Elfen Lied 1. Facilities

Cass didn't want to be here as much as her father wanted to bring her along, but, here she was, sitting uncomfortably in a helicopter, arms crossed over her chest. She had never thought she'd go to her father's workplace; she didn't even know where it was situated.

She barely even knew anything about her father's work in the first place; the excuse her dad used when she was still a child whenever she would ask what he did was that he was a spy.

She knew what he was a scientist working for the international government alliances, but that was about it. She didn't know what kind of scientist he was or what he researched.

"Why do you even bother bringing me?!" she spat at her father, looking out of the window of the small helicopter.

"Because, summer is coming, and you can't stay home alone for three months!" her father answered in a matter-of-fact tone.

Cass wasn't the most obedient child after all, and her being 16 didn't ease her father's fears. She wasn't a very angry girl, more of a… Grumpy.

"I'm not a child, _dad_, I can take care of myself real well…! And besides, why bring the army with us?"

By that she obviously meant the armed guards that were patrolling the airport when she got there, who had also followed her until she boarded the helicopter.

"Oh, they were just for… Protection…" her father answered with a grin.

"Protection?! Oh really? 'Cause they sounded pretty serious…They wouldn't even tell me where we were going dad!"

Dr. Philips smiled at the pet name his daughter still gave him, dad. His daughter, in all her seclusion from him, still had the unconscious reflex of calling him dad. He brought out an old filthy notebook and a pen and took some notes.

Cass looked nothing like her father; he had black hair and brown eyes, while she had short blond hair that covered her left eye and sky blue eyes. Although she had a big strand on the hair that covered her face that she had died brown, her natural colour when she was younger.

She had had her earphones - oh, those grey earphones she used to cut herself from reality as much as she wanted - on her ears for half an hour until she snapped, pulling them down and hissing at her father.

"Okay…!" she wanted answers now. "Where are we going?!"

"My research facility of course…!" her father answered in an amused voice.

"Oh, so now you tell me?" Cass crossed her arms on her chest.

"You have no one to tell." Her father took a serious tone.

"Jee… Nice to know you trust your own daughter…"

Number 6 stared at the ceiling, thinking about what it could be like outside the facility. He knew why he was here and that he'd never get to see the outside again, since, after all, he is a diclonius. Yet sometimes, it doesn't hurt to dream.

How long he had been here, he would say about 10 years, although that would be a very superficial estimation.

He wasn't tied up because the researchers knew he wouldn't misbehave or try to run away, he had given up a long time ago, he had gotten his lesson.

He pushed his dark purple hair out of his amethyst eyes and tried getting up, but with the wounds from his latest test still sore, he laid back down on his cot.

He was in the facility specialised in male dicloniuses, while he had heard about a facility in Japan that was specialised in female subjects. He truly hoped the females didn't have to go through the same tests as he and the other male dicloniuses in the facility.

More like a torture prison, as Number 20 would always put it.

That's when he heard it, the gunshots, and the explosions coming from the corridor outside his cell. His heart raced as he heard the sounds coming closer, his vectors were on controlled level, meaning he could use them to minimal capacity.

He just put on a defiant look, the defiant look he always put on in front of humans, which had a mix of anger, hate and stubbornness to it, and waited.

A man dressed in black kicked his cell door open wielding what seemed like a machine gun and stared at him with disgusted eyes.

Those eyes, that look, how many times had Number 6 seen that hateful look, he couldn't count anymore, nor did he really give much thought to it anymore, now that he knew what he was. But those eyes held something else.

Joy… And cruelty.

Number 6 shielded himself with his hands and vectors as much as he could as the man in black pulled the trigger, even though he knew it wouldn't be good enough to save him, he didn't want to look helpless in his time of dying.

He hated the feeling of helplessness, like the one he would get during the tests as he was chained and tortured. There was no other word for the tests he had gone through other than, torture.

As he laid naked in his cell, bathed in his own blood caused by the gunshots, he soon saw his vision blackening.

Dr. Philips led his daughter as they walked through the facility, which Cass noticed was in the middle of the ocean.

The sun was setting down in an amazing harmony of orange, blue and pink, and Cass couldn't help but to stare in awe for a moment, before snapping back to reality.

She caught up to her distancing father and followed him until he showed her the room she had been assigned to.

"So, not too bad uh?" he father asked teasingly.

"This is a dump…" Cass said in a morose tone before turning to her father with a grin. "Kiddin'! It's perfect."

It indeed was, she had a bunk bed, which she had always loved since her childhood, a TV, a laptop, a desk, and plenty of space in the closet.

"I'm glad…" her father said before being interrupted by a young woman in a military uniform.

"Doctor, I apologize for this rude intrusion, but, our sister facility, from section MD, has been destroyed by some unknown military forces." she said in a formal voice. "You are requested to assist the teams in recovering evidence and research."

Dr. Philips sighed, then turned to his daughter.

"Just, be good okay?" he asked in a tired tone.

"Of course, _doctor_." Cass responded, before turning her back to him and unpacking.


	2. Meeting

"Doctor, doctor there's a breathing specimen here!" a young soldier cried as he pushed away the debris from the unconscious diclonius.

"Stand back, we need to make sure the vector controlling device is activated." Dr. Philips said as he carefully looked at the nape of the young diclonius.

"Well?"

"It's relatively safe, bring this one in. Make sure it's tied up, and of it wakes up, either sedate it or stand as far away as possible."

The young boy had dried blood going from his mouth, down to his chin, as well as multiple bleeding gunshot wounds that didn't seem fatal.

As they were about to exit, Dr. Philips discerned a number painted on the broken down door. 6.

"Number six uh?" he said, his voice hinting deep interest. "We've got your files, we'll see…"

Cass couldn't believe how bored she could possibly get, her father had been gone for two days and after cleaning and organizing her room, twice, and doing some doodles on a scrap sheet of paper, she decided to read her own diary, which she kept as some sort of novel so she could laugh at herself.

She was just getting at the part where she found out her dad had read that very diary two years ago, resulting in the purchase of a lock, when a knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.

"C'mon in…" she said bluntly.

"Hey Cassy…" he father said as he came in.

"I told you to stop calling me t-" she had begun ranting until she saw the bags under her father's eyes.

"I just came to show you something, explain you things…."

"Uh… Okay…"

He took a seat beside her on the bed and started his tale.

"You see, I'm a scientist, I do research, but my research is special… But you know all that." Her father explained. "You see, I research mutations and most particularly, humanoids."

"Hu—What?!" Cass was half dumbfounded, half convinced.

"Yes… Well, in the past 20 years, multiple governments have been studying a certain species."

"Like, monkeys or somethin'?"

"No… Far more developed…" he sighed, then looked at her. "I'll show you."

Cass, eager with curiosity and surprise from the trust her father showed her, followed him gladly through the many corridors, until she reached a room with what seemed like a bullet-proof glass window, with a room beneath it.

As her eyes focused she saw a boy that seemed to be just her age, mostly covered in blood, with a blanket covering his body waist-down. He was strapped onto the very uncomfortable looking table by his neck, wrists and ankles.

She clearly distinguished what she knew were bullet holes on his shoulders and stomach, but what also intrigued her was the horns sticking out of his head.

"Wh- Dad! That's a human being!" she said as she ran towards the large window.

"No it's not…" a young female scientist said. "That's a diclonius."

Cass was about to retort when she started to process the information she had.

"Is that what you meant by-?" Cass could barely speak.

"Humanoids? Mutants? Yes." her father finished her sentence for her.

Cass' eyes trailed towards a little card, where information was printed, concerning, dicloniuses. Horns, usually unnatural hair and eye colour, vector, a weapon, everything was written.

"That's, wow… Is he even alive?" a nod. "Does this mean, he's dangerous?"

"Not quite, you see, it has a microchip at the back of its neck which seems to be depicting a certain control over the use of it's vectors. That means it's as harmless as you and I."

"Oh… Has he woken up yet?"

"Indeed, but it 'punched' a soldier using its vectors and we had to sedate it…" he father had his poker face on.

"I thought you said he was harmless!" Cass was utterly confused.

"It is, as a matter of speaking, it can't harm us with its vectors, as much as you can't harm me with your fists. Because, as I believed you just read, they are prone to attack humans due to an inherited hatred for mankind, and when it's vectors are uncontrolled, it could slice you in a matter of a split second, only if you stand at a distance closer than 4 meters, otherwise, its vectors won't reach you."

"And, why tell me all this?"

"Because you need to know. The facility it resided in was destroyed, and it's the only survivor we've collected so far. Also. Do not mistake it to be like a human. It's a specimen, nothing more…"

"So that why you called him 'it'…" Cass mumbled dryly.

"What did you say?" he father asked since his daughter's response was so silent.

"Nothing…"

"Doctor, the subject's vitals signs are kicking in…" the female said.

Number 6 had heard part of the conversation he had woken up to, but he sensed no one of his kind, where was he?

He turned to see two scientists in lab coats, how he hated those coats and what they meant, and a girl he thought to be his age, whatever his age was, who looked at him with a mix of disgust and curiosity. Another one who thinks he's just a monster. Not like they were wrong anyways.

The male doctor entered the room with precaution, staying at a good distance from him, since Number 6 was already sending a vicious glare his way.

"Specimen number 6, from fraction MD, am I right?" the doctor asked, then continued, not letting Number 6 speak. "Of course you are…"

"What do you want?" Number 6 spat.

"Answers…"

"I don't know anything, I'm tired of this just let me go!" his tone was a mix between frustration and despair.

"That, we can't do. But, we can conduct an experiment…"

Number 6's and Cass' eyes both went wide, for different reasons, experiment meant pain to Number 6 while Cass couldn't believe the events that were unwrapping before her.

"A special kind of experiment.." Dr Philips continued. "We want to test your kind's abilities to interact with other species. Humans."

"Oh, you mean what I was doing before you filthy humans took me?!" Number 6 was getting more and more impatient and angry, tugging at his bonds.

"I was unaware of that fact, but yes, although you will have to remain on the facility's grounds, unless accompanied by a human, and under no circumstances will you harm a human being."

Dr. Philips was met with the saliva of Number 6, who had just spat at him. He simply wiped it off and continued.

"You will be assigned to a resident of the facility, although you've already gotten most of them on your bad side…"

The doctor was met with a silent glare.

"So, I have debated that, if she's up for the challenge, you would be assigned to," he turned to look at Cass, then inviting her to enter the room to stand beside him. "Her."

Cass jumped as much as Number 6 would've done if he wasn't restrained, as she stared to bomb her father with "what!?" and "why?!".

"She is your age, and not a worker her, meaning she's the only one who's on bad side you didn't get yet." Dr. Philips was pleased. "Well, what do you two think? Not that you have the choice…"

Both Cass and Number 6 were about to protest, but instead just shrugged it off with a 'fine', and entered what almost seemed like a hostile staring contest.

"Excellent, well, Cass, good luck…" Dr. Philips said, leaving the scene completely. "After all, psychology is your strong point... We want to know if, given the circumstances, a diclonius could live like us."

He turned his heels, patted Cass on the head, making the latter growl slightly, then exited.

Cass kept on staring at the door which her father had gone out from, until she turned back to the boy in front of her.

"Well…" she started with a confident tone. "Can I trust you enough to untie you?"

Number 6's eyes went large as he heard that question, never in his life had he been asked such a bizarre question, given such a free choice over his fate.

He simply nodded, since he was at loss with words.

"Great…" Cass said, beginning to untie the bonds that so firmly attached Number 6 the table. "I'm Cass… Just by the way…"

"Number 6…." He responded in a sigh.

"What do you mean?"

"You really don't work here…." Number 6 said in an exasperated tone. "That's my name…"

"What!? Don't you have another one?! Like, I dunno, Kyle, or Brady?"

"I use to, but I forgot it…"

"You for-" Cass let out a sarcastic chuckled. "You forgot?!"

"Yes, I forgot!" Number 6 said in a defiant tone.

"Well… Can I call you something else?" Cass tried.

"Depends…" Number 6 never trusted nicknames, they were usually hurtful.

"How about… Uh… Keith?" where did that come from, Cass thought.

Number 6 sat up on the table and massaged his sore wrists as he looked up at her.

"Keith?!" he said. "Well, better than a number I guess…"

"You guess?" Cass said teasingly.

Number 6, now Keith, got up and started to follow her, until she realized he had no garments, resulting in him catching a towel that Cass threw at him.

"Cover yourself, _please_…." Cass said as she looked away out of awkwardness. "Follow me, I'm gonna like, clean your wounds and all…"

"Sounds so fun…" Keith said in a bored tone as he followed her, limping.


	3. Not off to a good start are we?

It seems as if the facility personnel had enough decency to remove the bullets from Keith's wounds, so all Cass had to do was clean them, sanitize them and after he took a bath, bandage them.

As she placed the bandages gently, she realised this was the first physical contact she had had with the diclonius facing her, and suddenly found herself blushing.

Keith seemed to take notice because he gave her a questioning look, but wouldn't dare to ask her why she her cheeks were taking on a slight shade of pink.

The process was entirely silent since Keith didn't trust Cass one bit and Cass wasn't pleased with her newfound duty.

"Alright…" Cass said while stretching once she was done. "What time is it?"

She looked at her Ipod quickly, which read 7:38 PM, making Cass realize she was starving.

"Wanna eat something?" she asked Keith, an eyebrow raised.

"Uh…" Keith answered, uncertainty evident in his voice.

"What? You're not hungry?" Cass said surprised. "I'm like, starving, and I wouldn't be surprised if you were too…"

She headed down the hallway towards the cafeteria, which was practically empty at this time, when she heard some rushed footsteps coming closer and closer to her. She turned to see Keith, looking at her with the look of defiance she was going to encounter so often, and responded with a triumphant grin.

Cass was still poking at her meat and mashed potatoes slowly while she knew that Keith had engulfed his meal inside 5 minutes. She felt as if someone else than the exasperated diclonius was looking at her, so she scanned the cafeteria with her eyes.

She found two young soldiers, one of them with a black eye, glancing down at her with hatred. She then gave him an angry look at the unprovoked hostility, until she realised the nasty looks weren't meant for her, but for the boy sitting in front of her, Keith.

"Do you wanna go now?" Cass asked in concern.

Keith, who had seemed to be daydreaming, shot his head up as if he had been stung.

"W-why?" he stuttered, frowning.

Cass was taken aback; surely he had noticed the vicious glares pointed his way, but he seemed to be shrugging them off.

"Um… Them maybe?" Cass retorted, pointing at the two soldiers with her fork.

Keith looked towards the two men who had been glaring at him for the past 25 minutes and simply returned their expressions, hoping that would be enough to get them to look away.

Bingo.

"Do you like, really hate and want to kill all of mankind for real?" Cass asked as she got up to put her plate in the trash.

"As a matter of speaking, yes." Keith responded without batting an eye.

"Does that mean you hate me too?" Cass was a little worried, but didn't let it show.

"Possibly…" Keith said as he got up from the table and followed Cass, a grim look on his face.

"… I don't get you…" Cass said as she pushed the cafeteria doors.

"No one does…"

Cass turned to him, about to snap at him, but remembered the task she had been given. They both entered her room and sat on her bed, which slightly creaked under their combined weight.

"Listen…" she started. "I don't wanna be stuck with you as much as you don't wanna be stuck with me…"

"You don't say…" Keith crossed his arms and looked away.

"But we have to. You don't like me, I don't like you, but I'll do my best to work this out as long as you do the same…" she continued, trying to get him to soften up. "After all, for you it's that or another facility…"

Realisation hit Keith as he shot himself up in fear and turned to Cass.

"No! No, no no! Don't make me go back to that place!" he started thinking that was a threat. "I'll do anything, just don't-"

By the end of his quick rant he was practically kneeling in front of Cass, who was surprised at the terrified eyes staring into her's. Keith had been frowning and resisting ever since she had met him, but now he was on his knees, pleading her.

She stared at him, frowning in surprise and curiosity, he seemed so, scared. She grabbed his arm and gently lifted him onto the bed, settling him beside her.

"Calm down, I…" she put her hand on his forehead, only to realise it was damp with cold sweat. "I didn't mean to scare you… I was just-"

"Stating a fact…" Keith cut her in an unusually raspy voice, but calmer voice.

"…"

Cass looked carefully at the panting boy beside her, noticing the multiple bruises and scars she knew were at least a week old. When did they find him again? It couldn't be more than three days now.

It all made sense; he was a test subject, a specimen as her father had said.

"How can someone be so inhumane…" she whispered to herself.

"What?" Keith said, turning to her, his usual frown still back on his facial features.

"It's not important…" she turned to him and tried to start a conversation. "Say? Did you grow up in that facility of yours?"

"Compared to more than half the others in there, no." he answered, his features getting darker. "It's not an advantage really, because I remembered back when I was free."

"Oh… How was it, when you weren't captive?"

"Well, I was often sad, yes, but I could still be happy… I used to go to school you see… B- Why do you even care?!"

Just when Cass thought he was going to open up.

"Well, if I wanna be able to do anything with you, I want to know about you!" Cass said, folding her arms and turning her back to him, making a little 'hmpf' sound.

"Well, why would I need to tell you about myself?" Keith responded with a hostile tone. "All you humans want is to study us like we're, just, like we're nothing!"

"Well maybe I was just trying to be nice…" Cass had taken a calmer tone, but the impudence still evident in her voice.

Keith turned to her with a distasteful glare, he really was staring to have enough of this girl.

"I can't stand your attitude at all…" Keith mumbled.

"Well, neither can I…!" Cass turned back to Keith, practically pouting.

Both started a glaring contest, similar to the one they had on their first meeting, but Keith's glare soften as he slowly realised that perhaps Cass didn't truly hate him compared to most humans, she actually seemed to be treating him like a person. He was pushing away his possible chance at tasting happiness again.

He turned around and gave up on trying to stand his ground, as it was evident the girl that had been assigned to him wasn't about to give up.

"Everyone hated me, the teachers, the students, I've always been alone…" he said in a stoic tone.

Cass's glare softened too, since she had decided she wanted to know more about him.

"And did you… Have any friends?" she dared to ask.

"At first yes, but as soon as they realised my hair color was natural, they started to stray away from me, and when they found out I had horns, they hated me…"

"Then they were crappy friends." Cass said.

"They still made me happy, even if it was short lived… I made friends in the facility too…"

"Really?"

"Of course, they were just like me, hated, different… We knew we were monsters, but we didn't care."

"Monsters?! Who told you guys that?" Cass couldn't believe her ears.

"Everyone, and if they didn't say it with their words, they said it with their eyes…" Keith laid back on the soft mattress. "When I was in school, the other kids would always write mean shit on my stuff…"

"Those assholes…!" Cass never liked that kind of people.

Keith studied her intently, she had a hateful look in her eyes, but it wasn't directed at him, she had her fists clenched, but he somehow knew he wouldn't be hurt by her.

No, it was too early to trust her.

"Anyways… Let's just, go to sleep." Cass said as she went over to grab her pyjamas, then turned to Keith, who was simply frowning at her. "Aren't you gonna turn around?"

Keith took a few seconds to process what she had just told him, then quickly remembered the basic ways society had, and quickly turned around.

"That's what I thought…" Cass mumbled.


	4. Friction

Cass had always been an early riser, although she did allow herself to sleep in from time to time. She rubbed her eyes numbly and glanced at the clock situated right on the wall close to her television, which indicated she had woken up at 5:30 am, then directed her eyes at the window.

She was surprised to see Keith standing there, arms crossed onto the window ledges, staring down at the horizon with a somewhat peaceful look.

"You're up?!" she whispered, trying not to startle him.

Keith blinked a few times, until he turned his head to see Cass climbing down the bunk-bed latter. Without him realising it, the peaceful look he had previously on crippled itself into his usual frown.

"Why 'you up so early?" Cass asked while walking towards him.

"Well, what about you?" Keith quickly retorted.

"I always wake up early…" Cass answered after a sigh. Why was he always so on the defensive all the time? "Now, what about you?"

She had a nonchalant frown, but the way she asked the question and her body language encouraged Keith to answer.

"I'm used to waking up at crazy hours. It's kind of a routine…" he mumbled as he looked back outside the window. He was relaxed yet again.

"The sun's probably gonna be setting in less than ten minutes..." Cass started, settling herself beside Keith and looking outside herself.

"So?" Keith asked, suddenly getting defensive. "I haven't seen the sun in a while, just leave me alone…"

"So I was thinking about going outside to see it." Cass declared as she turned around and slid on her house coat and flip-flops.

"Why should I care about what you do?" Keith spat.

"I was gonna ask if you wanted to come too…" Cass said sticking her nose up. "I guess you haven't had fresh air in a while?"

Keith jumped back slightly, taking an annoyed expression. He grunted unhappily and walked towards Cass, who was now wearing a triumphant smirk.

"You can grab my slippers if you want…" she said in a stuck-up whisper.

She received a piercing glare from Keith as he put the slippers on, yet she paid it no heed.

They walked a few minutes through the many corridors that seemed only hostile and depressing, until they reached the exit doors, which had red painted letters that marked "EXIT".

Cass kept on walking forward until she realised Keith was standing slightly back, as if he was unsure.

"Dude, outside's in this direction…" she stated, pointing the doors with her thumb. "Just by the way.."

"I know that!" Keith snapped at her and started to walk towards her in a 'watch me do it' way, but Cass only made a tiny sniffing sound.

As soon as they pushed the door their nostrils filled with the prominent scent of salt water, the ocean, and the freshness that came with the morning. What could they only assume to be seagulls cried in the distance, creating a relaxing melody as it mixed harmoniously with the crashing sound of the waves.

Cass turned to Keith, who seemed to be overfilled with a mix of emotions, his jaw was slightly parted and Cass wouldn't have been surprised if she would've seen tears in his eyes.

She didn't.

"Well…" she started, breaking the silence and pulling Keith out of his trance. "Wanna sit where the fence-thingy is?"

He simply nodded and followed her to the railing, which was practically circling the entire platform.

They sat down, letting their legs suspend over the ledges, and both rested their arms on the lower bar of the railing, resting their chins as well.

Keith closed his eyes as he felt the soft ocean breeze brush through his face and his hair, and sighed, a small smile lifting the corners of his lips. He felt freer than he had ever dreamed to feel ever since his capture, completely forgetting that Cass had taken notice in his actions and was staring at him with a half mocking, half friendly smile.

After a few minutes he turned and saw Cass, who had kept the same expression and quickly reverted to his defensive, distrustful self.

"What?!" he hissed.

To his surprise, Cass giggled in a girly way, which seemed to be very unlike herself.

"You're cute you know that...?" she said with a teasing, yet somehow friendly voice.

"Whatever…" he mumbled, turning back to the horizon.

"If you like sunrises, you should see the sunsets over here!" Cass announced.

"Maybe…" Keith responded, dreamy.

It was nearly 7:30 am when the pair decided to get up and get ready before too many workers get up and either see them of bug them. Cass had dressed up with a plain grey tank-top and black shorts, while Keith had opted for Cass' big blue sweater and baggy dark jeans.

"Aren't you gonna be a lil' hot there?" Cass asked.

"I'm fine." Keith simply said with a voice that expressed no emotions.

"Anyways… Good thing my clothes fit you, uh?" she said with a grin as she walked through the corridor that led to the cafeteria.

They came in to find a good amount of workers and soldiers, some men flirting with the women that either flirted back of shrugged them off. Cass noticed oranges, cereals and croissants on a big table and walked quietly to the mouth-watering food. She sure was hungry.

Keith simply but his hood on and followed her like a shadow, hoping the numerous soldiers wouldn't pay him any attention. He grabbed an orange and a croissant and quickly made his way to one of the few rounded tables in the cafeteria where Cass had settled down to enjoy her food.

Whether she had chosen the isolated corner of the cafeteria because she wanted space, because she didn't like the workers or out of consideration for him, Keith didn't know, but he was silently grateful.

Keith had decided to face the wall, most noticeably Cass, who could barely see his face due to his, actually her hoodie, blocking most lights from lightening up his features.

Even though he was turned, Keith could feel the penetrating glares that stabbed through him that most of the facility staff were giving him. It reminded him a lot of his previous facility, minus the experiments and physical pain, but the hate, the disgust and the fear were still as present, if not even more.

"Hey buddy…" Cass said, making him break out of his thoughts.

"What?" he asked in a dryer tone that he had intended it to be.

Cass seemed insulted that the very aggressive tone she had just received, and coughed.

"Nevermind…" she mumbled in annoyance. "Well, I'm done…"

Keith lifted his head slowly, slightly worried she was abandoning him for good, his heart dropping at the thought of being alone again.

She pitched her garbage in the trashcan and started walking, then turned to him when she realised he was still sitting down, but looking at her, his eyes hidden by the shadow the hood casted on him.

"You comin'?" she asked, slightly impatient.

She was surprised when he practically jumped off his chair and speed walked to her. She gave him a questioning look but otherwise just kept on walking.

As they neared her room, Keith started to get anxious at the fact that he might have angered Cass, a variety of questions running through his mind. What if she gave up on him and sent him to another facility where he'd be nothing more than a test subject? What if she started hating him like everyone else? What if, what if?

"I'm sorry." he muttered in a tone that showed fear and regret.

Cass turned her entire body around at the words that were spoken to her to face Keith, who had a stoic expression if not for his eyes full of emotions.

"For what?" she managed to mumble herself in her stunned state.

"For being, well…" Keith started, trying to find his words.

He felt a firm hand on his shoulders, different from the other times he had been grabbed by the shoulders. This touch actually felt supporting, so he dared to look up, only to see Cass wearing a sympathising look, smiling.

"If it's about what happened in the caf, don't sweat it…" could she read his mind? "I was just gonna ask if you were alright…"

"Oh…" Keith was at a loss of words.

"Say, I heard there was a small basketball area on this platform… You know what basketball is right?"

"Of course I do!" Keith was back at his usual self. "I'm not a caveman…"

"Perfect, what do you say if we go look for it and hang out there for a while?"

"Will there be any staff?" Keith asked, wary.

"Not at this hour… We're the only ones with time to spare here."

Although she was frowning, Cass had a grin plastered on her face as she started heading towards her room, where she kept a map of the facility.

* * *

**Hello! Sorry for any readers that were reading this, I almost forgot about this story! Anyhow, thanks to anyone who reviewed, read, favourite or anything with this story, it's appreciated!:) I've proof-read most of my story by now so the chapters should be coming out quick.**


	5. Pyramid

There was a heavy silence broken by the only sound of the basketball being dribbled, hitting the ground and coming up again. Cass sat back, watching Keith play alone since she was getting bored of the activity, yet he seemed to be more than enthusiastic about the sport.

"Well you're sure havin' fun aren't you?" Cass said with a small grin.

"Well, it's just the most fun I've had in a while…" Keith simply answered, shrugging.

Cass said nothing, so he wasn't too sure if Cass was simply ignoring his answer or if she simply couldn't hear him, since she had her large earphones back on.

Cass quickly glanced at her Ipod, realising they had been at the basketball court, if one could call it that, for over three hours.

"Damn…" she mumbled to herself, then raised her voice and turned to Keith. "You almost done?"

"Yeah, I guess." Keith said while dropping the ball and walking towards the bench Cass was sitting on.

He sat down beside her and couldn't help but notice how she would always wear those earphones as if they were part of her. She had them around her neck when he first met her, when she had bandaged his wounds. She had them ever since, he wouldn't be surprise if she slept with them.

He noticed she was also looking at a piece of paper with a pyramid drawing, which had sections with words written on them. At the very top of the pyramid Keith could read the words "Maslow's Pyramid".

Before he had time to wonder what it meant, he heard Cass clear her throat and looked up to come face to face with her, an eyebrow raised in a questioning manner.

"Need anything?" she asked.

That's when he realised he had stretched his head and was now practically blocking the paper from her.

"No…!" Keith said in a defying tone. "I was just wondering what you were looking at."

"It's Maslow's pyramid, the pyramid of needs…" Cass explained, pointing the bottom section of the pyramid. "Here we have the first step, physiological needs, as in enough food, water, enough sleep, and warmth; those are the very basic needs that someone has to have. The second step is the feeling of security, having a shelter. The third step is the feeling of belonging. Having friends and family appreciate you, feeling like you're not useless or alone… The fourth step is self-esteem, which is pretty much self-explanatory, you want to achieve goals, be recognized for your good deeds. The fifth and final step is self-actualisation; you want to find yourself a talent, a hobby, self-fulfillment. All those compose the basic needs of a person. Most people should be situated on the step 3 or up."

Keith had processed what she was saying, and realised that for most of his life, he sometimes wasn't even situated on the first step. Now though, he would probably be situated on step 2 at least.

"On what step are you?" he asked in a voice that was too soft for him to call his own.

"I'd say probably five…" Cass said, folding the paper, sliding in in her pocket and getting up. "I have pretty much all I would want, so either I skipped four or just don't know I have it…"

Keith got up himself and nodded, intrigued.

"And I want to bring you to this level also." she said in a firm voice, surprising him.

"Really?" he asked, not sure if she was simply messing with him or not.

"Of course!" she said in the same matter-of-fact tone her father used so often. "I was asked to see how well you can interact with humans, but to interact properly, your needs should be filled, don't you think?"

"You have a point…" he mumbled, thinking for a few seconds.

He was strangely disappointed that the only reason she was looking after him was not because she cared for him, but because she had been assigned to do so.

Keith felt angry at himself for thinking that someone, a human at that, would care for him and felt angry at his naivety.

"What's the matter this time?" Cass questioned, a bit exasperated.

"Uh?" Keith looked at her in the eyes, then simply answered in his usual defensive, somewhat hateful tone. "None of your business…"

This tickled a nerve in Cass' mind; she was trying to be friendly with the guy and he always pushed her away.

"Actually, it _is_ my business!" she snapped. "You're my business, this 'experiment' is definitely my business, so obviously, whatever is the matter with you is my business. Although it's probably just your shitty attitude…!"

She crossed her arms and turned away a bit.

Keith was slightly startled by the aggressiveness he heard in Cass' voice. All the numerous times he had spat verbally at her, he had never heard anger or hostility in her voice, although there had been annoyance and obvious dislike.

He took a few steps back and could practically see the angry aura coming from the girl in front of him. He was sure she was going to give up on him this time, causing fear and regret to resettle in his heart, just like that morning.

He couldn't retort since he knew that what she had said was right; he had a shitty attitude, and wasn't helping his case one bit. Cass' face was crimson red from anger, which would be funny in another situation. She was frowning even more than she usually did and was sending a glare his way that reminded him of how everyone always looked at him.

"I know…" he murmured, lowering his head.

Cass was surprised with that answer, but didn't let it show as she kept her expression, arms folded, although her face was coming back to its usual colour.

Slowly she started to realise how pitiful Keith looked, feeling a twinge of guilt at the knowledge that she was the cause of it.

She let out a loud exasperated sigh, but did her best to soften her features into a warm smile.

"No, I'm the one who's sorry…" she replied in a soft voice.

"But you're right!" Keith said, looking angry.

"Well, I have a shitty attitude too, but people bear with me anyways…" she started. "So, I'll bear with you too."

Keith looked up surprised, relief prominent on his face as he realised she won't give up on him. Forgetting all his ego, doubts and pride, he latched onto her and embraced her into a tight hug.

"Thank you Cass…" he whispered. "I owe you one…"

"…Uh…" Cass was slightly surprised, but hugged back nonetheless. "Just, promise we won't keep any secrets from each other… Alright?"

"Fair enough." Keith let go of her and adopted a slightly frown and cheeky grin.

"Then it's a deal!" she said, pulling her hand out to him. "So, 'we friends?"

Keith thought for a moment, this was the first time someone ever asked him that. Every time he had made the mistake of trusting a human, whether as a friend or guardian, he had been betrayed and received nothing but hurt.

He looked at Cass' hand, then at her honest-looking face, then her hand, then her face. What did he have to lose? He had no family, no friends, no home, no future and no hope, but the girl offering truce in front of him might just be able to bring something to him.

Although not with a bit of a hesitation, he shook her hand and smiled at her, a true smile he had forgotten he could give.

"Yeah..!" he replied, almost exited. "That's sounds nice."

"Perfect!" Cass said as she let go of his hand. "Now…"

"Now I have a question."

"Say wha-?" Cass looked at him with questioning eyes.

"Is Cass your full name?"

Cass jumped back a bit, slightly startled. That was new.

And unexpected.

"Uh, no…" she answered warily at the sight of Keith's mocking grin.

"Really… What is it?" why did he want to know so bad?

"Cassandre…" she mumbled.

"Cassandra?" Keith didn't know why she would hide a perfectly normal name. "That's a nice name…"

"No, no, no, no, no…! Cassan-DRE…!" Cass chuckled. "I know, it sounds weird, but deal with it!"

"That…Is an odd name…" Keith said while holding back a small laugh.

"Says the guys with horns on his head…"

Keith would've usually been insulted, but the friendly smile Cass was giving him reassured him she was just teasing him, as a friend.

"Anyhow… Now what we're friends…" Cass started walking towards the building. "I have some plans for us this summer…"

Keith followed her, intrigued and hoping she would tell him more information, his curious side poking through his ego. She didn't.

He pondered on the last few minutes, then on the entire day, smiling to himself, how he must look like a fool, grinning like that to himself.

"Friend…" he whispered to himself, looking at the horizon where he could see a relatively small island in the distance. "That sounds, very nice…"


	6. Fish

**First of all I want to say thanks to anyone who review, read and what not this story, it's appreciated. And as for a review I got from ObeliskX, thanks, but I'm afraid I'm not very skilled at putting action in words, or writing any action scene for that matter. It's mostly on their psychological side I'll be working with, though I guess you could say there's some action near the end :P It's not just them bonding ( that would be way too easy no?)**

* * *

"Hey…" Keith heard Cass' voice say. "Dude, wake up!"

He was still half-asleep, his eyes not even opened yet, but he could clearly tell his sleeping time was over for the day as he felt Cass' hands shake his shoulders gently.

"What?" he asked in a sleep-ridden voice.

"Wanna go fishing? It's 6 in the mornin' so it's the perfect time…" Cass asked, much to his surprise.

"Why would we do that?" he asked, sitting up in his bed slowly.

"I told you I had plans for us this summer didn't I?"

Keith slowly remembered the events from the day before last.

"Yeah…" he wanted her to explain.

"Well y'see…" she started. "I was supposed to spend the summer at home with friends and all, but I got dragged here. I had a good idea of how I was going to enjoy my summer, and most of it, you and I can do here!"

He listened to her rambling about how she wouldn't get to go to parties and get a boyfriend, but he also noticed she was already wearing her clothes, and a fisherman hat.

"So…" Cass finished. "Wanna come along?"

"Sure." Keith said, he had never went fishing before.

"It's not like I would've given you the choice anyways…" Cass said in a mocking tone.

Both were sitting on a small fisherman boat, floating calmly in the undisturbed region of a bay situated in the many islands close to the facility.

The bay itself was quite large and Keith couldn't make out the ocean floor since it was too deep. The scenery looked somewhat tropical, although there were no palm trees and such, but lots of large, tall trees instead covering the island, which was inhabited, according to Cass.

They hadn't caught anything, even after four hours, with one of them spent with Cass teaching Keith how to fish. But it seemed that their inexistent fishing abilities didn't bother them in any manner, as they mostly listened to Cass' Ipod, which she had connected with a boom-box, as well as chatting about nothing in particular.

"Say…" Cass started as she took a sip out of the juice box she had brought. "Can you swim?"

"Me?" Keith asked, lifting his head up, since he was studying the water.

"Who else?" Cass asked in her father's tone.

"Yeah… I used to live close to a river before I was captured."

The statement brought the mood down a slight bit, but barely enough to trouble any of them.

"Nice!" Cass exclaimed. "This spot is nice and I would sure love to take a swim here…"

She seemed to remember something as she face-palmed herself and brought out a folded piece of paper.

"What's that, the Maslow Pyramid again?" Keith asked playfully.

"No…" Cass said with an unimpressed face, but then reverted to her frown and grin. "This is a list of stuff I'd like to do this summer."

"And I suppose you'll tell me…"

"No shit Sherlock…" Cass said sarcastically. "I just wanted you to look at the sheet and do nothing…"

She read:

"I wrote: Fishing, swimming, maybe bungee jumping off one of those cliffs…" she pointed to the many cliffs surrounding the facility. "Hicking, going to the big populated island and spend some time hanging out in the village, shop there and all…"

"Shop?" Keith asked, perplexed.

"Yes, y'know, buying stuff?"

"I know!..." Keith said in an irritated voice.

Did she think he was stupid or something?

"Anyways…" she continued. "Surf, jog around, go to the shooting range when it's not in use, do some archery and maybe cook some stuff, because that's kinda fun…"

Keith thought it was quite a good idea, she seemed to know what she was doing, and since she was a teenager like him, he seized the opportunity of having a relatively normal life right away.

Normal, as far as he, a 'horned-person' could be.

He unconsciously raised his hands towards his horns, which were covered by the hat Cass had given him earlier that morning. It was a hat with the fashion of those that paper-boys would wear 'back in the old days', plus it was perfect for hiding his horns.

He had been looking at himself in the mirror that morning, inspecting his horns, unaware that Cass was watching him.

"What's the matter?" she had asked.

"I hate those." he simply answered, pointing to his horns.

"I personally find them cute…" Cass had told him. "They remind me of cat's ears… But if you really hate them, you can keep this hat…"

She had given it to him, saying it was intended to simply shield his head while they would be fishing, like hers, but that if it made him feel less self-conscious, he could keep it.

"Hey…" she broke his train of thoughts. "We should get back now, it's 9, I'm hungry and the water'll be a lil' too hot for proper fishing now."

"Yeah…" Keith said, not caring much. "I'm a little hungry too."

It was not a complete lie, he was in fact very hungry and wished the boat would speed up some more so they could get to the facility faster.

He hated the place, with all the hateful glares he received from the staff, but he had put up with worse conditions for more than half his life, so he didn't mind it as much.

Every time he would be in the cafeteria or any other place than outside the facility or in Cass' room, he reverted back to the hostile defensive attitude he had. Cass shrugged it off, knowing that as long as he didn't give her that attitude, there would be no racket between the two of them.

They were both sitting at the rounded table in the isolated corner of the cafeteria, which both of them took a liking to; Cass could avoid her father's endless questions, while Keith avoided the staff's endless glares.

No one had dared insult him in front of Cass, but the soldier who had received a black eye from Keith had bumped into him in a corridor and started to verbally abuse him, but Keith shrugged it off as normal behaviour.

Keith had neglected telling Cass about the incident for a few particular reasons; he was used to worse treatment, he did hit the soldier first and didn't want to bother Cass with his own problems.

"Keith… Keith!" he was snapped out of his thoughts by Cass' voice.

"What?" he answered.

"I've been trying to talk to you for a few minutes, but you were like, daydreaming or somethin'…" Cass explained, irritated. "Anyways, I was asking, how old were you when you got captured by… Uh…"

"The Official Male Diclonius Research Facility…" Keith finished for her, then proceeded to answer her question. "I was 6… Or seven."

"Wow… That's pretty young…" Cass thought out loud. "When I was 6 all I had to worry about was which game I was gonna play outside at recess…"

"Yeah well," Keith responded in a sullen tone. "You're the lucky one."

Cass looked up to Keith, analysing what he had just told her, a truth she knew very well.

Though she did have certain challenges during her life, which she, although some were very painful, was grateful for, since those are what defined who she is.

"Yeah. I know that." she stated. "But…"

This caught Keith's complete attention.

"It wasn't always easy." she revealed. "I had some hard times, but in the end I regret nothing."

"Oh yeah?" Keith said, unconvinced. "Like what?"

"Well, the three main ones would be, up until I moved away, I was picked on at school, but that's really nothing, also that I practically grew up without my dad, and that my mom died four years ago."

The last statement shocked Keith, he hadn't considered the fact that the reason Cass kept complaining about her father, yet never talked to him about her mother was that perhaps she didn't have one.

He had assumed that she had one, naturally, but as he slowly recalled his interactions with Cass, she never even lightly made allusion to her mother.

This thought bothered him the entire time they ate, up until later on, while they were simply watching a random television show on Cass' TV, both sitting on the bottom bunk.

"Do you miss her?" he asked out of the blue during a commercial.

"The- who?" Cass turned to him, utterly confused.

"Your mother…" Keith said, looking at her in curiosity, then the questions he had in mind just came out. "Do you miss her? How was she? What did she look like? Did you love her?"

"You've had that on your mind since lunchtime?" Cass asked in slight disbelief and amusement.

"…"

"Anyways." Cass declared. "Yes, I miss her… I miss her every day. She was one of the nicest people you could meet, she cared for everyone and everything, she was a nurse, so I guess that's explainable. She looked a lot like me, since you probably noticed that my dad and I look nothing alike. Yes, I loved her, I still do."

"She sounds like a nice person." Was all Keith could find to say.

"Yes was."

The room fell silent once again, although it wasn't awkward or unsettling. The television show had started once again, but neither of them really paid much attention to it, looking at it and daydreaming instead.

It was getting late though, and Cass realised this when she started to feel a little tired, yawning every five minutes. She eyed the clock on the wall, seeing it was practically midnight.

She was already in her pyjama, so she simply stretched, getting up from the bottom bunk and turning off the television that had been playing for a few hours, then turned to Keith.

"Well, I'm gonna go to sleep…" she said in a uninterested tone. "Night.."

"yeah…" Keith whispered. "Good night."

He fell asleep with a smile, although he and Cass still had their defiant attitude, he felt that she could understand him, and that he could trust her.

He was still worried that he could get betrayed by Cass, but for now, he was going to enjoy his time with her, since he knew it would end sooner or later.


End file.

Elfen Lied, Angst, Friendship