Kaede awoke and noticed she wasn't in the shack on the beach.
Then she remembered all of yesterday and realized it was Kouta that she was cuddled up with. She looked at his smiling, peaceful face.
To her, he was the most beautiful creature alive.

His eyes popped open; he gazed into her dark pink ones.
With a gentle kiss he said; "Good morning, Kaede-chan."

Kouta noticed she was more or less the same person that she was all those years ago, neither cold and emotionless like Lucy, but not as goofy and loud as Nyu, she was the blend of the two.
He remembered the shy, sad girl he met, and looked at the shy, sad older girl that he was sharing his bed with.

Kouta decided, even if it was a bit early, he was going to do something very special for her today.

"We're going WHERE?" Mayu asked, her eyes huge with joy.
Nana looked utterly lost. "Kouta? What's a Zoo?"

With a grin, he said: "There's animals there, you'll like it, trust me!"

He looked at Kaede, who stood there in what Kouta had dubbed the 'Lucy-Pose'

Standing with her arms limply by her sides and looking at the ground with her pink hair obscuring most of her face.
Kouta gently put his hands on her upper arms, and said; "And I know for a fact you'll love it."

With a weak grin she put her beanie on.
When Kouta gently went to ask Yuka if she had changed her mind, she'd studied so much, he figured she'd do well with a break.

"Yuka?"
He peeked around the door more, to see Yuka huddled in the corner, looking very small.
he approached her very gently and sat next to her.
"That Lucy Pose seems contagious…" He thought, even if Yuka's hair was short, it still hid her eyes.

"You…just go to the zoo, Kouta."

Her flatness troubled Kouta.

"Are you sure? Are you alright?"

Not wanting to worry Kouta about her problems with him and Kaede she made up an excuse;
"You might be finished for the semester, but I'm not, and I feel a little ill so I'm going to take it easy, a day at home." She gave a small smile to try and convince him further, she could hear Nana asking Mayu none too quietly about the Zoo.

"Okay." He told her that he bought painkillers last week, and they were in the bathroom cupboard if she needed them.

The bus ride to the Zoo was eerily like the first one, there was hardly anybody on the bus apart from the group of four.

The zoo hadn't changed at all, much to Kaede's relief; it seemed a piece of those golden days with Kouta was still around.

She and Kouta stood back amused when Nana had more or less the same reaction as she did when she first saw the elephant.

The giraffe; Nana topped the young Kaede's excited yowls and squeals when she first saw it.

This made Kaede think that she and Nana weren't so different, that she would be as innocent and 'normal' as Nana, if events had played out differently.

She honestly did think of Nana as her little sister now, she found a strange sense of pride for Nana ignite in her, as well as gentle, tender sense of care for her, not as intense as the dire need for Kouta, but a gentler, more passive love for Nana.
With a slight smirk she figured this was the 'family' she'd missed out on all her life.

Kouta put his arm around her waist and asked her quietly; "Do you want to try some shaved-ice?" They both couldn't help but grin at the nostalgia.

"Who wants shaved Ice!?"
Nana and Mayu whirled around in unison:
"ME!! OOH MEE!!" Mayu did a little dance as she waved her arm around in the air
"WHATS SHAVED ICE!? IS IT YUM? WHAT IS IT?!" Nana was probably louder…as usual.

They all sat with their shaved ice, Nana making the mistake of wolfing it down (like she did with all food) and making yet another discovery for the day: the ice cream head ache.

"ITAIII!!! KOUTA IT HURTS!"
With a chuckle he said: "Nana, you need to eat slower! Just rub your tongue on the roof of your mouth and it'll go away faster. Or you can tilt your head to the side."

Nana had a silly look on her face, as she tried both at once.
With a big Nana-gasp she cried "OH WOW!!! IT'S GONE AWAY!!" With a big smile she thanked Kouta for the advice and began shoveling the shaved ice into her mouth, attempting in vain to fill the bottomless pit stomach and occasionally tilted her head and licked the roof of her mouth.

Mayu just shook her head.
"Old habits die hard, huh Nana-chan?"

Kaede knew the real, grizzly reason why Nana ate so much…

If it weren't for her 'Papa' as she had called him, Kaede assumed Nana would love her food even more.

Possibly to death…

As the afternoon got late they walked down the road for a bit, as the next bus was in a long time.

Walking down the road, Kaede spotted a familiar stream.
Kouta felt her hand tense, he saw it too.
"Mayu, Nana, do you mind if we stop for a little rest just over there?"
Both Nana and Mayu were all for a break.

Kouta and Kaede stood in the stream with their shoes off, having a light laugh about the water fight.

When Kouta looked over to tell the girls it was time to get going or they'd miss the bus, he that the stream must be enchanted or something;
Nana and Mayu were having a splash fight.

Luckily the dresses they were wearing dried quickly, and they had only splashed a little.
"Good thing nobody's started pushing…" He said as he walked off to break up the splashes and giggles, only to be splashed himself.

Kaede and Kouta sat in the back seat of the small bus, Nana and Mayu had both nodded off in the seat in front of them.
"I didn't forget what you said." He said quietly into her ear.
"Huh?"
"I couldn't replicate the best day of your life, but it wasn't too shabby was it?"

Kaede was touched by his gesture, all day her mind was filled with (for once) pleasant flash backs of her childhood.

She clutched her Kouta tighter and began to gently hum their song, Lilium.
As usual, it had a soothing effect on Kouta and now that Kaede was cuddling with her fondest memory it seemed appropriate.

When they got home the girls rushed into Yuka's room, telling her all about their day at the zoo.

After they calmed down, and Kouta had them finish the dinner he started cooking (he decided now was a good time for Kaede to learn too) and went in to see Yuka.

"How's it going?"

She stirred in her bed.

"Yuka? Are you feeling better?"

"You've only known Nyu for a few weeks, what does she have that I don't?"

Kouta was taken by surprise at the small voice of Yuka.

"Yuka, look at this."
He took the photo of them at the festival when they were children.

After some careful looking he saw what he was looking for.

"Look."
He pointed to young Kaede.

Yuka was astounded.

"Nyu!? What was she doing there?"

"Remember the sad girl I told you about?"

After a ponder she remembered.

"Well that girl was 'Nyu'. Her real name is Kaede."

Yuka understood now, it was this 'Kaede' that made Kouta the person he was today.

"Why did Nana call her Lucy?"

"Before I tell you that I think Nana needs to tell her story just one more time…"
He went to get Nana, when they both returned he said; "Nana, Yuka needs to know where you and Kaede came from, if you don't want to that's ok."
"No, I can do it." Her normally sunny personality went grim.

First Kouta told her of how he met her, and what happened after that, and all that she had told him.
Then Nana told the story of the facility as best she could, she was in tears by the end of it.

"Nana, I'm really sorry I asked you to do that…tomorrow, you can pick what ever you want to have for dinner."

She immediately brightened up; "REALLY? CAN I?"

She ran off shouting to Mayu that they were having ramen for dinner the next day (she tried it at the zoo and loved it.)

Yuka was stunned.

This girl had such a hard life…

Who was she to complain that Kouta loved her instead?
In Yuka's mind, Kaede deserved Kouta's love more than she did.
She felt ashamed to be jealous of the innocent Nyu.

Kouta sat and talked with Yuka until she fell asleep again.

When he left her room for dinner he was done washing his hands and going into the dining room when Kaede hugged him more enthusiastically than Nyu did.
He wouldn't be surprised if she yelled; "HUG, KOUTA! HUG! NYU WANTS HUG!"

He was actually expecting the accustomed "Nyu likes Kouta!"

They both sat down and Mayu and Nana were wolfing their dinners down…
Mayu was putting in a gallant effort, but she was way out of her league with Nana.

Kaede snatched up her bowl and downed the rice and beef down faster than Nana.

They all stopped in amazement at her speed.

When it was their bed time Mayu made an odd request.
"Um…can Kaede-neechan tuck me in?"

Although surprised Kaede followed the two into their room to tuck them into bed.
"Nee-chan?"
She felt odd being called that.

"Yes?"
"Can you sing us a song? You have a pretty voice!"
Kaede though for a second.

"Wait here."
She walked out of their room, leaving a puzzled Mayu and Nana.

She returned with a small wooden box.

"What's that?"

With a small smile Kaede opened the box, and the tune began to play.

The girls were quiet, and Kaede began to hum along with it.

Soon enough, the two younger girls fell asleep, Kaede didn't notice Kouta standing in the door smiling at her display of kindness, sharing her treasured music box with the two.

He gently picked up Kaede who was nodding off on her own and walked her off to bed.

HUZZAH!!
wow the ideas for this story are coming to me really easily!
I'll update SOON.

Real soon,

Thanks to all who are reading
bigger thanks to those that took the time to review!