Quest 10

Tatsuya groaned as he awoke. He blinked a couple of times, allowing his eyes to adjust to the dark. He rolled onto his side to look across at the alarm clock on the bedside table situated on the opposite wall. It read 3.25. He groaned again as he sat up. He didn't know why he had awoken so early, but instead of feeling tired, he felt wide awake. Rather than try to go back to sleep, Tatsuya swung his legs over the edge on his bed, which was on the top bunk of the bunk beds and jumped down quietly, careful not to wake Ayase (Domon was at Honami's apartment, spending time with her and his son) and crept out of the room, silently opening and closing the door.

Sion was sat at the desk, a blanket draped over his shoulders, with the three navigator owls and Time Roboter, all four had their eyes closed. Sion had the computer in front of him, the light from the screen illuminating his face with a blue tint. He looked up upon hearing the sound on footsteps on the floor. "Good morning, Tatsuya-san." He gave him a small smile. "Can't sleep?"

Tatsuya shook his head in response. He walked over to Sion and looked at the computer screen. "What are you doing?" He noticed the Jikoku was sat next to the computer, a wire joining the two.

"I'm trying to see if I can find any information about Serperant," Sion replied. "But there's nothing about him apart from what he did when he was part of the Londarz family, see." He pointed at the screen and Tatsuya leant closer, seeing that Sion was right, the only information the Time Protection Bureau had on Serperant were his crimes, nothing else. "It's as though he never existed until he was recruited by the Londarz family." He frowned as he unclipped Jikoku.

"No information at all?"

Sion shook his head and looked at him. "I've checked Jikoku, Hibiki and Taku's databases, but nothing."

"That doesn't make any sense," Tatsuya replied. "There has to be something about him somewhere." He paused for a moment. "Why are you trying to find out information about his past anyway?"

"It was Yuuri-san's idea. She wanted to know as much as she can about him, especially as to why he lost control and fired at us against that Org's orders."

"Yuuri? When did she ask you to do this?"

"Uh, a few hours ago. Just after you all went to bed. Why?"

Tatsuya shook his head. "I was just wondering." He walked over to the sofa and sat down. "Anyway, what's it like being back here?"

Sion's face instantly lit up. "I'm so happy to back," he replied, smiling. "I prefer being here to the future, especially since we're all here together. It wasn't the same, us all being in the future without you. Ayase-san and Domon-san are also happy to be back here." He looked up at the ceiling. "I think Yuuri-san's also happy to be back, but…"

"But what?"

Sion turned to him. "She hasn't had a proper night's sleep since we came back. She's been up on the roof for the past couple of hours." He looked back up at the ceiling and Tatsuya followed his gaze. "Maybe you should go and talk to her, convince her that it would be best for all of us if she got some sleep?"

"Yeah." He walked into the kitchen and turned the kettle on, scooping some hot chocolate into three cups. "It can't be good for her or for any of us if she's tired. We need her awake and focused," he called.

Sion got up from the desk and joined him in the kitchen. "She's so focused on arresting Serperant that she's not thinking about anything else. I don't know whether or not I should be worried, Tatsuya-san."

The kettle boiled and Tatsuya poured the hot water into the three cups, handing one to Sion. "I'll talk to her," he said, clasping him on the shoulder as Sion took the cup. "Don't worry." He gave him a small smile and picked up the other two cups along with Sion's blanket, which the latter held out for him and headed up to the roof.

Although it was a clear night, there was a cold breeze across the rooftop and Tatsuya instinctively shivered against it. It was also quiet, expect for the occasionally hiss of the wind against the air conditioner and water storage units. He found Yuuri sitting against one of the air conditioner units, holding a blanket tightly against herself for warmth. Her head was resting against her knees which she had brought up to her chest and he thought that she might have been asleep until he noticed that her eyes were open. He quietly walked over to her and sat down next to her, holding out the cup of hot chocolate. "I thought you could do with this," he said quietly.

She turned her head to look at him and then stared at the cup of hot drink for a moment as though unsure of what to do. "Thank you," she replied, taking the cup, holding it with both hands to keep them warm.

"Sion said you were up here," he said to her, leaning back.

"I couldn't sleep," she replied matter-of-factly, taking a small sip from her cup.

"Sion also told me that," he said and she was surprised to see some concern in his eyes. "But, maybe you should try," he then suggested. "You, we all need some sleep and rest if we're going to fight Serperant." He blew on the top of his drink before taking a sip, feeling the warmth from it flow through his body.

Yuuri frowned at him. "I'm not tired," she said, annoyed that he thought she needed to rest. "If you're tired then maybe you should be the one to get some sleep."

"Yuuri." He lowered his cup and faced her. "If you're not going to sleep, can you at least rest, take a break?"

"I am resting," she countered, her annoyance rising.

He shook his head. "No, you're not. You're thinking about Serperant, about how we can fight him and arrest him, about where he is and what he's planning. That's not resting. You need to take a break."

She stared at him for a brief moment. Was it that obvious? She shook her head. "I'm fine," she said to him.

"You need to take a break," he firmly told her. "You can't keep going after Serperant without some rest."

"I have a job to do," she almost snapped. "I have to arrest Serperant and now Lila."

Tatsuya shook his head, his own frustrations rising. "I get that, but we're a team. We're going to catch Serperant and Lila together and we can only do that effectively if you get some rest. You need it Yuuri and anyway, Sion's worried about you." He paused for a moment. "And so am I," he quietly added and she looked at him, her eyes widened in surprise. He put his cup down and took Yuuri's from her before taking her hands in his own. He was surprised at how cold they were despite the fact that she had been holding onto a hot cup for the past five or so minutes and his frustration instantly faded, instead concern rose. "You're cold."

"I'm fine," she repeated, although she hadn't actually realised she was cold until he had placed his warm hands on top of hers and she resisted the urge to shiver, from the feel of his touch or from the cold she was now feeling, she wasn't sure.

"Stop saying that," he said and she was surprised at the slight harshness she heard in his voice. "Stop saying that you're fine when you aren't."

Yuuri looked away from him, biting her lower lip. She couldn't understand why he cared about her wellbeing so much. She knew that there was more than just friendship between them, they were more than that now, but she was still surprised at how easily he could read her, that he always seemed to know that what she was feeling. She then wondered how much he had been told about the future, about her life in the future and whether it was this that made him care and worry about her so much. "Why?" Her voice was quiet and despite their close proximity, he almost didn't hear her. He turned his head towards her, a look of uncertainty on his face. She slowly lifted her head, meeting his gaze. "Why are you doing this? Why do you care so much?"

He sighed. "Because you're important, to me, to the others…" He trailed off seeing her expression turn into one of annoyance and he knew that he wasn't giving her a good enough reason. He swallowed. "And, because you mean a lot to me, more than anyone else ever has."

She blinked. She already knew all of this, but to have him say it was something entirely different. It was if by admitting how he felt, they were cementing where they stood with each other. She also felt a sense of relief knowing that him caring for her wasn't due to anything he had (or hadn't) been told about her, but was due to his own feeling towards her. "Tatsuya," she whispered softly.

"I mean it," he said, his voice full of determination. "I know you'll find that hard to believe, but it's true." He leant closer to her.

She smiled slightly; believing his words as she carefully removed one of her hands from his and placed it on his cheek, staring intently into his eyes, her heart beating wildly in anticipation of what was about to happen. "I know." She could his breath against her skin, sending shivers rippling through her body.

There was loud bang of metal against metal, making the two jump and both of them secretly cursed at the intrusion. Tatsuya turned around as Yuuri peered over his shoulder to see Sion standing in the doorway, a sheepish smile on his face. Instantly the two blushed at the predicament they had been caught in.

"Sorry," he apologised, scratching the back of his head, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he had interrupted a moment between the two, not seeing their reddened faces, "the wind kind of caught the door as I was opening it."

"Is everything okay?" Yuuri asked, instantly concerned, the warmth in face slowly fading.

"Yeah, I just wanted to make sure the two of you were alright," Sion explained. "You've been up here a while."

Despite the frustration that she felt, Yuuri smiled at him. "We're okay," she said to him. She picked up her cup and stood up. "We were just about to come back in."

Tatsuya stared at her in disbelief as he copied her motion. "Yeah," he said, though his voice gave away his uncertainty and confusion. "We were just coming." He continued to stare at her as she swept past him towards Sion, who gave her a small nod as she entered the building.

"Tatsuya-san, are you coming?"

Tatsuya shook his head to see Sion waiting expectantly for him. He walked over to his fellow Timeranger. "Couldn't you have waited five more minutes?" he asked him.

"Huh? Why?" Sion tilted his head in confusion.

Tatsuya shook his head again. "It doesn't matter," he said. Sion was still too young and naïve to understand.

Sion was rooted to the spot as he took in Tatsuya's words. He wondered if he had interrupted something between the two. He remembered how close they had been sat to each other and his eyes widened. He turned and ran after Tatsuya who was halfway down the flight of stairs. He grabbed his arm. "Tatsuya-san!"

Tatsuya felt Sion's grip on his arm and turned as the youngest team member called his name. He turned around.

"I am so sorry, Tatsuya-san," Sion said, blushing with embarrassment. "I didn't know."

The red Timeranger's eyes narrowed in confusion.

"About you and Yuuri-san," Sion elaborated, seeing his expression. "I didn't know you two were… you know."

"Oh." Tatsuya let out a low laugh. He clasped Sion's shoulder. "Don't worry about it." He gave him a reassuring smile before turning back around and continuing down the stairs.

Sion paused for a moment before going after him. Once they were back on their floor, he spoke again, "Are you and Yuuri-san…?"

Tatsuya turned around again to face him. "Sort of," he said. "We know how we feel about each other, but it's nothing official yet."

"Oh." His face fell slightly. Everyone knew how Tatsuya and Yuuri felt about each other. It had been obvious before their return to the future and once they were back in their time, Yuuri hadn't been the same and they all knew it was because she missed him, though they also knew she would never had admitted it. That, combined with what else happened… He was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of Tatsuya walking towards him.

"Just don't tell anyone," he said quietly. "Not until it's official."

Sion nodded dumbly in response. "Of course, Tatsuya-san." He then smiled. "I'm glad that you two are together," he added brightly.

"Sshh," he hushed him, making a 'quiet' motion with his free hand.

"Ah, sorry," he whispered, lowering his voice, though the smile didn't leave his face. "First Domon-san and Honami-san and now you and Yuuri-san."

The two then walked back to their apartment and once they were inside, Sion headed straight back to his desk while Tatsuya headed into the kitchen and was surprised to see that Yuuri was standing next to the sink.

"I thought you would have gone to bed," he said to her, as he stood next to her, placing his cup in the sink next to hers.

"I was just on my way," she replied, staring out of the window. They were silent for a few moments before she turned around, leaning against the basin. "I thought I'd take your advice." He looked at her and she smiled. "To get some rest," she reminded him and pushed herself away from the basin. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Well, good night," she said and was about to leave the room when he grabbed hold of her wrist.

"We're alright, aren't we?"

Her eyes narrowed in worry. Her eyes then softened as she leant up. "Of course we are," she whispered and he felt her soft breath against his skin and he let go of her wrist. She smiled as she walked past him, turning once she was in the doorway and he turned to face her. "Good night, Tatsuya," she said softly and unguarded, giving him another smile before she left him.

He stared at the spot in which she had been standing until he heard her door click closed. A broad smile appeared on his face before he too followed suite and went back to bed.

G|T

The morning sunlight hit Yuuri's face, waking her up. She groaned and rubbed her eyes, wishing that she had remembered to put the blind down to cover her window the previous night. She rolled onto her back and looked up at the ceiling, letting out a sigh before sitting up and looking at the clock which was situated on the bedside table next to her bed. 6.30. She let out another sigh. Even though she had barely had a couple of hours sleep, she felt oddly rested and serene.

She thought back to the conversation she had had with Tatsuya only a couple of hours ago, a small smile forming on her lips. Despite everything that had happened in the past year, she could honestly say that at that moment, she was happy, happier then she had been in a very long time and she knew that he was the reason why. The fact that they were on the same page in terms of their feelings only made her feel more elated and she pushed away the lingering thought of what would happen once they arrested Serperant. She didn't want to think about that day, but she knew that it would come eventually and there was still the nagging feeling in the back of her mind about Serperant that she just couldn't get rid of. There was something about him. Something that just wouldn't go away. She felt as if there was something about him hidden within her and when she tried to reach for it, it would slip through her fingers, back into the depths of her mind.

She sat up, frowning. The thought that she was somehow connected to Serperant wouldn't fade and this was the reason why she had asked Sion to find out what he could about the Londarz family member, not to find out how to defeat him, but to find out if he was linked to her, though she hadn't told Sion this. She hadn't told anyone and she wouldn't until she, herself, knew if there was any connection at all.

She threw her covers off of her, frustrated. She didn't want to be thinking about Serperant, not when she was feeling so content. She saw the blanket that she had taken up to the roof lying on the floor and the memories came flooding back again. She still couldn't believe that Tatsuya really felt the way he did, but knowing that he felt the way he did made her heart thump wildly in her chest and she couldn't tear away the smile that had formed on her lips. She remembered the feel of his touch and how it had spread warmth throughout her body and she also remembered their near kiss – their second near kiss – and she once again cursed Sion for ruining the moment. Thinking of the green Timeranger, she decided to go and see whether or not he had made any progress in finding out about Serperant's past before she went out for her morning run.

She swung off her bed and quickly changed into a pair of black leggings and pink cropped sports top before putting her blue 'Tomorrow Research' jacket on. She was surprised at how much Tatsuya had kept, even after a year. She tied her hair back into a ponytail before heading into the bathroom, noting that Sion wasn't currently sat at the computer as she walked past. When she came out, he was sat in his usual place, with a steaming cup next to him, furiously typing into the computer. The three navigator owls all had their eyes closed.

"Any luck?" she asked him.

Sion jumped, having not realised that she was there. He shook his head. "Nothing. It's like he didn't exist until the Londarz family recruited him," he told her, saying what he had said to Tatsuya the previous night. "But I'll keep looking." He gave her a warm smile. "You're up early," he then noted. "Did you sleep alright?"

Yuuri smiled slightly. "I did, thank you," she replied. "I slept a lot better than I have done for a while."

Sion gave her a knowing look, making her narrow her eyes in confusion. "I'm glad," he said. "Have a nice run, Yuuri-san."

She nodded in response before walking to the door and slipping on her trainers. "I shouldn't be too long," she called before leaving and Sion gave her a back handed wave as she closed the door.

She jogged down the stairs and out of the apartment building. The sun was bright, but there was a sharp coldness in the air which she put down to the earliness of the day. She jogged down the route she had taken on an almost daily basis when she had last been here. Her thoughts kept flickering between Tatsuya and Serperant. She wanted to know what Serperant's and the Londarz family's plans were and why he was sent back to this time and if and how Dolnero fitted in with it all, especially since Lila had reappeared. He was the head of the Londarz family, she repeatedly told herself, he has to be involved somehow. She couldn't rest until she found out. Her thoughts on Tatsuya were almost as confused as those of Serperant, though they were mainly thoughts of what would happen next and then what would happen when the dreaded day came when they rearrested Serperant. She didn't want to be separated from him again.

She was so consumed with her thoughts that she didn't realise that she had ran her usual route and was standing outside of the apartment building. She let out a heavy sigh. Here was another day of them researching but finding out nothing about Serperant. She looked up at the building. But here was also a day where she and Tatsuya were finally open with each other.

She was about to walk up the steps into the building when she heard someone call her name. She turned her head to see two figures standing on the street behind her. Instantly her heart fell slightly. She hadn't expected to see them again but at the same time, their presence didn't surprise her since they had been so determined since the beginning. "How did you find us?" she asked, trying to keep the venom in her voice at bay.

The two figures, one wearing a yellow jacket with an eagle on, the other wearing a blue jacket with a shark emblem on it, exchanged a look, as though trying to convince the other that they should speak to her before the one clad in yellow rolled his eyes and took a step towards her. "We need to talk to you."

"I have nothing to say to you," Yuuri replied, completely turning around to face them. "Serperant isn't working with your Orgs anymore, so there isn't a need for us to work together. Nothing you say will change my mind."

Gaku looked back at Kai, who shrugged his shoulders. The 'Noble Eagle' turned back round. "It is imperative that we speak with you," he said to her, holding out his hands while Kai nodded fervently in agreement.

Yuuri folded her arms across her chest. She didn't have time for this. She was tired from her run and really needed a drink before delving in to try and find Serperant and Lila. "Like I said, I don't have time for this." She made to turn.

"Wait!" Kai cried, rushing forward and she turned back around. "You have to come with us."

She let out a small laugh, rolling her eyes. "Why?"

"Our, um, mentor wants to speak with you," Kai quickly said and Gaku raised his eyebrows at the word 'mentor'. Kai shrugged in response.

"Mentor?" She unfolded her arms.

Seeing that they had her attention, Gaku continued. "Our mentor wants to speak with you. She said it was important. You have to come with us."

"Come where?"

"To Gao's Rock."

"Gao's Rock?"

"It's our home. She's there and she said that you have to come so that she can speak with you."

"Why can't she come here?"

"Tetomu doesn't like to leave Gao's Rock. It's the source of her power," Kai hastily said.

Yuuri continued to frown. She didn't believe what the two Gaorangers were telling her. "No," she replied simply. She turned around and began to walk back up the steps when she felt a blunt pain on the back of her neck. Her world spun for a moment before it went black.

Apologies for the lateness of this chapter, but I've now got a bit of writer's block with this story.

I also apologise for the lack of Gaoranger in this story as well, but I'm finding that writing the Timerangers is more interesting, but all of the Gaorangers will be back in the next chapter.

Until then...