Chapter Five: Theft at the Gallery


A little over a week has passed since Tsutomu and his group had signed on with Torchwick. All in all not to much had really happened within that time frame. Those who were injured during the fight they had with Roman had healed up and they'd gone over and refined the plan for the heist they were preparing for.

They didn't spend too much time at the warehouse as they had business to do in the city but after the sun went down they usually all came back for the night save for some unique circumstances. Roman actually used some of the money he had in order to make the place more habitable for 6 people. Some furniture placed here, some dust cleaned up there, etc.

Roman himself, when he wasn't going over the heist with Tsutomu or out in the city running some errands or picking pockets, he was actually doing a bit of training. Roman never really had the time or place to train and he never went to a Huntsman academy but he wasn't doing to bad right now.

While the others healed, Roman was either exercising or sparring with Tsutomu. The man wasn't exactly trained either but when you're a crook on the street trying to live from day to day, you tend to pick up a thing or two just like Roman had.

When he was alone though, Roman did something he'd never really done before. He trained up his aura. It was quiet the experience the first time he did it. Roman recalled that he'd learned somewhere that there were some techniques that could strengthen your aura control.

Roman wasn't exactly a Huntsman sure but he had decent control over it. He could push it into his body parts for increased defense and he could use it to look through his surroundings to sense if someone was watching him, not to mention he could enhance his senses ever so slightly but that was pretty much it.

He'd spoken with Tsutomu at length about the Heroes in Japan and what he should expect. For the amount of muscle he had the man was knowledgeable and intelligent enough and thankfully he bought Roman's lie of just being a foreigner. Regardless, the information Roman was given concerned him. There were some people out there that would absolutely destroy the Huntsman back home.

When the topic of All Might, the supposed top hero in Japan if not the entire world came up, Roman looked back to the day he first met the man. The sheer power he displayed. It shocked Roman that someone that strong could exist. And he'd though Cinder was strong but god damn she doesn't have shit on him!

With that, Roman realized he needed to prepare himself somewhat and so that was what he strived to do. Roman had practiced for a little over a week and the results weren't too bad. It wasn't anything special in the long run due to the short time but it was still noticeable.

Now Roman could semi-reliably push his aura into his limbs but not just for defense, he could increase his physical abilities too. He found himself running faster, jumping higher, hitting harder. He'd even managed to project his aura into a visible red and orange tinted barrier around his hand, although it was pretty small and if he wasn't completely focusing on it, he'd screw up so he'd need to work on it more.

The experience almost made Roman envious of the Beacon students he'd kept having to fight. The power aura gave him was exhilarating. Almost. He much preferred being on the streets with Neo.

Neo was actually another topic altogether.

All throughout the week the girl had never left his mind. He would still get some semblance of nightmares from the ordeal and Roman still missed her dearly. Despite this though, Roman managed to find some sort of peace with that fact. He didn't know if Neo was actually dead or not since he never saw anything happen. Even if she was, Roman refused to stop living his own life. He knew that it wasn't what Neo would have wanted.

Now though, it was almost time. Roman was standing over some blueprints in the planning room, looking through them just in case he'd missed something. He was brought out of his work when Tsutomu and the rest of the group came in through the door.

"You asked for us Boss?" Roman waved them all inside as he grabbed and lit a cigar.

"Yeah. All of you look healed up now." He looked over them before his gaze fell on Emiko. "How's the wrist?" The girl looked a little sheepish but answered nonetheless.

"It's better now. I won't have problems lifting anything if that's what you're worried about." He gave her a nod before turning to Tsutomu.

"It's almost time. Do we have everything we need? Is everyone prepared?"

"We are boss. I brought the van over earlier today. It's parked right outside." Roman gave him a smirk.

"What about the rest of you?" Nods and grunts of agreement was all he received but it was more than enough.

"Alright. We're gonna go over the plan just to make sure we all know what our job is." Roman straightened out and walked over to the notice board he had mapped the operation out on. He grabbed Melodic Cudgel and used it similarly to a pointer finger.

"Step One: Tsutomu is going to take us using the van he brought to this location, about half a block away from the gallery." He faced Tsutomu to make sure Roman was heard. "You need to be ready to floor it out of there but make sure you stay hidden and unnoticed." His answer was a nod from the large man.

"Step Two: We're going to stick to the shadows as we approach the building. At the time of night we'll be there at, the surrounding area should be devoid of people. If all of this goes right we'll be out of there before anyone can even realize we're gone." He looked up at everyone to make sure they were still following. They were.

"Step Three is where things get complicated. Before we head in, we're gonna need to cut the power. There's an electrical box on the outside of the building that we need to get to. Hanako, I'm trusting you with that. On my say so, you'll cut the wires I tell you to."

"No problem Boss. Just tell me what you need." He gave her an appreciative nod.

"Alright. You need to cut them right after when Isao and Takeo get into position. We need to synchronize this or the jig will be up. Too soon and the guards will know something his wrong. Too late and we risk Isao and Takeo getting caught on feed, not to mention the time we'll waste. It'll just be an annoyance. You understand?"

"No worries Boss. I'll handle it. I know I can." Tsutomu snorted and looked to Roman. "She'll know exactly what to do Boss. You can count on her."

"That's good to hear." He turned to the other two Roman mentioned. "As for you two, you probably know what needs to be done but I'll still explain it. When the electricity and thus the cameras get cut, you'll take down the few guards around the area. The cameras should visibly droop and the light signaling their activation will shut off. That's when you strike. Don't kill anyone. You won't get paid if you do. Knock em unconscious and tie em up. You got that? I don't want to see the word "Murder" on the news tomorrow get it?"

Takeo looked a little disappointed if his drooping shoulders were anything to go by but both of the thugs gave him confirmatory nods nevertheless.

"I guess that's all I can ask for…" Roman took a puff of his cigar before resuming his explanation. "Right so once the guards are unconscious, I need Emiko to rush in and start piling anything you can find into the duffle bags we'll bring. The statue is the main target. Everything else is a bonus. Don't forget that. Isao and Takeo will help you once the guards are out."

"Uhh.. Yes Boss!" Emiko's nervous squeak brought out a snort from the others in the room. Roman grumbled under his breath. The brat was way too young for this but what could he do about it?

"Hanako." He turned back towards the telekinesis user. "By the time you make it back around, I'd expect a good few bags ready to go. "He looked back to Emiko who looked nervous but nodded at the implication. "Your job is to use your powers to gather everything in the gallery and place it all in close proximity for Emiko and the other two to stuff in the bags. Once that's done, grab the bags that are already full and make sure they're prepared in case we need to hightail it to the van.

Roman looked to Tsutomu for this part of the plan. "This next part depends on if the alarm has been tripped or not. If it has, I want you Tsutomu, to bring the van out right next to the store. I'll call you to let you know if that's what we're going to do. Hanako's gonna get everything in as quickly as she can and we're going to leave as soon as things get too rough though."

"If the alarm hasn't been tripped, I want you to stay in the alley. We'll grab all the merchandise once everything has been collected and quietly make our way towards the van. Then all we gotta do is drive around town for a bit and lose the cops if we need to. After that, we come back here and we're done. I'll give Giran a call, he'll send someone to grab the stuff and that's when we get payed. Any complaints?"

Everyone gave him mild cheers and had smiles on their faces. That let him know that everything was fine. Torchwick finished off his cigar before stubbing out the butt and tossing it into a nearby ash tray.

"Alright then, let's get a move on." With that, the group piled into the van and made their way towards the gallery.


As the van drove down the street Roman felt himself looking out the window. Downtown Musutafu at night was really something else, it's why he liked the city after dark. The absence of the sun gave everything a completely different look.

Lit up signs and billboards filled the city, it felt like Musutafu was even more alive at night but even then there weren't too many people out in comparison to other times of the day. Of those he could see though, it was a mixed bag of people. You couldn't really tell who was who in a car like this.

Tsutomu drove the car steadily down the street. There were still cars driving up and down the road but traffic was limited if not non-existent. He was glad about not driving though. When Tsutomu first pulled onto the left side of the road, Roman almost had a heart attack but seeing other cars doing the same thing calmed him down. It was still embarrassing though and the looks some of the others gave him did not help. He'd try to look up some info tomorrow.

"You mind if I put on some tunes Boss?" Tsu tilted his head towards Roman but kept his eyes on the road.

"Sure. Do whatever, it's your van." Roman waved him off and leaned back in his seat. Tsu nodded and turned on the radio and started scrolling through the different stations. Of the ones he passed, they seemed pretty mundane but the one Tsu stopped on, caught Roman's eye.

"Hey, hey! Hello there all you listeners! Thanks for tuning in! I'm your host Present Mic and welcome to my radio show. Up next is a crowd favorite so sit back, relax and enjoy some tunes! Present Mic out!" The voice quieted down as a song began to play.

"I know he'd probably arrest us but Present Mic is pretty cool." Roman tilted his head back to Emiko. The look in her eye told him everything he needed to know and he wasn't surprised. Her eyes were sparkling like a child who'd just woken up on Christmas morning. He turned to Hanako as she chuckled at her little sisters antics.

"She's a fan of Mic's radio show." She began to explain when she caught Roman staring. "He may be a hero and all but the guy is pretty entertaining so I can't blame her." Emiko had begun bobbing her head to the song and even Roman had to admit the song was pretty good.

"Oh my gosh Odd Future is the best!" Tsutomu snickered at the shout and turned back to Roman who'd turned back to the front. "We're almost there. Shouldn't be more than a few more minutes." He explained.

"Perfect. We'll have to get ready." Torchwick turned towards Emiko again with a grimace on his face. "Get it out of your system, we have a gallery to rob!" The mock salute was all he needed. Roman turned back to the road grumbling all the while as the girl began energetically humming the lyrics.

As predicted, the van pulled up not too far from the gallery less than 5 minutes later. Just as expected, there was no one out in this part of town at night. Even then, the alleyway they were in draped the van in shadow. It wouldn't be visible from outside the alley.

Slowly, the car doors opened and everyone aside from Tsutomu stepped out. Roman took a look at the sky. The moon was half obscured and that had a heavy impact on their surroundings. If there weren't any streetlights or other sources of light, it was practically pitch black. That worked to their advantage.

"Let's get a move on." He looked back towards Tsutomu. "Sit tight. We shouldn't be too long. Be ready to get out of here, don't forget."

"You got it boss. Be careful and good luck." Roman slammed his hand against the van in a good hearted manner. "Yeah yeah. Alright, grab what we need and let's go." The van's back door was opened and around a dozen duffle bags were grabbed. All of them were sizable, enough to carry a good amount of loot.

With that, the group started to make their way over to the gallery. They made sure to remain unseen but not act overly suspicious in the case someone saw them. Well, at least they made sure they weren't being more suspicious than they already looked. A group of people skulking around with empty bags didn't paint a good picture.

After a few minutes of ducking in and out of shadows, they made it over to the gallery. Roman turned to Takeo and Isao. "Drop your bags here and get ready by the front entrance. The door's are electrical so they should be easy to open after Hanako does her job. Smash through them if all else fails." The two nodded and did as he asked. Once they were out of sight, Roman turned to Hanako.

"Alright. You're with me." He turned over to Emiko. "Take all the bags and prepare by the entrance. Once the other two do their job I want them to help you. I want them filled as fast as possible!" She gave him a mock salute and zipped off. The previous childishness was gone, replaced by a serious mask. Roman was a little impressed. She was a child but she knew when to shut up and do what she was told.

"Let's go."

"Right."

Roman and Hanako snuck around the building to where the breaker panel should have been. As they turned the corner, Roman was relieved to find it right where they were expecting it. The two approached it and Roman opened it before beckoning Hanako over.

"Alright… Cut these two wires up here and then this wire here. Once that's done, cut this big wire here, all in that order, but wait for my say so." Hanako gave him a nod and Roman pulled out his scroll.

'You two in position yet?' Roman shot Isao the text as soon as he finished typing it. Thankfully he didn't have to wait more than 20 seconds for a reply to be sent.

'We're both ready boss. We'll know once the power's out.' Roman couldn't help but smirk. He turned back to Hanako who looked both nervous and excited.

"You ready?" She turned to him and gave him a shaky grin. "Yeah. Just getting a little jittery…"

"Alright. You remember which wires you need to cut?" An affirmative nod was his reply. "Alright. Cut them in three… Two… One… Now!"

Hanako jumped into action with her wire cutters. Her hands were shaky but she managed to cut everything she was told to in a quick enough amount of time. As soon as they were cut, Roman made his way to the front of the store with Hanako in tow.

As they made it to the front of the store, Takeo and Isao were already inside battling with some of the guards. Roman noted that two of them were already out of it and the other two were being taken care of. Roman made to step inside but there was another guard that was missed.

"Fucking villains!" The guard roared and sprinted towards Isao who had just taken out the guard he was fighting. He'd barely managed to turn around to see the guard with a security baton raised overhead, ready to be brought down on his head.

Before the guard could, Roman wrapped Melodic Cudgel's handle around the baton, effectively stopping it in it's descent. He wrenched the baton free, before hooking his cane's handle around the guards leg. He pulled and the guard toppled over. Before the guard could get his bearings and get to his feet, Roman's boot met his face and the guard went limp.

Roman turned towards the door where he saw Emiko waiting. "Alright, Emiko, Hanako get in here! You two, tie em up and make sure they won't be able to get out on their own. We're wasting time, move, move!"

"Yes boss!" The 4 of them started shuffling around to get their jobs done. Roman couldn't help but bristle. He's already having to improvise but he wasn't surprised. It's why he made the plan as vague as he did. With a small job like this and with an inexperienced crew a rigid and complicated plan always fell apart.

With everyone else busy, Roman went into a side room in the gallery. There, in the center of the room was what he came here for. A quick glance to the camera in the corner confirmed that the power was out. He walked up to it and grabbed it. It was a little big but small enough to hold with two hands. He brought it back to Hanako who had been prepping some of the bags that had been filled with art.

"Take this and make sure it's ready to transport." He turned towards Isao. "The guards tied up yet?"

"Yes boss, almost!"

"Good! And don't forget to gag them! Help out with the loot once you're done. We need to be out of here as soon as possible." With that, Roman made his way into the back to locate the office. After a bit of searching, he found it. Inside was exactly what he was looking for. The safe.

There was a counter near the front entrance with a cash register but it was empty. If Roman was lucky, all the money that had accumulated over the past few days to week and maybe even a month was in this safe. He couldn't help but chuckle. He'd be making a nice pay out tonight.

Roman walked up to the safe and took a look at it. It had a keypad lock which was a bit of a problem. If it had a keyhole, Roman could pick the lock. If it had a dial, he would be able to break it listening for the audible clicks the safe made. He'd need a code for this safe. Roman wouldn't risk blowing it off just yet, not when he could risk getting caught.

"...Shit…!" With a curse, Roman shot up and began scouring around the office. He remained calm but every second he wasted was another second they could be discovered. After a bit of searching, Roman found a 4 digit combo in one of the drawers. With a silent cheer, Roman ran back over to the safe and input the code.

The affirmative beeping the safe made was the most beautiful sound he'd heard all day.

Roman opened the duffle bag he held and started shoving cash from the safe into it. The safe wasn't full but it was far from empty. He didn't bother counting. He'd wasted enough time. After a few minutes of filling up the bag, Roman ran back out of the room to meet the others.

To his relief, Roman saw that they were almost ready to go. The guards were tied and gagged and showed no signs of waking up yet and most of the displays were empty while most of the duffle bags were full. Whatever was too big to be bagged was stacked next to everything else. Hanako would be able to carry most of it with her telekinesis.

"We're almost ready boss! The main prize is also ready to move!" Hanako's exclamation brought him back to reality. Roman looked over to her and saw she looked less nervous and more excited. He didn't blame her. Things were going well and they only needed to get out of here.

"Good! Make sure to bag the last of it and then we're out of here. We've gotten lucky so far but I don't want to stay here any longer than we have to." Roman spent the next few minutes observing to make sure things went smoothly and helping out where he was needed. Soon enough, the last of the bags were filled up and they were ready to go.

"Boss! We're all filled up!" Isao called out to him. Roman smirked back and grabbed one bag with his left hand and placed another onto his shoulder, leaving his right hand free for Melodic Cudgel.

"Let's get a move on then!" He turned to the rest of them who were also grabbing bags and preparing to get back to the van. "We're wasting time! Grab the bags and lets get out of here! Payout is right around the corner." Finally, after what felt like forever to Roman, the 5 of them were out the door, filled up with loot.

Emiko and Hanako were carrying most of the bags due to their powers, holding 4 each while Isao and Takeo both held one bag each. Roman took a look around and didn't see anyone. He beckoned to the rest of them and they began to make their way back to the van.

Roman made sure to be at the front of the group. For the first minute nothing happened and it was quiet. As they walked further and further, something set Roman on edge. It was too quiet. Abruptly, Roman stopped and let the duffle bags he was carrying fall to the ground.

He gestured towards Hanako. "Pick those up." Had Roman turned around, he would have noticed the confused face she made but she complied with his order nonetheless. Roman looked around, trying to find what it was that had him on edge all of a sudden but he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.

*CRACK* *CRACK*

Out of the corner of his eye, Roman saw flashes on the other side of the street. It was only due to instinct that Roman was able to react and even then just barely. He was able to raise Melodic Cudgel in time to block one of the projectiles. It ground against the shaft of his cane as a few sparks flew from the metal, before ricocheting in flying off into the distance.

Unfortunately, the second one found it's mark and hit Roman square in the shoulder. His aura shielded him from the blow but he stumbled regardless. Roman managed to regain his footing and righted himself before turning towards the origin of the projectiles.

"All of you! Get to the van, load up the loot and come pick me up!" They didn't move for a few seconds. Roman turned with a snarl and snapped at them. "Move! NOW!" That did the trick and the 4 of them scrambled away from Roman and dashed off in the vans direction. Whoever had caught them chose not to follow.

A few more sharp cracks and flashes came from the darkness but this time Roman was ready for it. He hefted Melodic Cudgel and twirled his cane with rapid speed. Every one of the projectiles was either stopped dead in their tracks or thrown of course, hitting the sides of walls or the street.

After a few seconds the volley stopped and a figure rushed out of the shadows. Roman couldn't get a good look before whoever it was came crashing down on him. The figure threw several punches at Roman, the first hitting him in the face, although his aura took the blow and the second one barely being dodged. Roman quickly got his act together and smoothly weaved through the barrage of blows.

The punches soon stopped and a high kick was coming his way. Roman dodged and hooked Melodic Cudgels handle around the figures shin. The man stumbled, not expecting what had happened and Roman used that to his advantage. Roman pulled down and then up, throwing the man off his feet and flipping him in the air.

Roman quickly lashed out with a kick to the figure's torso with a bit of amplified aura in the strike. They went flying, before crashing into the floor and bouncing once. The figure caught themselves and fell into a crouch, sliding on the pavement. When their momentum stopped, they shakily stood up and Roman was able to get a look at them.

The man's chest was bare and muscular, obscured only slightly by a dark gray combat vest. He also wore dark brown combat pants and black combat boots but that wasn't what caught Roman's eye.

The man had giant bracers on his wrists that looked like the chamber to a revolver. The mask the man wore also obscured his face, preventing nothing aside from his spiky lime green hair from being seen.

'So this is one of those heroes? Alright, time to see how they compare to Huntsman.'

Roman didn't have time to ponder more before the man lifted his arms and pointed them at Roman again. Once he did, the telltale sound of gunfire echoed across the street and more bullets flew towards him.

Now that he knew what to expect, it was easy for Roman to deflect the bullets no matter where the man fired. Now that he thought about it, the bullets lacked the punch of dust rounds Roman was used to. They weren't weak by any means but it was like something was missing.

Roman waited for a lull in the gunfire before he threw himself to the side once he was given the chance. He rolled on the ground and fell into a crouch. Torchwick aimed Melodic Cudgel and pulled the trigger.

*Click*

'WHAT?!'

The hero used Roman's distraction to his advantage and fired off even more shots. They caught Roman off guard and slammed into his aura. Pain flared but they didn't cause any lasting damage. He quickly brushed aside Melodic Cudgel's faulty firing system and started twirling his cane again, protecting himself from the rest of the projectiles.

'Shit! Melodic Cudgel isn't firing for some reason! Did the mechanism jam?! Ah, screw it I can't stay at a distance like this…! Need to get closer!'

Roman decided to bide his time and wait for an opportunity. As soon as the crackle of gunfire paused, Roman pushed some of his aura into his legs and sprinted full tilt at the hero. The man couldn't resume his onslaught of bullets in time, before Roman was upon him and was forced to go on the defensive.

Melodic Cudgel was swung down but the hero brought his arms up into a block just in time. The hero kept one arm up but used his left arm to line up another shot. Roman threw himself to the side as soon as he noticed and hit the ground shoulder first as the bullets sailed past him.

Roman braced his arms against the hard pavement and pushed, throwing himself to his feet. Melodic Cudgel swung in the air smacking against the Heroes face. He backpedaled but Roman wouldn't let up. He swung his cane a few more times, each hit being blocked before the hero countered with a jab.

Roman hooked Melodic Cudgel around it and pulled, forcing the man to stumble. Roman threw a knee into his gut before punching him in the side of the head. The man stumbled and Roman thrust Melodic cudgel into his abdomen, before flicking the cane up into the heroes lower jaw.

The man stumbled back once more but Roman leaped forward and slammed Melodic Cudgel down onto the mans head, his arms subtly glowing a fiery orange-red. The man hit the floor but quickly threw his palms against the floor and pushed, flipping himself backwards and onto his feet again.

"You'll pay for this villain! I, Gunhead, will defeat you!" The mans wrist guns cracked again, even more bullets firing at Roman. Torchwick noticed that it wasn't actually a mounted wrist gun but the bullets were coming out of the man's hands.

'Well shit that is a really weird semblance… I mean… Having guns for hands?' Roman shrugged mentally at the prospect but was brought out of his musing as bullets flew passed his face, barely missing him.

With a snarl, Roman spun his cane, blocking, redirecting and letting bullets ricochet off of the cane until Roman felt a lull in the projectiles was coming. When he did, he flipped Melodic Cudgel and hooked the cane's handle around one of the over-sized bullets.

'Aim Roman… Don't miss your shot.'

He spun around, before knocking the bullet back at Gunhead. It hit the man in the shoulder and with a cry, he fell to his knees, his left arm coming up and holding the wound as blood dripped down it.

'Wait a minute… Did his aura break already? No, it shouldn't have. I didn't see it flicker at all… Does he? No… No, that can't be right! There's no way he can't have aura! He's supposed to be a Huntsman! Maybe they go by another name here but they're still the same thing!'

Roman approached the downed man with Melodic Cudgel pointed at him, the canes reticle was up, opening the barrel to allow Roman to shoot the cane's explosives if he needed to. Gunhead turned his attention to Torchwick as he stopped in front of him. The first thing he saw was Melodic Cudgel's barrel pointed at his face.

"So you're a hero huh? You're a lot weaker than I would expect one of you to be…" Roman held a smirk on his face. It must have done as he intended if the grumble that came out of Gunhead was anything to go by.

"You damn villains. You do nothing but bring misery and suffering to those around you!" Roman was sure the hero would have spat at his feet if the mask wasn't there to hold back the saliva.

Roman pulled his left hand back and placed it over his heart. "Oh you wound me! Nothing nice to say? No compliments on my skill? Maybe on my dashing looks?" Gunhead twitched and Roman's mask of amused mockery snapped back to serious and cold.

"Don't move a muscle Gunner Boy. I don't want to have to kill you but you so much as move a muscle and I'll blow your remains across the street." Roman didn't know how much his words affected the hero but the man froze and faced his palms up to the sky in a slow and controlled manner.

Just then Roman heard the rumble of a car engine and the sound of tires rolling across asphalt. Headlights came into view, followed by the full view of Tsutomu's van. The man honked his car and honked twice, telling Roman to get in.

"Well that looks like my ticket. Sorry to ruin your fun Gunner Boy." With that, Roman flipped Melodic Cudgel and brought it back to slam into Gunhead. The cane whooshed through the air and crashed into Gunheads mask. The Hero went limp and crumpled to the floor, his mask audibly clunking as it met pavement.

The door to the van was opened from the Inside as Roman turned. "Boss! We gotta go!" Roman wasted no time and ran as fast as he could, pushing his aura into his legs to further increase his speed. When Roman got close, he jumped in and closed the door. As the van started speeding away, he took one last look at the Hero he fought. He was still on the ground, unconscious.

He turned to Tsutomu and swallowed, before opening his mouth. "Hey Tsutomu…"

"Yeah Boss?" The large man looked happy. So did everyone else actually. Roman didn't pay it much mind but everyone was cheering and celebrating in the back. The radio was off though. Roman stayed silent, pondering on the words he might use. Finally, he sighed and asked.

"Tsutomu... Does… Does the word "aura" mean anything to you?" The man looked confused and shook his head, making sure to keep his eyes on the road.

"I'm not too sure what you mean by that. I don't think so, no. Why?" Roman's eyes widened a bit before he regained his composure.

"What about Dust?" That just served to confuse Tsutomu even more.

"Dust? You mean the kind that gathers on your window sill if you don't clean often enough?" If Tsutomu had taken his eyes off of the road and glanced over at Roman, he would have seen that the thief looked confused.

"And Grimm? Does that word mean anything to you?" That was the last straw and Tsu glanced over at Roman.

"Boss is something wrong?"

"Just answer the damn question!" Tsutomu shrunk back, not expecting Roman to snap. He put his eyes back on the road and answered.

"No the word doesn't hold any significance for me. Why? You're being really weird boss."

"No… No it's nothing…" Roman leaned back in his seat, resting his cheek on his right hand which he propped up on the door. He gazed out of the window with a look of contemplation.

.

.

.

"I was just curious..."


A/N: Another chapter's done. Roman's first job in Japan went pretty well all things considered. He went it, grabbed everything and left. There were quite a few routes I could have gone with this. The amount of resistance could have been bigger or lesser and so much shit could have happened differently, it was a little hard to pick.

The thing I struggled with most actually was picking a hero to confront Torchwick. The first guy that comes to mind in these scenarios is Eraserhead but that's a little bit of a cliche in these kinds of fanfics at this point so I wanted to do something different. At first I wanted to pick Mr. Brave but he didn't seem that interesting so I picked Gunhead for this instead so I could put Torchwick in a firefight type situation and give Roman a chance to "use" his dust.

Overall I'm pretty happy with how it turned out I think although there are absolutely things I could have done better I think. Anyways, I'd like to thank all of you for reading this chapter. If any of you have any suggestions, criticisms or questions, please do not hesitate to let me know. While I will ultimately write this fic how I want, your feedback is invaluable and many of you have already given me good ideas. There are also a lot of ways for Roman to go from here on out so if there is something you think he'd do or something you'd like to see, let me know.

With that said, I'll see all of you when the next chapter is ready and I wish all of you have a nice day.