Chapter 5: Bara - Rose

The woman who entered the cafe was not particularly tall, but she was stunning, Nana thought. The chiffon skirts of her rose-colored dress fluttered around her calves in the wake of the door's closing as she stood there for a moment, looking around the cafe. "Welcome," Oyassan called from behind the counter, his greeting echoed a second later by Nana's own. "Please, have a seat," he invited, gesturing at the otherwise empty counter. The woman looked at where he gestured, then slowly walked over. Nana watched her cool, elegant stride enviously, trying to figure out how to copy it. Nothing in the way the woman moved seemed quite real as she ran a hand across the back of the chair before pulling it out and seating herself. Her fingernails, painted to match her dress instead of the deep red blazer she wore over it, gleamed softly in the light.

"So, what can I get you?" Oyassan asked. "Something to drink, maybe? Tea, coffee?"

"Coffee...?" she asked, like it was something she'd never heard of before.

"Oh, very good, let me get you some," Nana's uncle said, straightening. The woman's eyes widened as she stared at the front of his apron.

"That character," she said. "Why is it there?"

"Oh, this?" Oyassan asked, indicating the symbol on the shop apron with one hand while he stirred the coffee with the other. "One of my employees embroidered this on. He should be back in a while."

The woman looked off into the distance. "I will wait for him," she said.

Nana's eyes widened. "Are you also a member of Godai-san's fan club?" she asked excitedly.

The woman's pinned-back curls barely moved as she turned her head to look at Nana. "'Godai-san'?" she asked. "I don't know that person." Her eyes were flat, like a snake's, and Nana put one foot behind the other, almost backing up before she realized what she was doing. Oyassan, though, didn't seem to notice as she set a cup down in front of the woman.

"Here you go!" he said cheerfully.

She looked at him, then down at the cup. Slowly she raised it to her lips, took a sniff, then a delicate sip. She lowered the cup a little, gazing into the dark liquid's depths. "This is... not unpleasant," she said, as though she was trying to convince herself.

Oyassan beamed. "Oh, you like it? It's my own blend!" She looked back up at him and that seemed to be all the encouragement he needed to start babbling on about coffee bean varieties and how long they were roasted and ground. Nana watched him and their customer warily and tried not to wish so hard that Godai was back already.

Yuusuke braked to a stop in front of the PorePore and kicked the kickstand down by habit, removing his helmet as he dismounted. He shook his hair free, dispersing the heat buildup as he set the helmet on the seatback and bounded forward toward the building. "Good afternoon," he said, opening the door. "Oh, Nana-chan, you're still here?" he asked. "I thought you had a rehearsal this afternoon."

Her eyes flew wide and she checked her watch. "I'm late!" she cried and yanked her apron over her head, grabbing her purse. "Oyassan, Godai-san, I'll be back later!" she promised in a rush, shoving the apron into Godai's hands as she yanked the front door back open and ran through.

"Have a good time," Oyassan called after her. "Oh, Yuusuke," he said as Yuusuke shook out the apron and pulled it on over his own head, buttoning it behind himself, "this lady's been waiting for you." He nodded at the only customer, a woman of about Yuusuke's own age who sat at the counter, a half-empty coffee cup in front of her.

"Hello," Yuusuke greeted, stepping behind the counter himself. She seemed somehow familiar, but he couldn't immediately place her.

She looked up at him, expressionless. "Kuuga," she said.

Yuusuke's eyes widened as he realized what she had to be, and he placed himself between her and Oyassan, who protested. "Grongi!"

The woman stood and reached across the counter, her hand lingering first above Yuusuke's heart, then drifting lower to his stomach. Yuusuke tensed but didn't move. Behind him Oyassan was silent.

"You defeated N'Daguba'Zeba," the woman said eventually, withdrawing her hand. "You are now the leader of the Grongi."

"There are more of you?" Yuusuke asked, halfway between fear and horror. If there were and he wasn't able to transform into Kuuga--

"No." The woman resumed her seat. "I am the last."

Slowly Yuusuke relaxed. He didn't feel like she was a threat. Oyassan stepped out from behind him, now keeping a wary distance from the Grongi. "Why have you come to me?" Yuusuke asked.

"The Gameskeeper reports to the new Lord to learn his will for the new Game," the woman told him. "It is the Law."

Yuusuke nodded slowly, thinking. Part of him wanted to declare that he wasn't any kind of leader of Grongi. Part of him wanted to tell her that the new Game had a "no killing people" rule. "What's your name?" he asked instead.

"I am called Ra'Baruba'De," she said, touching the handle of her cup.

"You used to have a tattoo, didn't you?" Ichijou had mentioned it, a white rose mark on her forehead. Like Daguba's white beetle mark, so very like Kuuga's own symbol...

Her fingers didn't quite drift up to her forehead. "It is no more," she said, and he thought she sounded sad. "The Rinto warrior took care of that."

"Ichijou-san did?"

She nodded but didn't say anthing more, and the realization occurred to Yuusuke that he needed to let Ichijou know that B-1 was still alive. Somehow he didn't think the detective would take the news well.

When Godai called him and let him know, in his garrulous roundabout way, that Number B-1 was not, in fact, dead, Ichijou did not take the news well. His first instinct was to tell Godai to shoot her again, but Godai was a civilian and thus didn't have a gun, much less any of Doctor Enokida's special bullets. His second instinct was to drive the two-plus hours to the PorePore and take care of B-1 himself, again, but that was derailed by the fact that she'd surely vanish if she knew what he was going to do. So he gave in to his third, reluctant, instinct, which was to trust Godai's own instincts for the time being. "Don't let her leave," he instructed.

"Ichijou-san," Godai replied over the phone, "I don't think she has anywhere to go."

"She's one of them," Ichijou reminded his friend.

Godai hesitated, then said softly "I don't think she is, not anymore."