Chapter 5
The next morning,
"Ughh.. Oh I'm dying..." I groaned and opened my eyes.
I was blinded by bright lights for moment. I looked around, this wasn't my room. Where was I? I slowly turned around and saw Kenshi asleep next to me, he had his strong arms wrapped around me.
Oh god! Please say we didn't do anything last night! I quickly lifted up the duvet and sighed with relief when I saw that I still had all of my clothes on.
I thought back to last night, we drank so much but I couldn't remember how I got here.
Kenshi started to stir and opened his eyes.
"Uugh.. My head hurts.." he mumbled.
"Morning." I said.
"Huh? Oh It's you Faye. Whoa! You're really close!"
"Yeah... do you think you could let me go?" I asked.
He let me go and I wiggled out of his arms and climbed out of the bed.
"Ooh. Looks like I did it again." He said.
"Do what?" I asked.
"I like to sleep holding onto pillows or blankets. And sometimes I do it to people... this is the first time I've ever done it to a girl I wasn't dating before. Sorry."
"It's ok... we didn't do anything did we?" I asked.
"Hahah! No we didn't." he laughed.
"Good." I said.
"But I guess we need to be careful when I drink. You can really hold your drink." He said and smiled at me.
"Who won the drinking contest?" I asked.
"I can't remember, but you're very competitive." He said and laughed again.
Kenshi was such a nice a guy, I couldn't ask for a better friend at a time like this. Plus now I had a good drinking buddy.
I went back to my apartment, I had a shower and some breakfast before heading to the Le Rendard Noir. I still had to check in.
"Uugh... I wish I was dead.." I moaned.
I held a cold glass of water up to my pounding head.
"Here's your fried chicken." Boss said and put the plate down in front of me.
"Thanks." I said.
"I put clams in the miso soup, just for you. It's the perfect hangover cure." Boss said.
"You reek of alcohol." Riki stated making me jump.
"Oh hey Riki, when did you get here?" I asked.
"What are you talking about? I've been sat here for an hour." He said.
"Ooh... sorry."
"I can't believe you got drunk after a mission!" he laughed.
I didn't have the energy to talk and just moaned at him before I started eating. After this, I was heading straight home and I was going straight to bed.
The next day, as usual I had to report to the Le Rendard Noir.
"Fingerprints?" I questioned.
"Yeah, when we broke into your museum, on that weird statue."
"From the Makonde tribe?" I asked.
"Yep." Riki said.
"Apparently Riki's fingers got left behind on it." Hiro said.
Oh that's right, he grabbed the statue to stop it from landing on me.
"And since it's your fault, you're going to help us." Riki said. "Even if you so say no, we're going to make you help us." He said.
"Ok one, I'd like to see you try and two, you don't need to threaten me. I wasn't going to say no, I want to help." I said.
"Hm?" He said surprised.
"I'm one of you guys now, right?" I asked.
I mean I had already helped with one mission.
"That's right, you're the sixth member of the Black Foxes Faye." Hiro said with a smile.
"So, I'll help you." I said.
"What, so now you're all for it all of a sudden?" Riki asked. "Just the other day, you were so against all of this."
"Would you rather I not cooperate?" I asked.
He ignored my statement and briefly glared at me.
"So what are we going to do?" Hiro asked. "The cops are saying the prints on the statue are suspicious."
"Yeah...but my prints aren't in the police database. So there's a very low chance they'll find out they're mine." Riki said.
"So we're talking just in case."
"Yep, if that happens I'll say it happened when I visited the museum two months ago." Riki said.
"Two months ago?" I questioned.
"Yeah, but unless you have some kind of proof, why should they believe you?" Hiro asked.
"That's why we're going to leave some proof." Riki said.
"How?" I asked.
"Faye, do you know of any exhibits that were on display two months ago but not on display that night?" Riki asked.
"Two months ago... I think there's a hair ornament."
"What kind?" Hiro asked.
"From the Muromachi Era. Usually it's on permanent display but right now it's in storage to make room for that tiara that just went on display." I said.
"Storage? That's perfect." Riki said.
"There's no way the police checked anything in storage for prints." Hiro said.
"So you're going to put Riki's prints on the hair ornament." I said.
"And then there'll be proof I was there two months ago." Riki said.
"So when's the mission?" I asked.
"Day after tomorrow. For the mission, you'll come to the storeroom with me. Because you have to show me which hair ornament it is." Riki said.
I nodded. My second mission with the Black Foxes.
It was the day of the mission,
"What's the security situation?" Riki asked Takuto.
"Light as usual. Not a problem." Takuto answered.
He looked so confident.
"Let's go Faye." Riki said.
"If anything happens, contact us right away. Don't push yourself." Kenshi said.
"You can contact us through that brooch we gave you." Hiro said.
"Ok." I said and nodded.
There was something about being in an empty museum at night, that really creeped me out. It was like a scene out of a horror movie, I expected zombies or vampires to come jumping out at us.
"You're totally scared right now, aren't you?" Riki asked.
"Not really, just creeped out." I said.
"You don't have to pretend, it's obvious." He said with a slight smile on his face.
Was he enjoying this?
"Don't worry, there's aren't any guards or cops around today. As long as the security is disabled, it'll be a piece of cake. Ok?" he said and ruffled my hair just like Kenshi did.
He was comforting me.
"Ok." I said and smiled at him.
"So? The warehouse is just up ahead?" He asked.
"Yes, this way." I said and lead the way.
"Hmm. It feels great in here." Riki said as we entered the storeroom.
"The air conditioning's even on." he said.
"Humidity is a museum's greatest enemy, you know." I said.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. So, where is the hair ornament?" He asked.
"Over in that display case." I said and pointed.
"This? All right." He said.
He walked over to the case and touched the case and the pedestal underneath.
"That should do it." He said. "Fingerprints are the most damning evidence."
"Really?" I asked.
"Yep and your fingerprints are special." he said smiling at me.
He reached out and stroked my fingertips.
What was he doing? I looked down at our hands and pulled away.
"Our great-grandfathers were all thieves too. And their final mission was searching for your gramps last masterpiece and invention. 'There are three painting and one thing out of all my inventions I want to recover and you can't let anyone else have it.' That was in your gramps' will that he entrusted to our great-grandfathers, it was his final request." he said.
I wondered what it could be. We had to recover his final masterpiece and one of his inventions, my Gramps really was an amazing man.
"What is the invention?" I asked.
"We don't know. All we know is that it's a trick box and the only thing that can open it, is your fingerprints." he said.
BEEP BEEP
"What's up Hiro?" Riki asked.
"We're in trouble leader. Someone's heading that way."
"What?" Riki asked.
"They have a key, probably a guard or someone like that." Hiro said.
"Let's go Faye." Riki said.
"Ok." I said.
"Don't go out the front! Go out the back, just in case." Hiro said.
"Roger." Riki replied.
"The back exit is this way." I said and lead the way.
"You can't go out the back, security is still on." Takuto said.
We stopped running.
"Well then disable it!" Riki shouted.
"If I disable it now, it'll automatically call the security company. There'll be a record of it. Too much of a pain in the ass."
"Then fix it so the company doesn't get contacted!" Riki said.
"That'll take 3 minutes." Takuto said.
"3 minutes?!" Riki gasped.
What were we going to do? We were going to get caught and get arrested, my life was going to be over!
"The window! There's a window in that bathroom." I said.
"What about the window Takuto?" Riki asked.
"2 minutes."
"Do it in 1!" Riki shouted. "C'mon Faye."
He grabbed my hand and we ran towards the bathroom.
"Over here!" I said and pulled him into the bathroom.
"Takuto! What about the security?" Riki asked.
BEEP BEEP
"It'll take 5 more seconds!"
THUMP THUMP
"Someone's coming!" I whispered.
"Takuto!" Riki hissed.
"Done!" Takuto said.
"Let's go." Riki said.
He quickly jumped up through the window as if it was the easiest thing in the world. I reached my hand up, I couldn't grab the window.
"I'll pull you through, jump!" Riki ordered.
"Ok." I said.
Just as I was about to jump, my foot slipped on the sink.
"Ahh!" I screamed.
"Faye?!" Riki called out.
I fell backwards and hit my head on the sink before hitting the floor. The moment I hit the floor, I lost consciousness.
Mmm... my head pounded.
"Faye... Faye!" Someone shouted.
I could hear a voice shouting at me, who was it? What was going on?
"Faye!"
I could feel soft fingers touching my face as I started to regain consciousness. I opened my eyes and saw Tatsuro stood over me.
"Faye! Are you awake?" he asked.
"Tatsuro? Where am I? Why am I here?" I asked.
I tried to sit up but the back of my head pounded in pain, so I led back down.
"You're in the bathroom in your museum. Did someone hit you on the back of the head? Is that why you passed out?" He asked.
"Uh... I don't know..." I said and tried to think back.
Did someone attack me? But why was I here? The last thing I remember was... being in my apartment eating dinner.
"No! Don't move. You have a head injury, so you shouldn't move. I'm calling an ambulance. We'll take you to a hospital right way. Now just lie down." he said firmly.
"Ok. Please don't leave me." I said and tightly gripped his hand.
If someone attacked me, they might still be here. I didn't want to be alone.
"I won't, I promise. Who would have done such a thing to you, Faye?" He asked.
Tears filled my eyes "I don't know. Why am I here? The last thing I remember is being in my apartment." I sobbed.
"Hey don't cry, it's ok." He and squeezed my hand.
Something just didn't feel right about this.
An hour later,
"So when you ran towards the noise, she was already unconscious?" The Doctor asked Tatsuro.
"Yes, I think someone attacked her and knocked her unconscious." Tatsuro said.
"Well, because of the location of her injury, we'll have to run some tests on her." The doctor said.
"Thank you so much." Tatsuro said.
I was sat in a hospital bed with Tatsuo by my side, I still had hold of his hand. Things had slowly started to come back to me, I wasn't attacked I was doing a mission with Riki.
"Are you ok? You look very pale." The Doctor said.
"No I..." I said unsure of what to say.
"Is it because she hit her head?" Tatsuro asked.
"No I'm fine just still in shock." I said.
"By the way, you are..?" The Doctor asked Tatsuro.
"Oh I'm sorry, here's my business card." Tatsuro said and handed him a card.
"Oh.. From the police station. So that's why she was brought here." the doctor said.
Hm? What did he mean by that?
"Where am I?" I asked.
"The police hospital." Tatsuro answered.
The Doctor then left the room with Tatsuro but he quickly returned.
"I just filled out all the hospital paperwork." He said.
"Ok."
"They'll run the tests tomorrow. And if there are no problems, you can go home right away." He said.
"Oh good, thanks." I said.
I didn't know what to do, how was I going to explain this to him?
"By the way Faye.. What were you doing at the museum so late?" He asked.
"Huh?"
"It's closed right now, isn't it? So why were you there?"
Crap! What was I going to say?
"I... uh... oh my head." I started to sob and put my head into my hands.
"Are you ok? Should we call a nurse?" he asked.
"I would please like some pain relief, my head really hurts but seriously, I don't remember anything. One minute I'm in my apartment and the next thing I know, I'm waking up in the bathroom." I said.
"You can't remember anything?" He asked.
"No." I said.
The door slammed opened.
"Faye! Are you ok?!" Ranko asked as she burst in.
"Ranko?!" I gasped.
"I heard you were attacked and passed out." she shouted.
"Ranko, it's the middle of the night... be quiet." Tatsuro hissed.
"Shut it Tatsuro! Who attacked you? Did you see their face?" she demanded.
"I don't remember. One minute I'm having dinner at my apartment and the next, I'm in the bathroom at work." I said.
"So someone kidnapped you from your apartment?! But why would they take you to the museum? Was it the Black Foxes?" She asked.
Ranko seemed more like a detective right now.
"Um.. I don't know, I don't think so. Why would they come after me?" I asked.
I just had to play the helpless damsel in distress, I knew it was pathetic but i couldn't think of anything else to do.
"To steal more things from the museum? Who else would it be?"
"We won't know unless we investigate further." Tatsuro said.
"That's it! Faye is coming home with us after she gets out of the hospital." Ranko declared.
"What?!" I gasped.
"Ranko?!" Tatsuro gasped.
"Aren't you worried? Faye lives all by herself. What if she's attacked again?" Ranko said.
She was so determined.
"It's ok really, it's no big deal. I'm happy to go home." I said.
"Of course it's a big deal! Look at you, you're in hospital. So, you're coming home with us. I won't take no as answer." She warned.
"Ok fine." I agreed.
"Great, I'll come pick you up tomorrow." She said.
"Ok."
I couldn't exactly say no, if I refused it would look suspicious. They thought that someone had kidnapped me, so naturally I would be scared to go home.
The next evening,
"And this is your room!" Ranko said.
I was at Ranko's and Tatsuro's house, Ranko had given me a tour and showed me to my room.
"Please make yourself at home. It's only me and Tatsuro after all." She said with a sweet smile on her face.
"Thanks." I said.
"I'm glad all your tests came out fine." she said.
"Me to."
"So what should we do for dinner? Shall we order in?" She asked.
That would be amazing, it would be just like when we were kids. Me, Ranko and Tatsuro spent our entire childhood together.
"Thanks but I need to go out for a bit so I'll just skip dinner." I said.
"No you can't. You need to rest and eat." She said.
"I won't be long, I'll be back soon." I said.
I needed to see the others as soon as possible, they were probably worried.
I headed straight to the Le Rendard Noir.
"Hey." I said as I walked through the door.
"Faye!" Boss said.
"You got released from the hospital." Kenshi said.
"Yes. Wait, how did you guy know I was in hospital?" I asked.
"We can find out stuff like that in no time." He said.
"You stayed overnight for observation right? Were all your tests ok?" Boss asked.
"Yes, thankfully." I said.
"I'm so glad!" Kenshi beamed.
"Your head feel harder since you bumped it?" Takuto asked.
"Now now Takkun, don't start." Boss said.
"I should let Riki know right away. He was really worried about you." Kenshi said.
"Is Riki ok?" I asked.
"He's fine. He got away without being seen." Boss said.
"Good." I said.
"I can't believe Togoshi showed up at the museum. What the hell was he doing there, anyway?" Kenshi asked.
"Investigating?" Takuto asked. "He went in with a key and everything."
"So he heard Stone screaming and ran to her, he took you to the hospital right?" Kenshi asked. "Did he ask you a bunch of questions?"
"He did but I pretended that I couldn't remember anything. He's under the impression that I was attacked by someone." I said.
"Might be a blessing in disguise." Kenshi said.
"Idiots always have the best luck." Takuto commented.
I poked my tongue out to him.
Boss remained silent.
"What's wrong Boss?" Kenshi asked.
"Oh nothing. I was just thinking that Tatsuro is really sharp." He said.
"What?" I asked.
"He was always nice to the kids who were bullied or who were really shy in class, wasn't he?" he asked me.
"Yeah I guess... he was kind of a teacher's pet."
"A teacher's pet.. He notices small things normal people don't, I think. Like when everyone in class was paying attention to the kids that stood out. He'd be the only one watching the kids hiding in the background. Or.. If there was a house fire, instead of just standing there gawking like everyone else, he seems like the type of person who'd want to rush in and help." Boss said.
"That's..." Kenshi began.
"Not a bad trait for a detective. Well, we'll just have to see how he is as he gets more experienced." Boss said.
I just shrugged.
My phone then started to ring, it was a phone call from Ranko.
"Hello?"
"Hey, I'm going to bed. You have the key right?" She asked.
"Yeah I do."
"Good, make sure you have something to eat." She said.
"I will, good night."
"Night!"
I hung up.
"A friend?" Boss asked.
"Yeah Ranko. Oh that's right, I moved into Tatsuro's house today."
"What?!" Everyone gasped.
"Um.. Isn't that a little risky? Living with Togoshi?" Kenshi asked.
"I thought so too but I couldn't really so no." I said.
"You better not do anything stupid." Takuto warned glaring at me.
"Oh shut up Takuto! I won't do anything stupid!" I snapped back.
"What should we do Boss?" Kenshi asked.
"Hmm.. Depending on how we look at it, this might actually give us an advantage." Boss said.
"An advantage?" I asked.
"Maybe you can find out what he's doing. He won't say anything unless you ask him, of course. So maybe you can just say things like ' You're home pretty late' or ' Where did you go tonight?' Just really casually."
I didn't like this, I was deceiving one of my best friends but did I really have a choice? We needed to know what he knew otherwise, we wouldn't be able to get all of Gramps work back.
"Fine." I agreed.
"Don't look so serious. If you don't want to do it, you don't have to." Kenshi said. "You don't want to do it because he's your friend, right?"
"No I'll do it. I can do it." I said.
"Ok just do it at your own pace." Kenshi said.
"I will, thanks."
"If you force her, she's just gonna give herself away." Takuto said. "You better not cause any trouble for us."
"I already told you, I won't." I snapped.
What was his problem? Why did he have to be a jerk all the time?
I went home a few hours later.