Setting: After series
Genre: General/Angst/Definite romance floating around somewhere...
Rating: PG (not changing)
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

Walking into the training center days after that night, Barnaby wasn't sure what kind of feelings were fluttering in his head; actually, in all honesty he wasn't even sure what he should be feeling right now. The kiss he had shared with Akira had been – pleasant, for lack of a better term – but at the same time he hadn't realised just how far their friendship had really gone; he wasn't even sure if they could call each other friends now. Did this make them lovers now? It didn't really feel quite like that to him, and it really had been sort of "on the whim" action and reaction for both of them; the blond had a feeling that Akira hadn't really meant to kiss him that night. Barnaby let out a low whine, messaging his temples – he was just running himself in circles with this maybe-love-maybe-extremely-like thought warring in his head. Did all relationships start off this complicated?

"Barnaby – do you have a moment?" he was surprised when he was stopped by Rock Bison, eyeing the serious look on his senior's face. They've been talking more lately, mostly since it was mutually agreed that they shared an unofficial guardianship over Kaede and had been seeing each other a lot more whenever the teen was concerned.

"Is everything alright?" Barnaby asked. He was a little surprised to see Nathan walk over to them, but it was more shocking to see the usually flamboyant and exaggerated Hero look so somber and serious. Something was definitely wrong and Barnaby couldn't shake the sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Shall we talk about this somewhere a bit more private?" Nathan suggested. The usual playful tone was gone, replaced by a softer, almost foreboding tone – it was the kind of tone he used whenever he was about to deliver disturbingly bad news. Barnaby didn't like this – they walked away from the main gym, out of the lounge and to more a secluded hallway, the two older Heroes facing their junior.

"This is going to go very badly, I'm sure but – Bison and I have been talking about it for a while now, and think you need to know," Nathan began, going into an authoritative mode that Barnaby rarely ever saw. It was making him even more anxious for whatever news it was these two had to share with him. There was a long moment of silence as the two looked between each other, seeing Antonio give a short nod of his head; Nathan sighed, trying to gather his thoughts as he tried to figure out the easiest way to explain this.

"Bison and I have been looking into certain – things; some of it is related to the assassin cases," he hesitated, before steeling his nerve to continue on. "And… we've been looking on information about your – friend, Akira Hurst." Almost immediately Barnaby went on defensive, and both elders knew this was going to go bad real fast. Before any of them could exchange another word, their call bands went off, hearing the all too familiar voice of their director.

"Bonjour Heroes~" Barnaby didn't wait for them to continue their conversation, immediately answering the call as he took off to retrieve his Hero suit and head out to their mission. Agnes had just gotten the biggest tip in her career, and was just brimming with energy at the potential ratings it would bring in. Nathan and Antonio only sighed, the larger of the two glaring down at his call band after ending the call.

"He's not going to let us bring up the subject again," Nathan grieved, moving ahead to suit up. Antonio let out a huge sigh, before following behind the flame Hero.

"We'll just have to make him listen then – whether he likes it or not."

"Oh my~ who know you could be so forceful~" the dark-skinned man teased, reaching over to give the burly man a playful pinch. Antonio let out a high squeal, hands covering his poor assaulted ass as he turned to glower at the man running ahead of him.

"Will you ever stop harassing me?"

"Oh, but your butt is just so fiery, I can't help myself~" he winked and blew a kiss over his shoulder, making the dark-haired man shudder. Antonio let out a low growl before shaking his head, going to pick up his own suit for the call.

-8-

They were answering an anonymous tip – apparently a missing shipment of supposedly legal over-the-counter drugs had been stolen last week; when questions arise as to why anyone would want to steal something so trivial, the case was instantly met with "private" matters answers. The tip Agnes had received revealed that those "legal" drugs was actually a guise for a highly trafficked, very high-selling simulation drug that had been banned in several countries already due to its extreme side effects and addictiveness. The Heroes were currently staked around a building condemned for demolish in another month or so – where the exchange of this shipment to an underground dealer would take place.

"Bonjour Heroes~ This is a big case, so make sure no one escapes that building, got it?" Agnes stressed, but she was beaming at the chance of cracking down a big time drug dealer. Everyone had split up into groups of two or three, surrounding the abandoned building. Barnaby had the misfortunate to end up with Rock Bison in his group, blatantly ignoring the veteran as he focused on the entrance in front of them. Antonio didn't say anything, and despite that his face was hidden by his armor, Barnaby knew he was giving that nagging look. There was a wait period while Agnes and the crew set up the cameras to be ready for a live feed, but it was taking some time as there were some unexpected technical difficulties on their end. Antonio decided to take the opportunity to talk to the other.

"Look, Barnaby – I know you don't want to hear about it, but it might be serious."

"Whatever it is you and Fire Emblem have found out about Akira, I'm sure there's a perfectly valid reason. I've known him for over eight months now – he's not dangerous," Barnaby snapped, still not taking his eyes off the building. Antonio only sighed, looking off to the sides where the other Heroes were waiting.

"It's not so much what we found… it's what we didn't find…" he explained hesitantly. That time the blond did glance over his shoulder at him, but with the face plate down and covering his expression, Antonio wasn't sure what kind of stare the other was giving him. He hadn't quite mastered the ability to read Barnaby's moods like Kotetsu had. Before any more could be said, Agnes' eager voice came through the lines.

"Alright – we've finally got everything cleared! So be ready to infiltrate on our signal."

"Going live in 5…4…3…" Barnaby rushed in first, not wanting to stick around in case Rock Bison decided to continue the lecture regardless, seeing Origami Cyclone and Dragon Kid run in as well. They barely got to the entrance before an explosion from the upper floors distracted them, all eyes looking up to the smoke emitting from the top floors. They heard a shriek pierce through their coms, no doubting it was Agnes lamenting at the loss of their prospecting targets on live TV no less.

"Hold on! They might still be alive!" Blue Rose's voice called out.

"It's quite possible – that explosion came from the top floors; the meeting was somewhere on the lower floors," Fire Emblem acknowledged. Agnes seemed to regain some composure as she began barking commands for a search and rescue capture, as well as making sure the illegal goods were confiscated. They all answered with an affirmative "yes ma'am" before half of them rushed in to secure their targets. Barnaby had rushed in ahead first, climbing up the stairs two at a time with Dragon Kid and Origami following close behind; they split up at different floors, Origami stopping at the first, Dragon Kid on the second and Barnaby cutting off at the third.

He did a quick sweep of the floor, not finding any signs of anyone and was about to head back to the stairs to continue on up. The building shook as another explosion sounded from above, causing him to waver on his feet a little. Agnes was beyond rationing at this point, all but cursing at the situation literally falling apart before her eyes; she couldn't cut HeroTV now – not like this, not with three, now four Heroes inside a collapsing building as Sky High rushed in.

"Do you think it's Lunatic?" Dragon Kid's voice echoed through their open lines.

"Not his style – besides, he doesn't need bombs to take care of criminals," Barnaby pointed out, still climbing the stairs. There was a third explosion, this time causing the floors above to crack a little, rubble raining down from above. The blond only grit his teeth – at this rate, they would be crushed along with the criminals they were supposed to catch.

"I found them!" Origami's voice suddenly echoed out.

"Where?"

"Fifth floor – there's a small catty-corner leading off to another room – ah!" his voice cut off, no doubt due to a bullet being fired at him. Barnaby tracked back down to the fifth floor, meeting up with Dragon Kid and Sky High along the way before they located the corner Origami was talking about, seeing the samurai-armored Hero pressed up against the door frame as a fury of bullets were flying past him. They could hear distinct cursing from inside the room as they tried to move in closer. Sky High conjured up a wind storm meant as a distraction, which worked as the shooting stopped for a moment, allowing Dragon Kid to run and aim her lightning bolts to effectively knock the four men in the room out cold.

"We got them!" Barnaby informed the others. "How's the situation outside?"

"Blue Rose has managed to stabilize most of the upper floors, but her ice isn't going to hold out for long," Fire Emblem answered, looking over to where the icy queen was standing. Blue Rose had her arms out trying to support the ice pillars keeping the top floors from collapsing through the building, but the strain was beginning to wear her down, little cracks beginning to appear in the ice. Quickly gathering up the unconscious criminals and the taking up the crate housing the drugs, the four of them rushed out, clearing the entrances just as the ice snapped in pieces, the whole building falling into itself in a kick of dust and smoke.

"Good thing this was meant to be demolished anyways," Rock Bison commented off-handedly, trying to lighten the mood. Only a few of them laughed. Barnaby looked down to the men they had essentially saved, looking back to the building; he couldn't help but feel that this had been all too convenient. Agnes was sighing in relief on the other end, sinking into her chair with a tired moan that the Heroes made it out alright and still captured their targets and obtain the stolen goods.

Fire Emblem made his way over to where Barnaby was standing, and even if he couldn't see the other's face under his mask, Barnaby knew that kind of serious look he was receiving. He didn't face him, looking to the unconscious men lying on the ground instead; he heard a heavy sigh.

"Look Handsome, I know how much this man has influenced you these past several months, but it's something you should be aware of…" the words trailed off as Nathan let out a startled gasp. Barnaby could only stare in shock as blood began seeping from one of the bodies on the ground. The one next to it twitch, and the one next to that and finally the last body flinched, a silent gag falling from parted lips as blood began to stain the ground. Mint green eyes quickly looked to the vague direction where the shots had come from, Fire Emblem trying to regain his wits of what just happened here.

Barnaby took off in a flash towards the building behind them, ignoring the shouts from the others as he headed towards the door, near breaking it down as he stumbled in. He ran up the stairs as fast as he could without the use of his powers, running through every floor, going through every room that was open. It wasn't until he reached the seventh floor, taking a quick look as he passed by an open room; he paused before slowly taking several steps back, looking again as he saw a tall silhouette leaning against the window across the room. Barnaby felt his shoulders slack, eyes staring wide in shock and confusion as he slowly shook his head.

"N-no… it can't be…" The figure across the room straightened up away from the window sill, a hand reaching into their pant pocket. Barnaby felt his entire innards go numb, not wanting to believe what he was seeing in front of him, as honey-amber eyes gazed listlessly at him.

"You really are sharp for your age," the voice was cold, empty almost as he spoke. The blond could feel his hands shaking, his voice unsteady and fearful.

"Akira…" The hand suddenly withdrew from the pocket, tossing something out between them. Barnaby flinched, holding an arm up over his eyes as a blinding white flash temporarily robbed him of his sight. Once the light had died down and he was able to see again, the spot where Akira had been standing was vacant. He ran over to the window, leaning out as he scanned the area below, seeing nothing before hearing a soft clink from above. He glanced up quickly just to see the man reeling up towards the roof, disappearing over the ledge; gritting his teeth, Barnaby withdrew from the window and headed for the stairs, dashing up to the roof. He slammed the door with enough force to throw it off its hinges, looking up in time to see Akira grappling to a building adjacent to them. He activated his powers, taking off after the dark-haired man without a second's hesitation, easily catching up to him on the second roof top; he snatched the other by the wrist, jerking Akira a little as he pulled the man to a stop.

"What's going on? Why are you here? Are you…" he paused, trying to force the tears out of his voice as he spoke. "Did you… really shoot those men just now…?" Akira didn't say anything, not looking at him as nothing but wind whistled past them. Barnaby tightened his grip even more, jerking the other's body to face him, lifting his face plate so he could stare at the man eye to eye.

"Answer me, Akira!" He was startled by the small, cylinder mouth piece wedged between the other's lips, confused for a moment before he heard a click, hearing a low hissing sound following it. He barely had time to react at the cloud of gas being shoved into his exposed face. Barnaby coughed, covering a hand over his mouth and nose, but he could already feel his grip weakened, Akira taking the opportunity to pull his wrist free. The blond felt his knees shake, before sinking to the ground, trying to support himself on his arms as more of the gas leaked out of its container that Akira had tossed in front of him. His elbows buckled, falling face first to the concrete flooring, forest green eyes glaring up at the man standing over him.

Akira only looked at him with a blank face, the warmth Barnaby had been so overly familiar with was gone from honey-brown eyes; all that was left was a cold, distant and lifeless stare and it felt as if he was staring into a dark pit that had no end to it. He didn't say anything, Akira slowly turning his back to him as he began to walk away; Barnaby tried to reach a shaking hand out, but he found he barely had any control over his body, finding it a little hard to breathe as his vision began to fade. He tried to speak, to scream at the retreating back leaving his line of sight, but his mouth wouldn't work properly; all too soon his hand stilled as the edges around the world blackened, before everything finally just faded into nothing.

-Chapter Thirteen/End-