~~000~~
Tales of the Multiverse Bit 243
"You assist him!
"No, you lend him a hand!"
"I refuse to aid someone like him!"
"Well, I won't help because you won't assist someone like him!"
As Kouta Fujiki and Sora Aozora engaged in yet another senseless argument, prompting Crusher the Highland Goat, Marcus Reservoir, Sharpshooter Jane and Soaphie Lapislazuli to assist Owen Brannons in safely descending from a tree branch.
~~000~~
Upon their arrival at the Art Museum, the DAN Army members, accompanied by Chrys Heart and Romance Detective, discovered that the vase had disappeared once more.
"She's stolen the vase again!" Romance Detective exclaimed.
"Damn it!" Brick McArthur cursed.
"But where's our thief?" Chrys asked.
Mandy Rosal then suddenly spotted a diminutive silhouette cautiously moving from a corner. As she examined it closely, she identified the figure, "Ah!" she yelped out loud, "Look over there!" she beckoned, "That's her!" she pointed out.
The figure is a little girl with a short stature, she had a slim build and a fair complexion, she has a short orange hair, she has an orange-colored tareme eyes and has freckles on her face. She wears a purple long-sleeved shirt underneath a yellow blouse with orange stripes, gray cargo pants and sneakers. She also wears a yellow bandana around her neck and a black backpack. This is Romance Thief.
Thief
Romance Thief
"Ack!" the girl gasped in surprise before swiftly exiting the museum.
"Hey!" Dan Mandel roared, "Get back here, you little piece of shit!" he demanded.
"You won't get away!" Chrys exclaimed.
The entire group chased after the young thief, they sprinted outside and reached the streets but there was no trace of the thief.
"Where is she?!" Dan demanded, "Where did she go?!" he growled, "Where?!" he piped, "Where?!" he repeated, "Where did she go?!" he exclaimed while looking around.
"She's so fast!" Chrys exclaimed in shock.
"Well..." Denton "16-Years Old" Gibson trailed, "... small people tends to be faster." he commented.
"But which way did she go?" Trixie Lulamoon asked.
"Any ideas, Detective?" Elise Pearson asked.
Romance Detective tips her rose, "I know where she's headed." she claimed, "Follow me!" she beckoned.
The group then proceeded to follow Romance Detective.
At the Love Bloomery, the thief made a mad dash inside and collided with Stephan Lersch.
"Gah!" the thief let's out a shrieked.
"Hey, hey, slow down." Stephan beckoned with a smile, "You shouldn't run indoors, okay?" he advised.
"I-I'm s-s-sorry...'' the thief blabbered with a flustered face.
Stephan then recognized the kid, "Oh, you're..." he was about point out who she is when he noticed something in her hands, "Wait, what's that you're holding?'' he asked.
"N-Nothing...'' the thief lied.
The Love Bloomery was then reached by the entire group simultaneously.
"We've got her cornered!" Romance Detective announced.
"Surrender now or we'll have your life forfeited!" Dan warned.
"Dan!" Chris Pearson exclaimed in horror, "She's still a child!" he chastised.
"I was just scaring her!" Dan justified.
"Tch!" the thief click her tongue.
Just as she was going to start running once more, Stephan intervened and prevented her from doing so, "Hold your horses, little lady.'' he beckoned.
"There's nowhere left for you to run!" Romance Detective exclaimed.
Out of nowhere, the thief burst into tears, for some inexplicable reasons
"What the?!" Ninja Dave Bauza squawked, "Are you supposed to cry when you get caught?!" he questioned in disbelief.
"I find it adorable." Honne Nohotoke admitted.
"Why're you guys tryin so hard to stop me?!" the thief cried out, "It's not like I'm stealin' to be bad!" she reasoned, "I just wanted t-to... " she tried to explain until, "UWAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" she cried even harder.
"Jesus, Jesus!" Denton exclaimed in panic, "Calm down, little girl!" he pleaded.
"Detective, you made her cry...'' Chrys pointed out.
"Shame on you, Miss Detective." Stephan chastised.
Romance Detective covered her face with her hat, "I-I am not the villain here...'' she muttered.
"What about, Dan?" Shuuhei Shinozaki pointed out, "He threatened her." he reminded.
Dan raised an eyebrow, "And should I really care?" he questioned indecorously.
Isamu Oohori rolled his eyes in response, "Of course, you don't" he muttered.
"But what's exactly going on here?" Stephan asked, "Everyone comes running into my shop and suddenly you make a poor little girl cry, sounding all threatening like that.'' he stated.
"We're sorry, sir." Chrys apologized, "But she's the one who stole the vase from yesterday." she reasoned.
"Is that true, little lady?'' Stephan inquired.
The thief looks down, "Y-Yeah, I-I stole it..." she admitted nervously, "Twice now because..." she muttered and then she started sobbing again.
"Is is that hard to tell the reason why she stole vase so much that it made her cry?" Ninja Dave uttered in disbelief.
"That depends." Brick replied.
"Hey, hey, it's gonna be alright.'' Stephan reassured, "Cry as much as you need to.'' he beckoned.
"If this place ends up underwater from all the crying, it's on you for not knowing how to swim." Dan quipped with a blank look.
"S-Stop bein' so nice to me!" the thief berated, "That's the whole reason why I'm in this mess!" she pointed out.
"A-Ah, is that so?'' Stephan uttered in surprise.
"Huh?" Chrys uttered in surprise, "What's going on here?" she asked, "You two have met before?" she assumed.
"Yeah, but..." the thief trailed, "... just one time, I guess." she recalled.
The Romance Detective, who had been quiet for a while, finally spoke up, "Explain yourself, Romance Thief!" she beckoned, "Tell us the reason you stole the vase." she furthered, "And why do you keep it bringing here?!" she concluded.
The thief remained silent until Stephan addressed her, "Go on, little lady." he beckoned, "I'd like to hear that side of your story too.'' he admitted.
"O-Okay, I'll start from the beginning..." the thief trailed, "... here goes." she sighed, "One time..." she trailed once more, "When I was out with my friends, y'see they all had bikes but I had just my roller shoes and no matter how much I shouted at them to wait for me, they kept laughin' and goin' farther and farther til I got totally lost." she explained, "I-I didn't cry or nothin!" she squawked, "Cause I'm tough!" she claimed.
"You just cried a moment ago, though." Denton quipped, earning a smack at the back of his head, courtesy of Trixie.
"A-anyway, I ended up passin' by this flower shop trying to find my way back and that's when this guy walked out..." the thief explained further while referring to Stephan, "He was so big, I got scared and hid in the alley behind a trash can but then he walked right by me and started talkin' to someone." she furthered, "But no one's there when I went to hide!" she shared, "So I peeked over the trash can and well..." she trailed.
"Is that really the end of the story?" Chris asked.
The thief shook her head, "There was a little kitty cat in a cardboard box that he was taking' care of." she shared.
"Funny place to be taking care of a cat." Romance Detective commented.
"Quite cliche if you ask Trixie." Trixie quipped.
"I'm not allowed to have any pets at home." Stephan admitted.
"It was weird, wasn't it?" the thief uttered out loud, "His muscles are so big that he can throw the kitty all the way to the sun!" she described, "But he didn't!" she exclaimed, "He just petted it!" she recalled.
"I would never throw a kitten into the sun." Stephan said.
"I would throw kitties to the sun, except for Mr. Mumbles." Dan stated with a casual smile.
"Sure, you would." Elise said, rolling her eyes.
"Continue." Romance Detective presses on.
"While I was watchin' him, he got up to go back inside and I got scared that he'd see me, so I ducked back down to my hidin' spot but then I hit my elbow on the trash can and gave me away..." the thief continued, "But he didn't get mad that I was spyin' on him, he just asked if I'm lost and he could help to get back home." she stated, "So he called my parents and waited with me until they got here." she finished.
"Okay, okay." Chrys acknowledged, "He's a very nice man." he admitted, "But what does that had anything to do with the stolen vase?'' she asked.
"Romance Cop..." Romance Detective trailed, "... if you can't even see the answer to that, then you need more training." she stated.
"What made you think about taking the vase?'' Mandy asked.
"I-I wanted to do something nice for him!" the thief reasoned, "So I thought, maybe I could get him a prettier pot to put his flowers in!" she stated, "Except my allowance can't buy me something nice like that." she admitted, "And then, well..." she trailed, "... this is gonna sound weird but I heard a voice in my head tellin' me to steal one instead." she shared.
"That's concerning..." Chrys uttered in concern.
"Yeah, you should have your head check." Ninja Dave suggested.
"Well it's true!" the thief insisted, "But even though I did ended up stealing it, I got too scared to give it to him in person.'' she admitted.
"So you left it somewhere, so he could find it." Romance Detective pointed out.
"Yup." the thief confirmed, "But he gave it back to you guys, so I had to steal it back." she stated.
"I still don't understand how a child was able to break into a museum on her own and in broad daylight this time." Chrys stated in confusion.
"Yeah, I'm pretty good at sneakin' around, huh?!" the thief boasted.
"Do we arrest her?" Chrys asked.
"By all means." Dan replied with a blank look.
"No, don't send me to jail!" the thief cried out in panic, "I'm really sorry!" she apologized, "I won't steal ever again, I swear!" she begged.
"We won't send you to jail." Romance Detective reassured, "But here this..." she trailed and at the same time Trixie puts on her headphones, "You should never commit crimes!" the shades-wearing maiden exclaimed, "Even if it's for love..." she trailed.
"As much how weird as it sounds, she has a point." Elise admitted.
"OH MY GOD, SHE'S A SENIORPHILE!" Oohori and Shinozaki exclaimed in horror.
"The heck is a seniorphile?" Kafuu Kalawaiʻa questioned.
Stephan shook his head in surprise, "So you stole the vase for me because you like me?" he pointed out.
The thief's face flustered in response, "I-I, yeah..." she admitted.
"I'm sorry, little lady." Stephan expressed in apology, "I'm afraid I'm already spoke for." he shared.
The thief sighed in response, "It's okay..." she reassured, "I never shoulda liked you in the first place." she uttered.
"No." Romance Detective quipped, "That's not right." she berated, "Never apologized for being in love." she advised.
"B-But all of this was a little overboard, don't you think, detective?" Chrys pointed out.
"Even so." Romance Detective insisted, "Do you understand what I've told you, Romance Thief?" she asked.
"My name is Daisy." the thief introduced herself, "I don't want to be called a thief anymore..." she trailed, "... or become a thief again." she added.
"That's good." Dan acknowledged, "We don't need a future Carmen San Diego stealing stuffs around the universe." he pointed out.
"Or a Rhythm Thief, or a Sly Cooper, or Arsene Lupin the Third or..." Chris listed off but Elise placed a hand on his mouth.
"We get it Chris." Elise said.
"Very well, Daisy." Romance Detective acknowledged, "You should head home now." she beckoned, "And if you stray from the rightful path again..." she trailed, "... my partner, myself and our friends will be here to lead you back." she declared, "Remember that.'' she concluded.
"Wow, so we're promoted from subordinates to friends." Kafuu said in surprise.
Daisy nodded in response, "Okay, thanks for not takin' me to jail...'' she expressed in gratitude.
Chrys smiled in response, "Jeez, Detective, what's with you acting so cool, all this time?" she thought when her eyes widen in realization, "A-And when did I started thinking about you anyway?" she uttered in confusion.
"Let's go, Romance Cop and friends." Romance Detective beckoned, "We must report back to the chief." she stated.
"Oh, yes, yes!" Chrys squawked in surprise, "Of course!" she yelped.
After that, the flower shop was empty as everyone departed, Daisy headed in the opposite direction and that's when Dan came up to her.
"Hey, kid!" Dan called out.
Daisy stops and turns to him nervously. "Y-Yes...'' she squeaked.
Dan then pulled out tons of cash from his wallet and handed it to her, "Buy him something nice." he beckoned.
Daisy was taken aback by the amount of money Dan gave her, "W-What?!" she squawked, "But ain't this your money?!" she asked in shock.
"I only get money when I need it, but I don't need it right now, so it's better that I gave it to you." Dan said before walking away. "Spend it wisely." he advised.
Daisy stares at the money in her hands before letting out a smile, "Thank you very much!" she expressed in gratitude while Dan waves his hand in response.
Bzzzttt...
Later in the day, all the people gathered around the streets while Romance Detective began to speak.
"A voice in her head...'' Romance Detective muttered.
"Did you say something?" Chrys asked.
"The scientist from yesterday..." Romance Detective reminded, "... he said something about a voice in his head, too." he pointed out.
"Oh, wait a minute!" Brick quipped in realization, "You're right!" he squawked in agreement.
"That's weird." Kafuu commented
"He was kinda crazy." Chrys reasoned, "Anyway, I'm sure it's just a way to escape the guilt of bad decision making." she stated.
"I don't know, Chrys." Mandy interjected, "I find it strange too, so I believe the detective is up to something here." she admitted.
Romance Detective nodded in response, "Yes, I believe that there's some sort of outside influence and whatever it is, it feeds of love." she explained.
"How can you tell?" Chrys asked.
"Instinct." Romance Detective replied without a beat, "There's someone we need to talk to..." she trailed.
"Um, yes, we we're just going to speak to the chief, weren't we?'' Chrys pointed out.
"I'll leave that to you." Romance Detective beckoned, "Meet me back at the cafe after sunset." she ordered.
"But we already solved the c-" Chrys tried to say but was interrupted.
"Be there." Romance Detective concluded before leaving.
"I guess the case isn't over yet." Elise declared.
"Well, the detective knows something amiss, so this case is definitely far from done." Ninja Dave stated.
Chrys remained quiet, "Detective, I still don't understand you at all." she thought, "But I don't mind being your partner for a little while longer." she admitted with a smile.
A/N: Inspired from someonestupED, damnlastwords, Jamesdean5842, Hope the Victor and Ace Neptune. All OCs and concepts not created by moi were given permission for me to use by it's respected creators.