Looking at her younger brother, whom she had not seen for a long time, Kimiko's face was full of concern.
She signed: [Did it hurt? I mean when they injected the blue poison.]
Under the shadows cast by the light, Kenji's face beneath the baseball cap was mottled. He said softly, "At the time, I wanted to die."
A drop of liquid slid down Kimiko's face from the corner of her eye, rolling into a pearl before falling to the ground.
She signed: [Me too.]
Kenji said, "They had one dose of that drug left, and they knew it worked on you."
"So they thought it should work on me too."
"After all, we're brother and sister."
Only then did Kimiko realize that her brother had gone through that pain because of her.
She stood up and pressed her hand against Kenji's chest, tears streaming down her face as she signed: [I'm sorry.]
Kenji shook his head,"That wasn't your fault."
He stood up and signed again, emphasizing it.
"That wasn't your fault, Sister."
The two hugged each other.
A moment later, Kenji let go and looked at Kimiko.
"Are you doing okay now?"
Kimiko nodded and signed: [I'm doing well. I have a job. I work for someone very special. In return, he protects me. He also helps me deal with some trouble.]
"That's good," Kenji nodded.
Kimiko signed again: [Now that I've found you, I don't have any regrets left. Kenji, let's go home. Let's go back to the village.]
Kenji shook his head, "You don't know, do you? The village is gone."
Kimiko's eyes opened wide, [What?]
"They came to the village looking for us," Kenji said.
Kimiko signed: [Who?]
Kenji didn't hide it.
"The people of this country."
"A hero who screamed like a demon descended from the sky and destroyed the camp and all the villages around it."
"Luckily, you weren't there. You wouldn't have wanted to see all those bodies."
"So everyone is gone."
Kimiko's shoulders shivered. The news had clearly hit her hard.
Then she tried to persuade Kenji again.
[Then let's go somewhere else. Let's go back to our country. Maybe Grandpa and Grandma are still alive.]
"You don't care?"
Kenji suddenly became agitated.
"I saw it with my own eyes. That superhero tore an old woman in half!"
"Don't you think that's too much?"
"That old woman didn't do anything, but she died for no reason."
"And do you remember the school we used to attend?"
"They leveled the whole school. There were children inside!"
"When the propane tanks exploded, some babies were burned alive in their beds!"
"That superhero is a devil, and this country is hell!"
Kimiko's expression was complicated. Of course she knew.
She just didn't want her brother to sink deeper into it.
She wanted to take Kenji away, as far away as possible.
Kenji shook his head, "I didn't want to come here, and I didn't want to do what Shining Light wanted me to do, but Shining Light is right."
"This is a sinful country. If we don't destroy them, there will be countless people like you and me in this world."
Kimiko immediately shook her head and signed with forceful movements: [No. Shining Light has been lying. They deceived you!]
Kenji disagreed, "Shining Light fights injustice. They defend people who have no voice."
Kimiko was heartbroken. She couldn't believe those words had come from Kenji.
She signed forcefully: [Shining Light killed our parents!]
Kenji shook his head, "This country is now the enemy of the whole world. We have to resist."
"Sister, fight with me!"
A feeling of panic rose in Kimiko.
Seeing her brother again, she realized she no longer understood Kenji as well as she once had.
But she refused to give up and signed: [You used to take care of every mouse that lost its mother. Have you forgotten? That's why I call you Mouse. Kenji, don't believe Shining Light. Come with me.]
Kenji took two steps back, "That was a long time ago. Now I have things more important than taking care of mice."
Kimiko grabbed his sleeve and signed: [But you're still my brother. I can't stand by and watch Shining Light use you.]
Holding Kimiko's hand, Kenji said, "Since you're my sister, then you know I have to do this."
"Forget it. I don't want to force you."
"If you're unwilling to help me, then let's part ways here."
Kimiko quickly grabbed his hand.
She knew that fighting this country and fighting superheroes would not end well for Kenji.
Even if Kenji could deal with other superheroes, he would never get past Homelander.
Kimiko didn't think Homelander would show mercy just because Kenji was her brother.
In the end, even she herself, to that man, she was nothing more than a stray cat by the roadside.
If Kenji offended him, then even if she begged him, he would not spare her brother.
Just then, a figure suddenly landed beside the brother and sister.
The person straightened up and applauded, "How touching."
"What a close brother and sister."
"I almost got so moved that I forgot what I came here to do."
"Hi, I'm Stormfront."
"How are you two? I'm not interrupting, am I?"
Kimiko and Kenji looked over and fixed their eyes on a small woman.
She had asymmetrical short hair and wore a black-and-green combat suit. She was waving at them.
At that moment, the sound of helicopter rotors came from above.
Then a light switched on from the helicopter and shone down on Stormfront, Kimiko, and Kenji.
Stormfront looked at the helicopter and waved.
Then she said, "Don't worry about them."
"That's a TV station helicopter. They're broadcasting live."
"Oh right, what should I call you, Mr. Wanted Criminal?"
Stormfront looked at Kenji, "You don't know, do you? You're already a wanted criminal, and the police think you're dangerous, so they asked me to arrest you."
"How about this, Mr. Wanted Criminal."
"If you're willing to surrender, I can hand you over to the police."
"What do you think? That's a pretty good deal."
"You should be happy. Today is your lucky day."
"This is my first arrest operation since joining the Seven, so I'd like to keep things peaceful."
"It'll help boost my popularity."
"You probably don't want to lose an arm or a leg, right?"
Kimiko pulled Kenji behind her and signed: [Go. I'll hold this woman off.]
Stormfront seemed to understand sign language as well. She chuckled.
"Don't do this. I'm in a good mood today. Really, don't force me to use violence."
Kimiko had already rushed toward Stormfront.
But Stormfront flew into the air, causing Kimiko to miss.
Stormfront flew toward Kenji.
At that moment, a tanker truck was driving down the road.
The driver honked the horn, warning Kenji, who had already run onto the road.
Two bright headlights immediately lit up Kenji's face.