LXX

Gelöbnis

"Thank you for seeing us on such short notice, sensei." Yuka bowed to express her respect as the doctor approached her, already she had gotten a little impatient as she had been kept waiting for almost a full hour but not showing the proper respect now would only do them more harm. Best would be for now to just accept it and try if she could convince the good doctor that they could pay a visit to Nozomi.

"If you would please follow me to my office I will explain the situation to you and then you may say your side of it." The man remarked as he gestured for her to follow him.

"Could you give me a moment sensei, a friend of mine is waiting outside. I would like for her to come along as well."

"Just be quick about it. I have other patients to visit."He mentioned to her as he tapped his watch signalling that she needed to be quick about it.

Biting her tongue she was becoming less thrilled about talking to this man but right now he was her only chance of getting to see Nozomi and she really wanted to know how she was doing.

"Ah Yuka-san, are we leaving already?" Mayu asked as she came back inside, judging by the color of her face she likely came back in to warm herself up. "Is there something wrong?" She asekd as she noticed the expression of Yuka's face.

Yuka slightly hinted at the doctor standing way behind her. "We need to talk to that man if we want to see Nozomi-chan but I get the feeling that it is already a lost cause but let's try it anyway, what do you think?"

Following the doctor towards his office both Mayu and Yuka held their breath as he sat down first and only after that did he make an offer for them to sit down.

"Now as I understand you are here to visit your friend but you are not relatives of her nor do either of you have asked for permission of her family correct?" His hands folded in front of him, he waited for them to provide him with an answer.

"Yes, mainly because her family opposed Nozomi-chan's wish to become a singer. We have been very supportive of her but in doing so I fear that her family would not be willing to let us see her. Even if it just for a short moment we really would like to see her and know if she is fine, we were all devastated when it happened." Yuka sobbed as she remembered it. "Please sensei, if you could just let us see her for even for a few minutes that would already be enough for us."

"I see, well that certainly explains that." He got up from his chair and headed towards the door, taking his gesture for allowing them to visit her, they were shocked to find out that it was the very opposite. "I will ask you both to leave my office, I must refuse you request anyway as she was picked up her father yesterday night. Even if she was still here I would not grant you your request due to what her family has asked of me."

"B-But…" Yuka mentioned but she was cut short as the doctor again made it clear they needed to leave his office. Barely had they gotten outside when he made one last remark.

"Take my advice and forget this matter, you have caused her already enough harm as it is." With that he nearly slammed the door shut in their faces. Balling her fists Yuka was furious, not only because of the way she got treated but also because this man never even had the intention in the first place.

"So Yuka-san what do we do now?" Mayu asked as she too felt rather disappointed, even so if Nozomi was really back with her family then there wasn't really all that much that either of them could do for the moment. It seemed that already this bright day was starting to show the cracks.

"Not much else than we can do Mayu-chan, let's forget about this and go visit Kouta in the meantime. When we get home I will ask mother if she can perhaps help us. Such a shame as I am really worried about her, I fear that her family is likely imposing on her again and if they get their wish then Nozomi-chan might never attempt singing again."

Mayu sighed as she heard that, she wasn't fully up to date on what exactly was going on but she heard enough to understood that if her family got their way that Nozomi's dream was finished. It wasn't fair she told herself once more, it wasn't at all but that was how it was.

"You are right, it might be better if we try and turn this into a nice day after all."

Panting heavy he looked at her, his eyes almost hazy. "… I have been waiting here for you… it has been a while see you and I both met… isn't it Kaede-chan…?"

She froze on the spot as she heard him say her name, she couldn't believe that he actually knew it and yet at the same time she loved the way he said it. Yet it scared her that he was aware of the name, she had never told him or anybody else for that matter. It was a name that she had lost once the she given in to the voice.

"… K-K-Kouta…?" Was all that she could get from her lips but then she noticed the blood next to him, looking further she could see a trail of it leading back to the road. It scared her to think that in his state he had come all this way to this beach.

"… K-Kouta… why are you… what are you doing here… you… should be in the hospital…?" She cried as she leaned forward ready to help him but it only get her a reprimand as he yelled for her to not dare to touch him.

Those were cruel words to hear, especially when they were coming from him. It stung more than all of the torment she had went through, to hear such a cold statement coming from him.

Casting her head down, averting her eyes so that he wouldn't get to see her tears what little remained of her courage was now starting to erode, her courage had somewhat flared up upon hearing her name but now with what he had said it was ruined.

"… Perhaps it would be best for me to leave him…"

"Here take this." Was all she could hear him say before something hit her, somewhat dazed she didn't understood at first that what he had thrown was his jacket. Looking at it in confusion she folded and held it tight, it belonged to him and for that alone it was already precious to her. Taking a quick sniff his scent greeted her, it wasn't doing much other than making her feel more miserable about herself. How was she ever going to live with herself?

Struggling to get up and leaning heavily against the wall he gestured at her. "… Please come with me Kaede-chan, there is something… something important... that I want to share with you-." As he took another step he passed out as he hit the dirt.

"KOUTA!? KOUTA!? KOUTAAAA!?" Kaede cried as she rushed forward, any hesitation she might have had just vanished as she saw him lying there. She was trembling and scared but even with all of those emotions running through her mind she could not bring herself to abandon him, not at a time like this.

Fetching a pair of slippers she found lying discarded on the beach and putting on the jacket she pulled herself together and carefully lifted him on her back, he was heavier than she had imagined and several times it seemed like she was going to lose her hold on him.

Cars drove past her as she steadily kept going, she wasn't sure where they were heading towards but the few times he had regained his senses he provided a quick direction before he would pass out again. She was blaming herself for all of this, it was her fault that he had been shot and it was her fault for him being outside when he should be at the hospital. How could she ever forgive herself if he was going to die all because of her, what reason could she possibly have if he died?

"…Kouta… your so close to me… your just a breath away… I can even feel your heartbeat… and yet… yet… you have never been further away from me…" She whispered to herself as she took another step, her eyes were stained red from her tears but no matter how much she wanted in her current situation it was the only thing that seemed natural to her.

"…T-That way…" He coughed as for a few more precious seconds he managed to remain awake. "…T-Towards… the tower…" His breathing got even heavier as he exerted himself by raising his arm to point where they needed to go. It dropped back as she noticed where they were going, she wasn't a stranger to it. It was the place where she had battled the silpelit called Mariko, the light house tower at Enoshima.

"Ah good to have you here agent Hirano." Barely had Dai entered the command post or he was already called in, it seemed that things were proceeding at a fast pace or at least it made that impression to him.

"Have there been any new developments? What is the current status on the operation?" Approaching the front he was met by a host of others as people kept shouting one man through another, well it was clear to him that something was going on as he noticed the excitement in the air.

"We got word from commander Kanbe." An operator informed him as he stopped and had a look at the man's monitor. "They have secured the virus and the vaccine along with the lead researcher, they also reported an unconfirmed termination on Lucy."

"…T-They have…?" He stuttered as he heard that info, it confirmed his suspicions that the DRI had been the ones to have captured Nyu but the sound of a possible termination of her did not sit well with him. If it was true then how was he ever going to bring that news to Yuka and her family, they were bound to hate him and the small amount of trust he had built up with them would be destroyed? "Have they reported anything else, we need that confirmation?"

"Negative but we did receive a report about a massive explosion taking place further up north." The man turned away as he reached out to grab the note were the coordinates were written down, as Dai saw them he knew that this had happened well outside of the territorial waters. "Any word if any ships were present in the area, that is still a long way out of the territorial waters."

"Only one ship sir and that was the one sending out the s.o.s. signal until she vanished off the radar, a vessel of the navy has already been sent out but it is going to take a while before they will arrive at its last location."

"I see here that the explosion was noticed from the mainland as well? How is that even possible? Have counter measures against the radiation been taken?"

"Those have already been implemented but the odd thing is that the vessel so far have not reported any indication of any kind of radiation and given the size of the detonation a large scale fall out area would be expected but thus far we are getting nothing on the readings. It is almost the same as the explosion that destroyed a good portion of the harbor a couple of days ago though off course on a far larger scale."

That sparked his interest, the area was cordoned off for fear of radiation as well. His curiosity rising he asked the question to which he was dying to get an answer. "Has the lab reported any findings there then?"

"I'm afraid not and that is what has command worried, there isn't any sign at all of radiation in that area. It is perfectly fine to stay there but both the research teams and the lab can't provide an answer as to why which has led command to maintain their order for the area to be held in quarantine."

Dammit, to think he could have gone there all this time. He cursed himself for having been such a fool, to think that he had been stupid enough to let such a reason from deterring to him to find answers, answers that people needed to alleviate their pain. That did it, he was going to visit that area right now even if it meant he had to disobey orders. "I am going out, there is something I need to check on. Keep me informed should there be any new developments."

"B-But you can't leave, all personal is to remain at their stations. You leave now and a discharge is bound to happen, what the hell could be important enough to risk. I mean you know how commander Saseba is about that and commander Kanbe is even worse."

He stopped as heard the name of his former commander, would he still be alive as well. "Have we heard from the commander, last I heard he was present at the area before that explosion took place?"

The man shook his head. "Can't say, command is keeping a tight lid on almost everything. Hell we are even lucky to have heard the messages from commander Kanbe but ever there it seemed that things were rather bad." Whispering the words he made certain that nobody else heard them.

"Wait? I thought you told me they retrieved the virus and vaccine, what could possibly be bad about that?" He felt somewhat confused over the man's sudden mention of something bad. What else was going on that they hadn't been told? He sure as hell didn't like the way this was going.

Staring at the entrance Kaede felt somewhat reluctant to enter, she could still remember what had happened here the last time but for some reason Kouta wanted to be here. It was as good as a reason for her, somehow it seemed rather deserted but at the moment she preferred it that way.

"This is the place right?" She turned her head to look at Kouta. "It seems to be closed for the day?" Other than a few quick cough he didn't say much but this was the only answer she could drag out of him and given his condition she wasn't going to try and push her luck or his health for that matter. Using one of her vectors to cut open the lock she gently pushed open the door to make sure that nobody could hear her, she didn't want to get caught now.

Craning up her neck she looked at the spiraling stairs going all the way up, this was going to be one climb alright and having Kouta on her back was not going to make it any easier. Finally after a long climb she was relieved to see that they had reached the top floor, she was glad that there would be no more stairs to climb for now. but there was something else that immediately caught her attention the moment she was able to see it.

"… So beautiful… I never imagined that such a sight could be seen…" She whispered as she was overwhelmed by the view offered from this high, this was unlike anything she had ever witnessed and a part of her was glad that she had a chance to witness it for herself thanks to Kouta. "… To think that I've… never seen this city like this… it is breathtaking…"

"I have always wanted to show the view from here… I am glad that you like it." He coughed as he regained his consciousness again, his sudden waking up taking her by complete surprise as she nearly cried his name.

He leaned against the railing as she hunkered down in front of him, the floor felt painful to her knees and she was shivering from the cold but for his sake she would endure it.

"Kanae-chan, my little sister really liked coming to this place. She always loved the view, back then they hadn't built this pretty lighthouse. She always has loved the ocean, I'm pretty sure that she would have wanted to live at the coast herself… but…"

Kaede was keeping her eyes focused on the floor, it was painful for her but she knew who his sister was. After all she had killed the young girl back then during that night along with his father, the only family he had left and she had taken them both from him.

"… You have done it again… haven't you? You have killed people even when you promised me… how can you even kill so many countless people with ease? As if their lives mean nothing? Why… uuugh…" He was coughing again and she swore that she could see a small splattering of blood on the floor.

"You already know of the other consciousness inside me right?" She figured that Kouta likely would know by now, he had most certainly made sure that Kouta was fully aware on her issues.

"I know of that, Dreachon-san told me everything I needed to know… Kaede-chan do you know how painful these last… six months have been for me?"

"… I-I don't I'm afraid… may I ask did he tell you my name?" With caution and dread she asked him the question, even if he had broken his promise she was glad that he had in this case, having Kouta call her by her real name was strange but equally pleasant.

He smiled though she could tell that it was one born out of pain. "He didn't… he gave me papers that had it written on… something about having made a promise not to tell me… you made him make that promise didn't you, why?"

She struggled to say her reasons, to be honest they were rather painful for her. "I would rather not answer that… please try and understand…" She mumbled as before their eyes could meet again she quickly casted hers down.

"Then you should understand the pain and suffering I have been through ever since you walked away that night… I have been suffering ever since Nyu came back, every day I would see you again knowing that it was Nyu and not you, that I could never get all the answers I wanted."

"I am sorry for that, I had honestly thought about letting them kill me but she convinced me that if I did that then you and the others were going to be sad."

"She?" Kouta remarked. "By she do you mean Nyu? Was she the one that convinced you?"

Kaede had to smile to hear him ask about Nyu. "The me that most people call Lucy was the side of me that foolish allowed herself to be used by the compulsion to destroy all of mankind. And then there is the other me, the one you and your family call Nyu."

"I already know about those two, that is nothing new to me, what is though is the reason why you decided to listen to the wrong one. Why did you ever gave into that one?"

She took in a deep breath, there was no escaping. "I chose the path of destroying mankind and thus making a place for only my own kind because I was betrayed by you." It earned her a somewhat foul glance from him it couldn't be helped, she understood how it must have sounded to him, if he would just allow her to explain further.

"I Thought I couldn't live anymore with humans, no matter how much I wanted to or how hard I tried I always seemed to be the one who got betrayed in the end. That is what made it so easy for it to fill my head with fears, I was so scared that I believed every word it told me. I never once questioned anything that it told me." She had to swallow hard to say it. "In order for me cut off any attachments I had left to humanity and to you I slaughtered your family… but…"

What followed next between them was the most eeriest silence she had ever experienced, neither of them was willing to speak for the moment. She could well understand his reasons for doing so but that didn't mean she liked this, she had much rather that he said something, anything, even if it was that he hated her.

Finally she decided that she was going to say what was on her mind, this silence would only be their undoing if it was allowed to linger on. "B-But we both met again and both of us had lost our memories of that distant past. It was as if we were both granted a clean slate to start with, those days were like a dream, living peacefully together with you even though I could not experience all of it." She smiled as she thought about it. "Nyu was unbearably noisy whenever I was awake, always shouting and telling me that we could coexist with humans with all of her might. We could if I was willing to grant you that chance, to take the first step and open my heart to you…"

Kouta grunted as he shifted his weight, he couldn't help but smile as the thought of Nyu being unbearably loud was a strange one to him. Sure she had been pretty loud of her own several times but it still felt odd to imagine her like that. "Nyu-chan really did that?"

"… I have made a lot of mistakes in my life, I really have… so many mistakes that I can never undo. I do not expect mankind to ever being able to forgive me for what I have done, back then I had lived and endured only because I wanted to apologize to you. I would have been fine to have died that night as I got to make that apology to you but even then Nyu came back telling me that if I allowed ourselves to die you would be sad again."

The tears she had been trying to hold back in ever since they had gotten inside were coming back. "I… I have… always… I have always… wanted to make it up to you."

The clacking of her footsteps seemed to be the only noise that came as Yuka kept walking through the hallway, she was alone as Mayu had already gone forward when she went back to make a quick phone call to Nozomi's cellphone. Hoping that at least in this way Nozomi would know that she and the others were still worried and desperate to see her again, perhaps it was possible that they could arrange for something but that would be up to how Nozomi would react.

"Kouta…" She sighed as at the end of the hallway she could already see his room, she was wondering if he would be awake. "I wonder if you are awake now or if you will wake up when Mayu-chan and I are still here?" She whispered underneath her breath, immersed in her own thoughts she didn't notice it at first as she was calel out.

"AH YUKA!" Came from Mayu as she appeared from around the corner, her face showing nothing but concern. "YUKA-SAN, COME QUICK PLEASE!"

Yuka didn't understand this. "Mayu-chan is something wrong? You are scaring me." What could have gotten her so worried all of a sudden, was it perhaps something with Nozomi after all that she had heard over the phone?

"YUKA-SAN! IT IS ABOUT KOUTA-SAN! KOUTA-SAN ISN'T ON HIS ROOM! HE IS GONE AND I FOUND THIS!" Showing her hand Yuka noted the small piece of paper she was holding, she was starting to get a really bad feeling now.

"…Oh Kouta!?" Yuka gasped as she read the writing, yes it was clearly his style of writing. "… Please don't tell me…?" Reading it again and again her knees failed on her and as she sank to the ground Mayu had to jump in to help her.

Mayu cried for her, she was scared and worried. Wondering what she had done to see so many bad things happen on a day that had started in such a beautiful way, why was god being so cruel to them all, why was he tormenting her family?

Her hands hiding her face she kept on crying and sobbing, she didn't want to hold it all in anymore. Back then she had been able to keep most of her emotions under control but now with the two of them meeting once more, she had been given this chance and she was not planning to hold back on anything, if there was something she wanted to say or needed to get off her chest this could be her only chance to ever say it to him.

"I am really sorry… I've… always… always… wanted to make it up to… even though I have said it… so many times now… I still can't stop… apologizing for what I have done… I…"

He whispered a single word. "Stop." Then his head turned back to look at her. "Please just stop, I don't need to hear your apologies any longer."

It was like he had grabbed her heart and just crushed it in his hands when he said that. "Back then I told you already that I could never forgive you for having killed Kanae-chan, my father and ruining my life. No matter how much or how often you apologize for that."

The words stung, like he had a sword rammed through her chest and right into her heart. "…I… I see… but I still wanted to apologize to you… because the happiest time of my life was when I was with you… just the two of us together… for a moment I actually believed that there was hope… it was only short… but… being with everyone really made me feel happy…"

"You were awake several times weren't you?" Kouta asked right as her heard her say that, it wasn't surprising to Kaede as surely he must have figured that out by himself now and if he didn't then surely Dreachon would have seen to it.

"I did… but at those times I felt so scared… about seeing you again… I-I didn't know… what I would say to you… so I just kept quiet. Even when Nyu was awake I would catch glimpses of your family and living… in the inn… I have never experienced… being loved… by so many… truly I had wanted for it to last... for the rest of my life to be like this."

"Nyu-chan, what about her? Where did she go? With you awake now if she still around?"

Kaede got up and bend over towards him. "She is partly asleep but even now I can hear her, telling me that I shouldn't be afraid and tell you the truth. She is how I really wanted to be, if I didn't have these horns she would become the real me. You likely have seen that when she just got back to you right?"

He simply nodded, both he and Nana had noticed that there had been something different about her now but with this explanation it made sense to him.

"But I ended up being an idiot when I gave in to the other me, the voice all of my kind has."

"The other voice, oh that is right." Kouta mumbled. "That is that instinct of yours right, the one telling you to kill humans, yeah I have heard about that from Dreachon-san."

Kaede nodded, she was glad that he at least understood part of it. Even if it was difficult to explain, him having some knowledge on it made all the easier for her. "Yes it is our instinct though I do not know for sure, it drives us to make mankind extinct and to be replaced by us. Some call it the voice of my DNA. Unlike Nyu it doesn't have the strength to take over my body, it was simply giving me suggestions or orders and I foolishly chose to follow them."

"Why?" He sighed, shaking his head in dissaproval. "Why could you ever do such a stupid thing? I don't have words for this."

"B-Because I didn't want to get bullied anymore… I was different from everybody else because of my horns… kids picked on me just for that… they made sure my life was miserable then… but all I ever wanted were friends… people to tell me that they cared and loved me. To have you say I'm fine with you staying at my side, I just wanted for you to say that, I just…"

Raising her arm she wiped away her tears, there wasn't much point left for her to cry anymore. They had both said what needed to be said, even so she was glad that she had been given this one last chance. "I can't… I can't do anything besides staining my hands with the blood of others… I don't blame you for hating me… for having broken my promise… for what I have done to you."

Taking her steps towards the stairs she was grateful for tis brief moment. "Goodbye Kouta… tis will be the last time for us to see each other… we won't be meeting again… ever…" Turning her face away quickly as she didn't want for him to see that she was crying again she quickly made for the stairs, taking the first step she abruptly stopped as her heart pounded, pain gripping her chest she came to a halt.

"COMMANDER!" The man monitoring the radar yelled as he contacted the commander through the radio. "COMMANDER WE HAVE A SITUATION! THE RADAR HAS JUST PICKED UP LUCY'S SIGNAL! SHE IS STILL ALIVE!"

Arakawa faltered as she opened the door, she had been startled by the sudden noise but hearing this. Surely the man had to be making a cruel joke, it could not be possible for her to remain alive. Rushing forward she nearly shoved him from his place as she took a look for herself at the monitor, chills went down her spine as the reading confirmed the man's cries.

"How the hell is this even possible!?" She could hear Kanbe yelling over the radio, the device doing at least something to muffle his voice but she could well imagine how loud it must have been for those next to him. "I want an explanation for this right now! Nobody dare to leave their post until I get back is that clear!?"

Looking over as the man got back on his seat he already started to go over the numbers, with the commander in such a hurry she could well relate that he wanted to provide him with the answer and not keep him waiting. Most likely the commander was in a very volatile mood right now and the slightest irritation could set him off.

"Do you know where she is? Did the island managed to survive?" She asked as his fingers already raced across the controls, typing in as fast as he could the readings where quickly replaced by newer ones, one thing she could understand was that the signal was becoming stronger. But if that was so then it could only mean they were approaching her, then that could only mean that she wasn't on what remained of the island or anywhere near that location.

It didn't take long for commander Kanbe to came bursting into the brige of the vectorcraft as he yelled and ranted that this was a cataclysmic mistake. "WHERE IS SHE HIDING!? TAKE US THERE THIS INSTANT!" Peeking over his shoulder Arakawa could just make out the presence of a few other people, one of them appearing to be a rather high ranking naval officer.

"Sir we have a location though it is faint, holy shit that can't be right!" The man cried as he went over the readings. "It seems she has appeared again in Kamakura sir!"

"DAMMIT!" He turned to address the officer. "LAUNCH A DRONE THIS INSTANT!"

"KAEDE-CHAN STOP!" He shouted at her. "Don't you dare to run away from me, just because your instinct tells you to kill humans you are just going to give in to it and pretend that it can't be helped!?"

Leaning and pushing his body to the limit of what it was able to in his condition Kouta struggled to get up on his feet. "Humans too, have such an instinct like that. Hell even Dreachon-san has an instinct even worse than that but you don't see us or him going off on a killing spree." He had no doubt in his mind that the man had been a born killer but even so. "But weren't we all living together leading a normal life while suppressing that!?"

She could hear him taking another step towards her but she was terrified of facing him, she couldn't turn around much less move to get away from him. Her body was frozen out of sheer fear for him.

"Horns don't matter! Look at Nana-chan, Saeko-chan, Ryou-chan! Even Kyou-chan despite her crass manners and dislike of people won't give in! None of them are going around killing people because their instinct tells them to! If you just blindly follow your instinct then you are just the same like any other animal out there!"

Still standing there she wanted for her body to move, how she wished that she could just take those stairs and run away. It was no good, no matter how hard she tried her body wouldn't let her leave, was this the doing of Nyu? Was she the one holding her body in place so that she could hear what she needed to have heard all this time?

"Just because of some power, some instinct, that I do not understand killing suddenly becomes easier for you. Aren't you better than that? Don't you follow the voice of what your heart is telling you? Why is it that Nyu-chan can resist this voice and you can't?"

How could he say such a thing, how could he even ask such a question, how could she even try and come up with an answer to that?

"…A-Anything…" She sobbed. "… You don't understand anything…" The pain was becoming too much for her to bear, this was not how she had wanted for their last moments together to be.

Just as she felt the strength in her legs returning she was suddenly grabbed by her shoulder and turned on the spot, her eyes widened in terror as she was staring him right in the face.

"PROMISE ME DAMMIT! PROMISE ME THAT YOU WILL NEVER KILL ANOTHER PERSON! PROMISE ME THAT YOU WILL NEVER USE YOUR POWERS AGAIN! PROMISE ME THIS!" He kept on shouting as she was being shaking back and forth.

"… K-Kouta… w-what are you…?" As her eyes averted his for a moment she saw the blood dripping onto the floor, his clothes were starting to become stained with his own blood. "K-Kouta, you can't… you have to go back… you have to be at the hospital… if you-."

"PROMISE ME! I WON'T LET YOU GO UNLESS YOU PROMISE ME! PROMISE NEVER TO HARM ANYBODY AS LONG AS YOU LIFE!" He coughed as he fought to keep standing, she could feel his grip getting weaker. If he kept this up then he…

"If you promise me that here and now, we can try and live together again. Not just Nyu-chan but you as well Kaede-chan." As he said her name his hand gently caressed the side of her face, she blushed as she felt his warm touch, how she had been dreaming of such a gesture.

"… K-K-Kouta…?" She could barely get his name across her lips. "… D-Does that mean… you will forgive me… I-I-I just thought… you said earlier… do you?"

"How could I ever forgive you, god knows that I have tried these last six months to forgive you but I simply can't. Even now a part of me hates you, I might even want to kill but…" He stopped talking for the moment, she wasn't certain what to make of it. But then he continued again. "... If you were gone I would lose not only you but Nyu-chan as well, I can't afford to lose a member of family a second time, I don't want to go through that again."

She didn't know what to say, was she being given a chance?

"Promise me that you will never harm another person with your powers, that you will never use them in anger, if you can't promise me that then you can never coexist with humans."

She sighed, even after all that she had done to him. After all the pain that she had caused to others and Kouta, he was still willing to take her back in.

She took in a deep breath and sighed. "… I… I… I promise… not to harm anyone from now… to not use my powers in anger… to do my best and live in peace…" There was a huge lump stuck in her throat. "… So please.. I've always wanted… to be… with you… Kouta…"

Kouta didn't say a thing as he reached out all of a sudden and hugged her, holding her in a tight embrace, Kaede could do little more than cry as she was held by him for the second time.