Lucy couldn't remember the last time she'd had so much fun. Sitting up in her bedroom, she deeply searched the achieves of her memory for anything that might remotely have been as enjoyable as today was. But nothing turned up that could compare. Ironically enough, the only other time she felt such amusement was when Kohta brought her to the same zoo those many years earlier. She now laid in her bed, as her legs screamed at her in dissent. They had walked around the zoo for a majority of the day, admiring many different species of animals. They saw lazy lions as they basked in the shade of trees, primates who humorously imitated their guest, and several others. They ate shaved ice in the later parts of the afternoon when the sun was at its highest, and even managed to cool off at creek they visited the last time they came. Words were unable to express the overwhelming gratitude Lucy was feeling toward Kohta. It had been the best day she had in a long while. But, as Lucy should have expected, it was too good to last long.

The joy she felt immediately faded into sinking feeling the moment they arrived back home. Yuka had been eagerly waiting for them, and pounced on Kohta for his "negligence" and "irresponsibility". Lucy could here her from downstairs as she continued to nag and scold Kohta for all the housework he left her and the girls with. What are you his mother, Lucy thought. She tried to block out Yuka's irksome yelling, holding close to her chest the gray stuffed elephant Kohta bought for her at one of the many zoo's souvenir stands. Her favorite part of their trip to the zoo had to be the elephants. She didn't understand why, but she always liked these massive behemoths best. Their dominating size, their long trunks, their tusks. They always fascinated her and, it surprised her to think such a thought, believed them to be...cute. While there, she wondered if these elephants they were seeing might by some chance be the cubs of the ones she saw before.

But at one point there, Lucy's minded strayed into darker thoughts. Seeing these animals caged while others gawked at them in amusement, she was reminded of her own personal cage back at that island hell. Spending her days bound and restrained while being poked and probed in scientific experiments. Thinking like that, maybe there wasn't much difference between herself and these creatures. Did they really deserve to be locked up? She shocked the depressing idea quickly from her mind. But now that she was home, listening to Yuka complain, the thoughts came rushing in.

She looked down at her new stuffed toy, realizing that its tusks reminded her of something. They looked like they could be something else. Horns. Tossing the toy aside, Lucy pulled her pillow to cover her ears in a desperate attempt to block out Yuka's voice.

Yuka wasn't furious, though her constant stream of shouting said otherwise. That word wasn't enough to describe what Yuka was feeling. If she was furious, then she would have cared about all the chores Kohta neglected today. Which of course she didn't. In truth, she wasn't bothered by the fact of all the cleaning he had left for her and the others. They could handle that easily enough. So then why was she so upset with him? Because, more then anything, she had been hurt. Yes that would have been a much more accurate term to use. All this day had done to her was cruelly remind her of what she already knew to be truth. Kohta had made his choice. And much to her despair, it wasn't her.

"Why didn't you at least tell us you were going somewhere," she chastised, her arms crossed and stare sharp. Yuka knew she was overreacting to the situation, but couldn't help it. This was how she let out all this feeling. Instead of saying exactly what she was feeling, she had always expressed herself when she was upset through nagging, nit picking, and an increased work ethic. It just more often then less that the nit picking was directed at Kohta. At least this way she'd have a connection with him. This was how she dealt with the disease known as heartache. He never did things with her anymore. He barely ever spoke to her. And things had been going so well the last few months.

Back then, she truly believed that her relationship with Kohta had really gotten somewhere. They finally had the opportunity to grow together, and to become more then mere cousins. And for the all too brief time they had, she thought they did. Then it was all shattered to pieces. She had to come back. Yuka was disgusted to admit it, but she would have been lying if she said she wasn't happy on some level that Nyuu was gone. Now she felt a part of her heart wither every time he gave Lucy that loving smile she one day hoped would be reserved for her. And something about Lucy seemed off.

Yuka couldn't explain it, but she could still see it in her eyes. Hear it in her voice. Ever since she returned, Yuka thought there was something seriously wrong with this girl. Kohta had done some serious explaining when Lucy came back, but Yuka felt he wasn't telling her the whole truth about the situation. She sensed she was the only one out of the loop, because even Mayu and Nana seemed to know more about Lucy then she herself did. She hated the feeling of being left out and of isolation it brought.

Kohta starting make another wild attempt to calm Yuka's rising temper. She looked on into his pitifully sorrowful face feeling guilty for lecturing him. No matter how infuriated she was at him, he always had a look and way about him that could make her melt in his fingers. Damn, how does he do it? Yuka sighed heavily, giving up on reprimanding him further. She assumed he'd had enough.

"Just don't let it happen again ok," she concluded, keeping her stern tone as she turned on her heels to enter her room. Sitting on her bed, she began to feel ashamed for yelling at Kohta and for every guilty emotion she felted toward Lucy. Lucy was after all her friend. More or less. And she really needed to do better in terms of getting along with her. But she just felt so jealous and angry at her she couldn't help but resent her at times, even if it was for no legitimate reason. Yuka heard footsteps approaching her door, and quickly grabbed one of the books off her shelf, opening to a random page and pretending to read. It was Nana and Mayu, checking to make sure she was feeling alright. After assuring them she was fine with a fake smile they both accepted it and left. She dropped the book on her bed, not feeling the energy to place it back in its designated place. Hugging her knees, she heard some more footsteps coming from the steps, which was unmistakably Kohta going to see Lucy in her room. Feeling those guilty emotions stir again, Yuka planted her face into her palms, holding back the tears.

"Kohta you jerk," she mumbled.

The orange sky was now a blanket of black, plunging the city into night. As it came, so to did a small drizzle of rain. It started out as a drizzle, then steadily made its way to a downpour, causing those still outside to seek shelter from it. Except for one. Tomo walked back toward the empty shop he had found, making no effort to seek cover or quicken his pace. He freely let the droplets massage his face and arms. This was yet another new experience. He had heard of rain, listening to the scientist complain about the unpredictable weather patterns and the unreliable weathermen who tried to forecast them. But he had never truly known it before this moment. It seemed the world, despite its distasteful inhabitants, was filled with its own natural beauty. From the colors of the sunrise to the feeling of the rain against his skin, he was truly grateful for this opportunity. A great welcome from the dingy city to which he was now returning.

It was too symmetrical and bland. No colors, or beauty at all. Just a bunch of steel, gray buildings. Another way the humans were spoiling nature with their pollution and mindless overpopulation. We'll remedy that soon enough. He was now making his way down a small cluster of buildings that seemed to close in on him like animals. As he tried to guide his way down the narrow passage, he felt a strong grip latch onto his shoulders and spin him around forcefully. His back was then quickly pinned up against the wall, as a ragged looking man starred at him in the eyes while brandishing a gun at his face.

"Alright kid," the man said, "If you want to go home tonight without a hole in your head, you'll empty your pockets and give me all the money you've got right now." Tomo just looked straight at him as the rain matted his hair. He was starting to get annoyed. This was the second time today he had been attacked by someone too ignorant to know better. "Well," the man asked, sounding irritated that Tomo had not yet given up the money he didn't have and run away in fear. Kakuzawa had left him to his own devices to get food. Tomo sighed. Looks like he couldn't avoid it.

He sharply smacked the mans arm off his shoulder with enough force to send the man staggering back a few steps. The man looked shocked that his hold on Tomo had been so easily nullified. His shocked soon twisted into angry and frustration.

"Oh you're so dead ki-," he began, but before he was finished with his threat, Tomo sunk one of his vector's fingers deep into the mans skull. The was motionless, face showing his fearful unknowing of what he was feeling. Tomo searched the contents of the mans mind till he finally found what he was looking for, then gave with a quick distort of the brain artery. The mans eyes clouded up with emptiness, then he fell face first into a puddle, never to rise again. Tomo stood over his pray, feeling very proud of himself. A quick and simple death. Not a single person would be able to link this death with him once the man was discovered in the morning. He didn't like having to use his vectors for this sort of thing, but this way didn't feel so bad. Sophisticated and clean. It almost felt fun.

Standing triumphantly over his first human victim, he felt a primal satisfaction serge through his veins. He glanced down at the gun still firmly held in the dead mans hand. He bent down next to the corpse, removing the gun from his hands that were already starting to harden from rigormortis. He turned it over between his fingers inspecting its detail. Feeling the cold steel in his palms.

Such a rudimentary weapon, the voice said. Tomo didn't reply. He continued to observe the gun in his hands, feeling another strange sensation in his blood as he did so. He felt powerful. And he liked it. He liked it very much.

"I don't know," Tomo said, rising up to his full height again, "I rather like the way it feels."

A true weapon for a diclonius is his vectors. You should know that now, the voiced protested. Tomo couldn't deny that using his vectors felt exhilarating, but deception and cunning were the key to capture Lucy. This weapon might just come in handy in the future.

"Just in case," Tomo said as he pocketed the gun and head off toward the abandoned shop for some well earned rest.