"You... are?" Kaede asks Aiko.
"Yeah. I don't know what to do out here, but as long as it gets me away from home I'm fine with it," Aiko admits.
"Can I ask... why?" Kaede hesitantly prods.
"My father doesn't like my drawing. He just gets angry whenever I'm not working." Aiko sombrely explains.
Kaede takes a moment to process this. Was her father abusive, or was her family just going through a rough time and we're high on stress and low on income or something like that?
"Hey, um, can I see your drawings?" Kaede asks. Aiko wordlessly flips open her book and hands it to her. The pages were filled with expert level drawings of people and places that she had probably seen while wandering about. "Wow, these are as good as Kouta's drawings." She says, eyes wide at the quality.
"Kouta?" Aiko questions.
"He's the boy that hangs around Yuka and I. He sits beside me in class." Kaede explains.
"Oh. We'll have to meet sometime and take a peek at each other's drawings." Aiko smiles. "So, why are you out here?"
Kaede's mood becomes one of sombreness again. "It's... really complicated." She says.
"I understand if you don't want to talk about it." Aiko starts.
"No, it's just that... I don't know how to talk about it. I don't even know how to make it work in my mind." Kaede explains.
"If you want, I can bring you over to my house and make us some hot tea?" Aiko suggests. "If I'm right, my folks should be out at this time, so it would be no trouble at all."
"You sure?" Kaede asks. Aiko nods. "I guess I'll take you up on your offer."
Elsewhere, the others were searching for Kaede. Simmons and Grif were in the retail district of the city.
"Kaede!" Simmons calls out.
"Dude, she's probably not gonna respond if she can hear us." Grif yells him.
"How the fuck would you know?" Simmons asks.
"Dude, she just needs some space. Give her a few hours and she'll come back on her own." Grif explains. "So why don't we go take a few hours and get some beers. I'm starving."
"Seems you forgot those people who tried kidnapping Kaede! They could be looking for her right now!" Simmons exclaims.
"And what? You're saying she can't protect herself?" Grif questions. "The first time she was offed, it was by surprise. You don't think she'll be on higher alert?"
"Whatever, it'll still make myself and everyone else feel better knowing where she is." Simmons presses.
Elsewhere, Donut and Kouta we're searching beach while Sarge went off on his own.
Aiko took Kaede to her house, which looked pretty run down but still livable. The two sat at the dinning room table and each held their cups of tea.
"Thanks again for inviting me over. This feels a little better than being out in the open." Kaede thanks her friend again.
"Yeah..." Aiko agrees.
Just then, the door slams open, admitting an older man and woman.
"Father...?" Aiko squeaks. Her father's face morphs into an expression of annoyance.
"What's with the screwing around? Don't you have work to do?" He roughly asks her.
"Uh Cafe's closed for today." Aiko meekly answers.
"That's your damn excuse every time you're here!" The man screams. "Not only that, you're wasting our tea!" With that, Aiko's father decks his daughter right in the face.
"What the hell!" Kaede bolts upright.
"I hope you make that money back, for your sake!" He father screams, but before he can throw another punch, Kaede holds his arm back.
"Stop." She demands.
"Don't you see? This is the scum you must purge." The voice tells her.
'This is one person on a micro scale. Even so, we can't just go around killing people even if they deserve it.'
"So, you let this animal get away with what he does?" DNA asks.
'I didn't say that.' Kaede responds.
"What? Just because your not my kid makes you think I'm not gonna teach you some respect?" Aiko's father questions. Kaede uses her vector enhanced arm to throw her father into the ceiling.
"Yes! More! Hurt him like he was about to hurt you."
"Try learning that lesson." Kaede spat before picking up Aiko and retreating from The house.
Tucker, Yuka, Mayu, and Caboose arrived at Maple Inn to find it completely empty.
"Hey! Kaede! Wash! Sarge! Anybody?!" Tucker calls.
"I think they're not here." Mayu tells him.
"That's the second time Kouta disappears without telling me!" Yuka fumes.
"Second?" Mayu asks.
"Oh yeah, apparently Kaede was kidnapped, and Kouta and the red guys went to save her." Tucker explains.
"That sounds horrible! Do you think those people would try again?" Mayu suggests. "And that's why they're gone?"
"If these people are kidnapping, shouldn't we call the police?" Yuka questions.
"I dunno, cause Wash said something about being out of the laws reach or something like that. I wasn't really paying attention." Tucker explains.
"Really? How did you even become a soldier." Yuka seriously asks.
"Chicks dug war hero's. I figured if I joined the army and was later sent home with something like a bullet to the foot, that'll bring the girls coming." Tucker says with full confidence.
"I was shot in the foot!" Caboose exclaims. "I lost my pinkie toe. I was sad to loose it."
"Uh, I'm so sorry for you then." Mayu awkwardly offers.
"You'd go for someone who's so selfless like that, right?" Tucker asks Yuka.
"I would, just not your type of selfless." Yuka states.
"What does that mean?" Tucker asks.
"I'll let you figure that out." Yuka grumbles before heading to her room.
"Man, what's up with her?" Tucker asks Mayu.
Kaede sat with the unconscious Aiko until she regained consciousness.
"Are you okay?" Kaede asks her.
"Yeah. Thanks." Aiko gets up.
"Does he always hit you like that?" Kaede asks.
"...yeah." Aiko replies.
"Why not do something about it?" Kaede asks.
"I don't have anywhere else to go. And I'm weak." Aiko replies.
"Don't you have any friends you can tell about this? Anyone you trust?" Kaede asks.
"No. I was always an outcast at school." Aiko replies. "I could have been with my mother if I was brave enough,but that didn't happen." She mutters the last part.
"What do you mean?" Kaede asks. "That woman-"
"Was fathers lover." Aiko answers her unasked question. "No, my mother moved abroad and became a successful artist. She came back here once for a showing two years ago, but I was too much of a coward to go see her."
Before Kaede can respond, she spots two soldiers approaching them.
"Well, would you look at what we got here Sato. The target we're meant to take down along with a witness." One of the soldiers says. "Orders are to kill any witnesses, right?"
"What?" The other soldier, Sato exclaims. "No, those weren't the orders."
"It- it's them." Aiko says, fear colouring her face.
"You know them?" Kaede whispers to her.
"I saw them not to long ago." Aiko answers. "They chased me and a pink armoured man."
"You know Donut?!" Kaede exclaims. Before any more can be said, one of the soldiers punched Kaede in the face knocking her down.
"What are you doing, Bando?!" Sato exclaims.
"This here's the target, right?" Bando asks the other soldier. "Then we're supposed to bring her in."
"What about the other girl?" Sato asks.
Bando regulates the girl for a moment with impassivity until he responds. "Shoot her."
"What!" Sato exclaims.
"Having no witnesses is the institute policy. Don't need a green light from anyone to silence civilians that happen to see more than they should." Bando explains. Aiko winners in fear as she tries to slowly crawl away.
"I'm sorry about this mam." Sato says before taking aim with his rifle and firing. Aiko closes her eyes, waiting for the bullet to hit only to feel nothing. She opens her eyes to see the bullets floating in mid air in front of her before falling uselessly to the ground.
"Come on, Aiko, we have to run!" Kaede demands as she takes Aiko's hand and leads her away. Meanwhile, Sato is stunned at what happened while Bando fires on the fleeing teens.
"What... just... happened?" Sato finally asks.
"It's probably her weapon." Bando reloads as the teens round a corner and out of sight. "Now the funs really started." He smiles.
"Shouldn't we call this in?" Sato asks.
"I'm just havin a little fun. Once we apprehend the target, we'll call it in." Bando orders before moving after the run always.
"Yes, sir." Sato sighs, following after him.
Kaede and Aiko run a good distance before being sure they lost the soldiers. Aiko notices this is the same storage area she hid in with Donut when soldiers were chasing them.
"What the hell... why is this happening again?" Aiko silently panics.
"Aiko?" Kaede questions.
"They came for me and I said I would be quiet. Never said a word, but they're back here to kill me." Aiko gets out.
"That's not going to happen." Kaede states to her.
"But how? And how did those bullets just stop?" Aiko asks. Kaede thought for a bit on how she should answer that. It would be complicated to explain to her friend that she was actually apart of a different species from humans that have control over invisible arms that can block bullets making them appear as if they just stopped. But Kaede didn't want to get into that both being still uncomfortable with that fact as well as it being a lengthy explanation. So, she went with something quick.
"I'm a witch." Kaede says.
"Huh? This isn't the time for jokes." Aiko says. With that, Kaede levitates a few nearby boxes to prove her point. "H-how-"
"It's like I said, I'm a witch, so there's really nothing I can't do." Kaede replies.
"That's so cool!" Aiko exclaims.
"You would think..." Kaede mutters. Aiko then tackles Kaede as a gun shot sounds off. She sees blood and hears Aiko hiss in pain. "Hey, are you okay!" Kaede exclaims.
"Y-Yeah." Aiko says. "I think it just grazed me."
"Come on, put up a fight, will ya!" Bando spurs before unleashing a torrent of bullets. Kaede blocks them with ease while shielding Aiko with her body.
"You don't want to see that." Kaede growls at him.
"The matter the fact I do. I'm gonna kill your friend if you don't fight back, so fight back!" Bando yells.
"Hey man, don't actually provoke her!" Sato finally arrives.
"Shut it." Bando talks down to him. He turns back to Kaede. "Now, let's see what you're made of." Kaede takes the crates she previously levitated and throws them towards the two, prompting them to take cover.
"Huh! She can do that too!" Sato exclaims.
"Man, this is the best day of my life." Bando has the opposite additive of his partner. Bando breaks cover to return fire to see Kaede and Aiko retreating and the bullets deflected once again. "Would do better if she stood and fought though."
"She may be to much to handle if she has... has super powers." Sato says while grabbing his radio. "I'm calling in back up." Before he can, Bando slaps the radio out of his hands and stomps on it, crushing it.
"Don't try to undermine me. You can stay here like a pussy or come with." Bando orders before running after the two again.
Kaede and Aiko stop again in an ally to catch their breath.
"It's me they want." Kaede tells her. "They kidnapped me, but I escaped and now they want me back."
"Why? Because of your powers?" Aiko asks.
"I think that's the main reason. Thing is, if I lead them away from you, they might not bother you." Kaede continues.
"But they said no witnesses. They'll kill me. Besides, I can't leave you alone against them." Aiko says. "I'm staying."
"Aiko..." Kaede says. It was all she could do.
"Not to good at running, are ya." Bando appears again, and his partner, shortly thereafter. "Better if you stay and fight, ain't it."
"And you're gonna regret that I've made that choice." Kaede stands protectively in front of Aiko.
"Regrets not gonna be mine." Bando smiles. A loud blast is heard and Kaede braces her vectors for the incoming bullets but none came. Looking to Sato, she see's a giant hole in his midsection.
"There'll be enough regret to go around for all you dirt bags." They hear another masculine voice. Sato collapses revealing a soldier clad in futuristic red armour.
"The fuck!" Bando jumps back and aims his rifle at the new comer.
"I'm Sarge. Better remember it cause it's the guy who's gonna kick you all the way down to hell." Sarge announces.
"Well, this just got a lot more interesting." Bando smirks as he and Sarge stare each other down.