Author: Ninja
Author's Note: This is a multi-part story written by anonymous request. (See below.) The rating may jump a bit later on. It will update every other day or so until it's complete. Thanks for reading!
PROMPT: "Was there ever a time after Shadowmaru helped Gunmax and Deckerd get together that he felt left out? Or that his feelings were unrequited? Some angst and feels, pls."


"I have a mission for you."

"More work?"

Saejima Jyuuzou nodded an affirmative: "That's right."

BP-501 - designation: Shadowmaru - pulled himself upright to settle on his haunches. "Ah," he uttered, his voice light and his pointed canine ears flicking forward, "in that case I'll have to leave the naps to Power Joe."

"Hmm," the Commissioner chuckled before pulling out a file previously tucked beneath his arm. "It looks that way. Here's the information we've gathered on the case."

The echoes of Shadowmaru's shifting armor filled the otherwise deserted hallway of the Brave Police's headquarters. Once transformed, he knelt on one knee and extended a hand to carefully retrieve the small slips of paper being held out to him. It was sometimes inconvenient to deal with things on a human scale, but Shadowmaru liked to believe it kept them humble. He used a fingertip to both lightly balance and gently ease the folder open, and proceeded to scan the contents.

Interesting.

"I have full confidence you can do the job," the Commissioner was saying with crossed arms.

"It is how I earn my meals."

"We'll be sure to restock on jet fuel." Saejima nodded at the papers suspended on the crook of one of the larger ninja's digits. (No soba?) "We have reason to believe there's an illegal weapons ring popping up in the countryside. The Defense Forces want to know if an old bunker is being used for criminal trafficking."

"A small matter that could become a big problem..."

"Mh. And something we'd rather avoid."

Shadowmaru scrutinized the last page before carefully easing the folder shut once more. With his helm dipping in a respectful nod, he held the packet out for the Commissioner to take back. The man's age-worn hands retrieved the delicate sheets and tucked them back under his arm.

"Why me?" It took a moment for Shadowmaru to recognize that the question had come from him. He studied the commissioner under the shadowed sweep of his headband, curious.

"This will require a lot of reconnaissance," Saejima explained. He grunted a small sigh. "I hope that's all it will need."

Shadowmaru mulled over the data he'd downloaded.

"The sooner we find out what's going on there, the better," the older man continued. "Vice-Commissioner Azuma wants answers as soon as possible." The ninja detective experienced a flicker of amusement at the addendum.

When doesn't he?

Shadowmaru registered the sound of boots pivoting on their heel before making their way down the hall. The light in his optics flickered once when he looked up to see Saejima's retreating back as the older man made his way back to his office. "I'll leave this afternoon," the shapeshifter informed him.

Saejima stopped mid-stride to glance back over his shoulder and give Shadowmaru a curt nod. "Report all your findings to me."

"Yes, sir."

The commissioner had just turned around to continue walking when the metallic rumble of Shadowmaru's voice gave him pause for the second time. His words careful, Shadowmaru ventured: "I assume this will be a solo job?"

The commissioner didn't turn around but he did respond: "You're the only one I'd trust with this."

There was a beat of silence while Shadowmaru digested the words. They invoked something odd in him; something one part flattered, and something one part... something else. He pushed himself up to his full height. "I won't let you down," the violet Brave affirmed with a confident salute. He always got things done.

Saejima disappeared down the hall and Shadowmaru watched him go.

The only one...

It seemed most things ended that way.


The high-pitched whine of machinery came to an abrupt stop. The last vestiges of noise echoed through the repair bay when Shadowmaru's system booted back online. Light and color flickered across his visual. A human face - round, sweat-specked but kind - coalesced in his field of vision. The mechanic waved at him from the scaffolding of a repair cradle. "Looks like you're clear," the human announced perhaps more loudly than was necessary. "Um-"

"Release the locks," an elder worker voiced from the ground floor.

"Right!" The mechanic leaned over the edge of the walkway that hung suspended in mid-air. Shadowmaru ran his own internal scan. "Initiate lock release!"

"Releasing locks," another man acknowledged from somewhere near the shapeshifter's left foot.

:/SCAN COMPLETE.

Something like static prickled at Shadowmaru's sensors. The tug of the networked monitoring cables hooked into his chassis was almost ghostly, and the presence of the cradle's rudimentary V.I. dull and plodding. He felt the machinery disengage and the artificial presence vanished.

The scaffolding swung back and Shadowmaru stepped out while his plating shifted back into place. He glanced down to his hand and flexed the powerful pistons of his joints. Everything indeed appeared to be in order. Something still felt a little fuzzy, though.

"Mh." He shook off the thoughts he couldn't seem to articulate. When he next glanced up his gaze fell to the bay door. "I'd best be on my way, then."

If the mechanics acknowledged the words then Shadowmaru didn't notice. He moved toward the exit and the daylight that awaited him. He'd heard murmurs about the weather taking a turn for the worse later, but in that moment the sky was clear with broad swatches of pavement illuminated gold by the overhead sun.

A sudden movement beyond the door cast a shadow across the ground just beyond the threshold. Shadowmaru hesitated at the exit at the precise moment Gunmax hooked an elbow at the corner of the doorframe and swung his body inside in a lazy arc. With his visor flashing and his lips quirked into a smirk, the biker's back landed against the interior wall with a short clank. "Yo, Shadowmaru," he greeted behind folded arms.

Something in Shadowmaru tightened. "Master Gunmax," he responded on cue. "Pleasant day, isn't it?"

"Heh. Too bad it isn't going to stay that way," Gunmax acknowledged with a snort. He lifted his head and for the first time since he'd swung himself into the ninja detective's path, Shadowmaru felt the other mech's hidden gaze travel over him. His thoughts grew fuzzier. "Where are you off to?"

"A case," Shadowmaru answered with a vague smile. "Why? Looking for company?"

"Tch. You're as bad as the old man." Gunmax jerked his chin at the interior of the bay and his grin broadened. "Besides, don't we have Dekkado for that?"

"For..?"

"Babysitting people."

Shadowmaru folded his arms to mimic the smaller Brave's. "So you admit you need babysitting?" he retorted in amusement.

"Ha!" Gunmax flicked two of his fingers at the smiling ninja in a salute. "Eesh... no respect."

"You set yourself up for that one."

"And you jumped on it. Just like a-"

"Don't say it..."

"Dog on a bone."

Shadowmaru wanted to laugh and groan at the same time. Instead he did neither - something seemed to have caught Gunmax's eye. Shadowmaru didn't need to turn around to know what it was. He had heard the footsteps enter the bay and felt the familiar ping register on his scanners.

(He glanced beyond Gunmax's shoulder to the paling light outside. Things appeared to already be on their way to overcast.

So soon?)

"Speak of the Boyscout," the biker said.

Shadowmaru swiveled to see their resident Brave Detective - now joined by Duke and Yuuta Tomonaga - speaking with Chief Toudou and a number of the other mechanics on the other side of the room. Duke had an intensely thoughtful expression on his otherwise solemn face, so the discussion was probably meant for him. The knight was still quite new to the station and assimilating much of their culture. Deckerd glanced up and seemed to notice the two stray Braves gathered by the door. His warm gaze landed on Shadowmaru and the tight feeling resurfaced.

Shadowmaru nodded in greeting when their optics met.

Deckerd's gaze then flicked to Gunmax. Shadowmaru caught the edge of movement at the corner of his visual: A small smile now creased the corners of Gunmax's mouth. It disappeared as quickly as it'd come, leaving...

...an even tighter feeling.

Shadowmaru resisted a frown. "Ah well," he broke in with a careful curve of his mouth while unfolding his arms, "you could do much worse."

Gunmax's attention flicked back to him. "Worse?"

"For company." Shadowmaru inclined his helm toward their superior. "Though I doubt you could do better."

Gunmax... laughed. "That's one way to put it."

The shapeshifter noticed Deckerd was smiling back at them - no, at Gunmax. The biker in question had begun fiddling with his hip compartment. A gas can ejected into his hands. He twisted its lid. "Don't take too long, yeah?" he directed at the ninja.

Deckerd had since turned back to the conversation with Duke. For a second Shadowmaru felt his lips move without sound. His voice quickly caught up with him:

"I move fast."

Gunmax had barely touched the tip of the gas can to his lips when he realized the ninja was gone.


Running away had never accomplished much of anything.

I didn't run.

Buildings passed beneath him. Ceilings became stepping stones. The world beyond lost color before his eyes. Overhead, the sky grew chill and rumbled.

He dropped into the city streets with a silent twist of limbs. His tires hit pavement. The next rumbling note came from him as his engine switched its gears.

He moved, and he blended, and when his thoughts had finally unwound enough to think of nothing, he instead thought about his earlier conversation with the Commissioner.

To have company...

Hypotheticals were always a fun way to pass the time, and so Shadowmaru considered his options.

Drillboy was an excitable partner, always full of energy and chatter. It could be endearing in small doses (very small doses) but he was also obnoxious and immature; unsuited for stealth missions. Power Joe shared a number of interests and was always a lively companion no matter the situation, but the power shovel was also impatient and prone to impulsive behavior. Dumpson had the necessary focus but his brashness and tendency for tunnel-vision made him a poor operative. McCrane was a good pick for all the obvious reasons – quiet, intelligent, intuitive, patient – but the reasons why McCrane would be a good mission partner were the very same reasons why McCrane should always be with his team keeping the rest of them in line.

So the list dwindled.

Duke appeared to have all the right qualities in a mission partner, but he was still too new. Shadowmaru would prefer a more straightforward venture to get to know the Knight Detective on before something like this. The potential was there, however - though he doubted Duke would know what to do with his occasional sense of humor, other than bear it with regal stoicism. Perhaps another time.

That left two.

Deckerd and Gunmax.

In truth, either of them would be good company to have. They both had special qualities that would be useful and balance his own. They both were people who were nice to be around. They were both the people he really wished were around.

It seemed like he wished for this sort of thing a lot, and in ways he had no right to. It ached because no amount of wishing would ever make such a thing come true.

Kagerou's memory smiled at him, then flickered out.

I wish you were here.

Shadowmaru glided through alleys and passed beneath the glittering facade of skyscrapers. His engine was noiseless, his tires silent. The only evidence he had passed was a brief shift of shadow, a matte flash of violet and the slow simmer of heat through the mist that clung to wet pavement. It had rained most of the night before. Shadowmaru – now clad in the guise of an unmarked police car – was heading out of the city and into the outskirts.

Light and silhouettes darted over his armor when he pulled onto a central street. His thoughts felt... fuzzy. Indistinct.

I never could outrun myself.

Troubled, he tapped into the worldwide information network and ran a simple search.

SRCH: QUOTES: WISHES. There were several hundred results; a sufficient distraction.

If wishes were horses then beggars would ride. That particular result had an English origin. Perhaps Sir Knight was familiar with that one.

If wishes were fishes we'd all cast our nets.

Shadowmaru imagined telling that one to Kagerou. It sounded like the kind of thing he'd say when his brother got a little too long-faced. He was sure his prototype would appreciate the irony. "You can be such a child, Shadowmaru."

Kagerou was dead.

The sky was beginning to mist again. The murmur of other vehicles, humans and the surrounding city pressed in on all sides. Shadowmaru's car form came to a slow stop in front of a signal light. Flashes of red lit the dark sweep of his hood and tinted the edges of his mirrors. The vehicle behind him was a bit too close for his liking. Everything felt suddenly too close.

Yet other things seem so far away.

His engine slipped to idle. Shadowmaru sat inside himself, consumed in what felt a lot like some strange kind of loneliness even though he was surrounded by activity. The light flashed green. His engine warmed again and his tires pulled forward to shatter the still surface of several small puddles.

"Nice car," an elderly voice murmured from somewhere in the crowd. Shadowmaru jerked to attention and caught the briefest glimpse of an old, kind face on his sensors before the crowd blurred together into the distance.

Thank you.

Shadowmaru flicked his windshield wipers and made for the highway.

'Nice car'...

It began to rain.