III
Happiness
Still dressed in her pajamas, Kyou was sitting there gazing at the TV like she always did in the morning, at least that was when the better anime shows were on it. Lying flat on the floor, her head was resting on one of the pillows she had brought with her from her room so she had a more comfortable support.
The volume was somewhat muted as she didn't want to wake up her sister who was still asleep. Unlike her, Kyou hadn't felt all that much need for rest as there was plenty of chance to catch it later in the day. There really wasn't all that much for her to do other than trying to do some of the homework she was given on a weekly basis.
She sighed as she wasn't looking forward to it at all. Just the homework by itself was pretty boring and honestly after reading about other aspects of school she felt disappointed that she couldn't join. Really, it would be much more fun if she could go with all of her fellow diclonius and just have fun. Going to karaoke bars, restaurants or having fun at clubs were much more appealing to her. Or perhaps even going shopping and trying out all sorts of new clothes and outfits, all of that sounded like fun and it was how a girl of her age was supposed to behave.
Sighing again, her head dropped as she started to realize that she was wasting the best parts of her life by staying inside but she couldn't just go outside or go to wherever she wanted to. Her life had become one of being constantly watched and although it wasn't anywhere near as bad as what she had gone through at the DRI, it was still very much the same even with if the people and the surroundings were far better.
Really, the only times she actually felt free was when they went over to the maple inn as then they were allowed to go on walks provided that Nana or Saeko went with them to keep an eye on them and keep them out of trouble that meant especially Kyou herself. Seeing the commercials appearing she got up and headed for the kitchen to get something to drink, her throat was feeling dry anyway.
Grabbing the nearest bottle she could get her hands on, it was with some delight that she noticed she had picked one of her favorites. Well it wasn't that difficult as her parents were more than willing to keep the fridge well stocked. Parents, it was such an odd word to her even though she had fully come to accept these two people as her new parents along with her sister.
Really, she had come to see humans in a different way ever since she had escaped. Not all of them were bugs, even though many acted and behaved like them. She had no desire to meet them at all and would much rather stick to the select group she had come to take a liking to.
"Onee-chan?" Kyou froze as she was taken by surprise, she hadn't heard her sister coming into the room but there she was.
"Ah Ryou, why are you up so early? Besides oto-san and oka-san have already left." She pointed towards the hall where normally their coats would be hanging. "They both had to go to work early so for the time being it is just you and me." A devious smile started to appear on her face as she looked at her sister. "Say, care to go out and have some fun in the city?"
"O-Onee-chan!" Ryou exclaimed as she heard that. "Y-You can't! We promised oka-san and oto-san that we would behave if they weren't present. You know that."
Kyou sighed at that, that was just so typical of her little sister. Ryou was always being obedient and doing her best not to break any rules. Some days, she just wondered how she and her could be twins. Sure, they looked identical to each other, but when it came to their personalities it was a different story.
"Ryou, you're just being too nice to others, come on. Don't you want to go outside and see what else there is in this city or even better yet go and visit another city?" Kyou had been reading a lot about places to visit, the one she had been most vocal about was the Akihabara district in Tokyo itself. Really, it was one of those places she really wanted to visit.
"Onee-chan!" Ryou rebuked as she heard it, if her sister was going to do this then both of them would in big trouble if their parents found out. "You know very well that you just can't leave, our other sisters will notice it and tell on us."
Kyou slapped herself on the head, to think she had actually forgotten about that. Yeah, that was going to make slipping out of town a lot harder alright. She needed to rethink on a better method to get away unnoticed. She was suddenly alerted as the commercials had ended. Now, she really needed to get back to her place in the room if she didn't want to miss a thing.
Still with a bento in one of her hands and a bag in the other, Nozomi approached the hospital entrance. Having taken the time and effort at home to pack it all in, she was looking forward to giving it to her father. She knew that he wasn't that keen on the food at the hospital though he still needed to stay for a couple more days. She had been scared, if not terrified, when she had received the phone call causing her to nearly drop it on the floor.
Luckily, it had been nothing major and in the worst case he was going to need a crutch for the next few months to help take off some of the strain on his foot and lower leg. It really had been just a rather awkward accident in the garden when he had slipped from the ladder and landed the wrong way which had caused a small fracture. Offering a quick prayer to God, she was glad that it was nothing serious. Besides, it might be better if he was going to take it a bit more slow. Stepping inside as the door opened she was greeted by the staff, she was starting to become rather well-known though sadly she had to confess that her singing had known better times.
"Good morning Sawa-san," A female nurse greeted her from behind the counter, "Coming over again to check upon your father? Sensei is with him currently discussing his recovery."
Gracefully Nozomi bowed. "Yes I am, I brought him a bento as well. If I may ask, how is he doing?"
"He is doing fine. The medications are helping to ease down on the pain he was experiencing. For the rest, you will need to ask sensei as he can offer your more information."
"Thank you very much," Nozomi said as she went further on her way towards the elevator, her father's room was on the top floor. It took a couple of minutes, but finally the doors of the elevator opened and she walked into the section that she needed to be. At the end of the hallway lied the room where her father was resting. Even from where she was standing, she could already hear him raising his voice. Yes, that was truly him, always the same stubborn man refusing to listen to the advice from others even when it benefitted him. He had never been one to pick the easiest way out, he had worked long and hard to afford a good life for his family though in the end he lost out on that.
"I will not go stay down! I refuse to lie flat for the next month!"
Nozomi had to giggle as she heard it, her father's stern voice was nothing new and him yelling would have, in the past, made her to wet herself from fear. Luckily those days were over, but it hadn't entirely taken away the fear. A quick shiver went through her spine, but pushing it aside she knocked on the door before entering the room.
"Nozomi-chan, how wonderful to see you." His face lit up as he saw her standing there.
"Come here and give your father a hug." Spreading his arms he wrapped them tightly around her, to Nozomi this had been something that she had missed for a long time but now with her father acceptance of her choices they had become as close as in the old days.
"Good morning oto-san, how are you feeling?"
He smiled. "Good, good. That was until sensei came in and started to tell me that for the next month I would be forced to lie flat. Can you even believe that?"
Watching the doctor, she noticed that he appeared to be still fairly young, maybe even having just graduated. She felt kind of sorry for him, if it was so, and already he had to face a patient like this, her father wasn't the easiest man to work with as the poor doctor learned.
"A pleasure to meet you Sawa-san." He gave a short bow. "Allow me to explain the matter."
And with that started a long brief on what exactly was wrong with her father's leg and what would be needed for it to properly heal. The fracture meant clearly that he needed plenty of rest and under no circumstance be allowed to put any kind of force or stress on the leg for at least a month and preferably two months.
Finally having been explained the whole situation, Nozomi could fully understand why her father needed to rest and why, knowing him all too well, it would be difficult to persuade to accept the advice.
"Thank you kindly for your advice sensei, please allow me to explain it to my father and see if I can persuade him otherwise." Walking him towards the door she would do her best as it was in her father's best interest to get plenty of rest to allow the fracture to heal.
Barely had she closed the door or she could already hear him grumble again as she struggled to get to the end of his foot, a solid piece of cast blocking his reach.
"Nozomi-chan? Be a dear and get me something that I use to scratch my foot with, that cast is really starting to itch."
Opening her bag, she held up something else for him. "I thought you wanted this one so I brought it along when I made you a bento." It was one of the sticks he always used to scratch his own back.
The smile he had earlier grew even bigger. "That's it my girl. If I may ask, how is it going with school? I hope you aren't taking it easy just because I'm here in the hospital."
"No, I'm working hard though I find the actual exercise to be harder than I had thought. It is difficult for me to maintain certain tones for long."
He sighed at hearing that, they both knew what had been the cause for that. "It is still that injury you suffered right? Have they said anything new with how it will affect your voice in time?"
Nozomi shook her head. "They can't be certain, even to them it is difficult to tell how the injury has affected my vocal cords. I don't like it, but there isn't much that can be done about it. Still I won't let that bring me down, I will keep on going even if I run the risk of losing my voice. I won't give up on my dream." Reaching out she grabbed his hand as she could see the tears in his eyes. "Thank you for supporting me in this oto-san, it really means the world to me…" She whispered to him as she took him again in an emotional embrace and cried.
Letting out a huge sigh of relief as he cleared his desk of another overly large case file, Dai felt that the need for some coffee right now couldn't have been any greater than other times.
Getting out of his chair, he walked over to the main hall where one of the vending machines stood. It made a really terrible-tasting, awful coffee, but it was coffee nonetheless. And he needed some energy badly. Such a shame that the assistant was on leave due to sickness, she certainly knew how to make a good pot of coffee.
"Ah morning, Hirano, how's it going with you?"
Looking over his shoulder, he could see one of his colleagues's coming over, judging by the look on his face he was likely in just as big a need of coffee as Dai was right now.
"Good morning, Fukuda," he responded with kindness. "Going good, but I already feel worn out thanks to all of those case files I need to go through. I'm afraid it is going to be a late day again."
The man nodded. "Yes, seems like it. I have the same issue and what surprises me is that it is well over a year now since the incident and we are still working hard to cover up everything. I wish it could just be laid to rest, but command still seems adamant."
Dai nodded in agreement. Yeah, a grueling 13 months had passed ever since the person known as Lucy died at the tower on Enoshima Island. A lot of work had been done by the government to fix the substantial damage that had been inflicted on the city of Kamakura and yet the paperwork kept piling up. Some rumors kept insisting that Lucy had survived and yet, unlike so many, Dai had seen what had remained of her body.
He had been the one to have gotten them all quickly away from that place before more people could arrive. Ever since then, it had been a tiring job at erasing any trace that could lead to people finding out about the Inn. "They're chasing ghosts. We all know that Lucy died. The puddled remains of what was left of her body were there for us to see and inspect."
"If you can even call them remains. There was almost nothing left. Even the people from the lab experienced difficulty with identifying her. The DNA was breaking down in front of their eyes." The man added to that comment.
Dai nodded. Whatever it had been that had led to her body breaking down was affecting her even on the smallest of levels. Luckily, not many had bothered to ask why there wasn't more. Her torso had long been cremated with the ashes scattered.
"If I may ask, how is your family right now?"
Dai laughed at the sudden change of subject. Apparently his colleague was just as bored of rehearsing this old stuff as he was. "Ah well you know Takebe-san, always headstrong and full of her own ideas. That said, I wouldn't want to trade her and the kids for anything else, even if they are a handful."
His colleague chuckled at hearing that. "Oh that's right, you have nothing except girls at your home right? I feel sorry for you, I know what that's like. I grew up with two sisters."
Well, his home situation wasn't that bad. Besides, he wasn't the only guy at home anyway. He and Mako did have a baby boy, but it was going to take some time before he could count on him to help out.
"Maybe you should have reconsidered in adopting those twins. Then again, it was a good thing to do for those kids. I'm somewhat surprised it all went so fast for the two of you. Normally, adopting has a lot of red tape attached to it."
"We were just lucky and while it can get crowded, I don't think the house has ever been so lively as it now. Besides, the younger one seems pretty good at helping out with the baby which has its perks I should add."
Ryou was indeed good at helping Mako with the baby. Kyou surprisingly also took considerable care whenever she had to watch him. Even if she disliked people, she quickly took a liking towards the baby. Just showed that diclonius weren't at all like what had been claimed. It was just a shame that he couldn't share all the things he had seen firsthand over these last 13 months. Sadly, that was not an option, not after all that had transpired.
"Well if you won't mind then I want to go back to the dreaded stack of reports. Hopefully, I can get it all done in time. Well then, take care of yourself."
With that, he bowed as he excused himself. By now, the coffee he had come to get was also getting pretty cold. So much for having some hot coffee to keep him going, but there wasn't much to do about it now. He just hoped there weren't going to be any last minute changes.
Having talked to the man, he did start to think back about everything that had went on in the aftermath of Lucy's death. One could say that it had been a madhouse right then with all the different organizations and branches of the government coming into action. Getting down onto his chair, he grabbed the nearest report and started to go through it.
Putting down the comb, Ryou was satisfied with having refreshed herself. The only thing left was for her to tidy the ornament she always kept on the right side of her face. Kyou had chosen the opposite and it was one of their ways to help people tell the difference between them. Although, when they were wearing normal clothes, the difference was also very noticeable as their taste differed greatly.
Exiting the bathroom, she headed out to where their little baby brother was resting. Mako had left instructions on what to do and since she had stopped breastfeeding, Ryou had offered to help with, giving Mako less to worry about. Not that it had been easy as helping with a baby was an entirely new experience for her. Though she had come to enjoy it, there were some exceptions. Changing the diaper was something that she would rather leave to Dai or Mako.
From the living room across, she could still hear the sound of the show that her sister liked to see. That allowed her some time that she could use to look after the baby as her sister wouldn't be rash enough to try anything when she was watching her shows. Quietly opening the door, she peeked from around it to see if he was still asleep.
"How are you doing Sei-kun…?" keeping her voice down as much as she could, she asked the question, keeping her breath she waited to see if the little one let out any sound. There was no response which prompted her to get closer and upon standing next to the cradle she noticed that he was still well asleep. Well, that would mean she would have some time to make breakfast. "Have a good rest then, Sei-kun…" She planted a kiss on his forehead before gently leaving his room again, but she kept the door open so she could hear if he was awake.
Seeing her still lying there in her pajamas, Ryou had to shake her head at her sister's reluctance to get herself refreshed and dressed.
"Onee-chan, you need to get yourself ready. You can't keep being dressed like that for the rest of the day…"
"I know, I know." She waved with her hand. "I will go after this has ended and besides what difference would it make anyway since I can't leave the house. So who is going to see me anyway?"
"B-But oka-san said-"
Kyou rebuked at hearing that. "Alright then!" Getting up she turned off the TV. "Just so you know, I was planning on getting dressed anyway, but you don't have to go all emotional on me. Besides, it's not like there is anything else for us to do other than some homework and looking after the house. Do you have any idea how bored I'm starting to get at this!?"
"O-Onee-chan…" Ryou whispered to her. "You should keep your voice down a little. I have left the door open for Sei-kun." She pointed towards the hallway but it seemed that it was already too late as they could both hear the crying.
"I will go to him, you should get yourself dressed onee-chan." Ryou said quietly as she walked back through the hallway leaving her sister still standing. In part, she could fully understand her feelings as she herself had to admit that she was getting somewhat bored at this life. She really wanted to go outside and see what the rest of the world had to offer her. Much like the others, she wouldn't mind going to school if she could go with all of her sisters. Pondering still about it, she entered his room and lifted him from the cradle. Being held like this, he already started to smile which made her forget all about her previous worries.
Looking at it, Saeko felt good knowing that this window was clean at last. Now, she could work on the other ones. Along with Nana, she had been working on getting the house cleaned up. Sure it wasn't much and really the only work was cleaning the windows. When it would be done, she would go upstairs and check up on Saori while also bringing her some breakfast. With that, she would need to see if Saori had regained the usage of her vectors. If that was so, then she was already feeling reluctant about what she was going to do. She wasn't really keen on numbing her, she never had been as it felt like she was hurting Saori.
"Saeko-san? Are you done yet?" She could hear Nana ask from across the hall, no doubt she was likely done with the windows near her and would be going towards the last ones remaining. "I'll do the ones down here, you go upstairs alright?"
"Okay, I will do those." Grabbing the bucket and the sponge she went to the stairs, only four more windows to do and then she would be finished for the day. After she would be ready with Saori, then she wanted to spend some of her time on doing her homework. Even if she wasn't present in class, she would still need to make sure that she kept up.
Briefly wondering what the others in class might be saying about her being absent, she could well imagine that it wouldn't be pretty in the first place. She was, after all, not the most popular person in the class, but even so that class really made her feel lonely.
"To think I had even wanted this kind of life. Would they want to friends with me? They will likely run when they see what I am."
Reaching out for her horns, she understood pretty well that the moment these were spotted that everybody would be over her. Feeling them, she understood why it would bring so much anger and hatred. Lowering her hands, she gazed at them thinking as to why it was so hard for people to accept them? After all, her horns had been the source of agony about how it would have been if she hadn't been altered by her master. Much like her other sisters, she would be aging much faster than that she was now.
"M-Master I really miss you…" she sighed as she thought back to all the times she had gotten to spend with him. Still, he had been the only person she ever truly felt safe with. If he were to be here then he could help all of her sisters. "That was something for us to live in… but why isn't master here…?" A question she had been wondering ever since she was certain about it.
"Master could help all of us. Master could make this a better world since he hadn't come back." She refused to believe that he was dead like all the others kept saying as that was a reality she didn't want to face. All of the pain and suffering she had been through ever since would be in vain if she weren't going to see him just one more time. Maybe this was also how Kouta must be feeling. The sadness and depression she often noticed on his face when he was alone. Was he feeling the same way about having lost Nyu?
"B-But I never did anything wrong to master…" Surely he wouldn't be angry or disappointed with her, hadn't she been doing her best ever since then and she had gone to school. Learning and studying hard, making sure that Saori was also going to have a chance. Didn't all of that make her a good girl. If she was being a good girl, wouldn't he then come back, telling her that she was a good girl and she deserved to be rewarded? To hear him give her some appraisal would be nice. Even with the chances of him ever coming back, it was one of the precious few things that kept giving her hope.
Wiping away some of the tears that were already running across her cheeks, she pushed those thoughts aside. If she kept thinking about him then she would just fall to the ground sobbing and crying which would only upset the others even more if they were to find out.
"O-Onee-sama was crying…?" She heard somebody whisper from around the corner and looking she could see Saori sitting there staring at her, her eyes full of curiosity.
"Why is onee-sama crying? Is it because of the bad people who make onee-sama cry? Doesn't onee-sama like being home with her sisters?"
"N-No, no, that is not it Saori-chan. I love being here with my sisters and especially you, don't you worry about that," she quickly mentioned as she tried to come up with an answer of what to say to her. To Saori, it didn't hold much if she started to explain about him nor would she even understand as they had never met. She could lie about it, but lying always felt wrong to her and yet she couldn't tell her the truth either.
"I just had something in my eyes. It's nothing for you to get so worried about. Tell you what, after I'm done with cleaning the last few windows, I will come on over and bring you something to eat, you must be starving right?"
Nodding her head, Saori crawled back towards her room, leaving Saeko to feel bad about having told a lie after all, but then seeing her wasn't all that more pleasant. Every time she got to see Saori she was again reminded on how poor the others were having it. Unlike her, Saori was aging at an alarming speed; looking more like an adult, the girl was trapped in a body that was getting older faster than that her mind could keep up.
Her wounds also didn't seem to heal all that much. Was it a side effect of the process used to create her or was it simply due to that her body was already starting to break down. She wondered with a knot in her stomach, too much time there might be left for her if nothing could be done to heal the damage to her body.
Life was indeed cruel. It didn't seem to care who it picked on nor in what manner it affected those unfortunate people. Saeko had reluctantly come to accept that over the years as it seemed that fate had much more planned for the few surviving diclonius which worried her.
But as long as they stuck together there was a chance that they could make it through who knew what would lay in store for them. It might be good or bad, but unless they kept on going, they were never going to find out.
Grabbing the cloth, she drenched it in the bucket as she started to think about happier things as she didn't want to feel so depressed for the time being. In two days' time, she was going to have fun anyway as her other sisters would come along with Dai and Mako. It was something she was really looking forward to.
"Don't give up on your dreams Nozomi-chan, you have come too far to give up now and don't dare to worry about me. I will be fine, now get out and focus again on your studies. I want to be there on the front row for your first concert remember."
Nozomi smiled at hearing him say that. "I know oto-san, I will do my best. I will then take my leave and go talk to some of my teachers to see if there are ways for me to make up some of the absences in the past. Please listen to the sensei's advice."
"I will, now go." Nodding his head, he watched as she left. Closing the door, she left him alone again in the room. That wasn't so bad as he was a man who enjoyed his rest. But she was right. Perhaps it would be better to adhere to the doctor's advice so that Nozomi would have one worry less to concern herself with.
"You have grown up so much, my dear. As a person, you have overcome the fear that I had created when I had been so stupid to try and stop you. Do you think you could ever forgive me for all the wrongs I did to you? For all the beatings I gave you? For all the times I made you cry…?" He needed to make up for the years that he had tried to destroy her dreams. Doing his best at every opportunity would never be enough to atone for his past sins, but even so he had to make up to her and to his late wife. Would he have acted different if she hadn't died, would he have been a better father and supported his daughter's wish?
It was a difficult question for him to give an answer to and also futile one. No matter how hard he or his daughter wanted, there was no way for either of them to change how things had gone, the only thing left for them was to pick up the pieces and move on.
She had never done anything wrong and yet she was the one that had suffered the worst due his own foolish actions. Only now, with hindsight and eyes opened by his daughter's willingness to defy him made him understand what a horrible person he had been all those years. The whole entire time, he had thought that he could protect her and yet the only thing it had done was make her feel more and more miserable. Her personality and self-esteem suffered under his continued abuse.
"I have been so wrong. I caused you so much pain when it was never my intention. No matter how much I wanted to, I could never make it up to you entirely. I don't expect you to fully forgive me either and I can live with that. Don't let my past foolishness stop you any longer…"
Grabbing the small player, he always kept with him these days, he turned it on. These days hearing the voice of his daughter brought him much joy even if he understood that, in time, she would pay a price for it. She had become fully aware of that and knew what had happened to her mother and yet she found peace with that.
Her friends had done a better job at supporting and helping her than he had ever been able to. It was thanks to their efforts that she started to grow as a person with the will and strength to not only oppose, but also make it clear that this was what she wanted.
"I owe you kids so much, thanks to you my daughter refused to give up on her dream. You helped her in more ways than I could have, thanks to you she found the courage to open my eyes and made me understand…" Listening to her singing he closed his eyes.
For Mayu, the day was nearly done. Well, at least the part of the day that she needed to spend at school that was. Relieved that the classes were over, she was planning on having a talk with some of her club mates about the letter she had received. She wanted to hear their opinion on
it and gain some advice on how she would need to proceed. Opening the door, she was greeted by the others. It always felt nice to meet up with the other people in the club as they shared the same passion as her.
"Hey there, Mayu-chan!" Two of her best friends yelled in unison as they saw her approaching, she couldn't help but smile at seeing them as she could always count on their support whenever she needed to make a difficult decision.
Greeting them in return, she asked for them to join her at one of the tables as there wasn't a need for everybody in the club to learn about it.
"Mayu-chan? Are you alright?" The nearest one asked as he sat down next to her, looking over to make sure that they could speak in private. They looked at her in concern.
"I-I have something I want your opinion on…" She sighed as she pulled the wrinkled letter from her pocket. Earlier today, she had come to pick it out of the garbage can.
"Somebody left this for me in my locker. When I went to see to whom it belonged to, there was nobody except for one boy who quickly ran away when he saw me sitting there."
Grabbing the letter and reading it herself, her other friend asked if she had an idea to who it belonged to.
"I thought it belonged to Aizawa-san, but it wasn't him who came to the room and to be honest I have never seen him Mei-chan. I don't think he was a junior either."
"Say Aki-kun, what do you think about this? You're a boy right?" she asked him, somewhat taking him by surprise in the process. Mayu had to smile as well at seeing the look on his face but she did feel sorry for him.
"Don't tease him like that Mei-san. You know very well that he doesn't appreciate being asked all of a sudden," Mayu chimed in as she could see that he was getting uncomfortable.
"Aki-san please don't mind her. If you want to think about this then be my guest."
"Well I ah… ehm… ah…" His mumbled words were followed by a rather unpleasant silence which was seized all too quickly by Mai as a chance to get her say in the matter.
"I'd say you should go to Aizawa-san and simply ask him if it's his. It's the quickest way for you to find out and either way it'll give you a good reason to talk to him." She winked with a devious grin on her face. "I'd call that a win anytime of-"
"Mei!" Aki got in before she could finish whatever it was that she was planning to say. "You know very that you can't just approach a person like that and ask. The teachers look down on such behavior."
That gave Mayu something to think about. Many of their teachers actually frowned upon relationships in school and especially in class. If she was going to ask him about this, then she preferred to be a bit more discreet about it. There was no reason to embarrass the both of them even if the letter may or may not have been written by him. Then they all got called out by the club chairman. It seemed it was time for discussing their next project for the upcoming school festival. Sighing, Mayu let the matter drop for the time being.
Saeko sat there on the floor with Yuka right behind her brushing out Saeko's long, pink locks in gentle sweeping strokes. She enjoyed the precious time she got to spend with Yuka in this manner. Not to mention that she had become rather fond of having a moment alone to discuss some more personal issues she wanted to talk about but did not want to run the risk of others finding out.
Letting out a soft sigh, Yuka noticed it and all too quick she let it be known. "Is it still bothering you that much Saeko-chan?" Stopping with combing her hair, she held the comb for her to see. "You're still thinking about doing this for Saori-chan, aren't you? I know how much you like to help Nozomi-chan with her hair and I can imagine that is must be somewhat disappointing to you that she isn't letting even you touch it right?"
Saeko just nodded at hearing the question. Yeah, it was pretty obvious and they all knew that she had tried her best at trying to help the little girl become somewhat a bit more presentable. But even the smallest chores were already a complication as even without her vectors, she would not allow anybody to touch her head or, for that matter, get to see her body. Somehow, the girl might feel ashamed how ravaged her body truly was or perhaps she did not want humans to see her like that. Even to Saeko, it was proving hard to convince Saori that she needed a bath on a regular basis. Keeping her clean was proving to becoming a more difficult chore in itself and it only kept getting harder as she retreated more into herself.
"Is she still refusing to go? You know you can just force her to go into the bath. Even though I don't like the idea of it, she needs to work on her personal hygiene or otherwise she is going to become really sick one of these days," Yuka said as she continued with stroking the long locks of Saeko.
"Unless she pays better attention to her own hygiene and health, she is just asking for a serious infection. Somehow, I do think that those burns of her need to be treated. They can do a lot these days in treating such injuries though I have to admit that they can't make them fully disappear."
"I understand that, but I don't want for her to start hating me for forcing her. Saori-chan is just scared, that's all. I know that she doesn't mean to be violent, but she just can't forget what has happened to her. She can't find it in her heart to overcome her distrust of others."
"Is she still terrified of somebody tampering with that device?"
"Y-Yes… she is scared of it going off or if it were to set off something else. Didn't they say they found other objects implanted as well that they couldn't remove because they were in a dangerous spot?"
Yuka stopped with combing her hair. "I can imagine you're right about that. I don't know how I would react, but does Saori-chan even know this? If she aware that there exists a real chance that she can get herself killed?"
"I-I don't want her to die. I care too much about her," Saeko sobbed as she buried her face in her hands. "I don't… want to lose... any more… of my… sisters… not one more…"
Grabbing a hold of her shoulders, Yuka turned her around and folded her arms around her as she allowed Saeko to rest her head on her shoulder. "I know you do dear. It will be alright. I promise you that we will find a way. It won't be easy, but we are not going to give up on any of you."
Too many of these girls had died a meaningless death. The one she still mourned the most for was Nyu. "She would have wanted that as well, to have others like her leading a good life."
Grabbing a tissue, she wiped away the tears from Saeko's eyes. "Don't worry dear, you are not alone in this world. Now what do you say about talking about happier things to lighten the mood? Maybe we should discuss what we are going to eat this weekend?"
Her face starting shine again, Saeko started to ponder on what the others would like best. It was starting to get really nice so something they could all enjoy in the garden seemed like an obvious choice to her. Then again she could distinctly remember that it was likely best to go with something simple as well. "Can we have yakiniku…?"
"Yakiniku?" Yuka asked somewhat surprised, "You want to go with grilled meat and vegetables? You do remember that Kouta was really terrible at that, right?"
She chuckled, but then again, having a barbeque with everybody in the garden did sound like a great way to spend the day. "I'll talk about this with the others. It does sound like a good idea."
Seeing Saeko smile, she was glad that she had been able to talk about something else. She was a kindhearted girl that didn't deserve to become so gloomy. "Let's go downstairs and get ready to make dinner for the rest when they come home?"
"Oh, of course, let's go. Afterwards, would it be okay for me to bring some to Saori-chan?"
Reluctantly Yuka nodded, she much rather had that Saori would learn manners, but given her circumstances it would be safer for the rest if she ate in her own room, it was tragic in her opinion that even now the little girl was still suffering. Grabbing Saeko's hand, they walked down the stairs.
Still busy on his final report, Kouta looked at his watch. He was kind of surprised that it was already much later than he would have guessed. Closing the books, he decided now would be a good time for a short break, then after dinner he could finish a few more pages.
"I wonder what there's going to be for dinner?" he asked himself as he got up from behind his desk. To be honest, he was starting to get a little hungry. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to go towards the kitchen and have a little peek for himself even if it would just be to satisfy his curiosity.
From where he was standing in the hallway, he could hear, coming from the living room, the giggling and laughing of Nana. It appeared that she was in a good mood.
"I guess it is that show she likes to watch…" he mumbled and as he dared to check around the corner he could already see that his hunch had been right. Her favorite show was on the TV. That certainly explained enough, but would also mean that for the next half hour or so she be stuck here.
"You just stay there, I'll go see if they might need some help." He smiled as he gently closed the door and headed further towards the kitchen but even now he could already hear the voices of both Yuka and Saeko. So the two of them were already busy on making dinner.
Hearing them speak, he paused as it sounded they were discussing matters for the weekend already. To think he had nearly forgotten that the Hirano's would come to visit, he must have been too immersed in his own studies to have nearly forgotten that.
"Stupid me, that reminds me I need to clean up the garden to make it ready for visitors. I'm pretty sure the girls want to play in the yard as well given the weather." He laughed as he recalled how it had been the last time they had used the garden. Nana and Ryou had accidently bumped into each other during play and both had fallen in the pond. That had been something alright or there was the time when Kyou had gotten the complete wrong idea on how to best eat. Her manners back then weren't the best though they improved each year. Luckily she had stopped calling him a bug just like the others. Then again her current word for him wasn't all that much better as she didn't bring herself to call one by their actual names. No, she needed to have nicknames for almost everybody. The guys she had kind of accepted were called onii-chan by her, that was something he still had difficulty with. Not the word per se, but rather the manner in which she said and then looked at you. Just looking into her eyes, one could tell she was up to something.
"Oh I just hope she isn't going to invite Bando, he doesn't take well when Kyou-chan is here…" He sighed as he knew that Bando wasn't taken it lightly whenever she called him like that and on more than one occasion they had to get between them as the tension rose. "No, that is not going to end up well, he should rather stay at his place."
Thinking about him, he found it still a difficult matter to forgive the man for his past actions, even if he had helped on plenty of occasions and proven to be a valuable support. He still could not entirely forgive the man for having hunted down Nyu.
People often told him that time would heal all wounds, but to Kouta some wounds were just too deep. There was no chance that he could ever entirely forgive Bando, but as long as he was honest about it than the man himself wouldn't mind.
He didn't seem the type to want forgiveness or compassion from others. It wasn't his style and he could well live with people hating him provided they remained honest about it. The man was an odd one at that but at his core reliable, dependable and trustworthy.