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Receipt ~ Empfang ( German: Reception / Receipt / Welcome ) is the fifth episode of the Elfen Lied anime series. Series directed by Mamoru Kanbe; created by Lynn Okamoto; produced by ARMS Corporation.

Plot[]

Kurama stands on the shores of the island facility as Shirakawa tells him that she has filed an incident report about the situation with Nana and asks if he has any regrets. Kurama responds that he has no right to something as pure and honest as regrets, only shame.

At Maple House, Yuka awakens to find a note from Mayu, thanking them for their hospitality but not wishing to be a burden, and promising to one day repay the hospital bill. Yuka shows this to Kouta, who worries about Mayu and decides that Mayu should move in with himself and Yuka as guardians. Yuka at first seems reluctant, but when Kouta also suggests sending Mayu back to her original home, Yuka chides him, stating that if she had wanted to be home, she would never have run away and that they must find her. Kouta, having had his argument both adopted and turned against him, sighs at ever understanding Yuka. Mayu and Wanta are briefly seen crossing some metro-rail train tracks, and Nyu occupies herself by playing with the Inn's grandfather clock until Kouta and Yuka leave to search for Mayu.

At the marketplace, while Nyu stares in wonder at fresh fish, the bakery owner tells Kouta and Yuka that she hasn't seen Mayu that day, but gives them something to give her.

In Mayu's memories, her mother's remarriage quickly becomes a hellish nightmare of sexual abuse at the hands of her stepfather. Telling her mother offers no respite, as her mother feels jealous of the attention, however loathsome, Mayu is being given and tells her she isn't wanted. During the next attempted rape, Mayu flees her home and begins wandering around the beach area in Kamakura. Walking into the water (perhaps to drown herself) she first meets Wanta, and the two quickly form a strong bond.

Back in the present, Mayu laments not being able to stay at Maple House, but tells Wanta at least they have each other. A woman emerges and grabs Wanta from Mayu, claiming that his name is James and that he is her dog. She contemptuously dismisses Mayu's request to visit the dog occasionally and walks off. Mayu tries to be happy for him in a life where he will have plenty to eat.

Hiding in the beach storage shelter she uses, Mayu fights back the tears and loneliness and despair on the cold, rainy day of her fourteenth birthday. Discovered by police on the beach who got reports of a girl loitering, Mayu runs and finds Kouta, Yuka and Nyu who tell the police they are all family who has had an argument, even teasing Yuka about their bad habit of running off. Mayu is reluctant at first but goes back to Maple House where they offer a place to stay until she decides what to do. Yuka reveals a cake the bakery owner gave for Mayu's birthday, and Nyu gives her a bowl of rice, her own sort of present. As Mayu breaks her self-promise and cries at her new happiness, Yuka and Nyu hold and comfort her. To top things off, outside the Inn's doors is Wanta, having left the woman claiming to be his owner and faithfully following Mayu to their new home.

The next scene indicates that some time has passed. Mayu is now happily bound for school, while Yuka is not subtle at all about her efforts to rouse the sleepy Kouta. Both are still confused by the apathy and indifference Mayu's mother showed toward their taking custody of her daughter, but realize they promised Mayu not to ask any more questions. After another head-stomp by Yuka on Kouta, they leave for school, instructing Nyu never to take off the hair bow that hides her horns, and finding limited relief in the fact that she has learned to say a few words other than 'Nyu.' Once in class, they hope against hope that Nyu will not be called on by Professor Kakuzawa, an instructor with a reputation for being odd. Kouta also unwittingly starts a fight with Yuka when he asks about why she, like himself, has ended up in a 'safety school' for those with low entrance exams. He fails to catch on to the fact that she enrolled there to be with him.

Perhaps inevitably, Nyu responds to the Professor when she shouldn't, and catches his attention. Recognizing her as Lucy, he cancels class and forces the trio to go with him to his office. He claims that Nyu is Lucy—his own brother's daughter—for whom his family has been searching. Building on this lie, he insinuates that the pair could be charged with kidnapping but offers to keep matters to himself and tells them just to go home and forget things. Yuka is opposed to this, but Kouta feels they have no choice and gives in. As they leave, Kakuzawa prevents Nyu from following. She cries out Kouta's name, the first time she has managed to say anyone's name since they met her. On a stairwell overlooking scenery that Kouta has always loved, the two try and recognize that Nyu will be better off with her supposed family, but both are quickly in tears over losing Nyu.

In his lower-level offices, Professor Kakuzawa prepares a concoction to make Nyu fall unconscious while he rapes her, bragging that they will be the new Adam and Eve, and musing that the split personality she exhibits explains the difficulty in finding her since Lucy is marked off by mass killings. He injects her and proclaims the imminent end of the reign of Modern Humans on the planet.

At Maple House, Mayu questions both where Nyu is and whether or not the Professor's story was a true one, especially when Kouta recounts his threat of kidnapping charges. Again recalling Kakuzawa's reputation, Kouta and Yuka resolve to return to school and demand answers of the Professor.

The Professor sees the unconscious Nyu and prepares to begin his rape.

At the same time, Mayu leaves to go to bed while Yuka asks Kouta if he would cry if she were to go missing as Nyu has. Uneasy, he withdraws while chastising her for asking the question, which leads Yuka to cry once he's gone. Once he leaves the room, he can be seen leaning on the hallway wall, stifling tears.

In the lab at the college, Professor Kakuzawa brags to himself about destiny placing him and Lucy together, thwarting his father's plans. To his shock, the sedative he administered only succeeded in suppressing Nyu's personality and awakening Lucy, who demands to know who he is. Kakuzawa claims to be her ally and the agent of her escape from the Diclonius Research Institute. Together, he proclaims, they will wipe away the old Humanity. Lucy declares him a foolish Human, which he counters by taking off his toupee and revealing his horns, saying they are meant to be together. Unimpressed by his blather, Lucy beheads him.

Anxiety and Relief; Cruelty and Kindness; A never-ending tide of conflicting emotions. The contradictions combine to mean only one thing. Passion, buried for many years, is uncovered by the falling rain. The greatest wave begins as the smallest teardrop. On the next Elfen Lied, Episode Six : Innermost Feelings.

Trivia[]

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