Chapter 7: The Games Begin
(?)
"Where am I? What happened?" These were only a couple of thoughts running through the head of one Akira Kurusu.
"Ah, you're finally awake." An all too familiar voice sounded out around the vast space he found himself in.
As he stood up, he took in his environment. All around him, as far as the eye could see, was a field of blue flowers, under a peaceful night sky.
"Come over here," the voice was that of a young woman, standing in front of a gravestone.
"What the- who are you? What is this place?"
The woman turned to him, revealing two golden eyes. "It's been a rather long time, trickster. Welcome back to the Velvet Room."
"Velvet Room? Wait… is that… you, Lavenza?"
"In the flesh." She smiled warmly. She'd clearly aged a bit since their last meeting, this time with the appearance of a 16 or 17 year old.
Akira could hardly believe it. One moment, he was blacked out, the next, he was back in the one place he thought he'd never see again. But something was bothering him.
"Wait. Why does it look like this?" He asked. He was expecting a cryptic response, but it was at least worth a try.
Lavenza simply nodded towards the gravestone, and what was written on it nearly stopped his heart.
HERE LIES AKIRA KURUSU
1999-2019
"What?! I'm…"
"…Dead? In a way, yes."
"What the hell does that-"
Lavenza held her hand up to silence him. "Come with me. We have much to discuss."
(Safe House, Morning)
*Beep Beep - Beep Beep*
The alarm clock was audible throughout the otherwise silent house.
"Five more minutes…" Ryuji whined from the couch. He slowly opened his eyes…
…only to see the monkey-like face of Lupin staring right at him, mere inches from his face.
"Ah!"
"Good, you're up. C'mon, we've got work to do."
"Alright, alright. By the way, what's with the new look?"
Lupin was now wearing a red jacket, over a blue dress shirt and pink tie. "Felt like changing things up a bit."
"How many jackets do ya even have?"
"Don't ask questions you don't wanna know the answer to."
"…Point taken. Anyway, what are we doing today?"
Lupin's face turned serious. "We need to find the killer, and I know exactly where to start."
Ryuji's eyebrows shot up. "Really? Where?"
"Alright, listen. If we're gonna get this guy, we need a plan."
"So, what do ya have in mind?"
(Tokyo Metropolitan Police Station, 9:00 PM)
*RING RING*
*CLICK*
"Yes? Inspector Zenigata speaking," he said boredly.
"Hello, inspector, whatcha doing back at the station? Interpol's a bit too much for ya?"
Makoto was sitting right across the room from Zenigata, so when his eyebrows nearly rocketed off of his face, she was understandably surprised. "Who is it?"
"That voice… how in the HELL didja get ahold of this number, ya monkey-faced idiot?!"
Makoto quickly began tracing the call, hoping to find Lupin.
"Got a little help," the thief replied casually. "You REALLY need to up your game with security, pops."
"Got it!" Makoto whispered, her tracing job complete.
"Ah-hah!" Zenigata shouted. "Well, yuk it up while you still can, wise guy! We managed to trace this call, and we're on our way to your location!"
"Really?" Lupin feigned surprise. "Well, I'm sure you won't have to look far."
Hearing this, Zenigata quickly ran to his window and looked out.
There wasn't much to see. It was pretty late, so there weren't many people outside the station. But one of the few people there caught Zenigata's attention. Sure enough, right across the street, smack dab in the middle of the sidewalk, was Lupin III.
The inspector, with Makoto following close behind, rushed down the stairs, out the door, and across the street, only to find that somehow Lupin had completely vanished in moments.
Well, almost completely.
Makoto saw a shogi piece carefully placed into a crack in the sidewalk, and picked it up. "What the…"
Something dawned on Zenigata. "Wait. Turn it over." Sure enough, on the back, was a short message, targeted at Makoto.
"Isn't it past your bedtime, little girl?"
Her eyes burned with fury, every muscle in her body was shaking, and the air around her seemed ready to burst into flames. That message caused something to snap, finally pushing her to her breaking point. Through her rage, she could only scream one word into the night.
"LUUUPIIIN!"
(Sakura Residence)
Futaba had been playing video games, waiting for a response from the thieves.
"How long are they gonna take-"
"Sakura, it's me," Lupin said through a communicator he'd given her earlier.
"Yeah? What's going on?"
"Warn the others. Makoto Niijima is working with the fuzz, and she's PISSED."
"What did ya do?"
"Let's just say that she REALLY hates being called a little girl."
The front door suddenly began rattling. "Oh no."
"Sakura? You all right?"
"Someone's trying to break in. I gotta go."
She cut the communication, moments before the unmistakable sound of the door being kicked off of its hinges was heard throughout the house.
"Who's there?!" She asked, her voice trembling.
A man in a police uniform had entered the house, and drew his gun when he noticed Futaba. She ran back up the stairs, as a bullet grazed her shoulder. The cop ran after her, and cornered her in her room. "Niijima-san told us where to find ya. You're under arrest. Try to run, and you're history."
On instinct, she tried to push past the officer and escape. He raised his gun, ready to fire…
*SLASH*
…but the shot never came. His weapon's barrel fell to the floor, perfectly sliced off.
"What?" The officer was stunned. He turned around, seeing the girl's protector run away, with her following him with her hand gripping his.
In an effort to pursue them, he exited the room, only to find a gun pressed against the side of his head. He looked sideways, to see who was threatening him.
An older man in a barista outfit, a dark fedora pulled over his eyes, was holding a simple handgun to the cop's temple.
"Don't follow them, unless you WANT to get an express trip to hell."
Outside, Futaba stopped. She looked up at the man who'd just saved her, before hugging him tightly, tears uncontrollably streaming down her face. And after a moment, the man returned the embrace. Through her tears, she said one simple phrase. "T-thank you, Goemon."