Disclaimer: I don't own Demashitaa! Powerpuff Girls Z and any of its characters used in this fanfic.
Inspiration: marinav92
A/N: My goodness, I can't believe I finally managed to get this up... I was hoping it wouldn't take this long, but since I was so busy, it was difficult to continually work on this while adhering to what I had planned for so long now. Anyway, this chapter is 8 pages long, so enjoy!
CHAPTER 11:
That evening, Kaoru stared at the night sky from her bedroom window as she resisted the urge to punch the wall.
After Professor Utonium came back from conversing with the Mayor, he had a grim look on his face. Since the Mayor found out that the girls' powers had disappeared, the girls were told to cease all their superheroine activities and to leave the ongoing massacres to the police department. Of course, the girls protested to this idea, but it had already been finalized.
To make matters worse, Professor Utonium had also told the girls that the Mayor refused to disclose any of the supervillains' activity statuses to him. According to the Mayor, the police were already working on this, and telling the girls the supervillains' current statuses would only further involve the girls. Since they were now vulnerable, it was best that the girls tried to stay as safe as possible.
Kaoru let out a bitter sigh.
Vulnerable… She hated that word. It was just another reminder to her that she could've done something—anything, in fact—when Butch had forced her to drink Antidote Z.
Her eyes narrowed when she thought about Butch. The break-up obviously hadn't affected him since he had the energy to laugh and sneer when she brought up the idea of them as the murderers. Now that she thought about it, it seemed like a completely different Butch… Or perhaps it was another side to him—one that she had never seen, like their recent one-on-one confrontation.
Maybe she really didn't know him at all, like she thought she did.
"What the hell am I thinking about?" Kaoru grumbled angrily before scowling. "This isn't the time to be thinking about him."
She had other things to focus on—more important things, in fact, such as the murderer's identity and massacres happening throughout the city. Now that the Mayor refused to disclose anything to the girls due to their current condition, Momoko, Miyako, and Kaoru were completely, utterly stumped. Without their powers, they lost the advantages they had before, and to make matters worse, they just didn't have the time to try to track all the supervillains as their human selves, especially when they still had to go to school.
The Professor had told the girls to come by after school from now on, so he could continue checking in on them. So far, there weren't any unexpected side effects from Antidote Z, which the girls were thankful for.
Honestly, Kaoru still felt that the boys made them drink Antidote Z to spite and weaken them and have them suffer during this crucial time when their powers were necessary to protect the city.
But, then again, their powers hadn't done anything to protect the citizens from the murderer.
"God, why the hell is this even happening?" Kaoru muttered after she lied down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. After a moment of silence, she turned to her side, away from her bedroom window.
Before these massacres started, she and Butch were happily together in their relationship. He would mess with her because he loved riling her up, and she'd always yell at him or punch him for his idiocy. Hell, sometimes, he even deserved those punches, but he never seemed to mind. And the way he would hold her hand, the way he kissed her and approached her last year…
He liked her…didn't he?
Or was that a lie, too? Was everything a lie?
In that instant, Kaoru thought about her one-on-one confrontation with Butch again.
"I'd give you a good-bye kiss, but…"
The image of Butch's rueful grin was embedded into Kaoru's mind. His eyes had looked so regretful, almost sorrowful—or perhaps, she had just imagined it.
With every passing second, it became difficult for her to forcibly keep her mind off Butch. One by one, Kaoru recalled the precious memories that she shared with Butch for the past year, and slowly, the weight in her chest became heavier with every memory that whizzed by in her head.
Kaoru shut her eyes immediately, forcing herself more than ever to forget about Butch. He was irrelevant now. He was no longer in her life. He no longer had any sort of relationship to her.
And in that moment, she recalled Butch's words.
"I have the power of telepathy. I can only read minds, though. I don't have the ability to communicate telepathically with someone."
Instantly, Kaoru sat up in her bed, momentarily forgetting about the growing heaviness in her chest as her mind slowly became clouded with confusion.
"Since when did Butch get telepathic powers?" Kaoru muttered, narrowing her eyes.
She knew that he couldn't have had those powers when he and his brothers were first born: Brick threw spitballs using a straw, Boomer threw earwax using Q-tips, and Butch threw a stinky sock as a boomerang. Kaoru cringed as she remembered how disgusted she felt when Butch threw that sock at her, but quickly shook her head to stay focused. She then recalled the time the boys borrowed power from Him's dark particles, but of course, that couldn't be why Butch gained telepathic powers.
And then, it clicked.
"Mojo," Kaoru muttered as her eyes widened.
It had to do with that damn potion he mentioned he made for the boys; if it made them older, then it shouldn't be too surprising for the boys to develop powers from it as well since Mojo had intended for the boys to become stronger from drinking the potion. And it was obvious that the boys did drink it, but why?
Kaoru frowned as she realized that maybe the boys did it for power, after all—that maybe the boys couldn't help but succumb to wanting more power, even though Mojo said that the boys rebelled. Maybe the boys had realized how pathetic their current powers were, so they felt like they had no choice but to drink that potion to change.
Still, that didn't explain why the boys suddenly disappeared from Tokyo City and went under the radar for about three years.
Kaoru groaned in aggravation before she fell back on her bed. "I give up."
Whenever she found an answer to one question, another question would immediately pop up.
"Maybe Momoko and Miyako are having better luck than I am," Kaoru muttered just before she heard her phone vibrate. She grabbed it immediately and saw that she got a text from Momoko.
Let's talk after the Professor examines us tomorrow.
Kaoru frowned again and texted, So, I'm guessing you came up with an idea already?
That's rather quick, Miyako replied.
We can discuss what to do tomorrow—not just ideas on what to do, but…you know, the boys, Momoko then replied.
Kaoru grunted. About the boys… Has anyone figured out or realized why they came back after they went under the radar? They disappeared for, what, three years, didn't they?
Maybe they became homesick…? Miyako suggested.
Kaoru snorted, already sensing Miyako's sheepish tone. Seriously, Miyako?
It's a viable reason, no?
I don't think it's viable enough, Momoko replied. Look, girls, let's just sleep on it and talk about it tomorrow. Today was…a lot to take in, after all.
Fine, Kaoru replied. Good night, you two. See you in the morning.
Good night, Kaoru. You, too, Miyako.
Good night to the both of you, Miyako then replied. Sleep well!
Kaoru rolled her eyes as she couldn't help but smile at Miyako's attempt to lighten the mood. Still, she couldn't help but sigh whenever her thoughts kept going back to Butch.
Maybe, just maybe, everything would be answered tomorrow. Maybe she'd wake up tomorrow, realizing that everything so far was just a terrible nightmare, and she'd wake up to the first day of school where she found Butch in her room.
Deep down, though, even Kaoru knew that all she did was just veil her thoughts in comforting lies because the cold reality was that a murderer was on the loose, her ex-boyfriend was a supervillain and most likely never in love with her in the first place, and she was powerless to do anything.
It was the next day, and the Professor had already checked the girls for any side effects from Antidote Z. He had informed them that test results came out negative, but still reminded them to stop by tomorrow, so he could check in on them again. Normally, he would've said more, but he had already gone into his laboratory alone as he muttered to himself.
The girls were currently in the kitchen, making themselves at home as they cooked food for themselves since Ken was working on his own experiment with Peach because the Professor refused to allow Ken to be involved with anything related to Antidote Z.
"You think the Professor's trying to find a cure or something?" Kaoru finally asked after swallowing her spoonful of curry.
"I would think so, yes," Miyako replied, pondering as she slightly tilted her head.
Kaoru grunted in response before finishing her food. After swallowing the last bite, she turned her gaze to Momoko, who was staring off into space, and she frowned. "Momoko?"
Momoko didn't respond.
"Hellooooooo?" Kaoru called out, raising an eyebrow. "Earth to Momoko?"
Miyako blinked a few times in confusion, furrowing her brow. "Momoko-san?"
"We need clues—answers, anything," Momoko finally replied before she let out a long sigh of frustration. "Otherwise, I'm at a lost." Momoko paused before she added softly, "I really am, girls."
Kaoru inaudibly gulped before she shared a look with Miyako.
If Momoko, the same girl who is none other than Blossom of the Powerpuff Girls Z, couldn't solve the mystery at hand, then what else could they do?
After a long uncomfortable moment of silence, Kaoru cleared her throat. "So, what should we do?"
Momoko hesitated for a few seconds before she sighed in defeat. "We wait."
Kaoru abruptly stood up and glowered at her. "What?!"
"Kaoru-san, please, calm down!" Miyako exclaimed.
Kaoru, however, ignored Miyako and narrowed her eyes. "We can't just sit around and do nothing! There are people getting killed out there every single day—a group of people, for that matter!"
"You don't think I know that?" Momoko yelled, standing up as well. "But the fact of the matter is that we can't do anything without our powers!"
Miyako sighed, standing up and already prepared to physically intervene, if necessary. "Please, you two—"
"That's a load of bull!" Kaoru exclaimed, interrupting Miyako.
"Kaoru," Momoko began, narrowing her eyes. "I don't like this any more than you do, but if we try to do anything without our powers—"
"You know what I did, just before the white light hit me?"
The room went quiet, even though Momoko and Miyako knew fully well what each of them did that day.
"I jumped into action," Kaoru snarled, almost growling at Momoko. "I didn't think. I just did it, all to protect someone I didn't even know, despite the consequences."
Momoko sighed. "This is different—"
"You guys did the same—"
"Kaoru—"
"So, why the hell should we just sit around and do nothing?!"
"Because we could be next!"
Kaoru's eyes widened as Momoko's eyes shifted to the floor, and silence filled the room again.
Slowly, Miyako made her way to Momoko before she embraced her. Both girls hugged each other tightly, the fear slowly enveloping in them. When Kaoru finally approached them, even she couldn't help but wrap her arms around the two.
Deep down, each of them knew they needed this.
"We could be next," Momoko repeated softly, just loud enough for the two of them to hear. "We're facing against an enemy stronger than the Rowdyruffs, maybe even stronger than Him, but the difference is that Him never killed anyone in cold blood and…as grotesque." Momoko paused. "We don't have powers, girls. This means we can be killed, just like that, whether we work together as a group or not."
"Why does the murderer continually aim for groups, though?" Miyako asked, her voice just barely above a whisper.
"For their sick enjoyment?" Kaoru dryly replied, which earned her a small smack on the arm by Momoko.
"There has to be a reason," Momoko said as she frowned. "Killing that many people is too abnormal."
Kaoru blinked, frowning as she shot Momoko a quizzical look. "Abnormal?"
Momoko nodded. "When a person murders someone, they always have a motive or some connection to the victim, or at least, there's a pattern among the victims if they happen to be a serial killer. It's never random or coincidental. But, with the groups who've been killed so far, it's…it's as if there's no pattern at all amongst them." Momoko paused before her eyes widened. "No, wait…"
Miyako and Kaoru backed away, already knowing where Momoko's monologue was heading.
"There's a pattern," Momoko said, crossing her arms as she frowned. "It happens at night, and it's always within a group of people." She paused. "Kaoru, how many were killed the first night?"
"Huh?" Kaoru replied, suddenly taken aback because she was under the impression that Momoko would keep monologuing. She frowned as she pondered. "Uh, maybe…six?"
Miyako was already searching for the news article that contained the first group who had been killed, and she held up her phone's screen when she found its headline to the other two. "Five. All male, and they knew each other."
"What about the next one?" Momoko asked, nodding her head to Miyako's cell phone screen.
Miyako began searching for the next article, narrowing her eyes. There was a long pause until her eyes widened when she found it. "Four… Female, this time, but the victims still knew each other." She paused. "It could've been five, though. Apparently, a girl was supposed to meet with her friends and was late before she…" Miyako allowed her voice to trail off, hesitating to continue.
Kaoru frowned in understanding before furrowing her brow. "And the next one?"
"Um… Three this time. All male."
"What's the age range?" Momoko asked.
"For which?"
"For the three groups listed so far."
"Um, the first group are male high schoolers. Second group is female high schoolers. Third group is…male high schoolers."
"So, the murderer's targeting specifically high schoolers, huh?" Kaoru muttered.
Miyako looked up the next article, and she shook her head in disagreement. "No, the fourth group was actually a group of female college students—five, to be specific."
Kaoru scowled. "What the hell?"
"Fifth group of victims were three male high schoolers—delinquents, apparently… Sixth were female college students again, but this time, just three."
"The numbers are starting to become random," Momoko pointed out, frowning. "But, he's switching between male and female victims."
"So, minimum is three, but maximum is six?" Kaoru suggested, raising an eyebrow.
"Apparently. If the pattern is like this, then the next group should be male." Momoko turned her head to Miyako. "What about the rest? There should be…" Momoko's voice trailed off as she began contemplating for a few seconds before nodding. "Three more. There should be three more groups."
Miyako sighed and shook her head. "It doesn't say. With so many murders happening within a little over a week, every newspaper publishing company must be piled with trying to get the information out as soon as possible."
"All his male victims are in high school, though," Kaoru said as she frowned. "Female ones are in the high school to college range."
Momoko said nothing, suddenly scrutinizing the floor.
Kaoru noticed this, so she raised an eyebrow. "Momoko?"
Momoko remained silent.
Kaoru frowned again, and she nudged the redhead.
Momoko blinked, snapping out of her train of thought. "Oh, sorry, what is it?"
"You zoned out a bit," Miyako explained, frowning slightly and furrowing her brow in concern.
"Did you think of something?" Kaoru asked, raising an eyebrow.
Momoko hesitated, her face blanching before she nodded. "I think…I might know why." She paused as she inaudibly gulped. "We established that the murderer is someone who has a grudge against the Rowdyruffs, and the Rowdyruffs are in high school, so…they might be targeting male high school boys specifically for that."
Kaoru pursed her lips. "But why? The murderer found them, didn't they? So, wouldn't it make sense to keep targeting them?"
"I don't know about that, but…"
"But?"
Momoko hesitated again before she sighed in defeat. "The murderer is a supervillain, right?" When the girls nodded, Momoko added while giving a solemn look, "So, isn't there a chance that they're looking for us?"
Both Miyako and Kaoru widened their eyes in shock, their faces paling.
"Think about it, girls," Momoko insisted, narrowing her eyes. "Our uniforms allow us to conceal what we truly look and sound like, so no one, other than the Professor, Ken, Peach, the Mayor, Ms. Bellum, and, well, the Rowdyruffs, know the Powerpuff Girls Z's identities. If the murderer is looking for us, then it makes sense for them to keep going for groups of girls, but since they don't know what age range we fit into, they switch between high school and college girls."
"Why high school and college, though?" Miyako asked, tilting her head in confusion.
Momoko sighed and shrugged. "I honestly don't know. Technically, the murderer can target female women into their late twenties or thirties."
Kaoru immediately made a look of disgust.
"What?"
"If the murderer is a guy, then he might be aiming for high school and college girls as like some fetish," Kaoru replied as she scowled. "You know, like that stupid saying: 'The younger, the better.'"
Miyako cringed. "Kaoru-san!"
"What? I'm telling the truth! If the murderer is a woman, then it'd still be a fetish! She'd just be called a cougar 'cause she keeps aiming for high school guys!"
"Kaoru-san!"
Momoko groaned. "Kaoru, please."
"You have to admit that I make a point," Kaoru stated in a dry tone.
Momoko sent her a pointed look.
Kaoru sighed. "I was just trying to lighten up the mood. For crying out loud, we just determined the possibility that the murderer might be coming after us."
"Maybe…maybe that's why the boys did what they had to do to us," Miyako muttered before she added softly in a hopeful tone, "To protect us."
Kaoru scowled. "Protect us? They took away our powers—our only means to protect ourselves. For all we know, maybe they want the murderer after us. You know, kill two birds with one stone."
"No! I refuse to believe that! They wouldn't dare put us in such danger!"
Kaoru sighed. "Miyako—"
"I'm sure they did it to protect us," Miyako interrupted, her eyes becoming glassy, yet defiant.
Kaoru couldn't bring herself to continue, so she glanced away, feeling uncomfortable.
Momoko let out a long sigh, bringing Miyako and Kaoru's attention to her. "There's not much we can do now, honestly." She paused, frowning a bit as she glanced at the clock on the wall. "Each of us may as well head home at this point. The earlier, the better."
"Mind if we stop by that coffee shop that's like three blocks away once we get down the hill?"
"Sounds good to me. I may as well get one of their pastries."
Kaoru grinned. "Still into sweets, aren't you?"
"Oh, hush. You know their muffins are amazing."
Kaoru couldn't help but let out a laugh in response.
Once the girls finished eating their food, packing up their belongings, and saying their good-byes to Professor Utonium, Ken, and Peach, they made their way down the hill, the sun already setting, causing the sky to turn a bright orange, fading to various shades of pink and red.
"Did we really stay that long at the lab?" Kaoru muttered.
"The Professor did mention that the tests would take hours," Miyako replied.
"Yeah, but that long?"
"Apparently so," Momoko replied.
The walk down the hill and to the coffee shop was spent in small conversations between the trio because they couldn't talk about their superheroine duties in public. Well, that, and each of them wanted to keep their mind off the Rowdyruff Boys and the murderer.
Before long, they entered the coffee shop, a bell ringing upon their arrival as they continued to chat until they noticed how empty the place was.
"Oh, my goodness," Miyako muttered.
"Welcome!" a male barista greeted them from behind the counter once the girls approached. "Anything I could get for you?"
"Blueberry muffin, please," Momoko replied.
"Me, too," Miyako added.
"I'd like a grande white mocha," Kaoru said.
"Okay, coming right up!" the male barista said.
It wasn't long before the girls paid for their orders. While Momoko and Miyako already received their muffins, they were still waiting for Kaoru to get her coffee.
"It's really empty," Miyako whispered.
Momoko sighed before whispering, "It must be due to the murders. They all happened during night time, and it's already evening…"
Kaoru frowned, not saying anything. Once her order came, she thanked the barista and left the coffee shop with Momoko and Miyako. Just about three blocks away from the coffee shop, she noticed Kuro was there, heading in their direction and waving his hand at her. Kaoru frowned, her steps coming to a halt immediately, which made Momoko and Miyako stop walking with her.
"Kaoru?" Momoko called.
"Is something the matter?" Miyako asked.
"Kuro's waving at us," Kaoru replied, still frowning before she took a sip from her coffee and squinted her eyes, realizing that…it looked like he wanted to talk to her since he kept waving.
"Does he want to speak with us?"
Kaoru, however, didn't respond and stayed put, raising an eyebrow. "I'm not sure, but it looks like he wants to talk to me? You two can go on ahead if you want."
Momoko frowned. "That's not a good idea. Each of us can't be alone right now, Kaoru. You know that."
"I know, but…I mean, he's just one of the faculty members—well, an intern." Kaoru paused before sighing. "Look, Momoko, I know how you feel right now, but I think we'll be fine. I…kind of snapped at him before on accident—"
"Why?"
Kaoru frowned. "He gave off this vibe that made me instinctively be on guard. You know, with his words. But I shrugged it off as just sleep deprivation getting to me."
"Are you talking about when you were waiting for us at the shoe lockers and met with Kuro?"
Kaoru nodded.
Momoko's frown grew in response.
"What's wrong?" Miyako asked, her face becoming concerned.
"Girls, when did he show up again?"
Miyako blinked a few times, not quite understanding why Momoko asked such an obvious question. "On the first day of school…"
"Meaning that the paperwork for him to intern at our school was done beforehand, right? But think about it: if he's really interning at our school, then why hasn't he mentioned the university he goes to or his major?"
"His fangirls might know?" Kaoru whispered.
Momoko shook her head. "No, I would've heard it through the grapevine eventually because a lot of his fangirls were also fans of Brick." She paused before scrutinizing her gaze. "When did the first murder happen again?"
Miyako blinked as she tried to recall.
"The night before the first day of school," Kaoru replied. "I remember because I passed by a bunch of TVs with…Butch"—Kaoru narrowed her eyes and frowned—"while there was a news report going on."
Momoko continued to stare in scrutiny at Kuro's approaching figure, now two blocks away.
"Don't tell me my bad vibe about him was right back when he approached me at the shoe lockers," Kaoru muttered.
"It's better to be safe than sorry."
"So, what should we do?" Miyako asked.
Kaoru blinked and frowned. "I'll try to talk to him."
Momoko's eyes widened. "What?"
"I can talk to him. It's really not a big deal—"
"No, we'll talk to him as a group—"
"Momoko, you don't get it. If we go together as a group, he might not reveal anything. He only gave me that vibe when I was alone, so…"
Momoko narrowed her eyes. "I'm not having you risk yourself."
"Momoko-san is right," Miyako said, frowning in disapproval. "You shouldn't have to risk yourself for something like this."
Kaoru sighed. "It's not like you guys will be too far away. Seriously. If he tries to pull anything, then I'll just punch back or something. I technically have faster reflexes than you guys, remember?"
Momoko stared at Kaoru for a few seconds before she sighed in defeat. "Fine, but don't go too far ahead to talk with him. At least stay within close enough distance, so we can run to you and pull you away."
Kaoru nodded, and immediately, she waved back to Kuro and ran up to him, who was now just a block away from the coffee shop.
"Hey, Matsubara-san," Kuro called, grinning at her before he nodded his head at Momoko and Miyako in the distance. "I didn't know you girls knew about this coffee shop, too."
Kaoru raised an eyebrow. "You go here, too?"
"Ever since I found it, yes. They even provide free Wi-Fi there, which is pretty handy."
Kaoru nodded slowly, her eyes assessing him. "By the way, I saw you waving at us. Was there something you needed?"
"No, not really. I just wanted to talk with you three and see how things have been going for you. You know, just small talk." He paused before slowly giving her a smile. "I'm glad you decided to come here instead of me running to you girls. I wanted to check up on you since I remembered how tired you were last time we spoke."
Kaoru felt that gut instinct in her flare up again. Maybe it was because she knew she was vulnerable now after losing her powers, but there was something behind Kuro's smile, just like the other day, that set her on edge, and she couldn't help but glare.
Kuro's face dropped. "Oh, my, you're glaring at me again."
Kaoru blinked, averting her gaze. "Sorry about that, sir. It's just…" Kaoru sighed, inwardly annoyed at how her facial expression gave her suspicions away. "Things have been…difficult lately."
Kuro nodded solemnly. "Are you talking about the murders happening around the city?"
Kaoru flinched immediately.
"Ah… Well, it's no surprise that you're scared and on edge." Kuro sighed. "To be honest, there's been talk about how we should stop all after school activities, so students can get home earlier."
Kaoru blinked. "Really?"
"Yes. But that aside, you, Akatsutsumi-san, and Gotokuji-san should really get on home. It's not safe anymore to be out here in the evening." Immediately, he pat Kaoru's shoulder and sent her a solemn, piercing gaze. "Especially for you girls. After all, you never know who could be next…"
Just like that, Kaoru felt a chill go down her spine, even when Kuro retracted his hand. The way he looked at her made her feel goosebumps on her skin, and his eyes… There was something behind them that didn't express true concern at all. If anything, it…it almost seemed like…
"Well, I need to get my coffee now before the shop closes since we ran out at the office," Kuro said, breaking Kaoru's train of thought, before he brushed past her. "Be sure you and your friends get home safe!"
Kaoru whirled around, of course, watching him walk past Momoko and Miyako casually as the two ran up to her, both concerned expressions on their faces.
"Kaoru, are you okay?" Momoko asked.
Kaoru flinched. "What?"
"You look pale," Miyako said softly. "What happened?"
"I…I don't know," Kaoru muttered.
Momoko frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I…" Kaoru shuddered. "God damn it…"
"Kaoru?"
Kaoru inaudibly gulped. "You were right. I shouldn't have spoken to him alone. Shit…"
Momoko blinked, and immediately, an authoritative look overcame her face. "Kaoru, what happened?"
"I don't know… He just… He talked about how we should get home soon, like the good teaching intern he supposedly is, but there was something about the way he talked that just didn't match up with his words… There was something about his eyes, Momoko. His eyes didn't look like how they normally did in school." Kaoru shuddered. "Damn it, I hate it when my gut instinct's right and I don't listen to it…"
Momoko frowned. "All right. From now on, if Kuro tries to approach any one of us, no one should talk to him alone. We should try to get away from him as soon as possible. Understood?"
Kaoru and Miyako nodded in response.
Momoko then let out a sigh. "Let's go home, then."
"Individually?" Miyako asked in concern.
Momoko shook her head. "No. Let's head back to the Professor's. We can ask him if he can give us a ride home. It's too dangerous right now for us to try to go home individually." Momoko then glanced back at the coffee shop. "Besides, it looks like we have to be careful around someone at school now, too."
Kaoru nodded, still feeling her goosebumps on her skin, even after she took a sip of her coffee.
"Kaoru, are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine," Kaoru muttered. "I just…" Kaoru let out a sigh. "God damn it, everything would be so much easier if we had our powers back."
"It's okay," Momoko said, placing her hand on Kaoru's shoulder for comfort. "Even if we're still powerless, we're going to protect this city."
"With our lives?" Miyako asked.
Momoko nodded after taking a deep breath. "With our lives on the line."
Kaoru raised an eyebrow before she let out a small scoff. "And this is coming from the girl who just talked about how dangerous it was back in the lab."
"I know, but…we're the public figures of hope and safety. If we're not going to help protect the citizens and mitigate this further, then who will?"
Kaoru couldn't help but smile. "Now there's the leader we know and love. So, what do we do now?"
"We talk with the Mayor and see what's been done so far on the investigations."
"But, he said he wouldn't give us access," Miyako replied.
Kaoru frowned immediately. "Oh, right, there's that. What's the other plan, Momoko?"
"There is no other plan," Momoko replied.
Miyako and Kaoru both blinked in surprise.
"Listen, girls, we can't wait around forever like I said, especially after what Kuro just pulled. At this rate, it's going to seem like nowhere is safe, so we need to convince the Mayor as much as possible that he needs to give us access to those files. Any information he has, combined with what we know, would narrow down and maybe even clear up a lot of things."
"And if he doesn't let us have access?" Miyako asked.
"We'll make him give us access, whether he likes it or not."
Kaoru whistled. "I think this is the first time I've heard you become this aggressive."
"If we want to save more citizens of Tokyo City, then we need to be aggressive," Momoko replied, narrowing her eyes. "Besides, I'm interested in knowing more about the supervillains they've looked into so far. We need to find that missing link between them and the boys to narrow down who's committing these murders." Momoko paused before sighing. "But, it is getting late, so we'll have to talk to the Professor when we get back about scheduling an appointment with the Mayor to sort this out since we can't just fly to his office anymore…"
Kaoru sighed. "The Professor might not even let us meet with the Mayor, you know."
"She has a point," Miyako replied. "Both the Mayor and the Professor are extremely concerned about us. After all, if…if we're gone, then all hope is lost, isn't it? So, it's only fair that they want us to try to stay under the radar as much as possible."
Momoko sighed. "I know, but if the murderer is after us, just like how they're after the boys, then they can target us at any time. Just…just think about it, girls. We're romantically linked to the boys, so either way, as civilians or as our alter egos, we're in danger regardless."
"When you put it that way, that doesn't sound comforting at all," Kaoru muttered.
"I know… But, that's why, at the very least, we need to do everything we can, no matter how powerless we may be, to save our city from this murderer—because that's what superheroes do."