And the gayness continues
Part 3 out of 4 of this ridiculous AU thing I've really got to stop this. Kind-of spoilers for 5Ds, and cameos from DC people aha aha aha--
It was a well-known fact that criminals didn't stop for Security. No one in Satellite stopped for Security, and Crow wasn't about to be the first who did.
Normally, anyway, but things were far from normal right now; he had the broken ribs and the loss of his kids to prove it. There were Dark Signers, Yusei had just returned unscathed from the light of Momentum and a fall that should have killed him, and the whole thing had already taken the life he knew and upended it mercilessly. So when he saw the officer half-seated, half-slumped against the ruins of yet another crumbled building, Crow hesitated. He'd been sent to find Jack and escort him to where the rest of the group was headed, but he'd never been one to leave a potentially injured and helpless person alone. That decided, he changed his course, stopping Blackbird right in front of the figure and jumping off to approach him.
"Hey, are you okay?" The officer's posture was limp, almost deflated-- or maybe that was just because this one lacked the heavy build most of the ones he'd dueled had possessed. Frowning now, Crow reached out and gave the closest shoulder a shake, and received only a faint groan. "Hey!!"
When the officer gave no response, he took matters into his own hands and lifted the helmet off.
And stared.
And then proceeded to stare some more until he remembered he possessed the ability to speak.
"Kazuha?!"
Sure enough, it was Kazuha under the helmet, although she was much paler than he would have liked. What had originally been concern for a total stranger developed into concern with a touch of panic, and he took hold of both shoulders to give her a firm shake. "Kazuha, hey! Wake up!"
A few seconds of shaking did the trick; Kazuha opened her eyes and drew in a breath, then blinked tiredly at the one crouching in front of her. She started to speak, then winced and pressed a hand to her throat as she coughed. The voice that emerged was hoarse, but undoubtedly hers. "Crow... kun?"
"Yeah, it's me."
She appeared to be scrutinizing him, taking in the scratches and injuries, the new tears in his clothes. His grip steadied her, and slowly, she heaved a sigh. "Good... you're okay."
"You were worrying about me?" He helped her to sit up straighter before he returned his hands to her shoulders. "What-- what happened? What the hell are you doing here? Why are you dressed like that? How--"
Kazuha held out a hand to stay his questions, eyes meeting his. Recognizing the expression of one who had a story to tell, Crow fell silent, but didn't break the gaze and instead gave her shoulders a slight squeeze of encouragement. She looked as though she needed an anchor at the moment. She gave him a grateful smile, and began.
-----
Maybe there were some things that could be covered up, but the disappearance of hundreds of people in one night wasn't one of them-- and especially not when two of that number consisted of her father and Heiji. Her father had been on duty, while Heiji, always eager for information pertaining to criminal activity, had discovered something. It was big, he'd told her excitedly, and he'd tell her about it later, but he needed to ask around and "verify validity", or something like that.
And now he was gone. They were both gone. Half of Neo Domino was gone.
Her mother was of no help; if anything, Kazuha was looked upon to be the responsible one, all while expected to be the obedient daughter who didn't go out at such a dangerous time. She'd balked, of course-- she and her mother had never been very close, because the lifestyle her mother lived was different from the one her daughter knew. While it had originally been just to keep up with Heiji, Kazuha's interests lay within Security's work, the apprehension of dangerous criminal, and the solving of cases. She attended her mother's friend's parties and could be considered a sociable girl, but ultimately, Kazuha preferred other activities. Heiji's influence, her mother believed, and was probably right. The woman's only comfort was that her daughter was a romantic at heart, and did enjoy things like shopping and hanging out with female friends. The aikido practice was for self-defense and her increasing interest in D-Wheels could be overlooked for now.
But this was something else entirely. Frantic for new developments concerning the people who'd disappeared, Kazuha continued to speak to the officers who'd worked under her father, but none of them would offer much besides condolences and attempts to cheer her up.
"Stay at home, Kazuha-chan," Ohtaki, a friend of her father and Heiji's, finally warned her. "This business has been taken to Satellite now."
Satellite? Far from being reassured, Kazuha's worries only increased. She'd lost a father and a best friend. Did that mean that, without knowing it, she'd also lost someone else important? What had happened to Crow?
-- § --
It was an unlikely but all too real relationship that had formed between girl and thief, as desperately as Kazuha had tried to cut any and all interaction short. But Crow's card heists always seemed to coincide with the time that Kazuha spent organizing the cards, so that she would turn around and he would be right there, grinning and irritatingly smug. Duels usually ensued, which he always won, and she would usually have some item of food with her that he'd claim as a prize before he took off sprinting. After the first few meetings, news of his steals reached her, conveniently when she wasn't there. When he did show up, he never took anything-- except the food, which she'd began making more of anyway. He never stayed long, and in return, she never called for help. These meetings were rare as it was. On top of that, when she went in to fix the cards, she'd sometimes find little notes and drawings: things like "the riceballs were great" and one signed by all of his kids. She never spoke of them, but she never threw any of them away, either.
This continued for nearly half a year, until one of the Security officers found them in the warehouse. Unfortunately, this particular officer was one who had once seen this thief take off with this girl as a captive, and the fact that they were together now didn't fail to raise suspicion.
"What's your interest in her?" he'd snapped, eyes flicking between Crow and Kazuha (who was now tied up on the floor, thanks to the thief's quick thinking, and none too happy about it).
Crow was silent for several minutes, and there had been a careful ease to his tone.
"She's cute, that's it," he'd answered finally. "Hell, get someone cuter to work for you and I'll leave this one alone in a heartbeat. You guys sure get riled up about it, so that's an added bonus."
He'd taken advantage of the officer's sputtering to run, but not before he'd glanced back at Kazuha.
The furious look she gave him in return was dampened only by the tears in her eyes, and they'd turned their heads away at the same time. He ran. She remained.
She didn't show up to the warehouse on any of the nights after that, and two conclusions were reached that it was for the best. And two sets of doubts about the validity of that conclusion were suppressed.
Kazuha had only broached the subject to a friend of hers, having dropped by to visit while she was babysitting. And even then, it had been vague. "Guys never think before they open their mouths," she'd complained. "All they care about is saying and doing whatever they want, and they don't care who they hurt--"
"Well," Ran began, placating, "it's--"
"Maybe because that's how they show they do care?" Conan set aside his comic book, blinking at the two girls with innocent blue eyes and a sweet smile.
Kazuha blinked as well. "What do you mean, Conan-kun?"
"Maybe you'd get even more hurt if they told the truth." He gave Ran a glance, and Kazuha wondered at the sudden sadness in the gesture. "So by lying or saying hurtful things... maybe someone was trying to protect you, Kazuha-neechan."
-- § --
Conan had said nothing more on the topic, and it wasn't that she could ask him for clarification now, since the seven-year-old was also among the missing. But she hadn't forgotten, and Kazuha mulled the meaning of his words over as she entered the warehouse for the first time in months. She didn't feel quite like doing her usual work in there, but it would serve as a distraction. She shouldn't worry. Crow was probably fine, and it wasn't like he actually cared about her, so why should she? He was--
"Hm?" As she brushed a hand over the trap cards to clear the dust away, her fingers caught against a piece of paper tucked in between two of them. When she pulled it free and glanced at it, there were only two words scrawled on it.
Only two words, but it was due to those words that Kazuha realized what she was going to do from that point on.
She wasn't going to lose another person. And if she had to go to Satellite to guarantee that, so be it.
-----
Crow was silent, listening with an expression akin to awe as Kazuha recounted the rest: how she'd feverishly worked to tailor one of her father's spare uniforms to fit just enough, how she'd used connections to get into Satellite and made her way over there in disguise ("Because no one would see Security going over there and think it was strange"), the strange duels she'd been in where the damage had been acutely felt, and the black fog that had overtaken her right after she'd narrowly won her last duel.
The thief stopped her then, and his grip was so tight that Kazuha made a noise of protest. "Wait-- that fog? It got you? What happened in there?"
"Fingers," she muttered first, and he immediately relaxed them. "And I don't really know how to explain it."
"Try."
She shivered and her eyes took on a dazed glimmer. "It felt like years passed, but then it was seconds. I couldn't see anything, or speak, or hear... but there was this incredible pressure. Like everyone in the world was screaming in agony, and instead of hearing it, I felt it. I thought I'd be crushed."
She was trembling even more now and Crow moved his hands around to her back, soothingly rubbing the tension out of her muscles. "Shit," he murmured, for lack of anything else to say at first. "I didn't think you'd get involved in this mess. My kids got taken, too... I wasn't there to protect them, and now they're--"
"Probably back by now."
He blinked and stilled his hands. "Huh?"
The brunette stared at him patiently. "I'm here, aren't I? I came out near here, and then my memory gets kinda misty. You came, and I woke up. And if I'm here, don't you think that whoever the fog took came back as well? Your kids included. Maybe not everyone came back, but it's worth a shot."
Crow breathed out slowly, a wondering smile appearing. After a minute, however, he groaned and released her to smack his forehead. "I told Yusei I'd go meet up with Jack, in case he needed help, but if the kids are back, they're-- they're probably scared as hell right now--"
"Then I'll go." Ignoring his surprised stare, Kazuha pushed herself up a little straighter. "Whatever's going on with you, you need to deal with it, and it's not like I can go home right now. I remember the area well enough, so I'll go find your kids and stay with 'em."
"Kazuha..." His surprise didn't fade. "Are you sure about this? You're not in the best shape right now, not to mention you've lost people, too. I mean, I don't even get why you'd come out here, and now this?"
Kazuha raised an eyebrow, smiling wanly but with the air of someone who wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Because we're friends, idiot."
Something in Crow's expression changed, subtly. Had she been given time to examine it, she might have been able to put a name to it, but he didn't grant her the opportunity. His helmet collided with her forehead as he suddenly leaned closer, provoking a wince on her end and a curse or two on his as he lifted it off and tossed it behind him. His gray eyes were dark and his voice was low, the tone soft but demanding.
"Say that again, Kazuha."
She blinked. "What, that we're friends--"
Crow surged forward, and her head nearly met the building if his arm hadn't cushioned it, but Kazuha wasn't thinking about that, because his mouth was hot against hers and she felt both lightheaded and wide awake, thoughts racing far too fast for her to hold on to a single one, and his lips were coaxing a funny stirring inside of her, some tiny noises that she couldn't control, like how she couldn't control her response towards him, her fingers clutching at his shoulders.
When he pulled back, Kazuha was gratified to find that she wasn't the only one breathing hard. There was a ragged quality to Crow's breathing, and he winced and laid a hand against his ribs for a moment.
"Do you do that with all your friends?" she couldn't help asking, because her mind seemed to be entirely disconnected from the rest of her body just then.
Crow laughed, and the tension between them lightened. "You're a little different."
She nodded weakly.
He reached out to ruffle her hair, a familiar, affectionate gesture that brought a lump to her throat for some reason. "Stay safe. I'll tell you everything after this - and it's gonna take awhile - but I swear if I come back and you've gotten yourself killed, I'll haul your ass back and kill you again myself."
Kazuha snorted and waved him off, finally pushing herself to her feet. "Go. You've got bigger things to worry about, and don't even think about worrying over me. I'll keep an eye on your kids, so make sure you've got a good story to tell 'em when you get back."
Crow gazed at her, and for a moment, she thought he might try to kiss her again-- but then he grinned and went to retrieve his helmet. "You'd better believe it. See you later, Kazuha."
She crooked her fingers in a half-wave, watching as Blackbird sped off until it was a tiny speck and then, nothing.
"... See you later, Spiky-han."
-----
The youngest had dozed off in her arms hours ago with the others slowly following suit in varying states of anxiety and fright. So it was that, surrounded by sleeping children, Kazuha lifted her head to watch the dawn break and thought she saw something large and bright flying into the distance.
"Good job, Crow-kun," she whispered, and settled back in one of the corners to sleepily await his return.
It was a well-known fact that criminals didn't stop for Security. No one in Satellite stopped for Security, and Crow wasn't about to be the first who did.
Normally, anyway, but things were far from normal right now; he had the broken ribs and the loss of his kids to prove it. There were Dark Signers, Yusei had just returned unscathed from the light of Momentum and a fall that should have killed him, and the whole thing had already taken the life he knew and upended it mercilessly. So when he saw the officer half-seated, half-slumped against the ruins of yet another crumbled building, Crow hesitated. He'd been sent to find Jack and escort him to where the rest of the group was headed, but he'd never been one to leave a potentially injured and helpless person alone. That decided, he changed his course, stopping Blackbird right in front of the figure and jumping off to approach him.
"Hey, are you okay?" The officer's posture was limp, almost deflated-- or maybe that was just because this one lacked the heavy build most of the ones he'd dueled had possessed. Frowning now, Crow reached out and gave the closest shoulder a shake, and received only a faint groan. "Hey!!"
When the officer gave no response, he took matters into his own hands and lifted the helmet off.
And stared.
And then proceeded to stare some more until he remembered he possessed the ability to speak.
"Kazuha?!"
Sure enough, it was Kazuha under the helmet, although she was much paler than he would have liked. What had originally been concern for a total stranger developed into concern with a touch of panic, and he took hold of both shoulders to give her a firm shake. "Kazuha, hey! Wake up!"
A few seconds of shaking did the trick; Kazuha opened her eyes and drew in a breath, then blinked tiredly at the one crouching in front of her. She started to speak, then winced and pressed a hand to her throat as she coughed. The voice that emerged was hoarse, but undoubtedly hers. "Crow... kun?"
"Yeah, it's me."
She appeared to be scrutinizing him, taking in the scratches and injuries, the new tears in his clothes. His grip steadied her, and slowly, she heaved a sigh. "Good... you're okay."
"You were worrying about me?" He helped her to sit up straighter before he returned his hands to her shoulders. "What-- what happened? What the hell are you doing here? Why are you dressed like that? How--"
Kazuha held out a hand to stay his questions, eyes meeting his. Recognizing the expression of one who had a story to tell, Crow fell silent, but didn't break the gaze and instead gave her shoulders a slight squeeze of encouragement. She looked as though she needed an anchor at the moment. She gave him a grateful smile, and began.
-----
Maybe there were some things that could be covered up, but the disappearance of hundreds of people in one night wasn't one of them-- and especially not when two of that number consisted of her father and Heiji. Her father had been on duty, while Heiji, always eager for information pertaining to criminal activity, had discovered something. It was big, he'd told her excitedly, and he'd tell her about it later, but he needed to ask around and "verify validity", or something like that.
And now he was gone. They were both gone. Half of Neo Domino was gone.
Her mother was of no help; if anything, Kazuha was looked upon to be the responsible one, all while expected to be the obedient daughter who didn't go out at such a dangerous time. She'd balked, of course-- she and her mother had never been very close, because the lifestyle her mother lived was different from the one her daughter knew. While it had originally been just to keep up with Heiji, Kazuha's interests lay within Security's work, the apprehension of dangerous criminal, and the solving of cases. She attended her mother's friend's parties and could be considered a sociable girl, but ultimately, Kazuha preferred other activities. Heiji's influence, her mother believed, and was probably right. The woman's only comfort was that her daughter was a romantic at heart, and did enjoy things like shopping and hanging out with female friends. The aikido practice was for self-defense and her increasing interest in D-Wheels could be overlooked for now.
But this was something else entirely. Frantic for new developments concerning the people who'd disappeared, Kazuha continued to speak to the officers who'd worked under her father, but none of them would offer much besides condolences and attempts to cheer her up.
"Stay at home, Kazuha-chan," Ohtaki, a friend of her father and Heiji's, finally warned her. "This business has been taken to Satellite now."
Satellite? Far from being reassured, Kazuha's worries only increased. She'd lost a father and a best friend. Did that mean that, without knowing it, she'd also lost someone else important? What had happened to Crow?
-- § --
It was an unlikely but all too real relationship that had formed between girl and thief, as desperately as Kazuha had tried to cut any and all interaction short. But Crow's card heists always seemed to coincide with the time that Kazuha spent organizing the cards, so that she would turn around and he would be right there, grinning and irritatingly smug. Duels usually ensued, which he always won, and she would usually have some item of food with her that he'd claim as a prize before he took off sprinting. After the first few meetings, news of his steals reached her, conveniently when she wasn't there. When he did show up, he never took anything-- except the food, which she'd began making more of anyway. He never stayed long, and in return, she never called for help. These meetings were rare as it was. On top of that, when she went in to fix the cards, she'd sometimes find little notes and drawings: things like "the riceballs were great" and one signed by all of his kids. She never spoke of them, but she never threw any of them away, either.
This continued for nearly half a year, until one of the Security officers found them in the warehouse. Unfortunately, this particular officer was one who had once seen this thief take off with this girl as a captive, and the fact that they were together now didn't fail to raise suspicion.
"What's your interest in her?" he'd snapped, eyes flicking between Crow and Kazuha (who was now tied up on the floor, thanks to the thief's quick thinking, and none too happy about it).
Crow was silent for several minutes, and there had been a careful ease to his tone.
"She's cute, that's it," he'd answered finally. "Hell, get someone cuter to work for you and I'll leave this one alone in a heartbeat. You guys sure get riled up about it, so that's an added bonus."
He'd taken advantage of the officer's sputtering to run, but not before he'd glanced back at Kazuha.
The furious look she gave him in return was dampened only by the tears in her eyes, and they'd turned their heads away at the same time. He ran. She remained.
She didn't show up to the warehouse on any of the nights after that, and two conclusions were reached that it was for the best. And two sets of doubts about the validity of that conclusion were suppressed.
Kazuha had only broached the subject to a friend of hers, having dropped by to visit while she was babysitting. And even then, it had been vague. "Guys never think before they open their mouths," she'd complained. "All they care about is saying and doing whatever they want, and they don't care who they hurt--"
"Well," Ran began, placating, "it's--"
"Maybe because that's how they show they do care?" Conan set aside his comic book, blinking at the two girls with innocent blue eyes and a sweet smile.
Kazuha blinked as well. "What do you mean, Conan-kun?"
"Maybe you'd get even more hurt if they told the truth." He gave Ran a glance, and Kazuha wondered at the sudden sadness in the gesture. "So by lying or saying hurtful things... maybe someone was trying to protect you, Kazuha-neechan."
-- § --
Conan had said nothing more on the topic, and it wasn't that she could ask him for clarification now, since the seven-year-old was also among the missing. But she hadn't forgotten, and Kazuha mulled the meaning of his words over as she entered the warehouse for the first time in months. She didn't feel quite like doing her usual work in there, but it would serve as a distraction. She shouldn't worry. Crow was probably fine, and it wasn't like he actually cared about her, so why should she? He was--
"Hm?" As she brushed a hand over the trap cards to clear the dust away, her fingers caught against a piece of paper tucked in between two of them. When she pulled it free and glanced at it, there were only two words scrawled on it.
Only two words, but it was due to those words that Kazuha realized what she was going to do from that point on.
She wasn't going to lose another person. And if she had to go to Satellite to guarantee that, so be it.
-----
Crow was silent, listening with an expression akin to awe as Kazuha recounted the rest: how she'd feverishly worked to tailor one of her father's spare uniforms to fit just enough, how she'd used connections to get into Satellite and made her way over there in disguise ("Because no one would see Security going over there and think it was strange"), the strange duels she'd been in where the damage had been acutely felt, and the black fog that had overtaken her right after she'd narrowly won her last duel.
The thief stopped her then, and his grip was so tight that Kazuha made a noise of protest. "Wait-- that fog? It got you? What happened in there?"
"Fingers," she muttered first, and he immediately relaxed them. "And I don't really know how to explain it."
"Try."
She shivered and her eyes took on a dazed glimmer. "It felt like years passed, but then it was seconds. I couldn't see anything, or speak, or hear... but there was this incredible pressure. Like everyone in the world was screaming in agony, and instead of hearing it, I felt it. I thought I'd be crushed."
She was trembling even more now and Crow moved his hands around to her back, soothingly rubbing the tension out of her muscles. "Shit," he murmured, for lack of anything else to say at first. "I didn't think you'd get involved in this mess. My kids got taken, too... I wasn't there to protect them, and now they're--"
"Probably back by now."
He blinked and stilled his hands. "Huh?"
The brunette stared at him patiently. "I'm here, aren't I? I came out near here, and then my memory gets kinda misty. You came, and I woke up. And if I'm here, don't you think that whoever the fog took came back as well? Your kids included. Maybe not everyone came back, but it's worth a shot."
Crow breathed out slowly, a wondering smile appearing. After a minute, however, he groaned and released her to smack his forehead. "I told Yusei I'd go meet up with Jack, in case he needed help, but if the kids are back, they're-- they're probably scared as hell right now--"
"Then I'll go." Ignoring his surprised stare, Kazuha pushed herself up a little straighter. "Whatever's going on with you, you need to deal with it, and it's not like I can go home right now. I remember the area well enough, so I'll go find your kids and stay with 'em."
"Kazuha..." His surprise didn't fade. "Are you sure about this? You're not in the best shape right now, not to mention you've lost people, too. I mean, I don't even get why you'd come out here, and now this?"
Kazuha raised an eyebrow, smiling wanly but with the air of someone who wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Because we're friends, idiot."
Something in Crow's expression changed, subtly. Had she been given time to examine it, she might have been able to put a name to it, but he didn't grant her the opportunity. His helmet collided with her forehead as he suddenly leaned closer, provoking a wince on her end and a curse or two on his as he lifted it off and tossed it behind him. His gray eyes were dark and his voice was low, the tone soft but demanding.
"Say that again, Kazuha."
She blinked. "What, that we're friends--"
Crow surged forward, and her head nearly met the building if his arm hadn't cushioned it, but Kazuha wasn't thinking about that, because his mouth was hot against hers and she felt both lightheaded and wide awake, thoughts racing far too fast for her to hold on to a single one, and his lips were coaxing a funny stirring inside of her, some tiny noises that she couldn't control, like how she couldn't control her response towards him, her fingers clutching at his shoulders.
When he pulled back, Kazuha was gratified to find that she wasn't the only one breathing hard. There was a ragged quality to Crow's breathing, and he winced and laid a hand against his ribs for a moment.
"Do you do that with all your friends?" she couldn't help asking, because her mind seemed to be entirely disconnected from the rest of her body just then.
Crow laughed, and the tension between them lightened. "You're a little different."
She nodded weakly.
He reached out to ruffle her hair, a familiar, affectionate gesture that brought a lump to her throat for some reason. "Stay safe. I'll tell you everything after this - and it's gonna take awhile - but I swear if I come back and you've gotten yourself killed, I'll haul your ass back and kill you again myself."
Kazuha snorted and waved him off, finally pushing herself to her feet. "Go. You've got bigger things to worry about, and don't even think about worrying over me. I'll keep an eye on your kids, so make sure you've got a good story to tell 'em when you get back."
Crow gazed at her, and for a moment, she thought he might try to kiss her again-- but then he grinned and went to retrieve his helmet. "You'd better believe it. See you later, Kazuha."
She crooked her fingers in a half-wave, watching as Blackbird sped off until it was a tiny speck and then, nothing.
"... See you later, Spiky-han."
-----
The youngest had dozed off in her arms hours ago with the others slowly following suit in varying states of anxiety and fright. So it was that, surrounded by sleeping children, Kazuha lifted her head to watch the dawn break and thought she saw something large and bright flying into the distance.
"Good job, Crow-kun," she whispered, and settled back in one of the corners to sleepily await his return.