The agents hadn't been lying when they said that Kaede and Kohta could meet with the taskforce the next day, as currently the two were already making their way towards the edge of town. Currently they were riding on a bus, which would drop them off at a stop where'd they meet the American, Cromwell. The couple had decided to not take their children along, so they were currently at school; according to what Cromwell had said, currently the British agent Hooker was shadowing them alongside another group of operatives. Even if they stated that they intended to assist the family, Kaede was still quite unhappy over the situation.

She had now spent two lives fighting military organizations and she was not happy about one following her so intently. She knew she was being somewhat unfair passing judgment so quickly without actually meeting the individuals or who was involved, she just had a hard time doing so considering her past relationships with military types. She looked at her husband sitting next to her, who was just watching out the front window of the bus as they went along. He was just as excited about the idea as she was, but they really didn't have much a choice if they wanted to be sure of their children's safety.

She smiled some as she felt Kohta wrap an arm around her and lightly pull her against him, and she happily leaned her head on his shoulder. "So," Kohta began, "what do you think they'll be like?"

Kaede shrugged, "I'm hoping they won't be a bunch of hot-headed assholes. It's bad enough they'll be following us, if they turn out to be gung-ho and what not then I may cry in despair."

Kohta chuckled softly, looking at her. "Then I'll tell the kids that a bunch of cocky soldiers reduced their oh-so powerful psychic of a mother to tears with their manliness." Kaede smiled and shook her head.

"Cute. Do that and you'll need to figure out how to deal with being abstinent for a while." She retorted.

"I think it's you who will suffer from that experience, after all you are the one with the active libido."

"Clearly you do too considering you jump right out of your clothes at the chance of spending 'quality' time with me." She grinned. Kohta chuckled once more and gave her a quick kiss. The trip had been an hour at the least due to how far they needed to go. It wasn't that it was necessarily very far, but considering the bus didn't take a straight route to the destination added some time to the trip. The only reason the two didn't have a car of their own was because they didn't really need one. Nothing was ever far enough that they couldn't either walk too or just pay a small toll to ride the bus for. So it was just cheaper for them to not own a car all together. They were rather relieved though once the bus had reached their destination, as they were quite tired of sitting and have nothing much to do. Stepping off, they both glanced around at the area around them. They had ended up in area of Kamakura where there was more individual houses with occasional stores scattered amongst them. It looked a lot like a suburb more than it did a part of the city.

Looking around, it wasn't long before they spotted Cromwell leaning against the driver side door of a simple four door black car. Currently he had a lit cigarette in his mouth and was tapping his feet to an unknown beat despite not having any headphones on him or any music playing from anywhere around them. Kaede kept close to Kohta, which again was more for the sake of defense. She still did not completely trust these people and she was going to take as little chances as she needed to.

Cromwell looked over at them, nodding his head to them while flicking the cigarette away. "Good to see you two. You'll have to excuse Hooker's absence; he's making sure nothing bad happens to your kiddies. He along with the early arrivals of the taskforce that is." He chuckled to himself as he opened one of the rear door for them. "I'd love to see the look of the pedophile that tries to kidnap one of your children right now, thinks he's got some easy prey then bam! Face full of dirt as heavily armed military personal slams him to the ground. Priceless."

"Right…you already told us about him not being here." was all Kohta cared to add to that part of the conversation. He helped Kaede in before following her, Cromwell shutting the door for them before climbing into the driver's seat.

Starting the car up, Cromwell spoke again. "I understand you are still weary, and I wish there was more I could do about it really. If it makes you feel better, a couple of these soldiers we are going to meet have families of their own. Hell the commanding Delta Officer has a wife and son himself." He looked back at the two of them through the rearview mirror. "Basically what I'm trying to say is, these people can sympathize with you in the fact that none of them would want to see their families in such a position. I know for sure that if such a thing were the case, these are the people they would turn to for aid as well."

It was hardly reassuring for the couple; because they still had no idea what they were heading towards. It could all be an elaborate trap for all they knew, so dropping their guard was the last thing they were going to do. Things were quiet between them for the rest of the car ride, which took only about twenty minutes or so for them to reach a small warehouse located away from the town. As far as Kohta or Kaede were aware, the place had been abandoned for a long time, but it seemed that this was where the Americans and British had decided to set up. From the car they couldn't see very much activity, which was probably the idea. Cromwell drove the car around the perimeter of the building, bringing the car to a stop so he could pull it into a garage that was located around the back of it. Kaede was already on full alert, keeping her vectors ready for anything.

Cromwell brought the car to a stop, shutting it down before he climbed out and then made his way back to their door, opening it up for them. As she had before, Kaede kept very close to Kohta; Cromwell was not dumb though and chuckled at the sight of it. "This way, please," He said as he made towards a door located against the back wall. As they walked, the sound of the garage door moving indicated that it was shutting, and as the sunlight was slowly blocked, lights within the warehouse turned on to replace the missing illumination. Cromwell made it to the simple metal door, opening it up for them and stepping through and holding it open for them. Cromwell himself had to admit it was funny how much training had gone into how to seem as least threatening as possible. So much of it was very subtle details, from posture to even entering a room before those he was trying to trap, or guide in this case, simply to convince them that the room itself was not a trap. As the couple walked in, their eyes were met with the sight of about thirty or so soldiers all standing around, rummaging through rucksacks or inspecting their gear. Many were chatting and joking between one another, though a couple turned to face the new guests to their make-shift barracks.

Kaede noted how different they all looked from one another. Some fit the image of a stereotypical soldier, big, burly, with closely buzzed hair and a mean, serious look to them; others however looked like normal civilians (excluding the military equipment they were wearing of course.) She was surprised though when most of them, rather than the usual whispering and hushed talk about the horned individual, simply turned back to their work or went back to conversing with each other. Only two individuals approached the new guests, both wearing military fatigues and both wearing a harness to hold ammunition, as well as a holster for a pistol on their thighs; both of which were filled with their respective items.

"Captain Domal, Captain Walker," Cromwell said while stepping aside and waving his hand to Kaede and Kohta, "These are the parents of the family you will be protecting. Kohta," First he waved a hand to Kohta, whom both captains shook Kohta's hand. "and his wife Kaede." Both shaking her hand as well. "Kohta, Kaede. This is Captain Cicero Domal." Cromwell said while indicating to the first of the two men that had approached. His uniform was a digital-camo of tans, lights greens, and dark greens thrown in, and the harness he wore was a simple black. On the man's shoulder right shoulder was a patch of the American flag, and beneath sat a distinct red arrow shaped patch with a black dagger n the center. On the center of his chest was another patch with two black bars sewn parallel to one another.

"Yeah…you can simply refer to me as Captain Domal, or "Sandman", please." The American said. "I am in charge of the Delta Operatives.

Kaede raised an eyebrow, "Cicero certainly isn't a name I've heard be used before."

"My mother was quite a philosophy fan, and it she happened to like the ring of such a name." Cicero said, rubbing the back of his head. "I didn't exactly gain as much a love for philosophy as she had. So please, Domal or Sandman will do fine."

"It's quite a sporting nickname for him, if a tad bit unoriginal if I do say so myself." Spoke Walker, who shared a similar accent to Hooker. He looked at Kohta and Kaede, "Can't say I have as interesting a name as Domal here, as my mother wasn't as creative as his. My name is Dillian Walker. Hope you can figure out by this point I'm leading the SAS members here." The couple was somewhat surprised at how these two carried themselves and even looked. If neither were wearing the military uniforms and equipment, she swore she wouldn't have been able to guess either were members. They both had their hair cut short, Domal's brown hair being slightly longer than the Walker's black hair. The only thing that would have tipped off to any service, and even then it wouldn't have provided direct evidence, was that both were clearly athletic. Granted neither had a face she liked very much, but from the neck down Kaede had to admit that they were rather attractive.

Kohta gave them an acknowledging nod, "Nice to meet you then…" He still did not sound very happy, and scowled slightly when Walker chuckled.

"Sandman is about the only one here who bites, I promise." Walker said, grinning. "He's not too big an arse. Besides if you can put up with Cromwell here, then you'll get along fine with him."

"Ah go fuck yourself Walker." Cromwell said, looking at Kaede and Kohta. "Well when you two are finished with your meeting, come find me and I'll run you back to the bus stop. Sound good? Good." He turned and walked off, not waiting for them to actually respond.

Walker watched him go before looking back at the couple. "In all seriousness, we apologize about having to put you in such a spot like this." Kaede blinked, looking at Walker confused.

"It's not really your fault…" she said.

"Regardless," he shrugged. "As much as I like the rest of these fellas, it's not very fun knowing that they will be following you in full combat gear. Not exactly the sign of a good time."

"No kidding," Sandman said, looking at the two. "but I can say that, if I needed somebody to watch over my boy, I wouldn't choose anybody but these guys to be watching over them."

"Do you only have the one son?" Kohta asked the captain.

"That I do, fifteen years old. A pain in the ass sometimes though." Kaede and Kohta both smiled.

"I know what you mean, our girls can be quite a hassle as well." Kaede said.

He chuckled while reaching into one of his pockets, pulling out several small pieces of paper. After shifting through them, he handed over a photograph to the diclonius. In it were three people, one was a younger Domal with his arm around a young woman, her hair matching in color and reaching her shoulders. In front of them sat a smiling young boy, who looked to be about eight or nine years of age in the photo. "This was taken awhile back, haven't gotten around to another family photo unfortunately."

Kaede smiled, looking at him while handing the photo back. "Both of them look beautiful, what are their names if you don't mind me asking."

"My wife is Kalina, met her back when she was serving in the army too. The boy's name is Patrick." He pocketed the photo again, casting a glance backwards at the other soldiers around the room.

"Well now I just feel singled out here, feel awkward not having any family photos of my own to show." Walker said. He received a hard "pat" on the back from Domal, causing the British man to stumble forwards.

"Ah cheer up, you'll eventually find someone as well you 'arse'." Domal had said the last word in a mock British accent, chuckling as he dodged a punch to the side from Walker.

"He's standing right next to you and you still missed captain?! Damn I hope you can shoot better!" One of the SAS members shouted.

"Shut your damn mouth! You aren't a part of this!" Walker yelled back, this time catching Sandman with a quick jab to the ribs. The American just swore while rubbing the assaulted side. Kaede shook her head in slight amusement. She surprised, happily surprised she might add, at how these men were acting. None of them seemed like the cold, emotionless military men she had been expecting to meet. Granted she had only just met the two captains, but judging from how everybody else was chatting away and laughing here and there, she could see that none of them really fit that description. Every one of them was enjoying their free time with jokes and talk. In a way it comforted her, knowing that she'd have what she would call "people" watching her, "people" in that there was more to their lives than just killing other people. On the other hand however, it did worry her that these men may not be taking such a task as seriously as it needed to be. Why would they though, she thought; who is she to them? She was just another diclonius in their eyes, nothing really special to her as far as they were probably aware. To them this was probably just another mission to complete and there was no meaning to it besides that. Agent Cromwell had made it feel that way when he had bluntly told her that this was a mission these men were going to be a part of regardless of whether or not she and her husband cooperated. She then remembered the picture the American captain had shown her, a picture of a loving family similar to her's. It was something like that reassured her that these men may have more emotional investment in this. She could imagine that the captain would be just as worried as she is right now if their positions were switched; it made her feel better to know that such a man was one of the commanding officers in charge of the operation. Some of these men might even have families of their own, and each one of those family men would have that sympathy towards her and her own plight. Maybe to them, this was more than just another mission.

"You ok there ma'am?" Walker asked, the two captains looking at Kaede. She blinked and then chuckled nervously while rubbing the back of her neck. She must have been staring off blankly while lost in her thoughts.

"Yes, I am. Just thinking is all." Kaede responded.

"Well that's good at least." Walker said. He then looked at both her and Kohta. "Ok some important points, mostly to tell you who to look for. We all will be wearing the same camouflage so that's a starter. The next biggest clue will be the flags," He tapped the patch of the UK flag that was on his shoulder. "Look for either this or the American flag on the shoulders, specifically the right shoulder. If the flag isn't on the right shoulder then it isn't us."

"Ok, but that hardly seems like a difficult thing to copy if they choose to disguise themselves." Kaede said.

"You're getting ahead of me." Walker said while smiling. "We'll also use a countersign so that you'll know it's us. It'll change every day, but you'll be informed of the changed challenge and sign. For instance, the challenge that we have today would be 'flash', if you hear one of us say flash, then you respond with 'thunder'. That's mostly so we know it's you. It works the other way, from you to us. If you see soldiers and are not sure who they are, just say flash, and if it's us we'll respond with thunder to let you know we are friendlies. Sound easy enough?"

"Yeah, that works for us but what about our children?" Kohta asked.

"Same thing, tell you girls to look for the flags and also to know the countersign."

Kohta rubbed his head while sighing, "Alright then."

"We will inform you whenever the countersign changes, as it will everyday so the enemy can't copy it as easily. Just remember to look for the patches and to remember the countersign and it we'll be able to find identify each other easily." Walker said.

"I know we sound like a broken record at this point, but we'll do everything and anything to get you and your family through this." Domal said.

Kaede smiled, though it was hardly genuine. "Thank you then."

Domal nodded before looking at Walker, "I think that's about it, isn't it?"

"I think so," he responded back. "If anything new pops up Agents Hooker or Cromwell will relay new info to you."

Domal nodded before looking at the couple still standing in front of him. He had noticed pretty early how the two of them were stuck together, looked like they'd need the jaws of life to separate them. When he had first seen it he figured they must have been nervous, but as they had conversed he was beginning to suspect they weren't standing so close together for comfort, but rather for protection. He smiled inwardly, commending the woman on the subtle maneuver. "Well," he began, "Now that we have those bits out of the way, how about you tell me about your daughters? Sure we have their names and their appearance but other than that they are still strangers to any of us." He smiled.

Both Kohta and Kaede were somewhat apprehensive about revealing any information about their family, but they already knew what the girls looked like and even their names. It was really all they needed to find them and even track them, so it wouldn't matter if they revealed smaller details. "Well, as a parent I'm sure you can figure out that both can be quite a handful."

The captain chuckled, "Oh I could imagine! Damn, it's rough enough to be raising just one child, but twins? I applaud you on that."

Walker shook his head, looking at them all. "Sorry to interrupt, but I'll leave you family people to this discussion. I feel like a third wheel honestly." He held out a hand to the couple, shaking both of their hands before he nodded. "It was good meeting you two." With that, he turned and left, conversing with two other operatives before continuing on.

"You get used to it after a while, besides Nyu is the tough one to deal with." Kohta said. "Don't get us wrong, we are happy to know she's so energetic and adventurous, but sometime we've considered getting her a child leash just to keep her nearby."

Domal chuckled, "Loves to explore that much, huh?"

"You have no idea, now she isn't as bad because she listens more, but when she was younger…well let's just say we got plenty of exercise keeping after her." Kaede said.

"Sounds as energetic as Patrick." Domal said, "He's not as much an explorer but he definitely is active. I think the only reason he's not a part of every sports team is because there isn't enough time."

"We'll probably be set with a full schedule ourselves once the girls start looking into sports or clubs. Yuki especially." Kaede said "The way you described Patrick reminds me a lot of how I imagine Yuki will be."

"Will be?"

"Well, she's a quiet and well behaved girl, but now that's her aunt has introduced her to the martial arts world, we haven't seen her so excited for something before." Kohta rolled his eyes while chuckling.

"Excited is too mild a word in my opinion, she won't stop talking about it. I feel bad for her sister really, she usually ends up as Yuki's 'partner'." Kohta said.

"Well it's not always a one sided affair, our little Nyu has plenty of tricks up her sleeves." Kaede said smiling, "She may not be the brightest of the bunch, but she can be plenty devious."

Domal chuckled, crossing his arms while smiling. "Maybe I don't want to have a second child, sounds like quite a mess."

Kaede chuckled as well, looking at the American, "It's a mess, but damn do we love them and every minute we spend with them."

Domal nodded his head. "Damn straight. Well, I hate to cut it short but I need to get my own equipment in order, not to mention I need to work alongside Walker to figure out our plans." He offered his hand, shaking both of their hands before pulling it back. "Just remember the countersigns, and be aware that if you meet up with a fire team out there, fire team is the term we use for a group of about four to eight members in a single group, Walker and I may not be in the particular one you meet up with. It's simply because we are just a part of a different fire team at the time. Regardless, everyone will know the countersign and we will all be aware of who to look for and protect."

"Alright, thank you Captain Domal." Kaede said.

"Yes, thank you. We should probably get heading back now ourselves. By the time we get back to town, the kids will probably be getting out of school." Kohta said.

"Alright, Cromwell said he'd be right out the door you came in from." Domal said.

"We remember, but thank you. Goodbye Captain." Kaede said, giving him a nod before looking at Kaede. "Lead the way dear." The two of them then made their way back out the door they had entered the warehouse from, finding Cromwell sitting in the car's driver seat. He looked up at them as they approached before stepping out, then moving to the back of the car to open the door for them.

"So what did you think of them?" he asked. The couple sat down in the back, Cromwell shutting the door behind them before getting back into the driver's seat and starting up the vehicle. He started off back towards the bus stop, glancing back at them as Kohta spoke up.

"Well, they certainly seem friendly enough, that's better than I thought."

"I imagine it was me that gave the bad first impression, it's usually what I do. That's why Hooker usually does this part of the job; we figured however you'd like the nicer acting guy to watch your kids." Cromwell said back.

"Ah, well thanks for that then I…guess." Kohta said back.

"Did you only speak with Sandman and Walker?"

"Mhm, the others were busy getting ready and Captain Domal said he had to get his own gear around, as well get plans ready or something along those lines." Kaede said. She was watching out the front window when a thought crossed her mind. "How common are diclonius in the United States or the UK? None of them really seemed that surprised to see one. I can guess that it's probably because they are hunting hunters of my kind, but I'm still curious."

Cromwell clicked his tongue, keeping his eyes on the road as he drove. "They are definitely beginning to show up in greater numbers. When you compare what percentage of diclonius make up of population, Japan and other Asian countries still have us beat. However, a few of these men, the Captains included, were there when the US and UK made first contact with the diclonius."

"How long ago did that happen?" she asked.

"About three years ago, was a messy operation. The goal had been to secure five diclonius some armed group had gotten ahold. Long story short, they got out, tried to kill anything that wasn't a diclonius, we lost a bunch of operatives and all five diclonius were killed."

"I see…I'm sorry to hear that." Kaede said.

Cromwell shrugged, "It's the past, not much can be done about it."

Keade looked at him before sighing and looking back out the front. "Yeah…"

As they had guessed, school was over for the day by the time Kohta and Kaede had made it to the building. Cromwell had been generous enough to give them a ride straight to there, though he stated it was mostly because he needed to shadow them anyways. The two adults watched as the kids left the building, many of them meeting up with their own parents and some beginning their walks home. It was not just humans either that were leaving the school or picking up their children, as diclonius parents were picking up their own diclonius children, or in some cases pure human couples were picking up their diclonius children. It always fascinated her as to how the diclonius virus could be transmitted by vectors. Nobody had really looked into the matter, though many would say it was impossible for a virus to be transmitted simply by touching an individual with the telekinetic limbs; regardless it was a method that worked for the virus and it'd probably be a long time before there would ever be a clear answer as to how it occurred.

Both of them looked towards their approaching girls, who were busy conversing with two of their friends. One of them was human, a young girl by the name of Haruko. She was a young orphan, oddly having been adopted by a diclonius couple. Both were wonderful parents though, sure the mother was rather stern at times but Haruko was still well cared for. The brown haired girl was currently conversing with Yuki, while Nyu on the other hand was conversing with a diclonius boy by the name of Akio. It was funny how he was the opposite of Haruko and had two human parents, one of which had been a carrier. It saddened Kohta and Kaede to know that the boy's mother had her legs severed by an attacking diclonius during the initial, turbulent days when diclonius had first been revealed in mass to the world.

While it certainly had been a large mess when diclonius were first revealed, she was glad to know things had settled down rather quickly. She believed that initial violence was simply out of ignorant fear, on both parties' side. Both humans and diclonius feared the other was out to get them, and so both sought to strike the first blow to try and protect themselves. Fortunately, after a few years things simmered down as both sides came to realize that neither was outright aiming to kill the other; or at least that was the case in Japan. Kaede wasn't too sure how other countries were reacting to the emergence of the psychics. From the way the British and Americans reacted to her presence, she'd have guessed that diclonius were common to them at this point. Then again, they all were part of their countries most elites forces, and their relaxed nature could have possibly been brought on by simple training or that they've already encountered and dealt with diclonius. She was certain the latter must have been a part of it, at least going on what the soldier from the bus had told her when she had encountered him.

She was brought from her thoughts though as she saw Nyu and Yuki walk towards her and Kohta. The two had said their goodbyes to their friends, and Nyu as usual had a little skip in her step as she walked towards her parents, her sister walking at a more calmed pace. Nyu pounced on Kaede, giving her mother a big hug and causing the adult to stumble back with a chuckle. "It's good to see you as well Nyu. How was school today?" Kaede asked.

Nyu pulled back and looked up at her, "It was fun! We kicked some butt in dodgeball, didn't we oneesan?!" Nyu exclaimed while looking at Yuki. Her twin had a sadistic grin on her face, Kohta shaking his head as he placed his hand over his face. Both parents chuckled however, Kaede ruffling up Nyu's hair.

"I hope you girls aren't cheating by using your vectors." Kohta said as he lowered his hand and looked down at Yuki who had given him a hug. Yuki pulled back and looked down, trying to seem innocent as she spoke.

"Not exactly…" she said.

"What counts as, 'not exactly'?"

"Well…I mean…uh…" Yuki couldn't really think of an excuse as she stammered over her words.

"Well," Kaede interrupted. "So long as you didn't hurt anybody in doing so, then we may be forced to punish you." She said with a "sweet" smile.

"N-no! nobody got hurt we promise!" Yuki quickly blurted out, earning a chuckle from her parents.

"Relax Yuki, we know you didn't." Kohta said, "Your mother is just being mean is all." Kaede just grinned, before they all began their walk back towards home, or rather Kanae's. Kohta and Kaede still had a job that they needed to attend, and it was unlikely that their employers would except the excuse that the family may be in danger of being attacked by pseudo-military forces. So they were forced to capitulate, less they lose their jobs. She was able to get off earlier than usual however, which wasn't a perfect solution, but it was better than nothing.

"How were your other classes, girls? Anything else that was exciting occur?" Kohta asked as he looked down at the two.

"Not really." Yuki simply responded as she walked next to him.

"Yeah…I hate math…" Nyu grumbled in response. "But can I play at Akio's this weekend?! Please, please?!" She burst out suddenly. Kaede wished she could call upon energy like that at a moment's notice.

She did however bite her lower lip some as she looked up at Kohta. While she'd rather not keep her daughter away from friends, the last thing Kaede wanted to do was risk the lives of anybody else by possibly placing them in the crossfire. Thankfully, Kohta was there to provide an answer. "We'll have to see when the time comes, Nyu. Unfortunately, things are a little…hectic."

Nyu pouted as she looked at him. "Is it because Mommy got attacked by that one guy?" Kaede sighed and rubbed her head. Least that meant they wouldn't have to bother with excuses or trying to find a way to explain things.

"It is, sadly." Kohta said as he looked ahead. "Nyu, we just don't want to risk anybody else getting hurt if there are people out there who…who really want to hurt your mother…"

Nyu looked down, nodding her head. "I understand." She said rather sadly. Kaede put an arm around the young girl and pulled her close, rubbing the side of her head.

"I'm sorry Nyu, we just don't want to see Akio hurt is all." Kaede said.

Nyu looked up at her mother, "I know okaasan," she smiled some as she continued to speak. "It's not your fault, just those other jerks!" she then switched over to her fierce pout, drawing a smile from Kaede.

"Yeah, it is. But we'll get them, you just wait." She turned back, looking out ahead. "Just you wait."

Kaede plopped down tiredly in a chair, sighing as she leaned back in it. She had no idea why, but the hospital today was busy as all hell. Lucky for her and Kohta, there were no major surgeries, only small and quick operations. However, with those tacked onto her worry about her children, she was getting stressed out pretty quickly. "Just want to get back to the girls already…" she groaned. She smiled and sat up some as she felt Kohta place his hands on her shoulders which he began to rub.

"I know you do Kaede-chan. You and me both." He said. He then looked up and around. "So, where do you think those two agents are? I haven't seen them at all today."

"Either they were lying when they said they were going to shadow us, or they are really good at doing so."

"Surprising for non-locals I'd say." Kohta said back.

"Guess it means they are legitimate spies then, huh?" She said while looking up at him.

He looked down at her, "Oh I wish we were joking, then maybe I could laugh at the idea."

"You and me both." She said while Kohta chuckled, continuing to rub and massage her shoulders. Kaede closed her eyes, smiling softly as she enjoyed her husband's touch. He always knew how to make her fee; good even at her worst. She was jerked from her rest though at the sound of shouting and a door being slammed open in the hallway. She sat up, looking at the door ot the lounge room she and Kohta were in before back up at Kohta who shrugged. Both of them went out into the hallway, to be greeted by Morioka walking alongside a stretcher that was being wheeled quickly by a couple of EMTs. Her eyes widened as she caught side of the injured and bloodied form on the stretcher. Akio lay there, staring blankly at the ceiling with a large wound in his stomach. The boy's torso was soaked with his own blood, and the bandages and stretcher were following suite. "Akio!" She shouted as she ran over, walking alongside the stretcher and looking down at him before back up at the EMTs, "What happened!?" She asked, Kohta stepping up alongside her.

"Gunshot wound, travelled through completely and not cleanly either." One of them responded. Kaede looked down at Akio, then back up at Morioka.

"Let's get him to surgery now!" She shouted, but Morioka looked at her sternly, before he let out a sigh and grabbed her to pull her closer.

"He's lost too much blood." He whispered to her. He had stopped following the stretcher, Kaede and Kohta topping alongside him. "We could sew up all the wounds, but by the time we do that and get a blood transfusion ready he'd have already bled out. The best we can do is just…make sure he's not in too much pain."

"But Morioka, shouldn't we at least try? I mean you've seen what Kaede can do!" Kohta said, but the elder doctor just shook his head while looking at the two.

"I do know, Kohta, however we just didn't get him in time. Hell we are surprised he even made it here alive. That bullet did nasty damage, and it didn't decide to go through cleanly either. I'm sorry you two."

Kaede looked down, watching the floor before looking at Morioka. "Ok…I'm..I'm still going to go keep him company though."

Morioka nodded, "I won't chastise you if you do try to help, but Kaede, he's just going to bleed out regardless." She simply nodded her head before heading off after Akio and the EMTs. When she arrived to the room they had gone into, she could see the boy being hooked up to what she guessed was some pain killers of some kind. She made eye contact with one of the nurses, who simply shook her head sadly before she continued to administer the drug. Kaede slowly walked up next to Akio, grabbing hold of his hand as she looked down at him.

"I won't let you go without trying dammit." She said before she looked towards the wound. She then looked back up at a nurse, "Get a blood transfusion ready." Kaede simply stated.

The nurse looked at her before at another nurse, then back to Kaede. "But Dr. Morioka told u-"

"I know what he said, now get it ready! I'm not just going to let him go like this!" Kaede said angrily, making the nurse jump before she nodded and quickly made her way out of the room. Kaede looked back at the wound, and then at Akio. "Here goes nothing." She said quietly before looking back to the wound and closing her eyes, letting her vectors drift towards the wound. She slowly began the mending process, searching through the badly damaged tissue and organs of the boy's torso. As she scoped around, she noticed that none of the bullets remain in his body, but it hardly meant anything considering the damage they had done. She scowled, as she could feel him still beginning to slip away. "Come on…" she muttered to herself as she kept trying, finding and mending whatever she could find.

Kohta watched his wife work, recognizing that intense look of concentration on her face as she did her work. The nurses had come back, trying to hook up a transfusion for Akio, but as they worked Kohta could still see Akio's heart-rate dropping.

Kaede noticed it as well, and she kept trying whatever she could do to help, but there was so much to sort through and try to repair. She could feel her focus slipping as she tried to rush and fix up the injuries. "Come on, dammit!" She said as she kept trying.

Kohta, looked at the nurses, then at Morioka who had walked into the room as well. The elderly man looked down, Kohta sighing sadly as he looked at Kaede. He could see her tensing up, and though he couldn't see her at work, he knew that she was fixing whatever she could. It meant little however, as Akio was too far gone by this point. He made a decision he wish he didn't have to; he softly placed a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Kaede…I'm sorry but it's just…too late." He said. Kaede jumped slightly, having been broken form her concentration. She turned and looked at her husband, anger clear in her eyes as she swatted his hand away.

"No! No it isn't! He is still alive and I can damn well try!" She nearly shouted. She went to go back to work, but it was Morioka who stopped her.

"Kaede, I'm sorry but he's gone. His organs are shutting down, dying, or both. We may be able to replace blood, but he's just lost to much at this point." Kaede stared at him, clenching her free hand into a fist as she slowly looked down at the young boy. "No…dammit." What angered her most was that she knew Morioka was right, and she couldn't do anything about it. Here was this young boy, dying in front of her and all because they just hadn't reached him in time. If it had been sooner, she knew that there would have been a chance. She sighed miserably, looking down, then back at Akio.

"I'm sorry Akio…I wish I could have gotten to you sooner…". She gripped the little boy's hand tightly, closing her eyes. She then opened them to see he had craned his head to look at her, his gaze seeming far off, like he was having a hard time focusing on her. The two just stared at one another, Kaede keeping hold of his hand. Suddenly though, she felt a familiar sensation. She then felt a flood come from the boy, but it was one only she could see. It was a wave of memories; something she remembered doing long before, and the cascaded into her own mind as the boy, somehow, gave them to her.

She was looking through his eyes, hearing, feeling, and living these memories as if she was him. She was sitting in the boys room, sitting at a small desk working on some simple math problems. It was quiet otherwise as he quietly worked, humming some random tune. Then she heard shouting downstairs, she wasn't sure who it was, and the she looked up at the door, obviously curious as to what the commotion was. Couldn't have been mom and dad fighting, that almost never happened. He stood up, going towards the door before it was suddenly opened by his frantic and scared looking mother. She quickly, yet quietly, shut the door behind her, ignoring the questions as she quickly went over to him. Moving him, she grabbed the chair and desk, moving them as best she could.

"Akio, help me!" She said, terror evident in her voice. He stood there, confused before he complied, helping his mother to move the desk to block the door that pushed open into the room. Finally set, the mother turned and knelt down, struggling to do so considering her prosthetic legs, placing her hands on his shoulder. "Akio, I want you to go into the closet and hide. No matter what happens, stay there and do not come out until you know the police arrive. Ok?" She said to him.

"Mom, what is going on? Is dad ok?" He asked her, but he was shushed by her.

"Akio, please." She was struggling to not cry at this point. "Just go into the closet and do not come out, please. Mommy loves you, and she needs you to do this ok?" The door was now trying to be pushed open, and they could hear people talking to one another outside.

"Son of a whore, Jeremiah get this damned door open!" One shouted.

Akio's mother looked at the door before back at him, quickly ushering him towards the closet. "Remember Akio, do not leave this closet until the house is empty or the police arrive. I love you." She said to him while helping him inside. Helping him get in, she then shut the door to the closet just as the bedroom door began to be shoved open.

Akio moved, trying to get a good view of the room, and he was finally able to the door be pushed open, the desk doing absolutely nothing to stop it as a large man walked inside. He was very, very tall, almost a good seven feet in height and powerfully built. Kaede was shocked, because she immediately recognized the man. Jeremiah simply stepped into the room, looked around before at the mother. "There she is!" He said while walking into the room. He was followed by two more individuals, one of which wore military gear. His entire face was hidden by a mask that had grating along the mouth and nose, and not even his eyes could be seen as they were hidden by a reflective lens. He had a vest on with pouches for ammunition, and in his hand was a simple assault rifle. The magazine in the rifle consisted of two drums attached to one another that fed into the magazine well itself. Everything he wore was completely black, and no skin was showing due to all the gear.

She was astonished to see Jeremiah standing there, perfectly fine as far as she could tell. He had both arms, and as far as she could tell she could safely assume he no longer had the gaping hole in his chest. Only his head could be seen, his hair still cut very short.

The last of the men wore gear to match the other soldier, except he wore only a black beanie over his head. Black locks of hair could be seen emerging from underneath the hat, but what stood out most was his heavily tattooed face. They were a variety of swirling patterns that covered the entire right side of his face, some of the swirls reaching the man's nose. Otherwise, the tattoos ended before they reached the left side of his face, and they travelled down his neck and vanished beneath the collar of his shirt. He looked around the room as he stepped in, though rather than an assault rifle, he had a large revolver in hand. Two other revolvers were attached to his vest, one holstered on the front of his vest, the other hanging on his waist. She did not recognize the models nor caliber of bullets it used, but judging by the size of the guns they had bullets to match.

He looked at Akio's mother, and then looked back out the door. "Get him inside here as well please." He calmly said, then stood back as two more soldiers stepped in. They were dragging Akio's father by his arms, the man's leg bleeding from some type of injury. They both set the man down next to his wife before they stood back, then turned to look at the man. The tattooed man simply nodded his head to them before indicating the door. "The boy is here somewhere, so keep checking and don't stop until we need to leave. Jeremiah, Brownie, stay here please." The other two soldier simply turned and left, the one who had entered with Jeremiah groaned.

"How the fuck did I earn that nickname, seriously?" He said.

The tattooed man simply shook his head, "By being a whiny little pansy like that." He knelt down in front of the couple. Akio's mother was cradling her husband and looking up at the man.

"Aw fuck you, Q." He said while looking around.

The tattooed man, Q as the soldier referred to him, didn't respond and simply kept his eyes on the people in front of him. He still had his revolver in his hand, but he didn't brandish it in a threatening manner or anything. "Ok, you two." He started. "If we can, we can keep this wonderfully civilized and probably have nobody get killed. It'd be preferable really, as you folks seem like a really nice couple."

"Please…just let us go…" Akio's mother said while watching him. In the background, the sound of the soldiers rummaging through the house could be heard. Jeremiah was eyeing the closet though, not bothering to look at the conversation going on between Q and the couple.

"And I will, if you just let us take the diclonius with us. All I want and then we'll saunter on out of here. Hell we'll even call the paramedics for you!" Q said while smiling.

"Um, Q. Would that really be a good idea?" Brownie asked.

"Considering the fact we'll be long gone by the time they arrive, I'd say it's the charitable thing to do considering we are putting these two under some serious stress." Q responded as he looked at the soldier behind him. He then turned back to the couple. "Now then, where is he?"

"We don't know what you are talking about

!" The father shouted, Q recoiling slightly as some spit hit his eye.

"Ew…you really don't need to shout sir I'm right here." Q said as he wiped his eye before looking at him. "And don't fucking bother lying, because it's a really shit-assed attempt. You'd have to have been living underground for the past two decades to have no idea what I'm talking about. So again, where is the diclonius?"

"We told you, we don't know what you are talking about." Akio's mother responded, still holding her injured husband close.

Q's voice was tinged with serious irritation now. "Stop lying, you're only making this a lot more difficult."

"Please, sir-" She tried to say before Q interrupted.

"Stop fucking lying!" He shouted before he reached up to his head and pulled the beanie off forcefully. Akio, and even Kaede, were surprised by what they saw. Q pointed to the blackened horns atop his head. "Horns like these! Pretty fucking hard to miss! His will be ivory in color, nowhere near as discolored as mine are." Suddenly, both of them were yanked up to Q's face, even though he didn't make a motion otherwise. Kaede could only guess he was using his vectors. "Where. Is. He?" Q staring them both down at this point.

Neither said anything, rather Akio's mother was crying as she tried to look away. "Please…" Q rolled his eyes before he suddenly gave Akio's father a hard headbutt, knocking him to the ground and yanking Akio's mother up closer to him. She cried out, and that was when Akio screamed.

"Leave her alone!" He screamed as he burst out of the closet. He went to lash out at Q with his vectors, Q having glanced over. The boy however, didn't get very far as Brownie snapped his rifle up and fired a burst of rounds into the boy. Akio, and Kaede's stomach was afire with pain as he collapsed to the ground.

Q stood up, looking at the boy. "Ah god dammit!"

Brownie turned to look at Q, "Hey! He was going to kill us, I think I was warranted in that reaction!" he exclaimed.

Q sighed heavily and put a hand over his face. He then lowered it, nodding his head. "Yeah, yeah, guess you were justified…sorta."

"Sorta?"

"Well we are the ones who broke into his house with the intent of kidnapping him."

"Oh yeah…"

"Yeah." Q rubbed his head, rubbing a hand between his horns as he did so. "Well fuck, this was a wasted journey then wasn't it?"

Akio was lying on the ground, crying and screaming in pain as he held his stomach. Both parents had shifted over to him, trying to comfort him and help. The other soldiers had returned to the room, weapons at the ready, but they were quickly dismissed by Jeremiah. Q and Brownie stood there, looking towards the family before Brownie looked at Q. "Well, what now?" He asked the black horned diclonius.

Q clicked his tongue before looking at the soldier next to him. "Call the paramedics, then we get the fuck out of here."

Brownie cocked his head to the side, "Uh…is it really wise to leave them considering they've seen yours and Jerry's fa-ow~!" Brownie rubbed his head where Jeremiah had smacked him.

"Call me Jerry again and I'll imbed you in the ceiling." The man said before turning back around, giving orders to the other soldiers.

Q pinched the bridge of his nose before looking at Brownie once more. "Won't really matter in the end; not like the authorities are going to be finding us anyways."

Brownie shrugged, "If you say so. Just give us the go ahead to call and leave and we shall do so." The soldier turned before walking out of the room. Q was spinning his revolver on his finger, looking at the family before him. The boy was more than likely going to die, Brownie put at least three rounds in his stomach, and considering the boy wasn't very big it meant that a lot of tissue and organs would have been shredded by the high caliber bullets.

"Sorry folks, but I did try to keep this civil." He simply said before turning and following Brownie out of the room.

Kaede gasped loudly, crying out in pain as well as she stumbled back holding her stomach. She had let go of Akio's hand, the nurses and doctors in the room glancing up at the shocked woman.

"Kaede? What is it?" Morioka asked, Kohta walking up next to her and putting an arm on her back.

"Kaede-chan?" Kohta asked as he looked at her. She looked between everyone, then to Kohta before at Morioka.

"Y-Yeah, I'm ok…" She said before looking at Akio. He was staring at her now, his hand having fallen limply to his side. He was fading quickly, and she could hear the heart rate monitor growing weaker with every passing moment. She looked up at Morioka. "Where…where are Akio's parents?"

Morioka looked down before at the nurses. "I trust you to handle things form here." He said solemnly before he walked towards the door, beckoning Kohta and Kaede to follow him. Once out in the hallway, he continued to walk as they came up next to him. "His father is being treated for a broken leg, blunt force trauma it seems. You'd swear somebody hit it with a sledgehammer or something." Morioka stated as they kept walking.

"It was Jeremiah, the man who attacked me on the bus." Kaede simply stated as she looked down. Kohta and Morioka stopped, looking at her as she stopped as well.

"Jeremiah? Wait, you said you had killed him." Kohta said.

"How do you know, is a better question." Morioka responded.

Kaede looked up at Morioka, thinking for a moment before swallowing. She knew it wasn't wise to probably be explaining what all a diclonius could do. Mostly because she was afraid it'd spread and cause any more tension than was already around. However, she trusted this man, as even when tensions were still high he had accepted her into the hospital. She knew he would not be as easily frightened. "We…diclonius can share our memories." She looked up at him. "The vectors you hear about, those "invisible hands" as many refer to them, well they are first off…what I use in the surgeries. They give me a precision no normal hand could ever achieve."

Morioka stood there, watching her while raising an eyebrow. "Huh…explains why you happen to be such a wonder girl surgeon then. Now, what do these have to even do with knowing who injured the boy and his family?"

"The vectors are only one form of manifestation of the telepathic abilities. Because it is telepathy, we diclonius can also communicate between one another. Akio…" She paused, looking down and holding her stomach where she, or rather Akio, had been shot. She took a deep breath before looking back up at the elderly surgeon. "Akio showed me what happened."

"Then let's get some details, por favor." Spoke another voice from behind Kaede and Kohta. Everyone jerked their attention around, shocked to see Cromwell standing there. "Don't look so shocked, we told you that you were going to be shadowed. Now if you have any info on these nuts say it while it's fresh."

Kaede starred at him, scowling some before she looked between all of them and began explaining. She told them what she saw, all three of the men scowling as they listened. She finally finished, shuddering and wrapping her arms around her stomach. She could still recall the searing pain she had felt when the bullets had struck Akio.

"So wait, another diclonius is behind this? Why?" Kohta asked.

Cromwell started tapping his teeth, as he looked around. "Pretty damn good question. Not to mention that super-freak is also alive. Fuck this is getting bad."

Morioka looked up at Cromwell, scowling some. "And just who are you, anyways?"

"Someone who's trying to keep their asses from ending up in the same boat." He responded. "That's all you need to know."

Morioka was going to say something, but Kohta held up a hand. "Let it go, sir. He's an asshole like that and nothing can be done to avoid it I'm afraid."

"Least you are learning." Cromwell muttered, he then spoke loud enough for them to hear him. "So now we still have a super man walking around, and a diclonius assisting them. I'm going to report this in, so please stay here while I go do so." He then turned, pulling out a radio from his coat, chatting into it as he stepped away some from the group.

Kaede lowered her arms, looking at Kohta, then back at Morioka. "Sir. I must request that I be let out early. I want to get to my girls now. I'm sorry, but after seeing that," She paused for a moment. "knowing these men are nearby, I want to make sure my daughters are safe."

Morioka nodded, looking between her and Kohta. "I understand. Be safe you two." He said before quickly turning and making his way back towards Akio's room. Cromwell watched him go, finishing up his conversation before moving back over to Kaede and Kohta.

"The others have been informed of what's happened, more importantly they've been put on alert. Sandman has also requested to join Hooker in shadowing your children, so those two are on alert as well." He then turned and began walking down the hallway. "I have my car outback, ride with me and we'll get there soon." Kaede and Kohta looked at one another before following after Cromwell. "Police are already investigating the household, and will probably interview the parents, so here's hoping we get some info that way also."

"Please tell me your teams aren't going to be knocking on Kanae's door." Kohta said, looking around as they stepped outside.

Cromwell shook his head as he kept walking towards his car which he had parked near the back of one of the lots. His posture was a mix of calm, yet alert. The agent kept a watch on his surroundings, on guard in the event things were going to get violent. Of course, his role would be much more defensive if an attack occurred, as he only had a Berretta 9mm in his shoulder holster and a few extra magazines of ammunition. And if these hunters were as well equipped (and diverse) as they were guessing, then a pistol was not going to be of a lot of use in fighting them off. In all honesty, Cromwell knew that Kaede and her vectors were going to be the most powerful part of their group if a fight did break out. Really Cromwell was there to call in reinforcements to provide the much needed fire support. Once the call went out, it'd only be a few minutes before either a couple of trucks would arrive carrying the Delta and SAS operatives, or even better would be a few Little Birds for transport, as well as to provide some real heavy firepower. Sure the small helicopters weren't really meant to function as gunships, as they were designed to be very fast and maneuverable; but when equipped right they certainly were not something to underestimate and that speed worked greatly in their favor. Cromwell had seen a few times what those birds were capable of when they combined their agility with miniguns and missiles, all under the control of the highly skilled special operations pilots. However, he doubted the Little Birds would be deployed in such a fashion unless it was absolutely necessary, as the Japanese government would probably not welcome the idea of one of their provinces turning into a warzone.

They eventually arrived at his car, Cromwell opening the back door for them while still keeping alert for anything, waiting until the two climbed in before he shut the door and got into the driver's seat. Starting up the car, he quickly pulled out and began making his way in the direction of Kanae's house.