XLIV
Grim Realization
"Damn, that was one hell of a day, wasn't it? Do you think that either of them is going to be alright? From what Ryou told me over the phone it seemed to be a serious one this time," Dai remarked as he entered the living room holding a plate with several cups filled with tea for those present in the room.
There was a painful silence hanging in the room as nobody appeared to be in the mood for talking about what had happened, they were all too scared to think of what it could possibly mean for them, of what could have happened.
"Come on people," he said, trying to sound as joyful as he could, "You're all acting as if somebody died. Lighten up a little will you, getting all down and depressed isn't going to help either of them." Shaking his head in disagreement as he got enough of the eerie silence and the gloomy faces that were staring back at him. Sure he understood the reason for it but right now that wasn't going to do them any good, they needed to remain positive.
"Honestly I thought that being stuck with Bando in a hospital was depressing enough but you guys really are topping it right now. Listen Saeko-chan is going to be fine in a couple of days and Mako did say that the worst has already passed for Saori-chan."
Placing the cups on the table nobody responded, neither Kouta nor Yuka, the two of them remain silent. Earlier Mayu had taken Nana with her for a walk while under the pretense that Wanta needed to go, while Nozomi, having a similar idea, had offered to go out with the twins in order to take their minds off things.
Nobody had taken well to the news of what had happened to Saori and they all counted themselves lucky that Ryou had been the one to start applying CPR right away. It hadn't taken much before Saori had started breathing again though it remained alarmingly weak.
"I guess we have Mako to thank for having had the foresightedness of teaching this to the girls should something happen to Sei-kun or to the others. I wonder what the cause of it was," he sighed as he noticed that the other two people in the room still remained awfully quiet.
He gave up, guessing that neither of the two was really in the mood to talk and if he had to be honest than he could not blame them for it, the news of Saori was already pretty terrifying enough but then there was also the disturbing news that Saeko had been the victim of an assault.
Mako had canceled her appointment with the professor in Matsumoto City and had taken the first flight back that she could, he had been waiting for her at the airport and driven her straight to the inn. Of course, by the time that Mako had the chance to see for herself how the two girls were doing it had already been early in the morning of the next day.
All that time people had been spending the evening with anxiety and dread as there was precious little they could do but wait for her to arrive, a rather painful reminder again that they were really going to need somebody else with enough medical experience to help in case of an emergency. What had happened was a painful reminder that they were for the most part powerless. But who else could they trust?
Kouta finally broke his silence. "Dai-san, please do not take this the wrong way but right now I'm not really in much of the mood for talking right now. I've already gone through the pain of losing a member of my family too often, I don't want to go through all that again, not this soon." He left it at that, the deaths of his little sister Kanae, his father, Nyu, and Kaede all weighing heavy on his mind.
"If that is how you feel, I'm going to check up with Mako to see what she has to say." Dai got up and left the room, it was likely better to leave these two alone for now. Hopefully, his wife would have some good news for them.
Damn, this sure was a fine mess they found themselves in. He did feel bad about what had happened to Saeko but other than a bruise and a headache she appeared to have no other injuries but right now Saori needed all of the attention and care they could offer her.
And all of that was going to depend on what exactly Mako could make a diagnosis of or at least be able to determine what had caused Saori to stop breathing. As for himself, he didn't really have much of a clue but then he was not a doctor at all and his medical knowledge was rather limited.
The door behind him slid open and shut. "I am going to check up on Saeko-chan," Yuka mentioned as she walked straight past him and went up the stairs.
He watched as she quickly disappeared from his sight, going left instead as Saori was currently being kept in a separate room he began to wonder what the girl upstairs was going to say when she would wake up and hear the news about what had happened to her little sister.
It was still dark outside although in the far distance Mayu and Nana could see the first beginnings of the sunrise appearing over the horizon. The sky there was starting to have a distinct orange glow to it.
"Beautiful isn't it, Nana-san? It's been awhile since I saw my last sunrise, the city looks so tranquil at times like this," Mayu said underneath her breath, coming to a halt as she did before she pointed in the direction of the sun.
Seeing it for herself Nana found herself agreeing with what Mayu had just said even though deep inside she knew that that wasn't the case, that the tranquility she was seeing was little more than a farce, a lie.
"Mayu, I'd rather go home if that's alright with you? I don't like being out here while Saori-chan is still sick, what if something bad happens to her and I'm out here? And then there are the people who did that to Saeko-san, what did she do to deserve that? It's not fair," she spat, her fists trembling as her anger was getting the better of her
Moving in closer and folding an arm around her sister Mayu did what she could to take Nana's mind off from what had happened, she fully understood what Nana had to be going through as she was going through the same thing herself but then it likely went even deeper for the short-haired Diclonius and her kin-sisters.
"I wish I had the answers for you Nana-san but sadly I don't. Things like this do happen and we may not always learn as to why they happen. You're right though, it isn't fair. It really isn't."
Nana dropped to her knees, she had felt so weak and helpless when she had seen that Saori had stopped breathing and there hadn't been anything that she could do to help her little sister, her body was frozen in shock. "…M-M-Mayu… s-s-s-she… c-c-could… h-h-have… d-d-died…" Her face cast down she buried it in the palms of her hands. "… I-I-I… j-just… s-s-stood… t-t-there… d-d-did… nothing… t-t-to… help her… I-I-I… d-d-did… n-n-nothing… c-c-could… h-have… died…"
Kneeling down next to her, Wanta's leash still firmly in her hand Mayu comforted Nana to the best of her ability but she did feel the pain as well that came with the prospect of losing a member of her family, they had all shared that pain before.
"I know Nana-san but she didn't, Ryou-san knew what she needed to do. You might not be able to have done that but you were smart enough to know that you needed to call Kouta-san and Yuka-san on the phone. All of you were doing your best to bring her back. You did what you could."
Nana didn't say another word, preferring to stick to silence for the time being as she kept silently crying, gently rocking back and forth. As reassuring as her friend's words might sound, they could not take away that Nana was feeling like she had let down her little sister.
Next to the distressed Diclonius Mayu refrained from saying a word as she didn't feel like there was much point to it anyway, all that Nana needed right now was to have somebody with her that understood what she was going through. At her feet Wanta crept closer to Nana's hand and laid down next to it, his tongue coming out as he gently licked the back her hand as if offering her comfort as well.
Sitting like that they both looked towards the horizon and the steadily rising sun, allowing themselves to bask in its gentle warmth as its rays caressed their skin. It had a soothing effect on them as for a moment they both firmly believed that eventually, everything was going to be alright, they just needed to keep faith.
Looking away Mayu gave thanks for the area to be devoid of other people, right now she was feeling that any bystanders were just going to be more of a nuisance right now. It was better this way, nobody here but them. She preferred this, just her and her best friend, her adopted sister.
Turning back she was letting Nana rest her head on her shoulder, loosening her grip on the leash before finally letting go of it she folded both of her arms around Nana and held her in a warm embrace, refusing to let forward gain he began to pray, praying that mako would come with some good news, news that they all desperately needed to hear.
Sitting there on his own in the garden Kouta found himself in a somewhat sober mood at the moment, so much had happened today and his mind was still trying to put it all into perspective so he sought a quiet place to think about such matters, and as such had taken refuge on the terrace outside. "Why did all of this had to happen…?"
Leaning forward in his seat he clutched his head in between his hands, letting out an exasperated sigh as he thought about they were going to do. He had barely been able to catch any rest, the exhausted expression on his face giving away his fatigue but with everything that had happened sleep was the last thing on his mind, and even if he wanted to catch some rest the near constant anxiety was keeping him awake.
Yesterday he had not brought up the matter with Kyou as he had not wanted to ruin the mood, so with that he had decided to bring it up to her today, to talk to her about it once he was back from school, but just as he came back home there had been terrible news.
"Why can't any of them get any respite, haven't they suffered enough already… it's not fair...dammit..."
It was not going to be easy facing Dai, not with Kouta having made the conscious decision not to tell Kyou's parents about what she had done yesterday, at least not until he would have the opportunity to talk it with the Diclonius.
"I just hope I won't have to see Anna anytime soon. If she could just stay away for a week or two that'd be great," he mentioned before craning his neck to gaze at the sky overhead.
His thoughts drifting to what had happened to Saeko on her way back home he asked himself what type of low people had to be in order to gang up on a girl, still it was with some measure of comfort that apparently a fellow student from Saeko's school had gotten to her in time and had brought her home according to what Yuka had told him. Making a quick mental note to offer his thanks to the student in question should he get a chance to meet him.
"She doesn't deserve this, she's a good person, I'm just glad that she's back." Apart from one nasty bruise on the back of her head, no doubt the blow that had knocked the girl out, she was otherwise unharmed. "I can imagine that she's going to have a good headache when she wakes up, I'll take that if it simply stays at that. I wonder if we should let her go to school tomorrow?"
Turning his head slightly his eyes came to rest on the marker which did a little to alleviate his mood. "At times like these I'd really wish that the two of you could be here, I could really do with some good words of advice here."
But no matter how hard he would wish for some piece of advice or words of reassurance it remained as silent as it was, beside him, there was nobody else here. Letting out a troubled sigh he turned his head back to gaze at a particular window on the first floor of the house.
Right now, Saeko was asleep in that room, recovering from her injury, and he was feverishly hoping that she would not suffer from any other conditions.
"I don't dare to think how you're going to react when you hear what happened to your little sister. Out of all the people in this house, you've always been the closest to her."
No doubt the news of what had happened to Saori was going to hit Saeko hard, he did not question that, and because of that he was feeling sorry for the girl as it was yet another blow that she would have to overcome, to Saeko the loss of Nyu had been a heavy one, even more than it had been for Nana.
Running his hand through he haired he wished that nobody would have to die, that somehow Mako could find the answer she was looking for and offer hem a way to help Saori.
"I wonder how the others are doing? I can't imagine them doing any better than we are…"
Maybe it would not have been such a bad idea for him to go out on a little walk for himself, that might just offer him the opportunity to clear his mind though he questioned how long he would be able to walk before getting bored with it, he just was not the type for it.
Pushing himself up from his seat he steadily made his way back towards the house. "I guess I could go and check up on Mako-san to see if she's got anything for us. At least that'll give me something to do instead of just sulking outside."
Stopping right before he would go inside he turned to his left and took one last look at the grave marker. "Don't worry, I won't let that girl die that easily, we'll do whatever it takes to make sure that she'll get to live a happy life." After that he went inside, closing the door behind him.
There was a voice coming from somewhere around her but to Saeko, it sounded somewhat distant and a little distorted, not enough for her to be able to recognize it and yet there was unmistakable familiar feeling to the voice she was hearing, at least that was what she thought.
Where was she exactly? Her mind being all hazy she had no recollection of where she could be, she could not even remember the last thing that had happened before now.
There was a sensation running through her body but she could not exactly place it for what it was, her body feeling rather numb, it was slow to react if it reacted to her thoughts at all. Was she awake or was it all just a dream that she was having? It was difficult for her to tell.
Everything around her was so dark, were her eyes still closed or was it simply so dark inside the place she currently was that she could see nothing? Somewhere at the back of her head, something felt uncomfortable, a throbbing sensation that kept nagging at the back of her head.
"Saeko-chan dear, can you hear me, how are you feeling dear?" There came the same voice she had heard before but this time she could hear it clearly, she was also able to recognize the voice this time as well.
"Saeko-chan, it's me. Yuka. Can you hear me? You need to wake up dear. Saeko-chan, you can hear me, right? How are you feeling, dear?"
Yuka, so it was Yuka, the woman who she had come to view as her adopted mother, who was calling to her, spurred on knowing that there was at least one member of her family with her Saeko began to open her eyes slowly. At first, everything was dark, not a person to be seen but as her eyes slowly adjusted to the dimly lit room she could just make out the shape of Yuka leaning over her.
Saeko smiled as she reached out with the back of her hand touching the woman's face. "… Y-Yuka-san…" she whispered, glad to see that what her hand had touched was real.
Yuka quickly took a hold of her and held her tightly, cradling her. "Oh Saeko-chan, I'm so glad to see you awake. I'd gotten so worried when I had heard what happened to you. Thank goodness you're back with us." Yuka let out a sigh of relief as she kept cradling Saeko, refusing to let go of her. "We were all so scared, I'm so glad that the person who found you was able to bring you here. I don't know what I would have done otherwise."
"… Y-Y-Yuka-san…" Saeko didn't know what to say, she was unable to recall what the woman was talking about. Had something happened to her while she was asleep or had she been asleep because of something that had happened to her?
"It's alright dear, I'll tell you later about it but right now I'm relieved to see that you're back with us." Yuka's face changed, going from a warm smile to a serious look. "Saeko-chan, there's something that I need to tell you, dear. I don't feel good about telling you this with you just having woken up but you deserve to know. If you still feel weak then please lie down dear," she said, followed by her taking a deep breath. After that, she waited for a bit as if she was giving the young Diclonius some time to let her words sink in.
"I need to tell you something about your little sister, you see, Saori-chan has gotten really sick and this time it seems to be pretty severe. She… ehm, had trouble breathing, if the others hadn't been here when it happened then I fear she might have… died..."
Lying there Saeko was shocked, the words that Yuka had spoken barely registering with her, her mind was struggling to accept it, nothing else got through to her, not even the pain that was gnawing at the back of her head. Why did this have to happen, why did she have to be asleep when her little sister needed her the most? Why, she kept asking herself why.
She couldn't speak, all that she wanted was to get out of bed and rush towards Saori but the moment she tried to get up, she found herself being held back by Yuka, telling her that right now Mako was examining her little sister and that it would be better that nobody would disturb her for the moment, that way she would be able to do her job.
"I understand that you want to go and see her, dear. But right now your aunt is examining her, she'll let us know when we can go and see your sister again but before that, you need to get better as well. You still have a nasty bruise on the back of your head, one of those jerks must have hit you hard," Yuka said, trying to get Saeko to calm down a little as her panicking wasn't going to do any of them any good. If she wanted to help Saori then she needed to be calm and think carefully, there was a lot that she needed to know.
"If you want you can come down with me but please don't strain yourself too much. Once your aunt is finished you can go and stay with Saori-chan, I'll call the school later and tell them you won't be coming for the next few days." Slowly letting go of the younger girl Yuka got back up on her feet and held out her hand for Saeko to grab. "Just make sure you also get plenty of rest, you've been through a lot, I'll go and make you something to eat in the kitchen. Also, let me know if you start to feel a little nauseous."
While hesitant about it at first Saeko nevertheless accepted the offer and got up from the futon, slowly following Yuka down the stairs, she began to think, as much as she wanted to go and see her little sister she was aware that there was simply no chance for her at the moment.
'Saori-chan, please wait for me, I'll be there soon, just hold out… my… little… sister…'
"I'm done! Period! Finished!" Kyou proclaimed loudly as she dropped to the nearest bench. "I'm done with this stupid walking around! I'm not going to take another step forward!" Her arms folded across her chest she made her point clear to Nozomi and Ryou.
"To be honest Nozomi-san I have to agree with onee-chan, I don't want to walk any further. We just want to go back to the house and see how our little sister is doing, we want to be there in case… you know… she…"
Nozomi nodded as she understood the feelings of these girls. "I understand that but right now it's better if you and your sister spent some time away from her while your mother can look at her. She's a doctor so I'm certain that she'll be able to know what made your sister feel sick," she mentioned, hoping that her words could offer the girls some measure of assurance and allow them to calm them.
The older girl was moved by the concern expressed by Kyou and Ryou with regards to their little sister though from what Nozomi had been told they weren't related to her at all and yet they still treated Saori like one, it was very touching when she thought about it, that reminded her that all of the girls inside the inn were surprisingly close to each other.
"What do you say then if we stay here for a moment, rest for a bit and then go back to the inn? We've been walking for a while now so it might take us just as long to get back anyway."
Looking at her first and then to each other Kyou and Ryou were only too keen to accept the offer, it was better than going further with this walk as right now they both wanted nothing more than to be there with their sisters, if anything they and their other kin-sisters were the ones who needed to be beside their little sister should the worst come to be.
To Nozomi, it still felt rather odd given the whole situation with Saori which remained confusing to her, but then she had not seen a need to inquire into the matter any further as she had felt the uneasy silence that normally settled in whenever a discussing came surrounding her. Then again she did not entirely understand what it was with the horns but what she had learned that it was some kind of very rare mutation that caused a pair of bony protrusions to grow from the cranial area of the skull resembling horns for a lack of better description.
All of these girls had those but it did not seem to have any debilitating effect on them, at least none that she was aware of. Then again Saori had always had a weak health, and given the injuries that she had Nozomi could only imagine that the girl had to be struggling every day.
Pushing that line of thought aside she sat down on the bench in between the twins as she held their hands. "It's going to be alright, just as long as you don't lose hope, your little sister is going to get better. I don't know if the two of you are religious but if you want we can make a quick prayer to God and ask for her getting better, what do you say about that?"
They both gave her the odd look as if she had just asked them for the answer to an incredibly difficult homework assignment, giving off a dumbfounded impression at her request.
"…Nozomi-san?" Ryou spoke. "What exactly do you mean… with praying to God…? Who is God… can this God make our sister be better again…?"
"As if!" Kyou sneered in return. "If there really was such a God then why did he not help us when we were trapped in that place?! Why does this stinking God let our sister suffer?! Tell me why?! What a jerk!"
Kyou was less understanding to the idea and even less willing to go forward with it, her past experiences had made her kind of less willing to accept that such a thing as God existed in this world. She refused to believe it, stating that such a God was nothing but a fake.
Nozomi left it at that, she felt that if she were to try and reason with Kyou over this that it was only going to get worse, besides this was neither the place nor the time to talk about religion, there were others matters that were more deserving of their time and effort.
Looking at her watch Nozomi felt it was time and as such stood up. "I think we've sat here for long enough, don't you think? What do you two say about going back to the inn quickly and check up on your sister?"
"Yay!" Both of them replied in unison, neither of them needed a moment to think about it, to them the answer was as clear as day. With that the twins pushed themselves off the bench, each of them reached out and grabbed one of Nozomi's hands before they pulled her along as well, dashing off as they had a lot of ground to cover before they would be home.
"C-Could you two slow down a little, I can't really run in these heels? Please?" A distressed Nozomi pleaded with them in vain, the shoes she was wearing not suited for this, her call falling on deaf ears as the two girls only quickened their pace. "H-Hello?! Please?! Slow down?! I-I mean it! I-I can't… run… in these… heels…?!"
Mako let out a deep sigh as she concluded her findings, once she had finished with her examination of Saori she had asked if Kouta and Yuka could join in her the garden where they could talk about the matter. "That is all I can say for now but unless we can get her to go through a thorough medical examination I can't say for certain that this won't happen again, her health is starting to deteriorate and I'm afraid that it might get worse."
"Wait, what do you mean when you said that her health is deteriorating and how is this going to affect her then?" Yuka asked the difficult question though they could already take a guess as to what exactly Mako had meant when she had said that, it wasn't good at all.
Looking over her shoulder to where her husband was standing near the doorway as if to make sure that it was clear for her to continue without the risk of any of the girls overhearing their conversation, she had a quick sip from her glass before she gave her answer.
"Exactly what it means, I don't have a final diagnosis yet but I've taken a few blood samples from her and I'll have them examined though if my hunch is correct then the result is not going to be good, I think that what is afflicting her is the fact that her body is beginning to fall apart," Mako explained to them and listed the number of problems that she and Arakawa had stumbled upon in both the old records kept of the other clones, or what they had been able to recover, as well as from those tests conducted ever since Saori came into their possession.
"There are two main causes which seem to lead to health problems with the clones over longer periods of time; the first one is that the process they used to create them wasn't perfect and errors will occur in the genetic makeup of the subject, with the exception of only a handful of clones all of the other ones they had produced suffered from deformities and other problems, no doubt a result of the problems with the cloning process itself."
Mako kept the part hidden that the DRI had created a staggering amount of clones in a short period of time, well over a thousand of them in less than a year or so. It truly had been a terrifying discovery and one that made Mako feel that these people deserved even worse than she had wished for.
"Mako-san, what exactly is the second cause then if I may ask?" Kouta inquired, curious what the second problem could be although the first one was already pretty serious.
Mako scraped her throat, had a sip from the glass of water and continued. "The second cause not only creates its own problems but it also exacerbates any problems that might occur because of the mistakes in her genetic makeup, this is because the DRI could not wait to allow the clones to grow up and used a number of methods to accelerate their growth and development at a significant rate; this places a lot of strain on her body as it already is."
It was a lot for them to take in, the least of which came because it all seemed so inhuman to do to another being, just another one of the many dirty and criminal acts that the DRI had enacted under the guise of protecting the human race. In reality what they had done was just making one crime against humanity after another as far as any of them were concerned.
"I'll let Arakawa research some of the samples though I'd prefer to send the rest to an independent lab but sadly, that is something I can't do in this case, as they would learn that this blood is abnormal," Mako filled them in, hoping that they might perhaps change their view. "I could pull some strings with a few people who still owe me a favor but the decision is yours to make, there is a risk that they'll ask questions and if the wrong people find out about this, well, then I won't need to tell you what might happen."
"These people who owe you a favor, how big is the chance that they'll keep quiet should they find out that something is different about these samples you've sent them?" Yuka asked as she wanted to know how big exactly the risk was going to be, if the chance was likely that these people would remain silent then she might just be willing to take the risk, and besides, they had already taken a considerable risk by contacting that professor from Matsumoto City.
"I won't lie about it, depending on how I bring it to them we have a bit more than a fifty percent chance so it isn't all that good, to be honest. I'll leave the decision to you. I understand that you'll need some time to think about it, but do understand that time is the one thing that she's up against. When you do make a choice then let me know. Goodbye."
Getting up she and Dai left the room allowing Kouta and Yuka a moment for themselves to consider their options, they had a difficult decision to make and they needed to make it soon. They had hoped for some good news, instead they had gotten one of the worst possible outcomes, one they had been fearing for a long while, what if one of the girls were to become sick enough were they could no longer keep them at the inn, where they would have to take them to a hospital.
"I hate having to make these kinds of decisions, seems like we keep getting into trouble. First, it was just trying to find a person to help with removing that device and now we need to have her blood checked. Is this ever going to end, what'll happen next to her?" Yuka expressed her concern and how exhausting this was all starting to become, it was all starting to get a little overwhelming and already she was fearing what might come next.
"I know Yuka, I don't like this any more than you do." Other than that Kouta stayed silent, there was so much going through his mind right now and it was taking all of his willpower to not get up grab the phone and call Anna to see if she might be of any help to them. She had said that she wants to help the girls, well right now they could certainly do with some extra help but a part of him kept telling him not to take her up on her offer. "I really wish we could catch some sleep, I'm really not feeling much for going there you know."
"Let's discuss this once we're back, we've both got to go to school in a couple of hours. It might be better if we get ourselves changed, we can discuss this then later tonight when we get back and we had some time to process this. It must be hard on all of us."
Yuka nodded just as she heard the front door opening, it might be better if they had some time to organize this but she didn't really found it something to be looking forward to tonight.
Pushing herself away from the table as she stood up straight and left the room, she needed to start working on breakfast as well as their lunch for school. She was praying that it would be a quiet day, not having much in the form of sleep she was experiencing the effects, she was feeling certain that tonight she was going to sleep tight.
Like most of her family, Mayu was not exactly keen on going to school today, she had been able to catch a few hours of rest but it was not enough for her to be able to get through the day. "I hope I can catch some rest during homeroom or perhaps during my breaks."
"Eh, did you say anything Mayu?" Mayu asked, looking up from her breakfast as she thought she had just heard the girl next to her say something. "you sure you want to go? You look pretty tired you know like you were up all night."
"Nana-san, you know that we've been up pretty much all night," Mayu said in return, followed by her letting out an exasperated sigh before voicing her complaints. "I'm just tired, I wish I could stay here with you, at least that way I'd be able to catch some rest but then I also have a responsibility to go to school. I kinda envy you, Nana-san."
"I don't know Mayu, I don't think that there's much to envy us for," the short-haired Diclonius remarked as she reached out for another bowl of rice. "There's not much for us to do today besides worrying over those two, I don't really like that you know. All of this worrying is just making me feel depressed, it's sad seeing the two of them like that."
"It's her own fault though," Kyou remarked, sounding somewhat bitter, as she took another bite, "she should've whacked those stupid bugs, to think she let them get the better of her."
It was obvious that she was fretting over the fact that one of her kind had been attacked and had simply done nothing to defend herself.
"You shouldn't say that Kyou-san," Mayu let out a remark before she looked up. "If Saeko-san had done that then who knows how bad things might be, if any of those people got hurt or killed then the police would have come looking for her. You don't want that to happen, do you?"
"But still," the Diclonius rebuked, slamming her hands on the table. "She shouldn't have just let those bugs do that to her! She should've hit back! Anything!" A tear dropped onto the table as Kyou hung her head low, doing her best to avoid letting the other people at the see her face. "... Damn bugs… I hate... them..."
Shaking her head silently Mayu did not say a word, finding herself agreeing to some degree with what the other girl had just said she also needed to remind herself that violence was not an answer her. It did pain her thinking about how one of her sisters had been the victim of a group ganging up on her, that said she was also relieved to know that a person from their school had come and helped her.
That reminded her, with all of the turmoil she had been unable to ask Yuka for the name of the person who had brought Saeko to the house, that did sound a little odd, as far as she knew her sister had not told anybody or had she? Then again it was not like their address was a secret. Well, she would have to ask Yuka before she would leave for school.
Clicking her tongue Kyou leaned back, grabbed her plate and simply left the table, letting them know that she was finished with breakfast.
As Nana was about to get up she was stopped by Ryou who filled her in that it would be better to let her sister have a moment for herself. Talking to her was not going to help anyway, the wounds of their imprisonment running too deep.
Giving out a frustrated sigh Nana did as she was asked to and sat down again, she was not happy about this but for now, she would do as Ryou had asked of her and give Kyou some space. But this afternoon she would confront Kyou and talk to her about it.
"Well I need to go, I'll collect my stuff and then I'll be off to school, please be careful," Mayu said to the others, her thoughts going to Saeko she was wondering what the girl's friends were going to say. "Look after the others if you can, I'll try to get back as soon as possible."
"We will, Mayu-san," Ryou said, nodding her head as she acknowledged the request, "I'll look after onee-chan and the others. We'll be fine so you don't have to hurry for our sake."
"Don't worry Mayu, we'll take care of everything, you should go and enjoy your club," Nana chimed in, letting the girl know that there was no reason to be worried, everything was going to be fine.
"I'm glad to hear that, well then until later." Smiling after hearing those words Mayu was already starting to feel a little better, yeah, things would likely be better by the time she would be back home. Thinking about it she picked up her plate and left the room.
Standing at the main entrance of their house Kouta and Yuka were going over some of the things they had discussed earlier with Nana, they were about to leave for their school and while Mayu had already left earlier to go to hers, the two of them still wanted to make sure that Nana understood what was being asked of her.
"Nana-san, you know what to do, right?" Yuka asked, visibly worried that something might go wrong while she and Kouta were out.
Nodding her head the short-haired Diclonius gave her answer. "Yep, we're to stay inside the house, nobody is to go outside and should anything happen we're to call you right away. Say Yuka-san, I can understand we need to be a little cautious after what happened yesterday but don't you think it's a bit much?"
"It is but right now it might be better if we played it a little safe, just to be sure," Kouta answered the question instead. "Listen, I know that you don't like being cooped up in here and I don't really mind you being outside but after what happened yesterday I'd feel more at ease knowing you're all inside the house. Just bear with it for a few days, that's all we're asking."
"Oh, and look after your sisters for us will you? Saeko-chan will likely be fine if she gets enough rest but do keep an eye on Saori-chan." Yuka added.
"I will," Nana replied, cheerful as ever as she was feeling pretty keen and with all of them here she was feeling pretty psyched. Having to look after all of them gave her a sense of purpose and reinvigorate her desire to protect those like her.
Kouta Had to chuckle as he saw the look in the short-haired Diclonius' eyes, reaching out with his arm he patted her on the head. "Look at you, all fired up."
"H-Hey!" Nana said though she did have to admit that it was a pleasant feeling being patted like this. "... I'll do my best…"
"We know you will, dear," Yuka said, a smile caressing her face, "We don't have that many colleges today so I think we should be able to make it back in time so there's no need for you to work already on dinner today."
"Are you sure? We might get bored otherwise you know."
"Well if you're bored you can always pick your chores, remember that the three of you were supposed to be doing those? Also don't you also have enough assignments to work on?"
"Eh," Nana's eye twitched as she heard that, in all honesty, she was more hoping that the others had forgotten so that she would not have to do those. She was getting a little fed up with the assignments as she never got the idea she was getting anywhere with them.
"Kouta has a point, dear. You need to do your homework, the twins definitely need to do them because they'll be going to school next year so they need to be prepared. I know that it'll be impossible for you to go with them but if you want to go to college or something you'll definitely need to study hard."
Giving an exasperated sigh Nana's mood was not getting any better, if she could not go to the same school as her sisters then she would rather not go at all. That said, she was also painfully aware as to why Yuka had said that, it was simply not possible due to Nana being far older.
Not in her real age, but rather in the physical appearance of her body, while the twins still had the appearance of teenagers Nana was already starting to approach the appearance of a young woman which would make it hard for her to pass off as a high school student.
"It's okay, we'll find a solution for you, if you really want to go to school we'll do whatever we can," the dark-haired boy mentioned, offering some words of reassurance to the Diclonius, "I know that it won't be easy but we can at least try," he said.
"Ah we need to go, Nana-chan, please look after the house, until later, dear."
"See you later," Nana replied, waving off the two people she had come to view as her guardians, or more appropriate, her parents. They were the closest to that she had come across in her short life.
"Morning dear," Dai whispered into mako's ear as he gave her a kiss on the cheek, "So what are you getting all ready for, it's still pretty early in the morning? Going anywhere special?"
Turning her head Mako returned the gesture as she kissed her husband, "You can be such an idiot you know that? If I wasn't going anywhere special I wouldn't be all dressed up, now would I?"
Letting out a short chuckle the man went to the other side of the table and helped himself to his own breakfast while he was going to listen to what his wife had to say, he knew that she was going to somewhere, that much was pretty obvious and if the bag next to her feet was any indication that his hunch was telling him that she was likely going to visit a particular person.
"Arakawa-san, am I right?"
"Jerk," she said in return, giving off a hint of irritation in her voice as she was all too aware that her dear husband knew from the start.
"But I'm right, am I?" he said in return, still chewing on a piece of bacon before reaching out to grab his cup of coffee. "You're going to hand her a few of those blood samples you took this morning, and after that, I can figure you're going to send the rest to that other lab."
If looks could kill then Dai would have died a hundred times already on the spot.
"Actually I'm first going to hand them over to the lab, I'd prefer to have them there as quickly as possible, I can bring them to Arakawa-san afterward. Once that is all done I'll head to work and pray that I won't have an over-busy schedule today."
"You've got my sympathies," he said, thinking about it he did not expect there to be too much to do at work today though with the way things were going he could not say that for certain. Somehow the manner in which Mizuno has been acting over the last week made him feel somewhat suspicious that something was up.
Mako bit back on her retort, not planning on granting her husband the satisfaction of drawing out a remark, let alone justify it by making a remake in the first place. She was getting the impression that Dai was a bit in a somewhat playful mood, maybe he was still stuck trying his best to cheer everybody up.
"Oh c'mon, don't give me that look," Dai said as he noticed her gaze, "Listen I know that I can be a bit of a jerk or that I can also be pretty damn dense at times but right now I just don't want to get too depressed over what happened, I'd go crazy. If we want to help that poor girl we need to keep a positive attitude, otherwise she's dead."
Mako grabbed her own cup of coffee. "I really hope that you're right, but I can't shake this uneasy feeling that something's terribly wrong with her. Her health had already been precarious before but with all of the injuries she must've suffered afterward I don't even want to dare to imagine the strain this places on her body."
"And the clones were already susceptible to health issues, am I right?"
She nodded her head. "From what I've read yeah, doesn't even seem like they cared about that, they just kept on producing them. It's sickening to think that I once worked for such people, I'm so ashamed for ever having been a part of it."
"You couldn't have known, nobody could've, and those that did were likely either a part of that twisted group or being disposed of." Dai had been a part of an organization which was also an accomplice in what had been basically a policy of genocide, even to this day he was still a part of it but he simply had to in order to protect his daughters.
"Ah, Isuzu-senpai?" Mayu had barely stepped into her classroom or she was already being called out, as she looked to her left she noticed that all three of Saeko's friends came walking towards her. No doubt they were here to ask her about where her sister was.
"Good morning Isuzu-senpai, sorry for disturbing you but we were wondering if you came along with Isuzu-san as we haven't seen her at our usual meeting place?" Azusa asked her, she appeared to be out of breath.
"Ah yes, sadly Saeko-san isn't feeling so well so we decided it would be best if she were to stay at home for the remainder of the week. I'm sorry that we didn't tell you any sooner, but if there is anything you want me to pass onto her then please let me know."
She could tell from the expressions on their faces that they were worried about hearing that Saeko was sick again, it happened before and that was still relative recently. No doubt they must have been pretty concerned this morning when they did not get to see their friend like she was supposed to do, she could not blame them for being so worried though it was likely for the best if they did not learn of what had actually happened.
There was little that Mayu could do about it and she was anything but fond about having to her sister's friends that Saeko was ill instead of having gotten assaulted by a group people as that would only make her friends more concerned.
"Of course Isuzu-senpai, would it be alright then if we were to bring them to you at your club? Then we can give you all of it in one go, also thank you kindly for informing us, Isuzu-senpai. Until then." Azusa and the other two girls bowed as they said their farewells and left.
"You know that Saekorin is often sick, right? Do you think she has some kind of chronic illness, or perhaps she's got a weak health to begin with?" Yuzuka mentioned as the trio of girls were walking through the hallway, they still had some time left before homeroom class would begin. "I mean she was sick just a few weeks ago. You remember right? It was before we even had a chance to talk to her."
"She did?" Hinami said in return as she was not aware of that, not being in the same class did mean that there was plenty that she remained unaware of. "So Isuzu was sick then as well, do you know if it was anything serious back then? I would hate to think that it is."
Azusa told her to not worry. "I don't think it's that at all Saten-san, if it was serious then I'm sure that Isuzu-senpai would have told us. Isuzu-san doesn't strike me as the kind of person who would keep that from her friends, I'll trust her and I'll be looking forward to seeing Isuzu-san again after the weekend."
"You've got to admit Azurin that it's kind of a shame, I'd actually wanted to go out with you all but without Saekorin it wouldn't be right, you know what I mean. Say Hinarin what do you think about going out shopping with us next weekend? All four of us." Yuzuka asked her, saying that she had a coupon for some discount if they were to be with four people or more.
"Next weekend? Ah I am really sorry Kayano but Sakuraba-senpai has already asked me to go with her to Tokyo, she needs to go buy some fabrics for a new outfit."
"Wow, that's so cool of your senpai," Yuzuka remarked, her eyes shining just from thinking about it. "And she asked you to come along with her? That does make me wish that we were in a club as well, I so would love to go to Tokyo you know." She was fiddling with her fingers, feeling a little jealous of the other girl being able to go.
"Then why don't we do just that then Kayano-san, why don't we invite Isuzu-san aswell, and then together with Saten-san and Sakuraba-senpai go to Tokyo. I'm sure that if we ask her in advance, that if Sakuraba-senpai isn't too busy then maybe she can even go shopping with us and perhaps show us around a little in Tokyo."
It was merely a simple suggestion by Azusa in a way to see if it was possible for them all to go anyway, she would not mind if an older student were to come along with them as sofar her impression of the older student had been that she was likely a nice person.
"Awesome Azurin! That's your best idea this whole week! No Month!" Yuzuka exclaimed, in her excitement, she grabbed both of Azusa's shoulders and began to jump uncontrollably just from the sheer excitement. "This is awesome! You! Me! Saekorin! Hinarin! And Sakuraba-senpai! Oh, it'll be so awesome! All of us to Tokyo, Harajuku! And maybe even to Akihabara!" It was becoming quite a show and Yuzuka, without even knowing or being aware of it for that matter, had already attracted a fairly large amount of odd stares, as well as one very disapproving one from their homeroom teacher.
The girl in question let out a nervous laugh when she finally noticed it, her face became beet red from the embarrassment.
"... Say, Nana-chan?" Saeko asked her out of the blue, so far the two of them had just been sitting there on the terrace. "Do you think that we're still being punished for what happened back then? That none of us will ever get to have a happy life unless we have paid for all of the sufferings our kin has caused?"
Unlike those who had to go to school the rest had been able to catch some rest, Kyou and Ryou had made the most of the relative quiet and had retreated to their room where they were likely were sound asleep.
She and Nana had been awake to keep watch either of the house or to keep a watchful eye on Saori, though it was with some relief that her condition had kind of stabilized a little. Her breathing had become regular again and she was taking well to some of the medicine that Mako had left with them to lower the fever, all of which allowed for the other Diclonius to feel a little more ease.
"A lot of people go hurt because of us? And a lot of people died because of us? I know that Hinami-chan lost some of her family because of us, because of what Nyu-onee-san did… so… do you think..."
That was an unpleasant question and one that Nana would not give an answer to, it was one that she had often asked herself, but she knew that unless she did her sister was going to remain stuck in that troubling thought. "... I wish I had the answer. I don't know, somehow with all of the trouble that we've got to go through it does seem that way. I don't even know if people are going to accept us for who we are."
Nana pointed to their horns, the thing that they all had in common, while the odd color for their hair and eyes could still be explained the horns were an all too different matter. "Well, I guess it must be even more troubling for you, you don't know even know if your friends in school are going to accept it. How will they react when you tell them?" Nana looked away, not even wanting to think of what a likely reaction was going to be. She had seen more than often just how people looked at her horns.
They had been really lucky with Mei but who could say for sure if Saeko's friends in school would react the same or if they would call her a monster.
Saori was looking at her feet. "… I don't want to lose my friends, I prefer not to show them my horns. Ever. I don't think I could handle losing them, because of my h-h-horns…" Her hands reaching out she touched them, it had been a long while since she had last really touched and felt her horns. When she did put on the ribbons in order to cover her horns every morning it was just a quick brush that she hardly noticed these days but with this conversation, she was becoming aware again of how her horns felt to her touch.
"I'm really scared that the wrong people will find out, that some people in school might use these to pick on me," Saeko mentioned in a soft-spoken tone that betrayed her feelings, she was referring to the girls who had bullied her in school on several occasions now or to other bullies, if these people were to learn then there was no possible way for her to ever go back to that school again.
Having to give up on seeing her friends, the dearest friends that she had only met recently was simply too painful for her to bear, above all, she did not want to lose them, not over something like this. Along with her family and sister, her friends were the most treasured aspect of her new life.
"Well, if they really are your friends then shouldn't they like not mind at all if you have horns? It's the same when I met Mayu, she didn't mind that I had horns and despite having these she still wanted to be friends with me, and she became my first friend," Nana said to her, recalling the story on how she had met Mayu on that fateful night at the cemetery and telling it to Saeko.
"Real friends will accept you the way you are, that is what real friends are all about. So if they are real friends of yours as you say they are then you shouldn't have to worry about showing them your horns, right Saeko-san? So in a way, it's more or less the easiest way for you to find out if they really are your friends or not," Nana said in a somewhat more cheerful tone than she really should have been with regards to how delicate the subject was.
Saeko didn't give her sister an answer in return, she just pushed herself back on her feet and left. "I'm going to look at how Saori-chan is doing. And Nana-chan, don't ever say such a thing to me again. Please, never say that again. Not to me." She vanished around the corner.
Her eyes captivated by the object that Mako was holding in front of her, Arakawa just could not take her eyes of the vial containing a sample of Saori's blood that was dangling in front of her. "Is this really what I think it is? Is this a sample of her blood? How did you even manage to procure it? Last time I heard she wasn't exactly keen on letting people come near her?"
Mako explained to her how she had done it, of course, Saori being sound asleep and under the effect of a large dose of tranquilizer had certainly helped a lot to get some blood samples without the potential risk of losing one's limbs or life for that matter. The previous batch of blood samples they had was well over eight months old by now.
"I need you to run every possible test that you can do with the equipment you have here, I need to know exactly what is going on with her." She handed Arakawa the vials.
"I'll see what I can do but you know that what I have here in this lab is pretty limited, the school doesn't have much of a big budget for this kind of equipment and their funding took a pretty big cut with Kakuzawa's death, you know?" Nevertheless, Arakawa took the vials and took them to a cold storage unit, it would be pretty bad if the blood were to deteriorate.
Mako nodded her head, acknowledging the fact that the other woman had a point, there was not that much to work with as the equipment here was rather limited but they had to make do with what was available to them. She hoped that it was going to work out with the lab that she had already sent the other part to, hopefully, they could tell her a little more.
"So how did it go with the trip to that professor again? I guess this did kind of make a mess of your appointment didn't it?" Arakawa inquired, already curious how it may have gone but she reasoned that given when Mako had left and been back already that she likely had to cut it short due to the circumstances.
"Pretty terrible to be honest, I wasn't so keen on leaving before getting an answer from him but I have left the material with him in the hope that he could come up with a solution."
Arakawa's eyes narrowed at hearing that. "Are you sure that was such a good idea? You've said it yourself that there's some pretty sensitive information in those files. Well, I guess you must've taken some precautions otherwise you wouldn't have left it with him."
"You're right, I removed anything that could refer to that house. It's alright if they were to learn of the clone's original name, nobody from us uses it anyway so no harm there. The files also make no reference to her being a Diclonius either so we should be safe for the time being."
Arakawa let out a short sigh, an expression of some of her concern but opted to not say a word about it. "Well, I guess you've got a point there. Still, I want to add that I don't want to be involved in this anymore if it looks like I'm going to get into trouble. I've already had enough of that to rest me a lifetime. So can I get you something to drink while you're here? Tea, some water, or would you rather have some coffee?"
"Coffee please," Mako answered, leaning against the desk she was starting to feel how her legs were having trouble supporting her weight, she was just worn down after such a long day. "I haven't been able to get much sleep so I can really use the extra caffeine. Ah, I never thought it could become so exhausting at keeping a handful of Diclonius healthy outside of the DRI," she mentioned as she craned her neck and gazed at the ceiling for a moment, "Who could know? Ah, this is all so troublesome not to mention pretty depressingly."
Pushing herself away from the desk she grabbed the closest seat she could lay her hands on and sat down, the exhaustion starting to get the better hand of her, honestly she had been awake for more than a full day and the only rest that she had been able to get were a couple of hours on the plane and back at home but even there it was just not enough. An hour of sleep here and there simply was not enough to make up for having been awake for such an extended period of time, least of which because it also had been such a stressful period for her.
"I can imagine that." Looking up from the coffee machine she had managed to secure for herself in the lab as she had grown to detest the ones from the vending machines upstairs, Arakawa nodded her head in agreement as she understood all too well Mako's ordeal.
"It seems like there are still a lot of problems surrounding them and without official support from the government, it isn't made easier for us. And having to keep their real identities hidden doesn't do us much good either," Arakawa summarized as she came back a plate with on top of it two large mugs. "I don't know if it's your taste but it should do the trick for you," she apologized.
Mako wasn't going to complain, she needed the caffeine anyway. "You want sugar or milk?"
"Both please but not too much thank you." Stirring a little with the plastic spoon she got Mako enjoyed the coffee, it was a bit lukewarm but it was alright for her, it did not take long for her to finish the mug's content. "Well, if it's alright with you Arakawa-san then I'll be going home, good luck with the blood samples. If anything shows up then please let me know. Take care."
"You too, Takebe-sensei. I hope you can get the rest you need and I'll let you know if I come across anything though I wouldn't bet on it. Take care."
Arakawa and Mako exchanged a quick nod, no need for them to go for formalities here. As the door behind her closed Arakawa was once more alone inside the lab, it was fine, she would work on the blood samples later, first she was going to finish was remained of her coffee. That said, as her eyes came to rest on the refrigeration unit storing the blood samples she could not deny that she was really curious.
The afternoon had gone by fast, much faster than Kouta could have imagined but he was also feeling rather apprehensive about it as with school having come to an end for the day that also meant he was that much closer in having to make a decision on what they were going to do for Saori.
He still kept asking himself if calling Anna might not be the best solution to their problem, more than once he had found his fingers hovering dangerously close over the dial button.
"You would likely have access to what we need right, your family likely still does?"
Leaving the ground of the university he wandered back home, Yuka had already left earlier and even though that was going to grant him some extra time to make up his mind, he also was aware that he was not exactly feeling too keen on being alone right now.
He needed somebody that he could talk to, somebody who could understand the trouble that he was going through but most of all somebody who would just listen to him. Sadly none of the people that he could talk about this in secrecy were much of an option.
"You seem to be a little troubled Kouta-kun, is there something haunting you?" The kind, gentle voice drifted towards him, being no stranger to it by now he could tell that it could be no other person but one in particular.
He turned around, wishing he could have been surprised to see her standing there but he was anything but that. "Anna-chan? I hadn't expected to see you," he said, as he did his best at giving her a kind smile. "I wish I could've said that I'm surprised to see you here but I can't, you're timing is just a little too good for my liking. That said I'm glad to see you're doing well. Are you feeling any better after what happened yesterday?"
She opted to answer his question with a smile before giving him an actual answer. "So I guess that means your problem is likely related to those girls then, am I right? I hope that the girl who hit me didn't get into any kind of trouble."
"W-Wait?" Was all he let out before he forced himself to shut up, even so, he became aware that he might find himself in more trouble than he might have guessed, especially when he saw a rather imposing looking man in a suit appear standing behind Anna. It left him with an uneasy feeling like he had just walked into a trap. Did she set him up?
"You do not to be afraid, Kouta-kun, I would like to introduce you to Tachiki Kasai, he's been my guardian ever since I was little as well as being a close confidant to me," Anna mentioned as she introduced the tall man behind her. "He knows about the girls as well, after all, Kasai was the person who took the pictures and got me the information."
Feeling a shiver go down his spine as Kouta sized up the man, he could not deny that he was intimidated by the man in a similar way he always felt intimidated whenever Bando was around. The man was tall, pretty tall, and even though his eyes were hidden by the shades he wore Kouta could tell that never once did this man's eyes lose sight of him.
"Kasai is just here to make sure I stay safe. And to answer your question I came here looking for you as I hadn't had a moment to thank you properly for having looked after me the other day."
In response to her explanation, the man stepped forward and gave Kouta a curt nod. "Thank you for looking after the young miss the other day, you have my thanks."
It was not something he had expected and it left Kouta speechless after hearing the both of them say that she had come solely to properly thank him. "... Y-You're welcome..." His eyes narrowed as a moment later a black car, looked like a limousine to him, pulled up right next to them, but before he had a chance to react to it the tall man called Kasai stepped past and opened the door for them.
"May I offer you a ride, Kouta-kun? I have some matters to attend to but if I can drop you off somewhere along the ride then you're welcome to join me. It is the least I can do to repay you for your troubles last time. Please have a seat, I would like for us to continue our chat from yesterday." Anna already went inside the car, Kasai remaining where he stood, waiting for him to step inside as well.
"Well uh, that's very kind of you Anna-chan but I don't want to impose on you. You're far too kind for me and please don't get me wrong, I really do appreciate the offer and I don't want to come across as rejecting this token of your gratitude but I can't accept it."
"Young man, you're insulting the young miss by rejecting her offer," Kasai said, one of his eyebrows raised just a little in response.
"It's alright, Kasai," Anna said and gestured for the man to stand down. "I see, well then that is alright with me. Thank you for being so honest, Kouta-kun. Please have a safe walk home and, I hope that you can solve what's been troubling you. Oh, before I forget, please let that girl know that I'm not upset with her, will you do that for me? I hope that next time we can simply talk. Goodbye now, and take care." She waved him off as the tall man closed the door for her and got in the car himself.
As he watched the car drive off he was anything but sure if he was supposed to feel lucky or not, he had managed to avoid having to get in the car but if he had done so in the right manner was a different story. The last thing he needed right now was to be on unpleasant terms with Anna.
"I'm really sorry but I never could've taken you up on that offer. Seeing you here almost looked too good to be true, I really would've wanted to talk to you about Saori but I just can't take that risk. Maybe if you had come alone then perhaps I might have found the courage to ask for your help."
Letting out a troubled sigh he watched the car disappear from his sight, at least they were gone, for now, he left quickly while making sure to take a different route than usual to get home. After what had happened he was not planning on making it easy for them. While quickening his pace he reached out for his phone as he needed to make an urgent call.
"Thank you for bringing me these, Ichinose-san," Mayu said as she gave her thanks to the younger girl before she wrote down the homework assignments that Saeko's classmate had given her, it didn't seem to be much but it would be best to make sure that Saeko wasn't going to fall behind in her homework as already there was some concern about her growing absence from school.
"Not at all senpai, it's the least that we can do for Isuzu-san. Also could you please pass on our best wishes to her if you could, Isuzu-senpai? We hope she'll be back soon," the long-haired girl said to her, smiling as she did, "And if it's possible for you could you perhaps ask your sister if she'd like to go out with us next weekend? We're planning on going to see Tokyo, and we were kinda hoping that Isuzu-san could come with us."
Azusa explained to her that Yuzuka and Hinami, who had actually made the suggestion in the first place, where also going on this trip and if things would work out then Sakuraba would be going along with them as well. It was not going to take up all day but they were planning on visiting Harajuku, and later on Akihabara.
"We don't know if Saekorin would like to but we thought that it'd be nice to go shopping together, they have these really great stores in Harajuku that I'd love to show her," Yuzuka mentioned, a warm smile gracing her face as she became visibly excited.
To Mayu, it sounded like a wonderful idea, it was just the thing that Saeko could use right now in order to help her take her mind off from worrying about Saori, though she was a little concerned about Saeko being out on her own with just her friends in such a busy city.
She was going to do her utmost best to encourage Saeko to accept this offer from her friends and go with them, thinking about it Mayu knew that her sister had never even taken a step outside the city of Kamakura for that matter so visiting Tokyo was going to be a nice new experience for her, though she hoped that it would not be too daunting for the young Diclonius.
And if a responsible person like Sakuraba from Hinami's club would accompany them then Mayu had more than enough reason to feel confident that the girls were going to be in the right hands. Besides that, it was still a week away so that would give her some time to talk about this with her sister and explain a few things.
Kouta and Yuka weren't going to object to this if they knew that Saeko was going to be with good friends and a club president from their school as well, that would help to put some of their concerns at rest.
"I'll tell her about it, thank you for being her friends." Mayu bowed, expressing her gratitude towards Azusa and Yuzuka.
"Don't need to, we like to go with Saekorin. Without her, it just doesn't feel the same anymore and I do miss hearing her tell those about your family. Oh, I so want to come over and see your house senpai," Yuzuka told her in the ever-present cheerful manner that she did everything when she was really excited, it was obvious that from the stories that she had heard from her pink-haired friend she was keen to see the place for herself.
"Kayano-san, Ichinose-san, can I ask you an honest question?" Mayu asked them, there was something that she was rather keen to know. It was a rather simple question but one she felt compelled to ask, just to ease her concerns. "Did Miyamoto-senpai show up at your classroom today? I haven't seen him myself but I might have just missed him."
They both shook their heads. "We're sorry senpai, but Miyamoto-senpai didn't come to our class and as far as we know he hasn't asked anybody of our class about Saekorin, sorry about that."
Mayu let them know that they there was no need for them to apologize for their answer, it was not their fault that Miyamoto had not shown up at their class, which to Mayu felt a little odd as felt that it was only normal for a person if they were serious about his proposal to Saeko then surely he would have had a talk with either her or Saeko's friends.
Then again Mayu also knew that Miyamoto was a busy person and being a member of the student council meant that he had plenty of other obligations and then, of course, there was also the act that she had personally asked him to give Saeko some extra space.
Maybe he was simply very busy at the moment and simply didn't have the time to come ask on how Saeko was doing, or perhaps he was trusting that her family and friends would look after her for him instead while he would give her the extra space that she had asked him to do. Thinking about it it all Mayu was a little unsure what to make of it all, maybe she would go and see him later on. She could always do that, though she did wonder if that would make her appear as being a little protective of her sister.
"Do you want us to keep an eye out should Miyamoto-senpai appear or ask us any questions?"
"Oh no, no. That won't be necessary, I'm sure he must have his reasons for not having shown up yet," she replied as she didn't want for these girls to feel obligated to keep informing her. She did not feel like there was any need for that as Mayu could do that on her own and besides, maybe it was just what she had told Miyamoto, that he would put some distance between himself and Saeko to allow her to make up her mind. Maybe he was just doing that while focusing his time and effort on stopping those girls from bullying Saeko even further, it was possible but Mayu could not say that with any certainty.
"Well then senpai if it's alright with you we'll be leaving, please tell Saekorin that we hope that she'll get better soon and that we're really looking forward to seeing her come back," Yuzuka mentioned as she bowed.
Next to her Azusa mimicked the gesture. "Give our best regards to Isuzu-san, take care senpai." And with that the two of them turned and left, going down the hallway till they disappeared from the older girl's sight when they rounded the corner.
Mayu smiled, they were good people. Looking down at the notes that she had she would make sure that Saeko was going to get these but even more important she was going to tell her sister about the trip that her friends were planning on.
"Saeko-san, you should accept this. It'll be good for you to be out of the house for a day and getting to spend it with such kind friends as them is something you badly need," she whispered to herself, keeping her voice down enough so that the remaining club members couldn't hear her. "Your life shouldn't revolve only around Saori-san, there's more to life than only taking care of your little sister. Please don't throw it away."
Author's note: Here it is folks, latest chapter, and one that took a good amount of editing and rewriting before I would feel that it was good for posting it. I hope you'll all find it enjoyable.
I would have posted this one last weekend but sadly being confined to the bed for a couple of days thanks to a nasty case of the Flu and good amount of the chapter still in need of work this led, unfortunately, to a little delay.
Elfenliedfan,
ah sorry, I almost forgot to reply to your question, my apologies for that. To answer your question, yes that is indeed Ryouta from Brynhildr in the darkness and yes I do have plans to eventually write a fic for that fandom though I really should stress out that you shouldn't expect that one anytime soon as I first want to finish this story and the one for Girls und Panzer.
Well until next time, see you then.