LIII

Trennung

Waiting in her car Mako stared at her watch, Dai had been gone for well over an hour by now and she starting wonder for what reason. Being honest with herself she was becoming a little impatient, really she had hoped to have had a chance to see one of the other diclonius.

"You sure can keep a lady waiting." She whispered as she reached out for the backseat, luckily she had been smart enough to have picked at least something to drink. Opening the can she sighed as although she could understand that didn't make her feel any better about being left alone in the car. "You can be a real jerk you know."

She didn't like having to wait for him even though she had taken up on his offer to go with him, she was now so close to this safe house and yet it all felt so far away.

"Nice way to spend a planned dinner, you are so going to owe me for this. I won't let you forget about it."

It felt odd being here on her own, looking outside she could tell that it was starting to get cold again, winter was coming to an end but there were still the occasional cold nights.

There would be no reason for her to leave the car, not when it was much warmer inside than outside. To make it even worse she had accidentally left her jacket at home.

"Baka." She told herself as she took another gulp from the can, when she got home the first thing she would do was to grab the phone, order some takeout and hit the shower.

Gazing at the watch again it was with some dismay that only a few minutes had actually passed, oh she was starting to get pretty bored now. Maybe if she would just close her eyes she could catch a quick break, that wasn't such a bad idea. Slowly her eyes started to close and she dozed off.

She had no idea how time had passed when she was awoken by a tab on her window, barely having opened the door Dai nearly pulled her arm off. "Mako I have some news for you! You know how you wanted to know how the twins were doing right?"

She wasn't certain what to make of that, off course she knew and she on more than one occasion expressed her concern. "What about it?" This was a little all too sudden for her.

He took a deep breath. "They are having some issues with them at their house and they are considering of having them sent somewhere else. I made the suggestion that you could be interested in helping them."

Mako shot out from her car and got ready to slap him in the face. "And you go offering that to them without even bothering to ask me! That is my house you are talking about!"

"Hey just listen to me." Dai grabbed her arm. "Those girls have no other place to go at the moment, there are some painful issues between them and the other diclonius. Besides didn't you say to me earlier how you would love to have some more live in your house?"

She couldn't believe what she heard. "Not in that way. Y-You can't just throw those girls in my house and expect me to take care of them. I-I-I need time to process this all, y-you can't just overthrow my entire life."

As he looked over her shoulder she started to get an odd feeling, surely the way he was pointing with his eyes he couldn't mean, no not even he could be such a jerk.

He was. Turning around Mako noticed that they were both standing there. "You are such an asshole for doing this." She cursed underneath her breath to Dai. "You actually went ahead and just did it. You are a such a jerk you know that?"

"Just give them a chance, even if it is only for one night you can at least give it a try. Didn't you say you wanted to help those girls no matter what. Well here is your chance."

Mako looked back at the twins, they sure gave off the impression to be doing a lot better than when she had last seen them. "Hey there, how are you two doing?"

Nyu sighed as she turned to her left in order to face Yuka. "Do you think this is for the best? I am going to miss them both?" She felt sad about the possible departure of Kyou and Ryou, even if they caused more than their share of trouble they were in essence good girls. It was just that they and with that she mainly meant Kyou having trouble adjusting to a life outside of where they had come from.

"I don't know Nyu-chan to be honest, I would not have minded if they stayed here a little longer but Kyou-chan is a difficult person to live with. Still perhaps it is better for them. But I don't want for either of them to be left on their own, I really hope this woman that Dai-san spoke off is kind." She remarked as she took a hold of the cup in front of her. "That said, I also feel a little sad about them leaving, it isn't easy to just have people leave."

'But can we not visit them? Surely they wouldn't object to that right?"

"No I don't think that that would be an issue for them, I just wish it didn't all come so sudden. Hopefully they won't be too much of a burden to her and Dai-san." They both had to laugh at that, they knew what a handful Kyou could be.

"Well they can always call us for advice, it might be nice to also visit other people's places. I've been stuck in this house for quite some time now." Nyu stretched her arms in response. "I certainly would like to go back outside and have fun again like we had last summer."

"Then he should go with all of us, we can invite the twins, Dai-san and Takebe-san as well. Maybe we can even have a nice big party at the beach or in the backyard, we certainly have the room for that."

Nyu got excited at hearing that. "I would love that and I am sure the girls would love it to, still I like the idea of going a beach party better. I would love to be able to swim again. I had so much fun with it back then."

Yuka giggled as well as she mentioned Mayu, the poor girl didn't know how the swim back then. "Well with school she should have had plenty of lessons."

As the conversation died down Nyu excused herself as she wanted to go to her room and read a little. "Goodnight Yuka-san."

"Goodnight to you too Nyu-chan."

Outside the room Nyu leaned heavily against the wall as a sudden surge of pain came over her, she wasn't feeling all that well. Guess she needed that rest even more than she had thought. She wasn't feeling all that well as pain started to grip her head, taking it a step at a time she slowly made her way to her room.

Seeing the look in Kyou's eyes Mako knew that this had to be the former nr. 31, she hadn't really changed all that much. Still that same defiant look in her eyes as back then, well it did her good to know that she was alive and well. Looking down further she was pleasantly surprised to see that her leg appeared to be fine, hard to imagine it was a mess back then.

Shifting to the other this one then had to be the girl she had briefly known as nr. 32, seeing her like this she was indeed the spitting image of her sister. A real identical diclonius twin, these girls were likely unique in the entire world and yet here they both stood in front of her.

"D-Do you still remember me? D-Do you know who I am?" Mako asked as she took a careful step forward.

"Yeah I remember you. You're the bug that the other bug, you know the one with the white coat and being insane wanted me to kill."Kyou spat, Mako felt a bit shocked to hear such language coming from her. Then again she was right and Ritsuko had definitely been a real asshole for what he had done, she couldn't argue with calling the man insane either.

Kyou tapped on her leg. "You did not fix my leg like you promised me then did you bug? But it is okay as somebody did it for me."

So far she was doing most of the talking as her sister preferred to keep to herself, well it didn't surprise Mako as back then she was under heavy sedation. Behind them she could see two other people, one of them she recognized as nr. 7 though she went with the common name of Nana, the boy next to her she hadn't seen before but it was likely she had him to thank for having taken care of them.

"I want to make one thing clear." Kouta said as he approached her. "You will take good care of them and treat them well. If I find out otherwise I will come and get them back, I am not going to hand over these girls to people who would seek to abuse them."

Well he certainly had a firm stand but it was a stand she fully agreed with.

"I can't make a promise but I will do my best, I don't have much for them at the moment but I can go shopping tomorrow for them. I was not really prepared for them, not on such a short notice at leat."

"Neither where we when we first came across Nyu but we managed, if anything Hirano-san can contact us if there are any problems. Just take good care of them, Kyou-chan can be a little rough but she is a good person, the same goes for Ryou-chan." Her placed a hand on each girl's shoulder. "They deserve a happy life. They really do."

She could almost feel the reluctance he was having of letting go of them, was he even aware of it despite what Dai had told her about them causing trouble. Guess he had become already attached to them both, the same likely held true for the others.

Mako nodded in respect. "I will do my best for them but it is going to take some time before we are used to each other. Please don't think badly of me if I can't handle them."

Kouta swallowed hard as he let go of the girls, even then they kept their ground. Neither of them seemed rather fond of going with this woman, Kyou was the first to speak her mind. "I don't want to go with this bug, I am staying here with my sister." Yeah that was her alright, obstinate to the very end. "This bug can go back home, were staying here."

Dai looked back at Nana and then to Kouta, neither of them seemed to have expected this though it was Mako who offered a solution. "Well then what do you say if you and your sister come and visit my place then tomorrow, we can go shopping for some items you would like."

"Not really interested." She replied before taking Ryou by the arm. "We will talk about this and perhaps we will try it bug, with that she turned on the spot and stormed back up the stairs with her sister in tow. Mako was left speechless, she didn't know what was actually more embarssing for her? To have been so bluntly rejected? Or the fact that she was called a bug?

"Well that certainly did not go as expected." Dai joked as he watched them climb up the stairs again. "So what do we do now?"

"We will do as Takebe-san proposed, we will try and see if they are willing to go tomorrow. They might be more willing if they know they don't have to stay there, I think this came a bit all too sudden for them as well." Kouta informed him, for now that would be the best they could do. He wasn't in the mood of forcing those girls out and neither was Mako judging by her look. "Sorry if this has ruined your night, now if you would excuse us we have some things to settle back inside the house. Have a good night." Nana and Kouta bowed before they left as well.

"So those are the people they live with, I have to say he is not what I had expected. Well let's go home for now, we are going for pizza and you are buying to make up for what you have put me through." And with those words Mako turned and got back in her car as well.

It was quiet in the house, everybody had already gone to sleep by the time Dreachon arrived.

"Welcome home…master." Saeko mentioned as she sat there waiting for him. "You were gone for a long time, I-I was scared you had forgotten about me."

"Forgetting about you, as if such would be even remotely possible. No I am going to remember you for a very long time solely because you keep calling me master but perhaps it is better if I just accept it as your way of showing respect. Neither ignoring it nor my objections to it have managed to detract you in the least of continuing with calling me like that."

She couldn't have felt happier at him saying those words, he was finally accepting his role as her master. To her it felt like the best thing that could have happened to her. Getting up slowly she was feeling hesitant to approach him though, wondering if it was too soon?

"Now come it is already far too late for you to stay up, get yourself dressed." She did as she was told but as she passed by Nyu's room she suddenly halted in her steps. "There is something wrong with Nyu-san… she feels different."

"Different in what way precise?" He approached the door.

Shrugging her shoulders she took her eyes away from the door and looked back at him. "I don't know… just different… you know... like she isn't Nyu-san actually… I don't understand… why...?"

Saeko was interrupted as the door opened and she stepped forward.

"So it is you." Dreachon remarked as he looked at her. "I was wondering when we would get to meet again, how are you feeling Kaede-san?"

"So you are still here I see." Turning her head down she noticed the girl the other had called Saeko was standing there and in part hiding behind him. "I see that you are still taking care of her. I didn't expect that from you."

"Cut to the chase, if you are here then it must be for a reason." He remarked but then she stepped forward and placed her hand against his face.

"This is what I mean, I had sensed it when we already first met. We can sense if somebody is a diclonius or a human but you are neither of them, now I can tell why she might like being with you all that much. Tell me do more of my kind like you presence?"

"Your right in your assessment, I am neither diclonius nor human and while that may repress the initial hostility that some diclonius feel towards humans it does not suppress their instincts."

"No it doesn't fortunatly… but that isn't the reason why I sought you out. Can I ask you a small favor?" Taking his silence as a yes she made her question. "There is something that I need to talk about… but I am too scared to face Kouta at this time, could you be willing to listen and perhaps help me to set things right?"

"Saeko-chan, go upstairs already. I will be there shortly." She left without question though she felt a bit confused why he was calling Nyu by a different name now, she didn't understand why but it may have something to do with her feeling different than before.

Nana woke up as she felt that something was different in the house, looking around she started to clear her head. She was still pretty tired and no doubt not even fully awake.

Shaking her head a few times it finally started to dawn on her what she was feeling, it was unmistakably presence of Lucy. Why had she awoken and why now? She was having a bad feeling about it but if she wanted to confront her then she needed to make certain nobody else would get involved.

"I need to check what is going on, why is Lucy-san back?" Getting up slowly she did her best not to make any noise, she seemed to be in luck as even the twins were sound asleep. With nobody seeming to be woken up by her she slowly made her way to the door.

Closing the door again she went up the stairs hoping that it wouldn't make too much noise, the presence of Lucy drawing her ever closer up. It felt that she was up here, only two people actually slept upstairs so why would she be here. It didn't make any sense to her.

She could fully understand if Lucy had went towards Kouta's room as Nana had become aware that Lucy had feelings for him, why of all places would she then go up here. Still she was feeling a little grateful about it, there would be less risk involved though she wasn't fully sure of that.

"Lucy-san what are you doing here? What is your business with him? Why aren't you with Kouta-san?" she had done her best at sneaking close enough but then the realization that if she could sense Lucy then no doubt Lucy would have also sensed her getting closer. Maybe it would be better if she were to just walk in, they must know she was standing here.

Opening the door they were all looking at her. "Care to tell us what brings you here?" Raising an eyebrow she wasn't surprised that such a remark had come from Lucy. They had already noticed her, not much of a surprise there.

"I sensed you, don't think that I am going to let you harm another person after what you tried to do to Bando-san. I will stop you this time."

Kaede raised her hand in response to that threat. "I am not here to fight or cause trouble, actually we are trying to find a solution."

"She is telling the truth, it is also rather personal for her so it would be appreciated if you could leave again."

Hearing that Nana simply left, she apologized for her intrusion but other than that she had no desire to just leave it at that. "I am not letting Lucy-san out of my sight, I will keep an eye on her. She can't be allowed to kill any more people, Mayu would get sad."

Folding her arms she sat down on the stairs and leaned her head against the wall, sitting there like that she shivered as it was cold outside her futon. "I really want to go back but I can't let her go unguarded."

Hearing the door open behind her back she shot up ready to give it her best, surprised to see Saeko standing there with a blanket in her hands she lowered her arms. "Saeko-san, what are you doing? Shouldn't you be inside with them?"

"Normally yes but I thought you would be cold so I brought you this." Wrapping it around Nana she went and sat down next to her, keeping a piece of the blanket wrapped around herself as well. "This is much better isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess it is. Can I ask you something Saeko-san, why is she inside there?"

"I don't know, when we walked past her room she came outside and she wanted to discuss something serious with master. I don't know what exactly but it didn't sound good to me. Say Nana-san why does Nyu-san feel so different now and why can I sense her presence all of a sudden?"

Nana was a bit surprised that Saeko had noticed that but then she likely wasn't aware that there were actually two different people within Nyu's body. How was she going to explain this to her? Would she understand if Nana were to try and explain it to her?

"As I was saying I am starting to have a really bad feeling about the way that things have been going as off lately." Kaede mentioned. "I don't believe that anything good is going to come from this coming fight, I fear that this house, this family and Kouta are all going to suffer all because of me."

"That is the most likely outcome but with you also lies the way out, you are vital to their plans. The only question is are you willing to go that far? How much are you willing to sacrife to be able to chance the future? If you are not willing then nothing will chance and they will suffer for it."

"If I am could you then tell Kouta that I am sorry, can you-." She was halted in her explanation by him, he would not hear any more of that.

"I am not the one who deserves an explanation for what happened that night, he does. You killed his little sister and his father and he deserves to know why you did it, I already know that you have a poor concept of self-control."

She bit back a retort, if she hadn't then she would have just proven his point. "Your right, I need to tell him personally though I am scared about facing him on this. Will he even listen to me?"

"Even if he doesn't you are still obliged to tell him, he deserves to have closure over this. And the chances of you dying in this are high, the same goes for most of us all well."

She noticed that his head turned in the direction of the door, was he looking at the girl sitting outside? "She is lucky to have met somebody that cares so much about her, perhaps with her and Nana-chan there can be some hope left for my kind. Will you help them to gain a future that I not got?"

"You are getting ahead of yourself, I will not remain in this world for much longer. Like you my time has become very limited. We are both walking a very fine line, our lives hang by the most slender of threads and it is possible we will perish in the coming struggle. "

"I see." Kaede mumbled, so that was going to be it for them. "Have you kept quiet over my real name, you haven't mentioned it to Kouta have you?"

"I made a promise back then did I not. He knows nothing though he does deserve."

Kaede nodded as they kept on talking, even if she couldn't confess anything to Kouta at least being able to speak what was on her mind and being listened was helping her. It also paid that he did not judge her based on what she was saying.

The following morning there was a tense mood between Nana and Nyu even if she couldn't help it or even understand what had happened. Nana was considering in letting Kouta know that Lucy had woken up again last night, somehow she felt that it was the right thing to do.

"Kouta-san, can I speak to you for a moment?" She mentioend as she approached him at the table, right now he was alone and likely this would be as good of a chance as she could get.

He looked up. "Ah Nana-chan, well I guess I have some time left but try and keep it short. Yuka is likely going to scold me again if I don't get ready for school in time."

"… It's nothing really..." Was all she mentioned. "It can wait until you come home." Leaving the room she cursed herself for not having the strength to tell him, why was it starting to feel wrong to tell him about Lucy? Taking a quick jab at the wall she went back to her room.

"It's not fair, it isn't fair at all." She kept repeating inside her head over and over, maybe it would better if she went to him and ask what exactly they had been talking about last night. If Lucy was planning on doing something to this family surely he would stop her as well.

"Kouta-san would likely get sad if he found out that Lucy-san was here, they never had a chance to speak with each other after that night. I wonder what is that they said to each other?" Could that have explained the sad look in his eyes when Nyu had stumbled back and nearly collapsed at the front gate? She wasn't sure about it but something must have happened between the two of them for him to have reacted the way he did that day, she had never seen him cry that much as he had done then.

"He would know, he also knows what is going on with others. Perhaps he can explain to me what is going on between Lucy-san and Kouta-san, I just hope he is willing to tell me." Taking the first step she stopped as Saeko stood at the top of them.

"A-Ah Saeko-san?" She mentioned, feeling a little ashamed about having to ask her if a man she wasn't exactly fond of could spare a moment for her. "S-Say, is your master up there. Is he coming down as well?"

"Master isn't here, he left already as he needed to do something important." She mentioned and it meant that Nana would have to wait even longer now, with that option no longer there she just turned around and went back to the living room. The least she could do now was to get some breakfast, after that she would decide on what to do next.

"Agent Hirano?" Dai turned his head as he heard the mention of his name. "The commander has requested an immediate meeting with regards to the DRI outbreaks."

"The job never ends does it?" He joked as he got up from his seat and followed the others, seems like he was not the only one being called upon. Strangely it seemed that their numbers were even bigger this time than before. Well something was certainly in the air, they were planning on it.

Taking his seat he was surprised to see several members of the JSDGF being present, judging by his markings the man closet was a colonel. It made him curious why he and the few others were present here as well. So far there had been orders to keep them as much as out of this operation as possible for fear of information being leaked. No doubt the fact that the Kakuzawa clan had some connections to the military did not sit well with the Saseba high command and yet some were present here. Just what exactly was going here?

Standing in place until commander Shimada came in he was in for yet another surprise, Shimada was escorting the supreme commander and the minister. Now he was really starting to feel uneasy about this, with such people around something had to be going down and soon. This could no longer be about a simple outbreak at the DRI, no it had to be even bigger.

"Gentlemen please be seated." The minister announced. "First let me inform you of what you are going to hear and see will remain between these walls until clearance is given. You will not discuss these matters with anybody else outside this room, not even to those present here. In a couple of hours operation Morning Star will be initiated, this will all be on a need to know basis. Further information will be provide to you as the operation begins."

Yeah this was it; there was no doubt in his mind. The real fight was only just beginning and with that god knows what fate would lie in store for the girls. If anything it was going to be crucial that he would make sure that as much information as possible could be brought back to the others, they needed to come up with a strategy.

He just hoped that it would be enough otherwise they were all going to pay the price for it, worst of all he feared what would happen to the diclonius they had worked so hard to free. For them to see their freedom being crushed for good was a terrible prospect, as long as he could draw breath he wouldn't allow that to happen. Not while there would be a fight left in him.

Yuka was still pondering if she would call Mako to ask her if it would be fine with her if the girls could come or not, being fully honest she was not looking forward to them going outside on their own. In her mind it was far to dangerous for them to be left outside.

"Yuka-san are you okay, you look a little nervous to me?" Nozomi remarked as she stopped next to her. "Perhaps something I can help you with?"

"Ah Nozomi-chan, no this is one of those things that Kouta and I have to take care off but thank you for your concern. It really means a lot to me." Yuka responded as she picked up the horn, gazing at the number that Dreachon had provided them with she was still undecided about it.

Putting down the horn she looked at Nozomi as if asking her for advice on what to do. "Tell me Nozomi-chan what would you if you were stuck with the following situation?" She then told Nozomi what was troubling her, the issues with the twins and the possible offer from Mako to take care of them. She couldn't make that decision on herself.

Taking it all in Nozomi was silent at first, this certainly was a problem that she as well found hard to provide a good answer to, finally after a period of thinking what the best answer was she said the following. "To be honest I think it would best to ask the twins themselves if they want to stay but I do not see the harm in letting them go outside for the day. It might be a welcome change for them after having been stuck here for the past few days."

"Your right, I think I will tell her that she can come and pick up the twins but could you do me a favor and watch over them until she arrives. I don't want to leave them there alone."

Nozomi nodded as she did not have much to do anyway that morning. "I do need to leave in the early afternoon but I will ask Nyu-san or Nana-san to escort the twins, where exactly will she be picking them up if I may ask?"

She was right, that was something she hadn't thought about yet. What was a good place for her to pick up the twins, the Inn itself was not an option at the moment and she did not want the twins having the walk all that far. "Do you know the bus stop nearby? She can pick them up there, just make sure they are well dressed as it can be cold outside and give them something to wear over their heads."

"Ah you mean to cover those horns of them?" Why of all things that she could say Nozomi just had to say that, then again she had been living here for long enough to know better and she was a bright girl. The horns were no secret to her but fortunately she was not aware of what it meant.

"Yes you know that people can give them an odd look."

"Of course Yuka-san, shall I go then and tell them that they can get themselves dressed?'

Picking up the phone again Yuka told her that it was okay to do so, dialing the number she waited until it finally rang. Oh she was feeling so nervous as a voice came from the other side.

"Good morning Takebe-san, I am an acquaintance of Hirano-san. We were going to let you know if it would be alright with us if you were to take the twins out for a day of shopping."

She listened to what Mako had to say in response and following that she let her know when she could come and pick them up but she also made it clear that she needed to be careful with them. Under no circumstances were they to do anything that could reveal who they were and Mako was to bring them back at the same bus stop, she could not come to the house itself.

Her understanding of the situation was a comfort to Yuka, it felt good to have an elderly person to talk too and one who could relate to the issues. Feeling better now in having made the call she went to grab her coat and joined Kouta as they left to go to school, saying their goodbyes they made a small prayer that everything would work out.

Arakawa pulled her jacket tighter even if the sun was starting to shine better than in the previous days, it was still far too cold for her comfort zone but she did have to out.

"Well time to continue where we last took off kid." She told herself as she followed the map again to where she had last seen the kid, from there one she would look on her own for any new clues on where he might have gone to .

Looking again there were multiple directions in which to go. Walking again for what seemed a long time she was starting to get the sinking feeling that she was getting nowhere all over again.

"Good afternoon." An elderly woman greeted her. "Can I help you with anything, you seem rather lost around here?"

That was just wonderful as if she even wanted to waste her precious time in having to hear what she had to say. It wouldn't even surprise her in the least if it turned out that she needed to help the old woman, yeah that was most likely it.

"No thanks, I am rather busy."

The woman laughed. "Ah you youngsters are always so impatient. You should learn to enjoy life a bit more because it will be gone before you know it, I speak from experience. You should take things a bit slower, your young and you should enjoy that while it lasts."

Like she was going to take a lecture on how to live her own damn life, she had no interest in that at all and right now she wanted nothing more than to get away from this woman and fast.

"Oh you are looking for a place to stay?" The woman asked as she pointed at some of the brochures Arakawa was holding, dammit now she was stuck in a tight spot.

"To be honest I was actually looking for a nice place to eat and grab some rest, I have had a long journey behind me."

"Yes I can tell that you are pretty exhausted by those wrinkles on your face."

Wait, did she just got put in her place by some elderly woman. There was no way that she could have had wrinkles, not after the relaxing bath she had last night. She so had it with the woman.

"I have to go, I still need to-." She was cut off by the woman as she started to tell her an old story, just what she was afraid of.

"It's a shame that the old Inn is gone. Ah they had some of the best meals in the city, my husband and I used to go there every weekend when he was still alive. Shortly after that the place got closed down, such a shame."

Her curiosity was spiked, did this woman mention that there was an Inn nearby. "Where was this Inn, do you still remember its name?" She asked with impatience.

The woman scratched her head. "The name I need to think about it but it has been so long since I last visited. I can't remember precisely but there were some stairs leading to it." Arakawa smiled at hearing that, this had to be the best hint she could have possibly gotten.

"Well thank you for your information, I will then keep looking to see if I can find it."

An old and closed down Inn just seemed like the perfect place for Lucy and the other diclonius to hide from people, now all she needed to do was to find it.

She was about to leave when the old lady grabbed her by the arm. "I think I remember now, it was called the Maple Inn or something like that."

Bando grabbed the bread, taking a good bite from it he checked up on how Dreachon was doing. "Fancy toy you are keeping here, care to tell me why it isn't at that special place of yours bastard?" Taking in the sight of the craft that now standing in front of him it was a good question.

"So you are starting to lose your sense of hearing as well, must be from all that yelling and shooting of yours. I have told you before that the Nexus is off limits to me for the time being." There was an angry response coming from he guessed had to be the cockpit of it.

Bando didn't bother to listen, sure he had already heard it the first time but it did provide him with some fun to get underneath Dreachon's skin even if it had proven to be a tough one.

Grabbing some beer he considered tossing one up to him but he decided not to in the end, the bastard likely wouldn't even drink it and it would be a waste then.

"So why then keep it here, surely it is much safer to keep there." Gazing again at the craft he wondered what it could do, it was far bigger than any modern day fighter jet and yet it's very shape already defied everything he knew about fixed wing aircraft, no noticeable wings, no downward facing engines. How this thing could even get off the ground was a mystery to him and then there was the size again.

Having walked past it several times he guessed it was close to thirty meters in length, perhaps een longer as he wasn't sure if his measurements had been spot on. Then he began to think what kind of weaponry it possessed. Biggest surprise off al was that there was no visible cockpit to him, no access point nor any windows.

"With no access to the Nexus I cannot make use of the data-cores to keep track of all that goes throughout the city, the onboard data-core of my Rakhan is my only way to collect all the data from the sensor grid I have placed throughout the city but then it is limited."

"So we are mostly blind then right, can you at least get some warning from those sensors? It would be of considerable help if we were not fucking blind, those kids are counting on you."

"I am fully aware of that but this data-core was not intended for that purpose, I am rerouting a considerable amount of its protocols in order to enable it to even keep pace. The data-stream is simply too much for it even with removing most of the more trivial information."

Having emptied the can he kicked it over the floor. "That means doing this the old ways, we need to keep a watch on the house ourselves. Not an easy thing to do given we also have to be prepare for when those bastard come and they will come. Make no mistake."

Dreachon climbed out from the cockpit. "And then that leaves us with Saseba and the government as well, and I am not going to mention all the possible bystanders who could give them away, I can only keep trace of a few select phone lines and right now those are the ones belonging to the DRI and that assistant."

"And killing her is not an option?" Bando remarked as he opened the second can. "We take her out and that is less one problem to worry about but I suppose if we kill her that would also get the police involved."

He leaned back against some of the crates that were laying around. "Well with regards to the government or those Saseba guys we do have the bastard Hirano to keep us informed or do you think he will betray us?"

"He knows fully well that betraying us would result in a very unpleasant retaliation against himself, he will not betray us but I have my reservations about his ability to be of use to us when the fighting starts."

"You don't think highly of him do you?"

Dreachon replied instantly. "I don't hold much regard for those who show doubt in battle. If he cannot pull the trigger when the time comes he will be nothing more than a liability."

"Then we should focus again on making sure that that doesn't happen." Bando grinned.