soldiers behind us ...". It was hard to talk, the two electric shocks she had suffered had hurt her a lot. "once found ... she was in the company of a child ...".

"a little girl?".

"Yes ... that child didn't want us to take Ayaka away from her ...".

"really?" Kakuzawa said very surprised. "and subsequently?".

"I hit that child, and this sparked Ayaka's anger ... she, in fact, cares about that little girl and vice versa ... Miyu and I fought with her, but she defeated us ... and has destroyed the weapons of the soldiers and they then fled ... ". Director Kakuzawa listened without saying a word.

"Do you know what that child's name is?"

"... Aiko ..." Kinuko answered.

"Aiko ... very interesting ... and what happened after that?".

"we clarified ourselves and then left ... besides, Ayaka destroyed the remote control of explosives inside my body ...".

"Oh really?".

"Yes ..." Kinuko said raising his head and then continued: "Now can you remove those damn explosives from my body? They can't be activated any more ...".

"I have other questions to ask you, I will only remove them if you answer me." Kinuko didn't have much choice, he wanted to try to trust.

"if Ayaka cares about that child and she cares a lot about Ayaka, they have to live together. Do you know where they live?" Kinuko shook his head. Kakuzawa said: "you don't tell me right in my opinion". Kinuko, fearing another electric shock, said even more loudly: "I swear, I don't know."

"We will come back to this later. But tell me what you and Miyu did after you left Ayaka and Aiko. Tell me the truth if you don't want more powerful electric shocks." Kinuko became frightened.

"we walked for a while and then we met a guy ...".

"a boy, eh?"

"yes ... it's called Takeshi ...".

"Takeshi ..." silence for a few seconds. Then the director Kakuzawa said: "And what did you do with him?"

"we were very hungry and bought food and drink ...".

"nothing else?".

"we made friends with him and we talked together ...".

"and what did you talk about?"

"...anything...".

"Say it, or you'll get the strongest shocks." The scientist increased the volts even more, but the electric shock did not start. Kakuzawa, in fact, made him sign "wait" with his left hand. Then the manager approached Kinuko even more. And he said, "collaborate, Kinuko. Did you tell Takeshi our business?"

"no, really". Subsequently, Kakuzawa took a step back and signaled the scientist with his left hand to start the shock. Kinuko screamed a lot.

"I'll tell you again," said the manager, "did you tell that guy about this?"

"NO! I DIDN'T TELL YOU NOTHING ABOUT THIS!" shouted Kinuko with his eyes closed. Kakuzawa was silent for a few moments and then said, "So what did you talk about? Tell me what he told you."

"... we talked about his only friends ..." his breathing was very tired.

"Didn't you mention anything else?"

"... no ... I swear ...".

"And did he tell you what those unique friends are called?"

"no...". And there was yet another electric shock to poor Kinuko. Kakuzawa said: "even if you lie, this will happen to you. And it wasn't up yet." Poor Kinuko, exhausted by the pain of the electric shocks she suffered, said with her head bowed and her eyes closed: "... enough ... please ...".

"Tell me what your friends were called." Kinuko wanted to hold out as long as he could, but by now he was exhausted and he also gave in to this question.

"... her ... friends are very few ... two of them have ... pink hair ... and they are called ...".

"Yeah? Come on, go on," the manager told her.

"... Nana and Lucy ...". Upon hearing these names, director Kakuzawa was surprised. "Lucy and Nana? And tell me, did he tell you more about them?"

"just ... that Nana always had ... a cap in ... head ... and Lucy ...".

"Did he tell you if he had horns on his head?"

"... no ... I asked him ... if ... he had something for ... his hair ... but he told me ... that Lucy had just ... pink hair ... "

"So Lucy is still alive ... she managed to survive ... very interesting. And Nana should be with her ...". Subsequently, the director went to the exit of Kinuko's cabin and told the scientist: "you, come with me to my office".

"Yes sir," he replied.

"Wait ..." Kinuko told Kakuzawa just as he and the scientist were about to leave the cabin.

"what do you want?" the director answered.

"he told me he would take away the explosives ...".

"I'm sorry Kinuko. I lied." The number forty-five diclonius remained ice and tears came to her eyes. Soon after, Kakuzawa and the scientist left the cabin, and the armored door closed. Kinuko burst into tears, screaming, while Kakuzawa and the scientist went to the office of the director of the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE.

CHAPTER 17

LUDME

Leaving Kinuko's cabin, Kakuzawa and the scientist made their way to the director's office. Once inside, Kakuzawa told the scientist: "tomorrow I will hold a short lecture at around 12:00. Notify all scientists and scientists of the laboratory as soon as possible".

"Yes sir," said the scientist, who then continued: "I guess you want to hold that conference because of what the diclonius number forty-five has told you, isn't it?"

"Exactly," replied the director, "but I will say even more. I recommend, you advise the scientists only of the conference, I will tell you the reasons".

"as you wish, director".

"well. Now it can go".

"agree, sir". That said, the scientist left Kakuzawa's office and went to do what the manager had told him to do.

The day was almost over. The director of the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE was very tired, he had worked very hard in the last few days. After eating something, he went to his room to sleep. The next day, Kakuzawa woke up around 10:30 am. He had slept for over ten hours. He felt fit. He then went to his office and worked for about an hour. Then he went to the conference room. He was among the first to enter it and later, as the minutes passed, all the scientists and scientists arrived. The hall was filled in a few minutes and by noon it was full. The conference could then begin.

"Good morning to all and to all. Today I have summoned all of you here to tell you something very important that I have known since yesterday, while I was interrogating the diclonius number forty-five Kinuko". Scientists and scientists were eagerly waiting to know what it was. Then Kakuzawa continued, saying: "from what the diclonius Kinuko told me, Lucy, the diclonius I told you about not long ago at a conference like this, is still alive".

Scientists and scientists were amazed. One took the floor, saying "director, but she said she was dead ...".

"evidently, she managed to survive," Kakuzawa replied.

"this, what does it mean to you?"

"you know ..." the director replied, "I thought a lot about it the night before. Evidently Lucy is a much stronger diclonius than we could have imagined. Honestly, I really didn't think she had survived."

"But are you sure that this is the Lucy we know? It may be that it is another Lucy, a commune ...". Immediately thereafter, another scientist said, "What did the diclonius number forty-five tell her about Lucy?" Kakuzawa replied by saying: "Kinuko told me that Lucy had pink hair and told me she didn't have horns".

"so at this point she is ...".

"I would say yes, but I was more surprised by something else".

"what, director?"

"Kinuko told me that, before she was captured, she became friends with a boy named Takeshi. He told her that Lucy was one of her only friends."

Upon hearing these words, all the scientists and all the women scientists were astonished. A boy had managed to make friends with Lucy, the most evil and bloodthirsty diclonius of all those known. How could such a thing have happened?

"Did the diclonius number forty-five really tell you this?", another scientist asked Kakuzawa.

"yes, and finally he told me that the other friend of that boy named Takeshi has pink hair, he always wears a cap and is called Nana".

"Nana?" asked the scientist.

"yes, the diclonius number seven. I guess you wear a cap to hide your horns ... at this point I think Lucy and Nana are together, they are living together". Silence fell among the scientists. No one could think how things had gone this way.

"And now what are you going to do?" said a scientist.

"First, we need to locate those diclonius. From what the diclonius Kinuko told me, Lucy and Nana should still be in the city of Kamakura, so it shouldn't be very difficult to find them. Then, once located, I'll think about how to act." Scientists learned, some of them took notes. A scientist then asked: "excuse me director, according to you how is it possible that that boy named Takeshi, managed to make friends with Nana and especially with Lucy?".

"I can't tell you this," the director replied, "I can't explain it for now, but maybe I could find an answer in the future."

After a few seconds of silence, the director Kakuzawa said: "now let's change the subject: I have, in fact, yet another thing to tell you". Scientists were in full swing. Kakuzawa went on to say: "it concerns the diclonius whose creation is led by the scientists Aritomo, Sosuke and Kaito. By now we are at the end. Thanks to the genetic engineering and the secret technology of the laboratory, the project is almost completed, should end in the next few hours" . Sosuke had informed the director that the work was almost finished the day before, while Kakuzawa was in the office, all while the special team was capturing Kinuko. Almost all the scientists took notes.

"I will speak to you better now than this diclonius, But it won't take long," said the director. Every scientist and every scientist in the room was ready and ready to take notes.

"the diclonius" Kakuzawa continued "will have the name of Ludme, whose initial letters are due to the name of Lucy, for the fact that he will have his blood. He will have the physical body of a seventeen year old girl, will have blond hair and brown eyes "Because he will have the blood of the diclonius Lucy, he will most likely have his own number of vectors and his own character and can procreate. Once created, we will experiment to test his vectors and to understand his nature and, perhaps, we will understand something more than the nature of being diclonius, also being able, as I told you not so long ago, to develop a possible cure. We'll see. " The scientists took many notes, including this topic. Then Kakuzawa told them: "well, the meeting is over, you can go". The scientists got up and in a short time everyone came out of the conference room and everyone returned to their work. Kakuzawa was the last to leave. Then he returned to his office.

Around five in the afternoon, Kakuzawa was working in his office when Sosuke knocked on the door. Entered, he said to the manager: "Sir, we're done. The diclonius project with Lucy's blood is completed. If you want, you can come and see." The director said: "Very well, I am coming". He got up from his chair and went with Sosuke to the room where the diclonius Ludme was being created. Mind walking, Sosuke said to the director: "more or less the times for the creation of Ludme have been respected. It has not been very difficult with laboratory technology and genetic engineering".

"I can imagine," Kakuzawa replied. When they arrived at the door of the room where Ludme was being created, the other two scientists Aritomo and Kaito were waiting for Sosuke and the director Kakuzawa.

"Director, the work is finished" said Aritomo "initially we thought it took a lot longer, but thanks to technology and genetics it took us less time than expected".

"Please, come on in, we'll show it to you," Kaito said. Director Kakuzawa entered the room with Sosuke. Inside the room there was everything: computers, from test tubes to capsules, to the container that contained Lucy's blood until recently. The director and the three scientists took a few steps and then arrived at the point in the room where there was a capsule filled with a yellowish liquid; inside the capsule there was the diclonius Ludme, he stood and kept his eyes closed. Kakuzawa observed the artificial diclonius from every corner.

"You did a great job," the director told the three scientists "show me the analysis."

"immediately sir," said Aritomo. And the three scientists gave him Ludme's analysis. They were enclosed in two blocks containing sheets that told everything about the nature of the artificial diclonius.

"Thank you. Now I go to my office and analyze them."

"As you wish, director," Kaito said. And with the blocks, director Kakuzawa left the room and returned to his office. For the following hours, he focused only on this topic.

CHAPTER 18

A DAY IN THE COMPANY

It had been a while since Lucy had returned from Kouta, Nana, Yuka and Mayu. After being welcomed back as a family, Lucy could finally have some peace in her life, although some things still haunted her; the same was true of Nana. For Kouta and the others it was impossible not to understand them: because of their diversity from normal humans, Lucy and Nana suffered and still suffered very much. But they could count on love, affection and the company of Kouta, Yuka and Mayu. Lucy and Nana knew well that they would never abandon them. But despite this, their life was not easy: if they had to go out of the house, they would have had to behave differently, but above all to disguise themselves in part: in fact they could not let people see the horns on their heads. Of course, the situation for Lucy was less difficult, because she almost completely lost her horns in two fights, one with the diclonius number thirty five named Mariko and the other with the special team of the DICLONIUS RESEARH INSTITUTE, but standing very close to her you could see the remains of his horns. For Nana, on the other hand, the situation was more complicated; he always had to wear a cap on his head because he was too scared, especially with his friend Takeshi. After Nana met him, he wondered for days if he could reveal his true nature to him; they went so well together and shared a passion for cooking. In short, very intense and tormented days were for the diclonius Lucy and Nana.

It was morning, 9:45. The first to wake up was Yuka. He prepared breakfast for her, for the puppy Wanta, and for everyone else, to give him a little surprise, while they were still sleeping. Shortly thereafter, they woke up and, after saying good morning, went to breakfast. When they realized that the breakfast had been prepared surprisingly by Yuka, Kouta and the others thanked her very much.

"imagine" he replied with a smile "it was a pleasure". Later, after Yuka brought Wanta food, Kouta and the others ate their breakfast with her, who had been waiting for them. Shortly after eating the first meal of the day, they all went to get their pajamas and put on their clothes. Some twenty minutes later, someone knocked on the door of their house. Kouta went to see who had knocked. After opening the door, Kouta said "hi Koichi".

"Hi Kouta" replied the boy, who then continued: "Can I come in to offer you something?"

"but of course, enter as well".

"Many thanks". The boy then stepped forward and after Kouta closed the door. Noticing Wanta near him, Koichi stroked him. He really liked animals. Then, along with Kouta, he entered the house. Waiting for them in the living room was Yuka, intrigued by who the person who knocked on the door was.

"Koichi" said Yuka smiling "what a surprise. What do we owe your visit to?"

"good morning Yuka. I came to offer you something".

"tell us well".

"to be honest, I wish there were also Mayu, Nana and Lucy, so I tell everyone of you".

"No problem, I'm going to call them," Kouta said.

"Thanks," the boy said.

"Do not mention it". That said, Kouta went to call Mayu first. He went to his room and said, "Mayu, there's Koichi."

"really?" the girl said.

"yes, he said he wants to offer us something and he would like you to be with us in the living room".

"OK, I'll be right there". Then Kouta went to call Nana. He passed her in a corridor.

"oh Nana" said Kouta "there is Koichi".

"really?".

"yes, he said he wants to offer us something and he would like us all to be present".

"I'm going to put on my cap and then I'll arrive, I don't want to risk".

"agreed," said Kouta. "I am going to call Lucy". And while Mayu and Nana went to greet the boy, Kouta went to call Lucy. She was also in her room. When Kouta was very close to Lucy's room, she heard the music of her music box coming from the room. When he entered, Kouta noticed that Lucy was sitting on the floor listening to the music. Kouta watched her smiling. After a few seconds Lucy, noticing Kouta, said "oh, Kouta sorry ... I didn't notice you".

"stay calm" Kouta replied "it doesn't matter" and approached her, who got up, all while the music box was still ringing.

"It's really a beautiful melody," said Lucy, picking up the music box.

"yes, it's really beautiful".

"I will always carry it in my heart, with me, together with you". Kouta softened, and put her hand on her left cheek. Lucy embraced him and Kouta did the same with her, with the music from the music box that broke the silence. Then they looked at each other, smiling.

"Koichi has arrived, come and say hello," Kouta told her.

"ok," Lucy replied. Later, he closed the music box and the music stopped. Then they went to the living room.

"Hi, Lucy," Koichi said.

"Good morning, Koichi," Lucy answered. Then the boy said, "well, now that you're all there, I can tell you my proposal." All the others were in full hearing. "since it is a beautiful day, I thought about taking a trip to Kamakura with you and Takeshi, staying out for a while, all together. What do you say?"

"Oh, it's a very good proposal," said Kouta "for me it would be fine". The others also agreed, especially Mayu. Koichi was very happy. Then the boy said: "I'm going to call Takeshi and then we'll meet again out here in not many minutes, okay?"

"Yes, that's fine," said Yuka

"ok, then later" and they said goodbye. Koichi went to call his friend Takeshi, while

Kouta and the others got ready. Nana was a little scared but she was encouraged by everyone, while Lucy wanted to have some confidence this time that the day could have gone rather well. While encouraging Nana, Yuka said to diclonius number seven: "Nana, I know, it is difficult, but we cannot always be inside the house, we must also go out. You'll see, everything will be fine".

"Take heart, my friend," said a smiling Mayu to Nana.

"... ok ...".

About twenty minutes later, Koichi returned with Takeshi, while Kouta and the others left the house. Mayu took his puppy. They saw the two boys right in front of the entrance gate, after which they began to walk all together, through the streets of the city of Kamakura, all morning. As they walked, they talked about various topics, particularly their hobbies and passions. They crossed various streets of the city, crossing many people.

"Have you ever been to Tokyo?" Takeshi asked Kouta, Mayu, Nana, Yuka and Lucy curiously.

"yes, but only me, Yuka and Lucy" Kouta replied.

"Blessed are you," Takeshi replied, "I would love not only to see her, but also to live there"

"really?" answered Yuka.

"yes, living in a big city has always been one of my biggest dreams, but that doesn't mean that you don't love my native city, Kamakura".

"I understand," said Kouta.

"He thinks we were there not long ago," said Lucy, "it's really a beautiful city, as well as a very big one."

"And what did you do there?"

"we went shopping" said Yuka "we bought some new clothes".

"I understand. Who knows if one day I will go to live ... perhaps in the company of someone very dear to me ... a friend, a friend or my future girlfriend ..." Takeshi said thoughtfully. Nana heard these words and became very thoughtful. Some regrets came to her for not coming to Tokyo with Kouta, Lucy and Yuka that day, so she could more easily join the discussion. Then Koichi said: "you know, I have often traveled around Japan with my family over the past few years, but I have never seen the capital of our country yet, I would like to see it one day". And they started talking about Koichi's travels. He had seen the cities of Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima. "They are all beautiful cities, I suggest you go and see them one day," Koichi told them.

"If we get the chance we'll go, it would be nice," Mayu told him.

"trust me" said Koichi "you will not regret. They are really beautiful places".

"maybe we can all go together to see one of these cities ..." Takeshi said.

"why not?" replied Kouta "would be a good idea". And they kept talking and talking; they were getting to know each other more and more. When it was 12:08, they began to feel hungry. In fact Yuka said looking at his wristwatch: "it's almost noon and ten minutes. I start getting hungry. You?"

"Me too," Takeshi said.

"me too" replied Kouta.

"I too start feeling hunger pangs," Nana replied

"And you? Are you hungry?" Yuka said to Lucy, Mayu and Koichi. They nodded. "ok" resumed Yuka "nearby there is a place that does very good dishes, let's go eat". And they went to the restaurant called Yuka, it took them ten minutes. Arrived, Mayu left his puppy Wanta out, as the animals could not enter, then Kouta and the others entered. They took a table of seven seats. They sat down and ordered food, still talking. Then they ate. During lunch, Mayu brought something to eat and water to Wanta. In total they stayed in the room for about an hour. When they asked for the bill, Takeshi and Koichi offered to pay them.

"We pay the two of us, there's no problem," said Takeshi.

"but not ..." said Kouta, who was then interrupted by Takeshi.

"We invited you, so it's right, don't worry," said Koichi smiling.

"are you really sure?" Yuka told him.

"I repeat, there are no problems," Takeshi told her.

"But next time we pay, okay?" Kouta told him.

"OK," the boys said. And so, Takeshi and Koichi went to pay.

"what good boys, they are very kind ..." Kouta said.

"You're right," Yuka told him.

After about a minute, the two boys returned to Kouta and the others. "here" said Takeshi "we paid, we can go". And all the others got up from the table and then, all of them left the room, and Mayu resumed his little dog. It was just after 1:10 pm. Kouta said, "Now where do we want to go?"

"would you like to go to the sea?" said Mayu. Everyone agreed. "ok" said Kouta "come on". And they started walking towards the Kamakura coast. Not long ago, they arrived on the city bridge and decided to cross it. When they were halfway across the bridge, they stopped and leaned against the railing, watching the sea.

"the sea is so beautiful ..." Lucy said.

"You're right, Lucy," Kouta said.

"What do you say" said Takeshi "do you feel like going to the beach? Right there" and pointed to a spot close enough to be seen without problems from the position where they were.

"It's fine with me," Koichi said.

"I agree too," said Mayu.

"and to you?" Takeshi said to Nana and the others. "we don't go very far, just to see the sea a little closer," Takeshi continued with a slight smile. Kouta and the others thought for a while, but then they were convinced.

"Okay, we'll come too," said Yuka. And they went to the point indicated by Takeshi. After crossing the bridge, they went to the beach. They arrived in a few minutes. At the beach, Lucy said to Kouta: "Would you like to take a few steps together? Just the two of us alone for a few minutes?"

"but of course," Kouta replied. And after warning the others, they broke away from the group, but they didn't go very far from the others. As they walked on the sand, Kouta and Lucy held hands, looked at each other and smiled at each other. Then they stopped and Lucy said looking at the sea: "not very far from here we met again after a few years ...".

"Yes, I remember that moment well," Kouta replied.

"At that moment, I was in a complete state of amnesia ..." Lucy said.

"already...". Silence for a few seconds between them. Then tears came to Lucy's eyes and she started to cry.

"What is Lucy? What's wrong?" Kouta told her worried.

"Kouta ... I ... I still ask you for forgiveness ... for what I did to you ...". Kouta hugged her and she responded by doing the same strongly. Kouta, as he embraced her, stroked her head.

"It's okay, I forgive you. Don't worry," Kouta told her, smiling. Lucy calmed down and looked at him.

"Kouta ... I love you. Thank you for all your love".

"Imagine. Don't worry, it's all right," he said, never losing his smile. "it's all OK".

"thank you thank you...". Lucy was moved by Kouta's tenderness towards her. Kouta had always been her only true friend, and Lucy, after all she had been through, didn't want to lose the person who gave her the most love. Meanwhile, while Kouta and Lucy were together, Koichi was with Mayu and they talked about animals, since they shared this passion. Wanta followed them.

"It's nice to have a friend like you, Mayu," Koichi said. Mayu blushed. "we have to hang out more often," the boy continued. Meanwhile, Yuka was talking with Nana who had sat on the sand, still quite thoughtful.

"Is something wrong, Nana?" Yuka told her.

"no, no ... all right," said Nana, but Yuka was not entirely convinced by his words. Takeshi, noting that Nana looked rather sad, asked her, "Nana, are you all right?" Nana didn't answer. "Do you want to take a few steps with me?" the boy continued. Nana looked at him, then said, "OK ..."

"ok, come on" and held out his hand. Nana took it gently. And together, they started taking steps on the sand, holding hands. As they walked, Takeshi said to her, "So Nana, what do you say? How are things?"

"pretty good ... thanks," Nana replied with a slight smile.

"I'm glad," replied the boy, who then continued: "do you want to talk about cooking?" Hearing these words, a big smile returned to Nana's face.

"yes! Yes! I love cooking!" And they talked about various dishes. Then, after a few minutes, Takeshi said to her: "you know Nana, I have never had friends before you ...".

"really?".

"already" Takeshi replied with a sad expression. Then he continued: "I have some friends, but friends before you ... not even the shadow ...".

"I'm sorry...".

"We need both friends and friends to make life even more beautiful, and I don't want to lose our friendship. Sai Nana ...".

"Yes?" Nana was all ears.

"I've never met someone who liked the kitchen so much, like me ... it's great to have a friend whose great passion is identical to mine ... let's go more often, okay?" Nana looked into his eyes, blushing. And smiling at him, he said, "but of course Takeshi ...". "well ... well," he said, shaking her hand. "now back to the others ok?"

"Yes, ok," Nana replied. And so they returned to the others, who had gathered. Then they walked for another few hours to the city, then when it was almost 5:00 pm, they decided to go home. Kouta and the others accompanied the boys to their home, and after greeting them, they returned home. As they walked to their house, Kouta said to the others: "Did you feel good today with Takeshi and Koichi?"

"yes," they replied.

"me too" replied Kouta. Then, a short time later, they arrived home.

CHAPTER 19

MAYU AND NANA IN LOVE

Arriving home, Kouta and the others were quite tired due to the long walks they had made with Takeshi and Koichi. When they entered the house, Kouta said to all of them: "So, have you all been well with our two friends?"

"yes" they replied.

"Well, I'm going to wash myself now. You can do the same thing."

"yes" said Yuka and the others. Then they went to prepare for washing. as they prepared, Kouta noticed that Nana and Mayu were rather upset, thoughtful. He thought about it for several minutes. But he was not the only one: even Yuka noticed this in them and she thought about it a lot.

Two hours passed. It was now dinner time. Mayu and Nana, while preparing dinner, talked a lot in private about their personal feelings; if Kouta, Lucy or Yuka had gone to the kitchen, they immediately changed the subject, so as not to risk being heard. And so it happened. The question they were talking about was too delicate. They didn't want to risk it. They also prepared dinner for the Wanta puppy and brought it to him. When dinner was ready, Lucy, Kouta, Yuka were already at the table. Mayu and Nana brought what they had prepared, and everyone began to eat. During dinner, Lucy said, "I was fine today, it was a beautiful day."

"it was for me too," said Yuka.

"well for me", added Kouta, who then added: "we should go out more often with Takeshi and Koichi, they are really two good guys".

"already" said Yuka "they also paid us for today's lunch ... we must return this favor to them one day ...".

"That moment will come, quiet," Kouta told her. Then he continued referring to Nana and Mayu: "Did you have a good day too?" They nodded yes, looking at him. Kouta noticed that Mayu and Nana had eaten very little; in fact, their dish still had a lot of food. "Aren't you hungry?" Kouta asked Mayu and Nana. At first, they didn't answer, then Nana said, "I ... no ... I'm not hungry ...".

"I didn't either ..." Mayu added.

"there is something wrong?" Lucy asked them.

"here ..." they replied. Nana and Mayu seemed very confused. Kouta and the others began to worry. What could keep them in that strange state?

"something troubles you?" Yuka asked them.

"no ... no ... nothing ..." they said.

"Don't tell lies," said Kouta, "you can see a lot of things that are bothering you. Courage, say what it is, maybe we can help you."

"Well ... here ..." said Mayu.

"you know," Kouta continued, "since we came home I see you rather strange. By chance, the matter is about Takeshi and Koichi?" Upon hearing these words, Nana and Mayu blushed and looked at the table, trying to divert their attention.

"I noticed too," said Yuka.

"Come on, friends," Lucy said, "what's bothering you? Come on, tell me. Let's talk about it, maybe we can help you." At this point, Nana and Mayu could no longer hold back, they were forced to say what they felt.

"OK ..." said Nana "we tell you". Mayu nodded; his gesture meant that she agreed with Nana. Then, Nana said, "we ... here ...".

"quiet, courage" said Lucy, Yuka and Kouta.

"I'm in love with Koichi," said Mayu with her eyes closed.

"and I'm in love with Takeshi," Nana said, closing her eyes. Then both, reopening their eyes, breathed with difficulty, panting. And tears came to both eyes. It was well known. Kouta, Yuka and Lucy smiled at Nana and Mayu at that scene and listened to those words, and they felt compassion and affection for them. Kouta, Lucy and Yuka got up from the table and went to hug them, which had started to cry.

"now everything is clear" said Kouta to Nana and Mayu smiling "quiet, peaceful".

"It's all right," said Yuka.

"Don't cry, friends," Lucy said.

"calm, calm" said Kouta to Nana and Mayu "now we all talk about it together, if you like". Mayu and Nana, with tears in their eyes, nodded. Kouta, Lucy and Yuka cleared the table, while Nana and Mayu sat, to calm down. After a few minutes, they finished clearing and then sat down to talk to Nana and Mayu.

"Love is a very strong emotion," said Kouta. "now I understand why you used to always change the subject in the kitchen. I understand you, friends," Kouta continued, smiling at them.

"How long have you had this strong emotion for them two? From today or a few days?" asked Lucy.

"We have this emotion for Takeshi and Koichi from today, precisely since we were on the beach," replied Mayu and Nana.

"What made you love Takeshi and Koichi?" Yuka asked them.

"to me when Koichi told me that it's nice to have a friend like you" said Mayu.

"And to you, Nana?" they asked the diclonius.

"you see ..." said Nana, "the thing that made my love for Takeshi burst, was when he told me that he never met anyone before me who liked cooking so much like him ... He also told me that he didn't have any friends before me, he doesn't want to lose the friendship between me and him and between all of us, and he added frequent us ... he also gave me his hand ... in short, from this situation made me love for him ... ". Suddenly, Nana began to tremble. They all noticed it. Then at diclonius number seven, tears came to the eyes.

"Nana, what's the matter with you?" they asked worriedly. Later, Nana put her hands over her face and covered it. Suspecting that it was just love, Yuka told her: "quiet, quiet. Love is a normal thing ...". But it wasn't like that. In fact Nana said all crying: "it is not for this ...".

"and for what?" everyone asked.

"Takeshi is a friend of mine, of all of us ... but he doesn't know ... my true identity ..." Nana said, pointing to his horns. "What will happen if he sees me as I really am?" Nana said, screaming and with her eyes closed. In fact, in the presence of Takeshi and Koichi, Nana always wore a hat or cap to cover her horns. Kouta and the others understood. It was impossible not to understand. Everyone went to hug her and caress her, while she continued to cry, trying to console her and calm her, but she was anything but simple. The situation was very delicate and the future very questionable. For Kouta, Yuka and Mayu all they had to do was wait for something important to happen for Nana and also for Lucy.

After a few minutes, Nana managed to calm down, albeit with great difficulty. Then he said: "thank you for your love. Really thank you. Now I would just like to go to sleep".

"Me too," said Mayu. They both looked decimated by love for Takeshi and Koichi. As they went to get ready for the night, Kouta with Yuka and Lucy next, said, "I understand them. Now they just need to rest."

"You're right," said Lucy and Yuka. They went to sleep almost an hour later than Nana and Mayu.

CHAPTER 20

THE MEETING WITH MIYU

If for Lucy, Kouta and Yuka that was a rather quiet night, the same could not be said for Mayu and Nana. In fact, it took them so long to fall asleep; struck by love for Takeshi and Koichi, Mayu and Nana, they turned and turned in bed during the night. But not only: in fact, for not a little, they cried and cried silently, so as not to be heard. Mayu fell asleep three hours after going to bed, cried for about half an hour; he managed to calm himself, but it wasn't easy to fall asleep. For Nana the situation was not very similar: for the diclonius, in fact, besides being struck by love, she was very tormented by having to reveal her true appearance to Takeshi, the boy she was very much in love with. Compared to Mayu, Nana cried more, also worried about herself, as well as revealing her true appearance to the boy. The diclonius fell asleep four hours after going to bed. Falling asleep for her was a business. That night, for the poor Mayu and Nana, it was the most terrible that they spent in their whole life.

The next morning, around 08:00, Lucy woke up first, then woke Yuka and then Kouta and together they prepared breakfast for them and for Nana and Mayu, who slept a little longer. While they were preparing breakfast, Lucy asked Kouta and Yuka: "I'm very sorry for Nana and Mayu, yesterday they made me very tender ...".

"love is a normal thing, Lucy" Yuka told her "you'll see that everything will be fine".

"I hope so," replied the diclonius.

"What do you think, Kouta?" Yuka asked him.

"I believe that" Kouta replied "we must always stay close to them, always, at all times. They have had a dramatic past, they will never have to feel alone".

"You're right," Lucy said. Later, they brought breakfast to the table, including that for Nana and Mayu, who arrived shortly after. They were very hungry. It was normal, the previous dinner had hardly eaten for nothing.

"I'm very hungry ..." Nana said.

"I too ..." added Mayu.

"Come, we have prepared breakfast for you too," Yuka told them. Nana and Mayu ate it a little fast; hunger pangs felt a lot. When they had finished eating, the others still had to finish breakfast. They apologized for eating quickly, but Kouta, Lucy and Yuka said, "rest assured, do nothing". Nana and Mayu looked sleepy, they slept badly. After all, everyone else was aware that Nana and Mayu would spend a horrible night. It was therefore impossible not to understand them at that time.

"I ... I don't think I slept ... so badly in my life ..." said Mayu very sleepily.

"you're not alone ..." Nana said with a slight smile. They looked at each other and smiled at each other with half-closed eyes.

"I'm sorry you had a bad night ..." Lucy told them.

"It's the effects of love ..." said Mayu.

"Already, unfortunately they are not weak ..." Kouta said.

"and to think that the symptoms could be many ..." said Yuka.

"... will you tell me one ... please ...? What else ... can we try?" Nana said.

"Well, to be honest, if it's a very strong love, you can sweat cold, throw up and feel sick".

"You say ... really ... I didn't know ..." Nana said.

"Yes," Yuka replied "or the hunger disappears for a while".

"... as happened to us ..." said Mayu.

"already" said Yuka. Later, Nana yawned. Then the diclonius said: "Mamma mia ... what a sleep I have ...".

"Go back to sleep a little more, you'd do better," Kouta told them.

"... maybe you're right ..." said Mayu "can we get up?"

"Yes, certainly," said Yuka.

"... thank you," they replied. And they went back to their room to rest a little longer. Lucy cleared the table, helping Kouta and Yuka. Nana and Mayu fell asleep almost immediately and slept for about two hours. When they woke up, they felt a little better, but they were still rather dazed. They dressed and went to eat something again, since they were still a little hungry. When Kouta and Lucy told them how they were, they replied with a smile: "Better, thanks". But it seemed that the effects of love were only these for Nana and Mayu; it was not so. In fact, during the day, Nana vomited twice, thinking of both Takeshi and being forced to show him his true appearance one day, while Mayu had his heart rate increased several times, thinking of Koichi. They were very much in love and even the next night they fell asleep with no small effort. Later in the day, noting the behavior of Mayu and Nana, Lucy, Yuka and Kouta began to worry. At night, when Nana and Mayu slept, the three of them were still awake.

"What can we do? I start to get really worried ..." Yuka said.

"They are really in love," Lucy said, "I didn't think they had these behaviors."

"even if they have these symptoms tomorrow, I will have a doctor called from the nearest hospital."

"I think it's a good idea," said Yuka.

"Poor Nana and Mayu ..." Lucy said.

"quiet Lucy, everything will be fine" said Yuka "now let's go to bed too".

The following day, for Nana and Mayu it was not very different from the previous one; in fact, they still showed quite worrying symptoms. So Kouta, around three in the afternoon, walked towards the hospital closest to them. Arrived, he talked to a hospital doctor about Mayu and Nana and returned home with him, who visited both the girl and the diclonius. Nana obviously had a hat on her head to hide her horns. She was told to wear it because a doctor would come. The doctor had brought a briefcase, containing tools to visit them. After visiting them, the doctor told Kouta and Yuka that for a few days, Nana and Mayu would have to eat only light stuff, drink a lot and rest so much. He also left them a can of specific drugs that Nana and Mayu should have taken at least twice a day if the symptoms could be so strong again.

"thank you very much" said Yuka and Kouta to the doctor, while Lucy was with Nana and Mayu.

"Imagine".

"I take her back to the hospital," Kouta told him.

"I thank you, boy," said the doctor. Yuka joined Lucy, while Kouta and the doctor left the house. Kouta drove the doctor back to the hospital. When they arrived at the hospital they said goodbye, shaking hands. The doctor entered the hospital, while Kouta started back home. As he walked, the boy thought, saying in his mind: "I hope Nana and Mayu are better, I wouldn't want things to get worse". When he was not far from home, he was at a point where the sea could be seen in the distance. He paused for a few seconds to observe it from afar.

"the sea is so beautiful ..." he said in his mind. And he started walking towards home, still looking at the sea for a few moments, and just as he turned his eyes to the street, he went and bumped someone, someone who was running and, after bumping into Kouta, fell down the street, losing his balance. He even ended up behind Kouta as he ran.

"I'm so sorry ..." Kouta said to that person. He turned and saw that that someone was a child, rising slowly. It was Miyu.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I was distracted," Kouta told her. Miyu was out of breath, he had been running for quite a while.

"it ... does ... nothing ..." Miyu said, leaning over and putting his hands on his legs to catch his breath.

"You were hurrying somewhere ..." Kouta told her.

"No ... actually ... I was running away ..." As far as he was concerned, the number fortythree diclonius could not calm his breath.

"running away? And by whom?" Kouta told her, quite surprised. Miyu could not speak out of breath, to the point that, being very tired, he put his knees on the ground, still breathing heavily. At this point Kouta said to her: "wait". And he picked her up and carried her home.

CHAPTER 21

MIYU'S TALE

Kouta, with little MIyu in her arms, ran towards the house, to avoid something bad happening to the child; it took about eight minutes to get home. When he arrived home with Miyu in his arms, Kouta, out of breath, let Miyu get back on his feet, opened the gate, entered and immediately Kouta closed it again. Then, Kouta leaned against the wall to calm his breath, he was very sweaty and tired. Miyu, meanwhile, watched everything around her. Then, Kouta said to her, "you're safe now ...".

"Thanks," the girl replied.

"imagine. Now let's go in". Mayu's puppy, Wanta was sleeping in his bed, Miyu didn't see it. And so, Kouta and Miyu entered the house. In the entrance hall there was Yuka, waiting for Kouta.

"oh, you came back Kouta. Because you took so long ..." Yuka was interrupted from seeing little Miyu, who had stepped forward after Kouta.

"And who is that child?" Yuka told him.

"now I explain everything, calm".

"as you want".

Kouta and Yuka sat down; the boy subsequently invited Miyu to sit down, and so did the little girl, who showed a little shyness.

"quiet, it's ok," Kouta said to the little diclonius. Then the boy said to Yuka: "after having accompanied the doctor to the hospital, I was returning home and to a point where we could see the sea in the distance, I stopped to observe it for a few seconds, then I accidentally hit this child".

"why?" said Yuka.

"well" replied Kouta "to tell the truth I was distracted at that moment, I had not realized that he was running ...".

"running? And for what reason?"

"she told me she was running away from something, but she was very tired, so much that she couldn't talk ... I couldn't leave her there and that she risked something big".

"I understand," Yuka said to Kouta. "Were you really running away from something?"

Yuka said curiously to the little diclonius. The girl nodded yes. Then Yuka said to her, "What's your name, baby?"

"Miyu ..." the little girl said very timidly.

"Okay, Miyu, I'm Kouta," Kouta said.

"And my name is Yuka," Yuka told her.

"nice to meet you," Miyu told them.

"Can you tell us, please, what were you running away from?" Kouta told her.

Miyu said in a low voice: "OK ..." She seemed very intimidated.

"do not worry, nothing will happen to you", Kouta said to her, "start well". And Miyu started talking, calmly and facing shyness.

"I ... as I told you before, my name is Miyu and I was running away from some men who wanted to capture me ...".

"to catch?" said Yuka "who are those men? and where did they want to take you?"

"they are men of the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE".

"diclonius research institute? And what would it be?" Kouta told her.

"that's where I come from." Kouta and Yuka remained rather strange. "What would it be like?" they asked Miyu.

"I grew up there".

"but really?" said Yuka and Kouta.

"yes" answered Miyu.

"and where is it?" they asked her.

"off the coast of Kamakura, so they told me" replied the girl, who then continued: "you know, since my birth until today I had never seen the outside world, not even for a day". Kouta and Yuka were surprised. How was such a thing possible?

"But ... why didn't you ever get out of there?" Yuka asked her.

"I don't know exactly, this question you have to ask the people who are there ... sorry ...".

"quiet, you don't have to apologize ... if you don't know, it doesn't matter," Yuka told her.

"Ok ...".

"And what were you doing there, in that lab?" Kouta asked her.

"I ..." and tears came to her eyes. Kouta and Yuka noticed it. "No, no, don't do that, Miyu, it's all right," they told her. Then the little diclonius said: "sorry ... it's that I've suffered a lot ... a lot ..."

"really?" said Yuka. Kouta later said, "why? What did they do to you?"

"of experiments ...". Upon hearing these words, Kouta and Yuka were again amazed. Then Kouta said to the little diclonius: "why did they experiment you?" Miyu, with tears in his eyes, said to him: "because I am a diclonius, those people told me long ago". Kouta and Yuka were quite confused, they had never heard the word "diclonius", they didn't know what it meant.

"Diclonius?" said Yuka "what would it be like?"

"What do you mean?" Kouta said curiously. Meanwhile, Miyu slowly calmed down; before it was about to start crying. Only the tenderness of Yuka and Kouta stopped her from tears.

"at the laboratory they told me that I am not a human like the others" continued the little diclonius "in fact, I have particularity".

"and what would they be?" Kouta and Yuka asked.

"one of these are these" and he pointed with his forefingers to the bows on his head. Miyu, like Kinuko, had not lost the flakes that covered his horns during the fight with Ayaka.

"those flakes? I can't see anything wrong ..." Yuka said. But Miyu took the bows and untied them; the ribbons came off and the horns of the little diclonius were seen. On seeing the horns of Miyu, Kouta and Yuka were surprised, most of the time just before and got up from the chairs and took a step back.

"but ... but ..." Kouta said.

"this is impossible ..." Yuka said.

"And that's not all," said Miyu. And the girl, with one of her vectors, lifted a chair. Kouta and Yuka didn't know what to say, they were completely surprised. The child, leaning the chair on the floor, said: "accept me as I am ... please ...". Kouta and Yuka were still quite shocked to see something like this again after they had seen her with Nana and Lucy some time before, but they managed to find the smile back at the child and told her: "stay calm" and sit down again .

"Kouta ... Miyu is like them ...". Kouta nodded, while Miyu looked at them rather strangely.

"Mamma mia ... you're like them ..." Kouta said.

"them who?" said Miyu.

"Lucy and Nana ...". Miyu became suspicious. Then he remembered what Takeshi had said: "my only friends are Yuka, Mayu, Nana and Lucy". At that moment, Lucy came right up and said, smiling, "I heard a new voice. Who do we have at home?" And he saw Kouta and Yuka with little Miyu. On seeing Miyu's horns, Lucy said with a little surprise: "but ... that child has ...".

"We can explain everything to you, Lucy," said Kouta. Upon hearing the name Lucy and remembering what Kinuko had told her, Miyu shuddered and released her four powerful vectors to be ready to defend herself.

"I know who you are!" Miyu told Lucy "you're a bloodthirsty monster! Stay away!" Lucy freed her vectors. The clash seemed inevitable; but Yuka tried to restore calm and said to the little diclonius: "no Miyu! It's not like you think! Lucy is no longer the same as before!" Miyu was surprised.

"what would it be like?"

"Lucy has changed, it's not the same as before," Kouta said.

"it's true?".

"Yes, I understood my mistakes and I regret what I did, really," Lucy said. Miyu withdrew his carriers, realizing that there was no danger, also because if there had been, at that moment they would all be dead. Lucy also withdrew her vectors. The situation returned to normal. Make it clear, everyone sat down, then Lucy said to Miyu: "How did you know my name?"

"Kinuko told me."

"who is Kinuko? A diclonius like you?" asked Yuka.

"yes, she and I were commissioned to kill Ayaka".

"and who is Ayaka?" asked Kouta.

"Ayaka is also a diclonius, who managed to escape from the laboratory and Kinuko and I were commissioned to kill her."

"why?".

"because they told us that it is bad and dangerous, but it is not so. When we found it, it was in the company of a little girl named Aiko. They love each other very much, to the point that Aiko considers Ayaka his older sister. But we we had to obey our orders, so we went on the attack and we faced Ayaka but she defeated us, because she is very strong ... ". He also told of the Kinuko affair that struck Aiko because at the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE they had put explosives in Kinuko and threatened the diclonius to blow it up if he disobeyed orders.

"What a sad story ..." Lucy said.

Miyu then continued his story. He said that then they clarified with Ayaka and Aiko and then they said goodbye. Later he said they met a boy named Takeshi.

"Takeshi?" said Yuka "can you describe it?"

"Miyu described it and the description corresponded to everything.

"Did you and Kinuko make friends with Takeshi? He is also our friend, you know?" said Kouta.

"really?".

"Yes".

"And then what happened?" said Lucy.

"After we said goodbye, Kinuko and I ended up in a fairly isolated place and there we had a fight with men from the laboratory, who ..." and tears came to her eyes again.

"What happened Miyu?" the others asked her.

"they captured Kinuko ..." and cried. Crying, he continued: "I managed to escape, while ... poor Kinuko ... has returned to that ugly place ...". Miyu was very fond of Kinuko, it was very noticeable. Kouta and the others embraced the little diclonius. "Can I stay with you for now? Please ..."

"Of course, of course you can stay with us," said Yuka.

"Thank you ..." answered the little diclonius. Subsequently, Mayu and Nana arrived; after sleeping a few minutes, they were a little better and they too were dumbfounded when they saw Miyu's horns but then, Kouta, Yuka and Lucy explained everything. and MIyu also told them all.

CHAPTER 22

AN UNEXPECTED CHANGE

After clearing up well with Mayu and Nana, the little diclonius Miyu, he explained everything that had happened to them, too.

"damn, what a story," said Nana.

"already" said Mayu. Then little Miyu started to cry. Mayu said to her, "No, Miyu, don't cry ...".

"why are you crying?" asked Lucy.

"I apologize ... is that ...". Silence for a few seconds

"come on," Kouta said with a smile.

"is that ... I can only think of Kinuko ... they brought her back there and will suffer other tortures ...". And he burst into tears. Little Miyu had grown very fond of Kinuko, despite having spent not much time with her.

"We understand you, Miyu," said Yuka, putting her hand on the right shoulder of the little diclonius, while she continued to cry, covering her face with her hands. Then Miyu embraced Yuka.

"Kinuko! P... poor Kinuko!" Yuka was very much struck by her embrace, and she replied to the little diclonius doing the same. While yuka hugged Miyu, he caressed her on the head, as if she were his mother. Miyu really liked the caresses on his head and thanks to this gesture, he slowly calmed down. All those present were struck by that very beautiful scene to behold. Then, Kouta said to little Miyu: "you will see that we will find a solution". Miyu looked at him and nodded. Not long after, dinner time was near. Kouta and Yuka set the table, Lucy showed Miyu the whole house. Before preparing dinner with Nana, in the company of Lucy, Mayu showed the little diclonius her Wanta puppy. Miyu liked Miyu's little dog very much, he was the first dog he saw in his life and immediately showed great sympathy for dogs; even Wanta liked Miyu so much. Later,

Mayu went into the kitchen to prepare dinner with Nana. miy

"where is Mayu going?" asked Miyu to Lucy.

"He's going to make dinner with Nana, we'll eat soon," Lucy said to the little diclonius.

"what do we eat?"

"Let's go ask them," Lucy replied with a smile. And they went to the kitchen. Nana and Mayu were cooking.

"Do you see Miyu? They are preparing us to eat," Lucy told her, who then turned to

Nana and Mayu and said, "What do you prepare food for us tonight?"

"oh, very exquisite stuff!"

"did you hear Miyu? We'll eat very good stuff soon," Lucy told Miyu. The little diclonius nodded. About twenty minutes later, dinner was ready. Everyone was at the table. They began to eat, but Miyu looked at his plate and chopsticks, doing nothing. Yuka asked her, "Is something wrong, Miyu?"

"is that I ... I don't know how I do ... what are these?" pointing to the chopsticks. In fact,

Miyu didn't know how to eat. At the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE the

scientists gave her food to eat specifically, through the infusions; the same thing they did for every diclonius. And so, Miyu told this fact. Subsequently, Nana quickly taught the little diclonius how to eat with chopsticks, but being the first time that Miyu tried this, the results were a bit poor. So Nana said, "don't worry Miyu, it's normal; you've never done it. I'll help you", and take the little diclonius. They finished dinner after just over half an hour. Then Miyu wanted to go to sleep, she was very tired. They chose a room for her, they all arranged it and made her the bed. Then, when the little diclonius lay down on the bed, he said to everyone: "thank you for welcoming me ... thank you very much ...".

"Imagine Miyu. Sleep well," they said with a smile. They turned off the light and closed the bedroom door. Miyu fell asleep soon after. Not long after, the others went to sleep. The next day, Miyu was the last to wake up, in fact she slept many hours. After having breakfast, Miyu wanted to go out, to continue to see the outside world.

"for me there are no problems" said Yuka "but it is better that you cover your horns with a cap". Miyu nodded. All together they decided that it was Kouta who went with Miyu; the boy agreed. And so, Kouta and Miyu went out. Kouta took her to a playground, the same one where Aiko and Ayaka had gone. There was no one at that time in the playground, so little Miyu could have everything available for herself. Miyu had so much fun that morning, he tried the whole playground, from the slide to the swing. Kouta watched her sitting on a bench, very smiling. Then Miyu went to the swing, sat down and Kouta came to push her.

"How nice! How nice!" the little girl screamed while she was on the swing, with Kouta pushing her. They stayed at the playground for about an hour and a half, then took a walk and finally returned home in time for lunch. After eating, they all played together most of the afternoon. Miyu was very happy with Kouta and the others, they were giving her a lot of love, but a different love from what the little diclonius felt at the laboratory by scientists.

Meanwhile, at DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, after Kakuzawa took the

analysis of the artificial diclonius under the name of Ludme, he analyzed them for the following hours in his office. As it turned out, Ludme was almost 100% completed; laboratory technology, combined with genetic engineering, had borne fruit. Not only: the artificial diclonius was very similar to Lucy, both for the number of vectors and for the physical body. In order for Ludme to open his eyes for the first time, however, he had to wait a few more days; the project was completed as regards the physical state. For the rest it was still necessary to wait, but not much. However, Kakuzawa was not an impatient person, he knew how to wait. The next day, late in the morning, Kakuzawa continued to study Ludme's analyzes when they knocked on his office door.

"forward". To enter was Sosuke.

"director, the scientist Akemi wants to see her, concerns the diclonius thirty-six and thirty-seven".

"where can I find the scientist Akemi?"

"in front of their cabin, he is waiting for her". Kakuzawa got up from his chair and went to the diclonius booths number thirty-six and thirty-seven to talk to Akemi. The scientist Akemi was thirty-two years old, one of the best and most experienced of the whole laboratory and was among the people who had worked the most with the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE. He knew diclonius and their nature very well, since he studied them very closely. When Kakuzawa joined her, the manager said to her, "Do you have to tell me something?"

"he is director" and showed Kakuzawa the results of the last tests on diclonius number thirty-six and thirty-seven, depicted on sheets that Akemi held in his hand. The director examined himself.

"I have just received these results now, what do you think?"

"I think they are sufficient for this level".

"what it means?".

"you begin to do harder tests on those diclonius".

"Sir?".

"you heard me very well, we need to know more about their experiments".

"but sir, not ...".

"Start now," the director told Akemi, and he returned to his office. Akemi was rather shocked by the words of the director. But all he could do was execute orders. Thus, in the following hours, tests on the diclonius number thirty-six and thirty-seven were increased in level, were much more painful. Akemi watched those diclonius with feelings that not only had he not tried, but not even thought of, not long ago. After the first very painful tests for those diclonius, she returned to her office with the first results; the effects were devastating: the diclonius number thirty-six and thirty-seven were already dying due to the excessive use of the tests on them. In Kakuzawa, later, other laboratory scientists brought the results of the last tests on other diclonius of the structure, and for most of those diclonius, he ordered the scientists to increase the level of the tests. Akemi was one of the first to hear about it, his reaction within himself was with a good deal of contempt.

A few days passed. Many diclonius in the laboratory tests and experiments were greatly increased. They screamed and cried with pain as never before in their lives. No one among the laboratory scientists felt sorry or sorry for all those diclonius. No one but Akemi. Akemi, in fact, had been feeling new feelings several times for a few days, feelings of pity for the diclonius. Furthermore, now that director Kakuzawa had increased the levels of six tests on them, Akemi's feelings of pity for the diclonius increased more and more. Noticing the diclonius getting more and more agitated in their machines and hearing their increasingly harrowing screams and watching them cry in pain, Akemi found it increasingly difficult to concentrate on her work. Five days after Kakuzawa ordered to increase the tests and experiments, a very predictable thing happened according to the scientist Akemi: the number of diclonius thirty-six and thirtyseven gave way, too many tests and experiments of excessive level made them die. On the computer connected to their machine, in fact, there was written: "THE SUBJECT IS DECEADED". Akemi was shocked. The diclonius number thirty-six and thirty-seven were the first diclonius to die in the history of the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE.

"enough" the scientist Akemi said within herself "that's enough. You can't go on like this".

CHAPTER 23

AKEMI, THE REBEL SCIENTIST

Akemi, after what had happened to the diclonius number thirty-six and thirty-seven, went to the director's office. Arrived, he knocked. No reply. He tried again, still nothing. He hypothesized that Kakuzawa was not there. To a scientist who passed by, Akemi asked where the director was. The scientist replied that Kakuzawa had been away for a while, he was talking to Arakawa, in the scientist's office.

"When can I find him here in his office?" Akemi asked the scientist.

"I can't tell him, he told me that maybe in a couple of hours".

"OK thanks". And the scientist turned away from her. Akemi remained alone in that corridor; he started to return to his office, still very shocked by what happened to the diclonius number thirty-six and thirty-seven. While returning to his office, he thought back to all the experimental tortures that the diclonius suffered, he thought of their screams, their tears and their pain, feeling more and more pity and compassion for them. He passed in the same corridor where the door of the director's private room was. He stopped in front of it and said in his mind: "this is Kakuzawa's room ... who knows what's in there ...". He looked around, there was no one. Driven by curiosity, Akemi wanted to try to open the door, but before he stretched his arm toward the door handle, he noticed a camera. Being unable to do anything, he returned to his office. When he entered, he closed the door and closed his eyes, thinking back to the cruelty that the director Kakuzawa had decided on the diclonius, together with the fact that he thought of compassion for them, for all of them. He kept his eyes closed for a few seconds, then opened them again and said in his mind: "What will the manager hide in there? I have to find out." He sat at his desk and stood at the computer for about ten minutes. Then he got up and took two paper clips, a sheet, and a pen from his desk; "they can be useful," he thought, and he put everything in the pockets of his coat. Subsequently, Akemi headed for the director's private room. Before going into the corridor where Kakuzawa's room was, he looked around. There was no one. Fortunately for her, few people a day passed in that corridor. He looked at the ceiling, there was the surveillance camera, which rotated slowly. Then at some point he stopped. She smiled and moved toward the manager's room. At the computer, in his office, just before, in fact, he infiltrated the control panel of the laboratory and managed to deactivate the surveillance camera for thirty minutes. At the door of Kakuzawa's private room, at this point the scientist Akemi took out the clips from her pocket and with them tried to open the door of the director's private room. As he tried, Akemi said in his mind: "What do you keep in there manager?" He worked on it for about a minute, sweating too. But in the end Akemi managed to open the door with his two clasps. Very quickly, he entered the room, to avoid being discovered by someone. Entering, she looked at the room for a few seconds, starting with the bookcase. He looked at a few books, then walked to the room desk. On it, there was supported the folder of the .D. project, the very secret topic of Kakuzawa.

" .D. project? But what is it about?" Akemi said in his mind, taking the folder with both hands. And opened the folder. The first page showed something that when Akemi read it, it remained very strange. For .D. project, in fact, he was going for "New HUmans Diclonius project".

"What does this story mean? Where do you want to go, Director Kakuzawa?" the scientist Akemi said in a low voice, and began to leaf through it, reading something on various pages, for about a minute. As she read, Akemi was astonished. He couldn't believe what he was reading.

"no ... it can't be ...". She put the folder on the desk and took out the sheet and pen and wrote as many notes as possible. While writing, he often noticed his wristwatch, to check how much he missed the reactivation of the camera that he had been able to deactivate.

"Kakuzawa ... you're just a fool ... you can't do this ..." the scientist said in her mind as she continued to write. When it was only three minutes before the camera was reactivated, Akemi stopped writing, put the paper in the pocket of his coat, put the folder back as best as possible to how he had found it, but unfortunately, taken away from running to avoid being taken back by the cameras, he didn't concentrate much, so he didn't put the folder back very well. Then he slowly opened the door to see if anyone was there and even in this case he was very lucky, there was no one. He closed the door and headed for his office. Entered, she sat at her desk and, at her computer, analyzed the status of all the diclonius to which the level of tests and experiments had been increased. He analyzed them one by one, for about three hours. He saved the data of all those diclonius and more on his USB stick. Later, he took out the paper on which he had taken notes and wrote everything he had written on the paper on the computer. Then he saved the contents on his USB stick and tore the sheet into many pieces. Then, looking at the state of the diclonius, thinking also about what he had read, he said in a low voice: "we must stop this madness". Later, he thought about how to act; he had to reveal what he had read to someone important, so he initially thought of escaping from the lab to do this, but then he thought what might happen to her if it were discovered. "Calm down, let's think, let's think calmly," he said softly. He had to find a way to say what he had read without being discovered. It reflected.

Meanwhile, Kakuzawa finished talking to the Arakawa scientist and went to her office. As he went, he went into the corridor where his private room was. decided to enter it for a moment. He took the key and inserted it in the lock, but could not turn it. In fact, the door was not locked.

"what a strange thing ..." the manager said in his mind "it seemed to me that before I had locked this door ...". Strange, he entered his private room, everything seemed in order, except for the folder on his desk, he could see some papers coming out, though not by much. He looked at the increasingly odd folder. He stayed there for a few minutes, then went to his office, but just as he was about to leave, he stepped on something with his right shoe. He looked and it was a clip, a clip with a strange shape.

"What the hell ..." Kakuzawa said. The door that was not locked, the folder that was not very in place and finally the clip. At this point Kakuzawa had no doubts, someone had managed to enter his room. He put the clip in his pocket, locked the door of his room and held a surprise meeting. All the scientists of the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE were summoned to the conference room. When the meeting began, Kakuzawa said, "I think you all wonder why I called you by surprise now." Silence for a few seconds, then Kakuzawa continued to talk: "someone sneaked into my private room, I don't know why and I don't know when." Absolute silence fell among the scientists. Akemi, hearing these last words, fell into terror. Kakuzawa understood that she had been in his room, what would have happened if Kakuzawa or someone else had discovered that it was her?

"my door was closed it was not locked when I returned to the room, as you well know I always lock it before going somewhere else. I noticed that one of my documents on my desk was not positioned as the I had positioned before I went to the scientist Arakawa and besides, I found a clip with a strange shape "and showed it to the scientists. Akemi realized that in the hurry to get out of the room, he had not positioned his briefcase on the slide properly. As for the clip, he made a series of arguments and finally managed to find the solution: he had put the clip in the same pocket where the sheet was and in pulling it out, the clip must have slipped out of his pocket. "damn it!" he shouted in his mind.

"dear gentlemen" said Kakuzawa "each of you could be that person, only Arakawa cannot be that person, since he was with me. I want that person to be found immediately, that the researches begin immediately. You can go", and this time, the director was the first to leave the conference room. Thus began the search for the suspect. Akemi, at this point he had to hurry to find a solution to reveal to someone important what he had read. For the moment, he discarded the escape from the laboratory, so he could not have had any hope of achieving his goal; if he had done so, the cameras would have taken it up and Kakuzawa would have ordered his search immediately.

Kakuzawa could not count on the camera in the corridor, he discovered that it had been deactivated for thirty minutes. Thus, he decided to play a very particular card; he ordered the laboratory's special team to have all the scientists' offices searched, to see if anything more could be found, some object or something suspicious. Akemi's was among the last to be searched. When it came time to search his office, Akemi was not in it, he was analyzing the experiments on diclonius number thirty-eight and thirty-nine in their cabins, first in one and then in the other. Two soldiers from the laboratory's special team began to search Akemi's office. They found nothing in particular, other than pieces of paper in the bin.

"Do you say these bits of paper can say something important if put together in the right place?" one of the two soldiers said to the other.

"we have the order to search everything, take them to the director's office, you never know. I continue to check the office".

"all right". And after taking all the pieces of paper, the special squad member put them in a plastic bag and went to Kakuzawa's office. Arrived, the soldier knocked and after hearing the word "forward", he entered.

"Director, in the office of the scientist Akemi, we have found nothing except these little pieces of paper," he said, showing Kakuzawa the envelope containing the pieces.

"show them to me". The soldier gave him the envelope and the lab manager took out the pieces of paper.

"I wonder if it will come out if we can combine them ..." said the director "could you help me?"

"but certainly," said the soldier. And they tried to combine them. It was very difficult, but in the end, after a few minutes, they managed to combine a few pieces.

"here, something is coming out ... let's continue," said the soldier. Finally, after an hour, they managed to combine many pieces of paper. Then the manager told the soldier he could return to his job and left the office. Looking at the combined pieces of paper, Kakuzawa was able to recognize the writing, it was Akemi's. Also, from what they could read, the director hypothesized that Akemi had opened the .D. Project folder; thinking about the fact that the folder on the desk was in a different position, everything connected.

"now there are no more doubts, it was the scientist Akemi". He then summoned the entire special team and told the members to stop searching the offices. Then he called Aritomo and ordered him to bring Akemi to his office, also saying that he had proof that she had entered his private room.

"As you wish, director," replied Aritomo. And he went to Akemi's office. The scientist, meanwhile, was in her office carrying out analyzes on diclonius. She could not concentrate well after what she had read in the director's secret folder and after the surprise meeting. Finally she decided to play the escape card; she took his USB stick, put it in the right pocket of his coat and headed for the exit of the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE. As she walked toward the exit, Aritomo crossed it.

"Good evening, Akemi. Where are you going?"

"why?" replied the scientist.

"the director wants to see you". Akemi turned pale.

"why?"

"in Kakuzawa's office now". Aritomo said taking the left arm of Akemi, forcing her to walk with him in the director's office.

"but why?".

"Simple, you came into his room, he discovered it through pieces of paper, so he told me." Discovered, Akemi could only go on the attack in order to escape from the laboratory. With his right arm, he punched Aritomo in the face, who fell to the ground, bleeding as well. Akemi ran to the lab exit. Aritomo shouted: "STOP AKEMI! STOP!" The scientists near him chased her. As Akemi approached the exit, he had more and more pursuers. In the end, Akemi managed to reach the exit of the laboratory, with many scientists behind. She left the laboratory and headed for the cliff, where there was a small anchored boat. Akemi, having reached the cliff, struggled over the rocks and reached the boat. Some scientists who were pursuing her also followed her on the rocks, also struggling to keep up with her; others instead went to call the special team, to have reinforcements, armed for more. Akemi got into the small boat and started the engine; while the anchor was rising, a scientist was about to get on the boat. Akemi, very fast, punched him, stunning him and managed not to let him get on board. Then Akemi, having lifted the anchor, was ready to leave the island. Meanwhile, two soldiers of the special team arrived on the cliff. While the boat was moving towards the open sea, the soldiers took their guns and fired. Some bullets hit the small boat, others failed. But it was all useless, the boat, with the passing of the seconds it took more and more speed.

Akemi remained unharmed. Able to escape from the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, Akemi, with his USB key containing very secret arguments, boarded the small boat on his way to the coast of Kamakura.

"I have to make sure that the director doesn't realize what I read before," Akemi said in his mind "and I want the diclonius not to be tortured anymore. That's why I made one run away, I made that, with a specific virus, the machinery of that diclonius was deactivated, and I chose the diclonius number forty-four Ayaka ".

CHAPTER 24

THE AWAKENING OF LUDME

It was around 10:00 pm when Akemi reached the coast of the city of Kamakura. Across the beach, Akemi immediately left the small boat, crossed the beach and looked for a solution. Meanwhile, at the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, three scientists who followed Akemi to the lab, told director Kakuzawa that Akemi had managed to escape from the laboratory.

"excuse us director, but we couldn't stop it".

"race of incompetents! Do you realize that you can reveal the existence of diclonius?" "Yes sir, we realize it," replied one of the three scientists.

"let the special team interview to capture Akemi and bring her back here immediately".

"immediately sir". And the three scientists called the special team, which left immediately for Kamakura. Aritomo, meanwhile, had his office to recover after the blow suffered by Akemi. Kakuzawa went to his office and entered, the scientist said to the director: "I'm sorry director, I tried to take her job, but she punched me in the face and knocked me out ...".

"I ordered the special team to hunt her, she'll be here again soon."

"I see ...".

"take some time to recover, then you can get back to work". That said, the manager left the office and wandered around the lab, glancing at the diclonius. The special team arrived in Kamakura in a short time, by helicopter. Noted by the small boat used by Akemi, they decided to have as a helicopter as they could fly through the city, waiting for new orders. The soldiers, armed with a pistol, began to look for Akemi through the streets of the city. Akemi, meanwhile, ran through the streets. After running for a few minutes, stopping to catch his breath, bowing his head with his hands on his knees. She was a helicopter. "maybe they are already here" Akemi thought "damn, I have to do soon!" She started running again, but now she hadn't had much energy left. She was looking for her furiously. Akemi paused again to catch his breath, bowing his head again.

"Can I help you, ma'am?" said a person passing by. Akemi looked up, he was a boy of about twenty.

"Please boy, you have to do me a favor," Akemi said.

"Madam, what's going on?" the boy told her. Akemi replied: "they are hunting me!"

"For what reason? And who is looking for it?"

"I don't have time to explain". Akemi then noticed a soldier from the team in the distance and said to the boy: "Come with me", and they went to an alley not far away. Arrived, Akemi said to the boy: "What's your name?"

"My name is Haruki".

"I am Akemi" Then the scientist took the USB key and gave him to the boy and told him: "this key contains very secret stuff, for this they are looking for me. Please Haruki , look it, protect it and take it to the police, they will know what to do ".

"Madam, what are you talking about? I don't understand ...". Then another voice was heard, saying: "here it is not! Let's see further!" They were the soldiers coming into the alley. Akemi said smiling to the boy: "I count on you boy, I thank you so much". He looked at her strangely and confused. Then Akemi threw himself out of the alley I know the soldiers would enter the alley and, consequently, they did not take possession of the USB stick. As soon as he came out of the alley, the soldiers saw her; it was very easy, because of his white coat, so it was clearly visible.

"here it is! Let's take it!" said a soldier. Akemi ran in the opposite direction to the alley; since he didn't have much energy in his body, he didn't go far and was captured by soldiers. Subsequently, the soldiers, the helicopter and through the cable, returned on board the aircraft, taking poor Akemi with the return to the base, to the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE. When the helicopter landed, the soldiers brought Akemi from Kakuzawa. The other scientists looked at her indignantly. She was unaware of this.

"So much I wanted to do, I did it," he said in his mind. Arriving at the manager's office, they entered after knocking. In the office, besides Kakuzawa there were also Sosuke and Aritomo.

"well well," said Kakuzawa "Akemi, I wouldn't have expected it from you, you know?" Akemi said nothing. Then the manager said to the soldiers: "now I have a chat with you, you can go".

"yes sir" and left the office. Then, the director told Akemi: "It is useless for you to escape again, I ordered the team to monitor the whole laboratory, so you have no escape". Akemi looked at him without saying anything.

"but now let's get to the point," Kakuzawa continued, "why did you enter my private room?" Akemi didn't answer. "don't give up, eh? Let's move on to strong manners" and snapped his fingers. It was a gesture for Sosuke and Aritomo. In fact, they understood; Aritomo blocked Akemi, while Sosuke took out a syringe with a lethal substance.

"answer my questions, or Sosuke inject you with this substance. For Akemi the shivers came." you care about your life, Akemi? "said the director to the scientist" if you care, answer, or will be the end for you. "Sosuke it was getting closer and closer, and Akemi was agitated, but I was holding the syringe on her right arm, but not injecting the substance.

"This is your last chance, Akemi. Or you talk, or it's over for you." Sosuke had his right thumb on the cap, ready to inject the lethal substance. At this point, poor Akemi yielded and said: "all right ... okay, I'm talking". Kakuzawa smiled, then motioned for Sosuke to remove the syringe and did so. But Aritomo always kept her stuck.

"I'll ask the question again: why did you go into my private room? And what did you do in there?"

"I ... I was curious to know what was in there ...".

"why were you curious?" asked the manager.

"because I thought there was some other terrible experimentation on diclonius ...".

"and what did you do once you entered?"

"I just looked at some documents ...".

"And why did you have this curiosity about diclonius?"

"because I was ... shocked by their torture and their experiments ...". Kakuzawa raised his eyebrows in surprise. Sosuke and Aritomo, on the other hand, remained a bit stunned. Then Akemi continued: "director, the diclonius do not deserve this treatment, they are beings who want to live life to the fullest, like us!"

"Do I basically know you're telling me that you feel pity and compassion for the diclonius?" Kakuzawa asked her.

"...yes". Kakuzawa was very surprised. Someone tried something like this against diclonius.

"you do not know what you are doing, Kakuzawa! Two diclonius have died because of your orders to increase the level of tests and experiments! I think the diclonius are not bad, they have this character because we are using them as guinea pigs, but for me, they can be the sweetest beings in the world if we treat them well! " shouted Akemi.

"you know Akemi" Kakuzawa said "now that you have changed your mind about diclonius, I don't do anything with you".

"what do you mean?"

"Sosuke, Aritomo, take Akemi out of the lab, then proceed as planned."

"Director, what do you want to do?"

"come on, come with us! No fuss!" said Sosuke. Aritomo gave her head to blow, causing her to faint. The other scientists didn't seem to mind. Outside the lab, Susuke and Aritomo, with Akemi on their shoulders, went to the cliff. Arriving there, Sosuke injected deadly substance to poor Akemi still unconscious and a few hours later, Akemi died. The body of the rebel scientist was taken away by helicopter, to the Tokyo morgue; the fact was masked by a heart attack. In fact, the substance that Sosuke injected to Akemi was very dangerous for the heart. After this event, Sosuke and

Aritomo returned to the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, and informed

Kakuzawa about what happened. Subunque, Kakuzawa said: "I always thought that Akemi was a naive, but felt pity and compassion for the diclonius ... who would have expected ...".

"I believe so, sir," said Aritomo.

"but tell me director," said Sosuke "what role will we play in this secret project?" Akemi's escape, Kakuzawa told Aritomo and Sosuke that, along with Kaito, He merely said that they would be important to this.

"not now, you will know in the future" replied the director.

"as sir wishes". And Sosuke and Aritomo returned to work on the diclonius Ludme. In the following hours, Kakuzawa went to the room where Ludme was. He entered it. Inside were the three specific scientists for this work.

"then, how far is it to complete?" asked Kakuzawa.

"Very little sir," said Sosuke. By now it was really done for the completion of Ludme's trial, very little was missing. Later, after ten minutes, Kaito said, "Here we are!" In the following minutes, the capsules containing the artificial body of the body. Later, Kakuzawa ordered the scientists to take Ludme's body into the cabin where Lucy was wounded some time before. The scientists took Ludme's body, covered with bandages and brought the artificial diclonius into that cabin. Arrived, Kakuzawa ordered to put Ludme in the specific machine, to analyze his body. The analysis said that by now the process had come to an end. It was now only a matter of seconds before Ludme opened his eyes for the first time. Later, they freed Ludme from the machine and laid her on the cabin bed.

"He should open his eyes in a few seconds," said Aritomo.

"don't worry, director, we've always made sure, through technology, that Ludme couldn't use his vectors at will, it'll take a long time before you learn. We'll see it in the tests."

Ten more seconds passed. Then Ludme slowly opened his eyes. Aritomo, Sosuke, Kaito and Kakuzawa himself witnessed that scene: the artificial diclonius Ludme was officially awake.

CHAPTER 25

COMMITMENTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

The artificial diclonius Ludme, after slowly opening his eyes, stood up and sat on the couch. Ludme looked rather strange and confused. The scientists Aritomo, Kaito and Sosuke observed the scene very satisfied, it seemed a small prize to their work, in the sense that they had achieved their goal. The director Kakuzawa observed the scene very pleased, now what he wanted was obtained. Subsequently, the artificial diclonius Ludme tried to get up from the cot; he succeeded, but had difficulty standing. He even tried to walk and took his first step with difficulty, and when he tried to keep walking, he fell. Scientists had strange sensations in seeing that scene. Ludme, after she had fallen, got up with some difficulty, sat down on the floor of the cabin and began to cry hard. Aritomo said: "apparently, besides doing tests and experiments on her, we should also teach her to walk and talk".

"She has the body of a seventeen year old, but she has the mentality of a child," said Sosuke. Kakuzawa said to Kaito: "Go and calm her down, Kaito".

"Yes sir," replied the scientist. And he approached the diclonius. When Ludme saw him next to her, he stopped crying and looked at him carefully. Then the scientist picked up Ludme and the artificial diclonius calmed down.

"Well, I want you to start teaching her to walk and our language right away. You can have the help of all the scientists in the lab to have less difficulty," Kakuzawa told the three scientists.

"as sir wishes," they replied. And after communicating to all the DICLONIUS

RESEARCH INSTITUTE that the artificial diclonius named Ludme had opened his eyes, they immediately started to let her learn to walk and the Japanese language. It was the first time that scientists stood so close to a diclonius without being blocked by machinery; the scientists were all calm; in fact, as Kaito had said, Ludme had to learn to use vectors and it would take some time. Moreover, his childish mentality made everything easier.

Forty-five days passed. Scientists worked day and night for the artificial Ludmy diclonius, taking turns. There was never a break between them. Ludme slept only seven hours a day, the rest of the day did what she needed to be taught. At this time Ludme learned a great deal: in a few days he was able to learn to walk, while as regards the Japanese language, Ludme learned a great deal: in fact, he was a very intelligent diclonius and for this reason there were not many difficulties for her. Kakuzawa saw the progress of the artificial diclonius with great satisfaction. during this month, Ludme was fed like any diclonius in the laboratory, or with IVs; Almost all the scientists and scientists of the laboratory worked to teach her the language, to walk and when the results were satisfactory, they began, by order of Kakuzawa, to make her vectors teach her. From the first results it was assumed that Ludme, having Lucy's blood in his body, had vectors of the same power and the same number as Lucy. For the moment, however, these were only theories, as the tests and experiments had just begun. By the end of the following month, Ludme had learned almost all of the Japanese language and was able to use his vectors. As soon as this happened, the artificial diclonius was placed in the cabin number thirty-five, the one that belonged to the diclonius Mariko. It was decided, in fact, that Ludme had to spend his days in that cabin due to the fact that, being artificial and having lucy blood and therefore many vectors, the tests and experiments were different from the other diclonius. The character of Ludme was like that of the diclonius number forty-three Miyu, since, having the mentality of a child, he saw the scientists of DICLONIUS REEARCH INSTITUTE as his mothers and his dads. Ludme, among the scientists, showed more affection for Kaito, as he was the first to pick her up and the first she saw carefully. Kaito repaid with the same coin to Ludme, but in reality it was not so: in fact in his heart he felt nothing for Ludme; he cared, just like Sosuke, Aritomo and the other scientists in the laboratory, only about his work. In short, that of Ludme, but also that of Miyu, when he was at the laboratory, and of every diclonius of an early age, was an affection without spare parts, an affection that only the diclonius had and not vice versa. Ludme also showed great affection for the director Kakuzawa, as he learned from the scientists that if he existed, the "merit" was all of the director. But no one knew Kakuzawa's real intentions, because he really wanted Ludme to be created.

It was 11:00 am on a rainy morning. kakuzawa observed the sea from the window of his office, when the Arakawa scientist brought him analyzes of the last tests and experiments on Ludme. The artificial diclonius had by now learned to use all its vectors and was now able to speak Japanese.

"A lot of progress has been made by our Ludme, not long afterwards," said Kakuzawa.

"already" said Arakawa "the fact is that this diclonius is different from all".

"continue the experiments and tests on Ludme, other analyzes would be needed to better understand its nature. Once sufficiently obtained, I will examine them to see if a possible cure could be developed."

"a cure?".

"I said it a while ago in a meeting, remember?"

"ah yes, I remember, it happened about two months ago or more, I don't remember exactly when," he smiled. Then he continued saying: "politely, could you tell me exactly where you want to go with this cure?"

"I would like, after knowing better about the nature of Ludme and the nature of the other diclonius, to deepen all the analyzes to be able to create an antidote, so that the virus, which appeared long ago, is finally extinguished. As you well know, you don't modified human births are more verified, but the virus can still be transmitted, only to male humans, through vectors, so the diclonius are prisoners in our specific laboratories, perhaps a possible cure could be done, a vaccine that lasts for life, we'll see ".

"I understand director" said Arakawa "but take my curiosity away".

"tell me".

"Could it be that Lucy is still alive and Ayaka, Nana and Miyu are out there, not ordering the lab team to intervene?"

"Now that we've finished teaching Ludme everything we need, yes, I think it's time to make that decision, or to track down Lucy, Miyu, Nana and Ayaka. I'll tell you about it soon. Now you can get back to your job ".

"Yes sir, as you wish" and Arakawa left Kakuzawa's office. Shortly thereafter, the lab director called the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE team and ordered them to inspect all of Kamakura to track down the three diclonius.

"Once you have tracked down, do your best to kill Ayaka. As for Lucy, Nana and Miyu, do your best to bring them back here, then I'll decide what to do with them."

"yes sir" and immediately the team left by helicopter for Kamakura.

Some time before, or about two months, Kouta and the others were experiencing not a bad time, on the contrary; they had welcomed little Miyu in their home and they all gave her love, and they were equally reciprocated by the little diclonius. Often they all played together and sometimes even went out taking turns. Almost always they went to the playground, where Miyu had a great time. But the little diclonius often thought of Kinuko, to whom she was very fond. He hoped to see her again very soon and that one day they also lived together. The fact remains that with Kouta, Lucy and the other Miyu, he was very, very good, as good as ever in his life. for this reason, in fact, the little diclonius thanked Yuka and the others very much. She also received many caresses, which she liked very much. One day, Yuka went out with Miyu and they went to the usual playground. Yuka sat on a bench, while the little diclonius enjoyed the slide and more. Yuka looked at her with a smile and reflected, reflecting on a very important topic, that of the family. In fact, Kouta's cousin had always wanted to have a baby girl, and Miyu, at the time, was the closest thing to a little girl to her. Moreover, Yuka has always had a crush on Kouta, despite being his cousin; she had even cried secretly not long ago, when she had seen Kouta hug Lucy with Nyu's personality, but since Lucy had returned home, Yuka decided to change: she wanted a new boy, all her own. He thought and thought, when his thoughts were interrupted by a voice, a voice she knew and was saying, "Hi Yuka, how are you?" Yuka turned her head to the left, and saw that it was Takeshi.

"oh hi Takeshi, I didn't see you, sorry".

"stay calm" and sat down next to Yuka, who said with a smile: "things are going well for me, thank you".

"Imagine. What are you doing here? Out of curiosity".

"I came to bring Miyu here to have some fun".

"Miyu?".

"yes, that little girl down there", and pointed her out. Meanwhile, Takeshi said to Yuka: "I know her, we met not long ago"

"ah yes, Miyu told us about it".

"but lives with you?"

"for the moment yes, because he has no other place to go ...". Takeshi was a bit taken aback, as he seemed to remember that at the meeting with Miyu and Kinuko, the number forty-five diclonius said that she and Miyu lived in the surroundings. But for the moment he ignored this fact.

"I understand. Well, it's understandable." Soon after, the little diclonius came to meet Takeshi and Yuka.

"Hi Takeshi!" said Miyu.

"Hi Miyu. How are you?"

"all right, thank you!"

"of nothing" the boy said, smiling at her and then continued: "now I have to go. I was very pleased to see you today".

"also to us" answered Miyu and Yuka, smiling at him. Then they said goodbye and all three returned home. When Yuka and Miyu returned to their home, it was about 19:37. Yuka helped Miyu wash, as she was very sweaty. Then they all had dinner together and went to sleep. In the following days it was decided to go to the beach too, as Miyu really liked the sea. They all took turns in turn. Miyu and Nana always came out with a cap on their head to avoid seeing their horns. Everything always went well. Within some time, they explored the entire city of Kamakura, since it was not a very large city. Miyu always enjoyed himself, every day; he was always better with Kouta and the others, always carrying in his heart the thought of reviewing and being with his friend Kinuko again.

CHAPTER 26

IN THE DEEP OF THE HEART

It was a good time for everyone. Kouta, Lucy, Nana, Yuka, Mayu and the little diclonius Miyu all worked well together. They felt like a family, each of them. All together they went out, played and prepared food. A family's love was felt for all of them. For the little Miyu it was a novelty, since it was spent all years before the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, but it was a wonderful feeling; he had experienced family love for the first time in his life, something he never, ever would have forgotten in his lifetime. The love that Kouta, Lucy, Mayu, Yuka and even the puppy Wanta was always reciprocated by Miyu, always thanking everyone and acting like she was the little girl at home. Above all Yuka saw her as his adopted child; in fact, after deciding to "abandon" her love for her cousin Kouta, Yuka opened up new horizons, new roads, new paths: the idea of a daughter and family of her own was born. The road, however, was difficult to follow: it was a bit difficult to find, but it was a bit difficult for him to be away from his love for his cousin, even though he knew it would not be easy. But this in no way meant that Yuka did not like the current situation; she wanted to think about herself, she was just thinking about it, she was just thinking about it. Here, in their lives had changed, Yuka already knew what to do for the future, but for the moment Yuka enjoyed the present.

One evening, they were all having dinner together. It was still raining. While they ate, Kouta noticed that Yuka was quite upset. Soon all the others noticed it too.

"Yuka, is there something wrong?" asked Lucy.

"actually I see you a little strange ..." said Mayu.

"can we help you?" Nana said. But Yuka was silent. Then Kouta said with a smile, "if you don't want to tell us, it doesn't matter."

"no, no ... I'm fine ... really," Yuka told them. But they were not convinced by his words. So Kouta said to her: "Can we at least know if it is something serious?"

"No, it's not something serious, don't worry ... " Yuka said.

"And what is it about then?" asked Miyu. She wanted to say it, but she was a little scared, and she was also a little shy. It was about love for Kouta and that he wanted a daughter and a possible family of his own. The fear of being mocked in love with her cousin

"you know" Yuka said to everyone "it's just that I have a new thing in my head".

"really? What is it?" Kouta told her.

"can we know it or is it secret?" Nana asked Yuka.

"no, it's not secret, now I tell you ...". Everyone was curious about what Yuka would have said. Then she said, "here, I ... would have in mind ... in a future day ...".

"Yes?" the others said. Yuka took a deep breath and took courage and said: "It's that I, I wish I had a daughter so much ...". Everyone looked at her tenderly.

"but this is a wonderful thing!" said Mayu.

"Yeah, it's a pretty good idea," Lucy said.

"but the fact is that" Yuka told them "I still have to find a boyfriend ... and it won't be easy ...".

"don't worry" Kouta told her with a smile "that moment will come"

"you can be sure of it," said Mayu.

"Thank you," said Yuka. Nana said: "Don't worry Yuka, you'll see that you'll find a boyfriend in the future".

"Thanks Nana," Yuka replied. Then, after a few seconds, tears came to Nana's eyes. Everyone noticed it immediately. "What happens, Nana?" they all asked her. But Nana didn't answer and immediately afterwards she put her hands in her face covering her face and burst into tears. Everyone approached her.

"What have you got Nana? What is it?"

"... is that I ... " he could not speak, was crying too. "Calm, calm" they said. Then Nana took courage and said, "... excuse me ... is that I ... I always ...".

"Yes?" everyone else worried.

"I also always wanted ... a child ... but ... but ... ". Everyone was listening. Then Nana raised her voice, shouting in desperation with her eyes closed: "I AM STERILE!" From the tone of his voice, but above all his tears, everyone understood that he was not lying for nothing. Everyone understood it, that moment was impossible not to do it. Seized by a sense of affection, tenderness and sorrow for Nana, all of them went to embrace her, with her always crying in tears, in despair. Especially Lucy was sorry, because she was a diclonius, but she was the only one who could procreate, she had known when she was still a prisoner at the laboratory by some scientists. The other diclonius could not bear a son or a daughter. Nana was desperate, she could not make her wish like true. Everyone tried to console her, but it was very difficult. If Lucy saw her future gray, Nana saw her black, very black indeed. Lucy, in fact, could have had a baby and her hair was broken. Nana, on the other hand, she was afraid to reveal her horns to Takeshi, whom she was very much in love with, and could not have a baby or a girl. For poor Nana it was a very difficult and delicate moment. Everyone stayed close to her, especially Yuka and Lucy. It was not easy to recover for the diclonius. Immediately after calming down, Nana apologized to everyone's reaction and wanted to go to sleep.

"Don't worry Nana," they said. And went to sleep. Everyone felt sorry for her.

"We hope that things will change for Nana, but also for Lucy" Kouta said in his mind "I don't want them to suffer so much ... I hope so much". Not long after, the others also prepared for the night. After Nana, Lucy went to sleep, then Miyu and Mayu. Yuka and Kouta were the last to get ready for bed. However, Yuka wanted to confess to his cousin the fact that he had been in love with him before finishing the day. She was a little tormented by confessing it to him, but she wanted to tell him, she wanted to confess it, to take it away from her life forever. I know when Kouta, "Kouta, can we go into the living room for a moment?"

"Sure." And they went into the living room. Then Kouta told her, "what is Yuka?"

"I ... to tell the truth, before dinner I didn't say everything I had in mind to say ...".

"when were you upset?"

"yes ... but I want to say it only to you ... it's a very private fact". Kouta started to worry. Then Yuka said: "I didn't want the others to know, I was too afraid to say it ... ".

"please Yuka, tell me if this is a serious thing or not."

"no, it is not serious, but it has great weight for me ... and the only way to remove it is to tell you, hoping that you don't have it against me though ... ". Kouta became suspicious. "talk, I'll listen," the boy said.

"we are" Yuka said in his mind "the time has come, take courage Yuka, you can do it". Then Yuka told Kouta holding his hands: "My cousin ... I ... now I don't have this feeling, but from the first time I saw you until these days ... I ... ". Kouta was all ears. Yuka, closed his eyes and finally pulled out what he had to say: "I've always had a ... crush on you ... please ... don't be angry or irritated ... I beg you .. . ". Saying these words, Yuka bowed her head and struggled to breathe. Kouta was rather surprised by his words. Kouta realized that Yuka was telling the truth.

"Yuka ... I ..." the boy said.

"Please forgive me ... now I have more of this feeling, but please forgive me ..." and hugged him, crying. Kouta understood. And, smiling, he embraced his cousin.

"Yuka doesn't do anything. He doesn't do anything. Now let's embrace you, just hug". That was a very touching moment for both of us. Then Kouta said smiling at her: "you must not be afraid, because we will be united in the love of the family, nothing can destroy or take it away from us. Go to bed calm and peaceful".

"oh Kouta ... my cousin ... thank you ..." and slowly, still embracing her cousin, Yuka calmed down. Finally, he had taken a heavy weight off his stomach. Then they both went to sleep.

CHAPTER 27

THE DISCOVERY OF DICLONIUS

It was not difficult for Yuka to fall asleep that evening. She had finally managed to take off a weight, a burden that has tormented him a lot in recent days. In the following days, Yuka was much better. Miyu was deeply struck by the words that Yuka said that night, which was what she wanted to have a daughter. Even the little diclonius, after having understood what it means to have a family, wanted to have a mother and a father. I know, one of these days, he went out with the sea. They sat on the sand away from the water. Then Miyu said to Yuka: " Thanks Yuka you went out with me, thank you very much."

"Imagine Miyu, it's a pleasure," Yuka replied.

"Listen, can we talk a little?" The little diclonius told her later.

"But of course, let's talk about what you want."

"Here, I would like to talk to you about this: you know ... Yuka, I was very struck by your words that rainy evening ..." Yuka looked at her in surprise. "Really?" The girl told her, "were you really impressed by what I said?"

"Yes, really a lot," Miyu replied.

"Why were you impressed by what I said that night?"

"Because ..." and tears came to the little diclonius. Yuka held her hands and said, "no, don't cry, Miyu ...".

"Because I ..." Miyu continued "I, now that I know what a family is, now that I have experienced family love for the first time in my life, I wish ... I would ...". Yuka listened to him without saying a word, with a slightly open mouth .

"Here ... I would ... have a dad and a mom ... and you, Yuka, are the closest thing to a mom to me ...". When these words were heard, tears came to Yuka's eyes with emotion. He restrained himself with great difficulty. Then Miyu told her: "Listen, Yuka ..."

"... Yes?".

"I ... as long as I stay with you, I can call you Mom? I'd love to ...". Having heard These last words spoken by little Miyu, Yuka did not hold back any longer: she closed her eyes and burst into tears , covering her face with her hands. The little diclonius was very affected by his reaction. Then, after a few seconds, Yuka, still covering his face with his hands, said: "I ... I don't know ... what to say ...". She couldn't talk, she was too moved. He said: "yes ... you can call me mom ...". Miyu didn't know what to say after hearing these words, his heart burst with happiness and embraced Yuka. The girl answered hugging the little diclonius.

"Oh mom ... my mom ..." and even the little Miyu cried in Yuka's arms. The girl then opened her eyes and looked around. There was no one on the beach. So he raised his cap on Miyu's head, which covered his horns, threw it away and stroked her head. For Miyu that was the best moment of his life: he also received caresses, something that she liked so much. He would never forget that moment for how good it was for her. Also for Yuka it was an unforgettable moment: in fact, he began to savor one of his new dreams, that of a child.

"Also for me ... you are the closest thing ... to a daughter ... my child ..." the girl said to Miyu "let you hug and cuddle" . Each of the other needed at that time. During those moments, they wanted to stay on that beach for who knows how long. But it was a little late and they later decided to go home. Miyu was a little tired, I know Yuka, after he put her head back, picked her up and went home. Then, after they had washed and dressed, they communicated to everyone else what they had said on the beach. Everyone was struck by the emotion and the same time.

Meanwhile, some time before, one evening, the rebel scientist Akemi, after escaping from the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, arrived in Kamakura via a small boat and had her USB key in her pocket containing top secret topics . Having understood that he had reached the Kamakura by the special team of the laboratory and research, he had delivered, in an alley, his USB stick to a boy who met by chance very little before.

"I count on you boy, thank you so much", with these words, Akemi had greeted the boy and distracted the soldiers from that too, with the USB key. After Akemi was captured and returned to the laboratory, the boy watched from afar the soldiers who took her away, secretly.

"But why are they taking it away ... I don't understand anything ...". The boy returned home after a while. On his way home, he looked at the USB stick Akemi had given him in his hand.

"Who knows what this key will contain ... we'll see tomorrow". Arriving at his house, Haruki went to sleep. The next day, after having breakfast, he turned on the computer, more and more curious. When his computer was ready, the boy inserted the USB stick, saying "Now let's see what it contains". While the computer was loading the data , the boy thought back to what the scientist had Told her: "this key contains very secret stuff." The boy began to worry a bit ' .

"Could it contain government stuff? Or is it a simple joke? Who knows ... but we'll know soon," he thought. About the minute finished loading the key data. Haruki clicked on the "OPEN" option taking a deep breath and, in a few seconds, all the files of the pen opened. Haruki began to observe them and analyze them, one by one.

"Dec ... diclonius? But what ..." he said , as he continued to watch the files. Akemi had also saved images on the diclonius in his flash drive. As he watched the files and images, Haruki became more and more thrilled. He observed the contents of the diclonius and finally the data of the project .D. for the next two hours. Initially, the boy didn't understand anything.

"But what did that woman give me? This is about things I've never seen ..." Haruki said more and more intrigued and at the same time a little scared. Then, reading what was written in one of the many files , combined with the sight of the images, Haruki Realized That what the scientist Akemi had Told him the night before and above all how, it was not a joke : "to off the coast of the city of Kamakura, a laboratory is hidden that contains beings to the evolution of the human species: the diclonius ". Reading these words, Haruki got anxious and began to look at the files in an amazement and continued reading and looking at the images that Akemi had put up.

"The diclonius are very powerful beings: they were born from a virus that appeared mysteriously years ago and differed from normal humans, they have two horns on their heads and vectors on their backs. The vectors are long invisible arms that can reach a few meters in length, are as fast as thought and can cause very serious damage, even immediate death to people ". Haruki didn't know what to say as he continued to read, he started shaking. "We have been testing and testing their powers for many years. We have been trying to test our powers. They have been devastating: their vectors are very strong, much more than one could imagine. As a result, if wickedly, diclonius can wipe out the whole of humanity. " The boy was more and more surprised. Then seeing a picture, Haruki began to understand the power of diclonius vectors.

"No ... it's not possible ..." and he trembled more and more. Then he continued to read the file: "here, today I discovered That it was the director of this laboratory, the director Kakuzawa, who created the virus , Whose first infected person was a woman, the mother of a Diclonius named Lucy. Kakuzawa intends Diclonius to use as weapons , all to build a new world, to repopulate the world with a new humanity, with the evolution of our species. This project is called the project .D., or New Human Diclonius, the new human Diclonius. in the world there is a laboratory for every continent, the one from Which I am writing all this, Represents That of Asia. The artificial Diclonius Ludme will have the task of Repopulating the species, with the union of a normal human the son or daughter will be diclonius and the human species, will be repopulated the

planet ... Ludme will be the "queen" of the new species, after the only diclonius capable of giving birth , or Lucy, has been taken out, because, two to its evil and bloody character, it could not be satisfied or the plans of the Kakuzawa director . At the end of the project, Kakuzawa will be the head of the new human race diclonius ". After reading this, the boy began to panic. More and more terrified by what he read and by the images he observed, Haruki read the last words of this paper: " I think they don't have a wicked nature within them." If they had it, it was because of the world treated them as monstrous beings and, consequently, they felt abandoned by the world, but they had no fault. I believe that if the diclonius are treated as well as others, they can be the sweetest beings on the planet, Kakuzawa's madness must be successful, otherwise the world will be destroyed. The diclonius must have only love on our part, but not because they are superior beings, but because they are also part of our species. That's all. Now Kakuzawa can complete his project. Signed, Akemi ".

Read the whole file, the boy was stunned. He did not know what to say or think, what he had read and seen had shocked him, remaining open-mouthed. Then he went to the bedroom window, you could see the sea.

"Over there, offshore, there's that laboratory ... and there are those diclonius ... not just here, even in other parts of the world ... I have to do something ...". Immediately afterwards, Haruki turned off the computer, took Akemi's USB stick and went to the police station, still in shock. Arrived, there was a police officer outside the station. The boy told him: "agent ...".

"Yes boy? " Problem? "Said the police officer.

"I have to show this USB stick to his boss, it's important," the boy said, showing him the key.

"I'm sorry, but you can't like in."

"Please agent, it's very important".

"Boy, I have very specific orders, I can't let you in." Inside the station, the Kamakura police chief was in the courtyard, where Haruki was talking to the agent. Intrigued, the chief of police came out of his office and went to the courtyard. Once there, he said, "What's going on here? Are there any problems?"

"No sir" replied the agent "this guy would like to show you something, but I can't get him in, I have precise orders".

"Wait a minute ," the police chief told the agent, "let him talk," then turning to Haruki, he said, "what's the boy?"

"Sir, I have to show you things that are inside this USB stick. Please let me in, it's a very important thing." The boy looked terrified and very frightened. The police chief, noticing his gaze, realized that it was something very important. So he said: "All right, boy. As in, come to my office".

"Thank you sir," the boy said. Then he returned to his office. He returned to his office. Arrived, Haruki gave us the chief of the USB stick: "from your look it would say that it is an incredible stuff ...".

"In fact it is so sir, you wouldn't believe me if I told you, that's why I would like you to see for yourself" replied Haruki.

"Now let's see," said the police chief. His computer loaded the data and after a little more than a minute, all the data was uploaded and the police started to read. While he read, he thought it was a joke, but from the boy's look, he realized that it wasn't for nothing. When he finished reading , the upset police chief asked Haruki: "Boy, who gave you this USB key?"

" That Akemi, in an alley not far from my house," replied Haruki.

"And how long have you got it?"

"since yesterday".

The head of the ducks. The phone call lasted about half an hour, and then, the chief of the Akemi's USB stick to the minister. Then, after thanking him, he told Haruki to go home, after asking him to give him the USB stick. Later, in the following hours, the news spread among the rulers of Japan. For them it was like a cold shower, because they felt they were discovered, given the fact that they were aware of it, but they weren't aware of it. They were aware for the first time.

CHAPTER 28

CHAOS AND TERROR

In the following days, the existence of diclonius. No one was missing in this announcement. Through radio, television and computers, the announcement went all over the country in Tokyo, Yokohama and Osaka, then to all other cities, such as Hiroshima, Kyoto and Nagasaki. In no time, all the Japanese people knew about the existence of humans modified by the virus created by Kakuzawa. This is what he was talking about. But it was nothing fake. Into the world of Japan, nowhere to be seen; the rulers of Japan, in fact, thought that since they had been discovered in some way, the news would soon be the rest of the globe without national announcements. Also, given that it was the Kamakura police chief who told him, I know it was decided to communicate the news also to the rest of the planet . Until that day, communication remained up to national borders, and from that moment to it. It was decided to communicate only to the politicians of the mainland, the United States, China, the European Union and Russia , but hiding most of Akemi's text . The news in the short, the turn of the politicians , showing, in their televisions, in their computers, the files and images of the Akemi USB sticks , including part of its text . Later, the politicians of these nations told the news, which soon spread to every corner of the globe. The whole world was shocked and speechless. Kakuzawa intended to do such a thing. In fact, Akemi had not discovered that Kakuzawa had the characteristics of the diclonius, so it was not clear the real reason why this virus had been created.

In the United States, a few days after communicating the news , in the capital Washington , the US president called the vice president and the latter DECIDED to reunite the nation's senate to discuss this matter. The session began not long after. While discussing, members of each federated state also talked about the hidden laboratory on their continent. The session Lasted about three hours and it was DECIDED to immediately begin the search for the laboratory containing the Diclonius born in the North American continent , leaving the question of the existence of Diclonius suspended ounces found . The United States decided to collaborate with Mexico, with Canada and with the other states of North America, to look for the laboratory in the North American continent. In China, not long after hearing the news, the politicians of the state of the same name for an emergency meeting. It was decided that if you had crossed the Chinese border, it would have taken every means to eliminate it. This drastic decision soon spread throughout Asia. As a patient in Asia, China's politicians decided to take care of it. In Europe, members of the European Union met. The diclonius born in the "old continent" All European states worked together to find the laboratory. In Russia, it was up to the president to make the decision; the president of the Russian federation decided to execute every diclonius found in Russian territory. In South America , when the laboratory was found, in the Oceania the same thing, while in Africa, the members of the African union gathered at Addis Ababa, in Ethiopia. The initial decision to find the laboratory, then to use every means to kill the diclonius. In recent decisions taken by politicians, among the nations of the world, the terror, the terror of the diclonius, began to arise. In fact, it was known how to protect humans with vectors, which could cause the immediate death of people. Soon, the diarrhea spreads more and more in the world, the terror of being killed in many macaws, some sleepy for days, even the thought of suicide to avoid being killed that way , but fortunately there were no suicides around the world. In the United States there were few Americans who took to the streets to protest against the government; in fact the citizens demanded that the diclonius were executed, condemned, eliminated immediately once they were located. From New York to Los Angeles, via Chicago and Nashville, within a few days, there were many protests, even in Washington itself. The government did not know how to do it. The citizens, through the media , to use the good, or the words. The American president, with a national announcement, tried to placate US citizens by trying to reassure them, saying that the lab is ongoing and would last until it was found. It was all useless. How to get to the streets of America? The government, at this point, had no choice but to use the bad, the strong ways. Fires , only in the most extreme case, firearms. The weapons were used a lot, but fortunately they did not cause any victims, only the wounded. The situation in the United States In Europe, for example, chaos broke out: in major European cities, including Paris, London , Berlin and Rome, there were many clashes between the police and Protestant citizens against the diclonius and the governments of their own nations. Many protests and clashes also took place in Moscow and Beijing. In other cities of the globe, some protests were repressed in blood: some protesting citizens, they were killed by firearms in South America because of their behavior. There were also some victims in other areas of the world.

The world was in a state like never before. Chaos and terror reigned for days and days. Many of the world's leading decision-makers have tried to restore calm. The results were achieved in part, but unfortunately with the cost of some victims. Governments found no other way. The citizens of the world could not think of anything else for a long time. The same was true for politicians. In fact, these subjects were discussed for many days in political meetings. Akemi, or that there could have been no coexistence with diclonius, no one thought that diclonius could also belong to the human species . In fact, everyone was pervaded by the fear of being killed in a terrible way and everyone wanted to be eliminated from the planet once they were found. Research to find laboratories, except for Kamakura, continued for days and days. Initially no one found what he was looking for. But the rulers did not give up and ordered them to continue their research. The laboratories, however, were not found, so the rulers of the world, some time later they gathered in New York in an emergency conference. It was DECIDED to go to Japan to find the laboratory of the Asian continent and, once located, go to Kakuzawa to force him to reveal where the other laboratories in the world were hidden. After this decision, the United States contacted Japan and sent two political members. In the following days, the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE was located and the American politicians arrived in Tokyo . They talked to and arrested the director, accompanied by the Kamakura police chief. They went to the Tokyo station, took the train to Kamakura . Once they arrived, they went to the police station of the homonymous city and with the police chief aboard the police helicopter, the American politicians, along with the Japanese and four policemen, went to the lab off the coast of the homonymous city, with the hope of being able to speak with Kakuzawa, the director of the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, to be told where the other laboratories containing the diclonius were hidden and arrested. In total, there were ten people aboard the helicopter.

CHAPTER 29

MURDER

When the helicopter was near the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, the pilot made contact with the laboratory, asking for permission to land on the island's heliport. At the lab, having received the landing request, they went to tell the manager Kakuzawa. Two scientists went to his office and knocked.

"Go ahead," the manager said. The door opened and the two scientists entered.

" Sir," said one of the two scientists, "a while ago we received a request to land at the heliport, evidently someone is coming here". Kakuzawa was rather surprised. Then the other scientist said, "What should we do? How should we respond? Tell us ".

" Did they tell you who these people are coming from?" Kakuzawa told them.

"To be honest, they only told us that they had to see her," said one of the two scientists. The director frowned, then after a few seconds said, "answer that they can land at the heliport as well".

"But sir, we don't ..."

"Do as I tell you".

"OK, as a director," and they left Kakuzawa's office and told the helicopter that they had permission to land. Within ten minutes, the helicopter arrived at the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE and landed at the laboratory heliport and, later, all those aboard the laboratory, including the pilot, descended. The four politicians, the two Americans and the two Japanese, the last to go down, the first and the first, the chief of police went down.

"And so this would be the Asian lab where they keep the diclonius locked up ..." the police chief told the others.

"Yes sir, this is it," replied one of the policemen.

"OK, let's go to the entrance of this laboratory, you and I will escort the politicians," the police chief said to the agents.

"Yes, sir". And they went to the lab entrance. When they arrived, l and port and of the lab entrance was no cl e. The doors opened. It was a scientist who opened them .

"Can I help you?" The scientist told them all.

"We are looking for Kakuzawa" said the police chief "we must talk to him". The scientist then told them: "wait a minute". And he went to the manager's office to tell him the news. Kakuzawa said the scientist, "do get them, I'll see you at the entrance of her former vault number thirty and face open the room after about a minute and a half, after calculating the time That I have ordered to leave the place . " "But sir, I believe there are men of government among them ...".

"Do as I say".

"Agree sir". "Kakuzawa is waiting for you, follow me, I will take you to him." And the police chief said, "all right". Marika, the diclonius number thirty-five, daughter of Kurama. Waiting for them was Kakuzawa. When they arrived, the manager motioned for the scientist to leave. The scientist obeyed.

"Does anyone want to see me?" Said the lab director. Then the police chief said, "Are you Kakuzawa? The director of this laboratory?".

"it's me. " Who are you? "He asked them all. The police chief said," I And

These four men, "pointing to the policemen," are from the Kamakura police of Which I am the leader, while the four of them are politicians. And he's the helicopter pilot who brought us here. " Director Kakuzawa became suspicious. Then the police chief continued:" We know what Kakuzawa director holds in his laboratory. The in bb and are discovered some time needle. " Kakuzawa seemed more suspicious. The police chief continued:" we came here to interrogate and arrest her " .

"Question me and arrest me?" Said the director "and why?" One of the American politicians took the floor and said: "Mr. Kakuzawa, we are at the bottom of the world know his intentions. Here is the so-called diclonius and intends to use them as tools to build her crazy kingdom". Then the police chief said, "Now you like with us and we will answer every question we ask, do you understand?" Suddenly, the vault doors opened. The politicians and the pilot took a step back, while the police pulled out their guns. Kakuzawa instead remained still. Behind him was the interior of the dark room, where the diclonius Ludme was now.

"Now that's enough" said the chief of police "Director Kakuzawa, now he is with us". Subsequently, the chief of police took out the handcuffs. Then suddenly, a voice was heard, a voice coming from the room.

"Pa ... dad?" The footsteps could be heard. The shape of a polygon with a human shape.

He said. It was Ludme, bandages wrapped around the body except for the head and feet and for hands. Everyone present, except Kakuzawa, observed the diclonius with amazement enough, they were seeing one for the first time live.

"Who are these people, dad? What do they want?" Ludme asked Kakuzawa. The director told the artificial diclonius: "they want to take me away".

"Street? And where?" Asked Ludme.

"make." And the policeman handcuffed the manager saying: "enough is enough". Ludme, to watch that scene and after hearing those words, began to weep, he didn't want Kakuzawa to leave her. Then Ludme said aloud to the policeman who had handcuffed the manager, feeling so angry: "leave him at once!" "Policeman pulled his pistol from his holster and threatened Ludme with saying," Stay away or I'll shoot you.

" Ludme, with a malicious look, came closer to the policeman and decided to shoot. With one of his vectors, Ludme, very fast, pushed back the bullet. The politicians, the pilot , the police and the police chief were as surprised as ever before.

"You know" said the artificial diclonius with a wicked smile "I don't like who touches Dad"

Shouted the police chief to the policemen. And they started shooting. But Ludme with vectors first rejected all the bullets and then brutally killed all the policemen, including the police chief , shedding blood for the first time in his life. They were spared, because they had not "touched" Kakuzawa and why they had not attacked Ludme. And they ran off towards the exit. Then the artificial diclonius broke Kakuzawa's handcuffs. "Excellent work Ludme," said the director to the artificial diclonius. Subunque , in Ludme he was normal smile and hugged the director. Even though she had been educated by now, Ludme still showed some childish feeling. Then Kakuzawa reassured the artificial diclonius, saying that together they would build a world for both of them and later Ludms returned to his cabin, while Kakuzawa went to change his clothes, since they were a bit stained with blood. The bodies of the people killed by Ludme.

Kakuzawa also known as the world public opinion of the existence of diclonius. He had known it through a laboratory scientist; she , through the computer knew, from the other laboratories around the world, which had spread the news, and she had sent the head of Diclonius RESEARCH INSTITUTE. However, the reason with which the news spread was unknown; Akemi was immediately suspected, the scientist who had managed to enter the director's room, but it was impossible to find an answer to whoever said it. "Could have told anyone, either to the police, no one can know" was thought inside the laboratory ; even the director himself thought so. Kakuzawa could no longer wait. It was time for the director to move to the next phase of his plan. He went to his office and went to work , to plan a meeting that would take place the next day. in cui he would have confessed His real intentions , given That by now the whole world was aware of the existence of Diclonius , but he would have Told the scientists other topics, including That of starting the hunt for Diclonius That were out of the laboratory, or the alleged Lucy, Nana, Ayaka and Miyu.

They left the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE running, shocked by what they had seen, and returned by helicopter to Kamakura. When they arrived, they immediately informed the government of the unheard-of-the-danger of the diclonius and all they had seen, with their terrified eyes. The news soon spread to the rest of the world, more terror and general chaos more and more. The reactions of governments were immediate, that is, it was decided to double the laboratories, the diclonius had to be eliminated from the world, as they were seen as a danger immense for the human species.

CHAPTER 30

THE CONFESSION AND TRUTHS OF KAKUZAWA

The next day, Kakuzawa that was a meeting at 11:30 am. When the time came to the conference hall and finally the director Kakuzawa.

"Good morning to all" said the director "I have gathered you here because I have to talk to you about some things". The scientists listened to the director with much curiosity and attention.

"First of all I would like to say that I have in mind a project, a project in which I intend to involve all of you ". Many of their scientists raised their eyebrows, while others frowned. "You know" the director continued, "some time ago I nominated this thing to the scientist Aritomo, Kaito and Sosuke, or they will be part of my project, today I communicate to you all, because you are part of the history of DICLONIUS

RESEARCH INSTITUTE, my laboratory, and it is right that you have an important role in our future ". Some scientists did not understand what the director meant. Then Kakuzawa went on, saying:" I have to ask you not to impress you, because this is a very intimate secret of mine . " The scientist didn't understand, they were confused. Kakuzawa touched his hairpiece and lifted it, showing all his real appearance. Among the scientists was the utter astonishment to see that even their director had horns on his skull. The scientist who She was seen as a woman with a veil, because she had already seen the true appearance of Kakuzawa, since she had only seen him once, but now that she had seen him. with her real appearance, she had convinced herself That it was all real. Kakuzawa took the floor, reassuring to the scientists: "everyone is calm and calm, I am not like a normal Diclonius , now you will know everything ." and he Told all his history had a genetic mutation for generations, which gave birth to horns on the skull, to those of the diclonius, with other peculiarities, but over time the latter diminished and remained on ly the horns on the skull. For a long time, his family was mocked by normal humans and was isolated on the island where they were now. With the appearance of the diclonius, built Kakuzawa the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, to analyze and study their nature. Kakuzawa savored the fact that he could finally feel more power in the world. become the head of the new humanity. He was promised them Kakuzawa and with that he finished his speech . Upon hearing his last words, the lab scientists seemed to calm down. Then Kakuzawa told them: "I have no vectors, I have these species of horns on my head , nothing

more. Would you like to build a kingdom with me where you could be very important?" The three scientists Aritomo, Kaito and Sosuke, those who had planned and created Ludse with the help of other scientists, saying "yes sir, we want it!" Then also Arakawa and the other thing. In short, he was the director, looking into his own future, power and glory.

"Well," said the director, "the story begins today, ladies and gentlemen. I will share the glory with all of you". The future of science and culture is very bright and rich. Kakuzawa, always with his real appearance, later said: "Now do you understand why I wanted to create Ludme? The diclonius Lucy would never have obeyed my plans, she would have only to kill, that's why with Ludme, this project will be possible ". The scientists understood . Then the manager said: "Now let's talk about the Diclonius That are out there, or the alleged Lucy, Nana, Miyu and Ayaka. The scientists listened, some Began to pre ndere of notes .

"Before long I will order the special team of the laboratory to interview them down and locate them, then once found, to capture them and bring them back here." He said, "Now that the public opinion of the existence of diclonius, do not think it would be better for those who live to remain where they are now? "

" I don't think so," replied the director, "better bring them back here for questioning and then we'll discuss what to do with them."

"Thanks for the reply," said the scientist. Then the director continued, saying: "make sure That no one else comes to this laboratory as happened yesterday with Those People and with Those policemen. I do not want the world's Governments to have to Their Eyes on this little island, at least for the moment. "" You should approach a helicopter or a boat again, and the extreme case let the special team intervene. " Scientists learned. Then the director said: "We still like to analyze and experiment with diclonius before proceeding definitively. I would like you all to go back to your work, understood? ".

"Yes, sir, as you wish," replied the scientists. Later, the meeting ended not long after the scientists returned to work. The experiments and tests on diclonius increased more and more level, but they were more limited, in order to risk others, as is the case with the number thirty-six and thirty-seven. Kakuzawa announced the increase in tests and experiments. The diclonius, both at the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE and in the other laboratories , suffered more and more, they screamed like madmen and cried with ever stronger pain. They couldn't really do it anymore. But their character didn't change, they just got out of those prisons that tortured them and that's it. They just wanted a little love and a family from the world one day. But more time passed, the more to mirage appeared to them this day. By now all the diclonius of the world resigned to their destiny, very few instead of managed to defend their dream. But it was really a business for all of them. Scientists, blinded by the glory and power that Kakuzawa had promised him, had no mercy towards the diclonius, on the contrary: it seemed that the more time passed, they were thirsty for glory and therefore more and more test levels increased and experiments on diclonius. The same could be said for the scientists of the other laboratories. Days passed and tests and experiments increased more and more.

In the world, meanwhile, after the news of what happened to the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE spread, the terror increased more and more with the passing of the days. The protests in the United States and many other countries around the globe. Meanwhile, in Washington, it was decided to convene another hearing in the US Senate. At the end of the session, the government of the country stars and stripes decis and to declare war on Diclonius, to wipe them out permanently, once located. Even the Russian federation was not different, the same was true for

China. Japan, on the other hand, decided to take time. The European

Union instead showed itself to little more peaceful on this point ; if he had previously decided to eliminate the diclonius, he now took a slight step backwards; before, in fact, the member states of the union to find the laboratory. As for Africa and South America, the decisions of African Americans and their intentions. As for Oceania, the

Inhabitants of this continent were s ì terrified, but at the same time curious of Diclonius on what they could do in general. In fact, how to develop new humans , I know that even in this continent decided to take time .

The world splits in two: on the one hand as if it meant: "war against the diclonius! War on the diclonius! They must be eliminated!", On the other it seemed he wanted to say, "let's wait, first let's find them and then we'll see ".

CHAPTER 31

THE MEETING WITH AYAKA

Kouta and others were enjoying good times, even though Nana always showed sad signs on her face. The little diclonius Miyu, from the time he started calling Yuka "mother", felt much happier; it was as if he had found a parent. It would be useful to me. "Will I ever even have a dad, Mom?"

"I hope so, my child ," Yuka always said, trying to bring confidence to the little diclonius. She had some and showed some. His greatest dream was to live with his mother Yuka, with a father and with Kinuko all together.

"Will this dream come true, Mom?" Miyu often told Yuka.

"I have a lot of hope, Miyu, we must have confidence" always said the girl to Miyu. The little diclonius was afraid that his dreams would not be true, but from the words of Yuka, he always took courage to make these dreams as true. Kouta was proud of this, he was proud of what his cousin was doing to the little diclonius, who wanted only love and a family. Lucy was also the one who wanted to love Kouta and the others, the same Nana and Mayu. In short, everyone at Marple House needed love from each other because they all had a painful past. Everyone gave love and affection to each other and everyone had a good time. Of course, for Nana it was a little tougher, given her reasons, but she too had moments to remember.

A few days later, I had to go out with Kouta. The boy gladly accepted. They left the house in the afternoon and decided to go to the beach. I always had a cap on his head, so that his horns were covered. As they headed for the sea, Kouta said to Miyu: "Do you like the sea very much, Miyu?"

"Oh yes Kouta" replied the little diclonius "a lot".

"I am very pleased," the boy said, "I really like it too." Little Miyu smiled at him with his eyes closed. Later, after about fifteen minutes, they arrived at the beach. They went very close to the water and sat on the sand, looking at the sea , then the boy took the floor and said to the little Diclonius: "then, Miyu ...".

"Yes, Kouta?" Said Miyu curiously .

"Do you really like to call my cousin " mom "?".

"A lot, a lot. She is like my mother, good, tender, sweet ..." and tears came to the little diclonius. Kouta noticed this and tried to calm her. Miyu then said, smiling, with his eyes closed: "sorry ... sorry ...".

"Quiet, little one," the boy said, smiling, "there is nothing you should apologize for." Miyu calmed down. Then the little diclonius asked the boy: "What do you and mom do in life?"

"Well, we came to Kamakura to study, but after some time, we have been looking after you, but there is always time to recover, now Yuka and I think of you, there is no quickly. You need love more than we need to do other things right now. "

"Thanks Kouta ...".

"Figured, baby". And they sat talking about the sand for a few more minutes. Then there was another playground in those parts of the city.

"Would you like to go to the playground?" Kouta asked the little diclonius.

"yes I'd really like!". "Ok, then let's go".

"Thank you, Kouta!"

"Imagine," the boy said, smiling at her. They got up and went to the city center. Once they arrived, I started playing with the slide and then with the swing , while Kouta watched her sitting on a bench. After a few minutes, the boy saw two people approaching him, a girl and a girl; they stopped about five feet from the boy. Kouta asked them: "Can I help you?"

"You know, first I saw that she was with that child and I ask her if I can play with her. Is it possible?". The girl asked.

"Of course, there is no problem," the boy replied.

"well. Ok, Aiko, go play with her," the girl said to Aiko smiling.

"Thanks Ayaka!" And the little girl ran to Miyu, all happy. On hearing the word Ayaka,

Kouta remembered the words of Miyu's story when he spoke of another diclonius named Ayaka. Kouta immediately looked at the girl's head: in fact, she wore a cap and could see her dark purple hair; In fact, Miyu also described her as Ayaka and Kinuko, including her hair. Kouta said to the girl, "are you Ayaka?"

"Yes, why?" Replied the diclonius. Then Kouta signaled to how closer, to say something in her ear; Ayaka understood and came close enough. And Kouta said in a low voice, "you're a diclonius, aren't you?" Ayaka was very surprised, and said in a low voice: "how do you know this?"

"Because you told me, Miyu". Ayaka turned her head and looked at the little diclonius who spoke with Aiko, they had already recognized each other and a few seconds later, they looked at Kouta and Ayaka. Kouta said to Ayaka: "Don't worry, I'm not here to do anything, I just recognized you." The diclonius understood and calmed down. Then Miyu and Aiko went to Kouta and Ayaka. Subunque, Aiko said to Ayaka: "big sister, she is Miyu".

"Big sister? " Why does he call you? "Kouta asked the diclonius. Ayaka said with a smile:" it's a long story ... long, but beautiful in the end "as he said these words, the diclonius caressed Aiko's head. She enjoyed it very much. Miyu said: "Would you like to like our house to get something? I know you can get the others and we'll talk about what happened to you in these weeks. "

"There are no problems for me," said Ayaka.

"There is no problem for me either," said little Aiko, who then continued: "First, however, let's go home to tell mom."

"Ok," replied Ayaka. So together they went to the house of Aiko and Ayaka. Arrived, Kouta and Miyu remained outside waiting for them, then when they returned, little Aiko said, "ok, we can come to your house".

"Well" said Kouta "let's go". So, they headed for Kouta and Miyu's house. Arrived, Kouta knocked. To open was Mayu. Kouta told her that the child was simply friends and therefore guests. Mayu understood and went to warn the others and Nana her horns covered with a cap . Ayaka and Aiko stroked the puppy of Mayu Wanta, who greatly appreciated their caresses.

Kouta and the others welcomed the girl and the child fondly. They thanked. It was a long time for Yuaka and others to understand certain things about them. . The girl took off her cap and showed her horns. Yuka said: "quiet, we are only friends". Ayaka calmed down. At this point, Nana took off her cap too, and Lucy also told Ayaka that she too was a diclonius. Nana and Lucy said that afterwards they would explain everything, Ayaka understood and then everyone sat in the living room and the snack together. Then Yuka said to Ayaka: "You know, Miyu told us everything he knew about you and Aiko." "That's why you recognized me ..." Ayaka said with a slight smile.

"Already" they replied. Then Nana and Lucy explained their whole story to Ayaka. The diclonius number forty-four listened to them carefully and understood all their history. Aiko, then told Ayaka: "big sister, but then, are they like you?" "Yes Aiko" Ayaka replied "but quiet, they are not bad, they are friends".

"OK! I got it".

"But now tell us about yourself" said Yuka to Ayaka "why does Aiko call you? And what did you do after that, with Aiko, you said hello, Miyu and Kinuko?" And Ayaka began to tell her story, since she was taken and taken to the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE when Aiko and her mother found her fainted on Kamakura beach. They became very close to each other. "That's why she calls me a big sister," Ayaka said as she stroked little Aiko. "It's a wonderful feeling when she calls me that ..." Ayaka continued.

"I believe it," Lucy said. Then he told the clash with Miyu and Kinuko and the clarification between them and then he began to tell what happened next. Ayaka, after returning home with Aiko, said what had happened in that street with Kinuko and Miyu. Aiko told her that she was hit by one of those two girls, to the point that she lost consciousness. Ayaka then told her mother about these two girls, I know she didn't mind that much with Kinuko and Miyu. Then, from Aiko's words, the mother became suspicious about the nature of Ayaka, or how he helped Aiko. Ayaka was then forced to reveal her true nature to Ayaka's mother. But it was actually Ayaka who raised them with her vectors. Aiko pleaded with her mother to let Ayaka stay with them. The mother thought about the diclonius had helped her with her daughter, also because of her growing of her she to Ayaka. Aiko was as happy as ever in her life. I know Ayaka and Aiko hugged each other strongly, crying for happiness. Later, Ayaka often took a look at the playground and more. The diclonius always had a cap on his head when they came out. Aiko and Ayaka felt more and more like sisters as time went on. Kouta and others understood their story.

"I feel better now, now that I have found a family," Ayaka concluded.

"What a beautiful story ..." Nana said. Then Ayaka asked Miyu: "How did you end up with them? And where is Kinuko?". Miyu told everything , incited to call Yuka "mother" and her dreams; when it came time to talk about Kinuko, tears came to her eyes and then she cried, saying "she ... was captured ... and brought back there ... to that place ...". Ayaka got up to comfort her. But Miyu was crying a lot now, she was very fond of Kinuko. Ayaka understood his words at the bottom. Everyone went to embrace Miyu, Yuka first. Later, Miyu calmed down. Ayaka and Aiko stayed for another few minutes then they had to return home.

"Thank you so much for the hospitality" said Ayaka and Aiko.

"It was a great pleasure," replied kouta and the others.

"See you soon!" Said Ayaka and Aiko. And they greeted their new friends. And they left, going home. Later, Kouta and others prepared dinner. Then, everyone was talking about Ayaka and Aiko and how they had spent the day. Everyone rested very positively on both topics. Then, not long after eating, they went to sleep.

Meanwhile, at DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, director Kakuzawa ordered the lab team to begin research on diclonius Lucy, Nana, Miyu and Ayaka on the streets of Kamakura. The research would begin the morning of the next day. The next day the team with the helicopter left for Kamakura; arrived, all the soldiers , aboard the helicopter, disembarked from the aircraft and officially began researching the diclonius for the city of Kamakura.

CHAPTER 32

THE KIDNAPPING

It was about the hours 8 : 37 when the soldiers of the Diclonius team RESEARCH INSTITUTE arrived in Kamakura and began to search the Diclonius in the city. For an hour, the patrolled many streets and streets, not having found any diclonius, it was decided to patrol also in the houses. It began with those near the beach. Meanwhile, Kouta and the others were having breakfast, they had all woken up more or less near the same time. They were discussing how they would spend the day. In the end, they decided to stay at home that day for a while. In the next two hours, Yuka cared for little Miyu , Nana stayed with her friend Mayu, while Lucy was with Kouta. As a family, everyone was connected to the other. Later, when it was around 10:58, someone knocked on the door of their house.

"Who can it be?" Said Yuka to Kouta.

"I don't know," replied the boy "now I'm going to see." Kouta went so far towards the gate of the Marple House and from what he could see, two corpulent shapes could be seen. He took a deep breath and opened the door slightly. In front of him were two men dressed in gray and black, with a robust and stout body. Kouta said, "Can I help you?"

"Hello boy," said one of the two men "we have to check your home". Kouta was very surprised. "Why, sorry?"

"We have orders, boy," said the other man, "no questions."

"But ...".

"Come on, let us in, we just have to inspect the house. We won't be long, you'll see."

"But gentlemen, I ..." The two men, at this point, pushed away from their passage and towards the entrance to the house. Kouta tried to talk to the two men and finally convinced them to wait a few seconds before they entered the house. Kouta warned others and they all got ready. The diclonius, except for Lucy, while having brought his cub inside the house, shortly before the two men arrived, hid Wanta in his room. Then Kouta went to the two men and said, "OK, you can come in."

"We thank you boy. I repeat, we won't take much time." And they entered the Marple House. First they inspected the living room, then the kitchen and two rooms where there was no one. As they inspected, Mayu asked Kouta and Yuka, "What do you think they're looking for?"

"I don't know, we'll see," they replied. Then, when one of the two men arrived at Miyu's room , he was standing with a cap on his head. The man inspected the room, even the wardrobe. Then he went to the next room, Nana's. When he entered, he noticed that the girl was standing, then inspected her room . Meanwhile , the other man had arrived at the door of Lucy's room. Q hen he entered, Lucy was standing, back turned , without a cap on his head. The man asked the girl to make room for him while he inspected the room. As Lucy moved, he was very close to the man and he could see the horns in his hair. The man became immediately suspicious, then he looked

Lucy. Immediately afterwards, the man left the room and went to talk to his companion, who was standing outside the room waiting for him.

"I think I found Lucy," he told his companion.

"Maybe even I found something, that little girl and that girl don't convince me, in my opinion they are them". At that moment, Kouta passed with Yuka in that corridor and the boy asked them: "to know, do you still have much?".

One of the two men asked the two boys: "How long did you have those girls and that child in your house?" Yuka and Kouta became suspicious. "Why are you asking us this question?" They asked.

"We must take them away".

"thing? Why?" Asked Yuka.

"no questions".

"You can't do that!" Kouta said loudly, to the point that Nana, Miyu, Lucy and Mayu came out of their rooms to watch what was happening. At this point, the two men pulled out the guns with the silencer and threatened the two boys. one of the two men told them: "now they come with us, we have very specific orders". Miyu, hearing these words, ran to Yuka and hugged her crying. While crying, he said: "no mom ... I don't want to go away ... I don't want to go back there ...". One of the two men took the head of little Miyu and threw it away. You could see the two horns on the head.

"Yes, it's the diclonius number forty-three!" The man said. His companion then said, "and that other girl must diclonius number seven, while the other is still Lucy . " Later, one of the two men signaled to the other soldiers scattered around Kamakura to reach the Marple House. Nana and Lucy rushed to join the boys and Miyu ; Mayu, suspicious, closed room

"What the hell is going on here?" Mayu asked.

"Shut up, little girl!" One of the two men shouted.

"Do allow yourself to talk to her like this anymore!" Nana shouted, who with the carriers took the gun and destroyed it, crumbling it. The other man fired his gun at Kouta, but Lucy sweptly with one of his vectors, pushed back to the bullet and with another carrier took the gun and destroyed it. The men at this point pulled out of their weapons, knife, and their sights ended Kouta and Yuka, taking a look at them, threatening them with death with the knife that barely touched their necks.

"If you approach or make jokes, ugly infernal monsters, these two boys will die!" . Meanwhile, more men arrived at Marple House. They managed to open the door and made the house, making almost no noise, so as not to be seen and heard. Nana and the others. Only Yuka, Kouta and the soldiers who threatened them saw the other men. One of the newly arrived soldiers fired his gun, hitting Nana's right leg, injuring her. She screamed in pain and sank to the floor, losing a lot of blood. Lucy turned and noticed three men in front of her. Very fast and very angry, with vectors she took their weapons and destroyed them. Having heard the shot, all the men went that corridor and shot Lucy too, but the girl rejected their bullets. Miyu also intervened, who took the weapons of the other men with his vectors and destroyed them. Mayu meanwhile tried to rescue his friend Nana, but she was still losing a lot of blood. He tried to stop the bleeding with his shirt. Meanwhile, the man who held Yuka hostage intervened by throwing the girl to the ground, having Lucy by her back, managed to hurt her. Lucy screamed for a second. Miyu tore the knife from the man's hand and destroyed it. Another soldier hit Miyu on the head, surprising her, and the little diclonius lost consciousness. Later, other men with the knife tried to hurt Lucy, but, although I was wounded, managed to push them back to life, they were able to do nothing. Lucy, at this point, found himself as the only opponent who held Kouta hostage.

"Let Kouta go now!" The diclonius shouted. The man did not obey, he was not going to do it. Then Lucy noticed that there was blood on Kouta's neck: the knife was injuring the boy. Lucy was blinded by anger and screamed louder and louder: "LEAVE IT GO!" And with one of her vectors hurt the man in the legs, fracturing them. The man screamed a lot of pain and dropped his knife and Kouta broke free and sat on the floor, putting his hand on his neck ; the boy was still bleeding. The man fainted in pain. Lucy, helped by Yuka, carried out her body out into the garden. And immediately afterwards Yuka went to revive the little Miyu , taking her to her room, while Lucy, looking at Kouta's wounded neck, and the serious condition, in tears said: "No, I don't die. .. now I think about it ". And by concentrating all his abilities to the maximum, he managed to free up more than twenty vectors and with them was able to heal both Nana and Kouta. But it was a very expensive process for her. When Lucy had almost finished, another soldier entered the house, armed with a pistol and went to the corridor where all the others were. Lucy had already completed the healing process, Kouta and Nana were stunned; they had healed completely , as if they had been injured, but they felt the bites of weakness a little. Lucy, exhausted, before passing out, told Kouta and Nana: "I love you ... my friends ..." and, unconscious, he collapsed on the floor. Kouta and Nana, moved by what Lucy had done for them, tried to revive her, but was all in vain. Then came Nana and Kouta with a gun. Nana, cured, felt a little weak, and had not enough strength to use the vectors, so she got up and tried, with Kouta, to punch the

soldier. Their efforts were in vain. He gave Lucy's unconscious body and ran away from Marple House. Meanwhile, other soldiers took away the body of Lucy's wounded soldier. all the soldiers went to the beach, where the helicopter was waiting for them; arrived, they boarded and returned to the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE.

At Marple House, meanwhile, Kouta and Nana resumed their senses , revived by Miyu and Yuka.

"What happened?" The little diclonius and Yuka asked Kouta and Nana.

"Yuka, Lucy ..." Nana said with tears in her eyes.

"Lucy saved us ... we were dying and she saved our lives ..." Kouta said weeping.

CHAPTER 33

CONFESSIONS

In the following hours, Lucy, at the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, was taken to a vault where at that time there was no diclonius. Who gave the level of tests and experiments, in the chamber of the diclonius number thirty-seven. Lucy was one of the most important people in the world. Director Kakuzawa ordered the scientists that, once Lucy opened her eyes, Lucy was interrogated, both by them and by himself. At Marple House, the weather was not positive these days ; by the house was devastated by the war against the soldiers, the gates were broken, they were rather dazed by what happened. Kouta cried a lot every day, if he wasn't he of infinite sadness. The pain of losing Lucy again was too strong, moreover after Lucy had saved his life; she seemed to have lost her forever this time. Nana also cried a lot, struck by Lucy's gesture towards her. Miyu, Mayu and Yuka embraced them many times, but it was very difficult, to the extent possible. But the house had to be rearranged, it could not remain in that state. Mayu, Yuka worked harder and little Miyu, Kouta and Nana, suffering from pain, did little. Moreover, it was understandable. We missed Lucy a lot, especially for Kouta. one wondered if one day it would see you again one day. After the gesture made of the Diclonius, it was impossible not to notice That Lucy had by now changed from all points of view , given her dark and violent past. During the nights, Kouta cried and fell asleep with difficulty, sleeping little. The situation is more or less similar for

Nana. Kouta just wanted to hug her best friend and be with her; Nana also wanted to see her again a lot. She had made towards them. Takeshi and Koichi came to see Kouta. Noticing the bad gate , they immediately thought something bad had happened. When they called Kouta and Yuka to know what happened, they said that something very unexpected, but the same time very bad, had happened . They said that Lucy had been kidnapped, Kouta explained it in tears and then ran to her room to cry. Yuka said to two boys: "you must forgive him and Lucy were very close".

"We understand, quiet, we are very sorry for this thing and for the rest," Takeshi replied. Nana and Mayu, with his puppy, stayed with Miyu, but everyone was sad for all that had happened. Takeshi and Koichi were very close to Kouta and others, to make them feel their love. When they entered the house, Nana put on her cap to cover her horns , as did Miyu. They are all together and then Koichi told them: "if you want to give us money to help you fix it, it would be a pleasure for us".

"I would thank you very much" said Kouta "in fact we don't have much money".

"But would that be a problem for you?" Yuka asked.

"There is absolutely no problem," Takeshi said. "We are friends and friends help each other." Yuka, Kouta and others were very impressed by the boy's words. They had found really golden people. Then, after a few seconds, Takeshi asked Kouta and the others: "Did you hear about diclonius these days?" Kouta and others looked at him suspiciously, especially Nana.

"Diclonius?" Said Kouta.

"Yes, haven't you heard the news?"

"To tell the truth ... no," replied Mayu.

"It's okay, we tell you," Koichi said. And the boy told everything he knew about diclonius. "They talked about it, and I think they'll talk about it for a long time," said Takeshi. Kouta and Yuka said: "then the world is aware of their existence?"

"Yes, but not very much," the two boys replied. Everyone present, except the two boys Takeshi and Koichi, were surprised.

"But what are you thinking of the diclonius? Are you afraid of them?" Nana asked the two boys.

"Well look ..." Takeshi replied "at this moment many nations of the world are declaring war on the others are not, I think they are thinking too fast about them, in my opinion they cannot be bad, maybe if they were treated well, they would be very good ".

"We must first wait and see, then we can judge. Of course, they make a little bit scared, but we could talk to them, maybe there was something good for , because they are human beings anyway " Koichi said "this is our thought". Having heard these words, Nana's eyes came to her eyes and put her hands to her mouth. Everyone noticed that he was about to start crying.

"Nana, why are you crying?" Takeshi said. The boy stood up and walked over to the girl. She blushed very much, since she was in love with him.

"S ... sorry ... sorry everyone ..." Nana got up and went into a corridor to cry in secret. Yuka and Kouta basically suspected what Nana was feeling. Koichi asked, "But what did he get?"

"I'll talk to her," Takeshi said. Nana was sitting on the floor, crying bitterly, his eyes closed. Takeshi sat down next to her and said, "What's wrong, Nana?" The girl opened her eyes, soaked with tears, and looked at him .

"T ... Takeshi ... I ...".

"Calm, calm Nana, everything's fine" and put a hand on her left shoulder. Nana blushed even more, but couldn't stop crying. Then he said to Nana: "listen to Nana, we are very friends, would you like me to hug you? All right, my friend." The boy later embraced Nana and the diclonius was surprised; he had embraced the boy he was very much in love with. And slowly, Nana calmed down and hugged Takeshi and a tear of emotion descended. After a few seconds, Takeshi said, "Is it better, Nana?"

"Yes thanks ...". Then the boy stood up, while Nana remained seated. Takeshi said, "I'll help you get up." And he helped the girl. When they were both standing, Takeshi said to her, "It's all right, let's go back with the others."

"all right ...". Then the boy said to Nana: "Well, let's go". But immediately afterwards, Takeshi said, "Look, Nana, I've seen you with your head, you can tell me why? Just out of curiosity". Nana paled. Takeshi was a long time to show his true nature.

"I'd like to see you without a cap, I'd love to," the boy said. Nana shook her head, but the boy insisted. At this point, the girl had no choice, she had to take off her cap. And tears came to her eyes. Takeshi said to her, "No, don't cry again, please ... it hurts me to see you like this."

"Takeshi ... I have to confess something to you."

"What, Nana?"

"I ... here ...". And he took courage, took a deep breath and slowly touched himself with his right hand, his cap and, slowly, raised it from his head and uncovered his horns. Takeshi took a step back, amazed.

"You're ... a diclonius ... you're one of them ... " the boy said. Nana burst into tears, covering her face with her hands. And as she wept, saying: "I ... s ì ... I am a

Diclonius ...". Takeshi listened carefully. Nana , crying, continued: "I ... am in love ... with you ... for a while ... I never told you my true nature ... because I was afraid ... I beg you .. . don't abandon me ... I'm crazy about you ... ". Then the diclonius showed the boy that she had prostheses, saying that she had lost her limbs in a fight, always crying and begging. Tears of emotion came to Takeshi's eyes. He fully understood Nana's words. The boy approached Nana , stroked her right cheek, wet with tears, and said to her: "Nana, look at me ... look into my eyes". The diclonius looked at him, his eyes soaked with tears. Takeshi touched her shoulders with both hands.

"Do not cry Nana, do not cry. You did not do anything wrong," the boy said. Nana kept looking at him, listening carefully. "I like you too, I have liked you, from the first time. I saw you. You're diclonius, but you're not bad. This is what I think and reflects reality." Takeshi smiled as he was saying these last words Then he continued: "I don't care if you are a diclonius, I will never get tired of you." To Nana came tears of emotion, which were , increasingly, replacing those of pain. Later, the boy said, "Nana, would you like to be together? To become engaged? Because you will also be at diclonius, but for me you are a normal human being ". As soon as she hear these words, Nana was as surprised as ever in her life. His dream of being with Takeshi seemed to become reality. And later, Nana cried a lot of emotion, with Takeshi hugging her very hard. The girl also hugged him very strongly . Nana screamed with emotion and happiness in her heart. Takeshi cried smiling, but without shouting. Upon hearing the screams of the diclonius, Kouta and others came to see what was happening. Hardly Nana and Takeshi said that all is well. At this point, Koichi also noticed Nana's horns, but he was immediately reassured by everyone present. The boy understood and also revealed his true nature. No one from Takeshi and Koichi was afraid or bad thoughts about Miyu and Nana, because the diclonius had no evil nature. The boys understood it. Subsequently, even Mayu, confessed his love for Koichi, and the boy, smiling, hugged the girl. They both cried.

"Yes, Mayu, if you want we can become engaged. You too have been on my heart, it would be great for you to like" Koichi said to the girl, and May was moved like never before.

Both Nana and Mayu finally took a heavy weight off their stomachs and could feel free with their friends, now engaged. It was a beautiful moment for everyone. Yuka, Kouta and Miyu were moved, seeing these beautiful scenes, and for a while they forgot their sadness and depression.

CHAPTER 34

THE ESCAPE

For Nana and Mayu, those were moments to be framed; they could finally feel free with their lovers. Especially for Nana it was a wonderful feeling, because she had found someone, outside of the Marple House, who accepted it as it was. And not only; even the boy who had accepted her as he was in love with her, so Nana could now feel more than ever. He was trying something new, but just as intense and beautiful. In short, for the two friends that was an unforgettable day. After a few minutes, Nana and Mayu, together with Takeshi and Koichi, calmed down together with Yuka, Kouta and Miyu, they went to the living room. They talked to the reporters of their home.

"I don't know how to thank you," Kouta told the two boys.

"Imagine, it's a pleasure, friends help each other," Koichi replied, smiling at him.

"Thank you very much for what you do for us," Yuka told him. The boys smiled. Then they said goodbye. When they had to greet their sweethearts, Nana and Mayu, they said to them: "See you soon, my love." The girls were moved by these words. Nana told Takeshi: "Can you like me and see me whenever you want , and can I like to your house too?" The same said Mayu to Koichi. The boys told the girls: "but of course, you can like whenever you want. And when you want it, we'll go out together ." The girls embraced their lovers and they did the same. Then they said goodbye and left. After a few minutes, Yuka told Mayu and Nana: "I'm so happy for you, you don't know how much."

"Thank you, Yuka" the girls replied, still moved. "Pity Lucy is not here with us ..." Nana said "she would have loved this day ... I hope to see her again one day, to thank her ...".

"Me too ..." Kouta said.

The next day, Kouta and Yuka called people to repair In less than a week, the Marple House returned as new, and the sum of money requested was enough for them.

"Fortunately, Takeshi and Koichi gave us some money ..." Kouta said "without their help, we couldn't do it."

"Yeah, you're right," replied Mayu.

A few days passed. At the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUE, meanwhile, around 13:46, Lucy slowly opened her eyes again.

"But ... where ... I am ..." the diclonius said slowly. Then Lucy looked around; he realized in a vault and was held by a machine. In fact, he couldn't move. His attempts to break free were useless. After a few minutes, director Kakuzawa arrived, along with scientist Sosuke. Kakuzawa had the hairpiece on his head, which covered his real appearance. Sosuke went to sit in front of the computer that was connected to the cabin machinery.

"Hi Lucy," said Kakuzawa. The diclonius looked at him quite surprised. "You know, I never expected to see you alive again."

"And who would you be?" Asked the diclonius.

"I am Kakuzawa, the director of this laboratory. We have never met in person in the past, but I know everything about you."

"So you would be the one who ordered those men to capture me years ago?"

"Good, you guessed it. I ordered Kurama to do this. Do you remember him?". Anger came to Lucy. Then the diclonius replied: "of course I remember him. He was a horrible person. He also held up Mariko in his arms."

"Oh really? Have you witnessed his death? I wouldn't have expected it," the director replied. Then Kakuzawa continued: "but let's go to the point. How did you manage to survive? And yet, they had injected you with a paralyzing substance ... ". Lucy remembered those moments. But he couldn't understand. So he asked Kakuzawa:" why did you inject me with that substance? "

"Simple, because I didn't need you anymore, for my project. I needed something else, some of your blood," replied the director.

"My blood?" Lucy asked in surprise. Then he continued: "and what did you do with my blood? And which project do you mean?". The chuckled manager. Then diss and to Sosuke: "Sosuke, proceed". The scientist said: "yes director". He got up from his chair and left the vault. Then, after a few minutes, he returned with Ludme. The artificial diclonius was covered with body wraps, except for the head and hands and feet. Lucy, noticing Ludme's horns, frowned, realizing he was a diclonius.

Screamed Ludme, and hugged Kakuzawa. Lucy could not understand, observing the scene with a half-open mouth.

"What does this thing mean?" Lucy asked.

"She is called Ludme and she is ... your sister". Director Kakuzawa said.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked.

"Can't you understand, Lucy?" Kakuzawa said to Lucy "she was born with the secret lab technology, and we used your blood too. She has your blood in her veins, she has a number of vectors and can, like you, also procreate . Now do you understand? "He said with a wicked smile. Lucy couldn't believe what she had heard and was surprised.

"No, it can't be ..." Lucy said.

"You have to believe instead, it's all real".

"But why did you do this?" At this point, Kakuzawa removed his hairpiece from his head and showed Lucy her true appearance. Lucy was very surprised.

"But ... you are ..." Lucy said, bewildered.

"No, I'm not a diclonius like you" and told Lucy everything. Then, at the end of his speech to Lucy, Kakuzawa said, "Now you understand everything?" Lucy nodded, still showing a little surprise. Then Kakuzawa said to Lucy: "but now how to you, how did you survive?"

"I ... I managed to swim and then I managed to treat myself on the beach with my carriers."

"And hear, have you killed how many people in Kamakura?"

"Not even one," he said, raising his voice slightly Lucy.

"why? And yet, you have the reputation of being violent, bad, cold and bloody ...". "none of your business".

"Oh, what a manners," said Kakuzawa. Then Lucy got an electric shock. Then

Kakuzawa told her: "Don't answer me like that anymore."

"Dad doesn't like bad education," said Ludme grinning. Subsequently, the director of the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE asked Lucy: "Listen, I have a proposal for make for you. Would you like to join us?"

"For what reason?" Replied the diclonius. And Kakuzawa explained his project to Lucy. in the end, he said, "I created Ludme for this, but we had another diclonius like you, or you, it would be easier. What do you say?".

Lucy, when she heard these words, was baffled. If he had joined Kakuzawa and Ludme, he would have had to shed blood again, much more than he had in the past, because this time was about involving everyone on the planet. The moments when she separated from the evening, before facing the special team of the laboratory, came to mind; he was thinking how much he had done to many people, including Kouta, his love. He said, "no Lucy, you can't join them. If you joined them, you should kill Kouta and others. You can not do this. What does your heart tell you? Do you want to live together with your friends and get married and love them and then join them and then kill them? Listen to your heart, Lucy . " The Diclonius , thinking of his love Kouta and his current family to Marple House, he said. Kakuzawa and to Ludme: "no. I will never join you". Kakuzawa was a bit surprised, then Lucy continued: "I will never kill anyone again, I have understood all my mistakes and I regret my past mistakes. I am longer by the bad, cold, violent and bloody Lucy." Having heard these words, Kakuzawa said: "then I need something more. You know it's lucky that you took blood, otherwise I could have created Ludme." Then the manager said, "Sosuke, get Lucy out of here and finish it, this time permanently. "

"Yes sir, as you wish". Having said that, Kakuzawa went out with Ludme, he would take her back to his armored cabin. Then Sosuke injected a paralyzing substance to Lucy .

"Here it is," said the scientist, "I know you can do nothing. Now come with me." And he freed Lucy, paralyzed, from the machinery, and fell to the ground. Later, Aritomo and Kaito also arrived, helping Sosuke bring Lucy's body to the lab exit. As they proceeded towards the us cites , very little after the three scientists had taken the Diclonius, Lucy tried to heal herself from the substance and secretly healed herself with her vectors, concentrating her abilities , and no longer felt paralyzed. He felt less than expected, since he had not made much effort. Later, when they were still in the corridors of the diclonius cells, Lucy freed herself from the three scientists, taking them completely by surprise, giving them fists and then running. Aritomo fainted from Lucy's fist, Koichi was a little stunned, while Sosuke struggled after her. Meanwhile, a few seconds later, the alarm went off throughout the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE. Lucy arrived at the chamber of the diclonius number forty-five, Kinuko. He read the name on the door and remembered the words of Miyu , who wanted to see Kinuko again. Sosuke joined her , and told her: "it is useless to run away, you can't run away from here again", and in a short time, the soldiers of the laboratory team arrived. Sosuke took out the syringe containing a lethal substance and slowly approached Lucy. She took the syringe with one of her vectors and destroyed it. The soldiers fired, with Sosuke stooping to the rest of them. Lucy rejected, with more than ten carriers, each bullet and took their weapons and destroyed them all by one. The soldiers retreated and fled, going to get more weapons. Lucy shouted to the scientist: "Kinuko release! Or something wasn't going to kill him, only to hurt him." By now the word kill in Lucy had completely disappeared.

"Or ... ok ..." and Sosuke entered the code to enter Kinuko's armored cabin. the number forty-five diclonius was asleep. Always threatened by Lucy, Sosuke sat down at the computer and freed Kinuko from the machine, which fell to the ground. Lucy hit Sosuke's head, knocking him out. Kinuko, who was still on the ground, raised his head and noticed Lucy, who later helped her up.

"And who are you?" Kinuko asked as he stood up, aided by Lucy. Then the number forty-five diclonius said, "are you perhaps ... Lucy?"

"yes I am. But I'll explain everything later, now we have to go".

"Why did you release me? And why are you helping me escape from here?"

"Because Miyu is waiting for you". Kinuko was surprised and said, "how do you know about Miyu?"

"I'll explain everything later, now let's go". And together they ran to find an exit. All the cameras in the lab. The soldiers scattered in the halls of the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, when they were looking for the diclonius, terrified and knowing that they could do nothing, escaped and took refuge in their offices. During their escape, Lucy and Kinuko faced the soldiers, knocked them to the ground with their carriers, but they killed no one, at most they hurt them. Eventually, they managed to reach the exit of the laboratory , the bullets failed two to rush with the soldiers they were running. Arriving at the point where the earth ended, Kinuko and Lucy were forced to jump into the water to escape the island for good. So they did. Soldiers are not allowed to go deep When the ammunition ended, the soldiers withdrew and immediately informed Kakuzawa.

"Bring them back here, use every possible means. Then we will discuss how to act" said the director. The soldiers divided into two groups, one boat and the other on the helicopter. Research began immediately. Lucy and Kinuko meanwhile, after a minute that they had thrown themselves into the water, re-emerged. And Lucy said: "we are close, they will come as back to look for us".

" Yes, Lucy," Kinuko replied.

"You'll see that everything will be fine. We swim in that direction" and pointed out with her right arm, the direction at ninety degrees from the right: "there is the beach of Kamakura. We must reach it ". and they started swimming in the direction Lucy indicato, as fast as they could. Meanwhile, the soldiers started searching. After about two minutes, the helicopter soldiers sighted the Diclonius That were swimming. Hearing the sound of the aircraft, Kinuko stopped and turned and noticed the helicopter.

"Oh no! We found them!" Said Kinuko . Hearing her, Lucy stopped and looked at the helicopter. You could reach the distance that was reaching them. The helicopter dropped a few dozen meters. At this point, Kinuko and Lucy realized that the only way to get to the beach was to face the soldiers. Three of them, on the helicopter, started firing. Allied, the two diclonius with their vectors repelled the bullets and then went underwater. After about ten seconds Kinuko resurfaced, and attracted the attention of the helicopter, now to the water, to allow the soldiers to have an easier aim. Both helicopter doors were open. While the soldiers shot at Kinuko, who rejected the bullets, Lucy went to the other side and when to there was before her eyes the other hatch of the helicopter opened and then the shoulders of some soldiers who were shooting at Kinuko, the

Diclonius stretched the its vectors of a few meters and pushed some soldiers into the water with their weapons. And the helicopter shot by Lucy in bursts. The diclonius freed more than just carriers and with some defenses themselves and with them took the soldiers and threw them into the water. When only the pilot remained on the helicopter, he could do nothing but return to the base. Meanwhile, the boat arrived, containing more than five armed men and began to shoot. The diclonius went underwater, but they did not take it. When Kinuko and Lucy were right under the boat, with signs they understood each other. Lucy resurrected with the bullets, while the diclonius Kinuko managed to get on board and with her vectors pushed the soldiers into the water . Kinuko helped Lucy get on board and set up the boat of Kamakura city.

CHAPTER 35

THE GROUPING

The two diclonius Lucy and Kinuko, after defeating the special team of the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, at full speed on board the boat arrived in Kamakura after about twenty minutes. During this journey, Kinuko said to Lucy: "Now that we have got rid of those armed people, can you explain everything to me please?"

"Of course, where do you want me to go?" Lucy replied.

"Well, they told me they were violent and mean, why didn't you kill anyone before?"

"Because not long ago, I realized all the horrors I did. From that moment, I only have my head to do only good".

"really?".

"Yes, really".

"But what exactly made you change your mind?" Kinuko asked.

"See Kinuko, " Lucy replied, " I was going to kill myself , get myself killed by those armed men. But then, in my heart, I felt something, to have the opportunity to remedy all the horrors past, to help others, to do good to someone. Now I am different, I live a little more serenely. Of course, I'm very sorry for all the evil I've done in the past, but now I want to make up for it, become a good person. I haven't shed any blood since that time .

"I understand," Kinuko told her, "well, you can say you've really changed, you haven't killed anyone before."

"I want it to be just the beginning of a new era for me".

"I believe it, but now I have more questions."

"Tell me well".

"First of all, you gave me the cell, why did you do it? And why me?"

"I told you before Kinuko, because Miyu is waiting for you at home."

"Ah yes, it's true, but how do you know about Miyu?" "Because she lives in my house".

"your home? Do you mean that you have a home there?"

"Of course, I lived there for a while, and the best I have known."

"who are these people?"

"They are a boy named Kouta, his cousin named Yuka, a girl named Mayu who has a puppy and then there is Nana."

"Nana?".

"Yes, she is a diclonius girl like us".

"really?".

"Certainly Kinuko, and he thinks of one thing: I and Kouta hurt myself a while ago, but both have forgiven me. They are golden people, who give only love".

"I see. And why does Miyu live with them and with you there?"

"He told us all not long needle, Kouta met her not long after they caught her and took us to our house. Then he explained everything, both to her and to you".

"If he has told you everything, will he tell you about our confrontation with the diclonius number forty-four Ayaka?"

"Of course," Lucy replied, " Just a few days ago, just before I was taken to the laboratory."

"Have you met Ayaka and Aiko?"

"Exactly".

"And how did they seem to you?" Kinuko asked .

"Oh, I had more than positive feelings towards them, they love each other if they were sisters."

"Already, even me and Miyu when we met them we had this feeling, Aiko loves Ayaka very much, if she was her older sister and Ayaka also loves Aiko very much".

"This is a very nice thing," Lucy said. "Besides, they love each other as if they knew each other forever, like a family."

"you are right".

"You know Kinuko, Miyu is very fond of you. At my house, he cried a lot for you".

"Really?" Kinuko replied.

"Yes and you know, Miyu also told us something else about you, Kinuko."

"what?".

"That put explosives in your body, even if they can't be activated any more because Ayaka has destroyed the remote control . Tears came to Kinuko's eyes with emotion. He would never have thought that someone has done much to her after years of suffering.

"... did Miyu really cry so much for me?"

"Yes Kinuko, really," Lucy replied . The diclonius Kinuko cried, moved. Lucy noticed it and smiled at her.

"I can't wait to hug Miyu ..." Kinuko said.

"In a short time this desire of yours will become reality, quiet," Lucy told her. Then, in her mind, Lucy said: "I'm coming Kouta, my love. I can't wait to hug you. Kouta, Nana, Mayu and Yuka, I'm coming back!" After a minute, Lucy asked Kinuko: "Listen Kinuko ...".

"Yes? What's up?".

"Would you like to live with Miyu for the rest of your days?"

"Yes, a lot. But why are you asking me this question?"

"You know, Miyu has become attached to everyone in my house, but above all to Yuka, to the point that he calls her by the name of mother."

"But really?" Kinuko said, showing a little surprise.

"of course. He thinks that Miyu would also like to live with Yuka, I know if Yuka married someone, he could have a family with you and Miyu who would be his adopted daughters, and so you and Miyu would become full-fledged sisters ".

"Oh, it would be great ..." Kinuko said "maybe things could go this way ... who knows ...".

"Never say never, Kinuko . When we arrive, proposed it, then we'll see".

"Yes, I'll tell you. And what would you like to do?" On hearing these words, Lucy took a deep breath and then said to Kinuko: "I would like to live I was as a friend when I was little, to the person I love: Kouta ". Kinuko replied: "I can imagine it. Do you love him very much Kouta?".

"A lot, a lot. Together with Nana and others at my house, he gave me love, but in my opinion, he has more than others, not because I didn't like the others, but because he and I have known each other for a long time, and I spent some moments with him. I love him, I want to tell him when we come back ". Kinuko put a hand on Lucy's right shoulder, smiling at her.

"Quiet, this will be real soon," Kinuko told her. Lucy smiled at her. Next, she could see from afar the mainland, to cost in Kamakura.

Said Kinuko.

"Already," Lucy said. And after about six minutes, the boat touched the ground until it reached the beach . Then the two diclonius came down from the boat and Lucy said, "Follow me Kinuko! I'll take you to my house ! ".

"Yes Lucy!" And they ran towards the Marple House. They still had bandages on, even though some had been lost in the sea. Meanwhile, at Marple House Kouta and others were resting ; Kouta was sleeping, he was the only one inside the house sleeping at that moment. The others were on their beds to rest but without sleep. Miyu was with Yuka, who stroked her head, just like her mother, while Mayu and Nana were resting together. After about seven minutes, the Wanta puppy barked a lot, to the point that it attracted attention of Yuka and Mayu. Together they went to see why Mayu's puppy barked so much. Yuka and Mayu Noted behind the gate figures uman to , slightly bending of at from fatigue .

"Who do you think may be Mayu?" Yuka asked her.

"I really don't know, but we hope it doesn't belong to men like those of a few days ago. Let's go and open, but be careful".

"Ok," said Yuka. And they headed for the gate. And when they opened it , they were surprised to see that human figure was Lucy.

"Lucy? You're back!" Mayu and Yuka said. Lucy still breathless, smiled at them with her mouth open. Kinuko arrived a few seconds later. She was out of breath and put her hands on her knees, leaning slightly.

"And who is she?" Yuka and Mayu said. Then they looked at their heads, but Lucy reassured them, saying, "quiet, she's Kinuko, she's not mean."

"Kinuko?" Said Yuka "the Kinuko that Miyu told us about? ".

"Yes, she is," replied Lucy , who then asked, "can you stay with us for a few days, please?" . Yuka thought for a few seconds, then remembering that Miyu was of her, he said with a smile: "but of course, no problem". Then they told us how to go into the house and they did. As Mayu closed the gate, Lucy said, "I see you have repaired the house."

"Already" replied the girl "you know, Takeshi and Koichi gave us some money, they are really golden people. Without their help we would not have made it".

"I see". Kinuko saw Wanta and said with a smile to Mayu: "Is this your puppy?"

"Yup."

"He is very cute " and stroked him, then they all entered the house. When they were in the living room, Kinuko said: "So this is your home? It is beautiful ... and also very large ...".

"Thank you," Yuka told her. After a few seconds, Miyu arrived and said, "Mom, you can please prepare me ..." at that moment he stopped, he saw Kinuko. The little diclonius was surprised to see Kinuko again after some time. Tears came to her eyes.

"K ... Kinuko ... are you really ...?", Asked Miyu to Kinuko. Kinuko nodded his head, and spread his arms, if to say "like, let yourself be hugged". Miyu crying with joy, went to Kinuko and hugged her hard, screaming also for the happiness inside her. He had finally seen and embraced Kinuko.

"I ... I missed you a lot ..." said Miyu.

"I missed you too" Kinuko told her, embracing her "here I am, I'm here, Miyu,

quiet". And they remained embraced for a few minutes. Then came Nana. When she saw Kinuko and Miyu hugged, Yuka explained to her that he was the Kinuko who meant

Miyu and when Nana saw Lucy, he called her and moved her, "Oh Lucy, thank you for saving my life ... I could not wait to meet you again to tell you ... thank you, thank you ... "and Lucy hugged her. Then came Kouta, still rather sleepy. When the boy saw Lucy, he put his hands over his mouth and brought his eyes to his friend. Even when Lucy saw Kouta, tears came to her eyes, to her happiness.

"Lucy ... it's really you ..." Kouta said.

"Yes, Kouta, it's me ..." Lucy smiled at him, her eyes shining. And they slowly approached and touched their hands. Then Kouta said: "Thank you ... for saving me ... I wouldn't be here now without your help ...".

"It was a pleasure ... Kouta ..." Lucy replied. Subsequently, the diclonius stroked Kouta's left cheek with his right hand and told him, "there is one thing I want to tell you ...".

"Tell me," Kouta said still smiling and moved. Lucy, still holding her right hand on Kouta's cheek, took a deep breath and declared to Kouta, saying, "Kouta, I ... I love you ... I'm madly in love with you ... I want to be with you forever ... I love you ... ". Upon hearing these words, Kouta was even more moved. tears of emotion descended from his eyes and then after a few seconds, he said with a smile to Lucy: "I love you too, Lucy ... always ..." and stroked her right cheek with his left hand. Lucy didn't know what to say, she was moved and cried. Then the boy said to Lucy: "Everything's fine, Lucy, so good."

"S ... sorry again for the past ... please ..." Lucy told him, and Kouta said to her smiling: "quiet, I have already forgiven you. We think of the present and the future. You 'd also have a son or a daughter? ". Upon hearing these words, Lucy realized that Kouta intended to marry her. A bomb full of unimaginable happiness burst into Lucy's heart. And he strongly embraced Kouta, his love. And the boy did the same.

"Yes ... yes ... I love to ... become a mother ... with you by my side ... Kouta ... my love ..." Lucy said with difficulty for the emotion. Kouta said to her, "quiet, peaceful" and hugged her, caressing her head. What a great time it was for Lucy , Miyu and Kinuko . Yuka, Nana and Mayu were moved.

In the following hours, Kinuko proposed to Yuka the possible future situation he had talked about with Lucy on the boat. Miyu, on hearing these words, said to Yuka: "Oh mom, living with you and with Kinuko together would be a dream! Please! Please!". Yuka thought for a while, then said with a smile: "Okay, we'll be together". Miyu was very happy, like never before, and embraced both Yuka and Kinuko. Later, Nana and Kouta told Lucy: "Can we talk to you privately for a moment?"

"But of course," replied the diclonius. And they went to a room where nobody was there. Once there, Lucy told Nana and Kouta: "What do you want to tell me?"

"Do you remember when you came back to us some time ago?" Said Kouta.

"Yes, of course, I remember it well."

"Well, you found it," Nana said. "You saved our lives, and we'll always be grateful for that, Lucy." The diclonius only realized it at that time. And he showed a little surprise in his face. Lucy took a step back and Kouta said to her, "hey, Lucy, look at Lucy, it's all right, it's all right." Nana said, "there's nothing to worry about, friend." Lucy was moved and embraced by the two of them.

"Don't cry Lucy, it's all right," to smiling Kouta told her.

"It's all right, all right," said Nana. Lucy cried a lot, moved by being able to achieve her goal of doing good. Then she said: "I will always do good ... you feel beautiful sensations ...". Kouta and Nana continued to hug her, then all smiling, went to prepare food.

That was a unique day for everyone at Marple House.

CHAPTER 36

THE NEXT STAGE

At the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, in the meantime, the Kakuzawa director, after he learned from some scientific that the Diclonius Kinuko and Lucy had managed to escape both, lost a lot of patience. He ordered to recover the men from the special team in the sea, then to the following hours, held at surprise meeting. At this meeting , Kakuzawa explained that he intended to be serious, he really had enough; the director told the laboratory of the Japanese capital, the capital of Japan , to seize the power of the Japanese capital . He would have communicated the same thing to the other laboratories in the world in the following days ; the invasion would also begin in the rest of the world. A scientist asked Kakuzawa "and de lle Diclonius Kinuko, Miyu, Lucy, Nana and Ayaka? What will happen to them?"

"We don't need them anymore. There would only be a hindrance. Let them be eliminated ." Then, the director said: "tomorrow, as I told you before, we will begin, we will free all the diclonius from the to take them to Kamakura, to conquer that city, and then proceed to Tokyo. " Once we conquer the Japanese capital, we will order more laboratories to release them and they will do the same. The diclonius, united, are more powerful than an entire army, they are tomorrow's invasion, we will first release three diclonius that have an age similar to that of Kinuko and plus the artificial Ludmy diclonius , for a total of four diclonius , then with the passing of days we will release others, including those of a tender age ". Most scientists took notes. Then Kakuzawa told them:" slowly the world will fall into our hands, we will use the diclonius to make this happen. Once we reach the goal, we will be the masters of the planet and will slowly have new humanity , and you will be at my side to reign! ". Later the meeting ended and Kakuzawa went to the vault where the diclonius was. He turned off all the cameras and other instruments in the cabin to avoid being seen and heard. Then he recognized the cabin and Ludme, when he recognized Kakuzawa, ran towards him and said, "Dad! Pope! ".

"Hi Ludme, I'm here to tell you something."

"What, dad?"

"Tomorrow we will begin to move the story so that the world enters a new era and you too will move it".

"Really?" Said Ludme.

"Yes, you can do whatever you want once you get to Kamakura , let it be steam and get rid of it. And I'll tell you another thing: once the world falls into our hands, both mine and yours ...".

"Yup?".

"I ask you to take the research in this laboratory, we would need more at that point, do you understand me?" Said Kakuzawa with a malicious smile.

"Yes, daddy, I understand," said Ludme with a wicked smile.

"Well, now I have to go. See you tomorrow".

"Ok, tomorrow dad!" That being said, Kakuzawa left the armored car and reactivated the cameras and other instruments. He then went to his office to work.

The next day, Kakuzawa, around nine o'clock in the morning, ordered the scientists to release the number thirty-eight, thirty-nine and forty , but before doing so, they had to put explosives in their bodies to prevent them from doing what they wanted. I know it happened. They put the three diclonius to sleep and the scientists put explosives in their bodies, as in Kinuko. Then they freed them from their cells , p ver Ludme , who was freed from later Kakuzawa director. The diclonius number thirty-eight, thirty-nine and forty, have shown signs of violence or anger , rather than showed signs of happiness, after all the experimental tortures they had suffered. When they were told of Kakuzawa's plan and explosives , they were thus forced to accept each other, they just wanted to receive love. Subsequently, the artificial diclonius Ludmila was also released, together with the diclonius number thirty-eight, thirty-nine and forty, was taken to Kamakura by helicopter in the following hours , in the company of a scientist with a remote control that could have operated the explosives . During the helicopter ride, all four of them were amazed to see the outside world, especially the artificial Ludmy diclonius who saw him for the first time in his entire life.

"How nice out here ... soon to be in my hands, and in Dad's!" Said Ludme in his mind. Kakuzawa had ordered the scientists to have the four diclonius dressed normally, but without covering the horns; he didn't care, in fact, if they were seen in their real appearance by other people, he only cared to conquer the planet by diclonius.

After a half hour flight, the helicopter arrived in Kamakura and landed on the beach, where there was no one. All four Diclonius stepped out of the aircraft , the scientist came down last and stood at a distance and the helicopter pulled away from them. The four diclonius headed towards the end of the beach and many people later crossed the street . The people in the group were immediately able to take care of them. The diclonius in fact, after the news of their existence spread in the world, had the reputation of being a potential danger for the human race in Japan. Very few thought of it as Takeshi and Koichi.

"Oh my God! There are diclonius!" One of those people shouted.

"Save those who can!" Another person shouted and they all started running. Ludme smiled wickedly and began to lash out. He freed more than five vectors and shed blood, killing some people. Immediate were screams and shouts in the streets.

«Ahahahah!» Said Ludme «how funny!» And running and chasing people. The number one thirty-eight, thirty-nine and forty, on the other hand, did nothing, they watched, but in amazement: no matter how much they had suffered in the past at the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE and for how much they hated scientists, in seeing Ludme do those atrocities, they have realized that killing and hurting were wrong and they forgot about every evil and desire they had built for scientists and the world.

«But why does that Ludme do that?» Asked the diclonius number forty.

«I don't ... I don't know ...» said the diclonius number thirty-eight.

«I ... I don't want you to ... it's not nice ... now that I watch it live ...» said the diclonius number thirty-nine.

«We have to stop it,» said the number thirty-eight.

«You're right,» the number thirty-nine said. And the three diclonius set off in pursuit of

Ludme, who had meanwhile moved away from them to few tens of meters. On reaching, Ludme told them: «Well? You do nothing?»

«No, we don't do anything,» replied the three diclonius.

«why?».

«Because of what you are doing! Now stop!» And the diclonius with their four vectors attacked Ludme, but the artificial diclonius with two of its carriers .

«Do you want to stop me? Haha, you will never succeed!». The scientist was ready to blow up the explosives, as the three diclonius were rebelling. Meanwhile, two Kamakura police patrols arrived at the scene. The policemen got out of the car with a pistol and reheard Ludme, the diclonius who killed the police chief and some other policeman not long needle.

«Kamakura Police! Stop where you are!» A policeman yelled at Ludme, but she smiled wickedly and with two of her vectors lifted the police car and threw it at the other patrol. One or poliziott i lost his life, while the others Began to fire at

artificial diclonius rejected all the bullets and killed other policemen with other carriers.

"Stop Ludme!" Shouted the number forty. But Ludme did not stop and with other carriers also destroyed street lamps and other cars; Kakuzawa , now she was in the throes of fury , freedom and outburst , after what had been told to her by director One of the policemen contacted the plant and Shouted: "send all the available units here! And there are special forces too !" And immediately afterwards he was killed by Ludme. Within a few minutes the news that diclonius was present in Kamakura went around the city and reached every corner of the city. At the police station in Kamakura The police station in Kamakura was added to be spotted other three diclonius . Japanese TV helicopters arrived at the scene, taking the artificial diclonius as it continued to lash out on cars, buildings and streetlights. The number thirty-eight, thirty-nine and forty to calm her were worthless. The scientist, holding the remote control, was Intercepted by another policeman who Snatched the remote from his hands and , after confessing, was arrested and sentenced to life in prison .

CHAPTER 37

BATTLE IN KAMAKURA

In the meantime, at the Marple House, a few hours before, everyone present was experiencing some wonderful moments. Kinuko and Miyu behaved as if they were sisters, while Lucy had declared her love to Kouta and he had done the same. Nana and Mayu had recently declared to Takeshi and Koichi, receiving positive responses from the two boys while Yuka caressed, with Miyu, the dream of having a child. Now all that was the last piece of a boyfriend. She initially had little confidence, but over time the trust grew, thanks to the comforting words of everyone else. She also liked the idea of having Kinuko as an adoptive daughter too, so Miyu could have someone more to stay with.

It was about eight o'clock in the morning. Everyone ate breakfast together. They were happy, perhaps the best moments for all of them until then. While they were having breakfast, Lucy stood next to Kouta, Miyu was at the center between Yuka and Kinuko and Nana was near Mayu.

"Did you all sleep well?" Kouta asked the others.

"Yup! Thank you!" They replied.

"I'm glad," replied the boy "I slept well too". All smiled at him. Subsequently, after having finished having breakfast, Kouta said: "soon I go out and go to buy some new clothes for Kinuko". In fact, the diclonius had slept only with a tank top and panties.

"Oh, thanks Kouta," Kinuko told the boy.

"Imagine" Kouta replied. Just when he was about to leave, Yuka said to him: "wait, if you want I'll go with you".

"Yes, I go, like along with my cousin," the boy replied smiling.

"Thank you, Kouta". And after the others, Kouta and Yuka went out together and went to a clothing store. As they walked, Kouta said to her cousin: "you know Yuka ...". "Yes, Kouta?"

"I am very happy that Miyu has found Kinuko".

"Me too, Kouta".

"It is right that they, including Nana and Mayu, are all with us, at least for now, then we do not know what can happen in the future."

"you are right".

"Listen, would you really like to live with Miyu and with Kinuko? For curiosity". Yuka, after a few seconds said: "yes, I would like very much. Miyu is now more than a friend of mine, it's like her baby ..." and she started to be moved. Kouta calmed her down, but she understood very well the emotions her cousin was feeling at that moment. Then, the boy told her: "you must chase your dream, my cousin. You want to live with Miyu and Kinuko, together with them, you must do everything to achieve this".

"I know, but it would mean leaving you and the others ..." Yuka replied.

"It's difficult, I know it's difficult, but even Nana and May have their own kids and girls too. I think you have a dream if you want to be really happy."

"I know Kouta, but I don't have a boyfriend yet ...".

"You will find it, trust me. You don't have to break down, you will trust the future and you'll see that everything will be fine."

"Kouta ...".

"You know Yuka, maybe it's better if we all parted, one day, because everyone has to live their life as they can". Yuka thought a lot about these last words spoken by his cousin, then said to him: "But how will Nana, Miyu, Lucy and Kinuko, who are diclonius?"

"I think something will happen to them in the future. Do you remember what Takeshi and Koichi said? In the world news of their existence has spread, so it is possible that someone in power can do positive things for them".

"But they also said that most of the world declared war on them ...".

"It's true, but not the whole world. We must be confident for the future.

"You're right cousin". About two minutes later, they returned to the clothing store and bought some clothes for Kinuko, then returned home. They gave the clothes to Kinuko and the diclonius liked everything.

"thank you so much! Thank you!" Said Kinuko to Yuka and Kouta.

"Imagine, it was a pleasure," the boys replied. Kinuko immediately put on some clothes and they were fine, and he liked them a lot.

About forty minutes passed. It was about half past nine in the morning. Lucy suggested to Kouta to go out for a walk together. Kouta said to her, "but of course Lucy. Where would you go?".

"Towards the beach, I really like the sea," replied the diclonius.

"It's fine," the boy replied. And so they went out and went to Kamakura beach, passing by the city bridge. As they walked, Lucy and Kouta held hands, like boyfriends. Lucy blushed when Kouta took her hand. He looked at him smiling. On reaching the Kamakura bridge, Kouta and Lucy noticed people rushing in their direction.

"But why are these people running like that?" Lucy asked.

"I don't know Lucy, I really have no idea." Among those people who were running, when they reached Kouta and Lucy some of them ignored them, continuing to run screaming in terror. A woman in the distance, noticing that Kouta and Lucy were still, shouted to them: "SCAPPATE! GETAWAY!". Kouta and Lucy stopped and looked at the woman rather strangely. When you reached them, you told him in a rather loud voice: "there is a monster that is there! Run, run and save yourself while you are on time!" And ran away Lucy and Kouta were very confused, they could not understand.

"Monster that's killing?" Lucy said.

"But what ..." Kouta said, but was interrupted by a shot in the distance. Immediately, the two boys looked towards the direction the shot came from. They left the bridge and went around, and intrigued by the distance they saw a human figure That was killing people and destroying cars and other things. On the road around that human figure there were corpses, with a lot of blood around them and car wrecks and other things. They came even closer, but secretly.

"But what's going on there ..." Kouta said "who's that ... and why does she do that ...", then Kouta managed to see the horns on her head: "it's a diclonius ... that's a diclonius ... ". Lucy took a few seconds, then she recognized that human figure was and said, "but that's Ludme ...". Kouta said, "Ludme? And who would it be?"

"When they took me away from you, they took me back to the lab where I was a prisoner for five years ...".

"really?".

"Yes, and there I saw the director of that laboratory and that diclonius ... that diclonius is called Ludme, but he is not a diclonius like the others ...".

"Which is? What would you say?"

"That diclonius has my blood in his veins ...".

"Sorry?" Said Kouta, amazed "and why does he have your blood?"

"Do you remember when we split up a while ago and it took me back to the lab? Well, they got some blood from me and it combined with the technology of that lab, they created that diclonius ... it's an artificial diclonius ... ". Kouta was thrilled by what Lucy had told him.

"But why does he do all this?" And Lucy told him everything, making a summary. Kouta was even more astonished. Then a short time later, police patrols from Kamakura and helicopters arrived to resume what was happening. Ludme shouted: "I've had enough of you!" And he freed more than fifteen carriers, with some lifted some police cars and threw them ahead and killed other policemen with other carriers. Number thirty-eight, thirty-nine and forty tried to catch her by surprise, but Ludms noticed and freed them more carriers and severely injured them , hitting them with strong points, to the point that number thirty-eight and forty lost consciousness.

"AHAHAHAH!" Screamed Ludme. And with two carriers he made large jumps and headed towards the direction where the Marple House was, sowing terror and destruction. Lucy and Kouta, realizing that Ludme was going to the Marple House , returned to the race house. They arrived after about ten minutes, before Ludme had passed those parts. When they arrived, they warned everyone else and Lucy explained the whole thing to them.

"Ludme must be stopped; " If we don't stop it, there will be plenty of other deaths all over the planet, "Lucy said.

"We can't afford it," said Kinuko "we have to do something."

"Listen," said Lucy, "I go and face her, I have to stop her. I have no other choice. You stay here to protect Kouta and Yuka." Everyone else was impressed by Lucy's words.

"No Lucy, I will come with you" said Kinuko "you will need help" .

"But Kinuko, you have to think of little Miyu ... you've just found yourself with her ...".

"Kinuko said" if Ludme were to come here, he would destroy everything, I will go with you, you will need help ". At that moment, someone knocked on the door of the house. Kouta went to open it, it was Ayaka with Aiko and her mother.

"Ayaka?" The boy said.

"Listen to Kouta, I saw on television what's happening not here, I was with Aiko and her mother. I go to that monster, but please, until I'm there, take care of my Aiko and her mother, okay? " At that moment Kinuko and Lucy also arrived. Ayaka was surprised to see Kinuko again.

"Ayaka, I'll explain everything later. Now let's join forces with Lucy and face Ludme, to save the planet," Kinuko told her.

"Yes, all right!" Ayaka hugged Aiko and her mother and said to them, "I'll be back soon." Aiko cried a lot, embraced by her mother, who was also moved. Kinuko greeted Miyu and said, "I'll be back too, Miyu."

"K ... Kinuko ...". Lucy told everyone else : "I will try to come back too, friends. Thanks for all". They were moved. Kouta said in tears to Lucy: "I'll wait for you forever ...". Lucy smiled and kissed him. Then he stroked his left cheek with his right hand. Lucy told him with tears in her eyes: "I will return, my love. And if I come back again, we will never part , this is a promise ." And they embraced. Then they said goodbye. Subsequently, the three diclonius, with their vectors, made great leaps to look for Ludme.

The artificial diclonius meanwhile, wherever it went, shed blood and destruction, killing cops and severely destroying or damaging their cars. In Kamakura the general alarm was given in the following minutes, and the areas where the people were rescued. Ludmie in the distance by helicopter. In the televisions of the whole planet there was the extraordinary edition, titled "KAMAKURA UNDER ATTACK "; the subtitle was: "DICLONIUS ATTACK KAMAKURA". Although Ludme had resumed, the artificial diclonius did not notice the helicopter that took him back. Other helicopters from other TV stations When Ludme killed two policemen and threw their car at him , but they could not stop the artificial diclonius. In fact, Ludme freed more than twenty-five carriers and defeated the special forces.

"You will never stop me! No one can do it!" Screamed Ludme who had stopped for a moment on the road. Then a shot was heard, Which took Ludme by surprise and wounded her on the arm, but she took care of herself with her vectors, then turned, and Realized That a policeman with a gun Had Been shot and was seriously injured . He was about twelve meters away from Ludme. Ludme always smiled wickedly and approached the policeman slowly, while he continued to shoot, but Ludme rejected His bullets with a carrier. When Ludme was three feet away from the dying policeman, he stopped, leaned down and Looked at him with a wicked smile. The policeman, having Realized That the end had come for him, closed His eyes. Ludme freed two carriers, determined to kill him, but just as the carriers were about to touch the policeman, Lucy intervened, who with two of her carriers, blocked Ludme's carriers. The artificial Diclonius turned and noticed the three Diclonius Ayaka, Kinuko and Lucy.

"Leave him alone," Lucy said. Ayaka, with one of her vectors punched Ludme in the face, causing her to lose blood. Kinuko freed the policeman, and took him to the hospital. Meanwhile , Ludme bother with its carriers. He no longer lost blood. Lucy noticed that even Ludme had learned to use her vectors to heal herself. "Look, who's seeing you again," said Ludme, "how like this visit, Lucy?"

"It's none of your business," Lucy replied.

"Now stop spilling blood and destruction," said Ayaka.

"You don't want to stop me! Soon all this and my father's hands!" Ludme jumped with two vectors and went behind Lucy and Ayaka and other carriers tried to push them to the ground. Very quickly, the two diclonius blocked Ludms' vectors with their other vectors and punched the artificial diclonius, hurling it at a distance. But Ludme immediately took care of his vectors, got up and said: "you are smart, I admit it ... but it will not be enough for you". Ludme freed up twenty carriers and rushed against the two diclonius, striking above the Ayaka, who ended up on the ground, while Lucy managed to resist. With other carriers, later, Lucy took a look at them. Rapidly, the artificial diclonius rejected all Lucy's attacks with its vectors. While Lucy and Ludme fought each other, Ayaka got up and tried to catch Ludme by surprise, but she noticed Ayaka's last and with a carrier he pushed her back. Lucy tried to take advantage of it, but Ludme had very prompt reflexes and more than twenty vectors hurled herself at Lucy, injuring her. Ayaka and Lucy were now injured and, moreover, Ludme, every time he was injured, always cared for his vectors, showing no signs of weakness. Ludme approached Ayaka. She freed everything to try, while Lucy was ready to interview Ludme by surprise. However, the artificial diclonius managed to keep up with Ayaka, albeit with some effort. At this point, Lucy intervened, who freed more than twenty carriers and gave her a stunning, stunning look. Ayaka subsequently threw her to the ground. Ayaka was almost exhausted, wounded and using almost all the energy available. He was out of breath, after he hit Ludme. She also had some energy left in her body. Ludme remained on the ground for a few seconds, then stood up and took care of himself.

"It's not possible ..." said Ayaka.

"But it's all true," said Ludme, grinning. Just when he was about to hit Ayaka, who returned to the battlefield to help out the two diclonius. But she could hardly make any more, she had tried too hard to free all her vectors. Ludme took advantage of it and wounded her right arm; A few seconds later, he fell to the ground losing his senses . So Kinuko and Lucy had to face Ludme halo.

"Will there be a way to beat it?" Kinuko said in his mind. Ludme rushed with more than twenty five vectors on Kinuko and Lucy. The two diclonius held Ludme's head, but especially Lucy. Kinuko was wounded by the vectors of the artificial diclonius. Subsequently, Lucy and Kinuko went on the counterattack but the result was the same, after wounding Ludme, the artificial diclonius always cared for, now it seemed impossible to beat her.

Said Ludme "it's so clear!" And freed more than twenty-six carriers and rushed against the two diclonius, wounding Kinuko a lot, fracturing her left arm , Lucy managed to hold her head, but her energies were going increasingly exhausting. She was also injured in both arms and legs, losing blood . Subsequently, Kinuko also fell from fatigue, having freed all his vectors in vain. At this point, only Lucy remained standing against Ludme. Meanwhile, it started to rain, and a thunderstorm broke out as the seconds went by. Face to face, Lucy and Ludme looked at each other with two different looks. Then Lucy said to Ludme: "Why do you do all this? Why are you so bloody and violent?". Ludme replied: "Don't you get it yet? If I am, Lucy, it's because you are. I have a lot of you in my body ". " Lucy's gaze was lost in the void, she immediately committed to the past in her mind, she spoke to herself:" no! I'm not that person anymore! That Lucy is gone! " Immediately afterwards, the moments of when she was Nyu with Kouta and with Yuka, the beautiful moments of when she had the personality of Nyu , in the past months , came to mind .

"what's up? Said Ludme, noticing Lucy's silence. The artificial diclonius approached Lucy who brought tears to her eyes. Ludme noticed this and laughed.

"What are you doing? Are you crying?" Ludme asked, giggling. Lucy tried to punch her but Ludms stopped and punched her in the stomach, knocking her to the ground. Now the victory seemed just like Ludme. The artificial diclonius put his right foot on Lucy's head, trampling it and saying, "can't you do anything else?" Lucy did nothing. Ludme continued: "First I will eliminate you and the other two, then I will sweep you away in the hands of my father and in my hands!" The artificial diclonius kicked Lucy's stomach, which caused her to tip over. Then he decided to free all his vectors, in total thirtyfive, to Lucy, to the end, to Lucy freed more than forty carriers, and blocked out of Ludme's vectors.

"But ... what ..." said Ludme. Lucy, in the grip of fury, concentrated herself to the maximum and freed More than forty - five carriers and rushed at Ludme, hitting her with all her might, Also using human arms.

"I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO TOUCH YOUR DEAR! NEVER AND

NEVER! AND EVEN NO OTHER PERSON!" . And he kept hitting her with all available strength. Ludme didn't have time to heal herself for how many Lucy vectors were hitting her at that moment. Lucy seriously injured Ludme for the many shots she gave her. Ludme remained dying, but Lucy did not kill her, promised that she would not be more kill anyone. Ludme slumped to the ground, felt so painful that he could not concentrate on himself, at most he barely moved. In fact, he had broken arms. Not many seconds later, other special forces of the city arrived . The policemen got out of the cars, surrounded by Ludme , armed with a pistol and one of them took out an electric gun . Spar ò to artificial Diclonius and fainted. Ludme was thus arrested and taken away. Lucy looked over her, flying over the helicopter, which had taken over everything. Lucy knelt on the floor, out of breath. Meanwhile, Kouta was to observe what was happening. They came a few seconds after the police took Ludme away. The scenery in front of them was flames and rubble almost everywhere, all caused by Ludme, gone mad. Noticing the unconscious bodies of Ayaka and Kinuko, the small Aiko and Miyu towards them, crying, then embraced their bodies crying bitterly. Takeshi and Koichi also arrived and noticed their lovers and hugged them.

The boys said.

"Yes, we're fine, don't worry," the girls replied, still embracing them. Kouta and Yuka went to Lucy, who was still out of breath and was still kneeling. When Lucy noticed them, she said, "maybe ... maybe it's over ...". Then the diclonius noticed that Miyu and Aiko, with his mother, were crying for Ayaka and Kinuko.

"They must be taken to the hospital," said Yuka.

"We have to move!" Said Kouta.

"Wait ... I'll take care of it ..." Lucy said. And the diclonius got up with difficulty and went to the bodies of Ayaka and Kinuko, wounded and unconscious. Then he told Miyu and Aiko and his mother to walk away a few feet and so, with their eyes soaked with tears, obeyed. Lucy knew she had to make even greater effort, because she had little strength in her body and healing. Lucy told Kouta: "I don't know if I will return conscious ... but I have to treat them ... we can't wait ...". Tears came to Kouta, he could be the last time he saw his Lucy alive.

"I'll wait for you until the end ..." Kouta said , with tears running down her eyes .

"Always stay by my side, love ..." Lucy said with a smile to the boy. Then Kouta walked away to few feet and Lucy could proceed. He approached the bodies of Ayaka and Kinuko and freed his vectors and slowly took care of them. The diclonius reopened their eyes and rose slowly, Aiko and Miyu embraced them, full of happiness. But the healing process was devastating for Lucy. In fact, as soon as he finished, he was completely exhausted. Kouta rushed to rescue her, but tried to revive her were worthless. Kouta , hugged Lucu's body and started crying, screaming. Yuka embraced him, crying

too. Tears came to Nana and Mayu like their boys. Aiko and Miyu, like Ayaka and Kinuko, noticing Lucy unconscious, approached and said, with tears in their eyes: "thank you ... thank you so much , Lucy ...".

CHAPTER 38

UNTIL THE END

Shortly after Lucy fainted, completely powerless, Kouta, crying desperately, picked up and run to the hospital, accompanied by Yuka, and others. As they ran, firefighters and ambulances came to the scene to extinguish the flames of the fires and to see if there were survivors. There were very few and they were taken to the hospital. Then an ambulance stopped in front of Kouta, those driving saw the boy with Lucy in her arms, crying. The peddlers got out of the vehicle and said: "We'll take care of it, we'll do our best". Then , they were a little terrified and refused to load Lucy into the ambulance . But Kouta said to them: "Please ... take care ... it's not bad ... it saved our lives ...". The peddlers contacted the police and some policemen came soon after; Kouta told the cops: "Please agents ... do something ... she is not bad ...". Noting also Kinuko and Ayaka, the policemen said: "these diclonius fought against that monster, they did good, we try to trust them. Load that diclonius in the ambulance and take her to the hospital!".

"Thank you ... thank you agents ..." Kouta said. Then the policemen said to the peddlers: "we will make our way. Once we arrive, we'll talk to the doctors". The peddlers nodded. I know Lucy was so loaded into the ambulance. Then one of the peddlers told Kouta: "Boy, can you like with us and be with her".

"Thanks ..." the boy said in tears. Kouta then looked at Yuka and others and said: "It is right for you to go, you must stay with her. Everything will be fine". Kouta hugged her cousin Yuka and sadly greeted others and got into the ambulance, standing next to Lucy, unconscious and powerless. Subsequently, the ambulance left and rushed to the nearest hospital , following the police patrol. In the ambulance, Lucy was put in a cot and showed no signs of recovery. Kouta was beside her, in tears, always looking at her. Arrived at the hospital, the policemen talked to the doctors and told them that the diclonius fought against Ludme, so it had to be of good nature. The doctors were convinced, albeit with a little effort. Lucy was taken to the doctor's office, even trying to revive her. Kouta was left outside the room, he could not enter. So he sat in the corridor, waiting to enter and was anxious as ever before. Subsequently , the policemen who escorted the ambulance, passed in that corridor. Kudos, ordering them to continue to trust. The policemen said: "All right, boy. After all, that Lucy also helped us a lot. We trust". And they shook hands. Then one of the policemen told him: "It was a pleasure, boy. Now we have to go".

"Goodbye, and thanks again."

"Imagine, boy" and headed for the hospital exit. Kouta sat down again and waited two hours, then "How's it going?"

"Boy, we wound her wounds, but she shows no sign of recovery ... we don't know if she will regain consciousness ."

"Please, doctor ..." the boy said in tears "let me like in ... I have to stand next to her ...". The doctor thought about it for a while and then said, "Okay, boy, how on in." Kouta cried, and the doctor said to the boy: "do you care much about this diclonius, boy?".

"Yes a lot ...".

"why?". And Kouta told the good things about him and Lucy, who told him he was the only friend Lucy had him and the boy who was painted.

"I'm very sorry, we'll do our best," the doctor said. Subsequently, Kouta entered and noticed Lucy lying on the bed, with both legs and arms, unconscious and with wires connected to devices that measured pressure and heartbeat. The first doctor said to Kouta: "We leave you alone with her, boy. I really hope he wakes up ...". The doctors left the room, closing the door. Kouta was, therefore, only with his Lucy. the boy took a chair and sat down next to the bed, to Lucy's left. The device that measured the heartbeat showed very weak signals, close to zero, and therefore close to death. Kouta noticed it and took Lucy's left hand and squeezing it, she wept bitterly, hoping it would wake up one day.

"I'll wait for you ... until the end ... love ..." said a crying Kouta like never before.

There was another bed in the room. When Kouta had to sleep, he went to lie down on the other bed. He stayed in that room for days and days, almost always crying, but he never lost hope. The doctors sometimes came back to try to revive Lucy, but without positive results . Kouta ate little these days, but he drank a lot, still tearful and thinking of Lucy. Yuka came to see him sometimes, having heard in which hospital they treated Lucy. The two cousins hugged each other and Yuka was moved and cried a lot. But Kouta much more.

Almost two weeks passed, and Lucy still showed no sign of recovery. Kouta sometimes left the room, even to get some air, but she did think about her beloved Lucy, hoping every time she came back in, that she would wake up. But it wasn't like that until then. Lucy would have no longer be conscious. Time passed and hopes diminished more and more.

Nineteen days passed. Lucy was still unconscious and immobile. While Kouta always remained in the hospital, Yuka and others, at Marple House, lived in apprehension, waiting for the boy and Lucy to wake up.

On the evening of that day, at 11:08 pm, in Lucy's room, Kouta always held her left hand, sitting next to her bed. In tears, the boy noticed that the device showed the heartbeat. Kouta, crying and shaking the hand of his love, spoke in a low voice and said in tears: "very ... very probably, the last time I talk to you ... I don't want to waste this opportunity ... "and they kept going down to him tears from the eyes.

"Dear Lucy, you were a great person to me, you made me spend some wonderful moments when I was little ... it's true, you were horrible things to my family ... but in the end you weren't bad. .. you were just blinded by the innumerable wounds of abuse and traumas suffered ... I know you didn't want to do it deep in your heart ... but anyway, I forgive you my love ... I forgive you forever ... " and he cried like a fountain while he said these words . Then Kouta continued: "but since you were back some time ago, a few days after we split up ... it seemed like it had been put right forever ... you were changed deep in your heart, and you were right , Lucy ... you saved my life ... you saved our lives ... thank you ... thank you ... love ... "and noticed the device. The death of the diclonius, a matter of seconds, seemed to be a step away. Kouta said with tears that kept falling from his eyes: "Goodbye ... Lucy ... I will miss you very much ...". and he got her hand, got up and went to the door of the room. By now Kouta had resigned. Subunque, when the boy touched the handle of the door wiping his tears but desperate inside, a voice was heard: "K ... Kout ...". The boy, still with tears in his eyes, turned and said, "Lucy?"

The heartbeat of the Diclonius Increased 'more and More with the passing of the seconds, it was seen shown in the monitor connected to the device.

"K ... Kouta ..." was heard. The astonished boy rushed to Lucy's bed and squeezed her left hand, gaping and waiting. Then, Lucy, very, very slowly, opened her eyes, and the heartbeat of the diclonius was now normal, as shown by the monitor connected to the machine.

"L ... Lucy ...?"

"K ... Kouta ... are you ... my love ...?" Kouta watched her for a few seconds, then the diclonius said with a smile: "t ... I heard you ... a little while ago ... every word ... every single word ... thank you ... thank you love ... ". Kouta watched the monitor and it showed that Lucy was alive, had returned conscious. The boy, amazed to see that Lucy had succeeded in coming back conscious, this time of emotion, which were replacing those of pain. Then Lucy struggled to sit up in bed , helped by the boy .

" Oh Lucy ... I ... I never stopped thinking about you ... I was by your side ... and in the end , thankfully you came back ..." and slowly, the boy hugged the diclonius and cried, moved, for having found his Lucy. Even the diclonius did the same, moved too, smiling.

"T... thank you ... for being and was always close to me ... Kouta ...".

"Lucy ... I love you ... I love you ... I love you my love ... I love you ..." Kouta said with difficulty because of the emotion. To Lucy the tears of emotion went down like a fountain. The diclonius later said: "I love you too ... always ... I always want you ... I want to marry you ... always stay next to you ... forever ..." and they cried, moved , for having found each other again, this time forever. And then they looked at each other, smiling, and kissed.

CHAPTER 39

THE DESTINY OF DICLONIUS

Never before that evening, Kouta and Lucy were happy to be together. They had found each other again, but they could hug each other, crying for happiness, like never before. Lucy spent a few more days at the hospital, with Kouta always beside her, at all times. Even the doctors were happy that the diclonius had awakened, the story that Kouta had told them, had moved them. After a few days, Lucy was able to leave the hospital. The doctors removed the bands and the diclonius rose from the bed. Although she was completely cured by now, Lucy still showed some signs of weakness, but there was always Kouta by her side, who always helped her. I know they went home to Marple House. When Lucy and Kouta arrived, all present, seeing Kouta and Lucy again, wept with joy. Yuka hugged both her cousin and Lucy; Kinuko thanked Lucy very much for treating her after the fight with Ludme; Nana and Mayu embraced both Kouta and Lucy, while Miyu, in company with Yuka, she also embraced the boy and Lucy and thanked very much for taking care of Kinuko. Then they went to Ayaka and told her that Lucy had returned with Kouta. The diclonius was with little Aiko and together they thanked Lucy very much for healing Ayaka. The news was also communicated to Takeshi and Koichi, who had returned home. Everyone was very happy.

Meanwhile, there were few images of Japan and the rest of the world. When the images arrived in the United States, American politicians, who had time to go, with the politicians who were killed in the laboratory in the laboratory. Even in Japan, politicians recognized that diclonius. Now that he had been captured, the United States agreed with the Japanese state of death Ludme Artificial Diclonius to death. In the following days, in fact, Ludme, still with half a broken body and still feeling much pain and unable to care for herself, was executed in Tokyo, for having shed a lot of blood and destroyed part of the city of Kamakura. The artificial diclonius died after they injected it with lethal substances into its body. Subsequently, the Tokyo police went to Kamakura and went to the DICLONIUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, via helicopters and boats, to arrest

Kakuzawa and all the laboratory scientists. So it happened. The director attempted to escape secretly by helicopter, but was taken by the policemen, who after having broken through the door of the laboratory, went to the heliport and joined him just in time and was arrested, along with Sosuke, Aritomo, Kaito, Arakawa and to all the other scientists. The penalty for all of them was life imprisonment, as everyone was responsible for the death of people in Kamakura and the destruction of part of the city. Kakuzawa, after being arrested, tried and convicted for the rest of his days in prison, was interrogated and revealed all his plans to the whole world, including his real appearance and that it was he who created the virus that gave birth to the diclonius. During the interrogation, Kakuzawa confessed where the other laboratories in the rest of the world were located and how they were made. Then he was taken to prison, along with the other scientists.

In the following days, observing the images in which they showed that the three diclonius Lucy, Ayaka and Kinuko were fighting against Ludms, the politicians of the nations who had declared war on the diclonius began to change their minds about them. In Japan, the complete text of the rebel scientist Akemi was also diffused over the days, saying that in his opinion the diclonius did not have a wicked nature within them. Soon the text of the planet and the images of the diclonius in the world. The fact that the scientist had said during the interrogation, that Akemi had told him that the scientist was not thinking about himself arrived at Kamakura.

As for the diclonius number thirty-eight, thirty-nine and forty, seriously injured by Ludme, it was decided to give them a chance, they tried to stop the artificial diclonius and were taken to the hospital. When they recovered their senses, everyone was a bit scared, but now they are free from the experimental laboratory, they have intention of harming them, they just wanted to enter the world. DICLONIUS RESEARCH

INSTITUTE and by the explosives they had given them and started to cry. They also had no intention of killing anyone. Subsequently, to the police, where they had brought the remote control, it was understood that remote control could have operated the explosives. The diclonius were not bad. They were not bad. The remote control was destroyed by the diclonius. The diclonius wept with emotion. The fact that the doctor was the one who had to work with the doctor. And so it happened. The diclonius did not know how to thank the doctors, to the point that they embraced them. The news soon went around the world, by now it was spreading the fact that the diclonius were not bad, but only wanted love, as they were seen different from normal humans. The other laboratories were located and the scientists were arrested as collaborators of Kakuzawa and also the guards . Then they came up with the idea of killing, but only received love, entered the world, they asked for it into tears. Thus, together with talk about the fate of the diclonius. In the United States decided to free some diclonius and to enter into families, to trust them, to see if the diclonius said the truth. The result reflected reality: the liberated diclonius showed happiness like never before, because they were receiving love, and they were entering the world, they didn't kill anyone and they didn't hurt anyone.

"I will not kill anyone, trust me, I am not bad" said each liberated diclonius. And so it was happening. At this point, in an instant, it was decided what to do: in Washington, a hearing held in the United States and after more than two hours of talks, it was decided: the United States withdrew the declaration of war against the diclonius, so like all the other nations of the world that had decided to do it in the past. Members of the European Union held in Brussels, talk about the diclonius and it has decided, along with the United States, Russia, and China and other powers on the planet, to free every diclonius from laboratories in the world. The other states also agreed, they all wanted to trust. The diclonius were finally free. And they were entrusted to families, who wanted daughters. Families welcomed them as normal human beings. Initially there was a bit of fear and impression, but the diclonius showed only love for this gesture and disappeared.

"thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" To the diclonius in the world shouted with joy To the diclonius wept with happiness and were inserted into the world, everyone had a family, a mother, a father, some even brothers and sisters , but above all world now saw them as a threat, but as human beings, only of a different was no clash in the world, no diclonius scattered with blood or destruction, the diclonius had only the desire to enter the planet, nothing more, and finally, their desire became reality .

The world had now entered a new era, not like the one imagined by Kakuzawa, but in a more peaceful and more beautiful era than the previous one, humans and diclonius that coexisted and loved each other and helped each other.

The news that the world, now, had freed the diclonius and saw them as human beings of different ethnicity, also arrived at Marple House after a short time. The tenants of Marple House got together and talked about their future. Now that diclonius could live with normal humans, everyone could have the chance to build their lives without problems . Later, Takeshi and Koichi came to see them. Then, Nana told Takeshi: "Is this thing true? That diclonius can be officially free?".

"Yes, Nana," Takeshi replied, "now we can officially get engaged, love." Nana, very happy, cried with joy, covering her face with her hands. Takeshi told her: "let's hug you, my love". Nana ran to him and they embraced. But the diclonius still had a knot to undo: she wanted to have a child or a girl who was confessed, in tears, to Takeshi that she was sterile. The boy answered her: "we will adopt a child... I will not allow you to suffer again, darling".

"... really ...? Will we adopt a child...?"

"Yes. And I'm looking forward to getting married in the next few years ." Nana, very happy, hugged her beloved Takeshi very strongly . Then they kissed. Even Mayu and Koichi did the same thing, now they have got married in the future and have children. Kouta, Lucy, Kinuko, Miyu and Yuka observed the scene moved. Thus, Nana became officially engaged to Takeshi and Mayu became engaged to Koichi.

A few days later, Yuka went out alone to take a walk, sat down on a rather sad bench, when someone said to her, "Is something wrong?" Yuka turned and noticed that a boy had spoken.

"No, no ... all right ...".

"You would really say ..." the boy said "if you want I can help you. Can I sit next to you?"

"Yes of course ..." and the boy sat next to her. "What's your name?" Yuka told him. "My name is Haruki" said the boy "and you?"

"My name is Yuka".

"Very pleased" and shook hands. Then they started talking about various things. Yuka got better and better as the minutes went by. Then the boy told Yuka: " would you like to make friends?"

"Of course," replied the girl . Haruki proposed to Yuka to become her boyfriend. Yuka blushed very much, and happily accepted. He told his cousin and others and everyone was very happy for her. His dream was slowly coming true. The little diclonus Miyu asked: "mum" said little Miyu "Can Haruki become my dad and Kinuko my sister?"

"Yes, Miyu. It's very possible," said Yuka, smiling at her. Miyu, very happy, went to embrace both Yuka and Kinuko. A tear of emotion descended to Kinuko. A week later, Yuka and Haruki decided to get married , and Yuka told the boy that he wanted to have Miyu and Kinuko as well. Now that there was no more fear of the diclonius, Haruki gladly accepted, for him there was no problem. So they later got married. Then they went to the city court and officially established that Miyu and Kinuko were adoptive sisters and adopted daughters of Yuka and Haruki.

"my mom! My daddy! My big sister," said Miyu, crying with joy. They were very happy as ever in their lives. Later, Kinuko was taken to the hospital, where the explosives were removed from her body. She was very happy, to the point that she cried with joy. Kinuko, Miyu, Yuka and Haruki, united by family love, later moved to Osaka. They greeted Kouta and Lucy and left. Kouta was overjoyed for his cousin. Ayaka Even for the situation you had made very beautiful: officially could live with the small Aiko and her mother and they were delighted to have the Diclonius family, they were very fond of her. Later, Ayaka's family moved to Nagasaki for work by Aiko's mother. They greeted Kouta and Lucy and went to live there. Subsequently, Takeshi was forced to transfer himself, Reasons for study, to the capital Tokyo, and Koichi was forced to move to Kyoto For Reasons of His Father's work. Nana and Mayu, they didn't want to live with their lovers, but they had to leave the Marple House; they finally got the decision to go with their boyfriends, so they wept to Lucy and Kouta, willing to go with them. Lucy and Kouta told Nana and Mayu: "It is right that you stand beside your lovers". Thus, the day of the departure of Takeshi and Koichi , Mayu and Nana greeted Lucy and Kouta, who had decided to stay in Kamakura, thanking them infinitely for everything. "They will miss you, our house will be the same without you, but it is right that you follow your dreams. The bond that unites all of that is real family ".

"Live your life to the fullest, friends," Lucy told them.

"This is only a goodbye, not goodbye" they told them , along with Takeshi and

Koichi ; in later years they would, in fact, meet again , with Yuka, her husband , Kinuko and Miyu . And after one last hug, Nana and Mayu went their own way with their boyfriends , but none of them will ever forget the time spent in Kamakura with Lucy and Kouta, the affection and love received .

"They will not have problems, none of them, they will, I'm sure ," Lucy said, watching Mayu, Nana and the others as they moved away.

„I know Lucy," said Kouta „I know." And after saying this, they went back into the house holding hands .

In later years, Nana and Takeshi, in Tokyo, got married and adopted two children, a boy and a girl. Nana had thus crowned his dreams. Also Mayu and Koichi in Kyoto, in the next few years, got married and had many children.

CHAPTER 40

A NEW LIFE

Not long after Nana and Mayu left with their lovers and left Marple House, Kouta and Lucy got married.

"Now we're husband and wife, Lucy ... we'll be together forever ..." Kouta said smiling at her beloved Lucy when they returned home, the wedding day. Lucy burst into tears, tears of joy. His dream of being with Kouta would come true, day after day. Kouta hugged her.

One night later, Kouta and Lucy made love. When they finished, they embraced and talked to little before falling asleep.

"In a little while ... I'll become a mother ... it doesn't seem real!" Lucy said.

"And I will become a dad ... I can't wait for that moment to like, my love ...".

"me too". They looked at each other smiling and stroked each other's cheeks. Then they fell asleep hugging each other.

Ten months passed . During this time Kouta got driving license, got his studies and found a job, while Lucy was now a pregnant, with a child , gave birth to a hospital. Arriving at the hospital, Kouta had to wait outside the room, while Lucy gave birth to their child. When the birth ended, one of the doctors called Kouta and the boy entered the room. Lucy was sitting on the couch and holding the crying baby. The baby had horns on her head, having been born from a diclonius, but there was no negative emotion among the doctors, far from it. By now diclonius were part of the human species.

" Kouta ..." Lucy said to the boy , looking at him and smiling at him. Kouta was amazed to see his daughter for the first time. He slowly approached his child and his wife and said, "she's ... she's beautiful ...".

"Already ..." Lucy answered. And Kouta picked up and kissed the baby.

"Hello, baby ... I'm daddy!" Said Kouta , who then pointed to Lucy with her right index finger , showing her to the child, saying, "and she's mom!" Lucy was moved. Then the boy approached Lucy with the baby in her arms, who kept crying.

"She is beautiful" said Kouta "this day is a unique beauty".

Said Lucy, who then continued after a few seconds of silence: "I would say we can call Aimi, or Akane ... there are many names, we choose what we like best".

"I would have a better idea," Kouta told Lucy.

"What would it be, love?"

"Nyu". Hearing this word, Lucy showed a little bit of wonder. Then the boy said: "the name of Nyu because our child is beautiful, beautiful and tender as her mother". Tears came to Lucy's eyes.

"Oh Kouta ...".

"All is well, my love".

" Yes ... Nyu is the perfect name for her ... " Lucy said . And they kissed , with Nyu continuing to cry.

SOME TIME AFTER

At Marple House, Kouta and Lucy were experiencing the happiest time of their lives. After they baptized their baby, they bought everything they needed for their child. At that moment Nyu was sleeping. Kouta said to Lucy , while they were in the living room : "listen, Lucy ...".

"Yup?".

"Do you remember a little while ago that night when you told me about your torments and your desires?"

"Of course, I remember it well."

" You know ... I've never stopped thinking about it since that night ... it meant how bad you were, darling ...".

"But now everything is okay Kouta ..." Lucy replied "now that all things have gone well, now I am longer afraid, now I feel really human". Kouta smiled at her.

"I'm happy for you, Kaede". Kouta hadn't even forgotten Lucy's real name, since that day she had returned, Lucy had told her others her real name, and since then Kouta never forgot it.

"Yes, it's true ... my name is Kaede actually, but you can call me whatever you want, Fra Lucy, Nyu ..." Kaede said, smiling at him. Kouta smiled at her. Then Nyu's tears were heard. The child had woken up.

"I believe Nyu is hungry," Kaede said.

"I'll go get her," said Kouta. And the boy went into Nyu's room and picked her up, from His cot, and smiling all came back to Kaede.

"Oh yes, our baby is hungry," said Kouta. Kaede got ready and Kouta gave Nyu to his wife and Kaede suckled her breast, smiling. Kouta stood by his beloved wife, always.

"Over the next few years ..." Kouta said, smiling.

"Yes?" Kaede said.

"We will ensure that our little Nyu, will have a life that we have not had, a beautiful and flowery life, a life lived together, a life in the family" said Kouta, observing the child, caressing her. Nyu grows into a very happy way. But his words were not at all reproaching to Kaede for what she had done in the past. Kaede understood and moved, while nursing the baby. Then Kouta went to get the carillon, the music of which liked very much, very much to Kaede. And the boy operated the chime the melody left and sat down again next to Kaede, while he continued to breastfeed the little Nyu. A tear fell from Kaede, and he stroked her husband on the right cheek. Kouta did the same on Kaede's left cheek.

"Right Kouta" Kaede said smiling at him "our daughter ... she will have a beautiful life, next to us". And they kissed, their eyes closed. Things couldn't have been better for them.

THE END

THIS CONCLUDES THE STORY OF THE ANIME ELFEN LIED

WRITTEN AND INVENTED BY GABRIELE VECCHIARELLI

HISTORY IS DEDICATED TO ALL THE FANS OF THIS CARTOON, IN ITALY AND IN THE WORLD.