Note: This chapter contains a whole lot of strong sexual content.
-Faith, Love, and Forgiveness - Chapter Twenty-One: Graduation-
Kaeda House - One year later
It was hard to believe that in just two days, Kouta and Yuka would be graduating from college. At first, it felt like this day would never come. Now, it was almost preposterous how fast time had flown.
Earlier, Yuka had gone grocery shopping with the girls, but made the sudden decision to offer them the chance find something they'd like to wear at the upcoming graduation.
As soon as they returned (which was nearly 9:40 pm) Lucy headed straight to her room, but returned shortly to eat a late dinner with the rest of them. Oddly, while everybody else had wanted to show Kouta what they bought, Lucy didn't even say whether or not she had even picked anything out at all.
The only indication she gave was the subtle little smile that he had by now learned was her way of saying she had something to tell him when they had some privacy. After dinner, he decided to use the bath before going to bed (or rather before deciding whether to sleep in his own bed or join Lucy in hers).
Graduation aside, the there was something else that was fast approaching: his wedding.
In just over six months, he was going to be legally married to the girl who killed his father and little sister... if it had happened to anyone else, he'd immediately call 'bullshit'. Something as far-fetched as that only happens in soap opera's or on trashy daytime talk shows.
Strangely, though he wished she hadn't done it, he couldn't help but think it was part of what made their relationship unique.
'You married the person who killed your family? That better be one hell of a special girl!'
After his bath was finished, he returned to his room to get dressed. After giving it a little bit of thought, he decided to go see if his future wife wanted company. As he was in the process of putting his sleep shorts on, the door opened and he heard Lucy ask if he would like to stay with her for the night.
"Perfect timing, I was about to come ask you the same thing."
He heard his door shut and smiled when she lightly touched his back. "Give me a second to get these on."
After he finished, she hugged him from behind. Feeling her breathe on him from so close never failed to give him goosebumps. He squeezed her hand, noticing she had painted her nails. Nana and Yuka did this all the time, and Mayu would do it every now and then. Lucy, however had only done it once or twice, and even then it was only to stop the Sipelit from bothering her about it.
"Nice job on your nails, but why red instead of pink?"
"It matches better." she answered simply.
Curious, he turned around to look at her.
To Lucy's immense satisfaction, the look on his face told her everything she needed to know about whether or not he liked what she was wearing.
Up until now, her dresses and skirts had always been loose-fitting or "flowy". The dress she had on now was neither. It wasn't quite tight-fitting, but it was snug, and ended an inch or so above her knee. It was a cherry red and sleeveless, with an A-line cut that showed her bare shoulders, and was complemented by her nails and perfectly applied cherry red lipstick. As a final touch, her pink hair was in a slightly messy ponytail and tied with a red ribbon.
"I know your graduation is a special day, so... I wanted to look special." she said shyly.
After about ten seconds of silence, she dropped her gaze to the floor with a sigh. "I overdid it, didn't I? I'm sorry... I'll be back in a minute."
He grabbed her arm when she turned to leave. "Don't... I'm just having problems putting it into words."
"Putting what into words?"
"How bad I want you right now."
Lucy blushed, stepping closer and reaching up to touch his face. "I'm all yours, Kouta."
He pulled her closer and stopped just shy of kissing her.
"Already tested it. It's even harder to remove than the pink one." she said. It always surprised him to see Lucy wear makeup, and since it was so extremely rare, he always worried that he'd ruin it if things got physical.
"It almost sounds like you were expecting intimacy when you put it on." he teased.
She wrapped her arms around his neck.
"It's more like... hoping for it."
And as she had hoped, he reacted by closing the inch or two gap between her lips and his.
"God, you are so beautiful."
"Even without the makeup and dress?"
"You could be covered in mud wearing a cardboard box and you'd still be just as beautiful."
She smiled and pressed her soft, perfectly made-up red lips against his.
"I want you to know how proud I am of you. I know I don't understand the human educational system very well, but I DO understand you've worked hard to get here."
He lovingly rubbed the pink-haired girl's back as they embraced. "So have you, and "proud" doesn't even begin to describe how I feel about that."
"I never could have done it without you." she replied as she nuzzled her cheek against his. "You, Yuka, Mayu, and even Nana... all of you gave me the second chance I always wanted."
"You mean, to stay here?"
She shook her head. "To LIVE... To have a normal life like any other girl. To have a family, and friends of my own. To have a chance at love and marriage. To... to go out and buy a dress so I can attend my fiancée's graduation... I would have never had any of it without all of you, and I'm so... SO incredibly lucky to have you in my life."
"Kaeda..."
After a few moments, they eased up on the hugging, but still held each other.
Looking into her beautiful red eyes, he knew exactly what it was she wanted, because it was the same thing he did.
Kouta deeply kissed the Diclonius Queen, gently biting down on her lower red lip. Returning his kiss, she could feel both of their hearts racing as their kissing became more passionate. A few moments later, Kouta reached up and began slowly unzipping her dress. This was exactly what she had hoped he'd do, and she certainly wasn't going to object.
"Be careful, I'm wearing this to your graduation." she teased between kisses.
"The makeup too?" he asked curiously.
Lucy appeared somewhat surprised by the question. "I... wasn't really planning to, no. You know I don't like wearing makeup."
"Then, why'd you put it on?"
"I... thought maybe you'd be turned on by it." she admitted in embarrassment.
"I was." he told her as they kissed. "You know I always think you're more beautiful without it, but I have to admit, wearing it with that dress looks incredible."
The pink-haired girl blushed, a bit embarrassed. "W-Well... I guess it wouldn't hurt to wear it to graduation."
Hitting a snag with the zipper, he told her to turn around so he could see what he was doing.
"Where'd the red come from? Not that I mind, but I thought you only had one color?"
"When I bought this dress, Yuka suggested getting red lipstick to go with it. I told her I had makeup to go with it, but she thought red would match the dress better. Don't tell her this, but I think she was right. "
He stopped to gently kiss her neck and shoulders, taking so long to get her dress unzipped, she was starting to think he was doing on it purpose.
Once he had her dress unzipped, he turned her around and started easing her dress down. Lucy took this opportunity to kiss him gently on the lips, interrupting him while he worked on getting her dress down.
"The longer you distract me, the longer it takes to get this off." he teased.
"It's not my fault you can't multi-task." she teased back.
Still kissing her, Kouta eased it down until it fell to the floor, revealing that she had nothing on under it. "I... umm... didn't know that you weren't... I mean... I thought you were.
It was extremely flattering to the Diclonius how flustered the sight of her naked body was making him.
"Do you still want me as much as you did before it came off?"
The question was rhetorical, of course. She knew the answer to it before she even asked.
"Even more."
She smiled and took his hand, coaxing him to lie down with her. Once the two of them were settled in bed, they rolled on their sides to face each other and spent a few minutes cuddling and kissing. Every time Lucy's red lips touched his, it just made him want her more.
"Do whatever you want, but be gentle with me tonight, ok?" she asked softly.
He nodded, slipping an arm around to lightly rub her milky-white ass a little. She gave a shy giggle and playfully ground her ass against his hand. Kouta grinned and rolled her over on her back.
"And just what do you think you're doing?" she asked playfully.
Without saying a word, he moved to a prone position, opened her legs, and touched her clit with his tongue.
"Oh! Oh... Kouta..."
Taking her moaning as a green light, he gently slipped a finger deep inside her. Lucy reached down and held her lower lips open so he wouldn't have to. Now that he had a free hand, his first impulse was, of course, to reach for her boobs.
"So predictable..."
"Don't blame me, you're the one with irrestistable breasts."
The Diclonius giggled. "I don't mind sharing."
After a few seconds, he moved his mouth from her womanhood, to her nipples, then to her soft red lips. After a little making out, he turned his attention back to licking her clit, but now he carefully slipped another finger inside of her.
Lucy climaxed almost instantly, having to bite her lower lip hard enough to draw blood in order to quiet the moans made during what was undoubtedly one of the most intense orgasms she'd ever had.
Kouta stopped licking, and slowly pulled his fingers out of her.
"Did you like it?"
"I LOVED it..." she said with a smile.
The couple just looked at each other. At this point, words were unnecessary.
Kouta pushed his sleep shorts down as she opened her legs. He got on top of her, amazed at how much love and desire he could see in her eyes. He looked at her as if asking permission to go on. When she nodded her head, he smiled at her and gently pushed inside.
Lucy closed her eyes and moaned softly as his hardon penetrated her. Kouta lowered his face and kissed her soft, red lips as he pushed completely inside of her. The pink-haired girl shyly moaned into his mouth as he began gently thrusting.
"God, I love you so much..." she said in-between kisses.
Her fiancé smiled, thrusting deeply, but slowly. "I love you, too. I always have, and I always will, and there is nothing you can ever do to change that."
"Kouta..." Lucy near-whispered, kissing him passionately as a tear of pure, unbridled love and happiness ran down her face. For her, every day of her life was a dream come true. She had a family who not only loved her, they made her feel wanted and needed... Like she was a part of their lives that couldn't be replaced.
Best of all, she was only a few months away from marrying the man she loved more than anything or anyone else in the entire world.
Kouta broke the kiss long enough to lick and suck on her nipples a bit, then put his lips back on hers. After a few more minutes, Kouta backed off a bit, motioning for her to roll over. The pink-haired girl got on her hands and knees so he could make love to her from behind.
He smiled at the way she moaned when he slowly pushed inside her. He kept his thrusts slow and gentle, but still deep. Every now and then, he'd surprise her by thrusting hard and fast for a few seconds, then go back to slow and gentle.
"I love you so much, Kouta..." she moaned.
"I love you, too... so very, very much..."
She had expected him to finish like this, so it was somewhat surprising when he pulled out of her and laid down on his back.
"Would you like to... well..." Kouta asked.
Lucy just smiled at her future husband. She shifted her position a little so her head was over his crotch. Before he had time to stop her, she took his erection inside her mouth.
Kouta gasped quietly, lying back and closing his eyes.
"Not that I'm complaining, but when I asked if you wanted to, I meant you being on top..."
"Yeah, I know..."
God, that girl drove him crazy sometimes!
She stopped long enough for him to sit up a little and lean against the wall. When Lucy put him back in her mouth, he reached out and brushed her pink hair out of her face so he could watch her soft red lips work their way up and down his shaft. He loved how it felt, but in his opinion, the sexiest part of oral sex was actually seeing himself in her mouth.
Lucy, of course, already knew this. In fact, it was the biggest reason she put a little lipstick on before coming to his room. Kouta loved to watch her lips on his manhood, and Lucy wanted to give him something worth watching.
Every so often, she'd glance up at him for a couple of seconds, but never just stared at him like they were making a cheap porn video. Why some girls felt the need to maintain eye contact the entire time, she didn't know, but thankfully, he never asked her to do it.
"Hey, Kouta...?" she said after taking him out of her mouth.
He instantly knew what she wanted without her even saying it, and slid down a little until he was lying on his back. She changed positions and got on top of him, reaching down to guide him inside her, then leaned her upper body down so she could make out with him as she rocked her hips back and forth.
Both of them tried to keep their lips pressed gently together as long as possible, stopping for a moment so he could lick and suck on her nipples a little more.
"God, it feels so amazing when you do that." Lucy blushed.
Predictably, this made him suck and lick them a little harder. Lucy touched his face gently as he did, moaning her approval. After a few more seconds, she heard a quiet grunt and knew he was about to reach his climax. Just before he began ejaculating, he stopped sucking and licking her nipples and went back to kissing.
She bit down on his lower lip, pleading for him to keep going. Kissing her red lips firmly, he started thrusting upward a little more forcefully. A sudden, gentle warmth started spreading through her body as he began cumming deep inside her.
"Don't stop... please." she begged, but didn't really need to. Like every other time they made love, Kouta had no intention of stopping until every drop of cum he had was deposited inside her.
"God, I love you so much, Kouta..."
He tried to respond to her, but his reply came out ragged and out of breath.
She giggled playfully, pinning his hands down with hers. "Sorry, didn't catch that."
After a moment, he took a deep breath and told her how much he loved her too, and then went a step further by telling her how happy he was that their wedding was approaching.
She kissed him deeply again before slowly climbing off of him. As usual, semen began to leak out of her the moment he slipped out.
"Do you want to just sleep in here tonight?"
It was a question he already knew the answer to, but wanted to ask anyway.
"Of course, but let me go wash this off real quick." she replied.
"Actually, I'd kinda like you to leave it." he admitted.
She smiled, a bit surprised by the request. "Ok... but I still need to run to the bathroom."
He gave her one of his longer shirts to cover herself with, and a few minutes later she was back in his bed.
"You really are just... so incredibly beautiful, you know that?" he asked.
She smiled and cuddled her naked body against his. He turned out the light, and the two of them lay there talking for several minutes before Lucy finally asked:
"So, why didn't you want me to wash this off?"
"I... honestly, I thought it'd be fun to make out with you wearing it." he confessed.
"Are you trying to hint at something?"
He smiled and lightly brushed his lips against hers. "Maybe..."
Taking this as confirmation, she closed her eyes and kissed him back.
It was rare for them to make out for so long without it leading to sex, but somehow, the two of them actually managed to do it. Sure, there was the occasional touching of her breasts, or his hardon, but that aside, the couple simply lay there exchanging slow, gentle kisses.
"I'd wear this every day if it meant I got to make out like this before going to bed." she teased playfully.
"I might seriously take you up on that someday."
Lucy lightly brushed her tongue against his, opening her mouth slightly when he did the same to her.
"Hey... y-you're not bored are you? I'd be fine having sex again or going down on you if you'd prefer."
"Are you?"
"Well, no... but I mean... I was worried maybe you were." she admitted.
Kouta just held her tighter against him. "I could do this for hours and never get bored." he said quietly, stroking her face with his hand.
Lucy smiled, happily continuing to press her soft, red lips gently against his.
"Me too..."
By the time they finally stopped for the night, both of them were in shock when they saw the time and realized their gentle make out sessiion had gone on for over an hour and a half. Lucy stared at the clock in awe. She hadn't exactly timed it, but if the pink-haired girl had to guess how long they were at it, she'd have said twenty minutes... thirty at the absolute most.
"I guess time really does fly when you're having fun." she yawned.
Kouta also yawned, nodding his head in agreement as he pulled her nude body against his. "I guess it does..."
The lovers exchanged 'Goodnight's, both of them falling asleep in seconds.
Hitoshi Asai - Two nights later
"Wow... there's a lot more people here than I expected! Are you still OK, Lucy?"
The girls were standing in the lobby of the Hitoshi Asai, a four-star hotel that for whatever reason was where graduation was being held. Kouta, Yuka, and the other graduates were all in one of the conference rooms finalizing last minute details about who stands where, what songs are played, how they step on and off the stage, etc...
"I'd be better if humans would stop hitting on me..." she grumbled.
In just the first thirty minutes of them being there, countless men had tried to engage Lucy in conversation, and she had given all of them the same answer: "Thanks, but I'm already seeing someone."
"What did you expect? You look amazing!" Mayu beamed.
This was the first time the girls had seen Lucy dress up, and it was absolutely ridiculous how beautiful the older Diclonius looked. She had substituted her high heels for flat, sandal-type shoes at the last minute, but kept the snug-fitting red dress, cherry red lipstick, and the long, messy ponytail tied with a red ribbon.
She started turning heads and getting checked out the literal moment she walked in.
To Nana, the best part of Lucy's look wasn't the hair, dress, or makeup, it was the fact that she no longer made any attempt to hide her horns. Nana hadn't quite developed the courage that she needed to do the same, but someday, she too was going to stop hiding what she was. For now, she'd keep wearing the hairbow that once belonged to Lucy.
"I'm wearing an engagement ring. I thought that would be enough for them to figure out I'm already taken."
As if on cue, two men approached the pink-haired girl. Before either could even open their mouth, Nana beat them to it.
"Don't bother, she has a boyfriend."
"For real? Damn..."
As the men walked away, Nana grinned at Lucy, who then gave her a thumbs-up of approval.
Surprisingly, it wasn't just the men who kept coming up to her. There were several girls who came over to either complement or make small talk with the Diclonius Queen. In an attempt to be at least somewhat sociable, Lucy managed to smile and either thank them, or talk with them for a couple of minutes.
Mayu couldn't understand why she was acting like this, but Nana summed it up perfectly.
"It would make Kouta look bad if people thought he had a rude bitch for a girlfriend."
Well, maybe not PERFECTLY... but she had the gist of it at least. It never ceased to amuse her that naive little Nana figured things like this out so much faster than Mayu or Yuka.
Aside from that, Lucy had discovered she didn't really mind taking a minute or two to talk to people. She'd never be as at ease with it as the other residents of Kaeda House, but except for Nana, they didn't understand what having to spend a good chunk of your life being used as a guinea pig by humans does to your socializing skills.
To Nana, it was further proof that Lucy would have been a warmer, friendlier girl if she had been given the chance earlier in life.
"Oh my God, I cannot believe YOU are the girl all the guy's keep talking about."
Lucy looked over at where the voice came from and saw a trio of girls looking at her. All three of them wore tight dresses that barely covered their panties, with plunging necklines so low, it exposed part of their stomach and almost all of their breasts.
In addition to the vast amount of makeup they were wearing, they all had the worst spray-on tan she'd ever seen.
"Excuse me?" the Diclonius asked.
"Every guy here is talking about you like you're some kind of supermodel, so I wanted to come see you for myself. I gotta say, I'm not really all that impressed." the one in front said. "I expected something a little hotter than a girl with pink hair and a red dress."
"I'm not interested in your expectations. Is that all you wanted to tell me?" Lucy asked.
The hoe-trio seemed a little bit surprised by her answer. Most girls would have responded by getting dramatic and causing a scene, but instead, she had basically told them to fuck off. No matter what they said or did, Lucy wasn't going to do anything that could potentially ruin this night for Kouta and Yuka.
"Who the hell do you think you are?! Don't you know who I am?!"
"Yes, I do. You're the girl with horribly done makeup, an unevenly applied spray tan, and a dress that looks like it was made out of a child's sleeping bag." Lucy responded.
Mayu and Nana had to bite their tongues to ward off a laughing fit. It was out of character for the pink-haired girl to say something like that, but this bitch deserved it.
The now-enraged girl tried to slap the Diclonius, but she easily caught it with her hand.
"If I were you, I'd get lost before I did something stupid I couldn't walk away from." Lucy told her coldly.
"Hey, look at that... she's wearing an engagement ring." one of them mentioned. She let go of the girl who tried to slap her, wanting to see if she was dumb enough to try it again.
"I can't imagine why. Who'd want to date someone that looks like HER?"
"Umm... every single guy in here?" Nana remarked.
To the best of the Sipelit's knowledge, this was the first time she said something that actually made the older Diclonius laugh.
Glaring at them, the three girls wisely walked away.
"Ok, I admit it... that one got me." Lucy confessed.
"Excuse me..."
The girls turned around to see a middle-aged woman standing behind them. "Do any of you know how much longer until they're ready to start?"
"I'm afraid not, Miss." Nana apologized. "Do you have someone in your family graduating?"
"I sure do." she replied with a proud smile. "My son and niece. They..."
Abruptly, she stopped talking and looked at Lucy with wide eyes. "Oh! You must be Kaeda!"
The woman unexpectedly threw her arms around Lucy. "I'm so happy to finally meet you! My son talks about you all the time!"
"Y-Your son...?"
"Kouta."
"Y...You're Kouta's mother?"
"Since the day he was born!" she cheerfully answered.
Lucy honestly thought she was going to faint, but shook it off and hugged the woman back.
She took a step back to have a look at her future daughter-in-law. "Oh my! You're even more beautiful in person! I bet men never stop hitting on you!"
"Pretty much!" Nana teased.
"You must be Nana! And... Maya?" she asked.
"Mayu." the young girl corrected.
"Kouta talks about you two a lot, too. Don't worry, it's always positive."
Nana's smile faltered for a split-second. She knew instantly something was wrong with Lucy, and since she had seen the older girl's memories, she had a pretty good idea of what it was.
"Kouta, he... he never told me you were coming."
"Well, of course not, dear. I told him I couldn't make it." she smiled. "I wanted to surprise him, and I'm so glad I did."
"Um... are you ok?" Mayu asked.
"I'm fine..." she answered quietly. "Do you know where a bathroom is?"
"They're right over there."
"Thanks, I'll be right back." Lucy said before walking away, entering the women's bathroom, locking herself in a stall, and sitting on the toilet. Lucy took a deep breath to calm herself.
'Oh God, please tell me she doesn't know...' the Diclonius prayed. It doesn't seem likely, or she'd never have been that warm to her.
Then again, Yuka had known and was still warm and caring towards her.
'Calm down... just get up, go back out there, and try to get to know her.' she told herself.
Getting back up, Lucy left the bathroom and returned to the others.
"Perfect timing, honey. They're ready."
Lucy, Mrs. Kurosawa, Mayu, and Nana filed into the auditorium where the actual ceremony was taking place. The more time she spent with the older woman, the more she relaxed and opened up. This woman was literally going to become family in a few months, so she did all she could to make a good impression (except kiss her ass and adopt a fake personality. That simply wasn't going to happen for anyone).
As it turned out, there was no need. Lucy and the older woman liked each other almost from the moment they met.
Noticing she seemed to be getting stared at, the Diclonius asked her if something was wrong.
"Not at all, I just can't get over how gorgeous you are in person. Even your horns are cute!"
"You know? About me..."
"Being a Diclonius? Of course."
Lucy looked a bit surprised by this. "And you're ok with having one for a daughter-in-law?"
"I don't care if you're a human, or a Diclonius, or anything in between. My son is absolutely in love with you, and it's clear you feel the same way about him. That's all I care about."
Seeing the pink-haired girl holding back her tears, Mrs. Kurosawa reached over and took her hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. "You're going to make an incredibly beautiful bride, but even if you weren't, I wouldn't care. True love is hard to find these days, and I'm so glad that Kouta found someone like you."
Watching the two of them made both Mayu and Nana teary-eyed, but they did a better job at hiding it than the older Diclonius. She didn't know why, but the Sipelit had a feeling the older woman already knew what part Lucy had played in the death of her family.
Of course, this was one of the few things Nana would wisely keep her mouth shut about. As they waited for the ceremony to start, the purple-haired girl excused herself to make a quick bathroom run. As he was making her way there, she discovered the Bitch Sister's really were telling the truth when they said all the guys were talking about Lucy.
"I dunno if she's still here, but she had like, cotton candy pink hair..."
"She had on this little cat ear hairband looking thing..."
"I saw her talking to those snobby bitches earlier. Well, not really talking, it was more like they were arguing..."
"I didn't see her with anyone, but she had a ring on her left hand..."
"No, she was WAY hotter than them. They just look like a bunch of sluts. You couldn't see her tits, her dress wasn't really all that short, and she didn't have on a ton of makeup, but I'd still fuck that girl long before I would Megumi or any of her bitches."
Nana giggled to herself. This was the kind of attention and popularity some women try their absolute best to garner, but never achieve, and Lucy gets it without even trying. It was pretty damn impressive how that girl could turn that many heads with nothing but a normal length dress that didn't even show any cleavage, and a little lipstick.
It was so ironic. The one everybody keeps talking about is the one least likely to want to be talked about.
As Nana rounded the corner, she ran right into a boy with shoulder-length, shaggy black hair, carrying a pile of freshly washed towels.
The impact knocked them both over, but Nana recovered first.
"I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention!" she said as she got up. Before the boy could get up, a man in a poorly fitting suit started yelling at him.
"Kenji, what are you doing?! Can't you pay more attention to where you're going?!"
"It's not his fault! I ran into him!" the Sipelit spoke up.
The man, apparently a manager at the hotel, apologized to her and threatened to fire the boy if he did it again. After he walked off, the boy apologized to her as he was picking up the pile of towels he dropped. Ignoring his protests, the young Diclonius helped him anyway.
"Kenji, right? I'm Nana. Nice to meet you." she smiled.
"Nice to meet you, too."
After a few seconds, of silence, Kenji looked down at the floor.
"Um... not to be a creep or anything, but... you're very pretty."
"I... um... thank you. Y-You know, I've never had a guy tell me that before." she confessed. For a moment, they just stood there blushing and smiling at each other.
"I... I should get back to work." he reluctantly said. The two shook hands and parted ways.
The whole way to the bathroom, Nana couldn't get the smile off her face. Pulling her panties down, the Sipelit had just begun peeing when the door opened and a couple of girls walked in.
"I swear to God, If I hear one more guy talking about how bad he wants to fuck that girl, I'm gonna scream!"
Nana instantly recognized the voice as belonging to one of the girls who had been so rude to Lucy earlier.
"Why do you care so much?"
"Because I'm so much hotter than that little bitch will ever be!"
'Tell that to all the guys I passed on the way here!' Nana thought with a smirk.
"You know what pisses me off the most? That girl isn't even a real fucking person! She's one of those... freaks... that have been all over the news!"
"Those Di...whatevers? Are you sure?"
"Yes! You didn't see the horns on her head?"
"I did, but I mean... I thought it was a hairband."
"Do you think we could call the cops and get her in trouble?"
'Uh oh...' Nana thought to herself.
"How?"
"They're supposed to be dangerous, right? Maybe we could tell them she tried to kill us or something?"
"I... don't think that'd work. There's too many cameras around for them to believe that."
"You're getting too worked up over this. Just forget her." a new voice said.
"Hey, she had an engagement ring on, right? Think her boyfriend's here?"
"Maybe. Why?"
As hard as the Sipelit was trying to keep quiet, the next sentence ruined all hope of that.
"I bet I can get him to cheat on her!"
Unable to stop herself, Nana burst out laughing. Pulling her panties back up, she flushed, and left the stall to wash her hands.
"What are YOU laughing at?"
"You." Nana replied simply. "I understand you're jealous of Lucy, but trying to get her fiance to cheat? Yeah, good luck with that!"
"Excuse you?!" Queen Bitch said in irritation. "I can have any man I want, anytime I want!"
"Except hers. Kouta's not a cheater... and he doesn't like skanks."
"You little bitch! Do you know who-" she fumed before being interrupted by Nana cheerfully telling her to have fun making an idiot out of herself.
"Megumi, just let it go, ok? She's not worth the drama."
"Don't tell me what to do, Meyumi!"
"I think she's right. Who cares if all the guys are hitting on her?"
"Oh, that's perfect... first her, and now you, Mesumi? What kind of fuckin' friends are you?"
"The kind that's trying to keep you out of jail! Do you really think five years from now you're still going to care that a girl with pink hair was rude to you?"
"OF COURSE I AM!"
Meyumi and Mesumi just looked at each other, then turned to their mutual friend.
"We're going to the hotel bar. Come find us when you're over all this."
Megumi watched in shock as her friends turned to leave. She couldn't believe they weren't going to help her get even with that trashy pink-haired little whore who had insulted her... HER, Megumi Norishido, the only daughter of Tanaka Norishido, owner and CEO of Norishido Wealth Management.
Unexpectedly, just as the girls reached for the doorknob, it opened and in walked the trashy pink-haired little whore herself. Caught by surprise, Lucy and the two girls just looked at each other for a moment, then she walked right by them and entered one of the stalls. When she left the auditorium, the Dean was half-finished with his long-ass speech, so she wasn't quite having to rush back. However, the graduating class was small, and she didn't want to risk not being able to see Kouta and Yuka receive their diploma.
The two girls really, REALLY wanted out of there. Megumi was turning a puddle of rainwater into Lake Biwa, and both of them knew it. However, they didn't want to leave the girl all by herself just in case things turned violent. Eventually, they decided to wait for the Diclonius to leave.
Lucy could hear them whispering to each other, and it brought a smile to her face to hear the girl's friends pleading with her not to do something stupid, to just let it go before things got out of hand.
Finishing up, the Diclonius flushed the toilet, left the stall, and walked right by Megumi like she didn't even exist.
The girl's family was extremely rich. They had multiple homes, new cars, vacationed abroad every year, wore expensive clothes, and had several hired servants. She was used to having her ass kissed by everybody from police to politicians, so when the pink-haired girl casually walked right by her, she took this as a grave insult.
"You're one of those Diclonius freaks I keep hearing about on the news, aren't you?"
"That's right." Lucy answered as she started washing her hands.
"I hear there's a lot of people that want your kind either locked up or killed."
"There are, yes."
"And that you're just a bunch of monsters that love murdering humans."
"Sometimes."
"Megumi, please, let's just go... please!" Meyumi begged.
"You should listen to your friend." Lucy told her as she rinsed the soap off her hands.
"So, how many people HAVE you murdered?"
"Hundreds."
Meyumi and Mesumi looked at each other ominously. Again, they tried to get her to leave with them, and again, they were ignored.
Lucy pulled a couple of paper towels from the dispenser and dried her hands. The two girls looked at her fearfully as she walked by them.
"Hey, you pink-haired slut! I'm not finished talking to you!"
"Yes, you are. My fiancé is graduating tonight, and I'm not missing it on account of somebody like you." she answered without even turning around.
"Megumi, don't!" Meyumi pleaded frantically when she stormed off after the Diclonius. Just as her hand touched the doorknob, the entitled bitch grabbed her by the hair.
Instantly, an invisible hand knocked the incredibly idiotic girl to the floor.
Now SERIOUSLY pissed off, Lucy coldly looked down at her and visibly materialized her vectors.
Meyumi and Mesumi recoiled in sheer terror, too afraid to even scream. Megumi looked like she was about to piss her panties.
She calmly walked over to the now petrified girl, looking down at her while her vectors floated in the air behind her.
"You wanted to know how many people I've killed, right? Well, there were three classmates, about forty residents who I murdered so I could use their home for a few days, twenty or so firefighters, about thirty-two police officers, fifty'ish random people at a festival, four or five hundred while I was homeless, and I can't even remember how many the night I escaped the place I was locked up in. Would you like to go on the list? I certainly don't mind adding you."
Just to add insult to injury, Lucy reached out with her vectors until they were close enough to touch the arrogant little bitch. With an almost supernatural degree of restraint, one of them extended a ghostly finger and gently touched the girl's nose.
"If I wanted to, I could rip the blood vessels in your brain apart, or tear off your head so fast, you won't even realize you're dead. I could even rip your body apart limb by limb. Trust me, that's not a painless way to die."
Somehow, the two girls mustered enough nerve to beg for their friend's life.
"Please... please don't kill her! We're sorry, ok?! We're sorry! Please!"
Lucy turned around and looked at the two girls literally cowering in fear.
"You two need to think about finding better friends." she advised as her vectors disappeared.
She had just opened the door when a "Wait!" caused her to look back.
The two girls timidly approached the Diclonius. "Th... Thank you..." Lucy nodded and turned to leave. "Um... I know this isn't really the time for this, but... um... can I see your ring? I'm so sorry, but... I... I'm just... when someone gets an engagement ring, I..."
"It's fine." Lucy replied in amusement as she held out her hand. Mesumi cautiously walked up and took it.
"Oh, wow! Meyumi, you gotta see this!"
The other girl hesitantly approached Lucy, but like her sister, her fear soon evaporated.
"Oh my God, that's BEAUTIFUL! Congratulations!"
Lucy smiled, thanking them as she left the bathroom. For some reason, she got much more satisfaction from scaring the holy shit out of her than she would've from just killing her. It was very much a new experience for her, and a learning experience for them.
Or at least it was for those two. Megumi got up and immediately pulled out her phone.
"What are you doing?"
"What does it LOOK LIKE I'M DOING?!" she screamed at them. "That bitch just tried to kill me, and you both saw it, that makes you witnesses!"
"Are you serious?! Megumi, for God's sakes, stop it! WE started this, remember?!"
"Hello? Police? This is Megumi Norishido... yes, THAT Norishido. I just had a Diclonius try to kill me... That's right, a Diclonius! I need the police here right now!"
The two girls just stared at her in disbelief. "We just had to BEG that girl not to kill you, and you're STILL going to fuck with her?!"
Megumi hung up, wearing a smug little smirk. "Let's see how tough that bitch feels when I'm done with her now."
"This is crazy!"
"We are NOT helping you get her arrested!"
"I think you're forgetting who pays for your rent, tuition, and cars. If you don't help, I'll have my father cut you off, and you can go have fun being homeless."
The girls just looked at each other, both clearly torn between losing their lifestyle and losing their dignity.
"Well? What's it gonna be?"
Five minutes later
Taking her seat between Mrs. Kurosawa and Nana, Lucy made it back just as the H's were being called. When Kouta's mother reached for her hand, the Diclonius took it without a second thought. Nana smiled admiringly at the two women. Though she'd only just met her, it was clear Mrs. Kurosawa had taken an instant liking to her future daughter-in-law.
As for Lucy, the way she immediately accepted her despite knowing she was a Diclonius had made quite an impression. When she met Yuka's parents, they DID accept their daughter was living with two Diclonii, but there were several questions about the safety of doing so. Once the initial concerns had passed, they became surprisingly close to her and Nana much faster than expected.
It ultimately ended on a positive note, and interactions with them since had been much more welcoming, but Kuota's mother had skipped that entirely and went straight to acceptance. It was immediately clear to her where Kouta's kind heartedness had come from.
When his name was called, Lucy, Mrs. Kurosawa, Nana, and Mayu silently stood up. Kouta gave them a wave, then did a double-take and motioned to Yuka. Clearly, he was pointing out the fact that his mother had come after all. She in turn waved, and as soon as all of the formalities were over, the cousins rushed over.
Lucy, expecting Kouta to go to his mother first, stepped out of the way. Surprisingly, the first thing he did was pull her close and kiss her red lips with his. She instantly wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back long and deeply before breaking contact. Hugging him, she told him how proud of him she was before letting go and stepping back to give his mom a turn.
To their great amusement, the very first thing she said was,
"Kouta, don't you DARE break that girl's heart! Do you hear me?"
Even Yuka laughed, and Nana couldn't help but notice the embarrassed blush on Lucy's face.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was coming, I just wanted to surprise you."
"Well, you succeeded." he smiled. Yuka was next, and Mrs. Kurosawa apologized profusely that her parents weren't able to make it. They fully intended to be there, but torrential rain had forced them into a hotel for the night. Yuka was understandably upset, but understood.
To make up for it, they wanted to take everyone out the following night. Yuka protested, but like her, they were stubborn and wouldn't accept any answer except "Ok."
The six of them stood there talking for what seemed like hours, occasionally stepping aside so people could leave the auditorium. "I'm sorry about your parents." Mayu said. "Me too." Nana added.
"It's OK, we'll see them tomorrow."
The group made their way into the hallway and headed towards the lobby. Kouta and Yuka both tried to get Mrs. Kurosawa to stay overnight, but she regretfully told them she needed to get home because the accounting firm she worked at was short on help, and desperately needed her.
The cousin's weren't really happy about it it, but understood.
As soon as they walked back inside the lobby, they noticed several police officers huddled by the front desk, trying to comfort an emotionally distraught girl that Lucy, Nana, and Mayu all recognized as the bitch who picked a fight with Lucy. Standing by the wall were the two girls who had tried to convince her not to call the police.
"Damn! What happened?" Yuka asked. "It looks like someone beat the crap out of that girl!"
As soon as she saw Lucy, she said something to the officers. The next thing the residents of Kaeda House knew, the cops pulled out guns and surrounded the group. Everyone except the Diclonius Queen was told to back away, but Kouta alone refused.
"Sir, she's dangerous! Get away from her!"
"That's my future wife, I'm not going anywhere!"
To the pink-haired girl, this was a moment she'd never forget. Seeing Kouta risking his life to protect her was just another reason for her to love and cherish him.
"Fine! Both of you stay where you are!"
"Hey! That's my son and future daughter-in-law you're pointing guns at!" Mrs. Kurosawa yelled.
"Your future daughter-in-law tried to murder this young lady, and we have witnesses!"
Meyumi and Mesumi stared at the floor, too ashamed to even look in Lucy's direction. Feeling they had no other choice, they agreed with Megumi's version of events, which was basically that Lucy and her got into a verbal argument, and then Lucy beat her to a bloody pulp. Their statements provided enough probable cause to make an arrest.
"This is so wrong..." Mesumi whispered. "She didn't do shit to her..."
Meyumi, meanwhile, started to silently cry from shame and guilt.
"Are we really going to just let her go to jail like this?"
Megumi, meanwhile, was crying crocodile tears and pleading for the police not to let Lucy hurt her anymore.
"I knew your kind shouldn't have been allowed to live among Humans. See how badly you've traumatized that girl? You're under arrest!"
When Kouta tried to get in-between her and the cops, Lucy stopped him.
"It's going to be ok. I'll be home tomorrow, so don't do anything stupid." she whispered. "We'll deal with that lying bitch later."
The Diclonius held out her hands and just as the cop pulled out the handcuffs, the two "witnesses" told him to stop.
The look on Megumi's face was priceless.
"We... we lied. She never touched her."
"Megumi caused all those injuries to herself, and forced us to lie and back up her story."
Turning to Lucy, the two girls bowed, struggling not to break down in tears.
"We're so sorry. We can't let you go to jail for something we know you didn't do." Meyumi said.
"Wait..." the cop who confronted Lucy said. "You're saying you lied about the assault? This girl never actually hit her?"
The two girls tearfully nodded. "If we have to go to jail, we understand."
Realizing they'd been lied to, the police officers holstered their guns, then they too bowed to Lucy, apologizing for their mistake and her near false arrest.
"Both of you are done, understand?! Just wait until my father hears about t- Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" Megumi shrieked as one of the cops grabbed her.
"Would you like to press charges for defamation and false accusation, Ma'am?"
Lucy thought it over for a few seconds, then shook her head.
"No."
"Lucy..." Nana whispered, smiling proudly at her. Yuka, Kouta, Mrs. Kurosawa, and Mayu all did likewise, looking at the pink-haired with new respect and admiration.
The cop holding Megumi let her go with a disgusted glare.
"I think you owe that girl an apology."
Instead of heeding his advice and preserving what little credibility she had left, the entitled little snob slapped the cop, berating him for even suggesting such a thing. As expected, this only made things worse, and a few seconds later, Megumi had been cuffed, tazed, and drug out of the lobby, screaming the whole way.
Abruptly, Kouta grabbed onto Lucy and kissed her. After a moment of surprise, she happily kissed him back.
"You're amazing, you know that?"
The older Diclonius blushed as the rest of her family agreed with Kouta. She hated being the center of attention, but it DID feel nice to be complemented so highly by the people she had come to regard as her family.
"Excuse us..."
Meyumi and Mesumi meekly approached the group, looking down at the floor. "We're so sorry we lied about you, we were just scared and didn't know what to do."
"Scared of what?" Yuka asked.
Watching the two girls on the verge of an emotional breakdown, Lucy couldn't help but feel at least a tiny bit sorry for them.
"Megumi's family is very, VERY rich. Her father gives her everything she wants, so she asked him to cover our living expenses. We didn't ask her to do that, she did it on her own. It was nice at first, but then she started threatening to have him stop if she didn't get her way."
"My, what wonderful friends you have..." Kouta told them sarcastically.
"So, what happened tonight?" Lucy asked.
"She kept hearing guys talking about you, and it started pissing her off, so she wanted to have a look at you for herself." Meyumi said.
Mesumi added, "She was just... so unbelievably jealous. She had this... this really stupid idea about getting your boyfriend to cheat on you with her..."
Nana started laughing, "Yeah, I told her to go ahead and try, but it wouldn't work."
"She knew you were a Diclonius, and wanted to get you arrested, so she started talking shit to get a reaction out of you, but when you ignored her, she grabbed your hair, and then these weird arms appeared and..." Meyumi started crying a little, so Mesumi took over.
"I was just... I was terrified... like, BEYOND terrified. I honestly thought you were about to kill all three of us..."
"Not to be rude, but what does that have to do with her almost getting my son and his fiancé shot?" Mrs. Kurosawa asked with clear irritation in her voice.
"Megumi, like... injured herself, and called the police to get you in trouble. We didn't want any part of it, but she said if we didn't help her, she'd tell her father to cut us off..."
"So THAT'S why..." Mayu said.
Everyone's expression softened a little bit. The girls seemed genuinely remorseful for their part in this dumpster-fire of a situation. They got caught up in the whole "mean girl" thing, and had come close to crossing a line there'd be no coming back from.
"We're so sorry... f-for all of this. We didn't want to lose our home, but we couldn't let you go to jail for something we know you didn't do."
"We know we don't deserve it, but please... "
"It's forgiven." Lucy interrupted before they could finish.
Looking up in surprise, the girls looked at Lucy with an uncertain expression on their faces.
"Y-You mean it?"
"Yes."
The girls looked at each other, then looked at Lucy.
"Thank you... I... I promise we'll never forget this." they said, bowing again before they turned to walk away.
"Hang on..." Yuka called. "Where are you going to stay tonight?"
"We don't know... but our parents are coming to get us in the morning, so we'll be ok."
Yuka turned around and all four of her housemates nodded before she even asked.
"If it's only one night, I've got an idea..."
Kaeda House - Four hours later
Groggy with sleep, Meyumi made her way down the hall, trying to remember where Kouta said the bathroom was.
Until that very night, they wouldn't have believed there were actually still people out there with such kind hearts. The fact that the same people they had almost gotten falsely arrested were now letting them spend the night had torn them apart with guilt.
If one of those cops had gotten trigger-happy and shot someone, they'd be murderers. This didn't really "hit them" at the time, but now that they were alone with perfect hindsight, it was utterly wrecking their conscience.
As she turned the corner, Meyumi ran right into Lucy as she was making her way back to her own room (which tonight she was sharing with Kouta). She had changed into the PJ's and let her hair down, but left her makeup on, having learned by now it was far easier to just leave it on and let it wear off overnight than it was to spend several minutes literally scrubbing it off.
"I'm sorry, I didn't see you."
Lucy shook her head dismissively. "It's fine. Goodnight."
"Wait..."
"What?"
Suddenly, she kind of wished she'd kept her mouth shut.
"I know it's late, but can I talk to you for a moment? Please?"
Five minutes later
The two girls sat on the porch making small talk, with Meyumi all the while trying to scrape together enough nerve to say what was on her mind.
"Umm... I know this is none of my business, but please don't be upset, ok?"
"No promises." the Diclonius answered.
"That stuff you told Megumi about how many people you... well... w-were you just trying to scare her, or..."
"No... I was serious." Lucy said bluntly.
The human honestly didn't know what to think about that little confession. Instead of letting the subject go and pretending they never talked about it, her curiosity got the best of her.
"Why?"
"It's... complicated. Some of them were killed because I was sick of being victimized. Others tried to stop me from escaping the place I was being held captive. Some of them were trying to kill me, some of them were trying to kill people I care about... but honestly, most of them were killed simply because I once believed that killing humans was the reason I was born."
She turned to look at the other girl. "Why? Are you afraid to stay here now?"
The other girl shook her head. "No, I'm not."
This intrigued the pink-haired girl. "Why not?" she asked.
"I saw the way you and your boyfriend looked at each other. I know I don't know either of you two, but I... I get the feeling that things like... THAT... happened before you two got together."
Lucy looked up at the night sky, but said nothing. Feeling like she might have overstepped her boundaries, Meyumi apologized and started to leave.
"The night I left this place, he asked me to promise not to kill anymore people if I didn't have to. When I came back, it was about six months later. We were in love, but it took a while to make the decision to be together." Lucy said quietly.
"Did he know? That you... I mean..."
"Of course. We don't keep secrets from each other."
"He knew you killed all those people, but still wanted to be with you anyway?"
The Diclonius nodded, watching with surprise as the girl covered her mouth and tears welled up in her eyes.
"What's wrong?"
"You're so lucky... lucky to have a boyfriend willing to stay by your side, even after all that. I... I've never had a boyfriend like that. The last guy I dated dumped me because I was too sick to have sex with him."
"Are you serious?"
Meyumi nodded and wiped her eyes. "I had the Flu, and had spent all night throwing up. He comes over, and at first I was like... "Wow, he came to check on me!" but then he said he was just there to fuck me, and when I said I was still sick, he just started yelling, then walked out on me just like that... like he didn't care about me at all."
"He didn't."
Truth be told, Lucy was kind of annoyed that it took her so long to figure it out. On the other hand, she remembered that Nana had been in a similar situation not that long ago. She had been so sure the boy loved her... right up until he drugged and cheated on her because she wasn't willing to have sex so early in their relationship.
"I found out later that he had been cheating on me the whole time we were dating. He was just using me as a ''last resort fuck'' if he didn't have anyone else."
The Diclonius Queen couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl, and it made her wonder if the other girl (Merumi? Mefumi?) had to go through something similar.
"Would your boyfriend... umm... Ko... uh..."
"Kouta."
"Would Kouta ever do something like that to you?" Meyumi asked.
"Never." Lucy replied without hesitation. "He's a far better man than that. If Kouta took a shower with another girl, I wouldn't bat an eyelash. I wouldn't ask if he touched her or let her touch him. I wouldn't even wonder about it because I already know the answer."
"Wow..." Meyumi said in amazement. "You really trust him that much?"
The pink-haired girl nodded. "With all my life, heart, and soul. He'd never betray my love for him, especially not by cheating on me."
"What about you? Would you ever cheat on him?"
"I'd rather die."
"Well, what about if you were guaranteed not to get caught?"
"That doesn't change anything. Even if he'd never know, *I* would. After all he's done for me, I'd kill myself before I'd do something that vile to him."
One look into Lucy's eyes convinced the other girl that she was dead serious about it.
"Until I came here, Kouta was the only person in the whole world who didn't treat me like I was some kind of freak."
"You mean, because you're a Diclonius?" Meyumi asked.
"Yes. He didn't care about me having horns, or not being human, or any other petty bullshit like that. He loved me just as I was..." Lucy said softly. "He was... the only friend I ever had during my childhood. Even back then, I knew I was going to love him until the day I died."
"That's so beautiful... I'd give ANYTHING for a boyfriend like that."
"Kouta's everything to me. My friend, my lover, my shoulder to cry on, my future husband..." Lucy said, looking at her engagement ring. "He's the one person in my entire life that I know won't abandon me, or stop loving me, or abuse me. Even after finding out all the things I've done, and all the... the people I've killed, he didn't leave me... or tell me I was a monster. He loved me enough to look past that. He... He even asked me to marry him."
Lucy looked away, but not soon enough to stop the other girl from seeing the silent tear that fell from her beautiful red eyes.
"He's a wonderful man, and I'd give my life for him without a second thought."
Deeply moved by both the pink-haired girl's words, and her own guilt, Meyumi bowed her head and cried.
"I'm so sorry... I almost got you thrown in jail because I was too much of a chicken-shit to tell that horrible bitch no. I got scared and gave in, and... and I'm so sorry."
If Lucy had been some kind of smug, narcissistic little slut, she would have had no problem lying about her. After getting to know her a little better, she couldn't believe she went along with getting somebody like her in trouble for something she didn't even do.
"It's over and done with. Let's forget it and move on."
Meyumi nodded, and wiped her eyes again.
"You have such a beautiful heart, Kaeda."
"...What?"
The girl repeated herself, and Lucy looked at her like she was crazy.
"I... I think you're forgetting abou-"
"I don't care how many people you've killed, you still have one of the most beautiful hearts I've ever seen. You're so dedicated to your fiancé, and the people you live with, too. You forgave me and Mesumi so easily. You invited us into your home, even after we lied about you. We... We could have gotten you and Kouta killed, but you still welcomed us in..."
Meyumi buried her face in her hands and cried her heart out. For the first time in her life, she was seeing with her own eyes what real, genuine love looked like.
Lucy watched the other girl sob, at a loss as to what she should do. Finally, she hesitantly put an arm around her. Comforting the people she lived with was one thing, but near-strangers? Yeah, that was another story.
Unexpectedly, Meyumi turned towards the Diclonius and hugged her. Taken a back by the suddenness, Lucy reluctantly hugged her back and let the girl cry on her for a bit.
"I wish I was a little more like you... I don't think I'll ever be able to love or BE loved as deeply as you."
This was the first time she'd ever heard something like that directed at her, and she would carry this memory with her for the rest of her life.
"Someday, you will find a Kouta of your own. When you do, cherish him... and don't take him for granted. You are not promised a tomorrow, so love him every day like it was your last."
The human sniffled a little. "Not only are you beautiful and kind, you're smart, too."
"...Ok, hug's over."
Meyumi laughed as she let go of her, and the Diclonius herself couldn't help but smile. After getting to her feet, she reached her hand out and helped Lucy stand up.
"Would it be alright if me and Mesumi came to the wedding?"
"Sure. If I'm still asleep when you two leave, give Yuka your address so we can mail you an invitation."
"Thank you, Kaeda. I've never met anyone like you guys before, but I'm so glad I did."
"Me too, and you're welcome."
The girls hugged again before going their separate ways; Meyumi to the bathroom, and Lucy to her bedroom. After getting back in bed, she cuddled up to her sleeping boyfriend, a smile on her face as she watched him peacefully sleep beside her. Giving his lips a gentle kiss, she closed her eyes with a quiet yawn, remembering Meyumi's words just before falling asleep.
"You're so lucky... lucky to have a boyfriend willing to stay by your side, even after all that."
"Yes..." Lucy whispered outloud. "Yes, I am."