A young girl, no older than 7, with snow-white hair and a pure white dress, stood outside a church, seemingly waiting for someone.
*CLACK*
The doors opened as a bald man with bck eyes approached the girl. Adorned around his thin neck was a golden chain, with a golden dagger hanging from it.
"Hello there Ai." The man smiled as he patted the young girl's snowy head. "What brings you to Judas' Church?"
The young girl smiled as she wrote in her colouring book with rough handwriting. #Grandpapa!# Before lunging into the man's waist and hugging him.
"Hahaha. Hello Aiko." The man ughed as he crouched down to return the hug. "What brings you to Grandad?"
#Mommy and daddy dropd me of# Aiko wrote as he sat down on a step outside the doors to the church.
"I see. Do you want to learn about Fide's Creeds this time?" Aiko's grandad asked. Seeing Aiko nod enthusiastically, he let out a small chuckle before moving on. "Compared to the hundreds of rules in many other religions, there are only 6 in the Religion of Fides. Creed number 1, Do not kill yourself. Number 2, Do not betray others. Number 3, Do not regret killing those on your kill list. Do you have a question, Aiko?"
#Kil lit?#
"Kill list. K-i-l-l, l-i-s-t. Its a list you create in your mind. They are people who you want to kill for a reason. For example, someone could be on our kill list because they beat us regurly." Aiko's grandad said, subtly nudging Aiko to put her mother, father and her siblings on her kill list. 'I can't believe I raised such a monster. What went wrong with you, Kiyoshi?'
#Like mommy and daddy?#
"Yes. Like them."
#But mommy and daddy said that it's normal for mommies and daddies to beat children that can't talk#
"That's not true, Aiko, it isn't normal for mommies and daddies to beat their children because they're mute." Aiko's grandad said as he patted Aiko's head again to reassure her. "Do you have any other questions?"
#You no a lot about fideese creeds#
"Of course I do. I'm a bishop of Fides, you know?" Aiko's grandfather said, choosing to ignore her spelling mistakes. "Can I continue?"
#Yes#
"Creed number 4, Do not pressure others into believing the Goddess of Truth, Fides. Creed number 5, Only believe in the Goddess of Truth, Fides, of your own volition, and finally Creed number 6. Restrain your murderous feelings until they are truly needed. Fides' Creeds are ordered from the most important creed to the least important creed. There's also the recommendation that you don't swear in the Goddess' name, but that's just a recommendation."
#Merderus naicher?#
"Yes." The bishop said after taking a moment to understand what Aiko wrote. "Imagine the feeling of wanting to kill someone."
#Kill?#
"Do you know how people die?" The bishop asked, to which Aiko nodded.
"Imagine making them die. On purpose." The bishop continued, "These sorts of feelings are called murderous feelings. I can't help you restrain those feelings."
#Y not grandpapa?#
"Because it's different for everyone. Same for when those feelings are needed." The bishop replied.
#How do you do it grandpapa?#
"Me? I imagine chains around my heart. When I want to feel murderous, I let those chains loose."
#I want to believe in fideese too!#
"Ahaha. Welcome, little Ai, to the Religion of Loyalty, one of the biggest religions in Europe." Aiko's grandpa ughed as he welcomed Aiko into her new religion.
The memory faded as Aiko blinked against the harsh light of the hospital room, her heart still heavy with the memory of her grandfather before his passing. A sense of pride forced its way through her cold heart for following the religion her te grandfather introduced her to despite it being 5 years since he left this world.
Blinking some more, Aiko stared at the pale white ceiling, feeling a few droplets fall down her right cheek. For some reason, a reason which she could already guess, her field of vision had reduced.
"You're up? That's good. You're in Westfield Hospital. I've just gotta run some checkups on you." A nurse said. "I know you're mute, so you can just nod or shake your head in response to my questions."
Aiko propped herself up against her pillow before nodding to show her understanding, signalling the nurse to proceed with his questions.
"Do you remember who you are?"
Nod
"Do you have any memory problems?"
Shake
"Do you feel any discomfort where your left eye should be?"
Nod
"Do you have a slight headache?"
Nod
"That's all the questions. Can you follow this fshlight for me?"
Nod
The nurse moved the fshlight around, watching Aiko's eye follow the light.
"Good. Thanks to regenerative technology, the bullet in your brain was removed successfully and the damage it caused was reversed, however, we weren't sure if your cognitive skills or memory would be affected, so we had to conduct these tests." The nurse expined the reason he had to conduct the checkup. "Your left eye, however, could not be saved. Our sincerest apologies, but your eye could not be regenerated. It was too damaged for regeneration to be effective."
Aiko tightened her grip on the sheets in response to the news, almost puncturing them before letting her grip loosen. She already knew that she'd lose a limb or something when she started the firefight but hadn't expected it to be her eye. While it wasn't her dominant eye, the loss of half her vision was something that caused her to despair, yet served as a reminder that, as a human, no pn created by her would survive contact with the enemy. The realisation of this served as a wake-up call. The contingency pns she prepared for her family could always fail her, and this fact frightened her, a feeling that she hadn't felt in years.
Acting as if she was unfazed by her eye, Aiko cooly lifted her trembling hand and made a writing gesture, with her left hand acting as a notepad.
"One second." The nurse walked over to a cabinet in the corner of her room. Sifting through various items that Aiko couldn't recognise, the nurse dug out a pen and some sheets of paper for Aiko.
#How long have I been out for?#
"It has been one day since the hostage situation at Kick Out." The nurse said.
#Have the criminals been apprehended?#
"Not exactly, the criminals, seeing that they were losing, decided to retreat deep into Kick Out before detonating a bomb, killing all of them and destroying the building. The hostess has also been pardoned for endangering the hostages. Sadly, one of the hostages was killed during the crossfire."
'I see.' Aiko thought as she offered a thanksgiving prayer to Fides for letting the majority of them live.
#I see. Will there be any side effects due to my missing eye?# Aiko's poker face colpsed for a second at the mention of her missing eye.
"There will be, sadly. These could include..." The nurse began listing the various side effects that losing an eye could cause. "You are forbidden from driving. Not only will it be a hazard to yourself, but also to others. You need to retake the driving test if you want to drive again. You should be given your clothes back when you check out."
Outside Westfield Hospital...
A 17-year-old girl walked down the steps of Westfield Hospital wearing a blood-soaked blouse, pants and a Lunette brand smartwatch with her left eyelid shut, seemingly pondering something.
'Why would I remember that day again?' Aiko questioned herself before deciding to drop the subject. 'One day in real life means 6 in Kill Zone. God damn am I far behind the other pyers.'
Walking over to her motorcycle, which the police helpfully towed to the hospital for her as an apology for causing her to lose an eye, she saw Sydney standing near it, pacing back and forth with worry with her bck duffle bag in hand.
Seeing Aiko look fine, she lightly dropped the duffle bag and dived into Aiko's chest, ignoring her blood-soaked clothes, with her eyes flooded with tears. "A-Are you o-okay?"
Fishing out her notepad and pen from the bag, Aiko swiftly replied to her best friend, locking her real feelings away in her heart, before accepting her friend's embrace and patting her on the head a few times. #I'm fine. The nurse said that there weren't any problems apart from a few side effects that may occur due to my missing eye.#
Sydney's embrace tightened, and Aiko could feel the warmth of her friend's tears soaking through her blouse. Moments like these reminded her that she was a human, not just something drifting along the ke of time. But as much as she wanted to let her guard down, she didn't let it down fully. Not because she wouldn't, but rather because she couldn't. Years of abuse had made her body unable to let her guard down around fellow humans too much, something that, whilst she wanted to fix, she couldn't.
"That's good." Sydney sighed with relief, tears still escaping her eyes.
#How's James?#
"He's not doing so well. He's bming himself for letting the shooters in and, inadvertently, causing you to lose your left eye, along with the death of one of the customers." Sydney briefed Aiko about James as she calmed down slightly. "As for any injuries, no one, aside from the customer that died, had any major ones. There were a few scrapes and stuff because the shooters were rough with us."
The talk of the loss of her eye and the death of one of the hostages served as a reminder that her pn had failed her. While it was a hastily made pn, it was still a pn that she crafted, which made the news of a fatality hit much harder on Aiko. Despite trying her best to lock the emotions away, despair and fear reemerged in her, but she hid her them away again for the sake of her friend.
'I can't let Sydney see me like this. She's already worried about me. I can't worry her even more with my useless emotions.' Aiko thought.
#You seem fine despite that. Anyway, have you got anywhere to go then?#
"Hmm, I wasn't particurly close with the guy anyway. The guy kept on trying to ask me out. Besides, you're the only one that matters to me. Oh shit! My apartment!" Sydney said as her problem dawned on her. Now that she knew Aiko was fine, her mind cleared up and realised she was practically homeless now. She quickly reviewed a list of people who might have allowed her to stay over.
'Sydney lived on the top floor of Kick Out. Since those fuckers blew the pce sky high, I doubt she has a pce to stay.' Aiko analysed Sydney's housing situation. Focusing back on what was in front of her, she found Sydney tearing her hair out in frustration whilst on the phone with someone.
#What's wrong?# Aiko asked after the phone call.
"This bastard refuses to let me live with him, despite how many favours he owes me." Sydney vocalised her frustration.
#Just come live with me then.# Aiko said before swiftly writing, #If you don't mind my parents that is.#
"The problem with living with you is not me, but rather the delicate situation at your house. Wouldn't having me stay with you worsen the situation?" Sydney questioned out of concern.
#Not really. They can't exactly touch me given the fact that I'm on numerous watchlists, which has probably increased in number. If something happened to me, various services would know and arrest my family. Besides, I can just buy you a house if you want.#
Due to the constant abuse her family inflicted on her, Westfield's council decided that Aiko's mental health was, unsurprisingly, terrible and that she may make rash decisions. This put her on watchlists such as the suicide prevention watchlist, the HVT (High-Value Target) watchlist and the mentally unstable watchlist to name a few.
"I'll come live with you then." Sydney said before quickly adding, "If you don't mind that is."
#It'll be fine. Put this on.# Aiko said as she threw her helmet and keys to Sydney.
"What about you?"
#Do you think I can drive with my reduced field of vision?#
"Fair point," Sydney said as she got on Aiko's motorcycle and with Aiko hugging her waist for extra security. "So why'd you come to Kick Out to py IVR?"
#It's better to be safe than sorry. Besides, do I need a reason to visit my best friend.#
"I certainly hope not! Still doesn't justify why you didn't come see me in the past few months."
#Anyway, you don't mind driving me to No Misfire right?#
"I don't mind," Sydney said as they sped off.
"Yer wish to sell this Glock 17 and a Glock 17 magazine with 6 rounds?" The store owner said.
#Yes.#
"Okay. This Glock 17 is in pristine condition, so I'll give yer 500 NCD for it. As for the mag, 5 NCD." The store owner bargained.
#Sure. I'd also like to buy a pistol#
"Out with the old and in with the new eh? Which model?" The store owner asked.
#Pit Viper and a full magazine for it.#
"That'll be 710 NCD." The store owner said. "So yer still need to pay me 210 NCD."
Digging into her pockets, she pulled out a purse to pay before Sydney put 210 NCD onto the counter.
"I'll pay for her," Sydney said.
"So long as one of yer pays I guess." The store owner said, accepting the cash before Aiko could refute.
Outside No Misfire...
#You didn't have to pay for me.#
"I know, but I wanted to." Sydney insisted before proceeding to bow, "It's a gift for saving us from the hostage takers."
#Fine, fine, I won't pay you back. You know where I live right?#
"Yep," Sydney said as she got back on the motorcycle.
#Great. Let's get going then.#
"You're sure that your parents won't just snap and beat you because you're letting me stay over, right?" Sydney questioned as they stopped on the pavement near the Hartford Estate.
#It'll be fine. Besides, I'm banking on them snapping, cuz then I'll have an excuse to get the police involved.#
"If you say so."
#I bought a new pistol and magazine just in case as well.#
"Guess you're fully prepared then." Sydney let out a small chuckle.
#You gonna pull up to the house or are you just gonna leave my bike here?#
"Don't worry, I won't leave your bike here."
Outside the Hartford Estate...
#Ready?#
"As ready as I'll ever be, meeting the world-famous Hartford family, who are all abusive."
#Wow. So I'm not part of the Hartford family?# Aiko wrote with a pout
"You know that's not what I meant!" Sydney tried to justify her wording.
#I'm just messing with you. I'd rather not be associated with those assholes.# Aiko wrote before reaching to open the door.
*CREAK*
