The Flame squadron arrived hours after the returning front-line warriors. An arrival with no particular fanfare. Just the landing dock workers preparing to catch the handful of attack pods.
Buildings that receive and launch attack pods have specially made landing pads. Shaped like a hexagonal indent the size of a car. Its most important feature is that it disburses kinetic energy at such a high rate to reduce impacts. The sight is said to be jarring the first few times it's witnessed.
Five pods crashed into unoccupied landing pads.
Thump Thump Thump Thump Thump
Creak fwoosh clink
Each attack pod opens to reveal a brown cloaked Saiyan. The gaudy shoulder pads out the sides of their coverings. Hoods obscuring their faces.
First it was Kappa, leading the elite members of his Flame Squadron. Pulling down his hood, the man's weathered and coarse skin beneath. Exuding stone faced stoicism he faced a certain direction. Scouter untouched by his decisive motion.
Kappa lifted into the air. Air rippled around his body as heat exited. Pushed down in some variation of flight that could compare to how the rest of their race accomplished it
The Flame Squadron would adamantly claim this to be their unique ability. To the support of their claim no willing warrior could replicate what they do.
The cloaked figures tailed their leader. The displacement of air is noticeable in some of the elites more than others. Unnoticeable in Kappa's case.
The air disbursing momentum they gain from manipulating the heat is a lesser form of manipulation that Jetto specialized in. Which could be seen in the clear sun lit sky as one figure shot forward.
She already guessed where they had to be going. Priority number one in her boss's eyes. Jetto couldn't fault the man, he misses his family.
("I remember when they laughed..") She recalls old memories in relation to what she guessed was Kappa's mental state.
Regardless of her thoughts no one stopped her impulsive behavior this time.
Jetto's hood flew off revealing that mischievous glint in her eyes, the wind now blowing through her short black hair. The rippling air set ablaze by her feet, no longer wearing anything, having burnt them to a crisp. A flaming streak tore through the air until coming to a complete stop above the sole prison on the planet.
***
Many eyes caught that flaming streak across the sky. It was not an everyday occurrence, but no danger followed. No blaring alarms or reinforcement. The perimeter guard just going about his business like this was an expected event.
Kürbis, the leading guard, had gotten a heads up that going forward members of Kappa's squad could remove Zukki from the premises. This was a sole exception and she had to be returned within the week.
Rejects gazed up, those who were outside in the morning hours. The sun was shining light from its position in the sky; not a spec darkness aside from the shadows cast.
Zukki's attention, like Negi's and the two on lookers, was stolen. It was only a moment before the little girl recognized the man floating down. His strong and warm stoic form invites a viscerally cheerful expression from the girl.
Zukki shot into the air like a rocket. Using such force that gravel was kicked away.
"Hey!" Negi prepares to protest, only to wave off this development. Yes she fully expected this day, in fact she was beginning to dread it. The shift in her responsibilities from ruthless and sadistic warrior to combat instructor was still severely jarring.
Zukki didn't even look back.
Kappa's squad hadn't fully broken the distance and it looked as though the little girl's hasty reunion may fall flat. Jetto wouldn't just let that happen and rushed in to catch her.
The impulsive woman used effort in her reaction. Flames bursting at her feet for just a moment to close the distance in an instant.
Zukki saw it as a flash of reddish orange light before the woman appeared behind her in the air. The girl was no longer falling, rather she was being held up by someone who is essentially perpetually gliding.
"Wooow..Antie Jetto, you're so fast! Did you really use flames to do that? Teach me!" The child's rapid fire excitement lasted briefly as she saw her father.
The flame induced flash of speed was deeply special for the girl to see, but this was the first time she had been so far away from her mother and father. The home sickness had taken a toll. Scrambling out of the chuckling Jetto's grasp she leapt to her father.
"Daddy!" She calls out with both hands reaching out to him. Zukki was within reach of her father.
"Guess I'm chopped liver..." Mutters Jetto before her pout turns into a toothy grin. The sight of a father and daughter reunion is too wholesome to hate. The women envied them, but it also gave her hope.
The man known for being the picture of a stone statue already had cracks lining his face.
He caught her. His next reaction was to fly up with her past the clouds. Unable to contain joy he locked deep within himself.
Beyond the clouds he looked in her eyes. She had his. Holding his precious child by her armpits while she looked ready to tackle his face if he let up.
Kappa's cracks finally broke and the line across his face curved. The facade long held shatters as he smiles brightly.
"Hey, little ember, did you miss me?" He says in tone unbefitting the man who burnt down countless enemies. The softness in it betrays his hardened exterior. "How's your training been?"
***
Below the clouds, while Zukki explains how the past month or so has been, Karada reprimands Jetto with the backing of Ringu and Hikari.
"You dumba*s, hasn't kappa said like a million times to not display your flames so brazenly on our home world." Karada complains.
"It was just two quick moments. Time is more important right? Plus the boss wanted to see his daughter right away. I just sped up the process" Jetto tries to brush it off.
"Karada has a point....Sooooome of us like to keep our tricks close to our chests" says Ringu in his pseudo intellectual drawl-like speech pattern.
"Snooore!" Says a cheery voice, Hikari the pale skinned enigma of the group had pounced on Ringu's shoulders. "Let's just go ahead and meet the boss back at the base"
Hikari's suggestion isn't denied by Ringu, even as he wrestles out of the woman's grip. It was The leader's two most loyal that felt like lingering around to wait. It wouldn't be long before Kappa would return back down from his reunion.
Down below a duo of rejects, one with skin that refused to absorb sunlight and curious dark eyes, while the other was timid, but clearly held the resolve to stick around as he shook with his fists clenched. The latter's look was closer to the average than most, especially the naturally adaptive pigments.
"Where did they go?" Spoke the timid toddler. The one who looked like he didn't want to be there, with a crown of spikes for hair, sharp bangs that swept to one side.
The other boy has parted his lips only to close them. Running a hand through his scruffy and messy black hair in an awkward deflection of his question having been stolen from him.
Negi cocked an eyebrow. Ready to just brush them off and look for a challenge. Then she remembered the new aspect of her job title and let out a sigh.
"Those are the crazy pack that work directly under Zukki's father." Her words imply that the man who took her above the clouds was her father.
All three pairs of eyes in the backyard gazed up at the group. They watched as Kappa and Zukki returned only to fly off somewhere.
"So she's not coming back?" Spoke the boy with the Scruffy hair, his chest piece marked roughly: 455. The other boy felt his words get stolen right from under him this time. Real curiosity beating out relevance and reaction speed.
"She doesn't belong here with the scraps, but no she'll be back. For now...." the woman then stifled a cackle as her words became a tad ominous.
The "for now" didn't sit right with 456 as his lips pressed together. This scary outsider had all the answers.
The moment lingered silently for a second too long.
Negi turned on her heel before staring down the confused duo. Her glare was personal yet externalized. Then suddenly as the two show cracks in their demeanor she catches a glint of something moving in the distance. Squinting her eyes she presses the scouter.
Beep
She scoffs right after as the number settles on what she must have considered the level of a bug. Her attention returned to the two boys.
"Fun fact. Your eye sight will get better as you get older. Doesn't really stop either" she says as if waiting for a response. Her expression though sharp was oddly inviting.
A trap.
"Fun..fact?" 455's eyes actually lit up. A reaction that didn't warrant a harsh response.
Then both of the boys' eyes checked in the direction where Negi had a moment ago. It was just the building that made up the base. The corner was so far out of sight that even squinting wouldn't catch a head poking out. So with great enthusiasm the timid boy spoke his mind.
"Wow you just be Reeeally old. I can't even see that far" and he doesn't even realize how the woman's chuckle ends at her lips.
455 realizes the predator in those eyes, but 456 felt as though he found the perfect piece to the puzzle. Any more confidence in his statement and he might actually start grinning with his teeth.
It was a good thing he kept his teeth hidden because his face was caved in by a fist. Sent back across the ground firmly knocked out.
"Haha, really old huh. Hey kiddo, what about any funny comments from you?"
The boy's curious face twisted into a Grimace. Hand running coarsely through his hair as he contemplated his next move.
"How–" he starts, lips parting and closing with preeminent regret. "How old would it take to see that far?"
Negi watches as the boy nudges in the direction of a mound of rocks roughly the same distance as the end of the building. She nods her head as is if understanding–no deliberating the answer.
Before 455 knew he felt something hard hit the side of his head. He could barely see the woman twitch as the lights were knocked out of him. He hit the ground right after that.
"Dumb question...i said when you get older.." she sighs before glancing over at the distance once more.
Negi leaves the base, her station isn't sinking in just yet.
In the distance a man had in fact been watching. On his chestplate to the right was scratching "1". He glanced over at seemingly the wrong time and was now sweating bullets as he leaned against the wall.
Eventually he found that the woman had disappeared and exhaled a deep breath before making his move.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
(A/N) Heya I'm back! I see the comments and the collections of course. Thanks checking this out. The chapters are going to range from 1k to 2k words from now on.