Gunslinger Girl

Following a gruesome night of terror, Henrietta is taken in by The Social Welfare Agency. It’s up to José to show her the ropes.

Henrietta works to find her place at the Agency after the mistakes of her recent assignment. Feeling responsible for her shortcomings, José tries to learn what Henrietta needs to help her flourish as an assassin.

After years in a body she couldn’t move, the Social Welfare Agency gave Rico a new one. While scoping out a mission, she meets a boy who makes her question who she’s supposed to be.

The friction between Hilshire and Triela could jeopardize their mission of protecting Mario Bossi, a retired criminal who’s turned government witness in a case against organized crime.

Captain Raballo accepts a Handler job with the Agency. But when he’s teamed with Claes, he wonders if his selfish needs justify the pain he must inflict on the young assassin.

José, Henrietta, and Enzo are tracking terrorist Enrico Berdini, who’s negotiating to buy an explosive device to use in an attack on Rome.

While preparing to return to Italy, Jose and Hilshire go to an antique store in France to pick gifts for their partners, Henrietta and Triela. On the train home, Jose has a flashback to when he was assigned to the Balkans and had to leave his younger sister, Enrica, with his older brother, Jean. Back in Italy, Jose and Henrietta join Jean and his partner Rico, as well as Hilshire and Triela, as they chase a group of bombers after they conduct an attack. With aid from all parties, the bombers are captured. Later at the headquarters, Henrietta goes to Jose's room, and finds inside a kaleidoscope addressed to a "Louise Antoinette Rolle," whom Henrietta suspects is Giuseppe's lover. Heartbroken, Henrietta returns to her room, and voices this suspicion to her roommates, Claes and Triela. Claes recalls that the woman in question is the mistress of a nineteenth century author who commonly used the character "Henrietta" in his novels. Pleased, Henrietta joins Jose stargazing, while Claes remarks that the kaleidoscope is likely fake.

In a flashback, Pinocchio, a young child, commits his first murder under the auspices of his foster father Cristiano. In the present, he finishes an assassination for the Padania Republic Faction (PRF). The leaders of the PRF, including Cristiano, meet to plan a bombing on the Strait of Messina Bridge, and they enlist the aid of Franco and Franca, a pair of terrorist bombers, to destroy the bridge, with Pinocchio assisting them. Franca is surprised at Pinocchio's social awkwardness, especially when he fails to identify that her car is a Alfa Romeo Giulietta. Afterwards, Pinocchio tells Aurora, a girl living near him, to stay away from him. At the Section 2 headquarters, Hilshire and Marco observe Angelica, Marco's partner, and Rico, as Hilshire prepares to leave on a mission with Triela in Montalcino.

Hilshire and Triela are ordered on a mission to relocate a member of the Public Safety Division who has gone missing in his search for a Padanian assassin named Pinocchio. While investigating at a hotel in Montalcino, Triela stumbles upon a book titled "Pinocchio" and begins reading it, later throwing it onto the ground for a lack of a better story. The next day, Triela ends up finding a girl named Aurora who happens to know Pinocchio. Unbeknown to Aurora, Triela slips a mic into her lunch basket. A moment later, Aurora sneaks into Pinocchio's house and is captured by him, Franco and Franca, who then hold her hostage. Triela and Hilshire break in and Triela fights Pinocchio but is outwitted and defeated by him. Although Aurora is saved thanks to Hilshire's effort to release her from Franca's grip, the terrorists are able to escape. Triela becomes humiliated after being beaten.

Angelica is allowed to go on her first field mission since her earlier hospitalization (see Gunslinger Girl, episode 13). Together with Marco, her fratello, and Rico and Jean they head for Milan to get more information on the activities of the PRF and Pinocchio in particular. Olga and Priscilla have also headed to Milan to check up on how Angelica is doing and Marco drafts them into helping with the mission at hand. Trouble arises, when it appears that Angelica is suffering from an addiction to her conditioning pills, as she breaks Priscilla's arm due to the withdrawal symptoms she's suffering from. Priscilla manages to convince Marco not to tell Jean about what has occurred, and to let Angelica continue with the mission. Marco relents, and the team ends up capturing one of the Cleaners used by the PRF after a successful ambush by Angelica, Marco, and Rico. Angelica is initially disappointed in herself for failing to kill any of the terrorists (thanks to their bulletproof car), but Marco praises her for carrying out the mission correctly, thus making her rather giddy with joy as she and Rico talk about what just occurred.

A month after Angelica's successful return, she seems to be doing well-- Marco, however, still has doubts, and is upset by the fact she is becoming more and more different from the old Angelica; Triela, on the other hand, remains deeply depressed after her failure in the fight against Pinocchio. Priscilla, feeling sorry for Angelica, offers her a ride back from the firing range on her Vespa, and the two become much closer, despite Angelica's continued memory loss. Meanwhile, Marco's ex-girlfriend, Patricia, is approached by a reporter named Leonardo Conti, who claims to know a shadowy truth about the Social Welfare Agency, and wants Patricia to help him investigate it. Driven by concern for Marco and a growing distrust for the Italian government, Patricia agrees, but Leonardo turns out to be a PRF undercover agent and takes Patricia hostage. After Angelica kills Leonardo, Patricia demands to know why he's aiding the government in its "crimes", to which Marco responds that he didn't end up that way because he wanted to-- suggesting that he's still driven by his love for Angelica.

Section Two is asked to watch over an important politician, Chairwoman Isabella d'Angelo, whose agency is in charge of the Strait of Messina Bridge project; meanwhile, the PRF send Nino, the "Tibetan Terrier", one of their best kidnappers, to seize her. Henrietta and Rico quarrel after the latter breaks Henrietta's kaleidoscope, and Giuseppe must take it to be repaired, which he does at the very antiques shop in which Nino works as cover. Henrietta and Giuseppe are then assigned to guard Chairwoman d'Angelo, who debates the morality of using children as soldiers with Lorenzo. Giuseppe discovers a PRF agent on the Chairwoman's staff, and uses his information to set a trap for Nino's men-- meanwhile, said PRF agents decide to charge in despite the advice of Nino, who is making up his mind to retire-- he does so at the end, bidding a fond farewell to Franca. Henrietta, Giuseppe, and Rico easily foil the PRF's kidnapping attempt, and the Chairwoman is saved.