A.N. : This is being put up here for readers who have been following this since before I posted this update, as if you have jumped straight to this chapter things may seem a little odd. That is because I have decided to combine my original idea with a new one, therefore I have had to revise the ending scene of chapter 1 which I suggest you quickly read to understand what the hell is being talked about in this chapter. With that said, I want to thank Lunar once more for being a beta for this story and helping me to clear up and better organize information. Am always looking forward to your thoughts and opinions of my story, as well as any constructive criticism. Thank you and enjoy.

Kaede's trip to the bus stop was quiet and uneventful, which she was more than thankful for. She felt uneasy the whole time though however. She couldn't help but glance around occasionally, though every time she did she only saw other commuters going about their business. She couldn't see anything unusual, which actually further unnerved her considering the encounter she had with the ex-soldier earlier. There was nobody as the bus stop as she arrived there, which meant that she had the bench all to herself. She was happy that is had an overhang, as it had started to rain and the bus wouldn't be arriving for a few more minutes. Looking around again, she decided to try and call Kanae to check up on the girls, mostly as a way to get her mind off any bad scenarios she could conjure up.

Pulling out her cellphone, she dialed up her sister-in-law's home, leaning back some as the phone rang a couple times. She smiled when she heard Kanae's voice come over the line, "Hello, Kanae here, so who's calling?"

"You sound so professional Kanae, is that usually how you answer your phone?" Kaede said.

"It is when I have to stop Yuki from strangling Nyu after being on the receiving end of a tickle attack!" Kaede couldn't help but giggle at the thought. Yuki was unfortunate to have been born ticklish, and she was very sensitive. The poor girl could be reduced to tears quite quickly if she was trapped and one could even try to asphyxiate her with how hard she'd laugh. Of course, Nyu did not suffer from such a weakness, and that devious little girl happily exploited the vulnerability. Yuki always had to be weary for either a hug-bush and/or surprise tickle attacks.

"Well, you've got me there. They haven't been giving you too much trouble today have they? I hope you didn't hurt my girls."

"Bah, they are fine Kaede and they've been behaving. No injuries, least nothing beyond a bruise here and there. Though I swear the way Nyu acted when I gave them dinner, I'd think she might have a problem with my cooking!"

"Obasan does not know how to cook!" Kaede smiled as she heard Nyu shout in the background.

"Oh hush, you little fart!" Kanae responded. "Just cause your mother is on the phone doesn't mean I w-" the next thing Kaede heard was a thud, followed by a grunt from Kanae. Kaede blinked and looked at the phone before putting it back to her ear.

"Hell-"

"Okaasan~!" Kaede jerked her head away from the phone, wishing she didn't have the volume set so high. She swore under her breath as she rubbed the assaulted ear, switching the phone to her other ear.

"Hiya Nyu, glad to hear you as well..!" Kaede looked up to see the bus pulling up, which she then stood up and gathered her things.

"Okaasan! I wish you could have seen me trip Yuki today! I got her perfectly!"

It was Yuki's turn to shout something in the background. "You cheated! You tickled me then threw me!" Kaede smiled as she boarded and paid the toll before heading towards the back of the bus. There were a far less number of people riding, and the soldier she met beforehand wasn't riding along. She took her seat three rows from the back and moved next to the window, watching the raindrops break as they hit the ground.

"Nuh-uh! That isn't cheating at all!" Nyu responded to her sister. "It is your fault for not protecting yourself!"

"I'll get you back! You just wait!" Kaede shook her head as she looked towards the front of the bus.

"Well, I'll be there soon Nyu, your father is going to be another hour or two so I'll just stay there with you all, ok?"

"Ok! You want to talk to obasan again?" Kaede could almost feel Nyu's tremors of excitement through the phone.

"Yes please, and don't go hurting your sister or vice-versa, got it?"

"I'll try not to! Love you, bye!" Kaede then heard the phone drop to the floor, followed by the sound of someone running off. She shook her head, knowing Nyu had just decided to discard the phone rather than actually hand it over to Kanae.

"I never want to see her on a sugar high…" Kanae said as she picked up the phone.

"Kohta and I have seen it once, oddly enough it seems to calm her down rather than excite her."

"You are the weirdest family I've ever seen, you know that Kaede?"

Kaede grinned, leaning back in her seat. "Doesn't it make you feel proud to be a part of it?"

Kanae chuckled, "If that's the word you want to use! So you are going to be stopping by you said?"

"Mhm, Kohta will be a couple hours more or so. I figured that if he's going to be busy then I'll stay and visit, if you don't mind that is."

"Course not! If I am willing to put up with the little demons you call your "girls" for a day, then I think I can find a way to enjoy having you over as well. I hope you are ok with Mori joining us because he's getting off of work as well."

"Long as you two behave yourselves and remember there are kids around." Kaede said with a smile.

"Oh, you are one to talk! You hush your mouth Kaede, I've heard about your little adventures!" Kaede's smile vanished as she blushed some.

"I…I don't know what you are talking about!" Kaede blushed more when she heard Kanae laugh.

"Oh, of course you don't Kaede, of course you don't!" Kanae's laugh simmered down, sighing in content before taking a breath. "Well, I'll see you soon then. You want us to meet you at the stop, give you an umbrella? This rain is picking up quite a bit."

"Unless Mori arrives in time to watch the girls or you send him then no, didn't expect the rain so they don't have any coats as far as I'm aware."

"Alright, if Mori shows up then I'll have him meet you down at the stop. Just call me before you get there, sound good?"

"It does, thank you Kanae, see you soon."

"Yep, yep, bye by-"

"BYE OKAASAN~!" Kaede jerked her head back form the phone as Nyu decided to scream as loud as she could. One of the passengers gave Kaede a funny look, Kaede giving the person a nervous grin before putting phone back to her ear.

"Bye bye, Nyu…ow…"

Kanae spoke up again after recovering, "Geez….see you soon, Kaede."

"Bye." With that she hung up the phone and put it away, rubbing her ear. "Cripes she is loud…" She watched out the window, relaxing and enjoying the ride. She had a good half-hour ride still before they would reach her stop. It was these moments where she wished she had brought a book to read, or a Gameboy. She was left to get lost in her thoughts as she stared out at the window, watching passing cars or someone walking. It wasn't until the bus caught a bump hat she was jarred out of her thoughts. She looked around some, noticing nothing had changed passenger wise. She glanced at her phone, checking the time. Fifteen minutes had passed since she had stopped talking with Kanae. Sighing in boredom, she looked back out the window setting her phone down. She hoped Mori was going to show up, as Kaede wasn't really looking forward to walking in the rain. She too hadn't brought a coat or anything to shield herself from the rain and she'd rather not show up at Kanae's drenched to the bone. Of course, she could always try and use her vectors to shield herself.

Her attention was drawn to the roof as there was a sudden and loud sound of something falling onto it. She raised an eyebrow, and it was loud enough to draw the attention of the other passengers. Even the driver glanced back through the rear-view mirror. She watched the ceiling, listening to what sounded like footsteps travelling along the top. The sound stopped for a moment, everyone watching where it had stopped. She visibly jumped when something impacted the roof of the bus hard, creating a small circular dent. Then she saw the dent become a hole as a human fist broke its way through the ceiling. The hand then grabbed the inside edge of the ceiling, and all the passengers watched as the hand began tearing it back. She could then see the silhouette of a man standing there and rending apart the roof, which he jumped through and down into the center aisle when he had made a hole big enough for him. Everyone was staring, all of them somewhat shocked and stunned that a man had just entered the bus from the roof, not to mention by ripping a gaping hole in it. The person in question was a large man, looking to be almost about seven feet tall. He was wearing a black long sleeved shirt with a military vest, which held a radio, a small knife sheathed at his shoulder and what Kaede recognized as epipens, but each one being larger than any she had ever seen before. His hands were bare and he had matching black pants on with heavy black boots as well. His hair was cut very short and was as black as his outfit. The man was drenched from being in the heavy rain, which with his wet clothes sticking to him Kaede could clearly see that he had thick and powerful muscles on him.

The driver looked back at the man, then back ahead trying to figure out what to do. He only managed a simple question as he glanced back once more, "Who the hell are you?! What are you doing?!"

Turning to the driver, the man spoke. "Relax and keep your eyes on the road! It'd be a shame to see you hydroplane and take us careening into oncoming traffic. Tsk, tsk, here you are getting safety tips from a passenger!" He then turned around, looking towards the back of the bus before his eyes quickly settled on Kaede, a smile forming on his face. "Ah! That was easy! I'm glad I found you!" He placed a hand on one of the seats next to him, leaning on it as he continued talking. "I must say it is a pleasure to meet you Kaede; I do apologize, I was only given your first name. You may call me Jeremiah Fettle, and I am here to kill you!" Kaede eyes widened, though before she could move Jeremiah effortlessly tore one the seat he was leaning on from the floor and threw it right at her. Kaede was quick enough to catch the chair with her vectors and sent it right back at him. She hadn't expected someone as big as him to move so fast, nor for a person to easily deflect the thrown chair to the side, so she didn't see his punch coming till it hit her across the jaw.

She was knocked out of her chair and into the aisle by the punch, smacking her head onto the ground hard as she fell. She was too dazed to focus her vectors on him specifically, so not willing to risk hurting the other passengers, she was forced to take a hard stomp on her side from him. She couldn't help by shout in pain as he followed it with a kick to her stomach, Kaede curling into a ball to try and shield herself from the assault to try and give herself time to focus enough to hit him back. Then a hand grabbed the front of her shirt and lifted her right off the ground, Kaede getting one look at Jeremiah's face before taking another punch and knocking her back to the floor. This was her chance to attack back though, as even though everything was still a blur after taking several hits from him, he still stood out enough that she could accurately target him.

Throwing all four vectors into him, she slammed him right in the chest and sent him flying down the center of the bus. The driver had managed to pull the bus over and was trying to get ahold of the police over the radio, and he jumped away from Jeremiah as he smashed into the front dashboard of the bus. He broke the deposit box, as well as part of the windshield before he fell to the floor with a heavy thud. Kaede was getting back to her feet, holding her head and grimacing while watching as her attacker laughed and got back onto his feet, cracking his knuckles followed by his neck. He raised his hands, beckoning her towards him with both hands. "Come on. Come on now, we've only just started!" He then squared his stance some and curled his hands into fists, raising them up past his chin slightly. "I'm hoping you aren't already gassed!" Kaede lowered her hand from her head and taking her own stance, she flared out her vectors. He sprinted right at her suddenly, this time though he had nothing to distract her. Kaede grinned some, almost sadistically, before she launched her vectors out at him. There was no chance to dodge her attack, and all four smashed into him again and launched him back down the center of the bus. This time the dashboard didn't catch him, rather he smashed through the windshield and out the bus. She couldn't see where Jeremiah had landed, so she carefully began approaching the front of the bus and watching around for him.

She saw him getting back up onto his feet, flexing his back some after having landed on the back of a car that was parked in front of where the bus had stopped. She stared at him, astonished at how he was taking the hits like they were from some preschooler. The car he had landed on had its back window shattered with part of the trunk and roof dented from where he had landed. She didn't let it deter her though, so she quickly ran towards the window she had smashed with Jeremiah and hopped out to meet him. As she landed, she looked up in time to catch a car door Jeremiah had thrown, more than likely from the car he had landed on. Again it was simple enough for her to catch it, and she remembered how he used it more as a feint than as an actual attack method. So when she cast the door aside, she hadn't expected to be pegged between the eyes by a rock he had decided to throw instead. The bad lighting and size of the rock didn't help her to see it either. Drawing in a sharp breath, she brought up a hand and grabbed hold of where she had been hit. It was all the opening Jeremiah desired before he rammed into Kaede, lifting her up onto his shoulder some before smashing her up against the bus, squishing her between himself and the grill.

Stepping back and allowing Kaede to fall forwards into him, he wrapped one arm around the back of her head and pulled her into an uppercut which hit her just below the center of her rib cage. He pushed her head up and back and punched her across the jaw, causing Kaede to stumble back into the bus. Kaede managed to duck under another punch of his that dented the grill of the bus before she spun around and fired off her vectors at him, catching him this time across the face with a heavy hit. The vector hit threw his head into the bus, denting the grill even more where his head hit. Stumbling back, he shook his head and looked right at her, but this time she took no chances with him. She lashed out with the vectors, and in one clean swipe, severed both his arms cleanly at the elbows. She followed this up with another hit right to his chest with enough of an impact to leave a gaping hole clean through his torso. He stumbled back some, blinking and looking down at himself before at her. She had seen such shock before in the eyes of people that had been on the receiving end of a negative vector encounter; however she hadn't expected to see him smile. He couldn't exactly laugh as she had destroyed any path the air could take to his mouth, but from the way he moved she could see that he would have had it been possible. She stared at him, surprised before scowling and hitting him with one last hit which threw him across the street and into a wall on the other side, where he fell into a puddle with a heavy thud and splash.

She watched him for a moment before finally collapsing, holding her stomach where she had hit him. She hated hits to the solar plexus, considering how bad they hurt. She leaned against the ruined bus, holding her stomach and watching the blood from her head wounds mix with the rain water. She could hear sirens approaching and could even see the flashing lights from them as well. She lifted her head up, watching a police car skid to a stop nearby before the officers stepped out and quickly made their way over to her and the other passengers. One of the officers went to check on the passengers while another knelt down next to her, checking over her wounds quickly before looking at her. "We've radioed for an ambulance already, so just hold on tight."

"Thank you, but that won't be necessary..." She managed to say, undecided as to what pain she should hold first. Once she was able to focus enough, she closed her eyes and began scoping her body to locate her injuries. She started with the several cuts on her head, directing her vectors to the wounds and slowly beginning the mending process. As she went about healing them, she was able to detect even some small hairline fractures in her skull, which didn't surprise her some considering the man had punches that felt like jackhammers. She was relieved to know that he hadn't managed any depressive fractures; though having a cracked jaw was annoying.

By the time she had finished healing herself up, she had tallied up several lacerations, the fractures on her skull and jaw, and a few broken ribs. She was damn happy that she had managed to discover the healing capabilities of her vectors, because it meant she wasn't going to have to sit around in a hospital or on her butt doing nothing for several days. She looked up and around, watching an ambulance pull up as some paramedics hopped out, quickly making their way towards some of the passengers. More police officers had shown up, and the officer that had been checking on her had gone off to check on the others. She glanced over to where she had thrown Jeremiah, and was not happy to see that his body was now gone. She looked around to see if the police had recovered or moved the body, but all emergency personnel were busy with the passengers and driver. In hindsight, she wished she had remembered to try and shield herself with her vectors when he had begun his assault. "Getting rusty at this fighting deal…guess it's a good sign. Well sort of is. Least it means I've had a relatively quiet life" She said to herself. Maybe she could start joining the girls in their practice with Kanae.

She closed her eyes, sighing and resting her head back against the bus. She shivered as she finally began to take notice of just how cold and wet she was which she had failed to notice before considering how beat up she had been. "I hope Kanae has some clothes that'll fit me…"

Achilles was watching Kaede from his position atop a new building, leaning on its edge as his optics zoomed in on her. He zoomed back out to get a better look at the buzz of activity as more police and paramedics arrived. He had actually sighed in relief when he had seen Kaede had come out alive; it was one less thing he had to have on his conscious. "Achilles, report in."

Muse again, "Field test has been finished, went pretty well considering he got his ass whooped in the end. The Myrmidons have also successfully recovered Jeremiah."

"Need to be more specific than that, Achilles; you were sent collect data as well as to keep track of him."

Achilles rolled his eyes, still watching the activity below. "Relax, I'll give you the full report when I return you bloody moron. I'll tell you now that Jeremiah handled the fight well, but he was overconfident and thusly he lost for it."

"Alright then, get to the extraction point soon or else you are going to have to find your own ride back." Achilles knew that was a lie, as he was to important an agent to be simply left behind like that. It made him happy though, as it meant he got to toy around with the higher up when he needed too. Nothing was as fun as pissing off pompous, rich assholes without worry of consequences. Hell, he couldn't help but smile at the thought.

"Right, on my way then. Achilles out." He looked back at the scene one more time, watching Kaede stand up and converse with what looked like a paramedic. "May God watch over you and your family." He said before turning and making his way away from the scene.