Note: This chapter contains strong sexual content.
-Faith, Love, and Forgiveness - Chapter Thirty-five: Tradition-
Six weeks later
As their senior year drew to a close, Nana and Mayu finally understood why Kouta and Yuka had mixed feelings about graduating.
Their last day of school was the day after tomorrow, and graduation was five days after that. As excited as they were to be leaving, they were also a little sad about it, especially Nana. It seemed like only yesterday when she first walked into school as a new student. She'd been so shy and timid back then, it made her second guess if enrolling had been a good idea. The only people she knew were Mayu and Kenji, and she was the only Diclonius the school had ever had.
Then, she (as Yuka put it) "bloomed". She didn't know exactly when it happened, but almost overnight, everything changed. Some of the students who had avoided her out of mistrust of the Diclonii race decided to give her a chance. Underneath the horns and vectors, they found a kind, fun-loving girl who was always happy and cheerful, and never hesitated to offer help to anyone who needed it.
Slowly, but surely, she started making friends. It started with short conversations before class started, which then turned into long conversations after or between classes, then into phone calls and text messages, then into eating lunch together. Before Nana knew it, her classmates were showing up at Kaeda House to hang out with her and Mayu.
The purple-haired girl soon developed a reputation for being easy to get along with, caring, trustworthy, honest, and willing to lend an ear to whoever needed it. Soon, she became so popular, the entire school knew her by name, and that popularity skyrocketed after joining the school's cheerleading squad and adding another group to her ever-expanding circle of friends.
Mayu had watched with pride as the Sipelit gradually changed from awkward caterpillar to social butterfly. Though she herself was nowhere near as popular as Nana, Mayu was most definitely not without friends, nor male students who wanted to date her.
Even if she had been, Nana always included her in conversations and outings. If you wanted to hang out with the purple-haired Sipelit, her human friend was going with you... period.
On the eve of her last day, the makeshift family went shopping to find the two girls dresses for graduation. Predictably, Yuka decided she wanted one too, and encouraged Lucy to find a new dress for herself while they were at it.
"Fine, but If you say one single word about makeup, I'm returning it."
Yuka pouted about it at first, and when Kouta pulled her aside and told her, "You know Kaeda hates wearing makeup, but every single time she buys clothes, you start pestering her about wearing it anyway." she first got defensive, then went and asked Lucy about it directly.
"To be blunt, Kouta's right, you DO pester me about it. You don't seem to understand that not every girl out there likes dressing the same way you do, and sometimes, you make it hard to enjoy shopping with you."
Thankfully, she seemed to get the point instead of making a big deal about it.
"I was just trying to help..." she said quietly with a hurt expression on her face.
Lucy sighed and took Yuka by the hands. "Listen, I'm not really sure what sort of dress would be good for Nana's graduation. Would you mind helping me look?"
She knew the Diclonius was simply trying to make her feel better, but she appreciated the offer regardless.
"Kaeda, I'm sorry... I honestly wasn't trying to bother you about it, I just..."
"You don't have to explain, I get it..." Lucy smiled. The brunette smiled back and kissed her lightly on the cheek.
"Thank you."
What followed was nearly an hour of disagreements and repeated trips to the fitting room. Most of what Yuka liked, Lucy hated, and vice-versa. They tried long dresses, short dresses, modest dresses, cocktail dresses, dresses that had more fabric than a clothing factory, and dresses that had so little fabric, they barely covered anything.
The dress she currently had on was white, backless, and had a plunging neckline that reached all the way to her navel. It was also skin tight, and so short that raising her arms caused her panties to show.
"Why the hell would you wear something like this in public? It looks so trashy!" Lucy cringed.
"It kinda does, doesn't it?" Yuka agreed.
Eventually, Lucy managed to find a dress that both her and Yuka loved. It was burgundy, with a V-neck that ended a couple of inches above her cleavage (Lucy always refused to wear any dress or top that exposed any). It wasn't as snug fitting as the red one she wore to Kouta and Yuka's graduation, but it was still much tighter than her usual dresses, and ended just over an inch or two above her knee.
Like her red one, it was zip-up, but since Yuka had decided to go try something on for herself, and Kouta was in the bathroom, Nana volunteered to help her. Stripping down to her bra and panties, Lucy stepped into the dress and pulled it up.
"Are you sad to be leaving?"
"Well, yeah... I always thought that was crazy, but I get it now. You spend so much time at one place, then they tell you that you never have to come back there again." Nana replied.
The Sipelit helped her pull the dress into place, and zipped the back up. Lucy and Nana stared at her reflection with wide-eyed surprise.
"Lucy, that looks beautiful on you!" Nana beamed. Lucy stepped closer to the mirror, turning to the left and right to see how it looked from different angles. The older Diclonius smiled at her reflection and then turned to Nana. "I love it. Thank you for helping."
She helped her out of it, and Lucy changed back into the skirt and top she'd been wearing.
"Hey, Nana?"
"Yeah?"
Lucy reached out and hugged the young Sipelit. Nana smiled and readily hugged her "older sister" back, blushing slightly as they embraced.
"Everyone is so proud of you and Mayu. I'm glad you saw this through to the end instead of giving up."
"Lucy..." Nana smiled gently, hugging her a little tighter. "That means a lot, coming from you."
For a long moment, the two Diclonii just held each other. Despite everything that happened between them at first, the two girls had gone from enemies to housemates, then to friends, and finally, to sisters. Nana loved and looked up to the pink-haired girl more than she would ever admit, and hearing praise from the Diclonius she so idolized never failed to touch her heart and bring a smile to her face.
When they left the fitting room, Kouta was waiting for them, but Mayu and Yuka were gone.
"You're done trying It on already?"
"Yes. Why? Did you want to see it?" she asked coyly. When he said yes, the couple entered the fitting room so she could try it on again.
Nana smiled as they went inside, hoping Kouta liked it as much as they did.
Lucy again stripped to bra and panties, and her husband helped zip it up after it was on. The pink-haired girl turned around to face him with a smile.
"Nana wasn't kidding, it DOES look amazing on you!"
"You really think so?" she asked as she slowly turned in a circle. She already knew he did, but still loved hearing it from him anyway. When he answered yes, she wrapped her arms around his neck and lovingly kissed him on the lips.
"Ten years ago, I'd have never in my wildest dreams imagined that someday, I'd have a family that loved me, and wanted me to be with them. I never imagined I'd go on shopping trips, or attend graduations, or be married with a loving husband. But most of all, I never imagined I'd be doing any of it with you." she admitted.
He smiled gently at her as he wrapped his arms around her slender waist.
"You are the best thing that ever happened to me, Kouta. Thank you for loving me."
Kouta kissed her gently and held her closer. "Thank YOU for loving ME. I can't even begin to imagine my life without you in it."
"I can't either... life without you wouldn't even qualify as "life" anymore."
Kouta blushed faintly and the two lovers shared a gentle, long kiss that lasted for several seconds.
Then another one... and another one... and before they knew it, Lucy was kneeling on a chair and pulling her new dress up to her hips while Kouta moved behind her and started working on getting his pants open.
"Hey, Kouta?"
"Yes?"
"I know we both prefer making love, but we're kinda short on time, so could you just fuck me instead?" she blushed as she reached back and pulled her panties down.
"Absolutely."
He rubbed a little saliva on his hardon and took hold of her hips.
The pink-haired Diclonius gripped the back of the chair and let out a soft moan when she felt him push inside. Once he was completely in, he immediately started thrusting hard and deep.
"God, I love you so much Kouta..." she said with an obvious blush on her cheeks.
"I love YOU so much." he smiled.
Lucy pushed her ass out a little bit and tightened her grip on the chair. It wasn't until Kouta pointed it out that she realized she could see their reflections in the mirror. She watched in fascination, smiling at her husband's reflection while they had sex.
"I kinda feel bad being the only one who gets to finish..." he said. Lucy giggled quietly, telling him he could make it up to her later that night if he wanted.
"I do." he said with a smile.
A few minutes later, he started thrusting even harder, and Lucy suddenly felt the familiar, gentle warmth that meant Kouta had just started ejaculating.
Instead of continuing to thrust as usual, he pushed in as hard and deep as he could and held still.
She smiled and blushed as she watched their reflections in the mirror, clearly feeling every spurt of semen as he came deep inside of her. Eventually, he gave her a few more thrusts to make sure as much as possible was left behind, then pulled out of her.
"God, that was incredible..." Kouta panted.
"It was more than incredible..." Lucy said with a smile. She climbed off the chair and pulled her panties back up and her dress back down. Kouta hugged her tightly and firmly pressed his lips against hers. She happily returned his kiss, shyly thanking him for giving her what she wanted.
Loud knocking interrupted their post-intercourse bliss, and both lovers agreed it was best to hurry up and leave.
"What the hell took you two so long?" Yuka asked when they finally emerged. Kouta simply replied he had jammed the zipper on her dress, and had trouble getting it unstuck.
"You didn't break it, did you?"
"No, of course not." he answered.
"Good." Yuka nodded. As they made their way up to the front of the store to pay for the girls' dresses, Mayu tapped Lucy on the shoulder and informed her there was something running down her leg.
In the rush to leave the fitting room, they had forgotten about an annoying little thing known as "gravity". While Mayu had accepted Lucy's explanation (that she had pulled a leg muscle a couple of days ago and put some gel on it before they left home) Nana knew better: her and Kouta had sex in the fitting room, and forgot that what goes in must eventually come out.
Just to troll the older girl, Nana innocently asked if she could borrow some of this special gel the next time she had a muscle cramp of her own.
Kamakura Jogakuin Junior/Senior High School - Two days later
As expected, her last day of school was an emotional one. Since most of the cheerleaders were in the same grade as her, this meant Coach Saiyuri would be losing the majority of her squad. Sure, in a few months school would be back in and their slots would be filled by new members, but Reina, Kei, Asana, Mikuru, Nana, Ayane, and three other long-time students wouldn't be coming back.
Unsurprisingly, this was the most emotional part of the day, and not just for the cheerleaders who wouldn't be back again. Coach Saiyuri broke down and cried with them when they came to see her as a group, and thanked them repeatedly for all the joy coaching them had brought her.
The Principal and "office ladies", as Nana liked to call them, did a better job at not getting all emotional when she came to see them, but she could tell it was a sad moment for them too.
"I know you've faced a lot of challenges being a Diclonius in human society, but you never let it get you down. Whatever it was, you met it head-on with the confidence and determination I've come to expect from you." he smiled proudly.
"And a smart-ass attitude." one of the women joked, sending everyone into a laughing fit.
"Yes, Miss Nana IS a bit of a smart-ass... but it suits her." he grinned.
"Thank you for letting me enroll here. I promise I will never forget all you've done for me." she said with a bow.
"We'll never..." the Principal started to say, but stopped when his voice started to break. He cleared his throat and tried again.
"We'll never forget you either. Be safe out there, Miss Nana."
The purple-haired girl smiled brightly as she wiped a tear out of her eyes.
"Good thing you didn't wear any eye makeup." Mayu teased when she left the office.
"Tell me about it..." she sniffled.
"Nana!"
The girls turned to see Reina coming their way. "Coach Saiyuri wants us to come back to the gym."
The girls looked at each other, shrugged, and headed back to the gym. When they arrived, the Coach was waiting for them with what turned out to be a painter's tray, and a gallon of purple paint. The cheerleaders waited patiently as Saiyuri conversed with one of the administration members. He nodded about something and left the gym.
"Girls..." Coach Saiyuri said with a grin. "We're starting a new tradition in this school, and I'd like you to be the first to participate."
With that, she pointed to a section of the wall behind her where several sheets of plastic had been spread out.
"If you're willing, I invite you to leave a handprint on this section of the wall. From now on, senior-year cheerleaders will have the chance to leave their handprint behind, as a way of saying, "Even if we're no longer students, we're still cheerleaders." Now, it is entirely up to you if you want to participate in-"
Before she even finished her sentence, some girls grabbed the bucket and started prying the lid off, while others ran to get some of the older towels so those who had already left a print could wipe their hand off.
When everyone was ready, the Coach used a brush to apply paint to the girls' hands, and one by one, they pressed them against the wall.
"Hey, Nana! Leave a vector-print!" Mikuru shouted. Suddenly, everyone started encouraging her to do it.
"Can you make those things visible?" Reina asked excitedly.
"Umm... probably. Give me a minute, I'm not as good at this as Lucy."
The girls silently waited as Nana concentrated. Making vectors visible required a lot of focus for someone not used to doing it. After a couple of minutes, she finally succeeded, and all four of her ghostly arms shimmered into view.
"Whoa! That is AWESOME!" Kei exclaimed. Coach Saiyuri watched in fascination as the rest of the girls stared in awe.
"Is it safe to touch them? Can't they like, cut through things?" one of the girls asked.
"It's safe. They only do that if I vibrate them a certain way."
Just for fun, Asana stuck her hand out and giggled in delight when the vector gently shook it.
"That is so cool!" Reina grinned. "How do you even move those things?"
"She doesn't know." Mayu teased.
"Yeah, I do! It's... It's just a secret, that's all." Nana said sheepishly. As her cheermates burst out laughing, Coach Saiyuri applied purple paint to the ghostly hands, and the girls cheered when Nana carefully pressed them against the wall and left four large vector-prints around the one left by her actual hand.
When everyone was finished, there was a final, emotional group-hug between the girls and their Coach that made even Mayu cry. When they left school for the last time, Nana tearfully thanked her oldest friend for encouraging her to enroll in the first place.
"I've had so many incredible, beautiful memories here, and I wouldn't have any of them if it wasn't for you."
Touched, Mayu hugged the purple-haired Diclonius tightly as the two girls cried together. It was bittersweet to finally be done with mandatory schooling, and it made Mayu wonder how many college students out there were only enrolled because of how badly they had missed being students.
"Come on..." she sniffled after a few minutes. "Let's go home."
Kaeda House - Graduation Day Eve
It had been over a year since the Kaeda House residents had seen Sakura, so they were a little bit surprised when she stepped off the train that night. Her chin-length pastel-pink hair had grown long enough to tie it Into a high messy ponytail, she was taller, her figure had filled out a little more, her ears had been pierced, and she was wearing a red, button-up top with a light pink, knee-length skirt instead of a school uniform.
What hadn't changed was the bright smile on her face as she ran over to Nana and Mayu.
"You look great, Sakura!" Mayu beamed as the three girls hugged.
"You really think so?"
"Yes! You're so beautiful! And I love how you've done your hair!" Mayu smiled as she gently brushed her hand through it. Sakura smiled and took hold of her friend's hand.
"You're just exaggerating now." she blushed. Mayu shook her head, also starting to blush as the two of them just stood there holding hands.
"AHEM!" Nana teasingly called out after a few moments. The girls let go, apologizing for zoning out like that.
Seeing the others walking up, Sakura ran over to hug Yuka and Kouta. Lucy tried to get away with just a wave, but gave in when the Sipelit threw her arms around her waist.
"I'm so glad to see you again!" Sakura said.
Lucy smiled in amusement as she hugged the younger Diclonius. "I'm glad to see you too. How do you like your new school?"
About six months ago, Sakura and her mother had moved to the Eastern city of Kisarazu. The mother/daughter duo were forced out of their home when the city of Atsugi decided to tear their apartment building down. Homeless again, they stayed in a shelter until they'd saved enough money to start looking for a new place to live.
While there, Sakura-Chan's mother had found a new job working for a company that cleaned office buildings. When they offered her more money to transfer to Kisarazu, she accepted. In another example of how absurdly over-generous they were, Yuka's parents had rented them a hotel room for an entire month so they wouldn't have to live in a shelter while saving up to get their own place.
Of course, when the woman called to ask if they were the ones who paid for the room, they told her they had no idea what she was talking about.
"I love it!" Sakura smiled at Lucy. "I finally have friends at school!"
That alone made Mrs. Kiryu feel the move was worth it. When Sakura came home from her first day at school, she'd already made new friends. Unlike Atsugi, these didn't bully or flat-out ostracize her for being a Diclonius. Yes, some kept their distance from her, but she could see why. The news ran plenty of "Public Service Announcements about the Diclonius threat facing Japan", and plenty of people were stupid enough to just believe it as Gospel without doing any research of their own.
Thankfully, some of those students opened up to her after getting to know her.
On the walk back to Kaeda House, Yuka filled her in on what was going to happen the next day.
Nana and Mayu would be going alone to the school, and the others would be following two hours later. Just like Kouta and Yuka's graduation, there would be last-minute rehearsals to ensure that everything went smoothly when the time came to do it for real. That night, the entire family went to bed early for the first time in months.
The next day, Nana and Mayu spent nearly as long getting ready as they had on Prom night. Finally, they left the house, and soon, it was nearly time for everyone else to leave also.
As the rest of them were getting ready, Yuka pulled Lucy aside to ask for a "special favor".
"I know I said I wouldn't bother you about makeup, but please just hear me out before you get mad..."
Lucy sighed in irritation, but didn't outright refuse to listen.
"What?"
"Well, Sakura and I had this idea about doing our makeup identically to how Nana and Mayu did theirs as a way of showing support."
"How the hell does that show support?" Lucy asked in clear annoyance.
"You know how fans of a sports team will wear that teams colors on game day? This is kind of like that."
The pink-haired girl was a bit surprised by how much sense the idea actually made. It wasn't something she'd have ever thought up on her own, but she could see where Yuka was coming from.
"And you want me to participate, right?"
The brunette nodded her head. "Only if you're willing to. If you say no, I'll drop the subject and won't ask again."
"I didn't see them before they left. I have no idea what it looked like."
"It was just some dusty rose lipstick and matching eyeshadow. Plus a little mascara, blush, and Nana had on this dark blue eyeliner she-"
"Nope. I'm not wearing that much makeup." Lucy refused.
"Will you at least do the eyeshadow and lipstick?" Yuka asked.
"I don't know, maybe... I don't even know what it looks like."
"Do you remember what her makeup looked like when we went dress shopping?"
Lucy nodded her head. To be honest, she HAD thought it looked nice on the young Diclonius.
"It was just like that." Yuka answered. "I'm sorry for even asking, but I thought-"
"I'm fine with it."
Yuka blinked in surprise. She didn't actually think the pink-haired girl was going to say yes.
"It's for Nana, right? I think I can tolerate it for a couple of hours if it's for her."
As true and honest as that statement was, supporting Nana was only a part of the reason she had decided to go along with it. The rest of it was because she'd never used that color before, and now she wanted to find out how it looked wrapped around Kouta's manhood.
It was almost an unspoken rule between the couple. If Lucy's wearing lipstick, Kouta's getting oral sex. That's exactly what happened every single time up to now, and she had no intention of changing it.
"Thank you..." Yuka smiled gratefully. "I won't ask again... at least not for a very long time."
"You're welcome." Lucy smiled.
Kamakura Jogakuin Junior/Senior High School - One hour later
As they waited in the lobby for the ceremony to start, Sakura was in awe of the sheer number of guys trying to hit on Lucy. They hadn't even passed the five-minute mark when the first of many, MANY guys approached and asked her on a date. As soon as he left, another one came over and did the same thing.
"Damn! She's getting it even worse than last time!" the Sipelit giggled.
The young Diclonius had been amazed at how much attention and head-turning the older girl had attracted with nothing but an ordinary, casual outfit. Now, her form-flattering dress, perfectly applied makeup, and half pinned-up, half falling-down way she styled her long pink hair was making the attention from last time look like nothing but a passing glance. She easily outshined every other girl there to an absolutely absurd degree.
Even Yuka was speechless at the final result.
Lucy just sighed in annoyance. She loved the look of desire Kouta had given her, but seeing it from other men did nothing but irritate her. Even her tried and true "Kiss Kouta in front of the gawkers" strategy did very little to deter guys from flocking to her en masse. Just like the last graduation she attended, numerous girls came over to complement or make small talk with her, and more than one wanted to know where she bought her dress and/or makeup.
She might be smiling on the outside, but Kouta knew the massive amount of attention was really starting to bother her. The girls weren't really a big deal, but the guys continued to hit on her almost constantly.
"Would you like to just hold onto my arm at all times?" her husband asked in amusement.
She smiled gratefully and nodded. "Please."
This worked... somewhat. It certainly cut down on the number of guys coming up and asking her out, but it did nothing about the whistles and comments, and even prompted a couple of the more financially well-off men to offer Kouta sums of money in exchange for "hiring" Lucy as their "escort".
"That's my wife, and she's not for rent, hire, or sale."
When one of them offered Lucy ¥2,000,000 for a date, Sakura's jaw hit the floor. Yuka, on the other hand, saw the look she gave him and was starting to worry the Diclonius might actually hurt him.
"No? What about ¥5,000,000?"
"Like my husband said, I'm not for rent, hire, or sale." she glared. "No matter how much you offer, the answer is still no."
After the man walked away, Kouta wrapped his arms around Lucy's waist and pulled her to him. "I am so unbelievably lucky to be married to you."
Lucy wrapped her arms around his neck and gently pressed her soft, rose-colored lips against his. "I'm the lucky one, Kouta. Do you know how many guys would have tried to talk me into taking the money?"
Sakura watched the couple with newfound admiration. The vast majority of girls would have taken the offer regardless of whether they were in a relationship or not. Lucy, on the other hand, wouldn't budge. To her, that spoke volumes about how dedicated her and Kouta were to each other.
"Hi, sorry I'm late..."
Yuka smiled and waved to Kenji as he walked over to them. Though he was also graduating, he had declined to actually participate, and would be picking up his Diploma the next day.
"Hi, Kenji!" Sakura said cheerfully.
"Hi, Sakura..." he yawned. After a moment he commented, "That kinda looks like the same makeup Nana loves to wear."
"It is. We all wore it as our little way of supporting Nana and Mayu." Yuka explained. It was only after hearing this that the boy noticed all three girls were wearing identical eyeshadow and lipstick.
"I almost never see Kaeda wear makeup. How'd you talk her into it?"
"She did it to support Nana and Mayu, right?" Yuka asked Lucy.
"Of course." the pink-haired girl smiled. "And since it's a color I've never worn before, I plan to test it out in bed tonight and see how Kouta likes it."
Kouta blushed in embarrassment, while Yuka just gaped at Lucy, completely lost for words. That was the LAST thing she expected to hear, but then again, the Diclonius probably would have kept that part to herself if Yuka hadn't gotten so damn nosy about it before.
"Test it in bed?" Sakura asked innocently.
Luckily, it was at this moment the Principal announced they were ready to start, and Sakura shelved the questions. As they were filing into the gym, the makeshift family stopped long enough for him to hug the young Sipelit and thank her for coming back to visit them. Sakura smiled as they talked for a few moments, then parted ways.
After they were seated, there was about a twenty minute delay before the ceremony began in earnest. First, the Principal welcomed everyone and went over a few ground rules for the attendees. Following this, the Valedictorian and Salutatorian both gave a short speech. The Principal then walked to the podium and gave a speech of his own.
Lucy found herself almost bored to tears, but did a passable job of hiding it.
Then, she heard Nana's name being mentioned, and perked up.
"I know this isn't part of the ceremony, but I felt that she deserved a special mention. She's not only the first Diclonius student this school has ever had, she's also the first Diclonius in the entire region to graduate high school. She was this years Prom Queen, and has been on our cheerleading team for the last two years. I'm going to miss her, and I'm sure I'm not the only one."
One of the Administration women came up and whispered something in his ear.
"Mrs. Keyuga wanted me to remember to mention that in addition to all that, she is indeed a snarky smart-ass. Sorry, Miss Nana, it's true and everyone knows it." he added, then resumed his speech.
Lucy, Kouta, Yuka, and Sakura started laughing with everyone else.
"Well, he's not exactly wrong." Yuka grinned.
After he was finished, it was finally time to hand out diplomas. Like the cousins', the students walked one at a time onstage, took their diploma, bowed, and then returned to their seat. As Mayu's name was called, the Kaeda House residents stood up for a few seconds, then sat back down.
When they called out "Nana Mariko Kurama" Lucy watched fondly as Nana walked up the few steps to the stage and almost skipped her way over to the Principal. As she reached to shake his hand, Sakura whistled and yelled her name. She turned her head towards the Sipelit, and that tiny lapse of focus caused the arm the Principal was shaking to come off in his hand.
Most of the crowd gasped, but the students broke out laughing as Nana simply waved to the younger Diclonius, and turned to the Principal with a smile and asked if he would mind putting it back on for her.
Her makeshift family burst out laughing. Most girls would have considered their life over, but Nana wasn't like most girls. She held still so he could attach her arm, took her diploma, gave him a playful kiss on the cheek, and happily skipped off stage.
"Well, at least it was an arm instead of one of her legs." Kenji said.
When the handing out of diplomas was over, the graduating students stood up, bowed, then sang Aogeba Tōtoshi. Only after the Principal ended the ceremony and the graduates started filing out did the crowd start applauding.
Ten minutes later
The first thing Nana did after hugging Mayu was run over and throw her arms around Lucy. It came as a bit of a surprise, as she assumed Kenji would be next, but she happily hugged Nana back and congratulated her "little sister".
"Wow, Lucy! You actually bothered putting on makeup!" Nana teased.
"Hey, that's the same thing we wore!" Mayu noted.
"We all did our makeup like yours and Mayu's. Consider it our way of showing support." Yuka spoke up.
Hearing someone suddenly yell Sakura's name, Nana grinned as the rest of the cheerleaders ran over and swarmed the younger Sipelit. It had been over a year since they'd seen her, and they couldn't get over how much more "grown up" she looked.
"Oh my God! Kaeda?!"
Lucy groaned. For a moment, she thought she might actually get away unnoticed since they were focusing on Sakura.
"Holy shit! You look incredible!" Reina beamed.
"T-Thanks..." the pink-haired girl smiled awkwardly.
The rest of the cheerleaders showered Lucy in praise and compliments, which the Diclonius managed to accept with only a little bit of embarrassment until Mikuru told the group that, "Even *I* want to fuck her, and I don't even have the parts for that!"
"MIKURU!" their former Coach scolded.
Everyone erupted into laughter, even a visibly blushing Lucy.
"You're lucky as hell, Kouta. You're married to an absolute Goddess who is utterly devoted to you. You better be thankful!" Asana said.
"She's not kidding. Most girls on her level of beauty wouldn't think twice about using it to get whatever they wanted, but all she wants is you. Do you know how rare that is?" Kei added.
"Can we PLEASE stop going on about my looks?" Lucy blushed. "That's not why I dressed up!"
The cheerleaders just giggled. It was extremely rare for them to meet a girl so attractive but so humble at the same time. Most girls would've happily basked in the praise and attention being showered on them, but the pink-haired girl clearly wasn't like most girls. The dress, lipstick, eyeshadow, heels, and hairstyle wasn't for the pursuit of glamour or the praise of others. It was simply to show respect for the occasion, and support for the two young ladies who had become her family.
"Excuse me!"
Everyone turned to see a couple of men with cameras coming over to her. They introduced themselves as recruiters for Rising Sun, one of the biggest modeling agencies in Japan, and offered Lucy an on-the-spot ¥3,500,000 contract to model lingerie for them.
"I appreciate the offer, but that's ok. I don't really like being the center of attention."
"Are you serious? Why in the world would you turn down a multi-million yen contract? Just one photoshoot, and you'll be a household name almost overnight! We'll even double your rate after your first gig!"
"I don't really care about being famous. Besides, I only dress sexy for one person, and that's my husband." Lucy winked at Kouta.
The two men just laughed. Out of every girl they ever approached, Lucy was the first girl ever to turn down a modeling contract.
"We'll, we tried." one of them said.
"I can't believe someone as unbelievably beautiful as you doesn't want to be famous. Well, if you ever change your mind, just give us a call." the other one added.
"I will." she politely replied.
When they left, Asana started giggling. "PERFECT EXAMPLE of what I meant when I said Kouta had a devoted Goddess for a wife!"
"...I'm just gonna start dressing like a man in public." the older Diclonius sighed.
The entire group roared with laughter, and Kouta hugged his blushing wife against him. Lucy smiled, put her arms around her husband's neck and pressed her rose-colored lips to his.
The cheerleaders playfully whistled and cheered as the couple kissed.
"Umm... Nana?"
The Sipelit turned to her boyfriend, but before she had a chance to say anything, he cupped her face and shyly kissed her on the lips. This only resulted in even more and louder cheering and whistling. Though she was happy for them, Sakura couldn't help but feel a bit left out.
"I'm curious. If it hadn't been specifically lingerie, would you have done it?" Mikuru asked.
"Hell no!" Nana answered for her. "As much as Lucy hates attention, you'd NEVER get her to do something like that no matter HOW much money you gave her!"
The older Diclonius nodded in agreement. "I've been gawked at enough for one lifetime. I'll pass."
"What about you, Nana?" Sakura asked.
"I dunno... Kenji, would I make a good model?" Nana asked with a flirty smile.
Everyone stared at him as he considered his answer.
"Well, sure... I mean... as long as you didn't lose any body parts."
"EXCUSE YOU?!"
"I... I mean, even if you did, it's fine! I seen plenty of models without arms before!"
Mayu started giggling. "Kenji, those are mannequins!"
"What?! Oh, we are SO breaking up!" Nana said.
"N-Nana?!"
As the group laughed, Nana gave her surprisingly insecure boyfriend a deep kiss as her way of letting him know she was just teasing him.
More people began flooding into the lobby, and the barrage of men hitting on Lucy resumed. The cheerleaders watched one guy after another try their luck, completely ignoring Kouta as if he wasn't there despite him literally standing arm-in-arm right beside her.
"Hi, I'm Hyanno." one of them walked up to Lucy and said, holding his hand out with one of the cheesiest grins the girls had ever seen.
The pink-haired girl smiled back and shook hands. "I'm Kaeda, and this is my husband, Kouta."
Without a word, he immediately turned around and walked off, eliciting giggles from Saiyuri and the rest of the cheerleaders.
"Nice one, Lucy." Nana grinned.
About two or three minutes later, they were approached by a man Lucy instantly recognized as the owner of the strip club, Erotica.
"Wow! You're even hotter than you were when you had that dead-end job at the bakery! You probably don't remember me, but I own a gentleman's club called Erotica." he said.
"Yeah, I remember. What do you want?" Lucy sighed.
"You, naked and dancing in my club." he leered. "I just happened to see you while I was here scouting for new girls, and thought maybe you'd be a little more reasonable about being one of my dancers."
"What did I tell you the first time you asked? No, I'm not interested. I'm married, and the only one I want seeing me naked is my husband."
This was kind of a stretch. In truth, she didn't really mind if strangers saw her naked IF SHE WAS ALREADY NAKED. That was fine, but taking her clothes off in front of people was not.
Turning to Kouta, the sleazy man grinned and asked if she was as sexy naked as he imagined she was.
"Pervert!" Ayane criticized. "It's none of your business unless you're married to her!"
The man ignored her and continued his demonstration of how big a dirtbag he was.
"Son, you're sitting on a gold mine, and don't even know it! If you can talk her into it, I'll be happy to split some of the profit with you."
Coach Saiyuri stared in disgust, growing more appalled by the minute.
"So, let's be clear about this..." Kouta said. "You want me to try and convince the girl I married to come to your club, take her clothes off, dance naked in front of strangers, and act like a complete slut all night, and if I succeed, you'll pay me for it?"
The sleazy man nodded. "I can't even begin to tell you how much money a girl like her could make in just one night!"
"No thanks. She doesn't want to do it, and honestly, I don't want her to do it either." Kouta said.
"Don't ask me this again. I'm not going to change my mind, so don't waste your breath." Lucy glared.
Unbelievably, she was approached by a third recruiter just a couple of minutes later.
"Hi there, I'm Akemi Hidokai. Have you ever considered a career in "Adult Entertainment?"
Seeing the pink-haired girl's confusion, he clarified by telling her he was a "Beauty Scout" for a company that "specializes in high-class pornography".
"Our hiring standards are so strict, only 1% of applicants are offered employment. You, my dear, are exquisitely beautiful. I sent your picture to my boss, and he absolutely insists on having you."
"No thanks. I'm not interested in having sex with anyone but my husband." Lucy answered.
Just like the club owner, this asshole didn't seem to understand why someone as beautiful as her wasn't interested in using their body to make money.
"We're willing to pay you ¥10,000,000 for a ten-minute scene." he said. "That's one-million yen a minute, by far the highest initial salary we've ever offered to anyone."
The cheerleaders were utterly speechless. "You could put in ten minutes and take the rest of the year off!" Ayane chimed in.
"That's right." he nodded. "With extreme standards comes extreme compensation."
"I just told you I was married, and not interested, so why don't y-"
"How are your oral skills? Judging from your luscious looking lips, you seem to know how to please a man with your mouth."
The look on Lucy's face was genuinely starting to scare Nana.
"Did you hear a word she said?! She's not interested, so leave her alone!" Yuka fumed.
"What's your favorite position, baby? You look like a girl that enjoys a good, hard doggy-fuck. Don't worry, you'll get plenty of that working for us."
"For the last time, I'M... NOT... INTERESTED!" Lucy yelled. Ignoring her objections and acting like he made the decision for her was seriously starting to piss her off.
"You're an aggressive one, aren't you? I noticed you have a very tight, cute-looking ass. Do you have any experience with anal se-"
Before he finished his sentence, the perverted little bastard abruptly lost consciousness and dropped like a rock.
"Sorry about that, Lucy, but I couldn't stand listening to that creep anymore." Nana said.
"Did... did you just kill him?!" a shocked-looking Sakura asked.
Nana just giggled and gave her a mischievous smile. "Of course not! I just knocked him out. Don't worry, he'll wake up in a couple of minutes and be just fine."
"How did you even DO that?!" Reina asked.
"I kinda just went "Boop!" and tapped his brain's reset button with a vector."
The cheerleaders broke out laughing. "Boop!" Kei teased. "That's going to be your nickname from now on!"
Just as she said, the creep stirred and started regaining consciousness. When he woke up, Nana helped him back to his feet.
"Wha... what happened?"
"I don't know. You were just standing there, and you just went, "Boop!" and passed out!" Nana answered. "You should go home, you don't look so good!"
"Y-Yeah... thanks."
They watched him go, trying so hard not to laugh. Inevitably, one of the cheerleaders were unable to resist mimicking Nana's "Boop!", and the entire group just died on the spot.
"Oh God, I'm going to miss you, girls!" Coach Saiyuri said when she finally stopped laughing.
The large group stood there and talked a little longer, but eventually, it was time to part ways for the night. The cheerleaders and Coach Sayuri had a third emotional group-hug, promising to always remain in touch with each other. Then, they all took turns hugging Sakura, who was so moved by their group-hug that she herself started crying.
After that, they turned to Lucy, but fell into awkward silence. After several seconds had gone by, Ayane stepped up and asked if she could hug her bye. She hesitated, but the look on the cheerleader's face finally won her over.
After her, the rest of the girls took turns hugging the Diclonius Queen.
When Reina's turn came up, she hugged Lucy, and thanked her for being an inspiration.
"What are you talking about?"
"I've got a little sister named Kasumi. I'm... not really the nicest person to her, but watching you and Nana has made me want to treat Kasumi a little more like that. I know you two aren't actually sisters, but Nana looks up to you like you are, and it's made me want to be somebody worth looking up to. So... thank you, Kaeda."
Lucy didn't know what to think about the girl's comment, but finally, she just smiled and told her, "I don't really see myself as much of an inspiration, but thank you."
"For the record, I still think you're sexy as hell." Mikuru loudly whispered, triggering another laughing fit from everyone.
"Thanks..." Lucy blushed as she smiled sheepishly.
Ten minutes later
As they walked back to Kaeda House, the six of them talked about everything from the graduation ceremony, to friends, to the perverts trolling for new employees.
"Was I the only one that noticed Mr. Strip-Club Owner and Mr. Porno were scouting for girls at a HIGH SCHOOL?" Nana asked.
"I caught that too. What a creep!" Yuka added.
"I'm confused..." Sakura spoke up. "What exactly is "pornography" anyway?"
"Basically, they wanted to pay Lucy to have sex on camera." Nana said.
"Well, what's wrong with that? She's married, right?" Sakura asked.
Nana just laughed. "They wanted her to have sex with someone BESIDES Kouta."
"What?! That's cheating!" Sakura responded.
"Most guys married to porn stars don't consider it cheating since technically it's her job, not something she did behind his back." Kouta pointed out. "Call it controlling all you want, but I'd NEVER be ok with Kaeda doing it."
Lucy smiled and squeezed his hand. "I don't think that's controlling at all. I wouldn't be ok with you doing it either."
"I don't think Kouta's... "qualified"... to be a porn star." Yuka teased.
"Oh, trust me, he is." the Diclonius Queen replied with a smile. Kouta blushed as his wife giggled at his expense and playfully slapped the seat of his pants.
"What makes you qualified to be in porn?" Mayu asked.
"I think it's mostly about how big you are." Nana shrugged.
"So, Kouta couldn't be in porn because he's not tall enough?" Sakura asked. When everyone started laughing, it understandably left her a bit confused.
Then, Mayu whispered something in her ear and smiled in amusement as the Sipelit blushed.
"Oh, you mean... ok... I get it now..." she giggled.
"What do you think the qualifications are for girls?"
"I think the only standard for girls is you have to be alive, and eighteen or older." Yuka replied.
"Kenji, would you let Nana do porn if she wanted to?" Sakura asked.
"I would really... like, prefer she didn't... I can't make her NOT do it, but I would really, REALLY be bothered if she did."
Thankfully, Yuka steered the conversation towards something a bit less personal. By the time they reached Kaeda House, the subject was long forgotten.
Next chapter: Festival.