Chapter 6 — “Noah”

Chapter 6 — “Noah”

“I’m sure you missed me — ‘Rinka-san’.” Lime sneered at her. Her ares crossed over her chest, looking down on the cuffed prisoner. “Or, should I say — Gorilla-san?”

“I sure do miss your cheeky little mouth of yours,” Cham glares the smug face of Lime. Her jaw is locked, probably to keep the seething rage out of her mouth.

“That’s enough, Lime.” Bitter observes the room, as he pushes Lime further to the back. With little hesitant, Lime stands guard beside the entrance, along with Lemon.

“You’ve given her the dosage I told you?” Bitter encircles the room like a vulture onto a fresh corpse. His eyes bounces from top to bottom, looking at every nook and cranny of the interior.

“Have I ever let you down?” Todachi put his briefcase down, opening it. He pulls out a case — a case of syringes, still covered with the sealed plastic.

“I recognise your voice.” Cham glares the man in a tattered coat, who’s been enjoying the view of Tokyo Tower. “You were there. You were the one who shot me.”

Bitter doesn’t reply. His eyes follows the clouds which has been pushed away by gentle breezes. The white clouds — slowly but surely leaving the sky open. The sun gazes back, right into his pupils. The sound of Todachi’s flicking the syringe fills the silence, as he approaches the prisoner.

“You guys are ver polite, you know? Aside from this drugs you keep pumping into my system, you haven’t even touch a single hair of mine.”

As Cham finished talking, Todachi grabbed her head, tilted it to the left. With one confident push, he injected Cham with the tiniest amount of a clear substance inside the syringe — the tiniest bit of his thumb’s strength empties the syringe.

“The same poison, huh?” Cham cracks her neck, feeling her system getting more and more relaxed.

“A proud invention of mine,” Bitter touches the glass window. It vibrates. A sharp cold enters from his fingers. The sea of blue sky now feels emptier than ever — growing in its endless deep colour, “A small dose is enough to bring even a Sera-class to a paralysed condition. And the same dose could bring an Arkus to a more… unfortunate one.”

“How very thoughtful of you. Some people would pay a lot for this kind of high.” Her comment doesn’t faze Bitter, now glaring at Todachi.

“…You bastard. This is a lot more than we’ve bargained.” Bitter hissed.

“I suggest we start the process. Time isn’t really on our side now, no?” Todachi shrugged, sitting at the far right chair of the table.

Bitter hasn’t got another word out, but he knows whatever he’s going to argue will fall on deaf ears, nor it will make any difference. He sighs, as he sits on the chair closest to the red-haired girl.

“Still…tranquilliser, huh?” Cham smirked, “I don’t know the real reason of are using it for — or to the SCF. Considering your…humane policy to both Sera and Domini, I thought you’re going to put a bullet straight between my eyes.”

“The enforced ‘kill-at-sight’ is still the norm.” Bitter cleared his non-existing phlegm, “That is, under normal circumstances.”

Within Cham’s vision, the man in front of him started to get blurry — as if she just drank her 18th shots. Not strong enough to knock her down, but more than she could handle. Her willpower is the only thing that keeps her capable of sitting upright.

“So according to you — I’m no normal Domini?”

“Won’t you answer it yourself?” Bitter glances at the windows.

“I guess.”

“So tell me, Cham-san,” Bitter fiddles around his inner jacket’s pocket. He pulls out a water bottles, as he helps himself with it, “What is the Ark main vision?”

“Isn’t that public secret?”

“Let’s just say…we have our own formalities.” Bitter closes the bottle cap, putting it on the table.

“Hmph.” Cham tries her best to sober herself up, but no matter how she push herself mentally, the fog on her brain wouldn’t clear up. “The Ark is a movement — to show that all people reserves a right to live.”

“In other words, The Ark is a separatist faction against Japan’s government to enable Sera, Domini and Princi-class human to establish their own settlement whatever it takes, even through violence.”

“That is some crazy rewording.” Cham chuckled, “You must have gotten a class on political speech.”

“Do you agree with my explanation?”

“Are you really asking me if I agree to that?” Cham couldn’t held back her laughter.

Bitter shrugged, “In a sense — if you must.”

Cham’s quiet down. She’s really giving it a thought, “Well, with the exception of the last part, I guess you would be right.”

“How so?”

“If…” Cham had her cuffed hands down on the table, “If you are in my position, what choice do you have?”

Bitter fell silence, “…Let’s move on, shall we—?”

“No, please — answer my question first.” Cham drags her face closer to Bitter’s,“or let me reword it for you— If, that kid of yours somehow gets the ticket straight to the execution platform, what would you do?”

Bitter sighs, “Lemon, back up.”

Lemon’s gun has been pointed to the back of Cham’s head.

“But Bitter —“

“Back up. Now”

Lemon clicked his tongue, returning to where he was, next to her sister. Lime, who’s biting the lower parts of her gum — holding herself altogether.

“I guess your kid would have the same answer as I do. Though not the guts to do it.”

“Mind you that if you try to steer our conversation again, there would be no more grace remaining for you.”

“What? Are you going to finally show your true colour?” Cham sneered again.

“If I have to.” Bitter shows resolution, with his right hand ready on his gun’s holster. A single look to his face delivers the clearest message to Cham.

“Fine, I’ll comply for now.”

“Right…” Bitter relaxes his poises.

“Mind you as well, Bitter.” Todachi, who has been a silent observer until now, “You’re taking too long with the formalities.”

“Right, right.” Bitter clicks his tongue, “Everyone’s been pushing me around lately.”

Bitter reverts his attention back to a now calmer Cham. The sun casted the shadow of the window’s frame down to their neck.

“Where would the leader of the Ark be now?”

“That would be in front of you,” Cham has her smug painted on her face when she said it.

“I know about your organisation more than anyone. Better than anyone.” Bitter’s tone got aggressive, “Noah. Where is he now?”

“You sure got abundance of intel, Bitter-san.” Her breathing gets even calmer, “Well, usually around this time, he would be still at home.”

“Home…where is this ‘home’?”

“Pushing the tempo of our conversation, are we?” Cham puts her hands down on the table, “Unfortunately, I don’t want to disclose my house. Stalkers everywhere, you know? Privacy matters.”

“You do realise—“

“— However.” Cham interrupted Bitter, “I can tell where he is now.”

Bitter takes a moment, taking his hands down to the side of his pants again.

“…Then tell me.” A cold sweat streamed from his forehead, “Where is he now?”

“Now?” Cham scratches her neck with one of her hands.

In a split second, four guns have been pointed to the giggling Cham.

“Now, he would be right outside.” Cham’s thumb pointed out to the glass window.

A flash of intense light enters from outside window — from the bluest sky. A shadow’s casted in the middle of the window, afloat. With no warning nor sounds, lightning crashes through the room, shattering the windows and all the interior of the room. The four blasted right through the walls, as rampart winds blasted through the sky of Roppongi. Dark clouds fills the sky, and seeping through the room. Thunderous roars start to drum, mark the beginning of a siege.

“Lemon, Lime! Get ready,” Bitter fires the gun to figure, to which has taken no effect on. Todachi has been blasting commands on his phone, requesting backup. Lemon and Lime quickly recovers, as they poises their guard on. Upon their eyes — in the middle of the storm raging in the building, the shadowy figure keeps on his pace, with another walking without any fear next to his side.

“This will be the toughest one yet.” Bitter bites his lower lip, as he covers his eyes from the debris flying around them. He glances to the side, toward his friend who has been barking orders on his phone, “Damn him — using us to bait him out. What a monster.” The figure lands on the solid floor, as white hair coming down onto his shoulder. With a combination of fear and awe, Bitter uttered the name of the true leader of The Ark.

“That’s him. Leader of The Ark —“