Chapter 2
Wednesday 10/13
The next day in school Akira was at Shujin Academy sitting outside Kawakami's classroom. Ann suddenly shot him a text.
Ann: Hey, how’s your eye?
Akira: I’ll live
Ann: That’s good!
Akira: ...
Ann: BTW...I had fun last night
Ann: Not getting beaten! I meant the date!
Akira: I had fun too
Ann: Yeah :) So..what are your plans this weekend?
Akira: This weekend?
Ann: Yeah, I was thinking we could go to a concert. There’s this new popstar that’s totally awesome!
Akira: Sure. I just need to check with the boss before I just go off and do something like that.
Ann: Sweet! It’s a date!
Meanwhile back at the cafe, Kairi sat at the counter, he had his phone out. “Hmmm...”
“What’s wrong?” Touma asked looking over from the food he was making.
“A strange app has loaded on my phone, and I can’t get rid of it.”
“Strange app?”
“Mm!” He then showed Touma the app, Touma looked closely at it.
“Yes, I got an app like that on my phone too.”
“Hm,” Kairi then brought his phone back to him, Umika walked over after having a nice conversation with some girls at a table.
“What’s up?” She asked Kairi showed her the app. Her eyes widened a bit.
“You have that app too?”
“What? You mean, you have it too?”
“Mhmm!” She nodded, she pulled out her phone and showed it to him, “It loaded yesterday.” Touma walked over and showed them the app on his phone as well. They all looked at each other.
“Makes me wonder, does Noel have it on his phone too?”
“What are you three looking at?” Sojiro asked. Kairi turned and faced him, Kairi smirked.
“Ah, nothing really, just a new game that’s come out.”
“A new game huh?”
“Yep.”
“Alright, just as long as you aren’t playing it at work I suppose it’s harmless.” Sojiro paused, “Speaking of work, where’s Noel?”
“I sent him out to get more spices,” Touma responded quickly. Sojiro nodded.
“Alright,” he smiled, “I guess the store is in good hands now. Mind if I take off?”
“Not at all! Have a nice day!” Umika said with a smile and a bow, he smiled at her.
“Sure thing, I might actually get to relax today.” He grabbed his hat and coat and then left. Kairi watched Sojiro walk off, he then smirked when he left.
“So, what do we think this is?”
“I don’t know, it’s kind of creepy,” Umika said,
“If Keiichiro and the others were here, we probably could use them to investigate it.” Kairi stretched his arms above his head. “For now, I’m gonna check it out. You two stay here.” Kairi stood up and then left the shop. He made his way to Tokyo, he looked at his phone whilst he did this. He pushed the app and it opened, suddenly everything seemed to freeze. It then pulled up a GPS. Kairi looked around before he followed the GPS directions. He followed the directions until he came to an alleyway, he walked down the alley and eventually came to a large mansion. “what the..?” He looked at his phone, then behind him, the alleyway was gone, he then turned back to the mansion. He sighed and pulled out his mask and he put it on. He then wandered into the mansion, he heard light chatter. He followed the noise until he came to a large room. He peeked into the room, there was a Gangler inside alongside a tall man. Kairi pulled out his VS Changer and quickly transformed before he walked into the room. “So, what’s going on here?!” The gangler and the man spun around.
“L-Lupinranger?!” The gangler said. The man gritted his teeth, Kairi aimed the gun forward and he fired whilst charging. He went to attack the Gangler when suddenly he was thrown against the wall and he froze to it. Kairi growled in frustration, he looked around before he saw...him.
“My, my, LupinRed. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Zamigo...” Kairi said angrily. How on Earth did Zamigo survive?! They defeated him! Right? Zamigo chuckled and he returned to his human state.
“Long time no see, old amigo.” He smiled, “How on Earth did you get here?”
“I bet you’d like to know.” Kairi tried moving, suddenly a massive power started to o9verwhelm him. He leaned forward a bit. Zamigo raised an eyebrow.
“Hm?”
"What...what is this...? I can’t move...!” Kairi thought to himself, he then dropped to his thief outfit. the ice around him melted, he grits his teeth and held his hands close to his face. ”My mask...I...I need to take it off!”
“Shall we make a contract?” A voice came followed by a chuckle, “I am thou, thou art I!”
Kairi screamed and he tore off his mask, blood spewing from his face. “Oh?′ Zamigo said with a smirk, blue flames surrounded Kairi and a Persona appeared behind him. The Persona had some form of Kimono on, a smirk on his face. A red mask appeared on Kairi’s face, looking similar to flames.
“Let’s go...” Kairi said, “Nezumi Kozo!”
Shibuya
The car screeched and then drifted to a stop. “Anyone else think this is the last time we let Lupin drive...?” A woman’s voice came. The doors opened and people stepped out. One man, a tall one with a suit, fedora, and a beard lit a cigar and put it in his mouth.
“Any clue where we are boss?” He looked to another tall man. He had on a red blazer, black pants and button-up shirt, a gold tie with a tie clip on it. He had brown hair and sideburns. He just smirked.
“I have no clue.” He put his hands in his pockets, “But I can’t wait to explore!”
After School
Akira sighed as he looked down the hall. The bell rang giving the students the sign to leave. Akira smiled and entered the classroom as the students started to leave when Kawakami spoke to him, "Akira," he looked to her, "What's the occasion?
"No reason I just wanted to come and see you.
Great! I need to talk to you." Akira smiled and nodded, "Thanks!" In time the classroom emptied. Akira slid the door to the classroom shut and he then turned to Kawakami. She wrapped her arms around him and the two began kissing. Kawakami. For the past three years or so she and Akira had kept their relationship a secret. She then pulled away from him, "Will you make it to dinner tonight...?"
"I'll try, yes."
"I see," she frowned, "Are you okay? You seemed down today, and what happened to your eye?" He sighed and walked over to the desk, he rubbed the back of his neck, "Is it a Phantom Thief thing?" The Phantom Thieves. Three years since they disbanded after killing Yaldabaoth. It wasn't when they disbanded officially, it was just a large event Akira strapped to it. Shortly after Akira returned home that summer, things changed. He changed. Arsene still spoke to him, and crime and corruption grew, even more, random small palaces showed up as did the Ganglers. The Phantom Thieves joined together again, this time using helpful gadgets, and they actually made their costumes with black market, high-grade military wear thanks to Futaba. "hey," she said walking up behind him and wrapping her arms around him, "We promised no more secrets between us. What has you down?"
"I keep slipping up," Akira said through grit teeth, "I didn't tell you but..."
"What is it?"
He shook his head and looked out the window, "Aside from me, Ann and Ryuji are the only ones left being the Phantom Thieves."
"Why?"
"I made a stupid call," he said, "We were infiltrating a palace, one of those creatures attacked...it cost the lives of Haru, Morganna, and Sumire. Yuusuke and the others blamed me, saying their deaths were my fault. I was just so obsessed with ridding the world of them, that I never once stopped to think about what the others wanted."
"I see..."
"Ryuji continuously follows me around because he's actually an idiot...and Ann," he clenched his fists, "I don't know why she even bothers following me around anymore." Kawakami smiled,
"It's because she loves you."
"Don't be ridiculous."
"I'm serious," she said, "I'm a teacher, I can tell when one student is in love with another."
"What do I do then?"
"Don't hurt her feelings." She then squeezed him a bit tightly, "And don't cheat on me either."
"I would never,"
"Just do what you think is right, if that means letting her down, then do it gently. With the stuff that's happened to her, with Kamoshida and Shiho...she's probably very fragile."
"I see," he looked down,
"Can I ask you something?"
"Yes."
"Well...you're 19, you're an adult," she blushed, "So...do you think maybe you would want to move into my place with me?" He looked over his shoulder at her, she gave a nervous smile.
"Yeah," he said, "I would have to tell my parents and move my stuff, I would also have to talk to Sojiro." She smiled,
"Great!" She buried her face into his back, he spun and wrapped his arms around her,
"Tell me, Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger, have you heard of that?"
"No," she said, "Seems like a TV show name though."
"Possibly," he reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone. He wanted to text Futaba and tell her about them and see what she could find. But since the deaths of their teammates, she seems to have locked herself in her room again. He sighed and put his phone away. "So, dinner tonight?"
"Yeah," she smiled,
"What were you thinking of making?"
"I don't know," she said scratching the back of her head, "I don't have much at my place."
"Should we go out to eat?"
"Um..." She blushed, "No, there is something I need to tell you and I don't want the whole world knowing."
"Alright," he grabbed her sleeve, "You've had this yellow sweater for so long, don't you think it's time to get a new one?"
"It still fits, why would I get rid of it?"
"It's kind of old," he said,
"Yeah, but it keeps me warm."
"I see," he then looked to her, "Why don't we go shopping for ingredients for dinner?"
"Sounds good to me, do you need to run home first and get in something more casual?"
"I could do that."
"Alright," she kissed him before she pulled away, "See you back at my place?" He nodded, "See you!" She waved and left the classroom to gather things from her office before she went home.
Cafe Leblanc
Kairi burst in the door, "Touma! Umika!"
"Kairi? What's wrong?" Umika responded,
"You were gone a long time," Touma said,
"Yeah! well, I found this place right? And it looks like a mansion or something like that! I saw tons of Ganglers, and suddenly Zamigo! I heard some voices, and then I tore my face off and suddenly I had superpowers!"
"Super...powers?" Umika said Kairi nodded twice. The door to the cafe opened followed by the ringing of the bell. Kairi jumped and spun around. "Hi! Welcome!" In had walked the group from Shibuya lead by the man in the red jacket. He smiled and walked to Kairi.
"Ah! Nice to meet you! Mind if we come in and sit? Our car broke down a while back, and we got hungry."
"Sure, not at all!"
He smiled, "Thank you." The group sat at a booth. Next to the man in the red jacket sat a busty woman in a denim shirt and pants. Across from her was a man who appeared to be dressed like a samurai, and next to him was a man with a beard and a fedora. Umika came to the group and handed out menus, the man in the red coat smiled and looked at her, "And what do they call you sweet thing?" He said with a wink. Umika's face turned bright red as she overheated and nearly fell on the floor if Kairi hadn't caught her. Kairi swallowed and he dragged Umika to a booth and laid her down.
"Seriously? We just arrived here and you're already trying to get a woman to sleep with you Lupin?" The woman asked, he just shrugged.
"I can't help it, I just have that effect on people." The man now known as Lupin responded,
"Thank god Fujiko is immune." The man in the fedora said as he pulled out a cigar and put it in his mouth lighting it shortly after.
The woman called Fujiko gave a smile, "Thank you Jigen."
Kairi swallowed and walked back over to them, "Anyways! What can I get you guys then?"
"Do you have alcohol?" Jigen asked,
"U-Uh...no."
"I see. I'll have a coffee then, black."
"Alright,"
"I'll have tea please." The man sitting next to Jigen said,
Kairi looked to him, "IS THAT A FREAKING SAMURAI?!?!?!?!?!!!!" He screamed internally, he took a deep breath, "Tea, yes of course." he then looked to Fujiko who seemed to be admiring him, she gave a soft smile,
"I'll have a tall glass of wine please." She said with a wink, Kairi inhaled sharply through his nose as chills ran up his spine, "I'm joking," she said with a playful laugh, "A mocha will be fine." Kairi nodded, and then looked to Lupin.
"I'll have what Jigen is having, but with lots of sugars please!"
Kairi nodded and looked over his shoulder, "Did you get all that Touma?"
"One tea, two black coffees, and a mocha." Touma said not looking away from what he was doing, "Yeah, I got it." Kairi looked back to the group, he swung his arms before clapping his hands together.
"He'll have that out shortly for you," He smiled and looked back to Goemon, "I got everyone else's names, but not yours. You are?"
"Goemon." He said, "Ishikawa Goemon XIII."
"Ah, Goemon." He sighed and walked into the kitchen area and stood next to Touma, "Touma."
"Hm?"
"Don't they seem suspicious to you?"
"They just seem like normal people."
"Yeah, if they were from a 50's movie!" He said, "And where's Noel?"
"He went out to help Sojiro with a few things, he should be back soon though."
The door opened, Kairi smiled, "Ah, Noel-" He walked over and saw Akira standing at the door, "Ah, Akira-San." He smiled, "What's up?"
"I just came by to get into casual clothing," Akira said, "How has business been?"
"It's been okay."
"I see," Akira went to walk upstairs when he stopped at the booth where Umika was, "Is she okay?"
"She'll be fine, she just overheated and needs time to cool off," Kairi responded,
"I see," he then walked upstairs.
"Who's that? Is that one of your kids?" Lupin asked Kairi,
"No," Kairi said, "He just lives upstairs."
"I see, quite an interesting young man."
"He is," Kairi folded his arms, "He just doesn't talk much." Lupin sighed and leaned back,
"I see," The door then came open with the chime of the door.
"Bonjour~!" Noel said as he walked in, "I ran into an old friend outside,"
"Yosha!!!" Soon Jackpot Striker flew into the room, Kairi's eyes widened.
"Jack!"
"Jack?!" Lupin sat up when he saw Jackpot Striker, Jack spun and looked to Lupin,
"L-Lupin?!" Noel then looked to Lupin,
"Lupin?!"
Lupin looked to Noel and he jumped to his feet, "Noel?!"
"You two know each other?!" Kairi said, Lupin smiled and put his hands in his pockets.
"Yeah," Lupin responded, "We know each other quite well. He is my adopted uncle after all."
"HE'S WHAT?!?!?!?!!!!" Everyone in the cafe said in unison. Noel nodded,
"Yeah, have you forgotten I am the adopted son of Arsene Lupin? Arsene had a biological son, who was my adopted brother, my brother then had a son and that is Lupin."Akira then came downstairs casually in some normal clothes. He looked around at everyone,
"What's with all the noise?" He asked,
"Nothing," Noel said, "Just a family reunion."
"I see," Jackpot Striker flew over to Akira's face and looked him up and down, Akira raised his eyebrow. He had certainly seen stranger things.
"There's something about you kid..." Jack said, "I just can't put my finger on it."
"I see," Akira responded, he then pushed Jack aside and went to the door, "I'm heading out for the rest of the night, staying at a friend's." He looked over his shoulder at Kairi, "Can you lock up?" Kairi nodded, Akira smiled, "Alright, see you." He then turned and left the Cafe. Akira walked down the alleyway and came to the back street, he stopped when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He turned his eyes widened. Makoto was kissing Futaba. "How long have you two been together...?" He asked loud enough for them to hear him. Makoto then turned and looked to Akira, Futaba quick hid behind Makoto rather embarrassed.
"A few months now, not that you would care," Makoto said with a slight glare,
"My friends are dating, why wouldn't I care?"
"Friends??? So that's what you call us? After everything we have been through, you still have the audacity to call us friends!"
"Darling...be nice to him..." Futaba said softly, "It wasn't his fault...he couldn't have stopped it." Makoto sighed and turned to Futaba.
"I'm sorry,"
Akira frowned, "Hey," Makoto then looked back to Akira, "I'm happy for you two." He said firmly, "I mean it." He then turned and walked down to the train station. He got on the train and stood in a crowd of people. He sighed and thought back. If he could have dated any of his friends, it would've been Makoto. All he wanted to do was make Makoto happy, as he thought she had a beautiful smile. Akira smiled thinking back to Makoto and Futaba. He was rather happy for them and glad they didn't let society's standards keep them from loving each other. He then thought to Kawakami and how much he loved her. After a few stops, Akira made it to his location. He walked around looking at the area.
He had been here numerous times, Kawakami's neighborhood was rather nice. HOuses, with loads of family. There was a park that had a stage where they often did Featherman stage shows for kids. Akira chuckled thinking back to the stage show, he took Futaba to one for her birthday one year. Futaba was always like the little sister Akira never had. His phone buzzed as he walked down the street, he pulled out his phone. A message from Futaba,
Futaba: Hey stranger...
Futaba: I'm sorry you had to see me like that...
Akira: You with Makoto?
Futaba: Yes...I know you used to have feelings for her...
Akira: It's fine. I am really happy for you two, honestly, I mean it.
Futaba: Really...?
Akira: Yes, society needs to stop giving us the impression that is wrong for two girls to be in love. I'm glad you were able to break through that impression.
Futaba: Yeah...I really do like her...I love her even
Akira: That's good.
Futaba: Akira...?
Akira: Yeah?
Futaba: ...
Futaba: I miss you...
Akira: I'm always next door if you need me.
Futaba: I know...
Akira: Don't be afraid to come over.
Akira looked up and saw Kawakami's house in view, he stopped for a second and looked back to his phone.
Akira: Futaba, I know I have no right to ask this, but can you do a favor for me?
Futaba: A favor...? Like what???
Akira: I need you to look into a group of people.
Futaba: Yeah, sure thing. What are their names?
Akira: Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger
Futaba: Lupinranger? Lame! Sounds like a Featherman rip off! But I will do some digging!
Akira: Thank you. Have a good night.
Futaba: You too.
Akira put his phone in his pocket and he walked up to Kawakami's house. He walked up to the porch and rang the doorbell. A few seconds passed and Kawakami then answered the door, she smiled, "Hey,"
"Hi," he looked at her shirt, it was a black t-shirt that read 'My boyfriend stole my heart' and beneath it was the Phantom Thieves logo, "Wow...that's an interesting shirt."
"Hm?" She looked down and smiled, "Yeah, I found this website where you can make a customized shirt."
"You aren't going to wear it in public...right?"
She gave a laugh, "No, it's a house shirt." She smiled before her face went serious, "Unless you want me to wear it in public."
"Um..."
"Kidding! Come on in, you must be hungry!" Akira nodded and followed Kawakami inside. His nose was pleased with the smell of food, "I wasn't sure what to make, so how does Soba and Store-Bought Sushi sound?"
"Sounds good." He said walking into the kitchen, he put his bag down on the chair at the dinner table. He looked around at the kitchen, he then looked to the fridge and saw pictures of him and Kawakami on it held up by magnets. One was of them taken from Akira's phone on the Ferris wheel, another was a strip of pictures from when they went to the amusement park, Akira really knew how to make Kawakami feel young again, there were a few others from Valentines Day and Birthdays, then there was a rather recent one. It was of Akira asleep with his head in Kawakami's lap,
"Do you like them?" She asked before he looked to her,
"Like what?"
"The pictures, do you like them?"
"Yeah," he looked back to them, "Yeah, I do."
