AN: I think I'm going to stop pretending I'm going to put these out in a timely manner, it's obviously not happening. Regardless, here's the next installment. I tried addressing one of the main things I accidentally skipped over in previous chapters (one of the problems with not outlining this story properly), the "love-triangle" with Kouta and Lucy and Kouta and Yuka. I'll probably add in some more to previous chapters once I've finished the story and do a revise, but for now hopefully this can suffice.

Chapter III: Namensvetter

Mayu hummed happily as she went through her daily routine of cleaning the beach. She had went a bit earlier than usual, but that was fine. To be honest she just wanted to be out of the house. With both Lucy and Kurama back, she was keen on avoiding any drama that might occur.

Hopefully Kouta could keep them in check, and by them she meant Lucy.

Wiping her brow of any forming sweat, she swung her head back and forth lazily, surveying the beach before resting her gaze on the endless waters. "It's a lot cleaner now, right?" She said out loud to no one in particular.

'If that person were here, I wonder what he would say to praise me,' she thought wistfully. 'He probably wouldn't. He'd probably say "It's still the same damn dirty sea."' She internally giggled at the mental imitation of his voice. Still, she couldn't help the tear that began to form at his memory.

"It's still the same damn dirty sea."

Mayu's eyes widened. That voice, she hadn't imagined it, had she?

"But still," the voice continued, sand crunching beneath heavy footsteps as it grew closer. "You tried your best, didn't ya?"

Mayu dropped her trash bag, turning around to face the source. She dared not hope it could be.

There stood Bando, his trademark grin splashed across his face. "What are you surprised about, stupid? I thought I told you that I can never die."

Mayu darted for him in a heartbeat, ensnaring the ex-soldier in the strongest hug her arms could muster as she let out all her pent up emotions.

"W-what was that?" Lucy couldn't help but vocalize her confusion. Kurama turned to acknowledge the new voice before turning back around, heaving a heavy sigh.

"That – was the parroting of an old man whose life's duty is to make my work impossible." Kurama let out wistfully. "I'd almost admire his dedication if he didn't piss me off so much."

Lucy shook her head. "No, not that. I mean, I don't understand…" she trailed off trying to find the right words. "He's talking about creating a task force to hunt down diclonius. He talked like there was a war going on. Who is he? And what did he even mean?"

Kurama pinched the bridge of his nose. Had Kouta not explained the past four months to her? The older man wasn't entirely sure how stable and docile the queen diclonius was, and certainly didn't want to risk setting her off by explaining what had happened since her 'death.'

Lucy, picking up on his hesitation, spoke up. "I don't plan on starting anything, I just want to know what to expect out there."

Taking a deep breath, Kurama began. "The man you saw on the TV was General Takao Kanbe of the Japanese Self Defence Force. Four months ago he was Colonel Kanabe, but after Saseba assaulted the Research Institute and knowledge of what had been going on there began to go public, panic started setting in. Add onto that the fact that the assault had let loose scores of captive diclonius, and you have the beginnings of a mass crisis.

"The Japanese government, of course, pinned everything on Kakuzawa and declared war on 'the diclonius threat.'" Kurama chuckled slightly. "They called it a war, but it was more akin to a purge. With the Vector Attack Crafts, the already outnumbered diclonius were cannon fodder. They were able to kill humans, sure. And the less thoughtful ones did just that, attacked indiscriminately. They didn't last long. The remaining, smarter diclonius fell back on guerilla tactics, attacking specific targets." He paused, frowning at the recollection. "One such attack was on a meeting of the joint chiefs of staff of the JSDF.

"No one quite knows how she got in, the VACs have radar that can pinpoint the location of any nearby diclonius. Regardless, about two months ago during a public demo of the latest iteration of the VACs, one diclonius managed to stage an attack, killing not only the Minister of Defense, but the then acting Admiral and General of the JSDF.

"It was labeled the greatest act of terror on Japanese soil that had ever taken place. In the confusion, Colonel Kanabe pulled out his gun and shot the girl himself. That moment earned him his new rank. Using his new position at the head of the JSDF ground forces, he began pushing for more and more extreme measures to weed out the hiding diclonius.

"There hasn't been a reported incident of diclonius activity in about a month. And with a vaccine for the vector virus having been fully distributed to the population since then it would be safe to say any remaining 'diclonius threat' is nonexistent." Kurama grimaced. "I had hoped that with humanity holding all the cards, we might be able to reach a point where we could negotiate some kind of peace for the remaining diclonius.

"But the General is intent on continuing his purge. And he seems extraordinarily capable of playing to the public's fears." Kurama finished. He waited a moment for Lucy to respond, but she remained statuesque, the tilt of her head causing her bangs to shroud her face.

"So that's it, huh?" Lucy finally managed to say, the edge clearly evident in her voice. "Humanity's hunted us to near extinction but we're still somehow the boogymen."

Kurama sighed. So far her reaction wasn't awful, but he could tell that this conversation was sitting on the head of a pin; it could turn sour any second if he didn't choose his words carefully. "It's more complicated than that. Humans individually can be quite smart. In groups, however, we become considerably less so."

"And now we pay for the father's sins, huh?" Lucy finally raised her gaze to meet his, anger bubbling in her eyes. "None of us asked to be born this way, you know. To be freaks whose very existence is seen as a threat."

'Of course not.' Kurama thought, thinking back to Nana, to Mariko. To his wife's dying wish. Still… "Since when did the rest of your race become of any concern to you? Last I recall you didn't care about any of the other diclonius." He knew he was risking setting off the bomb, but Kurama's curiosity begged for answers. Lucy had never shown any interest in what happened to other diclonuis, this change of attitude warranted some investigation.

Lucy bit her tongue, turning away from Kuruma's scrutinous gaze. "I don't…" she mumbled out.

"There's nothing wrong with it, Lucy. You can care about your kind," Kurama let out in his most casual voice. 'Tiptoe the edge, just don't cross it.' He mentally reminded himself.

"Tsk, think what you want." Lucy let out, turning and leaving for her room, paying no mind to the tea she had come for in the first place. So caught up in her own thoughts, Lucy didn't even notice nor acknowledge Kouta as she passed him in the hallway.

"Oh, Lucy." He murmured in shock as she strode for her room. The diclonius paid him no mind as she entered her room, closing the door behind her.

Kouta scratched his face in minor shock at what just happened. Had Lucy just ignored him? Not that he expected her undivided attention, but it came as quite a surprise to the boy and definitely a first. Confused, he made for the direction she just left, finding Kurama in stoic silence.

"Ah, Kurama," Kouta greeted. "Do you know what's going on with Lucy?"

Kurama ran a hand through his hair, sighing. "What happened, is I just had to tell Lucy about what happened in the four months she missed." That alone told Kouta all he needed. "More specifically, about the JSDF and the 'diclonius war.'

"You know, Kouta, I really hoped that would have been something you would have gone through with her. I think she would have reacted a lot better hearing it from you." Kouta grimaced; he knew he should have. But he also knew it would have upset Lucy. Obviously it had. Kurama picked up on his body language and was able to guess his thoughts.

"Kouta, I understand where you're coming from," Kurama continued. "You want to protect her. The outside world is harsh towards diclonius. I get that better than anyone, except those diclonius. There isn't a day that I don't worry about what might happen to Nana. If she wasn't as far developed in her power as she is I wouldn't even entertain the thought of bringing her along with me. But Kouta – you and me, we can't protect them from the world. We aren't strong enough. What we can do, is protect them from themselves."

Kouta scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean? Protect them from themselves?"

"Lucy, hell most diclonius for that matter, are somewhat mentally unstable. Living a life of constant experimentation and inhumane treatment will do that to you. From the past that you've told me the two of you share, you bring some sense of stability to her life. Like I do for Nana." Kouta nodded his head, starting to understand what Kurama was saying.

"There are two things Lucy cares about. Self-preservation, and you." Kurama stated as if it was a fact as fundamental as the atom. "Judging from four months ago, I'd say you rank higher on that totem pole." And Kouta couldn't deny it. Hell, he had used it against her, to get her to stop fighting the world.

"You can't control how the world reacts to Lucy. What you can control is how Lucy reacts to the world." Kurama finished, deciding to remain quiet and let Kouta process.

"I understand…" Kouta eventually replied. "I get it but… why can't there be more, why can't I do more?" He briefly flashed back to the night the Inn was assaulted by that scientist and the Mariko clones. He remembered how powerless he felt. How utterly incapable he was of doing anything.

Kurama sighed. "I ask myself the same question every day. But until you find the answer, do what you can."

Kouta finally nodded. "Yeah, you're right," he conceded. "I should go talk to her, shouldn't I?"

Kurama gave Kouta a faint smile. "I can't tell you how to use your power. Only you can."

"Thak you, Kurama." Giving another nod and a smile to match, Kouta left the room, following the same path Lucy took.

Kurama heaved a sigh, the talks with Lucy and then Kouta leaving him mentally exhausted. Maybe another cup of tea was in order.

Lucy laid face down on her futon, head buried in her pillow as she let out muffled grumbles. She didn't know why the conversation with Kurama had upset her. It shouldn't have upset her. Nevertheless, she found herself brooding in her room once again. It was becoming a bad habit.

'What do I care for the other diclonius?' she tried to reason. They mattered little to her, she repeated to herself over and over. Even so, the thought of her race being hunted down caused a great deal of turmoil. The fact that it brought her turmoil just frustrated her even more.

Her brooding was interrupted by a soft knock outside her door. Probably Kurama, trying to reconcile. She had little interest.

"Lucy, are you in there?" came Kouta's hesitant voice. Her head perked up just a little bit. She wanted to ignore him too, wanted to just forget the outside world, forget the events that made her so unreasonably confused. But even as she thought that, her body lifted itself up, as she slowly pattered towards the door. Lucy couldn't ignore him. Not Kouta.

Slowly she pulled the door open, trying her best to avoid eye contact with the boy, his sheepish grin failing to mask the discomfort he was feeling, his tell being the hand scratching the back of his head.

"Hey, Lucy, are you feeling alright?" Kouta asked, his feigned demeanor falling as he noticed the turmoil evident from Lucy's posture.

She whispered a half-hearted "I'm fine," before trying to make a retreat to her futon – stopped mid stride by Kouta's hand catching her wrist. Her eyes widened slightly at the contact.

"No, you're not," the grit in his voice made her eyes widen even further. There was a steadfastness in his voice that caught her off guard. "Please, Lucy, tell me what's wrong." He asked, bringing his hands gently up to her shoulders, lightly turning her around to face him. Willing her to look at him, to open up to him.

"It's nothing," she tried to pretend. "I'm just… confused." Yes, confused was a good word for it. Kouta smiled softly, shaking his head.

"Well then, what's confusing you?" He prodded. "I may not have an answer, but at least I have an ear." Lucy smiled at the silly metaphor. Maybe, though… maybe that would be enough.

Grabbing Kouta's hand, she gently pulled him down to a sitting position with her. Now that she had him here, had his attention, she didn't know what to say. Her mind froze. They sat there in silence while she fumbled with her thoughts, trying to figure out how to explain her troubles to him, how to open up to another person.

"I…" she began. It was a word, at least. "I shouldn't care about them, but…" what was she trying to say? Even Lucy was unsure. "But I do."

"The other diclonius?" Kouta surmised from his discussion with Kurama. Lucy nodded.

"I've never met most of them, I don't have a stake in their wellbeing. They shouldn't mean anything to me." She spoke, more to herself than to Kouta. "But I can't stop thinking about it." She finished in a half whisper.

Kouta nodded, taking all of it in. Another silence fell as he formulated his thoughts. "Well, I'm no expert, but I think what you're feeling is pretty normal." Lucy looked up at him in confusion. "I mean, something bad happens to someone, even if you don't know them, you're bound to feel something for them. I'd think it's the natural response.

"We both know that diclonius are more than the monsters that they're made out to be, so of course you'd empathize with their struggles." Kouta surmised, chin held between thumb and index finger in a thoughtful position.

Lucy pondered his input. The natural response? She almost laughed at the thought, her having a natural response to something. Still, in some way it did make sense, she supposed.

"And after all, you are their queen." Kouta teased, trying to lighten the mood, though the idea wasn't without merit.

"Some queen I turned out to be then," Lucy shook her head with a slight smile, before a mischievous thought entered her head. "I don't even have a king." Kouta's face reddened at the insinuation.

"W-well," he stuttered. "Do bees have a king? You don't need a king to be a queen." Now Kouta was the one avoiding eye contact. Lucy let out a small giggle at his act, amused how quickly he could go from insightful to flustered.

"Oh, so now you're comparing me to an insect?" she let out a huff and turned her head to the side in mock indignation.

"Oh come on, you know that's not what I meant." Kouta replied. Lucy's act broke and she devolved into a quiet laughter at the banter. As the diclonius tried to compose herself, Kouta looked on, star struck at the woman before him. When she was like this, the dark thoughts that near-constantly plagued her gone, she looked… mesmerizing.

This person in front of him, this lighthearted Lucy, her carefree smile; Kouta decided it was something he wanted to protect.

"Lucy, what if we tried helping Kurama?" Lucy, recovering from her fit of giggles, eyed Kouta curiously. A week ago she would have gagged at the thought of helping that man, but she supposed time had finally healed that wound.

"Obviously we can't have you out in public, doing what he and Nana do. But what if we tried finding the other diclonius? Tried to help them and convince them to seek peace?" Kouta suggested. "You can sense where the others are, right? It shouldn't be too hard to find them"

Lucy thought about it. While she hadn't been actively been paying attention, she could feel where the other diclonius were if she focused – Nana obviously being very close by, a few scattered in various directions and a curiously large number far to the north. The diclonius queen was surprised at just how far she could feel now, her range was much further than it had been when she had first escaped the research facility and returned to Kamakura.

Lucy mulled the thought over, surprised by how much helping her race actually appealed to her. Then a thought struck her. "Wait, what do you mean, we?"

Kouta held up his hands in embarrassment. "Well, I can't quite go out and find them myself. It's not like I can sense them." He tried reasoning.

"No, Kouta, that's not what I meant." Lucy replied, shaking her head. "I mean why would you be coming with me? No offense, but a human being around a diclonius isn't exactly something that ends well"

"Well… because I want to support you." He stated. "Yeah, if a diclonius tries to attack me I'm probably going into a bad spot, but I've been around you and Nana quite a bit and, so far, I'm still alive." Lucy mentally cringed. True, neither of them had hurt him, but the number of times he had been endangered by being around her was another story. The thought of him being in even more situations like that didn't sit well with her.

Kouta, sensing the apprehension she had with the idea, continued. "I know that going around searching for diclonius is probably hazardous to my health, but I want to help you, even if it's just with support. Obviously I can't go toe to toe with a diclonius," he grinned slightly, giving her shoulder a playful shove as he said "That's why I have you."

Lucy ears heated up at the implication. Still, his encouragement was infectious, and she couldn't help but feel hopeful at the thought of doing something, anything other than lounging about, cleaning the inn, and brooding. "Well, I guess I can't argue with that," she replied, giving him a shove in return.

"Then it's settled." He responded with a nod. "Of course we'll probably need to hash out some of the details, but I think we can manage it."

"Yeah," was her simple reply. They stayed quiet for a moment before Lucy spoke up again. "Hey, Kouta, can we go out? There's something I want to show you."

Kouta's eyebrows scrunched in confusion, what would she want to show him? "Yeah, sure. Just let me get changed and we can head out." He said, referring to his current around-the-house shirt and a loose pair of shorts he was currently wearing.

Lucy smiled and nodded. After Kouta excused himself from the room, she fell back on her futon, a smile playing across her lips. The diclonius didn't know what she was getting herself into, but if it was with Kouta, she would do it.

Lola grit her teeth as another dock worker appeared from the modest tug boat. Removing her vector from the heart of her previous victim, body falling with a dull thud, she hugged herself closer to the brick wall that overlooked the small marina.

The diclonius enclave had decided on a plan to commandeer a boat to travel to mainland Japan. Though Lola didn't want to broadcast the existence of her group, she knew she couldn't let Lucy return to her position as queen. It would spell the end of their race.

To that end, Lola and a small number of her sisters would seek out the former queen and prevent her from reclaiming that title.

Lola, unfortunately had forgotten just how many humans could exist, they multiplied like ants, so getting to the boat was proving a challenge. She wanted to minimize the body count, the humans already knew that causing brain hemorrhages were the preferred method of a diclonius when they wanted to remain incognito, so she had to get creative. Luckily, her evolving power gave her more acute control over placing her vectors as well as how much or how little she could solidify them. Her last victim she had simply compressed his heart as to keep it from beating. The downside of this was that it took time. With the next worker fast approaching the body of his now dead friend, she didn't have that luxury.

So she severed an artery. The man convulsed before falling dead. Carefully, Lola stitched the two ends back together. When they performed an autopsy to determine the cause of death nothing would seem out of place. Feeling the exhaustion set in from the fine use of her power, she made a mental note to refrain from using such drastic measures in the future. Waiting a moment to make sure no one else exited the vessel, she made her way onboard, carrying the two dead bodies with her. She quickly searched under the deck for a place to stash them and decided on the engine room, but not before grabbing the log book from who she assumed to be the captain.

Skimming through the pages as she made her way to the controls, Lola felt some confidence in her ability to start and steer the ship. Flipping a couple switches, she turned the ignition, silently praying as it chugged before the engine roared to life. Letting out a quiet humph of victory, she pushed the accelerator forward. The ship slowly pulled out before she was thrown forward by the vessels sudden stop. Looking back, Lola sweat-dropped as she noticed the anchor and tie were still in place. Pulling the accelerator back down, she quickly hoisted the anchor and untied the boat from the dock. Retaking her spot at the controls, she pushed the boat forward again.

First she would take the boat south east, as if heading towards a fishing spot, the captain's original destination, before pulling north to pick up her sisters from a secluded beachhead and then heading back south towards mainland Japan.

Lola nodded soundly at her plan. She didn't want to harm one of her race, but she knew it had to be done. It was Lucy or the rest of them, and Lola would chose the rest of her diclonius every time.

Kouta let out a panicked yell as he fell forward, foot caught on a hidden root. Before he had the chance to face plant into the dirt an invisible hand pushed back, keeping him upright. Looking forward to his companion he have out an embarrassed thanks. Lucy just smiled, shaking her head in amusement.

The pair made their way through a thick forest, one oddly familiar to the boy. When Lucy had asked him if they could go out, he hadn't been picturing a nature walk.

Not that he minded. Kouta loved nature, in his youth he used to head out into the forests all the time to make sketches of the scenery he came across, a hobby that he had dropped after that one summer all those years ago.

The two trekked in silence through the trees before Kouta noticed a familiar cliff side. "Wait, is this…"

"The place where we first met." Lucy finished. "There's something here… that I've wanted to give you for a long time." She stated, before kneeling in front of a tree with an odd stone protruding from the base. Lucy sifted through the dirt before finally brushing her hand across the corked top of a jar, all the while Kouta looked on curiously.

Digging the object out, she quietly handed it to him. "Well, open it up." Lucy said shyly, now not completely certain about what she was handing him.

Puzzled, Kouta nonetheless nodded towards his companion and pulled the top off, fishing out the paper lodged inside. He was surprised when a small stone – a jade – fell out. Was it…? No, it couldn't be the same one from his summer here. He looked at Lucy in question only to find her gaze directed at anything but him. Deciding he wouldn't get an answer from his companion he moved on.

Next he pulled the folded piece of paper out. Opening it revealed a small note.

See you again!
I will always, always cherish this stone.
Ah, I want to wear it as a wedding ring.

To, Kouta

From, Kaede

Kaede? Who was Kaede? Kouta looked at Lucy, then back to the letter, then back at Lucy, back to the letter. Then realization dawned on him.

Lucy, back faced to him, still eyeing the dirt by her feet as though it was the most interesting thing in the world, went rigid when she felt his arms wrap around her.

"This letter, you wrote it back then, didn't you?" Kouta whispered, as his head rested on her shoulder.

"Y-yeah…" Lucy managed to stumble out. "I wanted to give it to you back then, before… before…" she couldn't bear to utter the end of that sentence.

"I'm glad I got to know the name of the girl I played with that summer." Kouta replied, cutting her off before she could continue down that path of thought.

Lucy was enamored by his words, the color of her face growing ever closer to that of her hair. "Y-yeah, me too…" was all she was able to manage.

"I guess the question is," Kouta started, gently pulling away from her, causing her to turn to face him. "Who is the girl in front of me?"

Lucy thought about it. Kaede was a name she hadn't used since she had entered the institute. When they had first been brought into that damnable facility the researchers there knew next to nothing about her, and she had sure as hell not given anything to them. Since no one knew her name, they had dubbed her "Lucy." And it stuck. She disassociated herself from her past, deciding they wouldn't get anything from her, wouldn't be able to harm anything like they had hurt her friend.

The only piece she had held onto was Kouta, the memories with him were the one thing that had kept her going.

"I think… I think that Kaede isn't a name I'm comfortable with. Not right now, at least." She decided. They knew her as Lucy. And despite the history associated with that name, it was what she had identified with for so long.

Kouta simply nodded. Although he liked the name Kaede, thought it was beautiful, he could understand Lucy's decision. Pocketing the letter and jade, Kouta and Lucy continued through the woods before eventually reaching a clearing overlooking Kamakura. Unfortunately the sun was setting behind them, but they could still see its soft glow illuminating the bay, the flickering of lights throughout the street signaling the transition through twilight.

The two barely spoke as they gazed out, simply enjoying each other's company. Somewhere along the line, Kouta's hand found Lucy's and their fingers interlaced. It was a beautiful moment, Lucy decided. One of those days she was sure she would remember for the rest of her life.

Regrettably, the two soon had to return to the city, lest the forest get too dark to travel through. Returning to the Inn, Kouta was surprised to not hear the chatter between Nana and Mayu. The girls were normally back around this time and were sisters in all but blood at this point.

Shrugging it off, he removed his shoes, announced his and Lucy's arrival, and parted with her, him heading for the kitchen and her heading for the baths.

It was in the kitchen that he found Nozomi and Yuka, the latter busying herself with dishes while Nozomi was studying music. "Oh, Yuka, Nozomi." Kouta greeted as he entered.

While Nozomi gave him a quiet greeting, too engrossed in her studies, Yuka turned and gave him a bright smile. "Oh, Kouta, I'm sorry, I just finished putting away dinner. Where have you been?" She asked out of genuine curiosity. Since Lucy's return, she disappointingly hadn't been spending as much time with him, though not out of lack of effort on her part. Her cousin just seemed to have less free time.

"Oh I went out with Lucy." He replied quickly before realizing he had stuck his proverbial foot in his mouth.

"O-oh." Was all Yuka said, her previously cheerful face now noticeably more downcast. Kouta didn't know why, but Yuka didn't seem to enjoy hearing about anything involving him and Lucy. He thought it might have something to do with his cousin still not trusting the diclonius queen, but the two seemed to get along well enough so he wasn't certain.

"Kouta, you really care about Lucy, don't you?" Yuka had meant to whisper only to herself, but spoke loud enough that Kouta could hear.

"Well of course I do. She's part of our family." Kouta said, half-oblivious to the true nature of Yuka's question, the other half not wanting to confront what his feelings were for the pink-haired girl.

"Stupid Kouta…" Yuka whispered, this time too quiet for her cousin to hear. Shaking her head, she tried her best to get over her now dampened mood. "Anyways, I was just about to brew tea, and there's still a bit of dinner put away in the fridge if you want. I know reheating it isn't as good, but it's something."

"Thanks, Yuka, you're the best." Kouta replied happily to his cousin. He truly did care for her, and it made him sad to see her sad.

Yuka smiled at the compliment, and the two – three if you counted the busy Nozomi – enjoyed each other's company.

Lucy sighed contently as she left the bath house dressed in a light tank top and a pair of shorts, still toweling her hair. As she made her way through the house she stopped at the entrance, spotting the old grandfather clock that sat there. Though she didn't have a complete recollection of her other half's memories, she did have pieces. And the time Nyu had spent getting that old time-piece to work brought a humorous smile to her lips.

Her attention shifted as she heard muffled voices outside the door.

"Mr. Bando, you really didn't need to walk me all the way, I would have been fine." Mayu's voice came through.

"Tch, I wasn't walking you anywhere, we just happened to be going in the same direction." An oddly familiar voice followed up.

Mayu giggled. "All the way to the door? Past the main entrance?"

"Yeah? So what?" The voice replied as Mayu slid the door open. "I'm just doing my usual patrols, that's all." Bando turned from the girl he was walking with to the inside of the Inn. The first thing to catch his eye was pink hair, and the girl it belonged to.

"What the fuck?"

Fortsetzung folgt…

AN: Questions, comments, concerns, thoughts? Leave a review. Thanks for reading.