Chapter 7 - The Scheme

-" You are...The old lady from yesterday. "

It was Sister Sarah. She too had recognized Kira. It was a strange coincidence that both of them were still here and now. They had met three times in two days. She had welcomed Kira at her home the day before. But he preferred to leave, avoiding to be involved in any conflict or in any suspicious story. Seisa did not know this old woman.

-" Hey. Who are you, granny? "Asked the redhead, disrespectfully.

-" Haha...I didn't even introduce myself...I'm sister Sarah. And you, young lady, who are you? "

-" Seisa Alucard. "

-" Alucard..."

Kira interrupted the old lady's reflection about Seisa.

-" You are very pale today, old lady. "

-" I didn't sleep very well. "

-" You better take it easy, the end is near you know. " Said Kira.

-" Indeed, I should be careful...Well, I must go. See you soon, youngin's "Said the old lady, smiling.

After waving, Sarah walked away. Seisa might have seen nothing, but Kira perceived more precisely the states of mind of the others. And seeing Sarah's attitude, he had come to a conclusion.

-" She's weird. Something must have happened. "

As this old lady walked away, Kira saw something on the old lady's neck in the back. It was some kind of tattoo.

Kira thought she had seen it wrong, but there was no mistake. No type of tattoo looked like that one. A red dragon tattoo on one leg.

-" That's not possible... "

-" Huh? Kira? " Said Seisa, not having heard well what Kira had just said.

Kira ignored Seisa completely and called out to the old lady.

-" Hoy, granny. "

-" Hmm? "

Sarah stopped and turned around.

-" What is it, boy? "

-" You are wearing the Red Dragon with one leg. There's no mistaking it. "

-" ... "

-" Since you were part of [Sector One], you can help me with something. "Kira said, relaxed, hands in his pockets.

-" ... "

Seisa didn't really understand what was going on. But Kira looked more serious than usual. So she decided not to interrupt him and to watch this Sarah's every move.

-" Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not part of Sector One anymore. "

-" Whether you're still there or not is not a real problem. You probably know where [the Habaki] is. I know very well that a branch of Sector One has been assigned to research the [Divine Phantasm]. "

Sarah widened her eyes and showed her surprise.

-" How did a child get access to such closely guarded information? "

-" Let's just say I have a good mate here and there. But I'd like an answer. "

-" You know way too much, kid. You'd better go back home. "

-" You don't know how hard it is. "

-" Anyway, I have no intention of telling you anything about it. "

-" Now there's a stubborn grandmother..."

-" ... "

-" So let's make a deal. " Said Kira. "

-" Hmm? "

-" Yeah. A deal. Yesterday you told me you wanted to get rid of a guy named Raiga, right? "

-" I do. I intend to kill him. "

-" So I volunteer to go and shoot him, if you promise to tell me what you know about the investigations of that famous Sector One branch. I dare to believe that if Raiga is still alive today, it is because you all failed to defeat him. "

-" ... "

Sarah looked away for a moment. She seemed to be thinking very deeply about what Kira had just said. He was not wrong about one thing. If Raiga was so easy to defeat, she or anyone else would have eliminated him by now.

-" This dragon tattoo was made so that we who were part of the Research Branch could not divulge any information about this research. This seal is the work of the Empress herself. That is why I cannot tell you anything. I cannot abandon these children. "

-" You have a choice between Raiga's tyranny and your sacrifice to save these kids. You are not unaware that these same kids you are protecting will be eliminated by Raiga, one day. If your sacrifice allows them to stay alive, it's worth it. Also, Raiga is the right-hand man of a certain Sekiro, from what I've heard. Honestly, it's way too risky for you to go after him. "

-" What makes you think you'd have a better chance of defeating Raiga than the rest of us, anyway? You think you can sacrifice yourself for all of us? "

-" The more enemies I have, the better. "

-" ... "

Sarah had nothing to answer. Kira Leonhart was really a strange character. So she gave him answer.

-" I will make my decision tonight. Come to the Orphanage at 7pm. "

Immediately afterwards, the sister left.

Seisa, who had remained silent all this time, addressed Kira.

-" Do you think it's a good idea? "

-" It's the best idea I've found. "

-" Huh. I didn't know a jerk like you could weigh the pros and cons of a situation. "

-" I don't need your comments! "

-" That said, I still wonder what you intend to do with the Habaki. "

-" Nothing special. Let's hurry up and finalize our purchases instead. Tomorrow we're moving out of here. We still have some supplies to buy. "

[Port]

It was already about 12 o'clock.

At this time of day, it was usually very hot on the island of Onyx. For this reason, everyone was quick to find a shady spot or to stay in the sun as little as possible. The same was true for a certain girl with black hair and a red pearl necklace.

Alma Tempest. She was dressed in light clothing. So it was even more necessary for her to go into the shade. As she took shortcuts in a hurry to get to a large shadowy area away from the crowd, Alma overheard a conversation.

She was just down an alley, and the conversation was going on inside the building to her right. She had highly developed senses, especially in terms of hearing. So she could hear what was being said over the wall.

-" So, are they all ready? "

-" Yes. It took a while, but we'll be able to use them. "

-" I wonder what they have in mind, to want to make such a sacrifice. "

-" I don't know any more than you do. We'll see. "

-" From what I hear, only a handful of people know about this project. They even used the Zero Dark for their benefit. They are scary. Haha! "

Alma recognized the voice of one of these people. The other voice was unknown to her.

-That voice...it's..."

-" You, don't make a blunder. You'll have to be as discreet as possible. "

-" Yeah, don't play me for a fool. I'll just set my guns to silent if I need to. "

-" You can never be too safe with you, Raiga. "

-" Shut up, you damn nun. "

-" By the way, Raiga. There's a kid we should take out right away. Meet me at the Orphanage at the hour you know."

-" It's Raiga... What does that mean? "

-" I heard something. Didn't you? "

-" I didn't hear anything. "

-" Hmm. "

Alma felt she had been spotted and preferred to leave the area as quickly as possible before she was caught by someone.

When she was far enough away that she didn't need to run anymore, Alma breathed a little. All she could think about was this strange conversation. Who was Raiga talking to? What could they be talking about? What were these famous sacrifices? What did they have to do quickly?

-"Intriguing...Haha...They talked about Sekiro. I'm getting closer to the goal. To the Orphanage, huh? "

�

Kira Leonhart had been cursed by the Empress in 1997. And a year later, he found himself and Seisa Alucard -the same girl who at school claimed to be the future Empress- in a coastal area, ready to go on an adventure, looking for a certain Mr. L who had contacted them and was in the Jade Empire. They seemed to have been preparing for a while.

That day, the Empress had used a kind of sword of light to pierce Kira. But he was not dead. He had wondered for a long time if he had been left alive on purpose and what the effects of that sword were. But he realized it after a month.

His soul was gradually disappearing. This meant that he didn't have much time left. On the other hand, when his soul was completely gone, his existence would also vanish. He would not go to heaven or hell. This sword must have had other side effects that Kira did not know about. But for now, he wanted to find a way to free himself from this curse. If his theory was correct, he would die right after the extraction of this sword that had become invisible and immaterial.

That day, Seisa Alucard had saved his life. And in return, Kira had decided to make Seisa Empress.

�

[18h40]

It was time for Kira's appointment with old Sarah. He was finally going to know her answer. Seisa was not with Kira. He had left her in a playroom farther away, telling her he would be back in about ten minutes. So, the emerald boy was heading to St. Mark's Orphanage.

Seisa had just come out of the playroom, meanwhile. She was a very lucky girl, no matter what the game. She had just won no less than one million Zans in barely an hour. The people she had just played with were amazed. Seisa put all her money in her bag. She seemed very happy. And just outside the casino, she met a person -whom she did not recognize-.

-" Mm? "

- "Oh..."

Seisa hardly recognized the people she had only once. So she squinted her eyes to identify this person in front of her.

-" Hey. It's you, the redhead from last time! "

-" Huuuh? Where do you get off addressing me so familiarly? And who are you anyway? "

-" I didn't introduce myself last time. I'm Alma. And you, what's your name?"

-" Seisa Alucard, future empress. Although...I may have seen you somewhere before. It's true that I don't remember the faces of the lower classes. "

-" You're fun. Do you like gambling? " Asked Alma.

Alma had her hair cut and was dressed warmer.

-" Yes. It's a way to increase the fortune of the Empress that I am! Bow down."

-" Well...you don't lack confidence. " Said Alma with a smile.

-" Hmpf, I'm not one of the common people like you. And you, where do you go like that, at night? "

-" Oh me? Nowhere. "

-" You're clearly going somewhere. "

-" Am I?"

-" Yeah. By the way, your style of dress is not so bad. Even if there is still some progress to make. " Seisa agreed.

-" Thank you. People find my style rather strange, in general. Ah...and to think I try to look cool in order to attract boys. Unfortunately I have something that mysteriously repels them! "

-" Ooh? Wait...attracting boys? What a moron...this goal is ridiculous. "

- "People like you with big goals can't understand the desires of a young lady during the cherry blossom season..."

- "Arf..."

-" What, you don't know? You have never been to Aokigahara?"

- "No, but I don't think the cherry trees are already in bloom..."

-" Mh. "

-" Still, you're a funny girl. "

-" Ah?"

-" Yeah. My attitude doesn't seem to piss you off or anything. You even manage to capture my attention. "

Alma smiled. She also looked away.

-" I find people like you quite likeable. "

-" Do you have any friends? "

-" Ah...I did. "

-" ... "

Seisa did not say anything more. But this girl had caught her attention. Except for Kira, no one was able to hold a conversation with her.

Seisa smiled, for some reason.

-" Poor creature. If you have no friends, then be honored to have the future Empress among them! " Seisa said, pointing at Alma.

-" ... "

-" ... "

-" ... "

-" What's up? "

-" Nothing. You just remind me of a friend of mine, when I was little. "

�

Kira had arrived in front of the Orphanage. No one was waiting for him in front of the Orphanage's door. The boy had arrived early. So maybe it was okay that Sarah wasn't there. But something was wrong. It was too dark. And yet it was still too early for the children to be sleeping.

Inside the house, most of the children were already sleeping. Sarah reassured herself that they were all covered and the lights were off. She had said goodnight to each of them. There was electricity nearby, but still no lights were on, and Sarah walked around with a lamp.

Throughout the house, the floor was wet. When she got down to the lower floor, Sarah struck a match and put the flame on the floor. The floor immediately burst into flames.

The liquid on the floor was not water, but oil.

From the outside, Kira had smelled the burning air long before she saw the flames shooting up inside the house.

-" What does that mean? "

Then he saw a person coming out of the house that was burning.

It was the sister. She looked pale and emotionless.

- "It's seven o'clock sharp. You are quite punctual. " Said the sister, addressing Kira.

-" What is the meaning of all this? "

-" All of this...We simply did our job. "

-" Your job? "

Raiga stepped out of the shadows of the trees. Kira looked at him out of the corner of his eye but paid no attention to him.

-" We needed sacrifices. And these children were the perfect targets. All we have to do is make it look like an accident. "Sarah said.

-" I thought your purpose was to look after these orphans. "Kira said, calmly.

-" Yes. Until the time comes to use them."

-" You are monsters. For what purpose can you raise children and then eliminate them? "

-" We were simply ordered to do so. I liked those children. But I had no choice but to use them. No one will save them. "

-" So you lied to me when you said you wanted to kill Raiga. You were allies from the start. "

-" ... "

Kira took his hands out of his pockets.

-" I'm going to beat you up. Then I'm going to get these kids off the hook. "