Without Tsugiko to take her to the museum, Saku and Aria had to get there on foot. The sky was bright and humid, and by the time they were a few blocks away from the station, sweat was dripping down the bodies of both of the girls, staining their uniforms a darker, yet more translucent shade. The weight of the weapons on Aria's body didn't make her feel any better.

Saku was expending more energy than she was used to. Students in Informa did most of their work behind the scenes, learning how to search security camera footage and file reports. Their job was important, but undocumented. All she was doing now was acting as a tour guide for her cousin's girlfriend (though she had never formally declared herself as such), in the noonday heat.

Saku looked behind her at Aria. The twintailed girl was older than Kokoro, but the air she gave off was younger, more innocent. Saku noticed Aria staring at her golden police badge with a catlike curiosity. She lowered her headphones and tossed her lollipop stick into a nearby trashcan, and slowed down the pace at which she ran. Aria came to her side.

The two passed through the business district, coming beneath an overhang that gave both of them some much needed shade.

"You've been staring at me for some time," Saku said, holding her hand against a pillar.

"I've never worked with the police before," said Aria.

"Your great-grandfather had a lot of run-ins with Scotland Yard. You don't want to get involved in that sort of thing?" said Saku, pulling the wrapping paper off another lollipop. She slid her tongue around the sugary orb's ring before sticking it into the corner of her cheek.

"Butei don't deal with the police. W-we don't need to," said Aria. "They expect us to handle everything on our own. If it wasn't for Kinji, I might not have made it this far. Having everything in your own hands is tough sometimes. Where's the rest of your squad anyway?"

Saku bent down and tied her shoelace, then stood up. She pointed towards the street sign. A circular mirror reflected an elaborate pseudo-ancient arch, the grand entryway outside the Yokohama museum.

"A winning lottery ticket was stashed in a professor's desk. Kokoro and the others are going to stop Milky Holmes before something blows up in their faces," said Saku. "I was picking up some snacks for the case when I met you guys. Good thing, too. Arsene's a much bigger deal than the Three Cards."

"Arsene?" said Aria, surprised. "You mean there's more than one Lupin? Damn you, Riko..."

"We've waited for long enough. Come on!" said Saku, picking up the pace.

Aria checked her guns to make sure they were fully loaded, and set off with Saku. The path to the museum was short, but getting in would take much longer. The police had barricaded off the museum ever since a glass pane on the ceiling had been cut open. Saku barely stood at the same height as the other officers.

"Out of the way!" Aria shouted, climbing on the back of one of the cars, "I'm with Tokyo Butei High, and..."

"Let me handle this, shorty," said Saku, pulling out her badge. She flashed it to the gathered officers. Whispers of Genius 4 fluttered among the crowds, which quickly parted to make way for the two girls to pass. Saku punched a number into the security console at the front of the museum, causing the doors to slide open on their own.

"That's so cool," Aria said, mouth agape.

"They're on the top floor," Saku said, pushing Aria along. "The gemstone exhibit is there. That's the only thing those two would want to steal."

"Aren't the more showy exhibits here?" Aria said, looking around.

"I have a hunch. You can trust me as much as you can trust Kishi," said Saku.

"I guess," Aria said, pulling out one sword and one gun from within her uniform, "but I'm only doing this because you're family. I-it's not like I wanted to, okay?" Her face turned bright red. Saku smirked, and started running up the escalator towards the third floor.


"Do you even know where we are?" I asked.

"I live here, I know every nook and cranny of this place," said Sherlock, walking between the dilapidated buildings and alleyways that were dark even in the daytime. "I had a job at that place before!" she pointed excitedly towards a family-owned ramen shop. The sound of customers' feet sticking to the floor could be heard even outside.

"I don't think they'd put a museum in this part of town," I said.

Sherlock turned to me, her eyes lit up in excitement. "Elly and Cordelia and Nero are counting on me! This is the first real case we've taken on since we got our Toys back, and I'm..." she stopped in mid-sentence as a cold wind blew past her, ruffling her collar, "failing at it, aren't I?"

I sat down at a bench in front of a love hotel. I couldn't see much through the tiny windows, but memories of what got me into this whole mess came back. That day when Riko had called me up to her room, and greeted me dressed like Aria. Riko knows that Aria is the one who can activate my Hysteria Mode. I think she feels kind of jealous about that. Shirayuki does too. There's no way out of this for me at this point.

"I'll see if I can find some help," I said, asking a passerby going through the area. He was a plain looking man with glasses, dressed in a suit. "Do you know where I can find a girl about this high," I held my hands at chest level, "with pink hair and a high pitched voice?"

The man pointed his hand at Sherlock. I shook my head, and let him continue on. I turned to Sherlock, who was now looking through her wallet for enough money to pay the vending machine, and asked her where the rest of her team was. It was odd to see a Holmes without a partner.

"Nero found this lottery ticket behind the school, so Cordelia hid it in a desk in an unused classroom, then Mr. Nijuuri offered to look after it for us, and Elly said 'yes'. Then they saw Twenty running away with the lottery ticket! We need that! Our food budget isn't all that much, especially since Mori moved in," said Sherlock, waving her arms about the whole time.

"Where were you when the desk was stolen?" I asked.

"Trying to break into my old bedroom with Kamaboko," said Sherlock, "but I used my Toys too much and fell asleep."

My face shifted to a deadpan expression. I could feel a bead of sweat rolling down my cheek. "Break...into your own bedroom? What's going on at your school?"

Sherlock's snack had gotten stuck in the vending machine's metal jaws. She was pounding against the giant slab of food and metal, trying to free her treat. Her Toys, I think they were called, activated out of stress, causing the machine to rise into the air with a pink glow around it. Shellinford didn't have any metal on her body, so such an ability must be innate. I wonder if Aria could do that?

A candy bar spilled out of the machine and into Sherlock's hands. Then three more of the same candy bar, and one from a completely different part of the machine. Sherlock danced around, losing control of her Toys. The machine ceased its hovering, and started falling towards the ground.

There wasn't much time to think.

I dashed towards Sherlock and pushed her out of the way, narrowly dodging the machine myself. On the mat in front of the love hotel, I had pinned her down, hovering over her like a beast. Like Aria, her frame was small for her age. Her hat had blown off her head and onto a nearby lamppost, flapping about like a wandering bird. Her eyes looked at me, more curious than scared. I could see myself reflected in them, and my eyes, too, had changed.

Aria, please forgive me.

Whenever I get aroused, my Hysteria Mode activates. I'll do anything a girl asks of me. My reflexes and my senses become heightened, but I always feel bad after using it. Kinji Tohyama is supposed to be an ordinary student, not a Lothario who charms women with false words and genuine actions.

Sherlock had tempted me. My blood was boiling, my body became tense, then relaxed. I wrapped my arms around Sherlock's shoulders and picked her up. My foot scooped up her hat, and I placed it on her head, covering up her giant ribbon. Sherlock's mouth opened in delight. I think it turned into the shape of a heart.

I set her down and took out my cell phone. I placed a quick call to Aria.

"A Holmes needs a partner, doesn't she?" I asked after Aria picked up.

"Kinji? What are you - AAAAH!" I heard Aria say on the other end of the line.

"I'll be right there," I said to Aria, hanging up. I placed another call back to Butei High to see if they could figure out where the signal was coming from. Sherlock was jumping up and down in front of me, waving her hands in the air. Her feminine charms overwhelmed my conversation, and so I looked down at her.

"Tohyama, I think we go that way," said Sherlock, pointing to a street sign.

Yokohama Museum, it said.

Of course. It is a pretty big attraction in this area. I gave a quick sigh, a quick smirk, and bent down on one knee. "You must be hurt," I said in that smooth voice, "Come on."

"No, I'm fine," Sherlock insisted, "but sure! Let's go!" She climbed on my back, grabbing the collar of my uniform like a horse. I rolled with it. I had my weapons and a light high school girl on my back. Compared to the things I've encountered before, this would be no problem. The signs would guide me towards our destination.

Towards Aria and Saku.


When it was only them, Aria and Riko were on equal terms. Both were Quadras, and though their guns were of different makes, their skills were equal. Against Arsene, however, Aria was outmatched.

Shirayuki and Jeanne are paranormal Butei, gifted with supernatural powers. The Toys that the people of Yokohama have seem similar in concept, but much more varied and easier to use. Holmes Academy is the only regulation on them, and even that is a gamble. Arsene blew a kiss across the air. Aria's vision became blurred, simmering down to reveal Arsene and Riko standing in front of her.

"You're stealing something again?" Aria shouted, "Stupid stupid stupid Riko!" She fired off a barrage of shots before thrusting towards Arsene with her knife. Every shot had missed, landing against the glass windows, and her sword had cut nothing but air. Aria looked up to see Arsene hanging upside down from a chandelier.

"Illusion Toys," said Arsene seductively, "Come on, little 'Olmes, you've dealt with the Lupins before, haven't you?"

"Stop taunting me!" Aria said, firing another shot. Arsene repelled it with a swish of her cape. Aria narrowly dodged the blast, sparks flying around her feet.

Riko fired a shot across the floor, aiming towards Saku. Saku titled her head to the left, letting the bullet embed itself in the wall behind her. She sucked on her lollipop a bit, and tapped some more keys on her computer.

"Please stop doing that," she said.

"Why aren't you helping me?" Aria asked.

"Riko would fight you, but Riko doesn't want to hurt innocent bystanders. Who are you, anyway?" asked the blonde girl.

"Saku Tohyama," Saku answered in an almost bored tone, "Yokohama Police."

"Ooh, a Tohyama," Riko licked her lips. She wound her hands around Saku, pressing her ample breasts against the girl's back. Saku's face blushed bright red, but she continued typing something into her computer at rapid speed. "Kii's family is cute. Do you have one of those Hysteria Modes too?"

"Aria, fire one shot ten degrees above my head, and another thirty degrees to the left," said Saku.

"O-okay," said Aria, drawing her second gun.

Aria aimed the sights of her guns where Saku had asked. She closed her eyes and pressed down on the triggers, letting fly two bullets. The one shot from her left hand pierced through the cable holding a rotating art sculpture to the ceiling. Saku sidestepped and let the rounded piece of modern art fall around Riko, leaving her with little room to move. Riko tried to push aside the heavy wooden planks, but their ends had become embedded in the ground.

The other bullet grazed past Arsene, taking off a bit of her hair on the flyby. The bullet landed in the control box for the room, turning on the enhanced security. Saku not only knew the security system from having been here so many times, she had helped to install it.

Arsene shook her hand wildly from the shock, releasing the Boyne Jewel. "Trying to hide it with your Toys, are you?" asked Saku. "Clever. If you give us the jewel, the next shot won't miss."

"I'll get it," Aria said, walking over to Arsene, switching her gun for a sword almost instantly. "A Lupin is a Lupin. An eternal rival. To win this time over one of them will be..."

"Your phone is ringing," said Arsene.

Aria reached into her pocket. It was Kinji on the other end. The sound of cars and footsteps could be heard behind him, along with the rattling of a chain fence. Wherever Kinji was, it wasn't back at the police station.

"Kinji, what are you - AAAAAAAAAAAAH!" said Aria.

Aria felt herself being lifted into the air. She flailed her arms and legs about, trying to get a sense of direction, but the blue aura surrounding her had full control over her body. She looked downward, and saw Arsene moving her hands like a master of marionettes, jerking Aria's hands and feet about as if they were on a string. Aria's vision had turned blue and blurry, but she could make out something on the ground below.

The Boyne Jewel.

Arsene had no intention of giving it back. She had stuffed it between her cleavage, leaving it wedged near the bottom of a deep and sweaty valley. Arsene laughed, her breasts and the jewel shaking along with them. She swooshed her hands downward to bring Aria's face close to her chest level.

"That's no fair!" shouted Riko, who had been using the combined strength of her hands and her hair to remove the wooden planks around her. "You told Riko we were going to be thieves!"

"Stealing from another thief is also the way of thieves," said Arsene. "This jewel is of no value to you, anyway."

Riko shot her long hair out to the sides like a pair of drills, cracking the wood. Saku casually ducked out of the way once more. Aria was close to the ceiling now, yelling something at Saku.

"Sorry, Kanzaki," said Saku, "I can't get you out of there."

"Stupid Saku!" shouted Aria, pounding the air. On her last punch, Arsene flicked her finger, causing Aria's punch to narrowly miss her own face. "Riko, save me! We're equals, right?"

Riko walked past Arsene, her hair waving about like Medusa's many snakes. She grabbed the edge of her flashy phantom thief outfit and reverted to her Butei High uniform in an instant. Somehow, it had been washed and pressed, despite being under mounds of wooden debris and mounds of sweaty Riko. She held her two swords directly at the Boyne Jewel.

"You never told me the Jewel strengthened your Toys," said Riko.

"The game wouldn't be as fun if I did," said Arsene, licking her lips. That motion caused Aria to whirl around like she was on an amusement park ride, turning her eyes into spirals. Saku still showed no reaction.

"Riko wants the Jewel too," said Riko, "and she's willing to destroy it. Its properties are not only great on the supernaturally gifted like yourself, but even a fragment of them on a bullet lets me control their trajectory with my mind. It's the same kind of material as my rosary. That Jewel's a Lupin family heirloom. It should go to someone who actually has Lupin in her name." Riko shifted the direction of her left pigtail upwards, aiming it at Arsene's neck.

"I'm still here," said Saku, rapidly transcribing this into her laptop and sending it back to Yokohama Police HQ, "I can hear everything you're saying."

"Shut up!" shouted the two Lupins.


Outside the museum, Sherlock and I arrived. She was more out of breath than me, for some reason. My hyper awareness in Hysteria Mode (and the strange blue aura) made it clear that something was going down on the top floor. There were cops out front, but they didn't know me, and they didn't trust Milky Holmes, so we appeared to be out of luck on getting to the scene of the crime.

Sherlock reached into her pocket and took out a tube of fish paste, happily chomping down on the pink treat. Her eyes lit up and her body posture changed. She was standing stronger, more energetic, looking even better than she was when I met her. Sparks flew through her eyes, and a faint pink aura surrounded her.

"That was fast!" I shouted, nearly slipping out of Hysteria Mode.

"I'm full of energy and ready to go!" said Sherlock, "I've been training, so I think I can handle more than myself..."

"You think you can?" I said, worriedly.

"Psychokinesis!" Sherlock shouted.

The energy surrounding her body concentrated itself around her hand, spreading out into a bubblegum-colored bubble that enveloped us. Sherlock clenched her hand into a fist and lifted us upward. I tried to remain perfectly still. This bubble didn't seem too stable. We approached the top floor. The windows were locked down with steel, and the roof had been closed off as well. Nobody could get out or in.

"Your monologue won't be a problem. The only thing stronger than steel is a detective's mind!" said Sherlock, her voice deepening with sheer power.

She lifted up her right leg and kicked the pink bubble, sending us above the city district. By this point, the sun had begun to set, coloring all of Yokohama a golden yellow. Sherlock took in a deep breath, closed her eyes, and pushed her hands into me. I hit the edge of the bubble, at which point we flew forward like a pinball, smashing through the steel and landing in the room where Aria and Saku had been dealing with the Lupins.

"Kinji! You took way too long!" said Aria, shouting at me while glowing blue.

"Kii!" said Riko, her devilish smirk changing to a schoolgirl's glee towards her crush in a split second, "You're such a pervert. Crashing into here through the ladies' water closet."

"Sherlock Shellinford?" said Arsene, "How'd you... nobody's Toys can break through the museum's defenses."

"Really?" said Sherlock, standing up and dusting herself off. "I'll have to remember that next time."

"You really are an idiot," said Saku.