Kaede awoke to a splitting head ache.
"Damn, what the hell was that dream..." She moans before putting a hand to her head, feeling the bandage wrapped around. She darts upright right at near light speed upon remembering the head wound. 'All that wasn't a dream! So if I got hit in the head hard enough to knock me out...' she puts the pieces together, bolting out her door and accidentally crashing into the person of whom she was afraid would've meet her alternate personality.
"Kouta?" Kaede recognizes the boy who was rubbing his eyes as if waking from sleep, which he probably had not long ago.
"Kaede? Your back." He states in a half awake voice. "Are you feeling okay?"
"Yeah, Yeah, I'm fine, Wait... what do you mean back?" She asks the last part nervously.
"The others told me about your other personality, Nyu, and I met her." Kouta explains.
"Did she... do anything to you...?" Kaede hesitantly asks, refusing to look him in the eye.
Kouta thought back to last night. Although Nyu did strip in front of him, she didn't actually DO anything to him. Not wanting to think further about it, he have his technically true answer.
"No, she didn't do anything to me." He assures her. "Kaede, why didn't you tell me about this?" He had an idea of coarse, but he wanted to hear it from her.
"I... I... I don't want you to see me as strange o-or weird or anything like that. More so than usual." Kaede says in a low voice as she rubs one of her horns unconsciously. "Thats why I also kept quite about my powers. All I wanted is to been seen as normal, bur as you can see, its impossible for me."
"Normal is what you make of it." Kouta starts. "In a way, nothing is normal. All of this, your powers, your horns, your other personality, they're just parts of you. And they're not bad, I don't think of you any less than I did before I knew and neither does your family it seems."
"But the others... I was tormented just because of my horns, how am I just okay with all this other stuff?" Kaede asks.
"Yuka and Mayu might be a bit surprised, but I'm sure they won't think of you differently. And whoever wants to hurt you just because of your horns is someone that's empty inside. Someone who has nothing to do but take others down just so they can feel better. Those people are nothing and I can't help but be disgusted at them." Kouta says. He then pulls Kaede into a hug. "Don't let anyone get you down just because you're different. Not even yourself."
"Kouta." Kaede says as she returns the hug. It was all she could do.
The two meet at the table with Carolina, Washington, and the reds.
"Where is Yuka, Mayu, and the Blues?" Kaede asks.
"Well..." Kouta starts.
"I am walking Wanta! This is the best thing ever!" Caboose exclaims as he walks the dog. Trailing not far behind is Yuka, Mayu, and Tucker.
"He's... really enthusiastic." Mayu says.
"Why are we following him? It's honestly embarrassing being seen associated to him when he's hooting and hollering like this." Yuka says.
"Caboose is like a little kid. You just gotta keep and eye on him so he won't run into traffic." Tucker explains.
"And I wanna make sure Wanta is safe in his care." Mayu adds. "Uh, Not that I don't trust Caboose of coarse, it's just that... we'll..."
"Stop. I know what you're trying to say." Tucker says.
"Look! A butterfly!" Caboose exclaims.
"Caboose, pay attention to the dog!" Tucker shouts at him."
"Okay, Sorry!" Caboose shouts back.
Yuka can only sigh at their interaction. "When did life turn into this comedy show?" She mutters to herself.
"I'm sure they'll be fine." Kouta assures her.
"If you don't mind, we need to explain what we found out at that facility." Carolina interrupts.
"Why did these people kidnap Kaede?"
Kouta asks.
"That's a good place to start." Church appears.
"Now that Lucy has made her presence known, she is likely to act." Kurama tells Shirakawa as they oversee the SAT team getting ready.
"I understand killing Lucy is imperative, but is it really wise to send the SAT team in during this time of day? Sure it cloudy out and darker out, but there's still a high risk of the soldiers being seen, and we all know matters regarding the Diclonius are to be kept out of the public eye." Shirakawa says.
"The SAT team will be fine. Better to get the search underway now than when it's too late. With luck, they will capture Lucy." Kurama affirms.
"Capture?" Shirakawa questions.
"Directors orders." Kurama says.
"He can't seriously be considering capture after this." Shirakawa says.
"Those were his orders. We are to follow through." Kurama continues.
"Then let's hope we have a little luck on our side." Shirakawa mutters.
Kaede was wide eyed at hearing what the group had to tell. That she was some separate species from a human, why she had powers, and by extension, horns. The fact that she could sense others of her own kind. She now understood why that voice in her head kept insisting that she wasn't human, that she was something else. It was right.
"Now, youhave a better understanding of what we are." The DNA voice tells her.
'Yeah... I'm really not human." Kaede thinks. It was strange not being considered human, what did that make her? Some kind of exotic animal?
"No. An animal is beneath humans, we are above them. Which is why we must start to kill if we are to begin replacing them."
'No!' Kaede exclaims in her head. 'I'll never kill my friend, my family, Kouta... and anyone else who has done nothing wrong!'
"Still you resist? Don't you see? You don't belong with them, you never did."
Kaede couldn't exactly find it in her to deny that fact. She was dangerous with the voice running rampant in her head and she wasn't even human to begin with. After all this mental debate, she chanced a look at Kouta.
Kouta meanwhile, didn't know what to think. On one hand, it was kind of cool being friends with someone so... how should we say, different in a cool and unique way. On the other, he can only imagine how Kaede is taking the news. He looked to her face to see eyes wide and unseeing in a mute shock. One look at her eyes and he could see the conflict within her mind as clear as day as her mind was slowly coming to the reality that her life, in some way, was a lie. Kouta look on her with concern as Grif made some kind of remark that caused Simmons to tell him to shut up, but he wasn't listening.
"I'm just saying. If I was told I was another species, I'd think that's fuckin awesome." Grif continues.
"Well, she's not you." Simmons affirms.
"Whatever. I still say it's badass." Grif ends.
"I've never been human." Kaede whispers barely audible. Her mind a storm of emotions and thoughts that she could not define or explain even to herself. It was just too much! With out warning, Kaede shoots upright and bolts for the door.
"Kaede!" Kouta calls to her as she runs out of the dining room and then the house. Kouta and Simmons chase after her while Wash and Carolina can only give each other a look of resignation.
"Now you've asked for it. You insensitive fat ass." Sarge growls at Grif.
"What did I do?" Grif asks.
"Come here, Wideload." Sarge grabs the back of Grifs shirt and drags him away.
"Seriously, What the fuck?" Grif asks
"Your gonna clean this place while our hosts are out from top to bottom. All by yourself." Sarge explains.
"Aw, WHAT!" Grif loudly groans.
Kaede didn't know what she was doing. Her own mind feeling confused on how to react, and the voice only added onto that load.
She kept running as if it would clear her mind, but the reality of it all never went away. When Kaede had finally slowed down, she noticed she was in quite a seedy part of the city.
Although she wondered how she got all the way here on auto pilot without getting hit by a car or anything, it took a backseat to all the chaotic thoughts still running rampant.
"I... I don't..." Kaede muttered as she rested on a nearby bench. She didn't know what she was trying to say or who she was trying to say it to or anything. Nothing made a sense to her anymore, only the feeling of wanting to return to that blissful ignorance she had so long ago.
"Kaede?" She hears. The girl slowly tilts her head expecting either Kouta or one of the Red to be there, But was presently surprised by who she saw.
"Aiko?" Kaede questions. "What are you doing here?"
"I live around here. I was about to ask you the same question." Aiko replies.
"Oh just... trying to take a break from reality." Kaede sighs. "What are you doing out here though."
"I'm doing the same, believe it or not." Aiko says.