Chapter 00-28 Butterfly
"Wataru –? Come on - ANSWER motherfucker! GOD… FUCK – SHIT! Eito?! WHERE ARE YOU? Pick UP! AARRGH! You ASSHOLES!"
With a crispy, high-tech crunch the smart phone hit the wall at high speeds as an infuriated Kouta wheeled to confront the men in the mission control room.
"What are you HOMOS staring at?!"
They quickly put their heads back down to their workstations and began tapping away busily.
"That's right BITCHES – back to work and DON'T fucking look up until you know what the hell happened down there! I want Eito and Wataru's report NOW!"
Kouta stormed over to the window and shoved it open. From his vantage point he could look down and see the balcony to the gallery where Ayane made her fateful bid for freedom. As he stared down at the marble railing his mind flew back to that time – and the frustration burned at him as though it had only been moments ago.
Stupid bitch killed herself! Coward! She didn't have the guts to face me, and crawled away to her death like a whipped dog… Then those vacant, fucking monks had to burn her! I didn't even get my ear... GOD Damn – if only we had reached her before she jumped… What I would have done to that little – SO CLOSE! GOD Damn that stupid Haruka I should NEVER have left – FUCK GOD, I hope that chandelier HURT when it fell on your stupid ass!
Then his thoughts flicked to the missing camera and his eyes widened as he recalled his near death experience at the hands of an enraged Ryu –
Shit – and then Ryu got his hands on that goddamn camera… Like he needed any more friggin' motivation to come after us… He was like some kind of psychotic demon, on freakin' steroids... But… why he didn't just kill me when he had the chance was – weird… He was so mad – I could feel him shaking. Maybe… maybe it wasn't rage – what if it was something I did, or said that scared him off?
There was a tickling sensation on Kouta's hand, as he glared of into the distance. Looking down he saw it was some kind of bug –
"Agh fuck!"
He shook his arm violently and struck the lock on the window, cutting the back of his hand. A drop of blood spilled as the small, blue butterfly that tickled him flew just out of reach.
"God damn it. Fucking butterfly…"
Wasn't that Ayane's stupid symbol? Fucking butterfly? I remember it was on all her gear and shit when we ripped it off of her… kind of ironic how we just used insects like that to kill her asshole boyfriend. Of course, we needed our eggheads in the weapons division to whip up a thousand of those freaks but they'll be more than enough to have done the job nicely. Not even Ryu with Bayman's help could take a thousand of those fuckers. And it was really just those two we had to worry about… The kung fu kids and even that hot little ninja babe won't make a bit of difference. They'll just be extra bonus kills for us… GOOD.
As he thought of Hotaruko, Kouta smiled to himself. He could almost picture her being torn to pieces along with her friends down at the safe house…
Stupid little ninja fuck – if only she knew she was responsible for leading us to them – and that the deaths of all of her new friends are on her cute little empty head… It sure would've been fun to tell her that, just to see her reaction, before we did her… Oh well, they're all dead now, and I'll have five more ears. I just need Wataru and Eito to radio the fuck back and confirm this shit!
Far below the terrace was the deep gorge where the stream wound down to the Night Rain Monastery and past that, to the town of Mika in the valley beyond. The stream sparkled like a silver thread in the sunlight. The hills below were painted with the subtle, pastel shades of purple, red and gold from the wildflowers that carpeted them, and the pure white clouds created shadows that ran along the steep slopes.
"SO what's the fucking WORD you DICKS?! Why am I not hearing the report from those fuck-tards in the field?!"
One of the communications specialists popped his head above the monitor he was watching and hesitantly answered.
"Kouta – sir, we've got problems – our satellite is now in range, and what we're seeing doesn't look good…"
"SO?! Talk to me 'Peaches' – or am I supposed to fucking GUESS?!"
"Sorry – uh… we're seeing a lot of pockets of destruction – more than could be done by only five people – even with Ryu… I – uh, we… think they may have had… help?"
"WHAT?!"
"We have a team heading down there now to find out what's happening with Wataru and Eito… They should be there soon. ETA uh – just a couple of minutes."
"Stay on it you FU – Huh?"
Something in the window caught Kouta's eye causing him to lose focus. As the grateful technician went back to his monitor, Kouta turned and walked slowly back to the window. His eyes were fixed on a small, bright blue insect. It was the butterfly - the one that had startled him earlier. It had come back and was sitting in the sunlight, like a glittering little sapphire. He moved closer and the hairs on the back of his scalp and neck prickled as he watched it unroll a delicate, ebony proboscis. It gleamed in the sunlight as it extended into and started to sip from the bead of blood that he had left on the stone windowsill.
Whaaat the f..?
Kouta approached the window and bent over it tentatively. With a mixture of fascination and terror he watched as the iridescent blue of the insect flushed and changed as it continued to drink his blood from the ledge. The new pigment rushed through its body turning it a deep, gleaming purple. Ayane flashed into his mind… and he wondered if maybe, somehow, she was still…
No – that's not possible – not… You're DEAD. We used you, beat you and fucking saw you drop to your – I saw you… saw you d –
But he hadn't seen her die. Not really… He'd only seen evidence… Hair – blood – no body. No absolute proof. Then there was the whole mystery of what happened to Itsuke and his team. He had sent them to kill the so-called "Tiger Monk" and he hadn't heard anything from them for days.
Oh god… what if that "Tiger Monk" is actually – no… no way.
He raised his shaking hand determined to crush this reminder… this symbol of his uncertainty once and for all.
NO. You are dead! And this sick, fucking bug is dead too – just like Y –
"SHIT – Kouta – SHE'S HERE!"
It was Arata, Kouta's number two who suddenly rushed into the room. The abrupt interruption caused Kouta's hand to miss the mark as a pulse of fright tore through his confused mind.
"NO! OHHH GOD! NO! AYANE?!"
Kouta nearly shrieked with panicked energy coursing and surging through his huge, trembling body. The amethyst butterfly fluttered away to the silver stream in the gorge far, far below.
Arata was flustered – his confusion at Kouta's response was competing with the urgency of the message he needed to deliver.
"Ayane!? Uh… what are you talking about boss!? Kouta – it's Miss Kasumi… she's here dude! She just showed up – didn't radio ahead or nothin'! She… she touched down on the helipad only a few minutes ago and wants a full repor –"
Arata stopped talking when he saw Kasumi enter the room. All the technicians in the control room straightened in their chairs as if they were controlled by a single mind and all that could be heard was the soft, dry tapping of their keyboards.
Kasumi was a celestial vision, her copper hair flowing like liquid fire over the shoulders of her full length, white leather coat. It hung open to reveal her svelte and dynamic body, sheathed like a gleaming diamond, beneath a pure white biosteel battle suit. An amazing form fitting garment that was far stronger than Kevlar and lighter than the finest gossamer. It was created from the silk spun from the udders of oxen – oxen that had been modified with spider DNA to produce silk instead of milk.
Silently, she glided into the room, smiling radiantly at them all. She came to a stop in the middle of the workstations surrounded by the technicians and removed her gloves and handed them along with her coat to Arata. He looked down at them with wide eyes and held them as if they might explode at the slightest wobble or tremor killing everyone in the room. Kasumi shook her luxurious hair from her eyes and fixed Kouta in her bright, warm gaze. When she addressed him, it was with gentle, delicate yet surgically precise words.
"Kouta. What a lovely surprise to see you here in the control room… controlling things. It is so… reassuring. Please, give me a thorough report on what's been happening over the last few weeks."
Kouta was starting to feel the heat and the sweat was beginning to trickle. He needed time to get his "facts" straight… to work out stuff in his head, to figure out what he needed to do to get the info –
"I'm waiiitiiiing." Kasumi said in a lilting musical tone. It sounded like angels singing.
Kouta was petrified – he needed to stall for time.
"Miss Kasumi, I – well there are a lot of variables I'm tracking right now and I think that I can have a full report, on everything tomorrow, by – "
Holding up her flawless hand to silence him, Kasumi took a couple of graceful and powerful steps to stand next to one of the technicians. Reaching out delicately, she touched his shoulder and let her fingers run up the back of his neck. He looked up at her as he sat stiffly in his chair hardly breathing. She regarded him with large, gentle eyes that widened slightly as she spoke with a warm sunny voice.
"What's your name cutie?"
"N-Nobu?" was his trembling reply.
Laughing good naturedly, Kasumi settled on his lap and put her hand on his chest making little, sharp circles with her fingernails...
"Ah, hahaha… you silly man. You mean you don't know?"
He could feel the steel fist of fear grip his heart.
"Sorry, I mean, my name is Nobu. It's Nobu - Miss Kasumi."
Smiling she snuggled closer, allowing her powerful, beautiful arms to slide around his shoulders. Her soft, warm hands moved up to stroke his hair and neck. Rotating her hips, she swung her long leg seductively across to the other side of his lap and straddled him. Nobu could hear the sharp, faint little clicks of her boot heels as they lightly struck the stone floor. Her eyes grew large and innocent like a fawn. Nobu's breaths came in shallow trembling gasps as he waited for her to speak. When she did, she jutted out her sensuous lower lip and spoke in the sad, pouty voice of a spoiled, petulant child.
"That big, fat mean old Kouta over there doesn't have a report for me!"
Then shifting her hips and moving in close to Nobu, who had temporarily stopped breathing, Kasumi let her lips brush his as she confided in a husky, little whisper…
"I bet you would have a report for me if you were in charge."
Kouta could feel the blood rush to his face…
"Ohmygod Y-Yes, Miss Kasumi – uh, of course… I, huh – wow… um why you know I would…"
Her eyes narrowed as she dismounted Nobu in one seamless, powerful motion to stand before him. The angelic voice of innocence had returned.
"You are SO sweet Nobu... You spoil me – really, you do. Okay – back to work you go now, click those little buttons!"
With a flood of relief infusing every cell of his body, Nobu snapped back to monitoring his station as Kasumi spoke over her shoulder, her back to Kouta.
"SooooooOOOoooooooooo… If faceless little Nobu the nobody, can give me a report – THENNN…"
She turned with unrivaled grace and beauty. Nobu's eyes widened as a cherry blossom floated down onto his keyboard. Facing Kouta, Kasumi raised her elegant, powerful arm and pointed at him with a single, perfect and very lethal finger, saying…
"…why the fuck can't you?"
Kouta's mind spun like a lathe.
"Oh – uh a REPORT!? Sure – I uh – I must have misunderstood…"
Then turning to Arata –
"Arata – um, SOOO?! What the f – uh what's the gosh-darn hold up!? Do you at least have the current STATUS? Has the team I dispatched arrived at Wataru and Eito's location yet? They should have been there by now!"
"As a matter of fact, Kouta – Miss Kasumi…"
Arata pointed to the large flat screen monitor on the wall and smacked the back of Nobu's head.
"…they have arrived and Nobu is bringing them up on screen…Now."