Note: This chapter contains sexual content
-Faith, Love, and Forgiveness - Chapter Forty-four: Education
Kaeda House - Two days later
When the Midwife arrived for her monthly visit, she informed Lucy that she did in fact need another cell-sample from her.
"I can't wait around this time, so either mail it or leave it in the drop-box."
When Kouta asked why, Ebihara said her pap smear looked a little unusual, but assured Lucy there was nothing to worry about. "Those things come back abnormal all the time, so don't have an anxiety attack over it."
Lucy got undressed so she could be weighed and measured. Another blood and urine sample was taken, and Kouta was given a new bag of testing supplies along with another ¥80,000 bill.
"What do we do if this comes back abnormal too?" Kouta asked.
"Whatever you want to, I guess... If it were me, I'd go see an actual OB/GYN to make sure I didn't have cancer or... whatever people like her get." the Midwife answered before leaving the bedroom.
Before they started on collecting samples, Yuka asked the couple a rather unexpected question.
"Would you be ok with Nana being in here with us?"
When asked why, Yuka told them Nana was considering going to the local clinic to get on birth control, and wanted to know what to expect if she did. Lucy and Kouta looked at each other in confusion. They both knew the girl couldn't get pregnant. She didn't even have a menstrual cycle, so why she wanted to get on birth control was anyone's guess.
In the end, Lucy just chalked it up to Nana being Nana, and said it was fine. As Yuka again held Lucy's hand, Nana sat beside Kouta, watching with both fascination and dread as he handed her the tube containing the cotton swabs.
"Lucy, are you SURE you don't mind me watching?"
"I'm sure."
Just like last time, Kouta gently inserted the disposable speculum into Lucy's womanhood and slowly opened it inside her.
"Ok, where did she say to swab again?"
"Inside the cervical opening, then the cervix itself, then the walls of my... well, you know..." Lucy blushed.
Nana handed him the first swab and opened her smartphone's flashlight app so Kouta could see what he was doing. "Hey, um... If I decide to go to the clinic, am I gonna be this... exposed?"
"No, they'll cover your lower half with a drape." Yuka answered.
"Hey, did she say anything about where the last swab had to come from? I know she said the "Walls", but did it have to be a specific spot?" Kouta asked.
"She didn't say it did, but you should probably swab both sides, just to be sure." Lucy said.
Kouta decided to take her advice. When it was over, he carefully closed and removed the plastic speculum while the Sipelit tightly closed the tube containing the used swabs. Then, Nana and Yuka left the room so the couple could have some privacy.
"There is absolutely no way in hell I would ever let anyone but you do that." Lucy blushed. "It would have to be a life or death emergency for me to even consider letting someone else do it."
"Yuka has it done every year." Kouta replied.
"Yeah, that's not gonna happen with me." Lucy answered. She started to get up, but her husband stopped her, nudging her to lie back down. Smiling at his wife, he closed and lifted her legs, using them to pull her closer to the edge of the futon. The pink-haired girl didn't even notice him silently slipping his pants down.
"Kouta, what are you doing?"
"Call it a "reward" for letting me take those swabs without arguing about it."
Lucy started giggling, smiling up at her husband. "Kouta, I'm not a six year old getting a flu shot for the first time, you know. I don't really need a rewa- OH!... Ohhh..."
Kouta grinned as he slowly pushed the rest of his erection deep inside of her. With her legs still closed, suddenly feeling him penetrating her was the last thing she expected. Thus, the pink-haired girl was introduced to a new sex position: "Cello", or "Playing the Cello", as some call it.
"What were you saying?" he asked with a smile.
Lucy blushed as she closed her eyes and softly moaned. "You know what? You're right, I DEFINITELY need a reward..."
Mirachi Micro Apartment Complex - Unit 301 - Later that evening
"When you said a "little" apartment, I didn't know you meant it literally!" Mayu teased.
The "micro" apartments by Kamakura beach had just opened, and Bando had become one of the first tenets to move in. The apartment had a small living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom big enough for a toilet, sink, and shower. Above the living room was an attic with just enough room for a futon, which was accessed by a small ladder.
Mayu had gotten a phone call inviting her to come over and see it. He hadn't counted on Nana coming with her, but the relationship between him and the Sipelit had improved enough that he welcomed her in with only a tiny, itty-bitty amount of insulting.
"He's a single guy, he doesn't need a lot of space." Nana replied.
"Yeah, but what about when he finally gets a girlfriend?" Mayu asked, ignoring the hostile look Bando was giving her.
"I'm not sure that's something you should be worried about." the purple-haired girl said.
"Even the mini-bitch-with-horns has more sense than you." Bando remarked, causing the young Diclonius to gloatingly stick her tongue out at her best friend. All three of them laughed, and soon, they were all talking and laughing like the old but mildly-dysfunctional friends they were.
"By the way, what's that other horned freak been up to?" he asked, almost as a side note.
"You're not gonna believe it, but Lucy's been working on getting her GED." she answered.
Her decision to do so took the Kaeda House residents by surprise. One night during dinner, the pink-haired girl had unexpectedly asked Kouta how she could go about getting it. When he asked why, she simply told him:
"I'm the only one living here with no formal education. I don't want our daughter to be born to a mother who doesn't have even the most basic level of schooling."
Naturally, everyone supported her decision, and Lucy soon enrolled in a program she could do mostly online. The only time she'd have to actually visit a classroom would be when she took the final exam in a couple of weeks.
"Seriously? That girl's just full of surprises."
A loud thunderclap was suddenly heard overhead, startling both girls.
"Sounds like that storm's headed our way after all." Bando remarked.
Nana suggested that they leave before the weather got any worse, but when Mayu decided to stay a little bit longer, the purple-haired girl said goodnight to them both and hurried back to Kaeda House.
"You probably should have gone with her."
"Am I really that boring to talk to?" Mayu teased.
Bando laughed and shook his head. "I just thought it'd be safer if you left before the weather got bad."
"Awww... you DO care afterall!"
"I didn't say nothing about caring, kid. I just don't want to see you get hurt."
"That means you care." Mayu giggled playfully.
"Whatever..." He got up and went to the small refrigerator that came included with the apartment. "You want a beer?"
"Um... that's OK."
"What about juice?"
"Sure!"
"Apple or orange?"
"Apple."
Mayu started to stand up, but another loud thunderclap startled her into sitting back down. Bando laughed and tossed her a small bottle of apple juice.
It didn't take long for heavy rain to set in. As the storm intensified, the unusual pair of friends didn't seem bothered in the slightest. Sitting across from each other on the floor of what was supposed to be the living room, the two of them talked about everything from "Why haven't you gotten a TV yet?" to "Are you planning to go to college?" to "Why does social media have so many dumb-shits who love posting pictures of their food?"
"I don't get that either. But you know what's worse? People who make videos of themselves "unboxing" something they bought or got in the mail."
Bando, by now on his second beer, shook his head and laughed.
"I can't stand those fuckin' "gender reveal party" retards."
"I saw one of those on TV the other day. The couple hired a private plane to fly over the place they were having the party and release a bunch of blue confetti."
The mercenary shook his head in disgust. "So, is bitch-with-horns having a boy or girl?"
"She said Diclonii babies are almost always female, so probably a girl."
Bando mulled this over for a moment. If Lucy truly did Infect him during their first battle, did that mean any child fathered by him was going to be a female Diclonius? What if he fathered more than one? Would they ALL be girls with horns? Would they turn out like Lucy, or would they be like normal kids?
"Do you ever want kids?"
Bando thought about for a moment before shrugging.
"I dunno... first I'd have to find a woman willing to sleep with me without charging money for it." he grinned.
Mayu covered her mouth so her laughing wouldn't cause her to spew juice everywhere.
"Keep looking, Bando. I'm sure she's out there somewhere." she smiled fondly.
"Do YOU want kids?"
Mayu thought about it for a moment, finally telling him that she wasn't sure yet.
"Maybe if I meet the right person, but otherwise, probably not."
She had just finished her sentence when the power suddenly went out, and an extremely loud thunderclap came from above. Bando just sighed in irritation. Despite being brand new, the Micro apartments tended to lose power in bad weather. This wouldn't be so bad if not for the fact that everyone else DIDN'T. The stores and homes right next to the complex still had power. At first glance, that didn't seem so odd, but when you take into account the fact that the complex owners also sold generators, it started looking pretty damn sketchy.
"Ok, I think it's probably time to say goodnight." Mayu said. She thanked him for the juice and got up to leave, only to have the door yanked out of her hand by a gust of wind.
"It's not safe to go out in that kind of weather, kid." he warned. "Just stay here tonight."
The offer was a bit unexpected, but she was grateful nonetheless. She sent Nana a message telling her she wouldn't be home until tomorrow, then nonchalantly asked Bando what side of the futon he wanted.
"There is NO WAY I'm sharing a futon with you, kid. I'll be fine on the floor."
"Are you sure? I really don't mind."
"I DO mind, so yes, I'm sure." Bando replied.
The unusual pair of friends climbed up into the sleeping area. As Bando got comfortable on the floor, Mayu was doing the same on the futon. After giving him one of the pillows, she rolled over and soon fell asleep as the storm raged outside. The mercenary half-smiled as he watched her sleep for a couple of minutes. If or when he ever had a daughter of his own, he secretly hoped she'd turn out like her: witty and sarcastic, but always willing to help those in need.
He shook his head fondly and rolled over to get some sleep.
Hidonoka College - Sagamihara - Two weeks later
Lucy, dressed in a burgundy midi-length skirt and a light pink 3/4th sleeve blouse looked nervously at the line of people scheduled to take the "final exam" of the GED course she had been taking online.
"Don't worry, you're going to be fine!" Yuka quietly assured her.
Kouta had offered to call out of work to accompany her, but the brunette volunteered to go in his stead.
It made sense. Kouta was working and Yuka wasn't, and she had been the girl's primary "study buddy" as she progressed through the course. It WAS Kouta, but after Yuka caught them having sex instead of studying (for the fourth time), the couple agreed it was probably best if Yuka took the lead. He still helped her complete the course work and study, but in the dining room instead of their bedroom.
Nana found the arrangement utterly hilarious, yet romantic at the same time.
"Now I know why they said to arrive at least an hour in advance." Lucy quietly sighed. "This is going to take all day at this rate."
"They certainly don't seem to be in a hurry, that's for sure." Yuka agreed.
Almost forty-five minutes later, it was finally the pink-haired girl's turn.
"Name?"
"Kaeda Kurosawa."
"I need to see your ID please."
After taking a look at it, the woman excused herself to go make a phone call. When she came back, Lucy was asked to please step out of line and wait for the woman's supervisor to arrive.
"Why?"
"Non-human applicants are subject to administrative review prior to being allowed entry."
"What's to review? She did all the coursework, passed all of the other exams, and brought all the necessary documents." Yuka protested.
"I'm sorry, honey, but I didn't make the rules." she replied. "Though to be honest, I think it's stupid too."
Yuka shook her head in disappointment as they got out of line.
"This is such bullshit... what the hell was the point in going through that stupid little Cohab program if they're still allowed to make me jump through a million hoops?" Lucy quietly complained.
It took about twenty minutes for the supervisor to show up, but with him were several armed security personnel.
"This is just pathetic..." Yuka muttered in disgust. "Five men with guns just to come talk to a pregnant girl."
"I'm sorry for the wait, I had to round up a few members of security before coming over."
"Coward..." Yuka insulted.
"It's the University's policy, not mine."
"Whatever..." Lucy sighed. "What do you want?"
"May I have a look at your ID and documents, please?"
With numerous "students" watching them, the pink-haired girl handed the little chicken-shit what he wanted. He went over her paperwork and examined her ID.
"Do you still live at this address?"
When Lucy answered yes, he asked a few more questions. Finally, he turned to the woman and nodded in approval.
"Thank you, sorry for the inconvenience." he said as he handed her ID and documents back and walked away. The woman processing applicants smiled sympathetically at Lucy, and let her go next instead of sending her back to the end of the line.
"Seat number twenty-nine, Mrs. Kurosawa. Leave everything but pens and pencils with your friend, and pick up a calculator off the table."
Lucy put her ID and smartphone back in her purse, and handed it to Yuka.
"Good luck!"
The Diclonius smiled and nodded as she walked into the crowded classroom. At 10 am on the dot, the Proctor shut the doors, and Yuka watched from the hallway as he introduced himself and read out the testing procedures and rules.
"You will not be tested on English, Music, Art, or Fitness, only Math, Japanese, Social Studies, and History. You will have two hours per section, and an hour lunch break after section two. Does anyone have any questions?"
"What order are the sections in?" someone asked. The Proctor answered that Math was first, followed by Japanese, Social Studies, and History.
When he asked if anyone had any medical issues that might affect testing, Lucy spoke up and informed him she was five months pregnant.
Amusingly, this immediately prompted many of the female students to offer congratulations and start asking the typical questions usually asked of pregnant women (I.E. "When are you due?", "Is it a boy or girl?", "Have you picked out a name yet?", etc...)
After a few moments, the Proctor cleared his throat and the questions ceased.
"If you need a bathroom break, just let me know." he told Lucy.
As the applicants began the first section, Yuka smiled fondly at the Diclonius. She had worked so hard to prepare for this, and never complained even once. It didn't take long for her to pick up on new material, and she had a much easier time recalling information than Kouta or even herself.
It was impressive, but highly irritating, as she had always considered herself the smartest one living at Kaeda House.
Four hours later
When section two was about halfway over, Yuka called a local fast-food joint and ordered the two of them lunch, and paid a little extra for delivery. It arrived about twenty minutes before the one hour lunch break.
"I wasn't sure what you wanted, so I got you a plain burger, and asked for condiments on the side." Yuka informed the pregnant Diclonius.
"Looks like they gave you a complimentary order of bored humans to go with it." Lucy said as she pointed behind Yuka. The brunette turned to see the supervisor from earlier with even MORE armed security coming their way.
"Ladies, I apologize for this, but several of our actually-enrolled students have expressed some concern with having a Diclonius on campus, so I'm afrai-"
"Lemme guess... you want us to leave and go to a different testing center..." Lucy said boredly.
The man laughed and shook his head. "No, nothing like that! I was going to say, I'm afraid these men will need to accompany you until you leave campus."
Looking around for nearby students, the man leaned in and lowered his voice.
"Look, I'm going to be honest with you, ok? Personally, I think they're being a bunch of damn snowflakes, but I didn't make the policies. I truly am sorry for this. If it were up to me, I'd be more than happy to tell them to grow the hell up and get over it."
Lucy's expression softened a little, and she nodded in understanding.
After the supervisor left, the eight armed security personnel all introduced themselves and apologized to the girls.
"We think this is dumb as hell too." said one.
"There's plenty of things we'd rather be doing instead of watching two girls eat lunch." added another.
The one closest to Lucy suddenly asked if he could try some of her fries. When the man next to him started berating him for taking a pregnant girl's food, the Diclonius laughed and gave him some anyway.
"We don't mind ordering you guys something if you'd like." Yuka offered.
The men politely declined, but thanked them for the offer. By the time their lunch was half-over, they had already taken a liking to the girls.
"I've never actually met one of you before." one of the men admitted sheepishly. "But now that I have, I... I guess Hazai was right."
"I told you, man! Diclonius chicks are HOT!"
Everyone broke out laughing as Lucy blushed. At Yuka's request, she took out her smartphone and showed them pictures of Nana and Sakura. Their reaction was pretty mùch what she expected, and the men spent several minutes arguing about which of the two was hotter.
It didn't bother her that a bunch of armed guards were passing her phone around, but it DID annoy her when Yuka asked if she had any "home-made porn" on it.
"Of course not!"
Yuka giggled at the disappointed groans from the security guys.
"So, how long have you been married?" one of them asked.
"Three years next month." she smiled happily as she showed them a couple of pictures of her and Kouta.
"You two are cute together, but does he know? That you're a Diclonius, I mean."
"Dude, she's got pink hair, red eyes and horns, how could he NOT know?" another man asked.
The two girls started laughing as Lucy nodded her head.
"Yes, he knows. We don't keep secrets from each other."
When the lunch break was over, the security personnel went back to their "headquarters", while Lucy and Yuka headed back to the classroom. At the brunette's suggestion, she took a quick bathroom break so she wouldn't have to risk having to go mid-way through testing.
"Good luck... again!" Yuka wished.
After section three was done, the students started on the final section: History. The brunette felt a bit of apprehension as the Proctor announced part of the section would be short-essay. They had practiced for this, but not extensively, as they weren't given a definite answer as to whether or not it would actually be on the test.
Still, Lucy had worked hard on studying, and Yuka had faith in her. Just before the time-limit ended, the armed security personnel returned with unfortunate news.
"She's going to have to go to the Student Center with everyone else to get her score."
"I thought they'd call in a few weeks with the results?" Yuka responded.
"They recently changed protocol. Now, they send everyone to the Student Center, and you get called to a little room to get your score." one of the men explained.
"Um... just so you know, it's pretty crowded at the moment." a different man warned her. "We'll have to go with you two, and it might be quite a while. Is she gonna be ok?"
"You mean, is she going to behave around humans... right?" Yuka smirked.
"No ma'am. I have no doubts about that. I'm only asking because if she doesn't do well in crowds, we'll try to get her in first."
Yuka nodded her head and apologized for making assumptions.
"She'll be fine. She got over that a long time ago."
When Lucy finally rejoined them, the whole group walked the short distance to the Student Center, and Lucy and Yuka got in line while the eight armed security guards stood off to the side.
It didn't escape the girls' notice that the actually enrolled students backed away as Lucy came near.
"Are you ok? You want me to go get you a soda or something?"
Lucy smiled and opened her purse, but Yuka shook her head.
"I got it." she smiled back. "Root beer?"
"Please."
As she walked away, Lucy took out her smartphone and started texting Kouta. A couple of moments later, she heard one of the security guards telling someone, "She's not bothering you, so we're not bothering her."
Looking up, she listened quietly as two of the female students repeatedly tried to have them eject her from the Student Center.
"We're concerned about our safety, ok? We think she's dangerous."
"We don't, and we've hung out with her all day." one of the men answered.
"Well, we DO! So do your job!"
"If she starts bothering you, we'll tell her to stop." a different one said.
"That's not good enough!" the other girl insisted. "We want her out of here!"
"Look, let me make this real easy, ok? We're not telling a pregnant girl that hasn't said even one single word to you that she's got to leave because her presence is scaring you. She hasn't done anything wrong, and she's been nothing but pleasant to everyone she's talked to. I'm sorry if you don't like it, but she's got just as much right to be here as you do."
Both girls gave Lucy an angry look, then walked right up to the pregnant girl and began loudly insisting she leave.
"You've got no business being in here with humans!" said Bitch Two.
"Actually, yes... she does. She's waiting for her exam to be graded, just like everyone else in line." an older woman cut-in.
"Mind your own damn business!" Bitch One yelled.
"You're yelling and screaming at a pregnant woman who hasn't done anything but stand in line waiting to have her test graded! You should both be ashamed of yourselves!"
Lucy felt a tap on her shoulder, and turned around to see Yuka holding out the bottle of root beer she'd asked for.
"Are you alright?" Yuka asked.
"I'm fine, but thank you." the pink-haired girl smiled.
"If you don't get the hell out of here right now, I'm calling the police!" Bitch One threatened.
"The number's 110. Would you like me to write it down for you?" Lucy asked. This prompted the now irate girl to try to slap her, but the closest security guard grabbed her wrist.
"Ok ma'am, now I'm going to have to ask you to leave." he said sternly.
"Get your hands OFF ME!" Bitch One screeched.
They didn't know it yet, but one of the bystanders had already called the police the moment the Bitch Sisters walked up and started yelling at Lucy. Refreshingly, the bystander took Lucy's side, and told the dispatcher "She wasn't saying a single word to either of them, but they went up and started screaming at her to leave... Oh shit! She just tried to hit her! You might wanna hurry!"
"Ma'am, you need to leave... now."
"I'm not going anywhere!"
When the guard replied that she absolutely was going somewhere, she tried to slap him as well.
Lucy calmly opened her bottle of root beer and took a swallow, watching in amusement as the Bitch Sisters caused a gigantic scene in front of over one-hundred students and faculty members. As the two girls continued to scream at security, three Sagamihara police officers rushed in and hurried over to try to end the confrontation before things got completely out of control..
Twenty minutes later
After the police officers finished talking to Lucy, the girls, the armed personnel, and several bystanders, they walked outside for about ten minutes, then reentered and came back over to the Bitch Sisters.
"Ok, here's what's going to happen. The girl you tried to hit doesn't want to press charges, so you're not going to be charged for it. The security guard you tried to hit DOES want to press charges. So, at this time, you're under arrest for assault, she's under arrest for making false statements to a police officer, and you're both going to be charged with creating a public disturbance."
"We didn't do anything wrong! SHE attacked US!" Bitch One claimed.
"Well, that's not what everyone else is saying."
"They're lying!"
"That's not what CCTV footage shows, either." the officer said as the two girls were marched outside and put into separate patrol vehicles.
"Mrs. Kurosawa, we're so sorry about that." one of the armed men said. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"I'm fine, but thanks anyway."
In a surprising display of empathy, all twenty-six of the remaining applicants with ungraded exams offered to let Lucy skip to the front of the line.
"You... You don't really have to do that..." the embarrassed Diclonius said.
"After that crap, you deserve it." one of them replied. When the rest nodded in agreement, she decided to accept. When the current applicant was done, Lucy went in and closed the door behind her.
"Mrs. Kurosawa, right? I need your ID and answer sheet, please."
Lucy gave the man what he asked for and watched as he fed it into a small machine hooked up to a laptop and printer. A few minutes later, the printer spit out a score sheet.
"Four out of five. Well done." he smiled as he handed it to Lucy. "You'll get your certificate in the mail in three to four weeks."
The visibly relieved Diclonius bowed slightly and quickly hurried back to Yuka.
"Great job, Kaeda! Kouta's gonna be so proud of you!" Yuka said as she hugged the pregnant Diclonius.
"Thank you for all your help." Lucy smiled as they embraced.
"You're very welcome." the brunette replied.
The eight security personnel congratulated her as well. After they found out the girls planned on walking to the train station, one of them volunteered to drive them, an offer the pregnant pink-haired girl was not going to turn down.
Kaeda House - Six hours later
That night, Kouta was especially attentive to her in bed.
"Don't worry about me, tonight is about you." he smiled. After making out for a while, he told her to lie down and get comfortable.
"I feel bad being the only one getting... taken care of." she blushed as she spread her legs.
"Don't. Trust me, you more than deserve this." Kouta smiled as he laid down in front of her and started slowly using his tongue on a rather sensitive part of her womanhood.
Lucy moaned gently and closed her eyes as she reached down and spread her folds. If Kouta wanted to give her oral sex, she had no intention of declining, even if she did feel a bit guilty about it.
After a couple of minutes, he licked a finger and slowly pushed it inside her. He spent a few minutes probing a finger in and out of her before going back to licking her clit. Lucy orgasmed very soon after, biting down hard on her lower lip as she squirmed and moaned.
When it subsided, Kouta coaxed her to get on her hands and knees. She assumed he wanted to have sex, but instead he just slipped two fingers inside and proceeded to roughly pump them in and out of her. Before long, she was on the verge of climax again, and once he started touching her delicate pink flower from behind, she climaxed again in seconds.
He offered a third, but when she said she was too tired to accept, they laid down together, and Lucy happily cuddled naked against him.
"I'm very proud of you. You worked so hard for this, and even when things got rough, you didn't quit."
Lucy smiled and nuzzled her face against his. There had been plenty of times she'd wanted to just throw her hands up and forget the whole thing. She understood basic math, but Algebra might as well have been from Jupiter. She knew what World War Two was about, but had no idea the Sengoku Jidai period was even a thing. Nouns and verbs were simple, but transitive verbs and indefinite pronouns were a massive headache to even think about.
It was extremely frustrating to see Nana and Mayu grasp subjects that she herself couldn't, and even when she DID, it hurt to know they understood it so much faster than her.
And yet, she refused to quit. She had already made up her mind that their daughter was not going to be born to a mother who never finished third grade, and she resolved to see it through no matter how bad things became.
"Thank you..." she whispered with a smile. After a few minutes, she rolled over and faced away from him so he could hold her closer without her belly getting in the way. Before long, both of them were sound asleep.
Next chapter: Accusation.