Note: This chapter contains strong sexual content

-Faith, Love, and Forgiveness - Chapter Eight: Truce-

Diclonius Research Institute: Director Kakuzawa's office: Six days later

"You don't seem as tight as I remember. Are you taking other lovers on the side?"

Even if she wanted to, Arakawa doubted she'd succeed. The Institute had some surprisingly attractive men working there, but none of them showed any indication that they found her attractive. She actually had tried flirting with a few of them, but without having any success. Even when Kakuzawa made her walk around nude all day, the men working there paid her no attention.

She didn't know what was worse: Walking around naked and STILL getting ignored, or coming to the realization that the only reason those men who violated her had done it was because they were getting paid to.

"No, Sir."

"Good. I'd hate to have to go back to using your ass."

When he was finished using her as a sex toy, Kakuzawa zipped his pants back up and sat down in his chair. Arakawa stood, pulling her panties back up and her skirt back down.

"Now... what did you need to see me about?"

"I... I want to leave the island to look for the other witness."

"Oh?" he smiled.

"I don't think I'll ever find him if I stay here, so I want to go back to the mainland and look for him." Arakawa said.

"Where do you plan to start?"

"I suppose the first stop would be the college. Hopefully, he hasn't moved or graduated yet."

Kakuzawa nodded his head. "Very well. You may go, but on the condition that a small tracking device be implanted... just in case you decide to wander off."

The mousey scientist was surprised. She hadn't expected him to approve her request, but she certainly wasn't going to complain.

"Thank you, Director." she bowed.

"It'll take a few days for the transmitter to arrive. I'll call you when it's ready."

After she left, Kakuzawa notified the medical ward.

"Let me speak to Dr. Hedori."

After a few minutes, the doctor finally picked up.

"Hedori speaking. Go ahead, Director."

"Doctor, I have a Miss Arakawa that will be leaving the island in a few days. I need you to put a device inside her."

"Are you talking about a locator chip?"

"Not quite..." Kakuzawa grinned. "Here's what I want you to do..."

Kaeda House: That night

After dinner, Nana asked Lucy if she'd help her clean up the kitchen.

"Mayu's in the bath and Yuka's studying with Kouta, so..."

"Sure."

"Really?! Oh, thank you Lucy!" Nana smiled.

The two girls were five minutes into cleaning when Nana started talking about a movie she'd recently seen on TV called "The Long Lonely Road of Redemption".

"What was it about?"

"A man who used to be part of the Yak... Yaku...Yakazu..."

"Yakuza?"

"Thank you. He used to be part of the Yakuza, but decided to leave and try to make up for all the bad things he did."

Lucy nodded her head, making at least a half-ass attempt to listen as she helped the younger Diclonius clean.

"Did he?"

"Kinda. Some of the people he hurt wouldn't forgive him, so he told them that was fine, he'd done everything he could, but accepting his apology was their decision, not his."

Lucy nodded, listening a little more attentively as she handed Nana dishes to wash.

"If you know you've hurt someone, you should go apologize. That's step one. The person you hurt can't forgive you if won't ask for it. Step two is up to them. If they won't forgive you, then that's their fault, not yours."

"Really?" Lucy asked.

Nana turned to the pink-haired girl and nodded.

"You can't make someone forgive you, all you can do is ask."

The older Diclonius considered this for a moment before speaking.

"If I wanted to make amends with someone, but they wouldn't accept..."

"That's on them. You've done all you could."

Lucy thought this over. It made sense, but the person she had in mind was far from being an innocent victim.

"Is there someone you want to apologize to?" Nana asked gently.

"I don't know... maybe."

The purple-haired girl smiled. "If you ever want to talk about it, I'm here."

"Thank you."

Smiling at the other Diclonius, Nana reached out and wrapped her arms around her.

The pink-haired girl tensed up, causing Nana to sigh in annoyance.

"It's just a hug, Lucy..."

After a few moments, the Diclonius Queen finally hugged her back.

Six hours later

Late that night, Nana got an unexpected visit from her older counterpart.

"Lucy? Um... are you ok?"

"You said if I wanted to talk, you were here, right?"

Nana broke out into a wide grin and invited Lucy inside, overjoyed that the older girl had actually decided to confide in her.

Sitting down on the floor, Lucy uncomfortably explained who she had in mind.

"Bando? Like, short hair, sunglasses, rude-as-hell Bando?"

Lucy nodded, not liking the way Nana was looking at her.

"Ummm... I think it's great that you want to call a truce with him, but maybe you should just write him a letter."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure he'd be willing to listen to you if you did it in person."

The pink-haired girl considered this for a moment, but shook her head.

"No. If I'm going to do this, I'm not hiding behind a piece of paper to do it."

Nana smiled proudly at the older Diclonius. "Can I go with you? Please?"

"Why? Do you think I'll kill him unless you tag along and play babysitter?"

Noticing the hurt look on Nana's face, Lucy squirmed uncomfortably and avoided looking at the young Sipelit. "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for. I know you're just trying to help."

"It's ok, I understand."

"I'm going tomorrow. Do you want to come?"

"Of course." Nana smiled.

Lucy nodded and got up, quietly thanking her before going back to her own room.

Kamakura Beach: The next afternoon

"Are you sure you want to do this? Nobody's gonna blame you if you change your mind."

Lucy looked at Nana and nodded. "Stay here."

"But...!"

"Stay... here." The older Diclonius repeated. Nana just nodded, watching from afar as Lucy walked alone towards the man on the beach. She knew the two of them had a great deal of mutual hostility towards each other that could very easily turn the encounter into another brawl. Still, she respected her for even attempting to make peace with him.

At the moment, Bando was going down the beach picking up trash, but once he caught sight of Lucy, he dropped the bag and pulled out a gun.

"What the fuck are YOU doing here?!"

"I want to talk to you." she answered.

"Yeah? Well, talk to my .50, bitch!" he said before immediately opening fire. Lucy dodged the first two shots, but had to use her vectors to propel herself through the air for the next three. Just like that, they were right back to fighting on the beach.

"I knew they were gonna do this..." Nana sighed, shaking her head.

Bando fired until his magazine ran dry, then ducked behind an old wooden fence to reload.

"This is pointless! I just want to talk to you!" Lucy yelled. He peeked around the corner and saw her looking around for him. When she turned her head, he fired at her. The shot barely missed and she ducked out of sight. A few seconds later, he started getting bombarded by pieces of the fence he was hiding behind.

He turned, fired twice more, then ran for cover, and ducked behind a nearby stack of crates. For several seconds, he waited in silence. Then, he cautiously peeked around, trying to see if he could figure out where she went.

"Your pants are ripped."

He spun around just in time to be hit hard by her vectors. The force of the impact tossed him through the air and he crashed hard on his back. The impact of the landing knocked the wind out of him, and before he knew it, Lucy was once again looking down at him.

"You know, this would have been so much easier if you had just listened to me when I first walked up."

"Why the hell would I listen to YOU?" he challenged. Before Lucy could say another word, he pulled out a second gun and started shooting at her again. The first shot actually came pretty damn close to hitting her in the head, and Lucy hastily retreated for a moment. When Bando got back to his feet, she was gone.

He thought she had taken off, but she was actually watching him from high above, held aloft by her vectors. As he crept around looking for her, she silently dropped down behind him, and yanked the mercenary's feet out from under him. He dropped his gun, and Lucy tossed it out of reach, pinning the angry man down with her vectors.

For a moment, they just looked at each other.

"What now, bitch? You gonna kill me?"

After a couple of seconds, Lucy shook her head and retracted her vectors.

"No."

"No? Why not?"

"Because I... I didn't come here to fight, I... came to... a-apologize."

Bando blinked in confusion. "Excuse me?"

Lucy squatted down with a sigh, still unsure if this had been a good idea or not.

"I'm trying to say I'm sorry for what I did to you. I know you attacked me first, but I didn't have to be so sadistic about defending myself. I could've just killed you instantly, or escaped, and I could have done either of those without maiming you first." she finally said.

After she stood, she extended a hand to help him up. Bando glared at her in mistrust, "What kind of shit are you trying to pull?"

After getting no answer, he decided to accept the risk and reached his prosthetic arm out to her. After getting him to his feet, Lucy turned to leave, but stopped when he yelled for her to wait.

"What the hell are you up to? This some kinda sick game or something?" he asked warily.

After thinking of how to word her response, she finally settled on, "I'm just trying to make amends to the people I've wronged." Not quite an apology, but he DID try to kill her more than once, so... good enough.

Silently considering her words, he nodded in Nana's direction. "Did she put you up to this?" Nana, realizing he had noticed her, smiled in embarrassment and gave him a timid wave.

Lucy shook her head no, "I'm doing this for myself. I didn't deserve that girls' forgiveness, but she gave it anyway. Whether you give it or not, I don't really care. I'm satisfied with knowing that at least I tried."

The Diclonius turned to leave, but was again stopped. Walking right up to her, Bando stood there awkwardly for a few seconds, then held out his hand.

"Uhh... thanks."

For a moment, Lucy didn't react. Finally, she reached out and briefly shook hands (with her vectors engaged, just in case he decided to do something stupid). He didn't, so she recalled her invisible arms and walked back to Nana. The Sipelit was looking at her with a strange sparkle in her eyes.

Without warning, Nana hugged the pink-haired girl, giving her one of the brightest smiles she'd ever seen.

"I'm so proud of you, Lucy."

The older Diclonius just pushed her off, "Whatever... let's go home."

Nana smiled and the two of them started walking back to Kaeda House. Lucy's abrasive, rough response was a knee-jerk reaction to avoid appearing weak and both of them knew it. Kouta's forgiveness had completely changed the girl's life, but she wasn't naïve enough to think this suddenly made the Diclonius Queen harmless.

The pair walked in a slightly awkward, but not uncomfortable silence until Lucy suddenly stopped. Nana looked up at her in confusion, "What's wrong?"

The other girl didn't answer, but walked over to a nearby storm drain on the other side of the street. Nana followed behind, and caught sight of an adult black and white cat with what was obviously her two kittens staring down into the darkness. The three felines retreated when the girls approached, but didn't go far. Lucy squatted down, peering into the drain for several seconds.

"What is it?" Nana asked, but then heard a faint sound coming from down the drain. "Ohh... I see. That creature must have lost one of it's little creatures down that hole."

"It's called a "kitten", Nana." Lucy replied as she reached down into the darkness with a vector. After a few seconds, she retracted it and set the rescued kitten down at its mother's feet. It was soaking wet (and certainly didn't smell too good) but was otherwise unharmed.

The mother cat groomed her kitten for a few moments. Afterwards, she walked up to Lucy and licked her hand, almost as if thanking her. Nana watched as the pink-haired girl smiled and stroked the cats fur for a moment, wishing she had a camera so she could get a picture of this.

When the felines wandered off, the two Diclonii resumed walking home.

"What do you think about being a mother someday?"

Lucy stared at her in surprise. "Where'd THAT come from?"

"I'm just curious... you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"Good, because I don't."

After a couple of silent minutes, Nana tried a different approach.

"So, have you ever wanted kids?"

"I thought you said I didn't have to talk about it?"

"Come on, Lucy. I'm not going to tell anyone."

The older Diclonius pushed the button and waited for the traffic signal to change. After about five minutes of stonewalling, Lucy finally gave in.

"I've wanted to be a mother since I was a child. I thought it was something of a phase, but to be honest, I still think about it now and then."

Nana smiled brightly, happy the elder girl opened up to her about such a personal issue.

"Do you think you and Kouta will ever have kids?"

"No." Lucy quietly replied.

Nana wanted to ask why not, but something told her that'd probably be a bad idea, so she let it go, and stuck to safer topics.

As soon as they got home, Yuka invited the two Diclonii to go grocery shopping with her and Mayu.

"Kouta's not coming?"

"No. Why? You can't run an errand with us unless he comes too?" Yuka asked.

"I didn't say that, it was just a question."

"Kouta's studying for a test. Now, are you coming or staying?"

Lucy, doing her best to get used to being part of the family, agreed to go.

Kamakura Supermarket: One hour later

Looking around uncomfortably, Lucy silently wished for the fiftieth time she had just told the annoying girl "No" instead of accepting. She didn't like crowds even when Kouta was there with her, let alone when he wasn't.

"Nana..." she said in a quiet tone. The Sipelit turned around and checked the older Diclonius's hair bow to ensure her horns were covered. Getting a thumbs-up, the pink-haired girl relaxed a little bit. While Yuka dug around in her purse, and Nana and Mayu were talking about some TV show they both liked, Lucy noticed a magazine that caught her attention.

Amid the numerous articles on hair, makeup, and clothes, she saw one that at first seemed like it had something to do with bedrooms. She at first thought that it was about decorating, but it turned out to be much less about that and much more about "other activities" done in bedrooms.

'Oh, my...' the Diclonius Queen thought as she visibly blushed.

After a subtle glance around to make sure her housemates hadn't noticed, she turned her focus back to the article. While she might not be a virgin anymore, some of the activities mentioned were things she'd never even heard of, let alone fantasized about doing with Kouta.

But now that she knew about them, yes... some of them she definitely wanted to try.

She wasn't sure how long she'd been reading, but when Mayu tapped her shoulder to get her attention, she realized that Yuka had finished paying for their groceries, and they were ready to leave.

"Sorry, I got distracted."

Lucy put the magazine back and rejoined the other three girls. The four of them left the store and started the trip home.

"Nyu, would you mind helping us get dinner ready when we get home?" Yuka asked.

"Yeah... sure." she replied. This seemed to please the young woman, as well as the two girls. It would be the first time all four of them would be making dinner together. Lucy knew even less than Nana did about cooking, so Yuka would give her something easy, like slicing vegetables or helping make rice.

Kaeda House: Three hours later

As far as "family time" went, tonight actually wasn't that bad at all.

She needed a little help in the kitchen, sure, but what do you expect from someone who had never cooked (or even helped cook) anything in their entire life? Once dinner was over, Lucy joined the rest of the household in watching a couple of movies. Mayu had even made them popcorn, which the two Diclonii had never tried nor even heard of before.

With Kouta sitting between the two girls (Yuka on his right and Lucy on his left) and Mayu and Nana again on the smaller sofa, they passed the popcorn bowl back and forth to each other. Looking over at Lucy, Nana couldn't help but smile at the pink-haired girl. She had opened up so much since Kouta finally forgave her for killing his family that Nana was in awe of it.

The same girl who had sadistically murdered hundreds of people without even blinking was now sitting on a couch eating popcorn and watching a movie with her "family" just like any other ordinary girl. It made the Sipelits heart swell with pride to see how far Lucy had come in such a short amount of time.

After the movies were over and the residents of Kaeda House had gone back to their own rooms for the night, Lucy stripped off her skirt and sleeveless top, then threw on an old t-shirt that was just long enough to cover her panties.

Removing her hair bow, she opened her bedroom door just in time to catch Kouta as he was about to knock on it. Caught off-guard, the couple just stared at each other in surprise.

"Umm... hi."

"Hi... is something wrong?"

"Not at all." he answered, "I just wanted to see if you'd like some company... I mean, if you aren't busy or anything."

Reaching up, she cupped his face with both hands and pressed her lips against his, to which he responded by wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close.

"I'd love some company." she said with a smile. The couple moved from the doorway to the bed, cuddling up to each other as the kissing became more passionate. In only a few short minutes, both of them wanted more than just making out.

Then, an idea popped into the pink-haired girl's head.

"Kouta, I want to try something new, but don't get your hopes up because I have no idea what I'm doing, or if you'll even like it." she warned.

He nodded, and at her request, slipped his PJ shorts down and off. Lucy thought for a minute how to best position herself, eventually deciding to more-or-less just lie midway between on her stomach and on her side with her body perpendicular to his. Lying on his back, Kouta couldn't really see what she was doing and had no idea what to expect.

Then, he felt something wet and warm on his member and propped himself up on his elbows to see the Diclonius slowly and almost timidly licking his shaft. Speechless, he laid back down and closed his eyes as she traveled upward and started focusing her licking on the head.

"I'm not sure if I'm doing this right or not..." she told him shyly.

This would have been so much easier if that damn article had come with pictures.

"Either way, please keep going." he blushed.

She licked his head a little more, then started lightly kissing first it, then the shaft. Kouta had never had anyone go down on him before, so of course, he was loving it. Every time that her tongue made contact with his manhood, it was like a little jolt of electricity.

Then, she took his erection inside her mouth and closed her soft lips around his shaft.

Judging from the sounds he was making, Lucy felt it was safe to assume that he was greatly enjoying what she was doing. Working slowly so she wouldn't accidentally gag herself, she moved her head up and down, surprised by how greatly it was turning her on to pleasure him with her mouth.

'I guess going on that little errand wasn't a complete waste of time after all!' she thought to herself with a smile.

She stopped for a moment and looked at Kouta, feeling like the blush on her face was going to be permanent by the time she was done.

"Umm... h-how is it? Honestly... If you don't like, it, you can tell me..."

The timid, but hopeful smile on her face grew even bigger when Kouta all but pleaded for her to keep going. She complied, taking him back in her warm mouth, trying to use her tongue as well as her lips. What the pink-haired Diclonius didn't understand was how she could get so... aroused... even though she herself wasn't being touched at all.

"God, this feels so incredible... I mean it, it's just... it's amazing..." he groaned.

"It really makes me happy to hear that..." Lucy blushed. "I know I'm not that good, but I want to be."

"Hey, um... can you stop for a second?"

When she did, he backed up so he could lean against the wall.

"I'm sorry if I sound like a pervert, but I kinda wanted to watch." he blushed.

Lucy just smiled and adjusted accordingly. When she resumed, Kouta brushed her pink hair aside so he could have a better look at her lips wrapped around his erection.

"God, that looks so sexy..."

The pink-haired girl blushed at being watched so closely, but kept going. After a bit longer, she took him out and went back to shyly licking him.

"I know this sounds weird, but I think I'm really starting to love doing this!" she giggled.

"I'm starting to really love you doing it too!" he replied.

"I bet you are, pervert!" Lucy teased before putting him back in her mouth.

She slowly moved her head up and down, gently sucking on his erection as he lay there and watched her. Every so often, she took him out and licked his shaft and head, loving how big of a reaction she was getting from him.

"Can we do this again? I don't want this to just be a one-time thing." she blushed.

"Are you kidding me?! We can do this anytime you want!"

"Thank you." she smiled, then wrapped her lips around him again, taking his answer as proof she was doing at least a passable job at giving oral. It might not be pornstar-level good, but it was acceptable to Kouta, and that's all that mattered.

For a moment, she thought about borrowing Yuka's laptop, but she didn't really have much experience with computers, and "How can I give my boyfriend better oral sex?" showing up in her search history would definitely not go unnoticed.

Soon after, he tapped her arm and asked (with no small degree of embarrassment) what he should do about finishing.

Most girls might have been annoyed at the interruption, but to Lucy, it came across as sweet and considerate. After thinking about it, she asked him what HE wanted to do.

"I... I don't know! This is a first for me too!"

Lucy thought back to the article she saw that introduced her to oral sex in the first place. In said article, there was a poll about this very issue that claimed 97% of guys and 84% of girls prefer for the guy to ejaculate in her mouth, and then swallow it. She understood the appeal about finishing in her mouth, but why did it matter what she does with it? If the guy gets to climax, isn't that what matters? Who gives a shit whether she swallows it or not?

Nevertheless, she decided keep an open mind. If so many people preferred it, there must be a good reason.

"W-Would you like to finish in my mouth?" she asked, shyly blushing at even the thought of it.

"I... I mean... are you comfortable doing something like that?" he asked.

"S-Sure... I don't know if I'll like it, but I'm willing to try." she blushed.

Kouta nodded, blushing just as badly as she was. "Ok... but only if you want to."

Taking him back inside her mouth, she could feel his climax rapidly approaching. She had no idea what to expect when he actually finished, but she didn't have to wait long to find out.

As she worked her head slowly up and down, she felt his hardon begin throbbing. Kouta told her he was about to finish and she nodded, wondering how she was going to like it. Moments later, the throbbing intensified, and he started to ejaculate inside her mouth.

As it turns out, the answer was, "greatly". For reasons she didn't fully understand, having Kouta cum in her mouth felt almost "dirty", but undeniably sexy at the same time (not as sexy as when he came inside her vaginally, but sexy nonetheless). Deciding she loved the taste, she gently stroked him as he came, only swallowing when she had milked as much semen out of him as she could.

Wiping her mouth off, she laid down next to him, and the two lovers cuddled up against each other. Just for fun, she leaned in to kiss him and was happily surprised when he accepted the kiss without hesitation.

"That was incredible..." he told her.

"Did you... umm... like how we finished?" she asked.

Kouta nodded his head. "I loved every second of it. I don't fully know why, but that was the sexiest part, or at least I thought it was."

Rolling over and climbing on top of him, she leaned down and kissed him deeply on the lips. "I love you, Kouta... I really do. You're... you're everything to me." she whispered softly to him.

"I love you, too. I'm so happy you're here with us..." he answered.

"Us?" she asked, raising a pink eyebrow.

"Yeah... you're part of our family, you know." he replied.

After a couple of moments, it dawned on him what she was getting at. "Obviously, I'm happy you're here with me especially. Uhh... man, that didn't come out right at all."

Lucy laughed, giving her boyfriend a teasing smile. "I know what you meant, Kouta... don't worry."

Reaching up, he brushed her pink hair out of her face as he stared into his girlfriend's red eyes.

"God, you're so beautiful..." he whispered. Lucy just blushed, responding with a gentle, but passionate kiss.

This kind of pure, unadulterated love was just a fairytale for most girls, let alone somebody like her. And yet, she had it... the one thing she wanted most, but always thought she'd never have. For some strange reason, her thoughts turned to Nana. She wondered if the shy Sipelit would someday be lucky enough to find somebody as special to her as Kouta was to herself.

After a little more cuddling, the couple kissed goodnight and Kouta returned to his room.