Forces of Darkness
Chapter 14: Under the Beret
Day 4, 1400 hours.
(Scene: Arena at the Rocket Base in Sicily.)
...With Tadlos in hand, Daisuke charged at his target: Kuroi, armed with a melee dagger.
Kuroi swiftly dodged the attack then charged to make an attack of her own, dagger aimed at Daisuke.
Daisuke parried the blade away with the sword, but it proved not to be strong enough to knock the dagger out of her hand. He shifted the attack and threw an overhead slash as Kuroi blocked the move.
Standing on the sidelines of the small arena, the rest of the team watched as their allies duke it out.
"I still don't get why 'dose two are battlin'..." Meowth remarked.
"It was Kuroi's idea in the first place to battle Daisuke to see how well he'd fair against Noir in a similar match." Butch noted.
"Plus," Jessie added. "everyone here, even the Intoccabile herself, is bored out of their minds and needed some entertainment."
"And it's been how long now?" James asked.
General checked his watch as the minute hand reached twelve. "We're up to an hour now." he informed.
The rest of the team gasped in shock.
"That's impossible!" Cassidy blurted. "How are they able to stand up still?"
"They're relentless." Mondo muttered as he gave an uneasy look at Kuroi. "If this was a real battle, they would stop at nothing to see their opponent dead while they themselves live and continue on with their lives as they see fit." He slipped his right hand into his pocket and closed his eyes. I know what you did, Kuroi. he thought. And I'll make sure Daisuke knows of it before this day is over. Mark my words...
The battle continued on as Daisuke was in the middle of a series of dodges, avoiding the sharp dagger of Kuroi. The third dodge... the forth... The fifth stab was blocked and pushed to the sky by Tadlos.
The moment Kuroi was stunned by the attack, Daisuke evaded, hoping that this was the last move.
Kuroi, who still held the dagger high above her, made a downward slash at the incoming sword.
Both of the blades clashed... but it was Daisuke that lost his grip on the handle of Tadlos.
As the sword hit the ground, gasps and mutters could be heard softly throughout the arena.
Daisuke folded his arms and smiled at the victor.
"The battle has been declared victorious to Kuroi!" Silvana, who stood as referee, announced to the spectators.
The spectators made their reply in the form of applause as Daisuke and Kuroi came forward and shook hands. The rest of Daisuke's team was hesitant but slowly applauded to the two combatants. Mondo, on the other hand, still stared uneasily at Kuroi.
"Congratulations." Daisuke complimented as he put the sword back in the sheath behind him. "Never knew you had it in you..."
"Well, you know..." she shyly replied. "When you want to follow in the footsteps of another, you should be prepared to face every trial, right?"
"Yeah, I gues-" Daisuke stopped his sentence as he saw Kuroi's eyes under the visor of the beret. As cold and frightening as a glare that was all too familiar to him...
"Something the matter?" Kuroi asked, noting Daisuke's stunned face.
He quickly snapped out of the shock. "No, i-it's nothing..." He turned and walked out of the arena.
Did you see...? Kuroi thought.
(Scene: Bunker at the Sicilian Rocket Base.)
Daisuke made his way down the quiet hallway, retreating to his room to take a break. She beat me with a dagger... he thought. How is that even possible? It's almost like she's-
His thought was interrupted as he was pulled from the hallway and into another room: Mondo's.
"Geez, Mondo!" Daisuke blurted. "Don't do that! You scared me!"
"Sorry," his younger brother replied. "but I have to tell you something before something bad happens."
"What is it?"
"It's Kuroi. I have this really bad feeling about her ever since she joined us."
"Okay, okay... Slow down... Take it easy. What's this all about?"
Mondo sighed. "Well, it was back at the South Korean base."
"Yeah?"
"When the GP raided the base and we all scattered, me, Butch, James and Meowth took the same route you did. Instead of going straight towards the lab, like you did, we went towards the kitchen then went back to the hallway that was going to the lab, and checked and see if you were still there, holding off the forces on your end..."
"But the grunt that received the phone call said he'd hold off the troops for me while I made a run for it."
"Yeah, I know. We saw him... or what was left of him..."
Daisuke gave a confused look. "What do you mean?"
"Someone killed him and took his uniform. He was in his underwear when we found him."
"Really?"
Mondo nodded. "And that's not all we found." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a familiar silver weapon. "We found this in his neck..."
Daisuke's eyes widened and his body went cold as he saw the silver throwing dagger with the same hole set in between the handle and the blade.
"That same blade was also found in seven of the GP soldiers..." Mondo added.
"S-so you think Kuroi's really...?" Daisuke asked.
Mondo nodded. "I'm sorry that I didn't inform you of this earlier."
"That's all right, Mondo, really. You have nothing to be sorry about. To be honest, I was getting curious about her, as well."
"Since when?"
"When the battle ended. I saw those cold eyes from under the visor."
"Oh..." Mondo paused.
"Wait a minute... If Kuroi said that she tackled Blackhawk..."
"I forgot to tell you." Mondo quickly added. "I heard from Otaku that he hired an elite bodyguard for you when we were over in South Korea."
"Really?"
Mondo nodded. "It's just that... she encountered Noir before she had a chance to get back to you... and the result is not pretty."
"I figured..."
Silence fell upon the two brothers.
"So, what do we do now?" Mondo asked.
"First of all," Daisuke stated sternly. "we remain calm. We have to make it look like we don't know her secret still..."
"Right!"
"I want you to go find Jessie and James. I'm going to go find Butch and Cassidy. We're all leaving to go to the Manor."
"Wait, why can't it be the other way around?"
"Simple. Butch and Cassidy won't believe a thing you say. Since you're a lower-ranked Rocket (and seem to side more with Jessie and James), it'll be like the Boy Who Cried 'Wolf!'"
"They won't believe me...?"
"That's right. Now, let's go before we waste any more time."
"Right!"
(Scene: Jessie and James's bunker.)
Meowth sighed as he reclined on the pillow on one of the two beds. "It's a shame 'dat Daisuke lost 'n all..."
"But he has three more days to challenge Kuroi to a rematch." James noted. "I'm sure that he'll win the second time around..."
"There's more to Kuroi than meets the eye." Jessie said. "I don't believe that it was a fluke that she won that match."
"Really?" Meowth asked.
The door opened and Mondo entered. "Sorry to be rude..." he politely said. "but I was just informed by Daisuke that we have to leave now."
"Why's that, Mondo?" Jessie asked.
"Yeah, Kuroi isn't here," James added. "what's the point of leaving?"
"Don't 'cha mean Chloe?" Meowth asked.
"Yeah... her."
"Well," Mondo replied. "me and Daisuke came to an agreement: we beg to differ."
(Scene: The Base's kitchen.)
Daisuke quickly slipped inside the swaying doors and made his way down every aisle to find his two siblings. He eventually found them standing over a boiling pot with another chef.
"Hey!" he called. "I thought I'd find at least one of you here!"
"So, what's going on?" Cassidy asked.
"You'd look like you were in a rush to get here." Butch added.
"Yeah, I'd hate to tell you this," Daisuke stated. "but we've gotta go."
"No!" the chef, a middle-aged chubby woman, reiterated. "They do not go until they learn the recipe."
"But, miss, we've really got to leave."
The chef hit Daisuke over the head with the soup ladle. "Do not call me 'miss!' The name is Mama Bella!"
"Right, sorry... Okay, I'll make it up to you. After this week, we'll come back and we'll all cook for you."
Bella's eyes gleamed at the offer. "You mean it?"
"As long as you let me take Butch and Cassidy away."
"Not until they learn the recipe! What could be more important than that, hm?"
"Knowing that Noir is closer than we had thought..."
Butch and Cassidy gasped at the remark.
"Humph!" Bella snorted, smacking the ladle against her open palm. "Noir, huh? Well, let me show that Noir a thing or two about messing up my lessons. I shall give her a knuckle sandwich with a can of whoop ass on the side!"
"That's nice... really." Daisuke said as he grabbed Butch and Cassidy and took them away. "But, we've gotta go."
"We'll come back!" Butch said.
"Promise!" Cassidy added as the three left the kitchen.
(Scene: Outside of the bunker.)
A second, small upgrade was made to Mondo's red Jeep, parked outside of the bunker. Jessie, James, Mondo and Meowth sat and waited for the last three people to hop inside and fill all six seats (while Meowth sat on someone's lap).
Butch and Cassidy burst out of the doorway and jumped inside the Jeep, frightened looks on their faces.
"Wow, you're taking the news worse than us!" James remarked.
"It's not the news that scared us..." Cassidy said.
"It's who we encountered after we got the news..." Butch added.
Daisuke walked out the door and out to the Jeep. Following behind was the energetic and anxious Kuroi.
"Come on, we're allies here, right?" she said to the quiet Daisuke. "You can tell me what's going on."
Daisuke stopped and turned to face Kuroi and quietly sighed. "...We'd... really love to... but..."
"But... you already know," Kuroi replied in a grave monotone. "don't you?"
Daisuke sighed. "Yes..."
Silence fell upon everyone, finding the words to explain this situation.
"Kuroi..." Daisuke said, attempting not to restrain anything that he said. "Could you please take off your mask and beret and reveal to us who you really are?"
"Very well..." Slowly, Kuroi pulled the mask away, revealing her cold, gray eyed stare.
"This is it..." Mondo hissed to the other Rockets that were inside of the Jeep.
"No one better freak out now..." Meowth said as he scanned the Rockets' feared expressions. "One scream, an' we're done for..."
"Quick, someone duct tape my mouth shut!" James muttered.
"Gladly..." Butch and Cassidy replied.
Kuroi then pulled the beret off her head to show everyone her short magenta hair and her true form.
Though they didn't scream once, the Rockets inside of the Jeep turned a ghostly pale, frightened to see Noir's face once more...
Daisuke did not react badly to the unmasking. "I knew it was you, Chloe..." he said with a slight smirk. "I knew it was you all along..."
"So why didn't you say something?" the assassin asked.
"And let us run in constant fear throughout the whole week? It can wear you out, y'know?"
"...I wouldn't know. I've never been in your position..."
More silence fell as a slight breeze blew across the base.
"Then it's settled." Daisuke finally said. "The last battle will be held at the Manor. When our paths cross yet again, one's path will come to an end."
"Agreed..." she replied. "However, judging by your feats in the last battle, it is you that shall see your path reach its end."
Daisuke walked to the Jeep with a slight laugh in his voice. He turned his head and glared at Chloe once more. "I wouldn't count on it."
To be continued...
Disclaimer: I just need to clear one thing up, I own Mama Bella. ...That's it.