Don't worry, I wasn't slacking off. Actually, I feel like I was doing more writing this time around. This chapter was actually twice as long before I split it in half. Reluctantly, I had to so there wouldn't be too much confusion in the upcoming chapters. Thank you to everyone who's been leaving reviews so far:
-xAmy91x (Thank you so much!)
-Guest 362 (It could be, or it could be someone else ;) )
-Knoctis00
-Toa Solaric
-Guest Melody (Thank you! ^-^)
-PrettyRecklessLaura
-Rubius (I actually based their ages off their real life ages. For all I know, in the show they could be 2-3 years apart. I mean they made Kairi older than Umika even though in real life it's actually the other way around.)
Here's Your Warning: I guess if you've already read all the chapters, then there's really no spoilers I can warn you about :)
DISCLAIMER: I don't own or work for Toei, I just wrote the story
The Truth Comes Out
Immediately after, Tsukasa told them she was coming in to take a look at the note for herself. At first they were reluctant to let her do so, but in the end her persistence paid off. Sakuya picked her up in a squad car and dropped off Umika and Mana at Mana's house. When they arrived at the station the first thing she wanted to do was see the note firsthand. At her requests, she asked to look at the note alone.
There in the middle of the table lay the offending message. Unlike the first note, this one was much more aggressive and haunting. Tsukasa stared long and hard at it, striking a nerve within her. It borderline pissed her off, how two sentences could cause both pain and fear. She touched the tip of the bag, rereading it over and over again in her head until the words became too jumbled.
'Coming to collect your treasure…Your time is up…'
'I'm making do on my part…I'm collecting your time…'
'Time is your treasure…Your treasure is mine…'
When she finally had enough, Tsukasa let out a scream of frustration slamming her fists into the table. Her breathing became labored as she tried to control the tears that were begging to be released. On the other side of the door they stood there listening. It was already hard knowing she had been suffering in silence, but it was even harder hearing it aloud. Just when she managed to get her emotions under control, Keiichiro, Sakuya, Noel and Hilltop had reentered the room, wanting to talk to her about the past few weeks.
Tension in the room was thick. Everyone sat around the table with the card in the middle of it all. Sakuya looked back between his two superiors, wondering which one would speak first...and which one would snap.
Keiichiro inhaled deeply, finally breaking the silence. "Why didn't you say anything…?"
Tsukasa sat across from him with her arms crossed over her chest. Her fingers drummed on her grey hoodie. "There was no need to."
"Why? Because you didn't want to cause worry?"
Tsukasa locked gazes with Noel for a moment and she shot him a death glare. He looked into his intertwined fingers. "Because I couldn't be bothered to." She said answering him.
"To what; to say anything or to ask for help?"
"It's none of your business."
"It is my business when it blows up two feet away from my desk!" He growled standing up.
She rolled her eyes at him. "Don't exaggerate, if it was intended to harm you then it would have."
"What's your problem? Why is it so hard for you to ask for help?"
"Because it's my personal business!" She said getting in his face. "If I wanted help then I would have asked for it!"
"Tsukasa-"
"Why are you so nosy? Why don't you use your intuition on more important matters, like your relationship with Mana-san?"
"Yamero!" Sakuya said addressing them.
Both of them sighed in annoyance.
"We shouldn't be wasting our energy on senseless arguing." Sakuya continued. "We have more important matters to attend to, ne?" He picked up the bag holding the card. This wasn't the first time they were at each other's throats, and it sure as hell wouldn't the last, that's for sure. But this, this was too much.
"Sakuya's right." Commander Hilltop agreed. "Rather, we should be getting to the bottom of this. I'll call the forensic department to see if they were able to find any fingerprints. I need someone else to look into our security footage." He looked around the room. "And could someone go and find Jim? We're going to need his help if we want to figure this out."
As their office began to bustle with activity, Tsukasa remained immobile. She glanced over at her workspace, narrowing her eyes in disgust. Tsukasa needed to get out of here. She needed fresh air, a drink…something. While the others were preoccupied with their investigation, she snuck out of the room.
When she made it to the lobby, a voice called out to her.
"Matte Tsukasa-san."
She turned to see Noel coming out of the elevator behind her.
Hesitantly he approached her, offering her a half smile before proceeding to speak. "I'm sorry I told Keiichiro-kun and everyone else about the notes. I...really didn't want to but…"
Tsukasa looked at him stoically. She wanted to hate him. She should hate him, but it didn't really matter anymore. There was no point in lashing out at him or anyone else. Even if he hadn't told them, she knew eventually she would've. It might've been a different story though if it was her treasure.
"It's in the past." She told him. "Besides, now that's one less thing for me to worry about." She smiled reassuringly. "I forgive you."
Relief washed over him. "Merci." He said gratefully. Suddenly Noel remembered something. "I had meant to tell you at the masquerade, well actually, earlier than that, but I did talk to the Lupinrangers about the notes you've been receiving. And as I said before, it's not them who have been sending them to you."
Tsukasa looked at him earnestly. "Are you sure?"
He nodded. "Very sure. They actually didn't know about the notes until I brought it up. And, to be honest, I know them well enough to know when they're lying about something like that."
She sighed crossing her arms. "There's something I wanted to ask you."
"Hmm?"
"I was wondering…" She looked unsure of how to say it. "I was wondering if…I could speak to the Lupinrangers face to face."
"The Lupinrangers?"
"Well, more specifically, Lupin Red."
"What for?" As if he didn't know the answer already.
"I was…hoping to ask him about the notes myself."
"You were hoping for a different answer?"
"No, that's not it. Rather, I wanted to see if he could help me."
"With what?"
"I wanted to know if he had any ideas of his own, about who else could be behind this."
"Trying to pick the mind of a thief?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "I thought you were against working with them."
"I-I'm not working with him." She stuttered. "I'm...using him to benefit my needs." She said softly, even though they both knew that wasn't the real reason why she wanted to meet with him.
But, he played along anyway. "That's pretty clever of you." He smirked.
She could only answer with a shrug. "I don't want to be afraid anymore Noel. I want this to be done and over with already. And I know I won't find the answers I need here." She placed her hand over her heart. "And, if asking for help from a phantom thief is the answer then so be it."
"'What are you going to do?"
"I'm not sure." She said looking outside. "I need to take a walk."
"Is that really safe? And at this hour too?"
"Probably not." She laughed. "But don't worry, I'll be okay."
"Are you sure? Maybe I should accompany you?"
"Daijoubu. I'll be fine, I promise." She assured him with a smile. "Will you look after Keiichiro for me? You know how he gets when he has his mind set on something." Tsukasa tucked her hands into her 'New York' hoodie. She and Keiichiro have been stuck together since day one, ever since the academy. They knew each other's weaknesses and strengths, as well as their greatest fears. Well, Tsukasa knew his, hopefully he didn't know about her fear of haunted houses. Their friendship was equivalent to that of siblings, and it showed. And she knew she shouldn't have snapped at him back there, the only reason he was mad was because he cared about her. It reminded her of the time she had to slap some sense into him.
She smirked at the thought before turning back to Noel. "Promise me you won't let him do anything stupid?"
His expression softened, and he matched her smile. "Oui."
Tsukasa wasn't very good at showing affection, unless it was cute and fuzzy, and deserved a place on her bed or against her cheek. She pulled Noel into a hug, appreciative of everything he had been doing for her up until now. He was taken back a little, but moments later he returned the gesture.
While he was saying goodbye to her as she exited the building, someone had been watching them from the shadows. Brown eyes scorned the very sight of them together, and they vowed that soon their very lives would be at their mercy…
"Naruhodo." Kairi said into his phone.
A few hours had passed since Sakuya took Umika and Mana home. While they tried to relax and enjoy the rest of their night, they were too wound up and worried about Tsukasa. As soon as Mana went upstairs to shower, Umika called Kairi and Touma to let them know what was going on.
"Just stay there for now and play it cool. If any of us receives any information we'll let the other know." Kairi got off the phone with Umika and relayed the message to Touma. "Tsukasa-san just got another note." He told him. "She's with Keii-chan and Noel right now at the station."
Touma kept his stoic expression. "I see. So then, how shall we play this out?"
"There's not really much we can do now." He replied pulling out a chair for him to sit on. "We just have to hope that the police will get a lead some time soon."
"But, are you okay with that?" He leaned against the entrance to the kitchen. "Knowing you, you've got some idea in your head on how to get involved unnecessarily. It'd be a first to see you sit on the sidelines and watch."
Touma wasn't wrong about that. Even before he got off the phone with Umika, Kairi had all these ideas on ways to help her; stake out at the GSPO office, keep an eye on her 24/7, a tracking device (who knows where he would get that from). As ironic as it sounded, it was all he could do to keep his mind off her.
Touma patted his shoulder. "You should sleep on it." He told him. "If she's with Keiichiro and Sakuya, then she's fine. She'll be safe with them."
Of course, we all know that she wasn't with them anymore.
Tsukasa's phone began to buzz a few minutes after she left. The first time was Keiichiro, the second was Sakuya. Not really caring to talk to either one of them, she let it go to voicemail. She knew eventually though they would have Umika or Mana call her. It probably would be better for her if she just shut her phone off. But what if it was a real emergency? Tsukasa walked on and on for what seemed like hours. She didn't really have a destination in mind; perhaps if she walked far enough she could escape this reality, maybe even to the Gangler's world. When she looked up however, she immediately recognized the neighborhood she had traversed through. She took in her surroundings; not much had changed since the last time. After some thought, she made up her mind where she wanted to go. She passed by the old church at the corner and through an alleyway, one that she was all too familiar with. Turning down another street and two blocks away, she reached her destination.
Slowly Tsukasa walked up the steps to the house. When she reached the door, her finger lingered over the doorbell. 'It's not too late to turn around…' She thought to herself. 'Maybe this was a bad idea coming here…' Before she could think anymore negative thoughts, she pushed the doorbell and waited for an answer. After a few seconds, she heard the lock click, and the door opened to get a better view of her.
"Hmm? Oh…Tsukasa."
Tsukasa looked up at the person, rolling her lips inward in nervousness. It was bad enough that she showed up unannounced, but it was even worse showing up in the middle of the night, with no explanation as to why whatsoever. Even though this person technically a stranger, standing here after so long made her feel like one.
"Hisashiburi, ojii-chan..."
Back at the station, Keiichiro sat at Jim's desk using his computer. When the forensic team and security footage fell short, he decided to do a little investigating of his own. He looked up anything that could connect a Gangler to the notes Tsukasa had been receiving, even going as far back to before they became Patrangers. Keiichiro wanted to take Noel's word, and believe that they were innocent. But the longer he dwelled on it, the more he began to lose hope.
He slammed his palms on the table making the other two jump in surprise. "It's no use." He said aloud. "It really does look like those notes came from the Lupinrangers."
"But then, wouldn't that be a good thing?" Sakuya asked. "I mean if it really is them, then all we have to do is find and ask them why they're harassing Tsukasa-sempai. Right?"
"If only it were that simple." Hilltop replied. "They usually show up whenever there's a Gangler, but, unfortunately for us there hasn't been one in awhile."
"That's true…" He nodded glumly.
Hilltop's desk phone began to ring. "Hilltop here." He answered. "Are you serious?" He asked sounding concerned. "Hai, we'll be down right away." Hilltop turned to his subordinates. "It's Jim; they found him lying in the basement."
Keiichiro and Sakuya stood up right away. "Is he alright?"
"They're checking his system right now; he's in the lab department." Hilltop got up from his desk, followed by the other two.
When they got to the lab, Jim lay on the table motionless. There were three to four wires in his chest cavity all hooked up to different machines that were recording his data, as well as recovering it. One of the robotic technicians came up to address the three men.
"What happened?" Hilltop asked her.
The young woman-whom from her ID badge was named Rika – gave him the run down. "One of the janitors was cleaning up downstairs when he found him under a pile of trash bags. Normally if we were to dispose of machinery we would have labeled it and kept in the scrap room over there." She said directing their attention to a room across the way. "We make sure all of our service staff know and understand this procedure so our technology doesn't get out by mistake."
"Do we have any footage of who could have done this to him?" Keiichiro asked.
Rika shook her head. "His internal memory has been wiped clean from the past 24 hours. The last of his footage was from the masquerade ball."
"Anything specific?" Hilltop questioned.
Rika looked down at her fingers. "Well, I'm not sure if this is important or not, but the last thing he recorded was Officer Myoujin checking in at the sign-in table that night…"
The three of them stood there in alarm. Whoever attacked Jim was their culprit, and any clues that they had to their identity had been erased.
"We're in the process or rebooting him." She went on. "He should be back online soon so you can talk to him yourselves."
"Thank you." Hilltop bowed respectively as she went back to work.
About twenty minutes later, Rika and her team had finished rebooting Jim, and put him in a sitting position. The three men gathered around the table to talk to the robot.
"How are you doing Jim?" Hilltop asked.
Jim groaned, rubbing the side of his red siren. "I believe the term you humans use is, 'like I got hit by a bus.' Or something like that."
They looked at each other grinning.
"Do you remember what happened?" Keiichiro asked.
"It's still blurry. But thankfully my backup drive is wired in a different part of my system, so whoever it was completely missed that." Jim pointed to his metallic hat. "I was feeling useless since I haven't been able to detect any Ganglers recently. To a robot it makes you feel obsolete." He said sadly. "So I went to the research lab to see if there was anything they could do to help me. But while I was in one of the offices, someone short circuited my system knocking me out cold."
"Do you know who it was?" Sakuya asked.
Jim shook his head sadly. His head shot up a second later with a gasp. "Actually, I do remember something…"
"What is it? Any information would help."
"Well, right before I blacked out, I noticed the person's arm when they were leaning over me. They had an ID badge in their hand."
"Who's? Was it someone you recognized?" Keiichiro became eager.
Jim didn't say anything. When the automatic door slid open he made a whimpering noise. Three heads turned toward the door to see who just came in. Whom they assumed to be their culprit left them flabbergasted. But, judging from Jim's reaction, this had to be the person who attacked him.
''This is a bad idea.' He thought to himself. Noel couldn't shake the feeling that Tsukasa really didn't know how much danger she was placing herself in. Sure she was an officer and was skilled in hand to hand combat and grappling, but still he worried for her safety. Giving her a thirty second head start, he began to tail her. He knew that if she ever found out about this she definitely would never forgive him again. He ducked behind a building as she stopped at an intersection.
As he lay in wait, he mulled over her earlier requests; meeting with Lupin Red. Noel was still unsure of what Kairi was planning, and why he had taken a sudden interest in Tsukasa. He assumed Tsukasa wanted to talk to him about the masquerade, but was there more to it? There's no way that they actually had feelings for each other right?
Right...?
His phone started to vibrate.
"Hello?"
"Noel, it's Commander Hilltop. Where are you?"
"Sorry, I went out to try and find Tsukasa-san."
"Hm, and did you find her?"
He looked around the corner of the building to check on her. Tsukasa began to move again, heading south in the direction of a bridge. "No, I didn't find her." He said giving up on his earlier task.
"I see. Don't worry about her for now; I'm sure she'll be alright. There's something else that needs our attention; Jim was attacked at the office."
"Nani? By who? A Gangler?"
"We're not sure. He should be up in a bit, but I need you to come down to the lab department right away."
"Wakata, I'll be right in."
It was minutes after midnight when he got back. As soon as the elevator doors started to open, he sprinted down the hall, acknowledging the security guards as he passed by. Rika and her team noticed him coming in so she held the door open for him.
When he got to the lab, the room fell silent. All eyes were on him.
"Doshita?" He asked looking into their faces.
Keiichiro grabbed him by the collar pushing him up against the wall.
"Noel!" He said getting riled up. "What did you do to Jim?"
"What are you talking about?" He asked confused. "I just got here; I don't even know what's going on."
"Liar!"
"Keiichiro." Hilltop placed a hand on his shoulder. "Let him go."
Begrudgingly he did so, walking across the room to take a breather.
Hilltop turned back to Noel. "Sorry about that." He told him. "And thank you for coming. To fill you in, Jim said when he was attacked, he saw your ID badge in that person's hand."
Noel reacted in surprise. He looked over at Jim who began to whimper again. "I see. Well if that's the case, then the person who attacked Jim-kun couldn't have been me."
"Don't play dumb." Keiichiro growled. "How could it not be you if that was your badge in their hand?"
"Because I haven't seen it in a while. This entire time I've been using a temporary badge that doesn't have access to high alert security areas." He unzipped his jacket and pulled out the badge to show them. "Even getting inside here was all because of Rika-chan. You're more than welcome to ask her yourself."
Keiichiro looked at him skeptically. "What do you mean you haven't seen it in a while?"
"I lost it a few weeks ago. The last time I saw it was when-" His eyes got bigger. "Masaka…" He whispered.
"When?"
"Ah, when…Tsukasa-san started receiving those notes." He stumbled. "But you have to believe me. I would never hurt Jim-kun."
The three of them looked at him unsurely. As easy as it was to blame someone, if they convicted the wrong person it would be even worse.
Keiichiro had his hands on his hips. "I believe you." He said to him. "I don't want to believe you, but I do."
Noel released a breath before turning to his accuser. "Jim-kun?" He asked wanting his approval.
Jim made a small noise. If Jim couldn't believe him then there was no point in hanging around any longer. "I'm not a lie detector." He said. "But I know you wouldn't attack me." He wobbled off the table and made his way toward Noel. "We've become really close these past few months, there's no way it could've been you Noel-san." He said embracing him.
Noel smiled hugging him back. This group really seemed to like hugs for some reason. "Merci." He patted the top of his head.
"Great, now we're back to square one." Keiichiro groaned. "And we wasted an entire night with nothing to show for it."
"Daijoubu sempai." Sakuya told him. "I'm sure after a few hours of rest we'll have our heads cleared. Then we can get back to work."
"I agree." Hilltop chimed in. "For now we'll leave it at that. We'll try again tomorrow bright and early."
The others started shuffling out of the room, but Noel lingered behind momentarily. He didn't want to-no, couldn't tell them where he lost it. If he told him he lost it at Jurer, Keiichiro and the team would begin to suspect Kairi, and that wouldn't be good for either of them. Instead he opted to investigate his missing ID badge himself. He just hoped that he was wrong about his suspicions…
Author's Note: I really don't have much to say about this chapter, except for thank you of course. In case you were wondering, Rika is an OC of mine. I didn't want to have some nameless person talking to them, that's just weird.
Is anyone excited for LupinPato VS Kyuranger? The first time I saw the trailer where the Jurer trio became Patrangers I thought that took place after the finale. Like I know the movie takes place before Episode 48, but I thought it was sometime afterwards, like a year or two after the final scene. But after rewatching the trailer there was this one scene in the middle where it looked like the Patrangers were fighting kind of awkwardly. The second movie trailer pretty much confirmed that for me. I hope we see the Patrangers transform into Lupinrangers too, I can imagine Keiichiro getting all irritated for having to do so lol. I thought it was pretty cool when Toei released that VR on YouTube of them doing the Kyutama dance. I'm kind of excited to see them dancing to Que Bom when they have the Ryusoulger VS LupinPato crossover. Hopefully they make one *knocks on woods*
As always, leave a comment telling me what you think and I'll talk to you guys later!