XXVIII
A Fragile Life
Kouta was nailed to the ground as he heard the girl's family name, no this couldn't be happening, not at a time like this. He could try and scream in order to draw the attention of other people which might just allow him to shake her off and escape but he rejected the notion.
"Is there something wrong? You are being awfully quiet, sir?" Anna asked him as she had a good look at him, given that he likely was aware of who she was his response wasn't that much of a surprise to her. "I can assure you, sir, that there is nothing for you to be afraid of. Would there happen to be there a quiet place where we could talk in private perhaps? There is a lot that I would like to talk to you about if it is alright with you sir?"
He couldn't shake off this uneasy feeling from her, not her pretty face, not the soothing calmness of her voice, the kindness of her words, not even the warm smile that she was giving him even now. Guess he wasn't even going to be given the chance to get away from her and if he were to do it here then it was going to attract a lot of unwanted attention from the people present, it seemed that she had forced his hand.
No, it seemed that his only option at this point was to comply with her request, to go somewhere else that they could talk and pray to God that she was alone. If so he could likely manage to evade her and perhaps then make his escape, he stopped thinking as a sudden and terrifying thought came to the front of his mind; if she knew who he was then she likely also knew where he lived. Dammit, even if he were to run it was going to be pointless.
"Alright then, Kakuzawa-san there is a small café around the corner, the terrace they have is nicely placed so we shouldn't have to worry about others. Would that be enough for you?"
Still having the same warm smile on her face Anna answered him in a polite manner. "That will do fine my good sir and please I would prefer it if you would use my first name when you address me. I understand that my family name must bring forth a lot of unpleasant memories for you, my sincere apologies for that sir."
Taken aback by that sudden gesture of her Kouta was becoming unsure of what to make of it, was she really being this kind or was it all part of an elaborate hoax to make him drop his guard? He was going to need to exercise considerable caution with her. By now Anna's behaviour and her politeness was attracting the attention of the people present in the room, he already could hear murmured voices behind his back asking if he was in a relationship with this woman or what he had done to such a kind girl, it became clear that he needed to get himself and her away from this place as quickly as he could.
Leaving the room and going through the hallway Kouta was keeping a healthy distance between himself and her, making sure that she was a good meter ahead of him.
Anna had noticed it as well and with a certain sadness, in her voice, she said, "You must really hate my family, do you not sir? For all the wrongs it has done to not only you and your family but to so many others as well. My apology must seem so hollow to you am I right? Do you hate me as well for bearing that name?"
It was a question that shook Kouta to his very core, he did feel a certain hatred and disgust for the Kakuzawa name but he also became aware that it was wrong of him to allow that hatred to poison his mind to the point that all members of that family were going to become a focal point for it. "My apologies Ka- I mean Anna-san."
"No need for that, I can understand the anger and the resentment you likely feel towards my father. I will not try and make excuses for the things he has done, that time is long past us. But I am here for another reason, you are one of the few people who might be able to help me with that." She stopped and turned around to face him. "That is if you are willing to listen to what I have to say. Would you be willing to do that, sir?"
Yeah, that was the right question alright, he wasn't exactly thrilled about hearing her out and certainly not that happy about having to possibly help her. "Anna-san, pardon my rudeness but you're making a considerable assumption here, I have plenty of reason to just walk out on you given the history I have with your family. As far as I'm concerned you need to show me that you are not like the rest of your family, otherwise, I'll just leave you."
Nodding her head gently in agreement Anna was painfully aware of what he had just said, honestly she had come expecting such a demand to be imposed on her. It was alright with her, she did have to prove that she meant him no harm, he wasn't the person who she was after.
"What is it that you would like for me to do to show you that I have no ill intentions, sir?"
"Well, for a start you could begin by explaining to me why you've come to visit me." He could have asked her why she had visited Arakawa and Mako as well but if he did that then he was going to expose himself, the less he gave away the better.
Anna smiled in return "That sounds fair my good sir, I will tell you everything you want to know once we get to that café you mentioned, I would prefer for us to talk in private and where people won't be too quick to overhear us. Some of the things I have to say might be a bit sensitive, sir"
That wasn't much of a surprise to Kouta, even if he didn't want to he was interested in what she might have to say. Perhaps there was even a possible chance that she could hold some information that might be of benefit to the girls, provided they wouldn't get caught.
The sound of her phone going off pulled her away from the laptop, Mako had immersed herself in her work to the point that she had almost failed to notice that her phone had been ringing. Picking it up she felt relieved that the person hadn't hung up yet on her, the number being displayed on it was unfamiliar to her. "Takebe speaking, who do I have the pleasure of talking to?"
It came as a complete surprise to hear when she heard the familiar voice of Kogorou on the other side, to think that he was actually calling her was rather unexpected as she had taken his silence as a sign that it was either impossible or that he wasn't interested anymore. "Hashiratani-hakase, honestly I had not expected for you to call me. How are you doing if I may ask?" Feverishly she prayed for him to have some good news for her. "I am doing fine myself, thank you kindly for asking me."
The talk went back and forth, once they had dispensed with the pleasantries and got to the actual reason for him calling Mako grew silent, she wanted to make sure that she would not miss a single word of what he was going to tell her. "Could you excuse me for a moment, Hashiratani-hakase? I'll make sure that I won't be disturbed for the coming time."
Putting it down she went out of her office to inform her assistants that for the moment she did not want to be disturbed unless it was an emergency. Fortunately, most of the busy period had died down so they were not expecting much if any patients to show up soon.
Returning quickly to her office and closing the door she picked up the phone and told him that he could begin. "Hashiratani-hakase if you so kindly would. I've made sure that nobody will bother me so please." And with having said that she turned up the volume and listened carefully.
What followed was a long and rather detailed explanation on what he had been able to decipher though without further access to the printed material it was difficult for him to gain more insight but he clearly felt confident that they had a high probability of safely removing the device without causing any further injuries to the patient in question.
However and this was something he stressed was that he could not give any guarantee without having access again to all of the relevant documents, it certainly required more and a deeper study to ensure there would be no risks to the person's health.
"I understand." Was all that Mako could say in response to what she had just been told, in reality, she wasn't exactly happy about having to schedule in another trip towards Matsumoto city but she could not risk for this information to get into the wrong hands. "When could we meet again at your earliest convenience?"
Noting down a series of dates she started to look and see how they would run along with her own schedule, she was also going to need to make sure that either Bando or Dai would accompany her as well. "I see yes, yes I will keep that in mind then."
Fortunately, it seemed that for him the earliest opportunity wasn't going to be for another month or so, kind of a shame but not much she could do about right now. At least she had gotten far better news than she had dared to hope for, the chance had been so high of it being another failure. By the time the call came to its end Mako noticed that an hour had flown by.
"Hashiratani-hakase, I would like to thank for having taken the time to go over this and calling me back, you have my sincerest gratitude. Take good care of yourself and I will see you then in a month. Goodbye." Ending the call and putting down the phone she leaned back in her seat, gazing at the ceiling as she began to smile, feeling a certain sense of satisfaction.
The news although not exactly what she had hoped for had been as good as it could have got.
Holding back the chair to allow her to sit down Kouta still felt unsure about this but thus far he had not noticed any hostility coming from Anna. She had remained rather quiet during the walk towards the cafe. "Please have a seat, I'll get us something to drink."
"You are a very kind person, sir," Anna replied to him as she sat down.
Kouta cracked a smile. "Well staying hostile with you is likely not going to do me any good in the long run. I'll be honest and tell you right now that I'd rather be somewhere else and not with you or any member of your family, I have personal reasons for it."
She seemed to take it rather well as she just nodded her head in response which made him wonder, the longer he got to spend with her the more troubling he was finding it to understand what it exactly was that she was after. Anna still remained a complete mystery to him and that didn't sit well with him.
"Anna-san, what exactly are these matters that you wanted to discuss with me in private, the sensitive ones you mentioned before? I'd like to know how that involves me?"
He left their table telling her that he would come back with their drinks, once he got back then he fully expected her to start talking and explain to him what it was that she was after. Being secluded from her he felt a bit more at ease and briefly he considered in calling Yuka to warn her, possibly even worth to make a quick call to either Dai or dare he do it even Bando.
Either of them would certainly be able to help him should he find himself in trouble, the big question was of course that if he were to call them would they get here in time? 'What should I do, running is still an option but if she knows about me then she'll likely know where I live as well. I can't run the risk of her coming to the inn, no I'll need to stay here and hope that I can convince her that all Diclonius perished that day. I hope she is going to buy it.'
Getting his order for the drinks he walked back, doing his best to calm his nerves. Coming back outside he noticed with a certain degree of delight that she was still there, almost like she had been patiently waiting for him to come back.
"Thank you kindly, sir." Accepting the drink she held it with both hands, her gaze suddenly avoiding his. "I guess this is it then, you deserve some answers for all the pain and suffering you been through. My family or rather my father caused you a great deal of personal harm, am I right?"
She was right about that one but Kouta wasn't just willing to come forth and say it to her, just how much did she exactly know or was she just making some well-educated guesses. Besides plenty of things were on record so it was not like those would be hard to find.
"My father had many flaws to him, I won't deny that. I know that he has done a terrible wrong to so many people all because he believed too much in an old legend, perhaps if I had tried harder to stop him then maybe none of this would have happened."
Kouta noticed that both of her hands were shaking, either she was really good at faking it or she was being honestly affected by what she was saying. Not sure why he even did it but he reached out and held one of her hands.
"Anna-san, you shouldn't blame yourself for the actions of another person. Even if they are a loved one or family, they carry a responsibility for their own actions. I don't know exactly how you might have been able to stop your father but you shouldn't blame yourself for what he's done. He's the one who did those horrible things, not you."
She looked up, reacting to his words as they stared into each other's eyes, somehow it felt rather pleasant which wasn't what he kind of expected.
"Thank you for those kind words, you are a good person I can tell, sir. That should make it easier for me to confide some matters to you although it will also make it more difficult as there are potential consequences for you," she warned him though there was no hostility behind the words, it seemed she really wanted to warn him about something. "You were one of the people who had contact with the Diclonius people only know as Lucy for an extended period of time am I right? I would like to know what happened to her, I simply have to find out."
His eyes narrowed, so she was after Kaede and Nyu, well even if she wasn't planning on it, he sure as hell wasn't going to let her find their remains. He refused to let the people of the Kakuzawa clan and those like them defile what was left of two people he still cared about.
"She died a while ago, giving up her own life in order to save mine. We took her remains and cremated them to make sure that she could rest in peace. That is all there is to say," he blurted out the words, to get them past his tongue as fast as possible, not caring if it was going to make him appear being rude to her.
"I see," Anna replied, by her reaction, it seemed that she had known only part of it. "I did hear that she died but I never learned what had happened to her remains, well I think what you did was the right thing. It would be bad if somebody were able to get their hands on her remains and use them for their own goals. Technology has come a long way has it not, sir?"
A chill ran down his spine as he was reminded on Saori, she too had been created using blood samples from a Diclonius who died sometime before. If they had been able to do with her then it was also likely they could have done the same using the body though given the poor state it was in he didn't think that it would provide others with the material that they needed. Still, it was a disconcerting, not to mention sickening, thought, to think that their remains could still be abused in such a horrible manner. To have their last wish for peace so violated.
"If I may ask, what happened to the other Diclonius that escaped? From what I have learned is that several of them managed to escape the former DRI. Have you ever come across them?"
He shook his head, he sure wasn't planning on giving away the girls. "I'm afraid not, I wasn't even aware that there were more horned girls like her. I'm afraid that I can't help you any further with that Anna-san."
Craning her neck up to look at the ceiling Nana thought that she had heard a strange noise that she couldn't place coming from somewhere upstairs but as she kept on listening it remained silent. Could it be that Saori had been the cause, was she having another seizure, or was Nana simply imagining things.
Had the young girl perhaps injured herself? No, if that had been the case then surely she would have been crying and who know what else she would do get the attention of anybody else in the house.
It remained quiet which convinced Nana that she had likely just imagined it, shrugging it off she went back towards the kitchen as she still needed to do some work on tonight's dinner.
She had spent most of the day on reading through the material that Mayu had left her this morning, if she wanted to really go to school then she needed to do her best but thus far she really found it rather boring. She just hoped that school itself wasn't going to be so boring as well, the last thing she wanted for herself was to find out that school wasn't at all how she envisaged it, she had seen already enough of that when she had gone along with Kouta, Yuka, and Nyu to their school but she reasoned that being in the same school as Mayu, Mei, Saeko, Kyou, and Ryou would be a lot more fun. Then again she was going to need to do a lot of studying by herself.
"Who knows maybe I will even find somebody who loves me, that would be fun, to be loved by somebody, hmmm love," she said to herself, thinking what it would be like as she gave it some thought. After a while, she even began to laugh.
"Onee-san is having fun? It must be fun for onee-san to have fun on her own, kuh, kuh, kuh. Onee-san is talking about love? What exactly is love, onee-san? Does it hurt? Is it painful?"
Nana heard behind her back and already a shiver ran down her spine, even without looking she could already tell that it was Saori but the way the girl's voice had sounded made her skin crawl, from somewhere behind her she could sense a malicious intent, something wasn't right and she could make a pretty good guess what that something was.
"S-Saori-san," she gasped as she turned around and saw the young Diclonius standing there, her head hanging low, her face obscured by her hair. "It's nice to see you getting out of your room. How are you feeling, care for something to eat?" She asked but as she looked closer she could see a vicious smile on Saori's face, yeah it was just as she had feared. Part of the girl's vicious personality had returned, was she also under the influence of the voice?
Nana made a quick prayer that there was nobody else in the house save for them, if any of the others were to be here than who knew what Saori was going to do to them. If she was under the influence of the voice then she would not hesitate to lash out against any human or Diclonius she viewed as an enemy.
"Kuh, kuh, kuh. Nana-onee-san is being so nice and kind to me, even when she sliced off my horns. I remember what Nana-onee-san did to me, I still remember the pain you caused me. Kuh, kuh, kuh," Saori did her best to fake a warm smile but to Nana, it was just one born out of malice, that wide grin held nothing but anger, hatred and a thirst for blood. Once the younger Diclonius raised her head enough Nana's breath caught in her throat, behind those red eyes there was nothing but a sadistic intent on causing as much pain and suffering as possible. It wasn't a good sign, she was definitely under the influence of the voice, spurring on her hatred towards all that it saw as threats. Her gaze betraying her murderous intent.
"I want to show the same kindness to you as you did to me, onee-san. I want onee-san to show me what love is? Onee-san, does love hurts? Is love pain? Onee-san is going to be in pain. I'm going to show you love, onee-san. Kuh, kuh, kuh, kuh," she cackled madly, taking a step forward as her head shook from left to right. "Oh, nobody else here? Well, that's alright, I like having onee-san all to myself. Onee-san, you'll show me love, right? Kuh, kuh, kuh, kuh. If loves hurts then you won't mind me loving you, my beloved onee-san? Will you accept my love?"
'That's not Saori-chan, at least not as we know her. It's more like she's reverted back to when we first met her. Has she changed back to her old personality? How could this happen' This was really bad, there was no telling what damage she might cause if she were to get outside like this. Nana was under no illusion that Saori was going to lash out at anybody and anything that she saw without hesitation, this girl couldn't be allowed to get outside, the only good thing to this situation was that, for now, Nana had the girl's complete and fullest attention.
Vectors started to emerge from behind Saori though it seemed that she was not yet fully able to stabilize their manifestation, they kept phasing in and out of existence, even disappearing entirely every now and then.
"Saori-san, you shouldn't do this, what do you think that Saeko-san is going to say when she finds out about what you did. She's going to be upset you know." Maybe there was a chance that be mentioning the girl's cherished big sister would help to calm Saori down a little, just enough so that it would be easier and quicker for Nana to quickly overpower her and then numb her. If she could get in the first attack then perhaps Nana could avoid having to hurt Saori any further than what was necessary though even that was already too much, any kind of fight was going to impose a strain on Saori's declining health, if she over-exerted herself there was no telling how much damage the young Diclonius could inflict on her own body.
'This isn't good, if she's really going to attack me then she's going to hurt herself. She might just hurt herself more than that she might hurt me, Saeko-san's never going to forgive me if I let that happen, I need to stop Saori-san and I need to do it fast, if I could just convince her.'
"Onee-sama…? If onee-sama doesn't play along then I'll kill her too. Onee-sama is just like onee-san is, a traitor. They both hurt me, they both still keep hurting hurt me. But that's love, right? So I'm going to make them feel lots of pain, love them, and then kill them! I'll make sure to love all of you a whole lot before I kill them too, my beloved onee-san! Kuh, kuh, kuh."
'Does she even understand what she's saying? I can't let her go through with this, I have to stop her. To think that she's even saying that she's going to kill the person who cares about her the most, this isn't Saori-san, this isn't her at all.'
To think that she had been able to negate the effect of being numbed but then in hindsight it had only been a day or two, Nana guessed the days that a single numbing per week would suffice were over, she just prayed that when Saori reverted back to her other personality that she was going to be less inclined to test when her vectors would appear again. Every time the duration before the numbing began to wear off decreased also meant that the risk and danger with Saori grew exponentially. The atmosphere inside the room was becoming rather tense, hostile even, and Nana was under no illusion that right now there no longer was any point trying and reason with the girl opposing her. But that didn't mean that she could fight her like that, no she needed to remain calm and try to prevent this from escalating. Likely the smallest word or action could be the spark for Saori to attack.
Nana would have to watch her words, now more than ever it was really important for her to call her by the right name, hearing the wrong one would definitely get Saori mad enough to attack without any kind of indiscrimination. "You don't want to do this, Mariko-." Her hands reached out but it was too late. 'Shit, shit I messed up.'
In response Saori let out a rage fueled howl, her vectors slashing towards her prey. "Goodbye, onee-san!"
"Thank you anyway for the information sir, it is already more than I had hoped for." Stopping to have a few sips of her drink Anna resumed. "A lot of people died because of our misunderstanding and abuse of the Diclonius, any chance for forgiveness and setting right the wrongs has been lost now that they have all died. Such a shame as they deserved better than what we gave them." As she stopped again her gaze was cast down, doing her best to avoid his. It seemed that she didn't want to meet his eyes though for what reason was unknown to Kouta, he also got the impression that she was on the verge of starting to cry but he couldn't be certain. He was finding it difficult to get an idea whether or not she could be trusted.
"Maybe it is for the best, I doubt any of them would have accepted an apology from me for all that was done to them because of my father. I can imagine that they would hate me, some of them might even want to kill me on the spot, well I suppose that is their right."
He looked up, why was she saying such a thing. Even if her father had done horrible things then it would still be unfair to hold the responsibility to the daughter. "I don't think you deserve to be so harsh on yourself, if you have made mistakes than I'm sure that you are doing your best to make amends for those, still you shouldn't be so fast to judge those girls. Some of them would have surprised you," he mentioned as he noticed the first tears running down her cheeks, they made him feel uncomfortable as he didn't like seeing a girl cry.
Handing her a handkerchief he smiled. "Here use this to dry your tears, you don't need to cry over something like that. You shouldn't be too hard on yourself, besides and pardon my rudeness but why are you so anxious to find out more about these horned girls? Somehow I'm getting the idea that you're trying to find one and meet it in person, why do something like that?"
Wiping away the tears she couldn't help but smile at his question. "That is very simple sir, I want to meet those Diclonius that might remain in hiding somewhere in order to try and lift their curse. Ever since the day that I was rescued from the ruins of the DRI, I have felt this need, to try and set right the wrongs." Handing him back the handkerchief she waited before continuing with her story. "The Diclonius were cursed and branded monsters before even given a chance to show us their true potential, even now there isn't a chance anymore for them to redeem themselves. I believe that we people have ruined a part of our own evolution simply because of how short sighted we are."
Kouta didn't know why he felt like that but for some reason what she was saying truly resonated with him, he shared the very same view and for a brief moment there was a glimmer of hope that perhaps she could be one of those people with influence who perhaps could help the girls gain a better life, a life in the open without having to fear of being caught.
"I know that it might sound a bit strange for me to say it but that is how I truly feel. Unless I get a chance to do this I will be forever cursed by the actions of my father."
Kouta was truly in doubt on whether he should take the risk or not, if that was how she truly felt then it was obvious that allowing her to become aware that no less than five Diclonius were alive and well, living a relatively good life in this very city, was the best news she could hope for and offer her a chance at redeeming herself. Would it be worth it?
Or perhaps that was what she wanted him to believe, could it be possible that she was telling him all this to lull him into a false sense of safety? If so she was doing a great job as he was starting to believe her, no he needed to stop with that right now. This could still be a trap.
What was he going to say to her? He would need to stress again that he didn't know any of the girls, that he had never seen or heard from them. "Anna-san, I can understand where you are going with this but what do I have to do with this exactly? Lucy was the only one I encountered and she died, I don't think that there's much left that I could help you with."
"Die! Die! Die! Onee-san should just let me kill her!" Saori howled and screamed as her vectors came crashing down, destroying the kitchen sink in one fell swoop, and narrowly missing Nana who frantically leaped to the side in order to avoid getting hit.
'That was way too close, they're fast alright, and they used to be a lot slower. Is this because of her body being more mature now? Maybe her reach has also increased? I should be careful.' It had been so long since she last had to avoid vectors, likely she had also gotten slower in her reactions. She had also clearly underestimated the degree to which the vectors of Saori had developed.
'We never kept an eye on her range, her strength or how fast they were. We were far too lax in that, we should've paid more attention to it. Thinking about it I don't even know how the vectors of the others are.'
It was their own mistake, they had gotten so complacent in their thinking that the numbing would suffice that nothing had been done to keep a record of how their bodies and their powers were developing. To think that she didn't even know the full extent to which the vectors of the others had developed, particularly those of Kyou and Ryou, even worse was that she didn't even know of either Saeko or herself.
'We have been so stupid, living our happy lives. No longer thinking that we also have to be careful because it is so easy for us to hurt another person and yet we haven't spent any attention towards them. We're just stupid.' Behind her she could hear Saori chuckle right before a hole was smashed into the floor, nearly taking her head off. This was becoming too dangerous, she wasn't holding back at all.
"Saori-san, you need to stop this! I don't want to hurt you! Don't make me do something that we will both regret!" She barely managed to dodge a sweep that was meant to take her head off. "I am telling you to stop while you still have a chance! Stop this before it is too late!"
"Kuh! Kuh! Kuh! Kuh! Onee-san is the one going to get hurt! I'm going to splatter you all across the floor! You'll be the only one to regret dear one-san! I'll show you love, onee-san! Kuh, kuh, kuh, kuh!" Saori snapped back at her as she lashed out once more, tearing open parts of the ceiling as she did.
Rubble came crashing down, lights shattered as they hit the floor. The kitchen was becoming a mess and Nana came to understand that she needed to end this fight really fast or at the very least get Saori outside where she could do less damage to the house.
'I can't lure or convince her to go outside, the only way I'm going to be able to do that is by forcing her. I don't want to use force against her, she doesn't deserve that. That isn't the Saori-san as we know her, this isn't what Mariko-san would've wanted, Papa would be sad if he saw this.' The rest of her sisters were likely going to hate her for hurting one of their own but what choice did she have.
"Saori-san, I'm warning you again, stop with this at once! I don't want to hurt one of my few surviving sisters! Don't make me do something that will make me hate myself!" she yelled but her plea fell on deaf ears as Saori attacked once more.
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! You're lying! You're lying! You're lying! They're all lies! I know that you're lying, my beloved onee-san!" she howled and screamed with equal fury as her vectors nearly brought down an entire wall sending bricks and pieces of wood flying through the air. "Die! Die! Just hurry please and die, onee-san! Onee-san, I really want to show you my love, that's why you should die! Kuh, kuh, kuh, kuh..."
The younger Diclonius was mad with rage alright but that also meant that she was likely to get lost in her thoughts and fail to pay attention to her immediate surroundings, making it easier to confuse her. If Nana could take advantage of that and manage to stun or disorientate her for a moment then she might just be able to move in close enough and numb her, taking away the immediate threat posed by Saori's vectors. While normally she would be careful to try and prevent her from experiencing too much pain due to the ajina she was likely not going to have that luxury this time.
'Saori-san, please forgive me for what I'm going to do next,' Letting out a painful sigh Nana grabbed a bag of flour from one of the busted racks and flung it as hard as she could towards Saori, it came as no surprise that instinctively the girl's vectors tore it apart, as it exploded in a large cloud of dust, showering the room and obscuring the girl's sight, Nana leaped forward as she took advantage and moved in closer to take her out fast. 'You don't deserve this Saori-san but I have to, not only for your sake but for all of us, please forgive me.'
"Kuh! Kuh! Kuh!" Nana could hear her laugh, it was the only warning that she got, and at that point, she felt like she was going to collapse as a thunderous blow hit her in the stomach. Coughing up blood as she crashed onto the floor a flash of pain shot up her head, her sight gone for a moment she rolled to the side right before a vector smashed down where moments before her head was.
"Kuh! Kuh! Kuh! How did that feel, onee-san? Do you want more? I really showed you my love there didn't I? Love really hurts doesn't it, onee-san? But don't worry, I still have lots of love to show you. Kuh, kuh, kuh, kuh."
Gritting her teeth Nana pushed the pain aside as she struggled to get back on her feet. "S-Saori-san, I really hate having to do this but you're leaving me with no choice. You're a really bad girl right now and bad girls need to be punished. Especially the mischievous ones."
Looking at her Nana wasn't going to hold back anymore, she would apologize later but first.
"I'm going to teach you a lesson, you're one of my precious sisters, you're a clone of Mariko-san and a daughter of papa but that isn't going to mean that I'll let this slide. I really hate having to do this but you're leaving me with no choice Saori-san," Nana spat, wiping away the blood from her mouth with the back of her hand before she leaped into the air, her vectors racing forward towards Saori. She was going to make sure this would all be over quickly.
As the students cleaned up their desks and put their books back in their bags the class was effectively finished which meant that Saeko and her friends could go visit Hinami and see what her club was like, already they had told her earlier that they would come although Saeko still felt a little hesitant about the whole prospect but she had given Hinami her word.
"Still feeling nervous about going? Saten-san did say that you had nothing to worry about as it was just going to be her and one of her senpais, we'll be there right next to you. If you get scared then you can take my hand if you want," Azusa informed her, comforting her and trying to take away some of the anxiety that was becoming clearly visible with Saeko.
"Mine too!" Yuzuka chimed in, not willing to let herself be outdone by Azusa. "Don't you worry Saekorin, we're there with you." She grabbed her hands. "We're not going to let our friend have to go there alone. If anything happens then I'll protect you, it's a promise."
Getting up from her seat and reaching out for her bag across Saeko allowed her friends to take the lead and guide her towards the clubroom where Hinami was likely waiting for them, part of her still felt reluctant to go and yet a growing part of her was also becoming more excited.
There was any chance that she wasn't going to like it and yet it was equally possible that she would like more than she could imagine, perhaps even enough to convince her to join the club. And even if she didn't then it would at the very least give her an idea of what to expect from older students within the club though it was likely going to differ for other clubs.
"So Saekorin, what kind of person do you think Hinarin's senpai is going to be? She seemed rather nice back when we spoke to her during the club orientation day, I wonder if she remembers us. Ah well, we should go and just have some fun together, hopefully, it's possible for us to join."
"I believe it to be a bit premature to already hope that we can join the club, you mentioned it yourself Yuzuka-san that you're not really into making clothes. Even though it seems that Saten-san is happy with the club it might not be suited for us," Azusa remarked, tempering a bit of the enthusiasm that said girl was showing off. It was difficult to tell if this was going to be the right club for them, Azusa had no prior experience herself in making clothes or sewing and neither did Saeko.
"You shouldn't be so quick to judge Azurin, besides we might just like and think about. If I were to be able to make my own clothes then perhaps one day I can become famous as Japan's youngest and most talented fashion designer." Yuzuka started to stare ahead of her, into the sky. To Azusa and Saeko it seemed more than the girl was spacing out.
"Don't mind her Isuzu-san, Yuzuka-san has a habit of spacing out when she dreams about her own future, she does like clothes but I don't think that she has the patience to actually start making her own," she pointed out, letting Saeko know that this was a normal thing if one were to spend more time with Yuzuka. "Isuzu-san, have you thought about what of kind club you might be interested in? I know we didn't get to see that many but is there one you would like? We still have a week or two to decide so if you want we can spend next week looking for other clubs, would you like that?"
Saeko wasn't so sure, after what happened the last time she wasn't so keen on going to look for a new club but then it seemed that both of her friends were really keen to join one, it would be selfish of her is she were to deny them that joy. "I don't know, there's little that I'm good at, I don't think that I'd fit in with a club. Most people think that I'm childish, a crybaby and somebody more interested in her own looks anyway so I doubt they'd accept me."
She clearly remembered some of the things that Hinami had told her, about the way that many other students thought about her. "Who could ever want someone like me?"
Azusa heard her and disagreed, "I don't think you should think about yourself like that, if other students are then they are just being short sighted. As somebody who knows you a lot better than they ever will, I can tell you this, plenty of people would like such a kind and wonderful person like you. You shouldn't listen to rumors and gossip."
Hearing that made Saeko feel a lot better about herself, maybe it was time for her to stop worrying what other people thought of her and to focus on how she felt about herself. The opinion of her family and friends should count for more than of the ones who would never meet her. She was feeling more confident, she shouldn't let other people bring her down like it had in the past, as long as she remained strong than her master would remain proud of her. She just hoped that she would be strong enough for it.
"Of course, my good sir, my sincere apologies for having taken so much of your time. I would still like to thank you for having taken the time to talk to me, you have my gratitude." Anna stood up before making a bow to him. "Would it be possible for us to meet again the future? There might be some other matters that I would like to ask you about or should you remember a piece of information that could help me." Handing him a piece of paper he noticed that a number was noted down there. "You can call me on that number should you have something urgent to tell me, with your permission then I will take my leave, sir. Take good care of yourself and your adopted family," Anna mentioned before turning on the spot and leaving his sight. Leaving the terrace she made her way towards the entrance of the cafe where she would wait to be picked up.
Kouta kept staring at the note, her words being lost on him otherwise he would have understood the actual threat that he was in. He hadn't even noticed that she had left.
"Sir, it is rather rude for a gentleman to keep a lady waiting. The least you could do for me is to open the door, please show some manners, sir," Her voice came from behind him. He hadn't even noticed that she had left, let alone that she had actually been waiting on him.
Bright red with shame he turned around. "I'm so sorry Anna-san, my apologies." To think that he had kept her waiting, one of the people he really shouldn't do something that stupid.
"That is alright, at least you apologized for it. Now if you would be so kind enough to escort me outside and keep me company while my pick up arrives I will overlook it, besides I do would like to take the chance to talk a bit more about your family or the people you live with."
She gave him a wink and Kouta understood from that point on that she did know more than that she had led him to believe. He grew nervous as they exited the building.
"Don't be so scared sir, as I told you before I don't have any intend to harm either you or the people you live with. All that I ask of you is, to be honest with me, nothing more."
She pulled out a photo from underneath her jacket. "You did a great job at hiding them but you should be more careful, anybody who is familiar with a Diclonius could tell you what these are, even with the archives having been erased. You must have had a lot of help with that."
Accepting it Kouta had a good look at it, his stomach dropped as he saw that it was Mayu, Nana, Kyou and Ryou, likely this had to have been taken during one of their weekend trips. He just couldn't believe it, it was just as he had feared. Somebody who knew what they were looking for had gotten their hands on actual photographic evidence, no wait, they might still be a chance that he could bluff this off as the girls doing some kind of cosplay or such.
"Then there is this one as well. I am not sure about her but she does carry similar ribbons as the others do and she is from your family. She is another of them, am I right? Rather unique to see a Diclonius actually attending a high school don't you think. How is it that you managed to get her to control her instincts? Please, you have to tell me, sir. This is too interesting to pass up."
Looking at the second photo he saw that it was Saeko along with Mayu, dammit they had been found out. This was really bad, now he had better come up with a great escape otherwise, they would all be in trouble or worse death, this situation was getting worse fast.
"You don't have to worry sir, those are the only examples and I made sure that nothing remained of the negatives. Like I said before I have no intent to harm either you or your family. If that girl is able to go to school and not harm people then she already proves that Diclonius and us can actually live together, the other three going shopping and interacting with countless people is even more proof. A shame really, you have this wonderful proof and no way to show it to those who have the power to change things. I want to help you, sir."
What she said was true, they had nobody to turn to but even so only a few people were actually aware of it. Then again he was less than thrilled at the prospect of a member of the Kakuzawa clan knowing about the remaining Diclonius living in the city, what did she want with them?
"You don't trust me do you, sir? Well given what my father has done I cannot blame you for it. I don't expect to gain your trust anytime soon but I do want you to know that not everybody is out to hunt them done. So now that I have discovered your little secret what will you do next, my good sir? Will you try to run or listen to what I have to say?"
Kouta was still undecided, he had to make a choice and the wrong one was going to cost him everything he held dear. "My answer is..." he had to swallow hard to get rid of the lump stuck at the back of his throat. "Anna-san, with all due respect but my answer..."
Nana was panting heavily as she leaned against the wall, her hand gripping her shoulder as it felt like it was broken, Saori had managed to get in one hit and she had hit her good at it. "I've underestimated you Saori-san… I didn't think you'd be this strong…" she sighed as another surge of pain flared through her injured shoulder, yeah she definitely had been hit hard alright. Fortunately, she had been able to force Saori out of the kitchen and closer towards the back of the garden though being stuck now in the hallway really narrowed her freedom of movements, still given that she had managed to get a few good blows in return on Saori meant that she wasn't feeling so good either. Not something that she was feeling particularly proud of but there was sadly no other choice, she simply had to force Saori back.
"I'm so sorry for having to do this, I don't want to hurt you but you're leaving me with no other choice. Please, Saori-san, just stop with this, I don't want to hurt you any further. Please, I beg you?"
Opposite of her at other the edge of the hallway stood Saori or rather she was leaning against the wall as well as the younger Diclonius felt the fatigue starting to overtake her body. Even though her body was more mature it seemed that the speed with which it did age also had some drawbacks, Saori's stamina wasn't all that great and fatigue would set in surprisingly quick once she got stuck in a prolonged fight.
It was only a small comfort as each blow also meant that she had hurt Saori, wearing her down fast enough involved in having to fight and push her back. Such a shame, that she was forced to use actual physical force in order to wear Saori down enough to the point where she could subdue the younger Diclonius. Unfortunately, the stress of battle was already taking its toll on her physique, several wounds could already be seen underneath the torn clothing she wore, her skin felt sore in numerous places, another testament that Nana needed to get this over with as soon as was possible.
Her eyes were already stained red from the tears of having to do such a loathsome act, just thinking about made her feel disgusted with herself. "Saori-san, I can understand that you're being angry with me, you've got every right to be after what I did to you but you have to understand that I had too. If I hadn't stopped you then and there you likely would've killed us all and then get killed yourself! I-I... simply had to… there was no other way… to protect you all… I-I didn't want to… but I had to..." she sobbed, being reminded of that loathsome act.
Nana wasn't feeling that well, she wasn't exactly in the best of shapes herself either, her injured shoulder wasn't the only wound she had sustained over the course of battle, bruises and fresh cuts were all over her body, her clothes were in tatters, and even one of her eyes was swollen as a result of a near miss though it had meant slamming head first into a wall.
"… O-Onee-san…. loves me… onee-san… I hate you… I… hate… you… kuh, kuh, kuh, kuh," Saori hissed underneath her breath at her opponent, holding up one of her arms. "… To think… that onee-san… harms her own kind… to be expected… of a traitor…. picking humans… over her own sisters… you really love me… don't you onee-san? … B-Because… love hurts..."
The word stung her heart as Nana knew that it wasn't true, she would pick her family over others regardless if they were human or otherwise. To think that poor Saori was letting the voice mislead and abuse her in such a way, plenty of humans out there would welcome them with open arms. But unless the younger Diclonius stopped listening to the voice and its lies that weren't going to happen as it would just keep on lying to her in order to steer her towards death and destruction.
"You need to stop listening to it Mari-. No, Saori-san, it's lying to you. It's telling lies in order to fool you, it doesn't care about your wellbeing. There's a place for you in this world but only if you'll allow people to care about you, to love you. Real love, not this twisted idea you have of love. It doesn't have to be this way, just… let me help you, please?"
Who know what else the voice would make her do if Saori kept listening to it, poisoning her mind with more of its venomous hatred towards humans.
"… Lies… lies… all lies… you're all… lying to me… you love me… you hurt me… you all love me… onee-san… even onee-sama… I hate you all…" she snarled in response, she wasn't willing to listen to even more of it but as much as she wanted to attack her body was struggling to keep standing, she was in such pain it was making it hard for her to keep her focus. Her vectors phased in out and to the point of almost disappearing, she was losing control of them, any moment now and they would be gone, her body too exhausted to carry on.
"Saori-san? Stop this now! Just think about the harm you're doing to your own body, you're only making it harder for yourself to ever get better!" Nana yelled in despair, becoming aware that not only she or her family were in danger but Saori herself as well, the voice likely didn't pay much if any attention to how severely wounded the younger Diclonius' body was. Without any regard to her injuries, she was likely going to cause even more harm to herself.
Observing her body closer which remained difficult due to the long coat she wore Nana could nevertheless see parts where the skin was either red from irritation or it had already ruptured as a result of an injury. She wasn't going to be able to heal herself, it was only going to get worse and as Nana studied Saori's face she became aware of the sweat and red of her skin. Was she also suffering again from one of her high fevers? If so then she needed to go back under the blankets and take her medicine. "S-Saori-san, please? Do it for papa?" With tears in her eyes, Nana begged her one more time as she didn't want to see her little sister die.
"Ah Saten, are these the people you told me about?" An older student asked as she stepped forward to greet them as Saeko, Yuzuru and Azusa as they entered the club room which was, much to the girls own surprise, rather vacant at the moment. They had expected it to be filled with other students but it seemed to the only other people who were present at the moment, besides the three of them, were Hinami and her senpai.
"They are Sakuraba-senpai, these are my friends whom I told you about. They are Isuzu Saeko, Ayano Yuzuka and Ichinose Azusa. They also came to my aid when I was in trouble," Hinami introduced them to her senpai, explaining who was who as well as offering a quick background on each of them.
"Ah, so would one of them happen to be the girl that helped you when Kikuchi threatened you?" Sakuraba asked her, taken the others by surprise that she was even aware of what had happened then, Saeko seemed most visibly affected by it being mentioned as it made her take a cautious step back. Just as she was about to take another one Yuzuka and Azusa grabbed one of her hand's each, letting her know that she didn't have to be scared, they were here with her.
"Yes senpai, this is Isuzu who came to help me," Hinami answered the question as she pointed towards Saeko before she continued, "She's the one who came, it seems that Kikuchi has also been pestering her."
Not really something that Saeko was so keen to hear, she didn't want to be reminded about that whole ordeal nor did she want for Sakuraba to remember her as the girl asking the dumb question. She squeezed the hands of her friends a little harder as she prayed.
"I see, well then Isuzu-san I have to thank you for coming to the aid of my kohai. Thank you." Sakuraba made a deep bow as she expressed her gratitude towards the younger girl. "Do you happen to be related to Isuzu-san from the art club? I've heard that she has a younger sister."
Before Saeko even had a chance to answer back Hinami did it for her. "She is senpai, though she's actually adopted by the Isuzu family from what she told me. I invited them to come visit because they're still looking for a club to join but thus far they haven't found one they like."
Sakuraba looked up. "Is that so? Well, I can explain you some of what we do in this club but I take it that as friends of Saten you likely have been told about it by her already, am I right?"
"We do senpai and we have kind of an idea but we wouldn't mind being told a bit more about it," Azusa mentioned, kindly informing the older student as to why they had come but out of respect for Saeko's feelings she kept away the part about them having visited the club before. "We would like to hear more from you provided that it's alright and we're not imposing on you or your work."
Sakuraba smiled in response, "Not at all, as you can see there are not a lot of people here today so that gives me plenty of time to show you girls what it is that we do here. If you would like I can even give a few quick demonstrations or show you some of our latest works."
The three of them looked at each other, thinking about the offer though it did sound good, it would provide them with some good insight and explanations of what it was that this club did. Likely it would be more than just simply making clothes and such.
"We would be honored if you will, Sakuraba-senpai," Azusa mentioned and bowed to express her gratitude and respect to the older student's generous offer, Saeko and Yuzuka following her gesture a moment later. "We're looking forward to it, thank you for having us, senpai," they said in unison.
"Alright, then why don't you follow me than towards the back of the room where we have our storage? I'll show you first some of latest works though I should add that some of them aren't yet complete so please keep that in mind."
Following her, they were making their way towards the back. "Now some of these are actually commissions for other clubs, notably the theater and cosplay clubs as they have a high demand for clothes due to their nature. Now this one here is the latest."
Opening the large storage closet she pulled out an outfit that was meant for a member of the cosplay club though right now it was only partly done and still needed many accessories to be added, still they could clearly see that a lot of work and effort had gone into it. "It's done for the most part but it still needs some refinements and the one who has commissioned this will be coming by next week to see how it's progressing."
She said more but it became lost on Saeko as her eyes came to rest on something else that caught her immediate interest. Displayed on one of the mannequins was, what she thought to be, another maid outfit, or at least something very similar to it.
"… I-It's so beautiful…" she whispered as she walked towards it. "… I-I really it… it's… so beautiful..." Without even being aware of it, her hand began to slowly reach out for it, gently touching the smooth fabric of the outfit, it felt surprisingly soft to the touch. She didn't know what kind of fabric it was but she loved how smooth and soft it felt in her hands. "… I-I-I… really want to wear it…"
Author's note: Well folks, there it is, the latest installment of this story. I hope that you'll all enjoy it. As always I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts, opinions, and any other kind of ramblings you might wish to hurl in my general direction.
Odd to think that we're already closing in on the end of this year and it does sadden me knowing that I'm not going to be able to reach chapter 40 as I had hoped at the start of the year, still I'm going to publish at least another 2 more chapters before this year comes to an end.
Well, that's about it from you, I hope you all have a good weekend, take care of yourselves folks and until the next chapter.