Just so you know or didn't realize it already, I'm going to be referring 20 Faces as 20 Menso from now on. Since the English has used both 20 Faces and 20 Masks for his name, I decided that Japanese name was the best decision so that I don't have to debate with myself or cause confusion for other people that know the series where 20 Menso came from. I think I'll go back and change the name to 20 Menso sometime in the future.
"I need advice on girls."
Takao spat out his drink right after that sentence and started coughing. Hitoshi only raised a brow and was thankful he was only holding his coffee and not drinking it when he heard that.
"What?" Daichi asked when he got those reactions from the Kinomiya brothers.
"Um, Daichi, you do know that my brother should be the last person you get advice from…" said Hitoshi only to receive a glare from Takao, "And he's not exactly a ladies-man…at least I don't think he is."
"You're one to talk! Who's the guy that started dating his own brother's ex, Huh?!" Takao argued with an anime vein.
"Who broke Tokyo Tower because of a little love problem you ran into?!"
"Yeah? Well who-"
"Can somebody just help me with my damn problem!?" Daichi interrupted.
The two apologized (not to each other),
"If you need advice on girls, why don't you find someone's whose straight or bi? Besides my brother, he never got a girl to stick with," Takao suggested and received a glare from Hitoshi.
"I actually came here to ask Hitoshi you moron! I know you're the last person that would know anything on how to get me the girl I like!" Daichi snapped,
"Why you!"
Hitoshi rolled his eyes; whenever Daichi comes over, it's like having a second little brother. Hitoshi's ears then picked up the doorbell ring and left the dragon and monkey-boy to their argument.
--
"Hey, Takao, where do you want this?" Hitoshi asked when he walked back in to the room holding a large bouquet of flowers,
"What the?" Daichi stared blankly at the fact that Hitoshi is carry around a bunch of flowers,
"What? They're mine?" Takao asked reaching for the overly sized bouquet with colorful flowers,
"Are these from the place that Rei took me to?" Takao through as he reached for the card he saw.
I need to catch up on my school work. I may not be able to see you for the next couple of days. Don't worry, I'll spend as much time as you want with you for the rest of the break! You can call me if you want.
-Love Rei
"What? A couple of days? He can catch up in a couple of days?! Why can't I be able to do that?" Takao thought with anime tears, "Oh wait a minute, that's not the point of this. Hmm…a couple of days huh? I can hold out for a couple of days without Rei."
That night-around 10 O' Clock:
"Reeeeeiiiii! You have no idea how bored I am!!" Takao whined into the phone as he lied on his bed doing nothing.
"I'm sorry, Taka. What do you normally do on breaks?" Rei asked with the phone on his shoulder as he writes with one hand and holds onto the book with another,
"I can't remember…"
Rei sweatdrops,
"Oh…well, don't worry, Taka, at the rate I'm going, I'll be caught up with my work and get my break homework done by the end of tomorrow."
"What? You mean I have to wait until after tomorrow to see you?"
"Yes, I'm sorry. But don't' worry about it too much. Why don't you go see Max and Olivier? Isn't he going back to France by the end of the week?"
"I don't want to…it would be too awkward…wait a minute!" Takao sat up on his bed, "You say you'll have all your work done by tomorrow right?"
"Yeah…"
"Then…can you help me with my homework after that?" Takao asked with a nervous laugh and he can heard Rei sigh at the other end of the line.
"Sure…if that's what you want, Takao," Rei replied with a smile but with a sweet voice.
"Yes!" he heard Takao cheer from the other end,
"But just so we're clear. I'm not doing the work for you!"
"Aw…"
"Man of 20 faces and 20 masks has taken his longest break since his first appearance," Brooklyn read the newspaper out loud, "Has he finally hung up his cape?"
"…" Hitoshi said nothing as eats a snack with Brooklyn.
"Takao's upstairs right?" Brooklyn asked in a whisper and Hitoshi nodded, "You didn't tell him that I know right?" Hitoshi nodded again. Brooklyn put the paper down,
"I thought little Rei was better," said Brooklyn,
"I wouldn't know. Ask Takao," said Hitoshi,
"You still dislike him?" Brooklyn asked with a cute innocent look as he tilts his head to the side.
"It's not that I dislike him, I actually prefer it this way," Hitoshi admitted.
"Oh…really? I actually miss the action of the great 20 Menso! Man of 20 Faces and 20 Masks! He's looked up to by a lot of people," said Brooklyn,
"I'm more concerned about how being a thief might get in the way of a relationship. Scratch that, I'm more worried about my father finding out that his youngest son is dating the most wanted thief of this century!"
"Oh he won't find out! You worry too much Hito-Chan!"
"You found out," Hitoshi pointed out,
"Yeah but that's because I love little Taka-Chan!! Can we make him the Godfather of our first child?" Brooklyn asked excitedly and Hitoshi only stared,
"…Can we not talk that far into the future?"
"Oh but Taka-Chan and I do it all he time! See listen: little Taka-Chan will marry Rei, have two kids: one girl and one boy. They'll have a dog and a cat for pets. And then they'll live happily ever after! Now here's my future: I'm going marry my Hito-Chan, we'll have a beautiful bird for a pet, and have a child or two! I still can't decide on one or two or whether a boy or a girl for that matter…"
Hitoshi found it hard to believe that his brother tells Brooklyn about his possible future and not his own brother…
"You do know that it might not turn out exactly that way right?" Hitoshi pointed out,
"Oh but that's why I'm telling you now! So we can decide on how many kids and what gender they should be!"
"Um…right…" By then, Hitoshi gave up on trying to be realistic with Brooklyn anymore.
--
The next morning, Takao came upon the same newspaper Brooklyn was reading when he was over. The news got him thinking and started to wonder if Rei ever will go back to being a thief…
Takao decided to work on his homework; maybe when Rei helps him with it, they can quickly finish it up and then spend more quality time together.
At Rei's home, Rei also saw the newspaper. He's still debating in his head about what to do. He sat back in his chair and sighed; but he continued on working on his homework, with an occasional glance at the newspaper every now and then. Rei never thought there would be a day when he has to decide about the next time he'll put on his costume…
--
The next day, Takao was surprised he survived the boredom of doing homework and was excited to finally have Rei over.
"Okay, now you move the inside number to the outside," Rei explained drawing on the example with his pencil while trying to use easy words to explain the problem.
"Um…" Takao stared at his math homework with a blank stare.
"Do you want me to go over that again?" Rei asked,
"Uh…" Takao scratched his head,
"How about we take a break?" Rei suggested and Takao quickly nodded.
The two sat on the bed and Takao wrapped his arms around Rei's waist as he leans against him.
"Rei, will you ever be my favorite thief again? I mean, besides our special date recently, I mean will you ever go and steal something and never get caught? Then come visit me on Fridays and holidays. Like the old days?" Takao asked innocently as possible. Rei hesitated before responding, not sure if the answer himself.
"Um, I haven't thought much of it, Takao. I might as well quit now…"
"What? No! No way!" Takao cut in, "I love the great 20 Menso…"
Rei's eyes drifted away from Takao's. He doesn't know anymore, if anything at all. Rei doesn't want to go back to that, in fear of losing Takao again…
After another attempt at Takao's math homework, they at least got a page done…before Rei decided to leave.
"Already? But Rei…" Takao wanted to whine and beg him stay but Takao didn't want to trouble Rei any more than he has to.
"I'm sorry, Takao. I'll come back some other time okay?"
"Tomorrow?!" Takao asked hopefully,
"Except tomorrow…"
"Oh…okay then…" said Takao with disappointment in his voice. Rei kissed Takao on the forehead before he leaves, hoping that could cheer his Taka-Chan up.
The next day, Rei walked through town. He had to sort things through. Takao will only keep asking about his decision on whether he's going to hang up his cape for good. The only way Takao will stop asking about it is he Rei will give him a straight answer which Rei can't even figure out himself and is currently debating the issue in his head. Rei passed by a certain store that Takao and Kaida likes to go to together but when he did, he walked backwards to look at the store again and realized he wasn't seeing things when he saw the sign in the store window.
Kaida's Fortune Telling
It's all in the cards
He didn't believe in fortune telling, but…he was curious. Though in the back of his head, he honestly believed that fortune telling may be possible and it may be the answer to his questions. It also explains why Kaida's a great advice giver for all this time…
He walked in and spotted Kaida talking with the counter-girl.
"Oh! Rei! Hi!" Kaida greeted with a smile,
"Hey…Um…is it true? You're doing fortune telling?" Rei asked, quickly jumping in to what he came here for.
"Huh? Oh! Y-Yeah, I guess I am. Want your fortune told Rei? Need advice? Got a question?"
"Yes…How can you help me?" Rei asked Kaida but she only smiled again,
"Come on, follow me, we're going to the back," Kaida motioned and lead Rei to the back of the store. It was a tad dark but Rei's eyes quickly adjusted to it and followed Kaida until she finally sat down at a simple wooden table and she motioned Rei to sit in front of her.
On the table, cards were already placed, plus a necklace with a see-through orb hanging from it lying in the center.
"Well, what's troubling you?"
After a few moments of dodging the subject, Kaida got most of the basic information about what's going on with Rei's current feelings and confusion.
"Rei, what do you want for your future?"
"Huh? Uh, I don't know…"
"You don't? Really? Is Takao in it at least?"
"Yes! Well I hope so I at least…"
"Okay, that's a start. And did Takao tell you that I know about your secret?" Kaida looked around and then leaned forward to whisper in Rei's ear, "About being the greatest thief of this generation?"
"No…" Rei's eyes narrowed and couldn't believe Takao told another person.
"Oh…Well don't be mad at him!
"…"
"Okay Rei, tell me: what if I can promise you that your relationship is safe even if you go back as a thief?"
"Um, that would be great?"
"Good…Tell me, do you believe in seeing the future?" Kaida asked and Rei's face showed that he doesn't before he even answered,
"Not really…"
"Well I can understand. Sometimes the vision is off or it changes depending on what the person does. But I can assure you Rei, as long as you don't stray from your path, my vision of your future will pretty accurate…"
"You're honestly telling me you can see the future?" Rei asked with a sweatdrop who didn't even believe this.
"Sort of. I was labeled a freak when I was little because of my 'abilities,' but this is how Tek and I met. I believe in destiny and fate and I guess it was destined for Tek and me to meet. Just like how it was meant to be for you and Takao to be together. Some things really are entwined with destiny and fate. But in the end, it's still up to the people themselves. You get me?" Kaida asked and Rei just shook his head.
"For example: Say…Taka doesn't forgive you. Then life will move on as it is. Takao may find a new lover and they live happily ever after; maybe or maybe not. Same goes for you. Maybe you find someone new and live happily ever after, or not, as well. Just because you're meant to be together with Takao, doesn't mean you're going to be together for sure. It's up to the two of you to work things out and thank the heavens you guys did, and stay together. Is that clearer?" Kaida asked fiddling with a deck of cards she took out from her pocket. Rei slightly nodded. He also thanked the heavens he's with Takao again.
"Now, let's get down to business. Rei, will you be afraid of seeing your future?" Kaida asked and puts the deck In front of her,
"Well…if it's not bad I guess I can handle it…"
"Good. Because Takao loves the excitement with the great 20 Menso. I promise you you'll be with Takao so long as you two can compromise. Ready?"
Rei nervously nodded. She sounded so serious that he was starting to believe it.
"Okay…" Kaida picked up the orb necklace and stood up. She closed her eyes and the orb started to lightly glow which Rei cannot believe she's doing without batteries or a plug. Kaida then suddenly thrusts her right index finger forward and touched Rei's forehead on the dot. Rei suddenly had a weird feeling, a strange feeling…
Rei opened his eyes; he didn't even remember closing them. Now he doesn't even know where he was! He looked around and everything looked blurry, as if out of a picture book but everything's moving because it looks like there was a breeze. He saw a cheery blossom tree and he started to float over there. Rei's never felt so light but he didn't have control of where he was going. Rei was above the cherry blossom tree waiting for something to happen.
"Otosan! Otosan! Can I go play now?"
Rei heard an unfamiliar voice, but the voice was almost scrambled-like, it wasn't a really realistic voice; but he was unable to move from his position to get a better view of what's going on under the tree where the voice came from.
"Just be careful and don't stray too far. We're only here for one reason only."
Rei barely recognized that voice. But he couldn't help but know who it was…it was himself.
"Okay, Otosan! Hey! I'll help get more flowers for you Otosan!"
"I would like that very much."
Suddenly a little boy ran out from under the tree. The vision was still blurry and fuzzy. He just saw a little boy but only his silhouette. Rei then realized: How did he even know that was a boy?
"Otosan, are these for Touchan(or 'Daddy')?" the little boy asked as he ran back a bit later with an armful of flowers of all colors.
Rei then realized where he was. This was his special place. But he doesn't remember a cherry blossom tree growing there. But that was the only place he knew where flowers as beautiful as the flowers the little boy held. What confused Rei the most was that he can see those flowers clearly unlike everything else around him.
"Yes they are. Your Touchan will love them…"
"Yay! Daddy will love it! Otosan, can we come here for a picnic? You, me, and Daddy too!"
"Good idea, Makoto. We'll all come here together. Let's go back now, then we'll bring Touchan here to celebrate his birthday."
"Okay!! Come on Otosan! I want to give Daddy his flowers now! He'll be so happy! And Daddy will love us both so much more!"
Rei continued to listen. The little boy mentioned two fathers. Calling one his dad cutely and other more formally, which was himself.
"Yes…yes he will…"
"Otosan, what's Daddy's favorite flower?" the little boy asked as he started walked followed by another shadowy figure with long flowing hair tied in a down ponytail which Rei instantly recognized as his possible future self.
"Why, roses of course."
"Roses are great, but I like wisterias!"
"They're pretty too!"
"Hee hee, Daddy will be so surprised! I wonder if he's even awake yet…"
"Well, guess we'll go find out!"
Rei didn't realize how his body was reacting; he was shaking, just a bit, but he was. If this is his future, then he'll have a son…with Takao? If Kaida promised him that he'll be with Takao then this has got to be their son! Things seem to be too perfect to be true.
"Otosan, I want to be the greatest thief of all time! Just like you were! Please teach me everything!" the little boy begged, all excited.
"I don't know…it may be a tad too dangerous."
"Please Otosan!? I'll be extra careful! I promise! Daddy loves to tell me stories about you before you stopped being a thief. And I want to be just like you! I can't believe you stopped being the great 20 Menso right after you proposed to Daddy…Why couldn't you keep going? You were still young!"
"Ah, but Makoto, once a man finds that special someone, he needs to settle down. If I kept going, being a thief, I may never be able to spend some quality time with you right now. I'm happy to have stopped. I get to live everyday with my beloved Taka-Chan…You'll understand someday, Makoto…"
The next thing Rei knew, everything was being pulled away from him and he hit a hard surface.
"Ow…"
"You okay Rei?" came Kaida's voice and Rei realized he fell off his chair. He got back up and sat back on the chair rubbing his head,
"I'm fine…"
"You alright? Was that too much?" Kaida asked with concern.
"…Why couldn't I see that little boy?"
"Huh? Oh, well you couldn't."
"But why? I saw those flowers around the area perfectly!"
"That's because you knew what they looked like. The tree, and other parts of the area aren't as clear because you don't know or recognize them now. You don't know what you look like in the future, that's why you can't see yourself clearly. Same goes for that child, you don't know what he looks like or sounds like now, how can you know until that rightful time?" Kaida explained.
"I see…Well thank you very much, Kaida."
"Of course Rei, anytime. And because you're my friend, this was free!"
Rei sweatdropped,
"She's charging people?"
When Rei left, he realized a lot of time has passed by, not that it mattered, Kaida didn't really answer any of his questions! Or did she? Suddenly, Rei realized something.
"…Daddy loves to tell me stories about you before you stopped being a thief. And I want to be just like you! I can't believe you stopped being the great 20 Menso right after you proposed to Daddy…"
"…proposed to Daddy…"
"…proposed to Daddy…"
"…proposed to Daddy…"
Rei blushed furiously as that phrase repeated in his mind over and over again,
"I…actually had the guts to do that?" he asked himself still bright red.
Rei tried to calm himself down before people start wondering why his face was so red.
"That boy…said I was still young. Exactly when did I stop being a thief? No way in Heaven, Earth, or Hell I'm buying or stealing a ring now!! It's not right. If I want to properly be the good man I promise to be for Takao then I can't steal a ring. I have to earn it myself. I certainly don't have clean money now so I really didn't stop my passion for roaming the nights as a thief! So…I do continue being a thief, and live too. I get to be with Takao…but Kaida said I have to work to keep it together. I have to be sure I don't go down the wrong path, I need to be true to myself now and always if I ever want to see that future scene come true. Makoto…was the child's name. Sounds like Takao will be the one to name my first child. Oh well, maybe we'll have a second one and I'll name him or her. Wow, I'm getting ahead of myself!"
Rei just realized he's standing outside his home.
"It's going to hit darkness in a few hours…"
Rei walked in after looking at the sky and he heads for his room.
"Takao's been pretty down lately. I guess it's because he's worried about me and I'm the only that's actually bummed out."
The neko-jin found his costume and couldn't believe he was holding it again.
"Looks like I have to fix it up."
Rei stood up and started to gather his costume and laying them out on the bed. Then he snuck into Mao's room to get some materials to sew his costume. He didn't want to bother Mao right now so he decided to do it himself…or maybe…he might not have to.
"Alright then…I'm bringing 20 Menso back from his vacation!"
Takao sighed for the who-knows-what-number of times that day. He missed Rei and couldn't believe Rei didn't pick up his cell phone all day. Takao ended up sitting in front of the T.V. all day and he didn't even bother with homework that day.
"Hey, uh, Takao?" Hitoshi came into the room with a piece of paper in his hand.
"Whaaaaat?" Takao asked with a bored, tired, and annoyed voice.
"You better look at this…" said Hitoshi handing Takao the paper he was holding. After reading it over, Takao's eyes widened and he had to read it over again just to make sure he didn't misread it.
I have returned,
The great 20 Menso! Man of 20 faces and 20 masks!!
I think it's time for me to reign over the nights of Tokyo once again,
And I'll start by stealing a kiss from young Takao Kinomiya!
Friday, 10 p.m. exact, Kinomiya mansion.
And at the bottom was a drawing of his mask and a slight silhouette as his signature.
Takao turned extremely crimson after rereading it the second time.
"I can't believe it…" Hitoshi muttered, "Now we're going to have the police and the press surrounding our home!"
Though that was the last thing on Takao's mind.
"Is this for real? Is this the real thing? Rei? I'm not sure either to be worried or excited since I don't know if this is even the real deal or not! Oh I hope it is! I really hope it is! Please Come! 20 Menso!"
Friday night-Takao and Rei never met up before then:
"Just as I thought…my home completely filled with strangers…" Hitoshi said out loud as he can barely make it to the kitchen for some coffee. The place was filled with cops, most of them surrounding Takao which annoyed the heck out of him. Takao sat watching the television while his mind wanders. The day after the notice went out, Takao received a note from Rei, saying to have to school's uniform's tie with him on Friday. That just says something right there. Though Takao can't really understand why he needs it have it with him. Because Takao's on his last year of junior high, but it's still Junior High and Rei's in high school, the two have different ties for their summer uniform. The High School's tie was black except for the class board' members who have red colored ties with black, thus Rei's tie was red with a black streak down the middle. Takao's Junior High tie is black with a purple-blue streak running down it. But Takao did what Rei said and that note seems to convince him enough this was really Rei coming for him tonight. He's not sure whether he should be excited, nervous, or embarrassed.
Takao looked around, it seemed awfully quiet despite the amount of cops there is in his home(not to mention outside as well).
"Ah! Daichi isn't here!"
Outside, Kai and Max were standing by to watch the thief do his magic. But they weren't the only people, many of the people in the area came to see the return of the greatest thief: the great 20 Menso!
"Hm, Kai, you know how the notice said the time was 10 exact?" Max asked,
"Yeah? So?" Kai asked as he jots some useless notes down to make it look like he's only doing a report and not really interested-even though he really is.
"Well, you can't really 'steal a kiss' at 10 exact unless you're already in the mansion. The only way someone's going to do that is if the person breaks in before 10," Max explained and Kai looked up,
"…That actually is a point…" and right after Kai said that, the lights in the area as well the power in the mansion went off and people started to panic. Inside, everyone jumped at the sudden loss of power and everyone was shouting about how it wasn't even 10 yet.
Takao suddenly felt him being grabbed around the waist and then lifted off the sofa he was on and he lets out a yelp causing more chaos among the police force.
"Rei?" Takao asked in a whisper as he hold onto whatever or whoever was holding him but he got no reply.
Takao then felt a breeze and realized they were outside. A sudden light shined on him and he tried to block the light. The spotlight was the only thing working and everyone could see a masked man in a tuxedo with a cape with Takao making everyone screaming and pointing at 20 Menso himself.
Takao smiled as he realized it really was Rei; an arm was still securely attached around Takao's waist but Takao didn't care about the attention he was getting, he was happy that it was Rei under that mask. He then realized a few differences in this 20 Menso. His long flowing black hair is now braided instead of just a single down ponytail. And there was a big red bow tied at the end off his hair like you would give a cat around the neck or on the tail. Attached to the bow was also a yellow colored bell(just realized this-think of Tokyo Mew Mew or Mew Mew Power's Ichigo or Zoey in the dub. That bow at the end of her tail). His bowtie is changed into a red tie. A red rose was added to his tuxedo. Down to the last detail, he got new white gloves, a brand new black tuxedo, a new white shirt, a new black hat with what looks like black cat ears sticking out of it, a new white mask with more cat-like features for better details, a new black and red cape that flows better in the wind, and a new cane. Instead of the cat head for the top of the cane, it is now a round golden ball with golden outline around the black. Tied to the cane was a red ribbon with a bell attached to it. His cape still held the same colors with it being black on the outer side and red on the inside.
"Like it?" 20 Menso asked suddenly who caught Takao staring at the new look. Takao lightly blushed and nodded.
Takao then suddenly heard his brother in the crowd of people threatening that if anybody shoots and accidentally hits Takao, they're dead. Takao sweatdrops but that was a good way to protect Rei too.
The clock struck 10 for everyone to hear and the next thing Takao knew, his body was pressed against 20 Menso's body, chin lifted up, and received a sudden kiss. Takao slowly closes his eyes as he responds to the kiss. Yes, now he was sure this was Rei.
But when Takao felt nothing against his lips the next moment, he opened his eyes to find his favorite thief gone and that he was surrounded by smoke. Takao looked around and he almost freaked and panicked when he realized he was on top of his roof! He quickly got down on his hands and knees to have better balance and he stayed there waiting for someone to go get him down. That's when he noticed what was in his hand. Takao looked at the cloth that happens to have replaced his own tie in his hand. Instead of his own, this tie was red. Takao turned the tie over to look at the back. He himself put his name on the back but instead of a name, he found a cat face.
"Ah!"
It hit Takao, suddenly remembering a tradition of the BBA School. Some time ago, around when Hitoshi was his age, the uniforms were different. The males had neck ribbons and the females had ties. If someone becomes a couple, they exchange the tie and ribbon to let others know they're taken. While not as much people follow that tradition anymore, it's popular with older people who uses this tradition as 'claiming' someone; or the couple showing how much they want to be together or how close they are.
Takao smiled and held the tie close. He would be proud to wear it.
Takao Kinomiya claimed by the infamous thief Friday night!
Takao sweatdrops when he read that headline of the newspaper that weekend.
Takao Kinomiya was a victim of 20 Masks a few years ago on his birthday. He was then targeted again a few days later. And now, finally, the thief shows his true feelings as he targets Takao Kinomiya again after all this time!
Takao looked at the pictures that were shown in the papers. One of which, was the kiss which Takao noticed had the full moon behind them; Rei must've done that on purpose. Another one was a good shot of himself holding his new red tie for school.
The note exactly states he will: steal a kiss from young Takao Kinomiya. Which he has done so at exactly 10 p.m. on Friday night on the rooftop of the Kinomiya mansion and then disappeared in a cloud of smoke. But before he left, he was seen by our second spotlight, purposefully showing off a BBA Junior High school necktie in his hand before disappearing into the night for good.
Rei can't go around walking around the school with a junior high tie, that's like putting a sign above his head saying "I'm that thief you're looking for! Come arrest me!"
Maybe Rei won't wear it.
Maybe Rei won't wear it. He's not that stupid and this is the thief's tie, so maybe 20 Menso is the one wearing his Junior High tie.
"Wow, that is pretty smart-sounding. Rei probably figured all that out if I didn't," Takao thought.
We tried our best to get a word from the young Kinomiya but his older brother refused to let us get any word from young Takao Kinomiya.
Takao himself was getting pretty tired of the press outside. And he was worried enough already. After this news reached his father, his father is now coming home, worried. Though the Kinomiya brothers were a bit surprised that there grandfather didn't make a big deal of Takao getting a 'kiss stolen' by this thief; they both ponder if Grandpa knew the truth…
Takao then looked at another newspaper after giving up on that train of thought.
Our favorite infamous thief's new look!
Takao blinked and smiled. He liked the new look, after a while you'd think his old costume might start to fall apart now.
A new notice! A flower convention is in town and it will represent different colored roses, sought after by the man with 20 faces and 20 masks!
Takao lightly blushed. He can't seriously be stealing those roses for him can he? A ringing tone went off and Takao picked up his cell phone. Since the incident, his friends kept calling him about it. Mainly those that don't know about Rei's other identity like Hiromi or Kyoujyu. Overall, Takao's being pounded with questions and Takao wasn't sure if he should be mad at Rei for this great amount of attention that he doesn't need. Not only that, this is what caused him to be kidnapped in the first place! What was Rei thinking?!
"Of course I'm going to wear it," Takao replied over the phone,
"WHAT?!" Hiromi bellowed and Takao almost thought he lost his hearing, "How can you?! You don't actually like him do you?!"
"Uh…"
"Don't answer that…"
"Well he's charming, really good looking, and so good-"
"You do realize that you're dating a criminal right?" Hiromi cut in.
"Yeah…but he's good criminal! It's not like he's actually hurt anyone right?"
"A criminal is a criminal! No exceptions! For all we know, your phone is probably tapped so they can find out who this thief is!"
At that moment, Takao grew nervous. Hiromi proved a good point; maybe he needs to be more cautious…
Takao couldn't sleep. Everything's been bugging him since that public kiss. And he can't talk to Rei about it since chances are, there are probably wires or cameras everywhere to help them catch the real identity of the thief and therefore, he can't even speak to Rei! Does Rei even know about the possible outcome of his actions?! The beyblade champion sat up on his bed and sighed.
"I want to see Rei…"
Suddenly, shadows were moving on the floor of Takao's room and he immediately looked outside to see a silhouette with a flowing cape.
A smile quickly formed and Takao pulled off the covers,
"Rei!"
Takao opened the balcony door and without a doubt, 20 Menso was waiting for him.
"It's not Friday…" said Takao in a whisper as he steps out and closes the door behind him quietly.
"I know…" 20 Menso replied walking up to Takao and gracefully places his lips over his beloved. Takao gratefully accepted and pushes himself closer to 20 Menso for warmth and for a deeper kiss.
The two slowly parted and 20 Menso pulled his cape over and wrapped Takao in it to keep him warm.
"Come with me," he whispered holding Takao closer. The young Kinomiya only shyly nodded and 20 Menso smiled pulling Takao with him to the edge of the balcony. The midnight cat pulled on a rope hanging from the balcony and Takao saw a hot air balloon rise with a the basket that was filled with colorful roses…
And it left Takao speechless.
20 Menso started to gently pull Takao along but Takao wouldn't move,
"What's wrong, Taka?"
"Um nothing…it's just that…I kind of wished I was dressed more appropriately for the occasion…" Takao nearly muttered embarssed for going out in his green and yellow shirt and pants for his pajamas.
"I don't mind. It doesn't matter," said 20 Menso with a sweet smile. Takao noticed his tie, worn by 20 Menso. It made him feel so special. While being in his 'admiration' state, Takao didn't realize he was lifted and already in the basket, surrounded by the sweet smell of the roses.
"20 Menso…" Takao whispered and closed his eyes as the two kissed in the moonlight…
"I love you…" the two whispered to each other before their lips met again.
Please R and R!
Next:
Instead of squashing everything into one chapter I decided to make an epilogue. So the epilogue is the actual final chapter of this story! Well I guess this can be a final chapter too but I'm putting an epilogue in so it's not completely over yet!
I repeat: THERE'S AN EPILOGUE NEXT