Catalyst Chapter 10: To Answer Your Question

Read chapter 10 of Catalyst by dumbhd on NovelPedia.

Japan, The Ka'ji Gate. 21:17 AFTER THE INCIDENT. Noble approaches the genkan, taking off his shoes. They fall onto the floor, one toppling over. He adjusts them, putting them next to each other perfectly. In the pond in front of the household, an old man sits on the edge. He holds a cup, drinking from the crystal clear water. They exchange glances, nodding to each other. Noble walks up the stairs to the shoji screen, the wooden planks groaning from years of usage. He stares at the screen, sliding it open. The hallway stretches far, multiple paths. The shoji doors show silhouettes, of women, men, children, some sitting down, others talking. The right side of the hallway opens up to a inner field, walls of the household surrounding it. Multiple of the clan members sparred, others resting or training. " Noble. " One of the elders passes him, wearing the traditional Ka'ji attire. He stops by the last door, the frame larger than the others. The paper on the shoji was replaced entirely with thick, black timber, reinforced with iron bands. It bore the crest of the Ka'ji, but jagged, stylized like a blade cutting through a mountain. This wasn't a room for politics. It was the den of the clan's vanguard. The Zetsu. Noble slides the heavy door open, the wood scraping harshly. The air inside is immediately overwhelming. The passive Ether radiating from the occupants are so dense it feels like walking into a deep ocean current. The room is a massive, austere wooden dojo, scarred with deep cuts and craters from centuries of lethal sparring. Sitting, leaning, and standing around the room are five individuals. They wear traditional black and dark-grey martial hakamas, their forearms wrapped, their postures relaxed but lethally primed. These are the monsters of the Ka'ji. The absolute peak. " You're late, Noble. " A man sitting on the veranda edge speaks without looking at him. He is built like a tank, polishing a massive, unrefined nodachi with a cloth. His face is heavily scarred, a cigarette hanging lazily from his lips. " Traffic across the Pacific, Jin. " Noble steps into the room, unbothered by the crushing pressure of their Ether. A man with black, short hair, wearing the same traditional uniform the other Zetsu wear, looks toward Noble, an expecting expression. Noble sits down in the middle, bowing slowly. " I was unable to kill Terra Umbral- " A tanto flies past his head, cutting into the shoji screen behind him. He glances toward it, Noble turns his head to the floor, his eyes wandering the tatami mats as he leans over, " I apologize. " " You should. " A younger member, no older than 25, walks out from the shoji screen at the end of the room. An annoyed expression plastered over his face. His clothing was different, not as formal and traditional but still similar, he wasn't the same as the others. The head of the Zetsu. Nao 'Eiji' Ka'ji He sits on the ground, his left leg touching the floor and his right leg pointing upwards. The others glancing to him, one of them annoyed at his posture, " Do not tarnish our reputation with such casual practices, Nao- " " Don't tell me what to do, old man. " The older man's jaw clenches, a vein popping on his temple, but he bites his tongue. The hierarchy in the Zetsu isn't based on age or wisdom. It is based purely on who can kill who. And Nao, despite his age, is a monster even among them. Nao rests his elbow on his raised knee, his chin resting lazily in his palm. His golden eyes drift toward Noble, cold and apathetic. " So. The great Noble let a street-rat with a sword slip through his fingers. " Nao sighs, picking at his fingernails. " You let an R.C.T lapdog interrupt you, and then you ran away. Tell me, Noble, did you leave your spine in America too? " " Terra Umbral is buried beneath a collapsing subterranean city, alongside the R.C.T. forces, " Noble replies, his voice steady. He doesn't take the bait. He knows showing anger in front of Nao is a death sentence. " But he was merely a loud d