XXIII
Life goes on
It was already late in the afternoon by the time Mako arrived back home, she felt a lot more at ease knowing that the children were safely inside the house. Earlier today she had already received a phone call from Dai telling her that he had dropped the kids off at home before he would go back to work, he expected it to be another late shift today so they wouldn't have to wait for him when it came to dinner.
And then there had been the brief visit she had made to the inn earlier to check up on how Saeko was doing, fortunately it seemed that it was nothing too severe though plenty of rest would be in order for her niece to calm down, her current condition appeared to be more of a mental one rather than a physical one so unless it got worse the best they could do was to simply wait.
Having left shortly after she wondered what had happened to her niece in school she was still feeling somewhat agitated. Briefly she had considered telling him about the visit she had received from the young Kakuzawa woman but had decided against it as this matter was best discussed in person and not over the phone, Bando had already agreed to come on over later today though from the sound of it he didn't sound to be in a good mood.
"I wonder what they have in mind for dinner, for that matter would they have had the time to buy something?" she asked herself, feeling almost ashamed when she reminded herself that for dinner she was actually more dependent on her husband or on her daughters to make it for her. Not really the signs of a good mother she admitted to herself when she thought about it.
"Well I should let them surprise me, that normally works out just fine," she told herself, given that Kyou was more of a miracle inside the kitchen there was little cause for concern here. Honestly it was surprising how good she was at cooking given she had only been doing it for maybe just over a year, she was definitely a natural when it came to anything related to cooking.
Putting down her briefcase she pulled out her key, ah it would be nice if she could get out of these heels and wear something a little more comfortable. Opening the door she picked up the briefcase again and stepped inside, the first thing she did was to take off the heels and toss them in the corner. Breathing out a sigh of relief as she flexed her toes, already aching of her feet was starting to dissipate.
"Mommy's home!" she called out with anxiety in her voice, expecting both of her daughters to come rushing out at any moment. She was looking forward to getting to hold them again in her arms. Sure enough it did take a couple of moments before Ryou appeared from around the corner and greeted her.
"Welcome home oka-san, onee-chan can't come yet as she's busy with finishing dinner and she needs to keep a watch over it so it won't burn. Can I ask how your day was oka-san?" Standing there Ryou was already holding Mako's slippers for her, always the thoughtful one Mako told herself. "According to onee-chan we still have a few moments before it can be served, so…"
Kneeling down in front of her Mako just gave her hug, letting her know that she was glad to be back home and how much she had missed them. "A good day dear, though not nearly as good as coming home and seeing you and your sister back. Oh how I've missed you two last night." Planting a kiss on said girl's forehead Mako was already starting to feel so much better. "Life just isn't the same without the two of you."
"O-O-Oka-san?!" Ryou muttered as she was a little startled, it actually had been a while since she had gotten a hug like this from her mother, she hadn't been prepared for getting one, not when it came so sudden. "... I-I-I… missed you too oka-san, we like being home as well..."
"You weren't expecting that were you?" Mako asked as she let go of her, taking her silence as a yes she got back on her feet. Accepting the slippers offered by Ryou she picked up her briefcase and left for the stairs to put it in her room. "Tell your sister that I'll come to the table after I've put this away, no need to wait. Don't hesitate to wait for me if you need any help with setting up the table, alright? Also would it be alright for me to quickly change into something a bit more comfortable? I promise it won't take long."
"Uh-huh," Ryou nodded before she left, she had already finished setting up the table before Mako had even arrived. There wasn't going to be any need for her mother to help her or for that matter rush getting changed. Besides her sister was still busy in the kitchen.
Saying her farewells to Mei in front of said girl's house Mayu continued further with her way back to the inn, alone and all by herself she began to reflect on the day. The day had been a good one and with now having walked Mei back to her home she was starting to feel a lot more at ease now knowing that her friend was safe.
Her walk would take her along the beach as well but she didn't consider it to be necessary anymore to go and ask a certain man for a little favor. That said she wouldn't mind having the chance to talk to him, Bando could be a surprisingly good listener when he was in the right mood.
"He likely isn't going to say much in return though I know that he's a good person, just talking to him and him listening to me would already be enough for me," she whispered silently as in the distance, between the houses and other buildings she could already catch glimpses the ocean. "Hmm, I love the smell of the ocean," she remarked as she took in fresh smell of the ocean even though she was still a bit too far out to actually being able to smell it.
Getting closer she could hear the sounds of the ocean becoming ever louder, the waves washing onto the shore, the gentle blowing of the wind and even the flocks of seagulls overhead making her forget about her worries. Being her at the shore and staring at the ocean also had a soothing effect on her; no matter her worries she could always come to a spot like this and calm herself down again.
As she kept on walking the ocean came ever closer, given how warm it was she considered in taking of her shoes so she could feel the softness of the sand and the chilling sense of the ocean between her toes. Already she was looking forward to her spring break when they could all go to the beach together for their picnic, being confident of her current ability to swim was also going to help her avoid getting laughed at by the others like it had been the previous year, this year she was going to beat Nana in the race. She was sure of it.
She hoped that they would also invite for Mei to come join them at the beach, which if said girl accepted, was going to mean a lot of fun. Then from the corner of her eyes she spotted a familiar shape emerging from behind one of the many huts that liend the area, turning just a little she thought that it was him though it seemed that he hadn't noticed her yet. From where she was standing she actually felt that she had a decent chance of getting closer without him noticing her, provided she didn't do anything to attract his attention.
With a sly expression on her face she did her best to make as little noise as possible as she began to sneak closer as the man remained oblivious to her. A strange aching sensation was stirring in her chest as she crept ever closer, so close now she began to question where this sensation was coming from and if she could hold back her excitement any longer. That was until she reached a point where she could see the man's face and with a sense of utter disappointment she realized that it wasn't Bando.
Letting out a deep, exasperated and dissapointing sounding sigh Mayu turned around quckly, the realization of how childish she had been not lost on her. Her face bright red from shame she felt that she couldn't leave the beach fast enough.
Bando let out a short curse as he approached the Hirano residence, to think that he had offered to even come here. Dammit what had he been thinking then as now he would have to deal with that obnoxious older sister of those twins, oh he was already loathing it.
Still he knew that needed to come here, somehow it seemed that something serious had taken place and he was well aware that they could not let that carry on without taking action. Even if that meant he would come into contact with her again. "Such misfortune. Just my kind of rotten luck," he said underneath his breath, gritting his teeth as he did.
His leg was still hurting and his supply of painkillers was starting to run low, he was going to need Mako's aid if he wanted to get a prescription for a new batch. It agitated him, admitting that he was in that woman's debt. Also if that damn brat was going to get any crazy ideas then he wouldn't hesitate to show her just how exactly one took care of nosy little horned freaks if they didn't learn to shut their damn mouths.
Earlier today he already had to deal with Mayu when she had bumped unexpectedly into him at one of the major crossings though he had found her company to be surprisingly pleasant not to mention it was good to hear that she was doing well at school. He still wasn't sure why or even how she had managed to find a way into his heart but it no longer irritated him for not knowing the answer to that. These days he had come to appreciate her company.
She was a good kid and somebody who had on more than one occasion helped him, something he couldn't say for a lot of other people. While he was grateful and that was something that few people could receive from him he also didn't feel the need to have her constantly be near him.
To him it felt better that for her own sake any contact with him was going to be kept at minimum, she should rather focus herself at keeping her contacts with people more of her own age rather than an old dog like him. Besides he wasn't exactly the kind of person that most people would appreciate or consider to be a good influence.
Ah well such thoughts would need to wait as he stopped right in front of the door, he wondered how deep he must have been lost in his own thoughts to have already arrived at the house. Didn't matter as he was here now, about to ring the doorbell his finger stopped as a familiar voice called out for him from behind.
"Ah, you're here as well?" A woman's voice asked and one that Bando had heard before.
Turning around his hunch was confirmed as Arakawa stood there, he could have guessed that she would have been invited as well. "Aye, got any problems with that?"
"Ah, no. No, no," she said quickly as she waved her hands in front of her "Not at all, I just didn't expect anybody else that's all. So if I can ask what brings you here tonight? Is it about the woman?"
He looked at her, eyebrow raised, intrigued by her sudden question. "What woman are you talking about?! Better give me an answer now as I don't like being kept in the dark!" He spat, partly because apparently somebody else had already been informed on the issue at hand and partly because he was getting the idea that this meeting was about to become a waste of his time. "I'm so warning you people! Don't dare to mess with me!" His voice starting to become louder as his irritation grew.
"I-I-I wasn't planning on that! I meant about the Kakuzawa woman who has shown up!" Arakawa retorted becoming somewhat upset with the way he was currently acting, she found it to be rather intimidating not to mention pretty unsettling at that as well. "Will you just calm down for God sake?! God, you're going to wake up the whole neighborhood!"
"Look who's talking now! You're the one whose doing the screaming here, not me. Don't even get ahead of yourself you idiot! Now shut up woman!" Honestly what was it with the women that he knew? Why were they always such a pain in the ass? How hard could it be to just have one normal one in the group to work with and one that wouldn't constantly get on his freaking nerves? Was that simply too much to ask for these days?
At that moment the door opened and cautiously appearing from behind the door was Ryou looking at both of them. "Oka-san is expecting you, would you like to come inside?" she said as she smiled, seeming to ignore the little squabble that had gone on outside.
Shrugging their collected shoulders both Arakawa and Bando stepped inside the house.
Yuka was sitting in front of the door, feeling hesitant about if it would be alright for her to enter or not. Already this morning she had called with Saeko's school and informed them of said girl's condition though she had made it pretty clear that this was the result because of somebody bullying her.
Naturally it had come as no surprise that she had gotten pretty angry when the response she got had been politely muted, just the usual empty reassurances that they would look into the matter and handle it discreetly. Somehow it left her with the impression that the school was more concerned with protecting it's own reputation than the welfare of one of their students. Honestly if she were to get her hands on the person bullying Saeko then she would personally make sure they got to understand what a bunch of jerks they were.
"Picking on a girl like her, how low do you have to degrade yourself to come hate others that you start to bully them? Why isn't the school taking action when it's so clear to them?" she said underneath her breath, the irritation in her voice clearly noticeable. Shaking her head in disgust she clenched her fist as she felt the anger in herself rising.
Mayu had already informed both her and Kouta that some of Saeko's classmates wanted to come on over and visit their friend, now while such news was welcome to hear as it meant that these classmates really cared about Saeko it also posed a problem for them.
Kouta's biggest concern was as usual with how they would make sure that these new people were not going to find out about the horns, which wasn't always the easiest. It had gone horribly wrong when Nana had forgotten to wear a headdress to conceal hers when Mei had come to visit though they all counted themselves lucky for how it had worked out for them in the end. Nevertheless those had been some pretty tense moments to say the least.
The question now was how these girls were going to react if they were to find out. None of them held the answer to that, and because of that it represented a risk and one that they had to consider if they wanted to take it.
"Yuka-san?" Nana asked as she came up the stairs. "How's she doing? Any changes?"
"Asleep," Yuka answered the question as she shook her head and told Nana that when she had wanted to go inside, but upon realizing that both were asleep and that she didn't want to wake them up she had decided to wait outside. Right now she was just waiting outside the room to make sure that everything was alright.
"I'm glad," Nana replied with a sigh of relief, a quick at Yuka's face told her enough. She understood the young woman's feelings just fine without her having to say what was troubling her. Nana shared those feelings and concerns as well, right now the well-being of one of her sisters came first. Even so it seemed that Yuka could do with a few words of comfort herself as well. "She'll be fine, Saeko-san's recovered before so I know she'll get better this time as well. She just needs some time."
"Nana-chan, about what Dai-san told you, if you want to go to school as well?" Yuka spoke, a smile caressing her features as she did, as she went and changed the subject. "Would you like that, would you like to go to school with the others?"
The young Diclonius fell silent in response, Nana wasn't sure on how to tell this to her. Off course she wanted to go to school and even more if that meant that she could be together with Mayu, Saeko, Mei, Kyou and Ryou. And who knew perhaps she could even make some friends of her own.
Even so she felt a little scared about it, what if she was having to go through the same kind of pain and suffering that Saeko was going through right now? Would she be able do better or would she do even worse than her? Would she be able to cope with being rejected by others? It was a daunting prospect and one that scared Nana a little whenever she thought about it.
"Nana-chan," Yuka comforted her as she sensed the young Diclonius' unease. "Don't worry too much about it now, take some time to think about it. It's a big step for you to take so don't be too hasty in your decision. Sleep about it and don't hesitate to ask your sisters about it."
Nodding her head Nana agreed to that, yes she needed to think about this carefully. She would also need to start to pour more effort into the homework she got from the others and the tests exams they got every now and then. There would be a lot of work involved before she could even attend the school itself.
"Now Nana-chan," Yuka asked her, her finger pointing at the door, muted sounds could be heard coming from the other side. "Could you do me a favor and get two cups of soup? I think that Saeko-chan is starting to wake up, Saori-chan will likely want something to eat as well."
"Sure." With a smile on her face Nana nodded and got up, going down the stairs she wondered if going to school was also going to mean that she needed to wear the same clothes as her sisters did. What did they call it again, a school uniform or something? Would she look good in one? Thinking about perhaps she could try to borrow one from either Mayu or Saeko to see if it would fit her, but then again she stopped as she came to a very unpleasant realization. Her body was much more matured than either of them, she aged much faster than her sisters did. Would that cause problems for her in school? Being older than her classmates didn't feel like it would help her make friends.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" Bando spat at them as he slammed his fist on the table. "You're telling me now that that damned woman is the fucking daughter of that maniac?! That's just fucking great!"
"Bando!" Mako snapped in return at the way he was behaving, he seemed to be forgetting where he was at the moment and she wouldn't stand for him spouting such obscene language in her house. "I'd prefer it if you'd refrain from any further profanities in my house. There's children living in this house as well I'll have you know. Now sit down and unless you have anything useful to say keep quiet! I won't tell you again!"
For a moment it seemed like he was going to have a violent outburst at that objection but Bando bit back on that retort of hers. "Fine, whatever." And sat back in the chair, arms folded across his chest. He almost gave the impression that he was brooding on something but at least he was quiet for the time being.
"Takebe-sensei," Arakawa said as she raised her hand. "What do you think we should do? It's obvious that she's looking for any people who may have been in contact or are related to the DRI, it's likely that she'll come to see us again at some point. When that happens it would be bad for us all if any of those kids were present as well."
"She's got a point," Bando remarked rather casually as he broke his silence, still keeping to his chair, not even bothering to look at either of them. Still they could see the grin that ran from ear to ear on his face. "Current visits to the inn and those kids should be kept at the minimum to avoid her finding out about it, still what's more troubling is that she seems to be aware that some horned girls managed to get off the island. Luckily for us without any further info it is easy to keep up the idea that they are likely dead."
They all stopped in the middle of their discussion as something else caught their attention.
"… A- Ahem would any of you care for a drink?" Ryou asked as she cautiously entered the living room carrying an empty tray. "I thought that you might be getting a little thirsty with all this talking… so I … well... just thought..."
Arakawa politely declined the offer, her discomfort at the sudden presence of Ryou clearly visible, Bando and Mako on the other hand were both be fine with a cup of coffee. That would be enough for them, nor did they feel any need for some snacks or cookies, just the coffee would suffice.
"Ehm ojo-san, are you sure about that? Pardon me for saying but you ehm… look thirsty to me, you should drink enough to prevent yourself from dehydrating…" Holding the tray in front of her chest Ryou kept her eyes focussed on the ground, avoiding making direct contact as she was aware that Arakawa still didn't like her or those of her kind. She didn't like it as she felt that it was rather impolite but that was just the only way that she could talk to this woman and get an answer in return.
Behind her back she could already hear that somebody was having a hard time holding back their laughing, turning around and looking at him she expressed why it was uncomfortable for her. "… oji-san you shouldn't make fun of that… I'm… I'm being serious... I really am..."
Now no longer able to hold back Bando burst out laughing at hearing that. "Oh this is just superb, don't mind me kid. I was just enjoying how sincere you were in looking after us," He coughed as he turned away. The wide grin on his face betraying that wasn't what he was actually thinking.
Giving in, and also wanting for the girl to leave, Arakawa then asked for some tea to which and much to her own relief caused Ryou to leave the living room as she went back into the kitchen. "I'll call onee-chan for the coffee."
"Your way to jumpy Arakawa, you don't have anything to fear from that one. Now her older sister's a totally different story, she'll chew your guts out if you do the wrong thing," he chuckled, much to his own amusement, as he had spotted her earlier anxiety. He kept on grinning as if he was enjoying a really sick and twisted inside joke, keeping it all to himself.
"Don't be a jerk Bando, you know very well what she's been through during that outbreak. Many people would react the same way if they had been through that," Mako scolded him, but that said she did have to agree that Arakawa needed to start getting over her fears. Working further with any of the few remaining Diclonius was only going to be more difficult if Arakawa kept on freaking out whenever she would come into contact with them, she needed to overcome her fears.
"I'd also prefer it if you would stop referring to either of my daughters in such a way," Mako added and then gave a rather disapproving glance at Bando. "They're way more polite than you'll ever be, honestly your people skills are just beyond pathetic."
Bando just simply dismissed her, he really didn't care. "How about we go back to the matter at hand, how do we handle this Kakuzawa Anna person?"
"How's she doing?" Kouta asked as he turned his head in response to Yuka coming back onto the terrace and sitting down in the chair next to him. "Is she feeling any better? Did she say anything? Is she still asleep?"
"She's doing a lot better now, she did cry alot when she woke up though. I don't think she has cried this much since… well… you know," Yuka mentioned, she didn't really want to say any more as she knew how Kouta felt about it. "She just couldn't stop or even let go of me. To be honest I think she might still be crying up there."
Kouta blinked as he heard that. "You don't mean when she got the news about him, right? Was it that bad?" He sighed after having asked, aware to whom Yuka was hinting. If that was true then it must have been pretty hard for Saeko to be that depressed over what had happened. Well it certainly settled the matter for him as he would go to her school tomorrow and demand a talk with her counselor as well as her home-room teacher. "You think she can go back tomorrow?"
Shaking her head Yuka made it pretty clear that under no circumstances was she going to let Saeko go back to school tomorrow, not after she had a word or two with the school as well as this was just unacceptable to her. There was no way that she would let her go out again before she had a firm talk. "That school's too irresponsible, Mako-san will be going as well tomorrow so if you want I can give her a call and let her know. If the three of us are there then hopefully the school will understand that this is serious."
He agreed. "You're right, we should go then tomorrow after school's finished. Then it's settled, tomorrow she'll also stay at home so she can get some more rest. Her friends can come and visit her the day after unless Saeko-chan feels that she can go back to school." That settled it for Kouta, even though he still held some second thoughts about Saeko's friends coming over to visit her he did feel that it would do her good to see them. That said he hoped that by then Saeko would be back at school already.
It grew silent between the two of them, neither knowing on what they could expect tomorrow when they would go and talk to her teachers, for all they knew it might just have the opposite effect. Still as indifferent as the school might seem to this issue they couldn't let them ignore their own responsibility, if a student was being bullied on school grounds then it fell up to the teachers to act appropriately.
"I don't think they're going to be happy to see us," Yuka interjected, a gentle smile appearing on her face. "We come over rather frequent don't we? Well I'll feel better once I've given them a piece of my mind."
"Don't go making a scene," he cautioned her, Saeko was still going to be at that school for several years so it wasn't going to do her any good if they were to get into trouble with her teachers and counselors.
Sitting there and gazing at the garden Kouta wondered if there was something else they could do as well for her, some other way that would help her to recover. Easier said than done but he wasn't going to let it at that. "I feel sorry for her, she's been looking forward going to school ever since Mayu-chan told her about it and now she gets picked on by a bully."
"You know how people and especially teenagers can be. Whoever is picking on her likely doesn't have anything better to do, they might just feel more miserable. Feeling jealous of somebody who has a good life, they feel this need to make them become even more miserable," Yuka summarized, unsure why she had picked those words but deep in her heart she knew that these were true, the one that was picking on Saeko was likely a kid who had an even more miserable life. "I wish we could just explain to those people why they need to keep a close eye on her, it would be so much easier if they could just understand why it's dangerous for her to be bullied. If only we could tell them about her horns and her special abilities. If only we-."
"Yuka, please stop," Kouta interrupted her. What she was saying just wasn't possible for them. "You know just as well as I do that we can't tell people, they would be scared of her, even terrified. Besides how do we even begin to tell them that Saeko-chan has invisible hands that can kill a person on contact? She's going to be treated like some kind of monster."
"You're right," Yuka sighed as she nodded her head. "I'm sorry for saying stupid things. Forget it." Letting out another sigh she got out of the chair. "I'm going back inside, I'll be making the bento's for tomorrow. After that I'm going to check up on Saeko-chan again and see how she is doing. Goodnight." And with those words she left, going back inside the inn while leaving Kouta alone in the garden for now.
Turning his head back he looked upwards towards the sky as the first stars were starting to appear. "If only we could Yuka, if only we could," he told himself, aware that it just wasn't going to happen, for the Diclonius an open life of peace simply wasn't possible. It just wasn't.
After having been handed their coffee and Arakawa her tea they all waited for Ryou to leave the room before they would continue, they felt that it was better that the kids weren't going to hear about this. "So again the question, how do we plan to deal with this Kakuzawa woman and how quickly do we want to move against her?" Bando was the first one to speak out.
"Wouldn't it be better if we were to first try and find out where she's residing. It's not like we can go out and know where she currently is. Also we shouldn't be too hasty, for all we know she might not share her father's ideas with regards to the Diclonius," Mako offered, it was true, they knew very little of this woman and what exactly it was that she sought. "Any form of violence towards her could also make the situation worse, don't forget that although they certainly took a big hit the Kakuzawa's still retain a lot of power and they still have a lot of political backing from those who remain loyal to them."
Nodding reluctantly Bando knew what she was talking about, that clan had been working hard over the past year to repair as much as possible of the damage they had suffered and it seemed that the one currently in charge of the clan was no pushover as she got things done in rapid succession. "You're referring to the director of Kakuzawa Industries right? Yeah it would be bad if such a person were to get involved, we don't need that attention."
Arakawa kept silent, honestly she wasn't that well aware of who of that family remained, it just wasn't in her interest at all. No she much rather focused on immersing herself in her own research, certainly now with the discovery of one very special cell. That said she wasn't sure of whom she could speak about this, even these two might not be trustworthy.
"Even so we can't let her just go roaming the city asking questions. What if she stirs up a hornets' nest and this whole witch-hunt that we had before starts all over again? Keeping the brats safe won't be easy when that happens," Bando pointed out, well not that it mattered much to him what would happen to the girls but he was also aware that he himself would get to face serious charges for his involvement.
"I know that Bando but if anything were to happen to her you can be sure that the media will be on top of it, an investigation would certainly be held and if they find even the smallest trace that a Diclonius might be involved then we all hang," Mako objected to the matter.
Not saying another word Bando thought about that, yeah they were all guilty of multiple charges with regards to assisting and harboring escaped Diclonius. Those laws remained in effect despite the fact that the situation they had been created for had long passed, even so it would take years before those temporary laws would fade into obscurity and be forgotten.
"So we're stuck doing nothing until she appears right? That's just fucking great, let's just give her the chance to hit us first," he cursed as he leaned back in the chair, honestly that didn't sit well with him at all. This was just waiting for disaster to happen.
"Bando, mind your manners! Besides what else would you have us do? Go out there and hunt the poor woman down? We agreed that we'd not lower ourselves to those we're trying to stop, we're better than them. We've managed fine thus far by being careful and not making any rash decisions. There can't be any bloodshed, not if the Diclonius ever want to have a future, just a single casualty would be already too much."
He waved her off, if they wanted to play it like that then fine. But they had better not come to him asking for help if this went sour, leaning forward he picked up the cup of coffee. All this talking had almost made him forget that it had been standing there.
Thank God it hadn't cooled down, still warm which meant that he could stand being here a little longer. Reluctantly he had to admit that the older of the two sisters was pretty good at making a good cup of coffee as he savored the flavor of it, it easily rivaled those he would get at that coffee shop and certainly beat any of those cheap instant coffee one could get everywhere.
"I still think it's a really bad idea to keep waiting here," he said right before he had another sip.
Shame though that she was still a horned freak with one hell of an irritating demeanor, he didn't hate her but he certainly wasn't fond of her either. "So what does Hirano have to say on the matter? Why isn't he here either? Shouldn't this affect him as well?"
Arakawa looked up as one of the twins appeared back in the room, a bit to her own relief it seemed to be the younger of the two sister again. She still hadn't touched her tea for obvious reasons, a Diclonius had touched it, that was enough reason for her to begin with.
"Oka-san, I think that oto-san is back. Would it be alright for me to open the door?"
"Of course dear and tell your father that he can join us. He likely would want to have a few things to say as well," Mako told her, well that was rather fortunate for her that Dai had come home. His timing couldn't have been any better.
"I'm really glad to hear that Mei-san's feeling better, you know Mayu I was really worried there. Still do you think that it's alright for her to come to school again when she's injured? Wouldn't it be better if she stayed at home a little longer so she can recover?" Nana had reacted with outright excitement earlier when she had heard that Mei was back at school though she did express her concerns after hearing about the eye patch and some of the bandages.
"You do have a point but I don't think that Mei-san wants to stay away for any longer. Besides she's in charge of several projects for the founder's festival and that takes place in less than four months you know. She can't stay away for long."
"So Mayu is it normal for people at your school to have such responsibilities? It doesn't sound like fun to me if you have to work so hard, besides why are you doing so much effort for it anyway?" Nana asked, thinking that now might not be such a bad moment to learn a bit more about the clubs in school. She hadn't really bothered with it before but if there was a chance for her to go to school then she wouldn't mind joining a club, it would be even better if that was also the same club that Mayu and Mei belonged to. With that in mind it made sense to her that she should get some more info on what exactly it was that their club did.
"Not always but we do it anyway because we like our club and all the effort we're putting into the project will pay off at the festival when the people get to see them. That's reward enough for us plus it does reflect well on our graduation."
"Huh, so being in a club is actually a good thing, right?" Nana's curiosity was aroused, if what she had just heard was true then it meant that for her to graduate in school it was vital to be in a club and participate in as many festivals as possible. Or had she simply misunderstood what Mayu had said?
Where clubs really that important when it came to graduating? Guess she needed to do a bit more inquiring exactly into clubs and in particular into Mayu's club, yeah it was almost going to be certain that she would join theirs. It made the most sense to her, it helped of course that she also knew two of its members.
"So Mayu what is it exactly that your club does? I'd like to know a little more about it you know, just so that I know a bit more of what you do in school," she explained as she noticed the odd look she was getting though in reality her reasoning wasn't actually all that good, to be honest it was pretty bad.
"Nana-san why are you asking these questions all of a sudden? You've seen the type of works that I make for the club, like that portrait I did of our family during the winter. And then there was the drawing I did of you, remember?" Mayu answered, slightly tilting her head as she was getting a little confused by Nana's sudden curiosity.
Now it was starting to dawn on Nana, so that was why Mayu kept making all of these works and why she kept making new ones constantly. Well that certainly explained a bit more, reasoning that if she wanted to do well in the club then it became obvious that all Nana needed to do was to just copy what Mayu was doing. That had sounded surprisingly simple.
'Okay then, my first piece of art will be the best portrait of Mayu ever.'
All that she needed now was to learn how to draw and to make sure that Mayu was going to sit still long enough. 'Maybe I should ask her to show me?' Looking Mayu straight in the eyes she asked the question without even being aware of it. "Mayu can you teach me how to draw? I want to know how I need to draw let's say… ehm... a portrait?"
Surprised and not prepared for that question at all Mayu nearly dropped the dish that she was holding. "Ehm Nana-san, that might take a while you know and you should start first with drawing simple shapes, a portrait isn't really for a beginner you know. Also shouldn't we first look at getting the dishes washed?"
Nana got a little disappointed at that, a shame as she really wanted to give it a try. Besides how hard could it be to actually make a portrait, really all it was were just some lines one drew across the paper, that couldn't possibly be hard now could it.
"But if you really want I can give you the books I have of drawing, that way you could practice tomorrow and when I get back we can practice together, what do you say Nana-san?"
She agreed to that, tomorrow she was planning to get a little head start by starting on some simple shapes then. Nana was going to impress Mayu with her skills.
"Nana-san are you alright? You seem to be a little pre-occupied, did you get enough rest last night?" Mayu asked as it became obvious to her that something was getting the better of Nana though she wasn't really sure what that was exactly. "I think you might have been working a little too hard on your chores in the house, why don't you go and get some rest. I'll finish the rest of the dishes for you," she added as she leaned forward and pressed the back of her hand against Nana's forehead.
"B-But Mayu," Nana quickly rebuked. "T-They're my chores as well, it's my responsibility to help clean the dishes this week. I'm not going to pass up just because you think I'm tired. I'm staying." That was Nana alright, being obstinate when she felt that people were trying to paint her off as being irresponsible. For the rest of the day it was going to be impossible to persuade her to grab some rest, no, now her remaining chores for the day were going to come first.
"Let's get some ice-cream after this? What do you say Nana-san?" Mayu asked, smiling at her, knowing well that her friend wasn't going to be able to resist the cold treat. With any luck it would be enough to make Nana forget about her chores.
Dai felt tired not to mention worn down and although it had been a rather short day as, it had still been a exhausting experience for him. Fortunatly and much to his own surprise Mizuno had called it early for the day. It seemed that the man wasn't intending on having another one of those late night meetings for the coming time, maybe he wasn't such a bad person after all.
"I'm glad to be back, honestly I could do with dinner and then grab some rest," he yawned as he stopped right there when he noticed a pair of familiar cars being parked there. "Why are they here, did we have a meeting planned? Well I'd better get inside and see what's going on." Getting to the door he was pleasantly surprised to see that Ryou was already standing there waiting for him to come in.
"Good night oto-san, did you have a pleasant day at work? Oh I should mention that we have some guests. Oka-san has invited them to discuss something important you see and I… uhm…" She began to fiddle with her fingers, so that was what was going inside.
"It was okay dear though I'm glad to be back home. Also thank you for letting me know. Now why don't you go back to your room and play with your sister, okay?"
As he kneeled down in front of her he planted a kiss on her forehead, telling her how much he loved her to which she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck in response and pulled herself up.
"… I love you… oto-san…" she whispered to him, her voice sounding soft and sincere.
That was just what he needed to hear, hearing her say such kind words certainly helped to lift his spirit and body. Just the right kind of motivation to keep on going, with such wonderful daughters, a healthy son and a proud wife how could he be anything else but satisfied at his life. "Now go on dear, you know that I can't get up if you keep hugging me? Ryou you can let go of me now," he laughed, somehow it seemed that this hug was going to last a little longer.
"… Oh… I um… okay then…" Ryou muttered, somehow she had lost track of time, slowly letting go of him she had one last look at her father. "Goodnight oto-san, sleep well…"
"You too dear, say goodnight to your sister for me as well," Dai responded, he was likely going to visit them after the talk was over but in case they were already asleep then he wouldn't have to wake either of them. Once she had left he donned his slippers and made his way to the living room.
Entering the room he noticed that Bando and Arakawa were present, well that didn't come as a surprise as he had seen their cars parked outside. Didn't take away that he was feeling a little irritated about Bando being here, Arakawa was fine but Bando certainly wasn't.
"Good evening to you all," he remarked before he gave a little kiss on Mako's cheek. "Sorry I'm a little late but could you fill me in what's being discussed here? I seem to have missed it."
Bando was, unsurprisingly, the first one to answer him. "We're talking about what to do with an ugly little pest that's shown up. A woman who goes by the name of Anna Kakuzawa. I assume that you've heard of her, am I right Hirano?"
Yeah he did, he had actually gotten to meet her several times ever since she had been rescued during the first of a series of investigations launched by Saseba in an effort to recover equipment and other materials from the ruins of the DRI that were deemed important.
"I do, I certainly do know her." And with that he began to tell the story on what had happened during that recovery mission, the equipment they had salvaged, the files that had been recovered and even the deceased remains that had been salvaged both of human and Diclonius. And in a twist of fate that nobody could have forensen, the faint signs that some people might have survived and then their eventually rescue.
They all kept listening, this was information that hadn't been disclosed to any of them, Dai had been keeping secrets from them alright. That said it was to be expected, some of the information that he was telling them was simply far too sensitive.
"Did your people hold interrogations of her?" Arakawa asked, becoming concerned as to what this woman knew exactly. "Further what kind of information was actually recovered and why hasn't been disclosed to us?"
It caught the attention as well of Mako, perhaps there was information with regards to the ajina device that they hadn't been aware of, if so then they needed to get their hands on it as it could hold the answer to helping Saori.
Dai held up his hand. "I can't say that, a lot of material is still classified by the High Command. Meaning that only those directly involved with the information are allowed to see it, I don't belong to that group of people so I can't say what else they have." Even so perhaps it couldn't hurt to try and see if he could find out something, maybe it was possible that his new supervisor could come in handy for this.
"We need to know, anything with regards to the physiology of the Diclonius or the workings of the ajina would be of considerable help to us," Mako interceded as she wanted to hear more, there had to be a lead or a hint that they could use.
"Hey, are we not forgotten something here?!" Bando snarled, disgusted by their lack of focus on what really was important. "You people are just fucking daft, ignoring what matters here. Don't digress."
Eyebrows were raised at that remark, none of them had forgotten actually but they couldn't just pass up on this opportunity to discuss something that was equally as important. Somewhat dismayed they all looked at him, somehow they got the impression that he didn't see the importance of the additional information that could possibly help them, or the fact that perhaps there was information that could be used as leverage in case this woman found out.
"Bando-san with all due respect," Arakawa mentioned, aware of what had been said. "There are other ways for us to handle her without having to resort to violence, with the right kind of information it would be possible for us to persuade her otherwise. It might also be possible for us to learn where she's currently residing as I recall from the time that I had been held in custody they recorded everything there was about me or my whereabouts."
Mako chimed in, going even further. "With her also being the daughter of the late chief Kakuzawa they'll have gone even further, it's at least worth a shot as right now we have nothing to go with."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa there. Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Dai cautioned them, reminding them all that with this kind of information still being classified they couldn't just barge in and acquire it. "This isn't easy, anything with regards to the chief or the Kakuzawa clan won't be divulged. There's no way for us to obtain that information, not without the right clearance."
A moment of silence followed, each person contemplating on the matter. First and foremost it seemed that the most crucial matter was acquiring was where she was residing.
Mako though was more interested in possibly gaining more information with regards to the ajina device. Perhaps there would be enough material to give a complete picture, then with that she could persuade Kogorou to help them or it might even be possible that they could work it out themselves.
"Listen people," Dai told them as he studied their faces. "Don't get your hopes up, while some of that information is likely very useful for us, there's also a chance that it'll be useless. Don't forget that there's far more than just information to the Diclonius or that device, there's a lot of other related material involved as well." They couldn't get too optimistic, they didn't know what most of the classified material contained. Dai had his suspicions but they were just that, suspicions and guesses.
"I'll see if I can find out a bit more, we've got a new supervisor so it might be possible that I can extract some info from him. Just don't expect too much of it."
As the clock struck eleven they all looked at it, it had gotten late already and for most of them there were other obligations the next day. "I would say to keep it at that for today, let's first get a better grasp of the situation before we act," Mako mentioned as she got up.
Both Arakawa and Bando followed her example, for them it was time to leave as well though for their own reasons. "Hirano take care of yourself, see you soon," Bando remarked as he passed Dai and was the first one to leave, he would let himself out anyway.
"Takebe-sensei, Hirano-san have a good night yourselves," Arakawa excused herself as she bowed towards the two of them, thanking them both for their hospitality before she turned around and headed for her car.
With the door closed both Dai and Mako could finally relax a little. "Let's get this cleaned up and then go to bed, it's already pretty late anyway and the kids are likely already asleep," Dai mentioned while locking the front door. "Bento's can be done tomorrow after breakfast."
"Ah I'm so tired, God I'm glad that they finally left," Mako complained as she stretched her arms before she went up the stairs. Dai could take care of the rest as far as she was concerned. "Goodnight dear," she yawned before vanishing from his sight. "Love you."
The next morning it was rather quiet at the inn, well except for those who had to leave for school. "I'm leaving. See you all soon," Mayu said as she closed the door behind her, she was always the first one to head to school. Saying a quick goodbye to Wanta she left through the front gate and headed in the direction of the stairs.
Putting on their shoes Kouta and Yuka turned back to look at Saeko who was standing there, already she had changed her clothes but she would not be going to school today, not until after Kouta and Yuka had a chance to talk to her home-room teacher and her councilor.
"You stay at home for today dear, when we come back we'll see if it's alright for you to go back to school. Make sure you get enough rest and let us know if you're feeling up to it. Look after your little sister as well, Saeko-chan."
Kouta smiled. "Yuka's right, don't push yourself too hard because of what happened. Although you did do a bad thing by using your vectors against another person you did want to help somebody else who was in trouble." Coming back he gave her a little petting on the head. "Don't remain scared because of what happened, I know that in your heart you didn't meant to. You're not a bad person at all, you're a good girl. Look after your sisters and the house for us." Pulling his hand back he looked at Yuka and together they closed the door behind them, leaving both the inn and her alone for the time being.
Standing next to her Nana watched them leave before wrapping an arm around Saeko's shoulder. "You shouldn't worry too much, I'm sure they'll get it worked out. Besides why don't we first get some tea and then discuss the chores for today, you can do the cleaning upstairs if you want?"
Guiding her back to the living room Nana was going to make sure to keep an eye out on her, she wasn't going to let her sister be down like this. No, she would work hard to cheer her up. And after they had finished their chores she knew exactly what to get for her, she was already looking forward to it with anticipation in her eyes.
"Your friends at school, they seemed to be pretty worried about you. Mayu told me last night that they want to come visit you, they want to see how you're doing. You're pretty lucky Saeko-san to have such wonderful friends at school, I envy you, how having friends that care about you," Nana mentioned as the two of them made their way through the hallway.
Moving further she made one last remark. "You have so much Saeko-san, a body that doesn't age like ours, the chance to go to school and you even have friends, all of us wish that we could enjoy that as well. You're really lucky, being like that. Unlike us you actually have a chance at having a life outside the house."
Walking through the hallway it seemed that some of Nana's words were finally getting through to Saeko. "… M-My... friends? You mean Yuzu-chan and Azusa-chan? T-They... want to visit me? They... really do care about me?"
Nana nodded. "Yep, from what Mayu told me they seemed to be really worried when you didn't show up yesterday. She said it was actually hard to give them an answer as they just kept on asking where you were and how you were doing?" She had to giggle thinking about it. "But isn't that a good thing actually? That they really care about you? Shouldn't you be happy that your friends were that worried about you?"
"… Why should I be happy? I-I'm a bad girl, I did something that I shouldn't have done. I could have killed that boy, I actually wanted to hurt him. I doubt anybody would want to see me after that, I-I wanted to…"
Nana stopped, she already had a good idea why. "Because he called you names didn't he, really bad names am I right? Because he was mocking you despite you doing your best to remain a good person right?" Nana knew what that was like, she had been through that as well several times in her life. One couldn't really help it as there were those people out there who would get underneath one's skin like a barb and kept hurting you until you couldn't take it anymore. They would say just the right kind of words that would get to a person. They reveled in the misery of other people. Even the kindest of people would at some point have enough.
"I think you did the right thing there, you did hurt him enough to make him stop but not enough to kill him. Some people just can't be reasoned with, they won't stop unless you force them. You did show restrain there, you should be proud of yourself. I'm sure that girl that you helped must've been really happy you were there."
Looking at the ceiling Nana wondered if she would have done the same as Saeko had if she had been in the same kind of situation, would she have done any better or would she have done far worse than her?
She would likely to have to deal with that kind of problem herself if she were to accept the offer and choose to go to school.
Author's note: Well here's the latest chapter, hope you all enjoy it. As always I'm looking forward to reading your thoughts and opinions.
Have a good weekend and see you all soon.
Addemdum 16/08/16: Right, after having it pointed out that I've been a complete idiot given I made a complete mess of the chapter when I posted it. I deeply apologize to you for the previous state this chapter found itself in. I should not have posted it at all, I want to thank those of you who pointed it out to me.
I've taken som extra time and gone over it again, correcting an embarassing amount of mistakes, errors and other cock-ups on my behalf. Hopefully it will be more up to the standard that you readers deserve and you do deserve a lot better than what I had posted.
Take care.