Kohta sat on the edge of the platform that lead to the garden outside, his back hunched over and his elbows on his legs, placing a majority of his weight on his knees. His face was low and surprisingly indifferent. He sat there with his mind spinning backwards and forwards inside his head. So much had happened within the few hours since the sun had risen. And yet, despite all the grief he knew he should be feeling right now with Lucy and Nana gone, all he felt was nothing; only a numbness that gripped onto him with choking ferocity. He felt so empty he was afraid he might break with the slightest touch. He felt no sadness, happiness, regret, pain, relief, or anything. It was as if emotions in general had become nothing more then a dream that could only be vaguely remembered, falling between his fingers before he could grasp it fully. He breathed in and out slowly and rhythmically; almost by default.
He looked up to see the sun shine between the leaves of Lucy's favorite cherry tree, giving it a positively immaculate look. Normally, Kohta would have found such a sight beautiful. But now, everything seemed so pointless. What was the point? He'd lost his father and Kanae. He'd lost Yuka. And now he'd lost Lucy and Nana; the women he loved and a girl who was as good as a sister to him. It seemed the people he loved were destined to be taken away from him eventually. He looked behind him at the unusually quiet house that was making it appear to be much larger then it really was. Then he lowered his head again looking back at his hands clasped together in a almost prayer like fashion. He never was a overly religious person, but right now, it felt like all he wanted to do right now was pray. Pray that by some miracle, Lucy and Nana would make it home safely somehow.
He didn't hear any noise, yet he was certain he felt the presence of someone behind him. He looked to see Mayu standing very timidly by the table, looking uncertain of herself. She fidgeted with her skirt for a moment before she finally spoke.
"Are you alright?" she asked quietly. Kohta looked away and didn't answer her back. Mayu walked to Kohta, lightly touching one of his shoulders. When he did not smack it away, Mayu placed her full hand on him comfortingly. She searched for the right words to comfort him with, yet nothing seemed appropriate for the job. So for the moment, she hoped her company would be enough to console him. There they stood; Kohta hunched on his kness and Mayu with her hand on his shoulder, looking down on him with great pity for what he must be feeling.
"It's going to be ok," she finally said, "I just know Lucy and Nana will make it back home safely."
"And what makes you say that?" Kohta asked, not sounding as hopeful as Mayu.
"I don't know. I have just have a feeling is all," Mayu answered him. Kohta turned his neck around to face her again, his expression suggesting that he didn't know whether to feel anger at what Mayu had just said or depressed.
"Forgive me for not being as optimistic as you."
"Kohta, I know what you're going through and"
"No you don't," Kohta interrupted her. His voice was mournfully weak and quiet, "All my life, it seems like nothing I ever do matters. When I first met Lucy, she looked so lonely on that mountain. So I wanted to be her friend to try and help her. But I still couldn't save her. I've lost my father and sister. I've lost Yuka. And now Lucy and even Nana. All the people I try to help just get taken away from me. What's the point anymore? My life has been full of nothing but regrets. And every time I try to make things better they just get worse. Why bother?" Mayu looked at him with such emotion that she could feel the tears starting to swell up in her eyes.
"Kohta, I know your not feeling too good right now, but you can't give into those feelings. If you do, then you'll really be lost to them. I was like that once too. When you first met me remember? I was so afraid of other people that I did want to let anyone in or help me. That way of living almost cost me my second chance at a real family. Lucy and Nana are like sisters to me. And you've taken such good care of me that your almost like a father." Kohta was taken completely by surprise at Mayu's revelation. He'd never heard her once speak so openly about how she felt about himself and the others. "And I loved Yuka like a mother. We're all sad about her death, but you have to realize you're not alone in this."
"What makes you so sure everything will turn out ok?"
"It's just something about this house," Mayu answered him. She looked all around her as if her words were written on the walls. "There's something magical about this place, something bonding. I know that as long as we care about each other, all we have to do is come back here and we'll be together again. Besides, your here right? I'm sure Lucy and Nana will be back soon." Kohta held her gaze for a moment before he fell into a tight hug, sobbing out years of held in emotions into her arms. It was strange, but for only fourteen years old, Mayu sounded very mature for her age. Afterwards, the both of them kneeled down together at the table, and prayed together for Lucy's and Nana's safe return home where they belonged.
The piece of earth came flying at Lucy with bullet speed, forcing her to duck and roll out of its trajectory. As she came out of her roll, she was prepared to make a move of her own, but Tomo was already on her, swing well aimed punches and kicks at her. Each attempted strike came closer to hitting her with every swing, and it was getting increasingly more difficult to dodge his blows. Tomo connected a punch to her stomach, sending her on her back and losing her breath for a brief moment. She rose back to her feet coughing while Tomo looked at her indifferently. She ripped out a large chuck of concrete from the landing platform behind her and threw it directly at Tomo's face. He ducked it, then used his vectors to push his body into a crushing tackle of Lucy's. On the ground kneeling over her, Tomo raised a vector, but Lucy forced him off her before he could strike.
Doing a back flip, Tomo landed gracefully on his feet, looking quite smug. Lucy rose back to her feet as the two of them starred each other down. Things were not looking good at the moment. Lucy's movements were much too slow and sloppy compared to Tomo's to get a devastating hit. She knew Tomo was just playing with her right now; she knew he was much faster and stronger then this. He was merely enjoying the thrill of adrenaline that only came when one was engaged in a life or death struggle.
The helicopter rose off its legs, and its bladed propellers were torn off its top. Tomo flung the blades at her like a Frisbee, the blades spinning in circles in the air. Lucy quickly bent over backwards and was able to see just how close the blades came to her face. Over exerting her body, she slipped on her legs and fell flat on her back, scratching her body against the rocks.
"Is this it?" Tomo spat at her, "God this is pathetic." Tomo rushed toward her and the two of them began exchanging blocks and punches with both hands and vectors alike. "You used to be feared. Now look at you; a shadow of your former self. Your moves are messy and you have no passion. I, on the other hand, was brought up in this place strictly for combat purposes. There's no way you can..." Lucy was able to use his taunting to her advantage, getting in a punch as hard as she could swing with her vectors. The blow sent Tomo flying in the air, and for the first time dealing a serious blow to Tomo as he hit the ground with hard force. Nana, who had finally regained control of her own vectors, turned away as he hit the ground and threw up dust to the winds.
Tomo rubbed a trickle of blood from his lips and examined the red color in contrast to his own hand. He looked completely unaffected by Lucy's hit and after looking at his blood, started laughing madly.
"Don't tell me that's all you got. Man this is such a disappointment," Tomo mocked.
"You're a monster," Lucy shot back.
"If I am I'm what the humans have made me, nothing else," Tomo replied. "Unlike the two of you I didn't have anyone to care for me!" Tomo launched himself again at Lucy, getting her with a swift roundhouse kick before she even knew he'd moved. "I didn't have a papa or any friends! I was born into a world that neither cared or wanted me!" Tomo's moves were now starting to become increasingly aggressive and even harder to predict. "I wasn't allowed to be anything other then this 'monster' you say I am! So if you must blame anyone for what I am...blame the humans!" Tomo gave Lucy a sharp backhand to the cheek that felt as powerful as any of his punches.
"You really are like a human," Lucy said, "You blame everyone except yourself." Tomo grabbed a fistful of dirt and threw in directly in Lucy's eyes. The dirt stung like thousands of tiny bugs eating away at her sockets as she tried to claw them out of her eyes.
"DON'T YOU DARE COMPARE ME TO THEM! WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW? YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!"
"Let me ask you something," Lucy said after removing the last specks of dirt, blinking madly to relieve the pain, "Why do you hate the humans so much?"
"Because that's the way it's meant to be. Despite what you may think, I don't hate the humans for what they've done to us. It's just human nature to hate and persecute what you're afraid of. Does the gazelle hate the lion for eating its kind? Of course not, that's just the way it is. It's the same with me. I hate the humans because I was born to hate them. We're their natural enemies, end of story."
"And you think that's excuse enough to kill them?" Lucy demanded.
"I'm not doing this because of that. I doing this because I want to be free." Lucy and Nana looked confused and surprised by his reaction and did not know what he meant. When he spoke again, his voice was trembling; as if bringing up something dreadful.
"Do you know what it's like to have this ability Lucy? To be able to perceive other diclonius so strongly that I feel what they are feeling; their anger, their hate, their pain...its all mine to feel. Every single diclonius that has walked into this place, I have felt every ounce of pain they felt as strongly as if it were mine. Imagine this for me Lucy, having pain rushing into you from every angle. Imagine it mixing with your own until it becomes blurred and your not sure which one is really yours. I sometimes wondered it I was real at all; if maybe I was just part of somebody else's nightmare. We're alone enough as it is, but with this ability I felt isolated from my own kind and even myself."
"But then the voice came to me one day. It told me how I could be free of all this. And that's to kill every last human; down to the last man, women, and infant. After the humans are gone, there won't be anyone to cause us anymore pain. And then I'll finally be free."
Tomo resumed his barrage of attacks, putting every ounce of emotion he'd every held back into every kick and punch. Lucy tried to swing a punch at him, but Tomo just ducked and jumped upward into a uppercut under Lucy's chin that sent her flying. Lucy's move were now starting to become even slower and unorganized then the were before. Now that Tomo had revealed himself, Lucy saw similarities between Tomo and herself. Some much so that whenever he threw a punch, what she really saw was a reflection of herself; of what she used to be. She was no longer sure if killing him was the right thing to do. She tried to sever one of his legs to immobilize him, but he jumped out of the way and kicked her in the jaw. She then tried to hurl some of the surrounding debris at him from a distance, but he succeeded in dodging all of them as well.
Tomo decided to play some "catch" of his own, ripping out the windshield of the helicopter and breaking it into many pieces. He hurled each of the pieces at Lucy one by one, some connecting and cutting her skin. As she dodged another piece of broken glass, Lucy noted that she wasn't going to be able to keep this up much longer. She was quickly getting tired, and Tomo didn't even look like he was breaking a sweat.
"After I kill, I'd find it very interesting if you came back to haunt. I've always wanted to meet a ghost," Tomo said.
After he was out of glass, Tomo used the tail part of the helicopter to hurl it at Lucy. She was able to move out of its way, but the shattering ground where it landed made it unable for her to keep her balance as she fell. She looked up at saw Tomo leaping high over her body, ready to come down with the killing stroke of his vectors. He was too fast and Lucy would not be able to move out of the way in time. Lucy closed her eyes, preparing herself for death thinking, Kohta, I'm sorry.
An age seemed to pass as Lucy held her eyes shut, yet nothing appeared to be happening. Afraid to open her eyes to see a gapping wound or a loss limb, Lucy forced herself to open her eyes. She found Tomo standing over her triumphantly with all four vectors fully extended. He looked down on her with an expression of absolute dissatisfaction.
"Are you kidding me?" he said. Lucy just looked back up at him. "Are you just going to give up this easily? You didn't even try to block me. You're just going to lie down and let me kill you like a dog? I though Number 7 was a disappointment but this is just sad. You're almost not even worth killing." Lucy tried to take advantage of Tomo's hesitation, but just as Lucy released one of her vectors, Tomo inserted a vector into the front of Lucy's forehead and disabled her vectors. She then tried to get him with her real arms, but just as quickly Tomo pinned her. "That's not very nice; interrupting me while I'm talking." Tomo bent over to look Lucy directly in the eye. "Why are you so willing to die for this species? They wouldn't do the same for you. They're a virus Lucy; killing off everything around them, even their own kind. They aren't worth your time. So tell me...why?"
Lucy wasn't even going to dignify that remark with a reply to that anymore. There wasn't anything she could say that he would understand. So instead, she looked at him with disdain that burned like fire, and then spit a huge mouth full of saliva into his eye. Tomo continued to smile, but appeared to be fighting back some fury as Lucy could notice his teeth clenching and his face convulsing. He wiped away the spit for his eye, continuing to smile before giving Lucy another hard slap of the face.
"Fine," he said, "If you're so eager to die, I'd be more then happy to grant you your wish."
Nana looked on at the scene unfolding before her as if she were a world apart. Neither one of them seemed to have noticed their sole spectator had finally regained control of her vectors and was now watching the ensuing battle intently. But most of her focus was actually on the raging battle going on inside herself. She felt as if she was in a deadly game of tug-o-war between her two halves; and she was the rope. One half wanted to jump in and help Lucy in her struggle against Tomo. Yet the other half kept telling her to be a good girl and not to hurt anyone; not even if they deserved it. She felt so confused. She wasn't sure what the right thing to do anymore was. Nana never wanted to have to hurt anyone. But she would have to if she wanted to help protect not only Lucy, but Kohta and Mayu. And if she continued to standby and do nothing, then Lucy would most definitely die and it would be all her fault. She weighed each option carefully, and every time she did the consequences of both grew worse. The world was spinning out of control before her eyes. Time seemed to be moving super fast, leaving her far behind to catch up. Now more then ever, she wished papa were still here with her now. She needed someone to clutch onto. But more importantly, she needed someone to tell her what to do.
Tomo took his time. Lucy was pinned and her vectors disabled for at least an hour. He'd won the fight. Destiny had won the day. There was no need to rush his victory too quickly. So he passed the time by slapping each side of Lucy's cheeks in wide arcs like a swinging pendulum. Her cheeks were now so red that she looked sun burnt. Growing tired easily of just slapping her around, Tomo smiled and decided on another little game to play. He lifted up the bottom of her tank top and slowly let his hand crawl up her stomach until he was cupping one of her breast with his hand. Lucy tried in vain to fight against his touch.
"Oh come on," Tomo said, "Don't tell me this doesn't feel good. I bet not even Kohta has touched you like this yet." Tomo started to squeeze harder on Lucy's breast. Then with his other arm he began rubbing it up and down the smooth of Lucy's back. "It's a shame you know...we could have been great together." Tomo sat back up right, looking around the place for something to use. Close by, he saw a rather long piece of broken glass that was practically begging to be used. Tomo reached on over and held the glass in his hand to examine it. Once he was satisfied with its shape and sharpness, Tomo held it high over his head with both hands, ready to plunge it into Lucy's heart. He froze it this position for a moment, a sadistic grin on his lips.
"Say hi to Yuka for me." Then he dropped his arms, the point of the glass falling toward Lucy.
Suddenly, both of Tomo's hands were cut by a mysterious force before they could fully fall. He rolled off of Lucy, trying hard to now clamp the pain in his wrist and force back the blood without any hands. Tomo looked up to see Nana only meters away. She looked even more shocked then any of them did. Her body was shaking and her eyes were wide. Her expression was saying Oh God, what have I done, as if to suggest that she did not mean to do it. Seething with fury, Tomo's face contracted into a deadly expression.
"YOU LITTLE RUNT! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
Tomo rose quickly and pounded over to Nana, who did not move. Right as Tomo began to raise his vectors to strike; he was stopped by a sharp and sudden pain in his lower back. He turned around to see Lucy there, impaling him with the same piece of glass he was only moments away from using on her. As Tomo gazed into her eyes, he saw there a certain determination he hadn't seen before. She gave the blade a quick twist and the pain surged its way up Tomo's spine. He coughed up a fistful of blood and fell to one knee as Lucy let got, leaving the glass in his back. Lucy ran around to check on Nana, who was still paralyzed by both shock and fear. After Nana assured her she was alright, Lucy looked back down on Tomo who was still kneeling. When he got back to his feet, Lucy was shocked to notice that he looked more amused then anything.
"So this is how it ends," he said, "How ironic." Lucy pushed Nana away in case Tomo decided to get in one last attack in an attempt to take one of them down with him. But Tomo did no such thing. He just stood there; wobbly and unbalanced. The blood poured excessively from both his wrist and his back, painting a circle of blood around him.
"Take heed my dear Lucy, for you are the last diclonius. The only pure one left in this world. But this isn't over. Another king and queen will be born, and another until this world is ours. Our time is coming, and you can't stop it. Whether it is by our hand or their own; humanity will be extinct. They don't have long to live. All you've succeeded in doing here is prolonging the inevitable." Tomo slowly began to back away, a trail of red dots following him. "I do not regret killing Yuka. Yuka was still just a human, and you both know as well as I do that they can't be trusted; no matter how kind they are to you. They're all greedy, cruel, arrogant, and worthless. They all have these qualities, even Mayu and Kohta. And they all deserve to die because of it."
Both Lucy and Nana just watched Tomo in silence as they watched him bleed to death. Tomo was now at the ledge of a cliff that lead to a rocky basin below. "It's funny, but I don't feel the pain anymore. I feel...free. I haven't slept in so long. I'm so...tired. Maybe now I can finally...rest." His words were becoming weaker and weaker and it was apparent it was taking all his strength to hold his weight up with his legs. His skin was now starting to turn a white, ghostly pale. "Lucy...I...love...you," he said with a true smile. And for the first time since he'd began telling her, Lucy was finally able to say she honestly believed him. Tomo turned his backs on them, looking out at the beautiful horizon of the sea: the crying of the seagulls, the colors of blue from both the sky and sea piling on top of one another, the clouds that looked as soft as pillows. He couldn't think of a prettier sight to behold just before death. His eyes glossed over, and he fell forward over the cliff's edge. Lucy and Nana ran to the side just in enough time to see his body smack against the sides of the rock and hit the water. His body contorted in odd angles, it took a few minutes before his lungs filled with water and he sank to the dark depths below.
Lucy and Nana were both silent. As Lucy watched his body sink to the bottom, Lucy had the strangest feeling she was watching what could have been her won fate at one point. Now, she was beginning to notice many similarities between what Tomo was, and what she used to be. The reflection was quite scary. Lucy heard a small sob and turned to see Nana crying slightly. She rubbed the tear away quickly once she noticed Lucy had seen her. Suddenly, Lucy felt like she had to say something. After all, if it wasn't for Nana, she'd probably be the one floating in the ocean by now. But what could she say?
"Thank you," Lucy said plainly, "For saving me."
"You're welcome," Nana replied. The two looked at each other trying to think of something else to say. But it was clear that there was still some apprehension between them. Both just stood still, twiddling their fingers.
"I'm sorry Nana," Lucy said.
"About what?" Lucy was still uncomfortable with saying it, so she instead just pointed to one of Nana's arms. Nana instantly knew what she meant, and the tension seemed to mount even higher with the mention of old wounds. "It's alright," Nana said, sounding like she said it more out of reflex. As Nana tried to walk away, Lucy pulled her into a tight hug that almost broke her ribs. Nana was caught in her embrace totally surprised and aghast. Never before had Lucy ever hugged her or even shown the slightest affection toward her. And now that she thought about it, she could even remember the last time Lucy called her by name.
"I'm so sorry," Lucy said through tears now. Nana patted her on the back to comfort her as Lucy sobbed into her shoulders. "I know I never really apologized to you. And I know there isn't anything I can do to earn your forgiveness. But still, I hope this can be enough."
"We're all capable of both good and bad right?" Nana said with a smile. And in a instant, both could feel the metal wall that had been built between them come crumbling down like a sand castle caught in the morning tide. "I forgive you Lucy." The two reunited sisters held each other once more as the distance between them grew even smaller. When they parted, they both looked down at where Tomo's body had sank below where any light could reach.
"I almost feel sorry for him," Lucy said, "He just couldn't let it go. And in the end, it consumed him."
"I was thinking," Nana added, "He said we're not human. But we are born from humans. We have the same feelings they do. We go through the same experiences they do. So doesn't that technically make us human too?" Lucy pondered this a moment. Never before had she heard it put exactly like that.
"Yeah, I guess it does." Lucy and Nana walked away from the cliff, but not before they gathered a small bouquet of lilies they found and tossing it over Tomo's cliff. They watched as it landed exactly where Tomo did and was washed out to sea by the waves. They started making their way back to the lab, but Nana stopped after two steps.
"Uh...Lucy." Lucy turned to follow her gaze toward the beaten down helicopter. It was tail torn off, its propeller missing, its windshield shattered; it was certain that this thing would never fly again. And even if it could, neither Lucy or Nana knew how to pilot it.
"How are we going to get home?"