Elfen Lied Volume 3 - Character Cover: Mayu is a young teenage girl of around fourteen years old. The viewer first meets Mayu when she arrives at the inn being inhabited by Kohta, Yuka and Nyuu to return an umbrella she found at the beach. Mayu is a homeless girl who subsists mostly on bread crusts from a bakery. Mayu became homeless when she ran away from home because her stepfather made her remove her clothes for him several times (In the anime, it's hinted that she was raped as well) and her own mother would not protect her, stating she preferred her new husband over her daughter. Her only friend until she meets Nana is a small puppy whom she refers to as Wanta. Kohta and Yuka take Mayu in; in both the manga and anime, she officially transfers into their care and goes to school in their area. - answers.com