It was only a few hours after early dawn when Arakawa was summoned to the Director's office. The sun was still breaking through the shadows of night and turning it into day with a blood red haze. Standing in front of his window, Kakuzawa looked out as the rays filtered in , giving the window the distinct impression of looking like an old fashioned stained glass window from an old church. Arakawa stood in front of his desk, a stack of files under her arm. The medical reports, research notes, and personal bios of all remaining silpelits in the facility were in these files. Plus, all of her current findings of the ongoing search for the vector virus. She stood up straight in yet another one of the exquisite suites the Director had been "gracious" enough to present to her wardrobe. Her sudden ascension to the position of Chief had accompanied with it several considerable perks. There was a substantial increase in her salary and a great improvement of her living quarters. Though still confined to only the island, it was still a deluxe pad that even some celebrities would envy. State of the art television, walls decorated with the finest pieces of modern art, fridge filled with exotic and gourmet food (and her own personal chef), and a luxurious bathroom complete with a Jacuzzi. Under different circumstances, Arakawa might take time to appreciate her good fortune. Unfortunately, she wasn't in much of an enjoying mood.
She once dreamed of becoming a great scientist. To be able to use science to make the world a better place. But that idea was now nothing more then a naive dream. Now, she was just Kakuzawa's dog. Kept on a very short leash. Forced to submit to this despicable man to save her own pathetic life. Now, she was committing and seeing acts so disgusting and against everything in human nature. Even worse, she was now six weeks late. All these thoughts mixing together made her seriously contemplate suicide. But she continued to live. She was unsure of whether this was out of cowardice or bravery. Either way, here she was. Back in his office. Still, regretfully, breathing.
"These are the reports you requested sir," she said numbly, placing the folders on his desk. Kakuzawa opened them and scanned their contents quickly.
"You're sure this is everything we have," he said, his eyes peering over the edge of the folder.
"Yes sir," Arakawa confirmed, "Anything we have on record that's on any significance is right there." Kakuzawa continued to peruse the files. His eyes darted back and forth like a pinball machine, a grim smile exposing his teeth.
"Excellent work," he complimented her, "Burn all of them. Then scatter the ashes into the sea. And be sure to delete the files on the computers." Arakawa couldn't help the look of surprise that filled her formerly blank expression.
"Excuse me?" she asked curiously.
"All of our current findings are no longer needed. We will start over from the beginning," Kakuzawa growled placing the files back on his desk.
"I don't understand," Arakawa replied, still not comprehending what the Director was getting at, "But why would you want us to delete and destroy years of research." Kakuzawa turned again to face her, the confident and, surprisingly, happy smile still baring his pearly white fangs.
"I have just received word from Number 86. He is currently on his way back...with Lucy and Number 7 in custody." Arakawa was both astounded and curious. She had almost forgotten about the prized sample that escaped months ago. But who was this Number 86 who apparently captured her? She had never read a file on a Number 86. "Once Number 86 and Lucy return, we will have two pure diclonius to which we may experiment. With them back in my hands, we will find the virus and synthesize it more quickly. Then the results from those lowly silpelits will be meaningless. Number 86 is even being kind enough to provide us with a silpelit as a backup. Terminate all remaining silpelits, Number 7 will be sufficient enough on her own."
"Excuse me," Arakawa interjected, "But what do you mean two pure diclonius? All the files I've read state that the only queen diclonius we have is Lucy." Kakuzawa chuckled darkly at her, amused by her ignorance.
"The reports are correct Miss Arakawa, Lucy is our only queen. But what good would a new kingdom be without a queen...and a king." Arakawa's jaw dropped, the implication of what the Director just said hitting her. A king could only mean one thing...
"Bu...but," Arakawa stammered, "I've read no report or file on there being a king diclonius!"
"Of course you haven't," the Director laughed, still enjoying her dumbfounded expression, "That's because there never was a report filed on him. Only a select few were even aware of his existence. Much like Number 35, I had to safeguard my investments. But now that he has succeeded were the others have failed, I'll be able to use them to find the diclonius virus, return the pure gene back to my family blood where it belongs, and with Lucy as my queen and Number 86 and 7 as my servants, will reshape humanity into the new race it was meant to be. Like my ancestors was destined to do. People will tell stories for generations about how I brought about the end of the disease known as humanity and brought it up from the ashes into a pure race." He held up his arms in an immaculate fashion, resembling the figure of Jesus Christ on the crucifix. The image was so disturbing in made Arakawa's stomach churn. His eyes were fixed on the heavens outside his window, wide and inhuman, like he was trying to stare down God himself with his vision.
"Excuse me sir," Arakawa interrupted his day dream, forcing down her sickness.
"Yes my dear," he answered.
"I think it would be in our best interest to keep the remaining silpelits alive," she said.
"You do not trust my judgment," Kakuzawa shot menacingly.
"Begging your pardon sir...but no," she replied, surprising herself by the boldness of the answer, "The findings we have are too valuable to just toss out. And we have no guarantee that the research we will conduct on Lucy, Number 7, and this Number 86 will produce any real results. I think it would be wise to keep the rest of the silpelits as backup. That way..." Kakuzawa stepped over to her from his window and gave her a hard backhand slap that sent her to the plush floor. He eyed her with malice and fire. His teeth were clenched so tightly that she could almost hear them grinding against each other. Arakawa rubbed the side of her face and felt a small trickle of blood from the corner of her lip.
"DON'T YOU DARE CONTRADICT ME," he shouted at her, "I am God's chosen ruler. I will be the one who decides what is best, not a pathetic women like you. Your job is to do what I tell you and bare my child, nothing else. If you stand against me...then you stand against God." Kakuzawa began walking back to his desk, resuming to gaze out the window as if waiting to see Number 86 and Lucy fly over the clouds.
"You're crazy," Arakawa trembled, climbing to her feet. The Director composed himself at this and turned around, his face colder and harder then she'd ever seen it.
"Pardon me," he said grimly.
"You're nuts! Psycho! Insane! Mad," Arakawa began spouting off rapidly, surprised by her own bravery, "I not going to help you anymore. You won't make me kill a bunch of little kids, and I won't help you destroy the human race. You're no god, you're just a deranged old man." Arakawa stood tall and straight to make herself feel more bold. Yet she still could not stop the shaking in her feet. The Director sighed, reached into his desk, and before Arakawa could move, shot her square in the stomach. The force of the bullets entry into her gut was enough to throw her onto her back, blood rushing forth from the wound. Arakawa mentally laughed at herself for having been surprised by his course of action.
"What a pity," Kakuzawa said, stepping from behind his desk, "You didn't have to die my dear. If only you just continued to obey me, you could have been part of history. But if you're so desperate for death, then allow me to grant it to you."
"But...what about...your child," Arakawa said weakly, coughing up blood from her throat. He only grunted. "I thought...you needed a child...to bare...your legacy."
"I shall have plenty with Lucy. And none shall be a disgusting half-breed like my son was, or like the one you would have bared." Kakuzawa leveled his gun, gave three more ringing shots, and Arakawa slumped over to remain motionless. Kakuzawa looked at her body, now full of holes and bleeding freely. He pressed a button on his intercom to request his secretary know to send up a janitor to clean up the mess. Then, pressed the button that would let all the facility hear him.
"Attention all staff," his voice echoed like a god throughout the halls, "I hereby order the termination of all silpelits and any existing files we have on them. Afterwards, burn the bodies in the furnace. And prepare a helicopter to be sent to Kamakura. We will be welcoming some very important guest."
A few hours earlier...
Kohta drearily opened his eyes to notice the sun just outside Lucy's window slowly making its way up the horizon. Whipping the grit from his eyes, he saw himself under the covers of Lucy's bed, both of them naked with Lucy draping an arm over his chest, while he likewise wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Growing frantic, he looked around desperately for some explanation as to why he was here. Seeing their clothes scattered about, he suddenly remembered the events of last night. Of how Lucy again attempted to leave, and he refused to let her go. He then recalled them sharing a kiss, one thing lead to another, and then...
Kohta blushed furiously just thinking about it. He never really believed himself to be a "player" and always thought himself to be more inept when it came to girls. What he and Lucy did last night was more then a little shocking. Still, he thought about it fondly. He quickly scolded himself for this, thinking it made him seem too much of a pervert. But what he really enjoyed about it was not the act itself, but what it embodied. To him, it was nothing more then an expression of love to the women that now lay next to him in quiet slumber. And for a few moments, but what really felt like several lifetimes, the two of them had become one being. Kohta stroked Lucy's pink hair, Lucy stirring in her sleep. He stopped, fearing he might have woken her up, but she was only shifting in her sleep. Kohta continued to lightly pet her head, not in a rush to awaken his sleeping beauty. He also didn't want to disrupt the moment he was so much enjoying. So he lay awake, holding her in his arms, believing he was the luckiest man in the world.
Hours went by as Lucy's chest rose up and down with her breaths as Kohta just watched her sleep. She seemed so peaceful. As he heard the footsteps of someone else making their way downstairs, he internally noticed that this was probably the first time he'd ever been the first one up. The thought was very amusing to him.
Nana screamed from downstairs, and it was loud enough to boldly wake Lucy up, and force Kohta to sit up straight in bed. The two of them dressed quickly and haphazardly, Lucy putting on her usual lime green boxer shorts and white tank top, while Kohta simply put on the jeans he wore last night. In the hall, they met Tomo and Mayu, who also seemed to have been startled from their sleep and dressed sloppily. They all found Nana sitting in the frame of the front door, body shaking violently.
"Nana, what happened," Mayu said, falling to Nana's side. She didn't answer. Her eyes and focus seemed fixed on something. "Nana?" Again, Nana appeared too much in a state of shock to hear or answer. The others followed her gaze. In the middle of the stone path that lead to the gate was a body. The body was cut into four different pieces and laying in a pool of its own blood. The upper and lower body had been separated from each other, the left arm was removed from the torso, and a head that lay starring at them all. The face was familiar, with its short auburn hair and beautiful matching eyes. It was Yuka.
Mayu screamed just as loudly as Nana, while Kohta fell on his butt and Lucy and Tomo starred in stunned silence. Kohta's face became possessed by fear and anguish, his body shivering as if cold. How could this be?
"What happened?" Tomo asked after a moment.
"I don't know," Nana said, seeming to finally find her voice, "I just came out to feed Wanta, and I just found her here like this." It was difficult for any of them to understand what she was saying while she spoke sobbingly. But they got the understood her well enough. A bowl of dried dog food lay on the grass as Wanta ate it off the dirt, his animal nature blissfully ignorant to the situation. No one moved forward an inch nearer the body, as if it might spring to life and strike them. Slowly, Kohta crawled over to where Yuka's head lay facing the sky. He looked on the verge of tears, caressing her cheek.
"Why?" Kohta asked weakly after several minutes of motionless silence. His sudden vocalness drug everyone out of their trances as they all looked at him. He turned an eye to Lucy, a mixture of both anger and sadness behind them. "Why?"
"Why what?" she responded confusedly.
"Why did you do this?" Kohta asked more aggressively.
"Why WHO did this?" she said incredulously.
"Why did YOU kill her?" Kohta stood up with one swift action, coming right up in front of Lucy.
"Wait...now calm down," Mayu said apprehensively, "We don't know who did this."
"Yeah," Tomo chimed in, "Lets just take a breather."
"Don't be stupid you two," Kohta shot at the two of them, "Who else could have done this!" Lucy looked as if she didn't believe what she was hearing.
"And what makes you think I did this," Lucy asked, sounding extremely offended.
"Oh come on. I've seen how you kill, and this looks oddly familiar. This is just like when you killed Kanae and my dad."
"What reason would I have to kill Yuka?"
"Oh, I don't know. maybe because you hate her!" Kohta's voice was becoming more and more hysterical with every passing syllable.
"I didn't hate her," Lucy said desperately.
"Liar! Yes you did! And after what happened yesterday, you decided to kill her." With shocking force, Kohta brought the back of his hand upside Lucy's face, striking her. It was the first time any of them could recently recall him slapping anyone since Nana first arrived. Then placing an arm on both her shoulders, pinned her against the house. He began shaking her so violently her head bashed against the walls, giving her a splitting headache. "Why do you keep on doing this to me?" asked Kohta, "I thought you changed. I thought you were different."
"Kohta, please calm down! We don't know that she did this," Mayu pleaded. Nana looked like she again lost her voice, and Tomo quietly observed. Mayu jumped forward and pried Kohta away from Lucy. Lucy rubbed the spot that Kohta had hit, looking stunned beyond words.
"All you've ever done is take everyone I ever cared about away from me," Kohta said, even closer to tears then before. He took one hard stride toward her, looking like he was going to hit her again. Mayu used all the strength her 14 year old body could gather to hold back a full grown college student.
"Kohta," Lucy whispered sadly. The scene was quickly getting out of control. Kohta continued his berating of Lucy, Mayu using all her power to hold him back as Kohta continued fight against her, while Nana sobbed uncontrollably, and Wanta barked furiously at the commotion. Tomo stood silently by.
"LET GO OF ME," Kohta screamed at Mayu.
"Please," Mayu begged, tears now falling as frequently from her eyes as Nana's.
"I SAID LET ME GO!"
"Everyone just settle down," shouted Tomo. When no one seemed to hear him, he put his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly into the air. They all instantly obeyed his command at silence. Once he was sure he had their attention, he continued on. "I'm not going to pretend I understand much of what I was told about what Lucy is last night," he said looking from face to face, making sure he was still holding their attention and that they were listening calmly. "But Mayu is right about one thing. We don't know for sure you did-"
"I already told you who did this," Kohta interrupted him, "It was her!" He pointed an accusatory finger at Lucy. The way Kohta had referred to Lucy as 'her' was almost heartbreaking.
"We can't be sure of that," Tomo said peacefully.
"You're in on this aren't you?" Kohta shot back at him. Tomo quickly went from a calm exterior to one of great anger.
"How dare you," Tomo shouted back, "Do you have any idea how much I cared for her?! Hell I was giving her more attention then you were...her own family. She only turned to me because you were ignoring her. Don't vent on me because of your own guilt!"
"Then tell me," Kohta said condescendingly, "Who else could have done this. Nana maybe? Or Mayu? Perhaps it was Wanta? It could have even been you?"
"I'm not saying she didn't do it." Tomo turned and gave Lucy a weary look. "I'm just saying we should try and get to the bottom of this in a collected manner."
"So you're a detective now are you," Kohta barked. Tomo was looking increasingly annoyed, and the two young men were so close to each others faces their noses were separated by inches. They both looked near about to fight one another.
"Stop it you two," Mayu begged, "We shouldn't be fighting like this!" Tomo took a deep breathe, then looked behind himself at the decapitated body of Yuka.
"I don't expect you to understand this Kohta, but I've been on my own for as long as I can remember. Since I was homeless, everyone gave me odd looks and tended to avoid me. Then there was Yuka." Tomo knelt down by her, picking up her head and hold in close to him, he too now starting to cry. "She was the first person who really wanted to know who I am. And I'm as hurt by this loss as much as you. Lucy, please tell me you didn't do this!" Everyone turned now to stare at Lucy, who suddenly felt like a rat who had been backed into a corner.
"Kohta please listen to me," Lucy said sitting back up. Kohta face, the tears on his cheeks and the anger in his eyes was in sharp contrast to one another.
"I hate you!"
"Why won't you listen to me?"
"Get out! I never want to see you again!" The air vanished from everyone's lungs. Lucy just hung her head in silent defeat, then, very slowly, as if marching toward the guillotine, walked outside the gate, and didn't ever look back once. Nobody went after her or tried to stop her.
Lucy sat at the graveyard just at the bottom of the steps, her legs held tightly to her chest. Her back pressed against a tombstone, she found it strangely ironic that this was the place she decided to come to. Here, at the spot where she and Nana had fought so passionately. And here, where she tore her body to shreds, despite her pleas of mercy. A past she knew now, she'd never escape. It was all over now. She had nowhere to go. Nowhere she belonged. And no one who wanted her. Even Kohta had now abandoned her. The one she loved most, and who she once believed loved her in return. It was so cruel that just the previous night they had lain together for the first time. The sadness and loneliness she felt now was so real she though they might take physical shape. Even worse was that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't shed a single tear. And she still loved him.
She waited there for no one, not wishing to move. There was nowhere for her to go anyway. She would stay here till she died. Here her bones would lay and turn to dust just as they were now. There wasn't anything for her anymore. She buried her face in her knees, trying to shut out the cruel world in which she would give anything to escape. Her face was buried so deep that she didn't she the familiar figure approaching her.
"Are you ok," Tomo asked. Lucy looked up at him with disgust.
"Leave me alone," she spat. He tried to place a loving hand on her shoulder, but she violently shoved it off and buried her face back into her legs. Tomo didn't waste any time beating around the bush.
"Look, I know you're not feeling very good right now," he said understandingly, "Kohta said some really nasty things. But I know you didn't do it, and I'm just here to let you know you don't have to be alone anymore." Tomo tried to embrace her, but Lucy pushed him back with her vectors.
"I said go away," Lucy said, her voice rising. "You turned on me just like everyone else did. I should have listened to the feeling I got when I first met you."
"Lucy," Tomo began, reaching his wits end, "Why do you constantly push me away. Don't you get it, I understand you."
"You don't know me," Lucy scolded him, turning her back on him, "You don't understand anything." Tomo leaned close to Lucy's ear. So close she could feel the heat from his breath.
"I know more then you think," he whispered, "I know that the reason you hide up in your room is because you're afraid. You're afraid of your powers, afraid you might hurt someone. So you cut yourself off from the rest of the world to protect them. But all that does is increase your suffering. I understand the pain, the loneliness you feel inside yourself everyday. Creeping up on you to choke the life out of your soul. I know all about your time at the orphanage. Your time alone. I feel your memories as strongly as if they were my own. And about that girl named Nyu." Lucy shuttered. She had never mentioned that name to him before. "You're different from normal people Lucy. You're better then them. And I'm here to tell you not to be afraid of your gift. Embrace it. Treasure it. It's what makes people like us so much better then the humans. We belong together you and I. Because we're exactly the same." Lucy got up and slowly turned around. Tomo backed away precisely a few inches out of two meters. He was standing calmly, with a friendly smile painting his young features.
"Who are you?" Tomo reached into his pocket and threw at her feet two small objects. At first, from the sound they made when they clattered to the ground, she thought they were stones. But as she picked them up to examine them, she remembered their all too familiar shape. And at the base they were both jagged, as if roughly cut off by something, with two stains of blood. Realization washed over her like a tsunami. She looked up in horror, that smile on Tomo's face growing even wider. Almost sadistic.
"Yes Lucy," he said simply, "Yes."