Author's Note: Hi again, it's been a very very very long time since I last updated my story. Well, numerous work come to me recently. I was ... terribly (I can only use that word to describe) busy! But anyway, I still manage to post this chapter after about 3, 4 month of postponing. I'm so sorry for the late late late update. I hope this one is good enough for you. The 5th chapter may come soon (my work is now settled mostly so I can have some time to do things I want)
ENJOY THE CHAPTER!
Words behind the Mask
Chapter 4: He Has Just …
"Noelliee! Time to wake up!"
The voice of Makoto echoed all over the house. It was 8 o'clock in the morning. The sun shone so bright outside yet, the blonde girl Noel didn't even shift a bit out of her bed. All she did was hugging the pillow and sank in the deep thought. "What should I do now? I just don't know…"
"Noel! Can you hear me?" Makoto called again.
"Today is holiday, you should go out here! The weather is so nice today!"
No reply…
Not a single sound…
"What's with her now?" The squirreled girl came upstairs and knocked the door.
"Noel, are you okay there?"
The lieutenant heard the knocking sound and looked at the door for awhile then once again, dug her face into the pillow and sighed. The door was opened and the brown-haired girl entered the room with worriment expressed on her face. None of them said a word; just Makoto came nearby and sat down beside the depressing girl and patted her head.
"Noel" She whispered "Is everything alright?"
Noel turned to her friend and looked at her for awhile before shaking her head slightly and got herself up, her two arms wrapped around her knees.
"What's wrong, Noel? You are not like yourself today? Something happened?" Makoto rubbed the blonde girl's back, trying to figure out what could turn a cheerful person like Noel into this.
"Oh, Makoto. So many things happened. Even I couldn't understand what is going on around me. I wish I could… but…" Then the girl sobbed sadly.
The squirreled girl just hugged her and gave her some comforting pat. "It's okay, Noel. You can tell me. I will always be by your side."
"Thank you." Wept the tear away, Noel inwardly appreciated the life for bringing such a wonderful friend to her. She gave a forced smiled again and told Makoto everything.
…
"So, that's what happen." The squirreled gasped in awe, Noel hid these things from her all this time. A story that was too extraordinary to be true.
"Yeah, I don't know why but he just helps people then ran away whenever I came nearby."
"I guess your "secret admirer" just felt too embarrassing to see you directly."Makoto sang and got a playful punch from Noel.
"Makoto! That's not it!" The lieutenant's two cheeks turned pink out of embarrassment.
"Who knows, maybe you will get a kiss from him. He is way too nice and generous to give you such a luxurious dress and even take care of you like … a lover." The brown-haired girl tried her best to emphasize the very last word which made the other girl blushed even more.
"My God, I couldn't believe you." said Noel and got out of her bed.
"That's what I'm waiting for. Prepare to eat breakfast then we go shopping!"
An hour later
"Well, what can we buy now? I mean, we have tons of cloth already. Food is all in the fridge and other things, we have it all." Noel asked while poking her friend who was digging in the fashion shop.
"No no no no, Noel. All you have in your wardrobe are just "body-exposed" NOL uniform. You need something better."
"Naahh… Makoto, you are no better, see your uniform."
Looking at herself, the chestnut haired girl found her uniform was no better than a bikini that is called batter suit. Burned with reddish shade on the cheeks, she picked the nearest dress.
"Shopkeeper… how much does this thing cost?" Her voice, so loud and clear, like a command, was all she could use to fix the awkward moment.
The small lady came to her side and looked the dress. "That will be 2000 Trinity Dollar."
"Give me all of your best dresses here. I will try them all." Then Makoto ran into the changing room and quickly got the dress on. But before entering, she pointed her finger at her friend.
"You sure will regret saying me like that; Open your eyes and see the splendid Makoto of today. Wait for it!"
"Hihi, she really is energetic. Well, I will just take a quick around here then, this shop is not too bad after all." Murmured Noel to herself and rolled eyes around the place. The shop was located inside one of the biggest plaza of Kagutsuchi. She rarely had chance to visit the building due to her tight schedule and her "low income". Compared to Makoto, her salary was nothing though she job was somewhat much more dangerous as she had to encounter numerous enemies directly while her friend's job at the Intelligent Department was more like spying and gathering information. But anyway, to have infrequent opportunity to come here, she wanted to enjoy the day to the fullest, Examined the whole shop, Noel found plenty interesting things, there were lots of beautiful dresses, some were decorated with pearls, some had very sophisticated patterns and some of them were even more gorgeous than the one she received from the masked man.
"Wait, again? Why everything around me has to involve with this guy. Who is he actually?" The girl once more lost in the thought of the man's identity. The news about his heroic actions within the society became more and more popular. Every day, his images appeared on the first page of the local newspaper which bothered Noel even more.
"I just don't get it. He helps everyone. So he is a good guy. But why? Why did he have to constantly avoid me like that? As if he is allergic to me or something? No no no no, that's not it. There must be a reason for that."
"Errr… miss, do you need any help?" asked the shopkeeper, her two arms were holding a huge stack of dresses ordered by Makoto earlier.
"No, I'm fine. I think the one who should ask that question is me. You are … holding that much of clothes." Noel turned to her after moment of losing in thought.
"I'm okay. I will just come back in a minute. Heh heh… your friend seems to be having some difficulty trying all of this?" the woman walked toward the changing room.
A sound of cloth shredded torn the whole peaceful atmosphere of the place….
"Opps… my bad." Matoko's voice weakly came out.
"What! That dress was made of the finest silk! How… how could you tear it like that?!" The shopkeeper frantically shouted and ran into the room to check.
"Oh my god... this … this is… a catastrophe! This… is unacceptable!" She stammered, unable to express the utmost horror.
It seemed that the masculine girl Matoko, while pulling the zip on the back, had pulled it brutally and shredded the most luxurious dress into half. She was no ladylike at all. Her way of putting on her cloth to her way of speaking, acting… was all with force and hasty. No wonder why the NOL can't afford buying her a "more proper" uniform and let her wear that bikini. Now, she had to deal with the noisy shopkeeper who was babbling about compensating the dress and how to act like a lady to fit the "magnificent beauty" of each dress.
Noel returned to her thought and walked a bit out of the shop. "I guess Makoto will be fine on her own. Trying all of those dresses will take long."
She proceeded further to the plaza to explore. The stunning sight appeared before her. The whole place was like the entire world itself. People moving around, flying panel gathered energy for the building, some engineers came to fix the broken one. Guards could be seen flying above and watched every spots carefully with their hawk eyes. Shops, malls, markets,… were everywhere. Restaurants located at the faraway corner of the house and noise of people buying, selling, advertising echoed…
"Woah… I didn't expect this place to be this big." Noel gasped before the view.
On the right side, many people were observing a street performer played with fire magic, some fire orbs floating around him and he played with it as if he was just holding some normal tennis balls. On the other side, a group of friends were entering a Chinese restaurant and smiled happily. On the upper floor, there were so many fashion shops….
"As if this place has everything in this world…" whispered Noel. But all of the things above were nothing to her, compared to what was lying right in front of her eyes.
A fluffy panda…
"Oh. My. Gosh… a panda… A PANDA! Yahhh!" The girl leaped forward like a maniac and hugged the toy. Nothing attracted her more than a panda toy as she used to have one as her 5th birthday present. It was like her best companion at that time …
"Mom, why Dad comes so late today? He is busy again?" asked Noel as she was sitting with her mother, beside the creamy cake that they bought to celebrate her birthday. Five small, colorful candles were already prepared, readied to be lightened up once her father came home and joined the fun.
"I don't know, dear. I guess he will be home soon. Just wait a little bit." Claire Vermillion, her mother, patted the small girl's head. She herself didn't know why her husband came home that late. Normally, he would return right before the dinner and greeted her with a tender kiss then hugged his daughter tight. "Something happened to him, no no, everything is alright." She thought.
"Maybe father forgets my birthday…" Noel pout while poking the cream and put her fingertip to her mouth to taste it.
"Of course not, my girl. He never forgets an important day like this."
Dingg dong….
"Ahhhh! Daddy!" The girl dashed out and opened the door. Before her was her daddy holding a big bouquet of flower and a box.
"Happy birthday, my sweet sweet candy. Sorry for being late. You must be waiting for me, right? Oh, and this is all for you."
Opened the small box, what laid inside was a small black and white bear. "Err… daddy. What is this animal? I've never seen it in the book before." The little girl asked, picked the little toy up to examine all over.
"It is a bear called panda. You can find that bear in China…"
Edgar, her father, took off his outer coat and let out a sigh after a long day of working but never left the bright smile on his face as he knew he had such a wonderful family.
A beautiful and caring wife…
A cute and innocent child…
A warm and comfortable home…
Nothing better than that….
"Yahhh… it looks so cute! Thanks Dad!"
"You can name it like any other toy you have." The man suggested.
"I will call him, Momo"
"Haaahhh… I miss those days. Feel like being young again" The lieutenant said while hugging the bear toy.
"Excuse me, miss. But you need to pay for this toy." A middle-aged man, seemed to be the shopkeeper, said.
"Oh yes… sorry. How much does it cost?" She reached her pocket to get the money.
"It will be 20 Trinity Dollar. But I want to ask you. Aren't you too old already for this kind of toy?" He raised his eyebrow with puzzlement in his look. It was clear that he hasn't met any kind of customer like her before.
"I guess not. I love it! Here is …"
"ROBBER! PLEASE, HELP!"
A shout startled them both and a quick figure sprinted across Noel's back. The blonde lieutenant looked to her side, an old woman was crying desperately and point toward the figure's direction.
"ROBBER! ROBBER! MY PURSE!"
"Excuse me, mister. I will come back right away." Noel put the coin on the table and chase after the criminal.
Judging by the figure and actions, it seemed that the robber was a guy and he wore a black typical mask with only two holes for eyes.
"Hey you there, stop! You're under arrest for public plundering" The lieutenant's shout from behind alerted him.
"Oh shit! Cop… a woman?" He muttered and started to run faster. But he never knew that he wasn't dealing with a normal police officer. It was an NOL agent, Noel Vermillion.
"Grruughhh…" the man snarled between his teeth, tried to accelerate and retreat in a rather bending path like a gazelle escaping a cheetah and sneaked through the crowd of people with ease with slim and flexible body. With a quick move, he jumped over the fence ahead effortlessly and every step of his, with extreme caution and precision, bit by bit lengthen the distance between the two. A mocking leer traveled through his lips, the robber was sure to himself that he was the winner of this tagging game. After ten minutes of running, he ran into a quiet alley and hid carefully behind the trash tank. Wept away the sweat on his forehead and breathed sharply after a long run "Let's see what I've got for today." he smirked and opened the purse, only to find few Trinity coins and a small picture.
"What! This shitty old hag brings nothing with her? Damn!" anger filled his inside. His teeth grinded like a furious dog hadn't eaten for days.
Clack clack…
"You there… think you can run away from justice?"
The robber eyes, full of shock and hostility, glared at the persisting person in front of him.
It was Noel, without any single emotion on her face, pointing the pistol at him…
"It's all over. Now surrender and the judge may have mercy."
The man's face now deformed by the mixture of emotion… he wrapped his face and laugh like madman.
"Huahahaha… this world,… this shitty world!" His body shook violently and he threw the purse aside while walking toward the officer. His laugh was not a normal laugh, it echoed along the long alley like a desperate scream in the long night...
This guy was cornered…
And a cornered mouse never was a game to a cat, it will resist until the last breath…
"You … You fucking hag!" His whole body was imbued with yellow aura. His hair straightened up as if he was electrocuted and his teeth grew sharper, longer like a beast.
"Stay there! Or I will shoot you." A creepy unsecured feeling ran across Noel's mind as she took a few steps back, completely clueless about what he might do.
"Really, puppet… Grahhhh!" He jetted forward with his magic.
And a blinding flash…
"Yahhh! My eyes!" the girl yanked and stepped back, her palm covered her two hurting eyes and stumbled down upon her feet. No sooner had her body slammed against the floor than a brute force came from the robber pulled her up and threw her to the wall mercilessly. Some blood trickled from her forehead, added with the massive shock brought by the throw, completely blurred her vision. Her hair, normally tied up carefully, was now all messy and let down. Her perfectly white skin stained by the trail of ward, red liquid came out from the wound.
"Hahhh hahhh…"
Weak pants escaped her lips with difficulty as the man didn't stop and approached…
"No… stop it." The girl feebly raised the gun but something inside her pulled her back, her finger would move a bit.
It was fear…
Utter fear of the sudden burst of anger…
Fear of the desperate soul's wrath…
He kicked and stomped on her torso. No matter how she blocked with her arms, he would just kicked it away and tortured her.
"You shitty police should all just die… I'm tired of you already. Always justice, always good words…" He snarled and grabbed Noel by her fragile wrist and pinned her on the brick wall and stared at her quivering like a helpless mouse being stared by a snake. The stinky saliva spurt out through his gritting teeth made her want to throw up so much and yet, all she could was trembling and paralyzed. Her body wanted to move so much.
"Come one Noel, do something!" she yelled in her mind
"You bitch have such a nice body, should I …"
"Hey punk, why not pick someone at your own size." A voice out from behind interrupted the horrific air.
It was the masked man, his hand on his hip and tilted his head to see the girl dying inside. His eyebrows narrowed and shot out a calm but deadly look. "It seems that you pick the wrong day and wrong person to do bad things today.
Dropped Noel, the robber turned to him. "You want to stick your stupid nose into my business that much?"
"Oh no, I wouldn't care much if that is someone else. BUT…." He emphasized. "This girl you're attacking really has something to do with me and YOU… you injured her like this." The masked man said out every single word clear and took slow steps toward the bewildered foe. "So basically, you've just brought yourself a death sentence. Now, ready to perish!"
"Like I would, DIE!" a flashing beam of light burst out and the ferocious man charged forward.
And before he knew anything else…
"Heh… just feeble effort." The masked man had already grabbed his face and stopped his movement…
Just a single, bare hand grabbing his face with such force that could break his entire face anytime soon. "It's futile, I told you." He shook his head and his hand glowed a blue magic, froze the rim of the victim's face.
"No no no, please. Please don't! I want to live… I want…" before he could finish his sentence his face was frozen completely and crushed into pieces.
The mysterious man came to Noel, who was still trembling in fear. "Are you alright?"
"You… you saved me. Just who… who are you?"
"He remove the black cloak and wrapped around her tiny body. "You don't have to know. I just help you, that's all."
His face got closer to her and removed the strand of hair stack on the forehead due to the blood. Her two green eyes were full of fear, confusion and surprise….
"Why did you have to run away whenever you saw me like that? I need an explanation."
"I told you, you don't need to know."
With all the strength left, Noel quickly raised her hand and tried to grab his mask. "Who are you!?" but before she could touch his face, her wrist was gripped.
"Ah ah ah, that's not good of you." He shook his head and cupped her cheek…
And kissed her, right on the lip. His body slightly leaned against her.
This man was kissing her. The man she never come to know his identity…
"What!" Her eyes widened in shock as his tongue tried to sneak inside hers and suppress her down like a commander disciplining his soldier. His kiss wasn't hasty, just plain and gentle.
Soon he parted and ran away just as fast and mysterious as his appearance.
"Noel! Makoto's voice came out as she ran to the alley and saw her. But her friend didn't respond, she was just sitting there, immobilized by the sudden action of the unknown hero.
"Noel! Are you okay? You're bleeding!"
Noel raised her finger toward the masked man direction. "He … he has just… kissed me"
Author's Note: I wonder if this one if too short or something... I mean, I actually want to extend this one a little bit more for the description but it just that words didn't come to my mind so I guess this is temporary work. I may add some edition in the future, when my imagination is fully unleashed.
Well, I hope to read many of your reviews! Let me hear your voice!
Thanks guys!
Cardlover95
