-Faith, Love, and Forgiveness - Chapter Forty-nine: Conspiracy-
Yuri's Bakery - Six days later
About twenty minutes ago, a timid-looking teenage girl had walked into Yuri's Bakery and spent nearly fifteen straight minutes looking at the menu board. When the pink-haired girl first approached her, the girl said she hadn't decided yet. After a few minutes, she came back to check on her, and noticed the girl hadn't moved.
"Have you decided yet, or do you still need a couple of minutes?"
The girl looked at Lucy, then the menu board, then back to Lucy.
"I'm sorry, I'm trying to hurry, but I... I've never had any of this stuff before." she said sheepishly.
"...Seriously?"
The girl nodded, so Lucy retrieved a knife and cutting board, and started giving the girl samples. Yuri watched as she tried numerous cookies, tarts, and other pastries, each one seeming even better than the last. Finally, she decided on chocolate chip cookies, apple tarts, and red bean monaka. After paying, the girl spent several minutes talking with Yuri and Lucy, the latter of which started becoming a bit suspicious of their customer. At first, she couldn't put a finger on why she felt like that. She looked like any other late-teens girl, but something just felt... off... about her.
Then, on a hunch, Lucy casually asked her how old she was when her vectors developed.
"I think I was about four when they..." she started to say, but stopped when she realized she'd just given herself away.
"Vectors? She's a Diclonius?" Yuri asked, to which Lucy nodded.
"I... I... I don't know what you're talking-" she started to say, but was interrupted when Lucy visibly materialized her own vectors, and told the girl to stop bullshitting her. The timid teenager shrieked with fear and burst into tears as she confessed to being a Diclonius.
"Calm down, honey." Yuri gently said. "What happened to your horns?"
"My parents had them r-removed..." she tearfully answered. When asked why, the emotional girl told them that numerous Diclonii in or near her hometown of Hirosaki had suddenly up and disappeared, and she didn't want to be one of them.
"After the Diclonius that lived two houses down from us disappeared, my parents paid for surgery to remove my horns and change my eye color. They told me as long as I kept my hair dyed and didn't use my vectors, I should be able to pass as one of them. They arranged for me to go live with my aunt and uncle in Satosho Town as soon as I recovered. I'm... I'm actually on my way there now. I only stopped here because some of my mother's family lives here, and they wanted to swap vehicles since their car gets better fuel mileage."
"How long are you going to be gone?" Yuri asked.
"I don't know... The police have no idea who's behind it, and none of the Diclonii that were taken have been found yet, so... it might be a long time." she answered. "I'm Kyrie, by the way."
"I'm Yuri, and this pregnant young lady here is Kaeda."
"How in the world did you get pregnant?!" Kyrie asked in amazement. "I thought that was impossible for us?!"
"Well, when a mommy and a daddy love each other..."
Yuri started choking on her coffee, spilling it all over herself as she laughed and coughed at the same time. "Dammit, Kaeda! I just bought this outfit!"
The two Diclonii laughed as the bakery owner used a wad of paper towels to clean herself up as much as possible. To make things short and simple, Lucy told the girl only Sipelits were sterile, and she wasn't a Sipelit. It was an explanation the younger Diclonius seemed to readily accept. They talked for nearly an hour before their customer finally noticed what time it was..
"I gotta get going. It's nice to meet you two." Kyrie smiled.
"Nice to meet you, too." Lucy smiled back. After she left, Yuri sighed, shaking her head as she lamented outloud how horrible it must feel to be forced to undergo surgery just to feel safe in public.
"I'm not sure that girl will EVER feel safe in public." Lucy replied quietly. She hadn't heard anything about Diclonii suddenly going missing, but that didn't mean it wasn't true. If it was, it made her wonder if it was happening elsewhere, too.
After several customers walked in at once, the encounter was swiftly forgotten as the two women turned their attention back to the job at hand.
? - Meanwhile
When two of his three attorneys showed up to deliver Einsetz bad news, they found him "with a patient" as he liked to say. This time, it was a girl with bright pink hair, wearing a pair of pink-framed spectacles. Like all the others, she was naked and chained to the floor.
"A Diclonius with glasses? That's a new one."
"Indeed, but bad eyesight isn't limited to humans." he replied as he finished getting his pants open. "Well, Number Fourteen, are you ready for your... examination?"
"Please... Please don't do this here. Please... at least take me somewhere else... don't do this in front of everyone. Please..." the bespectacled Diclonius begged. As always, the tears and pleading were ignored, and the sick bastard started her "examination" right there in front of everyone.
"How's that petition coming?" he asked.
"We're sorry, Dr. Einsetz, but according to our sources, Shido isn't going to approve our petition to authorize a second appeal."
The frustrated scientist knew this was probably going to be the outcome, but it still pissed him off to hear it. After he was released from custody, the first thing he did was tell his attorneys to petition Prime Minister Shido for approval to appeal a second time. It was a long shot with almost no chance of success, but they still tried.
"Could we just file a second appeal anyway?" he asked.
"Technically, yes, but all it would do is get all four of us arrested for violating the injunction. Even if that wasn't there, we'd never make it to court." Tokugawa replied.
"As soon as we filed it, it'd get flagged and rejected, probably before we even got out of the courthouse." the attorney Shemaru sighed. "If by some miracle it got accepted, Moriyama would almost certainly find out within hours of the filing. If that happened..."
"We'd all have arrest warrants issued before lunch was over." Einsetz sighed, stopping long enough to brutally slap the crying Diclonius a couple of times, yelling at her to stop crying, or he'd let everyone else have a turn.
The battered young lady shut her eyes and clamped her hands over her mouth, trying to keep her sobs as quiet as possible.
"Well, what do you suggest?"
"At this point, our options are limited. Our best bet is to try to come up with a compromise Mrs. Kurosawa might accept."
"It doesn't matter what we offer her. She's never going to agree to it." the other lawyer replied.
"Probably not, but we should at least try."
"I agree." Einsetz said with a grunt as he finished with the sobbing girl's "examination". He stood and zipped his pants up, watching the glasses-wearing Diclonius as she did her best to muffle her crying.
"We'll hold a press conference in a few days. If we're generous enough with our terms, it might actually work." Tokugawa said.
"Before you go, would either of you gentlemen like a turn?" the sadistic scientist grinned.
"No! Please, no more! Please!" she begged, but to no avail. Both men accepted the offer, and the other Diclonii were forced to watch as the lawyers took turns with the naked, crying Diclonius.
Kaeda House - The next night
After dinner was over and the kitchen had been cleaned up, the five residents sat in the living room watching TV and sharing popcorn. As they flipped through the channels, Nana (who currently had the remote) stumbled upon a news report about the court hearing they had all recently attended.
The first thing she saw was footage of all of them leaving the courthouse after Lucy had talked to spectators. The camera then cut to the reporter talking to some of said spectators after the hearing had concluded.
"You were here for the entire hearing, right? What are your thoughts on the case?" the reporter asked.
"I don't think "disgusting" is a strong enough word for it." said the woman being questioned.
"It was very hard to sit there and listen to them talk about what they wanted to do to her... it honestly made me feel sick to my stomach." one of the men said.
"Personally, I can't believe they even tried something so absurd!" a different man replied.
"Personally, I thought it was hilarious!" said a male teenager. "That tall woman was just tearing them apart, and everything that they said in response just made them look even worse!"
"No, I don't think they should have forced her to do it. She's a grown woman, if she doesn't want to have anything to do with it, she shouldn't have to." said another spectator.
The reporter then asked some of the people Lucy had actually talked to directly for their thoughts on the matter.
"I thought it was horrible. It broke my heart to see this very beautiful, very pregnant girl have to sit there crying her heart out while these attorneys stand around and tell her husband she may have cheated on him! No... that's just... y-you don't treat a pregnant woman like that!"
The man next to her nodded in agreement. "I know they said how rare she is, and how she's murdered people before, but that still isn't an excuse for what they're trying to do to her!"
"I only talked to her for a few minutes, but I agree with that older man in glasses. She IS a remarkable young lady, and she does not in any way deserve what these sick bastards are putting her through!" a different woman said.
The camera then cut back to the reporter as she read a short statement from the Prosecutor's Office.
"We are pleased with the Judge's decision. It is nothing short of insulting that Doctor Einsetz tried to use the court system to force Mrs. Kurosawa to participate in something she clearly wanted no part of. Diclonius or not, she without question has the right to live her life freely like everyone else."
Lucy smiled to herself, grateful for everything the Prosecutor had done for her and her family.
"We're joined now by Mr. Ryotaro Ebari, one of the leading Criminal Defense attorneys in the Tokyo region. Mr. Ebari, what's your thoughts on this case?"
"Well, like most everyone else, I think it's one of the sickest things I've ever heard. To me, the worst part of the whole incident is just how blatant they were about it. They didn't even ATTEMPT to conceal or downplay their intentions. They came right out and TOLD the Judges they wanted them to ignore Mrs. Kurosawa's rights. It's a ballsy move, sure, but it certainly didn't go over too well with literally everyone who attended the hearing. It's rare to see an entire courtroom united against a single person, but that's exactly what happened."
"What about the part where the attorney implied that Mrs. Kurosawa's baby might be the result of infidelity on her part?"
"I'm gonna be honest, I laughed at that part, but not because I thought it was funny. I laughed because if Moriyama makes good on her threat about reporting him, that guy's in trouble. He won't lose his license, but it will most likely result in a public reprimand, which will become part of his permanent record."
"Speaking of losing, here's the question that I'm sure most of our viewers want to know... Can Dr. Einsetz make another appeal?"
"No. The only way he could have another appeal is if Prime Minister Shido grants a petition to allow it, and his office has already made it clear that they have no intentions of doing so. Without his authorization, there is NOTHING they can do."
"So... it's over?"
"It's over. Dr. Einsetz is screwed, and that's all there is to it."
Lucy smiled as her husband took her by the hand. Nana changed the channel, and soon, they were passing the popcorn bowl around again.
Yuri's Bakery - The next day
The customer at the front counter was not happy.
He had ordered a dozen dark chocolate cupcakes, but Yuri grabbed the wrong mix by mistake, and he ended up with a dozen milk chocolate cupcakes instead. When he found out, he stormed back inside the bakery and became irate, yelling at them for almost a full minute before the pink-haired girl ran out of patience.
"Look..." an irritated Lucy said. "I understand we got your order wrong, but yelling and screaming over it will do nothing but get you kicked out and banned from ever coming back here again. It's just cupcakes, ok? We're happy to remake them, but we're not doing it until you stop throwing a tantrum."
He took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm sorry... It's been a bad day, and I just... I shouldn't have taken it out on you two."
"It's alright, I know how that feels." Lucy calmly replied. "We're going to start making the right ones now, ok?"
"What about the first batch?" he asked.
"You can have those too if you'd like."
Yuri smiled as she watched from around the corner. That girl had a knack for calming angry customers down. Whether it was because she was pregnant, a Diclonius, beautiful, or some other reason, she almost always succeeded. After she was sure the man wasn't going to go ballistic again, Yuri went to start on remaking the man's order.
When the irate customer received the correct order, he apologized again and tipped the two women almost ¥10,000 before leaving.
"Thank you, Kaeda." Yuri said gratefully.
The pregnant girl just smiled and went to finish the order she had been working on before the abusive customer walked in.
Kaeda House - That night
The makeshift family had only been in the living room five minutes when Yuka's mother called and said there was something they needed to see on the local news channel. When Yuka found the right one, they saw Einsetz and his lawyers holding a press conference of some kind.
"Everyone at the Center for Biological Research and Advancement is highly disappointed by the court's ruling. Mrs. Kurosawa is like no other Diclonius the world's ever seen. She is the only one of her kind capable of bearing children. The scientific and medical communities of the world DESERVE to know why that is. She OWES humans the chance to solve this mystery, and instead of acknowledging this, the courts have ruled in favor of her "rights". It's beyond frustrating to all of us..."
"What the hell is this loser doing now?" Nana asked. "I've never seen anyone so obsessed over someone. Not even that cop Mitsuo was this bad!"
"Is it true that Cohabitation graduates cannot be taken into custody using the current Diclonii laws?" a female reporter asked.
"Yes, it's true. However, given the unique circumstances, we feel the Courts should have disregarded that, and ordered Mrs. Kurosawa into our custody. Cohabitation graduate or not, she's too important for that to be a factor."
"Unique circumstances or not, don't you think Mrs. Kurosawa should be allowed to make her own life choices?" the same woman pressed.
"Not under these circumstances. If Mrs. Kurosawa wants a cat instead of a dog, or noodles instead of rice, or short skirts instead of long skirts, yes, she absolutely should be free to make those choices. When it comes to her body, especially her reproductive system, no, we don't think she should be allowed to have a say in the matter."
"Did he really just say that?!" Yuka asked in disbelief.
"You talked about terminating the pregnancy if clinical impregnation proves successful, right? What would happen if it succeeded, but she wanted to keep the child?" a different reporter asked.
"We would attempt to reason with her in the hopes that she'd accept it was our decision, not hers. If this failed, we would sedate her and inject her with Trilodox. This chemical has proven to be extremely effective at terminating pregnancy without having to resort to a traditional abortion, or harming the mother."
"Are you seriously telling us you not only wouldn't allow Mrs. Kurosawa to choose whether or not she became pregnant, you also wouldn't allow her to choose whether or not the pregnancy was terminated?"
"Correct. If she weren't the only one of her kind, it might be different. As it stands now, decisions like that should be left to us, not her."
"If I ever get the chance to kill this man and get away with it, I'm going to take it." Nana vowed to herself. The purple-haired girl was so enraged, she was actually shedding tears because of it.
"If you could talk to Mrs. Kurosawa right would you say?" another woman asked.
Einsetz clearly his throat and looked directly into the camera.
"We know you're probably not happy with us at the moment, but this IS for the greater good. If you'll agree to submit to our custody, we'll cut it from six months to five, and allow one visit per month. We'll make sure you get the quality of care you deserve, and we'll provide financial support for an entire year after you're released. "You are extremely important to us all, Mrs. Kurosawa. The whole world is counting on you to make the right decision."
Kouta turned to his wife with a coy look on his face. "Maybe you should do it. Don't want to disappoint the whole world, right?"
As her family laughed, Lucy smiled and cuddled against her husband. About an hour and a half later, Lucy's phone beeped, and the pregnant girl was surprised to discover it was a picture from the Prosecutor.
"Who's texting you this late at night?" Kouta inquired.
"It's Moriyama. She sent me a picture, but I can't make out what it is."
"What IS that?" Yuka asked as everyone crowded around to take a look.
Suddenly, Nana started laughing. "It's Dr. Einsetz getting arrested again!"
Lucy blinked in surprise. "But... why?"
"He must have violated his Protection Order when he spoke to you directly during that press conference!" the purple-haired girl laughed.
As everyone started laughing, Lucy sent a text asking for details, and it wasn't long until she confirmed Nana was correct. Just for a final "Fuck you", Moriyama filed a motion to have his bail revoked.
"She either REALLY hates that guy, or REALLY likes Nyu!" Mayu laughed.
"Well, either way, you're not going to hear any complaints from me." Kouta answered.
Kamakura District Courthouse - The next morning
"How hard is it to understand DO NOT COMMUNICATE?!"
Standing in front of the same Judge that rejected the first motion was Einsetz, his attorneys, and Prosecutor Moriyama. Sitting in the row behind the Prosecutor was Lucy and Yuka, who were invited to attend the hearing.
Wearing a teal, short-sleeve maternity dress, the Diclonius watched Einsetz and his attorneys as they pulled one bullshit excuse after another in an effort to avoid him going to jail.
"Your Honor, there was no communication. Yes, Dr. Einsetz addressed Mrs. Kurosawa during a press conference, but communicating requires the exchanging of information. Mrs. Kurosawa was not present and had no way of exchanging anything."
The Judge pondered this for a moment and turned to the Prosecutor.
"Miss Moriyama?"
"I think opposing counsel is confused about what "communication" is. If you mail a letter to somebody, but they have no means to write back at that moment, it doesn't mean you're not communicating. Writing a letter implies an invitation to respond, same as leaving a voicemail or text message."
"You're the one whose confused. Holding a press conference is in no way inviting a reply." a different attorney responded.
The Prosecutor picked up a printed transcript of the conference and cleared her throat.
"You are extremely important to us all, Mrs. Kurosawa. The whole world is counting on you to make the right decision."
"That is a direct quote FROM Dr. Einsetz TO Mrs. Kurosawa, and it is without question inviting a response from her." Moriyama countered.
The Judge looked over at the lawyers and asked for rebuttal.
"It's not inviting a response, Your Honor, it's inviting an action, and is in no way meant t-"
"Oh, COME ON!" the Prosecutor yelled as she angrily slammed her hands on the table. "Does this court look like some kind of JOKE to you?! If a TV station is having a "Cutest baby" contest, and a mother mails in a picture of her infant, is it not a non-verbal communication in the form of an ACTION?"
"Idiotic humans." Lucy whispered quietly.
"No kidding... how the hell are these people lawyers?" Yuka whispered back.
"I have to agree with the Prosecution, but to err on the side of caution, I won't revoke bail at this time. I will, however, issue an Order of Protection against your attorneys to stop them from having any contact whatsoever with Mrs. Kurosawa, or any of her family members."
The Judge leaned forward with an irritated sigh.
"Listen VERY CAREFULLY, Doctor, because I've had enough of this nonsense from you. If there is one more OP violation, you WILL be going to jail. No more press conferences, no more late night visits from your attorneys, no more personal invitations, no more ANYTHING! I told you "No contact whatsoever", and you have deliberately ignored my order three separate times. I promise you, Doctor, if there's a fourth time, you will deeply regret it. FORGET about Mrs. Kurosawa! She wants absolutely nothing to do with you... period. Nothing you do or say is going to change her mind, so just do us all a favor and stop while you're still on the outside of a prison cell!" the Judge said. "If there's nothing further, we're adjourned."
Lucy smiled and hugged Yuka, thanking her for coming with her. The Prosecutor walked over and hugged both women, thanking them for coming.
"We wouldn't have missed it for the world." Yuka smiled.
From across the room, Einsetz and his attorneys watched in frustrated anger as the women walked out of the courtroom. Now, even THEY were barred from making contact with the Diclonius or her family. For all intents and purposes, they were screwed.
"Damn that little bitch, Moriyama!" Shemaru angrily remarked.
"She's been a pain in our ass every step of the way!" scowled Tokugawa.
"What are our legal options?" Einsetz asked.
"I'm afraid we don't HAVE any legal options, Dr Einsetz. Shido rejected our petition for a second appeal, remember? You can't even call or write her without going to jail, and now, we can't either!"
"What about the bakery she works at? Could we get the owner to at least relay messages?" the scientist asked.
"Not a chance. If we so much as tried to buy a birthday cake from her, the cops would show up."
"Shit... " Einsetz sighed heavily, shaking his head in dismay.
"Are you sure you don't want to give Oroko's team a call?" Tomikio quietly asked. "They've always succeeded before."
"There's no point... Even pregnant, she'd still slaughter them all in seconds."
The four men fell silent, trying desperately to think of something. Then, one of the attorneys asked Einsetz a rather unexpected question. "Dr. Einsetz, is it true the Institute once had it's own SAT team?"
"Yes, it's true. Why do you ask?" Einsetz replied.
"Well, if we can't rely on the Courts, maybe we can rely on one of them."
"You mean..." Einsetz said
Shemaru nodded his head, and proceeded to tell the Doctor what he had in mind. When he finished, the other lawyer turned to Einsetz and asked, "Do you still have contact information for any of them?"
"No, but I've heard one of them lives in one of those little apartments near the beach."
"I'll go find the address." Tomikio volunteered.
Mirachi Micro Apartment Complex - Unit 301 - Two nights later
When Mayu told Bando she wanted him to meet her significant other, he was a bit surprised when he opened the door and found her standing there holding hands with another girl. Even more surprising, it was another Diclonius.
After inviting the two girls in, he surprised them with a couple of ramen bowls.
"Wow! You even cooked for us!" Sakura beamed as the three of them sat down on the floor of Bando's "living room".
"It's just instant ramen..." Mayu teased." Anyone can make something that easy."
Bando glared as he reached over and grabbed her bowl.
"If you're gonna bitch about it, you can go without!"
Sakura started laughing, watching with great amusement as Bando held out for several minutes, but eventually gave in to Mayu's obviously feigned sniffling and handed it back to her.
"So... you're into chicks, huh?" he grinned, enjoying the embarrassed look on the young girl's face.
"I... well, I like boys too, but... we just... we kinda fell for each other." Mayu blushed.
"Did it have to be another bitch with horns?"
He hadn't really been serious about it, but when Sakura burst into genuine tears, he found himself apologizing to the young Diclonius.
"Alright, I'm sorry. Quit your crying... I... I call everyone like you a bitch with horns. Don't take it seriously."
"She's a little sensitive sometimes." Mayu explained as she comforted her girlfriend.
Sakura calmed down, and the incident was quickly forgotten.
"I guess there are worse girls you could have ended up with..." he admitted. "Besides... she really doesn't seem that bad. She's actually kinda normal compared to those other two."
"Sakura was born in a hospital and grew up in a human household with her mother."
"What about her father?"
"He left us when he found out I was a Diclonius." she replied. "Mom said he packed up and moved out before she was even out of the hospital." the young Diclonius said. "She didn't have a job, so we ended up homeless for a while. "
Bando's attitude softened after hearing this, as his own father didn't hang around long either.
It didn't take long for the young Sipelit to kinda grow on the gruff mercenary. She was polite, well-mannered, and didn't seem to mind that his apartment was so small and cramped.
"It's actually bigger than the one we lived in at Atsugi."
"Is she serious?"
Mayu nodded. "And it was in a really bad neighborhood, too."
"The only job Mom could find was as a waitress at a small diner. I wasn't old enough to work, so I did odd jobs to try to help make ends meet. It wasn't much, but the diner let her bring food home when she worked, so at least we usually had enough to eat."
"Usually?" Bando asked.
"If she wasn't working that night, we usually went to one of the shelters. If they ran out of food before we got there, well... sometimes we just went without."
Mayu held back tears as she squeezed her girlfriend's hand. In a rare moment of compassion, the mercenary asked if she wanted to take home some of his.
"Thank you very much for the offer, but we're doing a lot better now." Sakura smiled at him. "Mayu was right, you really ARE a good person!"
When the girls finally said goodnight, it was well past 11 pm. Directly across the street from the micro apartments, one of Einsetz's attorneys waited in his car, watching the girls as they walked out holding hands. After they'd walked a few meters away from Bando's door, they stopped and kissed a few times before resuming their walk.
After they were out of sight, the attorney stepped out of the vehicle. He crossed the street and, after making sure the girls were indeed gone, knocked on Bando's door. He opened it expecting to see Mayu and Sakura again, so it came as a surprise when he discovered his visitor was a man in a suit.
"Yes?"
"Are you Bando Satori, the former SAT operative?"
"Maybe... Maybe not. Who wants to know?"
"My name is Ishida Tomikio, and I'm an attorney employed by Dr. Gruppen Einsetz."
"Am I getting sued or somethin'?"
The lawyer just laughed and shook his head. "No, nothing like that." the lawyer replied. "I'm here because Dr. Einsetz wants to know if you'd be interested in an... arrangement."
"What kind of "arrangement"...?"
"The kind that will make you rich."
Bando didn't exactly look convinced, but he did look interested.
"...I'm listening."
Next chapter: Betrayal.