-Week 3, Day 4-
-12:00 PM, Art Museum-
The group then arrived at the Art Museum, only to find the vase gone once again.
"She's stolen the vase again!" Romance Detective exclaimed.
"Damn it!" Brick cursed.
"But where's our thief?" Chrys asked.
Mandy then noticed a small figure slowly tiptoeing from a corner and upon getting a close look, she recognized the figure, "Huh? There! There she is!" she pointed out.
Romance Thief
The thief is a slim-young girl with a short orange hair, she has an orange tareme eyes and has freckles on her face. She is currently wearing a purple long-sleeved shirt underneath a yellow blouse with orange stripes, gray cargo pants and sneakers. She also wears a yellow bandana around her neck and a black backpack.
"Ack!" the girl gasped before quickly running out of the museum.
"Hey! Get back here, you little piece of shit!" Dan yelled.
"You won't get away!" Chrys exclaimed.
And with that, the whole group went after the young thief. They ran outside and arrived at the streets with no signs of the thief.
"Where is she? Where she go? Where! Where! Where did she go?!" Dan demanded as he looks round.
"She's so fast!" Chrys exclaimed in shock.
"Well... small people tends to be faster." Denton pointed out.
"But which way did she go?" Trixie asked.
"Any ideas, Detective?" Elise asked.
Romance Detective tips her rose, "I know where she's headed. Follow me!" she claimed.
And with, the group followed Romance Detective.
bzzzttt...
-12:40 PM, Love Bloomery-
At the Love Bloomery, the thief ran inside and bumps into Stephan.
"Gah!" the thief let's out a shrieked.
"Hey, hey, slow down." Stephan said with a smile, "You shouldn't run indoors, okay?" he advised.
"I-I'm... I'm... s-s-sorry...'' the thief blabbered as her face flustered.
Stephan then recognized the kid, "Oh, you're..." he was about point out who she is when he noticed something in her hands, "Wait, what's that you're holding?'' he asked.
"N-nothing...'' the thief lied.
At the same time, the whole group arrived at the Love Bloomery.
"We've got her cornered!" Romance Detective announced.
"Surrender now or we'll have your life forfeited!" Dan warned.
"Dan! She's still a child!" Chris chastised.
"I was just scaring her!" Dan yelled back.
"Tch!" the thief click her tongue.
She was about to run again but Stephan stopped her, "Hold your horses, little lady.'' he said.
"There's nowhere left for you to run!" Romance Detective exclaimed.
Suddenly... the thief began to cry... for some reasons.
"What the? Are you supposed to cry when you get caught?!" Ninja Dave pointed out indecorously.
"I find it adorable." Honne admitted.
"Why're you guys tryin so hard to stop me?! It's not like I'm stealin' to be bad! I just wanted to... t-to... " the thief tried to explain until, "UWAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" she cried even harder.
"Jesus! Jesus! Calm down, little girl!" Denton said.
"Detective... you made her cry...'' Chrys pointed out.
"Shame on you, Miss Detective." Stephan chastised.
"And with... the Detective turn into the villain." Elise joked earning a few snickers from the rest.
Romance Detective covered her face with her hat, "I-I am not the villain here...'' she muttered.
"Then what's exactly going on here?" Stephan asked, "Everyone comes running into my shop and suddenly you make a poor little girl cry, sounding all threatening like that.'' he stated.
"We're sorry, sir." Chrys apologized, "But she's the one who stole the vase from yesterday." she reasoned.
"Is that true, little lady?'' Stephan asked.
The thief looks down, "Y-yeah... I-I stole it..." she admitted nervously, "Twice now... because..." she muttered and then she cried again.
"Is is that hard to tell the reason why she stole vase that it made her cry?" Ninja Dave asked.
"That depends." Brick replied.
"Hey, hey, it's gonna be alright.'' Stephan reassured, "Cry as much as you need to.'' he said.
"If this place gets flooded with tears, you only got yourself to blame for drowning." Dan quipped with a blank look.
"S-stop bein' so nice to me! That's the whole reason why I'm in this mess!" the thief cried.
"A-ah, is that so?'' Stephan said.
"Huh? What's going on here? You two have met before?" Chrys asked in surprise.
"Yeah, but... just one time, I guess..." the thief replied.
Romance Detective, whom has been silent for quite some time, spoke, "Explain yourself, Romance Thief! Tell us the reason you stole the vase. And why do you keep it bringing here?!" she demanded.
The thief refused to talk until Stephan spoke, "Go on, little lady. I'd like to hear that side of your story too.'' he admitted.
"O-okay... I'll start from the beginning... here goes." the thief said, "One time... when I was out with my friends, y'see they all had bikes but I had just my roller shoes... no matter how much I shouted at them to wait for me, they kept laughin' and goin' farther and farther til I got totally lost..." she said, "I-I didn't cry or nothin! Cause I'm tough!" she clarified.
"You just cried a moment ago though." Denton quipped earning a smack at the back of his head, courtesy of Trixie.
"A-anyway... I ended up passin' by this flower shop trying to find my way back... and that's when this guy walked out..." the thief explained further while referring to Stephan, "He was so big, I got scared and hid in the alley behind a trash can... but then he walked right by me and started talkin' to someone." she said, "But no one's there when I went to hide! So I peeked over the trash can... and well..." she trails.
"Is that really the end of the story?" Chris asked.
The thief shook her head, "There was a little kitty cat in a cardboard box that he was takin' care of." she said.
"Funny place to be taking care of a cat." Romance Detective commented.
"Quite cliche if you ask Trixie." Trixie quipped.
"I'm not allowed to have any pets at home." Stephan admitted.
"It was weird, wasn't it! His muscles are so big that he can throw the kitty all the way to the sun! But he didn't! He just petted it!" the thief exclaimed.
"I would never throw a kitten into the sun." Stephan said.
"I would throw kitties to the sun. Except for Mr. Mumbles." Dan stated with a casual smile.
"Sure you would." Elise said rolling her eyes.
"Continue." Romance Detective presses on.
"While I was watchin' him, he got up to go back inside and I got scared that he'd see me, so I ducked back down to my hidin' spot but then I hit my elbow on the trash can and gave me away..." the thief continued, "But he didn't get mad that I was spyin' on him, he just asked if I'm lost and he could help to get back home." she stated, "So he called my parents and waited with me until they got here..." she finished.
"Okay, okay. He's a very nice man." Chrys quipped, "But what does that had anything to do with the stolen vase?'' she asked.
"Romance Cop... if you can't even see the answer to that, then you need more training." Romance Detective claimed.
"So... what gives you the idea of stealing the vase?'' Mandy asked.
"I-I wanted to do something nice for him! So I thought, maybe I could get him a prettier pot to put his flowers in! Except my allowance can't buy me something nice like that." the thief stated, "And then... well... this is gonna sound weird but... I heard a voice in my head tellin' me to steal one instead." she admitted.
"That's... concerning..." Chrys said.
"Yeah... you should have your head check." Ninja Dave suggested.
"Well it's true! But even though I did ended up stealing it, I got too scared to give it to him in person.'' the thief admitted.
"So you left it somewhere, so he could find it." Romance Detective pointed out.
"Yup. But he gave it back to you guys, so I had to steal it back." the thief replied.
"I still don't understand how a child was able to break into a museum on her own... and in broad daylight this time." Chrys pointed out in confusion.
"Yeah, I'm pretty good at sneakin' around, huh?!" the thief boasted.
"Do we... arrest her?" Chrys asked.
"By all means." Dan replied with a blank look.
"No, don't send me to jail! I'm really sorry! I won't steal ever again, I swear!" the thief cried.
"We won't send you to jail." Romance Detective reassured, "But here this..." she said and at the same time Trixie puts on her headphones, "You should never commit crimes! Even if it's for love..." she advised.
"As much how weird as it sounds... she has a point." Elise admitted.
"So you stole the vase for me because you like me?" Stephan asked.
The thief's face flustered, "I-I... yeah..." she admitted.
"I'm sorry, little lady. I'm afraid I'm already spoke for." Stephan said apologetically.
"O-oh... it's okay... I never shoulda liked you in the first place..." the thief said.
"No. That's not right. Never apologized foe being in love." Romance Detective stated.
"B-but all of this was a little overboard, don't you think, detective?" Chrys pointed out.
"Even so. Do you understand what I've told you, Romance Thief?" Romance Detective asked.
"My name is Daisy." the thief introduced herself, "I don't want to be called a thief anymore..." she said, "... or become a thief again." she added.
"That's good." Dan said, "We don't need a future Carmen San Diego stealing stuffs around the universe." he pointed out.
"Or a Rhythm Thief... or a Sly Cooper... or Arsene Lupin the Third or..." Chris counted but Elise placed a hand on his mouth.
"We get it Chris." Elise said.
"Very well, Daisy. You should head home now." Romance Detective said, "And if you stray from the rightful path again... my partner, myself and our friends will be here to lead you back. Remember that.''she reminded.
"Wow... so we're promoted from subordinates to friends." Kafuu said in surprise.
Daisy nodded, "Okay... thanks for not takin' me to jail...'' she said.
Chrys then let's out a smile, "Jeez, Detective... what's with you acting so cool, all this time?" she thought when her eyes widen in realization, "A-and when did I started thinking about you anyway?" she thought in confusion.
"Let's go, Romance Cop and friends." Romance Detective said, "We must report back to the chief." she stated.
"Oh... yes... yes! Of course!" Chrys squawked in surprise.
And with that, everyone left the flower shop. As Daisy was walking towards the opposite direction, Dan approaches her.
"Hey, kid!" Dan called.
Daisy stops and turns to him nervously, "Y-yes...'' she squeaked.
Dan then pulls out tons of cash from his wallet and handed it to her, "Buy him something nice." he said.
Daisy was taken a back from the amount of money Dan gave to her, "W-what?! But ain't this your money?!" she asked in shock.
"I only get money when I needed to but I don't need it right now, so it's better that I gave it you." Dan said as he walks away, "Spend it wisely." he advised.
Daisy stares at the money in her hands before letting out a smile, "Thank you very much!" she called as Dan waves his hand in response.
bzzzttt...
-1:00 PM-
Later that day, everyone are gathered round the streets as Romance Detective spoke.
"A voice in her head...'' Romance Detective muttered.
"Did you say something?" Chrys asked.
"The scientist from yesterday... he said something about a voice in his head, too..." Romance Detective pointed out.
"Oh, wait a minute!" Brick quipped, "You're right!" he said.
"That's weird." Kafuu said.
"He was kinda crazy." Chrys reasoned, "Anyway, I'm sure it's just a way to escape the guilt of bad decision making." she stated.
"I don't know, Chrys. I find it strange too, so I believe the Detective is up to something here." Mandy admitted.
Romance Detective nodded, "Yes, I believe that there's some sort of outside influence... and whatever it is... it feeds of love." she explained.
"How can you tell?" Chrys asked.
"Instinct." Romance Detective replied without a beat, "There's someone we need to talk to..." she claimed.
"Um... yes, we we're just going to speak to the chief, weren't we?'' Chrys asked.
"I'll leave that to you." Romance Detective said, "Meet me back at the cafe after sunset." she ordered.
"But we already solved the c-" Chrys tried to say but was interrupted.
"Be there." Romance Detective said before leaving.
"I guess the case isn't over yet." Elise stated.
"Well, the Detective knows somethings amiss, so this case is definitely far from done." Ninja Dave stated.
Chrys remained quiet, "Detective... I still don't understand you at all." she thought, "But I don't mind being your partner for a little while longer." she thought with a smile.
A/N: Inspired from Jexi the Hunter, Hope the Victor and David the Almighty Paladin. If the OCs are not created by moi, then it's not mine.