Short chapter this time - needed a little "filler" before getting to the next part. Enjoy~

Setting: After series
Genre: General/Angst
Rating: PG (may or may not change)
Summary: Four years is a long time to be missing, but it doesn't stop Barnaby from trying to find his partner, Wild Tiger, who went MIA those four years ago. By chance, a man of strikingly similar warmth crosses his path; he is everything that Kotetsu was, but at the same time everything about him is wrong.

Once Lost Yet to Return

It was late afternoon by the time he managed to drag himself to the training center, still trying to shake off the drowsiness. He had been trying to find some balance between his work, his searching and his recent sleeping habits; the last thing he needed right now was a repeat of last week's events. There weren't many people who would be as kind as Akira and take care of a complete stranger in their own home. So far, that balance was evading him.

"You're later than usual, Handsome," a flirty voice greeted him. Barnaby turned to offer a small smile to the flamboyant Hero.

"Aa, I went home first to drop some things off," he answered. "I fell asleep without meaning to, I guess." The other didn't say anything, but there was a definite hint of relief in his eyes. Barnaby knew he was worrying the other Heroes – not just the people at the office; he tried to assure Nathan he was fine and trying to watch out for his health a little more. The pink-adorned man gave him a playful pout, teasing him that worrying was his job as the "big sister" of the group. Barnaby only smiled, before heading towards the equipment to start on a work-out regime.

"…And they still don't know where the shot came from?" Ivan asked. Barnaby glanced over to the pair, having overheard the question. Antonio had a grim look on his face.

"There was no noise or anything, so there's no way to know where the snipers were set up."

"Snipers?" Barnaby spoke up, surprising the two a little.

"Have you seen the news this morning?" Ivan asked, turning to face him. "It was reported that some business tycoon was shot last night."

"Tycoon? Ah, Elias Milford, right?" Barnaby vaguely remembered reading it in the newspaper.

"Yeah – apparently he was shot when he went to visit some mistress last night," Antonio added. There was an odd sort of silence as each took to their own thoughts. Similar sniper cases have been occurring this past few years; whether they were all part of the same organization or different individuals acting on their own was a mystery. None of the targets were related to each other in all cases – sometimes it was a criminal and sometimes it was an innocent person; there were no clear links or patterns and none of the victims survived.

"Ugh – no point in worrying about it!" an irritated voice growled from behind. "We can't even do anything about it, since there's no way to predict who the next target will be." Karina scowled at the thick, heavy textbook on her lap, one hand holding up a small computer pad and the other tangled up in her now short, blond hair. Her usual fair features were scrunched up in an annoyance as she stared between the two objects.

"Um, Blue Rose-san… y-you sure you don't want my help? I mean…" Ivan offered nervously. Karina almost threw her book off her lap, letting out an aggravated sigh as she leaned back against the glass railing. The young woman had decided to continue on to college, despite knowing that it would be vastly different from her high school schedule. Her professors knew she was a Hero, and were a little lenient about her attendance, but in return it meant that she had to work the hardest on her assignments.

"Argh, geeze! Forget it! I'm going to go beat up on the dummy!" she snapped the book shut, tossing it carelessly in the air. Ivan fumbled to catch it, holding it close to his chest once he caught it. He chased after the icy Hero, stuttering out that he'd help her try to understand the problem since he was somewhat familiar with it. Antonio sighed, putting a hand over his face.

"It must be close to midterms," he muttered. Barnaby only made a small noise in agreement.

"She's stubborn as always; I really have to wonder what Origami sees in her," the blond sighed. Antonio only shrugged, saying to leave the "kids" alone before going back to training. Barnaby smiled, mint green eyes watching the pair; Karina was pouring all of her stress and frustration into every punch, Ivan trying his best to explain in between hits his face a mix between fear and admiration. Although these past four years had certainly seen some growth in the younger Heroes, there were still the moments when those old childish habits popped up once in a while. It was warming to know that they'd still be somewhat the same if Kotetsu ever returned.

A frown instantly came to his face at the thought – "if" Kotetsu ever returned; it was plague that has been haunting his mind for a while now. What if it was just as everyone said? What if the man was never found again? Barnaby wasn't sure he could live and die peacefully knowing that Kotetsu's body was never laid to rest properly. His hands curled into fists, trying to clear the thought of his mind; he would find Kotetsu, even if it took to his dying breath. Having successfully talked himself down from that worry, he relaxed his hands and started to plan his workout for the day.

-8-

It was another beautiful sunset, nature painting the sky a luminous yellow, red and orange fading gently into a lavished blue, purple and black. If the stars could be seen within the city, they would be blooming by now, dancing above the crescent sun. Kaede sighed as she stared out the window of the dining hall; due to a recent run about of a serial rapist, all students were not permitted to venture off the academy grounds alone. Until this man was caught, it meant Kaede would have to leave the searching up to Barnaby for a while.

She sighed again, staring down at the half-finished tray of food in front of her. It felt like she and Barnaby were the only ones who were absolutely certain that her father was still alive. Everyone else had slowly come to accept the assumption that Wild Tiger – Kaburagi, Kotetsu – was dead; even her grandmother and uncle were starting to come to terms with it. She couldn't help the anger rising in her chest, wondering why everyone else was fine with giving up.

"K-Kaede-chan! Your water, your water!" a troubled voice snapped her from her thoughts. Kaede blinked, staring at her cup to see the clear liquid rising out of it. She made a small noise and the water dispersed, some falling back into the cup the rest splashing on the table. Her chair screeched against the floor as she stood up quickly, reaching for a napkin to clean it up; she heard a sigh, glancing from the corner of her eyes to see Tony helping to clean up the spill.

"Looks like its Tam's powers this time," he tried to sound lighthearted. Kaede only smiled, giving him a quick pat to get rid of her current power.

"Thanks – I didn't even realize I had touched her."

"Probably bumped her in the hallways or something," he suggested. "You know how clumsy she is."

"That's true," Kaede laughed a little. Once the water was all cleaned up and the damp papers deposited in the waste bin, Kaede picked up her tray and walked over to place it on the cleaning rack, Tony following behind her.

"Are you alright? She says she usually loses control when her emotions are high," the curly-haired boy asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just – thinking about my dad, I guess," dark-brown eyes stared down at the floor. Tony made a small noise, unsure what to say as he shoved his hands into his pockets. He could still remember the day he first met Wild Tiger, and how the Hero had talked him down from the lion statue. When it was announced that the veteran was returning to the Hero business despite his declining power, it encouraged Tony to work at becoming a Hero even more. It almost seemed like nothing could stop the infamous Crusher of Justice – least, not till that day by the bay. Light gray eyes glanced to the girl walking next to him, a sad far-off expression on her face.

"U-um, Kaede-chan! I-I know it probably doesn't mean much, but I too think your dad is still out there!" he suddenly blurted out without thought. Kaede looked at him surprised, seeing him blush a little; he shook his head, continuing on. "Wild Tiger – he didn't even let his power loss stop him! Something like that – there's no way he'd die from something like that, right?" She looked at him genuinely surprised; Tony seemed embarrassed by what he said, the blush on his face turning a darker red. He quickly looked away from her, hands fidgeting in his pocket. A small, soft smile appeared across the delicate oval face, Kaede reaching an arm to hug him around the shoulder; the shorter made a startled noise.

"Thanks, Tony – it really means a lot to me to hear someone else say that," she thanked him. Tony murmured something close to 'you're welcome', before pulling away face red from the forehead down. He made up some excuse about a make-up lesson, running ahead of her not daring to look back. Kaede giggled, before sighing reaching for the ring around her neck. She held it tenderly in the palm of her hand, gazing down at it with warm eyes.

Dad…if my thoughts can reach you through this ring – please come back to me so I can scold you!

-Chapter Three/End-