Krouse had taken the time after the battle to recuperate.
His regeneration speed was insane - even faster than Noelle's, though she was an Apprentice Warrior. Thus, he only needed a few hours in order to have his body in... relatively better health.
As Krouse hid and healed, he noticed Noelle limping out from the ruins of the Border. Seeing this, he finally felt a sense of real joy, not the artificial joy generated by his regeneration. Wow! It's great to know that not EVERYONE died from that fight. But...
Krouse decided against talking to her. It was better that way. His presence would only bring bad luck to whoever he stayed near. Plus, he wasn't feeling ready to meet with her, especially since she probably thought he was dead.
Explaining a misunderstanding like that would be a nightmare.
However...
A mischievous grin began to appear on Krouse's face. Even though I don't wanna talk, I can still follow her and see what she does, right? It's not like there's anyone to tell me "no".
He slowly crept out from his hiding spot, following Noelle as she continued down the street. He made use of Shielding, creating portals to step on. This simultaneously hid the sound of his footsteps and also kept him somewhat out of sight.
He followed behind for a while before seeing Noelle enter an apartment block. For some strange reason, it looked completely dark.
Is it empty? Krouse couldn't help but wonder for a moment, but he wasn't very good at staying focused. Instead, as he scanned the street, he saw a quick flash of something.
What's that! Krouse forgot about Noelle, and ran down the street in curiosity. He neared the location, which was also an abandoned shop. All these abandoned locations made Krouse feel like there were some issues. He wasn't an expert, but wasn't there some issues with the amount of space in the City?
As far as he knew, such a location would've been repurposed by now.
As Krouse wandered into the shop, he couldn't help but let out a satisfied sigh. There was a heat vent, directly in the middle of the store!
"Man, if only I'd found this place earlier. If I knew about here, then I wouldn't have had to die so many times on the streets." Krouse lay down, his back facing against the heat vent.
What were heat vents?
Well, as everyone knew, the entirety of Central Cities could fly. This raised questions, especially about things like fuel. While Krouse didn't know how they fueled the Cities, he did know that there was waste energy, exhausts of heat which couldn't be put to anymore use.
Thus, heat vents were made, in part to let the citizens feel warmer during the winter, but also to make sure the... jet turbines or whatever they had down there wouldn't overheat.
Heat vents were known by the rich as a genius move, and were known by the poor as a lifeline. As long as you had a heat vent, your chances of surviving as a homeless person would drastically increase. Some gangs on the streets would even monopolise a heat vent if they found one, forcing you to pay to access it.
He closed his eyes to enjoy the warmth, and unknowingly fell asleep.
...
The moment Krouse began to let out soft snores, three pairs of wide, unblinking eyes looked over at his sleeping body.
The three pairs of eyes moved forward, past the shadows and into the revealing light. It was three kids, with the youngest probably being about 9. They looked curiously at Krouse, who, despite looking just as young as them, was wearing a military outfit - armour, tags, everything.
Even though they didn't know who Krouse was, every child - even the homeless ones - were ensured their daily dose of propaganda, which was distributed via giant screens, posters, billboards and more.
Thus, they deemed his presence as a safe one. Looking at each other, the kids shrugged and lay down to sleep as well, facing their backs to the heat vent.
...
"Hmm? What's this!"
Krouse woke up and looked around at the 3 sleeping kids lying on the floor of the shop. He peered over the shoulder of one, staring at his face.
Man, why are these random kids here? What am I gonna do...
His internal thoughts were cut short as the child woke, saw Krouse's face mere centimetres away from his own, and began to scream.
"AAAHHHH!!" The scream woke up the other two up - another boy and one girl. They also noticed that Krouse was awake, and even though they didn't find him that scary, they joined in with the screaming. Mostly for fun, but also because the first kid screamed.
Seeing the situation unfold, Krouse decided to join in as well, letting out several loud screams. Immediately, the other three grew quite.
As they say, you can't outsmart the crazy. You can only out-crazy them.
The three kids and Krouse then underwent a stare-down of epic proportions, before one of them broke the silence.
"Hey, what's your name mister police man!" He smiled foolishly at Krouse, who smiled in response.
"I'm Krouse. And what are your names!"
"I'm Charles." That was the oldest boy.
"I'm Reed," said the youngest boy.
"And I'm Anna." The girl finished off their introductions.
"Cool names! How'd you get them?" Krouse was curious to know. Charles then answered, somewhat embarrassed.
"From a book." Krouse nodded.
"That's okay, my name came from one too."
Krouse looked at the three kids in silence. Should he... stick with them?
After all, they were alone, and just kids. Krouse could protect them.
But then again, he'd had bad luck with all of his previous friends.
He pondered for a moment longer. Then...
Ahh, whatever. It'll be fun!
...
For the next following days, Krouse and the kids could be found making trouble all over the place.
They'd chase each other and play, or they might chase stray animals for fun. Even though none of them stole anything, everyone who met the four always had a sneaking suspicion.
After all, these are kids from the slums. Who knows what they could do?
Regardless, the days passed with great fun. For food, Krouse would go and buy it. After all, he had lots of savings from his time at the Border. At nights, they'd curl up beside each other and sleep with their backs facing the heat vent.
But the fun would come to an end. As a certain researcher found Krouse.
"Kid, come back with us. Didn't you have fun when you were back at the Joy Orphanage? Guess what! We made a new one, just for you!" It was Head Researcher Han. Well, former head. He was demoted, with the chance of having his position restored if he could capture Krouse and bring him to the main branch.
At this point, the truth had become clear. Not only were the empty apartment blocks a trap, but so was the entire district. For most people, they had their jobs to attend to. No one had the time to check on what seemed to be a functioning district.
However, it was entirely empty. It was specifically made for homeless people - especially children - to find shelter in. Then, every few months or so, like an angler checking on crab traps, they'd methodically sweep through the entire district.
The adults would be killed, and the children would have their personalities extracted. It was a new measure implemented after the fall of Joy Orphanage.
Krouse stared at Researcher Han with obvious anger in his eyes. Shielded by his body, the three kids viewed the situation with fear. Why was that scientist guy trying to take brother Krouse away?
Krouse stayed still, biding his time. He knew he couldn't be impulsive, since he had children to protect. He also knew that none of the Joy Orphanage Researchers would know about his awakening, and his subsequent abilities. Thus, as the van to kidnap them drew closer...
Krouse struck, activating Shielding on the three kids. He flew toward Researcher Han and wrapped his fingers around the man's neck, eyes as furious as a wild beast's.
He lifted the man in one arm using his awakened strength and held the vile researcher in front of him.
"I've got a hostage! Let the driver of that van step out!"
The surrounding guards and researchers all hushed up. Even though he was no longer the Head Researcher, Researcher Han was basically still the leader. They all looked at each other, unsure.
"Alright, but... you need to promise that you'll release him after a certain amount of time!" One of the more naive guards spoke up. Krouse nodded when he heard this.
"Sure! I'll be more than glad to free him. Why not, say, 5 hours?"
The group agreed, but one of the guards' eyes flashed in a cunning way. Then, without warning, he shot a volley of bullets at the three children.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The invisible shield created by Krouse had once been able to withstand a rank 4 monster for one hit. Naturally, there was no way for it to hurt the kids. As Krouse watched the audacious guard try and kill his new friends, he squeezed Researcher Han's neck even tighter, causing the man to cry out in pain.
At this point, everyone knew there was no more use in resisting.
Slowly, surely, under careful guidance, Krouse had the three kids enter the back of the van whilst he entered the front. Krouse, noticing that the kids could no longer see him, broke his arm and used the bone as a sharp knife.
"T-this... this is a government van, you know? You could get into serious trouble if you hijack one." Researcher Han's frightened voice rang out as he saw Krouse's actions.
Krouse pointed the bone-knife at Researcher Han's neck.
"Drive or die."
Researcher Han began to sweat profusely. "And... where would you like me to go to, Child No. 0000?"
Krouse's eyes flashed with anger, and he drove the bone into the man's arm. "Don't call me that. Call me Krouse."
He turned to face the windshield, completely calm and cold.
"Let's go to the Inner Cities."