In the stillness of the night, three lone figures ran through the shadows; passing the street lights that flickered whilst they ran swiftly; trailing the alleys and scary places no one dared to intrude; jumping along buildings and buildings covertly; and then falling into a stop at the towering roof of a certain building. They looked down at the city, as if they have conquered it; admiring the lights as they flashed simultaneously from different houses with different colors; and the night itself as the stars glimmered above them - the only thing that sparkled but cannot be touched nor pilfered.
And as they left, they dropped a note. The folded crimson envelope landed on the concrete floor whilst they vanished in the shadows. The note, the only trace of their abrupt intrusion, was a declaration of their unpleasant intention:
"Tomorrow, we will steal the night away.
- Crimson Bandits"
.~.~.~.~.~.
You're Under Arrest
Chapter One
- The Night -
.~.~.~.~.~.
[Karakura Police Force Investigation (KPFI) HQ]
It was frustration.
Every time Renji saw Rukia come into the office, his mind suddenly throws a frustrating puzzle at him. A puzzle he couldn't quite understand and didn't even know where to begin with. He cared for her. She was his best friend after all. He was like a brother to her, except that she didn't need one with an overprotective Byakuya around. But still... he couldn't comprehend why this woman, Rukia Kuchiki, the heiress to the infamous Kuchiki family, was here - working her ass in such a messy place disguised as an office, doing paper works, training and putting her life on the line for the sake of justice. He couldn't understand why even Byakuya Kuchiki would allow her to do so. Her life was most precious to him. She will become his successor someday. But here she was, sitting in that cozy table, sipping some coffee and indulging herself in a pile of papers. Actually, that was what she was supposed to be doing, but not wearing that stupid police uniform and not here. Not in this office. Not in this chaotic place.
Renji stood up from his workspace and peered into the next cubicle to see the petite woman scribbling on a piece of paper. "Rukia, it's early in the morning and what? No greeting from you?"
She turned to him and smirked. "Good morning, Mister Weird-Eyebrows."
"What was that? You got a problem with my eyebrows, Miss Four-Feet?" he countered.
"I am not four feet!" she retorted.
"Oh, three feet then!"
She stood from her desk to face him and gave him a jab on the stomach which made him bend in pain. "Unfortunately, I don't need height to reach you, Renji." She stuck her tongue out playfully and returned to her seat.
The nerve of this woman!
But it was one of the things Renji admired the most. She was small, but terrible. Nobody would mess with her. She was a very independent woman, fully capable of protecting herself - brave, intelligent and cunning. Sometimes playful and child-like, and sometimes harsh and commanding. She wouldn't hurt anyone without any reason, and most of those were one such as belittling her height and of course her art.
"EMERGENCY MEETING!
EMERGENCY MEETING!
EVERYONE COME TO THE CONFERENCE ROOM."
.~.~.~.~.~.
[KPFI Conference Room]
Inside the conference room, fourteen people started to gather. And then, the briefing started.
"They will strike again," declared Ukitake. He was seated at the head of the table as the commanding officer of KPFI. "They've stated to steal the night away." He passed the envelope to Shunsui.
"Again? This is the fifth time this week now," said Hitsugaya Toushiro while eyeing the note - deep in thought.
"They sure are on a stealing spree," commented Renji.
"This is gonna be the fifth time they are going to be fooling with us. They must be caught. Mayuri please give us the details of their previous operations."
Nemu handed Mayuri a folder. He flipped it open. "Well, based on previous events, they have successfully stolen what they declared to steal in a red envelope. They travel in group of two or three. There were no casualties so far and they operate at night. There were no witnesses and no evidences of their despicable deeds. Not even a fingerprint or footprint can be found. And aside from that, the general knowledge we already know is, they call themselves the Crimson Bandits."
Nemu added, "And the location where the note had been found was a library."
"A library? What? They're going to steal books?" bursted Renji.
"Oh my, Abarai. That library is Karakura's National Library. That contains ancient texts, scrolls, articles of great knowledge and importance they are kept hidden from the public. That place alone is already a vast amount of wealth. You understand, don't you, Abarai?" Unohana's eyes flashed dangerously menacing to Renji. He felt he would die already.
He gulped. "Y-yes. Unohana-sama."
"They are very confident, aren't they? Sending a message before striking," said Matsumoto who was seated next to her partner, Hitsugaya.
"Maybe they're underestimating us too much," Rukia commented.
"Well, they have the right to underestimate us. They've been eluding us four times now."
Shunsui, seated next to Ukitake and Nanao twitched his eyes and smirked. "If it's a challenge they want, then let's give it to them."
"I can't have all agents out tonight but of course, this is top priority. So… Agent Kiyone and Agent Sentarou take charge of the ground."
"Aye, aye, sir!" Both replied in unison but glared at each other and fought internally about who spoke first.
"Agent Hitsugaya and Agent Matsumoto will be in charge of the rooftop and monitor any aerial activity."
"Roger that! Say that too partner!" Matsumoto replied and all Hitsugaya gave was a grunt. "We're gonna have some fun!"
"We're not there to have some fun, Matsumoto," answered Hitsugaya.
"And so… Agent Shunsui and his partner Agent Nanao, as well as Agent Ishida and his partner Arisawa, will disguise themselves on the inside. The library will be shut tonight. Pay attention to suspicious characters, personnel and to the off-limit areas. If you find anything, be sure to contact with the transceiver fast. Back-ups will be all around the place. As to whatever they're stealing, Agents Mayuri and Nemu will look up any book they could possibly steal with the title 'Night' in them. The rest of us will be on standby."
No assignment. Standby again… thought Rukia as she frowned. Renji noticed this and nudged her elbow to comfort her. He knew how much Rukia wanted to work outside of her very own suffocating office cubicle. More than that, he knew she wanted to prove herself to her brother and to a certain person he dare not remember the name.
"All is settled, so prepare for tonight. Meeting adjourned."
Everyone left the room immediately, feeling tensed and excited with their assignments. But Rukia still sat there with Renji trying to get her to stand up. Ukitake noticed this. "What's the matter, Kuchiki?"
"Ukitake-sama… I've been here for a month now and since I entered, all I did was paperwork. I want to be on the field too, Ukitake-sama." Renji backed away a bit to give some privacy.
"That… I can't have you on the field, Kuchiki. I'm sorry."
"Was it my brother?"
"It's far too dangerous for you. These aren't ordinary thugs. They are skilled and they know their job very well."
She stood up, her hands flat on the table and stared at him seriously. "I will never know my job well enough when I'm locked in the four corners of my booth, tied to nothing but pen and paper. I don't care if it's dangerous. I just want a chance to even try."
Ukitake sighed at her persistence. "Okay… On the ground you two."
Rukia cheered up and so did Renji. "Thank you, Ukitake-sama." And they quickly departed.
"Byakuya is going to kill me for this."
.~.~.~.~.~.
[Somewhere in a dark alley...]
"It's time."
"Right. Remember Grimmjow, don't turn this operation into a bloodfest."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," the hooded man named Grimmjow answered. "I just don't get it. You drop notes, let them know we're going to steal something today and avoid violence? You ask for a challenge and what, back down from it?"
"We're not backing down on anything. It's boring when nobody's chasing you around. Besides it's a good way to be famous. Heck we're already turning this town upside-down. Whatcha say, Ashido?"
"I say we leave now."
"Tch."
From the dark, three shadows rushed. Their cloaks flowed with the wind as they ran. Their footsteps ever so silent. They wore nothing but black. Their faces, hidden in a mask. Not a single strand of hair could be seen. Their eyes were also nothing but black. The moon peered on the dark grey sky as if guiding their way.
They're going to steal the night. They're rocking this town tonight.
.~.~.~.~.~.
[Karakura National Library - Streets]
Almost every agent was already in position. Ukitake and his partner Unohana stayed in HQ to give directives and monitor any more peculiar activities in the town. The road to the library was blocked. Security was tightened. There were many police officers inspecting every inch of dark, unexplored areas. K-9 dogs wandered around the building. A military helicopter also hovered around the area.
They wanted a challenge, surely they won't back down now.
"Alpha team. Alpha Team. Come in." It was Kiyone's voice from the transceiver. Rukia and Renji ignored it. They were busy patrolling the dark alleys near the library.
"What is that team thing? That's so outdated!" Matsumoto replied from the transceiver.
"Hey! It's not! Anyway, I'm stuck with Sentar -"
"Booger girl! Booger!"
"See! Can't escape this booger monkey! Alpha Team, where are you?"
"Uh... who are you referring to anyway?" Tatsuki asked from the transceiver.
"RUKIA KUCHIKI!"
Rukia quickly took the transceiver out and pushed the talk button. "Uhh... what is it?"
"I heard you're engaged!"
"WHAT?!" asked Matsumoto, Tatsuki, Ishida and Shunsui and Nanao in unison.
"Hey, hey. We're working now," said Renji.
"Say one more word and I'll kill you, Kiyone." Rukia sighed, her palm on her face. News travel so fast. Beside her, Renji frowned guiltily. "You told her, didn't you?"
"Sorry, I... I slipped."
"So, is it true?" asked Matsumoto.
"Oh, wait! I think I saw something. Be right back!" she said quickly, obviously avoiding the question and pushed the stop button. They continued to patrol on the street. There was only one last building to check.
"Oh, she escaped."
"Anyway... so, we are... Theta Team!" said Kiyone joyfully.
"Oh please... no more maths."
"There are no theta in phonetic alphabet, Kiyone."
"Beta team then!"
"No Beta also," said Ishida, "I guess the teams may come in handy. We're taking Delta Team."
"Oh. Then me and Hitsu-chan will take Echo!"
"Booger girl and I will take Charlie!"
"BOOOGERRR BOY!"
"We are Bravo Team then," came Nanao's voice.
"Nanao-chaaaaa - " Shunsui stopped dead as a crack was heard.
"Pervert!"
"Idiots! This is not a chatroom. Shut up and go back to work!" Hitsugaya yelled commandingly.
"Hitsu-chaannn~"
"Matsumoto, you don't need to talk in the transceiver when talking to me. We're just beside each other, and don't call me that," said the one who also replied on the transceiver.
"Eh... I was just wondering... why the lights are going off street by street." They were in the rooftop and they could see everything. Slowly the lights were shut off, street by street. It was a country-wide blackout.
"So they're coming..."
.~.~.~.~.~.
[A Few Streets Away from Library]
Lights were completely off. Only the moonlight illuminated their way. Even that, seemed to be denied to them as dark clouds emerged and covered the sky.
"Bunch of cowards..." Rukia said with obvious irritation. They were walking on the corner of a building.
"What?"
Buildings started to turn their generators on.
"They are cowards, who hide themselves in the dark. If they wanted a greater challenge, why don't they show their faces?"
Food establishments turned their generators on.
"Well, if they show their faces, they won't be able to mingle with us, right?"
The Library turned its generator on.
"Yeah. You're right."
Rukia scanned every building and alley nearby before deciding to head back to the Library but she stopped with realization as she found an unlit building. There was a blackout so it was only natural to see buildings without lights but this was weird. This was different. Because this building, was supposed to have generators. It was a museum, Karakura's largest museum, just a few streets away from the Library. It was supposed to be lit.
"RENJI! THE MUSEUM!" she yelled.
"WHAT?"
She quickly ran to the museum with Renji following behind. "Wait! Rukia!"
"You know they are cowards. They operate at night, because they're scared that someone would see their identity. What would be the purpose of stealing at night, if the building is fully lit up? Plus that, they need to disable the alarm systems."
"So you mean..."
"This is the only place, to which the generator did not turn on! This... has 'The Night' painting from World War I. This... This is their target place!" Any Karakura resident would know about World War I. It was etched in history. 'The Night' was depicting it. It was one of the museum's valuable treasure.
"Those mischievious assholes!"
.~.~.~.~.~.
[Museum]
Rukia opened the door to the museum and was greeted by an unconscious guard. He was hit on the head but still alive and unarmed. With that confirmation, she decided to let the other agents know. "Alpha Team here. We are currently inspecting the museum. There is one guard down. Requesting medical assistance."
"Roger that. Bringing medics with me," someone spoke from the transceiver.
Rukia and Renji left the guard by the door and ventured into the darkness of the museum. Being a true resident and having already visited the museum more than once, Rukia knew where the painting was being displayed but it was very dark inside and they had no flashlight. They came to a stop in front of the stairs. Rukia tugged Renji's shirt. "Renji, I need you to turn the generator on."
"What?"
"We need that on."
"I can't leave this to you alone!"
"Renji! We're partners! Have faith in me, just as I have faith in you."
"DAMN!" It was dark but it was still evident that Renji had gritted his teeth. "Okay! I'll come after you soon!"
"I'm counting on you."
"Don't do anything stupid or your brother will kill me too." Renji waved and ran to nowhere. He actually did not know where the generator was. Neither did Rukia, so he had to trust his intuitions here.
She smiled as he departed, very confident he won't let her down. Ignoring the sudden wave of fright in her spine, she dashed the stairs, ready to take down the unknown adversaries. She felt her footsteps thumped with the marble staircase and made a clanking noise, her high-heeled shoes almost tripped her over. Aside from the nuisance she get from her shoes, her uniform annoyed her to no end. The force must definitely redesign their uniforms for women. They wore a white semi-formal shirt (the color actually was not a requirement) and usually with neckties under the shirt collar and knotted at the throat. They also wore a protective vest on the outside (but sometimes they can wear coats) and a skirt that extended to their upper knees. At the back of the coats or vests, the K.P.F.I. insignia was paraded proudly. And at the belt of their skirts, her skirt, a holster was attached carrying an elegant pistol with the Kuchiki family's emblem engraved in it. She carefully reached for the gun's handle, grabbed it tightly and pulled the slide so the bullet from the clip was loaded into the chamber. The moonlight beamed at every window she passed.
Second floor...
ZZZZZzzzz... The tranceiver's signal was jammed and it was now rendered useless and turned off.
Third floor...
.~.~.~.~.~.
[Third Floor - Exhibit Room]
"Hmm... Those are a bunch of idiots," said Grimmjow, his voice echoing in the silent room. They were already wrapping up a large painting.
"They're so stupid. I left them a note and what? They made this too easy for us." Ichigo laughed.
"Maybe next time you shouldn't just drop it from a certain building and let it fly," suggested Ashido.
"Any creature with a brain would've tried to decipher what that message was all about!"
"Yeah, they're stupid. They misled themselves."
"Hmm... This is the first time the envelope flew that far away from our target place. Give them a break."
"Why are you siding with them?"
"I am just being sympathetic."
"Whatever!" They finished wrapping the painting in a cardboard paper and secured it with masking tapes. Grimmjow tossed it to Ashido. "Well, sympathetic person, hold that."
Ashido tossed the painting back to Grimmjow. "You hold that. All you did is whine."
Grimmjow gave the painting to Ichigo. "Since your note did nothing, you hold it."
"What? My note saved us all the trouble! You hold it." Ichigo tossed it back to Grimmjow.
Grimmjow tossed it back to him and he caught it. "You know you -"
"I can hold that for you if you want," Rukia's voice suddenly reverberated in the room.
The three men's attention darted to the door only to meet with a pair of amethyst-like eyes that glistened in the dark. Her breath was ragged and she was panting.
Shocked with the abrupt interruption, Ichigo barely managed to speak, "No thanks. I think I'll hold it."
"Who's that?" Grimmjow asked, slightly interested.
"Who knows?" Ashido answered.
Rukia took the time to stare at their standing figures but couldn't find anything that would differentiate them from each other, except the masks they wore and the height. Their eyes were all black. Even their hair was too concealed. And their voice was hoarse and screened by the mask. "Let me see..."
She stared at Ashido's mask, tracing the lines and curves in her mind, memorizing the holes and the shape. "A prehistoric dinosaur..."
"What?"
Next she stared at Grimmjow's and Ichigo's, saving the masks into her photographic memory. "... An alien... and an ape... What museum did you guys escaped from?"
"I knew it man, you look like an ape." Ichigo grinned from inside the mask.
"I'm not the ape! You are!"
"See my mask looked like alien head!"
"Well my mask have sharper teeth than yours!"
Rukia Kuchiki wondered to herself, as she stood and watched these crooks argue childishly with themselves. How could these bastards... elude the police force so many times with this attitude? No, that's not it. Perhaps they're just not taking her seriously enough. They have to stop underestimating her and the police force from now on.
"Hey, let's go now." Ashido commanded and they turned to leave to the other door with another set of stairs.
Rukia stomped her feet to get their attention back and pointed her gun at Ichigo. "Freeze!" She ordered, "Drop that thing, you smallest of the three, you ape head!"
Ichigo turned around and glanced at Ashido then at Grimmjow. "What? Don't pretend you're taller than me!" Grimmjow quickly said in defense to his calculating stare. Then he turned to face the woman again.
"THE HELL? You're not one to talk about heights here, you dwarf!"
"I said FREEZE!" she said again firmly with both hands gripping the gun tightly, ready to pull the trigger. The three of them was intimidated with her seriousness.
"Eh, this girl proved to be quite a challenge. Let me handle her." Grimmjow walked a few steps toward Rukia and she shifted the gun-point at him. Three against one would be unfair now.
"Fine, remember. No killing." Ichigo and Ashido turned to leave.
"WAIT!" She was going to run after them but was blocked by Grimmjow's sudden emergence in front of her. He was fast, very fast and she was careless. With this darkness, it was hard to see his movements. His hands suddenly gripped the gun and pointed it upwards while Rukia involuntarily pulled the trigger. The bang was loud enough to be heard from the other floors.
"Great. You just blew it up!"
Rukia fought to regain the gun but his height was a great disadvantage as he further tried to levitate it. Soon enough, her grip loosened and the situation reversed. She was now unarmed and a man was pointing a gun at her. "Was that it? Too easy."
Refusing to accept defeat, Rukia almost wanted to lunge forward and tackle him when the slightly opened door bursted wide. Renji huffed, "Rukia! You okay?"
"Renji! What took you so long? Why's the generator not on?"
"They're fixing it downstairs." He quickly took a gun out and pointed it at Grimmjow. "As for you, back-ups are coming. Surrender."
"Tch." Grimmjow quickly grabbed Rukia as hostage and pointed the gun at her head. She protested but with her size and his physical strength, she was no match. "You surrender," he mocked.
"Bastard, let her go!"
Soon, helicopters were heard from above the building. Grimmjow needed to end this quick before more back-ups follow. With Rukia as his human shield, he confidently fired the gun at Renji. Renji squirmed in pain. "RENJI!" Rukia screamed and she bit Grimmjow's arm so hard he dropped the gun and withdrew away from her.
"Shit!" He cursed and quickly ran away to the stairs following Ichigo and Ashido's trail.
Rukia quickly came to Renji's aid. "Renji, you're bleeding. Where did he hit you?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine."
Rukia inspected his bleeding leg. The wound was deep and he won't be able to move or run any more without it being treated first. She took his transceiver and tried to talk. There was a static line but soon it cleared and the signal was successfully connected. "Renji Abarai needs some medical assistance! An agent is down! Third floor of the museum! The suspects are escaping through the rooftop! Anybody, come in. Agent Abarai is down."
"Copy that! We're almost there, Kuchiki! Hold on Abarai!" It was Hitsugaya's voice. Feeling assured, Rukia pressed the stop button.
Renji's eyes were closed and he was trembling in pain. "Re-renji... Hold on okay? Don't... Don't you dare die on me now..."
"Idiot. I got shot on the leg, it's far from the heart," he answered with a smirk on his face.
Even then, he could still die from massive blood loss. It would take a while for the medics to come too. Rukia stood and started to rip her skirt from the right side.
"What the hell are you doing, Rukia?"
"These... are annoying. Why must we have skirt as a uniform?"
"Well, maybe because... you know. Women shouldn't actually be in this kind of thing."
"Hmm... and what should women be doing then? Stay at home and breed babies?"
"YOU IDIOT! I-IT'S NOT THAT!"
Then there was a longer ripping sound as Rukia finished tearing some length out from her skirt. Renji looked away from her, a bit flustered. "THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"
Rukia carefully wrapped the cloth around his leg to help stop the bleeding. She may not be a medic but she knew a thing or two about first aid too. "Rukia, go after them."
"I can't leave you here like this."
"I can take care of myself. Trust me."
"Okay."
Standing up with resolve, she ripped the left side of her skirt. This way, she will be given more mobility and nothing to keep her from running at her best. She tossed the high heeled shoes aside and picked her very own pistol up. That alien masked bastard's gonna pay!
Renji watched her leave. He trusted her but deep down, he cursed himself. He was supposed to be protecting her... as her partner and as her bestfriend...
.~.~.~.~.~.
[Rooftop]
She ran through the stairs as fast as she could, Renji's injury igniting fire in her eyes. She arrived at the rooftop and was surprised to see they almost boarded a military helicopter. The pilot of the chopper didn't seem to be a police officer or a member of the armed forces. He was wearing a green hat but the rest of his face was hidden in the dark. The ape and dinosaur man already boarded, but the alien guy was still on the ground.
"Hold it right there, you bastard!" She pointed the gun at him.
The chopper was waiting for him to jump onboard.
Ichigo and Ashido was stunned with the girl's adamant persistence but respected her nonetheless as nobody has ever chased them this far before. On the rooftop, her features were more visible and admirable. The moonlight radiated with her splendor and the gust of wind from the helicopter's swirling rotor fluttered with her hair and her clothes - the necktie danced wildly with the breeze as well as her few-lengths-torn-skirt. Her amethyst-like eyes, her composure and icy cold demeanor, dark raven hair, luscious lips, pale smooth skin and sexy legs would almost fool anyone and mistake her as a moon goddess or something.
Grimmjow paid no heed to her and still managed to jump on the foot of the chopper. This sudden action forced Rukia to shoot. She shot him, on the leg. Same as how he shot Renji. He gasped in pain and cursed many inaudible words but didn't let go. His two friends managed to bring him inside the chopper.
She lowered the gun as the helicopter flew away, shaken by the mere fact that it was her first time shooting a real live person; shaken by the fact that she might've and could've killed somebody if she hadn't stopped aiming for his head. She stayed there, a couple of minutes just staring at the direction the helicopter had fled, contemplating. The wind continued to dance with her silence.
After a few minutes, Agent Shunsui arrived at the rooftop. "Kuchiki, what happened?"
"Sorry. They got away." Rukia said, there was uncertainty in her voice. She was confused with what she should have done a few minutes ago. Would it have been better if she shot the chopper as well? Then, if that happened, would she be branded a murderer if they ever crashed? Would they have survived that?
"How's Renji?" At least, she was able to avenge Renji.
"An ambulance already took him to the nearest hospital. Don't worry, he'll be fine."
"Thank you."
.~.~.~.~.~.
[Chopper]
"ARGH! Curse that woman! She's so dead the next time I see her and her partner."
"Grimmjow, you actually shot her partner. It's natural for her to be enraged. We told you not to turn this into a blood fest."
"Settle down now, we're almost landing. We need to bring you to the nearest hospital," said the pilot with the green hat.
"Fuck!"
"Shut up and faint already."
"Even with my weakened state, I can still kill a person. You want to try me, Ashido?"
Ichigo was silent the whole flight. The lights have returned to the city, but his eyes were still dimmed by those sparkling purple amethyst-like eyes. The way her body radiated in his eyes was just like a shining combination of gold and diamond in a treasure box, waiting to be owned and raided by a pirate deserving such worth. Why had it felt like he had just seen a fallen star tonight?
It looked like 'The Night' wasn't the only thing stolen tonight.